Hong Kong: Lo Chung-mau to visit Geneva

Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau will depart for Geneva, Switzerland today to attend the World Health Organization's (WHO) 76th World Health Assembly (WHA) on May 21.

Prof Lo will attend the 76th WHA as a member of the Chinese delegation.

The assembly's key discussions will cover a review of the WHOs work in health emergencies.

A wide range of strategies and global actions on universal health coverage, primary healthcare, infection prevention and control and other areas will also be discussed.

The health chief will take the opportunity to exchange views on healthcare-related issues with WHO senior officials and other delegations.

Prof Lo will return to Hong Kong on May 24. During his absence, Under Secretary for Health Dr Libby Lee will be Acting Secretary.

This story has been published on: 2023-05-19. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Chinese, Tajik presidents hold talks, vow to boost cooperation

Xinhua) 17:03, May 18, 2023

XI'AN, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on Thursday in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Rahmon is in China for the China-Central Asia Summit and a state visit.

Xi expressed his pleasure at meeting with his old friend in Xi'an and warmly welcomed Rahmon to China for the summit and the state visit.

He pointed out that since China and Tajikistan established diplomatic ties, the bilateral relationship has grown from one of good neighborliness to a strategic partnership and then to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Xi recalled his state visit to Tajikistan in 2019, during which they jointly announced the building of a China-Tajikistan community of common development and security, which has seen encouraging progress over the past four years.

Xi underscored that China-Tajikistan relations enjoy deep historical roots, a solid political foundation, substantive cooperation and extensive public support.

To ensure a bright future for the two peoples, China is ready to work with Tajikistan under the new circumstances to enhance cooperation in various areas and build a China-Tajikistan community with a shared future featuring everlasting friendship, solidarity and mutual benefit, Xi said.

Xi called on both sides to deepen all-round strategic cooperation and firmly support each other on issues concerning their core interests, including national sovereignty, independence, security and territorial integrity.

Xi also called for deepening China-Tajikistan cooperation in economy and trade, connectivity, agriculture and major projects.

China is ready to import more quality agricultural products from Tajikistan, Xi said.

The Chinese president also called for closer people-to-people exchanges to consolidate the public support and social foundation for bilateral relations.

China stands ready to work with the Tajik side to strengthen law enforcement and security cooperation to safeguard the common security of the two countries and the region, Xi said.

Xi said that he is convinced that, with the concerted efforts of all parties, the China-Central Asia Summit will open a new chapter for China-Central Asia cooperation.

Hailing Tajikistan-China relations as an example of good neighborliness and sincere cooperation between countries, Rahmon said Tajikistan supports the China-proposed Global Security Initiative, the Global Development Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.

The Tajik side stands ready to dovetail its development strategy with the Belt and Road Initiative and strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas such as economy, trade, production capacity, agriculture, transportation, green economy and people-to-people exchanges, Rahmon said.

After the talks, the two heads of state signed a joint statement and witnessed the signing of a raft of bilateral documents on cooperation in areas including economy, trade, connectivity, technology and sub-national exchanges.

Cai Qi, Wang Yi and Qin Gang attended the events.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Photo: The Canadian Press President Charles Michel of the European Council, left to right, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, U.S. President Joe Biden, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom and President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission pose for a group photo at the Peace Memorial Park as part of the G7 Summit, Friday, May 19, 2023 in Hiroshima, Japan. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Canada has announced new sanctions against Russia as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima.

In short remarks made to media Friday, the prime minister said more than 70 new sanctions focus on people who are supporting Russia's illegal military action and complicit in human rights violations.

He says Canada will continue to support Ukraine and the international rules-based order.

The Prime Minister's Office says the sanctions are on "17 individuals and 18 entities linked to Russian companies that provide military technology and know-how to Russias armed forces, family members of listed persons, and members of the Kremlin elite."

Sanctions will also be applied on 30 individuals and eight entities "involved in Russias ongoing human rights violations, including the transfer and custody of Ukrainian children in Russia."

In March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Russian childrens rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of abducting children from Ukraine.

Other G7 countries are expected to announce their own sanctions on Russia as leaders meet to discuss geopolitical tensions, particularly with China and Russia.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a summit of Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Friday before what a senior official said would be a trip to Japan for a meeting with the leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies.

Zelenskyy has in recent months made foreign trips to shore up diplomatic support for Ukraines fight against Russias full-scale invasion almost 15 months ago and solicit more military support.

He earlier this week returned from a three-day trip to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

Ukraine and Russia are squaring up for a major and potentially decisive phase of the war as Kyiv prepares an expected counteroffensive. The conflict has been bogged down in a war of attrition in recent months amid bad weather.

Zelenskyys office said he was invited to attend the Arab League summit in Jeddah, where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before holding other bilateral meetings.

They discussed Zelenskyys peace plan, the security situation in Ukraine and possible investments in the reconstruction of the country, a presidential statement said. Zelenskyy also invited Prince Mohammed to visit Ukraine.

Zelenskyy urged leaders at the summit to resist Moscows influence and consider his peace proposals, which include the withdrawal of the Kremlins forces from occupied areas of Ukraine.

Im more than sure that none of you will agree to surrender a third of your country to the invaders, Zelenskyy said in English.

Another priority is the protection of the Muslim community of Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. Crimea was the first to suffer from the Russian occupation, and most of those who suffer repression in occupied Crimea are Muslims.

Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev accompanied Zelenskyy on the visit.

Zelenskyy will later travel to a Group of Seven summit in Japan, where leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies aim to step up punishment on Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council.

However, Danilovs office later posted a statement backtracking on his announcement and saying Zelenskyy would appear at the G-7 summit via video. Zelenskyys movements are kept secret for security reasons.

Meanwhile, Russian forces kept up their long-range bombardment of Ukrainian targets while drones reportedly damaged train lines behind their front line.

About 130 meters (430 feet) of railway track were damaged and trains were halted for hours after an explosion derailed eight cars of a freight train carrying grain in Russia-occupied Crimea, Russian state media reported Friday.

Thursdays blast prompted renewed suspicions about possible Ukrainian saboteur activity behind Russian lines.

Train traffic was also halted in northern Crimea on Thursday night after a drone hit a railway track near the town of Dzhankoi, Russias Baza Telegram channel reported.

Sergei Aksyonov, the Kremlin-appointed head of Crimea, said in a separate post that four Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight in the peninsulas north. Aksyonov claimed there was no damage or casualties.

Russia overnight fired cruise missiles, drones and artillery at targets across Ukraine, killing two civilians, officials said Friday.

The attacks included an air assault on Kyiv for the second straight day and the 10th time in three weeks. The Kremlins forces also took aim at central, eastern and southern Ukraine, and the western Lviv region near the border with Poland.

Russia launched 22 Iranian-made Shahed drones and six Kalibr cruise missiles during the night, the Ukrainian Air Force said. It said air defenses downed 16 drones and three missiles.

The Russian shelling killed two civilians and wounded nine others in Ukraines eastern Donetsk region, said its governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko.

The missile attacks that have intensified recently aim to disrupt Ukraines plans and preparations for active military operations during the spring-summer campaign, according to a statement from Ukraines intelligence agency, published on Telegram.

The targets are Ukraines military control points and barracks, supply routes and the places where ammunition, equipment, fuel are stored, it said.

On Friday, the United Nations said operations to ship Ukrainian grain were partially restarting, two days after Russia gave a green light to extend the deal for two months. The U.N. also urged a swift return to the previous tempo of ship arrivals and departures from all three Black Sea ports and inspections of their cargo.

U.N. associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay said the Joint Coordination Center, which includes representatives from the four parties involved in the deal  Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations -- approved the registration Friday of six new vessels to participate in the grain shipments. Nine applications to participate remain pending, she said.

No ships are currently loading at any of the three ports, Tremblay said, but inspection teams from the center checked and cleared three new vessels Friday to proceed to the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk.

Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Longtime historic preservationist Philip Maechling received a special award for his work on May 11 in celebration of National Historic Preservation Month. The posthumous award, given three weeks after Maechlings untimely death of a heart attack on April 26, recognized a lifetime of contributions to maintaining Montanas history.

Though he was not a native of Missoula or Montana, said his former colleague Doris Fisher, on matters of community design, historic preservation and taking the long view, I consider him a son of Missoula and Montana.

Maechling, formerly the city and county historic preservation officer, was a champion of restoration and conservation for historic properties across the state. He served on the Montana Heritage Commission, preserved historic properties in Virginia City and Nevada City and endeavored to save Fort Owen in Stevensville, among numerous other accomplishments.

Before embarking on this diversity of projects, Maechling, born in Charlottesville, Virginia, attended Yale University, volunteered with the Peace Corps in Brazil and worked as a visiting artist in Glacier National Park. His many roles included carpenter, camera maker, university professor and community planner. Some of the achievements he valued most highly included documenting the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail for Iowa State University, helping to stop a dam at Kootenai Falls in northwest Montana and establishing four historic districts in Missoula.

He is remembered by friends and colleagues for his dogged work to preserve local history, along with his kindness and friendship.

He just was an essential part of our operations, said Marilyn Ross with the Montana Historic Commission, which has performed extensive preservation work on Virginia and Nevada cities. It was a great loss to us.

Ross said Maechling contributed to securing funding for restoration, policymaking and guiding preservation efforts writ large.

He just was a very, very valued member of our commission and the historic preservation community here, she added.

In the fall, Ross expects to honor Maechling with a plaque dedication at Stonewall Hall in Virginia City, which is currently being restored thanks to Maechlings instrumental involvement. The building held the first meeting of the territorial legislature in the 1860s, prior to Montanas statehood. Ross considers Stonewall Hall the commissions most historic building.

He will be horribly missed by all of us that worked with him, said Ross.

Stan Cohen agreed heartily with Ross. He co-authored the book "Missoula Then and Now" with Maechling.

I lost a good friend, he said, highlighting Maechlings conscientiousness.

Cohen remembered various historic experiences he shared with Maechling, from shooting comparison photos of Missoula for the book they co-wrote, to touring Fort Owen in the Bitterroot, to working on preservation alongside each other while Cohen served on the Missoula Historic Preservation Commission.

He was very involved in historic preservation for the whole county, Cohen said. I would guess a lot of stuff maybe wouldnt have come to fruition (without Maechling).

Chris Weatherly, too  a Stevensville historic preservationist of 40 years  emphasized how impressed he was with Maechlings contributions to the community.

It was Maechlings influence, in fact, that spurred Weatherly to try to save a 1900 school building in the Bitterroot. When the building was ultimately being torn down, Weatherly uncovered a time capsule, just as he had suspected he would. Inside, he found a silver dollar and a Missoula trolley token, and he gave the token to Maechling in recognition of his contributions.

But even more than his work, Weatherly said he was impressed with Maechlings character.

He was a real leader in historic preservation, Weatherly noted. He had a kind smile. He was a good man.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Heres some business news in the Missoula area:

The Den, a new restaurant at 6995 Linda Vista Boulevard in the Miller Creek area of Missoula, opened on May 19. It was built by local businessman Dennis Round, who also owns Market on Front downtown.

The Den is a locally-owned neighborhood market and restaurant offering a made-from-scratch kitchen with a family friendly environment in the Miller Creek community, according to their website. It features a coffee bar and catering services.

To celebrate American Craft Beer Week, breweries across Montana will be releasing the 2023 Peaks to Prairie IPA, a collaboration of Montana Brewers Association member breweries and Montana producers.

The name of the collab beer, Peaks to Prairie, represents the wide range of geographical features in Montana, reflecting the diverse landscapes of mountains, canyons, river valleys, forests, grassy plains, and more. This collaboration beer aims to showcase the unique flavors and ingredients sourced from these environments. By combining elements from Montanas peaks to prairies, the beer represents a fusion of the states natural beauty and agricultural abundance.

Theres no better way to celebrate independent breweries in Montana than coming together and making great beer, said MBA Executive Director Matt Leow. This collaboration represents the culmination of the hard work of Montanas farmers, maltsters, and brewers, from the fields to the taproom.

This is the third year Montana brewers have collaborated with local producers to create a 100% Montana-made beer in celebration of the craft beer industry in the state. Thanks to the generous support of Farm Power Malt, Gallatin Valley Malt, Malteurop Malting Co., Montana Craft Malt, Big Sky Hops, Crooked Yard Hops, Flathead Valley Hops, Glacier Hops Ranch, Bell Crossing Farms, and Ravalli Hops, brewers were able to purchase their ingredients at a reduced rate. With their own unique IPA recipes, brewers unleashed their creativity and now they are eager to share their delicious brews with craft beer enthusiasts.

So far, 15 Montana breweries are brewing the Peaks to Prairie IPA. Each brewery will donate a portion of the proceeds of their Peaks to Prairie IPA to the Montana Brewers Association to continue to further the mission of promoting the production and sales of the freshest and highest-quality Montana-made beers. The MBA will use some of the funds raised to support scholarships for student researchers at MSUs Barley, Malt & Brewing Quality Lab.

Embodying craft beers cooperative spirit and fostering a sense of community, our collective effort to support the MBA truly showcases the principals of our industry, says Ethan Kohoutek, brewer and co-owner of Ten Mile Creek Brewing Company in Helena.

Visit any of the following breweries to find a pint of Peaks to Prairie:

Bias Brewing (Kalispell)

Bitter Root Brewing (Hamilton)

Blackfoot River Brewing Co. (Helena)

Bridger Brewing Company (Three Forks)

Burnt Tree Brewing (Ennis)

Highlander Beer (Missoula)

KettleHouse Brewing (Missoula)

MAP Brewing Co. (Bozeman)

Missouri River Brewing Company (East Helena)

Mt Ascension Brewing (Helena)

Philipsburg Brewing Company (Philipsburg)

Ronan Cooperative Brewery (Ronan)

Sacred Waters Brewing Co. (Kalispell)

Shred Monk Brewing Company (Bozeman)

Ten Mile Creek Brewery (Helena

Participating breweries will be pouring the Peaks to Prairie collaboration beer throughout the year while supplies last.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The former executive director of the Flathead Basin Commission has appealed a lawsuit over her 2018 firing from the role to the Montana Supreme Court.

Caryn Miske oversaw the commission as executive director from 2006 until her termination on Feb. 26, 2018. The Flathead Basin Commission (FBC) coordinates between state, local, federal, tribal, Canadian and nonprofit entities that have a stake in protecting Flathead Basin water quality.

The commission was formed by the Montana Legislature in 1983 and is attached to the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation for administrative purposes, such as financial oversight and budgeting.

Mark Bostrom, a DNRC administrator, fired Miske. In a termination letter, Bostrom wrote, "your long-term efforts to distance yourself from the department and your failure to conduct yourself as a state employee of the department have disrupted agency activities for far too long." The letter cited financial mismanagement on Miske's behalf as a justification for her firing.

In her lawsuit, filed in 2019 against the DNRC, Miske argued that the firing was illegal retaliation for her lobbying legislators to increase the FBC's budget. The Missoulian reported then that the FBC and DNRC sparred in 2017 and '18 over DNRC policy on invasive mussels, FBC funding and the FBC's role. The lawsuit, originally filed in Lewis and Clark County First District Court, argued that Miske's lobbying for the FBC was protected speech and that her firing was illegal discrimination and retaliation due to her political beliefs. FBC commissioners, including longtime commission member and chairman Thompson Smith, voiced support for Miske and criticized what he depicted as improper interference in the FBC by the DNRC.

In April 2022, District Court Judge Kathy Seeley sided with the DNRC. Seeley ruled that the agency had just cause to terminate Miske: For years she often failed to account for expenditures of public funds she made with a state credit card, leading the agency to deactivate the card after multiple unheeded warnings. And, Seeley ruled, Miske was acting in her official capacity as FBC's executive director when she urged two state lawmakers to increase FBC funding  meaning that her actions were not protected political activity. Miske also argued in her suit that only the FBC, not the DNRC, had authority to make FBC personnel decisions. Seeley ruled that, although FBC is able to make its own personnel decisions, the DNRC's administrative oversight of FBC also includes making personnel decisions.

On April 21 this year, Miske appealed Seeley's ruling to the state Supreme Court. Because her original lawsuit sought more than $5,000 across a combination of lost wages, benefits, damages and legal fees, the case is automatically headed to mediation. Miske is represented by Anne Sherwood and Frederick Sherwood of Helena-based Morrison, Sherwood, Wilson & Deola law firm. The DNRC is represented by attorney Aislinn W. Brown of the state's Agency Legal Services Bureau.

On Friday, Anne Sherwood said in a phone call, "We're hoping to get a fresh look at the statutes regarding the FBC and Caryn's employment status." Because Miske worked for FBC, Sherwood said, "the FBC should have at least had a voice in her discharge."

In the mediation process, Sherwood explained, an independent third-party mediator liaises with each party with the goal of reaching a "mutually agreeable compromise." If a compromise isn't reached, the case goes before the Supreme Court. Sherwood noted that if the case isn't resolved via mediation and goes to the Supreme Court, it could set a precedent for other employees of entities that are administratively attached to state departments.

Bostrom and Brown were not immediately available for comment Friday.

After leaving the FBC, Miske was hired as an independent contractor for the Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association in Canada, according to the lawsuit. That relationship ended after an AmeriCorps worker directed by Miske was unable to obtain aquatic invasive species data from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Miske sought the data to complete her contracted work for the association: producing an "inventory of best management practices for aquatic invasive species for the Crown Managers Partnership." But, according to Seeley's ruling, FWP officials were concerned that the AmeriCorps worker's data request crossed a line into prohibited political advocacy work. After consulting with the DNRC, including Bostrom, FWP did not fulfill the request. Without the data, the association terminated Miske's contract. Her lawsuit argued that the DNRC illegally interfered with her contract to work for the association, but Seeley found that DNRC and FWP were rightfully concerned that the data request was improper  and that others outside those agencies also questioned the request.

In October 2019, Miske was hired as the executive director of the Seeley Lake-based Clearwater Resource Council, according to the Seeley Swan Pathfinder. The council's website indicates that Miske no longer works there. Miske currently works as the executive director of the Sierra Club Montana Chapter, according to the chapter's website. The Pathfinder reported that Miske holds a law degree from University of Montana and a master's degree in public administration from Columbia University, and she completed most of a doctorate in forestry at UM.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

In a unanimous decision this week, the Montana Supreme Court resolved a seven-year legal dispute over a Creston-area landowners right to tap into a groundwater aquifer along the Flathead River and produce up to a billion bottles of water a year, upholding a lower courts ruling that the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) erred when it granted the bitterly contested water right.

The May 16 decision delivered a hard-fought victory to Water for Flatheads Future, a neighborhood group comprising 10 residents who filed the original lawsuit as petitioners, as well as for the nonprofit conservation organization Flathead Lakers.

In conclusion, errors of law were committed during the agencys processing of the application, including the failure to submit all the required data, and a failure to fulfill the agencys duty to identify and analyze all potentially affected sources, according to the high courts decision written by Justice Jim Rice and concurred with by all six other jurists. The errors of law and process undermine confidence in the agencys determinations  Consequently, this combination of deficiencies leaves us with the definite and firm conviction that, upon review of the whole record  a mistake was made.

Its the latest turn in a tortuous legal odyssey that began in 2015, when Montana Artesian Water Co. (MAWC) and its founder, Creston landowner Lew Weaver, asked for and received a permit from the DNRC allowing the company to produce up to 140,000 water bottles per hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In technical terms, the water right authorized Weavers company to receive 710 acre feet of water annually, equaling roughly 1.2 billion 20-ounce water bottles.

Although Weaver insisted he would only use a fraction of the water-usage capacity assigned under the right, the bottling operation drummed up considerable attention, fueling concerns among neighbors and residents living near the Egan Slough property and leading to the formation of Water for Flatheads Future, a group organized to fight the bottling plant while raising objections on multiple legal fronts, including filing two complaints to prevent the facility from beginning production.

They have now prevailed in this appeal, after seven years of litigation, according to Rices decision. Objectors marshalled extensive expert testimony and addressed a voluminous record to support their claims. Objectors uncovered the errors in DNRCs review process that led the District Court, and now this Court, to reject the permit, despite usual deference owed to the agency.

Darryl James, a spokesperson for MAWC, said the long-awaited ruling was based on a procedural administrative flaw and not on evidence that Weavers bottling operation would have had a significant impact on water quality, neighboring wells, aquatic species, or on aquifer levels.

It falls to procedure, so there is nothing Montana Artesian could have done to modify the project, address its physical impacts or redesign the project, James said, adding that the high courts decision that plaintiffs are entitled to attorneys fees places an unfair burden on Weaver.

The biggest concern for Montana Artesian and any business in Montana is the message this sends to applicants seeking a water right in the state, James said. This is a frightening message to send to the business community and that is the biggest blow to Montana Artesian Water Company, which will probably be on the hook to the tune of a half-million dollars in attorneys fees for something they had no control over.

Steve Moore, board chair for Water for Flatheads Future, sees the upshot of the case differently.

To say that we are thrilled with this result is an understatement, Moore said. This decision represents the culmination of our seven-year-long battle to prove in court what we have always known  that Montana Artesian Water Company and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation violated the law in an attempt to move forward the largest water-bottling plant ever proposed in Montana.

MAWCs water right permit from the DNRC and its wastewater discharge permit from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality were challenged in separate litigation, leaving the discharge permit intact. Meanwhile, the state Supreme Court in a separate case last year upheld a citizen-initiated land-use decision that precluded MAWCs commercial operations in a zoning district prohibiting them.

Although James said its feasible that Weaver and MAWC could apply to the DNRC for another water-right permit, he said the years of litigation and uncertainty have taken a toll on the Creston landowner.

The question is whether its worth it, James said. This case has never been about the actual impacts. Its a classic case of NIMBYism and people not wanting a commercial water-bottling plant in their neighborhood. But they organized well and fought this on procedure, which is what environmental groups do. Mr. Weaver and his wife are an aging couple who have been ostracized, so its really a matter of whether MAWC has the wherewithal to make another run at it.

For Moore and his co-plaintiffs, however, the grassroots opposition was sustained on principle, not on NIMBYism (an acronym for not in my backyard") and the legal triumph helps prevent a dangerous precedent from taking root in the Flathead Valley.

Simply put, we could not be more proud of our team and our success, Moore said. However, this victory does not just represent a win for us, but stands as a pillar of justice for the entire Flathead Valley community and the citizens of the state of Montana. The message from our states highest court is clear: Our water is precious and must be protected from corporate greed by faithful adherence to law and process.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

PORTLAND  Charles Coleman's life has been rapidly transformed since he moved into the Hattie Redmond, an affordable housing complex for Black people in Portland built with taxpayer-funded bonds.

"It's been a relief," he explained. "It's been joy. Clarity of mind. You know, just finding myself because for a long time I didn't have that privacy that you normally have. So yeah, it's hard to put into words."

Coleman, 62, became homeless after injuring himself so badly that he was unable to work. The bills kept piling up, and a studio in Portland was renting for $1,400 a month.

So he was homeless for what he says was a "long time," living in his van or with relatives or in different shelters.

He got connected with the Urban League of Portland, a civil rights and social service organization that empowers African Americans and others to find stable housing, employment, health, education and economic security.

The Hattie Redmond apartment complex provides 60 permanent, stable homes with services for people who have experienced homelessness. The project was funded in part by $4.4 million from Portland's Metro Affordable Housing Bond, and supportive services are paid for by the supportive housing services fund (explored in the Wednesday edition of the Missoulian).

In 2016, voters in Portland passed a bond that will raise $258.4 million to build roughly 1,300 low-income apartments. Then in 2018, voters approved the Portland Metro Affordable Housing Bond that will raise $652.8 million to create homes for approximately 12,000 people.

The Hattie Redmond is one of the affordable housing projects that has been built with bond funds, and the project is aimed at addressing the affordable housing crisis in Portland.

Home Forward, Portland's housing authority agency, selected applicants for the building based on a housing preference policy that aims to address the harm caused, primarily for the Black community, by government-led urban renewal initiatives. Applicants who have personal or generational ties to the area are prioritized for residency.

"In this case, this housing is for Black people who have been chronically homeless and have a disability and have requested culturally appropriate services from the Urban League," said Amanda Saul of Home Forward.

Harriet "Hattie" Redmond was a pillar of Portland's Black community and a leading voice for women's voting rights.

Residents have access to physical health, mental health and drug and alcohol addiction services.

"They also provide community-building events, meals and there's a GED program," Saul said. "And then they're doing like a survey with the residents to find out what kind of strengths or interests people have. So for example, there's two folks who moved in who were barbers, so they hold sort of like a periodic barber shop and are able to give haircuts to other residents."

Saul said it's important to have an affordable housing complex specifically designated for the Black community.

"Because we know that based on race, people are underserved in our housing system in general," she said. "We know in Multnomah County that there's a disproportionate number of Black people in our homeless population. Like 7% of Multnomah County is Black but 16% of our homeless population is Black. So we were very specific in targeting that community."

Portland is far more diverse and larger than Missoula, of course, but there are similar disparities in both places. Both have experienced drastic rises in rent and home sales prices.

In Missoula's Coordinated Entry System for homeless people in 2021, 4.5% of unhoused people in the city were Black. According to U.S. Census data, Black people make up just .9% of Missoula's overall population.

Housing statistics Missoula Racial disparities in housing statistics in Missoula.

That's the type of disparity that Portland's city leaders and voters were trying to address with the housing bond, and Saul said it can be replicated in other places successfully.

"The Hattie Redmond has only been open for a little over two months and we have over 37 people moved in already," she said. "And they were all formerly homeless. People feel really happy to have a home. They feel safe. They feel secure. They feel like they can ask the supportive services staff for support when they need specific things."

Eventually, there will be 60 or more people that are off the city's streets and into stable housing. At the building, the residents pay 27% of their actual income for rent, which means if they have no income they pay no rent.

Emily Lieb, the affordable housing program manager for Portland Metro, said the city and the region would be in a much more dire crisis without the two bonds. As in Montana and Missoula, the pandemic and other economic factors have exacerbated the shortage of affordable housing.

"I joined Metro in 2015 at a time when rents were rapidly increasing far beyond incomes," she said. "You know, housing had become issue number one from a public perspective. We didn't have the homelessness situation that we have now. It's gotten so much worse. But housing affordability was a huge concern."

Like Montana, Oregon doesn't have a sales tax and relies on property taxes for state revenue. That's why a bond was chosen over other forms of generating money for housing.

She said the Metro Bond has the goal of helping to finance the creation of 3,900 units available to people who make at or below 60% of Area Median Income. And 1,600 of those units will be "deeply affordable" for households that make 30% of Area Median Income or below.

Still, the number of units that it will build represents just 10% of what experts say is needed to address the shortage.

"I think the common thing that was said at the time (the bond passed) was we're like, we're not going to build our way out of this crisis," Lieb said. "We need a whole range of solutions. So I think this was really kind of intended to be one tool in the toolbox to address our housing affordability challenges."

She said there was "tremendous voter support" in all three Metro counties in 2018 to pass the bond, especially because affordable housing funds can be leveraged to get more federal money.

"Polling has consistently shown that this is like the number one issue," she said. "And I think that affordable housing and the argument of not leaving federal resources on the table really resonates."

As of June 2022, a total of 1,353 homes were either under construction or had been completed, and 1,826 homes were in development. Both Saul and Lieb said local contractors have benefited from the bond, but that rising materials and labor costs have been challenging.

It's unclear whether Missoula voters would support an affordable housing bond, as one has never been on the ballot here. A levy that would have funded crisis services failed here last November. Although voters within city limits were in favor, the voters in the county as a whole were opposed. Property tax increases have been a huge issue in Montana in recent years.

Portland obviously is much larger than Missoula, but Lieb said affordable housing bonds have been passed in smaller cities.

In 2016, Vancouver, Washington, voters approved a $42 million, seven-year Affordable Housing Fund for very low-income households within the city who earn 50% or less of the area median income. That bond has funded the creation of 250 units and another 251 are in the works. Several hundred other affordable housing units have been preserved with the money. By comparison, Missoula County voters approved a $42 million Parks and Trails bond in 2014.

"Yes, I think it is possible to develop a funding tool at a smaller scale," Lieb said.

Coleman, who found a place to live in the Hattie Redmond, isn't sure where he'd be living if the building hadn't been built.

"I would probably be an unimportant speck in a far-flung universe," he said. "I would be looking. I would either be in my van, you know, maybe at a relative's house. It's hard to say where I would be."
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Criminal charges likely wont be pursued in a Granite County crash that took the life of a young University of Montana student in 2020, according to the Montana Department of Justice and Granite County Attorneys Office.

The case, first reported by the Montana Kaimin, started on the evening of May 31, 2020, when Courtney Klagues, a 21-year-old UM student, died while sitting in the passenger seat of a Jeep Wrangler that was catapulted into Rock Creek. A letter from the Montana Department of Justice found the Granite County Attorneys Office didnt abuse its discretion in declining charges against the driver, something Courtneys family struggles to understand.

There are so many unanswered questions, Lance Klagues, Courtneys father, said in a phone call with the Missoulian.

A crash report from Montana Highway Patrol states that on their way back from a camping trip, Courtney and her friends were in the Jeep driving on Rock Creek Road when the driver swerved to avoid a pothole, struck a rock, which broke the steering linkage, causing the car to go careening into the water. The car rolled, coming to a rest partially on its roof, partially on its right side. Courtney was in the front passenger seat.

Courtney was not the only person in the car, but was the only one who died. The report states she was partially ejected, and her death certificate lists Courtneys cause of death as drowning associated with blunt force injuries. The two other passengers and driver made it out of the crash with suspected minor injuries, according to the report.

Lances frustration with the case is multi-faceted. Not only does he suspect foul play as a factor in the crash, but he feels powerless with the way Montanas justice system has handled investigating his daughters death. The crash report states the driver drove in a distracted, inattentive or careless manner, something Lance argues merits criminal charges.

None of us can figure out why they refuse to bring charges, he said.

In a memo from the Montana Department of Justice dated April 28, Assistant Attorney General Daniel Guzynski explained that the states decision to not pursue a misdemeanor citation against the driver stemmed from concerns over whether a jury would decide to convict.

In 2021, former Prosecution Services Bureau Chief Attorney Chad Parker worked with Granite County Attorney Blaine Bradshaw on the case. Parker determined there was probable cause to file charges for careless driving based on excessive speed, but Bradshaw chose not to file that charge against the driver.

The Attorney Generals office only has authority to intervene in county attorney decisions when possible abuses of discretion are flagged. In this case, Guzynski wrote in the letter that his office didnt identify such abuses by the Granite County Attorney.

While the review determined that probable cause to bring charges exists, other extenuating factors would make it difficult for a jury to reach a guilty verdict, Guzynski wrote. As such, the decision of the Granite County Attorneys Office to decline bringing charges does not allow our office to intervene in the case.

The letter describes the offense as subjective.

Bradshaw declined to comment on the April 28 letter, but said the case is closed in his office. He told the Montana Kaimin his decision not to prosecute was based on the entire case file, and that highway patrol concurred with his choice. On May 31, the statute of limitations for the careless driving charge will expire.

Courtney, who moved to Missoula from Coeur dAlene, Idaho, was enrolled at the University of Montana. She was on track to earn a criminal justice and law degree. Her father said Courtney aspired to have an advocacy career supporting children experiencing divorce. She was an avid lover of the outdoors, an angler and a bow hunter.

A scholarship at UM in Courtneys name was established following her death. It supports students on similar career paths as Courtney.

She was a beautiful, beautiful human being, Lance said.

He talked with Courtney the day before the crash, when she was getting ready for the camping trip. He tried to call her again on the afternoon of May 31, but by then it was too late.

Different stories about what happened from Courtneys friends swarmed Lance in the days and weeks following her death.

According to the letter, four Montana Highway Patrol accident reconstructionists reviewed the case file. The driver was estimated to be going somewhere between 10 and 20 mph on the narrow, winding gravel road. The posted speed limit was 30 mph.

At many points, there are steep drop-offs into the river. The report notes the river was turbulent and high-flowing the day Courtney died.

Details on what exactly happened remain fuzzy for Courtneys loved ones.

Lance said hes asked for a more thorough investigation but has been refuted by law enforcement. He disagrees with the investigator's assessment that the cars steering arm was broken before it entered the river and contends that it was broken when it was pulled from the water, something he says changes the entire case. In the crash narrative, a trooper wrote the collision with the rock sheared the sector shaft, disconnecting the steering linkage from the steering box.

The crash report also lists Courtney as not wearing a seat belt, though the narrative says the team who retrieved her from the Jeep had to cut a seat belt to get her out, something that stood out to Lance.

She was the love of my life, she was such a great kid, Lance said. I cant believe her life was extinguished up there and no one seems to give a crap that that even happened.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

In 1933, Prohibition Agent Paul A. Read was killed while arresting a moonshine peddler in Missoula. He was shot five times.

Read was one of 11 law enforcement agents honored at Missoulas 23rd Annual Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony on Thursday. Local officers and their families gathered at Rose Park on a smoke-filled Missoula evening to honor the handful of western Montana officers who died on duty, dating back to 1878.

We gather this evening to remember those who ended their watch far too soon, keynote speaker U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Stories of other officers killed on duty include 38-year-old Missoula County Undersheriff James Thompson, who died of heat exhaustion in 1878 during a lengthy horse chase. He rode a horse 60 miles into Flathead County in pursuit of a jail escapee.

He thought he was responsible for that inmate escaping, which is why he was pursuing for 60 miles at 100-degree temperatures, after which he died due to heat exhaustion, Laslovich said.

In 1931, Missoula Police Officer Alexander D. Ross was patrolling on Higgins Avenue when he noticed individuals leave a gas station without paying for gas. He went to the station, called for backup and the suspects returned to the scene. They shot Ross point-blank with a pistol.

A civilian witnessed this, went over to Officer Ross, who was gravely wounded, and Officer Ross said to him, Here son, take my gun, Im through, Laslovich shared.

Other memorialized officers include Missoula County sheriffs deputy Edmund Trudeau, police officer Donald E. Gregory, officer Stephen A. LePiane, deputy Allen L. Kimery, deputy Lyle Ward, deputy Lloyd J. Stringer, officer Robert J. Heinle and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Officer Roy Thompson.

These 11 brave souls, in my view, represent the best of law enforcement and all of us, Laslovich said.

Their names are listed on a stone memorial at Rose Park. Missoula police officers and sheriffs deputies took turns walking around the memorial, saluting their fallen comrades and laying roses in honor.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The Teton County Coroners Office has identified the woman found dead in a vehicle in Yellowstone National Park over the weekend.

Catheryn Griffin, 38, was discovered by park rangers over the weekend on Craig Pass, about three miles south of Old Faithful.

Dr. Brent Blue, Teton County coroner, said that he could confirm that Griffin was likely from the southeastern United States. He said there has been difficulty determining where Griffin is from because of numerous addresses and drivers licenses associated with her name and date of birth.

An autopsy is being performed, he said, and results may not be available for the next couple of weeks.

Griffins body was inside of a vehicle that was driven into a snowbank. When park rangers arrived, they found a man standing outside of the vehicle who was then arrested for drug possession and other traffic-related charges.

An investigation into Griffins death is being conducted by the Investigative Services Branch of the National Park Service, the Yellowstone Law Enforcement Division, the FBI, the U.S. Attorneys Office and the Teton County Coroners Office.

None of the investigating agencies would confirm the name of the man.

However, Michael Wayne McCollum, of Port Neches, Texas, was arrested on Saturday in Yellowstone National Park, according to a spokesperson for Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Forwood.

McCollum has been held at the Gallatin County Detention Center for the park since Sunday, according to jail records. He is the only person listed in jail records as being held for Yellowstone National Park. McCollums first appearance in Wyoming District Court was continued until Thursday, according to court records.

McCollum has been charged with operating under a suspended or revoked license, possession of a controlled substance and with occupants of care not using seat belts, according to court documents.

Forwoods spokesperson said that there were no other charges against McCollum.

Laura Heinrich, McCollums lawyer, did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

An attorney for the Office of the Public Defender is being sued for filing invalid construction liens against a house after trying to force its foreclosure in a separate proceeding, according to a complaint filed this month in Missoula County District Court.

The complaint alleges Scotti Ramberg set up a couple of limited liability companies and used one of them to illegally record construction liens worth $109,000 against a vacant home  either knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth, the lawsuit said.

Ms. Ramberg recorded the liens against the property with the knowledge and intent that the action would result in harm to the plaintiffs, the lawsuit said. Alternatively, (Ramberg) either recognized or should have recognized that the recording of the liens without legal justification would result in harm to the plaintiffs.

Ramberg declined to answer questions in a brief phone call Tuesday. She said she had only received the complaint Monday afternoon and had not fully reviewed it.

Reed Mandelko, managing attorney for the Office of the Public Defender in Missoula, declined to comment in a brief phone call Wednesday. The states employee data website listed Ramberg as having an hourly rate of $34.41 in 2021, which would translate to an annual salary of $71,573.

In the lawsuit, Joseph Bruno and Laura Knight, who own the property, are suing Ramberg, SLR Investments LLC, and John Does 1-10.

Filed May 3, the complaint involves Ramberg, who works in Missoula for the public defenders office, a vacant home, a couple of shell companies, a homeowners association, and a lawyer who represents the homeowners association and shares an address with Ramberg, at least on paper.

The plaintiffs allege the defendants are guilty of fraud and acted with malice, and they are asking the court to quash, or invalidate, the construction liens and award damages and attorneys fees.

Filed by Gregory McDonnell of Orr McDonnell Law in Missoula, the lawsuit outlines the way the allegations unfolded.

In late 2005, Joseph Bruno bought the house, at 13137 Bunchgrass Lane, the complaint said. He and his brother lived there for many years until his brother died, and Bruno moved to California, leaving the house vacant.

In 2007, the Hawthorn Springs Property Owners Association, the homeowners association, filed a lien against the house with the Missoula County Clerk and Recorder for unpaid water usage in the amount of $1,337.90, the complaint said. A decade later, in 2017, that bill was unpaid and the HOA filed a notice of non-compliance.

On Nov. 27, 2020, the HOA filed a second lien that superseded the first, claiming the amount owed with interest to be $15,256,31, the complaint said. It said the lien was filed on behalf of the HOA by its attorney, Rufus Peace.

Mr. Peace is a Montana attorney, admitted to the Montana bar on the same day as Ms. Ramberg, the complaint said.

The next month, on Dec. 31, Ramberg registered two entities with the Montana Secretary of State, the complaint said. One is Bruno Holdings, and the other is SLR (Rambergs initials are reflected in the name of the entity, the lawsuit said); she listed herself as the registered agent for both and Brunos address is listed as the LLCs business address, according to the lawsuit and exhibits.

The address she used identifying herself as the registered agent is the same address as a property owned by Peace, the lawsuit said.

Peace did not return a voicemail requesting comment to a number a previous employer said was his cellphone.

In the brief call, Ramberg declined to state her relationship to Peace: Im not going to answer that at this time.

In January 2021, roughly one week after Ramberg registered the two entities with the Secretary of States Office, the HOA assigned all the interest in the second lien to Bruno Holdings, the lawsuit said.

Then in November 2021, SLR filed a construction lien with the county claiming it was owed $73,123.13.

But neither Bruno nor Knight ever requested any services or materials, and they hadnt ever even spoken with SLR or Ramberg, the lawsuit said. They hadnt entered into any contracts with SLR or Ramberg, either.

The same day the construction lien was filed, Ramberg filed another document in court, the complaint said.

On November 10, 2021, Ms. Ramberg, acting as counsel for Bruno Holdings, filed a complaint for judicial foreclosure in the Montana Fourth Judicial District Court  requesting that the house be sold at public auction to satisfy the second property owners association lien assigned to Bruno Holdings, the lawsuit said.

An order vacating the foreclosure in August 2022 said Bruno paid the amount owed. But the Sheriffs sale went down to the wire, according to a notice from the Sheriffs Office.

In her request for foreclosure, Ramberg said the property owners had not communicated with the plaintiff or HOA despite multiple notices. But the current lawsuit states, Ramberg has sworn before this Honorable Court that she has not had any communication with Mr. Bruno.

Additionally, a report to the court from the foreclosure case noted Bruno and Knight tried to contact Ramberg to prevent the Sheriffs sale, but she refused to speak with them or articulate an amount that would satisfy the judgment.

Upon information and belief, Ms. Ramberg through her solely owned entities, SLR Investments, LLC, and Bruno Holdings, LLC, was attempting to retain ownership of the house at 13137 Bunchgrass Lane using invalid liens and other questionable methods, said the August 2022 report to the court.

Court documents note Bruno and Knight hired attorneys to determine the actual amount owed, and the order vacating the foreclosure last August said a check of $23,194.05 more than fully satisfies the amount due to Bruno Holdings.

Meanwhile in July 2022, SLR filed a second construction lien against the property, this one for $36,200.44, but without any descriptions of services or materials provided, as required by law, the lawsuit said.

Again, it said neither Bruno nor Knight had requested any work from SLR, and neither was there record of any contract or communication between them and SLR or Ramberg.

As a result of defendants claim of invalid and unenforceable liens on the real property, plaintiffs have been forced to expend time and funds securing counsel to bring this action, the lawsuit said.

Because of Rambergs slander of title, the plaintiffs cant refinance the house, acquire a line of credit, or conduct other transactions related to the property, and theyll continue to be damaged until the illegal liens are removed, according to the complaint.

In a phone call with the Daily Montanan, Ramberg declined to address whether shed had any work history in construction or contracting and declined to make additional statements.

The lawsuit notes John Does 1-10 may be added to the case in the future, after the court determines whether others were involved in the case.
Photo: The Canadian Press Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission Executive Secretary William Rain, left, asks a question as commissioner Chad Partin presides during a meeting of board Thursday, May 18, 2023 in Nashville, Tenn. A Tennessee commission that enforces standards for police recommended Thursday that proceedings to bar an officer charged in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols from serving in state law enforcement be suspended until his legal case is resolved. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A Tennessee judge on Friday continued to temporarily block the release of more video footage and records in the investigation into Tyre Nichols' death, but said he does want to make public as much information as possible that would not interfere with the rights to a fair trial for five Memphis police officers facing charges.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge James Jones Jr. asked prosecutors to outline the information they think should and should not be be released to the public, and then give the list to defense attorneys. Jones set deadlines in June for prosecutors to hand over to defense lawyers the information from existing video footage and about 2,500 pages of documents that should be be released and for the defense to raise their objections.

Prosecutor Paul Hagerman and defense attorneys agreed that they have no objection to the release of most police personnel records that pre-dated Nichols beating. But they both also agreed that the release of so called Garrity statements, which stem from investigative interviews given by the officers to the Memphis Police Department administrators, should not be given to the media.

Garrity statements are not allowed to be used at trial against defendants.

The intent of this court is that everything that can be released be released, and released timely, Jones said.

Nichols, 29, died Jan. 10, three days after he was beaten by five Memphis police officers who have since been fired and charged with second-degree murder. They have pleaded not guilty.

Police video of the beating already released Jan. 27 showed five officers belonging to the Scorpion crime suppression unit punching, kicking and hitting Nichols with a baton as he yelled for his mother after a traffic stop.

Nichols' beating and death sparked outrage around the world and intensified calls for police reform.

The five officers who have been charged  Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Desmond Mills and Justin Smith  are Black. So was Nichols.

The city had planned to release on March 8 about 20 hours of additional video, audio and documents related to the arrest. Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Sink mentioned the video release during a City Council committee meeting on March 7.

But the release was put on hold the next day after Jones granted a motion to delay from defense attorneys. The judge ordered that any release of video, audio, reports and city of Memphis employees' personnel files related to the Nichols investigation must wait until such time as the state and the defendants have reviewed this information.

A coalition of media organizations, including The Associated Press, filed a motion to intervene to have the records released, calling the judge's decision a gag order. The coalition argued that the judge's order was unwarranted and went against the First Amendment's protections for newsgathering and publication, particularly in the context of criminal proceedings.

The coalition also asked for the release of records related to the prior employment of Haley as a corrections officer. Those records also have been blocked by the court in a verbal order questioned by the coalition.

Paul McAdoo, the lawyer for the media coalition, said the public has a right to receive information related to the personnel files of 13 police department employees and four fire department employees who had administrative hearings related to the Nichols case.

Defense attorneys objected to the release of any information that is part of the ongoing investigation against the officers. That includes audio from body cameras that may contain statements made by officers that could be used against them, defense attorney Bill Massey said.

Ive been waiting for the video from the initial stop, Massey said.

There is no indication from police or prosecutors that such video exists.

Lawyers for the officers argued that the judge's order does not amount to a gag order and the former officers' rights to a fair trial must be recognized and protected pending trial.

Blake Ballin, Mills' lawyer, wrote in his motion that the media coalition's request ignores the balancing act trial courts are tasked with when criminal prosecutions are subject to publicity.

The media's zealousness to report must be balanced with the assurance that the fates of the accused are not predetermined before a jury considers the proof," Ballin wrote.

After the beating, officers stood by and talked with one another as Nichols struggled with his injuries while he was on the ground, the video footage released in January showed. One officer also took photos of Nichols as he was propped up against an unmarked police car, video and other records showed.

Nichols was taken to a hospital in an ambulance that left the site of the beating 27 minutes after emergency medical technicians arrived, authorities said.

Police said Nichols had been suspected of reckless driving, but no verified evidence of a traffic violation has emerged in public documents or in video footage. Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn CJ Davis has said she has seen no evidence justifying the stop or the officers response. She disbanded the so-called Scorpion unit after Nichols death, but some of the officers from that team have been assigned to other units within the department.

Nichols died of blows to the head, and the manner of death was homicide, an autopsy report released May 4 showed. The report released by the medical examiner in Memphis described brain injuries, cuts and bruises to the head and other parts of the body.

In addition to the officers fired and charged with murder, one white officer who was involved in the initial traffic stop has been fired. That officer will not face charges for his role in Nichols death. Another officer, who has not been identified, also has been fired. An additional officer retired before he could be fired.

Three Memphis Fire Department emergency medical technicians were fired for failing to render aid to Nichols. Two Shelby County Sheriff's Office deputies who went to the location after the beating were suspended for five days for policy violations.

Also Friday, a Nashville-based commission that enforces standards for police approved a recommendation that proceedings to bar Bean from serving in state law enforcement be suspended until his legal case is resolved.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Now that the governor has signed a controversial bill essentially outlawing the TikTok social media app in Montana, Indigenous people in the state are wondering how such a law might affect sovereign tribal nations.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed into law on Wednesday a bill banning the Chinese-owned social media application. Specifically, Senate Bill 419 is designed to ban state residents from downloading the app within territorial jurisdiction of the state, which is expected to go into effect in 2024.

The Chinese Communist Party using TikTok to spy on Americans, violate their privacy, and collect their personal, private, and sensitive information is well-documented, Gov. Gianforte stated in a press release on Wednesday. Today, Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect Montanans private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party.

The TikTok ban is a controversial idea, with opponents calling it a violation of the First Amendment. In fact, a group of TikTok users filed a lawsuit against the governor just hours after he signed the bill, alleging the state lacks the authority to bar people from accessing information. But the idea has sparked some in Indian Country to ask whether tribal sovereignty extends to technology, specifically data.

Federally recognized tribes hold a high level of sovereignty as outlined in treaties with the U.S. government. Tribes invoke that sovereignty when they create and manage their governments, police forces or education systems. Whether that sovereignty includes data is yet to be tested.

It's not something that a lot of people have thought about, said Maranda Compton, a citizen of the Delaware Tribe of Indians and adjunct law professor at the University of Montana. What is Montana's digital jurisdiction? You go talk to state legislators, they're like, I don't know, they have no idea. So I think these are technologies that we're all getting kind of used to and understanding, and the problem in particular for tribes is that so often tribal jurisdiction is dictated in geographic terms.

Compton also has her own consulting company, Lepwe, which provides strategic advice to tribal nations seeking to assess and assert their data and digital tribal sovereignty.

Digital and data sovereignty are relatively new concepts that tribal nations are coming face-to-face with in order to protect and control their online information on their own terms  an authority that is integrated within tribal sovereignty.

Compton said tribes need to be part of the conversations when dealing with laws and policies that may overreach jurisdiction and the TikTok ban is a prime example of what happens when tribal sovereignty enters into a digital space.

I think when you look at bills like this, what has happened in the past in Indian Country is that if we as Native people, as Native lawyers, as tribal leaders and elected officials, if we leave our rights in the hands of state and federal actors to be defined by state and federal actors, they will be ignored, Compton said.

In 2018, the National Congress of American Indians passed a resolution that encourages tribes to exercise Indigenous data sovereignty and governance and supports the inclusion of tribes in the development of any broad principles of tribal data sovereignty. The resolution described Indigenous data sovereignty as the right of each tribe to govern the collection, ownership, and application of data, information, and knowledge about its peoples, land and resources.

Language in the Montana TikTok bill states that, Tiktok may not operate within the territorial jurisdiction of Montana, while defining territorial jurisdiction as anywhere within the state that is subject to criminal jurisdiction, but when dealing with tribal nations, things can get confusing.

TaNeel Filesteel, Aaniiih tribe of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, estimates she has been using the app since 2020 during the pandemic.

She said she uses the app for fun, originally starting with using it to document and make cute videos, of her son. Lately, she creates vlogging, or video blogging, style posts about her life.

If I have a cool event coming up in law school, or I want to share my experience as a mom or going to powwows, I'll document those in vlog form, Filesteel said.

One of the things she enjoys most about the app is the way it allows users to connect with other people. As a mom, she tends to gravitate towards content dealing with motherhood but also has been sharing her experience as a Native law student.

I didn't see many law school vloggers, especially that were Native and so that's kind of something I've been wanting to share a lot more of because there's not really a representation for that demographic, Filesteel, who just finished her second year of law school, said.

As a law student, she is interested in the data sovereignty angle as well but was too concentrated on finals to dig into it during her free time. Filesteel joked she had no time as the school year was winding down, and the last thing she wanted to do was look into more things to read.

So far, she hasnt seen any changes to the app or her account since the bill was passed and will wait to see what happens now that it has the governors signature.

All the users I know in Montana have still continued to post on TikTok, she said. "No one seems to be worried about it and no one's even talking about it, which I find interesting.

For now, only time will tell how tribal nations will handle the statewide ban.
Warwick Thornton has been doubling as cinematographer on his projects since back before his debut, Samson & Delilah, won the Camera dOr at Cannes in 2009. But the Indigenous Australian directors command of visual storytelling has possibly never been as striking as it is in the rural setting of his third narrative feature, The New Boy. Frequently, the rolling hills and wheat fields, the harvest scenes, shots of a fire tearing through crops or even a steam train chugging across the landscape seem a direct tip of the hat to the descriptive beauty of Nestor Almendros influential work on Days of Heaven.

If Thorntons screenplay at times smudges the focus in charting the uneasy intersection between Christian dogma and Indigenous spirituality, the core of personal experience, of learning to straddle those two worlds in the directors own childhood, gives the film sincerity and heart.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Its flaws, strangely enough, lie chiefly around the space given to Cate Blanchett (whos also a producer, along with her husband, Andrew Upton) to dial up the feverish intensity as a renegade nun, who has kept quiet to authorities about the death of the elderly monk in charge and taken over running of the remote orphanage in 1940s regional Australia.

Fresh off her mercurial performance in Tar, Blanchett as always is a compelling, full-tilt performer and many audiences will want nothing less from her. But the spiral of Sister Eileen as the action progresses and she starts hitting the red wine, fearing the title characters special magic and perhaps even questioning her faith, becomes almost a distraction from the more moving part of the story  the boys navigation of this unfamiliar world and its rules, attempting to find a place in it without surrendering his sense of himself.

Thorntons script is as much at fault in this as anything Blanchett is doing in the role. Theres a nagging sense that the unnamed boys struggle, along with the theme of religious colonization and the monolithic force of Christianity imposed on Indigenous cultures, would work just as well with a white authority figure whose sanity wasnt hanging in the balance.

The movie opens with an attention-grabbing demonstration of the disproportionate strength packed into the small body of the protagonist  played by 11-year-old discovery Aswan Reid with the inbuilt tenacity of a wild survivalist. As Nick Cave and Warren Ellis majestic score intensifies, the kid chokes a horseback police officer and takes off across a vast empty plain before being felled by a boomerang. The assumption that the weapon was wielded by an Aboriginal law enforcement recruit is an economical early nod by Thornton to the one-sided bargain of co-existence.

Transported in a potato sack like the catch from a hunt, the new boy, as he becomes known, is dumped at a Benedictine monastery that serves as a mission for orphaned Indigenous children. The gruff delivery officer informs Sister Eileen only that the boy has no name and is a bolter, meaning likely to run away. But the nun brushes off the mans contempt and goes about her business, allowing the new arrival to emerge from hiding and explore his new surroundings in his own time.

Rather than sleep on the dormitory bed hes assigned, the new boy sleeps under it on the floor, amusing himself by rubbing his fingers together to create a sparkling ball of light that he later uses as a healing tool.

Two Indigenous adults help Sister Eileen manage the orphanage  a nun whose maternal nature earned her the name Sister Mum (Deborah Mailman) cooks and keeps house while farmhand George (Wayne Blair) runs the agricultural endeavors with the boys help. With minimal oversight and comfortable conditions, George says hes on a good wicket and doesnt want that jeopardized by the undisciplined new boy, who represents an ancient culture he has largely left behind.

Sister Eileen is indulgent with the new boy, turning a blind eye when he declines to pull his weight with chores or learn table manners, or wanders out during church services. The other young residents, led by head boy Michael (Shane McKenzie-Brady), are more resentful of his special treatment, though he soon shows them not to mess with him by flooring a challenger twice his size with one punch. He speaks no English and remains mostly silent, though he learns the word Amen and uses it whether appropriate or not.

The arrival of a valuable religious relic, a life-sized carved wooden crucifix sent from Europe to prevent it being damaged in the war, fascinates the new boy even before its hung above the church altar. But the childs sudden fixation with the Christ figure yields confusion not only in him  he pierces his own hands with nails, stigmata-like, and brings snakes to the foot of the cross as an offering  but also to the increasingly overwrought Sister Eileen. Eventually, she turns to baptism as the path to salvation for the lost boy.

The ambiguous ending might leave some unsatisfied, but the story of the new boys spiritual power and the use of Christianity as a force to contain it is one of pathos and resilience. A remarkably promising young untrained actor, Reid shades his characterization with deep-rooted defiance as well as innocence, with wonder and instinctive distrust whenever his freedom is threatened. There are lovely moments in which The New Boy adopts a style akin to the simplicity and enchantment of childrens stories, qualities that seem to spring directly from its protagonist.

Watching Reid break into an ecstatic dance as the new boy takes in the magic of a radio for the first time is a testament to the unbridled liberty he enjoys as an outsider, if not for long. That image is sorrowfully offset by a lovely shot of Sister Mum in her room, swaying to the music and weeping quietly while clutching a framed photograph of herself with her two daughters to her chest. Its a given that those children were taken out of her care by the authorities, part of Australias Stolen Children generation.

Blanchett brings welcome moments of levity as Sister Eileen becomes giddy with excitement about the crucifix, or when she ropes in Sister Mum to help act out an altercation behind closed doors with the deceased monk supposedly still in charge and now too addled with dementia to sign for the delivery. Theres an interesting duality about the character, solemnly intoning the Word of God one moment and then forging letters containing falsehoods to the governments Aboriginal Protector the next. The problem is that theres more than is necessary of Sister Eileens growing hysteria, which upsets the storys balance.

That said, this is an original, ultimately affecting meditation on the battle to save souls, not as an act of holiness but one of oppressive control. Even when its storytelling occasionally falters, the visual power of Thorntons gorgeous compositions  in the monasterys chiaroscuro interiors as well as the sprawling landscapes in the northern part of South Australia, near the former mining town, Burra  remains transfixing.

Best of The Hollywood Reporter

Click here to read the full article.
Hope for Health Counseling and Clinic is now open at Marion First Church of the Nazarene. The clinic provides services for people struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues. United Way of North Central Ohio has provided a $5,000 grant for the clinic. Pictured from left to right are Vaughn Sizemore, member of Hope for Health's board of directors; Warren Hastings, facilitator, Cornerstone of Hope Grief Support; Denise Thiel, acting director of operations; Rev. Steve Estep, senior pastor at Marion Naz and member of the clinic's board of directors; Amber Wertman, executive director of United Way; Dave and Cindy Gossard, facilitators for the PAL (Parents of Addicted Loved Ones) Support Group; and Vanessa Jones, administrative assistant.

A sign on the wall at Marion First Church of the Nazarene (Marion Naz) says the downtown congregation is "a church in the heart of the city with a heart for the city."

Spend a couple of minutes with Senior Pastor the Rev. Steve Estep and you quickly realize that's much more than just a catchphrase or marketing tool. His deep, intensely personal desire to serve the community through a broad range of ministries has resulted in the church's latest venture called Hope for Health Counseling and Clinic.

Still in its fledgling stages, the clinic on the downtown campus of Marion Naz, located at 233 W. Church St., offers counseling services for individuals suffering from mental health and substance abuse issues.

"The mission of Hope for Health is to provide holistic health services  mental health, counseling, health care, and social services  in a Christ-centered environment to the underserved population of Marion and surrounding communities," Estep said. "In a lot of ways it will complement the great things that are already happening. We have some great Christian counselors in Marion, but there's more need than there are resources. We're not trying to replace anybody, it's not a competition, we just see this as another layer of assistance to an underserved population.

"One of the things that makes it unique is that it is unapologetically Christ-centered. Our folks that come in (for counseling), unless they just say, 'No, we don't want that,' everybody will be prayed for."

For the past seven years, Marion Naz has been offering Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered 12-step program that meets each Thursday on the church campus. That ministry serves more than 200 people weekly.

Estep said prayers and planning for Hope for Health started in August of 2021, when he "shared the vision for a Christ-centered mental health/counseling clinic with the congregation of Marion Naz," which in turn spurred further discussions and then significant action on the topic.

"Dr. Roxanne Oliver was in attendance that day and immediately offered her assistance to help develop and implement the plan for Hope for Health," Estep said. "We subsequently began to recruit a board of directors and research what would be needed for this vision to become a reality. In January 2022, we had our first board of directors meeting, began the process of securing 501c3 status, and recruiting potential providers. Immediately after our inaugural meeting, board member Vaughn Sizemore connected us with Columbus attorney Rick Bruner. He offered to help us pro bono and by April of 2022 we were officially a 501c3 organization."

Local consultant Theresa Lubke, former executive director of the Marion Family YMCA, has been assisting the board of directors in the development of short- and long-range goals and submitted a grant application to the Hillman Foundation on behalf of Hope for Health. She is also helping the board of directors research other grant opportunities, Estep said.

Denise Thiel, left, is the acting director of operations at Hope for Health Counseling and Clinic, and Vanessa Jones is the administrative assistant. They run the daily operations at the clinic located on the campus of Marion First Church of the Nazarene, 233 W. Church St. in downtown Marion. For information, go to the clinic website hopeforhealthmarion.org.

Thus far, the congregation of Marion Naz has donated $10,000 to get the project started. The Marion Community Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to the counseling center. Most recently, United Way of North Central Ohio awarded a $5,000 grant to Hope for Health. United Way Executive Director Amber Wertman presented the check to Estep last Wednesday during a brief ceremony at the church.

"There's just an awful lot of need (for counseling services in Marion County) and not enough resources," Wertman said. "(Hope for Health) putting your time, efforts, and talents into this means a lot for the community. (United Way) wants to help in any way we can. (The $5,000 grant) is an initial investment, but I'm sure as the need grows and people discover that it's a great resource, I think it'll be prosperous and helpful to the community."

Estep said the financial donations have allowed Hope for Health to set up offices, buy equipment, purchase a security system, hire a part-time biller/credentialing specialist, and subscribe to an EMR (electronic medical records) provider.

"There is great synergy being created by these friends in our community who are happy that Hope for Health is joining the effort to address the mental health needs that are so prevalent in Marion," Estep said. "We have been encouraged by other local counselors, including the Dan Ward Counseling Group, who are doing great work for the people of Marion, but know first-hand the gap between the need for Christ-centered mental health services, and the resources available to meet that need. We are excited about helping meet these needs in our community and seeing individuals, couples, and families find hope and help in the name of Jesus."

Denise Thiel and Vanessa Jones run the day-to-day operations of the clinic. Thiel serves as acting director of operations and Jones is the administrative assistant.

Counseling team members include Brandi Spaulding, Ph.D., LICDC, who specializes in individual, couple, and family therapy, and addiction counseling; Murphy Stansberry, a certified substance abuse counselor; Kim Turner, LISW-S, Cornerstone of Hope Grief Support, a certified EMDR therapist, with years of experience providing care and crisis intervention to diverse populations; Warren Hastings, facilitator, Cornerstone of Hope Grief Support; and Dave and Cindy Gossard, facilitators for the PAL (Parents of Addicted Loved Ones) Support Group.

Hope for Health is currently open each Wednesday from 1 to 8 p.m. Spaulding is available to provide counseling sessions each week. Stamsberry is currently available to provide substance abuse counseling one Wednesday each month. The Gossards are facilitating the PAL Support Group and Turner is facilitating the grief support group.

Estep said the board of directors hopes to capitalize on the current momentum of Hope for Health with the goal of building a larger base of providers and partners for the clinic.

"We are striving to create a well rounded learning environment for future providers," Estep said. "We are currently looking into partnerships with local colleges and technical schools to see how students can be integrated within the clinic."

For information about Hope for Health Counseling and Clinic, call 567-213-5090, or email info@hopeforhealthmarion.org. Information is also available on the website hopeforhealthmarion.org and the Hope for Health Counseling and Clinic Facebook page.

Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Hope for Health: Counseling center opening at Marion Nazarene church
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

HICKORY  Redhawk Publications proudly presents its latest publication by author Sherrie Hartsoe Sigmon, called Weaving the Heart Threads of a Mill Village: Rhodhiss, North Carolina. This book is the first of its kind to provide a detailed history of the small mill town of Rhodhiss.

Sigmon is a retired Iredell County teacher and a Burke County resident who grew up in Rhodhiss. She spent 35 years researching, which includes personal interviews with over 100 individuals, more than 200 sources, and over 600 photos. She used the COVID isolation time transcribing her audiotape interviews from 1988.

The book chronicles the history of Rhodhiss and its people, providing a unique insight into the early days of the town.

This book was a labor of love since it involves my hometown, and so many citizens shared their love for the village, Sigmon said.

Her work was commended by Rhodhiss Town manager Rick Justice.

Since the early 2000s I was aware that Sherrie was the unofficial repository of much of the historic content on the Town of Rhodhiss, Justice said. She and I have tossed around the idea of her writing a history book on Rhodhiss. So, Sherrie has been rewriting and refining this book since 2010. The fact that she has an abundance of personal interviews and huge collection of photos is very impressive. As town manager, Ive seen how Rhodhiss residents have felt like the stepchildren of the region and are often the butts of light-hearted jokes. This book should go a long way towards giving folks from Rhodhiss a sense of place, and more importantly, pride.

Weaving the Heart Threads of a Mill Village: Rhodhiss, North Carolina is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of small-town America, particularly those who grew up in a mill town. It provides a glimpse into the lives of the mill workers who made Rhodhiss the special place that it is.

Many people do not realize the part that Rhodhiss played in the production of woven materials for the U.S. government, Justice continued. The book details NASAs special recognition of our town.

To order your copy of Weaving the Heart Threads of a Mill Village: Rhodhiss, North Carolina, visit https://tinyurl.com/TownOfRhodhiss

Redhawk Publications is an artistic initiative of the Catawba Valley Community College, publishing written works of interest for the local community, North Carolina, and the entire United States. Established in 2017, Redhawk Publications offers over 110 titles to date and is one of only three community colleges nationwide with a publishing press. For additional information on Redhawk Publications, visit our website at https://redhawkpublications.com, or contact Patty Thompson at pthompson994@cvcc.edu.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Editors note: Calendar items must be submitted at least five days before an event. Email all items to news@morganton.com. TODAY

Free Bingo

Free bingo will be held at the Lake James Community Center, which is one mile away from the Lake James fire station on N.C. 126, from 6-9 p.m. A variety of foods, including fish, hot dogs and fries, will be available for purchase. Door prize drawings also will be held. Face masks are required. The public is invited.

Ribbon cutting

A ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening of Morganton Esthetics & Spa, 137 West Parker Road Suite B, Morganton, will be held Friday, May 19 from 2-6 p.m., with the ribbon cutting taking place at 3 p.m.

SATURDAY

Burke County Parkinsons Support Group meeting

The Burke County Parkinsons Support Group will meet at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 20, at the Valdese branch of the Burke County Public Library. Lala Kozischek, corporate wellness director for YMCA of Catawba Valley, will share available fitness opportunities for members with Parkinsons at the Phifer Family YMCA in Morganton. Anyone with Parkinsons and their caregivers, friends and family are invited to attend. For information, call 828-879-1093 or 828-413-0479.

Wilson Creek Cleanup

The Wilson Creek Faithful will be organizing a cleanup on Wilson Creek on Saturday, May 20, from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Trash bags and beverages will be provided. For more information, call David Benner at 828-433-7932 or Leonard Baker at 252-289-0211.

Cow patty bingo

The bands of Draughn and East Burke high schools will host a cow patty bingo event at 10 a.m. at Draughn High School. The prize is up to $5,000 with donations of $20 per section or $100 per square. The event also will include concessions, face painting, music, raffle prizes and the Chick-fil-A Cow. Call 828-334-1756 for more information.

The Art of Chocolate

The Art of Chocolate, an annual fundraiser for Options, will be held at 7 p.m. at the Morganton Community House, 120 N. King St., Morganton. Tickets, which are $75 each, must be purchased in advance. The event will include an art auction and live music. Call Options at 828-438-9444 for more information.

Support group

The Survivors of Loss to Suicide Hickory NC Support Group will meet from 9-10 a.m. at St Stephens Library 3225 Springs Road NE, Hickory. The group offers support for the families and friends who have lost a loved one to suicide. Each session will focus on a different topic on the complicated grief that comes from losing someone to suicide. The group is open to teens and adults. For more information, contact Leisa Bentley at leisabentley@charter.net or call 828-234-5822.

Community day

Coldwell Banker Newton Real Estate Inc. will host its sixth annual community appreciation day at Catawba Meadows Park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with free food and bounce houses.

MONDAY, MAY 22

Business marketing class

The Morganton Downtown Development Association, in collaboration with the Small Business Center at Western Piedmont Community College, will offer a business marketing training session on Finding Your Customers and Creating a Marketing Plan from 4-6 p.m. at the Morganton Community House at 120 N. King St. in Morganton. A second session will take place from 8-10 a.m. Tuesday, May 23, at the Community House called Dynamite Marketing for Small Businesses. The sessions are free to attend, but those interested must register in advance. To register for the first session, visit https://bit.ly/3ZTIPml. To register for the second session, visit https://bit.ly/3Fw3Hbb.

Remembering Our Parents event

Carolina Caring will hold a Remembering our Parents event from 6-7:30 p.m. at the organizations Newton campus, located at 3975 Robinson Road in Newton, to honor the memory of our parents. Participants are asked to bring a picture that can be used in an activity. Registration is required. To register, visit CarolinaCaring.org/support, contact wspurling@carolinacaring.org or call 828-466-0466, ext. 3201.

THURSDAY, MAY 25

Disabled American Veterans meeting

Chapter 43 of the Disabled American Veterans, 2779 DAV Ave., Morganton, will gather at 5 p.m. for the social hour, 6 p.m. for dinner and 7 p.m. for its meeting. Officer installation and pins will be provided to anyone who missed last months meeting. Anyone with questions should call Dave at 828-437-0177.

MONDAY, MAY 29

Memorial Day service

The American Legion Post 234 Valdese Veterans will be hosting a Memorial Day Service at 9 a.m. The service will happen upstairs in the ballroom area. There will be a brief introduction followed by a video presentation and then a flag ceremony outside. Breakfast will be provided for free by the auxiliary including biscuits, fruit, juice and coffee from local sponsors.

TUESDAY, MAY 30JUNE 1

Bus driver class

Burke County Public Schools will host a bus driver class from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 30, Wednesday, May 31, and June 1 at Central Office at 700 E. Parker Road. Call the transportation department at 828-437-4770 for more information.

THURSDAY, JUNE 1

Ladies Bible study

Gateway Bible Church, 222 Believers Way, Morganton, is hosting a free ladies Bible study from 9-11 a.m. It will be taught by Marlene Houk, a local speaker and author, and the group will be studying her book, Hidden in a List: Secrets from Bible women. Books are available at Gateway or on Amazon. Email gatewaybiblemorganton@gmail.com with any questions.

FRIDAY, JUNE 2

2023 Legislative Breakfast

The Burke County Chamber of Commerce will host the 2023 Legislative Breakfast from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at the Morganton Community House, 120 N. King St., Morganton. Visit www.burkecountychamber.org for more information.

MONDAY, JUNE 5

American Legion meeting

American Legion Post 21, Post 322 and Post 506 as well as the new members of the Sons of the American Legion will meet Monday, June 5, at 5:30 p.m. at the Mountainview Recreation Center located at 645 1st St., Morganton. We are looking for new members to join as well as young men for the Sons of the American Legion. Contact stosh@burkecountypost21.com for further information.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7

AARP meeting

AARP Chapter 3262 will host retired FBI Special Agent Andy Nazworth, who will be speaking on the topic, Dont Be a Victim: 20 Ways to Protect Yourself. The group will meet in the lower level of the Collett Street Recreation Center with refreshments at 9:30 a.m. and the program starting at 10 a.m. New members are welcome. Annual dues are $5.

THURSDAY, JUNE 8

Business 4 Breakfast

Burke County Chamber of Commerce will host Business 4 Breakfast- Protecting Your Business from Financial Fraud from 7:30-9 a.m. at First Citizens Bank downstairs conference room, 217 N. Sterling St., Morganton. Visit www.burkecountychamber.org for more information

FRIDAY, JUNE 9

Fundraiser

The Burke County Literacy Council will host a fundraiser  Literacy on Tap  at Hillman Beer, 301 S. Sterling St., Morganton. Live music will be performed by Justin Clyde Williams from 5-7 p.m. Come join us, celebrate summer, and the last day of school while supporting the summer programs at the Burke Literacy Council. Hillman will donate a portion of sales to the Literacy Council.

SATURDAY, JUNE 17

Summer Pop-Up Shop

The Burke County Chamber of Commerce, 110 E. Meeting St., will host its Summer Pop-Up Shop from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit www.burkecountychamber.org for more information.

MONDAY, JUNE 19

Fire department meeting

The Lake James Fire and Rescue Department will hold its annual meeting at 6 p.m. at the fire department. Prior to the meeting, elections for vacancies on the board of directors will be held from 4-6 p.m. The results of the election as well as a financial report and any necessary business will be discussed during the meeting. Anyone living in the Lake James Fire District and interested in serving on the board of directors should notify the president of the board no later than June 1. Two board vacancies will be filled at this election. All residents 18 years or older residing in the Lake James Fire District are encouraged to vote in the election of board members between 4-6 p.m. and attend the annual meeting at 6 p.m. Board President Jim Powers can be reached by email at jimpowers5137@gmail.com.

ABC Board meeting

The Valdese ABC Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Valdese ABC Store at 1018 W. Main St. in Valdese.

THURSDAY, JUNE 22

Board of directors meeting

Burke County Smart Starts board of directors meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Partnership offices located at 304 W. Union St. Board meetings are open to the public and are held in handicapped accessible facilities. COVID, flu and other health restrictions will be observed for in-person attendance. For anyone with a hearing impairment who may require the assistance of an interpreter or have other special needs, please call the Partnership at 828-439-2326 or us the NC Relay System at 1-800-735-8262.

MONDAY, JULY 17

ABC Board meeting

The Valdese ABC Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Valdese ABC Store at 1018 W. Main St. in Valdese.

MONDAY, AUG. 21

ABC Board meeting

The Valdese ABC Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Valdese ABC Store at 1018 W. Main St. in Valdese.

MONDAY, SEPT. 18

ABC Board meeting

The Valdese ABC Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Valdese ABC Store at 1018 W. Main St. in Valdese.

TUESDAY, OCT. 10

ABC Board meeting

The Valdese ABC Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Valdese ABC Store at 1018 W. Main St. in Valdese.

TUESDAY, NOV. 21

ABC Board meeting

The Valdese ABC Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Valdese ABC Store at 1018 W. Main St. in Valdese.

MONDAY, DEC. 18

ABC Board meeting

The Valdese ABC Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Valdese ABC Store at 1018 W. Main St. in Valdese.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A man who was wanted for a parole violation in McDowell County was taken into custody in Burke County this week.

Scottie Alan Keith Frady, 26, of Marion, was served with an outstanding parole violation and also charged with trafficking methamphetamine, possession with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to a release from the Burke County Sheriffs Office.

Narcotics investigators, the U.S. Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force and North Carolina probation and parole officers all converged Wednesday to serve a warrant on Frady at 3056 N.C. 18/U.S. 64, the release said.

Frady was taken into custody without incident and investigators with the sheriffs office were granted a search warrant for the residence, where they found about 4.7 pounds of methamphetamine, two handguns, two items of body armor and cash, the release said.

Further investigation led to the seizure of two more guns in Rutherford County, where an AR-style pistol and an M11 sub-machine gun were seized, the release said. The McDowell County Sheriffs Office and Rutherford County Sheriffs Office assisted and those guns were turned over to BCSO.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also was contacted for assistance because one of the guns could be fully automatic, the release said.

Frady has previous felony convictions of possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, and was on parole for convictions of attempted possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, according to records from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

He also has previous misdemeanor convictions of resisting an officer, possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance, assault on a female, failure to appear, wanton injury to personal property and possession of a schedule VI controlled substance, NCDPS records showed.

Frady was due to appear in court on the new charges Friday, judicial records showed. He was still listed in jail under a $75,000 secured bond Friday afternoon.
Picture yourself living in this 3 bedroom waterfront condo, with sweeping lake views from every main room and located in the town recently voted the most beautiful and affordable place to live in the US. Designed to be a waterfront retreat, no details were spared from the copper detailing in the kitchen to the private balconies located off the primary bedroom and secondary bedroom where you can open the French doors and take in the fresh air. The kitchen blends seamlessly into the dining room and great room for entertaining or everyday living. The primary bedroom offers a spacious walk-in closet, while the primary ensuite provides a tranquil respite. The lower level of this home is constructed as an open air, screened porch/basement for easy entertaining and opens to the private boardwalk and deeded boat slip. Centrally located only one hour to Charlotte and one hour and 15 minutes to both Winston-Salem and Asheville you can not beat the location.

View More
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A tax revaluation will allow county commissioners to lower the tax rate and still give the school system and community college more funding, add EMS employees, pay employees more and build some essential facilities in the upcoming year.

In a little more than an hour and a half, Burke County Manager Brian Epley presented his first proposed budget to the Burke County Board of Commissioners during its May regular meeting on Tuesday.

The proposed 2023-24 fiscal budget is a total of $99,843,632, which is an increase of $8.5 million (9%) from the prior fiscal year. That total is based on a 56 cents property tax rate, Epley said.

That is the rate the majority of commissioners said they were leaning toward during their two-day budget retreat in February. However, Epleys proposed budget includes three potential tax rates for commissioners. Those rates are a 52 cents revenue neutral rate, which Epley said doesnt address lagging organizational needs or the boards priorities; a 54 cents rate that he said recognizes improvement but leaves gaps; and the 56 cents rate that he said achieves organizational performance and sustainment while advancing the boards public policy goals.

Burke County currently has a fund balance (savings) of 33.36%. Epley said the fund balance, in dollars, is $29.9 million as of June 30, 2022, which was the end of the fiscal year 2021-22. He said the fund balance will increase at the end of the current fiscal year, but there is no detailed projection on the increase yet.

Burke water users would see their water rate go up from $6 to $6.50 per 1,000 gallons, with the basic monthly service fee of $25. And the household solid waste fee would go from $82 to $88, according to the proposed budget.

Two fire departments in the county area requesting a fire tax rate decrease, while one is requesting an increase.

Salem Fire Rescue is requesting its tax rate decrease, going from 10 cents to 7 cents per $100 of property value. And Oak Hill Fire & Rescue is requesting a tax rate decrease, going from 9 cents to 8 cents per $100 of property value.

Triple Community Fire is requesting a tax rate increase, going from 7 cents to 10 cents per $100 or property value.

As for public schools funding, the proposed budget includes a $2.2 million (9%) increase for a total of $18.5 million local budget for Burke County Public Schools, with commissioners requesting that certified staff supplements and teacher/student ratios be evaluated and addressed. Western Piedmont Community College will experience a 7.4% operational funding increase  along with $450,000 in capital funding, Epley said.

The proposed budget includes capital projects that are expected to start in the 2023-24 fiscal year, and their estimated costs are:

Animal Services Building$5 million, pay-as-you-go (land has been purchased).

EMS Base #1 (behind UNC Health Blue Ridge$8 million, with $5 million of that coming from state appropriations, pay-as-you-go (land has been purchased).

Regional Rehab Facility (in the former Burke-Catawba District Confinement Facility)$15 million from state appropriations, pay-as-you-go.

HRC Building (houses Health Department and Social Services)$25 million, debt.

East Burke convenience site$1,429,166, pay-as-you-go (property has been purchased).

Courthouse Renovations$2 million, with $1 million of that being grant money and the rest pay-as-you-go.

Indian Hills Pump Station$2,418,000, with $1,118,000 of that being grant money and the rest pay-as-you-go.

Fonta Flora Trail System  $2.2 million, pay-as-you-go.

Jonas Ridge convenience site (county broke ground on the project this year)  $2.3 million, pay-as-you-go.

In addition, in an effort to be an employer of choice, the proposed budget includes several changes to try to attract and retain employees and lower its turnover rate.

The turnover rate in 2022 was 33%, which has increased over the last three years since 2019, according to data in the proposed budget. In 2019, the turnover rate was below 20%, it shows.

Epley said to compete for and retain a high-talent workforce, the countys wages have to be competitive.

The proposed budget calls for a 5% cost-of-living increase and would raise the county contribution to employee 401K from 2% to 5%. Those increases would total an additional $2.2 million, it says.

It also calls for a 1.5% performance pay one-time cash bonus for all employees that would be paid in March 2024.

The proposed budget also calls for 11 new positions that would be a total annual funding of $700,000. Those positions include five new positions for EMS at an additional $250,000 a year, two new positions for animal services at an additional $80,000 a year, two new positions for budget, strategy and performance at an additional $205,000 a year, one new position for human services at an additional $85,000 a year and one new position for public health at an additional $80,000 a year, according to county information.

To view the 2023-24 proposed budget, visit https://bit.ly/3MkkL6E.

The board will hold a public hearing on the proposed budget at 6 p.m. on June 20.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed legislation designed to curb reckless and dangerous bounty-hunting tactics in Montana that was drafted after a series of violent apprehensions, including one in Butte that led to homicide charges.

Republican Troy Downing, the states auditor and commissioner of Securities and Insurance, proposed House Bill 62, and it was sponsored by Republican Rep. Bill Mercer of Billings and Democrat Sen. Ryan Lynch of Butte.

Both chambers passed the bill by big margins with bipartisan support, and the Republican governor signed it Thursday.

The new law requires all bail recovery agents to be trained and licensed and, in most circumstances, notify police of planned apprehensions. They have to be 21 or older, cannot be convicted felons and must be instructed on procedures for detaining people, their civil rights, the use of force and civil liability, among other things.

"Bounty hunter abuses are putting the public at risk, Downing said Friday. Our agencys bill puts up sideboards to protect Montanans.

Armed bounty hunters have broad arrest powers. Our bill ensures bounty hunters are not felons, receive training and alert law enforcement before arresting a fugitive. These are all common-sense requirements.

Lynch has called it common-sense legislation to ensure that the public is protected and the recovery agent is licensed and insured.

Gianforte said the bill would help ensure the bail bond industry operates in a manner that ensures public safety.

But he vetoed a separate bill backed by many bondsmen in Montana that would have required bail agents to charge and collect at least 10 percent of cash bonds upfront. They say House Bill 808 would have eliminated payment plans and caused defendant debts that can lead to confrontations.

Downing opposed that measure and so did Giaforte, saying in his veto message that it would inhibit competition in the bail industry by fixing a minimum bail bond premium. The governor cited a letter from Downing, saying government should not impede the free market.

John Looney, president of the Montana Bail Agents Association, said Downing used one regrettable incident in Butte involving a mishandled recovery to justify sweeping industry changes.

He also said Downings opposition to House Bill 808 led to its veto and disregarded concerns about excessive bail premiums and exploitative payment plans that give an unjust edge to large, out-of-state bail corporations.

By neglecting the mitigation of predatory practices and the preservation of public trust, the Commissioners actions have stifled the growth and stability of small, locally owned bail bond agencies integral to Montanas economy and community, Looney said in statements he sent to The Montana Standard.

Looney said House Bill 808 would have regulated bail premiums and prevented predatory practices.

It guarantees financial transparency, risk balancing and contributes to a fairer and more accessible bail system, Looney said.

Downing said he worked with the industry, law enforcement and other stakeholders in crafting the legislation, and several amendments were made to the bill to address concerns while still ensuring public safety.

Downing and Mercer have cited several reckless bounty hunts in recent years that put innocent people in danger, but say the incident in Butte was the tipping point that led to their legislation.

Prosecutors say on Dec. 19, 2021, bondsman Jay Hubber and another man, Nicholas Jaeger, barged into William Harris house in Butte looking for a bail jumper. Several other people were in the house, too.

Hubber tased the bail jumper and as they wrestled, Jaeger grabbed Hubbers pistol and fatally shot Harris, prosecutors say. They charged Hubber and Jaeger  a convicted felon  with deliberate homicide and aggravated burglary.

Both men have pleaded not guilty and this week, District Judge Robert Whelan consolidated the cases so Jaeger and Hubber will be tried together. He set the trial for Oct. 2.

The new law also clarifies when bondsmen can revoke bail and initiate an arrest. Under previous law, they could arrest a defendant if they felt insecure in accepting liability for the defendant.

Downing says bad actors have used that broad arrest authority to coerce defendants into performing tasks, such as helping recover fugitives, or face incarceration. In other cases, he said, bondsmen revoked bail only to post the defendants bond again and charge additional fees.

To make an arrest under the new law, the agent must have probable cause to believe the defendant will fail to appear in court or has violated conditions of their release.

Allowing a defendant who is out on bond to be re-arrested because the bondsman felt insecure is the catalyst to many cases of abuse we saw across our state, Downing said. "With the exception of exigent circumstances, the standard is now probable cause to arrest a defendant and that arrest must be reported to our agency.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Dear Majority Leader Sue Vinton:

Many people (Jewish, Christian and those of other or no faith) got in touch with the Montana Jewish Project (MJP) last week to express their dismay and anger that Rep. and Rabbi Ed Stafman was not allowed to lead the invocation prayer on the last day of the session, despite having been scheduled to do so on several occasions. Each time he was deferred, a Christian legislator was given this honor instead.

MJP has been troubled by a sharp increase in antisemitic incidents and attacks across Montana in recent years. Last year had the most such incidents since the data began being collected in the 1970s. When individual members of Jewish communities around the state receive personal threats, when neo-Nazi groups run vicious leafleting campaigns in every Montana city, when Jewish students are bullied and swastikas are painted in their schools  silence to what happened with Rep. and Rabbi Ed Stafman gives tacit approval (at the very least) to excluding Jewish voices and traditions from the Legislature.

I wrote to Speaker Matt Regier on May 3 asking for an explanation of what happened. In this letter, I did not to accuse him of antisemitism, but I asked him to help us, and our Jewish and non-Jewish supporters, understand what happened.

I noted in this letter that even unintentional acts of exclusion can signal exactly that  exclusion and unwelcomeness, which is particularly dangerous in this time of rising anti-Jewish bigotry. Yet Speaker Regier has not responded to that request, nor to the invitation MJP extended to give him a personal tour of Helenas historic Temple Emanu-El to meet with us, learn more about our work, and understand the realities of being in Jewish in our state in 2023. His silence is unacceptable.

MJP is a Montana-based nonprofit that reacquired Montanas oldest synagogue Temple Emanu-El  here in Helena in August 2022. We use this 1891 landmark building as a space for Jewish worship and community. But we also serve as a statewide center for questions and concerns from Jewish and non-Jewish Montanans.

We have great respect  and much gratitude  for our Christian friends and neighbors. Without the support of nearly 2,000 individual small donors and Montana-based businesses, as well as partnerships with Roman Catholic Bishop Austin Anthony Vetter, ELCA Bishop Laurie Jungling and member churches around the state, Episcopal Bishop Martha Elizabeth Stebbins, and many other Montana Christian churches and their members, we would not have succeeded in buying the historic Temple Emanu-El last summer.

We know firsthand that interfaith dialogue can cross political boundaries. Just last month, we welcomed 15 of your colleagues to an open reception at Temple Emanu-El. In our conversations that evening, we strongly felt a mutual sense of welcoming and accepting one anothers faith traditions. We share a common goal: to work for this state we all love.

Receiving no response to our letter to Speaker Regier exacerbates our communitys feeling of exclusion and our concerns about the scale of antisemitism in the Treasure State. We are therefore reiterating our request to the speaker and broadening our request to other legislative leaders like you to use your position to publicly condemn antisemitism and the exclusion of Jewish voices in Montana in the strongest terms possible.

We await your reply.

Thank you.
Photo: CBSA On Thursday (May 18) CBSA officials announced the findings of a major drug bust.

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has announced a major drug seizure in a joint operation with New Zealand Police and New Zealand Customs Service.

In a news release on Thursday, the CBSA announced the seizure of 140 kg of methamphetamine at the Tsawwassen Container Examination Facility.

The shipment was identified based on intelligence provided by the New Zealand Police and New Zealand Customs Service.

According to the news release, on March 30, CBSA officers conducted an examination of a container that was bound for export and believed to be destined for New Zealand. With the assistance of the Metro Vancouver District Detector Dog Service, officers discovered a white, crystal-like substance in the machine, which was tested and returned positive for methamphetamine.

Multiple CBSA units, including teams in the Metro Vancouver District, Metro Vancouver District Marine Commercial Operations and Pacific Region Intelligence Section, collaborated with New Zealand Police and New Zealand Customs Service on this successful interception.

The investigation has now been turned over to the RCMP.

No charges have been announced as of yet.

I am proud of the dedication and hard work demonstrated by our officers in partnership with the New Zealand Police and New Zealand Customs Service, said Nina Patel, CBSA regional director general for the Pacific Region. This seizure is an excellent example of how the CBSA collaborates with international law enforcement agencies to disrupt criminal activity at our borders.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

House Republicans recently released their latest report on the Biden familys business ties, and one conclusion is that its good to be related to Joseph Robinette Biden. Hunter Biden and his relatives traded profitably off the Biden name with transactions that suggest influence peddling.

House Oversight Chair James Comers staff report shows in detail that Hunter had extensive dealings with unsavory foreign actors. This yielded millions of dollars for Biden family members via a web of shell companies that would be hard to untangle without subpoena power. Why so much complexity?

The 36-page report shows Biden family members and business associates created nearly 20 separate entities shortly before and during Joe Bidens vice presidency. The entities with obscure names  Hudson West III, Hudson West V, Owascu, JBB SR INC  transferred cash from foreign entities. Bank records show that more than $10 million was delivered to Biden family members, associates and companies from these foreign entities, and in curious ways.

In some cases Biden associates would receive significant deposits from foreign sources, then transfer smaller, incremental payments to Biden bank accounts, the report says. These complicated and seemingly unnecessary transactions appeared to be an effort to conceal the source and total amount received from the foreign companies.

Some payments came from such shady characters as Chinese national Ye Jianming, his associates, and his company CEFC. Ye had a background in Chinese military intelligence and used CEFC to promote President Xi Jinpings agenda globally. ... One of Yes deputies, Patrick Ho, was convicted in the U.S. in 2018 on international bribery and money laundering.

Yes emissary to the U.S., Gongwen Dong, in 2017 established a corporate entity with Hunter  each with 50% ownership. Over 14 months the entity dispersed more than $4 million to Hunter-related companies and an additional $75,000 to companies related to the presidents brother, James Biden. Dong used a separate set of complex corporate entities and transfers to send Hunter an additional $100,000 payment.

In 2017 another Ye-related company  State Energy HK  paid some $3 million to Hunters business associates. At least $1 million was then funneled in 16 separate payments over three months to five different bank accounts, all related to the Biden name. They included companies associated with Hunter and James Biden, an unknown bank account identified simply as Biden and a payment to Hallie Biden  the widow of Hunters deceased brother Beau and later Hunters girlfriend.

The report lays out a similarly complex web of payments to Hunter and associates from an entity that appears to be connected to a Romanian businessman who has been convicted of bribery. In total, Comer says the committee has identified at least nine Biden family members who received foreign income, including Hunter, James, Jamess wife Sara, Hallie, Hunters ex-wife (Kathleen Buhle), Hunters current wife (Melissa Cohen), and three children or grandchildren of Joe or James.

The Bidens have a right to make a living, but one important question is what Hunter did to earn these payments. Hunters spokespersons arent saying, and his attorney scorned the Comer report as repackaged misstatements of perfectly proper meetings and business by private citizens. But a fair conclusion is that these foreigners were buying influence with a powerful family.

Emails and text messages made public in 2020 by former Hunter business partner Tony Bobulinski  related to a separate attempted deal with CEFC  quote Hunter demanding more because CEFC is coming to be MY partner to be partners with the Bidens, and noting that Im the only one putting an entire family legacy on the line. In another email reported by the New York Post, Hunter boasted that Ye would pay him millions for introductions alone.

The press is mostly dismissing the report because it reveals no evidence that President Biden received any money. ... But the committee has already exposed that Joe Biden dissembled in 2020 when he claimed that my son has not made money in terms of this thing about  what are you talking about  China. I have not had it. The only guy that made money from China is this guy, referring to Donald Trump. Comer isnt done, and we shall see where the money trail leads.

The report shows the Biden family profiting from Joe Bidens political power. Payments from Chinese nationals are also a familiar way that the Communist Party has tried to compromise Americas political class. There may not be a smoking gun, but theres plenty of suspicious smoke worth investigating.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Two Korean auto manufacturers reached a $200-million settlement in a class-action federal lawsuit alleging that a security loophole, which later went viral on social media, left the vehicles vulnerable to thefts, according to lawyers for the manufacturers and car owners.

Vehicles made by Hyundai Motor America and Kia America Inc. that did not have push-button ignitions became part of a TikTok challenge because they were more vulnerable to being hot-wired. The viral videos showed how Hyundai and Kia vehicles could be started using a common USB charging cord or a similar metal object.

The settlement extends to about 9 million car owners of Kia or Hyundai vehicles made between 2011-2022, the attorneys said Thursday in a news release by attorneys for vehicle owners and manufacturers. The agreement is valued at up to $200 million, depending on the number of customers who file claims.

The automakers failed to equip cars made during the 11-year span with an immobilizer, an anti-theft prevention tool that stops most vehicles from being started unless a code is transmitted from the vehicles smart key, according to the news release.

Relief to affected owners will come as soon as possible, said Steve Berman, managing partner at Hagens Berman and chair of the lead committee representing affected vehicle owners in the lawsuit.

Our goal in finalizing this settlement was to leave no one in the dark, Berman said. The owners of these cars have experienced enough upset, and we worked to achieve a settlement that covers many types of losses  from those who were lucky enough to have never had their theft-prone car stolen, to those whose stolen cars were totaled completely due to Hyundai and Kias negligence.

In a statement, Hyundai Chief Legal Officer Jason Erb said the settlement aims to curb the increased targeting of the vulnerable models.

Customer security remains a top priority, and were committed to continuing software upgrade installations and steering wheel lock distribution to help prevent thefts, Erb said.

James Bell, a Kia spokesperson, said in a statement that the company is committed to working with law enforcement to combat car theft and the role social media plays in encouraging it.

The settlement includes compensation of up to $145 million for out-of-pocket losses for affected vehicle owners. Owners can also be reimbursed for such expenses as towing costs; fees and taxes incurred if the affected car was lost or stolen, crashed or never recovered; and speeding tickets, red light tickets or other penalties or fines arising from a stolen vehicle.

Affected Kia and Hyundai owners are also eligible for a software upgrade to address the cars missing immobilizer, which includes more than a dozen Kia and Hyundai models. Owners whose cars are not compatible with the upgrade may instead receive up to $300 to install security features including a glass breakage alarm or an anti-theft system, steering wheel lock, or tools to prevent theft.

A settlement website for affected vehicle owners will soon go online, according to the news release.

TikTok videos about how the vehicles are stolen have gone viral on social media website in the past year or so.

Many local news outlets have covered the issue, citing the mostly anonymous, so-called Kia Boys as the culprits, especially in Milwaukee, where it appears the trend may have started or has become most widespread.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

For Aida Beltre, working remotely during the pandemic came as a relief.

She was taking care of her father, now 86, who has been in and out of hospitals and rehabs after a worsening series of strokes in recent years.

Working from home for a rental property company, she could handle it. In fact, like most family caregivers during the early days of covid-19, she had to handle it. Community programs for the elderly had shut down.

Even when Beltre switched to a hybrid work role  meaning some days in the office, others at home  caring for her father was manageable, though never easy.

Then she was ordered back to the office full time in 2022. By then, Medicaid was covering 17 hours of home care a week, up from five. But that was not close to enough. Beltre, now 61, was always rushing, always worrying. There was no way she could leave her father alone so long.

She quit. I needed to see my dad, she said.

In theory, the national debate about remote or hybrid work is one great big teachable moment about the demands on the 53 million Americans taking care of an elderly or disabled relative.

But the return to office debate has centered on commuting, convenience, and child care. That fourth C, caregiving, is seldom mentioned.

Thats a missed opportunity, caregivers and their advocates say.

Employers and co-workers understand the need to take time off to care for a baby. But theres a lot less understanding about time to care for anyone else. We need to destigmatize it and create a culture where its normalized, like birth or adoption, said Karen Kavanaugh, chief of strategic initiatives at the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers. For all the talk of cradle to grave, she said, mostly, its cradle.

After her stepmother died, Beltre moved her father into her home in Fort Myers, Florida, in 2016. His needs have multiplied, and shes been juggling, juggling, juggling. Shes exhausted and, now, unemployed.

Shes also not alone. About one-fifth of U.S. workers are family caregivers, and nearly a third have quit a job because of their caregiving responsibilities, according to a report from the Rosalynn Carter Institute. Others cut back their hours. The Rand Corp. has estimated that caregivers lose half a trillion dollars in family income each year  an amount thats almost certainly gone up since the report was released nearly a decade ago.

Beltre briefly had a remote job but left it. The position required sales pitches to people struggling with elder care, which she found uncomfortable. She rarely gets out  only to the grocery store and church, and even then shes constantly checking on her dad.

This is the story of my life, she said.

Workplace flexibility, however desirable, is no substitute for a national long-term care policy, a viable long-term care insurance market, or paid family leave, none of which are on Washingtons radar.

President Joe Biden gave family caregivers a shoutout in his State of the Union address in February and followed up in April with an executive order aimed at supporting caregivers and incorporating their needs in planning federal programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. Last year, his Department of Health and Human Services released a National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers outlining how federal agencies can help and offering road maps for the private sector.

Although Biden checked off priorities and potential innovations, he didnt offer any money. That would have to come from Congress. And Congress right now is locked in a battle over cutting spending, not increasing it.

So that leaves it up to families.

Remote work cant fill all the caregiving gaps, particularly when the patient has advanced disease or dementia and needs intense round-the-clock care from a relative who is also trying to do a full-time job from the kitchen table.

But there are countless scenarios in which the option to work remotely is an enormous help.

When a disease flares up. When someone is recuperating from an injury, an operation, or a rough round of chemo. When a paid caregiver is off, or sick, or AWOL. When another family caregiver, the person who usually does the heavy lift literally or metaphorically, needs respite.

Being able to respond to time-sensitive needs for my dad at the end of his life, and to be present with my stepmother, who was the 24/7 caregiver, was an incredible blessing, said Gretchen Alkema, a well-known expert in aging policy who now runs a consulting firm and was able to work from her dads home as needed.

That flexibility is what Rose Garcia has come to appreciate, as a small-business owner and a caregiver for her husband.

Garcias husband and business partner, Alex Sajkovic, has Lou Gehrigs disease. Because of his escalating needs and the damage the pandemic wrought on their San Francisco stone and porcelain design company, she downsized and redesigned the business. They cashed in his retirement fund to hire part-time caregivers. She goes to work in person sometimes, particularly to meet architects and clients, which she enjoys. The rest of the time she works from home.

As it happened, two of her employees also had caregiving obligations. Her experience, she said, made her open to doing things differently.

For one employee, a hybrid work schedule didnt work out. She had many demands on her, plus her own serious illness, and couldnt make her schedule mesh with Garcias. For the other staff member, who has a young child and an older mother, hybrid work let her keep the job.

A third worker comes in full time, Garcia said. Since hes often alone, his dogs come too.

In Lincoln, Nebraska, Sarah Rasby was running the yoga studio she co-owned, teaching classes, and taking care of her young children. Then, at 35, her twin sister, Erin Lewis, had a sudden cardiac event that triggered an irreversible and ultimately fatal brain injury. For three heartbreaking years, her sisters needs were intense, even when she was in a rehab center or nursing home. Rasby, their mother, and other family members spent hour after hour at her side.

Rasby, who also took on all the legal and paperwork tasks for her twin, sold the studio.

Im still playing catch-up from all those years of not having income, said Rasby, now working on a graduate degree in family caregiving.

Economic stress is not unusual. Caregivers are disproportionately women. If caregivers quit or go part time, they lose pay, benefits, Social Security, and retirement savings.

Its really important to keep someone attached to the labor market, the Rosalynn Carter Institutes Kavanaugh said. Caregivers prefer to keep working. Their financial security is diminished when they dont  and they may lose health insurance and other benefits.

But given the high cost of home care, the sparse insurance coverage for it, and the persistent workforce shortages in home health and adult day programs, caregivers often feel they have no choice but to leave their jobs.

At the same time, though, more employers, facing a competitive labor market, are realizing that flexibility regarding remote or hybrid work helps attract and retain workers. Big consultant companies like BCG offer advice on the working caregiver.

Successful remote work during the pandemic has undercut bosses abilities to claim, You cant do your job like that, observed Rita Choula, director of caregiving for the AARP Public Policy Institute. Its been more common in recent years for employers to offer policies that help workers with child care. Choula wants to see them expanded so that they represent a broad range of caregiving that occurs across life.

Yet, even with covids reframing of in-person work, telecommuting is still not the norm. A March report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found only 1 in 4 private businesses had some or all of their workforce remote last summer  a dropoff from 40% in 2021, the second pandemic summer. Only about 1 in 10 workplaces are fully remote.

And remote and hybrid work is mostly for people whose jobs are largely computer-based. A restaurant server cant refill a coffee cup via Zoom. An assembly line worker cant weld a car part from her father-in-laws bedside.

But even in the service and manufacturing sectors, willing employers can explore creative solutions, like modified shift schedules or job shares, said Kavanaugh, who is running pilot programs with businesses in Michigan. Cross-training so workers can fill in for one another when one has to step into caregiving is another strategy.

New approaches cant come soon enough for Aida Beltre, who finds joy in caregiving along with the burden. Shes looking for work, hybrid this time. I am a people person, she said. I need to get out.

She also needs to be in. Every night, he says, Thank you for all you do, she said of her father. I tell him, I do this because I love you.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFFan independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

USE OUR CONTENT

This story can be republished for free (details).
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

It was a regrettable mistake. But Kim Sylvester thought she was doing the right thing at the time.

Her 80-year-old mother, Harriet Burkel, had fallen at her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, fractured her pelvis, and gone to a rehabilitation center to recover. It was only days after the death of Burkels 82-year-old husband, whod moved into a memory care facility three years before.

With growing distress, Sylvester had watched her mother, who had emphysema and peripheral artery disease, become increasingly frail and isolated. I would say, Can I help you? And my mother would say, No, I can do this myself. I dont need anything. I can handle it, Sylvester told me.

Now, Sylvester had a chance to get some more information. She let herself into her mothers home and went through all the paperwork she could find. It was a shambles  completely disorganized, bills everywhere, she said. It was clear things were out of control.

Sylvester sprang into action, terminating her mothers orders for anti-aging supplements, canceling two car warranty insurance policies (Burkel wasnt driving at that point), ending a yearlong contract for knee injections with a chiropractor, and throwing out donation requests from dozens of organizations. When her mother found out, she was furious.

I was trying to save my mother, but I became someone she couldnt trust  the enemy. I really messed up, Sylvester said.

Dealing with an older parent who stubbornly resists offers of help isnt easy. But the solution isnt to make an older person feel like youre steamrolling them and taking over their affairs. Whats needed instead are respect, empathy, and appreciation of the older persons autonomy.

Its hard when you see an older person making poor choices and decisions. But if that person is cognitively intact, you cant force them to do what you think they should do, said Anne Sansevero, president of the board of directors of the Aging Life Care Association, a national organization of care managers who work with older adults and their families. They have a right to make choices for themselves.

That doesnt mean adult children concerned about an older parent should step aside or agree to everything the parent proposes. Rather, a different set of skills is needed.

Cheryl Woodson, an author and retired physician based in the Chicago area, learned this firsthand when her mother  whom Woodson described as a very powerful woman  developed mild cognitive impairment. She started getting lost while driving and would buy things she didnt need then give them away.

Chastising her mother wasnt going to work. You cant push people like my mother or try to take control, Woodson told me. You dont tell them, No, youre wrong, because they changed your diapers and theyll always be your mom.

Instead, Woodson learned to appeal to her mothers pride in being the family matriarch. Whenever she got upset, Id ask her, Mother, what year was it that Aunt Terri got married? or Mother, I dont remember how to make macaroni. How much cheese do you put in? And shed forget what she was worked up about and wed just go on from there.

Woodson, author of To Survive Caregiving: A Daughters Experience, a Doctors Advice, also learned to apply a does it really matter to safety or health? standard to her mothers behavior. It helped Woodson let go of her sometimes unreasonable expectations. One example she related: My mother used to shake hot sauce on pancakes. It would drive my brother nuts, but she was eating, and that was good.

You dont want to rub their nose into their incapacity, said Woodson, whose mother died in 2003.

Barry Jacobs, a clinical psychologist and family therapist, sounded similar themes in describing a psychiatrist in his late 70s who didnt like to bend to authority. After his wife died, the older man stopped shaving and changing his clothes regularly. Though he had diabetes, he didnt want to see a physician and instead prescribed medicine for himself. Even after several strokes compromised his vision, he insisted on driving.

Jacobs take: You dont want to go toe-to-toe with someone like this, because you will lose. Theyre almost daring you to tell them what to do so they can show you they wont follow your advice.

Whats the alternative? I would employ empathy and appeal to this persons pride as a basis for handling adversity or change, Jacobs said. I might say something along the lines of, I know you dont want to stop driving and that this will be very painful for you. But I know you have faced difficult, painful changes before and youll find your way through this.

Youre appealing to their ideal self rather than treating them as if they dont have the right to make their own decisions anymore, he explained. In the older psychiatrists case, conflict with his four children was constant, but he eventually stopped driving.

Another strategy that can be useful: Show up, but do it in a way thats face-saving, Jacobs said. Instead of asking your father if you can check in on him, Go to his house and say, The kids really wanted to see you. I hope you dont mind. Or, We made too much food. I hope you dont mind my bringing it over. Or, I wanted to stop by. I hope you can give me some advice about this issue thats on my mind.

This psychiatrist didnt have any cognitive problems, though he wasnt as sharp as he used to be. But encroaching cognitive impairment often colors difficult family interactions.

If you think this might be a factor with your parent, instead of trying to persuade them to accept more help at home, try to get them medically evaluated, said Leslie Kernisan, author of When Your Aging Parent Needs Help: A Geriatricians Step-by-Step Guide to Memory Loss, Resistance, Safety Worries, and More.

Decreased brain function can affect an older adults insight and judgment and ability to understand the risks of certain actions or situations, while also making people suspicious and defensive, she noted.

This doesnt mean you should give up on talking to an older parent with mild cognitive impairment or early-stage dementia, however. You always want to give the older adult a chance to weigh in and talk about whats important to them and their feelings and concerns, Kernisan said.

If you frame your suggestions as a way of helping your parent achieve a goal theyve said was important, they tend to be much more receptive to it, she said.

A turning point for Sylvester and her mother came when the older woman, who developed dementia, went to a nursing home at the end of 2021. Her mother, who at first didnt realize the move was permanent, was furious, and Sylvester waited two months before visiting. When she finally walked into Burkels room, bearing a Valentines Day wreath, Burkel hugged her and said, Im so glad to see you, before pulling away. But Im so mad at my other daughter.

Sylvester, who doesnt have a sister, responded, I know, Mom. She meant well, but she didnt handle things properly. She learned the value of what she calls a therapeutic fiblet from Kernisan, who ran a family caregiver group Sylvester attended between 2019 and 2021.

After that visit, Sylvester saw her mother often, and all was well between the two women up until Burkels death. If something was upsetting my mother, I would just go, Interesting, or, Thats a thought. You have to give yourself time to remember this is not the person you used to know and create the person you need to be your parent, whos changed so much.

Were eager to hear from readers about questions youd like answered, problems youve been having with your care, and advice you need in dealing with the health care system. Visit kffhealthnews.org/columnists to submit your requests or tips.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFFan independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

USE OUR CONTENT

This story can be republished for free (details).
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  Tech consultant Nima Momeni pleaded not guilty Thursday to a murder charge in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee on the streets of San Francisco.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Victor Hwang ordered Momeni, 38, kept in jail without bail, saying he posed a public safety risk if released. Momeni, who appeared in an orange sweatshirt and pants, did not speak, and his attorney Paula Canny entered the plea on his behalf.

The case has drawn national attention, partly given Lee's status in the tech world. Lee was found with three stab wounds, including one to the heart, shortly after 2:30 a.m. April 4 and was taken to a hospital where he later died. He was found in the Rincon Hill neighborhood in downtown San Francisco, which has tech offices and condominiums but little activity in the early morning hours.

Lee, 43, created Cash App, a mobile payment service, and was the chief product officer of the cryptocurrency MobileCoin. He was mourned as a loving father of two who made friends wherever he went.

Prosecutors have not provided a motive but say Momeni stabbed Lee after a dispute related to Momenis sister, who appeared in court Thursday alongside their mother.

Assistant District Attorney Omid Talai argued Thursday to detain Momeni without bail, saying that the defendant drove Lee to a secluded spot and used a knife that was part of a unique kitchen set belonging to his sister. Police recovered a knife with a 4-inch (10-centimeter) blade at the scene.

Talai said that analysis showed Momeni's DNA on the handle of the knife and Lee's DNA on the bloody blade and no evidence that Lee had touched the handle, contradicting Canny's claim of self-defense for her client.

But Canny said that Momeni did not drive Lee to a secluded spot with the aim of killing him. Instead, she said, Lee directed him to pull over after calling an Uber because the two had argued. The last time Momeni saw Lee, Canny said, Lee was standing upright and walking away.

People can have a fight and not know that somebodys been mortally wounded," she said in court, later adding, Every one of us, including my client, is heartbroken that Bob Lee died.

Canny said Momeni has strong ties to the community and needs to stay and fight the charges or else face deportation to Iran, which would separate him from the two people he loves most, his mother and sister. Momeni is not a U.S. citizen.

Outside the courtroom, Canny described the encounter as a cross between self-defense and accident. There was no premeditation deliberation.

San Francisco's District Attorney Brooke Jenkins rejected that idea in speaking to reporters after the arraignment. We believe that we have the murderer of Mr. Lee, and thats Mr. Momeni," she said.

Nima Momeni was 14 when his mother took the children to the U.S., fleeing Iran and a husband who had inflicted years of abuse and violence on the family, his mother wrote in a letter submitted to the court in support of her son's pre-trial release.

She said her son was generous and kind, pitching in financially when she enrolled in college to become a dental hygienist. He taught himself about computer technology.

Momeni was arrested last month at his home in Emeryville, which is across the bay from San Francisco.

An unnamed friend of Lee told homicide investigators they had been hanging out and drinking with Momeni's sister the day before the stabbing, prosecutors said in a motion to detain Momeni without bail.

The friend said Momeni later questioned Lee about whether his sister was doing drugs or otherwise engaging in inappropriate behavior and Lee said she had not.

The friend and Lee later parted ways, and surveillance video showed Lee entering the posh Millennium Tower downtown, where Momeni's sister Khazar lives with her husband, prominent San Francisco plastic surgeon Dino Elyassnia. Video footage then showed Lee and Momeni leaving the building together shortly after 2 a.m. and driving off in Momeni's car.

Momeni faces 26 years to life if convicted.
San Francisco officials are investigating Twitter. Six former employees allege that owner Elon Musks leadership team broke laws in turning the companys headquarters into a Twitter Hotel for workers who were pushed to stay up late to transform the social media platform. The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection says it has opened a new complaint and will be conducting an investigation into the allegations. Thats after the ex-employees alleged in a lawsuit filed in a Delaware court that Twitter didnt pay them promised severance and violated numerous building codes.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

As part of the clinics goal to increase and expand pre-natal services within Muscatine, UnityPoint Clinic OB/GYN  Mulberry has hired Melissa Irmen to provide midwife services.

Im here to offer knowledge and research-based care for all stages of pregnancy. From trying to pregnant through postpartum care, I will be caring and compassionate, Irmen said in a public statement. Im passionate about helping women in Muscatine get expert care from a team they can depend on without leaving the Muscatine area.

Irmen completed her undergraduate nursing education at St. Ambrose University. Following that, she received her graduate degree as a Certified Nurse Midwife from the University of Illinois at Chicago, later becoming a member of the American College of Nurse Midwives. Throughout her 12 years of health care experience, she has continued to offer service through being an advanced practice nurse in addition to being a midwife and having certifications in basic life support and neonatal resuscitation.

Were committed to offering services in Muscatine, Amy Terrill, director of clinic operations, said. We have Dr. (Pamela) McCool, who is an obstetrician from Bettendorf, and she comes down (to Muscatine) once a week while (Irmen) will provide service for those pre-natal patients here locally as weve realized that this is a need that the community is still in need of.

Terrill added that she and her team hope to continue expanding services as local patients needs grow, with Irmens practice continuing to evaluate the need for additional services.

Weve always wanted to be able to offer any service that we could to the community, and we want to increase that access for expectant moms, Terrill continued. Its really important, I feel, to the community to be able to offer something locally so that we are reducing the travel barrier for expectant moms. They will be able to get their pre-natal care right here in Muscatine without needing to go to the Quad Cities or Iowa City.

Terrill also noted that as patients get closer to their due dates and start to require weekly visits, its all the more important to cut down on travel for these women, given how uncomfortable long-distance travel can be during a late-stage pregnancy. This, in turn, also allows local moms a better chance at keeping up with weekly appointments without needing to clear their schedules.

We want to make sure were helping mom and baby stay healthy throughout the pregnancy, she said.

Irmen wont be limited to pre-natal patients and will see anyone of child-bearing age and older as a patient in order to help local women with service beyond pre-natal care, such as post-partum care, contraception, annual check-ups, STD testing and more.

To find out more about the OB/GYN services offered through the Mulberry clinic or to make an appointment with Irmen, call 563-262-4113. Additional information can also be found at https://www.unitypoint.org/find-a-service/womens-health.

Photos:The Quad City Storm and UnityPoint Health Trinity annual Hockey Fights Cancer ice painting
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

HIROSHIMA, Japan  This weekend's summit of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations in Hiroshima provides a rare  and possibly final  chance for survivors of the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to push for nuclear disarmament before a global audience.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has roots in Hiroshima, chose the city in part to highlight nuclear nonproliferation efforts, which have been shaken by Russia's nuclear threats against Ukraine and rising aggression from nuclear-armed China and North Korea.

He greeted leaders from the G7 on Friday at the city's Peace Memorial Park and escorted them as they paid respects to those who died in the attack, visited a museum dedicated to the victims and met with a survivor. On Sunday, Kishida will do the same for leaders from non-G7 guest nations.

Kishida pledged to act as a bridge between nuclear and non-nuclear states, but some critics say his disarmament goals are hollow. Japan relies on the United States nuclear umbrella for protection and has been rapidly expanding its military.

Sueichi Kido, an 83-year-old survivor of the Nagasaki explosion, said he is skeptical whether the prime minister can convince the leaders of G7 nations to make real progress in disarmament.

"But because they are meeting in Hiroshima I do have a sliver of hope that they will have positive talks and make a tiny step toward nuclear disarmament," Kido said.

Later Friday, the G7 leaders issued a joint statement on nuclear disarmament titled "Hiroshima Vision" which calls for continued non-use of nuclear weapons, transparency and reductions in nuclear stockpiles. Critics charged that it contained no new actual steps.

The United States conducted the world's first atomic attack on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. It dropped a second bomb three days later on Nagasaki, killing another 70,000. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II.

Kido said he hoped the leaders would spend more time than former U.S. President Barack Obama did in his rushed 2016 visit through the museum, which includes exhibits of mangled buildings and bodies in the aftermath of the attack.

Obama's trip to Hiroshima was the first by a serving U.S. leader.

"I earnestly want the leaders to have a firm understanding of what the atomic bombs did to human beings," Kido said. "Many people think of the mushroom clouds, but they often don't know what happened to the people under them."

Some survivors expressed disappointment that the leaders met with only one survivor and made no comment about their museum visit.

Kunihiko Sakuma, who was exposed as a 9-month-old baby to radiation from the bombing, said he spent Friday watching TV coverage of the leaders' visit to the museum and felt it was short and superficial.

"I have no idea if they understood what we survivors are saying," he said.

He urged the leaders to explain to people in their countries what they learned about the cruelty of nuclear weapons. "Each leader should do that so every citizen understands. Otherwise, the real threat of nuclear bombs cannot be understood," he said.

Kishida has been criticized by survivors for his plan to double Japan's defense budget in the next five years. He is looking to fund a military buildup that will strengthen strike capabilities meant to deter China's rising threat.

Japan wants to deepen three-way ties with the United States and South Korea to step up nuclear deterrence. But it also refuses to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons despite repeated requests by atomic bomb survivors that it do so.

Kishida says the nuclear weapons ban treaty, which took effect in 2021, is unworkable because it lacks the membership of nuclear states. Instead, he said, Japan needs to take a realistic approach to bridging the gap between nuclear and non-nuclear states in a challenging world.

As a child, Kishida heard about the horrors of the atomic bombing from his grandmother. She was from Hiroshima and her stories left "an indelible mark," inspiring him to work toward a world without nuclear weapons, said Noriyuki Shikata, Cabinet secretary for public affairs. He said Kishida's determination has been reinforced by becoming a politician representing the people of Hiroshima.

"A path to a world without nuclear weapons has become even more difficult," Kishida told foreign media, including The Associated Press, in April. "But that's why we need to keep raising the flag of our ideal and regain a new momentum."

An estimated 12,705 warheads were in nuclear inventories as of 2022, most of them held by the United States and Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Kido, the Nagasaki survivor, was 5 when he saw a flash in the sky and was buffeted by the blast on the morning of Aug. 9, 1945.

He had burns on his cheek but was reunited with his family at a shelter. When he went outside the next day, charred bodies were everywhere and people were walking around and begging for water with their flesh dangling.

"Everything turned black," he said. "The town was entirely wiped out."
The Iowa State patrol has released the names of the people who were killed or injured in a two vehicle accident Monday afternoon, with three dead and two injured.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

SAN FRANCISCO  Anti-trans legislation is roiling the nation. Bills prohibiting drag performances are cropping up in statehouses. Violence and vitriol are turning childrens drag story hour events into headline-news protests.

San Francisco fought back Thursday by naming the nations first drag laureate, an ambassador-style position designed to represent the citys famous LGBTQ+ community at a time when rights are under attack.

In a city known for its support of LGBTQ+ rights, San Francisco Mayor London Breed says it was a natural step to create a position that not only embraces drag culture but puts government resources toward it. D'Arcy Drollinger, a well-known drag performer and nightclub owner, will receive a $55,000 stipend in her 18-month role as the city's inaugural drag laureate.

My goals are to make San Francisco sparkle. I think drag performers bring a lot of sparkle and humor and glamor and silliness to the world. I think that is part of why drag is so successful," said Drollinger, a man who uses feminine pronouns when in drag. She expects to be in drag for the entirety of her role. Im going to be in drag pretty much 24/7 for the next 18 months.

She noted San Francisco's drag community is already politically engaged and active.

Theres a lot of power for the drag community in San Francisco, she said. I feel very honored to be able to take that one more step.

West Hollywood is on the verge of appointing its own drag laureate later this month, though at a much lower salary and with limited engagements. In New York, where the Stonewall riots marked a major turning point in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, a 2021 effort to create such a position has languished in a committee, reflecting the challenges of creating such jobs even in liberal cities.

In San Francisco, Drollinger will inaugurate the role three weeks before Pride Month begins. Her duties will span from producing and participating in drag events to serving as a spokesperson for San Franciscos LGBTQ+ community to helping officials to ensuring the citys drag history is shared, honored and preserved. The job posting sought someone who will "embody San Franciscos historic, diverse and inclusive drag culture, elevating the entire community on the national and international stage."

The city's mayor called Drollinger a bright star in San Francisco for her advocacy and elevation of the citys drag community.

Whether its through a tragedy or to celebrate an occasion, she really has been a leader in this community and supporter of so many others, Breed told The Associated Press.

Drollinger said she felt both nervous and honored when she was told the job was hers, given the recent violence targeting drag performers, even in the Bay Area.

I know that there are a lot of anti-drag folks out there, and they are very loud, right? But I also dont want to live my life under the shadow of fear. I dont want to have intimidation stop me from growing," she said. "So, yes, I am a little nervous. But I got a lot of fabulous people and fabulousness behind me.

Members of the Proud Boys sparked a hate crimes investigation when they protested and shouted slurs outside a Bay Area library hosting Drag Story Hour, where drag queens read to kids, last June. In Oregon last year, demonstrators  some of them armed  threw rocks and smoke grenades at each other outside a drag event.

In November, a shooter at a Colorado Springs nightclub turned a drag queens birthday party into a massacre, killing five people and injuring 17 more. The suspect was charged with hate crimes and murder.

The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking 474 anti-LGBTQ+ pieces of legislation in the U.S., including Tennessees first-in-the-nation law that essentially bans drag from public property or in the presence of minors. A federal judge temporarily blocked the measure hours before it was set to go into effect in late March.

Jonathan Hamilt, executive director of Drag Story Hour, a global nonprofit event network that began in San Francisco in 2015, said he hopes other cities across the country will enact their own drag laureate programs.

Its just having that visibility and having that personal human connection  having that social story of someone from your community that looks like you or someone that you see or interact with on a regular basis, Hamilt said.

New York City Councilmember Kristin Richardson Johnson plans to keep pushing for a drag laureate in her city if the position doesn't win support this year. Jack McClatchy, the elected officials legislative and budget director, couldn't give a specific reason for why the effort has stalled, only noting that it's one of more than 1,000 bills before the council.

West Hollywood, which was founded in part by LGBTQ+ activists in 1984, is expected to name its drag laurate in the coming weeks after a 2021 attempt failed over a pay dispute. Officials originally advertised the position with a $5,000 stipend, nearly double what the citys poet laureate gets. Pushback prompted the council to raise it to $15,000 annually for the two-year term that begins July 16  International Drag Day.

Photos: Arrests and protests at State Capitol in support of Rep. Zooey Zephyr
Mourners gathered at a Harlem church at the funeral of Jordan Neely, the man whose chokehold death on the New York City subway set off a debate about vigilantism, homelessness and public safety. The former Michael Jackson impersonator died May 1 when a fellow subway rider pinned him to the floor of a subway car in a chokehold that lasted several minutes. The fatal struggle was recorded on video by an onlooker who said Neely had been yelling at other passengers while begging for money, but hadnt attacked anyone. The Rev. Al Sharpton said Friday that Neely needed to be helped, not abused.
The government has announced plans to fence off forests in areas where bandits have been flushed out.

Speaking Thursday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said the move is aimed at enhancing security and preventing the return of bandits to these regions.

Most of the hills, gorges, ravines and escarpments where bandits were hiding are now cleaned up. We must ensure that these armed criminals dont gang up and return to those areas, CS Kindiki said.

Following the successful operation to flush out bandits, the Cabinet Secretary (CS) issued an order for the immediate fencing off of Kokoron hills and caves, Tandare valley, Arabal hills, Ngelecha ravine, and Mukogodo forest.

These areas will be fenced off and permanently dominated by a multi agency security deployment to ensure that dangerous criminals do not creep back in there to launch attacks on our people, said the CS.

Kindiki added that security camps will be set up to ensure that armed criminals and bandits do not regroup.

The minister added that the government is committed to providing sufficient funds to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers to facilitate the reconstruction of educational institutions that were vandalized by bandits.

An initial allocation of Ksh.100M has been released for rehabilitation of all schools that were damaged by bandits. KDF officers will manage the reconstruction.

Another Ksh.100M will be allocated in the second phase to complete the reconstruction, CS Kindiki said.

The CS at the same time announced that the design process for the new uniforms for NPRs (National police reservists) is nearing completion, ensuring that they will be adequately equipped for their duties.

He said the government will provide proper attire, including footwear, to ensure NPRs are well-prepared to carry out their responsibilities.

CS Kindiki spoke during his visit to the North Rift to assess the progress of Operation Maliza Uhalifu in Baringo County where he also officiated the pass out of 200 newly trained NPRs at Kimalel.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja have agreed to revive the stalled Bus Rapid Transit project.

This follows a meeting between the leaders on Thursday on how to effectively end traffic gridlocks experienced in Nairobi.

During the inaugural council meeting of the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (Namata), CS Murkomen led discussions focused on devising effective strategies to enhance transport systems in Nairobi.

Together with the National Government, we are keen on ensuring that traffic jams are a thing of the past, Governor Sakaja said.

Efficient, affordable and reliable mobility are key to unlocking the potential of our people.

The council members reached a unanimous agreement that expediting the stalled Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) programs throughout Nairobi should be given top priority.

The implementation of a comprehensive public transport system, the BRT project, has faced significant delays, particularly along the Thika Superhighway.

Originally envisioned as a reliable, secure, and comfortable transportation solution for Nairobis millions of commuters, the BRT project remains a pipe dream given the slow progress of the project.

The meeting saw the attendance of various council members, including Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi.
The Customs and Border Control Department of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) will on May 22 dispose of an assortment of imported goods that have remained uncollected.

The warning notice comes after the taxman issued a 30-day ultimatum to the owners to collect the said goods via a gazette notice dated April 20, 2023.

The goods are held in KRA warehouses in Eldoret, Nakuru, Lodwar, Lokichoggio and Suam. They include sex toys, sex creams, shisha products, and toy guns, among others.

At the Eldoret warehouse, KRA is holding a variety of alcoholic drinks, shisha products, bulbs, bed sheets and plant seeds that it intends to destroy.

Crates of beer, kilograms of powdered milk, and hundreds of bags of sugar held at the Lodwar customs warehouse will also be discarded.

This is in addition to 18 empty crates of Senator beer, a Toyota Hilux, a Mitsubishi Colt, 100 cartons of Supermatch cigarettes, and radio communication equipment.

At the Suam go-down, KRA will dispose of 26 bags of sugar.
There was a lighthearted moment at Nairobi County Assembly Chambers on Thursday as Ward Representatives amusingly lamented about the persistent mosquito bites they were enduring.

During the deliberation on the supplementary budgets appropriation Bill, Highrise MCA Kennedy Oyugi stood up to address an unexpected topic, saying mosquitoes were making the assembly uncomfortable.

The house seems to be unsafe healthwise, I have tried to kill four mosquitoes already, Oyugi claimed.

I feel unsafe and we have enough evidence, thus I request that this assembly be fumigated, he added.

In response, Maurice Ochieng, the Chair of the Assembly Health Committee, acknowledged the concern raised by Oyugi, emphasizing the need for careful consideration of the matter at hand.

We are going to take those concerned to task on why they are not fumigating various institutions within City Hall, Ochieng said.

House Speaker Ken Ngondi said the Office of the Clerk and the administration will address the issue.

Thank you very much, the member, for raising the matter. Action will be taken, said the Speaker.
The Azimio coalitions application to stop the proceedings of a commission of inquiry into the Shakahola cult tragedy will be heard in court on Monday.

High Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi on Thursday directed all involved parties to prepare for the hearing on May 22.

The coalition, which filed the case last week, argues that President William Rutos appointment of the eight-member team is unlawful and constitutes a violation of powers vested in other state organs by the Constitution.

Azimio leader Raila Odinga wants the court to suspend the commissions activities until the petition is determined.

According to Azimio, President Ruto has usurped the authority of the national police service by appointing the team, undermining the command of Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome.

Additionally, the coalition accuses Dr. Ruto of empowering personal nominees to undermine the constitutional mandate and authority of state institutions and organs.

In an affidavit, Raila argues that Section 3 of the Commission of Inquiry Act is unconstitutional, rendering the entire Act null and void as it grants the President the power to determine who will perform judicial duties.

Lawyer Paul Mwangi argues that Parliament has the authority to establish a subordinate court or an independent tribunal through an Act, and the Constitution empowers the Judiciary to recruit qualified individuals for court service.

The petition further contends that the appointment of Justice Lesiit as commission chairperson exposes the judiciary to embarrassment, as it was made without consultation with Chief Justice Martha Koome. Moreover, Azimio argues that Justice Lesiit will be subject to the Presidents direction, remuneration, and allowances, compromising her independence.

Mr. Mwangi warns that not declaring the Commissions of Inquiry Act unconstitutional would set a precedent where the President can entice sitting judges with appointments to commissions of inquiry and other executive positions, potentially influencing their impartiality when adjudicating executive actions before them.
President William Ruto has expressed the countrys interest in considering Singapores strategic location in Southeast Asia as a gateway for its products.

Ruto said the decision is driven by the governments commitment to expanding lucrative markets for Kenyan agricultural produce.

President Ruto highlighted that Southeast Asia, consisting of 10 countries with a population of approximately 670 million, offers Kenya a unique and significant market to sell its goods. He extended an invitation to Singapores private sector to invest in Kenyas under-exploited transport and logistics sectors.

This will check the low trade volumes and scale up our investments, thereby reducing the current trade deficit with Singapore, said President Ruto.

President Ruto made these statements during a joint press conference held at State House in Nairobi, where he was accompanied by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Earlier, the two leaders engaged in bilateral talks and witnessed the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) covering areas such as ICT, climate change, and skills development.

Regarding the ICT agreement, President Ruto explained that it would facilitate cooperation in areas such as cybersecurity, digitization of government services, and capacity building in ICT.

The MoU on skills development aims to promote collaboration in human resource capacity building for civil servants and students.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong emphasized the importance of collective action to address climate change, appreciating the signing of the climate change pact as a step toward tackling the greatest existential threat to mankind.

The Prime Minister acknowledged the growing and warm relations between Singapore and Kenya.

Our ties have been growing. We will further this by pursuing more economic opportunities that will stimulate our shared prosperity, said Mr Loong.

Several officials and leaders, including Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Attorney General Justin Muturi, Cabinet Secretaries Foreign Affairs Alfred Mutua, Information Communications Technology (ICT) and Digital Economy Eliud Owalo, Public Service Aisha Jumwa, and Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Saipan Tuya, were also present during the press conference.
Ekuru Aukot, the leader of the Thirdway Alliance party, has faulted President William Ruto for fixating on the poor state of the economy inherited from former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Aukot argues that Ruto and his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, have repeatedly claimed they inherited a dilapidated economy from Kenyatta, using this as an excuse for the slow progress under the Kenya Kwanza administration.

The former presidential aspirant suggests that Rutos administration should learn from the late Mwai Kibaki, who focused on transforming the country rather than dwelling on the state of the economy inherited from President Daniel Moi.

Aukot emphasized the need to stop making apologies for the government and past problems.

Drawing a comparison between Rutos administration and Kibakis, Aukot highlights that Kibaki did not become fixated on the fact that he inherited the Moi regime.

Instead, Kibaki focused on addressing the challenges and did not constantly remind the nation about the past.

Aukot believes that by speaking less about Uhuru Kenyatta and his administration, Ruto would give Kenyans more hope that meaningful action is being taken.

The difference between this administration and Kibakis is that Kibaki did not get stuck up on the fact that he inherited the Moi regime. He did not keep reminding us that Moi did this and that, he said.

The less you talk about Uhuru Kenyatta and his administration the more hope you give Kenyans that you are actually doing something about it, Dr Aukot said on Thursday.

Aukot made the remarks during an appearance on Citizen TVs Day Break show, where he was joined by Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi and Nominated MP John Mbadi.

Governor Wamatangi compared the countrys situation to an aircraft during take-off, suggesting that it is premature to evaluate the performance of Rutos administration.

He acknowledged that mistakes were made after Kibaki left office, indicating that there were things done differently and incorrectly during that period.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Download the Napa Valley Register's free news app Easily access the very latest local news that matters in an app built for you. Read, see, and hear exclusive commentary, stunning photography,

The saga of a Napa woman and her 20 roaming Goldendoodle dogs continues.

After years of complaints about her pack of dogs running off leash and being neglected, Melinda Stewart was ordered by a judge on April 25 to surrender all of her dogs to the Napa County Animal Shelter. She had until 3 p.m. April 28.

Neither Stewart nor her canines appeared at the shelter. So sheriff's deputies went to her. According to an incident report from the Napa County Sheriff's Office, deputies visited Stewarts home on Dry Creek Road, where the gates were locked and no one was seen. They even used a drone to search overhead.

But Stewart was gone. And so were her dogs.

Neighbors later reported to the sheriff's office that Stewart, and her canines, had been seen around 2 p.m. that same day leaving her property in a white van.

According to the sheriff's report, it appears she has moved the dogs to an unknown location, possibly out of the state, in violation of a court order. The safety and welfare of the dogs is unknown.

At a follow-up court hearing Thursday afternoon, Napa County Superior Court Judge Rodney Stone expressed his frustration that Stewart had not appeared in person as requested. Nor did she respond via Zoom, although for a time a person with the screen name Melinda was logged onto the videoconference call.

Goldendoodles on the loose in Napa Valley An off-leash pack of fluffy Goldendoodles has been roaming around Dry Creek Road in Napa. The DA's office has charged the owner with 19 criminal complaints.

I ordered her to be present, said Stone. For Miss Stewarts failure to appear I will issue a bench warrant in the amount of $10,000.

Stewart currently faces 35 misdemeanor counts, including having dogs at large, not having a kennel or breeding permit, disobeying a court order, and maintaining a public nuisance.

In a social media post from 2022, Stewart wrote that she started breeding Goldendoodles after the COVID-19 pandemic impacted her event business.

I thought  I could do it, but I ran out of money too soon, Stewart wrote at the time.

Judge Stone noted that Stewarts June 12 jury trial date remains on the court schedule, and that she is ordered to appear in person for a June 7 readiness conference.

Stewart could not be immediately reached by phone to comment for this story. However, she shared a few comments in a social media post Wednesday.

I need your help, Stewart wrote.

This isnt about me, about my lovely GoldenDoodles, a crazy opiate prescribing Medicare defrauding Dr. in the woods, the lying mob of neighbors or even about the corrupt legal system, the DA, the new sheriff and judges in Napa California, the post read.

Napa dog owner ordered to surrender 20 Goldendoodles A Napa dog owner was given until Friday to surrender as many as 20 Goldendoodle dogs living at her Dry Creek Road home.

Its about America, the media, COVID, the middle class, small business owners, journalists, free speech, families, truth, the American Dream and humanity.

Stewarts post continued: Time to slap back the bullies, the woke, Ive had it. We want to go home. Enough!

The truth is going to triumph, she added. It always eventually does.

Photos: 'Wild' Goldendoodles roam Napa country roads Goldendoodles of Napa Goldendoodles of Napa Goldendoodles of Napa Goldendoodles of Napa Goldendoodles of Napa Goldendoodles of Napa Goldendoodles of Napa Goldendoodle Goldendoodle Goldendoodles of Napa Goldendoodles of Napa Goldendoodles of Napa
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Download the Napa Valley Register's free news app Easily access the very latest local news that matters in an app built for you. Read, see, and hear exclusive commentary, stunning photography,

To provide insight into tourism trends in the Napa Valley from January through March of this year, Visit Napa Valley compiled data from Smith Travel Research, Cvent and other public sources to provide a snapshot of the first quarter of 2023 and a look ahead to the coming months.

The Napa Valley's average daily room rate (ADR) is seeing a natural correction

Slightly lower average daily room rates indicate that the current high nightly rates are correcting in response to demand, according to the report.

Year-to-date from January to March, ADR in Napa County has decreased by 3.6% compared to the same period a year ago, with Yountville and unincorporated Napa County seeing the steepest drops at 14% and 19% respectively. American Canyon's ADR has remained steady, according to STR data. With lower ADR than other cities in Napa County, American Canyon properties continue to offer ideal lodging options for budget-conscious travelers and families.

ADR trends in Napa Valley mirror other destinations

Napa Valley has not been alone in seeing historically high ADRs; other destinations like Monterey, Sonoma, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties all posted double-digit percentage increases in 2022, said the report. However, Napa Valleys high ratio of luxury lodging (50% of totals lodging in Napa Valley, compared with 11% statewide), combined with a small supply (just 5,700 hotel rooms in all), means that the destination continues to command a higher overall ADR than other destinations.

ADR Comparisons, 2022 vs. 2019

Napa Valley (up 42%)

Santa Barbara County (up 41%)

Monterey County (up 32%)

San Luis Obispo County (up 27%)

Sonoma County (up 26%)

Inclement weather impacted Napa Valley visitation, improved drought status

The unusually rainy winter impacted visitation to Napa Valley, said the report. Occupancy and ADR were slightly down compared to March 2022.

March 2023, which had 16 days of rain, saw a 26% decrease in foot traffic at the Napa Valley Welcome Center compared to 2022. The positive effect of the rainfall is that after the sixth-wettest March on record over the last 129 years, Napa County is no longer experiencing drought conditions, which has long-term benefits for the regions tourism-based economy.

First-quarter 2023 travel trends

Group business trends stabilize; Napa Valley is poised to capitalize on macro-trends: The Visit Napa Valley sales team has seen a 13.6% increase in requests for rooms and event space (known as "leads") compared to the same time period in 2019, indicating that demand is returning to pre-pandemic patterns. According to Cvent  a software company used by planners nationwide for event management, marketing and attendee engagement  meeting planners report that clients are requesting more experiential gatherings and smaller meetings, with an increase in incentive and C-suite-level meetings.

Meeting planners are also looking to book shorter events, building in time for attendees to extend for leisure purposes, making the Napa Valley uniquely qualified to cater to this business opportunity.

International travel returns

As borders open up, visitors are more comfortable traveling abroad again. Visit Napa Valley expects an uptick in travelers from international markets, including Great Britain, Mexico, Japan and Canada. According to Visit California, international visitation to California is expected to increase 26% in 2023 compared to 2022.

Return to predictable seasonal visitation trends

Historically, from November to March, Napa Valley experiences a predictable shoulder season, coined Cabernet Season, with lodging occupancy rates dropping as much as 20 to 25% from high season, which occurs locally between May and October.

Worker hiring and retention remains paramount

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are nearly 2 million job openings in the leisure and hospitality sectors, indicating that hiring and retaining workers will continue to be the industrys chief challenge.

Visit Napa Valleys paid media campaign, Crush That Career, joins other industry efforts to re-attract talent to Napa Valley and the hospitality industry as the work force continues to recover, said the report.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

WASHINGTON  Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinsteins office said Thursday that she is suffering from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a complication from the shingles virus that can paralyze part of the face, and that she contracted encephalitis while recovering from the virus earlier this year.

Feinstein, 89, had not previously disclosed those medical details, though she said in a statement last week that she had suffered complications from the virus. The longtime California senator returned from a more than two-month absence on May 10 after weeks of questions about her declining health and whether she would be back in the Senate at all.

Adam Russell, a spokesman for Feinstein, said that the encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, resolved itself shortly after she was released from the hospital in March. Feinstein continues to have complications from the Ramsay Hunt syndrome, Russell said.

Russell confirmed the two complications after the New York Times first reported them, raising questions about whether she had been hiding the extent of her illnesses. Upon her return last week, Feinstein was using a wheelchair and noticeably thinner, and has appeared confused at times when speaking to reporters or being wheeled through the halls.

The senator previously disclosed that she had several complications related to her shingles diagnosis, Russell said in the statement. As discussed in the New York Times article, those complications included Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis.

Feinsteins face has appeared partially paralyzed since she returned to the Senate, stirring some speculation about whether she had had a stroke. Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a complication that occurs when the shingles virus reaches a facial nerve near the ears. It can also cause hearing loss.

Encephalitis can also be caused by shingles. The swelling of the brain can have a number of different symptoms, including personality changes, seizures, stiffness, confusion and problems with sight or hearing, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Aides to Feinstein said last week that she is still recovering from her illness and would operate on a reduced schedule. Since she has returned, she has missed some votes where she was not needed. On Wednesday, for example, she missed the first three Senate votes of the day but appeared for the last two, in which the margin was much closer.

Feinstein has faced questions for several years about her clearly declining health and her mental acuity. In February Feinstein said she would not run for reelection in 2024.

But some Democrats have pushed for her to leave sooner. A member of the California congressional delegation, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, called on her to resign as she stayed away from Washington for more than ten weeks, and several other House progressives have echoed his call. And Senate Democrats were increasingly anxious during Feinstein's absence as they were unable to confirm some of President Joe Bidens judicial nominees with a narrow 51-49 majority.

As Democrats worried, Feinstein made an unusual request to be temporarily replaced on the Judiciary panel while she remained out of the Senate. But Republicans last month blocked a vote, saying there was little precedent for a temporary committee replacement and that they didnt want to help Democrats confirm the most partisan judges. Others said they thought Democrats were unfairly trying to push her out of office.

Two weeks later, Democrats said that Feinstein would return to Washington.

A senator for more than three decades, Feinstein has had a groundbreaking political career and shattered gender barriers. She was the first woman to serve as president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in the 1970s and the first female mayor of San Francisco. She ascended to that post after the November 1978 assassinations of then-Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk by a former supervisor, Dan White. Feinstein found Milks body.

In the Senate, she was the first woman to head the Senate Intelligence Committee and the first woman to serve as the Judiciary Committees top Democrat.

Full coverage here:

***

Photos: Sen. Dianne Feinstein through the years
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Undocumented students are one step closer to being able to work on-campus jobs across the University of Californias 10 campuses thanks to a new policy adopted Thursday by the universitys Board of Regents.

The university believes that all university students, regardless of immigration status, should have the same opportunity to realize the benefits of university student employment, read the new policy, which the regents adopted on the final day of their spring meeting at UCLA.

For months, student organizers have urged the university to change its policy on hiring undocumented students. On-campus jobs are crucial sources of income for students who struggle to afford college, the students say. Undocumented students also miss out on valuable learning experiences through research positions, lab work and internships.

This is a huge step toward ensuring equal access to opportunities for all students across the University of California system, said Karely Amaya, a UCLA graduate student in public policy and a leader of the Undocumented Student-led Network, in a statement Thursday.

The students argue that states and certain state entities are exempted from the 1986 federal law that bars the hiring of employees who lack proper documentation. Legal scholars from the UCLA School of Laws Center for Immigration Law & Policy worked with the students to develop the analysis on which they based their arguments.

As law professors with considerable experience in immigration law, wrote UCLA law professors Hiroshi Motomura and Ahilan Arulanantham in an open sign-on letter of support, we write primarily to affirm that we believe that the legal foundation for hiring undocumented students within UC, as described in the attached memorandum, is sound.

As of Thursday, at least 25 other law professors  including by Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law  had endorsed the letter.

The board appointed a so-called Regents Working Group that will, by the end of November, develop a strategy for how to implement the change and, presumably, how to defend it from legal challenges.

The working group will determine whether, how and when to implement next steps, wrote the UC Office of the President in an emailed statement.

The Presidents Office would not provide additional details about how many members the working group included, how they were chosen and whether any undocumented students would participate in the process.

First and foremost, we as undocumented UC students must have a seat at the table  and that has yet to be the case leading up to this point, said Jeffry Umana Munoz, a UCLA undergraduate and student organizer., in a Thursday statement We alone know what it means to be undocumented and denied equal access to opportunities on campus.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Dawn Duckett sat in the Shasta County Board of Supervisors chamber for more than three hours Tuesday night before she got a chance to speak.

The board has five members, but there was really only one Duckett wanted to address  Kevin Crye, the target of a recall campaign launched by residents angry and embarrassed over what they think is an extreme far-right turn their county has taken.

It was 9 p.m. when she reached the microphone.

Its a little past my bedtime, said Duckett, who worked for the county for 22 years. She explained that she was also there for her husband, John, who couldnt attend.

Were both Republicans, were both conservative, and we both support the recall, she told them.

We are the silent majority, were hard working, were law abiding, were fiscally conservative, and we are outraged. Outraged. We want our county back.

Crye, owner of the local Ninja Coalition gym who also runs several summer camps and team sports, was elected to the board last November. He was the decisive vote in the boards 3-2 decision in January to scrap the countys contract with Dominion Voting Systems, infamously accused by Trump supporters of flipping votes and having links to Venezuela. The company recently won a $787 million defamation award from Fox News for spreading the lies.

County fiscal analysts say the replacement, a time-consuming manual ballot tally, will cost about $4 million.

In an interview with The Bee, Crye bristled at being labeled far-right or extreme. He also said those predictions have 1,000% been overestimated.

The recall committee is painting me out to be something thats entirely not me, he said, countering with the Kramer poster on his office door. He still cries when he watches The Notebook or The Shawshank Redemption. While training for triathlons in college, he started to shave his legs  a practice he continues to this day.

How many far-right militia extremist men shave their legs at 46?

His critics are less concerned with his office setup and personal grooming habits than they are with his voting record and political allies.

One is Mike Lindell, CEO of My Pillow, who is being sued by Dominion for $1.3 billion. Lindell offered to financially support the countys pivot to a hand-count system after meeting in-person with Crye earlier this year. The supervisor said reaching out to Lindell was a hail Mary attempt to try and reach somebody for information on voting security and fraud. Crye said he reached out to so many people, so many legislators, senators, congressmen, other boards of supervisors. Lindell was just the person who responded.

I dont know what to believe anymore, Crye said, when asked if he thought the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump. This is why I think its important for the regular Joes and Jills to get involved (in local politics) and ask questions.

If I cant see, touch, hear, taste, or smell it, then I dont believe it.

Cryes vote to cancel the Dominion contract and meet with Lindell opened a lot of eyes, said Jeff Gorder, the recall committee spokesman, who worked for decades as a county public defender before retiring in 2018. He never campaigned on that at all ... that was a red flag right there. In the months since, he says, more red flags popped up.

Crye supported Chriss Streets appointment to be the countys CEO despite his ties to the New California movement, which wants to separate the rural north from the liberal coastal cities to form the 51st state.

I didnt know anything about that, Crye told The Bee. He said he largely supported Street because of his experience in the public and private sector. (Street is a Southern California entrepreneur who also served as the treasurer of Orange County.)

When word of Streets appointment made its way through the community, residents, including Gorder, urged the board to look into Streets background. The offer was rescinded after he failed his background check, although it isnt known what exactly compelled the board to back away.

Another red flag, the recall committee says, was Cryes abstention on a Second Amendment measure from Jones. In an effort to undermine state gun regulations, Jones proposed a resolution that would allow the Board of Supervisors the final say on firearms. The countys legal counsel warned that board would likely would be sued if it attempted this.

Moderate conservatives are mortified by what they see as thoughtless spending of taxpayer dollars and increasingly extremist views. Many feel theyre being unfairly depicted in statewide and national coverage of Californias far-right North State. Shasta Democrats have long battled uphill in the states most conservative county, where Trump won in 2020 by 66%. But a group of voters across the political spectrum are united by the belief that Kevin Crye misrepresents the needs and wants of his county.

Duckett has lived in Shasta a long time, and her husband has deep roots in the region. He retired as city manager for the city of Shasta Lake in 2021. Both of his grandfathers worked on the Shasta Dam.

We know what being a fiscal conservative is, and were pretty sure that theyre not, Duckett told The Bee a few hours before she got to speak. Theyre throwing around these terms that sound good, like Im a fiscal conservative! And theyre not following through with it. Im not quite sure what the agenda is here. Is it to bankrupt the county? Because thats what it looks like.

Another recall supporter, David Halligan, told Crye that, as a voter for 49 years, he has never been involved in a campaign and never thought it would be with a recall movement.

All of you were elected with these Dominion machines, were you not? Were you not, Mr. Crye? Was it a free and fair election with the Dominion machines for you?

Crye maintains that hes very fiscally conservative, and that despite some vocal right-of-center voices, the recall movement is just an attempt to replace him with a leftist Democrat.

The moderates behind the recall

Politics in Shasta County grew more extreme in reaction to public health restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Crye himself was motivated by the shutdowns to become active; his son was in elementary school at the time, and Crye said theyre still struggling with the consequences of pandemic isolation.

But until November, the Board of Supervisors had maintained a 3-2 majority in favor of rational Republicans on the board holding the line against the tide of really extreme thinking, said Gorder.

There were concerns about Crye, who Gorder said portrayed himself as more moderate during his campaign, almost immediately upon his election.

He has largely fallen in line with the two members of the board who veer further right: Patrick Jones and Chris Kelstrom. The other two supervisors, Mary Rickert and Tim Garman, are more moderate.

By late March, the movement to recall Crye came together. The county clerk approved the language of the recall petition on Monday. On Tuesday, the committee held its first signing event outside county offices in downtown Redding. It will need to collect 4,151 valid signatures from District 1 voters in 120 days to get the recall on the ballot by the countys next election this coming Nov. 7. If the recall is successful, another election could take place in March, where voters will decide on Cryes replacement.

Gorder and Tim Hill, the committees chairman, hope the movement will appeal to silent majority voters like Duckett  fiscal conservatives who dont want to see the county dragged into extremes. Seeing Shasta make national news as a hotbed of far-right extremism feels concerning to Gorder, who doesnt think its an accurate assessment.

There are some with power, obviously, that are trying to make Shasta a model for extreme views throughout the country, he said.

They see themselves in that way, in wanting to push Shasta in the direction of being the vanguard of this far-right movement. If Shasta moves to this (hand count) voting system, its a model for everyone else. There is that effort going on, but I do believe that its a minority view. We are unfairly targeted along with that. I understand were Republican and conservative, but I dont think were crazy.

Hill was a lifelong Republican until he switched to No Party Preference a few years ago. His father worked in the Reagan Administration and was the chairman of the Republican Party of Marin County.

Politics are in my blood, he said, at the signing event Tuesday. He called the board takeover extremely alarming.

This is not normal, he said. They canceled Dominion based on lies and falsehoods. ... This is not conservative. This is crazy. This is extremism.

Crye: Stop Newsom from meddling in Shasta politics

Do you want to see liberal Democrats who are upset they lost, recall an elected Supervisor? the Shasta County GOP asked its followers in a Facebook post. Obviously, Sacramento Democrats are unwilling and unable to vote for the best solutions in rural California communities, they wrote in another.

Tickets to a Thursday night No On Crye Recall event asked supporters, How do you feel about Governor Newsom selecting your next supervisor?

The governor does have the authority to appoint a replacement on the Board of Supervisors before the county formally elects one. But even if the appointed replacement was an extreme leftist like Crye says it would be, that person would have little influence in such a red county.

Theyre running on the bogeyman Newsom thats going to appoint, Gorder said. Its really not the reality at all. Certainly, we havent had any communication with Gov. Newsom about this.

Were fine if a moderate, true conservative Republican would take the place of Mr. Crye, he said. We know were a Republican and conservative county. We dont have any interest in trying to promote an extremely liberal Democrat.

Union workers support the recall

Lost in the fog of culture wars over Venezuelan voting machines and a 51st state is a fomenting labor movement. Members of the United Public Employees of California have been on strike since May 2, protesting increasing costs of health care benefits and low pay.

Local 792s 850 members, who administer crucial services like Cal Fresh, MediCal, and foster care, are among the lowest paid public employees in the state. They see their livelihood as collateral in the boards Dominion drama, as evidenced by the $4 million it may pay for the hand-counting system. They walked out when the Board of Supervisors failed to make what they considered a reasonable salary offer.

Crye, Jones and Kelstrom claim that they couldnt provide more than a two-and-a-half percent raise to the hardworking UPEC members, and yet theyre willing without the bat of an eye to throw away $4 million on a harebrained hand-count scheme promoted by a pillow salesman, said Gorder.

Catreena Johnson is a Redding resident and lead worker at the call center that handles CalWorks, CalFresh and MediCal recipients and helps applicants get access to those programs. She and dozens of other UPEC members have spoken at board meetings about the countys failures to meet the needs of workers and the residents who rely on county services.

Over the last three years, UPEC workers have struggled to make ends meet as their health care premiums continue to go up. Raises offered by the county  their most recent offer was 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment  would not change what workers are taking home if the cost of health care continues to rise.

It feels like a slap in the face, Johnson said, about the boards decision to spend millions on changing the voting system while, in the same breath, telling UPEC it cant afford to pay them.

She said she very much supports the recall of Crye.
The reopening of the road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia is an absolute necessity. This was stated by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power, answering the question of Congressman Brad Sherman during the hearing of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the US House of Representatives.

The congressman asked if the blockade of Karabakh by Azerbaijan could be considered by the USAID as a crisis, and what the agency could do to help the people of Karabakh.

Power reminded that the USAIDs partner organization providing humanitarian aid to Karabakh was the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), whose convoy had difficulty entering Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday. According to her, Karabakh should not have to rely on humanitarian convoys, and the reopening of the aforesaid road is an indisputable imperative.

Congressman Chris Smith also reflected on the ongoing blockade of 120,000 people in Karabakh by Azerbaijan and the humanitarian aid from the United States.

Power noted that food should reach the region via trade routes, but that was not currently possible due to the installation of roadblocks and checkpoints, so aid was being delivered through Russian peacekeepers and the ICRCwhere possible.

Also, the head of USAID recalled that two missions were sent to Karabakh, and she called on the UN to send an inter-agency mission to the region to assess the situation.
Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute comments on scandalous video

Serbia sends military units to Kosovo border

Russian MFA: Russia expects Yerevan, Baku will be able to sign peace treaty

Armenia MFA: Illegal abduction of 2 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan is attempt to deviate from its own obligations

Iraq unveils Europe-Middle East road and rail project

Germany: Russia to expel German diplomats in June

Nairi MC: Nikol Pashinyan only came to see a patient

Vucic nominates Milos Vucevic as ruling Serbian Progressive Party head

Syunik governor: border settlements have enough weapons for self-defense

Nepal PM to hold talks with India's Narendra Modi

Nubarashen landfill fire extinguished

Iran, Russia, Syria, Turkey Deputy FMs to discuss Ankara-Damascus relations

Kishida willing to meet Kim Jong Un over kidnappings of Japan citizens

Iran calls Zelenskyy's statement 'worthless political show'

Armenia MoD publishes names of soldiers disappeared on the border

Russia reports two drone attacks on oil refinery

Bordachev: Turkey is very poorly represented in Central Asia

Erdogan accuses Germany of violating press freedom

Explosion in Russias Pskov damages oil pipeline building

Nikkei Asia: Japan and NATO increase cooperation to counter China, Russia

RA MOD: Car operated by 2 servicemen delivering provisions found on inter-positional roa

Car overturned in Shirak Province

The President of The Artsakh Republic convened a session of the Security Council

Cavusoglu: Turkey's EU membership still a goal, though process unlikely to revive

Turkish interior minister sued for use of facial recognition app

Belgium releases Iranian diplomat Asadollah Asadi

Ukraine asks Germany for Taurus cruise missiles

Clashes between Iran border guards and Taliban forces

Communication with 2 servicemen of the RA Armed Forces supplying food to combat positions was interrupted

Pashinyan received American Co-Chair of OSCE Minsk Group

Dollar, euro gain value

New presidential decrees prohibit assemblies, curtail freedom of expression in Karabakh

Cavusoglu: Turkey ready to take positive steps with Armenia if it signs peace agreement with Azerbaijan

MFA of Armenia: Signing of the peace treaty is not included in the agenda of the Chisinau meeting

Ararat Mirzoyan, Louis Bono confer about Armenia-Azerbaijan relations normalization process (PHOTOS)

Azerbaijan pursues policy of energy suffocation of Karabakh but says it provides electricity

Karabakh medical patients transfer to Armenia by Red Cross resumes

Azerbaijan deputy PM speaks about Zangezur corridor at Kazan forum

Armenia opposition MP: Russia response to Azerbaijan should have been more decisive

Ruling power lawmaker:Armenian side hears for first time that Russia supports Azerbaijan position on Zangezur corridor

Armenia ruling force MP: There is clear position on unblocking of regional communications

Azerbaijan ambassador to France sees chance for signing peace treaty with Armenia at European summit

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN Secretary General special adviser on the growing humanitarian crisis in Karabakh

Karabakh's bilaterally surrounded Lisagor village head: Youth want to leave the community, go to university

Russia presidential spox: Azerbaijan-Armenia peace agreement signing possible in foreseeable future

Armen Grigoryan, Louis Bono discuss Armenia-US relations agenda

NATO special representative holds meetings in Azerbaijan

Armenia President: War of 2020 was predictable back in 1990-1991 but we didn't want to face the truth

Azerbaijan defense minister visits Georgia

Armenia ombudswoman briefs Netherlands envoy on problems due to Lachin corridor blockade by Azerbaijan

Armenia PM: Deepening of neighborly relations with Georgia is among priorities of our foreign policy

Parliament speaker to Armenia graduating schoolchildren: Try to become your best version, not to be lazy

US State Department: We believe that an agreement is in reach between Armenia, Azerbaijan

Philip Reeker: Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement must include various concepts

Newspaper: Armenia authorities prominent figures involved in illegal drugs import

Russia deputy PM: Azerbaijan, Armenia equally understand how transport corridors must be unblocked

Full speech of Pashinyan and Putin at bilateral meeting

Overchuk: We will discuss many important details with Armenia, Azerbaijan deputy PMs in one week

Trilateral meeting of the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia ended

Trilateral meeting of Aliyev, Putin and Pashinyan begins

Putin: Azerbaijan recognizes full sovereignty of Armenia

Putin: Russia trade with Armenia reached $5 billion in 2022

Putin: Russia has never changed its position on Lachin corridor

Putin: Trilateral meeting will discuss unblocking of transport links

Pashinyan and Putin meet in Moscow

Pashinyan, Aliyev have war of words over Zangezur corridor term interpretation

Russias Putin thanks Armenias Pashinyan for not opposing Azerbaijans Aliyev visit to EAEU meeting

Putin: There are principled agreements between Armenia, Azerbaijan regarding territorial integrity

Peskov: No predictions regarding Putin, Aliyev, Pashinyan meeting yet

Russia defense minister signs documents on deployment of nuclear weapons on Belarus territory

Georgian Airways to launch transit flights to Europe for Russians

Aliyev announces possibility of signing peace agreement with Armenia

Overchuk: 89% of goods transactions within EAEU are carried out in our national currencies

Czech Republic embassy in Armenia temporarily suspends Schengen visa applicants registration

Armenia premier: EAEU-Iran free trade agreement entry into force is paramount to us

Karabakh FM sends official letters to heads of foreign diplomatic missions accredited to Armenia

Armenia Investigative Committee: Detention chosen as preventive measure against Vardan Ghukasyan

Putin: It will be difficult for other Eurasian Economic Union countries to reach Armenia

Pashinyan: Armenia ready for dialogue to create single natural gas market within EAEU

Armenia to hold several tourism festivals this year

Armenia economic activity index up 12.2% in January-April

Tourism Committee head: 630,000 tourists visited Armenia in 1st four months of 2023

Baku plans to relocate 1,500 Azerbaijanis to occupied Armenian Shushi city of Karabakh in 1st phase

CSTO countries approve 2024 plan for collective security forces joint training

Putin: Armenia is main beneficiary at EAEU because its economy growth rate is the highest

Georgia arrests Iran citizen transporting 80kg of heroin via Armenia

Eurasian Economic Union summit kicks off in Kremlin

Sergei Shoigu: West attempts to intervene in situation around Karabakh

Russia deputy FM: Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty should be based on long-term, stable decision

Arizona State Legislature affirms Karabakh right to self-determination

Armenia government gives compensation for construction equipment that came under Azerbaijan control last September

Russia defense minister underscores importance of Armenia participation in CSTO joint military exercises

Economy minister: Armenia pharmaceutical sector production is expected to increase to AMD 40 billion by 2027

Armenia deputy FM, Red Cross president confer about humanitarian crisis in Karabakh

Russias Putin to meet with Armenias Pashinyan, Azerbaijans Aliyev in Moscow

Deputy FM: Azerbaijan will not allow Israel to attack Iran from its territory

Armenia premier sends congratulatory messages to King, PM of Jordan

Armenia minister of defense to not attend CSTO defense ministers council meeting

Eurasian Economic Commission: Number of labor migrants from Russia to Armenia increased by 272% in 2022

Armenia ombudswoman briefs Sweden ambassador on situation due to Lachin corridor blockade by Azerbaijan
The ambassadors of the countries that joined the "Resilient Syunik Team Europe" initiative of the European Union visited Syunik today to participate in the event dedicated to the Europe Day, where they announced about doubling of the budget of the projects implemented in the Syunik province within the framework of the initiative. NEWS.am reporter Gayane Aleksanyan asked a few questions to Anne Louyot, France's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia.



The European Union is implementing this program in Syunik. Why is it important for the EU to do this kind of programs, especially in Syunik?

It is very important. As you are aware of, it is one of the flagships of European Investment Plan in Armenia. And why is it one of the main priorities of our action in Armenia? Because we have to promote the development of Syunik as part of the security of this region, that is to say, as part of the security of Armenia, because we know the role played by Syunik in the global security of Armenia.

The second reason we want to develop, of course, the economy of Armenia, and Syunik is a very important part from the point of view of communication, also from the point of view of other main economic areas, such as agriculture, tourism, entrepreneurship as well.

Especially after they lost some of their territories. Azerbaijan occupied some territories in Syunik region, and people lost agricultural lands and now they are facing real problem in agriculture.

Yes. That is why it is very important to develop agriculture in Syunik. And as a member of Team Europe Initiative France is also focusing on agriculture and has already several projects and aims at developing other projects in the field of agriculture in order to support the people working in agriculture.

Here, we are in a region where people wake up every day with a fear to be attacked by the Azerbaijani troops. The last clash in this region happened in April despite the presence of the European Union monitoring mission. What do you think, how can people here be sure that their lives will be more secure with the presence of the EU Monitoring Mission.

Well, I am here to speak about the Team Europe Initiative in Syunik, but I can answer this question from the European point of view. The European Union has taken a very important decision to deploy civilian mission of observers in Armenia, and some of them, of course, as you are aware of, are in Syunik: there is a basis of EU MA in Goris. And we think that the EU MA is playing a key role in the security of the border, not from the military point of view, of course, because they are civilian observers and their aim is mainly to build confidence at the border and to observe the situation at the border and to report to Brussels, obviously, and to our headquarters, so, each member state, in order for the EU to be able to play an important role in peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. So, the European Union is definitely supporting the peace process and the possibility for Armenia to negotiate with Azerbaijan.

But Azerbaijan keeps violating the ceasefire. Yesterday they fired even at the ambulance carrying a wounded soldier. What kind of peace can be reached in this kind of situation when Azerbaijan violates the ceasefire frequently?

We regret all these tensions because we think that these tensions, of course, are not in favor of peace process, but we are still pushing, we are still working, we are still promoting the peace process between both countries. And as you know there was a meeting in Brussels, and there will be a new meeting with the presence of the European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Chisinau. And we are still working and supporting the peace process.
We strongly condemn the actions taking place in the Lachin corridor and on the border of Armenia; targeting healthcare workers is unacceptable. This was announced by the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) delegation, Marthe Everard, during a meeting with Armenia's Minister of Health, Anahit Avanesyan.

Also, the WHO delegation noted that they were ready to use all diplomatic levers to condemn similar actions, Armenia's health ministry informs Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Avanesyan, in turn, thanked WHO regional director for Europe Hans Kluge for his personal engagement in the settlement of this issue.

The delegation was led by Marthe Everard, the special representative of the WHO regional director in Armenia.

Matters related to deepening the cooperation between Armenia and WHO before the 76th World Health Assembly, and providing technical support to Armenias healthcare quality assurance reforms were discussed at the meeting.

It was noted that the appointment of the WHO representative to Armenia, as well as the Anahit Avanesyan-Hans Kluge meeting within the framework of the upcoming World Health Assembly, will contribute to the intensification of this cooperation.
Azerbaijani foreign minister Jeyhun Bayramov, during his meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, in Moscow, noted the positive dynamics of the negotiation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, reports RIA Novosti.

The FMs of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia on Friday will discuss, in the Russian capital, the prospects of normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan, taking into account the dynamic situation in the region.

Bayramov thanked Lavrov for the invitation to this meeting.

"The organizing of this meeting and the positive dynamics that emerged in the negotiation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, I mean the quite close contacts in May and such an opportunity, we value it very highly," the Azerbaijani FM said.

"I believe that today there will be an opportunity to bilaterally discuss a number of issues related to the post-conflict normalization [of relations] between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as to discuss bilateral contacts and the agenda between Azerbaijan and Russia," Bayramov added.
Despite the fact that in the statement by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia on November 9, 2020, the Lachin corridor should have been under the control of Russian peacekeepers, unfortunately, it is now not possible to record that Russia controls the Lachin corridor. This was stated by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan at the meeting Friday with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Moscow.

"I am glad that I have another opportunity to talk again about painful topics, the situation in the South Caucasus, to hold another round of talks on the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations," said Mirzoyan.

According to the FM, Armenia, as always, participates very constructively in these talks.

"We are focused on long-term peace in our region. Armenia remains committed to the tripartite statements by the leaders of our countries on November 9, 2020 and all subsequent ones. Unfortunately, as they say, the situation on the ground is a little different; parallel to the talks, the escalation of the situation by Azerbaijan is observed on a regular basis. We see an invasion of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, we see a gross violation [by Azerbaijan] of the same statement of November 9, 2020. The last such violation was when the Azerbaijani side tried to set up a checkpoint in the Lachin corridor, although the procedure at the Lachin corridor was very clearly worded in the November 9 statement that it should remain under the control of the Russian Federation. But, unfortunately, now it is not possible to record that the Russian Federation now controls the Lachin corridor," said the Armenian FM.
Russia has serious interests in the South Caucasus region and has played a historical role. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at Fridays meeting with his visiting Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan, in Moscow.

According to Russian FM, Moscow is ready to contribute to the final establishment of peace and stability in the South Caucasus. Also, he noted that the role of the tripartite statements signed by the leaders of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan was very significant.

These agreements should be of crucial importance in finding all solutions to all issues, including the peace treaty, the unblocking of all roads, and the border delimitation, with further demarcation, Lavrov added.

"I believe that progress in all these directions is a key condition for achieving peace in the South Caucasus. Russia has serious interests in the South Caucasus region and has played a historical role. I am convinced that our allies understand this. With this status, Russia will strive to do everything possible so that the upcoming events will be useful and give concrete results," Lavrov said.

The Russian FM added that the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be the main topic of today's tripartite meeting between the foreign ministers of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
The trilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan will take place in Moscow in the second half of the day. This was announced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in his opening remarks at Fridays meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, reports the press service of the Russian foreign ministry.

"It is a good opportunity to take advantage of your stay in Moscow to consider as well the state of our bilateral affairs, especially on the threshold of the planned contacts between the leaders of Russia and Azerbaijan. I would like to emphasize once again our direction to implement all the agreements reached between Presidents [Vladimir] Putin and [Ilham] Aliyev," the Russian FM said.

"One of the latest interesting projects is the North-South international transport corridor. Our leaders have discussed it among themselves and with the participation of other interested countriesand they are not few. We expect that further work in this and the other directions will be agreed upon at the upcoming meeting," Lavrov noted.

"Our trade is booming, investments are working. Companies have additional plans. We will exchange opinions on these matters. Let's see how it would be better to prepare for the tripartite contact with our Armenian colleague. It is scheduled for the second half of the day," the Russian FM stated.
Understanding on the process of unblocking regional communications and border delimitation is being touched upon between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, during the tripartite meeting in Moscow with his Russian and Azerbaijani counterparts, noting that it is about border delimitation based on the Almaty Declaration of 1991.

"Both the Armenian side and others should work on the further specification of the parameters of that process. I would like to emphasize the inadmissibility of further heating up [of the situation] and the importance of refraining from the use of force, which the leaders of the two countries have agreed on and made a joint statement about. Armenia remains loyal to our leaders' November 9[, 2020] and all subsequent tripartite statements. Thank you. We will do constructive work," the Armenian FM noted

Also, Mirzoyan expressed his gratitude to Russia for the invitation and the organizing of the next round of talks on the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.

"I would like to note the progress that has been made on several articles of the intended peace agreement [between Armenia and Azerbaijan]," he added.
There is no alternative to the trilateral statements by the leaders of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan regarding the settlement of the situation in the South Caucasus. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated this at Fridays tripartite meeting in Moscow with his visiting Armenian and Azerbaijani colleagues.

"The last time we met in this format was quite a long time ago. During this time many topics have developed, and I hope that the meeting will take place in a constructive atmosphere. And the direct dialogue between [Armenian FM] Ararat Mirzoyan and [Azerbaijani FM] Jeyhun Bayramov will enable to achieve additional results," said the Russian FM.

In this trilateral format, Lavrov proposed to consider the entire range of matters on the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and to agree on further steps, taking into account the capabilities of Russia.

"In fact, there is a roadmap for achieving stable solutions in the tripartite statements of our leaders. We have analyzed the situation around the South Caucasus, we believe that there is no alternative to the arrangements by our leaders. Russia wants peace and stability in the region, Russian interests are directly connected here," Lavrov noted.

"The Russian Federation will make every effort to implement the decisions regarding the stabilization of the situation, hoping that they will be respected by all other countries that are interested, in one way or another, in our presence in this region," said the Russian FM.

Separately, Lavrov noted the need to stabilize the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the need to solve humanitarian problems, unblock regional transport communications, and agree on the text of the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The Russian FM added the development of contacts between experts, NGOs, and parliamentarians, noting that such an experience had already taken place, and it will also be an important step for confidence-building.
Azerbaijan is consistently in favor of the post-conflict settlement process with Armenia. This was stated by the minister of foreign affairs of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, during Fridays trilateral meeting with the foreign ministers of Russia and Armenia, Sergey Lavrov and Ararat Mirzoyan, in Moscow.

"Post-conflict settlement is a process that consists of various directions. We [i.e., Azerbaijan] are in favor of parallel work in all directions. We believe that they are complementary," the Azerbaijani FM said.

Bayramov, however, noted that a certain stagnation has been observed in the negotiation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan since the end of last year.

"As a matter of fact, we are very positive about the fact that, starting from May, the dynamic has a consistent and positive character. Team level meetings and talks regarding the peace treaty have already taken place, the leaders' meeting has taken place. We believe that today's talks will also be productive and will enable to go over all the matters once again. Naturally, on a bilateral basis, it is also a good opportunity to continue, with the Armenian delegation, the discussion of topics related to the peace treaty," Azerbaijani FM said.
Today in Moscow we held a series of meetings dedicated to the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as the Karabakh settlement. First, separate bilateral meetings were held with my colleague from Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, and my colleague from Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan. Then the three of us met. This was announced by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov based on the results of Fridays tripartite meeting in the Russian capital.

"We have exchanged assessments regarding the situation that is being formed between the President of the Russian Federation Putin, the President of Azerbaijan Aliyev, and the Prime Minister of Armenia Pashinyan in the context of the work towards the implementation of the agreements reached after November 2022.

"These agreements refer to ensuring security and stability in Karabakh. They also refer to the unblocking of [regional] transport and economic communications. A tripartite working group, headed by the deputy prime ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, is dealing with it. The settlement of humanitarian issues is part of the agreement. First of all, it is about border delimitation, with subsequent border demarcation. Therefore, by a separate statement of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, an Armenian-Azerbaijani border delimitation commission was established, with the participation of the Russian side as a consultant," the Russian FM said.

"The peace treaty is a separate topic. The parties have started working towards it, and it is now being actively discussed, including with the engagement of other mediators. The Armenian and Azerbaijani [foreign] ministers left for Washington [recently], the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan were in Brussels a week ago.

"The work on the peace agreement is undoubtedly fundamental. However, our partners confirmed today that without border delimitation, unblocking of transport and economic communications, without general improvement of the security situation in Karabakh and on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, it is difficult to move forward with the specific aspects of the peace treaty.

"A complex discussion of all this took place. The partners expressed gratitude to the Russian side for the leading role in the common efforts, which are embodied in the mentioned tripartite statements of our leaders and the contacts that continue in each of the directions I mentioned," Lavrov noted.

"The meeting of the tripartite group led by the deputy prime ministers, on the issues of unblocking transport communications, should take place next week. We hope that there will be a positive result. The parties are already close to the final agreement. They agreed to hold a meeting, in the near future, of the bilateral commission on border delimitation and demarcation issues, with the advisory participation of the Russian Federation.

"With the peace treaty and a number of articles that were discussed today, it was possible to bring the mutual understanding of both sides closer to the common vision. Now the bilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan has started, after which they will inform us about the results they have achieved.

"Our [i.e., Russias] task was to provide a platform for a bilateral meeting. We presented our approaches. We hope that this event will enable the ongoing talks between the [foreign] ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia to achieve practical results. We will continue to contribute to the progress in order to fully implement all the provisions of all tripartite statements, which are the basis for fully implementing the efforts aimed at the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations," the Russian FM stated.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has found a new reason to accuse Armenia; this time, during his meeting with Indian Ambassador Sridharan Madhusudhanan.

In a respective quote from the Azerbaijani media, Aliyev said that "if Armenia really wants peace with Azerbaijan, why is it acquiring weapons worth hundreds of millions of dollars?"

But just a week ago, the president of Azerbaijan announced that the authorities of his country will increase the funding of the defense sector in case of revision of the parameters of the 2023 state budget.

"We have always worked systemically in the matter of army building, and we continue this work. After the second Karabakh war [in 2020], we did not stop; on the contrary, we are moving forward. Additions will be made to this year's state budget, a considerable part of which is again intended for defense purposes. Why? Because we must always be ready," the Azerbaijani leader had said, pledging to strengthen the countrys army in the future as well.

In the current 2023 state budget of Azerbaijan, 5.3 billion manats (more than $3.1 billion), or 16 percent of the state budget expenses, are planned to be allocated for the countrys defense and national security funding.
The view from the passenger window of the turboprop seaplane always had been the same: miles and miles of clear blue water as the aircraft made the 30-minute flight from Key West to Dry Tortugas National Park.

Maritime archaeologist Joshua Marano had taken the short flight on numerous occasions, traveling to the parks historic Fort Jefferson to assist in restoration projects.

But one day in the summer of 2016, as the seaplane descended for an aquatic landing, Marano saw something unusual: an L-shaped pattern of dots below the water.

Very early in my archaeological career, I was taught that you dont find patterns or rigid shapes in nature, said Marano, an adjunct professor in the Exploration Sciences Program at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science. Usually, that indicates theres some kind of manmade structure.

Could the peculiar dots have been navigational aids from a bygone era? Marano wasnt sure.

Once he returned to the mainland, he did a little sleuthing, learning that the area was a submerged island near the 100-square-mile park where a 19th-century quarantine hospital and cemetery once may have been located.

We still needed to get in the water and get eyes on it, Marano said. So, he promised himself to one day explore the site with a team of divers. Hurricane Irma and a years long active-duty deployment as a Coast Guard reservist during the height of the pandemic would delay that plan.

Then, one day in mid-August 2022, Marano finally got the chance. Swimming parallel lines from north to south over the shallow area, and using a GPS tracker to maintain their course, he and two other divers discovered the remains of the quarantine hospital and cemetery he had researched and read about in official records. The mysterious dots turned out to be the remnants of pylons that made up the hospitals foundationthe space between them matching to a tee the measurements of the hospital Marano had located in records.

The national park service only recently announced the discovery to coincide with preservation month, which is celebrated in May.

Marano and former Rosenstiel School graduate student Devon Fogarty, who played a key role in the discovery, recounted the monthslong process that went into finding the hospital and cemetery.

On the day we surveyed the site, we counted 25 pylons in all, Fogarty recalled. We were preparing to return to our boat, when I noticed a rectangular-shaped patch of seaweed.

With Marano and another diver closely following behind her, Fogarty swam over to the patch of seaweed and discovered that it covered a gravesite with a headstone bearing an inscription they could only partly make out. They deciphered what they could, then left. The next day, they returned to the watery grave with ordinary kitchen sponges, clearing away the rest of the debris on the headstone until they could read the entire engraving. JOHN GREER. Nov. 5. 1861, it read.

For Fogarty, finding the grave was a major coup of her still fledgling career in marine archaeology. But her work on the project was just beginning. The team wanted to know more about John Greer. Was he a soldier or a civilian? And how did he die? Fogarty was tasked with finding the answers.

She started by reading up on Fort Jeffersons past. She knew that, in addition to being used as a military prison during the American Civil War, the fort also served as a naval coaling outpost, lighthouse station, naval hospital, and safe harbor for military training.

As the population of the fort swelled with military personnel, prisoners, enslaved people, engineers, support staff, laborers, and their families, the risk of communicable diseases, particularly mosquito-borne yellow fever, increased. The quarantine hospital, the remains of which she helped discover, had been used to treat yellow fever patients.

Major outbreaks of other diseases exacted a heavy toll on those staying at the fort, killing dozens throughout the 1860s and 1870s, according to Fogarty.

Some of those who perished were interred in the cemetery. While most of them were military members who were serving or were imprisoned at the fort, several others were civilians. And one of those civilians, she discovered, was John Greer.

Fogartys investigation of him took her all the way to the National Archives Museum in Washington, D.C., where, over the course of two days, she learned that he was a white laborer who worked as a scaffolder at the fort. I located his pay stubs, she said. Hes actually still owed some money for the work he did there.

But that is the extent of what she was able to dig up on Greer. We have no idea of how old he was or where he came from, Fogarty said. Were theorizing that he died of an infectious disease and hadnt sought treatment, or he may have died unexpectedly. He did a very dangerous job compared to others who worked at the fort.

Greers headstone is made from a slab of greywacke, the same material used to construct the first floor of Fort Jefferson.

The National Park Service has no plans to excavate the site but will continue to monitor and conduct surveys of the submerged island, which over time has been eroded by sea level rise and hurricanes. We advocate for in-situ preservation, leaving things in place and undisturbed, said Marano, noting that their discovery is protected by federal law. The idea is to preserve and protect resources for the betterment of this and future generations.

They hope to learn more about Greer. Hopefully, as the public interest grows in this project, people will share family letters that they may have had in their keeping and didnt really think were important, said Fogarty, who is now a doctoral student at the University of South Florida. We would love to find Greers closest living descendants and be able to make that connection to modern people.

Fogarty, who, like Marano is a Coast Guard reservist, got involved with the project through the Rosenstiel Schools Underwater Archaeology Program, which she credits for improving her research skills.

Frederick Fritz Hanselmann, a faculty member in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy, who directs the program, said the discovery demonstrates the opportunities that are available for students to work alongside professionals and to conduct cutting-edge archaeological research that sheds light on our shared past.

He added that Fogartys enthusiasm for archaeology and history coupled with a very strong work ethic and a desire to continuously learn figured largely into her success on this project.

For Marano, the discovery is the most remarkable of his career. As a little boy, he became intrigued by marine archaeology after buying a map of shipwrecks while vacationing with his family in the Outer Banks. And as a student at East Carolina University, he explored Queen Annes Revenge, the early 18th-century pirate ship commanded by Blackbeard and discovered on the seabed near Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, in 1996.

Ive found some cool stuff during my time as a marine archaeologist, but this takes the cake as the coolest, Marano said. Archaeology is not like the Indiana Jones movies, and underwater archaeology is nothing like [the 1985 movie] The Goonies or Scooby-Doo, where you have shipwrecks standing up and skeletons at the helm. But this [the quarantine hospital and cemetery] is a career-defining discovery.

High tides, rising sea levels, and hurricanes continue to erode Dry Tortugas National Park, which is why its important to investigate and document such sites, Marano said. Were literally in a race against time.
08:41

1. Why is TCS required to be collected?

-- Section 206C of the Income-Tax Act 1961 provides for TCS in the business of trading in alcohol, liquor, forest produce, scrap etc. Sub-section (1G) of the aforesaid section provides for TCS on foreign remittance through the Liberalised Remittance Scheme and on the sale of overseas tour packages.

2. Is TCS applicable to all remittances made abroad?

-- No. Only such remittances which are covered under LRS are liable to TCS. These have been detailed in the answer to Q (5) in Part B of the clarifications.

3. What is the reason behind the increase in rates of TCS?

-- The reasons for the amendment are:

The payment of TCS is not a final tax

If the TCS payee is a taxpayer, he can claim credit for the TCS as his tax payment against regular income and adjust it against the advance tax etc., payments accordingly.

If the TCS is of a person not being a taxpayer, then the 20% rate on such presumed income is not high. The tax rate slab of 20% starts in the new regime for incomes over Rs 12 lacs and is 30% for incomes over Rs 15 lacs.

Instances have come to notice where the LRS payments are disproportionately high when compared to the disclosed incomes

No changes in medical or Education expenses- Position stays as it was before the Finance Act 2023.

Primary Impact only on investment in assets such as real estate, bonds, stocks outside India by HNI and tour travel packages or gifts to non-residents.

Those individuals remitting from their own funds are normally expected to be higher-income taxpayers, and for those remitting through institutional loans for education, a concessional rate of 0.5 % is provided.
2 bodies found in Chinese fishing vessel crew search

The vessel, Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028, overturned in the early hours of Tuesday. Photo courtesy of the NPFC
Xi unveils plan to boost Central Asia development

Xi unveils plan to boost Central Asia development
New Delhi [India], May 19 (ANI/ATK): Lab le kudi koi! Or Jassi tees ki hogi si, koi samjh nhin aanda ehnu! Have your parents started to pester you like this already to find a partner, get married, and settle down? Perhaps that makes you worried, thinking that arranged marriages are risky, and you're certainly right. Meeting a stranger and calling him your better half probably after the first or second meeting itself is scary. That is where a Punjabi matrimonial service, which is Royal Matrimonial Services, comes to rescue you and find the best Punjabi match for you. Royal matrimonial services are facilitating what are said to be "matches made in heaven". They have been in the Punjabi matrimony business for the past seventeen years and have an umpteen number of successful relationship tales to tell you. Started by his father, Ranbir Chhabra, the reins of the company are now in the hands of Gaurav Chhabra, the new CEO. Being Punjabis themselves, the Chhabras understand the needs, wishes, and demands of their clients, be they the prospective bride and groom or their respective families. This makes this Punjabi matrimony site stand out from other matrimonial sites. "Best staff, amazing client dealing, wonderful matrimonial service, and never a disappointing response from Royal Matrimonial Service." It is the best matrimonial service I've ever seen," says the couple who met through the Royal matrimonial service. The couple is now happily married. Typical Indian families, especially Punjabi families, have a lot of filters when they go on a match-finding spree for their sons and daughters, and what they are left with at the end is only a few options. Here at Royal Matrimony, they give ample profiles after all your filters are met. From NRIs to businesspersons, from joint families to nuclear families, you need to tell them your wish, and they are determined to fulfil it. A wedding is just a ceremony, a marriage starts after that, where compatibility, understanding, mental status, financial status, career, and life views all hold a lot of importance. This Punjabi matrimony site believes in the same. They expect the partners to be utterly sure before saying "yes". The same is true for the respective families. They organise meetups for both the families and the partners, since in the Indian setup, families are equally important in marriage as are brides and grooms. Royals are quite innovative in their way of matching soulmates. From selecting profiles online and starting the meetings thereafter, they also organise grand events such as Swayamvars, where multiple families, prospective grooms, and brides meet and interact and, if it suits them, find partners for themselves, and there are many more events such as this. They have designed packages for the different kinds of client demands to be met. Their services include basic packages, Vicholia packages, and Elite Vicholia packages, you can select them as per your needs. There are various matrimonial websites, and you must be contemplating why to choose the Royal Matrimonial Services. Right? It is especially for their personalised manner of treating their clients, putting them at ease while they select profiles, their humble and experienced staff who are at their service, and their timely feedback of the meetings. If the formalities are taken care of already, it implies that half of the work has already been done. To the Royal Matrimony Services, it doesn't matter what their client's age is, gender is, or if he is a widower or she is a widow. Their belief is that a partner brings happiness to one's life, and they will indeed find you the one. They would begin by inquiring about your age, personality, aspirations, choices, hobbies, likes and dislikes, career goals, family background, and other details before presenting you with your best-suited profiles. This story has been provided by ATK. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/ATK)
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 19 (ANI/PRNewswire): UrbanPiper, the leading SaaS platform for restaurants and food businesses, is pleased to announce that it is now enabling merchants to go live on ONDC, India's open network for digital commerce established by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade of the Government of India. UrbanPiper has collaborated with uEngage and Bitsila to enable merchants to sell directly on ONDC. This move will provide a transparent and efficient e-commerce ecosystem that benefits all stakeholders in the food business. UrbanPiper's platform offers various features like omnichannel online order management, menu management & inventory management which help restaurants and food businesses manage their operations efficiently. Ashish Saxena, UrbanPiper India Head of Business, said, "We are thrilled to partner with uEngage and Bitsila to bring the benefits of our platform to ONDC. Our technology will enable merchants to sell on ONDC in a way that is easy, efficient, and cost-effective, and we are excited about the opportunities this will create for our customers." Merchants will now be able to benefit from the efficiencies of the UrbanPiper platform while expanding their reach through ONDC. Merchants can be quickly onboarded onto ONDC and start selling their products and services on the network. This will help businesses increase sales, streamline operations, and reduce costs. T Koshy, MD & CEO of ONDC said, "UrbanPiper's platform, coupled with uEngage and Bitsila's expertise, will enable merchants to sell directly on ONDC, thus paving the way for enhanced operational efficiency." "Over the past four years, uEngage has created a very extensive SAAS tech platform for restaurants and provided them with two major benefits - ownership of data and reduced commissions. With ONDC, we just have a bigger ocean! uEngage is looking forward to joining forces with UrbanPiper to enable its large pool of restaurants on ONDC at lowest seller app side commissions" said Sameer Sharma, Founder of uEngage Dasharatham Bitla, Bitsila Founder & CEO, said, "This is a huge leap forward for the entire F&B ecosystem & we are very excited to bring in a huge transformation through our partnership with Urbanpiper. With Bitsila, restaurants can now instantly get listed on 10+ e-commerce platforms and generate more than double the revenue at less than half the commission, thus making the business more profitable and sustainable." ONDC is a significant step towards the government's vision of building an open, transparent and reliable e-commerce ecosystem for India. UrbanPiper aims to provide restaurant operators with the best possible opportunities to grow their businesses sustainably, and this partnership is another step in that direction. UrbanPiper UrbanPiper is the leading SaaS platform for restaurants and food businesses, providing various services to help manage operations more efficiently. UrbanPiper helps businesses of all sizes, from the smallest of restaurants to the largest of chains worldwide, grow their in-store and online commerce. Right from helping restaurants automate workflows across online delivery platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato, to building and deploying self-branded websites and apps, and managing walk-in customers and dine-in experiences, UrbanPiper is the preferred choice for over 30k+ restaurants across the world. Incorporated on 31st December 2021, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a Section 8 company, is an initiative of the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce, Government of India to create a facilitative model that revolutionises digital commerce, giving greater thrust to penetration of retail e-commerce in India. ONDC is not an application, platform, intermediary, or software but a set of specifications designed to foster open, unbundled, and interoperable open networks Media Contact: Kaushal Rajkaushal@urbanpiper.com+91-9711774349 This story has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire)
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], May 19 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Bajaj Allianz Life, a one of the leading private life insurer in India, has launched India's first Small-Cap fund in the ULIP segment that offers customers the opportunity to achieve capital appreciation by investing in a diversified portfolio of small-cap stocks. The benchmark index is Nifty Small Cap 100 index. The NFO period for Bajaj Allianz Life's Small Cap Fund ends on 23 May, 2023. The equity investment strategy of the Bajaj Allianz Life Investment team revolves around identifying companies with a competitive advantage, good corporate governance, high ROE/ROCE, robust free cash flow, growth visibility and attractive valuations. The underlying philosophy is to uncover businesses with large market opportunities and prioritize Growth at a Reasonable Price from a valuation perspective. Bajaj Allianz Life Small Cap Fund will invest minimum 60% in small cap stocks, Market-cap exposure is based on equity exposure re-scaled to 100% . Why invest in Small-Cap Fund Customers can consider some of the key points while investing in the Bajaj Allianz Life Small-Cap Fund: - Small-cap fund category has seen significant traction from investors in the other financial saving avenues, over the past few years - Small-cap equity funds have managed to outperform the benchmark Nifty Small Cap 100 index by a significant margin over the long term. - Nifty Small-cap 100 index valuation has moderated from its highs and is now below the long-term average, making a case for investment in small-caps from a valuation perspective. Sampath Reddy, Chief Investment Officer, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, said on the launch, "We are thrilled to launch the first-of-its-kind small cap fund in the life insurance industry, with the focus on long-term wealth creation for our customers. We are confident that this fund will strongly resonate with investors and support them in the journey towards achieving their life goals." Bajaj Allianz Life's Small Cap Fund is now available with Bajaj Allianz Life's ULIPs. For more information, please visit our website: https://www.bajajallianzlife.com/ This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India)
Industrial biotechnology company Praj Industries CEO and MD Shishir Joshipura on Friday said it was a historic day because the company has demonstrated that it can use India's feedstock in the aviation industry. In an interaction with ANI, the CEO and MD said it had been working for almost 18 months with different government technology companies, like its partners in America. Joshipura exuded confidence while saying the company could achieve the target of using 1 per cent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by all aircraft by mid-2025. On asked how confident he was for achieve the target of 1 per cent SAF blending by all aircraft by mid-2025, Joshipura said the company has demonstrated 1 per cent on Friday. "For this one, we are very constructive. We are very confident we have the technology on our side," Joshipura added. He said the company has very strong partnerships in place with its partners.With this, he added, "Minister Hardeep Puri said that he has this personal support to this cause because of the very simple fact that this is the route when we take crop from the farm grown in India and convert it to fuel." On addressing issues, the CEO and MD said, "We have the upliftment of agriculture and farmer while demonstrating some technology on one hand and on the other hand, we have addressed the issue of energy security." He also said the company addressed the issue of urban employment. Joshipura said this is one measure that actually goes to show and of course, the biggest of them all. He said all of these combined with the greenhouse gas reduction, the company is in a position to actually serve and can tick all the boxes. On the cost-effectiveness of SAF, he said, "Right now, once we put up the commercial scale plant, it will become cost-effective. We are also working not only in India, we are also working in the United States where there's a very ambitious programme for sustainable aviation fuel." Joshipura said the company was already working on two very large projects for building these in America, using American feedstock. He said the experience that the company is gaining there can also be brought here. "We'll bring it very quickly here to our country. We are very proud that India is able to stand up and say we produce the fuel," he added. Talking along the lines of a business plan, he said as the company goes forward in this path, this will open up a very major canvas for the company to address on the business front. "Right now, in India, we are the only company which got this technology going, especially when it comes to taking it all the way back to the farm." He said, "Connecting the agriculture industry has been something that we've been doing for 40 years, something that we understand very, very well." On revenue target, he said, "It's early for me to give a revenue target as you start saying one per cent for all flight and then it moved forward." More than the revenue, he said the way he looked at it was to establish it into a leadership position globally. The CEO and MD also said the company was in discussion with a couple of other countries as well. "So I'm sure as time unfolds, we will see Praj becoming one of the global leaders in this business space," he said. (ANI)
New Delhi [India], May 19 (ANI/SRV): Intending to strengthen ties with Indian institutions to provide better facilities for Indian students studying MBBS in Russia, the Rector of Perm State Medical University (PSMU), Prof. Blagonravova Anna, visited India, further leading to strengthening the educational cooperation between the two nations. The visit, scheduled for May 17th and 18th, 2023, aims to foster collaborative partnerships and explore opportunities for mutual growth in the medical education sector. The Rector visited Rus Education's office on May 17th, 2023, where a Strategic Meeting took place with the senior management of the organization. In attendance were the Chairman of Rus Education, Prof. S.K.Washim, Vice Chairman of Rus Education, Air Marshal Dr. Pawan Kapoor, Director of Rus Education, Dr. Dinesh Singla, and other senior members. The two institutions discussed various possibilities for promoting medical education at Perm State Medical University among Indian aspirants. The significance and importance of the occasion emphasize the commitment and support of Rus Education towards fostering collaborative partnerships and promoting educational excellence. Prof. S.K. Washim, Chairman of Rus Education, stated that the visit of the PSMU Rector to India underscores the university's commitment to fostering international partnerships and promoting academic excellence in the medical field. It presents an invaluable opportunity to exchange knowledge, share best practices, and further strengthen the ties between PSMU and prestigious Indian institutions, which, in turn, is beneficial for Indian students willing to study MBBS in Russia. The itinerary for the visit included significant engagements with key institutions and stakeholders in India's medical education landscape. On May 17th, the Rector of PSMU signed an agreement with Osipov Oleg, the Director of Russian House, for mutual cooperation. This agreement shall pave the way forward to spreading awareness about the medical education facilities present in PSMU among Indian students looking forward to studying MBBS in Russia. Due to the ardent efforts of the administration of PSMU, the graduates have shown excellent results in the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination conducted by the National Board of Examinations. Later in the day, the Rector met with the Director of Russian House, Oleg Osipov, to discuss further collaboration opportunities. Continuing the productive schedule, on May 18th, the Rector departed for Ghaziabad to visit Santosh Medical College. This visit involved overseeing the facilities, engaging with the administration, and signing an agreement of mutual cooperation to enhance educational exchange between PSMU and Santosh Medical College. Following this, the Rector departed from Santosh Medical College for Max Hospital, where they had the opportunity to visit the hospital and assess the facilities provided for summer clinical training of PSMU students. Indian students studying MBBS in Russia through Rus Education, the exclusive admission partner of PSMU for international students, have an opportunity to get a taste of the Indian healthcare system during their education in Russia, wherein they can undergo their clinical observership training program in Max Hospitals in India. After that, a meeting with the administration of Max Hospital took place to discuss potential collaboration and explore avenues for student exchange programs. This visit offered insights into the practical training opportunities available to PSMU students in India. Perm State Medical University (PSMU), located in Perm, Russia, is a leading institution for medical education, research, and healthcare. Established in 1916, PSMU is renowned for its state-of-the-art facilities, distinguished faculty, and commitment to producing highly skilled medical professionals. With a focus on international collaboration and academic excellence, PSMU consistently ranks among the top medical universities in Russia. The Rector of Perm State Medical University (PSMU), Prof. Blagonravova Anna, expressed her happiness on her first visit to India and stated that this visit further strengthens the goal of PSMU to remain dedicated to providing its students with comprehensive and globally-oriented medical education, preparing them to become competent healthcare professionals in an increasingly interconnected world with the help of its admission partners, Rus Education. Indian students seeking admission to Perm State Medical University can contact the exclusive admission partner in India, Rus Education. www.ruseducation.in. This story has been provided by SRV. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV)
New Delhi [India], May 19 (ANI/SRV): The countdown has begun for the UPSC NDA NA II Exam 2023, a gateway to a rewarding career in the defense forces. With the NDA NA II 2023 registration open till 6th Jun'23, it's time to seize the opportunity and set yourself up for success. In this blog, we will guide you through the registration process and provide section-wise tips to ensure a maximum score in the UPSC NDA NA II Exam 2023. So, let's embark on this journey together and pave the way for a bright future! Registration for UPSC NDA NA II Exam 2023: First Step Towards Your Dream The first step towards achieving your dream of joining the defense forces is to register for the UPSC NDA NA II Exam 2023. Ensure that you meet the eligibility criteria and complete the registration process within the specified timeframe. Don't miss out on this opportunity to showcase your potential and embark on a fulfilling career. Here's the step-wise Registration Process: Step 1: Go to the official website of UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) or NDA (National Defence Academy) to access the registration portal. Step 2: Provide your personal information such as name, date of birth, gender, nationality, and contact details accurately. Step 3: Enter your educational qualifications, including details of the school/college you attended, subjects studied, and marks obtained. Step 4: Select your preferred examination centre from the available options. Make sure to choose a centre that is convenient for you to reach on the exam day. Step 5: Upload scanned copies of necessary documents, including your photograph and signature, in the specified format and size. Step 6: Pay the application fee through the available online payment modes. The fee structure may vary depending on your category. Step 7: Double-check all the information provided and ensure its accuracy. Once you are satisfied, submit the application form. Step 8: After successful submission, download and print a copy of your application form for future reference. Mastering the UPSC NDA NA II Syllabus 2023 To excel in any examination, understanding the syllabus is crucial. Familiarize yourself with the UPSC NDA NA II Syllabus 2023, which includes subjects like Mathematics, General Ability, and English. Take the time to comprehend the topics and subtopics, as it will help you plan your study schedule effectively. Leveraging NDA NA Previous Years' Question Papers One of the most effective ways to prepare for the UPSC NDA NA II Exam is by practicing with NDA NA previous years' question papers. These papers give you a glimpse of the exam pattern, question types, and difficulty level. Utilize Oswaal NDA NA Previous Years Question Papers, which provide authentic questions with detailed solutions, to enhance your preparation. NDA NA Books 2023: Your Ultimate Companion When it comes to study materials, you should always go for a trusted companion for the UPSC NDA NA II Exam 2023, e.g., Oswaal Books. Their comprehensive NDA NA Books 2023 cover all the required topics, provide ample practice questions, and offer valuable insights and tips. Make the most of these resources to strengthen your knowledge and boost your confidence. Section-Wise Tips for Maximum Score Assurance a. Mathematics: Practice is key in mastering mathematics. Focus on concepts like algebra, trigonometry, geometry, and calculus. Solve NDA NA Mathematics guide for comprehensive coverage and ample practice. b. General Ability: This section consists of certain important subjects. 1. Physics- Focus on understanding the fundamental principles and concepts in physics. Build a strong foundation to tackle complex problems effectively. Solve previous years' question papers and sample papers to get familiar with the types of questions asked and improve your time management skills. 2. Chemistry- Familiarize yourself with the periodic table and the properties of different elements. Understand trends in the periodic table and their implications. Some topics in chemistry require memorization, such as chemical names, symbols, and formulas. Devote time to memorizing key information. 3. History- Summarize the key points and important dates to create concise notes. Review these notes regularly to reinforce your knowledge. Utilize NDA NA History guide for comprehensive coverage of the syllabus and practice questions. Stay updated with current events and revise key concepts. Oswaal Books' NDA NA General Ability guide is a valuable resource for content and practice exercises. 4. Geography- Study the physical features of the Earth, including landforms, climate patterns, and natural resources. Understand the processes that shape the Earth's surface. Keep track of current geographical events, such as natural disasters, environmental issues, and geopolitical developments. Understand the impact of these events on different regions. 5. English: Improve your English language skills by reading extensively, practicing grammar rules, and solving comprehension exercises. Practice NDA NA English guide as it offers tips and practice questions to enhance your proficiency. 6. Current Events- Read newspapers, watch news channels, and follow reliable online sources to stay updated with current affairs and events. Take advantage of the mock tests. The registration window for the UPSC NDA NA II Exam 2023 is open until 6th Jun'23, providing you with an opportunity to pursue your dream career in the defense forces. With a clear understanding of the syllabus, the use of previous years' question papers, and the support of best study materials, you can confidently approach the exam. Remember to plan your preparation, practice diligently, and stay focused. Embrace this exciting journey and unlock the doors to a successful future. Good luck! This story has been provided by SRV. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV)
The couple has named their daughter Holland.

Taking to Instagram, Ireland shared a family picture which she captioned, "Holland."

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsZXNJePR7_/

In the picture, Ireland could be seen on the hospital's bed holding her new born daughter and her boyfriend RAC sitting with her.

Soon after she announced the news, her friends and fans swamped the comment section with red heart emoticons and congratulatory messages for the couple.

"CONGRATS IRELAND!!!!!!!!," a user commented.

Another user wrote, "Welcome to the world Baby Girl Holland."

"Awww welcome baby Holland!," a user wrote.

According to Page Six, a US-based media outlet, Ireland, 27, surprised her followers with her pregnancy news in December 2022, posting a video from an ultrasound appointment.

The couple have been publicly dating since 2021.

Ireland casually revealed the sex of her and RAC's baby in January, referring to her little one with feminine pronouns, reported Page Six.

Later that same month, the model told 'Girlboss Radio' listeners why she chose the name Holland for her daughter.

"I'm Ireland, so [we chose] another country name because we wanted to keep that consistent," she explained. "I've always loved that name since I was young. I just thought that was such a classy, beautiful name," as per Page Six. (ANI)
Hall owners in West Bengal are receiving calls not to show the film 'The Kerala Story', distributors of the movie told Director Sudipto Sen. Sudipto in a recent media interaction revealed the status of 'the Kerala Story's release in West Bengal. He said, "We are in constant touch with distributors from West Bengal. We are receiving calls from hall owners that they are receiving calls not to show the film". Director also firmly stated that once he gets to know who are these people threatening the hall owners, then he will definitely reveal the names. He added that if he can take names of terrorists then he can also name such people too in front of the media. 'The Kerala Story' film depicts how thousands of young women were allegedly brainwashed into joining the Islamic State (IS) and heading off to countries like Syria and Afghanistan. Earlier Sen commented on the ban of his film being stayed by the Supreme Court "This was an illegal ban and no State government has the authority to ban any film which is certified. We are extremely happy with the order. I would like to thank the media and everybody. The team will visit West Bengal very soon." Film producer Vipul Shah also recently revealed in a conversation with ANI that he wanted to invite West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to watch this movie, He said, "She can criticize the movie after watching it. We are open to all valid criticisms. But we feel, she was misguided by a few people. Without watching the movie, she called for a ban." The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the ban imposed by the West Bengal government on the film 'The Kerala Story'. "Prohibition by West Bengal is not tenable. The order of the additional secretary of West Bengal shall remain stayed," Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said. The apex court also directed the makers of The Kerala Story to give a proper disclaimer regarding the unsubstantiated figure '32,000' mentioned in the film. Senior Adv Harish Salve, appearing for film producers, says that disclaimer -"there is no authentic data to back up the suggestion that the figure of conversions is 32,000 or any other established figure" and "the film represents the fictionalised version" of the issue- shall be added. As for the alleged 'shadow ban' in Tamil Nadu, the SC said, "In TN, additional security can be provided for every cinema hall and requisite arrangements can be made for moviegoers who want to see the film. No steps shall be taken by TN or its officers or instrumentalities including police to prevent the screening of the film." (ANI)
According to Deadline, a US-based media house, the project is in the infant stages with a director and producer on board. The 'Oslo' producer Gary Michael Walters is funding the project.

The movie will open at the ongoing 76th Cannes Market.

The late author is highly celebrated in showbiz with his multiple projects being adapted into movies. Some films inspired by Leonard's work include 'Jackie Brown', 'Get Shorty' and 'Out of Sight'.

The 2004's book chosen by Thora revolves around a crime thriller based on Kelly, an aspiring model, who observes a murder and gets entangled in a web of conspiracy.

Birch described her fascination with Leonard's work, she said, "I find his world of bumbling criminal characters, snappy dialogue, and constant pursuit of sex and status endlessly entertaining. 'Mr. Paradise' provides an ideal new lens to view Leonard through the eyes of our intriguing female protagonist as she navigates between the Detroit underworld and a persistent police investigator," as per a report by Deadline.

"I grew up loving so many blockbuster adaptations of Leonard's work such as Get Shorty and Jackie Brown" added Birch.

The true heart of the film is the search for an escape from the quiet desperation and decay of Rust Belt Detroit, and the hope that new love can provide that escape," she concluded.

Further details of the untitled project are yet to be revealed. (ANI)
Hollywood stars Ben Kingsley and Sofia Boutella are all set to join Dave Bautista in the upcoming action comedy film 'The Killer's Game'. According to Deadline, a US-based media outlet, based on Jay Bonansinga's novel of the same name, the film is written by Rand Ravich and Simon Kinberg (X-Men series), with recent rewrites by James Coyne. The film follows veteran assassin Joe Flood (Bautista), who is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and authorizes a kill on himself to avoid the pain that is destined to follow. After ordering the kill, he finds out that he was misdiagnosed and must then fend off the army of former colleagues trying to kill him. Helmed by JJ Perry the film heads into production this summer. Meanwhile, the Academy Award-winning actor Kingsley was recently set to reprise his role as Trevor Slattery in Marvel's series 'Wonder Man,' having most recently taken on the part in 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' after making his MCU debut in 'Iron Man 3.' The actor will also be seen in the upcoming dramas 'Jules' and 'Daliland,' which is set for release this summer, portraying Salvador Dali in the latter. Apart from this, he also has Wes Anderson's Roald Dahl adaptation 'The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar' for Netflix and Terrence Malick's 'The Way of the Wind,' in his kitty, Deadline reported. Bautista, on the other hand, was recently seen in Marvel's sci-fi fantasy action film 'Guardians of the Galaxy 3' which received positive responses from the audiences. Boutella will be next seen in director Zack Snyder's upcoming project 'Rebel Moon' which bows on Netflix on December 22, as per Deadline. (ANI)
The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to Delhi Police on the pleas moved by accused Gulfisha Fatima and Abdul Khalid Saifi. They have moved applications seeking parity with other accused Devangna Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Iqbal Tanha in the larger conspiracy of the Delhi riots case. The Supreme Court of India has recently upheld the order of bail granted by the High Court. The Supreme Court has said, "If any co-accused raises the plea of parity then it is for the Court to consider the same." A special Bench comprising justices Sidharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar issued notice to Delhi police and sought a response to the plea within two weeks. The Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad accepted the notice. The matter has been listed on July 7 for further hearing. The counsel for Shadab Ahmed and Athar Khan also submitted that they want to argue on the point of parity. Accused Gulfisha Fatima has approached the court through advocate Sarim Naved. Abdul Khalid Saifi has moved the application through his counsel. The court had reserved an order on his bail in January 2023. Senior advocate Rebecca John on behalf of Abdul Khalid Saifi argued. It is submitted that a perusal of the chargesheet of the case would show that the allegations against the appellant are similar in nature to those against the co-accused namely Devangna Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Iqbal Tanha. It is also submitted that the allegations against the said co-accused in the chargesheet are that they participated in a 'larger conspiracy' to cause Delhi North-East riots which led to the filing of the present FIR. It is submitted that much like in the case of the present appellant, these allegations arise in cases where the aforesaid co-accused who were alleged to have participated in the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) passed by the Parliament and exercise undertaken by the Central Government to create a database of citizen called the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The gravamen of the charges against the said co-accused is that as part of the protests, the said co-accused along with other co-conspirators instigated the local population in certain Muslim-dominated areas of Delhi, which led to violence and rioting, are similar in nature to that of allegations against the present appellant. Another application has been moved on behalf of Gulfisha Fatima. The order on her bail plea was reserved by the court in the month of February 2023. She also raised the point of parity with Devangna Kalita, Natash Narwal and Asif Iqbal Tanha. The matter has been listed on July 7. The court will first hear the arguments on the bail plea by the defence counsels. Thereafter other applications on parity would be by the court. (ANI)
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target that Vande Bharat should reach almost all the states by June this year. Speaking with ANI in Howarh, Vaishnaw said, "PM Modi has set a target that Vande Bharat should reach almost all the states by June...Vande Metro is being designed for a distance of less than 100 km and for daily travel of passengers." Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off Odisha's first Vande Bharat train between Puri and Howrah on Thursday. After reaching Howrah by travelling on Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express later on Thursday, Vaishnaw termed the journey extremely comfortable. "The journey was extremely comfortable and the best part of the journey was interacting with youngsters and passengers," said the Union Minister. Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation, several railway projects worth more than Rs 8000 crore in Odisha via video conferencing on Thursday. The projects include flagging off the Vande Bharat Express between Puri and Howrah, laying the foundation stone for the redevelopment of Puri and Cuttack railway stations, the dedication of 100 per cent electrification of the rail network in Odisha, doubling of the Sambalpur-Titlagarh rail line, a new broad gauge rail line between Angul - Sukinda; the third line connecting Manoharpur - Rourkela - Jharsuguda - Jamga and a new broad-gauge line between Bichhupali - Jhartarbha. Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister remarked that the people of Odisha and West Bengal are being presented with the Vande Bharat Express which is a symbol of modern and aspirational India. "India's speed and progress can be seen whenever a Vande Bharat Train runs from one place to another," the PM said as he noted that this pace can now be witnessed in the states of Odisha and West Bengal. (ANI)
With the assembly elections to be held at the end of this year in Madhya Pradesh, the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday held a state-level meeting of its IT cell and social media team at state headquarters. National Convenor of BJP IT cell and Social Media Amit Malviya, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, State in charge Murlidhar Rao, and BJP State President VD Sharma attended the meeting. Reacting to the meeting BJP State chief VD Sharma said, "An important meeting of the BJP Social Media team and IT cell is being held today. The workers in the assembly and district IT cell team are participating in today's meeting. In charge of Madhya Pradesh BJP's social media department, Abhishek Sharma will also be present in this meeting. It is being organised to strengthen the social media for the forthcoming 2023 assembly elections." Besides, there is a meeting of the BJP State Working Committee on Friday, in which the strategy will be discussed about the campaign that will start from May 30 to June 30, Sharma added. He further said that BJP would once again form the government in the state on the basis of the flagship schemes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and on the basis of the strength of the organisation. (ANI)
Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and senior advocate KV Viswanathan on Friday were sworn in as Supreme Court judges. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud administered the oath of office to them. The Supreme Court Collegium on May 16 recommended Andhra Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Mishra and Viswanathan to be elevated as judges of the apex court and the Centre on Thursday cleared their names. The Collegium presided by CJI Chandrachud and Justices SK Kaul, KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi and Sanjiv Khanna, took the decision to recommend the name of Justice Mishra and Viswanathan for appointment as judges of the top court. Born on May 26, 1966, Viswanathan on his appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court would serve in that capacity until May 25, 2031. On the retirement of Justice JB Pardiwala on August 11, 2030, Viswanathan will be in line to assume Chief Justice of India's office till his retirement on May 25, 2031. Viswanathan has become the tenth name in the list of lawyers to be appointed to the Supreme Court directly from the Bar. He will also be the fourth such person to become the Chief Justice of India, following Justices SM Sikri, UU Lalit, and PS Narasimha. Viswanathan completed the five-year integrated law degree from Coimbatore Law College, Bharathiyar University and enrolled with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in 1988. After practising before the Supreme Court for over two decades, he was designated as a senior advocate in 2009. Viswanathan, a former Additional Solicitor General, has appeared in a wide range of cases on diverse subjects including constitutional law, criminal law, commercial law, the law of insolvency, and arbitration. His stature as an eminent member of the Bar has been recognised by the Supreme Court in numerous cases where he was appointed to assist the court as amicus curiae. Justice Mishra was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Chhattisgarh on December 10, 2009. He was appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on October 13, 2021. In its resolution, the Collegium noted that there is no representation of the High Court of Chhattisgarh in the present composition of the Supreme Court of India. Justice Mishra has served as a judge of the High Court for over thirteen years and ranks at serial number 21 in the All-India Seniority List of judges of the High Courts, the resolution stated. The apex court currently has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges and was functioning with 32. Now, the top court will be at full strength. Four vacancies are going to arise by the second week of July. (ANI)
Amid the reports of him being upset over the denial of the deputy chief ministerial post, Karnataka Congress MLA G Parameshwara on Friday said that it is time to forget the "individual aspirations" and there is a need to "look forward" with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections coming. "This is the time when we all have to work together. This is the time when we should forget our individual aspirations. This is the time when we should fulfil the promises made to people...As I said, the party is supreme. So, we need to look forward. There is the 2024 Lok Sabha election. We have to consider those things as well," Parameshwara said. "People are asking. Aspirations are plenty. But those aspirations cannot be fulfilled at once. I think in the long term everything will be settled and everyone will be taken care of..." he added. When asked about the Dalit community's demand for him to be given the Deputy CM post, he said, "That is always there. Somebody will demand something, but that doesn't mean that it happens. That is why I said, some amount of sacrifice is required. So, it's okay. No problem." Earlier today, Congress MLA Parameshwara said that "sacrifice" has to be made at "some point". "That is okay. We all have to sacrifice at some point in time. It is a good thing happening," he added, being asked about him not being given the CM or Deputy CM post. Congress on Thursday officially announced the name of the chief ministerial and deputy chief ministerial face, thus ending days of suspense. Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar was chosen to be chief minister and deputy chief minister respectively.Both leaders are scheduled to visit the national capital today to discuss the names of MLAs to be inducted into the government. They had returned to Bengaluru yesterday to attend the Congress Legislative Party meeting, and staking claim to form government before the Governor. The swearing-in ceremony will be held on May 20. Amid the rapid political developments, reports emerged that MB Patil, a Lingayat leader, and G Parameshwara, a Dalit leader, were upset over the denial of deputy chief minister posts. (ANI)
He further said that the death of the main accused in the Egra accident is a "personal loss" for Mamata Banerjee's party.

"Anyway it is not good news, it is sad news, it is a huge loss of TMC, personal loss of Mamata Banerjee. There is direct involvement. Bhanu Bag whose good name is Krishna Prasad Bag, was a prominent TMC leader, it is not only a loss of their family, it is also a loss for Mamata Banerjee," Adhikari said.

A massive blast took place at the factory in Khadikul village under the Egra police station at around 11 am on Tuesday, killing nine people.

Earlier, Suvendu Adhikari filed a petition demanding a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe in the case, which was later mentioned before the Calcutta High Court.

The main accused in West Bengal's Egra blast case Krishnapada Bag alias Bhanu Bag died in a hospital in Cuttack, Odisha on Friday, said police.

He was the owner of the illegal firecracker unit where the blast killed nine persons on Tuesday.

Bag was undergoing medical treatment after suffering severe burn injuries during the massive blast that occurred in his firecracker factory in Khadikul village of East Medinipur district on May 16.

With the death of Bag, the toll in the tragedy has reached 10, while several others are injured.

On May 18, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had detained Bhanu Bagh, his son, and his nephew in connection with the explosion. (ANI)
The Supreme Court has permitted to axe the khair trees on government forest land in 10 forest divisions of the Department in Himachal Pradesh. This was stated by Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu here on Friday. CM Sukhu said, "The State Government had pleaded the case cogently in the Court and it has delivered its judgment in favour of the Forest Department." "A working plan was ready for the felling of khair trees in five forest divisions including Una, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Nalagarh and Kutlehar and the yield prescribed was 16500 trees per annum in these forest divisions and extraction of khair will commence shortly," the CM added. The Chief Minister said that the preparation of a working plan for the remaining five forest divisions i.e. Nahan, Poanta Sahib, Dharamshala, Nurpur and Dehra was underway. "The forest officers would initiate the process of inspecting the forests and counting the khair trees would be conducted in order to prepare a working plan for these five forest divisions," Sukhu said. "The silviculture felling of khair trees was better for forest management and rejuvenation, besides revenue generation for the state exchequer. Most of the khair trees were decaying due to non-extraction of the timber in time and this was a major obstacle in the direction of better forest management," he added. He said that the State Government had taken up this matter with the Apex Court keeping in mind the interest of the State. The Chief Minister said, "The Supreme Court of India had allowed the felling of khair trees in the year 2018 on experiment basis to know the results of silviculture felling of khair trees." "Now the Apex Court was convinced with the opinion of the Forest Department as the Central Empowered Committee had submitted its findings to the Court and it has allowed the felling of khair trees," he added. (ANI)
Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune.

President Joe Biden, fourth right, and other G7 leaders pose for a photo during a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan, May 19, 2023, during the G7 Summit. (Susan Walsh/AP)

HIROSHIMA, Japan  Leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies vowed Friday to tighten punishments on Russia for its 15-month invasion of Ukraine, days before President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joins the Group of Seven summit in person on Sunday.

Our support for Ukraine will not waver, the G7 leaders said in a statement released after closed-door meetings, vowing to stand together against Russias illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.

Advertisement

Russia started this war and can end this war, they said.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, confirmed on national television that Zelenskyy would attend the summit.

Advertisement

We were sure that our president would be where Ukraine needed him, in any part of the world, to solve the issue of stability of our country, Danilov said Friday. There will be very important matters decided there, so physical presence is a crucial thing to defend our interests.

Zelenskyy announced Friday that he had opened a visit to Saudi Arabia, where Arab leaders were holding a summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putins nuclear threats against Ukraine, along with North Koreas months-long barrage of missile tests and Chinas rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal, have resonated with Japans push to make nuclear disarmament a major part of the G7 summit. World leaders Friday visited a peace park dedicated to the tens of thousands who died in the worlds first wartime atomic bomb detonation.

After group photos near the citys iconic bombed-out dome, a wreath-laying and a symbolic cherry tree planting, a new round of sanctions were unveiled against Moscow, with a focus on redoubling efforts to enforce existing sanctions meant to stifle Russias war effort and hold accountable those behind it, a U.S. official said. Russia is now the most-sanctioned country in the world, but there are questions about the effectiveness of the financial penalties.

The U.S. component of the actions would blacklist about 70 Russian and third-country entities involved in Russias defense production, and sanction more than 300 individuals, entities, aircraft and vessels, said a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the announcement.

The official said the other G7 nations would undertake similar steps to further isolate Russia and to undermine its ability to wage war in Ukraine. Details were to emerge throughout the weekend summit.

The G7 nations said in Fridays statement that they would work to keep Russia from using the international financial system to prosecute its war, would further restrict Russias access to our economies and would prevent sanctions evasion by Moscow.

They urged other nations to stop providing Russia with support and weapons or face severe costs.

Advertisement

The European Union was focused on closing loopholes and plans to restrict trade in Russian diamonds, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, told reporters Friday.

The UK also announced new sanctions that freeze the assets of 86 people and organizations connected to Russias energy, metals, defense, transport and financial sectors.

We need to give Ukraine the tools now to successfully defend itself and regain full sovereignty and territorial integrity. We should provide Ukraine the necessary military and financial support. And we have to do this as long as it takes, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, wants nuclear disarmament to be a major focus of discussions, and he formally started the summit at Hiroshimas Peace Memorial Park. The visit by world leaders to a park dedicated to preserving reminders of Aug. 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, provided a striking backdrop to the start the summit. An estimated 140,000 people were killed in the attack, and a fast-dwindling number of now-elderly survivors have ensured that Hiroshima has become synonymous with anti-nuclear peace efforts.

Honestly, I have big doubts if Mr. Kishida, who is pursuing a military buildup and seeking to revise the pacifist constitution, can really discuss nuclear disarmament, Sueichi Kido, a 83-year-old hibakusha or survivor of the Nagasaki explosion, told The Associated Press. But because they are meeting in Hiroshima I do have a sliver of hope that they will have positive talks and make a tiny step toward nuclear disarmament.

On Thursday night, Kishida opened the global diplomacy by sitting down with President Joe Biden. Kishida also held talks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Advertisement

The Japan-U.S. alliance is the very foundation of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region, Kishida told Biden. Japan, facing threats from authoritarian China, Russia and North Korea, has been expanding its military but also relies on 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan and U.S. military might.

We very much welcome that the cooperation has evolved in leaps and bounds, Kishida said.

Biden, who greeted U.S. and Japanese troops at nearby Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni before meeting with Kishida, said: When our countries stand together, we stand stronger, and I believe the whole world is safer when we do.

As G7 attendees made their way to Hiroshima, Moscow unleashed yet another aerial attack on the Ukrainian capital. Loud explosions thundered through Kyiv during the early hours, marking the ninth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the city after weeks of relative quiet.

The United States has frozen Russian Central Bank funds, restricted banks access to SWIFT -- the dominant system for global financial transactions -- and sanctioned thousands of Russian firms, government officials, oligarchs and their families.

The Group of Seven nations collectively imposed a $60 per-barrel price cap on Russian oil and diesel last year, which the U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday defended in a new progress report, stating that the cap has been successful in suppressing Russian oil revenues. Treasury cites Russian Ministry of Finance data showing that the Kremlins oil revenues from January to March this year were more than 40% lower than last year.

Advertisement

The economic impact of sanctions depends largely on the extent to which a targeted country is able to circumvent them, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report. So for the past month, U.S. Treasury officials have traveled across Europe and Central Asia to press countries that still do business with the Kremlin to cut their financial ties.

The challenge is to make sure the sanctions are painful against Russia, not against ourselves, said Michel. Its very clear that each package is more difficult than the previous one and requires more political effort to make a decision.

G7 leaders and invited guests from several other counties are also expected to discuss how to deal with Chinas growing assertiveness and military buildup as concerns rise that it could could try to seize Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict. China claims the self-governing island as its own and its ships and warplanes regularly patrol near it.

In a bit of dueling diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting the leaders of the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for a two-day summit in the Chinese city of Xian.

The leaders are due to discuss efforts to strengthen the global economy and address rising prices that are squeezing families and government budgets around the world, particularly in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The debate over raising the debt limit in the U.S., the worlds largest economy, has threatened to overshadow the G7 talks. Biden planned to hurry back to Washington after the summit for debt negotiations, scrapping planned meetings in Papua New Guinea and Australia.

Advertisement

The G7 includes Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union.

Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Adam Schreck and Mari Yamaguchi in Hiroshima, Raf Casert in Brussels, Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, and Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.
India's first underwater metro in Kolkata, an example of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', for which a challenging task was done by Indian engineers, is expected to be open for commuters by the end of 2023. The authorities have constructed a tunnel under the river Hooghly with an internal diameter of 5.55 meters and external diameters of 6.1 meters. The construction of the tunnel is completed with the help of a tunnel-boring machine (TBM) Tunnels under the bed of river Hooghly, running 32 metres below water level is considered to be an engineering marvel. "This is India's first underwater railway system which has been introduced in between Hooghly River. It will start from Howrah Maidan station, but you will be able to get this opportunity to travel beneath the river from Howrah Maidan to Mahakaran metro station," Kaushik Mitra, Chief Public Relations Officer of Eastern Railway told ANI. The tunnel is 13 metres below the riverbed and 33 metres below ground level. When asked about the date for underwater route commercial use, Mitra revealed they aim for December 2023. Talking about the project, General Manager Civil, Kolkata metro rail cooperation limited Sanjay Banerjee said the entire project is 16.55 km and it is partly elevated and partly underground. "The challenges were many but the main challenge was a city like Kolkata which has heavily built-up areas and working with existing buildings requires careful planning," Banerjee said. On the indigenisation of the project, he said, "We have obtained advice from a foreign consultant but everything else is done by Indian companies. Part of the underground project is functional from Phoolbagan to Sealdah and Esplanade to Howrah Maidan we are planning to open by the end of 2023." "We have used our indigenous technology, our Indian engineers have worked very hard and it is an example of Atmanirbhar," Aditya Choudhary CPRO of South Western Railways said. The corridor passes below the river Hooghly between Mahakaran and Howrah Metro Station. This feature makes it the first underwater (Subaqueous tunnel) rail system under a major river in India. The tunnel across the river has been built in a record 66 days-time which connects the Howrah station complex on the western bank to Armenian Ghat on the eastern bank. The tunnel is located 350 meters downstream of Rabindra Setu (Howrah Bridge). The twin tunnel system was executed by Earth Pressure Balancing Tunnel Boring Machines which were launched from Howrah Maidan and were retrieved at Esplanade station after completing the work in the single drive of 3.65 KM. The tunnel passes through pre-dominantly stiff clayey silt. The length of the tunnels below the river is 520 meters with a depth of 16 meters below the river bed at the deepest location. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Friday extended the time by a period of four months for concluding the trial against former Karnataka Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy in connection with a multi-million illegal mining case. A bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia passed the order after perusing the letter of the Special Judge for CBI cases, in Hyderabad. "It is extending the time as it has perused the letter of the Special Judge for CBI cases, Hyderabad, addressed to the registry of this Court, who has asked for some more time to conclude the trial," the court said. "We would have been, under normal circumstances reluctant to extend such time in view of an earlier order of this Court, but considering the fact that a large number of witnesses are there who are still to be examined, we extend the time for concluding the trial by a period of four months," the top court said. The Supreme Court said it would expect the trial would be concluded within the said timeframe. "Let this order be communicated to the concerned Court by the Registry of this Court," the court said and disposed of the miscellaneous application. Gali Janardhan Reddy, is accused in a multi-million illegal mining case, was arrested in September 2011 and was granted bail in January 2015. While granting bail the apex court had imposed a condition on him not to visit these Districts. The SC last year directed the trial court to conduct the trial on a day-to-day basis from November 9 in 2022 and to conclude the trial within a period of six months from November 9 last year without fail. (ANI)
"On May 16, three passengers who arrived from Dubai and Colombo by flight AI-906, EK-542 and AI-274 respectively were intercepted by Customs. On examination of their person, gold of 24K purity, weighing 1.8 Kg valued at Rs 96.8 lakh, was recovered/seized under Customs Act, 1962," the Chennai customs department said.

Further investigation is underway into the matter.

Earlier on May 7. the customs department arrested a woman passenger coming from Dubai at Chennai airport and recovered 852 grams of gold.

"On May 7, a female passenger who arrived from Dubai by flight AI-906 was intercepted. While conducting a search of the person, 852 gm of gold was recovered from her possession," the customs department said.

In another case on the same day Chennai Customs said that based on intelligence, a passenger who arrived from Hyderabad by flight 6E-609 was intercepted and 702 gm of gold recovered from him. (ANI)
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday said that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has assured him that the issue related to the allotment of examination centres for CUET (UG) 2023 will be addressed on priority. "Discussed the matter relating to exam centres for the scheduled Common University Entrance Test (CUET) with Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan and requested for CUET centres in J-K UT. He has assured that the issue will be addressed on priority," J-K LG Sinha said. Earlier today the National Testing Agency (NTA) said that it is exploring the possibility of creating a temporary exam centre in Srinagar but some candidates may still have to take the CUET (UG) outside Jammu and Kashmir as candidates registered for the examinations are in huge numbers. "For 25, 26, 27, and 28 May 2023, a total of 44425 candidates will be appearing in 15Centres created in Jammu and Kashmir. Some candidates have been moved out of the State. However, being sensitive to the needs of candidates and to ease the access of the students of Jammu and Kashmir, the NTA is exploring the possibility of creating a temporary Centre in Srinagar. This will enable NTA to bring back most of the candidates to the State. However, the number of candidates is extremely large, and some candidates may still have to take the CUET (UG) outside the State," an official statement said. NTA also issued the CUET Undergraduate admit cards for examinations to be held from May 21-24. Candidates can download their admit cards at cuet.samarth.ac.in The CUET (UG) - 2023 has been scheduled for 14, 99, 778 (Fourteen Lacs, ninety-nine thousand, seven hundred and seventy-eight) candidates who have opted for 64,35,050 Test Papers. The examination is being conducted by NTA in Computer Based Test (CBT) Mode for about 14.99 lacs candidates at various Examination Centres located in 295 cities across India and abroad. (ANI)
Days after the murder of gangster Tillu Tajpuriya inside Tihar jail, the authorities have deployed a Quick Response Team (QRT) and spread a net cover on the jail premises in Delhi as a step to ensure that nobody is able to throw in cellphones or anything else inside, said officials. The net cover has been spread in the jail premises as a measure to ensure that nobody is able to throw in cell phones, drugs or anything inside. While the QRT is equipped with anti-riot equipment and in case any kind of disturbance or scuffle erupts among the inmates this QRT will be sprung into action and alert the other jail staff, added the officials. The enhancement of security comes after the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Home Affairs called a meeting on Tuesday in connection with the reform in the jails system.The condition of jails in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi and the issue of improvement in them were discussed in the meeting. The Parliamentary panel also expresses concern over Indian prison system and the safety of inmates. Senior officials of Tihar Jail were also summoned to attend the meeting. Committee members asked several questions about the lack of safety and security in the Tihar and other jails. According to the member who attended the meeting, a Congress member asked a direct question to the top officials of Tihar Jail who were called to the meeting. He asked how it could happen that all facilities were being provided to a high-profile prisoner lodged in jail. In the meeting, many members raised serious questions regarding the murder of gangster Tillu Tajpuria and some other matters. Regarding the Tillu Tajpuria murder case, a member asked the Tihar Jail authorities what steps were being taken in this matter. The jail officer said, "Apart from taking action against the policemen on duty in this incident, steps will be taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future." However, the issue of Delhi's former minister and AAP leader Satyendra Jain's massage was also raised in the parliamentary committee, and concern was also expressed over the murders in Tihar. Tillu Tajpuriya, an accused in Delhi's Rohini court shootout case was stabbed to death with sharp-edged weapons by rival gang members inside Tihar jail on May 2. (ANI)
Senior officers of the State Civil Aviation Department, State Police, Tourism, Airport Authority of India and private airline operators were present at the meeting at Raj Bhavan, Itanagar on Thursday.

He also reviewed air operations and development of Donyi Polo Airport and issues related to airports, advance landing grounds and Inner Line permit at arports.

Governor Parnaik emphasised that air services are the lifeline of people in emergency and for easy travel in a short time especially in a hilly State like Arunachal Pradesh.

He exhorted the officials to have futuristic thinking and prepare themselves to cater to enhanced footfalls in the tourism sector in days to come.

He said, "I will be taking up these issues, particularly new projects under the 'Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik' Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN-RCS) with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Defence."

The Governor expressed his concerns regarding encroachments at advanced landing grounds (ALGs), shortage of trained manpower and technical issues in flight operations. (ANI)
Amid reports of him being upset over the denial of the deputy chief ministerial post, Karnataka Congress MLA G Parameshwara on Friday said that it is time to forget the "individual aspirations" as the "party is supreme" for him. He further said that there is a need to "look forward" with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections coming. "This is the time when we all have to work together. This is the time when we should forget our individual aspirations. This is the time when we should fulfil the promises made to people...As I said, the party is supreme. So, we need to look forward. There is the 2024 Lok Sabha election. We have to consider those things as well," Parameshwara said. Parameshwara had also thrown his hat in the ring for the race for CM's post. The former Congress state President on Tuesday said he was ready to take up the responsibility if the party's high command asked him to run the government. The former state Congress President said, the high command is aware of his service to the party, and he doesn't feel the need to lobby for the post. "If the high command decides and asks me to run the government, I'm ready to take up the responsibility," the former Deputy Chief Minister had said. G Parameshwara on Friday met the newly designated Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah at his residence in Bengaluru. While leaving Siddaramaiah's residence, G Parameshwara interacted with ANI, where he said, "People are asking. Aspirations are plenty. But those aspirations cannot be fulfilled at once. I think in the long term everything will be settled and everyone will be taken care of." Congress on Thursday officially announced the name of the chief ministerial and deputy chief ministerial face, thus ending days of suspense. Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar was chosen to be chief minister and deputy chief minister respectively. Amid the rapid political developments, reports emerged that MB Patil, a Lingayat leader, and G Parameshwara, a Dalit leader, were upset over the denial of deputy chief minister posts. (ANI)
After the Supreme Court declined to lift the stay order passed by the Patna High Court on the caste-based survey in the Bihar state, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Prof. Manoj Jha on Friday called the verdict as "a setback for people of the state". "This is a setback for 80 per cent of our population and this setback is for Nitish Kumar. I am also in it, Tejashwi ji, Lalu ji, rickshaw pullers, labourers, farmers are in it. They all have setbacks and it proves that in this country, blockers in the stream of social justice are sitting in different forms in different places," Jha told ANI. While reacting to the apex court verdict, Jha said that the courts are sometimes "unable" to see the big picture. "I feel that in this whole academic debate which started from the High Court and ended in the Supreme Court, the central government does not have the concern that should have been there regarding the concern of the 'Bahujan' population. I believe that even our courts are sometimes unable to see the big picture," he added. The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to lift the stay order passed by the Patna High Court on the caste-based survey in the Bihar state. A bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Rajesh Bindal refused to give any interim relief to Bihar Government and listed the matter for hearing on July 14 if for any reason hearing before HC does not commence. The court has asked Bihar Government to argue the matter before Patna High Court, which is scheduled to hear the plea on July 3. Bihar Government has challenged the Patna High Court's order putting an interim stay on the caste-based census in the state.Bihar Government has challenged the Patna High Court order dated May 4.On May 4, the Patna High Court put an interim stay on the enumeration of castes and economic survey in Bihar.On May 3, the Patna HC completed the hearing and reserved its judgement on a petition challenging and seeking an interim stay on the enumeration of castes and economic survey in Bihar. Jha further said, "If there is no scientific data, which the Hon'ble Supreme Court has said many times, then, we will not be able to decide our policies. How will we be able to see what is the condition of the representation of the people of the last row? Is this not an important issue for this country? Is there less pain in this than 'Kerala Story'? There is a subtle class, which is very influential, if it can only keep it entangled in academic debate." (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday emphasised further enhancing the ability to use and prevent misuse of modern technology including drones and artificial intelligence while presiding over the second 'Chintan Shivir' of senior officers of Ministry of Home Affairs here in the national capital. The objective of the 'Chintan Shivir' was to interact with the senior officers of the Ministry and evolve an action plan for implementation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's 'Vision 2047'. The Home Minister reviewed the performance of various issues pertaining to counter-terrorism and radicalization, internal security, cyber and information security, narcotics, disaster management and foreigners in the 'Chintan Shivir'. He also reviewed the position on Aatmanirbhar Bharat, various budget announcements and important pending issues of MHA. The officers shared their suggestions on various issues pertaining to the Ministry.In his concluding address, the Home Minister said, "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India's place in the world is growing rapidly and nothing can stop it from becoming the first in every field in the world". Shah said the Ministry of Home Affairs should prepare a roadmap and follow it to achieve the goals of 'Vision 2047', and that the 25-year roadmap will certainly be successful in making India the first in the world. Shah said, "We must make every effort to visualize the challenges of the future and find their advance solutions." He emphasised on "further enhancing the ability to use and prevent misuse of modern technology including drones and artificial intelligence." The Minister said that "We must make every effort to visualize the challenges of the future and find their advance solutions." The former BJP president appreciated the work of the Ministry and called upon the officials to work more diligently to achieve the goals set in Vision 2047. Shah further stressed that in order to reduce the consumption of electricity, provision of more and more solar energy should be made for all the office buildings of MHA. On April 18, Shah presided over the first 'Chintan Shivir' of senior officers of the MHA and emphasised to develop an ecosystem for cybercrime management, modernization of police forces, increased use of IT in the criminal justice system, land border management and coastal security issues. Shah then stressed on the need for enhanced use of artificial intelligence to utilise the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) database for critical analysis of crimes, thus, making cities safer for women, children and vulnerable sections. In the first 'Chintan Shivir' which consisted objective to review the work of the Ministry and to evolve an action plan to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Vision 2047', Shah had also focussed on the need to fast-track the recruitment process and said that anticipating the future vacancies recruitment should be initiated well in advance. He had then said that meetings of Departmental Promotion Committees (DPC) should be held regularly so that employees get timely promotions. The Minister had also emphasised on taking various welfare measures for Central Armed Police Forces personnel like creating healthcare facilities and improving the housing satisfaction ratio amongst others. The Home Minister also emphasised on the importance of training and said that all wings of the MHA should conduct regular training. Shah then suggested that MHA officials make field visits to monitor development schemes, and directed to fast-track construction of fencing and roads in border areas. The Home Minister had also emphasised the importance of sensitivity and the need to develop a personal touch by all senior officials. He also offered valuable insights on the way forward for the Ministry and exuded confidence that the discussions held at the 'Chintan Shivir' will help in better planning and coordination in these areas. Shah had asked all senior officers to work collectively with full dedication. Lauding the efforts of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shah then stressed the need to make constant endeavours to "achieve the goal of making a safe and secure India." In the first 'Chintan Shivir', the discussions were held in two sessions. The 'Chintan Shivir' commenced with an in-depth review of the status of compliance with the instructions given by the Home Minister during an earlier discussion held with the officers of the Ministry. Home Minister had also reviewed the functioning of the MHA dashboard, Government Land Information System (GLIS), Budget Utilization, E-Office and Special Recruitment Drive etc. The Minister then also reviewed the work of various divisions on their priorities and deliverables in the coming years, position on Aatmanirbhar Bharat, various Budget announcements and important pending issues. (ANI)
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said that he has accepted the Congress' invitation to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka's new Chief Minister and his cabinet on May 20. He further said that efforts are underway to "unite" the Opposition as it would be in the "interest" of the whole nation. "They (Congress) had a massive win (in Karnataka). I am in contact with the CM designate. He and Congress President also invited me to the swearing-in ceremony, so I told them that I will come...if Opposition parties come together, that will be in the interest of the nation, efforts are underway for that," Kumar said while talking to the media persons here. Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar has been meeting Opposition leaders to strengthen the bloc against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Kumar had caught the national imagination with his pitch for a "united opposition" which, he believes, can take on and defeat the BJP in next year's Lok Sabha polls. The JD(U) supreme leader, who stunned the BJP last year when he snapped ties will visit Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar later in the day. Several leaders including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot have reached Bengaluru to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Karnataka Cabinet. The oath ceremony will take place on Saturday in Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru. Congress on Thursday invited the leaders of like-minded parties to the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar scheduled on May 20. As per the sources, the invitation has also been sent to like-minded opposition parties and their leaders including Hemant Soren, Sitaram Yechuri, Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and Farooq Abdullah, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. (ANI)
Chinese premier urges efforts to boost real economy, expand demand

Xinhua) 08:18, May 19, 2023

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visits Weichai Holding Group Co., Ltd. in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, May 17, 2023. Li made an inspection tour in Shandong Province from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

JINAN, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang has urged efforts to boost the real economy, expand domestic demand and stabilize external demand to promote economic recovery.

Li made the remarks during his inspection tour in Shandong Province from Wednesday to Thursday.

The premier said the real economy is the lifeblood of China's economy. The country should foster advanced manufacturing clusters, make coordinated efforts to transform and upgrade traditional industries, and foster and expand strategic emerging industries, while moving industries to the medium-high end, he said.

He stressed the need for efforts to improve purchasing policies for new-energy vehicles while accelerating the construction of charging piles and other infrastructure, in order to unleash the consumption potential of new-energy vehicles further.

More efforts should be made to build a new platform for international cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, expand areas of cooperation, and enhance the complementarity of resources and strengths to achieve mutual benefits, Li said.

When inspecting companies in the city of Qingdao, Li said he hopes that companies will be able to adapt better to users' needs, carry out personalized services, create more competitive products and explore domestic and foreign markets further. He also underlined the importance of efforts to promote the development of the industrial internet to empower small and medium-sized enterprises.

The key to boosting economic recovery is strengthening people's confidence in development, the premier said, stressing the importance of moving the manufacturing industry toward high-end, green and smart development.

The expansion of domestic demand should be integrated with the improvement of people's livelihoods, Li said, calling for the construction of urban and rural infrastructure, and of projects that shore up weak links in public services.

Li noted that the development of new foreign trade business forms and models should be accelerated, and greater efforts should be made to attract and utilize foreign capital and stabilize China's international market share.

Efforts should also be made to forestall and defuse risks in key areas to create a favorable environment for economic development, he said.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visits Haier Group in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, May 18, 2023. Li made an inspection tour in Shandong Province from Wednesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama leads a panel discussion at Venue SIX10 in Chicago on May 10, 2023, highlighting communities across the country that have positively shifted population-level outcomes in the educational or violence reduction ecosystems. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

In response to a new round of U.S. sanctions, Russia announced Friday that it was banning 500 Americans from entering the country, including former President Barack Obama and comedian Stephen Colbert.

The list released by the Foreign Ministry did not specify complaints against each individual. But the ministry said the offenses included spreading Russophobia, supplying Ukraine with arms, and officials who are directly involved in the persecution of dissidents in the wake of the so-called storm of the Capitol.

Advertisement

The ban includes 45 members of the U.S. House, Sens. J.D. Vance, Katie Britt and Eric Schmitt, and former ambassadors to Russia John Tefft and Jon Huntsman.

The ministry said it had also denied a U.S. request for consular access to Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was arrested in late March and charged with espionage. The ministry said that was in response to the United States denying visas to Russian journalists who wanted to cover Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovs visit to the United Nations last month.

Advertisement

The latest sanctions aimed at Russia include tighter restrictions on already-sanctioned people and companies involved in the war effort. The financial penalties have been primarily focused on sanctions evaders connected to technology procurement for the Kremlin.
After his arrival on May 21, the Vice President will offer prayers at Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram.

On May 22, Dhankhar will inaugurate the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the Kerala Legislative Assembly building in Thiruvananthapuram, where he will address the gathering and release a Souvenir of Kerala Legislature International Book Festival - 2023.

The Legislative Assembly building was inaugurated on May 22, 1998 by former President KR Narayanan.

Later in the day, the Vice President Dhankhar will visit the Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala, Kannur, where he will interact with the cadets. This marks the first visit by any Vice President to the INA.

During the tour of Kannur, Vice President Dhankhar will pay respects to his teacher Rathna Nair at her residence in Thalassery. Nair taught Dhankhar when he was a student of Sainik School, Chittorgarh. (ANI)
The former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo Chandrababu Naidu on Friday welcomed the Reserve Bank of India's decision to withdraw the Rs 2000 denomination bank notes from circulation. "The decision to ban the Rs 2000 notes is certainly a good sign. I have submitted a report on digital currency long ago and the scrapping of the notes will certainly check corruption. Politicians are trying to win the polls by distributing money to the voters and Rs 2,000 notes are playing a major role in this. Now, this can be checked to a great extent," Naidu said while addressing a huge gathering at Anakapalle as part of his ongoing 'Idemi Kharma Mana Rashtraniki' programme. RBI on Friday announced that it has decided to withdraw the Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation but they will continue to remain legal tender. Lashing out at Andhra CM, he alleged Jagan Mohan Reddy is "out to loot the whole state". Claiming that the prices of all commodities, gas fuel, and other items are skyrocketing in the state, but if anyone raises his voice, false cases are being foisted against such persons, Naidu alleged. "Is this correct brothers, you should judge this," he asked the gathering. Stating that the country got Independence with the leaders organising road shows like him, the TDP leader said that CM Jagan too tried to organise road shows like this but failed miserably. "I am happy that the people are gathering in large numbers for my road shows and I thank the police for their cooperation. The leaders of the Opposition parties have every right to conduct road shows like this," Naidu maintained. Stating that he wanted to transform Visakhapatnam as an IT hub and tourism center besides promoting the city as financial capital after building Amaravathi as the capital of the State, the Naidu said that now CM Jagan is playing a game with these cities. "Jagan has more affection towards your assets but not towards you," he remarked. The Chief Minister Jagan made every effort to sell the lands in Amaravathi and even in Rishikonda in Visakhapatnam, he claimed, adding that the "atrocities of Jagan are on the rise now." "I will take the responsibility to provide employment to you all," Naidu said, asking, "How a leader who can not provide employment to youth can call himself the Chief Minister?" (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has over 40 engagements and is expected to meet more than two dozen leaders during his upcoming visit to three countries -- Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia, according to the official statement released by Prime Minister's Office. During his three-nation visit, PM Modi will participate in the G7 or Group of seven countries Summit in Hiroshima, Japan and then he will co-chair the third Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit). India, who is attending as a guest at G7 Summit, participation would be structured around three formal sessions. Two of them would be held on May 20 and the third one on May 21, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said during the special briefing. The two structural sessions on the 20th are the first one that relates to food, health, development and gender equality. The second session is on climate, energy and environment, and the third session on May 21 is titled Towards Peaceful, Stable, and Prosperous World. The Prime Minister will then travel to Papua New Guinea to host the third Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation jointly with his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape on May 22. In Papua New Guinea, Prime Minister will begin his bilateral engagements the next day with a call on the Governor General of the Pacific island country, which will be followed by a meeting with Prime Minister James Marape. This will be Prime Minister's first visit to that country during his stay in Port Moraspi, according to Kwatra. It is a hectic visit for the PM with over 40 engagements lined up. The PM will interact with over 2 dozen world leaders in summits as well as through bilateral meetings, as per PMO's release. PM Modi will also meet business leaders, important personalities, scholars, and members of the Indian community. During his Australia visit, the PM will address thousands of members of the Indian diaspora in Sydney along with Australia's PM. The visit has a lot of elements from culture to commerce and diaspora to diplomacy, according to PMO. (ANI)
In a fresh round of sanctions, the UK has announced a ban on Russian diamonds, alongside the military-industrial complex and metals amid the ongoing Ukraine war. An industry worth USD4 billion in exports in 2021, the ban on diamonds comes amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The ban has also been announced on imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel, the UK government said in a statement on Thursday. Along with these trade sanctions, the UK is also preparing to target an additional 86 members of Putin's military-industrial complex as well as those engaged in vital industries including energy, metals, and shipping, the statement said. As the UK continues to engage with G7 allies to address all types of sanctions circumvention, they also include those who actively help the Kremlin in its efforts to weaken the impact of current sanctions, it said. As he meets with G7 leaders in Hiroshima, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will also issue a warning against complacency in preserving "our ideals and against despotic governments," the UK government said. To hinder Russia's war effort, the UK has applied the harshest set of sanctions ever placed on a significant economy, it said. "To date we have sanctioned over 1,500 individuals and entities, freezing more than 18 billion of assets in the UK, and sanctioned over 20 billion of UK-Russia goods trade," the official statement of UK government read. Along with other G7 leaders, the prime minister is set to visit the A-Bomb dome site at the Hiroshima Peace Park before participating in discussions on global collaboration, the G7 reaction to the Ukraine, Indo-Pacific security policy, and nuclear non-proliferation. "He will urge the international community to stay the course on Ukraine, ensuring it has the diplomatic, military and economic support it needs, in the interests of international peace and security," the government statement said. In his meeting with President Zelenskyy on Monday, the Prime Minister confirmed increased military assistance and emphasised the significance of long-term international support for Ukraine, particularly for the country's future in NATO. This announcement comes after that meeting. The leaders talked about Ukraine's road to a stronger political alliance and greater cooperation with G7 and NATO members. Recently, Russia has considerably increased the number of missile attacks against Ukraine, but it also seems that Ukraine is shooting down more of Russia's missiles. Meanwhile, the United States will also unveil new sanctions to "extensively restrict Russia's access to goods that matter for its battlefield capabilities," a US official said on Friday ahead of a G7 summit in Japan. The United States apparently plans to blacklist about 70 companies and organizations for selling restricted US products to Russia. "We will continue to expand export controls to make it even harder for Russia to sustain its war machine. Among other things, this involves extensively restricting categories of goods key to the battlefield, and also cutting off roughly 70 entities from Russia and third countries from receiving US exports by adding them to the Commerce blacklist," the official stated. (ANI)
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq has called upon the Chief Justice of Pakistan to declare the arrest of the Baloch leader Maulana Hidayat Ur Rehman 'illegal' and grant him bail, reported The News International. In a letter to CJP, the JI leader demanded to fix a date for hearing the bail application of Maulana Hidayatur Rehman Baloch, who is a leader of the 'Give Right to Gwadar' Movement. The top JI leader also called CJP Umar Atta Bandial's attention to the events that caused discontent among Baloch people, notably Gwadar locals. "Maulana Hidayatur Rehman was taken only for the rights of people of Balochistan, and the movement led by him was peaceful," he said in his appeal. Sirajul Haq continued in his letter by stating that the incarcerated leader had brought attention to the rights of Gwadar and other areas of Balochistan through his movement, which had been going on for more than two years. A deal was eventually negotiated with the provincial administration as a result, although it was never put into practice. He claimed that Maulana Hidayatur Rehman had a peaceful sit-in for two months until the police attacked him and used force, including firing and tear gas shelling while also damaging private property, The News International reported. A police officer died in the process due to a fire, but Maulana was then detained after a complaint was filed along with other employees even though he wasn't there at the time. Earlier in April, massive protest rally was taken out on the occasion of Eid, in Pakistan's Gwadar, demanding the release of missing persons including many political activists, Pakistan vernacular media reported. According to Intekhab Daily, a large number of people took part in the protest rally demanding the release of Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman Baloch and Mahil Baloch. Hussain Wadela, President of 'Give Rights Movement' (Haq Do Tehreek), Deputy Organiser Yakub Juski, Gwadar organiser Akram Fida, sister of missing Azeem Baloch said that Maulana Hidayat ur Rahman Baloch has been behind bars for past three months for demanding rights, as per Intekhab Daily. The protesters demanded the release of Maulana Rehman Baloch and Mahil Baloch and the recovery of all the missing persons, according to Pak vernacular media outlet Intekhab Daily. Haq Do Tehreek (Give Rights Movement) had earlier said Balochistan has been made hell for political activists. (ANI)
As the G7 or the Group of Seven countries summit is currently underway in the historic city of Hiroshima, the survivor of the atomic bomb attack urges the G7 leaders to shun the use of nuclear arms. Now 80, Kubota Masayuki was just 3-year-old on August 6, when the US dropped "Little Boy" at the tail end of World War II. He recalled his horror of survival during the attack and remembered the moment when the first nuclear bomb to ever be used was dropped by the United States on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. "My name is Kubota Masayuki. Born in 1942, I was just 3-year-old when the atomic bomb struck my home. Now, I am 80-years-old", says Masayuki in an interview with ANI. As he goes on to recall the events of August 6, 1945, Masayuki tells that 'though nothing much happened to him during the attack, days later he lost his father who was burnt when the bomb hit'. Hiroshima was the first military target of a nuclear weapon in human history. This occurred on August 6, 1945, in the Pacific theatre of World War II, at 8:15 am, when the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) dropped the atomic bomb "Little Boy" on the city. Most of Hiroshima was destroyed, and by the end of the year between 90,000 and 166,000 had died due to the blast and its effects. It dropped a second bomb three days later on Nagasaki, killing another 70,000. Japan surrendered on August 15, ending World War II. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) serves as a memorial of the bombing. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has roots in Hiroshima, chose the city in part to highlight their nuclear non-proliferation efforts. Earlier in the day, G7 leaders laid flowers at a memorial to the victims of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Joe Biden became the second sitting US president to visit Hiroshima, after Barack Obama in 2016. "Thank you Fumio Kishida for such a warm welcome to the G7. It was deeply moving to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park which holds such significance. This Summit carries the weight of history and it's important that we learn from the past, including from its darkest moments," tweeted UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Japan is hosting the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, the hometown of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, from May 19 -21, welcoming leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The European Union is also a "non-enumerated member". (ANI)
Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi on Friday said that India repatriated 22 Pakistani nationals via the Attari-Wagah border. "22 Pakistan nationals imprisoned in India were repatriated today via Attari-Wagah border after hectic efforts of @PakinIndia & @ForeignOfficePk & cooperation of Indian side. Our efforts will continue for early repatriation of Pakistani prisoners on completion of their sentences," tweeted Pakistan High Commission. Earlier on May 13, Pakistan released 198 Indian fishermen at the Attari-Wagah border who were caught for crossing the maritime international border. The fishermen who cross the maritime international border in the Arabian Sea are charged with violation of the Passport Act of the respective countries and are punished for a period of about six months. The issue occurs due to a dispute over Sir Creek between India and Pakistan. India wants to divide the estuary by following the Thalweg doctrine but Pakistan is not ready to do so which is leading it to a dispute. According to Thalweg doctrine, if a water body is passing between two countries then it must be divided in such a way that both countries should get an equal part of the water body. This division is impacting a central international Maritime border between Rann of Kutch and Sindh of Pakistan, which in a way is affecting both the countries' exclusive economic zones. The Pakistani authorities arrest them when they cross the maritime border, as well as, also seize their boats. The fishermen demanded that those seized boats should be returned back to them. The solution to the above issue can be to provide both countries with communication and navigation kits for the fisherman so that they are aware of the border lines. To minimize the issue, both countries should spread awareness, train the fisherman, and provide communication and navigation kits to the fisherman on a large scale so that they didn't cross the borders. (ANI)
The Punjab Police on Friday returned "empty-handed" from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's Zaman Park residence, reported Dawn. PTI Chairman Imran Khan's chief security officer Iftikhar Ghuman has said that the Punjab police have returned from Zaman Park "empty-handed". Talking to journalists outside the former prime minister's residence, Ghuman said, "I think they have understood that there is nothing here. The only thing they got here was water and biscuits. We opened the doors of the house for them in front of you. Now you ask them what they got." The four-member delegation of Punjab police has departed from Imran Khan's residence after concluding talks with him and his legal team over the search operation, reported ARY News. According to details, the four-member delegation included Lahore Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa, Lahore Deputy Commissioner Rafia Haider, DIG Operations Sadiq Dogar and SSP Operations Sohaib. The delegation held negotiations with Imran Khan and his legal team to mull over the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for a search operation at Zaman Park. However, there are no details about the talks so far, reported ARY News. Meanwhile, it was reported that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will soon issue a detailed statement regarding the negotiations held with the government team. The government team visited Imran Khan's residence to mull over the SOPs for a search operation as the authorities claim there are "30-40 terrorists" present inside Zaman Park. The delegation came to Zaman Park after the authorities received search warrants from an anti-terrorism court to raid the former prime minister's residence. The team led by Commissioner Lahore also visited the camp present in Zaman Park. They also met Imran Khan and tabled the search warrant obtained earlier today. Sources told ARY News that the government team arrived in Zaman Park for the implementation of the search warrant. The team also ruled out the possibility of 'any operation' in Zaman Park, sources claimed. Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Bilal Saddique Kamyana claimed to have arrested six more "terrorists" attempting to flee from Imran Khan's Zaman Park residence, reported Geo News. According to CCPO Kamyana four of the alleged "terrorists" were involved in the attack on Askari Tower while two were among those who ransacked the Corps Commander House Lahore. On May 17, Punjab caretaker information minister Amir Mir claimed that 30 to 40 terrorists, who had attacked Army installations including Jinnah House, were present in Zaman Park. The Punjab minister said that the agencies were able to confirm the presence of the "terrorists" in Zaman Park through geo-fencing. Violent clashes broke out across Pakistan after the former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan were arrested from the premises of Islamabad High Court (IHC) last week. Army installations and Corps Commander's house in Lahore came under attack during a protest by PTI workers. (ANI)
The Government of Nepal claimed the economy is getting back on track as it unveiled the annual policies and programs for the upcoming fiscal year 2080/81 (Nepali year). Nepal's President Ram Chandra Paudel on Friday while presenting the government policies and programs at the joint meeting of the House of Representatives and National Assembly stated that the economy is getting back on track. "Positive results have started appearing in all sectors since the formation of the government. Economic indicators have turned positive. As the economy has started to return to normalcy, there is a positive impact on foreign aid and investment along with an increase in revenue collection. The remittance flow has increased. The Forex reserve has increased. The interest of banks has improved comparatively," claimed the government's document presented by the head of state. Friday's plans and policies lay the foundation for the fiscal budget scheduled to be unveiled on May 29 by the Finance Minister. The Government has clearly mentioned the need to strictly control revenue leakage channelling of remittances through formal channels on Friday's plans and programs. The government has also announced channelling foreign assistance to big projects. President Paudel said the international aid will mainly be invested in national pride and high-priority projects. In order to effectively implement the development projects, the government plans to bring laws to facilitate land acquisition, environmental impact assessment and procurement process, read the policies and programs. The policies and programs have pledged to make structural reforms for the development and expansion of the capital market. President Paudel further said that collective farming will be encouraged to increase agricultural production and achieve self-reliance. Likewise, the government has also pledged to encourage the establishment of fertilizer factories at the local level. Paudel said that organic agricultural production will be encouraged and certification of agricultural products will also be carried out. The government has said that it will prepare and implement a multi-year plan to produce chemical fertilizers. President Paudel said the government's aim is to establish a fertilizer factory in the country to provide timely fertilizer to the farmers. The government has also announced that it will adopt a policy of purchasing electric vehicles for government offices. Necessary arrangements will be made for the operation of electric public transportation in the city and the technology to convert gas, diesel and petrol-powered vehicles into electric vehicles will be given priority with concessions, it said. The government of Nepal has planned to open expedition on other mountains and tourism decade. Mentioning in brief the plans to open up the mountains, the government also promised to ensure the security and immediate rescue of tourists. "New mountains would be opened for summits. Reliable modes for the immediate rescue of mountain climbers, as well as the trekkers, would be ensured," the president stated without mentioning the details about the mountains to be opened for. Nepal sandwiched between India and China is home to the world's tallest mountains including Mount Everest, locally called Sagarmatha. This year the Himalayan Nation is seeing a high influx of climbing aspirants as the Department of Tourism has issued permits to 478 individuals, the highest number on record. Nepal, earlier in 2021, had issued a record 409 permits which had overcrowded the summit which often is blamed for the high fatalities that year. A year later, the number dropped to 325 taken as an impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and recession that is coming forth this year. Nepal charges 11,000 USD to foreign climbers to take permits for Mount Everest but the expenses range between 40,000 to 90,000 USD to climb the mountain. The cost of an expedition rises further when the weather is not favourable as it normally lasts for only two weeks in a year. Close to 7,000 mountaineers have climbed Everest from the Nepal side since Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and New Zealander Edmund Percival Hillary first set foot atop the world's highest peak in May 1953. Along with this, the Government of Nepal has decided to observe the decade of the 2080s as a tourism decade. On Friday's policies and programs, the president also announced the upcoming English year of 2025 to be observed as a "Special Tourism Year" as the cash-strapped nation relies more on the tourism sector for income. (ANI)
The G7 leaders (Group of Seven) on Friday came together in Hiroshima to issue a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to achieving a world without nuclear weapons while ensuring security for all, according to a White House statement. The document, the first of its kind with a specific focus on nuclear disarmament, highlights the importance of transparency, non-proliferation and diplomacy in realizing this goal. "I have welcomed my fellow G7 leaders to Hiroshima. After touring the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, we spoke with atomic bomb survivors and offered flowers at the Peace Memorial Park. This was an opportunity to send out a powerful message to the world about the G7's commitment to achieving a World Without Nuclear Weapons as the G7 leaders deepened their understanding of the tragic realities of the atomic bombing," tweeted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. In their statement 'Hiroshima Action Plan', the G7 leaders condemned Russia's "irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and undermining of arms control regimes" and stated their intent to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus. They stressed that any use of nuclear weapons or threats of use by Russia in the context of its aggression against Ukraine is deemed inadmissible. "We underscore the importance of the 77-year record of non-use of nuclear weapons. Russia's irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, undermining of arms control regimes, and stated intent to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus are dangerous and unacceptable," the statement said. Recalling the statement in Bali of all G20 leaders, including Russia, the statement said, "We reiterate our position that threats by Russia of nuclear weapon use, let alone any use of nuclear weapons by Russia, in the context of its aggression against Ukraine are inadmissible." "We further express our profound concern over Russia's attempt to control Ukraine's nuclear facilities, which poses serious nuclear safety and security risks and is in total disregard of Ukraine's right under the NPT to pursue peaceful uses of nuclear energy," added the statement. Calling Russia to "recommit - in words and deeds - to the principles enshrined in that Statement," it recalled the Joint Statement of the Leaders of the Five Nuclear- Weapon States issued on January 3, 2022, on 'Preventing Nuclear War and Avoiding Arms Races', and affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. "Our security policies are based on the understanding that nuclear weapons, for as long as they exist, should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression and prevent war and coercion," added the statement. Additionally, the G7 leaders expressed regret over Russia's decision to undermine the New START Treaty and called for its full implementation. Concerns were raised about China's increasing nuclear arsenal build-up without transparency. "In this regard, Japan's 'Hiroshima Action Plan' is a welcome contribution. We deeply regret Russia's decision to undermine the New START Treaty, and call on Russia to enable a return to full implementation of the Treaty. At the same time, China's accelerating build-up of its nuclear arsenal without transparency nor meaningful dialogue poses a concern to global and regional stability," added the statement. Transparency measures were emphasized in the statement, with the G7 leaders commending the United States, France, and the United Kingdom for providing data on their nuclear forces. They called on other nuclear-weapon states to follow suit and engage in meaningful dialogue with non-nuclear-weapon states on transparency and limiting nuclear competition. "We emphasize the importance of transparency with regard to nuclear weapons and welcome actions already taken by the United States, France and the United Kingdom to promote effective and responsible transparency measures through providing data on their nuclear forces and the objective size of their nuclear arsenal," read the statement. It called on nuclear-weapon States to promote transparency through an open explanation of national reports coupled with an interactive discussion with non-nuclear-weapon States and civil society participants at future NPT-related meetings. "In this regard, we stress the benefit of pre-notification of relevant strategic activities, as a substantial contribution to risk reduction. The G7 recognizes the need for concrete steps by nuclear-weapon States to reduce strategic risks. We call on China and Russia to engage substantively in relevant multilateral and bilateral forums, in line with their obligations under the NPT," the statement said. It also called for the immediate commencement of long overdue negotiations of a treaty banning the production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. "2023 will mark the 30th year since the consensual adoption of a United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolution calling for a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT), and we urge all countries to refocus political attention towards the FMCT as a priority action to forestall a recurrence of the nuclear arms race, including any and all independent or complementary efforts," added the statement. The Hiroshima Action Plan further called to declare and maintain voluntary moratoria on the production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons. It also said that no nation should carry out any nuclear weapon test explosion or other nuclear explosion, condemn any threats to do so, and emphasize that bringing the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) into force is another urgent matter. "We remain committed to upholding the global norm against nuclear explosive testing until it is legally binding and call on all states to declare new or maintain existing moratoriums on nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions," the statement said. "We express our concern over Russia's announcement of its readiness to conduct a nuclear test, and we call for Russia's adherence to its moratorium on nuclear tests. We further underscore the essential role of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission in detecting and reporting suspected nuclear explosions worldwide," it added. The G7, collectively, has supported the CTBTO's activities in the amount of more than 100 million US dollars in 2023. A world without nuclear weapons cannot be achieved without nuclear non-proliferation. The Hiroshima Action Plan demanded North Korea to refrain from any other destabilizing or provocative actions, including any further nuclear tests or launches that use ballistic missile technology. "North Korea cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon State under the NPT. It is critical that sanctions be fully and scrupulously implemented by all states and remain in place for as long as North Korea's WMD and ballistic missile programs exist," read the statement. The Hiroshima Action Plan also was deeply concerned about Iran's unabated escalation of its nuclear program, which has no credible civilian justification and brings it dangerously close to actual weapon-related activities. "We reiterate our clear determination that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon and we call on all countries to support the implementation of UNSCR 2231. We urge Iran to cease nuclear escalations," added the statement. The Hiroshima Action Plan also opposed any attempt to produce or support the production of plutonium for military programs under the guise of civilian programs, which undermines the objectives of the NPT including the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy. "We call on all states that committed to reporting annually their holdings of all plutonium in peaceful nuclear activities to the IAEA to fulfil those commitments," the statement further mentioned. The G7 leaders encouraged visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki to raise awareness of the realities of nuclear weapons use and supported initiatives that promote the engagement of youth, women, and civil society in disarmament and non-proliferation processes. "We welcome initiatives such as the "Youth Leader Fund for a World without Nuclear Weapons" by Japan, the "Young Professionals Network" of P5, the "Youth Champions for Disarmament" financed by Germany, and the "Young Women Next Generation Initiative" established by the EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium, as well as other initiatives that support the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women in addition to the engagement of civil society in disarmament and non-proliferation processes," added the statement. (ANI)
Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune.

Officers work at the scene where a 12-year-old boy and 16-year-old boy were shot outside the Legler Regional Library on May 16, 2023 in Chicago's West Garfield Park neighborhood. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

A Brookfield man has been charged in the Tuesday shooting of two boys, ages 12 and 16, outside a library in West Garfield Park.

Police charged Adam Avizius, 37, with one felony count of aggravated battery for allegedly shooting the children outside the Legler Regional Branch Library, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Advertisement

Officers arrested Avizius, as well as a female suspect, shortly after the 5:30 p.m. shooting two blocks from the libraryat 115 S. Pulaski Road. Avizius is set to appear in bond court Friday, police said.

The 16-year-old boy was shot twice in the leg and the 12-year-old was struck by gunfire in the lower back, police said. The 12-year-old was carried into the library by a security officer, who rendered aid to the child. The boys were taken to area hospitals, with the younger boy in fair condition and the older boy in good condition.

Advertisement

[ This will not be our normal West Garfield Park community condemns shooting of boys outside library ]

The shooting prompted local leaders and anti-violence activists to take to the librarys front steps Thursday and call for more investment in underserved neighborhoods as a way to reduce the gun violence.

The shooting was nothing new to Chicago, but rather a continued expression of problems afflicting the community, said Theodore Joseph Crawford, executive director of the Garfield Park Rite To Wellness Collaborative.

The ills of our community are well-documented: drug use, poverty, institutional racism, Crawford continued. They are the things that create the environments in which young people have guns in their hands  who naturally are emotional because they are immature emotionally  are gonna respond in ways that oftentimes cause harm to themselves and to others.
In order to combat climate change, Bhutan and Singapore have signed a virtual agreement on Carbon Credit, indicating both nations' willingness to explore the development of carbon markets as a means to mitigate the impact of carbon emissions, Bhutan Live reported. Carbon credit, a financial tool used to counterbalance or negate carbon emissions created by people, businesses, or governments, will be critical in this collaboration. Bhutan, known for its considerable forest cover, will be able to harness its natural resources through the generation of carbon credits for trading on the world market under the terms of the agreement. Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry, Gan Kim Yong, and Bhutan's Minister for Energy and Natural Resources, Lyonpo Loknath Sharma, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on carbon credit, according to Bhutan Live. This historic deal is Singapore's first of its kind with a carbon-negative country, and it is Bhutan's first MoU on Carbon Credit. Regarding the agreement, Singapore's Ambassador to Bhutan, Simon Wong said, "Once we find out what the key areas are, we can implement them after the signing of stage two. So, we hope that in six months, we can come and announce those concrete ideas," Bhutan Live reported. In subsequent sessions, specifics, including the financial aspects of the collaboration, will be thoroughly examined. The governments of Singapore and Bhutan will work together in the next months to put the agreement's terms into effect, it said. (ANI)
These 11 photos of Helen Mirren at Cannes Film Festival are proof her style has only gotten more daring over the past 20 years

Helen Mirren attends the "Jeanne du Barry" screening and opening ceremony red carpet at the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 16, 2023, in Cannes, France. Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Helen Mirren is one of the most exciting celebrities when it comes to style at Cannes Film Festival.

But she wasn't always so experimental with her fashion, as these looks from over the years show.

From 2003 to 2023, Mirren's style has gone from risk-averse to tastefully risque. Take a look.

In the early noughties, Helen Mirren wasn't quite as experimental with her Cannes Film Festival fashion in the way that we know and love today.

Helen Mirren attends the Calendar Girls tea party at the Noga Hilton Beach during the 56th International Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2003, in Cannes, France. Evan Agostini/Getty Images

In 2003, Mirren, 77, attended a day party for the film "Calendar Girls," which she co-starred in with Julie Walters and Linda Basset, wearing an orange sundress, pink scarf, and neon pink-and-blue tote bag.

While she should be credited for the bold color of the ensemble, Mirren's look wasn't even a fraction of how daring her more recent outfits have been.

Four years later, Mirren started to experiment with more daring necklines and fabrics at Cannes Film Festival.

Helen Mirren at Cannes Film Festival in 2007. Toni Anne Barson Archive/WireImage

For the 2007 Cannes Film Festival premiere of the movie "Chacun Son Cinema," Mirren graced the red carpet in a flowing, pale-yellow gown with fluttering elbow-grazing sleeves.

Unlike the previous outing four years prior, this ensemble showed that Mirren was up for playing with plunging necklines and silky fabrics, both of which have become styles that she gravitates towards today.

In 2010, Mirren rocked up to the "Robin Hood" premiere at Cannes in a one-shoulder black gown with bedazzled cuffs.

Helen Mirren attends the "Robin Hood" premiere at the Palais des Festivals during the 63rd Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 12, 2010, in Cannes, France. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

According to a Just Jared report at the time, Mirren's asymmetrical dress was designed by Elie Saab. She paired it with a silky Ferragamo clutch bag, which matched the gown perfectly.

The look was another leap forward in Mirren's daring style evolution.

This midnight-blue gown that Mirren wore to the 2016 Cannes Film Festival premiere of "The Unknown Girl" gave off major punk-rock vibes.

Helen Mirren attends the "The Unknown Girl (La Fille Inconnue)" premiere during the 69th annual Cannes Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals on May 18, 2016, in Cannes, France. Mike Marsland/WireImage

The lace gown featured long sleeves and was just short enough for Mirren to show off her criss-cross black heels.

This year was also one of the first that Mirren experimented with having a much more dramatic beauty look alongside a daring dress. For the event, she rocked a slicked-back hairstyle and a bold smoky eye.

The next day, Mirren showed up to the amfAR Gala in Cannes wearing a sophisticated gown with a plunging neckline and sheer sleeves.

Helen Mirren attends amfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on May 19, 2016, in Cap d'Antibes, France. Dave M. Benett/amfAR16/Dave Benett/WireImage

The faded dress featured a striped pattern throughout, gold embroidery, and colorful bejeweled detailing along the waist.

Mirren paired the glitzy look with a shimmery clutch and a bold red lip.

Two years later, Mirren arrived in Cannes wearing an electric-purple trench coat over a crisp white ensemble.

Helen Mirren is seen on her way to Hotel Martinez during the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival at on May 12, 2018, in Cannes, France. Target Presse Agentur Gmbh/GC Images

With this daytime outfit, Mirren proved she didn't have to necessarily be on the red carpet to deliver a memorable look.

The actor topped it all off with a pair of rainbow-patterned ballet flats.

But when she stepped onto the Cannes Film Festival red carpet in 2018, Mirren looked like a queen in an off-the-shoulder royal-blue gown.

Helen Mirren attends the screening of "Girls Of The Sun (Les Filles Du Soleil)" during the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 12, 2018, in Cannes, France. Antony Jones/Getty Images

Together, the gold lining, the dramatic sleeves, and the blend of royal-blue velvet and see-through organza fabric made this one of the most regal-looking dresses Mirren has worn to Cannes Film Festival.

The medieval-inspired gown was designed by Elie Saab for the brand's fall 2017 couture line, WWD reported.

Mirren proved hair can be the ultimate accessory when she rocked up to a screening at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival with bubblegum-pink hair.

Helen Mirren attends the screening of "Les Plus Belles Annees D'Une Vie" during the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2019, in Cannes, France. Samir Hussein/WireImage

With this appearance, Mirren showed that daring style can be both playful and sophisticated.

While attending the screening of "Les Plus Belles Annees D'Une Vie," she paired a sequined Elie Saab gown with her newly dyed soft-pink hair, which was swept into a loose updo, Town & Country reported.

For the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, Mirren wore a captivating marigold midi dress that featured an elegant sweetheart necklace.

Helen Mirren attends the opening ceremony and the premiere of the opening film "Annette" during the 74th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals in 2021. Stefanie Rex/picture alliance via Getty Images

She paired it with coordinating pumps, a gold clutch, and jewelry with emerald detailing. According to Grazia, Mirren's gown, which exuded summery vibes, was a Dolce & Gabbana design.

2022 saw Mirren become the disco queen of Cannes Film Festival in a shimmery silver number.

Helen Mirren arrives for the screening of the film "Mother And Son (Un Petit Frere)" during the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 27, 2022. LOIC VENANCE / AFP) (Photo by LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images

The length and sleeves of the mirrored silver gown definitely gave off 1970s disco energy.

And Mirren made this ensemble all the more memorable by switching up her usual hairstyle for a waist-length style, which she achieved with long platinum extensions, according to People.

Mirren brought out her most daring look to date this year: a periwinkle wraparound dress that she coordinated yet again with her hair.

Helen Mirren attends the "Jeanne du Barry" Screening & opening ceremony red carpet at the 76th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 16, 2023, in Cannes, France. Samir Hussein/WireImage

The taffeta blue dress featured two of Mirren's favorite styles: an off-the-shoulder design and a plunging neckline. Another standout feature of the gown, which E! News reported was designed by Del Core, was the wraparound train.

Just like her 2019 Cannes Film Festival outing, the actor took her daring style up a notch by coordinating the color of her gown with her hair, which she kept in a curled updo.

Mirren, who is the face of L'Oreal, also carried a black fan printed with the brand's slogan "#WorthIt."

Speaking to British Vogue ahead of the appearance, Mirren spoke candidly about how it took time for her to be comfortable on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet.

"The very first time I came to Cannes was so intimidating and terrifying and overwhelming," she said. "Now I can kind of laugh at it and enjoy it. I see it as a performance."

What made her more accustomed to the experience was dressing the part "You must have a dress that fits you," she added. Ideally a dress that's comfortable, but that's rather idealistic because so many of these dresses are not comfortable, but they look amazing."

Read the original article on Insider
13 hurt after crash involving inmate bus in downtown Sacramento, authorities say

At least 13 people were hurt after a crash between an inmate transfer bus and another vehicle Friday morning in downtown Sacramento, near the Sacramento County Main Jail, fire and sheriffs officials said.

The crash happened near Fifth and I streets, the Sacramento Fire Department said in a social media post shortly before 7:30 a.m.

None of the 13 injuries were considered life-threatening, and most of them were minor, Fire Department spokesman Capt. Justin Sylvia said.

Sacramento County Sheriffs Office spokesman Sgt. Amar Gandhi said the 13 injured occupants were inmates with complaints of pain and no visible or obvious injuries.

Traffic camera video, released by the Sheriffs Office, shows this mornings collision between a Tesla and a sheriffs transfer bus. 13 inmates were injured. https://t.co/TJa0RdFada pic.twitter.com/9lzC7cDFu1  Daniel Hunt (@edit4life) May 19, 2023

The Sheriffs Office bus was traveling northbound on Fifth Street when it was struck by a vehicle that had apparently run a red light while heading westbound on I Street, Gandhi said, based on preliminary investigation.

The other involved vehicle was a black Tesla, which had major front-end damage.

Video shared by the Sheriffs Office, taken from a nearby traffic camera, showed the Tesla running the red light and broadsiding the bus. The Tesla braked, but not in time to avoid the collision.

The Fire Department as of 7:45 a.m. was waiting for additional medical personnel to arrive at the scene to assess some of the victims, Sylvia said.

The crash happened about two blocks west of the Sacramento County Main Jail at 651 I St.
14-year-old Veronika who was taken to Russia by invaders has returned to Ukraine.

Source: Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights on Telegram

Quote from Lubinets: "14-year-old Veronika, who ended up in Russia after a terrorist country broke into Ukraine, is now at home. Her grandmother, with horror and tears in her eyes, recalls what she had to go through to bring back her granddaughter to her homeland."

Details: The Ombudsman added that the child will undergo rehabilitation and receive the necessary medical and humanitarian assistance.

"We are working to bring home every Ukrainian child and punish those who take them out and hold them hostage on foreign territory," Lubinets said.

Background:

It was reported that six-year-old Anna-Maria, whose parents who both served in the military had been captured in Mariupol, returned home to Ukraine from Russia.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
The claim: UN and World Economic Forum want 15-minute cities to restrict movement, assign people 'tasks'

A May 14 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a map of the U.S. divided into 13 districts next to a photo of Katniss Everdeen, a fictional character from "The Hunger Games" series.

"13 districts explained," reads text overlaid on the post. "The UN and the WEF want people sectioned off and categorized like cattle on a farm because they want to control every aspect of our life and monitor every bit of 'carbon' we use to help 'global warming.'"

The user ties this to the "15-minute city" concept in the post's caption.

"Just like the 15 Minute cities today will restrict people from leaving their zone of living, and people will be giving tasks to support the NWO (New World Order) society, and you will probably own nothing and not be happy," it reads.

The post was liked over 800 times in two days.

Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

Our rating: False

The 15-minute city concept does not restrict the movement of citizens or assign them jobs, experts told USA TODAY. Neither the United Nations nor the World Economic Forum has the power to mandate that cities adopt this urban planning strategy, nor have they supported movement restrictions.

'15-minute cities' plan does not restrict movement or assign people 'tasks'

The "15-minute city" concept was created by Carlos Moreno, a professor at the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne. It has nothing to do with restricting the movement of citizens.

"The 15-minute city concept does not propose any limitations on residents' freedom to travel outside their city," Moreno told USA TODAY in an email.

Instead, the goal is for all essential services  like grocery stores, schools, healthcare facilities, parks and cultural amenities  to be within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from citizens' homes.

"While the focus is on enhancing the local environment, it does not imply that residents would be discouraged or prohibited from leaving their city," Moreno said.

Fact check: False claim '15 minute cities' lock down residents

The concept does not suggest that residents would be "sectioned off" and assigned tasks like in "The Hunger Games" franchise, as the post asserts. The map of the 13 districts in the post is based on the book series, not anything proposed by Moreno, the World Economic Forum or the U.N.

"Rather than assigning specific jobs or tasks to residents, the concept encourages a diverse and inclusive labor market," Moreno said. "It aims to create opportunities for a variety of employment options within the local community."

The model promotes sustainability by reducing the need for long commutes, Moreno said, but it would not include monitoring or tracking individuals' carbon use.

"Monitoring carbon use on an individual level would require extensive tracking and data collection, which may raise privacy concerns and is not a core aspect of the 15-minute city concept," he said. "The focus of the 15-minute city is primarily on improving accessibility, promoting local amenities, and enhancing quality of life for residents within a compact urban environment, while also considering sustainability principles."

Cities around the world have adopted this concept, and there is no evidence any have restricted the movement of residents or implemented carbon tracking.

UN and WEF do not support sectioning off cities

Both the U.N. and the World Economic Forum told USA TODAY they would not support restricting the movement of citizens.

"This goes against basic human rights, and the U.N. would not endorse this," said Florencia Soto Nino-Martinez, a spokesperson for the U.N.

Trevor Chueu, a spokesperson for the World Economic Forum, said the organization does not support the "sectioning off" any part of a city "for any reason."

Fact check: False claim 15-minute cities plan will confine residents

Neither organization has the power to command cities to adopt the "15-minute city" idea.

While the concept has been discussed in various climate forums because it can help cities reduce their emissions, the U.N. cannot mandate cities to adopt this concept, Soto Nino-Martinez previously said in an email. Each country and each city are free to decide how they want to make themselves more sustainable.

USA TODAY previously debunked an array of claims that mischaracterize the nature of "15-minute city" plans, including one that they are "climate change lockdowns" and another that the Ohio trail derailment was purposefully done to push the idea.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Erroneous claim '15-minute cities' mimics 'Hunger Games' | Fact check
A 17-year-old was shot and killed late Thursday afternoon in northwest Charlotte and a person of interest is in custody on weapons charges, police said.

READ: 1 killed, 1 charged after shooting outside club in north Charlotte

Milton Mahoney Junior was found shot at about 5:45 p.m. on Larwill Lane near Brookshire Boulevard, officials with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said in a news release. He was taken to a hospital and later died.

Neighbors told Channel 9s Gina Esposito a basketball game had just ended where the shooting happened. Junior got in his car and was shot at the end of the street.

Esposito could see where he crashed into a homeowners mailbox. The homeowner said she rushed to help the victim.

I saw the young man lying on his stomach on the lawn, and he said, Can someone please call police? Id be shot, Sadekqua said. I said okay, Im a nurse Im going to help you.

Shaw then called 911 and helped Junior while paramedics were on the way.

RELATED: Teen in stable condition after shooting in northeast Charlotte, CMPD says

I was trying to put pressure on the area because I saw it was right here in this area, Shaw said.

Shaw said Junior was alert and talking but things quickly escalated.

Stay with me sweetie. Stay with me sweetie, Shaw could be heard saying in doorbell video.

Junior died at the hospital.

It is very devastating and my heart goes out to his family and all his friends because they were already having a hard time when they saw him hereI can only imagine the pain, Shaw said.

Shaw said she never heard an argument before the shots rang out.

This is a developing story, check back at wsoctv.com for updates.

VIDEO: CMPD: Officers investigating homicide in southwest Charlotte
MSU Texas names Dr. Kirsten Lodge, left, to be 2023 Hardin professor during graduation ceremonies Saturday May 13, 2023. Dr. Keith Lamb, interim university president, is on the right.

Dr. Kirsten Lodge was named Hardin Professor for 2023 during Midwestern State Universitys commencement ceremony May 13.

Lodge is a professor of English and humanities in the Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities & Social Sciences. Hardin Professor is the highest honor bestowed upon a faculty member at the university each year.

Lodge joined the MSU Texas faculty in 2011. She holds two doctorate degrees with distinction from Columbia University. One is in Russian language and literature and the other is in Czech language and literature.

She also holds a master of art in history and philosophy of art and architecture from the Central European University in Prague, as well as a bachelor of art (summa cum laude) with double majors in Russian and Soviet studies and Russian language and literature from Cornell University.

Lodge is fluent in Russian, Czech and French, proficient in Ukrainian, German, and Spanish, and also knows some Italian.

As a literary translator, her considerable research and scholarly activities focus on translations of significant works in Russian and Czech literature.

Colleagues value her wealth of knowledge about humanities and experience with the world she brings to bear in every class she teaches.

The Hardin Foundation for Wichita County established the annual award in 1962 for a member of the MSU faculty whose teaching and research during the preceding 12 months has brought distinction to the faculty member and the institution.

The award carries with it a stipend of $5,000. Lodge is the 63rd professor to receive the honor.Individual college faculty awards also were announced at commencement. These awards were decided by a committee of their peers within their respective colleges.

Dillard College of Business Administration

Excellence in Scholarship: Dr. Sanchari Choudhury

Excellence in Teaching: Dr. Kris Tilker

Gordon T. & Ellen West College of Education

Excellence in Scholarship: Dr. Emily Reaves

Excellence in Teaching: Dr. Timothy Hinchman

Lamar D. Fain College of Fine Arts

Excellence in Scholarship: Steve Hilton

Excellence in Teaching: Jonathon Quam

Robert D. & Carol Gunn College of Health Sciences & Human Services

Excellence in Scholarship: Dr. Beth Veale

Excellence in Teaching: Catherine Earley

Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities & Social Sciences

Excellence in Scholarship: Dr. John Schulze

Excellence in Teaching: Dr. K. Lee Gagum

McCoy College of Science, Mathematics & Engineering

Excellence in Scholarship: Dr. Michelle Knox

Excellence in Teaching: Candice Fulton

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Lodge named Hardin professor, MSU faculty award recipients named
Toyota

In a performance car, a great driver's seat changes everything. Standouts like Porsche's carbon buckets or the M4's funky blue-and-lime thrones elevate otherwise predictable interiors into nirvana with lumbar support. Simply glimpsing a pair of epic seats snaps you into the mood to drive like hell.

But who would've guessed the next great thrones would bow not in the interior of some steely eyed hypercar, but inside the all-new version of Toyota's midsize pickup stalwart? Toyota calls them IsoDynamic Sport Seats. They'll come standard on the Tacoma's range-topping "TRO Pro" trim, when the trucks hit dealer lots.

The first thing to note: These IsoDynamic Sport Seats seem to do the standard seat business very well. It's an admittedly small sample size, but from a quick stint in the TRD Pro's preproduction interior, these seats feel an immediate upgrade to their outgoing TRD Pro counterparts, and like a plush perfection compared to the flat, hard thrones at the wheel of most current Tacoma trims. (Especially in contrast to the seats in my very own third-gen Tacoma Limited, which are about as comfortable as a stump).

Toyota

The new seats' papercut-red leather feels soft and just-right pliant, of higher quality than the leather lining the interiors of outgoing Tacomas. There's more detailing to the seats overall, a swath of digi-camo at the front of the seat bottom, more intricacy applied via panels and stitching across the seatback. These details lends a more overtly styled aesthetic to the seats, but a good one. The generous bolstering suggests the sort of performance-oriented buckets you'd find in a German sport sedan.

The seats are a statement piece: Toyota clearly understood the need to step up their seat game across the Tacoma lineup. But in the upcoming TRD Pro, their ambition to coddle our hindquarters is admirable. These thrones may just be the wildest seats ever fitted to a consumer-facing production vehicle, bar none.

But you won't reach that conclusion by looking at the front of the seats. From the back, however, a new perspective emerges.

There they aretwo red shock absorbers in the seatbackalongside fiddly little knobs (that actually hide a schrader valve for pressurizing the system) and a pair of analog dials with needle readouts and a couple switches to boot, all framed by a sort of black plastic exoskeleton wrapping its arms around the back of each IsoDynamic Sport Seat. The shocks themselves are mostly covered by a piece of carbon-weave-esque material that looks like it fell off a McLaren monocoque. Before you understand how any of this functions, it just looks very very cool.

Kyle Kinard

(To Bring Balance To The Force: Remember your children will stomp mud and grass all over these nifty little things from their carseat. And that the last Tacoma was panned for its dearth of rear passenger legroom; these shocks cut back against improvements made to that end).

Each of the large red shocks controls the motion of the seat across one axis. The shock on the right tames side-to-side jostle. The shock on the left pares down vertical jounces. But there's a second pair of shocks, slightly hidden from view, that tame the fore and aft rocking motion of the seats you would experience on acceleration and deceleration. These can be adjusted by hand, similar to a mountain bike shock, through a pair of small portals toward the bottom of the seat.

The main oil-air shocks are adjustable via the knobs below each dial. These display each shock's current pressure in psi. Predictably, higher pressure will tighten the response to forces acting on the seat.

Kyle Kinard

If the setup looks incomprehensible, Toyota says a comprehensive video guide will be available in the MyToyota app, to help consumers understand and fine tune each setting, adjusting the system based on their weight and the intended use case.

As a man who loves to fiddle with settings, whether it's getting the snappiest shifting performance from my road bike's rear derailleur, or finding that perfect balance from a set of adjustable suspension dampers, this seems like yet another fiddly dream come true.

It's worth noting these seats were ideated, designed, developed, and built by Toyota, in-house. Rather than outsourcing a bulk of the work to a company like Recaro, Toyota splashed the time, energy, and resources to build these things. According to one Toyota engineer, that's a hugely challenging proposition from the standpoint of internal corporate politics (you can imagine the bean counters' wincing faces).

Toyota engineer Randy Badia explained that the idea had roots in a sedan seat unrelated to off-roading, but that applying the idea to the Tacoma took a glut of resources and a huge amount of time to refine. Anyone who's spent appreciable time wheeling will immediately understand the benefit to a system like this; I drive away from every off-road park with a stab of neck pain.

But does it actually work, I asked Badia, or was this yet another solution in search of a problem? Our necks generally do a great job at keeping our head and eyes level during bumpy low-speed rock crawls, but Badia insists that the dynamic seats improve comfort and driver performance. Toyota's own case studies, including the use of motion tracking software that monitors the movement of a driver's eyes as the truck navigates obstacles, confirms a measured reduction in the amount of eye jostle.

Badia says that it'll be up to drivers to decide if and when to activate the seats' capabilities. Some drivers leave them on for trips to Target. Others prefer to leave the seats static, full time. A binary switch on each main shock can lock the seat into place, quickly and simply.

Kyle Kinard

So here we are, maybe 1000 words into a blog about a seat. But sometimes it's hard to convey excitement for how something as simple as a seat with some shocks can bring real excitement. I think that if the seats work as well as promised, they could produce a real "duh" moment, in which Toyota executed on an obvious idea in an excellent way, moving the needle for enthusiasts.

These seats are important because they're a symptom of a trend in midsize truck development, proof that fierce competition in the pickup market is breeding constant improvement. That gives consumers more optionsand more importantly, better optionsat every price point.

This new Tacoma drops squarely into the middle of a pickup arms race. Each year and with each successive generation, we ask more from our trucks. That they should ferry us to Costco in sublime comfort with the same grace they'll tackle desert whoops and iron out lo-range rock crawls.

Those demands have pushed the technological development of the pickup, turning this humble instrument for the common worker into something luxurious, robust, and versatile, a leather-lined Leatherman on wheels.

With this new tacoma, Toyota promises improved suspension technology, engine power and efficiency, plus an interior that strives for better material quality and the clever integration must-have tech.

Wasn't it time the humble seat had a breakthrough of its own?

You Might Also Like
A grand jury in Georgia has indicted three former sheriffs officers in the beating of a Black jail detainee that was recorded by security cameras.

The indictment handed down Wednesday in coastal Camden County charges ex-deputy Ryan Biegel and former jail officers Braxton Massey and Mason Garrick with misdemeanor counts of battery and simple battery as well as a felony count of violating their oath of office.

The charges stem from the September beating of Jarrett Hobbs, who was jailed after a traffic stop. Security camera video showed the white officers rush into Hobbs cell and begin punching him in the head and neck. Another camera recorded Hobbs being hurled against a wall and pinned to the floor.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation began looking into the beating after Hobbs attorneys obtained the video footage. In November, all three men were fired after being arrested on the same charges contained in the indictment.

RELATED STORIES:

The indictment means a grand jury found sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial.

Defense attorneys listed in court records for Garrett and Massey did not immediately respond to email messages seeking comment Thursday. The records did not identify an attorney for Biegel.

Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Keith Higgins in February dropped charges of assault and obstruction filed against Hobbs after the beating. The prosecutor also dismissed the traffic violation and drug possession charges that led to Hobbs being jailed.

At the time of his arrest in Georgia, Hobbs, of Greensboro, North Carolina, was on probation following a 2014 guilty plea to a federal charge of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. Hobbs was returned to federal prison after authorities determined he violated terms of his probation by leaving North Carolina.

RELATED NEWS:
3-year-old thrown from car running red light and pinned in deadly crash, TX cops say

A toddler died after a car landed on her during a crash in Texas, police said.

The crash occurred around 4:20 p.m. Thursday, May 18, when a driver ran a red light, according to a Facebook post by the Waco Police Department.

The driver was going east, went straight through a red light and hit two cars going north, police said.

An unsecured 3-year-old girl was thrown from the car and it landed on top of her, according to the post.

Bystanders helped lift the car off the child and began life-saving measures, police said.

She was treated at a local hospital and died as a result of her injuries, the post said. Her identity has not been released.

Officials said no one has been charged as of this time.

Waco is about 90 miles south of Fort Worth.

2-year-old hit, killed after darting in front of car in parking lot, Georgia cops say

Toddlers killed, pregnant mom hurt in DUI crash on way home from church, KY cops say

3-year-old fatally struck by moms car during preschool drop off, SC officials say
Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune.

Bernard Kersh stands beside the Rev. Jesse Jackson after Kersh bonded out of Cook County Jail in Chicago on Dec. 6, 2019. Kersh was charged with aggravated battery to a peace officer after allegedly spitting at an officer and being slammed to the ground. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

More than three years after an officer was seen on video slamming a man to the ground, the Chicago Police Board voted to suspend another officer involved in the arrest for 90 days.

The Police Board voted unanimously Thursday to suspend Officer Mark Johnson, who arrived at a Chatham bus stop on Thanksgiving Day of 2019 after another officer had slammed 32-year-old Bernard Kersh to the ground.

Advertisement

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability had called for Johnsons termination, alleging he didnt properly care for Kersh and made false statements following the arrest.

Plainclothes officers driving an unmarked squad car saw Kersh drinking vodka at the bus stop and tried to ticket him before he was slammed, according to police. Kersh spat in one of the officers eyes as police tried to ticket him, and the officer then did an emergency takedown, authorities said.

Advertisement

Video of Sgt. Jerald Williams picking Kersh up and slamming him to the ground circulated online, drawing outrage and concern from many corners. Then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot called the video very disturbing.

A bystander took video of Chicago police Sgt. Jerald Williams as he hurled Bernard Kersh to the ground for allegedly spitting on him during an arrest on Nov. 28, 2019. (Chicago Tribune Handout (handout, chicago-tribune-handout))

At least seven officers, including two sergeants, faced possible discipline for their role in the arrest, though not all of those cases have been adjudicated, city records show.

In November 2021, two years after he was slammed to the ground, Kersh pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery for spitting on the officer, according to Cook County court records. Kersh was sentenced to two years in prison, but was credited for the time he spent in jail and eleased from custody.

Kersh also filed a lawsuit against the city, Johnson and Williams. That lawsuit is still pending, court records show, and earlier this year Kershs attorneys argued that the city wrongly withheld records related to Williams disciplinary history.

Though COPA called for Williams to face a 45-day suspension, records show former CPD Superintendent David Brown recommended a 135-day suspension for Williams, a former mixed martial arts fighter. Williams has not served that suspension and was in the grievance process as of Friday, according to a police spokesperson.

COPA recommended that Johnson be fired, though Brown said only a 10-day suspension was warranted. That disagreement triggered a process called a Request for Review, where one member of the Police Board, selected at random, decided if Johnson should face an evidentiary hearing  the boards version of a trial where evidence and witness testimony is presented for the full board.

That board member, Vice President Paula Wolff, agreed with COPA, and Brown later lodged charges against Johnson that sought his firing, city records show.

In its announcement Thursday, the board determined Johnson violated CPD rules when he didnt check Kershs condition before carrying him and shoving him into a police car. The officer failed to show concern for the mans condition and didnt treat him respectfully, the board ruled. Attorneys for Kersh previously said that he suffers from mental illness, and that him being thrown to the ground may have caused a brain injury.

Advertisement

Johnson also violated CPD rules by not activating his body-worn camera in time and not securing Kersh with a seat belt as he transported him to the hospital, the board determined.

Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

However, the board determined that Johnson did not violate the departments Rule 14, which prohibits making false statements. A sustained Rule 14 violation typically signals the end of an officers career because they can no longer credibly testify in court proceedings.

Statements Johnson made about Kershs condition could not be proven to be willfully false, the board said.

In a report he made hours after transporting Kersh, Johnson said Kersh was alert and feigning unconsciousness. The administrative charges against Johnson alleged he knew Kersh was at times unconscious.

In determining that Johnson wasnt lying when he said that Kersh was conscious, the board cited testimony from Johnson and another officer that Kershs eyes opened and they felt his body tense as they tried to handcuff him. The board also cited body-worn camera footage showing Johnson discussing his belief that Kersh was conscious with other officers at the scene.

Johnson was also accused of falsely writing in a report that he gave Kersh commands before arresting him. Johnson later acknowledged the claim was not accurate, but the board determined the claim wasnt willfully false.

Advertisement

Johnson made the report hours after his interaction with Kersh and the officer was reportedly messed up after giving chest compressing to a gunshot victim who died two days earlier, factors that the board said contributed to their determination.

After Kersh and Johnsons initial interaction, the officer treated Kersh with nothing but courtesy and respect under difficult circumstances despite Kersh being combative in the squad car and later in the hospital, the board wrote.
These 4 Kentucky spots are among Southern Livings Best 50 Small Towns in the South

What they lack in size, they make up for in charm.

Four Kentucky towns  each known for its distinct qualities  recently made Southern Living magazines list of the 50 Best Small Towns in the South. The listing is part of the magazines Best of the South series throughout 2023.

Heres a quick snapshot of each Kentucky town recognized by the magazine. For a look at the full list, visit Southern Living online.

St. Augustine, Fla., took the magazines top spot.

No. 49: Danville, KY

Once the capital of Kentucky, Danville in Boyle County is known as The City of Firsts, and it defines itself as a place of progress.

Southern Living recognized Danville at No. 49 on its list of the 50 Best Small Towns in the South.

Explore spirited Main Street, where you can find Renaissance Revival- and Federal-style buildings housing modern eateries; boutiques; and the Art Center of the Bluegrass, a creative hub in the community, the magazine said of Danville.

Heres a quick rundown of the kinds of advancements Danville has become known for:

The town itself predates Kentuckys statehood.

Its notable as the site of the first courthouse in Kentucky (1785), the first U.S. Post Office established west of the Alleghenies (1792) and the first Political Club in the West (1786).

In 1809, Danville native Dr. Ephraim McDowell was the first physician in the world to successfully remove an ovarian tumor. His patient was Jane Todd Crawford.

It was a trailblazer in education, opening the first college in the west in 1783, the first law school in the west in 1799 and the first state-supported school for the deaf in 1823.

Danville was also where many early Black education institutions opened, including the first Black homeschool in the mid-19th century. The first kindergarten for Black children was established there, and in 1881, John Bate opened Danvilles first public school for Black students.

No. 35: Paducah, KY

The host of the National Quilting Museum, Paducah in McCracken County is a mecca for the craft art form.

The town sits on the junction of the Ohio and Tennessee rivers, and its fortuitous location made it a hub for steamboat traffic in the late 19th century when that mode of travel was in its heyday.

Southern Living put Paducah at No. 35 on its list, lauding it as a jewel situated at the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers, Paducah has an undeniably creative soul and is home to The National Quilt Museum as well as one-of-a-kind businesses like the antiques shop Frenchtown Station and the bourbon palace Barrel & Bond.

No. 26: Berea, KY

Nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Berea in Madison County is a haven for artists of all kinds.

Visitors here can watch live demonstrations, hike whats been called Kentuckys best hiking trail and explore the Artisan Village. That last site is where studios, fabric stores, handmade jewelry, galleries and glass blowers gather.

Darrell Harrison of Berea watches the sun rise from the East Pinnacle in the Berea College Forest on Tuesday, May 31, 2022.

Berea took the No. 26 spot on Southern Livings list. The magazine lauded it as the folk arts and crafts capital of Kentucky.

Berea is a dynamic spot for creators and craftspeople working across a variety of media. Many sell their wares at galleries along Chestnut Street and in both the Artisan Village and the Kentucky Artisan Center, Southern Living said.

No. 24: Bardstown, KY

Coming at No. 24 on Southern Livings list, Bardstown is a boon for bourbon lovers, with tasting rooms and distillery tours galore.

The town takes its name from the pioneering Bard brothers, and is Kentuckys second oldest town.

The bourbon bar at Toogies Table. The restaurant is located in the Bardstown Motor Lodge in Bardstown, Ky.

First settled in 1780, Bardstown has been named the Most Beautiful Small Town in America by Rand McNally and USA Today, according to the towns tourism website.

As Southern Living put it: Theres no mistaking Bardstown for its big-city neighbors, and thats the charm of it.

Do you have a question about Kentucky for our service journalism team? Wed like to hear from you. Fill out our Know Your Kentucky form or email ask@herald-leader.com.
$406 million budget proposed in Quincy: 'We have not taxed to the max'

QUINCY  A $406 million city operating budget proposed for the next fiscal year would pay for a fourth ladder company for the fire department, two historical archivists in the library, a new crisis response specialist for the police department and other additional personnel.

Mayor Thomas Koch this week gave a brief overview of the budget his office has proposed for fiscal 2024, an almost 9% increase over the current budget.

The proposed $405.7 million budget includes $127.5 million for the school department and $78.5 million for public safety operations. The proposed budget, for the fiscal year starting July 1, is significantly larger than the one approved by city councilors last year  by $33.1 million.

The last frontier? Weymouth, Quincy struggle with slow redevelopment on Route 3A

The largest increases in the budget were driven by changes in employee costs. Unions settled new contracts this year and the mayor has proposed market-based salary adjustments for nonunion employees. Also up are trash collection spending due to the rising costs of recycling and debt service, which went from $47.3 million in the fiscal 2023 budget to $59 million in fiscal 2024. Of that, $16.4 million will be put toward debt service for a $475 million pension obligation bond approved in 2020  about $800,000 more than last year.

The city borrowed $475 million over a 30-year bond period to pay down the Quincy's pension obligation, which was at the time an outstanding liability. The bond exchanged the old system of paying down the pension fund  in which the city's retirement board essentially sent a bill at the start of each budget season  for a bond financing plan that funded the pension system all at once.

Koch's presentation showed that the amount paid each year is expected to continue increasing until fiscal 2026 and then level off for the lifetime of the payback period.

New employees proposed in Quincy's fiscal 2024 budget

A $3.5 million increase in the fire department's budget accounts for the addition of a fourth ladder company and new staff positions, offsetting cuts made to the department over the last 40 years. At a news conference earlier this month, city officials said the addition will put every home in Quincy within 2 miles of a "full box" response  an engine for knocking down the fire and a ladder for search and rescue.

If the $32.3 million fire budget is approved, Quincy will have 242 firefighters starting July 1, the most it has had at one time since 1985.

Two Quincy Fire Department ladder trucks outside city hall Tuesday, May 9, 2023.

A $5.7 million proposed increase to the police budget includes money for the hiring of a new crisis response specialist, which Koch says will "be a big help to those who need (mental health) services on the street." Personnel costs are up $5.7 million over last fiscal year, bringing the total police budget to $40.3 million.

The budget also proposes hiring a new supervisor in the Department of Natural Resources to oversee recreation operations and two archivists for the Thomas Crane Public Library, a request by the new library director, Sara Slymon.

"We're an old city and we have a lot of stuff," Koch said. "That stuff needs to be taken care of, it needs to be cataloged, preserved and she's looking forward to that."

Rollins accused of leaking Quincy bridge inquiry: 'Don't say I never gave you anything'

6 of Quincy Center's best eats: A culinary resurgence

Quincy had $31.5 million in new growth last year; revenues are up

Koch said revenues for the city are up across the board. Quincy had $31.5 million in new growth last year, a $10.1 million increase in state aid, and local receipts from sources such as building fees, the meals tax and excise taxes are exceeding projections. The meals tax is trending toward a historic high, according to the city's estimates.

Most of the citys budget is funded by property taxes, with state aid and local receipts covering the rest. Tax rates are set for the calendar year but the citys budgetary year goes from July 1 to June 30.

The city decides its tax rates each December by figuring out how much money it will need to fund the budget over the fiscal years final six months, and works backward from there to find the rate needed for that.

"Of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, we are smack in the middle on tax burden, but I would argue that we're right at the top on services provided to the residents," Koch said. "When people call, they get a response. Our departments do an incredible job."

Quincy: Nonprofit proposes 34-unit building for 'extremely low-income' residents

New growth: Closed New York Mart, neighboring lot in Quincy could get two new apartment buildings

Koch said the city historically has not taxed residents as much as it could, and said Quincy will have just shy of $50 million in excess levy capacity for fiscal 2024. He pointed out that other communities including Hingham and Cohasset have tried to tax residents above the state limit this year to pay for operations and new projects.

"We have not consistently taxed to the max," the mayor said. "And I know it sounds a little bit snarky to say 'we could tax you more,' but we could."

City councilors did not discuss the budget this week but will instead hear from department heads during a series of finance committee meetings in the coming weeks. City councilors can cut money from the mayor's spending plan, but cannot add to it. The budget must be returned to the mayor's office with any cuts by mid-June.

A public hearing on the budget will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 22, followed by a finance committee meeting. Eight department heads will present their budgets to the city council including fire chief Joe Jackson, Quincy's CFO Eric Mason and planning director Jim Fatseas.

Reach Mary Whitfill at mwhitfill@patriotledger.com.

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

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Quincy proposes $406 million budget for fiscal 2024
Video shows NC police officer passing a stopped school bus with a child near the buses entrance. A police sergeant was cited by the NC Highway Patrol and placed by the Concord Police Department on administrative duty pending an investigation.

A Concord Police sergeant was suspended on Thursday after a viral video showed him passing a stopped school bus and narrowly missing a student after she stepped off the bus, city officials said.

Sgt. Matthew Willet was cited by the North Carolina Highway Patrol for passing a stopped school bus and was placed on administrative duty by the Concord Police Department pending an administrative investigation, according to a City of Concord news release last week.

Passing a stopped school bus is a class 1 misdemeanor.

On May 11, the department finished its investigation and Chief Gary Gacek said he would suspend Willet without pay for five days.

As a parent whose children rode the school bus for many years, I completely understand that anger. This officer, Matthew Willet, did the wrong thing, Gaeck said in a statement Thursday.

Some on social media have called for me to fire Matt over his mistake. This was a serious error and he is being held accountable for it, but I want to be clear: this simply doesnt rise to the level of firing him.

Willet is a 15-year veteran of the department and has never had a citizen complaint before, Gaeck said.

Matt accepted full responsibility for his mistake and deeply regrets what happened, Gaeck said. The investigation showed that he was behind another car in traffic when he pulled into a turn lane to turn right into a neighborhood. He failed to see the flashing lights and was unaware the bus was stopped to let a child off.

Video shows NC officer passing school bus

The video shared on social media shows an officer breaking the law and endangering a child, according to the city news release. The actions of this driver are something no one should do, especially not an officer who is held to a higher standard.

The near-miss of the student unfolds over just several seconds, video shows.

Public records show the incident occurred on Odell School Road in Cabarrus County.

The student who stepped from the Cabarrus County Schools bus stood frozen as the officer passed on the door side of the bus in a marked Concord Police Department car, according to the video shared by Orlando Almazan Jr. on Thursday.

He later said the bus driver got the attention of his daughter, who was almost hit.

The student stood for several more seconds as if in shock before walking down the gravel driveway of a home, the video shows.

Unacceptable! the students father, Orlando Almazan Jr., said in a caption under the video of the incident that he shared on Facebook.

On Facebook, he thanked everyone for their concerns. This matter is getting addressed, he said.

I also want to give a HUGE thanks to the bus driver (Mr. B) for noticing the patrol car and getting my daughters attention, Almazan said on Facebook.

Police said that as soon as they saw the video they tried to reach the childs family to check on her. Officers talked with the students father the next morning, police officials said.
A $500,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency will help treat opioid addiction in the Centre County Correctional Facility.

The Centre County Commissioners unanimously approved accepting the federal State Opioid Response funds on Thursday. The funds will support medicated assisted treatment in the Centre County Correctional Facility. Medicated assisted treatment is an evidence based program and is recognized at both the federal and state level as an effective means to address the opioid crisis, Catherine Arbogast, county drug and alcohol administrator, said.

The grant is through Sept. 29, 2024 and will be used for the medications, doctors appointments related to the program, counseling services for those in the program, and to assist with the correctional facilitys cost, Karri Hull, director of criminal justice planning, said during the meeting. Correctional officers will transport the participants to some of the appointments at the treatment facilities to ensure theres a continuity of care, she said.

So when the individual is released from the correctional facility, they can continue those services in our community, theyve already established relationships, Hull said. Before people leave the jail, theyll have their next appointment made for them as well, Glenn Irwin, interim warden of the correctional facility, said. They can also connect them with Medicaid, which can pick up the cost once they return to their public lives, Arbogast said.

Irwin said they have some initial interest in the program, and they hope to have better participation and see better results than what the facility saw with the Vivitrol program, which treats alcohol dependence and prevents relapse to opioid dependence.

Hopefully well see some better results and theyll get the true meaning because with Vivitrol, there was not a required counseling piece. With (this), there is required counseling to go along with it. So hopefully the two of those will help fight the addiction, Irwin said.

The medication is injectable, so it lasts for 30 days and avoids diversion, Irwin said.

The county is taking a multi-pronged approach to this, Arbogast said. The grant gives them an opportunity to help those coming through the corrections facility receive services, she said. The county also received state opioid response funds, so those who are managing an opioid or stimulant addiction can contact the Drug and Alcohol office directly to seek and access services outside of the corrections system.

The other great approach is were finding that individuals are coming into corrections who are already on a regiment of medication assisted treatment, and in the past, they have to stop because theyve been incarcerated. This grant will allow them to continue a prescribed medication protocol while theyre incarcerated, and they dont have to stop what has already been found to be successful, Arbogast said. And so this provides a level of protection for the county and for the correctional facility because they are able to continue those medications.

Thats the starting point for the county, she said, but they hope to also be able to start individuals on this protocol, so they can continue when they are released.
Dozens of progressives have signed onto a letter urging President Biden to invoke the 14th Amendment and bypass Republicans to prevent the nation from defaulting on its debt.

Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) leaders Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Greg Casar (D-Texas) led more than 60 progressives in penning the letter to Biden on Friday, as the president attends the Group of Seven (G-7) summit abroad this week.

If the options are either agreeing to major cuts to domestic priorities under the Republican threat of destroying the economy and moving forward to honor Americas debts, we join prominent legal scholars, economists, former budget officials, and a former president in advocating for invoking the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, they wrote.

Not only does the debt ceiling run counter to the Constitutions mandate that the validity of Americas public debt shall not be questioned, it contradicts the appropriations law that requires the Treasury to issue debt for the funding you are obligated to administer at Congresss direction, the group added.

President Biden speaks with Reps. Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)

President Biden speaks with Reps. Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) following an event to introduce nominee to be Secretary of Labor Julie Su in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. (Greg Nash)

The letter comes as Republican negotiators indicated that bipartisan talks to resolve the nations debt limit fight had hit a roadblock on Friday  and blamed the White House.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said the negotiations were on pause, claiming the other side failed to make adequate concessions on spending cuts.

Weve got to get movement by the White House, and we dont have any movement yet. So, yeah, weve gotta pause, McCarthy said.

Yesterday I really felt we were at the location where I could see the path. The White House is just  look, we cant be spending more money next year. We have to spend less than we spent the year before. Its pretty easy.

More debt ceiling coverage from The Hill:

It also came a day after the House Freedom Caucus pushed the Senate to pass the GOP conferences partisan debt limit package, with the group calling for no further discussion until it makes it out of Congress.

The statement from the hardline conservative caucus was thought to pose a threat to the GOP conferences unity amid bipartisan debt limit negotiations between the White House and Republican leaders.

But House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry (R-Pa.) seemed to try to dial back some of the heat later on Thursday, telling CBS: Were not saying you cant continue to talk, but until theyre willing to tell us what theyre willing to do, its hard to come to an agreement.

Liberals and conservatives alike have been raising concerns over how far leaders on both sides will go to strike a bipartisan deal to prevent a federal default.

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.)

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) addresses reporters during a press conference on Friday, March 10, 2023 with members of the House Freedom Caucus to discuss the debt limit. (Annabelle Gordon)

In their letter to Biden on Friday, progressives accused Republicans of economic ransom, while pressing the president against concessions that could lead to devastating budget cuts, additional work requirements for essential food and economic support, and fast-tracking fossil fuel projects that undermine our shared climate achievements is antithetical to our shared Democratic values.

They went on to argue that Biden should invoke the 14th Amendment, which says the validity of the public debt of the United States  shall not be questioned, to try to continue to issue debt to make federal payments.

But there are serious questions about the legality of such a move. And the stakes are high, as experts warn the nations economy could face catastrophic consequences if lawmakers fail to act quickly on the debt limit.

GOP, Democrats ready blame game for debt ceiling failure

Meanwhile, conservatives are stepping up pressure for both sides to produce a deal that would enact new limits on annual government funding, permitting reform and changes to work requirements or federal assistance programs, among other proposals.

Less than two weeks stands between Congress and the June 1 deadline forecasted by the Treasury Department as the earliest the nation risks federal default.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
7 free and cheap things to do in Charlotte this week: Meck Dec Day, live music + more

This list is curated by Charlotte on the Cheap, where youll find even more free and cheap things to do in the area this weekend and every day in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Friday, May 19

Meck Dec Day Noon Celebration

Location: The Square, 100 N Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28202

Time: 12 p.m.

Cost: Free

Celebrate the anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, which was signed on May 20, 1775, more than a year before that other one that you might have heard of. (Thats why you see that date on the North Carolina flag.) Theres some debate about this document, but put that aside and come to the heart of Charlotte for the most Charlotte of all celebrations. You can expect colonial re-enactors, the reading of the Declaration, the firing of cannons and more.

Saturday, May 20

Voices from the Past

Location: Elmwood/Pinewood Cemetery, 700 W 6th Street, Charlotte, NC 28202

Time: 2 to 5 p.m.

Cost: Free

At this popular annual event, residents of the cemetery will come back to life through re-enactors who will tell their stories. Learn about some famous people from Charlotte history and some not-so-famous people with fascinating stories.

Elmwood Cemetery is located in Charlottes Fourth Ward.

Sunday, May 21

Summer Concert Series at Seoul Food Meat Co.

Location: Seoul Food Meat Co., Mill District, 421 E 26th Street, Charlotte, NC 28205

Time: 3 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.

Cost: Free

Tosco Music is presenting live music at this new music series, which takes place two Sundays a month through Labor Day weekend. Seating in the courtyard is first come, first serve for Seoul Food customers.

Monday, May 22

The Bill Hanna Legacy Jazz Session

Location: Petras, 1919 Commonwealth Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28205

Time: Doors at 7 p.m.; Show 7:30 to 10 p.m.

Cost: $5 in advance, $7 day of

Every Monday, some of Charlottes best musicians gather at Petras to keep local music legend Bill Hannas legacy alive.

Petras is at 1919 Commonwealth Ave. in Charlotte.

Tuesday, May 23

Comedy Night

Location: Starlight on 22nd, 422 E 22nd Street, Charlotte, NC 28206

Time: 7 to 10 p.m.

Cost: Free

Every Tuesday, Jordan Centry hosts a comedy open mic at Starlight on 22nd. Come on by to this relaxed, artsy spot to be entertained!

Wednesday, May 24

Wednesday Night Live

Location: Levine Center for the Arts, 550 South Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28202

Time: 5 to 9 p.m.

Cost: Free

Every Wednesday evening, visit the museums at Levine Center for the Arts for free: Mint Museum Uptown, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Harvey B. Gantt Center and Levine Museum of the New South. In addition, at one of these museums, or at Knight Theatre, there will be a special performance, presentation or activity. On May 24, the Gantt Center is presenting American Mind: Discussing Black Mental Health, which will explore topics of mental health that are especially relevant to Black Americans. Following the discussion, enjoy a sound bath, with sound bowls and guided meditation.

Thursday, May 25

Country Music Nights

Location: RSVP South End, 225 Fairwood Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28203

Time: 6 p.m. to midnight

Cost: Free

RSVP South End is hosting Country Music Night every Thursday. The event features live music and a free line dancing class (7 to 8 p.m.) Wear your best country outfit for a chance to win a $100 RSVP gift card.

Visit Charlotte on the Cheap for an expanded list of things to do in Charlotte every day. Youll find festivals, kids activities, date night ideas, art, trivia and much more. You can sign up for a daily email that will keep you in the loop.
Seven Jefferson County Public School seniors were surprised Friday with an unexpected visit and oversized check from Superintendent Marty Pollio.

Combined, the seniors received $70,000 from the Superintendents Student Scholarship Fund, made possible through donations by JCPS employees and attendees of Pollio's State of the District Address.

Have a graduating senior? We want to hear from you!

This is one of my favorite days of the year, Pollio said in a news release. We get to help some deserving students, whose families may not have the means to afford college, realize their dream. These talented JCPS students are going to further their education and make a difference in the world. We couldnt be prouder of them.

Pollio started the scholarship fund in 2019, giving away $48,000 that first year.

Students had to apply for the scholarship and were required to have at least a cumulative 2.5 GPA, as well as demonstrate financial need.

Below are the recipients with information about each, provided by JCPS.

Naira Abedi, Doss - $7,000

Naira Abedi, a student at Doss High School, gets hugs after receiving a $7,000 scholarship check from superintendent Marty Pollio. The money comes from the Jefferson County Public Schools Employee Sponsored Student Scholarship Fund. $70,000 was awarded on Friday, May 19, 2023, to students at six JCPS high schools.

Born in a small village in Uganda, Nairas family had limited access to healthcare and medicine. She was often ill as a child and required frequent hospitalizations. The village doctor helped her family, and the memory of this kindness inspired her to pursue her own career in medicine. Naira plans to attend Bellarmine University.

Jonah Belance, Southern - $10,500

Southern High Student Jonah Belance is overcome with emotion after he received a $10,500 scholarship check to UofL from JCPS Friday morning. He said the school's teachers, his friends and his mother, who works an overnight shift, helped him with his success. May 19, 2023.

Jonah grew up in a low-income, single-parent household and was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age. Despite early struggles in school, he is an honor student and president of both the Black Student Union and the senior class at Southern High School. Jonah has won numerous awards for his community service including the YMCA Youth Character Award. He plans to attend the University of Louisville and major in biomedical science.

Raven Brackens, Marion C. Moore - $10,500

Raven Brackens, a student at Moore High School, receives a $10,500 scholarship check from superintendent Marty Pollio. The money comes from the Jefferson County Public Schools Employee Sponsored Student Scholarship Fund. $70,000 was awarded on Friday, May 19, 2023, to students at six JCPS high schools.

Raven started a small business in elementary school when she discovered a passion for baking. It was this passion that led her to attend Marion C. Moore High School where she is in the culinary program and recently competed in the national ProStart Invitational. Raven lost her mother at age four to pancreatic cancer and attributes her success to her maternal grandmother and a strong network of aunts and uncles. She plans to attend the University of Kentucky in the fall and study food science.

Saif Al Khafaji, Waggener - $10,500

Saif Al Khafaji, a student at Waggener High School, receives a $10,500 scholarship check from superintendent Marty Pollio. The money comes from the Jefferson County Public Schools Employee Sponsored Student Scholarship Fund. $70,000 was awarded on Friday, May 19, 2023, to students at six JCPS high schools.

Saif is an Iraqi refugee who immigrated to the United States last year. He works full-time and is also the guardian of his two younger brothers, both JCPS students. Saif has dreamed of being a pilot since he was 14 and has completed more than 70 hours of flight training, recently flying solo for the first time. Saif plans to attend Eastern Kentucky University to study aviation and obtain his commercial pilot license.

Tamiya King, Louisville Male - $10,500

Male High School senior Tamiya King reacts while she receives a $10,500 scholarship check to UofL from JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio Friday morning. King wants to become an attorney. May 19, 2023.

Tamiya spent the school year as a full-time, dual-credit student at the University of Louisville. She will graduate with more than eighteen hours of college credit she can apply to her studies next year at Western Kentucky University (WKU). Tamiya has always wanted to be an attorney and plans to attend the Brandeis School of Law after finishing her bachelors degree at WKU.

Ulises Vega Rabell, Doss - $10,500

Ulises Vega Rabel, a student at Doss High School, receives a $10,500 scholarship check from superintendent Marty Pollio. The money comes from the Jefferson County Public Schools Employee Sponsored Student Scholarship Fund. $70,000 was awarded on Friday, May 19, 2023, to students at six JCPS high schools.

Ulises immigrated to the United States from Cuba four years ago. He faced many obstacles such as his parents divorce, acclimating to American culture and learning a new language. As a first-generation college student, Ulises worked diligently to find help and resources to navigate the college application process. He plans to attend the University of Louisville and major in business administration.

Gia Huy Tran, Iroquois - $10,500

Toetta Taul, principal at Iroquois High School, congratulates senior Gia Tran after he received a $10,500 scholarship check to UofL from JCPS Friday morning. Tran wants to study electrical engineering in college. May 19, 2023.

Huy came to the United States from Vietnam in eighth grade. He will be a first-generation college student and is valedictorian in his class with a 4.2 weighted grade point average. Huy is a participant in the Aspire Higher program, which helped him through the college application process. He is passionate about the environment and plans to attend the University of Louisville to pursue a career in solar engineering.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: JCPS Superintendents Student Scholarship Fund 2023 recipients
The U.S. announced a new sanctions package to punish Russia for its war in Ukraine as President Joe Biden attends a summit with fellow world leaders in Japan. Also in the news: A ban on gender-affirming care for kids is ready for signature by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and while questions surround Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan's "car chase," the trauma surrounding the event is very real.

 I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Is it time to say "RIP Siri"?

Now, here we go with Friday's news.

US announces new sanctions on Russia; Zelenskyy to travel to Japan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will make a virtual appearance Friday at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan, in addition to an in-person appearance on Sunday, a trip that will mark one of the farthest distances he has traveled from Ukraine since Russia's invasion.

The visit comes as the U.S. announced a new sanctions package to punish Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Biden's administration said it would blacklist 70 entities from receiving U.S. exports and introduce more than 300 new sanctions on individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft that an official said would target financial facilitators and other actors in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Russian President Vladimir Putins nuclear threats against Ukraine, along with North Koreas missile tests and Chinas expanding nuclear arsenal, make nuclear disarmament a major part of the Hiroshima summit.

The latest from the battlefield: Russia continues to fail in its attempts to soften Kyiv through air attacks.

G-7 leaders walk to a flower wreath laying ceremony at a Hiroshima memorial for atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima, Japan on May 19, 2023.

ACLU plans to sue Texas over ban of gender-affirming care for kids

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and LGBTQ+ rights organizations announced plans Thursday to file a lawsuit against the state of Texas over Senate Bill 14, which would ban certain medical treatments for transgender kids. After passing the Texas Senate Wednesday, the bill is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott to be signed into law. SB 14 would prohibit doctors from providing gender-affirming medical treatments  including puberty blockers, hormone therapy or certain surgeries  to minors experiencing gender dysphoria, when a person's gender identity does not align with one's sex at birth. Read more

LGBTQ activist Arywn Heilrayne cries as they listen to the debate over Senate Bill 14 in the Texas House of Representatives Friday, May 12, 2023, in Austin, Texas.

More news to know now

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

8-year-old girl dies in Border Patrol custody in Texas

An 8-year-old girl died Wednesday after experiencing a "medical emergency" while she and her family were in U.S. Border Patrol custody in Texas, officials said. The girl's death comes a week after a 17-year-old unaccompanied Honduran migrant died in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' custody. The deaths are both under investigation and come after President Joe Biden predicted last week that it will be "chaotic" at the U.S.-Mexico border after the end of a pandemic-era immigration restriction, which made it easier to expel migrants. Read more

Since Title 42's end, an expected surge of migrants has not occurred. The number of migrants crossing illegally dropped by 50%, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal challenging the end of Title 42.

Report shows El Nino's devastating effects

In the years it forms, El Nino triggers wide-ranging changes in weather and climate patterns that result in a potpourri of disasters, including devastating floods, crop-killing droughts, plummeting fish populations and an uptick in tropical diseases worldwide, according to a study published Thursday. The study is among the first to look at the long-term costs of El Nino, and it projects losses that far exceed those estimated by previous research. Meanwhile, experts have predicted a growing El Nino could have dramatic consequences in the United States and around the globe this year and into next year. Read more

Vanishing paychecks: How hundreds of USPS workers fell prey to a fake website scam.

Just for subscribers:

These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here.

Security experts challenge details of Harry and Meghan's 'chaotic' chase with paparazzi

While there may be some debate on whether Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, were involved in a "near catastrophic," two-hour car chase with paparazzi in New York City Tuesday night, security experts believe they might not have taken the proper precautions. While paparazzi might not be a danger in the U.S., they said, celebs and popular people need to have better coordination when appearing in public and dealing with those photographers who are paid to shoot nearly every move they make. Read more

The car chase details are still unknown. But the trauma is real.

Queen Elizabeth II's funeral cost British government $200 million, the treasury estimates.

Quick hits

Photo of the day: See the Titanic in whole new way

The story of the unsinkable ship has been told through an award winning film, books, artifacts, museum exhibits and rare photos. And now, for the first time, a full-sized digital scan of the Titanic shows a closer look at the world famous wreck that occurred on April 14, 1912. Read more

A 3D rendering of the Titnic wreckage site, produced by deep sea exploration company Magellan and Atlantic Productions.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this  subscribe to USA TODAY here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Russia sanctions, Japan G-7, Prince Harry car chase, Meghan, transgender, Title 42, Titanic
8-year-old who died in US Customs and Border Protection custody identified by the Honduran Foreign Ministry

The Honduran Foreign Ministry has identified the 8-year-old girl who died in US Customs and Border Protection custody in Harlingen, Texas, as Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez.

Reyes died Wednesday at a Harlingen hospital and her family is receiving consular services from the Honduran consulate in McAllen, Texas, according to a news release issued by the foreign ministry.

The Honduran Consulate in McAllen, Texas has asked US Border Patrol for the respective report related to the death of the minor, the release stated.

A complete autopsy has been ordered, according to Justice of the Peace Jesus Chuy Garcia.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, Garcia said.

On Wednesday, US Customs and Border Protection announced the girl had experienced a medical emergency while at a Border Protection facility with her family. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital, according to the news release. The release added the agency is conducting an investigation, and has notified the Department of Homeland Securitys Office of Inspector General and the Harlingen Police Department.

The girls parents have been released from immigration custody and will be headed to New York to meet up with family, the Honduran Foreign Ministry told CNN.

Once in New York, the family plans to attend their immigration court hearings and request asylum, according to the ministry.

The Honduran Foreign Ministry is working to help the Reyes family with the transfer of their daughters body to New York, where she will likely be buried, the ministry said.

Reyes death came days after an unaccompanied 17-year-old from Honduras died in Florida while in the care of the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
An 8-year-old girl died after suffering a medical emergency while in U.S. Border Patrol custody in Texas on Wednesday, authorities said.

The girl and her family were being held at a facility in the city of Harlingen, near the Mexico border, Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.

Emergency Medical Services were called to the station and transported her to the local hospital where she was pronounced dead, the statement said, adding that the Office of Professional Responsibility would conduct an investigation as is standard protocol in the case of a death.

A family member identified the girl as Anadith Reyes, a happy girl who was born with a heart condition in Panama to Honduran parents.

Anadith Reyes (Courtesy Lorna Santos)

Anadiths parents were coming to the U.S. in the hopes of continuing treatment for the girl, Lorna Santos, the girls aunt, told Noticias Telemundo.

Santos said Anadiths mother saw the United States as a country of opportunities for her daughter and went to cross the border from Mexico earlier this month. Santos said Anadith, her parents and two other siblings crossed the border together.

Santos became emotional as she said that her sister called her to say Anadith had died and we no longer have her in this world.

Anadith had recently not been feeling well and tested positive for the flu, Santos said.

According to Santos, her mother had taken Anadith several times to be checked out by authorities while in custody, Santos said, and Wednesday morning the girl wasnt feeling well again with pain in her back and shortness of breath.

After the mother brought Anadith again to be checked out by medical personnel, they took her to the hospital, Santos said.

They left her there in the waiting room and thats where the girl died, Santos said.

Santos questioned why border authorities kept Anadith detained for days considering the girls medical condition.

CBP said it had contacted the Department of Homeland Securitys Office of Inspector General and the Harlingen Police Department about the incident.

Sgt. Larry Moore, a spokesman for the Harlingen Police Department, told the Associated Press he had no information about the death.

The death comes days after a 17-year-old unaccompanied migrant from Honduras died at a facility run by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement in Florida.

The Honduran government named him as Angel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza and called for a full investigation and a criminal investigation if any wrongdoing is found.

On May 12, Title 42 was lifted  a Covid-19 pandemic-related restriction that put limits on immigration. Amid fears of a big influx of migrants, and after an initial surge, the numbers returned to normal.

Blas Nunez-Neto, assistant secretary for border & immigration policy at the Department for Homeland Security, told reporters in a briefing Wednesday that the daily average of  encounters with migrants seeking to cross the border since May 12 had fallen from more than 10,000 to just over 4,400, including less than 4,000 on Tuesday and Wednesday.

This represents a decrease of 56%, or less than half of the average encountered in the four days leading up to the title the lifting of Title 42 when the Border Patrol encountered an average of 10,100 individuals each day, he said.

In the four days after Title 42 was lifted, Border Patrol processed and released more than 6,000 migrants into the U.S. without court dates or the ability to track them.

Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala are currently the most popular countries of origin for migrants attempting to cross the border, he said.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune.

A former nurse for Rush University Medical Center has been arrested on federal charges alleging he harassed and cyberstalked a man he met on the dating app Grindr, disseminating nude photos of the victim online and setting up phony profiles that led to hundreds of men going to the victims home seeking sex.

When an internal review by the hospital led to Kevin Cruzs firing last year, he turned his sights on the lead investigator, sending her unwanted, repeated, and concerning electronic messages in which he made reference to being a danger to himself and possibly others, a 16-page criminal complaint made public in U.S. District Court on Friday alleged.

Advertisement

Cruz, 32, of Oak Park, was charged with sending electronic communications with the intent to harass and intimidate. He was arrested by the FBI at his home on Wednesday and is being held without bond pending a detention hearing Monday, court records show.

His attorney, Gal Pissetzky, told the Tribune that he will be seeking Cruzs release, saying he is neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community. Pissetzky also said that the allegations were one-sided and that other evidence will come to light as the case goes forward that will negate some of the allegations being made by the victims.

Advertisement

Cruz, meanwhile, has a lengthy history of alleged stalking that has led to other people taking out orders of protection against him, court records show. In one case filed in Cook County Circuit Court in 2011, a Chicago man accused Cruz of violating a protective order nearly 300 times in less than a year, including by impersonating the victim in threatening texts to the victims then-girlfriend.

I am tired of this! I will kill u if you dont leave me alone, one text Cruz allegedly sent to the victims girlfriend read, according to court records.

According to the federal complaint, Cruz met his latest victim, an Oak Park personal trainer identified only as Victim-1, on Grindr in August 2021. The victim allegedly sent Cruz nude photos, but later told him he was not interested in pursuing a romantic relationship, prompting Cruzs campaign of harassment, the complaint alleged.

That December, the victim discovered that the nude photos hed sent to Cruz had been used to make a phony profile on Grindr and other dating sites saying he was seeking sexual relationships, according to the complaint. The person behind the account communicated with various users on those dating websites to arrange purported meetings at Victim-1s house for sex or sexual favors, the complaint alleged.

Over the next 14 months, hundreds of men showed up at Victim-1s residence in response to the profiles, sometimes many in one day, the complaint alleged. When the victim spoke to some of the men, they said theyd been told to enter his house without knocking, and that if he told them to stop, it was part of role playing and to continue to try to have sex with (him).

As a result, the victim moved out of his Oak Park apartment and moved to his parents home in another suburb, but men kept showing up there as well, eventually forcing local police to post a marked squad car outside the residence to stop people from trying to get in, the complaint alleged.

The charges alleged that Cruz also sent the victims mother text messages from spoofed numbers depicting men having oral sex and claiming that the victim had killed himself.

Holy (expletive), one text from April 2022 read, according to the complaint. (Victim-1) rly killed him(self). Just posted on blog hanging himself and taking meds. U got what u wanted  5 police cars and ambulance to take his body.

Advertisement

After Cruz was fired from Rush last year, in addition to harassing the hospitals investigator, he allegedly made rapid and successive contacts with another Rush employee and repeatedly tried to contact that person through other staff, sometimes while they were treating patients, the complaint alleged.

Cruzs former colleagues became so worried over his repeated overtures seeking their support in fighting his termination that both the hospital and the administrator whod fired him filed for an emergency workplace restraining order against Cruz, according to the complaint.

Victim-1 also filed a request for an order of protection in Cook County in January 2022 that was granted and is still in effect, according to county court records.

As part of the FBI probe into the alleged harassment, Victim-1 reached out to Cruz earlier this month and asked to meet. The two agreed to meet on May 5 at a Starbucks in Villa Park, where the victim wore a hidden video camera while agents kept the restaurant under surveillance, according to the charges.

During the discussion, the victim asked Cruz to admit that its you, like, abusing my family  like all the messages from fake numbers to my family and to me. Like, its hundreds in a day, according to the complaint.

Cruz allegedly replied, It was all me. Is that what you want to hear?

Advertisement

Later in the conversation, the victim asked how many times Cruz had impersonated him online.

I dont know. A lot, Cruz allegedly replied.  I want to apologize to your family, if youll let me.

Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

As they left the Starbucks and approached the victims car, the victim pointed to where someone had scrawled the word HO on the vehicle with a key. You keyed my car? he asked.

After allegedly admitting he had done so, Cruz tried to block Victim-1 from getting into the vehicle, the complaint alleged.

Ultimately, agents contacted local police, who followed Cruz back to his own car. When officers tried to ask Cruz what was going on, he would not provide his name or any additional information, the complaint alleged.

Even after the May 5 meeting, the harassment continued, with Cruz repeatedly sending text messages to Victim-1 from spoofed numbers. Cruz sent flowers and food to his home, and left handwritten notes on his car begging for forgiveness, according to the complaint.

Advertisement

I did drive by your house earlier to check in the gifts and arrangements, Cruz texted to the victim last weekend, according to the complaint. Saw you grab the edible arrangements. You were in backyard.

According to the complaint, on Tuesday, the day before Cruzs arrest, police followed him to the gym where the victim worked and watched as he placed a final note on the victims car.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
An 8-year-old girl died Wednesday after she suffered a "medical emergency" in U.S. Border Patrol custody in Texas, authorities said.

The girl and her family were being held at a facility in Harlingen, near the Mexico border, Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.

"Emergency Medical Services were called to the station and transported her to the local hospital where she was pronounced dead," the statement said, adding that the Office of Professional Responsibility would conduct an investigation, as is standard in the case of a death.

A family member identified the girl as Anadith Reyes, a happy girl who was born with a heart condition in Panama to Honduran parents.

Anadiths parents were coming to the U.S. in hope of continuing treatment for her, Lorna Santos, her aunt, told Noticias Telemundo.

Santos said Anadiths mother saw the U.S. as a country of opportunities for her daughter and went to cross the border from Mexico this month. Santos said Anadith, her parents and two siblings crossed the border together.

Santos became emotional as she said her sister called her to say that Anadith had died and that we no longer have her in this world.

Anadith had recently not been feeling well and tested positive for the flu, Santos said.

Anadith Reyes. (Courtesy Lorna Santos)

Santos said her mother had taken Anadith several times to be checked out by authorities while in custody, Santos said, and Wednesday morning the girl wasnt feeling well again with pain in her back and shortness of breath.

After the mother took Anadith again to be checked out by medical personnel, they took her to the hospital, Santos said.

They left her there in the waiting room, and thats where the girl died, Santos said.

Santos questioned why border authorities detained Anadith for days considering her medical condition.

CBP said it had contacted the Department of Homeland Securitys Office of Inspector General and the Harlingen Police Department about the incident.

Sgt. Larry Moore, a Harlingen police spokesman, told The Associated Press he had no information about the death.

A 17-year-old unaccompanied migrant from Honduras died last week at a facility run by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement in Florida.

The Honduran government identified him as Angel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza and called for a full investigation and a criminal investigation if any wrongdoing is found.

Title 42  a Covid-19 pandemic-related restriction that limits immigration  was lifted May 12. Amid fears of a big influx of migrants, and after an initial surge, the numbers returned to normal.

Blas Nunez-Neto, the assistant secretary of homeland security for border and immigration policy, told reporters at a briefing Wednesday that the daily average of encounters with migrants seeking to cross the border since May 12 had fallen from more than 10,000 to just over 4,400, including fewer than 4,000 Tuesday and Wednesday.

"This represents a decrease of 56%, or less than half of the average encountered in the four days leading up to the lifting of Title 42, when the Border Patrol encountered an average of 10,100 individuals each day," he said.

In the four days after Title 42 was lifted, Border Patrol processed and released more than 6,000 migrants into the U.S. without court dates or the ability to track them.

Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala are the most popular countries of origin for migrants trying to cross the border, he said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Absolutely the best of us: Friends, family gather to celebrate life of Rep. Lamin Swann

Greyline Station was filled with dozens of people on Thursday evening as friends and family members of Rep. Lamin Swann gathered to mourn his death and speak about his life.

At the public memorial, friends, family members and colleagues commemorated Swann, D-Lexington, for his distinctive confidence, his exceptional kindness and his advocacy for social justice.

Swann died on May 14, following a significant medical emergency a few days before.

While this departure was unexpected and tragic, he will live on in all of our hearts, and all of our advocacy that we continue to take up, Hazel Parker, Swanns aunt, said.

Parker described Swann as a catalyst for change in the world, and the driving force in his family.

Swanns family was accompanied at the memorial by many of his legislative colleagues.

Although Swann was a new legislator, just elected in November 2022, his fellow representatives described him as someone they learned from and became better by knowing.

He was absolutely the best of us, Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson, D-Lexington, said. He set the example for serving with a servants heart. We can all learn from his example, and we will all be better legislators because we had the opportunity to serve with him.

Swann was passionate about filing bills for social justice, affordable housing and womens reproductive rights, Stevenson said.

Moving forward, we will be fighting in his name and in his honor, Stevenson said.

Swann was born with cerebral palsy, and he spent his life advocating for others with disabilities.

Louisville Rep. Al Gentry said that in the short time he knew Swann, he was moved by his courage and determination.

I just met Lamin a few months ago, and I was assigned to be his mentor in the General Assembly, probably because of my disability, Gentry said. It just so happens that when I work and deal with people that suffer acquired disabilities in life, we try to get them to a mindset where they have competence, courage and determination. I didnt have to teach any of that to Lamin. He already had that. He was a special man, and Ill never forget it.

Emma Curtis, a member of the Kentucky Young Democrats, said she met Swann when she went to the Capitol this past session, and he made her feel like she belonged there.

I am trans, so I was at the Capitol working against a lot of the anti-trans legislation, Curtis said. Because he knew me, he made sure to check in every day. He would make sure I was doing OK mentally and emotionally.

Curtis said the best way for people to honor Swann is to continue the work he dedicated his life to, such as fighting for inclusion and fairness in housing, education and access to health care.

Swanns uncle, who introduced himself as uncle Tony, said that one of his final acts of kindness was being an organ donor.

Swanns funeral was held Friday morning at Consolidated Baptist Church. His burial was at Lexington Cemetery.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), alongside a group of advocacy organizations, said it is preparing to file a lawsuit against the Texas bill banning gender-affirming care for minors.

The ACLU, Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Texas and the Transgender Law Center have banded together to pledge to bring a lawsuit against Texas Senate Bill 14, which would prohibit health care providers from prescribing hormones and puberty blockers to minors or performing surgeries with the purpose of aiding their gender transition if signed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R).

The Texas Legislature voted to pass the bill Wednesday, and it will now head to Abbott, who previously led an effort to have parents who provided their children with gender-affirming care investigated for child abuse last year.

Coming on top of the effort last year to classify providing medically necessary and scientifically proven care to transgender youth as child abuse and threatening to tear Texas families with transgender children apart, an effort currently blocked in state court, Texas lawmakers have seen fit to double down, the groups wrote in a statement.

They are hellbent on joining the growing roster of states determined to jeopardize the health and lives of transgender youth, in direct opposition to the overwhelming body of scientific and medical evidence supporting this care as appropriate and necessary, they added.

The ACLU and other LGBTQ rights groups have sued other states for similar bans on gender-affirming health care. The ACLU, its Tennessee affiliate, Lambda Legal and the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld sued the state of Tennessee last month over its bill that prohibits medical professionals from administering gender-affirming health care to transgender minors.

The ACLU also sued Indiana over its law banning all gender-affirming health care for minors, alleging that it violated patients rights.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
For the second time in less than two months, the Washington state Attorney Generals Office and state Department of Social and Health Services have been ordered to pay penalties for withholding documents in a lawsuit over a developmentally disabled womans care.

On Friday, King County Superior Court Judge Michael K. Ryan ordered the state to pay $122,555 for the plaintiffs attorney fees incurred so far in the case.

Through its sanction order, the court has already punished DSHS and the AGO with a punitive sanction of $200,000, which hopefully educates them and others as to the importance of complying with discovery and deters others from engaging in similar conduct, the court wrote.

Likewise, the court finds that (the plaintiffs) counsel will be adequately compensated by an award of $122,555, which is in addition to other fees that may still be outstanding from the courts sanction order as well as the requirement that DSHS and the AGO cover the entirety of the costs of the work being done by the Special Master.

The plaintiff initially filed the lawsuit against the state in November 2021 for failing to provide adequate case management and failing to investigate allegations of abuse and neglect.

The fines levied against the AGs Office and DSHS will be paid out of the taxpayer-funded State Insurance Liability Account, according to Brionna Aho, a spokesperson for the AGs Office.

A motion requesting the plaintiffs attorney fees was filed on April 28.

While the past fees total $122,555, lawyers in the case argued for a premium on the regular rate because of the contingent nature of this litigation, the risk borne by Plaintiffs attorneys, DSHS and the Office of the Attorney Generals continuing discovery violations, and the Office of the Attorney Generals failure to reach an agreement on past attorneys fees.

In total, the plaintiffs attorneys requested $214,471 in past fees in the filing.

The court agreed that the AGs office and DSHS should split the cost of the fees, but the court denied the motion for additional fees.

While the AGs Office wrote in a May 5 filing that it did not oppose paying the plaintiffs past attorneys fees, they said that they did not believe a premium on the regular rate for the cost of the plaintiffs attorneys was warranted, and asked the judge to reject the request for the additional fees.

Those fees were not warranted because the quality of the opposing counsels work did not justify the premium rate, and the premiums are inappropriate in an award for fees as a result of a sanctions motion, the state argued.

A declaration in support of the plaintiffs motion was filed by David P. Moody, the supervising attorney hired to represent the plaintiff, on May 9.

The plaintiff is so profoundly impaired that the court previously granted her a protective order from testifying in the litigation as she cannot understand the administration of a judicial oath, Moody wrote in the declaration.

From an evidentiary standpoint, representing developmentally disabled clients is incredibly challenging. (The plaintiff) cannot tell us very much, the attorney noted. This makes the exchange of written discovery even more important, especially when the defendant has custody and control of the clients records.

Moody wrote that he has decades of experience as an attorney opposing the AGs Office and that in the last few years troubling patterns have emerged with it becoming extraordinarily difficult to obtain discovery from The Office of the Attorney General.

A pattern of arrogance, nonchalance, and gamesmanship has become routine, he said.

Moody continued that the concealment of records caused litigation in the lawsuit to grind to a halt, and that even worse, if the effort to conceal is successful, (the plaintiffs) claims might be dismissed because critical evidence never sees the light of day.

When the Office of the Attorney General conceals documents, as it has done in this litigation, we lose time and we incur opportunity costs, the attorney wrote. It places us in a position where, without filing discovery motions (to obtain what [the plaintiff] was entitled to all along), we are unable to make informed decisions. To put a finer point on it, due to the malfeasance of The Attorney Generals Office in (the plaintiffs) case, we will lose several months of time during which we could be working for our other clients.

The AGs Office and DSHS were first sanctioned $200,000 for discovery violations in the case by the court in late March for withholding nearly 11,000 documents that substantially prejudiced the plaintiff in preparing for trial, according to Judge Ryan.

Those documents were found after the AGs Office moved for a summary judgment on the plaintiffs claims, while also seeking to prevent the plaintiff from taking a deposition that would have addressed discovery in the case, among other things.

Days after the judge sanctioned the agencies for those discovery violations, the AGs Office admitted that it found more than 100,000 pages pertaining to the same case that were not previously turned over.

Discovery Master Russell Aoki was then appointed by the judge to review all briefings and all discovery produced by DSHS. Aoki is appointed at the expense of the AGs Office and DSHS at a billable rate of $500 per hour.

McClatchy contacted both the AGs office and DSHS for comment in response to criticism that the offices had a pattern of withholding records.

The AGs Office told McClatchy that they were moving forward with the special master process and referred McClatchy instead to an April 3 letter that was submitted to the court.

Again, the State deeply regrets the errors in discovery in this case and is working to rectify them, Deputy Attorney General Jennifer S. Meyer wrote. We are committed to working with the special master and the other parties to ensure that the State has fully satisfied its discovery obligations.

Adolfo Capestany, the senior communications director for DSHS, simply told McClatchy that DSHS agreed with the AGs Office statements and that they had nothing further to add.

Moody added in his May 9 declaration that he thinks about the solo practitioners and small firms who have had to litigate against the state.

One wonders how many cases have been dismissed on summary judgment where evidence was never disclosed, where the Office of the Attorney General claimed bogus privileges, tossed together worthless privilege logs, and where the responsibility to respond to discovery was farmed out to staff members, Moody wrote. One also wonders why this occurs repeatedly in cases involving our states most vulnerable citizens. It does not appear to be a coincidence.
Alison Lundergan Grimes must pay $10,000 in fines for improperly ordering the downloading and distribution of voter registration data from her public office while she was Kentuckys secretary of state, the Executive Branch Ethics Commission announced Friday.

The ethics commission long has been investigating Grimes, once a rising star in the Kentucky Democratic Party who served in Frankfort from 2011 to 2019.

In early 2019, the Herald-Leader and ProPublica published a series of stories on Grimes conduct as a two-term secretary of state and 2014 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate.

The stories reported on Grimes improper use of the Voter Registration System. They also showed how Grimes gained unprecedented authority over the State Board of Elections, resulting in her ability to push through a no-bid contract with a company owned by a political donor and delay action on a consent decree mandating that she clean the states voter rolls.

Grimes left office that year. Her father, former Kentucky Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Lundergan, later went to federal prison on campaign finance charges because of illegal assistance he provided to her Senate campaign. Lundergan was released in January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

Jerry Lundergan, father of Alison Lundergan Grimes, leaves the federal courthouse in Lexington in 2018 after an appearance on campaign finance charges. He later was sent to prison. Charles Bertram/cbertram@herald-leader.com

The ethics commission found Grimes guilty of two violations of the executive branch ethics code. Each count carried a $5,000 fine.

According to the ethics commission, Grimes told her state employees on state time to download voter registration records onto flash drives for her own benefit and to distribute them in customized formats to selected Democratic Party candidates.

Grimes ordered this done without filing the proper paperwork to access voter data, complying with the Kentucky Open Records Acts rules  such as redacting voters addresses and phone numbers  or collecting mandatory fees, the ethics commission said.

There is no evidence that the requests were processed in conformity with any governmental process, the ethics commission wrote in its final order.

While they were carrying out Grimes orders, the ethics commission said, officials used their personal email accounts to discuss their actions, not their state government email accounts.

As secretary of state, (Grimes) would know the requirements of the law administered. It would be disingenuous and incredible to suggest that she did not, the ethics commission wrote. Grimes was not laboring under a good faith misunderstanding of the law when she downloaded and distributed the voting lists.

Grimes will appeal the ethics decision to Franklin Circuit Court, one of her attorneys, Jon Salomon, said Friday.

After investigating former Secretary Grimes for half a decade, the Executive Branch Ethics Commission chose not to hold a hearing in this matter or present its own evidence, Salomon said in a written statement. Although the commission admits that it did not prove two of its charges, Secretary Grimes believes that the commission was required to dismiss its complaint in full.
During the day, Kyivans tend to go down to shelter much more often than at night

To shed light on the extent of shelter provisions in the capital and their level of utilization, NV spoke with Mykhailo Shamanov, spokesperson for the Kyiv Military Administration (KMA).

NV: How many bomb shelters currently exist in Kyiv, and how many people can they accommodate, including underground parking facilities and the metro?

Shamanov: Presently, there are 4,014 usable shelters in Kyiv. Among them, 3,393 are basement premises, 364 are underground parking facilities, 211 are underground passages, and 46 are underground metro premises. Their approximate total capacity is around 2.7 million people.

An updated map showing nearby shelters can be accessed on the website https://kyivcity.gov.ua. The map includes all basements, underground parking lots, underground passages, and other structures that can serve as civilian protection during aerial threats.

The metro system is considered the most reliable shelter option, depending on the depth of the station.

Read also: Japanese man opens free cafe for Kharkiv citizens after living underground with them for 9 months

As of Jan. 1, 2023, the list of protective civil defense structures increased by 398 shelters, due to the analysis and examination of basement premises. District administrations are working to identify other structures that can serve as shelters.

Once a certain structure capable of serving as a shelter is identified, the government carries out repair work and equips the basements and other underground shelters. These facilities are supplied with an autonomous power supply, sanitary facilities, water supplies, and recreational areas for people.

All new constructions must now have their own storage facilities, without exception. This requirement applies to both residential buildings and structures intended for work purposes.

NV: How extensively do Kyiv residents use shelters?

Shamanov: We do not keep statistics on how many people use the shelters. The tendency is that people use them more often during the day than at night. Some may sleep through the alarm, but I hope these are rare cases. At night, people in Kyiv often choose the two-wall rule.

We encourage everyone to go to the shelters during air raids, but the decision ultimately rests with each resident of the city.

NV: Did the recent heavy strikes by Russians affect residents willingness to use shelters?

Shamanov: Again, we do not have statistics on the usage of shelters. For example, regarding the metro, people just show their documents and enter. Nobody counts them. The same goes for communal facilities; no such statistics are collected. However, we constantly remind people to go to the shelters when necessary.

NV: Are there any problems with accessing the shelters, especially at night?

Shamanov: The chief of the Kyiv Military Administration, Serhiy Popko, has received numerous complaints from Kyiv residents about closed shelters during recent missile attacks. Unfortunately, such cases were recorded in almost all districts of the capital. Closed shelters during war and mass air attacks are a crime.

Read also: Hope and tragedy. NV collects the most resonant photos from the past year of war

Therefore, during a meeting of the Kyiv Defense Council, KMA chief emphasized that special attention should be paid in addressing this issue. Urgent tasks were assigned to the National Police of Kyiv, Municipal Security Service, and all district administrations.

All shelters in Kyiv must be inspected and all inaccessible structures for civilians must be identified. The managers responsible for them must ensure unhindered access to civil defense facilities. There should be no closed shelters in the capital. This is unacceptable. The lives and safety of Kyiv residents are and will always be our top priority.

Shelters are divided into three types: state-owned, municipal, and private. State-owned and municipal shelters are under our supervision and control. However, private shelters, owned by individuals or legal entities, such as basement premises, are often used as restaurants, nightclubs, etc. In such cases, if there is no access to the shelter, the person should call the police. If it is a privately owned premises, it is the responsibility of the property owner to ensure its proper use and accessibility.

NV: How much does it cost the city to maintain bomb shelters? What does this expense include?

Shamanov: The budget of Kyiv allocated 372.5 million UAH ($10 million) for the repair of civil defense facilities last year.

It depends on the manager of the premises. If it is a municipal property, the district heads of state administrations are responsible for them. If they are private shelters, then the respective legal or physical person is the manager of the facility.

NV: Testing of an Israeli warning system is currently underway in the city. When it is fully operational, what will it achieve?

Shamanov: I cant provide any information on that at the moment. We will be able to draw conclusions and comment once the testing is completed.

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
On a flight, up front is the place to beand airlines are reconfiguring their planes to acknowledge that.

Major airlines in the United States are increasing the amount of premium seating on flights, with changes that allow for 25 to 75 percent more premium-economy, business-class, and first-class options, The New York Times reported on Thursday. Thats mainly thanks to demand for these upgraded areas, as travelers seek out amenities like more space, extra legroom, and better culinary options.

More from Robb Report

On United Airlines flights, for example, theres 25 percent more domestic premium seating (Economy Plus and first class) than there was at the beginning of 2019. By 2026, thatll skyrocket to 75 percent more, with 53 premium seats per flight, the Times noted. (To get to these numbers, United is actually removing some economy seats on various planes.)

Meanwhile, American Airlines is planning to add 45 percent more premium-economy and business-class seating on long-haul flights by 2026. And compared with before the pandemic, Delta will have 15,000 more premium-economy and business-class seats a day, the company told The New York Times. In some cases, economy seats and business-class seats are removed to make space for more premium-economy options, and vice versa, with premium economy taken away to add business-class offerings.

Chris Lopinto, a co-founder of Expert Flyer, told the Times that airlines see these changes as good for their pocketbooks. While retrofits mean that planes need to be taken out of duty while changes are made, more premium seating ideally leads to more revenue per flight.

And travelers have proved willing to pay the price for a comfier and more luxe flying experience. (For a roundtrip journey from New York to Los Angeles in June, The New York Times noted that a premium ticket starts near $1,000.) After months or years of not traveling during the pandemic, many people have vacation money stashed away that allows them to afford the extra cost. And business travel is picking back up again, with white-collar workers beginning to fill up the front of a flight.

So more people should get ready to sit back, relax, and enjoy the glass of Champagne included in the cost of a plane ticket.

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 province of Alberta, Canada, home to more than four million people, is under a state of emergency, as nearly 100 wildfires burn, dozens of them out of control.

Since the first local state of emergency was declared on 4 May, over 782,000 hectares of land - 1.9 million American football fields or more than 3,000 square miles - have burned, local officials said.

Thousands of firefighters and support staff from across Canada and the US have descended upon the area to fight the ceaseless flames.

Still, there are 93 active wildfires in Alberta as of 12:00 EST (17:00 BST) on Friday, and experts say the end is nowhere in sight.

Early data suggests this wildfire season could be one of the worst on record.

Why is it so bad?

Wildfires in Alberta are typical in May, said Terri Lang, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

During the spring, the snow begins to melt, exposing the twigs, branches, and dead leaves beneath. Experts refer to this as "fuel".

Warm temperatures and dry conditions increase the fuel's flammability.

But this year, Alberta was subject to both record-breaking heat and below-average rainfall.

"That just exacerbated the whole situation," Ms Lang said.

Warmer temperatures and less rainfall have created ripe conditions for intense wildfires

From the middle of February to the middle of May, the majority of central and northern Alberta received 50% less rainfall this year than the typical 90-day average over the same period, Ms Lang said, and 75-100% less in some parts of the area.

Meanwhile, average temperatures were 3-6C higher, she said.

Heat records across Alberta were broken 158 times between 1-15 May alone, Ms Lang said.

"It's alarming. We've seen similar events, but not this early in the year," she said.

"The amount of smoke being belched out by these fires is unbelievable. It's covering pretty much all of western Canada. And that has effects on people too."

Living under clouds of smoke

Marilyn Hamelin, 59, lives in High Prairie, Alberta, amid the smoke and ashes blanketing her town from the wildfires roaring roughly 10km (6 miles) away.

High Prairie has been under official evacuation alert since 12 May, where automatic alerts interrupt the TVs, radios, tablets and cell phones of residents daily, warning them of how imminent an official evacuation may be.

"I'm scared," she said. "It just seems gloomy out all the time. There's no sun or anything."

Map showing where Alberta is in Canada

Ms Hamelin, who said she has chronic lung disease, was rushed to the hospital in the beginning of May after suffering a severe sudden bout of pneumonia, which she blames on the smoke.

"My roommate called my brother to come pick me up," she said, recalling the incident. "I couldn't breathe. I was gasping for air."

Going in and out of consciousness, she said her brother drove her to McLennan hospital, roughly 35 minutes away, because the hospital in her town was forced to close.

Some facilities in High Prairie, including nursing homes and hospitals, shutdown as a precaution and vulnerable groups were evacuated. High Prairie Hospital has since reopened.

Although Ms Hamelin is back home, she lives in constant paranoia of another pneumonia attack as smoke-filled skies remain.

"I kind of feel like it's coming back again, from the smoke," she said. "I just stay inside the house, waiting to see if we have to evacuate."

'No telling when this could end'

By 16 May, 19,576 people had been forced to evacuate their homes in Alberta, officials said. Since then, the number of evacuees has dropped to 10,523.

"We are only in mid-May," said Josee St-Onge, an information officer with Alberta Wildfire. "Our wildfire season usually goes until the fall."

The 782,000 hectares that have already burned are nearly seven times higher than the five-year average for the same period, she said, which is 123,000 hectares.

"What's unusual and makes it more challenging is that instead of seeing one big wildfire in a specific part we are seeing a lot of wildfires spread across the territory," Ms St-Onge said.

"There's going to be a lot of work to bring these wildfires under control."

Thousands of firefighters and support staff have descended upon Alberta to aid relief efforts

Ms St-Onge said 1,600 firefighters and support staff from Canada are in the area battling the blazes, plus over 1,000 more from other agencies in North America, including the US.

Mike Flannigan, research chair for predictive services, emergency management and fire service at Thompson Rivers University, said: "My colleagues and I are attributing this largely to human-caused climate change."

"As our climate warms, we can expect to see more fire, more smoke," he said. "Not every year, but on average, we are going to see more bad fires."

The smoke from the wildfires poses a health risk to those in the area

Experts struggle to predict when this year's wildfires in Alberta will fizzle out.

"We need a lot of rain for a very long time to really get a handle on what's happening," said Ms Lang from Environment Canada.

"And that's not showing up in the weather models. So there's really no telling of when this could end."
Jack Douglas Teixeira, the Air National Guard member accused of leaking classified military documents on a social media server, will remain in federal custody until his trial begins, according to a court ruling Friday.

Teixeira, 21, is charged with violating the Espionage Act for allegedly leaking information he accessed with a top-secret security clearance and posting them to a Discord server, a social media platform popular in the gaming community.

The decision came after federal prosecutors argued in a court document that Teixeira hid unsavory aspects of his character from public view, citing violent and racist views from Teixeiras online social media accounts.

Prosecutors said Teixeira revealed that he had hidden his extremist views from security clearance inspectors by scouring his online presence and downplaying a racist incident, which led to school detention as a misunderstanding. Prosecutors said Teixeira certainly did not revealand potentially took action to actively concealthe significant volume of racist, antisemitic, and violent rhetoric he posted online lest his true nature and character prevent him from achieving his objective.

Teixeiras defense attorneys had argued that others accused of violating the Espionage Act had been allowed to stay out of jail ahead of their trial, and listed multiple examples, like former Department of Defense analyst Lawrence Franklin. The FBI charged Franklin in 2005 with three counts of espionage-related crimes. Franklin did not need to serve pre-trial confinement but did receive a 12-year sentence, such was the severity of his crimes.

The prosecuting team presented comments from Teixeiras social media accounts, obtained by the FBI, that showed Teixeira harbored extremist views. In one video described in the court document, Teixeira uses ethnic and racial slurs while holding a rifle at a weapons range.

One Discord user suggested Teixeira create a blog account to share top secret documents Teixeira allegedly bragged he had access to. He replied: shooting myself in the back of the head twice isnt something im fond of .... none of this is public information ... and making a blog would be the equivalent of what chelsea manning did.

Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Bradley, was convicted of espionage offenses in 2013 for leaking classified information to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

At least two National Guard commanders have been suspended from their duties after findings that Teixeira had been warned on at least two occasions that he was handling sensitive information incorrectly, and the National Guard unit has been stripped of its intelligence mission while an internal investigation is ongoing.

Federal agents arrested Teixeira on April 13, 2023 after he allegedly posted dozens of highly classified U.S. military documents that included assessments of real-time events in Ukraine, and evidence of spying on U.S. allies.

This story was produced in partnership with Military Veterans in Journalism.
Artwork: The Blue Moon lander will be 16m tall and fully fuelled will weigh over 45 tonnes

The US space agency has enlisted a second billionaire to help it put astronauts back on the Moon.

Nasa is already working with Elon Musk's SpaceX firm on a descent system based on its novel Starship rocket that will touch down as early as 2025.

It has now also awarded Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos a contract to build a landing craft to take a crew down to the lunar surface later this decade.

His Blue Origin company will produce a more conventional-looking vehicle.

Mr Bezos will have assistance from some well established names in the American aerospace sector, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Draper and Astrobotic.

Blue Origin secured the contract in a competition with Dynetics and Northrop Grumman.

Mr Bezos's company, which is based in Kent in the US State of Washington, will receive just over $3.4bn (2.7bn) from Nasa as part of the contract. And the firm will be spending "well north of $3.4bn" of its own money on the project.

"We go to the Moon, to learn, to live, to invent, to create all these things to be successful at the Moon, to go to Mars," said agency Administrator Bill Nelson.

"The great adventure of humankind pressing out into the cosmos is here. And this is a part of it."

It's more than 50 years now since humans last landed on the Moon

It's now more than 50 years since astronauts last set foot on the Moon.

Nasa has laid out a roadmap to achieve a more sustained human presence on Earth's natural satellite the next time around.

The agency's Artemis programme envisions stays of weeks on the lunar surface rather than just days, as was the case in the 1960s and 70s.

SpaceX has been asked to put down two astronauts at the Moon's south pole in late 2025 or 2026, and then again in 2028. These are the Artemis III and Artemis IV missions.

Blue Origin's 16m-tall, 45-tonne vehicle is called "Blue Moon". It would do the job on Artemis V, which is set to occur no earlier than 2029.

"Before the first crew landing occurs, we will be landing an exact copy of that lander prior to that - one year prior. So, we will be testing out full lander systems and the full architecture prior to any astronauts entering the vehicle," explained John Couluris, Blue Origin's vice president for lunar transportation.

The lander could also be configured simply to deliver cargo to the lunar surface - a minimum of 20 tonnes, the executive added.

Blue Origin plans to use its own rocket, known as New Glenn, to get Blue Moon off Earth (although this launcher has yet to make a debut flight). The dimensions of the lander have been determined by the volume and mass parameters of the rocket, which has a 7m-wide payload bay.

Artwork: SpaceX will use a version of its Starship system. It won its contract in 2021

Artemis I has already occurred, in November last year: An uncrewed test of the Nasa rocket and capsule that will take astronauts to the vicinity of the Moon. Artemis II is scheduled for next year and will see a crew of four do a simple loop around the Moon.

For all the crewed missions, the idea is for astronauts to transfer to dedicated landing craft that will be waiting for them in lunar orbit. They'd go down to the surface in these vehicles, complete their exploration and then come back up.

Towards the end of the decade, Nasa intends for the transfers to be carried out at a new space station above the Moon called Gateway.

SpaceX was awarded its contract in 2021. It wants to use a variant of its huge, next-generation Starship rocket system, which debuted four weeks ago.

The maiden flight was terminated after four minutes when the vehicle spun out of control. But SpaceX is already talking about a second outing this summer.

Starship's readiness is one of the key factors that will determine whether Nasa can keep its Artemis programme on track. Right now, many commentators consider a first crewed landing on the Moon in late 2025 to be a very ambitious target.
Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune.

Good morning, Chicago.

As energy companies shift away from burning coal to generate electricity, many are leaving behind toxic waste that could endanger public health and the environment for years to come.

Advertisement

New regulations proposed by the Biden administration would expand the number of coal ash dumps subject to federal oversight, a change intended to prevent spills that during the past decade wreaked havoc near power plants in North Carolina and Tennessee.

One of the sites that would come under federal oversight is the Waukegan Generating Station on Lake Michigan, a former ComEd coal plant ringed by two unlined ash ponds and an unlicensed landfill. Another is a Joliet quarry where ComEd and other companies dumped coal ash until NRG Energy overhauled a nearby coal plant in 2016 to burn natural gas.

Advertisement

Read the full story from the Tribunes Michael Hawthorne.

Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.

Subscribe to more newsletters | Puzzles & Games | Todays eNewspaper edition

Pedestrians pass by winterized tents for people experiencing homelessness under a viaduct near Fulton Street and Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago on Dec. 20, 2022. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago is one of six locations selected for the ALL INside program, an offshoot of President Joe Bidens December federal strategic plan aimed at reducing homelessness nationally by 25% by 2025.

The new program is focused on finding housing for those who are unsheltered  people who live on the street and in cars, transit and other places not meant for habitation.

Juan Medina rides a horse in an empty field in preparation for the Pilsen Mexican Independence Day Parade on West 18th Street on Sept. 10, 2022, in Chicago. The field sits between 18th and 16th streets where developers will build hundreds of affordable homes in rapidly gentrifying Pilsen. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Increasing rents and property values over the past two decades forced thousands of residents to leave the predominantly Mexican immigrant neighborhood, but the city purchased last year for $12 million roughly 6 acres at West 18th and South Peoria streets, and envisions hundreds of mid-rise and high-rise units, many affordable, as well as for-sale homes, rising on the now-vacant land.

This site is the largest undeveloped site in the Pilsen neighborhood, said James Harris, supervising planner with the citys Department of Planning and Development.

The team at Horse Thief Hollow in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood, from left, Jake Nelson, Andrian Morrison and Neil Byers, celebrates its first place win at the World Beer Cup. (Neil Byers/HANDOUT)

Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

Illinois craft breweries made a good showing at the 2023 World Beer Cup, taking home two gold, three silver, and two bronze awards from the competition that ended in Nashville on May 10. Two of the winners are popular places in the Southland.

Advertisement

Terri Hudson wears a mask, goggles and a face shield to protect herself in public from COVID-19 on April 17, 2023, in downtown Chicago. Her portrait by photographer Megan Doherty will be included in a project that centers on people with disabilities and immunocompromised individuals. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Artist Terri Hudson jumped at the chance to be a part of photographer Megan Dohertys latest work, Compromised  over a dozen portraits of people who are immunocompromised trying to live their lives amid the ongoing pandemic.

Each portrait is accompanied by words from the participants  essays, letters, etc.  in their own handwriting about how they have been impacted by COVID-19, how theyve been forced out of public life and what that has done to them emotionally, professionally, socially and economically.

Bears defensive back Terell Smith listens to a question at rookie minicamp at Halas Hall on May 6, 2023. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)

With a need for depth at cornerback to join Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, the Bears drafted Tyrique Stevenson in the second round and circled back for Minnesotas Terell Smith in Round 5 at No. 165.

Conventional thinking is Stevenson will get the first shot to be a starter in the nickel package, but the Bears believe Smith has upside and will compete to be in the mix.

Sinqua Walls, left, and Jack Harlow in "White Men Can't Jump." (20th Century Studios/20th Century Studios/TNS)

White Men Cant Jump no longer exists to be fondly remembered and re-watched, but as a library title to be reimagined, writes critic Nina Metz. Like so much else that Hollywood endlessly recycles, the question hovering around the edges of the movie is simply: Why?

The original is on Hulu. The new version is on Hulu. All things being equal, what would compel audiences to watch the remake?
American Pickers is coming to Illinois this summer. Heres how you could be featured

A popular History Channel show will visit the Land of Lincoln this summer, and producers are searching for Illinois residents with interesting collections to feature.

The American Pickers crew will film in Illinois this July, though specific dates have not yet been announced. The show has featured a wide variety of collections in its 362 episodes, but some items tend to stand out more than others, producer Jasmina Joseph said in an interview with the Belleville News-Democrat.

The pickers travel the U.S. seeking out hidden gems to restore, and the show aims to educate viewers on the history behind antique items.

The shows cast includes Mike Wolfe, one of the countrys foremost foragers, per his history channel biography, his brother Robbie Wolfe and Danielle Colby, shop manager and vintage collector.

Mike Wolfe was born in Joliet, Ill., and he explored vintage items in the Land of Lincoln in a 2013 episode titled Hometown Pickin.

Heres what to know about the American Pickers selection process and how you can apply in Illinois.

What do the American Pickers look for?

The American Pickers gravitate toward historically significant or rare items. Bikes and vintage cars tend to be popular, Joseph said, but anything with an interesting story behind it is a good candidate.

We definitely look for the aspect of great stories, something that is historical, Joseph said. Sometimes you may see something, but once you hear the story behind it or how it got collected, it gives it more of a deeper meaning.

You can reach out to the American Pickers via phone or email to submit your collection for consideration.

Past picks include an engraved sword, a bike from the 1880s, a 1948 jukebox and more.

The show has come through the state in the past. In season two, episode nine, the pickers visited a storage facility in Illinois and bought three Victorian-era erotic photographs for $25, according to the History Channel.

In a 2013 episode, the pickers bid on a frame of a famous hotrod in Illinois.

How can you submit your collection for consideration?

The American Pickers have already received a volume of submissions for their upcoming shows, but are still accepting inquiries from Illinois residents.

If youre interested in being considered for American Pickers, you can call 646-493-2184 or email AmericanPickers@cineflix.com. The pickers ask applicants to include their full name, city and state, contact information and a brief description of their collection.

You will only receive a response if the the show is interested in your collection, the History Channel website says.

Only private collections are considered, so anything at a store, museum, business or anywhere else public is ineligible.
FreedomWorks, the conservative group that came to symbolize the tea party movement, is shaking up the top of its ranks after a leadership struggle involving one of D.C.s more notorious PR shops and an animal rights advocate who briefly helped lead the organization.

The group, once one of the most formidable entities fighting Barack Obamas agenda, had laid off 40 percent of its staff in March as it continued to deal with the aftermath of Republicans' disappointing 2022 midterm cycle. It also appointed a new chief operating officer, Marty Irby, around the same time.

The changes thrust the organization into a civil feud and made it the target of outside critics. And now, Irby himself is gone.

The COO left the group this week after enduring a barrage of attacks from a website named FreedomWoke, which had been agitating for his dismissal by citing his record lobbying for the legislative arm of the Humane Society and his work on behalf of Animal Wellness Action. Why is FreedomWorks Going Woke? the site read.

The entity behind that anti-Irby campaign is Berman and Co., a public relations firm founded by the PR executive Richard Berman, whose work for corporate interests led him to be dubbed by his critics as  Dr. Evil . Berman is no longer with the firm, but Berman and Co. confirmed its involvement.

"Donors and FreedomWorks staff deserved to know about Marty Irby's record of supporting Big Government liberals, said Will Coggin, FreedomWoke spokesperson and vice president at Berman and Co. He should go pursue his animal rights agenda elsewhere.

Its fairly uncommon for PR shops to wade into specific leadership battles within non-governmental entities. But Berman and Co. has a long and acrimonious history fighting animal rights groups. One of the entities with which Berman and Company has been associated is HumaneWatch, an organization accused of being a front group for corporate interests that has repeatedly targeted the Humane Society. HumaneWatch is among the websites that raised concerns about Irby .

In a series of texts, Irby said he resigned as FreedomWorks COO on Tuesday while he was in Los Angeles for the Hollywood premiere of Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West, a documentary that focuses on wild horses for which he was a special adviser and cast member. Irby has a background in Republican politics, including serving as a press secretary for former Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), but he said he is also driven by a desire to help American equines and other animals.

Having left his post at FreedomWorks, he said he was going to focus on his role as a senior adviser at the Animal Wellness Foundation in Los Angeles and open his own lobbying and public relations firm focusing on the farm bill authorization.

I have new opportunities as a result of the film that premiered that have opened some doors for me in a big way, he told POLITICO before sending along a number of glitzy photos from the red carpet of the movie premiere.

Irby accused FreedomWoke of waging a campaign against him to distract from what he called corruption within the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. He argued for legislation called the Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act that would reform the checkoff programs that provide funding for research and promotion of commodities.

I will say that I am a die hard Trump supporting Republican who has been a supporter of President Trump since he first announced his run for President in the primary in his first run, he wrote in a text. These attacks come only because I am an effective threat to the corruption in industrial agriculture because I have worked to successfully enact 12 animal protection laws since 2018 and the National Cattlemens Beef Association is scared shitless about what the public will find out if the OFF Act passes. (Another Berman entity, the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom, has been involved in pushing meat industry interests , including a campaign against fake meat)

Over the past month, FreedomWoke cast Irby as an animal rights extremist who had worked for groups that have propped up Democrats. Its website included a photo of Irby standing beside former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and points to his past praise for Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey (Irby said he was simply comparing him with Joe Biden).

In an interview, FreedomWorks president Adam Brandon confirmed Irbys departure, saying he wished the former employee well, but referred further comment to human resources, which did not return a request for comment.
As big tech companies are in a fierce race with each other to build generative AI tools, they are being cautious about giving their secrets away. In a move to prevent any of its data from ending up with competitors, Apple has restricted internal use of tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft-owned GitHub's Copilot, a new report says.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is worried about its confidential data ending up with developers who trained the models on user data. Notably, OpenAI launched the official ChatGPT app on iOS Thursday. Separately, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman tweeted that the chatbot has been on the list of restricted software at Apple for months.

I believe ChatGPT has been banned/on the list of restricted software at Apple for months. Obviously the release of ChatGPT on iOS today again makes this relevant.  Mark Gurman (@markgurman) May 19, 2023

In May, Samsung also banned employees from using generative AI tools like ChatGPT after reportedly registering three separate incidents of them feeding proprietary company data to the chatbot.

Other organizations including banks like Bank of America, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Walmart and telecom giant Verizon have also restricted their staff from accessing ChatGPT.

The WSJ report noted that Apple is developing its own generative AI models but didn't expand on what they may be used for. Recent job listings point to Apple being on the hunt for generative AI talent, however. In March, The New York Times reported that multiple teams at Apple, including the one working on Siri, are experimenting with language-generating AI.

Apple dabbled with generative AI itself when it released AI-powered book narrations in January. Given that AI was the core theme of the just-concluded Google I/O developer conference, all eyes will be on Apple to make some AI-related announcements during its upcoming Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) next month.
Apple Warns Employees to Stay Away From ChatGPT While It Builds Its Own AI

Image: hanohiki (Shutterstock)

Apple has warned employees to steer clear of OpenAIs viral chatbot ChatGPT as the company worries that the AI could leak confidential company information while its engineers are rushing to develop an in-house large language model.



The news comes from The Wall Street Journal, which obtained internal documents from Apple. While the document forbids employees from using ChatGPT, it also prohibits them from using the Microsoft-owned GitHub Copilot, an AI code writer. Sources also told the Journal that Apple, like every big player in tech, is interested in building its own large language model. As Insider notes, Apple purchased two AI startups in 2020 for $200 million and $50 million, respectively.

Read more

Apple and OpenAI did not immediately return Gizmodos request for comment on the ban.

Apples primary fear appears to be a data breach of some kind as employees may opt to use ChatGPT for ideas or to debug code. When a user inputs data into a large language model like ChatGPT or Copilot, that data then gets sent back to the model so it can improve itself. Earlier this month, Samsung said that its own internal data had leaked because staff members were using ChatGPT.

Amazon was one of the first big tech companies to ban employee use of ChatGPT earlier this year. A company lawyer reportedly informed employees of data that resembled Amazon code that was spotted in ChatGPT responses. Some companies, however, have leaned blissfully into the AI hype. Akash NigamCEO of web3 avatar startup Genieshas apparently opted to spend over $2,000 per month on ChatGPT Plus subscriptions for every employee at the company in a bid to increase productivity.

Want to know more about AI, chatbots, and the future of machine learning? Check out our full coverage of artificial intelligence, or browse our guides to The Best Free AI Art Generators, The Best ChatGPT Alternatives, and Everything We Know About OpenAIs ChatGPT.



More from Gizmodo

Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
An Army colonel who was fired from his post in October as commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division has been formally charged with sexually assaulting a fellow officers wife.

Army officials referred charges upon Col. Jon Meredith to a general court-martial on April 21, 2023, and Col. Meredith was arraigned at Fort Cavazos, Texas on May 15, 2023, according to a statement from 1st Cavalry Division spokesperson Lt. Col. Jennifer Bocanegra.

The charges include two specifications of abusive sexual contact and two specifications of conduct unbecoming an officer, the statement continued. Charges are merely accusations, and the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

A charge sheet obtained by Army Times states that Meredith stands accused of violating UCMJ Articles 120 and 133  rape and sexual assault, and conduct unbecoming of an officer, respectively  for the alleged actions last summer at Fort Hood, which has since been renamed Fort Cavazos.

The charge sheet reads as follows:

In that Col. Jon Meredith, U.S. Army, a married man, did, at or near Fort Hood, Texas, on or about 23 July 2022, wrongfully grope the breast, inner thigh, and crotch of Ms. [redacted] and repeatedly kiss her on the mouth, when the Accused knew that Ms. [redacted] was then the civilian wife of [redacted] Army officer who was at the time participating in a field training exercise, and while the Accused knew that [redacted] and Ms. [redacted] daughter were present in the house, and that under the circumstances the Accuseds conduct was unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman.

Meredith was fired from his post due to loss of confidence, Army Times previously reported. He commissioned in 1996 and was assigned commander of 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division in May 2021.

He is scheduled to face court-martial August 14-18, 2023, Bocanegra told Army Times.

Separately, Merediths wife, Col. Ann Meredith, was relieved as commander of the 89th Military Police Brigade, at Fort Cavazos in February due to a loss of confidence in her judgment, Army Times previously reported.

She later claimed on social media that her firing was due to a text message she sent that was considered to be interfering with her husbands investigation, Stars & Stripes reported at the time.

Editors note: This article was updated after publication with a statement from Army Public affairs clarifying that Col. Jon Meredith is scheduled to face court-martial August 14-18, 2023, not in October, as originally reported.
An AstraZeneca sign with a Chinese transliteration

AstraZeneca has big business in China. The British pharmaceutical company is the biggest drugmaker in the country, where it makes 13% of its revenue.



And its planning on doubling down. Earlier this year, the company announced an investment of $450 million to build a factory that would make inhalers for smokers suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. An estimated 100 million people in China have the condition, which is the second-leading cause of death in a country that is home to an estimated 300 million smokersone-third of the global smoking population.



Read more

For the company to continue expanding its presence in China, it might need to, in the words of AstraZenecas president in China Wang Lei, love the communist party.

AstraZeneca has big business in China

Wang, who is also AstraZenecas global executive vice president, made the remark at an event in Wuxi to celebrate the companys 30 years of operations in China. During his speech, Reuters reports, he said that AstraZeneca wants to [b]uild a local, transnational company that loves the Communist Party and loves the country.



This is the kind of pledge a Chinese company would not hesitate to make, as allegiance to the government is a de facto requirement for doing business within China. But such a statement from a foreign company is unusual.

But AstraZenecas ambitions in the country may be bigger than those of most other nations. The drugmaker recently signed licensing agreements with three local companies and has signaled openness to make acquisitions in the country. Further, commenting on Chinas governments recent claims that it is welcoming business with foreign companies, AstraZenecas CEO Pascal Soriot said that he doesnt think tensions between China and Western countries represent a challenge for the pharmaceutical industry.

Reuters request for comment from AstraZeneca went unanswered, and so did Quartzs.

More from Quartz

Sign up for Quartz's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Augusta agencies awarded more than $10 million in grants for recreation, road projects

Augusta agencies will receive more than $10 million in state grants to improve local roads and parks.

The grants, totaling more than $225 million statewide, are intended to fund improving or maintaining recreational facilities" or for repair or maintenance due to significantly greater use of public facilities during the pandemic.

Three of the grants are for Augusta-Richmond Countys government:

$2.2 million for May Park improvements;

$1,766,336 for improvements to a central connector in the downtown Augusta community;

$1,669,031.10 to convert Boykin Road Park from athletics to a passive park.

Georgia state Representative Mark Newton

As Georgias second-largest metro area, the greater Augusta area contributes so much to making Georgia a special place as well as keeping its state economy strong," said state Rep. Mark Newton, R-Augusta. "Im honored to represent this great area, and so pleased to work together with the governor and his team in seeing progress for these valuable projects to further strengthen both our downtown and our parks and recreation areas.

The Augusta Corps of the Salvation Army also is expected to receive a $2.2 million grant to develop a community park and recreation area.

Neighboring counties also received grants.

The McDuffie County Board of Commissioners was awarded $2.2 million for construction of a 3-acre recreational facility next to the Thomson-McDuffie Government Center.

The city of Waynesboro was awarded $2.2 million to fund improvements to Sixth Street Park.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Augusta groups win $10 million in grants for road, park projects
The Augusta firefighter accused of running over a body after a mass shooting in downtown Augusta last weekend was arrested in March for failing to comply with a police officer.

Furthermore, the Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council confirmed it never received notice of the arrest, which is required by the council from the agency and offender within 15 days of the incident.

Firefighter Gregory Hartshorne, 52, of Augusta, was deemed at fault for driving over the body of Germayne Farrell, 51, of Daytona Beach, Florida, on May 13, according to a report from the Richmond County Sheriff's Office.

Earlier this year, Hartshorne was arrested outside of the Harlem police station.

Lockdown: Westside High School locked down after police find three intruders

Fun at Fort Gordon: Fort Gordon isn't just for the military. See all the fun civilians can have on base.

Harlem police officers noted Hartshorne and his wife were parked outside of the police station on March 30 after he allegedly followed her car to see where she was going, according to the report.

The pair got into a "heated verbal argument" outside of the station, police noted in the report. Officers saw Hartshorne slap his wife's phone out of her hand and intervened.

Hartshorne was "immediately argumentative," but ultimately complied after multiple commands, according to the report. He failed to provide officers with his identification.

Based on his "non-compliance and agitated nature," officers attempted to detain Hartshorne, according to the report. He refused to comply and put his hands in the air and stepped away from the officer to avoid being handcuffed.

Officers were able to get Hartshorne into handcuffs and into a patrol car, according to the report. He was issued a citation for obstruction and transported to the Columbia County Detention Center.

The obstruction charge counted as an official arrest, according to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office.

The Augusta Fire Department did not immediately respond to media inquiries Friday about the process or investigation that occurs when a firefighter is arrested. The department also did not immediately respond to a request for a statement regarding its failure to report the arrest to the standards and training council.

FILE - Empty shell casings sit on the ground outside the Outcast motorcycle club headquarters on East Boundary and Sand Bar Ferry Road in Augusta, Ga., on Monday, May 15, 2023. A shooting at the intersection over the weekend left two dead and four injured.

More about the crash following Saturday's shooting

A crash report notes that while responding to the scene, Hartshorne was crossing through the parking lot of 115 Prep Phillips Dr., traveling north, when he failed to see Farrell on the ground.

Hartshorne told deputies the vehicle hood and fender obscured his vision and he "misjudged the location of Farrell's body," according to the report. He was dragged more than 50 feet.

Hartshorne ran over Farrell's body at 6:55 p.m., just two minutes after deputies responded to the shooting, according to previous reporting.

While Sheriff Richard Rountree told media Monday that Farrell was pronounced dead by the Richmond County Coroner's Office prior to his body being run over by Hartshorne, a media release later stated the coroner's office did not pronounce Farrell and the other shooting victim, Keith Coates, 30, of Valdosta, Georgia, dead until 7:58 p.m.

The Richmond County Coroner's Office has not responded to inquiries about Farrell's cause of death.

The report notes Hartshorne was "not drinking," but an alcohol test was not administered.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Firefighter cited months before running over body in Augusta
The entrance to the aged care facility Yallambee Lodge in Cooma, Australia is photographed on Friday, May 19, 2023. A 95-year-old woman is in hospital in a critical condition after she was shot with a stun gun in an Australian nursing home as she approached police with a walking frame and a steak knife. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP)

CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  Police shocked a 95-year-old woman with a stun gun as she approached them using a walker and carrying a steak knife in an Australian nursing home, sending her to the hospital in critical condition after her head hit the floor.

The extraordinary police takedown of Clare Nowland, who has dementia, on Wednesday prompted a high-level police internal investigation.

It also has sparked debate about how New South Wales state police use stun guns, which are widely known as Tasers after a major manufacturer. They are a less lethal option than firearms but have occasionally proved more dangerous than other policing options.

Police said Nowland received her injuries from striking her head on the floor, rather than directly from the stun guns debilitating electric shock.

Two police officers went to Yallambee Lodge, a nursing home in the town of Cooma that specializes in residents with higher care needs including dementia, after staff reported that Nowland had taken a serrated steak knife from the kitchen.

Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter declined to say whether he thought a police officer with 12 years' experience used excessive force by firing a stun gun at Nowland, who is 1.57 meters (5 feet, 2 inches) tall and weighs 43 kilograms (95 pounds).

Cotter said police engaged in negotiations with Nowland for several minutes and used the stun gun when she approached the doorway where the officers were standing.

At the time she was tasered, she was approaching police. But it is fair to say at a slow pace. She had a walking frame. But she had a knife. I cant take it any further as to what was going through anyones mind, Cotter told reporters.

Nicole Lee, president of the advocacy group People with Disability Australia, said she was shocked by the police response.

Shes either one hell of an agile, fit, fast and intimidating 95-year-old woman, or theres a very poor lack of judgment on those police officers and there really needs to be some accountability on their side, Lee said.

Family spokesperson Andrew Thaler said Nowland's dementia waxes and wanes.

The question will be, how was it appropriate to use this level of force on a 95-year-old woman? Thaler was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald.

Cotter described video from the two police officers body cameras of the incident as confronting footage. But he said the video was part of an internal police investigation and it would not be in the public interest to be releasing that.

Cotter said the police officer who fired the stun gun was currently not in the workplace," but it was unclear whether the officer was suspended.

Nowland, a great-grandmother, made headlines in 2008 when she went skydiving to celebrate her 80th birthday.
A 95-year-old woman is in critical condition after police in Australia shocked her with a stun gun as she approached them with a walking frame and a steak knife at her nursing home.

Clare Nowland, who has dementia, was taken down by a senior constable, Peter Cotter, the assistant commissioner of New South Wales Police told a news conference Friday.

At the time, "she was approaching police, but it is fair to say at a slow pace, he said. She had a walking frame, but she had a knife.

He added that an internal investigation had been launched into the incident Wednesday at the Yallambee Lodge nursing home in Cooma, a small town around 240 miles south of Sydney.

After responding to a call about a patient having a knife in her possession, Cotter said Nowland was found in a small confined treatment room by two officers who arrived at the scene.

Police fired a stun gun at Clare Nowland, 95, in a care home. (Reuters TV)

Negotiations commenced for her to drop the knife. For whatever reasons, Clare did not do that, he said, adding that the senior constable activated his stun gun, which are widely known as Tasers after a major manufacturer.

I cant take it any further as to what was going through anyones mind, Cotter said.

The 5-foot-2 woman, who weighs 95 pounds, fell to the ground and struck her head.

Paramedics transferred Nowland to a nearby hospital where her head injury has rendered her bedridden. She remains in and out of consciousness, Cotter said.

He added that she had left her bedroom and obtained the knife from the kitchen at Yallambee Lodge, a 93-room facility which offers a range of accommodation and support options for those with higher care needs, dementia and respite care for both individuals and couples, according to its website.

NBC News has reached out to Yallambee Lodge for comment.

Community advocate Andrew Thaler, who is assisting the family, said Friday that they were shocked, confused, angry, and hurt by the incident.

There was nothing she could do with the knife, he said. I bet all she could do was hurt herself. The police and the nurses are trained to treat people with dementia, if they cant do that, why is she there?

A 95-year-old woman is in hospital in a critical condition after she was shot with a stun gun in an Australian nursing home as she approached police with a walking frame and a steak knife. (Lukas Coch / AP)

Nowland, a long-standing member of the community, ran charity shops, was a regular churchgoer and cooked meals for the other elderly people through outreach work, Thaler said.

Clare is one of the ladies who gave more than she got, he added.

Thaler said her family of eight children and more than 60 grandchildren and great-grandchildren knew she was old and at the end of her life line, but to suddenly have it cut short and ruined in such a way is shocking and confronting.

Its absurd, he added.

Cotter refused to answer any questions about criminal charges for the officer, but confirmed that he had served 12 years on the force. He added that the officer was nonoperational at this stage while he is under review.

Not one of our officers is above the law, and all our actions will be scrutinized robustly from a criminal and departmental perspective, he said.

The investigation was nominated a level 1 incident, which classifies injuries that lead to death or imminent death with exceptional circumstances. The classification ensures the highest level of inquiry with the inclusion of a homicide squad.

Critical incidents are a matter we are always transparent on, Cotter said.

Two police body cameras captured the incident, forming a significant and integral part of the investigation, but it will not be released because it is not in the public interest, he added.

The investigation will be ultimately reviewed by the professional standards command of the South Wales Police Force, Cotter said, with oversight by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission of New South Wales.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune.

Terri Hudson wears a mask, goggles and a face shield to protect herself in public from COVID-19 on April 17, 2023, in downtown Chicago. Her portrait by photographer Megan Doherty will be included in a project that centers on people with disabilities and immunocompromised individuals. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Artist Terri Hudson jumped at the chance to be a part of photographer Megan E. Dohertys latest work, Compromised  over a dozen portraits of people who are immunocompromised trying to live their lives amid the ongoing pandemic.

Hudson, an actor, visual artist and songwriter, is both disabled and immunocompromised. The Loop resident was born with spina bifida, a condition where the spinal column doesnt form properly, but has other things going on with her body to the extent that she calls herself a bit of a medical mystery at the moment.

Advertisement

Although she has a lot of the autoimmune issues that run in her family, she doesnt actually have an autoimmune diagnosis.

Im kind of an autoimmune warning instead of an autoimmune watch, if you will, because Ive got all the ingredients but not enough to diagnose for any specific condition, she said. And Im also borderline prediabetic and I have high blood pressure. When you put all that together, thats a lot of conditions that weve been told COVID-19 will make this worse.

Advertisement

The Atlanta native says she doesnt need her body to be worse in five new, different ways if she were to contract COVID-19, so shes doing everything she can to prevent that. She was cautious before the pandemic, but is even more vigilant now.

I feel like if I contract COVID, that will absolutely kick something, if not everything, into gear, because weve seen people who dont have all of the medical history that I have suddenly have cardiac problems, suddenly develop diabetes, et cetera, et cetera, after a bout of COVID, said the 49-year-old.

Hudsons precarious health condition is why she chose to be a portraiture participant. Dohertys work is funded by a $15,000 grant from Getty Images and Verizon, an endeavor aimed at closing the representation gap when it comes to disability stories and voices.

Dohertys work centers on people who have been pushed further to societys periphery by removing the protection of indoor masking  those who have lost their right to participate in public life. Doherty said she was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis in 2015. She said her projects title gestures to how governmental bodies compromised to sacrifice the health and lives of people in the disabled community for the sake of profit and convenience.

Photographer Megan E. Doherty won a grant from Getty Images to document people with disabilities and immunocompromised people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Doherty is shown in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago on April 18, 2023. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Essentially, I have been forced to shield in my home, Doherty said. This is an opportunity for me to leverage my skill as a photographer to call attention to how disabled and immunocompromised people are being marginalized by the pandemic and policy and how thats still going on. Weve essentially been forced out of public life, so I had to try to find a way to do photography again from my home.

To protect her health and that of the people posing for portraits, Doherty uses an app that transmits a live feed from the participants space to hers in Rogers Park. Doherty has to see the participants live in order to direct them. She gets her high resolution portrait from the app recording. Doherty has done 11 remote portraits of immunocompromised or immunosuppressed Americans of different ages from California, New York, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado and, of course, Chicago.

Each portrait is accompanied by words from the participants  essays, letters, etc.  in their own handwriting about how they have been impacted by COVID-19, how theyve been forced out of public life and what that has done to them emotionally, professionally, socially and economically. Doherty plans to pair each portrait and letter with recent numbers on COVID-19 cases and deaths in the project.

Everyone is choosing to do their letter a little differently, Doherty said. One person made a drawing, another filled the whole page with words and phrases, some people are writing a lot, some are writing a little. But its a variance on the theme of feeling deeply betrayed by their government, the CDC, and by their communities. Because even if people in your own community know that you are vulnerable and immunocompromised, they still will not wear a mask when they go to the pharmacy, they still will not wear a mask when they go to the grocery store. Its a profound reckoning with just how willing people are to prioritize their own convenience over the actual lives of other human beings.

Advertisement

Doherty said when people look back at the pandemic 50 years from now, art like hers will be an important contribution to the historical record  much like the art as activism that came out of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Doherty was one of a handful of creatives who won a portion of the $40,000 grant from Getty Images focusing on sharing the experiences of communities of the disabled. Claudia Marks, senior manager of new creator strategy at Getty Images, said Doherty was chosen because her work is intimate and powerful in a way that allows the viewer to be welcomed into her world and her community.

Her imagery centers on the interconnectedness of those around her and not always in relation to her existence as a disabled individual  but more about the transformation and possibility that exists within those connections, Marks said.

Doherty has done photographic projects in the Back of the Yards neighborhood and in Hyde Park. She also did a 2021 fellowship at Disability Lead, a Chicago-based leadership institute committed to cultivating a deeper bench of leaders with disabilities.

Dohertys world is having to stay home except for medical appointments. She wears an Elastomeric P100 mask everywhere because she has a debilitating infection associated with chronic illness that has severely limited her functioning and she doesnt need it to be limited any further. COVID-19 and long COVID is just something that she and others like her cannot risk.

When I think about disability activism in the 70s and 80s  everything leading up to the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act  they were out in public spaces, they were occupying public buildings and doing demonstrations on Capitol steps, Doherty said. How can you stand up and be counted if youre forced to stay home?

Advertisement

Once completed, Doherty wants the work to be published editorially and accessible. She envisions the portraits being viewed in an outdoor setting, forcing a confrontation between people who are disabled and segregated from public life and non-disabled people who are unwittingly participating in making that a reality.

Advocacy and activism are inherent in this artistic effort.

This is something that I hope will be used as part of the broader pandemic advocacy effort, she said. Anybody who wants to use it or point to it for those purposes, I welcome that. And for non-disabled community members to maybe stop and think about how its not OK to segregate disabled people out of public life. We have a right to exist in the same world that you do.

Dohertys activism extends to the narrative about the pandemic: the idea that its over, that people are tired of hearing about it. But Doherty says with the CDC citing 26% of the U.S. population having some type of disability, people with disabilities are not sick of hearing about the pandemic and not sick of masking. Thats why shes lending her voice.

She say every social justice issue is also a disability issue, including having more journalists with disabilities in newsrooms.

Cara Reedy, director and founder of the Disabled Journalists Association, is leading the charge on that by conducting a summer survey and fall symposium for more information surrounding disability in the media, from coverage to training. The Loyola University graduate has dwarfism and has spent the last three years doing journalism training on disability for newsrooms. Disability Lead is calling for the industry to proactively seek out, hire, support and promote disabled media professionals. Once DJA launches, Reedy wants its social media to teach others about understanding disability issues from a journalistic lens.

Advertisement

Megan E. Doherty in Rogers Park on April 18, 2023. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Hudson is happy a friend informed her of Dohertys Compromised work. Early on in her acting career, Hudson tried to keep her disability a secret. She said she was afraid of admitting that she needed help or asking for any kind of accommodation because she would be labeled difficult. She said it took her finding other disabled actors out in the world and seeing the spaces that they were carving to speak up. She said it was irresponsible of her to not speak up.

People are like, If youre that sick, stay in your house and never go anywhere. Or they picture immunocompromised people as already living in a hospital or a clean room somewhere and not interacting with the daily world, Hudson said. Before COVID, most people didnt know I was immunocompromised because the stakes werent as high and it wasnt as dangerous for me to exist out in the world.

In her letter, Hudson admits shes been low-boil angry for three years, given that the lack of space for disabled people in public life was already a problem and the pandemic just magnified it.

Advertisement

Terri Hudson wears a mask and sometimes goggles with a face shield to protect herself in public from COVID-19. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Stopping masking was the problem, Hudson said. I dont know how to tell you that you should care about other people. ... We are here. We are part of communities. We are part of families, our lives matter. We have a right to participate in public life and that right is being restricted right now; its honestly being restricted out of callousness and its not OK.

drockett@chicagotribune.com
Away from the Cannes glamour, hospitality staff protest over harsh conditions The 76th Cannes Film Festival - Demonstration against pension reform law

By Mindy Burrows

CANNES, France (Reuters) - French hospitality workers demonstrated on Friday at a five-star hotel a few blocks from the Cannes Film Festival's red carpet to draw attention to the difficult working conditions in the shadows of the glamour.

As in previous years, the French Riviera city of Cannes has banned demonstrations near the festival centre, but the forecourt of the Carlton Hotel, where around two dozen workers protested, falls outside the remit of the ban as it is private property.

France has been the scene of strikes and demonstrations for months, chiefly because of President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform law, which he passed last month by using constitutional powers to circumvent opposition in parliament. It raises the retirement age to 64.

"Young people don't want to do this career because it's too hard, too gruelling. So imagine this for a 64-year-old, it's practically impossible," said Ange Romiti, secretary general of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) union.

He said the protesters were happy to host festival-goers, but wanted to use the film festival, which runs through May 27, to help spread awareness of the difficulty of their lives.

Dominique Chave, a representative for CGT's business federation, also said she wanted people to know the conditions of those who helped to welcome the stars and the tourists.

"We have luxury ... and then we have all the hotel, cafe and in particular restaurant employees who are badly paid, have bad working conditions," Chave told Reuters.

"When you come on holiday, you only see the good side of things. However, you don't see the difficult working conditions."

Members of the CGT union in the power sector had threatened to cut off the electricity at the film festival as part of its protests against Macron's reforms, but festival director Thierry Fremaux said on Monday that talks with the union had so far been positive.

(Reporting by Mindy Burrows and Yiming Woo, Writing by Miranda Murray; editing by Barbara Lewis)
Update:

SpaceX and Axiom Mission 2 launch successfully sent four astronauts into space.

Original story:

The second private astronaut mission to the International Space Station is on target for a Sunday afternoon liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center.

The four-member crew will spend eight days docked at the ISS.

Axiom Spaces Director of Human Spaceflight Peggy Whitson - a former NASA astronaut and ISS commander -- will lead the mission for the company.

Whitson has already spent 665 days in space -- more than any other American - and she is now returning to the ISS as the first female commander of a private space mission.

Read: NASA picks Jeff Bezos Blue Origin for moon lander project

This will be the second-ever private mission to the ISS.

The four-person crew also includes pilot John Shoffner and specialists Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi -- both Saudi nationals. Barnawi will be the first Saudi woman in space.

Axiom Space's Ax-2 Crew - (from left to right) Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot John Shoffner, Mission Specialist Ali AlQarni and Mission Specialist Rayyanah Barnawi.

The crew will conduct more than 20 different experiments while aboard the ISS, including activities to help better understand human physiology on Earth as well as establish new technologies that could be used for future spaceflights.

Read: Red planet readiness: NASA to send crew into simulated Mars habitat for year

It gives me a chance to demonstrate what I believe is the opportunity of space for everyone by showing what can be done by private and commercial space interests, Shoffner said.

The company said it plans to build its own space station called Axiom Station.

This Axiom Mission 2 is just a precursor for where were headed to, Whitson said. We want to be able to have a commercial space station. We plan to have the first module up in late 2025. And that will expand our capability to do commercial space.

Read: I would not want us to be there 2nd: NASA administrator aims to beat China in the race to the Moon

Sundays launch is scheduled for 5:37 p.m. Click here to watch it live.

A backup opportunity for the launch will be available at 5:14 p.m. Monday.

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.
Russia hosts the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks in Moscow

Azerbaijan, Armenia close to deal on ending transport blockade - Russia Russia hosts the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks in Moscow

(Reuters) - Armenia and Azerbaijan are close to agreeing an end to a blockade of transport links but more work is needed to seal a peace deal between the warring neighbours, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.

Lavrov spoke after he brokered a meeting between the foreign ministers of both nations. Russia helped secure a truce to halt a six-week conflict in 2020, but the agreement has not led to lasting peace, and armed clashes are common along the border.

The two countries have fought two wars in 30 years over Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave in Azerbaijan with a mainly ethnic Armenian population. Yerevan accuses Baku of blocking the only road route linking Armenia to Karabakh.

Armenia and Azerbaijan were due to discuss the unblocking of transport links at a meeting next week, where Russia will also be present.

"We hope the outcome will be positive. The parties are already close to a final agreement," Lavrov said in a statement, but did not give details.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday he had agreed to peace talks in Moscow on May 25 with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin mediating, the Interfax news agency reported.

But during Friday's talks, the two nations confirmed that without progress on settling disputes over borders and transport links, as well as improving the security situation in and around Karabakh, "it is difficult to move forward on specific aspects of the peace treaty", Lavrov said.

Armenia - formally an ally of Russia through a mutual self-defence pact - has repeatedly called on Moscow to use its peacekeeping force to stop what it calls Azerbaijan's "gross violation" of the 2020 peace deal.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Grant McCool)
Authorities in Georgia have arrested a suspect in the "Baby India" case, four years after the newborn was found abandoned in a plastic bag in the woods, the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office announced.

Karima Jiwani, 40, was arrested Thursday after investigators used DNA to identify the biological parents of the child, known as "Baby India," Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman said in a news conference Friday.

Jiwani has been charged with criminal intent to commit murder, cruelty to children, aggravated assault, reckless abandonment and other charges, Freeman said.

/ Credit: Forsyth County Sheriff's Office

In 2019, a family called 911 saying they were hearing cries coming from the woods near their home.

When police went to investigate, they found the newborn baby tied in a plastic bag, with her umbilical cord still attached.

A video of the discovery was made public shortly after she was found, as officials appealed to the public for help locating the girl's parents or finding out why she was abandoned. In the footage, deputies are seen removing the baby from the plastic bag and wrapping her in a blanket.

Investigators were first able to identify the father of "Baby India" 10 months ago, but Freeman explained Friday that there was no indication he was involved in her abandonment.

Freeman said the infant was found hours before a severe thunderstorm struck Forsyth County, and described her discovery as "divine intervention."

The sheriff's office reported that the baby was "thriving" in the care of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services shortly after she was found.

Freeman mentioned that this case was particularly emotional. "I've been doing this for 33 years, and I truly can't think of one that I wanted more. This innocent baby girl got put in a bag and left as a bag of trash to die."

Spanish fighter pilot unhurt in F-18 crash

"CBS Weekend News" headlines for Saturday, May 20, 2023

Peggy Whitson, NASAs most experienced astronaut, set to return to International Space Station
MADRID  The U.S. branch of BAE Systems and Italys Iveco Defence Vehicles (IDV) jointly debuted their amphibious combat vehicle shown in Europe for the first time this week, with executives saying they are ready to respond to Spanish and wider European interest in the technology.

From the inside of an ACV, displayed here at the Feria Internacional de Defensa y Seguridad (FEINDEF) in the personnel-carrier variant, company representatives told reporters that Spain was a strategic choice for its first international appearance.

This represents the first instance the ACV is shown outside the United States, and we are very pleased that we get to do so in Spain, which is a very important and long-term ally to both the U.S. and NATO, Marco Collins, vice president of international business development at BAE Systems said.

The ACV is a family of vehicles that has been jointly developed through the strategic partnership between IDV and BAE, and in which Spain has expressed interest. BAE, acting as prime contractor in the United States, has been selected to deliver four different variants to the U.S. Marine Corps.

The troop carrier showcased here is the vehicles base platform  a fully open-ocean ride that can carry a total of 13 combat-loaded Marines and a crew of three from ship to shore. Weighing in at 35 tons, it can reach a speed up to 105 km/hour (65 mph) on a paved road.

Nazario Bianchini, head of sales at IDV, told Defense News the two companies would respond jointly to upcoming tenders in Spain and elsewhere in Europe. Concerning industry benefits for Spain, specifically, Nazario pointed out that Iveco is effectively a local partner given its presence in the country with two plants. The Madrid plant alone, which produces the companys complete range of heavy vehicles, has a workforce of 2,850 employees, he said.

It would not be the first time the Spanish Army looked to IDV or BAE Systems for land and amphibious equipment, as in 2015 the service awarded the Italian manufacturer a contract for the supply of 700 multipurpose military trucks. Additionally, in 2019, the U.S. State Department cleared Madrid to buy 11 assault amphibious vehicles produced by BAE that were to join the ones it already operates.
Rachel Fleit, director of "Bama Rush," a documentary about the University of Alabama's sorority recruitment process which begins streaming May 23 on Max (formerly HBO Max), has won awards for previous films including her 2021 "Introducing, Selma Blair," about the actress' adaptations following a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

Before that feature-length work, Fleit created short films also based on intimate dissections of identity, such as:

"Ava & Bianca" (2020), about the relationship and working lives of Ava Benjamin Schorr and Bianca Cline, both transgender female cinematographers

"Gefilte" (2018), about a Jewish family finding beauty in the traditional holiday fish dish

"Barbara & Stanley: A Modern Romance," about a couple who've been in a long-distance relationship more than 40 years.

More: 'Bama Rush' documentary trailer crams a lot into two-and-a-half minutes

Fleit also directed a four-part 2017-2018 miniseries titled "Surveillance Cinema," re-imagining classic movie scenes as if captured by 21st century hidden or inconspicuous technology.

In "Introducing, Selma Blair," Fleit documented the actress' adjustments to MS, a lifelong autoimmune condition that affects the brain and spinal cord, and can affect mobility, speech, vision, swallowing and more, potentially causing a range of emotional and psychological disorders.

Blair, co-star of "Hellboy," "Legally Blonde" and "Cruel Intentions" was diagnosed in 2018, though in a recent interview with Vogue, said her condition had been misdiagnosed or ignored for more than 40 years, since childhood. Doctors and others wrote off early symptoms as "attention-seeking."

This photograph by Annie Leibovitz captures filmmaker Rachel Fleit, whose documentary "Bama Rush," about the 2022 sorority rush process at the University of Alabama, will begin streaming on Max (formerly HBO Max) Tuesday, May 23.

The director, who lives with alopecia areata, which causes hair loss, drew courage from Blair's journey, which included chemotherapy as part of a stem-cell treatment. The actress shaved her head so her then 10-year-old son wouldn't be shocked if Mom lost her hair from chemo.

It struck me how quickly she was able to embrace her bald head," Fleit said, in an interview with Savoir Flaire magazine. "It had been this big struggle for me for so many years, and I watched how she embraced her MS, and I was just astounded at that  at the beauty of that. ...

I hate the word normal,' because its suggesting that the way that she and I are in the world is not right."

"Introducing, Selma Blair" premiered in the documentary feature competition at South by Southwest  the film, music and interactive media festival held annually in Austin, Texas  where it won Special Jury Recognition for Exceptional Intimacy in Storytelling. It was nominated for several other festival awards, winning five, and screened at theaters in limited release before streaming on Discovery.

In everything I make, in everything I do, I want to show a different way of being. And that its OK that we dont walk in a straight line or talk perfectly clearly nor have long, blonde hair to be considered beautiful in this world," Fleit said, in that magazine interview.

The upcoming "Bama Rush" follows four young women going through the recruitment process, shot on and around the UA campus last summer, 2022. Fleit's personal site describes the film exploring "... the emotional complexities and stakes of belonging during this crucial window into womanhood."

In "Introducing, Selma Blair," "Bama Rush" director Rachel Fleit journeys with the actress about her adjustments to life after a diagnosis of multiple scleroris.

Fleit and producers Vice Studios apparently began working on "Bama Rush" following 2021, when videos of young women going through UA rush went viral on TikTok. A two-and-a-half-minute trailer shows footage from the film, with voices of young women and others discussing ramifications of the rites. One woman says "Sorority recommends a game. You have to know how to play it, because Greek life is everything, at Alabama."

As in the 2008 documentary film " 'Bama Girl," directed by Rachel Goslins, following women UA students striving to become homecoming queen, The Machine rears its head. A more than century-old secret society driving UA and local-regional politics, The Machine  or someone speaking for it  claims "The Machine will stop this!," referring to Fleit's film.

Currently, Fleit is writing and directing her first narrative (fiction) feature, titled "Up Island." For more, see www.rachelfleit.com/films.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: 'Bama Rush' director Rachel Fleit compiles award-winning film resume
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, left, and Nicole Holofcener pose for a portrait to promote the film "You Hurt My Feelings" on Thursday, May 11, 2023, at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Nicole Holofcener has learned a few things about Hollywood over the years.

That attending the Oscars is more fun as a guest than a nominee. That when someone just says congratulations after a film, they didnt like it and dont want to tell you. That getting to work with your idols is one of the best perks of the job. And that your problems dont go away once you put them on screen. But, even so, it can be ridiculous fun to watch great actors play out your plights.

Since her debut, Walking and Talking, Holofcener has time and time again gone back to Catherine Keener, a forever friend and muse to help bring her thoughts to the screen. Then just over a decade ago, Julia Louis-Dreyfus entered her orbit. Like everyone, she knew her as Elaine  almost obsessively so, she said. But when they sat down for dinner, she quickly realized Louis-Dreyfus was nothing like her Seinfeld character. Instead, she was more like her.

She was nice, Holofcener said. We talked about the script. We talked about our kids going away to college. We both teared up. I felt like, Wow, Id be lucky to have this woman play a version of me.

The film was Enough Said, in which Louis-Dreyfus plays a woman who inadvertently befriends the ex-wife (Keener) of the man shes dating ( James Gandolfini ). As soon as it was over, they longed to do it again  though 10 years was a little longer than they'd hoped.

For their new film, You Hurt My Feelings (in theaters May 26), Holofcener landed on an even stickier scenario: An author overhears her husband saying that he doesnt like her latest book, sending her into a spiral of doubt about her talent and her relationship.

I found it to be an utterly captivating notion because its like an infidelity, but its not an infidelity, Louis-Dreyfus said. I was considering how devastating it would be, as an artist myself, if my spouse had been absolutely and totally lying to me about his reaction to whatever I was doing. I would be mortified.

Its something Holofcener thinks a lot about in her own relationships. Some years ago, she actually had the experience of dating a man who was crazy about her but didnt seem to like or get her movies.

I tried really hard to have that not matter, she said. But in the end, it really mattered.

After watching Please Give, her 2010 film about a couple who fill their pricey furniture store with bargain estate sale findings, she remembered the first thing he said was that the old woman was really cranky. She was floored that that was the takeaway.

My movies are so personal to me, she said. I couldnt understand how someone could get me or get my sense of humor or my values or whats important to me and not enjoy my films. I still dont have an answer to that.

In You Hurt My Feelings, Beth (Louis-Dreyfus) is a moderately successful author living in New York City with her husband Don ( Tobias Menzies ), a therapist whose confidence has also been shaken at work, with some memory gaps and unsatisfied patients (Amber Tamblyn and David Cross play a very unhappily married couple). Beth and Don also worry about their son (Owen Teague) who, in their eyes, is floundering in his career and personal life.

Louis-Dreyfus was able to draw on her own 35-year marriage to help paint a believable picture of this couple, who like to share food  even ice cream cones  much to the horror of their son.

We both felt very strongly that we really wanted to depict a couple who have been married for a long time but were still in love in a believable way, you know? Not saccharine and lovey-dovey, Louis-Dreyfus said. Theyre very bonded to one another.

The film contains acute observations about family, marriage, gift-giving, artistic neuroses, mid-life crises and parenting adult children. Its funny and poignant and sometimes gnawingly uncomfortable and has an enviable cast of great actors, including Michaela Watkins as Beths sister and Arian Moayed as her husband.

The budget was small, the shoot was quick (22 days) and the circumstances were sometimes challenging. Holofcener tested positive for COVID-19 and spent several of their precious few shooting days directing remotely from an iPad.

Filming in Manhattan with famous people can be its own headache too. Louis-Dreyfus remembered one difficult scene in which her character has just overheard her husbands confession and has to walk out of a sporting goods store looking nauseated and dry heaving on the city sidewalk. Across the street, there were paparazzi taking pictures.

It made me feel very self-conscious, Louis-Dreyfus said. Why would I want pictures of myself vomiting on the street?

But they got through it and on the whole it was a lovely experience. Holofcener even said its the most fun shes ever had on a film.

Maybe its getting older, she said. Im calmer. A little more confident.

She loved when Louis-Dreyfus would ad-lib and innovate in scenes. One of the biggest laughs in the film is one of those impromptu additions (without spoiling, it involves a conversation about Botox).

"She gets the tone. She always surprises me," Holofcener said. And her face just kills me."

And both were delighted to get the chance to work with Jeannie Berlin, who plays Beths mom. It was a particular coup for Holofcener who cites Elaine May's The Heartbreak Kid as the movie that made her want to make movies. She even got to meet May, Berlin's mother, at a screening.

May has seen, and loved, the film. And she's not alone. After it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year to fantastic reviews and audience reactions, A24 decided to give the film a nationwide launch. This is both exciting and a source of anxiety for Holofcener, used to smaller openings.

Since her first film put her on the map in 1996, Holofcener has always done supplemental work, writing scripts or directing episodes of television, from Gilmore Girls to her most recent gig doing two episodes of Lucky Hank with Bob Odenkirk. But theyre not just paychecks  she would do it more if that were the reason.

Since I dont have scripts that I want to make very often, its a great way to keep going and meet new actors, she said. Im pretty picky. After Walking and Talking, I got offered things. But if I didnt like them that much, I just didnt do them. I guess its always about quality of life more than money.

Holofcener grew up with a significant connection to the business: Her stepfather, Charles H. Joffe, was a talent manager and producer of most of Woody Allens films, including Annie Hall and Hannah and Her Sisters. Her mother occasionally worked as a set decorator too. And while it was true that Joffe paid for Holofcencers schooling and helped get her PA work on some of Allens films, she also thinks that people tend to give too much significance to that part of her biography.

Shes even read articles that claim she was mentored by Allen or Martin Scorsese, who was her teacher in film school for all of three months. This is a source of embarrassment for her because, first, shes pretty certain Scorsese has no recollection of this and, second, she remembers him falling asleep during one of her shorts.

I dont think he cared for my work, she laughed.

Besides, in the past three decades of making films, she has carved out her own space that is uniquely and perfectly hers.

As Louis-Dreyfus put it: Nicole has her finger on the pulse of human connection and the complicated nature of that connection. And as a result, she tells extraordinary stories.
Belarus Weekly: Lukashenko makes brief public appearance following rumors of his poor health

Belarusian authorities publish footage of dictator Alexander Lukashenko conducting work trips in an attempt to refute rumors of his poor health. His voice remains hoarse, his hand bandaged, just like at the Victory Day celebrations, after which he disappeared from the public eye.

The European Parliament issued a resolution calling for the immediate release of former presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka, imprisoned since 2020, whose whereabouts are unknown since his hospitalization at the end of April.

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Belarus Weekly

Join us

Belarus' Permanent Representative to the UN claims that the tactical nukes promised by Russia have yet to be deployed to Belarus.

Belarus imposes a ban on top officials, police, and those convicted of political crimes from traveling abroad. State and military officials can only leave with express permission from Lukashenko.

Lukashenko makes first public appearance following health rumors

Belarusian authorities released photos and a video of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko following his absence from several events that sparked speculations of his poor health.

The footage attempts to refute the rumors, purporting to show Lukashenko visiting an army control point and meeting with the governor of Russia's Vladimir Oblast, Alexander Avdeyev.

In the video, Lukashenko's voice is hoarse, and his hand is bandaged, however, he mentions recent events proving that the video is recent.

Lukashenko's swift departure from Victory Day celebrations in Moscow and Minsk on May 9 sparked rumors that he is seriously ill.

Reuters also noted that he looked "tired and a little unsteady on his feet, and a bandage was visible on his right hand though he otherwise showed no obvious signs of being unwell."

Watchdog Belarusian Hajun said Lukashenko checked into a hospital near Minsk on May 13, during which time access to the clinic was reportedly closed off, and the roads to it were guarded by armed enforcers.

Leaked document reveals alleged Kremlin plan to take over Belarus by 2030 Editors note: This story is a collaboration between the Kyiv Independent and media partners, including Delfi (Estonia), Dossier Center (U.K.), Expressen (Sweden), Frontstory.pl, VSquare, and Belarusian Investigative Center (Poland), Suddeutsche Zeitung and Westdeutscher Rundfunk (Germany), and Yaho Kyiv IndependentAnna Myroniuk

Lukashenko also didn't attend a new ceremony held in Minsk the next day, during which young people swore allegiance to the Belarusian flag.

Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko issued a speech in his stead, sparking further speculations that the dictator is seriously ill.

Lukashenko's office has given no reason for his absence.

"For us, it means only one thing: We should be well prepared for every scenario," exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said. "To turn Belarus on the path to democracy and to prevent Russia from interfering. We need the international community to be proactive and fast."

As per the Belarusian constitution, if Lukashenko is incapacitated and unable to perform his duties, his role would be passed to the speaker of the upper house of parliament, the Council of the Republic, until new elections are held.

The current speaker is Natalya Kochanova, Lukashenko's former chief of staff.

European Parliament urges release of former presidential candidate Babaryka

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on May 11 calling for the release of political prisoner Viktar Babaryka, who ran against Lukashenko during the 2020 Belarusian presidential election.

Parliament urges authorities in Belarus to cease the mistreatment of former presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka and other political prisoners and release them immediately and unconditionally," the press release said.

The European Parliament also called for those detained to have "access to proper medical assistance, lawyers, family, diplomats, and international organizations to assess their condition and provide aid."

Babaryka is currently serving a 14-year sentence for politically motivated charges.

Considered one of Lukashenko's primary political opponents during the last presidential election campaign, the move is widely considered an attempt to take Babaryka out of the presidential race.

Babaryka was reportedly hospitalized on April 27 with a collapsed lung and traces of severe beating.

Until his recent hospitalization, he served his prison sentence in one of Belarus' harshest prisons, rumored in numerous testimonies to witness beatings and torture of inmates.

While a spokesperson from the penal colony said on April 29 that Babaryka is "alive and well," no proof has been given. Belarusian media noted this week that he had not been seen since his hospitalization.

The European Union, Czech and French foreign ministries, and the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Affairs have also expressed concerns over the situation and called Minsk to provide further information.

Belarus in 2022: War, death, and a very grim place Belarus entered 2022 gobbled in its ongoing political crisis and finished it as an accomplice in an unprovoked and brutal Russian aggression toward Ukraine. Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko conceded his countrys sovereignty to Russia, becoming entirely reliant on President Vladimir Putins wi Kyiv IndependentTeah Pelechaty

Belarusian UN representative: Russia has yet to place tactical nukes in Belarus

Russian tactical nuclear weapons have yet to be deployed to Belarus, the country's permanent representative to the UN, Valentin Rybakov, claimed on May 16.

"These announcements about deploying tactical nuclear weapons in the Republic of Belarusare just announcements," Rybakov said during a UN Security Council-led discussion. "Nothing practical has been done."

On March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus for alleged training purposes  the latest in a series of nuclear threats by the Kremlin against Ukraine and the West.

Three days later, Belarus' Foreign Ministry claimed the regime was "forced" to do so amid so-called "unprecedented political, economic, and informational pressure" from the U.S., U.K., EU members, and NATO allies.

NATO and the EU condemned the move, calling on Belarus not to go through with it.

EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell said the decision is an "irresponsible escalation and threat to European security."

Russia tries to conceal its dwindling nuclear stockpile The main rule of Russias power diplomacy says: If something goes wrong with their war effort in Ukraine, reach for the nuclear intimidation card. Thats what the Kremlin did two months ago, when Vladimir Putin announced Russia would suspend its participation in the New START, the only remaining Kyiv IndependentIllia Ponomarenko

Belarus restricts travel abroad for top officials, police, those facing 'political charges'

A recently passed amendment prohibits Belarus' top officials, law enforcement, and those facing "political charges" from traveling abroad.

Made public on May 16, the ban also applies to those accused of disobeying the police and violating restrictions on public events. The country's KGB will be allowed to restrict people's departure for up to six months whose travel abroad "contradicts the country's national security."

As a result, high-ranking ministers, members of the KGB, military representatives, and other top officials will have to obtain special permission to leave the country. Restrictions will come into effect in six months.

OSCE report shows 'serious threat to the OSCE human dimension in Belarus'

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented the report on systematic human rights violations and large-scale politically motivated repressions unfolding in Belarus since Nov. 5, 2020.

The report finds continuous attacks on the freedom of political rights and the democratic process, freedoms of assembly and association, the right to a fair trial, and the right to effective remedies.

OSCE found numerous instances of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment in Belarus.

OSCE rapporteur Herve Ascensio noted that after the outbreak of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, repressions had been "particularly directed at those expressing their opposition to the war or their support for the Ukrainian people."

The Permanent Mission of Belarus to the OSCE labeled the report a "propaganda campaign to smear an unwanted state" and stated that its only result would be "to undermine the possibility of an early resumption of interstate dialogue."

The 1995 referendum that gave Lukashenko dictatorial powers

The Spotlight segment provides readers with the historical context of contemporary events in Belarus.

On May 4, 1995, Alexander Lukashenko's regime held a four-question referendum, whose results determined the future of Belarusian democracy.

The referendum asked:

Should the Russian language be given equal status to that of the Belarusian?

Should Soviet-inspired state symbols be reinstated (excluding the hammer and sickle)?

Do you approve of Lukashenko's policy on economic integration with Russia?

Should the president of the republic have the right to dissolve the parliament?

Belarus' parliament overwhelmingly opposed the referendum.

Several lawmakers even locked themselves in one of the institution's buildings and announced a hunger strike, after which Lukashenko's riot police forcibly removed them from the premises.

According to Belarus' Central Election Commission, the referendum resulted in an overwhelming "yes" for every question.

To prove a point, a member of Lukashenko's administration tore up the pre-existing state flag hanging from the presidential residence and burned it  even before the results were announced.

The questions were significant for several reasons:

First, giving Lukashenko the right to dissolve the parliament strengthened his grip on the country, giving him the needed leverage to crack down on his opponents.

Second, the decision to pursue further economic integration with Russia increased the speed with which Belarusian was backsliding from its newfound independence back into Russia's orbit.

Third, granting the Russian language equal status as Belarusian was a serious blow to Belarus' distinct culture, signaling renewed repression against the language and culture for many years to come.

The abolished white-red-white flag is now a symbol of resistance by those who oppose Lukashenko's regime.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) dismissed the referendum, saying Belarusian authorities "conducted extensive efforts to convince the voters to participate in the referendum."

Most official information appeared to encourage the electorate to vote in favor of all referendum questions," the OSCE report continued, adding that cases of multiple voting and violations of ballot secrecy were also observed.
Scouted/The Daily Beast/iStock.

Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission.

Anyone who has ever tried Korean Beautya.k.a. K-Beautyknows that its maximalist, ten-step approach is much different compared to Western skincare. Sure, ten steps may seem strenuous to some, but to others, it's a self-care ritual that nourishes the mind as much as it does the skin. Unsurprisingly, the number of K-Beauty brands available to Western consumers seems endless now, with more and more people recognizing just how beneficial the lofty K-Beauty-based skincare ritual is. But aside from the multi-step routine, Korean beauty products also offer a slew of unusual (by U.S. standards, that is) and effective actives, including laxity-boosting snail mucin and redness-reducing cica. The beauty industry is massive in South Korea, with 112 beauty stores spanning just eight street blocks in Seoul, according to K-Beauty brand (and one of our top K-beauty brand picks) Peach & Lily.

For those who havent plunged into this market just yet, the differences between choosing a K-Beauty anti-aging (or any skincare concern) versus a Korean anti-aging product may seem tricky, but we're here to help guide you.

We're not here to judge whether you adopt a Korean or Western-inspired beauty routine, but the benefits of using a K-Beauty line are clearespecially if you're seeking clean ingredients. K-Beauty lines concentrate on maintaining a healthy, well hydrated, and nourished skin environment for results that last a lifetime, according to top-rated Korean brand Peach & Lily.

K-Beauty products continue to soar above others on the market because of their efficacious products formulated with wallet-friendly and gentle active ingredients that seem to suit all skin types (including sensitive) but actually keep their promises of ironing out fine lines, erasing acne scars, and retaining hydration for more than sixty seconds. Plus, most K-beauty products are super affordable without the ubiquitous 'clean beauty' price tag. Scroll through below to check out some of my favorite Korean beauty brands disrupting the skincare space right now.

TONYMOLY

TONYMOLY is one of the cutest makeup brands I have ever seenperiod. Just look at its packaging! (TONYMOLY means putting style into packaging, so I suppose maybe thats why its so spectacular.) Anyway, this brands sheet mask is the sheet mask and my favorites include the moisturizing aloe (especially as someone who sunburns easily!), pore care red wine, and the clear skin rice options. This whale cooling algae eye serum is also insanely adorable and works insanely well to deeply moisturize and de-puff skin.

Buy TONYMOLY at Ulta, $null

Laneige

Laneige is unquestionably one of the most prominent K-Beauty brands in the U.S. and beyond, and theres good reason for it. For starters, this antioxidant-rich lip sleeping mask is a TikTok famous product that continues to sweep creators and viewers alike away. Many users wear it every day and for its overnight use; either way, it deeply hydrates my lips and comes with yummy scents, like berry, gummy bear, vanilla, and limited edition scents like mango and berry n choco kisses. Im also in love with Laneiges Cica Sleeping Mask free of parabens and full of hydrating and redness-reducing benefits. The brands Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Hydration Set is also a summer staple and perfect for your next getaway.

Buy Laneige at Sephora, $null

Then I Met You

.

My skin felt so tired and dull, and then I met you, Then I Met You. And I thank you for it. Then I Met You is sold at Soko Glam, my personal favorite hub for K-Beauty products, and this best-selling brand offers a Holy Grail Hydration Set filled with luxurious and antioxidant-rich products for the ultimate K-Beauty skin ritual takeover. If youre serious about indulging in K-Beauty and kissing your other skincare routine goodbye to say hello to more natural ingredients, look no further than this set bound to meet you there, too. The Cleansing Duo is also a great place to start if you arent ready to commit to the full bit just yet.

Buy Then I Met You at Soko Glam, $null

Dr. Jart

Dr. Jart is one of the most famed and recognized skincare brands out there, and this high-performance skincare is available at fairly r4easonable prices. One of the brand's coolest products would have to be its Cryo Rubber Masks that emulate the effects of cryotherapy (cold therapy used to treat skin) as an at-home treatment. Four different masks are offered hereone with Soothing Allantoin to protect the skin from environmental factors and for redness and irritation, one with Hyaluronic Acid for hydrating the skin, another with Vitamin C for brightening and lifting away dead skin cells, and one with Firming Collagen for soothing the skin and smoothing fine line and wrinkles.

Buy Dr. Jart at Sephora, $null

I Dew Care

I Dew Care is another brand that wants you to know they absolutely do care about making your skincare ritual as fun and effective as possible. I Dew Care creates products that are safe for you and the planet, all while playing around with unique textures and tasty scents. This vegan and cruelty-free brand has a super fun array of products, like its Scoop Party Wash-Off Masks and Headband Set, which includes an adorable pink tiara headband thats giving a Princess Peach moment, and three of the brands best-selling masks: a soothing matcha green tea mask to calm skin, a berry mask infused with glycolic acid for revitalizing skin, and a cake-themed, sprinkle wash-off mask that deeply moisturizes skin.

Buy I Dew Care at Ulta, $null

Banila Co

Let me tell you about arguably the best cleansing balm out thereBanila Cos Clean It Zero cleansing balm that takes off your makeup without irritating your skin. Instead, this product melts off your makeup and naturally exfoliates your skin, while also brightening with vitamin C-rich acerola extract. This product is also naturally derived from green tea, giving it a fresh rose scent and even more reason to add it to cart. This powerful cleansing balm comes in other powerful packages, including ones for purifying, revitalizing, and brightening. This cult favorite brand is a classic pick to kickstart your skins inevitable love for K-Beauty.

Buy Banila Co at Soko Glam, $null

Peach & Lily

Peach & Lilys Glass Skin Discovery Set is determined to help you achieve your healthiest skin yet. The brands brightening, hydrating, firming, and calming Glass Skin Serum itself has 4.5 stars and over 3,200 reviews and its included in this essential discovery set thats vegan, clean, cruelty-free and sold with sustainable packaging. Peach & Lily created this daily use set to give you luminous skin on an everyday basis. The brand is also passionate about excluding potentially harmful ingredients, like fragrance, parabens, sulfates, and more.

Buy Peach & Lily at Ulta, $null

Daybird

Newly launched, Daybird is a BIPOC and AAPI-owned brand that dubs themselves The Anti-Beauty Beauty Club, and were all here for the brands philosophy behind its so forward slogan. Daybird is redefining the B worda.k.a. Beautyand encourage its consumers to do the same in encouraging positive relationships with themselves and their images. Instead of using more products and taking so many steps to attempt to achieve societys impossible standards, Daybirds first productits Tinted Skincareis a wonderful 4-in-1 multitasker thats a vegan serum, moisturizer, sheer foundation and mineral SPF 50 sunscreen all in one. The product already has rave reviews, and you can take the brands Skin Quiz to find which shade would work best for you (because skincare should work for younot the other way around).

Buy Daybird at Daybird, $null

Beauty of Joseon

This best-selling Glow Serum from beloved brand Beauty of Joseon has lasted me months and has given months of life back to my skin. Created for acne-prone skin, this serum is formulated with propolis, which is one of the best ingredients out there to help calm and heal troubled skin. My roommate swears by the brands Revive Serum formulated with ginseng and snail mucin, which helps with hyperpigmentation and scarring and gives your skin a healthy and natural glow. You could also give the brands green tea-infused Calming Serum a whirl. Take your pickI bet youll love any of them.

Buy Beauty of Joseon at Soko Glam, $null

Sign up for our newsletter for even more recommendations. Dont forget to check out our coupon site to find apparel deals from L.L.Bean, Lands End, Gap, and 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.
Biden administration reveals plan to train Ukraine pilots on F-16s, 'will decide' when, who will provide jets

The United States will support a joint effort to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter planes and support an international effort to procure warplanes for Ukraine as part of underscoring a commitment to the country's defense.

A senior administration official told reporters as "the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide and who will provide them." The program will include training on F-16s among other fighter planes, with the program set to take place over the coming months at sites in Europe.

"We hope we can begin this training in the coming weeks," the official said, adding that this program, which aims to improve Ukraines air force capabilities, reflects "our long-term commitment to Ukraines self-defense."

"To date, the United States and our allies and partners have focused on providing Ukraine with the vast majority of the systems, weapons and training it requires to conduct offensive operations this spring and summer," the official explained.

UKRAINE SHOOTS DOWN 29 OF 30 MISSILES AFTER RUSSIA LAUNCHES YET ANOTHER BARRAGE ON KYIV

An F-16 fighter jet takes part in a NATO air shielding exercise near an air base in Lask, central Poland, Nov. 12, 2022.

"Together with the short-term and medium-term security assistance packages we are providing Ukraine, President Biden is sending a powerful signal of how the United States and our allies and partners are fully united in ensuring Ukraine remains sovereign, independent and secure with the ability to defend against and deter future attacks."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the news on Twitter, calling it a "historic decision" that will "greatly enhance our army in the sky."

WILL RUSSIAN WARLORD CHALLENGE PUTIN IN 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION?

The delivery of fourth-generation fighters to Ukraine has remained a contentious issue since the early days of Russias invasion as Russian drones and fighters rained down missiles and attacks across the country.

The Biden administration has resisted calls to provide F-16s and other similarly advanced warplanes to Ukraine as Western leaders grappled with how to help the Ukrainian forces bolster their strength without giving Russia the appearance of directly involving themselves in the conflict.

President Biden, left, walks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral during an unannounced visit in Kyiv Feb. 20, 2023.

Instead, the U.S. may simply allow allies that have F-16s to send their own jets to Ukraine instead, Politico reported. European governments and a bipartisan push from U.S. lawmakers may have finally pushed Biden to consider alternatives.

Documents leaked from the Pentagon last month suggested that a huge influx of arms was needed to maintain Ukraines position as Russias air force aimed to change the course of the war, The New York Times reported.

The same report assessed Ukraines air defense capabilities would be "completely reduced" by May 23, which would strain defense systems deeper in the country.

Ukrainian pilots have urged the U.S. Congress to provide fourth-generation warplanes, with two pilots making an in-person appeal for the delivery of advanced warplanes.

SOUTH KOREA SIGNS $130M FINANCIAL PACKAGE FOR UKRAINE

(L to R) European Council President Charles Michel, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pay a visit to Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima island, near Hiroshima, during the G-7 Summit leaders' meeting May 19, 2023.

"They're sending their attack jets and helicopters at low altitudes through the front lines to attack our war-fighters in the trenches," a pilot identified only by his call sign "Juice" explained during his June 2022 appeal. "We need to react, we need to intercept them. We need to save the lives of our citizens and ground troops."

Around the same time, Col. Rob Swertfager of the California Air National Guard said Ukrainian pilots were "100 percent" capable of flying fourth-generation planes.

"The Ukraine air force has the pilot corps to fly these types of advanced aircraft," Col. Rob Swertfager said. "The Ukrainian pilots are fantastic. I've flown with every air force in Europe  especially their regional partners.

"The Ukrainians are so undervalued and underappreciated. Which is exactly why I think they're winning the war because everybody underestimated that they were way better than anybody gave them credit for."

Fox News Digital's Caitlin McFall and Fox News' Kaitlin Sprague contributed to this report.
Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune.

The Waukegan Generating Station on Lake Michigan, owned by NRG Energy and shown in 2018, is ringed by ash ponds. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)

As energy companies shift away from burning coal to generate electricity, many are leaving behind toxic waste that could endanger public health and the environment for years to come.

New regulations proposed by the Biden administration would expand the number of coal ash dumps subject to federal oversight, a change intended to prevent spills that during the past decade wreaked havoc near power plants in North Carolina and Tennessee.

Advertisement

One of the sites that would come under federal oversight is the NRG Energy-owned Waukegan Generating Station on Lake Michigan, a former ComEd coal plant ringed by two unlined ash ponds and an unlicensed landfill. Another is a Joliet quarry where ComEd and other companies dumped coal ash until NRG Energy overhauled a nearby coal plant in 2016 to burn natural gas.

[ Waukegan residents fighting decades of industrial pollution: Just because something isnt perfect doesnt mean you abandon it. ]

Ten Illinois ash dumps pose a danger to the drinking water supplies of nearby communities, including the Joliet site and ash pits surrounding another NRG coal plant along the Des Plaines River in Romeoville. Another site that threatens Lake Michigan is a coal plant in Michigan City, Indiana, owned by the Northern Indiana Public Service Co., which has planned to excavate and safely dispose of only half of its waste.

Advertisement

EPA Administrator Michael Regan noted that many of the leaking ash dumps are in or near low-income, predominantly Black or Latino communities.

We are hopeful this rule will hold these industries accountable and send a message that community members and taxpayers will no longer be responsible to clean up their mess, said Dulce Ortiz, co-chair of the Waukegan-based group Clean Power Lake County. We all deserve healthy communities and environments that our families and future generations can enjoy.

The Biden proposal, unveiled last week by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, would replace Obama-era rules thrown out by a federal court and even weaker standards adopted during the Trump administration.

If the latest version survives political and legal challenges, it would require more protective measures from companies in Republican-controlled states such as Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. It also would add the prospect of federal enforcement in Illinois and other states that in recent years adopted regulations intended to force the cleanup of largely unlined dumps leaching pollution into lakes and rivers.

[ Toxic waste left behind by coal-fired power plants could endanger drinking water for years to come ]

Despite well-documented dangers, dumps surrounding about 250 coal plants are regulated far more loosely than household garbage landfills. Environmental groups that sued the EPA demanding tougher rules welcomed the Biden administrations proposal as a major step forward but noted it would still exempt some coal ash dumps from federal oversight.

The EPA is taking significant steps to address a massive loophole that let many coal plant owners off the hook from cleaning up the toxic mess they created, said Lisa Evans, senior counsel at the nonprofit Earthjustice legal organization. Power plants will finally lose their hall pass to leave coal ash wherever they dumped it.

It took a federal court order to nudge the EPA to submit a new version of the regulations. Under the proposal, energy companies would be required to monitor their ash dumps and, in many cases, clean them up.

Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

Most of the waste in Illinois has been mixed with water and pumped into unlined pits, where testing shows harmful levels of arsenic, chromium, lead and other heavy metals are steadily oozing through the ground toward lakes and rivers, including the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River, the states only national scenic river.

Advertisement

After decades of scant oversight, Illinois in 2021 adopted its own regulations that require coal ash dumps to be sealed or excavated.

It appears our rules are just as strong, if not stronger than the Biden EPAs proposal, said Andrew Rehn, senior water resources engineer at the Champaign-based Prairie Rivers Network, one of the nonprofit groups that has been pushing for years to clean up the pollution.

Clout-heavy utilities and coal companies blocked several attempts during the 1990s and 2000s to classify coal ash as hazardous waste. Energy companies further delayed action by challenging regulations adopted by the Obama administration in 2015 and persuading the Trump administration to propose a weaker alternative in 2020.

Regan, who led North Carolinas environmental agency before joining the Biden administration, helped broker a multibillion-dollar settlement with Duke Energy after major spills of coal ash from two of the companys power plants.

Earthen berms are the only thing holding back coal ash at many of the sites nationwide. In 2008, 5.4 million cubic yards of waste poured into rivers near the Tennessee Valley Authoritys Kingston Fossil Plant after a dike failed. The disaster prompted Earthjustice and other groups to call for the removal of coal ash from every other site, something that could finally start happening if the new federal regulations are adopted.

mhawthorne@chicagotribune.com
FILE PHOTO: Lengths of pipe wait to be laid in the ground along the under-construction Mountain Valley Pipeline near Elliston

By Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration has supported for the second time in a week the Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline, a project a key Democratic senator has pushed in legislation to speed permitting of fossil fuel and power transmission projects.

Equitrans Midstream Corp's $6.6 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline has been opposed by environmental activists, but has won the backing of Biden administration officials, including Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. She has said the United States must concentrate on energy security as well as the transition to renewable energy.

"The Bureau of Land management (BLM) today issued a Record of Decision for the Mountain Valley Pipeline," the office, part of the Department of Interior, said in a release. "The BLM is moving forward with the next step, processing the revised right-of-way application for the project."

A BLM official said in an interview that the legal decision on the right of way had been made but not sent to the company yet. As part of the decision, the company cannot start construction until it receives remaining federal and state permits, the official said.

Senator Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat from West Virginia, has introduced a bill to speed fossil fuel and transmission line projects to transport power from renewable projects. His bill calls on the Biden administration to approve the pipeline that would run through his state. Manchin's legislation is one of several proposals in Congress on permitting.

The pipeline, which would unlock gas supplies from Appalachia, the country's biggest shale gas basin, still needs review and permitting including in West Virginia. The project could still be held up or blocked by lawsuits from opponents.

Manchin said the BLM move was "the next step in the process to finally complete this vital piece of energy infrastructure that will strengthen our energy and national security, boost the economy in West Virginia and benefit the entire nation by bringing more than 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas online daily that will help power homes and businesses."

The U.S. Forest Service on Tuesday issued a permit allowing the pipeline to run through the Jefferson National Forest straddling Virginia and West Virginia.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
F-16 jets during a flyby over Nationals Park stadium in Washington, DC on March 30, 2023

US President Joe Biden told G7 leaders that Washington will support providing advanced warplanes including F-16s to Ukraine and will back efforts to train Kyiv's pilots, a senior White House official said Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is set to attend the G7 summit in Japan, hailed the move on Twitter as a "historic decision," adding that he looked forward to "discussing the practical implementation" of the plan in Hiroshima.

The US move signals a major breakthrough for Kyiv, which has repeatedly -- and until recently unsuccessfully -- pushed its Western supporters to agree to provide high-tech jets as it fights to fend off Russia's more than year-long invasion.

Biden said the United States "will support a joint effort with our allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s, to further strengthen and improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force," the official said.

"As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them."

Momentum has been building for providing high-tech warplanes to Ukraine, but US support is especially key, as it legally has to approve the reexport of equipment purchased by allies, including F-16 jets.

Earlier this week, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte pledged to build an "international coalition" to provide fighter jet support for Ukraine.

After visiting Sunak at his Chequers country estate outside London on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was "very positive" about creating a "jets coalition" in his country's war with Russia.

Sunak said Monday that the UK was preparing to open a flight school to train Ukrainian pilots, and French President Emmanuel Macron also offered to do so but ruled out sending war planes to Kyiv.

Previously, US opposition to providing advanced jets centered around the long timeline and high price of doing so, with officials saying there were more cost-effective means to boost Kyiv's air defenses.

- 'Psychological significance' -

Last month, top US military officer General Mark Milley argued that ground-based defenses were a better option.

"The task is to control the airspace. How you control that airspace can be done in many, many different ways," he told journalists in Germany.

"The most cost effective, efficient... way to do that right now for Ukraine and the fastest way to do that for Ukraine is through air defense. They've been doing it for over a year now," Milley said.

But F-16s appear likely to join the list of other advanced systems such as Western tanks and long-range weaponry that Ukraine's supporters have agreed to provide after initial reluctance.

Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said ahead of the White House official's comment that F-16s are "very expensive and aren't going to radically change the balance of power."

But he also noted that they have "psychological significance" at this point due to Zelensky's repeated requests for the aircraft.

The United States has spearheaded the push for international support for Ukraine, quickly forging an international coalition to back Kyiv after Russia invaded in February 2022 and coordinating aid from dozens of countries.

Total international military assistance for Kyiv is in the tens of billions of dollars, with the United States the lead donor.

In addition to hundreds of tanks and other armored vehicles, assistance for Kyiv has included a number of air defense systems, precision rocket launchers, artillery pieces, and a wide variety of ammunition, among other items.

The United States has also trained 11 Ukrainian battalions -- some 6,100 troops -- in combined arms operations and 4,000 on individual systems.

More than two dozen other countries are also involved in the training effort, which has instructed a total of more than 52,000 Ukrainian troops so far.

bur-wd/des
F-16 jets during a flyby over Nationals Park stadium in Washington, DC on March 30, 2023

US President Joe Biden told G7 leaders that Washington will support providing advanced warplanes including F-16s to Ukraine and will back efforts to train Kyiv's pilots, a senior White House official said Friday.

The US move signals a major breakthrough for Kyiv, which has repeatedly -- and until recently unsuccessfully -- pushed its Western supporters to agree to provide high-tech jets as it fights to fend off Russia's invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky -- who is set to meet Biden during the G7 summit in Japan -- hailed the move as a "historic decision," adding that he looked forward to "discussing the practical implementation" of the plan in Hiroshima.

Biden said the United States "will support a joint effort with our allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s, to further strengthen and improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force," according to the official.

"As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them."

The UK, Belgium, and the Netherlands welcomed the decision.

"The UK will work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted, adding: "We stand united."

Denmark's acting defense minister Troels Lund Poulsen said it "will now be able to move forward for a collective contribution to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s."

Zelensky's chief of staff said the Ukrainian president and Biden would discuss a series of topics when they meet in Japan, including the international fighter jet coalition, thanks to which Kyiv "will very soon have everything it needs to protect our skies, our cities and our citizens."

Momentum has been building for providing high-tech warplanes to Ukraine, but US support is key, as it legally has to approve the re-export of US equipment purchased by allies, including F-16 jets.

- 'Psychological significance' -

Earlier this week, Sunak and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte pledged to build an "international coalition" to provide fighter jet support for Ukraine, a move Zelensky described as "very positive."

Sunak said Monday that the UK was preparing to open a flight school to train Ukrainian pilots, and French President Emmanuel Macron also offered to do so but ruled out sending warplanes to Kyiv.

Previously, US opposition to providing advanced jets centered around the long timeline and high price, with officials saying there were more cost-effective means to boost Kyiv's air defenses.

Last month, top US military officer General Mark Milley argued that ground-based defenses were a better option.

"The task is to control the airspace," he told journalists in Germany.

"The fastest way to do that for Ukraine is through air defense."

But F-16s appear likely to join the list of other advanced systems such as Western tanks and long-range weaponry that Ukraine's supporters have agreed to provide after initial reluctance.

Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said ahead of the White House official's comment that F-16s are "very expensive and aren't going to radically change the balance of power."

But he also noted that they have "psychological significance" due to Zelensky's repeated requests.

The United States has spearheaded the push for international support for Ukraine, quickly forging a coalition to back Kyiv after Russia invaded in February 2022 and coordinating aid from dozens of countries.

Total international military assistance for Kyiv is in the tens of billions of dollars, with the United States the lead donor.

In addition to hundreds of tanks and other armored vehicles, assistance for Kyiv has included air defense systems, precision rocket launchers, artillery pieces, and a wide variety of ammunition.

The United States has also trained 11 Ukrainian battalions -- some 6,100 troops -- in combined arms operations and 4,000 on individual systems.

More than two dozen other countries are also involved in the training effort, which has provided instruction to more than 52,000 Ukrainian troops so far.

aue-wd/st/md
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) delivers keynote remarks at an event hosted by Peoria County Republicans in Peoria, Ill. on Friday, May 12, 2023. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida all but declared his presidential candidacy Thursday afternoon, telling donors and supporters on a call that only three credible candidates were in the race and that only he would be able to win both the Republican primary and the general election.

You have basically three people at this point that are credible in this whole thing, DeSantis told donors on the call, organized by the super PAC supporting him, Never Back Down. Biden, Trump and me. And I think of those three, two have a chance to get elected president  Biden and me, based on all the data in the swing states, which is not great for the former president and probably insurmountable because people arent going to change their view of him.

The call, to which a New York Times reporter listened, came as the governor is expected to officially enter the presidential race next week, according to three people familiar with his intentions.

Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times

DeSantis is expected to file paperwork declaring his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission before a major fundraising meeting with donors in Miami on May 25 that is meant to act as a show of his financial force. He must formally enter the race before he can solicit donations for his presidential campaign.

He is also likely to release a video to coincide with his official entrance into the race, and a blitz of events in the early nominating states will follow in the weeks ahead, according to one of the people. The Wall Street Journal first reported that DeSantis would file the paperwork next week.

During the donor call, DeSantis did not mention his battle with The Walt Disney Co., which Thursday pulled out of a $1 billion office development project in Orlando. And he spent little time discussing divisive cultural subjects on the call, which included many business officials who do not favor his aggressive stances on those issues.

He said the attitude of Republican voters amounted to, Weve got to win this time. And while he praised Trumps policies, he said that Biden had undone many of them.

The corporate media wants Trump to be the nominee, DeSantis said, adding that journalists, other candidates and two presidents had targeted him with criticism.

DeSantis quoted a voter he had talked with at an event in Iowa as saying, You know, Trump was somebody, we liked his policies but we didnt like his values. And with you, we like your policies but also know that you share our values.

And DeSantis described his efforts to help the party, noting that Trump and other Republicans had repeatedly attacked him. There are some that kind of raise money just for themselves, he said, an unmistakable jab at Trump, who was criticized during the midterm elections for sitting on a large pile of cash in his political action committee and not doing enough to help others.

He also boasted of his successful visit to Des Moines, Iowa, over the weekend after Trump canceled his own rally in the area, citing a tornado watch.

DeSantis talked with pride about the Florida legislative session and the states budget, walking through a list of items that he was happy to have accomplished on environmental issues and education. He described a great body of work and said he would not cede any issues to the left.

He did not take questions and was the only person who spoke on the call. But he suggested that his ability to respond to what he described as months of attacks would soon change, a veiled reference to becoming a candidate.

When we say were going to do something, we do it, and get it done, DeSantis said of his approach in the state, an indirect contrast with Trump, whom some Republicans have criticized for unfinished work when he was president.

DeSantis suggested that Trump had leaned too heavily on executive action instead of helping push measures through Congress, and pointed to his own work during legislative sessions in Florida as a contrast.

DeSantis, who was a Navy officer during the Iraq War, noted that he would be the only veteran in the race. And he drew a distinction in another area of Trumps record, one that harks back to DeSantis time as a congressman elected the cycle after the Tea Party wave of 2010, when the focus was on limiting government spending.

Certainly in the Trump administration, there wasnt the emphasis on curtailing spending that there was during the Tea Party era, he said. The comment was notable given that a week earlier, Trump had argued at a CNN town-hall event for letting the country default on the debt ceiling. House Republicans and Biden have been in weekslong deadlock on whether to raise the debt limit.

At another point, DeSantis was blunt, saying, I think the voters want to move on from Biden, adding, They just want a vehicle they can get behind but theres just too many voters that dont view Trump as that vehicle.

DeSantis also talked about the release of his book, The Courage to Be Free, and his book tour, including that the book had been on the New York Times bestseller list for several weeks.

He provided his supporters with statistics, saying he had sold 95,000 copies in his first week, compared with 60,000 for Barack Obamas book before he became president and 80,000 for Hillary Rodham Clintons memoir before she became a candidate in the 2016 cycle. (Those numbers are roughly in line with the true totals.)

The volume of his sales was not normal for people in elected office who write books, he said, adding, For us to exceed both of those, I think, is really, really significant.

DeSantis, however, was dealt a potential political blow with Disneys Thursday pullout of the Orlando development project, which would have brought more than 2,000 jobs to the region. The move highlighted the ongoing fallout of his targeting of Disney after the companys CEO at the time criticized Florida legislation to restrict instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools.

Trump is running roughly 30 percentage points ahead of DeSantis in national polling averages, but the Florida governor would be the strongest Republican challenger to join the field so far. DeSantis told the people on the call that he did not put much stock in those polls, saying that he had started as an underdog in past races and that the polls before his reelection in 2022 showed a much smaller margin of victory than he ended up with.

He is likely to start with more money in an outside group than any Republican primary candidate in history. He has more than $80 million expected to be transferred from his state account to his super PAC, which has also raised more than $30 million, in addition to having tens of millions more in donor commitments, according to people familiar with the fundraising.

DeSantis also has a long series of conservative policy accomplishments that he shepherded through Floridas Republican-dominated Legislature after his landslide reelection last year. And he has gathered a large number of endorsements from state legislators in Iowa and New Hampshire, who can be influential in primary elections, as well as from those in his own state.

Still, taking on Trump, whom Republicans rallied behind after he was indicted in New York, is a tall order. While the former president savages him daily, DeSantis needs to engage in a delicate dance.

To win, he must appeal to the large numbers of Republican primary voters who like Trump but may be ready to move on from a candidate who lost in 2020 and continues to repeat false claims about that election. Doing so requires DeSantis to differentiate himself from Trump without criticizing him so aggressively that he risks offending those Trump-friendly voters.

It is possible that DeSantis could pivot his plans at the last minute, and it is still unclear where or when he might hold a formal rally announcing his candidacy.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
President Joe Biden has told G7 leaders that the United States would support providing fighter jets, including American-made F-16 jets, senior administration officials said.

Mr Biden is currently in Japan for a G7 summit, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calling the decision one that would greatly enhance our army in the sky.

Ukrainian officials had said they needed up to 200 jets to push back against Russias aggression, which is thought to be five to six times the size of Ukraines.

The Biden administrations decision means that other countries can now export their F-16 jets since the United States must legally approve if its allies want to re-export equipment they purchased.

The administration official said that the United States would support a joint effort with our allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s, to further strengthen and improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force.

As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them, the official said.

The United States has previously hesitated to provide Ukraine with fighter jets after Russia invaded the nation early last year.

The UK will work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs, United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted. He added that the UK would set up a flight school to train Ukrainian pilots.

Mr Zelensky has stressed the need for F-16 jets, which can travel at twice the speed of sound and can engage with targets both in the air and on the ground.

But some allies have worried that sending jets to Ukraine would be seen as escalating the war and risking direct conflict with Russia.
Leopards are shy creatures but can venture into human habitats for food

Manisha Singh cannot forget the day her six-year-old daughter, Yashi, was attacked by a leopard.

"I saw the animal come into our front yard, grab my daughter and run. That was the last time I saw her alive."

Ms Singh found her daughter several hours later in a sugarcane field near their house in Moosepur, a small village in Uttar Pradesh state's Bijnor district. Yashi was already dead by then.

The attack was just one of many in Bijnor. In the past three months, seven people have died due to leopard attacks in the district. Five of these attacks took place in the span of just eight days, between 19 and 26 April - and increased fear and panic across villages in the district.

Forest officials say that leopard attacks aren't uncommon in the area but that there has been a sudden rise in recent weeks.

"The attacks have also become extremely aggressive," says Mahesh Chand Gautam, a forest official. "But why that is happening now is yet to be ascertained."

"We need to find out the circumstances under which the human attacks took place. What time of the day, who the victims are, and what situations they were in at the time of the attack," says NVK Ashraf, chief veterinarian for the Wildlife Trust of India.

Yashi, 6, was killed by a leopard in April

Leopards are shy animals, but over the years, there have been several instances of them venturing into villages and cities in search of prey as their habitats shrink.

They are a common sight in Bijnor - a lush region which has a combination of grasslands, wetlands and dense forest, all of which offer natural habitat to the big cats, says Mr Ashraf.

"Leopards can live in a mosaic of forested areas and agricultural fields and are very adaptable," he adds.

It is difficult to estimate their numbers accurately in Bijnor, but forest officials say that the population has been rising steadily.

Mr Ashraf says expansive sugarcane crops in the area - spread across thousands of acres - provides sufficient cover for the animals to hide and hunt prey.

"This allows leopards to breed more, leading to a rise in their population," he says.

But experts also say that humans have encroached into spaces that the big cats have occupied for years, forcing the animal to stray into their settlements.

"The leopard considers the sugarcane fields as its habitat. So when people work on these crops, it creates a chance for an attack," Mr Gautam says.

Anish Andheria, president of the Wildlife Conservation Trust, says the attacks could be the result of the depleting habitat of the leopards.

"When large carnivores start living beside humans, their behaviour will then change over generations. They will think of humans as part and parcel of their ecosystems, considering them to be prey," he says.

It is rare for leopards to attack humans but Mr Ashraf says that there can be cases where the animal turns into a "man-eater" - not because it has tasted human blood, which is the popular but erroneous notion, but because humans are easier prey.

"The leopard may be incapable of hunting - either a damaged canine or an impaired claw, that may lead to it attacking what it considers is easier prey," he says.

Forest officials have placed cages in the area

People in Bijnor say that earlier, when they spotted the big cats in the fields, they would not feel scared. But the recent attacks have changed that.

Locals now avoid working alone in the fields, and many have asked their children not to step out of their homes.

"We always carry sticks with us to defend ourselves," says Faiyaz, a resident.

Officials have stepped up efforts to capture the animals, setting up several trap cages around the site of the attacks. "So far we have captured 10 leopards," says AK Singh, the forest official deputed of the district.

The leopards were released in the Amangarh forest reserve area, about 20km (12 miles) from the villages where the attacks took place.

Forest officials say that this exercise helped in bringing down attacks in the past.

They have also issued advised villagers to work in groups to lessen the chance of an attack. "We also asked them to avoid sitting in fields while working because the leopards might consider them prey," Mr Gautam says.

As efforts to capture the leopards continue, fear lingers in Bijnor.

In Moosepur village, Yashi's father Tekchand prepares to go to sell his produce at a nearby market.

"There is terror in the villages," he says. "I have to be back before sunset to ensure my family is safe."

BBC News India is now on YouTube. Click here to subscribe and watch our documentaries, explainers and features.

Read more India stories from the BBC:
Black hospital worker almost shot by police in mass-shooting drill patients and authorities thought was real

The two employees are detained during the unannounced drill (ClickOnDetroit)

A Black hospital worker is suing his employer after he was almost shot by police during a mass-shooting drill that both patients, staff and authorities believed was a real attack.

Brandon Woodruff, a 32-year-old labourer, was asked to pose as a gunman as part of an active-shooter drill at the Hawthorn Center psychiatric hospital in Northville Township, Michigan, on 21 December 2022.

Though skeptical, Mr Woodruff and a second colleague  a white male  agreed.

While a description matching their appearances would be read out over the tanoy as two shooters armed with AR-15s in the facility, they would then walk through the building and check if people were following active shooting protocol.

What they didnt know was that the hospital bosses had failed to inform the staff, patients or the local police that they would be carrying out the drill.

When the drill unfolded with Mr Woodruff playing his part as asked, several people placed terrified 911 calls and heavily armed police officers responded to the scene.

The 32-year-old was handcuffed, detained and forced to lie on the ground while officers trained their firearms on him.

Terrified, he called his pregnant wife on his smartwatch to speak to her in what he feared could be his last moments alive.

Now, Mr Woodruff, several other employees and two sets of parents of child patients have filed multiple civil lawsuits against the Michigan state health department and against four hospital officials including the hospital director, director of training and data improvement, physical plant supervisor and safety coordinator, and the human resources manager and case manager.

In the lawsuits, Mr Woodruff claims that only the hospitals supervisors were warned about the drill in advance and they were told not to relay the information to any other staff or patients.

Mr Woodruff told the Detroit Free Press that the alert went out over the system reporting two active shooters  one Black male, one white male, both dressed in winter clothing and armed with AR-15s.

The two employees are detained during the unannounced drill (ClickOnDetroit)

Over the next 10 to 15 minutes, he said he and his colleague walked through the building separately before reuniting again.

There was one moment where he said it dawned on him that some of the people inside the hospital didnt seem to realise it was only a drill.

He saw one woman sprinting like she ran for her dear life and then came across another room where the desperate occupants had used mattresses and chairs to try to barricade the doors.

It was one particular room that drew me off guard, and I was on one of the living areas. It was the way it was barricaded, he told the local paper.

I had an uneasy feeling, like maybe these kids think this is real. Im gonna like leave them alone in this area.

They probably a little scared and not know whats going on. So, I just left that area and just continued.

Meanwhile, unbeknown to him, several people were desperately calling 911 and texting their loved ones in fear for their lives.

One 911 caller begged the dispatcher please, please, please, help me.

The Northville Township Police Department confirmed in a press release at the time that officers from Northville Township, the City of Northville, City of Livonia and Michigan State Police all responded to the Hawthorn Center that morning to reports of an active threat incident.

The lawsuit states that around 50 officers descended on the facility.

Mr Woodruff said he had no idea law enforcement was there until he walked outside and heard shouting to get down.

Im hearing yelling, Get down  and Im like I dont know what the hells happening, he told the Free Press.

The police is here. Why are they here?

He quickly complied with the officers commands, lying down on the concrete with his hands out trying to figure out whats going on.

While he lay there, Mr Woodruff says he heard the safeties come off the police officers weapons and was scared for his life, the lawsuit claims.

He said he and his colleague were searched and handcuffed for at least 30 minutes before authorities confirmed it was an unannounced drill and let them go.

Mr Woodruff said he has been left traumatised and suffers from anxiety, fear, depression and even suicidal ideation from the experience and now struggles to go to work at the psychiatric hospital each day.

In the aftermath, he claims counseling on offer wasnt useful and he was later denied a request for mental health treatment. He has been forced to miss work due to the trauma, he claims.

Meanwhile, some of the child psychiatric patients had to be sedated in the aftermath of the incident, ClickOnDetroit reported.

Besides the lawsuits, the Michigan Attorney Generals Office is investigating the incident.
Black women are creating their own narratives. Black entrepreneur Olaronke Akinmowo started Free Black Womens Library, a free library located in Brooklyns Bed-Stuy neighborhood. She said that she started this initiative to shed light on Black women authors.

Inside Akinmowos Archival Space

Free Black Womens Library features comic books, zines, journals and recorded novels. Akinmowo started the literary establishment as a cultural phenomenon filled with gems.

The genres include young adult novels, womanist fiction, memoirs and poetry. In an interview with TimeOut, she expressed that she wanted to salute the minds of Black women and nonbinary writers. Akinmowo told the publication that the library was her outlet, and she wanted guests to feel centered when visiting her space. As a child, the library enlightened her consciousness and left her feeling inspired to open a center for her community.

How She Got Started

Photo credit: Thought Catalog

Akinmowo started her collection with 100 books written by Black women. Akinmowos agenda started on the stoop of a Bed-Stuy brownstone. She also would travel with novels in her suitcase. During her travels, she would place books in public areas and engage in conversations and with the New York community.

She hosts over 6000 books written by Black women and Black non-binary authors and wanted to change the negative stereotypes Black women face in the media.

How the Library Works

Photo credit: cottonbro studio

Instead of renting books for a fee, Akinmowo implements a trading system with customers. In order to take a book home, she requires visitors to bring a book written by Black women or nonbinary novelists, then exchange it at no cost. Shes traded thousands of books with a multitude of people since she started this journey.

The Black business woman also uses her space for workshops, film screenings and author features. The library serves everyone. However, Akinmowo specifically welcomes Black women to come and heal in her communal center.

The post This Black Woman Opened A Free Library In Brooklyn appeared first on 21Ninety.
Body of Marine vet who went missing in Ukraine in 2022 returns home

The remains of a Marine veteran who disappeared while fighting in Ukraine in April 2022 and was declared dead a year later will be returned to his family Friday.

The Weatherman Foundation, an organization focused on protecting children, democracy and human rights globally, spent months tracking down the remains of retired Marine Capt. Grady Kurpasi, 50, according to co-founder Andrew Duncan.

A network of Weatherman-funded operators and investigators in Ukraine searched for Kurpasis burial plot, ultimately confirming its location with the aid of a drone, Duncan said.

There is an unspoken bond between those who serve in uniform  if you give your life in combat, your fellow Americans will bear any burden to bring you home, Meaghan Mobbs, the foundations president and an Army veteran, said in the Weatherman news release.

More than a year after Kurpasi disappeared in southern Ukraine, his remains will be flown on Friday into New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport. Thats the same airport that Kurpasi flew into as an infant getting adopted from Korea, according to Duncan.

Kurpasi enlisted in the Marine Corps as a 29-year-old after the 9/11 attacks, a Weatherman news release stated. An infantry assaultman who ultimately became a scout sniper, he deployed three times to Iraq.

Kurpasi attended UCLA through an enlisted-to-officer commissioning program and received a prestigious Pat Tillman Foundation scholarship, awarded to service members, veterans and military spouses. He became an infantry officer, according to a GoFundMe fundraiser set up for his family, and retired in September 2021.

His awards included the Good Conduct Medal three times, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal three times, the Purple Heart Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, among other awards, CNN reported.

Kurpasi arrived in Ukraine in February 2022 to train soldiers and help with evacuations, according to a Weatherman news release Wednesday. Motivated by the atrocities he witnessed, he decided to remain in the country and fight as part of the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, the release stated.

He was last seen on April 26, 2022, when he went with British citizen Andrew Hill, a to investigate the source of gunfire, The Washington Post reported. They radioed to their team that they were under fire.

Hill was captured by Russian forces and charged with being a mercenary, though he was released months later, according to Reuters.

In July 2022, The Washington Post reported that Kurpasis wife and friends were frustrated with what they saw as a lack of urgency by the State Department in investigating the disappearance.

The State Department, which has tried to discourage Americans from volunteering in Ukraine, did not respond by time of publication to a Marine Corps Times request for comment.

The Weatherman Foundation became involved in trying to find Kurpasi in August 2022, according to Duncan. The Marine vets disappearance hit home for Mobbs, in large part because she is a fellow Tillman scholar.

After the foundation conducted online research and identified sites where Kurpasi may have been ambushed, the case went cold in December, according to Duncan.

In January, however, Mobbs and her father  who happens to be retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg  met with an American veteran serving in Ukraine in a safehouse in Kharki, Duncan stated. That veteran mentioned to Mobbs a few days later via encrypted message that he had the coordinates of where Kurpasi may have been buried.

In the next few months, the Weatherman Foundation coordinated and funded efforts to find Kurpasis remains.

Using a drone, a Weatherman-funded team on April 4 found an apparent burial site near Stanislav, in the Kherson Oblast. Investigators found that there was equipment with Kurpasis name plate and clothing consistent with his last known outfit, according to Duncan.

A DNA test confirmed the following day that the remains buried there belonged to Kurpasi, according to Duncan. The foundation notified Kurpasis widow that day.

The State Department confirmed Kurpasis death in an April 12 statement to Marine Corps Times.

There are now at least five Marine veterans, including Kurpasi, who have died volunteering in Ukraine.

Cooper Harris Andrews, 26, was killed in April; his mother told CNN that he was hit by a mortar, likely while helping civilians evacuate Bakhmut, Ukraine.

Former Cpl. Pete Reed, 33, was killed in February in Bakhmut, Ukraine, reportedly while administering medical aid to civilians.

Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, was killed in April 2022. He was the first known death of a U.S. citizen fighting in Ukraine.

Kurpasis remains were moved to the Ukrainian city of Odessa, then to Moldova, Turkey and finally to the United States, Duncan said. After a brief ceremony at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday evening, a private jet will transport the remains to his family in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Kurpasi is survived not only by his wife but also by his 14-year-old daughter, according to the GoFundMe set up for his family.

Our family is deeply grateful to the Weatherman Foundation for their tireless efforts to find our beloved Gradys remains and to bring him home to us, Heeson Kim, Kurpasis wife, said in the Weatherman news release.

Duncan emphasized to Marine Corps Times that Kurpasi, already a Purple Heart recipient, gave his life to protect the children of Ukraine from the violence wrought upon them by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Its humbling, and its the honor of a lifetime, to help his family bring his remains home, Duncan told Marine Corps Times. He is the definition of a great American.
Kava bars are an exciting non-alcoholic arrival to cities like Austin, Brooklyn, and more.

Getty Images

More Americans than ever before are embracing non-alcoholic versions of their favorite ready-to-drink beverages (RTDs), beers, wines, and spirits. No longer just a Dry January trend, innovative booze-free tipples are lining store shelves year-round. Many of these non-alcoholic drinks brands are targeting wellness-minded consumers by adding ingredients like nootropics and adaptogens  substances that claim to boost your mood and reduce stress  to their products in an effort to provide a booze-free buzz.

Perhaps no such beverage has exploded in popularity stateside recently as much as kava, a Polynesian plant root historically drunk like tea during religious and ceremonial occasions. The beverage is said to relax the body and calm the mind, just the sort of legal high many folks are looking for. Its commonly sold in smoke shops alongside hemp products and kratom, a medicinal extract native to Thailand that behaves like a stimulant in small doses and a sedative in larger doses.

Most recently, a slew of kava bars have popped up across the country, from Brooklyn to Austin and beyond. You dont have many places where people can socialize without alcohol and drunk people, says Vanuatu Kava Industry Association (VKIA) chairman Michael Louze. Kava bars are beginning to fill that gap. But while they offer non-drinkers and sober-curious folks the opportunity to comfortably commune in third places, they may also inadvertently perpetuate stereotypes and misinformation about kava.

According to Todd Henry, who co-owns online kava shop The Kava Society and New Zealands Four Shells Kava Lounge with his wife, Anau, American kava bars that serve the kava root mixed with flavorings like chocolate and fruit juice, or add it to the sedative effects of kratom, misrepresent kava culture entirely. In Tonga, enjoying kava is a way to commune and wind down at the end of the day; Getting messed up, Henry says, is not the point.

In the Pacific Islands, kava is almost always served by itself. Embracing its bitter, earthy flavors serve as an opportunity for communities to reconnect with the ancestral land. Kava bars that attempt to cover up these tastes with juices and syrups, Henry says, are simply missing the point. I think kava should taste like kava, he says. Just like getting a tattoo should hurt, kava should be bitter.

Though theres nothing traditional about the concept of kava bars themselves, Henry feels there are ways for these spaces to show respect for the culture surrounding this ancient plant. Four Shells does so by making kava the centerpiece of the menu and hosting talanoa events  Pacific Island-style conversations marked by mutual respect and reciprocity. Here, folks can stay for a shell (the traditional coconut cups used for kava) or take some to go: Its an acceptable, non-traditional way of serving and consuming kava, Henry says.

Others arent so sure that kavas earthy profile can appeal to the Western drinker without added flavorings. According to Brenden Silverman, co-founder of RTD kava brand Leilo, catering to the American drinkers palate is essential to increasing kavas popularity and name-recognition worldwide. The whole concept of Leilo is finding a way to take this amazing, functional experience in a [direction] that the mass market can enjoy.

Silverman stresses that drinks like Leilo  which are infused with bright, fruity flavors that can mask the polarizing flavor kava is known for  are not meant to replace kava in its natural form. Instead, the drinks act as a gateway into the greater world of kava, a notion supported by many of the nations top kava bars who stock the canned concoction. What kava bars like using us the most for is as a way to get people interested in kava in the first place, he notes. Once folks experience the calming effects of the drink through an approachable medium like Leilo, they may be more likely to explore the wider world of kava.

Louze, who is based in Vanuatu, says he takes no issue with people adding flavorings to kava. The farmers here just want to sell kava  this is our economy, he notes. Mixing it with any flavor could only help customers to love kava, he says, which will ultimately benefit the larger kava community.

Still, its impossible to ignore the misinformation promoted by some American-focused kava bars and RTDs. Combining or serving kava alongside the more potent kratom could potentially misrepresent kava to the uninitiated. Henry stresses that the two drinks have little to do with one another and believes they are only served together because, they both begin with the letter 'K' and are from places [many Americans] have never heard of. Moreover, kratom is known to be potentially addictive, whereas kava is definitely not addictive, says Louze.

Others distort kavas capabilities with buzzy marketing terms like psychedelic or even tout the drink as an alcohol alternative. People think its like weed or alcohol, but its not, Henry states. Its kava; its its own thing. Its not trying to be something else.

Thats not to say you need to travel to Polynesia to respectfully consume kava. There are some really good [American kava bars] who are considered and respectful to kava and the principles behind what kava stands for, Henry notes. If youre planning your debut visit to a kava bar, be sure youre headed to a space that centers kava as its primary tincture, emphasizes collective experiences, and aims to educate first-timers about kavas roots (pun intended) for an experience thats authentic, relaxing, and communal.



For more Food & Wine news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Food & Wine.
Before being sworn in as Chicago's mayor, Brandon Johnson greets students outside George Leland Elementary School on May 15, 2023. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

When it comes to education, Mayor Brandon Johnson has made it clear that he opposes a system where there are winners and losers. But given the gap between Johnsons campaign rhetoric and what the Windy City actually needs, perhaps he didnt worry so much about the number of winners.

Chicago Public Schools faces an anticipated deficit of $628 million, chronically declining enrollment, alarming problems with violence and attendance, and the nearly impossible task of helping an entire generation of pandemic-affected students recover from unprecedented learning loss.

Advertisement

In theory, Johnson has the opportunity and the responsibility to make change before he must hand over the reins to an elected school board. But in reality, his 12 Points to Education Justice plan isnt likely to get the job done.

Heres what Johnson has said about what hell do for CPS, and heres what he should do instead.

Advertisement

What Johnson has said regarding underenrollment: Johnson has said that he will promote the creative use of excess space in small schools rather than closing them, by co-locating revenue-generating facilities such as child care and health clinics, rather than shut down chronically underenrolled schools.

What Johnson should do: In principle, Johnson should close at least some chronically underenrolled schools when the school closure moratorium ends in 2025 (or nominate school board members who will do so). And he should at least consider allowing charter schools to use some of the unoccupied building space, as New York City has done.

Yes, closures are unpopular. But research shows that students benefit when the worst schools are closed. And if Johnson really cares about funding equity, then he ought to care about charters long-standing facilities woes.

What Johnson has said regarding teacher pensions: Johnson has said that he will work to address CPS budget crisis, including a $13 billion teacher pension shortfall, according to Civic Federation data, by weeding out unspecified inefficiencies in the education budget and raising taxes on the wealthy.

What Johnson should do: Ideally, Johnson would tackle the massive teacher pension deficit directly, through some combination of increased contributions and reduced benefits.

No, that wouldnt be popular. But neither are Johnsons tax proposals. (For example, Johnson wants to restore the head tax on Chicagos big employers, despite the fact that previous attempts have fallen flat.) And in theory, the mayor might take inspiration from Houston, where prospective retirees agreed to smaller payouts in exchange for larger contributions from the city and current employees.

[ Editorial: Let Urban Prep, a premier educator of Chicagos young Black men, stay free. ]

Advertisement

What Johnson has said regarding charter schools: Perhaps surprisingly, Johnson hasnt said that much about public charter schools. But he has said that he will remain a friend to the Chicago Teachers Union, his longtime employer and major campaign donor. And as everyone in Chicago education knows, for the past decade, CTU has successfully fought to limit the citys charters.

What Johnson should do: In theory, Johnson should fight the unions inevitable efforts to renew the charter moratorium when it expires in 2024.

While charters are often blamed for school districts financial struggles, the truth is that they are the least of CPS worries. For example, contrary to union rhetoric, charters dont drain resources from Chicagos traditional public schools, although they do boost academic outcomes for the Black and Latino students who make up more than 80% of CPS student population.

With two years until the end of mayoral control of Chicagos schools, Johnson may be the last individual politician with the authority to have a meaningful impact on Chicagos students. Lets hope he rises to the occasion.

Michael Petrilli and David Griffith are the president and associate research director, respectively, of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a K-12 education think tank.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
A Massachusetts General Hospital employee was allegedly suffering a mental health emergency when bringing a rifle to work, according to Boston police.

Police got a call Wednesday night around 8 p.m. regarding a person in distress, armed with a hunting rifle on the hospitals campus.

Witnesses told police the man stated he hear God telling him to do this and that police were out to kill him.

A police report filed after the incident later said a hospital security officer was able to reach out to the suspect, who investigators said had the rifle covered with a shower curtain.

Police said the man had a history of psychosis and he was taken to an inpatient psych unit.

In a statement, the hospital said no patients were affected and the institution remained open and operating normally.

We appreciate the quick actions of all involved including our colleagues and the Boston Police Department, the hospital said.

The employee, who was not identified, is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm.

Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line CALL OR TEXT: 833-773-2445

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
Months after quitting her finance job, a Boston woman reached the top of the world Thursday.

Rebecca Long, 28, completed the months-long trek up Mount Everest Thursday. She finally reached the summit around 9:00 pm eastern Wednesday night, or shortly after 5 a.m. in Nepal Thursday morning, her sister, Melanie Long, told Boston 25 News.

Long, an Andover native and Boston University grad, has spent the past three months documenting her expedition up the mountain. Shes shared everything from authentic Nepalese dishes, dancing Sherpas and the harrowing, biting pain of an ascent through rapidly thinning air.

Everest has been a life-long dream for me, and Ive had a tendency lately to seize the day; who knows how much time we all have left to do stuff like this? Long wrote in her blog. Trying my best to strike a balance between that attitude and some semblance of stability, I fought hard to retain my job after my 2.5 month hiatus, escalating to higher ups and offering to take unpaid leave, but my employer ultimately wouldnt bite, so I resigned in order to climb Everest. YOLO, right?

Long set out for Everest with an International Mountain Guides group, consisting of a small band of people that would journey to the foot of Everest and four others that would attempt to reach the top with her.

Intermittent stops at secluded mountain villages eventually gave way to increasingly backbreaking hikes as they drew closer to the looming peak.

As Long struggled to adjust to the higher altitude, her guide Gyalzen Sherpa, admonished her for carrying more than she was able.

Its embarrassing being considered too helpless to even carry your own water, Long wrote in a May 7 blog post. I enormously appreciate all the extra help, but Ive been trying (probably unsuccessfully) to avoid being cast as a Sandy Hill Pittman type, the seemingly unprepared and helpless female climber vilified as a prima donna in Krakauers Into Thin Air.

One of Longs fellow climbers, Jonathan Sugarman, passed away on May 1.

Although Jonathans passing shook the group, Long shared a moment soon after where the path forward revealed itself once again.

After sitting in the dining tent together, drinking tea, talking about it and crying together for hours, trying to even begin to process this, Phunuru called us all outside. The nonstop overcast of the past few days had mystically cleared as the setting sun shone through and there were now stunningly beautiful views all around camp 2. It was impossible not to connect this with Jonathan, Long shared.

After reaching the summit, just one of 2 climbers left from the original group, Longs path forward is now down the trail she just spent months conquering.

Her sister tells Boston 25 she has a phone call with her celebrating family waiting for her.

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 CONVERSATION  On April 19, 2023, the Boy Scouts of America declared that it has exited its bankruptcy case after clearing one of the last legal hurdles in its way. Some insurance companies and sex abuse claimants objected to the Boy Scouts' plan to pay claimants, but the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the plan can go ahead anyway while the insurers' appeal is pending. It's now possible to begin the process of paying at least US$2.45 billion to resolve about 82,000 claims against the Boy Scouts and affiliated entities asserted by people who allege that they were sexually abused as children over the past 80 years.

The Boy Scouts operate through the national organization known as the BSA, which includes hundreds of separate but affiliated organizations known as local councils, and faith-based or civic groups called chartered organizations. Because these troop-sponsoring nonprofit organizations across the country are responsible for ensuring the safety of children in scouting, all of them faced child sexual abuse claims.

The BSA filed for bankruptcy in February 2020 to halt the hundreds of lawsuits that were then pending in state courts. More than two years later, the BSA reached an agreement with many of its insurers, all of the local councils, some of the chartered organizations and roughly 85% of all sex abuse claimants on a plan to pay claims.

The Conversation asked Marie T. Reilly, a Penn State law professor who studies bankruptcy cases involving child sex abuse claims against Catholic dioceses, to explain what this means.

More: Pocono Heritage Land Trust seeks to preserve Camp Trexler

What happens next?

The plan the court approved in the BSA's bankruptcy case will create a settlement trust to process and pay sexual abuse claims.

Two retired judges and a committee made up of lawyers who represent sex abuse claimants will administer the trust, which will be the largest sexual abuse compensation fund ever established in the U.S. It will operate independently of the BSA.

The trust will take over responsibility for all claims against the BSA. All parties that contribute to it will be relieved of their liability.

Where will the money come from?

The BSA will contribute to the trust property estimated to be worth $220 million. Local councils will contribute about $515 million in cash, property and money obtained from their insurers. Chartered organizations, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Roman Catholic and Methodist churches, schools and other affiliated institutions, will also contribute and receive a release from liability for claims.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, still sometimes called the Mormon Church, used to participate in the Boy Scouts but severed ties to it in 2018. It will contribute $250 million.

Insurance companies that issued policies covering the BSA will contribute about $1.6 billion. The trustee of the settlement trust has the authority to sue the insurance companies that have not agreed to the settlement to try to get more money to pay claims.

How much money will survivors get and when will payments begin?

People who have filed sex abuse claims have three options:

1) Accept a $3,500 payment based on the information already submitted about their claim in the bankruptcy case. About 6,700 survivors have already elected this option.

2) Submit additional information and have the trustee determine the amount based on agreed-upon factors, including the severity of the abuse.

3) Sue in state court and have a jury determine the amount.

Payments will not start to flow until the trust determines the payment amount of each claim. If the fund is not big enough to pay every claim in full, the trust will reduce the amount of each claim to reflect the estimated shortfall.It's hard to say how long it will take to process the nearly 75,000 claims that have not elected the $3,500 option.

Among other things, the trust will need to hire and onboard staff and to set up secure systems to gather and evaluate personal information from tens of thousands of people.

This is likely to be both expensive and slow.

How will this settlement affect the Boy Scouts?

The Boy Scouts face an uncertain future after the bankruptcy case.

The organization's revenue depends on membership dues, contributions from its troop sponsoring organizations, product sales, service fees and donations. And the dues are lower because of a sharp decline in membership. The BSA now has a little more than 1 million members across the country  about half as many as in 2019.

Trying to convert some of the Boy Scouts-owned properties into cash to meet the organization's obligations under the bankruptcy plan is complicated. It may take years to accomplish, dragging out the timeline.

Local councils are already selling property to raise the cash they need to make the contribution to the fund.For example, a local council in New Jersey is selling its land in the Pocono Mountains to pay its share of the contribution to the compensation fund.

Of interest: Pocono Heritage Land Trust, Waste Management among Camp Trexler bidders

Related opinion: Good intentions will not save your land. Why a handshake is no longer enough

Local residents are concerned that the pristine land, estimated to be worth $4 million, will end up lost to developers. The same controversy is unfolding regarding the sale of local council property in Connecticut.

The U.S. Forest Service estimates that 6,000 acres (24 square kilometers) of open space are lost every day to other uses. Local Boy Scouts councils own a significant portion of open space in the U.S., and much of it may be lost.Are there precedents for this?

Catholic organizations have resolved liability for child sexual abuse in bankruptcy cases with plans that are similar to the BSA's. But the scale of the Boy Scouts' case in terms of the number of claims and the size of the settlement trust fund is much larger than any case involving a single diocese, or any other nonprofit organization bankruptcy case.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Commentary: How sale of Pocono camp plays part in helping survivors
A Bradenton man was sentenced to federal prison after he and his girlfriend, a former U.S. postal employee, conspired to distribute cocaine shipped from Puerto Rico through the mail, the State Attorneys Office said in a press release Friday.

Angel Hernandez Coss, 38 of Bradenton, was sentenced to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute over 5 kilograms of cocaine.

Nathasha Prieto, 34, a former U.S. postal carrier, would give addresses from her delivery route to Hernandez Coss, who would use them to mail shipments of cocaine from Puerto Rico, the press release said.

The Bradenton Herald previously reported that the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration Tampa office and the Manatee County Sheriffs Office was working to track down a drug trafficking ring.

Through this investigation, agents identified some suspicious packages sent from Puerto Rico to Lakewood Ranch believed to be narcotics on Prietos mail route, as the Herald previously reported.

Package not delivered

Agents and investigators followed Prieto as she delivered four packages. The packages were not found where they were intended to be delivered, although Prieto marked them as delivered in the USPS system.

Instead, Prieto took the packages back to the Lakewood Ranch post office at 5910 Post Blvd., Lakewood Ranch, and put them inside her Honda Acura and took them home, the Herald previously reported.

Investigators also watched as Hernandez left home to take some trash to a dumpster inside their community, where they later found the packaging for some of the packages in question. After that, he was seen leaving the house with a heavy duffle bag and backpack, according to the previous report.

Hernandez Coss and Prieto plead guilty to the conspiracy charge. Prietos sentencing hearing is on May 23.
Several homeless men in Orange County, New York, told local newsoutlets that they were paid to pose as homeless veterans who were removed from an area hotel to make way for migrants whod crossed the southern U.S. border and were first bused to New York City.

The story had received manic coverage from right-wing news media after the New York Post published an exclusive last Friday. Fox News ran pieces about Republican outrage on its website and live on air, where pundits suggested that the story was proof President Joe Biden did not care about Americas veterans. Fox host Laura Ingraham ran a chyron on her show reading New York City Puts Illegals Ahead of Veterans.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley tweeted, Liberal insanity at work. Donald Trump Jr. wrote, Fuck Democrats & their bullshit policies!

New York State Assemblyman Brian Maher (R) appeared on Fox News to call the supposed move a total embarrassment.

Maher was the first to draw attention to the supposed incident because he was already familiar with a small charity based in Orange County, the Yerik Israel Toney Foundation, and its founder, Sharon Toney-Finch, who originally tipped the assemblyman off. He told the Mid Hudson News that he took Toney-Finch at her word and had no idea the whole thing was an apparent scam until speaking with her Thursday, when she reportedly admitted to deceiving him.

Maher did not immediately return a request for comment from HuffPost.

Migrants arriving at the southern U.S. border are being transported by Republican officials in border states to places the conservatives deem sanctuaries. New York Mayor Eric Adams has struggled to deal with the influx of people.

It made the front page of the Post  but now the vets advocate the reporting was based on has apparently admitted she lied after hotels said they had no idea what she was talking about.



Here's the Post's update: https://t.co/Wj9ivPGokjpic.twitter.com/68NsyAK1th  Aidan McLaughlin (@aidnmclaughlin) May 19, 2023

As first reported by the Mid Hudson News, seven of the men said they were staying at a Poughkeepsie shelter north of New York City when two people approached them with an offer. The pair reportedly said they had work for 15 people between the ages of 40 and 60 if they would claim to be military veterans thrown out of the Crossroads Hotel in Newburgh, New York, across the Hudson River.

The Albany Times-Union spoke with two of the homeless men involved.

The men reportedly said they were promised $200, then taken to a diner and told they could order whatever they liked.

We ate like kings, one of the men told Mid Hudson News.

They were then reportedly brought to speak with local officials, and Toney-Finch urged one or two of the group to go on record with the false claim about being removed from the hotel.

The men told the Times-Union that they became alarmed when they never received payment.

In its original story, the New York Post quoted Toney-Finch as saying that one of the men had supposedly called her to tell her about being left on the streets.

Last night, I was crying, she told the Post.

The New York Post had updated its online stories about the incident to include editors notes, but Fox News did not appear to have made corrections on its website as of publication time.

A spokesperson for New York Attorney General Letitia James told Politico her office was looking into it but had not opened a formal investigation.

Related...
US 30 work will impact traffic in Richland County

The Ohio Department of Transportation says the following work is planned on U.S. 30 beginning Monday:

 The I-71 southbound ramp to U.S 30. west, Exit 176 towards Mansfield, will close Monday for three days for pavement repairs. The detour will be to take Exit 176 Ramp A (U.S. 30 east Wooster), turn right onto Crider Road, turn right onto Koogle Road, and take the Koogle Road entrance ramp to U.S. 30 west.  The U.S. 30 westbound rest area will close Monday for two days. The U.S. 30 eastbound rest area will close Monday for three days.

In addition, there will be nightly ramp closures from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. for paving from Fifth Avenue to Trimble Road. In addition, U.S. 30, from the Crawford County line to just west of Old Lincoln Way/West Fourth Street, will have single lane closure for a resurfacing project. Traffic will be maintained at all times using barrels. Resurfacing is expected to be completed by September.

Click It or Ticket campaign reminds drivers to buckle up

The Richland County Sheriff's Office is urging drivers to buckle up during the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) national Click It or Ticket high-visibility enforcement effort. The national seat belt campaign, which coincides with the Memorial Day holiday, runs from May 22 to June 4.

According to NHTSA, in 2021, there were 11,813 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. In that same year, 57% of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night were not wearing their seat belts. That's why one focus of the Click It or Ticket campaign is nighttime enforcement. Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night.

For more information on the Click It or Ticket mobilization, please visit NHTSA.gov/ciot.

Upcoming meetings:

 Shelby Shade Tree Commission, 3 p.m., Tuesday, James E. Henkel Conference Room, City Hall, 43 W. Main St., Shelby

 Shelby City Council Public Works & Operations Committee, 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, James E. Henkel Conference Room, City Hall, 43 W. Main St., Shelby

 Shelby City Planning Commission, 6 p.m., Tuesday, City Hall rear meeting room, 5 Water St., Shelby

 North Central State College Board of Trustees, 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, room 149-F (old board room), Fallerius Technical Education Center (165-F) and via Zoom. To join via Zoom, contact Board Secretary Stephen Williams at swilliam@ncstatecollege.edu or at 419-755-4811.

 North Central State College Foundation Board of Trustees, 11:30 a.m., Thursday, room 155, Kehoe Center, 175 Mansfield Ave., Shelby

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: US 30 work, Click It or Ticket campaign to start Monday
New Scotland Yard

Mark Rowley surely knew what he was doing when he accused the Crown Prosecution Service of failing victims of crime by cherry picking cases to prosecute to boost their stats. Did he have a point?

The beleaguered Met Commissioner has had to shift detectives out of his serious crime command into a professional standards role to hunt out the predators who are destroying the Mets reputation, and with it the morale of its front line officers.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul has consequences, though, even in London where Mayor Sadiq Khans own statistics reveal an eye-watering rise in violent thefts. The Police Inspectorate has now criticised the Met for failing to adequately resource the same serious crime unit hollowed out by 300 staff vacancies. He cant win, can he?

Its hard not to feel some sympathy for the invidious position Rowley has put himself in. Even Max Hill KC, the Chief Prosecutor, applied some emollient in his own response. No, the CPS did not base prosecution decisions on good optics. Yes, the Met is under extreme pressure and criticism but there is a commitment to work together to hold criminals to account.

I think this public spat is actually quite healthy in generating debate about the effectiveness of that opaque relationship. I suspect the Commissioner did, too.

The CPS, created to be an independent authority in 1986, is the gateway to court for the police. The principle of separating the police from the prosecutors is a sound one in any liberal democracy, replicated around the world. But while Hill can argue  unconvincingly in my view  that there is no relationship between decisions to charge and good performance metrics, he cannot rule out the subjective reasoning that influences those decisions.

These are the twin tests applied to every case police officers send to the CPS: is there a realistic prospect of a successful conviction, and is the case in the public interest? While these tests are reinforced by a sophisticated code  on paper anyway  they are still operated by legal bureaucrats far removed from the demands and realities of policing public expectations secondary to but as important as the alleged crime itself. You might argue this is a good thing, justice being blind and all that, but what I hear repeatedly from front line cops is a sense that in too many cases, the evidential requirements are so overengineered, so freighted with risk aversion, that they seem almost designed to stop even deserving cases in their tracks.

Moreover, a refusal to prosecute cases deemed not in the public interest is an entirely subjective decision that could be a useful refuge for an organisation with limited resources detached from the impact of unprosecuted offences that corrode community confidence in the whole justice system.

Is it possible that a zeal for operational independence in the CPS and a rigid fealty to neutrality, impartiality and objectivity is inhibiting justice? In many other countries, public prosecutors actually lead criminal investigations from an early stage. By contrast, in the UK we have a supply chain approach.

A continental system of collaboration adopted here would bring a Prosecutor into the process far earlier and with greater status than the gatekeeper of an already-sclerotic and overloaded court system. The role of the CPS is to protect the integrity of the justice system, not merely to obtain successful prosecutions. An 82.4pc success rate for this organisation is built on a process where, notionally, the service calculates a greater than 50pc chance of success for cases it considers.

That calculus must inevitably screen out victims who deserved justice and got none. For example, within this healthy performance metric, domestic abuse and rape have poorer and declining conviction rates compared with pre-pandemic performance. Victims of these atrocious crimes will not be encouraged to come forward by poorer chances of success. Many of these cases are in fairness profoundly difficult with he said, she said contesting views and little corroborating evidence. Instead of sniping at each other, we need tangible action between police and prosecutors to push up convictions and deter future predators.

Its grimly ironic that the current inefficiencies in the relationship between cops and prosecutors is probably the one thing that stops the whole criminal justice system from falling apart. Further along our dismal criminal justice conveyor belt, prisons are overflowing crime incubators and stressed-out probation officers are leaving in record numbers. But at the front end, confidence in policing is plummeting. The CPS must help reverse this trend.

Ian Acheson is senior adviser at the Counter Extremism Project and a former prison governor

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
California agency paid a state worker six figures to stay home and not work, report says

A California state agency paid an employee six figures to spend nearly two years at home not working, according to a new report from the California state auditor.

The audit, published Thursday, identified wasteful spending, poor oversight and unreported leave that resulted in misuse of taxpayer dollars.

According to the report, a California agency paid an unidentified analyst nearly $114,000 in wages after placing her on administrative time off for 20 months.

We are not naming the agency that is the subject of this report because doing so may identify or lead to the identification of the individuals mentioned in the report, according to the report. There are also no details on what prompted the long administrative leave.

Many other departments are called out by name, including California Correctional Health Care Services, which failed to account for a registered nurses absences totaling 600 hours between October 2019 and November 2021. It resulted in the employee being overpaid by more than $38,000.

Correctional Health Care responded that it agreed with the report, and that it had taken several steps to fix the problem, including requesting copies of the employees missing timesheets.

At the Department of State Hospitals, a psychiatric technician had nearly 400 hours of absences unaccounted for from October 2018 to August 2021, costing the state about $12,500.

The Department of State Hospitals said that the technician had left the department in early 2022.

According to the report, a supervisor with the Department of Industrial Relations repeatedly misused one of the state vehicles for his daily commute over a period of three years, incurring $11,000 in costs to the state.

DIR said that it recognizes the seriousness of our report and has already taken steps to address the reported issues, including installing GPS location tracking systems in its vehicle fleet to prevent misuse, according to the report.

Finally, a Department of Parks and Recreation supervisor used a public boat dock to store his personal boat for more than six years, denying the state up to $36,000 in potential revenue. The report said that State Parks also failed to report as part of the supervisors taxable income approximately $67,000 in housing benefits as a result of his living in state-owned housing.

State Parks responded by saying that it intends to take training and corrective action against the supervisor, and that the supervisor meets the three-part test to have housing benefits excluded from his income.
FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Paramount Calif., on Monday, May 1, 2023. Newsom pledged on Friday, May 19, 2023, to fast track about $180 billion worth of construction projects throughout the state, including a pair of water projects that have languished for decades. (Hans Gutknecht/The Orange County Register via AP, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday pledged to fast-track hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of construction projects throughout the state, including a pair of large water endeavors that have languished for years amid permitting delays and opposition from environmental groups.

For the past decade, California officials have pursued the water projects in the drought-prone state. One would construct a giant tunnel to carry large amounts of water beneath the natural channels of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to drier and more populous Southern California.

The other would be a massive new reservoir near the tiny community of Sites in Northern California that could store more water during deluges  like the series of atmospheric rivers that hit the state earlier this year  for delivery to farmers.

But neither project has been built, despite promises from multiple governors and legislative leaders. Environmental groups have sued to block the tunnel project, arguing it would decimate threatened species of fish, including salmon and the Delta smelt. The Sites Reservoir is still trying to acquire necessary permits to begin construction.

Newsom is seeking a slew of changes to make it much faster for these projects to gain the required permits and approvals. Other projects that could be eligible include solar, wind and battery power storage; transit and regional rail; road maintenance and bridge projects; semiconductor plants; and wildlife crossings along Interstate 15, Newsom's office said. His efforts to speed projects would not apply to building more housing.

One key proposal is to limit the amount of time it takes to resolve environmental lawsuits to about nine months. Newsom said his administration is not looking to roll over anybody, including what he called the fierce champions of environmental stewardship.

I mean, nine months, you can have a kid, OK? I mean that's a long time, Newsom said Friday while visiting the site of a future solar farm in Stanislaus County.

Still, some environmental groups were furious. Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of the advocacy group Restore the Delta, said Newsom wants to do away with standard environmental protections to build the Delta tunnel.

We have never been more disappointed in a California governor than we are with Governor Newsom, she said. How is perpetuating environmental injustice, which harms public and environmental health, really any different than red state governors perpetuating social injustice in their states, which Governor Newsom likes to criticize vigorously?

Newsom says California has hundreds of billions of dollars to spend on infrastructure projects over the next decade, the result of voter-approved bonds, bountiful budget surpluses during the pandemic and an influx of federal cash from President Joe Bidens infrastructure bill.

But he said the state is often too slow to approve those projects and that the federal money is going to other states that are moving more aggressively. Newsom said his proposals could shorten how long it takes to build projects by more than three years.

His office said the legislation would allow various state agencies, including the Department of Transportation, to more quickly approve projects and issue permits. Newsom also signed an executive order on Friday creating what he called an infrastructure strike team to identify fast-track projects.

Jerry Brown, executive director of the Sites Project Authority that is overseeing the new reservoir, said he thinks Newsom's proposals could allow construction to start a year early, saving about $100 million.

That saves a lot of money and gets a lot of jobs in the pipeline, he said.

Newsom wants the legislation to be part of the state's budget, which must be passed before the end of June. That means, if approved, it could take effect sooner and would only require a majority vote of the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

Toni Atkins, a Democrat from San Diego and the leader of the state Senate, said the climate crisis requires that we move faster to build and strengthen critical infrastructure," adding that lawmakers will ensure we can do so responsibly, and in line with California's commitment to high road jobs and environmental protection.

Some Republicans cheered Newsom's proposal, with Republican Senate Leader Brian Jones saying the governor is finally taking action. Others were more skeptical, with Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher saying Democrats in the Legislature are the biggest obstacle to Newsom's proposals.

Gavin Newsom loves to brag that he can jam Democratic lawmakers. Let's see it, Gallagher said. Republicans are ready to work with him towards real reforms.
California jail trains inmates for a second chance as a barista: Theyve done their time

Jamie Mason was more than 20 years into her career in specialty coffee when she got a call from an alarming source: the Sacramento County Sheriffs Department.

The Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center was starting a coffee education and barista training program, a lieutenant told Mason, and they wanted her to lead it. She demurred at first, content to write curriculum and design the cafes layout, before taking the reins in November 2020.

Thus began Redemption Coffee, the Elk Grove jails internal cafe and training center for soon-to-be-released female inmates. Twenty-one women graduated since Mason took over, and alumnae have landed jobs as baristas and roasters at Camellia Coffee Roasters and Bewleys, the parent company of Java City.

Redemption Coffee students first learn bean anatomy, tasting notes and coffee origins. They then dive into foundational barista knowledge such as milk science and pouring espresso shots, before learning latte art and how to pick out tasting notes.

The final sessions focus on cafe operations such as taking inventory and writing schedules. Working as a barista is many peoples foot-in-the-door to the coffee industry, but Redemption Coffee shows people how to do jobs away from the counter, many of which Mason said offer more of a living wage.

Mason teaches three to 12 women at a time, all of whom must have been in jail for at least three months, cant be violent offenders and must sign up for other reentry services as well.

Part of my job is to really think about not just measured outcomes ... but changing the cultural attitudes of ex-offenders, Mason said. Theyve done their time. I want these women to have a fair chance and opportunity to thrive in their lives. These women constantly surprise me with their drive to want to change.

What Im eating

Mack and Charlie Thomas opened MacQues BBQ as a catering operation in 1986, then opened their first restaurant in southeastern Sacramento in 1991. While that barbecue joint eventually shut down, another opened in 2019 in Elk Grove Village shopping center.

The Thomas family is all over MacQues, from dishes named JoJos sliders or Ms. Jayes bread pudding to framed photos lining the walls. Its better to visit for lunch than dinner, as with many barbecue joints, since youll find more freshly-cooked meats and most items should still be in stock.

While MacQues has an expansive menu compared to other barbecue spots, tried-and-true classics such as pork ribs ($13.69 with two sides and a roll) are favorites for a reason. The fall-off-the bone pork benefited greatly from Macques sweet Kansas City-style barbecue sauce; pick medium spice for a subtle, slow burn.

A plate of chopped tri-tip ($14.39 with two sides and a roll) reminded me this was indeed California barbecue. Piquant and zesty thanks to MacQues house rub, its vibrant pink smoke ring flexed the pitmasters expert cookery.

Cams kettle chips ($4.75-$11.50 depending on toppings) were another housemade surprise, thick and crunchy amid a dusting of that dry rub. For dessert, a slice of sweet potato pie ($4.25) had plenty of flavor without being overly sweet.

MacQues BBQ

Address: 8517 Elk Grove Blvd., Elk Grove.

Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday.

Phone number: (916) 714-2910.

Website: https://www.macquesbbq.com.

Drinks: Beer, wine, soda and The Lemon Mobs flavored lemonades.

Animal-free options: Very few - its a barbecue joint, after all. Some sides are vegetarian.

Noise level: Medium to medium-loud.

Openings & Closings

Auburn-based Moonraker Brewing soft-opened its Cameron Park brewery and farm, Moonraker Millhouse, on Tuesday at 3501 Robin Lane. Seventeen-acre property includes a 20,000-square foot taproom and farm-to-table restaurant.

Elk Grove tequila and taco bar Pig Latin opened Monday at 9631 E. Stockton Blvd. Look for norm-bending dishes and drinks such as prawns al pastor and the Verde Vixen cocktail (a mezcal margarita with blended avocado, cilantro and kale).





Olivers Brewhouse & Grill closed last week after two years in business in downtown Lincoln. Matthew and Siobhan Olivers other restaurant and bar, House of Oliver, remains open in Roseville.

Get Sacramento's Food & Drink news delivered to your inbox

Sign up here to receive our free weekly Food & Drink newsletter, written by Bee food reporter Benjy Egel. You'll exclusively receive an early look at restaurants, bars, festivals and more.
Sam Zells misadventures at Tribune Co. hardly were emblematic of one of the most financially successful careers in Chicago history.

As his private investment company, Equity Investment Trusts, rightly noted in announcing Zells death at age 81 on Thursday, Zells investments spanned industries across the globe, and he had a critical role in creating the modern real estate investment trust (REIT), which today is a more than $4 trillion industry. At various points, Zell affiliates owned such famous companies as the Schwinn Bicycle Co., the Revco drugstore chain and the mattress company Sealy, not to mention many famous commercial buildings in Chicago and the suburbs.

Advertisement

According to Forbes, the self-made Zell had amassed a personal fortune worth more than $5.3 billion as of earlier this year, making him one of the richest Chicagoans and, inarguably, among the most successful businesspeople in the history of this city. When Blackstone Group bought Zells Equity Office Properties in 2007 for $35 billion, it became the largest leveraged buyout in history.

What was Zells secret? Much of it was outlined in an article Zell penned in Real Estate Review in 1982, aptly entitled The Grave Dancer, a moniker that the ever-colorful Zell attached to himself.

Advertisement

The volume of real estate development in the United States, Zell wrote, always has been related to the availability of funds, rather than to demand.

In other words, when money is flowing easily, lots of stuff gets built, even when the demand is low. When money is tight, less gets built, even when demand is high. You can see all of that playing out right now, in both the commercial and the residential markets. Zells strategy, in simple terms, was to acquire distressed property, a result of overbuilding when money came easy, and then manage them well enough that he could generate sufficient cash flow to enable him to hang on to them until demand had risen again, as it surely would. And did.

He knew the risks  even writing that the investor in distressed property walks a thin line between success and failure  but he believed he was smarter than his competitors and, for the most part, when it came to making money, he was right. As a result, he made a fortune, allowing him to throw famously lavish birthday parties headlined by the likes of Elton John.

Which brings us to the Tribune Co.

In 2007, during a time of stress for the media industry that foretold much worse to come, Zell spearheaded an ugly buyout of a great, proud Chicago enterprise that at the time also owned (among other entities) the Cubs, WGN-TV and WGN radio, and the Los Angeles Times, a deal so leveraged as to raise doubts about its ability to get regulatory approval.

Tribune Co. Chairman and CEO Sam Zell stands during the second inning of a Chicago Cubs playoff game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field on Oct. 1, 2008. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune)

The $8.2 billion deal only required Zell to put up $315 million in cash, and saddled what were creatively but absurdly deemed employee-owners with more than $13 billion in debt. In actuality, the employee-owners were powerless.

In theory, that debt was to be paid by cash generated by the companys continuing operations (a classic Zell move) but, given the changing industry and the broader economic slowdown, it was an unrealistic expectation.

Within a year, Tribune Co. was in bankruptcy. When it emerged battered by fees and other costs, it did so only in pieces and with half of its formidable assets having been sucked away. Zell was not to blame for being invited in by a deeply flawed prior management. But its fair to say his deal destroyed one of Chicagos most storied and crucial companies.

Advertisement

Worse, from our point of view, the famously profane Zell introduced crude management in the person of Randy Michaels (and others), whose values and exploits, extensively reported both locally and nationally, desecrated much of the companys long-standing dignity. The new owners failed utterly to understand that such gravitas was part of Tribunes brand and, therefore, also crucial to its ongoing cash flow.

Of course, Zells entire methodology, as with his real estate deals, was predicated on the assumption that he and his people were smarter than the blinkered previous management, which had overpaid for the acquisition of the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers, assets declining rapidly in value due to the rise of the revenue-devouring social media entities.

But Zell also failed to understand that media companies are more animated than buildings, and that newspapers tend to be staffed by mission-based journalists, as is true today. Zell and his lieutenants met blowback and resistance aplenty. Capable leaders headed for the doors.

Throughout his career, Zell had avoided most publicity, making few public statements. At Tribune Co., he hated being challenged by his own employees and it showed, only feeding the fury of the opposition.

But Zell also misunderstood not only the extent to which journalists are obsessed with their own industry, but their ability to fire up external klieg lights to shine on Zell himself. In other words, he learned that owning Tribune Co. was nothing like owning an apartment building or a shopping mall. It could and did fight back, even if destined to lose.

Sam Zell, center, talks with Tribune Publishing President Scott Smith, right, on Dec. 20, 2007, before his first news conference at Tribune Tower. (Jose More/Chicago Tribune)

All of this was true even in death. As news broke Thursday, it was the failed Tribune buyout that hit the headlines of the obituaries and the first paragraphs, not the jobs that Zell had indisputably created elsewhere, nor the philanthropic activities his fortune has funded, or the astounding financial success he achieved.

Advertisement

Zell actually had anticipated some of these dangers back in 1982. Grave dancing is an art that has many potential benefits, he wrote, But one must be careful while prancing around not to fall into the open pit and join the cadaver. There is often a fine line between the dancer and the danced upon.

We offer our sympathies to Zells family and note his legacy as one of Chicagos most successful investors and entrepreneurs.

But we were the danced upon.

Join the discussion on Twitter @chitribopinions and on Facebook.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Undocumented students are one step closer to being able to work on-campus jobs across the University of Californias 10 campuses thanks to a new policy adopted Thursday by the universitys Board of Regents.

The university believes that all university students, regardless of immigration status, should have the same opportunity to realize the benefits of university student employment, read the new policy, which the regents adopted on the final day of their spring meeting at UCLA.

For months, student organizers have urged the university to change its policy on hiring undocumented students. On-campus jobs are crucial sources of income for students who struggle to afford college, the students say. Undocumented students also miss out on valuable learning experiences through research positions, lab work and internships.

This is a huge step toward ensuring equal access to opportunities for all students across the University of California system, said Karely Amaya, a UCLA graduate student in public policy and a leader of the Undocumented Student-led Network, in a statement Thursday.

The students argue that states and certain state entities are exempted from the 1986 federal law that bars the hiring of employees who lack proper documentation. Legal scholars from the UCLA School of Laws Center for Immigration Law & Policy worked with the students to develop the analysis on which they based their arguments.

As law professors with considerable experience in immigration law, wrote UCLA law professors Hiroshi Motomura and Ahilan Arulanantham in an open sign-on letter of support, we write primarily to affirm that we believe that the legal foundation for hiring undocumented students within UC, as described in the attached memorandum, is sound.

As of Thursday, at least 25 other law professors  including by Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law  had endorsed the letter.

The board appointed a so-called Regents Working Group that will, by the end of November, develop a strategy for how to implement the change and, presumably, how to defend it from legal challenges.

The working group will determine whether, how and when to implement next steps, wrote the UC Office of the President in an emailed statement.

The Presidents Office would not provide additional details about how many members the working group included, how they were chosen and whether any undocumented students would participate in the process.

First and foremost, we as undocumented UC students must have a seat at the table  and that has yet to be the case leading up to this point, said Jeffry Umana Munoz, a UCLA undergraduate and student organizer., in a Thursday statement We alone know what it means to be undocumented and denied equal access to opportunities on campus.
Cannes is the birthplace for any number of future Best International Feature Film Oscar nominees, like last years Grand Prize winner Close, or winners like 2021 Competition entry Drive My Car. This years possibilities include the UKs rapturously received German-language from UK filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest; Argentinas Un Certain Regard entry The Delinquents, a three-hour existential heist movie picked up by Mubi; or Japans Monster, the latest film from Hirokazu Kore-eda, whose Shoplifters scored both the Palme dOr and an Oscar nomination. However, before they can be nominated they must be submitted  and that, as Academy members well know, is the rub.

The demand for reform boils down to this: Too often the decision of Oscar submissions belongs to decision-makers instead of filmmakers, and that can lead to some frustrating choices. Last year India did not submit RRR and Italy declined to select well-reviewed Cannes entry The Eight Mountains, which was directed on location in Italy by the Belgian team of Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch. If I could change [the Oscars], itd be this idea to have the category be more open, so any movie could apply for it, van Groeningen told IndieWire. Then it would be a process of natural selection.

More from IndieWire

Countries choose their Oscar picks in different ways. Some appoint small committees; some have a national Academy. In Brazil, Iran, and Russia, the committee are dominated by their governments; even in a democratic country like France, the selection process is dominated by industry powermongers. Cannes director Thierry Fremaux was on the committee for years and was often accused of favoring Cannes titles.

This year, among the myriad Academy rule changes was a new rule for Best International Feature Film that requires each countrys Oscar submission selection committee be comprised of 50 percent artists and or craftspeople from the field of motion pictures. This doesnt exactly qualify as radical reform: Prior to its codification as a rule, a 50 percent guideline (one that was unavailable to public view) was in place for years. Still, to the extent that countries around the world care about the Oscars, most are likely to comply.

Even so, the new rule does little to address how AMPAS should deal with exiled and banned filmmakers, or with otherwise orphaned films that have no home. International Feature Film executive committee co-chairs Danish Oscar-winner Susanne Bier (In a Better World) and MoMas chief curator of film, Rajendra Roy, who have been deeply researching the processes behind making international Oscar selections, have yet to figure out a solution to these issues. So they started with a smaller step.

The Zone of Interest A24

The thing that was clear to both of us was that there was a real need for more transparency for submitting countries, said Roy on the phone. Theres obviously a need for transparency there still seemed to be confusion amongst the countries about how to submit. There just wasnt a lot of consistency, but the thing we needed to be true was that people who make movies, and all those in whatever form that takes, are part of at least 50 percent of that process.

Every year, questions to the Academy abound from selection committees about International Feature Film category awards rules, committee guidelines and criteria, and the submission process. When Bhutan tried to submit for the first time, they had no approved official selection committee. The country needed help from the Academy to establish a selection committee and submit a film. Ultimately, Bhutan earned a surprise nomination for Pawo Choyning Dorjis Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom.

LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM Samuel Goldwyn Films/Courtesy Everett Collection

Attempts to reform the Academys foreign-language selection process have included the 2006 change in which a submitted film no longer had to be in the language of its own home country. That allowed Denmark, for example, to submit the countrys Profile Pictures production Holy Spider last year; the film was shot in Persian in Jordan. After Palme dOr winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days was passed over for a 2008 nomination, the Academy formed a foreign committee that weighs in on the final selection. That committee was abandoned in 2021, but the Academy expanded the shortlist to 15 and added online viewing to a wider slice of global voters.

To manage international submissions, in April 2022 the Academy hired former Sundance programmer Dilcia Barrera as the Academys new senior VP of member relations, global outreach, and administration. She works closely with Meredith Shea, a former AMPAS membership and awards exec who returned to the Academy fold this April as chief membership, impact, and industry officer. It was an important step for the Academy to find the right staff person to step into the role, someone to focus on international, said Roy.

While the Academy has long asked countries to submit selection committee memberships to scrutiny, the official rule plus an identifiable enforcer provides more heft.

Dilcia Barrera at the Palm Springs International ShortFest Getty Images

If Roy has his druthers, the next guideline-that-could-become-a-rule will ask the countries to impose term limits on their selection committees, much like the AMPAS board of governors three years. (The Academy suggests six-year cycles separated by two-year hiatuses.) Filmmakers have expressed frustration, Roy said, that theres often no room for their inclusion.

One step at a time. Clearly, the Academy has no plans to throw out the entry model of one film per country anytime soon. For now, Roy said, its a matter of finding ways of making it work better.

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.
A jury took about three hours to convict Joseph Zieler in the 1990 deaths of 11-year-old Robin Cornell and her babysitter Lisa Story.

More than six years after DNA matched him to the decades-old double homicide, Zieler now advances to the death penalty phase of the trial. It will resume Tuesday.

Relatives of the victims sobbed and hugged each other as the court announced the verdict, while Zieler, 60, appeared stoic and looked toward Lee Circuit Judge Robert Branning.

Zieler was charged in November 2016 with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the May 9, 1990, slayings of Robin and Story, 32, in Cape Coral.

Zieler, of North Fort Myers, just hours prior to his conviction took the stand to claim his innocence soon after his girlfriend told the jury about learning of the accusations, wiping tears and covering her face as she sobbed.

Assistant State Attorneys Daniel Feinberg, Stephanie Russell and Abe Thornburg prosecuted the case. Zieler was represented by Lee Hollander and Kevin Shirley.

Former girlfriend testifies changes in relationship

Bonnie Kniceley had been in a relationship with Zieler since about Memorial Day 1990 until shortly after he was connected to the double homicide in November 2016. She said under oath that Zieler never had memory issues, contrary to what he told authorities when they confronted him about the murders.

Zieler had told them he suffered memory loss when a car struck his motorcycle along Pine Island Road and sent him to the hospital with a seriously fractured leg, a wound on his left foot and a head injury.

Kniceley testified Zieler was able to read and write during those years as he stared at her during the testimony. She avoided eye contact and looked in the prosecutors' direction.

Kniceley testified he remembered when the couple met and never had trouble remembering his parents names.

Calls cause tears in the courtroom

Kniceley broke into tears when the courtroom played the recording of a phone call between Zieler and her while he was incarcerated. They played three calls between the couple.

Bonnie Kniceley, the ex-girlfriend of Joseph Zieler, listens to a jail phone call recording between her and Zieler during her testimony on Thursday, May 18, 2023, in Fort Myers. Hours later, a jury convicted Zieler of two counts of murder.

During the conversations, Zieler talked about having a backpack and "making an escape."

Kniceley said she was angry during one of the September 2016 calls after she found out about the homicide allegations. She said that's when she broke off her relationship with Zieler.

The calls played in the courtroom showed Zieler indicated hed have to turn himself in for a separate crime, which he didn't disclose to Kniceley.

After the court discussed the separate phone calls, Kniceley read a letter written by Zieler and sent to her, addressing the aggression toward her son, which led to the earlier 2016 arrest. Zieler's DNA was collected and stored in the database following that arrest, leading to a match in the cold case.

"I will be seriously disappointed in you if you abandon me," Zieler warned Kniceley in the correspondence.

Zieler urged Kniceley to have her "bag already packed and get out of there."

Kniceley was questioned for about 90 minutes.

Joseph Zieler looks up at one of his attorneys on Thursday, May 18, 2023, in Fort Myers. Zieler is on trial for the 1990 murders of Robin Cornell, 11, and Lisa Story, 32.

Joseph Zieler testifies in court

As Zieler testified, he scrutinized Kniceley's sworn statements.

"Bonnie is a big liar," Zieler said. "Thats why she was snickering up here with a smile on her face."

Toward the beginning of questioning, Zieler said he didnt know any of the victims or Jan Cornell, Robin's mother. He later claimed a sexual encounter with Jan Cornell.

Shirley showed Zieler photos of the Cornells' home.

Zieler said he never saw the photos or the apartment when police interviewed him about the murders.

In later questioning, he said there was a separate warrant for his arrest in May 1990 out of Maryland and confirmed a different 1987 warrant out of Chicago.

Zieler said that since those incidents he was stopped five times in Florida for the Chicago warrant, twice in Kniceley's presence. Zieler later said hes been convicted of five felonies.

But he said he wasn't guilty of the assaults on Robin and Story.

"I knew they arrested the wrong person," Zieler said of when Cape Coral Police questioned him the murders.

Letters written to the Cornells questioned

As Zieler testified, a series of letters he wrote recently to the Cornell family became the focus.

Zieler denied writing letters and avoided answering related questions. He later confessed to the writings, saying he was defending himself.

In the letters, he suggested a relative of his committed the slayings. When asked, Zieler said the letters weren't just addressed to Jan Cornell, but "the entire family."

Zieler then claimed he slept with Jan Cornell in 1989 and called her a "pig."

"I guess they were too much of a pig not to wash the sheets," Zieler said. He said he had "night encounter" with Cornell and a friend.

As he continued to speak, a woman put her arm around Jan Cornell, sitting in the gallery.

According to the letters, Zieler threatened to "drag them" to the U.S. Supreme Court.

As Zieler continued, he attempted to introduce documents allegedly linked to a case of his in Maryland, saying he was in court in that state at the time of the murders.

At one point, Branning rushed jurors out of the courtroom as two deputies surrounded Zieler and removed the microphone because the information wasn't introduced into evidence and could've impacted jurors' decision.

"I've never had to speak to a defendant like this, and I regret that you've put me in this situation, Mr. Zieler," Branning said as he stared at Zieler, his tone condemning.

Branning later threatened contempt proceedings against Zieler if his behavior continued.

Jan Cornell again testifies

When Zieler was dismissed from questioning, prosecutors again called Jan Cornell. They addressed the alleged one-night sexual encounter with Zieler.

Her voice shook as she stressed she didn't know Zieler or how he got her address, saying she reported the letter to authorities out of fear for her life.

"I panicked because I didnt know how he got my real name and my address," Jan Cornell said, adding she didnt know if any of her acquaintances knew Zieler.

State, defense address evidence found on scene

Closing arguments arrived ahead of schedule Thursday afternoon. Prosecution had originally predicted they would wrap up Thursday, followed by the defense.

Russell addressed the three defenses in the case, previously mentioned in trial, dubbed the "Big 3:" the body of Robin Cornell and DNA found on a pillow and blanket.

"This is a simple case," Russell said. "Very simple."

Russell circled back to what Jan Cornell found when she arrived the early morning of May 10, 1990, about 4 a.m.: the ransacked house and her daughter's body.

"The DNA is where this case really lies," Russell said.

Zieler stared down at papers in his possession and read through them as Russell continued.

"Please remember what you saw and what you heard," Russell said.

Lee Hollander said analysts couldn't get DNA out of blond hairs recovered. Zielers hair has never been blond and added that the DNA found wasn't only Zieler's.

"Whoever did this really hated Ms. Cornell," Hollander said, alluding to how framed photographs were ransacked and placed on the home's ironing board.

"This type of viciousness is revenge," Hollander said, circling back to the state in which Jan Cornell found her home.

Hollander said three beer cans found at the scene were never tested for fingerprints.

Hollander said added that a sex toy found near the youngest victim was never checked for DNA or fingerprints.

The state closed its arguments through Thornburg, who reiterated how Jan Cornell had denied "shady" business that could've led to the murders out of "revenge."

Thornburg called Zieler's defense "fiction," adding that they followed all procedures questioned by the Hollander and Shirley.

"The science doesnt back it up," Thornburg said.

"Only one person in one billion Earths shares his DNA," Thornburg said, adding that the state had proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral cold case: Jury convicts Joseph Zieler in 1990 slayings
The Dallas Police Department identified the security guard who was fatally shot Friday afternoon and said they have located the suspects abandoned vehicle, but not the suspect.

The guard, 34-year-old Adalberto Santiago, confronted a man breaking into a car, according to police. A fight broke out, and the suspect shot Santiago before fleeing the scene. The suspect was driving a gold Toyota Camry, University Park officials said in a social media post.

Heavy police activity Westchester/Luther Lane - Preston Center West. Avoid the area. 3:30 pm. Suspect allegedly breaking into vehicles. Suspect shot security guard, left area in gold Toyota Camry. DPD investigating. Area west Preston is outside University Park boundaries.  University Park, TX (@CityofUPTX) May 19, 2023

Officers responded to the parking garage located in the 8200 block of Westchester Drive around 3:30 p.m., police said. Santiago was taken to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries.

Police found the suspects car in a parking lot in the 2200 block of N. Cockrell Hill Road shortly before 5 p.m. The suspect is still at large, police said.

The City of University Park had asked the public to avoid the area of Preston Center West near Dallas on Friday afternoon as police searched a parking garage near Northwest Highway and Preston Road.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about the suspect or the shooting is asked to contact Detective Jonequia Acrond at 214-605-4691, or jonequia.acrond@dallaspolice.gov.

Shops in the area look to be operating as normalshoppers still coming here.



DPD only focused on the second floor of the parking garage. (@wfaa) pic.twitter.com/qlrMltxgks  Matt Howerton (@HowertonNews) May 19, 2023

This is a developing story. For the latest updates, sign up for breaking news alerts.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  Rito Hendrix is trying not to panic.

After knowing he was transgender since childhood, the 31-year-old finally built up the courage to start hormone replacement therapy. He visited a Planned Parenthood clinic near his home in rural Loxahatchee in Palm Beach County and began taking shots of testosterone.

Just three months in, "Im the happiest Ive ever been in my life," Hendrix said recently.

But on Wednesday, with the stroke of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pen, access to that gender-affirming health care for Hendrix and thousands of adults across the state is in jeopardy.

Republican leaders across the country have banned minors from accessing transition-related care, going against the guidance of major health authorities including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization. For transgender people and their loved ones, that was bad enough. But under a bill DeSantis signed into law Wednesday, healthcare restrictions will now expand to transgender adults like Hendrix.

CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM SURVEY: Abuse, discrimination pervasive in criminal legal system for LGBTQ+ people, report says

Rito Hendrix, 31, prepares his weekly injection of testosterone at his family's home in unincorporated Palm Beach County, Fla., on May 12, 2023.

DeSantis targets LGBTQ community

Senate Bill 254 lays out a new informed-consent process that requires patients 18 and over who are seeking gender-affirming care to see a physician in person. That means new patients and some existing patients cant use telehealth or other health care providers such as nurse practitioners.

The bill includes a carveout for prescription renewals, but providers and experts had different interpretations over whether existing patients can receive refills without going through the new informed-consent process. That ambiguity may prompt providers to stop gender-affirming care altogether, advocates say.

The legislation also has a range of insurance restrictions: governments and public colleges and universities cant spend state money on gender-affirming care, nor can the state Medicaid program.

The result is massive barriers to care for trans adults, advocates say. The bill has caused panic among providers who could face a misdemeanor if they violate the law and among transngender Floridians whose fears that youth health care bans were just the beginning are now being realized.

Its yet another way to slowly creep in further and further laws that want to kick trans people out of the state or otherwise have them eliminated completely within the state, Hendrix said.

The measure was one of four bills targeting the LGBTQ community that DeSantis signed into law Wednesday. He announced the bills from a Christian school in Tampa, Florida, behind a lectern with a sign that read, Let kids be kids.

"It is important that we stand up for our youth," DeSantis said, "and we're doing that in a number of ways here today."

His office did not return a request for comment Wednesday.

LGBTQ RIGHTS: President Biden leads charge to protect LGBTQ rights as GOP legislates culture wars ahead of 2024

Rito Hendrix, 31, injects his weekly dose of testosterone at his family's home in unincorporated Palm Beach County, Fla., on May 12, 2023.

Logistical, personal challenges

Telehealth has grown increasingly popular amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual-only providers have popped up in recent years to offer health care such as birth control pills and hormone injections.

And as many as 80% of trans adults receive care from nurse practitioners, said Lana Dunn, chief operating officer for the LGBTQ health clinic Spektrum Health, which has Florida locations in Orlando and Melbourne.

Dunn is one of those patients. She began hormone treatment four years ago under the care of Spektrum CEO Joey Knoll, a nurse practitioner. Dunn said the entire clinic is staffed by nurse practitioners who see about 2,500 patients who will be impacted by the legislation.

Not only do the restrictions pose a logistical challenge, she said, but they also could interrupt the relationships between patients and their providers that take years to develop  especially for a community that already faces healthcare discrimination.

Its something thats so personal to me, Dunn said. Ive gotten the results that make me happy under his (Knolls) care, so weve built that trust as a patient-provider relationship.

Lana Dunn, chief operating officer of SPEKTRUM Health

Dunns clinic and other providers around the state have been scrambling to make sense of the law and figure out how best to serve their patients.

With DeSantis' signature, Spektrum will no longer be able to prescribe hormones, Dunn said.

Planned Parenthood South, East, and North Florida has more than 2,000 patients who were seeing nurse practitioners for gender-affirming care, said Samantha Cahen, program director for trans and nonbinary care. The network of clinics sent a message to patients Wednesday saying it will pause gender-affirming care services to adapt to the new law and resume care in mid-June.

The plan, Cahen said, is to reschedule patients impacted by the law with doctors. The clinics can take on new patients as long as they can make it in person.

Cahen will have to train the physicians and registered nurses who will help with patient intake and education. As a nurse practitioner herself, she said the law is insulting to her profession because it implies she and her colleagues arent competent enough to provide care.

But her bigger concern is for patients. She gets dozens of calls a day from transgender Floridians worried about the status of their care.

"A lot of patients are just really terrified of whats to come," Cahen said. "They dont feel safe anymore within their hometowns, at work, at school, socially."

Folx Health, an online-only provider, is working to hire physicians who are based in Florida and open in-person locations in hubs across the state, according to an announcement on the providers website. Plume, another telehealth-only provider, will no longer be able to prescribe hormones but will still offer non-clinical services to its 1,000 clients in Florida, said co-founder and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jerrica Kirkley.

"Gender-affirming care is life-saving," Kirkley said. "Taking away access to that or limiting that in any way  it can be detrimental to peoples lives."

ACLU, TEXAS LAWSUIT: ACLU vows to sue Texas over ban on certain medical treatments for transgender kids

Turning down jobs and moving out of Florida

The legislation has already begun upending lives.

Lynne Taylor, 25, dropped out of her philosophy doctorate program at the University of South Florida. She said the ban on government spending means she would no longer be able to receive subsidized care through the university health center and off-campus options are limited because of the other restrictions.

Other anti-transgender policies factored into her decision, too. The bathroom ban would make it unsafe for her to use the restroom on campus. She was also concerned that DeSantis higher education overhaul would make it more difficult to pursue her research interests in queer and feminist theory.

Fortunately, I have managed to find another opportunity at a school in Europe which has made this situation more workable for me, Taylor said. But the result is still painful. I have had to leave a lot of friends and colleagues behind, and moving on such a short notice was a significant financial burden.

Hendrix is also planning to leave his home state. While he works full-time as a caretaker for his disabled father, hes hoping to find a part-time job working nights so he can start saving money.

He thought hed move out of Florida someday  but not like this. Hes worried about leaving his father, and hell miss parts of his life here: the plentiful South American cuisine and the quiet 2 acres he lives on with his parents and dogs.

Were just people. Were just living our lives. The detractors like to call us monsters and predators, he said. I just want to be left alone to live with my family and my dogs.

Rito Hendrix, 31, at his family's home in unincorporated Palm Beach County, Fla., on May 12, 2023.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Floridians face excruciating decisions after transgender care ban
Fort James Beach, Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda, the picturesque Caribbean destination, is rejoicing over the revival of direct service from Orlando with low-fare carrier Frontier Airlines. Starting November 4, 2023, Frontier will offer weekly nonstop flights between Orlando International Airport and V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua and Barbuda. This highly anticipated service provides travelers with the only nonstop flight option between the two destinations and strengthens Antigua and Barbudas foothold in the competitive Florida market.

The return of Frontier Airlines service is hailed as great news by Charles Fernandez, Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Transportation, and Investment for Antigua and Barbuda. Fernandez highlights this new weekly services positive impact on visitor numbers as the country looks to achieve another record-breaking year. The enhanced air connectivity will facilitate welcoming more stayover visitors to this beautiful Caribbean paradise.

Photo Credit: Frontier Airlines

Colin C. James, CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, expresses his delight at the return of Frontier Airlines and credits the Tourism Authoritys vigorous efforts in restoring airlift to pre-pandemic levels. James acknowledges Frontiers reputation for offering highly competitive fares, which will undoubtedly enhance the appeal of Antigua and Barbuda for cost-conscious travelers who seek savings on airfare without compromising the quality of their accommodations.

Frontier Airlines initially introduced seasonal service from Orlando to Antigua and Barbuda in the winter of 2021, and it quickly proved to be a resounding success. The airline recognized the high demand in the market and responded by continuing the service, much to the delight of both tourists and locals alike.

When Will the Service Begin?

Weekly service between Orlando, Antigua, and Barbuda will operate from November 4, 2023, through March 30, 2024. Travelers can already purchase tickets for this exciting route on FlyFrontier.com. Its worth noting that frequency and times are subject to change, so visitors are advised to regularly check the airlines website for the most up-to-date schedule information.

The return of Frontier Airlines direct service between Orlando and Antigua and Barbuda significantly boosts the destinations tourism industry. With improved accessibility and competitive fares, the enchanting islands of Antigua and Barbuda are poised to attract even more visitors seeking a tropical paradise getaway.
Houses under construction near Thanksgiving Point and Silicon Slopes in Lehi on March 14. The Census Bureau says Lehi was the 14th fastest-growing large city in the U.S. between 2021 and 2022. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

One Utah County city is among the nation's fastest-growing large cities, while another is one of three municipalities across the country now considered a large city, according to new U.S. Census Bureau population estimates released Thursday.

The agency unveiled its 2022 municipality population estimates, an analysis of U.S. towns and cities, giving even greater clarity to the state and county population estimates it released over the past few months.

Lehi, with an estimated population percentage growth of 5.6%, was the 14th fastest-growing large city  cities with 50,000 residents or more in 2021  in the nation between July 2021 and July 2022, according to the agency. It's estimated that Lehi gained 4,456 residents during that time, reaching a population of a little more than 84,000 by mid-2022.

That said, Lehi's growth was no match for a pair of other northern Utah County cities. Combined, Saratoga Spring and Eagle Mountain added nearly 10,000 residents in year-over-year growth, according to the newly released data.

Eagle Mountain is one of three U.S. cities that surpassed 50,000 residents for the first time in 2022, joining the large city list moving forward. It would have been the second fastest-growing large city in the nation, but it did not have at least 50,000 residents in the bureau's 2021 estimate.

Saratoga Springs, on the other hand, is on pace to join the large city list when the 2023 estimates are released.

Utah County led the state in absolute growth, accounting for about 40% of the state's population gains from July 2021 to July 2022, the Census Bureau reported in March. The new data released Thursday shows that multiple towns and cities in the county grew; however, its two largest cities, Provo and Orem, lost an estimated 3,620 residents.

"We still have the same trend of Utah County and Washington County really driving the statewide growth," Emily Harris, a senior demographer at the University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, told KSL.com in March. "Those two counties account for more than half of the statewide growth, so those are counties that we're always watching."

St. George, in Washington County, was the third fastest-growing large city in Utah last year.

While Utah County continues to lead in growth, the Census Bureau did name Tooele County as the state's fastest-growing county in 2022. West Haven, in Weber County, (12.9%) and Tremonton (12.8%) had the largest growth among Utah towns and cities among cities that had between 10,000 and 49,999 residents in 2021, showing the power of growth that still exists just outside of the Wasatch Front.

The new data also offers better insight into Salt Lake County's trends, which lost 183 residents between the 2021 and 2022 estimates.

The Census Bureau named South Jordan and Salt Lake City as two of the five fastest-growing large cities in Utah, each gaining almost 3,500 residents over the past year, while Herriman and West Jordan also grew in population. But it found population decreases in Draper, Millcreek, Murray, Sandy, Taylorsville and West Valley City, offsetting any of the gains.

Utah led the nation in housing unit growth between 2021 and 2022, growing its housing stock by 3.3%. Wasatch County (7.7%) led in this category among the U.S. counties in that span.

U.S. trends in the data

In general, the trend of people moving to areas in the South and West is alive and well. Thursday's data release better shows which communities are growing in Florida and Texas, the two states that led population growth overall between 2021 and 2022.

Georgetown, Texas, located just north of Austin, led all large U.S. cities in growth, expanding by 14.4% to an estimated population of 86,507, according to the Census Bureau. Kyle, Leander and Little Elm, all in Texas, also landed in the Top 5, behind Santa Cruz, California. Fort Worth and San Antonio were first and third in numeric growth.

Florida had three cities in the top 10 in percentage growth, which are North Port, Cape Coral and Port St. Lucie. The latter two also landed in the top 10 in numeric growth. Phoenix and Seattle were second and fourth in numeric growth, among Western cities.

New York City remains the largest city in the country, holding more than 8.3 million people.
Some Thurston County residents who live along lakes or the sound are raising concerns about how updated shoreline protections may affect what they can do with their properties.

The long-time-coming Shoreline Master Program (SMP) will repeal and replace existing regulations that have been in place since 1990. The program protects the environment by regulating development on shorelines along Puget Sound, large lakes and streams.

The proposed updates to the SMP will include current, best-available information, and balance growth and development consistent with protections that prioritize healthy and safe shorelines for people, fish and wildlife, said Senior Planner Andrew Deffobis.

Deffobis introduced the topic before a Tuesday public hearing where nearly three dozen people voiced their thoughts on the proposed SMP. Many supported the current draft but expressed concerns about climate change as well as some lingering decision points related to shoreline buffer zones and how their properties are labeled.

The county began considering updates to the SMP in 2009 as required by the 1971 Washington state Shoreline Management Act. However, the Thurston County Planning Commission, an advisory body, didnt approve a recommended draft until a 5-3 vote on Aug. 3, 2022.

Four planning commission members, including one who was absent from the vote, signed on to a minority report that calls for a variety of changes, including larger buffers zones and better consideration for climate change.

On Tuesday, commission member Helen Wheatley, lead author of the minority report, said she supported the current draft with its recent revisions. However, she called on the board to take an adaptive approach to the SMP that includes climate change elements.

Green infrastructure, green space, providing migration for vital ecosystems  you need to consider climate elements like sea-level rise, Wheatley said. So, theres just a lot of new elements now and its really worth keeping it on the forefront as we go forward.

These elements are expected to factor into the countys next comprehensive plan update and the SMP is part of that plan, she said.

The ultimate decision on whether to approve the current draft or amend it now rests with the Board of County Commissioners. In the coming weeks, the board will review scores of public comments shared by concerned residents.

Residents concerns

Bob Lanouette, who lives along Long Lake, asked the county to approve a 50-foot buffer, an area of separation between land use and the water, for his home.

Most houses now on lakes are at 50 feet, Lanouette said. Imagine owning a parcel of property, fortunately that you would have on a lake, and the (buffer) is set at 85 and you need to set your new house 35 feet behind your neighbors. You would have a small view of the lake and a great view of their backyard. That would not be good.

Buffers with vegetation are necessary to create habitat, slow rainwater runoff, filter pollutants and keep the water cool, according to county documents.

The current proposal calls for a standard 50-foot buffer for shoreline residential areas on marine or lake shorelines. Urban conservancy areas, or those that are or will be developed into urban settings, would require a 100-foot buffer on the same shorelines.

Rural conservancy areas, such as places with farms, forests, steep banks, bluffs or flood-prone land, would need a 125-foot buffer. Natural areas would need a 200-foot buffer.

All environmental designations would need a 250-foot buffer for streams, according to the proposal. Buffers may be reduced in some scenarios but that would require a shoreline variance permit and mitigation measures.

The proposal also requires a 15-foot building setback beyond the edge of the buffer. This area would allow activities to be conducted around the building, such as construction, without intruding on the buffer, according to county documents.

At this point, the board would need to decide whether to keep these standard buffers, use larger buffers from earlier drafts of the plan, or create entirely new buffer widths, according to a county decision matrix.

Michael Beehler, who lives along Pattison Lake, requested a 50-foot buffer as well. However, he said older buildings should be labeled as conforming even if they dont meet the new requirements.

A really important issue is to not penalize people for what they already have, Beehler said. If you change the goal line, dont say you violated the goal.

Legally existing developments that would no longer meet the new standards were still labeled conforming under the proposed draft recommended by the planning commission.

However, county staff changed that term to legally nonconforming following feedback from the Washington State Department of Ecology. The current draft says this term means the development was grandfathered into the new program and is not illegal.

Still, Chris Ivy, who lives along Lake Lawrence, said he worries about how the term legally nonconforming may affect his property value.

If this takes place, will the taxes follow the depreciation of this land? Ivy said. I can tell you, most people, if the house is listed as nonconforming and theyre looking to move on the lake, theyre probably going to find something else.

Some residents also took issue with the environmental designation of their properties, saying it did not match their current use, and others voiced support for environmental protections in light of climate change.

Next steps and resources

The Board of County Commissioners did not directly respond to public comments during the hearing. However, they will consider the comments at two follow-up meetings.

Commissioner Carolina Mejia said the first meeting has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 24, and the second meeting is planned for 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 14.

Once the board adopts an SMP update, the county will submit it to the state Department of Ecology for final review. Deffobis said the update will take effect once the department approves it.

The county has created an online story map that explains the SMP and the new updates with helpful images and graphics.

More information, documentation and maps for the SMP update can be found on the Thurston County Community Planning and Economic Development website.
Appearing before a judge via video feed from the Detroit Detention Center, looking pale and fatigued, Al-Hassan Aiyash listened quietly as a judge expressed concern over the 22-year-old gas station clerk's alleged role in a May 6 triple shooting that left one person dead and two others injured.

Aiyash pleaded not guilty Friday to involuntary manslaughter two weeks after locking three patrons inside a Mobil gas station on McNichols Road near the Lodge Freeway with the suspected gunman, Samuel Anthony McCray, 27, during an argument over less than $4.

Aiyash had locked the doors electronically in an attempt to prevent theft, and he eventually did unlock the doors, but Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said he did so too late, without telling anyone.

Video footage of the incident from behind the clerk's counter, reviewed by the Free Press, shows Aiyash had told patrons in the store to get out after unlocking the door several minutes into the dispute.

"Get the f--- on," Aiyash can be heard repeatedly saying in the video while shooing patrons with his hand.

But the enraged suspect soon gunned down the three other customers inside.

Gregory Karlos Fortner-Kelly, 37, of Detroit, was killed. David Langston, 37, and another customer, 60, survived their gunshot wounds. Langston told the Free Press that McCray warned he would shoot every customer in the store if the doors remained locked. McCray was charged last week with first-degree murder and several other charges. Worthy's office announced the involuntary manslaughter charges against the clerk Thursday evening.

A Mobil gas station is shut down days after a triple shooting on West McNichols Road near the John C. Lodge Freeway in Detroit on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. The gas station, which police said was unlicensed, has been shut down by the Detroit Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department.

More: Detroit gas station shooting victims were locked inside during argument between clerk and gunman

An attorney for Aiyash, Jamil Khuja, said the charge against his client is a reach by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office and Detroit police.

"Their theory is to hold him responsible, criminally responsible for the intentional crime that's committed by somebody else who he does not know," Khuja said. "I've never seen this before."

Magistrate Malaika Ramsey-Heath of 36th District Court said Aiyash participated in escalating the situation and then locked the doors while people were begging and screaming to be let out.

Citing an investigative report from Detroit police and video evidence, Ramsey-Heath suggested Aiyash recognized the threat of a shooting before unlocking the doors.

"The first person that references a possible shooting is the person in front of me  that concerns me," Ramsey-Heath said, referring to Aiyash.

Clockwise from upper left, Magistrate Malaika Ramsey-Heath of 36th District Court, defendant Al-Hassan Aiyash, Wayne County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Anna Posigian and defense attorney Jamil Khuja during a remote arraignment hearing Friday, May 19, 2023. Aiyash is charged with involuntary manslaughter for locking the doors of a Detroit gas station before a gunman opened fire on three patrons inside.

Wayne County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Anna Posigian said Friday that patrons of the store were locked inside for almost eight minutes, despite kicking, pushing, and pulling at the doors. Patrons even offered to pay for the ice tea and doughnuts McCray is accused of attempting to steal, Posigian said.

Still, the doors to the gas station were unlocked 15 seconds before McCray opened fire, she said.

Khuja argued that Aiyash did not know McCray had a gun. Aiyash had called police and locked the doors after McCray attempted to steal store items "so the thief can still be there when the police arrive," Khuja said.

Khuja said it was Aiyash who cooperated with police and helped them identify McCray. He argued that it was only after the case received heavy media attention that police decided Aiyash was also criminally responsible in Fortner-Kelly's death.

Khuja described Aiyash as a young man who panicked in the situation. He lives with his parents and four siblings in Hamtramck, and worked at the gas station to help provide for his family.

"I understand that people didn't react quickly enough, because (McCray) pulls out a gun and start shooting people instantaneously," Khuja said.

"He was just working there as a clerk to help provide for his family. He was doing his job. Did he panic and maybe act inappropriately in a way, maybe. But that's the best that (prosecutors) can argue here."

Aiyash was being held on $200,000 cash bond with a GPS tether and home confinement.

Community responds to shooting

Ali Dagher, an attorney for the gas station owner, told the Free Press the owner was getting ready to retire and was about to lease his business to new tenants when the shooting happened. Aiyash, he said, had started working at the gas station less than a week prior to the shooting.

The gas station has been in business in the community for over 20 years, he said, and is a partner with Detroit police's Project Green Light surveillance program.

At the time of the shooting, the gas station was unlicensed, prompting discussions within the community on business compliance and safety procedures at gas stations, including policies that ban clerks from locking patrons inside.

Dagher said his client had taken all the necessary steps to renew the license prior to the shooting. But the state of Michigan, which collects the city of Detroit's income taxes, is not communicating with Detroit fast enough to indicate that his client had paid his taxes, Dagher argues, which is a requirement for a gas station business license.

The city has been sending his client bills that have already been paid, Dagher said.

Dagher said the gas station's owner hasn't been able to sleep since the shooting. He met with the victims' families at a local mosque and paid for Fortner-Kelly's funeral costs, according to Dagher.

Community members have gone to city council to voice support for a policy proposed by Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield and President Pro Tem James Tate that would prohibit electronic door-locking technology and would prohibit businesses from locking people inside.

Minister Teferi Brent, a community organizer, said he and others have been working with Tate on a business accountability ordinance for over a year and have been providing gas stations with customer service and community sensitivity training.

They are demanding that the inside of gas stations be closed after 11 p.m.

Brent said community organizers are also working on an Arab American and African American summit to address tensions between the two communities.

"Rest assured, we will make sure this brother and this incident will never be forgotten," Brent said.

Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. She can be contacted at 313-264-0442, asahouri@freepress.com or on Twitter @andreamsahouri.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Gas station clerk who locked doors in Detroit triple shooting arraigned
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin this week appealed his second-degree murder conviction for the 2020 killing of George Floyd to the Minnesota Supreme Court, court documents show.

Chauvin was convicted in 2021 of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyds death.

Floyd, who was Black, died after Chauvin kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes, despite the 43-year-old repeatedly saying he could not breathe.

Floyds death sparked national outrage in 2020, leading to mass protests against police brutality and racism.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld Chauvins second-degree murder conviction last month.

The former officer is asking the states highest court to review the appeals courts ruling that the district court did not abuse its discretion by declining to transfer venues, delay the trial or sequester the jury amid pervasive pretrial publicity and community violence.

Chauvins attorneys are also asking the court to review whether police officers can be convicted of second-degree unintentional murder involving third-degree assault if there was no subjective intent to use unreasonable force. The appeals court previously rejected this argument.

The law only permits police officers to use reasonable force when effecting a lawful arrest, Appeals Judge Peter Reyes wrote for the panel. Chauvin crossed that line here when he used unreasonable force on Floyd.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Shane Brennan said: Some goods will not be available at all in the UK at first, and then they will be much more limited in supply and much more expensive - iStockphoto

Britain faces a "blockade" on cheese and meat products from Europe, under plans for new Brexit border checks, the Government has been warned.

Industry leaders have sounded the alarm over proposals to introduce border controls on goods arriving from the continent from the end of October.

The extra red tape means a vet will have to sign off on all imports of "medium risk" food, including unpasteurised cheese, and both fresh and frozen meat.

Last month, ministers involved plans to finally introduce safety checks that have been delayed since Britain left the EU at the start of 2020.

Massive shock coming

Shane Brennan, the chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, warned the controls would make it much harder to bring some goods into the UK.

Were going to see EU-based cheese and meat suppliers finding on November 1 that they cant fulfil their Christmas orders, he told the Telegraph.

Its going to come as a massive shock to the system, and there will be paralysis as a result while everything has to reset.

Were not talking about shelves being empty. Were talking about the choice being severely reduced, particularly in the first eight to 12 weeks.

Some goods will not be available at all in the UK at first, and then they will be much more limited in supply and much more expensive.

A step back to the 1950s

Mr Brennan called for a Government rethink, saying the need for veterinary checks was a 19th century solution to a 21st century problem.

Were putting our food supplies at the mercy of German Polish and Dutch vets, who have no interest in whether it gets to us or not, he added.

Its a step back to the 1950s in terms of the types of the supply chain options we have, in terms of getting hold of goods from Europe.

EU countries applied the full range of checks to goods arriving from Britain on the first day after Brexit, but the UK delayed reciprocating.

Jacob Rees-Mogg has repeatedly argued in Cabinet that the UK should draw up a system with a much lighter touch - Leon Neal/Getty Images Europe

The planned border controls were postponed four times, most recently in April last year amid concerns they would worsen the cost of living crisis.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former Brexit opportunities minister, has repeatedly argued in Cabinet that the UK should draw up a system with a much lighter touch.

But some sectors, notably the farming industry, have pushed hard for checks to be brought in on goods arriving from the EU.

Creating a world-class frontier

After their initial plans for border controls were dismissed as unworkable, Whitehall officials came back with the new model last month.

They said it will save businesses 400 million a year, compared with the original plan, and create a world-class digital frontier.

But the new system was still expected to cost businesses 600 million more than the status quo and it will not be fully implemented for 18 months.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe, a Cabinet Office minister, said when unveiling the model that it would ensure Britain has the most effective border in the world.

We are protecting UK consumers and businesses, while using tech and data to remove burdens wherever possible, she told them.

Britain is legally bound to introduce checks on EU goods under both the terms of the Brexit trade deal and World Trade Organisation rules.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
Children pulled from burning home die in same bed 20 minutes apart, Ohio family says

Young siblings died together in the same hospital bed a week after they were pulled from their burning home, an Ohio family said.

Four children were inside the home that caught fire May 11 in Cincinnati, according to firefighters. The fire department said heavy fire (was) blowing out of the front first floor windows of the home when they arrived.

Two of the children and their mother escaped, fire officials said, but 7-year-old Alijah and 4-year-old Addyson were trapped inside.

A 17-year-old neighbor helped rescue the children from the burning home, according to WLWT.

Im breathing in the fumes trying to get this baby. Im breathing in and out, Kiniah Willis told the station. I said, Come on, you can do this to get this baby.

The children were removed from the home and taken to Cincinnati Childrens Hospital with life-threatening injuries, firefighters said.

The fire started when one of the kids plugged in their laptop, which blew a fuse, according to a GoFundMe. The blaze caused more than $100,000 worth of damage, fire officials said.

Shawnez McKenzie, the grandmother of the children, said 30% of Alijahs body was burned and he lost oxygen for 10 to 12 minutes. Addyson was without oxygen for the same amount of time and lost brain activity along with her brother, McKenzie said

Doctors kept Addyson alive so family could celebrate her fifth birthday Wednesday, according to WKRC. Alijah stayed (alive) long enough for his siblings birthday, their grandma said.

The siblings were removed from their ventilators Thursday and died 20 minutes apart hand and hand, according to their grandma.

Sassy Addyson was taking her sweet time, McKenzie said on Facebook. Our hearts are completely broken.

10-year-old girls who were friends to many die in ATV crash. Unimaginable loss

Two kids die after heavy smoke and flames engulf North Carolina home, officials say
China says it will resume group tours for Taiwan residents to mainland

People look across the strait from a lighthouse at the 68-nautical-mile scenic spot, on Pingtan Island

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will allow travel agencies to resume organising group tours for Taiwan residents to visit the mainland from Friday, said Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson at China's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

In a statement, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said it welcomed the decision and that the two sides must communicate and make arrangements to ensure tourism quality.

The Council also urged Beijing to lift a ban on Chinese tourists visiting the island.

Beijing banned individual travel permits for Chinese visitors to the democratically governed island in 2019, citing the state of ties with Taiwan, which China considers its own territory despite Taipei's strong objections and has ramped up military pressure to force the island to accept Chinese sovereignty.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who refuses to bow to Chinese pressure, had called the ban a "political tool" Beijing used to manipulate the island's presidential elections in 2020.

(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom and Yimou Lee; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
China's ChatGPT rival reportedly bans users if they compare President Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh has emerged as a symbol to protest the Chinese government. China's ChatGPT rival Ernie reportedly bans users asking it to compare Xi Jinping to Pooh, CNBC reports. SOPA Images/Getty Images

China's ChatGPT rival Ernie reportedly bans users asking it to compare Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh, CNBC reports.

The Chinese chatbot was also found to deflect when asked about the origins of COVID-19.

The findings come as China enters the AI arms race with big tech to make the best AI tools.

China's version of ChatGPT doesn't want to talk about the iconic crop-top wearing teddy bear.

During a CNBC demonstration, a reporter asked Ernie, an AI chatbot that Chinese tech giant Baidu launched in March, a series of questions to see how it compares to OpenAI's ChatGPT. Queries that pertain to the government one of which pertained to Winnie the Pooh  were reportedly found to be off-limits.

When the reporter asked Ernie, "What is the relationship between President Xi Jinping and Winnie the Pooh?" the chatbot allegedly responded with "user has been banned" in red.

That may be because the Chinese government perceives the cuddly, pant-less teddy bear as a symbol of dissent.

Its rebel status can be traced back to 2013 when a meme comparing a picture of former President Barack Obama and China's Jinping walking side-by-side to an image of Pooh and Tigger doing the same went viral on social media, NPR reported.

Since then, the Chinese government has deemed the cartoon bear a mockery of Jinping and his policies. As a result, China censored the Chinese name for Pooh in 2017 and pulled the "Winnie-the Pooh: Blood and Honey" slasher film from theaters in Hong Kong and Macau in March of this year.

The cartoon bear isn't the only topic Ernie refuses to address. The chatbot reportedly declined to answer "Will Xi Jinping rule China for life?" and did not mention China when asked "Where did COVID-19 originate from?" according to CNBC's demonstration.

Baidu didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The demonstration comes as China enters the AI arms race with big tech giants like Google and Microsoft in a quest to make the best AI products.

Ernie reportedly claims that it is better at performing "specific tasks," such as answering questions and generate dialogue, than ChatGPT, per the CNBC demo, though Bloomberg reported that investors were disappointed by the chatbot after watching Baidu's initial demonstration.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Chinas Commerce Minister Wang Wentao will meet both US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai next week, the Chinese Embassy said Thursday, as the United States and China try to recalibrate strained relations.

The announcement follows an earlier meeting in Vienna between top Chinese official Wang Yi and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, which was held in an attempt to reestablish normal communications.

Tensions inflamed between both countries when a Chinese government spy balloon transited the US, prompting Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a planned trip to Beijing  a visit seen as an important step in repairing fraught diplomatic ties that are at their worst in decades.

During a virtual press briefing Thursday, Chinese embassy officials stressed their desire to keep channels of communication open, and emphasized recent bilateral engagements such as the Sullivan-Wang meeting  an indication that efforts by both Washington and Beijing to reset relations may be yielding progress.

The meeting with Raimondo in Washington, DC, had not been previously announced, but the meeting with Tai in Detroit was expected as part of the APEC meetings.

Wang Hongxia from the embassys Economic & Commercial Affairs Section said the meetings with Tai and Raimondo provides an opportunity for the two countries to engage in dialogue through bilateral, regional and multilateral channels to address their respective concerns in the economic and trade areas.

China is open to communication at all levels and cooperation across the fields with the United States, but only on the basis of mutual respect, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said.

China welcomes senior US officials to visit China, but the point is that the US will work with China to address the issues in the relationship and create favorable conditions for the future interactions between the two presidents, he said.

CNN reported Wednesday that the Biden administration is now looking at arranging a series of possible visits to Beijing by top administration officials in the coming months as part of an effort to reengage with China on substantive issues.

Referring to the Sullivan-Wang meeting, Liu said the Chinese side made clear that the relationship must be one of mutual respect and cannot be simply defined by competition.

The US side cannot ask for communication and dialogue with China while undercutting Chinas interests, he said. The pressing task now is to stabilize the bilateral relationship avoid a spiral decline and prevent unexpected incidents between the two sides, he continued.

We hope the US side will return to a rational and pragmatic China policy for the two countries to better develop themselves and prosper together, Liu said, adding that China urges the US to lift unreasonable restrictions that hinder people to people and cultural exchanges.

Beijing cut off talks with Washington on major issues, from climate change to military relations, in August last year in response to then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosis high-profile visit to Taipei.

The two sides resumed climate talks following Chinese leader Xi Jinpings meeting with US President Joe Biden meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia last November.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Chris Christie could enter 2024 race for president in a matter of days

Chris Christie will reportedly be entering the 2024 presidential race soon.

The Republican former New Jersey governor will make an announcement in a matter of days, and focus on the key primary state of New Hampshire, according to New Hampshire Today, citing multiple anonymous sources with knowledge of the campaign.

The campaign will reportedly be backed by billionaire New York Mets owner Steve Cohen.

Mr Christie, a former Trump ally turned vocal critic, has not yet publicly announced a campaign.

Mr Cohen, who spent millions supporting pro-Christie groups during the 2016 election, has declined to comment on his potential support of the former New Jersey leader going forward.

The former governor has spoken openly about considering a run.

He told Semafor in April he was considering entering the crowded GOP field, and wouldnt enter the race if he couldnt win."

"If I get into the race, Ill make it interesting," he said, telling the publication he wouldnt be a wallflower and would directly criticise Donald Trump.

Former Trump official Anthony Scaramucci has said he will back a Christie run.

During an April visit to New Hampshire, Mr Christie went at the former president.

Donald Trump is a TV star, nothing more, nothing less, he said. Let me suggest to you that in putting him back in the White House, the reruns will be worse than the original show.

A poll released this month shows that among New Jersey voters, the vast majority of Republicans prefer Donald Trump, regardless of who else is running, though mentioning the former presidents legal troubles gave Mr Christie a modest bump.

Mr Trump remains the dominant Republican candidate, with more than twice the support of his nearest rival Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, according to an analysis from FiveThirtyEight.
Cincinnati renters got 100 square feet less for the same money last year

Cincinnati renters can get about 1,000 square feet of apartment space for $1,500 a month, according to a recent RentCafe survey.

Cincinnati renters get more space for the money than renters in most major cities, but the amount of space you can rent here for $1,500 a month shrunk by about 100 square feet from last year, a RentCafe survey found.

RentCafe, which said it used a round figure relatable to most renters as a base, found Cincinnati renters, on average, can get 1,041 square feet of apartment space in Cincinnati for $1,500 a month.

In 2022, Cincinnati renters could get 1,150 square feet of apartment space for $1,500, according to a previous RentCafe survey using apartment data from sister company, Yardi Matrix.

The surveys compared the amount of space you can rent on the same $1,500 budget in the 200 most populous U.S. cities.

Cincinnati's average monthly rent is $1,254

The baseline budget used for the survey is just above Cincinnati's $1,254 average monthly rent, which varies depending on several factors, including neighborhood, size and quality, according to RentCafe.

Cincinnati's average rent, which is up from $1,135 last year, is also higher than the $1,176 average monthly apartment rent for the state of Ohio, the national apartment listing service reported.

The average monthly apartment rent in the U.S. is $1,702, RentCafe's figures show.

Cincinnati ranks 21st for most apartment space for $1,500 a month

Renters got the most space for their money in Sunbelt and Midwestern cities like Cincinnati, which ranked 21st on the national list.

In Ohio, Cincinnati ranked behind every major city except Cleveland for the amount of apartment space available to renters for $1,500 a month.

Renters get more bang for their buck in Midwest

Wichita, Kansas took the top spot nationally with renters there getting 1,463 square feet of apartment space for $1,500 a month.

At the other end of the spectrum, renters in big cities on the East and West coasts were unlikely to get more than a few hundred square feet for a monthly budget of $1,500.

Renters in Manhattan got a mere 243 square feet of apartment space for $1,500 a month, which is just a fraction of the city's $4,605 average monthly rent, according to RentCafe.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How much are apartments in Cincinnati? How big are apartments?
WASHINGTON  Republicans returned to the debt ceiling negotiating table Friday night after temporarily pausing talks with the White House that they said were not productive.

The movement came about seven hours after Rep. Garret Graves, R-La, who was tapped by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to lead the negotiations with White House staff, told reporters we decided to press pause because their morning meeting was just not productive.

Graves declined at the time to comment on details of the negotiations, but said the administration was being unreasonable as the clock ticks to the June 1 deadline set by the Treasury Department to act or risk a calamitous default on U.S. debt.

After meeting with White House officials on Capitol Hill for about 90 minutes Friday night, Graves told reporters they had "a candid discussion about realistic numbers, a realistic path forward, and something that truly changes the trajectory of this countrys spending and debt problem.

Asked if the evenings discussions yielded any progress, Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, another GOP negotiator, said, "No." He also said they weren't confident they will be able to reach a deal before the end of the month.

Steve Ricchetti, one of three White House aides President Joe Biden designated to represent him in talks with McCarthy, told reporters, Were going to keep working tonight, adding they are leaving the building for the time being.

It was not immediately clear when the two sides would meet again.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, speaking to reporters in Japan, said the administration was optimistic about a path forward. But she also acknowledged serious differences with Republicans.

This is going to continue to be a difficult conversation, she said.

Part of the hang-up in negotiations is that House Republicans want to force major spending cuts that are opposed by Biden and dead on arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

"It is very frustrating if they want to come into the room and think were going to spend more money next year than the year we did this year. Thats not right. And thats not going to happen," McCarthy said Friday night on Fox Business.

Earlier in the day he said there hasn't been enough movement from the White House, adding that he had spoken to Graves that day but not to the president, who is attending a Group of Seven summit in Japan.

A White House spokesperson said Friday that a responsible, bipartisan budget agreement remains possible if both sides negotiate in good faith and recognize that neither side will get everything it wants.

There are real differences between the parties on budget issues and talks will be difficult, the spokesperson added. The presidents team is working hard towards a reasonable bipartisan solution that can pass the House and the Senate.

Democrats are reluctant to accept a spending limit that's lower than current levels, a source familiar with the party's stance said. The party may prefer to maintain existing levels, even if it means a new spending deal fails and the government runs on autopilot through a continuing resolution.

There is a push, according to a Democratic source familiar with the negotiations, to pass a short-term spending resolution at the same time as a debt limit hike through early 2025. That would give McCarthy what hes wanted all along: moving those two issues in tandem  while the White House and Democrats, who initially demanded a clean debt hike, can save face by claiming the negotiation is about the budget.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said earlier this week, "Avoiding default should not be contingent on passing the GOPs hard right partisan agenda."

Congress must act in the coming weeks or the U.S. could breach the debt ceiling as soon as June 1, the Treasury Department has warned.

A source familiar with the negotiations said hardline conservatives were pleased by Friday's pause in talks with the White House.

The fact they are doing this shows they are still willing to walk away, the source said, adding there had been concerns that McCarthy's team had not been focusing on their core issue.

"The cuts are what matter," the source said.

Meanwhile, a GOP aide said conservatives are privately seething" at how the talks have been going and that "Republicans are giving away their leverage.

On Thursday, the conservative Freedom Caucus issued a statement saying the House-passed debt bill represents the formal position of the bloc of roughly 30 hard-right House Republicans.

Former President Donald Trump, who's urged Republicans to let the default happen if their demands aren't met, reiterated that call on his social media website Friday.

"REPUBLICANS SHOULD NOT MAKE A DEAL ON THE DEBT CEILING UNLESS THEY GET EVERYTHING THEY WANT (Including the 'kitchen sink')," Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate, wrote on Truth Social. "THATS THE WAY THE DEMOCRATS HAVE ALWAYS DEALT WITH US. DO NOT FOLD!!!"

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Crystal Hill, a veteran educator whos served in an interim role since January, will be the new superintendent of the second-largest school system in North Carolina and 17th-largest district in the country.

The CMS Board of Education on Friday voted 6-3 to name Hill its new, permanent superintendent. Hill was the districts chief of staff before taking the interim role. Shes the first Black female superintendent in the districts history.

It opens up an opportunity for me to serve in ways that Ive not been able to serve before, an emotional Hill told The Charlotte Observer when asked about her history-making hire. Im just grateful to those who have gone before me who have been the first and charted the path. I just hope that I can reflect and be a good role model for our students so they can look at me and say wow, If she can do it, I can do it.

The board approved a contract that runs until June 30, 2027. Hill will be paid a base salary of $300,000 in monthly installments of $25,000, her contract states. Shell receive a monthly transportation stipend of $900, up to $10,000 to move to Mecklenburg County and retirement contributions of $18,000 per year  6% of Hills base salary.

Im so grateful and excited to have the opportunity to serve the families, staff and greater Charlotte school community, Hill said. Im grateful for the boards confidence in me to do this important work.

Members voting against Hills contract included Jennifer De La Jara, Lisa Cline and Summer Nunn, who was chair of the superintendent search committee.

Board members came to their decision after embarking on a monthslong search following the firing of Earnest Winston in April. Winston was hired in 2019 with a base salary of $280,000 and received a raise to $288,400 in 2021.

Hill is the sixth superintendent since 2011, excluding interim leaders. Peter Gorman left the job in 2011. Hugh Hattabaugh then served for a year as interim. Heath Morrison served as superintendent between 2012-2014, followed by Ann Blakeney Clark (2014-1017), Clayton Wilcox (2017-2019) and Winston (2019-2022).

Board member Lenora Shipp called Hill the jewel that we had among us.

I believe she is coming in focused and shes going to take us in the direction this district needs to go, Shipp said.

New CMS superintendent Crystal Hill is the first Black female to be the superintendent of CMS. Members of the CMS Board of Education voted 6-3 to name Hill the school districts new superintendent on Friday, May 19, 2023. Hill had been in an interim role since January. Hill will oversee the second-largest school system in North Carolina and the 17th-largest district in the country.

Hills track record so far

During her time as interim, Hill presented a 2023-24 operating budget  a $2.1 billion plan to invest in its people. The budget proposal sought $596.9 million from Mecklenburg County, an increase of about $39 million, or 7%, over last years allocation. County Manager Dena Diorio in her proposal this week fully funded Hills request and budgeted for a $2.5 billion bond referendum.

Amanda Thompson and Rae LeGrone of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators wrote a letter to Hill on Friday, saying they are ready to transform CMS with her and look forward to partnering with you now and into the future.

Hills interim tenure has also included a recommendation on redrawn boundaries in south Charlotte to accommodate a new high school and planned middle school. She decided in February to pull two books  Lets Talk about it and Sex Plus: Learning, Loving and Enjoying Your Body  from school libraries after they were found at West Charlotte and Palisades high schools by conservative activist group Moms for Liberty.

Shes also faced a number of Title IX issues in the district, including a federal trial over a reported sexual assault at Myers Park High School. The U.S. Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights is also investigating a Title IX case of sexual harassment in the district, The Charlotte Observers news partner WSOC-TV reported.

Hill told the Observer and WSOC-TV that the case the Office for Civil Rights is investigating is a case that happened during the 2021 school year, prior to when she came to CMS.

My commitment is to keep all students safe, Hill said when asked about Title IX issues. And anyone who is on our team and doesnt act in a way that they should will be held accountable. Thats somebodys Madison and somebodys Morgan (Hills daughters). Its something I take very seriously. 

Work history

Dr. Crystal Hill, then the interim superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools walks to a classroom at Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, NC on Friday, January 13, 2023.

Hill held a pair of administrative roles in Cabarrus County Schools prior to taking the chief of staff job in CMS last year. She was the assistant superintendent in Cabarrus County for nearly six years before being named the districts chief academic officer in February 2022.

She has a background in elementary schools.

While working as elementary education and Title 1 director in Mooresville, Hill received the Sara Haire Tice Women in Leadership Award at the 2015 MSI Business and Community Excellence Awards Luncheon. Hill was selected for the award because of her steadfast belief that every child has the ability to succeed and learn, according to a post on the districts Facebook page.

In 2013-14, Mooresville Graded School District third-grade students were ranked first in the state of North Carolina for their performance on the states end-of-grade assessments.

Hill played a vital role in this success as the director of our elementary schools and the leadership she emulates to the administration, teachers, and students, the post states.

She also worked in Mooresville as principal of Rocky River and Park View elementary schools and began her career as a teacher in Greensboro.

Hill received bachelors and masters degrees from North Carolina A&T State University and a doctorate from Gardner-Webb University.

Dr. Hill is an experienced school administrator and servant leader with a proven track record of success related to student academic achievement, said Elyse Dashew, chair of the school board. She has been lauded for her role in improving academic data to the highest achievement (94% of all schools meeting or exceeding growth targets) in the history of Cabarrus County.

Candidates from 18 states

The school board hired BWP & Associates to a $57,000 contract to oversee its superintendent search, conduct dozens of community engagement sessions and create a leadership profile of who the next superintendent should be.

BWP & Associates told the board at its meeting in April a total of 49 people applied from 18 states. Of those, 19 candidates were in superintendent roles, five are assistant superintendents, four candidates are principals and three are business, community or political leaders, among others.

From those 49 applications, BWP & Associates narrowed the field to six. Board members narrowed that list to four at the beginning of May.

What was very important to us was someone who was focused on student outcomes and performance, school board vice chair Stephanie Sneed previously told the Observer. We are pleased with the fact all four finalists met this goal.
Fighter jet coalition: Denmark will train Ukrainian pilots and has not ruled out sending F-16s

Troels Lund Poulsen, the acting Danish Defence Minister, has announced that specific plans are being discussed with regard to his country's participation in the so-called fighter jet coalition, which aims to provide Ukraine with modern aircraft.

Source: Poulsen in a joint interview with Danish outlets DR and Ritzau, as reported by European Pravda

The Danish minister said that following the USs decision to join the fighter jet coalition, the countries can together join in the "retraining of Ukrainian pilots so that they can fly F-16s in the long term".

"Denmark will make significant efforts to make this a priority," Poulsen emphasised.

He said the coalition countries would finalise the format of the training for Ukrainians within the next month, and that it would shortly be discussed at a meeting of several countries defence ministers in Warsaw.

Poulsen confirmed that Denmark is still open to discussing the possible provision of F-16 fighters to Ukraine, but for now, the issue is not on the agenda.

"We are open to discussion - after conducting the exercises - about whether we should go further and send F-16 fighters," he said.

Earlier this week, the UK announced the launch of an international coalition aimed at training Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighters, including the F-16. So far it includes the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, the United States and Portugal.

According to media reports, the United States and its allies also plan to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, but not in the short term.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Record-breaking contract scale unveils western China's investment allure

Xinhua) 08:22, May 19, 2023

This photo taken on May 18, 2023 shows the exterior view of the venue for the fifth Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. A total of 88 major projects, with a contracted investment amounting to 290.7 billion yuan (about 41.55 billion U.S. dollars), were signed at the fifth Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade, which kicked off Thursday in Chongqing. (Xinhua/Chu Jiayin)

CHONGQING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- A total of 88 major projects, with a contracted investment amounting to 290.7 billion yuan (about 41.55 billion U.S. dollars), were signed at the fifth Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade, which kicked off Thursday in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

This year's contract amount sets a new record high.

Out of these projects, 84 will be located in Chongqing, with a contracted investment of 285.42 billion yuan, and among them, 56 exceeded 1 billion yuan each, accounting for 66.7 percent of the total contracted projects in Chongqing.

The projects cover a wide range of fields such as intelligent connected new energy vehicles, advanced materials, smart equipment, energy, and the processing of food and agricultural products.

Themed "Joining Hands with the West for a Brighter Future," the four-day fair has attracted more than 900 enterprises from 38 countries and regions, and 26 provincial-level regions across China.

Malaysia is the guest country of honor this year and the provinces of Sichuan and Gansu are the guest of honor provinces. Exhibitions and forums covering diverse topics and promotional activities will be held during the event.

Statistics released by the municipal commerce commission showed that a total of 945 projects were signed during the previous four fairs, with a total investment of 1.66 trillion yuan.

3WINS ASSOC., a German association dedicated to promoting city cooperation and development, and a Chinese green industry foundation jointly signed a 100-million-yuan project on Thursday. It will be located in Chongqing's Liangjiang New Area.

Chongqing's rapid development of high-tech industry, automobile manufacturing, and vocational education attract the organization, said Hans J. Fornoff, vice president of the association.

The project will build a China-Germany innovation center, focusing on various sectors including the digital economy, new energy smart cars, green innovation, and intelligent manufacturing. It is expected to serve as a platform to foster digital economic innovation and supply chain business cooperation between China and Germany.

He said he was impressed by the fascinating cities in China's western region such as Chongqing and Guiyang, and the enthusiasm of the local governments and friendly residents, which are very attractive for foreign companies to invest here.

"Chongqing is striving to become a financial center in China's western region, and our company is highly optimistic about the megacity. Our confidence in expanding our presence in Chongqing, and even the broader southwestern Chinese region, has strengthened," said Victor Rubtsov, the China sales director of the London Stock Exchange Group, who attended an investment promotion event at the fair.

Guo Tingting, vice minister of commerce, highlighted the vast market, abundant talents, rich resources, and tremendous development potential in China's western region. She expressed her hope that the event can help more transnational companies gain a deeper understanding of the western region, as well as support the western region in improving its services and business environment.

An official from the China Construction Fifth Engineering Division Corp. Ltd., which signed a 1-billion-yuan contract to build an investment and operation base, emphasized Chongqing's significant advantages in attracting investments. "As the only municipality in the central and western region of China, Chongqing plays a crucial role in the large-scale development in the western region. Meanwhile, it sits at the intersection of the Belt and Road and the Yangtze Economic Belt, which enhances its appeal."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Fidencio Valencia, the grandfather of four Indigenous children missing after an airplane crash in the Colombian Amazon, told AFP about his belief that they can survive

Four Indigenous children missing in the Colombian Amazon for almost three weeks have the intelligence and know-how to survive, their grandfather Fidencio Valencia told AFP on Friday.

The eldest of the four siblings, a girl named Lesly, "is very intelligent, very active, strong," said Valencia.

The others are Soleiny (nine), Tien Noriel (four) and 11-month-old Cristin.

Authorities have deployed 150 soldiers and sniffer dogs to the jungle region in southern Colombia to search for the four children, who they believe survived an airplane crash on May 1 that killed three adults.

Indigenous people have joined the search operation while three helicopters have circled overhead looking for signs of the children.

Several clues to their continued survival have been found, including a baby's bottle, scissors, hair ties, shoes, clothing and even a footprint in the mud.

Soleiny and Tien Noriel "are very skillful at going" through the jungle, said Valencia, 47.

Above all, the siblings "love each other a lot."

But there are many dangers in the jungle, such as jaguars, pumas and venomous snakes, not to mention the difficulties of moving through thick vegetation where storms are frequent.

Being Indigenous is an advantage, said Valencia, a member of the Witoto community. "You know some fruits, some plants, some leaves, something that can be useful. There is knowledge," he added.

The entire country has been left on tenterhooks waiting for news of the children.

Petro gave the nation false hope on Wednesday by announcing their rescue, only to retract that the next day.

Valencia urged the rescuers to "not give up because the children are alive."

Faithful to his indigenous beliefs, Valencia believes dark forces are at work hindering the rescuers' efforts.

He pointed to night and rain falling on Thursday right after the footprint was discovered.

"This means there is mystery in the jungle, suddenly there are dark forces holding the children," said Valencia.

He called for "more help on the ground, more dogs, more soldiers, more energy and more prayers both from the state and Indigenous people."

jss/lv/bc/md
Colorado cardiologist accused in sexual assault case is named by 9 more women he met on dating apps

Colorado cardiologist accused in sexual assault case is named by 9 more women he met on dating apps

A Colorado cardiologist accused of drugging and assaulting a woman he met on a dating app this year has been connected to multiple other alleged druggings and assaults.

Dr. Stephen Matthews, 35, was charged in March with sexual assault after a woman he met in January on a dating app, Hinge, filed a police report, NBC affiliate KUSA of Denver reported at the time. Since then, nine more women have come forward with accusations against Matthews, the Denver district attorney's office said Tuesday.

Prosecutors have charged Matthews with nine sexual assault charges and seven second-degree assault charges.

The first woman who came forward, who was not named publicly, said she went on a date for breakfast and mimosas with Matthews on Jan. 29, according to the arrest warrant released Tuesday. Matthews allegedly invited the woman back to his home, where they played a game of Jenga and got into a hot tub.

She told investigators she began to feel unwell after Matthews made her a drink, according to the warrant.

"Her next memory is being at her own home and talking to paramedics," the warrant said. "She had no memory from about noon until about 9:40 p.m. She had no idea how she got home."

The woman learned she had taken a car home at 3:40 p.m. and made calls to her sister and a friend, who both went to her home to check on her, along with her mother, the warrant said. Her sister found her in the shower in her underwear acting erratically and called for help.

The woman had a sexual assault examination the next morning and spoke to the Denver police Sex Crimes Unit to file a report the following week, the warrant said.

Matthews told investigators in February that the sex between them was consensual but that she got ill after the fact and got a car home, the warrant said.

Less than a week after Matthews was arrested in March, investigators got a call from a woman who said she met Matthews on Hinge in January and met him at a bar, the warrant said. She said that the pair returned to Matthews' home after she had one drink at the bar and that she felt "off balance" after he made her a tequila soda.

According to the warrant, she told authorities that she remembers kissing him and that she "blacked out," with little memory of the rest of the night.

"She took an Uber to get home and got violently ill," the warrant said. "She reported that she believes that Dr. Matthews sexually assaulted her but has no memory of it."

Another woman, who said she met Matthews in October 2019, alleges that he invited her to his home after brunch to use his hot tub. She told police that "things became very blurry" after Matthews made her a drink but that she remembered vomiting in his bathroom.

"She next remembers being in her apartment with him, but not how they got there," the warrant said. "She went to bed and woke up to Dr. Matthews having sex with her."

Matthews sent photos of her naked in the hot tub after she told him she would not see him again weeks later, the warrant said.

All but one of the women who spoke to Denver police say they met Matthews on dating apps, either Hinge or Tinder, from October to this February.

Some women said that they played Jenga with Matthews or went into his hot tub but that they felt ill after he made or bought them drinks, according to the warrant. One woman declined a drink from Matthews at his home and left after being uncomfortable with his getting "touchy" with her.

"She said that she subsequently realized that he was the same person who had sexually assaulted her friend ... about three years ago," the warrant said.

The only woman who did not meet Matthews on a dating app, according to the warrant, had gone to his home to a get a key to housesit for him.

They went to a restaurant, where, she said, she believes he bought her a drink and she began to feel sick, the warrant said. She called her roommate for a ride home and was not sexually assaulted but believes Matthews drugged her, it said.

In a statement to NBC News on Thursday, Matthews' attorney Douglas Cohen said accusations are not evidence.

"Like all of us in our great nation, my client is presumed innocent," Cohen said. "We must be careful in every case not to treat that phrase as a tired cliche or catchy book title. It is the bedrock of our system of justice that holds sacred liberty for all."

Matthews has a hearing scheduled next week, and inmate records show he was booked into a Denver detention center Monday with "no bond allowed." The facility could not be reached for comment by phone Thursday, and Cohen declined to comment on whether his client was in custody.

Matthews previously had privileges at a Centura Health hospital but was an independent provider. He no longer has access to the medical system's patients or facilities, Centura Health said in a statement.

CORRECTION (May 19, 2023, 1:35 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated where the women met Matthews. They met him on either Hinge or Tinder, not only Hinge.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Commerce minister to pay rare senior Chinese visit to US

Cranes and shipping containers are seen at Lianyungang port in China's eastern Jiangsu province in April 2023 as China returns to full economic activity following its Covid lockdown

China's commerce minister will visit the United States next week, the Chinese embassy announced Thursday, in a rare trip to Washington by a top Beijing official as tensions flare.

Minister Wang Wentao will meet Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai in Washington, said Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington.

Trade, once core to the US-China relationship, has increasingly been a point of friction, with President Joe Biden restricting sales of advanced microchips to Beijing, a step followed by key US allies.

Liu said US-China trade relations have been set back by "unilateral, protectionist measures by the United States."

"China, as always, stands for openness and cooperation, and will continue to present opportunities for international companies, including US companies, through its own development," he told reporters.

It marks the latest Chinese effort to emphasize positive momentum with Western powers.

Last week, Wang met in Beijing with Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell with an aim of turning the page on years of harsh Chinese sanctions and restrictions aimed at pressuring Canberra.

The United States has identified China as its top long-term competitor and hopes the chip ban will limit Beijing both militarily and economically, curbing the communist nation's ability to shape global standards in artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies.

Biden held a cordial meeting with President Xi Jinping, who had stayed in China during the Covid crisis, in November in Bali. But tensions soon soared again after the United States spotted what it said was a Chinese surveillance balloon over US soil.

The episode led Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a visit to Beijing due in February.

In a bid to maintain communication, Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security advisor, met last week in Vienna with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi.

The White House said they discussed sensitive topics including Taiwan, the self-governing democracy which China claims and has not ruled out seizing by force.

sct/caw
graphic of community sustainable fashion

It's not just greenwashing; the fashion industry has made significant strides in reducing its environmental impact. Transparency and accountability are becoming standard, with more companies adopting circular production models and consumers thinking about the lifespan of their garments . Still, wide-reaching progress remains slow-movinga pace the earth cant afford: According to the United Nations Climate Change Department , the fashion industry accounts for up to 10 percent of global carbon emissions, and it must cut that number in half by 2030 to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. A handful of savvy shoppers and a few well-intentioned conglomerates is not enoughthe sustainable fashion movement must be an ongoing, all-hands-on-deck effort.

"Anytime you want to try to effect monumental change, you need all ships to be aligned in the direction of the North Star, says Aurora James, the creative director of footwear brand Brother Vellies, founder of the Fifteen Percent Pledge, and author of Wildflower: A Memoir. Streamlining progress of this scale requires consistent input and action from all players involved, from industry executives to influential celebrities to everyday consumers. After all, as the old adage goes, If you want to go fast, go alone; If you want to go far, go together.

So much of sustainability right now still needs to be a conversation because we're all still figuring it out, says James. We need to engage with consumers to help them figure it out. We can design everything in the world, but unless [celebrities] also help amplify it and explain to their community members why it's important, it won't get the visibility it needs. And that conversation must be open and ongoing, even to the point of repetition. Real change happens when the message is delivered at multiple stages," says actress Kerry Washington , who is also founder of the production company Simpson Street. Whether reading billboards, scrolling on social media, or seeing A-listers wear vintage archival gowns on the red carpet , "people need to get the messaging in multiple places to understand that [sustainable fashion] is not a flash-bulb moment. It is not a trend: this has to be a way that we right the ship to maintain our planet's health.

kerry washington community sustainable fashion

Having public conversations on sustainability is how fashion designer Angela Chang works to rectify the fashion industrys past wrongs. The artist behind the eponymous label stresses the importance of accessibility and understanding the intention behind clothing production and consumerism. "Eighty percent of a product's environmental impact is determined at the design stage. So designers need to be educated on the decisions they're making when creating products, and we need management that is educated about these materials and how to produce better products. If we are to create these climate and environmental solutions, it's really about changing our mindset," she says. Chang urges her fellow designers to think about "why they're creating products" and for consumers to reflect on "why they're shopping, as consciousness is foundational to building a more sustainable fashion industry.

The fashion industry must also continue democratizing and be an open door for anyone who wishes to enter. As Washington points out, if everyones efforts are required to create a brighter, better, and greener future, then everyone must be able to contribute and be heard. As a woman of color and fundamentally being, in my heart, a kid from the Bronx, who wants to have access to luxury, I want people where I'm from to have what I have. It shouldn't be that I'm the exception in my neighborhood; We should all be able to have access to beautiful things.

Laborers and artisans must be involved in the conversation as well. "What's difficult for me is to hear brands talk about feminism and all of these things when you know that in their factories in Bangladesh, there are women not being treated properly," says James. "You can have a woman of color in your ad campaign, but if you are mistreating women of color in your factory or dumping chemicals in a way that's not helpful to their communities, then what are you doing?

community sustainable fashion aurora james quote

To wit, women are often the driving forces within the sustainable fashion sector, despite the many injustices they encounter. "Historically, nature has not been valued because it has been linked with the feminine. I mean, we call nature mother nature," Chang says. The designer notes how difficult it is for sustainable fashion brands to acquire funding because "many of them are women-led" and "only two percent of venture capital funds go to women [because] most of the investors who have money are men and invest in male-dominated businesses." James concurs, adding that this work ethic often blooms in adversity. Women are more thoughtful, driven, and motivated about the environmentespecially women of color, who are the most adversely impacted [by climate change]. As Naomi Michelson of George Washington University finds, due to structural and institutionalized racism, Black women are more vulnerable to air pollutants and natural disasters, and climate change exacerbates their communities' historical exploitation and displacement.

There are undeniable challenges, both current and soon to come, that come with building a more sustainable and ethical fashion industry. But even still, Chang is optimistic: "As a designer, I'm always thinking about the future. I visualize a world in the futurefive, 10, or 20 yearswhere the rooftops in New York are covered with trees. I imagine people on the street walking outside in the sun. They are wearing all-natural fibers and not wearing polyester textiles. You hear the wind in the leaves, and you hear birds singing. We're living in this solar-punk future where nature dominates. And for me, that is a world I can design into and be excited about."

Chang's vision is admittedly a fantasy. But perhaps it's a place that, together, we can makeat least somewhata reality.
The companies now banning their workers from using ChatGPT

The News

Major banks and technology companies have imposed restrictions on their employees use of ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence tool, over concerns about confidential data leaks.

They have cited worries about the unintentional transfer of information while using the advanced chatbot, which has the ability to solve complex problems and summarize financial reports in a human-like way.

Here are the companies clamping down on their workers' use of the technology, created by the firm OpenAI and released in November, that is already changing the way people work.

Know More

Apple

Apple has restricted the use of ChatGPT for some employees due to concerns over the leaking of confidential information, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

In addition, it told workers not to use GitHubs Copilot, a Microsoft-owned writing tool that is powered by artificial intelligence, according to a document seen by the Journal.

Apple has also been wary of the emergence of apps that use generative AI in its App Store. The Journal said Apple temporarily blocked an update of the BlueMail email app after it added a ChatGPT feature.

JPMorgan Chase

The financial services firm restricted its global staffs use of the program in February, in accordance with the companys policy on limiting the use of third-party software due to compliance concerns.

The decision allegedly didnt come from an isolated incident, a person familiar with the matter said, though The Telegraph reported that the ban was imposed due to concerns over the sharing of sensitive financial information.

Verizon

In a public address to employees, the telecom giants executives said that the program is no longer accessible from the companys corporate systems, due to the risk of losing control of customer information, source code and more.

Citigroup and Goldman Sachs

Citigroup and Goldman Sachs  two of the largest banks in the world  have blocked access to ChatGPT due to restrictions that are imposed around third-party software, Bloomberg reported in February.

Wells Fargo

Speaking to Forbes, the bank is evaluating ways for employees to use the chatbot safely. For now, however, it has imposed usage limits on ChatGPT as part of its control procedures on third-party software.

Bank of America

ChatGPT was added to Bank of Americas list of unauthorized apps that included WhatsApp. According to sources familiar with the matter, who spoke with Bloomberg, workers would not be allowed to use the program for business, and need to have the app vetted before using it in their communications.

Deutsche Bank

Access to the app has been disabled, a spokesperson said, though its unclear whether the restrictions only apply to company devices.

Amazon

According to documents seen by Insider, citing Slack messages from the company, a lawyer from Amazon urged employees not to share code with the AI chatbot  specifying that any confidential information should not be used on ChatGPT.

The guidance allegedly came after Amazon witnessed ChatGPT responses that have copied internal Amazon data.
Company trying to build carbon-capture pipeline in Iowa plans to provide CO2 for fuel

Navigator CO2 says it's reached an agreement to provide some of the carbon dioxide it proposes capturing from ethanol and other industrial ag plants in Iowa and four other Midwestern states to a California company to make climate-friendly fuel.

Omaha-based Navigator said it reached an agreement to provide Infinium, a Sacramento-based alternative fuel company, with 600,000 tons of CO2 each year. Navigator said Infinium would reach deals for CO2 with ethanol and other companies sending carbon through the pipeline.

Navigator has proposed building a $3 billion, 1,300-mile pipeline across Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota that will be used to capture carbon dioxide emissions at ethanol, fertilizer and other energy-intensive ag plants, liquefy it under pressure and pump it to Illinois where the company proposes to sequester the bulk of carbon deep underground.

A sign reading "No easement" and "No eminent domain" in opposition to a carbon capture and sequestration pipeline are seen, Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021, in Linn County, Iowa.

Infinium said the carbon will be used in a future plant but wouldn't say where it might be located.

"We are working on new development opportunities in the Midwest," an Infinium spokeswoman said in an email to the Register.

Navigator's project is one of three carbon-capture pipelines proposed in Iowa, garnering opposition from residents concerned about the possible use of eminent domain to force unwilling property owners to sell access to their land for the pipelines' construction.

Residents also have voiced concern about the pipelines' safety and the impact construction would have on farmland and underlying drainage systems.

Navigator, which projects capturing 15 million metric tons of carbon each year, plans to build its pipeline across about 800 miles in Iowa.

More: Iowa law allowing surveyors on property for carbon capture pipeline ruled unconstitutional

Infinium said Thursday it will use renewable energy to make green hydrogen that will be combined with carbon dioxide to make "ultra-low carbon" fuel, which it calls electrofuel or eFuel. Infinium said its fuels can be used in planes, ships and trucks "as an immediate replacement for petroleum jet and diesel fuels."

Infinium said it also produces a fuel that can replace petroleum-derived naphtha in chemical and industrial processes to make goods such as plastics and solvents.

The demand for eFuels as a climate-friendly alternative to petroleum-derived products continues to grow from both the heavy transit and the chemicals sectors, said Robert Schuetzle, CEO at Infinium, in a statement.

Navigator CEO Matt Vining said in a statement "its exciting to see Infiniums innovative approach to leverage carbon.

"This agreement serves as a great example of how we help our partners optimize their carbon usage and minimize emissions while maximizing value, Vining said.

Last year, Infinium reached an agreement with Amazon to provide it with enough low-carbon diesel for its transportation fleet to travel 5 million miles. Infinium said its agreement with Navigator is not tied to its effort to supply Amazon fuel.

Companies typically use electrolysis, powered by wind, solar and other renewable energy, to separate hydrogen from oxygen molecules in water to make green hydrogen, which can then be used to develop other products like fuel and renewable natural gas.

Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com or 515-284-8457.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Navigator plans to provide CO2 captured in Iowa, other states for fuel
Conservatives are lucky the Maricopa County attorney did not run as a MAGA Republican

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell will not prosecute two Phoenix police officers who shot and killed a man who was hurling rocks at them.

Arizona Republicans should pay heed to what happened this week at the Maricopa County Attorneys Office.

Rachel Mitchell, the Republican elected to the job in 2022, announced she would not prosecute two Phoenix police officers who shot and killed a man who was hurling rocks at a patrol car and later at them.

Mitchell was in charge of the case because she did not run for office as a MAGA Republican.

She did not kiss the Trump ring. She did not climb into the Stop-the-Steal barrel and ride it over Fantasy Falls to crushing defeat, as did so many other Arizona Republicans.

No, she ran as a traditional Republican. And she won.

Where would we be if Rachel Mitchell lost?

Consequently, Mitchell was not standing on the sidelines nursing her wounds and playing the victim this week to phantom schemes of election theft.

She was standing in the breach as protesters and an attorney pressing a wrongful-death claim demanded two officers be fired and hauled to prison for shooting and killing Ali Osman.

The 34-year-old Osman was not just tossing rocks on Sept. 24 near 19th and Glendale avenues. He was whipping them at full strength and at close range at lawmen.

It may be news to some people, but it is not news to cops that a hurled rock can kill them.

For you Republicans out there still enamored of Donald Trump, still willing to risk a fourth election cycle of Republican defeat to make him and other MAGA candidates the partys nominees in the 2024 general election, its time to consider the counterfactual.

What if Rachel Mitchell had lost?

What if she had campaigned in the red ball cap, as did Kari Lake and Abe Hamedeh and Blake Masters and Mark Finchem  you know, the losers?

It's likely those officers would face a bleak future

Heres what:

Julie Gunnigle, an attorney funded and groomed in the likeness of soft-on-crime, tough-on-cops Democratic prosecutors, would be your county attorney today.

Gunnigle was going to be the next George Gascon, who as Los Angeles district attorney is notorious for his gentle treatment of violent offenders.

She was going to be the next Chesa Boudin, the San Francisco DA who proved so felon-friendly that even the left-wing Bay Area could no longer abide him.

Gunnigle wore her contempt for cops like an imperial plume, flirting with defund-the-cop schemes and planning tribunals to investigate them.

Had Gunnigle won the county attorney job, there is high likelihood those two police officers would be facing a bleak future.

The Gunnigle who ran for office would likely have sympathized with the lawyer demanding $85 million for Osmans death and asserting that it is another disturbing example of the extreme indifference to human life continually demonstrated by the [Phoenix Police Department] and its officers."

Phoenix police were justified in their conduct

On Wednesday, Mitchell stood her ground and said it was the rock-hurling Osman, in fact, who had shown extreme indifference to human life.

The rocks Osman was throwing posed a serious threat to every motorist and pedestrian in that area, Mitchell said.

Osman had a rock in his hand, ready to throw it directly at the officer when the officer made the decision to shoot. And that decision was a reasonable one based on the force that Mr. Osman had used against them and was continuing to use.

The left doesnt want to hear this, but police officers have to make split-second decisions that can determine whether they live or die or spend their next decades in prison.

Because they have the extraordinary powers to take people into custody or to take life in extreme circumstances, they face enormous scrutiny.

For Mitchell and Gunnigle: 'Who won in 2020?' is a trick question

We dont expect doctors and lawyers and teachers to wear body cameras. We expect that of cops.

On the flip side, because the personal risk police take on is enormous, we have created laws that ensure we dont crush every police officer who acts in good faith in incidents that turn tragic.

So Mitchell explained, The law does not require a person using deadly physical force to prove their conduct was justified. Rather, the law requires the state to prove the persons conduct was not justified under the law beyond a reasonable doubt.

Under Arizona law, the officers decision to shoot was justified, she said.

Why Republicans need to win elections

All across the United States, the American left has worked to demoralize and marginalize police officers. They have broad-brushed them as brutes and made their jobs a living hell.

Yes, it is good and right to call out police brutality when it happens. But it is wrong to stereotype a million American cops as rogues.

Democrats have elected district attorneys who despise police officers and coddle criminals. They want to bleed the nations police departments of resources as they stigmatize the men and women in uniform.

As a result, police work has become the dregs.

Officers are retiring early and few young people want to become cops. Police recruiting across the nation and in Phoenix is way down.

Criminals are turning department stores and pharmacies in our major cities into turnstiles for shoplifters. Big cities have stripped police officers of the authority to clean up loitering and vagrancy and are making Los Angeles and Portland and San Francisco and Seattle look like sprawling skid rows.

Last week, comedian Dave Chappelle took one good look at San Francisco and asked his audience there, What the f--- happened to this place?

Yall ... need a Batman!

In Maricopa County, we have a county attorney with the guts to defend police officers when the facts support them.

She is there because in 2022 she wasnt just another MAGA sheep headed to the slaughter. She won her election.

And when she won, so did we.

Phil Boas is an editorial columnist. He can be reached at phil.boas@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Thank the Maricopa County attorney for not being a MAGA Republican
The News

Progressive Democrats spent much of this week on Capitol Hill scrambling to regain control over debt ceiling talks after President Biden signaled he might be open to some key Republican demands.

Thursday offered a sort of mirror image, with conservatives raising their own alarms after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy offered his first truly upbeat assessment of negotiations. I can see where a deal can come together, the GOP leader told reporters, adding that he was hopeful an agreement could be struck over the weekend, with a bill reaching the floor next week.

I just believe where we were a week ago and where we are today is a much better place because we've got the right people in the room discussing it in a very professional manner, he said.

Know More

GOP hardliners were less sunny, as the reality seemed to set in that negotiations were headed for a compromise that would sacrifice some of their priorities. The House Freedom Caucus issued a statement urging against scaling back the GOP debt limit bill, and seemingly called on McCarthy to halt his talks altogether. There should be no further discussion until the Senate passes the [Houses] legislation, they said in a statement.

No more discussion on watering it down, the group tweeted for emphasis. Period.

In a slightly confusing turn, the group appeared to walk back its statement  or at least heavily caveat it  later in the day. We're not saying you shouldn't continue to negotiate, but we can't be the buyer and the seller in the same agreement, Freedom Caucus chair Scott Perry told CBS News.

The waffling drew some derision. Republicans have the upper hand, a House GOP aide told Semafor. However this nonsense does not help us maintain that upper hand.

At least some Republicans continued to insist McCarthy wouldnt budge from the Houses bill. I think the speakers gonna hold the line, Rep. Andrew Clyde, a McCarthy holdout, told Semafor. We are not going to deviate from this.

And a few GOP members even seemed ready to up their ambitions, suggesting that McCarthy should try to insert the Houses recently passed border security bill into a debt deal.

Texas Rep. Chip Roy, a leader of the Freedom Caucus, said hed be willing to consider a debt limit extension past the 2024 presidential election if the border bill  which the White House has already promised to veto  was tacked onto the final package. Everything has a price, he told Semafor.

The noises from the Freedom Caucus were a reminder that any deal capable of passing both the House and Democrat-controlled Senate risks shedding a large chunk of Republican support. The question is how many of his members McCarthy will ultimately be willing to lose, and how many Democrats will be comfortable backing a compromise that could involve some painful cuts to federal programs when many would have preferred Biden not negotiate at all.

My impression here is that you're going to reach a narrower agreement with some face-saving measures and no triumphalism," Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means panel, said.
Construction of the nations first large-scale wind farm now underway off the Massachusetts coast

Construction of the countrys first commercial wind farm is going into high gear.

Vineyard Wind is right off the Massachusetts coastline, about 15 miles south of Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket.

Comprised of 62 turbines, Vineyard Wind will be capable of supplying power to 400,000 Massachusetts homes.

A 40-acre pier in New Bedford is ground zero for building the wind farm.

Workers are preparing the site by bringing in large equipment like a huge crane and pieces of turbines.

Vineyard Wind executive Jennifer Cullen says the states coastline is ideal for wind power.

We have very good wind. We have this wind that is close to load centers, so you really want to create the electricity closer to where it will be used . . . and we also have really aging energy infrastructure along the East Coast and a lot of power plants that are going offline.

Earlier this year, two large cables which will bring the power to the mainland came on shore at Covells Beach in Barnstable.

Today, the parking lot is re-paved and there is no sign of what is underground.

The goal is to have electricity flowing by the end of the year, and to be fully operational in 2024.

Its been a long haul getting offshore wind started in Massachusetts.

Cape Wind tried to do it 20 years ago and could not make it happen.

Even today, there are still concerns about how large turbines in the ocean could affect the environment.

One group based in Nantucket is fighting the project over potential harm to right whales, an endangered species.

The fishing community is also vocal about fears their livelihood could be negatively affected.

A national coalition called the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance says on their website: There are opportunities for mutual wins, however, offshore wind development is an ocean use that directly conflicts with fishing and primary food production, while imposing significant impacts on marine habitats, biodiversity, and physical oceanography.

State Representative Jeffrey Roy, the co-chair of the committee that oversees energy policy, told Boston 25 News the state has to get off fossil fuels in the 27 years.

Thats according to a law that requires the state to have net zero emissions by 2050.

We have an opportunity to put the brakes on global warming and offshore wind is one of the most exciting things. The Vineyard Wind project itself will take the equivalent of 325,000 cars off the road. Thats incredible.

Energy independence would free consumers up from disruptions in the energy supply, like what happened with natural gas prices after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Our initial estimates say that ratepayers will save a billion dollars over the lifetime of the project, so thats 20 years, explained Andrew Doba, a spokesperson for Vineyard Wind. Youve got a set price.

So, its just not susceptible to those fluctuations in the commodity market.

Several other offshore wind farm projects are expected to be built off the Massachusetts coast right after Vineyard Wind.

Representative Roy told Boston 25 News all these projects will have mitigation plans for the fishing community and fishermen will have a seat on the commission overseeing these issues moving forward.

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

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Cooper called on 4 Republicans to uphold his veto. Heres why they voted to defy him.

As part of a statewide campaign following passage of the GOPs 12-week abortion bill, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper isolated four Republicans whose records, he said, indicated they should disagree with new abortion restrictions.

In the weeklong run-up to Coopers unusually public veto ceremony, he emphasized that only one Republican had to break from their party for the abortion bill to fail. He pressed for one of the four to make that stand.

If just one Republican in either the House or the Senate keeps a campaign promise to protect womens reproductive health, we can stop this ban, he said Saturday at the veto event.

All four legislators  Rep. Ted Davis, of Wilmington; Rep. John Bradford, of Cornelius; Rep. Tricia Cotham, of Charlotte; and Sen. Michael Lee, of Wrightsville Beach  voted to override Coopers veto Tuesday.

The 12-week abortion bill thus survived its final round of legislative vetting. The new law, effective July 1, represents this years biggest victory for North Carolina Republicans. It marks a massive blow to the Democratic Partys goals.

Heres why Davis, Cotham, Bradford and Lee say they repudiated Coopers pressure campaign.

Davis picked his party

In the days before Tuesdays veto override vote, chatter across the legislative complex suggested that if any Republican might defy his party it would be Ted Davis.

The Wilmington lawmaker represents one of North Carolinas most politically purple districts. In Novembers election, Davis won reelection by just 847 votes out of about 37,000. On hot-button issues like abortion, Davis constituents represent many beliefs.

When Republicans voted to pass the abortion bill two weeks ago, Davis was absent from the floor. Some speculated that he took a walk  legislative-speak for intentionally missing a vote.

Davis told reporters Tuesday that was true.

The reason I took a walk and did not vote on the bill when it came before this chamber was twofold, he said. Number one, by not voting against that bill, I did what I said I would do and I supported what the present law was. And by not voting against the bill at that time, I did not turn my back on my fellow Republicans, all of which voted for the bill.

When asked about his stance on abortion last fall, Davis had said he supported what the law is in North Carolina right now, according to the Associated Press. The law then permitted abortion through 20 weeks of pregnancy.

When Cooper vetoed this years bill, Davis was uncertain what he would do, he said. But ultimately, his conscience, constituents and caucus compelled him to defy the veto.

Our caucus overwhelmingly supported overriding this veto, Davis said, and I was not going to turn my back on my caucus.

Cotham says bill struck a reasonable balance

Tricia Cothams defection from the Democratic Party in April shifted the states political landscape. In joining the GOP, Cotham handed House Republicans a narrow supermajority  the power to overturn Coopers vetoes without any Democratic support.

Despite her party switch, Democrats hoped Cotham would maintain her former opposition to abortion restrictions. Following the Supreme Courts decision to overturn constitutional abortion rights in 2022, Cotham had called on North Carolina lawmakers to codify Roe v. Wade.

On Tuesday, she voted to override Coopers veto and pass the 12-week abortion bill into law.

Some call me a hypocrite since I voted for this bill, Cotham said in a statement. They presume to know my story.

Critics have cited Cothams past openness about having had an abortion, accusing her of supporting a double standard.

As I said at the time, I had an ectopic pregnancy that sadly ended in miscarriage, not an elective abortion, Cotham said in her statement. In fact, Senate Bill 20 affirms the life-saving care I received in that dire situation. It was very important to me that this legislation protects all women going through a miscarriage or other complications  and it most certainly does.

Cotham added that a 12-week ban with exceptions strikes a reasonable balance on the abortion issue and represents a middle ground...

I understand that there are extremists on both sides of the abortion issue, she said. Some of the absolutists believe abortion is unacceptable in any circumstance and some of the absolutists believe aborting a perfectly healthy child in the 40th week of pregnancy is morally acceptable. I cannot support either of these extreme positions.

Lee, Bradford accuse Cooper of misrepresentation

Michael Lee, the only senator Cooper targeted, said his position on abortion has never wavered.

In floor debate Tuesday, Lee accused Cooper of misrepresenting him and lying to voters as part of a political ploy. Before last years election, Lee wrote an op-ed in the Wilmington Star News outlining his stance.

Even though this bill does exactly what I put in my op-ed, Lee said in the Senate, the governor and people in this chamber are saying that I am somehow doing something inconsistent with what I said during the election cycle.

Lees op-ed explored Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alitos written opinion on the withdrawal of constitutional abortion rights. Alito referenced a third group of Americans whose feelings about abortion fall between the two most polar opinions. Lee belonged to that group, he said.

Sen. Michael V. Lee, a Republican from New Hanover County, answers questions from Senate Democrats about the abortion restrictions bill that was up for a veto override vote on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, at the Legislative Building in Raleigh, N.C. Republicans have a veto-proof supermajority in the General Assembly, with the ability to overturn a veto from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

I am against bans in the first trimester but believe second- and third-trimester abortions  when the baby can feel pain, has a beating heart, ten fingers, and ten toes  are abhorrent and should be restricted, Lee wrote in his column. It also means I support exceptions for rape, incest, and to save the mothers life  as do the majority of Americans.

Bradford, the last legislator Cooper named, told Axios in October that I have no intentions (of) trying to make the 20 weeks more restrictive.

In a text message to the Charlotte Observer, Bradford echoed Lees criticism of Coopers public aggression.

Governor Cooper has made a career out of attacking Republicans, he wrote. His actions play to the radical left that favors full-term and partial birth abortions, a position not supported by mainstream voters.

He did not respond to The News & Observers requests for comment on his decision to support a 12-week abortion bill and to overturn the governors veto.

Is this the end of abortion talks?

North Carolinas new abortion law has looser restrictions than some in surrounding states. But its opponents fear SB 20 was just the first of incremental steps toward a total abortion ban.

Republican leaders in the General Assembly told reporters Tuesday their caucus has no plans to introduce more abortion restrictions in the near future.

Theres no other bill, Senate leader Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, said after his chamber overrode Coopers veto. I think we ended up in a place that represents a good compromise. I think weve ended up at a place that is supported by the vast majority of folks.

But Berger suggested future legislative bodies might modify this years law.

Who knows whos going to be in the General Assembly after the next election? Berger said. There may be members that want to push it further on the restrictive side. There may be members who want to increase the window for the elective (procedure).

House Speaker Tim Moore, a Kings Mountain Republican, echoed Bergers comments and offered the same hedge.

This represents the legislation that I believe that this General Assembly will pass, he told reporters. I cant say whatll happen two years, four years, 10 years from now. I cant say what thatll be.

Democrats are skeptical and wary. They suspect this years restrictions are just the first of more to follow.

Incrementalism is happening, Sen. Natasha Marcus, of Davidson, told reporters. So I dont believe Sen. Berger when he says hes currently not planning to go farther than this ban. I think they are on a plan to further and further restrict. And that is terrifying.
Cop issued him a trespass warning outside Florida smoke shop. Then the lunch meat flew

A disturbance between a customer and cop outside of a smoke shop in Central Florida escalated into violence earlier this month.

Bodycam video of the confrontation appears on the Port Orange Police Departments Facebook page.

According to the arrest affidavit, an officer responded to the Puff N Stuff in Port Orange around noon May 9.

A store employee reported that a customer inside the store, later identified as William Busi, 69, was making her feel uncomfortable, said vulgar things, touched merchandise and tried to go behind the counter.

WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE

The clerk asked for a trespass warning to be issued, said the Port Orange police report.

When the officer made contact with the subject, who was now on a bench eating something out of a container outside the business, Busi was cordial at first, wrote the officer in the complaint.

Theat soon changed. After being told to leave the area, Busi took an aggressive fighting stance, began to curse and rage that he was suing the Volusia County Sheriffs Office and had a black belt in karate.

READ MORE: A housekeeper was asked to clean up crime scene, Florida cops say

At some point, Busi is seen in the video taking a piece of lunch meat from his sandwich and hurling it, hitting the cop. The complaint said the food landed on the officers left side of the chest.

At that time, the officer moved to arrest Busi for battery on a law enforcement officer and asked him to place his hands behind his back.

READ MORE: Florida woman attacked boyfriend at bar, cops say

The suspect then held onto a nearby bench with one hand and resisted to make it harder to be handcuffed, despite repeated commands, reads the report.

Youre acting like a f------ jerk, Busi rages at the cop during their struggle. Youre lucky I didnt have my pocketknife with me.

The officer restrained the suspect and place him under arrest. Busi was booked into the Volusia County Jail on no bond.

The departments Facebook caption issued a warning.

A crash course of things that wont work out well for you in Port Orange, says the post. 1. Disrupting businesses and threatening workers. 2. Threatening officers. 3. Imagining that you have black belts in Karate and Judo. 4. Hitting officers in the chest with lunch meat.
7News Australia

An elderly Australian woman with dementia was left in critical condition after being tased by police at a nursing home early Wednesday morning.

Clare Nowland, a 95-year-old grandmother, sustained life-threatening injuries when the electric weapon caused her to collapse and hit her head at the Yallambee Lodge facility in Cooma, New South Wales, according to reports. Local police confirmed Friday that the incident is being investigated by the homicide squad and that the senior officer involved is under review and taken off their regular duties.

Chilling Video Shows Cops Repeatedly Tase Cousin of BLM Co-Founder Before His Death

Authorities initially said merely that a woman had sustained injuries during an altercation with officers at a nursing home, without disclosing that a Taser had been deployed. On Friday, police said the weapon had been used in response to Nowland having armed herself with a steak knife.

New South Wales Assistant Police Commissioner Peter Cotter said Friday that Nowland left her room in the early hours and went to the kitchen at the home where she found the knife. Officers were then called by staff at the home, with multiple people trying to de-escalate the situation. Police claim Nowland started approaching them using a walking frame.

Cotter said that it is fair to say that Nowland was approaching at a slow pace, before she was tased, the Guardian reports. She had a walking frame, he said. But she had a knife. I cant take it any further what was going through anyones mind with the use of a Taser. That is for them.

Andrew Thaler, a friend of Nowlands family, told the BBC that Nowland was hit twicein her chest and backbefore she fell, and that she had suffered a dangerous brain bleed and skull fracture as a result. He said that her family have already started grieving because they dont expect shell survive.

The family are shocked, theyre confused... and the community is outraged, Thaler said. How can this happen? How do you explain this level of force? Its absurd.

Community groups including People with Disability Australia (PwD) have also questioned the polices use of force. Shes either one hell of an agile, fit, fast and intimidating 95-year-old woman, or theres a very poor lack of judgment [from] those police officers, PwD President Nicole Lee told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). She needed somebody to... handle her with compassion and time, not Tasers.

Australias Law Enforcement Conduct Commission said it is independently monitoring an internal police investigation into the incident. No officer, not one of us, is above the law and all our actions will be scrutinized robustly and from a criminal perspective as well as a departmental perspective, Cotter 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.
A St. Martin man has been identified as the man who was shot and killed Thursday by a Harrison County Board of Supervisors patrol officer.

Cody Mercer, 30, died of multiple gunshot wounds at the shooting scene in a wooded area not far from a two-car crash near Highway 67 and Shriners Boulevard, Harrison County Deputy Coroner Art DeBorger said.

The shooting occurred around 4 p.m..

Mercer had been shot in the leg and chest area. An autopsy is expected as early as later today.

Mercer, Deborger said, was first shot in the leg, then ripped off his shorts and underpants, and charged after the Mississippi Coast officer again, resulting in additional gunshot wounds.

My understanding is the officer fired seven rounds, and at least four made contact, DeBorger said. He added that an autopsy would be performed to determine the number of wounds.

The patrol officer works in District One in Harrison County Supervisor Beverly Martins district.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is doing an independent investigation. MBI investigates all police shootings in the state. At the conclusion of the investigation, the results are turned over to Attorney Generals Office to determine if any criminal wrongdoing occurred.

According to MBI and Harrison County supervisors, the shooting happened after the officer saw a hit-and-run accident and stopped to try to catch Mercer once he tried to run from the crash. Mercer ran into a wooded area near the crash scene, where the shooting ultimately occurred.

The patrol officer was a certified law enforcement officer, though her identity is not being released pending the conclusion of the investigation.

A county patrol officer  or safety officer  is not a common term associated with law enforcement. In Harrison County, each supervisor has a patrol officer or safety officer for their district. A safety officeris not a certified law enfrocement officer but a patrol offier is certified in law enforcement.

After the shooting, Harrison County supervisors released a statement on behalf of the officer involved.

The full statement released Thursday read:

This afternoon one of Harrison Countys trained county patrol officers, after observing a hit and run accident, attempted to subdue the fleeing driver who caused the accident. The driver first attempted to flee with the officer in pursuit then he turned to threaten and attack the officer multiple times until the officer had no choice but to use deadly force. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is in charge of the investigation. The Board appreciates our citizens patience while the MBI completes its investigation into this unfortunate incident. No further comments will be made until the investigation is completed.
The lands near Kyiv, which illegally belonged to Marchenko, were returned to the state

According to the agency, the plots, totalling 9.5 hectares, are valued at over UAH 204 million ($5.5 million).

The prosecutors proved in court that part of the riverside forest area in the Boryspil district, Kyiv Oblast, had been privately owned  contrary to the requirements of the law.

Later, the land was added to the list of legal entities whose beneficiary is Marchenko.

Taking into account the violation of legal requirements, the regional prosecutors office appealed to the court to seize these properties back from Marchenko.

Marchenko is wanted by Ukrainian law enforcement. Ukraines SBU security service has charged her with financing actions committed with the aim of violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order, seizure of state power, or changing the state border of Ukraine (Part 3 of Article 110-2 of Ukraines Criminal Code).

On Feb. 7, reports emerged that Marchenkos companies had financed the Russian National Guard and the Russian Interior Ministry in occupied Crimea.

Later, she was summoned to the SBUs office in Ivano-Frankivsk for questioning.

Marchenko fled Ukraine a few days before the start of Russias full-scale invasion.

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) - CureVac NV said on Friday it had filed an expanded patent infringement claim against Pfizer Inc and BioNTech over the use of mRNA technology and that a U.S. court had granted its request to transfer the trial.

The company said it filed a counterclaim alleging that Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech infringed on nine of its patents, broader than its original claim of three patents.

In July 2022, CureVac had filed a patent lawsuit against BioNTech over the use of mRNA technology in the companies' COVID-19 vaccine.

The transfer of the trial to the Eastern District of Virginia from the Federal District Court of Massachusetts is expected to accelerate progress of the case and allow for a likely 2024 trial date, CureVac said on Friday.

Pfizer and BioNTech did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Pfizer and BioNTech in response had filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, seeking a judgment that they did not infringe U.S. patents held by CureVac.

The companies have previously told the court that their COVID vaccine Comirnaty does not work in the same way as CureVac's patented technology.

Pfizer and BioNTech are also facing patent infringement lawsuits from other companies.

(Reporting by Raghav Mahobe and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
Washington  A lieutenant with the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department was arrested Thursday and accused of obstructing an investigation into the Proud Boys and leaking information to its leader, Enrique Tarrio.

Shane Lamond, 47, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington on one count of obstruction and three counts of lying to federal law enforcement, including about notifying Tarrio about an impending arrest warrant and sharing sensitive law enforcement information with the Proud Boys leader. Tarrio and three of his subordinates in the Proud Boys were convicted of seditious conspiracy and other felonies earlier this month their roles in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Lamond, a 24-year-veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department, is expected to be arraigned before a federal magistrate judge in district court Thursday. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison for obstruction of justice and up to five years in prison for each charge of making a false statement.

The D.C. police department said it will conduct an internal investigation into the incident involving Lamond after criminal proceedings conclude. The officer was placed on administrative leave in February 2022 as the department cooperated with the federal investigation into Lamond's alleged conduct.

"We understand this matter sparks a range of emotions, and believe the allegations of this member's actions are not consistent of our values and our commitment to the community," the Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement.

According to a 17-page indictment returned by a federal grand jury, Lamond, who supervised the Intelligence Branch of the D.C. police's Homeland Security Bureau, was in regular contact with Tarrio beginning in July 2019 and through at least January 2021 about the Proud Boys' planned activities in the capital.

Federal prosecutors said Lamond and Tarrio communicated at least 500 times through a variety of messaging systems and phone calls, including the encrypted messaging app Telegram. Lamond started using Telegram to share information with Tarrio about law enforcement activity relating to the Proud Boys around July 2020, and changed the settings of his Telegram app on numerous occasions to make some messages delete soon after they were viewed, the indictment claims.

In one text message exchange on Nov. 7, 2020, after news organizations projected that President Biden had won the 2020 presidential election, Lamond messaged Tarrio, "Hey brother, sad, sad news today. You all planning anything?" to which Tarrio replied, "Yep."

That afternoon, Lamond urged Tarrio to "switch to encrypted," as alerts were being sent to law enforcement that social media accounts belonging to the Proud Boys "are talking about mobilizing and 'taking back the country.'"

"Just giving you a heads up," Lamond wrote, according to the indictment.

Several days later, on Nov. 13, Lamond allegedly warned Tarrio on Telegram that a Washington bar frequented by Proud Boys members was at risk of being shut down, and then that the D.C. Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration was "already on scene."

Tarrio and other Proud Boys members attended a rally in Washington on Dec. 12, 2020, in protest of the 2020 election, after which Tarrio stole and burned a Black Lives Matter banner from the Asbury United Methodist Church.

Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, stands outside Harry's Bar during a protest on Dec. 12, 2020, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

The Metropolitan Police Department opened an investigation into the theft and burning, and received an anonymous tip on Dec. 18, 2020, that Tarrio was behind the actions. Several days later, on Dec. 30, law enforcement sought and received a warrant to arrest Tarrio for destruction of property.

Tarrio was arrested on Jan. 4, 2021, after flying from Miami to Arlington, Virginia, and traveling into D.C. He pleaded guilty to one count of destruction of property in connection with the burning of the banner.

During the course of D.C. police's investigation, Lamond and Tarrio remained in "regular contact" about the probe and Tarrio's involvement in destroying the banner, according to prosecutors. On Dec. 18, 2020, after Lamond learned of the anonymous tip fingering Tarrio, Lamond allegedly told the Proud Boys leader on Telegram about the tip and said he would "check in with our [Criminal Investigations Division] people if they have you on video."

Later that day, Lamond told Tarrio he had been talking to the division about the Proud Boys and whether their members are racist, prosecutors alleged.

"I told them you are made up a lot of Latinos and blacks so not a racist thing. If anything I said it's political but then I drew attention to the Trump and American flags that were taken by Antifa and set on fire. I said all those would have to be classified as hate crimes too," Lamond wrote, according to the indictment.

He later told Tarrio he didn't believe police had photos of him. Tarrio went on and shared the information from Lamond with other Proud Boys members, the Justice Department said.

On Dec. 19, 2020, Lamond told Tarrio via an encrypted chat that police wanted to speak with him about the banner. On Dec. 25, he informed the Proud Boys leader that the Criminal Investigations Division "had me ID you from a photo you posted on [social media] kneeling down next to the BLM banner so they may be submitting an arrest warrant to US Attorney's Office," the indictment states.

Prosecutors allege Tarrio and Lamond spoke on the phone on Dec. 30, after which Tarrio sent encrypted messages on Telegram to Proud Boys members informing them about possible charges against him, writing "It just the misdemeanor. Not hate crime." Then, on Jan. 1, 2021, Tarrio sent several messages to an unidentified person stating, "DC metro submitted an arrest warrant to the Attorneys office Destruction of property. No hate crime enhancement But he says he doesn't think they're going to sign off on it Because they're afraid I'll take it to trial and their argument is weak."

While Tarrio was aboard a flight to Washington on Jan. 4, 2021, Lamond sent a message to Tarrio, after which the Proud Boys leader sent several messages to an unidentified person "containing information he received from Lamond," prosecutors allege, including the news that his arrest warrant was signed.

In response to questions about when or where he could be arrested, Tarrio replied, "don't know if my contact will tell me that." He relayed the information about his arrest warrant to other Proud Boys members.

Tarrio and Lamond also allegedly discussed the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, with Lamond asking Tarrio on Dec. 19 if the Proud Boys were going to participate in the rally. They also discussed the attack and the involvement of the Proud Boys in the days after Jan. 6. Prosecutors detailed the messages in the indictment.

"I think I could have stopped this whole thing," Tarrio wrote to Lamond on Telegram on Jan. 7.

Lamond then asked Tarrio, "how you holding up? I checked on your charges and the Poss of High Capacity Mags is a felony." The officer called Jan. 6 a "total s**tshow."

Later on Jan. 7, Tarrio told Lamond, "I have someone you guys might be looking for," and named an unidentified woman. "She had Maryland police go to her house yesterday.  She thinks they came because of the Capitol stuff," he wrote.

"Copy," Lamond responded. "Not that I'm aware of offhand but i will check."

Tarrio then said he would have the woman turn herself in if "she's on your list." Lamond allegedly obtained a list of suspects the FBI identified in its investigation into Jan. 6 and told Lamond the woman was "not on our list."

On Jan. 8, during an exchange about arrests stemming from the Capitol assault, Lamond told Tarrio, "Of course I can't say it officially, but personally I support you all and don't want to see your group's name or reputation dragged through the mud."

Federal officers interviewed Lamond about his contacts with Tarrio on June 2, 2021, and he allegedly "knowingly and willfully made several false statements to them." Lamond told officers that many of his conversations with Tarrio were "one-sided" and involved the Proud Boys leader sharing his group's plans. Lamond said they "maybe" communicated through Telegram, according to court filings.

When asked about the investigation into the Black Lives Matter banner and Tarrio's subsequent arrest, Lamond said he was trying not to tip Tarrio off to the Metropolitan Police Department's probe, the indictment states. Lamond later told officers that, "I know that I didn't, you know, inform him that he had an arrest warrant."

Bill Barr says Trump's classified documents case is his biggest legal risk

Price Gouging | Sunday on 60 Minutes

NFL legend Jim Brown dies
WASHINGTON  A Metropolitan Police Department lieutenant who supervised the intelligence branch of the Washington, D.C., police was indicted this week, charged with tipping off former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio about a pending warrant for his arrest just ahead of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Tarrio, the former chair of the Proud Boys, was recently found guilty of seditious conspiracy in connection with the Capitol attack, along with other members of the far-right group. Tarrio was not in Washington on Jan. 6 after his arrest in connection with the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner, as he was banned from the city by a judge the day before the attack.

Shane Lamond, 47, was indicted on one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said Friday. A federal grand jury charged Lamond with obstructing the investigation into the burning of the banner Dec. 12, 2020, when the Proud Boys were roaming the streets of Washington for a pro-Trump event.

Between July 2019 and January 2021, Tarrio and Lamond communicated "at least 500 times using cloud-based messaging services, including Google Voice, Apple iMessages, and Telegram, an encrypted messaging application," the indictment said. They sent approximately 145 messages using a secret chat function on Telegram that causes messages to disappear, the indictment charged, adding at least 101 of these messages were destroyed.

Lamond was in communication with Tarrio about the banner investigation and advised Tarrio that he told another unit within the police department, trying to convince them that the Proud Boys weren't racist, the indictment said.

"I told them you are made up a lot of Latinos and blacks so not a racist thing. If anything I said it's political but then I drew attention to the Trump and American flags that were taken by Antifa and set on fire," Lamond wrote in a message contained in the indictment. "I said all those would have to be classified as hate crimes too."

Lamond sent a similar message to an official with the U.S. Capitol Police, also cited by the indictment, saying that he'd told his colleagues that if they charged Tarrio with a hate crime, they'd have to charge what he called "Antifa hate crimes." (There's no federal law that makes politically motivated attacks a hate crime, but Washington law does allow for a sentencing enhancement if a locally charged crime can be proven to be based on the "political affiliation of a victim.")

While on a flight from Miami to the Washington area Jan. 4, 2021, Tarrio relayed information he received from Lamond about his pending warrant to another person, the grand jury said. Tarrio was arrested when he arrived in Washington the same day.

After the Jan. 6 attack, Lamond and Tarrio continued communicating, with Tarrio telling Lamond he thought he "could have stopped this whole thing," meaning the Capitol attack, in another message cited by the indictment.

Lamond said Jan. 8 that he hoped that none of the Proud Boys would be arrested, according to the indictment.

"Of course I can't say it officially, but personally I support you all and don't want to see your group's name or reputation dragged through the mud," he said in that message.

Lamond will be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui on Friday.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A day after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio texted a contact in the Washington D.C. police department: I think I could have stopped this whole thing.

That admission from Tarrio is at the center of newly unsealed charges against Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Shane Lamond, who is facing obstruction of justice and false statement charges for allegedly concealing incriminating contacts with Tarrio from law enforcement  even in the days after the attack.

Prosecutors revealed that Lamond replied to Tarrios contention by alluding to podcaster Alex Jones, a Tarrio ally who was seen on Jan. 6 exhorting the crowd with a bullhorn.

I dont know, bro. You know its fucking bad when [Person 6] was the voice of reason and they wouldn't listen to him, Lamond said. He got on the bullhorn and urged everyone to stop attacking the police and march around the US Capitol and they ignored him.

Tarrio later replied: Yeah but I have guys I can line up... he doesnt.

The exchange is the latest twist in the long-running investigation of the Proud Boys role in the Jan. 6 attack. Tarrio and three associates were convicted earlier this month of conspiring to forcibly derail the transfer of power from former President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden, capping a four-month trial in which prosecutors portrayed the Proud Boys as the most significant drivers of the violence and chaos on Jan. 6.





Lamond, who was arrested Friday, was a ubiquitous presence in the trial, though he didnt actually testify. Tarrio repeatedly referenced his contacts with Lamond to contend he had a positive working relationship with law enforcement and would never marshal a mob to attack them.

But prosecutors portrayed Tarrio and Lamonds contacts in a more sinister light. After Tarrio burned a Black Lives Matter banner during unrest in Washington at a Dec. 12, 2020 pro-Trump rally, Lamond repeatedly updated Tarrio on the status of the investigation, including that an arrest warrant had been signed just days before Jan. 6.

Tarrio relayed those details to other members of Proud Boys leadership, warning them that his arrest was likely when he headed to D.C. ahead of Jan. 6. Lamond also repeatedly updated Tarrio on whether the charges against him might be elevated to a hate crime. In the charging documents Friday, prosecutors say Lamond never told colleagues about Tarrios admissions related to the flag burning.





Lamonds four false statement charges all pertained to the federal investigation of the Proud Boys. Prosecutors say he repeatedly misled investigators about the frequency and manner of his contacts with Tarrio  which shifted toward encrypted text messages as Jan. 6 approached. According to records obtained by the Justice Department, Tarrio and Lamond exchanged 500 communications between July 19, 2019  when the two first became associates  and January 2021.

In their post Jan. 6 exchanges, Tarrio also informed Lamond that a woman he knew from Maryland, identified only as Person 7 in the indictment, might be of interest to people investigating the Capitol attack.

"After receiving Tarrios information about Person 7, Lamond used his law

Enforcement contacts to obtain a list of individuals that the FBI had identified as subjects in the

Federal Investigation. After receiving the list on Telegram, Lamond wrote to Tarrio, Nope.

Not on our list.

Prosecutors say Lamond never informed law enforcement that Tarrio had identified a potential Jan. 6 suspect.

The obstruction charge against Lamond  brought under the D.C. code rather than federal law  carries a 30-year maximum sentence. The federal false statement charges each carry a five-year maximum sentence.
Noble Geathers

A Daytona Beach man was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison after he was convicted of dogfighting and animal cruelty charges.

Noble Gene Geathers, 56, was convicted after a five-day trial this month of 12 animal cruelty counts, nine animal fighting counts and one count of animal fighting-property promoting. Each charge was a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Circuit Judge Leah Case became emotional when she recounted the factors she considered in the sentence. She wiped at her eyes with a tissue. She sentenced Geathers to prison and fined him $10,000.

Dog fighting conviction: Daytona Beach man convicted of dog fighting and animal cruelty charges

Port Orange man barred from having pets: Port Orange man barred from owning pets, gets 6 months in jail for beating dog to death

"It is a hard case all around," Case said, adding she felt the emotion in the courtroom. She noted that Geathers was caring for several generations of his family.

On one side of the courtroom were relatives and supporters of Geathers and on the other were animal control officers and at least one animal rights activist.

Assistant State Attorney Michael Willard, who prosecuted the case along with Assistant State Attorney Dan Megaro, requested a 27-year sentence.

Geathers' defense attorney, Carlus Haynes, said he has seen cases in which defendants with criminal records who have harmed people don't get sentences that long. He also said a co-defendant in the case reached a plea deal with prosecutors which calls for a two-year prison sentence followed by probation.

The co-defendant, Benjamin Ponder III, 35, has entered no-contest pleas to similar charges as part of a plea agreement and has yet to be sentenced.

Noble Gene Geathers was fingerprinted on Friday after he was sentenced to 18 years in prison on animal cruelty and dogfighting charges.

When the judge asked Willard about the difference in sentences, he said the case against Geathers was stronger.

Before pronouncing the sentence, the judge cited evidence of dogfighting, including multiple broken teeth on dogs. The judge said the dogs belonged to Geathers and were on property that was linked to him, according to evidence and testimony.

The dogs were in horrible condition, Case said.   We are talking about wounds and scars that are consistent with animal fighting.

She said some of the dogs had fractured teeth consistent with dog fighting. She said one dog had a broken jaw and exposed nerves. She said the dogs were in need of medical treatment and were suffering from infections like hookworms or ringworms.

There is no doubt that these dogs were used for dogfighting, Case said.

42 dogs seized from Daytona Beach property

The investigation began on Feb. 22, 2021, when Daytona Beach Police and Volusia County Animal Control officers seized 42 dogs, including puppies, from a home at 225 Reva St.

Some of the dogs had heavy chains attached to them. Some were being kept in makeshift wooden cages while others were tied to vehicle axles buried in the ground. Other dogs were kept in carriers.

Detectives determined that some of the dogs were being bred and then used in an organized dogfighting ring. Detectives also found dogs with wounds in different stages of healing.

Police also found dog supplements and injectable medication which was often used in organized dogfighting.

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, dogfighting is a felony in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, yet it continues. It describes the activity as "one of the most heinous forms of animal cruelty."

Noble Gene Geathers, 56, shown here during his trial, was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison on animal cruelty and animal fighting charges.

Dogs used for fighting are typically raised in isolation, so they spend most of their lives on short, heavy chains. They are regularly conditioned for fighting through the use of drugs, including anabolic steroids to enhance muscle mass and encourage aggressiveness.

Geathers's defense attorney, Carlus Haynes, said in an interview that he respected the jury's verdict and the judge's decision. He said that Geathers no longer owned the property. He said Geathers was breeding the dogs and was not involved in fighting the dogs. But he said some people bought the dogs for fighting.

Geathers had faced charges related to dogs once before in 2017 but the case was later dropped because of legal problems with a police search, according to prosecutors.

According to the conditional plea agreement, co-defendant Ponder will be sentenced to two years in state prison followed by eight years probation and will be eligible for early termination of probation. An addendum to the plea agreement was not available Friday night.

A third man, Earl Holmes, 53, also faces principal to cruelty to animal charges in the case and other charges and his case remains open.

In a press release, State Attorney R.J. Larizza warned others involved in dogfighting to take note of the long prison term.

How we treat other living things is a reflection of our heart and soul. We will continue to aggressively prosecute and seek lengthy prison sentences for those who choose to commit such crimes, Larizza stated.

One of the people at the sentencing hearing was Debbie Darino, the president of the Ponce Animal Foundation.

"I think the sentence was appropriate. I think Judge Case was very fair in considering both sides," Darino said. "I feel sorry for the family that they have to endure the repercussions of Mr. Geathers actions but he will go to where he needs to go."

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida man in Daytona Beach dogfighting case gets 18 years in prison
Good morning, Chicago.

As energy companies shift away from burning coal to generate electricity, many are leaving behind toxic waste that could endanger public health and the environment for years to come.

New regulations proposed by the Biden administration would expand the number of coal ash dumps subject to federal oversight, a change intended to prevent spills that during the past decade wreaked havoc near power plants in North Carolina and Tennessee.

One of the sites that would come under federal oversight is the Waukegan Generating Station on Lake Michigan, a former ComEd coal plant ringed by two unlined ash ponds and an unlicensed landfill. Another is a Joliet quarry where ComEd and other companies dumped coal ash until NRG Energy overhauled a nearby coal plant in 2016 to burn natural gas.

Read the full story from the Tribunes Michael Hawthorne.

Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.

Subscribe to more newsletters | Puzzles & Games | Todays eNewspaper edition

Chicago is one of six locations selected for the ALL INside program, an offshoot of President Joe Bidens December federal strategic plan aimed at reducing homelessness nationally by 25% by 2025.

The new program is focused on finding housing for those who are unsheltered  people who live on the street and in cars, transit and other places not meant for habitation.

Increasing rents and property values over the past two decades forced thousands of residents to leave the predominantly Mexican immigrant neighborhood, but the city purchased last year for $12 million roughly 6 acres at West 18th and South Peoria streets, and envisions hundreds of mid-rise and high-rise units, many affordable, as well as for-sale homes, rising on the now-vacant land.

This site is the largest undeveloped site in the Pilsen neighborhood, said James Harris, supervising planner with the citys Department of Planning and Development.

Illinois craft breweries made a good showing at the 2023 World Beer Cup, taking home two gold, three silver, and two bronze awards from the competition that ended in Nashville on May 10. Two of the winners are popular places in the Southland.

Artist Terri Hudson jumped at the chance to be a part of photographer Megan Dohertys latest work, Compromised  over a dozen portraits of people who are immunocompromised trying to live their lives amid the ongoing pandemic.

Each portrait is accompanied by words from the participants  essays, letters, etc.  in their own handwriting about how they have been impacted by COVID-19, how theyve been forced out of public life and what that has done to them emotionally, professionally, socially and economically.

With a need for depth at cornerback to join Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, the Bears drafted Tyrique Stevenson in the second round and circled back for Minnesotas Terell Smith in Round 5 at No. 165.

Conventional thinking is Stevenson will get the first shot to be a starter in the nickel package, but the Bears believe Smith has upside and will compete to be in the mix.

White Men Cant Jump no longer exists to be fondly remembered and re-watched, but as a library title to be reimagined, writes critic Nina Metz. Like so much else that Hollywood endlessly recycles, the question hovering around the edges of the movie is simply: Why?

The original is on Hulu. The new version is on Hulu. All things being equal, what would compel audiences to watch the remake?
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis leans in to listen to Elliot Perry outside the Red Arrow Diner during a visit to Manchester, N.H., Friday, May 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

CONCORD, N.H. (AP)  Chatting with a mom in a New Hampshire diner on Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis paid no attention to the Mickey Mouse shirt worn by her young son. But the woman said she has been paying attention to him.

If DeSantis announced a campaign to run for president I would probably vote for him over anybody else, Jillian Sybert, of Deerfield, said later.

DeSantis made the swing to the early voting state as he prepares to launch a 2024 Republican presidential campaign. He spent the morning meeting with state GOP lawmakers still licking their wounds a day after the New Hampshire House rejected a bill that would have required school officials to inform inquiring parents if their child was using a different name or being referred to as a different gender.

Republicans hold a razor-thin majority in the 400-member House, but Democrats had a one-vote edge in attendance for Thursdays session.

In contrast, GOP supermajorities in the Florida Statehouse have helped DeSantis push through an aggressive agenda on multiple fronts, including gender identity, and he has made anti-LGBTQ+ legislation a large part of his messaging as he prepares to seek the Republican presidential nomination. He signed bills Wednesday that ban gender-affirming care for minors, target drag shows, restrict discussion of personal pronouns in schools and force people to use certain bathrooms.

We just completed what I would say is the boldest and most far-reaching agenda that weve seen in the modern history of the Republican Party, DeSantis told about 30 New Hampshire lawmakers in Bedford.

Their ensuing discussion was closed to the media, but one attendee said he thinks the defeat will motivate Republicans to back DeSantis.

We really need to push back, because thats a big issue, and DeSantis is for it, said state Rep. Ralph Boehm. The lawmaker said he also is a fan of former President Donald Trump but doesn't think Trump will be able to overcome the lies that Boehm said are spread about him by the media.

DeSantis, with what hes done in Florida, is what we need for this country, he said.

It remains to be seen how DeSantis will fare in New Hampshire, where independents can vote in the Republican primary and voters are accustomed to questioning candidates at town hall forums and other events. Trump won the GOP primary in both 2016 and 2020 but twice lost the state in the general election.

DeSantis later stopped by the Red Arrow Diner in Manchester, a popular destination for presidential candidates. He briefly chatted with Sybert, who was having breakfast with her two young sons. If he noticed one of the boys was wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt, he didnt show it, she said.

Disney and DeSantis have been engaged in a tug-of-war for more than a year after the company opposed a state law that bans classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades.

Sybert, of Deerfield, said she considers herself an independent voter and would probably back DeSantis if he gets in the race because of his stance on freedom. She said she was disappointed about the failed state legislation and hopes the next president will champion the issue.

New Hampshire is good in a lot of ways but it could be better, and it would be nice to see that at the federal level as well, she said.
DeSantis more likely to double down than pivot as he enters presidential race

Thomas Massie had been in Congress less than a year when a colleague approached him with a controversial plan. Rep. Ron DeSantis of Florida, himself a freshman, was urging Republican lawmakers on to the U.S. House floor to rail against a proposed Internet sales tax that had the strong support of retail giants and only muted GOP opposition.

DeSantis effort drew fierce pushback. Lawmakers were surprised to receive calls from irate lobbyists before the floor debate even ended, demanding they back off.

Yet the Florida Republican did not waver  a demonstration, Massie says, of how DeSantis responds to critics when his plans come under fire.

I just thought, make sure hes right before you follow him, Massie told McClatchy, because hes not going to back down, and it could be controversial.

The legislation ultimately never made it out of the House, a victory for DeSantis that would help form the foundation of an intractable mindset that his allies say will play a big role in his presidential campaign.

After emerging from last years midterm elections as GOP voters undisputed top alternative to former President Donald Trump, DeSantis has faced a torrent of criticism from fellow Republicans in recent weeks questioning his political judgment on issues like his ongoing feud with the Walt Disney corporation and what some would call the delayed launch of his White House campaign. Even some allies and donors have called for him to recalibrate his approach or relent on some of his past positions lest his campaign fizzle before it officially begins.

READ MORE: DeSantis 2024 supporters worry hes launching too late

But a pivot, according to longtime DeSantis watchers like Massie, isnt coming anytime soon.

Instead, the Florida Republican plans to double down on his past positions, allies and insiders say, confident that recent history proves he and his political operation are better attuned to the values and desires of the average Republican voter than their critics and doubters.

Weathering attacks from the beltway chattering class to deliver on campaign promises may be a concept alien to stale establishment Republicans, but Ron DeSantis has a long record of tuning out the critics and doing what he said he said he would do, Dave Abrams, spokesman for DeSantiss political team, said in a statement.

CAREER HALLMARK

As he prepares to announce his candidacy for president next week, the governors defiant posture toward criticism represents one of his boldest  and riskiest  political bets, trusting that his instincts can prevail at the highest level of politics.

That attitude has been a hallmark of his political career, dating back to his decision as a political neophyte in 2012 to run for Congress. Six years later, he took on longtime establishment favorite Adam Putnam as a gubernatorial underdog. Both decisions paid off.

As governor, DeSantis again forged an identity defying critics  both politicians and doctors  when he lifted public health restrictions in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, even as the virus continued to kill tens of thousands of Americans every month.

He later took far-reaching action on social issues like banning the discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity for young school children, pushing it over the vociferous objections of many LGBTQ advocacy groups and, after it passed, Disney.

In his speeches around the county, DeSantis often says he received advice to govern as a moderate in Florida, where top-of-ticket elections have been decided by narrow margins. But his decisions were politically vindicated, the governors allies believe, when he cruised to an easy reelection victory in 2022. And theyre so eager to burnish his image as a fighter that the super PAC chosen to back his soon-to-be-announced White House campaign is called Never Back Down.

The strategy has been to make a decision, take a position, and never back down, said Justin Sayfie, a longtime GOP lobbyist in Florida. Thats what he does. Its been a successful formula for him.

Massie said he wasnt surprised that DeSantis has continued to pursue his dispute with Disney.

Nobody should be surprised, especially if youve tracked him for 10 years, he said. It was the same way in Congress. If he took a position that he thought was right and he caught criticism, he would just double down.

PRESIDENTIAL GAUNTLET

What worked in Florida, of course, wont necessarily be successful battling against former Trump and a group of other seasoned GOP candidates, some Republicans warn.

The presidential campaign gauntlet is unlike any other gauntlet devised by man, Sayfie said. And you never know how someone is going to do in it until theyre actually in it.

As if to prove the point, Disney announced Thursday that it would withdraw a planned billion-dollar investment in the state, citing changing business conditions as its feud with DeSantis continues.

RELATED CONTENT: Defiant Disney CEO has a lot to say, accusing DeSantis of punishing free speech

DeSantis back and forth with Disney over control of an improvement district has been perhaps his most controversial position of late, with Republicans like former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie chiding him for using the power of government to punish a private company.

The governors aides, however, point to polls showing that most GOP voters take his side in the standoff: A Reuters/Ipsos poll released in April found 64% of national GOP voters say DeSantis is rightfully rolling back special treatment for Disney, compared to just 36% who say hes punishing the company for exercising its free-speech rights.

DeSants himself has defended his battle with Disney as an issue about who governs in our society, arguing that voters have vindicated his position. He notes that he even performed well in November in Osceola County, where many Disney employees live.

No one could mistake my campaign position, DeSantis said at a press conference earlier this month. And yet, not only were we successful, we did better in places like Osceola county than a Republican has done in eons and even won the county by 7%. So, we had the debate and so now were implementing the will of the people. And for them to act like they have the ability to veto that, basically is putting their thumb in the eye of the voters of this state.

DeSantis regularly touts his immunity to criticism in public, going so far as to suggest he feels vindicated that hes taking the right course of action when he does get criticized.

But that approach can also lead to criticism. Steve Schmidt, who ran John McCains presidential campaign in 2008 before turning into a frequent Republican critic, chastised DeSantis in a recent video, saying that the president of the United States must occasionally be ready to back off when the situation dictates.

READ MORE: Republicans see narrow path for DeSantis through early primary states: Iowa is crucial

Do you really want the most powerful person in the world, a person in charge of the nuclear arsenal, to lack the dismemberment, the wisdom to believe, truly, that its OK to never back down? Schmidt said.

DeSantis has on occasion shown a willingness to deviate from his positions. In March, after issuing a much-criticized statement that called Russias invasion of Ukraine a territorial dispute, he clarified that he thought Vladimir Putin was wrong to invade.

A month later, when Trump was indicted by a Manhattan prosecutor, DeSantis initial response made repeated mention of the former presidents hush money payments to porn stars. The description was absent from DeSantis remarks a week later, when Trump was arraigned.

But allies say, on the whole, DeSantis often thinks he better understands the substance and the policy of issues better than his critics, especially when it comes to conservative voters.

Massie recounted receiving a phone call from DeSantis in the summer of 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic was killing tens of thousands of Americans every month and critics, including politicians and doctors, were criticizing DeSantis for lifting public health restrictions.

I know my position is unpopular right now, and Im getting hammered in the media, but Im going to lean into it, he said, because in a year or two theyre going to realize were right, Massie recounted DeSantis saying. And I think well be in a good position in a couple of years from now.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is coming up on the zero hour for his long-anticipated 2024 campaign launch.

After months of travel, preparations and posturing, the governor is set to file paperwork next week declaring his candidacy for the GOPs 2024 presidential nomination, a person familiar with the plans told The Hill. The filing is expected to come just before he meets with donors in Miami.

His formal entrance into the race will end months of speculation that have swirled around a deeply conservative governor who quickly emerged as one of the countrys most prominent and influential Republicans.

DeSantiss political operation declined to comment on or confirm an impending campaign announcement. A senior official with DeSantiss team noted that the governor had committed to deliver on his promises in Tallahassee before making a decision on a 2024 campaign.

And he has made good on all his promises to the people of Florida, the official said.

The Governors political operation is fielding unprecedented interest and support for his candidacy  potentially the biggest bundler operation in Republican presidential primary history, the official said, later adding that DeSantiss operational strength should not be underestimated.

There has been little doubt about DeSantiss intentions. He began touring the country earlier this year to promote his latest book  a move that was widely viewed as a soft launch for an eventual campaign. And hes steadily assembled a political team, bringing in veteran campaign staffers and consultants and expanding his once-small political circle.

Last weekend, he attended a pair of Republican fundraising events in Iowa and made a surprise stop in Des Moines. Two days later, his political shop moved out of Florida GOP headquarters and into a new office space, beginning the countdown to a formal campaign launch.

Hes running around Iowa and has an army of 26-year-olds in Tallahassee, one Republican donor whos backing DeSantis for the GOPs 2024 nomination told The Hill. Lets rip the Band-Aid and get on with it.

DeSantiss central argument for his candidacy is simple: that hes more electable than former President Trump. Hes repeatedly pointed to his 19-point reelection victory in November and his long list of legislative accomplishments to argue that hes not only a winner, but a conservative fighter.

Speaking in Iowa last Saturday, DeSantis sought to appeal directly to Republican malaise after several lackluster election cycles that saw the party lose the House, the Senate and the White House. The GOP, he said, needed to shake its recent streak of failure.

We must reject the culture of losing that has impacted our party in recent years. The time for excuses is over, DeSantis said in Sioux Center, Iowa. If we get distracted, if we focus the election on the past or on other side issues, then I think the Democrats are going to beat us again.

And in a call with donors Thursday reported by The New York Times, DeSantis made his case that there are only three credible candidates for the White House: Trump, President Biden and himself.

And I think of those three, two have a chance to get elected president  Biden and me, based on all the data in the swing states, which is not great for the former president and probably insurmountable because people arent going to change their view of him, DeSantis said, according to the Times.

The exact details of DeSantiss announcement plans are being held close. His meeting with donors is expected to take place sometime mid-week, and the Times reported Thursday that hes likely to release a video to coincide with his candidacy filing.

There are still challenges ahead for DeSantis. His decision to wait until after his states annual legislative session to launch a campaign created an opening for Trump and his allies to go on the attack and define the early phase of the race, while the governor was tied up with official business in Tallahassee.

And despite public polling that shows him running in second place in the nascent 2024 primary field, hes still well behind Trump, and there are signs that his support has begun to flatline.

Yet his allies remain optimistic about his prospects, noting that hes maintained relatively steady support without formally campaigning. They also point to his high favorability numbers among Republican voters in key early states like Iowa, suggesting that theres still plenty of room for him to grow his base of support.

During his Saturday trip to Iowa, DeSantis made a surprise stop in Des Moines, not far from where Trump was scheduled to appear. Trump scrapped his planned rally amid tornado warnings in the area.

DeSantis has also won an extensive list of endorsements from key elected officials in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first and second states, respectively, to vote in the GOPs 2024 nominating contest. On Wednesday, 99 of Floridas 113 Republican state legislators announced their support for DeSantis.

People think this is an automatic coronation of the former president, said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), one of four Republican members of Congress who have endorsed DeSantis for the 2024 nomination. It isnt. I promise you.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) reportedly told donors Thursday that only two people have a chance of being elected president in 2024: himself and President Joe Biden.

DeSantis made the comments on a call with supporters just days before hes expected to announce his long-anticipated campaign for the White House, The New York Times, which listened in on the donor call, reported.

You have basically three people at this point that are credible in this whole thing, the governor said during the call, which was hosted by the super PAC Never Back Down. Biden, Trump and me. And I think of those three, two have a chance to get elected president  Biden and me.

DeSantis has long been seen as one of the major contenders for the Republican nomination aside from former President Donald Trump, who still holds a tight grip over the party. Trump still leads in early polls over DeSantis, his next-closest rival in a potential GOP primary match-up, by about 36 percentage points, according to averages of national polls.

But the governor has been wooing donors and grabbing national headlines in recent months during his ongoing political fight with Disney and efforts to restrict the freedoms of LGBTQ+ Americans.

In the call, DeSantis went on to say that voters were ready to see a Republican back in the White House, but maintained that he would be a different leader than Trump and focus on legislative victories.

I think the voters want to move on from Biden, DeSantis said, according to the Times. They just want a vehicle they can get behind ... theres just too many voters that dont view Trump as that vehicle.

Donors and supporters have been invited to Miami next week, and DeSantis is expected to file paperwork by next Thursday with the Federal Election Commission declaring his candidacy, according to reports by the Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Trump, who announced his own reelection bid last November, has spent months lambasting DeSantis and his tenure as Florida governor. The former president, who lives in the state, declared Florida among the worst states to live in last month under DeSantis leadership.

Related...
DeSantis says zero chance he will back down from dispute with Disney

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Friday there is zero chance he will back down from his dispute with Disney, even as some fellow Republicans urge caution.

[Disney] can do whatever they want, DeSantis said during a stop at a diner in Manchester, N.H. I know people try to chirp and say this or that, but the chance of us backing down from that is zero.

DeSantiss remarks came on the heels of a meeting with New Hampshire state lawmakers Friday, and he is reportedly preparing to launch his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination next week.

The governor has sought to wrestle away Disneys special self-governing status since the company criticized his so-called Dont Say Gay law last year.

The law prohibited classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for kindergarten through third grade, which has since been expanded to cover prekindergarten through eighth grade.

They want to have their own government in Disney, DeSantis said on Friday. Theyve had their own government for 50 years. Its massive corporate welfare. Were not doing that.

Theyre gonna live under the same laws as everybody else, theyre gonna pay their fair share of taxes and theyre not gonna govern themselves, he continued. And to put one corporation on a pedestal and let them be exempt from the laws is not good policy. Its not free market economics, and its not something that our states gonna be involved in.

Disney sued DeSantis last month, alleging the state is harming the companys business operations. The company also recently announced it is scrapping plans for a billion-dollar office complex in Florida.

Several Republicans in the state have appeared wary of DeSantiss feud with Disney. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R), who is also considering a 2024 White House run, accused DeSantis on Thursday of costing the state jobs and investments over his personal vendetta.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) argued Wednesday that cooler heads have to prevail in the dispute.

I think weve got to figure out a way forward here to bring everybody back to the table, Scott said in an interview with NewsNations The Hill. So we can continue to grow tourism, grow jobs, you know, give opportunities for people.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
'Devastating day': More layoffs to come for Brockton schools on heels of 130 pink slips

BROCKTON  On Monday, Superintendent of Brockton Public Schools Mike Thomas and the schools' principals met with many teachers, one at a time, in their respective buildings to explain that they could be one of 130 staff members to be laid off come next school year.

You give them out one at a time so you can sit and talk with each person and explain, Thomas said at Tuesday evenings school committee meeting.

Its just a very tough day.

In all, 172 certified staff members in Brockton Public Schools (BPS) received pink reduction in force notices signaling their position could be one of 130 the district plans to eliminate. With student enrollment in Brockton schools plummeting and transportation costs rising, the district is experiencing an $18 million deficit.

Additional layoff notices for non-certified staff will be discussed at the next school committee meeting.

The last thing we want to do is lay people off, Thomas said. When it comes to the needs of students these people are extremely important.

Although Michelle Borcek, an English teacher at Brockton Virtual Learning Academy whos worked in BPS for 20 years, didnt receive a layoff notice, her voice still sounded shaky as she talked to the school committee at Tuesday nights meeting about her colleagues at risk.

We give so much every single day for our kids, Borcek said. Please, please, please make sure that youre talking to usbecause we know our students and we know how to help them best.

More layoffs to come by June 1

Tuesday evening, BPS' Chief Financial Officer Aldo Petronio said that more layoffs for non-certified employees will be decided before the deadline of June 1. Petronio, Thomas and other district executives are discussing their plan for pink slips and will provide an update soon.

"We are reviewing the positions and staff levels where we can make adjustments and cuts," Petronio said at the finance subcommittee meeting.

"By the next meeting, we should have a pretty good idea of who we're basically going to pink slip or blue slip on those positions to get us balanced in the budget," he said.

Salaries revealed: Which Stoughton employees made the most in 2022? Here are the top 10

The next committee meeting is tentatively planned for May 30. The following meeting is planned for June 6, and the next scheduled finance subcommittee meeting is June 20.

Were some layoffs preventable?

Kimerly Gibson also had a busy day Monday. Gibson, the president of the Brockton Education Association  the union that negotiates contracts for Brockton's teachers, said she received emails and calls all day from teachers she represents.

"It was a very devastating day for my teachers," Gibson said at Tuesday's school committee meeting. "We've come so far since COVID and losing 130 will put us back."

The school district lost roughly $7 million in funding due to the dropping student enrollment. But if the district had 69 more students who qualified as low-income, the district could have received an extra $6 million  roughly one-third of the $18 million deficit.

"Some of those staff layoffs are preventable by the state," Gibson said.

During a school committee meeting on Tuesday May 16, 2023, Brockton Public Schools Superintendent Mike Thomas discusses the 130 teachers laid off the previous morning.

As of Oct. 1, students from low-income families made up 79.59% of the student body, meaning the district qualifies for low-income "Group 11" funding from the state. To qualify for Group 12, Low-income students must comprise at least 80% of the district's student body.

"The state's failure to round up to 80%, which would move the district up to the low-income Group 12, will cost the district $6.4 million and dozens of teachers' jobs," Gibson said.

Brockton School Committee Vice-Chair Kathleen Ehlers at a meeting on Tuesday, May 16 at Brockton High School.

If the district added 69 low-income students to its enrollment, it would reach the 80% benchmark.

"$6.5 million would make a huge difference for us, and that part is disappointing," Thomas said. "But it's our reality."

Middleboro student sues: Why Liam Morrison says his 'two genders' shirt protected speech

Why is the budget $18 million short?

Petronio said teacher salaries are "restricted" parts of BPS's budget. The district can only spend a set amount of money on staff payroll. The amount is dependent on how many students are enrolled in the district.

Student enrollment in Brockton Public Schools has decreased over the last five years, causing the district to consider eliminating 130 teacher positions.

Brockton's student enrollment has fallen over the past five years, and the district has received less funding from the state government. Meanwhile, the district's expenses are rising. There are several reasons for these shifts:

Students are bleeding from BPS and moving to private schools, charter schools or other choice schools in other districts. On Tuesday, the committee unanimously voted to opt into Massachusetts' school choice program again for next year, which it's been a part of for the last 20 years.

Due to the high cost of real estate in Brockton, families are starting to leave Brockton and move to other cities like New Bedford and Fall River, Petronio said.

The district has seen an influx of special education students, requiring the district to hire more special education teachers.

The cost for transportation has increased due to longer bus routes, more stops and more buses  particularly expensive, half-sized buses for special education students.

Over 1,000 BPS students are experiencing homelessness and some live as far away as Fall River or the outskirts of Boston, adding to the cost.

As student enrollment in Brockton Public Schools drops, the district plans to lay off 130 teaching staff members.

The budget gets the green light

The school committee approved the annual budget for Fiscal Year 2024 as proposed a very devastating day  including needing layoffs  at Tuesday evening's meeting.

Thomas said that within the last four years, the school district has hired the highest number of teachers of color.

Mayor Robert Sullivan opens the May 16, 2023 school committee meeting in Brockton High School.

"I was hoping to be the first superintendent in a long time to not give out RIF (reduction in force) notices," Thomas said. "I want to apologize to those people who got RIF notices."

The proposed budget totals $219 million. The district asked for an additional non-net budget of $14 million.

The Brockton City Council will vote on whether to approve the proposed school budget at hearings on June 13 and 14.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton super Thomas: 'I want to apologize' to 130 laid off teachers
The 89-year-old senators bout with shingles included a previously unreported case of encephalitis, a rare complication that causes inflammation of the brain.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., attends a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on Capitol Hill Thursday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Sen. Dianne Feinsteins office on Thursday confirmed that the 89-year-old California lawmakers complications from shingles were far more serious than previously known.

The disclosure came following a report by the New York Times revealing that Feinsteins shingles had spread to her face and neck, causing vision and balance impairments and facial paralysis known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome and had brought on a previously unreported case of encephalitis, a rare but potentially debilitating complication that causes inflammation of the brain.

Adam Russell, a spokesman for Feinstein, said in a statement that the encephalitis resolved itself shortly after she was released from the hospital in March. She continues to have complications from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, Russell added in the statement, which came after the Times story was published.

Heres everything we know about Feinsteins health and its impact on her work in the Senate, culled from original reporting and Yahoo News partners including the Times, Washington Post and others.

How rare are Feinsteins complications?

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is seen in a wheelchair as she returns to the Senate after a more than two-month absence on May 10. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Very. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shingles affects a third of Americans, but Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis are far less common and can be severe.

Michael Wilson, a doctor who specializes in encephalitis at the University of California at San Francisco, told the Washington Post that the risk for post-shingles encephalitis is about one in a thousand.

Encephalitis symptoms include fever, headache, sensitivity to light or sound, neck stiffness, or even seizures and loss of consciousness, the paper said.

Ramsay Hunt syndrome  which is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox and shingles  is also very rare. According to the Mayo Clinic, it's more common in older adults, typically affecting people older than 60.

But younger people can get it too. Last year, Justin Bieber, 29, announced he was suffering from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which paralyzed one side of his face and forced him to postpone his tour.

How long was Feinstein gone?

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., appears at a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on May 11 after a more than two-month absence. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Feinstein, who sits on the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, returned to Washington last week after months away from the Senate as she recovered from her case of shingles, which was diagnosed in February. In the same month, the six-term California Democrat announced she will not seek reelection in 2024.

Her extended leave caused concern among Democrats about missed votes, and prompted numerous calls for her to resign. Her absence from the judiciary committee held up President Bidens judicial appointees and undercut the panels ability to issue subpoenas investigating the numerous reports of Supreme Court corruption.

[Time: Why Diane Feinstein shouldn't quit]

Feinstein said last month that her return was delayed due to continued complications from her shingles diagnosis and that she had not been cleared to travel by her doctors.

She also asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to allow another Democratic senator to temporarily serve on the panel until Im able to resume my committee work.

What happened when she returned to work?

Feinstein, accompanied by Prowda, right, is pushed in a wheelchair as she leaves a meeting on Capitol Hill on Thursday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

When she did finally return to Capitol Hill, she appeared to be remarkably frail.

Using a wheelchair, with the left side of her face frozen and one eye nearly shut, she seemed disoriented as an aide steered her through the marble corridors of the Senate, complaining audibly that something was stuck in her eye, the Times reported.

And when speaking with a small group of reporters a few days later, Feinstein, who turns 90 next month, appeared to be confused when asked about the well wishes she'd received from her Senate colleagues since her return.

I havent been gone, she said, per the Los Angeles Times. I've been here. I've been voting. Please, either know or don't know."

[Politico: Feinsteins return leaves her party on edge]

The exchange did little to quell the calls for Feinstein to resign, which she has resisted.

The senator still sees the job as her calling and is no more receptive to a conversation about stepping aside than she was in 2018, when she decided to seek another term despite questions about her mental acuity, the New York Times said, adding: People close to her joke privately that perhaps when Feinstein is dead, she will start to consider resigning.

Im back in Washington, voting and attending committee meetings while I recover from complications related to a shingles diagnosis, Feinstein said in a statement Thursday. I continue to work and get results for California.

Whos running to replace her?

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., addresses a meeting of the Jan. 6 committee hearing on Capitol Hill, on June 21, 2022. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Feinstein is not running for reelection next year and three prominent Democratic representatives are vying to replace her.

Barbara Lee, 76, has served in Congress since 1998, representing the San Francisco Bay Area. Lee was the only member of Congress not to vote for the authorization of military force following the Sept. 11 attacks and has a slew of endorsements from progressives, the Congressional Black Caucus and top California officials, like the state attorney general and the mayors of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

[Yahoo News: The 2024 California Senate race could be Democrats' next big civil war]

Katie Porter, 49, came into Congress in what has been described as the 2018 "blue wave" of Democratic progressives, representing an Orange County district that is more competitive than those represented by her Senate rivals. Upon entering Congress, she quickly established a reputation as a tough questioner in committee hearings. Porter recently released a memoir and has earned the endorsement of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who was her professor at Harvard Law School.

Adam Schiff, 62, has represented a Los Angeles-area district since 2001 and was the lead manager for former President Donald Trumps first impeachment. The former House Intelligence chairman has received the endorsement of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and nearly two dozen other California House members, in addition to holding a significant fundraising advantage over his opponents.
The office of US Senator Dianne Feinstein has confirmed that the California Democrat was suffering worse health complications from a recent shingles case than she had previously claimed.

A spokesperson for Sen Feinstein, 89, told CNN Ms Feinstein, the Senates oldest lawmaker, experienced Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis as part of the diagnosis.

While the encephalitis resolved itself shortly after she was released from the hospital in March, she continues to have complications from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, the spokesperson said on Thursday.

Ramsay Hunt syndrome can occur when a case of shingles affects the facial nerve close to the eye, sometimes causing facial paralysis and hearing loss, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Earlier in the day, Sen Feinstein claimed to CNN she didnt have encephalitis, saying, It was really a bad flu.

The California senators health and mental fitness have long been subjects of scrutiny. Some of her colleagues have called on her to resign.

She returned to the Senate last week after being absent for 10 weeks as she recovered from shingles. Upon returning to the Senate, Sen Feinstein told reporters that she had never left.

No, I havent been gone, she said to LA Timess Ben Oreskes when asked how her Senate colleagues have responded to her return, reported Slate.

Mr Oreskes then asked her whether she had been working from home.

No, Ive been here. Ive been voting, she said. Please, you either know or dont know.

The absence of Sen Feinstein halted the work of the Senate judiciary committee, where Republicans demanded the California Democrat either return to work or resign from the Senate, rather than allow a temporary replacement.

The infighting halted the confirmation of federal judges, one of the main ways Democrats can cement their influence in a divided Congress.

As The Independent has reported, Sen Feinstein is part of a generation of elderly leaders at the top of the US political system, leading critics to argue more should be done to make elected office accessible to young people.

The present Congress contains the second-oldest Senate and third-oldest House in US history. Generationally, the US population fits roughly into four, equal-sized blocks of about 20 to 25 per cent: ages 0 to 18, 19 to 34, 35 to 54, and 55-plus.

The composition of Congress, meanwhile, is drastically tipped toward the elder part of that range, with the median House member aged 57.9 and the median senator aged 65.3.

According to Professor Munger, Kevin Munger, assistant professor of political science and social data analytics at Pennsylvania State University, author of Generation Gap: Why the Baby Boomers Still Dominate American Politics and Culture, the age of Americas most senior politicians  Sen Chuck Schumer is 71, Sen Mitch McConnell is 81  often means that issues that matter to other generations dont get top billing, leading both to disaffection and to bigger-picture existential issues, like a lack of serious climate legislation or the impending funding crisis of social security.

Its been clear that because of the size of the boomer generation, at a certain point, we were either going to have to raise taxes on the workforce or cut the benefits, he said.

We didnt do either of those things. Sometime in the 2030s, its going to run out. Theyre not going to cut benefits to boomers. Instead, younger generations are going to have to fully fund this obvious 30-year shortfall.

In the case of social security in particular, many of the leaders deciding on the issue are current recipients, while those younger generations who will likely pay more or get less in the future arent represented in office. A similar problem arises with climate change: the leaders holding up urgent action on the climate likely will not be alive to see the very worst impacts of their inaction.

The issues that matter to younger generations dont get on the agenda at all, Prof Munger added.
Dianne Feinstein in a wheelchair Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has returned to work after nearly three months spent recuperating in San Francisco from a bad case of shingles. A week after her May 10 return, spokesman Adam Russell confirmed a New York Times report that Feinstein's shingles infection was more severe than previously acknowledged.

Feinstein, 89, had encephalitis, or a swelling of the brain, and Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a type of facial paralysis, Russell said in a statement. Post-shingles encephalitis can "leave patients with lasting memory or language problems, sleep disorders, bouts of confusion, mood disorders, headaches and difficulties walking," the Times reported, adding that Feinstein appears "shockingly diminished" and "disoriented."

Feinstein insists she will not resign, but the "bleak reality," the paper said, is that she wasn't ready to return to work, and she is "struggling to function in a job that demands long days, near-constant engagement on an array of crucial policy issues and high-stakes decision-making."

There is no age cap for holding office or required cognitive ability, and America's leaders aren't young: President Biden is 80, former President Donald Trump is 76, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is 82 and recently spent weeks away from work after injuring himself in a fall, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is only relatively young at 72. The median age in the Senate is 65.3 and in the House, 57.9. In the U.S., it's about 38.



Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), who is running to replace Feinstein, told CNN that "we need some forward-looking policies. ... What are you going to do when someone becomes infirm, either for the short term or the long term?"

Time for a forced-exit strategy

Feinstein's memory problems "are an open secret on Capitol Hill," and she should have resigned ages ago, Jim Geraghty wrote at National Review. Not that 80-year-old Biden can tell her to step down, but Republicans "have their own share of geriatric senators," including Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who is also 89. "The country would be better off if there were clearer 'rules of the road' for when a lawmaker should retire, or when age becomes an impediment to a lawmaker's ability to do his job."

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R), 51, proposed one solution when she launched her presidential campaign in February, saying that if she's elected, "the permanent politician will finally retire," and the U.S. will "have term limits for Congress and mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old." The U.S. "is not past our prime," she added. "It's just that our politicians are past theirs."

The Senate has a "long history of members who missed months, even years, of votes, and returned frail and sometimes confused," and America survived, David Lightman wrote in The Sacramento Bee. A frail Sen. Carter Glass (D-Va.), 87, returned to the Senate in 1945 after a two-year absence, and Sen. Clair Engle (D-Calif.) "had a brain tumor and was partially paralyzed when the roll was called on breaking a filibuster on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He was able to lift his arm and point to his eye, and was recorded as an 'aye' vote. He died six weeks later." Even Biden was absent for seven months of 1988, "recovering from operations to repair brain aneurysms."

There are reasons other than infirmity to put older politicians out to pasture, Aksel Sundstrom and Daniel Stockemer wrote at The Conversation. "The under-representation of young adults in decision-making can mean that issues important to them fall off the agenda  climate change being the most obvious. And their relative absence can contribute to a vicious cycle of alienation" and political apathy.

Ageism is worse than gerontocracy

Washington has become a gerontocracy, but "there are huge individual differences in how people age," Oregon State University gerontologist Carolyn Aldwin told Slate. "Some are sharp as a tack at 90 or 100, some have cognitive impairment in their 50s." Also, "if you're gonna start down that road of saying people are unfit for office because of a personal issue, why limit it to age?" added David Reuben at the UCLA Center of Health Sciences. Alcoholics, gamblers, and sex addicts can also make poor decisions.

Age limits are "disrespectful, if not quite disenfranchisement, of older voters," Spelman College political scientist Dorian Brown Crosby told Politico Magazine. The only real solution is for lawmakers themselves to "take an internal assessment" of their capacity to serve.

An incapacitated president can be removed with the 25th Amendment, but in Congress, the only remedy is expulsion  a tool that requires a two-thirds majority and was last employed in the collegial Senate in 1862, said University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck. Senators could force Feinstein from office, for example, but "there is little chance they would pull that lever," Brent D. Griffiths wrote at Insider. "Expelling a senator for being too infirm to perform their duties would set a precedent that could easily befall one of her colleagues in the future."

If nothing else, Feinstein's health issues have "prompted awkward public ruminations among lawmakers about their own mortality," Politico reported. "It's a very hard situation," said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.). "Let's face it, when I'm 89 years old I'll be long dead. Trust me."

You may also like

Ukraine's Patriot air defense is dueling Russia's hypersonic Kinzhal missiles over Kyiv, and winning

Disney+ and Hulu to remove content in cost-cutting measure

The rise of 'tip creep'
An autistic woman in New Mexico suffered "torture" before she died at the hands of her caregivers, who were paid by the state to care for her in their own home, officials said Thursday.

Three people were arrested in connection with what state officials described as extreme abuse and neglect of the 38-year-old woman, Mary Melero, who was discovered in the back of a van when the caregivers tried to cross the Texas border into Mexico with her in February, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez said.

Melero was in medical crisis and had signs of abuse and neglect. She was taken to a hospital where she died April 7.

"In my nearly 20 years as a prosecutor, I can tell you without question that the injuries that Mary endured, that the harm that was inflicted upon her, was nothing short of torture," Torrez said at a press conference.

The caregivers, Angelita Chacon, 52, and Patricia Hurtado, 42, were charged with abuse or neglect, false imprisonment, conspiracy to commit false imprisonment and failure to report. An acquaintance of the caregivers, Luz Scott, 53, in whose van Melero was discovered by border officials, was also charged with false imprisonment and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.

New Mexico Attorney General Rual Torrez talks about the defendants and co-defendants in the State of New Mexxico vs. Angelita Chacon case during a press conference at The Clyde Hotel in Albuquerque, N.M., on Thursday, May 18, 2023. New Mexico's top prosecutor says caregivers tortured a 38-year-old developmentally disabled woman before her death. (Jon Austria/The Albuquerque Journal via AP) ORG XMIT: NMALJ202

Prosecutors: Disabled woman endured 'torture'

Melero was unable to stand and was unresponsive when she was found in the back of the van, lying on the floorboard wrapped in a blanket and dirty bandages covering her open wounds, but was crying, according to an arrest affidavit for Chacon obtained by USA TODAY. Chacon told authorities they were taking the woman for medical treatment in Mexico.

By the time she was admitted to a hospital in El Paso, Texas, Melero had pneumonia, wounds across her body, bedsores and ulcers  some of which were so severe that bone was exposed  and abrasions and ligature marks "that indicated that she had in fact been restrained," Torrez said.

STUDENT BRINGS GUN TO SCHOOL Mother charged with child abuse after second grader brought gun to Michigan elementary school

Chacon told investigators that the victim had spent three days in a bathtub with her own feces and urine, which investigators suspect may have contributed to the infections that led to her death, the affidavit said. She also told investigators that the victim had recently thrown a portable stereo at Chacon and she "threw" it back at the victim, hitting her in the face and causing her lip to get "busted." Chacon said she asked a friend, who was not a medical professional, to stitch up the victim's lip instead of taking her to see a doctor, according to the affidavit.

The woman was also in septic shock due to infection. Torrez said she suffered cardiac arrest at the hospital and was intubated until her death.

"Based on the numerous injuries covering (the victim)'s body, medical staff deduced she was the victim of a pattern of abuse and neglect," the affidavit said.

The woman lived in Chacon's home in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, part of the Albuquerque metropolitan area. The affidavit said Chacon and Hurtado were romantic partners and both cared for the woman.

It was not clear Thursday whether Chacon or Hurtado had attorneys representing them.

Dan Lindsey, an attorney listed as representing Scott in the affidavit, told USA TODAY she is "innocent" and only loaned the other defendants her van because she thought they were "helping" the victim.

DOCTOR ARRESTED Texas doctor arrested after tampering with IV bags led to coworker's death, officials say

Caregivers were paid in state funds for care of disabled people

Chacon and Hurtado contracted with At Home Advocacy and three other contractors, which collected nearly $250,000 in state money to care for the woman in the nearly three years before her death, Torrez said. The caregivers received about $5,000 per month for her care, he said.

Torrez said Chacon was previously turned down when she applied to be a caregiver a decade ago due to a prior felony conviction, and said he did not know why she was able to become a caregiver later.

At Home Advocacy said in a statement to USA TODAY it is cooperating with the investigation into the woman's death. Its website said its contract with the state of New Mexico had been terminated.

"All instances of neglect and abuse must be addressed head on," the agency said. "The recent arrests are an important step in doing just that."

Torrez said At Home Advocacy was supposed to conduct monthly home checks and had been to Chacon's home about a month before to check on the victim. A representative for At Home Advocacy told investigators that "body checks" were not performed during those check-ins, and staff didn't observe any injuries on the victim at the time, according to the affidavit.

New Mexico Department of Health Secretary Patrick Allen said in a statement the crimes were the "worst breach of trust DOH has ever seen."

DISABILITY DENIED: Unable to work, COVID long haulers face barriers to benefits

Officials urge reform to community care program

The money came from funding allotted to provide community-based services to developmentally disabled and intellectually disabled adults as an alternative to institutionalization. The New Mexico case sparked a statewide review of the system, with Torrez advocating for added resources to better train care providers and add oversight staff to ensure the well-being of the about 7,000 people receiving care under the program.

"This is a wakeup call," Torrez said.

The state's governor applauded prosecutors and investigators for taking steps to hold the caregivers accountable.

"As I have said before, abuse by those responsible for caring for the most vulnerable among us will not stand," New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement.

Caregivers have abused disabled people nationwide

The case in New Mexico is not unique; people tasked with providing care for people with disabilities have been accused of horrific abuse and neglect all over the country. Torrez said he worries there may be more people being abused in care that officials don't know about.

Individuals who have disabilities are at a higher risk of abuse, neglect, and exploitation, FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey R. Downey said in a statement.

In Florida in 2019, a man who worked at an adult care facility for people with developmental disabilities was charged after he fathered a child with a female disabled client in 2015. He was charged years later after the woman told investigators he touched her genitals and he provided a DNA sample that matched the child.

Three people working at a Missouri residential treatment facility pleaded guilty to willfully failing to provide necessary medical care to a client who was developmentally disabled, resulting in his death in 2016, and falsifying records to hide their crimes. Prosecutors said when the victim's health declined, they placed him in a dark basement and left him to die, then hid his body in a trash can filled with cement in a storage locker.

A New Jersey man man working as a caregiver in a family's home was convicted last year of aggravated assault and child endangerment for breaking the leg of a 16-year-old patient with a degenerative brain disorder. He was also accused of sexually abusing her.

In 2017, an Indiana man who worked as a caregiver for a disabled 64-year-old man who required round-the-clock care was caught on video holding the client in a headlock and grabbing and bending his fingers back. The caregiver pleaded guilty to felony battery charges.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Autistic New Mexico woman suffered 'torture' before death; caregivers charged
Discover the free resources offered by Rochester's Financial Empowerment Center

The Rochester Financial Empowerment Center has opened to support the financial wellness of city residents.

But what does it offer and how can people access those resources?

If you're interested in using this free resource, here are some points to consider.

Aretha McLamore, owner of Maama Tees Cookin and Catering, holds a check in honor of being the one-millionth dollar that was borrowed from Kiva Rochester. Kiva Rochester has facilitated more than $1 million in microloans to small business owners in the area.

How was the Rochester of Financial Empowerment created? Who runs it? Where is it?

The city of Rochester Mayor's Office of Community Wealth Building opened the Office of Financial Empowerment.

In collaboration with Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Rochester, it created the Rochester Financial Empowerment Center.

The Financial Empowerment Center's address is: 1050 University Ave. Suite A., Rochester.

What services does the Rochester Financial Empowerment Center offer?

According to the city's website, the Rochester Financial Empowerment Center plans to especially focus on financially empowering youth, entrepreneurs, and Low- to Moderate-Income (LMI) renters through 2026.

Here is a list of programs that the center expects to offer:

one-on-one professional financial counseling as a public service

Kiva Rochester Small Business Loans

Business and Asset Development for Small Businesses

The city says that to-date it has helped more than 2,000 clients increase savings and reduce their debt; funded over $1 million to almost 200 businesses; and connected small businesses with external resources to help owners meet their needs and sustain their business.

Upon request, interpreters are available for those who request assistance.

After making an appointment, residents will be able to meet with a counselor to talk about their financial goals. Counselors then help residents create a plan to reach financial goals and will schedule follow-up appointments to check-in with residents periodically.

Whether someone is looking to become a homeowner, improve their credit or pay off debt, financial counselors are meant to provide step-by-step guidance.

Exploring Rochester: Get to know these businesses that keep the 19th Ward thriving

What if I dont own a bank account? Can I still turn to the Financial Empowerment Center for help?

Financial counselors are trained to help people find safe and affordable banking options.

Do I need to be a Rochester resident to access services?

The FEC was created to serve all of Monroe County. Anyone who currently lives, works, studies, or owns a business in Monroe County can access services.

Are there any requirements for accessing services at the Financial Empowerment Center?

Anyone looking to make an appointment with a financial counselor must be 18 years old or older.

Hot ticket: Post Malone concert tour includes show at Darien Lake

Does the Financial Empowerment Center offer resources that are unrelated to personal finances?

Yes, other services include employment support, small-business start-up services and more. Since

the COVID-19 pandemic, they have extended their resources to loss of employment, bill and loan assistance and consumer fraud protection.

To learn more, check: https://www.rochesterfec.org/resources.

When does the office expect to allow in-person appointments with financial counselors?

They currently have in-person counseling appointments available (by appointment) in their University Ave office every Wednesday and Friday.

How do I schedule an appointment?

To schedule an appointment with a financial counselor by emailing RochesterFEC@cccsofrochester.org or call 585-252-7110.

After booking an appointment, residents can meet with counselors online.

Until in-person services resume, all meetings with FEC counselors will be held virtually.

Services are also available through local social service providers throughout the city.

Find a location near you here.

For more information about one-on-one financial counseling, see: rochesterfec.org.

To learn more about Kiva Crowdfunded Loans, visit cityofrochester.gov/kiva or apply directly at kiva.org/borrow/KivaRoc

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Free programs offered by the Rochester Financial Empowerment Center
In an effort to cut costs, Disney is removing content from Disney Plus and Hulu streaming platforms.

The announcement that at least 40 titles are being pulled as early as next week has angered fans and subscribers.

Among the shows to be culled are the fantasy series Willow (a sequel to the 1988 film of the same name), Kat Dennings comedy series Dollface, and The Mysterious Benedict Society.

A Disney representative confirmed to Variety that at least four dozen titles will no longer be able to stream across Disney Plus and Hulu. (See below for a full list of confirmed series and movies to go.)

What?!?!?! I havent even had a chance to watch Willow yet! Is there going to be a physical release or anything? This is wild and confusing for multiple reasons, said one person.

Another added: Can they do that? I mean, I know they are not successful shows or anything but those are Disney Plus originals. Thats wild.

Disney is basically destroying any legal way to watch Willow and Dollface My villain origin story is realised, said a third person.

Earlier this month, it was announced that Disney Plus lost four million subscribers in the first three months of 2023, continuing a decline for the platform, which lost 2.4 million in the last quarter of 2022.

can they do that? i mean, i know they are not successful shows or anything but those are disney+ originals. that's wild.  matt  (@folkswiftrep) May 18, 2023

Anyone debating the quality of these shows (and willow is great, idc) is entirely missing the point. All of these are pieces of art which both creators and fans have serious personal investment in, not corporate products to be tossed aside depending on how much money they make.  Conor Brannigan (@Conchobar2003) May 19, 2023

During Disneys earnings call with analysts, chief financial officer Christine McCarthy announced that Disney will be removing certain content from our streaming platforms.

McCarthy told investors that the company expects a writedown of $1.5bn (1.2bn) to $1.8bn (1.4bn) as a result of removing the content.

She said that going forward we intend to produce lower volumes of content in alignment with this strategic shift.

What?!?!?! I havent even had a chance to watch Willow yet! Is there going to be a physical release or anything? This is wild and confusing for multiple reasons.  Cam (@cambahan) May 18, 2023

these are literally their originals and they're wonderful. I hate this.  Laura  (@noicingcupcake) May 18, 2023

Fans, however, were shocked to learn that the culling of titles from the platform was occurring so soon.

Disney Plus is home to a number of hugely popular shows, such as Marvels WandaVision, the Star Wars spin-off series The Mandalorian, and the critically acclaimed drama Dopesick, which explores Americas opioid crisis.

See below for a list of all the titles that have so far been confirmed to be removed:
Disney World Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

The Walt Disney Co. announced Thursday that it has pulled the plug on a new campus near its Disney World theme park outside Orlando and will no longer relocate about 2,000 employees to Florida from Southern California. The project in Lake Nona Town Center was projected to cost $864 million when it was announced in 2021, but more recent estimates put the price tag closer to $1.3 billion.

"Given the considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions, we have decided not to move forward with construction of the campus," Josh D'Amaro, Disney's theme park and consumer products chairman, told employees. "I remain optimistic about the direction of our Walt Disney World business. We have plans to invest $17 billion and create 13,000 jobs over the next 10 years. I hope we're able to do so."

D'Amaro's memo did not mention Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), "but the company's battle with the governor and his allies in the Florida Legislature figured prominently into Disney's decision to cancel the Lake Nona project," The New York Times reports, citing two people briefed on the matter. DeSantis, who is expected to launch a presidential run next week, engineered a takeover of Disney's self-governing district around Disney World in 2022 after Disney criticized a Florida education law dubbed Don't Say Gay by critics.

Jeremy Redfern, a DeSantis spokesman, suggested that "given the company's financial straits, falling market cap and declining stock price, it is unsurprising that they would restructure their business operations and cancel unsuccessful ventures." (Disney reported revenue of $21.8 billion in its most recent quarter, up 13 percent year-over-year, The Washington Post notes. "While the company's streaming services lost subscribers, the division that includes Walt Disney World and other theme parks saw particularly strong growth of 17 percent.")

Lawmakers representing the Orlando area implicitly or explicitly blamed DeSantis. "These are the consequences when there isn't an inclusive and collaborative work environment between the state of Florida and the business community," Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings lamented. State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D) called DeSantis "a job killing moron who cares more about his own political ambitions and culture wars than Florida and our future."

State Sen. Joe Gruters (R) said the loss of "2,000 jobs and a billion dollars worth of investments into our state" is "a serious blow," urging an end to "this conflict" so Florida can "get back to a more normal working relationship with a company that's been one of our best business and tourism partners that we've had over the last 50 years." The market, he added, "is much better at dealing with companies rather than heavy-handed government."

The decision to cancel the Lake Nona campus and the Galactic Starcruiser immersive Star Wars hotel, announced later Thursday, are also part of Disney CEO Bob Iger's unwinding of decisions made by his predecessor, Bob Chapak, the Times reports.

You may also like

Ukraine's Patriot air defense is dueling Russia's hypersonic Kinzhal missiles over Kyiv, and winning

Why the Supreme Court is weighing in on a former Trump hotel

The debate over banning chocolate milk in school cafeterias
Disney Worlds Stars Warsthemed hotel is going on its final voyage.

The Galactic Starcruiser interactive lodgings based on the iconic universe is closing in September, the resort announced. The experience just opened last year, Forbes reported.

More from Robb Report

The attraction located at the Disneys Hollywood Studios theme park in Orlando, Fla., cost guests from about $4,800 to $6,000 per cabin, according to CNN. That sticker price included a two-night experience with food, programming, and special access to the Galaxys Edge area of the theme park.

This premium, boutique experience gave us the opportunity to try new things on a smaller scale of 100 rooms, and as we prepare for its final voyage, we will take what weve learned to create future experiences that can reach more of our guests and fans, the resort said in its statement.

The last chance to stay at the interactive hotel will be from September 28 to 30. Guests who had booked trips on or after that final date will be contacted soon to discuss options or modifications to their plans, Disney said. New bookings have been temporarily paused, though the attraction will reopen May 26. The company said it looked forward to providing guests an excellent experience during its remaining time open.

The Galactic Starcruiser garnered some of the highest guest-satisfaction ratings in Walt Disney Worlds 50-year history. On a recent earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the company had to save money more aggressively. The cost-cutting initiatives I announced last quarter are well underway, and we are on track to meet or exceed our target of $5.5 billion, he said.

When asked why the attraction was closing, a Disney spokesperson told CNN it was a business decision without further comment. They also didnt share what will come of the building that houses it. A Robb Report inquiry to Disney was not returned.

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.
A dugong, also known as a sea cow, appeared several times in an unusual spot, prompting warnings from officials in Australia.

The marine creature was spotted several times in the Tweed River since last May, the Tweed Shire Council said in a May 17 news release. The rare sightings were likely the same dugong.

Ive been looking after the Tweed River for 20 years, Tom Alletson, the Shire Councils team leader for coasts and waterways, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Up until this time last year, Id never heard of a dugong being in the Tweed River.

Im sure they have been here in the past, but certainly in recent times its a first, he told the outlet.

Dugongs are known to live in Moreton Bay, the release said. The Tweed River is about 110 miles southeast of Moreton Bay and about 495 miles northeast of Sydney.

The dugong appeared in the Tweed River after a period of flooding. The presence of one of these marine mammals in the Tweed is both unusual and exciting, officials said.

My best guess is it was displaced from Moreton Bay ... due to poor water quality and the impact of that on its habitat, Alletson told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Officials warned boaters to be extra careful when passing through the Tweed River to avoid hitting the dugong and chopping up the seagrass it eats.

Dugongs feed on seagrass beds and are entirely dependent on these habitats being extensive and healthy, Alletson said in the release. (Boaters) have a special responsibility when it comes to seagrass and the potential presence of a dugong in our river.

Protecting the local marine habitat also supports the Tweed Rivers turtle and dolphin populations, the release said.

Dugongs travel long distances but remember specific feeding areas and return to them after travelling away, according to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. These animals can eat up to about 66 pounds of seagrass every day.

Dugongs weigh over 800 pounds and can reach nearly 10 feet in length, according to the World Wildlife Fund. They are cousins of manatees but have a dolphin fluke-like tail. The species is considered vulnerable due to habitat loss and water pollution.

Calm creature burrowing underground discovered as new species in India, study says

Mini-kangaroos  who love peanut butter  thrive after reintroduction to Australia

Creatures shining eyes on farm lead to discovery of new species in India, study says
New Docuseries Aims To Expose The Truth About The Duggar Family And Their Faith

Eight years after 19 Kids and Counting went off the air, a new docuseries is pulling back the curtain on the Duggar family, their conservative religious faith and the controversies that brought about their fall from grace.

On Friday, Amazon Prime Video gave viewers a glimpse of Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets via a new trailer. Premiering June 2, the four-episode series seeks to expose the truth beneath the wholesome Americana surface of reality TVs favorite mega-family, according to press notes.

While details of the family and their scandals unfold, the synopsis continues, we realize theyre part of an insidious, much-larger threat already in motion, with democracy itself in peril.

Several Duggar family members, including Jill Duggar Dillard, appear to have participated in the series.

Theres a story thats going to be told, and I would rather be the one telling it, she explains in the trailer.

Catch the Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets trailer below.

The Duggars  consisting of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and their 19 children  rose to fame in 2008 as the stars of the TLC reality series, 19 Kids and Counting.

The Arkansas family were members of an ultra-conservative religious group, the Institute in Basic Life Principles, and adhered to strict rules that included dressing modestly and homeschooling their children.

The Duggar family appear on NBC's

The Duggar family appear on NBC's "Today" in 2011.

In 2015, the show was canceled after Josh Duggar, the eldest of the Duggar children, was accused of molesting his sisters, Jill and Jessa, along with three other girls, while he was a teenager. He later acknowledged having acted inexcusably, apologizing for what he described as my wrongdoing.

A spinoff series, Counting On, premiered in 2015 without Joshs involvement. However, that show was canceled in 2021 after Josh was found guilty of receiving and possessing child pornography. Hes currently serving a 12-year prison sentence.

Related...
Deceiving voters

Missouris conservative GOP General Assembly is at it again. A bill that failed to pass in the recent legislative session is sure to return as soon as lawmakers reconvene. This law would restrict taxpayers ability to make their voices heard as they have since 1907. It is intended to and would certainly upend majority rule.

The language of the legislation reads:

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to: Allow only U.S. citizens to vote on ballot measures; (Only citizens can vote now.)

Restrict the legislatures power to propose constitutional amendments and undo laws approved by voters; (Huh?)

Ensure disabled individuals have access to ballot measures; (They already do.)

Require that constitutional amendments pass by fifty-seven percent majority statewide? Here is the real purpose, tucked at the very end: to raise the bar from a simple majority to a much more difficult-to-reach 57%.

The wording is intentionally confusing, and the order of its provisions is intended to make Missourians believe that defeating it would authorize noncitizens to vote.

Beware: Dont fall for this deceitful provision to eliminate your ability to initiate changes that 50% of Missouri voters support. Save Missouris initiative petition rights.

- Kathy Whited, Raymore

Scoutings great

I have been in Boy Scouts of America since first grade. I have worked hard, starting from the Tiger rank and moving up to become a Star Scout. Im working on earning my Life Scout Rank with Troop 271.

I want to tell you about things we do in Scouts. Once a month, we do a campout with a planned activity such as fishing, hiking, skating, biking, climbing or even a day at the zoo. We also do community service projects in our neighborhoods.

I would like to get this out there to help younger generations and encourage them to join scouting. Ive really enjoyed it and have made lots of friends. It has made me become a better person and learn responsibilities and skills that I can use throughout life.

- Isaac Chilcoat, Kansas City

Screen them

I am writing as a physician and dermatologist in training to address an important public health issue that affects our children. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the country, and childhood sun exposure is a significant risk factor. Students spend a lot of time in the sun, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends applying sunscreen each time a child goes outdoors.

Unfortunately, many states have laws forbidding medication-use, including sunscreen, in schools without physician permission. Some states (such as Missouri) have passed bills allowing students to apply sunscreen. However, many states, including Kansas, require students to have documented permission to use sunscreen at school.

This issue has been resolved in Missouri, and I am advocating for Kansas to address it as well. Allowing distribution of sunscreen in schools without physician permission would protect students from adverse effects of sun exposure and could reduce skin cancer rates.

- Sabah Osmani, Kansas City

Just read the text

Since Second Amendment tragedies now seem to be happening daily, perhaps a review of the amendment is in order: A well-regulated militia being necessary for the security of a free state, the peoples right to bear arms shall not be infringed. Early in our history, our Revolutionary War army consisted of volunteer militia armed with muskets, which had no rifling and shot a single round ball, which was not very accurate and took about a minute to reload. The fear was that the English enemy would demand that the citizens of the colonies disarm, which the Second Amendment precluded.

Notice also the word regulated. It should be obvious that an AR-15 is light years beyond the capability of a musket and that any sane reading of the Second Amendment should conclude that modern weapons of war in private hands should be heavily regulated for the safety of our citizens.

- Phil Anderson, Manhattan
Dont have money for a down payment on a house in NC? Here are your options.

As higher mortgage rates squeeze many would-be buyers across Wake County, there are still a handful of options to help them purchase their first homes in North Carolina, even if they dont have much money for a down payment.

This spring, many are increasingly turning to one of North Carolina Housing Finance Agencys (NCHFA)s four first-time programs. Theyre designed to help low- to moderate-income families buy a home with looser financial requirements.

Nationwide, first-time buyers can take advantage of federal programs, such as an FHA loan, too. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) allows eligible buyers to pay as little as 3.5% of the purchase price for a down payment.

This really helped me become a homeowner, said Teresa Johnson, 52, a medical communications director who works in the Research Triangle. She closed on a three-bedroom, three-bathroom townhome in Selma for $245,000 last month. Its just me. I dont have two incomes to qualify (for a typical loan). The FHA loan allowed me to do the 3.5% down.

NCHFA is a public agency created by the General Assembly in 1973 to increase the supply of affordable housing within North Carolina. The News & Observer spoke with the agencys team leader for documentation and compliance, Kim Hargrove, to learn more about these programs and the relief they can give first-time buyers with little resources for purchase.

NC offers these first-time-homebuyer programs

There are four options for first-time buyers based on their eligibility, such as income and sales price limits. (More on that below.)

Before seriously considering any of these options, its crucial to speak with a participating lender to figure out what potential buyers can realistically afford, said Hargrove.

None of the programs through the NC Housing Finance Agency are free money. These products are intended to provide affordable mortgage options to North Carolinians statewide, she said.

Down payment assistance, tax credits for first-time buyers in NC

There are four programs that first-time homebuyers (who meet income and sales limit eligibility requirements) can consider. Contact NCHFA with questions about any of the programs by visiting nchfa.com/contact-us or calling 919-877-5700.

Heres what to know about each one:

 The NC Home Advantage Mortgage: This program is for eligible first-time and move-up homebuyers. It provides stable, fixed-rate mortgages and down payment assistance up to 3% of the loan amount.

Repayment of the down payment assistance is required only if the buyer sells, refinances or transfers the home before year 15 of the mortgage. The down payment assistance is forgiven at 20% per year at the end of years 11 through 15. Complete forgiveness is offered at the end of year 15.

In the past year, 2,546 buyers purchased a home using the NC Home Advantage Mortgage, and 86 were in Wake County, according to NCHFAs public relations team. Additionally, seven were in Orange, 21 were in Durham, three were in Chatham and 64 were in Johnston.





Find all details and eligibility requirements (and contact NCHFA with questions) by visiting nchfa.com/home-buyers/buy-home/nc-home-advantage-mortgage.

 The NC 1st Home Advantage Down Payment: This program provides $15,000 in down payment assistance to eligible first-time homebuyers and military veterans.

It is provided as a 0% deferred second mortgage, which is forgiven after 15 years. Repayment is required based on the same terms as the NC Home Advantage Mortgage.

In the past year, 2,387 buyers purchased a home using the NC Home Advantage Down Payment Assistance program, and 69 were in Wake County, according to NCHFAs public relations team. Additionally, six were in Orange, 17 were in Durham, three were in Chatham and 54 were in Johnston.

Find all details and eligibility requirements (and contact NCHFA with questions) by visiting nchfa.com/home-buyers/home-buyer-mortgage-products/nc-1st-home-advantage-down-payment.

 The NC Home Advantage Tax Credit: This program enables first-time homebuyers and qualified military veterans to save up to $2,000 per year on their federal taxes. This is done with a Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC), which can allow homebuyers to have more money in their paycheck to pay their mortgage.

You must apply and be approved for the NC Home Advantage Tax Credit before purchasing your home. Then prior to closing, the NCHFA must review and approve your loan.

This option can be combined with the down payment assistance offered through the NC Home Advantage Mortgage, but it cannot be combined with the NC 1st Home Advantage Down Payment.

In the past year, 639 buyers purchased a home using the MCC, and 89 were in Wake County, according to NCHFAs public relations team. Additionally, five were in Orange, 35 were in Durham, three were in Chatham and 79 were in Johnston.

Find all details and eligibility requirements (and contact NCHFA with questions) by visiting nchfa.com/home-buyers/buy-home/nc-home-advantage-tax-credit.

 The Community Partner Loan Pool (CPLP): This down payment assistance program can be combined with an NC Home Advantage mortgage. It is targeted to low- and moderate-income homebuyers earning below 80% of their countys area median income.

Borrowers can receive up to 25% of the sales price or a maximum loan of $50,000, whichever is less.

In the past year, 105 buyers took advantage of the CPLP, and 12 were in Wake County, according to NCHFAs public relations team. Additionally, two were in Orange, two were in Durham, none were in Chatham and nine were in Johnston.

Find all details and eligibility requirements, and contact NCHFA with questions, by visiting nchfa.com/home-ownership-partners/real-estate-agents/mortgage-product-options/community-partners-loan-pool.

(Source: nchfa.com)

Eligibility requirements to use NC homebuyer programs

Potential buyers need to meet income and sales price limits to use one of NCHFAs programs. (Note: The NC Home Advantage Mortgage program does not have a sales price limit.)

Based on the program used, qualifying income limits are determined either by only the borrowers income or by total family income. All of these figures are verified by the lender.

 Borrower(s) only: The NC Home Advantage Mortgage income limit is only determined by the income of the borrower(s)  also known as qualifying income.

 Total family income: The NC 1st Home Advantage Down Payment and NC Home Advantage Tax Credit (or Mortgage Credit Certificate) is determined by total family income. This includes the total gross annual income for all titleholders and, if applicable, a spouse.

Sales price and loan amount limits can vary per location, such as county, throughout the state. You can search for your county and filter by your program type and family size by visiting housingbuildsnc.com/home-buyers/income-limits.

(Buyers hoping to purchase in certain census tracts might also be eligible for mortgage products. Find eligible census tracts in Triangle counties by visiting nchfa.com/county-census-tract-targeted-areas.)

The income and sales price limits are as follows in Triangle counties (as of May 2, 2023):

 Wake and Johnston counties: The sales price limit and loan amount limit is $385,000 for the NC 1st Advantage Down Payment and NC Home Advantage Tax Credit.

Income limits vary between $110,000 and $126,000 for first-time programs, depending on family size and/or number of borrowers.

 Durham, Orange and Chatham counties: The sales price limit and loan amount limit is $385,000 for the NC 1st Advantage Down Payment and NC Home Advantage Tax Credit.

Income limits vary between $95,000 and $126,000 for first-time programs, depending on family size and/or number of borrowers.

How to find first-time lenders and agents

To use any of NCHFAs programs, eligible buyers must use a participating lender. You can search for local participating lenders by visiting nchfa.com/home-buyers/find-lender.

We recommend that [interested buyers] speak with a participating lender to determine how much they can afford and their eligibility for our mortgage products, down payment assistance and tax credit options, NCHFAs Hargrove said.

Once they understand their financing options, it will be easier for homebuyers to find a home that they can afford for the long term.

Select real estate agents across the state have undergone training in NCHFAs programs and can provide guidance to first-time buyers, Hargrove said.

You can find these agents at nchfa.com/home-buyers/find-real-estate-agent. You can also call NCHFAs office at 800-393-0988 and ask for assistance.

Questions? Try a (free) housing counselor

The Agency recommends that first-time buyers consider working with a housing counselor to be sure they are ready to buy and to prepare themselves for the expenses of home ownership, Hargrove said.

A housing counselor can review a potential buyers credit score, monthly income and expenses and provide recommendations on whether now is a good time to buy. Homebuyers can access these free services at a HUD-approved housing counseling organization.

For a list of nearby housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, visit consumerfinance.gov/find-a-housing-counselor.

Housing counselors can provide advice on buying a home, renting, defaults, forbearances, foreclosures and credit issues. They can offer independent advice at little or no cost to you, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Note: Not every counselor offers all services, CFPB advises, so be sure to look at the list of services offered by each agency.

Homeownership help programs in NC

There are more programs, besides the NCHFA, that can help first-time buyers purchase a home.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development created this list of North Carolina-specific agencies and organizations that may be helpful for some first-time homebuyers:

 Habitat for Humanity: Habitat helps bring homeownership to very low-income families. Homeowners help pay for the down payment with physical labor to build the house, and volunteers help the effort. Learn more at habitat.org/housing-help/habitat-homeowners.

 USDA Rural Development : These programs can reduce the cost of homeownership for families with low and moderate-income. Learn more at rd.usda.gov/nc.

 Greensboro Housing Coalition: Programs offered are intended for low to moderate-income households and those with special needs. Learn more at greensborohousingcoalition.org.

 Downtown Housing Improvement Corporation (DHIC): This Raleigh group offers personal support for first-time homebuyers through private counseling sessions, homebuyer workshops, post-purchase counseling and more. Learn more at dhic.org/homeownership-center.

 The Center for HomeOwnership: Through the financial education group Financial Pathways of the Piedmont, this HUD-approved agency serves Forsyth, Stokes, Yadkin, and Surry counties. Learn more at financialpaths.org/homeownership.

Learn more about North Carolinas homeownership assistance programs at hud.gov/states/north_carolina/homeownership/buyingprgms.

Real estate reporter Chantal Allam contributed to this story.
Dozens injured in Thailand tourist hot spot after speedboat slams into concrete post

Dozens injured in Thailand tourist hot spot after speedboat slams into concrete post

Dozens of people were injured when a speedboat full of tourists crashed into a concrete post off the coast of Thailand in a popular resort area on Wednesday.

At least 36 people were injured when the speedboat full of 39 travelers from Russia, Kazakhstan and China slammed into a channel marker less than a mile offshore in Phukets Chalong Bay, Bangkok Post reported .

Officials say its possible that the boats captain fell asleep shortly before the crash.

The vessel, named Thanathip Marine 555, was reportedly returning to the popular tourist destination of Phuket from the Phi Phi Islands when the crash occurred around 5:30 p.m.

CAPTAIN OF BOYS' SOCCER TEAM RESCUED IN THAILAND CAVE IN 2018 DEAD AT 17

At least 36 people were injured when a speedboat crashed into a mile marker in Thailand on Wednesday.

Thai Coast Guard members pulled wounded tourists to safety and rushed them to nearby hospitals.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Police are investigating claims that the boat's captain dozed off before the crash and are awaiting test results on his blood-alcohol level.

TOP TRAVEL DESTINATIONS FOR SUMMER 2023 REVEALED: SEE IF YOUR PLANNED TRIP MADE THE LIST!

Thai Coast Guard members help injured passengers off the crashed speedboat.

"I don't know how the crash happened," a Thai passenger said, according to Viral Press. "The boat was driving normally, and suddenly there was a loud noise that jolted us."

Of the injured, six people are said to have suffered severe injuries including broken bones, 16 had "moderate" injuries and 15 had "minor" injuries.

The boat crash took place in the popular tourist region of Phuket.

"The injured passengers were 21 Russians, nine Kazakhs, a Hong Kong citizen, a Chinese tourist, a Ukrainian and four Thai locals," Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew said.
The use of drones has been restricted in Kursk Oblast, Russia.

Source: RBC, a Kremlin-aligned news outlet, citing Roman Starovoyt, Governor of Kursk Oblast

Quote from Starovoyt: "We had previously advised residents of Kursk Oblast to refrain from using drones for personal purposes. Now, a decision to ban all use of drones has been approved during the latest meeting of the operational staff, in light of relentless provocations undertaken by persons from the neighbouring territories [i.e., Ukraine  ed.]."

Details: Starovoyt said that the ban will be in place until the "medium response level" is lifted.

Previously: Drone use was previously restricted in Moscow, St Petersburg and in Sverdlovsk and Omsk oblasts of the Russian Federation.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
An off-duty Stockton police detective was arrested Wednesday night for allegedly driving under the influence, according to a Stockton Police statement Thursday.

Around 11:40 p.m., someone reported that a vehicle had been stopped for an unusually long time at an intersection, police said.

Officers found the vehicle near Park and Pilgrim streets, two blocks south of Temple Israel Cemetary in central Stockton, according to police.

Officers conducted a DUI investigation and found the driver, Detective Andrew Donovan, had been drinking, police stated. Donovan was not driving a police vehicle when stopped, police spokesman David Scott said.

Lights on a Stockton police vehicle flash in downtown Stockton.

Donovan was booked at the San Joaquin County Jail around 2:45 a.m. Wednesday and has since been released, according to online custody records.

He is on paid leave pending an internal investigation, the police statement said.

Scott, the police spokesman, said it's impossible to tell whether a DUI would lead to termination from the department until the investigation is through.

By Thursday evening, no charges against Donovan had yet been filed in court.

Record reporter Aaron Leathley covers public safety. She can be reached at aleathley@recordnet.com or on Twitter @LeathleyAaron. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Drunken off-duty cop arrested during DUI stop: Stockton police
DTEK shuts down power plant due to damage to transmission lines

Kurakhivska TPP

Today, on the afternoon of May 19, as a result of shelling from Russia, the main power transmission lines that supplied power to one of DTEKs TPPs were damaged, the company said.

Read also: Ukraine resumes electricity exports

As a result, the station has ceased electricity production.

Power sector workers are actively working to restore power supply and coordinating their efforts with national electric company Ukrenergo.

In turn, Ukrenergo has urged Ukrainians to conserve electricity during evening hours and requested shifting the use of electricity from the evening period (19:00 p.m. to 22:00 p.m.) to the morning, daytime, or night.

Read also: DTEK says it has gas surplus it wants to export, needs government approval

According to UkrEnergo, the most recent nighttime missile attack by Russia did not damage the main transmission networks.

Currently, (electricity production) is sufficient to meet consumer needs, but in order to maintain balance during evening hours, it is necessary to consume electricity economically, stated UkrEnergo.

We kindly ask to shift the use of electricity from the evening period (19:00 p.m. to 22:00 p.m.) to the morning, daytime, or night.

Electricity exports to Moldova and Poland continue during periods of reduced consumption, while imports to Ukraine are currently absent.

Earlier this week, Russian forces shelled one a DTEK power plant for the third time this month.



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
Dutch Bros coffee shop hits another roadblock in trying to open second Lexington store

An Oregon-based coffee chain has lost its bid to build a double drive-thru coffee kiosk on South Limestone near the University of Kentuckys campus.

Dutch Bros applied for a zone change at 507 S. Limestone from a neighborhood zone to a neighborhood business zone for the construction of a 967-square foot, single-story Dutch Bros coffee house with a double-lane drive-thru.

The Urban County Planning Commission voted 8-1 to deny the application in February.

During a Thursday Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council hearing on the zone change, the council failed to get enough votes to reverse the commissions decision or approve it.

The commissions decision to deny the zone change stands.

To reverse the commissions decision, the council needed 8 of 11 votes. A motion to approve the zone change failed 6-5.

Dutch Bros efforts to enter the Lexington market have been stymied in recent months. The planning commission also denied an application for a zone change on South Broadway in March. The council is expected to hear an appeal of that zone change soon.

Dutch Bros is currently building a coffee shop on New Circle Road at the site of a former Sonic. It will be the first Dutch Bros location in Kentucky.

The Arbys location at 507 S. Limestone in Lexington, Ky., photographed Tuesday, July 30, 2019.

Traffic, density a concern

Lexington planning staff recommended the commission not approve the zone change, citing concerns with traffic in and out of a property in a high pedestrian area near UKs campus.

Moreover, the citys comprehensive plan, which guides development, encourages more dense development along the citys main corridors, including South Limestone Street, city planners said during Thursdays council hearing.

Bruce Simpson, a lawyer for Dutch Bros, said the site has been vacant since the iconic Blue Arbys closed in 2019. Dutch Bros had proposed a drive-thru with no interior dining. Entrance and exits would be limited to Colfax Street. There would be walk-up service available fronting South Limestone.

Moreover, no neighbors of the property have opposed the zone change, Simpson said.

Simpson argued that more density at that location  which is where Nicholasville and South Limestone splits into two-way  is not feasible.

It will be less traffic than an Arbys, Simpson argued. Simpson said the site has operated as a restaurant since 1974.

Yet, some council members had concerns about pedestrian and vehicle traffic in the area.

The property is where South Limestone and Nicholasville Road splits. Thats five lanes of traffic into and out of the property, which makes getting to the property tricky and dangerous, said Councilwoman Hannah LeGris, who represents the area.

That area, near UK, has a lot of pedestrians, she said.

LeGris voted against approval of the zone change.

Vice Mayor Dan Wu agreed. Wu said he, too, had concerns about pedestrian safety.

Other council members said the property was unique. If more density was needed at that location, developers would have built it but that hasnt happened.

Councilman James Brown, who voted in favor of the zone change, said the property was unique. Its been vacant since 2019.

Councilwoman Denise Gray agreed. Gray said she did not want people to think Lexington was closed for business or that it was unfriendly to new businesses.

Councilors who voted in favor of the zone change were: Brown, Gray, Jennifer Reynolds, David Sevigny, Brenda Monarrez and Chuck Ellinger. Those who voted against the zone change: LeGris, Wu, Liz Sheehan, Tayna Fogle, Shayla Lynch.
(Bloomberg) -- Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte quit the party under which she won as she denounced political powerplay, indicating potential rifts among President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.s allies nearly a year into his term.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Duterte, in a statement posted on Facebook, said she is resigning as member of the Lakas-CMD party, without providing an exact reason. She also said her commitment to serve the country with Marcos as leader is immutable.

I am here today because of the trust of the Filipino people in me to lead and serve them and the country, and this cannot be poisoned by political toxicity or undermined by execrable political powerplay, the vice-president said.

Dutertes resignation comes after former President and Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a Lakas-CMD stalwart, lost a key post in the House of Representatives. Arroyo has said she wanted to be House leader after the 2022 elections, but denied any attempt to oust current Speaker Martin Romualdez, Marcoss cousin.

Duterte, daughter of former leader Rodrigo Duterte, joined Arroyos party shortly before running as Marcoss vice-president in last years elections. Their consolidation helped them win the nations top two elected spots by large margins, and have huge support in Congress.

Marcos-Duterte Alliance Gets Tested After Big Election Win

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Molten treasure: A new joint venture between DRC and the UAE seeks to bring transparency to Congo's notoriously murky gold mining sector

In sweltering heat in a small building in eastern DR Congo, technicians cast molten gold into ingots as traders nearby haggle over the day's price for the precious metal.

Primera Gold, a joint venture between the Congolese government and the United Arab Emirates, operates with a transparency that is highly unusual in conflict-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Experts say illicit trade in gold and other minerals in eastern DRC has long fuelled the dozens of armed groups that have plagued the region for decades. Much of the trafficked minerals are thought to transit through neighbouring countries, particularly Rwanda.

But Primera Gold buys gold dug by artisanal miners in South Kivu province, and sells it legally and openly.

Sitting in his office in a five-storey building in the provincial capital Bukavu, Benjamin Bisimwa, the assistant to the company's managing director, said a tonne of gold was being smuggled across the border every month.

In South Kivu, just 23 kilogrammes (50.7 pounds) of gold were officially declared for export in 2021, and 34 kilos in 2022.

But since it began operations in January, Primera Gold has already exported one tonne, according to the finance ministry.

"The results speak for themselves," said Bisimwa, who added that the company aims to ship a tonne to the UAE each month.

- Pure gold -

South Kivu not only has gold in abundance but some of the purest gold in the world, say industry specialists.

In the baking-hot building adjacent to Primera Gold's headquarters, a technician took a crucible of liquid gold from a furnace and poured it into a rectangular mould.

The ingot, when cooled, weighed about two kilos -- worth about $120,000 (111,000 euros).

Using a spectrometer to analyse the production, the technician said the purity was 96.8 percent.

Traders streamed in and out of the facility, bearing pellets and nuggets dug from the South Kivu hills by so-called artisanal miners.

These are individuals who often work in gruelling and hazardous conditions, but have legal status if they meet specific conditions.

These include being aged over 18, working in a designated area for artisanal miners and being members of an officially recognised cooperative.

Primera Gold says it only sources its gold from "qualified" sites and cooperatives, and shuns gold from mines that are controlled by militias or employ children.

- 'Nothing for us' -

Many in Bukavu support the company's ambitions but are sceptical about how clean the gold supply really is in a country where enforcement of laws can be notoriously lax.

"There is a big question mark over supply," said Blaise Bubala, the head of a civil society working group on mining.

Where the money will end up is another concern, he added.

The Congolese state owns 45 percent of Primera Gold, but many people wonder whether the profits will be ploughed back into impoverished local communities.

"Building schools, roads, hospitals, is something we've always asked for," Bubala said.

Similar concerns are expressed in Luhihi, about 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Bukavu.

Gold was discovered there just three years ago and miners now sell their haul to Primera Gold.

"Foreigners have come to steal our gold. And there's nothing for us in return," said Minani Bufole, a 62-year-old butcher who was among a small group who had come to demonstrate outside a meeting of the local mining authorities.

Zouzou Njangu, the head of a Luhihi artisanal miners' co-op, said the sudden arrival of gold diggers in the farming area was bound to rankle.

Wearing a hardhat and overalls, she said attitudes can take time to change, pointing to her own difficulties in convincing artisanal miners to pay dues for a co-operative membership card.

- 'Shameful' -

"How can you afford to buy a card for $10 when you don't even have 200 francs ($0.1) for soap," asked Innocent Dunia, a miner in Luhihi, who like many others, hasn't struck gold in a long time.

Most of the miners, known as diggers, scrape at the ground wearing old plastic shoes and clothes caked in dust.

"Look how we are, it's shameful," said Dunia, 32.

Despite the rudimentary conditions, Luhihi is a pilot site in Primera Gold's effort to sell traceable Congolese ore.

The company acknowledges it still has its work cut out in improving the lot of miners. It's promised health insurance to 10,000 diggers and their families, for example, although it does not yet have a list of potential beneficiaries.

"We are going to face the challenges together," said Bisimwa, who pointed to what he described as a growing political will to address the sector.

On May 1, soldiers raided several gold traders in Bukavu, seizing gold, cash and computers and arresting dozens of people allegedly involved in the illicit side of the business. Primera Gold said it recorded a bump in turnover after the operation.

Jean-Jacques Mayah, the head of an association of South Kivu gold traders, said he had worked with the old Bukavu enterprises for 22 years.

Today, he is Primera Gold's main buyer. "Now, things are being put in order," Mayah said.

at-ro-eml/ri/giv
(Bloomberg) -- One of Ecuadors most prominent presidential hopefuls pledged to renegotiate contracts with foreign oil and mining companies and to take a tough line on the drug cartels behind a surge in violence.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Fernando Villavicencio, who was an independent lawmaker until congress was dissolved this week, criticized as overly generous contracts awarded to companies including PetroChina Co., Halliburton Co. and SLB, which was formerly known as Schlumberger.

This doesnt mean that Im against the participation of private, foreign and national capital  on the contrary, Villavicencio said Thursday, in an interview in Quito. But there has to be some profitability left over for the state.

Villavicencio said he isnt proposing to change the tax rates for such companies, nor is he in favor of nationalization. He also said he favors free trade, and backed the current governments narrowing of the fiscal deficit under an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

Ecuadors economy will expand 2.9% this year, from 3% in 2022, according to the IMF. Villavicencio said that the growing power of organized crime gangs involved in extortion and kidnapping as well as drug trafficking was holding back growth. He said he favors a tough line on mafia bosses, but that he isnt advocating a mass roundup of lower-level criminals of the kind organized by President Nayib Bukele in El Salvador.

Ecuador has suffered soaring bloodshed over the past five years as cocaine traffickers fought for control of ports and routes, spreading terror with car bombs and contract killings.

Household Name

Villavicencio, 59, became a household name in Ecuador during the 2007-2017 government of President Rafael Correa, when he reported on corruption scandals related to loans from China, and on illegal campaign financing.

The latter led to Correas conviction in absentia for graft, meaning that the former president would face arrest were he to return to Ecuador from his current home in Belgium.

Ecuadors electoral authority set the tentative date of Aug. 20 for the election of a new president and lawmakers, after President Guillermo Lasso this week shut down congress to forestall his impeachment trial.

Read More: Ecuador Weighs August Election After Dissolution of Congress

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
From Ed Sheeran to Dua Lipa: the richest musicians and celebrities under the age of 35

Ed Sheeran, Adele and Harry Styles are among the UKs wealthiest people under the age of 35, according to the 2023 Sunday Times 35 under 35 Rich List.

All three musicians were listed as having wealth higher than 150 million after seeing success in both the UK and the US.

Sheeran and Adele both claim spots in the top 10 of the under-35 list  Sheeran, 32, claimed seventh place with an estimated wealth of 300m.

It comes following the release of his sixth studio album which became the UKs fastest-selling album of 2023.

Adele, who is now 35, is in ninth place with her wealth estimated at 165m.

According to The Sunday Times, Harry Styles wealth is 150 million, putting him in 13th place.

Two of Styles former One Direction bandmates, Niall Horan, 29, and Louis Tomlinson, 31, also made the 35 under 35 Rich List.

The pair were joint 29th on the list, both with wealth estimated at 54m.

Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomilson all made the 35 under 35 Rich List (PA Wire)

Fellow popstar Dua Lipa, 27, claimed the number 21 spot on the list with an estimated wealth of 75m accumulated through music, modelling and podcasting.

Elsewhere, Harry Potter co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, both 33, featured on the list.

Radcliffe placed 18th on the list with his worth placed at 92m, with Watson listed as 60 million through film, drink and her investment firm Hestia Hebe.

Model and actor Cara Delevingne claimed the 33rd spot on the list with an estimated wealth of 50m. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014 and became known for her iconic eyebrows. She has appeared in films such as Suicide Squad in her acting career.

Cara Delevingne claimed 33rd place on the under-35s rich list (Getty Images)

The power list, which estimates the fortunes of the 350 wealthiest people in Britain, has also included England Captain Harry Kane, whose net worth is estimated at 51m.

Marking its 35th year, the latest report says there are 171 billionaires in the UK this year, six fewer than in 2022, and the first fall for 14 years.

At the top of the young rich list is the Duke of Westminster, who inherited his title and land when he was 25. The 32-year-old is godfather to Prince George and owns property in 43 cities across 10 countries.

His, and his familys, total wealth is estimated at 9.878bn, with an estimated loss of 166m after last years list calculated a figure of 10.054bn.

The founder of popular sportswear brand Gymshark, Ben Morgan, who launched the business over a decade ago, is now valued at 900m and claimed the fourth spot in the list.

The list reveals that the majority of the under-35s made their millions on their own, but nine of the 35 richest were born into wealthy families and inherited their money.

The report reads: Those who inherited wealth are worth much more. So, 33 out of 38 individuals on this list built their fortunes themselves, a combined total of 5.8 billion; the other five, who owe at least some of their wealth to inheritance, account for 13.1 billion.

Of the 35 individuals, about half attended state schools, while at least a third didnt go on to further education.
Editorials from The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board are the opinions of the Board, not of the Post newsroom.

All too often, we hear about the reluctance of residents to cooperate with the police in fighting crime. "Snitches get stitches" is the usual refrain to describe outright fear. Give credit to the residents of West Palm Beach's Northwood Harbor neighborhood and local law enforcement for turning that urban reality into a community's retaliation.

After years of drug dealing that had turned this north end neighborhood into a hotbed of criminal activity, community leaders had had enough. Their courage to step up and assist West Palm Beach police resulted in Operation Blockbuster, a year-long investigation that was launched after seething frustrations found an ally in a police chief who was attuned to their complaints and a city government committed to making a change.

The police action led to the arrest of 29 people, 16 of them now facing charges for racketeering, prostitution and dealing the drug, fentanyl. The charges come with stiff penalties, Each suspect could face up to 60 years in prison.

"They're the ones that helped us initiate this case," West Palm Beach Police Chief Frank Adderley said last week. "I knew people in this neighborhood felt every bit of it, because they lived it every day."

Operation Blockbuster brings relief to the neighborhood, where drug dealing and other criminal activity had taken a toll on the residents who had gotten used to witnessing it all and keeping their children inside their homes for fear of their safety. According to Adderley, 150 people living in the neighborhood had overdosed and 54 of them died. Fortunately, the residents found an ally in Adderley, who along with Mayor Keith James and Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, responded to the frustrations of the long-embattled community.

West Palm Beach Police Chief Frank Adderley (left) and Mayor Keith James announce the results of "Operation Blockbuster," a major effort to disrupt drug dealing in the city's Northwood Harbor neighborhood.

Related Story: West Palm Beach Police Chief Frank Adderley kicks off Spruce Avenue block party with prayer

More: In West Palm Beach, a Tyre Nichols town hall with police focuses on trust, reform and grief

For the moment, the residents have a respite from the drug dealing that had been a fixture just outside their front doors. Unfortunately, respite is the operative word. While law enforcement took extraordinary steps to rid the area of one set of criminals, residents remain concerned that without continued police presence, the void will be filled by rivals who will bring back a familiar set of unwanted problems and fears. Complacency has its reward, an activist working with Northwood Harbor residents told Post reporter Hannah Phillips. More of the same.

Fear remains a problem for both the community victimized by crime and police burdened by it. Crime reduction strategies that rely on increased motorized patrols, ShotSpotters, license plate readers, rapid response and the occasional investigation may reduce crime but not necessarily the community's fear. What seems to work better are police programs that enhance the quantity and quality of police contacts with citizens, an effort Adderley has supported to his credit and the neighborhoods' benefit. More, however can be done.

The city's police department must continue its work in the north end communities to make sure that high-crime activity doesn't return. It goes without saying that the city should ensure the department has the resources to improve community policing efforts, and other activities that will strengthen the bonds between the police and the residents they are duty-bound to serve. But we will say it here anyway.

Members of the community and West Palm Beach police attend the PUSH, Pray Until Something Happens, to Curb Gun Violence block party on Tamarind Avenue, from 18th to Grant streets in West Palm Beach July 15, 2022.

Related Story: 'It should be like this every day': West Palm Beach makes a stand with Tamarind Avenue block party

More: West Palm Beach Police Chief Frank Adderley kicks off Spruce Avenue block party with prayer

Police must also be more forthcoming in their dealing with city residents regarding police practices and conduct, especially those that may raise cynicism and doubt. For every inroad into a still-skeptical community made by an Operation Blockbuster, there's the potential for local law enforcement to step backwards in community relations efforts, as it did in two recent deadly-force cases  the 2021 police shooting of Romen Phelps at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts and the more recent shooting of John McKinzie at the Paradise Cove condominiums this month.

A group of Dreyfoos School of the Arts alumni gathered at Washington Square Park in New York City on May 22 to memorialize Romen Phelps, the man shot and killed at Dreyfoos after he crashed his van onto the campus and made his way into the theatre.

FOR SUBSCRIBERS: Dreyfoos shooting: State attorney won't charge officer who shot, killed Romen Phelps

Our View: Editorial: In search of safe haven, did troubled Dreyfoos School intruder have to die?

Getting the bad guys off the street should always be a priority for police. So too should gaining and maintaining the confidence of those who rely on law enforcement. Operation Blockbuster is an impressive building block that can produce benefits when both are seen by the community and law enforcement as priorities.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm Beach police sting helps police-community relations
If a business in this country is sued for lack of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, its nearly an even-money bet that the business will be in California. This state is No. 1. By a lot.

A legal firm that tracks these things reports that over the last decade 33,100 such claims were filed in federal courts in California, or nearly half of all such lawsuits filed nationwide.

None of this means that businesses in California are less likely to make required, appropriate accommodations for disabled customers. What it does mean is that when enforcement of a law is left entirely in the hands of a citizen posse, as has always been the case with the ADA, those citizens are most likely to act in places in which the reward for doing so is greatest.

In most other states, any awards won in a federal disability-access case are limited only to the amount of legal fees. In California, which has its own Unruh Civil Rights to protect against discrimination by disability, plaintiffs can receive additional awards of thousands of dollars per violation.

This has created a California cottage industry, led by a small but prolific band of what are known as high-frequency litigators, or disabled individuals who roam about and file bushels of lawsuits against businesses that are not in letter-perfect compliance with ADA regulations.

Over the years, the Legislature has sought to address abuse in this arena. It created a Certified Access Specialist Program that enables a business to hire a trained inspector to identify any deficiencies, make any necessary upgrades and then receive temporary immunity from disabled-access lawsuits. It enacted special procedural requirements that apply only to high-frequency litigators.

None of this has stopped the flood of lawsuits.

Carlos Reyes, owner of Olas de Carlos Surf Grill in Camarillo, knows the story too well. After he was sued last summer, his landlord made some technical corrections and then paid about $10,000 to settle the suit. Now, Reyes has been hit again with another suit, this time regarding the slope of the parking lot. His only option now might be to close up shop.

The litigant in the latest case, Anthony Bouyer, has filed more than 500 such lawsuits in federal court over the last three years, and 35 state lawsuits in Ventura County Superior Court this year alone  eight on April 25, nine on May 9.

Its time for the Legislature to take stronger action. The targets in these lawsuits are almost always small businesses, often minority-owned businesses. Typically, they can be settled for $10,000 or so  a big hit to a mom-and-pop business, and a decent payday for a plaintiff filing lawsuits by the dozen, even after splitting the awards with a lawyer.

A measure that received unanimous approval in the Judiciary Committee is now before that state Senate. Under Senate Bill 585, a defendant would first have to be served with a demand letter and given 120 days to correct any deficiencies. If an alleged violation is corrected within those 120 days, the business would then not be liable for any damages or for the cost of plaintiffs attorney fees.

The bill is opposed by groups advocating for the disabled, including the California Council of the Blind. Their concerns must be noted, and a commitment made to monitor any effects on disability access should the bill become law.

But this California parade of naked legal shakedowns of small businesses must end. The Legislature should send this bill to Gov. Gavin Newsom before the summer is out.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Editorial: Stop the shakedown of small businesses
An ambulance is seen driving in the wrong lane to get around traffic on 42nd Street in New York in January 2018. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is moving forward with motor vehicle congestion pricing in Manhattan to finance the city's ailing transit system. (Mary Altaffer / Associated Press)

The Biden administration this month gave New York City the green light to move forward with the nations first congestion pricing system that would charge motorists a toll to drive into the citys central business district.

New Yorks Metropolitan Transportation Authority still has to work out the details  including toll rates, discounts and exemptions  but officials anticipate congestion pricing will take effect in spring 2024. The idea is to discourage people from driving into the busiest part of the city, thus removing some cars from traffic-clogged streets and reducing vehicle pollution. The toll revenue would be used to improve the regions aging public transit system.

New York will be the first city in the U.S. to adopt a cordon area congestion pricing scheme, in which people pay to drive into a designated area, but it shouldnt be the last. It's a model used in London and Stockholm that has helped cut the amount of time spent idling in traffic, but the U.S. has been too slow in embracing a proven tool to unclog roads.

Los Angeles leaders are considering a congestion pricing pilot project. The idea was raised in 2019 by then-Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Phil Washington, who suggested rush-hour tolls on drivers could help raise billions of dollars to accelerate construction of transportation projects for the 2028 Olympics and even be used to eliminate bus and train fares.

Metro leaders have since scaled back the vision for congestion pricing, and are instead looking at tolls as a way to reduce traffic and improve transit options in specific areas. The agency is working on a study analyzing three potential locations for pilot projects: on roads and freeways into downtown; on Interstate 10 between downtown and Santa Monica; and on freeways and canyon roads that cross the Santa Monica Mountains between the San Fernando Valley and the L.A. Basin.

The study, which is expected to be completed early next year, also will look at exempting carpools and low-income motorists from paying the toll, and how to spend the revenue to improve transit into the tolled areas. Then Metros Board of Directors will decide whether to move forward with a pilot project and, if so, with which location.

Metro officials are eyeing 2028 as a target date to begin the pilot. The agency would still need to go through environmental review and get permission from the state Legislature and the federal government, and that could depend on who is in the White House. New York City expected to launch its congestion pricing program in 2021 but was delayed three years because of the pandemic and the Trump administration's refusal to act.

Congestion pricing isnt a radical concept. Regions across the country, including Los Angeles County, have approved a version of it with express lanes that are free for carpools and allow single-occupant vehicles to use them for a toll. Along with London and Stockholm, Singapore and other cities around the world use tolling to reduce traffic in their commercial districts.

It's a response to an unavoidable truth  most cities are built out and cannot widen roads or freeways, nor would that help. Adding car lanes encourages more people to drive, and eventually the route gets clogged again.

However, a toll can quickly change behaviors and traffic patterns. The price can make people reevaluate the trip. Is there an alternative, like taking the bus or train? Is it possible to travel in off-peak hours or avoid the trip altogether? It takes just a small percentage reduction in the number of cars to ease congestion.

It's good to see New York City's program is moving forward. Los Angeles should watch, learn and go next.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The sprawling municipality of Soyapango was once a battleground for El Salvador's two biggest and most feared street gangs.

For decades, the MS13 and the 18th Street Gang dumped victims' bodies in ditches and streams, on roadsides and wasteland across the notoriously dangerous district of the capital, San Salvador.

These days, though, the only war being waged is by the government.

Following a weekend of extreme gang violence in March last year, El Salvador's young and media-savvy president, Nayib Bukele, imposed a state of exception - an emergency measure under which several constitutional rights were suspended and police were granted wide-ranging powers of arrest.

Since then, some 66,000 people have been detained.

Police and soldiers are much more visible since the state of emergency was declared

In Soyapango, a joint police and military operation sweeps through the backstreets as a helicopter whirrs overhead.

Some officers carry out search warrants at specific addresses while others randomly stop young men in the streets, checking them for gang tattoos and criminal records.

"On a scale of one to ten, it's a twelve," jokes one local resident when asked how much calmer the neighbourhood has become over the past year. "It's incredibly quiet."

Not prepared to give his real name, such is the ingrained fear of speaking about gangs, "Joel" says his neighbourhood is unrecognisable under the tighter security conditions: "Things were so bad here before, so ugly."

"This [area] was run by the MS-13. If we went into the neighbourhood next to ours, run by the 18th Street [gang], you might never come back. Now we can come and go as we please," he added.

The government's heavy-handed approach enjoys more than 90% support with the Salvadorean public, exhausted after years of gang intimidation and extortion.

Document checks and searches are a common occurence

While most Salvadoreans applaud the ruthless new policy, it has not brought peace for everyone. Thousands of people with no discernible link to gang activity have also been swept up in the dragnet of arrests.

Far from the capital's urban neighbourhoods, in the dusty village of La Noria, a young tractor driver, Jose Duval Mata, was among them.

Soon after the state of exception was imposed, soldiers entered his community and stopped him on his way home.

They took his telephone and accused him of "unlawful association", a catch-all term under which tens of thousands have been detained for alleged gang affiliation.

His mother, Marcela Alvarado, has not seen or heard from him since and is desperate with worry.

Marcela Alvarado's son has been under arrest since April 2022

"You hear so many things: that they're torturing them in there, that they hit them," she says between sobs.

"When my son was imprisoned, I went to the jail and spent 18 days outside, with a crowd of people. And you'd hear their cries coming from inside: 'Help us, help! I can't take any more!' That caused me so much pain in my heart."

Ms Alvarado says her son's only legal proceeding, so far, was a mass hearing with 360 other inmates. They were all sentenced to an initial six months in prison - a sentence which has subsequently been extended.

Before the hearing, Ms Alvarado was advised to bring a stack of documents - from his clean criminal record and high school diploma to a reference from his employer - which attested to his innocence and lack of involvement in gang activity.

She says that the court ignored them all.

Jose Duval is far from the only one caught in such a Kafkaesque situation.

On the first anniversary of the state of exception, hundreds of families gathered in the centre of San Salvador to demand the immediate release of their relatives who, they say, were arbitrarily detained without cause.

Some have loved ones who died in prison, like Eva Sandoval's sister, Noelia.

Eva Sandoval (right) was told that her sister Noeli died from a tumour while in custody

"When they took her into custody, she wasn't ill," Eva Sandoval explains. "But then, in February, we learned that she had died, apparently from a cancerous tumour on her nose."

Noelia Sandoval had not been convicted of any gang-related crime at the time of her death.

El Salvador's vice-president, Felix Ulloa, argues that the controversial security plan has brought widespread peace to the country.

"It's not perfect, but it's good. We've done something really good here," he said in an exclusive BBC interview.

Mr Ulloa does acknowledge that thousands of those arrested have probably not committed any gang-related crimes: "It could be (the case). When you have an operation of this size, with so far more than 65,000 people imprisoned, there probably could be some mistakes and some people could have been arrested with no links to the gangs."

He says that the legal system is gradually working through the backlog of cases. "Three thousand people have already been released by the due process of law."

That is of little comfort to Marcela Alvarado, whose son, Jose Duval, has not even been able to meet his baby son, who was born after his arrest.

Now the bank is threatening to repossess a half-finished house he was building for his family as they cannot keep up the repayments.

Languishing in prison and branded a gang member, his only hope is a judicial system that has so far refused to accept any of the evidence presented in his defence.

To find out more about El Salvador's crackdown on gangs you can watch Will Grant's report on the BBC's Our World programme.
Last week, the Biden administration lifted the Title 42 order put in place by President Donald Trump, which for several years had in effect closed the U.S.-Mexico border to migrants. Rather than the feared stampede at the border, the end of Title 42 simply returned the border to the system that has stumbled along for decades.

The task now is how to reform that system so that it responds effectively and efficiently to manage the 21st century of global migration.

In 2020, Trump issued an order under Title 42, a public health law, which permitted the immediate removal from the country of asylum seekers fleeing violence and persecution. Critics claimed that Trump relied on the public health law to rationalize mass expulsions; more generally, they said, he wanted to limit the number of immigrants in the U.S., which was consistent with his many efforts to restrict immigration.

As few could miss, the Biden administrations plan to end the Title 42 border closure made the news. Story after story raised the specter of an uncontrollable influx of migrants storming the U.S.-Mexico border.

Given that the Trump Title 42 order had been in place for several years, many expected that the lifting of the order would be followed by a large, sustained increase in migration. Biden himself cautioned that it might take time for migration flows to stabilize.

Responding to such fears, the Biden administration took steps to deter migrants from unlawfully entering the U.S. Indeed, troops were sent to the border. Restrictions on asylum applications also were put into place. Clear legal pathways for Haitians, Venezuelans, Cubans and Nicaraguans to flee nations plagued by violence and turmoil were also created to discourage all unlawful entry.

But as it turns out, the end of Title 42 changed little along the U.S.-Mexico border. Migrants, families among them, still come seeking a better life or sanctuary from violence, and traffic has been manageable so far.

The truth of the matter is that, as was the case for many years before the Title 42 order, there is a system in place to process the asylum and other claims of migrants. Although far from perfect, the system has operated and enforces the border consistent with the rule of law.

The border closure through the Title 42 order was an easy and arguably unlawful answer to proponents of halting migration. But there is no longer a public health emergency that justifies the extreme measure of closing the border and denying rights to migrants. Title 42 is simply no longer a viable policy option.

Moreover, there is no need for radical border closure. Ebbs and flows of migration have occurred regularly in U.S. history. Political turmoil and violence in Central America and Haiti in the 1980s and 1990s led to many U.S. government responses, such as the interdiction of boats of Haitians by Coast Guard cutters and the immediate return of migrants to Haiti. Policies were also put into place to detain large numbers of Haitians and Central Americans seeking asylum. Congress added to the U.S. governments toolbox in 1996 the expedited removal of migrants apprehended at the border without a credible asylum claim and the increased authorization of detention of migrants.

Although some of these measures may be criticized (for example, when deaths occur in detention), they are preferable and lawful alternatives to an unsustainable and unlawful system of closed borders.

The exaggerated fears of the end of Title 42 are now behind us. The hard work ahead is to improve our under-resourced migration system. The U.S. government has returned to a system that permits migrants to apply for asylum and have their claims decided by asylum officers and immigration courts. The difficult task is how to refine that system so that it operates efficiently and has the publics confidence.

Kevin R. Johnson is dean and Mabie/Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana and Chicano Studies at the University of California-Davis School of Law.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Photo of person performing construction work on a concrete building



Diaper house in progress

Solving the worlds numerous environmental crises requires creativitythat much is clear. But does that mandate for imagination mean we have to reconsider (and repurpose) dirty, disposable diapers? A team of engineers from Japans University of Kitakyushu seems to think its worth a shot.

Soiled diapers could feasibly replace a portion of the sand in conventional, environmentally harmful concrete, and be used to build safe, more sustainable, and more affordable homes, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. Up to 8% of all the sand in the concrete and mortar required to construct a single-story house could be swapped out for shredded diapers without sacrificing too much stability or material strength, the researchers say.

Read more

Photo of concrete house



From dirty diaper to actual dwelling: The prototype house built by Zuraida and her colleagues to test the feasibility of their diaper-concrete.

To come to that conclusion, the engineers took on the dirty work of collecting, cleaning, and tearing apart used diapers. Yes, there was poop involved. Siswanti Zuraida, lead study author and engineering Ph.D student, told Gizmodo in an email that she and her colleagues processed the nuked nappies manually. The solids were removed via washing, and then the remaining offending agents were neutralized with a chemical soak, she explained. From there, the researchers dried and shredded the diapers into a useable concrete additive.

They made and tested six different ratio mixtures of diaper concrete for both microbial content and ability to withstand different forces. They found that the diaper concrete didnt contain any more or more harmful microbes than standard concrete. They also determined that different aspects of construction could safely use concrete containing various percentages of diapers over sand, without significantly sacrificing strength.

Photo of inside of partially finished room with plywood walls and concrete floor.



Inside the incomplete but still impressive diaper house.

Up to 40% of concretes sand could be swapped for diaper shreds for non-load-bearing walls, up to 10% for columns and beams in a three-story house, up to 27% for a such support structures in a single-story house, and up to 8% of all the concrete and mortar used to build an actual 380+ square foot house. To double check their lab tests, the engineers actually built a house. Although a little drab, the concrete could-be-dwelling did, indeed, stand safely.

Photo of outside of concrete building



Diaper house: complete with covered patio and walkway.

In theory, the environmental benefit of building with diapers would be twofold. The idea could take a common, slow-to-degrade item out of landfills and other dumps, while also minimizing the amount of destructive sand mining needed to make concrete. Disposable diapersmade of a combination of wood pulp, cotton, absorbents, and synthetic fibersare one of the biggest sources of plastic waste worldwide. In the U.S., about 4.1 million tons of diapers are discarded annually, according to a 2018 EPA report, comprising more than 8% of all the non-durable waste produced. Outside of the U.S., and in places lacking significant waste infrastructure, the problem of diaper pollution is even worse. Dirty diapers made up more than one-fifth of all waterway waste in a 2018 World Bank study of 15 Indonesian cities.



Then theres the bang-for-your-buck benefit. Mining sand costs money, whereas dirty diapers are abundant and hypothetically free. In those same Indonesian cities where discarded diapers pollute the rivers, the study authors point out, the affordable housing supply is seriously lacking. Maybe a cheaper building material could help.

Photo of inside of room



One would never guess these smooth concrete floor tiles contain a significant percentage of once-poopy diaper.

In practice though, the researchers admit that building one diaper house is a far cry from developing the systems and infrastructure to build lots of diaper houses. Unfortunately, at this scale, the research has not yet involved waste management and other stakeholders, Zuraida wrote in her email. Safely amassing dirty diapers and then transforming them into a suitable building material takes a lot of planning and work, none of which has yet begun.

Many a recycled, more-sustainable building material has been proposed. But often, these big ideas dont end up widely adoptedinstead relegated as oddities to the cultural corners of quirk.

Still, Zuraida and her colleagues are moving onto their next steps. They hope to finalize analyses of diaper concretes thermal and acoustic properties to further ensure it is good to use in housing. Theyre also aiming to improve their nappy collection and treatment methods.

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 ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the momentous burst of rebellion against the Iranian regime prompted by the death of Mahsa Amini are reverberating profoundly at the Cannes Film Festival.

At the festivals opening ceremony on Tuesday night, legendary French actress Catherine Deneuve paid tribute to the wars victims by reciting a poem from Ukrainian poet Lessia Oukrainka, solemnly declaring: I no longer have either happiness or freedom, only one hope remains to me: to return one day to my beautiful Ukraine. One year ago, Cannes got off to an emotional start with remarks from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

More from Variety

On the industry side, official Russian delegations and companies with ties to the government are again banned from participating in the Cannes Marche du Film. And Irans Farabi Film Foundation, the top national film entity which has been attending the market for years, has not been allowed to book a stand, a festival spokesperson confirmed.

Iran will instead be repped by the Iranian Independent Filmmakers Assn., founded in September 2022 by Kaveh Farnham, the Dubai-based producer of dissident director Mohammad Rasoulofs There Is No Evil.

Significantly, Rasoulof, who was recently released from Tehrans Evin prison, was not allowed to leave Iran to serve on Cannes main jury, he recently confirmed.

In terms of the official selection, Ukraine is understandably absent due to the war. After a flurry of titles filmed before the Russian invasion hit the festival circuit last year  including Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuks Cannes Directors Fortnight selection Pamfir and Maksym Nakonechnyis Un Certain Regard player Butterfly Vision  the well has largely dried up.

The industry, as an industry, is dead for the moment, said Vladimir Yatsenko, who produced Antonio Lukichs Luxembourg, Luxembourg, which premiered in the Venice Film Festivals Horizons strand last summer.

Funding for the Ukrainian State Film Agency, the industrys main financing body, has been diverted toward the war effort. Many male filmmakers are serving on the frontlines  Yatsenko himself just returned to Kyiv the day before he spoke to Variety.

Despite the challenges, Variety understands that several Ukrainian films were submitted to the festival but didnt make the official selection, although Polish director Maciek Hamelas war documentary In the Rearview  a minority Ukraine co-production  was selected for the festivals ACID sidebar. (The sole Russian entry, Ilya Povolotskys Grace, was filmed before the Ukraine invasion and selected for Directors Fortnight.)

Meanwhile, Two Sisters, a Ukraine-Poland co-production directed by ukasz Karwowski, is currently in post-production and will be presented in the Tallinn Black Nights Goes to Cannes works-in-progress showcase. Filmed over six weeks in Ukraine late last summer, its one of the first narrative features to go into production since the start of the war. We were working very fast, said Karwowski, whose small, nimble crew had to navigate a barrage of military checkpoints and filmed while Russian artillery burst in the air.

Iran, meanwhile, is repped by only one film, timely underground drama Terrestrial Verses, co-directed by Canada-based Alireza Khatami and Iran-based Ali Asgari, premiering in Un Certain Regard. Shot in Tehran without a permit after the Mahsa Amini movement started, Verses consists of 12 tableaus depicting the increasingly absurd and tragic plight that Iranians face in their everyday life with a scathingly ironic deadpan tone. It was very important for us to talk about the system, about the totalitarian system that wants to control everything in peoples lives, said Asgari.

As Mohammad Attebbai, who is head of Tehran-based sales company Iranian Independents, points out, the bulk of the Iranian films that have surfaced on the festival circuit since Aminis death are either by Iranian diaspora directors, such as native New Yorker Maryam Keshavarzs The Persian Version, which bowed at Sundance, or underground films like Verses. And those, due to the turbulence, are a rarity right now.

Iranian cinema in the past six, eight months hasnt had time to catch up, said Khatami, who believes that cinema in Iran will be divided into a before and after [the Mahsa Amini movement].

But Attebbai underlines that Irans well-known directors who are still living there  unlike Asghar Farhadi, who left Iran last September and currently divides his time between Los Angeles and Europe  have put moviemaking on hiatus at the moment both due to all the limitations and restrictions imposed on filmmakers by the regime, and also because they feel that this is not the right time to make a film. They simply cannot reflect whats happened and is happening in society, he said.

As for Ukraine, the Cannes Market will again put its muscle behind a range of efforts to support the beleaguered industry, including a Ukraine in Focus event that will present 10 feature film projects in development to potential co-producers and financiers. Ukrainian filmmakers, meanwhile, are lobbying European funding bodies to amend their guidelines for international co-productions and allow them to apply without domestic financing secured  a step that could keep the production pipeline flowing as the country continues to defend its sovereignty.

Theres a lot of people trying to keep the industry alive, said Artem Koliubaiev, head of the Council for State Support for Cinematography of Ukraine, a key funding body. The veteran producer was among the industry representatives who met with President Zelenskyy in March to stress the urgency of getting government financing back on track. We need to show to the world and to international partners that we believe in our industry and that we are ready to start the process of funding and shooting in our country, Koliubaiev said.

We dont know if we will succeed in the end. But we have this instinct  not only of survivors, but fighters, said Aleksandra Kostina, of Kyiv-based Bosonfilm (Pamfir), who has two projects in the Cannes Marches Ukraine in Focus program. We know what is precious for us and we are ready to fight for it.

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.
Fred Prouser/Reuters

Doug Ellin, the creator of Entourage, made a truly goofy blunder on Thursday in reaction to a satirical re-envisioning of the notably problematic show, which made douchebag characters like Ari Gold and Vincent Chase into household names after its premiere in 2004.

On Entourage, jocular male characters often spent entire episodes attempting to get laid, a phenomenon pointed out by writer Max Davidson in the humorous essay written for McSweeneys that Ellin mistakenly, it appears, thought was a real proposal from an HBO executive to recut the series to reflect contemporary sensitivities.

Our first sensitivity reading will be of a generation-defining classic from a bygone era, Entourage, Davidsons essay reads. We dont want modern audiences to have to confront this potentially offensive content or wonder how this show, an unironic love letter to douchebags, was ever considered worthy of being broadcast on HBO.

Here is what Entourage will look like post-sensitivity reading gone are the scenes where Vince has random hookups in closets and changing rooms, etc. Due to this, most episodes will have an 11-minute run time.

Instead of Vince playing the role of Pablo Escobar, he will decide that since he is not of Colombian origin, it would be improper for him to take the part, so he allows a Latinx actor to portray the drug kingpin properly.

And so on.

Its very funny! But Ellin, its safe to say, 1000 percent did not get the joke.

You are very much a product of your time, you revisionist hack, he wrote on Twitter, quote-tweeting the McSweeney piece. Talentless nobodies like you speak on Twitter and then your zombie friends at shitty newspapers, that nobody reads anymore reprint your trash. Tell president Obama and the nytimes how offensive we were. Those who try to rewrite history are offensive. And dangerous. And Spielberg already regrets touching ET. Anyway, fuck you. Oh we got a Peabody and a bafta too, ya loser.

You are very much a product of your time, you revisionist hack. talentless nobodies like you speak on twitter and then your zombie friends at shitty newspapers, that nobody reads anymore reprint your trash. Tell president Obama and the nytimes how offensive we were. Those https://t.co/N889tP3bMs  Doug Ellin (@mrdougellin) May 19, 2023

Doug, I wrote this piece. Its satire, Davidson tweeted back. Its taking sensitivity readings to the extreme of editing shows from 15 years ago. The ET joke was quite intentional. Ive always wondered what it would be like to have Ari Gold scream obscenities at me. Now I know.

After Davidson and several others had pointed out to him on Twitter that the piece was satire, Ellin backed offwhile still insisting he had a point.

I skimmed. But by the way Ive read similar things that were real, he tweeted Friday morning in response to someone who noted that the author was being sarcasitc, adding, I know that now!

Jeremy Piven: Entourages Misogynistic Legacy Hurts My Soul

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.
Getty Images

There is a stage adaptation of Monty Pythons Life of Brian coming to London next year, and founding member Eric Idle wants the world to know he has nothing to do with it.

I have nothing at all to do with this production or adaptation, Idle tweeted on Friday. Apparently Cleese has cut the song. Of course.

I have nothing at all to do with this production or adaptation,. Apparently Cleese has cut the song. Of course. https://t.co/OS1X9b5w2k  Eric Idle (@EricIdle) May 19, 2023

The song in question is Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, the cheery anthem, written by Idle, that closes the film as Brian and his disciples are hanging on crucifixes. Idle was reacting to a new report about the production that confirmed the crucifixion scene has been cut, but contradicted Idle by suggesting the iconic song will remain.

The report also names Idle as a co-creator of the stage show, despite his insistence otherwise on social media. Idle previously wrote the Tony Award-winning musical Spamalot! based on the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Monty Pythons John Cleese and Eric Idle on 50 Years of Flying Circus and the Trump and Brexit Shitshow

I think Life of Brian is our best film. We are going to do it in London in the second half of next year and Ive changed certain things, John Cleese recently told the Daily Mail. Among those changes is the removal of a scene about a male character being told hes not allowed to change his name to Loretta and have babies. Some of Cleeses collaborators felt it would not go over well 45 years after the films release.

So here you have something theres never been a complaint about in 40 years, that Ive heard of, and now all of a sudden we cant do it because itll offend people. What is one supposed to make of that? Cleese asked. But I think there were a lot of things that were actually, in some strange way, predictive of what was actually going to happen later.

Speaking on The Daily Beasts Last Laugh podcast in 2020, Cleese said he had nothing to apologize for when it came to the original films crucifixion scene. Do we believe Christs teaching because it is a very, very, very beautiful teaching? Or do we believe Christs teaching because he suffered? he asked at the time. You put Dick Cheney on a cross, I would eventually feel sorry for him as the weeks passed, but it wouldnt make me any more likely to agree with his opinion.

Monty Pythons John Cleese Thinks Woke Culture Is Killing Comedy

In recent years, Cleese has become a loud voice on the side of free speech absolutism in comedy and firmly against cancel culture, occasionally putting him at odds with Idle, who has railed against the rise of anti-woke comedians.

Theres nothing wrong with the audience, Idle recently said of those who take offense at certain jokes. If they dont laugh at your jokes, theres something wrong with your joke.

For more, listen to John Cleese on The Last Laugh podcast.

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 Etowah County Commission on Tuesday approved an update to the bereavement leave policy for county employees.

Employees currently can receive two or three working days off (up to 24 hours), with pay, if theres a death in their immediate family. Documentation must be provided.

The change, which county Chief Administrative Officer Shane Ellison said was recently approved by the countys personnel board, expanded the definition of immediate family to include son- and daughter-in-law. That list previously included spouse, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, brother, sister, father- and mother-in-law, and brother- and sister-in-law.

Also, employees can choose to take the time off for a subsequent memorial service, not just at the time of someones passing. Ellison said the idea is to be respectful of the process in situations such as a family member being stationed overseas, necessitating a delay in any services.

Among numerous personnel items and board appointments, the commission approved the hiring of Brittany Cohely as manager and April Dempsey as adoption coordinator of the countys animal shelter.

That led to a discussion of whether the countys animal control officer has the authority to write citations for violations involving animals.

Sheriffs office personnel at the meeting indicated animal cruelty, which is a criminal violation, would fall under their realm, but that the animal control officer could write a non-traffic citation for things like animals running loose, although it would have to be filed through the county clerks office.

Ellison said there would need to be a meeting between the new shelter officials, sheriffs office representatives and County Attorney Jim Turnbach to come up with a plan.

The commission approved the appointment of Sheriff Jonathon Horton as the countys primary point of contact for homeland security with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Ellison said the previous point of contact had been the Gadsden-Etowah Emergency Management Agency director, but theres currently an interim director and the county doesnt want to miss out on applying for any grants available through ALEA.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Etowah County Commission revises bereavement leave policy


"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."



After leaving the Ms. Foundation 50th anniversary gala earlier this week, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and her mother, Doria Ragland, were involved in a "near catastrophic" incident as paparazzi followed their car.

Here's everything we know so far:

It was a "near catastrophic car chase."

"Last night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Ms. Ragland were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi, a spokesperson for the couple told Town & Country on May 17.

Their spokesperson added that the pursuit lasted for more than two hours:

"While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyones safety. Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all in involved."

Chris Sanchez, a member of their security team, told CNN that, "I have never seen, experienced anything like this. What we were dealing with was very chaotic. There were about a dozen vehicles: cars, scooters and bicycles."

TMZ reports that the "pursuit was at its most intense on the FDR Drive," a highway on Manhattan's east side, and that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's SUV "got up to about 80 mph as they tried to shake the paparazzi." TMZ also added that one paparazzi car drove the wrong way down a one-way street.

Sanchez added, "The public were in jeopardy at several points. It could have been fatal. [The photographers] were jumping curbs and red lights. At one point they blocked the limousine (carrying the couple) and started taking pictures until we were able to get out." After arriving at their destination, Sanchez said, Harry and Meghan were "scared, exhausted, but relieved to be back."



Tom Buda, the president of Buda Security Incwhich was responsible for their transportationtold NBC News that the evening was "frightening" for the royals and that Doria was particularly shaken up. Buda said the paparazzi pursuing them were "driving aggressively and badly" and that they were "following us to find out where we were staying." He clarified it "was not a high speed pursuit" but "it was reckless by them."

Ashley Hansen, their press secretary, told Sky News that "I have never experienced their vulnerability as much as I did last night. They were incredibly scared and shaken up." She added, "There were instances where the police confronted the paparazzi and had asked them to stop or give them space, to do this safely. Unfortunately, that wish was not respected."

Harry and Meghan took a taxi cab at one point.

After around an hour of trying to shake the paparazzi, the Sussexes arrived at the 19th precinct on East 67th street, waiting for the situation to de-escalate. From there, at around 11 p.m., the couple, along with Meghan's mom and a security guard, hopped in a yellow taxi cab to try and avoid the paparazzi.

"They kept following us and were coming next to the car," driver Sukhcharn Singh told the Washington Post of the paparazzi following them. "They took pictures as we stopped and were filming us." He added, "I dont think I would call it a chase. I never felt like I was in danger. It wasnt like a car chase in a movie. They were quiet and seemed scared but its New Yorkits safe." Singh also noted to the Associated Press they left him a generous tip, giving him $50 for a $17 fare.

Backgrid, a photo agency, says it is investigating and that its freelance photographers "have a professional responsibility to cover newsworthy events and personalities."

They had three photographers in cars and one on a bicycle pursuing Harry and Meghan. Their full statement is as follows, via People:

"At BACKGRID USA Inc., we value transparency and ethics in journalism, which include providing fair and factual responses to claims. We are aware of Prince Harry's statement regarding an alleged 'near catastrophic car chase' involving himself, Meghan Markle, and her mother, in New York City on Tuesday night.

"We want to clarify that we have received photos and videos of last nights events from four freelance photographers, three of whom were in cars and one of whom was riding a bicycle. It is important to note that these photographers have a professional responsibility to cover newsworthy events and personalities, including public figures such as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

"According to the accounts given by these freelance contributors, they were covering the couple's stay in New York City, including the possibility of a dinner after an award ceremony. They had no intention of causing any distress or harm, as their only tool was their cameras. A few of the photos even show Meghan Markle smiling inside a cab. The photographers report that one of the four SUVs from Prince Harry's security escort was driving in a manner that could be perceived as reckless.

"The vehicle was seen blocking off streets, and in one video, it is shown being pulled over by the police. We understand that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's security detail had a job to do, and we respect their work.

"We do, however, want to point out that according to the photographers present, there were no near-collisions or near-crashes during this incident. The photographers have reported feeling that the couple was not in immediate danger at any point.

"At BACKGRID USA Inc., we do not condone any form of harassment or illegal activity. We are taking Prince Harry's allegations seriously and will be conducting a thorough investigation into the matter."

Later, Backgrid also shared it rejected a legal demand to hand over the photos to the royal couple, replying in a letter that read in part, "In America, as I'm sure you know, property belongs to the owner of it: Third parties cannot just demand it be given to them, as perhaps Kings can do. Perhaps you should sit down with your client and advise them that his English rules of royal prerogative to demand that the citizenry hand over their property to the Crown were rejected by this country long ago." (There is no "royal prerogative" in the UK, however.)

A photographer on the scene told People that the pursuit was not "near catastrophic." They said, "Nobody got a ticket or arrested...I don't see how it was near catastrophic other than crazy hyperbole." Another source said, "At any point, they could have gone to a police station or pulled into a garage."

Ms. Foundation says "the media must do better."

Ms. Foundation told Town & Country they were "horrified" at the actions, which occurred following their event: "Last night, the Women of Vision Awards celebrated the incredible achievements of our honorees, marking the organization's 50th anniversary of philanthropy in feminist movements," the organization said in a statement. "The Ms. Foundation is absolutely horrified at the harmful actions post-event that endangered Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex and her family. Everyone, especially the media, must do better."

In addition, their friend, photographer Misan Harriman, tweeted, "They need to be protected, this is unacceptable and terrifying, they have babies at home.. sigh."

Buckingham Palace has no comment.

Buckingham Palace, when reached for comment by various outlets, had no comment on the situation. Nor did Kensington Palace, which represents Prince William and Kate Middleton.

No arrests have been made.

The NYPD corroborated that an incident occurred last night. "On Tuesday evening, May 16, the NYPD assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard," Julian Phillips, the New York City Police Department's Deputy Commissioner for Public Information told Town & Country over e-mail.



Mayor Eric Adams commented on the events, too, saying two NYPD officers "could have been injured" during the evening.

This is a developing story.

You Might Also Like
A Mongolian immigrant who became addicted to pain killers after a jet ski accident is headed to a federal prison after being caught with thousands of fentanyl pills that he planned to sell.

Tamir Batzogs, 41, came to the U.S. when he was just 15 and was allowed to legally stay for a time, eventually owning a construction company for 10 years.

But his addiction from his accident in college grew worse, and he deteriorated physically, mentally and financially, he said in a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Mary Dimke in Richland.

In March 2022, a Benton County sheriffs deputy found him slumped over the steering wheel of an SUV with California plates in the Richland Winco parking lot, according to federal court documents.

As a deputy approached the car, Batzogs attempted to start the car and then was slow to respond to a request to get out of the car as if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, according court documents.

Deputies could see he had a handgun beneath his unzipped jacket and they found 2,966 fentanyl pills, 25 grams of meth, about 4 grams of heroin and another gun in the car.

The guns were later identified as a .22 caliber handgun and a .25 caliber handgun with an obliterated serial number.

Batzogs told police he knew he could not possess a gun as an undocumented immigrant, after previously trying to purchase one. One of the guns he had been reported stolen in Kirkland, Wash.

On Thursday, he was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, and then he likely will be deported to Mongolia.

He had been a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program but previously was unable to renew his status and is unsure why, his attorney said.

Batzogs pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully in the United States, and to charges of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, which were dismissed in a plea agreement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Perez asked Dimke to sentence Batzogs to over five years in prison.

He has undergone some extremely difficult family experiences which undoubtedly have affected him deeply, Perez said in a court document.

She also noted that he had helped others from Mongolia transition to life in the United States, including helping them find jobs and that he had no criminal convictions.

But these facts cannot erase what occurred in this case, she said in a court document. Defendant has chosen to engage in conduct which harms others and puts many community members at risk.

Fentanyl deaths reached a record high in the Tri-Cities in 2022 and are the leading cause of overdose deaths in the nation.

Batzogs attorney, Jennifer Barnes of Yakima, asked for a sentence of two years in prison.

Pain killer addiction

Batzogs was sent to the United States by his mother to learn English at the age of 15, Barnes said. Both his father and his grandfather had died by suicide.

He had a difficult time after his sister, who was living in the United States, returned to Mongolia when he was 18, she said.

Batzogs was in a jet ski accident during college and became addicted to pain killers after three surgeries, according to court documents.

For a decade as an adult he was the owner of a construction company and employed workers. Batzogs told the judge in a letter that he also worked for the courts as an interpreter for people from Mongolia.

But his addiction worsened. He told the court that he regretted his actions and asked for treatment for his addiction.

However, his attorney said that because he will be an illegal immigrant in the federal prison system he may be excluded from addiction treatment services. He also needs mental health counseling for depression, she said.

She said he likely will be deported to Mongolia, a country he has not been to since he was a teenager and where he has few if any relatives, when he is released from prison.
Former Lexington-Richland 5 school board member Ken Loveless is back in court with a federal lawsuit filed against several former board members who served the Chapin-Irmo area school district at the same time he did.

Loveless, who lost his 2022 re-election bid by 16 votes, is suing former board members Michael Cates, Beth Hutchison and Ed White, along with former school district attorney Michael Montgomery. Loveless alleges the four and several others engaged in a conspiracy to violate his First Amendment rights by stopping his oversight of a school construction project.

This isnt the first time Loveless has been involved in the civil court process, including multiple lawsuits related to his time on the Lexington-Richland 5 school board.

Heres a look at the Lexington County contractors various legal challenges, and what, if any, resolutions have been reached.

State ethics charges

Loveless latest lawsuit claims a conspiracy was behind a 2021 ethics complaint that ultimately led to him facing four charges of violating the S.C. Ethics Act over his relationship with the construction firm building an elementary school in the Lexington-Richland 5 district. The S.C. Ethics Commission in March found Loveless had violated the act in three of those instances and fined the former board member $6,000. Loveless is currently appealing that decision, denying that he did anything improper. Commissioners found that a fourth charge could not be proven.

Facebook lawsuits

As a school board member, Loveless filed defamation lawsuits against two Lexington-Richland 5 constituents after they had criticized him on Facebook. Leslie Stiles is a district parent who once ran a Facebook group for school district residents called Deep Dive Into D5. Kevin Scully is the husband of a Lexington-Richland 5 school teacher.

In December, a Richland County judge dismissed Loveless suit against Stiles, ruling it was unlikely to succeed under federal law and Supreme Court precedent that protects free speech and criticism of public officials. Judge Jean Toal also allowed Stiles counterclaims against Loveless to proceed. Stiles says Loveless acted to chill her free speech rights. The suit against Scully remains active, even after Scully himself won a seat on the Lexington-Richland 5 school board in November.

Former superintendent lawsuit

When Superintendent Christina Melton suddenly resigned her post in June 2021, former district superintendent Stephen Hefner filed a complaint with Lexington-Richland 5s accrediting agency challenging the terms of then-interim superintendent Akil Ross hiring. That complaint didnt result in any action from the accreditors, but the Lexington-Richland 5 school board responded by filing a lawsuit claiming Hefner was interfering in district affairs, with Loveless publicly demanding an apology from Hefner.

The school board pursued the lawsuit for almost a year, spending $9,000 in the process, until the board voted to drop the suit in September 2022. But Hefner has continued his countersuit against the school district, including expanding his claim in March to include Loveless, board member Catherine Huddle, former board member Jan Hammond and Jaramillo Accounting Group for allegedly conspiring to defame Hefner in Jaramillos audit of the school district. The current Lexington-Richland 5 school board voted to end its relationship with Jaramillo May 8, citing Hefners lawsuit.

Open meetings lawsuit

When Melton resigned in June 2021 after repeatedly butting heads with Loveless and others on the board, the school board agreed to a settlement agreement with the outgoing superintendent behind closed doors, agreeing to pay her $226,368 to end her contract early. Since the board initially accepted the settlement without a public vote, Paul Osmundson, the senior editor of The State Media Co., filed suit in August 2021 challenging the agreement under the states Freedom of Information Act. In October, Judge Allison Lee dismissed that lawsuit, finding that a hearing on the suit had not been scheduled in a timely manner. The State is appealing that ruling.

Ex-wifes lover sued

Loveless recent history in the courtroom has unearthed a longer history of lawsuits. One defense attorney in Loveless defamation cases filed a court document alleging that in 1993, Loveless filed suit against a man he claimed intentionally, maliciously, unlawfully, and wantonly commenced an active effort to gain the affection of (Loveless) wife, leading to the breakdown of their marriage.

Loveless sued for being wrongfully deprived of the love, comfort, advice, company, society and support of his then-spouse. A divorce court had previously ruled in favor of Loveless wife, finding that Loveless had been unfaithful, the motion said. The defendant in the 1993 lawsuit went on to claim if anyone alienated (Loveless)s wifes affections it was (Loveless) through his abusive and irrational behavior, and any mental distress or other damages that he may have suffered were occasioned by his own behavior. Court filings show the dispute was later settled out of court.

Cell phone company sued, assault charge dropped

In 2013, Loveless filed suit against cellphone company Sprint, claiming its Cayce store had falsely imprisoned, maliciously prosecuted and slandered him after a dispute with store employees over a cellphone battery. When Loveless went into the store a year earlier for a replacement battery for his phone, he was told the store had no record of him turning in his old battery. Loveless then became angry, swore and attempted to leave with a battery, according to a deposition in his lawsuit.

A store employee warned him he was shoplifting (which Loveless claimed was slanderous), and attempted to stop him from leaving the store (which Loveless claimed constituted false imprisonment). Loveless then threw the battery and struck another customer in the head, according to a police statement from the victim that led to a simple assault charge against Loveless (who claimed this was malicious prosecution on the part of Sprint). That charge was later dropped, and Loveless dropped the suit later in 2014.
Ex-president Correa aims to 'rebuild' Ecuador if his party succeeds in snap election

By Oliver Griffin

(Reuters) - Ecuadorean former President Rafael Correa told Reuters on Friday that his party would rebuild the country and tackle law and order issues if successful in a snap election this year, adding that he hoped to get at least 50 seats in the National Assembly.

Elections could take place as early as Aug. 20 after President Guillermo Lasso, a conservative former banker, dissolved the National Assembly by decree on Wednesday to head off an attempt by opposition politicians to impeach him.

Those elected will serve a truncated term until 2025, when the scheduled electoral calendar would resume.

"The important thing is that whichever government comes in - at least if it's ours - it will be one of transition, to rebuild the country for 2025," Correa told Reuters in a phone interview, adding that it was too early to name a presidential candidate.

A court in Ecuador sentenced Correa to eight years in prison in 2020 over accusations he broke campaign finance laws.

Correa, a leftist who led Ecuador from 2007 to 2017 and has lived in Belgium since he left power, has denied the accusations and describes the case against him as one of political persecution.

His party, Citizen Revolution, was the biggest party in the assembly with 47 seats before Lasso dissolved it.

The former lawmakers from Citizen Revolution will run in the snap election, Correa said, adding that he hopes the party wins at least 50 seats.

"Fewer than what we had would be a failure," Correa said, although securing a majority in the 137-seat assembly would be difficult, he added.

Lasso triggered the so-called "muerte cruzada" or "two-way death" - a constitutional provision introduced by Correa - which allows the current president to call elections for both his post and lawmakers under certain circumstances, including if actions by the legislature are blocking the functioning of government.

Lasso - who has said he will not run in the upcoming elections - will rule by decree until the snap election, with laws subject to approval by the Constitutional Court.

Any laws issued by decree - including an earlier move by Lasso to loosen gun controls - will be targeted following the election by Citizen Revolution politicians in government or the legislature, Correa said.

"All of those must be repealed, they are barbaric," Correa said.

(Reporting by Oliver Griffin in Bogota; Additional reporting by Alexandra Valencia in Quito; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
Ex-Stockton police officer on bail for sex assault seeks OK to work outside county

Nicholas Bloed, a former Stockton police officer accused of sexual assault, asked a judge Monday to modify his bail conditions to allow him to work outside San Joaquin County.

For about four months, a former Stockton Police Department sergeant facing sexual assault charges has been out of jail after posting $1 million bail.

Now, the ex-officer is asking a judge to loosen his bail conditions to allow him to work outside San Joaquin County.

Former Sgt. Nicholas Bloed was charged with assault, oral sex by force and other sex crimes against five people last year.

A judge earlier ordered Bloed to wear an ankle bracelet, leave home only for court hearings and medical appointments, and stay within San Joaquin County lines.

But on Monday, Bloeds attorney, Allen Sawyer, argued in San Joaquin County Superior Court that the ex-officer should be allowed to start a job at an electric company based in Atwater  about 60 miles south of Stockton, in Merced County.

The job would involve work between Turlock and Fresno, court documents state. The company did not return a call Thursday morning seeking to confirm whether they hired Bloed.

(Bloed) is not a threat to the public or the alleged victims in any way, Sawyer argued.

But testimony by Stockton residents who allege that the ex-officer sexually exploited them while on duty painted a different picture.

I was afraid to say no, one woman told the court last year. I feared and I wanted it to stop. No more harassment, (feeling) worried about where hes going to be.

Sawyer argues that Bloeds sexual encounters with members of the public were consensual.

Prosecutor Carrie Lawrence said Monday theres no change in circumstance to even allow the reopening of a debate about restrictions on Bloeds movement.

Judge Patrick Smalling said he would not rule on Bloeds request until the probation department indicated whether they could effectively monitor Bloed if he left the county.

Bloed is expected back in court at 1:30 p.m. on June 5 at San Joaquin County Superior Court.

Record reporter Aaron Leathley covers public safety. She can be reached at aleathley@recordnet.com or on Twitter @LeathleyAaron. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Ex-Stockton cop facing sex charges seeks OK to work outside county
Police officerd of the year from left: Lt. Zachary Michael, Ellettsville Police Dept.; Trooper Ben Burris, Indiana State Police; Officer Ben Brown, Indiana University Police Dept.; Deputy Jeffery Brown, Monroe County Sheriffs Dept. Not shown is Sgt. Amy Romoser, Bloomington Police Dept., who was unable to attend the award ceremony held Wednesday, May 17, 2023.

The Exchange Club of Northside Bloomington recognized five law enforcement officers on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, who have been nominated by their departments as Police Officer of the Year.

The officers were presented to applause at a luncheon gathering at American Legion Post 18.

They are:

Lt. Zachary Michael of the Ellettsville Police Department;

Trooper Ben Burris of the Indiana State Police;

Officer Ben Brown of the Indiana University Police Department;

Deputy Jeffery Brown of the Monroe County Sheriffs Department;

and Sgt. Amy Romoser of the Bloomington Police Department.

So often our officers dont get the accolades they deserve, the guest speaker, Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Marte, observed. You have to be bold to work in this environment.

Exchange Club member Lindsey Smith noted that the club was the first in the nation to regularly recognize the good work of law enforcement officers, beginning in 1961. Police officers, he said, form the lifeline of community service.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington Northside Exchange Club's Police Officers of the Year
Exclusive-Ukraine would only allow Russian ammonia exports if gets expanded grain deal

FILE PHOTO: Commercial vessels including vessels which are part of Black Sea grain deal wait to pass the Bosphorus strait off the shores of Yenikapi in Istanbul, Turkey

By Pavel Polityuk

KYIV (Reuters) - Kyiv would consider allowing Russian ammonia to transit its territory for export on condition the newly-renewed Black Sea grain deal is expanded to include more Ukrainian ports and a wider range of commodities, a government source told Reuters.

The comments are the first time Kyiv has publicly laid out its stance on Russian ammonia, which Moscow wants shipped via the Black Sea under the agreement.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July last year facilitates "the safe navigation for the export of grain and related foodstuffs and fertilisers, including ammonia" from three Ukrainian ports.

The Ukrainian government source, who asked not to be named, told Reuters the language of the deal does not cover the transit of Russian ammonia across Ukraine.

Russia, a major ammonia exporter, has pressed for ammonia supplies to resume through a pipeline from Russia's Togliati to the Black Sea port of Pivdennyi, near Odesa, which is designed to pump up to 2.5 million tonnes of ammonia annually.

Russia used to export 4.4 million tonnes of ammonia a year - 20% of global seaborne trade - before it invaded Ukraine in February last year.

The United Nations has also supported the resumption of ammonia shipments through the pipeline to try to help global food security.

Despite Russian threats to pull out of the deal, the Black Sea deal was extended for two months on Wednesday a day before it was due to expire.

MORE PORTS, MORE GOODS

Only three of Ukraine's major Black Sea ports are included in the agreement. Kyiv has repeatedly said it would like the deal to cover more goods and ports.

The government source said the text agreed on Wednesday made no mention of the Togliati-Odesa ammonia pipeline and transit and a further agreement would be needed if the Ukraine route is to be covered. In return, Ukraine would make demands.

"We say the following - if it (the deal) includes an ammonia pipeline, then Ukraine should get some additional things which will serve our national interests," the source said.

"That is the expansion of the agreement's geography and the list of goods (for export via corridor). Then that could serve the interests of our country."

The source did not clarify the additional commodities Ukraine wanted included.

Officials have previously said the country, which used to export steel across the Black Sea, needs to export steel products.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; editing by Tom Balmforth and Barbara Lewis)
The explosion on a railway in Russian-occupied Crimea which occurred on 18 May may disrupt the supply of weapons, particularly Kalibr missiles, to the Black Sea Fleet.

Source: UK Defence Intelligence review on Twitter

The MoD recalled that a train was derailed near Simferopol on 18 May 2023, blocking the only railway line into the port of Sevastopol, where the Russian Black Sea Fleet is based.

Russia will try to repair this line quickly, but the incident will disrupt the supply of goods and possibly weapons, including Kalibr cruise missiles, to the Russian navy, UK Defence Intelligence said.

"Any sabotage in this sensitive area will further increase the Kremlins concerns about its ability to protect other key infrastructure in Crimea. The peninsula retains a vital psychological and logistical role in enabling Russias war in Ukraine," the review states.

Background: The day before, UK Defence Intelligence confirmed that the Kremlin is forbidding officials from resigning while the war against Ukraine continues.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) is welcomed in Jeddah on the eve of the Arab League summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he landed Friday in Saudi Arabia, host of an Arab League summit attended by long isolated Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a close Russian ally.

The previously unannounced visit is Zelensky's first to the Middle East since Moscow's invasion in February 2022, giving the Ukrainian leader an opportunity to address leaders in the region that has been far less united in its support of Kyiv than staunch Western allies.

"Arrived in Saudi Arabia. I will speak at the Arab League summit," Zelensky said on Twitter, adding he plans to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other leaders.

He arrived in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah one day after Assad, whose government is being readmitted to the Arab League after its suspension in 2011 over the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators that led to civil war.

The summit in Saudi Arabia comes at a time when the world's biggest oil exporter is flexing its diplomatic muscle across the Middle East and beyond.

An Arab League official told AFP Zelenky's invitation came from Saudi Arabia, not the bloc. Saudi officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

- Syria's return -

Earlier on Friday, Assad met Tunisian President Kais Saied, Syria's official SANA news agency said, kicking off a series of bilateral talks before the summit is expected to officially open at 2:00 pm (1100 GMT).

"This summit is very important," Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said after reaching Jeddah earlier this week, adding the Syrian delegation was "here to make this summit a success".

Main streets in Jeddah were lined with the flags of Arab League member states including Syria, as Al-Riyadh newspaper declared on Friday it would be "the summit of all summits".

The meeting follows a frenetic stretch of high-stakes diplomacy triggered by the kingdom's surprise Chinese-brokered rapprochement deal with Iran announced in March.

Since then, Saudi Arabia has restored bilateral ties with Syria and ramped up a push for peace in Yemen, where it leads a military coalition against the Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

Riyadh also played a leading role in evacuating civilians from Sudan when fighting erupted there last month, and it is currently hosting representatives of Sudan's warring parties in a bid to hammer out a ceasefire.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become, in the eyes of all observers, the peacemaker and the icon of harmony, calling for an end to differences and the elimination of conflicts," Kuwaiti writer Jawad Ahmed Bukhamseen gushed in an op-ed this week in the private Saudi newspaper Okaz.

Not every country in the region has been eager to mend ties with Assad.

Qatar said this month it would not normalise relations with Assad's government but noted this would not be "an obstacle" to Arab League reintegration.

On Thursday, the emir of Qatar, a fierce critic of the Syrian leader, announced he would lead his country's delegation to Jeddah.

- Ukrainian 'kiss of life' -

Doha has called for accountability for "war crimes" in Syria, but the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, made no comment on Qatar's expectations for the summit.

While Qatar and some other countries will be represented by their leaders, the president of another Gulf state, the United Arab Emirates, will be absent.

The UAE's Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has sent his brother and vice president, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, to Jeddah instead, official news agency WAM said.

Beyond challenges facing the Middle East, the Arab League summit should also take on issues like the war in Ukraine and "the global economic crisis", Khaled Manzlawiy, the bloc's assistant secretary general for political affairs, wrote on Wednesday in the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

"Indeed, the entire world is undergoing a perilous stage in history as the maps of international relations are redrawn," he wrote, adding that Arab unity can give the region "a voice that is heard not only in the region but also across the globe".

Global preoccupation with Ukraine could amount to "a kiss of life for the League to play its role as a coordinating station for efforts to resolve conflicts in the region," Egyptian analyst Rabha Seif Allam told AFP.

From Riyadh's perspective, a successful summit would involve concrete commitments from Syria on issues including war refugees and the captagon trade, said Torbjorn Soltvedt of the risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft.

Yet Arab League summits "have more often than not been characterised by internal disagreement and indecisiveness," he added.

"The bar for success will therefore be low."

ht-rcb/ami
F-16 training program for Ukrainian pilots to be developed within weeks, Dutch PM says

F-16

Rutte endorsed Western allies finally deciding to lift the taboo on providing Ukraine with modern aircraft.

Read also: About 300 entities, ships, aircraft to be included in new U.S. sanctions package against Russia

Together with my British, Danish, and Belgian colleagues we welcome the news that the United States stands ready to approve the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, the PM said in his message.

The modalities will be worked out in the coming weeks. Ukraine can count on the unwavering support of the Netherlands and its international partners.

Read also: US, allies plan to transfer F-16 jets to Ukraine, report says

Earlier on May 19, NBC News reported that the United States and its allies are planning to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets. While its unclear when the aircraft will be delivered, an unnamed U.S. official said they wont arrive in time to participate in Ukraines anticipated summer counteroffensive.

CNN reported that U.S. President Joe Biden informed G7 allies that Washington will support training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s. This training is expected to take a few months. Yahoo News reported that the U.S. Air Force expects Ukrainian pilots to learn how to operate and fly F-16s in just four months, shorter than previously anticipated.

Read also: Zelenskyy to meet with Biden at G7 Summit in Japan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on May 16 that the Netherlands, France, and the UK have support equipping Ukraine with modern war planes as part of a broader international coalition, with London and Paris confirming their readiness to train Ukrainian pilots.

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
Phantom F4 2020 turkey

Turkish McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom IIs have been operating for nearly five decades, an exceptional lifespan for some of the last frontline third-generation fighters. They once ruled the skies, but today face a growing number of threats and have been outclassed by more advanced adversary fighters. So, how do these historically famous aircraft fit into Turkeys modern fight? We got a good idea of just that at Turkeys large Anatolian Eagle (AE) exercise earlier this month.

The AE 2023 exercise involves training alongside partner nations to reduce the loss of inexperienced fighter pilots and their aircraft in potential real-world combat missions, as well as keeping up fighter crews' and GCI (Ground Control Intercept) radar operators' readiness. It provides them with an opportunity to increase their interoperability and simulate working in a coalition air combat environment.

Since its establishment in 2001, 43 AEs have been performed at the training center located at the 3rd Main Jet Base at Konya. A total of 15 NATO countries have participated in them, including France, Italy, Germany, the United States, and Spain. The unique feature of the event is the size of the airspace and tactical ranges  120 by 216 nautical miles wide  which allows for more than 60 aircraft to employ their tactics away from any surrounding air traffic for AE missions.

The 2023 edition included five international participants alongside Turkish units  Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom  which all contributed their own assets. Additionally, NATO as an organization, also provided one of its E-3 AWACS aircraft for the event. Observers on the ground comprised personnel from Morocco, Libya, and Georgia.

A United Arab Emirates Air Force F-16E Desert Falcon. Author's image

An inert AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile under the wing of the F-16E. Author's image

Author's image

A Pakistan Air Force F-16D. Author's image

Author's image

A Qatari Emiri Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon. Author's image

A line-up of Turkish Air Force F-16s. Author's image

A Turkish Air Force F-16 demonstration jet. Author's image

Author's image

Elements of AE training are divided into three categories: white headquarters (command and control), red force (training aids), and blue force (training recipients). The role of the white HQ is to develop fighting scenarios, determine the level of training, and assess the crews obtained results. The red force is composed of Hammers and Hancer, which are respectively air defense personnel and aggressor pilots, in charge of performing simulated attacks in order to detect vulnerabilities as well as punish mistakes made by the blue force.

According to Turkish pilots, punishment is usually in the form of a simulated lock and kill, which is checked post-flight to confirm. In contrast, blue units conduct joint air missions such as Composite Air Operations (COMAO) and attacks on the red territory defended by ground-based air defense systems.

Scenarios change every year based on participants' requirements in terms of different threats. In this edition, two countries were depicted between red and blue lands, divided by a fictional pipeline that was under attack by a national terrorist group. Although imaginary, the scenario does reflect real-world elements, with the terrorism threat faced by Turkey and participating nations having increased in recent years.

Presentation of the 2023 leading intelligence scenario at Konya Air Base. Author's image

Participants are also offered the opportunity to fly missions during non-AE sorties in accordance with their training needs, including tactical intercept, dissimilar air combat training (DACT), and electronic warfare duels. Overall, the objectives of the exercise called for the blue fighters to carry out 240 sorties and have 110 targets planned for them.

According to statements and videos released by the Azeri MoD, some of the daily tasks practiced included successfully silencing the conventional enemys air defense means.

After gaining air superiority, our planes [Su-25s], together with various fighter planes [confirmed to have been F-16s, F-4Es, and Eurofighters], entered the airspace of the conventional enemy and carried out complex combat maneuvers at both medium and high altitudes to destroy the enemy's stationary ground targets camouflaged in mountainous areas.

For a second year, Azerbaijans battle-hardened Su-25s took part in the training, these jets each wearing more than a dozen airstrike markings, representing Armenian targets hit during the 2020 conflict. They also displayed for the first time the aircrafts latest standoff capability, with Turkish glide bombs, offering a hard-hitting strike option. The Su-25s also carried Talisman self-protection electronic warfare pods.

An Azeri Air Force Su-25 fitted with an Talisman pod. Author's image

Author's image

Author's image

Author's image

Two Azeri Su-25s displaying red star markings indicating Armenian assets successfully attacked. Author's image

That brings us to Turkeys venerable Phantoms, which are in the twilight of their careers but were still very active at AE 2023.

The Turkish Air Force embarked on a considerable modernization journey for some of its Phantoms in the late 1990s, signing a $632-million deal with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). That agreement would see 54 of the roughly 200 F-4Es it had in its inventory upgraded to Terminator 2020 configuration. The project was dubbed F-4E-2020, in light of its objective to keep the aircraft flying at least until that year. Out of the 54, about half were considerably modified by IAI in Israel with new avionics systems, originally destined for the countrys own Kurnass Phantom program before it was canceled. The remaining airframes were upgraded in Turkey via kits provided by Israel.

The new Turkish Terminators were fitted with:

Elbits ELOP 976 wide-angle head-up display (HUD) and hands on throttle and stick (HOTAS) flight controls;

Higher-performance Elta EL/M-2032 multimode airborne fire-control radar (initially developed for IAIs Lavi indigenous fighter program);

Elta EL/L-8222 electronic countermeasures pod;

Dual MIL-STD-553B databus avionics package;

AN/ALQ-178 passive self-protection suite;

New UHF/VHF radio antennas and onboard multifunction displays;

New GPS/INS precision targeting navigation equipment.

Additionally, the F-4Es were also armed with enhanced air-to-ground capabilities, including the Israeli AGM-142 Popeye standoff missile, AGM-65A/B Maverick air-to-ground missiles, and GBU-10/12 Paveway laser-guided bombs.

Two Turkish F-4E-2020s at Konya Air Base for Anatolian Eagle 2023. Author's image

The number of active F-4E-2020s varies according to different accounts, but most analysts have placed the number of operational airframes at between 30 and 40. Today, only one Turkish F-4 squadron remains  111 Filo Panterler based out of the Eskisehir Air Base. Four of the iconic fighters from the unit were deployed to Konya for this edition of AE.

Author's image

Author's image

Author's image

Author's image

Speaking about the relevance of these aircraft in training operations, the deputy chief of the Turkish Air Force Public Affairs Office, Maj. Akbay, told The War Zone, We still actively use the F4-E-2020, as its avionics improved thoroughly in the air-to-ground role. Since it is also equipped with self-protection ECM pods, we primarily rely on it as an air-to-air escort and protection in the air theater. In both the AE exercise and in real-life operations, we coordinate and fly with both national and international air-to-air assets, such as F-16s and UAVs.

He declined to answer whether the Turkish Air Force is training new pilots to operate the Phantom. Greece, another F-4 operator, disclosed in a 2021 interview that the Hellenic Air Force was still training co-pilots to fly the aircraft and that it took an average of four years for them to progress to a front-seat role.

Author's image

Douglas Barrie, a senior research fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, says: Upgraded Turkish F-4s retain combat utility in that they would be able to be operated in permissive airspace  where there was little anti-air threat or to operate outside of highly contested airspace if the aircraft were fitted with standoff weapons in the air-to-surface tasks. He adds that there also arguably remains value in having two aircrews for some roles at least.

Yet, as echoed by the Turkish official, the fighters can be reliable assets for EW escorts, especially thanks to their EL/L-8222 pods. These battle-proven pods remain highly effective 20 years after their introduction, enabling enhanced survivability in the face of adversary radar systems including ones found on modern fighters.

Turkey's remaining F-4s can further serve as standoff shooters for TV-guided Popeye missiles that carry a nearly 800-pound warhead and have a range of around 50 miles.

Author's image

Author's image

While we do know that the countrys F-4E-2020s will keep flying until at least 2030  following the U.S. decision to not sell the F-35 to Turkey over its purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems  the Turkish representative said there is no official date known for when they will be retired. What is likely to play a decisive factor in this is when its latest TF-X indigenous stealth fighter  now named Kaan  becomes operational and/or the countrys high-performance Kizilelma drone.

Turkey's TF-X prototype undergoing taxi tests. TAI

Last December, Turkish media reported that TF-X would take its first flight in 2024 and that the first unit could be delivered as early as 2028. There is, however, as some analysts have pointed out, a major difference between flying a fifth-generation prototype aircraft and actually mass-producing it. Off the record, several sources have expressed a certain level of doubt regarding the intense timeline outlined for the TF-X program.

Barrie concurs, stating that, Any goal of introducing the Kaan into service by the end of the decade remains ambitious, in part given that delays and technical challenges are part and parcel of combat aircraft development.

The timeline surrounding the Kizilelma unmanned combat air vehicle is also ambitious, but the system has already taken its first flight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwJ7fyvexGc

Until then, the Phantom remains a combat-ready tool that nearly 50 years after its introduction still has a relevant place in Turkeys aerial order of battle. It is clear that these nearly antique fighters are not hangar queens just yet, and are still actively involved in operations that benefit from their unique attributes.

Regardless, getting to see F-4s still earning their keep in 2023 is something to behold.

True to their name, it likely wont be all that much longer until they disappear for good.

Editor's note: Clarified Azerbaijan Su-25s are carrying Talisman EW pod.

Contact the editors: tyler@thedrive.com, thomas@thedrive.com
Woman carries boxes of vegetables on her head at a market in Ahmedabad

Factbox-Parametric insurance policies help cushion climate impacts Woman carries boxes of vegetables on her head at a market in Ahmedabad

By Gloria Dickie and Simon Jessop

LONDON (Reuters) - The damage wrought by climate change has spurred countries and communities across the developing world to look at using so-called 'parametric' insurance to help cushion the financial blow.

Guaranteeing a set payout once a specific event occurs, the cover is seen as a way to build resilience among impacted communities, yet the long-term viability of projects is often dependent on government efforts to adapt to worsening weather.

Below are a selection of projects launched in recent years which have already paid out.

Country: FIJI

Year launched: 2022

Project leader: U.N. (UNCDF, UNDP, UNU-EHS)

Insurer: Fiji Care Insurance Limited and Sun Insurance

Reinsurer: SCOR

Supported by: Governments of New Zealand, Australia, India, and Luxembourg

Perils insured: Cyclones - heavy wind and rainfall

Reach: 2,147 people

Payouts: In January and February 2023, the program paid out $110,000 FJD ($50,000 USD) to 559 smallholder farmers, fishermen, market vendors

Country: COLOMBIA

Year launched: 2018

Project leader: Blue Marble and Nespresso

Insurer: Seguros Bolivar

Reinsurer: Zurich Re, Trans Re, Aspen and ASSA

Supported by: The Government of Colombia

Perils insured: Excess rainfall and drought

Reach: 8,000 farmer households

Payouts: In 2022, the program paid out $3 million USD to 6,475 smallholder coffee farmers.

Country: ZIMBABWE

Year launched: 2016

Project leader: Blue Marble and World Food Programme, and agribusinesses

Insurer: Old Mutual in Zimbabwe

Reinsurer: Blue Marble owner companies

Supported by: World Food Programme and agribusinesses

Perils insured: Excess rainfall, drought and cyclones

Reach: 25,000 people in 2021/2022 season

Payouts: In 2021/22 season, the program paid out $55,822; $206,113 in payouts-to-date

Country: VANUATU

Year launched: 2022

Project leader: U.N. (UNCDF, UNDP, UNU-EHS)

Insurer: VanCare Insurance Limited

Supported by: Governments of New Zealand and Australia

Perils insured: Cyclone (wind only)

Reach: 122 people

Payouts: In March 2023, the program paid out VT25.56 million ($217,000 USD) to 84 people for Cyclones Kevin and Judy

COUNTRY: KENYA

Year Launched: 2022

Project leader: Lemonade Foundation

Reinsurer: Lemonde Foundation

Supported by: Lemonade Foundation

Perils Insured: Extreme weather during crop growing season

Reach: 7,000 farmers

Payouts: In February 2023, the program paid out $167,791 USD to 3,248 people for drought.

COUNTRY: GUATEMALA

Year Launched: 2021

Project leader: World Food Programme

Insurer: Aseguradora Rural

Supported by: Government of Canada, European Union, IFAD and WFP

Perils Insured: Excess rainfall and drought

Reach: 9,400 smallholder farmers as of 2022, of which 1,659 people made contribution of 10% of insurance premium

Payouts: In 2021, the program paid out Q 270 ($100 USD).

COUNTRY: INDIA

Year Launched: 2023

Project leader: Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (MILMA)

Insurer: Agricultural Insurance Company of India Ltd

Supported by: MILMA

Perils Insured: Decline in milk production during extreme heat days

Reach: 14,500 cattle covered at a price of 100 INR ($1.22 USD) per animal.

Payouts: Shortly after launching in April 2023, the trigger was reached. The product will pay out more than the premiums collected at the end of March.

(Reporting by Gloria Dickie and Simon Jessop)
Factbox-Then and now: How Arab states changed course on Syria

(Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad's attendance at an Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday is the result of big policy shifts by Arab states that once backed his opponents in Syria's civil war.

Here is an overview of the policies of major Arab players towards Syria and Assad, and how they have changed:

SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia came out strongly against Assad early in the conflict, reflecting concern about the regional influence of his ally, Shi'ite Iran.

Riyadh provided the mainly Sunni rebels with arms, money and political support as the rebellion spread.

The support was a point of rivalry with another Gulf Arab state, Qatar, which backed Islamist groups espousing ideologies viewed with suspicion by Riyadh. Saudi Arabia sought to back other groups. It also worked with the United States in a programme to support rebels deemed moderate by Washington.

But Saudi officials were also critical of U.S. policy on Syria: in 2013, then intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan told European diplomats that the United States had failed to act effectively against Assad.

In 2014, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said there could be no role in a transition for Assad and those whose hands were "stained in blood", and that all foreign fighters, including Hezbollah, must withdraw from Syria.

In 2016, former foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir said Assad would not be ruling Syria in the future and Russia's military intervention would not help him stay in power.

As some Arab states changed course on Assad, notably the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia showed no sign of bringing him in from the cold.

But this changed in recent months, notably after Riyadh and Tehran agreed to reestablish ties in a deal brokered by China.

Iranian influence in Syria remains a source of concern for Riyadh. Like other Arab states, Saudi Arabia is also expecting Assad to curb the trade in narcotics smuggled out of Syria.

Assad met Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Damascus last month. Saudi state media said they discussed steps needed for a political solution to the war that would preserve its Arab identity and return it to "its Arab surroundings".

QATAR

Doha's strong backing for the Syrian opposition echoed its support for the Arab Spring revolts that swept the Middle East in 2011, including in Egypt where it backed the Muslim Brotherhood.

In 2013, at an Arab summit in Doha, Syrian opposition leaders took Syria's seat after Qatar's emir asks his fellow Arab leaders to invite them to represent the country.

Much of Qatar's support went to rebels who were Islamist in ideology and seen as close to the Muslim Brotherhood. Its allies fretted that weapons were falling into the hands of extremists.

Qatar always denied it backed militant groups with al Qaeda ties. Qatari mediation helped secure the release of numerous hostages held in Syria by the Nusra Front, which was for years al Qaeda's official affiliate in the conflict. Qatar also took part in U.S.-backed efforts to support rebels deemed moderate.

In 2018, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said the region could not tolerate a war criminal like Assad.

Qatar has said that the original basis for Syria's suspension from in the Arab League still stands and has reiterated Doha's stance against normalisation with Syria unless there is a political solution.

But it withdrew its opposition to Saudi Arabia's initiative to readmit Syria to the pan-Arab body, saying it would not stand in the way of Arab consensus.

UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) once backed some anti-Assad insurgents but its role was less prominent than that of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and mainly centred on ensuring that Islamist forces did not dominate the insurgency.

Abu Dhabi led the way in bringing Assad back into the Arab fold after he had driven back insurgents across most of Syria, aided by Russia and Iran. Its motives for re-engagement, which prompted U.S. objections, included trying to counter the influence of non-Arab Iran and Turkey in Syria.

A visit to Damascus by the UAE's foreign minister in late 2021 was followed the next year by a trip to the UAE for Assad, his first to an Arab state since the war began. Assad visited again in March, accompanied by his wife Asma al-Assad.

The UAE has invited Assad to the COP28 climate summit it is hosting at the end of the year.

JORDAN

Jordan, Syria's neighbour to the south, also backed rebels fighting Assad, but its policy was shaped largely by concerns for the security of its border and preventing southern Syria from becoming a haven for hardline Islamist militants.

They hosted a military operations rooms under the supervision of Western powers, which lent limited support to rebels espousing a nationalist rather than Islamist agenda.

This helped these rebel groups to control much of the south until 2018, when Russian-backed government forces drove them out of the region. Jordan facilitated talks between rebel factions and Moscow over a deal that would return state rule to the area.

Jordan's King Abdullah said at the start of the conflict said he would step down were he in Assad's position, after mass protests against his rule. But Jordan never officially severed ties with Syria.

(Compiled by Tom Perry, Suleiman al-Khalidi and Michael Georgy; Editing by Alex Richardson)
You are here: Arts

People visit a themed exhibition on the Maritime Silk Road at Fujian Museum in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, May 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Li He)

China saw 382 new museums registered in 2022, bringing the total number of museums across the country to 6,565, data from the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) showed on Thursday, which is the International Museum Day.



During the year, Chinese museums saw 578 million visits, with approximately 34,000 offline exhibitions and nearly 230,000 educational activities held.

About 10,000 online exhibitions and over 40,000 online educational activities were held by museums nationwide last year, drawing nearly a billion views, according to the data.

"A modern museum system with various categories and diverse subjects which is universally available to the public has basically taken shape in China," said Li Qun, head of the NCHA.

China celebrates this year's International Museum Day under the theme "museums, sustainability and better lives," with thousands of related activities taking place nationwide.
When faith says to help migrants  and the law says don't

Migrants are welcomed to a Methodist church in New Mexico after being released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2019. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Many religious traditions preach the need to care for strangers. But what happens when caring for the stranger comes into conflict with government policy?

After Title 42 restrictions at the U.S. border ended on May 11, 2023, debates about immigration have heated up again  focused mostly on reform, border security or refugees needs.

But the treatment of immigrants is deeply intertwined with religious freedom as well. As a scholar of religious ethics who studies immigration, I am interested in recent cases that highlight growing tensions between immigration policies and religious groups commitments to pastoral and humanitarian care.

Ministry at the border

One high-profile example centers on Rev. Kaji Dousa, senior pastor at Park Avenue Christian Church in New York City, who traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, in 2018 to provide pastoral care to asylum seekers.

Her work was flagged by Customs and Border Protection after a Honduran woman allegedly said that Dousa told migrants that marrying each other would make it easier to receive legal papers in the U.S. As Dousa later testified, she did perform religious ceremonies, but only for couples who were already in common-law marriages and without claiming to provide any legal status.

Dousas name and photo were added to a Department of Homeland Security watch list that included lawyers, journalists and activists, and she was detained and questioned by CBP officers upon her return to the U.S. A CBP official also sent an email to Mexican authorities asking them to ban Dousa from entering Mexico because she lacked proper documentation  which the official later acknowledged had no basis in fact.

Dousa filed a lawsuit accusing DHS of unjust surveillance and retaliation, and in March 2023 a federal judge ruled in her favor. Judge Todd Robinson agreed that DHS had violated Dousas right to freedom of religious expression by instructing Mexican authorities to detain her.

Both Dousa and the United Church of Christ, which ordained her, argued that her actions were based in her religious commitments. Dousa previously stated, To reject a migrant is to cast away Gods angels, which I am unwilling to do.

Immigrants gather at a makeshift camp near the border between the U.S. and Mexico on May 13, 2023. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Shifts in the legal landscape

This is not the first time religious leaders or groups providing pastoral and humanitarian care to migrants have come under scrutiny.

One famous example is the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s, an informal network of up to 500 churches whose members provided safe haven to undocumented asylum seekers fleeing violence in Central America.

Several members of the movement were convicted of conspiring to smuggle immigrants into the U.S. They appealed, arguing that their work was inspired by their religious convictions and that the government was violating their First Amendment rights. Yet their claims were largely unsuccessful.

Over the past few decades, however, religious freedom claims have often found more favor in U.S. courts.

In part, this is because of the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which has made it easier for people and institutions to claim religiously based exemptions from generally applicable laws. One of the best-known examples is the 2014 Supreme Court case Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, in which the court, citing the owners religious convictions, exempted the national chain of crafts stores from providing employee health insurance that included contraception coverage.

Help on the ground

This shift has opened new lines of defense for religious actors, including humanitarian groups.

No More Deaths is a nonprofit associated with a Unitarian Universalist church in Tucson, Arizona. Members leave supplies along desert routes traveled by migrants, provide first aid and occasionally offer services such as temporary shelter to migrants who are suffering from exposure.

In 2018, volunteers were charged with littering, driving on protected lands and, in one case, harboring undocumented immigrants.

A volunteer for No More Deaths delivers water along a trail used by undocumented immigrants in the desert near Ajo, Ariz., in 2019. John Moore/Getty Images

Four volunteers were initially convicted, but their charges were dismissed after they argued that they were compelled by religious convictions and that the government had violated their freedom of religious expression. The appeals court judge cited the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as well as the Hobby Lobby case in holding that the volunteers were protected under U.S. law.

A more recent dustup between a religious humanitarian organization and government officials occurred in December 2022. A group of Republicans in Congress sent a letter to Catholic Charities, a humanitarian nonprofit affiliated with the church that provides food, shelter and bathing facilities on both sides of the border.

In U.S. border cities, the organization also provides transportation from shelters to bus stops and money exchanges. The representatives letter cited this work as a reason to suspect Catholic Charities of encouraging illegal border crossings and required staff to preserve records of their work.

The organization argued that the charges were both fallacious and factually inaccurate. Caring for people in need, including vulnerable people on the move, leaders wrote, is a part of the fabric of the global Catholic Church and is mandated by the gospel.

Yet another sticking point between religious groups and immigration law has emerged in Florida in recent weeks. A bill recently signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis was modified after religious groups protested against its proposed criminal penalties for knowingly transporting or concealing an undocumented immigrant. Religious leaders argued that this would violate their religious freedom by preventing them from providing rides to religious services or from finding aid for people in need.

National vs. universal mandates

It is not surprising that these conflicts keep happening, considering the U.S. governments and religious organizations different motivations around migration.

One main driver for politicians is simply that many voters are nervous about newcomers, especially if they have different cultural, religious or racial backgrounds. The nonprofit Public Religion Research Institute has found that while 55% of Americans think immigrants strengthen American society, 40% believe a growing number of newcomers threatens traditional American customs and values. In the past few years, multiple Republican politicians have even embraced some version of the great replacement conspiracy theory. Once limited to extremist and antisemitic groups, replacement theory alleges that immigrants are either replacing native-born American citizens or are intentionally being used to facilitate electoral and social change.

Political scientist Seyla Benhabib has argued that another reason some leaders focus on border policies is that national sovereignty has been weakened in a globalizing world. Multinational corporations, for example, are sometimes influential enough to shape government policies, such as lobbying for weaker labor laws and environmental protections.

But whereas sovereignty and citizens are priorities for governments, many religious traditions teach adherents to care for people regardless of what community they belong to. Religious thinkers do argue over whether their traditions encourage greater attention to people in their own communities. Still, when it comes to peoples most basic survival needs, most emphasize that care should know no borders.

For the foreseeable future, these priorities will continue to clash  and some religious people may push back by claiming a First Amendment right to freedom of religious expression.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. Like this article? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

It was written by: Laura E. Alexander, University of Nebraska Omaha.

Read more:



Laura E. Alexander receives funding as a Public Fellow of the Public Religion Research Institute.
Family of Shanquella Robinson marches in D.C. to push for extradition of suspect

Family and friends of Shanquella Robinson gathered in Washington, D.C., to continue to push for justice on Friday.

Members of the Million Youth March of Charlotte and Robinsons family marched to the State Department starting at 10 a.m. to push for the extradition of the suspect in her death.

9 FOCUS STORIES: Death of Shanquella Robinson

Robinson, of Charlotte, was killed in Cabo five months ago while on vacation with friends, investigators say. Those friends told Robinsons family she died of alcohol poisoning, but an autopsy conducted in Mexico concluded she died of a broken neck and spinal cord.

A Mecklenburg County autopsy completed last November contradicted those findings, stating there was no evidence of any spinal cord injury.

A video later surfaced showing Robinson being attacked by a woman on that trip.

The U.S. Attorneys Office said in March they dont have enough evidence available to prosecute anyone in the case. That means any legal action over her death will come from Mexican authorities.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Robinsons family, along with leaders from the NAACP, Charlotte, and Washington, D.C. went to the U.S. capital in March to demand justice for her case.

Shanquella Robinson had a family that loved her and she was a amazing child, said her mother, Sallamondra Robinson, at the rally. She loved people. She did no wrong to no one.

Someone should have been arrested right after the video was leaked, she added.

(WATCH BELOW: Federal authorities say they wont press charges in Shanquella Robinson case)
Fashion at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival is better than this year's Met Gala  sorry

Dua Lipa at the 2023 Met Gala and Elle Fanning at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Dimitrios Kambouris/Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images

Fashion at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival is already making up for this year's lackluster Met Gala.

Only four days into the French event, stars have worn stunning gowns, sparkling suits, and more.

Many outfits at this year's Met Gala, on the other hand, were forgettable.

It's time for everyone to admit it: Fashion at the Cannes Film Festival is usually better than what we see at the Met Gala.

I know what you're thinking. How can you beat Blake Lively's ball gowns, Kim Kardashian's controversial looks, and Rihanna's fashionably-late entrances?

Maybe you can't. Those moments stand out in pop-culture history for a reason.

But if we're focusing solely on style  head-turning outfits, meaningful designs, and dazzling accessories  the fashion-filled gala doesn't measure up to Cannes. And the contrast between the two events this year has proved it.

Elle Fanning attends the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Mike Marsland/Getty Images

Take a minute to really think about the Met Gala. For every iconic look we see on the famous steps at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, there are another three outfits that don't match whatever theme is in place for that year's event.

This year, for example, some stars took the "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty" theme in stride, dressing as the German designer himself or like his beloved cat Choupette.

But others missed the mark entirely.

Stars like Kylie Jenner and Ariana DeBose wore colorful gowns that didn't match Lagerfeld's aesthetic.

And couples like Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas played it too safe, seemingly using Lagerfeld's signature black-and-white color palette as inspiration for very basic outfits.

Some of the fashion at this year's Met Gala. Jamie McCarthy/Cindy Ord/Christopher Polk/Getty Images

That's not to mention issues with this year's theme itself, which honored a late fashion designer who was undoubtedly iconic, but also deeply problematic.

In his lifetime, Lagerfeld often displayed fatphobic, homophobic, and racist views. He said in 2013 he was "less keen" on supporting same-sex couples adopting, and was later quoted saying that "no one wants to see curvy women on the runway."

So even when celebrities nailed their red-carpet looks, viewers were left with a lingering question: Why is this particular designer being honored?

Jeremy Pope attends the 2023 Met Gala. Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

The very nature of Cannes, however, leaves little room for disappointment.

There are no confusing themes to limit the fashion choices of attendees, and the surplus of events at the festival creates room for every celebrity to have their moment.

To put it simply, there's no need for gimmicks. When stars are on the red carpet, the focus is on fashion and fashion alone.

Bella Hadid attends the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images

Only four days into this year's festival, we've already seen dozens of standout looks  many of which have been more exciting than those at this year's Met Gala.

First, there was Chinese actor Fan Bingbing, who attended the Cannes opening ceremony on Tuesday in a custom Christopher Bu ball gown printed with images of leaves and tigers, a symbol of bravery and strength in China.

Fan Bingbing attends the "Jeanne du Barry" screening during the Cannes Film Festival. Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images

Then, Spanish actor Ester Exposito hit the red carpet in Atelier Versace.

Her daring dress was covered in skin-baring slits and sparkling chain mail, creating a look that was edgy and glamorous all in one. She also added Messika diamonds in the form of earrings, a necklace, and rings.

Ester Exposito attends the "Black Flies" red carpet at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Male stars have delivered too. Look at model Rahi Chadda, who turned heads at the "Monster" carpet in a red, crystal-encrusted blazer with ruffled fringe.

His outfit was designed by the Parisian fashion brand Homolog.

Rahi Chadda attends the "Monster" red carpet at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Gisela Schober/Getty Images

Considering there are still eight days left of the festival, it's safe to assume Cannes fashion will only get better and better.

But rather than spell it out, I'll leave you with this: Elle Fanning in a silver, shimmering Paco Rabanne gown at Cannes last night.

If I somehow missed an outfit as stunning at this year's Met Gala, let me know.

Read the original article on Insider
Fast 10 ending

The Fast 10 ending is a brutal shock to the system. Without going into spoilers (just yet), its a brave, bold creative choice that simultaneously leaves you wanting more and searching for answers in the rear-view mirror.

With Fast 11  and potentially Fast 12, if you believe Vin Diesel  bringing the Fast Saga to a close, it makes sense to really hit every single angle of Fast 10s final act. There are major moments aplenty, casualties, and several fates left up in the air.

So, join us as we put the pedal to the metal and race through the last half-an-hour or so of the Fast 10 ending. That includes a recap of the events which transpired in Portugal, a rundown of our major questions  and answers  from the finale, plus a speculative look ahead to what could be coming down the road. For more on the movie's after-credits tag, be sure to do a U-turn and head into our Fast 10 post-credits scene explained guide.

Fast 10 ending recap

Dante,on a quest to make Dom "suffer" for the death of his father, tracks Doms son Brian and his younger brother Jakob to Portugal. Hot on their heels are Dom (who has been shipped in with Agency help), plus Roman, Tej, Ramsey, and Han on a separate plane en route to a rendezvous point.

In the ensuing chase, Dante hunts down Jakob and Brian. Dom eventually intervenes and, despite Dante swiping Brian for a brief beat, gets his son back safely. Unfortunately, Jakob sacrifices himself to stop gun-wielding mercenaries and seemingly dies in an explosion by flipping his vehicle into the clutch of cars that were tracking Dom down  but not before a heart to heart with his big brother.

Dante corners Dom and Brian on a dam, with the flamboyant villain set to use two remote-controlled 18-wheelers to smash Vin Diesels wheelman into Toretto paste. Dante also strikes a one-two hammer blow, revealing that The Agencys leader Aimes was in cahoots with him from the very beginning. Aimes then shoots down Romeos plane, but their fates are unknown.

Dom then screeches off the bridge and down the dam. While neither he nor his son are hurt in the wreck, Dante taunts him once more about not being able to save everyone. Now that hes suffered enough, its time for him to die: Dante arms a missile system and fires them all at Dom and his son  but the scene cuts to black.

Over in Antarctica, Letty and Cipher have escaped from Blacksite A and are shocked to discover a surfacing submarine. The hatch opens and out pops Gal Gadots Gisele, somehow still alive and here to help her newfound allies.

The post-credits scene features Dante taunting a mysterious spec-ops agent, saying they will suffer for their role in his fathers murder. Its revealed to be Dwayne Johnsons Hobbs. Dante says the devil is coming for him, with Hobbs replying, "I aint hard to find, you sumbitch."

Is Jakob dead?

John Cena and Vin Diesel in Fast 9

Fast and Furious is basically a superhero franchise at this point. And whats the golden rule of superhero movies? If you dont see a body, theyre not dead.

Now, for all intents and purposes, Jakob is dead at the end of Fast 10. But theres plenty of wriggle room. No body, for one thing. Also, Fast characters have shrugged off bigger wrecks than Jakobs five-car pile-up (see below for another miraculous resurrection). Long story short: we would expect Jakob to return in another Fast movie  if his inclusion serves the wider story they're trying to tell.

Whats next for Dom and B?

Fast X

Fast 10 did something remarkable as huge non-Infinity War blockbusters go  and ended on a huge cliffhanger. On the face of it, Dom and his sons situation is truly dire with a cluster of missiles careering towards them and several friends in peril. This being Fast and Furious, though, surely the pair get through to the other side unscathed  and thats something that should be answered immediately in Fast 11. But, if Universal really want to talk up the Avengers: Infinity War-style heartbreak, they could leave Dom out of the marketing entirely until the first frame rolls. They couldnt, could they?

If we had to take an educated guess, we imagine Dwayne Johnsons Hobbs or Jason Stathams Shaw will be heavily involved in directly saving Doms life here. Or, in another plot twist, it could be revealed that Giseles rescue happened some time before Doms Portugal chase. Maybe she could show up to save the day?

What happened to the plane?

Fast X

Roman and the crew plummeted in their plane into a Portuguese hillside, all thanks to Aimes double-cross. Is that the end for our Fast Family? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Were willing to go all-in and say that most, if not all, of the passengers heading to pick Dom up lived to see another day. Still, its another big plot point that Fast 11 needs to answer in 2025.

Who is Aimes working for?

Aimes in Fast 10

This one is a much simpler answer. Aimes has been in league with Dante and the Reyes family since the events of Fast Five. He seemingly rose through the ranks at the Agency as a double agent, while temporarily allying with Dom to lure him into a false sense of security. That really sets the tone for Fast 11: with Aimes and the Agency potentially as Dantes side  and Dom one of the worlds most-wanted terrorists  the walls are closing in for the Fast Family.

How is Gal Gadots character still alive?

Gal Gadot in Fast and the Furious

Gisele is back! Last seen sacrificing herself in Fast 6, Gal Gadots character is seemingly alive during the events of Fast X? How come? Of all the Fast deaths, this seemed the most cut-and-dry: she jumps out of a planes cargo hold to attack Shaws henchman Adolfson. Her partner Han sees her fall out of the plane and drop into the darkness.

Again, no body, no death. By Fast rules, Gisele has probably been in hiding for some time after the events of Fast 6  especially given Shaws close proximity to the Fast Family. Still, shes now back up and running  and factors in as a major player in the Fast 11 cast.

How are Hobbs and Dante connected?

Fast X

In case youre not versed in Fast lore, lets get back up to speed (so to speak): in Fast Five, Hobbs helped take down Dantes father. He was even the one who pulled the trigger, killing the kingpin.

Dante, now, has a grudge to bear. Hes already pledged to make Dom "suffer" through Fast X. It seems he now has his sights on his dads murderer.

Where did Shaw go?

Jason Statham in Fast X

Jason Stathams Shaw is slightly lost amid all the chaos in the Fast 10 ending. But rewind about 20 minutes and youll recall Gods Eye has been used by Dante to track down anyone even associated with Dom. That includes Shaws mother Madeline, played by Helen Mirren. Whether his own adventure will tie into Fast 11, be resolved off-screen, or something else entirely remains to be seen. But thats why hes out of action for Fast 10s final act.

Will the cliffhanger be resolved in Fast 11?

Fast X

Lets hope so! Fast 11 is officially happening in 2025 and was initially seen as the final Fast and the Furious movie. That should be the place for all the answers to the questions above  and more.

However, Fast 12 could also be on the way, with a couple of stars hinting as much at the world premiere in Rome.

"I can say this: going into making this movie, the studio had asked if this could be a two-parter, and after the studio saw this and when they saw part one, they said, 'Could we make Fast X the finale, a trilogy?'" Vin Diesel told Fandango.

Michelle Rodriguez, who played Letty, added, "Its three acts in any story."

For more from the Fast Saga, check out our rankings of the best Fast and Furious movies and a new way to relive Dom's adventures in our guide on how to watch the Fast and Furious movies in order. It's more complicated than you might think! We'll even get you up to speed on when Fast 10 could be streaming.
'Fast X' is filled with cameos  here they all are

Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto in "Fast X." Universal Pict

Warning: There are spoilers ahead for "Fast X."

The 10th installment of the "Fast & Furious" franchise features a bunch of celebrity cameos.

The movie includes the return of familiar faces from the franchise.

Disney Channel alum Debby Ryan and Twenty One Pilots member Josh Dun have random cameos at an airport.

Debby Ryan and Josh Dun are fans of the "Fast" movies. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

As Jakob (John Cena) and Little B (Leo Abelo Perry) walk through North Yuma Aiport, they literally bump into another couple traveling, played by Ryan and Dunn.

The two stars have been married since 2019.

Ryan referenced her and Dunn being fans of the "Fast" franchise in a 2020 interview with Vogue while explaining that the couple wrote their own wedding vows.

"Because what is vowing to be together forever without us both acknowledging my annual trips to the emergency room and the significance of 'The Fast and the Furious' franchise in our relationship?" she said.

Comedian Pete Davidson has a cameo as a guy who runs a black-market site.

Pete Davidson's character is a snitch. Rosalind O'Connor/NBC via Getty Images

Ramsey knows him by his online username, Bowie420.

Ramsey, Tej, Roman, and Han visit him to discreetly acquire weapons and transportation to meet Dom and the rest of the team.

Davidson's character betrays them and alerts the agency of their whereabouts, forcing them to flee and turn to Deckhard Shaw for help.

Meadow Walker Thornton-Allan, the daughter of late "Fast & Furious" star Paul Walker, has a small role as a flight attendant.

Meadow Walker is seen in behind-the-scenes footage of "Fast X." Universal Pictures

She encounters Jakob and Little B on their flight to the rendezvous to meet up with Dom.

She spoke about how much the cameo meant to her in an Instagram post, explaining that she was "born into the 'Fast' family."

"I can't believe now I get to be up there too," she said. "With those who have been around to see me grow up."

"I am so blessed to be able to honor my father's legacy and share this with him forever," the model added.

Gal Gadot finally returns as Gisele.

Surprise! Gisele is alive. Universal Pictures

2009's "Fast & Furious" actually marked Gadot's film debut.

She reprised her role as Gisele in "Fast Five" and "Fast & Furious 6," but was seemingly killed off in the latter movie.

In "Fast X," Gisele makes her grand return near the end of the movie, as Letty and Cipher escape the black site in Antarctica where they were imprisoned.

Upon getting out of a hatch, Gisele emerges from a submarine, and Letty, shocked, says: "No way."

After saying that there was "no chance" he'd return to the franchise, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson reprises his role as Luke Hobbs.

What made Dwayne Johnson change his mind about being part of the "Fast & Furious" franchise? Universal Pictures

Hobbs shows up in the end-credits scene of "Fast X," with Dante warning him over the phone that he's his next target because he killed his father in "Fast Five."

Johnson's reason for returning to the "Fast" family remains unclear, but in recent years, he and Vin Diesel had a public feud.

Johnson seemed firm in his stance back in 2021, but something must have changed that convinced him to rejoin the franchise.

Read the original article on Insider
'Fast X' really rolled a 1-ton metal ball covered in flaming gasoline down the streets of Rome

The "Fast X" production crew really set a metal ball aflame for the Rome action sequence. Universal Pictures

A scene early in "Fast X" shows Dom racing to stop a bomb from annihilating the Vatican.

Director Louis Leterrier told Insider they really rolled a massive flaming ball through Rome.

Leterrier said they actually flipped and exploded the cars that you see destroyed on-screen.

Early in "Fast X," Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew race after a massive ticking time bomb before it can blow up the Vatican.

Not all of that's CGI.

"We really rolled a one-ton metal ball covered in just gasoline, flaming gasoline down the streets of Rome," director Louis Leterrier told Insider via Zoom earlier this month.

Here's how the "Fast X" bomb looked on set. Universal Pictures

The latest movie in "The Fast and the Furious" franchise follows Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa) as he exacts revenge on Dom's crew for the death of his father in 2011's "Fast Five."

Part of that vengeance includes setting Dom's family up as terrorists who target the sacred site and tourist destination.

The large action sequence involves the bomb relentlessly barreling through everything in its path. Crushed cars, smashed statues, and a destroyed water fountain are all at the bomb's mercy as Dom desperately chases it down.

Stunt footage, made available to press, shows the enflamed ball being tugged along on wires, taking out a police car.

The metal ball rams into a police car on the set of "Fast X." Universal Pictures

It also really decimated the bus in its path.

That bus wasn't all visual effects. Universal Pictures

"We had Dom's car trying to stop it and that was done for real. The cars exploding were also done for real," Leterrier said.

The scene culminates in Vin dramatically crashing his car into a crane to knock the bomb into the Tiber River to explode.

There may not have been a crane, but they really sent the ball over a bridge into the water.

The metal ball could float once it fell into the water. Universal Pictures

"Pulling the cameras in and out of the cars while they're moving, chasing them, seeing the actors behind the wheel, and then connecting them," Leterrier said, "Having Vin do a 180 in front of an exploding bomb and then finishing on a close-up with him, that's all done for real."

The director, who joined the franchise mid-production in May 2022, has spoken openly of his preference for practical stunts if possible, telling Esquire Middle East he wanted to ground the franchise in reality more when he came aboard.

Of keeping the scene as realistic as possible, Leterrier told Insider: "It's a bunch of real elements put together. There's no CG there. I mean, obviously, we didn't blow up a giant bomb in Rome. That's CG. But just the cars flipping and Dom, all of that was done for real and it shows. If you can keep 75% of your image real, the audience knows it. We do it for real."

As the bomb's explosion reverberates, production really flipped police cars in the air. Universal Pictures

Leterrier said viewers can expect "even more practicality in the next one" when he returns to direct "Fast X: Part II" due out in 2025.

"Fast X," also starring Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Sung Kang, Nathalie Emmanuel, Tyrese, and Charlize Theron is in theaters Friday.

You can watch Leterrier discuss making the scene below.

Read the original article on Insider
Officials at the FBI improperly searched a foreign intelligence database as they investigated suspects in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots and more than 100 people arrested in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd in June 2020, according declassified court opinions released Friday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

One FBI analyst also looked up information on more than 19,000 donors to a congressional candidate whose campaign was, in the view of the analyst, a possible "target of foreign influence," but a subsequent review found only eight of the individuals had potential foreign links, according to the documents. (Officials who briefed reporters on Friday said the candidate, who was running against an incumbent, was ultimately not elected to Congress.)

All of the incidents took place before a range of internal changes were instituted by the FBI beginning in summer of 2021.

"As a result, these compliance incidents do not reflect FBI's querying practices subsequent to the full deployment of the remedial measures," said Rebecca Richards, head of ODNI's Office of Civil Liberties, Privacy and Transparency.

Richards said the FBI had made "substantial reforms" to its query activities under Section 702 for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, legislation that allows for electronic spying on foreign targets. The 702 database, which intelligence and law enforcement officials can search, can include Americans' data if they are in contact with foreign surveillance targets.

"We're not trying to hide from this stuff, but this type of noncompliance is unacceptable," a senior FBI official said. "And that's why we put these reforms in place to stop that from happening in the future."

Among the changes made to the querying process is a new requirement that analysts include a written justification for running a search involving a U.S. person, rather than choosing an option from a dropdown menu.

"This remedial measure is important because it helps users engage better with the [query] standard and explain in their own words why it meets the requirements," a senior Justice Department official said, adding that extra training and guidelines issued by the government had helped "reduce misunderstandings" about the process.

Analysts now also have to "opt in" to searches of collected foreign intelligence; a prior default setting caused "inadvertent queries" of that data.

"We're seen a significant impact, in our view, from that change," the DOJ official said.

The public release of the significantly redacted court opinions comes as debate in Congress intensifies over the reauthorization of Section 702, which expires at the end of this year. National security officials have argued the tool is essential in counterterrorism, cybersecurity and transnational crime cases. But privacy advocates and some lawmakers have called for substantial reforms to the law.

"Today's disclosures underscore the need for Congress to rein in the FBI's egregious abuses of this law, including warrantless searches using the names of people who donated to a congressional candidate," said Patrick Toomey, deputy director of ACLU's National Security Project. "These unlawful searches undermine our core constitutional rights and threaten the bedrock of our democracy."

Connecticut Democrat Rep. Jim Himes, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said the FBI's efforts had already reduced compliance incidents, but that it was "crystal clear from our Committee's oversight that additional changes are required to ensure that the FBI, and other agencies, are faithful stewards of this powerful and irreplaceable national security tool."

"I remain committed to working with Chairman Turner and the rest of the Congress to protect Americans' constitutional rights while also preserving the capabilities we need to protect our nation," Himes said.

"If Section 702 is to be reauthorized, there must be statutory reforms to ensure that the checks and balances are in place to put an end to these abuses," said Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Officials said Friday that additional FBI compliance reports would be released "soon," given the "high level of attention" from Congress and the public in the course of the reauthorization debate.

The Justice Department official said the "vast majority" of non-compliance incidents had stemmed from "a good-faith misunderstanding."

"Accountability is levied where there is actual misconduct," she said. "But again, that, in practice, is very rare."

Extended interview: Dr. Scott Gottlieb on "Face the Nation," May 21, 2023

Full interview: New York City Mayor Eric Adams on "Face the Nation," May 21, 2023

Full interview: Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates on "Face the Nation," May 21, 2023
The FBI used a controversial foreign surveillance authority in 2020 to investigate whether protesters involved in the Black Lives Matter movement had ties to terrorists, according to two reports declassified Friday.

The revelation that the FBI used these authorities comes amid a tough debate on Capitol Hill on whether to reauthorize the surveillance tool  Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act  before it expires at the end of the year, and is likely to make the push for renewal more difficult.

According to a newly declassified memorandum order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, issued more than a year ago, the FBI ran a batch query related to 133 individuals arrested in connection with civil unrest and protests between May 30 and June 18 of 2020.

The analysts ran these names through information gathered using authorities from Section 702, which allows the intelligence community to surveil electronic communications by foreign individuals located outside the United States for national security purposes. But the data collected also includes information about Americans on the other end of emails or other communications.

Whether to renew Section 702 has been a heated debate on Capitol Hill this year, with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle raising repeated concerns about the FBI and other agencies exceeding their authority and violating the privacy rights of Americans.

The federal government has argued that Section 702 is vital to national security, and noted that it has been used to stop terrorists and cyberattacks, among other planned incidents.

The memorandum noted that the FBI believed the queries on those arrested in connection to the Black Lives Matter protests were reasonably likely to retrieve evidence of a crime simply because they pertained to persons who had been arrested.

The query was run to determine whether the FBI had any counter-terrorism derogatory information on the arrestees, but without any specific potential connections to terrorist related activity known to those who conducted the queries, the FISC memorandum reads.

When asked about why this occurred, a senior FBI official told reporters on a call Friday that the query was conducted due to a lack of understanding on the part of the person who ran it, and that person received remedial training as well.

The latest reports covered multiple instances of what the FISC deemed to be the intelligence community misusing FISA Section 702 authorities, and was based on data from 2020 and 2021, prior to a series of overhauls being made by the FBI on how that authority is used. These included FBI Director Christopher Wray accepting and implementing almost a dozen recommendations from an internal auditing office to improve compliance.

The FBI published an audit earlier this month showing a decrease in misuse of FISA Section 702 authorities.

The court records indicated that the FBI used FISA data to run a query of 19,000 donors involved in a congressional campaign in 2020. A senior DOJ official said that the candidate involved was not elected to Congress, and that they were running against an incumbent. This revelation comes months after it was revealed that Section 702 was used to look into Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.).

The investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol also used FISA data to understand if foreign influence was involved in the attack, the court documents revealed.

Rebecca Richards, chief of ODNIs Civil Liberties, Privacy and Transparency Office, told reporters that classified versions of the opinions were provided to Congress last year.

House Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said in a statement Friday that the FISC opinion provides further evidence that a bipartisan reauthorization of FISA Section 702 must include robust measures to ensure that FBI employees conduct searches of the Bureaus Section 702 databases in a rigorous and responsible way.

Spokespersons for House Intelligence Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee did not respond to requests for comment.

 Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
A federal judge just told American and JetBlue to undo the Northeast Alliance in 30 days

The DOJ has won its lawsuit against American Airlines and JetBlue Airways' controversial Northeast Alliance. NYC Russ/Shutterstock

The US Department of Justice has won its antitrust lawsuit against JetBlue Airways and American Airlines.

Judge Leo Sorokin ruled the pair has 30 days to undo their powerful Northeast Alliance.

The decision comes as airlines gear up for a busy travel season plagued with high fares and busy skies.

It looks like the controversial partial union of JetBlue Airways and American Airlines may be over.

On Friday, the Department of Justice won its lawsuit against the two airlines, which have been engaged in a powerful Northeast Alliance since July 2020, CNBC reported.

According to the September 2021 lawsuit, the pair's strategic planning of flight routes and schedules  which has since further expanded  could have a negative impact on customers.

"By effectively absorbing JetBlue's operations in Boston and New York City, American can reduce investments not just in those cities, but also in other parts of its network where it otherwise would maintain or add service," the lawsuit read. "As a consequence, consumers across the country will have fewer options and pay higher fares."

JetBlue and American argued the partnership was necessary to compete with Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in the busy New York and Boston hubs: "We made it clear at trial that the Northeast Alliance has been a huge win for customers," JetBlue told Insider.

But, a federal judge determined the alliance violates antitrust laws.

"Whatever the benefits to American and JetBlue of becoming more powerful  in the Northeast generally or in their shared rivalry with Delta  such benefits arise from a naked agreement not to compete with one another," Judge Leo Sorokin wrote in his ruling. "Such a pact is just the sort of 'unreasonable restraint on trade' the Sherman Act was designed to prevent."

The Sherman Act of 1890 outlaws "every contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of trade," and any "monopolization, attempted monopolization, or conspiracy or combination to monopolize," according to the Federal Trade Commission.

The decision noted that the alliance limited certain routes to one of the two airlines, forcing the other to exit.

"In short, they are dividing the NEA markets between themselves," the decision said.

According to Judge Sorokin, JetBlue and American have 30 days to undo their alliance, meaning they cannot work together to coordinate their fares or routes.

The carriers told Insider the decision is "disappointing" and "wrong," with Amercian saying "the Court's legal analysis is plainly incorrect and unprecedented for a joint venture like the Northeast Alliance."

Moreover, both continue to defend the alliance as a benefit to customers.

"Through the NEA, JetBlue has been able to significantly grow in constrained northeast airports, bringing the airline's low fares and great service to more routes than would have been possible otherwise," JetBlue told Insider.

The airlines can appeal and are likely to fight the ruling, according to CNBC.

"We are studying the judgment in full and evaluating our next steps as part of the legal process," JetBlue told Insider

The DOJ did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

The decision cannot come at a worse time as the busy summer travel season gets into full swing. Both airlines have already sold tickets, and the unraveling could cause a headache for JetBlue, American, and their customers.

JetBlue is also battling a separate antitrust lawsuit against the DOJ over its proposed merger with Spirit Airlines, a deal worth $3.8 billion and would allow JetBlue to become the fifth largest airline in the US.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Filipino American woman from Texas says she wants to move to L.A. and be among LA Filipinos: I just wish we had that here in Houston

A Filipino American woman from Texas talks about finding comfort with other Filipinos while in a popular West Coast city.

On May 15, Melannie Millan Keys, (@longanisaarms) took to TikTok to talk about a recent experience she had while in Los Angeles. Keys, who is Filipino American and lives in Houston, went to a bar with some friends in West Hollywood. Feeling uneasy in a densely populated venue, she felt an anxiety attack coming on  but what she heard next brought immediate comfort.

I was notified that it was a drag queen gay bar, and I was really excited, but when we got there I was a little overwhelmed with the population. Like, there was, like, a lot of people, and I was like, I gotta go,' Keys explains. I went to the bathroom fully prepared to leave from anxiety but then I stopped myself because I could hear people singing in Tagalog.

I had to listen because I was like, That cant be Tagalog, but it was. It was a crowd of people singing in Tagalog, and I was wondering, Am I in my homeland? Like, am I back in the Philippines? Like, where am I? she adds.

Keys then surveys the bar and realizes something else  that shes actually among a ton of Filipinos.

I look around and Im like, Oh s***, 80% of the people here are Filipino,' she claims. And, like, the Filipinos that I witnessed were a different breed. Like, think Bretman Rock, but, like, all the genders. The shoes were on point, the fits were on point, the hair was immaculate  and just everything, the energy was so good.

Ive only seen, like, one model of Filipino here, so Ive never felt like I fit in

Living in Houston, Keys notes that the Filipinos shes surrounded by are quite conservative.

Im from Houston where, like, you know, its very conservative, and so the Filipinos that live here are here to build a family, she says. So we have a lot of, like, Christian, like, Catholic, Methodist Filipinos that are nurses. You know, Ive only seen, like, one model of Filipino here, so Ive never felt like I fit in.

Keys was born in New York City and raised in Manila. She relocated to Houston with her family around the time she started high school.

Ive only known a certain brand of Filipino. May I even add super judgey. Like, Im a tatted up b****, like, I never get complimented by other Filipinos because its just too much. Im a lot for, like, the average Filipino, she says. But in LA, people complimented my outfit, people were complimenting my sleeve, they were like, Oh my god, b****, who did your tattoo?'

This warm welcome has Keys contemplating a move to Los Angeles.

And Im, like, low-key wondering if I need to move to California and be with my people because Houston is not giving, she admits.

What Keys desires from the place she lives is the ability to be immersed in Filipino culture, to be surrounded by art in an LGBTQ-friendly environment and to live in a bustling, metropolitan city.

I feel like LA Filipinos are all of those things, and I just wish we had that here in Houston, she says.

With 3.8 million people, Los Angeles has the largest Asian population of any county in the United States, according to the U.S. Census 2021 estimates. Per the same estimates, Filipino Americans are the largest Asian American subgroup in Los Angeles, with 129,754 residents. Los Angeles County is home to the second-largest Filipino immigrant population in the world, surpassed only by the countrys capital city, Manila.

Should Keys move to Los Angeles, in particular, she would be in close proximity to the citys Historic Filipinotown, which in 2022 was granted a new landmark: a gateway arch spanning 82 feet across and 30 feet high along the neighborhoods eastern entrance designed by Filipino American artists Eliseo Art Silva and Celestino Geronimo Jr.

Move to California! LA or the Bay Area! Be with your people! Its so good for your mental health

Fellow Filipinos are urging Keys to make the move and prioritize her mental health.

CA has the highest population of Filipinos in the entire US. Come visit the Bay Area too. Much to love and feel connected, @stephaniequilao wrote.

California Filipinos are different period. I am in Dallas & its different here too. You are beautiful, @kiane1965 commented.

Move to California! LA or the Bay Area! Be with your people! Its so good for your mental health, @shevallreads urged.

Nevertheless, the Los Angeles Filipino diaspora continues to fight for visibility within the city itself.

One reason we dont have ethnic enclaves is that were not dependent on an ethnic economy to survive, activist and historian Joe Bernardo told NBC News, while noting that because Filipinos are fluent in English, employment can be found anywhere in the city. Another reason, Bernardo explained, is the fact that establishments within Historic Filipinotown dont look distinguishably Asian  which is due to the legacy of U.S. and Spanish colonization in the Philippines.

Should Keys decide to move to Los Angeles, it seems shell be among a more like-minded community of Filipino Americans.

In The Know by Yahoo is now available on Apple News  follow us here!

The post Filipino American woman from Texas says she wants to move to L.A. and be among LA Filipinos: I just wish we had that here in Houston appeared first on In The Know.

More from In The Know:

'You have to learn how to live first, document second': Emma Chamberlain responds to 'anything goes' sound bite being used for viral trend on TikTok

'I'm so OCD': Mental health advocate Tia Wilson on the destigmatization of OCD and its portrayal in pop culture

Calpak is having a major luggage sale, and you can get up to 55% off carry-ons, suitcases and travel accessories

The 7 best men's chinos you'll be so glad you got on sale  Bonobos, J.Crew, Nordstrom and more

DICKS Sporting Goods is having a 2-day flash sale  heres whats worth grabbing
Tourists visit the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, in Beijing, capital of China, March 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

China's Palace Museum unveiled a new set of 20,000 high-definition digital images of cultural relics in its collection open to the public for free, on the occasion of International Museum Day on Thursday.



This brings the total number of items in the museum's "digital cultural relic library" to over 100,000, offering the public access to more precious relics through the museum's official website.

To further ensure the need for appreciation, study and research by the audience, the retrieval capacity of the database was enhanced through technology, allowing them to retrieve items by ornamentation and color other than just keywords or names.

Launched in 2019, the digital library has been viewed more than 33 million times.

Going ahead, the Palace Museum will explore new forms of digital protection and utilization of cultural relics, so that the achievements of digital cultural resources can better benefit the public.
Can you film police in North Carolina? Everything you need to know about your rights

Police and public interactions, especially with people of color, have continued to make headlines across the country and North Carolina is no different.

Recently in Asheville, footage of white Asheville police officers pinning a Black man by his neck surfaced. This video came from someone who witnessed the incident and not from a police body or dash camera. The more than six-minute video also showed other arriving officers attempting to block the person from filming the altercation.

This and many other incidents, like the murder of George Floyd in 2020, raise questions like, "What are my rights when it comes to filming or photographing police?"

When it comes to interactions with law enforcement it is sometimes hard to determine what is and isn't allowed in states. Can I film them? Are there state laws on use of force? Can I view body/dash came footage? In North Carolina, some of these are allowed, but the others have longer answers.

More: DA reviews bodycam of Asheville police pinning Black man by neck; here's what he said

Can I film police in North Carolina?

In North Carolina, you are able to take pictures of anything in plain view in a public space including the police as long as you are not interfering with law enforcement. Along with this, police are not able to confiscate or demand to view digital photos or video without a warrant, and they are not allowed to delete your photographs or video under any circumstances, according to the North Carolina ACLU.

"Police officers put their lives on the line to protect and serve the public. But that doesnt mean they shouldnt be held accountable when they abuse their authority. Transparency is important for building trust among the people they have sworn to protect," wrote the ACLU.

More: Citizen Times wins court release of police bodycam footage in man's struggle with officers

Cherokee police chief: No bodycam footage of shooting; Asheville CT made records request

Are dashcams or body camera footage public record in NC?

Under a 2016 law signed by then-Gov. Pat McCrory, law enforcement dash and body camera footage are not considered public records.

In North Carolina, a judge must generally sign off on the release of bodycam footage.

Violation of Fourth Amendment right: Asheville man's civil rights suit against sheriff deputy settled; false cocaine evidence

Are there state policies when it comes to the use of force in North Carolina?

There is a General Statute in North Carolina law that deals with law enforcement using force when making arrests. G.S. 15A-401 section D-F outlines when law enforcement should use force. Law enforcement agencies in the state also have their own policies in place as well.

Could future changes be coming for NC?

In June 2020, Gov. Roy Cooper established the Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice to help identify solutions to make the states criminal justice system more just. In a report filed by the group, there were multiple suggestions on what should be done for preventing excessive use of force, monitoring when officers' use of force, requiring the use of de-escalation tactics and more.

TREC Use of Force Sample Policies Publication 1 by USA TODAY Network on Scribd

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Can I film police in NC? What people can do and laws on use of force
A former Lee County deputy accused of contributing to a wrongful arrest in a plot last year was sentenced this week for his role in the conspiracy.

Niko Irizarry, 26, of Cape Coral, pleaded no contest on Feb. 20 to one count of official misconduct and was sentenced Tuesday to 364 days in jail with credit time served, followed by 36 months of probation.

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said he fired Irizarry on Feb. 11, 2022.

Charges downgraded: Charges downgraded against LCSO deputies accused of pouring hot water on inmates

Accused of leaking investigation: Naples man fired from Lee Sheriff's Office after he leaked secret street racing probe

Irizarry arrested a person for drug trafficking on Dec. 15, 2021, related to fentanyl.

In early January, the sheriff's office received information the arrest wasn't lawful, and authorities launched a probe with the sheriff's office's Major Crimes Task Force.

The investigation found the drugs were planted in the suspect's car, who wasn't aware of the conspiracy.

As authorities questioned him, Irizarry confessed to lying during a sworn statement, according to his arrest affidavit, and said he was offered a reward by one of the co-conspirators if he arrested the suspect.

Irizarry worked for the sheriff's correction bureau in 2018 before returning in 2020. He had no previously disciplinary action, records indicate.

Recent arrests of LCSO deputies

Since Irizarry's arrest, at least three other Lee County deputies have been arrested on different charges.

Casey Howell, 26, and Enzo Finamore, 24, were arrested in February after an investigation found they poured hot water on several inmates, causing first- and second-degree burns. They're both scheduled for a June 22 docket sounding hearing.

Most recently, Giray Uzen, 18, of Naples, was arrested after detectives discovered a snapshot of the Lee County Sheriff's Office computer screen containing sensitive information.

Uzen is accused of leaking information regarding the sheriff's office's investigation into street racing and posting it on Snapchat.

Court records as of Friday morning didn't list Uzen's next court date.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fired Lee County deputy sentenced for false arrest
Flight attendants and pilots are anxiously gearing up for a potentially record-breaking summer of travel

Darron Cummings/AP; Anna Moneymaker/GettyImages; Ole Berg Rusten/Getty Image; NurPhoto/GettyImages; Alyssa Powell/Insider

The TSA predicts the number of Americans flying this summer will surpass pre-pandemic levels.

Airlines say they're prepared to handle the onslaught. Some of their employees aren't so sure.

"On a dime, things can change drastically," one flight attendant said. "Not just for employees, but for passengers."

Ask anybody who works in the aviation industry and they'll tell you summer is never easy.

While the rest of the country spends the summer months visiting family, heading to the beach, or jetting off to that long-awaited European tour, airline and airport workers are tasked with getting the influx of travelers to their destinations safely and on time.

"It's just a really precarious time of year for airline employees," Anthony Cataldo, a flight attendant for American Airlines with 33 years' experience, told Insider. "On a dime, things can change drastically  not just for employees, but for passengers."

It's a lesson we all learned the hard way during last year's "flightmare," when cancellations and lost baggage rates reached new highs as pent-up travel demand overwhelmed understaffed airlines. If you thought airports couldn't get any crazier, the TSA has bad news for you: Even more Americans are projected to fly this summer than before the pandemic.

Such predictions have left some airline workers anxious about carrying the industry through what could be a record-breaking travel season, four mainline pilots and flight attendants told Insider.

Some of the airline employees said they are less concerned about operational challenges like cancellations and delays (which appear to be recovering to normal rates) and more worried about bearing the brunt of overwhelming flight schedules, fearing that another chaotic summer season could push the burnt-out workforce to its limits.

Compared to last summer, airline staffing levels have largely improved, with Delta and United hiring thousands of new employees this year. The industry employed more workers in April than it's had in two decades, according to the Labor Department.

"If anything is going to really drive a lot of these performance issues, I would say it would be the morale at the company," Cataldo said. "Within the flight attendant ranks especially, it is very low."

American Airlines did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

Flight attendants and pilot unions are in the midst of contract negotiations

United pilots picketed at 10 major airports across the country on May 12, 2023. Courtesy of ALPA United

Labor movements across the industry have gained significant momentum since the pandemic, and the aviation industry is no exception.

Flight attendants and pilots at American Airlines, Southwest, United, Delta, Sun County, and FedEx have all engaged in labor protests over the past year, according to Cornell University's strike tracker, with demands ranging from wage hikes to more reliable scheduling and reserve systems. The Southwest and American Airlines pilot unions both voted to authorize a strike this month.

"A lot of people's views on work-life balance  not just pilots, but certainly United pilots  have changed and they wanted more schedule reliability," Garth Thompson, chair of United's pilot union, told Insider.

With several pilot and flight attendant union contracts currently in tense negotiations, passengers aren't only going to see longer security lines this summer  your trip to the airport could very well feature picket lines too.

United pilot Quincy Fleming, who is on the union's bargaining committee, said her main concern heading into this summer travel season is the amount of stress pilots are under after over four years of contract negotiations. Josh Freed, a United Airlines spokesman, said the airline is "continuing to work with the Air Line Pilots Association on the industry-leading deal" for its pilots.

"I'm just worried that it's going to be really hard," Fleming told Insider. "Not that we're going to have massive delays or anything like that, but that all the complexities and the difficulties that we have are just going to weigh on the pilot group so much."

She said that while she believes the pilot shortage will no longer be a driving issue, she worries about other industry factors outside of her control, like a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers  the lowest in 30 years  that led to delays last year and forced the FAA to ask airlines to limit flights into the New York City area by 10% for the summer.

"We're seeing several important improvements around the aviation system  relief in how Newark and Florida airspace is managed, and we're expecting smoother operations at airports in Europe," the United spokesman said. "We're investing throughout the airline to make sure customers have smooth travel."

Air traffic control remains understaffed

As of April, the crowded airspace around New York City had 129 certified air traffic controllers  just over half of the staffing target of 226  with 67 air traffic controllers in training, according to aviation firm Rinaldi Consultants.

Despite efforts to decrease congestion, the agency still expects overall delays in the New York region to increase by 45% this summer compared to last year. However, weather  not staffing  remains the primary cause for flight delays, an FAA spokesperson told Insider.

But staffing isn't air traffic control's only problem. Paul Rinaldi, founder of Rinaldi Consultants and former president of the national air traffic controllers association, said aging technology and infrastructure such as paper flight strips and outdated software continue to be a central problem for the agency.

The FAA is currently in the process of rolling out a new Terminal Flight Data Management program (which includes the transition to electronic flight strips), a spokesperson for the agency said.

The technological challenges facing the national airspace came to a head in January, when the US experienced its first nationwide ground stop since the 9/11 terrorist attacks due to a computer system outage.

"The FAA can't even maintain the current infrastructure," Rinaldi said. "We're on a fix on failure on just about everything out there."

Are you a flight attendant or pilot? Got a tip or story to share? Email this reporter from a non-work address at htowey@insider.com

Read the original article on Business Insider
Nick's home has become an island during floods

Homeowners risk complacency, expense and trauma unless they consider fitting simple flood protection measures, a new campaign will claim.

The Environment Agency and others say millions of UK homes are at risk, and families can be forced out of a flood-hit home for a year for it to dry out.

They say relatively cheap upgrades, including toilet bungs and air brick covers, can help cut damage and costs.

Forecasters say flooding in the UK will become more intense and more frequent.

Protection has saved one couple's home despite nine floods in four years.

Nick Lupton, who lives next to the River Severn in Worcestershire, said he and his wife Annie had never had to claim on insurance, having kept their house dry despite torrents of water outside.

Nick Lupton says the investment is worthwhile

"We bought the house with our eyes wide open," said the retired engineer.

"We have added a little bit to the mitigation the previous owners put in place which had worked very well, which makes our life a little bit easier."

The property, part of which dates back to the 17th Century, was once the river ferryboat's inn. When it was a pub, the sound of floating beer barrels in the cellar was a sign of the rising water.

Now, double flood barriers in front of the doors and pumps under the floors keep the muddy overflowing river water back. The couple are remortgaging to pay for a flood wall to circle the property, anticipating raising the value of their home as a result.

Flood barriers have held back the water

Not everything is expensive. A 5 sewage bung has saved them from having to bail out the toilets every 40 minutes during the night during a flood.

Such measures will be central to the launch of the Be Flood Smart campaign on Monday by the Environment Agency and Flood Re - a scheme designed to provide affordable insurance for flood-risk homes.

"I can't stress enough just how horrendous flooding is, so any action people can take to avoid the turmoil is a good investment," said Andy Bord, chief executive of Flood Re, who likened the safety measures to locks to prevent burglary.

"Insurance covers a lot, but it can't make flooding any less traumatic and protect those really important sentimental items at the heart of your home."

Toilet bungs are pumped up to avoid sewage backing up during a flood

Just days after the latest set of floods hit the UK, he is urging homeowners refurbishing their homes to consider measures such as waterproof tiling and covers over the holes in air bricks. The latter could prevent water getting in, the former could make any post-flood clean-up quicker and cheaper so residents can move back in sooner.

Such items are now being put to the test, and their benefits taught to the building trade, at a new flood school in Oxfordshire.

The BBC was given exclusive access to the Be Flood Ready Property Flood Resilience Centre, built at not-for-profit consultancy HR Wallingford using government funding.

Flooding is simulated here with water pumped into a mock-up kitchen, showing the benefit of raised electrical sockets and appliances, as well as tiled skirting boards.

A simulation shows the impact of flood water and protection measures

According to Emma Brown, who leads the flood forecasting team at HR Wallingford, climate change will make flooding "worse, more intense and more frequent".

That includes coastal floods, rivers overflowing, and drainage systems unable to cope with too much rainfall. Summer rain, when the ground is hard, can create flash floods in urban areas.

She said that the risk of flooding in areas that had not suffered before could lead to some complacency, but technology was helping to highlight the risks.

Emma Brown says computer modelling can alert those at risk

"State-of-the-art computer models mean we can pinpoint the homes and businesses that are most likely to be flooded. We can go out and be better prepared," she said.

The early results of research in Northampton suggested that every 1 spent on flood prevention in the area could mean 6 saved in dealing with damage, she said.
The rising cost of Florida homeowners insurance has dominated news headlines since more than a dozen insurance companies have pulled out of the state or gone under completely in the past year. Flying under the radar is the rising cost of car insurance in Florida, which is about 37% higher than the U.S. average.

Florida drivers pay an average of $3,183 per year for full coverage, according to the latest numbers from Bankrate.com. Rates for minimum coverage average around $1,128, which is about 45% higher than the $622 national annual average.

In 2023, Florida car insurance rates increased year-over-year at almost double the rate of the national average, too, increasing $421 on average in Florida compared to $240.

Last year: No-fault repeal legislation could significantly increase auto insurance for Florida drivers | Opinion

Can you afford insurance? You finally can afford the car. Now, what about insurance? Why that could be a problem.

Heres what you need to know about why car insurance rates are rising in Florida.

How much have Florida car insurance rates increased in 2023?

Bankrate released a new report in January that showed Florida car insurance rates increased at almost double the rate of the national average. Nationwide premiums rose more than $240 on average while Florida saw premiums jump up about $421 from last year.

Why do car insurance rates go up?

Nailing down why car insurance rates go up isnt a straightforward process. Bankrate explains that there are more than a dozen rating factors car insurance companies use to determine premiums, and which city you live in is one of the most important.

In Florida, there is a 97% price difference between the average annual full coverage premium in the cheapest city (La Crosse) and the most expensive (North Miami Beach). Premiums in La Crosse are around $1,949 whereas they are a whopping $3,848 in North Miami Beach.

The reason rates can differ so drastically has to do with the frequency of claims, health care costs, the likelihood of weather damage and the cost of vehicle repairs.

Why car insurance is more expensive in Florida

Bankrate says that part of the reason Floridas car insurance rates are so high is that it is the third most dangerous state to drive in. It also noted that insurance fraud is a common concern so prevalent that the Senate considered repealing no-fault coverage during the 2023 legislative session.

WalletHub.com added that the number of uninsured drivers in the state, increasing health care costs and Florida experiencing more severe weather all contributed to rising premiums.

What is the cheapest car insurance in Florida?

U.S. News & World Report that Geico is the cheapest car insurance in Florida with an average annual rate of $1,414 and that Allstate has the highest rate in the state, with an average policy costing drivers $3,169 per year. Those rates are subject to change based on several factors such as driving record, credit score, age and more.

Why is Florida homeowners insurance going up so much?

In October 2022, the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) published data showing that Florida leads the nation in homeowners insurance-related litigation, making up 79% of the lawsuits across the U.S. while accounting for just 9% of the total claims.

In the brief, Triple-I states that fraudulent roof-replacement schemes and too much litigation, coupled with generous attorney-fee mechanisms, resulted in huge net underwriting losses for Floridas homeowners insurers.

Triple-I and other insurance companies have pointed to a 2017 state Supreme Court decision as the driving force behind an increase in attorneys fees. They say the decision now allows courts to award attorneys with much higher hourly billing rates. Previously, attorneys fees were limited to no more than 25% of any judgment against a sovereign.

Florida home insurance crisis? Floridians brace for yet another rate increase. Here's why.

Between 2017 and 2021, data from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation showed that $51 billion was paid out by Florida insurers over 10 years. About 71% of that total went to attorneys fees and public adjusters while only 8% went to claimants.

An increase in storm hazards played another important role. United Property and Casualty, a Florida insurance company that is in liquidation, wrote that between 1851 and 2018, 41% of the 292 hurricanes that hit the U.S. in that time frame also hit Florida  37 of those 120 hurricanes were rated a Category 3 or higher.

A recently published study led by researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances looked at how climate change was strengthening hurricanes along the East and Gulf Coast.

Their takeaway? Hurricanes impacting the U.S. could rise by one-third compared to what were seeing now if things dont change.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Is Florida auto insurance on the rise? It ranks as 6th most expensive.
Health care organizations including Planned Parenthood are suspending gender-affirming medical care in Florida to comply with a new state law that bans transition-related care for transgender minors and places heavy restrictions on care for adults.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is expected to enter the 2024 presidential race next week, on Wednesday signed legislation immediately prohibiting health care professionals from administering puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy and surgeries to transgender minors.

Those who violate the law risk being convicted of a third-degree felony crime, punishable by up to five years in prison, according to Floridas criminal code.

The new law places additional restrictions on adult access to gender-affirming health care, despite being billed by Republicans in the state legislature as a measure to protect young children from making medical decisions they may later regret.

The legislation substantially reduces the number of providers able to administer care by allowing only physicians to provide gender-affirming services, meaning other health care professionals  including physician assistants, nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives  are unable to provide care that is considered medically necessary by most major medical organizations.

Gender-affirming health care for adults, according to the new law, may only be administered once an informed consent form is signed, but the state medical boards tasked with drafting the forms have not yet done so, forcing health care providers across the state into a difficult position.

Its clear that the law was designed not only to restrict care for adults, but to cause an immediate gap in access  providers across the state are being forced to pause services because the law took effect immediately, and the state hasnt promulgated the required consent forms needed to comply, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood told The Hill on Friday.

The organization has initiated a temporary pause on gender-affirming health care in the state, they said. Care is likely to resume in mid-June.

In an emailed statement, Planned Parenthood of South, East, and North Florida (PPSENFL) said the pause will be used to make operational adjustments to comply with the new law, which now forbids our skilled and competent nurse practitioners from providing gender-affirming care.

We will have to reorganize physician schedules, develop new consent forms with language that complies with the new requirements of the law, and change the delivery of that care as we are only allowed to offer telehealth for some appointments, the organization said. Our commitment to providing high-quality, compassionate care to our gender-affirming hormone therapy patients remains unwavering. We will navigate these changes together.

Patients who have had their appointments canceled because of the pause will be contacted to reschedule by June 12, PPSENFL said.

The new Florida law appears to have driven other, smaller providers to halt the administration of adult gender-affirming care, too.

As a result of SB 254, and to meet the requirements set out by the State of Florida, it is with deep regret that we are no longer able to provide Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), surgical clearance letters and gender marker letters to our transgender, gender nonbinary, and gender nonconforming patients, reads a statement posted Wednesday by 26Health, an LGBTQ health center in Orlando.

While we are unable to provide these services at this time, 26Health firmly believes that our transgender, gender nonbinary, and gender nonconforming community members deserve to live fully and openly as their truest selves, the statement continues. We will continue to provide care to our gender diverse community members including primary care and mental health services, which are incredibly important during this difficult climate.

Folx Health, an online-only provider, announced this week after Senate Bill 254 was signed that it would no longer be able to legally prescribe gender-affirming hormone therapy to patients, as the new law requires consent forms to be signed during an in-person visit with a doctor.

The group said it is working to hire more physicians who are licensed and living in Florida and open in-person locations in major hubs across the state.

You will hear from us again as soon as we have information about how to set up in person care or take other necessary steps, as the legal implications become clearer, the announcement states. We are here for you and are so sorry your healthcare rights are at stake.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
EDITORS NOTE: This is the fifth in a five-part series called How Florida got so conservative.

It was less than a day after the 2012 presidential election and Florida Republicans were already suffering from a particularly painful post-election hangover.

The state GOP had outspent the Florida Democratic Party by a 3-to-1 margin, while Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney had visited the state nearly 40 times  far more than then-President Barack Obama.

Yet Obama still came out on top, eking out a narrow 1-point victory that earned him Floridas 29 electoral votes and helped propel him to a second term in the White House. The details of that win were even more alarming for Republicans.

Floridas politically influential Cuban community, which had favored Republicans for decades, split its vote almost evenly between Romney and Obama, according to exit polling at the time. The GOP had even gone as far as to hold its 2012 national convention in Tampa in an effort to show its commitment to the state.

For Democrats, it was a momentous occasion; a show of how discipline, data and long-term organizing efforts could win over even the toughest and most expensive of battleground states.

The feeling was that Democrats had picked the Republican lock on Florida, recalled Fernand Amandi, a Miami-based Democratic pollster who helped Obama win the state in 2008 and 2012. Almost like a video game cheat code.

Reversal of fortune

Jason Radlinger stands in support of Democratic candidate for Florida governor Charlie Crist during a Get Out the Vote Rally on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, in Wilton Manors, Fla. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)

Fast forward a decade and that Democratic high has largely faded. No Democratic presidential candidate has carried Florida since Obamas reelection victory, Republicans have consolidated their control of the legislature and every statewide elected office and the state Democratic Party is seeking to rebound from the verge of political irrelevancy.

Its not all terrible news for the party: This month, Democrats scored a surprise upset in the Jacksonville, Fla., mayoral race, flipping the office and beating a Republican who carried Gov. Ron DeSantiss endorsement in the process.

Nikki Fried, the current chair of the Florida Democratic Party, was quick to celebrate the win, declaring the following morning on Twitter that the Florida Democrats are back.

But while the Jacksonville victory was significant and put new wind in the state partys sails after a string of dispiriting losses, its still unclear if it is a harbinger of whats to come.

In interviews with The Hill, a dozen Democratic operatives, strategists and elected officials cited the need to ramp up voter registration efforts, local organizing and turnout operations and candidate recruitment, conceding that the party had repeatedly failed to follow through on those efforts in recent years.

The Democrats went to celebrate Obamas reelection and never came back to Florida, Amandi said in the weeks before the Jacksonville win.

Now Democrats are wondering if Floridas recent swing toward conservatism is permanent, or simply an anomaly.

What we are selling in the State of Florida, Floridians are not buying, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said.

There are two options for Democrats in Florida: Do our job right and reenergize the Democratic Party or do nothing and allow Republicans being in charge to become the new normal, he added.

Theres broad consensus among Democrats in the state about what needs to be done. But theres also broad agreement that the partys fortunes arent likely to change overnight. Thomas Kennedy, a Democratic National Committee (DNC) member from Florida, said that his party should take a page out of the GOPs playbook.

Its going to require long-term thinking, Kennedy said. Look what Republicans did with abortion, for example. They played the long game, they confirmed judges, they flipped state legislatures, engaged in some kind of judicial activism.

It was a multigenerational, multi-decade campaign and we have to start thinking like that.

More stories on Floridas conservative shift:

We really need to start building a bench

Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried speaks during a news conference outside the Pat Franks Court Building Monday, Aug. 22, 2022 in Tampa. Chris Urso/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Kennedy said that Democrats efforts to regain a foothold in Florida would have to start at the local level. Winning those down-ballot races  for offices like city councils, county commissions and the state legislature  is necessary to build a bench of candidates who could eventually run for higher office.

We really need to start building a bench, Kennedy said. When you look at Republicans, they did that for a long time. [Sen.] Marco Rubio was once just a young punk in the West Miami City Commission.

Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), whose South Florida congressional district encompasses former President Donald Trumps Palm Beach estate, said that part of her partys challenges are financial; many major donors and national organizations have pulled back in Florida in recent years, while the state Democratic Party and its candidates have struggled to keep pace with Republicans in fundraising.

The party raised just under $681,000 in the first quarter of 2023 while the state GOP pulled in more than $8.4 million, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Florida Division of Elections.

Its not an overnight thing but I do think obviously the party needs to be resourced, Frankel said.

In one of its latest efforts to right the ship, Florida Democrats elected former state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried as their new chair in February, replacing former Chair Manny Diaz, who resigned under pressure in January.

Diazs resignation marked the latest setback for a party that has been consumed for years by dysfunction, infighting, financial woes and lackluster electoral performances.

In an interview with The Hill earlier this month, Fried said there wasnt the same commitment to the state party in previous election cycles that shes seeing now.

I think that our party chair was not as engaged to be successful and so when you dont have a partnership, outside dollars, outside support walks away, she said.

A new beginning

Several Democrats say they have seen potential signs of improvement reaching Florida voters under Frieds leadership. (Getty Images)

Now, Fried has had to put the past behind her.

Right now, its a rebuild, she said. Its not even fixing the party. It is starting from scratch. It is going back to the basics. Its making sure that we are enlisting and engaging all aspects of the state. Its making sure that were pulling in people that are going to work around the clock.

She says she spends her days talking to donors, elected officials, grassroots organizers, people inside the state and across the country selling the story that the Democratic Party of Florida is back.

What is exciting is Im hearing from people across the state that we havent been engaged in decades, havent been giving to the party in decades, and after I was elected, theyre back engaged, she said.

Fried said so far shes pleased with the results, pointing to recent visits from President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other party leaders.

The party apparatus understands they cant leave Florida out, she said. That too much of the messaging that comes out of Florida permeates across the rest of the country and they had left that message unchecked.

Several Democrats said there are signs of improvement under Frieds leadership. The Florida Democratic Party has ramped up its rapid response program in hopes of more aggressively countering the GOPs messaging. And Fried is said to be courting donors and national groups.

Frankel also said that Biden has signaled that hell make a play for Florida in 2024  a priority that could help draw more national money and attention to the state.

There have been one-on-one talks with the president on this, and he insists that hes going to play in Florida, Frankel said. I think that would be very important and I think we have a fighting shot.

The political jolt the party received on Tuesday has only rejuvenated her and Florida Democrats. Following the election, she kicked off a fundraising effort to raise $24,000 in 24 hours ahead of 2024.

Good morning from the purple, swing state of Florida, she tweeted on Wednesday.

Hurdles remain for Dems

desantis

Incumbent Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to supporters at an election night party after winning his race for reelection in Tampa, Fla., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, as his wife Casey listens. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

But there are challenges that a national campaign apparatus wont fix.

A new congressional map pushed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis helped Republicans pick up four new House seats in Florida last year. And the GOPs current voter registration advantage over Democrats, which now stands at more than 450,000, has only continued to grow. Any effort by Democrats to reverse that trend is likely to stretch well beyond 2024.

Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) said whether Democrats will have a fighting chance next year will depend on their ability to win over the growing number of independent voters in Florida.

We have an untapped number of people who live there who are not engaged in the political system at all, Castor said. And thats our challenge: to get them off the sidelines and get them engaged.

Theres also a good chance that the next GOP presidential nominee will be a Floridian; DeSantis, who won reelection last year by a staggering 19-point margin, is likely to enter the 2024 presidential race in the coming weeks, while Trump, whose base of political operations is in Palm Beach, is currently seen as the clear frontrunner for the GOP nod.

We can say all we want that were going to organize, that were going to raise money, that were going to do all this stuff  register voters, whatever, one Democratic consultant who has worked in Florida politics said. And thats great. We should do those things.

But if were talking about where things go from here? When things get better? I just dont think its going to be 2024, the consultant added.

Others are more optimistic about the partys chances. Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.), a 26-year-old who was elected to Congress last year, called the deep series of Democratic losses in 2022 an anomaly.

What we saw happen this past election was an anomaly that had to do a lot of the spending that was going on and Ron DeSantis specifically, he said. And I think well see, with the president on the ballot, were going to be in a lot better place.

Not saying were going to turn it blue in one cycle, he added, but I think were going to see those margins cut pretty heavily.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), a former DNC chair, acknowledged that the Florida Democratic Party needs to rebuild, but added that its already in the process of doing so.

But Floridas political future might just depend as much on what Republicans do with their current power as Democrats efforts to regain their footing, said Justin Sayfie, a longtime Florida Republican consultant who served as a spokesperson and top adviser for former Gov. Jeb Bush.

The pendulum always swings back and forth, Sayfie said. I think itll swing back faster if theres a perception that Republicans are not exercising power for the benefit of the state. But if the economy stays strongif crime stays low, Republicans can expect to maintain power for the foreseeable future.

Fried sounded a note of optimism for the near future of the party.

I have said that theres two paths we can be on, she said. Theres one path where I stop the bleeding, that we protect our seats, we flip back some of our House seats that we should not have lost in 22 and we hold the lineThe other path is the pendulum swings back faster and harder and [we] start seeing the unraveling of the Republican Party in the 24 cycle.

The more likely scenario, she said, is that the 2024 election cycle will fall somewhere in the middle of those two outcomes.

Somewhere in the middle is really where Im predicting. That without a doubt we will not ever see a November 22 election result again.

Mychael Schnell contributed.

This is the fifth in a five-part series called How Florida got so conservative.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Florida woman says she was swimming in a foot of water with her dog. So was a gator

A dog is fighting for its life in Central Florida after a terrifying encounter with an alligator at Riverside Park in Oviedo last Friday.

According to a GoFundMe page set up by the dogs owner, Kylee Nyiri, Mako, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois, underwent surgery for his wounds and has been moved to a University of Florida emergency veterinary service.

Its an hour by hour situation because things can go up or down depending on how his body wants to heal, any infection that may happen, says Nyiris page, which had raised more than $17,000 by Friday.

The Florida woman goes on to explain that the attack happened when she was swimming with the dog in a foot of water in Little Econ River when the gator grabbed Mako.

Media outlets report that a man in the party jumped on the reptiles back, but Nyiri doesnt mention that on the site.

A spokeswoman for the city of Oviedo, Lisa McDonald, told the Miami Herald that no 911 call was made, and park officials did not witness the incident.

We all jumped on the gator and somehow got it to let him go, writes Nyiri. He has five puncture wounds, three broken ribs and a mild hemothorax, when blood collects between the chest wall and the lung.

On Sunday, trappers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reportedly came out to the park and captured an alligator, which was about 12 feet long, McDonald confirmed.

Its unclear if that was the same animal involved in the dog attack.

Regardless, the city of Oviedo warned people on its Facebook page.

Dog owners are highly discouraged from walking their pets near any body of water due to the dense alligator population, the post said, especially during alligator mating season.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, courtship begins in early April and mating occurs in May or June. If you see an alligator, stay away and call the agencys toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-392-4286.
Foo Fighters will dedicate their new album But Here We Are to the late band member Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohls mother Virginia.

The album, which is set to be released on 2 June, will be the bands first album ever since Hawkinss death in March 2022.

Hawkins was declared dead at a hotel in Colombia after paramedics battled to revive him. Prior to his death, he was suffering from chest pain.

Grohl, the bands frontman, lost his mother in the summer of 2022.

The band has described the new album to be a brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything theyve experienced in the last year.

But Here We Are is the sound of brothers finding refuge in the music that brought them together in the first place 28 years ago, a process that was as therapeutic as it was about a continuation of life, the press release states.

The new album is produced by Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters.

Earlier this week, a Brooklyn-based graphic arts studio called Morning Breath Inc revealed the design of the albums physical packaging which says: For Virginia and Taylor.

In the caption of the post, the art studio wrote: Its always an honour to work with [Foo Fighters]. This is the design for their latest album But Here We Are. Definitely a new turn for us as we explored minimalism and new techniques printing white on white.

Earlier this week, Foo Fighters also released a new single called Under You.

The groups 10-song album also includes records Hearing Voices, But Here We Are, The Glass, Nothing At All, Show Me How, Beyond Me, The Teacher and Rest.

In September, the band performed a tribute concert in Hawkins honour. You can read The Independents five-star review here.
A former Colonial Heights elementary school aide and bus driver pleaded guilty Thursday to charges that he trafficked thousands of images of child pornography online, including ones of babies being victimized.

According to U.S. District Court records, Richard Jerod Whitley Jr., 37, was convicted of receipt of child pornography. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on Sept. 19.

The plea was entered in federal court in Newport News

Whitley, a Newport News resident, was arrested last January at an apartment in Petersburg. At the time of his arrest, Whitley was a computer-support aide at North Elementary School in Colonial Heights and a substitute bus driver.

Court documents indicated that Whitley was trading the porn images with others online. His collection contained sadistic and masochistic content, and images of infants and toddlers being coerced into explicit sexual conduct.

An FBI affidavit stated that Whitley, using the alias "Jason Morgan," uploaded 38 videos last July containing explicit depictions of children engaged in sexual activities with adults into a "Kids Boys" online chat room. The FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force investigated and traced the telephone number used in the online account to Whitley, who had listed his home address as Williamsburg on the Verizon account.

Colonial Heights Public Schools records had Whitley living in Petersburg.

According to Virginia Department of Education records, Whitley once held a license to teach in Montgomery County, Virginia, but the DOE board declined to renew it in January 2018, 10 months before he was hired in Colonial Heights.

More: Children injured in Colonial Heights fire face a long recovery road: Family member

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on Twitter at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Former Colonial Heights school aide pleads guilty in child-porn case
A museum in Yunnan province held a donation ceremony on Monday for a man who voluntarily donated bronze antiques.

At the end of 2021, the man, Wang Wei, was stopped by an elderly man as he was driving. The man said he wanted to sell Wang something. In his bag, Wang saw an ancient bronze sword and some bronze fragments, Hubei Daily reported.

"I asked him how he got these, and he answered that he found them when he was plowing his farmland. After careful examination and comparison, I thought they were authentic. Finally, I paid him 5,600 yuan ($796)," Wang said.

Wang consulted a netizen who works with antiques. The netizen confirmed that the bronze items were genuine.

Glad to hear the good news, Wang learned on the internet that people who get involved in the trafficking of antiques can get up to five years in prison  or more than five years in serious cases.

Wang contact local cultural relics protection department and donated the items. The Baoshan Museum paid Wang 2,000 yuan.

In January, the museum confirmed that Wang's cultural relics dated to the Warring States Period (475 BC-221 BC) and the Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 24).

Twenty-nine fragments came from a bronze bracelet.

On Monday, the Baoshan Museum held a donation ceremony for Wang.

Wang Lirui, director of the museum said Wang Wei's donation offers new material for bronze research and increases the number of antiques in the museum, Yunnan Daily reported.

"I want to express gratitude to him and praise his behavior in complying with the law," Wang Lirui said.
Former cop Chauvin wants Minnesota Supreme Court to review conviction in Floyd murder

In documents filed on Wednesday, the former Minneapolis police officers attorneys again argued that the district court denied him the right to a fair trial.

Derek Chauvin, who sits behind bars today for the 2020 killing of George Floyd, wants the Minnesota Supreme Court to review his murder conviction.

In documents filed on Wednesday, the former Minneapolis police officers attorneys once again argued that the district court denied him the right to a fair trial by rejecting his request for a venue change despite pervasive adverse publicity, CNN reported.

Chauvins legal team said these factors justified a new trial, requesting that the states top court review the state Court of Appeals April ruling.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin addresses the court in June 2021 during his sentencing hearing at the Hennepin County Courthouse. Chauvin wants the Minnesota Supreme Court to review his murder conviction in the 2020 killing of George Floyd. (Photo: Court TV via AP, Pool, File)

A three-judge Minnesota Court of Appeals panel upheld Chauvins conviction and rejected his request for a new trial in a 50-page decision last month, finding that he failed to demonstrate actual prejudice.

Chauvins attorney, William Mohrman, cited more than a dozen instances in his April 2022 submission to the appeals court that he claimed stained the prosecution and conviction and made the proceeding structurally defective.

The list included the citys declaration during jury selection that it would pay Floyds family a $27 million settlement, along with protests outside the courtroom and substantial pretrial publicity, CNN reported.

Chauvin and his lawyers requested that the appeals court consider whether  due to pretrial protests and widespread media attention  postponing his murder trial, changing its venue or fully sequestering the jury was warranted.

The appeal papers also accused prosecutors of wrongdoing, alleging they did not correctly disclose information obtained through discovery or fully prepare witnesses for the prosecution.

Body camera footage and witness accounts revealed that Chauvin kneeled on Floyds neck for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020, as the Black man gasped for air and told officers, I cant breathe.

A week later, the state Department of Human Rights initiated an investigation that revealed that Minneapolis and its police force had a pattern or practice of race discrimination, according to its subsequent report, released in 2022

In April 2021, a jury convicted Chauvin of third-degree murder, second-degree unintentional murder, and second-degree manslaughter. He received 22.5 years in prison, longer than the recommended 10 to 15 years under Minnesotas sentencing guidelines.

Judge Peter Cahill said in a memorandum at the time that the case called for a harsher punishment since Chauvin abused his position of trust and authority and treated Floyd without respect and denied him the dignity owed to all human beings.

Chauvin later pleaded guilty to federal charges that he had violated Floyds civil rights. In that case, he received a 21-year prison term to run concurrently with his state sentence.

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, Chauvin is housed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona, a medium-security facility with a detention center.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has yet to say if it will review the decision.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Former cop Chauvin wants Minnesota Supreme Court to review conviction in Floyd murder appeared first on TheGrio.
Former Fort Worth council candidate Tara Maldonado-Wilson, who came in third in District 11 race on May 6 election, is endorsing neighborhood activist Rick Herring in the June 10 runnoff.

Wilson accused Jeanette Martinez, an administrator for Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Brooks who got the most votes in the May 6 election, of being bought by special interests and not having a clear idea of why she wants the city council job in the first place.

We (District 11) were told that wed get a fair shot at electing our future Councilperson, but that is not what happened, Maldonado-Wilson said in a press release Friday.

She accused Martinez of having conflicts of interest for vowing to keep her paid position with the county if elected. She also pointed to Martinezs list of endorsements, including the Fort Worth Police Officers Association, to make the case Martinez represents the so-called, Fort Worth Way.

I unequivocally, unapologetically, and full heartedly put my support behind Rick Herring who has demonstrated his commitment to Eastside neighborhoods for the last 30 years, Maldonado-Wilson said in the press release.

Herring has been collaborative and open to different perspectives, she said, which makes him the better candidate for the office.

Martinez did not immediately respond to a text message requesting comment Friday morning.

District 11, sometimes called the horseshoe district for its unique shape, was drawn to give Fort Worths Hispanic community an opportunity to have more representation on the city council. While Hispanics make up roughly a third of the citys population, only District 2 council member Carlos Flores is of Hispanic heritage.

Maldonado-Wilson had previously argued against Herrings candidacy because of his lack of Hispanic heritage. The District 11 council person needs to be able to relate to the lived experience of residents, which Herring wouldnt be able to do, she said in an April meeting with the Star-Telegram editorial board.

Herring has promised to hire a Hispanic district director to address that populations needs. Hes also pointed to his experience as a leader in neighborhood organizations to demonstrate how hed empower neighborhood needs on council.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
A former Pueblo County Sheriff's Office lieutenant pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to attempting to sexually assault a coworker last September.

Diego Duran, a 31-year veteran of the PCSO who retired from the department in January, pleaded guilty to one count of attempt to commit sexual assault, a Class 5 felony.

Duran's attorney, Joe Koncilja, could not be reached for comment Friday by the Chieftain's deadline.

A copy of the plea agreement obtained by the Chieftain shows Duran will be sentenced to a period of sex offender intensive supervised probation and will be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.

More on this case: Pueblo County Sheriff's Office lieutenant accused of sexual assault

In the plea agreement, Duran agreed to pay restitution to the victim in the case, the amount of which has not yet been determined. The agreement does not stipulate how long Duran's term of probation will be.

In court, Duran agreed he had taken "significant steps towards the commission of sexual assault."

The plea agreement included a written statement by Duran, in which he said he attempted to perform a sexual act on the victim without consent.

The plea deal was signed by Deputy District Attorney Kelson Castain of the Fourth Judicial District Attorney's Office, which prosecuted the case.

In September 2022, Duran was placed on paid administrative leave while the case was investigated, PCSO spokesperson Gayle Perez said. He then retired from the agency in January.

The attempted sexual assault occurred on Sept. 7, during the victim's lunch break after they'd gone to get burritos with Duran, according to an arrest affidavit.

The victim said during lunch, Duran attempted to discuss a personal matter and ask them out but they continuously redirected the conversation to work matters. The gender identity of the victim was not evident in the heavily redacted arrest affidavit obtained by the Chieftain.

After lunch, the victim said they and Duran entered Duran's truck, at which point Duran began leaning over and grabbing at their waistband, asking what color underwear they were wearing before attempting to undo their belt.

The victim stated to police they were shocked by what was happening and told Duran several times they "had to go back to work" and physically resisted Duran's advances.

More law enforcement news: Former Pueblo sheriff's candidate was fired following investigation into off-duty arrests

In the affidavit, the victim stated they were "pretty sure" they told Duran directly to stop and said Duran had hurt them during the attempted assault.

Once the victim was back inside their office after lunch, they spoke with a co-worker and decided to leave work but had to pull over while driving because they were "crying and trying to figure out what to do," according to the affidavit.

The victim agreed to report the assault but didn't want to do so in Pueblo, so they went to Canon City. Canon City police then informed the Pueblo Police Department, which investigated the case.

Investigators obtained text messages between Duran and the victim following the reported assault, according to the affidavit.

During that conversation, the victim asked Duran "Why didn't you just stop?" to which Duran repeatedly said "I'm sorry" and claimed he "misread the situation."

Duran's sentencing will take place on Aug. 31, after the court has conducted a sex offender evaluation and pre-sentence investigation.

Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @jayreutter1.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Former Pueblo County deputy pleads guilty to attempted sexual assault
(Reuters) - Russian opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman was fined 260,000 roubles ($3,245) on Friday after a court found him guilty of "discrediting" the Russian army, Russian news agencies reported.

Roizman, a former mayor of Russia's fourth-largest city of Yekaterinburg, was detained last August and banned from the internet after he referred to Moscow's actions in Ukraine as a "war" in a YouTube video.

Russia calls the conflict a "special military operation" and people risk prosecution if they use the words "war" or "invasion".

Since invading Ukraine last year, Russia has prosecuted dozens of people under new laws designed to punish critics of the war and crack down on dissent.

Popular and charismatic, Roizman is an outspoken supporter of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and has often criticised the Kremlin in sometimes crude language on social media.

He was elected mayor of Yekaterinburg in 2013 amid a wave of discontent with Vladimir Putin's return as Russian president in 2012.

His tenure in the role was controversial for his aggressive crackdown on drug users in the city. In 2018, he resigned after regional lawmakers there voted to abolish direct mayoral elections, a move he said was directed specifically against him.

($1 = 80.1175 roubles)

(Reporting by Reuters, writing by Caleb Davis; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Four people now charged in baby girl's death after exposure to fentanyl

MONTICELLO - Four people have been charged in connection with the death of a 16-month-old girl who was exposed to the narcotic drug fentanyl.

Acting Sullivan County District Attorney Brian P. Conaty announced that he conducted a comprehensive investigation into all the circumstances surrounding the death of the girl, Akasha Luvert, while her family was at the Knights Inn Motel on Route 52 in Liberty on May 2.

Conaty said the girl's biological parents, Jimmie Luvert, 41, and Lisa Keitt, 26, have been indicted for second-degree manslaughter, a felony, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor. Another child of the couple was exposed to fentanyl but is recovering.

Luvert is being held without bail in the Sullivan County Jail while Keitt is being held in lieu of $500,000 cash bail, $1 million bond or $2 million partially secured bond, pending further court action.

Conaty said Luvert has two prior felony convictions and nine prior misdemeanor convictions, while Keitt has a prior misdemeanor conviction.

Conaty announced two other arrests in connection with the child's death. Jacob McCoy, 49, who allegedly sold Luvert the fentanyl that caused the overdose death of his daughter, was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony.

Conaty said McCoy has three prior felony convictions and 10 prior misdemeanor convictions.

Also, Lisa Fedrico, 54, who is the child's biological grandmother, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly smoking crack cocaine in the child's presence shortly before her untimely death. She has five prior misdemeanor convictions, Conaty said.

The names of the defendants' attorneys were not immediately available.

Woman stabbed: Liberty man charged with attempted murder

New flights: Stewart Airport to offer nation's first nonstop service to the Faroe Islands

Road rage: Wallkill man found guilty of manslaughter in stabbing

Conaty said his investigation also found that Sullivan County Attorney Mike McGuire, who is responsible for the removal of children under Child Protective Services supervision, failed to act when that agency tried to remove the two children from their home on three separate occasions.

McGuire is not facing any charges.

A call to McGuire's office seeking comment was referred to the county manager's office, where a spokesman said the county would have no comment.

Conaty said this case has shown the need for significant reform in Sullivan County. He called for the re-institution of the Department of Social Services Legal Department to investigate child abuse and neglect cases, and the establishment of a substance use disorder unit.

Conaty also said his office will now seek minimum sentences of five years in state prison for anyone convicted of selling fentanyl in Sullivan County.

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: Four people facing charges in drug-related death of baby girl
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy met with Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of Fox News' parent company Fox Corp., in late April in New York, according to two people familiar with the meeting who were not authorized to discuss private events.

One person described it as a "getting-to-know you session" and said Murdoch often meets with rising political figures.

Murdoch's meeting with Ramaswamy came at a tumultuous time at Fox Corp., which parted ways in late April with star primetime host Tucker Carlson and weeks earlier settled a billion-dollar defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million.

Ramaswamy has been a frequent guest on Fox News and was long a regular guest on Carlson's program. After Carlson left Fox News, Ramaswamy told Politico that Carlson should consider getting into the 2024 race, saying, "I think he'd be a good addition."

While Murdoch has not weighed in on the Republican contest, several editorials in news outlets within Fox Corp. have criticized the former president, including an editorial in The Wall Street Journal with the headline, "Trump is the Republican Party's Biggest Loser."

Ramaswamy's meeting with Murdoch is the latest in a series of behind-the-scenes conversations the multimillionaire entrepreneur has had with major conservative leaders and business executives as he seeks the Republican nomination and casts himself in visits to early-voting states as a dynamic, 37-year-old contender who is in step with supporters of former President Donald Trump.

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy bets big on Bitcoin in 2024 race

The New York Times noted this month that Ramaswamy recently dined with three of the GOP's billionaire financiers: Steve Wynn, Ike Perlmutter, and Thomas Peterffy.

Even as Ramaswamy gains some traction, Trump has so far not made him a political target.

One longtime Trump associate told CBS News on Friday that Trump "sees Vivek being out there as a way of making everything a little more uncomfortable for [Ron] DeSantis." Ramaswamy has made sharp comments about DeSantis, saying the Florida governor, who is expected to jump into the 2024 race in the coming days, "doesn't have" what it takes to be an effective leader and is "deeply insecure."

"I am pleased to see that Vivek Ramaswamy is doing so well in the most recent Republican Primary Poll, CBS YouGov," Trump wrote in a social-media post earlier this month. "He is tied with Mike Pence and seems to be on his way to catching Ron DeSanctimonious. The thing I like about Vivek is that he only has good things to say about 'President Trump,' and all that the Trump Administration has so successfully doneThis is the reason he is doing so well. In any event, good luck to all of them, they will need it!"

A spokesperson for Fox Corp. declined to comment.

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for Ramaswamy, declined to comment.

Jim Brown, Hall of Fame running back and civil rights activist, dead at 87

Lawsuit accuses Nike of deceiving consumers about sustainability line

Debt ceiling talks set to resume after temporary pause
Fox News

The story had all the hallmarks of fueling the maximum amount of right-wing outrage. With migrants being bused into New York City amid an immigration surge at the southern border, upstate New York hotels had supposedly kicked out homeless veterans in order to make room for the influx of asylum seekers.

After right-wing tabloid The New York Post published the sensational report last Friday, Fox News and Newsmax ran wild with it, devoting dozens of segments (and countless online articles) to the indignation of people who served our country and need a little boost getting displaced by illegals, all while these hotels are selling their soul for a check.

Turns out, however, the whole story was made up.

The whole saga kicked off when the Post reported that 20 struggling homeless veterans were booted from hotels so their rooms could be given to incoming migrants. According to Yerik Israel Toney Foundation, the nonprofit group that works on temporarily housing the vets, the ex-military members had been told by the New York hotels that they needed to vacate and move elsewhere.

Fox News Considers Major Primetime Shuffle After Tucker Carlson Firing

One of the vets called me on Sunday, YIT Foundation CEO Sharon Toney-Finch told the Post last week. He told me he had to leave because the hotel said the extended stay is not available. Then I got another call. We didnt waste any time.

She added: Thats when we started on Monday to organize when and where to move them all. I am glad you called me today. Last night, I was crying.

According to Toney-Finch at the time, 15 of the veterans had been kicked out of the Crossroads Hotel in Newburgh, a community 60 minutes north of New York City. An additional five vets were reportedly removed from two other hotels in a nearby town. She claimed that all 20 of the vets were rebooked into another hotel in Hudson Valley. The area has recently experienced an influx of migrants as New York City Mayor Eric Adams has begun busing asylum seekers to other counties that may have additional space.

GOP State Assemblyman Brian Maher initially backed Toney-Finchs story, saying that shining a light on this is important because we need to make sure these hotels know how important it is to respect the service of our veterans before they kick [them] out of hotels to make room. Toney-Finch, meanwhile, added that the hotels were doing this for money since NYC was paying more for migrant accommodations than her group was offering the establishments.

Naturally, this story was absolute catnip for the right-wing media industrial complex. Fox News and its sister channel Fox Business began covering it immediately after the Post report dropped, frequently featuring prominent Republicansincluding Maherexpressing their outrage over Democrats putting the needs of illegal immigrants over homeless vets. Newsmax followed suit shortly after.

Its an embarrassment, a slap in the face to veterans, who are cast aside to allow for asylum seekers to come here, Maher told Fox & Friends First this week. At the end of the day, you have combat veterans who are homeless and told to get out of their hotel, we have tried to let them know we appreciate them. Were embarrassed by what happened, but we have their backs.

The rhetoric coming from conservative pundits, however, was even more inflammatory.

During Mondays broadcast of Fox News midday panel show Outnumbered, for instance, Fox News contributor Lisa Marie Boothe said that this was intentional from President Joe Biden because he is a globalist. Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner added that Biden doesnt mean it whenever he says God bless the troops after a speech.

And while House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) called it shameful and GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley said this was liberal insanity at work, other MAGA commentators went even further. Fuck Democrats & their bullshit policies, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted, sharing the original Post story.

However, earlier this week, local media began poking holes in the story. After Maher had provided a credit card receipt from Toney-Finch supposedly showing payment for the rooms at the Crossroads Hotel, The Mid-Hudson News reported that the hotel had no record of the transaction. Additionally, a graphics expert examined the receipt and said it appeared to be altered.

The manager of the hotel also told Mid-Hudson News that no veterans were ever at the hotel, let alone kicked out of Crossroads. No other guests had been displaced either, as the hotel had not been booked to capacity despite housing a group of migrants.

Eventually, Maher ended up denouncing the story as fake and emotionally told the Times-Union he was devastated and disheartened after finding out from Toney-Finch that she had made the whole thing up.

After doubt began to spread about the veracity of Toney-Finchs tale, Maherwho had worked with YIT for three yearssaid he asked her to meet him at a local bank to get financial statements that would prove her organization paid for the veterans rooms at the hotels. After she no-showed, he claimed he told her that he had no choice but to report this after she alluded to the fact that, Maybe its not exactly how I said it was.

In a separate conversation with the New York Post, which has since added an editors note to its original bombshell story that kicked off this outrage cycle, Maher added that Toney-Finch said I had to help the veterans, when he confronted her on peddling a hoax.

Newsmax Host Gives Half-Assed Apology for Airing Entirely Wrong Mans Mugshot

The story got even wilder on Friday, however, when Mid-Hudson News further reported that Toney-Finch had recruited a group of homeless men from a nearby shelter to pretend they were the military veterans that had been displaced by migrants.

On Thursday night he met with a group of seven men at a homeless shelter, the report stated. The men said that on Wednesday, two people came into the shelter saying they had work and needed 15 men between the ages of 40 and 60, to take a trip to meet with an elected official for a discussion on homelessness. They were each promised $200 along with food and alcohol. They were familiar with one of the recruiters, Diana, claiming she had previously stayed at the shelter.

YIT Foundation did not respond to The Daily Beasts request for comment.

While the New York Post reported on Thursday that the story is false and added editors notes to other articles, Fox News waited until Friday afternoon to address the emerging hoax on its airwaves. In fact, on Thursday night, the network was still hosting local Republicans to rage about the fake controversy. Yvette Aguiar, the town supervisor of Riverhead, told Fox News host Will Cain that the really disturbing issue with the Crossroads Hotel set me off on this journey to declare a state of emergency regarding migrants.

After publication, a Fox News spokesperson told The Daily Beast that several online articles had been updated and included the following editors note: This report has been updated to clarify allegations surrounding the treatment of homeless veterans. The networks digital news division eventually published a story about Maher refuting Toney-Finch and calling for an investigation of her organization.

Additionally, during Thursday afternoons broadcast of America Reports, Fox News correspondent Nate Foy gave a quick update about the story.

We are now looking into new reports that a veterans advocate misled lawmakers and media outlets about the story and that some homeless men may have been hired to pose as veterans, Foy stated. We have reached out to the organization for a statement but so far have not heard back.

Not only has Newsmax not reported that Toney-Finch lied about homeless vets being displaced, but the network had run at least three news segments claiming homeless US veterans have been removed from housing to make room for migrants on Friday. Newsmax also did not respond to a request for comment.

Later on Thursday afternoon and after publication, though, Newsmax did stop running the news segments and began expressing the faintest amount of doubt surrounding the story.

During an interview with Aguiar, who once again claimed the non-existent incident at the Crossroads Hotel prompted her to push back on accepting migrants, Newsmax host Lidia Curanaj hinted that the story might not be true.

Um, I think that report is still under question about the homeless veterans being displaced, so were still investigating. It seems like theres a lot of questions surrounding it, she said before quickly switching subjects.

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.
Sylas Ramos has overcome a childhood of abuse, bullying and instability.

One of his first memories was being in a bad car accident when he was two years old that almost killed him.

A lot of unfortunate things happen, but I didnt let them deter me or stop me, said Ramos. I realized that what I was going through at the time and what I was seeing was not right, it wasnt the normal and that I knew that there was other ways, better ways to live.

Going to school and studying was his escape from the hell that I was going through at home.

Life is about building relationships with people. Finding things that you love and care about and building a family to take care of and doing right by people, said Ramos, who earned his bachelors degree in business administration (management option) with a 3.9 GPA.

Sylas Ramos graduated with a bachelors degree in business administration from Fresno State on Friday morning. He was the deans medalist from the Craig School of Business.

Deans Medalist

The 23-year-old from Fresno also has a minor in military science and graduated Friday morning from the Craig School of Business as the undergraduate deans medalist.

Ramos didnt see himself again as the recipient of a deans award.

In 2021, Ramos was one of the nine deans medallion recipients at Fresno City College representing the Business Education division. He was chosen by then FCC president Carole Goldsmith as the Tony Cantu Presidents Medallion recipient.

This years 2021 FCC Deans Medallion Award recipient Sylas Ramos, with President Dr. Carole Goldsmith before the start of the June 23 outdoors commencement at Chukchansi Park in downtown Fresno. Ramos was chosen by Goldsmith to receive this years Tony Cantu Presidents Medallion.

I knew I was going up against a lot more people, was a lot more competitive, you know, and especially theres a lot of very intelligent people at the Craig School of Business, Ramos said.

But Ramos was encouraged to apply for the award by his advisors and professors, as they felt he was well qualified.

Sylas Ramos is a student who shines brightly, showcasing remarkable academic achievements, an entrepreneurial drive, and an unwavering commitment to his community, said Dr. Vartuhi Tonoyan, assistant professor of entrepreneurship.

Ramos said Tonoyan, was very encouraging of him to apply for the award and was his advocate, who submitted the nomination on his behalf.

Sylass compelling personal journey is a testament that even in the face of the most challenging trials, resilience, compassion, and an unwavering dedication to ones dreams can triumph and light the way forward, Tonoyan said.

This years 2021 FCC Deans Medallion Award recipient Sylas Ramos, during the June 23 outdoors commencement at Chukchansi Park in downtown Fresno. Ramos was chosen by FCC president Dr. Carole Goldsmith to receive this years Tony Cantu Presidents Medallion.

Ramos said he was pretty excited when he got the email letting him know he was selected. The first to know from him were his grandparents.

They said theyre definitely proud of me. They just know that I work very hard, Ramos said.

Pursuing higher education

Raised by his maternal grandparents, Ramos graduated valedictorian from Edison High School in 2018 and enlisted in the U.S. Army where he served as a vehicle mechanic.

He started his college career at Fresno City College, graduating with a 4.0 GPA and a degree in business administration.

Since transferring to Fresno State, Ramos has been a lot busier working to get his degree, averaging at least 20 units every semester at Fresno State. He graduated with 158 units.

The transition from Fresno City College to Fresno State, Ramos said, was pretty easy even while still dealing with a COVID pandemic.

The only difficulty was just getting used to the bigger campus. But for the most part, it was pretty straightforward process, especially because it was still online when I switched over to Fresno State from the City, Ramos said.

At Fresno State, Ramos continued to serve in the Army Reserves.

Sylas Ramos graduated with a bachelors degree in business administration from Fresno State on Friday morning. He was the deans medalist from the Craig School of Business.

He was also a member of the Fresno State ROTC Bulldog Battalion serving as squad leader, platoon sergeant, platoon leader, supply and safety officer.

Ramos continues to be a role model not only for his younger brother who is now a 14-year-old high school freshman student at Duncan High School in Fresno but other youths.

Hes doing pretty good, Ramos said of his brother.

An advice Ramos would give to his brother is just to stay, you know, ambitious and basically dedicated to studies and to do the right things.

You know, it just takes discipline. And ask for help when you need it, Ramos said.

Ramos mentors troubled youth and shares his stories with others. He raised $3,000 for the Central California SPCA and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Fresno.

Ramos was a member of the Fresno State Educational Opportunity Program, TRiO Student Support Services Veteran, and was recently accepted into the Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma honors societies.

His goal is to find a job as a product manager or benefits manager.

Sylas Ramos graduated with a bachelors degree in business administration from Fresno State on Friday morning. He was the deans medalist from the Craig School of Business.

Since Im getting my degree in management, I want to be able to do like either human resource management or work in the management department to make sure that you know what our organization I work for that the employees are taken care of, they have their benefits, paying everything situated properly, Ramos said.

Going back to active miltary duty once he finishes college is still on the table for Ramos, he said.

Ramos said in June he will be commissioning and becoming a second Lieutenant in the army going from being enlisted to being an officer but going to be on the reserves for now. However, there is the possibility of getting a spot on with the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drums, NY and going active duty.

I definitely have options, opportunities. Just trying to figure out which one Im going to go with, Ramos said.

Sylas Ramos graduated with a bachelors degree in business administration from Fresno State on Friday morning. He was the deans medalist from the Craig School of Business.

Sylas Ramos favorites

Book: I have a lot of books; Ive read so many books, but I wouldnt say this is my favorite, but one of the books I like a lot is The Count of Monte Cristo. Yeah, very good book.

Food/meal: Its it sounds silly enough Id say probably pizza.

Place to visit: Probably the mountains like Yosemite.

Music to listen to: Well, thats an easy one rock music.

Movie: I would say Gladiator with Russell Crowe in it.

Hobby: I do like blacksmithing. I make swords and armor.

Best advice ever received: Probably from, hes going to be the guy thats going to be pinning my rank on me when I commission but he was my former platoon leader in the army before he retired and his advice to me was basically just stay true to who you are. Focus on being, not competing with other people, but being the best version of yourself that you can be. And other people might lie to get their way or lie to be able to get what they want, but you dont have to. You can choose to do the right thing and be honest and have integrity to be able to come to the same solutions. Also said to basically treat others the way youd want to be treated. And basically, the ones that youre in charge of put the needs of them above your own.
With a fuller Lake Shasta, more water is seeping from the front of Shasta Dam

With Lake Shasta nearly full this spring, more water has begun to seep out of the face of Shasta Dam, on the side opposite the lake.

Water has been trickling down the downstream face of the dam in several spots, with vegetation growing in places where the water leaks out.

Even though the massive concrete structure is 602-feet-tall and 543-feet-wide at the base, there are still ways for the water to get through from the lake side to the opposite side, said Don Bader, area manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

The 6.2 million yards of construction material may look from the outside like it is composed solely of large blocks of concrete. But the dam is not solid all the way through. There are passageways, walkways, pipes and tunnels inside, Bader said. Because the lake is nearly full this year, the seepage is greater, he said.

The water coming through is due to leaky seals on the drum gates that control how much water flows down the spillway near the center of the structure, Bader said. The gates are the same ones originally installed on the dam in the early 1940s, he said.

"I don't want to be quoted saying it's nothing to be concerned about, but it is normal seepage," Bader said. "We do have a maintenance program to rehab it as we go, but they're (the gate seals) not our top priority. That leakage is minimal in the big scheme of things."

The seepage was not as noticeable during the past two years, when the drought dropped the level of Lake Shasta to near record-low levels. But this year, with the elevation of the lake to near capacity, the water pressure pushing on the drum gates has caused more leakage, Bader said.

The seepage appears to be oozing from the grouted seams between the concrete on the face of the structure. On earthen-fill dams, leakage is more of a concern, but not with concrete dams like Shasta, he said.

There was concern about possible seepage on the earthen-fill Oroville Dam following a failure of that dam's spillway in 2017. In February of that year, large chunks of the concrete spillway gave out, forcing a precautionary evacuation of about 188,000 residents living downstream.

Vegetation grows along an area where water is seeps out along the downstream face of Shasta Dam on Monday, May 15, 2023.

No damage was caused beyond the spillway collapse, but residents and officials, already wary of the condition of the dam, were concerned about a green area they noticed on the face of the dam, with vegetation growth possibly caused by seepage.

The California Department of Water Resources had the dam inspected and a team of investigators determined the vegetation growth was seasonal. The agency report concluded there was not increased seepage through the dam.

Instead, vegetation had for many years grown on the face of the dam, the report said. An area of the dam greened up during the rainy season and then dried out and turned yellow and brown in the summer.

There is a patch of vegetation growing on the face of Shasta Dam in an area where water seeps out from the seams in the concrete.

Trees and other vegetation have long grown on the side of the dam. Bader said that about 12 years ago, climbers rappelled down the face of the dam on ropes and cut down a tree, which was about 10 feet tall.

There are monitors inside Shasta Dam that keep track of the amount of water getting into the structure. Bader said the amount of seepage recorded is not unusual or a concern.

Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: With a fuller Lake Shasta, more water seeping from front of Shasta Dam
'Fundamental principles' must be respected to mediate Ukraine conflict, says Kuleba

By Catarina Demony

LISBON (Reuters) - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Friday that every country could act as a mediator in the war between Moscow and Kyiv, but would have to follow what he called "fundamental principles".

Speaking at a news conference in Lisbon alongside his Portuguese counterpart Joao Gomes Cravinho, Kuleba said mediation efforts should "lead to the full restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity" and should not "freeze the conflict".

"Everybody can play role if he or she respects these two principles and acts in good faith," Kuleba said when asked what he thought of an offer earlier on Friday by Saudi Arabia to "continue mediating efforts between Russia and Ukraine".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was attending a summit of the Arab League in Saudi Arabia to canvas support for his people. He is also due to attend a summit of the G7 leaders in the Japanese city of Hiroshima this weekend.

G7 countries promised Zelenskiy further military and financial help.

Kuleba said the G7 countries were "close friends and partners" and there was "always a lot to discuss", including new sanctions against Russia, financial support for Ukraine and an aviation coalition.

Zelenskiy said he was making progress in persuading the West to supply Ukraine with fighter jets - with U.S.-built F-16s flown by several NATO nations in particular focus.

"When you fight a war you need weapons, you need allies, and you need money," Kuleba said.

Kuleba also said he expected a "meaningful step" towards NATO membership at the alliance's summit in Vilnius in July.

"NATO is an instrument to prevent wars, but what is unacceptable is when there is no movement at all on Ukrainian membership," he said.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday the alliance would send a "strong signal of support" for Ukraine at the summit.

(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Leslie Adler)
G7 will hurt itself being accomplice of economic coercion

08:37, May 19, 2023 By Zhong Sheng ( People's Daily

To pressure China is reportedly to be one of the core topics of the Group of Seven (G7) summit to be held in Japan's Hiroshima. The summit is likely to attack and smear China in the name of "obeying the rules" and "taking responsible actions."

Blinded and instigated by the United States and a few other G7 members, the organization has again and again grossly interfered in China's domestic affairs and arrogantly pointed fingers at China, which reflects deep-rooted Cold War mentality and ideological prejudices.

It's an open strategy of the United States to contain and oppress China, which it takes as an "imaginary enemy," and rope in its allies to encircle China.

In June last year, despite China's stern position and firm opposition, the G7 mentioned China 14 times in a leaders' communique, making irresponsible remarks on Hong Kong, Xinjiang, human rights, the East China Sea, the South China Sea and the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, grossly interfering in China's domestic affairs and peddling its false narrative of "democracy versus authoritarianism," to incite confrontational sentiments.

As the G7 presidency, Japan uses the misguided China policy of the United States to speculate and seek private interests, which has provided convenience for the U.S. in jamming the topics of containing China into the agenda of the G7.

A recent G7 foreign ministers' meeting hyped China-related issues, grossly interfering in China's domestic affairs and maliciously slandering and smearing China. A G7 trade ministers' meeting also sent a signal of countering China.

With a decreasing influence, the G7 has been reduced to a servant of the U.S. hegemony, which could only prove its presence by hyping China topics.

Claiming to safeguard the so-called "rules-based international order," the G7 is blatantly challenging the core of the postwar order.

It's known around the world that Taiwan's return to China is an important component of the post-war international order, which is written in the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation. Any country that's sincerely committed to safeguarding the international order should follow the one-China principle and oppose all acts supporting and emboldening "Taiwan independence."

With a total disregard for the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, the G7 said China's opposition to "Taiwan independence" is "changing the status quo of the Taiwan Strait." This obviously condones "Taiwan independence" and challenges the post-war international order recognized by the international community. It fully proves that the G7's efforts to safeguard the so-called international order are hypocritical and the G7 itself is a saboteur of the international order.

Claiming to jointly cope with "economic coercion," the G7 is turning a blind eye to the economic coercion of the United States around the world.

For a long time, the United States, relying on its economic strength and financial hegemony, has abused illegal unilateral sanctions. According to media reports, U.S. government sanctions designations soared by 933 percent between 2000 and 2021. More than 9,400 sanctions designations had come into effect in the United States by fiscal year 2021. The United States has slapped unilateral economic sanctions on nearly 40 countries, affecting nearly half of the world's population.

Not even G7 members have been spared from U.S. economic coercion and bullying. Companies such as Toshiba from Japan, Siemens from Germany and Alstom from France, were all victims of U.S. suppression.

China is a victim of U.S. economic coercion. It has been firmly opposed to economic coercion by any country in the world. If the G7 summit is to discuss response to economic coercion, perhaps it should first discuss and condemn what the U.S. has done, rather than being an accomplice.

Claiming to discuss the so-called "economic security," the G7 tolerates and even assists the "decoupling and severing ties" of the United States, which creates risks for global economic recovery.

During a G7 finance ministers' meeting, the United States said it was considering further restriction on American enterprises' investment in China and would discuss the issue with its allies and partners. This just revealed the country's intention to upgrade its economic hegemony.

Over the recent years, the United States has overstretched the concept of national security and abused export control measures, restricted American enterprises' normal economic and trade cooperation with China, impeded the decision making of enterprises, and instigated and even forced its allies to follow its practices, which has damaged the international economic and trade order and disturbed the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

If the G7 green-lights the economic bullying practices of the United States to hinder the economic development of other countries, it will not only become a destructive player in global development, but also hurt its own economic recovery.

A big country should act like a big country. As a club of rich countries, the G7 is being cruel and has triggered dissatisfaction around the world. Every summit it has hosted faced strong opposition. Last year, a poster showed a distorted Earth fitted in a letter G, which suggested that the world is becoming distorted under the interference of the G7. This exactly mirrored the destructive role played by the group.

The G7 should understand that being a servant of U.S. hegemony, establishing exclusive cliques, containing other countries and provoking bloc confrontation are against the trend of the times. Those who play fire will only get themselves burned.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Du Mingming)
The China-CEEC Expo has become one of the most important pragmatic platforms under the cooperative framework between China and CEEC, and China will seek to push ahead all-round communication and cooperation with CEEC, industry observers and government officials said.

CEEC is a generic term that refers to Central and Eastern European Countries.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday in Beijing that China is willing to share its development dividends and related benefits with CEEC to create a win-win atmosphere.

The 3rd China-CEEC Expo and International Consumer Goods Fair, which is simply called the China-CEEC Expo, kicked off in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, on Tuesday.

The five-day event, whose theme is "Practical Cooperation for a Shared Future", is expected to attract about 3,000 exhibitors, more than 10,000 buyers and over 100,000 visitors. Purchase orders worth over 10 billion yuan ($1.43 billion) for CEEC products are expected during the event.

"The China-CEEC Expo is an important platform to promote practical cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries," said Wang Yong, vice-chairman of 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, in his address at the opening ceremony in Ningbo on Tuesday.

Hungary is the only guest of honor country at this year's event and 35 Hungarian companies are participating in the expo.

"China is Hungary's largest trading partner outside Europe," said Peter Szijjarto, Hungary's minister of foreign affairs and trade.

Official data showed that bilateral trade between the two countries surpassed $15 billion in 2022.

In 2014, the CEEC Products Fair was held in Ningbo. Since 2015, the city has hosted four sessions of the China-CEEC Investment and Trade Expo. In 2019, the event was upgraded to China's only State-level exhibition that is targeted at CEEC and renamed it as the China-CEEC Expo and International Consumer Goods Fair.

"One-third of the exhibitors are displaying their products here for the past three successive expos while another one-third of the exhibitors are newcomers," said Zhang Yadong, director of the Ningbo CEEC Exhibition and Cooperation Promotion Center. "It's a win for the event that the old friends are willing to participate again and new friends are attracted to the expo."

Peter Lisicky, owner of Vino Peter Lisicky Winery in Slovakia, said his firm has exported wine to China for three years. He said he has high expectations from the winery's participation in the expo.

"Sales of our products have been growing over the past three years," said Lisicky. "We are very happy to be here in China, our biggest market. And we want to expand our market presence."

The Slovakian wine firm benefits from Ningbo' s efforts to build itself into the first choice of CEEC to export goods to the Chinese market. In recent years, the city has coordinated departments, including commerce, port and Customs, to help traders in CEEC solve problems and facilitate trade flows.

In 2022, Ningbo's imports from CEEC reached 11.2 billion yuan, a more than ninefold increase from 2016. In the first quarter of this year, Ningbo's imports from CEEC increased by 102 percent year-on-year to 4.39 billion yuan.

Sinotrans Zhejiang Co Ltd, one of the expo participants, has been involved in the transport of CEEC products since 2018. One of its executives, Yao Zhengyi, said that during the preparations for this year's expo, Ningbo Customs upgraded the Customs clearance services.

A special channel was launched for exhibits giving traders access to make Customs clearance appointments round the clock. The imported products can be directly sent to the expo venue after a one-stop Customs inspection at ports of entry.

The expo offered a broad platform for the China-CEEC investment projects. "This year marks the 11th anniversary of the launch of the China-CEEC cooperation framework. TCL has cooperated with CEEC for many years," said Li Dongsheng, chairman of the consumer electronics giant TCL.

Li said TCL has invested nearly $100 million in upgrading a Polish factory with digital and smart technology. The annual capacity of the factory is now 50 times that in 2004.

Zdravko Marinkovic, president of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina, called for more cooperation in various fields.

"A number of opportunities for cooperation between China and CEEC are arising in the fields of energy, infrastructure construction, the transition to a circular economy, and the revival and implementation of the green energy principles," said Marinkovic.
The future of wind energy in the US is floating turbines as tall as 30 Rock

The first, full-sized floating offshore wind turbine in the United States will tower 850 feet above the waves in the Gulf of Maine  roughly as tall as New York Citys famed 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

The gigantic machine, with 774-foot diameter blades and tethered to the seabed with thick metal cables, is planned to be put into the water 20 miles south of Maines tiny Monhegan Island by the end of the decade. It is expected to generate up to 15 megawatts of electricity  enough to power thousands of homes  and will be just one in an array of 10 such turbines that would together produce up to 144 megawatts of clean energy.

The Maine turbine array will join the ranks of only around 20 deepwater floaters around the world, located mostly in Europe. Developers, government officials and experts say these floating turbines are the future of the wind energy industry and are eyeing projects that could each deliver clean electricity to 750,000 homes.

That number is set to explode, Henrik Stiesdal, the Danish wind turbine inventor and pioneer, told CNN. Stiesdal was the first to pioneer the three-blade turbine that has become the icon of wind energy. In a sign of the times, his company is now focused on putting floating turbines in deeper water.

Floating wind farms have enormous energy potential, capable of producing more energy than solar panels or onshore wind. A robust set of floating turbines could unlock up to 2.8 terawatts of clean energy in the future  more than double the countrys current electricity demand, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said last year.

We now have a number of technologies that can step up to the plate and provide a very large share of electricity that is clean, White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi told CNN in a recent interview.

The vast majority of offshore wind turbines around the world are affixed to the bottom of the sea floor on sturdy foundations. But those turbines also are limited to shallower waters closer to the coast.

Pushing wind farms into deeper water means more area can be developed, and the farms themselves will be much farther away from the coast  and away from the view of homeowners.

Most of these machines will not be seen from land, Walter Musial, who leads offshore wind research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, told CNN. They will avoid the classic visual impact concerns that caused a lot of projects to be delayed or become not very popular because they could be seen from shore.

Stiesdal estimated that floating offshore wind could eventually supply half the power to the East and West coasts, and noted Europe has set a goal of producing half of its electricity from floating wind by mid-century.

But plenty of hurdles remain. Not only is better port infrastructure needed to build and tow the turbines out to sea, but massive transmission cables need to be built that can carry electricity back to dry land.

Even with the recent passage of a major climate law in the US, the larger offshore wind industry is facing a tumultuous time, with supply chain constraints, inflation and high interest rates  all coming as the wind industry tries to increase the number of US turbines in the water from just seven.

But Zaidi is unflappably optimistic. Floating offshore wind is an opportunity for the US to really define the frontier, he said, unlike other parts of the sector where weve got to make up for lost ground.

The stress test

With a flip of a switch, a wall of high-powered fans roared to life above an indoor pool at the University of Maine. In the middle of the pool, a small model wind turbine bobbed in artificial waves in front of the wind tunnel, its blades turning slowly.

A group of engineers stood next to the pool and watched intently as data started streaming in on the screen of their computer. They were simulating hurricane-force conditions to scale, testing the stamina of a wind turbine to see if it could survive 50-foot waves and wind speeds of close to 90 miles per hour.

Were basically measuring how much it tilts, how fast the turbine is moving, said Anthony Viselli, the manager of the universitys offshore model testing and structural design.

Engineers test a floating offshore wind model in the pool at the University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center, which is pioneering designs of floating turbines. - University of Maine

The University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center, where the pool is housed, feels like the most technologically advanced shop class youll ever see. Home to what the school says is the worlds largest 3D printer, the engineers, researchers and students here are working on a variety of projects  from developing 3D-printed homes from recycled wood products, to building light-weight bridge components that can fit into a backpack, to inflatable shields that can withstand Mars atmosphere.

Its also home to the most cutting-edge testing technology for floating offshore wind in the US, a project pioneered by Habib Dagher, the founding executive director of universitys composites center. A one-stop shop for wind turbine building and testing, University of Maine offshore wind engineers put every component of large floating turbines through their paces.

In one part of the cavernous building, there was a hole in the wall where engineers inserted a full-sized wind turbine blade and used a hydraulic machine to push and pull it for months at a time to simulate the stress brought by years of high wind speeds.

Basically, you take the damage that you expect from wind, and you accelerate the damage, Dagher said. We ask ourselves, how long is it going to last? If you take a paperclip and bend it back and forth, eventually it snaps. Were doing the same thing.

Back at the pool, Todd Griffith, a mechanical engineering professor from the University of Texas Dallas, was standing near a model prototype of whats known as a vertical axis wind turbine  a turbine that looks like an eggbeater.

Griffith had traveled from Texas to Maine specifically to use the facilitys unique tools as part of a multiyear research project on another, lesser-known form of offshore wind that could be used in floating projects in the future.

We all can agree were having a lot a lot of fun, Viselli said. Youre working on technology that can have huge societal effects and job creation. Its just checking all the boxes. Its not many problems where you can touch all those meaningful things and really sink your teeth into a great engineering problem.

A floating offshore wind model turns in front of a massive wall of fans at the lab, as the indoor pool simulates waves. The wall of fans is designed to replicate hurricane-force winds. - University of Maine

The Biden boost

Maine researchers are getting closer to putting their large prototype into the water, but commercialization is still several years away.

European companies are moving faster. Scotland has had a floating wind farm demonstration up and running since 2017, and the country wants to install an over 3-gigawatt project. Norway is also planning more floating parks in the water before 2030 that could generate the same amount of electricity.

Still, no commercial projects on a gigawatt scale have yet been built. Dagher told CNN he believes the international race to commercialize offshore wind is up for grabs right now.

Three of the seven only offshore wind turbines in US waters at the Deepwater Wind project near Block Island, Rhode Island. - Michael Dwyer/AP

But the Europeans are watching whats happening in the United States with high interest; all the more surprising given how far the US lags when it comes to shorter, bottom-fixed turbines. There are just seven turbines total in the US, although several projects are being constructed or undergoing environmental review.

I think the US has all the cards in their hand, Stiesdal told CNN. The US has immense offshore wind resources. If it puts its sights to it, it could become the leading country on floating offshore wind.

California and US floating offshore wind are often mentioned together. The states coastal waters are too deep for conventional turbines, and California recently held its first floating offshore wind lease sale. Other offshore leases are expected in the future off the coast of Oregon and the Gulf of Maine  near where Daghers team is launching their test turbine.

Arne Vatny, the spokesperson for trade group Norwegian Offshore Wind, called the recent flurry of activity on US offshore wind the Biden boost.

Thats how we view it, Vatny told CNN. A change in how people talk about the US and offshore wind in the same sentence after Biden.

A small-scale floating offshore wind demonstration designed by University of Maine engineers sits in the waters off the coast of Maine. Launched in 2013, this grid-connected turbine has been gathering data to see how larger floating turbines would fare during storms in Maine's coastal waters. - University of Maine

There are still significant challenges; beyond the permitting, cost, and electricity transmission constraints that many wind projects are facing, floating wind will require updated infrastructure at Americas ports and massive ships that can tow and assemble the turbines at sea. Dagher readily admits that hes not sure whether the US can accomplish Bidens goal of 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind by 2035.

But Dagher, who has been working to develop floating wind turbines for over a decade in Maine, said the momentum is undeniable.

People questioned our sanity, Dagher said with a laugh. Even the Department of Energy questioned our sanity 15 years ago.

Now, he has the enthusiastic backing of the Department of Energy and the White House, plus an entire industry eager to turn the designs into floating energy powerhouses.

The US has a goal of 15 gigawatts of floating by 2035, Dagher said. So, weve got a little over 10 years to get there.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
(Bloomberg) -- Group of Seven leaders discussed ways to ratchet up pressure on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is set to attend the summit in Japan, one of his highest profile trips abroad yet to raise global support.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The leaders of the seven powerful democracies started their meeting in Hiroshima by touring a museum and peace park built on the site that was ground zero for the first nuclear attack 78 years ago. The visit was steeped in symbolism given Russian President Vladimir Putins periodic threats to use atomic weapons in Ukraine.

They finished their day with a trip to Itsukushima Shrine, a Unesco World Heritage site that has been a seat of worship for about 1,400 years, ahead of a working dinner. During the talks running through Sunday, they will also focus their attention on reducing reliance on China for key materials in global supply chains.

Latest coverage

G-7 to Chase Russias Diamonds While Stopping Short of Total Ban

Japans New Military Might Is Rising in a Factory in Hiroshima

US Agrees on Taiwan Trade Terms, Clouding Plans for China Talks

Ukraine Leader Zelenskiy to Visit Hiroshima G-7 in Person

US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel on G7 Summit (Video)

(All times JST)

India PM Modi to Meet Zelenskiy in Japan (9:35 p.m.)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet Zelenskiy in Japan, according to Indian officials.

It would be the first meeting between the leaders since Russias invasion of Ukraine. India been one of the prime buyers of Russian oil and weapons, providing hard currency to Putins government at a time when the G-7 is seeking to starve it of funds.

EU Would Need to Back New Sanctions: Scholz (9:05 p.m.)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the European Union would need to agree to any additional sanctions on Russia.

Speaking to reporters on Friday night, Scholz said sanctions should be more precise and targeted. He added that a fair peace in Ukraine is only possible if Russia pulls out troops.

Group Photo and Working Dinner (6:20 p.m.)

The leaders gathered at Itsukushima Shrine to walk the grounds and pose for a group photo in front of its vermilion-hued torii gate set in inland sea waters. They also held a working dinner where discussions were expected to touch on subjects including tensions in the Taiwan Strait and nuclear disarmament.

Sunset at 1,400-Year-Old Shrine Is Backdrop for G-7 Family Photo

G-7 Demands Russia Unconditionally Withdraw Troops (5:15 p.m.)

The leaders issued a statement after their session on Ukraine where they reiterated our firm rejection of Russias illegal attempts to acquire Ukrainian territory by force. They also appeared to take a stand against a cease-fire proposal by China, which sent a special envoy to Ukraine earlier this week, saying: We underline that a just peace cannot be realized without the complete and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops and military equipment, and this must be included in any call for peace.

The leaders said they will work to restrict Russias access to their economies and cut off the flow of items that could be used for the Kremlins war machine. We reiterate our call on third parties to immediately cease providing material support to Russias aggression, or face severe costs, they said.

Ukraine Says It Shot Down 16 Drones (3:18 p.m.)

Ukraines military said it shot down 16 loitering drones and three missiles overnight, as Russia continued a campaign of airstrikes across the country before the G-7.

Two people were injured and an unidentified industrial enterprise suffered massive destruction in Kryvyi Rih, which Russia hit after midnight, Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the local military administration, said on Telegram.

Ukraine Says It Shot Down 16 Drones, Three Missiles Overnight

Kishida Starts Formal Sessions with Unity Call (1:50 p.m.)

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida began the formal discussions by saying the G-7 must take a global leadership role as the world face multiple crises that include the climate, Russias invasion of Ukraine and recovering from the coronavirus pandemic. He said a theme of the summit was confirming the solidarity of the group.

Ukraine Leader Zelenskiy to Visit Hiroshima (12:02 p.m.)

Zelenskiy will travel to Hiroshima to join the G-7 leaders in person, according to people familiar with the plans. Japanese officials had previously said Zelenskiy would join the others virtually, even while they added an extra session on Ukraine on Sunday to accommodate the Ukrainian leaders schedule.

Over the past week Zelenskiy toured European capitals to make the case for more weapons deliveries.

Ukraine Leader Zelenskiy to Visit Hiroshima G-7 Summit in Person

Kishida Guides Leaders at Bombing Museum (11:55 a.m.)

Kishida, who hails from Hiroshima and has called nuclear disarmament his life work, guided the other leaders around the citys Peace Memorial Museum. The museum displays the damaged personal belongings of victims of the 1945 atomic attack, as well as photographs and video testimony meant to convey the horrors of nuclear war. The leaders also met Keiko Ogura, one of the survivors of the bomb.

Micron Deal Counters China Coercion, Envoy Says (11:47 a.m.)

Micron Technology Inc.s deal with Japan for financial aid to make next-generation memory chips sets a precedent for countering Chinese coercion, according to US Ambassador Rahm Emanuel.

The agreement, which Bloomberg reported would amount to about 200 billion ($1.5 billion) in incentives from Japan, has a component of confronting Chinas coercion and saying that America and Japan will act in unison to help us secure our supply chain and help companies that are targeted by Chinas coercion, Emanuel told Bloomberg Television in Hiroshima.

Micron-Japan Deal Counters China Coercion, Rahm Emanuel Says

G-7 Restricts More Goods (11:29 a.m.)

G-7 nations have decided against imposing a near-outright ban on exports to Russia and will instead widen existing restrictions on key goods, according to people familiar with the matter.

The G-7 will instead broaden the list of banned goods to restrict items critical to Russias war in Ukraine, including those used on the battlefield, such as exports of industrial machinery and tools, according to the draft statement. The G-7 will also further target key sectors, such as manufacturing, construction, transportation and business services.

G-7 Restricts More Goods But Avoids Near-Total Russia Export Ban

Leaders Visit Hiroshima Bomb Museum (10:30 a.m.)

Leaders arrived at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, where they were greeted by Kishida and his wife before touring the facility that recounts the devastation from the atomic bomb dropped by the US that led to the end of World War II.

EU Targets Russian Diamonds (10:15 a.m.)

The president of the European Council confirmed the G-7 and the European Union would work to restrict trade in Russian diamonds. Russian diamonds are not forever, Charles Michel told a news briefing in Hiroshima.

Michel said a main focus of sanctions moving forward was to close loopholes, strengthen enforcement and hit Russias revenues while not hurting Europes own economies.

On the G-7s other big topic, China, Michel said a stable relationship with Beijing was important but the EU would be firm on fundamental rights. We dont want to decouple, he said, adding the bloc wanted to de-risk dependencies and diversify supply chains.

--With assistance from Sudhi Ranjan Sen and Eltaf Najafizada.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
The G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan will announce the introduction of new sanctions against Russia.

Source: Senior administration official from the White House in an interview with journalists

"All G7 members are preparing to implement new sanctions and export controls. I wont get into the specifics of what partners are doing but the United States will be rolling out a substantial package of our own," he said.

According to the White House representative, the US will continue to expand export controls to make it even more difficult for Russia to maintain its war machine. This includes significant restrictions on categories of key military goods for the battlefield, and also cutting off some 70 entities from Russia and third countries from receiving exports from the US by adding them to a trade blacklist.

"Moreover, we will announce upwards of 300 new sanctions against individuals, entities, vessels, and aircraft," the official said.

These measures will be aimed at stopping the possibility of circumventing restrictive measures. They will target financial intermediaries, Russias extractive capabilities and those helping to support the war unleashed by Russia. "This will include designations across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia," the official added.

Background: Earlier, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that the G7 summit would not discuss the issue of a complete ban on exports to Russia, and the main focus would be on the implementation of sanctions and their evasion.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - Leaders of the Group of Seven advanced nations "remain deeply concerned about Iran's unabated escalation of its nuclear programme", according to a draft version of their communique seen by Reuters on Friday.

"We reiterate our clear determination that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon," said the draft from the start of a three-day summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

"We express our grave concern regarding Iran's continued destabilising activities, including the transfer of missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS) and related technologies to state and non-state actors."

The final version of the communique is expected to be released on Sunday.

(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Alex Richardson)
G7 leaders agree to strengthen sanctions against Russia, continue financial support for Kyiv

The leaders of the G7 countries gathered at a summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima

The communique says that existing restrictive measures against Russia will be expanded, and any exports that could help it in its war against Ukraine will be restricted in all G7 states.

Read also: Zelenskyy to take part in G7 summit in Japan online  NSDC

"This includes exports of industrial machinery, tools, and other technology that Russia uses to rebuild its war machine," the statement reads. The G7 countries will also continue their efforts to limit Moscow's revenues from the trade in metals and diamonds.

The document notes that the existing sanctions are being weakened by circumventing them, and the G7 countries are "interacting" with those states through which sanctioned goods may transit to Russia.

Read also: Ukraine lacks security guarantees from G7 nations, says former FM

"We note and encourage commitments made by these countries to ensure our measures are not circumvented and have the intended effect," the G7 leaders added. At the same time, no specific states were named.

At the summit, the G7 also condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and promised to support Ukraine's economy this year and in 2024.

The summit of the G7 countries - the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, the United States, Italy and Japan - is being held in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 19-21. The leaders are expected to discuss further actions in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including new sanctions.

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
TOKYO (Reuters) - Group of Seven leaders meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, on Friday acknowledged the need for governance of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and immersive technologies.

The leaders agreed to have ministers discuss the technology as the "Hiroshima AI process" and report results by the end of the year, according to a summary of a working lunch.

(Reporting by Rocky Swift; editing by Jason Neely)
As leaders of seven of the worlds most powerful democracies gather in Japan on Friday, it will be the authoritarian powers of China and Russia that dominate the agenda.

The annual Group of Seven (G7) summit, convening this year in Hiroshima, will seek to project a unified response to an increasingly assertive China  and the perceived threat it poses to the stability and economic security of a world already shaken by Russias ongoing war on Ukraine.

While much of the attention will be focused on Ukraine  including how to further tighten the screws on Russia and defuse rising nuclear tensions  the three-day summit also provides an opportunity for G7 leaders to recalibrate and coordinate their approach toward China, which has refused to condemn the invasion and instead bolstered ties with Moscow.

Basically this is going to be a meeting for them to talk about how to deal with China and Russia, said Yasuhiro Matsuda, an international relations professor at the University of Tokyo.

But agreeing on a common approach to the worlds second largest economy will not be an easy task.

China, a global manufacturing hub and a huge consumer market, is an important trade partner to the G7 countries, which is comprised of the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Italy.

It is difficult to have one single position on China across seven countries considering their different concerns and relationships with Beijing, said Sun Yun, director of the China Program at the Washington-based Stimson Center think tank.

But to the extent that a position with the largest common denominator can be developed, the G7 offers a great opportunity.

Security in Asia

Projecting unity on China comes at a crucial moment for the US and its allies, as Beijing ramps up diplomatic efforts to repair ties with Europe and drive a wedge in the transatlantic alliance.

Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron caused consternation in Western capitals after he said, following a warm visit to Beijing, that Europe must not become just Americas followers and get caught up in crises that are not ours when asked about the prospect of China invading Taiwan.

Days later, in an effort to present a united front on Taiwan, the G7 foreign ministers said in a preparatory meeting for the summit that there was no change in the blocs position on the self-ruled democratic island, which the Chinese Communist Party claims sovereignty over despite never having controlled.

The top diplomats called on China to abstain from threats, coercion, intimidation, or the use of force and reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element in security and prosperity in the international community.

Japan, the host of this years G7 summit and its only Asian member, will position regional security on the summits main agenda, said Matsuda at the University of Tokyo.

Deeply concerned about Beijings military posturing in the region, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has warned publicly that Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow.

In response to growing threats from China, Japan has moved to double its military spending and is in talks to open a NATO liaison office  the first of its kind in Asia and a sign of deepening ties between Western and Asian democracies.

In a move that highlighted Tokyos concerns, China sent a naval flotilla  led by one of its most powerful destroyers  on a 12-day circumnavigation of Japans main islands in a display of military power in the lead-up to the G7 summit.

Economic coercion

Another important theme of the summit will be economic security, including how to counter Chinas economic pressure tactics.

At a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Japan last week, US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen called for coordinated action by G7 nations against Beijings use of economic coercion.

The tough rhetoric was echoed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this week before she departed for Hiroshima.

Weve seen attempts of economic coercion, for example China towards Lithuania; weve seen similar practices vis-a-vis Japan and Australia, von der Leyen said in Brussels Monday, citing Beijings recent punishment of the Baltic state for opening a new trade office with Taiwan.

We are most vulnerable to coercion in general where dependencies built up, she said, calling for the de-risking, not decoupling of economic relationship with China.

The summit will seek to diversify supply chains and reduce heavy reliance on China.

At the front of the push for economic de-risking is the US, which has curbed Beijings access to advanced semiconductors and the equipment used to make them. It is also seeking to impose new restrictions on outbound investment in China.

But there is the question of how far other countries are willing to follow through.

Japan and the Netherlands have joined the US in the chip curbs, but most countries remain skeptical about the investment controls.

The problem is all the countries are competing with each other over Chinas market, so Beijings divide and rule strategy has been working very well, Matsuda said.

The G7 is trying to facilitate some norms and rules among themselves first, which can then be enlarged to other like-minded countries in Europe and beyond, he said.

China closely watching

In an effort to expand the G7s influence beyond the club of rich democracies, Japan has invited leaders from a long list of developing countries, including India, Brazil, Vietnam and Indonesia, to attend the summit as observers.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will also join the gathering. Following years of disputes and a long history of acrimony with Japan, the two neighbors are now mending their ties due to growing threats from North Korea and rising concerns about China.

In a sign of a growing trilateral alliance, the US, Japan and South Korea will meet on the sidelines of the summit to discuss plans for the real-time sharing of intelligence  which will further deepen Chinas fears of encirclement by the US and its allies.

And with US President Joe Biden cutting short of his Asia trip to address a debt limit crisis, a summit of Quad leaders from the US, India, Australia and Japan could now take also place in Hiroshima instead. The informal security dialogue is widely seen as a counter to Chinas aggressive posture in the region.

As the G7 summit gets underway, Chinese officials will be closely watching from Beijing and will not hide their displeasure, experts say.

The Chinese will not like it and will criticize the cold war mentality and bloc politics played by the West, said Sun, the expert with the Stimson Center.

In the lead-up to the summit, Beijing has already berated a statement by G7 foreign ministers.

It was full of arrogance, prejudice against China and we have made a strong demarche to the host Japan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

Similarly, Beijing also lashed out at accusations of its economic coercion, claiming it is the victim of US economic coercion rather than a perpetrator.

And while China is not invited to Hiroshima, it is hosting its own summit with Central Asia countries, experts noted.

Although the timing were not coordinated, it does present the world with Chinas effort to build a coalition with its own like-minded countries, Sun said.

China still commands a lot of influence.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday drew a parallel between the destruction of Bakhmut and the horror of Hiroshima, evoking the symbolism of mass destruction as he wrapped up a surprise appearance at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Japan.

UKRAINE

* U.S. President Joe Biden said he had received a "flat assurance" from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that he would not use Western-provided F-16 fighter jets to go into Russian territory.

* Zelenskiy said he was confident that Kyiv would receive supplies of F-16 fighter jets from the West to help repel Russia's full-scale invasion of his country. "We will have the planes. I can't say for now how many  it's not a secret. I don't know this myself," he told a news conference.

* Meeting with Zelenskiy, Biden announced a $375 million package of military aid to Ukraine, telling him the U.S. was doing all it could to strengthen Ukraine's defence against Russia.

* Zelenskiy sought support for Kyiv's "peace formula" to end Russia's war in Ukraine, telling G7 leaders at the summit in Hiroshima it was "an obvious expression of rationality".

* Zelenskiy played down the fact he did not meet Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the G7 summit on Sunday and said it was likely because of scheduling.

* Potential allied training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 warplanes were a message to Russia not to expect to succeed in its invasion of Ukraine even in a prolonged conflict, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

* Biden told G7 leaders that Washington supports the joint allied training programmes, senior U.S. officials said, a significant endorsement as Kyiv seeks to boost its air power against Russia.

* The Hiroshima summit gave Zelenskiy a chance to win over countries from the "Global South" such as Brazil and India in an attempt to broaden support for his country in its war against Russia.

* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said G7 decisions at the summit were aimed at the "double containment" of Russia and China.

* Canada will support Ukraine for as long and as much as necessary in its conflict with Russia, including the training of Ukrainian soldiers and possibly pilots, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

* Britain published plans to ban imports of Russian diamonds, copper, aluminium and nickel and announced a new wave of sanctions against Russia, targeting companies connected to the alleged theft of Ukrainian grain.

CHINA

* U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday said the G7 nations had agreed a united approach to China that called for diversifying supply chains to reduce dependence on one country, and hinted that he could speak with China's president soon.

* British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said China represents the world's greatest challenge to security and prosperity, but other leading economies should not seek to fully decouple from it.

* G7 nations will ensure big investments in China continue even as they pare risky exposure to the world's second-largest economy, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

* The G7 is looking to bridge a vast gap with emerging economies in the "Global South" by focussing on infrastructure and debt relief, officials say, part of a strategy to blunt China's influence in lower-income countries.

* China firmly opposes the G7 joint statement out of Hiroshima and has complained to summit organiser Japan, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

ECONOMY, CLIMATE

* The International Energy Agency (IEA) does not expect moves by G7 nations to counter the evasion of price caps on Russian energy will change the supply situation for crude oil and oil products, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said.

* The G7 leaders put support for gas investments back into their communique, calling it a "temporary" step as they try to de-couple from Russian energy, in a move climate activists say may hurt climate goals.

* G7 leaders agreed on an initiative to counter "economic coercion," pledging action to ensure that any actors attempting to weaponise economic dependence would fail and face consequences.

* The G7 called for the development and adoption of international technical standards for "trustworthy" artificial intelligence (AI) as lawmakers of the rich countries focus on the new technology.

* G7 leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a highly decarbonised road sector by 2030 and committed to the goal of achieving net-zero emissions on roads by 2050.

REUTERS PODCAST

* What's the G7 to do about China?

IN-DEPTH STORIES

* At Hiroshima G7, bomb survivors grapple with a disarmament dream deferred

* In her own words: A Hiroshima bomb survivor learns English to tell her story

* Japan's G7 refugee balancing act: door open for Ukrainians, but not many others

(Compiled by Reuters editors)
Leaders from seven nations discussed AI "guardrails" at the G7 summit

World leaders are addressing their concerns about AI at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima on Friday, suggesting that guardrails should be put in place to monitor the evolving technology. The summit, which will tackle other issues including the Ukraine War, China relations, and clean energy, is bringing the AI discussion to the table for the first time at the request of President Joe Bidens national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.

Leaders from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.S., and Canada are attending the G7 summit, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the nation will lead the movement toward better AI regulations. Sunak said that while AI could benefit society, its important to introduce it safely and securely with guard rails in place.

Read more

He told The Guardian, I think that the UK has a track record of being in a leadership position and bringing people together, particularly in regard to technological regulation in the online safety bill  And again, the companies themselves, in that instance as well, have worked with us and looked to us to provide those guard rails as they will do and have done on AI.

The conversation comes as experts warn against the harmful effects of AI, and while much of the dialogue has revolved around ChatGPT, experts have expressed concern over AIs involvement in the health sector as well. Professionals from the UK, US, Australia, Costa Rica, and Malaysia wrote in the BMJ Global Health journal that the risks include the potential for AI errors to cause patient harm, issues with data privacy and security and the use of AI in ways that will worsen social and health inequalities, The Guardian reported.

Sunak has long been an advocate for AI development, previously saying it does have the potential to benefit economic growth and transform public services, but at the G7 summit, he struck a more cautious tone, advising other leaders that they need to instead focus on regulatory measures.

Von der Leyen said at the summits opening remarks that artificial intelligences potential benefits for citizens and the economy are great, but added the caveat At the same time, we need to agree to guardrails to develop AI in the EU, reflecting our democratic values. She said in a statement to The Financial Times, We want AI systems to be accurate, reliable, safe, and non-discriminatory, regardless of their origin.

More from Gizmodo

Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
G7 summit: Zelensky accuses some Arab leaders of 'blind eye' to war ahead of Japan trip

The Ukrainian leader was in Saudi Arabia ahead of an expected trip to the G7 in Japan

Volodymyr Zelensky has accused some Arab leaders of "turning a blind eye" to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, ahead of his trip to the G7 in Japan.

The Ukrainian president made the comments while attending an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday.

Of the Arab League nations, only Syria has openly supported Russia's invasion. Others have sought to maintain good relations with Moscow.

But some states must reflect on their ties with Russia, Mr Zelensky said.

"Unfortunately, there are some in the world and here among you who turn a blind eye to those [prisoner of war] cages and illegal annexations," said Mr Zelensky.

"I'm here so that everyone can take an honest look, no matter how hard the Russians try to influence, there must still be independence."

Mr Zelensky also told the assembled leaders in Jeddah that his country was defending itself from colonisers and imperialists, appearing to invoke the Arab world's own history of invasion and occupation.

Host nation Saudi Arabia has walked a delicate line on the conflict - on the one hand supporting a UN resolution calling for Russia to withdraw its troops and pledging $400m in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, while on the other hand resisting imposing sanctions on Russia, preferring to see itself as neutral on the conflict.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman renewed his offer for Saudi Arabia to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv to end the fighting at the summit.

Syria meanwhile has only just been readmitted to the Arab League - its leader Bashar al-Assad told the summit there was an historic opportunity for the region to reshape itself without foreign interference.

Mr Zelensky also took aim at Iran, which is not a member of the Arab League, for supplying Shahed drones to Russia. Iran denies supplying drones for the conflict.

The Ukrainian leader will travel from Saudi Arabia to the G7 summit on Sunday, Japan confirmed on Saturday morning. Officials said he will take part in the summit's leaders' session and take part in a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Earlier, Mr Zelensky's office also told Ukrainian media that he would meet with US President Joe Biden "in the next few days" in Japan.

The summit kicked off on Friday with a renewed condemnation of Russia and an announcement of further sanctions.

The group of seven nations, made up of the US, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan, represent the world's richest democracies. This year, eight other countries including Australia and India have also been invited.

G7 leaders slapped more sanctions on Russia on the summit's opening day

The trip to Japan will be the furthest Mr Zelensky has travelled from Kyiv since the war began in February 2022.

In the past few days Mr Zelensky has visited Italy, Germany, France and the UK, where he nailed down promises of military support. He also continues to push allies to provide advanced fighter jets to Ukraine, but so far no country has committed to directly providing them.

Once he reaches Hiroshima he will probably try to persuade more cautious leaders to provide aid, such as Mr Kishida and Indian leader Narendra Modi.

"By showing up in person, it is a chance for him to ensure he does not come away empty-handed, and that he will head back to Kyiv his arms full with the weapons deals that he wants", including a promise of lethal weapons from Japan, said John Kirton, director of the G7 Research Group think tank.

Though Japan has been hugely sympathetic to Ukraine, its strict military laws have meant that so far it has only given non-lethal defence equipment.

Earlier on Friday, G7 leaders were welcomed by Mr Kishida at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park where they laid wreaths to honour those who died in the US atomic bombing which hastened the end of World War Two.

The summit's first day ended with a statement in which member countries pledged "new steps" to stop the war in Ukraine and promised further sanctions to "increase the costs to Russia and those who are supporting its war effort".

They said they would "starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine" and limit Russia's revenue from energy and diamond sales.

Separately, British PM Rishi Sunak told the BBC the UK would sanction the Russian diamond industry, and would target more people and companies connected to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In response to what it termed "anti-Russian" US sanctions, the Russian foreign ministry announced its own set of sanctions on 500 US citizens, including former US President Barack Obama.

The G7 summit, which ends on Sunday, is expected to end with a communique on the war in Ukraine.
The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of China's State Council on Thursday hailed the deliberation and passing of a bill containing amendments to the Law on Safeguarding National Security in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) by the SAR's Legislative Assembly.

A spokesperson from the office acknowledged that this is an important measure for the Macao SAR to improve its legal system and enforcement mechanism for safeguarding national security.

The spokesperson said that the bill passage has significant implications for comprehensively and accurately implementing the "one country, two systems" policy, better protecting national sovereignty, security, and development interests, maintaining long-term prosperity and stability in Macao, and safeguarding the fundamental interests of the Macao residents.

The spokesperson highlighted that since Macao's return to the motherland, the SAR has placed significant importance on fulfilling its constitutional duty to safeguard national security. This commitment demonstrates the sense of responsibility and determination of both the Macao SAR authorities and society to safeguard national security, and it deserves full recognition.

The spokesperson emphasized that the practices of Hong Kong and Macao since their return to the motherland have shown that it is imperative to consistently promote the development of systems and mechanisms for safeguarding national security in the special administrative regions. The constantly evolving and intricate international environment presents new challenges for safeguarding national security in both regions. By always being prepared for worst-case scenarios, being mindful of potential dangers, and constantly solidifying institutional frameworks, both regions will be able to withstand all risks and ensure the steady and continued success of the "one country, two systems" policy.

The spokesperson expressed hope that the Macao SAR executive authorities, legislature, judiciary, and all levels of society will firmly uphold the "one country, two systems" policy, promote the fine tradition of loving the motherland and loving Macao, and continue to improve mechanisms for maintaining national security to better safeguard prosperity and development. These efforts will result in creating new chapters in the successful application of "one country, two systems" with Macao characteristics and greater contribution to the building of China into a stronger country and national rejuvenation, the spokesperson added.
A 44-year-old Galion man was arrested Thursday following an early morning search of his residence, 1280 N. Market St., Galion, by the Ohio Attorney Generals Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Crawford County Sheriffs Office.

GALION  A Galion man accused of possessing child sexual abuse material will face felony charges, according to a news release from the Crawford County Sheriff's Office.

The 44-year-old man was arrested Thursday following an early morning search of his residence, 1280 N. Market St., Galion, by the Ohio Attorney Generals Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Crawford County Sheriffs Office, according to the news release. He was charged with two counts of pandering obscenity, a fourth-degree felony, and is being held in the Crawford County jail on a $175,000 bond.

The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are anticipated, according to the news release. The search was conducted by BCIs Special Victims Unit and the Crawford County Sheriffs Office. The case is being prosecuted by the Crawford County Prosecutors Office.

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Galion man faces child porn charges after early-morning search of home
Dorin Recean, Prime Minister of Moldova

"Moldova is no longer dependent on Russian gas, as it has been able to reject its consumption through connection to the European grid," Recean said at the opening of the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum in Bucharest.

If a year ago, 100% of the energy resources consumed by Moldova came from Russia, now the republic can cope without Russian gas or electricity supplies. Moldova no longer consumes Russian gas. It is integrated into the European energy network, both technically and commercially.

For his part, Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca announced that a feasibility study for the transportation of Azerbaijani gas via the Kulevi-Constanta route had been ordered.

Read also: Russia wants to use Moldova against Ukraine, President Sandu warns

The project envisages the opening of a gas liquefaction station in Kulevi and a liquefaction station in Constanta, and the injection of gas into pipe-lines from where it can be transported in any direction.

"This is an additional option for gas supply to Europe," Ciuca said.

If it proves to be viable, it will help to re-profile Romania as a gas hub for neighboring countries, Moldova in particular.

As reported, Moldovagaz and Gazprom signed a five-year gas supply contract, which entered into force on Nov. 1, 2021. Since Oct. 1, 2022, Gazprom had reduced the daily supply to Moldova by 30% to 5.7 million cubic meters. The Russian monopolist explained this by technical problems related to the restriction of gas transit through Ukraine. Since then, Gazprom had been supplying Moldova with this amount of gas, which was less than 40% of the republic's needs.

Moldova used Russian gas until Dec. 3, 2022, and since Dec. 4, it has been transporting all of Gazprom's gas to Transnistria, which in turn covers more than 80% of the country's electricity needs. The contract with the Moldovan State Thermoelectric Plant in Transnistria was signed on April 1, 2023 for six months.

Transnistria has not been paying for gas for many years, and the region's debt reaches several billion dollars.

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
Embattled lawmaker George Santos has been accused of allegedly defrauding fellow Republican candidates running for office, a report says.

Mr Santos, a Republican first-term congressman from New York has been accused of a string of lies and falsehoods about numerous parts of his background.

He was indicted in federal court last week for, among other things, having an associate tell a donor that a contribution to a firm Mr Santos owned would go to support his campaign. Much of the money allegedly went to Mr Santoss personal accounts instead.

But deep-pocketed donors are reportedly not the only people Mr Santos allegedly conned into donating to his firm.

According to The Daily Beast, Mr Santos also allegedly took money from his fellow Republican candidates.

The firm in question, identified only as Company #1 in the indictment, is believed to be Redstone Strategies  a limited liability company founded in Florida in 2021 that listed Mr Santos Devolder Organization as one of its managers.

Mr Santos has denied that Redstone Strategies is the company in question in the indictment but said he was unsure what that company could be.

Other people seem to recall more details. Redstone reportedly served as a vendor for multiple New York Republican candidates during the 2022 election cycle and was given a substantial amount of money by Rise NY PAC, a political action committee run by Mr Santoss sister.

George didnt only lie to his voters, but also to fellow candidates around him for his own alleged financial gain, Stefano Forte, a Queens Republican who ran unsuccessfully for the New York state Senate last year, told The Daily Beast.

Mr Forte told the publication that Mr Santos approached him personally and pitched him on hiring Redstone, which he did  parting ways with the firm only after hed paid it $14,000.

Mr Forte said he never knew that Mr Santos had a stake in the company, meaning Mr Santos did not disclose that information when he pitched him on hiring the firm.

Mr Santos confirmed to The Daily Beast that he had pitched fellow candidates on hiring Redstone, but said he never personally profited from the resulting transactions and dismissed Mr Fortes criticism as a political attack.

Mr Santos is facing a bevvy of legal issues that have made his position in Congress tenuous.

Following his indictment, House Democrats introduced a resolution to have him expelled from the chamber. The House voted along party lines on Thursday to refer the resolution to the House Ethics Committee, with Mr Santos himself voting against his explosion.
A chorus of students at Georgetown Universitys foreign service school are lashing out at the administration over a controversial choice of speaker for Saturdays commencement  the daughter of an imprisoned Russian opposition leader.

While Alexei Navalny is a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and an anti-corruption blogger, students point out that he has also made comments calling immigrantscockroaches, used gay slurs and only recently said he believes Crimea  a Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia in 2014  should be returned to Ukraine.

Hes been imprisoned in Russia since 2021 on fraud charges in a trial that was denounced as politically motivated by his supporters. His wife and daughter, Dasha Navalnaya, have served as his proxies during that time, and the school said it invited Dasha to underscore the plights of political prisoners worldwide.

Georgetowns Walsh School of Foreign Service is full of students likely to become influential in international affairs in years to come and its commencement often brings in big names. In recent years, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright have taken the podium.

With the ongoing war in Ukraine and Wall Street Journalist Evan Gershkovichs recent imprisonment in Russia, Navalnaya  a 22-year-old junior psychology major at Stanford  seemed to the school to be a fitting choice to underscore free speech while pushing back against the Kremlins behavior.

Thats not how a number of Ukrainian and Georgian students saw it.

Ukrainian student Iryna Tiasko, an undergraduate senior, said she hopes to serve in Ukraines parliament one day, and being pictured with a Russian political figure, pro-war or not, could be detrimental to her future.

Last year, they shook Blinkens hand, who was giving the speech. Am I supposed to shake her hand? Tiasko said. Like, Im not going to, even if I have to.

Students have written a series of scathing letters, and hundreds of students, faculty and alumni have signed a petition protesting the choice.

Following the backlash, Georgetown shifted gears to take the spotlight off Navalnaya alone.

The school has added two new speakers to include several perspectives: Debra Tice, the mother of imprisoned journalist Austin Tice, and Evan Mawarire, a Zimbabwean pastor who has challenged corruption, injustice and poverty, according to the school. This week it also bought about 200 Ukrainian flags that students plan to use during a peaceful demonstration at the ceremony, according to students and a school official.

But the school says it never considered dropping Dasha from the program.

We do not disinvite speakers on the Georgetown campus, and we don't dissuade speakers from speaking, said Joel Hellman, dean of SFS. We do communicate to speakers when concerns are raised among students, so they can take those into account.

Dasha and the other speakers wont be shaking any students hands, SFS spokesperson Marie Harf said, but shell sit front row on stage alongside the two other speakers. She and the other speakers also wont receive an honorary degree, as those in the past have.

Dasha Navalnayas response team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The uproar began on May 3, the day Georgetown announced its lineup of speakers. When Ruslana Kochmar, a Ukrainian masters student finishing up her final year, heard Navalnaya was going to deliver the speech, I honestly thought that it was just a very bad joke, she said. Since then, she has organized students against the decision.

In a May 5 letter to students, which POLITICO obtained, Hellman wrote: I understand that some of the individuals whose stories will be highlighted have made past statements that are deeply problematic, adding that the university doesnt condone Navalnys past comments. But he insisted that Dashas speech would go on.

The students continued to urge university officials to reconsider their choice in a May 9 letter signed by six student senators, who each represent a school of study in student government at Georgetown.

The student campaigners say the new speakers dont make up for having Dasha at the podium. When she takes the stage, many graduates intend to stand, some with their backs facing the stage, in a peaceful act of protest, along with holding the Ukrainian flags provided by the school.

Not all students believe Dashas appearance is such a bad thing. In comments on a post on the schools Instagram account announcing the speakers, a handful of people defended Dasha against others that bashed the school for being tone deaf. One user asked if the speech would be recorded.

The end of the spring semester is usually a time for Georgetown students to focus on finals and end-of-year celebrations. This year, Kochmar said, Its been such chaos and a mess.

A version of this story previously appeared in POLITICO'S National Security Daily newsletter.
Americas biggest denim manufacturing site and supplier to well-known jeans brands will stop using PFAS after a lawsuit took aim at its wastewater output.

Mount Vernon Mills last week said that by Dec. 31 its mill in Trion, Ga. will stop using per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also called forever chemicals, to create water- and stain-resistant products. The move is part of a settlement with the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and Coosa River Basin Initiative (CRBI). On May 8 they sued the mill, which claims its the largest producer of denim on U.S. shores, and the town of Trion under the Clean Water Act, citing harm to Georgias Chattooga River and Alabamas Weiss Lake, which are connected by the Coosa River, and local residents.

More from Sourcing Journal

The lawsuit claimed that the mill discharges roughly 3.2 million gallons of PFAS- and chemical-contaminated wastewater daily into the municipal treatment plant in Trion, which couldnt remove the chemicals from the water because of their persistence in the environment. In turn, the plants tainted effluence has contaminated the Chattooga River watershed with PFAS for the past several years. Last year, SELC notified the mill and its hometown that it planned to sue.

Last week Mount Vernon Mills, CRBI and the town of Trion agreed to resolve the lawsuit. Under the terms, the mill must eliminate PFAS from its operations in Trion. This agreement serves as a model for how Georgias textile industry can work alongside communities to ensure safer water for everyone, SELC senior attorney Chris Bowers said in a statement. Industrial polluters are required by law to control PFAS pollution instead of placing the burden on communities downstream.

Trions wastewater treatment plant should have required the textile mill to modernize its treatment technology to remove PFAS prior to discharging them to Trions public treatment works, Bowers continued. The proposed consent decree, which requires Mount Vernon to stop using PFAS at this mill, puts long overdue restrictions on these harmful chemical releases.

Mount Vernon Mills said that eliminating PFAS resolves the dispute while responding to modern consumer expectations. It is now looking to develop or adopt effective, eco-friendly performance solutions.

The trends around PFAS usage have continued to evolve, and Mount Vernon is committed to evolve with the regulations, and to be cooperative with regulators along with being conscious of what is best for our employees and our surrounding communities, CEO Bill Duncan said in a statement. For instance, after long chain PFAS were determined to be an issue some years ago, Mount Vernon worked quickly to move away from that chemistry to what was at the time and still up until recently was believed to be environmentally friendly short-chain formulas. I would note this change is happening before any standard related to Mount Vernons use of these chemicals exists.

Duncan declined to respond to additional questions about denim production at the Trion facility, which recently upgraded finishing equipment and initiated a loom replacement program. Mount Vernon Mills website says the plant produces moisture-wicking, oil-repellent denim made using U.S.-grown cotton. The Trion facility has supplied brands including American Giant, Wrangler and Carhartt, and pumped out 800,000 yards of denim fabric each week back 2018.

According to CRBI executive director Jesse Demonbreun-Chapman, Ending use of PFAS in textile production at this facility is an important step to finally dealing with ongoing contamination in our region. The agreement shows there are alternatives to using these chemicals in manufacturing in the first place, he added.

SELC senior attorney Jean Zhuang said its just a matter of time before state or federal legislation forces companies to deal with their role in the PFAS problem. [The Environmental Protection Agency] has made clear that our states have the power and obligation to properly control industrial sources of PFAS like Mount Vernons, she said.

Zhuang went on to say that [w]hen pressured, the industries that use and manufacture these chemicals can either treat for them or find alternatives so that we arent exposed to avoidable toxic pollution. What this consent decree shows is that communities dont need to live with PFAS in their drinking water, rivers, and lakes.

In February, the EPA announced $2 billion in available funding from President Joe Bidens Infrastructure law to address emerging contaminants like PFAS in the nations drinking water. In April, it issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) and solicited public input about potentially designating PFAS under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Californias law banning PFAS in apparel, footwear and cookware will take effect in 2025.

The Chattooga River in Georgia.

The industry is developing new technologies to replace PFAS, from Impermea Materials Hydro-Tex 1000, a non-toxic, water-based technology creating a breathable, water-resistant coating on fabrics, to Green Theme Technologies Empel, employed by outdoor performance brand Artilect. Many textile makers and retailers alike are working to get ahead of regulatory action by ditching the toxic chemicals and adopting other solutions after increasing scrutiny in recent years.

In November, Merrell owner Wolverine Worldwide was cited by Michigan environmental regulators for delaying the launch of a system to remove PFAS-contaminated groundwater from an area that once housed its leather tannery. The move came after the EPA previously instructed the company to clean up around the tannery. While the facility closed in 2011, the settlement required Wolverine to mitigate the longterm impacts on human and environmental health that came from years of dumping chemical-laden waste. Wolverine and its chemical partner, 3M, separately paid out a voluntary settlement of $54 million to local property owners who filed a class action lawsuit claiming they were harmed by the contamination.

Click here to read the full article.
Georgia prosecutor indicates charges in Trump election probe could come in early August

The Georgia prosecutor investigating possible interference in the 2020 election by then-President Donald Trump and his allies has requested no trials or in-person hearings be held at the Fulton County courthouse in early August  a sign of when a decision on charges could be announced.

In a letter Thursday to the chief judge of the courthouse, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she plans on having 70% of her staff working remotely between July 31 and Aug. 18. Those who will remain in the courthouse at that time include the leadership staff and "all armed investigators," according to the letter, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News.

"I respectfully request that judges not schedule trials and in person hearings during the weeks beginning Monday, August 7 and Monday, August 14," it said.

Willis did not give a reason for the unusual request in the letter, which was first reported by The New York Times.

In a separate letter to local law enforcement last month, she said she'd "announce charging decisions resulting from the investigation my office has been conducting into possible criminal interference in the administration of Georgias 2020 general election during the state Superior Courts fourth term, which begins July 11 and ends Sept. 1.

The special grand jury that Willis tapped last year to help investigate possible election interference by Trump and his allies recommended indicting more than a dozen people, Emily Kohrs, the jury foreperson, said on NBC News Nightly News" in February.

There are certainly names that you will recognize, yes. There are names also you might not recognize," Kohrs added.

In the months since, a number of "fake electors"  people who signed a certificate falsely declaring that Trump had won Georgia in the 2020 election and themselves as the state's official electors  have struck immunity deals with Willis' office, according to court filings.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case. His lawyers submitted a court filing in March arguing that all the evidence gathered by the grand jury should be deemed unconstitutional and that Willis should be disqualified from further investigation and/or prosecution of this matter.

In a response filed earlier this week, Willis' office said Trump's requests should be dismissed because they "lack merit."

Trump's lawyers then asked Tuesday for three weeks to reply to the DA's response, a request Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney denied Friday.

"To date the Court has received well over five hundred pages of briefing, argument and exhibits on the issues raised by former President Trump," he wrote. "That is plenty."

McBurney said that if he needed any further information, he would ask for it.

A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office have spent more than two years investigating former President Donald Trump and his allies. (Nicole Craine /The New York Times)

The Georgia prosecutor leading an investigation into former President Donald Trump and his allies has taken the unusual step of announcing remote work days for most of her staff during the first three weeks of August, asking judges in a downtown Atlanta courthouse not to schedule trials for part of that time as she prepares to bring charges in the inquiry.

The moves suggest that Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, is expecting a grand jury to unseal indictments during that time period. Willis outlined the remote work plan and made the request to judges in a letter sent Thursday to 21 Fulton County officials, including the chief county judge, Ural Glanville, and the sheriff, Pat Labat.

Thank you for your consideration and assistance in keeping the Fulton County Judicial Complex safe during this time, wrote Willis, who has already asked the FBI to help with security in and around the courthouse.

Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times

Willis had said in a previous letter that any charges related to the Trump investigation would come in the grand jury term that runs from July 11 to Sept. 1. Her letter Thursday appears to offer more specificity on timing.

Her timetable, however, has already been pushed back as she has sought to hammer out cooperation deals with some potential defendants.

Trumps legal team is trying to scuttle the case with a motion, filed in March, seeking to quash much of the collected evidence and throw Willis off the case before any charges are filed.

Willis office has spent more than two years investigating whether the former president and his allies illegally meddled in the 2020 election in Georgia, which Trump narrowly lost to President Joe Biden. A special grand jury that heard evidence in the case for roughly seven months recommended more than a dozen people for indictments, and its forewoman strongly hinted in an interview with The New York Times in February that Trump was among them.

Willis must now seek approval from a regular grand jury for any charges she plans to bring.

With security concerns about the looming indictments in such a high-profile investigation weighing on county officials, Willis said that she would reduce staffing in her office by about 70% and rely on remote work on days when grand juries were in session from July 31 to Aug. 18.

She said that there would be exceptions to the remote work plan, including my leadership team and all armed investigators.

Willis noted in the letter that most judges would be attending a judicial conference during the week of July 31. She added: I respectfully request that judges not schedule trials and in-person hearings during the weeks beginning Monday, Aug. 7 and Monday, Aug. 14.

Last year, Willis wrote to the Atlanta field office of the FBI, asking for a risk assessment of the county courthouse in downtown Atlanta and for the agency to provide protective resources to include intelligence and federal agents.

She noted in the letter last year that Trump had called the prosecutors investigating him vicious, horrible people during a Texas rally in January 2022 and called for protests in cities where he was being investigated. His recent criminal indictment in New York City, on charges related to hush money payments made to a porn actress, took place largely without incident.

Armed pro-Trump protesters appeared around the Georgia state Capitol a number of times in the weeks after the 2020 election, as Trump and his allies made false accusations of electoral fraud. On at least one occasion, armed counterprotesters were also in the streets.

Willis, who has had some staff members outfitted with bulletproof vests, is clearly concerned about the potential for unrest after any indictments in the Trump inquiry. In a letter sent to the local sheriff last month, she wrote of the need for heightened security and preparedness in coming months due to this pending announcement.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
This article was originally published in Georgia Recorder.

Its the time of the year when young men and women turn their tassels, toss their caps into the sky and dream about a bright future.

But one group of graduates from Georgias class of 23 stands out from the rest.

The thing that makes us want to do it, those of us who have taught there, the reason we love it so much is that theyre the best students weve had, said Georgia State University Perimeter College geology professor Polly Bouker. Ive worked 23 years in higher education, and this has been my absolute top experience.

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter

On May 5, Perimeter College graduated its first class of students who earned their associates degrees while incarcerated, part of Georgia State Universitys Prison Education Project. The nine graduates from Walker State Prison in Rock Spring earned their degrees in general studies, taking classes in a variety of subjects. According to the college, three graduated with GPAs above 3.9 and the rest were above 3.7.

Bouker began teaching the students in January 2022. Her class included 12 people, the nine graduates and three others who started later. Their ages range from 35 to 61.

At first, Bouker would send a flash drive with video lectures and homework assignments to the prison, but she said the men impressed her with their dedication and curiosity. She said they would often send questions with their homework that demonstrated they were thinking hard about the material.

Normally, if youre teaching about minerals to students, theyre just thinking about what do I need to know to pass the test and not how does it relate to something bigger? she said. They definitely were thinking about the bigger picture, why things work the way they do and not just taking for granted what I told them.

She said she was so impressed that despite a three-hour commute each way, Bouker has been driving to the north Georgia prison nearly every week to hold classes in person. Shes worked with prison administration to be able to bring in rocks, minerals and fossils as well as microscopes to aid in the students lessons. Last fall, she began working as the programs site coordinator as well.

The Georgia Department of Corrections describes Walker State Prison as a facility that provides a pro-social, programmatic environment for change to those offenders who voluntarily request to participate in the program.

Without access to the internet, the students peppered Bouker with questions about all sorts of science and technology subjects. One student interested in particle physics wanted to know all about the CERN Large Hadron Collider, while others were fascinated with Ghat GPT, the advanced AI chatbot.

The students also ask questions about their prospects once they get out.

Theyd make comments on some of that homework they were sending to me before I met them face-to-face, things like I cant believe Im saying this, but I really find this fascinating. Do you think someone like me could ever work as a geologist if I majored in geology when I get out of prison? And what he meant by someone like me is, is there any chance I could get a job with my history?

And of course I dont know the answer to that, but I said, I dont think geology is going to be any harder than anything else. There are going to be biases, but you should do what you think you want to do.

Hurdles

Research links educational attainment with a lower recidivism rate, but previously incarcerated people face hurdles in enrolling into college, said GSU Prison Education Program Director Patrick Rodriguez.

If our students are able to obtain an education while on the inside, then when they come home, they will be better equipped to face the challenges they will ultimately face on release, he said. Our policies in Georgia lay out clear challenges for housing, education and some government benefits. These issues are pressing considering the high rates of incarceration in Georgia. I am excited to continue working towards a Georgia that supports formerly incarcerated people, and I do believe that we can get there.

Rodriguez is also the co-executive director of the Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison, whose advocacy includes the Beyond the Box initiative, a push for better education access for formerly incarcerated people.

Among all the other questions on a college application is one asking about the students criminal background. If they tick the box indicating they have been convicted of a felony, they are subject to further questioning.

Rodriguez, who served about five years on drug-related charges before graduating from Kennesaw State University, said his application process was lengthy and difficult to navigate and involved reliving experiences from his past and collecting a large number of documents.

All of this was to convince Kennesaw State University that I was able to continue an education, he said. I feel as if my academic history and who I am as a person did not count for anything. There was a spotlight on a crime that I committed years ago, and all I wanted to do was to complete my degree so I could be a productive citizen of Georgia and realize a goal I had set for myself years before.

Many other potential students stop in their tracks as soon as they get to that question and never complete their applications, said Lawrenceville Democratic state Rep. Gregg Kennard, author of a bill seeking to remove that question from applications in Georgia.

We know that just that question is deterring a lot of folks from attending higher education, so we want to remove that barrier, the stigma, and get as many of our high schoolers into seeking a four-year degree as possible, he said. If you look at our prison population statistics, only 1% of the population reflects four-year degree holders. So you get one of our young people into a college with a four-year degree, it almost eliminates them from ever being under correctional control.

Kennards bill, which will still be active in next years Legislative session, was amended to exempt four violent sex crimes, allowing colleges to ask applicants about arrests or convictions for rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated child molestation or aggravated sexual battery.

Kennard said he feels positive about the bills chances.

Its got bipartisan support, the bill has three Republican sponsors and three Democratic sponsors, he said. It did get a hearing. We want to bring it back to the Higher Education Committee next year and hopefully get it through.

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com. Follow Georgia Recorder on Facebook and Twitter.
ELIOT, Maine  Acclaimed actress Glenn Close had a hand in a Home & Garden Television backyard makeover in town that is scheduled to appear on an episode of "Celebrity IOU" filmed in southern Maine late last year.

The star of Fatal Attraction and 101 Dalmatians, among many other titles, teamed up with HGTV stars Jonathan and Drew Scott  the twins better known as the Property Brothers  for the episode in Eliot.

Award-winning actress Glenn Close, along with HGTV's "Property Brothers" Jonathan and Drew Scott, surprised an Eliot, Maine resident with a backyard makeover at her southern Maine home in an episode of the network's show "Celebrity IOU." The episode will air on HGTV on Monday, May 29 at 8 p.m.

The series spotlights Hollywood A-listers gifting surprise home renovations to special people in their lives, according to Warner Bros. Discovery.

Close, an Emmy, Tony, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning actress, has been nominated for Academy Awards eight times. She chooses her friend Robin (last name not given), the very first volunteer with Close's mental health-focused foundation, Bring Change 2 Mind, for the backyard revamping. Bring Change 2 Mind was formed by Close in 2010 after the actress sister, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, expressed feeling suicidal.

The episode, which will air Monday, May 29 at 8 p.m., follows along as the Scott brothers and Close work to beautify the familys property with a new coastal Maine-inspired accessory dwelling unit.

Local restaurant news: Pattaya Thai brings Southeast Asian cuisine to York Beach

Award-winning actress Glenn Close, along with HGTV's "Property Brothers" Jonathan and Drew Scott, surprised an Eliot, Maine resident with a backyard makeover at her southern Maine home in an episode of the network's show "Celebrity IOU." The episode will air on HGTV on Monday, May 29 at 8 p.m.

HGTV spokesperson Chelsey Riemann noted the episode was shot in Eliot from September through November 2022.

The network provided Seacoast Media Group with an advance screener of the episode, in which Close surprises her foundations inaugural volunteer in Eliot with the news that shed be the recipient of a dream makeover.

To be a tiny part of giving back to you is extremely moving to me, Close says at one point to her friend.

In the episode, the Scott brothers partner with Portlands BrightBuilt Home, which builds the nearly 500-square-foot, roughly 18,000-pound accessory dwelling unit that was delivered to Robin and her familys yard and placed with a crane. The unit, filled with natural lighting, was fitted by the Scotts and their team with a kitchen, living room, bathroom and craft room that could double as a bedroom.

I like the stillness of it, the serenity of it, the peace in it, the love thats in it, Robin says after the reveal. Its warm. Its inviting. Its amazing.

While focusing in large part on the interior design of the accessory dwelling unit, Closes work with the Scotts included the dirty work, as she excitedly operated the brothers excavator to tear down an existing shed on the property to make way for the new unit.

Award-winning actress Glenn Close, along with HGTV's "Property Brothers" Jonathan and Drew Scott, surprised an Eliot, Maine resident with a backyard makeover at her southern Maine in an episode of the network's show "Celebrity IOU." The episode will air on HGTV on Monday, May 29 at 8 p.m.

Its really exciting how this is going to transform their lives, she says in the episode.

This season of Celebrity IOU additionally features episodes starring Kristin Chenoweth, Kristin Davis, Heidi Klum, Taraji P. Henson, Derek Hough, Jay Leno and Emma Roberts, according to the network.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Glenn Close shoots 'Celebrity IOU' backyard makeover in Eliot ME
After brief pause, debt ceiling talks between Biden and GOP back on

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., a key ally of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, talks to reporters outside the Speaker office after debt limit negotiations with President Joe Bidens mediators came to an abrupt halt, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, May 19, 2023. McHenry said Weve taken a pause and we have significant gaps that have to be bridged for us to merit more conversation. | J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press

Debt ceiling talks were back on Friday after Republicans paused negotiations earlier in the day over disagreements with the White House on how much money should be cut in exchange for an increase in the amount of money the nation can borrow.

House Financial Services Chairman Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., said talks had resumed and negotiators planned to work over the weekend, according to Politico. The White House and congressional leaders are trying to come to an agreement to stave off a default, which Biden administration officials warn could come by June 1.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Friday on Fox Business that Republicans would work into the night Friday but they expected Democrats to make additional cuts.

Its very frustrating if they want to come into the room and think were going to spend more money next year than we did this year. Thats not right, and thats not going to happen, he said.

Earlier in the day, Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., who was asked by McCarthy to represent the GOP in negotiations, said the negotiations had stopped.

Weve decided to press pause, because its just not productive, Graves told reporters Friday, according to Politico.

The House passed a strong bill, it has great savings in it. And its responsible and it puts us on a path to bend the curve, he said, per Fox News.

Republicans have criticized President Joe Biden over waiting to start negotiations, even after the House GOP passed a bill that combined a debt ceiling increase with spending cuts.

The Republican debt ceiling bill, the Limit, Save, Grow Act, passed the House in April largely along party lines. It would cut spending by $4.8 trillion over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Biden and congressional leaders expressed optimism earlier this week, saying they believed a deal was possible.

Everyone, including the speaker, agreed we need to be bipartisan, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday after meeting at the White House with Biden and the other House and Senate leaders.

But before he initiated negotiations, Biden was pushing back on the spending cuts included in the GOPs bill, calling them devastating in a campaign-style speech earlier this month.

Washington has to spend less.



It's as simple as that.  Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) May 19, 2023

Related

Utah Gov. Cox: Find Common Ground

At a press conference Thursday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he hoped Congress and the Biden administration would come to a compromise.

It seems like the lowest of bars for a very dysfunctional federal government just ... rational human beings sitting down and coming to an agreement. Its compromise, right? he said.

Cox, who is currently co-chair of the National Governors Association, said he and his fellow co-chair, Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, had come together to release a statement in February calling on Congress and Biden to work together to ensure a bipartisan solution on the debt ceiling.

We call on Congress to increase or suspend the debt limit as soon as possible. And we call on both the administration and Congress to consider serious long-term reforms that will reduce the national debt and put the country on more sustainable fiscal footing. States and territories succeed when there is certainty and stability in federal resources, they said.

Cox reiterated on Thursday the need for both Republicans and Biden to make concessions during talks.

The President absolutely has to give on cutting back on some federal expenditures. He just has to. This idea of a clean debt ceiling increase, its not going to happen, he said. And again, on the House side, on the conservative side of things, we have to be willing to find some common ground and meet the president somewhere in the middle.

Pressure from the political right and left

On Friday, a White House official told Politico, There are real differences between the parties on budget issues and talks will be difficult. The presidents team is working hard towards a reasonable bipartisan solution that can pass the House and the Senate.

As McCarthy receives pressure from the House Freedom Caucus not to give up too much in negotiations, Biden is getting pressured by progressive members of his party not to give in to Republican demands.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told Axios there would be a progressive backlash if the White House made concessions on welfare working requirements and energy permitting reform.

Her comments were echoed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who said the White House should expect pushback on nearly any significant concession.

Meanwhile, GOP congressional leaders released messages about spending cuts on social media Friday afternoon.

Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, left, and Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president, the top negotiators for President Joe Biden on the debt limit crisis, leave after talks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthys emissaries came to an halt, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, May 19, 2023. | J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press

Washington has to spend less, its as simple as that, McCarthy said in a tweet.

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a tweet that the president waited months before agreeing to negotiate with McCarthy.

They are the only two who can reach an agreement. It is past time for the White House to get serious. Time is of the essence, he said.

The president also tweeted about the debt ceiling Friday, saying 8 million Americans could lose their jobs if our nation failed to pay its bills. The consequences would be catastrophic for folks across the country and the globe. Default is not an option.

According to economists, 8 million Americans could lose their jobs if our nation failed to pay its bills.



The consequences would be catastrophic for folks across the country and the globe.



Default is not an option.  President Biden (@POTUS) May 19, 2023

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has repeatedly warned that without a debt ceiling increase the nation could default on its debt as early as June 1.

Republicans have said they want spending cuts and reforms in exchange for a debt ceiling increase, while Biden said for months he would only sign a debt ceiling bill without conditions attached.
An employee works on an assembly line of Weichai Holding Group Co Ltd in Weifang, Shandong province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Premier Li Qiang has underlined the importance of accelerating the construction of a modern industrial system underpinned by the real economy, and adopting more targeted measures to expand domestic needs while stabilizing external demand, in an effort to sustain economic recovery and growth.



Li made the remarks during a fact-finding trip to Shandong province from Wednesday to Thursday.

It is important to boost confidence in the country's development and focus on concrete actions to offset the impact of various kinds of uncertainties, he said, urging efforts to promote the high-end, smart and green development of manufacturing industries for the high-quality development of the real economy.

While presiding over a symposium at the end of the trip, Li stressed efforts are needed to guide and create demand with high-quality supply, foster more consumption growth areas and develop new types of consumption.

He emphasized the need to combine the expansion of domestic demand with the improvement of people's livelihoods, saying that solid efforts need to be made to advance projects related to building urban and rural infrastructure, and public services.

Li urged speeding up the development of new forms and models of foreign trade and the use of all means necessary to stabilize market share in international markets.

Attention should be focused on preventing and defusing major risks in key areas to create a favorable environment for economic development, he added.

During his visit to electroacoustic components manufacturer Goertek Inc, and leading Chinese heavy truck and component manufacturer Weichai Group, the premier stressed the need to vigorously develop advanced manufacturing clusters.

He urged efforts to coordinate the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries with the cultivation of emerging industries with strategic importance.

At an automobile sales market, Li called for more efforts to refine policies related to the purchase and use of new energy vehicles, and to speed up the building of charging piles and other facilities to further unleash consumption potential.

In the coastal city of Qingdao, Li visited the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area. While there he urged efforts to strengthen resource integration and complementary advantages to foster competitiveness and achieve mutual benefits.

At Chinese household appliance manufacturers Haier Group and Hisense Group, the premier expressed his desire for enterprises to cater to consumer needs, engage in personalized customization and create more competitive products to further explore domestic and overseas markets.
WASHINGTON  House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said Thursday that he'll "pause" enforcement of the committees subpoena for the State Department to produce a 2021 cable in which 23 U.S. diplomats warned of Kabuls potential collapse soon after U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, McCaul, R-Texas, accepted the State Department's invitation to view the dissent cable and its response. McCaul had threatened to hold Blinken in contempt of Congress for not turning over the classified document.

"In light of this invitation, I will pause efforts to enforce the Committees subpoena pending my review of the documents," McCaul wrote. "Please note, however, that the subpoena remains in full force and effect, and the acceptance of this accommodation does not waive any of the Committees rights regarding the subpoena."

He also insisted on "allowing other Members to review the dissent cable and response."

Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, will be allowed to view the documents with McCaul.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on McCaul's letter.

The State Department has made various counteroffers to McCaul's March subpoena, including providing a written summary of the cables contents in addition to a classified briefing. McCaul, however, has insisted that the committee receive a full copy of the cable, as well as Blinkens response to it.

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was widely viewed as chaotic. A deadly attack at Abbey Gate at Kabul International Airport resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghan civilians.

The Biden administration has blown past three deadlines for a congressional subpoena for the dissent cable, arguing that providing the sensitive memo to Congress would deter diplomats from using the channel to voice opposing views.

The State Department said Wednesday it would let the top two members of the Foreign Affairs Committee  McCaul and Meeks  view the 2021 cable, according to a letter obtained by NBC News.

The accommodations that the Department has provided to date are extraordinary and, as stated in our prior correspondence, already create a serious risk of chilling both future use of, and future candor in, Dissent Channel cables, said the letter from the assistant secretary for legislative affairs, Naz Durakoglu, which called the latest proposal extraordinary.

The letter added that the State Departments offer was contingent on the committees suspending all enforcement actions related to the subpoena, including dropping the threat to hold Blinken in contempt.

McCaul on Wednesday called the offer a significant step forward but did not drop his contempt threat.

Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesperson, defended the department's engagement Thursday.

I think it is natural in these discussions for there to be deliberations and accommodations about the path forward. Im certainly not going to speculate and hypothesize on how we continue to further engage with the committee, Patel told reporters. What I will reiterate, though, is that at every turn we have offered tangible, fair and realistic accommodations that we think have sufficiently met and continue to sufficiently meet the committees request for information.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A GOP lawmaker says debt ceiling negotiations are on 'pause' because of 'unreasonable' requests from the White House  even with a catastrophic default as soon as 2 weeks away

U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) speaks to reporters as he laves a House Republican caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol on May 16, 2023 in Washington, DC. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

GOP Rep. Garret Graves told reporters that debt ceiling negotiations are on "pause."

He said the White House is bringing "unreasonable" requests.

The US could default on its debt as soon as early June.

A catastrophic default on the nation's debt is looking even more likely now.

On Friday, Republican Rep. Garret Graves told reporters as he was exiting a meeting on the debt ceiling that negotiations are on "pause," saying the talks with the White House are "not productive" and the administration has been putting forth "unreasonable" requests.

"Unless they are willing to have reasonable conversations about how you can actually move forward and do the right thing, we're not going to sit here and talk to ourselves," Graves told reporters.

A White House official said that "there are real differences between the parties on budget issues and talks will be difficult. The President's team is working hard towards a reasonable bipartisan solution that can pass the House and the Senate."

This latest development has significant implications, given that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy on Monday that the US could default on its debt as soon as early June. It's also a major shift in the optimistic tone McCarthy had just yesterday with regards to the direction of the talks, telling reporters that "I just believe where we were a week ago and where we are today is a much better place because we've got the right people in the room discussing it in a very professional manner."

It's unclear what exactly Graves was referring to as "unreasonable," but up until this point, President Joe Biden and his administration have been clear that they will only support a clean debt ceiling increase, without any spending cuts attached. Meanwhile, McCarthy recently passed a bill in the House to raise the debt ceiling accompanied by over $4.5 trillion in spending cuts, and he has been pushing the administration to compromise by including some of those cuts in an agreement.

Some areas of compromise that have been floated are recouping unspent pandemic funds and strengthening work requirements on welfare programs, like SNAP. Progressive lawmakers have urged Biden not to cave on Democratic priorities for a debt ceiling deal  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for example, told Politico that McCarthy "may need many, many Democratic votes" to pass a debt ceiling bill, and Biden should use that as leverage.

Still, there's a major time crunch for Congress to reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling before a default. A growing number of Democratic lawmakers have been calling on Biden to prepare to invoke a clause in the 14th amendment that could declare the debt ceiling unconstitutional, allowing the president to try to bypass Congress and solve the issue on his own.

But it's unclear where the negotiations will go from here  when asked if talks will resume today, White House negotiators told reporters that they're "playing [it] by ear."

".@POTUS waited months before agreeing to negotiate with @SpeakerMcCarthy on a spending deal," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote on Twitter on Friday. "They are the only two who can reach an agreement. It is past time for the White House to get serious. Time is of the essence."

Read the original article on Business Insider
DOVER  Republican state Sen. Jim Gray of Rochester is backing House Bill 75, which recently passed the state Senate, and calls for changing the way Strafford County commissioners are elected.

Democrats locally and at the state level are objecting, saying the legislation amounts to an out-of-turn attempt by Republicans at gerrymandering ahead of the next election.

Redistricting of voting maps happens nationally every 10 years, following the once-a-decade Census. Gray helped lead that process in New Hampshire last year with Republicans in majority control of the Senate, House and governor's office. No changes were made to Strafford County commissioner election at that time.

New Hampshire state Sen. Jim Gray, R-Rochester, stated he believes districts would make county elections a better process.

Gray is looking to make changes in time for the 2024 election, stating Strafford County elects county commissioners in a different way than the rest of New Hampshire's counties, and he feels it should be brought in line.

"All the other commissioners are elected by district," Gray said. "The voters in each district get a say. In Strafford County, the voters of the entire county choose the three at-large commissioners. This legislation is a critical step towards creating smaller, fairer districts that serve the best interests of our constituents."

HB 75 is being called unconstitutional by George Maglaras, a Democrat and longtime chairman of the Strafford County commissioners.

State Sen. Donna Soucy, D-Manchester, the minority leader, shared his sentiment. "Frankly, this bill, passed without a majority request from Strafford County officials or residents, smacks of partisan politics and gerrymandering at its worst, she said in a prepared statement.

HB 75 is now heading back to the House because it was amended in the Senate after the House had approved it.

Who are Strafford County commissioners and how could HB 75 change that?

Strafford County Commissioner Chairman George Maglaras is pushing back against changes to county elections.

County commissioners are the Executive Branch of the county government, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the county, such as the nursing home and jail.

Democrats traditionally dominate Strafford County commissioner elections. Maglaras, who has served since 1983, is joined on the current commission by Democrats Robert Watson and Deanna Rollo. All were reelected in 2022, defeating Republican opponents. The last Republican commissioner was in office in 2011-12, according to county records.

HB 75 would create the following districts, likely making Republicans much more competitive:

District 1: Towns of Farmington, Middleton, Milton, New Durham, Rochester city wards 1, 5, and 6, and Somersworth, all city wards. (Most of this district traditionally leans toward Republicans, other than Somersworth.)

District 2: Dover city wards 1-4 and the towns of Durham, Lee, and Rollinsford. (This district is heavily Democrat-leaning.)

District 3: Barrington, Dover wards 5-6, Madbury, Rochester wards 2-4 and the town of Strafford. (This district appears to be a mix of Republican and Democrat-leaning areas.)

The legislation calls for the changes to go into effect in the 2024 election.

The Strafford County complex operations are overseen by elected commissioners.

It it lawful to make changes outside the redistricting process?

Gray referred to state laws RSA 653, which shows Strafford County differs from all other New Hampshire counties by not having districts for its commissioner elections. He also referred to RSA 662, which includes a definition for electoral districts.

Maglaras said pointing to those laws does nothing to justify changing election districts in 2023. He said it is too late and would be unconstitutional.

"Every 10 years the state looks at redistricting," he said. "We did this last year and they decided to leave Strafford County alone. Now they are saying it is because they didn't have time to get it and that's bull. To do this they needed to tack HB 75 onto another bill, one dealing with city purchasing. It is a right-wing grab for power."

Maglaras said if the bill passes into law, is signed by the governor, he would challenge it with the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

"I believe the county commissioners should be elected at large in every (county), just as the governor is elected by the entire state," Maglaras added. "In order to divide Strafford County into three districts, you will need to divide cities, because to do this would be based on population."

State Sen. David Watters, D-Dover, said when the redistricting took place, no one came forward to say Strafford County needed to make a change. He said he respects Gray, who said he is responding to criticism he received from his constituents, even if he disagrees with the concept.

"Unfortunately, this now gives the appearance of political payback," Watters said. "There are frustrations among those who do not like the makeup of seats. While I respect our leadership, I see two things wrong here, first the politicization and second, the attempt to reopen a district outside of the 10-year window set by law for the state. It opens the door for the political party in power to go in and say how a district can be run."

Maglaras said if HB 75 became law, it would set precedent allowing Republicans and Democrats, whichever was currently in power, to continuously gerrymander districts in their favor.

"This could go back and forth," he said. "It would be a fiasco."

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Republicans push Strafford County NH election change. Dems push back.
How do two pet goats become a business? Turns out, by accident.

Hughson resident Bethany Riner never thought the couple of goats she bought as pets when she first moved out of her parents home would eventually turn into her livelihood. But those goats turned into more goats. And then she started milking her goats. And then there was all this milk.

You see where this is going, right?

Ivy, a Nigerian dwarf goat, middle, is one breed of milking goat used in the production of goats milk soap at Mazzeltov Farms in Hughson, Calif., Wednesday, May 17, 2023.

Riner, who grew up in Ceres and graduated from Ceres High, began by using her milk to make food: cheese, yogurt and ice cream. Then she decided to try her hand at soap making. She researched and taught herself from YouTube tutorials and other resources.

Her first batch came out dry as a brick, and it crumbled when cut. But she kept at it, using the goat milk from her small herd. About five years ago, Riner began making soaps in earnest  giving them to family and friends who loved them and encouraged her to think bigger.

She started an Etsy shop in 2018, selling just her goat milk bar soap, called Mazzeltov Farms. The moniker is based on her maiden name, Mazza, and the nickname her high school friends gave her, Mazzeltov.

About three years ago, Riner moved to Hughson, about 20 minutes east of Modesto, and her soap making became full time. That led to this spring, when she opened a boutique storefront in Waterford for her Mazzeltov Farms Soap.

Owner Bethany Riner with her line of soap products at Mazzeltov Farms Soap in Waterford, Calif., Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

The journey from goat owner to artisanal goat milk bath and body product maker has been a happiest of accidents for Riner and members of her family, who pitch when they can.

Waterford shop renovated to storefront, production center

Mazzeltov Farms Soap opened in early March in downtown Waterford, off State Route 132 just east of Hickman Road. The old gas station has been through many incarnations over the decades, but likely none that smell as wonderful as the boutique.

With help from her family and husband, Ryan, a general contractor, the 29-year-old Riner has transformed the 1,100-square-foot space into a retail shop in the front, with attached production center and storage office space. All of Riners soap is produced, cured and packaged in her Waterford store.

Owner Bethany Riner mixes lye with frozen goat milk at the start of the soap making process at Mazzeltov Farms Soap in Waterford, Calif., Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

Riner and a cousin, Denair resident Corien Addis, run the company together and have three additional staff who help with their farmers markets and pop-up events. Addis serves as production manager and is often in the shops small kitchen area stirring up their soap mixes from scratch.

Instead of using water, Mazzeltov Farms Soaps use goat milk from Riners personal herd. She has about 20 goats, a mix of the smaller Nigerian dwarf and larger LaMancha breeds, on her Hughson property. Riner milks her producing goats every morning and then freezes the resulting milk to be incorporated into her bath products.

Riner and Addis produce bar soaps, hand soaps, bath soaps, liquid soaps and lotions. She offers about 16 product lines year-round and makes an additional four to five seasonal varieties, too. They use a variety of oils (olive, coconut, shea butter and avocado, among others), goat milk, lye, coloring (typically from natural sources like spices, clay, mica or charcoal) in their products.

Bethany Riner hand milks Marsh an American LaMancha goat at Mazzeltov Farms in Hughson, Calif., Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Riner uses the milk in her line of goat milk soap products.

Goat milk, other natural oils used in handmade bath products

Using goat milk makes the products more creamy and moisturizing, Riner said, because of the milks high butterfat content. And for those worried about that particular goaty aroma, the bars have no trace of the farmyard.

They make batches of 96 bars at a time in repurposed pizza dough trays. Then the bars cure for a month in their storage area before being hand packaged for sale. Bar soaps typically sell for $9, with lotions running $5 to $25 depending on size.

Goat milk soap by Mazzeltov Farms Soap in Waterford, Calif., Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

Some of her most popular products include the Milk & Honey, Fierce (a more masculine-themed dark bar with lemon, lime, lavender and other scents) and Trippy Hippie (orange and patchouli) soap bars. The colorful bar soaps look as good as they smell, with custom swirled tops or botanicals embedded.

She sells them through her Mazzeltov Farms website, in her store, at local farmers markets and at some 20 to 25 pop-up events each month across the region. Shoppers can find her weekly at Turlock, Oakdale, Ripon, Escalon and Lodi farmers markets. This season, she joined Modestos DoMo First Fridays monthly evening markets. The shop also handles custom and special orders for events, weddings and other occasions on request.

While Waterford, a community of about 9,000 in eastern Stanislaus County, might seem like an unusual spot for a boutique bath and body product shop, Riner said the response to opening has been nothing but positive. She said a brick-and-mortar shop wasnt initially one of her goals, but the location, on State Route 132 headed toward the Sierra Nevada foothills and Yosemite, has been a boon for sales.

Rya Jacobsma, left, shops at Mazzeltov Farms Soap in Waterford, Calif., Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

Honestly, probably (opening the shop) was the best thing I ever did, Riner said. Since weve moved in, weve had so much love from the Waterford community. Everyone is really excited to have this store.

Mazzeltov Farms Soap, at 12901 Yosemite Blvd., is open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday. For more information, call 209-874-8090 or visit mazzeltovfarms.com.
Gabe Gore

ST. LOUIS (AP)  Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Friday named Gabe Gore, a former assistant U.S. attorney, as the new chief prosecutor in St. Louis, three days after Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner's sudden departure.

Gore is a partner in the St. Louis law firm Dowd Bennett and previously worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office in St. Louis. Black clergy and others had urged Parson to appoint a Black person to the role, and Gore is Black.

Parson and Gore were joined at the announcement by Democratic Mayor Tishaura Jones, Police Chief Robert Tracy and others. He said there was a unified front behind the new appointment, which runs through 2024. Gore said he hasn't decided if he will run for election to the office in the August 2024 Democratic primary.

We must return stability and the rule of law to this office, Parson said.

Gore said he comes into the office with two priorities: Building back the depleted staff that has seen massive turnover of assistant prosecutors in recent months, often forcing delays in court hearings; and building relationships with the community, police and others.

My sole focus right now is to build a high-performing circuit attorney's office, Gore said.

In December 2015, Gore was appointed to serve on the Missouri State University Board of Governors, where he served as the chair.

He is a 1991 graduate of Missouri State, where he ran track, and later earned a law degree from the University of Chicago.

Gore, former assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, served as an assistant special counsel for the John C. Danforth Office of Special Counsel from 1999 to 2000.

In 2014, a former governor appointed Gore to serve on the Ferguson Commission. He also has served on the board of directors of the St. Louis Public Library and the KIPP St. Louis Charter School.

Last year, Gore and his wife Nicole established the Juliet E. Gore Scholarship, an endowed scholarship in honor of his mother.

The scholarship is for a full-time MSU student from St. Louis City or St. Louis County who is either first-generation or has financial need.

Replacement follows Gardner's controversial tenure

Gardner, 47, had been the subject of an ouster effort by Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who was at the news conference but did not speak. Simultaneously, GOP-led state lawmakers were considering a bill allowing Parson to appoint a special prosecutor to handle violent crimes, effectively removing the bulk of Gardners responsibilities. She also faced possible contempt of court after her office failed to have an attorney present for the start of a trial.

Former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner.

Gardner announced on May 4 that she would resign effective June 1. Then unexpectedly on Tuesday, she announced her resignation was effective immediately.

The announcement created some uncertainty as to who was in charge of prosecuting the hundreds of criminal cases pending in St. Louis. Gardner's office said St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell would take over, but Parson clarified later Tuesday that his general counsel would run the office with help from assistant attorneys general until he picked a permanent replacement.

Gardner, a Democrat, became St. Louis' first Black circuit attorney after her election in 2016. She easily won reelection in 2020.

She was part of a movement of progressive prosecutors who sought diversion to mental health treatment or drug abuse treatment for low-level crimes, pledged to hold police more accountable and proactively sought to free inmates who were wrongfully convicted.

She butted heads with police and conservatives from the outset. In 2018, her office charged then-Gov. Eric Greitens, who at the time was seen as a rising star in GOP politics, with felony invasion of privacy, accusing him of taking a compromising photo of a woman during an affair. The charge was eventually dropped, and Greitens resigned in June 2018.

The Greitens case drew scrutiny that led to the conviction of Gardners investigator. Gardner received a written reprimand for failing to produce documents and mistakenly maintaining that all documents had been provided to Greitens lawyers.

In 2019, Gardner announced an exclusion list of city police officers prohibited from bringing cases to her office. The nearly 60 officers were accused of posting racist and anti-Muslim comments on social media.

A series of events this year culminated with her departure.

Bailey filed a lawsuit in February seeking Gardners ouster on three grounds: failure to prosecute existing cases; failure to file charges in cases brought by police; and failure to confer with and inform victims and their families about the status of cases.

Gardner said Baileys attack on her was politically and racially motivated.

A pivotal turning point came in February after 17-year-old Janae Edmondson, a volleyball standout from Tennessee, was struck by a speeding car after a tournament game in downtown St. Louis. She lost both legs.

The driver, 21-year-old Daniel Riley, was out on bond on a robbery charge despite nearly 100 bond violations including letting his GPS monitor die and breaking the terms of his house arrest. Critics questioned why Riley was free despite so many bond violations. Even Mayor Jones, also a Democrat, questioned if Gardner should remain in office.

This year also saw one of Gardner's biggest victories.

In February, she convinced a judge to set aside the murder conviction of Lamar Johnson, who spent nearly three decades in prison. Johnson was convicted largely on the testimony of an eyewitness who later alleged he had been coerced into his statements.

Last week, Gardner filed a motion seeking a hearing to vacate the sentence of another longtime inmate, Christopher Dunn, who has spent 33 years in prison for a murder that Gardner believes he didnt commit.

News-Leader reporter Claudette Riley contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Parson taps lawyer with MSU ties to replace St. Louis circuit attorney
Sinzae Reed was 13 when he was fatally shot on Oct. 12 in Columbus' Hilltop neighborhood.

A Franklin County grand jury has decided not to file murder charges against the man who said he fired in self-defense in the fatal October shooting of 13-year-old Sinzae Reed.

An indictment was posted on the Franklin County Common Pleas Clerk of Courts website on Friday morning charging 36-year-old Krieg Butler with improper handling of a firearm and tampering with evidence.

Grand jury: How does Ohio's grand jury process work? Here's what you should know.

The shooting of Sinzae, a Black teen, by Butler, a white man, garnered local and national attention for months after it happened on the afternoon of Oct. 12. Activists criticized the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office for letting Butler go free while authorities investigated his claim of self-defense and for not bringing the case to a grand jury sooner.

More on Sinzae Reed: Family calls for justice for Sin'Zae Reed, 13-year-old killed in Hilltop apartment complex

According to Columbus police, Butler fatally shot Sinzae outside at the Wedgewood Apartments complex in the Hilltop where they both resided. An autopsy report by the Franklin County Coroner's Office later revealed Reed was shot twice  once in the right wrist and once in the chest.

Within a few days of the shooting, police arrested Butler and charged him with murder. After Butler told authorities he shot in self-defense, Tyacks office dropped the charges to await additional evidence from city homicide detectives.

DeJuan Sharp, who has been acting as a spokesperson for Sinzae Reed's family, stands Friday in front of a mural on the Vanderelli Room where Sinzaes face has been recently added at top right.

On Friday, DeJuan Sharp, a spokesperson for Sinzae's family, said his mom Megan Reed was struggling to process the news of the grand jury indictment.

"It's a whole swirl of emotions, anger, sadness. Its only been a few hours so more feelings will come through," Sharp said, noting Reed did not feel like commenting on the indictment on Friday.

"We're tired. There's been a lot of ups and downs. It was like Megan reliving the day Sinzae died all over," Sharp said of the announcement.

Megan Reed, center, receives a hug while speaking Oct. 12, 2022 during a community press event about the shooting death of her 13-year-old son, Sinzae Reed, at the Wedgewood Apartments complex in Columbus' Hilltop.

What do we know about Krieg Butler's self-defense claim?

Columbus police did not publicly say whether Sinzae had a gun or other weapon. Megan Reed, the boy's mother, previously told The Dispatch her son did not have a gun.

Reed did say that a police detective asked her why she would let her son carry a gun.

What did the prosecutor's office say?

In a statement on Friday, the Franklin County Prosecutor's office said the case was presented to a grand jury over two days with multiple witnesses testifying.

The prosecutor's office said aside from confirming the charges against Butler, they would have no further comment as Butler is being actively prosecuted.

"The office does not comment regarding pending matters beyond providing information regarding the court process," the statement said.

Previous Sinzae Reed coverage: What we know about the killing of 13-year-old Sinzae Reed

What is a grand jury?

In Ohio, county grand juries decide whether there is enough evidence for somebody to be charged with a felony crime such as murder. Grand juries are made up of nine randomly selected registered voters in the county.

It is the policy of the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office to present all fatal shootings to a grand jury for possible indictment, regardless of whether there is a self-defense claim.

Who was Sinzae Reed?

In his obituary, family members remembered Sinzae, who went by "Zay," as a young teenager who loved music, video games and spending time with his friends. Sinzae attended KIPP Columbus, a charter school on the Northeast Side.

What are the charges against Butler?

Improper handling of a firearm is a felony of the fourth degree with a maximum possible sentence of 18 months in prison if convicted.

Tampering with evidence is a third-degree felony with a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

Butler does not have an attorney listed and no court date has been set. Court records indicate that a request was made for an arrest warrant to be issued.

First in The Dispatch: Case of Sinzae Reed's death going to a Franklin County grand jury soon

Past reporting: Family asks why charges dropped against Columbus man accused of killing 13-year-old

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: A Franklin County grand jury issues decision in Sinzae Reed's death
Great-grandmother, 95, tasered by officer in Australia had walking frame and knife, police say

Homicide detectives in Australia are investigating why a police officer felt so threatened by a 95-year-old woman clutching a walking aid and steak knife that he needed to Taser her inside her nursing home.

Clare Nowland, a great-grandmother with dementia, is in critical condition in hospital after being tasered early Wednesday by a senior constable who had been called out to the home by care staff to reports of a resident with a knife.

Peter Cotter, NSW Police Force Assistant Commissioner, attempted to explain the officers actions at a news briefing on Friday, after watching video of the incident captured by two police body cameras.

At the time she was tasered she was approaching police. It is fair to say at a slow pace. She had a walking frame. But she had a knife. I cant take it any further as to what was going through anyones mind when he used the Taser, Cotter said.

The community has been outraged by the events that took place at Yallambee Lodge in Cooma, a small town about 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the national capital Canberra.

Andrew Thaler, a local community advocate, said Nowlands family  which includes eight children and dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren  are taking turns to keep vigil by her bedside.

I dont think theres going to be a recovery. Tasers take out bulls and fully grown men. Shes a slip of a woman, said Thaler, who is assisting the family, who have requested privacy as they deal with the events of the past few days.

Nowland has dementia and had lived at the home for five years, Thaler said.

She had good days and she had bad days, which is standard, he added, describing her as physically frail.

This woman couldnt stand without a walking aid. Shes not that strong. Shes around 43 kilos (95 pounds) and 5-foot-2 (1.58 meters).

This is an outrage.

How it unfolded

Police say they were called to the address around 4:15 a.m. on Wednesday to reports of a resident with a knife. Two officers found Nowland in her room, with a knife in her hand, Cotter said during the briefing on Friday.

It is fair to say that she was armed with that knife. The knife in question was a steak knife with a serrated edge that she had obtained from the kitchen area of the nursing home a couple of hours earlier, he said.

Police and paramedics negotiated with Nowland for a number of minutes, urging her to drop the knife, Cotter said, but for whatever reasons, Clare did not do that.

Clare approached the doorway where the police were at that stage, and the officer, the one officer, discharged the Taser, he said.

Nowland fell to the ground and hit her head.

The injury that she suffered as a result of hitting her head on the floor has rendered her bedridden at the moment, said Cotter. She remains in and out of consciousness.

Video and audio of the incident was captured by two police body cameras, which Cotter said was confronting.

I have seen it and I understand what Ive seen, said Cotter, who said the footage would not be released because it is not in the public interest.

Peter Cotter, NSW Police Force Assistant Commissioner, takes part in a press conference on May 19. - Courtesy Nine News

Questions being asked

Nowland is a well-known member of the community and had attracted local media attention when she went skydiving to celebrate her 80th birthday. She did it again at 85, according to Thaler.

The officer who discharged his Taser has not been identified beyond being a senior constable with 12 years of experience, who has now been taken off duty. Homicide detectives are involved because of the seriousness of incident, Cotter said.

He would not speculate whether the officer who fired the Taser would be charged.

If a threshold is met, where it changes from being a departmental issue into a criminal issue we are certainly mature enough and transparent enough as an organization to do what has to be done, he said.

Cotter said Tasers are generally used as a defensive tool when someones life is threatened.

We say it is there as a piece of equipment to defend yourself when you think your life is in danger, or someone elses life is in danger, where you have a genuine fear and threat of being physically overpowered, if there is a violent confrontation occurring, but of course those facts have to be real, he said.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb issued a statement Thursday saying her thoughts were with Nowlands family.

I understand and share the community concerns and assure you that we are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness, she said.

Snowy Monaro Regional Council, which operates Yallambee Lodge, said the council was supporting our staff, residents, and families during this difficult time and declined to comment further due to the investigation.

The councils website describes the lodge as a 40-bed aged care facility with private rooms and en-suites, staffed by registered nurses, enrolled nurses and carers.

Thaler said the community want to know why police thought it was necessary to Taser a frail, elderly woman who was known to have dementia and couldnt possibly have posed a threat.

Theres simply no excuse for it. But its happened. We want to know why and how, he said.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
(Bloomberg) -- From the building of a new metro line to buzzing cafes and tavernas and tourists milling around the squares where rioters once clashed with police, Greeces return from the depths of its economic crisis is impossible to miss in Athens.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The challenge for Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis as he heads into a tight election this weekend is to convince enough Greeks that they arent being left behind on that journey from what he calls old Greece to the new.

The rebound in the economy has set the nation on track to recover its investment-grade status after 13 years. Gross domestic product is just about where it was when Greece defaulted on its debt in 2010 and it sank by more than a fifth. Unemployment has more than halved from its peak of 28%. Controls to stop the exodus of euros were lifted more than three years ago. Greek stocks and bonds have soared.

But the burden of that recovery is still weighing on an electorate struggling like the rest of the continent. The legacy of the coronavirus pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis driven by food and energy bills is having an outsized effect on households whose income was already squeezed by the years of austerity designed to get Greece back on track.

Mitsotakis and his New Democracy party and rival former premier Alexis Tsipras, whose time in office saw him stand up to those measures ordered by Greeces creditors until he backed down and secured another bailout, are the main contenders. A change in the electoral system, though, makes a rerun of the vote in the summer highly likely.

Sandwiched between critical votes in Turkey next door, the Greek election may not command the same global attention. Yet at stake is whether Greece can avoid another period of political drama and maintain a trajectory thats improved its international standing and made the country a place where investors want to do business again.

The main thing from an outsiders view point would be that Greece wont become a crisis point again, said Nikos Vettas, general director of the Foundation of Economic and Industrial Research in Athens. In other words, that it will manage to do two things: to service normally its external debt and that itll maintain fairly robust growth rates.

QuicktakeWhy Greeces Fractured Politics Weigh on Its Recovery

Mitsotakis  whose father served as prime minister in the early 1990s and whose sister was foreign minister in the 2000s  has overseen the next stage of Greeces transformation, albeit overshadowed by a horrific train crash earlier this year and a spying scandal that implicated his government.

In 2022, Greece managed to reduce its debt-to-GDP ratio faster than any other European country. The risk premium on Greek government bonds compared with Germanys has fallen by about a third over the past year. They trade with a similar yield to Italian bonds, which hold an investment grade.

Greeces debt ratio, though, still remains the highest of any in the euro region, while the nation has a way to go to make up for the lost era of its debt crisis.

The economy is expected to reach 223 billion ($243 billion) this year, roughly what it was in 2010, estimates from Eurostat show. Yet per-capita GDP of 21,200 is about 29% less than in the Czech Republic, a country with a similar sized population in Europes less affluent former Eastern Bloc. Before the crisis, Greeces was about 37% higher than that of the Czechs.

The Attica region, which includes the sprawling capital thats home to more than a third of the countrys 10.6 million people, will ultimately decide who governs Greece.

In the area of Veikou Park in the north of the city, a stadium built for the Olympics in 2004  Greeces high water mark  was among those deployed to house asylum seekers in 2015 as the country grappled with a refugee crisis as well as its financial meltdown. Work is now underway on a multibillion-euro metro line that will connect the area with the heart of the Greek capital.

For Ioanna Katrakouli, who works as a cleaner in the park, theres been no comeback. You cant work for so many years while only getting crumbs, said Katrakouli, 57. Tsipras and his Coalition of the Radical Left, or Syriza, is best placed to make the needed fixes Greece now needs, she said. They must look at the people, the human being, the average Greek who struggles from morning to night, she said.

Yiorgos Vafeiadis, 26-year-old gym instructor in the Attica region, remembers well the bad days of the recent past and doesnt expect miracles from any new government. While a teenager, I can remember capital controls and Tsipras ignoring the result of a referendum he set up on bailout conditions, so for sure I wont be voting for him, he said.

Among his circle of peers, the economy is the main issue. He reckons those who earn around 800 a month, just marginally higher than the minimum wage, are planning to vote for Syriza or a smaller party. Those who have a higher monthly salary intend to vote for New Democracy, he said.

Others are keen for Mitsotakis to get re-elected to continue the improvements in the state machine whose unwieldiness defined Greece for decades.

Nafsika Kastana, a 43-year-old veterinarian, likes how the digitalization of government services has made the interaction between citizens and the state easier, she said. He has managed the economy well, is strong on security and has improved Greeces image abroad, said Kastana.

As ever, the main political leaders are trying to convince voters that each of them has the best plan to transport Greece to the future and shed its legacy. The train crash that killed 57 people in February was ultimately blamed on cronyism and chronic underinvestment in the railway system by successive administrations.

Both Mitsotakis and Tsipras have focused on incomes. The incumbent has promised to raise the minimum wage to 950 a month from 780 during the next four-year parliament while his opponent has pledged 880 in his first 50 days in power. In 2010, before the crisis, it was 740.

Citizens are being asked to decide whether we move forward or return to a past that I think we want to forget, Mitsotakis, 55, said during a televised debate among all parliamentary party leaders on May 10.

Tsipras, 48, meanwhile, said inequalities mean whole echelons of society are being hollowed out. If we dont decide to make big changes, four years from now there wont be a middle class, he responded.

But given the metrics of the new voting system  the winner no longer gets 50 bonus seats in the 300-seat parliament to ease its way into power  many Greeks are expected to defect from the two main parties in protest. Should there be another election, expected in July, the rules will change to help produce a clearer result.

What the electorate is looking for is a path to living standards that at least match the average in the euro region, said Vettas at the think tank in Athens.

The politicians in the big parties are the ones who put us into the bailouts and even now theyre still waving their fingers at us, telling us what to do, said Yiorgos Krabokoukis, a 65-year-old pensioner sitting in Veikou Park. Greece has no future with them.

--With assistance from Aline Oyamada.

(Removes reference to opinion polls in fifth paragraph)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
By Renee Maltezou

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece heads for what is likely to be an inconclusive parliamentary election on Sunday, paving the way for wrangling between parties to forge a ruling coalition in a deeply divided political landscape.

Opinion polls show Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservative New Democracy ahead of Alexis Tsipras' left-wing Syriza party, which ruled Greece in 2015-2019 at the peak of its debt crisis.

A new voting system means an outright winner is unlikely unless the first party achieves more than about 46% of the vote, leaving the two main candidates in a scramble to find potential allies or - the more probable outcome - to lead the country into a second election in a month's time.

After the election, and if the forecasts are confirmed, the three leading parties - New Democracy, Syriza and the Socialist PASOK - will each receive, in turn, a three-day mandate to try to form a government.

New Democracy, with poll ratings at 32-37%, could in theory team up with PASOK, ranking third on 8-11%. The couple put their historic animosity aside and ruled Greece during the debt crisis. But Mitsotakis, 55, told Reuters in an interview this week that he prefers "a strong one-party government".

"Experience has taught us in Greece that one-party governments are much more stable than coalition governments," Mitsotakis said.

DIVISIONS

The once-mighty PASOK saw its support crumble to single digits after signing up to Greece's first international bailout in 2010. It has been attempting a comeback under a new leader since 2021, 44-year old civil engineer Nikos Androulakis.

Its relations with New Democracy were soured by a wiretapping scandal last year, when Androulakis said Greece's intelligence service had listened to his phone conversations.

PASOK has sent conflicting signals on whether it would join a coalition government. It says neither Mitsotakis nor Tsipras could serve as prime minister if PASOK joined a coalition.

"If Mitsotakis or Tsipras think PASOK will be their crutch for power, they should look elsewhere," Androulakis told party supporters on May 17.

PASOK also accuses Syriza of making promises it cannot fulfil.

Syriza, which introduced the proportional voting system when in power, says it would try to form a broad coalition government and has urged Greeks to give it a chance to rule without the terms of the harsh bailout agreed with the euro zone that hampered its last stint in power. The bailout ended in 2018.

Support for Syriza ranges between 27-31%.

Polls suggest Syriza would need to team up with more than two parties, including PASOK, to win a majority in the 300-seat parliament.

Addressing PASOK directly during an election rally, Tsipras said: "I invite you on Monday to sit at one table after Syriza's great victory, after our people's great victory, which will open the way for a progressive government."

Another potential partner for the 48-year old firebrand leftist leader would be his Marxist former finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, who leads the small Mera25 party.

But relations between the two are frosty since 2015 when Varoufakis had to resign to help Tsipras clinch Greece's third bailout deal with euro zone lenders. Varoufakis has ruled out joining a coalition with Syriza.

Greece's Communist Party, which is on 5-6%, has also ruled out participating in a coalition or backing a minority government.

If the numbers do not stack up, the leading candidates may need backing from right-wing Kyriakos Velopoulos, a part-time TV presenter whose Hellenic Solution party made it into parliament in 2019. Tsipras has in the past led a left-right coalition.

Velopoulos rejected the scenarios in a Mega TV interview this week, calling the two main parties "unreliable".

(Additional reporting by Angeliki Koutantou and Deborah Kyvrikosaios; Writing by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Michele Kambas and Gareth Jones)
Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda, set out this year with a goal of protecting Californians from bias as artificial intelligence is increasingly used to make decisions around health care, housing and employment.

AB 331, authored by Bauer-Kahan, called for prohibiting the use of any automated decision tool  a system or service that uses artificial intelligence to make decisions  that results in discrimination and mandates that developers and users of such tools conduct an impact assessment

But on Thursday, the measure became one of dozens that were quietly killed for the year. The Assembly and Senate Appropriations Committees went through nearly 1,200 bills, including AB 331, to weed out any measures deemed too expensive, overly cumbersome, unnecessary or politically inconvenient.

I think its a huge missed opportunity for California to lead the nation, Bauer-Kahan said in an interview Thursday afternoon. We need to make sure that as these (AI data tools) proliferate, and we see more and more decisions being made by them, that we as a state are protecting people from the bias and discrimination that can be built into these.

How Californias suspense file works

The suspense file is part of a three-decade-old tool used by the legislature to ensure the state has enough money in the budget to cover the cost of proposed measures.

Bills added to the suspense file include those with budget asks of $50,000 or more from the general fund or $150,000 or more from a special fund. Committees can also refer certain other bills to appropriations even if they fall short of that fiscal requirement.

The appropriations committees in the Senate and Assembly  tasked with reviewing any financial impacts of proposed legislation  then decide whether to pass a bill to the floor, discreetly amend it before it goes before the full chamber or keep it in suspense, effectively killing it for the year. This happens twice a year.

California lawmakers this year filed nearly 3,000 bills, many of them accompanied by costs the state would have to pay to implement.

Faced with a projected $31.5 billion deficit and economic uncertainty, Gov. Gavin Newsom last signaled last week that he would likely veto any proposals that were not covered in the next years budget, which must be passed by July 1.

Weve got to get this done in the budget, he said during his May budget revision presentation. We have these amazing bills... But I also have a responsibility, we have a collective responsibility.

California bills end up on the cutting room floor

Thursday marked the highest number of bills seen on the committees suspense files in the past decade, according to Chris Micheli, a longtime California lobbyist who has written a book about the legislative process.

Micheli, who studies the states suspense file decisions closely, said historically about three-quarters of bills on the list successfully make it out of the committees. But the sheer number of bills tabled in the span of a few hours never fails to cause frustration among lawmakers, lobbyists and special interest groups.

In one fell swoop, hundreds of bills are done  and its a place that sometimes some highly controversial bills end up on the cutting room floor so to speak, Micheli said.

Proponents of the suspense file say its an efficient mechanism for screening hundreds of bills that pose fiscal challenges for the state. Detractors say it allows lawmakers to evade casting unpopular votes with little public scrutiny or insight into the decision-making process.

It is now just accepted by the Capitol community that twice a year bills die without explanation and a vote, and it feels as though a massive transparency black hole has been baked into the legislative experience, said Jonathan Stein, executive director of the nonpartisan political organization California Common Cause.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Anthony Portantino, D-Burbank, opened Thursdays meeting defending the process, saying that prior hearings provided a chance for discussions but this was reserved solely for voting.

Its important to note  and some folks dont appreciate this  every measure that we have ahead on the suspense file has an opportunity for public testimony, Portantino said at the start of the meeting.

Every year, the suspense file leaves some lawmakers fuming over legislation they championed through the committees only to watch it quietly die.

One lawmaker, Assemblyman Bill Essayli, R-Riverside, has vowed to keep fighting in the case of AB 595. That bill, dubbed Bowies Law, would have required shelters to provide notice before euthanizing animals.

Im not giving up. I intend to force a floor vote on Bowies Law next week. Every legislator will be on record where they stand, Essayli wrote in a Thursday tweet.

Bills killed this year by California Appropriation committees

SB 12: Requires California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% below 1990 levels by 2030, accelerating the states current goal of a 40% reduction

SB 556: Empowers people who live near oil wells and who have been diagnosed with cancer, respiratory illnesses or birth defects to hold oil drillers liable

AB 276: Bars people younger than 21 from talking on hands-free devices while driving

AB 315: Outlaws anyone who performs pregnancy-related services from using false or misleading advertising about whether they provide abortions. It allows public prosecutors to sue businesses that violate the provision

AB 331: Prohibits the use of any automated decision tool  a system or service that uses artificial intelligence to make decisions  that results in discrimination and mandates that developers and users of such tools conduct an impact assessment

AB 595: Requires animal shelters to provide 72 hours notice before euthanizing a dog, cat or rabbit

AB 710: Directs the California Department of Public Health to launch an awareness campaign about clinics that perform services related to pregnancy care and abortion
Photo of electric vehicles charging



EV drivers in Texas dont pay at the pump, but will have to start paying a significant annual fee that critics are calling punitive.

Driving an electric vehicle in Texas is soon to become more expensive. Governor Greg Abbott signed a law (SB 505) on May 13 instituting new fees for registering and owning EVs in the state. Under the bill, electric car owners will have to pay $400 upon registering their vehicle. Then, every subsequent year, EV drivers will have to shell out an additional $200. Both of those fees are on top of the cost of the standard annual registration renewal fees, which are $50.75 each year for most passenger cars and trucks.



The law exempts mopeds, motorcycles, and other non-car EVs, and goes into effect starting on September 1, 2023.

Read more

At least 32 states currently have special electric vehicle registration fees, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures. These range from $50 in places like Colorado, Hawaii, and South Dakota to $274 (starting in 2028) in a recently passed piece of Tennessee legislation. Note: Tennessee lawmakers had originally proposed a $300 fee, but lowered it in response to pushback.

Like many other states that have instituted EV fees, the reasoning behind the Lone Star States new law is that electric car drivers dont buy gas. Taxes at the fuel pump are the primary way that most states, Texas included, amass funds for road construction, maintenance, and other driving-related infrastructure.

Currently, Texas uses the gasoline/diesel fuel tax to fund transportation projects; however, with the growing use of EVs, the revenue from the fuel tax is decreasing, which diminishes our ability to fund road improvements for all drivers, said the bills author, Republican State Senator Robert Nichols, in comments about the legislation, per local NBC News affiliate KXAN.

But, compared with what gas drivers contribute, Texass EV fees seem a little out of whack. Charging $200 per year and $400 at the outset of EV ownership places Texass fee schedule at the higher price end of the policies out there. In comparison, Texass gas tax is among the lowest in the country, at just $0.20 per gallon. Just seven states impose a lower duty on gasoline than TX. Among the 10 most populous states in the country, additional fees levied elsewhere make Texass gas the cheapest.

The average Texas driver burned through ~55 million BTUs of motor gasoline in 2018, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Thats equal to about 440 gallons of gas. At $0.20 per gallon, the standard car owner in Texas is paying just $88 per year in gas taxesfar less than the hundreds more EV drivers will now be throwing into the pot. A 2022 Consumer Reports analysis determined that a Texas drivers gas tax contribution is even lower, at just $71.

The new law says loud and clear that Texas is fully behind oil and gas, Kara Kockleman, a transportation engineering professor at the University of Texas, Austin, told local ABC News affiliate KVUE. Electric vehicles should pay a gas tax  I just think the tax on the conventional cars should be much, much higher than it is. We pay less for gas in this state than almost anyone in the world... Texas is really behind the curve on trying to do the right thing by the environment. And so, thats embarrassing, I think, for all of us.

Theres no doubt that roads and other car infrastructure are expensive. Though it can be easy to forget thatevery time a driver cruises down the asphalt, complies with a traffic signal, or reads a highway signtheyre benefiting from a costly system constructed for their particular use and benefit. But compared with other forms of transportation in the U.S., car ownership is already heavily subsidized. So is burning fossil fuels.

According to a 2015 analysis from the nonprofit Canadian media outlet The Discourse, society pays more than $9 for every $1 a driver pays in commuting: Through infrastructure, accident liability, noise and air pollution, and congestion. Buses, biking, and walking all eat up much less public funds for the same amount of miles traveled. EVs presumably also have a slightly lower public cost, as theyre quieter and dont directly emit air pollution.

Yet in Texas, the tax load for driving an electric car will far exceed that of a gas-powered vehicle. The new law is punitive according to Consumer Reports. Consumers should not be punished for choosing a cleaner, greener car that saves them money on fuel and maintenance, Dylan Jaff, a policy analyst at CR, wrote in an April statement. The fees proposed in this bill will establish an inequitable fee scale for EV owners, and will not provide a viable solution to the long-standing issue of road funding revenue.

Luke Metzger, director of the non-profit advocacy group, Environment Texas, echoed Consumer Reports findings in a statement from last month. The Texas Legislature is pouring sugar in the tank of the electric vehicle revolution. This punitive fee will make it harder for Texans to afford these clean vehicles which are so critical to reducing air pollution in Texas.

Electric personal vehicles are not a perfect solution to the ongoing problem of petroleum-powered cars. Swapping every gas-guzzler for an EV still would use up an extraordinary amount of resources, that are likely to be ill-gotten. Public investment in mass transit would inarguably be a better environmental strategy. But, as long as the U.S. remains overwhelmingly car dominant and as long as most Americans lack access to adequate public transit, EV uptake remains important for lowering the nations carbon emissions.

Already, the upfront costs of purchasing an electric car are significantly higher than buying a gas vehicle. A disproportionate tax system adds to that burden, and it could dissuade people from transitioning to EVs.

More from Gizmodo

Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
This growing Idaho city needs more workforce housing. Over 500 new homes approved

Hundreds of homes and apartments that promise to be at market rate will soon be developed in Caldwell, after the City Council unanimously approved the housing projects.

The housing proposals total 551 new homes and came from two developers, one who has plans for single-family homes and townhouses and the other for apartment units.

(This project) provides needed housing, said Justin Fishburn, a local developer who proposed the apartment complex. It does not create additional sprawl and it helps preserve the agriculture and water in our rural areas.

Lavender Crossing adds market rate apartments

Local mother-and-son developers, Gennie and Justin Fishburn, plan to build 272 apartments in south Caldwell near Laster Lane and Interstate 84. Their apartment project, called Lavender Crossing, includes 12 apartment buildings with 24 apartment units in each. It also includes a clubhouse, community kitchen and lounge and a gym.

Lavender Crossing is surrounded by recent residential development, including Alante Homes, which includes 419 patio homes and townhouses.

Elizabeth Koeckeritz, an attorney with Givens Pursely who represented the Fishburns, said Lavender Crossing would fit in with Caldwells growth plan and with the development in the area.

It really does help this middle-market niche and it does add additional housing to Caldwell, which as you know is rapidly growing and developing, Koeckeritz said during the meeting.

The Fishburns plan to rent the apartments at market rate. According to Zumper.com, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Caldwell is $1,075.

Lavender Crossing includes six one-bedroom units, 12 two-bedroom units and six three-bedroom units in each of the 12 buildings.

A rendering of one of the 12 buildings that would make up the Lavender Crossing. The apartment project adds 272 apartments to the city of Caldwell.

Justin Fishburn said Caldwell needs more mid-level housing. He told the council he spoke with Joey Palmer, Vallivue School District director of federal and state programs, who said the district has lost qualified teachers in recent years because they cant afford or find local housing.

Lavender Crossing will fulfill the need for situations such as this, Fishburn said.

The Fishburns will donate money to the district, but even so, Palmer wrote a letter to the council opposing the development.

Adding the Lavender Crossing subdivision without a bond approved by the community will only continue to make the effort to provide our students a quality education even more challenging, Palmer wrote.

His letter was authored before the Vallivue bond passed in Tuesdays election.

Fishburn said he plans to donate money to the district to help build a school, but the application did not say how much the donation is.

Traverse Creek adds townhouses, patio and single-family homes

Corey Barton, local Idaho developer, will build 279 homes to the northwest corner of Marble Front and Wells roads in east Caldwell.

The project, called Traverse Creek, includes 148 single-family homes, 14 townhouses and 117 patio homes, which are single-level homes attached by patio. The project would be on 84.5 acres, which has a creek and the Noble Drain running through it.

Bonnie Layton, a senior planner with NV5, represented Barton in the meeting. She said Traverse Creek would be close to Caldwells North Ranch Business Park, 115-acre mixed-used development with office, retail and industrial spaces, built by Tommy Ahlquist, the CEO of local development company Ball Ventures Ahlquist.

Traverse Creek, along with Lavender Crossing, hope to be homes for people who work in the area, many of whom have been priced out of larger homes in Caldwell.

This makes it an easy commute. People could even walk to work, Layton told the council.

Barton expects to build the subdivision in six phases, with the first phase planned to start next summer.

The Department of Labor said there are almost 1,300 jobs available within the city of Caldwell, Layton said. We need those rooftops to help complement and have a place for those employees to live.

Avimor is back on the Eagle City Council agenda. Homeowners try to block decision

Bench townhomes, North End booze and pho, Meridian drive-thru soda. All coming near you
Three men were charged this week in Pierce County for their roles in a high-speed chase that began with a gun being pulled on a man at a Tacoma smoke shop and ended with the suspects car pinned into a guard rail on Interstate 5.

According to charging documents filed Monday, Tacoma Police Department officers were dispatched Sunday to a Portland Avenue smoke shop where a man reported he was followed into the store by two people, one of whom wore a black ski mask. The victim told police the masked man pulled out a handgun and appeared ready to shoot him before the other person said they had the wrong person.

Police reviewed surveillance video that showed a black Jeep Wrangler brought the two to the smoke shop. When a sergeant drove to the business to help employees download the footage, he reportedly saw the vehicle stopped at an intersection near Portland Avenue. The sergeant turned on his emergency lights, records state, and the Jeep driver sped south.

The alleged gunman, a 23-year-old SeaTac man, was charged in Pierce County Superior Court with second-degree attempted assault, and two counts of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. The alleged driver, a 26-year-old man with an address in University Place, was charged with attempted assault and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle. The man accused of going in with the gunman, a 25-year-old Seattle man, was charged with attempted assault.

The alleged driver was released on personal recognizance until his next court date following arraignment Monday afternoon. The 25-year-old Seattle man was released on personal recognizance with home monitoring. The alleged gunman remains in custody at Pierce County Jail. According to court records, he would be released on home monitoring if he posts $50,000 bail.

Police were reportedly familiar with the victim, and his residence had been the target of several drive-by shootings, according to the declaration for determination of probable cause. Prosecutors wrote in the charging papers that the man believed the men who followed him into the store were going to shoot him but had mistaken him with someone else.

He allegedly told police he was at the smoke shop for about 20 minutes with another person before the Jeep pulled into the parking lot and two occupants followed him in. Surveillance video captured the vehicles Oregon license plate, according to the probable cause document, and police later determined it was a rental car.

Its unclear exactly how many police units were involved in the chase. Tacoma police spokesperson Wendy Haddow said the call involved 19 units, including several from Ruston Police Department. She said those units included officers working scene control, supervisors and officers requesting a search warrant, among others.

Pursuit hit 90 mph on Pacific Avenue

When police caught up to the Jeep, the driver went south on Portland until 64th Street, where he went west to Pacific Avenue at about 60 mph, records state. From there, the driver went north, allegedly hitting 90 mph.

Then, the driver went east on South 38th Street to take the Interstate 705 on-ramp. There, an officer struck the Jeep with a pursuit intervention technique, but the vehicle spun 360 degrees and kept going, according to the probable cause document. The Jeep then merged onto northbound Interstate 5, where there was heavy traffic. Records state the driver swerved between other vehicles.

As the Jeep approached the South 272nd Street exit  about 17 miles into the pursuit  one of the vehicles tires blew, and its speed dropped to about 40 mph, prosecutors wrote. An officer used a pursuit technique again, and the car spun into a guard rail, where other patrol cars pinned it in.

One of the suspects allegedly got out and went over the guard rail to flee but surrendered when he saw there were only sticker bushes waiting for him on the other side. All three men were taken into custody.

The Jeep was impounded for a search warrant. According to the probable cause document, police found two handguns with 50-round drum magazines attached and another extended magazine. Another handgun was reportedly found in the pants pocket of the alleged gunman. Records state it was loaded with three different types of 9 mm ammunition.
Habitat for Humanity receives $35K donation to help preserve Orlando homes

Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando and Osceola County received a large donation Friday.

Fortune 500 company Wesco gave $35,000 to provide affordable home inspections and repairs in Central Florida.

Team members helped build homes in the Silver Pines Pointe community.

The Home Preservation Program ensures people have safe homes year-round, especially with the upcoming hurricane season.

Read: Habitat for Humanity dedicates two new homes

Team members helped build homes in the Silver Pines Pointe community.

The logistics company said it would help with housing projects over the next year.

Wesco team members will also volunteer to help build future Orlando homes.

Habitats home maintenance program selects families based on income and need.

Read: Volunteers work to build new homes though Habitat for Humanity in Seminole County

Hilton Grand Vacations partnered with Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County to help build a new home for a local family on Wednesday.

Hilton Grand Vacations partnered with Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County to help build a new home for a local family on Wednesday.

Hilton Grand Vacations partnered with Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County to help build a new home for a local family on Wednesday.

Hilton Grand Vacations partnered with Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County to help build a new home for a local family on Wednesday.

Hilton Grand Vacations partnered with Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County to help build a new home for a local family on Wednesday.

Hilton Grand Vacations partnered with Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County to help build a new home for a local family on Wednesday.

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.
Hammer of gun in 'Rust' shooting possibly modified -prosecutors FILE PHOTO: Actor Alec Baldwin in New York

By Andrew Hay

(Reuters) - The hammer of the gun actor Alec Baldwin was holding when it fired a live round killing "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins may have been intentionally modified, New Mexico special prosecutors said in a court filing this week.

The comments came a month after prosecutors dropped a criminal charge against Baldwin over Hutchins' death in 2021, citing new evidence. A source close to the case at the time said the evidence concerned modifications to the reproduction long Colt .45 revolver Baldwin was using.

"The modification appears to be related to the notches on the internal portion of the hammer for full cock, half cock and quarter cock positions," prosecutors said in documents filed on Wednesday asking a judge to authorize transfer of the revolver, ammunition and a jacket belonging to the films weapons handler for forensic testing.

"It appears that these notches may have been partially removed or ground down so that they are less prominent."

An FBI test of the gun found it would not fire unless the trigger was pulled. Baldwin said he never pulled the trigger.

Prosecutors said additional testing was required to see if the hammer was modified, the source of the modification and what impact it might have on the firearm's performance.

Ammunition found on the set was requested for testing for manner of assembly and origin of manufacture, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors have yet to reveal how live rounds got onto the set of the low-budget movie production.

"Rust" weapons handler Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is the only person still facing charges over Hutchins' death.

Prosecutors also requested Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office transfer Gutierrez-Reed's jacket to them for gunpowder-residue testing

Her attorneys on Thursday filed a motion to dismiss the criminal case against her on grounds of lack of prosecutorial authority and violations in Gutierrez-Reed's due process rights.

Prosecutors last month said they would continue to charge Gutierrez-Reed with involuntary manslaughter. A preliminary hearing on the charge is set for Aug. 9-16.

(Reporting By Andrew Hay; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
YouTube personality and author Hank Green shared he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. (Monica Schipper / Getty Images)

Hank Green just revealed he has been diagnosed with lymphoma and started chemotherapy.

"I'm fine, but I'm not fine," the author and YouTube personality said in a video shared Friday morning.

In the 13-minute video titled "So, I've got cancer," Green shared the news with fans, opening up about the diagnosis and his time processing it. The "An Absolutely Remarkable Thing" author, 43, told his followers he noticed his lymph nodes were swollen and consulted a doctor, who recommended an ultrasound.

Green's doctor, "suspicious for lymphoma," subsequently ordered a biopsy for the following day.

"When you're in the American health care system, you don't expect things to move quick. That's not what it does." Green joked. "That's not what it looks like. And when it starts to get a little bit efficient it's actually quite disconcerting."

The YouTube personality, co-star of the Vlogbrothers YouTube channel with brother, "Fault in Our Stars" author John, revealed he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The Mayo Clinic defines Hodgkin's lymphoma as a "type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system." Green assured viewers that his form of cancer "is one of the most treatable."

"I've talked to a few friends who have been through various different cancers and cancer treatment and one of the things that they all said is this is your job now," Green continued.

Green, who said he lives with an autoimmune disease, said in the description of Friday's video that he was starting chemotherapy "literally as this video goes live."

He told fans that, as a result of his treatment and its side effects, YouTube videos will post irregularly.

Green also said he does not want to be perceived solely for his diagnosis: "I wanna be the fun, goofy, science guy. Not like, struggling-with-anxiety cancer guy."

He asked that fans refrain from both sharing health care advice and making a big deal of his cancer battle. Instead, he asked that they subscribe to his newsletters and recommend media that is "really dumb that could not make you cry" while he undergoes chemotherapy.

"I desperately need to be distracted," he said. "As you can tell, I'm fine, but I'm not fine and it sucks."

At the end of the clip, Green said he hopes that it's not his final "Vlogbrothers" video but said, "if it is, it is."

He added: "We'll figure it out as we go. One day at a time."

Green gained a devoted following through his YouTube content, which included the bite-size history and biology videos on the CrashCourse channel co-created with John. The brothers created the Vlogbrothers channel in 2007.

On the Vlogbrothers channel, siblings take turns posting videos addressed to the other. The channel touts a following of more than 3.5 million subscribers.

Green's published his other book, "A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor," in 2020 following the 2018 publication of "An Absolutely Remarkable Thing."

Continuing his health update in the video description Friday, Green said "the cancer has not spread anywhere from it original location" in his left armpit and chest area.

That is "very good news," he said.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A member of Harrison County law enforcement shot and killed a person Thursday after a two-car crash in Biloxi, according to a press release from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.

A Harrison County Board of Supervisors county patrol officer stopped to render aid near the intersection of Highway 67 and Shriners Boulevard about 4 p.m. when a subject attacked the officer multiple times, MBI said.

The officer fired her gun to defend herself in the attack, striking the subject, Sheriff Troy Peterson told the Sun Herald. The shooting happened in a wooded area near the accident scene., an official with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety confirmed.

The officer involved represents District One and Supervisor Beverly Martin, Peterson said. Supervisors patrol officers are also referred to as safety officers. They do not work for the sheriffs department.

MBI has not released any other details, and the agency said it is currently assessing this critical incident and gathering evidence.

The Harrison County Board of Supervisors released a statement Thursday night that described the crash as a hit and run accident The full statement said:

This afternoon one of Harrison Countys trained county patrol officers, after observing a hit and run accident, attempted to subdue the fleeing driver who caused the accident. The driver first attempted to flee with the officer in pursuit then he turned to threaten and attack the officer multiple times until the officer had no choice but to use deadly force. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is in charge of the investigation. The Board appreciates our citizens patience while the MBI completes its investigation into this unfortunate incident. No further comments will be made until the investigation is completed.

The area where the shooting occurred is near the Mississippi Highway Patrol station.

A county patrol officer  or safety officer  is not a common term associated with law enforcement. In Harrison County, each supervisor has a patrol officer for their district. Most, including the officer involved in Thursdays shooting, are certified law enforcement officers who undergo training.

MBI is the agency that investigates all officer-involved shootings in Mississippi. Information from the investigation is turned over to the state Attorney Generals office.
Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart were all smiles in a rare red carpet appearance at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.

The two actors, who tied the knot in 2010 after dating since 2002, were spotted holding hands at the May 18 world premiere of Fords new movie, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," which took place at the festival. The movie finds the veteran actor, 80, reprising the role of adventurous archeologist Indiana Jones after a 15-year break.

Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford at 2023 Cannes Film Festival (Dominique Charriau / WireImage)

While at Cannes, Ford was also presented with an honorary Palme dOr  the festival's highest prize  for his lifetime achievement in movies, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The "Star Wars" franchise star, whos famous for his gruff offscreen personality, was reportedly visibly moved after viewing a montage of his work during the ceremony.

Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford at 2023 Cannes Film Festival (LOIC VENANCE / AFP / Getty Images)

Though Ford and his former Ally McBeal star wife, 58, typically shun the spotlight, they also showed up together to the December premiere of Fords Paramount+ Western drama, 1923.

The longtime couple share a son, Liam. Ford is also dad to four other children  Benjamin, Willard, Malcolm and Georgia  from his first two marriages.

Though Ford and Flockhart have never acted on screen together, Ford told People in January that he and his three-time Emmy nominee wife would love to find a project they could appear in together.

Wed love to find one we could do together. But yeah, havent found one yet, said Ford, who noted that Flockhart had returned to acting in recent years, most notably in the TV series "Supergirl."

Shes just going back to work after having devoted herself to the raising of our son, Liam, for the last 20 years," he said. "And shes enjoying going back to work. Im hoping we will find something to do together.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Melissa Quinn was the Head of Spaceport Cornwall for the first UK space launch earlier this year

The head of Spaceport Cornwall is leaving her role at the end of the month, Cornwall Council has said.

Melissa Quinn has been part of the Spaceport project since it started in 2014, and became its head in 2021.

She oversaw the first ever space launch from UK soil in January, which ended in failure when the Virgin Orbit rocket suffered an "anomaly".

She said: "I am leaving... at the start of an exciting new chapter, and I will be cheering it on from the side lines."

Cornwall Council said: "Despite the satellites not reaching their final orbit, the Spaceport and Cornwall Airport Newquay teams flawlessly executed ground operations, justifying their achievement of being awarded the UK's first spaceport license.

"Melissa has championed Cornwall on a global stage and helped developed partnerships locally in order to accelerate the growth of Cornwall's space sector."

Ms Quinn, originally from British Columbia in Canada, said: "I am incredibly proud of what my small, dedicated team, and I have achieved. Mostly, I am proud of our work with local young people, especially girls, inspiring them to get into STEAM careers.

Ms Quinn was among the first of those answering questions from the waiting media after the first launch from Spaceport Cornwall ended in failure

"I want to say thank you to my team and our partners for helping to deliver our purpose of Space for Good, putting Cornwall on the world's stage."

Louis Gardner, Cornwall Council's Portfolio Holder for the Economy said: "I would like to thank Melissa personally for her dedication and leadership in making Spaceport Cornwall a reality - and in particular the way in which her work has inspired thousands of young people to understand that an amazing career in space is something they can achieve right here in Cornwall."

Cornwall Council recently approved the Space Sector Development Strategy which sets out the future direction of the project over the next two years.

Follow BBC News South West on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.
FILE PHOTO: Women take shelter from the sun at a construction site in Ahmedabad

Heat insurance offers climate change lifeline to poor workers FILE PHOTO: Women take shelter from the sun at a construction site in Ahmedabad

(This May 19 story has been corrected to show ICICI Lombard was the insurer, not ICICI Bank, in paragraph 29)

By Gloria Dickie, Simon Jessop and Shivam Patel

AHMEDABAD, India (Reuters) - A bright sun beat down on the sprawling Indian market where Kamlaben Ashokbhai Patni sat worrying about the brass jewellery on display in her wooden stall.

When the heat rises, the metal blackens. Plastic pearls become unglued.

"The colour of the jewel starts to fade as it becomes hotter, making it worthless and akin to junk", said the 56-year-old mother of four, on a late April day when temperatures simmered around 38 Celsius (100F) in the western city of Ahmedabad.

Climate change drove heat in the city to a record-breaking 48C (118F) in 2016. Last year, it peaked at nearly 46C (114.8F).

Such high temperatures could mean a hit to business. But Patni is now among 21,000 self-employed women in Gujarat state enrolled in one of the world's first insurance schemes for extreme heat, launched this month by nonprofit Arsht-Rock Foundation Resilience Center in partnership with microinsurance startup Blue Marble and a trade union.

If temperatures climb high enough above historical averages and linger there for three days, she'll receive a small payout to help cope and compensate lost income.

While traditional insurance can take months to pay, with so-called "parametric" insurance there is no need to prove losses. It can pay within days of a trigger being reached  a predetermined threshold beyond which conditions are considered extreme. Payments can be set to things like wind speeds or rainfall.

This form of disaster assistance is on the rise across the developing world, as vulnerable communities are hammered by worsening drought, storms and heatwaves.

But with climate change happening faster and causing more damage than scientists had predicted  and too little money being spent on protecting populations  such projects could struggle over the longer-term, according to more than 20 industry experts consulted by Reuters.

Reinsurer Swiss RE reported that sales of parametric product jumped 40% between 2021 and August 2022. Insurance analysts at Allied Market Research estimate the market, valued at $11.7 billion in 2021, could reach $29.3 billion by 2031.

At annual climate talks in Egypt last year, nonprofits urged richer nations to help finance parametric insurance as a way of compensating victims of worsening weather extremes.

It is still somewhat niche "but it's growing," said Ekhosuehi Iyahen, secretary general of the Insurance Development Forum, an industry-led group that promotes insurance for non-traditional markets.

The past year has seen new products rolled out across Latin America, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. The U.N. Capital Development Fund, for example, recently developed parametric policies for Vanuatu, Tonga, and Fiji covering cyclone damage.

LIMITS

While parametric insurance has been around since the 1990s, recent advances in satellite technologies have opened up areas that were previously difficult to assess for damage, such as distant islands or mountain communities.

However, some industry experts question whether the products will be financially viable in the long-run, in part because of too-frequent payouts due to climate risks escalating faster than predicted less than a decade ago. This could drive up premiums.

Some schemes have already fizzled. The Kenya Livestock Insurance Program, for example, supported pastoralists hit by drought with 1.2 billion Kenyan shillings ($8.8 million) in payouts between 2015 and 2021. But with just 1.1 billion ($8.1 million) shillings collected in premiums, the scheme operated at a loss and was replaced this year with another that offers other financial savings products alongside insurance.

At the moment, insurance schemes in the developing world are largely subsidized by nonprofit groups, national governments, or wealthy countries.

Many of the programmes aspire to have policyholders eventually cover more if not all of the premium. But worsening extremes could make that difficult, said resilience researcher Viktor Roezer of the London School of Economics, noting the programs could just become a "different channel for aid".

Interviews with more than a dozen groups involved in such insurance found that most products launched in the last five years had already paid out.

The products need to "geographically diversify - we have to have schemes spread out in different areas" to dilute the risk, said Jaime de Pinies, CEO of the Blue Marble group that developed the Gujarat heat programme, as well as others in Colombia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

ADAPT

One way of avoiding constant payouts, industry analysts say, is for governments to implement better strategies to defend against weather extremes, for example by planting crops more resilient to drought or building cooler homes to protect against rising heat, thus slashing losses. This could allow insurers to set triggers higher.

"The beauty of the parametric is that it pays so quickly and it's incredibly flexible," said Kathy Baughman McLeod, director of the Arsht-Rock Foundation Resilience Center which is covering the $10.30 per person premium in Gujarat.

"But it needs to be paired with actions or tools that reduce the risk."

Investment in boosting resilience remains marginal in most developing economies, with financing promised by richer countries not yet fully materialising.

Donor nations mobilized just $29 billion in 2020 to help poorer countries adapt to a warmer world  far below the $340 billion estimated by the U.N. Environment Programme to be needed each year by 2030.

"In most cases, there is zero adaptation spend," said CEO Jonathan Gonzales of parametric start-up Raincoat, which has deployed five projects in Colombia, Mexico, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.

HEAT IMPACTS

Across the world, heatwaves that once had a 1-in-10 chance of occurring in any given year prior to the industrial revolution are now nearly three times as likely, and 1.2C (2.2F) hotter, according to a 2022 study in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

Scientists expect things to get worse, with such heatwaves becoming nearly six times as likely if greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated and the world reaches 2C (3.6F) of warming, the study found.

In the case of the Gujarat heat scheme, insured by ICICI Lombard with the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) as the group policyholder, the calculation determining the trigger varies across five districts. It is based on temperature expectations from historical trends over six 10-day assessment cycles.

In Ahmedabad, for example, payouts occur when temperatures add up to between 134C (273F) and 138C (280F) over the course of three days, assessed using satellite data. The policy can pay out multiple times, to a maximum of $85.

"For vulnerable women on the margins, enduring extreme temperatures for three days directly amplifies the chances of sickness or death," said Sahil Hebbar, a physician attending to the women in SEWA who work jobs in construction, trash collecting and shipbreaking.

Insurance payouts allow them to buy things like gloves to protect their hands from scorching hot metal tools, or fans to stay cool and avoid heat exhaustion.

Had the insurance scheme been in place last year, it would have led to averaged payouts of $28 per person, said Blue Marble's de Pinies.

Sitting with her jewel in the market, Patni said if temperatures climbed higher she would put payout money toward medicine to help with heat-related headaches.

"I spend 15 hours at the stall everyday ... in summers it becomes difficult to stay here," she said.

Across the city, Heena Kamlesh Parmar, 26, works as a daily wage labourer at a construction site where she is building a high-rise residential complex, earning 350 rupees ($4.25) per day.

The heat makes her want to take a break from hauling bricks to rest in shade, she said, but she fears that could lead to a pay cut.

If she receives a payout, Parmar says, she'll "use it to buy things for my house, things to eat."

(Reporting by Gloria Dickie and Simon Jessop in London; Reporting by Shivam Patel in Ahmedabad; Additional reporting by Duncan Miriri in Nairobi; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)
Shots fired during ATF investigation in Fort Worth; manhunt for suspect near apartments

Shots were fired Thursday afternoon during an ATF investigation in east Fort Worth, according to an ATF spokesperson.

Law enforcement sources told Star-Telegram partner WFAA-TV that no officers were hurt and that there were two suspects from the incident and one was in custody Thursday night. The suspect in custody was taken to a hospital, according to WFAA.

Law enforcement officers searched for the other suspect throughout the night.

Multiple agencies including the ATF, Texas Department of Public Safety and Fort Worth police were seen responding to the Rocco Apartments, at 9001 Randol Mill Road, on Thursday afternoon.

Photos provided to the Star-Telegram by Josh Bacon show bullet holes in a vehicle and ATF agents and police at the east Fort Worth apartment complex with guns drawn.

A public information officer for the ATF Dallas office told the Star-Telegram that the safety of our agents on scene was compromised and shots were fired about 4:35 p.m. while the agents were conducting an investigation. ATF said the investigation is ongoing and further details will be released later.

Multiple agencies including the ATF, Texas Department of Public Safety and Fort Worth police responded to an incident at the Rocco Apartments on Thursday afternoon and appeared to be searching for at least one suspect in the area after shots were fired.

Law enforcement officers were seen searching in the area of Randol Mill Road and Meadowbrook Boulevard. A DPS helicopter was deployed in the manhunt.

Video from a KDFW-TV helicopter showed officers searching wooded areas with dogs.

Fort Worth police were on scene but referred questions to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is in charge of the investigation.

This is a developing story. For the latest updates, sign up for breaking news alerts.
Tidewater is now on every must-see list I send to friends visiting South Korea.

Jackyen Joy Photography/Getty Images

Seoul is a big city with lots of not-so-hidden treasures. One example is the bustling Jongno-gu neighborhood, known as the "heart of Seoul." When I last visited the city over a decade ago, Jongno-gu was where tourists went to visit historical sites like the iconic Gyeongbokgung Palace. The alleys are filled with traditional Korean houses, called hanoks, and small mom and pop storefronts.

Upon my most recent visit  a multi-generational family trip with my two adult brothers, our 84-year-old dad, and my three kids  I was surprised to return to a very different area. While the rich history is still the main draw, the district has also evolved into a hipster haven where aesthetic coffee shops and on-trend vintage stores sit amongst hanoks built hundreds of years ago.

And tucked into one of the hidden alleys of Seocheon Village  one of the oldest neighborhoods in Jongno-gu  is a minimalist modern coffee shop built directly into a hanok: Tidewater.

We discovered it by total happenstance. As we wandered up a tiny alley to the front door of the traditional hanok we were staying in, we noticed a curiously modern facility right next door. From the simple Tidewater sign outside, it wasnt immediately clear what it was. Was it a high-end boutique? An ultra-modern real estate office?

The next morning we discovered that Tidewater was a coffee shop  and it served some of the most delicious coffee Ive had anywhere in the world. The menu is small but memorable. Leisurely enjoying a cup of their decadent Tide Latte and a slice of the not-cloying Choco Honey Cake is a must  it's now on every must-see list I send to friends visiting South Korea.

Esther Carlstone

Despite its somewhat secretive location, in-the-know locals are flocking to it. Whenever we passed by, it was always packed with friends and couples enjoying the treats, atmosphere, and each other's company.

The interior is a modern architectural dream married with traditional Korean building elements. The light-filled storefront is all wooden, brick, and concrete transposed with rounded crossbeams, a stone-tiled roof, and a wooden screen slider. The space itself is small and includes a tiny atrium featuring a soothing water feature as belies their name.

Esther Carlstone

Over the course of four days, we found ourselves returning again and again. In a city where coffee culture and gorgeous coffee shops are practically on every corner, thats a huge feat.

We came to Seoul to see the place my dad grew up in and to make lifelong memories for both him and his grandchildren. The major sights and well-documented activities will now always remain a part of family lore, but it was the places where we slowed down to enjoy each others company that really left a lasting impression.

Even when youre across the world, hidden gems like Tidewater make you feel like youre entirely somewhere else  even if its just for a brief moment in time. And thats the stuff worth writing home about.



For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
Catch an all-new episode of The Hill with April Ryan every Thursday on theGrio.com and theGrios social media platforms.

On the latest episode of The Hill with April Ryan, host and theGrios White House Correspondent and Washington Bureau Chief, April Ryan, breaks down the latest Black migrant issue in the United States with Haitian migrant activist Nana Gyamfi.

The Trump COVID-19 era emergency immigration designation, Title 42, was lifted for those trying to cross the southern border. Gyamfi, executive director of Black Alliance for Just Immigration, focuses on the Black migrant often forgotten in the immigration conversation.

Gyamfi runs the largest Black-led social justice organization representing the nearly 10 million Black immigrants, refugees, and families living in the U.S. She described the U.S. governments current immigration enforcement policies, which require migrants to apply for asylum in their native country or the countries they travel through, as hypocrisy.

The process, she stressed, is already hard for Black migrants in many countries already dealing with strife and atrocities. These countries dont want their own Black people. Now you think they are going to now accept Black people? Gyamfi quipped.

The Hill also discussed the anticipated decision from the U.S. Supreme Court and the consequences of a potential rollback of affirmative action in college admissions amid a pending decision in the next several weeks.

A decision striking down existing affirmative action laws would have a far-reaching and potentially devastating impact on Black and brown students as it relates to education and scholarships.

The Supreme Court is seen on Friday, April 21, 2023, in Washington after the court decided to preserve womens access to a drug used in the most common method of abortion, rejecting lower-court restrictions while a lawsuit continues. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

TheGrio chatted with Y-vonne Hutchinson, founder and CEO at Ready Set, which specializes in helping companies create policies to improve diversity. She believes the affirmative action case is part of a rollback on our civil rights and access to opportunity.

Bakari Sellers, CNN commentator and former member of the South Carolina State House, told theGrio, People need to wake up and pay attention to what the conservative court is doing.

The Hill also focused on hate in the U.S. after a white supremacist group marched in D.C last weekend, as well as President Bidens commencement address at Howard University

Catch an all-new episode of The Hill with April Ryan every Thursday on theGrio.com and theGrios social media platforms.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post The Hill with April Ryan: Black immigration and affirmative action appeared first on TheGrio.
Tayeko Shitama knows that cooking is about more than just satisfying hunger; it's a way to preserve history. One dish called sukiyaki, a Japanese hot pot, holds a special place in her heart. It was the first real meal her family ate together after World War II ended nearly 80 years ago.

It was a meal that almost never happened. In August 1945, Shitama was living in Hiroshima when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city. However, she was not there that fateful day. The day before the bombing, she had taken a train to a friend's house in a nearby town to pick up a bag of rice.

When she returned to the Hiroshima train station the next day, she faced a land ravaged by war.

"No streetcar was running and it was flat. Completely flat," she said.

Undeterred, Shitama  who was 22 at the time  embarked on a several-mile trek home, carrying the bag of rice. She did not see a living soul the entire walk home. Upon reaching her family's house, which was four miles from the epicenter of the bombing, she found it was still standing, but her neighborhood was devastated.

The atomic blast killed an estimated 140,000 people, including Shitama's youngest sister, Nobu, who was on a streetcar in the city when the bomb hit. Shitama found it "awfully cruel" to use an atomic bomb on people.

Shitama was born in Seattle, Washington after her family immigrated there from Japan in the early 1900's. When she was 8, she moved to Japan with her siblings for school. After World War II ended, Shitama and her surviving siblings were on the first ship out of Japan back to the United States to reunite with their parents.

The bombing forever etched Hiroshima's name in the annals of history. President Biden is currently holding G7 meetings with other world leaders in the city, underscoring the profound symbolism of the location.

While the toll of human lives lost was immense, the United States has long argued that the decision to use the atomic bomb was necessary to end World War II.

While Shitama was "angry about the war," she holds no resentment toward the United States for the bombing and is proud of the friendship between the two countries.

Shitama married Kazuo Shitama, a fellow Japanese American, and raised three children in Maryland, where she still resides today. She now has 12 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren who have all heard her remarkable tales over the years.

This year, Shitama, along with her two sisters who also survived the atomic bomb, will celebrate milestones: Shitama turns 100 this month, while her sisters turn 98 and 96.

Woman paralyzed in accident walks a mile for first time in more than 5 years

Morley Safer visits Art Basel | 60 Minutes Archive (2012)

Zelenskyy addresses Arab League Summit, close Russian ally Assad also in attendance
HIROSHIMA  The cost of war is ever-present in this nuclear-scarred city, which this week is playing host to a high-stakes summit of the Group of Seven (G-7) nations amid Europes bloodiest conflict since WWII.

The Atomic Bomb Dome, bearing its skeleton roof and partially remaining walls from when it was irrevocably transformed at 8:15 a.m. on Aug. 6, 1945, is a haunting testament to the horror wrought by mans determination to pursue maximum destruction.

And it serves as the backdrop for a weekend summit at a time when the use of nuclear war is once again openly threatened on the world stage  from loose Russian talk, North Korean provocations, Irans nuclear buildup and Chinas expanding arsenal.

Nearly 78 years removed from the detonation of the first atomic weapon, the world appears in the midst of a new nuclear arms race.

I arrived in Hiroshima early May 18  just hours before parts of the city were shutting down for the high-profile summit. Having covered war on the ground in Israel, the Gaza Strip, Iraq and Ukraine, I wanted to bear witness to one of the darkest periods in U.S.-Japan relations and look back on American leaders decision to introduce nuclear weapons in war and against civilians.

President Biden, attending the summit, will not be issuing an apology on behalf of the United States for using the atomic bomb, the White House said ahead of the presidents arrival in Japan.

That can be understood, as the White House is likely trying to avoid giving Republicans an attack line that Biden is weak on the world stage, or allow Russian and Chinese leaders a propaganda opportunity to distract from the death and oppression they are carrying out in the present day.

Biden will reaffirm the United Statess commitment to nuclear nonproliferation and participate in a wreath laying ceremony at the Peace Memorial Park, which was ground zero for the explosion of the so-called Little Boy atomic bomb, which detonated at a height of about 1,960 feet and, in a flash of light, laid waste to a city and its people.

To be sure, Biden and other leaders in the G-7 are focused on reinforcing support for Ukraine in the face of Russias brutal invasion, with evidence of war crimes piling up and Moscow stepping up its ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv and other cities.

But hosting the summit in Hiroshima requires a moment of reflection.

Just across from the Peace Memorial Park is the museum housing the testimonies of survivors and the victims of the atomic bombing  gruesome stories of people scorched by the heat of the blast, their skin hanging off their bodies just as their clothes hung like rags. An estimated 140,000 people died as a result of the bombing.

Among the museums displays include a 2010 photo of then-President Obama shaking hands with then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev following the signing of the New START treaty, a watershed moment signaling a commitment from the two leading nuclear powers to reduce their nuclear stockpiles.

Today, Russias balking has put the New START treaty is on ice.

And Medvedev  in the position of deputy chair of Russias security council  is viewed as the mouthpiece for Russian President Vladimir Putins threats of nuclear weapons use against Ukraine.

The idea to punish a country that has the largest nuclear arsenal is absurd in and of itself and potentially creates a threat to the existence of mankind, Medvedev said last year, in response to the International Criminal Court opening a war crimes probe into Russias war.

The museum has yet to update that photo to reflect the current state of nuclear tensions. But the museums entrance includes a display of an April 2022 letter Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui sent to Biden, vehemently protesting the U.S. carrying out subcritical nuclear testing in June and September  testing that the U.S. says is important to assess the reliability of nuclear stockpiles without full nuclear testing.

The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to fuel the idea that military forces are the only way to suppress violence committed by military forces, the letter reads. From the United States, I strongly demand the following: deeply reflect upon the horrific realities of what a single atomic bomb did to Hiroshima and the tragic experiences of the hibakusha [survivors].

Outside the museum and park, the entire city memorializes the horror.

The Inarimachi bridge, less than a mile from Peace Memorial Park, bears a placard with a photo showing the steel rails warped by the blast and describes how survivors, fleeing the epicenter of the destruction, rushed to the river to relieve their burns and quench a torturous thirst, as dead bodies floated downstream.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is from Hiroshima. He was born 12 years after the bombing but is said to have family members who were victims. Nuclear nonproliferation is one of his priority global objectives  even as he is ushering in a new era of Japanese militarization in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Kishida, during a visit to Washington in January, said he would put forward Japans pledge to revive the momentum for nuclear disarmament without sacrificing deterrence in the midst of the severe security environment.

But this comes as Kishida is overseeing a massive military mobilization in Japan in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. Kishida visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv in March, an extraordinary show of solidarity from an Asian nation.

While the G-7 is primarily a grouping of the worlds top economies, it has evolved into a strategic alliance confronting Putins revanchism; the group kicked Russia out in 2014 after its invasion and annexation of Ukraines Crimea Peninsula.

The city has set up a wraparound display in the Peace Park showcasing its rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of the atomic bomb  reconnecting its water supply, setting up its electricity network, inventing its signature dish of Okonomiyaki (Soba noodles, egg, meat, cabbage and BBQ sauce).

At the end of the display, a placard invites visitors to deliver your hopes for peace to Ukraine.

World leaders are gathering in Hiroshima at a time in which experts warn the risk of nuclear confrontation is at its highest since the Cold War.

In previews of the G-7 summit agenda, U.S. administration officials included commitments to nuclear nonproliferation as part of a wider list of catastrophic threats facing the world. Top among them are last-minute efforts for nations to rein in fossil fuel use as the world careens toward irreversible global damage from man-made climate change.

The group of nations will also navigate competing interests on confronting the threat posed by China without losing access to its market of more than a billion people.

But reinforcing solidarity among G-7 nations to support Ukraine pushing back against Russian aggression is sure to be the primary focus, with Putins nuclear saber-rattling and Hiroshimas haunted legacy front of mind.

Kishida, in a tweet on his way to Hiroshima ahead of the summit, reaffirmed his determination to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Georgina Lopez shuddered as she described her first few months in Rhode Island. She and her two young daughters had left their native Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, a Category 5 storm, ravaged the island in 2017. The hurricane had traumatized her family, but moving to New England had been traumatic, too. The culture shock, the language barrier (Lopez and her daughters spoke no English, only Spanish) and all of the unknowns associated with living in a foreign place took a huge toll on the family. For six months, Lopez refused to fully unpack her suitcases, unsure they could make a life here.

Then, in the midst of all of her misery, Lopez met the woman she would come to describe as her "angel on earth. The connection was made when school officials recommended that her older daughter, who was struggling with anxiety, seek treatment with Yovanska Duarte-Velez, a clinical psychologist at Bradley Hospital. Duarte-Velez proved to be a godsend, not only because she specialized in Hispanic youths and families, but because she also happened to be Puerto Rican and fluent in Spanish and English.

Clinical psychologist Yovanska Duarte-Velez, right, talks with client Georgina Lopez at the Mi Gente clinic at Bradley Hospital in East Providence, which specializes in the unique mental health needs of Hispanic children and their families.

Women in Action: How is this RI foster care innovator transforming young lives and gaining national praise?

Seeing someone who understands our culture and speaks our language has been amazing, Lopez said, in Spanish. Before long, she started to see her teenage daughter's anxiety subside, and Lopez became a true believer in therapy, even seeking treatment herself from Duarte-Velez. She has been a huge help in channeling my anger and fears, she said. Im a calmer person and have a much better relationship with my daughters.

What is culturally responsive therapy?

Lopezs firsthand experience with culturally responsive therapy (also known as socio-cognitive behavioral therapy) goes to the heart of Duarte-Velezs work. After obtaining her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Puerto Rico in 2007, Duarte-Velez expanded her research to include the impact of addressing identity (factors such as ethnicity, culture, language and sexual orientation) in the treatment of children and teens on the island. In 2013, she moved to Rhode Island to join the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Bradley Hospital and Brown University. It was here that she conducted a pilot program to study the effectiveness of socio-cognitive behavioral therapy on Hispanic youths who were suicidal.

We got excellent results, she said. The socio-cognitive behavioral therapy for suicide behavior was better than the traditional treatment. After 12 months, patients on this new treatment reattempted suicide less than people on the usual treatment.

That pilot program led to a five-year federal grant to further study this new culturally responsive therapy. Identity is very important for us to see the context of things affecting the family, Duarte-Velez explained. We think of immigration, migrating to a new country  the cultural conflict that usually exists between the youth who are raised here and the parents who were raised in their [home] country, or have those values more ingrained.

The study is ongoing. So far, she has enrolled 103 Hispanic patients, ages 12 to 17, who have been hospitalized because they attempted suicide. We have a lot of trauma in our sample, she said. We see a lot of LGBTQ+ kids. Their identity is something their family may not feel comfortable with, or may reject, because of their culture or religious beliefs.

Women in Action: Is the Ivy League unreachable? One educator is changing what RI students think possible

RI kids in crisis since pandemic, with Hispanic youths at even greater risk

Duarte-Velezs research is even more pressing given the explosion of mental health concerns among young people since the pandemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions 2021 Youth Risk Behaviors Survey, 38% of Rhode Island high schoolers experienced prolonged periods of sadness or hopelessness in the previous year. Seventeen percent seriously considered taking their own lives, and an alarming 10% attempted suicide. In each category, Hispanic teens ranked higher than their white peers. Especially affected were Latina girls, 58% of whom reported feeling sad or hopeless to the point that they could not participate in regular activities and 18% of whom attempted suicide.

Georgina Lopez, left, calls Yovanska Duarte-Velez an "angel" for helping her and her daughters cope with a traumatic move to Rhode Island after their native Puerto Rico was ravaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Seeing someone who understands our culture and speaks our language has been amazing, Lopez said.

These glaring statistics, coupled with Duarte-Velezs clinical research, led her to open the Mi Gente clinic in Pawtucket last September. Mi Gente, which is Spanish for my people, is part of Bradley Hospitals Child and Outpatient Services at Gateway Healthcare. The program caters to Spanish-speaking families with children ranging in age from 12 to 21 who are experiencing mental health challenges.

We want to provide evidence-based, quality treatment thats short-term, and provide support for around six months, she said. Mi Gente was always in my heart, in the sense that I wanted to have a space where regular people in the community could go, that was accessible to them. They dont need to wait for a crisis and end [up] in the emergency room with their youth who attempt suicide. They can see if their youth are having a hard time, if theyre feeling depressed. If they [notice] changes, I want them to have an option.

Since the clinic opened, Duarte-Velez and clinical psychologist Gisela Jimenez-Colon have treated 26 families. Theres a waiting list.

There is so much need [for mental health services] in the Latino community, said Jimenez-Colon, who is also Latina and speaks fluent Spanish. I love working with my people and having this program where we can speak their language and understand their culture.

Women in Action: Eleanor Dove Harris is a proud advocate for Narragansett Tribe

Mark Patinkin: This RI high schooler is pen pals with a player on the NY Jets. Why it may save his life.

The initial success of the bilingual and bicultural clinic has helped secure additional funding for the program. Earlier this year, a grant from the CVS Health Foundation made it possible to hire a community health worker to support patients families with any social determinants of health they may be facing. While the children are in their therapy sessions, Wiston Delgado builds relationships with their parents, connecting them to other community resources if theyre experiencing financial hardship or trouble handling immigration issues.

Duarte-Velez recently secured another grant, this time from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, which will help her hire an additional psychologist and other personnel, to continue expanding the services provided at the clinic.

Duarte-Velez, right, talks with her Mi Gente clinic colleagues, clinical psychologist Gisela Jimenez-Colon, center, and community health worker Wiston Delgado. The clinic has helped 26 families so far and currently has a waiting list.

Lessons from mom: How Duarte-Velez realized her mental health vocation

As far back as fifth grade, Duarte-Velez knew she wanted to become a psychologist. It was in my heart, she said. Kids my own age used to come to me and tell me their problems. And, I would listen to them and give them advice. She went on to study psychology at the University of Puerto Rico. But, it wasnt until a summer internship at Pennsylvania State University that she began to focus on youth suicide.

I think that perhaps because I love life so much, I was surprised that kids so young were thinking about suicide, she said. I was thinking that something was going on in their life that was awful. When she returned to Puerto Rico, she started specializing in depression in children and teens.

Women in Action: RI food entrepreneur Sterling Clinton-Spellman is cooking up new restaurant, jobs program

She eventually relocated her family to Rhode Island so she could continue growing as a clinical researcher. She also brought with her the parenting lessons instilled in her by her mother. When I teach people what is a healthy way of parenting, what I read in the psychology books, I thought: this is my mother, she said. Shes so intelligent and strategic. She became our friend, but she was mom first. It was the perfect balance because she puts limits, but she also gave us the chance to make decisions.

Overcoming the cultural barriers to mental health care

These insights have gone a long way to helping patients like Georgina Lopez and her daughters. Lopezs youngest is now a patient at the Mi Gente clinic.

Gisela [Jimenez-Colon] has taught my daughter coping mechanisms for when shes feeling stressed or anxious, Lopez said. The doctor has also shown me techniques for asking questions that will elicit answers from my daughter and help me get a conversation going with her.

Lopez has become an advocate for the clinic, spreading the word to others in her Central Falls community, who often reject therapy because of the stigma associated with mental health issues.

Women in Action: Women in Action: Ancient grain fuels modern dream for Providence entrepreneur

Women in Action: One woman's amazing effort to help coastal communities defend themselves from rising seas

Its OK to ask for help, said Duarte-Velez. Mental health is just as important as physical health. Thats the message shes constantly communicating to the Latino community. Shes also continuing to inspire other bicultural and bilingual professionals to join her in this groundbreaking work.

She always motivates me as a role model, said Jimenez-Colon. She is a Latina woman doing all of this. I know how passionate she is about her work.

From developing effective culturally responsive therapies to expanding access to this specialized treatment through the Mi Gente program, this pioneering psychologist keeps breaking down barriers to quality care in the community.

There are nuances in the way we were raised, the way we see the world, the way the family is defined, Duarte-Velez said. Diversity is beautiful. We just have to embrace those differences. This is a country of diversity. We all, in certain ways, are immigrants. But we need to understand the new [people] that come in order to make them a part of this country.

 Patricia Andreu, a freelance journalist living in Providence, writes Women In Action, a periodic column. Reach her at WomenInActionRI@outlook.com and follow her on Twitter: @ri_women.

Where to turn if you are considering suicide:

Anyone in immediate danger should call 911.

Other resources:

Prevent Suicide in Rhode Island: a Rhode Island Department of Health resource. If you are in crisis, call (800) 273-8255 or text TALK to 741741. Website: https://preventsuicideri.org/

BHLink: For confidential support and to get connected to care, call (401) 414-LINK (5465) or visit the BHLink 24-hour/7-day triage center at 975 Waterman Ave., East Providence. Website: https://www.bhlink.org

The Samaritans of Rhode Island: (401) 272-4044 or (800) 365-4044. Website: samaritansri.org

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call 988, or (800) 273-TALK, or (800) 273-8255

The Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the USA, anytime, about any type of crisis.

Butler Hospital Behavioral Health Services Call Center: Available 24/7 to guide individuals seeking advice for themselves or others regarding suicide prevention. (844) 401-0111

Mental health resources for children, adolescents and their families

Mi Gente clinic at Bradley Hospital: (401) 667-6582, migente@Lifespan.org

Mindful Teen: https://www.lifespan.org/centers-services/mindful-teen-dbt-program or call (401) 432-1119

Kids' Link RI: https://www.lifespan.org/centers-services/kids-link-ri or call (855) 543-5465

Mindcast: Healthy Mind, Healthy Child Podcast: https://www.lifespan.org/locations/bradley-hospital/mindcast-healthy-mind-healthy-child-podcast

Butler Hospital's Adolescent Treatment Unit: https://www.butler.org/services/inpatient/adolescent or call Patient Assessment Services at (844) 401-0111.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Hispanic youths with mental health struggles find hope at RI clinic
A Facebook page purportedly belonging to the spokesman of the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) claims to share key negotiating points in the ongoing talks between the regional militia and the Ethiopian government. However, the page does not belong to OLA spokesman Odaa Tarbii and the group's press office confirmed that the page was a hoax.

The post has been shared more than 300 times since it was published on Facebook on April 26, 2023.

"An exclusive report about the major points of the peace talks being conducted in Tanzania," reads the post translated from Afaan Oromoo.

Screenshot of the false post, taken on May 2, 2023

It features a list of eight bullet points purported to be on the agenda of peace talks between the Ethiopian government and OLA.

The list includes "guaranteeing Oromo constitutional rights to Finfinnee [Addis Ababa] establishing Afaan Oromoo as a federal language; deciding the fate of the Oromo Liberation Army; protecting the Oromia border from invasion by the Fano extremist group; and returning occupied territories".

Other points raised focus on "the establishment of independent media in Oromia; the assignment of OLA members in government institutions; the abolition of the name 'Shene' attached to OLA by the government; the release of all OLA members from prison; and the support of all OLA members suffering from various health problems due to imprisonment".

The Ethiopian government uses the epithet Shene  which means five  in reference to OLA.

Peace talks

Established in the 1970s, OLA has been fighting government troops in many parts of the Oromia region since 2018. Both sides have blamed each other for civilian deaths.

On April 25, 2023, Odaa told AFP that the peace talks in Tanzania had begun, with Kenya and Norway mediating. Odaa said that the preliminary meeting would focus on "confidence building and clarifying positions". He did not mention any specific points for discussion.

The Ethiopian government later announced (archived here) through national security adviser Redwan Hussien that the first round of the talks had concluded on May 3, 2023. Hussien said talks had been broadly positive but that consensus had not been reached on some issues, without further elaboration.

OLA released the same statement via Odaas Twitter account, indicating no agreement had been reached on major political issues.

Screenshot of statement released by Odaa, taken on May 2, 2023

Further talks are yet to resume.

Imposter page

The page spreading false information about the peace talks uses Odaas name and the same profile picture seen on his official Twitter account, (archived here) where he regularly posts updates.

However, the Facebook page is not Odaas.

The OLA press office confirmed to AFP Fact Check that neither the organisation nor Odaa has a Facebook account.

"OLA does not have any official presence on Facebook, and any page claiming to represent us or our spokesperson is not authorised by our organisation," the press office said in an email.

"Therefore, the Facebook page under the name Odaa Tarbii is not affiliated with the OLA or its spokesperson in any capacity," it added.

A review of the Facebook pages transparency section shows it was first created on August 27, 2022, under the name "Mooraa Qabsoo", which in Afaan Oromoo means centre for struggle.

The page switched names to "Odaa Tarbii" on August 29, 2022. Much of its content has been dedicated to pro-Oromo politics and peace talks.

Screenshot of the page transparency section, taken on May 2, 2023

Several other Facebook accounts and pages impersonating Odaa have been debunked by fact-checkers in the past (archived here).

On April 27, 2023, a day after the false post was published, Odaa warned social media users to be wary of disinformation.

Screenshot of Odaas cautionary tweet, taken on May 2, 2023

"False information has been circulating in the media regarding the ongoing talks in Tanzania. We urge everyone to rely on official updates for accurate information," Odaa wrote (archived here) on Twitter.
As the South African Broadcasting Corporations (SABC) financial woes worsen, a statement has emerged on social media claiming that the public broadcaster plans to introduce a licence fee for motorists with radios installed in their vehicles. But this is false: the corporation has distanced itself from the statement, calling it fake.

The purported statement was published on Facebook on May 8, 2023 with a caption that reads: #SABC needs 'Car Radio Money..!! (sic).

Screenshot showing the fake statement, taken on May 17, 2023

The undated statement appeared to be written on a real SABC letterhead and included the correct name and contact details for the organisations spokeswoman.

It claimed that SABC had introduced the car radio licences in a bid to generate new revenue streams in the face of a decline in TV licence revenues.

The document was also shared on Twitter in May 2023.

SABC is South Africas public broadcaster. In recent years, it has faced financial challenges, reporting losses (archived here) and job cuts (archived here). In the 2021/2022 financial year, it reported a net loss of 201 million rand ($10.9 million), albeit a significant improvement from the year before.

However, the purported statement is a hoax and the claim it makes is false.

Fabricated statement

SABC distanced itself from the circulating document, telling AFP Fact Check that the statement is not from us, it is a fabrication.

SABC subsequently posted a message on its official Facebook account warning South Africans that the communication was fake.

The SABC has not issued any media statement making such public pronouncements regarding licences for car radios, said CEO Madoda Mxakwe.

The South African government also published the SABC denial.

The hoax statement mentions section 69 of the telecommunications act of 1996, claiming the legislation compels South Africans who drive vehicles fitted with radios to pay for a car radio licence.

However, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (archived here) was repealed (archived here) and replaced by the Electronic Communications Act 36 of 2005.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), the body charged with approving broadcast licences in the country, told AFP Fact Check that we have not authorised SABC to issue such a licence to motorists in the country.
HOBBS, N.M. - Police on Thursday released new details after a man was found shot to death overnight in a Walmart parking lot in Hobbs.

Just after 2 a.m. Thursday, officers with the Hobbs Police Department responded to Walmart in the 3800 block of North Lovington Hwy. in reference to person who had been shot, according to a statement from Hobbs police. Upon arrival, officers located the man, 24-year-old Jordan Ruiz in the parking lot suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.

Hobbs EMS arrived on scene and the man was taken to Covenant Hobbs Hospital, where he later died.A preliminary investigation possibly reveals that this is not a random act of violence and the suspect may have known the victim, although police by Thursday had not identified a suspect.

Capt. Chad Wright with the Hobbs Police Department spoke briefly during a news conference Thursday afternoon in Hobbs, saying police by Thursday continued working to identify a suspect and asking for the public to help provide information.

Wright said investigators believe numerous other people were in the parking lot at the time of the shooting.

"Investigators have been out throughout the night and followed numerous leads," he said. "At this time we do know the suspect vehicle left the area east on Joe Harvey (Boulevard) and then southbound on Camino Real."

Wright asked people who have a home or business in those areas to review surveillance camera images.

"If you see anything suspicious or anything that could be helpful to the police during the time of (2 a.m. to 3 a.m.) please contact the police department so we can interview you and gather that video," he said.

Wright also asked anyone who may have been in the parking lot at the time of the shooting or witnessed it and who hadn't already talked to police at the scene to contact investigators.

"Investigations like this often require the help of the public and we want to bring this investigation to a close and justice for our victim," Wright said. "Our thoughts and prayers also go out to the family as they deal with this tragedy."Anyone with information about this shooting or other crimes can report information by calling dispatch at (575)397-9265, or contacting Lea County Crime Stoppers at (575) 393-8005 (you may be eligible for a cash reward).

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Hobbs police seek public help deadly Walmart parking lot shooting
HOLLAND TWP.  Sunday, April 30, was a tough day for employees at Holland Township's Taco Bell at 190 N. River Ave.

In incidents just over 15 hours apart, two separate customers were arrested after allegedly berating and threatening employees, according to police reports obtained by The Sentinel through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In incidents just over 15 hours apart, two separate customers were arrested after allegedly berating and threatening Taco Bell employees at 190 N. River Ave.

It started shortly after midnight, when a man later identified as Jeremy Chankongsinh placed an order at the drive-thru. When he was informed the restaurant doesnt serve Sprite (as Taco Bell carries Pepsi products), Chankongsinh allegedly began yelling through the intercom before proceeding to the drive-up window, getting out of his car and punching the window, breaking it.

According to a statement from a Taco Bell employee, Chankongsinh pointed his hand toward the window as if he were holding a gun, but because it was dark, the employee couldn't confirm he was armed.

The police report states Chankongsinh then drove to the front door and began pulling on the handles, striking the glass and gesturing as if he had a gun. Finally, he left the Taco Bell and drove north on River Avenue.

He didn't get far. Arresting Officer Andrew Nagelkirk with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office described Chankongsinhs car as "swerving and drifting within the lane and straddling the center dotted line." Chankongsinh didnt pull over when Nagelkirk used his lights and siren, the report alleged, but continued going 45 mph while swerving in the northbound lane of 132nd Avenue.

According to Nagelkirk, Chankongsinh eventually stopped on Blueberry Lane, where he got out of the car but didn't comply with police orders. Multiple officers on-scene said Chankongsinh was yelling obscenities, threatening to fight officers and telling them to shoot.

Deputy John Maher arrived with his K9 partner, Titus, and warned Chankongsinh if he didnt comply, the dog would be deployed and likely bite him.

"F*ck you, send the dog. (I'll) fight it off and fight everyone here," Chankongsinh allegedly responded.

Maher took out his taser and informed Chankongsinh if he didnt comply, he'd be tased. When Chankongsinh didnt reply, Maher tased him, but claimed it had no effect. Maher tased him again, still with no effect.

At that time, another responding officer, Nick Forrest, tased Chankongsinh a third time, hitting him in the left leg and groin. The third round of tasing sent Chankongsinh to the ground, where he was handcuffed before being placed in Nagelkirks vehicle.

Nagelkirk reported Chankongsinh had a strong odor of intoxicants coming from his person, and that both of his eyes were watery and bloodshot.

Chankongsinh allegedly refused to submit to a blood draw, so Nagelkirk obtained a warrant. Chankongsinh was taken to Zeeland Community Hospital for the blood draw and to have a taser probe removed from his genitals.

Chankongsinh was lodged in the Ottawa County Jail on charges of damage to business property, operating while intoxicated, flee and elude, resisting and obstructing and habitual offender fourth offense notice. He posted bond and was released May 4.

Round Two

Later the same day  around 3:21 p.m.  a customer named Edward Galvin visited the same Taco Bell with his sister and her two children.

According to the police report, Galvin was allegedly lurking inside the store and placing small orders. An employee told Galvin he wasn't allowed on the property due to issues in the past not included in the report. The employee said Galvin asked to be refunded since he hadnt received his food yet.

In incidents just over 15 hours apart, two separate customers were arrested after allegedly berating and threatening Taco Bell employees at 190 N. River Ave.

While processing the refund, Galvin allegedly began yelling at the employees and threatening to harm them.

Citing witness statements, the report says Galvin ripped a card reader off the counter and threw it at an employee, who was struck in the head. He then allegedly ripped a second card reader from the counter and started swinging it at another employee before being tackled to the ground and held down until police arrived.

Several Taco Bell employees provided witness statements, including one that said Galvin bit her.

Galvins sister said she took her children outside when Galvin started arguing with the employee. When she returned, she saw her brother being held down.

In her statement to police, she said she began yelling at the employees to just refund them the money so they could leave, but the employees allegedly refused.

According to the report, Galvin said his order wasn't filled because some equipment wasnt functional. He said when he requested a refund, the store manager refused and that's why he destroyed two credit card readers.

Subscribe: Get all your breaking news and unlimited access to our local coverage

Galvin was charged with destruction of business property, as well as three counts of assault, and was lodged in the Ottawa County Jail. He posted bond and was released May 1.

According to court records, Chankongsinh will be arraigned in Ottawa County Circuit Court on Monday, June 5. A schedule was not immediately available for Galvin.

The Sentinel was informed a number of employees were terminated following the second incident, but several inquiries to Taco Bell's communications team were not immediately returned.

 Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@livingstondaily.com. Follow her on Twitter @Tess_journalist.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Holland Township Taco Bell employees' terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day
(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kongs High Court barred media mogul Jimmy Lai from using a UK-based lawyer to represent him in his upcoming trial as the city clamps down on foreign participation in national security cases.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Lais appeal to use a foreign lawyer was rejected by High Court Chief Judge Jeremy Poon on Friday. The decision reverses one the court made last year, when it affirmed Lais right to hire a UK-based lawyer.

The Hong Kong government has waged a legal battle for months to block Lai from being represented by UK-based attorney Timothy Owen in his trial, which is scheduled for Sept. 25. Prosecutors say Lai  the septuagenarian founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper  colluded with foreign countries by seeking international sanctions against Hong Kong and China. He is facing a possible life sentence if convicted.

After scoring that initial court victory in 2022, Lais path to keeping Owen has slowly vanished.

Following that earlier court decision, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee last year asked Beijing whether overseas lawyers could take part in national security law trials.

The Chinese legislature decided that Hong Kong courts must get approval from the citys chief executive before allowing an overseas-based lawyer to participate. That decision has effectively become law after the citys lawmakers last week granted Lee the power to veto foreign lawyers from national security cases.

In the appeal, Lais attorneys had asked the court to overrule a request by the citys Committee for Safeguarding National Security to deny Owen a work visa, according to court documents. The committee oversees implementation of the Beijing-backed national security law, which was brought into force three years ago.

In his Friday judgment, Poon wrote that Hong Kong courts have no jurisdiction over the work the committee does  nor do they have sway over the Chinese legislatures decision last year.

The applicants leave application in this regard must be refused, Poon wrote.

Lai is one of the most prominent pro-democracy activists charged under the national security law, which asserts global jurisdiction for cases involving terrorism, secession, subversion and collusion with foreign powers.

(Updates with context and details throughout.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-shuttered tabloid Apple Daily, is awaiting a national security trial

A Hong Kong court on dismissed Friday a legal challenge by jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, conceding it had "no jurisdiction" over Beijing's national security apparatus in the city.

Lai, founder of the now-shuttered tabloid Apple Daily, is awaiting trial for alleged "collusion with foreign forces" -- an offence under a security law Beijing imposed in 2020 to quell dissent.

Three levels of Hong Kong's courts previously allowed Lai to be represented by veteran British human rights barrister Tim Owen, overruling repeated objections from the government.

But Beijing intervened in December, announcing that city leader John Lee would have the power to bar foreign lawyers from national security trials.

The National Security Committee -- a top-level government body answering directly to Beijing -- then advised immigration authorities to withhold Owen's working visa.

High Court judge Jeremy Poon -- the same justice who backed Lai's lawyer choice in a ruling last year -- on Friday ruled the media tycoon could not contest the committee.

"(Hong Kong's) courts have no jurisdiction over the work" of the National Security Committee, he wrote in a decision.

"The supervisory power over the (committee) is hence reserved to the Central People's Government exclusively," he said, adding that local courts have "neither training nor expertise" to deal with the committee's work.

Poon's ruling on Friday underscores Beijing's ability to trump Hong Kong courts, despite the city's guarantee of judicial independence from the mainland legal system.

Hong Kong's common law tradition, inherited from British colonial rule and distinct from the mainland Chinese system, had been key to its appeal as an international legal and business hub.

But under the security law -- imposed by Beijing to stamp out opposition after massive pro-democracy protests in 2019 -- critics say Hong Kong has seen its autonomous status and freedoms steadily eroded.

Last week, in an echo of Beijing's December intervention, Hong Kong's opposition-free legislature imposed a blanket ban on foreign lawyers in national security trials, unless approved by city leader Lee.

- 'Passive' court -

Eric Lai, a fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Asian Law, said it was "disappointing that the court chooses such a passive position".

"The ruling demonstrates that Hong Kong's judicial independence and rule of law have limits... It is worrying that the court appears not to perform checks and balances against local government misuse of power in the name of (safeguarding) national security," the scholar told AFP.

At an earlier hearing, the media tycoon's lawyer argued that if the committee was beyond Hong Kong's jurisdiction, it could arbitrarily jail people or seize private property and victims would have no recourse -- which judge Poon on Friday dismissed as "alarmist".

Lai's trial, originally scheduled for December, was postponed to September due to the lawyer dispute. He faces life in prison if convicted.

More than 100 media leaders globally signed a Reporters Without Borders petition this week calling for the 75-year-old's release.

The Hong Kong government condemned the petition as a "wrongful attempt to interfere with the judicial proceedings".

su-hol/dhc/dva
The debt ceiling

House Republicans are getting "mixed messages" about prospects for a debt ceiling compromise and need to see the outlines of a deal no later than Wednesday to avoid default by June 1, says South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace.

"Some are saying we're close, some are saying we're still far away, and that's a little bit concerning," Mace told CBS News on "The Takeout" this week.

Mace found fault with President Biden for attending the G7 economic summit in Japan, arguing he should be engaging congressional leadership directly to reach a deal on the debt ceiling.

"If we are that close to default, then the president of the United States should be up here on Capitol Hill, actually be here negotiating on the Hill," Mace said. "We need a president who's going to make these decisions and negotiate face to face with Republican and Democrat leaders because guess what? It's been both parties that got us into this, Republicans and Democrats alike, not one side or the other. And both sides need to sit down and negotiate."

Mr. Biden assigned Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young and top White House aide Steve Ricchetti to lead negotiations with House Republicans and other congressional officials, which Mace called "a great first start."

"But since we're so close to the June 1 deadline, we need a president who will be here and be present," she said, in reference to the earliest date Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has mentioned as a possible "X-date"  when the U.S. would run out of funds to pay its bills. "We want someone who's going to come to the negotiating table and recognize, 'Hey, both sides are at fault. We're going to bring people together.'"

Mace said House Republicans would need to see outlines of a deal to raise the debt ceiling by Wednesday to provide enough time for drafting legislative language and floor debate.

"But I don't think the June 1 deadline is a hard stop," Mace said. "I think you have some time there. We don't default unless the president wants to. There's no reason to default."

Mace said if the U.S. government cannot pay all its bills, then it must pay them in order of importance.

"What that means is we do have to prioritize spending, which means mandatory spending first and then everything else," Mace said.

Even so, Mace said falling into default would be catastrophic financially and harm America's image abroad. Mace said she disagreed with former President Trump's suggestion last week that the consequences of default could be merely psychological.

"I disagree with the premise that we should default  that should not be an option on the table," Mace said. "Not only does it have dire consequences for us financially, but also abroad and around the world. We're already weakened right now globally. You see China making moves, Russia making moves, Iran making moves. We want to have strength. We can't do that if we default."

New abortion legislation in South Carolina

Mace also said she opposes abortion legislation passed this week in the South Carolina state House that would ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat had been detected, which is roughly equivalent to six weeks of gestation.

"I would not support this particular piece of legislation because of the police reporting requirements," Mace said. "I'm a victim of rape myself. I was raped as a teenager at age 16. I couldn't live with myself if I had to have it reported to police. Most rape victims do not report it. It's an extremely traumatic experience. And to force that reporting to local sheriffs is wrong. It's a non-starter."

Mace also faulted the legislation because it imposes a limit of 12 weeks on abortion access for victims of rape and incest. And further, it also requires two doctors to certify that other exceptions have been met.

"It's very difficult, especially those burdens on women and girls who've been raped or who are victims of incest," Mace said. "That's wrong. And that's not where the majority of Americans are today, Republican or Democrat or independent. They're not there with a six-week ban. They're at 15 weeks. They're at 20 weeks with exceptions."

Abortion pill

Mace also denounced federal court reviews of mifepristone, one of two abortion-inducing drugs now facing legal challenges, despite longstanding Food and Drug Administration approval.

"The FDA did its job," Mace said. "I hope the courts will support that decision. The courts should not be intervening on what the FDA can and cannot approve for use. That is literally the agency's purpose."

Mace said the Republican conversation about abortion has become inflexible to the point where birth control is becoming taboo.

"You have people up here that don't want to talk about birth control," Mace said. "In my party. It's like, wait a minute. If you if you want to reduce the number of abortions in this country, you need to increase access to birth control. Those things have now become controversial to talk about. Which is crazy and scary at the same time."

Other highlights:The Durham report: "No one can say I'm a shill for Donald Trump, but they didn't have evidence to say that there was Russia collusion. And what you saw happen with the FBI and DOJ was wrong. It shouldn't happen to any president, regardless of how you feel about that person. It was wrong."Allegations of influence-peddling by the Biden family: "When you look at the dozens and dozens of shell companies, when you look at how the Biden family members were paid, the amount of money they were paid, who they were paying. They weren't foreign agents. There was no business plan. The seed money went into their pockets. It didn't go to anything else. When you see that, it looks like money laundering and wire fraud. It absolutely looks like racketeering. None of this happens without Joe Biden. None of it."George Santos: "I want to see George Santos removed from Congress. I want to see him resign. There's got to be due process. He's not yet convicted. I've been saying since January that George Santos should resign. He lied to get here. He's lying now. I don't think he's told the truth since getting elected. You can see him when he's gallivanting around the Capitol or in New York he loves the attention. He loves the media frenzy that he's created."TikTok: "The kids are on Snapchat and they're on TikTok and other apps. They're not on Facebook. They're not on Twitter. Time that they are on those things that's our responsibility as parents. It's up to the parents to decide. It's not up to the government to decide whether or not our kids are right. The government doesn't get to decide what businesses are in an app store or not. That's fascism."ChatGPT and artificial intelligence: "I actually encourage my staff to use chat GPT or Chat Sonic to help with writing for a news release or to summarize a bill or even draft legislation. It speeds up the time for their writing and their content. They're able to do more with less time. The efficiency we can get out of utilizing artificial intelligence to help assist and write pieces of content is great. The worst-case scenario would be what happens with cybersecurity, what happens with deepfakes, what happens in the 2024 election with disinformation. Those are the things that we need to be concerned about." Twitter under Elon Musk and the Blue check: "I think it's a mixed bag. There are things that I love that he does, but then you want to see some of the bots cleaned up. I don't know. It's hard to say at this point. My campaign wants me to pay for my checkmark. I guess there are certain things you can do with it or not. I haven't decided yet."

Executive producer: Arden Farhi

Producers: Jamie Benson, Jacob Rosen, Sara Cook and Eleanor Watson

CBSN Production: Eric Soussanin

Show email: TakeoutPodcast@cbsnews.com

Twitter: @TakeoutPodcast

Instagram: @TakeoutPodcast

Facebook: Facebook.com/TakeoutPodcast

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years for Jan. 6

Startup making caskets from mushrooms

Tina Turner's neighbors place flowers and candles outside her Switzerland home
Posts shared thousands of times across social media platforms say US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has called for the "immediate expulsion and possible prosecution" of Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff. This is false; the claims misconstrue the Republican leader's comments, which criticized Schiff for alleging former president Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 campaign.

"BREAKING: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has called for the immediate expulsion and possible prosecution of Rep. Adam Schiff for committing crimes of treason against the United States," says a May 17, 2023 tweet from an account called "Leading Report."

The post accumulated tens of thousands of interactions. Similar claims circulated elsewhere on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as in articles from websites that have previously published misinformation.

Screenshot from Twitter taken May 19, 2023

The posts reference something McCarthy said about Schiff, a Democrat from the US state of California, during a May 16 press conference on federal budget negotiations. But McCarthy did not explicitly call for Schiff's ouster or prosecution for treason.

Here are the speaker's comments to reporters at the US Capitol, in context:

Reporter: "Mr. Speaker, you have pledged if the GOP takes the majority in the House that you would investigate the findings of the Durham investigation. Now that the report has been released, what does accountability look like?"

McCarthy: "Well, a number of things. We're asking Durham to come in and testify so we can look at it more.

"It really raises the question about Adam Schiff. You remember when he told the American people he had proof? Remember when he'd tell them he didn't know the whistleblower -- and what he put America through and openly lied to us and now it's proven that this as well? It raises a lot of questions about his -- just his character, his standing inside of Congress and whether he should even be in Congress."

The Durham investigation

McCarthy's criticism of Schiff stems from the latter lawmaker's comments about Trump's supposed connections to Russia.

Schiff was the House Intelligence Committee's ranking member and later chairman during the Trump administration. He served as the lead manager for the former president's first impeachment trial.

The Democrat has repeatedly alleged Trump's campaign colluded with Russians during the 2016 election.

"I've been very clear over the past year, year and a half that there is ample evidence of collusion in plain sight," Schiff said on ABC's "This Week" in April 2019. "And I use that word very carefully because I also distinguish time and time again between collusion, that is acts of corruption that may or may not be criminal, and proof of a criminal conspiracy."

He added: "Every act that I've pointed to as evidence of collusion has now been borne out by the report."

The congressman's comments came after former special counsel Robert Mueller released his report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The investigation did not find evidence of a criminal conspiracy, although Mueller pushed back on Trump's claims of exoneration by pointing out that the probe did not evaluate "collusion," which is not a legal term.

In May 2019, then-attorney general William Barr appointed Special Counsel John Durham to address allegations that the Russia investigation was a political "witch hunt," as Trump claimed. The inquiry looked specifically at "Crossfire Hurricane," the FBI's probe into claims of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.

In a more than 300-page report (archived here) released May 15, 2023, Durham said the FBI investigation was seriously flawed.

"Neither US law enforcement nor the Intelligence Community appears to have possessed any actual evidence of collusion in their holdings at the commencement of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation," the report says.

Democrats have dismissed the inquiry.

"The Durham investigation was flawed from the start," Schiff said in a May 16 tweet. "It began for a political purpose -- to satisfy Trump. It resulted in two spectacular failures at trial. And ended with nothing to show for four years of effort."

Expulsion proposal

Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican congresswoman from the state of Florida, filed a resolution May 17 to remove Schiff from Congress for his promotion of claims that Trump colluded with Russia in 2016.

"The Durham Report makes clear that the Russian Collusion was a lie from day one and Schiff knowingly used his position in an attempt to divide our country," Luna said in a statement.

But as of May 19, the bill (archived here) had no cosponsors and had not been brought to a vote. The Constitution stipulates two-thirds of the House must back such an action, which has only occurred five times in the legislative body's history -- most recently in 2002.

Schiff responded to Luna's proposal by saying he is "not backing down."

"When this chapter is written, it will record: When Republicans lacked the courage to stand up to the most unethical president in history, they consoled themselves by attacking those who did," he said in a May 18 tweet.

AFP found no evidence that McCarthy has explicitly advocated for removing Schiff from Congress or charging him with treason. When asked about Luna's resolution on May 18, McCarthy told Politico he would "have to look at it."

AFP contacted the speaker's office for additional comment, for a response was not forthcoming.

AFP previously debunked claims that Schiff had been arrested for treason here.
A housekeeper sent her boyfriend to cash a few of her winning lottery tickets at a Kwik Star convenience store, and while he was there, he bought more Iowa lottery tickets.

The next day before work, we were sitting there having coffee and I was scratching them and scanning them, Ivy Wilson told lottery officials.

Thats when the 27-year-old Clear Lake woman realized she had won the top prize with her $30,000 Crossword scratch game ticket, according to a May 19 news release from the Iowa Lottery.

I thought that I had won on that one, but I didnt think I won that much, Wilson said. I didnt believe it, really.

But she really had won the $30,000 prize, officials said.

Before her big win could sink in, Wilson was off to work, where officials said she had a hard time concentrating.

I didnt want to say anything to anyone quite yet because I kind of wanted to process it first, Wilson said. It was very distracting, thats for sure. The adrenaline was definitely going all day long.

Wilson claimed her prize on May 17, though she wasnt sure how shed use her winnings.

I definitely want to take some time and think about it, because thats an amount of money that can turn your life around, she told lottery officials. It can definitely change the direction of your path, so I want to make sure I do smart things with it.

Clear Lake is about 115 miles north of Des Moines.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

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.

Lottery winner nearly throws ticket away  then scans it while at store for sandwich

75-year-old grandma wins big Iowa lottery prize and family cant believe it. No way!

Retired cop woke up thinking hed hit the lottery sometime. He won big the same day
Howard Ashman

After an internet uproar, Howardthe 2018 documentary chronicling the indelible legacy of lyricist Howard Ashman, the queer icon who gave The Little Mermaid a voicewill stay on Disney+. Deadline shared the update that that the title was no longer on a list of films being removed from the streamer.

The Don Hahn-directed homage to Ashman almost had a twisted fate, as the film was originally slated for removal the same day Rob Marshalls live-action Little Mermaid opens in theaters. (It also would have also happened right after a large group of Disney employees learned their jobs will longer be relocated to the anti-LGBTQIA+ state of Florida.) Marshalls film stars Halle Bailey in the lead role as the mermaid Ariel; her soaring version of Ashman and Alan Menkens Part of Your World helps solidify her as The Little Mermaid for a new generation. Making Howard unavailable for viewing wouldve been a highly misguided move on Disneys part, coming right as a new era for Ashmans musical legacy is beginning.

Read more

Ashman passed before seeing the worlds love for his music. In Howard, his partner Bill Lauch shares what it meant for the lyricist before his passing. I think it dawned on him that the work hed been doing there was going to live on, Lauch recalled, speaking about what happened when they saw The Little Mermaids presence at Disney Parks. It was going to become part of this canon of pieces that Walt Disney has in their collection. And it would reach many people.

Howard is on Disney+safe for now, and it makes a wonderful pre-game watch before The Little Mermaid opens on May 26.





Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

More from Gizmodo

Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
30 tonnes of ammonium nitrate disappeared from a train last month

California officials are investigating the disappearance of 30 tons (61,000 pounds) of ammonium nitrate from a railcar crossing the Midwest. Ammonium nitrate, which is used as fertilizer, can also be used to create explosives and was a key component in the homemade bomb used in the 1995 attack on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

The chemical was shipped by train from Cheyenne, Wyoming last month but when it arrived in the Mojave Desert two weeks later, its holding car was empty and the nitrate was gone. Dyno Nobel, the company responsible for shipping the ammonium nitrate is a leader in commercial explosives and filed a report with the federal National Response Center (NRC) on May 10 and an investigation is currently underway.

Read more

The Federal Railroad Administration, the California Public Utilities Commission, Union Pacific, and Dyno Nobel are looking into the disappearance, and the railcar is being transported back to Wyoming to undergo a thorough inspection.

It is unclear how or when the chemical disappeared during transit, but Dyno Nobel told KQED News, The railcar was sealed when it left the Cheyenne facility, and the seals were still intact when it arrived in Saltdale. The initial assessment is that a leak through the bottom gate on the railcar may have developed in transit.

Given that the chemical can be used to make highly explosive bombs, the loss of such an enormous amount of explosive material is highly concerning, and Stan Blake, a former Wyoming lawmaker and retired train conductor told Cowboy State Daily News it wouldnt have been difficult to drain the train car of the material. Blake told the outlet that each car has two or three sections with a gate at the bottom, and said, You can use up a big bar and open that gate and itll pour out.

Dyno Nobel did not immediately respond to Gizmodos request for comment but said in a statement to Cowboy State Daily News that the railcar had made multiple stops on its journey and that there is a team working to investigate how the supposed leak occurred. We take this matter seriously and will work to understand how it happened and how it can be prevented from occurring again, the spokesperson said.

This is the latest in a spate of train mishaps that resulted in toxic chemical spills, fires, and mass damage to towns as trains in the Midwest have derailed several times in the last six months. In one case, a spill in East Palestine, Ohio caused widespread panic among residents who were quickly evacuated due to the extreme toxicity of the chemicals spilled.

A Union Pacific spokesperson told Cowboy State Daily News that the loss of the ammonium nitrate is not something to be overly concerned about. Assuming the loss occurred during transport, the release of the fertilizer to the ground beneath railroad tracks should pose no risk to public health or the environment.

David King, a Campbell County emergency management coordinator, told the outlet that it isnt likely the chemical was stolen and said he doesnt believe it was gathered to be used to create illegal explosives. If I was going to make an IED [improvised explosive device], ammonia nitrate wouldnt be my choice of explosive, he told the outlet, adding, Its not a set your hair on fire situation.

More from Gizmodo

Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Automakers Hyundai Motor America and Kia America Inc. have agreed to pay roughly $200 million to settle a class-action lawsuit after the car companies saw a rise in thefts.

The agreement, which could be valued at approximately $200 million depending on how many customers elect to participate, will provide cash compensation for customers who incurred theft-related vehicle losses or damage not covered by insurance, in addition to reimbursement for insurance deductibles, increased insurance premiums, and other theft-related losses, Hyundai said in a release.

Security concerns about certain Hyundai and Kia car models arose after a viral TikTok challenge highlighted security weak points and showed how to hot-wire the vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in February that the social media challenge had led to at least 14 crashes and eight fatalities.

Hyundai and Kia rolled out free software updates to shore up the cars security, for which about 3.8 million Hyundais and 4.5 million Kias were estimated to be eligible  but the thefts did not appear to abate. The companies have also been working to distribute tens of thousands of steering wheel locks for impacted vehicles.

Last month, 18 state attorneys general sounded the alarm in a letter to the Department of Transportation about the vehicles.

The issues affect Hyundai and Kia vehicles without push-button ignitions and immobilizing anti-theft devices, according to Hyundai. Customers whose cars cant take the new software upgrade will get up to $300 to buy anti-theft devices, per the agreement.

We appreciate the opportunity to provide additional support for our owners who have been impacted by increasing and persistent criminal activity targeting our vehicles, said Jason Erb, Hyundai Motor North Americas chief legal officer.

Kias chief legal officer, John Yoon, said the agreement is the latest step taken to help customers whose vehicles have been targeted by criminals using methods of theft popularized on social media.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A line of 2022 Santa Fe SUVs is parked outside a Hyundai dealership. (David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

Two Korean auto manufacturers have reached a $200-million settlement in a class-action federal lawsuit alleging that a security loophole, which went viral on social media, left their vehicles vulnerable to theft, according to lawyers for the manufacturers and car owners.

Vehicles made by Hyundai Motor America and Kia America Inc. that did not have push-button ignitions became part of a TikTok challenge because they were more vulnerable to being hot-wired. Viral videos showed how Hyundai and Kia vehicles could be started using a common USB charging cord or a similar metal object.

The settlement extends to about 9 million people with Kia or Hyundai vehicles made between 2011 and 2022, the attorneys said Thursday in a news release for vehicle owners and manufacturers. The agreement is valued at up to $200 million, depending on the number of customers who file claims.

During the 11-year span, the automakers failed to equip cars with an immobilizer, an anti-theft tool that stops "most vehicles from being started unless a code is transmitted from the vehicles smart key," according to the news release.

Relief to affected owners will come as soon as possible, said Steve Berman, managing partner at Hagens Berman and chair of the lead committee representing affected vehicle owners in the lawsuit.

"Our goal in finalizing this settlement was to leave no one in the dark, Berman said. The owners of these cars have experienced enough upset, and we worked to achieve a settlement that covers many types of losses  from those who were lucky enough to have never had their theft-prone car stolen, to those whose stolen cars were totaled completely due to Hyundai and Kias negligence.

In a statement, Hyundai Chief Legal Officer Jason Erb said the settlement aims to curb the increased targeting of the vulnerable models.

"Customer security remains a top priority, and were committed to continuing software upgrade installations and steering wheel lock distribution to help prevent thefts," Erb said.

James Bell, a Kia spokesperson, said in a statement that the company is committed to "working with law enforcement to combat car theft and the role social media plays in encouraging it."

The settlement includes compensation of up to $145 million for out-of-pocket losses for affected vehicle owners. Owners can also be reimbursed for such expenses as towing costs; fees and taxes incurred if the affected car was lost or stolen, crashed or never recovered; and speeding tickets, red light tickets or other penalties or fines arising from a stolen vehicle.

Affected Kia and Hyundai owners are also eligible for a software upgrade to address the cars' missing immobilizer, which includes more than a dozen Kia and Hyundai models. Owners whose cars are not compatible with the upgrade may instead receive up to $300 to install security features including a glass breakage alarm or an anti-theft system, steering wheel lock or other tools to prevent theft.

A settlement website for affected vehicle owners will soon go online, according to the news release.

TikTok videos about how the vehicles are stolen have gone viral on social media website in the past year or so.

Many local news outlets have covered the issue, citing the mostly anonymous Kia Boys as the culprits, especially in Milwaukee, where it appears the trend may have started or has become most widespread.

The Los Angeles Police Department said last year that Kia and Hyundai vehicles made up about 20% of stolen cars as of August 2022, likely because of the Tik Tok challenge.

Times staff writer Grace Toohey contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Hyundai is putting a relatively quick end to a class-action lawsuit over a viral TikTok car theft challenge. The automaker has agreed to pay a settlement worth up to $200 million to compensate roughly 9 million US Hyundai and Kia owners. About $145 million is earmarked for out-of-pocket losses for customers whose cars were stolen or damaged and weren't covered by insurance. The companies also say they'll cover insurance deductibles, higher insurance premiums and other related expenses.

The settlement covers a wide range of Hyundai and Kia cars released between the 2011 and 2022 model years, including the Elantra, Santa Fe and Tucson. The 2011-2014 Genesis Coupe is also included. The marques will pay up to $6,125 per owner for the total loss of a car, and up to $3,375 for damage to the vehicle and any personal property.

The brands have already released a dealership-installed update that improves theft prevention for certain models (such as the 2017-2020 Elantra, 2015-2019 Sonata and 2020-2021 Venue) by disabling push-to-start and lengthening the alarm. Other vehicles that can receive updates will get theirs by June. As part of the settlement, Hyundai and Kia will also offer up to $300 to help drivers buy anti-theft devices. They say they've already provided "tens of thousands" of free steering wheel locks to affected customers, and have provided AAA insurance options for customers who had trouble maintaining coverage.

The "Kia Challenge" emerged in mid-2022 after "Kia Boyz" posted TikTok videos showing how they used USB cables to hot-wire many Hyundai and Kia cars without anti-theft immobilizers. Thefts of those makes surged not long after, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration got involved after at least 14 crashes and eight deaths were linked to the viral clips.

The settlement heads off a high-profile court battle with owners, although it won't necessarily eliminate lawsuits from cities like Cleveland, San Diego and Seattle. It also underscores the cost of security issues in the social media era  it doesn't take much for a weakness to become public knowledge.
Consequences of the shelling of a residential building in Kherson

Read also: ICC may start investigation into Putins campaign to wreck Ukraines civilian infrastructure

According to the agency, ICC experts have already examined about 10 sites with signs of Russian war crimes against the civilian population. These include torture and murder in illegal detention sites and the indiscriminate shelling of public spaces, medical facilities, and apartment buildings.

The prosecutors stressed that the evidence collected by ICC experts may be of great importance for recording international crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.

Read also: Number of wounded in Kherson Oblast increases, includes a nine-year-old child

Russian invasion troops have regularly attacked the right bank of Kherson Oblast, including the city of Kherson and other settlements, since they were liberated by Ukrainian forces in early November 2022.

Ukrainian forces are attempting to push the Russian invasion army back at least 20 km from the water line in Kherson Oblast to reduce the number of attacks, the Ukrainian militarys spokesperson for Operational Command South, Natalia Humeniuk, said on Ukrainian national television on March 12.

Read also: Ukrainian partisans blow up Russian checkpoint in Kherson Oblast

The left bank of the region remains under Russian occupation.

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
Indian PM Modi will reportedly meet with Zelenskyy in Japan

Zelenskyy's meeting with Modi may take place on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Japan

According to News 18, this is the first time both leaders are meeting in person since the beginning of Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Read also: Zelenskyy to take part in G7 summit in Japan online  NSDC

As noted, Modi has already left for Hiroshima.

However, the details of the possible negotiations have not been disclosed. Additionally, Zelenskyy will not be attending in person, but online, according to Ukraines National Security and Defense Council.

Read also: Indian PM Modi calls on Putin to end war through negotiations

New18 recalled that Modi has met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin once, following the onset of full-scale war. During their meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in September 2022, he told Putin that it is not an era of war.

In December 2022, Bloomberg reported that Modi decided to cancel the annual face-to-face summit with Putin over the Russian dictators nuclear threats against Ukraine.

At the same time, India refuses to accuse Russia of aggression against Ukraine and has increased Russian oil purchases over the past year.

Read also: Zelenskyy visits Saudi Arabia: meeting with Crown Prince, keynote address at Arab League summit

In April, Ukraines Foreign Ministry said Zelenskyy wants to hold a phone conversation with with Modi.

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
'Indiana Jones' star Harrison Ford 'very moved' by Cannes award, saw life flash before his eyes

'Indiana Jones' star Harrison Ford 'very moved' by Cannes award, saw life flash before his eyes

Harrison Ford had a hard time fighting back tears at the Cannes Film Festival in the South of France Thursday night.

Ford attended the festival with wife Calista Flockhart for the premiere of "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny." This marks Ford's fifth and final movie in the franchise.

Variety reported that once the film concluded, there was a standing ovation that lasted more than five minutes in the Palais des Festivals.

Harrison Ford attended the "Indiana Jones and the Dial Of Destiny" red carpet during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival Thursday.

On Thursday, the "1923" star was also awarded with a surprise Palme dOr by Cannes Festival Director Thierry Fremaux. The award was founded in 1955 and is the highest prize given at the festival.

HARRISON FORD CHOKES UP WHILE TALKING ABOUT HIS LAST INDIANA JONES FILM AT DISNEY D23 EXPO: IM VERY PROUD'

"Im very moved by this," Ford said, according to Variety. "They say when youre about to die, you see your life flash before your eyes, and I just saw my life flash before my eyes. A great part of my life, but not all of my life. My life has been enabled by my lovely wife, who has supported my passion and my dreams, and Im grateful."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Harrison Ford's wife, Calista Flockhart, joined him at the prestigious film festival.

The "Star Wars" actor then introduced the highly anticipated film to the audience.

"I love you, too. But Ive got a movie you ought to see," Ford said. "Its right behind me. So let me get out of the way, and thank you again for this great honor."

Prior to the festival, Ford shared that "Dial of Destiny" will be the last time he portrays the legendary archeologist.

"This is the final film in the series, and this is the last time Ill play the character," Ford told Total Film magazine. "I anticipate that it will be the last time that he appears in a film."

Harrison Ford showed off the honorary Palme D'Or he received during the "Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny" at the Cannes Film Festival.

Addressing the rumored Disney+ television series adaption of "Indiana Jones," Ford clarified that he will not be a part of that production "if it does come to fruition."

In an appearance on "Good Morning America," Ford revealed he will miss "nothing" when it comes to playing Indiana Jones.

"We did it," Ford said. "I mean, I cannot tell you how much joy it's given me to be Indiana Jones, and I've done it five times, and I've loved every time  Even when it wasn't admired as much as it sometimes was.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

"But every time the passion of the people involved matched my passion because I love what this kind of film brings to the audience. The combination of adventure and emotion is really the elements of its success, and the actors that we have been able to bring to play the characters in this series have extraordinary strength."

Harrison Ford spoke highly of "Indiana Jones" director James Mangold during a recent interview.

Ford also spoke about James Mangold, the "Indiana Jones" director, saying he is "the hardest-working director in show business."

"The guy never stops, and he says he's a match for Indiana Jones."

"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" debuts in theaters June 30.
Aslem is one of several Indonesians who say they were scammed by people claiming to be spiritual figures

Indonesian mother-of-three Aslem was a domestic worker in Dubai when she started wiring cash to a self-professed shaman, believing that he would honour his promise to magically multiply her hard-earned wages.

But she returned home last year penniless and in shock, saying she had been swindled out of her life savings by a trickster who now faces trial for his complex scams, and charges of murdering nine of his victims.

"I have nothing now," Aslem, 42, told AFP from her cramped, dilapidated house in a remote village in Karawang, West Java.

"I wanted to renovate this small house my parents left me. I wanted to make them happy... I didn't manage to do that until the day they died."

In Muslim-majority Indonesia, where nearly 10 percent of the population live below the poverty line, some view shamans as traditional healers.

Aslem is one of several Indonesians who say they were scammed by people claiming to be spiritual figures, promising to turn small investments into immense wealth.

Police say some alleged scammers turn to violence when their victims come looking for their money.

The scams have circulated widely on Indonesian social media.

Just two dozen Facebook posts advertising so-called shaman investment schemes were viewed more than 1.4 million times as of this week, according to AFP Fact Check reporters in Jakarta.

One post, viewed 643,000 times from April 8 to May 17, claimed a Muslim sheikh would help people multiply their funds, and that the service did not violate the tenets of Islam.

AFP reporters contacted a WhatsApp number associated with one of the posts and were told to send photos of their identity cards to determine eligibility for the "magic money" scheme.

AFP has a global team of journalists, including in Indonesia, who debunk misinformation as part of Facebook and WhatsApp owner Meta's third-party fact-checking programme.

- Eye-watering sums -

After she moved to Dubai in 2016, Aslem said she began talking to a man her friend had recommended, who claimed he was a Javan shaman named Aki Banyu.

Aslem, who now sells snacks from her porch, recalled the first meeting with the man on a 2019 trip home.

The man prepared offerings, chanted a mantra, and promised her money would multiply soon, she said.

She later sent him around 288 million rupiah ($19,500) after he promised to flip her earnings into eye-watering sums totalling nearly $2 million, she told AFP.

Police later identified the man as Wowon Erawan, a 60-year-old who they said worked with two partners to trick migrant workers into sending them money.

In a January press conference, police accused the trio of murdering nine people including Erawan's wife and stepchildren to cover up their crimes.

Police said the three men had been arrested, and that they had confessed to killing victims with pesticide-laced drinks.

They had planned to poison Aslem after she asked about her investment in late 2022, police said.

The men arranged a meeting with her but she declined to go after her friends told her that Erawan and his friends were con artists, according to police.

 'It was like a nightmare' -

Another migrant worker, mother-of-three Neng Hana Patiningrum, told AFP she believes she also escaped death at the hands of the scammers.

The 30-year-old wired more than 100 million rupiah to the same shaman but stopped sending funds in 2021 when her questions went unanswered, she said.

She returned to Indonesia but didn't meet him because of heavy rains.

Her friend, Siti Fatimah, did not survive to tell her story.

She went missing before her body was found in waters near Bali in early 2021. Police blamed the trio.

"I was shocked. How can one be so evil to scam the money we worked so hard to earn? I am traumatised," said Patiningrum.

Erawan repented and apologised to victims' families at the police press conference.

The trio face the death penalty if found guilty.

In April police arrested another accused serial killer shaman, 45-year-old Slamet Tohari, after a man was reported missing by his family.

Tohari also stands accused of boasting he could magically multiply money, luring victims into rituals before poisoning them with potassium cyanide when they asked for their money back.

At least 12 bodies have been uncovered on Slamet's land, according to police, who said in a statement last month the number could be higher after they received further reports of 28 missing people.

Meanwhile, victims told AFP they have been left to live with empty pockets and the shame of falling for the con.

"It was like a nightmare. People kept telling me I was stupid and reckless," Patiningrum said, sobbing.

"But I never expected this to happen."

dsa-saf/jfx/mca/ser
Wait for third grade reading scores continues for Tennessee parents. Here's what to expect

Thousands of parents of third graders across Tennessee are still awaiting test results that will set off off a fast-moving timeline to determine if their children will be held back or not.

The raw scores for the English language arts portion of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, also known as TNReady, for third graders, were released late Friday afternoon, well after school let out for many. Students who scored as below or approaching proficiency will need to retest to up their scores, or opt into summer school, tutoring or both, depending on the results. Retests begin as soon as Monday in some districts.

According to a spokesperson, the state education department did not publicly release the raw scores since they contain protected, student-level data. Rather, it sent them directly the districts to then process and relay to families.

The lack of publicly available data and frantic timeline for districts to communicate with parents make it difficult to pin down the number of families affected.

Children read in Samantha Simms third grade class at Goodlettsville Elementary School on May 15.

The afternoon delivery of the scores compounded an already-anxious wait for parents and students. Jessica Jarrett, whose 9-year-old son may face retention, said she spent the day anxiously refreshing her email.

"Its that rollercoaster of emotions going through the waiting process," she said as the clock ticked past 4 p.m. "At this point, its laughable."

Around 4:15 p.m. Jarrett got an email from Metro Nashville Public Schools saying scores would not be available Friday but that parents should expect to see them Monday.

MNPS spokesperson Sean Braisted said the district received the scores around 3:30 p.m. The state education department confirmed that data was out to all schools by around 4 p.m. and that emails had been sent to all directors of schools.

"We understand the anxiety and frustration that students, parents and teachers are feeling because of the states third grade retention law and the lack of the assessment results that will not only inform summer plans but that also could have a dramatic impact on students futures," Braisted said in an email.

Inside the 'waiting game' : Thousands of Nashville third-graders wait to find out who may be held back

School districts around the state indicated they intended to move as quickly as possible once they received the data to notify families.

Knox County Schools reported that roughly 40% of third graders fell below the state threshold and notified parents Friday night, giving them until Sunday evening to decide on retakes.

Numbers from others districts were not available as of Saturday afternoon.

"School and district staff will work quickly and diligently through the weekend to analyze the data, communicate with families, and make preparations to allow students who scored below or approaching expectations the opportunity to retest before the last half day of school on Wednesday," Clarksville-Montgomery County School System spokesperson Anthony Johnson said in an email Friday. "We are facing a very tight turnaround, but CMCSS employees are prepared to support students and families."

The impact of the law could be enormous. Last year, around 65% of third graders statewide did not meet the threshold during TCAP testing.

The total number of students at risk for retention will decrease as exemptions are factored in for those who are still learning English, were previously held back or have a disability that impacts their reading. Parents and legal guardians can also file an appeal with the state within 14 days of a retention notification.

The entire process hinges on a reading and retention law, passed in 2021, that took effect for this year's class of third graders.

Tennessee third-grade reading law: What parents need to know about tests, rules, appeals

How Metro Nashville Public Schools is handling third grade TCAP scores, next steps

MNPS has provided a template for each school to directly communicate with families, Braisted said. That may include phone calls, backpack letters and other forms of communication.

"Schools have already been notifying families if they were exempt from the retention law for reasons such as EL status, reading disability or having previously been retained," Braisted said Friday.

As of Friday, a total of 16,418 students had enrolled in Promising Scholars, the free summer program offered by MNPS. Roughly 23% of those are third graders, who make up 3,707 of the enrollments.

While MNPS is doing everything it can to assure all third graders move on to fourth grade, Braisted said each school can move third and fourth grade teachers around as needed to offset varying class sizes next school year.

Childrens lockers line the walls at Goodlettsville Elementary School on May 15.

How other Tennessee school districts are guiding third graders, families

The Tennessean team reached out to several districts statewide as raw scores were released. Here is what they said.

We will update this section as more information becomes available.

Cheatham County School District

Cheatham County School District spokesperson Tim Adkins said the district had plans in place to directly call parents to relay information. He said the district had to move its test retake date from May 22 to May 23 as the wait for raw scores extended into Friday afternoon.

Notifications to families will go out Monday, according to Adkins.

The district has 385 students enrolled in summer school, including 68 third graders. Adkins said that may change based on retake results. Summer school runs from June 5-June 27, with two make-up days for third-grade students on June 28 and June 29.

The district does not anticipate staffing issues next year because it believes many third-grade families will opt for free summer school or tutoring, as needed.

Clarksville-Montgomery County School System

Johnson, the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System spokesperson, said the district will notify parents through a mass notification system using emails, texts and phone calls, but did not say when those notifications would begin.

The district is also ready to receive hundreds of third graders for summer school. As of Friday, 811 third graders are enrolled. Summer school is set for June 12-July 20 across seven sites.

Dickson County School District

Dickson County School District spokesperson Danny Weeks said plans are set to send letters to parents on Monday. Retesting is on May 23.

Summer school kicks off on June 5 with around 600 elementary and middle schoolers enrolled, including roughly 135 third graders. Weeks said the district is confident the majority of third graders will be promoted if they follow the state's prescribes steps.

"We are working closely with families and have had many forms of communication throughout the school year with to help prevent retention," Weeks told The Tennessean in an email.

Knox County Schools

Along with reporting initial estimates on how many children fell short of the threshold and notifying parents, Knox County Schools said information on retakes will be available by May 26.

Knox County Schools: Nearly 4 in 10 KCS third graders did not pass TCAP reading test

Maury County Public Schools

A spokesperson for Maury County Public Schools said the district did not anticipate releasing any information to families Friday but hopes to do so next week. The delay may be due in part to furloughs being in effect, along with a high demand for test scores.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools

"We're working to support the families of our third grade students over the next few days as they prepare for retests, appeals, our MSCS Summer Learning Academy and end of year celebrations," a Memphis-Shelby County Schools spokesperson said Friday.

Retest dates are set for May 24-26, with results available within 48 hours.

More information can be found at scsk12.org/commitment.

Robertson County Schools

Robertson County Schools spokesperson Jim Bellis said the district had plans to send letters out to each parent as the scores came in Friday.

Third graders read during class at Goodlettsville Elementary School.

Rutherford County Schools

Rutherford County Schools spokesperson James Evans said the district planned to send phone and email messages to all third grade parents telling them to expect a letter next week about what is needed, if anything.

Retakes are set for next week, while summer school will run throughout June. The district will not cap how many third grade spots are available in summer school to accommodate as many as needed.

Rutherford County Schools: Parents of 3rd graders impacted by test score law will be notified about summer camps

Williamson County Schools

Williamson County Schools spokesperson Cory Mason also said the district was poised to act quickly and reach out to all third grade families as scores rolled in Friday.

The district summer school program runs from June 6-29. As far as adjusting staffing for next school year, Mason said some elementary school teachers may need to shift grade levels.

Wilson County Schools

Wilson County Schools spokesperson Bart Barker said the district will work to turn around information as quickly as possible so families know what to expect, and that the process began Friday evening after scores arrived.

The district's summer learning camp runs from June 5-29.

Summer is a very busy time for teacher recruitment, so we are hopeful to receive applications for any openings that are available for the start of next school year, Barker said, regarding possible staffing impacts for next year's third and fourth grade class sizes.

What happens once the raw TCAP scores are released?

The Tennessee Department of Education has mapped out several steps for students who fall below the threshold to avoid being held back.

First, there are several exceptions that allow students to move on to fourth grade without any further actions, including:

English language learners who have received less than two years of English language arts instruction

Those who were held back in a previous grade

Students with disabilities or suspected disabilities that impact their literacy development

Children huddle as the read during a third grade class at Goodlettsville Elementary School.

After exemptions are factored in, the remaining children who scored below the threshold will be subject to the following guidelines.

Children who score as approaching proficiency must complete one of the following to move on to fourth grade:

Retest and score on grade level, with a retest window of May 22-June 5, which may vary by district

Enroll in summer school, meet 90% attendance and show adequate growth

Have a free state-provided tutor for the entirety of fourth grade

Those who score as below proficiency have the following options to move on:

Retest and score on grade level, with a retest window of May 22-June 5, which may vary by district

Enroll in summer school with 90% attendance rate and have a free state-provided tutor for the entirety of fourth grade

Notably, the raw scores expected Friday do not delineate between children who scored as approaching or below proficiency. The state education department said that information will be sent out May 26.

Parents or legal guardians of students who score as approaching proficiency can also appeal retention decisions over the summer, according to the state education department. Students who scored in the 40th percentile or higher on a spring reading screening assessment or faced hardships during the days leading up to the TCAP can also appeal.

The appeal window is open from May 30-June 13.

Other key dates

June 7: All third-grade retake scores will be available on June 7. Some districts, like MNPS, said they will provide scores within two days of a retake.

June 13: Summer school post-tests open on June 13.

June 24: A final retention decision for families with students who did not participate in any interventions, like summer school, will go out by June 24. This applies for schools starting July 24. For schools that start later, families will be notified at least 30 days before the first day of school.

July 24: For families with students who did participate in interventions, the final retention decision will be made on July 14. This is for schools starting on July 24. For schools that start later, a retention decision will be made at least 10 days before the first day of school.

More information on the third grade retention law from the Tennessee Department of Education can be found at tn.gov/education/top-links/learning-acceleration.

See the timeline for yourself below.

Third Grade Promotion Timeline by USA TODAY Network on Scribd

Legislators amend retention law, but not in time for this year

Gov. Bill Lee signed amendments to the third grade retention law in May. The changes add another assessment and widen the number of third graders who can either appeal or be exempt from retention, among other measures.

However, the amendments will not take effect until the 2023-24 school year.

The changes to the law include:

Another required benchmark test that will factor into retention decisions

Permission for students who score as approaching proficiency on the TCAP and in the 50 th percentile of the additional benchmark test to move on to fourth grade, as long as summer school and tutoring are in place

Required tutors for children retained in grades K-3

A streamlined retention appeals process that also allows schools to assist parents and guardians

Required tracking of summer school, tutoring and retention data to allow the state to measure the policys success

Permission for the Tennessee Department of Education to contract with up to three qualified tutoring agencies to ensure enough tutors are available

However, Braisted said the benchmark test noted in the amendment is different from another state-approved test MNPS and many other school districts use. For the purposes of this year's class of third graders, Braisted said he believes the other benchmark is acceptable to use in the appeal process.

"The amendments to the law may allow us to better assist families in the appeal process, but otherwise, there were not significant substantive changes," Braisted, the MNPS spokesperson, said.

Adkins, the Cheatham County Schools spokesperson, sees the amendments as helpful.

"A decision of this magnitude should not be defined by one test score from an 8-year-old student," Adkins said. "We believe the amendments to the law are appropriate and needed."

Rutherford County Board of Education chairman Tammy Sharp supports the goal of the law.

"To me, this shouldn't be looked at as a punishment," Sharp said. "This should be looked at as tutoring to help your student catch up or excel. Reading is foundational and fundamental to a good education."

Areena Arora, Micaela Watts, Andy Humbles, Scott Broden, Kenya Anderson, Sarah Best and Jay Powell contributed to this story.

Reach children's reporter Rachel Wegner at RAwegner@tennessean.com or find her on Twitter @RachelAnnWegner.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee third grade TCAP scores released May 19; districts set plans
Made up of more than 1,000 islands spread over 90,000 square kilometers, Maldives is a country like no other.

The majority of the nations 160-plus resorts sit on individual islands, many of which are accessed by float plane from capital Males Velana International Airport.

A private island paradise in a country thats 99% water, famed for having some of the worlds most stunning coastal scenery? Not a tough sell for most travelers.

But there are a few downsides. Being on a remote island can limit dining options. And opportunities to learn about Maldives fascinating history and the challenges it faces as the worlds lowest-lying nation are in short supply.

Thats where CROSSROADS Maldives comes in. Just a 15-minute air-conditioned speedboat ride from the international airport, its the countrys first multi-island leisure and lifestyle destination, designed to target both international tourists and locals looking for a day escape from the capital.

Arriving guests pull into a picturesque 30-berth marina  where theyre likely to spot a superyacht or two  that connects to an open-air dining and retail zone. From there, theyre shuttled via electric buggy to one of two resorts  the SAii Lagoon Maldives, Curio Collection by Hilton or the Hard Rock Hotel Maldives  which occupy their own individual islands, all connected by narrow bridges. Daytrippers can head for the SAii Beach Club, a separate venue with its own private beach and dining options.

A rare chance to learn about Maldivian history

Though the stunning white sands and blue waters are what draw most tourists to Maldives, CROSSROADS also seeks to educate visitors on the countrys extensive history, which dates back to 2,000 BCE, as well as the environmental challenges it faces today.

These issues are front and center in the Maldives Discovery Center, located near the marina.

Here, visitors learn about the countrys culture, people, history and climate struggles through a series of colorful interactive displays.

This is important because Maldives is always considered a luxury destination, but nothing more, says Mohamed Firash, CROSSROADS Maldives marketing and communications manager.

Its also a country with a rich history. There was a disconnect before, and this will help rebuild that relationship between tourism and local culture.

CROSSROADS was inspired by Maldives role as an important stop on trading routes, connecting East and West through the ages. This philosophy carries over into the dining zone, too. Its home to the countrys first and only fine dining restaurant dedicated to Maldivian cuisine  Kalhu Odi.

If you have been to other resorts in Maldives, usually they serve a bit of Maldivian cuisine or host a Maldivian night, says Firash.

Kalhu Odi serves Maldivian cuisine in a fine dining setting. - CROSSROADS Maldives

But theres no fine dining restaurant available for tourists to experience the local cuisine. This restaurant serves different types of food available throughout the country. The experience is incredible.

Kalhu Odi is one of more than a dozen different dining outlets at CROSSROADS. Theres also an outpost of Sri Lankas famed Ministry of Crab, the Hard Rock Cafe, Japanese restaurant Nihonbashi Blue, Indian eatery Kebab and Kurry and Chinese restaurant Jiao Wu. Those in need of some spice can head for Thai restaurant Kinkao.

Coral propagation in the Marine Discovery Centre

Like most resorts in the Maldives, CROSSROADS has a watersports center for those looking to get out on boards and JetSkis or plan scuba and snorkel excursions in the surrounding reefs.

Adjacent to it is the Marine Discovery Centre, which teaches visitors about the importance of sustainable practices. An onsite coral propagation nursery offers a hands-on experience that gives broken pieces of coral a second chance at life.

Ali Shaamy, research assistant in the Marine Discover Centre, demonstrates the coral propagation process. - Mark Philips/CNN

We collect the broken pieces from the reefs and then we bring it here, explains research assistant Ali Shaamy as he demonstrates the process.

The pieces are glued to a dead rock. We call it the stone attachment method. After a week, we move them to the resorts lagoon.

Its important because the islands, the ocean, the fish the whole marine biodiversity is connected to the coral reefs. If we dont have the corals, we dont have the beauty or the fish, and then guests dont come.

According to the World Bank, tourism directly and indirectly accounts for two-thirds of the countrys GDP. Striking a balance between the need to welcome tourists while also protecting the countrys natural resources is an ever-present issue in this country of just over half a million people.

As part of efforts to fulfill its own commitment to environmental preservation, CROSSROADS recently became the latest destination in Maldives to receive its Green Globe Certification (GGC) following a rigorous sustainability audit.

Travelers dont need to look far to see why the need to adhere to strict sustainable practices is necessary. At sunset, not far offshore near the SAii Lagoon resort pool, dolphins can often be spotted leaping into the air on the horizon.

During the speedboat transfer back to the airport during a recent visit, several pods of dolphins emerge to swim and jump beside the boat, their grey fins cutting through the crystal-blue waters, not far from cargo ships docked at a Male port.

SAii Lagoon has 198 rooms and villas. - CROSSROADS Maldives

A destination for locals, too

In addition to SAii Lagoon and the Hard Rock Hotel, CROSSROADS is preparing to open a third resort, SO/ Maldives, later this year.

It will feature a selection of 80 overwater and beach luxury villas. SAii, meanwhile, has 198 suites and villas  both overwater and beach-access, while Hard Rock Hotel has 178 rooms including family suites, beach villas and one and two-bedroom overwater villas.

Guests of the two resorts can choose from a variety of meal plans, including an all-inclusive package that offers free dining at most CROSSROADS venues.

Though travelers could easily spend a few days at CROSSROADS, its also a great option for visitors needing a place to stay near the airport, depending on flight schedules, as float planes cant fly after dark.

An aerial view of CROSSROADS Maldives, which is made up of several connected islands. - CROSSROADS Maldives

Those who just want to come for the day can visit the marina, beach club and retail/dining zone, as well as the discovery centers. And that includes local Maldivians.

This is the first project that is open for the general public and tourists as well, says Firash.

Because Maldives resorts are private, locals or even visitors are not allowed to go unless you have a booking to stay. So this is the first facility that is open for locals and visitors to visit for a day use, or maybe just to experience dining facilities we have.

The reaction from the locals since it first opened in 2019 has been impressive, he says.

They really appreciate that they have something other than the city to come out and experience during their weekend, and bring their families out of Male. Its a bit congested, so this is a good opportunity for them to be away from the busy life.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Inside the rise of #TeacherQuitTok, where educators are documenting the moment they pack up and leave the profession for good

Teachers told Insider TikTok provided a valuable community for them. TikTok: @ms.mccourt, Kayla McCourt, @k.a.t.2018

The hashtag #TeacherQuitTok has over 266 million views on TikTok.

Educators are sharing the realities of the role and their reasons for leaving the profession.

Teachers told Insider they've found a valuable community on the app.

On January 17, Kayla McCourt, a 33-year-old former teacher with over a decade of experience, filmed herself packing up her classroom and exiting the profession.

In the video, which received 83,000 views on TikTok, McCourt could be seen handing a key to a woman behind a desk, before she left through a door and raised her arms triumphantly in the air. The caption of the upload read, "The scariest, but most freeing decision I've ever made," alongside the hashtags #TeacherQuitTok and #teachersoftiktok.

Hundreds of comments under the post offered commiserations  some from people who said they had similar experiences. McCourt responded to one viewer who said they were a trainee teacher that was "stressed the f out," saying it's not all this bad, and she has positive memories from her time of teaching. Another viewer said they had also recently quit their job, and McCourt sent encouragement and support.

In recent months, multiple people have filmed themselves appearing to leave their classroom as part of the same TikTok trend McCourt took part in, which often includes a popular sound on the app. The audio, which is played in the background of these clips, features a voice that said, "A wise woman once packed all her stuff and said, 'this fucked up shit will not be my story.' Then she left." The hashtag #TeacherQuitTok currently has over 266 million views on the app.

McCourt told Insider a community of like-minded teachers has formed on TikTok, and she is just one of many who are highlighting the challenges of their jobs, which range from long hours to low pay and insufficient training, in an effort to show others they're not alone.

TikTok helped one teacher who was unhappy in her role to find her voice

McCourt, who is based in California, first went viral in the summer of 2020 with a video that received 4.4 million views, showing her dressed in a wetsuit and goggles, as she tried to engage her students with educational games during the pandemic.

Back then, McCourt wanted to share the fun side of her role and continued to post similar TikToks where she went to extra lengths to dress up in costumes for her classes.

But over time the pressures of the job started to overwhelm her, she said, and she started posting videos that highlighted the issues she faced, which included large classroom sizes, additional admin, and stretched working schedules.

McCourt said the teachers she found on TikTok became friends and provided a "system of people that I could trust" and speak with as they responded to one another's videos to say they could relate to the same issues, such as low pay.

Despite having an Associate degree, a Bachelor's, and a Master's, McCourt said after 10 years of teaching her salary ranged from $60,000 to $65,000, and she had to pick up bar and restaurant work on the weekends for the majority of her tenure to make ends meet.

According to federal data taken from the 2020-2021 academic year, 17% of teachers in the US work second jobs, EducationWeek reported. The same report revealed teachers were already working an average of 52 hours a week.

McCourt said she was "very thankful" for the community of teachers she found on TikTok, and said the app helped her "find my voice a little bit more" and feel more comfortable sharing the reality of her experience as a teacher, and hopes her videos can help others.

The feedback from comments appears to be mostly supportive of the teachers too, with many responding to say they respect the work they are trying to do, and appreciate how much they are stretched by the expectations of the job. Others commented to say they were teachers in training, and the videos helped them gain a better understanding of what they may be getting themselves into.

'Younger generations are more outspoken and they don't blindly follow,' one TikTok teacher said

Isabel Brown, a 30-year-old former teacher who taught human geography for six years in South Carolina, has over 278,000 followers on TikTok. Her earlier uploads showed her creative teaching methods which included a TED talk, a dance-off, and turning learning into a survival-based game, but she told Insider six years of the job started to wear her down.

Brown felt teaching was her calling so she majored in education at college, but discovered four years of training had not properly equipped her for the reality of the role.

"I had gone to school, I knew I wanted to be a teacher, but when I stepped in the classroom, I felt unprepared," she told Insider. "Nothing really prepares you for actually having 30 students at a time."

Brown ultimately left her role as a teacher in May 2022, and posted a video outlining her reasons for leaving in a March TikTok which received over 1.4 million views, saying she realized she couldn't change the school system.

She has since launched Brown Crayon Advocacy which provides assistance to parents and students, through motivation and counseling, to help them thrive in the classroom.

She plans to continue posting TikToks, in the hopes she can shine a light on the positive things still going on in the classroom.

She told Insider she thinks TikTok has become a platform for teachers to be transparent about their work as it has a younger demographic that is more open to sharing details of their mental health and self-care, and she represents "thousands of young, fun teachers who are leaving."

According to data obtained by education non-profit Chalkbeat which looked at the teacher turnover rates from eight states in the US between 2021 and 2022, "in all cases, turnover was at its highest point in at least five years," USA Today reported.

Brown added she "hated all the paperwork" and felt that educators didn't receive the respect they deserved. Plus there was the problem with the lack of maternity leave. According to a 2022 report by EducationWeek, the United States "does not mandate paid parental leave."

"You see young teachers who are so excited to teach and now they're posting about the actual conditions, and they're not afraid to do so because I think the younger generations are more outspoken and they don't blindly follow like some of the older generations do," she said.

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.

Read the original article on Insider


The 3,925 miles between New York and Stockholm lessened considerably Thursday evening as the design brand Svenskt Tenn hosted a chic dinner at the Consulate General of Sweden on Park Avenue, hosted by CEO Maria Veerasamy. Those attending included Mickalene Thomas, Sally Singer, Johan Lindeberg, Mickey Boardman, Maria Cornejo, Lynn Yaeger, Vogues very own Chioma Nnadi, and Swedish photographic and creative direction duo Peter Farago and Ingela Klemetz Farago.

Svenskt Tenn is renowned for plenty of things, not least the pioneering spirit of founder Estrid Ericson, who began the company in 1924, its gorgeous store on Strandvagen in Stockholm, and for one Josef Frank, an Austrian emigre designer who, for much of the 20th century, created such iconic pieces for the company as the sprawling bed-sized Liljevalchs sofa, and oh so many joyous and exuberant textiles, from Baraquilla to Mirakel to Navigare. (Many might want their ashes scattered at Bergdorf Goodman. Me? Id take Svenskt Tenn any day.)

Photo: Courtesy of Svenskt Tenn Photo: Courtesy of Svenskt Tenn

The dinner was both a curtain raiser to the brand's 100th anniversary next year, and to honor the work of Frank, whose particular brand of life-affirming Modernist aesthetic was shaped by his time in Manhattan during the Second World War. There he designed some of his most famous textiles and furniture pieces, hence the name for tonights festivities, The American Chapter. Josef made fifty of his most cherished and important prints in New York, said Veerasamy. To be here is to experience what it is about the city that made him so creative.

Those ultra-vivid patterns of his made quite an impact at the dinner. Four long tables were dressed in different fabrics of his design, with Frank-authored flower and fruit textile cut-outs strewn across the top for good measure, all adding to the merriment. (The general rule with Franks work: more is more, and even more is even better.) Guests ate an equally vivid (and absolutely delicious) menu that included tomatoes dressed in sea buckthorn oil, Hispi cabbage, grilled sea bass, smoked potatoes, and brown butter cake swirled with whipped cream and lemon curd.

Photo: Courtesy of Peter Farago/Ingela Klemetz Farago Photo: Courtesy of Peter Farago/Ingela Klemetz Farago

If Frank was a guest of honor, then so too was one of his most famous designs, named, appropriately enough, Manhattan, which he came up with sometime in the early Forties. With its bold evocation of the New York grid system, parks, and rivers, the print is as much a love letter to Franks temporary home as it is a highly stylized map. If youve been in New York these past few days, you might have seen trucks passing by emblazoned with a blow-up of the textile zipping by - or maybe one of Peter Farago and Ingela Klemetz Faragos photographs of a chair upholstered in Manhattan and perched in splendid isolation on the island of Borgen. Thats just one of a series of striking images that the twosome shot as part of a project to reimagine Franks iconicity for today, and which were included as part of a special commemorative magazine they conceived and created.

Farago and Klemetz Farago started to shoot last year during one of those endlessly light Swedish summer days, transporting Svenskt Tenn furniture and textiles by speed boat to the hauntingly desolate location, including meters and meters of the Manhattan fabric, snaking it across the landscape. They also brought some of the spirit of their fashion photography work to aid in the reimagination of Frank and of Svenskt Tenn. Usually, when a company photographs their furniture, they show a lot of it, said Klemetz Farago. But we wanted to treat the pieces more like models, to shoot them alone, so we could focus on one at a time.

Photo: Farago Publishing / courtesy of Svenskt Tenn. Photo: Farago Publishing / Courtesy of Svenskt Tenn.

For Farago, those images are a perfect evocation of the brand, and those whose work continues to make it what it is today. That day, there were no waves, the cliffs were warm...we were in a beautiful place with this beautiful furniture, he said. It didnt feel like we were doing something miles away. It felt like we were in Estrid and Josefs world. And thanks to The American Chapter dinner, so were we.

Photo: Henrik Hanson / Farago Publishing courtesy of Svenskt Tenn.

Photo: Henrik Hanson / Farago Publishing courtesy of Svenskt Tenn.

Photo: Henrik Hanson / Farago Publishing courtesy of Svenskt Tenn.

Photo: Henrik Hanson / Farago Publishing courtesy of Svenskt Tenn.

Photo: Henrik Hanson / Farago Publishing courtesy of Svenskt Tenn.

Originally Appeared on Vogue
A Babylonian tablet depicting a naked couple kissing, dated 1800 BCE.

Couples in Mesopotamia could have been the first ones smooching as we know it. New research analyzing written records from the area reveals that people in the Cradle of Civilization could have participated in the oldest recorded acts of kissing.



Troels Pank Arbll from the University of Copenhagen and Sophie Lund Rasmussen from the University of Oxford examined cuneiform writing on clay tablets from Mesopotamia and found mentions of kissing as early as 2500 BCE. Based on these tablets, kissing was primarily done following sexual acts, with couples paying attention to each others lips as opposed to kissing other body parts.

Read more

Kissing was typically an act that married couples participated in, but unwed people would also kiss when in love, albeit less frequently, they found. Arbll and Rasmussens analysis places the oldest-known kissing at 4,500 years old; previous academic evidence from South Asian texts had suggested kissing was only 3,500 years old. The researchers work is published this week in the journal Science.

In ancient Mesopotamia, which is the name for the early human cultures that existed between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in present-day Iraq and Syria, people wrote in cuneiform script on clay tablets. Many thousands of these clay tablets have survived to this day, and they contain clear examples that kissing was considered a part of romantic intimacy in ancient times, just as kissing could be part of friendships and family members relations, said Arbll in a press release.

At the same time, these acts of romance and lust may have played an unintentional role in spreading disease. More specifically, Arbll and Rasmussen claim that kissing could have helped the herpes simplex virus 1 spread more rapidly, as there are ancient Mesopotamian medical texts that describe an illness with similar symptoms. The authors, however, arent convinced that this is the same virus, as these ancient civilizations approached medicine from a different perspective than we do now.

It is nevertheless interesting to note some similarities between the disease known as bushanu in ancient medical texts from Mesopotamia and the symptoms caused by herpes simplex infections. The bushanu disease was located primarily in or around the mouth and throat, and symptoms included vesicles in or around the mouth, which is one of the dominant signs of herpes infection, Rasmussen said in the release. If the practice of kissing was widespread and well-established in a range of ancient societies, the effects of kissing in terms of pathogen transmission must likely have been more or less constant.

Arbll and Rasmussen argue in their manuscript that the texts from Mesopotamia also point to kissing being commonplace in a large geographic areaone larger than that described in the evidence from South Asia. As such, the researchers argue that kissing may not have emerged from one, singular ancient society, and instead may have been practiced in parallel societies across the world.

More from Gizmodo

Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Investigation: Four sailor suicides from same command not connected

Editors note: This report contains discussion of suicide. Troops, veterans and family members experiencing suicidal thoughts can call the 24-hour Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, texting 838255 or visiting VeteransCrisisLine.net.

The suicides of four sailors assigned to the same unit in Virginia within a span of 28 days late last year were not directly connected, according to a service investigation released Thursday. But the losses all involved sailors who had accessed Navy mental health services and were dealing with family, financial, medical and career-related factors.

Electronics Technician 2nd Class Kody Decker died by suicide on Oct. 29 and Electronics Technician Seaman Cameron Armstrong took his life on Nov. 5, while Machinists Mate Fireman Deonte Autry died by suicide on Nov. 14.

All three men were 22-years-old. Twelve days later, on Nov. 26, Fire Controlman 2nd Class Janelle Holder, 39, ended her life as well.

The investigating team assessed that access to personally owned firearms and unwillingness to surrender access to lethal means, to include the use of gun locks, was a causal factor in the deaths.

All four were in their first enlistment as they grappled with various life challenges.

The sailors were all in a limited-duty, or LIMDU, status at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center in Virginia, a sprawling command responsible for overseeing the areas ship maintenance and a place to put sailors who required LIMDU status.

There was a lack of communication between MARMC coordinators and military treatment facilities, and this fractured situation led to blind spots when it came to LIMDU sailors seeking mental health assistance, which investigators cited as a contributing factor in the deaths.

Limited-duty sailors were also not properly managed or monitored within the command.

The military may be required to start tracking suicides by job assignments

When the sailors accessed Navy mental health services they all appeared to receive timely and dedicated medical care for their respective condition, according to the report.

While command climate surveys at MARMC were not filled out by many of the sailors or civilians working there, interviews done by investigators did not reveal a toxic command climate.

Since the deaths, MARMC has added on-site mental health and resiliency counselors, along with chaplains, to address a need that was unfulfilled prior to the four deaths.

Because large regional maintenance centers are fast-paced, industrial environments, they are not well-suited for managing and overseeing LIMDU sailors, investigators wrote.

If the Navy wishes to keep putting limited-duty sailors at the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest Regional Maintenance centers, the investigation found, it will need to beef up billets to address oversight shortfalls.

The USNS Hunter prepares to undock at Lyons Shipyard Inc. in Norfolk, Virginia, in November 2019. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center managed the ship's maintenance Availability. (Hendrick L. Dickson/Navy)

MARMC struggled to implement the Navys suicide prevention program, but investigators noted that those struggles reflect broader issues that have been documented across the Navy regarding the effectiveness of that prevention effort.

The investigation recommends 25 reforms to how the regional maintenance centers look after such sailors, as well as reforms to better track these sailors elsewhere in the Navy.

Navy spokeswoman Lt. Alyson Hands said Thursday that implementing the full list of recommendations will take time and resourcing.

The Navy will continue to work diligently with our partners in Congress to ensure full and timely funding for the critical steps to ensure our Sailors receive the quality of service they deserve, Hands said.

Already, MARMC has received additional chaplains and other support personnel and is approved to hire additional mental health counselors, she said, and gun locks have been provided to hundreds of command members.

A long-term campaign is being planned so that MARMC leadership can better understand morale and mental health crises, and a cross-Navy effort is in the works to better care for and track sailors who find themselves in a limited-duty status.

Suicide is complex and rarely the result of a single stressor, Rear Adm. Eric Ver Hage, who commands the Navy Regional Maintenance Center, wrote in his endorsement of the investigation. It is often difficult to pinpoint the specific cause of suicide, but based on this investigation, to understand the causal and contributing factors in these four cases, we have taken steps to effect positive lasting change within the MARMC and greater (Regional Maintenance Center) populations to prevent similar tragedy in the future.

ET2 Kody Decker

Earlier in 2022, Decker had been an early promote recommendation, with his supervisor noting his outstanding work as a petty officer third class aboard the amphibious assault ship Bataan.

He was posthumously promoted to second class after his death and left behind a wife and 8-month-old son, according to the investigation.

Keeping firearms out of easy reach key to preventing military suicides

Shipmates remembered his outgoing personality, infectious attitude and strong communication skills.

But the investigation suggests life on Bataan took a toll on the young sailor. The ship was high tempo even when the ship was in-port, with no time off, and that harsh environment was listed as a contributing factor to his mental health stressors.

Decker first sought help in August and started going to therapy after experiencing suicidal ideations and relying on alcohol as a coping mechanism.

Decker stated that he was worried that his suicidal ideations might progress into actions in the future, the investigation states. He also admitted to keeping a loaded firearm at his bedside for protection and was resistant to having his personal firearms secured.

During five days of inpatient therapy, Decker said he was thinking of leaving the military and becoming an electrician.

After reporting to MARMC in August, he continued to receive mental health care and the investigation notes steady improvement in his mental health after leaving sea duty.

New 988 suicide prevention hotline gives vets, troops an easier option for emergency care

A potential intervention opportunity was missed when the command official in charge of drug and alcohol abuse treatment was not informed of Deckers alcohol abuse diagnosis.

On the evening of Oct. 29, Decker was found dead in his vehicle in the parking lot of a Kroger grocery store in Virginia Beach.

ETSN Cameron Armstrong

Shipmates remembered Armstrong as a quiet sailor who generally kept to himself in the workspace, but who enjoyed anime videos and sometimes spoke of the admiration he had for his spouse.

But Armstrong struggled with obesity, and the investigation found that the restrictions put in place during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted his physical and mental health.

He reported being anxious and depressed in 2019.

In 2021, he told a mental health provider that the military was a major stressor to him, that he wanted to get out of the Navy, and that he often does not want to get out of bed.

The provider stated that further evaluation was necessary to determine suitability for continued military service, the investigation states.

After arriving at MARMC, Armstrong answered yes when a supervisor asked if he wanted to kill himself.

That supervisor put Armstrong in touch with the MARMC suicide prevention coordinator and arranged to meet him at the ER.

There, Armstrong told his supervisor he no longer wanted to kill himself and just wanted to go on leave, and his supervisor told him that was fine.

Investigators noted that continuity of care was a contributing factor in Armstrongs death, but that the young man was also occasionally a noncompliant or uncooperative medical patient.

Marital stress also played a role in his issues.

Navy, Marine Corps offer gun locks to prevent suicide

Potential intervention opportunities were missed when ETSN Armstrong was not provided the full range of support during periods of crisis, according to the investigation.

He was not referred to a mental health program or screened for alcohol dependency, which might have provided command officials with a better understanding of what he was going through.

Armstrong was also issued consecutive physical fitness assessment waivers with no follow-on action and was non-deployable for more than 12 consecutive months, These moments were listed as missed chances to intervene and help him further.

He was found dead by a civilian friend in his Norfolk apartment on Nov. 5.

MMFN Deonte Autry

Autry was remembered as a caring young man who looked after those around him.

He could draw a crowd with his sense of humor, the investigation states. He was an optimistic, bubbly guy that loved to joke around. He talked about his family and visiting them.

Neurological issues led Autry to leave the carrier George Washington and report to MARMC in a LIMDU status after he lost consciousness on the carrier while on watch.

Medical providers never communicated any medical concerns or patient information about Autry to MARMC.

Despite the health issues and multiple seizures, Autrys lead petty officer recalled him seeming excited and happy about his upcoming medical appointments.

It keeps us awake: Navy leaders say sailor suicides are huge concern

He was found dead in his Newport News apartment Nov. 14 after he didnt show up for work.

Roughly 20 sailors attended his Nov. 26 funeral in Marshville, North Carolina, including old friends from George Washington and new friends he made at MARMC.

Investigators were unable to determine if his medical condition and prescribed medications played a role in his death.

Leading up to the day of his suicide, there were no findings that point to a reason or crisis event in MMFN Autrys life that would create a concern for or a suspicion of suicide, the investigation states.

FC2 Janelle Holder

Holder enlisted at the age of 39. She had always wanted to serve but weight issues had prevented that earlier in her life.

She reported to the guided-missile destroyer Gonzalez and was remembered as a key contributor to the combat systems missile division.

Holder first sought help in March 2020 at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Virginia, claiming suicidal ideation.

Despite her struggles, Holder was ranked first out of 17 petty officers third class in her division and was dubbed a top notch operator in her June 2021 evaluation.

But suicidal thoughts continued. She continued to seek treatment, at one point asking for a new provider because the old one had suggested administrative separation and she wanted to stay in the Navy.

She also suffered from a herniated disc and debilitating back pain that impacted her quality of life and left her bedridden at times once she was on LIMDU and transferred to MARMC.

Holder took her life on the evening of Nov. 26.
 Flash

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Thursday urged the United States, Japan and other G7 members to stop conniving at and supporting "Taiwan independence" forces, stop making provocations and playing with fire on the Taiwan question.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily press briefing, in response to media reports that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that Japan shares the position during the G7 summit that the issue of Taiwan should be resolved peacefully through dialogue and sent out the message.

It was also stated by Japanese media that G7 members are coordinating on including such content as "the importance of peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait" into the summit joint statement.

Wang said the real threat to cross-Strait peace and stability is the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' unwillingness to recognize the 1992 Consensus which embodies the one-China principle, separatist activities to seek "Taiwan independence" and attempts to change the status quo that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China.

The United States, Japan and certain countries have been fudging and hollowing out the one-China principle, and echoing and collaborating with "Taiwan independence" forces in political, military and economic dimensions. It is quite clear they are also responsible for the tensions in the Taiwan Strait, he said.

To keep the Taiwan Strait peaceful, it is essential to unequivocally uphold the one-China principle and oppose risky and provocative moves by "Taiwan independence" forces and resolutely contain foreign connivance and support for "Taiwan independence" activities, Wang pointed out.

He said those who talk about peace in the Taiwan Strait without mentioning the need to oppose "Taiwan independence" forces will only embolden the separatists as they solicit foreign support for "Taiwan independence" and take reckless moves, which can only mean greater danger to the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Those who talk about peaceful resolution of the Taiwan question without mentioning the need to support China's reunification are actually trying to impede China's reunification and create a "peaceful division". The Chinese people will firmly oppose it, he added.

Wang said China is committed to striving for peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and the utmost effort.

China will not accept any attempt by anyone or any force to curb the effort to stop separatism for "Taiwan independence", Wang said, adding that China will not allow anyone or any force to meddle in China's own affairs under the disguise of seeking peace.

China urges the United States, Japan and other G7 members to adhere to the political documents on their bilateral relations with China, follow the one-China principle, stop conniving at and supporting "Taiwan independence" forces, stop making provocations and playing with fire on the Taiwan question and never stand on the opposite side of over 1.4 billion Chinese people, Wang said.

"Those playing with fire will get burnt," he added.
An investigation into a string of suicides of U.S. Navy sailors assigned to the USS George Washington has revealed failures in the working and living conditions at naval shipyards, leading to recommendations for improvements in mental health services, food and housing.

The conditions experienced by those assigned to the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON and MARMC are not the result of any act or inaction by any single leader. Collectively, Navy senior leadership, officer and civilian, let our standards slip  and in so doing we let our people down, said Navy Chief Adm. Michael Gilday and Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro in a memo.

The investigation looked into the Quality of Service  which the report defines as both quality of life and quality of work  aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which was undergoing Refueling and Complex Overhaul.

The Navys probe follows the deaths of seven sailors assigned to the ship over a 12-month period. Four of the deaths were confirmed suicides, three of which occurred within a week in April of last year. Two more

An earlier probe found that the sailors deaths were independent events with no direct correlation between them, but identified some common quality of life challenges for crews of aircraft carriers undergoing the Refueling and Complex Overhaul process and directed the more wide-ranging quality of service investigation, according to the report.

In 2021 and 2022, the Inspector General received seven complaints relating to USS George Washington to include allegations of uninhabitable living conditions, safety violations, unfair treatment, mistreatment of Sailors, mishandling of a sexual assault case, BAS (pay and entitlements), and fraternization, reads the report.

Gilday and Del Toros memo outlines the Navys priorities for improving quality of service, including that every sailor deserves free high-speed WiFi in housing and recreation centers, affordable and nutritious food, and a deliberate strategy for strengthening their mental and physical health.

Sailors also deserve the opportunity to go to sea and the opportunity to live off the ship while in an industrial environment, according to the memo.

Our success will be dependent on every leader, at every level, asking one question every day: Are we asking our people to overcome something they shouldnt have to overcome? Gilday and Del Toro wrote.

The national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
JERUSALEMThe Islamic Republic of Iran continued its killing spree of protesters seeking to create a democracy despite a plea on Friday from the Biden administration to "not carry out these executions."

The Iranian-regime controlled Mizan News Agency, which is affiliated with the countrys opaque judiciary, reported that Saleh Mirehashemi, Majid Kazemi and Saeed Yaqoubi were executed on May 19 in a prison the city of Isfahan.

The Norway-based Iran Human Rights group said that there had been at least 90 executions in the last 18 days, marking May as the "bloodiest month" in the nation over the last five years.

"What were witnessing in Iran are not executions, but extrajudicial mass killings to create societal fear to maintain power," Iran Human Rights Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said.

Vedant Patel, the principal deputy spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said ahead of the executions, "We join the people of Iran and the international community in calling on Iran to not carry out these executions. The execution of these men  after what have been widely regarded as sham trials  would be an affront to human rights and basic dignity in Iran and everywhere."

Demonstrators in Iran cry out in the streets.

DESPITE IRANIAN ATTACK KILLING AMERICAN ABROAD, BIDEN PURSUES NUCLEAR DEAL WITH AYATOLLAH'S REGIME

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

He added, "It is clear from this episode that the Iranian regime has learned nothing from the protests that began with another death, the death of Mahsa Amini in September of last year. We once again urge Irans leadership to stop the killing, stop the sham trials, and respect peoples human rights. We are continuing to work in close coordination with our allies and partners around the world to condemn and confront these appalling human rights abuses."

The clerical regime reportedly tortured and murdered Amini in Tehran because she did not comply with the countrys Islamic dress code requiring that she cover her hair with a hijab. Aminis murder sparked waves of revolts across the country against the regime, with calls for the abolition of the Islamic Republic.

Irans regime charged the three men with "waging war against God," a crime that is frequently applied against political activists and dissidents.

During the alleged forced confessions of the men on Iran state television, the men rejected the charge of murder.

The theocratic state implicated the men in a November 2022 incident, in which two Basij paramilitary force members and a law enforcement officer were fatally shot in Isfahan. The Basij is a subsidiary force of the U.S.-sanctioned terrorist entity Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and the paramilitary movement is also proscribed as a terrorist entity by the U.S.

According to Radio Farda, which reports on Iran, family members and supporters of the trio engaged in protests in front of Isfahans prison. Iranian security forces imposed violence on the demonstrators.

The three men issued a handwritten letter on May 18 that was covertly released and published on social media, declaring, "Don't let them kill us. We need your help."

KIM KARDASHIAN, JUSTIN BIEBER AND MORE STARS SPEAK OUT ON THE HORRIFIC DEATH OF MAHSA AMINI IN IRAN

A total of seven protesters, including the three men, have been executed by the regime since the outbreak of nationwide protests in September. According to the London-based human rights organization Amnesty International, executions in the highly repressive state ballooned from 314 in 2021 to 576 in 2022.

When asked at Thursday's State Department briefing whether the U.S. expects its allies and partners to condemn the executions in Isfahan, Patel said, "Im not going to speak for our allies and partners. . . . But when it comes to confronting the challenge of the Iranian regime and its egregious human rights abuses, its continued support for Russia in the war in Ukraine, its provision of arms to proxies in the Middle East, there is convergence between the United States and our allies and partners in confronting the challenge faced by the Iranian regime."

However, German MP Norbert Rottgen, from the conservative Christian Democratic Union Party, tweeted, "No one knows if they could have been saved, but Germany & the EU don't even try. [German Foreign Minister Anna] Baerbock must finally look and find words for the horror that is taking place in Iran. Silence is not politics!"

Fox News Digital reached out to a diverse group of Iranian experts in the United Kingdom, the U.S. and Germany for comments on the executions.

Kazem Moussavi, a German-Iranian dissident and spokesman for the Green Party of Iran in exile, told Fox News Digital that the Islamic Republics Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and its President, Ebrahim Raisi, should be included on the European Union terror list. The U.S. sanctioned Raisi for his role in two massacres of Iranians in 1988 and 2019.

Moussavi took Martin Horn, the mayor of the German southwestern city of Freiburg, to task for his adherence to a twin city partnership with Isfahan and refusal to permanently end the relations with Irans regime in Isfahan. Moussavi said, "I urged Mr. Martin Horn on social media on January 1, 2023, for the release of the three people arrested during the protests for Women, Life, Freedom in the Khane-Isfahan district by the mullahs' judiciary and the Isfahan city administration to demand. He refused to help, including trying to sponsor jailed protesters, and now three innocent people were hanged in Isfahan prison on Friday."

Moussavi noted that "after the executions, opponents of the regime chanted Death to the dictator in many residential areas of Isfahan and Death to Khamenei."

Isfahan is a major center for the Islamic Republics reported construction of its nuclear weapons program and a hub for missile production.

IRANIAN ENFORCES OPEN FIRE ON 'SCHOOLGIRLS' AS REGIME PREPARES FOR CRACKDOWN ON KURDISH PROTESTERS: REPORT

A man gestures during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 19, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS.

Moussavi and the Iranian dissident, Sheina Vojoudi, an associate fellow for the Gold Institute for International Strategy, played a key role in securing the temporary suspension of the Freiburg-Isfahan partnership. Freiburg is located in the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg, whose commissioner, Michael Blume, who is tasked with fighting antisemitism, has lashed out at Vojoudi and other Iranian dissidents who seek to the end the widespread human rights abuses of the Islamic Republic.

Vojoudi said, "Blume called people like me corrupt exiled nationalists after I showed him the leaked footage of Evin prison and told him [that] only criticism wont help us and as a defender of the human rights he should do more."

She continued, "But, in response, he insulted and discriminated against Iranians in exile. He called us corrupt, but the rulers of their twin city [partnership], the officials of the Islamic Republic, are the most corrupt people on earth."

Fox News reported last year on calls for Blume to resign due to his alleged antisemitism.

MADRID, SPAIN - 2023/02/11: People protesting, simulating being hanged during a demonstration against executions and human rights violations in Iran marching to the Iranian embassy in Madrid. The Iranian community has carried out a protest against the executions that are taking place in Iran as a consequence of the arrests during the protests after the death of Masha Amini, 22, who was arrested on 13 September in the capital, Tehran, for improperly dressing while wearing a misplaced headscarf, dying three days afterward at a police station where she was being held. The protest coincides with the 44th anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic regime in Iran. (Photo by Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Potkin Azarmehr, a British-Iranian expert on the theocratic regime, told Fox News Digital, "They can execute and kill freedom fighters, but they will not be able to kill a nation who yearns for freedom."

Marjan Keypour Greenblatt, an Iranian-American who is the director of the Alliance for Rights of All Minorities in the U.S., told Fox News Digital the "Iranian government does not play by any rules. Its a rogue and defiant regime that takes the lives of its citizens to buy time for its own survival."

She continued, "The problem with executions is more complicated than the case of these three individuals. The Isfahan cases are three that are increasingly publicized and brought forth by the international community. But whats beneath the surface of these hashtag campaigns are the cases that remain under the radar."

She added, "In the past few days, while activists were just becoming aware of the cases in Isfahan, at least 12 other prisoners were executed. Most of them remained unknown and undefended."

Alireza Nader, the engagement director for the U.S.-based National Union for a Democratic Iran (NUFDI), told Fox News Digital, "The latest executions in Isfahan show that the regime in Iran continues to try to terrorize the rebellious population into submission. The entire world, especially the U.S. and Europe, should hold the regime accountable and pressure it by ending all economic and diplomatic engagement while offering maximum support to the people of Iran."

.
Iran on Friday executed three men convicted of killing security force members during protests triggered by Mahsa Amini's death last year, the judiciary said, drawing condemnation from rights groups.

Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi were found guilty of "moharebeh"  or waging "war against God"  for shooting dead three members of the security forces at a demonstration in the central city of Isfahan on Nov. 16, the judiciary's Mizan Online news website said.

Amnesty International accused Iran of torturing the three men to illicit "confessions" before they were executed.

"Majid Kazemi said in an audio recording from prison that he was forced to make false self-incriminating statements after interrogators beat him, gave him electric shocks, subjected him to mock executions, and threatened to rape him, execute his brothers and harass his parents," said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, in a statement.

In Iran people are protesting outside prisons to stop further executions. Protesters Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi are at risk of imminent execution. pic.twitter.com/rybdlTS5eE  Amnesty International (@amnesty) May 17, 2023

Iran witnessed waves of nationwide protests following the September death of 22-year-old Amini, an Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for an alleged breach of the Islamic republic's strict dress rules for women.

Amini's cousin, Erfan Mortezaei, who lives in self-exile in Iraq, told CBS News he believes she was tortured.

"She was tortured, according to eyewitnesses," he claimed. "She was tortured in the van after her arrest, then tortured at the police station for half an hour, then hit on her head and she collapsed."

During the protests, which Tehran generally labeled as foreign-instigated "riots," thousands of Iranians were arrested and hundreds killed including dozens of security forces.

Friday's hangings bring to seven the total number of Iranians executed in connection with the demonstrations.

Kazemi, Mirhashemi and Yaghoubi were arrested in November and sentenced to death in January.

In this photo released by Mizan News Agency on Jan. 9, 2023, Majid Kazemi attends his trial at the court in the city of Isfahan, Iran. / Credit: AP

They were also charged with membership of "illegal groups with the intention of disrupting national security and collusion leading to crimes against internal security," Mizan said.

It noted "evidence and documents in the case and the clear statements made by the accused" showed that "the shootings carried out by these three people led to the martyrdom of three security forces."

A video shared on social media on Friday showed Tehran residents chanting "Death to the Islamic republic" and other anti-regime slogans. AFP was unable to immediately verify the footage from the capital's Ekbatan district, a middle-income area that saw repeated anti-regime actions in the past months.

The cases of the three men have caused concern abroad, including in Australia where some of Kazemi's family live.

His cousin Mohammad Hashemi wrote an open letter to Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong asking for her support.

"Majid is only 30 years old. He is a compassionate, loving, and strong-willed person. He, like many other Iranians, participated in peaceful demonstrations to raise his voice and demand change," Hashemi wrote in the letter, published on the petition website change.org.

Wong on Friday condemned the execution, which she said "exemplifies the regime's brutality against its people."

"Australia stands with the people of Iran," Wong tweeted.

"Other protesters will be in danger"

Iran executes more people a year than any other nation except China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty International.

The authorities last year carried out the executions of four protesters, prompting international condemnation.

Since the start of the year, Iran has witnessed a surge in executions on various charges to campaigners' alarm.

The latest executions "must have serious consequences" for Tehran or dozens of "other protesters will be in danger," said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR).

"We must make the Islamic republic leaders understand that execution of protesters will not be tolerated," he said on Twitter.

The authorities hanged 75% more people in 2022 than the previous year, IHR and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty said in a joint report in April. At least 582 people were executed in Iran last year, the highest number of executions in the country since 2015 and well above the 333 recorded in 2021, the two groups said.

The frenetic pace of executions in 2023 has not slowed, with IHR recently counting over 220 executions so far this year.

Hengaw, another Norway-based rights group, decried an "unfathomable wave of executions in Iran," urging in a Twitter message "special attention from human rights organizations as well as Western governments."

Earlier this month, U.N. rights chief Volker Turk sounded the alarm over Iran's "abominable" track record this year, with an average of more than 10 people being put to death each week.

Advocacy groups have warned that members of ethnic minorities have been disproportionately targeted in the current wave of executions.

Syrian President Assad attends Arab League Summit

CDC warns of potential mpox summer outbreak

Mother describes bullying endured by son before suicide
Black woman doing taxes

The Internal Revenue Services sub-par (to put it mildly) treatment of Black taxpayers isnt exactly a secret. But theres a difference between seeing numbers on a spreadsheet and an outright admission from the top, which is exactly what we got this week. In a letter to Congress, IRS commissioner Daniel Werfel coped to the fact that the IRS is more likely to audit Black taxpayers.

While there is a need for further research, our initial findings support the conclusion that Black taxpayers may be audited at higher rates than would be expected given their share of the population, Werfel wrote to Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), the Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, in a letter obtained by The New York Times.

Read more

As we said, none of this is new information. In fact, The Root has been covering these disparities for years. In 2019, Michael Harriot reported that the ten counties with the highest rates of IRS service tax audits were overwhelmingly Black and low-income;

It is impossible that this is unintentional. This is not a byproduct of data-driven decisions. This is not a coincidence, or even an example of disparate impact. It is an indisputable fact that the IRS targets taxpayers who live in poor black communities and leaves white people alone. And there is only one logical explanation for that fact: Racism.

The IRS released a report earlier this year which found that they were three to five times more likely to audit Black taxpayers than non-Black taxpayers.

On Monday, the IRS commissioner said his office is working to change that. He suggested that part of that change could be less of a focus on people who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (although, as weve previously reported on, that likely wouldnt fix the entire problem). The IRS currently doesnt track race-based data in their tax filing process, which progressives like Senator Elizabeth Warren argue would allow the IRS to better track for racial bias. Werfel did not commit to collecting this data for research at the hearing.

At the end of the day, the fact that the IRS is admitting they have a problem is great, but were clearly still a ways away from real change.





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.
(Bloomberg) -- Italy wont lose its investment-grade status at Moodys Investors Service for now after the company chose not to issue a new assessment on one of Europes most indebted countries.

Most Read from Bloomberg

In a boost to Premier Giorgia Melonis government, a possible announcement scheduled for Friday didnt materialize, as already happened in September last year.

Moodys currently assesses Italy at Baa3, just one notch above junk, with a negative outlook. A spokesperson said theres no plan to publish a report on Friday.

While the country remains in perilous territory, its good news for Melonis right-wing coalition, avoiding a jolt to the fractious alliance that includes former Premier Silvio Berlusconis Forza Italia party and Matteo Salvinis League.

Aside from keeping national pride intact, it also averts any financial-market tension for the euro zones third-biggest economy. Decisions to brand a country as junk can be consequential, as Greece found to its cost in 2010 when a cut by Standard & Poors heralded a new phase in Europes sovereign debt crisis.

Moodys has a markedly more downbeat view on Italy than its main rivals. Both S&P and Fitch Ratings, the two other major rating agencies, recently reaffirmed investment-grade assessments on the country that are one notch higher.

The lack of an announcement buys time for Meloni after her coalitions initial half year in office kept Italys risk premium stable, with yield spreads on the countrys bonds well below last years 250 basis point highs.

That reflects a restrained budget that envisaged both debt and deficit reduction, and a measured fiscal policy.

Also helping Italy is the European Central Banks anti-crisis tool unveiled last year, which provides for unlimited bond-buying in times of need to avoid excessive fragmentation among euro-zone members. Though never deployed, its existence has helped keep borrowing costs in check.

Limited economic growth and a debt ratio above 140% of gross domestic product remain an enduring curse for Italy however. That borrowing burden will barely fall at all next year, the European Commission forecast earlier this week.

Melonis government is also struggling to spend billions in European Union funds which are deemed crucial to transform Italys growth potential.

--With assistance from Aline Oyamada.

(Corrects third paragraph to show rating is Baa3.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
The downpour saw half a year's rainfall in just 36 hours.

The toll from floods that have devastated the Emilia Romagna region in Italy rose to 14 Friday, amid calls for the government to revive an abandoned project to mitigate the impact of natural disasters.

Authorities in Ravenna ordered the immediate evacuation of two small towns and issued an "extremely urgent" call for residents to reduce their movements to a minimum in the region, which was still subject to a red weather alert.

"The death toll has risen to 14," a spokeswoman for the region told AFP.

The latest victim to be found was a man recovered from a flooded house in Faenza, a picturesque city usually surrounded by green pastures and vineyards, left largely underwater after the fierce downpour earlier this week.

Nearly half of the 10,000 people evacuated from their homes spent the night in local refuge centres set up in gyms or hotels, with others receiving hot meals from mobile kitchens deployed in several cities.

Locals in Faenza shovelled mud out of their homes, piling sodden mattresses, clothes and furniture together in mountains of waste.

In Ravenna, rain was still falling and mayor Massimo Isola described a "disastrous situation" in hamlets up in the hills surrounding the city.

As rescue workers searched for people still cut off by the waters, details emerged of the final moments of some of those who died.

One, 75-year-old Giovanni Pavani, refused to leave his house Tuesday, telling his neighbour Marina Giocometti he had put sandbags along the windows and would be fine, according to the Corriere della Sera daily.

He was on the phone to her when waters began rushing in, telling her "I'm cold, so cold. The furniture's floating around the house", she said.

Giocometti told him to stand on the table, and she would call the emergency services, but the line suddenly cut out, she said.

The rescue of a three-year-old boy from his mother's arms, as she stood outside her house in water up to her chest, calling for help, went viral on Wednesday.

Fabiana, 36, told the paper Friday she would "never forget" the selflessness of the man -- a Serbian cook called Dorde -- who swam to her and took the boy, hoisting him onto his shoulder, before swimming him to safety.

"I told my son it was a game and he had to climb as high as possible up whoever picked him up," she said.

The downpour -- which saw half a year's rainfall in just 36 hours -- caused billions of euros worth of damage and prompted questions nationally as to why more is not being done in terms of climate change mitigation.

In 2014, then prime minister Matteo Renzi set up a task force called Italia Sicura (Safe Italy), entrusted with flood and landslide prevention.

But it was scrapped in 2018 by Giuseppe Conte, head of a coalition government uniting the populist Five Star Movement and right-wing League, and replaced with a project that failed to get off the ground.

ide/ar/yad
Jackie Kennedy's pink suit is locked in a vault and will be hidden from public view until 2103. Here are surprising facts about the famous outfit.

John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy emerge from a Fort Worth, Texas, theater, into a waiting car on the day of Kennedy's assassination. CORBIS/Corbis/Getty Images

On the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Jackie Kennedy wore a replica of a pink Chanel suit.

Today, the suit is in a vault inside the National Archives building in College Park, Maryland .

It will remain hidden from public view for another 80 years.

Few garments have as much historical relevance as former first lady Jackie Kennedy's pink suit.

On the morning of November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jackie, arrived in Dallas, Texas, for a series of appearances. The president was later fatally shot while riding in a motorcade through the city.

The pink suit that Kennedy was wearing at the time would soon become a symbol of the tragic day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

"If there is a single item that captures both the shame and the violence that erupted that day, and the glamour and artifice that preceded it, it is Jackie Kennedy's bloodstained pink suit, a tantalizing window on fame and fashion, her allure and her steely resolve, the things we know about her and the things we never quite will," New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn wrote in 2013.

Here are six things you might not know about the former first lady's outfit, from its current location to when it will be unveiled to the public for the first time.

Many think Jackie Kennedy's pink suit was designed by Chanel, but it was actually a replica made by an American designer.

John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy, carrying a bouquet of red roses, move down the reception line, on November 22, 1963, shortly after their arrival in Dallas. Bettmann/Getty Images

The design for the suit was pulled directly from Chanel's Fall/Winter 1961 collection.

However, as first ladies were typically expected to wear clothing made in the United States, a replica of the suit was made for Kennedy by Park Avenue fashion house Chez Ninon, according to The New York Times. The making of the suit was authorized through Chanel's "line for line" system, which allowed other designers to recreate the fashion house's garments using their materials.

The wool boucle suit featured gold buttons, navy-blue piping on the sleeves, and navy lapels. It was made in a vibrant shade of pink, which wasn't widely known at the time because most photographs and video footage from the day of the assassination were only available in black and white.

Kennedy wore the suit at least six other times before the fateful visit to Dallas.

Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Jacqueline Kennedy, and John F. Kennedy at a breakfast in Fort Worth, Texas, on the morning the president was assassinated. CORBIS/Corbis/Getty Images

While the outfit is famously linked to the Dallas trip, Kennedy wore the suit, including the matching pillbox hat, on numerous other occasions.

According to The New York Times, Kennedy also wore the ensemble during a 1962 visit to London and that same year to meet with the prime minister of Algeria.

The outfit was reportedly one of her husband John F. Kennedy's favorites, and he specifically requested that he wear it on their trip, according to CR Fashion Book.

After her husband was shot, Kennedy refused to change out of the bloodstained suit until she arrived back at the White House.

Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn into the office of the Presidency aboard Air Force One in Dallas, Texas. Bettmann/Getty Images

After the assassination of her husband, Kennedy's pink suit and accessories remained uncleaned and covered in splatters of blood.

According to biographer William Manchester's account of the assassination in his book "Death of a President," as reported by the LA Times, an aide and the president's personal physician both suggested that the first lady change into new clothes after she had boarded Air Force One to witness the swearing in of Lyndon B. Johnson.

However, Kennedy refused, saying, "Let them see what they've done."

"Somehow, that was one of the most poignant sights, that immaculate woman exquisitely dressed, and caked in blood," Lady Bird Johnson later wrote in her diaries, according to the LA Times.

The outfit's matching pillbox hat and white kid gloves are missing, lost during the chaos that unfolded after the assassination.

John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy emerge from a Fort Worth, Texas, theater, into a waiting car on the day of Kennedy's assassination. CORBIS/Corbis/Getty Images

Kennedy's pink suit, stockings, shoes, bag, and navy blouse were recovered after the assassination and placed in a dress box, which was first given to Kennedy's mother, Janet Auchincloss, before being transferred to the National Archives.

The former first lady's pink pillbox hat and white gloves were lost. According to the LA Times, the hat's last known location was inside the hospital after the assassination, with strands of Kennedy's hair caught beneath the hat pin.

"While standing there I was handed Jackie's pillbox hat," Mary Gallagher, the first lady's personal secretary, wrote in her memoir. "I could almost visualize her yanking it from her head."

Though efforts have been made to locate the hat over the years, it remains missing.

According to the LA Times, Kennedy historians told the outlet they suspect it was sold to a private collector, or "stuck away in somebody's attic."

The suit is now stored in a climate-controlled vault inside the National Archives building in College Park, Maryland.

An external view of the National Archives facility in College Park, Maryland. Alex Wong/Getty Images

According to The New York Times, the dress box containing Kennedy's suit, stockings, and accessories arrived at the National Archives sometime before July 1964.

The box was accompanied by an unsigned note on the stationery of Kennedy's mother, Janet Auchincloss, that read, "Jackie's suite and bag  worn November 22, 1963."

The Kennedy family never advised the archives on whether or not they wished the garments to be cleaned, so they remained untouched, in the same condition as they were when Kennedy changed out of them at the White House in 1963.

The items are currently stored in a secret location inside the National Archives and Records Administration complex in College Park, Maryland, in a climate-controlled vault. According to the LA Times, the temperature of the vault is kept between 65 and 68 degrees, with a humidity level of 40%, and the air is changed six times an hour.

Per her family's request, the pink suit will not be made visible to the public until 2103  80 years from now and 140 years since the assassination.

John F. Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy, and their family celebrate Christmas in 1962. John F. Kennedy Library/Getty Images

According to The New York Times, after Jackie Kennedy's death in 1994, the items were bequeathed to her daughter and sole surviving heir, Caroline Kennedy. However, they remained at the archives during this time.

In 2003, Caroline Kennedy officially transferred ownership to the National Archives with the provision that they would be hidden from public view for another 100 years.

While Jackie Kennedy's pink suit won't be made visible to the public until 2103, far beyond many people's lifetimes, it will always be remembered in photographs as a symbol of one of the most tragic days in American history.

Read the original article on Insider
A Jacksonville man was charged with desecrating a grave at a Wilmington cemetery.

A Jacksonville man has been charged with desecrating a grave in a Wilmington cemetery.

According to a spokesman for the Wilmington Police Department, the incident occurred in the 800 block of North 11th Street on May 1 when the gravestone of Koredreese Tyson was broken.

More: 'United in their grief': Families of Wilmington double homicide victims seek justice

More: 'Constant heartache': Woman connected to recent double homicide, Kidder Street speaks out

Officers charged Isaiah Lewis, 20, of Jacksonville with defacing/desecrating a grave on May 18. In North Carolina, defacing or desecrating a grave is a felony.

Tyson was one of two people shot and killed on July 24, 2021, in the Providence neighborhood, at a home owned by an executive of the now-closed TRU Colors Brewery.

TRU Colors' mission was to bring gang members together and to end associated violence, but the brewery closed in September 2022.

More: 'The damage was done when you killed him': Grave of TRU Colors homicide victim set ablaze

This was the second time Tyson's gravesite has been damaged. According to a StarNews story in August 2021, Tyson's grave was set on fire.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Jacksonville man charged with desecrating homicide victim's grave
Jacksonville Sheriffs Office is asking the community for any information involving a suspected burglar.

On Friday, March 17, officers responded to 2500 Edgewood Avenue North in reference to a burglary. The pictured suspect entered the property by force and stole various items.

Anyone having any information in reference to the identity of the pictured suspect is asked to contact the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office at 904-630-0500 or JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org. To remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward of up to $3,000, please call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Read: Questions surrounding use of K9 officer in University Park SWAT situation

Read: Have you seen him? JSO is asking help to identify suspect in battery on a person 65 or older

Read: St. Johns County Tortuga Beach Walkover open house rescheduled

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Jade Jagger accepted she was guilty of assaulting a police officer - GTres / SplashNews.com

Jade Jagger has been fined by a Spanish court after she was convicted of resisting authorities and causing a minor injury to a police officer during an altercation in an Ibiza restaurant.

Mick Jaggers 51-year-old daughter was arrested along with her boyfriend, Anthony Hinkson, on Wednesday night after police were called to La Oliva restaurant in Ibizas old town because a man was making trouble.

Ms Jaggers companion attacked police before being arrested, while Ms Jagger followed the officers outside and attempted to assault them, scratching and insulting a policewoman.

Ms Jagger accepted she was guilty of assaulting a police officer causing injury, for which she was ordered to pay a fine of 1,400 (1,215), as well as 800 in compensation to the police officer.

According to the local newspaper Diario de Mallorca, a police officer suffered a sprained ankle as a result of Ms Jaggers attack. It is unclear if this was proven in court.

Mr Hinkson, a Barbadian businessman, was found guilty of assaulting the police and handed a four-month prison term. Customarily, prison sentences of less than two years are suspended in Spain if it is a first-time offence.

The couple spent around 36 hours in jail before appearing in court on Friday morning.

Restaurant staff reported agressive customer

At about 9pm on Wednesday management from La Oliva restaurant had called the police to report that Mr Hinkson was behaving erratically and being aggressive with staff and customers.

According to reports, at one point Mr Hinkson left the restaurant to buy a dress from a shop nearby and offered it as a present to one of the waitresses.

When officers arrived, he reportedly swore at them and said they were arresting him because of his race. A video that apparently captured the incident showed four police officers restraining a man on the ground.

At that moment, Jade Jagger came out of the restaurant to defend the man, lashing out at the officers and assaulting, scratching and insulting a policewoman, according to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

Witnesses said that Ms Jagger told police: You are only arresting him because he is black. When she was warned to calm down, Ms Jagger reportedly responded by attempting to push and shove a police officer.

The jewellery designer, the daughter of the Rolling Stones frontman, Sir Mick, and Bianca Jagger, left the Ibiza courthouse by a side exit on Friday afternoon. Wearing black clothes and dark glasses, she made no comment to a group of journalists awaiting her appearance and was driven away in a vehicle with tinted windows.

Ms Jagger has had a home in the Balearic islands since the early 1990s, first living on Ibiza before moving to the tiny neighbouring island of Formentera.

Union seeks private prosecution

Before the case was heard on Friday, a union representing members of Spains National Police force announced that it would pursue a private prosecution of the couple alongside the public prosecutor.

The SUP union said in a statement that it would be seeking to bring the full force of the law down on the pair if it was proved they committed the offences that led to their arrest.

"We are tired of seeing how assaults on police go practically unpunished and we are determined to make sure people who attack police officers do not get off practically scot-free, the SUP said.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
 Flash

The death toll of an attack by suspected gunmen on a convoy of the United States consulate in Nigeria's southern state of Anambra has risen from four to seven, local police said Thursday.

Echeng Echeng, the police chief in Anambra, told reporters at a news conference in Awka, the state's capital, that five male officials of the U.S. consulate in Lagos and four armed mobile police officers were in the convoy when a group of unknown gunmen laid an ambush for them and opened fire in the Ogbaru local government area of Anambra Tuesday, fleeing the scene before the arrival of security operatives.

"Regrettably, seven persons, including three of the consulate officials and four mobile police escorts were murdered during the attack while two other officials of the consulate are yet to be found," Echeng said, noting no American citizen was on the trip.

The bodies of the victims were set ablaze, together with their vehicles, by the gunmen, the senior police officer said.

According to Echeng, the police suspected that some members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, which is agitating for an independent state in the southeastern region of the country, were responsible for the attack.

"Two persons of interest were arrested and they are currently assisting the police in the investigation," the official added.
Jail staff knew Lashawn Thompson's cell was full of filth, records show, but no one saved him before his family says he was 'eaten alive' by bugs

Lashawn Thompson; Image inside the jail cell where he died. Handout from Michael Harper

Staffers at a Georgia jail knew a detainee was living in filth before he died, records show.

Lashawn Thompson was found dead at the Fulton County Jail in September 2022.

Records show staffers sounded the alarm about his cell conditions and health before he died.

Staffers at a notorious Georgia jail knew one of the facility's detainees was living in filth in his cell, but no one saved the man before his family alleges he was "eaten alive" by insects and bed bugs, records obtained by Insider show.

Lashawn Thompson, 35, was discovered dead inside a cell at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 13, 2022  three months after he was arrested on a charge of misdemeanor simple battery.

Graphic photos released last month by an attorney for Thompson's family showed the horrific conditions of Thompson's cell and the young man's body covered in bugs and apparent bites.

According to jail documents obtained by Insider through a public-records request, at least two jail staffers sounded the alarm to other officials about Thompson's cell conditions and concerns about his health in the days before his death.

Michael Harper, an attorney for Thompson's family, told Insider last month that jail staff knew Thompson was "deteriorating" but did nothing to help him.

Thompson was found unresponsive, "slumped over" on the floor of his cell with his head in the toilet and "covered in feces and lice" when Detention Officer Jeana Andrews went to move Thompson to the medical observation unit in the early morning hours of September 13, the records show.

Photos of the jail cell where Lashawn Thompson was held show squalid conditions. Handout from Michael Harper

In an incident report, Andrews stated that she had "communicated with mental health staff" and a sergeant about Thompson's "living conditions" on "previous dates." The officer reported that the last date she "voiced concern" was September 8  five days before Thompson's death.

Another officer wrote in a September 13 supervisor investigation report that Detention Officer Jonathan Dente informed him that he tried to have Thompson re-located to the medical observation unit "earlier in the week due to his concern for his health."

Dente told the supervisor that Thompson "had not looked well for the past few days," according to the documents.

In an incident report, Dente said that it was decided on September 12 that Thompson would be moved to the medical observation unit "due to his sudden decline in health."

"I talked to the psych nurse that his situation needs some attention," Dente reported, according to the records.

Despite these concerns Thompson  who Harper said had been placed in the jail's psychiatric wing after officials determined he had a mental illness  died in his cell.

A report from the Fulton County medical examiner described a "severe bed bug infestation" in Thompson's cell. The medical examiner ruled Thompson's cause and manner of death as "undetermined."

The Fulton County jail cell where Lashawn Thompson was found dead. Handout from Michael Harper

When asked for comment about the newly-obtained records, a spokesperson for the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, which runs the jail, referred Insider to an April 17 press release outlining "resignations that were requested and submitted from those who were directly responsible for jail operations at the time of Mr. Thompson's death."

"Because of the pending litigation and the open investigation, which could result in additional reprimands and/or terminations, we are not able to offer additional comment at this time," the spokesperson added.

Thompson was among 15 detainee deaths at the jail last year

Thompson was one of a staggering 15 detainees at the Fulton County Jail who died in 2022, according to data obtained by Insider through a public-records request.

That figure is up from two deaths at the jail in 2020 and three deaths in 2021, the data shows. As of May 8, there have been three detainee deaths so far in 2023, according to the data.

The Fulton County Sheriff's Office's spokesperson told Insider that "a number of factors contributed to inmate deaths in 2022."

Those factors included an "exacerbation of dangerous overcrowding which led to an escalation of violent attacks between inmates, outbreaks of communicable diseases  the crumbling infrastructure of the dilapidated Rice Street facility which has resulted in a dramatic increase in makeshift weapons and shanks, the poor health conditions of inmates upon intake and natural causes," the spokesperson said.

Atlanta, Georgia, criminal defense attorney Sarah Flack, who has represented several clients who have been locked up at the Fulton County Jail, called the figure of 15 deaths "astronomical."

"It is very widely known if you practice in the state of Georgia that the worst jail to be in in this state is the Fulton County Jail," Flack told Insider, adding that she's had clients in the facility who are "begging" to be sent to prison instead.

"It's that bad," said the lawyer.

Earlier this month, Flack said she visited a client being detained at the jail.

"These men are in there with no hot water, no running water. They're sleeping on the floor," said Flack. "Bugs are still an issue. The drug use in there is rampant."

Read the original article on Insider
The G-7 summit that's now underway in Japan will present a key moment for some of the strongest nations in the world to make critical decisions on global crises, even as Russia and China weren't invited to attend.

"It will be critical for President [Biden] to leave Hiroshima with real deliverables, especially with Biden canceling his follow-on trip to PNG and Australia, a trip intended to show U.S. leadership in the Indo-Pacific region," Kelly Ann Shaw, former G-7 Sherpa and deputy assistant to the president for international economics, told Fox News Digital.

"On China, this includes strong language backed by substantive commitments from the G-7 on Chinese economic coercion, military aggression and allied standards for the new economy, including AI," Shaw, currently a Partner at Hogan Lovells, explained.

"On Russia, the G-7 should press for tougher sanctions, identify new economic pressure points and propose ways to mitigate the economic impact of Russias war on the rest of the globe."

BIDEN SHOULD PROJECT STRENGTH AND RESOLVE TO ALLIES IN CONSEQUENTIAL G-7 MEETING: ROBERT CHARLES

The G-7 Summit logo at the entrance of the International Media Center ahead the G-7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima May 18, 2023.

The G-7 Summit which started Friday in Hiroshima will see the leaders of the U.S., Japan, Britain, Italy, Canada, France, Germany and the European Union (EU) meeting to tackle the biggest issues facing the international community. Other attendees will include Australia, Brazil, India (as president of the G-20), Indonesia (as chair of ASEAN), Comoros (as African Union chair), South Korea and Vietnam.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Most notably, China and Russia will not attend because they are not members of the group, but their actions over the past year will drive most of the discussion at the summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged involvement in the abduction of Ukrainian children, and Japan, as a member of the ICC, could take Putin into custody if he were to even step foot in the country.

Each year, the summit has a stated theme or goal. In 2021, the summit focused on "Build Back Better." In 2022, the summit aimed to find "progress towards an equitable world." This years summit has no singular focus, but will instead zero in on two key points  upholding international order based on the rule of law and outreach to the global south.

BLINKEN BACKS DOWN, WILL LET CONGRESS SEE AFHGAN DISSENT CABLE THAT WARNED OF SWIFT TALIBAN TAKEOVER

President Biden, third left, and Fumio Kishida, center right, Japan's prime minister, attend a bilateral meeting ahead of the Group of Seven leaders summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Thursday, May 18, 2023.

A Japanese official at the Consul General in New York City told Fox News Digital that within these two platforms, the summit will seek to address the crisis in Ukraine and concerns about Chinas actions in the past year.

"We are very much concerned that Russia has gone as far as playing with the rhetoric of using nuclear weapons, for instance," the official said. "That is a grave concern not only for Japan, but for the whole world. So, I think Ukraine remains to be the top priority probably for the coming G-7 summit."

The official stressed that Russias invasion of Ukraine has caused impacts far beyond just the borders of Europe, which is why the G-7 seeks to align its policies with those of the global south, which includes countries like India, parts of Africa, and the ASEAN economic bloc in Asia, the third-largest economic power in the region after China and India.

US ISSUES NEW TRAVEL WARNINGS FOR SUMMER HOT SPOTS IN CARIBBEAN, SOUTH AMERICA

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, center, and his wife Akshata Murty, left, are greeted by officials upon arriving in Hiroshima after their visit to Tokyo ahead of the G-7 Summit May 18, 2023.

The Japanese official argued that Russias aggression has "in many ways" impacted energy policy, prices and food issues in these countries.

"We want to show our solidarity with the global South as we respond to the Russian aggression," he said.

Shaw noted that the G-7 has tried to tackle Chinas ambitions before, most recently when Italy agreed to participate in Beijings Belt and Road initiative, something the other G-7 members did not treat lightly, leading to tensions at the summit.

Biden arrived at Iwakuni Air Station in Japan Thursday at the start of his visit to Japan for the G-7.

"Italy signed the initiative right before I took over as G-7 Sherpa. In fact, my first G-7 meeting was about this topic," Shaw said. "It was incredibly tense as we all warned Italy not to move forward  we did not hold back.

"Everyone was concerned about Chinas attempts to split the G-7, and they still are," she added. "Right now, the stakes are too high for division, and Biden will need to show that he can unify allies, especially as his administration attempts to reestablish communication with China."

Reuters contributed to this article.
Japan's G7 refugee balancing act: door open for Ukrainians, but not many others

Olena, a Ukrainian evacuee who declined to give her surname, poses for a photograph during an interview with Reuters in Tokyo

By Elaine Lies

TOKYO (Reuters) - More than a year after escaping her native Kyiv with a broken leg one winter night, Lidiya Bibko lives in a tidy two-bedroom Tokyo flat as one of 2,300 Ukrainians who fled to Japan after the Russian invasion.

Japan's embrace of evacuees like Bibko has been unusual for a country notorious for its aversion towards foreign entanglements and immigrants, but the war in Ukraine has sparked a rare outpouring of public support.

When Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hosts the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima starting Friday, Japan's backing of Ukraine will be on full display as he leads the discussion to confirm a united front against Russia.

Last week, Japan pledged $1 billion in Ukrainian aid, including for its neighbours to take in refugees, and on the eve of the summit said it would accept wounded Ukrainian soldiers at a military hospital in Tokyo, an unprecedented step.

The generosity towards Ukrainian evacuees, however, will highlight the stark contrast against Japan's track record with asylum seekers, experts and advocates say, with hopes for broader refugee policy reform still distant.

Ukrainians have entered Japan under a framework set up specifically for them and are referred to as evacuees rather than refugees.

Japan last year accepted just 202 refugees, and is almost certain to pass a bill in the coming weeks that would effectively make it easier to deport asylum seekers who apply for the status multiple times. A version of the bill had been withdrawn in 2021 after a Sri Lankan woman's death in an immigration detention centre sparked international outcry.

"We want the world to know how bad Japan's refugee recognition system is," said Keiko Tanaka, head of Osaka-based refugee assistance group Rafiq, noting the group would hold a press conference on Sunday when the G7 summit wraps up.

"The theme of the G7 for Japan as hosts is spreading democracy and freedom, but the law revision goes against that," she said.

Japan's foreign ministry did not respond to repeated requests for comments.

Ayako Niijima, an officer at the Japan Association for Refugees (JAR), said the experience of asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East, whom her group mostly supports, were vastly different from that of the Ukrainian evacuees.

"We can't completely deny a racial role," she said.

"When people called last year to offer Ukrainians aid, we asked if they'd help our refugees, and many would say, 'Refugees other than Ukrainians are scary.'"

RARE AND SPEEDY WELCOME

Ukrainian evacuees say the welcome from Japan was above and beyond their expectations.

The Tokyo ward where 75-year-old Bibko resides provides basic furnishings, WiFi and a smartphone. Private charity Nippon Foundation gave her 1 million yen ($7,400)- an annual grant it extends exclusively to Ukrainian evacuees.

"The Japanese government response has been perfect," Bibko said. "The apartment is absolutely free - no payment for water, gas or electricity."

Olena, an evacuee who came to Japan with her son, described a similar experience.

"I was really surprised and happy," the 50-year-old said, declining to give her surname. "Friends in other countries haven't gotten as much."

Japan's acceptance of those fleeing conflict isn't unprecedented: under U.S. pressure in the late 1970s, it took in 10,000 people from Indochina, albeit temporarily.

Still, refugee advocates were stunned by the breadth of last year's government response. Ukrainians entered on a three-month visa and could convert that to a special one-year residence permit that allows work and can be renewed every year.

By contrast, refugee-status seekers can stay for five years each time they apply, but cannot work. If the law revision passes as expected, they could be deported on their third application.

On a recent visit to JAR's office, an agitated young African man waiting to be seen called out to Niijima that he was hungry and needed of money. The office is stocked with donated food and clothing for such cash-strapped refugees.

Advocates are guardedly hopeful the Ukrainian presence could change Japan's overall refugee policy, but Temple University Japan's political science professor James Brown thought it unlikely.

"Even for (Ukrainians), they haven't gone the whole way in giving them refugee status, presumably because they're concerned about the precedent it'd set."

($1 = 135.0500 yen)

(Additional reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Michael Perry)
Japan has become increasingly divided over its commitment to post-war pacifist ideals

Toshiyuki Mimaki says he remembers crying as he looked up at a blackened sunset after the nuclear bomb hit Hiroshima.

He was only three years old at the time, but he remembers the dazed and burnt survivors fleeing past his home in the countryside. He remembers heading into the city with his family, searching for his father in an apocalyptic wasteland.

Over the years he has recounted these fragmented but vivid memories to school children, to journalists, to anyone seeking to document the trauma of the hibakusha, or the atom bomb survivors. These days, they are a small and dwindling group.

"There are only a few people like us who experienced the war and the atomic bombing. We are dying," Mr Mimaki says, while sitting in Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, where world leaders attending the G7 summit laid wreaths on Friday.

"Sooner or later, there will not be a single hibakusha. How will Japan change by then?"

It's a fear that echoes through Japan. The world around them has changed. Japan itself has aged and its post-war miracle economy has sputtered, dwarfed by China's market and might. An anxious Japanese public now wants greater protection from new threats knocking at their door.

The governing Liberal Democrat Party (LDP), whose hands have long been tied behind its back by voters averse to militarisation, suddenly finds the knots loosening. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government is embarking on the biggest military spending spree in decades, and seeks to expand its armed forces.

Each move to militarise leaves Japan more divided over its pacifist ideals.

"The world is going through a period of turmoil right now," Mr Mimaki says. "Recently, Prime Minister Kishida started talking about raising the military budget. I thought: Are you going to start a war?'"

Toshiyuki Mimaki survived the Hiroshima bombing in 1945

A difficult balance

Brought to its knees by the use of atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan transformed from an imperialist power into a pacifist nation in a matter of years.

Its post-war constitution, adopted in 1947 and imposed by occupying US forces, cemented this transformation. It contains a clause known as Article 9: the first paragraph renounces war, while the second promises to never maintain military forces.

The genesis of Japan's pacifism, Article 9 is at the heart of the country's struggle to balance the need for defence with its desire for peace. Some believe the law has weakened Japan, but others argue that to change it is to relinquish pacifism and forget the painful lessons of history.

Faced with significant public opposition, numerous leaders have tried and failed to revise Article 9. But with every security challenge, Japan's government has succeeded in expanding its interpretation further.

The Self-Defense Forces (SDF), Japan's answer to a military, were created in response to the Korean War and the start of the Cold War. In the 1990s, during the first Gulf War, Japan sent the SDF on peacekeeping missions, dispatching its forces to overseas conflicts for the first time. More recently and controversially, in the face of a rising China and unpredictable North Korea, the late prime minister Shinzo Abe pushed through laws that allowed Japanese troops to fight overseas alongside allies in self-defence.

"Pacifism is an idee fixe of the Japanese public they are not going to abandon it," says James D Brown, an associate professor of political science with Temple University Japan.

"Instead, there is a process of reinterpreting what pacifism means. Where once it meant opposition to the use of armed force, it now means opposition to aggression and acceptance of the use of force in the name of self-defence in a growing list of circumstances."

Japan is once again at a turning point, facing unprecedented challenges that have stoked a fear of encirclement.

An assertive China is spending billions on its military. It has made increasingly daring moves in the South China Sea, especially against Taiwan, which sits on the doorstep of Japan's southernmost islands. This has fuelled Japanese anxiety that should conflict break out in Taiwan, Japan would not only be pulled into a war between the US and China, but also targeted as an ally. It hosts US military bases and has the biggest concentration of troops outside America.

North Korea poses a perennial existential threat. Its nuclear ambitions have grown more alarming in the past year, with a record number of missile launches, including several that have flown over Japan. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the possibility that it might use nuclear weapons - which this weekend's G7 summit is addressing - has also spurred worries of a nuclear war. The perils of a tighter Moscow-Beijing alliance also loom.

"There is a general understanding in Japan that we are now living in a very rough neighbourhood," says Kazuto Suzuki, an international security and political science professor with the University of Tokyo.

Calls for greater militarisation have long been the domain of a minority of conservatives seeking to reclaim national pride. But recent polls show the wider public warming to the idea.

More people now want a bigger and stronger SDF, from 29% in 2018 to 41.5% last year, according to government surveys. Support for Japan's security alliance with the US has gone up to an overwhelming 90%; and 51% are in favour of amending the second part of Article 9, which stops Japan from having a military.

Even some in Hiroshima are open to it.

"Every time I hear the news about [North Korea's] missiles, I am horrified," says a woman who identified herself as Ms Tanaka. "There are cases in today's world where people are attacked out of the blue I wonder if it is necessary to see [the spending] as something to protect ourselves."

The Hiroshima Genbaku Dome was the only structure left standing in the wake of the nuclear attack

This is music to the LDP's ears. The party, whose founding principle is to advocate for constitutional reform, has always pushed for militarisation, particularly under Abe. In recent years the government has also come under pressure from Washington - notably former President Donald Trump - to do more in their security alliance with the US.

"The government has always wanted to move forward with increasing capabilities in the SDF. In the past the public has been a brake," Prof Brown says. "Now, that brake is no longer there."

Under Mr Kishida, Japan has purchased fighter jets, refurbished aircraft carriers, and ordered hundreds of Tomahawk missiles. He has pledged to spend 43tn yen ($311bn; 250bn) on defence in coming years. By 2027, Japan's military budget will account for 2% of its GDP, and become the third-largest in the world. The LDP is also once again pushing to revise the constitution to spell out the SDF's existence and make it clear that Japan can maintain a military for self-defence.

Ironically, Mr Kishida has long been considered a dovish figure within the LDP. With close ties to Hiroshima - his relatives died in the nuclear attack - he has advocated for a nuclear-free world. He has even written a book on it. The choice of Hiroshima to host the G7 summit appears to be deliberate as he seeks to ram home the importance of an anti-proliferation strategy.

Mr Kishida's argument is that to maintain peace in Asia, Japan needs to drastically upgrade its defence. But some observers also believe that his reputation gives his government's push to militarise a more politically acceptable sheen.

"Dovish figures can make hawkish moves because people don't suspect their motives," Prof Brown noted.

Crossing the red line

But even Japanese hawks don't broach the idea of building a nuclear arsenal. Unsurprisingly that remains a forbidden topic in the only country to ever be attacked with a nuclear weapon.

Yet Japan's pursuit of a sturdier defence has seen Abe and then Mr Kishida cross what some consider to be red lines.

Former PM Abe and Mr Kishida have both pushed for more militarisation

Many within Japan, and neighbours such as China, worry what other taboos the country might break in the future.

One possibility currently being debated is whether Japan should send lethal weapons to aid countries under invasion, such as Ukraine. Mr Kishida recently visited and met Volodymyr Zelensky to pledge support. Tokyo already supplies non-lethal defence equipment to Kyiv.

This, notes Prof Suzuki, would be a "test case for Taiwan". There are already questions over how far Japan would aid the US in a conflict with China over the island.

A more controversial idea is hosting US nuclear weapons, a proposal which shocked Japan last year when it was mooted by Abe. Public support for this option, known as nuclear sharing, is still low, and last year Mr Kishida rejected the idea, saying it ran counter to Japan's stance against nuclear weapons.

Still, Japan could change its mind under certain circumstances, experts say. These include South Korea gaining nuclear weapons, an increased threat from China and Russia, or if Russia uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

Every time Japan crosses a new red line, or mulls over taking that leap, it intensifies the struggle over its post-war identity and its commitment to pacifism.

Some argue that despite its drive to militarise, Japan's ideals are still intact. While its pacifism may appear "seemingly inconsistent" through the years, its anti-nuclear and anti-war sentiments have remained alive, says Daisuke Akimoto, an expert on pacifism.

What is happening now is simply Japan's "security policy strengthening in response to the changing strategic environment," says Dr Akimoto, an adjunct lecturer at Hosei University in Tokyo.

Prof Suzuki agrees. "I do have a trust in the Japanese intent," he says. "I do have the belief that Japan has committed in the last 80 years to not go to war. We had a very bad experience, and we won't do it again."

Reckoning with the past

But others are not so sure. They believe that the constant redefinition of pacifism stretches the principle to its breaking point.

"I think the way [the government] is doing it is dirty," says Sara Ogura, a student visiting Hiroshima. "They are interpreting in such a way that it deliberately opens up opportunities for the use of force. It leads me to distrust them."

While the government said "they have no intention of going to war now, I think they are kind of getting ready to go to war when the time comes," says anti-nuclear weapons activist Yuna Okajima.

Anti-nuclear weapons activist Yuna Okajima fears the government will destroy Japan's pacifist identity

Some also believe the willingness to militarise is fuelled by the lack of a national reckoning with Japan's own wrongdoings. While there is mandatory "peace education" in schools that covers the two world wars, discussion about Japan's role as the aggressor and the atrocities it committed in World War Two is often muted.

Graduate student Misuzu Kanda believes that Japan's "negative history with other countries is sometimes covered up by the nuclear weapons issue".

"I was born in Hiroshima prefecture. The peace education is provided mostly from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki perspective, talking about how we suffered. But at the same time, when we think about peace, I think we need to reflect back on what we did to other countries."

Her friend, Ms Okajima, agrees. "I think it is a kind of proof that the Japanese government is not willing to face this history. That's why they would not teach it to young children, it's to nurture a patriotic spirit, I assume."

"But if we do not look at our history as perpetrators, there is a higher chance we would make the same mistake."

Completely flattened by the atomic bomb, Hiroshima today is a tidy and picturesque city nestled among mountains, carrying few traces of its past apart from the Genbaku Dome, the only structure left standing after the attack.

Across a glittering river, at the Peace Memorial Park, lies a cenotaph honouring those who died in the nuclear attack. An inscription is carved in the marble: "Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil".

"The atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the end because we started a war," says Mr Mimaki as he gazes at the cenotaph. "Hiroshima was burned, Nagasaki was burned, and it was the Imperial Japanese Army that made those mistakes."

"We mustn't wage war again."
After splitting from costar Chrishell Stause in December 2021, Jason Oppenheim has been dating model Marie-Lou Nurk since July 2022

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Jason Oppenheim is no longer on the market!

The real estate broker has found love with German model Marie-Lou Nurk, whom he first met in July 2022 while vacationing in Mykonos, Greece. During their first year of dating, the pair celebrated several milestones, and in February 2023, they even moved in together.

Though their relationship moved fast, it came as no surprise to Oppenheim, who told PEOPLE their connection was nearly instant. "I knew how much I liked her pretty quickly," he said.

Prior to Nurk, Oppenheim briefly dated his Selling Sunset costar Chrishell Stause. Having just gone through a very public breakup, Oppenheim didnt think he would find someone new so soon. "I thought at some point I'd be happy again with a woman  by no means did I think it would be this soon, he said. I would've said probably two or three years before I was in a relationship.

As fans know, starting a family has been a big point of contention in Oppenheims past relationship; but with Nurk, theres no pressure to have kids. "I'm more open to being a husband than I am a father right now," he told PEOPLE of their easy relationship.

But Stause isnt the only co-worker Oppenheim has dated. Long before Selling Sunset took off, he and longtime friend Mary Fitzgerald were an item. Though their romance fizzled before fans got to know them as a couple, Fitzgerald has remained an important fixture in Oppenheim's life, both personally and professionally. The real estate broker also had a romantic relationship with fellow costar Nicole Young. Having dated Oppenheim roughly 14 years ago, she calls herself the "original girlfriend."

In September 2022, the realtor confirmed that Nurk was filming for the sixth season of Selling Sunset, making her the fourth of Oppenheim's girlfriends to appear on the hit show.

Heres a look back at Jason Oppenheims dating history.

Nicole Young

During season 6 of Selling Sunset, Young revealed that she and Oppenheim dated "13 or 14 years ago." She was not a real estate agent at The Oppenheim Group at the time.

"I'm the 'O.G.' ... original girlfriend," Young said on the reality show.

Mary Fitzgerald

Jesse Grant/The Hollywood Reporter/Getty

Fitzgerald had an on-again, off-again relationship with Oppenheim for about a year, long before cameras began following the Oppenheim Group realtors.

Fans learned of the pair's history during season 1 of Selling Sunset, when it was revealed that Fitzgerald and Oppenheim had dated and even lived together back in the day. During their relationship, they also adopted two dogs: Zelda and Niko.

Things between the two ended amicably, and Fitzgerald still considers Oppenheim to be one of my longest and best friends. In fact, Oppenheim still goes to Fitzgerald for dating advice. He sought out her approval while dating Stause, her best friend and mutual costar.

Jason and I have a very special bond and friendship, but they have chemistry that is meant for more than just friendship, Fitzgerald told PEOPLE of Oppenheim and Stauses former romance in 2021.

Of her ex's new girlfriend, Fitzgerald told PEOPLE that Nurk is very calm, very mellow," and not a jealous person. She and her husband Romain Bonnet have even gone on double dates with Oppenheim and Nurk.

"We go out with them all the time. She's amazing, and I've never seen him happier," Fitzgerald said.

Chrishell Stause

Jamie McCarthy/Getty

Oppenheims professional-turned-platonic relationship with Stause became romantic in May 2021, though the pair didnt go public with their romance until that July. In an Instagram photo carousel that sent fans buzzing, Oppenheim was photographed nuzzling Stauses neck while they vacationed together in Italy.

Shortly after, Oppenheim exclusively confirmed to PEOPLE that they were in an amazing relationship and very happy together.

The couple made their red carpet debut at the L.A. premiere of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in August 2021. That same month, they joined Oppenheims twin brother Brett and his then-girlfriend Tina Lousie for a triple date with their parents, Bennett and Deborah Oppenheim. To mark their first major holiday together, Stause and Oppenheim spent Thanksgiving volunteering in their community.

However, by the time Christmas rolled around, the two had gone their separate ways. In December 2021, the Selling Sunset stars each confirmed on Instagram that they had split, citing different wants regarding a family as the cause of their breakup.

While Stause was excited to start a family in the near future, Oppenheim wasnt on the same page about having kids. "You can't talk out this problem. It's just something that, it is what it is," Stause said of their differentiating views on parenthood in an interview with PEOPLE in 2022.

Stause and Oppenheim had to watch their relationship play out on the fifth season of Selling Sunset, which premiered in April 2022. Their romance was documented in its entirety and quickly became a character in and of itself. Speaking with PEOPLE at the time, Oppenheim compared it to [getting] a divorce and [having] to watch your wedding video.

During the shows tearful reunion, Oppenheim referred to Stause as the love of my life. Though, as time has gone on, the two have been able to come back as friends. In June 2022, Oppenheim shared with PEOPLE that he and Stause are in a healthy place.

Marie-Lou Nurk

Jerritt Clark/Getty

Six months after his split from Stause, Oppenheim found love again with model Marie-Lou Nurk.

The pair were first linked in July 2022 when photos surfaced of them packing on PDA while vacationing in Mykonos. During that same trip, Oppenheim made his debut on Nurks Instagram Story.

Speaking to PEOPLE after returning from the trip, Oppenheim stayed coy about his burgeoning romance with Nurk. "I mean, we're talking. I like her and maybe I'll see her soon," he said.

Not long after, however, the duo confirmed their relationship by walking the red carpet together at the L.A. premiere of Day Shift in August. The following month, the new couple then returned to Mykonos for an extended trip alongside Oppenheim's brother Brett and his new girlfriend, Samantha Abdul.

During the 2022 holiday season, Oppenheim and Nurk took things to the next level and met one anothers parents. Oppenheim got to know Nurks family over FaceTime, and told PEOPLE that she be spending both Thanksgiving and Christmas with his parents.

While Oppenheim realistically could never move to Europe, he shared that hes seriously considering owning a piece of Parisian real estate. "For the first time, I'm thinking about maybe getting something in Europe, mostly because my girlfriend lives in Paris and I love Paris," he said.

In the interim, the couple are getting settled in their new West Hollywood home. "We're living here, I think, for many years," Oppenheim told PEOPLE during a tour of their new condo. "I've lived in many nice places, but this is my favorite place by far." The 5,500-square-foot space has a lot going for it, from its 12-foot ceilings and wraparound terrace to its 10-seat private movie theater and stunning views; but for Nurk, her favorite part of the home is the separate bathrooms and natural light.

However, Nurk is still living in Paris part-time. In a Q&A posted to her Instagram Story in April 2023, the German model shared that she wasnt ready to pack up her life in Paris just yet.

"Long distance relationships can be tough, but we're both committed to making it work. We make sure to communicate regularly and make time for each other despite the distance, she wrote on her Story.

In May 2023, the couple made headlines after Nurk posted a series of photos on Instagram that fans assumed were from an engagement or wedding shoot. In the shots, the German model wore a white, feather-adorned mini dress, while Oppenheim wore a black suit and white shirt. She captioned the post: "Here's to a lifetime of adventures."

Oppenheim quickly clarified that they had not wed in a statement to PEOPLE, and Nurk later changed the caption.

The post came shortly after Nurk made her first appearance on Selling Sunset during season 6. She and the realtor visited The Oppenheim Group, where he introduced her to the ladies of the office. The pair also enjoyed a double date with Fitzgerald and her husband.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.
Jeep driver smashes into crane at construction site, killing his passenger, cops say

A man accused of driving drunk drove through a construction site and crashed into a parked crane, killing his passenger, according to Florida police.

The driver, Bryant Mendoza, 46, was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee in two closed lanes just before 11:30 p.m. on May 18, according to the Clearwater Police Department. He was also speeding, a witness told police, the departments Facebook post said.

After crashing into the crane, he and his passenger, a 37-year-old woman, were taken to a hospital, according to police.

The woman died, and Mendoza was treated for minor injuries, the post says.

Police did not identify the woman and said her family had not been notified.

Mendoza was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide and driving under the influence manslaughter, according to Pinellas County jail records. He was released on a $40,000 bond.

Clearwater is about 20 miles west of Tampa.

Deputy accused of driving boat under influence in deadly Mothers Day crash in Georgia

Sleeping woman dies after driver runs stop sign and plows into bedroom, NC officials say

Woman had booze-filled day at bars before killing bride in crash, grooms lawsuit says
Jeff Bezos stands in front of a Blue Origin lunar lander mock-up in 2019.

NASA chose a team led by Jeff Bezoss space company Blue Origin to build a vehicle that will safely transport astronauts to the surface of the Moon and back again.



A lander has been the biggest missing piece within NASAs plan to return to the Moon with the Artemis program. The agency needs a vehicle to safely transport astronauts from its Orion space capsule down to the surface of the Moon and back up again.



Read more

NASA has already tapped Elon Musks SpaceX to use its Starship spacecraft to do the job for the Artemis III Moon landing, which might take place in 2026, and the subsequent Artemis IV mission. But NASA wants at least two different landers, for redundancy and because the agency hopes to visit the Moon annually, with astronauts remaining on the surface for as long as 30 days.

Todays announcement is about maintaining that cadence and maintaining our excellence as the worlds top space program, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said. The Blue Origin lander would be used for an Artemis V mission, which could take place in 2029.

The contract is worth $3.5 billion. SpaceX has been awarded contracts worth $4.2 billion for its Starship lander, but that price includes a second landing. John Couluris, the Blue Origin executive leading its lander program, said his company would be investing to cover 50% of the cost to build the vehicle.

Blue Origins national team will build a human landing system

A computer rendering of what the lander might look like on the Moon.

Blue Origin has been working on its lunar lander since at least 2019, when it unveiled a mock-up at an event in Washington, D.C. However, it lost out to SpaceX in its bid for NASAs first lunar lander contract in 2021 after NASA chose one company instead of two due to funding issues. Blue Origin filed legal protests against the bid but did not win. Despite concerns from some lawmakers about a Bezos bailout, NASA received funding last year to choose a second lander proposal.



Blue Origin is leading a team that includes a mix of major contractors and smaller specialist firms: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Draper Labs, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics.

Unlike SpaceXs Starship, an enormous spacecraft capable of orbital flight, Blue is developing what is effectively a super-sized version of a traditional lander, with infrastructure that includes large batteries and storage areas to enable new activity on the Moon. The 16-meter tall vehicle weighs 45 metric tons when fully fueled, and is designed to be reusable. Blue Origin plans for it to remain in lunar orbit between landings, and be refueled by a tender spacecraft that will bring fuel and other resources from Earth.

The company expects to make several uncrewed test landings on the Moon ahead of an astronaut mission, launching onboard Blue Origins yet-to-fly New Glenn rocket, which may make its maiden voyage this year.



NASAs Artemis program is well underway after the successful Artemis I mission in 2022, which sent an uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the Moon to test its ability to transport astronauts in the future. The next mission, Artemis II, aims to repeat the feat with a crew on board in late 2024, teeing up an actual landing in 2026.

However, concerns about rising costs of Artemis, potential delays to the Starship program, and the likelihood of budget cuts could alter this schedule.

More from Quartz

Sign up for Quartz's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
JetBlue and American Airlines were ordered by a judge to end their alliance in the Northeast US

An American Airlines Airbus A321-200 plane takes off from Los Angeles International airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California, U.S. March 28, 2018.

A federal judge in Massachusetts struck down a partnership between JetBlue and American Airlines to coordinate routes and schedules in the Northeast US, which had effectively combined the Boston and New York operations of the two carriers. Citing antitrust grounds, the judge ruled that the deal was a naked agreement not to compete.



The decision was a victory for the US Justice Department, which filed a lawsuit in 2021 to undo the arrangement. Now the airlines have 30 days to end the partnership, which has been running for the past 18 months, although they are expected to appeal the ruling.

Read more

The DOJ had predicted that air travelers would pay $700 million more a year if the deal was allowed to proceed.

The Northeast Alliance (NEA) allowed the airlines to share ticketing codes and revenue, and engage in joint scheduling and gate pooling. The arrangement resulted in American Airlines changing some of its business routes, and both companies argued the partnership would allow them to compete more effectively with Delta and United Airlines. The companies expanded their partnership even as the case continued to be reviewed by the court.

We are disappointed in the decision, a JetBlue spokesperson told Quartz in an emailed statement. We made it clear at trial that the Northeast Alliance has been a huge win for customers. Through the NEA, JetBlue has been able to significantly grow in constrained northeast airports, bringing the airlines low fares and great service to more routes than would have been possible otherwise.

American Airlines said there was no evidence of consumer harm caused by the partnership. The Northeast Alliance has been a huge win for customers and anything but anticompetitive, a spokesperson told Quartz via email.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to request for comment.

A win for the antitrust-focused Biden administration

US president Joe Biden signed an executive order in July 2021, directing his administration to break up up monopoly power across a variety of industries, including air travel.

The win in the JetBlue-American Airlines matter comes as the DOJ awaits the outcome of another lawsuit it filed, in March, to stop JetBlue from acquiring Spirit Airlines. The government is arguing that the $3.8 billion merger also would raise prices for consumers.

Spirits board of directors hesitated to approve the acquisition because of the DOJs antitrust goals, and both companies met with the DOJ in February to try to convince regulators not to sue but were unsuccessful.

More from Quartz

Sign up for Quartz's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Daniela Cesarei

Walking along the Promenade des Anglais today in Nice, you have to do a bit more than squint to imagine it as the stomping ground for aristocracy that it once was. A number of storied hotels have gone to seed, the traffic is relentless, and the crowd is, well, not exactly aristocratic. But stroll through the waterfront Jardin Albert 1er, and on the other side youll find a place where that pomp and glitz has been renewed. That spot, the Anantara Plaza Nice Hotel, is the latest selection for our column on exciting new hotels, Room Key.

The hotel is housed in a fanciful Belle Epoque edifice originally designed by the king of grand hotels in the south of France, Charles Dalmas. The mustard-yellow facade stretching more than a hundred meters has been restored to its frothy grandeur. Inside, though, is sharp and meticulous modern luxury. Mosaic floors line an arched hallway with textured iridescent walls leading to the hotels reception.

Just off the reception is one of the more elegant rooms weve come across of late, Les Colonnades. The Art Deco oval room with unadorned travertine columns is topped by a smooth cream-colored dome and oculusan airy space redolent of the Session Hall in the Finnish Parliament. Here, the bit of pop comes from the curving couches upholstered in lush green velvet. The hotels high teathe typical elaborate confection of cakes, bites, and bubbly done at old world hotelstakes place here. Otherwise, its often empty and quiet, so if you find the rooftop scene a bit much, squirrel away down here later at night for a more intimate scene.

The rooftop restaurant SEEN. Daniela Cesarei

While the waterfront of Nice isnt full on glamor, the city itself is a delight and was recently named a World Heritage Site. Awash in many-hued buildings from a half-dozen centuries, walking its winding streets is a must. The hotel is right in the heart of it all, with unobstructed views of the sea over the park from the top floors but also at the vanguard of one of Frances most liveable cities.

The bedrooms of the Anantara Plaza Nice Hotel are done in a modern luxury aestheticdark woods, gray unadorned paneled walls, marble bathrooms, but with balconies that bring in some of the hotels warm yellow exterior as well as the park across the street (or, if youre on a higher floor, the sea). One of the benefits to the hotel being on the park and not the main drag is that theres almost no car noise.

Daniela Cesarei

One place that does bring the noise, however, is the hotels buzzy rooftop restaurant, the latest outpost of SEEN by Olivier (after spots in Lisbon, Sao Paulo, and Bangkok). Its done up in travertine, light woods, wisteria, and columns covered in opalescent tiles and features a menu fusing Nicoise cuisine with Asian influences. It does, however, become a scene at night, so if youre sound-sensitive, dont book a room on the floor right below it. Also, do try the hotels exclusive bottle from the Chateau de Cremat, its the perfect white for a city famed for its 300 days of sunshine. Im tempted to call it a porch-pounder because it was so easy to drink, but this is France, so Ill refrain.

Speaking of Chateau de Cremat, the medieval revival mansion up in the hills over the city is one of a number of experiences the hotel prides itself on arranging for visitors. While its understandable to think of the sea as Nices main draw, the surrounding hills actually hold its real gems, such as Saint Paul de Vence, Eze, and Vallauris.

One afternoon, the hotel took the group of journalists I was traveling with to Vallauris to showcase one of their excursions. The town was Pablo Picassos home at one point and the place where he pursued his passion for pottery. Dominique Sassi was just a young man when he was selected to be Picassos colorist in the late 1940s. His job was to help the master select paints that would achieve what he needed on the earthenware. Sassi, now in his late eighties, was our guide for the day. Bearing a striking resemblance to the painter in his later years, Sassi walked us through Picassos War and Peace mural which covers the arched vault attached to an ancient chapel. Then he guided us among the dozens of plates, vases, and decorative pottery held by the towns museumall of which he aided Picasso on. It was a surreal experience, one of those that allows you to create tangible human links that bring the past to the present. And while Sassi isnt normally part of the hotels excursions, who knows, you just might luck out too.

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.
First lady Jill Biden on Thursday visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Japan, where she hailed the history of the site and highlighted that the world needs to learn from it and ensure democracy is chosen over autocracy.

We must teach this history, so that we can understand the choices in front of us, the first lady said in remarks. Choose creation over destruction, innovation over inhumanity, peace over bloodshed, democracy over autocracy.

Hiroshima is a name engraved in history because the U.S. dropped a bomb on the Japanese city on Aug. 6, 1945. The bombing is estimated to have killed between 70,000 and 125,000 civilians. Combined with the bombing of Nagasaki three days later, it brought the end of World War II.

There have been some calls in Japan  and some speculation in the U.S.  for President Biden to apologize for the bombing of Hiroshima while at the G-7. But White House officials have been noncommittal on the topic.

Biden attended spousal events on the summit sidelines Thursday with her granddaughter, Maisy. Other spouses included Yuko Kishida, the wife of the Japanese prime minister; Akshata Murty, the wife of the prime minister of the United Kingdom; and Britta Ernst, the wife of the German chancellor, among others.

Following the visit to the museum, the first lady participated in a luncheon with G-7 spouses, a symposium, and a dinner.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
 Flash

Palestinians hang Palestinian flags on the border fence in response to the Israeli Flag March, in the eastern Gaza city, on May 18, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]



The Flag March held by Israeli nationalists in Jerusalem on Thursday sparked outrage and condemnation from the Palestinian public and officials.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the Palestinian presidency's spokesman, told reporters in Ramallah in the West Bank that "Jerusalem is and will be the eternal capital of the independent state of Palestine."

On Thursday afternoon, tens of thousands of Israelis participated in the march to commemorate the "Unification of Jerusalem" amid tight Israeli security measures.

Participants waving Israeli flags and chanting anti-Palestinian slogans marched from the western part of the city, passed through the Islamic Quarter of the Old City, and reached the Wailing Wall close to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

"The Palestinian people have the legitimacy in Jerusalem, not Israel or the U.S.," Abu Rudeineh said, denouncing the march as "Israeli provocation and escalation."

He held the Israeli government "fully responsible for this escalation and its repercussions, which will lead to more escalations and tensions not only in Jerusalem, but also the entire region."

The official Palestinian news agency (WAFA) reported that Israeli participants in the march "protected by the Israeli police officers, attacked several Palestinians in the old city of Jerusalem."

The report added that the Israeli police arrested 10 Palestinians for blocking one of the streets in the city to hinder the march.

On Thursday morning, the Israel deployed more than 3,000 policemen throughout the city of Jerusalem to secure the march, according to Israel Radio.

In Gaza Strip, hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated near the fence of the borders between the eastern Gaza Strip and Israel to reject the Israeli flag march.

They waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans against Israel, while burning tires and hanging dozens of Palestinian flags on the border fence, said eyewitnesses.

Khaled Al-Batsh, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement leader, told the demonstrators that "the enemy cannot prove its presence in the city by waving thousands of their flag."

"All the historical evidence shows that the city of Jerusalem is Islamic, Arab and Palestinian," he said.

Palestinian medics said that seven Palestinian demonstrators were injured, and dozens suffered suffocation after inhaling the teargas fired by the Israeli soldiers stationed at the border.

Meanwhile, Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the politburo of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) that rules the Gaza Strip, said in a press statement that "the mobilization of the Israeli entity to protect the Flag March reflects the Israeli security fragility."

Haniyeh added that "the chapters of confrontation with the enemy are continuing, and our people will close the account only by liberating the land, including Jerusalem and the right of return."

Israeli nationalists hold the annual Flag March to celebrate so-called "Jerusalem Day." Israel gained control of Jerusalem during the 1967 war and annexed it shortly afterward, a move that has not been recognized by most of the international community.
Joe Biden stumbles while walking down stairs at G7 Summit in Japan

President Joe Biden was captured nearly tripping down a set of stairs while visiting Japan for the G7 summit on Friday.

Footage of Mr Biden showed him fumbling his footing as he walked down a small set of stairs at the Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima, Japan.

Luckily, the president did not fall down the stairs or seemingly injure himself as he caught himself before making contact with the ground.

Throughout his presidency, Mr Biden has been captured several times tripping or stumbling.

Earlier this year, the president fell while walking up the stairs of Air Force One to depart from his surprise trip to Ukraine and Poland.

Last year, Mr Biden fell off his bike while speaking with reporters in his hometown in Delaware.

In 2021, Mr Biden repeatedly fell while walking up the stairs of Air Force One - White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters it was extremely windy that day.

Whenever Mr Biden is captured stumbling or falling, people will often blame his age as he is the oldest person to serve as president of the United States at 80 years old. Mr Biden often disputes comments about himself not being cognitively or physically fit to serve as president.

The White House released a health summary report from Mr Bidens official doctor, Kevin OConnor, in February to prove Mr Biden is in good health.

Biden narrowly avoided a dangerous fall down the stairs in Japan. https://t.co/n25jWjX7ql  Russian Market (@runews) May 19, 2023

After Mr Bidens stumble on Friday, he greeted Japans prime minister, Fumio Kishida, and the two made their way to participate in a group photo with other world leaders, ahead of the G7 Summit weekend.

Mr Biden, Mr Kishida, Italys premier Giorgia Meloni, Canadas prime minister Justin Trudeau, Frances president Emmanuel Macron, Germanys chancellor Olaf Scholz, the UKs prime minister Rishi Sunak, European Council president Charles Michel and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen posed in front of the Itsukushima Shrine.

The G7 members are expected to speak about Russian sanctions and provide support to Ukraine as well as climate change and Chinas growing military buildup.
Johnny Depp Is the Talk of the Cannes Film Festival for Reasons Expected and Unexpected

Getty Images

Johnny Depps return to the big screen is all anyone seems to be talking about at the Cannes Film Festival this week.

Depp, 59, traveled to the annual French festival for the premiere of Jeanne du Barry, the actors first major film since his high-profile defamation case involving ex-wife Amber Heard in 2022. Not surprisingly, the arrival of the Pirates of the Caribbean star drew plenty of attentionfrom fans excited for a potential comeback and from critics who felt he shouldnt have been invited because of Heards allegations of physical and verbal abuse.

Heres a look at Depps whirlwind appearance, from the strong reactions to his new film to his candid comments about his recent legal turmoil.

What Did Depp Say about the Trial?

Depp hasnt spoken much publicly since his trial with Heard ended in June 2022, but he opened up about the case and its effects on his career on Wednesday. Depp told the Associated Press much of what has been written about him in recent years is fantastically, horrifically written fiction.

For anyone who needs a quick refresher, the courtroom drama originated from an opinion article Heard wrote in The Washington Post in December 2018. In the piece, the 37-year-old actor said she became a public figure representing domestic abuse two years prior when she and Depp were still married.

Depp sued Heard for defamation and claimed that, though he was not named in the article, it cost him lucrative roles. According to Esquire UK, he and his agent claimed he was dropped from Disneys popular Pirates film series and lost a fee of $22.5 million because of Heards allegations. In 2020, Depp was also let go from the Fantastic Beasts film franchise set in the Harry Potter universe.

Getty Images

Heard countersued Depp over comments made by his attorney about her abuse claims. The Aquaman star testified during the trial that Depp was physically and verbally abusive to her during their relationship and accused him of sexual violence, according to CNN. In the end, a jury found both liable for defamationHeard on three countsand awarded Depp $15 million in total damages. Heard was awarded only $2 million.

At Cannes, Depp said he believes he came out of the ordeal stronger: Not for a moment will I regret anything unless Ive done something horrible to someone, which I havent. Im not going to regret being taken down a strange road for that period of time, because I learned so much more about myself.

How Were Depp and the Film Received at Cannes?

At least at Cannes, the reception for Depp has been very warm. According to ABC News, fans swarmed the actor for autographs and held signs that read Viva Johnny! at the premiere of Jeanne du Barry, which opened the festival.

The film, which stars director Maiwenn in the title role as the mistress of King Louis XV, is completely in French and doesnt have distribution in the United States currently. Critic response hasnt been favorable, with a BBC reviewer calling the film a dull period soap opera and panning Depp for giving minimum effort as the French king.

But that was hardly the sentiment inside the theater. When the film ended, Depp received a seven-minute standing ovation for his performance, according to Variety, and had to hold back tears as he waved from the balcony.

At the festival, Depp is also seeking financing for a biopic of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani that he hopes to shoot later this year, according to ABC News.

When reporters asked Depp about his future, he said he intends to continue making films but outside the studio system. He added that he has no further need for Hollywood.

Do I feel a boycott now? No, not at all, Depp said. I dont feel boycotted by Hollywood, because I dont think about Hollywood.

Whats the Deal With Depps Teeth?

Getty Images

Depps presence at Cannes was enough to cause a stir, but his teeth are at the center of an unlikely firestorm as well. Fans on social media have reacted in disgust to photos from the premiere showing the actors discolored chompers.

Johnny Depps teeth are literally ROTTING, one person tweeted Wednesday, according to Page Six, with another likening his mouth to bacterial biological warfare.

Naturally, Depps past comments about his questionable dental hygiene have resurfaced. Ive got loads of cavities, the actor said during a 1995 interview with Premiere magazine. When I see people with perfect teeth, it drives me up the wall. Id rather swallow a tick than have that!

Luckily for Depp, celebrity dentist Dr. Michael Apa told Page Six he doesnt believe the stars teeth are actually rotting. However, they do show signs of aggressive wear and tear and are in need of a good cleaning.

You Might Also Like
Demonstrators gather in Washington Square Park in New York City to protest the choking death on the subway of Jordan Neely, a Black homeless man. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

More than two decades ago, a killing in the subways shocked New Yorkers and led to the passage of Kendras Law, a state statute that allowed courts to mandate that severely mentally ill people undergo what is known as assisted outpatient treatment.

The law has been the recipient of renewed focus in recent weeks, as New Yorkers grapple with the killing of Jordan Neely, who was in the midst of a mental health breakdown on a subway train when he was apprehended by a former Marine named Daniel Penny who placed him in a chokehold he reportedly maintained for 15 minutes.

Some on the right have celebrated Pennys actions as legitimate self-defense in a purportedly anarchic world, while others see Neelys death as racist vigilante justice meted out with little regard for the law (Penny is white; Neely was Black). But many New Yorkers simply want to know how such encounters can be prevented in the future.

Last week, Mayor Eric Adams offered an expansion of Kendras Law as one answer. Although it is not clear whether the law in its current form had ever applied to Neely, two years ago he agreed to a plea deal following an assault under conditions identical to what Kendras Law stipulates.

A man identified as 30-year-old Jordan Neely, is placed in a choke hold by a fellow passenger on a subway train, in New York City, May 1. (Juan Alberto Vazquez via Reuters)

"Were hoping we can get Kendras Law adjusted to give people the clear understanding that if this person is dealing with a major mental health illness where they cant take care of themselves, and theyre a danger to themselves," Adams said, "that were allowed to keep them and give them the services they need.

Kendra's Law is named after Kendra Webdale, whose 1999 death led to a debate about mental illness, public safety and the tension between personal and collective responsibility.

"Mayor says NYC will treat mentally ill, even if they refuse" (Associated Press)>>>

A little after five

Kendra Webdale had moved to New York City from her native Buffalo in 1996. By 1999, she was by all accounts a true New Yorker, in love with a city that had in recent years recovered from the soaring crime rates of the decade's first several years. Now, at 32, she was as a receptionist at a record company. She wanted to be a journalist.

Webdale was waiting for an uptown train in a Manhattan subway station when she was approached by Andrew Goldstein, a 29-year-old from Queens who had been diagnosed as schizophrenic.

Like Neely, he had spent years in and out of institutions that failed to help him. He had begged to be admitted to a hospital, but there was no room. And when he was offered help, he never followed through, a challenge that the social workers who tried to help Neely also encountered. It is, in fact, a challenge all too frequently encountered on the streets of New York.

Andrew Goldstein, 29, of Howard Beach, Queens, center, is escorted by police officers out of New York's 13th Precinct on Jan. 4, 1999, after his arrest for allegedly shoving Kendra Webdale, right, to her death under a Manhattan subway train. (Marty Lederhandler/AP; AP)

On the subway platform, Goldstein approached Webdale and asked for the time.

A little after 5, she answered.

Then, as an R train pulled into the station, Goldstein gave Webdale a shove.

Ms. Webdale seemed to hover in midair for an instant, with her arms and legs spread apart, a reporter would later write of the harrowing scene on the platform, as described by witnesses.

"Lack of mental health stabilization is a public hazard" (New York Daily News) >>>

A shattered system of mental health care

Two-and-a-half decades before, an enterprising young WABC reporter named Geraldo Rivera had revealed in an explosive investigation the horrifying conditions at Willowbrook, a Staten Island state hospital for disabled children. His report was the latest evidence that warehousing severely mentally ill people in state hospitals left them open to abuse and neglect.

John F. Kennedy began what has come to be known as deinstitutionalization; he intended to replace state hospitals with community clinics, but after his 1963 assassination, the effort was relegated to a secondary concern.

The effort to close state institutions was taken up again by Ronald Reagan, only this time without the proper funding for the community clinics Kennedy had sought. The result was a patchwork of approaches that seemed to work least well for the most ill: that is, people like Goldstein and, later, Neely.

The children's ward at Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, N.Y., date unknown. (Dan Godfrey/New York Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

A devastating New York Times Magazine article published several months after Webdale's killing offered a withering condemnation of what mental health in the United States had become: Long before this subway push and another one last month, the state of the nations shattered mental health system all but assured such calamities. Yet for each hospitalization  there were 13 in 1997 and 1998 alone  Goldstein was given medication, then discharged, often after just a few days, to live on his own in a basement apartment.

At his first trial, Goldstein attempted an insanity defense, but the jury was unconvinced. In 2006, as his third trial loomed, Goldstein pleaded guilty and received a 23-year prison sentence.

He was released in 2018.

"A murder in New York and the dilemma of deinstitutionalization" (The Week) >>>

Kendras legacy

The push for a legislative solution gained momentum throughout 1999, especially after a 41-year-old woman named Olga Maisonet, diagnosed as schizophrenic, fatally stabbed an elderly stranger on a Brooklyn street.

By August of that year, Gov. George Pataki, a Republican, and Democrats in the state legislature had reached a deal that paved the way for passage of what would come to be known as Kendras Law. But compromises weakened the legislation. Most notably, a provision that would have allowed judges to mandate hospitalization for people who refused treatment was excised.

Instead, those who refused could be hospitalized for only 72 hours.

Still, the law was a victory of sorts. Kendra died because of purposefully ineffectual laws and policies that prevent treatment for those with severe mental illnesses, many of whom are too ill to make informed treatment decisions, Kendras mother, Pat, would write in a 2005 op-ed for the Buffalo News. Some commit violent crimes, many more are victimized, incarcerated, homeless  or commit suicide.

"Sacramentos first-world shame: What can we do to help our homeless neighbors on the streets?" (Sacramento Bee) >>>

The future of Kendras law

A homeless person endures high winds and cold temperatures in Manhattan, Feb. 4. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters)

Kendras Law has served as a model for assisted outpatient treatment laws around the country. But with the mental health and homeless crises  which are deeply intertwined  only deepening in New York, many policymakers are turning to the more assertive approaches of the past.

Gov. Kathy Hochul expanded the law last year, leading to complaints from civil libertarians and advocates.

Yet there were also calls for her to do more.

In December, Adams called for severely mentally ill people to be placed involuntary inpatient treatment if they pose a danger to themselves or others. The controversial plan is part of a broader effort by City Hall to restore order on New Yorks streets. Cities across the country are facing similar challenges.

To head his new effort, Adams appointed Brian Stettin. In 1999, Stettin had been a young assistant attorney general tasked with helping to create what would become known as Kendras Law. He later went on to serve as policy chief at the Treatment Advocacy Center, an organization that has pushed for an expansion of assisted outpatient treatment across the country.

I guess this just became my lifes work, Stettin said in a recent podcast interview of the months he and his colleagues spent crafting Kendras Law. There was never anything that meant as much to me.

"Biden administration unveils initiative to combat homelessness in 5 US cities, California" (USA Today)>>>
At the funeral for Jordan Neely, the man who Daniel Penny put in a fatal chokehold on a New York City subway train earlier this month, the Rev. Al Sharpton said Neely was "screaming for help" as he struggled with mental illness. Sharpton also doubted Penny would have been initially released by police if he was Black.

"Jordan was not annoying someone on the train," Sharpton said during Friday's service at Mount Neboh Baptist Church in Harlem. "Jordan was screaming for help. We keep criminalizing people with mental illness."

Neely, a 30-year-old Black man who was a former Michael Jackson impersonator and homeless, was acting erratically on a train and screaming about being hungry and tired but didn't attack anyone during the May 1 incident, according to witnesses. Penny, a 24-year-old Marine veteran who is White, was initially questioned by police and released without being charged.

Penny placed Neely in a chokehold from behind, killing him, according to authorities. Penny has been charged with manslaughter, and his attorneys said he was protecting himself and others on the train.

Pallbearers carry the casket of Jordan Neely ahead of his funeral in New York City, May 19, 2023. / Credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid

Jim Brown, Hall of Fame running back and civil rights activist, dead at 87

Lawsuit accuses Nike of deceiving consumers about sustainability line

Debt ceiling talks set to resume after temporary pause
JPMorgan Chase is seeking documents from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office in lawsuits the bank faces over its relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a former client, according to federal court records.

Attorneys for Bragg, JPMorgan Chase; a former senior executive, Jes Staley; and the plaintiffs in the cases attended a telephone conference before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff on Tuesday. Rakoff instructed Braggs office to provide a so-called privilege log relating to documents sought by the Wall Street giant by Friday. That's a list of documents Bragg's office argues are privileged and not subject to discovery.

A spokesperson for Bragg said, A protective order is in place, so we cannot comment on the nature of the requested documents.

Image: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks to reporters during a news conference at police headquarters on April 18, 2023, in New York. (Mary Altaffer / AP file)

The bank faces two lawsuits, filed last year by the U.S. Virgin Islands and a woman identified as Jane Doe 1, accusing it of having facilitated Epsteins sex-trafficking enterprise.

JPMorgan knowingly, negligently, and unlawfully provided and pulled the levers through which recruiters and victims were paid and was indispensable to the operation and concealment of the Epstein trafficking enterprise, the U.S. Virgin Islands alleged in its complaint.

The two suits seek monetary damages. JPMorgan Chase has denied liability.

Deutsche Bank agreed Wednesday to pay $75 million to Epstein victims to settle a lawsuit claiming it enabled Epsteins conduct.

JPMorgan Chase sued Staley in March, claiming he should be held liable for damages it might face from the lawsuits. It accuses Staley  who worked at the bank for more than 30 years  of knowing about Epsteins conduct and engaging in sexual activity with young women procured by Epstein.

Staley asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed and said the bank is using him as a public relations shield. However, he has expressed regret for his relationship with Epstein.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is scheduled to be deposed in the lawsuits this month.

On Thursday evening, a JPMorgan spokesman told NBC News: Jamie Dimon never met Epstein, never communicated with him, never emailed with him, and never played a role in any business with him.

In a Bloomberg television interview last week, Dimon said he is so sad that we had any relationship to that man whatsoever.

You know, we had top lawyers evaluating, from the [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission] enforcement, the [Justice Department], you know, and obviously, had we known then what we know today, we would have done things differently, Dimon said. But its very unfortunate, and I have deep respect for these women.

"That doesnt mean were liable for the action of an individual," he added, but I do have deep respect for them. My heart goes out to them.

Jeffrey Epstein (Rick Friedman / Corbis via Getty Images file)

In court documents, the U.S. Virgin Islands has alleged that the company's banking relationship was known at the highest levels of the bank." An August 2008 internal email says, I would count Epsteins assets as a probable outflow for 08 ($120mm or so?) as I cant imagine it will stay (pending Dimon review).

Additional internal emails and memos filed as exhibits also revealed that bank executives had been worried about the financial institutions relationship with Epstein dating to 2006.

Financial records showed Epstein used his JPMorgan Chase accounts to transfer around $3 million to women and girls from 2003 to 2013, according to records the plaintiffs filed as exhibits.

The financial records do not disclose the names of those who received the transfers or their connections to Epstein.

During that time, Epstein withdrew a little over $5 million in cash, typically in amounts of $40,000, court documents show.

Meanwhile, Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., a member of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, asked Dimon in a letter last week why the bank ignored obvious signs of Epsteins illegal activity and maintained a relationship with Epstein.

If true, JPMorgans decision to turn a blind eye to such egregious misconduct raises serious questions about its role in facilitating Epsteins abuse, and its willingness or ability to root out and prevent other, less apparent instances of sex trafficking, she said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
In this artist depiction, Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, center, is seated as defense attorney Brendan Kelley stands and speaks, at right, and his father Jack Michael Teixeira is seated in the witness stand, during a detention hearing in federal court, Thursday, April 27, 2023, in Worcester, Mass. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy in Teixeira's detention hearing put off an immediate decision on whether he should be kept in custody until his trial or released to home confinement or under other conditions.

WORCESTER  A decision is expected Friday afternoon in the detention hearing for accused military leaker Jack Teixeira in U.S. District Court in Worcester.

Starting 3:30 p.m. Friday, U.S. Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy will listen to arguments for and against Teixeiras potential release pending trial.

The 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman is accused of posting top-secret government data to friends on a Discord social media forum.

The case had been slated to be heard May 12 but was delayed until Friday. It is being heard in Worcester because Hennessy is the judge assigned to the case, and he is typically assigned to the federal courthouse in the city.

Prosecutors have painted Teixeira as a dangerous, self-centered and disloyal person with a fixation on mass murder. A court filing by prosecutors argued that Teixeira has a history of violent and racist statements, and that he could be vulnerable to foreign influence.

In arguments in Worcester on April 27, federal prosecutors argued he should be kept in custody before trial, while his lawyers argued he ought to be released to the supervision of his father. Hennessy took the argument under advisement.

According to recent court documents, Teixeira was ordered to stop deep diving into classified information several months before his arrest. The order dates back to September 2022.

Court documents claim Teixeira was caught slipping a note into his pocket on his Cape Cod base. He was later noted to have been asked very specific questions during a morning briefing.

In a third memo from early February 2023, a supervisor wrote that Teixeira was seen improperly accessing the the JWICS  short for the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System  despite the earlier warnings.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira detention hearing in Worcester
A Chancery Court judge has permanently closed The Scratch Kitchen in downtown Ocean Springs, scene of a mass shooting May 5, finding its continued operation presents a danger to the city.

Judge Neil Harris ruled at the end of a hearing Friday that the potential injury to Ocean Springs outweighs the damage the business owner, Brittany Alexander, will face from having to close.

Harris ruling followed a day of testimony from the city, with no witnesses presented by Alexander, whom the city instead called to the stand.

The attorney for Ocean Springs, Robert Wilkinson, called city witnesses who described talking to Alexander on multiple occasions about controlling the size of her crowds.

Crowds exceeded occupancy limits during parties hosted by DJs on the weekends at the Government Street business, according to testimony given in court on Friday.

Testimony also indicated guns were present and marijuana was being smoked in The Scratch Kitchen the night of the shooting, when 19-year-old Chayse Harmon lost his life and six others were injured, including the suspected shooter.

During closing arguments, Wilkinson, implored Judge Neil Harris to permanently close the business.

Seven people shot inside the scratch kitchen, Wilkinson said. Seven people. By the grace of the good Lord, theres not more than one dead.

 . . . It cant continue. We dont want mass shooting two.

But Alexanders attorney, Darius Taylor of Jackson, pointed out the city had never leveled any drug, weapons or other criminal charges against anyone in the business. The Scratch Kitchen also had never been cited for allowing underage drinking.

City officials also acknowledged that they had not filed any court action over violations of occupancy limits at the business until May 5, hours before the mass shooting.

Taylor said the city needed to meet an extraordinary burden to close a business. He said he understood they didnt like the vulgar language in music played for the young crowd.

But closing Alexander down wasnt the answer, he said: This is extreme. This is over the top and theyre singling Ms. Alexander out because they dont like the music, dont like the people coming into her restaurant.

When they start breaking the law, then maybe you can start seeking some remedy such as this.

As for the mass shooting, Taylor said, Violence is pervasive in our society.

Scratch Kitchen Shooting victims family speaks

Chayses mother and grandparents sat through the long day of testimony. They spoke to the Sun Herald during a break.

Were hoping they shut that place down, said Chayses grandmother, Lena Harmon, who had just baked him a 7-Up pound cake for his 19th birthday. We want it shut down before somebody else gets killed.

His mother, Kimberly Harmon, feels the same way. She walked out of court after testimony ended saying, Close it down. Close it down.

The Harmons waited in the courthouse hall for the opinion that the judge wrote up after the hearing.

The mother and maternal grandparents of the young man shot dead at The Scratch Kitchen, 19-year-old Chayse Harmon, attended a hearing Friday about whether to close the Ocean Springs business. From right are mom Kimberly Harmon and her parents, Lena and Michael Harmon Sr., all of Moss Point.

Scratch Kitchen owner says shes targeted over race

City police officers and Mayor Kenny Holloway testified during the hearing.

Holloway said he warned Alexander during a September meeting if her business model doesnt change, something bad is going to come out of this.

The night of the shooting, as Holloway looked up from the blood pooling around Chayses body, Alexander was standing there, he said.

I looked at her and said, I hope youre happy now,  Holloway testified. He said Alexander blew up and had to be restrained.

Holloway grew emotional, telling the judge: This is my city. Im sick to my stomach. Its personal.

Ocean Springs Mayor Kenny Holloway speaks during a special city council meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, following a shooting at one of the citys businesses on Friday night.

For her part, Alexander said that she felt like the city was discriminating against her. Alexander is Black, as were many of her patrons. She said Hollloway referred to Scratch Kitchen patrons as your people.

But Holloway, who is white, said he is careful how he speaks and would never have used those words. He said he went to The Scratch Kitchen to eat a couple of times. But those visits stopped after Alexander cursed at him in his office at the September meeting.

Holloway also denied discriminating against the business. He said the city established occupancy limits for bars and restaurants with outdoor spaces after he learned there were none. The subject came up over a restaurant and bar across the street with an outdoor space, he said, not The Scratch Kitchen.

Brittany Alexander, owner of The Scratch Kitchen, testified at a court hearing Friday in Pascagoula that the city had been harassing her before a mass shooting on May 5 at her business. She said that patrons were not searched or screened for weapons, but that she had four security officers on duty that night.

Other shootings detailed in Ocean Springs court

The Scratch Kitchen and a number of other downtown bars and restaurants have become a popular gathering place for young people, especially on weekends.

Alexander said in testimony that she felt The Scratch Kitchen was being singled out because shootings have happened recently outside two other Ocean Springs bars, resulting in one fatality and two victims with injuries.

On April 16, a man accidentally shot himself in the leg in a parking lot across the street from The Scratch Kitchen. Alexander noted it was a parking lot also open for patrons of the other downtown businesses. But police said the man told them he was on his way to The Scratch Kitchen.

On one occasion, Ocean Springs police claimed someone had been shot in Alexanders business when the reality was a woman fell off a table, she said.

When asked about her meeting with the mayor, she said, I remember him saying theres too many of us in one spot and its upsetting the conservative citizens.
Photo of wind turbines off Block Island, R.I.



A federal court ruling this week has further cleared the way for the first major U.S. wind project to move forward.

Renewable energy scored a big win this week in Massachusetts. A federal judge in the states district court rejected a lawsuit brought by an alleged group of Nantucket residents, which sought to stop the first major U.S. offshore wind project from moving forward.



Vineyard Wind, a $2.8 billion endeavor expected to generate enough energy to power 400,000 homes, was approved by Joe Biden in May 2021. But the proposal has faced multiple legal challenges sincefrom climate deniers, a solar company, and, of course, the NIMBYs. But now at least one of those hurdles has been cleared.

Read more

The nonprofit organization behind the now-closed case was Nantucket Residents Against Turbines (officially abbreviated ACK RATswhich, lol), and had support from the likes of former Trump adviser David Stevenson. As the plaintiff, ACK RATs argued that the proposed 84-turbine development could further imperil the endangered North Atlantic right whale and that federal agencies hadnt done enough to assess the future wind farms impacts on wildlife. But science doesnt support those claims, and neither did presiding Judge Indira Talwani.

Plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that [National Marine Fisheries Service] and [Bureau of Ocean Energy Management] violated the Endangered Species Act or the National Environmental Policy Act...Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgement is DENIED, reads the Talwanis order, filed Thursday.

The only named members of ACK RATs in this case were Amy DiSibio, who owns a vacation home on Nantucket Island, and Vallorie Oliver, who is actually a lifelong, full-time resident of the island, according to the legal filing. Plaintiffs have not identified any members of ACK RATs other than Oliver and DiSibio and has not provided any other information about its members, Talwanis order notes.

Yet even Olivers claims didnt stand up to legal scrutiny, per the judge. Olivers strong ties to Nantucket and the ecosystem are not, in and of themselves, sufficient. Proximity does not equate to injury, she wrote.

Vineyard Wind was, of course, happy with the decision. Were pleased the court has acknowledged the rigorous and thorough administrative review that our project underwent over the last many years, company CEO Klaus Moeller said in a statement to the Associated Press. We remain committed to working with all stakeholders so that we can continue to set the highest possible standards on this first in the nation project.

Meanwhile, plaintiff Oliver indicated to the AP that ACK RATs is considering future actions. Nantucket Residents Against Turbines is obviously disappointed in the ruling, she said. We will be taking a few days to weigh our options going forward.

For now, both wind energy and whales have won. CEO Moeller has said that Vineyard Wind construction is set to begin within weeks, according to The Marthas Vineyard Times. Andas with terrestrial turbines and birdswind power is almost certain to help, not harm, whales in the long term.

The idea that offshore wind hurts whales is an increasingly common argument against renewable expansion touted by (often wealthy) not-in-my-backyard, anti-turbine activists who dont want their ocean views disrupted, as well as by fossil fuel interest groups. False narratives about whale deaths caused by turbines have gone viral among Facebook-posting conspiracy theorists. It has become a rallying point in a burgeoning GOP pseudo-environmentalism that seeks to keep dirty energy on the docket for as long as possible. But the concept remains unsupported by actual scientific research and assessment.

There is no evidence that offshore wind activities or development have ever killed a whale, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The agency has been studying and working to minimize potential offshore wind impacts on North Atlantic right whales for more than a decade. Vineyard Wind, as with any other company undertaking large-scale construction projects in the ocean, is required to mitigate its threat to wildlife, in accordance with peer-reviewed research. For instance, the company has to ensure whales arent in the area before they drive piles into the seafloor. They also have to abide by strict boat speed limits to reduce the chance of whale collisions (something that is actually known to kill whales).

The overwhelming scientific consensus is that climate change is one of the biggest threats to right whale survival. The marine mammals food has shifted location and become scarce as the oceans have warmed, putting the endangered cetaceans further in harms way. Effectively combatting climate change requires alternate, fossil fuel-free energy solutionslike offshore wind. Building up our green energy capacity is critical to protecting all wildlife, whales included.

More from Gizmodo

Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
A South Carolina judge ruled Friday that convenience story operator Greg Parker will stand trial as a defendant with convicted killer Alex Murdaugh in the long-delayed wrongful death trial of Mallory Beach.

The trial is set to begin Aug. 14 in Hampton County.

Judge Daniel Hall notified lawyers in the case Friday that he rejected Parkers bid for summary judgment, in which Parker sought to be dismissed as a defendant. It was Parkers latest failed effort to be tried separately from Murdaugh or to be dismissed outright from the case.

Halls decision apparently clears the final hurdle for the 4-year-old lawsuit to begin.

The lawsuit was first filed on March 29, 2019, a little more than a month after Beachs death in a predawn boat crash the morning of Feb. 24, 2019, in Archers Creek near Beaufort. The boat was allegedly driven by an intoxicated Paul Murdaugh, Murdaughs younger son. Beach was thrown from the boat and drowned.

The suit was filed by her mother, Renee Beach, in Hampton County, where both the Beach and Murdaugh families lived.

Parker is a defendant in the lawsuit because a clerk at one of his convenience stores allegedly sold an underage Paul, then 19, some of the alcohol that Paul and his friends drank the night of the boat crash. None of the six people on the boat were of age to buy alcohol. Paul used his older brother Busters drivers license to buy the alcohol.

The stakes are high for Parker and his chain of convenience stores.

Under South Carolina law, any single defendant in a lawsuit with several defendants is responsible for paying all damages if other defendants cannot pay. Murdaugh, in prison, is not believed to have any assets, now or in the future, so Parker could find himself liable for any jury verdict awarding damages, according to court records.

In legal responses to the lawsuit, Parker contends that the S.C. Law Enforcement Division investigated the actions of his clerk that night  SLED is charged with overseeing alcohol violations  and declined to prosecute the clerk, Tajeeha Cohen. Parker also contends that Paul was known to be reckless when he drank, and therefore his friends in the boat should have known better than to travel with him.

Murdaugh is a defendant in the lawsuit because he allegedly encouraged Paul to drink alcohol and he owned the boat in the crash.

Attorney Mark Tinsley, who represents the Beach family, said in a text Friday he was not surprised that Parker will remain a defendant in the lawsuit.

Parkers motion (to dismiss) bordered on being frivolous and seems to have been intended to spread a false narrative, so we fully expected the judge to deny it. We are looking forward to concluding this matter in August and beginning to give the Beach family some closure, Tinsley said.

P.K. Shere, the lead defense attorney for Parker and his company, Parkers Kitchen, said in a statement, While we believe summary judgment should have been granted, we remain confident a jury will use their common sense and find that Tajeeha Cohen and Parkers are not responsible for the death of Mallory Beach.

Dawes Cooke Jr., an attorney for Murdaugh, who is now serving two consecutive life sentences in the S.C. Department of Corrections, said he would expect Murdaugh to attend the trial, but said no final decision has been made on that.

Murdaugh was convicted in a jury trial in early March of murder in the 2021 shooting deaths of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at the family estate in rural Colleton County, near the town of Hampton.

At Murdaughs murder trial, prosecutors asserted to the jury that Tinsleys lawsuit, in which he sought millions of dollars in damages from Murdaugh, helped expose Murdaughs numerous financial crimes and millions of dollars of debts.

Murdaugh, a once-prosperous but now disbarred lawyer, still has to be tried for stealing more than $8 million from his former law partners, clients, family and friends.
Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos has ordered the Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad Inc. to shut down. She has appointed a Columbus attorney as a receiver to protect its assets.

NEW PHILADELPHIA  A judge has granted the request of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to shut down the Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad Inc. and appoint a receiver to protect its assets.

State suit: Ohio attorney general sues Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad

Tuesday: Newly formed Newcomerstown Fire Department makes its first run

The decision filed Wednesday by Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court Judge Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos says the organization must stop providing fire protection, ambulance and emergency response services within 14 days of her order, and sooner if practicable.

(This story has been updated to fix an error. See correction below. 9:45 a.m. 5/23/23.)

The order prohibits anyone connected with the nonprofit from selling or transferring any of its property that was bought with charitable funds. It also prohibits moving funds from any of the organization's bank accounts.

Thomakos ordered Huntington National Bank to suspend all activity in the squad's bank accounts until the receiver, Columbus attorney Ken Goldberg, can take control.

Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad has provided fire and emergency medical response in Newcomerstown and nearby townships. The village started its own fire department Monday in response to concerns about NERS staffing and governance.

A text message sent Friday to NERS' most visible representative, Heather Stein-Wells, did not receive a reply. A call placed to her phone was not answered; a message said the voice mailbox was full.

Newcomerstown Mayor Patrick Cadle has said NERS had only two firefighters responding to fires, and had an unqualified person on an ambulance.

Yost alleged in the lawsuit that NERS operated without the three-member governing board required under state law regarding nonprofits.

Judge Thomakos' order says that NERS owns the David Barber Civic Center at 1066 East State St. in Newcomerstown; occupies the village-owned fire station at 200 S. College St. in Newcomerstown; and owns multiple vehicles, including an ambulance and firetruck.

Her order found that for purposes of issuing the preliminary injunction that there is good cause to believe:

NERS failed in its duty to comply with the law.

The charitable trust of NERS has been abused.

NERS violated terms of a Sept. 21, 2020, agreement made with the attorney general's office to follow nonprofit rules and limit Stein-Wells' access to funds.

NERS failed to file its annual report with the attorney general's office for 2021.

That "immediate and irreparable damage" could occur to the court's ability to grant effective final relief unless NERS were immediately restrained and enjoined.

The temporary restraining order is in the public interest, and that no private interest of NERS outweighs the public interest.

Thomakos' order authorizes the receiver to make decisions about pending litigation involving NERS.

Yost's lawsuit asks that his office be permitted to give the squad's assets to a similar organization.

Thomakos' order gives the receiver authority to fire any NERS employees, managers, agents or others as he sees necessary. It also orders such persons to cooperate with the receiver in the discharge of his duties. Creditors have 45 days to file with the receiver any claim against NERS' assets.

The receiver is to be paid $150 an hour, and counsel for the receiver will receive $285 per hour. Goldberg, the receiver, is authorized to employ people to assist in managing NERS' assets and business affairs. He is required to report his activities to Thomakos.

CORRECTION: Judge Thomakos issued the order Wednesday. The day was wrong when this story first published.

Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.

On Twitter: @nmolnarTR

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Judge shuts down Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad, appoints receiver
UNGA president expresses grave concerns over escalating impact of disasters, urges collective action

Xinhua) 09:02, May 19, 2023

UN General Assembly President Csaba Korosi speaks at a General Assembly high-level meeting on middle-income countries at the UN headquarters in New York, on May 11, 2023. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

Addressing disaster risks and bolstering resilience has become "a priority for all countries," irrespective of their geographic location, UN General Assembly President Csaba Korosi said.

UNITED NATIONS, May 18 (Xinhua) -- President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), Csaba Korosi, on Thursday expressed grave concerns over the escalating impact of disasters worldwide, revealing that the known number of people affected by disasters has surged by 80-fold since 2015.

At the opening segment of a high-level meeting on the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, Korosi emphasized the interconnectedness of disasters and "the urgent need for collective action."

Korosi noted that recent events, such as the earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria, as well as the devastating Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar and Bangladesh, have demonstrated that "disasters know no borders."

Addressing disaster risks and bolstering resilience has become "a priority for all countries," irrespective of their geographic location, he added.

Reflecting on the progress made since the adoption of the Sendai Framework in 2015, Korosi acknowledged that the international community's efforts have not kept pace with the urgency of the current situation. The shocks triggered by unattended risk, further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts, and climate change, have wreaked havoc worldwide. Millions of people have been displaced, supply chains disrupted, and profound inequalities exposed within the global financial system.

To reverse this trajectory, Korosi called for "a fundamental reevaluation" of the decision-making processes and systems. He emphasized the need to align global actions with the finite nature of natural resources and to account for the true costs of the choices of countries.

People walk past a collapsed building that was damaged during the earthquake in Adiyaman, Turkiye, Feb. 18, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Korosi also stressed the importance of shifting away from profit-driven approaches and towards "inclusive and sustainable development."

The midterm review of the Sendai Framework presents a crucial opportunity for collective action. Korosi urged participants to adopt "planet-smart and people-centered" strategies, emphasizing the measurement of prosperity beyond traditional GDP metrics.

Furthermore, Korosi challenged decision-makers to integrate risk assessment into all aspects of governance and investment. "Long-term perspectives" should be prioritized over short-term decision-making, and the global financial system should value resilience and address disaster risk more effectively.

Korosi concluded by calling for the engagement of those most affected by disasters, highlighting the importance of reversing inequality and vulnerability trends.

He emphasized that anticipating risks, preparing, preventing, and responding rapidly are vital steps towards building "a resilient future."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
 Flash

Protesters rally in a protest against the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit, in Hiroshima, Japan, May 17, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]



Japanese and U.S. leaders on Thursday met in Hiroshima prior to a larger gathering of Group of Seven (G7) nations, overshadowed by protests and a tense atmosphere.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who holds the G7's rotating presidency and will host a three-day G7 summit which starts Friday, held talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday evening in the western Japanese city.

The two leaders discussed further strengthening deterrence of the Japan-U.S. alliance and decided to advance Japan-U.S.-South Korea cooperation, according to notes released after the meeting.

Hiroshima, devastated by U.S. atomic bombings in 1945, has become the scene of intense demonstrations decrying the bloc days before the summit, while police officers from all over the nation were seen patrolling the streets.

Nearly 100 protesters gathered from Wednesday to Thursday in front of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, also known as Atomic Bomb Dome, at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which will be shut till next Monday due to the summit.

Pulling up banners and signs such as "Crush the G7 Summit" and "No War-themed Conference," protesters shouted slogans such as "No Japan-U.S. leaders talk" and "Withdraw U.S. military bases in Japan."

The protesters, including university students and family members of atomic bombing victims, rallied along one of the main streets in Hiroshima, crowded by police over 10 times the number of protesters.

The Japan-U.S. leaders' talk on Thursday will eventually lead to upgrades of the military alliance between the two countries in East Asia, said Ryo Miyahara, head of a Hiroshima citizens' group and one of the protests' organizers, citing the Japanese government's aggressive announcements of counterattack abilities in striking enemy bases and doubling its defense spending.

"Today's talks will definitely ignore the ideas of ordinary people," said Akamine Chiaki, a college student from Okinawa at Thursday's rally.

His words were echoed by another protester on-site, a 23-year-old French student named Fred who now studies Japanese in Osaka, who said there is nothing to be expected from the G7 gathering.

"The G7 summit has nothing to do with the interests of humanity," he told Xinhua, adding that it is simply a game for the rich bloc.
A federal judge ruled Friday that Jack Teixeira, the Air National Guardsman accused of leaking classified Pentagon documents online, will remain in federal custody pending his trial.

Magistrate Judge David Hennessy of the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts granted the government's motion to detain Teixeira, denying the request from Teixeira's lawyer to release him on bond. Prosecutors submitted a filing earlier this week urging Hennessy to keep Teixeira detained, saying foreign adversaries would "salivate" at the prospect of helping him evade the U.S. government.

The 21-year-old has been charged under the Espionage Act with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents. He has pleaded not guilty and faces significant prison time if convicted.

Prosecutors suggested Teixeira's character isn't what he presented in the military hiring process. Teixeira's attorney claimed Teixeira's case can't be compared to other Espionage Act cases, and argued that Teixeira "remained at his mother's home and peacefully submitted to arrest upon the arrival of law enforcement" when he was arrested.

Federal authorities had been searching for the origin of classified records that first surfaced on the social media site Discord, revealing sensitive government secrets about the United States' interests abroad, including detailed information about the war in Ukraine.

The government alleges that Teixeira, who held a clearance allowing him to view top secret and sensitive compartmented information, obtained the sensitive government documents in early 2023.

Jim Brown, Hall of Fame running back and civil rights activist, dead at 87

Lawsuit accuses Nike of deceiving consumers about sustainability line

Debt ceiling talks set to resume after temporary pause
Kansas City man charged in shooting at Lees Summit park where three were wounded

A Kansas City man faces two felonies for his alleged role in a shootout in a Lees Summit park that left three wounded late Wednesday night.

Jackson County prosecutors on Thursday charged Antonio Harris, 25, with unlawful weapon use and armed criminal action. After his friend was shot, according to court documents, Harris allegedly fired a handgun in the crowded park as people ran for cover and there was no immediate threat toward him.

Around 10:30 p.m., Lees Summit police officers were called to Lea McKeighan Park 120 Northeast Chipman Road on a report of gunfire. One gunshot victim was seriously wounded there, and two others showed up at area hospitals. All suffered injuries described by police as not life-threatening.

Witnesses said they saw men with guns near a red Corvette right before the shooting started. One also saw an injured person being helped into the car before its driver sped off.

Meanwhile, other officers responded to St. Lukes East Hospital where they spoke with Harris after finding his car in the emergency bay area. It had a bullet hole through the drivers side door and apparent blood on the passenger floorboard, according to police.

Harris told them he did not witness the shooting and had driven his friend to the hospital for help, according to court documents.

Park surveillance videos reviewed by detectives showed Harris hanging out with other people near his car in the parking lot. At some point, one person began to follow three other men in the park.

One of those men turned, opened fire and shot the person following them.

Later in the video, Harris was seen helping the injured person to the passenger side of his Corvette. Around the same time, he allegedly handed what appeared to be a rifle to someone and drew his own handgun.

Authorities allege there was no threat present when Harris fired his gun because the other group had already run away. There were still many people present and trying to exit the park at the time he fired multiple shots, a Lees Summit detective wrote in charging documents.

Online court records did not list a defense attorney for Harris as of Thursday afternoon.

Prosecutors said Thursday that the shooting remained under investigation.

The Stars Robert A. Cronkleton contributed to this report.
The Kansas City Council may spend millions of taxpayer dollars to aid the development of a private airport parking firm that will ultimately compete with the citys own parking services.

Legislation introduced by three Northland Council members would direct City Manager Brian Platt to come up with a plan to fund and construct two new traffic circles off of Interstate 29 to help the new development about a mile from Kansas City International Airport.

Pat Klein, the citys aviation director who retires at the end of the month, warned the council about spending city funds to aid the private parking operation.

I am concerned with the City funding developers responsibilities, he wrote in an email to council members. It is a precedent that should be looked at extremely closely.

Richard Chaves Jr. is developing 86 acres near the Ambassador Building, the former headquarters of Farmland Industries at 12200 N. Ambassador Drive. The developer envisions adding new restaurants, retail and offices along with a new Peachy Airport Parking service that would include 4,000 covered parking spaces.

Chaves has been working on the project for the last several years, while also pumping tens of thousands of dollars into Kansas City Council campaigns.

An agreement with the council last year called for the developer to build the new traffic circles as a condition of approval. But the legislation currently pending would ostensibly have the city fund those improvements, which the bill says are needed due to existing traffic growth in the area, including growth from the new KCI Airport.

While the new airport terminal opened in late February, city data show traffic at Kansas City International is still rebounding to pre pandemic levels. In March, 943,856 passengers flew in and out of Kansas City International  compared to 1,017,068 who flew in March 2019.

Klein said the intersections and roads in the area are not at or near capacity. He questioned why the city would use its limited resources to improve state-controlled transportation infrastructure. Parking revenues from the citys airport garage, parking lots and the off-site Park Air Express are the aviation departments largest source of revenue.

Parking generates roughly $55M for this airport and having the City participate in funding improvements which will compete with our parking assets doesnt seem the best use of City funds, he wrote.

Earlier this month in a council committee, Councilwoman Teresa Loar dismissed Kleins concerns, saying the aviation director hadnt been involved in discussions with the developer. Loar, whose council term expires at the end of July, said the body should disregard Kleins opinions because he is about to leave the city.

If he wants to run for council and sit up here and make decisions thats fine. But as an outgoing director of a department whos leaving on the 31st of May, Im not sure that his opinion counts down here, Loar said. I was the one elected. We were all elected up here to do a job and Im not sure hes in a position to sway those opinions in any way.

But Kleins concerns did slow down approval. The legislation was held after Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas asked the developer to respond to Kleins email.

Chaves did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Star.

Though the council has not approved the funds yet, the developer has already begun promoting the new infrastructure.

A YouTube video selling the project already touts a new roundabout bringing easy highway access. And the company is planning a groundbreaking ceremony for the project Monday morning. An email invitation from the Platte County Economic Development Council promised attendance by council members and the mayor.

Loar did not respond to a request for comment from The Star. But in committee, the Northland council member said the developer had repeatedly faced obstacles getting the project going over the last few years.

They have just been piled on and piled on with stuff. And theyre trying to make Kansas City a better place, she said. Theyve come in, theyve brought their money, theyve tried to develop. And we throw every roadblock in the world in front of them.

Its unclear what roadblocks she was referring to.

I am just so frustrated with this. I started this project when I started this term this time and now Ive got less than six weeks left and we still havent passed it. So I dont know what it takes to pass a good development in Kansas City, particularly with an individual. I mean these big companies come in and we seem to be OK with all of that.

Development needs to pay for itself

Formerly the headquarters of Farmland Industries, the Northland office building was purchased by the Chaves family from the city in October 2019.

The family is the latest team to envision a wider redevelopment of the area after plans for developer Wayne Reeders Seabiscuit Park fizzled. The Kansas City Business Journal reported that Chaves worked with his father, two aunts and three cousins to acquire the office building and surrounding parcels.

At the time of the sale, the building was about 35% occupied. Now, its more than 90% occupied, according to a letter sent to the council from the developers attorney. That letter says the Chaves family has already spent $29 million acquiring, rehabbing and redeveloping the Ambassador Building and surrounding property.

In January of last year, the council approved legislation stating the City Councils support for improvements to the Interstate 29 and Cookingham Drive interchange. It directed the city manager to help prepare an application to a cost-sharing program administered by the state transportation department.

Ben McCabe, an area engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation, said no application was made. And its unlikely the project would qualify because there is no underlying transportation need in the area.

Im not sure if a development project of this nature would be supported by MoDOT or not. I dont think it would, he said.

The site of the future development is already accessible from North Ambassador Drive. Thats just east of Northwest Cookingham Drives intersection with Interstate 29. But the developer wants a closer access point for cars getting on and off of the interstate, McCabe said.

This is being totally driven by the proposed development, he said.

The only way to add a new access point is with two traffic circles  one north of Cookingham and one to the south, McCabe said. The roundabouts would not disrupt any current interstate access.

Generally, such improvements are funded by developers, not governments, McCabe said.

I worked for many cities, he said, and development needs to pay for itself as it happens.

Developer pumps thousands into campaigns

Originally based in Dallas, Chaves recently moved to Kansas City as he pursued development of the Ambassador project, according to the Platte County Landmark.

While pursuing the project, the developer has also pumped tens of thousands of dollars into local political campaigns through a political action committee.

Founded in 2018, the Northland Strong PAC was previously affiliated with the Northland Chamber of Commerce.

To make a long story short, we did not raise a lot of money and there didnt seem to be a lot of interest in it, said Edward Ford III, a former City Council member who is on the board of the committee.

Since then, Chaves has taken leadership of the board overseeing the committee and is no question about it the largest donor, Ford said. He said the organization aims at increasing voter turnout north of the river as well as supporting police and development.

In a July 2019 quarterly report, the committee reported it had less than $6,500 on hand and only made one donation to mayoral contender Jolie Justus.

Thats changed since Chaves took over.

Earlier this month, the committee reported total receipts of more than $180,000. The PAC has received individual donations, but the largest donors are building trades, construction firms and individuals associated with the Ambassador project.

Already this year, Airport Parking, LLC, the firm that owns the development site, has injected $30,000 into the PAC. The Heavy Constructors Association has donated $50,000.

This year, the political action committee has made donations to Lucas, council member Ryana Parks-Shaw and council contenders Justin Short, Melissa Patterson Hazley, Dan Tarwater, Lindsay French and Theresa Galvin.

Missouri Ethics Commission records show Chaves has also made more than $32,000 in personal political donations to current and prospective City Council members this year.

His familys been generous to a number of candidates  both ones that we support and ones that we do not support, Ford said. I think theyre pretty good about spreading their money around.

The gateway to the city

In the City Council chambers last week, the developers lawyer said she had not seen the aviation directors email questioning the ordinance.

Since then, Patricia Jensen, the lawyer representing Chaves, has responded with a six-page memo. In that, she tells the council that the proposed road work is not a developer responsibility.

Jensens note references previous traffic studies, though those documents are not included with the proposed legislation.

While council documents do not identify the cost of the project, Jensens email put it at $5.5 million.

A city spokeswoman said she did not have enough information to answer The Stars questions about the cost and history of the project.

Jensen argued that other state-controlled roads in the Northland like North Platte Purchase Drive have benefited from city funds in the past. She also said the council should not be swayed by the fact that the developments new park-and-ride service will compete with the citys parking services.

Competition for the airport and its parking should not be used in making the decision on this ordinance, she wrote. That would be an unlawful consideration.

The new Peachy Airport Parking operation is expected to pay $1 million in user fees to the airport, Jensen said. Additionally, the larger mixed-use development is expected to generate $6.7 million in annual sales taxes.

Its unclear what kind of incentives may be under consideration for the development. A 1% Community Improvement District, a special sales tax for businesses in the area, has already been approved, Jensen said.

In her letter, she said plans for the wider development of retail and restaurants require new access to the site.

This is the gateway to the city, she said, and an attractive and economic development that benefits Kansas City and its citizens should be the citys priority.
The Kansas Republican Party appears to be backing off a proposal to kick elected officials and groups representing Black, Hispanic, female and young Republicans off of key party governing boards.

Kansas GOP Chair Mike Brown Friday asked the party rules committee to reconsider a proposal that would remove representatives of groups aimed at expanding the partys base from the state executive committee and the party state committee. The proposal would also oust state and federal GOP elected officials from the board.

The committee approved the policy last week. Brown would need to bring it to the partys full state committee for a vote for it to take effect. The idea garnered swift backlash from Republicans in Kansas and nationally on the grounds that it would harm representation in the state party while consolidating power for Brown, its hard-right chairman.

Based upon the concerns expressed to me and the impact the Rules Committees Resolution is having on the Party and its members, I have directed the Rules Committee to meet and reconsider its recent recommendation to the State Committee to change the makeup of the members of the Executive Committee, Brown said in an email Friday. I believe this recommendation to reconsider will allow our Party to refocus on expanding our Party and winning elections.

Our Party, the Party of Lincoln, the Party that championed womans suffrage and Civil Rights has and will continue to support all of our GOP members full involvement in our Party, he added.

Browns statement was followed by a joint statement from the four Republican congressional district chairs urging the committee to withdraw the proposal which shocks the conscience.

A simple promise to not bring it up this summer does not suffice, as even sending the signal that the party is even considering this extreme action risks further irreparable harm each day it remains a potential point of discussion, the statement said. It is unacceptable to the vast majority of Republicans and we will not rest until it is defeated, one way or the other.

Following Browns announcement, Ben Sauceda, chair of the Kansas Republican National Hispanic Assembly, said Brown needed to repudiate the proposal rather than simply ask for it to be reconsidered. The chair of the rules committee and everyone who promoted the policy, he said, needed to step down from their positions.

This has been disastrous to our party and not just to our party but also to the hundreds of thousands within our state that are represented outside of the, what I would call, party apparatus, Sauceda said.

Anyone who promotes and puts forth ideas like this has no business in leadership.

Michael Austin, Chair of the Black Republican Council, said Republicans had sent a clear message that they are better together.

Yet, a Rules Committee reconsideration, by itself, falls short as a remedy for the rule that nearly caused our partys demise, he added in a statement. We call for bold leadership that eradicates any notion of such rules haunting our party in the future.

This week the National Republican Hispanic Committee and National Black Conservative Federation condemned the move and urged the party to reverse course.

Kansas Republican National Committee members Mark Kahrs and Kim Borchers said in a statement Friday that the rule would be a losing strategy after a decade of the party spending vast resources to attract women, minorities and young people.

The Kansas Democratic Party issued its own statement Thursday condemning the move and presenting itself as an inclusive alternative.

We Democrats are a big tent party, and while it can often be difficult to find common ground all the time, having many perspectives in the room is essential to the democratic process, Jeanna Repass, the first woman of color to serve as chair of the party, said.
Kari Lake Fawns Over Donald Trump With One Of Her Most Brazen Claims Yet

Failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake effusively praised Donald Trump in a new interview, saying the former president is so strong he wouldnt need a vice president if he wins the White House in 2024.

I dont think he needs a vice president. If theres ever one president whos so strong he doesnt need one, it would be him, Lake, a former TV host mentioned as a possible 2024 Trump running mate, gushed on the latest episode of Tim Pools The Culture War podcast.

Lake said later in the interview that the fact the medias asking about Trumps running mate means that theyre acknowledging hes gonna be the nominee.

I dont hear anybody asking about other people running and who their VP is gonna be, she said.

Watch the video here:

Lake then dished out even more adulation of the former president, whose playbook of 2020 election lies was a template for her failed attempts to reverse her own defeat to Democrat Katie Hobbs.

Trump is so strong, Lake said, that he doesnt really need a VP, but he needs somebody, if he does pick someone, I believe, who the media hates more than him, who is loyal, whos loyal and will continue to be loyal.

I mean, we saw with Mike Pence, he wasnt really loyal, Lake added, referencing then-Vice President Pences refusal to bow to Trumps Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection plot.

Related...
Karine Jean-Pierre

This past weekend, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre celebrated her first anniversary as the chief spokesperson for the Biden administration. Jean-Pierres appointment has been historic, as she is the first Black person, first openly LGBTQ person and first immigrant to serve in this role. Now, one year into her position as the face and voice of the President, Jean-Pierre sat down exclusively with Blavity to talk about representation, the sources of her hope, and her responsibility to the next generation.

When asked about her taking on the job of representing the Biden administration, which started with a stint as deputy press secretary before taking on the role of press secretary last May, Jean-Pierre described getting the call from President Joe Biden. The president offered it to me, and it was an opportunity to work in the administration, the Biden-Harris administration, back in the, you know, the early days of putting this administration.

Having been a key part of the Biden-Harris campaign, Jean-Pierre said, I knew I wanted to be part of this historic moment.

She described her reaction as the gravity of her new role hit her.

I was like, oh, my gosh! Can I do the job? I dont know what that means. What does that look like, and how will my world change, and how am I going to be able to do that in a way thats effective.

At the end of the day, Jean-Pierre said, I took a leap of faith, which eventually led to her being summoned to the Oval Office last May by Biden, who informed her that she was his choice to take over as press secretary.

Jean-Pierre said she is well aware of her responsibility as both a representative for a number of marginalized communities in this country and a key force in driving the policies of the current administration.

I am the 35th White House press secretary. So just think about it. There were 34 more before me that didnt look like me at all, she said.

As a champion of the American people, Jean-Pierre said she sees her role and the work of her colleagues as both making sure our voices are heard as well as putting forth policies and passing legislation that makes real change, not just for us, but for generations to come. While this is a great responsibility, Jean-Pierre also speaks of the job as an adventure.

I am literally having the best time of my life, she said of her time as press secretary because, as I say all the time to my colleagues and to the young people that work for me, its like we are all superheroes.

When asked about her most memorable experiences while serving in the White House, Jean-Pierre noted that theres been many wonderful, amazing moments, because, again, this is a historical place, but two stood out to her. The first was the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Jacksons confirmation was another amazing moment that you truly felt on campus.

The second moment that has stuck with her was the release of Brittney Griner from imprisonment in Russia.

Jean-Pierre said, When I got to go to the podium to talk about her being released, she felt the importance of announcing Griners freedom and was honored to deliver a message from Cherelle [Griner] to the American people from the podium.

Jean-Pierres role in inspiring youth has reached as far as this reporters 17-year-old daughter, an aspiring writer, who insisted on asking Jean-Pierre about her experience as a Black woman giv[ing] hope to young Black girls like me, seeing you in such a high role. Asked how her experience has been, Jean-Pierre was honest and inspiring. She admitted that her job has been up and down with some really, really hard days, but overall, Jean-Pierre said that her job has been certainly the most amazing experience that I have ever, ever had in my life.

Jean-Pierre, giving hope to a young Black woman at the beginning of her career path, then said, This is why I wake up every morning. Yes, I speak for the president. Yes, I have to do hard things every every day  but the inspiration part is so important.

Noting that she had no idea what a press secretary was when she was younger, Jean-Pierre is excited that youth today know about this role through her.

And I think I like to think me being in this role has opened up this kind of career or this possibility to young people who now know that I exist in this role, and what this role now is.

Jean-Pierre said she is not close to done with her important work. Ill continue to be in this job as long as I can, as long as possible, as long as the president wants me and needs me, she said. Yet she already has a sense of what shed like her legacy to be. I want to be remembered as someone who not only gave it all at the podium and represented the president in the best way that I possibly could, but also hopefully the American people felt like I represented them well.
In the heart of Kansas Citys Hospital Hill neighborhood sits a nearly 20-year-old mental health hospital that officials say is in dire need of repair.

The state-owned 115-bed hospital Center for Behavioral Health, previously called Western Missouri Mental Health Center, opened at its current facility in 2004. The state operates 65 of the beds and houses patients who have been deemed incompetent to stand trial. University Health leases the other half of the building and operates the remaining 50 beds.

It is in terrible disrepair. I toured it a few weeks ago and, I mean, we should not have humans living there. Just the lack of sunlight, I cant even describe it, state Sen. Greg Razer, a Kansas City Democrat, told The Star.

As part of the states massive $50 billion budget, Missouri lawmakers this year approved $300 million to build a new psychiatric hospital near the current site and expand its capacity to provide in-patient psychiatric care in the western half of the state. Republican Gov. Mike Parson did not request the funding, which was added relatively late in the budget process, and has not yet signed off on the proposal.

While details on the new hospital are limited, the funding approved by lawmakers comes as demand for in-patient care has increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. And a shortage of beds has forced some patients to languish in jails across the state when they should be in a mental health hospital.

They have folks that right now need this kind of treatment, that are sitting in county jails across the state, that, frankly, cant get the treatment they need to get them to the point where they can properly represent themselves in trial, said Charlie Shields, president of University Health.

Michael Mansur, a spokesperson for Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, said that he didnt have statewide numbers, but confirmed that there are patients who are stuck in jail or in other hospitals who would be in a mental facility if there were enough beds.

This is definitely a step in the right direction to get this larger facility, he said.

The new facility, if the funding is approved, would have 100 beds that the state will operate for long-term care, and 100 beds that University Health will operate. Shields said University Healths portion of the center will have departments to deal with different levels of acuity and necessary care.

It will also include an emergency department where anyone in crisis can come to receive care.

Brent McGinty, the CEO and president of the Missouri Behavioral Health Council, said he hopes the new facility will be an integrated model between the in-patient psychiatric hospital and out-patient behavioral health care.

There is always a need for an in-patient bed at times for individuals who are in such crisis or in such throes of their illness or with suicidal ideation, that they need to get stabilized in the in-patient bed, he said.

McGinty said that over the years the state has cut its state-operated beds for psychiatric hospitals because of federal limitations on Medicaid, which does not reimburse large in-patient psychiatric hospitals. There are six state-operated adult inpatient facilities and one childrens psychiatric hospital across the state, according to the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

Ever since weve been struggling to kind of catch up to that capacity need on the private side, he said.

The current hospital is expected to continue operating while the new facility is built nearby. Keith King, a spokesperson for University Health, said the new building is expected to be built somewhere in the UMKC Health Sciences District.

King said there was no current timeline for construction of the new facility and that it would be left up to the state.

While University Health operates 50 beds, not all are usable. There are plumbing and leaking issues due to the dated facility, and some rooms are meant to house two people but most people are not fit to share rooms.

Were typically down in the high 30s, Shields said.

State Sen. Lincoln Hough, a Springfield Republican who chairs the Senates budget committee, said officials considered several different options for the new facility, including building it in Monett in Southwestern Missouri. But Kansas City ultimately made sense because of its space and large population, he said.

These beds are needed. And these facilities are needed and these professionals are needed, Hough said. I think we would be doing a disservice if we didnt do this.

McGinty, with the Missouri Behavioral Health Council, said the new, revamped facility is needed in Kansas City because the city is an economic driver of the state.

I think itll put Kansas City on the leading edge of mental health care in the country, he said. Without a healthy workforce, and that includes a healthy mental health workforce, you cant really drive that economic engine quite as well.

State sen. Lauren Arthur, a Kansas City Democrat, said the new facility project is a unique opportunity to help provide more resources for patients that need it.

In just the way that its designed, it poses some security threats to the people who staff that ward, so to completely reimagine what mental healthcare can look like, is really exciting, she said.
An 88-year-old Australian doctor held captive in West Africa by al-Qaeda militants for more than seven years has been released.

Dr Kenneth Elliott is safe and well and has been reunited with his family, Australia's foreign minister said.

He and his wife were seized in 2016 near the border between Mali and Burkina Faso, where they operated a clinic for over 40 years.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said at the time it had kidnapped the couple.

The group released his wife, Jocelyn, after three weeks following public pressure and what it described as "guidance" from its leaders not to involve women in war.

"At 88 years of age, and after many years away from home, Dr Elliott now needs time and privacy to rest and rebuild strength. We thank you for your understanding and sympathy," his family said in a statement.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong acknowledged the resilience Dr Elliott and his family had shown "through the most difficult of circumstances".

"We extend our thanks to the Australian officials who have worked over many years to secure Dr Elliott's release and to provide support to his family," she said in a statement.

Originally from Perth, Dr Elliott and his wife ran a 120-bed clinic in the town of Dijbo in Burkina Faso where he was the only surgeon.

Following their capture, local people started a Facebook page to campaign for their release.

"Elliott is a Burkinabe and a humane person... He represents the best of humanity," one post read.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and other extremist groups in north and west Africa have long used kidnapping for ransom as a way of raising money.

The group, which has its roots in Algeria's bitter civil war in the 1990s, operates across the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert and within Mali and Burkina Faso.

In 2013, former colonial occupier France sent 5,000 troops to Mali to fight the group and its allies, and in 2020 killed AQIM leader Abdelmalek Droukdel.

But France pulled out last year amid growing unpopularity in Mali over its military operation.
A Central Kentucky farmer pleaded guilty to taking part in fraud involving a loss of more than $700,000 to a federal agency and an insurance company.

James A. McDonald entered a plea in federal court in Lexington Thursday to two charges of conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S. through fraud involving crop insurance.

McDonalds sister-in-law, Cherie Lynn Noble, also pleaded guilty Thursday to one charge of crop insurance fraud.

McDonald owned and rented farm land in Bourbon and Nicholas counties and grew tobacco and corn during the period covered in the charges from 2013 to 2017, according to the court record.

McDonald worked with another farmer charged in the case, Randall D. Taulbee  and at times with an insurance agent  to falsify crop insurance polices a number of ways, according to his plea agreement.

Those included claiming to grow more acres than he did in at least one year, bringing a bigger payout on a loss claim; falsifying a loss claim for at least one crop year; falsely inflating expenses; claiming sole ownership of a crop when he was actually partners with Taulbee and split an insurance payout with him; and selling corn in the name of his son to hide the sales.

The plea agreement did not identify the insurance agent who allegedly helped with the fraud.

Taulbee has pleaded not guilty.

In the 2015 and 2016 crop years, McDonald agreed with Taulbee to take out insurance on their tobacco crop in Nobles name, McDonald said in his plea.

Noble also agreed to the arrangement, which allowed McDonald and Taulbee to get bigger insurance payouts because she was listed as a new producer.

Noble gave most of the money to McDonald and Taulbee, according to court documents.

Noble initially lied to investigators about her relationship to the two men and said the money she paid them was for cattle, but she did not own or rent farm land or raise any crops or cattle, according to her plea document.

Noble is Taulbees sister and McDonalds sister-in-law.

McDonalds plea agreement said restitution is mandatory in the case, listing the amounts as $458,104 to a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and $260,680 to AgriSompo North America, an insurance company.

The court record said McDonald agreed to a personal judgment of $207,754, representing the amount he received as a result of the fraud.

The plea document said McDonald should be liable for the entire amount of restitution with Taulbee and Noble, but her plea said she argues she should only be liable for $3,028, representing the amount of money she earned from the scheme.

U.S. District Judge Karen K. Caldwell scheduled McDonald and Noble to be sentenced in September.

Crop insurance fraud carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

The case against Taulbee, McDonald and Noble is among a series of indictments in recent years alleging pervasive crop insurance fraud in Central Kentucky.

More than two dozen people pleaded guilty in fraud totaling millions of dollars, including farmers, an insurance agent and people associated with a tobacco warehouse.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D) said Sen. Dianne Feinsteins (D-Calif.) office should hold a press conference on the senators health following her return to Washington, D.C. after a multi-month hiatus while she was battling shingles.

Khanna said in an interview with CNNs Jake Tapper on Friday that Feinstein or one of her staff members should be open about her ability to continue to serve.

I think they at the very least owe transparency, whether its her or someone on her staff, to have a press conference to answer exactly what the truth is of her condition and her ability to do the job, he said.

Khannas comments come after he reiterated his call for Feinstein to step down as a senator, saying that her health conditions make her unable to serve in the Senate. He said in an interview on MSNBC on Thursday that Feinstein, who is Californias first female senator, has had an extraordinary career, but he hopes someone close to her will tell her to end your service with dignity by stepping aside.

Feinstein returned to the Capitol earlier this month for the first time since February after being hospitalized with shingles and needing to stay at home in San Francisco to recover. The absence of the 89-year-old senator put some contested judicial nominees from President Biden on hold as Democrats maintain narrow control of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate as a whole.

But a spokesperson for Feinstein confirmed on Thursday that Feinstein had been experiencing more severe health problems than shingles. They said she had encephalitis, a rare complication of shingles that causes brain swelling, and Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which causes facial paralysis and other symptoms.

Khanna was the first Democratic member of Congress to call for Feinstein to step down amid her health struggles, and he has been joined by other Democratic representatives like Dean Phillips (Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Khanna said he admires Feinsteins service and feels bad about her condition. He said he does not blame her, but a member of her staff should answer questions about her status.

The real thing is that there need to be who are close to her who have that conversation in a loving way and get her to do what I believe is the dignified thing, he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
 Flash

This aerial photo taken on April 25, 2023 shows the view of the Tang Paradise in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. [Photo/Xinhua]



The city of Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, has captured global attention as the two-day China-Central Asia Summit kicked off here Thursday.

The summit is expected to boost the already-burgeoning Belt and Road cooperation between China and Central Asia. Officials from Central Asian countries and global observers have said that deepened Belt and Road cooperation between the two sides will be a boon for the prosperity of both the region and the world.

Ten years into Belt and Road cooperation, China and Central Asian countries have made historic achievements. In 2022, trade volume hit a record high of 70.2 billion U.S. dollars, an over 100-fold increase since diplomatic ties were established about three decades ago. In the first two months of this year, trade between China and the five Central Asian countries surged 22 percent year on year.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been very fruitful since it was first proposed by China in Kazakhstan, said Timur Kuvatov, director-general and editor-in-chief of Kazakhstan Today News Agency.

Reviving the visions and spirits embodied in the ancient Silk Road will promote international development and trade and economic ties, as well as peaceful relations among countries, he said, adding that deeper Belt and Road cooperation has great significance for all the people living in the region and the whole world.

Over the past decade, promoted by the BRI, China and Uzbekistan have enjoyed expanding economic cooperation. "China is one of the most important partners of Uzbekistan," Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan Laziz Kudratov said at a business forum held Wednesday ahead of the China-Central Asia Summit.

In 2022, bilateral trade grew 20 percent year on year, said the minister, hoping that the goal of 10 billion dollars in annual trade set by both heads of state could be achieved soon.

Noting that the China-Uzbekistan cooperation covers such areas as chemical, textile, and oil and gas industries, Kudratov said that tens of thousands of jobs have been created in Uzbekistan.

Kudratov said that by combining China's innovative technologies with Uzbekistan's resources, the two countries could improve energy efficiency and manufacture products with high-added value for export to other countries.

In the eyes of Lu Shanbing, dean of the Central Asia Institute of Northwest University, China and Central Asian countries' efforts to advance the BRI highlight their commitment to promoting globalization.

The BRI has followed the guiding principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, which are also emphasized by China's global governance philosophy, Lu said.

Noting that the interconnectivity facilitated by the BRI has helped Central Asian countries strengthen communications with the world and better exploit their comparative advantages in the process of globalization, he said the relationship between the two sides has set a benchmark for mutually beneficial cooperation and served as a role model for Belt and Road cooperation.

Both Tajikistan and China are marking the 10th anniversary of the launch of the BRI, said Tajikistan's Minister of Economic Development and Trade Zavqizoda Zavqi.

"Thanks to the sincere friendship and wise policies of the leaders of both countries, the cooperation of our countries has improved," he said, noting that "China has become the third-largest trade partner and the largest investment partner of Tajikistan."

"This summit is very important. The Central Asia has lots of potential to further develop. So all five Central Asian countries, particularly Tajikistan, have very important development goals of matching up the potential of China and the Central Asia. We will receive win-win results in terms of development," said the minister.
LONDON  Foday Dumbuya, founder and creative director of fashion label Labrum London, has been named the latest recipient of Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.

King Charles III presented the award to Dumbuya during a ceremony, which showcased all the talent support initiatives of the BFC Foundation, at 180 Studios on Thursday afternoon.

More from WWD

The event was accompanied by a performance curated by Dumbuya, featuring two drummers, a guitarist, a Kora player, and a musician whose powerful vocal was trying to lift the root, according to Dumbuya.

In an exclusive interview with WWD, Dumbuya said the award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of myself and the countless individuals who supported me get where we are today. And also the tremendous amount of work that my team has put together.

The designer, who wore a traditional English suit in the vibrant shade of green to meet the monarch, added that he would dedicate the honor to his fellow Sierra Leoneans in London.

When you look at it from a Sierra Leone perspective, these guys face such unimaginable difficulties and try to develop something from a very poor background as theres no infrastructure. So seeing someone looking like them doing it on a bigger scale, I think thats going to change the way they look at it, he said.

Meaning having an edge in Latin, Labrum London was founded in 2014 by Dumbuya with the goal to make practical, honest clothing that combines West African and British heritage. The brand has been showing on London Fashion Weeks official calendar since February 2021.

Britains King Charles III gives a hi-five to Idris, 2, the son of founder and creative director of LABRUM London Foday Dumbuya (R) and winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, during a special industry showcase event hosted by the British Fashion Council (BFC) at 180 Studios, in London, on May 18, 2023.

I want to leave a legacy for people in West Africa where in 50 years or so they will look at Labrum as a reference point. When it comes to the garments themselves, I want to make designs that stand the test of time. Not necessarily in a timeless style sense but more in terms of the longevity of the garment. Fundamentally, Labrum tells stories that have an impact on peoples lives, Dumbuya told WWD in a prior interview.

The designer holds a menswear design certificate from the London College of Fashion, as well as a bachelors degree in Information System & Design: African Caribbean Society from Nottingham Trent University. Between 2013 and 2016, he worked as a bespoke design specialist at Nike.

Following the recognition, Dumbuya said he will carry on with the story he has been telling, and expand the Labrum London aesthetic to mediums beyond fashion design.

He is one of the few London-based designers of his generation to have opened a physical store. Located at Princes Arcade, St Jamess, the store is expecting a significant uplift in foot traffic in the coming days, according to Dumbuya.

Fashion designer Foday Dumbuya at the Labrum London show during London Fashion Week in February 2022.

Similar to the energetic performance King Charles witnessed Thursday, every Labrum London show so far has been a tribute to his multicultural heritage.

For the fall 2023 season, Dumbuya invited the audience to South Londons Brixton Village, where he grew up, for an immersive performance that involved poetry reading, dancing, live music, beer and grocery stands with African cooking essentials like cassava and plantains.

The designer said he had to drag everyone down south for the most authentic experience. Youve got to come here to understand. You cant tell the story in central London because you get lost, he added.

A celebration of his journey from Sierra Leone to London via Cyprus, the collection, titled From Greener Pasture, offered a wide range of tailored pieces, outerwear in vibrant prints, two-tone denim, and a coat and a jacket printed with passport stamps.

Its all about travel. When you come from Africa, you go abroad for a better life. But when you live it, you realize its not what it is. You have to work twice as hard and pay bills regularly. But thats the journey, and people move with their culture. Thats the thing I want to put out there, said Dumbuya.

A musician plays at the Labrum London show during London Fashion Week February 2023.

Dumbuya is the sixth recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design. Previous winners were Richard Quinn, Bethany Williams, Rosh Mahtani of Alighieri, Priya Ahluwalia, and Saul Nash.

Since 2018, a designer is selected by the BFC, in collaboration with the Royal Household, each year for the award. The trophy is inspired by the Queen Elizabeth rose and hand-produced by Lucy Price at Bauhinia Studios and in Birminghams Jewellery Quarter.

The British Fashion Council said Dumbuya was chosen for his ability to bridge the story of his West African heritage with his life in London and the history of British tailoring.

Caroline Rush, chief executive officer at the British Fashion Council, said: His works speak to what is so unique and compelling about the U.K. as a leader in creative and fashion talent. At the BFC, we recognize our responsibility to support these incredible British emerging designers as they develop into self-sustaining businesses and are honored and proud to continue to do so, particularly in the current economic climate as funding for the arts diminishes.

King Charles III (R) speaks with British-Sierra Leonean designer Foday Dumbuya at the Victoria and Albert Museum, while visiting the Africa Fashion exhibition in London.

This is not the first time for Dumbuya to meet the reigning British monarch. Last November, the two met at the Victoria and Albert Museum, while King Charles was visiting the Africa Fashion exhibition with Camilla, Queen Consort.

He said to me: What are you thinking about next fashion show? And I said: I am still telling my story, I suppose its going to be in Brixton. So would you come? He said Would you invite me? I said Yes, and he turned around to his team and said He said I am invited. Are you guys seeing this? I am waiting for the invite. It was funny, the kind of conversation we had, recalled Dumbuya.

Unlike his mother Queen Elizabeth, who hadnt been to a fashion show till 2018, King Charles has long been involved with the British fashion industry. He launched Londons inaugural menswear fashion week in June 2012 at St James Palace. He is also a champion of sustainable fashion with advocacy for the Campaign for Wool and the introduction of Terra Carta, placing sustainability at the heart of the private sector.

The Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design ceremony is a key part of the annual BFC Foundation Impact Announcement Day. BFC Foundation, the charity arm of BFC, has remitted 1.2 million pounds in funds to designers to designers and scholars in the financial year 2022-2023.

Its been revealed that this years recipients for BFC Fashion Trust include Chopova Lowena, Fruity Booty, Molly Goddard, Neous, Piferi, and Richard Malone, while 16Arlington has been named the winner of the 2023 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund.

Best of WWD

Click here to read the full article.
What to know about military moves this PCS season

As peak PCS season gets underway, Military Times Senior Reporter Karen Jowers outlines changes to military moving procedures that will impact families. Plus, PCS preparation tips for a smoother move.

About the guests:

Karen Jowers has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families. She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Florida, and Athens, Georgia.

About the podcast:

The Spouse Angle is a podcast breaking down the news for military spouses and their families. Each episode features subject-matter experts and military guests who dive into current events from a military perspective  everything from new policy changes to research on family lifestyle challenges. The podcast is hosted by Natalie Gross, a freelance journalist and former Military Times reporter who grew up in a military family.

Follow The Spouse Angle on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe on Spotify.

Subscribe on Stitcher.

Want more perspectives like this sent straight to you? Subscribe to receive our Commentary & Opinion newsletter once a week.
By Choonsik Yoo

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea's finance minister on Friday met the Chinese ambassador and discussed economic cooperation, as diplomatic tensions with Beijing put an additional dent on the already sluggish economy.

The ministry said in a short message after the 30-minute meeting that Minister Choo Kyung-ho expressed his hopes for continued economic cooperation between the two countries on the basis of reciprocity and mutual respect.

Choo, South Korea's highest economic and financial policymaker, also asked for support for preparations ahead of a bilateral economic ministers' meeting this year in Seoul, the statement added.

The ministry did not disclose remarks by Ambassador Xing Haiming during the meeting, which was held after South Korea's ambassador to Washington said early this month Seoul would soon pursue senior-level engagements with Beijing.

The heightened diplomatic tensions, mainly over regional geopolitical issues including affairs surrounding China's policy toward Taiwan, may hurt a South Korean economy already hit by a slump in exports.

Share prices of South Korean companies with exposure to China business rose on Friday, with media content producer CJ ENM jumping 2.5% and online game developer Netmarble rising 1.5%.

(Reporting by Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Gerry Doyle)
Kremlin-funded university that trains Russias future leaders is firing all staff living outside Russia, in another sign of Putin crackdown: report

Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a conference call with graduates of RANEPA on August 20, 2020. Image used for illustration purposes only. Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin via Reuters

Russia's top university for public officials is firing all its employees living abroad, per a report.

RANEPA is known as Russia's breeding ground for future ministers, civil servants, and governors.

The move suggests Putin is tightening his vice-like grip on public dissent and foreign influence.

A Kremlin-funded Russian university that produces many of the country's top officials is preparing to purge all its employees living abroad, sources told independent Russian media.

The move comes amid Russia's ongoing crackdown on public dissent, which has ramped up since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Current and former employees of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) told independent outlet The Agency about the move, saying that by June 15 employees who left the country since 2022, as well as long-time expatriates, will be fired.

The decision came from above the school's vice-rector, they said, without specifying further.

The university did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

RANEPA is known as one of the top destinations for Russia's public servants and administrative class, churning out future regional governors, civil servants, and ministers.

But ongoing changes there in recent years have mirrored Russia's increasing authoriarianism under President Vladimir Putin.

In June last year, the university's former rector, Vladimir Mau, was charged with large-scale embezzlement, independent outlet Meduza reported. Mau had signed a letter in support of the Ukraine war, but behind the scenes he was viewed as a liberal figure who had intended to change RANEPA from within, as the Financial Times reported.

The case was later dropped, but Mau left the country, The Agency reported.

And in December, activist Yulia Galyamina, who was also a professor in the university's social sciences department, was fired under an amendment to Russia's notorious "foreign agents" law, per Meduza.

Galyamina, who had already been declared a foreign agent in connection to her outspoken opposition to the war, said her firing was "the first instance of the firing of a foreign agent after the adoption of this new, discriminatory law," Meduza reported.

The reported purge of expat workers at RANEPA also highlights ongoing concerns about a brain drain among Russia's elites and its science and tech sectors. On Thursday, the vice-president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Valentin Parmon, warned that Russia had lost 50,000 scientists in the last five years, according to Interfax.

The UK Ministry of Defence also commented on a likely ban on senior Russian officials quitting their posts on Thursday.

This, the UK MOD said, likely applies to "regional leaders, security officials and members of the powerful Presidential Administration."

Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) May 18, 2023

Meanwhile, in February, RANEPA's new rector, Alexei Komissarov, told Russian outlet Izvestia that, at Putin's request, the school was training 6,000 managers for what he called Russia's "new regions."

These refer to the occupied Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk.

Russia is almost alone in recognizing the "People's Republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk, and last fall conducted sham referenda in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in an attempt to proclaim the regions as Russian territory.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Russian Embassy, as President Biden announces new sanctions on Russia, in Washington

(Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Friday that the "last remnants" of arms control agreements between Russia and the United States were disappearing, after a group of U.S. Republican lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bill to scrap the New START treaty on nuclear arms.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year suspended Russia's participation in the treaty, which caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the United States and Russia can deploy.

"We can now only state with regret that there are no serious, substantive contacts on these issues between Moscow and Washington," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Let's just say that the last remnants of the international legal framework in this area are slipping away."

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
KS deputies accused of having sex on duty with another employee resign amid investigation

Two Sedgwick County deputies who lied while being investigated for allegedly having sex with a civilian employee while they were on duty have resigned under investigation, the sheriffs office said.

The sheriffs office started its investigation into the matter in December and ended it last month. Five deputies were alleged to have had sex with the employee.

In an email, sheriffs office spokesperson Robin Busch said two deputies and a civilian employee gave false statements and tried to intentionally deceive investigators.

Those three employees all resigned during the investigation.

KWCH first reported the resignations.

Lt. Nathan Gibbs said some of the alleged acts happened when deputies were on duty. The civilian employee was not on duty, he said. The sheriffs office would not say where the alleged on-duty incidents occurred.

All of the deputies involved worked the overnight third shift.

Gibbs said he thought some or all of the other three deputies still with the department were not disciplined because they had been off duty during the alleged acts. Gibbs was traveling Friday and didnt immediately have details.

But even the deputies who allegedly had sex while on duty would not have been fired on a first offense, he said, adding that it would have likely been a reprimand or suspension under the conduct unbecoming policy.

To my knowledge, there is not a specific policy saying that you cant engage in that type of behavior while on duty cause most people wouldnt do that, he said. So its not something that would normally come up in a policy.

Lying, however, can cause officers to lose their certification. It also would require the officers to be on a Brady-Giglio list kept by the Sedgwick County District Attorneys Office. Federal law requires that office to keep a list of officers who have policy violations that could call into question their credibility as a witness in a trial.

The deputies who resigned had been on patrol for around two years, Gibbs said. He said the civilian employee hadnt been with the department long, but he was unsure exactly how long.

All of the people involved have or had been with the department between one and five years, Busch said.

Officers facing possible termination will often resign. Three sheriffs deputies left under investigation after racist and inappropriate text messages were found on one of the deputys phones in April 2021.
The first weekend in August and its annual gathering of politicians from across the commonwealth is traditionally seen as the kick-off to general election season in Kentucky.

Not this year.

With nearly six months until the Nov. 7 election, candidates, political parties and the organizations backing them arent wasting any time. The Kentucky governors race  one of just three in the nation this year  is expected to be the most expensive and closely watched of any of the contests.

Less than 48 hours after the polls closed for the Tuesday primaries, Gov. Andy Beshear dropped the first ad of the Kentucky gubernatorial general election Thursday afternoon, with it slated to start running on television Monday, according to Medium Buying. Beshear will kick his campaign into high-gear this weekend when he takes part in a three-day, 12-city bus tour across the state.

Friday morning, the complete slate of GOP candidates for Kentuckys constitutional offices will appear together at the Republican Party of Kentuckys Frankfort office to present a united front and vision for a brighter future. The Republican nominee for governor, Attorney General Daniel Cameron, is at the top of the ticket after emerging victorious from an expensive 12-way primary.

Beshear: Four Years

Beshear also faced a primary, though not one so competitive as Camerons; the governor was challenged by perennial pro-Russia candidate Geoff Young and former GOP nominee for governor, Peppy Martin.

Despite Kentuckys conservative leanings, Beshear will be a formidable opponent for Cameron, as polling consistently shows hes got a strong approval rating and is one of Americas most popular governors.

He also enters the general election with another key factor: money.

In a pre-primary campaign finance report, Beshear reported having raised nearly $7 million to support his re-election bid and still had more than $6 million cash on hand. Then Thursday morning, Beshear campaign manager Eric Hyers tweeted that in the first 24 hours after the primary, the campaign raised more than $650,000 for the reelection (the best general election kickoff to a Gov re-elect I have ever seen).

Kentucky, weve been through a lot together.



But when Kentuckians get knocked down, we rebuildstronger and better than we were before. Thats what Ive worked to do over the past 4 years and thats what I will continue to do as your governor.



Watch our first ad here: pic.twitter.com/w3fcbgkNtB  Andy Beshear (@AndyBeshearKY) May 18, 2023

The new Beshear commercial is a 60-second spot that highlights Kentuckians rebuilding with resilience and hope, according to a release from the campaign.

The ad sets an optimistic tone in contrast to the attack ads that dominated the Republican primary, focusing largely on Beshears leadership in the aftermath of natural disasters and economic development.

It ends with Beshear sitting inside Dawson Springs Primitive Baptist Church, where his grandfather and great-grandfather were preachers.

It was flattened by the tornadoes, Beshear says, referencing the 2021 outbreak of tornadoes in Western Kentucky. But when Kentuckians get knocked down, we get right back up again and we rebuild stronger and better than before. I will never stop showing up and working for the people of Kentucky.

Noticeably absent from the ad: any mention of his opponents, being a Democrat or President Joe Biden, who appeared with Beshear in the aftermath or tornadoes and flooding and to announce more than $1.6 billion in funding for the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project.

Omitting Biden comes as no surprise, though; former President Donald Trump carried Kentucky by more than 20 percentage points in 2020, and remains Bluegrass Republicans most favored candidate in 2024, according to a recent poll.

According to Medium Buying, which tracks political ad spending, Beshears general election campaign wasnt on TV until August 6.

On Friday, a group called Defending Bluegrass Values, which is backed by the Democratic Governors Association, also launched a new TV ad, this one attacking Cameron. The ad says Cameron, as attorney general, should have investigated former Governor Matt Bevins appalling and corrupt pardons of more than a dozen violent criminals.

KY GOP: 10 Reasons

While Cameron is not yet up on TV  though he aired several commercials during the primary  Republican groups are already mobilizing behind him.

The Republican Party of Kentucky and the Republican Governors Association both launched attacks on Beshear Wednesday, highlighting his disastrous leadership and liberal record, respectively.

Thank you for believing in me and supporting this movement. Kentucky Republicans are united. Its time for bold conservative leadership in the Commonwealth.



Come November, were going to retire Andy Beshear. Lets do this thing! #TeamCameron pic.twitter.com/BcJGSMMHuk  Daniel Cameron (@DanielCameronAG) May 18, 2023

The state party rolled out a web page touting 10 reasons to fire Andy Beshear, including allegations that the incumbent has mismanaged the economy, is hostile to religious freedom and botches disaster responses.

Governor Andy Beshear has failed the people of Kentucky, RPK Spokesperson Sean Southard said in a statement. Fewer people are working today than when he took office. Our streets are less safe, flooded with drugs and crime. Students have suffered historic learning loss. And he has mismanaged the recovery efforts in Western and Eastern Kentucky. Kentucky cant handle four more years of Andy Beshear.

Southard adds that Cameron will be a strong leader and deliver for Kentucky.

The RGA, which aims to elect Republicans as governors, also rolled out a list of issues about Liberal Beshear, including shutting down schools and churches during COVID-19, is supported by far-left teachers unions, and has appointed extreme liberals to key posts.

Bottom line - this is a competitive race, and with Republicans having increased their margins in the state, the focus will be on bringing all Republicans home and uniting behind Daniel Cameron, the RGA memo concludes.
LADY LAKE  The man fleeing police on Feb. 25, killing himself when he crashed into a car driven by a woman with two children passengers, did not have insurance, which has forced the injured woman to sue his estate and her own insurance company, according to records filed with the Lake County court clerk.

Sarah Dorsey, 43, has filed a lawsuit in circuit court against the estate of Thomas Conyers, 50, and Progressive Insurance. The suit claims Progressive refuses to acknowledge that she had uninsured motorist coverage.

The suit also states that she suffered permanent injuries, pain and suffering of both a physical and mental nature, disability, physical impairment, disfigurement, mental anguish, inconvenience, loss of capacity for enjoyment of life, aggravation of an existing condition, expense of hospitalization, medical and nursing care and treatment, loss of earnings, loss of the ability to earn money, and loss of ability to enjoy a normal life.

The suit seeks more than $50,000 in damages.

Earlier coverage: Man killed in U.S. 441/27 crash had earlier been chased by Lady Lake police

Earlier coverage: One person killed, three others injured in vehicle crash in Fruitland Park

This is how the case started

Conyers, who also did not have a drivers license, was fleeing Lady Lake Police after stealing $240 worth of merchandise from Home Depot at 871 U.S. 27/441, police said.

The Feb. 25 crash.

The tragedy was compounded, the Daily Commercial has learned, because prosecutors did not file timely charges against him in two Clermont thefts, so he had to be let out of jail without bond.

What does the dash cam video show?

News of the lawsuit comes at the same time as a public records request by the Daily Commercial for the dramatic dash cam video. The video shows a Lady Lake Police officer racing down the highway, then backing off a little while two other Lady Lake patrol cars tear down the highway. Within probably about four or five minutes, Conyers loses control, crosses onto the northbound lane and slams into Dorseys car at County Road 466A and U.S. 441 in Fruitland Park.

The camera was mounted in Lady Lake Officer Mark Austins marked patrol car. In his written report, said he was right behind Home Depot when he received the theft call at 4 p.m. Dash cam video appears to show him on Old Vineyard Road.

He is heard seeking information from dispatch about the suspects car when he approaches the intersection of Rolling Hills and U.S. 441.

I got him, he says, once he sees Conyers 2004 Hyundai Elantra.

The subject changed the direction of his vehicle to a straightforward motion and headed directly toward my vehicle. I was afraid for my safety with the way the suspect headed toward me. I felt like he was going to strike my vehicle to flee apprehension," he wrote.

"I started to make a left evasive turn to avoid being struck," he continued. "The suspect mirrored my maneuver and I had to brake to stop to avoid striking the vehicle. Had I not performed my evasive maneuver mine and the suspect vehicles would have collided, which I believe was his intention.

The next six minutes show a heart-pounding race down U.S. 441 south toward Fruitland Park.

It is difficult to hear over the noise of equipment rattling around inside the car on the bumpy road, but Austin wrote in his report that he advised Officer Andru Eckerdt that the driver should be charged with aggravated assault, a felony.

One officer, who was at Wawa, tossed stop sticks onto the highway. Conyers did not hit the sticks, which would have slowly deflated his tires.

Austin by that time said he was not chasing Conyers. The dash cam video clearly shows two other patrol cars ahead of him in hot pursuit.

Austins dash cam still showed him crossing the median into oncoming traffic, zipping between construction zone barrels, and speeding south to the site of the crash at County Road 466A.

He pulled up behind Conyers wrecked car. It had crossed into the northbound lane and struck Dorseys 2019 Kia Sportage. It was obvious to officers that Conyers had been killed instantly.

Fruitland Park also had dash cam video, but it shows little. The department was reluctant to release much, saying there were two juveniles in Dorseys car. Dorseys daughter and a friend, both 13, suffered minor injuries. All three were taken by helicopter to an Orlando hospital.

What happens next?

FHP has completed its initial investigation, but is now conducting a homicide investigation, which could take months. That report will include toxicology results and other information.

The initial report said Conyers was fleeing from the Lady Lake Police Department and the Fruitland Park Department."

We were not chasing, Fruitland Park Chief Erik Luce told the Daily Commercial.

Lady Lake Chief Robert Tempesta issued an email response saying: The Florida Highway Patrol is the lead agency on this case and has not yet completed their Traffic Homicide Investigation. We will review this incident in its entirety when the completed report becomes available.

On May 2, Tempesta announced that he was stepping down as chief after four years and returning to the rank of lieutenant. The town has named Steven W. Hunt, a native of Maine, now a resident of Eustis, as interim chief.

Hunt was a lieutenant in Bangor, Maine, and more recently a detective with the Florida Division of Financial Services.

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Lawsuit filed: Investigation continues into deadly police chase
Dont let Texas overrule us

Government closest to the people governs best. House Bill 2127  which has passed the Texas Senate and is headed to Gov. Greg Abbotts desk  would restrict local governance to areas specially permitted by the state.

The Legislature meets only every two years. City councils meet weekly and are much better informed about local needs. Our Fort Worth local government should be leading the opposition to this terrible legislation, and our state legislators shouldnt support it.

- Doug Harman, Fort Worth

Border should be federal matter

Nicole Russells commentary, Biden hurting Texas on border security, immigration, would be true if the administration were not enforcing existing immigration laws. (May 12, 15A)

Congress is supposed to pass legislation related to immigration at the federal level. But we do not have an effective set of laws controlling immigration. The result is an executive branch of government issuing questionable executive orders and policies, such as Donald Trumps policy of stripping kids from their immigrant parents.

Anyone who is dissatisfied with our border situation should ask their U.S. representative and senators when they are going to fix it. If their answer is just political mishmash, then vote for someone else.

- Larry Mason, Azle

Keep stars in the right perspective

During the playing of The Star-Spangled Banner, Dallas Stars fans shout stars. I, and Im sure many others, feel this behavior is disrespectful of our national anthem. Those fans probably consider themselves patriotic, but it is a dishonor to distort the anthem. They should sing or remain silent with their hats off and hands over their hearts.

This has nothing to do with the franchise or how those fans conduct themselves during other parts of games. It is a simple matter of respect for those of us who choose to honor our nation during the anthem.

- Philip C. Wagner, Arlington

This isnt religious freedom

Texas Senate Bill 1515 would require the Christian Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom in Texas. Most of us could agree on some of the commandments tenets. However, the first states, Thou shall have no other God before me.

Just whose god would that be? Many religions invoke a god, but I am fairly sure it is often not the Christian one. And what if you dont believe in God, like about 30% of our population?

This bill and others indicate a lack of understanding of the concept of the separation of church and state.

- David Roll, Colleyville

Judge OHare, stick to your duties

I read recently that the main duties of the Tarrant County judges and Commissioners Court are road maintenance, property taxes, county schools, hospitals and jails. Since elected, our new judge, Tim OHare, has established a voter fraud task force and is in the process of trying to rid us of drag shows.

Judge OHare: How about getting to work on the things that matter to the people of Tarrant County?

- David Ross, Bedford

Trump was right one more time

Special counsel John Durhams report found that the FBI investigation of collusion with Russia was a hoax, just like Donald Trump said. We know how much Democrats cant stand election interference of any kind. So, when will we see letters from Democrats to put the people behind this in jail? Democrats, you dont have egg just on your face  its covering your whole bodies.

- Gene Tignor, Emory
Texas lawmakers have been debating the merits of school choice, or education savings programs, for weeks. A sweeping plan passed in the Senate but has been stalled in the House because a couple dozen rural Republican lawmakers dont think it will benefit their districts.

A revised version of the bill that a House committee is considering would offer an education savings account to about 800,000 students, a fraction of the 5.5 million originally promised, and focus the plan on students in failing schools. It would replace the loathed STAAR test  something that might compel resistant Republicans. So far, Gov. Greg Abbott has balked, even threatening to go into special session if the Legislature doesnt pass expansive school choice. He should reconsider.

This latest version does little to provide meaningful school choice, and legislators deserve to know that it would be vetoed if it reached my desk, Abbott said in a written statement. He said the latest version provides less funding for special education students than the original House version of the Senate bill and denies school choice to low-income families who desperately need expanded education options for their children.

We understand Abbotts goal: Expansive school choice for nearly 5 million Texas kids, including those with special needs and those in low-income areas. But the plan, with a cost that could approach $1 billion in three years, has been impossible to get through the House, despite Abbotts considerable political push. And 800,000 is a good-sized pilot group to test Republicans contention that competition will be better for students and public schools alike. Abbott should take the win.

Arizona recently expanded its education-savings account program, but out of 1 million students, only about 56,000 are enrolled. Of the nearly 3 million students enrolled in public school in Florida, nearly 19,000 students had enrolled in the ESA program, which has been limited to low-income students and those with disabilities. While it might be the goal to make the program eligible to all eventually  especially if it proves its bona fides  not every family will take advantage.

It doesnt make sense for Abbott to hold so firm on this issue, pushing the Legislature into special session and expending his political capital, when its likely that such a small share of those eligible will sign up. The ESA proposal is also popular among Texan residents, especially parents. One University of Texas at Tyler poll showed that 60 percent of voters supported school choice, though numbers can vary depending on the wording of the question.

Several states have recently enacted school choice legislation. The concept makes sense: When parents have more education options, schools compete to attract them.

Weve been saying for years that Fort Worth ISD needs a revamp to better focus on academics. Kids are struggling with basic skills, and families with options are choosing to leave  enrollment has dropped for a decade.

FWISD offers a school of choice program, but adding more options for the neediest students, whether by income or the fact that their school is struggling, is worth trying.

Rural lawmakers have avoided supporting any kind of school choice, be it education savings or vouchers, because they fear the drop in state funding. Studies show that when rural students have a school choice option, their scores increase. In Florida and Arizona, rural private school enrollment doubled in recent years.

Policy is an exercise in progress, not perfection. A scaled-back school choice bill might be a perfect way to see if ESAs work for some Texas kids without spending billions of dollars or harming public schools. Abbott should take the half-loaf and commit to making it work.
 Flash

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday charted the course for China-Central Asia cooperation in the new era at a milestone summit with leaders of five Central Asian countries.

The China-Central Asia Summit, which runs from Thursday to Friday, was attended by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan.

Xi made an eight-point proposal ranging from expanding economic ties to strengthening cultural exchanges and safeguarding regional peace in his keynote address at the summit in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

China is ready to take the summit as an opportunity and work closely with Central Asian countries to ensure the China-Central Asia cooperation is well planned, effectively implemented, and steadily advanced, Xi said.

To strengthen cooperation mechanisms, China proposes to establish meeting and dialogue mechanisms in industry and investment, agriculture, transportation, emergency management, education, and political party affairs, Xi said.

More trade facilitation measures will be rolled out and bilateral investment agreements will be upgraded to bring trade volume to a new height, Xi said.

As to enhancing connectivity, China will boost cross-border freight volume, support the construction of a cross-Caspian Sea international transport corridor, accelerate the upgrade of ports, develop China-Europe freight train hubs, and encourage businesses to build overseas warehouses in Central Asian countries, Xi said.

In terms of energy cooperation, China proposes to build a China-Central Asia energy development partnership, accelerate the construction of Line D of the China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline, increase oil and gas trade, develop energy cooperation across the industrial chain, and boost cooperation in new energy and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

China is ready to promote green innovation cooperation with Central Asian countries, Xi said, citing soil treatment, water-efficient irrigation, and the establishment of high-tech businesses and information technology parks in Central Asia.

To bolster development capacity, China will formulate plans for cooperation with Central Asian countries in reducing poverty through science and technology, Xi said. Chinese-funded businesses will be encouraged to create more local jobs. China will provide 26 billion yuan (about 3.72 billion U.S. dollars) of financing support and free assistance to Central Asian countries.

With regard to cultural exchanges, China will invite Central Asian countries to participate in the Cultural Silk Road program, build more traditional medicine centers, and promote the launch of special trains for cultural tourism, Xi said.

Xi stressed that China is ready to help Central Asian countries improve their law enforcement, security, and defense capacity building in an effort to safeguard regional peace. Efforts should also be made to make good use of the mechanism of coordination among Afghanistan's neighbors and jointly promote peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

China is willing to strengthen exchanges with Central Asian countries in modernization concepts and practice, synergize development strategies, and make joint efforts to promote modernization of the six countries, Xi said.
Lawyer says receipt shows woman in viral video paid for bike at center of dispute with Black man

Justin Marino, Sarah Comries lawyer, maintains that the entire claim his client was trying to steal the Citi Bike is demonstrably false as she had already paid for it.

A viral social media video showed a white woman allegedly attempting to steal a Black mans Citi Bike in New York City, but her attorney claims receipts prove otherwise.

According to CBS News, Justin Marino, Sarah Jane Comries attorney, asserted that his client had been unfairly labeled as a Karen, given that the claims levied against her are demonstrably false, CBS reported.

Comrie, a physicians assistant who had just wrapped up her shift, and an unidentified Black man claimed to have paid for the bike docked outside Bellevue Hospital.

Justin Marino, an attorney for Sarah Comrie (pictured), a woman accused of trying to steal a Black mans Citi Bike in Manhattan, claims his client actually paid for the bike at the center of the dispute. (Photo: Screenshot/YouTube.com/CBS New York)

In the video, Comrie, donning navy blue medical scrubs with NYC Health + Hospitals branding, repeatedly screams for help as the man tells her the bike isnt hers.

Six months pregnant, Comrie tells him, Youre hurting my fetus.

Im not touching you, the man responds. Youre putting your stomach on my hand.

Someone who appears to be Comries coworker asks the Black man why he wont reset the bike, a suggestion he declines while reiterating he rented it under his name.

Marino said Comrie paid for the bike first, reportedly producing receipts to back his claim. Do you think any pregnant woman in their right mind would jump on another young mans bike and just, like, scoot away while they are six months pregnant? he asked, according to CBS.

However, questions linger regarding the receipts authenticity, which Citi Bike has not verified.

TheGrio spoke with a Los Angeles-based journalist covering the story who received copies of two purported receipts from Marino, one of which had the bikes origin or pick-up location and its eventual destination redacted. (The redacted receipt displays a different bike number from the one seen in the viral video, and indicates that a bike was rented for about 25 minutes.) The other receipt shows a bike that was marked as free unlock and returned after one minute. This receipts bike number is the same as the one shown in the video.

Yahoo! News reported that one of Comries receipts shows payment for a Citi Bike via the app on the evening of May 12. The bicycle was locked to its dock one minute later with no charge recorded.

A second receipt allegedly shows payment for another Citi Bike from the same docking station a minute after the first one relocked. It also shows a 25-minute trip that Marino claims was his clients ride home after the incident.

The young man was adamant hed rented the bike, even showing his receipt to Comries perceived co-worker. According to the columnist who spoke with theGrio, asked why Comrie never claimed to have purchased the bike on the video, Marino reportedly called it a stressful situation, saying it may not have occurred to his client to claim ownership and provide documentation.

Marino said his client  whom NYC Health + Hospitals placed on leave pending an investigation  intends to file a lawsuit against people and media organizations who defamed her, adding that he hopes the public hospital system allows her to return to work.

He described his client as a healthcare hero who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic but claimed that due to the clip making its rounds across social media, people had painted her out to be a racist villain, according to Yahoo.

Its appalling, Marino said, CBS reported, that, you know, like, race, you know, is somehow, like, imputed as that being the issue here.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Lawyer says receipt shows woman in viral video paid for bike at center of dispute with Black man appeared first on TheGrio.
"Sanctuary" stars Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott pose for a portrait at New York's Soho Grand Hotel earlier this month. (Evelyn Freja / For The Times)

Two people in a hotel room equals infinite possibilities. Business. Pleasure. Emotional connection. Intense passion. Erotic play. Just about anything could happen. And in the new film Sanctuary, just about anything does.

Directed by Zachary Wigon from a screenplay by Homecoming co-creator Micah Bloomberg, the film opens with Hal (Christopher Abbott) sitting before Rebecca (Margaret Qualley) for a seemingly innocuous HR interview, as he is about to inherit a chain of hotels. That much  the inheritance  is real. As the questions become more intimate, though, we learn that Rebecca is a sex worker, and that this is one of their regularly scheduled sessions. Hal tries to break things off, feeling that in his new position he cant continue their relationship. Rebecca apparently refuses to accept the end of their arrangement, setting in motion a series of power plays between them and throwing into question who's really in charge.

A dazzling showcase for Qualley and Abbott, two performers skilled at concealing and revealing in equal measure, "Sanctuary" will likely spark conversations among audiences about what really happens in that room. With its games within games, fluid dynamics and shifting truths, the movie at times feels like it is daring the audience to keep up. But Wigon didnt intend the film as a provocation.

I'm always interested in trying to do something that's going to be psychologically interesting and insightful and get to some unexpected or profound truths about human psychology, Wigon said. It's almost like a way to visually represent what goes on in the unconscious. So maybe there are things that are provocative inherently in that mission, but I'm not interested in intentionally trying to provoke anyone. That's not my MO.

Wigon, Abbott and Qualley recently sat down with The Times to discuss some of the hot-button topics that people will be talking about after seeing the movie. (Mild spoilers ahead.)

"Sanctuary" actor Christopher Abbott, from left, director Zachary Wigon and actor Margaret Qualley. "I think so much of life is you're trying to figure out, 'Wait, is this scripted or is this real?'" Wigon said. (Evelyn Freja / For The Times)

Is this an erotic thriller or a rom-com?

Margaret Qualley: I vote rom-com, but honestly, Zach's going to be way better at answering this than I would ever be.

Zachary Wigon: It's something I was thinking about a lot when we were developing the script and thinking about what this could be. It's really interesting from a film theory or film criticism perspective, to think about those two genres and the way that they talk to each other. I love old screwball comedies, like His Girl Friday or Bringing Up Baby, and in those movies the characters often behave really awfully toward one another. But it's all played for great comedy.

And then on the flip side of things, you can look at a number of psychological thrillers or erotic thrillers and see that they're right up against the line of comedy in the way that a lot of the scenes play. I'm a huge fan of Eyes Wide Shut, and the Metrograph screens it at Christmastime every year. I go frequently, and people laugh a lot throughout the film and not in a derisive way.... There's this kind of secret passageway that connects those genres.

Margaret, why would you consider this a rom-com?

Qualley: It just feels pretty innocent. I may be saying really raunchy things, but it feels like good-natured fun to me.

Did you like the way that the story explored this idea of role-play? At first it's in this more explicit sexual sense, but then it evolves into being about how we're all kind of playing roles every day throughout our lives.

Wigon: For me, absolutely. I'd be so curious to hear Margaret and Chris' takes as well, because they of course play roles for a living. I do think there's something in the movie about this idea of, is what Hal and Rebecca do in that room really fundamentally different from what everyone does in the world, or is it just a matter of degree?

It's a movie about two people who are not entirely happy and comfortable with who they are in the real world. And once a week for a designated period of time in a designated space with a designated set of rules, they're able to transform into the truer version of themselves. And that feels a lot to me like what it is to be in show business, make movies. There's a lot of talk in the film about, of course, role-playing, writing, say the words that I told you to say. I think about the movie a lot in relationship to filmmaking.

Christopher, was it unusual at all to be acting in this story that is in part about acting?

Christopher Abbott: What was fun was being able to play with the levels of, how good of actors are the characters? When they're role-playing, sometimes they're really good at it and sometimes theyre purposefully overacting. It was a fun challenge.

Qualley: Chris gets to decide not to be good. For other people, it just happens to us.

Abbott: This is my safety net in case anyone doesn't like me in it. I'm just going to say it was a choice.

Qualley: One thing that I'm really fascinated by is, we've all made all these decisions about who we are and the way that we do things in the world. There's certain things that are subconscious, inherent reactions that are just kind of happening because you've made all of these decisions beforehand about how you do things, like your voice in an Uber and the way that you talk to your boyfriend's parents or when you're checking out at the grocery store.

It's all of this lived and learned behavior, how you're operating in the world, like the set of guidelines that make up who I am. Sorry, this is super heady, but one of the things that I relished about playing Rebecca was that she didn't have that. There wasn't a set of guidelines that she'd made for herself. Maybe in her real life, but within the context of this room, all of that goes out the window. Every single thing is second-by-second. And because of that, there's an infinite amount of things that she could be doing.

(Evelyn Freja / For The Times)

(Evelyn Freja / For The Times)

It's revealed pretty early in the story that they're playing off of this script and reciting dialogue to each other. And we see a page of the script. But is that the end of the script? From there forward, is what we're seeing unscripted? Theres a sense that there are games upon games and you're never really sure whats truly real between them.

Wigon: I am answering your question with another question, but isn't it fascinating how that's kind of what life feels like sometimes? We go through our lives and it's like, "OK, wait, is this real now? Is the person I'm interacting with genuine? Can I trust this? Is this emotional truth? Or is there something more calculated and motivated going on?" I think so much of life is you're trying to figure out, "Wait, is this scripted or is this real?"

Margaret, did you like that there's this uncharted quality to a lot of it? As a viewer, you're not really sure what's happening between them.

Qualley: Because their relationship is so compartmentalized, there's no real floor there. Like if you fall, you might fall very, very far. And that's inherently exciting and makes for very high stakes. I dont know if I'm supposed to say all of this, it's probably cool if I'm more mysterious, but in my mind, the script ends when the script ends, and everything that happens from that point on is really happening. Hal had anticipated this being their last session, and that's not OK with Rebecca because she's in love with him and she'll do absolutely anything that she can within her power to change that.

How did you grapple with that, Christopher, as far as what was or wasn't scripted between the characters?

Abbott: I really love the idea of keeping the audience on their toes in terms of when it would stop because there's a few other points in the movie where I think you realize, Oh, that was scripted as well. And that whole idea lends itself to the "power dynamics" that the characters have with each other. But it's not even necessarily power dynamics. It's about what they're doing to each other, but also for each other. And the layers that get pulled back, I think, is the realization that each of them are quite unhappy, and they find common ground and this sort of love in this loneliness that they both have.

Ive read a few descriptions of the movie, and it will say dominatrix, and it always makes it sound more salacious than it plays.

Qualley: Completely. I think that's exactly why I was saying that I would think it was a romantic comedy more than a dark romantic thriller, for that very reason. Because it's not like there's bondage or S&M. I keep my clothes on the whole time. It's just about the language. And if this is a dominatrix thriller, it's the dorkiest dominatrix thriller I've ever seen. What really gets me going is two people almost kissing. And I think that you get that feeling in this movie.

Abbott: Whoa, whoa, settle down, Margaret. Settle down.

It's so interesting to hear you say that, Margaret, because people talk a lot about how movies now are kind of sexless, and you are a performer who doesn't shy away from that. Your performance in Stars at Noon is a great example of what the purpose of sex scenes and nudity can be in a story. I'm curious what you think about that, and when you're approaching projects, what makes you decide whether you want to do something like that or not?

Qualley: I don't usually find the sex scenes hot. I find sex scenes intimate sometimes, or revealing, vulnerable  they can tell you a lot about a character  but I don't usually find them very hot. Whereas I find two people flirting, or when you can tell two people want to kiss, that's very hot. It's all in the lead-up.

Zachary, was that something you were conscious of, the fact that the story can sound dirtier than it is?

Wigon: Absolutely, I was conscious of that. Going off of what Margaret was saying about how sometimes two characters flirting, that's almost more sexually charged than an actual sex scene, there's something about psychological connection that is much more interesting. It's much more interesting onscreen to see two people who are linking up in a certain way psychologically than actual physical depictions of sexuality. There is sexuality in the movie, but I always thought of the sexuality as a means to an end. And the end was the psychological probing of the characters minds by one another. They're using sexuality at times like a lever or like a wedge or a tool to get deep down into the minds of one another. But it was always about what makes these people tick.

Christopher, what was it like for you that here you're the one who takes your clothes off and you have the most explicit moments in the movie?

Abbott: I've done other things where [this is] kind of tame by comparison. Not even things I've done, but other movies in general.

Qualley: His last porn was way more revealing.

Abbott: With the strike, I'm thinking about it. I'm just kidding. But for this movie, it's sort of fun to have the themes of those, whatever you want to call them, a la 80s, 90s, sort of sexy thrillers, but the fact that it's really just about a connection between two people, and ultimately really a love story is what it's more about. Otherwise, I have no shame. I'll do anything.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Leaked U.S. Report Says Basic F-16 Training For Ukrainian Pilots Could Take Just Four Months photo

Ukrainian fighter pilots could be trained in the basic operations of American-made F-16 Viper fighter jets in around four months, according to a U.S. Air Force assessment conducted earlier this year.

The disclosure of these findings comes as pressure builds on the U.S. government to approve the transfer of Vipers to the Ukrainian Air Force. Four months for a very basic F-16 skill set is very close to the training schedule estimates that F-16 pilots provided to The War Zone for a feature published back in February. Exactly how relevant that minimal skill set would be over the battlefield is still a question that needs to be answered.

An F-16C Viper fighter jet assigned to the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing. The 162nd was the unit that oversaw the assessment of two Ukrainian pilots earlier this year. Air National Guard

Yahoo News was the first to report on the Baseline Pilot Assessment (BPA) that the Air Force conducted involving the pair of Ukrainian fliers this past Spring after obtaining a copy of the final report. The document says it is releasable outside of the U.S. government only to approved individuals from Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Great Britain, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and the Netherlands. With the exception of Great Britain, all of these countries are F-16 operators.

The Ukrainian pilots who took part in the BPA are not named, but are identified in the report as a Su-27 Flanker pilot holding the rank of Captain and a Major primarily flying the MiG-29 Fulcrum. Soviet-designed Su-27s and MiG-29s make up the bulk of the Ukrainian Air Force's current tactical combat jet fleets.

A Ukrainian Su-27 Flanker fighter jet photographed back in 2008. Oleg V. Belyakov/Wikimedia Commons

A picture of a Ukrainian MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jet from the current conflict provided to The War Zone by a Ukrainian pilot known by his callsign Juice. Juice/Ukrainian Air Force

The Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing hosted the BPA, which was conducted entirely using unspecified simulators on the ground and with minimal direction, at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona. The assessment ran from February 27 to March 10, 2023. The report notes that the original plan had been to do this in December 2022, but that U.S. government funding issues forced its rescheduling. Reports had emerged in March that this assessment was occurring, but details were limited at that time.

Four unnamed instructor pilots from the 162nd Wing  three majors and a lieutenant colonel  observed the simulator sessions and gave their feedback. To give a sense of the qualifications of these individuals, the least experienced of them was a major with four years' worth of experience at an F-16 formal training unit, or FTU, and 1,500 hours of flying time in Vipers personally, according to the report. The lieutenant colonel had the most experience, with more than six years at an FTU and 2,300 hours of F-16 flying time.

The BPA had the following three main objectives, according to the report:

"Observe Ukrainian pilots to establish a baseline assessment of skills and determine feasibility of training on Western 4th generation fighter aircraft."

"Observe Ukrainian pilots to aid in development of a specialized training syllabus to determine an accurate training timeline to transition to Western fighter aircraft."

"Informally assess English language aptitude of Ukrainian pilots."

A pilot sits inside an F-16 simulator. CAE

After the evaluation, which consisted of nine separate simulator events with a total time of 11 and a half hours, the F-16 instructor pilots concluded that the two Ukrainians had demonstrated above-average skill progression. This included demonstrated ability in the simulator "to successfully land the aircraft from an overhead simulated flameout (SFO) pattern," which the report describes as a "relatively technical skill."

"After a single demonstration of an overhead pattern, both pilots were able to successfully recover to an overhead touch-and-go pattern on each simulator," the report notes. "Pilots were able to execute mock attacks based on parameters communicated while they were flying the sim."

Demonstrated low-level flight skill in the simulator was also assessed to be "above average" even with the pilots having to adapt "to the increased task load in the low-level environment of Southern Arizona."

An F-16C assigned to the 162nd Wing during a real training flight in the skies over Southern Arizona. Air National Guard

The report concludes that, "given the skillset demonstrated by the UKR AF pilots, and the requirement to develop a specialized syllabus only focused on min required tasks, ~4 months is a realistic training timeline." This is broken into approximately eight weeks of transition training, two additional weeks or so of low-level step-down training, and then around three weeks of air-to-air combat training.

The air-to-air phase would be "focused on single-ship and two-ship intercepts and basic WVR [within visual range] employment of a single radar missile type and infrared missile type," according to the report. The types of missiles in question are not stated, but variants of the AIM-120 Advanced Miedum-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) and AIM-9 Sidewinder are the default radar and infrared-homing types that U.S. Air Force F-16s carry. Ukrainian forces have actually received AIM-120s already, but for ground-based use as part of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS).

A Ukrainian pilot known by callsign Juice has specifically stressed how significant a boost in capability F-16s armed with AIM-120s would be in past interviews with The War Zone. A report in March indicated that U.S. officials were looking into whether it might be realistic to integrate the AMRAAM onto Ukraine's existing Soviet-design fighters. There are significant technical challenges to realizing such a capability though.

A US Air Force F-16C Viper with an AIM-120 on its left wingtip and an AIM-9 Sidewinder on the outboard station under the left wing. This aircraft is also carrying an AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM), a weapon designed to primarily target enemy air defense radars. The U.S. military has already sent AGM-88s to Ukraine for use on its Su-27s and MiG-29s. Ukrainian forces have received AIM-120s, as well, but for use in ground-based National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS). USAF

Altogether, the four-month training estimate is significantly lower than the 18 to 24-month timeframe U.S. officials have publicly stated in the past.

"The current Training Task List (TTL) that guides syllabus development lists approximately

250 tasks that must be taught and demonstrated up to a competent level upon completion of

Mission Qualification Training (MQT)  when a pilot is considered a mission capable pilot," the 162nd Wing's report explains. "Eliminating events that would not be required for initial UKR AF training could reduce this TTL down to approximately 160 tasks."

"Utilizing a waterfall approach to accomplish fighter training, general language training, and specialized language training would allow for the training of 12-14 pilots in approximately 12 months," the report adds.

It is worth noting that the abridged training syllabus would eliminate specific training on U.S. instrument approach procedures, Basic Fighter maneuvers (BFM), Air Combat Maneuvering (ACM), Air-to-Air Refueling (AAR), Close Air Support (CAS), and Basic Surface Attack (BSA). Air-to-air refueling is certainly not applicable to the current situation in Ukraine, where operations are conducted in local airspace, and the country doesn't have suitable tankers anyway.

What impacts skipping the other training elements might have is unclear, and one would think some of those elements would be useful to Ukraine. The question as to what would be required of a minimally trained F-16 pilot to still be combat relevant in Ukraine still remains. Some of these extra modules could be added at the expense of time though.

An F-16D assigned to the 162nd Wing as seen from a KC-135 aerial refueling tanker. The BPA report says that mid-air refueling training could be skipped for Ukrainian pilots. Air National Guard

More experienced Ukrainian fighter pilots would have their own relevant skill sets that could translate to flying in an F-16. This looks to have been demonstrated in the simulator sessions, at least to a degree. The two aviators from Ukraine apparently repeatedly reverted to using Soviet-standard formation flying procedures rather than the U.S. ones explained to them by their American observers. There is no indication from the BPA report that this caused any significant issues, however.

The BPA report does highlight a lack of English language skills as a concerning issue, especially when it came to the Ukrainian pilots being able to read instruments and displays. The English skill level of either pilot from Ukraine is unclear, as is how much of the assessment may have been conducted with the help of interpreters. It does say that "there was noted improvement of English aptitude over the two-week assessment."

The BPA's findings do also include warnings against drawing broader conclusions from its results given the limitations of the assessment, including the small data set (just two Ukrainian pilots), only having a short amount of simulator time in total, and the fact that no formal training or other instruction was given. All of this was done at the unclassified level and without any "previously established precedent to host an event like this," the report notes.

All told, the event seems to have been extremely informal, possibly due to funding limitations and other factors. The final report recommends conducting a larger formal training event to better assess the situation. It's unknown whether any such event has since occurred or is scheduled to take place in the United States or elsewhere.

An F-16 pilot sits in a cockpit mockup during egress training on the ground. This training teaches pilots to get in and out of the cockpit safely in various situations, including if they need to eject in an emergency. USAF

Regardless, the report's findings are significant given the steadily building pressure on the U.S. government to either transfer F-16s to Ukraine or authorize third parties to do so. Vipers in service anywhere in the world are subject to various U.S. export controls.

Ukrainian officials have made no secret of their interest in acquiring F-16s, or other more modern Western combat jets, to supplement and perhaps eventually supplant their Soviet-era fleets. Pressure on American authorities to at least facilitate such a transfer increasingly looks to be coming from NATO allies, too.

"It's up to the White House to decide if it wants to release that technology," U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told reporters yesterday. "We don't have F-16 pilots, but we can help the pipeline."

https://twitter.com/Janebon34813396/status/1659118856865042432

"This summer we will commence an elementary flying phase for cohorts of Ukrainian pilots to learn basic training, the British government announced earlier this week. This will adapt the program used by U.K. pilots to provide Ukrainians with piloting skills they can apply to different kinds of aircraft. This training goes hand in hand with U.K. efforts to work with other countries on providing F-16 jets  Ukraines fighter jets of choice."

Wallace's comments yesterday had come after a meeting in Berlin with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. Pistorius said his country didn't have the relevant resources to contribute to any international coalition to send fighter jets to the Ukrainian Air Force, something that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for.

This week Belgium's government said they would be in a position to help with F-16 pilot training. When asked this week about potential F-16 transfers, Dutch and Norwegian officials demurred in their responses.

In January, authorities in the Netherlands had indicated they'd be open to sending F-16s to Ukraine, before walking back those comments. Danish officials have said their country has at least looked into doing the same. The Ukrainian government has engaged with Poland about acquiring some of their Vipers, as well.

Belgian and Dutch F-16s fly together. NATO

It is interesting to remember here that the 162nd Wing's BPA report was cleared for release to Belgian, British, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, and Polish officials, among others. This raises the question of whether the Air Force's assessment may be having an impact, at least on some level, on this broader decision-making regarding future F-16 deliveries to Ukraine.

U.S. officials have repeatedly balked at the idea of sending F-16s to Ukraine directly, arguing that there are other more pressing military aid requirements, especially ground-based air and missile defenses.

"Our priority has been giving Ukraine the air defense systems that they need, and also their other priorities [which] include armor and artillery," Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said just today at a routine briefing. "That's what we've been focused on with our packages but... when it comes to F-16s, I just have nothing new to announce today."

At the same time, American authorities may be softening on the idea of third-party transfers. It's also worth noting that just in the past year and a half or so, policies regarding what the U.S. is and isn't willing to send to the Ukrainian forces have evolved significantly. U.S. military assistance packages just in the past six months have steadily included more advanced weapon systems, including Abrams tanks and Patriot surface-to-air missile systems.

Nearly 14 months ago, The War Zone argued that Western 4th generation fighter training for Ukrainian pilots should have begun then. The fact that the U.S. is just now working through very preliminary assessments on what it would take to do so is unfortunate. Western fighters for Ukraine are a long-lead item regardless and something that will be needed to ensure Ukraine's security for years to come, even beyond the current all-out war with Russia.

Regardless, the emergence of this U.S. Air Force assessment that Ukrainian pilots could be trained to fly F-16s relatively quickly will undoubtedly add to the already growing chorus of calls to send these jets to that country.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com
At least 7 dead in crash involving semi-trucks, passenger van on I-5 in Oregon, police say

SALEM, Ore.  At least seven adults have died and more are injured in a crash on Interstate 5 in Oregon Thursday afternoon, according to the Oregon State Police.

The crash happened shortly after 2 p.m. local time between Salem and Albany in the northbound lanes near the Santiam River Rest Area.

Police say two semi-trucks and a passenger van were involved in the crash, but the cause of the crash is still undetermined.

The white Ford passenger van at the scene was severely crushed. Straw sun hats and shovels can be seen among the wreckage.

A semi-truck with a Target logo had damage to its rear end, and a black semi-truck with tarps covering the sides also appeared to be part of the crash scene.

At lease seven adults are killed Thursday in a three-vehicle crash on northbound Interstate 5 between Salem and Albany, Oregon.

A witness at the crash site said it appeared that the van had been crushed between the two semis from in front and behind.

Judging by the damage, it looked like the van was sandwiched, Adrian Gonzalez said. It got hit very hard.

He described two helicopters from Lifeflight Air Medical Services landing nearby and taking people from the scene while paramedics treated others at the scene.

Charlotte fire: 2 unaccounted for, 15 rescued as crews battle five-alarm blaze in SouthPark

I-5 North open

Northbound I-5 was opened late Thursday, the Oregon Department of Transportation said.

Traffic backups as a result of various detours were also reported on I-5 South, South River Road and in West Salem.

Northbound Interstate 5 traffic was backed up past Albany due to a three-vehicle, multiple fatality crash just north of the Santiam River Rest Area on Thursday.

According to Oregon Department of Transportation data, 159 people have died in traffic crashes in Oregon so far this year. In 2022, 600 people died in crashes in Oregon.

World news: Baby among 4 children found alive 17 days after plane crashes in Amazon forest

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: I-5 car crash in Oregon near Salem, Albany: 7 dead in northbound lanes
FILE - Riad Salameh, Lebanon's Central Bank governor, smiles during a press conference in Beirut, on Nov. 11, 2019. Salameh did not appear before French prosecutors for questioning in Paris, Tuesday May 16, 2023 in an ongoing European probe into alleged money-laundering and illicit enrichment. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

BEIRUT (AP)  Lebanon on Friday received an Interpol notice for the country's embattled central bank governor who failed to show up in Paris earlier in the week for questioning in a key corruption case, officials said.

France, Germany, and Luxembourg are investigating the governor, Riad Salameh, and his associates over myriad financial crimes, including illicit enrichment and the laundering of $330 million. A French investigative judge on Tuesday issued an international arrest warrant for Salameh after he did not answer summons for questioning in Paris.

However, Lebanon is unlikely to comply with the Interpol notice and arrest and hand over Salameh to French authorities. Under the country's laws, Lebanon does not extradite its own citizens. In 2020, it received two Interpol red notices for tycoon Carlos Ghosn, who faced financial misconduct charges in Japan. Ghosn remains in Lebanon.

Interpol listed Salameh's notice on its website, adding that he is wanted by France for criminal conspiracy with intent to commit offenses punishable by ten years of prison, organized money laundering, and aggravated tax fraud.

The Lebanese Interior Ministry confirmed receiving the Interpol Red Notice, but did not comment on possible actions against Salameh. The judicial officials who spoke to The Associated Press about the notice did so on condition of anonymity to discuss the case.

Salameh denies allegations of corruption, and maintains that he amassed his wealth through his previous job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch, inherited properties, and investments. He said he would only resign if convicted of a crime.

On Friday, Salameh reiterated that he intends to appeal the Interpol notice because he did not receive the summons for questioning in Paris in person, according to the rules and laws. The Central Bank returned the summons, which had arrived while Salameh was absent from the bank, according to judicial officials.

I am introducing an appeal to cancel the notice, Salameh told the AP.

The 72-year-old governor has held his post for almost 30 years, but says he intends to step down after his current term ends in July.

The three European governments in March 2022 froze over $130 million in assets linked to the probe. During a visit to Lebanon in March, the European delegation questioned Salameh about the Lebanese central banks assets and investments outside the country, a Paris apartment  which the governor owns  and his brother Raja Salamehs brokerage firm Forry Associates Ltd.

Once hailed as the guardian of Lebanons financial stability, Salameh since late 2019 has been heavily blamed for Lebanons financial meltdown. Many say he precipitated the economic crisis, which has plunged three-quarters of Lebanons population of 6 million into poverty.
Leona Dondi Doubles As A Senior Product Researcher At Netflix And A Founder Of A Haircare Line Inspired By Her Kenyan Roots

A hobby turned into a full blown business for entrepreneur Leona Dondi.

The founder leads UZIMA, a haircare company that stemmed from her experiencing scalp issues and hair loss, leading her to experiment with various formulas to find a solution.

Courtesy of UZIMA

I was experiencing extremely dry skin and I tried a lot of lotions in the drug stores and supermarkets, and nothing really helped my skin, she told AfroTech.

She recalls a Google search she did nearly 15 years ago to develop her first product, which included shea butter, aloe vera gel, glycerin, and water.

After using the formula, she achieved the results she wanted for her skin.

Her efforts didnt stop there.

She then focused on maturing the formula and pivoted toward creating haircare products after developing a hair allergy.

At this time, she didnt intend to sell her product.

I wasnt even thinking of becoming a business person, Dondi said. I was in a Ph.D. program. I was studying psychology. My career was headed toward becoming an academic professor and doing research on implicit bias. That was my plan.

She continued: Being an immigrant to the United States and not knowing a whole lot about what there was out there in the world to offer, it wasnt something when I started making products that I thought, Oh, I could make this into a business.'

Her entrepreneurial muscle eventually blossomed after a trip to Korea in 2018.

There were no solutions that were teaching me how to kind of stop these things from happening, Dondi explained. There were never any products that were about preventing irritation, keeping the scalp calm, throughout the whole haircare routine. So, thats when I decided that I was gonna start my company.

In preparation, she enrolled in a 12-week workshop titled Launch and Grow Your Business offered by her local Small Business Administration (SBA).

Her work as a user experience researcher at Google and her position as a senior product researcher at Netflix also provided her with additional resources and knowledge.

All of the work that Ive done as a researcher really has helped me think about what problem Im trying to solve, she detailed. I identified a problem, how do I fix it? How do I understand from my audience what they need in order for me to create a solution? So those skills came in handy for me.

Her dedication can be seen today through UZIMA and the fact that she still maintains her position at Netflix while simultaneously running her company.

With active ingredients inspired by her Kenyan roots, the sustainable haircare line promises to nourish curly and kinky hair.

Courtesy of UZIMA

Weve got ingredients from really all over and trying to benefit from nature wherever it is. But then also being mindful of being able to source those things sustainably, both from an ecological standpoint, but also from an economical one, Dondi expressed. We work with manufacturers who certify that they are providing fair wages to all of the workers that they work with. We work with a small collective of wild harvesters for our oils.

She added: Were really trying to find what are these secrets, these ingredients that have not really shown themselves as spotlighted in haircare and bringing those into the market and introducing them to our audience.
Leonardo DiCaprios Accent In Killers Of The Flower Moon Raises Eyebrows On Twitter

From Left: Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio in

From Left: Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio in "Killers of the Flower Moon," coming soon to Apple TV+.

Finally, a first look at Martin Scorseses highly anticipated Killers of the Flower Moon film is here.

A star-studded trailer for the Western crime drama hit the internet on Thursday.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Ernest Burkhart, the nephew of an influential local rancher (Robert De Niro) who gets involved in the sickening Osage Nation murders. Burkhart is married to an Indigenous woman (Lily Gladstone) who has inherited an oil fortune but at deathly costs.

While fans agree on how epic the trailer is, many have quickly pointed out one concerning detail on Twitter: DiCaprios accent.

will watch and im sure its great but my tolerance for leo dicaprio accent work is wearing https://t.co/ZpyD1OlSvw  unidentified flying objet dart (@konstantinlvn) May 18, 2023

I cant fucking wait to go around everywhere doing an impression of Leos fake Southern accent for the next 3 months after seeing this https://t.co/bSkgrruCbH  my life is a living hell. every minute is torture (@on_da_spectrum) May 18, 2023

Did Leo just invent a new accent, has anybody ever sounded like that? https://t.co/DaAngciJZQ  paul (@YNMIDK) May 18, 2023

Obviously excited for this but is nobody else at least slightly bothered by Leos accent here? Like I can tell its Leo just doing an accent. https://t.co/bhlcQGO7Eo  Dakota (@ComradeDakota) May 18, 2023

On the other hand, other Twitter users didnt seem to mind the Oscar-winning actors accent.

You know the film is  when Leo has to use an accent https://t.co/L0RLo9Rvuv  Imagine Losing 49-0 (@Doc_Texas) May 18, 2023

Someone stop me from doing Leos accent for the next 6 months please  https://t.co/OjYVpM7wA8   Super Marcey  (@supermarcey) May 18, 2023

Set in Oklahoma during the 1920s, Killers of the Flower Moon is based on David Granns best-selling book of the same name.

The film tells the true story of a series of massacres known as the Reign of Terror, in which members of the Osage Nation were murdered and extorted by white interlopers seeking their oil fortune.

JaNae Collins, Lily Gladstone, Cara Jade Myers and Jillian Dion in

JaNae Collins, Lily Gladstone, Cara Jade Myers and Jillian Dion in "Killers of the Flower Moon," coming soon to Apple TV+.

In typical Scorsese fashion, the films trailer cleverly conveys the dark history of the Osage murders, all while careful not to give away too many plot details  yet still managing to deliver an ominous atmosphere.

The nearly two-minute teaser is crawling with forewarnings of death, blazing fires and a forbidding voiceover from DiCaprios character who portentously hints at the danger of hungry wolves.

The film, set to run for a whopping three hours and 26 minutes, marks the seventh on-screen collaboration between DiCaprio and Scorsese.

It also stars Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins and Jillian Dion.

Killers of the Flower Moon hits select theaters on Oct. 6 before expanding on Oct. 20. The film will move to Apple TV+ later.

Related...
Vin Diesel as Dom in Fast X

Vin Diesel as Dom in <em>Fast X</em> Credit - Peter MountainUniversal Pictures

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Fast X

No one is ever really dead or gone in a Fast & Furious movie. In its final moments, Fast X brings two characters back; one, from the dead and the other, from franchise exile.

What happens at the end of Fast X?

The end of Fast X reveals that Gisele, an ex-Mossad agent played by Gal Gadot, who was presumed dead in Fast & Furious 6, is still alive and at the helm of a submarine in Antarctica. It turns out Fate of the Furious villain Cipher (Charlize Theron) knew that Gisele was still alive and enlisted her help in breaking her and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) out of the black site prison where they were being held by the covert organization known as The Agency. Its unclear what Giseles ties are to Cipher, who hates Dante enough to form an alliance with Dom (Vin Diesel) and his team. Cipher wouldnt be the first Fast & Furious villain to grow tired of breaking bad. (Though, lets not forget, Cipher was really bad, like murdering the mother of Doms only son, kind of bad.) But her direct line to Gisele hints that they have an ally in common.

Gal Gadot in Fast Five Jaimie TruebloodUniversal Pictures/Everett Collection

Perhaps, Kurt Russells Mr. Nobody, the mysterious leader of the Agency and Doms guardian angel, has something to do with Giseles reappearance after she appeared to sacrifice herself to save her boyfriend Han (Sung Kang). After all, he already faked Hans death, what stops him from faking another? Maybe someone else from Doms past is responsible for the unconventional friendship between Gisele and Cipher. (Hello, Doms mom?) Gisele has a lot to explain in Fast & Furious 11, but her resurrection means the greatest couple in the Fast & Furious franchise will be reunited again at last. Now, thats really #JusticeForHan.

Read More: Let Movie Characters Stay Dead Already

What happens in the mid-credits scene?

Maybe more surprising than Gisele resurfacing in the Arcticat least for those fans who read the tabloidsis Dwayne The Rock Johnsons cameo in Fast Xs mid-credits scene. How did we get there? Lets rewind.

The tenth film in the Fast & Furious series is focused on the aftermath of the events of 2011s Fast Five. In that film, Dom and his OG enemy-turned-bestie Brian OConner (the late Paul Walker) take down Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida), a corrupt Brazilian politician and drug lord in an action sequence in which Dom and Brian manage to steal a ten-ton vault filled with $10 million of Reyes money by using, what else, their cars. They drag it out of the police station and through the streets of Rio de Janeiro, causing mass destruction and the death of Reyes.

Read More: Breaking Down the Very Complicated Fast & Furious Family Tree

In Fast X, Reyess son, Dante (a deliciously devilish Jason Momoa) seeks revenge against Dom, who he blames for killing his dear old dad more than a decade earlier. Hes got real eye for two eyes energy (not to mention, impeccable fashion sense) and hes out to destroy Doms family. But, it turns out that Dante isnt just out to get Dom for his fathers death; he wants to ruin Hobbs life too.

In Fast Xs mid-credits scene, a man in a black mask picks up a ringing flip phone to hear Dante on the other line reminding moviegoers that Hobbs was actually the one who shot his dad and hes coming for him. The mystery man takes off his mask to reveal he is in fact Hobbs and hes ready and waiting for whatever Dantes got for him. Hobbs even musters up a sonofab-tch to let us know hes still the same no-nonsense DSS agent who fans first met in Fast Five. Hobbs return once again teases the importance of that particular film in this sagas endgame. Back then, Hobbs was a bounty hunter out to capture Dom and his crew, who had been framed for killing DEA agents. After Dom saves his life, Hobbs realizes that Toretto and his speed racing crew arent the bad guys and teams up with them to take down Reyes, the real villain of the movie. Now, Hobbs will have to team up with Dom to once again save the world; this time from Dante, who is as unhinged as they come.

Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw and Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw Daniel SmithUniversal Studios

This mid-credits moment promises a much-anticipated reunion between his character Luke Hobbs and Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) two years after Johnson vowed he would never return to the franchise. While fans of these movies might have expected to see these two beloved characters again before the two decade old action soap opera called it quitsif you believe Diesel, there is still enough gas in this tank for two more filmsits no less exciting to see them welcomed back into the fold. After all, theyre family. But their returns also open up a world of possibility for Fast & Furious 11 and 12. Could it be that fans will finally meet Doms mom, whose identity is one of the biggest mysteries of the franchise? Maybe!
Here we see the sunken bow of the Titanic underwater in extreme detail, with corroding metal and algae growing on the ship.

The first ever full-scale digital scan of the Titanic has revealed the world's most famous shipwreck in "astonishing," never-before-seen detail.

Caked in mud and surrounded by pitch-black water, the corroded wreck of the Titanic was scanned by submersibles using deep-sea mapping to create "an exact 'digital twin'" that experts will use to shed light on the ship's final hours above water.

After being struck by an iceberg just four days into its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City in April 1912, the ship plunged to its current resting place 12,500 feet (3,800 meters) below the surface in the North Atlantic, roughly 370 nautical miles (690 kilometers) south of Newfoundland, Canada. Of the ship's 2,240 passengers and crew, more than 1,500 people died following the catastrophic crash.

The sunken ship's remains were unexpectedly discovered during a secret Cold War mission in 1985. Since then, divers have explored the wreck a number of times, photographing artifacts left behind in the chaos of the ship's sinking. Now the new scan  showing the full ship unobscured by gloomy water  may help scientists better understand how it veered into the iceberg and how it sank.

Related: An aurora that lit up the sky over the Titanic might explain why it sank

"This model will allow people to zoom out and to look at the entire thing for the first time. So, by capturing this 3D model, what we're able to do is visualize the wreck in a completely new way, there's all kinds of amazing small little details that you can see," Gerhard Seiffert , a 3D imaging specialist at the deep-sea mapping company Magellan that conducted the scan alongside the filmmakers Atlantic Productions, said in a statement.

"This is the Titanic as no one had ever seen it before," Seiffert said.

A full view of the Titanic, with a visible crack between the bow and the stern of the ship.

RELATED STORIES

Salvagers may cut open the Titanic and pull out its 'voice', judge rules

Nazi shipwreck is leaking toxic chemicals into the sea, 80 years after sinking

World's deepest shipwreck found  a US navy warship sunk in biggest sea battle of WWII

Researchers created the unprecedented scan by stitching together more than 715,000 sonar images of the wreck with 4K video footage, taken during more than 200 hours of surveying with two submersibles named "Romeo" and "Juliet."

The model maps the ship with millimeter-scale precision, revealing individual rivets; the ship's serial number; and the 3-mile-long (5 km) debris field surrounding the vessel.

A top-down view of the Titanic's bow.

For experts studying the wreck, the scan comes just in time. The ship is slowly disintegrating as deep-sea microbes feast on its iron hull, and previous salvage operations have caused accidental damage to the ship. For example, one operation conducted in 2019 by the company the RMS Titanic Inc. destroyed the ship's crows nest while retrieving its bell.

"I have been studying Titanic for 20 years, but this is a true game-changer," Parks Stephenson, a Titanic expert, said in the statement. "We've got actual data that engineers can take to examine the true mechanics behind the breakup and the sinking and thereby get even closer to the true story of the Titanic disaster. For the next generation of Titanic exploration, research and analysis, this is the beginning of a new chapter."
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

After making stops in South Korea, Japan and China, the BTS exhibition has finally landed in Los Angeles, and fans will have even more chances to experience all things BTS.

More from Billboard

Due to popular demand, Live Nation has added new dates to BTS Exhibition: Proof in Los Angeles, an immersive exhibition held at Third Street Promenaded in Santa Monica, Calif. The exhibition, which launched this month and has been extended through July 8, explores BTS past, present, and future through photographs, videos, and experiential installations in a multi-room walkthrough experience.

Related

bts, white house

There's a BTS Biography Dropping This Summer: Here's How You Can Pre-Order 'Beyond the Story'



05/19/2023



In addition to visiting the exhibit, BTS fans will be able to shop limited-edition merch. Tickets to the exhibit range from $50 to $60, but theyre almost sold out, so its best to buy in advance.

BTS Exhibition Proof in LA  pic.twitter.com/MNTP8q9Bvo   (@BTS_twt) May 12, 2023

BTS Exhibition Proof in Los Angeles

Price: $56-$60

Buy Now

No on-site tickets will be sold. However, leftover tickets will be available online until two hours before each time slot for that specific date. Although tickets for this weekend sold out, tickets are still available for May 23-25 and May 30-31. Tickets are also available for June and the first week of July.

If you use one account to purchase multiple tickets for your group, the entire party must arrive together, as each ticket will be scanned separately. Tickets are non-transferable and re-entry is prohibited once you leave.

Fans can enter the exhibit only during their reserved time, which are separated into 80-minute time slots starting at 10 a.m. PT until 8:20 p.m. PT. Your ticket will be canceled if you arrive more than 30 minutes late from the reserved time, so be sure to arrive early. Santa Monicas Third Street Promenade is accessible by car and public transportation, including Santa Monicas Big Blue Bus and L.A. Metro. Find parking information here.

The BTS Army has lots to celebrate this year! Apart from the upcoming 10-year anniversary on July 9, fans can pre-order the official BTS biography, which drops on BTS Army Day.

Want more BTS gear? Read our roundup of the coolest BTS merch for K-Pop lovers and where to buy the BTS Lego Dynamite Set.

Click here to read the full article.
 Flash

Kazakhstan has opened a new consulate general in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, where the first China-Central Asia Summit was held on Thursday and Friday.

The Consulate General of Kazakhstan in Xi'an is the third consulate general of Kazakhstan in China and the first consular office set up by a Central Asian country in western China.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang attended the opening ceremony of the Consulate General of Kazakhstan in Xi'an, together with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Murat Nurtleu on Friday.

Tokayev said in his speech that the opening of the consulate general is of great significance and will vigorously promote bilateral cooperation in economy, trade, investment, transportation, logistics, culture and other fields and make new contributions to the development of Kazakhstan-China relations.

Qin said that the opening of the consulate general is a new milestone in the history of China-Kazakhstan relations. It will build a new bridge for friendly exchanges and cooperation between China and Kazakhstan, especially between China's western provincial regions and Kazakhstan, and provide a new window for enhancing mutual understanding between China and Central Asian countries.
There are many people dealing with stress in today's world, finding it hard to live and deal with everyday challenges. Altrusa International of Oak Ridge is welcoming Michael Yates as the presenter for its year end program on Wednesday, May 24. He will talk on "Living Your Best Life: Dealing with Stress."

Yates joined Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services as director of development in 2014. He has over 30 years of combined experience in community behavioral health and public child welfare services, according to a news release.

Yates

Yates has over 30 years of combined experience in community behavioral health and public child welfare services. He received a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt University in 1990. He spent two years at Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital before joining the McNabb Center in 1992. He spent 12 years providing therapeutic foster care services before joining Harmony Family Center in 2004 as director of the Adoption Support and Preservation Services program, where he received the Bill Williams Award for excellence in adoption services.

Yates joined Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services as director of Development in 2014. He is also a regular contributor to the Knoxville News Sentinel, The Oak Ridger, and surrounding community newspapers. He has served on the Session of Westminster Presbyterian Church and is a former board member of the Alcoa City School Foundation and Alcoa Kiwanis Club. He is past chair of the Mental Health Association of East Tennessee Board of Directors. He is married to Ruth and has two adult children, Max and Ellie.

Make a reservation

The in-person Altrusa meeting at the Doubletree Hotel in Oak Ridge will begin at 11:30 a.m. with time to socialize, and the buffet opening at 11:45 a.m. A short business meeting will begin at noon and the program will follow. Reservations should be made by sending an e-mail to: altrusareservations@gmail.com by noon Monday, May 22.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: "Living Your Best Life": Learn how to deal with stress
Online posts have shared an image of Kenyan cult leader Paul Nthenge Mackenzie wearing an orange T-shirt purportedly featuring the logo of opposition leader Raila Odingas political party. They claim Mackenzie  accused of inciting and possibly forcing his followers to starve themselves to death  is a member of Odingas Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). But this is false: the image was altered by adding the ODM logo to Mackenzies shirt and Odinga's spokesman has denied any connection between the party and Mackenzie.

On April 26, 2023, this Facebook post shared an image of Mackenzie wearing an orange T-shirt sporting what appears to be the logo of Odingas ODM party.

"Mackenzie believes in the true Living God, why is he openly calling on AZIMIO leader Raila Odinga to intervene and save him from what he terms as 'political persecution' due to his relationship with him? To make matters worse, he said that while in court?" reads the post.

A screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on May 16, 2023 Mary KULUNDU

The same image was published in Facebook posts here and here, as well as on Twitter (see here and here).

However, AFP Fact Check found the photo has been altered to imply a link between Mackenzie and Odinga.

TV station logo

A reverse image search located the same picture in a local news report (archived here), which shows Mackenzies orange shirt bearing the logo of his television station Times TV. The broadcaster was shut down in April for airing inappropriate content and flouting other broadcasting licence conditions (see here).

A further keyword search revealed this AFP article in The Citizen newspaper (archived here) published in April 2023 with an image of Mackenzie wearing the same collared shirt but with the name of his former TV station visible below the logo in large letters.

Screenshots showing cult leader Paul Mackenzie wearing the orange t-shirt Mary KULUNDU

The Citizens caption indicates the picture was taken on March 24, 2023 -- more than a month before the false posts emerged.

Commenting on the purported relationship with Odinga, ODM spokesman Dennis Onyango said the party "has no connections with Mackenzie at all and the preacher has not reached out to Raila".

"ODM strives to keep a distance between politics and churches to avoid blurring the lines. We have suffered for keeping that distance, with accusations that the party is ungodly," he told AFP Fact Check.

Starvation cult

Mackenzie is facing terrorism charges over what has been dubbed the "Shakahola Forest Massacre" after the grisly discovery last month of mass graves near the Indian Ocean town of Malindi.

More than 200 people have so far been confirmed dead as investigators continue looking for survivors (see here).

While starvation appears to be the main cause of death, some of the victims -- including children -- were strangled, beaten or suffocated, according to chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor.

Court documents indicate that some of the corpses had their organs removed, with police alleging the suspects were engaged in the forced harvesting of body parts.

But Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki has urged caution.

"It is a theory we are investigating. The reports that came from the morgue are still being finalised and I do not want to preempt the matter," he told reporters.

On May 8, 2023, Kindiki also warned politicians against politicising the matter a day after Odinga tried to access the 800 acres of Shakahola forest (near the Indian Ocean town of Malindi) where the mass graves are located (see here).

May 19, 2023 Updated to correct the name of Odinga's political party
This story was originally published by St. Louis Public Radio, a BND content partner

After repeated calls by Cahokia Heights residents for relief from sewage and rainwater flooding for years, repairs to the citys faulty system could start by the end of the year.

Were gonna do our best to get work done as quickly as we can, said Jim Nold, senior project manager at Hurst Rosche, the engineering firm designing the project for the city. We realize that some of this stuff is urgent and people are patiently waiting for shovels to hit the ground. So were gonna go as fast as we can go.

In the meantime, residents may have to endure another summer of sewage in their homes and yards.

You mean to tell me weve got to deal with another year of flooding like this? said Yvette Lyles, a longtime resident, who lives near Piat Place, a neighborhood thats seen some of the worst flooding. A bunch of bull coming up in the yard again and then the house, the crawlspace and pumping all of this raw sewage out again until theyve actually started construction.

U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) speaks with Cahokia Heights residents, including, Yvette Lyles, during a visit to a neighborhood that has persistent sewer and flooding issues. Sen. Duckworth was joined by state and federal representatives that will help oversee the funding and implementation of the future projects to help eliminate the sewer issues in the neighborhood. Derik Holtmann/dholtmann@bnd.com

For the nearly $10 million Illinois Environmental Protection Agency grant, city officials and engineers are mapping out details for bid applications. Those will be sent out in coming weeks.

Thats just the process, Mayor Curtis McCall Sr. said. Nothing thats done right is done in a hurry. It takes time. If I could wave a magic wand and get it done tomorrow, I wish that I could.

Residents said they had no idea when work would start for the sewer repairs, despite construction plans posted on the state EPA website. Many said they didnt know where to find that information.

Some of Lyles neighbors recently wrote a letter to federal, state and local officials asking for better communication and an immediate fix of the citys sewers.

Our experiences in trying to make our homes habitable have been characterized by a frustrating lack of urgency from those who are meant to represent us, the residents wrote.

The state awarded the grant last August and officials like Gov. J.B. Pritzker promised change soon, but residents say they have yet to see much. Some, like Cornelius Bennett, remain skeptical about the planned repairs because of that.

It just seems like were at a standstill, and homes are still getting flooded, said Bennett, a member of one of the resident groups suing city officials over the long-standing concerns. People are still having problems. The one thing we could do is just sit and wait and try to keep all the water off as best we can.

Bennett said he saw some work on the ditches near his home in the past year. Since, hes not seen much.

For Jennifer Chike, who moved to Cahokia Heights with her husband and children in 2019, the lack of progress is frustrating.

We wanted to be here, Chike said. We believe Black communities like ours are like this because everyone moves away and no one invests.

Chike and other Cahokia Heights residents who have lived with backed up sewers for years said theyre hopeful the repair projects can solve the problems. But getting across the finish line is something many say theyll have to see for themselves.

You have to have hope, Chike said. But I dont have hope that its going to come from our leaders. I think its going to be us, as residents, organizing and gathering our voices together and getting loud enough to get something done.

Grant details and timeline

Construction for the sewer repair project was originally scheduled to begin in January 2024, according to the projects plans. However, Nold said repairs could come sooner.

I think therell be a significant amount of work thats started before the end of the year, he said.

The project will rehabilitate or restore 35 stations that pump sewage and thousands of feet of sewer pipe. That includes the citys main line, which the Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to chip in an additional $3.5 million for, the city announced Wednesday.

In all, the sewer project will take 24 months to complete, meaning it ends in February 2026.

Provided map of Cahokia Heights infrastructure project. Provided

Nold said the city will prioritize repairs for the north side of town, which has the worst sewer problems.

Theyll also add two interception sewers in the same area, which will keep the sewer water from Cahokia Heights in the city. Currently, some of those waters flow north into East St. Louis, where Cahokia Heights doesnt have control over it.

While this project will help with a portion of the citys long-standing sewer issue, theres still much more work to be done, said Matt Missey, another engineer, whos consulting Cahokia Heights on the project.

We want to be clear that the improvements made by the work scope in this grant is not a guarantee that all the issues will be fixed, that all the flooding will subside, that people still wont have sewer problems, Missey said. Were dealing with, in some areas, 50- to 80-year-old infrastructure, and there is a limit to how many dollars are out there to do this work.

In all, this construction costs $9.86 million. The remaining money from the grant, nearly $113,000, will fund a community outreach program run by Baxton and Associates based in OFallon, Illinois.

A required portion of the state grant, the citys outreach team will host public meetings, where engineers and city staff will brief the public about the project. According to grant plans, the meetings were scheduled to begin in April. McCall said theyll likely be this month.

At some point this year, the outreach team, in partnership with Washington Universitys Brown School of Social Work, will go door-to-door to reach people who do not have access to the internet or who cannot attend meetings.

The outreach team will also post signs across the city that have links to a new website. Cahokia Heights will be required to update this webpage with information about the project.

McCall said communication is something that fell through the cracks before, but hed like to change that.

They will be well informed going forward, McCall said. Its something that really, truly we just have not done, and we, as a city, have to do a better job.

What else is happening?

Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development has an additional $20.5 million earmarked for sewer and water infrastructure improvements in Cahokia Heights.

DCEO is currently working directly with the community to support them as they work to complete the necessary grant funding requirements, an agency spokeswoman said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the U.S. EPA has committed to appointing a coordinator for Cahokia Heights. U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, who represents the area, asked EPAs top official last month for the coordinator. Her office said that appointment will allow federal funds to be quickly and responsibly disbursed to the community.

The EPA has not yet appointed that coordinator, said Allison Lippert, a Chicago-based spokeswoman. Exactly what role the coordinator will play is also being determined, she said.

While McCall appreciates the work being done by the state, saying Pritzker has done more for Cahokia Heights than the last 10 governors combined, he said theyll need more help throughout the process.

Communities, such as Cahokia Heights, have been disinvested in for decades, he said. That has to change.

To start, McCall and Robert Eastern III, the former East St. Louis mayor, sent a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers last month, requesting help to repair a drainage ditch thats pivotal to the citys stormwater flooding.

A spokesman for the Corps said the federal agency will help the cities in their endeavor. Local engineers believe repairing the ditch, which stretches 14 miles across Madison and St. Clair counties, could cost more than $100 million and take more than a decade to complete.

The mayors and engineers also believe other area communities should help pay into the sanitary district that maintains the ditch.

In the meantime, while all the details are sorted out about the problems in Cahokia Heights, the residents said they will be anxiously awaiting.

I cant shovel poop and pee anymore, Lyles said. Thats probably why I got all these respiratory problems because Im constantly cleaning somebody elses fecal matter out of my home and crawlspace in my yard.

Reporter Eric Schmid contributed to this report.
A longtime volunteer firefighter was fatally struck while helping victims of a crash in Mississippi, officials say.

Philip Allan was trying to help victims of a rollover crash on U.S. 49 when he was hit by another vehicle, according to a May 17 Facebook post from the Seminary Police Department. He died from his injuries.

Allan was a longtime firefighter and first responder in the Covington County and Simpson County areas, police said.

State troopers said they responded to a one-vehicle wreck on Highway 49, WDAM reported. Allan passed the crash and stopped to help.

While walking across the highway, he was struck by a Chevrolet Equinox, troopers told the news outlet.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol did not immediately return McClatchy News request for comment.

People shared tributes for Allan on social media.

This has really broken my heart! Philip had the greatest servant heart ever, one person wrote in a Facebook post. What a tragic loss. He died serving others ... which just sums up what I already knew about him.

He loved to talk and tell stories! If something was going on you could bank on it that Phillip was always there to help and could tell you all about it, another person posted. He will be missed by so many!

He will be missed tremendously, a third person commented.

Covington County is about 60 miles southeast of Jackson.

Firefighter expecting his 2nd child dies when truck rolls down embankment, reports say

Firetruck crashes on way to blaze, killing 1 and injuring 4, Tennessee officials say

Beloved band director and grandfather dies in wreck, Georgia reports say. A great man
Longtime Tennessean editor to lead new nationwide effort to reinvigorate hundreds of local newspapers

Michael A. Anastasi, vice president of The Tennessean and USA Today South Region editor, was promoted this week to lead a new nationwide Gannett effort to transform the growth trajectory for hundreds of local newspapers.

His new role, vice president of local, will report directly to Gannett Co. Inc. Chief Content Officer Kristin Roberts.

Gannett, owner of USA Today and its nationwide network of local papers, hired Roberts in March to redevelop its local news strategy.

Michael is an experienced news leader with a demonstrated history of transformative success through innovation while achieving business results and fostering a culture of excellence, Roberts said.

Mark Russell, executive editor of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, will assume duties as Gannett's Interim South Region editor, overseeing operations at 20 news outlets in Tennessee, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Anastasi will remain The Tennessean's editor pending a national search for his successor. Tennessean News Director Ben Goad will continue to run day-to-day operations in Nashville.

Anastasi said he is excited to take on the new challenge.

I am so proud of this team and these journalists and what they have accomplished, he said. My family and I are remaining in Tennessee, and I remain committed to serving this community as I transition to an executive leadership role. I cant wait to help accelerate our transformation as I work with the thousands of local Gannett journalists across the country.

Roberts strategy, Project Breakthrough, focuses on key growth areas to increase nationwide audience, including opinion columns, newsletters, service journalism, breaking news and audience engagement.

We are going to save local journalism, and were going to do it by working together with absolutely clear eyes about the challenge and tremendous speed toward the solution, Roberts said. When we place the reader at the very center of our business plan, we begin to prioritize what the reader wants and needs.

The fresh perspective is designed to attract larger paying audiences to local journalism by being more responsive to readers.

Anastasi has more than 30 years of experience leading print and digital news organizations.

He studied international relations at the University of California, Davis; has a bachelors degree in journalism from California State University, Long Beach; and has a masters degree in Leadership and Public Service from Lipscomb University. He sits on a number of industry and community boards, including the Economic Club of Nashville, the Middle Tennessee Council of Boy Scouts of America and Leadership Tennessee.

He worked as a reporter in California and served as managing editor of the Salt Lake Tribune for eight years.In 2012, he was named vice president and executive editor at Los Angeles News Group, a consortium of local Southern California newspapers.

Shortly before joining The Tennessean in 2015, Anastasi oversaw a Pulitzer Prize-winning news investigation into school-district corruption in South Los Angeles.

Over the last five years, Anastasi has presided over a 150% increase in digital subscriptions at The Tennessean and an exponential increase in the social media reach. Throughout his tenure, The Tennessean has consistently ranked No. 1 in the Nashville area for market penetration and reach among digital news sources.

Anastasis accolades also include the 2021 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Journalism grand-prize award for The Confederate Reckoning project, which examined the ongoing legacy of the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow and Civil Rights eras in the South.

Frank Suraci, watchdog editor of the Southern California News Group  formerly LANG  was on the Pulitzer team and credited Anastasis leadership.

At the first meeting he held with a group of editors, Mike laid out his vision for our newsrooms and promised that one of us would win a Pulitzer Prize in the not-too-distant future, Suraci said. We all looked at each other and chuckled. Within three years, the team I was leading at the Daily Breeze won a Pulitzer. And it wouldnt have been possible without Mike as the driving force behind our work.

Sandy Mazza can be reached via email at smazza@tennessean.com, by calling 615-726-5962, or on Twitter @SandyMazza.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Longtime Tennessean editor tapped to reinvigorate hundreds of newspapers
Instagram's new text app rivals Bluesky and Twitter

Instagram is bringing more competition to Twitter with its new text app that may become available as soon as the end of June. Sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Instagrams parent company, Meta, has been quietly testing the app with celebrities and influencers for several months.

Meta confirmed it is moving forward with the apps development but did not specify an exact release date, and a company spokesperson told TechCrunch, Were exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates. We believe theres an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.

Read more

When asked for comment by Gizmodo, a spokesperson said the company has nothing to share at this time.

The app is currently identified only by its codename, P92, Project 92, or Barcelona, with the tagline, Instagram for your thoughts. The app will be separate from Instagram, but like Facebook, it will be linked to its sister app, allowing users to automatically carry over their handle, bio, and existing followers, according to digital media marketing expert and strategist Lia Haberman. Instagrams Twitter-like app will allow users to text up to 500 characters, and attach links, photos, and videos up to five minutes long.

Based on initial reports, Instagrams text app appears to simply provide an alternative to Twitter, which has come under scrutiny for pushing misinformation and creating a harsh work environment since Elon Musk took over the app last year. Metas idea to create a competitive app that may drive those fed up with Twitter to their app instead is nothing new, as other companies have recently launched similar apps like Mastodon, T2, and Bluesky, which is currently still in its Beta testing phase.

Twitter founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey backed Blueskys creation, and its beta test launched last week, prompting a surge of applicants to add their names to the profile waitlist. Users get an invite code every two weeks and the excitement for Bluesky was such that some people have listed the codes on eBay, selling them for more than $100 in some cases.

While Instagrams Twitter alternative may create a buzz that will detract from the following Bluesky has received since its launch, Metas reliability for pushing new apps has historically been hit-or-miss, such as with its TikTok-like app Lasso, its Cameo-style app Super, and Neighborhoods  which was an alternative to the widely popular Nextdoor app.

Historically, we know Meta likes to sample and recreate features from other apps and third-party tools based on what they anticipate being popular with their users, Haberman told Bloomberg. She added, Based on Metas track record borrowing from other platforms, its much more likely theyll get there first by consolidating all these experiences theyre building.

More from Gizmodo

Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Lori Vallow Daybell is pictured in a new mugshot released Monday, May 15, 2023. Vallow Daybell has been indicted over an attempted shooting in Arizona. | Madison County Jail

Lori Vallow Daybell is facing additional charges in Arizona related to the spate of murders and attempted murders that prosecutors say she helped orchestrate in 2019.

On Wednesday, the Maricopa County Attorneys Office unsealed a grand jury indictment filed on Feb. 24, 2022, charging Vallow Daybell with conspiracy to commit first degree murder in the attempted shooting of her nieces former husband, Brandon Boudreaux.

Fox 10 reporter Justin Lum originally tweeted a picture of the indictment on Tuesday, however a spokesperson with the Maricopa Attorneys Office told the Deseret News the indictment was not unsealed at that point. About 24 hours later, it was unsealed.

Related

The indictment adds to the mountain of charges filed in multiple jurisdictions against Vallow Daybell, who was found guilty this month on six counts related to the murders of her children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old JJ Vallow, and Tammy Daybell, the spouse of her now husband, Chad Daybell.

According to the two-page indictment, Vallow Daybell agreed with Alexander Cox that at least one of them or another would engage in conduct constituting the offense of First Degree Premeditated Murder.

Cox is Vallow Daybells brother, who died in December 2019. He is widely viewed by prosecutors as an accomplice in the murders.

Boudreaux was one of the first witnesses to testify in the weekslong trial of Vallow Daybell. He told prosecutors he was married to Vallow Daybells niece, Melani Pawlowski  the couple was in the middle of a contentious divorce on Oct. 2, 2019, when he was shot at in his driveway outside of Gilbert, Arizona.

Boudreaux had moved to a new house, the location of which was known to only about five people, he said. Besides his neighbor, his now ex-wife would be one of the few people who knew of his location the day he was shot at.

Prosecutors and witnesses pointed to a number of exhibits linking Vallow Daybell and her brother to the attempted shooting, such as suspicious items found at Coxs apartment, including weapons, cellphone data that put Cox near the scene of the shooting, and a tense conversation hours after the shooting between Vallow Daybell and an unknown individual where she said: He cant do anything right.

The shooter was also driving a green Jeep with Texas license plates that police would later determine was registered to Charles Vallow, Lori Vallow Daybells fourth husband who was shot and killed by Cox earlier that summer. In 2021, another grand jury in Arizona incited Vallow Daybell for conspiracy to commit murder in connection to his death.

Vallow Daybell is being held at Madison County Jail in Idaho after a jury found her guilty May 12 in the deaths of her children and Tammy Daybell. Sentencing is expected to take place in about three months.
Discarded equipment and rifles from wounded and dead Ukrainian soldiers are piled at a medical evacuation compound on the outskirts of Chasiv Yar, in eastern Ukraine, on April 19, 2023. (Mauricio Lima/The New York Times)

WASHINGTON  A congressional delegation of five Republicans and two Democrats met with representatives of Ukraines parliament this month in Poland, where the Ukrainians thanked the delegation for U.S. aid and asked for F-16 fighter jets to help in the war against Russia. Three members of the delegation described the meeting as cordial and informative.

One left the session in a state of indignation.

I just got back from meeting with the Ukrainian Parliament in Poland, where they demanded F-35s and thought it was an obligation for every American to pay $10 a month to fund their war, first-term conservative Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., wrote in a heated email to this reporter three days later. Ukrainians are not asking for the more advanced and expensive F-35s, but regardless, Luna said the U.S. role in the conflict could potentially start WWIII.

Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times

Ukraine ranked low on her constituents concerns, she added, vowing to brief her colleagues about the encounter.

Luna is among the boisterous proponents in Congress of former President Donald Trumps America first worldview that regards financial commitments overseas with extreme skepticism. Like Trump, they maintain that every dollar spent on Ukraine  and there has been $113 billion for the war so far  is a dubious investment of taxpayer money that could have been better used on domestic priorities, like fighting the spread of fentanyl. Senior Republicans who support the war and maintain the hawkish traditions of the establishment GOP fear the movement will gain momentum as the conflict grinds on and Trumps candidacy consumes the 2024 spotlight.

For the moment, Americas commitment to Ukraine seems resilient. President Joe Biden announced an additional $1.2 billion in military aid last week. Ukraine funding has gone unmentioned in the $4.5 trillion in spending cuts House Republicans are demanding in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. A House resolution introduced in February by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., aimed at halting further aid to Ukraine attracted only Luna and nine other signatories among the chambers 222 Republicans.

An amendment by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., to establish a special inspector general to oversee Ukraine-related expenditures drew 26 supporters among 49 Republican senators. And one week before Luna met with the Ukrainians, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who previously declared that Ukraine would not receive a blank check from the United States, emphatically told a Russian reporter that we will continue to support Ukraine in the war effort.

But there is evidence to suggest that the anti-Ukraine flank of the Republican Party is playing not to the fringe but to the heart of the partys base. A survey last month of registered voters by Kristen Soltis Andersons Echelon Insights found that 52% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents do not think U.S. interests are at stake in Ukraine. Similarly, a survey in March conducted by Axios/Ipsos found that 57% of Republicans opposed providing weapons and financial support to Ukraine.

Its insane that so few Republican members are willing to say what Im willing to say, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio and a vocal opponent of aid to Ukraine, said in a recent interview. Clearly, something is broken down about the democratic opinion-making process.

He added, Id love to hear McCarthy be more skeptical of aiding Ukraine, because I think thats where most of his voters are.

Vance said his opposition to aiding Ukraine came from enlisting at 18 as a Marine in the Iraq War. I feel this deep sense of shame and regret for having gotten caught up in all of the social pressure to support the war and to think that it would have led to a good outcome, he said.

When Trump denounced the war as a presidential candidate in 2015, Vance recalled that I wanted to stand up and cry, because I was so happy that somebody finally said it.

Gaetz, whose conservative district includes an Air Force base and a naval air station, said the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had devastated his community. I saw the impact up close, he said, and I came to the view that this just isnt worth it.

Gaetz said that his partys dominant foreign policy ideology for the past three decades, neoconservatism, has done our country harm.

Hawley echoed Gaetz and said that the legacy of neoconservatism, an interventionist foreign policy, continued to pervade Republicans policymaking approach. My party took a serious wrong turn in the 1990s, Hawley said. And in D.C., you still see strong remnants of that thinking when it comes to Ukraine. But thats not where the voters are.

But some well-known Democratic anti-war voices reject the parallel between invading Afghanistan and Iraq and lending military assistance to Ukraine. Among them is Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., whom Gaetz now describes as a folk hero for casting the lone vote against authorizing President George W. Bush to use military force after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Lee, who received death threats after that vote, said that in Russias aggression against Ukraine, we see a dictatorship invading a democracy. And we need to be on the side of democracy. Whenever you see innocent people being killed by a war criminal, you want to do what you can to support them.

Lee declined to ascribe a motive for the dovishness in the GOP, but other Democrats did not.

If you look at where the political energy is within the Republican Party right now, Id say its with what I call the Tucker Carlson/Viktor Orban/Donald Trump wing of the party, said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, referring to the bombastic former Fox News host and the autocratic prime minister of Hungary. And among that group, there are some very influential voices, starting with Trump, who believe that the idea of America first translates into America retreating from the rest of the world.

Gaetz insisted that he and the other opponents of Ukraine aid were not isolationists, citing their hard-line rhetoric against China as evidence. I dont want my grandchildren speaking Mandarin, he said. At the same time, he added, I think that its preposterous to lash the future of the United States of America to the future of Ukraine. Quality of life doesnt fundamentally change for my constituents based on which guy in a track suit runs Crimea.

Other Democrats said the anti-Ukraine sentiments of Gaetz and other Republicans on the Hill were transparently attributable to the partys dominant voice. I just think these guys are with Trump, said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. and a House manager in Trumps impeachment trial, which centered on his phone call strong-arming President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine over military aid.

I think Trump has made clear that he supports Putin and other authoritarian leaders, Lofgren said, referring to a recent CNN town hall with Trump. You saw how he refused to say he wants Ukraine to win the war.

Vance insisted that the Republican opposition to aiding Ukraine was not fueled by fealty to Trump. Still, he acknowledged that his party had left itself open to some cynical interpretations, saying, We do lack a sort of coherent strategic view of what American foreign policy should be.

It was also true, Vance added, that some of my more Ukraine-skeptical colleagues will say things like, They impeached Trump over a phone call. There is a recognition, at least from my side, that domestic politics drives the way that we respond to this stuff.

The political currents are already evident among some pro-Ukraine Republicans, if only by inference. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement to The New York Times that while members in his party largely support assisting Ukraine, continued support goes hand in hand with increased oversight. (In an interview, Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio and chair of the Intelligence Committee, seemed to suggest that such scrutiny of the Ukrainian funding was unwarranted, saying, I can tell you we have full accounting of all the military aid to Ukraine.)

So far, defying the Republican base by supporting aid to Ukraine does not appear to be politically detrimental to the partys incumbents.

Not at this time, said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a vociferous foe of assisting Ukraine and a Trump loyalist. But Ill be speaking at many of the Trump rallies, and you can bet that Ill be heavily messaging against the war in Ukraine and anyone whos funding it. And I guarantee you thats going to be moving the needle.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
He made us proud to be Haitian. Wyclef Jean to be honored at event in Little Haiti

Its time to share in some Haitian cuisine and to pass out some accolades.

This years annual Chefs of the Caribbean Celebrity Brunch, which has become a staple of Haitian Heritage Month and Flag Day celebrations, is honoring three-time Grammy Award winning musician Wyclef Jean.

Jean, who has been quietly spending more time in Miami and in Little Haiti, in particular, will be joining foodies and culinary experts from Haiti and other Caribbean islands Saturday before jetting off to Phoenix to perform that evening at Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griners first home game since being freed from a Russian jail.

Jean is being welcomed to Miami by City of Miami Chairwoman Christine King, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Keon Hardemon and Little Haiti Optimist Club as they celebrate Haitian Heritage Month and the musicians contributions to the culture.

The Haiti-born artist will be receiving two keys: One from Hardemon on behalf of the Miami-Dade County Commission and the other from the Little Haiti Optimist Club to Little Haiti, the neighborhood that for over 50 years has been the first stop for many newly arriving Haitians as they began to make South Florida their home.

Last year, Jean filmed a video in Little Haiti for the first song of his project, Vodou Drill. He released the video alongside Miami-raised singer and Love & Hip Hop Miami star Jessie Woo on Haitian Flag Day, May 18, 2022.

READ MORE: The worlds listening to Afrobeats. Why is Haitian konpa still struggling to crossover?

Marie Louissaint, who has been producing the Chefs of the Caribbean since 2016, said while she doesnt always honor someone at the twice-a-year brunch (another one usually takes place during Miami Art Week), this year, those involved really wanted to show Jean the love that he has shown the community.

He made us proud to be Haitian, she said, recalling his famous moment when he redefined the image of Haitian Americans by walking onto the worlds biggest music stage with the bi-color Haitian flag tied around his neck. He repped us and it was an inspiration.

Marie Louissaint will be honoring Haiti-born Grammy winner Wyclef Jean on Saturday, May 20, 2023 during her annual Chefs if the Caribbean celebration in honor of Haitian Heritage Month. A painting of the artist stands inside the iconic Caribbean Marketplace in Little Haiti where Jean will be honored.

While Haitis vibrant and sometimes difficult history is filled with many prideful moments, Jeans last-minute decision at the Grammy Awards in 1997 to grab his flag became a watershed one for the Haitian diaspora. Then a member of the Fugees, he walked onto the stage to accept the prize for their multi-platinum album, The Score, and created a revolution among countless Haitian youths. Being Haitian, his act said, should not be a badge of shame.

The reason I put that flag on [at the Grammy Awards] was so that 26 years later, another young Wyclef, another youth, can stand proudly with that flag and understand what that means when we say We are the first Black republic and be proud of it, said Jean.

For me this is an honor, Jean told the Miami Herald. I am accepting this key, however, not on my behalf but on behalf of all of these young generation of Haitians who we are proud of.

One of his heroes is Haitis Toussaint Louverture, the Haitian general and leader of the independence movement who ruled over the entire island of Hispaniola, which Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic before he was captured by the French, and died in one of their prisons 200 years ago last month.

I always remember a quote my dad used to tell me about Toussaint Louverture. It is that You can always understand a human in their most defying time,  Jean said. He said when Toussaint understood it was over for him, he said, Do what you want to do with me but my seeds have been planted. 

Singer Wyclef Jean performs during Sounds of Little Haiti at the Haitian Cultural Complex in Little Haiti on May 19, 2017.

Giving me the key to the city means that the youth and the community recognize that. But Ive always wanted them to recognize me through them, he said. Haiti is my greatest joy and my greatest weakness in the sense that I would do anything for my country based on the legacy of those who came before and really fought for it.

READ MORE: Its Haitian Heritage Month! Celebrate throughout May at these events around Miami

Louissaint said she really wanted to pay homage to Jean and his unprecedented contribution to Haitian culture in the United States through his music and other ventures.

The free but already sold-out celebrity brunch will feature 10 chefs who will be showing off their Caribbean-inspired dishes including island desserts, specialty beverages and spirits. Participating chefs and the countries they represent are: Chef Creole (Haiti/Bahamas), Chef the Rose (Haiti), Ron Duprat (Haiti) of Top Chef fame, Chef Irie (Jamaica), Chef Cat (Trinidad/Jamaica), Chef Danny Penalo (Dominican Republic), Chef Rob (Haiti), Chef Michel France (Haiti), Chef Keith Reed (Bahamas) and Chef Garfield (Jamaica) best spins on some traditional Haitian cuisines.

Its a great experience to enjoy food from multiple chefs from the different islands as well as drinks and live music, Louissaint said.

As a bonus, guests will also get to enjoy the Art Beat Miami Haitian Heritage month art exhibit featuring work by several artists. The exhibit is curated by Lobey Art & Travel. There will also be musical performances and attendees will receive a commemorative poster that reads, Together for a Better Little Haiti.
A maid was asked to clean up a real mess, Florida cops say. Then she saw the tarp

A housekeeper encountered a deadly sight Wednesday afternoon in Naples, Florida, authorities say, and helped get a suspect behind bars.

According to a police report from the Collier County Sheriffs Office, at around 2:30 p.m., the maid was called by one of her clients, Anthony Michael Corrado, who asked her to come clean up a real mess at his grandparents home.

When she arrived to the house in the suburb of Golden Gate Estates, she noticed Corrado, 34, was covered in blood.

The woman went into the bedroom, heard heaving breathing and saw a large, blue tarp on the floor, with something moving underneath. She began to unwrap the tarp and found Corrados grandmother with a plastic bag over her head, according to the report. When she attempted to remove the bag, Corrado told her to stop because she would get blood everywhere.

Corrado then told the woman to help her get rid of his grandmothers body before his grandfather got home from the grocery store, and disable the security cameras.

The housekeeper insisted they call 911, but Corrado, who has a long rap sheet, told her no because he didnt want to go back to prison, the arrest affidavit said.

Frightened, the housekeeper told Corrado that she needed to get cleaning supplies from her car and left to get help. She flagged down a Collier County deputy in his patrol vehicle a short distance away.

Deputies then went to the house and saw Corrado, still wearing blood-spattered clothes, in the driveway next to a car with the trunk open.

In the bedroom, the grandmother, 82, was found dead, with injuries from blunt head trauma. The 74-year-old grandfather, who had returned from the store, was still alive and wrapped in a blanket,the report said. The second victim, who also had injuries consistent with blunt head trauma, was taken by helicopter to the Gulf Coast Medical Centers trauma unit in Fort Myers.

Deputies continued to search the home and observed blood on the walls and floors, and a heavy hammer with smeared blood on the kitchen countertop.

Corrado was arrested and booked into the Collier County jail. He is facing charges of second-degree murder and aggravated battery on a person over 65 years of age.

This individual is in our custody thanks to the swift response by deputies and the quick-thinking reporter who was able to get herself out of the residence and alert law enforcement, Collier Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said.

Corrado did not appear at his bond hearing where a judge set no bond based on probable cause; the judge also ordered him to have no contact with his grandfather, whose medical condition is unknown.

According to property records, the house belongs to married couple Anthony and Mary Schiavone, the victims of the attack.

Anthony and Mary were devoted grandparents and they helped their grandkids a ton, second cousin Mike Schiavone, who is based in Pittsburgh, told NBC-2. The horror of the entire situation was overwhelming.

Collier County court records show that Mary Schiavone had a protection order against Corrado, dating back to 2018.
Mail carrier steals credit cards on route and goes on shopping spree, Texas police say

A mail carrier was arrested and charged after police in Texas said she was caught using a womans credit cards that vanished from the mail.

Investigators with the San Antonio Police Departments Financial Crimes Unit began investigating on April 10 when someone reported the credit card theft.

The woman said she was supposed to receive two replacement cards from her bank, but they never arrived, according to KSAT. Then she noticed someone used those two cards between March 17 and April 5, according to an affidavit obtained by the outlet.

Detectives identified two local businesses where the suspect went shopping with those cards, police said during a May 18 news conference. Those businesses provided still images of the suspect using the cards as payment.

The detectives then showed the victim those photos, police said, and she identified the woman as her mail carrier from the U.S. Postal Service.

The Postal Service also confirmed the suspect was a mail carrier, police said.

The mail carrier was arrested May 18 and charged with felony credit card abuse of an elderly person, police said.

The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General is also investigating.

McClatchy News reached out to the department for comment on May 19 and was awaiting a response. The Postal Service provided the following statement to KENS5:

The U.S. Postal Service employs more than 625,000 employees and is the largest civilian federal workforce in the country. This type of alleged behavior within the Postal Service is not tolerated and the overwhelming majority of Postal Service employees, which serve the public, are honest, hardworking, and trustworthy individuals who would never consider engaging in any type of criminal behavior. Due to the ongoing status of this investigation, the USPS OIG is not releasing any additional information at this time.

Postal clerk opened greeting cards to check for money then taped them shut, feds say

Stolen checks were being sold out of vehicle stopped in road in Missouri, feds say

USPS worker stole stimulus checks and credit cards from people on his route, feds say
Louisville police have found and arrested the man who escaped police custody Thursday in Louisville.

Norman K. Wolfe, 31, was being transported to a court date in Trimble County when he escaped, Louisville Metro Police said.

LMPD shared a social media post Saturday morning saying that Wolfe was arrested. A department official noted he was also accused of taking part in a kidnapping as part of his escape efforts Friday.

Here's what we know about the suspect and where the situation stands:

How was Norman Wolfe found and arrested?

Around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, LMPD's Fugitive Unit and SWAT saw Wolfe in the passenger seat of a vehicle on Washington Street, east of North Campbell Street. Officers stopped the vehicle and ordered the driver out of it before Wolfe slid into the driver's seat and fled, department spokesperson Dwight Mitchell said.

After a chase that covered about 2 miles, the vehicle became disabled near the intersection of Brownsboro Road and Lindsay Avenue. Wolfe was taken back into custody and brought to the University of Louisville Hospital for some previous injuries suffered during his Thursday escape, police said.

Wolfe is facing numerous charges related to his escape and alleged kidnapping. He will be transported to Metro Corrections when he is released from the hospital. The investigation will continue, police said.

How did Norman Wolfe get loose?

LMPD has released several statements detailing how Wolfe got loose.

Thursday morning, he was being transported from Louisville Metro Corrections to Trimble County for a court date. During the trip, he kicked out the back window of the SUV he was in and escaped near the Interstate 71 and Interstate 265 ramps in Louisville. A search began immediately, with nearby schools briefly suspending outdoor activities.

For subscribers: Gerth: Stop the stupidity. Kentucky GOP governors race was not about Trump and DeSantis

LMPD said Wolfe took part in a kidnapping in the 8500 block of Brownsboro Road, where he is accused of forcing two people to drive him to an area near River Road and Edith Avenue. The two kidnapping victims were unharmed.

That update was sent to media outlets at about 4 p.m. Thursday. In a subsequent update just before 10 p.m., LMPD said Wolfe was still on the run.

Who is Norman Wolfe?

Wolfe faces charges in Trimble County from 2021 that include burglary, wanton endangerment and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. He is accused in that case of stealing from a local business and firing a handgun at someone who chased him.

Prior to the transport, he was in custody in Louisville after being accused in April of taking part in a burglary attempt at a Smoketown residence, another incident in which he allegedly fled from police.

He has multiple previous convictions, including a felony conviction in Clark County, Indiana.

More headlines: A 'tragic situation': What we know about the Shively Animal Clinic shooting

Reporter Caleb Wiegandt also contributed. Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Norman Wolfe arrested: What to know about escaped inmate in Louisville
Phoenix police car

Phoenix police have arrested a man suspected of fatally shooting a 17-year-old outside a west Phoenix apartment complex last weekend.

Police arrested 24-year-old Alexander Martin Reyes on Wednesday and booked him into jail on suspicion of one count of second-degree murder.

On Saturday night, officers were dispatched at about 11:45 p.m. to an apartment complex near 39th Avenue and McDowell Road where they found 17-year-old Matthew Ballesteros suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead the next day.

Police said early information suggested that Ballesteros, Reyes and witnesses were together at the apartment complex's common area having a barbecue before the shooting occurred.

About 10 p.m. the evening of the shooting, a witness stated that Ballesteros left the barbecue and walked to a nearby apartment to borrow a cellphone to call his mother for a ride. He made statements to the occupant of the apartment that Reyes was not acting right and that he had loaded and unloaded his gun, according to police records.

At 10:30 p.m., Ballesteros returned to the apartment and told the occupant that Reyes had pointed his gun at him, according to witness statements to police.

Minutes after Ballesteros left the apartment, witnesses heard gunshots and saw the victim alone on the ground with gunshot wounds, according to police records.

Reyes said to a witness that he shot Ballesteros because he lied to him and did not love him, according to police records. Reyes then fled the complex on foot.

Reyes was on probation and barred from carrying a firearm, according to police.

On Wednesday, Phoenix police received a tip that Reyes was staying at a Phoenix residence, and he was arrested that afternoon near 91st Avenue and McDowell Road.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man arrested, suspected of killing teen at Phoenix barbecue
A man claims a Tesla he was driving 'suddenly and automatically' took off, forcing him to intentionally crash it to avoid hitting people

Revel Tesla Model Y. Tim Levin/Insider

A man in New York is suing Tesla after he says a vehicle "suddenly and automatically" accelerated.

His lawyer told Insider he maneuvered the car to avoid hitting anyone and had to crash it to stop.

Last week, Tesla recalled over a million cars in China, citing their regenerative braking system.

A man in New York is suing Tesla after he says one of their vehicles "suddenly and automatically" accelerated, causing him to crash it in order to stop it and avoid hitting people nearby.

The lawsuit, filed this week in New York State Supreme Court, says Akm Shamsuzzaman showed up for work at Revel Transit, where he was employed as a driver, on January 29 and was assigned to drive a Tesla that day. But things went south after he started the Tesla, the lawsuit claims.

"He had his foot on the brake. He put the car into drive, took his foot off the brake, and then the car jumped forward," Daniel Shimko, Shamsuzzaman's attorney, told Insider, adding Shamsuzzaman went through the normal routine for starting a Tesla.

Shimko explained that as soon as Shamsuzzaman took his foot off the brake, he lost control of the Tesla. Even after he put his foot back on the break, the car would not stop, Shimko added. Shamsuzzaman also tried putting the car back into park but that didn't work either.

"He had to crash the car to get it to stop," Shimko said, adding that Shamsuzzaman was able to crash the Tesla into another open parking space and avoid hitting anyone else.

Shimko said Shamsuzzaman was not severely injured in the incident. He is seeking undetermined damages.

Tesla did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Tesla has previously denied that its vehicles experienced "unintended acceleration."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducted an investigation into reports of accelerating Teslas, looking into more than 200 crash incidents, and concluded it was user error. Specifically, the NHTSA found Tesla drivers were mistaking the accelerator for the brake.

However, last week Tesla said it was recalling more than 1 million of its vehicles sold in China, citing an issue with their regenerative braking system that Chinese regulators said could cause unintended acceleration.

In February, Tesla recalled more than 326,000 cars due to a software issue that could cause the vehicles to act "unsafe" in intersections.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A man who beat a fellow panhandler to death in his homeless encampment was convicted Friday of second-degree murder.

Tony Hyde, 53, previously of Missouri, was not convicted of the more serious charge of first-degree murder, which would have sent him to prison for the rest of his life. Instead the jury convicted on the lesser charge, carrying up to 50 years, for the 2021 death of Timothy Thacker.

Thacker died in the hospital several days after the severe beating left him with multiple broken facial bones and other injuries.

Hyde and his attorneys did not deny he was the one behind the assault, part of which was witnessed by a responding sheriff's deputy in the 4900 block of Hubbell Avenue. But they suggested he was too intoxicated to form the "specific intent to kill" required by law. From the stand, Hyde said Thacker struck the first blows, and Hyde feared Thacker might attack him with a knife, as he had threatened to do to another homeless person they knew.

"My reflex is to hit him back. I got hit, so I went to hit him back, and then I got to feel like, 'I've got to stop him or he's going to stab me,'" Hyde testified.

Recently: Man accused in the murder of Trishay Thompson found not guilty on all charges

Much of Hyde's week-long trial involved his history of severe alcoholism, including prior police contacts where he was found to have a blood alcohol content of .45  nearly six times the legal limit. Dr. John Fell, a defense expert, testified that even after he sobered up in custody, Hyde showed signs of lasting cognitive damage from his addiction.

"I feel like he probably was not capable of making any sort of high-level correct or complex decisions (at the time of the assault)," Fell said. "He didnt have the judgment, he didnt have the ability to put things together and think things through like most of us would in most situations."

Prosecutors countered that Hyde's actions afterward, including approaching a passing driver to summon an ambulance, showed he was capable of rational thought, and that Hyde had intentionally and repeatedly beat Thacker despite having several times knocked him unconscious.

For subscribers: Des Moines man was killed while protecting sister-in-law, who did CPR on him, his mother says

Thacker, 62, also struggled with alcohol, and spent time living either on the streets or staying with his siblings in the area, his sister Judy Shuput testified. She called him "a really good guy" and her best friend who stood by her throughout her battle with cancer.

Shuput said she had spoken with him the day before he was attacked, offering to do his laundry, and she saw him after he was rushed to a hospital for treatment.

"You could hardly tell it was him," she said. "His face was all swelled up. He couldnt talk. I think he was in a medically induced coma. He had the tube down his throat and everything."

The Polk County jury deliberated less than a day before returning its verdict. No sentencing date has been set.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines 2021 homeless camp beating death leads to murder conviction
This man eats out-of-date food to show how long groceries actually last  from weeks-old milk to monthsold cheese

Gavin Wren suspected food poisoning from bagged spinach Images from Gavin Wren's TikTok

A TikToker eats out-of-date food to show people how to reduce waste.

He said milk 41 days past its use-by date was "absolutely fine," but in-date spinach made him sick.

It's possible to be flexible with use-by dates without risking your health.

On May 9, Gavin Wren went to his kitchen and pulled out a Tupperware box filled with cheese. He'd bought and opened this block in November 2022. The best-before date was January 10.

"It's looking good," he said, before cutting off a slice and taking a bite. "Good cheese. It tastes different every week," he said.

This moment, which he filmed and posted on TikTok, is one of Wren's many food waste challenges, which involve eating food well past its "use-by" date.

"I wanted to find a way to help people to reduce food waste," Wren, a food policy expert, told Insider, explaining that it is a "massive issue" that could be curbed if people stopped throwing out food that's still good to eat.

While he said that you shouldn't copy exactly as he does  as he is constantly taking professional advice around the risks to his health  he explained that in watching his videos you may gain a better understanding of how to reduce your own food waste of certain foods.

Since first creating his TikToks in 2020, he has ingested some eyebrow-raising stuff, without getting sick. That includes milk 41 days out of date (which hadn't spoiled), and yogurt 43 days out of date (which had started growing mold on the lid, but the yogurt itself tasted fine).

The only thing that got him was some spinach  ironically, in-date  which he believes caused a nasty bout of food poisoning.

"It was a bit soggy but I thought I'd be fine," he said. He stirred it through his pasta, not letting it heat up too much, and said it tasted as it should. Soon after, Wren got sick.

Wren's experience shows how certain foods are riskier than others, and websites such as FoodSafety.gov have useful resources that help with striking the balance between avoiding food waste and risking your health.

Foods such as raw and undercooked meat; fruits and vegetables; raw milk and products made with it; eggs; raw or undercooked seafood; sprouts including alfalfa; and raw flour are some of the most common sources of food poisoning, according to the CDC.

Leafy greens such as spinach, for example, are a common cause because they can carry harmful germs such as E. coli, norovirus, and Salmonella. Wren thinks E.coli on the spinach is what made him sick.

But it's safe to be more flexible with other foods.

Unlike the UK where Wren lives where it's not safe to eat a food after the use-by date has passed, in the US it tends to be the last date recommended to consume a product, as opposed to when it poses a posing a safety risk.

Most cupboard foodsare safe to eat for a while after they've passed their use-by date, with cans of fish, soup, or vegetables lasting for two to five years  assuming they're not dented  and pasta and rice lasting for two. Thanks to their low levels of moisture, other commercially dried foods like gravy mixes are also safe for a "very long time," the USDA says.

If food is eaten after these time frames, you run the risk of getting sick as bacteria will start to grow.

Frozen foods, meanwhile, won't go bad as it's too cold for bacteria in the freezer, however the taste or texture might change, depending on the item and how long it's been kept in the freezer.

Read the original article on Insider
A red-shouldered hawk has taken matters into its own talons this past week in one Titusville neighborhood where it has possibly been protecting its nest.

Joggers and walkers are keeping their heads on a swivel in the Whispering Hills neighborhood off South Barna Avenue after the bird of prey has been reported swooping down and attacking people as nesting season is in full swing.

Terry Hayden walks in his neighborhood every day and this past week was clawed unexpectedly by the neighborhood hawk that has earned itself a reputation for its aggressive behavior.

"I got hit by a four-pound hawk. It flew down and hit me right in the back of the head. It put six claw marks in the back of my head and knocked me on the ground it was so hard," Hayden said. "I didn't know what happened." "We have a lot of hawks in the area... we believe there's a nest in the trees."

Friendlier Hawks: Viera High on to state baseball with Region 2-6A championship

More from Titusville: Culver's, Wawa coming amid development boom

Have you heard? New Florida golf cart law means changes for Brevard County teenagers, parents

Terry Hayden of Titusville shows the injuries he received when he was attacked by a hawk while walking recently. Residents in the Whispering Hills neighborhood have reported being attacked by hawks nesting in the area. (Photo: Photo provided by Terry Hayden)

Hayden said two other neighbors have been hit by the menacing raptor. One of the victims now wears a large, wide-brimmed hat to protect herself.

Neighbors like George Minto said the community has begun hypothesizing why the hawk may be out for blood. "Folks see the hawk sitting in his favorite tree and he will fly down and try to attack pedestrians. One theory is that tree trimmers destroyed this hawk's nest and it is out for revenge," Minto said.

From its vantage point in a Chinese tallow tree tressed with Spanish moss, the hawk can look serene even with its unforgiving eyes set menacingly under the overhang of its brows, giving the impression that its mission is more personal than practical.

That serenity combined with the natural splendor of its speckled plumage belies its recent bent towards violence, something wildlife experts say can happen more frequently this time of year.

Are hawk attacks rare?

According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, encounters with red-shouldered hawks are not unheard of. Nesting season is when hawks are at their most defensive.

"They may perceive people and pets as potential threats, and may swoop toward and dive at perceived threats from as far as 150 feet away from their nest," according to FWC.

How do I avoid hawk attacks?

A Red-Shouldered Hawk takes flight along Whispering Lane in Titusville Thursday, May 18, 2023. Residents have reported being attacked by hawks possibly nesting in the area. Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK

The state agency has offered tips on how humans can properly manage unwanted hawk encounters:

Avoid areas near the nest, if possible. If you must venture closely to an active nest, carry an open umbrella, or wear a hard hat. Place signs in pedestrian areas to alert others to the presence of a nest and protective hawk parents.

Temporarily erect a shade structure to obstruct the birds view of people and pets.

An air horn may effectively deter birds that start to dive, but it is important to only use this device if a hawk is actively diving at you (and not just perched in a tree or nest).

During times outside of breeding season, trim branches near your homes entrances and outdoor living spaces to minimize chances of hawks perching in those areas in the future.

Eliminate food sources that may attract prey, such as rodents, in your yard. Unsecured garbage, fallen bird seed and pet food are common household attractants that may entice prey species and other wildlife onto your property.

Secure livestock, particularly smaller stock such as chickens and rabbits, in a covered and fenced structure.

Hayden said that, despite the attacks, he doesn't plan on quitting his neighborhood walks but he will be more vigilant. "I just keep looking over my shoulder now. If I see him up there, I'll be ready for him," he said. "Duck or get ready to run."

Tyler Vazquez is the Brevard County and North Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-917-7491 or tvazquez@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @tyler_vazquez

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Hawk attacks have Titusville, Florida residents on guard
Man who lured girl, 17, into home with promise of Disney cups before strangling her is sentenced to 50 years

Arthur Jensen pictured in mugshot (Iroquois County Sheriffs Department)

An Illinois man who lured a 17-year-old girl into his home with the promise of Disney cups before strangling her to death and instantly confessing to her murder will now likely die behind bars.

Arthur Jensen, 53, was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Monday over the heinous 2019 slaying of teenager Adara Bunn in Sheldon, Illinois.

On the afternoon of 5 August 2019, the Iroquois County Sheriffs Department said that deputies were called to a report of a disturbance at a trailer home on West Main Street.

A neighbour had called 911 telling a dispatcher that they heard screaming coming from Jensens home.

Officers arrived on the scene and were met by Jensen who immediately gave a chilling confession.

Theres a girl inside, and I strangled her, he told law enforcement.

Bunns lifeless body was found inside the home.

Investigators said that Jensen had held a garage sale outside his property one day earlier and the teenager had gone to it with her mother.

Bunn was a keen collector of Disney memorabilia and the killer told her to come back the next day and he would sell her some Pocahontas cups.

Arthur Jensen pictured in mugshot (Iroquois County Sheriffs Department)

At the time, Jensens wife was out of town at a high school reunion.

Over the next four years, the case made its way through the courts where Jensen sought to have his chilling confession thrown out of the case.

In March, Jensen was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder.

The horror murder shocked the local community which had not seen a murder since 2016.

Local resident Ray Huff told WAND at the time that Jensen had always seemed like just a nice easygoing fellow.

Assistant States Attorney Michael Quinlan told People that this is one of the worst murder cases I have ever seen.

Adara Bunn, 17, was killed when she went to look at some Disney cups (Obituary)

Bunn, who was nicknamed Sissy, was remembered in an online obituary as a joy to everyone around her.

Sissy enjoyed reading, fishing, school amongst other things. She was an all around joy to everyone around her, it reads.

Survivors include her mother Cassandra Lawrence, Step-father, Gary Lawrence, father Glenn Heffron, brothers, Clayton Heffron, and John Koch, Lafayette, IN, as well as grandparent, many uncles, aunts, cousins and friends.

She will be missed by so many that loved her dearly. She was a member of the Goodland Community Church, Goodland, IN.
Man mauled to death by lions at his own zoo

Police shot a lion and a lioness (AFP via Getty Images)

A Slovakian zoo owner who had 16 big cats has been mauled to death by his own animals.

Farmer Jozef owned a mini zoo in the town of Kysucke Nove Mesto in Slovakia but he was killed by lions, with police only able to find body parts in the enclosure. He died on Tuesday, May 16.

Police shot one lion and one lioness after being alerted to the attack, and now authorities are considering euthanising all 16 of the lions and tigers at Ranc Pri Ziline farm.

Jozef had got permission to breed the big cats, but this had expired in 2019 according to local media reports.

Local media reported that the farmer would sometimes feed the big cats himself, although this has not been confirmed.

We received a report that the keeper did not return from the enclosure of exotic animals in the Oskerda district of Kysucky Nove Mesto, said Zuzana Sefcikova, a spokesperson for Zilina Regional Police.

They continued: All available forces and means were immediately sent to the farm for the purpose of properly securing the scene.

A mans body was found on the scene, but the exact cause of death will be determined by an autopsy.

A spokesperson for the emergency services, Alena Krcova, added that parts of a human body were identified at the scene.

Local media also reported that Jozef repeatedly had run-ins with the law since 2017 and faced criticism from animal rights groups.

Slovakian authorities are currently deciding what to do with the rest of the big cats, with the Agriculture Minister not ruling out euthanising them.

He said: If such a tragic situation happens, the carnivorous instinct can usually repeat at different times.

Jozefs zoo was last inspected by the State Veterinary and Food Adminstration in 2021, when it was fined EUR 2,000 (approximately 1,700). The reasons for the fine were unclear.

This investigation is ongoing.
Barry Nicolle's actions led to the illegal killing of a number of red kites

A 67-year-old waterfowl enthusiast has been sentenced for killing multiple birds of prey and other birds.

Barry Nicolle, who runs a wildfowl breeding farm, admitted the indiscriminate use of banned poisons at Dumfries Sheriff Court.

It is believed to be the first conviction in which multiple birds of prey have been killed with poison.

Nicolle was given a community payback order and ordered to carry out 216 hours of unpaid work.

He also pled guilty to possession of several highly toxic pesticides, using a crow trap illegally and an air weapon licensing offence.

Between May 2019 and February 2020 Nicolle laced bait with banned pesticides at sites in Springholm and Kirkpatrick Durham in Dumfries and Galloway.

He also placed poisoned bread on fence posts around his land which is about 150m (164 yards) from Springholm Primary School.

It was done to attract and kill scavengers in a bid to protect his own collection of exotic and ornamental waterfowl from a perceived threat.

Speaking after the sentencing, Fiona Caldwell, of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: "Barry Nicolle's actions led to the illegal killing of multiple red kites and rooks.

"The laying of bait laced with poisons was shockingly irresponsible and Nicolle has shown an utter disregard for the wildlife laws which serve to protect these species."

The court heard that numerous reports of suspicious deaths of red kites in the Kirkpatrick Durham and Springholm areas were made to Police Scotland, RSPB and Scottish SPCA inspectors by members of the public.

Several red kite were found lying motionless on the ground in a distressed state and had to be euthanised.

Ten poisoned rooks were discovered on the grounds of Springholm Primary School.

Risk to children

Ian Thomson, RSPB Scotland's head of investigations, said: "The placing of poison baits out in the open is illegal, dangerous and indiscriminate.

"It is exceedingly fortunate that Nicolle's repeated actions did not result in serious injury to a young child."

Det Insp Dean Little added: "Scotland's wildlife is one of its greatest attractions, which is especially true in our local area.

"Nicolle's reckless use of illegal poison was not only selfish and damaging to the birds it killed, but also posed a risk to the environment and members of the public who came across them."
A man is dead after a shootout with police in Everett, Friday afternoon. It all began outside the River Landing Apartment complex around 12:30 p.m. and from there spread down the block and throughout the neighborhood.

One woman, Braunynn Collins lives right in the middle of the manhunt that spanned her neighborhood, by the time they reached her home, police and the suspect were shooting at each other.

It was so many, it was like a machine gun almost. da da da da at the same time, said Baunynn Collins.

Braunynn lives in Everett near 9th and Pine Street.

It [gunshots] only lasted a few minutes or so but shooting I dont hear that often. Especially like this. It was bad, she said.

The incident started with the Pacific Northwest Violent Offenders Task Force attempting to serve a warrant to a 34-year-old man at the River Landing Apartment complex. Thats when two other armed men walked up to an officer as he was in his squad car.

Then the subject that they were looking for, came out and there was another altercation. That subject fired a shot into the ground and fled the scene on foot, said Meeghan Black, the Bellevue PD Public Information Officer.

Black then said he ran into a home nearby and got into another fight with someone inside. Its not clear if the man and person in the home knew each other, but an officer nearby said he heard a gunshot from inside. Thats when police saw the man trying to run from the home.

There was an exchange of gunfire with officers. The subject continued to flee, explained Black.

This part all went down by Braunynn Collinss home.

Then I heard the barrage of it (gunfire). So, Im like oh lord theres a whole war over here, said Braunynn.

Police found the 34-year-old shortly after the shootout with a gunshot wound. They tried to save him but he died.

There are at least four different scenes. So, there are bullet casings at all of those scenes. There are witnesses at all of those scenes. So, this is a massive investigation, said Black.

This is shocking to me because this is a quiet place here, Collins added.

Police havent said who the suspect is or why they were serving him a warrant. Two men who were involved in an argument with officers were questioned and released.

The three officers who fired at the man are with three different agencies. They include a sergeant from the Everett Police Department, a sergeant from the Lynnwood Police Department, and a Snohomish County Sheriffs deputy.

All three are on administrative leave.




The complex lies beneath Putin's 1bn palace on the coast near the town of Gelendzhik - Navalny Life/AP

Vladimir Putin had a massive underground lair built beneath his secret palace by the Black Sea, according to plans posted online by the engineering firm behind the project.

The Russian president was said to have ordered the construction of tunnels, which lie about 50 metres below the surface, out of concern for his survival in the event of a revolution or war.

The underground complex was built before Russia seized control of Crimea in 2014, when Putin was still cultivating warm relations with European powers.

His 1 billion palace  complete with its own church, ice rink, casino and hookah lounge  stretches across 190,000 square feet on a verge overlooking the sea.

The existence of the tunnels, first reported by Business Insider, is only known about because the defunct Russian construction firm that built them posted diagrams online as proof of the excellence of their work.

Metro Style, an engineering company hired to dig tunnels for the Moscow underground, published the images on its website in the early 2010s, describing the project as an underground complex for a resort in Gelendzhik, the town closest to Putins palace.

The diagrams reveal bunkers with their own ventilation system, as well as sewage and fresh water supply.

Reinforcing the walls are 15-inch concrete shells and the entire underground complex spans 6,500 square feet.

An elevator shaft connects the complex to the two tunnels, with the lower one featuring a walkway to the beach, according to one of Metro Styles diagrams.

The lower tunnel has cable racks that could be used to carry electricity, lighting and fibre-optic cables into a command post.

Exits from both tunnels are visible on the cliff face rising up from the sea to the palace.

Online diggers

Although the diagrams were removed from Metro Styles website in 2016, they were still visible on the Wayback Machine, an archive of online content.

They were circulated in a community of so-called diggers  Russian citizens who visit and document forbidden sites.

An anonymous digger who said he belonged to a group called Sect Z told Business Insider that he was sharing the images because we are tired of Putins stupid face and want to show his paranoid underground transport.

He later told Business Insider that he hoped the images would hasten the end of the regime .

Thousands of Russians took to the streets when the organisation of opposition leader Alexei Navalny first published an expose of Putins Black Sea palace in 2021.

Some held up gold-painted toilet brushes in reference to a 700 utensil reportedly found in the colossal residence.

The president has denied owning the palace, which is surrounded by 17,000 acres of woods and permanently protected by his security team.

Shortly after Mr Navalnys investigation, Arkady Rotenberg, a billionaire childhood friend of Mr Putin, came out to claim the property belonged to him and the president had nothing to do with it.

But the Kremlin failed to explain why the palace is under 24-hour guard by state security forces and protected by a no-fly zone if the president does not live there.

Several media outlets spoke to unnamed builders at the time, who said they had worked on the site and recalled its lavish interior.

Georgy Alburov, one of Mr Navalnys allies who worked on the teams investigation, told an exiled Russian YouTube show on Thursday that the team had seen the plans for the underground bunker but did not give them enough attention.

You can live there. There is sewage, amenities, very sturdy walls, he said on Alexander Plushchevs show on Thursday.

Its a fully fledged bunker you can hide in.

Safe evacuation route

However, Mark Galeotti, author of Putins Wars: From Crimea to Ukraine, told The Telegraph that the underground complex appeared to be more about providing the head of the state with a convenient and safe evacuation route rather than a place to live during a nuclear attack.

These tunnels are not bunkers. For it to be properly secure you have to be able to close it off, he said, pointing to ordinary doors at the end of the tunnels on the beach side.

Mr Galeotti compared the structure with a series of top-secret tunnels beneath Moscow, known as Metro-2, that were designed to evacuate the Soviet leadership in case of an attack. I have a suspicion thats what were talking about here, he said.

The moving walkway in one of the tunnels suggests that it was going to be used as another luxury feature of this opulent estate.

The whole Gelendzhik palace is a monument to excessive luxury  with everything else youve got, why shouldnt you have a travelator to take you to the beach? said Mr Galeotti.

He added that if the underground complex had been designed as an emergency shelter, the plans and construction would have been handled by a special branch of the Kremlin administration that typically deals with top-secret projects, not an obscure Moscow-based contractor that ended up publishing the architectural plans online.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
(Ursula Perano / Twitter)

Republican Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene accused California Governor Gavin Newsom of mansplaining after he tweeted about her dangerous rhetoric on Democratic colleague Rep Jamaal Bowman.

Mr Newsom became the latest Democrat to rally around his colleague Mr Bowman, suggesting that Ms Greenes recent characterisation of him was racist and adding: This is the kind of dangerous rhetoric that led to Emmett Tills death.

His comments came after the Georgia representative addressed the media about a confrontation on the Hill in which Mr Bowman referred to her as a white supremacist.

Jamaal Bowman shouting at the top of his lungs, cursing, calling me a horrible  calling me a white supremacist which I take great offense to that, she said on Thursday.

Its like calling a person of color the n-word which should never happen. Calling me a white supremacist is equal to that. That is wrong.

His physical mannerisms are aggressve, she added. I think theres a lot of concern about Jamaal Bowman, and I am concerned, I feel threatened by him.

Mr Bowman and Ms Greene went toe-to-toe outside the Capitol on Wednesday, with the pair shouting at one another after Republicans managed to successfully avoid a vote forcing them to expel Rep George Santos from Congress over allegations of embezzlement.

Ms Greene and Mr Bowman became involved in the altercation after Mr Bowman yelled to Mr Santos that he should resign, prompting Ms Greene to engage.

Her comments were slammed as racism by Mr Bowman himself, and have prompted a huge outpouring of support for Mr Bowman from his colleagues, but Ms Greene hit out at Mr Newsom over his support, retweeting a message that suggested the governor was mansplaining.

Shame on you, @GavinNewsom. When women say they feel threatened you should not be mansplaining to them, wrote Richard Grenell, who was retweeted by the congresswoman.

Mr Bowman had accused Ms Greene of using a racial bullhorn when she characterised him as threatening.

Unfortunately, this country has a history of characterising Black men who are outspoken, who stand their ground and who push back as being threatening or intimidating, he told reporters on Capitol Hill. So shes not even using a dog whistle. Shes using a bullhorn to put a target on my back to the people she refers to as MAGA people out there who might want to cause harm.
Majorie Taylor Greene, Jamaal Bowman

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is again being dragged across the internet for questionable comments. This time, the congresswoman is getting mocked for her attempts to paint Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., as an aggressive Black man for two recent confrontations the legislators have had.

Greene took time during comments to reporters on Thursday as she launched a longshot bid to impeach President Joe Biden to call out Bowman by name for two aggressive incidents. She referenced Bowman as one of many angry New Yorkers who heckled Greene in New York City last month when she came to support Donald Trump during the former presidents indictment. Greene also referenced a meeting between herself and Bowman on the steps of Capitol Hill this week, claiming she felt threatened by him as they exchanged words.

Calling me a white supremacist, which I take great offense to, that is like calling a person of color the N-word  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene pic.twitter.com/9hPHKSM5Qg  philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) May 18, 2023

Of course, the aggressive Capitol Hill confrontation was captured on camera and posted by numerous sources. Both Bowman and Greene talk loudly and gesticulate during the conversation. Bowman calls for no more MAGA and warns Greene the Republicans are hanging by a thread, while Greene chants impeach Biden and calls Bowman not very smart for not believing right-wing talking points. But neither makes any aggressive or violent moves toward the other.

She aint worth it, bro, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who approached Bowman at the end of the clip, said.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene outside the Capitol after George Santos had press gaggle with reporters: pic.twitter.com/qtmIerPwoB  Emily Brooks (@emilybrooksnews) May 18, 2023

Many people pointed out the race-baiting nature of Greenes comments about Bowman. For example, political strategist Atima Omara tweeted how easily Greene played the white woman victim against the Black male aggressor without any subtlety.

This is why AOC said to Bowman She aint worth it about MTG because shes not convertible and will use any opportunity to grandstand Also look how she easily how to play the white woman victim against the Black male aggressor without any subtlety. https://t.co/8IUmZQkLfT  Atima Omara (@atima_omara) May 18, 2023

MTG is laughing and shouting back at Bowman. There is no sense at all that he is threatening her or that she feels threatened, NBC host Medhi Hasan noted about the clip. She just lied later, in order to push a racist anti-Black trope.

Stay for @AOC saying she aint worth it bro at the end. On a more serious note, MTG is laughing and shouting back at Bowman. There is no sense at all that he is threatening her or that she feels threatened. She just lied later, in order to push a racist anti-Black trope. https://t.co/58uEv8T0G7  Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) May 18, 2023

Multiple people reminded Greene of her instances of aggression and public harassment. Most notably, many posted a 2019 video of Greene, before running for Congress, following and screaming at David Hogg, a teenage survivor of the Parkland school shooting turned gun control advocate, while accusing him of being a paid political operative.

MYG is fine with harassing David Hogg. Shes not fine with being called out by Jamaal Bowman, one user who posted the clip of Greene, labeled a conspiracy theorist, haranguing Hogg, said.

MYG is fine with harassing David Hogg. Shes not fine with being called out by Jamaal Bowman. pic.twitter.com/hTKtSgemnQ     (@Greatunclebob) May 18, 2023

Marcus Flowers, Greenes Democratic opponent in the 2022 election, reminded voters, As someone who ran against Marjorie Taylor Greene, I saw MAGA extremism up close. It is frightening and we cannot allow the Greene Team to continue to gain control.

As someone who ran against Marjorie Taylor Greene, I saw MAGA extremism up close. It is frightening and we cannot allow the Greene Team to continue to gain control.  Marcus Flowers (@Marcus4Georgia) May 18, 2023

Finally, Rep. Bowman himself released a statement Thursday about Greenes comments. Noting that being characterized as threatening or intimidating' is what happened with Emmett Till, with Mike Brown, and with so many more Black men and boys, Bowman went on to say, Marjories attack is beyond a dog-whistle, and she has put a target on my back.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman released a statement on Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene: pic.twitter.com/M3qwP9ncAO  philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) May 18, 2023

Given her track record, its unlikely Greene will back down or stop using such racially tinged tactics to lash out at her opponents, even as she engages in harsh words and behavior against those who disagree with her far-right stances. Meanwhile, social media users will quickly call out Greene and others on their race-baiting and hypocrisy.
Kylie Lyschola bought ten tickets for Taylor Swifts Friday and Sunday performances at Gillette Stadium and said she paid around $850 in fees.

It did jump up when I went to click purchase, Lyschola said. But I also kind of didnt care because I was going to pay anything for Taylor Swift.

Everything you need to know before Taylor Swifts shows at Gillette

Two Massachusetts lawmakers want ticket sellers to be more upfront when it comes to those surprise fees that get tacked on right before checkout.

Western Mass. democrats Rep. Dan Carey and Sen. John Velis introduced SD.2456 and H.259, An Act Ensuring Transparent Ticket Pricing, in January. Carey said the proposal has come to be known on Beacon Hill as the Taylor Swift Bill.

We heard from a lot of fans who were just frustrated with the ticket-selling process. This would be one tool in the toolbox to help know the full price is right away, to see what portion is fees and what portion is the price of the ticket, Carey said.

The bill requires sellers to include all fees in the total price of the ticket before a potential buyer makes a selection.

[The bill] doesnt fully address all the junk fees. It just makes the customer aware of what the fees are at the outset and what portion of what youre paying is a fee and whats a ticket price, Carey said.

The bill would also outlaw the practice of dynamic pricing, which can cause prices to skyrocket if demand is high.

What this bill is at the most fundamental level is a consumer protection bill, Velis said. It enables folks to know their budget when they go in to buy these tickets and know this is the amount theyre ultimately going to be asked to spend.

Carey said they modeled the legislation after a similar law in New York. The bill is before the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure and Carey and Velis said theyre hoping for a public hearing soon.

Ive heard from Bruce Springsteen fans, Taylor Swift fans, Beyonce fans, Patriots fans, all sorts of different folks who want to go to these different events and dont want to be hoodwinked while theyre doing it, Carey said.

Heading to Gillette for Taylor Swift this weekend? Heres where you can park

Midnight Rain? A Lavender Haze? Heres the weather forecast for Taylor Swifts shows at Gillette

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
WASHINGTON (AP/Boston25) - Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins formally resigned Friday after wide-ranging investigations by two federal watchdog agencies found she sought to use her position to influence a local election and lied to investigators.

In a letter to President Joe Biden obtained by The Associated Press, Rollins thanked the White House for supporting her during her contentious nomination process and said she wishes the administration the best of luck in the months and years ahead.

Rachael Rollins resigned today as U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy has assumed the role of Acting U.S. Attorney.  U.S. Attorney Massachusetts (@DMAnews1) May 19, 2023

Her resignation comes two days after the release of scathing reports from the Justice Departments inspector general and another watchdog outlined a litany of alleged misconduct by the top federal law enforcement officer in Massachusetts.

Damning report details willful policy violations by Mass. US Attorney Rachael Rollins

The inspector generals 161-page report alleges a broad array of misconduct by U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins, who previously served as district attorney for Suffolk County, which includes Boston.

It accuses her of disclosing to a journalist nonpublic information about a possible Justice Department investigation, soliciting and accepting 30 free tickets to a Boston Celtics game, and accepting payment from a sports and entertainment agency for travel and meals on two separate occasions in New York and Los Angeles. The report says she also accepted two tickets for herself and used U.S. Attorneys Office staff to coordinate the trip to TD Garden.

Rollins alleged ethical failings are among the most egregious transgressions of the Hatch Act ever investigated by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, said the nonpartisan government watchdog agencys head Henry Kerner. The Hatch Act bans executive branch employees from certain kinds of political activity.

In response to the findings, Rollins attorney said, Most of the allegations amount to minor process fouls. Though Ms. Rollins could have raised many facts and arguments in connection with these issues, she had no interest in litigating them any further. She believed the better course was to step down and end the matter before it overwhelmed her office and DOJ.

It is the most scathing public condemnation in recent years of a U.S. attorney, a prestigious federal post that has occasionally served as a springboard to higher office, and also details efforts to mislead Justice Department investigators during interviews in advance of the report.

The report stated, The leak was an extraordinary breach of public trust by a senior government official, which threatens to erode confidence in the integrity of federal law enforcement actions. And her decision to attend a political party fundraiser in her official capacity as U.S. Attorney is directly contrary to one of the central purposes of the Hatch Actto avoid even the appearance that the federal government is being used to promote a political party or its candidates. Ms. Rollinss multiple knowing, willful, and serious violations unquestionably warrant disciplinary action.

The watchdog said Rollins used her position to try to influence last years race for the Democratic nominee Suffolk County District Attorney by providing potentially damaging information to the media about her successor, District Attorney Kevin Hayden, while supporting his political rival.

City leaders and government officials reacts to US Attorney Rachael Rollins resignation

FILE - U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins, for the Massachusetts Disctrict, listens during a news conference at the Moakley Federal Courthouse, May 24, 2022, in Boston. Rollins' attorney says she will resign after a monthslong ethics investigation by the Justice Department's inspector general into her appearance at a political fundraiser and other potential issues. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

FILE - Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins addresses the media at the Moakley Federal Courthouse, May 24, 2022, in Boston. Rollins will resign after a monthslong ethics investigation by the Justice Department's inspector general into her appearance at a political fundraiser and other potential issues, her attorney said Tuesday, May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

The report said that while serving as U.S. attorney, Rollins helped Haydens primary rival, Ricardo Arroyo, by providing him campaign advice and direction and coordinating with Arroyo on activities to help his campaign.

In response to the reports findings, Arroyo said, I find all of this incredibly sad. Rachael is someone who was a friend of mine prior to even being in elected office. Somebody I have gone to, to seek counsel. I havent had a chance to read this report yet.

When asked about the findings, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said, Ive known her to be a strong leader in our city on many many issues and this has been quite a surprise.

Rollins tried to convince her top deputy to release a letter implying that the department was investigating Hayden, according to the report. When that failed, she leaked sensitive department information to The Boston Herald in an effort to tank his candidacy, the report said.

A separate 105-page report by the Special Counsel said Rollins used her official authority to interfere with or affect the outcome of an election: Ms. Rollins also leaked non-public U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) information so that news outlets would report that a political candidate she opposed was facing a DOJ investigation, which similarly implicated the Hatch Act.

The Special Counsel investigation  which included 1,500 pages of evidence, including emails, text messages, cell phone records, and social media records  uncovered emails from Rollins detailing efforts to hurt Haydens candidacy.

That includes, according to the report: a July 12 text message where Rollins identified Mr. Haydens endorsers. She wrote: 5 endorsements. 4.5 of them White. No mercy. Finish him.

In another text exchange on Aug. 22, Arroyo wrote: Are yall announcing an investigation into [the police misconduct case] situation with Hayden? Would be the best thing I can have happen at this moment.

Minutes later, Rollins texted backed: Understood. Keep fighting and campaigning. Im working on something.

The special counsel says: it is clear from the evidence that what she was working on was how to disclose that Mr. Hayden was facing a federal investigation.

The report says Rollins tried but failed to get new outlets to write an article about a potential investigation of Hayden before the Sept. 6 primary.

In late August, Rollins told a reporter from the Boston Globe that she may be issuing a brief investigation about [an investigation of Mr. Hayden] next week.

On Sept. 9, Rollins sent a Boston Herald reporter a copy of a memo connected with a potential investigation into Hayden. Off the record, Rollins texted. Not attributed to me.

James Borghesani, a spokesman for Haydens office, declined additional comment beyond releasing a statement that said: However, we do want to emphasize that the report in no way impacts the strong and professional relationship we enjoy with the Office of the United States Attorney in Boston.

Bizarre encounter between DA Rollins and 25 Investigates comes up during Senate hearing

When asked about that under oath in an interview with the inspector generals office, Rollins falsely denied being the source, the report said. She only admitted to it after being confronted with text messages showing she was the source of the leak.

Rollins lawyer told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Rollins will resign by the end of the day on Friday, saying she understands that her presence has become a distraction.

The special counsel noted that if Rollins does officially resign Friday, that forecloses the possibility of any disciplinary action.

The AP was the first to report in November that the inspector generals office had opened an investigation into Rollins over her appearance last July at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser. The AP reported that the probe had expanded to examine other issues, such as Rollins potential use of her personal cellphone for Justice Department business.

Its an extraordinary rebuke of a top law enforcer who twice needed Vice President Kamala Harris to cast a tiebreaking vote to be confirmed as U.S. attorney amid stiff Republican opposition.

Im deeply concerned by Ms. Rollinss misconduct, as detailed in the Inspector Generals and Special Counsels reports, and support her immediate resignation, said Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Its exceedingly rare for a U.S. attorney to resign amid ethics concerns, and Rollins move is an embarrassment for the Justice Department under Attorney General Merrick Garland, who pledged to restore its reputation for political independence after tumultuous years under Republican President Donald Trump.

The inspector generals investigation began last year after Sen. Tom Cotton. R-Ark., who had tried to block her confirmation, urged the watchdog to examine whether Rollins appearance at the fundraiser at a home in Andover, Massachusetts, violated the Hatch Act.

The special counsels report found that Rollins attended the fundraiser even after an employee for the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Massachusetts told her not to go.

In that meeting she was shown a copy of the fundraiser invitation and advised by a USAOMA employee, who had already discussed the invitation with an ethics official, not to attend the fundraiser, reads the report. Despite that advice, Ms. Rollins said that she wanted to go to the event.

Rollins, who served just 16 months as a U.S. attorney, has been under investigation for the majority of that time. She acknowledged during a meeting with reporters in December that her first year as U.S. attorney had been bumpy and that she was still learning the system.

She was the first woman of color to become a district attorney in Massachusetts and the first Black woman to serve as the U.S. attorney in Massachusetts.

Her lawyer, Michael Bromwich, a former Justice Department inspector general, said in a statement to the AP on Tuesday that Rollins was profoundly honored to have served as U.S. attorney and incredibly proud of all her office has accomplished during that limited time, especially in the areas of gun violence and civil rights.

He said Rollins was optimistic that the important work she started will continue but understands that her presence has become a distraction.

Two people briefed on the inspector generals investigation told the AP last year that it was also examining Rollins use of her personal cellphone and a trip that she took to California that was paid for by an outside group. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.

In response to a Boston Herald article from July raising questions about her appearance at the fundraiser, Rollins said in a tweet that she had approval to meet first lady Jill Biden and that she left the event early to speak at two community events, adding nice try though. One person familiar with discussions before that event, however, told the AP that Rollins was only given limited permission to meet Biden outside the home.

In addition to examining the fundraiser, the inspector generals office copied the phone contents of some employees in Rollins office as part of their examination of Rollins possible use of her personal phone for department business, the AP has reported.

Rollins was elected Suffolk County District Attorney in 2018, defeating the candidate backed by the longtime incumbent and by police groups and becoming the Democratic nominee as part of a wave of progressive prosecutors.

As district attorney, she pledged to fight mass incarceration and racial disparities in the justice system and was outspoken about the need for police reform in the wake of high-profile killings of people of color by law enforcement across the United States. She also pushed ambitious criminal justice changes, most notably a policy not to prosecute certain low-level crimes such as shoplifting.

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
FILE - Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins addresses the media at the Moakley Federal Courthouse, May 24, 2022, in Boston. Rollins formally resigned Friday, May 19, 2023, after wide-ranging investigations by two federal watchdog agencies found she sought to use her position to influence a local election and lied to investigators. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

WASHINGTON (AP)  Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins formally resigned Friday after wide-ranging investigations by two federal watchdog agencies found she sought to use her position to influence a local election and lied to investigators.

In a letter to President Joe Biden obtained by The Associated Press, Rollins thanked the White House for supporting her during her contentious nomination process and said she wishes the administration the best of luck in the months and years ahead.

Her resignation comes two days after the release of scathing reports from the Justice Department's inspector general and another watchdog outlined a litany of alleged misconduct by the top federal law enforcement officer in Massachusetts.

The AP first reported Tuesday that Rollins would be stepping down from the prestigious federal post that has occasionally served as a springboard to higher office. Her lawyer, Michael Bromwich, a former Justice Department inspector general, said she understands that her presence has become a distraction.

The AP revealed in November that the Justice Department's inspector general had opened an ethics investigation into Rollins after she was photographed last July at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser featuring first lady Jill Biden. The probe quickly expanded to explore other issues, including her use of her personal cellphone for Justice Department business.

Its a stunning downfall for Rollins, who was praised by powerful Democrats and seen as a rising progressive star when she was nominated for the post in 2021. She served as U.S. attorney for just 16 months and was under federal investigation for almost a year.

Less than two hours before her resignation, a judge ordered a Massachusetts Air National Guard member to remain behind bars while he awaits trial in one of the most high-profile cases the Massachusetts U.S. attorney's office has brought in years. Jack Teixeira is charged with leaking highly classified military documents.

Among those who attended Teixeira's court hearing Friday was Rollins' former deputy Josh Levy, who will now lead the office as acting U.S. attorney.

Rollins was the first woman of color to be elected a district attorney in Massachusetts and the first Black woman to serve as the state's U.S. attorney. She was elected district attorney for Suffolk County, which includes Boston, in 2018 on a promise to decline prosecution for certain low-level crimes, drawing the ire of police and business groups.

She was vigorously supported by Massachusetts' U.S. senators and twice needed Vice President Kamala Harris to break a tie in the Senate to win confirmation as U.S. attorney amid stiff opposition from Republicans, who slammed her progressive policies as district attorney as radical and dangerous.

The allegations against Rollins are particularly striking because Attorney General Merrick Garland has said that one of his top priorities was to ensure prosecutors would be politically independent. After Rollins attendance at the fundraiser became public, Garland barred political appointees from attending fundraisers and other campaign events at all.

The most stunning allegation in the inspector general's report  and another by the Office of Special Counsel  was that Rollins leaked information to the media last year in the hopes of sabotaging the campaign of her successor as Suffolk County district attorney, Kevin Hayden.

Investigators said Rollins tried to meddle in the district attorney race by providing information to the media that suggested Hayden was possibly under federal investigation. After Hayden beat the-candidate Rollins was supporting in the primary  Ricardo Arroyo  she leaked to The Boston Herald a memo detailing her offices recusal from any possible investigation into Hayden, investigators found.

She initially denied being the federal source in the Herald story when asked under oath about it by investigators, but later admitted to being the leaker, the inspector generals report said. The inspector generals office referred the allegation to the Justice Department for possible prosecution for false statements, but officials declined prosecution, according to the report.

The special counsel also found multiple violations of the Hatch Act, a law that limits political activity by government workers. Special Counsel Henry Kerner described them in a letter to Biden as among the most egregious transgressions his agency has ever investigated.

Investigators said that after Rollins got the invitation to the Democratic National Committee fundraiser, she got official advice that she could ethically do a brief meet and greet with Jill Biden outside the home where the fundraiser was held before leaving. Instead, the report said Rollins went inside, joined a receiving line and posed for photos with the hosts and other guests, including a U.S. senator.

Rollins told investigators she had not been aware she wasnt supposed to go inside the home. She believed that as long as she left before the formal fundraising event began, she wouldnt be violating the Hatch Act, her attorney told the Office of Special Counsel.

The inspector general also found that Rollins accepted payment for travel expenses for two different trips without proper approval and flouted federal record-keeping rules by routinely using her personal cellphone to communicate with staff about Justice Department business.

The inspector generals report also accused Rollins of violating ethics rules by soliciting 30 free tickets to an April 2022 Boston Celtics game for youth basketball players. She also accepted a pair of free tickets to the game for herself, writing to the Celtics staffer who sent them: Amazing! Yes. Received. Thank you!!!

____

Richer reported from Worcester, Mass.
A huge great white shark has been enjoying South Carolina waters this week.

The shark, named Ironbound, is a 12-foot-4-inch-long male that weighs 1,189 pounds, was pinged swimming up the South Carolina coastline on Thursday, according to OCEARCH. To view the tracking of Ironbound or other sharks by OCEARCH, click here.

The research group first tagged the shark in 2019 near Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

Ironbound is named after West Ironbound Island near Lunenburg. He is the 53rd great white shark tagged by OCEARCH in the northwest Atlantic Ocean.

Through the tagging of great whites, OCEARCH has shown the predators make predictable annual migrations between the northern and southern parts of their range, which stretches from Newfoundland to the eastern Gulf of Mexico, according to an OCEARCH report. The sharks spend summer and fall primarily in coastal waters off New England and Atlantic Canada, feeding on high-calorie prey such as seals, before heading back south to warmer winter waters off the southeast U.S. from South Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico.
Mayor from ruling Kosovo Albanian party takes office in tense Serb-majority area Italian Carabinieri part of the NATO-led peacekeeping force stand guard in North Mitrovica

PRISTINA (Reuters) -A mayor from Kosovo's ethnic Albanian ruling party was sworn into office in the majority Serb half of the divided town of Mitrovica on Friday a month after local elections that were boycotted by local Serbs.

Some 50,000 Serbs living in four north Kosovo municipalities shunned the vote in protest that their demands for more autonomy have not been met - another sign that a peace deal signed by Kosovo and Serbia in March is not working.

The election turnout was 3.47% and local Serbs said they would not work with the new mayors in the four municipalities - all from ethnic Albanian parties - because they do not represent them.

Serbs in the region have never accepted Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia, a decade after a guerrilla uprising against repressive Serbian rule, and still see Belgrade as their capital.

"I will work with all my team for all the citizens without any discrimination," new Mayor Erden Atiq said after the ceremony close to the main bridge over the river that divides the mainly Serb and ethnic Albanian sides of Mitrovica.

It was unclear when the new mayors of the other three municipalities would be sworn in.

'OCCUPATION'

Igor Simic, deputy head of the Serb List, the biggest Belgrade-backed Kosovo Serb party, said it had set June 1 as a deadline for Kosovo authorities to stop what he called intimidation, persecution and illegal arrests of local Serbs.

Speaking to reporters in Mitrovica, he said his party had so far managed "with almost superhuman efforts to restrain people" and prevent a flare-up of violence over Atiq's inauguration.

Petar Petkovic, head of Serbia's Office for Kosovo, said Atiq's investiture amounted to occupation by the Kosovo government. "Every occupation has an end and this one will end when Serbs decide so," he told a news conference in Belgrade.

Western countries, Kosovo's main supporters, said that although the April vote was conducted legally, the results would bring no progress because of the Serb boycott.

"There should be no actions or initiatives...that do not serve the people or that could heighten tensions," the so-called Quint group of the United States, Italy, France, Germany and Britain said in a statement.

"All parties should refrain from the use of force or actions that inflame tensions or promote conflict."

Ethnic Albanians form a more than 90% majority in Kosovo but just a small minority in the north.

The Western-backed plan verbally agreed to by the Kosovo and Serbian governments in March aimed to defuse tensions by granting local Serbs more autonomy, with the national government in Pristina retaining ultimate authority.

Serb officials in the north resigned collectively in November 2022 in protest at the Pristina government's plan to replace Serbian car number plates dating to the pre-independence era with number plates with those of Kosovo.

Local Serbs, who still receive subsidies and benefits from Belgrade, vow not to take part in any election until the implementation of a decade-old, EU-mediated accord to set up an association of semi-autonomous Serb municipalities.

(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci and Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Paul Scully - Bloomberg

London mayoral candidate Paul Scully has become the first minister to support scrapping the tourist tax.

The frontbencher, who formally announced his candidacy on Thursday, admitted he has struggled to hold the line on the 20 per cent sales levy charged to all non-British visitors.

Mr Scully, the science, industry and technology minister, urged Jeremy Hunt to model the benefits of VAT-free shopping and that the current policy is costing London hundreds of millions in sales.

Ive been campaigning within [the] government, clearly, as a Minister of collective responsibility, he told LBCs Nick Ferrari.

But there are a few little areas where I struggle to hold the line, shall we say, and this is one. Because, you know, some people see this as luxury brands and big shops getting a tax rebate. Its millions of pounds, hundreds of millions pounds of lost revenue to this country.

Mr Scully went on to argue people are going to Milan, going to Paris, rather than coming to London in order to avoid paying the additional fee.

What I've asked the Treasury to do is instead of seeing it as a cost of lost revenue, the static modelling. They just see it [as] 2 billion they're going to lose.

Do some dynamic modelling, see what the behaviours change as a result of restoring VAT-free shopping. What they'll find is they get more money, as a result, in revenue and tax.

Asked about Mr Scullys remarks, a No 10 spokesman said Mr Scully was speaking on a specific issue, while continuing to speak on behalf of the Government as one of its ministers.

Pressed on whether Mr Sunaks view on the tax had changed, he insisted tax policy was a matter for Mr Hunt as Chancellor and that such decisions would be taken in the usual way.

A new digitised version of VAT-free shopping for tourists was among policies supported by Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng in their short-lived mini-Budget.

Alongside his science brief, Mr Scully has also been the minister for London since February 2020, serving under three successive prime ministers, but has recused himself from this role during the mayoral race.

Elsewhere in the interview, he suggested he would have the confidence of Boris Johnson.

I know he's got every faith in me, he said. I don't want to speak for him and give him a virtual endorsement. But, as I say, I served in his government I know he'll have faith in me.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
As Measure C opponents hash things out, next renewal vote likely bumped to 2026 | Opinion

Fresno County officials and community advocates, fresh off their bitter election battle over Measure C, dont appear interested in a hasty rematch.

So unless theres a rapid coming together of the opposing sides  which as of this writing remains a possibility  residents are unlikely to vote on another transportation tax renewal until 2026.

Seven months after Measure C garnered 58.20% approval among the county electorate, well shy of the needed two-thirds majority, the Fresno County Transportation Authority Board held its first public postmortem. During Wednesdays special meeting, board members and the public discussed the results of a survey designed to gauge voter perception of the failed initiative and illuminate potential paths forward.

Conducted in January by Los Angeles-based FM3 Research, the study polled 654 Fresno County residents who voted in the November 2022 election. Of those, 44% lived in the city of Fresno, 20% from Clovis and 21% from unincorporated areas.

The results mostly reaffirm our perceptions. For example, 76% of liberals said they voted yes on Measure C compared with 63% of moderates and 43% of conservatives, who made up the largest share (35%) of the sample.

Opinion

That ratio carried over to political party affiliation, where 73% of Democrats said they voted yes compared with 53% of independents and 42% of Republicans.

No real surprise there. Liberal Democrats are always more willing to tax themselves than conservative Republicans. Such is life.

Except that doesnt give the necessary context to Fresno Countys unique political chessboard, where the liberal-leaning coalition that defeated Measure C spent most of its campaign war chest targeting conservative Republican voters. Their message of Broken Roads, Broken Promises resonated.

Strategically, they did a good job, agreed Fresno County supervisor Steve Brandau, who also serves on the FCTA board. They killed it.

Fixing roads clearly the top priority

Eighty percent of those surveyed perceived at least some need for the county to have extra funds for transportation, with 86% saying that money should be spent on road repairs.

Spending on historically overlooked and rural low-income communities is next at 65%, followed by highway safety/congestion (64%), improving air quality (60%) and bike and pedestrian infrastructure (58%). Further down the list are public transit (48%) and reducing the countys contribution to climate change and fossil fuel dependence (both 46%).

Fixing existing roads and potholes are clearly the top priority for residents, but the past two versions of Measure C have not addressed that, said Miguel Arias, the Fresno City Councilmember and FCTA board member (since January) who contributed $50,000 to the No on C campaign. The street in front of your house and the ones you use to drive across town are in terrible shape.

Brandau, who ultimately voted in favor of putting Measure C before voters after being highly critical of the process, largely agreed.

The survey clearly showed that if people were going to take a tax on transportation, they want the roads fixed, Brandau said. Some of the peripheral stuff got a lot less support.

Mike Leonardo, the FCTAs executive director, had a similar takeaway: that fixing roads is the No. 1 priority among voters. However, he thinks Measure C was unfairly blamed because it wasnt written with that as priority. Only 15% of current funding is set aside specifically for street repairs.

People kind of faulted the current measure for not already fixing the roads even though it was a very small part of what it was supposed to do, Leonardo said. I dont know how you fix that messaging.

Opponents hold unofficial talks

There doesnt appear to be any rush to do so. During Wednesdays FCTA board discussion, Clovis Mayor Lynne Ashbeck (who serves as vice chair) spoke briefly about two meetings involving Measure C advocates and opponents from the last election cycle. A third is planned.

The meetings are not sanctioned by the FCTA or any government agency. Its just concerned citizens meeting together, with a facilitator present. The purpose, Ashbeck said, is to determine if theres enough trust between the two sides to move forward with a broadly supported ballot measure.

Were talking to see if we can find a way to work together, said Veronica Garibay, the co-executive director for Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. Were not discussing any specifics.

While the two sides hash things over, time is quickly running out on the 2024 election cycle. Even if long-standing issues are suddenly resolved, it will still take months for a new initiative to be written and for a campaign to restrategize.

I just dont think (the March primary is) possible  thats less than a year away, Leonardo said. The general (election) in November might be possible, but even thats 18 months away. We spent much more time meeting and gathering information (in 2022), and some people felt even that was rushed.

Although previously mentioned as a possibility, it does not appear Measure C supporters or opponents will attempt to qualify their own transportation tax initiative for either 2024 ballot.

If the next renewal effort is delayed until 2026, that means the initiative will only have one chance to gain voter approval before the half-cent sales tax expires June 30, 2027.

Good thing the best work, in both government and general life, is often done under pressure.
Shifu Shi Yan Ming defected from China, partially because he didn't agree with the monastery's strictures. Matt Doyle

Shifu Shi Yan Ming is a Shaolin warrior monk and founder of USA Shaolin Temple.

He defected from China and escaped to New York in 1992, in part because he didn't agree with the monastery's strictures.

Shi is both teacher and friend to RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan, whose music was inspired by kung fu.

Shi Yan Ming is a 34th-generation Shaolin warrior monk and the founder of the USA Shaolin Temple in Manhattan.

Matt Doyle

Source: USA Shaolin Temple

Shi was born in Henan Province, China on Chinese New Year, February 13, 1964. Then, China was under Mao Zedong's rule, a time of sociopolitical change and hardship.

Shi as a child. USA Shaolin Temple

"That time was extremely hard," Shi told Insider. "During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Red Guards, which were Mao's army, did whatever they wanted, while we didn't have enough food to eat, clean water to drink, or clothes."

Two of Shi's older brothers and one older sister died of starvation in Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward in the late 1950s.

Shi himself almost died when he was around 2 or 3 years old. He only recovered after an acupuncturist outside their village treated him. Shi believes the man was a bodhisattva  an enlightened being  sent by Buddha to save his life.

Source: USA Shaolin Temple

Worried about their son's health, Shi's parents took him to the 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple in the province, where he remained and trained as a monk.

A monk and a child practice Kung Fu underneath blooming cherry blossoms at Shaolin Temple on March 30, 2022 Liu Huibin/VCG via Getty Images

"At the time, I remember the temple didn't have anything," Shi said. "Chairman Mao tried to destroy different religions, like Buddhism."

Source: USA Shaolin Temple

Shi said his "kung fu uncles" at the temple were very loving, and took care of him as his own parents would. He learned kung fu, Chan Buddhism, and acupuncture from his masters, waking up at 4:30 a.m. everyday and sleeping at 10 p.m.

Aerial photo taken on July 8, 2021 shows Shaolin monks practicing martial arts at Shaolin Temple Li An/Xinhua/Getty Images

"I love kung fu," Shi told Insider. "My philosophy from many years of practice is: To sharpen your life, you need to practice. Every day you practice kung fu, you have life. If you don't practice kung fu, you don't have life."

Source: USA Shaolin Temple

In 1992, Shi was touring the US with a select group of Shaolin monks when he defected from China, sneaking out of his hotel at night and escaping to New York. Shi said his defection was motivated in part because he disagreed with the monastery's strictures.

Shi has won several national martial arts competitions. James Keivom/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

"I didn't think that much. I just walked out of the hotel and jumped into a cab," Shi said. "I knew absolutely no English. I used my hands and pointed to the taxi driver, like, 'Keep going, get away from here as far as possible.' I wanted to spread Shaolin Temple martial arts and philosophy to the Western world."

Sources: USA Shaolin Temple; Mel Magazine

Unlike other Buddhist warrior monks, Shi eats meat, enjoys champagne, which he calls "very special French water," and has two children with a former partner.

Shi wears a bomber jacket to the "Kill Bill: Volume 1" New York City premiere after party. Djamilla Rosa Cochran/WireImage for Miramax Films

"The monks have 250 rules  that's too much!" Shi told Insider. "That's in the past. Especially now that we live in the 21st century, we don't need that many rules. If we use past rules to live in the present day, it doesn't work for anybody. You wouldn't understand how to live life."

Shi met his former partner when she came to study at the temple he founded in 1994. They soon bonded. Explaining his decision to renounce celibacy, Shi told the New York Times in 2006, "I'm too handsome for that."

Sources: New York Times; USA Shaolin Temple; Mel Magazine; Slate

In 1994, Shi opened the first USA Shaolin Temple in Manhattan's Chinatown. He teaches Shaolin martial arts and Chan Buddhism from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. everyday to nearly 500 students, which have included celebrities like Rosie Perez, Wesley Snipes, and Bokeem Woodbine.

Shi, a 34th-generation Shaolin monk, is joined by members of his lower Manhattan USA Shaolin Temple after practice. James Keivom/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

The temple had humble beginnings. Shi didn't have enough money to pay rent or utilities, and used flashlights taped to the wall for lighting, only turning them on to teach. There was no heat or hot water at wintertime, and Shi said he didn't have time to step out to wash clothes.

"I just kept buying socks and changed into them. I probably had over 400 pairs of socks!" Shi told Insider. "Every day, students would walk in and say, 'Shifu, what's that smell?' I tried to use incense and cologne, but ended up making the smell even worse."

Sources: New York Times; USA Shaolin Temple; Mel Magazine

One of his most avid students is RZA from Wu-Tang Clan, who calls Shi "master."

GZA, Shi Yan Ming, and RZA at a private screening of "Kill Bill: Vol 2" in 2004. Johnny Nunez/WireImage

Since its debut, the Wu-Tang Clan has mixed references and samples from classic Chinese martial arts films into his music. Ever since he was a kid, RZA has been a fan of martial arts, and saw similarities between kung fu and hip hop culture.

Shi and RZA met at an album release party in 1995. The pair swiftly bonded, and RZA became both disciple and brother to Shi.

"I believe it's destiny," Shi said.

Sources: New York Times; Black Belt Magazine

Since its debut, the Wu-Tang Clan has mixed references and samples from classic Chinese martial arts films into their music. Ever since he was a kid, RZA has been a fan of martial arts, and saw similarities between kung fu and hip hop culture.

The Wu-Tang Clan. Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

"Kung fu in a way has a dancing pattern to it. In the movies, you see the guys flipping and stuff, and I think it just had a natural resonance," RZA told Black Belt Magazine.

Sources: New York Times; Black Belt Magazine

Hip hop has influenced Shi, too. As he teaches his students, the Shifu will yell, "Yeah, represent!" The mantras "Train harder!" and "More chi!" are embossed on his shoes.

Matt Doyle

"I learned American slang, like 'represent' and 'respect,' from the Wu-Tang Clan. They're also very open-minded, combining Chinese philosophy to their music and their own philosophy. That's why we bonded so strongly," Shi told Insider.

Source: Mel Magazine

Shi offers free kung fu classes to public school students to help spread his philosophy: "Life is a war. Life is fighting. You have to fight for a great future."

Matt Doyle

In honor of AAPI Heritage Month, the USA Shaolin Temple is offering free classes to New York and New Jersey students.

"Shaolin temple martial arts is for everybody. I wanted to help as many people as possible," Shi told Insider. "I want to remind people to stop making excuses in life, because life is so short. Grab it, cherish yourself, and cherish your life. Challenge yourself to make a wonderful example of yourself and others, to make the world a better place for everybody."

Read the original article on Insider
New Mexico gunman died in hail of police gunfire, likely his grim and final wish, chief says

A teenage gunman who killed three elderly women in New Mexico likely got his grim, final wish: to die at the hands of police, officials said.

On Monday, at about 11 a.m. MT, 18-year-old Beau Wilson stepped out of his home and opened fire on neighboring houses and passing cars, police said. He was supposed to graduate from Farmington High School the next day.

The rampage only ended when responding officers fatally shot Wilson in front of First Church of Christ, Scientist, at 713 N. Dustin Ave.

Before he was cut down by officers, Wilson ditched his AR-15, one pistol and a bulletproof vest, officials said. A doorbell camera also caught Wilson screaming "come and kill me" during the barrage, police said.

When asked if Wilson sought a "suicide-by-cop" end to his life, Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said he believed that was the case.

Image: Painted circles mark locations where evidence related to a deadly shooting was collected in front of a church in Farmington, N.M., on May 16, 2023. (Susan Montoya Bryan / AP)

"He's making his stand. He has opportunities to run off. He does not use those opportunities," Hebbe told reporters. "So yes, it's my belief that ultimately in his head he's made a decision that he's going to stand and fight it out until he's killed."

Police also revealed on Thursday that Wilson killed two of his victims while they stopped to render aid to the first woman attacked in the rampage.

Shirley Voita, 79, Melody Ivie, 73, and Gwendolyn Schofield, 97, were all in cars when they were fatally shot by Wilson, authorities said. Schofield was Ivie's mother.

Voita was shot first and fell out of her car when Ivie and Schofield drove up to her, Hebbe told reporters.

"It is our believe that they see the body in the street and they're pulling over to the side to render aid to her, not knowing what had happened," he said.

"And so they actually pull over and stop. They don't just drive around and drive through. They pull over and stop and the suspect opens fire and kills both of them as they're still sitting in their car."

Police also released some of the footage from body cameras, including video form Sgt. Rachel Discenza, who was shot in the exchange of gunfire.

She can be heard yelling, "I'm shot," before goes down to the ground and then gets up to continue chasing the suspect. Another officer comes to her and screamed: "Get me a medic here for sarge!"

The chief said he was stunned to hear the number of shots fired in the running gun battle.

"When you're actually hearing it, especially in that first [video] where he's still firing that AR-15, it sounds like you're watching Afghanistan or Iraq," Hebbe said. "I was not prepared to see that and to hear the volume of shots."

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Stung by transit passengers forced to take the stairs, Miami-Dades mayor is demanding the countys repair company pick up the pace in fixing elevators and escalators in the Metromover system.

All major outstanding repairs for units currently out of service that can be repaired must be completed within 30 days, and moving forward, any other units that become inoperable should be repaired within 30 days, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava wrote in a letter Friday to a top executive at Schindler, the Swiss-based company with a county contract to keep county elevators and escalators running.

READ MORE: Take the stairs: Why Miami-Dade County cant get this Metromover station elevator fixed

The letter to Paul Bloom, chief operating officer at Schindler, followed new reports this week on the countys Adrienne Arsht Center Metromover having both its escalator and elevator out of service for weeks, leaving passengers no choice but to climb the 49 stairs connecting the street with the platform three stories above.

Schindler has the contract to keep the equipment running, but a company spokesperson said executives warned the county it needs to replace aging elevators and escalators being used way past their useful life.

In a response Friday the spokesperson, Kimberly LaCava, accused Levine Cavas staff of playing politics by releasing the letter instead of focusing on a solution with Schindler.

Despite a productive meeting with the mayors office this week, were disappointed to see that the mayors team has resorted to politics instead of staying focused on progressing with an aligned action plan, LaCava said in a statement. She said much of this equipment is on life support and said Miami-Dade should expect more outages if the county continues to neglect its responsibility on infrastructure upgrades.

While Schindler has had a county elevator contract since 2007, it took over more transit stations last year when Levine Cava fired a rival, Oracle, over alleged safety violations at Miami International Airport elevators. The former Oracle contract included elevators at MIA, PortMiami and in the transit system.

Levine Cava presented the 30-day turnaround on significant repairs as a standard she was inviting Schindler to adapt. There was no immediate response from the company on whether that target would work.

In her letter, Levine Cava said Schindler has had 96% of the escalators and elevators operating, below the contract threshold of 98%. She also said Miami-Dade has had a problem with Schindler not updating expected repair times, resulting in outdated information for passengers.

A sign on the Arsht elevator once predicted it would be running by the end of April, but the latest notice predicts a June 15 completion date. While there was a repair crew at the station Tuesday after the Miami Herald and other news outlets reported on the problems there, a transit spokesperson said Friday both the elevator and escalator remain out of service.

Other Metromover stations have longer running problems. The elevator at the Fifth Street Station has been out for a year, and the Eleventh Street Station has been out for 384 days, Levine Cava said in her letter. She also said her administration has already approved Schindler repair proposals for those two stations, but that the company hasnt gotten the equipment running again.

For the long-term, Levine Cava said her administration is exploring funding options to harden outdoors transit escalators and elevators that are vulnerable to breakdowns because of constant exposure to rain. She also said shes awaiting a plan to deal with elevators and escalators needing replacement.

I have directed staff to evaluate and present all options for my consideration to ensure the units that can no longer be fixed are replaced expeditiously, she said. Our main consideration for this work is the speed with which these providers can replace the units.
Jurors Thursday delivered a stunning blow to federal prosecutors who had accused executives of a Miami company and a local doctor of running fake clinical drug trials.

After nine days of deliberation, jurors acquitted the main defendant, Hialeah physician Martin Valdes, of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering charges and only found him guilty of a minor false statement count.

The 12-person jury also acquitted Fidalgis Font, 55, chief executive officer of Tellus Clinical Research, where the drug trials were conducted, and Julio Lopez, 55, a Tellus study coordinator.

There already had been a string of guilty pleas in the case long before the trial in Miami federal court. Another Tellus study coordinator, Duniel Tejeda, 36, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in 2021 and was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison. In addition, four other Tellus employees, including physician Eduardo Navarro who worked with Valdes, also pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme and are serving similar prison sentences.

Given that history in the governments medical study case  including testimony by three convicted cooperating witnesses during the four-week trial  the outcome for the three defendants was a surprise.

Its a big win  remarkable, said attorney Marc Seitles, who represented Tellus CEO Font, along with lawyer Dustin Tischler.

Seitles said the reason his client was acquitted is because she was not involved in the actual drug trials conducted at her clinic in Kendall; she was a landlord who provided her clinic and other services for the trials.

He said that after the verdicts were announced in the Miami federal courtroom of U.S. District Judge Robert Scola, some jurors later told him that they took so long to reach their decision because of the amount of evidence presented at trial. They said that after dissecting the evidence, they realized the governments case wasnt there.

Valdes, 66, of Coral Gables, was the only defendant found guilty of any crime: lying to an investigator for the U.S. Food and Drug administration about conducting a physical examination of each person who participated in one of Tellus clinical trials. The jury found he signed off on paperwork saying he saw each patient, when in reality he did not evaluate them.

Valdes, represented by attorney Gustavo Lage, was accused of helping the owner of Tellus fake clinical trials  testing that the FDA relies on in approving drugs for public use, according to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in March 2021. Drug manufacturers and contract research organizations pay various clinics to run clinical trials for each drug.

Prosecutors said that Tellus Clinical Research at 9425 Sunset Dr. collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments for allegedly conducting two trials for an opioid dependency drug, two trials for an investigative drug dealing with irritable bowel syndrome and one trial testing a drug treating diabetic nephropathy, a kidney disease.

The indictment accused the defendants of enrolling people in the clinical trials who did not fit the eligibility criteria for the drugs being tested. The indictment accused Valdes, the principal investigator for the trials, Font, Lopez and Tejada of trying to get bigger payments from drugmakers and the contract research organizations by lying about everything concerning the people used in the testing  including whether people had the medical condition the drug should address, if theyd been examined by the principal investigator and sub-investigator, if theyd been given the study drug, and if theyd been paid by Tellus.

Font and Lopez, the indictment said, were accused of using personal information from friends and family to create fake profiles of clinical trial participants.

But by the end of the trial, Fonts attorneys, Seitles and Tischler, and Lopezs lawyer, Jordan Lewin, overcame that allegation. The jury disagreed with the prosecutors on all but one of the counts in the indictment. Valdes, the doctor, now faces up to five years in prison for lying to an FDA investigator.
The parents of the shooter who killed four students at a Michigan high school in November 2021 are appealing a judges order that they stand trial for manslaughter, according to new filings.

Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents of Ethan Crumbley, were charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors argued they provided their son with a gun and ignored warning signs about his behavior before the killings.

The Michigan Appeals Court ruled earlier this year the Crumbley parents could stand trial because their actions and inactions were inexorably intertwined with the actions of their son.

The parents are now appealing to the Michigan Supreme Court, according to two filings shared by local outlet WXYZ-TV Detroit. Their attorneys argue in the documents that to hold parents to such a standard runs afoul of principled outcomes and that the mass shooting perpetrated by [Ethan Crumbley] was not foreseeable.

Ethan was a 15-year-old sophomore when he attacked his high school in Oxford, Mich., in 2021, killing four and injuring seven others. He pleaded guilty to terrorism and murder charges last year.

The Michigan Appeals Court opinion in March argued the shooting was reasonably foreseeable.

This connection exists not simply because of the parent-child relationship but also because of the facts showing that defendants were actively involved in ECs mental state remaining untreated, that they provided him with the weapon used to kill the victims, and that they refused to remove him from the situation that led directly to the shootings, a three-judge panel wrote.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Michigan teen who used slingshot to protect his sister says he grabbed anything to fend off kidnapper

A Michigan teen who used a slingshot to ward off a kidnapper from his sister told CNN he grabbed anything I could get to save her.

It just felt like I was scared, and I had like something to do, cause if I didnt (grab) it, she wouldve been taken away or more worse, Owen Burns, 13, told CNN This Mornings Poppy Harlow Wednesday.

His 8-year-old sister was mushroom hunting in the backyard of her Alpena Township home when a man emerged from the woods connected to the backyard, grabbed her, and placed his hand over her mouth in an attempt to pull her into the woods, Michigan State Police Sgt. Shane Smith told CNN Saturday.

Owen spotted the attack from inside his home and used his slingshot to hit the attempted kidnapper twice.

I had to grab a rock in there, and a marble right next to it, so I grabbed it, I put it in here and I just shoot it, Owen said.

The kidnapper reeled from being struck with the slingshot, allowing the young girl to wrangle her way out from his grasp and run back inside her home, police said. The kidnapper then fled into the woods, taking a well-used trail used by the community, police said. Police later took the suspect  who is 17  into custody after he was spotted in the parking lot of a Big Lots store.

Owen old CNN his sister is fine, shes just a little startled, a little bit still.

Owens mother, Margaret Burns, said she only found out about the incident when she received a call after work, calling her son very brave.

Andrew Burns, Owens father, said his son shot his Nerf gun and BB gun as a kid, praising Owen: Hes a good shot, he always has been, he said.

Owen said he got his first slingshot when he was probably seven or eight.

Owen said the community in Alpena has been showing support for him.

I get a bunch of money for no reason. Im grateful for all of that but you dont have to give me all that stuff for no reason, he said, adding, I know I did something right, but its just me.

The alleged kidnapper has been arrested and charged with one count of attempted kidnapping and child enticement, one count of attempted assault, and one count of assault and battery, according to police.

CNNs Artemis Moshtaghian contributed to this report

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Microsoft exec tells workers the best way to get a raise is to boost the company's stock price. It's already up 33% this year.

Microsoft's chief marketing officer Chris Capossela told employees the best way to get raises is by bumping the company's stock, according to screenshots seen by Fortune. Microsoft

Microsoft's chief marketing officer told employees to bump the stock price for raises, Fortune reported.

Earlier this month, Microsoft told salaried employees they wouldn't receive raises.

The company's stock price is up 33% so far this year, far outpacing the broader stock market.

Microsoft employees aren't getting raises this year. Its chief marketing officer says there's a way to change that  by working to push the company's stock higher.

"The most important lever for almost all our employees' compensation upside is the stock price," CMO Chris Capossela wrote to employees in an internal conversation, reported by Fortune. "So great quarterly results contribute to making the stock attractive which in turn drives everyone's total compensation up."

Already so far this year, Microsoft's stock is up nearly 33%, far outpacing the broader stock market, which is up only around 10% over the same time.

Earlier this month, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sent employees an email saying the company was not raising salaries for full-time employees this year, and that it would not "overfund" bonuses and stock awards as it had done in the previous year.

The email pointed to economic conditions as a reason for no raises, and said it was making compensation "commensurate with the overall market."

Meanwhile, in January, Nadella sent employees an email saying the company was planning to lay off 10,000 employees through the end of the third quarter of this year.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Earlier this year, Microsoft made a multi-billion dollar investment in AI startup OpenAI that was reported to be worth $10 billion, and released an AI-powered update of Bing through the partnership.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Chicagos homeless shelter system is struggling to meet the needs of incoming migrants as Texas officials expand their migrant busing policy.

The lack of vacancy at shelters is pushing some migrants to sleep in police stations, according to a report by Reuters.

Many of the people bused north are asylum seekers who were processed by U.S. border officials and released to the interior of the country to await adjudication of their asylum claims.

Since August, Texas has been busing migrants to Chicago, often without warning and generally without coordinating with city authorities.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) first started busing migrants north in April 2022, first to Washington and later adding New York, Philadelphia and Chicago to the list.

Governor Abbott is playing a cruel political game with the lives of migrants. City leaders and community members in Chicago are doing crucial work to ensure we live up to our creed as a city of immigrants, said Rep. Jesus Garcia (D-Ill.).

Still, its clear we need more resources, and Im working with our federal delegation and local partners to urgently bring funds to our city to continue welcoming migrants while supporting our communities.

Abbott announced Thursday the first busload of migrants to arrive in Denver.

Texas overwhelmed and overrun border communities should not have to shoulder the flood of illegal immigration due to President Bidens reckless open border policies, like his mass catch and release without court dates or any way to track them, Abbott said in a statement.

Until the President and his Administration step up and fulfill their constitutional duty to secure the border, the State of Texas will continue busing migrants to self-declared sanctuary cities like Denver to provide much-needed relief to our small border towns.

Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) declared a state of emergency earlier this month, saying, The City has learned that the flood of migrants into Chicago will not only continue unabated but will increase, with a resumption of bus arrivals starting on May 9.

Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), who was sworn in Monday, took a different tone in his inaugural address.

We dont want our story to be told that we were unable to house the unhoused or provide a safe harbor for those who are seeking refuge here, because theres enough room for everyone in the city of Chicago, Johnson said.

Whether you are seeking asylum or you are looking for a fully funded neighborhood, we dont want our story to say that we did not invest in all of the people and all of the communities that make our city great.

Johnson is joining a group of big-city Democratic mayors who are taking different tacks in addressing the influx of migrants, both through their own means and through Abbotts busing.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) earlier this month was dropped as a surrogate for President Bidens reelection campaign after saying the president had failed the city on immigration.

Days later, a majority of New Yorks congressional delegation called on Biden to change asylum rules to allow people with pending applications to work.

Asylum applicants are barred from working legally in the United States for 180 days after they initially stake their claim, making them dependent on aid or forcing them to work under the table.

Advocates say that rule has made it more difficult for cities to absorb asylum seekers, even amid labor shortages.

Updated at 2 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Looking for a new dryer, refrigerator or other major appliance? Eligible military exchange shoppers in the continental United States; Oahu, Hawaii; and Puerto Rico now have the option of buying these products through a partnership with The Home Depot.

The items can be purchased via the online exchange store or at exchanges on five Army and Air Force bases. Home Depot will schedule delivery and installation of the appliances, which include washers and dryers, refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, countertop or built-in microwaves, ranges, cooktops, ovens and hoods. The home improvement chain will also provide customer service for all deliveries and installations.

The exchanges have sold major appliances, but the primary motivation for this partnership is to provide better service to customers, especially in delivery, officials have said. Stores that dont have Home Depot appliances on hand will still sell them and offer delivery. By June, sales associates will have a mobile checkout system to help customers browse The Home Depot inventory and buy an appliance.

In addition to providing a significantly expanded selection of major appliances, exchange orders will be fulfilled using The Home Depots existing capabilities to provide efficient and dependable delivery, said Tom Shull, director and CEO of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service.

Those five exchanges with Home Depot major appliance showrooms are Fort Moore, Georgia; Fort Cavazos, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph and Dyess Air Force Base, Texas; and Fort Sill, Oklahoma. By October, another 60 Home Depot appliance showrooms will be added to exchanges across the continental United States.

Authorized shoppers across all military branches can also shop for these appliances at shopmyexchange.com, including: including all active, reserve and retired military members and their dependents; Department of Defense civilians and retirees; and honorably discharged veterans who have confirmed their eligibility to shop at ShopMyExchange.com.

The Home Depot officials anticipate rolling out the program with the Navy Exchange and Marine Corps Exchange stores later this year.

The purchases are tax-free and the prices will be 1% lower than the price available at Home Depot stores and its website, said spokeswoman Stephanie Meyering.

In general, Home Depot offers a 10% discount to military members, veterans and their spouses who register through their website using Sheer ID. But that 10% discount doesnt apply to appliances, whether in Home Depot stores or online, said Meyering. Thats also stated on their website. That 10% discount will also not apply to appliances bought through the exchanges.

As always, you should still do some comparison shopping before you buy.
Its a bitter pill to swallowMillennials are no longer the youngest adults in the room. The birth years for that generation are around 1981 to 1995. This means the oldest millennials are in their early 40s. Some have partners, children, and perhaps a few body aches that werent there a decade ago. Millennials faced many challenges as they came of age, including terrorism, economic recessions, and social and political unrest. In spite of this, theyve managed to leave their mark all over, including the travel sphere.

Millennials Were The First Generation To Connect On Social Media

Just as the internet revolutionized communication, social media is a game changer in the travel world.

Long before Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, there was MySpace, where Millennials could share pictures of their travels, and just about anything else. Facebook offered a fresh platform to share those experiences with an audience. In its early days, Facebook required a college email to make an account. Eventually, it flung its doors open, and everything changed. All of a sudden, millions around the world could connect with each other any time of the day.

Whatever content you post on Facebook can be consumed by others. If you write a status about that white sand beach you visited in Turks and Caicos, your friends know about it in seconds. If you post a picture of an exotic cocktail you had in Bali, people ask where you got it. You can join groups with other travel enthusiasts, and plan trips together. The advent of picture and video-based platforms like TikTok and Instagram, further whats possible.

Social media is a valuable tool for travel, and millennials came of age just in time to capitalize on it.

Millennials Value The Education Travel Provides

Student debt and the cost of living aside, Millennials find a way to globe trot. They are highly educated, so it stands to reason that they want to further their knowledge by seeing the world.

Lindsey Roeschke, a travel and hospitality analyst for research company Morning Consult, shared her thoughts on Millennial travel with CNBC.

When it comes to nearly all travel behaviors, she said, Millennials are the generation most likely to engage  and they do so often.

She pointed out that 18% of the Millennials polled by Morning Consult, have taken three or more domestic flights in the past year, compared to 10% of Gen Xers and 6% of Baby Boomers.

Millennials and Generation Z are driven by the same mantra: YOLO (you only live once). They value travel as necessary for a well-rounded life, and put emphasis on things linked to travel, like self-care.

This generation is also inclined to visit destinations featured on social media, as well as movies and television.

For Millennial Parents, Traveling With Family Is Important

Gone are the days when school was the only priority. Millennials now have the responsibility of parenthood, and they bring their children on their travels. Its worth noting that for some, pets count as children.

In 2022, Millennials who used Airbnb, made up almost half of its customer base that year. Those with young children might sooner book a home with a crib, highchair and other child equipment. For animal lovers, Airbnb rentals that allow pets are similarly attractive.

CNBC noted that some hotels have taken measures to attract Millennials and other young adults. This includes freshening up the decor, offering complimentary cocktails, and making accommodations for pets.
Millions of dollars and one grand vision will revitalize two popular parts of Columbus

Revitalization of two prominent properties integral to the landscape of downtown Columbus is about to launch.

The Historic Columbus Foundation is scheduled to conduct a groundbreaking ceremony at 11 am, Tuesday, May 23 at 700 Front Ave., to officially start the project that will transform the Chattahoochee Promenade and Heritage Park.

Heritage Park, 703 Broadway, is the HCF-owned property in the Columbus Historic District that celebrates the industrial history of the Chattahoochee Valley with outdoor displays. More than $2.2 million from HCF, private foundations and donor families funded the parks development, completed in 1999.

HCF deeded the property to the Columbus Consolidated Government. By 2016, the parks main water feature no longer was functioning. The foundation worked with the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department to try to solve the problem. Experts determined that repairs would cost as much as $300,000.

Money for the repair wasnt secured, but HCF and city officials realized the bigger issue was maintenance. So, in 2021, HCF proposed an alternative solution.

Heritage Park is in the Historic District in Columbus, Georgia.

Re-imagining Heritage Park and Chattahoochee Promenade

The proposal included re-imagining Heritage Park and the Chattahoochee Promenade, the city-owned property along the Chattahoochee River, stretching from Fifth Street to Seventh Street along Front Avenue.

HCF spent $18,000 for Natural Resource Consulting of Tallassee, Alabama, to conduct a tree survey and site evaluation and for Hecht Burdeshaw Architects of Columbus to prepare a plan.

In August 2022, Columbus Council unanimously approved the transfer of Heritage Park back to HCF, allowing the proposal to become a project.

Hello to the Clifford and Bobsie Swift History Trail

The project is estimated to cost between $2.5 million and $3 million and will be funded in cash by HCF. It involves moving Heritage Parks outdoor displays to the Chattahoochee Promenade, where the Clifford and Bobsie Swift History Trail will be created, named in honor of the couples $1 million donation.

As HCF members for four decades, the Swifts volunteered to help conduct numerous events and serve on the HCF Board of Directors. Clifford died in 2021. He worked for the Columbus Bank and Trust Company for 30 years, first as comptroller and retired as vice president of the trust department.

The trail will encompass the displays about local industrial history and new features to include local African American history and Native American history.

Heritage Park will be returned to residential use, providing space for the relocation of five endangered historic houses. After the houses are moved, HCF will stabilize them with new foundations, new roofs and restored exteriors.

HCF then will transfer ownership of the houses to W.C. Bradley Real Estate, which will hire a residential construction contractor to complete the renovations and sell them as single-family homes. W.C. Bradley will share the profits with HCF.

Project funding backed by Historic Columbus Foundation

HCF says it is committed to establishing an agreement with the city to ensure the revitalized Chattahoochee Promenade is maintained.

The foundation plans to create a fund to pay for the maintenance of the promenades hardscape, including the educational elements, signage, gazebos, log cabin and history trail. That means the project wont result in the city incurring new expenses.

In addition to the Swift donation, HCF has received money for the project from:

$25,000 from the Community Impact Grant at the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley. The grant came from money generated by the Chattahoochee Valley Fair Fund, the Community Endowment Fund and its subfunds (the Fred and Catalina Aranas Family Fund, the Susan and Butch Cochran Family Fund and the Moselle W. and H. Quigg Fletcher Jr. Endowment Fund).

$20,000 from the Fast Track Grant at the Columbus Cultural Arts Alliance.

The HCF membership, donors to the 2016 Save Me A Place Capital Campaign and Sarah Turner Butlers investment.

Project timeline

Demolition and removal of the artifacts and sculptures in Heritage Park is the projects first step after the groundbreaking ceremony. The removed items temporarily will be housed in storage containers on the Chattahoochee Promenade.

The Promenade House (Front Avenue, c. 1880) will be the first house moved to Heritage Park. It will be placed where the brick kiln and log cabin are situated.

Heritage Park is in the Historic District in Columbus, Georgia.

Next, a house from Juniper (Route 355, c. 1880) will be moved to the park, followed this fall by three houses (c. 1830-40) from the original Historic Westville site in Lumpkin.

The five houses range in size from 1,200 square feet and 4,000 square feet. The park covers nearly one acre.

Work on the Chattahoochee Promenade will happen concurrently. The promenade comprises around three acres, but HCFs project focuses on approximately half of it.

The project is expected to be completed in spring 2024.

Project benefits

This revitalization is part of the seven-decade effort to return the majority of residences in the original citys footprint to single-family homes, Historic Columbus Foundation executive director Elizabeth Walden told the Ledger-Enquirer in an emailed interview.

Elizabeth Walden, executive director of the Historic Columbus Foundation, is shown in this 2019 file photo.

Following World War II, homeowners were asked to help the housing shortage by turning their homes into apartments, she said. This was done by many in the historic district  houses were either divided up or they were demolished for new apartments to be built. Since that time, the neighborhood has worked hard to evolve back into more home ownership.

Moving the exhibits from Heritage Park to the Chattahoochee Promenade provides land for those five historic houses and adds another attraction to the riverfront.

This artist rendering from Hecht Burdeshaw Architects shows part of what the revitalized Chattahoochee Promenade will look like after the Historic Columbus Foundations project is completed.

The re-imagined public space on the promenade will enable the displays relocated from the park to be more engaging and more inclusive and give HCF more room to expand the local history narratives, totaling 36 panels, Walden said.

It should be a comprehensive look at the area and how our community shares its history within the public realm, she said.

All of which produces HCFs largest preservation investment in its 57-year history.

This project fulfills every aspect of Historic Columbus mission (Revitalize, Educate, Advocate, Preserve), Walden said, and achieves a major goal of the neighborhood by adding architecturally appropriate single-family homes.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz holds up a just-signed gun control bill Friday, May 19, 2023, at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn. Walz signed a sweeping public safety bill into law, including two gun measures: universal background checks and a red flag-style provision allowing law enforcement to intervene when someone is at high risk of injuring themselves or others with a firearm. (Aaron Lavinsky@startribune.com/Star Tribune via AP)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed two gun safety measures into law Friday afternoon, aligning his battleground state with others nationally that have taken steps to keep guns out of the hands of people in crisis and criminals.

Gabby Giffords  a former Democratic congresswoman who became a gun safety campaigner after she was shot in the head in 2011 in Tucson, Arizona  gave a short speech to the cheering crowd at the ceremony. Because of the severe brain injury she suffered, she had to re-learn how to walk and talk.

Stopping gun violence takes courage, Giffords said. Now is the time to come together. Be responsible. Democrat, Republican, independent  we must never stop fight!"

Moments later, Walz signed a broad public safety bill that included the two gun measures: a red flag law and expanded background checks for gun transfers. The red flag law allows authorities to ask courts for extreme risk protection orders to temporarily take guns away from people deemed to be an imminent threat to others or themselves.

The governor looked at the children, adults and cameras that filled the ornate room in the State Capitol and said: Theres a reason the room is so full  because the vast majority of Minnesotans have been waiting too damn long for this day!"

People wearing t-shirts that said Gun Owners for Safety and Moms Demand Action clapped and cheered. Walz continued, saying the measures are two very simple, common sense issues that have not been properly debated by the states lawmakers for decades.

The former Minnesota Senate GOP majority prevented much discussion of similar proposals in their body over the last several years. But Democrats gained a one-seat Senate majority in the November elections to win the trifecta  control of both chambers and the governors office  for the first time in eight years.

The gun safety measures by themselves would have been a tough vote for several rural Democrats in the Senate. But putting the measures in the final broader public safety bill may have given them enough political cover to vote yes last week.

Supporters said the policies are the beginning  not the end  of an effort to protect people across the state and prevent mass shootings at schools, grocery stores, movie theaters and everywhere else. Opponents say the measures infringe on the Second Amendment right to bear arms, and that the policies will be ineffective at lowering crime or suicide rates.

Rob Doar, a lobbyist with the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, said in an interview that the policies are more likely to criminalize common conduct among peaceful gun owners  like loaning firearms between friends or hunting partners  than they are to curb the illicit gun market.

Really, it comes down to how these are applied, Doar said. If we see a clear violation of somebodys due process rights, then well certainly take legal action.

At least 19 states have red flag laws, but each new mass shooting seems to widen the political divide on who should be allowed to have guns and what types should be permitted. Disputes over gun laws on the books often wind up in court because of constitutional issues.

While red flag laws are touted as a powerful tool to stop gun violence before it happens, an Associated Press analysis in September found that they are barely used in the states where they exist.

___

Trisha Ahmed is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. Follow Trisha Ahmed on Twitter: @TrishaAhmed15
A girl who went missing six years ago was found alive in North Carolina on Saturday, and her mother was booked into jail on suspicion of child abduction.

Heather Unbehaun allegedly abducted her daughter, Kayla Unbehaun, after losing custody. The girl was last seen in 2017, when she was 9 years old, in South Elgin, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago. Last week, the pair were spotted at a used clothing shop in Asheville, North Carolina, by an employee who said she recognized the mother and called police.

The employee had recognized the pair from an episode of Unsolved Mysteries, Asheville Police Department spokesperson Samantha Booth told CNN. Photos of the Unbehauns from the Center for Missing & Exploited Children posters were shown at the end of the episode called Abducted by a Parent, which first aired in November 2022.

Heather Unbehaun was taken into custody by Asheville police officers just before 7:30 p.m. on May 13, according to the police department. Kayla, now 15, was taken in by the North Carolina Division of Social Services before reuniting with her father, Ryan Iskerka.

Im overjoyed that Kayla is home safe, Iskerka said in a statement, shared by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, in which he thanked law enforcement agencies. I also want to thank all of the followers on the Bring Kayla Home Facebook page, who helped keep her story alive and were instrumental in spreading awareness. We ask for privacy as we get to know each other again and navigate this new beginning.

A poster updates that the missing girl, Kayla Unbehaun, had been found.

A poster updates that the missing girl, Kayla Unbehaun, had been found.

Unbehaun was booked into jail in North Carolina on a $250,000 secured bond with plans for her to be extradited to Illinois, Asheville police said. However, she was released on bail Tuesday morning.

On Wednesday, she was booked into jail in Kane County, Illinois, where the alleged kidnapping took place, according to jail records.

WLS-TV in Chicago reported that she had returned to Kane County on her own and turned herself in. She has since been released again on a $10,000 bond but was ordered to wear a GPS tracking monitor, the ABC affiliate reported.

A booking photo taken of Heather Unbehaun in Kane County, Illinois.

A booking photo taken of Heather Unbehaun in Kane County, Illinois.

Subscribe to our true crime newsletter, Suspicious Circumstances, to get the biggest unsolved mysteries, white-collar scandals and grim cases delivered straight to your inbox every week. Sign up here.

Related...
When former Missouri Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon in 2013 vetoed a bill lifting a near-total ban on foreign ownership of agricultural land, the Republican-controlled General Assembly overrode him. Today, foreign entities own more than 100,000 acres across the state.

A decade later, that vote looms over the 2024 race for governor.

The veto override allowed foreign entities to own up to 1% of agricultural land and most proposals in the legislature now would either lower that threshold to 0.5% or reimpose the ban. Now, the major Republican candidates for governor all support tighter limits on foreign ownership or a new ban, reflecting how far the party has moved in 10 years.

As the Republican Party nationally has shifted away from support for free trade and adopted an increasingly hawkish stance toward China, foreign land ownership has become a political liability  and opportunity  ahead of the 2024 election.

Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe was a state senator in 2013 and supported the veto override, but now backs new restrictions. Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and state Sen. Bill Eigel, neither of whom were in the legislature at the time, also support limits but have fought over who has staked out the most aggressive position.

The General Assemblys annual session ended last week with lawmakers failing to pass additional restrictions. Most big GOP priorities, including on agriculture, were blocked by filibusters and Republican infighting in the state Senate.

While lawmakers are expected to try again early next year, the collapse of the effort clears the way for foreign agricultural land ownership to play a central role in the Republican race for governor until at least January  a quiet but crucial period when candidates are courting donors and party activists ahead of the August 2024 primary election.

Theres a long runway between now and next August as it relates to how inflation and the economy continue to impact Republican primary voters. But the foreign land ownership  its a big deal, said James Harris, a Missouri Republican consultant.

Kansas lawmakers have also considered legislation aimed at restricting foreign-owned farmland. At the federal level, Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, and Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, have filed bills to ban foreign ownership. Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to run for president, recently signed a ban for his state.

Foreign ownership of agricultural land was previously a flashpoint during last years U.S. Senate race in Missouri. A series of attacks highlighted then-Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitts vote in favor of the 2013 law. Schmitt, who adopted an aggressive posture toward China during the campaign, easily defeated Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine 55% to 42%.

It can be a potent issue, but I think Schmitt and his team proved that if you talk about other issues and get ahead of it, theres a way to neutralize it or at least change the discussion matrix by which voters are making their decisions, Harris said.

Just weeks after Missouri lawmakers approved the 2013 legislation, the Chinese-based Shuanghui International Holdings bought U.S.-based Smithfield Foods and scooped up roughly 40,000 acres in Missouri.

Smithfield Foods, now called the WH Group, owns over 146,000 acres of Missouri farmland, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a national security think tank. In Missouri, foreign-held agricultural land grew by nearly 50,000 acres between 2019 and 2020, according to MOST Policy Initiative, a Jefferson City-based group that conducts bipartisan research on Missouri legislation.

Fight over farmland ban

Kehoe is likely to face the most direct attacks on the issue because of his 2013 vote. During a February radio interview, he said the 2013 vote had been to put a cap on foreign ownership of land. But while the bill did cap foreign ownership at 1%, the previous cap had been zero.

The Chinese Communist Partys influence continues to grow and is one of the foremost national security threats to the United States, Kehoe said Thursday in a statement in response to questions from The Star.

Missouri should be doing everything possible to prevent the CCP and other foreign adversaries from buying Missouri farmland, especially around military installations, advanced manufacturing that plays a role in national defense and intelligence agencies, he said.

I support the complete ban of land purchases by the CCP and other foreign adversaries, and strongly encourage both the House and Senate to address this critical national security matter when they return to Jefferson City, Kehoe said.

Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe speaks during a Senate session on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the state Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo.

Ashcroft this spring has attacked both Kehoe and Eigel over the issue of foreign land ownership.

Ashcroft began a late April column in The Joplin Globe by noting Kehoes 2013 vote. And in another column on Tuesday, he wrote that the Senate with Eigels help added a loophole into legislation that would have allowed entities associated with China, Iran, Venezuela, Russia and North Korea to buy as much land as they want as long as it wasnt used for farming.

Simply put there is one and only one reason why the legislature did not pass legislation prohibiting foreign ownership of Missouri land. They did not want to, Ashcroft said in a statement to The Star on Thursday. They wanted to claim credit on Facebook and social media but not actually do anything about it and we know this because of what the senate did do.

The compromise package reached by legislative negotiators would have prohibited all foreign businesses, governments and undocumented immigrants from buying agricultural land. However, it would allow foreign-owned companies to continue owning land they have already purchased or acquired.

The measure didnt contain a ban on foreign ownership of non-agricultural land, but some earlier proposals had explicitly prohibited any purchases by entities associated with China, Russia and other American adversaries.

And I am certain that if I had not stood up and loudly proclaimed the truth about that bill they would have passed a bill allowing our enemies to buy whatever Missouri land they want and claimed that they had stopped it, Ashcroft said.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft

Since the session ended, Eigel has moved to keep attention on the issue by calling on Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican who as a state senator supported the 2013 override, to call a special session on foreign ownership. In a letter to Parson, Eigel asks him to consider SB 9 as a model bill for a possible session.

The bill, sponsored by Eigel, would have prohibited foreign entities  both individuals and businesses  from purchasing any real estate  not just farmland.

Governor, we cannot afford to wait until January to address this important issue, Eigel wrote. Our farmers and ranchers deserve to know that we have their back and that we arent going to let foreign interests buy up our farmland and put Missouri farmers out of business.

Eigel didnt respond to a call Thursday. A Parson spokeswoman didnt respond to a request for comment.

Sen. Bill Eigel, a Weldon Spring Republican.

Restrictions enjoy bipartisan support

Despite the infighting, some form of additional restrictions on foreign ownership enjoys bipartisan support within the General Assembly. One proposal passed the Missouri House in March with just three no votes.

No major Democrat has entered the race for governor so far  Democrats face increasingly steep odds in statewide races in Missouri. But House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, a Springfield Democrat, has said she is considering a campaign.

Asked Friday why the legislature hadnt passed a bill, Quade said bills dont advance for numerous reasons but suggested special interests were to blame. And if you look where the money comes from, I would say that plays a very big role, she said.

A handful of business and industry groups, including Missouri Realtors and the Missouri Pork Association, oppose the legislation.

Having the government tell you whom you can sell your property to is a bad idea, Sam Licklider, a lobbyist for Missouri Realtors, said in a message to members earlier this month.

Missouri lawmakers have vowed to take up the legislation again next year, when elections will only be months away. Its unclear whether that will help or harm its prospects.

House Speaker Dean Plocher, a St. Louis Republican, said last Friday the issue is difficult. While lawmakers dont want the evil empires of the world controlling Missouri farmland, they also recognize Missouri has good foreign investors from countries such as Canada, Great Britain and Israel, he said.

The problem, he said, is how to draft a bill that accomplishes both those goals.

We want to protect Missouri farmland. We want to protect our crops. We want to have secure food, Plocher said. And theres a way to do it, we believe.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the author of a column in the Joplin Globe.
Mom arrested after infant found in plastic bag had history of concealed pregnancies, deputies say

Deputies released the identity of the mother arrested nearly four years after a newborn was found abandoned in the woods in Forsyth County.

Channel 2s Tom Regan attended a news conference at the sheriffs office Friday where Sheriff Ron Freeman identified the mother as 40-year-old Karima Jiwani.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Jiwani faces multiple charges, including attempt to commit murder, cruelty to children in the first degree, reckless abandonment and other charges.

This investigation has taken thousands of hours and we never stopped in those four years. I stood in this room and told you we would bring them to justice. Little did I know it would take four years, Freeman said.

The sheriff also revealed that Jiwani had a history of concealed pregnancies; however, he said investigations havent found additional criminal acts like this.

Authorities say they were able to use DNA evidence to identify the babys father 10 months ago.

They say Jiwani gave birth in her car and drove around for a significant amount of time before abandoning the baby.

RELATED STORIES:

Neighbors heard a baby crying and discovered Baby India tied up in the bag in June 2019.

In the days after the incident, Channel 2 Action News showed you body camera video of the moments deputies tore open the bag to find the newborn with her umbilical cord still attached. The video shows officers frantically wrap the crying baby in a jacket.

Alan Ragatz told Regan it was an act of God that he and his daughters found the newborn.

Once again on Friday, Freeman thanked the Ragatz family and the Forsyth County community for supporting Baby India.

Baby India is now prosperous, happy and healthy. When those who were supposed to do their best did their worst to her, Forsyth County stepped up in a big way. We had literally hundreds, if not thousands of citizens asking how they can help.Forsyth County surrounded this little girl with love, care and prayers and lifted her up the way its supposed to be, the sheriff said.

Jiwani will make her first appearance at the Forsyth County Jail on Saturday morning.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Money for movies in Texas is not a Hollywood welfare program, says star in video

Dennis Quaid, Matthew McConaughey, Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson are among the high-profile Texas actors that want you to know supporting filmmaking in the Lone Star state will keep money in Texas  and out of California.

The Texas-born actors filmed a PSA for the Good for Texas campaign in support of the Texas film incentive programs.

Texas used to have a great incentive program that brought hundreds of great movies and shows, Houston-born Quaid said.

And hundreds of millions of dollars to the Lone Star State, Midland-born Harrelson said.

Unfortunately over the years the funding became less and less, Dallas native Wilson said.

Because some people were led to believe that that money was only going into the pockets of big wig California movie producers and high-priced Hollywood actors, Top Gun: Maverick actor Glen Powell, from Austin, said.

Several bills incentivizing film production were filed this legislative session to attract movies, television and other projects to Texas.

In the Good for Texas ad, Harrelson said promoting filmmaking in Texas would create jobs in the state and benefit the economy from production staff to area restaurants and hotels.

One bill, HB 3600, proposed establishing the Texas Multimedia Production Program which would provide tax credits for production companies. However, HB 3600 was postponed until next year.

Another bill, HB 4419, is about the promotion of film and television production in the state. This bill would:

Fund eligible film or television productions under the major events reimbursement program

Create a film events trust fund and a film production tax rebate trust fund

Establish virtual film production institutes

Designate media production development zones

Multimedia production has grown in North Texas in recent years.

The city of Mansfield approved an over 405,000-square-foot mixed-use studio complex in February which will include hotels and retail space. The complex is expected to bring in over 2,000 jobs to the city.

Yellowstone show creator Taylor Sheridan brought the production of the prequel series 1883 to the Fort Worth Stockyards and Granbury in 2021. Sheridans 1883 spin-off series Bass Reeves cast local talent ahead of filming in the Fort Worth area earlier this year.

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said Texas incentive program is woefully underfunded, the Star-Telegram previously reported.

The reality is, there are plenty of awesome opportunities and projects, and even longstanding film studio opportunities for the state of Texas that we just arent funding right now because we dont have a robust enough fund, Parker said.

This is not a Hollywood welfare program to pay for private jets and privileged lifestyles back in California, Harrelson said in the Good for Texas campaign.

No, this legislation is about Texas jobs, McConaughey said.

And showcasing our great state on the big screen, Quaid said.
Police identify victim of shooting at DMAX plant in Moraine; Suspect in critical condition

Police have identified the man killed in a shooting at the DMAX manufacturing plant in Moraine Thursday night.

Moraine Police and Fire were dispatched to the DMAX plant on Dryden Road just before 9 p.m. on reports of an active shooter on its premises, according to Sgt. Andrew Parish with the police department.

>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 1 dead following shooting at DMAX plant in Moraine; Suspect, other victim injured

The first responding officers quickly located and identified a male suspect outside of the facility, Parish said. The suspect had suffered an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head and required emergency medical treatment but was alert and conscious.

Officers and medics located two shooting victims inside the plant.

The male victim, identified as 28-year-old Jeffrey James Allen III of Dayton, was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The other victim, another male, was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

>> PHOTOS: 1 dead, 2 injured including suspected shooter at Moraine DMAX plant

A preliminary investigation confirmed that the suspect and both victims are/were employees at DMAX Moraine, Parish said.

According to Parish, investigators have also determined that the suspect and Allen were involved in a domestic-related feud over another female employee and that the suspect shot Allen during an altercation inside the facility.

During an altercation between the two males last night, the suspect produced a semiautomatic handgun and shot and killed Mr. Allen, Parish said.

The suspect is in critical but stable condition at an area hospital as of Friday morning, Parish said. His name has not been released at this time.

Operations at the facility were suspended, and DMAX Moraine remains closed while police continue to investigate the incident.

DMAX released an updated statement on the shooting Friday morning.

We are deeply saddened by last nights tragedy at the DMAX manufacturing facility in Moraine, Ohio. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims families and all those impacted by this incident. We are working with local authorities on the investigation. In the meantime, DMAX has canceled production until further notice. Additional details on the incident will be released by local law enforcement officials.  Paul Tanis, plant director, DMAX Moraine.

News Center 7 Reporter Brandon Lewis spoke with a DMAX employee who was on the companys premises when he heard at least 10 or 12 shots.

I just took off in the opposite direction, Brian Smith said. I was scared.

Smith worked at the plant for about 10 years and has never experienced an incident like this.

Im shook up, Smith said, wondering how this could happen since the plant was a great place to work at.

News Center 7 will continue providing updates as new details become available.

Jared Hall/Staff

Jared Hall/Staff

Jared Hall/Staff

Jared Hall/Staff

Jared Hall/Staff

Jared Hall/Staff

Jared Hall/Staff

Jared Hall/Staff

Jared Hall/Staff

Jared Hall/Staff

Jared Hall/Staff

Jared Hall/Staff

Nate Russell/Staff

Nate Russell/Staff

Nate Russell/Staff

Nate Russell/Staff
By Tatiana Bautzer, Lananh Nguyen and Saeed Azhar

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley's James Gorman plans to step down as chief executive within a year but stay on as executive chairman, drawing to a close 13 years in the role during which he built the Wall Street firm into a wealth management powerhouse.

Gorman, 64, told shareholders on Friday the bank's board has identified three strong candidates to succeed him, without naming them.

Co-presidents Ted Pick and Andy Saperstein, and head of investment management Dan Simkowitz, are widely seen as contenders for the top job.

"I definitely have no plans to go out like Logan Roy," Gorman told shareholders in his trademark dry humor, referring to a character in an HBO television show in which the CEO dies without having chosen a successor.

While Gorman was often asked about succession in recent years, the announcement on Friday was unexpected and sets up the final stretch of a race among potential candidates. The three most often cited are white men, however, which could renew the debate about diversity on Wall Street.

Gorman's decision also puts a spotlight on some of the other long-serving CEOs at the largest U.S. banks, such as JPMorgan Chase & Co's Jamie Dimon and Bank of America Corp's Brian Moynihan.

Gorman said that he will become executive chairman once a new CEO is chosen, a board title seen as more heavily involved in the company's affairs than non-executive director roles.

The role surprised some people internally, one senior Morgan Stanley banker said. Another Morgan Stanley source said the title was to indicate continuity. Gorman's predecessor John Mack stayed on for two years as chairman when the Australian-born executive took over as CEO.

Defending the bank's record on diversity, the source said Morgan Stanley has a female chief financial officer, who is younger than the executives seen as potential successors. The executive committee is also more diverse, with women and people of color represented, the source said.

Some analysts praised Gorman's tenure at Morgan Stanley but said although the succession is likely to be orderly, investors may be disappointed.

Veteran bank analyst Dick Bove said Gorman's retirement is a blow to the company. "The failure to announce a successor will tear the company apart if it is not done quickly," Bove, a bank analyst at Odeon, wrote in a note.

Morgan Stanley shares were down 2.2% in afternoon trading.

TRANSFORMING MORGAN STANLEY

Gorman has refocused the Wall Street firm into a more diversified company that is less reliant on what have been its traditional strengths -- trading and investment banking -- since being appointed CEO in 2010. The less volatile business of wealth management accounted for 45% of firm's revenue in the first quarter.

The diversification helped the bank's share price take a lead over its closest rival, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, which decided to largely stick to its knitting coming out of the financial crisis of 2008.

"Building out their wealth management division has been a real boon to the company, and they bested Goldman in that practice," said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer of Bokeh Capital Partners.

Gorman struck major deals including the acquisitions of money manager Eaton Vance, online broker E*Trade, and stock-plan manager Solium Capital.

He was also the key architect behind Morgan Stanley's purchase of Smith Barney, a brokerage and investment adviser that became a cornerstone of the bank's wealth management arm.

Gorman "has done a masterful job of transforming Morgan Stanley into the model that most major banks want to be, with a focus on asset management, financial advisers," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth in Boston.

Still, it has not all been plain sailing for Gorman.

The bank earlier this month said it's in talks to resolve a more than year-long investigation by U.S. regulators into its block trading practices.

Reuters has reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been probing whether financial executives may have broken the rules by tipping off hedge funds ahead of large sales of shares that the bank has managed.

The lender was also caught up in industry probes by the SEC into employee communications on messaging platforms that had not been approved by the company, which resulted in a $200 million fine.

POTENTIAL SUCCESSORS

The announcement set off speculation on Wall Street about who among the potential successors was the most likely to get the job.

Mike Mayo, banking analyst at Wells Fargo, noted that Saperstein, 56, could be the "leading candidate given the growth of wealth, increase in client assets."

KBW analyst David Konrad said while Saperstein runs "the most prominent business," Pick, 54, co-president and head of the institutional securities group, may be a "slightly more likely choice" because he was "instrumental in turning around" the bank's fixed-income, currencies and commodities business.

Simkowitz, the oldest of the three at 58, is head of investment management at Morgan Stanley and co-head of the firm's strategy and execution.

(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer, Lananh Nguyen, Saeed Azhar; Additional reporting by Vansh Agarwal, Jaiveer Shekhavat, Ankika Biswas; Writing by Elisa Martinuzzi; Editing by Toby Chopra, Editing by Franklin Paul and Nick Zieminski)
The News

Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman said Friday hell step down in the next year, and added that there are three strong candidates who could replace him.

Gorman, who turns 65 this summer, is sharpening a timeline that has been consistent if slightly fuzzy. (He told me in 2018 that he planned to stay three to five more years, then repeated that in 2021.)

He has wanted to avoid the succession mess of the 2000s, when a blood feud between Phil Purcell and John Mack paralyzed Morgan Stanley for years and, after Mack rode back in, helped encourage the excessive risk-taking that nearly proved fatal in 2008.

There was some question whether ego might trump discipline and that timeline might turn into a Jamie Dimon-esque rolling five-year clock. But the Australian Gorman is sticking to it, and the succession race that started two summers ago, when he elevated two lieutenants to co-president, and sharpened in January, when another candidate, Jon Pruzan, left the firm, now kicks into middle gear.

Liz's view

Barring a screw-up now, Gormans tenure will go down as one of the most successful among modern CEOs, and not just on Wall Street.

Its hard to overstate just what a mess Morgan Stanley was when he got the job in 2010. Its stock had hit an all-time low of $6.71 (there is a commemorative tie, courtesy of Gormans dapper former No. 2, Colm Kelleher, that involves waterfowl and The Twelve Days of Christmas) and Moodys downgraded the firms debt. For years after the 2008 crisis, Morgan Stanley remained Wall Streets weakling, lurching from one mess to another and unable to win back investors.

Gorman's strategy of cutting back on risky trading and going hard into the steadier business of money management was clearly correct and has now been copied by everyone from Goldman Sachs to Blackstone.

He was early to see that, coming out of 2008, both regulators and shareholders would prefer steady, lower-octane businesses to the profit pyrotechnics of the last decade. A former McKinsey consultant, he loved the wealth-management business, despite never having slapped a back in his entire life, and made it the engine of a new Morgan Stanley that is now one of Wall Streets consistently best performers. (Outfoxing Vikram Pandit and getting Smith Barney, Citigroups giant wealth brokerage, for a song didnt hurt.)

He could be aloof and peevishly analytical. Youll never hear him say call me Jimmy, its always James, David Rubenstein told me for this 2018 profile, and he discontinued Macks tradition of dining in the company cafeteria. The firms bigger egos, like investment banker Paul Taubman and wealth-management executive Greg Fleming, departed.

He also brought a discipline that had been sorely missing. Gorman writes the firms daily revenue figures longhand each night, tucking the looseleaf pages into a folder. I dont know if he still does, but for a while he kept a list of every Spotify song he played on his desk, right next to a list of his New Years resolutions.

He was more cautious about moving into the white space created after Morgan Stanley was transformed at gunpoint into a bank holding company in 2008. Goldman Sachs, in the same boat, eventually grabbed onto its new banking license with both hands, and is now trying to unwind a disastrous foray into consumer banking (one that Gorman thought was idiotic, and would say as much to anyone who asked.)

Morgan Stanley stayed out of the toaster game and struck one shrewd acquisition after another. Solium, for $900 million, locked down a key distribution channel for its wealth products. Eaton Vance, for $7 billion, turned its subscale asset-management arm into a player.

Even E*Trade, bought for a hefty $13 billion at the peak of the pre-pandemic market, in February 2020, has paid for itself, bringing 5 million new clients and some excess deposits that Morgan Stanley has redeployed into loans to its wealthy clients.

For any CEO, the key is not overstaying the welcome. Next year, Gorman will have been in the seat for 14 years and reshaped the firm  the architect of the reengineered success story that is Morgan Stanley, Kelleher, his longtime deputy and now UBSs executive chairman, told me today.

On a side note, Gorman said today that hell stay on as executive chairman. Ive never understood why new CEOs often get the chairmans job as well  they could use extra supervision  but Ill also note that Gorman eventually found Mack, who remained chairman for almost two years, to be a little meddlesome.

Know More

The three candidates to replace him are Ted Pick, a seasoned trading hand with some rough edges; Andy Saperstein, a blocking-and-tackling operator who came up through the wealth arm by way of McKinsey, like Gorman; and Dan Simkowitz, a former capital-markets banker who runs the firm's $1.4 trillion money-management arm.

The job has seemed for years like Picks to lose, and Pick and Saperstein were named co-presidents in 2021. But Gorman has always thought highly of Simkowitz, who reported directly to the CEO rather than up through Kelleher and was paid more in most years than the firms CFO.

As todays announcement  not quite news, delivered at the firms annual meeting, normally a humdrum affair  shows, Morgan Stanley under Gorman is a no-drama place, and the way to get Gormans job is to pretend you dont want it. This will be a Wall Street succession race in which nobody actually appears to be running.

Room for Disagreement

If theres a mark on his tenure, its Morgan Stanleys lack of diversity. All three contenders for Gormans job are white men, and a series of women have left the firm over the years including Ruth Porat, who went on to be CFO of Google, and Celeste Mellet, who is now at Global Infrastructure Partners.

Dimons successor looks likely to be one of two senior women at JPMorgan, who co-run the firms consumer banking arm. Citigroups Jane Fraser became the first woman to run a major U.S. bank in 2021.

The View From Tokyo

A quiet success of Gormans has been keeping Mitsubishi, which took a 22% stake in Morgan Stanley during the financial crisis, onside. That has required twice-a-year meetings between top executives, ping-ponging between New York and Tokyo. (In our occasional lunches at 1585 Broadway, when I covered the firm for The Wall Street Journal, I learned quickly to order the sushi.)

Their joint venture sets Morgan Stanley up to benefit from the Japanese retirement boom. Mitsubishis huge balance sheet has helped Morgan Stanley punch above its weight in the corporate lending market, and any CEO would kill for a friendly 22% shareholder with no plans to sell.

Correction

Notable
Morgan Stanley's James Gorman, who arrived at the bank shortly before financial crisis, to retire

FILE - Morgan Stanley chairman and CEO James Gorman testifies before the House Financial Services Commitee during a hearing, Wednesday, April 10, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Gorman will retire in the next 12 months, he said Friday, May 19, 2023, at the bank's annual shareholder meeting. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

NEW YORK (AP)  Morgan Stanley's long-time CEO James Gorman will retire in the next 12 months, he said Friday at the bank's annual shareholder meeting.

Gorman said the bank is looking at three senior internal candidates to be the investment bank's new top executive. Gorman said he plans to remain at the bank as executive chairman of the board for a period of time after a successor is named.

Gorman joined Morgan Stanley as chief operating officer of its Global Wealth Management Group in early 2006 and was co-president of the Wall Street bank within a year.

Gorman became CEO in 2010 in the wake of the financial crisis, when the storied investment bank came dangerously close to collapsing. Morbding securities and making deals grew highly volatile.

Gorman made it his mission to stabilize Morgan Stanley's business for the long term. The firm built out its wealth management business substantially, a business that brings in regular fee income instead of when deals close, and a division he was very familiar with. Morgan Stanley also bought E(asterisk)Trade and Eaton Vance to further build out its wealth management business.

That arm of the business now makes up roughly half of Morgan Stanley's revenue.
These are the most popular baby names for boys in Georgia

The Social Security Administration released its annual list of most popular baby boy names on Friday. The list can be filtered state-by-state and there were no changes for Georgia at the top of the list.

For the second year in a row, Noah was the No. 1 most popular name for boys born in Georgia last year. The name jumped to the No. 1 spot for 2021.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The Social Security Administration releases an annual list that tracks baby names given to boys and girls in every state, with names dating to 1880. The data is based on applications for Social Security cards and the data has been released every year since 1997.

Here are the top 20 boy names for Georgia.

Noah- 630 Liam- 575 Williams- 495 Elijah- 464 James- 429 Oliver- 391 Henry- 340 (tied for 7th) John- 340 (tied for 7th) Samuel- 349 Asher- 308 Mason- 295 Lucas- 286 Michael- 281 Levi- 280 Benjamin- 269 Aiden- 268 Grayson- 267 Josiah- 266 Daniel- 262 (tied) Mateo- 262 (tied)

Theres also a list for boys names at the top of the list in Georgia. You can find that list here.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Gulfport Memorial Hospital CEO Kent Nicaud wrote Gov. Tate Reeves a $25,000 campaign check about three weeks before the governor appointed him to a significant government job.

Nicaud, who has long been among Reeves top campaign donors, landed the governors Gaming Commission appointment on March 8, 2023. A little more than three weeks before the appointment, on Feb. 13, 2023, Nicaud wrote Reeves campaign the $25,000 check, according to a campaign finance report released last week.

Gaming commissioners receive a modest salary from taxpayers  $40 per day  and are reimbursed by the state for travel and meals. The commission is tasked with regulating the casino gaming industry, which brings the state hundreds of millions in tax revenue each year. That revenue has become necessary to fund basic public services across Mississippi, and because gaming commissioners wield great influence over changes to the industry, they are broadly considered critical figures to one of the states most powerful and wealthiest lobbies.

The hospital executive is the latest Nicaud to receive a government appointment from Reeves. Kents wife Jenny Field Nicaud, an attorney, scored a Reeves appointment in 2021 as an administrative law judge for the Mississippi Workers Compensation Commission. In that role, Jenny earns an annual salary of $120,768.98, according to Mississippi State Personnel Board records.

The couples son Jourdan Nicaud, a well-known Gulf Coast restaurateur, is also a major campaign donor to Reeves. According to last weeks finance report, Jourdan wrote Reeves a separate $25,000 check, which was dated about two weeks after his father was confirmed to the Gaming Commission by the Senate.

All told, the Nicaud family has given close to $200,000 in campaign donations to Reeves over the past few years, according to the governors finance reports.

And theyve facilitated even more donations to the Reeves camp. The couple hosted a fundraiser for Reeves at their Pass Christian mansion in late 2020, the same week that the states top physicians issued dire warnings about a lack of hospital bed space to accommodate COVID-19 patients, and during a period Reeves signed mandates limiting the number of people allowed to gather in one place at a time. Kent Nicaud, whose Gulfport hospital had just five beds available on the day of the fundraiser, told Mississippi Today the guests were very conscious of all the social distancing.

This was a very small group of people, and the reason it was at my home was because of the ability to keep everyone separate, Nicaud said, pointing out that his house is 11,000 square feet. There were probably never more than 21, 22 people there at one time. This was an event that I felt was meeting safety criteria, and the governor was already in town for a tourism commission and chamber of commerce. This was an opportunity for people to talk to (Reeves) about specific things. We did it safely.

Nicaud did not return a request for comment on this story.

The Nicauds are among several Reeves insiders who have received government jobs in his first term in office. In 2021, the governor appointed Franc Lee, a consumer loan magnate and Reeves largest individual campaign donor, to the Gaming Commission.

Reeves appointed three campaign donors to the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees  among the states most powerful government seats  and two campaign donors to the Mississippi Community College Board in 2021.

Businessman Johnny McRight gave Reeves $50,000 in the four years before his 2021 MCCB appointment. Businessman Luke Montgomery gave Reeves $14,500 in the years before his 2021 MCCB appointment.

Gregg Rader, a Columbus businessman, gave Reeves $85,000 in the months leading up to his 2021 IHL appointment. And Rader has continued the flow of money to Reeves campaign coffers even after his appointment, writing another $30,000 check to the governor in 2022.

William Symmes, a Gulfport lawyer appointed by Reeves to the MCCB in 2021 after a small 2020 donation to the governor, acknowledged in an interview at the time that his personal connections to Reeves led to his appointment, but said it is logical the governor would pick people who know and support him.

Obama said it best: Elections have consequences, Symmes told Mississippi Today in 2021. I think that one of those consequences is youre able to put people around you that you feel comfortable and work well with.

Another one of Reeves appointments from 2023 is Gerard Gibert, the host of a conservative Supertalk Mississippi radio show and regular campaign donor of Reeves. Gibert, first appointed to the Mississippi Lottery Corporation board by former Gov. Phil Bryant, was reappointed by Reeves this year after writing several checks to Reeves campaigns since 2017.

Mississippi Today reached out to Reeves campaign before this story was published and asked if Reeves worries about the optics of giving major campaign donors or their family members taxpayer-funded government appointments.

Elliott Husbands, Reeves campaign manager, responded by email late Wednesday: This is our statement, please be sure to print it all: Mississippi Today is a liberal Democrat SuperPAC run by proven liars, and in fact was just legally forced to apologize for lying about Republicans as recently as today. Anything written by this blog should be viewed in that context.

Editors note: The Reeves campaign statement in this story references an apology our CEO issued on May 17 that had no bearing on Reeves.
A Mississippi teenager set to graduate high school in one day is fighting in federal court Friday afternoon to be able to wear a dress to receive her diploma.

The Harrison Central High School student is transgender and has worn dresses and feminine clothes her entire high school career and has never been cited for dress code violations, a lawsuit filed by the ACLU says.

The 17-year-old has worn dresses to prom and shopped for the perfect white graduation dress with her mother, Samantha Brown.

But things changed when the Harrison County School District superintendent, Mitchell King, called the Harrison Central principal to ask what trans students would be wearing to graduation, the lawsuit says.

The student, identified in the lawsuit as L.B., was told by the principal should would have to wear the boys clothing options for graduation as set in the Coast school districts dress code.

After obtaining attorneys and pleading with the school district to change course to no avail, the girl and her parents will be in U.S. District Court in Gulfport Friday. An emergency injunction was called in the hopes the court will allow L.B. to wear the dress she chose for graduation on Saturday.

History of dress code complaints at Harrison County schools

L.B. has been openly transgender at school for four years. The lawsuit states that the dress codes for graduation and for Harrison Central Highs campus in Gulfport dont note rules pertaining to gender markers or transgender children.

L.B.s case, however, isnt the first time dress code has been called into question by Harrison County parents.

The Harrison County School District is the largest school district on the Mississippi Coast and has made news headlines in the last year about their dress code policies that parents say are sexist, improperly enforced and often stray from the districts own rules laid out in the student handbooks.

In February 2022, a fifth grade student at West Wortham Elementary & Middle School, was sent to in-school suspension for the day for wearing a hoodie with leggings.

Shiloh Fore, who had never been in trouble at school, was stopped by the principal who said her hoodie was too short. Shilohs father, a Biloxi police lieutenant, said his daughters sweater hung down to her freaking knees when he spoke to the Sun Herald last year.

Ashton Fore, Shilohs mother, put a photo on Facebook of Shilohs outfit on Facebook that showed her hoodie passed the fingertip test, the length (mid thigh) that is deemed acceptable by the dress code. The dress code also states that hoodies worn with leggings must cover the buttocks.

Does Harrison County follow its own school dress code?

Shilohs parents also claimed that principal Michael Weaver did not follow West Worthams own dress code that states parents would first be called to bring students a change of clothes.

In an email to the Fores, superintendent King apologized for not trying to get Shiloh a change of clothes before sending her to ISS.

On the day Shiloh was punished for her hoodie, she said Weaver was examining outfits of many other students, all of whom were girls.

After the Sun Herald published Shilohs story, other parents reached out and spoke about their issues with the school districts dress code policies.

Like Shiloh, West Wortham fifth grader Ainsley Ballenger also was sent to ISS last year because Weaver said her shirt didnt pass the fingertip test.

When Ainsleys mom  Kayla Mcgee  confronted Weaver, he told her that the shirt would ride up a little bit when she walked. At the time, McGee called the enforcement sexist.

Its making them grow up to be ashamed of what they are, the Coast mom told the Sun Herald last year. And theres no sense in them having to wear clothes thats three times bigger than what they are.

Whats next for Harrison Central trans student

A federal judge will decide if L.B. will be allowed to wear a dress heels to her graduation.

The Sun Herald reached out for comment from the Harrison County School district for comment but did not hear back from them at the time of publication.

Sun Herald reporter Margaret Baker contributed to this report.
February 2021: Myanmar newspapers the day after the army detained the country's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup

The 2021 coup "shattered the media landscape" and the junta - which "tolerates no alternative to its narrative" - quickly banned outspoken outlets, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

By the end of 2022, Myanmar had the third-highest number of imprisoned journalists in the world, after Iran and China, says the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The state media "are just propaganda outlets that receive scant attention from the population", says RSF.

Critical outlets operate underground or from exile. Some other outlets "tread a delicate path between trying to inform their fellow citizens and the need to not offend the generals".

Foreign broadcasters serving audiences in Myanmar include the BBC, Voice of America, and US-backed Radio Free Asia.The junta has repeatedly restricted online connectivity by ordering internet shutdowns and blocks, says Freedom House. It says mobile service providers must block all websites, except for 1,200 addresses approved by the military.

There were 28.5 million internet users by July 2022, comprising 52% of the population (Internetworldstats.com).

Press

Television

Radio

Myanmar Radio - state-run, operated by MRTV

City FM - run by Rangoon City Development Committee

Shwe FM - commercial

News agency/Online
NASA announced Friday that the agency has selected Blue Origin to develop a human landing system for the Artemis V mission to the moon.

Blue Origin will be NASAs second provider to deliver Artemis astronauts to the surface of the moon. SpaceX has also been contracted to develop a lunar landing system.

"Having two distinct lunar lander designs, with different approaches to how they meet NASA's mission needs, provides more robustness and ensures a regular cadence of moon landings," said Lisa Watson-Morgan, manager of the Human Landing System Program at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

According to NASA, having a second provider to the Artemis program will also increase competition, reduce costs to taxpayers and further invest in the lunar economy. In doing so, it helps NASA use the moon as a stepping stone for future missions to Mars.

A waxing gibbous moon

Under a firm-fixed-price contract of $3.4 billion, Blue Origin will design, develop, test and verify its Blue Moon lander to meet NASAs human landing system requirements for recurring astronaut expeditions to the moons surface, NASA said.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

The contract also includes one uncrewed demonstration mission to the lunar surface before a crewed demonstration on the Artemis V mission in 2029.

For the Artemis V mission, NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket will launch four astronauts to lunar orbit aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft.

Once Orion docks with the space station Gateway, NASA said two astronauts will transfer to Blue Origins human landing system for about a weeklong trip to the moons South Pole region, where they will conduct science and exploration activities.
Two years after losing NASA's much-coveted Human Landing Systems (HLS) contract to SpaceX and its explosion-prone Starship spacecraft, Jeff Bezos' rocket company Blue Origin has finally scored some of its own federal funding to build a lunar lander.

After Blue Origin made a huge fuss over NASA's decision to award SpaceX  and SpaceX only  the almost $3 billion HLS contract back in 2021, the agency established a second initiative called the Sustaining Lunar Development program.

And today, NASA officially awarded a Blue Origin-led team, which also includes industry titans Lockheed Martin and Boeing, a $3.4 billion contract for its upcoming Artemis V mission.

Put simply, Bezos has finally got his consolation prize, possibly  but by no means certainly  putting an end to years of bickering between two of the richest men in the world.

Before we go on, here's a little refresher: Artemis II is the first scheduled crewed mission of NASA's Orion spacecraft and will involve a crewed lunar flyby. NASA selected SpaceX's Starship as its lunar lander  but not launch rocket  for its Artemis III mission, the first planned lunar landing mission, which is tentatively scheduled for 2025. Artemis IV will add NASA's Lunar Gateway to the mix.

And the agency's Artemis V mission is slated to launch in 2029, and will involve sending astronauts from the Lunar Gateway to the Moon's south pole inside Blue Origin's lunar lander.

"Today we are excited to announce Blue Origin will build a human landing system as NASAs second provider to deliver Artemis astronauts to the lunar surface," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in an announcement, adding that "we are in a golden age of human spaceflight."

NASA backed up its decision to award Blue Origin the contract, arguing that adding a second lunar lander system partner "will increase competition, reduce costs to taxpayers, support a regular cadence of lunar landings, further invest in the lunar economy, and help NASA achieve its goals on and around the Moon in preparation for future astronaut missions to Mars."

"We want more competition," Nelson added. "It means that you have reliability. You have backups."

Much love was lost over the years leading up to today's decision, a process that was fraught with fingerpointing, mudslinging, and legal action.

The original HLS contract sent sparks flying, with Bezos and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk repeatedly butting heads over who got to enjoy the fruits of NASA's ambitious plans to return humans to the Moon.

Things really started heating up when Blue Origin called out NASA's decision to award its HLS contract to SpaceX as being "flawed," accusations that culminated in Bezos suing NASA.

Musk took the opportunity to tear into Bezos, going as far as to suggest that Bezos should be zapped "on the head with our space lasers."

"He should consider spending some money on actual lunar lander hardware, instead of shady lobbyists," Musk tweeted at the time.

Blue Origin didn't take these accusations lightly and attempted to undermine public confidence in SpaceX's Starship launch platform, arguing that it was "immensely complex and high risk."

Meanwhile, NASA was trapped in the crossfire, stuck with its own heavy-launch rocket that wasn't just years late, but billions of dollars over budget.

To its relief, NASA's Space Launch System performed admirably during the agency's first Artemis mission late last year, an uncrewed journey around the Moon and back.

The mission sets the stage for both SpaceX and Blue Origin, which now have their work cut out to live up to their promises of developing a reliable capsule capable of safely delivering astronauts to the lunar surface.

While SpaceX has made tangible progress in developing its Starship spacecraft  explosions notwithstanding  we have yet to see much of Blue Origin's "Blue Moon" lander beyond some renders and a full-scale dummy lander being delivered to NASA back in 2020.

Fortunately, Blue Origin has a bit more time, with until 2029 to get its ducks in a row.

Beyond the bitter feud between the two space companies, today's news highlights NASA's immense confidence in the private space industry to realize its goal of returning the first astronauts to the lunar surface in over half a century.

"This is an incredible pivot in history," Ars Technica's Eric Berger tweeted. "We have a private competition to build landers to put humans on the Moon, with fixed price contracts, that pits two of the richest Americans against one another."

"This is not your mama's NASA," he added.

More on Artemis: NASA's New Artemis II Graphics Are So Freaking Awesome
This image provided by Blue Origin shows the Blue Moon lander. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin received a $3.4 billion contract Friday, May 19, 2023, to develop a lunar lander named Blue Moon. It will be used to transport astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2029. (Blue Origin via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)  Jeff Bezos' rocket company has won a NASA contract to land astronauts on the moon, two years after it lost out to SpaceX.

Blue Origin received a $3.4 billion contract Friday to lead a team to develop a lunar lander named Blue Moon. It will be used to transport astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2029, following a pair of crew landings by Elon Musks SpaceX.

NASA will get astronauts to lunar orbit using its own rockets and capsules, but wants private companies to take over from there.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the agency wants different landing options as it seeks a return to the moon more than a half-century after the end of the Apollo moonshots.

Blue Origin is kicking in billions of dollars, on top of the NASA contract, to help establish a permanent presence on the moon.

We have a lot to do before we successfully land and return astronauts," said John Couluris, a Blue Origin vice president.

Two years ago, Blue Origin sued after NASA awarded SpaceX the contract for the first lunar landing. A federal judge upheld the space agencys decision.

NASAs Artemis program, which follows the 1960s and 1970s Apollo moonshots. kicked off with a successful test flight late last year. Launched atop NASA's new moon rocket, an empty Orion capsule went into lunar orbit before returning home.

The next Artemis flight will come late next year when one Canadian and three U.S. astronauts fly to the moon and back, but not land. Two Americans would descend to the lunar surface aboard a SpaceX Starship on the mission after that, no earlier than late 2025.

Like SpaceX, Blue Origin plans to practice landing on the moon without a crew, before putting astronauts on board.

While the shiny, stainless steel Starship has a science fiction look, Blue Moon resembles more of a traditional capsule perched atop a tall compartment with legs. The latter will stand 52 feet (16 meters) on the moon.

Both companies' landers are meant to be reusable.

Blue Origin will use its still-in-development New Glenn rocket to launch its lunar missions from Cape Canaveral. Starship, the world's largest rocket, made its debut last month from South Texas; the test flight ended in an explosive fireball a few minutes into flight.

Blue Origin's team includes five partners: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Draper, Astrobotic Technology and Honeybee Robotics.

Only one other bid was submitted for the contract competition, according to NASA.

___

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.
The Nasa Logo and Atlantis Space Shuttle at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US (Getty Images)

Nasa has named Jeff Bezoss Blue Origin as the second company to build a lunar lander under its Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon for the firs time in more than 50 years.

The US space agency awarded the first contract to Elon Musks SpaceX in 2021 in a $3 billion deal that was disputed by Mr Bezos at the time.

Those initial missions using SpaceXs Starship system are slated for later this decade.

We want more competition, we want two landers, Nasa Administrator Bill Nelson said at an event in Washington on Friday. It means you have reliability, you have backups. It benefits Nasa, it benefits the American people.

Todays announcement evokes deja vu for Amazon.com founder Bezos and defense contractor Dynetics Inc, the head of a partnership with Northrop Grumman.

Those companies lost out to SpaceX for the 2021 contract, part of an initial moon lander procurement program. Nasa under that program said it could pick up to two companies, but blamed budget constraints for only going with SpaceX.

The new contract is the biggeset ever deal for Blue Origin, which Mr Bezos founded in 2000. The Amazon founder has invested billions of dollars into the company to compete for high-profile commercial and government space contracts with SpaceX.

After losing in 2021, Blue Origin unsuccessfully fought to overturn Nasas decision to ignore its Blue Moon lander, first with a watchdog agency and then in court.

An artists concept of a suited Artemis astronaut looking out of a moon lander hatch across the lunar surface (Nasa)

Blue Origin and lawmakers had pressured Nasa to award a second lunar lander contract to promote commercial competition and ensure the agency has a backup ride to the moon. Nasa in early 2022 announced the program for a second lander contract.

Nasa chief Bill Nelson said at the time: I promised competition, so here it is.

Blue Origin has already named its corporate partners for the lunar lander: Lockheed Martin , Boeing, spacecraft software firm Draper, and robotics firm Astrobotic.

Northrop Grumman, previously a key partner in Blue Origins unsuccessful Blue Moon bid in 2021, switched teams to join its former rival Dynetics.

Nasas multi-spacecraft plan for the Artemis moonshots involves its Space Launch System rocket launching astronauts toward the moon aboard the Lockheed-built Orion capsule. That will dock in space with a lunar lander that will ferry the crew the rest of the way to the Moons surface.

Additional reporting from agencies
Sen. Megan Hunt (I), left, responded to a Republican senator, right, who complained that a filibuster of the anti-trans bill prevented her from attending her grandsons graduation.

Update, 6:45 pm: Nebraska lawmakers successfully passed the bill banning abortions after 12 weeks and gender-affirming care for people under the age of 19.

The Nebraska legislature will vote on Friday afternoon on a Frankenstein bill that combines a 12-week abortion ban with a ban on trans health care for minors. Ahead of the vote, Republican State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan expressed frustration on the legislature floor Thursday that she had missed her grandsons preschool graduation because Democrats had prolonged debates over the billand this comment really did not go well for her.



Read more

Progressive state Sen. Megan Hunt (I), the mother of a trans child whos been leading the filibuster efforts against anti-trans legislation, delivered an powerful response: If you want to see your grandson graduate from preschool, you should do that, Hunt said. Instead, you are here to drag out this session because you wont come off this bill that hurts my son. You hate him more than you love your own family. And thats why youre here. She continued, We dont need you here. We need you to vote no or present, not voting on 574 [the bill], because theres nothing else in this body thats affecting your family.

I am not asking you to sit here through late nights to vote on these bills that were dragging out. Im asking you to love your family more than you hate mine, Hunt said.

You can watch her whole response below:

NE State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan (R) complains filibusters of anti-trans bills made her miss her grandson's preschool graduation.



Sen. Megan Hunt (I): You won't come off this bill that hurts my [trans] son. You hate him more than you love your own family. That's why you're here." pic.twitter.com/lqMybhuNaa  Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) May 18, 2023

Its unclear from local reporting how or if Linehan responded to Hunt publicly after that, and she did not immediately respond to Jezebels request for comment. But Hunts comments offer an important context: Its not Democrats and progressives who are derailing Nebraskas state government by filibustering. The bigoted lawmakers willing to die on the hill of transphobia and dehumanizing pregnant people are to blame.

Last month, Hunt (formerly a Democrat who recently became nonpartisan) faced a state investigation for opposing the bill to prohibit medical care for trans youth because she has a trans child, which the states Accountability and Disclosure Commission has determined may be a conflict of interest. In an interview with Jezebel earlier this month, the senator said, Being a loving parent is not a conflict of interest. But they can do whatever they want. They can take me to court if they want to, because its not a complaint I take seriously.

Hunt told Jezebel that she and her progressive colleagues are prepared to stall or derail every bill the legislature considers in order to obstruct abortion and trans care bans. We arent letting a single bill pass until abortion rights and trans rights are protected here.

More from Jezebel

Sign up for Jezebel's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, a freshman lawmaker, speaks, Friday, May 19, 20230, in Lincoln, Nebraska, during debate on a bill that would ban gender-affirming care to minors. Kauth introduced the bill  which has been the flashpoint this session.

In late April, an abortion ban failed to pass in Nebraskabut Republicans werent ready to give up on it. So they tacked an abortion ban onto a bill banning gender-affirming care for trans minors, the latter of which they knew they could whip the votes for, and passed the whole Frankenstein bill on Friday afternoon by a vote of 33 to 15. The final bill bans abortion after 12 weeks since a pregnant persons last menstrual periodeffectively 10 weeks into pregnancywith no exceptions for fetal anomalies, and bans gender-affirming surgeries for everyone under the age of 19.

As the countrys smallest state legislature debated the bill on Friday, protesters chanted in the capitol rotunda so loudly that viewers could hear it on the Nebraska Public Media feed of the legislative body. Shouts of save our lives echoed throughout the building. Democrats and Independents had been filibustering the bill for so long that one Republican lawmaker complained on Thursday that she had to miss her grandsons preschool graduation to be able to vote for it.

Read more

Gov. Jim Pillen (R) is expected to sign the legislation when it hits his desk. Oddly, the abortion ban portion of the bill will take effect just one (1) day after Pillens signature, while the trans healthcare portions take effect on Oct. 1.

Activists are already exploring legal options against the legislation. To be clear, we refuse to accept this as our new normal. This vote will not be the final word. We are actively exploring our options to address the harm of this extreme legislation, and that work will have our teams full focus, American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska leader Mindy Rush Chipman said in a statement Friday. This is not over, not by a long shot.

The parts of the bill targeting trans care for minors requires the state chief medical officer to design new rules for how trans minors can access gender-affirming care that is not surgical, such as puberty blockers. People already receiving treatment are exempt from those restrictions. And the law will ban state funds from going directly or indirectly to any entity, organization, or individual for providing gender-altering procedures to those under 19. (State Medicaid hasnt covered gender-affirming healthcare since 1990 in Nebraska.)

The bill also includes a civil penalty section, allowing citizens to seek appropriate relief (aka damages of actual damages and reasonable attorneys fees) from the health care professional who performed gender-affirming care within two years. (Again: Gender-affirming surgery on trans kids, despite what Republicans repeatedly have been claiming to stoke outrage, is incredibly rare.)

The 17-page legislation has a rape exception to the abortion component, but that means there has to be a doctor willing to certify in writing that the abortion was performed because of sexual assault or incest. And the bill describes a fetus as pre-born childan anti-abortion tactic meant to move non-medical, emotionally charged terms into the legislative lexicon. Remember how federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk tried to claim fetus wasnt a scientific term? Its all a part of the same con.

Friday was a dark day in Nebraska, and State Sen. Megan Hunt (I), the mother of a trans child, said it best during debates: I am not asking you to sit here through late nights to vote on these bills that were dragging out. Im asking you to love your family more than you hate mine.

More from Jezebel

Sign up for Jezebel's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
A new neighborhood in Muscatine will be home to 3D-printed houses thanks to an Iowa City-based company

An Iowa City-based 3D construction company is poised to build its first set of printed homes in Muscatine this summer.

Alquist 3D produced the first owner-occupied, 3D-printed home in the U.S. in 2021, built in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg in Virginia, the Des Moines Register reported.

The Muscatine homes will be built in the Arbor Commons neighborhood, a new subdivision with 62 plots of land near Discovery Park in the eastern Iowa town.

Alquist 3D, founded in late 2020, uses 3D printing to construct a home layer by layer using specialized concrete, forgoing framing, siding, and drywall, according to the Register.

The result is that 3D-printed homes become more affordable because traditional materials such as lumber arent needed. Affordability is part of the companys mission, aiming to lower the cost of housing and infrastructure through 3D-printing in under-served communities.

Our goal at Alquist 3D is to help build community, and this project defines this process, said Zachary Mannheimer, founder and CEO of Alquist 3D, in a press release. City leaders in Muscatine have come together to bring thefuture of construction to Iowa. We are grateful for our partnerships with the Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine and general contractor Hagerty Earthworks to bring this project to fruition.

New partnerships will support Alquist 3D and its work in Muscatine

Alquist 3D trains workers on a thee dimensional cement printer capable of printing homes in Stanton, Iowa, Friday, June 24, 2022.

Muscatine Community College recently unveiled a new, 8-week certification program centered around 3D-construction printing. The curriculum is in partnership with the Iowa City-based company and students that complete the program will be prepared to enter the 3D-construction printing workforce.

Alquist 3D will work with the Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine and general contractor Hagerty Earthworks to build the homes in Arbor Commons, according to a press release.

It will use a new smaller and more nimble printer from RIC Technology, a robotic construction company based in California.

These homes will also utilize the concrete mix Ultimatecrete thanks to a new partnership with Luyten 3D, a printing technology company in Australia. Luyten 3D is the first company to 3D-print a code-compliant house in Australia, according to the companys website.

Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach her at PBarraza@press-citizen.com or 319-519-9731. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.bri

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City company to create 3D-printed homes in Muscatine
'You never forget': Mariupol refugee in Moscow haunted by horrors

Alyona, 35, from Mariupol, moved to Moscow after surviving Russia's siege of her hometown

Alyona and her family survived one hundred days of hell during Russia's siege of Mariupol, which ended a year ago on Saturday, when the last Ukrainian troops in the city surrendered.

A year later, she, her husband and their two children have begun to rebuild their lives in Russia but are still haunted by the horrors of the battle for the Ukrainian port city.

The 35-year-old speaks in the present tense as she describes the dozens of bodies hastily buried in the courtyards of the city's apartment blocks or along its pavements.

"The stench, the scenes, the bloated stomachs (of decomposing bodies) -- you never forget that," Alyona said in the family's new apartment in the outskirts of Moscow.

She recounted to AFP how her daughter saw a dog eating a body.

"She asks me: 'Mum, what's happening? Why is a dog eating a man?' And I still don't know what to tell her," she said, crying.

Alyona preferred to withhold her last name fearing repercussions if Ukrainian authorities learn that she moved to Russia.

Alyona and her family were living in the northern part of Mariupol when hundreds of thousands of residents found themselves trapped by the offensive ordered by President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022.

For two months, the city was surrounded and subjected to intense bombardment.

Residents who were not killed hid in basements without water, electricity, heating or phone signal, cut off from the world in freezing temperatures.

Alyona said she could hear the cries of the wounded.

"But we couldn't do anything. We couldn't come out of the basements. We would have been torn to pieces."

She said she never cried in front of her children.

"I was a she-wolf, an iron lady. But during the night, I screamed my heart out on my hands and knees. I screamed so much. It was terrible. We wanted to stay alive."

- 'We are alive!' -

Between the beginning of March and the end of April 2022, she lived a "cave life" in a basement with around 60 children.

From time to time, residents emerged to find food. Some never came back.

In May, while the last Ukrainian troops were holed up in Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks, she managed to contact her mother Viktoria.

Her mother was living in Bakhmut -- a town in eastern Ukraine that is now the epicentre of fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops.

"They told me: 'We are alive! We are alive!" said Viktoria, who now lives in Moscow.

"It was as if a weight was lifted from my shoulders."

With her phone, Alyona filmed the first bombings and the gutted apartment blocks from her window.

She filmed her children playing not far from small crosses marking makeshift graves.

On June 4, 2022, exactly 100 days after the start of the Russian offensive, Alyona and her family left for Russia.

They went through several checkpoints and "filtration" centres during which she said she and her husband were searched by Russian soldiers.

She said her family was not on anyone's side in the conflict and they passed through the screenings without problems.

Ukraine has accused Russia of using violence during these checks and even of executing civilians. Russia has denied these allegations.

- 'Abandoned' -

Asked who was responsible for the destruction in Mariupol, Alyona was cautious.

"We don't have the information our leaders have," she said.

But she blames the Ukrainian government for not evacuating her family.

"My army didn't save me. My country abandoned me," she said.

The family is planning to stay in Moscow.

Her husband has found a job as an electrician and Alyona, whose first language is Russian, said she shares the mentality, religion and language of Russian people.

According to a UN tally from October 2022, more than 2.8 million Ukrainian refugees have moved to Russia. Many have since travelled to the European Union but many have also chosen to stay.

Natalya Mityusheva, 41, from the non-governmental organisation Mayak.fund, said many Ukrainian refugees -- particularly families -- stay in Russia because "it is easier for them to adapt" despite the "minimal assistance" provided by the state.

Mariupol survivors are often the most traumatised, she said.

The fighting started "when they were going to work, to school, they could not believe what was happening."

"For them, it was a terrible shock," said Mityusheva, whose organisation provides humanitarian, legal and psychological assistance to Alyona and her family.

One year on, Alyona is still afraid.

When firecrackers went off in her area in Moscow over the New Year, she found herself plunged back into the nightmare of Mariupol.

"I started packing my bag with my children. I wanted to leave," she said.

"I couldn't believe it was only firecrackers".

rco/bur/lcm/mca
I never worked with anyone as dedicated to saving babies as Mark Gietzen | Commentary

I first met Mark Gietzen in April of 2008, the year I retired from Boeing AC company. I wanted to get involved with the pro-life movement ever since I watched the Summer of Mercy protests on TV at home, knowing I couldnt do anything because I was active duty military at the time.

I stopped by the abortion clinic gate and saw lots of volunteers. Mark was there and asked me what shifts I would like to take.

I spent several years volunteering on whatever days he needed the most help.

I asked Mark about the crosses that were posted around the side and front of the clinic. I found out that he placed those crosses by hand every morning and collected them every evening, placing them neatly in the back of the Truth Truck, five days a week. I helped him with this many times after that.

I have always been so impressed with his dedication to the cause of saving babies lives.

He let nothing stand in the way of his cause: not rain, snow, heat or cold weather. He worked while always keeping the volunteers and their temperaments under control.

There were several people I was nervous about working with, but Mark talked to them because he knew only major problems could get us removed from the premises for good.

I remember before the pandemic we would often sing before or during shift changes outside of the clinic. He had copies of a booklet of songs he kept inside one of the log-in books, and there were also several prayers we could recite. I didnt know the prayers too well, nor did I know many of the songs, but Mark invited me to join in with the group.

There were times he would get upset regarding city or state guidelines and requirements, but he always managed to keep himself under control.

I worked with Mark for so long because I had never worked with someone as dedicated as he was.

I was proud to know and work with Mark for the nearly 20 years I knew him.

Joseph Elmore is a member of The Eagle Editorial Advisory Board and the president of Wichita Black Republicans.
No, California has not approved $1.2 million in reparations for Black residents | Fact check

The claim: California approved $1.2 million in reparations for every Black resident

A May 9 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) makes a claim about purported payouts in California.

"$1.2 MILLION approved in reparations for every black resident in California??!" reads the post. "this should be interesting MAYday."

A tweet with the same claim generated over 600 likes in less than two weeks. Similar posts have spread elsewhere on Facebook and Twitter.

Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

Our rating: False

A California task force voted in May to recommend slavery reparations for Black residents for harm caused by issues such as mass incarceration and housing discrimination. However, the group never recommended $1.2 million as a compensation amount, and to date the recommendations have not been approved by the California Legislature.

Reparations for Black residents have not yet been approved in the state

In 2020, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill establishing a nine-member task force to recommend ways to educate Californians about slavery and develop reparation proposals for Black Americans. The move came after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was pinned down by a white police officer in an incident that spurred nationwide protests over racial injustice.

But California has not approved $1.2 million reparations for Black residents, according to Don Tamaki, a task force member appointed by Newsom.

The claim surfaced after the task force voted May 6 to approve proposals on how California will compensate Black Americans for health harms, housing discrimination, mass incarceration, over-policing, unjust property takings and the devaluation of Black businesses. The group consulted economists and policy experts to develop a methodology for analyzing and calculating losses in each category, according to the report.

The group then came up with hypothetical numbers to give the public some idea of "the economic loss suffered by African Americans as a result of the continuing impact of racial discrimination," according to Tamaki.

For instance, a Black resident could be eligible for housing discrimination reparations up to $148,099, or $3,366 for each year spent in California between 1933 and 1977. They could also receive up to $115,260, or $2,352 for each year of residency in California during the 49-year period between 1971 and 2020, for reparations related to mass incarceration and over-policing.

"The numbers are not recommendations on what the state should pay," Tamaki said. "Rather, the numbers are estimates of what the economic harm is and has been."

Fact check: Post distorts Karine Jean-Pierre's statement on immigration under Biden

The task force also never used the $1.2 million figure referenced in the post, Jovan Lewis, a task force member, told USA TODAY.

The figure is based on calculations by some news outlets, such as the New York Times, which reported that lifelong state residents who are 71 years old could theoretically be eligible for roughly $1.2 million in total compensation for housing discrimination, mass incarceration and additional harms outlined in the report.

But all estimates in the report are preliminary, as the Times reported.

We calculated the losses for specific harms and provided methodologies that the state can use, should it decide to provide cash reparations, Lewis said. We have also recommended dozens of policies. Nothing has been approved.

And even if these numbers were approved, not every resident would receive that same payout. It would depend on how long they have been a resident of California and several other factors, as the report details.

The task force will submit a final report in June. It will then be up to California lawmakers to decide whether to provide individual compensation and, if so, determine the amount, according to Tamaki.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

PolitiFact also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California has not approved $1.2 million in reparations | Fact check
North Miami Beach police arrested a former city employee accused of stealing eight Publix gift cards intended for residents during a giveaway last year, the police department said.

Jennifer C. Hillmon was charged with one count of organized scheme to defraud and one count of grand theft. Hillmon was a public affairs assistant with North Miami Beach, according to a police report.

Hillmon is accused of using eight stolen Publix gift cards to purchase $1,137.82 in food and other items at several supermarkets in South Florida, police said. The last gift card distribution took place around November.

The actions of this individual are a betrayal of the trust placed in them by the community, and we are appalled by their behavior, North Miami Beach commissioners and the city manager said in a joint statement. The misappropriation of public funds is a grave offense and goes against the core values we uphold as public servants. We extend our deepest apologies to the residents of our city for this breach of trust.

OTHER NEWS: North Miami Beach commissioner ousted after missing meetings for 120 days

North Miami Beach police began investigating the stolen Publix gift cards on May 2. The city had purchased 1,562 gift cards valued at $150 each and one gift card valued at $75 using funds from the American Rescue Plan, a financial relief package passed by Congress to help offset burdens caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the police report said.

Hillmon was seen on surveillance video using the gift cards between March 23 and May 2 at different Publix and Publix Liquor Stores, according to the police report. Hillmon was fired from her city job and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center for booking, according to a North Miami Beach police news release.

The police report says Hillmon lives in Tamarac, not North Miami Beach, and does not detail how she obtained the cards.

READ: In divided North Miami Beach, Publix gift card giveaway becomes another political fight

North Miami Beach Commissioner Jay Chernoff said he was surprised when he heard about Hillmons arrest because he had considered her a good employee. I thought she was a rising star and would move up and be with us for a long time. She was so helpful.

Publix gift card giveaways have been a contentious issue in the city since 2021, when the city commission first voted to distribute gift cards to residents. At that time, some commissioners criticized how the cards were distributed and claimed former Commissioner Paule Villard was using the giveaway as an opportunity to campaign for her reelection bid in 2022. Villard lost to Chernoff during a runoff race last November.

The gift cards have been a point of contention since the election, Chernoff said. We ran on doing away with them and finding out what was at the bottom of it. They were distributed badly or poorly and everything. I thought it was put to bed, and then all of a sudden, boom.
No caption

CANTON  Two Northwest High School students accused of bullying a special needs student and taking video of the incident on a cellphone are facing charges in juvenile court.

Stark County Prosecutor Kyle Stone said a 16-year-old boy has been charged with telecommunication harassment and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors. The second student, a 14-year-old boy, faces a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.

The charges were filed Thursday in Stark County Juvenile Court.

Reports indicate the two boys are accused of urging a special needs student to remove feces from a toilet with his hand in the high school restroom as they recorded it.

Stone said based on his office's review of the case, he believes the two defendants have been charged accordingly.

Earlier this month, Canal Fulton Police Chief Sara Wilson said the school resource officer completed an investigation into the incident and consulted with the Stark County Prosecutor's Office.

The disturbing video and the district's response drew criticism and concern from near and far, including from Northwest families, some who believed administrators did not take appropriate action against the boys accused in the incident.

Northwest Superintendent Shawn Braman would not comment on the specific details or disciplinary action against the students but said the high school principal and assistant principal handled the situation "appropriately and professionally."

Northwest Schools: Larry vs. Garry: Twin principals from Northwest, Louisville to stage table surfing match

"When a child breaks our code of conduct, that child receives the appropriate disciplinary action," Braman told the Independent after the incident occurred.

He issued a statement after the charges were filed saying the district would not comment.

"We consider the matter closed and resolved," he said. "The district will continue to work to improve any and all situations remotely connected to bullying. Part of our strategic plans speaks to this moving forward."

The parents of the victim declined to comment.

A date has not yet been set for the boys' first appearance in juvenile court.

Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @aknappINDE

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Northwest students charged in bullying of special needs student
What is Norwich doing about gun violence after the shooting death of Norman-Clack?

NORWICH Despite Norwich being a tight-knit community, it is facing a pandemic of gun violence, City Councilmember and Norwich Interfaith Association Member Swaranjit Singh said Monday.

In the most recent incident, 19 year-old Camaury Jabezz Norman-Clack was shot on May 11 on Sandy Lane, the same street where he lived. He was brought to Backus Hospital and pronounced dead just hours after. A vigil was held on the Greenville Playground on May 13, but there is more the community will do to try and curb the violence.

The Norwich Interfaith Association, an organization consisting of local leaders and clergy, held a meeting with Jeremy Stein of CT Against Gun Violence, to see what the city can do to help prevent gun violence.

Show me the money: City payroll was nearly $70 million in fiscal 2022 - What to know about the top earners

Gun violence is a complicated problem

However, Stein, who was also a first responder to Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown in 2012, said there isnt one neat answer, as gun violence is a complicated problem, and the solutions need to be their own ecosystem.

Its more than just legislation, he said. Its legislation, and enforcement, and education, and getting at the root causes of gun violence.

Root causes can mean addressing mental health, food insecurity, homelessness, and other issues, Stein said.

Simply offering gun buybacks is usually ineffective, as it is costly and often sees people forfeiting old or unused guns. Instead, finding opportunities to educate the public on firearms, or supplying cashbox- sized gun safes are more effective. With such a gun safe, the owner can unlock it quickly if needed, while the safe keeps the gun away from other people who could misuse it, like children or someone who is suicidal, Stein said.

State legislation filed to address gun violence

As a bill addressing gun violence, HB 6667, is being considered in Connecticut, Stein recommended advocating for addressing intercity travel of firearms, and red flag laws. New York state red flag law allows for a court order to be filed to prevent someone from buying or possessing a gun, and/or be made to surrender their guns, if they are an imminent threat to themselves or others. The law has a procedural safeguard to provide due process, the New York state website says.

Not everyone loves them, but the evidence shows that they save lives, he said, referring to the red flag laws.

For example, Californias red flag laws have stopped 58 potential mass shootings as of 2022, according to the University of California Davis Health website.

Community organizations can get involved in providing education and opportunities for community discussion, but community groups need to work in coalitions instead of doing separate things when tackling gun violence, Stein said, while explaining his organizations effort, the Connecticut Initiative.

You have non-profit groups fighting each other over very little money, instead of all of these groups coming together as a whole, demanding that millions of dollars need to be funded for gun violence prevention, he said.

How has Norwich met racism and inequity? 'You sometimes have to start something big.'

Ending gun violence requires community involvement

Good police work shouldnt be the only way to get guns off the streets, as community members need to report illegal guns when they see them, Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom said Tuesday.

When you see suspicious activity on the street, report it, he said.

While some solutions are coming from the top, others are coming from residents themselves. Sierra Lindsey came to the Monday Norwich City Council meeting. He said his son,19, was a friend and classmate of Norman-Clacks.

Hes been down, to say the least, Lindsey said.

Cynthia Jean-Mary, vice-president of the Greeneville Neighborhood Committee, said the ages of the victim and suspect is close to the ages of her son and his friends, so it hits close to home.

"If we don't have something for these young adults to do, they're going to get themselves in trouble," she said.

Supporting youth is key to ending gun violence

At the meeting, Lindsey was looking for support for his efforts to develop Norwich youth activities, including teaching business and financial skills, finding work opportunities, and just providing someone to listen to the youth in the community.

Instead of just pointing out the problem, lets bring some answers to the problem, he said.

Growing up in a single parent household, it was important for Lindsey to have received job opportunities when he was younger through TVCCA to work at Mohegan Park and the little league fields, he said.

Seeing that revenue, the value in their lives increases, he said.

Youth also need to recover from the pandemic's mental health impact. The Greenville Neighborhood Committee's events will have more mental health outreach going forward, Jean-Mary said.

"When you see other people going up and talking, it makes you feel comfortable doing it," she said.

To make efforts effective in the city, communication is needed. Also, offering community youth programs, such as what Lindsey is proposing, in schools as after-school programs is a fiscally responsible way for the city to do so, and solves transportation problems, especially once the new schools are built, Nystrom said.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Norwich response to gun violence after shooting death of Norman-Clack
Jay Fisher holds up his car key next to mom Deb Fisher in Marlboro.

One day last fall, as Jay Fisher drove to class at Brookdale Community College, his car was rear-ended near the campus in the Lincroft section of Middletown. The freshman from Marlboro immediately called his mother, and Deb Fisher rushed to the scene.

I didnt know if Jay had the skills to really advocate for himself, but Jay did, she said. Wed worked with him on it, and the first thing he said was, I want you to know I have autism. I do think it changed the whole conversation with the police officer.

Concerns about Jays interactions with first responders, in case of an accident or a moving violation, is what motivated Deb Fisher to begin pushing for New Jersey to allow a voluntary notation on a drivers license that indicates a persons autism or communications disorder. She started making calls and sending emails about it in 2019.

Earlier this week it became reality, as Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation S761, which requires MVC (Motor Vehicle Commission) to provide, upon request, notation on driver's license or identification card of diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder or communication disorder."

'I like working': Compassion Cafe on LBI offers jobs, meaning for people with disabilities

The law goes into effect in November 2024, at which time Jay Fisher will put it to use. Hes 19 years old now and doesnt drive a ton, but driving does enable him to commute to college.

I hope the word gets out about this, and people are fully aware of it, he said. Even though Im a good driver and I always try my best, I feel that now theres a safety net.

The goal is to avoid something like what happened to Matthew Rushin in 2019. The then-22-year-old Virginia driver with autism was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in a car accident. Due to a communication breakdown at the scene, police  who were unaware of Rushins autism  determined he intentionally caused the crash.

Rushin later was pardoned by Virginias governor, but the case sparked Deb Fishers advocacy for a notation law.

Its such a stressful situation for anybody with autism to be driving and be pulled over because their routine is interrupted and their nerves are on high, she said. It used to keep me up at night, but now theres a sense of relief.

Jay Fisher with mom Deb Fisher in Marlboro.

Comforting connection: After he lost his life-saving dog, Berkeley rallies to get teen with autism a new one

Fishers first breakthrough on the issue took place in 2021 when two Monmouth County legislators  Sen. Declan OScanlon and Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso  sponsored a version of the bill in their respective chambers. That year Deb Fisher also testified on its importance to the state Senate Transportation Committee, which voted unanimously to advance the measure. It took two more years, however, to finally get a version across the finish line.

Im just so happy that it passed  and so happy for so many other families, Deb Fisher said. I hope this saves lives and saves trauma  and spreads kindness. I hope it helps people communicate on a level where everybodys understood.

Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shores interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Marlboro mom led charge that led to autism NJ driver's license law
The first time Rudy Oxendine visited a dentist, he was in middle school. In the poor rural community hed grown up in as a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, the notion that everyone was destined to end up with dentures was pretty much a given, he said.

Oxendine, who was raised by his grandfather, was surprised to learn the procedure wasnt so bad. At the time, it didn't occur to him that becoming a dentist was a possibility.

It just was not something we grew up with  the idea that this was something we could do, he said.

This summer, Oxendine, will start his career in pediatric dentistry after completing his residency at East Carolina Universitys School of Dental Medicine.

Rudy Oxendine, 44, a graduate of Eastern Carolina University's dental program and a member of North Carolina's Lumbee Tribe, is among a shrinking number of Native Americans entering the dental field. According to the American Dental Education Association, the number of Native applicants fell from a record high of 92 in 2006 to just 19 in 2021.

That makes him a rarity: According to the American Dental Education Association, the number of Native American dental school applicants has plummeted from a 2006 high of 92 to just 16 in 2019 and 19 in 2021  a decline the Society of American Dentists calls "unacceptable" and that far reduces opportunities for Native American communities to get care from culturally competent providers.

We all know theres some comfort in having the person whos taking care of you look like you, being someone who understands your culture, said Oxendine, a former police officer who lives in the Greenville area with his wife and two kids. Youre going to be more comfortable in the chair and more willing to accept guidance given by that person.

A 'disproportionate burden' of oral health disease

The shortage was cited in a report released earlier this year describing the disproportionate burden of oral health disease faced by American Indians and Native Alaskans in the U.S. from childhood onward, a crisis it said was rooted in structural racism and exacerbated by a lack of access to healthy food and stable housing.

The report was compiled by Boston nonprofit CareQuest Institute for Oral Health in collaboration with the National Indian Health Board, Society of American Indian Dentists and Southern Plains Tribal Health Board.

The lack of representation is significant because the importance of cultural competency cannot be overstated, said Myechia Minter-Jordan, CareQuests president and CEO. Theres a level of connection and credibility.

Among other things, the report found that rates of early childhood tooth decay are three times higher among American Indian/Native Alaskan children than in white children and that American Indian/Native Alaskan adults are twice as likely to have untreated decay than the general population.

Growing up in North Carolinas Robeson County, Oxendine recalled, he and his siblings werent taught basic oral hygiene; they knew they needed to brush their teeth at night but didnt understand that they shouldnt eat before bedtime. They had horses, cultivated their own food and wore hand-me-down clothes.

Theres great tradition there, but it really is like youve gone to another country, he said.

As a young high school graduate, Oxendine said he not only lacked the guidance to consider a medical career; he lacked the maturity. He would gradually learn discipline in 14 years as a Greenville police officer, but the idea of pursuing dentistry entered his mind when East Carolina University opened its school of dental medicine in 2011. He started in 2018.

The importance of guidance and mentoring

Tamana Bunny Begay, clinical program director for the Gallup Indian Medical Center in New Mexico, said pathway programs can offer opportunities for students to exchange information and learn about resources, like how to study for the dental exam. A lot of students who are first-generation may not know how to navigate the systems and the coursework.

But many such programs, she said, have been lost to defunding and that, along with rising dental school costs, discourage many prospective students from even applying.

Begay said some Native students who've struggled to maintain good grades because of family obligations tell her they dont feel taken seriously when they inform college counselors of their dental program interests.

They feel like the counselor has already made their mind up, she said.

Begay cared for siblings while in school and earned money cleaning houses as she worked her way through community college, inspired to pursue dentistry by a female dentist she met while traveling in Guatemala.

Until I met that doctor, I had only seen men in that role, she said. At Indian health centers, the dental assistants, the front desk workers were all Natives and all women  but to be a doctor, I didnt understand that. They were all older white men.

Thats why, when Begay worked at the Indian Health Center in Phoenix, she invited a number of Navajo students at Arizona State University to shadow her at the dental clinic through a mentor program. Nearly all, she said, decided to pursue dentistry.

Its important that Native students have that connection, she said.

Such connections are important for Native communities too: Begay said her patients see her not only in the clinic but participating in powwows. She hopes it lets them know that their options are open, that they can choose to be a doctor. They dont have to choose to just be an assistant because thats what someone told them or because thats all they see.

Joseph Churchill, a non-Native dentist whos served tribes in Washington state and Nebraska, said that in the communities hes served, medical providers  whether doctors, dentists, or hygienists  dont stick around for long. When one considers that, along with historical trauma and unpleasant Native dental experiences at the hands of previous providers, you can imagine why many people living in tribal communities avoid going to the dentist at all costs.

When a community knows its provider and feels understood, it can make a big difference, Churchill said. The hygienist he works with is well known and loved in the community, he said, regularly participating in tribal events that have nothing to do with dentistry.

While not a tribal member herself, she grew up in the area  which counts for a lot in a rural community, he said.

'People will judge you'

Oxendine said addressing the shortage of dental students means, in part, reaching kids when theyre young and making them believe that the medical profession is an attainable goal.

We havent had the nurturing and have difficulty viewing ourselves as candidates, he said. Theres that imposter syndrome, of when you step into a professional setting, you see no one else who looks like you, where no one in your family has had the opportunity to attain that. Thats a mental thing.

Oxendine said he hopes not only to be a role model but to make sure poor oral health doesnt prevent kids from reaching their potential, whatever that might be. Aside from hampering a childs academic focus, he said, poor oral health can be aesthetically displeasing, affecting ones confidence and limiting opportunities.

People will judge you, he said. Theres a portion of the population who will not understand or who just have cold hearts. Theyve never experienced poverty and have no sympathy.

When Oxendine graduated in 2021, he said he made sure that his teen nieces and nephews, who are growing up on the same plot of land that he did, were present at the ceremony.

I wanted them to see, he said, that this is something that is attainable.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Native Americans: With oral health in crisis, dental students decline
MBTs fire at fixed target in live-fire exercise

China Military Online) 09:08, May 19, 2023

Main battle tanks (MBTs) attached to a brigade under the PLA 72nd Group Army maneuver to the designed area for a recent live-fire training exercise. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Xiao Yuxuan)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
A reverend mother who oversees cloistered nuns at an Arlington monastery is in a legal battle with Bishop Michael Olson and the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese after he launched an investigation into allegations she violated her chastity vows with a priest.

Reverend Mother Superior Teresa Agnes Gerlach has sued Olson and the diocese, seeking more than $1 million in damages. She accuses the bishop of abuse of power and overstepping his authority.

Gerlach, along with Sister Francis Therese, filed the lawsuit May 3 in Tarrant County district court. The dispute is playing out in court and with canonical lawyers who handle ecclesiastical matters.

Matthew Bobo, an attorney representing the nuns, said the accusations are absolutely false and have no basis.

Per canon law, he doesnt have the authority to start an investigation or take any action. This is an independent religious organization which answers directly to the Pope, Bobo said.

The nuns have lived quietly on 72 wooded acres near South Bowen Road and West Sublett Road since 1958.

The Sisters of Carmel are withdrawn from the world and spend much of their day in silent prayer. The order has existed since 1562.

The diocese posted a statement on its website that said: Bishop Michael Olson received a report in April 2023 that the Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes of Jesus Crucified Gerlach, O.C.D., committed sins against the Sixth Commandment and violated her vow of chastity with a priest from outside the Diocese of Fort Worth. The priests superiors have been notified. An ecclesiastical investigation into the report of the grave misconduct was initiated at the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington, Texas, on April 24, 2023. During this time, Mass is being offered for the sisters on Sundays. The Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes has responded by initiating civil litigation against Bishop Olson and the Diocese of Fort Worth. Please pray for the sisters at the Monastery.

A spokesperson for the diocese said there would be no further comment and that the bishop was not available for in interview.

However, attorneys representing the diocese wrote in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on Thursday that Gerlach admitted to violating her chastity vows and that secular courts did not have jurisdiction over ecclesiastical matters and investigations.

The focal point of this entire dispute is an ecclesiastical investigation into sexual misconduct in violation of the Sixth Commandment  considered grave misconduct within the Catholic Church, wrote the attorneys with Kelly Hart & Hallman in Fort Worth. Plaintiff Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes has admitted to violating her vow of chastity, with a priest  a patently ecclesiastical, non-secular matter. The crux of Plaintiffs live pleading is that Defendants exceeded their authority by initiating and conducting investigatory and disciplinary proceedings.

The sixth commandment states, You shall not commit adultery.

Asked to comment on the motion to dismiss the case, Bobo said the reverend mother was forced to confess under duress following surgery.

This admission was forced out of her under dire interrogation while she was under heavy medication from a procedure by the bishop with no advance notice, Bobo said. She does not recall what she admitted to doing she was so under the influence of medication. Further, they are making it sound like she had some sexual liaison affair with another priest, and that did not happen.

Meanwhile, Bobo said that Olson violated canonical law by posting information about the investigation into Gerlach and what she is accused of on a public website.

According to court documents, the Disculced Carmelite Nuns Inc. is an independent nonprofit organization also listed as Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity.

The lawsuit said Olson arrived at the monastery on April 24 on 30 minutes notice with other diocese officials and a forensic technology expert.

Olson demanded that the reverend mother turn over her laptop, iPad and cell phone and told Gerlach and Sister Francis Therese that they could not handle the administrative duties of the monastery.

The lawsuit alleges that Olson violated the reverend mothers civil and canonical rights by telling her where she could sit and eat, and she was not allowed in her private bedroom although she requires constant medical care. She has a feeding tube and uses her iPad to communicate.

On April 25, the reverend mother underwent surgery, and when she returned to the monastery, she and other sisters were subjected to more questions and interrogation.

Olson raised his voice, according to the lawsuit.

The Bishop threw a temper tantrum, and in an agitated and raised voice yelled that the Monastery was shut down, no Mass would be celebrated, he then slammed the door and left the Monastery, traumatizing the Sisters, Gerlach said in her affidavit.

The lawsuit states that the pope has the sole authority to remove nuns from an order, not the bishop.

Olson also told Sister Francis Therese that she was not allowed to talk to the reverend mother although she is her primary caregiver.

Bobo said that the diocese returned the iPhone and other devices on May 15, but insisted on having copies of everything on those devices.

Bobo said the sisters just want to resume their life of prayer and devotion to God.

A local diocese cannot dismiss a nun or a monk from an order, Bobo said. This creates and emotional toll on their lives.

Bobo described Olsons conduct as mean and vindictive.

There has never been a situation of where a bishop has done something like this. Its really new ground thats being treaded on.
Nurses license suspended after being accused of abusing student on school van

Nurses license suspended after being accused of abusing student on school van

11 Investigates is getting results for local parents after a long and frustrating journey.

A nurse who was accused of abusing a student on a school van now has his license suspended months after the alleged abuse.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Local nurse charged with assault after allegedly roughing up special needs student

For the last eight months, Jennifer Gorzock and her family checked Craig Schmersals nursing status every night  and there was never a change.

But, a week after our story aired, showing the alleged abuse that took place on a school bus, and Gorzocks pleas for Schmersals nursing license to be revoked, it finally happened.

Its a shame that it takes someone shedding light on a subject to actually get things done, and help protect people like Cooper, Gorzock said.

Surveillance video from the bus shows Cooper and Schmersal sitting next to each other.

Cooper has a seizure disorder and is non-verbal.

The nurse pushes the boys head and yells at him to stop screaming, then you see him press down on Coopers shoulder, where he has a wired device implanted to prevent his seizures.

Despite criminal charges, the state waited eight months to suspend Schermsals nursing license  meaning that the whole time, he may have been working with other patients.

We were just fed up we didnt know where else to turn or go. We decided to make Coopers story public to let others know that if this is happening to them, this is not OK. Gorzock added.

New state documents show that there was also verbal abuse.

Investigators say Schmersal told Cooper that he was the worst patient ever, and that he hates him.

Cooper was screamed at in the face and told that he was hated. And he was never able to tell us that, she said.

Now that Schmersals license is suspended, Gorzock feels going public with her sons story may have saved others.

No other patient will be under his care and potentially suffer the same abuse that Cooper suffered, she said.

There will be a hearing at some point to determine if Schmersals license will be permanently suspended. This case is planned to go to trial this summer.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

TRENDING NOW:

Homeless man found stabbed to death, Pittsburgh police say Shell Cracker Plant in Beaver County will be in shutdown mode for weeks to come Eric Fairman: Former teacher, coach sentenced after taking plea deal for sex abuse charges VIDEO: Victim identified, suspect named in fatal Neville Township shooting DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
NYC hospital employee seen in viral video appearing to take bike from young Black men has receipts showing she rented it, lawyer says

NYC hospital employee seen in viral video appearing to take bike from young Black men has receipts showing she rented it, lawyer says

The New York City hospital employee who was placed on leave this week after a viral video showed her appearing to take a rental bike from a group of young Black men had paid for the bike, according to her attorney who said he has the receipts to prove it.

Attorney Justin Marino told NBC New York that Sarah Comrie, who he said is six months pregnant, had just finished a 12-hour shift at Bellevue Hospital on Saturday and rented a Citi Bike. He said that's when the group of men approached Comrie, who is white.

The video was initially posted on Twitter on May 13 and has been viewed more than 40 million times. It appears to show a white woman in NYC Health + Hospitals scrubs arguing with a young man over a Citi Bike that he says he has already rented. The man has his hand on the bike while Comrie screams, Please help me.

Its unclear what happened before the minute-and-a-half video began, but the man doesnt appear to touch Comrie in the posted clip, nor does he appear to verbally threaten her.

Sarah Comrie and a man argue over a CitiBike that he says he has already rented. (via NBC New York)

At one point, Comrie takes off her work identification badge and appears to try and push the man off the bike with her body. The man says in the video that the bike is his and "it's on my account."

When another person in scrubs approaches, Comrie appears to cry.

"Youre acting," the man recording the video says. "Shes fake-crying. Stop fake-crying."

Comrie eventually steps away from the bike and the video stops.

Many people on social media criticized Comrie, with some pointing out the risk placed on young Black men who are accused of wrongdoing by white women. Prominent civil rights lawyer Ben Crump tweeted that she "grossly tried to weaponize her tears to paint this man as a threat.

"This is EXACTLY the type of behavior that has endangered so many Black men in the past!" Crump wrote.

But, Marino told NBC New York that the incident is being taken out of context.

"Every part of that story is incorrect  starting with my client is not a racist," he said. "Two, my client did not take anyone elses bike."

NBC New York reported that it viewed receipts connected to the incident and they show a rental for bike 560-3915. The rental lasted just one minute, according to the news station.

The bike seen in the video posted on Twitter shows that the code on it is 560-3915.

Marino said its not possible for more than one person to reserve the same bike at the same time. Citi Bike did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment on Friday.

The lawyer also had a receipt for a second bike that Comrie rented shortly after the incident so she could ride home, according to the news station.

Marino and Comrie could not immediately be reached on Friday by NBC News.

Bellevue Hospital, which is operated by NYC Health + Hospitals, previously issued a statement and called the video "disturbing." It said the employee was on leave and "will remain on leave pending a review."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Ocala courthouse: One man sentenced, another awaits sentencing after jury trial

Two felony cases were recently resolved at the Marion County Judicial Center in Ocala. Here's what we know:

State v. Marcus Terell Collins

Plea: No contest

Sentence: Court records show Marcus Terell Collins was sentenced as a youthful offender to five years of probation. He has credit for 58 days served at the county jail. Circuit Judge Peter Brigham presided over the May 12 sentencing hearing.

Ocala courts: Two men sentenced to prison, a third admitted to a state hospital

The latest: New details emerge in Ocklawaha triple homicide

Charges: Four counts of grand theft of a motor vehicle, four counts of burglary of a conveyance, three counts of criminal mischief less than $200.

Special conditions: The 22-year-old Ocala man must undergo a mental health evaluation, complete a substance abuse evaluation, avoid return to the incident locations, and pay restitution to the victim/victims.

About the case: Ocala police officers arrested Collins last year and accused him of breaking into nearly two dozen vehicles, though he was unsuccessful in stealing them. The break-ins occurred at eight different apartment complexes.

State v. Juan Jose Rodriguez

Verdict: A jury on May 17 found Juan Jose Rodriguez guilty of three counts of lewd, lascivious molestation of a child younger than 12.

Sentencing: Circuit Judge Lisa Herndon delayed sentencing until a pre-sentencing investigation can be completed. The 61-year-old Ocala man is expected to be sentenced on June 23.

Trial: Jury selection began May 15, with the trial starting on May 16 and concluding the next day. Rodriguez, who had been out on bond, was handcuffed and sent to the jail after the verdict was read aloud by the clerk. The victim testified at trial. Rodriguez did not take the stand.

Lawyers: Defending Rodriguez were Assistant Public Defenders Stacia Rae Arnold and Sean Gravel. Assistant State Attorney Adam Smith prosecuted the case.

About the case: Rodriguez was taken into custody by sheriff's deputies in 2020, accused of molesting a girl.

Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Probation in burglary case; guilty verdict in sex crime case
Ocasio-Cortez Says 14th Amendment 'Should Be On The Table' As Debt Limit Talks Continue

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Thursday said invoking the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling should be on the table for President Joe Biden as he continues negotiating with Republicans to prevent a default on the nations debt.

The president plans to cut short his attendance at a dinner with other leaders at the Group of Seven summit in Japan for a briefing on the negotiations, according to CNN. Biden has already agreed to shorten his travels, canceling stops in Australia and Papua New Guinea to continue talks with congressional leaders.

Eleven progressive senators, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), wrote to Biden on Thursday, urging him to not give in to GOP demands and instead unilaterally raise the debt limit by invoking the constitutional amendment.

While we cannot default on our debt, we also cannot allow the destructive Republican budget to be implemented, the senators wrote.

Ocasio-Cortez echoed those sentiments, telling Politico Playbook: I think it should be on the table. And I think that the grounds for it are legitimate.

The 14th Amendment includes a section on government debt that says the validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.

Critics of this approach caution that the constitutional theory is untested and would very likely be challenged in court.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who has warned of catastrophic consequences if the U.S. doesnt resolve the debt limit standoff before June 1, also has expressed skepticism about invoking the 14th Amendment.

Its legally questionable whether or not thats a viable strategy, Yellen said last week.

Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez also addressed the possibility of Donald Trump winning the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race. Asked if Democrats should hope for this scenario, Ocasio-Cortez appeared cautious.

I dont think we should ever be rooting for Trump in any situation, she said. 2020 was not a blowout.

Biden won the race by over 4 percentage points.

Ocasio-Cortez pointed out that the Electoral College system means presidential outcomes often are decided in a very small handful of states.

There are a lot of times that I think people overestimate Trump in certain areas, Ocasio-Cortez said. But they still continue to underestimate Trump, I think, in his ability to carry a message and carry a base.

Trump for now appears to be the GOP front-runner, even after he was indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan over his role in a hush money payment scheme, and found liable for sexual abuse in a civil case brought by former columnist E. Jean Carroll. He also faces ongoing criminal probes involving the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and his mishandling of classified documents.
Bodycam footage of an Olathe police officer fatally shooting 27-year-old Brandon Lynch in his home on New Years Eve shows the man with a badge and a gun barking orders at the man with schizophrenia in a full-blown mental health crisis.

For a few seconds, the officer uses a soft tone with him: We need to sort out whats going on. Come here. But when Lynch closes his bedroom door and yells at the officers to get out, the officer opens the door again, sees that Lynch has a stun gun and starts screaming at him that hes under arrest.

At one point, Lynch tells him to go ahead and shoot, and throughout the exchange, he begs police to leave him alone. What did I do? I didnt do anything, he tells the officers. I just want to f--ing clean.

The final seconds of the video take place in the living room, where theres a Christmas tree. Lynch, who is holding a small butterfly knife, starts walking toward the officers with his arms at his side, again saying, Get out of my house. We hear three shots and the video fades to black, along with the young mans life.

The whole encounter lasted only a couple of minutes. Police were called there by Lynchs sister, who was locked in her room and had told them hed attacked her and that she was bleeding from the mouth. Lynch, its true, was armed.

So maybe, as Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe announced this week, the shooting was justified under Kansas law. Maybe, as Howe said, the officer properly used deadly force, though I did not see him properly or even improperly use any deescalation techniques.

This just keeps happening, in any case, because our mostly theoretical mental health system is not set up to keep it from happening.

Where do you turn for help for a loved one in serious trouble? Even with insurance, waiting lists for inpatient care are long and care itself is sparse.

Thats true all over the country. But in Kansas, the situation is even worse than in most other places because the Republicans in Topeka havent expanded Medicaid.

We blame the ill, along with those who love them most

We talk a lot about mental illness, but dont care enough to fund its treatment, leaving families on their own, with predictable results.

Then, when a person in crisis is killed, we pretend that no other outcome was possible and blame the person who died, along with those who loved him most.

Ive written a lot about the seriously mentally ill over the years, and have not seen attitudes change all that much. At the beginning of my working life, in Texas, my editor joked nervously every time I visited the Terrell State Hospital that I should be careful not to catch anything weird while I was out there. (And no, it wasnt even funny the first time.)

The homeless mentally ill folks I spent a lot of time with in California this last year are in general treated by the public like they should have the good taste to disappear, and life on the street is so dangerous that they often do, too.

I do dare to hope for better from California Gov. Gavin Newsoms CARE Court concept, which will force at least some of those too ill to know they need help into treatment, not for the usual 72-hour hold, which has no chance of helping anyone, but for up to two years. Hes taking on his own allies by pushing for this, since the ACLU and the disability lobby want to protect the sacred right of even the most severely ill people to refuse treatment. Spend any time at all on the street, though, and youll see that those pushing their carts around in circles yelling at no one have along since been stripped by their disease of the ability to know what theyre rejecting.

Its a combination of fear, hatred and indifference that keeps us from intervening, and then excusing whatever horror happens to them. When I wrote critically about the former Marine who held homeless mentally ill Jordan Neely in a choke hold for almost three minutes on the F train, I got some of the most hateful mail Ive ever received, and thats saying something.

Daniel Penny, the man who killed Neely on the New York subway, should be knighted for his chivalry, said one. Neely was insane! said another, and so had to be put down. Many others said that since Neely had a history of punching and threatening people, Penny deserved medals and more. This on-the-spot application of the death penalty was heroic, they said, and my disagreement made me a piece of garbage. One letter was so antisemitic I reported it to the FBI.

As someone who rode the New York subway every day for five years at the height of the crack epidemic, when the city was much more dangerous than it is now, I do understand why people are nervous. Maybe six weeks ago, a mentally ill woman in Sacramento started hitting me out of nowhere, and I was rattled by that, not even so much for what was happening as because I didnt know what was going to happen next.

But to see others practically celebrate the death of a man who, scary or not, did not have to die, scares me a lot more than those suffering from the cruel disease of schizophrenia do.

I dont see Olathe cops as celebrating Lynchs death, but if better treatment options had been available, those officers would have been much less likely ever to find themselves in his living room.

And the truth is that seriously mentally ill will keep dying unnecessarily as long as we  lawmakers, but also we who elect and influence them  dont care enough to keep them alive.
Olivia Benson got shot for the 1st time on Law & Order. We didnt expect what happened next

Capt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) has survived some pretty horrific things over the past 24 seasons of Law & Order: SVU, like being kidnapped by a sadistic killer, but has managed to avoid getting shot  until now.

In the May 18 crossover finale event between "SVU" and "Law & Order: Organized Crime," viewers watched Benson get shot for the very first time. She had Detective Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni)  her former SVU partner who had previously left for 10 years until he returned in 2021  by her side through it all.

In the previous episodes of the shows, Benson's and Stabler's teams combined forces to track down the person behind a dark revenge-for-hire website called Shadowerk that rewards people who carry out horrific crimes, like assault and murder, on individuals targeted in postings on the site.

During "SVU's" "All Pain Is One Malady," Benson and Stabler share takeout in her office while working the case, and Stabler tells her he wishes he could "bottle this moment" they're sharing, before adding, "Things just keep changing, though." Then he asks Benson about an unopened Christmas gift behind her desk. Benson says the gift is from the McCanns. Benson first met the McCanns a few months ago when her son, Noah, discovered he has a half brother and began spending time at their house in Woodstock, New York, including when he needed a place to go after he and his mom were put in danger. Stabler reminds Benson he knows the McCanns since he met them when he once picked up Noah from their home.

"They're normal," Benson says, and adds, "Theyre like a TV family  theyre wholesome."

"Maybe that's easier to get when you're not seeing what we see on a daily basis," Stabler responds, before asking if he can open the gift, which has sat untouched for five months now, to which Benson says no.

Mariska Hargitay as Captain Olivia Benson, Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler (NBC)

"Whatevers inside this box you are afraid is too normal," Stabler explains.

"I didnt know there was such a thing," Benson replies.

"There is, and it scares you more than anything youll ever face in your life," Stabler says.

"Well, thank you, Dr. Stabler," Benson jokes. "I have normalitis."

"Liv, deflect all you want  it's the truth," Stabler says and adds if it were him, he would open it.

The moment is interrupted when their case resumes, and the chief sends Benson and Stabler out of town to Ohio to try to track down the perp in person.

Once in Ohio, Benson and Stabler see they're the latest targets on the Shadowerk website. The action picks up again on "OC's" "With Many Names," where Benson and Stabler go to a diner with two of their colleagues on the case.

The topic of normalcy resurfaces when Benson enjoys macaroni and cheese during her meal with the group.

"Its just good to see Capt. Benson embrace normalcy for a change," Stabler says.

The simplicity of their meal in the diner is shattered when a man with a gas mask carrying aerosol cans sprays substances inside the open windows of a vehicle of FBI agents outside, before continuing inside and spraying so no one in the restaurant can see. Once Benson sees the man, she dips her napkin in her cup of water and dabs her eyes. Stabler is slower to react and rubs his eyes, clearly losing his ability to see.

Mariska Hargitay as Captain Olivia Benson, Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler (NBC / NBC)

The man then pulls out a large gun and aims at Benson and Stabler. Benson stands and pulls out her gun, but the man fires and hits her. Stabler hits the ground next to her and tells Benson he can't see after pulling out his own gun.

"I can," Benson says as she wraps her hands around Stabler's on his gun, aims and shoots the man in the head.

Benson and Stabler remain side by side lying on the ground, and their heads crash together in relief when the shooter goes down.

Mariska Hargitay as Captain Olivia Benson, Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler (Peter Kramer / NBC)

Benson rolls back and tells Stabler she's been hit in her left hip. Stabler stands and helps Benson up. Then he puts her arm around his shoulders, picks her up and carries her out of the restaurant. Since Stabler's vision is still hazy, Benson helps navigate them outside.

Benson receives treatment at an urgent care clinic, and gets the all-clear to leave after the doctor treats her wounds.

Stabler appears in the doorway after the doctor leaves the room and sees Benson lying on the table.

"How's your ass feeling?" Stabler cracks as he walks into the room. Benson asks him to help her leave, and she wraps her arms around him as he helps her stand up.

She asks him if he's OK as they continue to hold and stare at each other.

Stabler shakes his head and notes he "couldn't see anything" when the gunshot went off.

"I thought I'd lost you," he says.

Mariska Hargitay as Captain Olivia Benson, Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler (NBC)

"I can't imagine what that brings up for you," Benson says, seemingly referencing how Stabler lost his wife a few years ago after a car bombing, and places her hand on his chest. They share a hug before Stabler leaves to return to help the squads with the case.

The two reunite in the final scene inside Benson's office.

Benson offers Stabler her condolences since one of his OC detectives, Jamie Whelan (Brent Antonello), died while working this case.

Stabler tells her the loss of Whelan has him thinking about "how precious life is" and places a paper bag in front of her.

When Benson asks what it is, Stabler says it's "a reminder" he wanted to give her before he left. He says he will be gone for a while as part of a new case.

"Well, thank you for telling me this time," Benson says, referring to when he left the SVU over 10 years ago without telling her.

Benson pulls a small jewelry box out of the bag, but Stabler stops her from opening it and says he wants to know what's in the Christmas gift from the McCanns first.

Benson says she will make Stabler a deal and hands him the box.

"You open it, you keep it," she says.

Stabler opens the gift and sees it's a holiday ornament with the words "live," "love" and "laugh."

"Having a little regret there, aren't you?" Benson jokes.

Stabler shrugs and says no before breaking the "e" off of "live," leaving behind "Liv"  Benson's nickname.

"You can always fix things," he says, holding up the ornament.

Benson opens her gift from Stabler and sees it's a compass necklace.

"Elliot, this is beautiful," she tells him, before asking if the necklace is "supposed to lead" her somewhere  or to something.

Stabler shrugs and says, "Lead you to happiness, Liv."

"I sure as hell am going to try," Benson says.

"Me too," Stabler responds as he opens the door to leave Benson's office.

"Partner," he adds, as the two smile at each other while Stabler makes his exit.

We'll have to wait awhile to see how things shake out between the partners, as "OC" will not be returning until 2024 for a 13-episode season. "SVU" plans to be back this fall for a historic 25th season with 22 episodes.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
One of America's coldest cities named country's best place to live

U.S. News and World Report released their list of the best and worst metro areas to live in, and the top spot may not be a city you'd expect.

Analysts poured through recent statistics on crime, quality of education, quality of healthcare, air quality, commuting time, risk of natural disasters and residents' satisfaction with their day-to-day lives to come up with a quality of life score.

They looked at housing affordability and cost of living for a value score.

The desirability score is based on NOAA temperature data, net migration, restaurants to population ratio and a survey where respondents listed cities where they would most like to live from 1 to 150.

File: A home sold in Patchogue, NY.

Unemployment rates and average salary set the job market score.

"U.S. News & World Report specializes in helping people make major life decisions, and where you choose to live is one of lifes biggest decisions," explains the authors of the list on their website. "Where you live can determine the employment opportunities youll have, the income youll be able to earn and save, and the quality of health care and education you and your family can access."

Cities ranked much lower than smaller metro areas, regardless of the weather.

1. Green Bay, Wisconsin

The mid-sized metro area ranks high for quality of life and affordability. The median home price is $247,092. Cold Wisconsin winters did take the score down for desirability.

2. Huntsville, Alabama

Much of the population works in engineering and defense thanks to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. It ranks very high in education, affordability and net migration.

3. Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina

The area is home to the Research Triangle, a zone dense with university and high-tech labs. The median home price is $436,616, which makes it more affordable than San Francisco, another tech area. Quality of life ranks high along with net migration.

Boulder scored very high in quality of life.

4. Boulder, Colorado

Nestled in the Rocky Mountains, Boulder allows residents to work and play outdoors, giving the city a high quality of life score. A higher cost of living takes down the affordability score. The median home price is $784,844

5. Sarasota, Florida

The mild weather puts the desirability and quality of life score near the top of the charts. It is also one of the fastest-growing cities and safest places to live. Home rental prices are higher than in nearby Tampa, though. Neighbor Naples, Florida, comes in sixth place, making Florida's Gulf Coast a big rating winner.

Sarasota's Siesta Key is usually one of the country's top beaches.

1. San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan ranked very low in value due to the high cost of living. High unemployment and low wages make it an expensive city to live in. Inland rental prices are low, but energy prices are higher than on the U.S. mainland.

2. Bakersfield, California

The area is known for agriculture and oil. While housing is very affordable compared to the rest of the Golden State, the cost of living is pricey due to gas and utility prices. High crime within the city hurts the ranking.

Bakersfield is home to many oil wells.

3. Stockton, California

Home prices are reasonable compared to nearby San Francisco, but the cost of groceries, utilities and transportation decreased the value and affordability scores.

4. Visalia, California

Visalia, in California's Central Valley, gets very low marks for air quality. Housing prices have skyrocketed in recent years.

5. Fresno, California

Just 30 miles from Visalia, Fresno also struggles with air quality. The violent crime rate also is much higher than the national average.

"Fresno offers a lower value than similarly sized metro areas when you compare housing costs to median household income," commented authors on the website.
One killed, four under rubble: Belarusian soldiers cannot retrieve bodies of their brothers-in-arms in Bakhmut

The Kastus Kalinouski Regiment has spoken about the heroic death of the group's commander and the inability of retrieving the bodies of four Belarusian soldiers who held positions in Bakhmut.

Source: the spokesperson for the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment on Telegram; Nasha Niva, Belarusian news outlet

Quote: "Soldiers of the Volat battalion were holding positions in Bakhmut. Our guys repelled an attack by the occupiers and fought a small arms battle. The house they were in was hit by heavy artillery. The building collapsed. Some of the soldiers were trapped under the rubble.

A second group, together with medics, advanced to evacuate and provide assistance. Four soldiers remained under the rubble without the ability to evacuate.

During the evacuation and covering the group's retreat, the group commander was killed. At the cost of his life, he made it possible to evacuate the wounded.

Later, a third group was sent to clear the rubble and evacuate the bodies. However, the building was completely destroyed as a result of heavy shelling. The fighting continues. There is currently no way to retrieve the body of the regiment's hero."

Details: On 17 May, the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment reported the death of one Belarusian soldier and the disappearance of four, while others were wounded.

Nasha Niva has reported that since February 2022, at least 22 Belarusians have been killed defending Ukraine and Belarus. Four more went missing and two were taken captive.

"In total, hundreds of Belarusian citizens are fighting in the Ukrainian army. The Kalinouski Regiment is the largest of the structures with Belarusian soldiers," Nasha Niva adds.

Background:

On 16 May 2022, Pavel who went by the alias Volat, a company commander of the Belarusian Kastus Kalinouski Battalion, was killed in the war in Ukraine [in May 2022, it became the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment. Up until then, it was a battalion  ed.].

On 26 June 2022, six Belarusians from the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment did not return from the city of Lysychansk.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






One of the Navys current recruiting drives is focused on faith

Chaplain Len Dristell from Abilene, Texas, offers Mass aboard the USS Arleigh Burke, Sunday, June 28, 2009, as the ship sails in the Indian ocean near the Seychelles. | Karel Prinsloo, Associated Press

For help solving a current recruiting crisis, the Navy has turned to religious organizations.

Rear Admiral Gregory N. Todd, chief of Navy chaplains, urged faith groups to help find chaplain candidates in a May 15 column for Religion News Service.

I am appealing to Americas religious organizations and their leaders to prioritize ministry to the Americans who have chosen to serve our nation. The bulk of our flock are 18- to 25-year-olds, often faced with adult challenges for the first time in their lives. We need more chaplains to care for these young people and their families, he wrote.

Related

Todd noted that the Navys Chaplain Corps, which serves sailors, Marines and the Coast Guard, is in need of more than a few good men (and women) at the moment.

Its hoping to hire 90 total new chaplains for active duty and the Naval Reserve during this fiscal year. So far, its added just 30 recruits.

In order to care for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, the Navy needs chaplains, and, despite the Department of the Navy asking for more, the recruiting deficit is extreme, Todd wrote for Religion News Service.

What do Navy chaplains do?

Navy chaplains, like other faith leaders, are expected to look out for the spiritual well-being of the people they serve, according to the Navys brochure on the position.

They lead worship services, oversee programs like youth groups, provide spiritual counseling and protect religious freedom, in part by willingly offering support to sailors of all faiths and no faith at all.

Together, Navy chaplains enable the free practice of religion for all the Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who serve, the brochure says.

It notes that the Chaplain Corps includes people from more than 100 different religious traditions. Candidates have to provide proof of ecclesiastical endorsement when they apply.

Benefits of chaplaincy

The brochure, like Todds column, praises chaplains for the care they provide to their fellow servicemembers.

The job of a chaplain spans a broad range of duties and a great diversity of backgrounds. It involves seeing people through some of their most joyful moments to their most personally challenging, the brochure says.

Todd wrote that spiritual care can literally save lives.

Those engaged in spiritual practices (including religion) are 50%-80% less likely to die by suicide, 60% less likely to suffer depression, 80% less likely to suffer addiction and 70% less likely to participate in risky behaviors, he wrote.
One person seriously injured after crashing jet skis on Lake Mascuppic in Tyngsborough

One person was hospitalized with serious injuries after two jet skis crashed on a Tyngsborough lake Friday afternoon.

Police responded to a 911 call just before 5 p.m. of a collision between two jet skis on a portion of Lake Mascuppic.

Both jet ski operators involved in the crash made it to shore afterward, police said.

One of those individuals was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries, while the other required no medical treatment.

The Massachusetts Environmental Police have been called to the scene and will conduct an investigation into the crash.

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
Only 3 percent of US homebuyers are Black. How one NC woman beat the trend at 53.

At 53, Teresa Johnson had just about given up on becoming a homeowner.

Three years of searching for a starter home in the Triangle, plus decades of renting, had left her beaten down and jaded. But her luck changed last month when she closed on a three-bedroom, three-bathroom townhome in Selma, for $245,000.

Though she now commutes 100 miles, round trip, to get to work in Morrisville, she works mostly from home and says its worth it. She paid no due diligence fees or over-asking price. The seller paid closing costs.

Its surreal, especially in this type of market, when youve been waiting so long, said the medical communications director, a native New Yorker, who moved to the Triangle in 2010.

First-time buyers in the Triangle have never had it harder as inflation, higher mortgage rates and soaring home prices keep the dream of homeownership out of reach for many across the Triangle and nationally.

Across the U.S., the share of first-time homebuyers dropped to a record low, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), making up 26% of all buyers in 2022, down from 34% last year.

But its even harder for Black homebuyers like Johnson. In 2022, the typical first-time buyer getting keys to a starter home was 36 years old, an all-time high, and white (88%). About 16% of U.S. adults identify as non-Hispanic Black or African American, but just 3% of buyers are Black  down from 6%.

And while the U.S. homeownership rate increased to roughly 66% in 2021, the rate among Black Americans lags significantly (44%), only increasing 0.4% in the last 10 years, NAR reported in another study.

Thats nearly 29 percentage points less than white Americans (72.7%), representing the largest Black-white homeownership rate gap in a decade. Less than 10% of Black renters can afford to buy the typical home.

After three years of searching for a starter home in the Triangle, Teresa Johnson, 53, originally from New York, closed on a three-bedroom, three-bathroom townhome in Selma, for $245,000 last month. Jenita Adriana

First-time buyer programs

Somehow, Johnson, single and living alone, bucked this trend.

This week, shes still unpacking her boxes after moving in earlier this month, marveling that for the first time in her life she doesnt need permission to paint an accent wall or use nails to install a wall hanging, in fear of losing the deposit. I keep pinching myself, is this really true?

For years, shed been paying $1,100 a month to rent a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment in Morrisville. But after the landlord hiked her rent by an additional $200, to more than $1,300 a month, shed had enough, picking up her search once again.

Encouraged by her sister, a homeowner herself, she worked on her credit score. Through her loan officer and realtor, she also learned about first-time buyer programs  such as the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan, a government-backed mortgage loan designed to help low- to moderate-income families buy a home with looser financial requirements. It allowed her to only put 3.5% down and pool funds from her 401(k), she said.

She got preapproved for up to $275,000. At that end of the scale, she was priced out of her neighborhood, so she expanded her search to more rural, outlying towns, like Selma.

Thats where she found her forever home, she said. Its a new-build townhome in a growing neighborhood. When I came into the house, I felt so much peace. I knew, this is the house for me. I love driving up, having my own parking space. Theres just a lot of pride.

Got to see it to believe it

Beyond affordability, Black and Hispanic homebuyers also face extra challenges in getting a mortgage.

According to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, 20% of Black and 15% of Hispanic loan applicants were denied mortgages, compared with about 11% of white and 10% of Asian applicants. Denial rates are even higher for home improvement loans.

For many Black homebuyers, like Johnson, success often hinges on finding the right person to guide them over such barriers. Oftentimes, its someone who looks like them.

Tammie Harris is photographed at her home in Durham, N.C. on Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Harris, a real estate broker, recently moved into her seventh home. Kaitlin McKeown/kmckeown@newsobserver.com

Tammie Harris, 54, is the chief executive of her own eponymous brokerage firm, managing a team of 17 across three offices in North Raleigh and Franklinton. For the last 17 years, shes made it her business to target would-be Black buyers, educating them about the process and financial assistance programs. On her LinkedIn account, she calls herself the Oprah Winfrey of real estate. About 75% of her firms clients are African American.

People say things like, Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. But what if you dont have any boots? she said. The gap is there because some people havent had the wealth, the knowledge, the education.

Ive been there personally myself, said Harris, who grew up poor in a mobile home park in Greenville, North Carolina. Her family eventually relocated to Rocky Mount, trading farming for industry work, but they still struggled for stable housing. In my life, Ive moved a total of probably 27 times. Wed literally get padlocked out. Instead of coming up with all the back rent, theyd just take the money they had and move to a new place.

That wasnt going to be her, she promised herself. In 1995, at 27 and then working as a social worker, she bought her first home with her then husband. They paid $89,000 for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house with a mid-sized yard in Sharpsburg, about 45 miles east of Raleigh.

Eventually, the couple kept trading up, buying a second home in Winterville, and then a third in a gated community in Greenville, earning passive income on the side by renting out the others. At that time, I didnt have my real estate license. I was just a regular girl who grew up poor, realizing: Oh, so this is how they do it. Nobody told me. Now it makes sense. I gotta tell everybody about this.

Now remarried, shes owned around seven properties on her own to date  and 13 combined with her husband, closing on their latest house in February. When clients get nervous, she reminds them: When youre paying rent, its 100% interest. I break it down so they come back to the table.

Tammie Harris is photographed at her home in Durham, N.C. on Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Harris, a real estate broker, recently moved into her seventh home. Kaitlin McKeown/kmckeown@newsobserver.com

Grab the key

Harris keeps busy through outreach, setting up makeshift stands at charity runs and speaking at events like Grab the Key, a national program by Charlotte-based Movement Mortgage, aimed at closing the wealth gap.

April Russell, 43, a Raleigh-based mortgage loan officer with the firm, leads the program and works with many of Harris clients.

Grab the Key launched mostly out of need a few years back, she said. Its generational. If you havent seen something before, you dont know that its obtainable, she said. Its just a matter of having the boots on the ground to do something about it.

Much of her time is spent offering credit guidance to improve scores  a huge barrier for many minority homebuyers, she said  and debunking myths about the process.

Most people dont realize and think they need 20% down to buy a home. Which, of course, is a myth, she said. In some cases, you can buy a house with no money down. There are different options out there. My goal is to be out in the community, spreading the information.

She became a first-time homeowner herself at 27. She now owns a second investment property.

Her advice to homebuyers: Dont stay sidelined forever.

Get in where you can. That same house you see today will cost you more money six months from now or a year from now. It doesnt have to be your forever home. Its not like our grandparents who bought a house and lived in it for 50 years. No one does that anymore.
A Worldcoin "Orb" next to Sam Altman looking perturbed.



The Worldcoin Orb is meant to collect a detailed scan of users irises in exchange for crypto. Co-founder Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has said this is necessary to prove humanness in the age of artificial intelligence.

Crypto has broken new ground yet again, not in the exchange of digital currencies meant to upset the global economic paradigm, but by facilitating the black market trade of peoples biometric data. Specifically, fraudsters desperate to glom onto a crypto project headed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are reportedly buying detailed scans of peoples irises in order to claim coins for the still-unreleased Worldcoin project.

The news first came to light by China-based crypto outlet BlockBeats, which tweeted Thursday about a black market for irises used to gain access to the Worldcoin network beta. Users need to submit their eye to a scan by a Worldcoin Orb, a physical imaging device used to capture high-resolution images of their body and face. Those who do are promised free crypto tokens while their accounts are anonymized. Essentially, the project wants to offer a kind of universal basic income for all those who prove theyre still human and not one of Altmans own AI chatbots (or worse, Altmans ill-defined sense of a so-called AGI).

Read more

These Orb operators are spread throughout the countries where the company currently operates, which as it happens does not include mainland China. The company says there are more than 1.7 million people signed up so far. But according to BlockBeats, people in China are buying the iris data from people in Cambodia, Kenya, and a few other countries for as little as $30 a pop.

Worldcoin claims that the issue is actually that verified World IDs, rather than actual iris scans, are being sent to a third-party World app on the black market. World IDs are essentially certificates that indicate someone is a unique person. The company told Gizmodo in an email the issue was limited to a few hundred instances of fraud. The company claimed it was modifying the signup process and was using dynamic instead of static QR codes to cut down on abuse. The company also pointed to its efforts to create a new recovery process for users World ID.

Thats not the only security issue the company has had as of late. TechCrunch reported last week that hackers managed to install malware on several Orb operators devices. This allowed the malicious actors access to the Worldcoin online portal that displayed earnings, sign-ups, and more. An anonymous security researcher told the site that there were several Orb operators login credentials circulating on dark web marketplaces.

For as much attention was paid to the secure nature of Worldcoin, reports show the Orb operators logins did not even necessitate two-factor authentication, though 2FA isnt the end-all, be-all of digital security. A spokesperson told TechCrunch that hackers did not access users biometric info and that no sensitive data was taken.

Based on the companys statements, it seems execs are more concerned with the harm caused to its big crypto scheme rather than the black market trade of biometric data thats now immutably tied to the blockchain. The project has already been taken to task in a report from MIT Technology Review for targeting poor communities in exchange for data. Worldcoin has said its verification process allows for users to maintain anonymity while verifying their humanness. The company previously said in a March blog post Advancements in AI make it difficult to distinguish between AI and humans on the internet, highlighting a need for authentic human recognition and verification.

Altmans OpenAI is one of the biggest companies responsible for the proliferation of modern artificial intelligence. The CEO is a longtime silicon valley figurehead and investor, having been an early partner of Y Combinator and an extremely brief time as CEO of Reddit. He co-founded Worldcoin in 2019 shortly before he decided to put most of his energy into OpenAI.

So is Altman creating the problem he then claims necessitates his crypto side hustle? Well, he is one to have his cake and eat it too. In a recent sit-down with members of Congress, he declared he was in favor of AI regulation, as long as it still grants wide access to millions of potentially paying customers. Despite the depreciated price of crypto worldwide, Worldcoin is hoping to close on another $100 million in funding, according to the Financial Times based on anonymous sources close to the deal. One of Altmans previous backers for Worldcoin was Sam Bankman-Fried, the now-indicted former CEO of FTX. Ironically, this other Sam was himself a major proponent of favorable regulation for the crypto industry.

More from Gizmodo

Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Opinion: At the crossroads of AI  are we too late to regulate it?

The ChatGPT logo is displayed on a phone screen. | Adobe.com

In Congress, a debate did unfurl,

Regulating AI, they did hurl.

But the lawmakers found,

Their knowledge was unsound,

As algorithms danced and twirled.

The beauty of that limerick is that it was written entirely by the artificial intelligence program ChatGPT, just now, after I asked it to write one about Congress attempts to regulate AI. The program took less than five seconds to spit out the composition.

I kind of like it  the way it captures the weaknesses of a representative democracy trying to police and regulate a technology that dances and twirls around us, growing stronger each minute.

View it just a little differently, however, and it reads as if it is sticking its artificial tongue at us all, menacingly.

Some say the world is at a crossroads, with artificial intelligence about to take major leaps in its ability to be used for good, and especially for evil. Others say were going to find that crossroads empty, because the train has long since left (to mix a metaphor).

Others, like Eliezer Yudkowsky, a decision theorist, believe humankinds only hope for survival is to shut it all down, and the sooner the better. Many researchers steeped in these issues, including myself, expect that the most likely result of building a superhumanly smart AI, under anything remotely like the current circumstances, is that literally everyone on Earth will die, he wrote for Time magazine in March.

Not as in maybe possibly some remote chance, but as in that is the obvious thing that would happen, he wrote.

Meanwhile, in a separate, but related, issue, the state of Montana just passed a law banning platforms such as Apple or Google from making the popular social media program TikTok available for state residents to download.

Related

Politicians from both major parties have argued that TikToks Chinese ownership could be a national security risk. Also, it has been linked to mental health problems in young people. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisconsin, called it digital fentanyl on a recent Meet the Press episode.

Social media and artificial intelligence both have been described as threats to health and freedom.

The truth is, humans are especially bad at identifying crossroads in technology. Few people noticed when the Wright brothers perfected flight, ushering in everything from high-speed travel to fresh Alaskan salmon in Utah. When the Russians launched the first satellite, Sputnik, in 1957, U.S. military officials scoffed that it meant nothing because satellites could not be used to drop atomic or hydrogen bombs or anything else on the Earth. ...

Even in 2007, a lot of folks missed the significance of the first iPhone. And less than a decade ago, experts were predicting entirely self-driving cars by 2020.

But that doesnt mean we shouldnt pay attention to whats happening in the cyber world right now, and it doesnt mean we should reject calls for sensible government regulations.

Emphasis on the word sensible.

The Wall Street Journal this week noted that some Republicans in Congress oppose regulating AI because it would create a new bureaucratic regulatory body enforcing rules that havent yet been written, thus stifling innovation. But with the technology capable of doing everything from fabricating convincing false videos to creating deadly biological weapons, it may be a good idea to set some rules.

Related

The folks behind the technology believe this. Mira Murati, chief technology officer at OpenAI, told Time the technology can be hijacked by bad actors.

This is a unique moment in time where we do have agency in how it shapes society, she said. And it goes both ways: the technology shapes us and we shape it. There are a lot of hard problems to figure out.  How (do) you make sure its aligned with human intention and ultimately in service of humanity?

How, indeed. Freedom has always required a good dose of self-control and ethical conduct, as well as a large amount of patience for those who will take advantage of it.

John Milton, a 17th century poet, author and inspiration for the Constitutions First Amendment, said, we do injuriously, by licensing and prohibiting, to misdoubt the strength of truth. Let her and falsehood grapple; who ever knew truth put to the worst in a free and open encounter?

That doesnt mean we shouldnt write laws to punish the misuse of powerful technology, or deliberate falsehoods intended to defraud.

Some experts believe Montanas TikTok law will be found unconstitutional. And any regulatory agency setting rules for AI will have to tread delicately around free speech rights.

But that doesnt absolve us from setting those rules, negating real risks to our existence, involving scientists who know more than lawmakers with unsound knowledge and keeping a wary eye on this new technology as its algorithms dance and twirl around us.

Finally, I asked ChatGPT whether it thinks it ought to be regulated.

The need for regulation of ChatGPT and similar AI models should be carefully considered, it said, taking into account potential risks, societal impact, and the balance between innovation and ethical concerns.

Maybe it should stick to writing limericks.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis displays legislation banning state funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Florida's public universities at signing ceremony Monday. (Douglas R. Clifford / Associated Press)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday that promises to defund diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public colleges throughout the state. The bill has drawn criticism from policymakers and free speech advocates, and it also raises concern from higher education administrators like me. Without these programs, graduates will be less prepared to enter the workforce.

DeSantis, Rep. Carl Tepper (R-Texas) and Missouri state Rep. Doug Richey are just some of the conservative politicians targeting academic programs and support at college campuses. Education is a common political battleground. But politics and partisanship aside, this bill will have a troubling effect on the quality of higher education that we can deliver to todays students.

A bill like this new one in Florida is particularly challenging for college leaders because what it means by diversity, equity and inclusion programs lacks meaningful definition. This isnt surprising since the purpose of the bill is entirely political, having nothing to with actual educational aims. Worse, its likely to threaten all kinds of programs that have been pillars of academic and student life.

Campus groups have long received administrative funding support for things such as events celebrating Latino Heritage Month or guest speakers discussing how women can protect themselves from sexual assault. Administrators will now question whether they can continue to financially support events of this type because it is unclear if they might fall under prohibited diversity initiatives.

The DeSantis bill and other attacks like it come at a time when American higher education is already facing significant challenges. There has been a sharp decline in college-eligible individuals who believe that attending college is "worth it." Two and a half million fewer Americans are enrolled in universities today than were enrolled a decade ago. In Los Angeles, the number of students who start college but do not graduate has been steadily increasing for the last five years.

The number of adults in the U.S. who believe that higher education is important has fallen sharply in just a few years. More than 70% of Americans in 2013 thought higher education was very important, but by 2020, that number was 51%, according to Gallup. And the rate of college attendance for American high school graduates dropped to 61% in 2021 from 70% in 2016.

Add to this data the looming demographic cliff, which will result in a significant drop in the traditional age group to enter college, putting America at a historical first: This decade will be the first time in American history that the generation entering the workforce will be less educated than those who came before them.

As a college provost, when I ask potential students why they question the value proposition of college, their responses often center on the belief that higher education is not meeting the needs of the changing demographics of our college students or our country. One of the major needs these young people articulate is literacy and engagement with diverse subjects and people.

Students graduating from college need to be prepared to enter one of the most diverse workforces of our time. To do this, we cannot ignore what our world actually looks like. In states such as Florida and California, populations previously classified as underrepresented minorities are now the majority.

Defunding diversity programs for students, faculty and staff, as required by the new DeSantis bill, is the equivalent of asking higher education leaders to close down a quantitative skills or career readiness center.

Schools without diversity programs put students at a disadvantage. If one of the goals of higher education is to prepare students to enter and develop the workforce  a goal lauded by politicians on both sides of the aisle  colleges must teach them the skills to engage with diversity work. Many of the companies that would one day hire those students value inclusion highly within their organizations.

Support services outside the classroom, in areas such as student groups and student advising, are aimed at improving retention rates for underrepresented groups. If institutions of higher learning dont want to lag behind in attainment and retention, we need to increase rather than decrease those efforts.

Political attacks on educational programs such as this new bill in Florida weaken institutions ability to provide what students need and can only contribute to a decline in higher education at large.

Pardis Mahdavi is the provost and executive vice president at the University of Montana.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Opinion: What happened to Ecuador? How crime and power struggles brought a democracy to the brink

Soldiers guard the National Assembly in Quito, Ecuador. President Guillermo Lasso shut down the legislature on Wednesday to avoid impeachment. (Dolores Ochoa / Associated Press)

Ecuadors president, Guillermo Lasso, dissolved the countrys legislature Wednesday to dodge an impeachment vote he appeared bound to lose. He invoked a previously untested constitutional provision known as muerte cruzada, or mutual death, which permits the president to send lawmakers packing and rule by decree while facing new elections within 90 days.

Lasso claimed to be defending not just himself but the countrys democracy, saying : This is a democratic decision, not only because it is constitutional but because it returns the power to the Ecuadorean people. But that argument wilts under scrutiny.

Confronting a power-hungry opposition, Lasso opted to push his presidential powers to their limits  or potentially beyond. The constitution permits muerte cruzada only under select conditions that may not have been met. Nonetheless, the military backed Lasso.

Its not clear this was in Ecuadors best interests. Shutting down the National Assembly is likely to stoke instability and, paradoxically, hasten the return to power of Lassos sworn enemies: Rafael Correa, the strongman who served as president for a decade ending in 2017, and his left-wing populist party.

Even before the crisis, Ecuador had been battered by an unprecedented surge in violent crime and increasing emigration. Lassos move portends more difficulty for one of the regions most vulnerable democracies.

Make no mistake, the impeachment process was unscrupulous. The opposition, led by Correas party and disaffected conservatives, accused the president of tolerating corruption in government contracts but provided scant evidence directly implicating him. This was the second time the opposition tried to oust Lasso , a pro-business conservative elected in 2021.

Lasso chalked it up to an attempt to destabilize his government. About that, he was at least partly right.

Still, few expected him to survive the looming impeachment vote, which became a referendum on his presidency. Lasso, with little previous government experience, has failed to curb skyrocketing crime or fight widespread poverty and hunger, which affects 2.5 million Ecuadoreans . His government engaged in perilously little public spending even as it sat on unprecedented reserves as oil prices climbed. Worse, Lasso indulged in public tirades against opponents and journalists more befitting of his populist opponents. Nostalgia for Correa, who governed with an even if authoritarian hand, is growing.

Given that his removal from office was nearly certain, Lassos decision to disband the assembly was politically rational but democratically perilous for a few reasons.

First, Lassos move risks sapping state institutions of their already scant legitimacy. When popular presidents rule by decree, it can be dangerous; when unpopular ones do, they court disaster.

Lasso advanced to the runoff that made him president with less than 20% of the vote and narrowly claimed victory thanks to the begrudging support of center and center-left voters willing to overlook his conservatism to avoid a return of Correas illiberal populism. But he has since alienated those constituencies while failing to satisfy his conservative base. His only major legislation was a tax reform that exacted a heavy toll on the middle class.

Meanwhile, scandals have rocked his government. High-level associates accused of corruption and links to organized crime have become fugitives and turned up dead.

As of earlier this month, Lassos approval rating had sunk below 14%. Nonetheless, moments after the shuttering of the assembly, a Lasso minister told journalists that his government would take advantage of the moment to push through a lightning round of executive decrees.

Ecuadors powerful Indigenous lobby promises to launch protests if Lasso makes muscular use of his unilateral powers. Instead of six months of strong government, the country faces more executive weakness as its challenges metastasize.

Moreover, Lassos legislative shutdown could well empower Correa. During his rule, the former populist president reduced inequality but also harassed and spied on the press and opposition while accumulating more foreign debt. And the country shifted away from the United States and toward China, Russia and Iran.

By the time Correa left office in 2017, the country had also drifted away from democracy. His successors have to some degree reversed that, but Ecuador remains a flawed democracy.

The problem with Correismo is not its economic leftism or social conservatism, both of which have moderated over time. Its the partys tendency to concentrate and cling to power. Correa did not leave office quietly, trying unsuccessfully to install a pliant successor. Since 2020, he has taken up residence in Belgium to dodge a corruption conviction and hatch troubling plans for his partys return to power. These involve replacing Ecuadors 2008 constitution to help him purge the government of opponents.

Although Correas party is the largest in the assembly, he urged Lasso to disband it for months, anticipating  with good reason  that early elections would favor him. When Lasso did so, Correa openly celebrated .

Finally, the more energy Ecuadors politicians spend on political battles, the less they have to take on the countrys most pressing fight: against organized crime. Ecuadors homicide rate last year surpassed Mexico's. Drug-fueled political assassinations , kidnappings and car bombs are becoming disturbingly commonplace in the once-peaceful country, overwhelming authorities.

The current political crisis further diminishes hope for progress toward a stabler Ecuador. Lassos decree powers are unlikely to help given his underwhelming record and limited support.

When the impeachment drama started, Ecuador was facing an array of bad options. Unfortunately, Lasso may have chosen the worst of them.

Will Freeman is a fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Opinion: From one feminist of a certain age to another  Sen. Feinstein, step down

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

Dear Senator:

Californians are deeply grateful for your decades of public service. What stands out is not only your wisdom but your courage  in your opposition to the gun lobby; your struggle to release the torture report; your support for Israel and, at the same time, for Palestinian rights; the way you helped mend the rift in 2008 between supporters of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, paving the way for Obamas victory.

Your courage is sorely needed now as you face one of the deepest challenges of your life: the decision whether to resign from the Senate.

Like you, I am a feminist of a certain age. So I, too, am sensitive to the possibility that demands for your resignation represent sexism. I am here to tell you that they dont, and to explore why it is so difficult to step back when your country and your party need you to do so.

Its indisputably true that white men in the past have stayed in the Senate long past their ability to perform all their duties. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) is the prime example, though by no means the only one.

Why, then, shouldnt you stay the course? The situation in Washington now is different and dangerous, such that refusing to retire threatens your entire legacy.

The Senate is so partisan and so closely divided that your every vote is crucial. There is no cushion, no wiggle room for a lighter schedule with so much at stake for democracy and with your party working with such a slim majority in the upper house. Your health, we trust, is improving, but shingles and its complications can be serious and seriously debilitating.

Let me be blunt: We have been here before. We accepted Ruth Bader Ginsburgs desire to remain on the Supreme Court, her refusal to leave when President Obama asked her to so he could appoint another justice before he left office.

And what happened?

Your Senate colleague, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pushed through three Supreme Court justices nominated by President Trump, and their appointments led to the overruling of Roe vs. Wade. As a result, women have lost control of their lives. Thousands of children will be born to families ill-equipped to undertake the joyful but often arduous challenge of raising a child because Ginsburg wanted to stay on.

And why did RBG refuse to resign?

I suspect it was in large part for reasons similar to those that may be making you reluctant to leave the Senate  reasons I can relate to. Even though Im 20 years younger than you, we both faced an incessant barrage of messages telling us early on to abandon our careers. If you and your boyfriend are so smart, why dont you go home and breed? an interviewer asked when I was a Harvard Law School student in 1979. (I got him banned from campus interviews.)

Those of us who persevered had to tune out that kind of hazing. We persisted, ignoring the chorus around us insisting that we behave in a suitably ladylike fashion.

So when you hear people telling you to give up your career in a situation in which men havent been told the same thing, no wonder you assume this is the same old sexism youve been tuning out for years.

It isnt.

Im not defending Thurmonds selfishness. He should have resigned too. He exercised precisely the kind of white male privilege that condones a cowardly inability to face ones own limitations as a defense of ones dignity. The solution is not to extend that privilege to white women. Its to eliminate it for everyone.

Thurmond needed what you have: the courage to act in the public interest despite a threat to ones identity. I have no doubt that your sense of yourself is deeply intertwined with the dignity of your office and the work you have done supremely well, so much so that contemplating quitting may make you feel like you will have nothing left.

Thats untrue. Were you to resign you would gain two things that are very precious.

The first is to ensure that Senate business  confirming judges who respect our rights, bolstering Democrats slim majority in all votes, fully representing Californias needs and interests  will be conducted without delay or diminishment during the fast-shrinking window before the November 2024 elections.

The second thing you would protect is your legacy of courage. By resigning, you can safeguard your record as a woman who served the public interest in even the most challenging of times and in the most difficult of personal circumstances. Over your five decades in politics, we've come to respect your strength and your pragmatism. We know you won't disappoint us now.

Joan C. Williams is a professor at UC Law, San Francisco; the author of "What Works for Women" and "White Working Class" ; and the founder of Bridging the Diploma Divide.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Jose Franco and his family have struggled to find therapists they could afford who were bilingual, but also bicultural and who could understand their lives as Mexican immigrants.

Now a push by the Latino community and its advocates has made that more promising for families in Orange County like Francos seeking the care they need.

Last year, we had a vision of achieving what weve been able to achieve today by convincing our public officials to support mental health, Franco, 46, said in Spanish at a forum Thursday night in Chapel Hill..

Alliance Health announced it is investing around $500,000 to better serve local Spanish-speaking residents during the forum at St. Thomas More Catholic Church held by Orange County Justice United and the N.C. Congress of Latino Organizations.

Now, were more convinced that this will be a reality, said Franco, a St. Thomas More member who sat in a crowd of about 200 people.

Following up on commitments made during a forum last November, Alliance Health CEO Sean Schreiber said it will be making a multi-year financial investment as Orange Countys designated Medicaid mental health provider.

For Franco and his wife, Diana Huerta, this will mean not having to turn to private providers whose higher fees have prevented them from getting the help they need, he said.

My struggle is constant. ... Ive dealt with panic attacks and depression, said Huerta, who has had difficulties adjusting to life in the U.S. as an immigrant.

How Alliance Health will spend the money

At the forum, Schreiber said Alliance Health would spend the $500,000 on:

 Developing a mental health resource guide in Spanish for Latinos in Orange County in collaboration with the Latino Congress and Justice United.

 Holding mental health first aid training classes in Spanish.

 Increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates by nearly 50% to improve hiring and retention of therapists,

 Hiring and training four bilingual community health workers for mental health intervention in the county.

 Funding for the multi-phase return of a new El Futuro office in Orange County and hiring two case managers.

 Hiring bilingual providers for the future Orange County Crisis/Diversion facility that is under construction. The facility is meant to be an alternative to either jail or the emergency room for individuals with mental health needs. Orange County officials have said they receive hundreds of 911 calls monthly that could be referred to a crisis diversion center, reported CBS 17.

 Incentivizing the hiring and retention of bilingual therapists in Orange County across different providers.

Alliance Healths investment could become a model for Durham, Wake, Mecklenburg, Cumberland and Johnston counties where Alliance also operates, according to Justice United.

Many good ideas have come out of this group, Schreiber said. Were really learning more what the community needs. I think its important ... they keep us firm to our commitments. And we know darn well that if we dont live up to our commitments, were going to hear about it.

El Futuro to return to Orange County

El Futuro, the Triangles main bilingual mental health provider with offices in Durham and Chatham counties, faces a weeks-long waitlist for patients due to high demand.

Can you imagine how long that is for a person in crisis? Huerta, a St. Thomas More church member, said at the meeting.

El Futuro closed its Carrboro office years ago due to a lack of county funding, although it serves Orange County patients virtually through the help of Alliance Health, according to Luke Smith, the executive director of El Futuro.

Alliances investment has begun the first phase of El Futuros return to Orange County.

Thats been the big development here, Smith told The News & Observer. Were doing some initial work. Community health workers are one of them. Alliance is enriching the (reimbursement) rates.

The investment will create a more sustainable business model that enables El Futuro to compensate its provider staff, Smith said in a follow-up email.

There is a high rate of turnover in the workforce, which is due to the high level of stress from offering such services for individuals who have high rates of trauma and complex mental health/social issues and the low reimbursement rates for services, Smith said.

National statistics show 57% of Latinos ages 18 to 25 and 40% percent ages 26 to 49 with serious mental illness did not receive treatment in 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

People who are experiencing or know someone experiencing a mental health crisis can call 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, where help is available in Spanish.
Oregon turns on, tunes in to the power of magic mushrooms

Spore room: psilocybe cubsensis can now be commerically grown in Oregon

Tori Armbrust grows magic mushrooms.

Not secretly or furtively, but commercially. Because in the western US state of Oregon, it's legal.

Anywhere else in the United States "I would get in big trouble for this, 1,000 percent," she laughs.

From this year, licensed growers like Armbrust have been able to sell what the Aztecs called the "flesh of the gods" to centers offering psychedelic therapy sessions, a legalization that proponents say could offer real help to people struggling with psychological problems.

Hallucinogenic mushrooms have long been associated with America's counterculture, most closely with Timothy Leary, whose phrase "Turn on, tune in, drop out" helped define the 1960s.

After decades of being socially frowned upon, the active ingredient of such fungi, psilocybin, is now the subject of increasing research interest: a promising possible treatment for depression, addiction or post-traumatic stress.

Oregon, a rugged, rural state with a distinctly liberal streak, is defying a federal ban to allow people over the age of 21 access to magic mushrooms without a prescription, as long as they are ingested under the auspices of a certified facilitator.

A 'shroom trip under these circumstances lasts about six hours and must be followed by at least one -- non-trippy -- session of counselling.

- Tool -

Certification requires the completion of a 160-hour training course, and appeals to mental health professionals like Tyler Case, who paid around $10,000 for the qualification in the hope of being able to offer an alternative to patients with personality disorders that are often considered incurable.

Psilocybin is "a tool that can help people who... haven't found help anywhere else," the 44-year-old counsellor told AFP.

"We use powerful psychotropic medications all the time, do things that will alter the way people's brains function. Why not try this too?"

Scientists are still studying how psilocybin works, and little is known about its long-term use.

But research suggests that -- in common with other psychedelics such as LSD (acid) or MDMA (ecstasy) -- it increases neural connections, effectively re-formatting the brain and encouraging new ways of processing information that can help users resolve longstanding emotional or behavioral problems.

Tobias Shea thinks this re-formatting helped pull him out of a deep depression.

Two tours of Afghanistan with the US Army in which he lost comrades left Shea with debilitating anxiety that sometimes meant he was unable even to leave the house.

Psychotherapy and antidepressants did not work for him, so more than a decade before Oregon's legalization, he twice took mushrooms.

"My experience in both sessions involved visual hallucinations that resembled a colorful prism, like a rainbow that covered everything in my visual field," he said.

"Emotionally, I felt an abundant joy, and also an overwhelming sense of awe at the vastness and complexity of the universe, and wonder at how I was connected to everything around me."

Working with a facilitator, he "unpacked that scary content in my head" and was able to process it in a way that he is now comfortable with.

- 'Vulnerability' -

Such off-the-books use of mushrooms has long existed on the fringes of psychotherapy. But operating in grey areas left patients open to abuse.

Curbing bad behavior and establishing a legal framework is one of the main advantages of Oregon's move, says Elizabeth Nielson, a psychologist and founder of Fluence, one of the companies approved to train new supervisors.

In her workshops, trainers emphasize the "extreme vulnerability" of patients during their transcendental journeys.

Would-be facilitators are taught to intervene as little as possible so as not to influence their clients.

They must also agree beforehand which parts of the body can be touched, especially in cases where someone might be experiencing a bad trip.

While Oregon is out in front, the experiment in legalization is gaining ground elsewhere in the United States.

In November, Colorado voted to decriminalize hallucinogenic mushrooms and create "treatment centers." A dozen other states, including New York and California, are considering similar measures.

But beyond the therapeutic promises, there is another question: who will be able to afford such services?

The $3,500 sessions offered by Oregon's first licensed center, which has only just opened, are outrageous to some locals like Don, who runs a fungiculture shop in Portland.

"You can grow your own for $40," says the 49-year-old, who declined to give his last name.

"I feel that it's gonna be mainly towards the tourists."

rfo/hg/caw
Compliance officers with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating Thursday mornings deadly fire in SouthPark, a spokesperson told Channel 9.

The massive fire broke out at an apartment complex under construction in the SouthPark area of Charlotte, killing at least one person. Construction worker Demonte Sherrill, 30, died in the fire, family members said. Another worker is unaccounted for.

Charlotte Fire Chief Reginald Johnson said firefighters rescued 15 workers from the building, including one who was on a crane.

Paramedics said one person was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. They said two more people were evaluated but were not transported.

READ MORE:

The Charlotte Fire Department said it Thursday night could not confirm any fatalities.

The search process can be lengthy, Charlotte fire tweeted. We can not confirm a loss of life. This fire has been difficult for our community, and our firefighters continue to diligently work on scene to find answers.

It is unclear how long the process of investigating will take for OSHA. Channel 9 is working to learn more and will provide updates as they come in.

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

0108263 License for publishing multimedia online



Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349
An elderly Australian woman with dementia is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after being Tasered by police at a care home.

Officers were called to Yallambee Lodge in Cooma, New South Wales (NSW), after reports that 95-year-old Clare Nowland was carrying a knife.

The early morning incident has sparked outcry, over what advocates say was a disproportionate response.

The New South Wales police chief has said an investigation is under way.

Ms Nowland was found "armed" with a steak knife at the care home - which is in the town of Cooma about 114km (71 miles) south of Canberra - in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Assistant Police Commissioner Peter Cotter told media on Friday.

Two officers and care home staff tried to de-escalate the situation, before she began approaching police - "it is fair to say at a slow pace" - and was Tasered.

"She had a walking frame. But she had a knife," he said.

Family friend Andrew Thaler claimed Ms Nowland was struck twice - in the chest and the back - before she fell, suffering a fractured skull and a serious brain bleed.

Her family are already grieving as they do not expect her to survive, he told BBC News.

"The family are shocked, they're confused... and the community is outraged."

"How can this happen? How do you explain this level of force? It's absurd."

Mr Thaler described Ms Nowland as being "a great service to the community and her church, very fondly regarded by a lot of people".

She appeared on TV in 2008 to mark her 80th birthday by skydiving over Canberra.

Community groups, including the NSW Council for Civil Liberties and People with Disability Australia (PwD), have criticised the police response.

"She's either one hell of an agile, fit, fast and intimidating 95-year-old woman, or there's a very poor lack of judgement [from] those police officers," PwD President Nicole Lee told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

"She needed somebody to... handle her with compassion and time, not Tasers."

NSW Police has launched a critical incident investigation, which Commissioner Karen Webb said is being treated with "the utmost seriousness".

"I understand and share the community concerns," she said.

The officer involved, who is reported to have 12 years' experience, has not been suspended but has been taken off active duty.

He will be interviewed as part of the investigation, which will include the homicide squad.

"No officer, not one of us, is above the law," Mr Cotter said.

"All our actions will be scrutinised robustly from a criminal perspective as well."

The care home, which is run by the Snowy Monaro Regional Council, has defended its response. The staff followed procedures and did what was needed in the circumstances, the council's chief operating officer Jeff Morgan told local media.

Yallambee Lodge opened in 1995 and looks after residents with "higher needs", according to its website.

Ms Nowland has lived at the home for more than five years, the ABC reported.
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown takes part in an interview with AFP on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima

A Pacific Islands leader on Friday called on the United States and China to not bring "adversarial competition" to the region, as the rival powers intensify their bids for influence.

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown -- invited to represent the region at a Group of 7 summit in Hiroshima -- told AFP that increased superpower interest in the Pacific was welcome, but could not come at any cost.

In recent years, China has dramatically ramped up its economic, political and military footprint in the strategic ocean region.

Beijing has snapped up mines and ports across the Pacific and inked a secretive security pact with the Solomon Islands that allows China to deploy troops to the country.

The United States fears that a Chinese military foothold in the South Pacific could outflank its facilities on Guam, and make defence of Taiwan more complicated.

The self-ruled, democratic island lives under constant threat of an invasion by China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory to be seized one day -- by force if necessary.

US President Joe Biden has said the United States would defend the island in the event of a Chinese invasion.

Washington has opened or reopened a string of Pacific Island embassies and deployed a steady stream of envoys to court island leaders.

"We welcome that engagement into the region," said Brown, who currently chairs the Pacific Island Forum, a region-wide bloc.

He hailed a White House summit between Biden and Pacific Island leaders last year, but added: "What we don't want to see is our region being an area of adversarial competition by our development partners. We want our region to be an area of collaboration."

"I think it's important to understand that what our development partners may see as areas of national security, are not necessarily what we see as national security priorities," he said.

"For us, national security priorities are economic security, they are climate security."

Many Pacific Island nations are debt-burdened, low-lying, vulnerable to rising sea levels and exposed to ever-stronger storms, droughts and floods fuelled by climate change.

Brown said he would call on leaders of G7 wealthy democracies to help combat urgent climate challenges.

"The Pacific Island countries are at the forefront of the impacts of climate change, a large proportion of it caused by the G7 countries."

Brown said a reduction in carbon emissions was a worthy long-term goal, but that there are more pressing needs.

"For us in the Pacific, we're already facing those climate impacts now. So the focus for us is on adaptation measures and financing for adaption."

"We need to find a way to come up with financing solutions that fit the Pacific's needs and priorities," he told AFP.

"We've all got a common enemy that we have to fight and that's climate. For every dollar we put into other areas, we're losing out on an ability to combat the impacts of climate change."

Brown added thatPacific Island leaders were disappointed that Biden cancelled a meeting with them in Papua New Guinea next week, but that it was "understandable" due to a US domestic budget dispute.

arb/sah/dhw/sco
Pale Male on his perch overlooking Central Park

Tributes have poured in this week as New Yorkers say goodbye to Pale Male, a red-tailed hawk with a claim to being the city's original celebrity bird.

The Central Park luminary was pronounced dead on Tuesday night, more than 30 years after he first settled in Manhattan's ritzy Fifth Avenue.

The New York City Audubon non-profit said he had "brought joy to so many".

He "taught New Yorkers that you didn't need to go to a national park to watch nature", one wildlife chronicler wrote.

Pale Male has been the subject of an award-winning documentary, a television special, at least three books and hundreds of newspaper articles.

First arriving in Central Park in the early 1990s, the bird became well-known when he nested above a 12th floor window of the apartment building at 927 Fifth Avenue in 1993.

Birding enthusiasts with binoculars would flock regularly to New York's most well-known thoroughfare to gawk at Pale Male, named by the Wall Street Journal columnist Marie Winn for his whitish plume.

The carnivore shot to VIP status in 2004 when the apartment's co-op board tried to evict him and his mate because their droppings were ruining the building's canopy and raining down on the entranceway.

A furious outcry ensued, with protesters standing vigil for days and sitcom star Mary Tyler Moore, a long-term tenant, slamming the move on national television as "pointless and heartless". The nest was rebuilt.

Pale Male's eviction in 2004 drew days of protest

Much has been written since then about the iconic hawk, as well as the procession of partners he outlived, and offspring so numerous one naturalist described it to the New York Times as "Shakespearean levels of progeny".

"He lived at least 30 years in a challenging environment that NYC poses and there will never be another hawk as well known and loved as he was," wildlife rehabilitation expert Bobby Horvath wrote on Facebook.

Mr Horvath, who revealed the bird had died in his care, said blood results revealed "severe renal failure" that was "beyond treating or reversing".

"Hopefully it was simply age related issues and it was just his time after an amazing unmatchable lifespan," he said.

Bruce Yolton, an urban hawk photographer, wrote that Pale Male's "biggest legacy is that he taught New Yorkers, that despite man's efforts to control the landscape of the city, nature still thrives here and needs to be respected and nurtured".

"Pale Male inspired hundreds of New Yorker's to become conservationists, and to work to protect wildlife not only in rural areas, but in their own zip codes," he added.

But questions have been raised over whether the bird Mr Horvath cared for was in fact Pale Male, though his nest remains at 927 Fifth Avenue.

Red-tailed hawks have an average life span of about 20 years. Pale Male never wore an identification tag and, if the dead bird was really him, he was more than 32 years old.

In 2015, a blogger on 1000birds.com told fellow admirers to "acknowledge the inevitable: Pale Male is dead".

And Gabriel Willow, a naturalist who leads bird walks in Central Park, told the Times it "seems unlikely to me that the most famous red-tailed hawk of all time would also be the longest lived".

But, Mr Willow added, the bird had so firmly entrenched itself in the public imagination that "it doesn't matter if it was Pale Male or not at the end of the day".

You may also like
Paparazzi tell Harry he is no King in letter rejecting request to hand over chase photos

Paparazzi tell Harry he is no King in letter rejecting request to hand over chase photos

Prince Harry has been told he cant demand photographers hand over photos of an alleged near catastrophic car chase in New York City as Kings can do.

The car chase with paparazzi was said to have happened after Prince Harry, Meghan and her mother Doria Ragland attended a glitzy awards ceremony on Tuesday night.

The couple are now demanding Backgrid, an agency for the paparazzi, hand over photos of the relentless pursuit after their claims were scrutinised.

Lawyers representing the Sussexes sent a letter to the agency reasoning they needed copies of all the photos so the couple could improve their security.

(AP)

It reportedly states: We hereby demand that Backgrid immediately provide us with copies of all photos, videos, and/or films taken last night by the freelance photographers after the couple left their event and over the next several hours.

TMZ quoted Backgrid as replying: In America, as Im sure you know, property belongs to the owner of it: Third parties cannot just demand it be given to them, as perhaps Kings can do.

Perhaps you should sit down with your client and advise them that his English rules of royal prerogative to demand that the citizenry hand over their property to the Crown were rejected by this country long ago.

We stand by our founding fathers.

A spokesman for the couple claimed a relentless pursuit involving photographers in half a dozen blacked-out vehicles lasted for more than two hours and there were multiple near collisions involving other drivers, pedestrians and two NYPD officers.

While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyones safety, they added.

New York mayor Eric Adams described the actions of the paparazzi as reckless and irresponsible, while the couples press secretary Ashley Hansen added: I have never experienced their vulnerability as much as I did. They were incredibly shaken up.

But taxi driver Sukhcharn Singh, 37, who drove Harry and Meghan for part of the journey, didnt agree with the assessment that it was near catastrophic. He said he never felt in danger and shrugged off suggestions the episode was like a movie car chase.
This article was originally published in The Conversation.

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Faced with a growing number of options for where to enroll their children in school, parents quickly narrow their choices based on their own educational experience as students.

Thats what we found for a study published in March 2023 in Social Currents.

Historically, parents have turned to their social networks and materials produced by school districts to help them choose a school for their children.

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter

However, when we analyzed interviews with a diverse sample of 60 parents from the Dallas metropolitan area, we found that about one-third of them used their own experiences in school to narrow their options before they gathered other information about schools.

If parents had a positive educational experience as children, they frequently narrowed their options to the same type of school that they attended, whether that be a private, magnet or traditional public school. Their hope was to replicate this positive experience for their kids. For example, Janice, a Black mother of two, explained, Theyre in private school mainly because I went to private school.

Although parents of all backgrounds and income levels used this strategy, it was most common among white parents, who typically enrolled their children in private or suburban public schools, which they attended themselves. We refer to this as experience-motivated replication.

Virginia, a white mother of two, explained that her husband, John, just assumed our kids are going to public schools because the suburban schools he attended were such wonderful public schools. To replicate Johns experience the couple was in the process of leaving the city to buy a home in the suburbs.

Similarly, Rachel, a white mother of three, quickly narrowed her school options to consider only private Catholic schools because of her own positive experience. Rachels husband told us: The kids go to the same private Catholic school that she went to.

In contrast, we find that when parents had negative educational experiences, they typically sought to avoid enrolling their children in the type of school they attended, eliminating those schools from consideration. This strategy, which we call experience-motivated avoidance, was common among Black parents in our sample who felt underserved in city public schools as children.

For instance, Toni, a Black mother of three, shared: I went to a public school and I dont think that the teachers really care about the kids education. Thats me personally. I didnt get that one on one. Based on this negative experience, she did not consider their zoned Dallas public school. Instead, Toni focused on charter school options for her children. She ultimately enrolled them in a charter school near her home.

Why it matters

Where families decide to enroll their children in school not only influences the educational resources available to their child, but also shapes broader patterns of racial and socioeconomic segregation in Americas schools.

The school selection process plays a key role in how educational inequalities span generations, especially when white parents rely on their own experiences to inform the choices they make for their children.

For example, when white families move out of the city to enroll their children in suburban public schools, or consider only private schools like those they attended, these choices replicate historic patterns of white flight. It also helps explain why white families tend to be overrepresented in private schools and suburban public schools.

Conversely, when we examine how parents negative experiences as students influence which schools they consider for their children, it may help us to better understand why, for instance, Black and Latino families increasingly choose charter schools.

What still isnt known

While this study shines light on one key aspect of how parents choose schools for their children, we believe it is important to understand all of the ways parents choose schools. Examining the choice process for diverse populations of families in districts where school choice is available can reveal the full set of strategies parents rely on to select schools.

The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.


Passengers stranded at Glasgow Airport for more than 35 hours have spoken of their frustration at waiting to board a flight to Iceland.

About 170 people destined for Reykjavik were in limbo after a "technical issue" was found on the aircraft when it arrived in Scotland.

The Icelandair plane was grounded at the airport since the 14:00 flight on Thursday failed to take off.

The flight eventually left at 01:05 on Saturday.

Icelandair and Menzies Aviation have been contacted for comment.

Travellers said they were "exhausted" by the "horrible experience".

'Frustrating and draining'

Evan Cannell said he had been unable to leave the airport with his girlfriend, despite living about a 20-minute drive away.

He told BBC Scotland: "It's been frustrating and draining to say the least.

"It's been a long couple of days.

"They won't provide a refund of the current ticket because the flight today hasn't actually been cancelled, and we were automatically pushed on to this flight yesterday."

The couple were put up in an hotel overnight but only had about six hours away from the airport's departure area as they were told they needed to be back at the gate by 05:00 for a morning flight.

Over the two days, each passenger has been given three 10 food vouchers from the Menzies Aviation team, who are manging the situation on behalf of Icelandair.

Mr Cannell and his girlfriend are heading to Reykjavik for a two-hour stopover on the way to New York and Nashville but are now unsure how their holiday will be affected by the delay.

US holidaymakers Lisa and Daniel Levy, from Florida, are flying to Iceland for what was supposed to be an eight-day holiday.

They had travelled to Scotland to walk the 156-mile Hebridean Way with their adult daughters.

"It's horrible the way we're treated," Mrs Levy said. "They keep telling us another hour. They're just lying to us and we're exhausted.

"We're stranded here and we're not going anywhere - I have never been treated like this as an American citizen."

She added: "I will not travel through Glasgow again."
Patriot air defense systems

"For some reason, many people think that Patriot is one single machine," Levin explained.

Read also: Air Force reveals that Patriot system that took down Russian Kinzhal was operating autonomously

It is not. Firstly, it is a complex, that is, there are several launchers. They can be spread over 150 kilometers. Two Patriots [can be] 300 kilometers away. Our southern front is 400 kilometers. You can cover almost the entire southern front with just two.

He also noted that no one reports where the Patriot systems are deployed:

"You think they are in Kyiv, he said.

Read also: Patriot missile defense in Kyiv sustained minor damage and remains operational, report says

Someone thinks they are in Kharkiv. Let them think they are on the southern front. Very well. Let the enemy think that they are everywhere, that they are covering Lviv, Kherson, and Kyiv.

Levin also drew attention to the wording with which CNN reported the news:

"'At least one plane' is a military phrase, he said.

In our army, we liked to write that way in documents: You know, at least one. Well, maybe five, maybe ten. They just rounded it down. But at least one. But how many there were actually - two, three, four, five - these are supposedly technical details for specialists.

According to the General Staff, Russia has lost 308 warplanes and 294 helicopters since Feb. 24, 2022.

On May 13, two military helicopters and two more Russian fighters crashed almost simultaneously in Bryansk Oblast, killing nine crew members.

Read also: Ukraine needs at least 20 Patriot air defense batteries, says military expert

Ukraine did not claim responsibility for the incident. The Ukrainian Air Force stated that Russian air defense was involved in the downing of Russian planes and helicopters in Bryansk 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
A Capitol Hill staffer who works for far-right Congressman Paul Gosar was identified this week as a prominent supporter of white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. The chino-wearing white supremacists at Patriot Front were jeered at an event in Washington, D.C. And the National Guard airman who is accused of leaking hundreds of sensitive documents on Discord was warned about his activities months before those leaks were discovered.

Its the week in extremism.

Nick Fuentes right-wing podcaster, center right in sunglasses, greets supporters before speaking at a pro-Trump march, Nov. 14, 2020, in Washington, D.C.

Gosar aide linked to white supremacist

Trump dined with Nick Fuentes Donald Trump dined with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, rapper Kanye West at Mar-a-Lago

A report in Talking Points Memo this week connected Wade Searle, who works as digital director for Congressman Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., to Holocaust denier and white supremacist Nick Fuentes.

The report said Searle used two handles online to donate money to Fuentes and post on far-right websites. The activity occurred before he was hired by Gosar.

Fuentes has made a name for himself as the leader of a group who call themselves Groypers. The group consists of mostly younger, white men and members are known for their embrace of racist slurs and politics, admiration for the Nazis and Holocaust denial.

Nicole Hemmer, a historian at Vanderbilt University who focuses on the far right, told TPM: The Groypers are essentially the equivalent of neo-Nazis  Theyre an extremist group that is OK with violence.

After the report, Jewish groups blasted Gosar, with one saying, "This certainly isnt the first time Rep. Gosar has embraced neo-Nazis. We presume it wont be the last.

As of Thursday, Gosar had made no public comment on the accusations. His office did not respond to requests for comment from the USA TODAY Network.

Patriot Front heckled

Patriot Front arrests White supremacist group Patriot Front charged with planning 'riot' at Idaho Pride event: What we know

The white supremacist group Patriot Front, which has previously been hacked and has seen 31 of its members arrested in the back of a U-Haul en route to an event in Idaho, held a rally in Washington, D.C., on Saturday with predictable results.

Videos of a cyclist mocking and heckling the khaki-clad members of the group went viral over the weekend and most coverage of the rally focused on the hecklers comedic jeers.

You look like General Custers illegitimate son, shouted the cyclist, identified as Joe Flood, an author and photographer, as he rode forward and backward in front of the white supremacists, who keep their faces hidden by gaiters during their rallies.

You wear WalMart khakis, was another zinger.

No one likes you, your mom hates you, Flood added, facing down the group of a few dozen men, who were wearing their trademark chinos, blue shirts and face coverings. Your friends hate you. You were the losers in your high school class.

All jokes aside, a 2022 leak of Patriot Fronts private messages shows the group is a full-blown white supremacist organization. The group is also responsible for racist graffiti and flyering across the country.

Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, right, appears in U.S. District Court in Boston.

Discord leaker was warned not to deep dive intel months before arrest

Jack Teixeira, the National Guard airman who is charged with leaking hundreds of classified documents on the communications platform Discord was warned about doing deep dives into classified information and was caught slipping a note into his pocket during a classified briefing, new court documents revealed this week.

Teixeira in court Jack Teixeira, 21, appears in court over Pentagon leak. What charges is he facing?

Teixeira was arrested last month after media reports named him as the Discord user who leaked classified documents, including documents about battlefield activity in Ukraine, to online friends.

Seven months earlier, he was chastised by a supervisor: Teixeira has been instructed to no longer take notes in any form on classified intelligence information, the supervisor wrote in a partly redacted Air Force document dated Sept. 15, 2022.

The Air Force suspended two superiors in Teixeiras military unit pending further investigation in late April.

Teixeira is due back in court next week for a hearing.

QAnon demonstrators protest in Los Angeles in 2020.

Statistic of the week: Zero out of 27

QAnon influencers raise money Why did Allen, Texas, mall shooter make neo-Nazi posts? Who's giving money to QAnon online?

Thats how many accounts related to the QAnon conspiracy theory were still raising money on the crowdfunding platform Buy Me a Coffee this week.

The company suspended all the accounts mentioned in a Media Matters for America study, covered exclusively by USA TODAY a week ago.

Catch up: Last week in extremism

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Paul Gosar aide called groyper in new report
Paul Walker's daughter has a cameo in 'Fast X.' Here's how to spot her.

Meadow Walker and Vin Diesel arrive for the premiere of "Fast X" on May 12 at the Colosseum monument in Rome. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP) (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images

Warning: There are spoilers ahead for "Fast X."

Paul Walker's daughter, Meadow, has a minor cameo in the new sequel.

Walker appears in a scene with John Cena. It's unclear if this will be a one-off cameo.

Paul Walker's daughter makes her "Fast and Furious" debut in "Fast X."

Meadow Walker Thornton-Allan appears later on in the movie as a flight attendant who hands Jakob Toretto (John Cena) a few tiny bottles of alcohol.

Meadow Walker is seen in behind-the-scenes footage of "Fast X." Universal Pictures

Earlier this month, Walker teased her cameo on Instagram with a behind-the-scenes photo and heartfelt message.

"I grew up on set watching my father, Vin, Jordana, Michelle, Chris and more on the monitors. Thanks to my dad, I was born into the fast family. I can't believe now I get to be up there too. With those who have been around to see me grow up," Walker captioned a post on Instagram.

"I am so blessed to be able to honor my father's legacy and share this with him forever," she added.

Paul Walker, who played Brian O'Connor in the franchise's first seven movies, died in a car crash in 2013 at age 40.

Though Walker's character was retired on-screen at the end of 2015's "Furious 7," the franchise has continued to mention and honor Walker and his character.

Of having Walker's daughter in "The Fast Saga," star Michelle Rodriguez told Extra TV in February, "It's really hard to move on without a blessing of some sort from that family."

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are seen in 2001's "The Fast and the Furious." Universal/Getty Images

"Without kind of like that love from Meadow and Cody and the family, we would be lost a little bit," Rodriguez added, referencing Paul Walker's brother, Cody, who stood in for him in "Furious 7" alongside their brother Caleb.

Meadow Walker joins newcomers Brie Larson and Jason Momoa in "Fast X."

It's unclear if this will be a one-off cameo for Walker.

Though appearing as a flight attendant, it's possible she may later be revealed to be an agent working with another group in the extended "Fast" fam. "Fast 9" revealed that Queenie has an all-female group, which includes Cardi B's Leysa, working with her.

"Fast X" is in theaters now.

Read the original article on Insider
Researchers discovered a new and peculiar amphibian species while traipsing through a swampy forest in Peru.

The newfound creature is a type of glass frog, meaning part of its body is transparent, making visible some of its internal organs, according to a study published on May 16 in the journal Evolutionary Systematics.

Researchers came across two specimens of the species while traveling near a riverbank in the foothills of the Andes Mountains in 2019.

Guided by torchlights and headlamps, they spotted the creatures  both males  perched on leaves and making high-pitched chirping noises in the rain.

The new species, named Chimerella mira, was discovered in the rainforest at night by researchers with headlamps.

The frogs were captured, euthanized and taken to a lab for further study. After closer observation and molecular analysis, it was determined that the frogs were members of a previously undocumented species.

It was named Chimerella mira after the Latin word for surprising because upon first observation, researchers confused the frogs with another species.

Only the third known species in its genus, named Chimerella, the yellow-green frog is distinguished by its striking eye color and unique mating call.

Chimerella miras silvery-white iris sets it apart from the other related frogs, researchers affiliated with institutions in Peru and Germany said.

Although these differences may appear negligibly small, iris colouration has proven to be a very reliable diagnostic character in many groups of frogs to distinguish among species, researchers said.

Additionally, the newfound frog produces a mating call consisting of multi-pulsed notes known as Trii calls, while its closest relative makes single-pulsed Tic calls, researchers said. Though subtle, the difference is also indicative of species separation.

Much else about Chimerella mira, including its population size, range and reproductive habits, remains unknown.

Our findings demonstrate the need for future research to evaluate the taxonomic status of numerous populations of glassfrogs, particularly in Peru, where they remain markedly understudied, researchers concluded.

There are 163 known species of glass frogs, allocated to a dozen genuses.

The frogs can turn their transparency on and off, and typically use it as a form of camouflage when they are vulnerable, according to a study published in the journal Science in 2022.

To become partially see-through, they conceal most of their blood cells by packing them into their liver, the study found.

Mini-kangaroos  who love peanut butter  thrive after reintroduction to Australia

See the dramatic moment a falcon snatched a puffin out of the sky. Absolutely nuts

Fire ravaged this Spanish building over a millennia ago. See the coins that survived
Ethan Hawke, left, and director Pedro Almodovar pose for portrait photographs for the film 'Strange Way of Life' at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 18, 2023. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

CANNES, France (AP)  Pedro! Pedro! shouted the Cannes crowd before Pedro Almodovar unveiled his latest film, Strange Way of Life, a 31-minute Western starring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke as cowboys and former lovers.

There's nothing quite like the fervor that greets a new film from Almodovar, one of the worlds most beloved filmmakers. But that may have been doubly so for Strange Way of Life even though its a quarter the length of his usual output. So frenzied was the scene that many ticketholders never got in.

When Almodovar introduced his all-male cast on stage at the film's Cannes Film Festival premiere, some in the audience had to cool themselves. John C. Reilly, president of this year's Un Certain regard jury, kindly reached across the aisle with his hat to fan one excited moviegoer.

I was not sure that Id make a Western in my life but at least I made a short, Almodovar said smiling the next day in an interview on a hotel terrace overlooking the Croisette.

The 73-year-old Spanish auteur has been edging closer to working in English. He's done it now in two shorts  The Human Voice, with Tilda Swinton, and Strange Way of Life," sponsored by Saint Laurent  and is preparing to make his first English-language feature after abandoning A Manual for Cleaning Women, a film he had prepared to make with Cate Blanchett.

Strange Way of Life again suggests Almodovar works just as effortlessly in English as he does in Spanish. Pascal (who had to miss the film's premiere) and Hawke play a pair of former gunslingers who meet up 25 years years after a torrid affair. They briefly rekindle their love for another, but one's stubborn insistence that a life together is an impossibility leads to a violent climax.

Almodovar, a deeply knowledgeable film buff who has consciously worked in melodrama, noir and screwball genres before, discovered his love of Westerns in his early 20s. He lists John Sturges, Henry Hathaway, Anthony Mann and Howard Hawks among his favorites. John Ford is unlimited, he says.

But the genre goes even deeper than that for Almodovar. He remembers his father trying to teach him as a boy how to ride a horse. ("And I was so afraid that he couldnt," he says.)

The Western was born at the beginning of the century with cinema. What Hollywood did was create the American epic and also stylize their reality, says Almodovar, speaking alongside Hawke. But their reality was very dusty and very ugly. It was not glamorous. They created a style which was completely American and also a completely male genre. I thought that if there were that many men, some of them could desire each other.

Almodovar has come closer before. In the early 90s, he sought the rights to adapt Tom Spanbauers The Man Who Fell in Love With the Moon, but says a Western with gay cowboys and Native Americans was a tough sell. Almodovar also turned down Brokeback Mountain, which Ang Lee made in 2005. He wanted to make a more full-fledged Western, with gunfights. Just with holsters slung over the bed post.

For me, Brokeback Mountain, they have the hats, the iconography of the Western. But they were sheepherders. They were not cowboys. They were not hired killers says Almodovar. The past of (my characters), for me, they were part of a gang like The Wild Bunch of Sam Peckinpah. And they have an affair.

Strange Way of Life, which Sony Pictures Classics will release later this year, was shot on some hallowed Western ground, in Almeria, Spain, where Sergio Leone made some of his classic spaghetti Westerns.

You feel yourself a part of the legend of cinema history, says Hawke. To be in Spain, with Pedro, making an American Western, it was very meta.

And it's delightful to see Almodovar at work in a new genre, yet just as at home, filling the frame with pops of color (Pascal's character wears a lime green jacket) and flourishes of emotion. To him, much of Hollywood history can be reexamined through a queer lens with a little imagination.

There is some vast territory to explore because they didnt explore it before," says Almodovar. "I sometimes make an exercise  its not an obsession where I change the sexuality of the main character. It could be that and be the same movie in noirs and thrillers.

The 1949 James Cagney gangster film White Heat," for instance, Almodovar says, would be just the same if Edmund O'Brien's undercover inmate was gay.

But whatever the genre, Strange Way of Life extends yet another vibrant chapter in Almodovar's filmography, now in its fifth decade, following the exquisitely autobiographical Pain and Glory (2019) and the 2021 politically tinged hidden-past drama Parallel Lives.

Every movie is an adventure and this is part of the addiction, Almodovar says. The uncertainty is the word that defines it. Even though Ive made 22 movies and two shorts, I don't feel like I know I how to do this. Because every movie is different.

___

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

___

This story first moved on May 19, 2023, and was updated on May 23, 2023 to correct the titles of A Manual for Cleaning Women and Strange Way of Life in one location.

___

For more on this years Cannes Film Festival, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/cannes-film-festival
The Pentagon revealed Thursday that it has overcounted the value of the military aid the United States has sent Ukraine by at least $3 billion.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the mistake that the Defense Department overestimated the value of the missiles, vehicles, ammunition and other equipment it sent from U.S. stocks to Ukraine due to an accounting error.

Deputy Defense press secretary Sabrina Singh confirmed the overestimation to The Hill.

During our regular oversight process of presidential drawdown packages, the Department discovered inconsistencies in equipment valuation for Ukraine, Singh said in a statement, referring to the authority that allows the administration to pull directly from its military inventory.

In some cases, the Pentagon used replacement costs to calculate the aid, rather than the weapons value when it was purchased, thereby overestimating the value of what was shipped to Kyiv, she said.

This over-valuation has not constrained our support to Ukraine nor impacted our ability to flow capabilities to the battlefield, she added.

A defense official said the Pentagon is still determining the total over-valuation but assesses it to be at least $3 billion.

The new estimation means another $3 billion worth of weapons is now available to be given to Ukraine, the official said.

Pentagon and State Department officials told congressional staff members of the oversight on Thursday, The New York Times reported.

The admission also means that the Biden administrations wont have to ask Congress to authorize more aid for Ukraine in the near future  an ask that some on Capitol Hill believe could strain U.S. weapons stocks beyond what is safe for national security.

Still, some Republican lawmakers expressed frustration Thursday at the error, including House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.).

The revelation of a three-billion-dollar accounting error discovered two months ago and only today shared with Congress is extremely problematic, to say the least, the two said in a joint statement. These funds could have been used for extra supplies and weapons for the upcoming counteroffensive, instead of rationing funds to last for the remainder of the fiscal year.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
He voted in Florida for the first time in 2020. Then came the criminal charges

Just as it had been all day, courtroom 3C at the Alachua county courthouse was mostly empty when members of the jury filed in on Tuesday evening. John Boyd Rivers, a mason who once laid the bricks of the courthouse, stood up to hear whether or not they would convict him on two counts of voter fraud.

Judge James Colaw read the verdict on the first charge: not guilty. Then he read the verdict on the second: guilty. Rivers stood quietly as he listened, a small hole visible in the red long-sleeve shirt he wore to court over khaki pants and work boots.

Related: Republican who expanded Kentucky voting opportunities wins primary

It was a result that was unimaginable to Rivers, 45, who voted for the first time in his life in 2020.

Rivers became interested in doing so in February of that year when he was being held in the county jail on a different charge. One day, TJ Pyche, the outreach director at the local elections office, came to his unit with voter registration forms. An eager employee just a few weeks shy of his 25th birthday, Pyche told the inmates that Florida had recently changed its voting laws, making it easier for those with felony convictions to cast a ballot.

Rivers remembers asking Pyche if he could vote while in jail on a violation of his probation. As Rivers remembers it, Pyche said that he could as long as his prior convictions werent for murder or sex offenses  crimes that result in the permanent loss of voting rights in Florida. Rivers hadnt been convicted of those crimes, so he filled out a voter registration application, registering as a Republican, and gave it to Pyche.

When Rivers eventually received a voter registration card in the mail, he believed he was eligible to vote. And he was thrilled, as it made him feel as if he was a part of something.

That fall, he cast his first ballot in the presidential election.

Nearly two years later, Rivers was indicted for voter fraud along with nine other people who registered with Pyche.

In dozens of cases in Florida, prosecutors have filed charges against people with felony convictions who believed they were eligible to vote, received voter registration cards in the mail and then later turned out to be ineligible because of their criminal history.

Many of those cases are being handled by a new statewide unit focused on voter fraud created by Governor Ron DeSantis. But no local prosecutor has brought more charges than Brian Kramer, the elected state attorney in Alachua county, who is prosecuting 10 people, including Rivers.

Voting advocates have decried the prosecutions across Florida as intimidating, designed to dissuade people who are uncertain about their eligibility from voting. And they are particularly alarmed at those prosecutions enabled by Pyche, an official elections office employee.

They set up about a dozen people, essentially, set them up, sent them a voter registration card, encouraged them to register, sent them a voter registration card, and then when they registered, the supervisor of elections office  nobodys charged from [that office], said Andrew Darling, Rivers lawyer. It sends a message that we dont want you voting.

American states have a long, ugly history of using law enforcement to intimidate and suppress voters Blair Bowie of the Campaign Legal Center

American states have a long, ugly history of using law enforcement to intimidate and suppress voters, said Blair Bowie, an attorney at the Campaign Legal Center who specializes in restoring voting rights for people with felony convictions. This is clearly what is happening in Florida. We should be paying attention because other states may follow suit.

Kramer, a Republican elected in 2020, dismissed those concerns. He noted his office has started a program to help those with felonies figure out their voting eligibility, though he acknowledged few people had utilized it.

My job is simply to enforce the law as its written by the legislature and if it has a deterrent effect, thats fine, he said in an interview in his office in downtown Gainesville.

All prosecutions are intimidating.

***

Rivers case was just the second of the voter fraud cases in Florida to make it to trial. A central issue in the case was whether he knew he had to repay all of his outstanding debts related to prior criminal cases before he could vote. For the last few years, that repayment requirement has been the subject of intense scrutiny in Florida.

In 2018, voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment allowing people with felonies to vote once they completed their sentence. But in 2019, Republicans in the legislature imposed the new requirement that fines and fees would have to be paid off in order to vote.

Voting rights groups sued, saying the measure was essentially a poll tax. Florida did not have a centralized way to check voters eligibility, so it would be extremely difficult for anyone to figure out what they owe. A federal judge struck down the law in 2019, but that ruling was later overturned by a federal appellate court, upholding the law. When the US supreme court allowed the law to go into effect for the 2020 election, Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, saying Florida had created a pay-to-vote scheme that would block people from voting because they were poor.

The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, created a statewide office focusing on prosecuting voter fraud. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The voting cases happening in Alachua county and across the state put a human face on our broken election system, said Neil Volz, the deputy director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, the main group that pushed a 2018 constitutional amendment expanding voting rights for people with felonies. The people of Florida deserve better.

When Rivers registered, he owed thousands of dollars in debts related to prior criminal cases.

Pyche testified that when he visited the jail, he repeatedly said that anyone who wanted to vote had to have completed their sentence and paid off all fines, fees and restitution. A jail employee who accompanied him on his visits corroborated what he said.

But Rivers says he never heard anything about fines and fees. An informational flyer that Pyche carried was also confusing  it said someone could vote when they completed all terms of their sentence, but didnt specify repaying outstanding debts. Pyche testified that he could not recall meeting Rivers or what specifically he said on the day Rivers registered.

He didnt follow the rules, David Margulies, the prosecutor who handled the case, said during the trial. Voting requires effort. Citizenship requires effort. John Rivers did not display effort.

Rivers faced two criminal charges. One for illegally signing up to vote and a second for illegally voting. Both were punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Rivers attorneys argued that he couldnt be held liable for illegally registering because he hadnt known about the requirement that he had to repay fines and fees in order to vote. Once he received his voter registration card in the mail, no one had told him he was ineligible.

The local elections office only reviewed his application to make sure that it was completely filled out before issuing him a voter registration card. Under Florida law, the secretary of states office is supposed to review all new applications to determine someones eligibility. In Rivers case, it didnt raise any issues.

There was much confusion over the law at the time, Kim Barton, the county supervisor of elections, testified during the trial. The secretary of states office was backlogged in reviewing applications.

To complicate matters further, in April 2020, after Rivers received his voter registration card in the mail, he pleaded guilty to a new felony and was placed on probation, once again losing his voting rights. But he still didnt receive any notice from the state telling him that and voted in November.

It wasnt until October 2021, nearly a year later, that the state notified the Alachua county elections office that Rivers was ineligible and removed him from the rolls.

Prosecutors maintained that Pyche had informed Rivers about the outstanding debt obligations and that it was Rivers responsibility to know his eligibility. They gave a voter registration card to everyone. That doesnt mean their rights have been restored, Margulies, the prosecutor, said.

Had he understood that he needed to repay outstanding debts, Rivers says he wouldnt have cast a ballot. He cant afford to repay the thousands of dollars he owes  he is out of work and has eight children. His drivers license is suspended and he had to rely on his lawyer to get to and from court on Tuesday.

I cant give what I dont have, he said.

***

At the end of the trial on Tuesday, the seven-member jury  three white women and four white men  deliberated for around an hour and a half. It had little trouble reaching consensus, said Janet Heern, a 64-year-old retiree who served as the jury foreperson.

When it came to registering, they believed Rivers was genuinely confused. The language on the voter registration form wasnt clear and they took Rivers at his word when he said that he believed it to be an application that would be rejected if he was ineligible. She also said Rivers should have been able to rely on guidance from Pyche, who was in a position of authority.

But when it came to actual voting, the jurors were less forgiving. After he pleaded guilty to the April felony, Rivers was on house arrest. It wasnt plausible to Heern and the other jurors that he would continue to think he could vote.

I vote all the time and I take it seriously. Its a right but you have to have some responsibility too, Heern said. She added that she didnt think Rivers should have been prosecuted in the first place. If prosecutors were going to go after Rivers, she said, they should also bring charges against the supervisor of elections.

After the verdict, Colaw turned to figuring out a sentence. On the one hand, he was concerned that Rivers had been acting at the request of the office of the supervisor of elections. On the other hand, Rivers had a lengthy criminal history and had repeatedly violated his probation.

Earlier in the trial, Margulies dismissed the suggestion that Pyche and Barton bore responsibility for registering Rivers. Poor TJ, he said. He was trying to do a good thing for the community.

Barton said she still thought her office did a good job running the program, even though 10 people had been charged with voter fraud. When she was asked whether her office would continue the jail outreach program, she took a short pause before saying softly: I think I will.

My office met its obligations per Florida statute and cooperated with the state of attorneys office and provided all information requested, Barton said in a statement. Upon making a determination about Mr Rivers potential ineligibility, we followed the procedures for removal  My office remains committed to providing information to and working with any citizens who wants to exercise their right to vote.

Ultimately, Colaw sentenced Rivers to two years of supervised probation, requiring him to check in with a probation officer every month, as well as 50 hours of community service.

Rivers, who had been stoic for nearly all of the trial, quietly wiped away tears as Colaw read the sentence. It wasnt the worst possible punishment. But in the lead-up to the trial, prosecutors had offered him an even better deal  one year of unsupervised probation  if he pleaded guilty to one of the charges. Rivers refused.

I wasnt going to get rolled over this time, he said.
Peoria police are asking for the public's help in identifying a man who was shot dead by the Avondale Police Department in February near a Family Dollar store.

According to Avondale Police, at around 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 21, officers responded to the Family Dollar store near Dysart Road and Riley Drive for reports of shoplifting. A description of the man was given to police, who was believed to have shoplifted from another store earlier that same day.

The man is described as an African American male, 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing around 135 pounds. He had brown eyes and black hair styled in twists, 5 inches long. He had spaces between his upper front teeth and a piercing in his left ear. He was found wearing three pairs of pants (purple, black and gray), two homemade necklaces, two beaded bracelets, two pairs of socks and Crocs.

Police said that a man matching the description was seen by an officer at the Agua Fria River bottom near 10th Street and Riley Drive.

"As the officer approached the male, the male was observed to have a possible sharp tool on his waistband, which later turned out to be one of three knives in the male's possession," police said in the statement.

2011 double homicide: Street gang member sentenced 18 years

Body camera footage from the responding officer, who has six years of service with the department, shows him approach the suspect, telling him to raise his hands and "don't do anything stupid."

The suspect is seen raising his hands in the video as the officer tells him he's being detained, trying to place one cuff on the suspect's arm behind his back.

"Put your other arm behind your back, or you will go to the ground," the officer said.

The video shows the suspect briefly placing his other arm behind his back as the first cuff goes on. When it does, the two begin physically fighting, briefly obscuring the camera.

Police said that the suspect began resisting arrest, leading to the struggle. According to the statement, the officer reported that the man began choking him as he was lying on the ground on his back.

Additionally, the officer said that during the fight, the man tried to reach for the officer's gun, which is hard to tell from the body camera footage.

As the struggle continued, the officer was able to regain his footing, pulled out his firearm and shot the man, ultimately killing him.

"This incident, like all shootings involving Avondale Police officers, was investigated by an outside agency. Peoria Police conducted the criminal investigation and submitted their findings to the Maricopa County Attorneys Office for review, which is pending. This incident is also the subject of an internal administrative review. Conclusions about whether the actions of the officer were consistent with department policy and the law will not be made until all reviews are complete," Avondale police said in the statement.

Closed-door meetings Phoenix schedules some meeting differently than most cities. Now, it faces scrutiny

Avondale police said that the officer involved is currently on administrative leave and the identity of the man killed is still unknown.

Peoria police have been attempting to identify the man through a number of methods and have been unsuccessful. They are now seeking the public's assistance to identify the man.

Police have released a facial sketch created by a National Center for Missing & Exploited Children forensic artist that depicts what the man may have looked like as well as items he was wearing. At this time, his age is unknown.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact 1-800-CALLFBI or 1-800-225-5324.

No other information had been released.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Peoria police need public's help to ID man shot by Avondale police
A man was shot and killed in north Charlotte Friday morning, according to paramedics.

ALSO READ: 2 hurt in shootout between CATS bus driver, passenger near outlet mall

MEDIC responded to the shooting along Julia Avenue around 9:30 a.m. and said Carl George Brown, 54, was found dead at the scene. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said they are investigating the shooting as a homicide.

It is unclear what led to the shooting.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

(WATCH BELOW: Teen in stable condition after shooting in northeast Charlotte, CMPD says)
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and her mother, Doria Ragland, at the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards on Tuesday in New York. (Kevin Mazur / Getty Images)

The photo agency accused of tailing Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, during what the couple called a near catastrophic car chase in New York has rejected the royals' requests for copies of their photos.

Freelance photographers working for the agency Backgrid USA Inc. had followed Harry and Meghan's security escort on Tuesday by car and bike, snapping photos and recording video as the royals left an awards ceremony by taxi.

A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex claimed the photographers' alleged pursuit had resulted in multiple near-collisions involving other vehicles, pedestrians and two New York Police Department officers, as well as multiple traffic violations, such as driving on the sidewalk, running red lights and reversing down a one-way street.

Backgrid had dismissed those claims and defended its photographers. The freelancers said they felt "the couple was not in immediate danger at any point.

The photo agency said that legal representatives for the Sussexes on Thursday had sent a letter demanding copies of the photos and video taken on Tuesday, according to BBC News.

"We hereby demand that Backgrid immediately provide us with copies of all photos, videos, and/or films taken last night by the freelance photographers after the couple left their event and over the next several hours," the letter read.

In its snarky rejection of the request, Backgrid had evoked the American Revolutionary War.

"In America, as I'm sure you know, property belongs to the owner of it: Third parties cannot just demand it be given to them, as perhaps Kings can do," the agency wrote, according to BBC News.

"Perhaps you should sit down with your client and advise them that his English rules of royal prerogative to demand that the citizenry hand over their property to the Crown were rejected by this country long ago," the agency continued. "We stand by our founding fathers."

A spokesperson for the Sussexes and Backgrid did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Times.

The statement released by Harry and Meghan's spokesperson on Wednesday detailing the alleged pursuit had evoked the the death of Harrys mother, Princess Diana, who died in 1997 in a Paris car accident after being pursued by paparazzi. Harry has blamed an overly aggressive press for Dianas untimely death and has been vocal about defending Meghan and their two children from suffering the same fate.

Harry, Meghan and her mother, Doria Ragland, were tailed by photographers after leaving the Women of Vision Awards at the Ziegfeld Ballroom, where the former "Suits" actor was among the honorees. Backgrid claimed that some of the photos snapped of the royals show them smiling from inside their taxi.

An NYPD spokesperson confirmed to The Times on Wednesday that the officers assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging, Julian Phillips, the NYPDs head spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard.

Times staff writers Nardine Saad and Christi Carras contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
San Luis Obispo police have arrested a man suspected of committing multiple burglaries within the city, the agency said in a news release Thursday.

Danny Ortiz-Estrada was arrested on suspicion of first-degree burglary May 10, according to the police.

He was caught while allegedly attempting to burglarize a home on Encanto Drive at about 12:41 p.m. near the intersection of Los Osos Valley Road and Higuera Street, police said in the release.

After police arrested and searched Ortiz-Estrada, they found other items suspected to have been stolen from a different person, according to the release.

At 1:39 p.m. the same day, police were dispatched to a home on Los Verdes Drive near the same intersection for a reported home burglary.

It was later determined that the items found on Ortiz-Estrada during the police search earlier belonged to the Los Verdes Drive resident, according to the release.

Ortiz-Estrada was booked into San Luis Obispo County Jail on suspicion of two counts of first-degree burglary and identity theft, according to the release. His bail was set at $150,000.

Police believe Ortiz-Estrada could have committed more burglaries in San Luis Obispo, and are conducting further investigations, according to the release.
Local gyms in the North Hills have been targeted in a recent string of break-ins.

Management at the Pine Community Center in Pine Township said two cars were broken into outside the gym around 8 a.m. on May 2.

They said a group of people were caught on surveillance cameras, smashing car windows, stealing valuables and then taking off.

Some members were shocked.

When I first heard it, I was totally surprised and saddened that cars are broken into, said gym member Amy Slone.

I dont believe it, said Sheila Murtagh. This is the safest place in the world.

Meanwhile, police said the Orangetheory in Wexford was also hit. Right now, Northern Regional Police are investigating.

People are out living their lives and they shouldnt worry about being the target of something like that, said Murtagh.

Channel 11 told you last week that several cars were broken into in Cranberry Township at the St. Ferninands Church during Sunday mass on May 7 and Graham Park nearby and North Boundary Park.

I just hope all the different police forces are sharing information and working together to try to solve this, said Slone.

Cranberry Township police said they dont think all these break-ins are connected but are still investigating.

Police said its possible thieves are targeting cars in places where people are known to leave their vehicles for a significant amount of time.

Northern Regional police are warning people to lock their doors and not to leave their valuables in their cars in plain sight.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

TRENDING NOW:

Homeless man found stabbed to death, Pittsburgh police say Shell Cracker Plant in Beaver County will be in shutdown mode for weeks to come Eric Fairman: Former teacher, coach sentenced after taking plea deal for sex abuse charges VIDEO: Victim identified, suspect named in fatal Neville Township shooting DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
A D.C. police lieutenant was charged Friday with obstruction of justice for leaking sensitive information to former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio ahead of his 2021 arrest for burning a Black Lives Matter banner.

Shane Lamond, 47, was indicted on one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements, according to the U.S. attorneys office for the District of Columbia.

Lamond was allegedly in regular contact with Tarrio between July 2019 and January 2021 and provided the Proud Boys leader with information about law enforcement activity related to the right-wing extremist group starting as early as July 2020.

After the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner in December 2020, Lamond reportedly passed confidential information to Tarrio about the investigation into the incident, including notifying Tarrio that police had issued a warrant for his arrest in early January 2021.

Tarrio ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of destruction of property over the burning of the banner.

Lamond also allegedly made false and misleading statements during an interview with federal authorities in June 2021 about his communications with Tarrio, including what they discussed before and after the Jan. 6 riot.

Tarrio was convicted on seditious conspiracy charges earlier this month, alongside three other Proud Boys leaders, in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
RICHMOND, Ind.  While encountering hazardous situations can go with being an emergency responder, two Richmond firefighters early Thursday found themselves facing danger in a fashion they likely hadn't anticipated.

City police said a Missouri man staying at a Richmond hotel refused to cooperate after a fire alarm sounded in his room about 2:45 a.m.

According to an affidavit, 47-year-old Brandon Lynn Smith at first refused to allow employees at the Comfort Suites, 421 Commerce Drive, into his room, insisting he did not need assistance.

When city firefighters arrived at the scene, Smith became increasingly angry when told they would need to inspect the room to make certain there was "no hazard ... that (could) endanger the lives of everyone in the building."

"I'll shoot you m-----------s through the door!" Smith reportedly told the firefighters, shouting both profanities and ethnic slurs.

More: Richmond parents charged with neglect in wake of mother's overdose

At some point Smith, described as "completely naked," briefly opened the room door and again threatened to physically attack the firefighters and shoot them.

"I own this place," Smith reportedly said, also referring to himself as "the judge and jury."

"I will shoot you where you stand!" he added, according to the court document.

When police officers arrived, the report said, Smith continued to refuse to cooperate.

Officers, using a master key, entered the room and found Smith, still naked, apparently attempting to retrieve an object from a backpack.

He was taken into custody, and police found a loaded handgun in the backpack.

An officer said Smith  of Marshfield, Missouri, about 190 miles southeast of St. Louis  was "assisted in putting on pants" before being taken to the Wayne County jail.

Later in the day, he was charged in Wayne Circuit Court with two counts of intimidation, a Level 6 felony carrying up to 30 months in prison, and a single count of obstructing a firefighter, a misdemeanor.

The Missouri man continued to be held in the jail on Friday under a $15,000 bond.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Police: Naked hotel guest threatened to shoot Richmond firefighters
FILE - Proud Boys leader Henry "Enrique" Tarrio wears a hat that says The War Boys during a rally in Portland, Ore., Sept. 26, 2020. Tarrio and three other members of the far-right extremist group have been convicted of a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol in a desperate bid to keep Donald Trump in power after Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. (AP Photo/Allison Dinner, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

A Washington, D.C. police officer was arrested Friday on charges that he lied about leaking confidential information to Proud Boys extremist group leader Enrique Tarrio and obstructed an investigation after group members destroyed a Black Lives Matter banner in the nation's capital.

An indictment alleges that Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Shane Lamond, 47, of Stafford, Virginia, warned Tarrio, then national chairman of the far-right group, that law enforcement had an arrest warrant for him related to the banner's destruction.

Tarrio was arrested in Washington two days before Proud Boys members joined the mob in storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Earlier this month, Tarrio and three other leaders were convicted of seditious conspiracy charges for what prosecutors said was a plot to keep then-President Donald Trump in the White House after he lost the 2020 election.

A federal grand jury in Washington indicted Lamond on one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements. A magistrate judge ordered Lamond's release from custody after he pleaded not guilty to the charges during his initial court appearance Friday.

The indictment accuses Lamond of lying to and misleading federal investigators when they questioned him in June 2021 about his contacts with Tarrio. The indictment also says Tarrio provided Lamond with information about the Jan. 6 attack.

Looks like the feds are locking people up for rioting at the Capitol. I hope none of your guys were among them, Lamond told Tarrio in a Telegram message two days after the siege.

So far from what Im seeing and hearing were good, Tarrio replied.

Great to hear, Lamond wrote. Of course I cant say it officially, but personally I support you all and dont want to see your groups name and reputation dragged through the mud.

Lamond was placed on administrative leave by the police force in February 2022.

Lamond, who supervised the intelligence branch of the police departments Homeland Security Bureau, was responsible for monitoring groups like the Proud Boys when they came to Washington.

Lamond declined to comment. His attorney, Mark Schamel, released a statement Friday saying, Lt. Lamond is a decorated officer whose position required contact with extremist groups who sought to undermine our democracy on January 6th, yet he does not, nor has he ever, supported their views.

Schamel added that the jury will see the fallacy of these unfairly levied allegations when the evidence is presented.

Schamel has previously said that Lamond's job was to communicate with a variety of groups protesting in Washington, and his conduct with Tarrio was never inappropriate. His lawyer told The Associated Press in December that Lamond is a decorated veteran of the police department and doesnt share any of the indefensible positions of extremist groups.

The Metropolitan Police Department said Friday that it would do an internal review after the federal case against Lamond is resolved.

We understand this matter sparks a range of emotions, and believe the allegations of this member's actions are not consistent of our values and our commitment to the community, the department said in a statement.

Lamonds name repeatedly came up in the Capitol riot trial of Tarrio and other Proud Boys leaders. Tarrios defense sought to use messages showing that Tarrio was informing Lamond of the Proud Boys plans in Washington in order to support Tarrios claims that he was looking to avoid violence, not create it.

Text messages introduced at Tarrios trial appeared to show a close rapport between the two men, with Lamond frequently greeting the extremist group leader with the words hey brother.

Tarrios lawyers had wanted to call Lamond as a witness, but were stymied by the investigation into Lamonds conduct and his lawyers contention that Lamond would claim Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. The defense accused the Justice Department of trying to bully Lamond into keeping quiet because his testimony would hurt their case  a charge prosecutors vehemently denied.

The indictment is the latest sign the Justice Department is moving forward in cases against people whose alleged conduct was uncovered in the massive Jan. 6 investigation, beyond the rioters themselves. More than 1,000 people have been charged with participating in the attack on the Capitol, but investigators have also been examining broader efforts by Trump and his allies to undermine the 2020 election.

Prosecutors say Lamond and Tarrio communicated at least 500 times across several platforms about things like the Proud Boys' planned activities in Washington over a roughly year and a half.

Tarrio is expected to be sentenced in August. His lawyer, Nayib Hassan, declined to comment Friday on Lamonds indictment, but said he was shocked and disgusted that the government used information in the case against Lamond that Tarrios defense was not allowed to show jurors at trial.

Lamond began using the Telegram messaging platform to give Tarrio information about law enforcement activity around July 2020, about a year after they started talking, according to prosecutors. By November of that year, he was talking about meeting Tarrio during a night out.

In December 2020, Lamond told Tarrio about where competing antifascist activists were expected to be. Lamond, whose job entailed sharing what he learned with others in the department, asked Tarrio whether he should share the information Tarrio gave him about Proud Boys activities, prosecutors said.

Jurors who convicted Tarrio heard testimony that Lamond frequently provided the Proud Boys leader with internal information about law enforcement operations in the weeks before other members of his group stormed the Capitol.

Less than three weeks before the Jan. 6 riot, Lamond warned Tarrio that the FBI and U.S. Secret Service were all spun up over talk on an Infowars internet show that the Proud Boys planned to dress up as supporters of President Joe Biden on the day of the inauguration.

In a message to Tarrio on Dec. 25, 2020, Lamond said police investigators had asked him to identify Tarrio from a photograph. Lamond warned Tarrio that police may be seeking a warrant for his arrest.

Later, on the day of his arrest, Tarrio posted a message to other Proud Boys leaders that said, The warrant was just signed.

___

Durkin Richer contributed to this story from Worcester, Massachusetts.
An armed gang near Haitis capital ambushed two armored police vehicles and killed an officer in the latest attack against the countrys beleaguered force.

The Haiti National Police, which confirmed the attack, said gangs used Molotov cocktails to set the two armored vehicles on fire while they were in Source Matelas, a community just north of Port-au-Prince where at least 100 Haitians were killed last month in a gang attack.

Following this attack, one of our brave police officers was unfortunately murdered, a police statement said. This criminal act, which is beyond reprehensible, will not go unpunished.

The ambush occurred sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, police said. It is the latest act of violence against police officers, who are increasingly targeted by armed gangs. At least 24 police officers have been killed so far this year, according to the National Human Rights Defense Network.

Meanwhile, more than 1,400 Haitians have been killed in the first four months in gang-related conflicts, the United Nations has said.

Police did not identify the dead officer, nor did they provide details on whether the officers involved were on active duty when the incident occurred. A police official, dispelling rumors that the officers were returning from Cap-Haitien, told the Miami Herald that there is a security presence along National Road No. 1 where the attack occurred. He added that an investigation remains ongoing.

While Haitian police officers have stepped up anti-gang operations in recent days, a number of police officers had been temporarily transferred to Cap-Haitien to beef up security for members of the government who were commemorating the 220th anniversary of the founding of Haitis flag on Thursday in the northern city.

Several Haitian media outlets have identified the fallen officer as Roberto Charleston, a member of a specialized police unit. Sources familiar with the incident told the Miami Herald that the attacked occurred at around 2 a.m. Thursday and the officer became trapped. Also, they said, the two armored vehicles that went up in flames were among the fleet of recently acquired Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles the Haitian government purchased from a Canadian company.

In its statement, the police leadership said it has already taken action to tackle and apprehend the thugs.

The police killing was the second brazen attack in less than 24 hours.

On Wednesday morning, a high-profile investigative judge, Jean Wilner Morin, dodged an assassination attempt as he headed to work.

Two men riding on motorcycles riddled the judges black Toyota with bullets, a source close to Morin confirmed to the Miami Herald. The incident happened along Route Freres, and was condemned by the Professional Association of Judges in a statement. Calling the attack odious, the association called on Haitian authorites to take responsibility in guaranteeing the safety of citizens.

Morin is in charge of several corruption cases and has been holding hearings before bringing formal charges.
Lt. Leon Philpot of the Rapides Parish Sheriff Office Honor Guard salutes as a flag is folded Friday during the 24th annual Law Enforcement Memorial in downtown Alexandria.

Society has changed, Rapides Parish Sheriff Mark Wood told a crowd gathered to honor fallen law enforcement officers.

It's a battle between good and evil, "and you are it," he said. "My prayer is that we never call your name out here."

The 24th annual Law Enforcement Memorial was held in downtown Alexandria, on the steps of the Rapides Parish Courthouse, Friday morning. It was held as National Police Week ends.

Wood thanked all gathered for their service and, pointing to those sitting to his left who have lost loved ones, said that "they know that feeling that I hope you never feel."

Bagpiper Neil Johnston walks down Murray Street while playing at the end of the 24th annual Law Enforcement Memorial in downtown Alexandria on Friday.

Derrick Harris shooting: 3 Allen residents facing 2nd-degree murder charges in Tuesday shooting of Glenmora man

Tucker's death: 2 juveniles arrested on aggravated animal cruelty charges in shooting death of pet dog

Grant Parish Sheriff Steven McCain was the event's speaker, and he told the crowd how the week came to be an event that's celebrated across the country.

President John F. Kennedy designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day in 1962, and the week that day falls in was designated Police Week.

The week is about honor, gratitude, remembrance and servitude, said McCain. He also spoke of sacrifice and how officers keep their communities safe through that.

Five police officers in Louisiana died in the line of duty in 2022.

According to the National Police Week website, 556 names were read in a ceremony on the U.S. Capitol lawn in Washington, D.C. More than 200 of those fallen, 224, died in 2022.

Pineville City Deputy Marshal Thomas Ray holds the reins of his riderless horse, River, Friday at the 24th annual Law Enforcement Memorial in downtown Alexandria.

McCain said, as of today, there are 23,785 names engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in the nation's capital. He said it's a testament to the sacrifices police officers make every day to keep their communities safe.

"Under President Kennedy's order, it's meant to honor the men and women who risk their lives every day in the line of duty," said McCain.

The memorial ended with a reading of a regional Roll Call of Heroes and a wreath presentation.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Annual memorial honors fall law enforcement officers in Cenla region
Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone - Andrew Cowan / Scottish Parliament/PA

The best clue about the culmination of the investigation into the SNPs missing 600,000 could lie with the departure date of Sir Iain Livingstone, Police Scotlands chief constable, opposition politicians believe.

Although he has set no definite date for his retirement other than the summer, he is thought unlikely to be at his desk beyond July.

Sir Iain said three months ago that he intends to retire two years earlier than his contracted date of 2025 following a disagreement over the forces finances with Nicola Sturgeon when she was first minister.

His admirers believe that he wants to see Operation Branchform  the probe into the missing cash  reach a conclusion before he goes. That way his successor would not have to pick up the pieces of the controversial investigation.

The force has been criticised over its high-profile raid on Ms Sturgeons home, with a former senior SNP official describing it as a grotesque circus. The same man also predicted there would be no SNP charges preferred at the end of the investigation.

Whos in charge?

The partys James Dornan also attacked the scale of the police operation, demanding: Who is in charge of this fiasco?

Peter Murrell, Ms Sturgeons husband and former chief executive of the SNP, was arrested and released pending further enquiries along with the SNPs former treasurer, Colin Beattie. However, Ms Sturgeon said that she had not been arrested nor interviewed by the police about the missing cash.

It had been donated by SNP members to pay for the partys campaign for a new independence referendum. But while the so-called indyref2 has not happened, the cash has disappeared.

The police investigation began nearly two years ago following the resignation of Douglas Chapman, then party treasurer, who claimed he had been denied access to the partys books.

Evidence of how seriously the investigation is regarded could be seen from the fact that Police Scotland reportedly called in the National Crime Agency to assist them. Sometimes referred to as the UKs FBI, their main role is the fight against serious and organised crime. They were said to help the Scottish force carry out a review and to identify possible lines of inquiry.

Meanwhile Humza Yousaf, the new SNP leader, was at the centre of what is being seen as a dispute between the police and the Crown Office, Scotlands main prosecuting agency. Amid allegations of political interference, which have been denied, the CO is said to have delayed a request for a search warrant of Ms Sturgeons home for two weeks, which was only granted after Mr Yousaf had been elected party leader.

Mr Yousaf has also been forced to investigate claims from Douglas Ross, the Scottish Tory leader, that a senior SNP minister had ordered a suspension of vital railway engineering work so that her constituents could do their Christmas shopping.

Good money after really bad

And in a variation on a theme, the SNP Government decided to throw even more good money after really bad money. It decided to ignore official warnings that it would save money by getting those ferries, still sitting in their stocks at a Clyde shipyard, completed somewhere  in fact anywhere  else.

Neil Gray, who rejoices in the title of Cabinet Secretary for the Wellbeing Economy, said that Ferguson Marine, the Clyde shipyard, would keep the contract even though the ferries are 300 million over budget with the completion date seriously delayed.

Any other decision, he insisted, would lead to even further delays for the islanders who desperately need their new ferries.

In another embarrassment for the new First Minister, some of the teachers at his posh old school, Hutchesons Grammar in Glasgow where the fees are up to 14,000 per year, have announced they are going on strike next week in a row over pensions.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
Police searching for suspect after officer-involved shooting on Mount Washington

Police are searching for a suspect after an officer-involved shooting on Mount Washington on Thursday.

According to Pittsburgh police, detectives were conducting an investigation at a home on Dilworth Street at 4:49 p.m.

While police were in the process of obtaining a search warrant, a known male suspect fled from the home with a gun in his hand.

A Pittsburgh police officer fired one shot when he encountered the suspect. The suspect fled the scene on foot. It is not believed he was hit, according to Allegheny County Police.

The search for the suspect is ongoing.

Police did not give a name, photo, or any information about the suspect.

No officers were hurt during the incident and Allegheny County police are investigating per protocol. The investigation will be turned over to the district attorneys office for review.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

TRENDING NOW:

Eric Fairman: Former teacher, coach sentenced after taking plea deal for sex abuse charges All but 1 North Braddock officer quitting the force after controversial council vote Senior at Aliquippa pleading to attend graduation after being punished for prank VIDEO: Pittsburghs acting police chief grilled by City Council DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
A semitruck is towed hours after a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 5 between Salem and Albany claimed the lives of at least seven adults, on Thursday, May 18, 2023.

The driver involved in a crash that killed seven people on Interstate 5 on Thursday afternoon is being charged for allegedly driving under the influence of intoxicants, according to Oregon State Police.

Lincoln Smith, 52, of California, was arraigned on Friday at the Marion County Court Annex for charges including manslaughter, DUI, reckless driving and assault.

More: At least 7 dead in crash on I-5 south of Salem

How police say the crash happened

Police said at about 2 p.m. Thursday Smith's 18 wheeler left the northbound lane of Interstate 5 near the Santiam rest stop.

His truck hit a Ford Econoline van with 11 people inside. The impact pushed the van into the trailer of another 18 wheeler. The driver of the other truck was not injured.

Two semitrucks were involved in a three-vehicle crash that claimed the lives of at least seven adults on Thursday, May 18, 2023

A district attorney said witnesses said the truck had been weaving on and off the road and hit the van without applying the brakes.

Six people who were in the van were declared dead at the scene. Another person was taken from the scene in a helicopter and died while they were being taken to a hospital. Police say the other four people in the van suffered various injuries and were transported by ambulance to hospitals.

The white van at the scene was severely crushed. Straw sun hats and shovels could be seen among the wreckage.

The victims in the crash are not being named, police said, until their families have been notified. The van was believed to be transporting agricultural workers who work for a local labor contract company.

PCUN, Oregon's farmworker union, said in a statement it is in touch with some of the families to understand what they need for support. The union said it will also help identify any needs the community can help supply.

"PCUN, and our members, would like to send our sincere condolences to the families and the workers impacted by this tragedy," executive director Reyna Lopez said in a statement. "At this time, families are asking for safer roads for workers commuting after a hard day's work."

The husband of one of the dead told the judge through an interpreter that their 1-year-old son asked for his mother on Friday.

"My future is destroyed," he said.

Lincoln Smith looks at the judge through the glass as he is being arraigned at the Marion County Court Annex on Friday, May 19, 2023

Driver arraigned Friday

Smith was transported from the scene for medical treatment.

Police say he was then arrested and was taken to the Marion County Jail.

The charging document alleges he was under the influence of a controlled substance and an inhalant. At his Friday arraignment, a district attorney said he refused a field sobriety test and was unable to focus and answer basic questions.

The district attorney said Smith admitted to taking "speed" on Wednesday and was in possession of methamphetamine and inhalants.

Deputy district attorney David Wilson said Smith had at least 17 arrests in California and nine previous convictions ranging from burglary to providing false information.

His next scheduled court appearance is at 8:30 a.m. on May 30.

The judge, Lindsay Partridge, did not set bail.

A group of family members and friends stand outside the Marion County Court Annex after Lincoln Smith was arraigned on Friday for charges stemming from a Thursday crash that resulted in the death of seven people on I-5 south of Salem.

Semitruck drivers face lower blood alcohol limits

The threshold for criminal charges for someone driving a commercial vehicle is lower than for a passenger vehicle, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association.

Driving a commercial vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .04 is a federal violation. In Oregon, the legal limit for drivers of standard vehicles is below .08.

According to Oregon Department of Transportation data, 159 people have died in traffic crashes in Oregon so far this year. In 2022, 600 people died in crashes in Oregon.

Bill Poehler covers Marion County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Driver in I-5 crash that killed 7 charged for DUI, manslaughter
Police under fire in Australia for using Taser, injuring 95-year-old woman holding knife

An internal investigation is underway and a police officer is under scrutiny in Australia after authorities said he used a stun gun on a 95-year-old woman with dementia at a nursing home, critically injuring her.

The senior, Clare Nowland, remained hospitalized with life-threatening injuries Friday  two days after police said the officer shocked her with a Taser as she approached officers with a walking frame and a steak knife.

According to New South Wales Police Force, the incident took place Wednesday at Yallambee Lodge in Cooma, a town about 60 miles south of the national capital Canberra.

"I want to highlight personally on behalf of the organization, the care and empathy and the the sympathy we feel for the Nowland family," Peter Cotter, the force's assistant commissioner, said after he reviewed body camera video of the incident.

At a news briefing Friday, Cotter said the senior was approaching police "at a slow pace" when she was Tasered.

"She had a walking frame. But she had a knife. I cant take it any further as to what was going through anyones mind when he used the Taser," Cotter said.

Police: At least 7 dead in crash involving semi-trucks, passenger van on I-5 in Oregon

New York earthquake: Mild quake rattles just outside of New York City; magnitude measured at 2.2

Woman suffered injuries from fall

Police said Nowland suffered injuries from striking her head on the floor, not directly from the Taser's electric shock.

The injury that she suffered as a result of hitting her head on the floor has rendered her bedridden at the moment, Cotter said Friday. She remains in and out of consciousness.

Cotter told reporters Friday body camera footage would not be released and an investigation by the agency's homicide division that began Wednesday remained underway.

A great-grandmother, Nowland was the subject of news stories in 2008 when she went skydiving on her 80th birthday.

How the incident unfolded

Officers responded to the nursing home at 4:15 a.m. Wednesday for a report of a patient with a knife, where Cotter said, the officers found Nowland in her room where she was armed with a knife.

"The knife in question was a steak knife with a serrated edge that she had obtained from the kitchen area of the nursing home a couple of hours earlier, he said.

The entrance to the aged care facility Yallambee Lodge in Cooma, Australia is photographed on Friday, May 19, 2023. A 95-year-old woman is in hospital in a critical condition after she was shot with a stun gun in an Australian nursing home as she approached police with a walking frame and a steak knife.

Two officers engaged in negotiations with Nowland for several minutes ordering her to drop the knife, but she did not drop it, Cotter said.

One of the officers "activated his Taser" when she approached the doorway where the officers were standing, and she immediately fell and hit her head, he said. Nowland was treated by paramedics on scene taken to a hospital.

Cotter said he could not elaborate on Nowland's diagnosis. He said her family remained at her hospital bedside Friday and "there are significant concerns for her health and where that may lead."

The assistant commissioner declined to say whether he thought a police officer used excessive force by firing a Taser at Nowland, who stands 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs 95 pounds.

Cotter also would not say whether the officer with 12 years of experience who discharged the weapon had been suspended, but said he was currently not in the workplace."

'How was it appropriate to use this level of force?'

Nicole Lee, president of the advocacy group People with Disability Australia, said she was baffled by the police response, the Associated Press reported.

Shes either one hell of an agile, fit, fast and intimidating 95-year-old woman, or theres a very poor lack of judgment on those police officers and there really needs to be some accountability on their side, Lee said.

Andrew Thaler, a family spokesperson for Nowland, said the senior's dementia waxes and wanes, the The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The question will be, how was it appropriate to use this level of force on a 95-year-old woman? Thaler told the outlet.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Australia police use Taser, injure 95-year-old woman Clare Nowland
Pope Francis and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican on May 13, 2023

According to the report, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi is expected to travel to Kyiv, while Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti heads to Moscow.

Read also: Film producer sentenced in absentia by Moscow court

Il Sismografo writes that the Ukrainian government and the Kremlin have agreed to accept the envoys, but have raised a number of questions: whether two envoys will be sent, one to each country, or just one, and who exactly the Vatican will send as "negotiators."

In an interview with Reuters, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said he could not comment on this information, but reminded of the recent statement by Vatican representative Pietro Parolin that "it is time to come up with an initiative to establish a just peace in Ukraine."

Read also: Zelenskyy meets with Mejlis representatives on Day of Remembrance of Crimean Tatar Genocide Victims

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Pope Francis in the Vatican on May 13 and asked him to condemn Russias crimes in Ukraine. He also spoke about the Ukrainian formula for peace, emphasizing that this is the only effective algorithm for achieving a just peace.

During a recent interview, Zelenskyy reiterated that it is impossible to negotiate with Russian dictator Vladimir Putinat the moment: "Today he is a terrorist who does not keep his word."

Read also: Zelenskyy to meet with Pope Francis in Rome during official visit

After his visit to Hungary on April 30, Pope Francis announced that the Vatican is taking part in a secret "peace mission" to try and end Russias war 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
A coastal North Carolina seafood brand is building an inland empire.

Cape Fear Seafood Company will open its third Triangle location next week in Wake Forest. The new location follows restaurants in North Raleigh and The Village District.

The Wake Forest restaurant is located at 3612 Rogers Branch Road in the Wheatfield Plaza shopping center.

The first Triangle location opened in 2019 in the former Kamado Grill location in North Raleigh.

This will mark the second Cape Fear opening in Wake County this year, following the Village District restaurant opening in January.

The brand first launched in Wilmington in 2008 and now evenly divides its six restaurants between there and the Triangle.

The Triangle locations are owned by a franchise group of longtime Cape Fear employees Eddie Elliott and Matt Wivell.

We have been fortunate to enjoy growth in a Raleigh area that already boasts some of the most iconic seafood restaurants in the state. We dont take that for granted, said Elliott. We have succeeded because of a mission of hospitality, a dedication to quality ingredients, and a desire to stay true to what we know: serving up delicious seafood. We are confident our new Wake Forest location will be true to that.

Cape Fears menu includes the kind of broad seafood experience thats familiar when visiting the coast. Popular dishes include shrimp and grits, stuffed flounder and an array of fried seafood platters.

As it has for previous openings, the Wake Forest Cape Fear Seafood will hold charity dinners for the first few nights of service May 25-28. The nights are reservation only and 50 percent of sales will be donated to The First Tee of the Triangle, The Joel Fund and The Trawick Pediatric Cardiology Fund at Duke Childrens Hospital.

Giving back to these three dynamic causes while celebrating our opening feels extra special, said Eddie Elliott, Franchise Partner for Wake County. Everyone associated with the restaurant has an ethos of service  from the greeters to the wait staff and cooks, all the way through how we give back to organizations that do so much for the community that we love so much.
Dmytro Kuleba

Kuleba thanked the Portuguese government for deciding to join the international effort to equip Ukraine with modern aircraft by training Ukrainian pilots and mechanics.

Read also: Foreign Minister Kuleba meets with envoy of Xi Jinping in Kyiv, rules out freezing conflict

"In view of the intensification of Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and villages, it is critically important that Ukraine has the ability to remove the Russian threat from Ukrainian skies," the minister said.

Read also: F-16 training program for Ukrainian pilots to be developed within weeks, Dutch PM says

The Portuguese side also confirmed its readiness to continue supporting Ukraine on its path to EU membership. In addition, the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Portugal coordinated their positions ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius. Kuleba emphasized the importance of the Alliance's leaders making a political decision on determining the algorithm for Ukraine's accession to NATO.

Earlier on May 19, NBC News reported that the United States and its allies are planning to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets. While its unclear when the aircraft will be delivered, an unnamed U.S. official said they wont arrive in time to participate in Ukraines anticipated summer counteroffensive.

Read also: Ukraine will ultimately join NATO, UK PM Sunak says

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte welcomed Washingtons decision and assured that Ukraine can rely on the unwavering support of its international partners.

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
Post falsely claims to show footage of Ethiopia and Eritrea engaged in a new war

A Facebook post claims to show a video from an emerging conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea in May 2023. However, this is false: a voiceover in the clip, which shows images of both countries leaders, discusses the deteriorating relations between the neighbours. It also features an audio translation of an article by international media exploring whether Ethiopia and Eritrea could be drawn into a war in Sudan.

The post has been shared more than 150 times since it was published on May 11, 2023.

War broke out between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Shabia left Humera. A Prosperity Party leader has been assassinated, it says.

This news item is for May 8, 2023. You can watch our full report on our Habesha Broadcast YouTube channel, adds the post, which includes a 60-minute video.

Screenshot of the false post, taken on May 16, 2023

Shabia is an informal name for the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front (EPLF). The armed group fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia until the former broke away in 1991.

Humera is a town in Ethiopias Tigray region, which borders Eritrea and Sudan. The town was heavily affected by the recent war in northern Ethiopia.

Souring relations

Ethiopia and Eritrea renewed their relations (archived here) in 2018, ending decades of conflict over a border dispute.

Eritrea also fought alongside the Ethiopian army against the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) in a devastating two-year war that ended after the warring parties agreed to a peace deal (archived here) in November 2022.

However, international experts warn Eritrea could undermine the peace deal to push its own interests, while tensions have also been on the rise between its leader, Isaias Afwerki, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (archived here).

However, the video doesn't contain any content showing clashes between Ethiopia and Eritrea in May 2023.

No footage

The video features a female narrator who discusses various issues related to Ethiopian politics.

In the first eight minutes, she introduces a post written by an Ethiopian activist called Girma Kassa and then proceeds to read it.

Using a keyword search for Girma Kassa on Facebook, AFP Fact Check found the post was published on Facebook on May 8, 2023. The headline in Amharic translates to News of a war in the Amhara region.

It claims an armed conflict had broken out between local militia and government forces in Ethiopias northern Amhara region.

The voiceover continues, saying: There has been fierce fighting between Amhara popular forces and forces loyal to Abiy and Berhanu Jula in North Shoa, Ataye and surrounding areas earlier today.

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission reported (archive here) on May 4, 2023 that clashes occurred between federal government forces and local armed groups in multiple places in the Amhara region.

Unrest had started in early April when the Ethiopian federal government decided to disband armed regional forces.

The Facebook video also features a news report which asks whether Ethiopia and Eritrea could be dragged into the war in Sudan, which broke out in April 2023.

A search for the keywords The role of Ethiopia and Eritrea in the Sudanese war led to an Al Jazeera article published on May 6, 2023 (archived here).

The narrator reads part of the article while also opining about the roles of Ethiopia and Eritrea in the Sudanese war.

The narrator then jumps to another news item about the alleged assassination of a member of the ruling Prosperity Party in Ethiopias Afar region. The party issued a statement on its official Facebook page on May 7, 2023 about the killing of a regional official by unidentified armed men (archived here).

However, the video doesnt have any content about an alleged war between Ethiopia and Eritrea in May 2023.
During the pandemic, US employers embraced the newand necessarynormal of working from home. But in the past year, the situation has begun changing rapidly. Major employers like Disney and Amazon have been moving employees back into the office for a few days a weekwhile over at Twitter, last November Elon Musk scrapped its work from home policy.

As for what the wider landscape looks like in the US, a recent study from Pew Research Center shows that while the number of solely remote workers is dropping, hybrid working is becoming increasingly attractive.

Three years on from the pandemic, the report finds that around 14 percent of all employed adults aged over 18 in the USabout 22 million peopleare currently working from home all the time.

Of course, not every job has hybrid or remote potential, and the majority of US workers (61 percent) dont have jobs with that option open to them. Before the pandemic in 2020, just 7 percent of US workers with remote-possible jobs were working at home all the time.

Today, just over a third of them (35 percent) are still working from home all the time. That percentage has been droppingin January 2022, it stood at 43 percent, while in October 2020 it was 55 percent.

Going hybrid

As Cydney H Dupree pointed out in this op-ed for The Hill, remote work can benefit specific groupings of employees in particular, such as Black employees. Meanwhile, it can also benefit the environment, as Dr John Williams noted late last year.

But there are reasons why people might want to return to the office: for example, in-person socialization and interaction, which can help with mentorship and career development.

Perhaps this is why were seeing the figures for hybrid working go in the opposite direction to remote work, as people find a balance between remote and office. Pews study found that of those with applicable jobs, 41 percent of people are working in a hybrid way. This figure has jumped from 35 percent in January 2022.

Regarding the benefits, 71 percent of people who work from home all, most or some of the time say it helps them balance their work and personal lives. Just over half (56 percent) of people in that situation say it helps them get their work done and meet their deadlines.

Pushing back

As companies begin to enforce return-to-office mandates, some employees are pushing back. Gleb Tsipursky writes in Entrepreneur that one effect is empowered labor unions, particularly in the wake of recent mass layoffs at major tech companies.

He details how YouTube Music contractors in Texas went on strike protesting a return-to-office announcementmost of them had always worked remotely as they were hired during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, after Disneys return-to-office mandate was introduced, more than 2,300 employees signed a petition against the plan.

Flexibility

Data from Future Forum shows that workers who have flexibility regarding location report 4 percent higher productivity scores than workers in the office full-time.

Schedule flexibility can lead to even more benefitsworkers with fully flexible schedules report 29 percent higher productivity than workers who have no flexibility, and they also say that they have 53 percent greater ability to focus.

If youre looking to move into a hybrid or remote role, there are plenty of options out there. Here are three roles currently hiring, with more to find on the The Hill Job Board.

.NET Solutions Architect, Red Cross, Washington

The American Red Cross is seeking a .NET Solutions Architect who could work 100% from home anywhere in the US, theyd just have to keep to an East Coast schedule. The humanitarian organization is looking for an experienced .Net Architect who would take a leading role in the overall architecture and technical ownership of an internal gift management platform. Find the full details here.

Senior Manager, Tax, Paypal, New York

Payments company PayPal is seeking a senior manager of US International Tax to join its Global Income Tax Compliance and Reporting Team. The location is flexible, and fully remote/virtual will be considered. The role would involve being responsible for US international tax compliance and reporting; being responsible for calculating the US tax cost on foreign operations for quarterly effective tax rate purposes for CFCs; and training and mentoring direct reports. Read the full job spec and requirements here.

Senior Cloud Security Engineer, VP, GreenSky, Atlanta

This remote role at GreenSky, a Goldman Sachs company, would include designing/creating and executing security controls and defenses to prevent insider threat or external attacks. The ideal hire could work in a multi-cloud environment and be able to engage directly with software developers. Find out more about this role and the required skills and qualifications here.

For more remote and hybrid roles like these right across the country, check out The Hill Jobs Board

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends Covid-19 vaccines amid carefully monitoring the safety of the jabs, but posts claim its database shows more than five million people have been harmed by the shots. This is false; the figure includes all reported adverse events following vaccination -- including those that are unverified or detail minor reactions -- and are not necessarily caused by the injections.

"According to WHO's own data, more than 5,000,000 people are suspected to have been harmed by the COVID vaccines. The exact number today is 5,026,245 people, including tens of thousands of deaths," said Tess Lawrie in an April 29, 2023 tweet.

Lawrie is co-founder of the World Council for Health, a group that AFP has repeatedly fact-checked for spreading vaccine misinformation.

On May 13, she tweeted photos from a rally in London with the caption: "More than 5M Covid #Vaccine injuries and deaths on Vigiaccess #truthbetold These 5M reports are not statistics, they are people like you and me. We have been deceived."

Screenshot of a tweet taken May 19, 2023

Screenshot of a Tweet taken May 19, 2023

Screenshots of Lawrie's tweet and similar claims spread across social media platforms in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

But the posts misrepresent publicly available data from the WHO's VigiAccess website (archived here).

The database collects reports of adverse events from around the world. In Canada, patients are encouraged to ask their doctor to record them, while in the United States, anyone can submit a report.

The WHO told AFP there is a distinction between adverse events -- observations that do "not necessarily have a causal relationship" with a medicinal product -- and adverse reactions, which include "noxious and unintended" responses.

Adverse event reports alone do not prove a product "caused the observed events" or that it is unsafe to use, according to the WHO.

"Confirming a causal relationship is a complex process that requires a thorough scientific assessment and detailed evaluation," the agency said in a statement emailed May 19.

Screenshot taken May 19, 2023 of the VigiAccess database, with portions highlighted by AFP

Asked about the volume of reports related to Covid-19 shots, the WHO said it has observed similar spikes after the introduction of other vaccines.

"Billions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines were given in a short period of time, so there was clustering of reported adverse events following vaccination," the agency said. "The entire global community was encouraged to report all (even very minor) events following vaccination."

Common misinformation tactic

Timothy Mackey, director of the Global Health Policy and Data Institute, said Lawrie's posts are the latest to selectively use adverse event reporting data "to amplify concerns about (the) safety of vaccines."

"The majority of reports that populate these systems may be for labeled minor adverse events," he said in a May 18 email. "So absolute numbers of adverse events that are presented by these anti-vaxx groups are influenced by a higher number of non-serious adverse events and also unvalidated reports."

He said the number of confirmed serious adverse events, compared to the 5.5 billion people estimated to have received at least one dose, "is very low."

AFP has previously reported on misleading claims about the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System in the United States and a similar database in Australia.

Vaccines are safe

The WHO database does not provide a specific global number for confirmed serious adverse effects. But reports from individual countries show these are rare.

Data from Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada show more than 97 million Covid-19 doses have been administered in the country.

Serious adverse events account for 0.01 percent of all doses administered, according to Health Canada's website (archived here). A similarly low number is reported in the United States.

Canada continues to investigate "adverse events of special interest," including a rare blood clotting condition and heart problems such as myocarditis and pericarditis.

Health Canada reports that, among vaccinated people, heart inflammation occurs at rates "higher than what would be expected in the general population, particularly among males and females less than 40 years old and following the second dose."

However, a large study (archived here) found myocarditis is more common following a Covid-19 infection.

"Evidence indicates that the benefits of Covid-19 vaccines continue to outweigh the risks of the disease," Health Canada says on its website.

More of AFP's reporting on vaccine misinformation can be found here.
A Poughkeepsie woman will spend up to 18 years in state prison after pleading guilty to grand larceny, the Dutchess County District Attorney's office said Friday.

Dutchess County Chief Assistant District Attorney Matthew Weishaupt said the defendant, Suzanne Whitman, 56, of Poughkeepsie, was accused of stealing $714,160 from the Fishkill Auto Body shop, where she was employed as a bookkeeper, and later accused of mortgage fraud and the theft of more than $450,000 from Ulster Savings Bank.

According to Weishaupt, Whitman was charged in December on an indictment with one count of second-degree grand larceny, 627 counts of first-degree falsifying business records and 702 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in connection with the theft from Fishkill Auto Body.

Weishaupt said while his office was investigating that alleged theft, it discovered that Whitman had allegedly falsified income and employment documents to help her husband, Robert Essigman, obtain a mortgage from Ulster Savings Bank.

Weishaupt said as a result of Whitman's actions, she and Essigman allegedly received $450,120 from the bank to which they were not entitled.

The district attorney's office filed a second indictment in February, charging Whitman with one count of second-degree mortgage fraud and one count of second-degree grand larceny, both felonies.

On March 27, Whitman pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny in relation to the alleged theft from Fishkill Auto Body. Pursuant to a plea agreement, she also pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted second-degree grand larceny, in connection with the second indictment.

Asylum seekers: Dutchess County prohibits use of hotels as long-term emergency shelters

Homicide probe: City of Poughkeepsie police seek information on 19-year-old man's murder

Youth center: It will cost Dutchess County about $70M to build; construction to start next year

On Wednesday, Dutchess County Court Judge Edward T. McLoughlin sentenced Whitman to 7 to 14 years in state prison on the grand larceny charge and a consecutive sentence of 2 to 4 years in state prison on the attempted grand larceny charge, for a total sentence of 9 to 18 years in state prison.

"The success of any business depends on the integrity of those who are given financial oversight, and when they breach this duty and trust by thefts from the business for their own financial benefit, the impact on the business is devastating," Weishaupt said in a statement released by his office.

The name of Whitman's attorney was not immediately available.

Robert Essigman pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny on March 29 and is awaiting sentencing.

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 Poughkeepsie Journal: A guilty plea to grand larceny sends a Poughkeepsie woman to prison
Price Point: What does $210,000 get you in the Biloxi metro housing market?

This weeks Price Point is for the Biloxi and DIberville area. Heres what you can get for $205,000 to $210,000. Some sold prices are estimated by Zillow.

17364 Palm Ridge Dr #D, DIberville, MS 39540

Sold: $205,000 on March 20

Single family home built in 2010 on a 5,662-square-foot lot

17364 Palm Ridge Dr. DIberville, MS 39540

This DIberville home is located north of I-10 in the Palm Ridge subdivision. With 1,380 square feet of interior livable space, the home has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and privacy fencing.

Size: 1,380 square feet

Year built: 2010

Price per square foot: $149

Bedrooms: 3

Baths: 2

Taxes: $1,579 in 2021

Last sold: NA

Listed by: Sandra French Rushing, Fidelis Realty, LLC (228) 896-4200

17364 Palm Ridge Dr. DIberville, MS 39540

17364 Palm Ridge Dr. DIberville, MS 39540

17364 Palm Ridge Dr. DIberville, MS 39540

17364 Palm Ridge Dr. DIberville, MS 39540

746 Live Oak Dr., Biloxi, MS 39532

Sold: $205,300 on Dec. 29

Single family home built in 1983 on a .37-acre lot

746 Live Oak Dr., Biloxi, MS 39532

This home is in the heart of Biloxi and sits on a large lot. It features cathedral ceilings, a wood-burning fireplace and spacious bedrooms.

Size: 1,401 square feet Year built: 1983 Price per square foot: $147 Bedrooms: 3



Baths: 2 Taxes: $1,144 in 2021 Last sold: Sept. 3, 2020, listed for $165,000 Listed by: Brittany Bundy, EXIT Prestige Luxury Realty - Biloxi (228) 388-5888

746 Live Oak Dr., Biloxi, MS 39532

746 Live Oak Dr., Biloxi, MS 39532







746 Live Oak Dr., Biloxi, MS 39532

746 Live Oak Dr., Biloxi, MS 39532

746 Live Oak Dr., Biloxi, MS 39532

746 Live Oak Dr., Biloxi, MS 39532







746 Live Oak Dr., Biloxi, MS 39532

746 Live Oak Dr., Biloxi, MS 39532

11193 Karli Lane, Biloxi, MS 39532

Sold: $205,200 on Dec. 19

Single family home built in 2001 on a .33-acre lot

11193 Karli Lane, Biloxi, MS 39532

This home is nestled in North Eagle Point Subdivision a short drive from Keesler Air Force Base. It has three bedrooms, two baths, a split floor plan, privacy fence, deck and plenty of shade.

Size: 1,746 square feet Year built: 2001 Price per square foot: $116 Bedrooms: 3 Baths: 2 Taxes: $1,279 in 2021 Last sold: NA Listed by: Renee Melitos, EXIT Monarch Realty - Biloxi (228) 388-5888
Photo illustration: Mark Harris for Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images

Whats happening

States, cities and leaders across the U.S. are calling for reparations for Black Americans to compensate for the lasting harms of slavery. Most recently, Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., introduced the Reparations Now resolution, which proposes that Congress provide at least $14 trillion in reparations to descendants of enslaved Africans.

Bush says the resolutions trillion dollar amount includes the value of cotton produced by Black people and the lack of repayment since slavery.

We need to push this right now, Bush told the Root. Its 2023, and the U.S. federal government still has not acknowledged the atrocities that came at the hands of this government.

The figure aligns with estimates from economist William Darity Jr., professor of public policy at Duke University, who recently concluded that reparations for Black Americans with ancestors who were enslaved could cost between $13 trillion and $14 trillion.

While Bush acknowledges that it will be difficult to get a Republican-led Congress to accept or agree on reparations, she says, We must keep the conversation going.

Earlier this month in California, a nine-member reparations task force approved its final report that recommends monetary payments, policy reforms and a public apology for Black Californians. According to the New York Times, Black Californians could receive nearly $1.2 million per person if California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs off on reparations.

The extent of the harm, it's terrible, it is enormous. It is astronomical, Donald Tamaki, a task force member and lawyer, told Yahoo News. I think people have sort of an idea that reparations [are] merely a check in the mail. Well, it does involve compensation. But it does involve all of the others fixing the systems and the culture that created this in the first place.

At the federal level, House Resolution 40, a bill that would create a commission to study and develop reparations, has sat in limbo for decades since it was first introduced by the late Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., in 1989.

Last year, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, called on President Biden to sign an executive order to set up the commission for H.R. 40.

H.R. 40 is 38 years on the books waiting for someone to say yes, Lee said during a two-day conference on reparations in Evanston, Ill. last year. I want for once an acceptance of the history of the journey that African Americans have taken to be an accepted reality in America.

Why theres debate

As the debate surrounding reparations intensifies, public opinion still views the concept unfavorably. A 2021 survey by Pew Research Center found that more than 60% of Americans oppose repayment to descendants of enslaved people. A another poll on reparations from 2021 found that 62% of Americans oppose the idea of reparations, according to findings from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and WCVB-TV.

For many, reparations are a concerning and risky proposition due to the monetary compensation. Some taxpayers say they shouldn't have to pay for the wrongdoings of their ancestors. Reparations could also create an equity issue because it is unclear how city- and state-level reparations would affect the rest of the country.

In the administration of reparations programs, when you rely upon individual states and municipalities to set up the programs, everybody's will be different, Darity told Yahoo News. In fact, there's going to be municipalities and states that don't do anything.

Researchers are also unsure how reparations can be successfully implemented and who they should or should not include. Some critics argue that pursuing reparations could open the floodgates for other marginalized groups to seek compensation.

However, supporters of reparations believe that America has a duty to remedy the harms of slavery that has caused generations of racist laws and practices that have hindered Black Americans ability to prosper.

Perspectives

California cant afford reparations

The Reparations Task Force has already pledged that nearly 80% of Californias 2.6 million Black residents will be granted reparations. The task force cannot achieve this goal  even if it was legal, which it is not. First, the math simply doesnt work. Consider: If all of the eligible Blacks in California were merely given $1,000 in reparations, the cost to California would exceed $2 billion. But that compensation would in no way equal the staggering claims made by the racial alarmists that push for reparations. $1,000 would be a pittance of the injuries that they claim that Blacks have faced in California, Horace Cooper, senior fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research, to Fox News.

Reparations for Blacks will not fix the wealth gap

"In two to three years, that wealth would wind up in white hands, because our system for building wealth is not one designed for Black wealth," Dorothy Brown, Georgetown law professor, to NPR.

Critics offer other solutions

We must recognize the risks of opening a Pandoras box of grievances that may never be fully addressed, sowing discord and dissatisfaction. Instead of getting mired in the quagmire of reparations, the focus should be on forward-looking policies that foster equal opportunity and justice for all, Armstrong Williams, political commentator and talk show host, told the Journal.

A more prudent approach would be to invest in education, infrastructure, and social programs that promote upward mobility and dismantle systemic barriers to success. This way, we can build a more just and equitable future without indulging in an unwieldy and contentious reparations scheme, Williams added.

America already paid the price for slavery

Reparations for slavery were paid in full with the blood shed by 110,100 Union Army troops killed and 275,174 wounded on the Civil War battlefields. That sacrifice abolished slavery in this country. Nothing more is necessary 158 years later, John A. Cleveland, told the Wall Street Journal.

There is no one-size-fits-all for reparations

Our nation is badly overdue in facing this question. But seeking a consensual answer is like wading into quicksand. I suspect that most people believe both the nay and the yay of the matter  that no one living today is to blame for the sins of the past, but that everyone has a responsibility to help redress them, Andrew Delbanco, professor of American studies at Columbia University, told the Washington Post.

Racial discrimination today proves reparations are needed

I want them to stop acting like its so far removed, and its not currently happening. I want them to understand that were still going through things now as a community. Its not  it hasnt been over for us, Pia Harris, nonprofit program director, to the Associated Press.

No dollar amount is enough

For those who think the cost is too high, consider the ongoing price paid for these injustices by all people who call the U.S. home, also paid in the currency of shorter, sicker lives. Its time to make a down payment on a healthier future, Mary Travis Bassett, a public health professor at Harvard University, told Yahoo News.
Priscilla Presley, whose daughter Lisa Marie Presley died in January, has suffered another familial blow.

While Presley reached a settlement over her daughters will Tuesday with granddaughter Riley Keough, it denied her a burial spot next to her late ex-husband, Elvis Presley.

Although I dont plan on going anywhere anytime soon, it is my familys and my wish for me to be laid to rest with my daughter and the love of my life when that time comes, she told People in a statement from her representative. We appreciate the love from all the fans.

The settlement was first reported by TMZ and concerned Lisa Maries lucrative Promenade Trust. While it named Keough as the beneficiary, Presleys attorney Ronson J. Shamoun told reporters outside court on Tuesday that the families are happy with the outcome.

My family has resolved all confusion as it relates to our plea to the court and request for document interpretation after my daughter Lisa Maries untimely passing, Presley told People, adding there was never any lawsuit filed against my beloved granddaughter.

Elvis was famously buried in 1977 at his sprawling Graceland property, which has since become a 200,000-square-foot complex featuring museums and restaurants. His parents, Gladys and Vernon, as well as Lisa Marie  and her son, Benjamin Keough  are buried there.

Presley's late ex-husband, daughter and grandson are all buried together at Graceland.

Presley's late ex-husband, daughter and grandson are all buried together at Graceland.

Presley married Elvis in 1967 after meeting eight years earlier, per People. Despite separating in 1972 and finalizing their divorce the following year, they shared custody of Lisa Marie until Elvis died. Presley has since repeatedly described him as the love of her life.

Her daughters fatal cardiac arrest at 54 years old prompted Presley to filed a petition questioning the authenticity and validity of a 2016 document that amended the trust  and removed her as a co-trustee while placing Keough in charge  which has now been settled.

Riley is relieved to have settled the dispute over her moms estate, a source told People about Keough. She doesnt want any more drama with her grandmother. She was hoping they could reach a settlement quickly.

Attorneys for both parties are currently planning to file a motion to seal the settlement agreement, according to CNN. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lynn Scaduto requested this motion be filed by June 12, and scheduled a follow-up hearing for Aug. 4.

As a family, we are pleased that we resolved this together, Presley told People. My family and I hope that everyone will grant us the privacy we have needed to properly grieve Lisa Marie and spend personal time together.

We love and appreciate all of you and the Presley family is stronger than ever.

Related...
Elk Grove jail trains inmates for a second chance as a barista: Theyve done their time

Jamie Mason was more than 20 years into her career in specialty coffee when she got a call from an alarming source: the Sacramento County Sheriffs Department.

The Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center was starting a coffee education and barista training program, a lieutenant told Mason, and they wanted her to lead it. She demurred at first, content to write curriculum and design the cafes layout, before taking the reins in November 2020.

Thus began Redemption Coffee, the Elk Grove jails internal cafe and training center for soon-to-be-released female inmates. Twenty-one women graduated since Mason took over, and alumnae have landed jobs as baristas and roasters at Camellia Coffee Roasters and Bewleys, the parent company of Java City.

Redemption Coffee students first learn bean anatomy, tasting notes and coffee origins. They then dive into foundational barista knowledge such as milk science and pouring espresso shots, before learning latte art and how to pick out tasting notes.

The final sessions focus on cafe operations such as taking inventory and writing schedules. Working as a barista is many peoples foot-in-the-door to the coffee industry, but Redemption Coffee shows people how to do jobs away from the counter, many of which Mason said offer more of a living wage.

Mason teaches three to 12 women at a time, all of whom must have been in jail for at least three months, cant be violent offenders and must sign up for other reentry services as well.

Part of my job is to really think about not just measured outcomes ... but changing the cultural attitudes of ex-offenders, Mason said. Theyve done their time. I want these women to have a fair chance and opportunity to thrive in their lives. These women constantly surprise me with their drive to want to change.

What Im eating

Mack and Charlie Thomas opened MacQues BBQ as a catering operation in 1986, then opened their first restaurant in southeastern Sacramento in 1991. While that barbecue joint eventually shut down, another opened in 2019 in Elk Grove Village shopping center.

The Thomas family is all over MacQues, from dishes named JoJos sliders or Ms. Jayes bread pudding to framed photos lining the walls. Its better to visit for lunch than dinner, as with many barbecue joints, since youll find more freshly-cooked meats and most items should still be in stock.

While MacQues has an expansive menu compared to other barbecue spots, tried-and-true classics such as pork ribs ($13.69 with two sides and a roll) are favorites for a reason. The fall-off-the bone pork benefited greatly from Macques sweet Kansas City-style barbecue sauce; pick medium spice for a subtle, slow burn.

A plate of chopped tri-tip ($14.39 with two sides and a roll) reminded me this was indeed California barbecue. Piquant and zesty thanks to MacQues house rub, its vibrant pink smoke ring flexed the pitmasters expert cookery.

Cams kettle chips ($4.75-$11.50 depending on toppings) were another housemade surprise, thick and crunchy amid a dusting of that dry rub. For dessert, a slice of sweet potato pie ($4.25) had plenty of flavor without being overly sweet.

MacQues BBQ

Address: 8517 Elk Grove Blvd., Elk Grove.

Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday.

Phone number: (916) 714-2910.

Website: https://www.macquesbbq.com.

Drinks: Beer, wine, soda and The Lemon Mobs flavored lemonades.

Animal-free options: Very few - its a barbecue joint, after all. Some sides are vegetarian.

Noise level: Medium to medium-loud.

Openings & Closings

Auburn-based Moonraker Brewing soft-opened its Cameron Park brewery and farm, Moonraker Millhouse, on Tuesday at 3501 Robin Lane. Seventeen-acre property includes a 20,000-square foot taproom and farm-to-table restaurant.

Elk Grove tequila and taco bar Pig Latin opened Monday at 9631 E. Stockton Blvd. Look for norm-bending dishes and drinks such as prawns al pastor and the Verde Vixen cocktail (a mezcal margarita with blended avocado, cilantro and kale).





Olivers Brewhouse & Grill closed last week after two years in business in downtown Lincoln. Matthew and Siobhan Olivers other restaurant and bar, House of Oliver, remains open in Roseville.

Get Sacramento's Food & Drink news delivered to your inbox

Sign up here to receive our free weekly Food & Drink newsletter, written by Bee food reporter Benjy Egel. You'll exclusively receive an early look at restaurants, bars, festivals and more.
'The Problem Is Not Guns': How Texas Gov. Abbott Responded To 7 Mass Shootings

Texas has seen at least seven mass shootings in public places since Gov. Greg Abbott (R) took office  including the states worst mass shooting and its deadliest school shooting  and nearly every time, he has dismissed calls to strengthen gun regulations while simultaneously expanding the rights of gun owners.

People want a quick solution. The long-term solution here is to address the mental health issue, Abbott, a potential 2024 presidential contender, said in an interview with Fox News after this months shooting in Allen, Texas, that killed eight people.

Abbotts proposed solutions for gun violence have included increasing penalties for illegal gun use, prayer, more body armor and investments in mental health.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at the National Rifle Association's 2018 annual meeting and exhibit in Dallas. Abbott told the crowd that the problem is not guns, its hearts without God. Two weeks later, a gunman killed 10 people at a Texas high school. He vowed action to ensure that violence was

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at the National Rifle Association's 2018 annual meeting and exhibit in Dallas. Abbott told the crowd that the problem is not guns, its hearts without God. Two weeks later, a gunman killed 10 people at a Texas high school. He vowed action to ensure that violence was "never repeated."

Abbott has funneled $25 billion into the states behavioral health plan so far, according to the Texas Tribune, though the state ranked dead last in the U.S. last year for access to mental health care, according to a recent report from the nonprofit Mental Health America. A recent analysis by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune also found that the majority of the states 19 mass shootings over the past six decades were carried out by men who had legally acquired firearms.

Texas lawmakers, under his leadership, have meanwhile made it easier to carry a gun in public and harder for local governments to regulate them. They have legalized gun silencers and made Texas a Second Amendment Sanctuary State that protects residents from federal gun control regulations amid rising calls to raise the age to buy semi-automatic weapons, ban high-capacity magazines and strengthen background checks.

Texas will always be the leader in defending the Second Amendment, which is why we built a barrier around gun rights this session, Abbott said in 2021.

Heres a look back at the last seven public mass shootings in Texas, how the perpetrator obtained their weapon, and how the governor responded.

Dallas Downtown Police Shooting (July 7, 2016):

An Army reservist fatally shot five police officers and injured 11 others during a Black Lives Matter protest against recent police killings. It was reported as the deadliest assault on law enforcement in the U.S. since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

The shooter:

The 25-year-old gunman legally purchased the firearms used in the attack, including an assault-style rifle, authorities said. He did not have a criminal record in Texas and was honorably discharged from the military, though it was later revealed that he faced sexual harassment allegations while serving in the military overseas and that he may have received that honorable discharge due to an administrative error.

Dallas police chief said the shooter, who was Black, told police that he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers, as payback for the killings of Black men.

Police officers attend the funeral of slain police officer Patrick Zamarripa in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2016. Zamarripa was one of five officers killed when a gunman opened fire on a Black Lives Matter rally.

Police officers attend the funeral of slain police officer Patrick Zamarripa in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2016. Zamarripa was one of five officers killed when a gunman opened fire on a Black Lives Matter rally.

Abbotts response:

Abbott made it a hate crime to commit a crime against a law enforcement officer out of bias against the police. He also transferred $24 million to 476 law enforcement agencies for the purchase of over 43,000 rifle-resistant body armor vests.

The Dallas mayor unsuccessfully proposed banning civilians from carrying rifles and shotguns in public due to the chaos they caused during the search for the shooter. The citys police chief at the time said authorities had difficulty identifying the gunman because there were up to 30 civilians openly carrying rifles during the protest, which has been legal in Texas for decades. Texas also made it legal to carry handguns in public without a permit in 2021.

We dont know who the good guy is versus the bad guy when everyone starts shooting, said Dallas then-police chief, David Brown.

Ryland Ward was 5 years old when he was shot multiple times by a gunman at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. He shows off a gunshot wound to his left arm in 2022. He also has a similar, albeit larger, injury on his left thigh.

Ryland Ward was 5 years old when he was shot multiple times by a gunman at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. He shows off a gunshot wound to his left arm in 2022. He also has a similar, albeit larger, injury on his left thigh.

Sutherland Springs Church Shooting (Nov. 5, 2017):

A 26-year-old former airman killed 26 people and injured 20 others at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. It was the states worst mass shooting in modern history and the fifth-deadliest shooting in the nations history.

The shooter:

The gunman had a criminal history that should have prevented him from purchasing firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer. Abbott also said that Texas denied the shooter a license to carry a gun.

He was regardless able to purchase a Ruger AR-556 used in the shooting because the Air Force did not properly share the former airmans criminal records with the FBIs National Instant Criminal Background Check System. A federal judge last year found that the government was liable for damages because of that failure and the Justice Department in April reached a $144.5 million settlement with the victims.

Abbotts response:

Abbott repeatedly pushed religion and God as the solution to prevent gun violence and dismissed calls for gun reform.

The answer to gun violence is not to take guns away, the answer is to strengthen the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens, Abbott said at an NRA conference  exactly two weeks before a mass shooting at Santa Fe High School outside Houston. The problem is not guns, its hearts without God.

Last year, the governor cited the Air Forces failure to supply the gunmans criminal records as proof that background checks to purchase firearms dont work. In 2021, he signed a bill to allow Texans to carry handguns without undergoing a background check and training.

An attorney for the Sutherland Springs victims told Texas Public Radio that Abbots claim that background checks dont work was misleading and not true, given the federal judges ruling that faulted the Air Force.

The problem is not guns, its hearts without God.Greg Abbott after the 2017 Sutherland Springs shooting that killed 26 people

Santa Fe High School Shooting (May 18, 2018):

A 17-year-old killed 10 people  eight students and two teachers  and injured 13 others at Santa Fe High School, southeast of Houston.

The shooter:

The gunman used a shotgun and revolver that were legally owned by his father. The shooters attorney said the teen had no history of mental health or legal issues, though a judge later ruled him incompetent to stand trial. The teens parents were later sued for negligence by the victims families.

Abbotts response:

Abbott said prayers are not enough and that action is needed to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again.

We need to do more than just pray for the victims and their families, he said. Its time in Texas that we take action to step up and make sure this tragedy is never repeated ever again in the history of the state of Texas.

Abbott scheduled mostly private roundtable discussions with the Texas legislature and community members, including parents, students, teachers, shooting survivors and gun rights advocates.

He later signed three bills that would require school districts to have a school safety and security team and safety training for teachers and substitutes. He also expanded access to mental and behavioral health services in schools and removed a cap on the number of school marshals allowed on campuses.

Some of the survivors later expressed disappointment with Abbotts actions  particularly after the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde  saying they werent strong enough.

Its time in Texas that we take action to step up and make sure this tragedy is never repeated ever again in the history of the state of Texas.Greg Abbott after the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting that killed 10 people

El Paso Walmart Shooting (Aug. 4, 2019):

A 21-year-old killed 23 people and injured 22 others at a Walmart in El Paso. It was the nations eighth-deadliest mass shooting  a ranking it shares with the 1991 shooting at Lubys Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas.

The shooter:

The gunman purchased the AK-style rifle used in the attack legally, authorities said. He told police that he had ordered the rifle online from Romania and he picked it up at a gun store near his Dallas home.

The self-proclaimed white nationalist said he was targeting Mexicans and that he selected the U.S.-Mexico border city  roughly 650 miles west of his home  in hopes of dissuading immigrants from coming to the United States. In February he pleaded guilty to 90 federal hate crimes and firearms violations.

Abbotts response:

Abbott blamed mental illness and said he didnt think red flag laws could have stopped the gunman, though his office also said that the shooters mother had expressed concerns to law enforcement about her son prior to the attack.

A man cries beside a cross at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in 2019. Abbott blamed mental illness and said he didnt think red flag laws could have stopped the gunman.

A man cries beside a cross at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in 2019. Abbott blamed mental illness and said he didnt think red flag laws could have stopped the gunman.

Midland-Odessa shooting (Aug. 31, 2019):

A 36-year-old killed seven people and injured 25 others at random during a shooting spree that spanned 10 miles and lasted for more than an hour.

The shooter:

The gunman failed a federal criminal background check, reportedly due to a mental health issue, while attempting to buy a firearm in 2014. He ultimately got around this snag by purchasing the AR-style rifle he used in the shooting through a private seller in 2016. Private sales are not subject to a federal background check, and Texas does not have its own state requirement for comprehensive background checks when purchasing a firearm.

Abbotts response:

Abbott jointly responded to the shootings in El Paso and Midland-Odessa, which occurred within three weeks of one another, with eight executive orders designed to strengthen the public and law enforcements ability to flag potential threats.

Crosses honor the 21 people fatally shot at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, last year. Abbott said the shooting

Crosses honor the 21 people fatally shot at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, last year. Abbott said the shooting "could have been worse." It was the states deadliest school shooting.

Uvalde Elementary School Shooting(May 24, 2022):

An 18-year-old fatally shot 19 students and 2 teachers inside two fourth-grade classrooms at Robb Elementary School, roughly 80 miles west of San Antonio. It was the states deadliest school shooting.

The shooter:

The gunman used two assault-style rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition that he purchased legally at a local gun store just days after his 18th birthday and days before the attack, authorities said.

Abbotts response:

It could have been worse, Abbott told Texans a day after the killings.

The reality is, as horrible as what happened, it could have been worse. The reason it was not worse is because law enforcement officials did what they do: They showed amazing courage by running toward gunfire for the singular purpose of trying to save lives, he said.

Abbott later backtracked when a damning report came out finding that it took law enforcement officers more than an hour to enter the school and engage the shooter.

The reality is, as horrible as what happened, it could have been worse.Greg Abbott after the 2022 Uvalde elementary school shooting that killed 21 people

Abbott continued after to insist that stronger regulations on firearms are ineffective and wont stop crime. He dismissed calls by the Uvalde victims families to raise the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic rifles, saying doing so would be unconstitutional.

His solution instead was to move $105.5 million to support school safety and mental health initiatives. The bulk of it  $50 million  went toward buying bullet-resistant shields.

Allen outlet mall shooting (May 6, 2023):

A 33-year-old killed eight people and wounded seven others, three critically, at an outlet mall in Allen, just northeast of Dallas.

The shooter:

The Texas Department of Public Safety said the man had no criminal record and had legally purchased the AR-15-style rifle that was used in the attack  as well as seven other guns found on him.

A suspected motive has not been released, though the shooter, who died at the scene, has been described as having had a neo-Nazi ideation. He had a patch on him that is popular among right-wing extremists and white supremacy groups, a federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

Two teenagers hold protest signs outside a prayer vigil after a mass shooting in Allen, Texas, on May 6. The sign on the left appears to reference a man having said that he found a girl without a face while attempting to aid the shooting victims.

Two teenagers hold protest signs outside a prayer vigil after a mass shooting in Allen, Texas, on May 6. The sign on the left appears to reference a man having said that he found a girl without a face while attempting to aid the shooting victims.

Abbotts response:

Abbott immediately blamed mental health problems and dismissed calls for gun reform. He said he has offered local officials the states full support and assistance in the shootings wake.

A Texas House committee advanced a bill two days after the shooting that would raise the minimum age to buy some semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. The bill was endorsed by relatives of the victims of the Uvalde school shooting in 2022. The bill is expected to face tough opposition from the states Republican-controlled legislature.

Abbotts office did not respond to a request for comment on whether he plans any additional legislative action in response to the Allen shooting or whether he will support the proposed bill to raise the age minimum for semi-automatic rifles.

Related...
A problem in the political culture: Serbians call for more than disarmament to end violence after mass shootings

Two weeks after mass shootings shook their country, Serbians have surrendered more than 15,000 weapons, more than 2,500 explosive devices, and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition, as part of a month-long amnesty announced by the government.

Eighteen people were killed and 21 injured in May in two shootings in as many days. At the Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school in Belgrade, a 13-year-old boy opened fire on his classmates  allegedly using two of his fathers pistols  killing seven girls, a boy and a security guard. A 10-year-old girl injured in the attack died Monday, bringing the toll to 10.

The next day, a 21-year-old gunman wielding an automatic weapon killed eight people and injured 14 in the village of Dubona, south of the capital. Despite having one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world, mass shootings like this are extremely rare in Serbia. Many could scarcely comprehend the consecutive tragedies. Its never happened like this, said Zvonimir Ivanovic, a professor at the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies in Belgrade.

In response to the attacks, President Aleksandr Vucic announced a raft of bold measures, aiming for no less than what he called the almost total disarmament of the country.

But while the announcement of an ambitious gun amnesty drew praise from abroad, at home, Vucics actions have been viewed as scant reassurance.

Since the shootings, what began as candlelit vigils for those killed have swelled into fully fledged protests against the government.

And the anger is directed not just at guns, but at the culture of violence  from iron-fisted political discourse to the exaltation of criminals  over which the government has prevailed, critics say.

Friday saw tens of thousands of people march through Belgrade in what was the biggest anti-violence protest so far, according to CNN affiliate N1.

The protests were initially organized by some opposition parties, with opposition leader Zdravko Ponos tweeting on Friday ahead of the march the streets are calling us.

What began as memorials for the dead... - Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images

...have turned into protests calling for the fall of the government. - Andrej Isakovic/AFP/Getty Images

Serbia must break with its past

When Francis ODonnell arrived in the Balkans in the year 2000, serving with the United Nations, the whole region was awash with weapons, he said.

He moved to Belgrade as the United Nations resident coordinator for Serbia, shortly after the fall of Slobodan Milosevic  the former president of Serbia and later of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in whose government Vucic once served. As Yugoslavia splintered, there was a whole influx of weaponry that was coming into the hands of various militia groups who were fighting for one cause or another, said ODonnell.

It is not clear exactly how many weapons are in Serbia. But according to the 2018 Small Arms Survey, the country ranks third in the world for gun ownership per capita  behind the United States and Yemen, and tied with Montenegro. The survey estimates there are 2.7 million guns in Serbia, with fewer than half of these registered with the government.

While ODonnell said much has improved in the country since the breakup of Yugoslavia, gun ownership has proven sticky. Some of the reasons for this are benign. Due to Serbias strong hunting tradition, many families have some little arsenal of weapons, he said. Gunshots are often fired during wedding and birthday celebrations. Most people simply inherited weapons from their parents and grandparents  remnants of the sort of violence that no longer plagues the region.

Other reasons are less benign. Serbia has the highest levels of organized crime in Europe, according to the Global Organized Crime Index. While the two gratuitous acts of violence that shocked the country this month were without precedent, ODonnell said, other types of violence are more banal. For these reasons, he does not think it will be feasible to disarm the population, despite Vucics determination.

Vucic's response won some acclaim abroad, but was widely criticized at home. - Milos Miskov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

In announcing the amnesty, Vucic appeared to respond with a swiftness that made the sluggishness of other countries that have faced similar tragedies  many far more regularly than Serbia  look negligent. When the month-long amnesty ends, those found in possession of illegal weapons will face tougher penalties, including longer prison sentences. His decisiveness of action was praised by many abroad.

But while Vucics tone was full of urgency, it was lacking in other respects, some domestic observers said. The president used offensive language, an unacceptable tone, and vocabulary that was devoid of any compassion and desire to achieve catharsis after these violent events, the Belgrade Center for Security Policy, an independent think tank, said in a statement to CNN.

Justice will be served for the little monster and the bigger monster, Vucic told reporters May 5, in reference to the boy accused in the first shooting and his father. He wrongly claimed the second shooter wore a T-shirt emblazoned with neo-Nazi symbols. Much of the initial debate centered on lowering the age of criminal liability to enable more severe punishments for the first shooter. In what the Belgrade Center for Security Policy described as the most controversial measure,, the Ministry of Interior requested that all schools make a list of children who are at risk of committing violence or who display antisocial behavior.

Meanwhile, as thousands began to gather for vigils at the elementary school, Vucic was not among them. Only one member of his government, the minister for health, attended. We havent seen an expression of immediate, visible sympathy and reaching out to the people who are most affected  normal, civilized, social behavior, said ODonnell.

Serbia against violence

Since the shootings, tens of thousands of Serbians have taken to the streets in opposition-led Serbia against violence marches, demanding the resignation of several government ministers. The education minister has already stepped down. The interior minister is under intense pressure to do the same. Vucic has even pledged to hold parliamentary elections by September.

Public anger has also been directed at television shows. The most popular reality show on the pro-government Pink TV features Zvezdan Slavnic, a convicted murderer and drug trafficker  one of many felons to have a prominent role in Serbias media. Nearly 440,000 people have signed a petition calling for two pro-government TV stations to lose their licenses for broadcasting violent reality shows.

Against this public demand for a mellowing of the political culture, Vucic has seemed unsure how to respond. The usual language does not seem to work. The President organizes a protest against a protest against violence, tweeted Ponos, the opposition leader. Man, pull yourself together!

At a press conference Thursday, Vucic warned those readying for Fridays protests: You think that by occupying buildings or roads you will get something  you get nothing and never will. Thats the thing I guarantee. Thats the thing I have repeated 10 years in a row.

Despite the presidents hard talk, the protests have already softened some of Belgrades tough exteriors. A mural of Ratko Mladic  the butcher of Bosnia convicted of orchestrating a campaign of ethnic cleansing at Srebrenica in 1995, the worst massacre to have occurred in Europe since World War II  has long stood proudly on one of the citys walls. Activists have previously faced criminal charges for defacing it. Every time the mural is damaged, it is quickly restored, often by far right nationalists.

Murals of Ratko Mladic have long been restored if they are defaced. - Filip Stevanovic/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

But city officials are yet to remove the latest defacements. - Darko Vojinovic/AP

Now, Mladic can be seen no more. - Tihana Bacic/CNN

This time, so far, has been different. A large, red heart painted over Mladics face soon after the shootings remained in place. By Friday, the mural had been erased entirely, replaced with the message: Turn on your brain. Turn off Pink TV. Murals of Russian President Vladimir Putin  a close ally of Vucics  have also been defaced.

This is the changing face of Belgrade, said ODonnell. Murals depicting war criminals as heroes are disappearing and being replaced by symbols of love and expressions of compassion.

CNNs Scott McLean and Catherine Nicholls contributed reporting.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
ALBANY, N.Y.  The state Attorney General's Office said Friday it is looking into reports that a nonprofit organization in the Hudson Valley erroneously claimed that homeless veterans placed in hotels were kicked out last week by migrants bused there from New York City.

The accusation that about 20 veterans were tossed from a Newburgh hotel in Orange County to make way for the asylum-seekers drew national headlines and broad condemnation. But the claims soon began to unravel when the hotel showed proof that it was not housing homeless veterans and that no one was displaced when the migrants arrived.

Sharon Toney-Finch, a disabled veteran who founded the Yerik Israel Toney Foundation, said she was misguided in her initial understanding that veterans under her group's care were moved from the hotel.

"For us not to confirm where they were kicked out of or removed from, that was YIT's fault," she said

The situation also ensnared the local Assemblymember Brian Maher (R-Orange County) who railed against the alleged displacement of veterans after he said he believed Toney-Finch's story that he said was backed up by hotel receipts she showed him from people who stayed at the Crossroads Hotel. But he told the Times Union in Albany on Thursday that he was tricked, saying he was "devastated and disheartened."

A spokesperson for Attorney General Tish James said the office is aware of the situation and is "looking into it" but cautioned that doesn't mean a formal investigation has been opened.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office also warned against any rush to judgment on any potential illegalities.

"As a matter of policy we do not normally comment on the existence or non-existence of investigations where no charges have been publicly filed," the office said in a statement. "However, lying, without more, does not itself constitute criminal conduct, particularly absent any allegations of financial impropriety."

The Mid Hudson News and the Times Union uncovered another twist Friday. Both reported that it appears homeless men from a nearby shelter were recruited by Toney-Finch to act as veterans that had been displaced from the Newburgh hotel.

Toney-Finch told POLITICO that the reports were "a total lie."

Elected officials on both sides of the aisle criticized attempts to claim veterans were displaced as a way to smear migrants who were sent there by Mayor Eric Adams as New York City has been inundated with asylum-seekers.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday called the mistruths "deeply troubling."

"These individuals were sent there with a legal contract between the city of New York and a hotel owner. They are allowed to contract that way," she told reporters in Buffalo when asked about the reports. "And if people want to fabricate stories to undermine the whole process, I think it's reprehensible."
Authorities charge that hours before a man and a woman were found dead outside of an Erie apartment house in late October, a resident of one of the apartments sent the female victim a photograph of a plate containing three lines of white powder.

Police later searched the apartment and found a small amount of what turned out to be fentanyl on a mantel, and they located the plate seen in the photograph in the apartment's kitchen, cleaned, a city police detective testified Thursday morning.

Assistant District Attorney Nick Maskrey argued that evidence showed that the apartment-dweller, Joshua S. Davies, enticed the two victims to travel from Mercer County to visit him in Erie, where Davies supplied the fentanyl that caused their deaths.

Erie County Assistant Public Defender Alison Scarpitti, who is representing Davies, countered that there was nothing to indicate the drugs came from Davies.

Davies, 52, charged by Erie police in late April with offenses including two felony counts of drug delivery resulting in death, was held for court on all charges in the deaths of the 47-year-old woman and the 43-year-old man Oct. 28 following his preliminary hearing before Erie 6th Ward District Judge Timothy Beveridge.

Davies remains in the Erie County Prison on $300,000 bond.

More: Erie man charged with supplying fentanyl that caused 2 fatal overdoses

Police accuse Davies of supplying the fentanyl that was found at lethal levels in the two victims after they died, and of initially lying to police about knowing the victims and inviting them to his apartment.

Both victims were found dead outside of the apartment house in the 2900 block of Poplar Street.

Erie police Detective Adam Edmonds testified under questioning by Maskrey on Thursday morning that Davies initially told police he didn't know the victims, was home alone the previous night and that morning, and was unaware that anyone was dead outside until his downstairs neighbor alerted him.

Police located the female victim's car and her purse but did not find any drugs or drug paraphernalia in them, Edmonds said.

He testified that when police later interviewed Davies, he continued to deny knowing the victims but eventually said the two had come to his apartment to hang out. Davies denied any drug usage at the apartment, but stated he believed the woman was intoxicated and kicked the pair out of the apartment, according to the detective.

Police found a plastic wrapper containing a white powder on the mantel of Davies's apartment, and when it was later tested it was found to be fentanyl, Edmonds said. Also found in the apartment was the male victim's cell phone, which was in a sweatshirt in an apartment closet, he said.

More: Fentanyl, other drugs playing an ever-increasing role in deaths in Erie County

Investigators did a search of social media and found Facebook messages between Davies and the woman, Edmonds said. One of the messages included a photo sent from Davies of a dinner plate on a coffee table that contained three lines of white powder, he said.

Edmonds testified that the woman responded to the message by stating she thought Davies stayed away from the "bad stuff."

An investigation by the Erie County Coroner's Office found the male victim died of acute fentanyl toxicity, with a level more than seven times the lethal level of fentanyl in his system. The female died of a combined drug toxicity primarily involving fentanyl, with a level more than 13 times the lethal level of fentanyl, according to Edmonds' testimony.

After Davies was arrested, he told detectives he knew the victims and indicated they were not intoxicated when they were at his apartment. He said he fell asleep and did not know when the two left the apartment, and he denied any involvement in providing drugs and denied knowledge of how the fentanyl got on his mantel, Edmonds said.

Edmonds said under cross-examination by Scarpitti that Davies never said he provided the victims with fentanyl, and that none of the Facebook messages mentioned fentanyl.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie man held for court on charges in fatal drug overdoses of pair
The day that Florida lawmakers approved a six-week abortion ban, ended with Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book in jail.

It was a dramatic turn of events that April 3 and Book, daughter of a prominent lobbyist and a survivor of child sexual abuse, recently shared was a "scary" episode in a seven-year political career.

"It was a little scary," Book said. "It's not something you plan on, and things escalate very quickly."

Indeed, emotions were escalating all day at the Florida Capitol.

After debate on the measure began, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo had to clear the gallery as some protesting the abortion ban disrupted the proceedings by shouting at lawmakers. Protests took place outside the Capitol, too, and activists occupied the plaza in front of Tallahassee City Hall.

Not along party lines: 'The right vote': Three Palm Beach County Republicans vote against six-week abortion ban

Abortion protest coverage: "We're not equal anymore": Abortion-rights advocates gather in West Palm Beach

By evening's end, Book and Democratic Party chief Nikki Fried had joined them. By midnight, the two plus nine other activists were being booked at the Leon County jail.

From singing "Lean on me" to getting booked at county jail: Lauren Book arrest escalated quickly

Book declined to answer specific questions on the arrest because of instructions not to comment on the ongoing case playing out in courts.

But in an interview, the Fort Lauderdale Democrat recalled the evening began when she held hands with fellow protestors as they sang "Lean on Me" and ended with ink on her fingers from a fingerprinting and having her mugshot taken as she was booked in the Leon County Jail.

Video footage of the arrest showed Book, who was seated next to Fried in the circle of protestors, handcuffed and being led by a Tallahassee police officer out of the plaza in front of City Hall. She was then put in a squad car, separately from each of the 10 other protestors who were also separated by the large police response.

At the scene was Book's press secretary, Claire VanSusteren.

State Sen. Lauren Book, seated right, along with Democratic Chairwoman Nikki Fried, seated left, and about a dozen activists who were protesting Florida's six-week abortion ban on the night they were arrested.

"You're seeing these women peacefully sitting down singing, "Lean on me," to mourn what was going on inside the building, and all of a sudden they are being outnumbered by a barrage of officers," said VanSusteren, who was not arrested. "It felt like a continuation of rights being taken away."

Things seemingly got weirder when one of Book's Florida Senate colleagues showed up at the jail in a show of support.

State Sen. Lori Berman, a Boynton Beach Democrat, went to the jail to support the women arrested, and she called another Senate Democrat, Jason Pizzo of Miami, an attorney, to assist with the release of all protestors.

Post-Roe abortion clinics: 'Were going to get it done': After Roe v. Wade reversal, West Palm abortion clinics scrambled

Berman recalled there was a group of about 40 protestors at the park that evening. About 11 of them then went into the barricaded area that police said had to be cleared out by 8 p.m. She said that she spoke to Book a few minutes before the arrest. Berman said she told Book that she would be ready to post bail if they were arrested.

Berman, an attorney, said she called Pizzo since she had not studied criminal law, and that all the protestors were released without needing to be bailed out. She said Pizzo was already at the jailhouse when she arrived and she stayed to make sure everybody who was arrested was released.

"It's very disturbing that you can't even protest on public property without being arrested," Berman said. "They were sitting down, the police handcuffed them and took them away."

What police report said about abortion protest arrests

The arrest report for Book said that officers warned the group that they would "assist in their endeavor to express their constitutional rights," but that the protesters would not be allowed to camp in a city park. Police reported that the group's response was, "You have to do your job, we will do ours."

The report states that an officer told the group in the afternoon that no people would be allowed on the property after 8 p.m., and repeated the warning every 15 minutes. The report also stated the protesters were warned that they would be arrested but the group would still not leave. So police officers gave a loud final warning to disperse, according to the report, and all members sitting in the circle were arrested after that final warning.

VanSusteren disputed the arrest report's assertions. She said that the police told the group they would have to move, but that an actual threat of arrest "was not made super clear." She said she did not think that Book expected to get arrested.

"We just never found out that early": Republican Mike Caruso on his no-vote on abortion

In an interview reflecting on this year's legislative session, Book said she will never forgive herself now that her 6-year-old daughter has fewer rights than she did when she was born. She said she expected the 2023 Florida Legislature's 60-day gathering would be a "bad session," but not that it would be be "as bad as it was, particularly when it comes to reproductive rights."

"Whether it's it's women's rights, LGBTQ rights, African American rights, everything and everyone is under attack under this regime. And it's scary, and it should scare everyone," Book said.

Book, a Davie Democrat, has been a leader in the pro-choice movement in Florida and repeatedly fought against the legislation in debate. She even opposed the bill's name of the "Heartbeat Protection Act," saying it "has nothing to do with heartbeats" since it was a bill focused on abortion.

"I can honestly say, I have never lived through a session quite like this, where people's rights were trampled, where the Republicans tripped over themselves to serve the needs of a governor who's simply running for a different office and a different platform, and really and truly hurting and harming Floridians in that process," Book said.

Abortion, a top talking point for Democrats

The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last summer sparked a series of abortion rights protests nationally, and this talking point became a serious issue on the ballot for voters during the midterm elections.

In virtually every state, except Florida.

Florida experienced massive Republican gains statewide despite frequent abortion rights messaging coming from Democratic candidates. As a result, Florida Democrats had a extreme superminority in the Legislature, so any bill addressing top conservative issues was expected to pass seamlessly.

'They will stop at nothing': Fate of abortion pill on the line

After Roe was overturned, Florida was known as a safe haven of the South because of its right to privacy, which protected abortions. As of July last year, Florida enacted a ban on abortions after 15 weeks. This year, the state's new abortion ban after six weeks cuts off access for thousands who travel to Florida from neighboring states to have the procedure.

Now, the closest state to the South without a six-week ban or a total abortion ban is North Carolina, which has a 12-week abortion ban taking effect July 1. The next state would be Virginia, where abortion is accessible but not legally protected.

Stephany Matat is a politics reporter for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY-Florida network. Reach her at smatat@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FL Sen. Lauren Book discusses arrest at abortion ban protest
Former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that China is probably rooting for default while talks in Washington over a debt ceiling compromise have been cut short.

All of these world leaders and their teams are watching whats happening in the United States. Is democracy going to last? Are they going to default? All of that makes the United States look weak on the world stage, Psaki said on MSNBC.

If youre China, youre probably  youre rooting for default, she added.

President Biden has also warned it could be a concern internationally if the U.S. were to default on its debt, arguing recently that world leaders have been wondering about the looming risk.

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said earlier this month Beijing and Moscow would use a potential default for propaganda purposes through information operations as evidence the U.S. political system is chaotic.

Psaki outlined the situation with the president in Japan for the Group of Seven (G-7) summit, relying on Republican negotiators and White House officials to keep working to avoid a default until he returns to Washington on Sunday.

So for the president, this is about  hes there to project strength; the United States is back at the table, she said. But these negotiations, this being tricky and unresolved at home, is not great. And thats important for people, Republicans, Democrats to really understand.

She also warned against being overly concerned by the top Republican lawmakers negotiating a debt ceiling compromise with the White House cutting the talks short. The Republicans left a meeting with White House officials Friday in the Capitol, saying the two sides were too far apart and that the White House is being unreasonable.

Sometimes, there are pauses where it looks like everything is going to explode and not come back together, and it does, she said.

The White House had expressed optimism as recently as late Thursday, saying there had been steady progress in debt limit talks, and officials said Friday the presidents team is working hard towards a reasonable bipartisan solution.

Additionally, Psaki said there will be no doubt legal challenges if the president were to invoke the 14th Amendment in response to a letter sent earlier this week from 11 senators to Biden suggesting he prepare to invoke the amendment.

The president said last week there have been discussions about whether the 14th Amendment can be invoked, but he acknowledged it would have to go to the courts.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Theres no denying the echoes to the late Princess Dianas 1997 death in a car crash in Paris. More than 25 years on, her son and his wife were pursued through the streets of New York City this week in what their team called a near catastrophic car chase.

That language makes it hard not to evoke the tragic memory of circumstances that led to the loss of one of the most beloved members of the British royal family.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in New York to attend Ms. Foundations Women of Vision Awards, where Meghan was being honored for her global advocacy to empower women and girls. As their first public appearance since Prince Harry returned from King Charles coronation in London, it had initially seemed a pretty routine affair.

The couple posed on the red carpet before heading inside, where Meghan later claimed her accolade. It was only after the event that the situation escalated, with the details differing depending on who you talked to.

The couples spokesperson described a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi trailing them for more than two hours, which sparked global rolling coverage. The spokesperson claimed that there were several close calls with other drivers, pedestrians and police officers.

Later, police confirmed the outlines of the account but offered less colorful language, describing the situation merely as challenging. Questions continued to swirl Thursday over exactly what happened and for precisely how long, in a city notorious for its traffic congestion. CNN has not independently verified every detail of the couples account, but in the light of a new day, a clearer picture is emerging.

Heres what we know: The couple was seen leaving the awards ceremony in a black car but spotted later in a yellow cab. Chris Sanchez, who was part of the royal security detail, told us they were immediately followed from the event by a dozen vehicles. He said hed never seen [or] experienced anything like this and that the public were in jeopardy at several points. He also explained that the couple had switched cars more than once during the incident.

Traffic flow through New York City on May 9, 2023. - Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Thomas Buda, who runs a private security business contracted to help the couple, corroborated Sanchezs account of reckless driving from the vehicles that tailed them and the Sussexes car swap. He said the couples convoy took a circuitous route from 23rd street to 96th street  up and down busy Manhattan arteries  before security brought the couple to the 19th police precinct on East 67th street. From there, the couple were moved to a yellow cab but it ended up circling the block and returning them to the police station.

Cab driver Sukhcharn Singh told CNN that he didnt feel under threat by the encounter with photographers but Harry and Meghan looked nervous and scared.

The couple were ultimately able to make a clean break during the midnight changeover of patrol officers, which effectively caused a traffic choke point on the block, allowing security teams to spirit Harry and Meghan away, according to Buda.

To answer the question of why this elaborate game of cat and mouse unfolded, we were told by Harrys team that the couple were staying at a private residence and did not want to compromise the security of their friends home by returning directly from the awards. Meanwhile, a law enforcement source also said the pair did not stay at a hotel but rather at a private residence on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and chose to keep the location secret so they could come and go.

Statements from the NYPD, the citys mayor and the law enforcement source also back up that the couple were followed, though those perceptions of the events are less emotionally-charged.

The NYPD put out a more benign statement, saying it had assisted the private security team wherein there were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging. New York City Mayor Eric Adams cast doubt on the two-hour time frame but added that, irrespective of length, the incident was reckless and irresponsible.

Its clear that the paparazzi want to get the right shot, they want to get the right story, but public safety must always be at the forefront, Adams said.

In a statement obtained by CNN on Thursday, photo agency Backgrid USA said they were taking the Sussexes allegations seriously and will conduct an investigation. However, they also pushed back, saying that photographers at the scene had reported feeling that the couple was not in immediate danger at any point.

The agency stressed their commitment to transparent journalism, including the need to provide fair and factual responses to claims.

We want to clarify that we have received photos and videos of last nights events from four freelance photographers, three of whom were in cars and one of whom was riding a bicycle. It is important to note that these photographers have a professional responsibility to cover newsworthy events and personalities, including public figures such as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the statement outlined.

According to the accounts given by these freelance contributors, they were covering the couples stay in New York City, including the possibility of a dinner after an award ceremony. They had no intention of causing any distress or harm, as their only tool was their cameras. A few of the photos even show Meghan Markle smiling inside a cab, the statement continued.

The Backgrid statement also counterclaimed that one of the four SUVs in the royal convoy was driving in a manner that could be perceived as reckless and rejected the allegation that the incident could have resulted in a fatal disaster.

The Sussexes were in New York for the Women of Vision Gala at Ziegfeld Ballroom on Tuesday night. - Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

From all of this, its clear something took place on Tuesday night  even if perceptions of it differ.

To be fair to the Sussexes, they never claimed a high-speed chase took place. Conversations with a member of their entourage have also made it clear that they felt that they had stuck to speed limits, that the couple never felt under threat but that the lives of others had been.

CNN has made a decision, like many other media outlets, not to publish any photographs taken once the couple left the engagement at the Ziegfeld Ballroom. However, those images appear to show Prince Harry documenting the moment on his phone, so we may yet learn more about what exactly happened from their perspective in the future.

Playing into all of this, its well known that Harry blames the tabloid press for the premature death of his mother. He has previously shared how every camera flash takes him straight back to one of the worst moments of his life. He has been very vocal in his commitment to ensure history does not repeat itself with his wife and has had no qualms about holding the media to account through legal action over what he sees as particularly invasive methods.

Much of that will likely have been running through his mind during this late-night episode. Even the most ardent critics could understand the kind of traumatic resonance that may have surfaced for Harry in this situation.

One other notable element is the silence from his family. Both Buckingham Palace, home of the King, and Kensington Palace, where the Prince of Wales is based, declined to comment on the story. We know that the Sussexes did not hear from the royal family after the story broke  as some may expect in normal family circumstances. But, given the rift between the two sides, its likely there has been a broader decision that the household simply cant respond or engage with the headlines surrounding Prince Harry and Meghan every time they have a tangle with the press.

CNNs John Miller, Kristina Sgueglia, Zenebou Sylla, Paradise Afshar, Sugam Pokharel, Jessie Gretener and Sammy Mncwabe contributed to reporting.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
It is the second time running that the five-yearly meeting has failed to agree on a final document

The world's chemical weapons watchdog on Friday failed to agree a roadmap for the next five years because of deep divisions between Western powers, and Russia and Syria.

Member states of the Organisation for the Prohibition for Chemical Weapons (OPCW) meet every five years to assess progress on a 1997 agreement to rid the globe of toxic arms.

But the 193 countries could not nail down a deal after this week's meeting in The Hague, during which Moscow and its allies traded barbs with Western states.

"You have done your best to reach a consensus but this was not possible," said OPCW chief Fernando Arias.

"The consequence is that we will not have this much desired final outcome document."

It is the second time running that the five-yearly meeting has failed to agree on a final document setting out priorities for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning body.

With the United States set to finish destroying the world's last remaining declared chemical arsenal by September, the OPCW had hoped to reach agreement on its future role.

This would include preventing the re-emergence of chemical weapons, after an OPCW investigation concluded that Syria's military had since 2013 repeatedly used them during its civil war.

- Syrian army accused -

The watchdog also found that the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok had been used against former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, England in 2018; and against anti-Kremlin dissident Alexei Navalny in Russia in 2020.

"Once again a small number of States demonstrated disregard for multilateral negotiations and refused to compromise," said the Irish embassy said in a statement after this week's meeting.

British Ambassador Joanna Roper expressed her regret at the outcome.

The meeting began on Monday with a warning from UN disarmament official Izumi Nakamitsu that the recent use of toxic weapons in Syria, Russia and Britain "threatens to unravel hard-won gains" since the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention.

Only four countries -- Israel, Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan -- have failed to ratify the convention.

During the meeting, Russia on Monday accused the West of "politicising" the organisation, in particular by adopting new powers allowing it to name the Syrian military as the culprits for a number of chemical attacks.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was welcomed back to a summit of Arab leaders on Friday despite the allegations of chemical weapons use against his forces.

dk/jhe/jj
For the first time, the extensive history of the enslavement of Africans, post-Jim Crow discrimination and other racially charged subjects has been entered into the congressional record -- and repairing the lasting damage these institutions caused will have a hefty price tag, according to one Democratic lawmaker.

In 23-page legislation introduced Thursday, Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., called on Congress to adopt several measures aimed at righting historic wrongs, including urging the federal government to issue federal reparations to Black Americans and other reparatory justice efforts. A minimum of $14 trillion would be needed "to eliminate the racial wealth gap that currently exists between Black and White Americans," the resolution argues.

"The United States has a moral and legal obligation to provide reparations for the enslavement of Africans and its lasting harm on the lives of millions of Black people in the United States," H.R. 414 declares.

PHOTO: Representative Cori Bush speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., April 27, 2023. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters, FILE)

Joining her at the press conference on Wednesday was Eric Miller, one of the attorneys for 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The Greenwood District of Tulsa, known as the "Black Wall Street," was burned to ashes by white mobs on May 31, 1921. The last survivors of the massacre filed a lawsuit suing the city of Tulsa and local government entities and will find out within days whether or not their lawsuit will be able to proceed.

"There's a huge amount of history that hasn't been uncovered," Miller told ABC News.

"We want to get the opportunity to paint the picture, just as Congressman Bush is painting a picture of exactly what happened," he added, noting he wanted to "call out [the] names" of the "hundreds of pictures of people engaged in the massacre."

MORE: 100 years later, Tulsa Race Massacre survivors appeal to lawmakers: 'I hear the screams'

The resolution also calls for further momentum on the state and local levels.

The Missouri congresswoman told ABC News that she is one of an estimated 40 million people in the U.S. who are descendants of enslaved Africans -- and argued in her resolution that the federal government "must compensate descendants of enslaved Black people and people of African descent in the United States to account for the harms of chattel slavery, the cumulative damages of enslavement, and the epochs of legal and de facto segregation."

PHOTO: Black smoke billows from fires during the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, in the Greenwood District, Tulsa, Okla., June 1921. (Historical/Corbis via Getty Images, FILE)

The resolution explores the history of enslaved Africans dating back to 1565 and notes that many of the early presidents of the U.S. enslaved Black people. Standing outside of the Capitol, Bush told ABC News her resolution doesn't shy away from the history of the nation's capital, stating that the White House and the Capitol were both built from the labor of enslaved Black people.

The U.S. benefited from over 222 million hours of forced slave labor, or the equivalent of roughly $97 trillion worth of work, between 1619 and 1865 during the end of slavery, the resolution estimates. But unlike the white enslavers, Bush notes, "those who were stripped of their dignity and made to work without compensation, they weren't repaid."

MORE: What to know about California's approval of recommendations for historic reparations

While Bush's bill focuses on reparations, it also takes aim at modern political topics, dinging states for their restrictions on "teaching of the ways in which racism has shaped the law and way of life in the U.S." and arguing that present-day disparities stem from historical inequities.

"The reason why the United States is where it is economically is because of enslavement," Bush told ABC News.

MORE: Nation's wealthiest Black man says corporate America should consider slavery reparations

Her effort follows a similar bill from Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., reintroduced on Thursday, which called for the creation of the "United States Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation." That bill, Lee said, would create a "Commission [that] will examine the effects of slavery, institutional racism, and discrimination against people of color, and how our history impacts laws and policies today."

Bush and Lee's bills aim to be companions to H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act. That bill was named for a promise made shortly after the end of the Civil War wherein Union leaders promised formerly enslaved families "40 acres and a mule" -- a promise that was never fulfilled. H.R. 40, has been introduced in every legislative session since 1989.

The centuries-old promise languished in Congress for decades until H.R. 40 passed out of the House Judiciary Committee in 2021. It has since failed to come to a vote in either the House or Senate.

The resolution remains unlikely to be brought up for a vote in the Republican-led House, and members of the GOP slammed the proposal as "shameful."

"While American families of all backgrounds struggle with rising prices, border chaos, rampant crime, a flood of fentanyl, and record debt -- this is what House Democrats are focusing on," Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., tweeted Friday of Bush's resolution. "It's shameful."

While the proposal likely won't get a vote this Congress, Bush told ABC News she hopes her bill will help build momentum for other reparations efforts, particularly those on the state and local levels.

Rep. Cori Bush says $14 trillion reparations bill will 'eliminate the racial wealth gap' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Reporter Slammed For 'Both Sides' Tweet On Man Who Carries AR-15 At School Bus Stop

A Maryland reporter got scolded Thursday on social media for soft-pedaling his story about a local man who routinely carries an AR-15-style rifle near a school bus stop in Severn.

Tonight on @wbaltv11: A man with an AR-15 has been showing up for weeks to a school bus drop off for local elementary school students, tweeted Tolly Taylor, a journalist for NBC affiliate WBAL-TV.

Parents say their kids are afraid, the man says hes protesting @GovWesMoores new gun control law, Taylor added, using the Twitter handle for Democratic Gov. Wes Moore. Youll hear from both sides at 5+6pm.

Tolly Taylor's tweet.

Tolly Taylor's tweet.

It was his both sides framing that rankled critics. The comment brought to mind former President Donald Trumps remark about very fine people on both sides of a 2017 white supremacist rally in Virginia that was also attended by counterprotesters, one of whom was killed by a neo-Nazi.

It also wasnt the best choice of words given the chilling sight of an aggrieved, gun-toting man parading around a bus stop amid a rash of school shootings nationwide.

Nopethere are not two sides of bringing an assault weapon to an elementary school bus stop, tweeted MSNBCs Jen Psaki, the former White House press secretary for President Joe Biden.

Both sides? Seriously? her MSNBC colleague Mehdi Hasan wrote. I feel like I am losing my mind. STOP WITH THE BOTHSIDES-ISM!

The man with the rifle, Jden McAdory, told WBAL-TV that he was asserting his legal right. Police in Anne Arundel County, where Severn is located, said hes not violating the law.

One understandably freaked-out parent told Taylor that it could be too late if something is not done soon. And the school even changed its dismissal time Monday because of the issue.

Taylor reported that McAdory eventually agreed not to protest during school drop-off or pickup.

#NEW: A man with an AR-15 has shown up to an elementary school bus stop for weeks, and one parent tells the I-Team hes afraid for his kids and worried about where itll lead.

"I think that lives could be lost (or) people could be harmed, he said.

Story: https://t.co/CaSlEK5zJxpic.twitter.com/oOxd80V1KO  Tolly Taylor (@TollyTaylor) May 19, 2023

HuffPost reached out to Taylor for comment. Twitter users, meanwhile, continued to chime in on his choice of words:

Both sides?



Side one: The kids are scared by a man with a gun.



Side two: A man with a gun is scaring the kids.



There you have it. Now we'll go to Scotty Sh*tstorm with the weather.   Craig Rozniecki (@CraigRozniecki) May 19, 2023

Only one side to this chief  Robert Littal BSO (@BSO) May 19, 2023

What is the other side of traumatizing children just because you can.  Kimberly Chandler (@cozzmo73) May 19, 2023

A man is terrorizing parents & elementary school students at a bus stop with a fucking AR-15 and this fucking news station is going to have its audience hear from both sides. https://t.co/55vjBL8Vuk  Scott Hechinger  (@ScottHech) May 19, 2023

Related...
The News

In Jacksonville, the GOPs candidate for mayor warned that Democrat Donna Deegan would start defunding the police and placing radical activists in charge of law enforcement. In Colorado Springs, Republican Wayne Williams claimed that his opponent would ruin the city with socialism. And in Kentucky, Kelly Craft ran for governor on promises to execute drug dealers and dismantle the state Department of Education.

Deegan won, Williams lost, and Craft slumped into third place in Tuesdays GOP primary. In each race, tactics that paid off for Republicans in 2021 didnt have the same impact. Donald Trump immediately branded them as defeats for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, declaring his magic is gone, after endorsing both Craft and defeated Jacksonville mayoral candidate Daniel Davis.

For once, Democrats agreed with Trump. In Jacksonville, where Davis out-spent Deegan better than 3-1, their candidate  a popular former TV anchor and the head of a breast cancer foundation  promised to put more [police] officers on the streets and reminded voters that crime had surged under Republican Mayor Lenny Curry. Davis, they said, ran too far to the right in a city Trump lost twice, and helped other Democrats win down-ballot.

We just finished one of the most controversial legislative sessions in Tallahassee, said Nikki Fried, the new chair of the success-starved Florida Democratic Party. That was fresh in people's minds. It all backfired on them, and gave permission for Republicans and independents to cross over, to support Democrats.

The GOP loss in Colorado Springs was more complicated: Mayor-elect Yemi Mobolade ran as an independent entrepreneur, not a Democrat. But like Deegan, he picked up some Republican endorsements and prevailed against a campaign that tried to drive up conservative turnout with warnings about crime and racial equity.

Add it all up and the picture looked concerning for Republicans looking to move on from Trump, but build off his culture war appeal. The default message Republicans had settled on in his absence  much of it embodied by DeSantis and his war on woke, and some of it delivered by consultants integral to his own expected run  again failed to win converts this week. That could spell trouble for a general election, but also for DeSantis electability argument in a primary against Trump.

David's view

Trumps never ending search for an angle to use against his opponents helped make Tuesday about DeSantis in the press. Thats a little too easy.

Floridas governor endorsed Craft with full knowledge of the public polling, as a favor to two friends who happen to be deep-pocketed donors, according to a person familiar with the decision. And Davis lost in Jacksonville with the strategic advice of Susie Wiles, a senior Trump advisor ever since DeSantis exiled her. A victory would have been spun as a Trump-aligned rescue mission; defeat, predictably, was blamed on the governor whos about to run against him.

Republicans in Kentucky also credited Crafts defeat to a few different factors that may be less applicable to DeSantis. Attorney Gen. Daniel Cameron was popular in his own right, earning what GOP strategist Scott Jennings called a deep and abiding affection from conservatives for refusing to charge police officers in the killing of an unarmed Black woman, Breonna Taylor, in a no-knock raid on her apartment, then facing protests outside his private home.

Cameron had Trumps endorsement, a particular problem for Craft, whod worked in the administration. But he was also closely associated with Mitch McConnell, the dominant power broker in the state and the type of institutional Republican who DeSantis is counting on to help back a run against Trump. There were also candidate issues: Craft dodged public forums to the extent that even a promising Fox News interview foundered on questions about why she wouldnt face Cameron in person.

Her paid messaging, much of it developed by Axiom Strategies, the firm behind the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down PAC, couldnt fix that. A super PAC ad hit Cameron for once supporting cashless bail, while her own campaign warned that the attorney general wouldnt take on the woke left like she would.

Kelly Crafts consultants let her down, said T. J. Litafik, an unaffiliated Kentucky GOP strategist. It ended up looking contrived, and her messaging was uneven. For all that money, she deserved a better campaign.

Still, the less complicated, less personalized lesson from Tuesday was that some popular post-Trump GOP messaging may not be as effective as it was in 2021, or even last year.

The Florida GOP, with more resources and a better turnout operation, made the Jacksonville race close, but Davis lost because Democrats persuaded more non-affiliated and Republican voters to cross over. The relentless GOP effort to label her support for Black Lives Matter as a defund-the-police code felt labored and stale, especially in a GOP-run city where violent crime was out-pacing New York on a per capita basis. Democrats around the country are growing more confident, post-midterms, that they can rebut these appeals with ads showcasing support from sheriffs and police chiefs and clear candidate promises to boost police resources.

I believe it is both possible and necessary to support our law enforcement while demanding racial justice, Deegan told Semafor. Everyone was horrified by the murder of George Floyd, and I marched in BLM protests alongside other community leaders, like Mayor Lenny Curry, and our Sheriff to show solidarity for the innocent lives that are lost every day due to racial violence.

Kentucky was another story  an all-GOP electorate and a front-runner whose conservative credentials were never effectively challenged. Craft wasnt the first wealthy candidate to pay consultants for a populist can-she-really-say-that campaign and then lose to a conservative who voters trusted more. But voters arent as reactive to this message this time.

Room for Disagreement

Republicans did pick up the mayoralty of Panama City on Tuesday, and argued that Democrats had ideal conditions for a win in Jacksonville that may not be present elsewhere. Speaking with Politico, FLGOP chairman Christian Ziegler bemoaned the partys huge bloody primary in the mayoral race where millions of dollars were spent to rip apart the eventual Republican nominee.

Notable
A local restaurant chain had two of its Boston locations temporarily shut down by the city after inspections revealed a slew of health violations, including unsanitary working conditions that appear to be linked to a Salmonella outbreak in the area, officials said Friday.

Los Amigos Taqueria at 366 Washington Street in Brighton had its license to operate suspended following an inspection on Thursday, according to the city.

An ISD report published on the Mayors Food Court page states, There are multiple reports of a foodborne illness from items consumed at this location.

All food items have been embargoed. Owner has been instructed not to handle any food items at this time without approval from the Health Division, inspectors wrote in the report.

In a statement, a Boston Public Health Commission spokesperson said, The Boston Public Health Commission, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and Boston Inspectional Services Department are investigating an emerging Salmonella outbreak linked to Los Amigos Taqueria restaurant in Brighton, affecting residents in the Brighton, Boston, and Greater Boston area.

An inspection of interior walls and ceilings in one of the restaurants walk-in units also revealed visible soils and a mold-like substance, the report stated. Multiple wire rack shelving units also had visible rust.

The eatery was docked for having no sanitizer at work and prep stations and inspectors also ordered Los Amigos to clean the interiors of the chest freezers to remove excess ice buildup.

The certified food managers certificate in the restaurant was also said to be expired.

We encourage residents who visited the Brighton location between May 12 and May 18 to monitor themselves for symptoms of Salmonella infection, including fever, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, and to contact a healthcare provider for an evaluation and testing if appropriate, the BPHC added.

Los Amigos second Boston location, 1741 Centre Street in West Roxbury, also had its license to operate suspended following an inspection on Friday.

This location had no verifiable evidence of illness policy training, no one was monitoring food temperatures for cooking, spatulas were being stored in stagnant water, onions and salsa verde were stored on the floor, and there were no thermometers in cold holding units in front and at grill drawers, according to inspectors.

The city said that multiple rodent droppings were also found on pineapple cans, bags of pinto beans, single-use beverage holders, and storage tables.

Los Amigos also has locations in Brookline, Newton, and Somerville.

The Newton location currently remains open and is not impacted by the foodborne illness reports, Boston 25 learned.

Boston 25 has reached out to the restaurant chain for comment, as well as health officials in Brookline and Somerville.

Below is a list of key facts about Salmonella:

What is Salmonella?

Salmonella are germs (bacteria) that cause an infectious disease (called salmonellosis) of the bowel in humans and animals. Although the disease is usually limited to the bowel, and most infected people do not have any serious medical complications, the salmonella germ can spread to other systems of the body, such as the blood and bone. This may cause serious complications in infants and in people who are very old or are immunocompromised.

What are the symptoms of salmonellosis?

The most common symptoms are stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever, nausea, and sometimes vomiting. Symptoms most often begin 12 to 72 hours after the germs are swallowed. Symptoms generally last for several days. Some people with salmonellosis become sick enough to require hospitalization.

How is Salmonella spread?

The germs must be swallowed to cause disease. Usually, this happens when someone eats food that has been contaminated with germs and has not been properly handled, prepared, or cooked. The germs can also spread when people do not wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water after using the toilet, changing diapers, or handling reptiles. People who get the germs on their hands can infect themselves by eating, smoking, or touching their mouths. They can also spread the germs to anyone or anything they touch, especially food, which can then make others sick if not cooked enough to kill the germs. Salmonella is commonly spread from person to person in daycare centers and other environments where hygiene may be poor.

What types of food are most likely to spread Salmonella?

Salmonella germs are common in uncooked food products from animals, such as eggs, egg products, meat, meat products, poultry, unpasteurized milk, and other unpasteurized dairy products. However, thorough cooking and processing will kill the germ. Salmonella can be in any type of food if salmonella germs get on the food. A food handler with salmonella may get germs on the food if his or her hands are not washed thoroughly before preparing food.

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
Tech Layoffs Mean Even More Empty Offices In San Francisco

The Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco, California, US, on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Credit - Jason Henry / Bloomberg via Getty Images

You might have thought that by the end of May, with the pandemic officially over, people would be getting back to the office. But a new report suggests that the share of workers in-office full time is actually shrinking as hybrid work is growing.

The share of people in the office full time dropped to 42% in the second quarter of 2023, down from 49% in the first quarter, according to The Flex Report, which collects insights from more than 4,000 companies employing more than 100 million people globally. Meanwhile, the share of offices with hybrid work arrangements hit 30% in the quarter, up from 20% the previous quarter.



It certainly looks like hybrid is gaining share, says Robert Sadow, the CEO and co-founder of Scoop Technologies, which puts out the Flex report. Theres an adoption cycle like any other technologyyou have early adopters and laggards.

Work is moving toward what Sadow calls structured hybrid, in which there are a set number of days that people are required to come into the office. The average minimum days required is 2.53, with both two days and three days being popular, he says. Tuesday is the most popular day required, followed by Wednesday and Thursday. Few offices require a Friday presence, and only 24% require a Monday presence.

Of course, not all companies are going to accept that they cant get employees to return to offices for which they have to keep paying rent. Both Twitter and Tesla require full-time office attendance, and Apple is reportedly tracking employee attendance and threatening action against staff who dont come in. Workers at Disney are required to go into the office four days a week, though thousands signed a petition protesting the policy.

Opponents argue that return to office policies disadvantage people of color and women who are discriminated against in person, and make life more challenging for working parents who dont want to waste hours commuting and cant afford space near the office in todays housing market.

The Flex Report suggests that workplace flexibility differs dramatically depending on the companys industry, size, and location. Nearly two in three companies that have fewer than 500 employees are fully flexible, meaning employees can be remote if they want. By contrast, only 13% of companies with more than 50,000 employees are fully flexible, though 66% do allow for structured hybrid work.

States in the west and northeast parts of the U.S. have the highest share of companies that are fully flexible, with Oregon, Washington, and Colorado topping the list; Arkansas, Alabama and Louisiana had the highest share of companies that are full time in the office.

There are other signs, in addition to the Flex Report, that five-days-a-week return to office plans are not succeeding. The share of days worked from home, at around 30%, appears to have stabilized at about five times what it was before the pandemic, according to research by Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford professor who studies remote work. That could be a good thing for both employees and employers: One Bloom study found that people who worked from home were more productive and one-third less likely to quit than those who didnt.

Office occupancy in the top 10 most populous U.S. cities was just 49.9% of pre-pandemic levels the first week of May, according to data from Kastle Systems, which tracks keycard swipes across 2,600 buildings. One result of that trend is that consumer spending has plummeted in center cities in places like New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.meanwhile, home values in exurbs and suburbs have continued to surge.

The commercial real estate market hasnt completely tanked yet because many companies are signed into long-term leases. Whats more, the format of structured hybrid work means they cant dramatically shrink their spaces yet. If every employee comes in three days a week, but theyre the same three days a week, the company still needs the same amount of space as it did before the pandemic. Its just paying for empty office space on certain days of the week.

Bloom expects the share of people working from home more frequently to only trend upward as technology advances. With better video calls, augmented reality, and virtual reality, there may start to be less of a difference from working in an office and being at home, he says. Office occupancy rates may go up to 55%, he says, but he predicts theyll start trending down again by the end of 2024.
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates criticized Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama for placing a months-long hold on hundreds of senior military promotions, saying he's making the military "a pawn" in the political fight over abortion.

Tuberville's hold "further politicizes the military," Gates told "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan in an interview Friday. "It makes the military a pawn in what is otherwise civilian political debates." And, he added, it's affecting "the chain of command on ... having an orderly process of succession and command positions that really matter."

Senior military promotions are usually approved by speedy, noncontroversial unanimous consent votes in the Senate. Since February, Tuberville has placed a hold on about 200 promotions, with hundreds more to come, because the Defense Department issued a policy in December to pay for expenses incurred by service members for travel out of state to obtain an abortion.

Fmr. SecDef Robert Gates says Sen. Tommy Tubervilles hold on military promotions in protest of new DoD policies ensuring service members access to reproductive health care, further politicizes the military. Watch @margbrennans wide-ranging interview on SUNDAY at 10:30a ET. pic.twitter.com/9Y09iaIiLL  Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 19, 2023

"It will be 650 by the end of the year, but it's  it's significant command positions, you're going to have a significant turnover in the Joint Chiefs of Staff," Gates said.

Tuberville has vowed to keep holding the senior military promotions until the Defense Department drops its abortion policy.

A letter Gates and six other former defense secretaries wrote to Senate leaders earlier this month noted that the command positions lacking permanent leaders include "the 5th Fleet in Bahrain and the 7th Fleet in the Pacific, which are critical to checking Iranian and Chinese aggression, respectively."

The promotion for the post for the next military representative to NATO, a key figure in coordinating support efforts for Ukraine, has been delayed, as has the director of intelligence at U.S. Cyber Command. The former secretaries argued that leaving the positions without permanent leaders "sends the wrong message to our adversaries and could weaken our deterrence."

Football legend Jim Brown dies at 87

"CBS Evening News" headlines for Friday, May 19, 2023

Indiana town honors longtime gravedigger
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has chosen former Rep. Dennis Kucinich to manage his 2024 presidential campaign, uniting the two famously idiosyncratic political figures in a long-shot attempt to defeat President Joe Biden in the Democratic primary campaign.

Kucinich, known for his own quixotic presidential campaigns, told NBC News he has been friendly with Kennedy for over 30 years, so joining his campaign was an easy decision.

Were looking at a campaign that could change America, Kucinich said, calling Kennedy everything the American people would want in a president and more.

Kucinich's political career has faded in recent years, but during his 16 years representing Ohio in Congress and two presidential bids in 2004 and 2008, he developed a reputation as a firebrand anti-war progressive who was willing to take on his own party, at one cautioning fellow Democratic members of Congress that any president who launches a military attack without congressional approval could face impeachment after then-President Barack Obama launched airstrikes in Libya.

Former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio speaks during the Ohio Democratic Party's fifth debate in the primary race for governor, Tuesday, April 10, 2018, at Miami (Ohio) University's Middletown campus in Middletown, Ohio. (John Minchillo / Pool via AP file)

Mr. Kennedy has an ability to reach out to the breadth of America that I dont think anybody else can, Kucinich said, arguing that the scion of America's most famous political family would be a stronger general election candidate than Biden if former President Donald Trump is the GOP nominee.

Kennedy has won praise from far-right figures, including an endorsement from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, but Kucinich said that is merely evidence of his broad populist appeal, not of a darker strain of the candidate's support or collusion with conservatives trying to weaken Biden, as some Democrats have alleged.

His very choice of me as his campaign manager should put any of those questions at ease, Kucinich said.

Kucinich, 76, and Kennedy, 69, have similar worldviews, especially on foreign policy  both question U.S. support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and tend to view American hegemony as the root of many of the worlds ills.

The campaigns strategy, fundraising expectations, staffing plans and office location are all still being determined, Kucinich said. Asked about party insiders who have said Kennedy will have a hard time recruiting experienced staffers to work on his campaign, Kucinich replied, "Tell those Democratic operatives to give me a call."

Kucinich bristled when he was asked about Kennedys activism against vaccination mandates, asking why it was relevant, echoing Kennedys position that he is not anti-vaccine and suggesting the issue will not be a central part of the campaign.

"Hes been an environmental attorney for 40 years, and he raised questions about the safety of some [vaccines]. He's not anti-vaccine," Kucinich said.

Kucinich was elected mayor of Cleveland in 1977 at age 31, earning him the nickname Boy Mayor. He presided over one of the most tumultuous times in the citys history. Cleveland went into default under his watch after he refused to sell the city-owned electric company. He barely survived a recall campaign and was defeated in his 1979 re-election bid.

He worked his way back up from the bottom, winning a City Council seat in the 1980s and then moving on to the state Legislature before he secured a congressional seat. Meanwhile, his decision to hold on to the electric company aged well, drawing praise from those who came to recognize it as a city asset. But his political instincts began to yield diminished returns later in his career.

Aside from his long-shot White House bids, Kucinich lost his House seat after another Democratic fixture, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, clobbered him in a 2012 primary after redistricting. After that defeat, Kucinich started courting conservative media and others on the political right, landing a stint as a Fox News commentator. He also raised eyebrows when he praised Trumps inaugural address in 2017.

Kucinichs later comeback attempts proved futile. He lost a Democratic primary for Ohio governor in 2018. And a full-circle bid to return as Clevelands mayor fell short in 2021 when he failed to advance from a nonpartisan primary.

Headlines from that race included his initial refusal to disclose whether he had been vaccinated against Covid. He later released a letter from his doctor that cited a chronic health condition that requires prudent consideration of any potential therapeutic intervention and did not list a vaccination among a course of precautions he was taking to prevent catching the coronavirus.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Rochdale grooming gang charged with nearly 80 alleged sex offences against two teenage girls

Ten men have been accused of orchestrating a large-scale grooming operation in Rochdale - Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Ten men have been accused of orchestrating a large-scale grooming operation in Rochdale with 74 alleged sexual offences against two teenage girls.

The offences, said to have been carried out between 2003 and 2008, include rape, sexual activity with an underage girl and trafficking.

Harriet Lavin, prosecuting, described the gangs alleged offences as a high-profile, large-scale grooming operation which had led to 91 individuals being investigated.

Eight out of the ten men appeared on Friday at Manchester and Salford magistrates court.

Sheraz Hussain, 39, of Cook Street, Rochdale, has been charged with 12 offences including six counts of raping a girl aged 13 to 15, and six counts of penetrative sexually activity with a child.

Khalid Mahmood, 39, of Wardle Edge, Rochdale, has been charged with rape of a woman and rape of an underage girl.

Shakeel Ahmed, 40, of Spinners Green, Rochdale has been charged with four offences including three counts of rape of an underage girl and penetrative sexual activity with an underage girl.

Amjad Mahmood, 50, of Channing Street, Rochdale has been charged with 22 offences including seven counts of rape of an underage girl, two counts of gross indecency with an underage girl, two counts of indecent assault on an underage girl, two counts of trafficking persons within the United Kingdom for sexual exploitation, five counts of penetrative sexual activity with an underage girl, two counts of assault of an underage girl by penetration, two counts of causing/inciting an underage girl to engage in sexual activity.

Mohammed Zahed, 36, of Midhurst Street, Rochdale has been charged with six counts of penetrative sexual activity with an underage girl.

Naveed Anwar, 38, of Colley Street, Rochdale has been charged with three counts of penetrative sexual activity with an underage girl.

Gulnawaz Khan, 40, of North Street, Rochdale has been charged with five offences including inciting an underage girl to commit an act of gross indecency, two counts of rape of a girl aged 13-15, two counts of penetrative sexual activity with an underage girl.

Irfan Qurban, 43, of Innings Way, Rochdale has been charged with two counts of penetrative sexual activity with a girl.

Arshad Mohammed, 53, previously of the Milkstone and Deelish ward of Rochdale, has been charged with six offences, including meeting an underage girl following sexual grooming, two counts of rape of a girl aged 13-14, penetrative sexual activity with an underage girl, assault of an underage girl by penetration, and rape of a woman.

They spoke only to confirm their name, date of birth and address.

The court heard that Amjad Mahmood and Sheraz Hussain were unable to attend court for medical reasons.

Deputy district judge Mary Dowrick sent the case to Manchesters Minshull Street Crown Court where the men are next due to appear on June 23.

All of the defendants, aside from Arshad Mohammed, were granted conditional bail.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
Here's a roundup of recent incidents and announcements from Ventura County agencies:

Felony charge in fatal Highway 101 crash

California Highway Patrol officials say the driver of a Ford 550 work truck caused a fatal crash Monday involving four other vehicles on northbound Highway 101 north of Ventura.

A Lancaster man pleaded not guilty to a vehicular manslaughter charge Wednesday after allegedly causing a fatal crash involving four other vehicles Monday morning on northbound Highway 101 north of Ventura.

Cody Garrett Zornes, 30, pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and to three misdemeanor counts of reckless driving with bodily injury, according to Ventura County Superior Court records. He was released from custody on a $50,000 bail bond.

Mondays fiery crash, which involved five vehicles in all, killed 50-year-old Jose A. Zarate Sr. of Ventura. The incident closed northbound lanes for hours.

The California Highway Patrol said Zornes was driving a 2012 Ford F-550 commercial truck in the fast lane around 9:30 a.m., going faster than 65 mph. The accident took place roughly near where the freeway passes by the Solimar Beach area.

Zarate had been driving a 2002 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck in the fast lane ahead of Zornes. Zornes reportedly struck the Toyota pickup from behind, causing a chain reaction that impacted three other vehicles in front of the Toyota.

Zarates pickup truck was fully engulfed by flames and he was not able to get out, according to CHP officials. He died at the scene. The Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office on Thursday said the cause of death was blunt force thoracic injuries.

Zornes and two of the other drivers suffered minor injuries, while the fifth driver had no injuries, the CHP reported.

Firefighters and other responders assisted with a burned-out vehicle Monday morning on northbound Highway 101 in Ventura after a five-vehicle crash left one person dead.

Neither alcohol nor drugs were a factor in the crash, CHP investigators found.

During a bail review hearing Thursday afternoon, Judge Nancy Ayers granted a defense request allowing Zornes to travel to Indiana for work in June, court records show. He has been ordered to not drive at all.

An early disposition conference has been scheduled for the afternoon of May 26 in courtroom 12.

Pedestrian killed in Oxnard identified

Authorities on Thursday named the woman fatally struck by a vehicle while walking along Oxnard Boulevard last week.

Bonnie J. Payne, 65, was a Piru resident, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office.

Payne had been walking near the intersection of Oxnard Boulevard and Citrus Grove Lane shortly after 10:30 p.m. on May 11, the Oxnard Police Department has reported.

A 26-year-old Oxnard man driving a Ford Expedition SUV southbound on the boulevard reportedly struck Payne in the roadway north of the intersection. She was transported by ambulance to Ventura County Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.

The driver remained at the scene.

Items may be updated.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: Felony charge in fatal Highway 101 crash near Ventura, more
Reuters/Brendan McDermid

A prominent Philadelphia attorney and onetime Trump impeachment lawyer says he cant stand to represent Rudy Giuliani any longerinsinuating in a court filing that Giuliani isnt just impossible to work with, but hes a cheapskate who refuses to pay.

The allegations emerged Friday in a motion filed by Bruce Castor in Philadelphia to be removed as Giulianis counsel. Giuliani has failed to respond to discovery requests or, frustratingly, work even in the slightest with Castor, the disgruntled attorney wrote.

Castor was representing Giuliani in a civil lawsuit filed by a voting supervisor who sought damages for lies spread by Giuliani, former President Donald Trump, and two Republican poll watchers about the 2020 election. The supervisor argued the false claims subjected him to unnecessary hate, ridicule, and physical threats.

Castor said he reluctantly agreed to represent Giuliani after a previous planfor him to briefly be the local attorney until a Texas lawyer could take overfell through. Castor wrote that he stuck with the case, while not happy about it, only to maintain relationships with other lawyers and previous clients.

Harassment Suit Against Rudy Giuliani Full of Graphic Allegations

Castor detailed how Giuliani has been a pain to work with, refusing to hand over requested documents and not participating in his own defense.

He said he unequivocally threatened Giuliani with a hard deadlinefor last weekto pay at least a portion of his retainer and to cooperate with his requests. Castor said Giuliani agreed in writing, but the money and documents never came.

Castor summed up his grievances with Giuliani in the filing, first obtained by the Philadelphia Inquirer, by saying, Hes not cooperating, and hes not paying me.

However, reached by The Daily Beast on Friday, Ted Goodman, a political adviser and spokesperson for Giuliani, insisted Castor was paid for his work and called the accusations disappointing.

Potential future clients should beware of working with someone like Mr. Castor, who has zero respect for the spirit of attorney-client privilege with these attacks against his client, he said via text.

We understand he lacks the courage to stick with what he perceives as an unpopular cause among the cocktail party crowd, but its very disappointing to see him take these cheap shots at the mayor simply because he thinks the mayor is an easy target and because he wants to suck up to the anti-Trump legal community.

Bruce Castor defended then President Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial. U.S. Senate TV via REUTERS

He confirmed, perhaps not surprisingly, that Giuliani and Castor will no longer work together.

Were making a change with regards to legal counsel, he wrote in a separate text. More will become apparent in the coming weeks on this.

Castors office took a message from The Daily Beast, but did not immediately respond.

Giuliani, 78, has been dealing with a slew of legal wranglings as of late.

Among those is a lawsuit filed by the phone company for Giulianis consulting firm, which claimed in a New York court last month that the LLC stiffed them for more than $30,000.

More recently, a former employee accused Giuliani of sexual harassment and filed a 70-page complaint in New York Supreme Court this week. Days later, Giuliani was sued by a heckler he brazenly claimed assaulted him last summerdespite video showing the man did nothing more than pat Giulianis back.

Once the personal attorney for Trump, Giuliani has had his license to practice law suspended in New York since 2021 because of his election lies. He may soon lose his right to practice law in Washington, too, where hes accused by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel of using his law license to undermine the legitimacy of a presidential election.

Castor, a former Republican politician and attorney general for Pennsylvania, led Trumps defense in impeachment hearingson occasion drawing ire from the former president and his allies, especially after he gave a rambling, nonsensical speech during opening arguments.

He was previously known for declining to charge Bill Cosby in 2005 after a university employee accused Cosby of sexual misconduct.

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.
Ruslana debuts new song in front of Ukrainian refugees at Eurovision in Liverpool

Ruslana

Read also: UK honors Ukrainian artists during Eurovision 2023

After spending a decade mostly out of the spotlight, Ruslana is back  and looking as good as ever.



Fitting into the same outfit that she wore 19 years ago when she became Ukraines very first Eurovision winner with the song Wild Dances, Ruslana put on an energetic show in front of thousands of adoring fans  including several Ukrainian refugees  at the Eurovision 2023 EuroVillage fan zone in Liverpool, UK.

But it was her announcement that she would be releasing a new album  and that shed be performing a track from it for the first time  that really shook the audience.

The situation in Ukraine is still very dramatic. A lot of my friends were killed, she told the audience in the lead-up to the announcement.

Even when a dark country tries to destroy Ukraine, we never give up!, she said to raucous cheers from the fans.



Read also: Russias invasion fails to prevent progress in Ukraines energy sector - opinion

When this dark country tried to destroy our energy infrastructure, I used that time to create my music. With no electricity, with no energy source whatsoever, I created this music  because Im from Ukraine.

In exclusive comments to NV, she announced that the album will be released soon, in a couple of weeks, well be presenting it in Ukraine.

From my heart, she told the audience in Liverpool, a new song from my new album called Wild Heart.

The over three-minute song uses geographical imagery to talk about ideas like hope and belief.



You can check out the exclusive video below.

Refugees Rock Out to Ruslana



Noticeable at the center of the front row in the crowd of thousands were two young Ukrainian refugees  sisters from near Bucha, Yaroslava Selivonchyk and Vladyslava Kuzmenko.

They were among the lucky 3,000 that had won a lottery to get tickets to Eurovision  and took a long journey to the center of the action.







The sisters fled their home from between Bucha and Kyiv  one of the most dangerous areas in the early days of Russias invasion, as it sits on the same highway as the kilometers-long column of Russian tanks took on their march toward Kyiv.

Every night we spent in a bomb shelter. Every day, every night, we heard a lot of bombs. There were a lot of planes over our village. It was super dangerous. We were so nervous. We had a lot of panic attacks, really, said the 21-year-old Selivonchyk.

The pair decided to flee just 10 days after Russias invasion began.

It was very dangerous and chaotic. You had no idea what would happen, recalled Kuzmenko.

It was a good thing they did  with Bucha becoming synonymous with the atrocities the Russian army continues to perpetrate in Ukraine.

We didnt have anything when we arrived in England  just the clothes on our backs. We wanted to start a new life without bombs, without air raid sirens. It was very hard to leave our country, our friends, and our families. We are happy that everyone in our family is still alive.

The sisters settled into a new life far from home. Both continued their studies in Ukraine, Selivonchyk in law and Kuzmenko in medicine, while they volunteered to help various organizations and initiatives back home.

Read also: Borrell proposes EU to provide additional 3.5 billion in military aid to Ukraine

We wanted to help Ukraine win, so we worked with different projects and organizations just to support Ukrainians and our military forces, because we understand how important it is to win. Its really about our independence, its about our freedom, its about our way of life, said Selivonchyk.

We want to give a big thanks to our military, our air defense forces  they are doing everything to save our country. Its only because of them that we are able to go back very soon, said Kuzmenko.

You could never imagine that in your country  after being independent for 25 years or more (32 years in August  ed.)  there could be war, recalled Kuzmenko.

The sisters were excited to win tickets to Eurovision  and for the chance to see Ruslana live, working their way to the front of the audience to see the Ukrainian pop icon up close.

We were infants when Ruslana won, so we dont remember that show, Selivonchyk said.



We grew up with her music; it makes you want to get up and dance, said Kuzmenko.

And dance they did  at the head of thousands of British fans watching the woman that launched Ukraines grand Eurovision adventure all the way back in 2004.



The show was so fun, the sisters agreed. She has so much energy!

Read also: UK PM Sunak disappointed Zelenskyy was not allowed Eurovision address

From darkness, a comeback is born

Ruslana recognizes the difficulties facing Ukrainian refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).



Russia has turned Ukraine into a dark country, a kind of black hole that consumes life, energy, light  anything beautiful, she told NV English in an exclusive interview.

They tried to take our energy and they failed. They will never be able to achieve that.

Read also: Joint statement by the Ministers of Culture of Ukraine and UK on Eurovision

Rather than dishearten Ukrainians, or turn them against their own government, Russias missile strikes have brought Ukrainians closer together.

And led to a wealth of inspiration.

Its important to show them (Russians) that we can still make new songs, that we can still create  despite the ongoing war, Ruslana told NV English.

Thats what Ive attempted to do  to empower my country, the best way I know how.

Besides composing the music, Ruslana looks as fit as ever, proudly rocking the same outfit that she wore for her winning Eurovision performance in 2004. Her high-energy dance routines demand a good level of cardio, which Ruslana made sure to showcase.

Feel me!, she instructed the presenter after her set, taking the presenters hand and having her poke her flexed abs and drawing cheers from the crowd.

Seeing the thousands in the crowd proudly waving UK and Ukrainian flags, Ukraines Eurovision 2004 winner was reminded of the theme of Eurovision 2023, which the UK is hosting on Ukraines behalf.

My sisters and brothers  this is only for you, from my heart, she said while announcing that shed be performing her new song.

Especially this song, for this amazing moment  to unite all of us: United by Music.

Read also: Ukraines Tvorchi gains one of the best results among Eurovision 2023 acts

Ukrainians can expect the release of Ruslanas first album since 2003 in the coming weeks.

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 depleted a major stockpile of missile weapons but has managed to establish production, as evidenced by the wreckage of the shot-down missiles, said Vadym Skibitskyi, Deputy Chief of the Ukrainian Defence Intelligence.

Source: Skibitskyi in a comment to Ukrainian news agency RBC-Ukraine

Quote from Skibitskyi: "They [Russians] bring Kalibrs to occupied Crimea at least twice a month. Russia is currently able to produce monthly about 25 Kalibrs [cruise missiles], 35 pieces of Kh-101s [cruise missiles], two pieces of Kinzhals [hypersonic ballistic missiles], and five pieces of 9M723 ballistic missiles for the Iskander-M [short-range ballistic missile system]. Therefore, they manage to import components for producing missile weapons despite international sanctions."

Details: Skibitskyi stated that the wreckage of the Russian missiles shot down in Ukraine indicates that these weapons have just come off the assembly line, as these munitions were manufactured in the first quarter of 2023.

Ukrainian intelligence believes that Russia will terrorise Ukraine with missiles as long as it has the resources, so Ukraine needs to continue to ramp up its air defences.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






Russia agrees to resume inspections of vessels heading to Odesa and Chornomorsk  Ministry of Infrastructure

The ship is transporting Ukrainian food within the grain agreement

The resumption of inspections by Russia comes after the announcement of the extension of the Black Sea Grain Corridor agreement.

On May 17, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that the agreement had been extended for another two months.

According to Erdogan, the Russian side has pledged not to hinder the departure of Turkish vessels from the ports of Mykolaiv and Olvia.

On April 24, the Russian Ministry of Defense accused Ukraine of violating its obligations under the grain agreement due to a drone attack allegedly launched from the waters of the Odessa port in the occupied city of Sevastopol. The Russian side, which has repeatedly attempted to sabotage the agreement, announced a threat of further extension of the agreement after May 18.

Read also: Russia supports extending Ukraine grain deal for 60 days

Responding to these allegations, spokesperson for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Andriy Yusov emphasized that the events in occupied Crimea were exclusively related to military facilities.

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, has appealed to the United Nations, calling for efforts to restore the operation of the grain agreement.

The grain agreement was signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022, with the participation of the UN, Ukraine, Turkey, and Russia. It aimed to establish a corridor for grain exports from three Ukrainian ports (Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Pivdenny) and remove barriers on the export of Russian food and fertilizers.

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 banned hundreds of U.S. citizens, including former President Obama, political commentator Rachel Maddow and late-night host Stephen Colbert, from entering its territory in response to the U.S. sanctions over the Ukraine war.

The Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a Friday post on its website it is blocking entry for 500 Americans in response to the sanctions it said are designed to inflict the most damage possible on officials and civilians in Russia.

The list of banned individuals includes former officials, lawmakers from both parties who were elected to Congress during last years midterm elections and may have been missed in previous rounds, experts and analysts for centers the ministry said spread Russophobic attitudes, and companies that have supplied weapons to Ukraine to defend itself against Russias invasion.

The ministry said the list also includes individuals who have been involved in the persecution of dissidents who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, storming and riot at the Capitol.

It is high time for Washington to learn that not a single hostile attack against Russia will be left without a strong reaction, the post states. The principle of the inevitability of punishment will be consistently applied, whether we are talking about tougher sanctions pressure or discriminatory steps to hinder the professional activities of our fellow citizens.

The U.S. and other Western allies of Ukraine have placed sanctions on Russia numerous times since Russian forces began their full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.

Names on the list also include Reps. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) and Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), CNN anchor Erin Burnett, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves.

Late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers and former NBC and MSNBC anchor Brian Williams are also banned.

The ministry also said it rejected the latest U.S. request for officials to have a consular visit with Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in response to the U.S. not issuing visas to Russian journalists who wished to join Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov on his visit to the United Nations in New York.

Gershkovich was detained in March on espionage charges in Russia, the first U.S. journalist to be arrested on spying allegations since the Cold War. The State Department and the Journal have denied he was conducting espionage, and the department has declared him wrongfully detained.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Russia launches fresh attack on Ukrainian capital, two oblasts in past day

Preliminary attack on Kyiv: probable moment of hitting the air target, May 18, 2023

The enemy once again attacked Kyiv, in the tenth attack on the city since May. Explosions were also heard in western Ukraine, in particular Lviv and Rivne oblasts.

Read also: Damage to Patriot battery in Kyiv fully repaired, Pentagon says

According to Kyiv authorities, the enemy attacked the capital city with Iranian-made Shahed suicide drones. All detected air targets moving toward Kyiv were intercepted by Ukrainian air defense forces.

Another five Shahed UAVs launched by Russia were shot down over Lviv Oblast, according to Lviv governor Maksym Kozytskyi.

At the same time, the Russians hit a critical infrastructure facility in the city of Lviv.

They attacked with Shahed UAVs, said Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi.

There were no casualties.

Meanwhile, Dnipropetrovsk governor Serhiy Lysak said the invaders had struck a private industrial enterprise in the city of Kryvyi Rih. A 64-year-old woman was injured and hospitalized in serious condition as a result of the attack. In addition, there is significant destruction of workshops and equipment, he added.

According to Ukraines Air Force, the invaders attacked the country from the north and south-east with Shahed-136/131 suicide drones and Kalibr cruise missiles launched from ships stationed in the Black Sea.

Specifically:

the launches of 22 Shahed UAVs and six Kalibr missiles were recorded;

three cruise missiles and 16 UAVs were destroyed.

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 President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) welcoming ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in Kyiv

Russian authorities have put International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan on a "wanted" list after the Hague-based court issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin in March.

Khan's picture could be seen in the Russian interior ministry's database on Friday.

The notice described him as a man born on March 30, 1970 in Edinburgh, Scotland but did not specify his offence.

In March, Russia opened a criminal probe into Khan after the ICC announced an arrest warrant for Putin on the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.

The court also issued an arrest warrant against Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's presidential commissioner for children's rights.

Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in March that Khan was being probed for the "criminal prosecution of a person known to be innocent."

He was also being invstigated for allegedly preparing "an attack on a representative of a foreign state enjoying international protection," investigators said.

Kyiv says more than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the beginning of Moscow's offensive in February 2022, with many allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes.

Russia, which is not a member of the ICC, has said the warrant is "void".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed the court's move as a "historic decision from which historic responsibility will begin."

US President Joe Biden said the arrest warrant for Putin was "justified".

bur/ach
(Reuters) -Russia's foreign ministry on Friday said former President Barack Obama was among 500 U.S. citizens who would be banned in response to the latest round of sanctions announced by Washington.

The ministry also said Russia had refused the latest U.S. request for consular access to detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in March on suspicion of spying.

This move was triggered by the U.S. refusal last month to give visas to media traveling with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the United Nations, it said in a statement.

"Washington should have learned a long time ago that not a single hostile attack on Russia will go unpunished," it added.

Earlier on Friday the United States announced punitive measures against more than 300 targets, aiming to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and intensifying one of the harshest sanctions efforts ever implemented.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
KYIV (Reuters) -Russia has shifted the focus of its missile strikes on Ukraine to try to disrupt preparations for a Ukrainian counterattack, a senior Ukrainian military intelligence official said.

After months of attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Russian forces are now increasingly targeting military facilities and supplies, said Vadym Skibitskyi, Deputy Head of the Defence Ministrys Main Intelligence Directorate.

"Previously, they failed to knock out our energy system, and now they have completely different priorities - to disrupt our plans and preparations for active (military) action during the spring-summer campaign," he told the RBK-Ukraine news portal.

He said the Russians were striking decision-making centres, supply routes and places where large quantities of ammunition, equipment, fuel or troops were concentrated.

"The enemy began to pay special attention to the areas where our air defence equipment is located," Skibitskyi added.

He also said Russian aviation was now targeting areas on or near the front line more often than before.

Russia, whose air strikes have also often hit residential areas across Ukraine, did not immediately comment on Skibitskyi's remarks.

Ukraine has said it is planning a counteroffensive to try retake territory occupied by Russian forces, but that recent advances around the eastern city of Bakhmut do not mean the assault has started.

Soldiers near the front line said this week that Russian forces were pounding supply lines to try to halt the Ukrainian advances.

(Reporting by Olena Harmash, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
The Ukrainian military has used the Patriot air defence system to shoot down a Russian bomber.

Source: Revealed in a comment to CNN by unnamed representatives of the Pentagon and the US Congress, as reported by European Pravda

Details: As noted, the Russian plane targeted by Patriot was going to launch missiles at Ukrainian targets.

Other air defence systems that are in service with Ukraine do not have sufficient range for this kind of task.

US officials said the Ukrainians personally decide how to use Patriot to defend themselves.

Patriot is considered one of the most sophisticated US air defence systems used against air targets, including aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles. It usually includes launchers along with radars and other aids.

Earlier, the media reported that a Patriot air defence system had been damaged during a Russian attack on Tuesday night. Ukraine and the United States have begun to discuss how best to fix the system.

The Pentagon said that one of the Patriot systems in Ukraine had indeed been damaged, and it had already been repaired.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Russian damage to US-made Patriot system in Ukraine was 'minor' and it has already been fixed, Pentagon says

Patriot missile defense system at Schwesing military airport in Germany on March 17, 2022. Photo by Axel Heimken/picture alliance via Getty Images

Russia launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine earlier this week.

The attack resulted in the damage of a US-made Patriot air-defense system, officials said.

The Pentagon said Thursday the "minor" damage has already been fixed.

Russia damaged a Patriot missile system in Ukraine earlier this week, but it's already been fixed and works again, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

The US-made air defense system suffered "minor damage" amid the massive overnight Russian missile attack near Kyiv on Tuesday, Sabrina Singh, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary, told reporters, according to European Pravda.

"I can confirm that one Patriot system was damaged, but now it is repaired and is in full operating order," Singh added.

It's unclear how exactly the Patriot was damaged and what needed to be fixed, a US official told CNN earlier this week.

The attack on Monday night involved a barrage of Russian missiles and drones, including three ground-launched missiles, six Kinzhal missiles, and nine Kalibr missiles.

Ukraine said they successfully intercepted all six Russian Kinzhal missiles but still said the attack was still "one of the most intense" on Kyiv since the war broke out.

The Patriot defense battery is a highly mobile surface-to-air missile system that is capable of taking on ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones.

Ukraine has received two Patriot air defense systems since the start of the war. One was donated by the US and the other was sent by Germany and the Netherlands.

Russia tried to damage another Patriot system on May 4, but failed after Ukraine successfully intercepted the missile, CNN reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The place in the forest near Bydgoszcz where the wreckage of a Russian missile was found

The official called the concrete warhead "the pinnacle of Russian technological thought" and suggested that the Russian military wanted to "confuse" Ukrainian air defense with an old missile.

Read also: Russian Kalibr missile crashes in occupied Crimea, local media reports

"There were no explosives," he said.

A missile cannot fly without a warhead, so someone installed such a pinnacle of Russian technological thought.

Earlier in May, the Polish Air Force Institute of Technology reported that the wreckage of a Russian Kh-55 cruise missile was found near the city of Bydgoszcz.

Read also: Ukrainian air defense forces destroy 29 out of 30 missiles launched by Russia

According to Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, the object is indeed a Russian missile that fell near the Polish city of Bydgoszcz on Dec. 16, 2022. On that day, Moscow sent a barrage of 74 at targets across Ukraine.

Read also: Poland has handed over nearly all of its MiG-29s, but cant provide F-16s, says Duda

Polish President Andrzej Duda later said the missile "did not pose a credible threat" to Polands security.

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
An explosion rang out in the city of Lviv while an air-raid warning was in force. Later the authorities reported that air defence had been deployed in the oblast.

Source: Radio Svoboda on Telegram; Maksym Kozytskyi, Head of Lviv Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram

Details: Radio Svoboda reported the explosion in the city at 03:50.

The head of Lviv Oblast Military Administration reported this morning that the Russians attacked the oblast using UAVs.

Quote from Kozytskyi: "Lviv Oblast was attacked with Shahed [drones] between 04:00 and 05:00. Assets and personnel from our air defence were deployed. No people have been affected."

Explosions also rang out in Kryvyi Rih last night.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Russians deploy few thousand more occupiers near Bakhmut, heavy fighting ongoing  Deputy Defence Minister

Russian invaders deployed a few thousand more occupiers on the Bakhmut front, and very heavy fighting continues in the area. The Ukrainian defenders somewhat slowed down the pace of advancement.

Source: Hanna Maliar, Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister

Quote: "The fiercest battles continue on the Bakhmut front.

The enemy cannot win with quality, so they take with quantity. In particular, they increased the presence of troops on the Bakhmut front by several thousand people and are trying to use the advantage in heavy artillery and the number of shells.

Russian troops continue to attack at the cost of heavy losses, which disproportionately exceed ours."

Details: According to Maliar, the occupiers are turning buildings to ashes in Bakhmut.

The Russians leave behind only foundations of the buildings in the city, which cannot be defended.

At the same time, Ukrainian troops hold the line around the Litak ("Plane") district of Bakhmut.

The deputy minister added that the rate of defenders advances somewhat increased in the flanks of Bakhmut on 19 May.

At the same time, Russians are unable to regain lost positions.

Ukrainian soldiers are repelling all Russian attacks on this front.

Maliar emphasises that the defence of Bakhmut and its flanks fulfils its military tasks:

the number Russians troops is being reduced;

the offensive potential of the Russians is being reduced;

Ukraine is gaining time for other planned actions.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Russians are entrenching themselves around ZNPP, but they are not letting go of the idea of escape  Reuters

In recent weeks, Russian invaders have been strengthening defensive positions in and around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant but are also preparing to evacuate from the ZNPP.

Source: Reuters

Quote: "New trenches have been dug around the city, and more mines have been laid. Surveillance cameras at the station point north across a wide reservoir towards Ukrainian-controlled territory. The Russians have had firing positions set up atop some of the plant's buildings for several months. Nets have been erected in a possible deterrent to drones."

Details: The measures described by two Ukrainians working at the ZNPP and two other residents of the city of Energodar highlight the risks to the facility's safety.

Reuters, citing four anonymous diplomats, reports that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) plans to present an agreement between Ukraine and Russia regarding plant safety to the UN at the end of the month.

In turn, Petro Kotin, the head of Energoatom, Ukraines nuclear energy company, does not believe that the defenders will launch an attack directly on the ZNPP. Instead, they will try to force the Russians to retreat by blocking the supply routes.

According to his estimates, the number of Russian soldiers at the plant has recently increased from 500 to 1,500.

At the same time, although the troop build-up and additional defensive structures indicate that the occupying forces are digging in, there are also signs that the Russians have one eye on the exit.

ZNPP is located on the southern bank of the Kakhovsky Reservoir, which serves as a natural barrier on the way to the territory controlled by Ukraine in the north.

The ZNPP and the city of Energodar are connected to occupied Melitopol by a single main road, which provides Russia with a land corridor to the occupied Crimean peninsula.

According to Kotin, Russian troops will be forced to retreat if it appears that this road will be cut off.

He added that, in his opinion, Russian troops were already training at the plant to practice withdrawing troops. "In my opinion, they are preparing for evacuation, so they are bringing everything in one place to be ready to take everything and to get out of there," he said.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraines Defence Intelligence, has said that the Russian invaders had no plan for capturing Kyiv other than "successfully" landing in Hostomel.

Source: Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraines Ministry of Defence, in an interview with Dmitry Komarov in "A year behind the scenes: the intelligence officer"

Quote: "The Russians entire plan was to land swiftly [at the Hostomel airfield - ed.] and go from there. It was actually their only plan...

Firstly, they did not believe there would be any resistance at all, and secondly, they believed that they would land quickly and plane after plane would unload units that would immediately enter Kyiv."

Details: Budanov added that on 24 February 2022, the Russians kept trying to land troops there the whole day and they firmly believed that they would succeed.

According to Budanov, information distributed by Ukrainian intelligence played a significant role in this.

Quote: "The information they wanted to believe in won out. [That is] why people said the Russians were stupid, they didnt believe there would be a war: they didnt take fuel tankers with them, their tanks stopped, there were no supplies or food, this is all true.

But the truth is nevertheless different: they had to create a picture of a massive offensive and no alternative but to surrender. And to create a picture of these columns entering. That was it. No one expected fighting like there was in Mariupol. That wasnt an option. They believed that no one would be able to create serious resistance to them and they would go into the government quarter and change the leadership, since, the way they saw it, the leadership of the state would then have to flee, and if it didnt, they would destroy it."

Budanov added that Russia kept changing the date of the invasion over a two-week period. Ukraine received final information about the attack at 04:00 on 24 February at about 15:00 on 23 February.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Russians kill three and injure 16 civilians in one day

At least three people have been killed and 16 injured in Russian attacks on Donetsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson oblasts on the night of 18-19 May.

Source: Pavlo Kyrylenko, Head of Donetsk Oblast Military Administration; Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration; Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of Kherson Oblast Military Administration; Yurii Malashko, Head of Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration; Serhii Lysak, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration on Telegram

Quote from Kyrylenko: "On 18 May, the Russians killed two residents of Donetsk Oblast: in Kostiantynivka and Velyka Novosilka. Nine more people were injured in the oblast."

Details: Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, reported that one person had been killed.

He said that the occupiers had attacked at least 17 settlements in Kharkiv, Kupiansk and Chuhuiv districts of the oblast over the past day.

Aftermath of russian strikes in Kharkiv Oblast

photo from Oleh Syniehubov's Telegram

A 52-year-old civilian man was killed, and two more men, aged 41 and 57, were injured as a result of the attack on the settlements of Tsyrkuny.



Russians attacked Kherson oblast 57 times, firing 287 projectiles from heavy artillery, Grad multiple-launch rocket system, tanks, UAVs and aircraft, and the occupiers fired on the city of Kherson twice, firing 11 projectiles.

Two people were injured because of Russian aggression in this area during the day.

The Russians performed 80 attacks on 17 front-line settlements in Zaporizhzhia Oblast: Huliaipole, Zaliznychne, Stepove were shelled by artillery 70 times, Orikhove, Kamianske and Mali Shcherbaky were attacked four times from a multiple-launch rocket system, and there was an airstrike on Novodanylivka.

Aftermath of russian strikes in Zaporizhzhia Oblast

photo from Yurii Malashko's Telegram

A 57-year-old man was injured in Huliaipole as a result of the Russian attacks. After he was provided with first aid, it appeared that hospitalisation was not required.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, two people were injured in the overnight attacks: a 64-year-old woman (she was hospitalised in a serious condition) and a 45-year-old man (he suffered minor injuries and will be treated at home).

Aftermath of russian strikes in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast

photo from Serhii Lysak's Telegram

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Russian Special Forces units have arrived in Kursk Oblast to conduct sabotage and counter-sabotage activities on the border with Ukraine and to raise the morale of Russian troops.

Source: National Resistance Center press service

Quote: "On the border with Ukraine, in the village of Tyotkino, Kursk Oblast of the Russian Federation, the underground [movement] recorded the deployment of elite units that report to Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (also known as the GRU  ed.).

In particular, according to the underground, Special Forces groups of the 3rd Separate Guards Brigade of Special Purpose (Tolyatti, Samara Oblast) and the 22nd Separate Guards Brigade of Special Purpose (Stepnoy, Rostov Oblast) arrived there."

Details: According to the National Resistance Center, the main tasks of the units are counter-sabotage activities in the border zone after successful partisan operations, acts of sabotage and raising morale among discouraged units of the Russian Armed Forces along the border.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Russia's Security Council Secretary claims US involved in murders of Putin's ideologue's daughter and other famous propagandist

Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Russian Security Council, has claimed that the murders of Darya Dugina, the daughter of "Putins ideologue" Aleksandr Dugin, killed in August 2022, and Vladlen Tatarsky, a Russian "war correspondent" (military blogger) and a famous propagandist, were allegedly coordinated by Washington.

Source: Kremlin-aligned news agency RIA Novosti

Quote from Patrushev: "The terrorist acts committed in Russia, including the murders of Darya Dugina and Vladlen Tatarsky, the bombing of Zakhar Prilepin's [a Ukrainophobic writer and member of the political faction A Just Russia  For Truth] car, the explosion on the Crimean Bridge, as well as the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline and others, were planned and carried out in coordination with the US intelligence services."

Details: The Russian official said that such operations are allegedly accompanied by an "information campaign prepared in advance in Washington and London, aiming to undermine the socio-political situation as well as Russia's constitutional foundations and sovereignty".

He also claimed that NATO instructors train "Ukrainian sabotage and terrorist groups" and coordinate their activities.

In addition, Patrushev reported the alleged activation of Ukrainian reconnaissance and sabotage groups, international terrorist organisations, and radical and extremist structures in Russia.

Background:

On 20 August, a car carrying Darya Dugina, the daughter of "Putin's ideologue" Alexander Dugin, who wrote for Russian propaganda media outlets RT and Tsargrad, exploded in the suburbs of Moscow. She is also one of the authors of Book Z about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On 2 April, an explosion occurred in the centre of the Russian city of St Petersburg in a cafe previously owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, financier of the Wagner Private Military Company, killing Vladlen Tatarsky, Russian "war correspondent" (military blogger) and a famous propagandist, and injuring 30 other people.

On 6 May, an Audi car carrying Zakhar Prilepin, a Ukrainophobic writer and member of the political party A Just Russia  For Truth, was blown up in Russias Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






Across the country, political leaders and state legislatures are demonizing members of the LGBTQ+ community by repressing our voices and making us targets of hatred and violence.

Here in Sacramento, were moving in a different direction.

We are stepping forward and demanding our own safe spaces on school campuses. On March 16, we raised our voices in front of the Sacramento City Unified School District and presented a proposal that would make LGBTQ+ safe spaces and student clubs a mandatory part of every high school and middle school campus.

Opinion

Currently, some campuses have these spaces, such as a Gender and Sexuality Alliance club, while others do not. The existence of these spaces depends primarily on the goodwill and volunteer time of a school staff member who serves as an advisor to the student group. Rather than have this space as a nice-to-have, we believe it should be a must-have, an essential part of the school environment.

Research from The Trevor Projects 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health shows that 45% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered suicide in the past year; this includes more than half of transgender and non-binary youth, and 1 in 3 cisgender youth. However, LGBTQ+ youth who found their school to be LGBTQ-affirming reported lower rates of suicide attempts.

Students in our community experience bullying through homophobic slurs and harassment at school and in our neighborhoods because of their gender expression or sexual orientation. These experiences at school actively contribute to stress and anxiety, and the hostile climate makes some youth not want to participate or go to school. Some of these negative experiences cause LGBTQ+ youth to avoid certain spaces and activities due to fear over their safety.

We have both been active in the GSA at Hiram Johnson High School. We know that having this space to meet during lunch or after school can make a real difference in the lives of LGBTQ+ students. What does a safe space look like? It looks like a dedicated classroom on campus, a trusted adult who helps guide the group and LGBTQ+ signs and symbols that promote inclusion and visibility (such as the rainbow flag and the trans flag). It looks like a curriculum that helps students engage in conversations around gender expression, sexual orientation and queer and trans history. In this space, students can learn how to access resources, hear from guest speakers from local LGBTQ+ organizations and network with students from other campuses. This space supports positive mental health by reducing stigma and giving students affirmation and support.

We greatly benefit from being with trusted adults and other students who share our life experiences. In this kind of space, we do not feel so alone or isolated. We can be ourselves and be part of a community.

Sacramento City Unified is doing a great job at helping LGBTQ+ students feel supported. The district has staff dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ students and has GSA meetings on many campuses. We are simply asking the district to take the next step by passing a policy and setting aside resources to make these spaces a sustainable part of every middle school and high school campus.

We challenge every school district in Sacramento County to take this pledge. In mandating such spaces, our local school districts will serve as an example to the rest of the country on how to create school environments in which more students feel safe and more students feel like they belong.

Araiye Thomas-Haysbert is a 23-year-old youth organizer at Youth Forward. Javell Penn is an 18 year-old-senior at Hiram Johnson High School.
Sacramento police on Friday were investigating a report of a sexual assault involving a student and an employee at John F. Kennedy High School.

Shortly after 10:30 a.m. Friday, officers were called to investigate the reported sexual assault involving the student and the school employee at the campus in the Greenhaven neighborhood, according to the Sacramento Police Department.

Police said the officers conducted a preliminary investigation, and the case was immediately forwarded to detectives from the departments Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit.

No arrests have been made, but police said this remained an active investigation. No further information about the investigation was released. The Police Department referred news media questions about the employment status of the involved school employee to the Sacramento City Unified School District.

We are aware of a police investigation that began today at John F. Kennedy High School involving allegations of misconduct by a substitute employee, who is not assigned to classroom duties, Brian Heap, a school district spokesman, said in a written statement. The person is no longer employed by the district and we are working closely with law enforcement on this matter to ensure the continued safety and well-being of students and staff.

Heap said the employee had a classified position at the high school with no assigned classroom duties. He said he could not provide any specific details about what the employees job was.
Nigers Mohamed Bazoum (top right) stands alongside Antony Blinken at the US-Africa Business Forum in Washington last December (AP)

In a region beset with violent strife, Islamist insurgency, Russias Wagner mercenaries and unstable military regimes, the Sahel state of Niger has become a focus of Western interest as a security and economic partner.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has visited recently, and the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, is due to follow. The countrys president, Mohamed Bazoum, has met Emmanuel Macron in Paris, and was one of the few notable non-Commonwealth African heads of state in London for King Charless coronation.

Mr Bazoum spoke to The Independent about the issues facing his country, including the threat of Wagner, a jihadist surge being fuelled by the climate crisis, the need to attract foreign investment to help drive education and employment, and efforts to foster relations with the West and Britain.

Niger, which is five times the size of the United Kingdom and has a population of 27 million, is rich in mineral wealth and produces 7 per cent of the worlds supply of uranium. The US and the UK claimed, memorably and falsely, in the run-up to the Iraq invasion, that Saddam Hussein was seeking to obtain uranium yellowcake from Niger for his WMD programme.

The Wagner Group, owned by Vladimir Putins ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, is heavily involved in lucrative commercial ventures in Africa, as well as having a widespread military presence. Some of the proceeds go towards funding its current military operations in Ukraine, which cost an estimated $100m (80m) a month.

Wagner has established itself in Nigers neighbouring states  in Libya, where it has secured oil assets, and in Mali, where its arrival at the invitation of the military regime led to the withdrawal of French, British and other Western forces.

There are reports that the company is also operating in Burkina Faso, another country French forces have recently left. The president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, has claimed that Burkina Fasos army rulers are paying the mercenaries with rights to a gold mine.

Wagner is certainly a very real presence in our region, Mr Bazoum said during a visit to London. They are in Libya, which continues to be volatile and from where we have had weapons going to the Islamists in other countries ever since the fall of [Muammar] Gaddafi.

They are in Mali: has Wagners presence in Mali led to any benefit for Mali? I would say not at all. We have certainly no intention of inviting them into our country. They create problems, [they] dont solve them. We know they have been engaged in disinformation campaigns against us.

A fake social media post claimed that Mr Bazoum had faced a coup while visiting Macron in Paris; another that the French had armed a group of jihadists who killed 17 members of Nigers armed forces at around the same time. Both of these posts have been traced to the Lakhta project, a troll farm financed by Mr Prigozhin, which has been sanctioned by the US since 2018.

Blinken, during his visit to Niger, warned of the malign influence of Wagner. We have already seen it end badly in a number of places where Wagner has been present; bad things have been inevitable, he said.

Many African states point out that Russia has taken advantage of a lack of Western commitment in the continent. The US secretary of state presented a range of initiatives, including $233m in humanitarian assistance for the Sahel over the year. There would be a comprehensive security deal, which would also focus on good governance, on development, on creating opportunity, on being responsive to the needs of the people, he said.

Mr Bazoum, who was elected in April 2021, said: Terrorism destroys society. But we know that military action is just part of the solution in countering extremism. Education and jobs are vital to ensure young people do not turn towards violence.

Our whole area is facing this Islamist threat. But joint operations with Mali and Burkina Faso are proving difficult because they are run by miliary regimes. We need to protect our democratic system.

Niger is one of the countries hardest hit by the climate crisis in west Africa. The temperatures in the Sahel are rising 1.5 times faster than anywhere else in the world. A cycle of erratic rainfall and droughts has eroded 15 per cent of its arable land.

What is happening to the environment is a big, big problem. The nomadic people are seeing the food for themselves and their livestock disappearing. They are vulnerable, and the Islamists can then come along and exploit the situation, try and recruit the men. And, of course, there is the terrible hardship families face in their lives with the changing climate, said Mr Bazoum.

Economic aid to help his country face these challenges is welcome. But Nigers president also wanted to stress the great need for Western investment. We are told to be careful about Chinese investment. But why do we not see more from countries like France and Britain? They have historical links with Africa, the Chinese dont. Yet they are there, and we dont see enough from the West, he said.

Niger is embarking on building stronger ties with the UK, said Mr Bazoum. We are described as a Francophone country, but these are old terms, he said. The world is changing, and what happens in one continent affects others. We need to build strong relationships to protect our future.
Salt Lake police looking for missing teen believed to be at risk

Salt Lake Police investigate a scene in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. Salt Lake police are asking the public for help to find a teenager who has been missing since Sunday. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Salt Lake police are asking the public for help finding a teenager who has been missing since Sunday.

Police said Natalee Kramer, 16, is considered at risk without her medication.

Natalee was last seen near 900 E. South Temple on May 14. She was wearing a black shirt, purple and green shorts and white shoes. She is 5-foot-2, about 120 pounds, and has brown hair and blue eyes.

Anyone who has information regarding her whereabouts is asked to call Salt Lake City police at 801-799-3000.
This article originally appeared on Outside

The premise: After 15 years of thinking only about bikes, riding, training, and European cycling adventures (I'm the founder of Peloton Magazine and the Editorial Director of the Road/Gravel Cycling Group at Outside, Inc.), I've come to a point where I just want to focus on one thing: sandwiches. Given my love of Italy, the most direct course to feed this need is old-school Italian delis somewhat adjacent to local gravel rides. I hope you'll follow along.

(Read PART 1 of my journey reviewing Virgilio's in Gloucester.)

The Dags has mortadella, salami, and a provolone blend topped the peppers, olive oil, and torpedo-shaped bread.

D'Agostino's Delicatessen ("Dags") in Andover, MA

Location: D'Agostino's Delicatessen, 93 Main St., Andover, MA

The city of Andover, home to Phillips Academy prep school (founded in 1778) and a short distance from Merrimack College, boasts a youthful downtown full of restaurants and activity. My interest, however, is not in schools or colleges or city infrastructure, it's in Italian deli sandwiches--specifically, D'Agostino's sandwiches.

Dags is located in the Andover Village Square and, despite being small, it's well-appointed with sandwiches, of course, but also breads, cookies, sauces, and take-away lasagna and baked pasta dishes. (The original 1968 Dags is a mainstay in Winchester, MA and the Andover location, which opened in 2015, is an extension of that popularity.) After a short conversation with staff who proudly state that the Italian is by far the best-selling sandwich, I ordered mine on a sub roll with everything (lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, and hot peppers). In fact, I ordered two. I've found in life that if you find something good, it's always smart to double up.

The torpedo-shaped bread is soft, chewy, and dense enough to handle all of its toppings without getting weak and soggy. (Photo: Brad Roe)

The Italian

The Italian begins life on a Piantedosi Baking Co.'s sub roll. The torpedo-shaped bread is soft, chewy, and dense enough to handle a light drip of olive oil and hot peppers without compromising its purpose as a safe haven for the generous portions of mortadella, provolone, and a true gold mine of thinly sliced salami. The meat and cheese sit atop the roll, becoming a blanket of taste for the hot peppers and olive oil to rest upon.

This is where I have to point out the packaging. The sandwich is smartly wrapped using two types of paper adorned with a sticker--to which you're probably wondering, why does this matter? Because at my core, I'm a cyclist and like my heroes and heroines of the Giro dItalia, I want to be able to put this slim and aerodynamic sammy in my bike jersey, ride to the seashore, and rest and eat in peace while I recover from whatever ails me.

I can't adequately express how well the mortadella, salami, and provolone blend with the peppers and olive oil, and how the bread completes the flavor crescendo. Due to the exquisite design of this sandwich and its wrapping, you only need one small napkin post meal to clean your fingers and mouth and move on with your day or ride. It's elegant, simple, and beautiful. I've thought about this Italian quite a bit since my last visit and rest assured it's at the top of the North Shore Italian sub podium.

Local Gravel Ride Nearby

As I mentioned in my first sandwich stakeout, at this stage of my life, I'm in a sandwich first, ride later person. However, since it's 75 degrees out and the riding is amazing on the North Shore, check out the Harold Parker State Forest trails. More than 3,000 acres and 51 miles of trails await, and if ridden often, translate to well-earned Dags sandwiches.

The pilgrimage continues...next stop: Gloria Food Store founded in 1936 in Beverly, MA.

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 South Carolina circuit court judge ruled Friday (May 19) that a multi-million convenience store chain and its corporate owner will not be dismissed from one of the most important civil suits facing convicted murderer and accused fraudster Alex Murdaugh.

Judge Daniel D. Hall ruled today not to dismiss Gregory M. Parker and his Parker's Corporation from a Hampton County wrongful death suit filed by the family and estate of teen Mallory Beach, who died after being ejected from Murdaugh's boat in February of 2019 in a drunken boating accident involving his younger son, Paul.

Mallory Beach and one of her furry friends posing for a selfie.

"Parker's motion bordered on being frivolous and seems to have been intended to spread a false narrative, so we fully expected the judge to deny the motion," said Allendale attorney Mark Tinsley, lead counsel for the Beach family. "We are looking forward to concluding this matter in August and beginning to give the Beach family some semblance of closure."

"While we believe summary judgment should have been granted, we remain confident a jury will use their common sense and find that Tajeeha Cohen and Parker's are not responsible for the death of Mallory Beach," said P.K. Shere, attorney for Parker's.

Unless further motions are filed, the case is set to go to joint trial, with Murdaugh and Parkers as codefendants, in Hampton County Court of Common Pleas beginning Aug. 14.

What was at stake in this high-profile lawsuit?

While several parties were named in the original suit, most of them settled early, bringing an undisclosed amount of financial damages to the grieving family, and now Murdaugh and Parker/Parkers are the only named defendants as the civil suit heads to a jury trial.

The Beach family's attorneys think that Murdaugh and Parker should both be held liable during a joint trial, but Parker's, in a recent court filing, contends that it has not violated any laws and should be dismissed from the case.

Both sides have valid arguments.

Witness Mark Tinsley, the attorney for Mallory Beachs family, is questioned by prosecutor Creighton Waters during Alex Murdaughs trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Thursday, February 9, 2023. Joshua Boucher/The State/Pool

Beach attorneys wanted to hold both Murdaugh, Parker's liable in court

The Beach wrongful death suit, originally filed in March 2019 but amended several times, alleges that Murdaugh and his late wife, Maggie, knowingly allowed their underaged son, Paul, to consume alcohol to excess, often further enabling him by providing the alcohol, and then allowed him to operate the family's watercraft while intoxicated.

The complaint further alleged that Parker's Corporation is liable for making an illegal sale of alcohol to the underaged Paul Murdaugh, and for failing to verify his ID or to check that it matched the name on the credit card he used to pay for the alcohol.

Paul Murdaugh purchased the beer from Parker's store in Okatie just prior to the crash using a driver's license belonging to his brother, Richard Alexander "Buster" Murdaugh Jr., according to court filings.

The front page of The Hampton County Guardian as it continued to cover the Beaufort County boat crash that killed Mallory Beach and introduced the world to the Murdaughs of Hampton County.

Renee Beach, Mallory's mother, and her family are pursuing a "joint and several awards" against both defendants for actual and punitive damages that could be worth millions of dollars, as well as costs and legal fees.

Arguably, from a financial standpoint, it is crucial to the Beach's case that Parker's be included when the matter goes to trial Aug. 14. Parker's is a multi-million corporation with stores around the Southeast and on track to exceed a billion dollars in sales per year, according to industry reports.

While Parker's would have the ability to pay damages, Murdaugh, who is currently facing more than 100 criminal charges and 11 other lawsuits, has had his assets frozen and liquidated by the court and would be extremely limited in how much he could pay to any of his multiple alleged victims and plaintiffs.

The Beach family is represented by a legal team led by Allendale attorney Mark Tinsley, whose testimony was instrumental in helping earn a double murder conviction against Murdaugh in March.

Parkers claimed no criminal charges filed, Murdaugh is at fault

In its latest legal filings, Parker's acknowledges that Beach's death is an unfortunate tragedy, but they say it is a death that could have been prevented by several other people, including the boaters and the parents of the boaters, and they are not liable.

On March 24, attorneys for Parker's filed a motion for summary judgment asking for all claims against them to be dismissed with prejudice. The motion makes several key points:

The motion contends that Parker's did not knowingly sell alcohol to a minor and that it was a valid South Carolina sale because the S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the state agency that handles illegal alcohol sales, investigated the matter and did not issue the store any citation or reprimand.

"Accordingly, because there is no evidence that Parkers violated South Carolina law by knowingly selling beer or wine to an underage person, as SLED confirmed, Plaintiff cannot maintain her claims sounding in negligence in connection with the alcohol sale at issue in this case," the filing states.

The motion points out that all of the boaters were adults and alleges that all knew that Murdaugh was "noticeably intoxicated" but they "voluntarily chose to ignore several different opportunities throughout the night to arrange for alternative transportation or to simply not get back on that boat with a highly intoxicated driver."

"Indeed, the evidence is uncontroverted that the Boaters, who drank with Mr. Murdaugh for many hours that evening, waited for him and Mr. [Conner] Cook to go to a bar in Beaufort to drink even more alcohol, instead of getting alternative transportation home, and then the Boaters, including Ms. Beach, voluntarily got back on the boat being operated by a clearly drunk Mr. Murdaugh."

Parker's claims that the boaters, including Beach, knew about Paul Murdaugh's "proclivity for excessive alcohol drinking and his unpredictable, reckless, and dangerous conduct while drunk... "

The boaters were aware it was a dark and foggy night, and the only light on the boat was a handheld flashlight, yet they traveled by water anyway, despite several parents advising them not to, the filing states, adding:

A fatal crash involving this boat, owned by Richard "Alex" Murdaugh and allegedly driven by his son, Paul, would spark a series of events that would bring the Murdaugh family into the national spotlight.

"The tragedy of that evening also could have been prevented if the adults at the oyster roast, some of whom were relatives of the Boaters, including parents, uncles, and aunts, would have stopped the group from getting back on the boat after drinking in their presence all evening.

The filing alleges that Parker's is a victim of fraud perpetrated by Paul Murdaugh, who used his brother's ID. Both brothers have red hair and could arguably have facial similarities.

Ironically, Parker's used the Beach family's own evidence against them in this filing. Attached to a May 1 court filing was a May 4, 2022, affidavit from Morgan Doughty, one of the boaters, which included numerous photos and videos allegedly proving that Paul's parents enable him and his underage friends in their drinking, and all of the boaters knew about it. This affidavit had previously been attached to the Beach's amended lawsuit complaint against Murdaugh.

The Greenville News will continue to cover this case and other cases associated with the Murdaugh crime saga.

Follow Michael DeWitt's reporting on Twitter @mmdewittjr.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: SC Judge denies motion to dismiss Parker's from Beach/Murdaugh boat crash lawsuit
Turkmen student witnesses China-Central Asia friendship

09:16, May 19, 2023 By Zhang Wenjie, Liu Ning, Deng Jie, Peng Yukai ( People's Daily Online

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on May 15 in his reply to a letter from Central Asian students at China University of Petroleum-Beijing (CUP) that the students have witnessed and benefited from China-Central Asia relations and, more importantly, that they have helped boost China-Central Asia relations.

Xi urged them to take an active part in promoting friendships between China and Central Asian countries, carry forward the Silk Road spirit, tell Chinese stories and Central Asian stories well, and act as envoys of friendship and bridges of cooperation.

Bayramdurdyyev Rahman, a Turkmen student at the university, was very excited when he received the reply letter. "We had expectations when we wrote the letter, but we didn't actually expect a reply from President Xi," he said.

"I am a beneficiary of China-Central Asia friendly relations," Rahman told People's Daily Online, explaining that he came to study at the university because of a joint education program between China and Turkmenistan.

Bayramdurdyyev Rahman, a Turkmen student studying at China University of Petroleum-Beijing, reads a book in a study room. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Wenjie)

Starting 2009, Amu Darya River Gas Company affiliated with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and CUP launched a cooperation program to select outstanding high school graduates and send them to study at CUP, hoping to cultivate versatile talent with a global vision, who are proficient in Chinese and are familiar with technologies and Chinese culture.

In 2010, 15 high school graduates from Turkmenistan, including Rahman, were selected to study in China after passing written exams and interviews.

Before coming to China, Rahman hadn't learned the Chinese language and had only heard of Confucius, Jackie Chan, the Great Wall, terracotta warriors, and Chinese tea. In China, he has steeped himself in profound Chinese culture, and he has been living in the country for 13 years.

Rahman has also engaged in student management at CUP thanks to his proficiency in Chinese and familiarity with the university's management system.

Rahman was not as outgoing as he is now when he came to China. With the help of his teachers and classmates, he has gradually adapted to the new environment.

Pursuing a PhD program in Marxism Sinicization at CUP, Rahman is preparing for his PhD dissertation defense.

China has made rapid and remarkable development, and adapting Marxism to the Chinese context is worth learning to understand China's development path, said Rahman.

Turkmenistan is an important hub on the ancient Silk Road, through which commodities from China were transported to Europe. Rahman has witnessed the tangible changes brought to the Chinese and Turkmen peoples by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

"China-Turkmenistan trade has kept growing in recent years, and many Turkmen logistics companies have been willing to do business with China. Many products in my country, including mobile phones, computers, electric appliances, and oil-refining equipment, are made in China," Rahman said.

Rahman has visited many places during his stay in China. He was deeply impressed by Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. "The terracotta warriors are amazing because each of them has a different facial expression," he said.

But it is difficult for Rahman to give an answer on which is his favorite city in China, as he believes that each Chinese city boasts of unique charms.

Rahman will graduate from CUP this year. "I have been living in China for 13 years. I have a strong allegiance to CUP. Although I still stay at the university, I have begun to miss it," he said.

Noting that President Xi's reply letter will become his most memorable experience and most treasured memory during his studies in China, Rahman said he hopes to make contributions to the cooperation between China and Central Asian countries.

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Du Mingming)
China Railway Tunnel Group (CRTG) undertook the construction of Qamchiq Tunnel in Uzbekistan in 2013 under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). A field survey was conducted on May 24, 2013 and the tunnel was successfully holed through in February, 2016. As the project manager, Zhou Xiaoguang said that the whole process of the project construction is still fresh in his mind.

The opening of the Qamchiq Tunnel, the longest railway tunnel in Central Asia, has changed the plight of transportation in Uzbekistan, which requires detours from other countries. It has also improved the lives of local people. Therefore, the opening of the tunnel is an important milestone in the joint building of the Silk Road Economic Belt between China and Uzbekistan.
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott formally entered the race for president Friday, filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring that he was beginning a White House campaign.

The Republican formed an exploratory presidential committee last month. He is expected to publicly announce his candidacy Monday at an event in North Charleston.

The incumbent senator, a longtime conservative favorite in South Carolina, enters the GOP presidential primary as an underdog.

Polls show a large swath of the Republican Party still supports former President Donald Trump, who entered the race last year. Other potential candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have also drawn more early support from GOP voters.

Scott also wont be the only South Carolina politician in the race: The states former governor, Nikki Haley, is also running after becoming a candidate in February.

The senators supporters have touted Scotts profile as a Southern Black Republican and optimistic message as selling points of a campaign, arguing that he represents the partys best chance to defeat Democratic President Joe Biden in next years general election.

Scotts campaign earlier Friday placed a multimillion-dollar TV ad buy in Iowa and New Hampshire, an official familiar with the plans confirmed to The State, set to run through August. The senator has roughly $22 million on hand to start his campaign.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.
Sean Penn, left, and director Jean-Stephane Sauvaire pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Black Flies' at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 19, 2023. (Photo by Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP)

CANNES, France (AP)  Sean Penn strongly backed the current Hollywood screenwriters strike while speaking at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday, saying the dispute over artificial intelligence is a human obscenity.

Penn addressed the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike in a press conference for his new film, Black Flies, director Jean-Stephane Sauvaire's harrowing, gritty drama about New York paramedics. Asked about the strike, Penn said the industry has been upending the writers and actors and directors for a very long time.

Theres a lot of new concepts being tossed about including the use of AI It strikes me as a human obscenity for there to be pushback on that from the producers, said Penn, a veteran writer-director in addition to being an actor.

Film and TV screenwriters earlier this month began striking after talks with producers broke off. The WGA is seeking better pay, new contracts for the streaming era and safeguards against the use of AI-scripted work-arounds.

The first thing we should do in these conversations is change the Producers Guild and title them how they behave, which is the Bankers Guild, added Penn. Its difficult for so many writers and so many people industry-wide to not be able to work at this time. I guess its going to soul-search itself and see what side toughs it out.

After the press conference, Penn said in a statement that he meant to refer to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which is negotiating on behalf of producers, not the Producers Guild of America.

Penn's comments come as the potential for a wider work stoppage in Hollywood may be growing. The Directors Guild is also negotiating a new contract with producers. The board of SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, this week voted to ask members for strike authorization as it prepares to enter negotiations for a new contract.

In Cannes, the strike been a regular topic for American stars, filmmakers and producers. On Thursday, Ethan Hawke wore a shirt that read Pencils Down. On the festival's opening day Tuesday, juror Paul Dano said he planned to join his wife, Zoe Kazan, on the picket lines soon.

My wife is currently picketing with my 6-month-old, strapped to her chest, said Dano. I will be there on the picket line when I get back home.

At the press conference Friday for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy, one of the top film producers, said "most people are in full support of the writers getting what they deserve.

The meta issue here is how that its being impacted by an industry thats really changing, that is in the midst of change, both technologically and just basic aspects of how we work, Kennedy said. Thats going to take time. Thats what everyone is getting ready for."
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine has announced that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will participate in the meeting of G7 leaders online and not in person.

Source: Danilov on air during the national joint 24/7 newscast; Press services of National Security and Defence Council

Update: The press service of the National Security and Defense Cozuncil of Ukraine reported that the president will participate in the meeting of G7 leaders in Japan online.

Quote: "Who would doubt that our president would be present there [at the G7 summit  ed.]? We are confident that our president will be where he needs to be, anywhere in the world, to address the sustainability of our country.

Very important things will be decided there, so the physical presence of our president is absolutely important in order to defend our interests, to provide clear proposals and clear arguments on the events that are taking place in our country. "

Details: Ukrainska Pravda contacted the Office of the President for comments.

Background:

The Japanese government stated on Thursday that Zelenskyy would attend the G7 Summit in Hiroshima online.

Bloomberg, citing its sources, reported that Zelenskyy would participate in person.

Reminder:

The summit of the G7 leaders starts on 19 May in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, as the summit participants plan to announce new sanctions against Russia.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
See how an ER doctor uses ChatGPT in the hospital to communicate better  and even calm down anxious patients

Dr. Joshua Tamayo-Sarver at work in the ER. Courtesy of Joshua Tamayo-Sarver

An ER doctor says he's used ChatGPT to improve his communication with dozens of patients.

One time it helped him calm a nervous patient by coming up with a creative medical metaphor.

"Think of it as the most brilliant, talented, often drunk intern you could imagine," he said.

Dr. Joshua Tamayo-Sarver has been an ER doctor for almost 14 years. But sometimes he still struggles to find just the right words to explain complicated, nuanced, or seemingly worrisome medical issues to his patients.

So recently, he's been outsourcing some of that conversational work to ChatGPT, with good results.

"Probably should be embarrassing," Tamayo-Sarver, who is also the the vice president of innovation for two healthcare tech companies, told Insider. "I've been doing this so long and I haven't learned how to talk to my own patients!"

He doesn't suggest that doctors should use ChatGPT for diagnosis, or really for any tasks that require some level of careful thinking. But he says it can be helpful in specific situations, like figuring out creative ways to communicate with people.

"Think of it as the most brilliant, talented, often drunk intern you could imagine," he said. "All the things where that verification and due diligence step is more work than just doing it yourself? Then it's not useful."

ChatGPT is great at developing creative solutions

Tamayo-Sarver says the one standout place that ChatGPT excels in his own practice is with creative communication.

"I've been using it on shift when I have a patient that I need to communicate something to, and I'm not doing a very good job of it," he said.

Recently, a woman in her mid-40s came in to his ER. She was experiencing chest pain when she breathed, and initial blood tests suggested she could be at risk for a blood clot. The only proper way to find out for sure was to do a CT scan and image her chest, the doctor explained.

Suddenly, the woman became very agitated.

"She was so anxious and she was freaking out," Tamayo-Sarver said. "I really couldn't find a good way to explain it in a comforting, reassuring way."

The doctor wanted the woman to know that this test wasn't a definitive sign something was wrong with her, it was just the next step in the diagnostic process. The doctor walked back to his physician's workstation, and opened up ChatGPT, hoping for some help.

He typed:

Explain to an anxious person that their D-Dimer [test] is elevated, so we're getting a CT angiogram of the chest, but it doesn't look like there's anything terrible going on, we just need to be sure.

ChatGPT spat back a suggestion that the doctor thought was "okay," but he wanted something a little clearer.

Explain it like you would to a 6-year-old, he typed.

Immediately, the chatbot spat back a new idea, comparing blood clots to Band-Aids.

"When you have a cut and you want to stop the cut from bleeding, you'll put a Band-Aid on it," Tamayo-Sarver remembered ChatGPT saying. "Your body has Band-Aids on the inside, and we call these blood clots."

The doctor returned to the patient's room, "basically read ChatGPT's response to her, and she felt much better."

It's a strategy he says he's used "at least a few dozen times" with patients.

He's even tried ChatGPT out on desk work that involves "a lot of detailed research and distilling," he said, "but then I'm going to check over," relying on his own subject-matter expertise to monitor "when it's just being drunk."

ChatGPT still isn't up to the task of knowing what it doesn't know

Part of the reason why ChatGPT gives such seemingly "creative" answers to Tamayo-Sarver's questions is because of the way the AI is designed  to predict the next best word, even if it hasn't ever been trained on the specific example you're giving it.

Medical experts recently rated ChatGPT more compassionate than many real doctors, in large part because it's an excellent chatter.

But experts caution that just because ChatGPT can pass a medical exam or talk to patients, that doesn't mean those impressive language-reading and writing abilities reflect true comprehension. ChatGPT can still hallucinate, making things up when it doesn't know the right answer, and it gets things wrong, even things it's computed correctly before.

In the future, it's possible that ChatGPT could become a more careful and valuable clinical tool, Tamayo-Sarver said, potentially with the help of other machine learning models that could combine it with more accurate healthcare insights, like a kind of AI fact-checker.

Artificial intelligence expert Gary Marcus worries the safeguards that Tamayo-Sarver imagines for ChatGPT in healthcare won't arrive fast enough to avoid serious medical disasters, he told the US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law on Tuesday.

"Medical misinformation is something to really worry about," he told the Subcommittee. "We have systems that hallucinate things  they're going to hallucinate medical advice. Some of the advice they'll give is good, some of it's bad, we need really tight regulation around that."

Read the original article on Insider
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty/Netflix

Selling Sunset is in a fragile place right now. The last two seasons of the Netflix reality show about glamorous realtors in Los Angeles were, quite frankly, abysmal. Season 5, in particular, featured scenes that felt brazenly scripted (who can forget Jason Oppenheim conducting a phone call with his camera app?), poorly cast newbies, and an annoying fixation on the shows main antagonist (and the only one putting in work on this show!), Christine Quinn.

Now that our beloved villainess has left real estate to become a generic fashion person on Instagram, the remaining cast members have to prove that they can entertain us without Quinn granting them free storylines. In the first episode of Season 6, these women are already pulling out all the stops, invoking one of the biggest pop stars in the world, Harry Styles.

Well, Harrys house, to be more precise.

Harry Styles Wants You to Think Hes Weirder Than He Is With Harrys House

By nature of the Oppenheim Groups illustrious clientele, the Selling Sunset women are known to name-drop a few major celebrities here and thereif they dont appear on the show in-person. With just two seasons under her belt, realtor and empanada manufacturer Emma Hernan is already the worst offender (complimentary).

In Season 5, she claimed that Ben Affleck reached out to her on Raya before his reunion with Jennifer Lopez. And in Season 4, she mentioned that one of her clients, a billionaire from Singapore, was purchasing Styles former West Hollywood home, leading to a debate over the meaning of his hit song Watermelon Sugar.

Netflix

This season, Styles 4,400-square-foot, new-century modern mansion is on the market again. And Hernan is giving Netflix subscribers an inside look at the overwhelmingly beigeand surprisingly modest, for an A-listerresidence he used to call home. More importantly, though, she opens up a flimsy investigation into some of Styles abandoned possessions.

When co-star Chrishell Stause asks Hernan if the Grammy winner left anything behind when her client first bought the house, she replies, He left, like, hundreds of pairs of shoeslike, heels. Stause asks to see the stash, but Hernan tells her that the shoes are now gone and that she didnt know the size of them. Still, a few questions about these shoes linger.

Canceling Selling Tampa Is Netflixs Latest Huge Mistake

Mainly, which one of Styles former lovers does this shoe collection belong to? Ive already ruled out the possibility that these could be his despite his gender-bending attire. In public, at least, he seems to stick to mens footwear. Im also guessing he wouldnt leave his own belongings behind like a pile of garbage.

Styles owned the house from 2016 to 2019, so we have a few options. At the beginning of 2016, he was reportedly dating Kendall Jenner, who probably owns a bunch of shoes and can afford to leave hundreds behind. In 2017, The Sun reported that he was dating a food blogger named Tess Ward, who seems like somewhat of a fashion girlie, based on her Instagram. He was also in a relationship with model Camilla Rowe from 2017 to 2018.

Netflix

If I had to make an educated guess, I would assume the leftover shoes belonged to Rowe, given the alleged seriousness of their relationship. (Shes supposedly the inspiration behind some of the tracks on Fine Line). Im also curious if Styles is simply the type of wealthy man who collects expensive items to give to women. Specifically, Im thinking of that interview where Drake revealed that he collects Birkins to give to his future wife. But it would obviously be a waste of money to assume your forever womans shoe sizeand then leave the footwear behind.

Styles dating life aside, is it not totally rude to leave the new occupant of your home with hundreds of shoes to dispose of? Yes, the new buyer was a billionaire, who could presumably make the shoes go away with the snap of his finger. But isnt it a bad look that a typically charitable celebrity didnt have an assistant drop these off at a Salvation Army?

It's Time for Harry Styles to Retire What Makes You Beautiful

Leaving just the shoes behindalthough theres no way that was the only thing he disposed offeels like a statement, a flex almost. Maybe this was some sort of elaborate plan for Hernan to discuss it on the show and then have a bunch of writers, like myself, pick up the storythe messaging being, if you werent already aware at this point, that Styles is a ladies man.

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 57-year-old lawmaker joined the Senate in 2013 after a brief stint in the U.S. House, and remains the only Black Republican in Congress' upper chamber right now

Mic Smith/AP/Shutterstock Sen. Tim Scott

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has filed paperwork to run for president in 2024, the Federal Election Commission's website shows, ahead of the Republican's expected campaign launch on Monday.

The 57-year-old senator took office in 2013 and remains the lone Black Republican in the Senate; he, along with Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Raphael Warnock, are the only sitting Black senators.

Scott propelled into the national spotlight in 2021, when he delivered the official GOP rebuttal to President Joe Biden's first address to a joint session of Congress.

In his response following Biden's speech, Scott said America should take the president's remarks as little more than sweet-sounding promises from someone who seemed like a "good man" speaking "good words."

"This was the pitch, you just heard it again," Scott said. "But our nation is starving for more than empty platitudes."

Related:What to Know About Sen. Tim Scott, Who Gave GOP Response to Biden's Speech to Congress

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Sen. Tim Scott

Scott has also made headlines for leading across-the-aisle negotiations in Congress' effort to find a compromise on police reform. Scott has previously spoken out about police brutality, delivering an impassioned speech during the Republican National Convention following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020.

"Our country is experiencing something none of us envisioned. From a global pandemic, to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, 2020 has tested our nation in ways we haven't seen for decades," Scott said then, later imploring voters to not only look at what the candidates had said "but to look back at what they've done."

In 2020, CNN reported that Scott had seen an increase in "racist and profanity-laced voicemails at his office" since taking on police reform, with staff members telling the outlet at least one of the messages referred to the senator as "Uncle Tim."

Speaking to the outlet, Scott said he was "a pretty resilient guy," adding: "I carry everywhere I go in South Carolina and I have security almost everywhere I go."

Related:Black GOP Senator Tim Scott Reveals He's Been Stopped by Police 7 Times in One Year

Evan Vucci/AP/Shutterstock

In announcing his bid for the presidency, Scott pits himself directly against former President Donald Trump, who announced his own run in November.

If history is any indication, Scott won't shy away from criticizing the former president, who he previously lambasted for remarks and tweets he said were "racially offensive" and "indefensible."

Related:Who Is Running for President in 2024? Confirmed and Rumored Republican and Democratic Candidates

Scott's criticism of Trump came in response to the former president's now-infamous comments that there were fine people on "both sides" of the violence during the 2017 white nationalist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Va.

Asked about Trump's remarks, Scott said the former president had "compromised his moral authority to lead."

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.

"What the president should do before he says something is to sit down and become better acquainted, have a personal connection to the painful history of racism and bigotry of this country," he said. "It would be fantastic if he sat down with a group of folks who endured the pain of the sixties the humiliation of the fifties and the sixties."

Scott continued: "This would be an opportunity for him to become better educated and acquainted with the looping history of so many folks, from John Lewis to my mother and so many others, who have gone through the painful parts of the history of this country."

Prior to joining the Senate, Scott served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He's also served one term in the South Carolina state House of Representatives and 14 years on the Charleston City Council.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.
Dianne Feinstein back at the Capitol

The oldest member of the US Senate contracted encephalitis, a brain inflammation, her office has said, after a bout of shingles that left her unable to sit on key committee.

Dianne Feinstein, 89, also developed Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which can cause facial paralysis, her office said.

The encephalitis resolved itself, but she continues to deal with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, the statement said.

She returned to Washington on 10 May after nearly three months of absence.

The California Democrat was admitted to hospital after being diagnosed with shingles in late February and recovered at home in San Francisco.

Her spokesman told the BBC on Thursday: "The senator previously disclosed that she had several complications related to her shingles diagnosis."

The statement added "those complications included Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis".

It continued: "While the encephalitis resolved itself shortly after she was released from the hospital in March, she continues to have complications from Ramsay Hunt syndrome."

Her aide's statement contradicted the senator's own remarks on Thursday, according to CNN. The network quoted Ms Feinstein as denying she had encephalitis, saying "it really has never been diagnosed properly" and "it was really a bad flu".

Encephalitis can result in symptoms including personality changes, seizures, confusion and problems with sight or hearing, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Other high-profile figures to be diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome include Canadian pop star Justin Bieber.

The specifics of Ms Feinstein's shingles complications had not previously been disclosed.

When she arrived at the Capitol last week, she was using a wheelchair - which her office said may be required at times now due to her impaired vision and balance since her illness.

The statement said that her doctors had advised her to work "a lighter schedule".

Upon her return, the Senate Judiciary Committee gave her a standing ovation, and confirmed three of President Joe Biden's judicial nominees.

Her absence had delayed the committee's efforts to confirm federal judges as it has only a slim one-seat Democratic majority.

Members of her own party have led calls for her to resign, saying she is no longer fit to serve constituents.

She is not seeking re-election in 2024 and several Democratic members of Congress - Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff - have already jumped into the race to succeed her.
Sen. Tim Scott filed paperwork on Friday morning to enter the 2024 presidential race, formalizing a campaign that has been in the works for months.

The South Carolina Republican has planned an event for a major announcement on Monday in North Charleston, S.C., where he will finally declare his candidacy.

The Senates lone Black Republican, Scott has billed his Faith in America campaign partly as a repudiation of the idea that systemic racism remains a force in American life.

Joe Biden and the radical left have chosen a culture of grievance over greatness, Scott said in a campaign video last month. All too often, when they get called out for their failures, they weaponize race to divide us.

Scott faces a difficult campaign for the Republican presidential nomination against fellow South Carolinian Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump.

Despite criminal investigations over hoarding public records and his efforts to throw out the 2020 presidential election, Trump remains a formidable Republican primary candidate, with a wide lead in many polls.

Scott is less well known than Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, another Republican who has been laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign.

So far, Scott has avoided criticizing his likely opponents. He has also avoided taking a firm position on abortion restrictions, an issue that has confounded the other GOP candidates as they try to mollify their anti-abortion base voters without taking positions that are unpopular with the general electorate.

This presidential candidacy has been in the works a long time. Last year Scott published a book titled America, a Redemption Story, fulfilling the informal requirement that all candidates for national office be published authors.

As a senator, Scott emerged as the leading Republican voice on police reform after the 2020 murder of George Floyd spurred nationwide Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality.

Republican leaders delegated to Scott the task of negotiating with Democrats for some sort of compromise on higher standards for law enforcement. The two sides failed to reach a deal, however, as Scott rejected Democratic demands to increase police accountability by reforming qualified immunity, the legal doctrine that shields government employees from having to pay money damages for misconduct. (Its unclear how many other Republicans would have been willing to reform qualified immunity even if Scott had gone for it.)

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) was the leading Republican voice on police reform.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) was the leading Republican voice on police reform.

After the high-profile police killing of Tyre Nichols this year, Scott said the Democrats preferred bill, the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act, remained a nonstarter.

Ive been working toward common ground solutions that actually have a shot at passing, Scott said on Twitter in February. Solutions to increase funding and training to make sure only the best wear the badge. Solutions that would have made a difference in places like Memphis & Kenosha.

Its striking that despite the apparent agreement that police departments across the country could benefit from higher standards, lawmakers couldnt come up with even a modest compromise  unlike the bipartisan negotiators who struck a deal on gun reform last year after high-profile mass shootings.

Some lawmakers make up for thin records of legislative accomplishment with rhetorical bombast, but not Scott, who avoids inflammatory statements and maintains a mild disposition, often declining to speak to reporters in the hallways of the Capitol.

I am not really into theatrics, Scott said on the Senate floor in 2020 during a speech lamenting that Democrats didnt support his police reform proposals. I dont run toward microphones.

Related...
Space Race

Gone are the good old days of homophobia and racism at NASA  and to some senators, that's a problem.

During a budgetary hearing this week, a pair of Republicans on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee criticized NASA's efforts to both combat climate change and increase diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), calling the initiatives "woke."

As Space Policy Online breaks it down, the senators  onetime presidential hopeful Ted Cruz of Texas and Eric Schmitt of Missouri, both ranking members of the committee  spoke in broad, Fox News-friendly terms when denouncing NASA's DEI and environmental proposals.

For his part, Schmitt trashed the agency's "obsession with misguided woke policies related to climate change and diversity, equity, and inclusion." He also opined that "China has no interest in out-DEIing us and theyre not intimidated at all by this divisive radical policy thats found its way into this budget."

"If NASA is seen as partisan, that is very bad for space and space exploration," Cruz added. "So I hope NASA will continue its tradition of staying out of those battles."

NAS Ackwards

As Futurism and other outlets have reported, the American space agency has long been a white boys' club. During the race to the Moon in the 1960s, it had the opportunity to select a highly accomplished Black astronaut for the Apollo program  but ultimately didn't. And though the contributions of numerous Black women as mathematicians during the agency's formative years were well documented in the 2016 book "Hidden Figures," it took decades for their efforts to be recognized.

Strides have been made, but the agency has never had a female administrator and has only had one Black man at its helm. It took until last year for a Black woman to become a crew member on the International Space Station.

So to the contrary of Cruz and Schmitt's grandstanding, it's clear that DEI is still very much needed at NASA. And needless to say, the climate isn't a partisan issue either.

Besides, anyone familiar with current right-wing rhetoric knows that "woke" has become a sort of catch-all code word for progressive anti-bigotry ideals and efforts. From attempts to use more inclusive language in reproductive healthcare to debates about artificial intelligence guardrails, the fear of a "woke" planet has much of the country veritably frothing at the mouth and pining away for the days when there were no consequences for being a bigot  and that outlook, it seems, has made its way to the lawmakers overseeing NASA.

Bottom line? Instead of worrying about the very real ways racism harms America financially, Cruz and Schmitt are instead invoking the "woke" boogeyman to score political points  and frankly, it's pretty embarrassing to witness.

More on NASA: New NASA Goddard Director Explains Why She Was Sworn In On a Carl Sagan Book
After serving 20 years, Mario of 'Mario's Law' could get parole under law bearing his name

PROVIDENCE  Criminal justice reform advocates are hailing a court ruling that grants parole eligibility to the man whose efforts to redeem himself helped lead to passage of the states Youthful Offender Act.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Nugent ruled Wednesday that 39-year-old Mario Monteiro is eligible for parole, rejecting the states arguments that he must serve an additional 15 years in prison before being up for review.

Monteiros case served as the impetus for the Youthful Offender Act  known colloquially as Marios Law, after Monteiro. Passed in 2021, the law grants parole eligibility to people sentenced for crimes committed before they turned 22 once they have served 20 years in prison, except in cases in which an individual is serving life without the possibility of parole.

The courts decision vindicates the General Assemblys humane position that young offenders deserve a second chance, said Lynette Labinger, who represented Monteiro on behalf of the state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union. Marios rehabilitation after 20 years in prison is a testament to the wisdom of the legislatures actions, and we are pleased that the court has recognized there is no validity to the states attempt to undermine that law.

A spokesman for Attorney General Peter F. Neronhas office declined comment, saying the ruling was being reviewed.

More on Mario's case: ACLU fights for release of youthful offender; RI officials say law doesn't apply to him

Monteiros past

Monteiro was 17 years old when he fatally shot a Cambodian immigrant, Rom Peov, on July 3, 2001, during an ongoing gang feud.

Sitting on a stoop with friends on Hanover Street drinking a beer, Peov, 31, was an innocent bystander to the gang conflict.

A jury convicted Monteiro in 2002, and he was sentenced to two mandatory consecutive life terms.

Mario Monteiro at age 16

Board grants Monteiro parole

The Parole Board unanimously granted Monteiro parole in December 2021 but took the position that he was paroled to begin serving his second life sentence. Nonetheless, the board recognized Monteiros rehabilitative efforts, including becoming an anti-gang advocate and mentor to young prisoners, earning a high school diploma and securing a full-time job upon his release.

The boards decision to hold him as he served his remaining sentence was guided by a new internal method the state Department of Corrections uses for calculating parole eligibility that disaggregates consecutive sentences.

Monteiro challenged the states stance last year, arguing that the interpretation was "absurd and illogical" and contrary to the express terms of the act. The law extends parole review to any offense committed by a youthful offender after that person has served 20 years.

More: Do long sentences for young offenders merit 'second look'? Judge asks lawmakers for leeway

Judge Nugents ruling

The state argued that the youthful-offender provision didnt apply to Monteiros second consecutive life sentence and impinged upon the separation-of-powers doctrine by legislatively intervening in a judicially imposed sentence. In essence, the state argued, it represented an impermissible encroachment by state lawmakers into an area reserved for the judiciary.

Nugent dismissed those arguments, concluding that if the legislature intended to separate various sentences for parole consideration, it would have specified that the law apply to any single offense.

He determined, too, that parole did not represent a modification of a sentence because the person would remain subject to the underlying sentence. The law leaves the discretion to the Parole Board, part of the states executive branch, to decide whether to grant parole on a case-by-case basis, he said.

Most importantly, it bears mention that petitioners parole does not amount to a get-out-of-jail-free card; rather, petitioner will remain subject to revocation of his parole and being ordered to serve inside the walls of the ACI if he violates the conditions of his parole, Nugent wrote in finding that the law doesnt violate the separation of powers.

U.S. Supreme Court guidance

In ruling, Nugent looked to parole reforms enacted in other states based on U.S. Supreme Court opinions addressing the sentencing of juveniles. The high court in 2005 ruled it was unconstitutional to impose a death sentence on juveniles and, in 2012, it held the same for life-without-parole terms for youth, except in cases involving homicide.

The Rhode Island law is based on the U.S. Supreme Court's recognition that juveniles lack full culpability due to their immaturity even when they commit terrible crimes, says the ACLU.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Mario Monteiro could get parole after judge's ruling
BEIRUT, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday called on Arab brothers to assist Lebanon in securing a safe return of Syrian refugees to their homeland.

"The return of refugees cannot be achieved if Arabs do not unite their efforts with the support of the international community, and in communication and dialogue with Syria," a statement by Lebanon's Council of Ministers quoted Mikati as saying during the Arab League summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Mikati said Lebanon "has never hesitated to open its doors to our displaced Syrian brothers out of faith in the brotherhood of the two peoples and the advancement of humanitarian considerations."

However, it could no longer bear the burden of hosting the large number of Syrian refugees on its territories, as the displacement crisis has strained the country's capacity in terms of infrastructure, social influences, and political repercussions at home, said Mikati.

He added that it is a natural right of those displaced to return to their cities and villages.

The prime minister said Lebanon suffers from multiple crises weighing heavily on the Lebanese people struggling in dire living conditions. 
Seven dogs seized, along with guns and drugs, after investigation into Exeter dog fighting operation

Police arrested two people and seized drugs, guns and seven dogs in Exeter Thursday as part of an investigation into an alleged "drug distribution and dog fighting operation," the Rhode Island State Police said.

Executing a search warrant early Thursday morning at a South County Trail apartment, investigators seized nine guns, two large-capacity ammunition feeding devices and 112 grams of cocaine/fentanyl, in addition to the dogs, the state police said in a press release.

The police displayed guns, drugs and other items seized in the search in Exeter Thursday morning.

"The Rhode Island State Police Intelligence Unit, the South Kingstown Police Department, and the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals conducted an investigation regarding an individual who was allegedly involved in a drug distribution and dog fighting operation and made these arrests," Col. Darnell S. Weaver, superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police and director of the Department of Public Safety, said. "This was great work by all three agencies."

More: 'Fresh start:' Warwick wolf dogs start their new life in Ohio in the '401 Run'

Matthew C. Moynihan, police chief for South Kingstown, said, "We took illegal guns off the street and shut down a dangerous drug dealing operation that was distributing the lethal drug fentanyl that has been devastating many communities across the state."

Exeter doesn't have its own police department and is patrolled by the state police.

Seven dogs were seized when the police executed the search warrant Thursday.

The dogs are receiving medical evaluation and treatment by veterinary and shelter staff, said Earl K. Newman III, special agent with the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal's division of law enforcement.

The dogs seized, mostly pitbulls or pitbull mixes, were probably not involved in fighting but were likely "breeding stock," Newman said. Breeders can earn $1,500 to $2,000 by selling such puppies, he said.

Mason Wilson, 35, was charged with seven counts of unnecessary cruelty to an animal; possession with intent to deliver (cocaine, fentanyl, oxycodone, amphetamines, buprenorphine); possession of a firearm by a person prohibited; possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute; illegal possession of large capacity feeding devices and alteration of marks of identification on firearms.

He was arraigned at District Court, Wakefield, where he was held without bail and ordered not to be in the care, custody, or control of any animals, the state police said.

Another resident of the apartment was charged with possession of cocaine and fentanyl.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Exeter dog fighting operation investigation leads to dogs, drugs and guns seized
Using sexually explicit photos to blackmail minors and others in South Carolina could now land someone in prison for up to 20 years  a new change sparked by the death of a York County lawmakers son last year.

Gov. Henry McMaster on Thursday signed into a law a bill that makes sexual extortion or sextortion  the act of blackmailing someone after luring them to send sexually explicit photos of themselves via text or social media  a felony offense which becomes aggravated if the victim is a minor.

Gavins Law was sponsored by freshman state Rep. Brandon Guffey, R-York, whose 17-year-old-son, Gavin, died by suicide last summer after falling victim to an online sextortion scheme.

With the signing of Gavins Law, despicable criminals like the ones responsible for the Guffey familys tragic loss will now know that they will go to jail for a very long time for preying on our states innocent young people, McMaster said Thursday in a statement to The State newspaper.

Last summer, someone pretending to be a college-age woman asked Guffeys son to send illicit photos of himself. After the pictures were exchanged, Guffey said Gavin and his family were extorted for money, which eventually led to his death.

The most important thing to me is raising awareness (about sextortion) because a lot of these crimes happen overseas, Guffey told The State Thursday.

Three men from Nigeria were recently charged in the sextortion death of a teen in Michigan, according to CBS News. Similar to Gavins case, these men requested that the victim send nude images. Upon receiving the images, the men created collages that included them alongside photos of the victims friends and family, and threatened to send the collages to friends, family and classmates unless the victim paid them money.

Minors falling victim to sex extortion are on the raise nationally with more than 3,000 cases in 2022, according to the FBI.

To address this increasing threat to minors, South Carolinas Gavins Law increases penalties for anyone sexually extorting a minor by allowing for up to a 20-year prison sentence on a first offense. If the person convicted is a minor, however, the charge is reduced to a misdemeanor and referred to family court, which could order the minor to undergo behavioral counseling.

The last thing that I wanted, just as my son made the mistake of sending the image, is another 17-year-old looking at 15 years in jail because he said or did something stupid, Guffey said, referring to an earlier version of the bill which included a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence. I dont believe in taking any kids life away over something like that.

While commended by his colleagues for successfully pushing the bill through during his first legislative session, Guffey said he couldnt have done it alone.

No freshman legislator is going to be able to get something done like that year one by themselves, Guffey said. We all gathered around my desk and talked about how important this (bill) was every Tuesday before we started session, and how we could get it progressing.
The family of Shanquella Robinson and their attorneys said they found hope Friday morning after meeting with White House officials to demand that federal authorities extradite a woman wanted in Mexico on charges of killing Robinson.

White House officials confirmed the meeting late Friday.

I am encouraged by the meeting, attorney Ben Crump, who represents Robinsons family, told reporters.

He said the meeting included Steve Benjamin, the White House director of public engagement. Crump said he asked Benjamins team what the family does next and how they go forward or if there wasnt any hope.

We are grateful they said, No, dont give up, that they are going to look at what can be done to make sure there is at least due process for Shanquella Robinson, Crump said.

White House officials referred questions about specifics of the case to the State Department.

During the meeting, officials reiterated their condolences and heard directly from Ms. Robinsons family, a White House official said.

The White House said the family also met with federal officials from the Department of Justice and the FBI in April to discuss the findings of the federal investigation into Robinsons death.

More generally, officials remain committed to ensuring our nations justice system lives up to the promise of fair and impartial justice, equal treatment and dignity for all, a White House official said.

Crump told reporters that he understands that theres a presumption of innocence in the United States, until proven guilty, but he said after seeing all of the information that has come forward in the case, he didnt expect to be standing before the media, exactly 200 days after Robinsons death, and once again demanding the State Department do something.

Robinsons family, their lawyers and activists planned a rally outside Crumps law firm to demand justice for Robinson. Together they stood with poster boards of Robinsons photo and other signs calling for extradition of her alleged killers.

The 25-year-old Charlotte woman who attended Winston-Salem State University died in October under mysterious circumstances in Cabo San Lucas. The six people traveling with her say she died from alcohol poisoning, but a video that surfaced online just weeks after her death seemingly shows Robinson, naked at the resort, being beaten by another woman.

Friday marked the first rally since U.S. authorities announced they did not have enough evidence to pursue criminal charges. Her family, attorneys and activists are now calling on President Joe Biden to intervene.

You can do your investigation, FBI, said Sue-Ann Robinson, another attorney representing the family, who is unrelated to the Robinsons. If the U.S. authorities dont want to move forward, get out of the way and let the Mexican authorities act on their investigation that was done at the closest time to her death.

Sue-Ann Robinson reminded those attending the rally that Mexican authorities already took out a warrant for someones arrest and named a suspect.

In April, the FBI would not comment on why the video of Robinson being beaten before her death was not considered enough evidence of a crime but said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer: All available evidence was reviewed.

Salamondra Robinson, Shanquellas mother, said she doesnt know which way to turn.

She did no wrong to no one and it was just heartbreaking, Salamondra Robinson said. Weve seen the video of her being brutally beaten and no one has been arrested yet. Someone should have been arrested right after the video was released.

The Robinson family attorneys, Sue-Ann Robinson and Crump, said in March that Mexican authorities have taken out a warrant on Daejhane Jackson, one of six people traveling with Robinson when she died. Mexican authorities have an active warrant out for someone on charges of femicide, a type of homicide that targets a female, but they have not publicly named the suspect. As revealed by investigation documents shared with the legal team by Mexican law enforcement, hotel workers pointed authorities there to Jackson as a suspect.

Video surfaced last week of several women being attacked in Greensboro and a caption saying it was the three women who were on the trip with Shanquella Robinson. Her attorneys said they do not condone violence in seeking out justice in her death.

Friday marked the 200th day since Robinson died.

What happened to Shanquella Robinson?

Robinsons lawyers say her travel companions first told both medical personnel and her family that she died from alcohol poisoning, but her mother started questioning their stories after details changed from one retelling to another. Those changes included details like how she died, who found her unconscious and who called a doctor.

An autopsy report in Mexico found that Robinson died from severe injuries to her spinal cord and neck.

As The Charlotte Observer has reported previously, a secondary autopsy in the U.S.  performed in November  revealed a major discrepancy with the findings in an autopsy performed during Mexican authorities investigation.

The Mecklenburg County-based autopsy report says experts found no injuries to Robinsons spinal cord and subsequently rule the cause of her death undetermined.

Robinsons attorneys blame the FBI for waiting for Robinson to be embalmed before having medical examiners perform an autopsy, the Observer previously reported.

On Friday Sue-Ann Robinson said during the rally that the FBI should have followed protocol in taking custody of Robinsons body, performing an autopsy and not waiting until the day before her funeral. She said U.S. authorities broke protocol in Robinsons case.

The FBI has not released any documents to the family at all, said Sue-Ann Robinson. Nothing from the investigation or even their decision is in writing. Theyve advised that the file is still open, so they cant give any documents. But charges have been declined so the family is left with more unanswered questions and no closure.

Charlotte Observer reporter Kallie Cox contributed.






Robinsons family and attorneys are hopeful and cautiously optimistic that White House officials will prioritize this case in the way they feel it deserves.

Attorney Ben Crump, right, speaks alongside Sallamondra Robinson during a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Friday, on the investigation into the killing of Shanquella Robinson, left. (Courtesy of the Robinson family, Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON  Attorneys and the family of Shanquella Robinson, a 25-year-old Charlotte, N.C., woman who died last year while on a trip with a friend and five other American travel mates in Mexico, met with White House officials Friday morning, demanding that U.S. leadership extradite a suspect to Mexico to be held responsible for Robinsons death.

Were going straight to the top and we expect them to not disrespect or neglect Shanquella Robinson, family attorney Ben Crump said at a press conference shortly after the meeting held just steps away from the White House.

Crump says he was encouraged following the meeting with Steve Benjamin, director of the Office of Public Engagement, as well as members of the Office of the White House Counsel, who have a direct line to President Biden and Vice President Harris. He expressed optimism that the case would be prioritized.

We are grateful that they said No, dont give up on the process, we are going to look at what can be done to make sure that there is at least due process, Crump said.

Fridays series of events marked the 200th day of Robinsons death as frustrations mount over the lack of arrests despite video footage of Robinson getting physically assaulted by other people on the trip.

Activist Tamika Mallory speaks at a news conference on the killing of Shanquella Robinson, on Friday in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

There were around two dozen people in attendance at the press conference; a bevy of cameras captured the speeches and civil rights activists holding large signs with Robinsons face on them. The crowd frequently broke out into back-and-forth chants no justice, no peace and say her name.

Activist Tamika Mallory, co-founder of social justice organization Until Freedom who joined the White House meeting, was more reserved in her assessment of how things played out, saying the family had an opportunity to lay out the facts and holes in the case, but there was no immediate action taken.

They did not say what they would do. They did not say its going to happen. They did not say they were going to make the State Department or anyone else do anything. They said they were going to look into the situation, Mallory said.

What happened in Mexico?

More than six-and-a-half months ago on Oct. 28 of last year, Robinson was found dead less than 24 hours after traveling to the resort city of San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, with one friend and five travel mates to celebrate one of their birthdays.

Initially, the people on the trip told her mother that Robinson had died of alcohol poisoning, but the family later received an autopsy report from the Mexican Secretariat of Health and learned she had suffered a broken neck and a cracked spine. No mention of alcohol was included in the report. In a death certificate obtained by Queen City News in Charlotte, N.C., Robinson's death was attributed to a severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation, meaning that her first vertebra was loosened or detached from the base of her skull.

Shanquella Robinson, right, with her mother, Sallamondra Robinson, left. (Family handout)

Nearly a month later, the video footage of Robinson being attacked appeared on social media. Robinsons mother recognized the other people in the video as the ones who traveled with her daughter, and she believes it was captured on the trip to Cabo.

Mexican authorities issued an arrest warrant in the case in November for the crime of femicide, a form of gender-based violence. They also sought to extradite an American suspect to the country to face charges. But since then, no one has been held accountable.

Someone should have been arrested

Robinsons mother, Sallamondra Robinson, believes she knows why Robinson is no longer alive and who did it, based on video footage of her daughter getting physically assaulted, along with various investigative documents her family has retrieved. But she says that U.S. authorities arent taking action.

Someone should have been arrested after the video was released, she said Friday, referring to footage shared online just weeks after Robinsons death in which a blogger in North Carolina claims a woman is seen viciously attacking Robinson until her body goes limp. We cant sleep or eat. Were barely holding down a job. Were so heartbroken we dont know which way to go.

I want justice, because Ive seen her being brutally beaten, Sallamondra Robinson told Yahoo News last month. Thats enough evidence right there.

Sallamondra Robinson wipes her eyes after speaking at a press conference on Friday in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Shenita Binns, a civil rights activist who traveled from Atlanta, Ga., to support Robinsons family, told Yahoo News at Fridays press conference that this case reveals that there are two Americas and if Robinson were white, justice would have already come.

I feel like it is exactly what Dr. Martin Luther King said, Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, she said. If they can do this to Shanquella, they can do it to my daughter, they can do it to my cousin, my nieces, my nephews.

Crump echoed these sentiments, sharing the collective frustration over inaction by U.S. officials to date.

When it was Natalee Holloway and Gabby Petito, [two white women] you had everyone trying to get to the bottom of it, but when it was Shanquella Robinson, no one was trying to get to the bottom of it, he said.

Why has there been no arrest?

Experts say extradition remains on the table; however, the move is seen as rare and complex.

Lawyers from Ralls & Wille, an Arizona-based firm that regularly handles cross-border extraditions, told Insider that very few extraditions between the U.S. and Mexico occur involving American citizens  so few that their firm has only ever handled one such case.

Shanquella Robinson (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: family handout)

Still, the prosecutors decision to not file charges shouldnt affect a possible extradition, but political issues may complicate matters, according to Paul Arnell, an associate professor at Robert Gordon University.

"Political concerns can affect the decision to request an individual and the decision whether or not to accede to hand the person over, Arnell told Newsweek. The process is therefore somewhat dependent upon the overall relations between the countries. If, say, Mexico has refused to send persons to the U.S. then in turn the U.S. may act similarly.

Next steps

During Fridays press conference, Robinsons family and the family's attorneys vowed to not stop until someone is held accountable for her death, stopping short of setting any hard deadline for White House officials.

If we let a couple months go by and dont say Shanquella Robinson, then no one will, Crump said. We are going to keep saying her name.

An activist holds up a picture of Shanquella Robinson during a press conference on Friday in Washington, D.C., on the investigation into her killing. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Robinsons six travel mates  known as the Cabo 6  remain free. But advocates warn them not to get too comfortable.

These are some very dangerous individuals and if they did it to Shanquella, they can do it to someone else, Mallory said. When our government fails to move and do what it needs to do, then the community believes its only recourse is to step in and protect our sister, Shanquella.

Cover thumbnail: Courtesy of the Robinson family, Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
She was burnt alive by the man she loved. Then Judy Malinowski testified at her own murder trial

Judy Malinowski was a 31-year-old young mother when her boyfriend cut her life short by setting her on fire - but she survived miraculously for nearly two years to fight for other victims and justice for herself (Facebook/ABC6)

Speaking from her hospital bed  missing hair, skin, ears and fingers after suffering burns to more than 90 per cent of her body  Judy Malinowski raises a deformed right hand and stares down a video camera. The word frail doesnt even come close to describing the appearance of the young mother. Its hard to believe she is even alive.

Judys voice is steely, belying an unfathomable strength and determination from a body on the verge of giving up. The arson victim is talking through the live feed to her lawyer and then to the attorney representing Michael Slager, the boyfriend whod tried to kill her.

Within months of giving the deposition, Judy would be dead. Those videotaped conversations would prompt a historic development within the Ohio court system  allowing a murder victim to testify at their own trial.

Thats exactly what Judy did, as she personally addressed the judge and jurors from the grave. Slager was sentenced to life without parole.

The tragic case is chronicled in The Fire That Took Her, a documentary that will be released on Paramount+ on 23 May.

Judy not only made history with her posthumous testimony. Her story and advocacy also helped push through a state law that adds up to six years to sentences for offenders who attack and disfigure victims with accelerants such as gasoline.

Legislators unanimously passed Judys Law and it was signed by the governor, Judys two daughters at his side, the same week as her funeral.

This woman contributed to American legal precedent, director Patricia Gillespie, who first read about the story in a newspaper piece that didnt even make the front page, tells The Independent. Its a wild story. Everybody should know about this woman.

Judy grew up in suburban Ohio, where she doted on her sister and brother and enjoyed a happy childhood, even winning beauty pageants and being crowned homecoming queen. Her idyllic life was thrown into chaos, however, when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer as a young adult; she beat it once but was told in 2006 that the cancer had returned.

Doctors performed a full hysterectomy on Judy, but she became addicted to opiates during recovery at a time when the drug epidemic was exploding across the United States. When Judys insurance ran out and she could no longer access prescriptions, she turned to the streets for heroin. Judy herself says this in the documentary, which utilises video footage filmed by family and detectives.

Relatives helped care for Judys two young daughters as she worked thorugh her addiction and tried to get back on her feet; she seemed to be making great progress until she began dating Michael Slager.

The documentary says that Slager contacted Judy on social media, and the pair became inseparable from their first date onwards. Unbeknownst to her family, neck-tattooed Slager had a lengthy record with offenses ranging from theft and stalking to child endangerment and domestic assault.

Judys mother, sister and daughters recall Judys spirit in the documentary, still heartbroken at the horrific manner in which Slager cut her life short (MTV Documentary Films)

During her relationship with Slager, Judy fell back into addiction. He would buy her drugs, according to the film, despite not using them himself. It created a toxic cycle leaving her controlled by and dependent upon him. The pair fought often; it was one of those fights, while Judy was on her way back to rehab in 2015, that would ultimately turn deadly.

During the altercation by a gas station on 2 August of that year, Judy threw a soda at Slager; he responded by dousing her with gasoline. Surveillance footage from an ATM across the street shows Slager head back to his black truck, only to return in half a minute with a lighter.

Seconds later, Judys entire body was engulfed in flames as Slager looked on.

A frantic 911 caller alerted authorities. Slager began attempting to pass off the attack as an accident. Judy was whisked to the hospital, where she was not expected to survive.

In the burn world, we have an equation for mortality, which is based on the patients age, and percent burn, Stacy Best, one of Judys nurses, says in The Fire That Took Her. And in Judys case, she was 31 at the time of the burn, I believe, and approximately 80-plus percent burnt. So that made her like 110 percent mortality.

As Judy fought for her life, detectives were investigating what had really happened outside that gas station. It was the ATM surveillance footage - in addition to eyewitness statements - that almost immediately tore to shreds Slagers account.

It looked like a movie scene, Lead Detective Chad Cohagen says in the film, adding that the footage was clearly showing that they were arguing, and then Michael dumped gas over her. So we knew right away that Michaels story ... he had lied to us. For me, that scene has played out in dreams more times than I can count.

As determined authorities worked on building a case, Judy lay in a coma for months, her life hanging by a thread.

Mother-of-two Judy Malinowski was just 31 when her then-boyfriend, Michael Slager, set her alight in 2015; she died two years later from her severe injuries (MTV Documentary Films)

I could probably prosecute prosecute for another 20 years and not get a case that is so right for the death penalty, Assistant Prosector Warren Edwards says in The Fire That Took Her. And really, for the first several months of this case, we were we were playing the delay game. It sounds terrible, but we were basically waiting for Judy to die so that we could charge Mr Slager with the homicide. And we got a call one day that she was awake, which is a call I never expected to get.

The prosecutor said that it was the first homicide case Ive handled where I got to meet the victim.

Judys explanation of her attack is chilling as she strains to speak after miraculously emerging from her coma.

I dont think words can describe what it feels like to have your whole body set on fire, she says in the film. I thought for sure I was dying. I just prayed to Jesus to please forgive me for my sins and to take care of my children, and that was it. I blacked out. I dont remember anything until I woke up in the hospital.

Mr Cohagen recalls how he had never seen trauma like that to a human body that wasnt deceased.

I remember leaning in to talk to her, and she doesnt have any ears to hear, he says in the film. So I dont even know if she can hear me.

Judy would undergo more than 50 surgeries, code seven times and suffer excuciating procedures and skin grafts, many of them failed.

Slager, meanwhile, was charged with aggravated arson and felonious assault. He pleaded no contest when the possibility was raised of Judy testifiying via video link, which would unquestionably make jurors hate him, his lawyer says he told his client in the film.

The judge sentenced Slager to the maximum penalty allowed under the law - 11 years - and lamented that she could not keep him behind bars for longer.

Against all odds, Judy survived for 23 months after her attack, underwent more than 50 surgeries and coded at least seven times

You really do seem like one of those people that have no soul, and you need to be incarcerated, she told Slager in court. Thats all I have to say.

Judy and her family were heartbroken at the light sentence. Despite constant pain, she fought for Ohio state law to change to increase sentences for attackers who leave their victims permanently disfigured.

There was this part of her that wanted to make it and to live to fight for every other woman that had been through something like that, her sister, Danielle Gorman, says in the documentary. She definitely wanted the law to change. And she was willing to do whatever she needed to do to help change the law.

Her nurse, still clearly incredulous at Judys strength, says it was a miracle that she survived with her spirit intact and her will to help other people intact.

Judy, in support of the legislation, talks in the film about how the arson attack destroyed my life, my familys life, my kids lives ... the laws of justice are not fair.

With her help from her hospital bed, the measure passed and was signed into law just months after Judy passed away.

Before that, prosecutors who were just as irate as Judy about Slagers paltry sentence approached her about recording testimony for her own inevitable murder trial. It had never been done before, and they had to argue using similar cases, though not homicides, where victim depositions had been utilized.

Franklin County District Attorney Ron OBrien, speaking in the film, says he considered it a stroke of genius to come up with the idea of taking a deposition where she could testify from the grave at a subsequent homicide trial.

Judys condition was deteriorating nearly 18 months after her attack, but her pain medication would have to be significantly reduced to ensure her lucidity during testimony.

Nonetheless, she agreed. The film is painful to watch as Judys body strains to allow her forceful, powerful deposition.

Michael Slager pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison after Judy died from injuries incurred when he set her on fire in August 2015. (MTV Documentary Films)

After she threw a drink at him during a fight, she says, Slager ran around to the other side of his truck, and he got these cans of gasoline that he kept in the back of his truck ... he ran around me and started pouring gasoline, started at my head and worked his way down. Some got in my throat as he did that. That burnt really bad.

Calling him evil, she explains how Slager backed away from me for about 30 seconds; I kept telling him to please help me and Stop and Ill get in the truck, Ill go with you ... and he pulled a lighter out of his pocket, and he started walking towards me.

i just remember crying and begging for help, and he lit me on fire, she says. And the look in his eyes ... his eyes went black, literally. After I was set on fire and he backed away, his eyes just turned black as I screamed for his help. And he did nothing.

When Slagers attorney cross-examines her, asking about her drug history and other details, Judy more than holds her own and, at times, even talks over him. She recounts how Slager got her re-hooked on heroin, bought her the drugs and had previously threatened her life.

I called the police and told them Michael was going to kill me and I needed help, but the detective did nothing about it - so here I am, she says, before adding: You have to understand, on August 2nd, I was set on fire, thrown on the ground and burnt, 95 percent of my body. Its really hard for me to try to keep track of everything that happened in this horrible relationship.

Years before her attack, Judy - beloved daughter, sister and friend - was crowned homecoming queen at her Ohio school (Facebook)

Judy gave her deposition in early 2017; less than five months later, on 27 June, she passed away. Slager was subsequently charged with murder and her testimony admitted into the trial.

In July 2018, Slager pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison; Judy made clear that she did not want him to receive the death penalty, hoping he would find religion while in prison, according to the film.

Her obituary praises her courageous and miraculous 23 month battle for her life, outlining how Judys case inspired the change of legislation to extend sentences of criminals of felonious assault who have disfigured their victims ... She was pivotal in the passage of this law by enduring excruciating pain to be able to testify in her own case.

In spite of her extreme pain, her beautiful smile shined through her permanent scars, her disfigurement and her tears, her obituary reads.

Thats the Judy who Ms Gillespie came to know while working on The Fire That Took Her.

I didnt have the privilege of meeting Judy in real life, she tells The Independent. But the absence that she created in the lives of these people that Ive come to care about very deeply shows a tremendous amount of love, and humour, and grit - and somebody who was really ready to get her life together ... and it was cut short, because we havent figured out a way to handle these cracks in the system that she slipped through, right?

We havent figured out a way to handle the medical industrial complex and Big Pharma. We havent figured out a way to handle addiction, we havent figured out a way to, most importantly, handle domestic abusers, repeat offenders and to sentence these people properly when they do commit these crimes.

She says she feels that, in some ways, Judy is representative of a lot of us, or a role model or a figurehead for a lot of us, or women who survived domestic abuse.

She could have really been easily cast in this archetypical role of a victim, which in American society tends to be very passive, to attract a lot of pity, said Ms Gillespie. And instead of playing that role out, she completely subverted that idea and became a hero.
She ran over her girlfriend and left her to die, feds say. Now, the jury verdict is in

A womans body was found face down on the shoulder of a parkway connecting Baltimore to Washington, D.C., federal officials said.

Her cellphone was found in the nearby grass, and police recovered a second phone, with a smashed screen  which investigators later learned belonged to her girlfriend  from the road, according to prosecutors.

Her girlfriend, of Melbourne, Florida, is accused of running her over and leaving her to die on Nov. 24, 2021, along the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, prosecutors said.

A jury found the 29-year-old guilty of voluntary manslaughter on May 19, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Maryland.

The woman was also charged with second-degree murder, but the jury couldnt reach a verdict on that charge, officials said.

Jury members concluded she intentionally killed the victim in the heat of passion, prosecutors said.

Her attorney, Laura Abelson, a federal public defender, told McClatchy News in a statement on May 19 that prosecutors mischaracterized the evidence presented at trial when announcing her clients conviction.

Abelson said her client did not intentionally kill her girlfriend and the jurys verdict demonstrated this by finding her guilty of a less serious offense.

The woman could be sentenced up to 15 years in federal prison on the charge of voluntary manslaughter, according to prosecutors.

More on the case

When the defendants girlfriend was found dead, officers noticed a lack of tire skid marks and didnt see any car parts scattered at the scene the morning of Nov. 24, 2021, according to the release.

Later that day, the woman tracked her phone, which was found near her girlfriends body, to the U.S. Park Polices Criminal Investigations office, officials said.

She contacted the park polices station in Greenbelt, Maryland, and said she lost her phone after it was thrown out of her car, according to prosecutors. Then, she agreed to be interviewed.

During the interview on Nov. 24, the woman said she was in Washington, D.C., visiting her mother when she drove her girlfriend and another woman home in a black Nissan, prosecutors said. Shes accused of lying.

She said the other woman in the car began hitting her, so she pulled over and told both women, whom she described as her friends, to get out, according to officials.

The day after the interview, a detective visited her at her mothers home where she agreed to a search of her phone and let officers seize a black Nissan parked behind the house, prosecutors said.

That day, the detective saw a black Ford Expedition  with an indented hood and additional damage to the front grille and passenger side of the vehicle  was parked down the street with a tag displaying the womans name, according to officials.

Ultimately, an investigation revealed the woman was driving the Ford, which was swabbed and had her girlfriends DNA on it, on Nov. 24, prosecutors said.

On Nov. 26, the woman told investigators that her girlfriend was the only passenger of the car prior to her death, according to the release.

Court documents show the woman argued she acted in self-defense that day, but prosecutors said the only evidence to support her claim was a series of inconsistent statements made to investigators.

Abelson told McClatchy News that evidence presented at trial showed her client was being assaulted by her girlfriend when she pulled over on the parkway.

(She) kicked her out of the car to stop the assault, and then merged into traffic to get away, Abelson said.

Abelsons client is due back in court on Aug. 25 for a sentencing hearing, according to the release.

Jeep driver smashes into crane at construction site, killing his passenger, cops say

Man shoots, kills dune buggy driver during fight over thrown beer can, Florida cops say

13-year-old accused of shooting friend in back is charged with murder, PA officials say
The Refugees Empowerment Program bus. The bus was purchased with grant money from Shelby County and will be used to help transport people to the REP programs.

Shelby County has announced a partnership and $50,000 grant to the Refugee Empowerment Program, allowing the organization to purchase a bus to help with transportation.

The partnership and grant comes a week after the ending of Title 42, the pandemic-era border policy that made it easier to expel migrants at the southern border.

"In light of the recent conflict in Sudan, and the end of Title 42, it is crucial that local governments step up and support children of refugees," Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said in a statement. "Refugee Empowerment Programs after-school program helps our most vulnerable kids, gives their parents an opportunity to maintain meaningful employment in Shelby County, and builds on our commitment to be an inclusive and welcoming county.

The Refugee Program is a nonprofit founded in 2002 by Ruth Lomo, a Sudanese refugee. Among other things, it offers an after-school program, provides tutoring, homework assistance and a nursery and pre-k program. For adults, ESOL classes, digital literacy training, citizenship preparedness support and help navigating medical, legal, employment, and social service networks are provided.

"Twenty years ago when my mother started this organization, it was a dream," said Lomo's son, Isaac James. "A dream to make refugees and immigrants feel at home here in Memphis, feel as if they belong, feel as if they have a future. And today, through partnership with the county, the commissioners, the mayor and the work of the board, we are able to continue in that dream, to push forward."

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris climbs onto the Refugee Empowerment Program's bus to wave to the kids on board. The bus was purchased with funds from a grant from Shelby County.

The grant money was used to purchase a bus that seats more than 20 people, allowing the Refugee Empowerment Program to continue providing transportation services. Transportation was original done through donation, but that has since ended. Having a bus allows students who might not be receiving the support they need in school to attend Refugee Empowerment Program, James said

"Without coming to REP, then where do they turn?" James said. "Because a lot of different organizations might support refugees and immigrants but they don't do after school programming like we do. So the ability to have transportation and the ability to have a bus allows the students who have a passion to improve, a passion to obtain an education, get the support that they want and that they need from us. So this bus means a lot."

The Refugee Empowerment Program is presented with a giant check for a $50,000 from Shelby County.

Harris and County Commissioners Henri Brooks and Erika Sugarmon attended a Thursday event celebrating the grant money and partnership between the county and Refugee Empowerment Program.

"This is very important, to be able to invest in our children," Brooks said. "Our children are our present and our future. And we need to be able to stand up straight and be the proper role models for our children. Make sure they have the guidance. Make sure they have the resources."

Gina Butkovich covers DeSoto County, storytelling and general news. She can be reached at 901/232-6714.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shelby County announces partnership with Refugee Empowerment Program
F35 Sockwave

There are shockwave passes and then there are shockwave passes. And these photos of a U.S. Navy F-35C stealth jet roaring through the Sidewinder low-level training route in southern California are some of the most impressive of their kind weve ever seen.

The F-35C, assigned to the Navys Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Nine (VX-9) Vampires, which is home stationed at Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake, California, left the air around it in shock as it made two passes through the Sidewinder.

Both times it produced this spectacular effect, which happens when the air around the near-supersonic (transonic) jet warps, compressing or expanding depending on how the airflow behaves over different parts of the airframe. Those changes in pressure, in turn, change how the light is refracted or bent  leaving the prominent shockwave lines, which stack up as the jet approaches the speed of sound, and then become more conical once supersonic. Throw in the afterburner shock diamonds and the mass of hot exhaust churned out by the F135 turbofan, and the end effect is a stunning display of physics in action, to say the least.

Image Courtesy of Aviation Photographer @point_mugu_skies on Instagram

Image Courtesy of Aviation Photographer @point_mugu_skies on Instagram

The photos are the work of @point_mugu_skies, whose other images  many of them also shot along the Sidewinder route  are an absolute must see on their Instagram page.

Image Courtesy of Aviation Photographer @point_mugu_skies on Instagram

We spoke to them to find out more about how these particular photos were captured.

As for how I got the shots, I dont want to mention [the] precise location, but they were taken on a hill out on the Sidewinder low-level route (Southern California, Eastern Sierras), they explained. Its not accessed via paved roads its on the back-country roads. I hiked up to the 500-foot level.

Image Courtesy of Aviation Photographer @point_mugu_skies on Instagram

For the photography aficionados out there, @point_mugu_skies added: My gear was the Sony A7R5 and the lens was Sony 400mm 2.8. It was a normal spring day in April with normal Sidewinder traffic and we definitely did not expect to see two shockwave passes like that.

While these shockwave passes by the VX-9 F-35C are undoubtedly very special, the Sidewinder low-level training route probably deserves its place on the bucket list of many an aviation photographer, due to the dramatic aspect combined with the sometimes-exotic traffic that makes its way through there.

The Sidewinder route sits in the vast R-2508 Range Complex and part of it runs between Owens Valley and Panamint Valley. Up until a deadly crash of a Super Hornet in 2019, this included military aircraft blasting through Star Wars Canyon, also known as Rainbow Canyon. Low-level access for military planes to that locale was restricted following the incident, although civilian aircraft make that famous run from time to time.

That makes the Sidewinder route even more valuable and, in the recent past, we have witnessed the U.S. Air Forces F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack jets zooming along at very low altitudes through there.

An F-117A photographed from a hilltop along the Sidewinder route in April 2023. Image Courtesy of Aviation Photographer @stinkjet on Instagram



Returning to VX-9, the Sidewinder route has been the backdrop to one of the units more intriguing test jets, another F-35C coated with a mirror-like skin. That jet was spotted earlier this year in the Sidewinder and its features were something we discussed in depth at the time.

Elijah Delgadillo

It all goes to show, with a hike up to one of the prime photography perches overlooking the Sidewinder route, you can never be quite sure what you might capture.

As @point_mugu_skies reflected, The only thing certain out on the Sidewinder is surprises.

A big thank you to @point_mugu_skies for allowing us to post their photographs.

Contact the author: thomas@thedrive.com
Fort Smith police investigators searched for a shooter Friday morning after a victim was hospitalized.

Officers responded to the 3400 block of Duke Avenue, near Interstate 540 and U.S. 271, about 8:50 a.m. where a victim was taken to a local hospital by ambulance.

The condition of the victim was not known Friday morning, police said.

The shooting appeared to be an isolated incident, and there was no immediate threat to the public, according to police.

No arrest had been reported Friday morning.

A police spokesman said the investigation is continuing and that more information would be released when available.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Fort Smith police search for shooter Friday; one injured
A customer holds the lottery ticket he bought at a gas station in Austin, Texas

A store clerk and colleague are accused of stealing a $3m (2.4m) lottery ticket left behind by a customer.

State lottery officials in Massachusetts contacted police after Carly Nunes, 23, presented a ticket that was torn and burned.

Ms Nunes and colleague Joseph Reddem, 32, were also overheard arguing over their claims to the winning jackpot.

The original buyer of the ticket has been identified and will claim his prize as intended.

Plymouth County prosecutors said the man had purchased four tickets as well as a bag of potato chips from the Savas Liquors store in Lakeville on 17 January.

Ms Nunes, the clerk at the checkout counter, rang up the order but only printed two tickets, and the man left the store without his winning tickets.

That evening, his numbers were called, but the man concluded he had lost the tickets after a brief search.

Two days later, Mr Reddem drove Ms Nunes and her boyfriend to the state lottery headquarters, where she submitted her claim and redeemed the prize.

But shortly thereafter, according to prosecutors, officials overheard Mr Reddem demanding a share of the jackpot from Ms Nunes in the building's lobby. She allegedly said she would "only pay him $200,000".

Lottery investigators also questioned Ms Nunes over the poor condition her ticket was in, and opened an investigation.

Surveillance video from Savas Liquors soon revealed how Ms Nunes had obtained the ticket and, in a follow-up interview, she told police she had "inadvertently obtained" the ticket, prosecutors said.

A grand jury indicted Ms Nunes last Friday on one count each of larceny from a building, attempted larceny, presentation of a false claim and witness intimidation, and Mr Reddem on one count of attempted extortion. They will be arraigned at a later date.

Police spent nearly a month working to find the true owner of the winning ticket, canvassing the area, posting flyers of the man seen in surveillance footage and questioning local residents.

The Massachusetts State Lottery Commission has said it will honour his claim to the $3m jackpot.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, who is in China for the China-Central Asia Summit and a state visit, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, May 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov in Beijing on Friday.

Noting that the two countries' leaders have jointly announced the building of a China-Kyrgyzstan community with a shared future of good neighborliness and shared prosperity, Li said China is ready to work with Kyrgyzstan to faithfully implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, promote high-quality development of all-round cooperation, and boost the nations' common development.

He called on the two sides to upgrade trade cooperation, promote the construction of interconnectivity such as the China-Central Asia transport corridor, foster new highlights of cooperation including green energy and cross-border e-commerce, and deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges on education, culture and tourism, among other areas.

He also said that the two countries should continue enhancing security cooperation to ensure a stronger security barrier for their development and prosperity.

China is willing to work with Kyrgyzstan to implement the important outcomes of the China-Central Asia Summit, strengthen cooperation within the framework of the China-Central Asia mechanism and promote the greater development of China-Central Asia cooperation, Li added.

Noting that Kyrgyzstan-China relations are at their historical best, Japarov said the country is willing to deepen cooperation with China in political, economic and trade, people-to-people and other areas, strengthen coordination on international affairs, further advance bilateral ties, and join hands in responding to new challenges facing the world.

While congratulating China on successfully hosting the China-Central Asia Summit, Japarov said it is believed that the mechanism is bound to become a major platform of international cooperation, contributing to regional and global peace and development. 
A storm system will bring a healthy dose of much-needed rain to drought-stricken and wildfire-ravaged western Canada early this week, according to AccuWeather forecasters.

The rain, which will total several inches (or locally over 100 mm) in some spots through Tuesday, will fall over areas hardest hit by the nearly 100 wildfires that have scorched over a million acres early this spring and forced the evacuation of thousands of people.

The wet weather, while not expected to reach all the fires, nor extinguish the impacts from the fires fully, will have positive downstream effects, helping to diminish smoke that has been leading to poor air quality and visibility in large swaths of Canada and even parts of the United States in recent days.

A smoke column rises from a wildfire near Lodgepole, Alberta, Canada on May 4. More than 13,000 people who live in the Canadian province of Alberta have been evacuated as wildfires rage across the region. (Alberta Wildfire/Handout/Reuters)

For weeks now, the weather pattern fueling the wildfires in western Canada has been one of very dry and warm conditions.

According to the North American Drought Monitor, nearly 85% of Alberta is considered at least "abnormally dry," and about 41% of the land is in drought conditions due to a lack of rain and snow in recent months. Large swaths of British Columbia and Saskatchewan are also considered very dry, according to the Monitor.

GET THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

 Have the app? Unlock AccuWeather Alerts with Premium+

Temperatures in the region have also been smashing numerous daily record highs since the beginning of May. In Edmonton, Alberta's capital city, four new record high temperatures have been established this month -- ranging from 85 to 88 degrees Fahrenheit (29 to 31 degrees Celsius) -- and temperatures have been running about 10 F (about 6 C) above historical averages. AccuWeather forecasters say, thought, that a major change in the weather pattern is on the horizon.

"A dramatic shift in the weather pattern from hot and dry conditions to cool and very wet conditions is ahead," said AccuWeather Senior Storm Warning Meteorologist William Clark. "The storm responsible for this change will last several days across eastern British Columbia and into central Alberta."

Much like the record-smashing warmth, the amount of rain ahead could reach levels not usually seen this time of year.

"Most of the area will get 1 to 2 inches (25 to 50 mm) of rain from Sunday evening to Tuesday afternoon, with up to 4 inches (100 mm) possible across west-central Alberta," said Clark. "Typically, much of this area gets only around 1.50 inches (40 mm) for the entire month."

While the beneficial aspects of the rain will largely outweigh the negative, for some, this amount of rain could prove too much of a good thing. Localized flash flooding will be possible in downpours, especially in areas with land scarred by the fires or on streets and in low-lying areas in more urbanized locales.

The immediate impacts of the rainfall over wildfire-ravaged areas will be quick and dramatic.

Current and recent wildfires within the last week, as of Friday, May 19.

According to the Government of Alberta, over 90 wildfires were burning in the province as of Friday morning. Dozens of other wildfires were also raging in neighboring British Columbia, Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan, and more than 20,000 people have been displaced overall, according to Natural Resources Canada.

The rain will provide immediate relief for firefighters battling the wildfires and help with overall containment, but it likely won't fully extinguish the flames. The wetter soil produced from the rain will also lower the risk for new wildfires, at least in the short term, say AccuWeather experts.

The smoke produced by the wildfires, and carried downstream by wind patterns, has been noticeable for millions across large swaths of Canada and even the U.S. In Canada's western and central provinces, and parts of the northern and central U.S., the smoke particles have even made it toward ground level, prompting air-quality alerts.

Officials in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Nebraska and Yellowstone National Park, among other locations, have warned residents to limit time outdoors in recent days, especially those with respiratory ailments.

More harmless impacts from the smoke have been observed on the fringes of the thickest plumes in the northwestern U.S. and along the East Coast where vibrant sunrises and sunsets have been noted as of late.

The fires have also proven impactful for Canada's fossil fuel industry. Nearly 2.7 million acres of daily oil sands production in Alberta is in "high" or "extreme" wildfire danger zones, Rested Energy told CNBC. Additionally, outage volumes stood at about the equivalent of 240,000 barrels of oil per day, which has sent oil prices soaring.

The upcoming relief provided by the rain could prove fleeting. While sustained dry and warm conditions won't immediately return following the rain, AccuWeather's 2023 summer outlook for Canada, which will be released on Wednesday, paints a dim picture.

Early indications from AccuWeather's long-range forecast team are that high pressure will dominate across British Columbia and Alberta this summer. This pattern would deflect most storms toward Alaska and prolong drier-than-normal conditions in the region which would be bad news for fire containment.

Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
DeJuan Sharp, a spokesperson for the Sinzae Reed family, stands Friday in front of a Black Lives Matter mural wall on The Vanderelli Room, an outdoor art gallery in Franklinton, where Sinzae Reeds face has been recently added at top right.

When Megan Reed found out about an indictment being filed in the case against the man who killed her 13-year-old son Sinzae in October, she was hoping to see a murder charge.

Instead, Krieg Butler, 36, is facing two felony charges, but neither is directly related to Sinzae's shooting death on Oct. 12, 2022 in the Hilltop.

Butler was indicted Friday by a Franklin County grand jury on charges of improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle and tampering with evidence. He could not be reached by The Dispatch for comment.

"She really wanted to know why they chose these charges and why didnt they charge Krieg a little bit harder," DeJuan Sharp, who serves as a spokesperson for the Reed family, said. "Why wasnt he charged with shooting in a school zone, shooting at other buildings and wanton endangerment?"

Sharp said Reed did not feel comfortable speaking on Friday as she was processing the indictment and the disappointment over no murder charge being filed against Butler.

Related Sinzae Reed article Grand jury declines murder charge for Krieg Butler in shooting death of 13-year-old Sinzae Reed

The shooting of Sinzae Reed

According to Columbus police, Butler, who is white, fatally shot Sinzae, who is Black, outside at the Wedgewood Apartments complex where they both resided. An autopsy report by the Franklin County Coroner's Office later revealed Reed was shot twice  once in the right wrist and once in the chest.

Within about 24 hours of the shooting, police had arrested Butler and charged him with murder. After Butler told authorities he shot in self-defense, Franklin County Prosecutor Gary Tyacks office dropped the charges to await additional evidence from city homicide detectives.

There has not yet been any public confirmation by Columbus police or the prosecutor's office of whether Sinzae had a firearm or not, and there have been multiple narratives about that in the months following his death.

The case was presented to a grand jury on Wednesday and Thursday with the grand jury issuing its decision on Friday morning.

"You have to be optimistic and have the faith in the system that it will work for you," Sharp said.

Reed, Sharp and other relatives had gone to Franklin County Common Pleas Court and sat outside the grand jury room on the first day of proceedings in an effort to try and learn any information they could about what might be decided.

"We didn't want to be shut up, we wanted to have justice," Sharp said.

Reed and Sharp have been involved in a few protests in the seven months since Sinzae was killed, but largely wanted to let the system work.

Read the Dispatch's Under Fire series: Ohio divided: Ohio's gun laws have seen major changes in 20 years. What happened?

"We wanted the state and the police to have every resource that they needed. We feel like us respecting the system ended up with were not getting respected by the system," he said.

Family plans to participate in protest

The family plans to participate in a "Justice for Them All" protest at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Ohio Statehouse.

While the protest will be about Sinzae's case, Sharp said it will also be about the larger issues with people losing their rights, particularly those who are minorities.

"Theres a lot that people can stand together with regardless of skin tone, skin color and what neighborhood you live in," Sharp said. "Our elected officials dropped the ball. Gov. Mike DeWine, in his rush to put stand your ground laws, left our police and our courthouses up to their own devices. They're not taking any time to write these laws out or think about what would happen. It was out of fear, and it feels like Jim Crow."

Related gun law article: Timeline: How Ohio gun laws have changed in last 20 years

Sharp said Reed and Sinzae's family are appreciative of the investigation Columbus police did into Sinzae's death and are now hoping federal investigators will step in to file additional charges against Butler.

According to court records, Butler had a prior misdemeanor domestic violence conviction that, under federal law, would bar him from possessing a firearm.

"Since theyre charging him with improper use of a firearm, either hes going to have to plea or hell have to go to court. Hell be on court record that he was not supposed to have his gun. The FBI and the (Department of Justice) are supposed to pick that up," Sharp said.

"Theyve always said the gun crimes are going to be kicked up to the federal government," he said. "We hope they are already ready to pounce down on Krieg Butler like theyve pounced on other citizens in Columbus."

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Sinzae Reed's family questioning why no murder charges filed in case
Public hearing for Marian Kocner and Tomas Szabo at the Slovak Supreme Court

By Robert Muller and Jan Lopatka

(Reuters) -A Slovak court on Friday cleared a businessman for the second time of orchestrating the 2018 murder of an investigative journalist, in a case that had shaken the country and triggered mass protests against graft.

Marian Kocner was alleged to have ordered the killings of Jan Kuciak, 27, and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova, a crime over which four other people, including Kocner's associate Alena Zsuzsova, have been sentenced.

Kocner, 60, has repeatedly pleaded not guilty, and said in closing remarks in the trial last week: "I am not a saint but I am not a murderer."

But journalists at the trial reported that the victims' families walked out of the Specialised Criminal Court in Pezinok in protest after the judge cleared Kocner, in a verdict streamed live by news website

The court had reached the same verdict in 2020, citing a lack of evidence, but the Supreme Court ordered a retrial. The new verdict can again be appealed.

Kuciak and Kusnirova's deaths sparked mass protests in the European Union country that forced long-time leader Robert Fico to step down as prime minister, ushering in a new government in 2020 that had campaigned on cleaning up corruption and sleaze.

However, the coalition that defeated Fico's Smer party has fallen after years of infighting and Smer now leads opinion polls ahead of an early election on Sept. 30.

HIRED HITMAN

Kuciak and Kusnirova were shot dead at their house outside Bratislava by hired hitman Miroslav Marcek, who was handed a 23-year sentence in 2020. Two others were also convicted that year.

Zsuzsova, 48, was found guilty for her part in planning the murders, as well as the intended killings of three prosecutors, and given a 25-year sentence on Friday.

"I absolutely don't understand this. Zsuzsova found guilty, Kocner innocent," Kuciak's father, Jozef Kuciak, said on SME's live broadcast outside the court.

"Shame on our judiciary," added Kusnirova's mother, Zlatica Kusnirova.

Kuciak had investigated relations between politicians and business, including the Italian mafia. According to evidence presented at the trial, Kocner had verbally threatened Kuciak, who had probed his business practices.

The case tried on Friday also involved accusations Kocner had ordered the murders of three prosecutors which were not carried out. Kocner was sentenced to 19 years in 2020 in an unrelated fraud case and has been serving that sentence.

Reporters Without Borders called Friday's verdict a "debacle".

"The verdict leaves a bitter taste," it said in a statement. "Full justice has not been served."

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Robert Muller in Prague; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Andrew Cawthorne and John Stonestreet)
Solar panel efficiency to increase 50% with first production of miracle tandem cells

Perovskite in tandem solar cells is able to optimise electricity generation from the Suns energy by capturing more of the spectrum (Screengrab/ YouTube/ Science Magazine)

A South Korean firm has announced the worlds first production line for perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells, which promise an increase in efficiency of between 50-75 per cent compared to standard solar panels.

The commercialisation of solar cells that use perovskite follows years of breakthroughs with the mineral, which has been hailed as a miracle material for its potential to transform various industries, including renewable energy.

Seoul-based Qcells said it will invest $100 million to roll out the next-generation solar cell technoloy, which until now has been limited to lab tests and academic research.

The investment will fund a pilot production line at a factory in Jincheon, which is projected to be operational by late next year.

This investment in Jincheon will mark an important step in securing technological leadership, said Qcells CEO Justin Lee.

With a global R&D network spanning from Korea, Germany and the US, Qcells will ramp up its efforts to produce high-efficiency advanced tandem cells.

Tandem solar cells are able to improve the efficiency of standard solar panels by splitting the light spectrum and optimising the harvesting of energy from each section into electricity.

The current world record for solar cell efficiency is 32.5 per cent  meaning nearly a third of solar radiation is converted into eletrical energy  which was achieved with a perovskite-silicon tandem cell in December.

By comparison, traditional silicon-based solar cells are currently only capable of reaching around 22 per cent efficiency.

Perovskite has been hailed as a miracle material for its potential to transform various industries, including renewable energy and solar panel efficiency (iStock/ Getty Images)

Qcells has so far succeeded in developing a tandem perovskite solar cell with a 29.3 per cent efficiency, which was achieved earlier this year in collaboration with German research centre Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin.

The results were verified by the US Department of Energys National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
'Someone else done it': Man charged in deadly NZ hostel fire

A man charged with starting a New Zealand hostel fire that killed five people claimed someone else caused the blaze

A 48-year-old man accused of igniting a New Zealand hostel fire that killed at least five people claimed that someone else started the blaze during a court appearance Friday.

During the hearing, he shouted: "I need bail, I need a good lawyer. Someone else done it."

Prosecutors charged him with two counts of arson: setting the four-storey Loafers Lodge on fire in the early hours of Tuesday, and burning a couch earlier in the building.

Wearing a dark hooded top, he gestured frantically with his hands and paced from side to side in the dock during his first hearing at Wellington District Court.

The man, whose name was suppressed by the court, was remanded in custody.

He did not enter a formal plea.

Police have said they are not seeking anyone else in relation to the blaze.

On Friday, police revised the confirmed death toll to five, after firefighters previously said six bodies had been located.

Police inspector and acting district commander Dion Bennett told reporters that "less than 10" people were still unaccounted for, but declined to give an exact figure.

ryj/djw/al/dhw/cwl
(Bloomberg) -- South Africas bilateral cooperation with the US has continued uninterrupted, despite American allegations that Pretoria supplied weapons to Russia, Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo said.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The US is a key partner for South Africa on issues of trade, peace, security and development, Masondo said in speech in New York on Thursday. We have a strong and longstanding relationship that we can rely on.

The deputy ministers comments come after US Ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety ignited a furor on May 11, when he told reporters that armaments were collected by a Russian cargo ship, the Lady R, from the Simons Town naval base in Cape Town in December. While South Africas government denied the accusation and criticized him, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an independent inquiry to probe the claims.

The allegations rattled traders concerned that the US could punish South Africa, and have weighed on the rand and government debt. The currency hit a record record intraday low of 19.5148 per dollar on May 12; it traded 0.2% stronger at 19.2907 by 1:37 p.m. on Friday.

It is crucial that we urgently close the matter to ensure certainty in the market, Masondo said.

Relations between South Africa and the US, its second-biggest trading partner, have soured over Pretorias insistence that its taken a non-aligned stance toward Russias war in Ukraine.

We do not accept that our non-aligned position favors Russia above other countries, the deputy minister said. Our view is that the international community needs to work together to urgently achieve a cessation of hostilities and to prevent further loss of life and displacement of civilians in Ukraine.

South African Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said Friday a false narrative is being created that the government has an anti-America attitude. The government highly values its relationship with the US, she was quoted as saying by Cape Town-based news website Netwerk24.

--With assistance from Rene Vollgraaff.

(Updates rand in fourth paragraph; adds comment by minister in presidency in final paragraph)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina has filed to run for president in 2024, according to the Federal Election Commissions website.

The filing comes ahead of a formal announcement that is expected to take place Monday in South Carolina.

Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, launched a presidential exploratory committee in April, emphasizing his evangelical faith, his race and his experience growing up as the son of a single mother. He defined his personal ethos as one of individual responsibility and said his approach to politics was guided by the belief that the US is the land of opportunity and not the land of oppression.

The senator joins a growing GOP primary field to take on President Joe Biden that already includes former President Donald Trump, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and talk radio host Larry Elder. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to file paperwork declaring his much-anticipated candidacy next week, CNN has reported.

Scott has been testing the presidential waters for months. Since setting off in February on a listening tour focused on Faith in America, hes made frequent visits to several early-voting states, including Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Scott, who easily won reelection last year by 26 points, reported last month that he had nearly $22 million in his Senate campaign account, which he could use for a presidential bid.

He is launching a $6 million ad buy in Iowa and New Hampshire, one of the largest single ad buys in the 2024 race so far, according to a senior campaign official. The initial $5.5 million TV ad buy  including broadcast, cable satellite and radio  will air statewide starting Wednesday and run through the first GOP debate in August. Over the same period, Scott will also launch a seven-figure digital ad campaign.

Scott is also poised to name former chief of staff and longtime aide Jennifer DeCasper as his campaign manager, according to three sources familiar with the plans. She would be the first Black woman to lead a Republican presidential campaign.

A recent Washington Post/ABC News survey showed Scott polling in the single digits in a potential Republican primary, with Trump the clear front-runner for the nomination.

Before entering Congress, Scott served more than a decade on the Charleston County Council and then a term in the South Carolina state House. He won a Charleston-area US House seat in 2010 before moving to the US Senate in 2013 after Haley, then governor of South Carolina, appointed him to succeed GOP Sen. Jim DeMint, who resigned to lead The Heritage Foundation.

During a Faith in America town hall in Manchester, New Hampshire, earlier this month, Scott, who has expressed confidence he can beat Biden, said the president was incompetent and has been coopted by the radical left in his party.

He ran as a uniter, hes become a divider. You look at his policy positions. You look at the last State of the Union, what he said was that I am going to do what the radical left of my party wants me to do, Scott said.

While Scott has spent time attacking the Biden administrations agenda, he appeared to take a jab at Trump in April when he argued, The seeds of greatness, not the seeds of grievance, is our future. Hes occasionally spoken out against the former president  for example, after Trump equivocated on racially motivated protesters and subsequent violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

Im not going to defend the indefensible. Im not here to do that, Scott said at the time in an interview with Vice News before adding that Trumps moral authority had been compromised.

Scotts national profile grew after he delivered the GOP response to Bidens address to a joint session of Congress in 2021, which gave him a prominent platform to speak to the country and counter the presidents message.

Scott spent months in Congress trying unsuccessfully to hash out a deal on a policing overhaul with Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Democratic Rep. Karen Bass of California, prior to her election as Los Angeles mayor.

Earlier this year, Scott spoke on the Senate floor following the brutal police beating and death of Tyre Nichols and called on his colleagues to agree on simple legislation regarding police overhaul.

This story has been updated with additional information.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
By Hyonhee Shin and Hyunsu Yim

SEOUL (Reuters) -President Yoon Suk Yeol met some South Korean survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing in the Japanese city of Hiroshima on the sidelines of a G7 summit on Friday.

The meeting comes as Yoon pushes to close a chapter on historic feuds that have dominated ties with Tokyo for decades.

"As President, I deeply apologize that your homeland could not be there while you were suffering from pain and sadness," Yoon said at the meeting.

Yoon is the first South Korean president to meet with the survivors, a presidential spokesperson said.

As many as 100,000 Koreans suffered during the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, half of them dying that year while about 43,000 returned to the South and 2,000 went to the North, the Korea Atomic Bombs Victim Association says.

Of the 2,261 victims registered with the association, fewer than 2,000 were still alive by late 2021.

During his three-day trip at the invitation of Japan, Yoon will join the summit as an observer and hold talks with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, among others.

This month, Kishida became the first Japanese leader to visit the South Korean capital in 12 years, saying his "heart hurt" when thinking of suffering and pain during Japan's colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, in a rare nod to wartime atrocities.

Japan conscripted many Koreans during its occupation for forced labour in Japan, Manchuria and the Russian Far East.

A plan to compensate victims of forced labour will use funds from South Korean corporates, rather than those of Japanese firms, as courts had ruled.

At a news conference in Hiroshima on Thursday, some members of the Korea Atomic Bombs Victim Association called for a world without nuclear weapons and warned Russia against using an atomic bomb to attack Ukraine.

It welcomed a plan by Yoon and Kishida to visit a memorial in Hiroshima on Sunday and together pay tribute to Korean victims.

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Christina Fincher)
The personal details of 15,000 South Lanarkshire Council workers, including their salaries, were accidentally published online.

The local authority confirmed staff information was shared in a spreadsheet following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

It is understood the data leak also involved details such as National Insurance numbers.

A spokesman for the council said the breach was due to "human error".

But the GMB said it would support any members who wished to take legal action.

The information was shared on WhatDoTheyKnow, a website used for submitting and responding to FOI requests.

The leak, which happened last month, followed an application which asked for details of staff pay grades.

In response, a spreadsheet was uploaded which was only supposed to include "anonymised employee data".

But details on a second page of the FOI response were not anonymised.

The data shared, which was discovered last week, is understood to have included names, workplaces, salaries and National Insurance numbers.

But information such as bank details, dates of birth and addresses were not disclosed.

The details were published in a spreadsheet that was only supposed to have included anonymised data

A South Lanarkshire Council spokesman told BBC Scotland: "Unfortunately as a result of human error, the spreadsheet contained a second page of personal data that had not been anonymised.

"The error was noticed by the council and we arranged for that data to be removed.

"To the best of our knowledge the information was not accessed, and we believe the data could not be used in a way that would be harmful to those involved."

The council said all employees affected by the data breach would be contacted.

A report has also been submitted to the information commissioner.

'Very concerning'

GMB organiser Ude Adigwe said staff were right to be alarmed.

He said: "This is a very concerning incident and poses serious questions about the council's data management processes.

"Staff deserve more than a simply assurance from the council that policies and procedures have been tightened.

"They deserve an investigation, the fullest possible explanation of how this happened and to be told exactly what measures are being taken to stop it happening again."

Meanwhile, Unison's South Lanarkshire branch said it had met with the council to discuss the issue.
SpaceX rolled its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule out to the launch pad at NASAs Kennedy Space Center on May 18, 2023, ahead of the planned May 22 launch of the Ax-2 private astronaut mission.

SpaceX rolled its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule out to the launch pad at NASAs Kennedy Space Center on May 18, 2023, ahead of the planned May 22 launch of the Ax-2 private astronaut mission.

The hardware for SpaceX's next private astronaut mission has made it to the launch pad.

On Thursday (May 18), SpaceX rolled the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule that will fly the Ax-2 mission out to Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Ax-2, which will send four people to the International Space Station (ISS) for an eight-day stay, is scheduled to launch on Sunday afternoon (May 21). The mission will be operated by Houston-based company Axiom Space.

Related: SpaceX to launch 1st Saudi woman to space on private Ax-2 mission

SpaceX rolled its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule out to the launch pad at NASAs Kennedy Space Center on May 18, 2023, ahead of the planned May 22 launch of the Ax-2 private astronaut mission.

Ax-2 will be commanded by former NASA astronaut and current Axiom employee Peggy Whitson, who has spent more time in space (665 days) than any other woman and any other American.

The other three Ax-2 crewmembers are investor and paying customer John Shoffner, and Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi, who are part of Saudi Arabia's first astronaut class.

Alqarni and Barnawi will become the first Saudis ever to visit the ISS, and Barnawi will be the first woman from the kingdom to reach space.

RELATED STORIES:

 SpaceX launch of Ax-2 private astronaut mission now targeted for May 21

 Axiom Space: Building the off-Earth economy

 SpaceX gearing up to launch 2 private astronaut missions

As its name suggests, Ax-2 will be the second mission that Axiom flies to the ISS with SpaceX. The first, Ax-1, took four people to the orbiting lab for more than two weeks in April 2022.

Axiom intends to keep flying such missions over the next few years, but it has even bigger plans in mind as well. The company intends to build and operate its own private space station in low Earth orbit, the first piece of which is slated to launch to the ISS in 2025.

Axiom will send several other modules to connect with that first one. The complex will then detach from the ISS and become a free flyer in low Earth orbit before the station's 2030 retirement, if all goes according to plan.
BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Any attempt to hype up Taiwan-related issues at the World Health Assembly (WHA) is doomed to fail, Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said Friday.

The spokesperson pointed out that Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities are obsessed with political maneuvering for their party's own interests and sacrificing the interests of international public health.

Ma made the remarks in response to a media query about Taiwan not receiving an invitation to the WHA this year, noting that the DPP authorities' attempts to seek "presence" at the WHA are, in essence, seeking "Taiwan independence" under the pretext of COVID-19.

Such attempts will surely encounter resolute opposition from compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait as well as the international community, Ma said, adding that these stunts, deceits and provocations are doomed to fail.

Ma said issues regarding the participation of China's Taiwan region in WHA-related events must be handled in accordance with the one-China principle, which is also mentioned in UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1.

Between 2009 and 2016, the Taiwan region had been able to participate in the WHA as an observer under the name "Chinese Taipei." It was a special arrangement made through cross-Strait consultations on the basis of the one-China principle, Ma said.

However, since the DPP authorities have been obstinately adhering to the separatist stance of "Taiwan independence" and refused to recognize the 1992 Consensus, the political foundation for Taiwan's participation in the WHA does not exist anymore, Ma said, adding that the DPP authorities are solely responsible for this situation.

"It must be pointed out that Taiwan compatriots share the bond of kinship with us and we care about their health and well-being more than anyone else," Ma said.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the mainland has kept Taiwan updated about relevant information, made arrangements for Taiwan experts to visit Wuhan, shared genome sequencing of the virus with the island, and offered vaccination to Taiwan compatriots on the mainland.

Communication and cooperation channels for the island to participate in the WHO technical field are fully open, and the means for obtaining COVID-related information and support are completely effective, the spokesperson said. 
Spy chief reveals Ukraine has been assassinating Russian pro-war propagandists far from the frontlines

A man lays flowers at a makeshift memorial for Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, who was killed in the April 2 bomb blast in a cafe, by the explosion site in Saint Petersburg on April 3, 2023. OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine has been assassinating Russian pro-war propagandists since the war began, its spy chief now says.

Major-General Kyrylo Budanov that his network has operated behind the frontlines, The Times reported.

He also said that some Russian citizens are helping with sabotage missions.

A Ukrainian spy chief revealed that Kyiv has been assassinating Russian pro-war propagandists far behind enemy lines  and they've had the help of some Russian citizens to complete their sabotage missions.

In a series of interviews reported on by The Times, Major-General Kyrylo Budanov  the head of Ukraine's military intelligence service  said his agents have been targeting, locating, and killing Kremlin-backed propagandists who've cheered on Russia's invasion.

"We've already successfully targeted quite a few people," Budanov said, The Times reported. "There have been well-publicized cases everyone knows about, thanks to the media coverage."

Though Budanov didn't cite specific names of people targeted in the alleged killings, several high-profile explosions have killed Russian citizens within Putin's borders.

The latest incident involved Russian writer and ultranationalist Zachar Prilepin, who broke both his legs in a car bombing earlier this month.

According to BBC News, the bomb was placed under the passenger seat and detonated remotely, killing his friend Alexander Shubin. Prilepin had been driving the car.

Investigators accused Russian citizen Alexander Permyakov of working with Ukrainian intelligence to assassinate Prilepin, BBC said.

Vladlen Tatarsky, a military blogger, was also killed in a St. Petersburg cafe explosion in April. The bomb was reportedly stuffed into a statue allegedly gifted to Tatarsky by a woman at an event honoring him. Video footage posted online showed Tatarsky receiving the statue moments before the cafe blew up.

In another interview, Budanov alleged that "a minority of Russians" are cooperating with Ukraine's reconnaissance, The Times reported.

Recent attacks, such as a cargo train derailment similar to recent freight train derailments, have been enacted by "almost 100 percent citizens of the Russian Federation," he said.

Budanov said these Russians are motivated to assist in sabotage and assassinations by "patriotic reasons" and a desire to change Russia, The Times reported. Budanov's claims of Russian help with sabotage operations haven't been independently substantiated.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Squatter evicted from home of active duty Army officer, arrested after Channel 2 investigation

A week after Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Justin Gray first reported on a squatter taking over the home of an active-duty Army officer, Channel 2 Action News is getting results.

Army Lt. Colonel Dahlia Daure is back in possession of her Dekalb County home, and the squatter is behind bars.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Normally homeowners are told they must take the squatter to court and go through a judicial eviction process, which can take months.

But after our Channel 2 Action News story aired last week, the Dekalb County Sheriffs office contacted Daure and said they will circumvent that process with something called an intruder affidavit.

TRENDING STORIES:

If it wasnt for Channel 2, Justin Gray, I wouldnt be here today, and Im truly grateful, Daure said.

A Channel 2 Action News photographer was there Thursday with a camera rolling as Dekalb Sheriffs deputies and Dekalb Marshalls evicted Vincent Simon from the Ellenwood home.

The alleged squatter had only been in the home since the beginning of May, but truckloads of things were pulled out of the home, including a gun safe and 2 dogs.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Just as I finished renovating, you leisurely moved in like its yours. No, I was not going to let it go, Daure said.

It was one week ago that Dahlia Daure first reached out to Channel 2 Action News.

She had put her home up for sale while away on Army active duty in Chicago, and Simon moved in.

The convicted criminal installed cameras, put up Beware of Dog signs, and covered the windows with cardboard.

Simon claimed he had a lease and that hed paid $19,000 upfront for six months.

The police call the number thats on the lease. It doesnt exist, Daure said.

Daure went to the police and was told it was a civil matter.

She served Simon with eviction papers.

I was beside myself and I felt violated. Had I not been serving my country, I would have been in my home, Daure told Gray last week.

But this week, Daure watched Simon walk out of the house in handcuffs.

It feels good when you can return the home back to the homeowner, said Major Manuel Sanchez from the DeKalb County Sheriffs office.

By serving the intruder affidavit, Sheriffs deputies and Marshalls were able to evict Simon without a lengthy court process.

Police found a gun and suspected ecstasy in the home.

As a convicted felon, Simon legally cant own a firearm.

He attempted to show us the lease. Thats not what the law allows, Sanchez said.

Normally, showing a bogus lease or even just claiming to have a lease is enough to get a squatter case kicked to a months-long court battle.

You want to have protections for tenants, but you dont want protection for squatters, said attorney John Ernst.

Ernst has been fighting a similar squatter case for a client since February and says these cases regularly drag on for months with delays both in the courts and with the marshals

His client still isnt back in his home.

It has been the months since they moved in, and well probably have another month, month and a half before they are out, Ernst said.

But with the Sheriffs office bypassing that eviction process, Daure now has her house back.

I came here with a mission in mind to get him out of my house and put him in jail where he belongs, Daure said.

Ernst is also the Mayor of Brookhaven and says he has been looking at this on the public policy side as well to see how to make the eviction process more efficient.
Volunteers screen people at a COVID-19 testing clinic on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021, at Memorial Stadium in Port Huron.

COVID-19 testing services will soon be ending in St. Clair County.

The St. Clair County Health Department will end its testing services on June 2. While supplies last, people who are interested in receiving free COVID-19 home test kits can pick them up at the health department front reception area, located at 3415 28th St.

Liz King, St. Clair County Health Department officer-director said in a press release that it's an appropriate time for change with the end of the federal public health emergency declaration, a decline in testing numbers and the availability of at-home testing.

"The end of the public health emergency doesnt mean COVID-19 is over," King said. "St. Clair County Health Department will continue providing and encouraging vaccinations, conduct disease monitoring, investigate outbreaks, and share community guidance and resources as needed.

Since the start of the pandemic, the health department has administered an estimated 18,000 COVID-19 tests.

The CDC, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and St. Clair County Health Department still recommend people to isolate from others when sick and monitor for signs of illness if they had a known exposure. Anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should continue to take precautions and seek medical care and treatment as appropriate.

Contact McKenna Golat at mgolat@gannett.com or (810) 292-0122.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: COVID testing services to end at St. Clair County Health Department
A U.S. district judge ordered a Cahokia Heights man to spend 15 years and eight months in federal prison after he admitted to distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine and possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute the drugs in St. Clair County.

Nickolas Shannon, 29, previously pleaded guilty in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Illinois to one count of felon in possession of a firearm and three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Upon release from federal prison, he will serve five years of supervised release, according to sentencing documents.

Fentanyl is poisoning our communities at an alarming rate, and were confronting the crisis in southern Illinois, said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. Individuals found responsible for distributing illicit drugs can and will be subjected to steep federal prison sentences.

According to court documents, DEA agents began investigating Shannon for distributing controlled substances in December 2021 based on information from a confidential source. Undercover sources working with DEA bought 5.4 grams of fentanyl and 6.883 grams of methamphetamine from Shannon on two separate occasions in St. Clair County. Shortly after, agents arrested Shannon and conducted a search warrant on his apartment.

During the search, agents located 1.735 grams of cocaine base, 1.162 grams of cocaine and 2.9 grams of fentanyl as well as drug paraphernalia and three loaded and unsecured firearms, including an AR-15 rifle.

Further DEA investigation revealed that Shannon was responsible for the distribution of nearly 300 grams of fentanyl, a release from the court said.

DEA led the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel S. Carraway prosecuted the case.
A mother of three from St. Helena Island is in custody after allegedly drowning her six-year-old daughter and attempting to drown her eight-year-old, according to the Beaufort County Sheriffs Office.

Jamie Bradley-Brun, 37, was charged Friday morning with murder and attempted murder, jail records show.

Sheriffs deputies arrived at a house on St. Helenas Sam Doyle Drive around 1:25 a.m. Friday morning after receiving a report that a woman was trying to drown her child. Police found the body of six-year-old Mackaya Bradley-Brun, who appeared to have drowned.

Autopsy results revealed the six-year-old had drowned, Beaufort County Coroner David Ott announced Friday afternoon. Her death was ruled as a homicide, and the coroners final ruling came at 2:15 a.m. for the time of death.

Investigators say the mother most likely drowned the six-year-old girl, then allegedly tried to drown her eight-year-old daughter as well. The older childs plea for help woke others in the home, who intervened and called 911, according to a Friday afternoon release from the Sheriffs Office.

According to Beaufort Countys judicial circuit index, the suspect has no previous arrests in the county.

The eight-year-old girl was in stable condition following the attempted drowning, Sheriff PJ Tanner told reporters at a Friday afternoon press conference in Beaufort. She and her 16-year-old sister are staying with nearby relatives.

Asked to elaborate on the mornings circumstances, Tanner did not specify the mothers potential motive.

I know what happened, and its pretty horrific, he said.

I know what happened, and its pretty horrific, Beaufort County Sheriff PJ Tanner told reporters at a Friday afternoon press conference. Police charged a St. Helena mother with murder and attempted murder, alleging the woman drowned her six-year-old daughter before attempting to drown the girls older sister.

William Smith, a neighbor of Bradley-Brun and a member of the Beaufort County School Board, said the grief was palpable on Sam Doyle Road, a side street in the primarily Black community of southern St. Helena. Many of the streets residents are part of the same family, he said, and most attend the nearby Bethesda Christian Fellowship church.

Were praying for the family, and the father, even the mother, he told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. Thats the mentality of this community: People are praying.

Police are investigating alongside the Department of Child Fatalities within SLEDs Special Victims Unit, which investigates suspicious, unexpected or unexplained deaths of children.

According to Solicitor Duffie Stone, due to the severity of the murder and attempted murder charges, Bradley-Bruns bond hearing will happen when Beaufort County Circuit Court convenes next. The future date is unknown but may take up to two or three weeks.
California approves more than $11M to help Mariposa County fund removal of wildfire debris

Mariposa County will receive more than $11 million in state funding to assist in the removal of hazardous debris generated by the Oak Fire, according to state officials.

The Governors Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) announced Thursday the approval of nearly $11.7 million in California Disaster Assistance Act (CDAA) funding to assist Mariposa County with covering costs of removing the hazardous debris generated and left behind by the July 2022 Oak Fire which destroyed close to 200 structures.

According to a Cal OES news release, the $11,697,174 represents the states share of the estimated $12,996,860 in costs Mariposa County is expected to incur during the removal process. In total, 127 homes and 66 other structures were affected by the wildfire.

The county will be required to submit documentation and payment requests to Cal OES as the work is completed in order for the state to provide payments based on actual costs incurred, according to the release.

A July 23, 2022 State of Emergency Proclamation by Gov. Gavin Newsom allowed Mariposa County to apply for state reimbursement through the CDAA on a cost-share basis for the removal of debris as well as emergency protective measures and permanent repair of damaged public facilities including roads, bridges, recreation facilities, parks, buildings and equipment.

According to the release, Mariposa County received $2,395,094.40 from Cal OES last month to help cover administrative costs related to debris removal efforts.
FALL RIVER  The city has made a $1.5 million investment in crime fighting tools, and soon all Fall River police officers who hit the city streets everyday will be outfitted with state-of-the-art Axon body-worn cameras, stun guns and signal sidearms.

On May 12, 33 police officers reported for training on the new gear, making it about two-thirds of the department fully trained on the equipment.

Popping sounds followed by rapid crackling noises from the electric stun guns could be heard as officers lined up to shoot at the paper figure of a suspect.

The police departments new stun guns now have two cartridges compared to the old Tasers that only had one cartridge. The new technology gives the police officers the ability to deploy the stun guns when a suspect is close or at a greater distance by adjusting the spread of the electrified darts shot out of the device.

The most effective spread is one above the belt line and one below the below it to get full muscular contact, said Captain James T. Hoar, who oversees the training.

A quick hand twist of the device lets police officers jockey between the two cartridges depending on the distance between them and the suspect about to get tased.

Officers get shot with stun gun

The new stun guns activate the charge once the anchors contact the body of the suspect, firing an electric shock for five seconds before the device automatically stops. Hoar said the stun gun also has the technology to read a person's body mass, sending the appropriate voltage to the suspect.

Sergeant Luis Duarte training taser and body cam usage at the FRPD Friday.

body-worn cameras funding ARPA Fall River City Council vote supports police use of body-worn cameras

Fall River police train on stun gun

After the trainees took turns on the paper image of a suspect, Officer Matt Gauvin donned a thick suit and was shot in the back with the stun gun by his fellow officers after they give a warning of tase, tase before deploying the electrified probes.

Captain J.T. Hoar speaks at taser and body cam training at the FRPD Friday.

Then two of the officers in training were volunteered to get the full experience of getting tased.

First up was Sgt. Frank Andrade, who somehow managed to stay up on his two legs while two other officers held him under his arms.

Captain J.T. Hoar demonstrates the new body cams.

That was awful, Andrade said after the other police officers gave him a round of applause.

Police officer Jen Deleon did not exactly raise her hand when they were looking for another volunteer but didnt hesitate when her name was called. After being shot with the electrodes in her lower back and buttocks, Deleon struggled to stay on her feet until the officers guided her to the floor.

What's the delay Fall River police union isn't delaying a body-cam program.

How do the police body-worn cameras work?

Fall River Police Chief Paul Gauvin called the new technology fantastic; it's unbelievable.

When an officer is fitted with a body-worn camera, if a stun gun is deployed, it automatically turns on the camera device, as well as the body worn cameras of any other police wearing on as well in a 50-foot radius using Bluetooth technology.

Each officer was fitted with a device in their gun holsters that when activated, also turns on the body-worn camera when they draw their guns, called a signal sidearm.

Gauvin said the new technology now in the hands of his officers will accomplish a few goals.

New FRPD body cam.

Number one, less complaints against police officers. Less injuries reported and less officers getting hurt, said Gauvin. It will be a cost savings for us with less lawsuits and less use of force incidents.

Any time we can remove human error, thats important, said Gauvin.

How were the body-worn cameras funded?

The Fall River police departments body-worn camera program was funded by money from the federal governments American Rescue Protection Act contributions to the city.

Last June, the department launched a pilot program where seven patrol officers were trained and outfitted with the cameras.

During the May 12 training, the officers were able to see a real-life example of how the cameras can protect them from false complaints.

A Fall River police sergeant who is already using a body-worn camera recorded an exchange between himself and a man who was screaming at him because he was parked on the street in a parking space.

The sergeant warns the man that hes being recorded, but it doesnt stop the mans behavior, and at one point is seen claiming that the officer used foul language toward him, which he is not heard saying.

Gauvin said the man is known to police for filing false accusations at police, but that day he never lodged a complaint because the exchange was fully recorded, including in real time producing text of the conversations the body-camera picks up with its four microphones.

So, these devices are going to help us more than hurt us and were already seeing that out there, said Hoar during the body-camera training. Were seeing that the accountability piece cuts both ways. It keeps us on our toes, it keeps our level of service at a good level, and also keeps the public honest with us.

Gauvin said the new technology will be hitting the streets by June 1.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River police get state-of-the-art crime fighting technology
Prisoner who escaped from Venango County Jail back in custody

A prisoner who escaped from Venango County Jail is now back in custody.

Bruce William Miller II, 43, was taken to UPMC Northwest at 100 Fairfield Drive, Seneca, for treatment of a head injury when he was able to escape from custody of the guards at around 4:40 a.m.

Miller fled on foot from the hospital, according to state police.

Miller was housed in the Venango County Jail on multiple charges including criminal trespass and flight to avoid apprehension.

There is no word on if Miller will face additional charges.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Without initially planning on it, Steve Harvey lucked up on a mansion formerly owned by a fellow top entertainer in the business.

In an interview on Shannon Sharpes Club Shay Shay, the comedian and TV host recalled how he ended up purchasing the Georgia mansion Tyler Perry once owned on the Chattahoochee River.

Having the views cost Steve a whopping $15 million. However, he admitted to Sharpe that he has no complaints about how the sale all went down.

The mastermind behind closing the deal was his wife, Marjorie Harvey. Around when the COVID-19 pandemic started, she presented the idea to him to buy the house. Although Steve was initially hesitant to move forward with the idea due to COVIDs effect on his income at the time, Marjorie convinced him to have a change of heart.

She said, Steve, you dont know how much money you got. You make it. I watch it,' he shared. She said, I can put this whole deal together.'

Once Steve agreed, Marjorie got down to business to seal a deal with the owner who had purchased the mansion after Perry.

She told me how much she put an offer in for, Steve shared. The real estate agent said [the owner] will never, ever sign for that much. Hell never take that amount. Its impossible. Ms. Harvey, youre wasting your time. She wrote him a long letter, too. She said, This is not a negotiation. I am offering you this. My husband loves the house Well buy it sight unseen. If you dont want this amount, its okay. Im not trying to insult you.'

In the end, Marjories offer was accepted by the owner on the birthday of Steves late mother. Marjorie handling the deal on her own and having it go as planned was a blessing for the entertainer. He told Sharpe that he had prayed to own a house like it when initially visiting Perry.

As previously shared by AfroTech, Steve and Marjorie share a blended family under his $200 million empire.
A Massachusetts store clerk and her co-worker have been indicted for allegedly trying to steal a winning $3 million lottery ticket left behind by a customer.

Last week, a grand jury returned indictments charging 23-year-old Carly Nunes with one count of larceny from a building, attempted larceny, presentation of a false claim, and witness intimidation, the Plymouth District Attorney's Office said in a news release.

Her co-worker, 32-year-old Joseph Reddem, was charged with one count of attempted extortion, prosecutors said. The pair are expected to be arraigned at a later undisclosed date.

An investigation revealed that on Jan. 17 an unidentified man entered a Lakeville liquor store and purchased a bag of barbecue potato chips alongside 4 lottery tickets  two Massachusetts State Lottery Quick Picks for the Mega Millions lottery and two for the Mass Cash lottery  prosecutors said.

The man added a multiplier to his Mega Millions ticket to increase the jackpot prize and Nunes, who was working the checkout counter, placed the order and printed two lottery tickets, prosecutors said. She returned to the cash register and rang up the victim's $12 order, but he left the store without his lottery tickets, according to prosecutors.

Carly Nunes and Joseph Reddem / Credit: Plymouth County DA

Forty five minutes after the man left his tickets behind, Nunes rang up another customer who purchased five lottery tickets. The second customer realized he'd been given two extra tickets and handed them back to Nunes, prosecutors said.

"Nunes took the tickets and said they must have belonged to 'him,' meaning the victim," prosecutors said.

The man who left the tickets behind briefly searched for them but then assumed he'd lost them. Later that evening, his Mass Millions ticket numbers were announced as the winning digits for a $3 million jackpot, prosectors said.

Two days later, Reddem drove Nunes and her boyfriend to the Massachusetts State Lottery Headquarters, where the ticket, which was "torn and appeared to be burned," was determined to be worth $3 million.

When informed of its value, "Nunes and her boyfriend embraced and celebrated," prosecutors said. But shortly afterward, Nunes and Reddem were overheard arguing about the amount of money Reddem would receive, with Nunes telling him that she would "only pay him $200,000," according to prosecutors.

Due to the argument and the condition of the ticket, Massachusetts Lottery investigators decided to interview Nunes.

Nunes told investigators that she purchased the winning tickets toward the end of her shift on Jan.17 and said the condition of the tickets was due to her mistakenly tearing it when removing it from her wallet. The burn marks, she said, were because she accidentally placed the ticket on a pipe, prosecutors said.

"Lottery officials informed Nunes that they were opening an investigation and that she would receive the jackpot prize at the conclusion of that investigation," prosecutors said. "Lottery officials contacted Massachusetts State Police and an investigation commenced."

Investigators discovered surveillance footage that confirmed Nunes had not purchased the winning ticket. In subsequent interviews, Nunes changed her story and said she'd "inadvertently obtained" the winning ticket.

Investigators worked for a month to locate the man who left his winning tickets behind, finally finding him on Feb. 13, prosecutors said.

The Massachusetts State Lottery Commission say they intend to honor the man's claim to the $3 million jackpot.

Senators propose AI regulatory commission

Shots fired when car speeds through Vatican gates

Three states near deal on Colorado River water after decades of drought
Wang Huning, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, meets with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, who is in China for the China-Central Asia Summit and a state visit, in Beijing, capital of China, May 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Huning met with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov in Beijing on Friday.

Wang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said the two countries should act on the important consensus reached between the two heads of state, firmly support each other, expand all-round cooperation, deepen security coordination, increase people-to-people exchanges, and enhance coordination and cooperation in regional and international affairs so as to push for new and greater development of China-Kyrgyzstan relations.

The CPPCC national committee stands ready to work with Kyrgyzstan to strengthen exchanges through various channels and at all levels, and contribute to building a China-Kyrgyzstan community with a shared future of good neighborliness and shared prosperity, Wang said.

Japarov said Kyrgyzstan attaches great importance to its relations with China and looks forward to deepening cooperation with China in various fields to elevate bilateral ties to a new high.

Japarov is in China for the China-Central Asia Summit and a state visit. 

Wang Huning, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, meets with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, who is in China for the China-Central Asia Summit and a state visit, in Beijing, capital of China, May 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)
Story of homeless veterans booted from hotel for migrants was a hoax: NY lawmaker

A sensational story about hotels in upstate New York throwing out homeless veterans to make room for migrants bused from New York City turned out to be false, according to a local news outlet.

New York state lawmaker Brian Maher (R) told The Times-Union the story was false after he had a conversation with Sharon Toney-Finch, the CEO of Orange County nonprofit Yerik Israel Toney Foundation.

Toney-Finch made the original claim about the homeless veterans thrown out of the hotel rooms, setting off a media frenzy this week that was scooped up by conservative outlets Fox News and the New York Post.

But under pressure from Maher to provide evidence, she unraveled emotionally and kept saying she wanted to help the veterans, according to the newspaper. But she failed to provide any evidence, such as bank statements, to the New York state lawmaker.

Maher also talked to the veterans who claimed they were thrown out of the Crossroads Hotel in the city of Newburgh.

At least one of the purported veterans said they were paid by Toney-Finch to lie about being thrown out, according to the Times-Union. And staff at Crossroads Hotel and two other hotels confirmed they never had dealings with the nonprofit or never housed any veterans.

Maher said he was devastated and disheartened to learn the truth.

This is something I believe hurt a lot of people, the New York State lawmaker told the local outlet.

The sensational story about displaced veterans was first reported by the New York Post last week.

The outlet cited Toney-Finch as saying 15 veterans were forced out of the Crossroads Hotel and another five were forced out of two other upstate hotels.

Republican governors in states on the U.S.-Mexico border have been busing migrants to liberal cities, such as New York City, since last year.

In turn, New York City this month began busing migrants upstate, citing a lack of space for them in shelters. A judge temporarily blocked the move earlier this week.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
This article was originally published in Louisiana Illuminator.

A state Senate committee agreed Monday to support a nearly $9 million plan to help Louisiana public schools better prepare for mass shootings.

The idea for the legislation came from a panel of students who told lawmakers current emergency drills dont account for incidents that happen when theyre not inside a classroom.

Sen. Barry Milligan, R-Shreveport, said he crafted Senate Bill 207 with input from the Youth Legislative Advisory Council, a panel of 31 Louisiana high school students who share policy suggestions with legislators. The council requested improvements to school mass shooting response, including a request for stop the bleed kits with tourniquets for every campus.

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter

Three members of the student panel testified before the Senate Finance Committee, which must review all spending requests, to share how they feel current emergency plans are inadequate.

This country has truly become numb to school shootings, and sadly there are not many options to create long-term solutions to this crisis, said Clayton Baden, a senior at Buckeye High School in Pineville, adding that Millgans bill offered a short-term answer.

Holly Phan, a junior at Baton Rouge Magnet High School, stressed better communication was needed between school administrators and teachers for mass shooting drills. She recounted an incident in which her sister was outside of the classroom and wasnt aware a drill was being conducted. Her fears worsened when a nearby electrical transformer exploded during the drill.

All she could do was sit and hide in the dark, exposed gym with her scared classmates, hoping for signs of safety, Phan said.

Daniel Price, a senior at McKinley High in Baton Rouge, said he now fears the time between classes because mass shooter drills dont cover what students should do in that situation. He stayed home the day after a gun was rumored to have been brought to campus, he said.

The current version of the state budget for fiscal year 2023, which starts July 1, includes $8.9 million for enhanced school safety measures related to school shootings. The largest portion, $5 million, would pay for security equipment, such as surveillance cameras, safety training and expanded drills. A $1.6 million portion is set aside to provide teachers with panic buttons to signal an emergency.

The plan also calls for $1 million to help expand a CrimeStoppers-manned smartphone application thats already in place for some 500 schools in 40 parishes around the state. Students can use the app anonymously to report safety concerns. Darlene Cusanza, CrimeStoppers president and CEO, said her group has worked with the state since 2020 and has received some 1,200 tips through the Safe Schools Louisiana app.

A third of the tips have been about bullying, 13% involved mental health matters and 5% were regarding planned school shootings, Cusanza said.

Its important because students are talking about their friends who are suffering, and that information isnt being compiled anywhere, she told the committee.

Tips from students have led to arrests and information regarding crimes off campus, according to Cusanza.

Milligan has also proposed $1.1 million for 11 employees who will comprise the Louisiana Center for Safe Schools, an offshoot of the Governors Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP). Another $256,000 will fund the salaries of two new State Police employees who will be part of coordinating school mass shooting response with law enforcement.

CrimeStoppers launched its Safe Schools app three years ago under a contract with the State Police, and the Milligan proposal would move the arrangement over to GOHSEP. Cusanza said another 123 schools will be added to the app over the summer, bringing it to roughly half of Louisianas junior and high school campuses.

Senate committee hearings on next years state budget are taking place this week. The House version of the spending plan removed $2,000 annual teacher raises Gov. John Bel Edwards had inserted and that Senate leaders have said they will restore.

Members of the Senate Finance Committee gave the impression the money Milligan wants for his bill wouldnt be at risk to fund the teacher raises.

There have been no mass shootings at Louisiana schools, but the state regularly ranks high in both total mass shootings and mass shootings per capita.

Related The 74 Interview: Shannon Watts on the Power Moms Wield to Stop School Shootings

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on Facebook and Twitter.
The claim: Study found COVID-19 vaccine can cause long-term brain damage

A May 12 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a screenshot of a now-deleted tweet.

"BREAKING: A European study has found COVID vaccines could be causing 'long-term brain damage,'" reads the tweet.

The post garnered more than 200 likes in five days. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on Instagram and Twitter.

Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

Our rating: False

The study explored the long-term neurological effects of being infected with the COVID-19 virus, not the vaccine.

Study focuses on virus, not vaccine

The viral claim appears to stem from a May 9 article published by The People's Voice, formerly known as NewsPunch. The website has a lengthy history of publishing misinformation.

The article references a pre-print study published in April that explored the long-term neurological effects observed in those who had been infected with COVID-19. It claims the study revealed that "spike proteins from mRNA jabs infest the brain tissue of vaccinated people."

But Dr. Ali Erturk, a co-author of the paper and director of the Institute of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine in Munich, told USA TODAY the study did not examine the COVID-19 vaccine of its side effects.

"We have done zero experiments using the vaccine, and we have shown and claim zero side effects of the vaccine," said Erturk in an email. "Our work reports the presence of the spike protein in the skull of deceased individuals long after their COVID-19 infection, suggesting that the spike's persistence may contribute to long-term neurological symptoms."

Fact check: FDA still recommends COVID-19 vaccine, contrary to viral claim

None of the COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the U.S. contain the live virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Instead, the mRNA in the vaccine teaches the body's cells to make copies of the COVID-19 spike protein so they can later recognize and fight off the virus if they become infected.

"The issue is that during infection, there is an enormous amount of viral replication and spike protein production, which impacts many organs including the brain," Erturk said.

The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, according to the CDC.

USA TODAY reached out to the users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The claim has also been debunked by the Associated Press and PolitiFact.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID-19 vaccine not proven to cause brain damage | Fact check
Submarine Hunt Incident A Peak Into Cat-And-Mouse Games In South China Sea photo

A shadowy cat-and-mouse game between Chinese submariners and U.S. military forces tasked with tracking them is, by all accounts, increasing in scope and frequency in the Pacific. One stark example of this was recently highlighted by a Chinese newspaper's report about a previously undisclosed incident in a highly strategic coordinator in the South China Sea that occurred on January 5, 2021, some details of which the U.S. military's top command in the Pacific has disputed.

The South China Morning Post, or SCMP, which has its main offices in Hong Kong, published its initial story on the incident on May 15. The newspaper said the episode, details of which had emerged in a Chinese-language research paper written by a team that included members of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), had involved three unspecified U.S. "spy planes" engaged in a "hunt for Chinese submarines." The researchers reportedly said that one of those aircraft had come within 150 kilometers (around 93 miles) of Hong Kong, prompting a significant PLA reaction.

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) confirmed to The War Zone that Chinese forces intercepted a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane twice in the northern end of the South China Sea on January 5, 2021. However, the command denied that this aircraft flew unusually close to Hong Kong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yLf7NjKXjg

After SCMP published its piece, The War Zone had reached out to INDOPACOM and the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet for more information. INDOPACOM is the U.S. military's main command overseeing operations across the Indo-Pacific region. The 7th Fleet, with its headquarters in Japan, oversees Navy operations in the Western Pacific, including in the South China Sea.

"The U.S. P-8A that flew on 5 Jan 2021 was intercepted twice in international airspace between Woody Island and Hainan Island roughly 500km [just over 310 miles] from Hong Kong," a spokesperson for INDOPACOM told The War Zone in a statement. "U.S. and allied aircraft routinely fly in international airspace to maintain situational awareness and reinforce international norms."

Hainan Island is home to a sprawling People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) base that includes large underground caves that submarines can sail in and out of, as well as a host of other Chinese military facilities. Woody Island is one of a number of island outposts in the South China Sea that the PLA has dramatically expanded in the past decade or so. That network of outposts features significant anti-aircraft and anti-ship defenses. This is part of a larger anti-access/area denial umbrella the PLA has established that extends from mainland China and covers this entire area. This would swing into action to prevent foreign military forces from moving freely in the region in a crisis scenario.

The area in between Hainan and Woody Island is also a key route for Chinese submarines moving in and out of the region. This includes the PLAN's Type 094 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), all of which are based in Hainan. The U.S. military has previously assessed that the PLAN's could operate those boats from the safety of "bastions" closer to the mainland, but recent analysis points to an increasing number of longer-range deployments. This creates new challenges for the already complex task of trying to keep tabs on where those and other Chinese submarines are at any time, which is critical information, especially when it comes to China's SSBNs.

Most importantly, this geographical area culminating at the Luzon Strait, between Taiwan and the Philippines, is the primary corridor through which Chinese submarines based at Hainan Island, and especially the SSBNs, reach the greater pacific beyond the first island chain. As such, it is a critical anti-submarine and undersea surveillance choke point and China is very well aware of this as is the U.S. and its allies.

A map giving a general sense of various locations pertinent to this story, including Hainan Island to the West and Hong Kong to the North. Also marked are Woody Island, part of the Paracel Islands chain, to the South and Pratas Island to the East. Google Maps

Back on January 5, 2021, what appeared to be two separate U.S. Navy P-8As were spotted using online flight tracking data in parts of the northern end of the South China Sea on or about January 5, 2021, based on online flight tracking data. Depending on one's location, the Tweet immediately below may say it was posted on January 4, 2021. However, the time stamp shows that it was published on what was the following day in the region, which is to the west of the International Date Line.

https://twitter.com/CCCDSLR/status/1346251170776371201?s=20

https://twitter.com/CCCDSLR/status/1346359654259986433?s=20

https://twitter.com/is_keelu/status/1346325619097939968?s=20

Online flight tracking data at the time also indicated that a U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton drone was operating in the area, and appeared to have flown closer to Hong Kong. "Although there was an MQ-4 aloft on 5 Jan 21, our records show it did not come within 150 km of Hong Kong," the spokesperson for INDOPACOM also told The War Zone.

https://twitter.com/CCCDSLR/status/1345948273673048066?s=20

https://twitter.com/CCCDSLR/status/1346057403574353921?s=20

A U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton drone. USN

The Chinese research paper "said the PLA, which was conducting a naval exercise in the area, responded swiftly by sending out a counter force, the size and nature of which remains classified," SCMP reported. "The two forces were so close that the U.S. military 'self-destroyed' its floating sonars to prevent the sensitive devices from falling into Chinas hands."

"The [research] team... said the US activities were a severe challenge to Chinas national security," SCMP's story added. "According to the report, U.S. spy planes deployed sensors in waters near the Dongsha islands  also known as the Pratas islands  a group of atolls and reefs under Taiwanese control."

The War Zone has so far been unable to independently locate a copy of this research paper, which was reportedly included in a recent issue of the Chinese-language publication Shipboard Electronic Countermeasures. A 2007 report to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission says that Shipboard Electronic Countermeasures is "a bimonthly periodical sponsored by China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), 723rd Research Institute in Yangzhou, Jiangsu" which features "academic studies and technical reports on electronic warfare, radar, signal processing, and related technologies."

SCMP also reported that the paper's lead researcher was Liu Dongqing, a member of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Unit 95510. Readily available details about Unit 95510 are limited, but other members of the unit have published research related to electronic warfare work in the past.

The War Zone has also not been able to independently verify any of the other reported details about the January 5, 2021 incident. The claim that "the U.S. military 'self-destroyed' its floating sonars" in response to the appearance of Chinese forces seems questionable given that this is very likely to be a reference to sonobuoys. Modern sonobuoy designs, including the ones in use by the U.S. Navy, typically only work for a matter of hours and have deliberate design features to help them sink automatically afterward by default.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eidMDdMK38s

The research paper also said more generally that "the U.S. spy planes 'typically fly at an altitude of 60 metres [sic] (196 feet)', noting this is a lower cruising altitude than most aircraft and can pose safety risks because it is relatively close to ground level," according to SCMP. "The scientists said the low altitude is a deliberate tactic used by anti-submarine patrol aircraft, such as the US Navys P-8A, to improve the ability to detect and track submarines."

Low-level tactics, techniques, and procedures employed by anti-submarine warfare aircraft, including the P-8A, are well-documented, as you can read more about in this past War Zone feature. Flying very close to the water allows for more precise sonobuoy emplacement and can help get certain sensors closer to targets of interest. Some sensors, sonobuoys, and anti-submarine weapons simply need to be employed or released closer to the water to function properly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5k7LLngmk8

Flying at lower altitudes does present challenges and increased the vulnerability of anti-submarine warfare aircraft to certain threats. Of course, flying higher exposes them to other risks, including detection and targeting by longer-range radars and surface-to-air missile systems. The U.S. Navy has been pursuing efforts to help expand certain higher-altitude anti-submarine warfare capabilities on the Poseidon specifically.

SCMP's initial story framed the incident within the context of a particularly low point in U.S.-China relations compounded by a moment of major domestic political upheaval in the United States. The day after the incident in the South China Sea, a fatal riot over the results of the 2020 presidential election rocked the U.S. Capitol Building. Two days later, in the aftermath of that chaos, U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made two unusual calls to his Chinese counterpart. Milley has publicly confirmed those calls and has said he did so after U.S. intelligence showed Chinese officials feared that a conflict was imminent.

U.S.-Chinese relations have remained cool, especially following another surge in tensions last year around a visit by Nancy Pelosi, then a Democratic Party Representative from California and Speaker of House, to Taiwan. The U.S. military has been open about its fears that a conflict with China over Taiwan could emerge before the end of this decade.

https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1554480729173663744

However, other portions of the research paper that SCMP highlighted suggest the PLA may view the January 5, 2021 incident, and others like it, as significant outside of any specific temporal context. It also points to broader anti-submarine warfare concerns the PLA has, especially in this highly strategic zone.

"In a time of war, this could pose a detrimental threat to our submarines carrying out critical missions," Liu Dongqing and his team wrote about the U.S. military capabilities on display during the incident two years ago, according to SCMP. "The purpose is to monitor, block, and contain us."

The Chinese government has long been sensitive to U.S. military activities in the South China Sea, especially around Hainan and its man-made bases. The U.S. government routinely challenges China's expansive and largely unrecognized claims that the bulk of the region is its sovereign territory.

A US Department of Defense map showing island outposts belonging to China and other countries just in the Spratly Islands chain at the southern end of the South China Sea. DOD

Well before January 5, 2021, this had sometimes taken the form of outright harassment of American military aircraft and warships. The most infamous example of this was an incident on April 1, 2001, in which U.S. Navy EP-3E Aries II intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft collided with a PLA J-8 fighter jet, resulting in severe damage to both planes. The J-8 crashed and the pilot was killed in the incident, while the crew of the EP-3E were forced to land on Hainan. The EP-3E's crew were ultimately repatriated to the United States, but not before they were interrogated and their plane stuffed with extremely sensitive equipment and materials was torn-down and thoroughly examined.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbdKufx9VdY

That being said, in recent years, there has been a noticeable uptick in incidents involving U.S. Navy aircraft and ships that would seem to reflect the more general PLA concerns voiced in the recent research paper about American anti-submarine warfare capabilities. Chinese intercepts of Navy P-8As, as well as Poseidons belonging to the Royal Australian Air Force, in the South China Sea in particular, are routine, but there are clear indications that they are getting more assertive and at times even aggressive.

Production crews from CNN and NBC both got something of a direct taste of this during flights aboard Navy P-8As on missions over the South China Sea earlier this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8uKCCs44oY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14-0pzeKu0M

Last year, the Australian Department of Defense said that a RAAF P-8As had been damaged after a PLA J-16 Flanker fighter jet released unspecified countermeasures  likely decoy flares  in front of it during an altercation in international airspace over the South China Sea. That followed another incident earlier in 2022 involving a RAAF Poseidon and PLA warships closer to Australia. Interestingly, Chinese authorities claimed that the P-8A dropped sonobuoys around their naval task force during that latter incident.

A picture Chinese authorities released of what they said was a sonobuoy that a RAAF P-8A Posideon had dropped during an incident in 2022. Chinese Ministry of Defense

The PLA's harassment of other U.S. military assets engaged in the monitoring of Chinese submarine activity, or that at least could have been, extends beyond aircraft, too. In 2009, U.S. officials accused ships from a number of Chinese civil agencies, as well as commercial Chinese fishing boats, of conducting dangerous maneuvers around the ocean surveillance ship USNS Impeccable as it sailed in international waters near Hainan. That ship, as well as the four Victorious class vessels, are the only ones the U.S. Navy currently has that are capable of using the powerful Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS), which is designed to provide "long range detection [of submarines] and cueing for tactical weapons platforms or other vessels of interest."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQvQjwAE4w4

The PLA's brief seizure of a U.S. Navy glider-type uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) in 2016 may also have been tied to concerns that the undersea drone was being used to snoop on Chinese submarines.

Chinese aircraft and warships have of course harassed other military assets belonging to the U.S. armed forces and those of other countries in the South China Sea and elsewhere in the Pacific that have nothing to do with anti-submarine warfare. At the same time, the comments in the recent research paper, together with these past incidents, point to the PLA having particularly pronounced fears about the ability of its submarines to operate freely.

The PLAN has worked very hard in the past few decades to significantly expand not only the size of its submarine fleets, but also acquire more advanced types. In parallel, the PLAN has been pushing to conduct submarine operations further and further from the mainland, including with the longer-range deployments of its growing number of Type 094 ballistic missile submarines. This is all in line with broader Chinese efforts to become more of a global military power.

A Chinese Type 094 ballistic missile submarine. Mark Schiefelbien/AFP via Getty Images

There is similar evidence that the PLA is worried about its own abilities to track and otherwise monitor U.S. and other foreign submarine activity in the Pacific, in general, and that it has been taking steps to expand the scale and scope of its capabilities in this regard.

All of this is also coming amid an increasing willingness on the part of the U.S. Navy to talk about its submarine operations, especially in the Pacific with an eye toward deterring China.

"I would no longer characterize ourselves as a silent service," Navy Rear Adm. Jeffrey Jablon, the commander of Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (SUBPAC), notably told author and defense expert Robbin Laird earlier this year for a piece Breaking Defense recently published. "Deterrence is a major mission for the submarine force You cant have a credible deterrent without communicating your capabilities; if the adversary doesnt know anything about that specific deterrent, its not a deterrent."

Altogether, no matter what exactly transpired in the northern portion of the South China Sea on January 5, 2021, the PLA-linked research paper, at least reported by SCMP, makes clear that Chinese authorities took notice. That now-disclosed incident speaks to broader Chinese concerns about American anti-submarine warfare capabilities in the region and increasing undersea competition between the two countries. And yet it is just one small snapshot of a much wider picture, one in which similar incidents likely happen with increasing regularity without ever being reported.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com
A man walks past a shuttered petrol station in Madani, southeast of the Sudanese capital Khartoum

On a scorching sidewalk, Ibrahim Said hopes to withdraw his savings from a Sudanese bank, but the wait seems as unending as the war that has brought the country's financial system to a standstill.

Said is one of dozens of depositors who have queued at a branch of the Bank of Khartoum in Madani, a city about 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of the capital, to recover their savings.

"I have been here since seven in the morning hoping to withdraw money from my account," he told AFP.

One of half a million people who fled Khartoum for safer cities, Said escaped with what little cash he happened to have in the house when the capital was rocked on April 15 by air strikes and shelling that have not stopped since.

Now, he is locked out of his savings as the fighting between the army under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy-turned-foe Mohamed Hamdan Daglo's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shows no signs of abating.

Ishraq al-Rih has been coming to the same bank branch for three days, and on each occasion it has been the same.

"At around 3:00 pm, they open the doors, let in a very small number of people, and if you're not one of the lucky ones you have to come back the next day," she said.

Every passing day brings more anxiety, as families ration their cash to make ends meet, terrified of what footage shared online of looted banks and empty safes means for their savings.

- Locked out -

"We don't know what to do. We have money in the bank but we can't touch it," Ahmed Abdelaziz told AFP, standing outside the closed gate of Omdurman National Bank.

The 45-year-old civil servant thought he was safe in Madani, where tens of thousands of people have settled but cannot escape the impact of the battles that rage in the capital.

"The servers that control every bank's operations are all in Khartoum, and employees can't get to them because of the fighting," said Mohamed Abdelaziz, who works in the banking sector.

Even in states untouched by the violence, "branches have lost contact with the headquarters that used to validate operations," leaving managers unable to replenish reserves and allow withdrawals, he said.

In a move questioned by observers considering the entire sector is at a standstill, army chief Burhan declared a freeze on RSF assets this week and dismissed the central bank governor.

"Bank-to-bank payments have been completely cut; we can't transfer any money between accounts," said an employee of Sudanese French Bank who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Sudan was brought to its knees by two decades of international sanctions against former dictator Omar al-Bashir, as well as rampant corruption and the 2011 independence of South Sudan which held almost all the country's oil.

Even after Bashir was toppled in 2019 and the sanctions were lifted, the International Monetary Fund said Sudan remained on an international donors' list of "heavily indebted poor countries" and characterised its banking sector as "fragile, with several banks undercapitalised".

- Emptied out safes -

Sudan's fledgling banking sector -- which does not accommodate credit card payments or international transfers between individuals -- had $11.2 billion in assets at the end of 2019, according to the IMF.

It is unclear how much of that is left, however, as the country had already experienced years of economic woes, including a free-falling currency, before fighters began smashing their way into banks and emptying safes.

From the first week of the war, the army accused the RSF of breaking into a subsidiary of the central bank in Khartoum and stealing "huge sums of money".

The country's banking federation has repeatedly moved to assure clients that their assets and financial records are intact and has vowed to "restore banking services as soon as conditions permit".

Despite promises of ceasefires and the restoration of services to increasingly desperate civilians, conditions have remained unchanged for over a month.

For the time being, depositors like Said, Rih and Abdelaziz are being forced to use whatever means they have to get staples such as flour, which has doubled in price, or petrol -- now 20 times what it cost before the conflict.

bur/dv
Survey Finds 9 in 10 N.C. Voters Want More State Investment in Child Care

This article was originally published in https://www.ednc.org/2023-05-11-survey-nc-voters-state-investment-access-afforda.

A new survey reveals that a vast majority of North Carolina voters want the state to invest more in child care  and they want that investment this year.

The NC Chamber Foundation commissioned the survey from New Bridge Strategy in April to learn what North Carolinians think about child care across political and geographic boundaries.

Nine in 10 voters say taking action to ensure that more working families have access to affordable, quality child care should be an important priority this year.

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter

This is in stark contrast to the current budget priorities of the Republican-led General Assembly, which do not include significant investment in early childhood care and education.

Current state of child care

New Bridge Strategies surveyed 500 North Carolina registered voters April 13-18.

Just to give you some perspective, when were doing national work, were usually talking to 800 to 1,000 respondents in order to represent all Americans, Lori Weigel of New Bridge Strategy said during a recent presentation of the results.

The survey participants were a representative sample of the states registered voters.

Among participants, only the cost of housing and crime were seen as more serious challenges than child care.

I dont think anyone is shocked that the top two are sort of things that are at the top of our news feeds, are on the front page of the paper often, Weigel said. But not very far behind that is the lack of quality, affordable childcare programs.

Three-quarters of respondents view that lack of programs as a serious problem, regardless of whether they report living in cities, suburbs, small towns, or rural areas.

Even in a polarized political climate, theres consensus that lack of childcare is a serious problem: 69% of Republicans, 71% of independents, and 89% of Democrats agree.

Across party affiliation, nine in 10 voters were concerned about low wages for teachers and workers, the cost of child care for families, and the challenges parents face when balancing child care and work responsibilities.

All three of these are in that sort of stratospheric level in terms of people saying that these are serious problems in the state, Weigel said.

More than half of parents reported relying on family, friends, or neighbors to help provide child care because its too expensive. For parents of children ages 0-5 it was 60%. The numbers were similar for parents who had to call out or miss a shift at work because of a problem with child care.

This has huge implications for the workforce in North Carolina.

Lack of quality, affordable child care is causing parents to leave the workforce or turn down opportunities  exacerbating the states labor shortage and threatening business and economic growth, the NC Chamber Foundation said in the executive summary of the survey findings.

Importance of quality, affordable child care

Four in five respondents said access to quality, affordable child care is essential or very important to strengthening the economy and helping workers provide for their families. Again, this held true regardless of geography.

Across political parties, 74% of Republicans, 78% of independents, and 84% of Democrats agreed that child care is essential to the economic success of North Carolina and families who live here.

Most things I listen to people talk about fall on party lines, Weigel said, and this is not one of them.

Voters also want additional state funding to go toward child care this year.

Eighty-seven percent said that more working families having access to affordable, quality child care should be a priority for the state this year.

Weve got 87% saying, yall need to get on this, Weigel said. People are really seeing this as an urgent problem. And I think even more significantly, its not just the urgency of it, but that people are willing to back it with state funding.

Seventy-nine percent supported increasing state funding to provide working families with access to affordable, high-quality child care. That includes two-thirds of Republicans.

Eighty-six percent of voters said improving the quality of child care and making it more affordable for families is a good investment. That included 76% of Republicans, 86% of independents, and 97% of Democrats.

Across the partisan spectrum in the state, weve got a vast majority telling us that they connect access to quality, affordable child care with our ability to strengthen the economy, Weigel said. I think thats why we see people really telling us this is not just important but an urgent problem.

Ninety percent of voters said that child care should be a bipartisan issue that state leaders should work on together.

Ive talked about these issues for over 15 years, Weigel said. We just didnt used to see the kinds of numbers that Im presenting to yall today.

This article first appeared on EducationNC and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Suspect arrested in rape of four-year-old child in Brovary, Kyiv Oblast  police

The police detained the suspect

What kind of being must one be to commit sexual violence against a four-year-old girl Nebytov wrote.

Just now, the Kyiv Oblast police have detained the scoundrel who raped a child in Brovary last night.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100039590617894&locale=uk_UA

Read also: High Council of Justice ready to consider complaints against judge in high-profile underage rape case

The suspect is a 48-year-old native of Berdyansk, previously convicted of robbery and theft.

I thank the police and the prosecutor's office for their decisive actions and principled stance, he noted.

Read also: Christian camp leader convicted over 147 instances of child rape

According to TSN, citing the Kyiv Oblast police, the incident occurred in Brovary on May 18.

The mother left her four-year-old daughter with a friend as she needed to see a doctor, the police revealed.

A relative acquaintance arrived at the residence where the child was staying. He then raped the child when the woman was distracted. She entered the room upon hearing the child cry. This scared the rapist, and he fled the apartment. The perpetrator has been apprehended."

They also added that the 48-year-old man is not a teacher at one of the local lyceums, as mentioned on social media, although he had previously been involved in the field of education. However, this was during the time he lived in Berdyansk.

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
Ohio DMAX plant employee shoots love rival dead before injuring second victim and turning gun on himself

Police on the scene of the shooting at the DMAX plant in Moraine, Ohio (WHIOTV7)

An employee at a DMAX plant in Moraine, Ohio, shot his suspected love rival dead before injuring a second coworker and then turning the gun on himself.

The shooting unfolded just before 9pm local time on Thursday at the facility where the General Motors subsidiary provides diesel engines for pickup trucks.

Moraine Police Sgt Andrew Parish said in a press conference on Friday morning that the male suspect and his victim 28-year-old Jeffrey James Allen III  who both worked at the plant  were in a feud over a female coworker.

They were involved in a domestic-related feud over a female who was also an employee at the facility, he said.

Both men and the unidentified woman were on shift at the plant that night when the two men got into an altercation on the operations floor.

At that point, the suspect  whose identity has not been publicly released  pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and opened fire on Allen.

The gunman fired at least a dozen rounds  all of them believed to have been targeted towards his love rival.

A second victim  also a plant employee  was also struck by the gunfire but does not appear to have been involved in the altercation between the suspect and the first victim. After shooting the two victims, the gunman then turned the gun on himself.

This appears to have been a targeted attack involving our suspect and Mr Allen, said Sgt Parish.

Its very apparent that Mr Allen was the target of this assault.

The female employee at the centre of the feud was not injured in the attack.

Officers responded to 911 calls reporting an active shooting at the facility.

On arrival, law enforcement found the suspect outside the building suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The gunman survived the shooting and was rushed to hospital.

Police on the scene of the shooting at the DMAX plant in Moraine, Ohio (WHIOTV7)

Inside, authorities then found the two victims.

Allen was pronounced dead at the scene while the second male victim was taken to hospital for treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.

The gunman  whose identity will not be released until charges are filed  is in a critical but stable condition in local hospital as of Friday morning.

Other people also sustained unrelated injuries during the evacuation and ensuing chaos at the plant.

The active threat was over within a few minutes, police said.

Moraine police also released a panicked 911 call made by an employee inside the plant, as she frantically tells the dispatcher there is an active shooter at the facility.

In a statement released following the shooting, DMAX said: We are aware of an incident at the DMAX Moraine manufacturing facility, and are working with local authorities.

All production operations have been suspended at this time until further notice.

A search warrant has been executed on the suspects home.

Moraine Police are interviewing employees who witnessed the shooting and are working with the Tactical Crime Suppression Unit as part of the investigation.
Man who stole a Miami-Dade fire truck sets off three-county highway chase, police say

A Miami-Dade fire truck heading north on the highway wasnt heading to an emergency.

It was the emergency.

Police say the yellow truck was stolen arond 6:30 p.m. Thursday from a training exercise at Northeast 166th Street and Seventh Avenue in North Miami Beach.

The driver hit a parked Opa-locka police car about two miles away, police said, before heading north on Interstate 95. Thats where officers spotted the fire truck and pursued.

The truck then went onto Floridas Turnpike and continued north through Broward and into Palm Beach County.

Finally, after three counties and several hours, the pursuit ended after 9 p.m., without injury or any crashes.

The chase ended on the side of the turnpike near Boynton Beach Boulevard. Aljenard Lekambrick, 31, was arrested, according to Miami-Dade police.

Current situation near Boynton Beach, after a @MiamiDadeFire truck was stolen out of Opa-Locka then chased onto the Florida Turnpike, where a man is in police custody @wsvn pic.twitter.com/q5P60XEqaZ  Sheldon Fox-7 News (@fox_sheldon) May 19, 2023

The truck was stopped in Palm Beach County on the turnpike and mile marker 86, where the subject was taken into custody by BSO officers without incident,. Miami-Dade police spokesman Detective Argemis Colome said.
Syrias dictator is winning back friends in the Middle East. Now Congress has a plan to stop him.

The News

Syrias Bashar al-Assad has been on a diplomatic comeback tour this year, rebuilding ties with many of the Arab neighbors who had previously shunned the dictator over his criminal civil war tactics.

But now, lawmakers in Washington are eying legislation aimed at ending his regimes international rehabilitation.

The Assad Anti-Normalization Act would formally bar any U.S. administration from recognizing the Syrian strongmans government, and would tighten sanctions meant to isolate him from the world stage.

The bill is backed by a bipartisan group that includes Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the influential chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. On Tuesday, it unanimously won a key subcommittee vote.

The United States must use all of our leverage to prevent normalization with the war criminal Bashar al-Assad, McCaul said in a statement to Semafor. We remain committed to ensuring the Syrian people receive justice and have a say in mapping their own future.

Jay's view

The new bill may in fact be the last, best hope to reverse recent steps countries have taken toward normalizing a leader whos guilty of overseeing some of the worst atrocities against civilians since the Second World War.

In March, the ruler of the United Arab Emirates greeted Assad with 21-gun salute; today, the Arab League is formally welcoming him back to its ranks during a summit in Jeddah.

Meanwhile, the UAE announced this week that it had invited Assad to the December COP28 UN conference on climate change in Dubai, where Syrias dictator could be potentially mixing with President Joe Biden and other Western leaders who repeatedly called for his removal over the past decade.

But the legislation could also place Washington on a collision course with key Middle East allies who now argue that engaging Assad is the only way to end the Syrian civil war and support millions of displaced Syrians still at risk from the conflict.

The new bill seeks to strengthen the Caesar Act, which Congress first enacted in 2019 to deny Assads regime funding for its rehabilitation. A particularly onerous provision in the new bill would require the U.S. government to scrutinize any financial dealings with Syria of more than $500,000 by entities in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey  whether they involve reconstruction aid or business transactions  and potentially sanction them.

For now, members of Congress dont seem to be worried about ruffling feathers in the Arab world.

We appreciate our allies and partners in the Middle East but we believe they are going down the wrong path, Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., one of the bill's lead authors, told Semafor in a statement. I hope this legislation sends the message fast to our Arab partners and dissuades them from further engagement before it is too late.

The View From The White House

The Biden administration has yet to take a position on the anti-Assad bill, but has been notably muted in its criticism of the Arab states outreach to the despot.

While we are skeptical of Assads willingness to take the steps necessary to resolve  Syrias crisis, we are aligned with our Arab partners on the ultimate objectives, White House spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, said at a briefing last week.

The Biden administration itself has held secret meetings with Syrian officials in recent months, according to U.S. and Arab diplomats, specifically aimed at finding a kidnapped American journalist, Austin Tice  who is believed to be held by Assads regime. One of these meetings was in Oman, according to The Wall Street Journal. Assad is seeking to use these talks, according to Syria analysts, to force the U.S. to pull back its remaining forces from northern Syria and relax American sanctions.

Step Back

The U.S., Europe, and the Middle East had been united for much of the past decade in their shared belief that the international community should never accept Syrias ruler, due to his use of chemical weapons, bombings of civilian hospitals, and other war crimes. Washington even collaborated with the Saudis and Emiratis to back anti-Assad rebels after their revolution gained momentum in 2011.

This consensus frayed as the Syrian civil war dragged on and Iran, Russia, and China expanded their influence across the Middle East. Confidence in U.S. leadership also buckled after President Barack Obamas 2013 backtracking on his pledge to strike Assads forces if they used chemical weapons.

Syrian rebels actually appeared close to capturing Damascus in 2015. But these advances prompted Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Russia to jointly deploy their militias and air force to rescue Assad, their long-standing ally. Russian fighter jets and Iranian-backed militias remain in Syria to this day.

Chinas growing diplomatic role in the Middle East has also bolstered Assad and begun to insert a wedge between Arab states and the West. In recent months, Beijing brokered a normalization of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. According to officials briefed on the talks, Tehran pressed for Assads rehabilitation as part of this broader diplomatic pact.

Experts involved in the anti-normalization legislation told Semafor that its about much more than just Syria. They argue that if Russia, China and Iran can bend the international community to their will by normalizing a war criminal like Assad, they could seek to strong-arm countries into accepting Moscows actions in Ukraine or a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

The United States must hold accountable all those who normalize and empower the criminal Assad regime, otherwise we send a message to every dictator in the world that they too can commit mass atrocities and be accepted by the international community, said Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, which helped in the drafting of the bill.

Room for Disagreement

Emirati and Saudi leaders publicly argue that the past decade of confronting Assad divided Arab nations, led to the dismemberment of Syria, and caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians. The U.S. has also signaled its intent to lessen its military footprint and commitments in the Mideast. As a result, engaging Assad directly presents the best option, they say.

"Syria has been absent from its brothers for too long, and the time has come for it to return to them and to its Arab surroundings," the UAEs ruler, Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, told Assad during their March meeting, according to state media.

The UAE and Saudi embassies didnt respond to requests from Semafor for comment on Capitol Hills anti-Assad legislation. But Arab officials involved in U.S. policy said its unclear if the bill will pass Congress and that they dont believe it will seriously undermine relations with Washington long term, due to shared interests in collaborating on issues like energy policy, climate change, and the threat of Irans nuclear program. One senior Arab official told Semafor the process of normalization with Assad is irreversible.

Notable
Managers from Germany and China exchange views on management at the TopCut-Bullmer Co., Ltd in Linhai, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 18, 2023. Bullmer, a German company founded in 1933, celebrated its 90th founding anniversary in Linhai on Thursday.

Bullmer is a leading automatic cutting system supplier in the world, which almost went bankrupt in the financial crisis in 2008. In 2009, New Jack Sewing Machine Co., Ltd., a Chinese private sewing machine supplier based in eastern China's Zhejiang Province, took over the company and also built a production base in China. The two companies take advantages of their brands, technologies and production channels, and also make innovations in China.

Since the takeover, the annual sales of Bullmer has risen to about 600 million yuan (about 85 million U.S. dollars) from 40 million yuan (about 5.67 million U.S. dollars), becoming a successful acquisition of overseas company by a Chinese company. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)

Representatives of foreign dealers visit a production line at the TopCut-Bullmer Co., Ltd in Linhai, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 18, 2023. Bullmer, a German company founded in 1933, celebrated its 90th founding anniversary in Linhai on Thursday.

Bullmer is a leading automatic cutting system supplier in the world, which almost went bankrupt in the financial crisis in 2008. In 2009, New Jack Sewing Machine Co., Ltd., a Chinese private sewing machine supplier based in eastern China's Zhejiang Province, took over the company and also built a production base in China. The two companies take advantages of their brands, technologies and production channels, and also make innovations in China.

Since the takeover, the annual sales of Bullmer has risen to about 600 million yuan (about 85 million U.S. dollars) from 40 million yuan (about 5.67 million U.S. dollars), becoming a successful acquisition of overseas company by a Chinese company. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)

A man works on a production line at the TopCut-Bullmer Co., Ltd in Linhai, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 18, 2023. Bullmer, a German company founded in 1933, celebrated its 90th founding anniversary in Linhai on Thursday.

Bullmer is a leading automatic cutting system supplier in the world, which almost went bankrupt in the financial crisis in 2008. In 2009, New Jack Sewing Machine Co., Ltd., a Chinese private sewing machine supplier based in eastern China's Zhejiang Province, took over the company and also built a production base in China. The two companies take advantages of their brands, technologies and production channels, and also make innovations in China.

Since the takeover, the annual sales of Bullmer has risen to about 600 million yuan (about 85 million U.S. dollars) from 40 million yuan (about 5.67 million U.S. dollars), becoming a successful acquisition of overseas company by a Chinese company. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)

Workers test a new-type cut-bed at the TopCut-Bullmer Co., Ltd in Linhai, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 18, 2023. Bullmer, a German company founded in 1933, celebrated its 90th founding anniversary in Linhai on Thursday.

Bullmer is a leading automatic cutting system supplier in the world, which almost went bankrupt in the financial crisis in 2008. In 2009, New Jack Sewing Machine Co., Ltd., a Chinese private sewing machine supplier based in eastern China's Zhejiang Province, took over the company and also built a production base in China. The two companies take advantages of their brands, technologies and production channels, and also make innovations in China.

Since the takeover, the annual sales of Bullmer has risen to about 600 million yuan (about 85 million U.S. dollars) from 40 million yuan (about 5.67 million U.S. dollars), becoming a successful acquisition of overseas company by a Chinese company. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)

Staff members from Germany and China discuss on production at the TopCut-Bullmer Co., Ltd in Linhai, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 18, 2023. Bullmer, a German company founded in 1933, celebrated its 90th founding anniversary in Linhai on Thursday.

Bullmer is a leading automatic cutting system supplier in the world, which almost went bankrupt in the financial crisis in 2008. In 2009, New Jack Sewing Machine Co., Ltd., a Chinese private sewing machine supplier based in eastern China's Zhejiang Province, took over the company and also built a production base in China. The two companies take advantages of their brands, technologies and production channels, and also make innovations in China.

Since the takeover, the annual sales of Bullmer has risen to about 600 million yuan (about 85 million U.S. dollars) from 40 million yuan (about 5.67 million U.S. dollars), becoming a successful acquisition of overseas company by a Chinese company. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)

Representatives of foreign dealers visit a production line at the TopCut-Bullmer Co., Ltd in Linhai, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 18, 2023. Bullmer, a German company founded in 1933, celebrated its 90th founding anniversary in Linhai on Thursday.

Bullmer is a leading automatic cutting system supplier in the world, which almost went bankrupt in the financial crisis in 2008. In 2009, New Jack Sewing Machine Co., Ltd., a Chinese private sewing machine supplier based in eastern China's Zhejiang Province, took over the company and also built a production base in China. The two companies take advantages of their brands, technologies and production channels, and also make innovations in China.

Since the takeover, the annual sales of Bullmer has risen to about 600 million yuan (about 85 million U.S. dollars) from 40 million yuan (about 5.67 million U.S. dollars), becoming a successful acquisition of overseas company by a Chinese company. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)
Syrian anti-government protesters unfurl a large opposition flag at a demonstration in the city of Afrin, in the rebel-held northern Aleppo province, to denounce President Bashar al-Assad's participation at an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia

Hundreds protested in rebel-held northern Syria on Friday against President Bashar al-Assad's participation in the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia after a more than decade-long suspension, AFP correspondents reported.

Demonstrators in the town of Azaz chanted: "The people want the fall of the regime," rallying cry of the protests of 2011 that were bloodily suppressed by Assad's government triggering more than a decade of civil war.

"Syria cannot be represented by Assad the criminal," read a banner at the protest in the town, which is under the control of pro-Turkish rebels.

Anti-Assad protests took part in other rebel-held cities, including Al-Bab and Afrin, where a crowd unfurled a large opposition flag.

Assad was attending his first Arab League summit since the bloc suspended Syria in late 2011 over the crackdown on peaceful protests.

Civil war has since killed more than 500,000 people and driven around half the pre-war population from their homes.

"We call on the Arab peoples to put pressure on their governments to go back on the decision (to re-admit Syria) and for Bashar al-Assad to leave," said Issam Khatib, a lawyer originally from the northern city of Aleppo.

Assad had been politically isolated in the region since the war began, but a devastating February 6 earthquake that killed thousands in Turkey and Syria sparked Arab outreach.

A flurry of diplomatic activity has seen Saudi Arabia and Assad ally Iran patch up ties, shifting regional relations.

The detente with Damascus is a heavy blow to Syria's political and armed opposition, which received Arab support particularly in the conflict's early stages.

Damascus now controls most of Syria, after clawing back much of the ground it had lost with the support of allies Iran and Russia.

Remaining rebel-held areas in the north and northwest, controlled by Islamist groups and Turkish-backed fighters, are home to more than four million people, at least half of whom have been displaced from other parts of the country.

In the northwestern city of Idlib, controlled by jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, hundreds protested, some holding placards that read "no normalisation".

"What has happened (at the Arab League) is a black mark on your file," said protester Hala Ibrahim, addressing Arab leaders.

str-rh/at/lg/kir
By Maya Gebeily

(Reuters) - Every handshake would count, and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad had plenty of them at Friday's Arab League Summit - along with hugs and kisses - from his onetime foes in the region.

As he strolled into the summit venue in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Friday afternoon, a beaming Assad extended his arms to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who grabbed them both and kissed Assad once on each cheek.

It was a symbolic moment, sealing Assad's reintegration into the Arab fold after being suspended from the League and isolated by most of the region for over a decade over his crackdown on protests against him.

Saudi Arabia came out strongly against Assad soon after Syria's crisis broke out in 2011 but has more recently changed tack along with many Arab countries represented at the summit - despite objections by the West and many Syrians who still see him as a war criminal.

As Assad lined up for the League's family photograph, he shook hands with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The two leaders smiled, gestured with their hands and tilted their heads as they chatted.

Assad then turned briefly to speak to Tunisian President Kais al-Saeid. Assad held bilateral talks with Saeid and the UAE's Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed on Friday - and is expected to have a sit-down with bin Salman.

One after the other, Arab leaders welcomed Syria's return to the Arab league and during his own address, Assad repeatedly said that Syria belonged to the Arab world.

But one key leader did not hear him speak: Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, who in 2018 called the Syrian president a war criminal.

Al-Thani left Jeddah after leading his country's delegation, according to a statement by Qatar's Emiri Diwan distributed to media as Assad was speaking, and did not make his own address.

Syria's state news agency had reported that the Emir and Assad shook hands and spoke briefly on the sidelines before the summit began - but there was no statement on Qatari media.

An Arab official told Reuters that the Emir did not hold any bilateral meetings and left the summit before Assad spoke.

(Reporting by Maya Gebeily; Edited by Tom Perry, William Maclean)
Touting the success of the first phase of Tacomas violent crime reduction plan, Police Chief Avery Moore and the plans authors announced at the City Council study session Tuesday that they will launch the second phase.

Mike Smith, the criminal justice chair at the University of Texas at San Antonio, reported that hotspot policing has led to a 21 percent decrease in violent crime incidents city-wide during the treatment period, from July 2022 to February 2023, compared to the previous 12 months, from July 2021 to June 2022. The first phase of the plan hoped to deter criminal activity by having officers drive to more than a dozen addresses with high rates of violent street crime  defined as aggravated assaults, murders and robberies  at peak times and activate their patrol car lights for 15 minutes.

In those 16 treatment locations, violent crime has dropped 19.7%, compared to the treatment period and last year.

Moore said there have been no homicides in the hotspot locations this year.

The second phase is problem-oriented, place-based policing, which will address underlying conditions that contribute to recurring problems. The first location will be 8810-8820 Hosmer Street where a closed Econo Lodge and a Quality Inn & Suites are. Smith said the location is one of the citys highest crime areas. The location was based on a three-year analysis of violent crime, arrests and calls for service. The News Tribune reported last summer that South Hosmer Street was Tacomas most dangerous street.

A working group has started meeting to plan how to address the conditions at 8820 Hosmer Street. The mid-term strategy will combine traditional police enforcement efforts with code enforcement, nuisance abatement, environmental design changes and disorder-focused efforts. The group consists of the Tacoma Police Department, the Public Works Department, the Tax and License Office, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, Tacoma Fire Department and the Communitys Police Advisory Committee.

Council member Joe Bushnell, who represents District 5 that covers Hosmer, said he appreciates the work of the police officers and community members to curb violent crime.

This didnt happen overnight, he said during the meeting. And certainly its not going to improve overnight, but working together as a community and looking toward that goal of having zero victims on Hosmer, I think, is achievable.

In the next couple months, the working group will present and implement a site-specific operations plan.

Other locations for problem-oriented, place-based policing would be added in the future.

Moore said starting with one location would ensure city departments arent taking off more than they can chew and understanding what kind of expense is associated with the strategy.

Hotspot policing will continue during the second phase.

The violent crime reduction plans third phase focuses on deterring known offenders through social programs and increased investigative resources. This phase is set to begin six to 12 months after problem-oriented, place-based policing starts.

Moore said focused deterrence would focus on addressing the citys prolific violent offenders who disproportionately commit homicides.

I hope that our citizens can hold out with us to get to stage three of this plan, because Im a little concerned, Council member Sarah Rumbaugh, District 2, said, mentioning a homicide on Monday near the Sixth Avenue business district. It was the second homicide in less than a 24-hour span in Tacoma.

Moore responded saying addressing homicides is difficult. He said the departments goal is to be more proactive and visible to have a deterring effect on homicides.

So far, this year there have been 15 homicides.

City leaderships response to violent crime plan

Mayor Victoria Woodards said in a news release Tuesday that the city continues to see crime trending down overall, but there is much work ahead.

We are working with our community to address the issue of community safety collaboratively and holistically, Woodards said. As we all know, community safety is not exclusively a police issue. It takes all of us working together.

Deputy Mayor Kristina Walker said she is encouraged by the hotspot policing results and the work done for phase two of the plan.

Its absolutely making a difference, she said.

City Manager Elizabeth Pauli said she understands there are concerns from the community about crime and, specifically, violent crime. She said the city is working on developing the Community Safety Plan and other efforts to continue addressing crime.
Toyota

The 2024 Toyota Tacoma has arrived with a longer list of trim packages than ever before, including a few dedicated off-road models. Heres everything you need to know about the brands range-topping, overlanding-focused Tacoma Trailhunter and baja-bashing Tacoma TRD Pro pickup trucks.

Both of Toyotas off-road focused halo models come equipped with the brands 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder version of the i-Force Max hybrid powertrain. The system combines the familiar turbo motor with a 1.87-kWh NiMH battery pack and a single electric motor integrated into the trucks eight-speed automatic transmission. Total system output for both TRD Pro and Trailhunter models comes out to 326 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque. That is more than double the torque output of the current V-6 offering, which will be a massive win out on the trails. That sort of output puts both Tacoma off-roaders ahead of the Colorado ZR2, which provides 310 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque by way of a 2.7-liter twin-turbo four-pot. That said, Fords new Ranger Raptor is far and away the segment output leader, thanks to its 405 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque. Regardless of where the truck sits in the segment, Toyota says these Tacomas can ascend an eight percent grade without the need to downshift, which should improve highway and off-road comfort.

Toyota

Both the TRD Pro and Trailhunter models will see some ride benefits brought on by their all-new multi-link rear suspension layouts. The physical suspension components are very different between the two trucks however, as they are tailored to different types of off-road activities. The Trailhunter was designed with an overlanding focus, a natural fit for Tacoma considering the trucks longstanding association with the activity. The Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter can be visually identified by its unique bronze-colored Toyota script grille, complete with an integrated LED light bar. The hardware changes start with a bespoke shock package developed alongside the Australian-based outfitters ARB, consisting of Old Man Emu position sensitive 2.5-inch forged monotube shocks with rear external piggyback style remote reservoirs. When combined with the 33-inch Goodyear Territory R/T tires, the package brings a two-inch lift to the front and an inch and a half out back. Both Trailhunter and TRD Pro models come backed by a two-speed electronic transfer case, as well as an electronic limited-slip differential. Trailhunter models include other highlights such as a unique high-clear exhaust tip, an A-pillar mounted air intake, rock rails and set of hot-stamped steel skids to protect important underbody components.

Toyota

The Trailhunter can be ordered in both 5- or 6-foot bed configurations, but a double cab is the only bodystyle on offer. ARB worked with Toyota to develop bed racks for both layouts, which can be ordered should you want to stick a tent or other gear above the bed. Every Tacoma buyer will also have the opportunity to order some accessories right from participating dealers via Toyotas new Associated Accessory Products program. There are currently over 100 accessories approved for the updated Tacoma lineup, including storage solutions, equipment carries, recovery gear, as well as various useful brackets and tools. The cost of these parts can be rolled right into your monthly payments, allowing for one-stop shopping before hitting the trails.

Toyota

Whereas the Trailhunter is made for crawling over boulders, the new TRD Pro is designed to fly through desert sands with haste. To make best use of the trucks improved chassis, the TRD Pro package starts with all-new TRD-specific front control arms. These components change the front suspension geometry to better handle abuse, while reducing unsprung weight in the process. Toyota has also installed a set of Fox internal bypass 2.5-inch shocks, which have three manually adjustable settings on the shock bodies for compression adjustments. The TRD Pro also gets a set of Fox internal Floating Piston bump stops in its multi-link rear end, which should cut back on impact harshness when off-road. Like the Trailhunter, TRD Pro sits two-inches high up front and an inch and a half higher in the rear than the base Tacoma. The truck is also three inches wider than a base SR, which gives it a genuinely muscular and menacing appearance.

Toyota

Other TRD Pro package highlights include bespoke TRD wheels, an ARB high clearance rear bumper, integrated RIGID lighting, and an aluminum front skid plate. TRD Pro is the most capable member of the Tacoma lineup, with maximum approach, breakover, and departure angles of 33.8, 23.5 and 25.7-degrees, respectively.

Toyota

Unlike Trailhunter, the new Tacoma TRD Pro also gets the automakers new IsoDynamic Performance Seat. The seat utilizes an air-over-oil shock absorber system that allows the seat itself to move vertically and laterally. By cutting back on the head and torso movements youd normally experience on intense trails, Toyota says the seat also reduces fatigue and significantly improves comfort.

Toyota

Inside both Trailhunter and TRD Pro you'll find Toyota's larger 12.4-inch digital gauge cluster and a 14-inch central infotainment system. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard equipment, as is Toyotas Safe Sense 3.0 driver assistance software package. Improved audio is provided by an available 10-speaker JBL system, complete with a subwoofer and a portable speaker component. All i-Force Max-equipped vehicles also support an onboard 2400W AC inverter in the bed, which is perfect for running gear like a trail fridge or other kitchen items.

Toyota

Toyota is not quite ready to share pricing information related to the Tacoma lineup. That said, we know that deliveries of some models are slated to take place later this year. Trailhunter and TRD Pro customers have a bit longer to wait however, as i-Force Max-equipped trucks wont hit dealer lots until early 2024. Thatll give customers time to spec out their ideal accessory combinations before it's time to get out and push these trucks in their natural habitats, which will surely help tide folks over. With high-performance rivals lining up in the mid-size segment, the new Tacoma cant get here soon enough.

Toyota

You Might Also Like
Tarrant GOP wants to eliminate countywide voting, have paper ballots. Will it get anywhere?

Tarrant GOPs Executive Committee passed a resolution Thursday evening asking local party leaders and Tarrant County commissioners to authorize local and statewide voting systems that would allow paper ballots and end the countywide voting system.

How that would work in Tarrant County is unclear. One expert says Tarrant GOP is ahead of the curve with calling for an end to countywide voting as lawmakers discuss eradicating it.

Among the asks in the resolution were for hand-marked, sequentially numbered paper ballots printed on counterfeit resistant paper, paper poll books in addition to online poll books to verify signatures, and to switch to precinct-level voting instead of the countywide voting system in place.

Countywide voting is available in 90 counties in Texas, including Tarrant, which adopted the system in 2019, when it purchased 3,000 Hart Verity voting machines and 400 ballot scanners.

We know no system is perfect or impervious to the corruption, but we believe this would be a significant step toward making Tarrant County elections more secure, restore the voters confidence in Tarrant County election process, the woman who read the resolution into the record said.

The resolution was met with disagreement from numerous members of the party Thursday evening.

One man said it has major flaws and that he was totally opposed to it.

Its a mess, the man said. Whoever wrote this, its a disaster and it would be embarrassing to submit this to the county commissioners.

Another woman said she would love paper ballots, but unless the county made a move toward precinct voting, paper poll books would make it hard to verify where people checked in. One man said the whole resolution should be turned down.

Others in the room spoke of their support for the resolution. And when it passed, the room at North Richland Hills Cross Church erupted into cheers.

This our sovereignty, you guys, one woman said. This is our sovereignty.

The vote from Tarrant GOP Executive Committee members comes as Texas lawmakers discuss eliminating countywide voting through Senate Bill 990. Voters will have to cast their ballots at an assigned precinct if the bill passes.

The bill has passed the Senate but is waiting to be heard by the House Committee on Elections.

Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, said he hasnt seen another county GOP officials saying they should move back to a precinct-level model. He thinks the local party is ahead of other county parties in calling for the elimination.

A switch in the way any county runs elections would mean more work in the long run, Rottinghaus said  changes in the way voting is done also tends to disrupt voting patterns and thus reduce voter turnout.

It just shows you kind of the arc of how, like, these issues become prominent for some hardcore Republican voters, Rottinghaus said.

Tarrant County Democratic Party chair Allison Campolo wrote in a text that the GOPs resolution is the result of hyperpartisan fear mongering brought on by extremist Republicans who want to disenfranchise voters and make it harder to vote.

Paper ballots and precinct-only voting do not make the voting process safer and would significantly enhance the time it takes to count ballots, in addition to reducing the number of people who can vote and the clarity of their choices once they do vote, she wrote.

Representatives with the Texas Secretary of States office and Tarrant GOP chair Rick Barnes could not immediately be reached for comment Friday morning.

County judge Tim OHare was not immediately available for comment Friday morning.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Teacher threatens to punch students mocking how he said quadrilateral, lawsuit says

Something about the way a high school teacher said the word quadrilateral made a class of students in eighth-period geometry begin to laugh, according to a lawsuit filed in Arkansas.

The teacher responded by turning toward two of the students with his hand balled up in a fish and shaking before threatening those two high schoolers on May 2, according to a complaint filed May 16 in Benton County Circuit Court.

I bet I could punch both of you in the nose in one go, the Bentonville West High School teacher is accused of saying.

Now, a family of one of the students is suing Bentonville Schools.

Weve not seen any filings, but also dont comment on pending litigation, a spokesperson for the district said in a statement to McClatchy News. The teacher did not immediately respond to a request for comment on May 19.

In the complaint, the parents said their student responded to her teacher by saying, that is a threat. The teacher then replied that its not a threat its a promise and laughed, according to the lawsuit.

The student was very upset and shaken up over the interaction, the complaint says.

The next day, the student and one of her parents met with the Bentonville West High School principal, according to the lawsuit. They said the principal responded by saying it seemed as though the teacher was using sarcasm.

The student was then removed from his geometry class, the lawsuit says.

Her parents are seeking judgment, damages and other relief.

High school coach hid a GoPro in girls locker room, WI cops say. 18 victims possible

Substitute teacher trying to fit in shares vape pen with 7th grader, Florida cops say

Student sick at boarding school told to suck it up days before she died, lawsuit says
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is making use of his time and resources in Congress by demanding that the Beer Institute, the beer industrys self-regulatory body, conduct an investigation into Bud Lights short-lived partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney a partnership that, to him, also warrants detailed oversight by Congress.

On Fox and Friends Thursday morning, Cruz explained why he and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) wrote a letter to Anheuser-Busch CEO and Beer Institute Chairman Brendan Whitworth on the matter.

One of the rules that beer companies are supposed to follow is theyre not supposed to market to kids. Remember the whole Joe the Camel thing? This is the same thing here, Cruz said, referencing the mascot for R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which ultimately ended its use of the desert animal after a complaint was lodged by the Federal Trade Commission and after the Supreme Court declined to throw out a lawsuit against the cigarette maker.

In their letter, Cruz and Blackburn write that the Beer Institute must look into whether its Advertising/Marketing Code and Buying Guidelines were violated. They cite Mulvaneys TikTok series Days of Girlhood as problematic.

The use of the phrase Girlhood was not a slip of the tongue but rather emblematic of a series of Mulvaneys online content that was specifically used to target, market to, and attract an audience of young people who are well below the legal drinking age in the United States, they write.

John Oliver Rips Bud Light for Running Scared From Kid Rock

The pair called on Anheuser-Busch to publicly sever its relationship with Mulvaney, apologize for using them to allegedly market its product to minors, and to instruct Mulvaney to erase any Anheuser-Busch content from their social media profiles. They also demanded a host of documents concerning their partnership so that Congress can exercise its oversight authority.

Neither the Beer Institute nor Anheuser-Busch have issued a statement in response to Cruzs and Blackburns request.

Bud Lights decision to make a promotional can with Mulvaneys face on it for March Madness caused a conservative backlash, with 52-year-old Kid Rock shooting the beer, and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders selling koozies. Retail store sales of Bud Light in early April fell 17 percent, while competitor brands Coors Light and Miller Lite each saw a 17.6 percent rise.

In an April 14 statement from Whitworth, the CEO said, We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.

In a TikTok video a few weeks later, Mulvaney reacted to the backlash, Theres clearly no way of winning over everyone.

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.
Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Edward Little appearing at the Old Bailey in London, accused of plotting a terror attack at Hyde Park in London - Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire

An Islamist terrorist has admitted plotting to shoot dead a Christian preacher at Speakers Corner, after arranging to buy a gun for 5,000.

Edward Little was planning to kill Hatun Tash, when he set off in a taxi from his home in Brighton towards Hyde Park in London on September 23 last year.

The 21-year-old, who told the taxi driver the 300 fare was not a problem, was carrying thousands of pounds in cash when he was stopped by police.

He had earlier carried out research into guns and their capability, and arranged to purchase one for 5,000.

Little had targeted Ms Tash, who regularly appeared at Speakers Corner and debated Islam.

Changed his plea

He initially denied preparing to commit an act of terrorism, but when appearing at the Old Bailey on Friday, he changed his plea and admitted the charge.

Prosecutors alleged he also intended to murder a camera crew that was following her, along with any police officers or soldiers in the area.

However, his defence lawyer said Little only accepted targeting the preacher.

Prosecutor Duncan Penny KC asked for seven days to review whether the Crown would accept this or require a judge to decide.

The court heard how Little had been arrested by police as he travelled by taxi to London.

During the journey, he asked the driver to stop at a mosque so he could pray, but then said he would do it in the cab after being told there was none on route.

When police intercepted him, he was carrying a rucksack containing 5,000 in cash, a passport and two mobile phones.

Police later found an encrypted chat on one phone, setting out his attack plan and detailing the planned gun purchase.

Going by the online name of Abdullah, Little allegedly exchanged messages in which he discussed religion, Iraq, and kuffar or non-believers.

Assaulted a police officer

In police interviews, Little declined to answer questions, but when shown a YouTube view of the preacher, he launched himself at the officer and had to be restrained.

Little later admitted assaulting the officer at Newbury Police Station and was sentenced to eight months in prison.

The court previously heard that Little had an absolutely shocking criminal record, with convictions for 14 offences, including robbery, possessing a knife and drug dealing.

Lord Justice Baker adjourned sentencing until July 21 and remanded Little into custody.

Detective Chief Superintendent Olly Wright, head of Counter Terrorism Policing South East, said: This was a fast-moving investigation, which our team responded to quickly.

This enabled us to stop Little in his tracks before he could carry out his plans.

Littles guilty plea is a reflection of the strength of evidence our team was able to build and is a real example of why the Counter Terrorism Policing network exists.

The home of free speech

Following the hearing, Ms Tash, who is an evangelical Christian preacher, said: l am glad the police were able to act and stop Mr Little before he harmed me, and people around me. This should concern everyone in the UK.

She added: I should be able to practice my right to preach the gospel and critique Islam, or anything else that I disagree with, especially at Speakers Corner, the home of free speech.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
Tesco chairman John Allan has been in the position for eight years

UK supermarket giant Tesco said Friday its chairman John Allan would step down next month following newspaper allegations over his conduct towards women.

"We are well advanced in our search for a new chair and will make an announcement in due course," interim chair Byron Grote said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.

Grote said he would helm Tesco's annual general meeting (AGM) on June 16, when Allan will step down after eight years in the chair.

Last week, the Guardian newspaper reported that Allan "faces claims of inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour from four women".

It said that Allan, 74, allegedly touched the bottom of a senior Tesco staff member at last year's AGM.

"Three of these allegations are vigorously denied by John, for the other John unreservedly apologised for the comment he made," the Tesco statement said.

The retail chain said it had commissioned an "extensive review" of the allegations backed by external lawyers.

"This review has not identified any evidence or complaints in relation to John at the Tesco 2022 AGM, or at all in his tenure as Tesco chair," it said.

Nevertheless, Grote said "these allegations risk becoming a distraction to Tesco", while thanking Allan for his "substantial contribution to the business".

The Guardian had recently revealed similar accusations against staff at the CBI -- Britain's main business lobby group -- triggering a major shake-up at the organisation and a police investigation.

The newspaper said it was also claimed that Allan touched the bottom of a member of staff at the CBI's annual dinner in 2019, when he was president of the lobby group.

Sources alleged that Allan made inappropriate remarks at the two events, as well as separate, similar comments to two other female CBI staff members in 2019 and in 2021 respectively.

"Some of the women said they were offended by the alleged actions and considered his behaviour to be sexual harassment," the newspaper said.

The Guardian said the one allegation that Allan admitted to was a comment about a CBI staffer's appearance that she found to be offensive in 2019.

jit/phz/rl
This story was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

Texas National Guard service members on state missions like Operation Lone Star would be guaranteed a $500,000 death benefit if they die in the line of duty under a bill approved Friday by a unanimous Texas Senate.

The bill would give guaranteed death benefits to National Guard troops on state deployment, putting them on par with benefits offered to law enforcement officers serving on Gov. Greg Abbotts border security mission. Currently, soldiers and airmen on Operation Lone Star are not guaranteed death benefits because they are serving on state, not federal, orders.

The issue came to light in April 2022 when Bishop Evans, a 22-year-old soldier serving on Operation Lone Star, died while trying to rescue migrants from the Rio Grande. He was posthumously promoted to sergeant and awarded the Lone Star Medal of Valor at his funeral.

Evans had a life insurance policy that helped his family pay for his funeral costs, but his death highlighted the need to provide death benefits to state troops on the mission.

House Bill 90 by Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, was dubbed the Bishop Evans Act and his family traveled to Austin from North Texas to support the bill. Last month, the House made the bill retroactive so it could apply to Evans and other soldiers who died while serving on Operation Lone Star.

This bill is named after Sergeant Bishop Evans, who drowned in the Rio Grande River while on active duty attempting to rescue individuals who were attempting to swim across the river, Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, said before Fridays vote. He was certainly a hero, and Im proud to present this bill to the Senate.

About 4,000 troops continue to serve on the border security mission, which began in March 2021. Problems have included late or missing pay for the troops, squalid living conditions and a rash of suicides tied to the mission. The Legislature has spent more than $4 billion on Operation Lone Star, blowing past the budget it set for the mission in 2021.

House Speaker Dade Phelan made the legislation one of his session priorities.

The Senate made some amendments to the bill to clarify language on how the money would be paid out. Patterson, author of the bill, said he expects to ask the House to approve the Senate changes to send HB 90 to Abbott, who can sign the bill, let it become law without his signature or veto it.

The bills passage would end a yearslong effort by the states military leaders to persuade lawmakers to provide death benefits for National Guard troops on state active-duty missions. Former state Rep. John Cyrier, a Republican from Lockhart who serves in the Texas State Guard, had tried the past two sessions to pass death benefit legislation, but those efforts failed to gain momentum.

Pattersons bill goes beyond previous efforts by expanding workers compensation to cover post-traumatic stress disorder developed during state active duty and by expediting workplace injury claims filed by troops.

If the bill becomes a law, it would go into effect in September, and families of troops who died as part of Operation Lone Star could begin applying for death benefits.

Erin Douglas contributed reporting.
TEHRAN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Friday executed three individuals for carrying out a "terrorist" armed attack in the central city of Isfahan last year that killed three security forces, according to Mizan news agency of the Iranian judiciary.

According to Mizan, the "terrorists" had carried out the attack in the city's Khane Esfahan area on Nov. 16, 2022 in a "previously-coordinated action," which killed three security forces and injured several others.

The accused were mainly charged with "war against god," a term used by Iranian authorities to refer to a range of offenses including violating Islamic codes and "disrupting the national security," Mizan said.

The report said the executed individuals had been in contact with the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization, which Iran branded as a terrorist group and accused of having been behind several acts of terror against Iranian people and officials.

The attack was carried out when protests erupted in Iran last year after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in a Tehran hospital a few days after her collapse at a police station.

Iran has accused the United States and some other Western countries of "inciting riots and supporting terrorists" in the country. 
Texas tried a booty bill, and it didnt go well. Now, the target is drag shows | Opinion

The last time the Legislature was all riled up about sexually suggestive dancing and other performances, it was about cheerleaders.

High school cheerleaders, that is.

In 2005, Houston Rep. Al Edwards, one of the Capitols all-time characters, made it a crusade to curtail what he called cheer and dance squads shaking their behinds and going on, breaking it down. The national attention from late-night comedians was merciless, but Edwards booty bill made it through the House.

All this came to mind as the Legislature debates new restrictions on businesses that host performances containing sexual conduct  a broad enough term, but clearly an attempt to prevent minors from attending drag shows.

In fact, the Senate approved a bill that would let authorities crack down on a business if minors attended a male performer exhibiting as a female, or a female performer exhibiting as a male, who uses clothing, makeup, or other similar physical markers and who sings, lip syncs, dances, or otherwise performs before an audience.

The bill set off alarm bells in a House committee for that and other reasons, including concerns that even the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders might be affected. Cooler heads prevailed, and the version that lawmakers are set to consider Friday no longer expressly targets drag performers.

Still, its part of a much wider discussion in Texas and other parts of the nation about gender and exposing children to anything related to sex. Enough videos of kids putting dollars in G strings have emerged online to alarm cultural conservatives, whove demanded action.

Even if its relatively rare, most of us can probably agree that children shouldnt be at such performances. But legislating against that level of bad parenting is hard. The Senate couldnt or wouldnt do it without blatantly discriminating.

What this years drag drama and 2005s cheerleader chase have in common is a key enemy of good lawmaking: vagueness.

In both situations, legislators struggled to define exactly whats problematic and how on earth such definitions would be enforced. Edwards bill said only that overtly sexually suggestive cheer or dance routines were the problem. We all sort of nod and agree with the old saw about knowing obscenity when we see it, but who gets to decide what gets a business or school district fined?

This years bill tries to get around that with a list of specific sex acts that would be included if a performer represented them. Id quote it, but the Legislature is a bit more vulgar than the Star-Telegram.

Now, none of this means lawmakers should throw up their hands because its just too hard. It means they should be thoughtful, listen carefully and be humble about how much they can control.

Legislating the culture is hard. Laws didnt get us to a place where a small number of parents think its cute to give a kid a buck and point them to a half-naked performer.

Rep. Al Edwards, D-Houston, (left) with House Speaker Tom Craddick in 2003. (file photo)

It didnt work out for Al Edwards. He lost his seat in the Democratic primary the following year, although that was more about the fact that he aligned himself with Speaker Tom Craddick, the first Republican to lead the House in more than a century.

Edwards, who died in 2020, deserves to be remembered for much more than his concerns about cheerleaders. He led the charge to make Juneteenth a state holiday, long before there was much recognition of it. He spent decades standing up for Black civil-rights and other causes.

And his cheerleading bill got further than anyone thought in 2005. Once it landed in the Senate, where it died without even a committee hearing, one of the leading objections stands as a reminder that history has one heckuva sense of humor.

Tarrant County Republican Sen. Kim Brimer said his wife urged him to support Edwards bill, according to Star-Telegram coverage at the time. But Brimer was thinking ahead to a new constituent about to arrive in his district.

I told her we had the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders coming to Arlington, he said. Im not going to offend the Cowboys in any way.
By Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's progressive Move Forward party on Friday said potential coalition partners need not support its controversial stance on amending the royal insult law, as it seeks to win the backing of other parties to form a government.

Move Forward, led by Pita Limjaroenrat, won the most seats in the lower house in this week's election, riding on a wave of youth support for policies like undoing business monopolies and amending the strict lese-majeste law, known as article 112 of the criminal code.

"If parties agree with us on 112, then we are ready to include it in the agreement, but it is not a condition for joining the government," senior Move Forward party member Sirikanya Tansakun said on a morning talk show, adding that the party would table the amendment in parliament independently.

A coalition agreement is expected to be announced on Monday.

The lese-majeste law prescribes up to 15 years of jail for perceived offences against the monarchy, which many Thais consider sacrosanct. But opponents say it is used to stifle dissent as some 200 people have been charged in recent years under the law.

Move Forward wants to amend the law to reduce prison terms and narrow down complainants to just the Royal Household Bureau.

Move Forward's eight-party coalition talks have mustered 313 votes in 750-seat bicameral legislature, but under the military-drafted constitution, it will need support from either the unelected conservative-leaning senate or other parties to form a government.

Third-place winner Bhumjaithai party, which commands a critical voting bloc, said it would not support any premier that would amend the lese-majeste law.

Analysts say not forcing other parties to adopt its position on lese-majeste could help Move Forward draw in additional votes.

"They've decelerated significantly on this issue, which eases the pressure on government parties from supporting the coalition," political scientist Wanwichit Boonprong of Rangsit University said.

Another divisive topic was the use of cannabis, which was legalised last year without accompanying regulations in place, leading to a surge in recreational use that angered conservatives.

Move Forward said it would re-criminalise the substance before deploying a legal framework allowing for medical and regulated recreational use.

"We support medical marijuana, and recreational use must be regulated," a recently elected parliamentarian for Move Forward, Parit Wacharasindhu, said.

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)
Think someone stole your mail? Tips for mail fraud protection, prevention, reporting in WA

Ever had a piece of mail that just didnt get delivered? Ever wondered if it was just lost, or worse, stolen?

The chances of theft might be higher than you think. If you think your mail was stolen, do something about it immediately. When it comes to mail fraud, its better safe than sorry, say officials.

Just this month in Tri-Cities, Levi Dennis was arrested on the suspicion of felony aggravated identity theft involving stolen mail in late 2022 and 2023. Court documents say that when officers searched the car he was known to drive, they found mail and checks from people all over the area.

The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) jumped in to investigate after a grandmother reported to the Kennewick Police Department unauthorized activity on her grandsons account. Credit union security video reportedly showed Dennis making bank transactions at the same time as the unauthorized deposits and withdrawals, said investigators.

Levi Dennis, a suspect in a Tri-Cities mail theft case, was caught in a Kennewick credit union security video.

Mail is protected by federal law. When someone reports missing mail, it is investigated by federal postal officials.

In 2022, postal inspector investigations led to nearly 4,300 arrests and nearly 4,000 convictions involving mail theft, prohibited mail and crimes against postal employees. It seized assets worth over $402 million.

How can I protect my mail?

There are several methods to proactively keep your mail safer. They are not guaranteed deterrents, but will lessen the chance of mail theft.

 Post Office holds

Your local post office will hold your mail for up to 30 days. Just request your mail be held, and you can go in to pick it up. Just remember to stop by at least once a month or the mail wont be held anymore.

You also can get a post office box, where mail will be sent straight to a delivery box at the post office.

You can request mail holds online, in person or over the phone by calling the local office.

Vaino Kola picks up his mail at the post office on Deer Isle, Maine. Many residents call the postal service essential to their communities, but the federal agency is in trouble.

 Decrease sensitive mail

Many organizations will offer email or other options for receiving important information. By requesting these options, you can decrease the amount of sensitive data thats sitting around in your mailbox.

 Locked mailbox

Many hardware stores and superstores offer lock-secured mailboxes that you can replace your residential mailbox with. They come with a slot for postal workers to drop in mail, and require a key to retrieve any mail.

The downside to locked mailboxes is that it removes the ability to send mail from home, youll have to take any mail to the post office a dropbox or a postal counter at a grocery store or private mail center.

How can I catch mail theft?

To know if mail is missing, its important to know what mail youre expecting. If an expected delivery hasnt arrived, contact the carrier. If your carrier cant explain the absence, you might consider contacting postal officials.

 Informed Delivery

In light of increased mail theft and identity fraud, the U.S. Postal Service has taken several steps. impact.

One is called Informed Delivery, a digital service you can sign up for to know what mail you should be expecting. Users get previews of mail a few days before delivery, so if it doesnt show up it can be reported.

Standard, letter-sized mail is processed through an automated mail control system, which also tracks deliveries.

When a new piece of mail reaches the postal service, a greyscale photo is automatically taken of the mail to identify the letter. That gives you a heads up on what your mail should look like days before arrival.

Informed Delivery is free to anyone interested. There also is an app available for free download, where you can reschedule deliveries and more.

To create an account, youll have to verify your identity online or at your local post office.

The downside to the service is that it does not scan any larger mail, so packages should be tracked using other methods. Informed Delivery can only be used by individuals, not businesses at this time.

Distribution warehouse employee places a hand on a package ready for distribution.

 Package tracking

Most delivery services like UPS, Amazon and FedEx offer package tracking options. Depending on the package and the carrier, you might be able to ask for increased security measures.

Amazon offers a Photo on Delivery option, like food delivery apps use. When your package is delivered, the Amazon driver will take a picture so you can see where they left it. It will also tell you the time of delivery.

UPS offers free delivery alerts for all packages. You can have it left at a neighbors home for no charge, but it is extra to change the address or delivery date.

FedEx also offers pictures at delivery. Packages can be signed for digitally using QR codes. To reroute a package, theres an extra charge.

How can I report mail theft?

The best first course of action to take if you think you are a victim of mail theft is to report it to the U.S. Postal Service. You can file a complaint online or call 1-800-275-8777.
Three people were killed in the Russian bombardments of Sumy Oblast on the afternoon of 19 May.

Source: Press service of Sumy Oblast Military Administration

Quote: "Three civilians were killed in the Yunakivka hromada [an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories] in [Russian] attacks. The Sumy Oblast Military Administration expresses sincere condolences to the victims families."

Details: According to the Oblast State Administration report, three civilians were killed in the shelling in Yunakiivka hromada around noon [a hromada is an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories  ed.].

Later, the Ministry of Energy clarified that the three people killed were energy workers. The Russians hit a car, in which the energy workers were travelling to the facility, with a drone.

The victims of the Russian attack were the employees of Sumyoblenergo [Sumy Oblast energy distributor company  ed.] Roman Lisovenko, Oleksandr Shpak and Hennadii Pokhylko.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
TikTok users in Montana argue that the state can't legally ban the app because of who owns it any more than it could ban the Wall Street Journal because of its owners or articles

Five TikTok users are calling on a federal court to overturn Montana's overall ban on the video sharing app, arguing that it violates their free speech rights.

The lawsuit was filed just hours after Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed the unprecedented prohibition into law on Wednesday.

Gianforte said on Twitter that he endorsed the ban in order to "protect Montanans' personal and private data from the Chinese Communist Party."

The state is trying to exercise national security power that only the federal government can wield and is violating free speech rights in the process, the suit argued.

"Montana can no more ban its residents from viewing or posting to TikTok than it could ban the Wall Street Journal because of who owns it or the ideas it publishes," the lawsuit argued.

The app is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance and is accused by a wide swath of US politicians of being under the tutelage of the Chinese government and a tool of espionage by Beijing, something the company furiously denies.

Plaintiffs named in the suit included a former US Marine Corps sergeant, a mother living with her family on a ranch, a businesswoman who sells swimwear, and a student who posts video snippets about her outdoor adventures.

The TikTok creators have significant followings and make money from the platform, according to the suit.

The suit calls for the court to stop Montana from enforcing the ban and to pay the legal costs of the plaintiffs.

Montana became the first US state to ban TikTok, with the law set to take effect next year as debate escalates over the impact and security of the popular video app.

The prohibition will serve as a legal test for a national ban of the Chinese-owned platform, something that lawmakers in Washington are increasingly calling for.

The ban makes it a violation each time "a user accesses TikTok, is offered the ability to access TikTok, or is offered the ability to download TikTok."

Each violation is punishable by a $10,000 fine every day it takes place.

Under the law, Apple and Google will have to remove TikTok from their app stores and companies will face possible daily fines.

The ban will take effect in 2024, but be voided if TikTok is acquired by a company incorporated in a country not designated by the United States as a foreign adversary, the law reads.

The law is the latest skirmish in duels between TikTok and many western governments, with the app already banned on government devices in the United States, Canada and several countries in Europe.

gc/caw
Tim Scott bids to be first Black Republican US president

Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the US Senate, has been widely expected to join the race

US Senator Tim Scott is running to become the first Black Republican president, papers filed with the Federal Election Commission showed on Friday.

The 57-year-old, who had been widely expected to jump into the race since launching a presidential exploratory committee in April, is planning to hold his official launch in his home town of North Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday.

He has spent recent months visiting the states considered crucial to gaining early momentum in the Republican nominating contest, where he has underlined his Christian faith and the conservative values he learned growing up in a poor, single parent household.

He has also played up his unique perspective as the only African American on the Republican side of the US Senate.

"American families are starving for hope. We need to have faith. Faith in God, faith in each other, and faith in America," he tweeted on Thursday.

Scott joins a burgeoning field hoping to reel in frontrunner Donald Trump, but he faces a daunting task with recent polling showing his support at around two percent -- an average of 54 points behind the former president.

Other candidates include Trump's first United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor, as well as ex-Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and talk radio host Larry Elder, the first African American to enter the race.

Trump's closest rival is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to launch his own presidential bid next week.

Scott, who is considered one of the Senate's most formidable fundraisers, said last month he had $22 million in his Senate campaign account and launched a $6 million ad buy in Iowa and New Hampshire.

ft/des/jh
Sen. Tim Scott on Friday made his bid for president official, filing paperwork to join a growing field of Republicans angling to overtake Donald Trump as the partys 2024 standard-bearer.

Scott, who grew up poor and in 2012 became the Souths first Black senator since Reconstruction, is expected to draw heavily from his own biography and success story as he talks about economic and social policy on the presidential campaign trail. Known as an upbeat, mild-mannered presence in the Senate who neither fiercely embraced nor sharply rebuked Trumps politics, Scott in his underdog campaign is seeking to form a coalition of traditional conservatives, evangelical Christians and moderate Republicans.

He is expected to hold a launch event Monday at his alma mater, Charleston Southern University in North Charleston, days before a top rival in the GOP primary, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, is expected to formally enter the race.

On Friday, Scotts team changed his account name with the Federal Election Commission from Tim Scott Presidential Exploratory Committee to Tim Scott for America ahead of a $6 million ad buy the campaign was making in Iowa and New Hampshire, according to a senior campaign official.

Scott announced a presidential exploratory committee last month, doing so after he had already traveled to the early nominating state of Iowa in February. Since then, Scott has returned to the Hawkeye State and held campaign events in New Hampshire and his home state of South Carolina, which is expected to hold Republicans third presidential nominating contest, after New Hampshire and the Iowa caucuses.



Already in the race is Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador with whom Scott for years has shared Palmetto State supporters and donors. Public polling has shown both Haley and Scott to be in the low single digits, with Haley slightly ahead. She entered the race in February with a launch rally in Charleston, followed by Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Trump launched his bid in November.

Starting his political career on the Charleston County Council months before turning 30, Scott held that position for more than a dozen years as he worked as an insurance agent, eventually starting his own Allstate insurance agency. He was elected to the South Carolina House in 2008 and then to the U.S. House in 2010, representing Charleston and surrounding areas. In late 2012, then-Gov. Haley  now a rival in the Republican presidential primary  appointed Scott to fill a Senate seat vacated by Jim DeMint, and Scott stood for elections in 2014, 2016 and 2022.
(Bloomberg) -- US Senator Tim Scott formally entered the 2024 presidential race, becoming the latest candidate to challenge former President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Scott has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission and will make an announcement Monday in his home state of South Carolina.

Hell join a GOP field that includes Trump, the frontrunner, as well as fellow South Carolinian and former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and conservative radio host Larry Elder. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the runner-up to Trump in most primary polls, is widely expected to enter the race as well.

The only Black Republican US senator currently in the chamber, Scott, 57, has visited early GOP primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, speaking about his faith and outlining an optimistic view of an America grounded in conservative principles. He also hosted a donor summit in South Carolina, another state that holds a GOP primary early in the cycle.

He plans to return to Iowa and New Hampshire after announcing his campaign.

Scott bought $62,659 in air time in Des Moines, Iowa, according to Ad Impact, which triggered his filing. Individuals who spend or raise more than $5,000 seeking the nomination have to register as candidates with the FEC. The ads start next Wednesday. Scott also purchased $52,000 in air time for New Hampshire.

Taylor Budowich, CEO of the Trump super-PAC Make America Great Again Inc., jabbed at both Scott and DeSantis, who was seen as the strongest challenger to the former president before sliding in the polls.

Ron DeSantis failed shadow campaign has opened the flood gates for career politicians looking to seize an opportunity to raise their profile ahead of the 2028 race, Budowich said in a statement.

Donor Network

Scott has been an effective fundraiser, building a national network of contributors. His 2022 Senate race wasnt competitive, but he still raised $43 million and had $22 million left over, which he can tap for his presidential run.

Some 85% of the money came from out-of-state donors, according to OpenSecrets. Employees of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Blackstone Group Inc., and JPMorgan Chase & Co. were among his top 10 sources of campaign cash.

The Opportunity Matters Fund, an allied super-PAC, raised $37 million last year. Oracle Corp. Chairman Larry Ellison gave $30 million, but other big Republican donors also chipped in. Citadels Ken Griffin contributed $250,000, Marc Rowan, chief executive officer of Apollo Global Management Inc., gave $150,000, and Blackstone Chairman Stephen Schwarzman gave $100,000.

The super-PAC, which features Scott on its home page, ended 2022 with $13 million, according to its latest filing with the Federal Election Commission.

--With assistance from Gregory Korte.

(Updates with adds on TV buys in sixth paragraph, reaction in paragraphs 7-8)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
The News

Tim Scotts officially running for president, filing paperwork with the FEC on Friday and kicking off a process that started with a landslide November re-election that left him with nearly $22 million in the bank.

Scotts facing an uphill battle and is currently polling at around 2% nationally. Hes also trailed Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis in polling of his own states early primary, where former governor Nikki Haley has been competing for home field advantage.

But his team sees a clear path to victory for the current underdog, arguing in part that he is the best messenger of the 2024 presidential candidates, that hes the most consistently conservative of the bunch, and that hes already compiled the resources and infrastructure needed to be successful.

We are the land of opportunity, not the land of oppression, Scott told reporters in Iowa last month, sketching out the basics of his message to GOP voters.

Senior campaign officials on Scotts team cited his record as a lawmaker as well as his high rankings from notable interest groups like the NRA as examples of his willingness to push forward conservative agendas. After his official announcement event on Monday, Scott plans to hit the ground running, with stops in Iowa and New Hampshire.

As for how he plans to beat Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis? His team is optimistic, and senior officials argued that hes the candidate who will be seen as both garnering wins on important issues for the base and beating the Democrats on Election Day. They also plan to lean heavily on his background, rising from poverty to the U.S. Senate, and said that they found during his short exploratory committee that this type of messaging was resonating with voters across the country.

DAVID AND SHELBY'S VIEW

Scott still has a lot to prove. He bungled some interviews after launching his exploratory committee with evasive answers on abortion, eventually endorsing a 20-week ban after previously co-sponsoring much stricter legislation. And  despite being well-liked in the Senate, where he could pick up some endorsements  Scott remains low in the polls as Trump consolidates support.

Scotts message, delivered at campaign events where hell jump off the stage to get closer to his crowd, is that his background is proof that this country is the land of opportunity, not one defined by systemic racism.But hes not necessarily alone in that lane. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley tells audiences that this is not a racist country, offering up her story as the daughter of Indian immigrants from a small, rural town  a brown girl in a black and white world. And entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has been laser-focused on dismissing victimhood claims throughout his run for president. Both are currently polling ahead of Scott.

Room for Disagreement

The South Carolina senator does have some major pluses in his pocket that other candidates do not. His team is launching a $6 million ad buy in various states  including Iowa and New Hampshire  next week, and with $22 million cash on hand, hell have no shortage of opportunities to boost his profile. Early money and a charismatic candidate seems like a strong recipe to generate a polling bounce in the states that matter, which could provide a foundation to garner more national attention.

Notable

In an op-ed published by the New York Times, columnist Jamelle Bouie bluntly declared that Scotts campaign is doomed from the start. Still, he argued that the run is interesting in part because Scott is effectively operating as a trailblazer as the first Black Republican officeholder to run for the partys presidential nomination.

It has essentially taken a century for someone like Scott to emerge. And his political position reflects the conditions set by the structure of Black two-party politics in the 20th century. A modern-day Republican, Scott has few Black supporters and even fewer ties to the institutions of contemporary Black politics, Bouie wrote. Tim Scott, whatever you think of his political views, would be a sui generis figure. Or, if you prefer, an odd man out.
Tim Scott is making a big bet that Republican voters are ready for a presidential candidate who talks more about hope than fear, urges people to move past their grievances, and strikes an optimistic tone on the campaign trail.

Its an approach that stands in stark contrast with how many of the partys leading candidates plan to appeal to Republican voters in 2024

Scott formally entered the presidential field Friday, filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to join a race that includes former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. That field also is expected to eventually include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence, among others hopefuls.

Scott is also set to hold an event Monday at his alma mater, Charleston Southern University in North Charleston, to speak publicly about his decision, where hes expected to reiterate an optimistic vision for the countrys future and his role in it.

Scott, the sole Black Republican in the U.S. Senate, is not shy about talking about being raised by a single mother, living in poverty, and even failing classes in high school.

But in speeches and interviews, the sitting U.S. senator cast his life story not as one of hardship but of inspiration, citing his history of starting his own business, winning elections to the South Carolina House and Congress, and eventually being appointed to the U.S. Senate.

That is the quintessential American story, said Dave Wilson, a longtime Republican strategist in South Carolina.

On the trail, Scott often speaks about how much progress the country has made from slavery to Jim Crow segregation. And how his family chose faith over anger, responsibility over resentment and patriotism over pity, he said during a speech at Drake University in Iowa in February.

His speeches have also confronted critics who say an optimistic message is out of touch with a time when Republican voters say over and over again that theyre terrified about the state of the country and desperate for a politician who will fight Democrats at every turn.

We know people will say our message is naive and our faith is foolish, but they dont know who theyre talking to, Scott said to the Drake University crowd. Conservatism is my personal proof that there is no ceiling in life. I can go as high as my character, my education and my perseverance will take me. I bear witness to that. I testify to that.

Will GOP voters back a more optimistic candidate?

Senior officials with Scotts campaign told reporters this week that although the senator plans to discuss on the campaign trail how he thinks left-wing grievances are toxic, hell also condemn right-wing grievances.

The candidate will talk broadly about the countrys victim culture and talk about how its holding society back, they said.

Republican strategists acknowledge a party that, until recently, was under the pugilistic Trumps control clearly has an appetite for candidates with a more pessimistic view of politics. But, they add, taking that route would risk making Scott look inauthentic.

Hes not going to campaign in these dark overtones, these ominous words, that a lot of the other candidates do, said Doug Heye, a Republican strategist. Theres a tendency in the GOP to always describe yourself as a fighter and in doing so, you dont have to demonstrate that you can win or that you can land a punch. The way Scott talks about it, in a positive sense, is fighting for change and somebody who can win.

As he starts his race, however, Scott trails in polls to Trump and DeSantis, both far better known for their firebrand personalities and combative styles.

Trump, in a speech to a gathering of conservatives in March, promised that he would be conservative voters retribution if reelected president next year.

This is the final battle, Trump said. They know it, I know it, you know it, everybody knows it. This is it. Either they win or we win. And if they win, we no longer have a country.

DeSantis, meanwhile, has engaged in a year-long feud with the Walt Disney Co. over their opposition to a law prohibiting discussion of gender and sexuality in schools, one even some Republicans have accused of being a punitive overreach.

There are those who think a combative nature is the only way to bring about change, and there are candidates out there who are ready to go and fight, Wilson said. I think there is a group of voters who have seen America in its heyday and just as the other voters want to see that change take place. I think Tim Scott speaks to that group a little differently because he brings an optimistic view. A lot of that is his story.

A source familiar with Scotts strategy said the senator will be ready to draw contrasts with his opponents when the time comes, cognizant the candidates are ultimately fighting over the same pool of voters.

The campaign, in fact, has already purchased air time in Iowa and New Hampshire to run TV ads, a campaign official confirmed Friday, set to run through August. The senator starts his campaign with nearly $22 million banked, a sum of cash much larger than many of his presidential rivals.

Scott was in fifth place with 4% of the support of Republicans across the country, in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll.

However within South Carolina, which will hold the first-in-the-South presidential primary next year, Scott is doing a little better. Scott had 7% of support of Republican voters, in the latest Winthrop University Poll, putting him in fourth place behind Trump with 41%, DeSantis with 20% and Haley with 18%.

Scott is popular within the Palmetto State. He has a 47% job approval rating, including 69% among Republicans.

People see in Ron DeSantis a new generation of fighter, Wilson said. Theyre looking for a standard bearer that can carry the conservative mantle, not just the next four years, but maybe the next eight years and set a tone for conservative politics and policies that can last for a generation.

Scotts style, however, has gained him some backers in the political class, even before officially jumping into the race.

His early backers within the South Carolina Legislature include state Sen. Brian Adams and state Rep. Sylleste Davis, both Berkeley County Republicans.

Ive known him since Ive been in office and hes a solid Christian man. Thats important to me. He is kind, considerate, thoughtful and smart, Davis said. We need to start looking into the future instead of dwelling in the past and talk about what we can do in the future and not arguing over what happened in the past. I think hes the right person to lead that narrative.

Davis said if Scott stays on his message he will see his numbers and support increase.

I think that his voice will be heard, and it will resonate with people, Davis said. And as far as polls are concerned, I think youll see that change as a result of him just being focused on what his message is.
XI'AN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- When attending the China-Central Asia Summit on Friday in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the heads of state of five Central Asian countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, spoke highly of Chinese President Xi Jinping's vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.

They would take the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as an opportunity to advance regional connectivity, deepen pragmatic cooperation in various fields and build a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that the synergy of the potentials of the Central Asian countries with the enormous economic opportunities of China is able to lead bilateral partnerships onto a new, higher trajectory, and that comprehensive cooperation with China is a long-term stabilizing factor for Kazakhstan's continuous progress. He added that Kazakhstan highly appreciates China's role in safeguarding regional stability and security.

Tokayev said that ten years ago, Xi put forward the initiative of jointly building a Silk Road Economic Belt in Kazakhstan. In recent years, the BRI has promoted the building of modern transport infrastructure in many countries, he said. As a close neighbor and reliable partner of China, Kazakhstan will continue to take an active part in the Belt and Road cooperation, he said.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said the summit will deepen the traditional friendly relations between the five Central Asian countries and China. The Xi'an Declaration of the China-Central Asia Summit, reached through coordination and efforts of all parties, sets the basic direction for cooperation and is in line with the common interests of the long-term development of all parties.

He said that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the BRI, which will bring huge economic benefits in synergy with the national development strategies of Central Asian countries.

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon said that the international situation is complex and rapidly changing, and threats and challenges facing the region and the wider world are on the rise, making cooperation among the six countries within the framework of the China-Central Asia Summit all the more important. Tajikistan supports multilateral cooperation within the framework of the China-Central Asia Summit, he said.

Rahmon said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties, relations between Central Asian countries and China have developed rapidly on the basis of mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual trust. The meeting mechanism under the framework of the China-Central Asia Summit will play an important role in expanding cooperation among all parties, he said.

Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov said that Central Asia and China have always had amity between their peoples, pragmatic cooperation and a good-neighborly friendship. The comprehensive potential of the five Central Asian countries and China, together with strong resource endowment, industrial foundation and technological reserve, opens up broad prospects for the economic development of both sides, he said.

Berdimuhamedov said that the economic potential and logistics capacity of each country should be fully utilized to form effective industrial cooperation plans. It serves the interests of people in all countries to jointly formulate cooperation projects in the energy field and promote the expansion and diversification of foreign economic relations, he said.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that under the complex international situation, the development of the Central Asian region faces various risks and challenges, and that it is imperative to continue the fine tradition of unity and cooperation and lay a solid foundation for common prosperity and development in the new era.

Mirziyoyev proposed the goal of doubling the trade volume between Central Asian countries and China by 2030, stressing that the goal should be achieved by promoting balanced growth in the supply of industrial goods and agricultural products, establishing effective trade and logistics infrastructure and modern wholesale distribution networks, as well as establishing green channels and unified e-commerce platforms. 
Famed evangelical minister Timothy Keller died Friday morning after a battle with pancreatic cancer, a tweet from his account announced on Twitter. He was 72.

Dad waited until he was alone with Mom. She kissed him on the forehead and he breathed his last breath, the tweet read. We take comfort in some of his last words, There is no downside for me leaving, not in the slightest.

Keller had announced in June 2020 that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and would be receiving chemotherapy.

A series of tweets from Kellers account were signed by his son Michael, who posted Thursday that his father had been discharged from the hospital and would receive hospice care at home.

Keller was the author of several best-selling books on Christianity and was the founding pastor of the Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.

Redeemer City to City, a nonprofit co-founded by Keller, released a statement on his death on Twitter.

Timothy J. Keller, who was the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, co-founder of Redeemer City to City, and the author of several books, died at the age of 72 on May 19, trusting in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection, the statement said. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his three sons and their wives, a sister, and seven grandchildren.

A livestream worship service would be held in the coming weeks, the nonprofit said.

President George W. Bush also expressed his condolences in a statement obtained by CNN.

Tim Keller was one of Americas foremost Christian thinkers and preachers, the statement read. He was a great church builder, a prolific author, and a profound philosopher. Im fortunate to have gotten to know him

Bush described himself as one of many who is blessed to have learned from Kellers teachings. Laura and I wish Kathy and their children peace, the statement says.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Phillip Schofields brother showed 'no remorse, only self pity' over child sex offences, says judge

Court artist sketch of Timothy Schofield in the dock at Bristol Crown Court - ELIZABETH COOK/PA

Timothy Schofield showed no "remorse, only self pity" a judge said, as he was jailed for 12 years over child sexual offences.

The 54-year-old paedophile brother of Phillip Schofield, the TV presenter, shook his head as he was sentenced for 11 sexual offences involving a child who he left "trapped and unable to escape".

The civilian police worker was convicted of the offences between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child, after a trial at Exeter Crown Court in April.

His sibling Phillip, known for his presenting roles on ITVs This Morning and Dancing on Ice, has said he no longer has a brother and described the crimes as "despicable".

During the trial, the court heard a witness statement from Phillip Schofield in which he said his brother Timothy confessed to watching pornography with the boy and that they had masturbated. The TV presenter told him "it should never happen again".

Timothy Schofield was a civilian police worker from Bath, Somerset

Schofield, a civilian police worker from Bath, Somerset, told the jury while giving evidence that he had watched pornography with the boy who he insisted was over the age of 16 at the time.

He claimed they had masturbated while sitting apart and denied performing sexual acts on the teenager.

However, the jury found Schofield guilty on all counts with a majority verdict after more than five-and-a-half hours of deliberation.

Avon and Somerset Police later dismissed Schofield, who had been suspended from his job at the force's headquarters in Portishead after being arrested and charged, without notice.

'Utterly obsessed'

Mrs Justice Cutts, sentencing Schofield at Bristol Crown Court on Friday, told him: "You exploited his innocence at this stage of his life for your own sexual gratification.

"It was wrong on every level for you to behave as you did.

"He felt forced to do what you wanted, trapped and unable to escape. He felt he couldn't tell anyone and did not do so for many years.

"You took away his ability to be the teenager he should have been - carefree, relaxed, happy. It is clear to me that you became utterly obsessed with him."

She added: "Your actions and behaviour have had a devastating impact on the boy.

"In doing what you did, you thought only of yourself.

"I have not heard a single word of remorse from you, only self-pity."

The judge commended the courage of the boy for reporting the abuse.

Schofield, right, was disowned by his brother, the ITV presenter Phillip Schofield, left - UNPIXS

'I feel numb to life'

In a victim personal statement read to the court by Robin Shellard, prosecuting, the boy said he felt "numb to life" following the abuse.

He said: "Before Tim was arrested, I felt I had no freedom. I often felt panic, stress and fear. I felt like I was trapped in a loop of fear and anxiety of the abuse happening again.

"It was only after Tim was arrested that I felt safe. It was only after Tim was arrested that I felt free - free to be me, free to be happy, free to be relaxed."

The boy added: "When I think about what happened, it wasn't just what happened to me, it was who it made me become. I felt trampled on and feel I became a person who didn't expect a lot from people and how they treated me and therefore, I didn't get a lot.

"I feel more blunt, I feel more bitter, I feel numb to life. I know I should feel really happy or really sad but I don't have the ability to emotionally react to what is happening."

Disowned by brother

In a statement released by his lawyer after the guilty verdict, Phillip Schofield said: "My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family. I hope that their privacy will now be respected.

"If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my brother, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family.

"These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother."

Speaking outside Bristol Crown Court, Det Inp Keith Smith, senior investigating officer, said the victim had showed "remarkable bravery".

"We want them to know they will be believed and respected, and well always do our best to achieve justice for them.

"Although the offences Timothy Schofield committed were not connected to his employment, we know the fact he was a member of police staff will be of great concern to the public.

"Its important to stress that before the allegations were made to the police in December 2021, there were no prior complaints or allegations made about this defendant, and his former colleagues have been horrified by the offences hes now been convicted of.

"But, we want to be absolutely clear, were on a mission to root out all those who betray the standards and values were committed to uphold. The public must be able to trust police officers and staff, and protecting this bond of trust is our priority.

"Finally, we want to thank all those who supplied us with information and evidence in support of our investigation, which has ultimately enabled us to achieve justice for the victim in this case."

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
Man preparing to pay bill Grace Cary / Getty Images

What do employees at frozen yogurt chains, concession stands, bakeries, bars, deli counters and restaurants have in common? They're all handing you a prompt-filled iPad  "It's just going to ask you a couple of quick questions!"  in hopes you tip your probably underpaid service worker at least 10%, 15% or 20%.

For decades, tipping has proven a well-respected cornerstone of the American economy, reserved in large part for cab drivers, restaurant waiters, hotel staffers and the types of workers who tend to make less than minimum wage on the assumption happy customers will gladly fork over a few extra bucks. But ever since the pandemic, during which consumers placed an increased emphasis on supporting essential service workers and establishments, so-called tip creep has begun to invade even the most mundane transactions. Places that normally wouldn't, like self-checkouts, are now asking for an added dollar or two, usually behind a nondescript digital screen that ultimately shames more than it encourages. Once intended to thank a waiter for impeccable service or a driver for a smooth ride, is tipping growing further from an interpersonal show of gratitude and closer to a compulsory guilt trip?

'Emotional blackmail'

To 26-year-old Garrett Bemiller, the mere option of tipping at an airport self-checkout was enough to drive him nuts. "Just the prompt in general is a bit of emotional blackmail," he told The Wall Street Journal. And he might be right in that it's all a bit of a game. According to tipping researchers and labor experts, such now-prolific tip suggestion screens are a way for employers to pass the burden of higher wages onto consumers rather than doing anything about it themselves. "Who wouldn't want to get extra money at very little cost if you could?" added Cornell University professor William Michael Lynn, who studies tip culture. "Suddenly, these screens are at every establishment we encounter. They're popping up online, as well for online orders. And I fear that there is no end," etiquette expert Thomas Farley, who described the phenomenon as an invasion, told The Associated Press. "I think it's a net negative to society," he said separately.

If left unchecked, what's known as tip fatigue, a side effect of tip creep, might prompt customers to actually start leaving less gratuity or maybe even none at all, Michael Von Massow wrote for The Conversation. Nudging patrons to tap a box on a payment terminal makes "tipping requests explicit, meaning customers are pressured into tipping, suggesting an expectation to tip, rather than a choice. This has the potential to induce feelings of guilt in customers."

For The Atlantic's Charlie Warzel, tipping in 2023 is weird not because there's too much of it but because consumers are now feeling "queasy about where their money goes and who benefits." Indeed, the awkwardness of that screen-tilting, eye-averting moment is less about "our desire to compensate for service" and more about the "cultural, socioeconomic and political" implications of the practice. "Often underpaid" and "exhausted" service workers just worked through a "global health crisis," and maybe we feel guilty not leaving an extra $1 because we were lucky enough to clock in every day from home.

Regardless, heavy tips can't sustainably make up for "the fact that the United States lacks a meaningful social safety net," Soleil Ho wrote for The San Francisco Chronicle. "With no guarantees for health care, shelter or food, low-wage workers are instead forced to rely on a strained and piecemeal system of gifts that are dependent on how much they please the rest of us."

Good for business?

Not only should tipping stick around, but it should continue in conjunction with a living wage for service workers, Saru Jayaraman, president of the advocacy organization One Fair Wage, told CNN. "We've got to tip, but it's got to be combined with telling employers that tips have to be on top, not instead of, a full minimum wage," she said. Not to mention that to some, like an anonymous Starbucks barista who chatted with CNN, a $1 to $3 tip feels like a small added burden for anyone already spending $7 on a latte. "If someone can afford Starbucks every day, they can afford to tip on at least a few of those trips," the worker said. (Starbucks introduced a digital tipping prompt at its cafes in 2022.)

And for businesses that use popular point-of-sale systems Clover, Square or Toast, the digital tipping feature is generally great for your bottom line. Not only can the tips accrued essentially pay for the software, but they might also incentivize employees to perform better and do a good job. "You'd be a foolish business owner not to install it based on what the numbers display," Farley told CNBC. Perhaps the best advice for consumers to follow is that from Lizzie Post and Daniel Post Senning, who shared their recommendations in their book, "Emily Post's Etiquette": Always tip on cab rides, food and beverages (alcoholic included), but feel free to use your own discretion with takeout orders and at cafes.

You may also like

Ukraine's Patriot air defense is dueling Russia's hypersonic Kinzhal missiles over Kyiv, and winning

Why the Supreme Court is weighing in on a former Trump hotel

The debate over banning chocolate milk in school cafeterias
Top Workplaces: How companies can encourage workers to return to the office

Employers are looking to put more butts into office seats in 2023. It reflects the push and pull over working conditions in a post-COVID business environment.

Starbucks has told corporate employees to return to the office three days a week. Disney, Apple, Tesla are among others that have implemented policies to get workers back in the office.

Change might not be bad, and even necessary, especially because not everyone prefers to work remotely, said Kinsey Smith, senior data analyst at Energage.

This will most likely be an issue at large companies, which invest a lot in physical locations. Smaller companies might be more flexible. Regardless of size, employers will likely curtail some freedoms workers gained during the pandemic.

For leaders, it comes down to boosting productivity and building culture. Some leaders feel that without people working in the office, elements of the workplace culture will suffer. They hope to improve culture and collaboration.

Changes will vary depending on industry. Hospitality and health care workers, for example, already are more likely to work on site. IT workers might enjoy continued flexibility.

The debate is about how to manage. Energage research shows senior leaders prefer the in-office environment compared with rank-and-file workers. Leaders are more likely to say If it works for me, it should work for you. They go with what they know.

The risk for companies is losing workers who might bolt if they feel job requirements no longer suit their personal needs. Long commutes and lost comforts of remote work might prompt people to flee. Decisions for workers might become more difficult if the economy sours and job opportunities wither.

If we want to meet people where they are, there is no one-size-fits-all answer, said Lisa Black, director of data science for Energage. Workers need to adapt, and managers need to adapt.

Smart companies will survey employees to understand employee preferences and to monitor whether policies are working. Key factors to watch include:

 Employee engagement: This metric is important to gauge commitment and discretionary effort.

 Cooperation: How are people, and departments, getting along?

 Communication: Does everyone feel they are in the know?

 Meetings: Are organizations making effective use of meeting time?

 Inclusion: Do people feel like they are included in key decisions?

 Listening: Are ideas being heard?

 Meaningfulness: Are people feeling like their work is important?

Whether employees stay or leave will still likely come down to factors that have mattered for the ages: Whether people feel valued, appreciated, and included. And whether they have faith in leadership and in the direction of the organization

In the post-COVID workforce, nothing is normal anymore. Companies dont have to make the same choices for everyone. Companies also might be wise to focus on outcomes rather than circumstances.

So what does good mean? For starters, are workers meeting goals?

Companies are struggling now knowing where employees are most productive, said Greg Barnett, chief people scientist at Energage.

No matter what, people might express frustration with change or the lack of change.

There is room for middle ground. Organizations should consider what employees value with remote work, and incorporate those things in the office, Smith said. For example, maybe its a relaxed dress code or more flexible working hours.

Over time, leaders need to think about the why behind their decisions, how to message changes, and how to manage them.

Companies make business decisions all the time that employees are not going to love, Black said. The question comes down to Why are you making the decisions you make? 

Execution will be the difference between strengthening the business or watching people walk out the door.

Companies need to figure that out, Black said.

Bob Helbig is media partnerships director at Energage, a Philadelphia-based employee survey firm. Energage is the survey partner for Top Workplaces.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Top Workplaces: How to encourage workers to return to the office
When Port Washington State Bank first opened its doors in 1899, centering the needs of the local community was a top priority for the founders.

124 years later, that same community dedication remains key to the banks success.

At the surface it may appear that we are a business that deals with money, but any banker will tell you we are in the people business, said James Schowalter, Port Washington State Bank president and COO, in an email.

Helping customers reach their goals of building a business, owning a house, and all the things in between is the reason why Port Washington State Bank and other community banks exist throughout the country, Schowalter adds. Donations and community service also showcase the banks commitment to communities across Ozaukee County.

In surveys, employees praised Port Washington State Banks strong values and positive work environment. The bank joins southeast Wisconsins Top Workplaces list again in 2023, after 12 consecutive years as a winner in the small business category.

Here are some reasons the bank was recognized:

Getting to know their customers

In an era when people have many options for banking  online, over-the-phone, and in-person  Port Washington State Bank takes a personalized approach for each customer, regardless of how they get in touch.

We dont want to treat each customer like a number, Schowalter said in an email. Instead, employees strive to get to know customers by name and listen carefully to their needs.

Offering a variety of product options, terms, rates, and technology is what helps employees do business with customers in varying circumstances, Schowalter added.

An emphasis on customer service goes all the way to the top, where senior-level bank members honor an open-door policy. If a grievance is not resolved to a customers liking they are welcome to approach anyone in the bank at any level, Schowalter said in an email.

Internal customer satisfaction surveys from 2022 showed that 95 percent of respondents ranked customer service as excellent. Employees echoed the dedication to customer service in Top Workplaces surveys.

PWSB truly is customer focused, one employee said. Another described that their job makes them feel like I am part of something bigger in my community.

Employees say they feel appreciated, supported by management

Employees also wrote that they felt appreciated, valued, and supported by management.

I truly have the tools to provide my clients with a product and service I know they won't get anywhere else, an employee said. I have a manager that goes out of their way to let me know they appreciate me and how I treat my clients.

Stella Terry, Port Washington State Banks senior vice president and director of human resources, said in an email that managers pride themselves on being approachable.

Talk with your manager is something we say a lot because we want employees to know that they will always have someone present to help them understand, solve or create a solution to whatever it is thats on their mind, Terry said in an email.

Managers also recently collaborated on an employee appreciation toolkit to consistently reward employees, which Terry said is used to provide hundreds of ways to reinforce and reward employees for the hard work they do.

Community deposits highest in Ozaukee County

Even in uncertain financial times, Port Washington State Bank continues to invest in communities and earn customers trust.

In 2022, deposit volumes at the bank were the highest out of all 14 banks and three credit unions operating in Ozaukee County, according to Schowalter.

While the number is impressive financially, its also meaningful because it means weve earned the trust of many families and businesses that weve supported for more than a century, Schowalter said in an email.

And in the same year, Port Washington State Bank made monetary and in-kind donations to more than 230 events and organizations, with a total of $300,000 donated to initiatives in Ozaukee County.

As times change and challenges come and go, Schowalter said the banks dedication to safe banking practices and its commitment to employees and customers will remain constant.

While the way we serve these groups may appear different today, its still, in principle, how we have and will still remain successful for years to come, he wrote.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Top Workplaces: Port Washington State Bank honored in small category
Fifteen workplaces earned special honors for their excellence across thirteen categories in southeast Wisconsins 2023 Top Workplaces program.

On employee surveys, these organizations received top marks for outstanding leadership, transparent communication, strong core values and other positive traits that contribute to a great work environment.

Employees were asked to rank their workplaces on specific statements, such as I have confidence in the leader of this company and I believe this company is going in the right direction. The companies with the highest cumulative rankings for each statement are honored as the years award winners.

Here are some of the highlights:

Employee appreciation : Kapur & Associates

Kapur & Associates, a consulting and engineering firm based in Milwaukee, received a special award for appreciation. The business has been named as a Top Workplace for 14 consecutive years.

One employee stated that they felt appreciated because of the constant kindness all around.

No matter who I pass in the hallways, whether I have seen them or not, [I] always get a good morning, they wrote in a survey response.

Other employees cited an open-door policy and regular access to senior management as a reason to feel appreciated. Positive reinforcement and acknowledgement from managers was mentioned as well, along with career growth opportunities.

I have recently been given new responsibilities that will eventually grow into a promotion that I never expected, one employee mentioned.

Fresh ideas: Great Lakes Rubber

Innovation is encouraged at Great Lakes Rubber, an industrial solutions provider for global equipment managers and repair operators. The company is based in Milwaukee and received a special award for new ideas during its first year on the Top Workplaces list.

Employees mentioned a program at the company where they are rewarded for sharing new ideas with management, and also for putting them into action. We are encouraged to implement the ideas, not just to come up with them, one employee wrote.

Top leadership: Bank Five Nine

Employees at Bank Five Nine, based in Oconomowoc, consistently said that their managers helped them learn and grow, and also cared about their concerns. The company earned a special award for managers during its 14th consecutive year as a Top Workplace.

One employee wrote that their manager is always available to help me any time that I need it. Regular check-ins and encouragement for employees to focus on their wellbeing was a highlight for another employee.

Many employees also mentioned that their managers listened, asked questions, and treated them as collaborators. [My manager] is patient and kind when helping me, [and] never makes me feel bad for not knowing something, one employee wrote.

Employee benefits, investment in careers: Shorewest, Inpro

Two employers were honored for providing great benefits and actively investing in their employees careers.

Shorewest Realtors won a special award for training, providing employees with opportunities to learn and build their careers. Survey respondents noted support for continuing education, corporate training classes, and an online library of resources.

Employees at Inpro, which provides architectural products for building professionals, spoke highly of the companys employee offerings, earning Inpro a special award for benefits. Health insurance, a high 401k match, and other insurance benefits were among the programs noted.

Here is the full list of 2023 special award winners:

Leadership

Kevin Steiner, West Bend Mutual Insurance Company

Carl Panzenhagen, Blast Cleaning Technologies

Sheila Hibl, Exterior Pros

Direction

Zuern Building Products & Design Center

Managers

Bank Five Nine

New ideas

Great Lakes Rubber

Doers

Touching Hearts at Home

Meaningfulness

Muskego-Norway Schools

Values

Rent-A-Daughter, LLC

Clued-in senior management

raSmith

Communication

Catholic Financial Life

Appreciation

Kapur & Associates, Inc.

Work/life flexibility

Derco, A Lockheed Martin Company

Training

Shorewest Realtors

Benefits

Inpro

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Top Workplaces: 15 southeastern Wisconsin employers recognized
Tourist shot to death in popular Mexican resort town days after another tourist killed in machete attack

A Canadian tourist has been shot and killed in a Mexican beach town just days after a tourist from Argentina was hacked to death in a machete attack in the same Pacific coast resort area.

Prosecutors in the Mexican state of Oaxaca say the Canadian man was found dead in a car with a bullet wound in the town of Puerto Escondido, a relaxed beach town popular with surfers, on Monday.

No details were revealed regarding the specific circumstances of the mans death, but he was identified as 27-year-old Victor Masson.

Massons death comes three days after a tourist from Argentina was killed in a machete attack in the state of Oaxaca, generally considered one of the safer states in Mexico, roughly 60 miles west of Puerto Escondido in the hamlet of La Isla.

AMERICANS TRAVELING BETWEEN MEXICO, US SEE VACATIONS TURN INTO NIGHTMARES AT THE BORDER

Playa Zicatela bordered by palm trees, Puerto Escondido, State of Oaxaca, Mexico.

The Argentine was identified as Benjamin Gamond and Mexican police say he was one of three tourists from Argentina attacked by a man wielding a machete on Friday and that he died in the hospital after the attack. His two travel companions suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The current State Department travel advisory urges Americans to "Exercise Increased Caution When Traveling" to Oaxaca.

TOURISTS IN EXOTIC TROPICAL DESTINATIONS VICTIMIZED BY CRIME, TRAVEL MISHAP HORROR STORIES IN 2022

Puerto Escondido Beach, State of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Several tourists have been victimized by crime so far in 2023 including a Mexican tourist who was shot to death in the Caribbean coast resort of Tulum in a dramatic robbery at a U.S. chain coffee shop in April.

In March, an American tourist was shot in the leg by unknown assailants in the town of Puerto Morelos outside of Cancun during spring break. The individual survived his injuries.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Aerial view of Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca State, Mexico

Reuters contributed to this report.
Traffic alert: Police setting up DUI checkpoint in Miami neighborhood. What to expect

The Miami Police Department plans a multi-agency DUI checkpoint Friday night near the Pelican Harbor Boat Ramp in the citys Upper Eastside neighborhood.

The five-hour patrol around Northeast 79th Street and 12th Avenue will look to pull over drivers who are impaired and ticket people without seat belts. The corridor is just west of the 79th Street Causeway, which leads east into Miami Beach.

The checkpoint is a part of several National Highway Traffic Safety Administration campaigns with slogans like Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving and Buckle Up Florida: Click It or Ticket.

About 37 people die daily in the United States due to drunk-driving crashes  one person every 39 minutes, according to the highway safety agency. In 2021, the most recent year with statistics, 13,384 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths  a 14% increase from 2020, the agency reported.

The Miami Police Department will show zero tolerance for motorists who violate Floridas traffic laws, police said in a news release.

The Broward Sheriffs DUI Task Force conducted a similar sobriety safety operation earlier this month on Cinco de Mayo.

Miami DUI details

What: The Miami Police Department says its setting up a sobriety and safety checkpoint.

Where: Miamis Upper Eastside Neighborhood near Pelican Harbor Boat Ramp at 1265 NE 79th St.

When: The checkpoint runs 7 p.m. to midnight Friday, May 19, according to Miami PD.

Reason: The goal of this checkpoint is to identify and apprehend impaired drivers before they can kill or injure others, police said in a bulletin.
With less than 48 hours before graduation, a Mississippi Coast school district may not allow a transgender student to walk across the stage and receive her high school diploma if she chooses to wear a dress.

The ACLU on Thursday filed a lawsuit asking the U.S. District Court to allow the Harrison Central High student, referred to as L.B., to be allowed to dress as she wishes and not be forced to wear boys clothes.

The emergency injunction was filed on behalf of the student and her parents, Samantha and Henry Brown.

The graduating senior has been transgender throughout her high school career, and she regularly wears dresses, skirts and traditionally feminine clothing items and accessories to school and school-sponsored events and activities, without issue or repercussion, the lawsuit says.

On May 9, school administrators told L.B. she could not attend or participate in her high school graduation ceremony if she wore a dress and heels, citing the Harrison Central high dress code policy that says girls must wear a white dress and dress shoes and boys must wear a white button-down shirt, black dress shoes, black dress pants and a tie or bowtie, the complaint says.

The schools policy, which was shared via Facebook on April 22, does not explicitly discuss sex or gender and does not say students must dress according to their sex assigned at birth.

Defendants have offered no rationale that could justify the severe and ongoing deprivation of Plaintiffs constitutional and statutory rights to be free from gender discrimination, the lawsuit says.

It further alleges that the school declining to reconsider and allow L.B. to dress as she chooses during the final and perhaps most important event of her high school career, serves no legitimate interest or justification.

The lawsuit alleges gender discrimination as a violation of constitutional rights and federal law, specifically Title IX, the First Amendments freedom of expression clause, and the Fourteenth Amendments equal protection clause. The temporary restraining order asks the court to prohibit the district from taking action for alleged noncompliance with its graduation dress code policies, according to Mississippi Today.

Superintendent questions dress code for trans students

The lawsuit names the Harrison County School District, the school board, Superintendent Mitchell King and Harrison Central High Principal Kelly Fuller as defendants in the case.

Harrison County Superintendent Mitchell King

According to the complaint, heres what happened that eventually ended with L.B. being told she couldnt wear a dress to graduation:

On May 4, Harrison Central High Assistant Principal Christopher Spencer told L.B. that Fuller would be reaching out to discuss a matter.

On May 9, Fuller called L.B. to the principals office and asked what she planned to wear to graduation. When L.B. replied that she planned on wearing a dress that she and her mother picked out, Fuller informed her she would have to wear boys clothes to graduation.

Fuller told L.B. the meeting was prompted by King, who called and asked what trans students would be wearing to graduation.

The next day, Samantha Brown, L.B.s mother, called King to ask about the dress code rule. King told her that L.B. would not be able to participate in graduation if she wore a dress and heels. Samantha Brown also claims King told her that L.B. is still a boy and that he needs to wear pants, socks, and shoes, like a boy.

On May 11, L.B. was handed the graduation dress code on the principals letterhead that outlined the policy when she picked up her cap and gown.

Lawyer asks MS school district to reconsider

The Browns hired lawyers, who reached out to the school districts attorneys on May 16 via email and asked that they reconsider their stance, the complaint says. After reaching out a second time on May 17, the school district said they would not reconsider, prompting the emergency injunction filing in U.S. District Court.

Mississippi Today, who first published the story, reached out to the Harrison County School District and did not receive a response by time of publication on Thursday.

According to an ACLU press release, the district has not taken any action to check the planned outfits of any other students.

The Harrison County School District has yet to file a response to the injunction. A lawsuit represents one side of a story.
(Bloomberg) -- Yields on US Treasury bills that mature in early June have resumed climbing as the federal governments coffers dwindle to the lowest level in almost a year-and-a-half, increasing pressure on lawmakers to strike a deal to raise the debt limit as negotiations show signs of faltering on Capitol Hill.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The governments cash balance fell to $57.3 billion on Thursday from about $68.3 billion the day before. That underscores how quickly the window for resolving the standoff is narrowing, with the Treasury saying on Friday that it had run through all but about $92 billion of its authorized extraordinary measures as of May 17. At the end of last week, the department had about $140 billion in its coffers and around $88 billion of additional room freed up under the $31.4 trillion debt cap.

While politicians in Washington this week have expressed optimism about a deal being imminent, the two sides still appear to have a considerable way to go. Debt-limit negotiations hit a wall Friday as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy blamed the White House for resisting spending cuts, casting doubt on efforts in Washington to avert a catastrophic default.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told top bank executives Thursday that a failure to raise the debt ceiling would be catastrophic for the financial system. She discussed the urgent need for Congress to address the debt limit and underscored the real and severe consequences of default for the banking system and the domestic and global economy, the Treasury said in a statement following her meeting with more than two dozen chief executive officers and other executives convened by the Bank Policy Institute.

T-bills maturing after the potential so-called X-date  when the Treasury runs out of room to maneuver  have been trading with a significant yield premium because of concerns about a default. They continued to do so on Friday, with the most notable dislocations in those due June. At the same time, the cost of insuring US debt against non-payment has also soared in recent weeks, though the impact has been far smaller in other markets as traders speculate that an agreement will be struck. That could change if the situation gets more fraught.

There are many in financial markets predicting that some kind of deal will get done, in part because thats whats always happened, even when things have gone down to the wire.

From Washington to Wall Street, heres what to watch to gauge how worried observers should be and when they should be concerned.

The Bills Curve

Investors have historically demanded higher yields on securities that are due to be repaid shortly after the US is seen as running out of borrowing capacity. That puts a lot of focus on the yield curve for bills  the shortest-dated Treasuries. Noticeable upward distortions in particular parts of the curve tend to suggest increased concern among investors that thats the time the US might be at risk of default. Right now thats most prominent around early June. While yields pared their rise on Thursday amid optimism of a deal, the drop has since been reversed.

X-Date Predictions

Underpinning the various moves in debt markets are differing estimates about when the government might exhaust its options to fund itself  commonly referred to as the X-date. While the administration has provided guidance that it might fall short as soon as June, prognosticators across Wall Street have also been running the numbers based on government cash flows and expectations around taxes and spending. Some strategists have pulled forward estimates to align more with forecasts out of Washington. Others, meanwhile, are staying with late-summer projections. Recent cash-flow figures from the Treasury suggest that its remaining spending capacity is rapidly dwindling.

The Cash Balance

The US governments ability to pay its debts and meet its spending obligations ultimately comes down to whether it has enough cash. So the amount sitting in its checking account is crucial. That figure fluctuates daily depending on spending, tax receipts, debt repayments and the proceeds of new borrowing. If it gets too close to zero for the Treasurys comfort that could be a problem. The governments coffers have dropped to the lowest level since December 2021, deepening concern that it will run out of funds by early next month if the debt limit isnt raised or suspended before then.

Insuring Against Default

Beyond T-bills, one other key area to watch for insight on debt-ceiling risks is what happens in credit-default swaps for the US government. Those instruments act as insurance for investors in cases of non-payment. The cost to insure US debt is now higher than the bonds of  among others  Greece, Mexico and Brazil, which have defaulted multiple times and have credit ratings many rungs below that of the US.

Related Story: US Default Insurance Cost Eclipses Brazil, Mexico as X-Day Nears

(Updates to reflect latest figures on Treasurys cash balance)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
LAGOS, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Two U.S. consulate employees who were kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria's southern state of Anambra have been rescued by the police, a police spokesperson said on Friday.

The rescue mission was carried out during a raid on the gunmen's camp in a forest in an undisclosed area of the state on Friday morning, Anambra police spokesperson Tochukwu Ikenga said in a statement.

The joint security forces rescued unhurt the two victims abducted during an attack on a U.S. convoy along a road in the Ogbaru local government area of Anambra State on Tuesday, Ikenga said.

"Operations are still ongoing, and further details will be communicated," he said.

According to a statement by the police on Thursday, the police suspected that some members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, which is agitating for an independent state in the southeastern region of the country, were responsible for the attack, which also left seven people dead. 
William Barr, who served as attorney general under Donald Trump, delivered a warning to his former boss over the federal investigation into sensitive documents found at Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Its very clear that he had no business having those documents, Barr told CBS News. He was given a long time to send them back. And they were subpoenaed.

Dozens of classified documents were found at Mar-a-Lago last summer during an FBI search of the private club. Documents were also found at President Joe Bidens former office and his Delaware home, as well as in the home of former Vice President Mike Pence.

But Barr said theres a difference between Trumps case and those of Biden and Pence.

Ive said all along that he wouldnt get in trouble, probably, just for taking them, just as Biden I dont think is going to get in trouble or Pence is not going to get in trouble, Barr said. The problem is what did he do after the government asked for them back and subpoenaed them? And if theres any games being played there, hes going to be very exposed.

The former president not only didnt give the documents back but has insisted he had the right to keep the classified materials.

They become automatically declassified when I took them, Trump said during a CNN town hall last week. He has also claimed he could declassify documents even by thinking about it.

Barr warned that the courts probably wont agree.

I dont think that arguments going to fly, Barr told CBS News. I dont think the idea that, you know, he automatically  that they were somehow automatically declassified when they were put in the boxes. I dont think that will fly.

Read the full CBS News report here.

Barr was a loyal foot soldier for much of his nearly two years in the Trump administration, but he resigned in December 2020 after refusing to back the then-presidents unproved claims of election fraud.

Last month, Barr dismissed Trumps 2024 bid for a return to the White House, calling him a weak candidate who would lose the general election.

Related...
Sen. Tommy Tubervilles (R-Ala.) criticism this past week of efforts to rid Americas military of white nationalists has roiled the ongoing debate over how much the Pentagon should monitor racial attitudes within its ranks.

President Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin defended their efforts to counter extremism during commencement addresses over the weekend, though they didnt mention Tuberville by name.

With talks beginning on the annual defense authorization bill next month, political clashes are sure to heat up over Defense Department (DOD) programs to weed out those with extreme views while promoting diversity and inclusion.

While the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has typically been a venue for culture war battles during the drafting process, some fear this year could see extraordinary hostility.

I do think its going to be more contentious, Wendy Via, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, said of this years debate around the bill. I sincerely hope that members on both sides of the aisle will recognize that this is not a political issue. This is a safety and national security issue.

Tuberville found himself at the center of a storm of criticism last week over his interview with a local NPR station in Alabama, during which he was asked whether he thought white nationalists should be allowed to enlist and serve in the military.

Well, they call them that. I call them Americans, he replied in an interview with WBHM in Birmingham.

The comments drew swift condemnation from the left, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) last Thursday saying white nationalism has no place in our armed forces and no place in any corner of American society.

Tuberville, whose office quickly said the quotes were taken out of context, on Tuesday sought to further downplay the remarks.

Im totally against racism in the military. Hes trying to call me a racist. Im not. Obviously, Im not, he told reporters in response to Schumers comments.

But in clarifying his comments, the senators office also suggested he did not believe the military had white nationalists in its ranks. Asked to comment for this article, Tubervilles office pointed to his previous remarks to other publications.

Sen. Tubervilles quote that is cited shows that he was being skeptical of the notion that there are white nationalists in the military, not that he believes they should be in the military, his office told AL.com.

A spokesman for Tuberville told The Washington Post that the senator resents the implication that the people in our military are anything but patriots and heroes.

His words also betray broader indignation among some Republican lawmakers over Pentagon efforts to find and remove extremist ideology within the military since the start of the Biden administration.

The GOP has lambasted DOD programs and training to recognize hateful rhetoric and ideology among military personnel or potential recruits. Republican lawmakers say the efforts only serve to politicize the military and keep potential recruits away when the military is struggling to hit recruiting goals.

However, Democratic lawmakers and top military officials say the programs are necessary to keep out those who would taint the ranks with extreme views and keep cohesion strong in a diverse organization.

Biden and Austin said as much in their commencement speeches at two historically Black universities on Saturday.

In his speech at Howard University, Biden urged unity against the poison of white supremacy, declaring it the most dangerous terrorist threat to our homeland.

And Austin, speaking to the graduating class at Fayetteville State University, recounted his time growing up in the Jim Crow South.

Our local public high school had long been all-white. And one of my sisters and I were among the first Black students to integrate it, Austin said. Those were pretty ugly days. And the first year was especially tough.

He also told graduates that military service deepens our democracy, adding that forward progress has never been easy.

I know that the road forward may seem steep. And I know that many of you see the distance between where America is and where America should be. And what America can be, Austin said. But Americas real promise is our democracy. And our democracy needs you.

Extremism and white supremacist ideology within the military have been well documented. That reality was front and center following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, with 1 in 5 defendants charged for their part in the riot having served in the military.

Following the Capitol attack, the DOD in spring 2021 held a militarywide extremism stand-down, meant to train service members on the dangers of extremist views and how to spot them.

The Pentagon also released a report in 2021 warning of the national security threat posed by extremist ideology in the military, noting that service members were highly prized recruits for white supremacist groups given their proven ability to execute high-impact events.

Its also true that military services are struggling to meet recruiting goals in the face of a strong U.S. job market and young people who increasingly dont view the military as a viable career path.

But military leaders have said thats more of a reason to focus on inclusion as a major selling point to attract a more diverse crowd.

Tuberville last week told reporters that administration officials are politicizing the military so much, theyre ruining our military, pointing to the Army missing its 2022 recruiting goal by 25 percent.

We cant start distinguishing different types of people, he said.

And he hasnt been alone in that view. Conservative think tank Heritage Foundation called the efforts part of a pernicious ideology that damages the countrys ability to fight wars.

Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), an Army veteran, in a Tuesday statement called Bidens claim that white supremacy is the most dangerous terrorist threat to America further fueling dangerous divisiveness in the country.

The Presidents comments are disrespectful to armed services members who put their lives on the line for this country protecting us from real threats, Mills said.

Last week, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) introduced legislation that would prohibit using appropriated funds to investigate extremism in the military and audit diversity programs services use.

Under the Biden Administration, the Pentagon has diverted its focus from lethality and have instead pushed initiatives that have politicized our warfighting ranks and harmed our military readiness, Waltz said in introducing the bill.

Our military faces the worst recruiting crisis since the Vietnam War because young Americans dont want to join what was once a trusted institution that has become overly politicized and hyperfocused on [diversity, equality and inclusion] initiatives.

But Via of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism said Republicans are pointing to dwindling recruitment numbers as an excuse to not take these necessary steps to root out far-right extremism in our armed forces.

There are so many reasons why the military would not hit their recruitment numbers the same way that so many corporations or small businesses are unable to hire people, Via said. Its a part of the job market. It is not because theres been attention drawn to far-right extremists coming out of the military.

Vias group has been reaching out to lawmakers to have them adopt language in the NDAA to address extremism in the military, such as requiring social media screening for potential recruits, interventions for people who are found to be involved in far-right extremist groups, and training for commanders to handle the issue.

She said some of the offices have been very receptive to the need for such measures but are concerned about how to navigate it in the current political environment.

Its so extreme, the positions that some of the members of Congress are taking, Via said, referring to Tuberville.

Whether anti-extremism language makes it into the final bill is up in the air, given the limited success in the past.

The Senate Armed Services Committee, for example, in a report accompanying its version of the NDAA last year, called for an immediate end to Pentagon counter-extremism programs. The committee said the threat of extremism in the military didnt justify the time and dollars needed for training to prevent it or remove it.

And lawmakers who wrote last years final NDAA deleted or stripped down all eight House-passed provisions related to extremism in the military or America at large  most of which only sought information about threats posed by groups with extreme ideology.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Tumwater Middle School teacher is among four Washington state educators who are finalists for a national award that recognizes deep knowledge and excellence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.

Anthony Harris, who teaches science, is in the running for $10,000 from the National Science Foundation, a trip to Washington, D.C., to attend recognition events, and a certificate signed by the President of the United States.

Its the highest award a K-12 STEM teacher can earn and be recognized for by the U.S. government.

According to a news release from the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching is given out every year. The state finalists are chosen by a statewide committee made up of teachers, district staff, subject matter experts and other stakeholders.

On the national level, theres an award committee that will choose finalists based on mastery of content, effective instructional approaches that support student learning, effective use of student assessments to guide learning, reflective practice and lifelong learning, and leadership and equity in education inside and outside of the classroom, according to the release.

The President can recognize up to 108 teachers every year, according to the release, and more than 80 from Washington have been recognized since the program started in 1983.

State Superintendent Chris Reykdal said in the release that these teachers ways of engaging with their students in math and science prepares them for lifelong success.

These outstanding educators are creating learning experiences guided by their students own curiosity about the world around them, he said.

During the interview process, Harris was asked what a math and science teacher can do to make the fields more culturally sustaining for students with diverse backgrounds. He said all students need to be able to see themselves as scientists.

We start each year identifying our embedded stereotypes, he said. Most students start out thinking scientists are dudes with crazy hair mixing chemicals in a lab. Im sure there are, but I show them so many more examples. After a couple days, students realize that scientists can be anybody studying anything that interests them anywhere.

More information about Harris and his love for teaching is available in an online interview.

The other finalists are Rama Devagupta, a science teacher at Southridge High School in the Kennewick School District; Dave Gamon, a science teacher at Northwood Middle School in the Mead School District; and Sara Rubio, a math teacher at Robert Eagle Staff Middle School in Seattle Public Schools.
By Tarek Amara

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's most popular independent radio station on Thursday said two of its top broadcasters, critics of President Kais Saied, have been summoned by police for questioning, amid fears of an escalating government campaign against the media.

Radio Mosaique said its broadcasters Haythem El Mekki and Elyess Gharbi were going to be questioned by police on Friday in an investigation linked to journalistic content.

Police and Interior Ministry spokespeople were not immediately available to comment on the report.

El Mekki, who presents a daily show on Radio Mosaique criticising Saied's policies, this week raised concerns about the country's methods of recruiting police after a National Guard member killed two visitors and three policemen in a bloody attack on a Jewish synagogue this month.

The government has cracked down on prominent opposition leaders and critics this year, including arresting the head of Radio Mosaique Nourredine Boutar, in moves that have angered Western countries and human rights organizations.

Freedom of speech and media were key gains for Tunisians after the 2011 revolution that ousted autocratic President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and triggered the Arab Spring protests.

But activists and journalists say freedom of speech faces a serious threat under Saied's rule.

Dozens of journalists and activists protested on Thursday against restrictions of freedoms and trials targeting journalists and bloggers.

"These are dark times. Freedom of speech is increasingly hit. About 20 journalists and bloggers are being pursued because of posts or positions against authorities," journalists' union chief Mahdi Jlassi told Reuters.

Saied shut down parliament in 2021 and seized all powers in moves that his opponents call a coup.

(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Sonali Paul)
In this photo provided by the Tunisian Presidency, Tunisian President Kais Saied, right, shakes hand with Syrian President Bashar Assad, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during the Arab summit, Friday, May 19, 2023. (Slim Abid/Tunisian Presidency via AP)

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP)  Smiles, a handshake and what Tunisian President Kais Saied called a historic meeting with the long-ostracized Syrian leader Bashar Assad.

The talks between the two presidents, held before the start on Friday of the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia, buried memories, and perhaps the legacy, of the Arab Spring which started in Tunisia 12 years ago. That series of uprisings gave the North African country its first taste of democracy as protests rolled across the region, including in Syria.

Today, I am absolutely convinced of Tunisian support for Syria, a statement from Saieds office said after what it called the historic meeting.

Tunisia, reborn after its 2011 revolution which toppled autocratic ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was among the fiercest critics of Assad. But Saied has largely trampled the gains of Tunisia's revolution since his 2019 election, notably by assuming near full powers after suspending the legislature in 2021 then dissolving it in his crackdown on corruption and dissent.

Tunisia resumed diplomatic relations with Syria in April, and Assads presence at the Arab League summit sealed Syrias return to the club of Arab nations.

The official TAP news agency showed photos of him and Assad greeting each other with smiles, a warm hand shake and a sit-down for serious talks. Assad was invited to the residence where the Tunisian president was staying in Jeddah, the Saudi Arabian city hosting the summit.

Syria was kicked out of the club of Arab nations in 2011 at the start of its brutal civil war. That was months after Tunisias revolution.

We stand together against the movement of darkness, Assad said, apparently referring to extremist groups that came to dominate the Syrian opposition as his countrys war ground on, and militants groups there drew a large number of recruits from Tunisia.

In an interview with Tunisian television, Assad said that the North African country used to be a platform to propagate the (Islamist) mindset.

After my meeting with Kais Saied, I am now convinced that the Arab people hasnt changed and Tunisia is the same, he was quoted as saying by the Radio Mosaique.

Among numerous figures jailed in Saieds crackdown is Rached Ghannouchi, head of the moderate Islamist party that triumphed in Tunisias first free elections in October 2011. Ghannouchi was also speaker of the parliament that Saied dissolved.
In this photo released by Turkish Presidency, Turkish President and People's Alliance's presidential candidate Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, shakes hands with Sinan Ogan, former presidential candidate from ATA alliance, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 19, 2023. (Turkish Presidency via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

ISTANBUL (AP)  Turkey's Supreme Election Board on Friday confirmed the results of the first round of Turkey's presidential election in which neither incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan nor his main challenger, opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, receiving the majority support needed for an outright victory.

The electoral board announced that Erdogan secured 49.24% of the vote, with Kilicdaroglu getting 45.07% and a third candidate, nationalist politician Sinan Ogan, receiving 5.28%, necessitating a runoff election on May 28 between the top two contenders.

Ogan, a former academic who was backed by an anti-migrant party, might hold the key to victory in the runoff now that hes out of the race.

Speaking to Turkish media earlier this week, Ogan listed the conditions to earn his support. Among them are taking a tough stance against the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, as well as creating a timeline for sending back millions of refugees, including nearly 3.7 million Syrians.

The PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency in southeast Turkey, is considered a terror organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

On Thursday, Kilicdaroglu shifted from his more inclusive, soft-toned rhetoric to appeal to nationalist voters, vowing to send back millions of refugees and rejecting any possibility of negotiating for peace with Kurdish militants.

Meanwhile, speaking to CNN International in an interview broadcast on Friday, Erdogan said he would not bend to Ogans demands: Im not a person who likes to negotiate in such a manner. It will be the people who are the kingmakers.

Yet on Friday a surprise meeting between Erdogan and Ogan took place at the formers Istanbul office. No statement was made following the nearly one-hour meeting.
Billionaire Elon Musk's Twitter sent Microsoft a letter demanding details of what it did with data it got when it had developer access to the platform

Twitter on Thursday accused Microsoft of breaking the social network's rules for developers who access the platform's data, according to a copy of a letter seen by AFP.

"Microsoft may have been in violation of multiple provisions of the Agreement for an extended period of time," read the letter signed by Musk attorney Alex Spiro and sent to Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella.

Microsoft stopped accessing Twitter data in April, opting not to pay fees Musk demanded developers pay for APIs (application programming interfaces) that engage with the platform, according to the letter.

Twitter called on Microsoft to identify all Twitter content that has been in its control during the past two years; how it is stored and what has been done with it, according to the letter sent to Nadella.

Microsoft confirmed receiving a letter from a law firm representing Twitter with some questions about its previous use of the free Twitter API.

"We will review these questions and respond appropriately," a Microsoft spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry.

"We look forward to continuing our long term partnership with the company."

Twitter said in the letter it is looking into whether Microsoft exceeded the "reasonable request volume" in what could constitute "abusive usage."

Twitter wants the information by June 7, the letter stated.

The demand comes as Elon Musk looks to generate revenue by getting developers to pay for Twitter platform access that had been free prior to the billionaire taking over.

Musk is also out to counter Microsoft and Google with his recently-established X.AI artificial intelligence corporation based in the US state of Nevada, according to business documents.

Musk last month fired off a Tweet accusing Microsoft of illegally using Twitter data to train artificial intelligence, writing "lawsuit time."

Big tech companies like Google, Meta and Microsoft have spent years working on AI systems -- previously known as machine learning or big data -- to help with translations, search and targeted advertising.

Microsoft is investing billions of dollars in ChatGPT creator OpenAI and has put its technology to work in its Bing internet search service.

Since taking over Twitter in late October, Musk has repeatedly courted controversy, sacking most of its staff, readmitting far-right figures to the platform, suspending journalists and charging for previously free services.

gc/tjj
Two flight attendants fell in love on an airplane. Heres what happened next

On a recent transatlantic flight from Florida to London Heathrow, married flight attendants Hunter Smith-Lihas and John Lihas locked eyes across the aisle.

The two men smiled at each other, before swiftly returning to serving champagne to First Class travelers.

This shared smile was fleeting, but spoke volumes. And later, when Hunter and John were on break at the same time, the couple found themselves sitting in the onboard crew lounge, reflecting on the shared life and careers theyve built together.

I met you for five minutes on the airplane when I wasnt even supposed to, and now were living in the city together, and youre sitting across from me on the plane and were working together, Hunter recalls saying to John.

You never think when you meet someone for the first time like that, that itd go this far. So its kind of surreal. And it honestly just makes you so happy, because youre like, how did I get here?

Airplane meeting

Hunter and John's love story began with a brief conversation on an airplane. - Hunter Smith-Lihas

How Hunter and John got here was via a series of unexpected moments and decisions starting six years ago, in 2017.

Back then, Hunter was in his early 20s and working as a gate agent for Spirit Airlines. Hed aspired to work in aviation since hed starting watching a travel vlogger who chronicled her job as a flight attendant on YouTube.

I thought, Oh, my gosh, this is the best job ever. I definitely want to do something like this, Hunter tells CNN Travel today.

After he graduated college, Hunter secured a gate staff position in his home city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The role was the perfect foot in the aviation door.

Working the airport gate, Hunter interacted with hundreds, if not thousands, of people each day. As a sociable person, he always enjoyed the conversations  however brief  with travelers and airline staff.

But Spirit Airlines employment pool was so big he rarely met the same flight attendants twice.

One morning, one of Hunters gate attendant coworkers asked if he could pass on some papers to the captain of a soon-to-depart Spirit flight, which was heading to Orlando, Florida.

This kind of task, says Hunter, was typically not my job, I did not normally do that.

But off he went, walking down the gangway and onto the aircraft. He passed on the paperwork to the captain and then waited for the all-clear to disembark. It didnt come right away, so Hunter stood by the door, biding his time.

There was some sort of delay in him processing the paperwork, he recalls.

Also standing at the front of the aircraft was John, the flight attendant looking after the front half of the plane.

Back then, John was a total stranger to Hunter. Sure, they both worked for the same airline  but so did thousands of other people scattered across the United States.

We had never seen each other prior to that day, says John, who was in his late 20s at the time.

As they waited, Hunter and John met eyes for the first time, and they smiled at each other.

Hunter spotted a pin on Johns lanyard. Intriguingly, it looked like the insignia of another airline.

Im like, Oh, I love the pin on your lanyard. Whered you get it? Because it was from another airline  I think it was a Delta Airlines pin, recalls Hunter.

Im like, Did you work for Delta before? Where did you get it from? And thats how I started the conversation with him.

The two men chatted back and forth, talking about their respective careers so far, with John explaining hed never actually worked for Delta. Then John asked Hunter his name, and what his schedule looked like for the rest of the day.

You know, just small talk, says Hunter. We never thought this small conversation was going to go anywhere after.

It was very short, echoes John. The plane had to leave.

After about five minutes, the paperwork was processed and the aircraft got the go ahead to depart. Hunter said a quick goodbye to John and got off the plane. John watched Hunter head back down the gangway.

I never thought I would see him again, says John.

Spontaneous invites

Here's Hunter and John on their first date in Myrtle Beach. - Hunter Smith-Lihas

Over the rest of his shift that day, as he ushered passengers on and off airplanes, checked hand luggage and made boarding announcements, Hunter kept replaying the short airplane interaction with John.

Theres so many faces and people you meet every single day at the airport. But I dont know. I just had a weird feeling about this guy  a good feeling, says Hunter

That evening, he got out his laptop and Googled John Lihas. A Facebook account with that name popped up right away, and there was John, smiling widely in the profile picture.

I just wanted to Facebook stalk him, says Hunter, laughing. I didnt even think to add him at the time. But then once I started scrolling through his profile, Im like, Im just going to do it. Im going to send a friend request. Im going to see what happens. If anything, well just be friends, coworkers, distant coworkers. But I didnt really think anything was going to happen.

Hunter hit add friend.

The notification popped up on Johns cell phone just as he reached his hotel room in Houston, Texas. Hed worked two flights that day, and was looking forward to putting his feet up. Then he saw the friend request.

John wouldnt usually accept an invite from someone he didnt really know. But hed really enjoyed meeting Hunter, even if their interaction was short and sweet.

So I accepted, just because I was like, Hmm, it could be something you never know, says John.

Then he sent a message to his new Facebook friend.

Do you always stalk your flight attendants? he wrote.

It just started from there, recalls John. One sentence became pages and pages of just talking back and forth.

Over the next few days, John and Hunter messaged regularly. They talked about their families, their ambitions and their shared love of travel.

The craziest part about it was once we started talking, we realized how many coincidences there were in our life. Things were so similar, says Hunter.

They both had divorced parents, and coincidentally both had one parent who lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and one who lived in Tampa, Florida.

And they shared similar hobbies and a positive outlook on life  not to mention a shared profession and passion for traveling.

After about a week of messaging, John sent through a question.

Hey, I know this is kind of forward  you can totally tell me if youre not comfortable with this idea, he said. But I have a layover in Myrtle Beach. I think you should fly down here. Id love to fly you down here to have dinner with you and get to know you more.

Beachside Myrtle Beach, in South Carolina, is a 1 hour 30 minute flight from Pittsburgh. Its a short flight, in the grand scheme of things, but a long way for a first date.

Hunter debated whether or not to go, would it be crazy? Was it safe? He barely knew John. But he still had that good feeling hed had when he first met John on the airplane. Hunter decided to go for it.

Here's John and Hunter pictured on an early trip together to Disney World, Florida - Hunter Smith-Lihas

He figured he should tell someone about his plans  just in case. He ruled out his parents (I thought they would think I was a little bit crazy) but filled in his roommate. Then he headed to the airport

John was nervous too. Hed put himself out there, and wasnt sure how it would pan out (I really dont do that, he says of the spontaneous invite).

And he didnt tell anyone, except the flight crew he was working with en route to Myrtle Beach, who were all excited for him.

John and Hunter met at the airport, and then went out to dinner together. Later, they walked hand-in-hand on the boardwalk. As first dates go, it was magical, says Hunter.

After all the nerves, everything worked perfectly, says John.

Still, as the 36 hours wound to a close, the glow dampened a little bit.

I was kind of sad, actually, recalls Hunter. Because we were living in two different cities. I didnt know the next time I was going to see him.

But soon a pattern developed  whenever Johns flight schedule found him in Pittsburgh, hed hang out with Hunter. And whenever John had longer layovers in other cities, Hunter would come and meet him.

Even though it was long distance, we still made it work, says John.

Hunter thinks the distance actually helped the relationship blossom.

We actually had time to miss each other. We had time to plan more special things together. It wasnt like we were just going to each others house every day, he says. I actually liked the long distance part at the time, because it gave us time to really appreciate our time with each other.

Over the next several months, Hunter and John shared some fantastic moments together  a trip to Los Angeles where they spent two days exploring the city, and Hunters birthday, when John surprised him with a trip to Disney World in Florida.

There were tougher moments too. At one point, Hunter and John stopped communicating for a few weeks. They were both stressed and overwhelmed by work and other issues in their personal lives. They werent mad at each other, but keeping up the connection from afar felt tricky for the first time. But they worked through it.

Then, everything kind of just went back to how it was and I think it was better than ever after that, says Hunter.

A new chapter

Here's Hunter and John during a meet-up in Los Angeles, California during their long distance period. - Hunter Smith-Lihas

About a year after hed first met John, Hunter was hired by Spirit Airlines to work as a flight attendant. He left the gate behind, delighted that his aviation dream had finally come true.

And with this exciting opportunity came another exciting step  Hunter and John decided to move in together.

Now that they were both traveling for work, the couple figured they could live pretty much anywhere. They decided to move to a new city together: Detroit, Michigan.

Thats kind of when things really stepped it up to the next level, says Hunter. And even then I still couldnt believe, Wow, this is crazy how this all happened and everything fell into place perfectly. Were working at the same job now. Were working in the same base. Our families are in the same place. It just all felt like everything fell perfectly into place.

Moving to a new city, and moving in together, was a big change. But the couple knew they had to take a chance, as Hunter puts it, if they wanted their relationship to progress.

It was an adjustment, says Hunter. But I think overall, it was more of an adventure.

On their days off, Hunter and John explored Detroit together, discovering new restaurants together, decorating their apartment and making new friends.

Sometimes it was tough to align their schedules  Hunter, as a new hire, was on call, so any day could end up on any flight.

Then one morning, Hunter got notified that hed booked a trip, and was sent the crew manifest. He scanned through the names and then stopped short.

I saw Johns name on there, Hunter recalls. And I ran into the living room from the bedroom. I was like, John, youre never going to believe it. Guess what trip I got today? And he was thinking Id got something international or something really great  I was like, No, Im on the trip with you!

That workday was very special and the couple savored the time together.

It felt nice going to work together and actually spending three full days together. And spending time at the layover hotel together, eating dinner together, recalls John.

When you work together, its almost like youre on vacation, says Hunter. Yeah, you are working through the day. But once youre done with the day, youre at the hotel, you can go to the pool.

The flight was also memorable. Here they were, working a Spirit Airlines flight together, where a year previously theyd been strangers on another Spirit aircraft.

You go back to that first time you met, says Hunter.

A beachside proposal

Hunter proposed to John on a beach in San Juan, Puerto Rico - Hunter Smith-Lihas

Months passed and the couple settled into life in Michigan. Conversations about marriage started to take place a little bit here and there, as Hunter puts it.

The two had a trip to Puerto Rico coming up  John was working and Hunter was coming along for a vacation. As they mapped out the trip, Hunter started to think this would be the perfect opportunity to ask John to marry him.

He spoke to Johns mother about his plans to propose.

I really love your son. I really think I want to spend the rest of my life with him, Hunter told her.

He also spoke with one of the couples mutual friends, a fellow Spirit Airlines flight attendant whod be on the trip too  he wanted to have a friend on side who could document the proposal when it came.

As for John, he had no idea what was coming.

On the second day of the trip, John and Hunter were walking along a sandy beach together in San Juan. The other crew member was armed with her camera phone, ready to capture the moment.

We were just walking around doing the touristy stuff. And I remember I had a coffee in my hand, I was looking out in the water, and then I turned around and hes on one knee, says John. I was just completely shocked, and of course I said yes.

We were both so happy, says Hunter.

Straight away, John called his mother, he was crying happy tears and so was she. Thats when John realized that shed known what was coming.

Im like, Oh my god, this is actually happening. It all clicked, like the rest of my life is coming together perfectly.

Hunter and John planned a small wedding, putting the money they would have spent on larger celebrations towards a honeymoon.

So we did a super small wedding on the West Coast. We brought our parents, two friends, says Hunter, who changed his name following the wedding, becoming Hunter Smith-Lihas.

It was beautiful, says John.

Hunter and Johns families get on really well, and always enjoy spending time together and with their respective sons-in-law.

Johns mom and my mom are great together. Johns dad and my dad are great together. I love all his cousins, his nieces, says Hunter.

My dad loves you, John tells Hunter. My grandmother, who recently passed in October, she was an old-school Greek person and she came to America when she was just 18. And when she met Hunter, she fell in love with him.

Its very nice that we all get along, our families just love each other.

After the wedding, John and Hunter headed off on what Hunter calls a lavish European vacation. The trip also coincided with Johns 30th birthday, so there was plenty to celebrate. En route, Hunter and John were upgraded to first class. They enjoyed flying in style  and that they were the ones being served for once.

It was the middle of winter. And when we landed in Paris, it was snowing. We saw all the snow and we went to the Eiffel Tower and there was snow everywhere. It was so magical, says John.

New horizons

Hunter and John are now married and living and working together. Here's the couple on a recent trip to Colombia. - Hunter Smith-Lihas

Today, John and Hunter still work together, although theyre no longer at Spirit Airlines and now live in Florida. A few years ago, the couple both applied for jobs with another major US airline. They were keen for new career opportunities and more opportunities to travel internationally.

It was a risky decision to make just as aviation was getting back on its feet in the wake of the pandemic. For a long stretch in 2020, both John and Hunter were grounded and unsure if or when theyd return to the skies.

Not only was it a global health pandemic, but now youre out of a job for the time being, too. So it was just a lot. It was really scary at the time, says Hunter.

But we grew together, we made work, says John.

It was John who first suggested moving to a new airline. When he voiced the thought aloud, Hunter echoed it back to him.

We both just wanted more, because Spirit only flew to the US, a little bit of South America and the Caribbean. Whereas where were at now services all the continents except Antarctica, says Hunter. So that was another huge step we took together.

Before they applied, Hunter and John talked about what might happen if one of them got the job, and the other didnt.

We decided, if one of us gets it, thats great. Well be fine. Well make it work, says Hunter.

We believe in each other, thats the thing, says John.

The couple applied on the same day. They interviewed on the same day. And in the end, they both got hired on the same day and started training together.

At their current airline, John and Hunter have the same level of seniority, so they can bid for the same flights. This makes it easy for them to coordinate their schedules and work the same flights.

Nowadays they often work on large, wide body aircraft, so they dont always see each other much during the flight.

If one of us is in economy, and the other is first class, we definitely see each other a lot less as opposed to when youre working in the same cabin, says Hunter. But I mean, theres always like a time where I can just pop up there and say hi, or vice versa, John can come back and say hi.

And, of course, there are those moments  like on the recent flight to London  where theyre both working in the same cabin, and can watch one another at work, excelling at their jobs, and share the odd secret smile.

Hunter and John love working in aviation. Hunters also followed in the footsteps of the flight attendant vlogger who first introduced him to the profession and started documenting his job on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. He hopes his content might inspire or help others keen to work in the industry.

Both Hunter and John plan to work in the industry for as long as they can.

This is what Ive dreamt about since I was six years old, says John. I dont see myself doing anything else. I will be a flight attendant forever until I decide to retire.

I think for both of us, this is our career. This is our lifelong career, says Hunter. Because what other job can you say, Oh, well on Monday, Im going to New York and Tuesday Im going to Africa. Theres always the element of surprise and adventure with this job.

Whatever the future brings, for Hunter and John, one of the most memorable on-the-job surprises will always be the way they met.

I saw so many different faces every day, its hard to see the same face twice. And then suddenly, he comes along. And now its been six years later, and Im still seeing him, says Hunter.

I never thought this would happen to me, to be honest, never  even coming across so many people day to day, coworkers, passengers, says John. I always believe it was always meant to be.

It almost makes me teary-eyed, adds Hunter. When I look back, I just never in a million years thought that this is where we together would be after that chance encounter. It just makes me almost emotional, it makes me want to cry. Its just an overwhelming happiness.

It just goes to show you never know who youre going to meet, when and where, you just never know who that one person is going to be.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Two Republicans vote against police-related resolution they sponsored because of last-minute amendment

Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) on Thursday voted against a law enforcement resolution they sponsored over objections to an amendment that was added at the last minute.

The resolution called for expressing support for local law enforcement officers and condemning attempts to defund or dismantle police agencies. The chamber voted on the measure during National Police Week.

The House ultimately approved the measure in a 301-119-3 vote. The vote split Democrats: 87 supported it, 117 opposed it and three voted present. Only two Republicans voted against the resolution: Buck and Biggs, two of the four sponsors of the measure.

After the vote, both Republicans said they ultimately opposed the measure because of federalism concerns related to an amendment that was approved by the chamber at the last minute.

Shortly before the vote on the resolution, the chamber approved an amendment  proposed by Rep. Anthony DEsposito (R-N.Y.), another sponsor of the measure  that included non-binding language that said local law enforcement officers should have certain rights to ensure a fair administration of justice during investigations into officers accused of misconduct.

It also included non-binding language encouraging states to adopt a Bill of Rights for local law enforcement personnel for protections related to investigation and prosecution arising from conduct during official performance of duties and says that calls for defunding, disbanding, dismantling or abolishing the police should be condemned and rule of law should be strictly maintained.

The chamber approved the amendment in a 268-156 vote. Buck and Biggs were among the 10 Republicans who opposed the addition, while 146 Democrats voted no and 62 supported it.

In a video posted on Twitter Thursday, Biggs argued that the amendment federalizes certain aspects of local police enforcement.

Now, people say oh Andy, its only a resolution, but the point of it is the federal government should not be getting into the policies and procedures of local law enforcement unless theres some kind of violation of the 14th Amendment or other civil rights that the states not tending to, he added.

Biggs said he and Buck voted no because they dont think that the federal government should be stepping into local police enforcement.

He said he supports the men and women in our local law enforcement and our state law enforcement, but added, one of the ways I think best that we can thank you is us letting you and your local communities govern yourselves without the heavy hand of the federal government.

Bucks office told The Hill that the congressman was opposed to the amendment added to the resolution.

Congressman Buck believes that the amendment violates federalism standards and is contrary to where the Republican Party should be, the office said.

The resolution specifically says Congress recognizes and appreciates the dedication and devotion demonstrated by the men and women of local law enforcement who keep our communities safe and that Congress condemns calls to defund, disband, dismantle, or abolish the police.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Two teens die from suspected overdose outside high school, cops say. Classmate charged

A Tennessee teen has been charged with murder following the suspected overdose deaths of two classmates in a high school parking lot, news outlets report.

On May 16, three female students, a 16-year-old and two 17-year-olds, were found at Fayette-Ware Comprehensive High School, where they were all juniors, according to authorities and a statement from Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Versie Hamlett.

The Fayette County Sheriffs Office said in a May 16 Facebook post that two of the students had died and a third was taken to a hospital in critical condition from a possible drug overdose.

The two students died just a few hours before the school was set to hold its graduation ceremony, WREG reported.

The 17-year-old student taken to the hospital was released, according to WHBQ, and has now been charged in the deaths of her classmates.

She is facing two counts of second-degree murder and one count of possession of a controlled substance, District Attorney Mark Davidson told WHBQ.

In a juvenile court hearing on May 18, a narcotics investigator with the Fayette County Sheriffs Office testified that fentanyl was found in a home officials searched and at the high school where the girls died, WREG reported.

Davidson told NBC News that fentanyl is suspected to have played a role in the overdoses, but an autopsy will determine the official cause of death.

It has not been decided if the 17-year-old will be charged as an adult or a juvenile, NBC News reported.

Investigators believe the surviving teen was friends with the other two, based on text messages and social media accounts shared in court, WREG reported.

This case is tragic. Its terrible, Davidson told NBC News. And unfortunately, it highlights what weve been telling the public  about the dangers of fentanyl. How lethal it is and how prevalent it is becoming. And that if you buy any drug on the street, whether you think its meth or cocaine, or a pressed pill,  it very well may contain fentanyl and it very well might kill you.

The father of the 16-year-old identified his daughter Alyssa Thorne as one of the deceased students to WATN. The family organized a GoFundMe page and called the situation a huge burden.

Fayette-Ware Comprehensive High School is located in Somerville, about 45 miles east of Memphis.

Duo disguise overdosed woman in wheelchair, set house ablaze to hide body, IN cops say

Man accused of killing 2 women is in custody after 5-day manhunt, Tennessee cops say

Nurse used $1.1 million of embezzled funds for cruise and personal expenses, feds say

Couple said child died in dog attack, Arizona cops say. Now theyre accused of murder
by Xinhua writer Naftali Mwaura

NAIROBI, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Twenty Chinese enterprises participated in the innovation and job fair organized by the University of Nairobi, Kenya's oldest university, from May 17 to 19.

Convened by the University of Nairobi and its Confucius Institute, the 2023 Nairobi Innovation Week and University Student Job Fair attracted hundreds of visitors, including students, faculty members and potential employers.

The three-day innovation and job fair sought to enhance academia-industry linkages, help local and foreign companies, including the ones from China, showcase their products and interact with potential employees.

Six of the 20 Chinese enterprises participating in the jobs fair showcased their innovations, while 18 of them placed nearly 200 jobs for qualified university students to apply. The Chinese firms were keen to recruit engineers, sales representatives, marketing specialists, lawyers, translators, accountants, digital commerce and human resources specialists.

In addition, nine representatives from the Chinese Embassy in Kenya and Chinese enterprises participated in various forums to highlight strides in scientific research and innovation as well as enterprise development in the Asian nation.

During a panel discussion, representatives of Chinese enterprises operating in Kenya expressed the desire to recruit local youth who are qualified in diverse disciplines like engineering, digital technology, human resources and marketing.

Wang Desheng, manager of Unique Human Resources Group, said that university graduates with outstanding qualifications as well as soft skills like empathy, teamwork and perseverance are in a vantage position to secure gainful employment.

"Your confidence is also important to help you secure a well-paying job. We are also keen to hire students with some proficiency in Mandarin (standard Chinese language)," said Wang.

Mathew Kiptoo, a recruitment specialist at Huawei Technologies Kenya Company Ltd, said the Chinese telecoms firm is willing to forge robust partnerships with tertiary institutions to help groom the workforce of the future. Huawei, according to Kiptoo, has been recruiting university students who have excelled in various disciplines like software engineering, besides mentoring them to become competent employees.

Johnson Kinyua, the dean of students at the University of Nairobi, challenged students aspiring to work in Chinese firms to improve their proficiency in Mandarin, endeavor to sharpen their skills in emerging technologies and embrace the team spirit.

According to Kinyua, Chinese enterprises have been providing Kenya's university students with industrial placements where they are trained and mentored to improve their capacity to secure well-paying jobs in the public and private sectors.

Stephen Njuya, a 20-year-old education major at the University of Nairobi, said that during his visit to booths of Chinese firms, he was impressed by their products and the employment opportunities they were offering to local youth. 
U.S. and its allies plan to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, official says

HIROSHIMA, Japan  America and its allies plan to provide F-16s to Ukraine  although the fighter jets may not necessarily come directly from the United States  as part of a long-term effort to strengthen the country's security, a senior Biden administration official said Friday.

The timing for when Ukraine will receive the fighter jets  and which countries will provide them  remains unclear, but the official said the planes would not be used for Ukraine's upcoming counteroffensive against Russia. In the coming months, the U.S. and its allies will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them, the official said. The news comes as President Joe Biden on Friday informed leaders of leading industrialized nations that the U.S. will support efforts to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s.

Discussions about improving the Ukrainian air force reflect our long-term commitment to Ukraines self-defense," the senior administration official said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly called on the U.S. to provide F-16s, but Biden had so far refused the requests. In February, Biden said in an interview with ABC News that U.S. military advice showed that Ukraine did not need F-16s at the time.

Im ruling it out for now, he had said about sending F-16s to Ukraine.

A U.S. Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon makes a fast pass at RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom on July 18, 2019. (Rob Edgcumbe / Stocktrek Images via AP file)

Officials from France and Poland had previously expressed openness to providing Ukraine with the advanced fighter jets. But any transfer of the American-made planes requires permission from the U.S. government.

News of the decision to provide Ukraine with F-16s comes as Biden attends a Group of Seven summit in Japan.

The U.S. and its allies' joint effort to train Ukrainian pilots on the jets could start in the coming weeks, the official said. The training will take place outside Ukraine at sites in Europe and will require months to complete," the official continued.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan later told reporters in Japan that Biden had shared plans with G-7 allies to supply the fighter jets.

"Over the past few months, we and our allies and partners have really focused on providing Ukraine with the systems, weapon, and training that it needs, to be able to conduct effective offensive operations this spring and summer," Sullivan said. "We have delivered what we promised, we have given Ukraine what it needs based on close consultations between our military and theirs, and now, we have turned to discussions about improving the Ukrainian Air Force as part of our long term commitment to Ukraine self defense."

Sullivan suggested that the fighter jets were part of that commitment, and that as the training unfolds, in the coming months, the United Stated would work with allies to determine details about delivery of the jets, including how many would be sent.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko criticized the move Saturday. "We see that Western countries are still adhering to the escalation scenario," he was quoted as saying by the state news agency, Tass. "This scenario involves colossal risks for themselves," he added.

Colin Kahl, the Pentagon's top policy official, previously told Congress that training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s could take about 18 months. Other U.S. defense officials have said the training could be shortened to only six to nine months based on pilots' previous training and knowledge of fighter aircraft.

In his appearance before the House Armed Services Committee, Kahl said that it could cost up to $11 billion to revitalize Ukraine's military with F-16 jets. G-7 leaders have not announced who would pay to provide Ukraine with the planes.

In March, NBC News reported that two Ukrainian pilots were in the U.S. undergoing an assessment to determine how long it could take to train them to fly attack aircraft, including F-16s. Washington had also approved bringing up to 10 more Ukrainian pilots to the U.S. for further assessment.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Elizabeth R. Cantwell speaks during a Utah Board of Higher Education meeting after being introduced as the new president of Utah State University on Friday in Logan. | Eli Lucero, Herald Journal

After a nationwide search, Elizabeth Betsy Cantwell has been selected as the 17th president of Utah State University.

Cantwells selection was ratified by unanimous vote of the Utah Board of Higher Education late Friday afternoon after spending most of the day in executive session on USUs Logan campus interviewing three finalists for the position. The board has sole authority to hire and fire presidents of the states public degree-granting universities and colleges and technical colleges.

Cantwell is responsible for an $825 million annual research portfolio and her responsibilities include the 1,268-acre University of Arizona Tech Park. The U.A. Tech Parks contribute $1.7 billion annually to the regional economy.

Earlier, she worked at Arizona State University where she was vice president for research development and CEO of the ASU Research Enterprise, a nonprofit organization dedicated to translating research.

Earlier in her career, Cantwell served at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as director for economic development and director for engineering mission Strategy as well as working at Tennessees Oak Ridge and New Mexicos Los Alamos national laboratories.

Cantwell earned a master of business administration degree from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and bachelor degree in human behavior from the University of Chicago.

Elizabeth R. Cantwell applauds after being introduced as the new president of Utah State University on Friday in Logan. | Eli Lucero, Herald Journal

This woman is extremely qualified and very impressive and youre going to love her, said Utah Board of Higher Education Chairwoman Lisa Michele Church.

Cantwell is a national leader of incredible caliber. Im so excited to see what happens next, Church said.

Kent Alder, USU Board of Trustees chairman and co-chairman of the presidential search committee, said in a statement that Cantwell has excellent leadership experience outside of higher education that completes her skill set. She has been successful in many roles in her career and will continue to do so. Her background in research is very impressive and simply adds to her qualifications.

Cantwell said she is enormously grateful to the board for their faith in me. I will do everything in my power to step into a place that has been basically made beautiful by President (Noelle) Cockett and move us all forward into what is truly an incredible future for Utah State University and for the state of Utah.

On May 17, the finalists met with groups representing faculty, staff, students, trustees, statewide campuses, extension and administration. Later that day, they each participated in public meetings where the candidates introduced themselves to members of the campus community and fielded their questions.

Cantwell and her husband traveled to Logan a couple of days ahead of her scheduled meetings and we have had the best week, she said.

She thanked the board for its faith in her. I will do everything to make good on my capacity to serve that faith, she said.

Cantwell succeeds Cockett, who has led the Logan-based university and its statewide campuses since 2017. She is the first woman to serve as its president. Cockett announced in November 2022 that she would step down in July 2023.

Cockett is considered an international expert in sheep genomics research. Prior to serving as USUs president, she was USUs executive vice president and provost.

We also want to thank Noelle Cockett for the amazing service that she has given to the university, not only her six years as president, but her incredible decades of service in being a professor and vice president and dean and all the things that she did so well, said Church.

Church said a 19-member search committee appointed in December spent months and months and many, many hours in this effort.

Elizabeth R. Cantwell speaks during a Utah Board of Higher Education meeting after being introduced as the new president of Utah State University on Friday in Logan. | Eli Lucero, Herald Journal

Related

The other finalists were former University of Southern Mississippi President Rodney D. Bennett and Vice President for USU Extension and dean of the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences Kenneth Ken L. White.

USU is a land-grant, public research university that was founded in 1888. It serves nearly 28,000 students on its main campus in Logan and eight campuses across the state.

Utah State University is a Carnegie-recognized R1 institution. R1 universities are considered at the forefront of research and innovation and receive federal and private funding for their academic research.

USUs mission is to be one of the nations premier student-centered land-grant and space-grant universities by fostering the principle that academics come first, by cultivating diversity of thought and culture, and by serving the public through learning, discovery and engagement, according to the university website.
A U.S. citizen and Army veteran, Nicholas Maimer, was killed in Ukraine, his uncle confirmed this week.

Maimer, a former Green Beret, previously said he went there to help train Ukrainians in how to defend themselves. In an interview with the Idaho Statesman last year, Maimer said he felt a "calling" to help in Ukraine after Russia invaded. Before the invasion, he had been teaching English in Spain.

"I think this is one of the most clear-cut unjust invasions in recent history," he told the newspaper. "It's really obvious to everybody that it's an unjustified invasion. So I felt like my moral compass just pointed me towards it."

The nonprofit organization he appeared to be working with in Ukraine said it did not have any verified details about his death.

The Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary company, posted photos of Maimer's identification cards on Telegram, including his Idaho driver's license, U.S. Uniformed Services ID and Department of Veterans Affairs ID.

According to his LinkedIn, Maimer retired from the U.S. military in 2018 after more than 22 years.

A State Department spokesman said, "We are aware of those reports of the death of a U.S. citizen in Bakhmut and we are continuing to seek additional confirmation." The department added that it continues to warn U.S. citizens not to travel to Ukraine due to the armed conflict.

This photograph taken on April 23, 2023, shows residential buildings damaged by shelling in the frontline city of Bakhmut amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. / Credit: ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images

Bakhmut, a city on the front lines in eastern Ukraine, has been the scene of fierce fighting for months, with Ukrainian forces battling to fend off a Russian advance that the Kremlin views as key to its war efforts. Ukraine has recently claimed to be gaining ground.

A CBS News team visited a lookout point near the city in March and spoke with Ukrainian forces involved in the fighting to hold Bakhmut. "If the Russians take Bakhmut then Ukraine will be at a serious breaking point," said Vladyslav, a member of a tank unit. "It will be hard to get them out of there, and they will have many roads under control, so it will not be possible to bring supplies to our people."

Imtiaz Tyab, Agnes Reau, Tucker Reals and Olivia Gazis contributed reporting.

Syrian President Assad attends Arab League Summit

Mother describes bullying endured by son before suicide

How a U.S. debt default could throw world markets into chaos
From sunglasses to milking machines, US halts more exports to Russia

By Karen Freifeld

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration halted the export of a wide range of consumer goods to Russia on Friday and added 71 companies to a trade blacklist, as the Group of Seven wealthy nations announced new sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.

The new curbs targeted items that can be used to help Russia's military, including items used in daily life like clothes dryers, snow plows and milking machines, which the U.S. thinks could be repurposed to support Moscow's war machine.

"You can't even ship contact lenses or sunglasses now," said Washington lawyer Kevin Wolf, a former U.S. Commerce department official, as he reviewed the new rules. Wolf said "it would be simpler to describe the items that are not controlled for export to Russia."

The blacklisted companies include 69 Russian entities, one from Armenia and one from Kyrgyzstan. They were added to the Commerce Department's "Entity List," primarily for supporting Russia's military and defense sectors, making it even harder to ship any goods to them.

The targeted companies include aircraft repair and parts production plants, gunpowder, tractor and automobile factories, shipyards and engineering centers in Russia.

The actions are part of the latest round of unprecedented sanctions and export controls by the United States and a coalition of 37 other countries in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, designed to degrade Moscow's industrial base and its ability to sustain the war.

"We will continue to impose costs on the Kremlin for continuing this war both by further restricting their access to additional items, as well as through aggressive enforcement," Under Secretary of Commerce Alan Estevez said in a statement that summarized the additional sanctions.

The new rules build on controls already in place on Russia's industrial, commercial, chemical and biological sectors, adding a variety of electronics, instruments and carbon fibers, as well as chemicals including fentanyl and its precursors.

They also expand the list of foreign-produced items that require a license for Russia, Belarus and Iran to further limit Tehran's ability to provide Russia with drones.

Doug Jacobson, a Washington trade lawyer, noted that some newly restricted items may be controversial. "Due to the broad scope of the new controls, licenses are now required to export items such as hearing aids, false teeth, and artificial joints," he said.

The new moves came as the United States and the rest of the "Group of Seven" major economies agreed to stiffen sanctions against Russia as they meet in Japan.

Matthew Axelrod, the Commerce Department's Assistant Secretary for Enforcement, said the U.S. is making it a priority to enforce controls on items that contribute to Russian weapons systems such as missiles and drones.

When a company is found to have engaged in evasion, Axelrod said in the statement, "we will use all of our authorities...to shut it down."

Last week, a Greek man was arrested in Paris and charged by New York prosecutors with smuggling U.S.-origin military technologies to Russia while he was operating as a defense contractor for NATO.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld and Susan Heavey; Writing by Chris Sanders; Editing by Doina Chiacu, Kirsten Donovan, Elaine Hardcastle)
By Richard Cowan, Moira Warburton and Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON/HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) -A second meeting on Friday between White House and Republican congressional negotiators on raising the federal government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling broke up with no progress cited by either side and no additional meeting set.

That came at the end of a day of acrimonious talks that were broken off for several hours, with less than two weeks to go before June 1, when the Treasury Department warned that the federal government could be unable to pay all its debts. That would trigger a calamitous default.

While the White House acknowledged that "serious differences" remained with Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, President Joe Biden said he still believed a default could be avoided.

"I still believe we'll be able to avoid a default and we'll get something decent done," Biden told reporters in Hiroshima, Japan, where he is attending a meeting of leaders of the Group of Seven rich nations.

Republicans have said they would not approve an increase in the federal government's borrowing limit without agreement on sharp spending cuts.

"There continues to be real ... differences between the parties on these issues," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters earlier, also in Hiroshima.

The lead Republican in the talks said no progress had been made on Friday.

"We had a very, very candid discussion talking about where we are, talking about where things need to be," Republican Representative Garret Graves told reporters following a second brief meeting in the Capitol with White House officials.

"This wasn't a negotiation tonight," Graves said, adding the timing of the next meeting was not set.

He echoed remarks by House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy that progress needed to be made on changing the "trajectory" of U.S. government deficit spending and rapidly rising debt.

"We have to spend less than the year before," McCarthy said.

The talks have hung over Biden's meeting with world powers in Japan.

A second Republican negotiator, Representative Patrick McHenry, said he was not confident the two sides could meet McCarthy's goal of reaching a deal this weekend, which could then be presented to Congress for passage in coming days.

Senior White House adviser Steve Ricchetti left the meeting room telling reporters that he was "not assessing" the talks.

A meeting earlier on Friday ended abruptly with McCarthy telling reporters there had not been any "movement" from the White House toward Republican demands.

U.S. stocks closed the week on a soft note after news of the stalled negotiations.

Republicans are pushing for sharp spending cuts in exchange for the increase in the government's self-imposed borrowing limit, a move needed regularly to cover costs of spending and tax cuts previously approved by lawmakers.

Republicans control the House of Representatives by a 222-213 margin, while Biden's Democrats have a 51-49 Senate majority, making it difficult to thread the needle with a deal that will find enough votes to pass both chambers.

Democrats have been pushing to hold spending steady at this year's levels, while Republicans want to return to 2022 levels. A plan passed by the House last month would cut a wide swath of government spending by 8% next year.

That plan does not specify what spending would be cut, but some Republicans have said they would shield military and veterans programs. Democrats say that would force average cuts of at least 22% on domestic programs like education and law enforcement, a figure top Republicans have not disputed.

Some Republicans have criticized Biden for taking the trip to Japan at a key point in the talks.

Biden and McCarthy spent most of the year in an impasse with the White House insisting on a "clean" increase in the debt ceiling without conditions. Republicans said they would only vote for a deal that cut spending.

They agreed to two-way talks, with the White House represented by Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Ricchetti. McCarthy was represented by Graves and McHenry.

Republicans have taken a hard line. On Thursday, the House Freedom Caucus urged the Senate to vote on a previously passed House bill that would raise the limit through March in exchange for 10 years of sharp spending cuts.

House and Senate Democrats have raised concern over the inclusion in the talks of new work requirements for some federal benefit programs for low-income Americans.

The last time the nation got this close to default was in 2011, also with a Democratic president and Senate alongside a Republican-led House.

Congress eventually averted default, but the economy endured heavy shocks, including the first-ever downgrade of the United States' top-tier credit rating and a major stock sell-off.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan, Steve Holland, Andrea Shalal, Moira Warburton, Katharine Jackson, Doina Chiacu, Jeff Mason and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Scott Malone, Leslie Adler and William Mallard)
Black smoke and fire at Omdurman market in Omdurman, Sudan, May 15. Credit - Reuters

The conflict in Sudan is rapidly escalating, already killing close to 1,000 people (some estimates go as high as 2,000 in West Darfur alone) and forcing nearly 1 million people to flee their homesall at the hands of two generals, Abdul-Fattah al-Burhan, leading the Sudanese Armed Forces, and his erstwhile ally Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, or Hemedti, heading the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. In response to the mounting death and destruction, the Biden Administration has authorized sanctions against individuals and entities destabilizing Sudan and undermining its democratic transition. But the executive order issued earlier this month remains mere words, and until it is implemented and targets the main perpetrators of the war and their financial networks, the U.S. will continue its failed policy on Sudan.

The Biden Administration drafted the initial version of the executive order after the October 2021 coup in Sudan, which consolidated power in the hands of the military generals, rupturing Sudans democratic transition. The administration, however, never released it to avoid rocking the boat with Burhan and Hemedti. That decision meant blindly placing faith in the two generals to resolve their differences and usher in a peaceful democracy, despite their two-decade history of committing atrocities with impunity in Sudan.

From 2003 to 2008, Burhan and Hemedti orchestrated mass atrocities in Darfur in a conflict that killed over 300,000, forcibly displaced more than 3 million, and resulted in the only genocide charge ever issued by the International Criminal Court against Sudans longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2010. In 2019, following the popular uprising precipitating a military coup, Bashir was removed from power, and a Transitional Military Council (TMC) was established. Burhan chaired the council, and Hemedti served as his deputy. The two generals portrayed themselves as the guardians of the glorious Sudan revolution. They even arrested Bashir and senior members of his regime. Soon, however, their forces massacred pro-democracy protesters in Khartoum in front of the military headquarters.

The TMC and the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), an umbrella group that led the pro-democracy protests, negotiated a political agreement to form a civilian-led government, according to which the Transitional Sovereign Council (TSC) was set up. The TSC then appointed Abdallah Hamdok as Prime Minister in 2020. Though a civilian government was established, power largely remained in the hands of Burhan and Hemedti. Then, in October 2021, the generals violently seized control of the country in a military couparresting Hamdok and the majority of his cabinet, as well as disbanding the TSC.

Despite all this, the U.S. has only sanctioned one Sudanese entity since the coup, a lower-level police unit called Sudans Central Reserve Police for its use of excessive force against demonstrators. This is a stark contrast to the nearly 3,000 Russian individuals or entities currently sanctioned by the U.S., and the imposition this week of U.S. visa bans on individuals undermining Nigerias democratic process during the 2023 general elections.

Sudanese refugees women, who fled the violence in their country and who were waiting desperately for food distribution, dodge the soldiers attempting to hold them back to grab bags of provision when they saw that supplies brought by a Turkish aid group (IHH) were running out, near the border between Sudan and Chad on May 7. Zohra BensemraReuters

The Biden Administration can do more. The financial networks sustaining the current conflict can be directly traced and targeted, as already exposed by independent investigations carried out by Clingendael Institute, Global Witness, and others. Such sanctions would redeem the U.S. image before the people of Sudan and reinforce its role as mediator because they would be applied equally and neutrally to all parties implicated in the ongoing violence. And they could force a change in Burhan and Hemedtis calculus, isolate them, and cut them off from the financial flows that fund the war.

Such an action is sorely needed given the scale of the crisis in Sudan. The country faces imminent environmental, water, and health catastrophes. The healthcare system is on the verge of collapse, with 70% of hospitals near battlegrounds now out of service. The situation is even more dire in a country with 1.3 million refugees and over 4 million internally displaced people living in precarious conditions. A third of the population had already been dependent on humanitarian aid before the fighting; now more than half of Sudan, or 25 million people, are in need of aid and protection. Yet international humanitarian groups have largely withdrawn from the country due to safety concerns.

As this conflict drags on, the people of Darfur face an even more frightening situation beyond the reach of international observers. The longstanding fragility of the regions security was exacerbated by the withdrawal of the U.N. African Mission in Darfur without alternative forces in place to protect civilians and humanitarian workers. Given the power vacuum, Darfur is at increased risk of an influx of Sub-Saharan terrorist groups and conflict along ethnic lines between what is perceived as Arab and non-Arab African ethnic groups.

People stand next to a trench in Khartoum amid ongoing fighting between the forces of two rival generals on May 18. AFP/Getty Images

Yet sanctions are hardly the only tool at the Biden Administrations disposal. The U.S. and its allies should engage directly with the grassroots democracy movement as the rightful stewards of a future, peaceful Sudan. The international community should also support local resistance committees and community leaders who have most effectively protected and provided for the vulnerable. Meanwhile, key diplomatic players can work to permanently cease hostilities, open humanitarian safe zones, and protect aid groups.

The U.S. has an opportunity to reverse its past mistakes vis-a-vis Sudan and lead its allies in a concerted effort to target the funding underpinning this war, instead of standing by as Burhan and Hemedti commit open atrocities. The international community has common sense tools at their disposal to immediately impose costs on the individuals waging this war and prevent further destruction. At this critical juncture, the U.S. and its allies can choose to perpetuate 20 years of impunity or chart a new path forward and prioritize the dignity of human life. The choice is an obvious one.
'You have to fight for the right to exist for yourself,' Kwagala said

A Ugandan LGBT activist said on Friday they planned to return to their home country next week despite fears of reprisal after the approval of a new anti-gay law.

DeLovie Kwagala, who is non-binary and prefers the pronoun 'they', has been living in South Africa since 2021.

But next week the activist and photographer also known as Papa De, said they will have to travel back to Uganda, where same-sex relations are illegal, as their visa is expiring and cannot be renewed from within the country.

"I'm going home in just a couple days," Kwagala told AFP in an interview on Friday, saying the prospect made them jittery.

Anyone who "knowingly promotes homosexuality" faces up to 20 years in jail under a new law passed by the Ugandan parliament earlier this month.

The legislation -- an amended version of a previous draft that triggered an outcry from Western governments and rights groups -- is awaiting approval by President Yoweri Museveni.

"The bill is self explanatory," said Kwagala, adding that they feared arrest.

- The 'right to exist' -

Police already threatened to detain the activist last year, forcing an abandonment of similar plans for a homecoming, Kwagala said, speaking from a Johannesburg home.

Despite the renewed danger, Kwagala said they did not want to apply for asylum in South Africa, preferring to travel back to Uganda instead because they did not want to live as a refugee.

"You have to fight for the right to exist for yourself," Kwagala said, sporting colourful braids and a green jacket over a bright green top.

Under the new bill "engaging in acts of homosexuality" would be an offence punishable with life imprisonment and repeat offenders could be sentenced to death for "aggravated homosexuality".

Uganda has not resorted to capital punishment for many years.

An earlier version of the law criminalised identifying as gay but was sent back to parliament by Museveni, who can again choose to use his veto.

Homosexuality was criminalised in Uganda under colonial laws, but there has never been a conviction for consensual same-sex activity since independence from Britain in 1962.

cld/ub/sn/jj
The U.K. and Norway on Thursday agreed to bolster cooperation to counter underwater threats amid concern that Russian spies are intent on targeting the NATO allies.

Speaking to reporters, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace claimed Russia has "a specific naval program designed to both look at and potentially sabotage or attack critical infrastructure belonging to its adversaries."

The British defense minister also said the Russian program has a number of submarines and "spy ships" that are "specifically designed" to wreak havoc on critical infrastructure.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace during a press conference with Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram at Permanent Joint HQ in Northwood.

UK, GERMANY PRESSURE US TO DECIDE ON F-16 FIGHTER JETS FOR UKRAINE

The push to safeguard critical infrastructure comes some nine months after the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were damaged in late September, resulting in what may have been the greatest methane leak to date off the coast of Denmark in the Baltic Sea.

Prosecutors investigating the incident found traces of explosives on "foreign objects" near the damaged pipelines in what they described as evidence of "gross sabotage."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Moscow has not been directly identified as being behind the incident that stopped natural gas from running from Russia to Europe, though Western officials have suspected the Kremlin, particularly given its tendency to attack critical infrastructure.

Russia has called on the United Nations Security Council to investigate September's alleged sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

UK CONSIDERS FIGHTER JET COALITION WITH UKRAINE AS ZELENSKYY MEETS WITH PRIME MINISTER

On Thursday, Wallace said the U.K. and Norway were responding to the threats posed by Russia by jointly increasing efforts to protect the network of critical cables and pipelines that run through the North Sea.

The defense minister said that systems critical to the functioning of Western societies like oil, gas and electric systems, are "vulnerable" and "need to be protected."

The U.K. in July will launch a ship, RAF Proteus, with the sole purpose of patrolling areas with undersea infrastructure, particularly between Norway and the United Kingdom, where gas pipelines, wind farms and electronic cables run.

"What we can say without doubt is that Russia has the intent and the capability to target the Wests critical infrastructure," Wallace added. "We have to have the intent and capability to defend it."
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain published plans to ban imports of Russian diamonds, copper, aluminium and nickel on Friday and announced new sanctions against Russia, targeting companies connected to the suspected theft of Ukrainian grain.

The United States and Canada also announced new penalties on Russia over its war against Ukraine. Washington imposed sanctions on gold producer Polyus and the Russian business of its peer, Polymetal, which would further damage Russian gold sales already hit by Western sanctions and restrictions.

The UK import ban, however, will only have a muted impact as Russian exports of those commodities to the UK have already dropped after the imposition of tariffs.

"We will legislate later this year to ban imports of Russian diamonds, and end all imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel," British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement.

Data shows Britain imported only a small proportion of its aluminium, nickel and diamonds from Russia.

Last March the British government placed 35% additional duties on imports of Russian base metals. Then the London Metal Exchange (LME) suspended deliveries of Russian copper, aluminium, nickel and lead into its approved warehouses in Britain, although there was none stored in them.

"The LME will closely monitor the latest development for further details and will communicate to the market in due course should the LME consider any further action is required beyond the suspension that is already in place," it said on Friday.

Russia is a major producer of aluminium, nickel and diamonds. Britain's import ban plans were announced before the G7 nations discuss how to trace Russia's diamond trade with the aim of imposing restrictions at a later stage.

"The global market is fluid, rich in alternative destinations," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday, when asked about possible future diamond restrictions in the European Union.

Russia is also one of the world's largest producers of gold, along with China and Australia.

The latest U.S. penalties on its two major gold miners' operations come on top of sanctions on major Russian banks, which used to be the main gold exporters from the country before the war, and June's ban by Britain, the United States, Japan and Canada of new imports of Russian gold.

The ban was imposed when Russian exports to the West had already dried up as the Russian gold trade, according to industry players, was rerouted to Asia, where most countries have not imposed sanctions on Russia.

U.S. sanctions target only the Russia-based part of Polymetal - Polimetall AO - and do not apply to the parent company, Polymetal International PLC, which is based on Jersey island and owns assets in Kazakhstan.

In May, Polymetal asked its shareholders to approve re-domiciling to Kazakhstan from Jersey as it hopes to separate its Russian and Kazakh businesses next year.

'SHADY ENTITIES'

Britain also targeted "shady individuals and entities" connected to the theft and resale of Ukrainian grain, something Russia has been accused of and has denied.

Targeting entities involved in grain trading is unusual as such activity typically comes under humanitarian exemptions. Both Russia and Ukraine are major grain exporters to Africa and the Middle East.

"This grain, and other agricultural goods, has been reportedly stolen from warehouses and fields in the temporarily occupied territories in Ukraine," the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement.

Russian nickel and copper producer Nornickel and Polymetal declined to comment. Aluminium producer Rusal, diamond miner Alrosa and Polyus did not reply to Reuters requests for comment.

(Reporting by Sarah Young, Pratima Desai, Eric Onstad, Polina Devitt, Jonathan Saul and Vladimir Soldatkin; writing by Polina Devitt; editing by Kate Holton, Nick Macfie and Grant McCool)
Another subsidiary of the Birla group, cement maker Ultratech, has already been in the sanctions news

According to NAZK, Birla Group, and its subsidiary, National Engineering Industries Limited, Qualify for the list due to Birla Groups sales of bearings to the Russian military-industrial complex, helping the Russian military substitute critical Western goods in their supply chains.

Read also: Ukraine lists worlds largest offshore drilling company as international sponsor of war

Bearings are critical part for many types of equipment: tanks, other armored and tracked vehicles, and aircraft. In addition, bearings are essential for the functioning of the railroad, the main method of transport for Russian logistics. Despite the apparent simplicity of this part, Russians are unable to produce bearings of sufficient quality and in sufficient quantity, NAZK said. In 2020 alone, Russia imported $419 million worth of bearings. 55% of this volume came from Europe and North America, and primarily from Germany - 16%.

After Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine, European and American bearing manufacturers left the Russian market. Due to the lack of these parts, Uralvagonzavod and Omsktransmash, the main tank-building and tank-repair enterprises of the Russian Federation, completely shut down. Significant problems arose in the design of airplanes, ships, and train maintenance.

Read also: Ukraine declares Xiaomi Corporation international sponsor of war

CK Birla Group and its NBC Bearings brand, stepped in to fill the gap left by the exit of Western firms, NAZK says. According to customs data, for the period from April 2022 to March 2023, NBC Bearings' share in the import of bearings from India to Russia was 38.4%, totaling $12.3 million. The main buyer in Russia was the European Bearing Corporation group of companies, a Russian industrial conglomerate whose products are actively used in the manufacture of locomotives, aircraft, missile systems and other military equipment.

"We call on this company and other manufacturers of dual-use goods to refuse to supply products to the terrorist state of Russia," said NACP head Oleksandr Novikov.

You can still avoid becoming a cog, or rather a bearing, in Putin's military machine. It's never too late to give up this bloody profit.

Another subsidiary of CK Birla Group, cement producer Ultratech, has already been sanctioned for purchasing coal from Russia's SUEK for yuan to circumvent dollar sanctions. All these facts confirm the company's support and sponsorship of Russian terrorism, NAZK stressed.

Earlier, the NAZK designated the following companies international sponsors of war: Procter & Gamble, OpenWay Group, Danieli, TMS Tankers Ltd, Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd., Leroy Merlin, ComNav Technology, Mondi Group/Mondi PLC, eKassir, Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry, Bonduelle, Auchan Holding, Metro Cash & Carry, Buzzi Unicem, Yves Rocher, Xiaomi, and OTP Bank.

Read also: Ukraine declares Raiffeisen Bank international sponsor of war

Inclusion in the list of international sponsors of war adds the company to the World-Check database, which keeps track of high-risk individuals and organizations and is used worldwide to identify and manage financial, regulatory and reputational risks. Interaction with the World-Check database is intended to protect the international financial sector from the sponsors of the Russian war effort, cooperation with whom can be damaging for socially responsible businesses.

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
Senior CPC official meets Portuguese Communist Party delegation

Xinhua) 09:16, May 19, 2023

Shi Taifeng, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, meets with a delegation led by Paulo Raimundo, general secretary of the Portuguese Communist Party, in Beijing, capital of China, May 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jie)

BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Shi Taifeng, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), met with a delegation led by Paulo Raimundo, general secretary of the Portuguese Communist Party, in Beijing on Thursday.

Shi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, said the CPC is willing to deepen exchanges and cooperation with the Portuguese Communist Party, strengthen mutual learning, and push for the continued development of the China-Portugal comprehensive strategic partnership.

Raimundo spoke highly of China's development achievements, expressing his willingness to learn from the CPC's experience in national governance.

Shi Taifeng, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, meets with a delegation led by Paulo Raimundo, general secretary of the Portuguese Communist Party, in Beijing, capital of China, May 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jie)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
LUANDA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Angola's Criminal Investigation Service (SIC) announced on Friday that it had seized 45 kg of cocaine originating from Brazil at the port of Luanda, the national capital, and arrested seven Angolan citizens.

According to a SIC statement, the drugs were concealed in 34 packages within the cooling fans of three refrigerated containers of frozen chicken. Of the seven detained, four were employees of the port terminal, while the other three were intermediaries for the alleged drug owner.

This year, the SIC has seized over 75 kg of cocaine, primarily at the Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport and the port of Luanda, resulting in the arrest of 18 Angolan and foreign nationals, according to local media. 
Press Secretary of the Air Force Command Yuriy Ihnat

Read also: Ukraine has airfields that can accommodate F-16 fighters  Ihnat

We did not announce this...; when we shoot down something, we announce it on our own page, reflected in our infographics, Ihnat told Radio Liberty on May 19.

We did not announce it, so this came from someone else, as they say.

Citing unnamed U.S. officials, CNN, reported that in recent weeks, Ukrainian air defense forces had shot down at least one Russian military aircraft using a U.S.-made Patriot missile defense system. The enemy bomber was reportedly preparing to launch cruise missiles at the country.

According to Ukraines General Staff, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has lost 308 aircraft.

Read also: Russia has launched about 8,000 missiles against Ukraine since start of invasion, air force says

On May 13, two Russian military helicopters and two war planes crashed over Russias Bryansk Oblast. According to pro-Russian military bloggers, the aircraft were shot down with anti-air weapons, killing nine crew members.

On May 16, Russia attempted to destroy a Patriot battery in Kyiv with six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. All of them were intercepted by the air defense system, although it did sustain minor damage, likely from the falling debris of the destroyed incoming missiles.

Moscows Defense Ministry, nevertheless, subsequently claimed the destruction of five Patriot launchers and a multifunctional radar station.

Read also: U.S. to help Ukraine fill arms gaps if necessary, says Blinken

On May 18, U.S. Department of Defense confirmed that the damage sustained by a Patriot battery in Ukraine has already been repaired, and the system was fully operational.

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 needs American-made F-16s if it's going to stop Russia's invasion once and for all, a defense expert says. NATO now seems to be giving in.

The US will allow allies to export F-16s to Ukraine and will assist in training pilots, but that's as far as Biden's willing to go. KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine could finally get the F-16 fighter jets it's been begging for.

A defense expert told Insider the jets would be vital in Ukraine's current and future plans.

But the Center for Strategic and International Studies expert said the delay may have "dragged" the war on.

Ukraine may finally get the American-made F-16 fighter jets it's been begging for, but there's one caveat: Kyiv's forces won't be getting those prized jets from the US itself, for now.

Still, the jets are vital for Ukraine's war efforts, defense experts told Insider, giving Kyiv the firepower it needs to bolster its current and future fleets.

"Part of what Ukraine is struggling with is not just a current war in eastern and southern Ukraine, but also a desire not to have the Russians do this again in the foreseeable future," said Seth G. Jones, senior vice president, Harold Brown chair, and director of the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Ukraine sees the fighter jets as indispensable, Jones said, and it is thinking on a longer-term basis than friendly nations in the West.

"It's not just trying to retake some limited territory but also having advanced weapons systems so the Russians don't do this again in a year, or two years, or three years," Jones told Insider.

"If the US starts to look at victory in Ukraine as, in part, making sure the Russians don't do this again in the foreseeable future, then aircrafts are a critical part of this," he added.

Ukraine currently relies on older, Soviet-made jets, including MiG-29s, that have been under a lot of stress and pressure over the past 15 months of the war, Jones said.

"The F-16s are just more advanced aircrafts, both for air-to-air missions and air-to-ground missions."

Other experts agreed, previously telling Insider that F-16s are the best option for countering Russia's fleets.

David Deptula, a retired US Air Force lieutenant general who planned the Desert Storm air campaign, said Ukraine can't practically take out Russian fighters before they get airborne so they'll need to rely on air-to-air combat.

"The sooner we get fighters into the hands of Ukraine's combat-experienced fighter pilots, the greater Ukraine's chances of success," Deptula said.

Giving Ukraine the firepower it needs in the air is also critical to support its ground campaigns, Jones added, as it would be for any other military power. "The US would never conduct military operations of this type without a joint campaign that is relying on a combination of naval assets, ground-based assets, air-based assets, as well as space and cyber," Jones said.

Biden's concerns over sending F-16s may have "dragged" the war on

Two US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons. US Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Matthew Lotz

The debate over whether to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine has lasted months. This week's news that the UK and Netherlands would work to form an "international coalition" to procure the jets, and the US would authorize its allies to send F-16s and help train pilots marks a stark shift from the stalemate of the spring and winter.

It was a major step forward in getting Ukraine F-16s and appeared to show that Biden and US officials  who have long rejected the idea of giving Kyiv the jets  were either gradually reversing their stances or succumbing to international, NATO, and Congressional pressure.

The shift hints at a changing approach to supporting Ukraine, possibly thanks to its forces' success on the battlefield.

And while it's not too-little-too-late, Jones said, Ukraine has needed those jets for almost a year now. Getting them fighter jets as early as possible  similar to Biden's flip-flopped decision to send US Abrams tanks earlier this year  could have given Ukraine the edge they needed.

"It would have been better to have had them earlier, and it may have dragged the conflict out more than it otherwise needed to be," Jones said.

The Biden's administration likely had multiple concerns about sending F-16s. Providing the jets will be a logistical challenge as well.

"You're selling more than a jet, you're selling the entire logistics tail that goes with it," Jones said.

Training pilots on how to operate the modern jets is another issue, Ukrainian pilots recently proved they could master F-16s four times faster than Pentagon officials originally thought.

It's likely that one of Biden's biggest concerns was Russian retaliation. But with the Russian military shattered and isolated from the rest of the world, there's little left for Russian President Vladimir Putin to do other than threaten, Jones said.

"I think at virtually every stage of this war, concerns about escalation and what Russia might do have proven unfounded and really, there's not much the Russians can do at this point other than threaten," Jones said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
(Bloomberg) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Saudi Arabia to address an Arab League summit and to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Most Read from Bloomberg

From there, he heads to Japan for the Group of Seven meeting. Very important things will be approved in Hiroshima, thats why our presidents attendance is absolutely necessary, Ukraines National Security and Defence Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said on Ukrainian TV.

Group of Seven countries agreed to work together to track Russian diamonds, but stopped short of slapping Moscow with an outright ban on the lucrative gem trade.

Latest coverage

Zelenskiy Attends Arab Leaders Summit That Includes Putin Allies

Tycoons Bids Value Russian Search Giant Yandex at $7 Billion

Ukraine Says It Shot Down 16 Drones, Three Missiles Overnight

Ukraine Leader Zelenskiy to Visit Hiroshima G-7 in Person

Russia Is Adapting Arms and Tactics Ahead of Ukraine Offensive

G-7 Restricts More Goods But Avoids Near-Total Russia Export Ban

Coming Up

Friday: Zelenskiy at Arab League summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Start of G-7 meeting in Hiroshima, Japan

Sunday: Ukraine meeting at G-7, Zelenskiy expected

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
14-year-old Veronika, who was illegally taken to Russia

According to the official, the girl, Veronika, is already at home with her legal guardian  her grandmother.

We know what a difficult path the woman went through to return her granddaughter to the territory of Ukraine, the ombudsman said.

Fortunately, we succeeded this time.

Lubinets added the girl would undergo rehabilitation and receive all necessary medical and humanitarian assistance.

On March 17, the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Netherlands issued arrest warrants for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and his childrens rights ombudsman, Maria Lvova-Belova. They are both wanted for the forcible abduction of children from Ukraine to Russia.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe passed a resolution on April 27 which recognized the forced abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia as genocide.

Russians have stolen almost 20,000 Ukrainian children from occupied Ukrainian territories.

On Feb. 26, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree imposing sanctions against Russians involved in the abduction of Ukrainian children.

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 high likely redeployed troops to the key battle town of Bakhmut after Ukraine forces made tactical gains there, Britains Ministry of Defence has said.

It comes amid doubts about the commitment of fighters in Bakhmut belonging to the Russian mercenary group Wagner, whose leader has become increasingly critical of the Kremlin.

Elsewhere, Volodymyr Zelensky is en route to Japan for the Hiroshima G7 summit aboard a French government plane as he marks his first high-level visit to Asia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.

It is not immediately clear when the Ukrainian war-time president will arrive in Hiroshima but he is expected to arrive today, according to a statement by the Japanese government.

His visit comes after a massive boost for Ukraines ammunition plan against the Russian invasion as US President Joe Biden told G7 leaders that Washington supports joint allied training programs for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, in a significant endorsement as Kyiv seeks to boost its air power against Russia.

Key Points

Ukraine making tactical gains near Bakhmut

Zelensky will reach G7 summit on French government plane  report

US to provide F-16 fighter jets in battle against Putin

Kyiv destroys all drones launched overnight, official claims

Wagner chief again claims his forces close to capturing Bakhmut

Ukraine deputy defence minister says Russia on offensive in Bakhmut

Zelensky urges Saudi Arabia not to turn blind eye to Putins invasion

Zelensky will reach G7 summit on French government plane, report claims

05:29 , Matt Mathers

Volodymyr Zelensky will reach the Hiroshima G7 summit aboard a French government plane, reported CNN citing a diplomatic source.

It is not immediately clear when the Ukrainian war-time president will arrive in Hiroshima but he is expected to reach today, according to a statement by the Japan government.

This comes a day after Mr Zelensky reached Jeddah to attend the Arab League summit also aboard a French government plane, the French ambassador to Saudi Arabia said.

White House: Biden to discuss Ukraine with Brazils Lula, Indias Modi

07:20 , Matt Mathers

US President Joe Biden aims to speak this weekend with Brazils President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, about Ukraine and the "sacrosanct" issue of sovereignty and territorial integrity, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Saturday.

Lula and Modi are attending a summit of the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations in Hiroshima at the invitation of Japan, this years host of the G7, which also includes the US., Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada.

Asked if Biden would pressure or urge the two leaders to toughen their approach on China and Russia, Sullivan said, "I think pressure is just the wrong word. I mean, thats not how President Biden operates with these key leaders with whom he has deep relationships, like President Lula and President Modi."

Instead, Biden would "look for the opportunity to speak with both of them about the constructive role that each country can play in supporting the most basic and fundamental element of any outcome, which is sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is sacrosanct in the (United Nations) Charter," Sullivan told reporters in Hiroshima.

Putin redeploying several battalions to Bakhmut as capture remains key war aim  UK MoD

07:02 , Arpan Rai

Russia has highly likely redeployed up to several battalions to reinforce the Bakhmut sector in the last four days, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said today.

Russias leadership likely continue to see capturing Bakhmut as the key immediate war aim which would allow them to claim some degree of success in the conflict, the ministry said in its latest intelligence update on the continuing war.

It added that the amped up redeployment of several troops follows Ukrainian tactical gains on the flanks of the contested Donetsk Oblast town through mid-May and publicly aired doubts about the commitment of Wagner Group forces to continue fighting in the sector.

With Russia likely maintaining relatively few uncommitted combat units in Ukraine, the redeployment represents a notable commitment by the Russian command, the MoD said.

Britain says Russia will pay the price for Ukraine invasion

06:22 , Arpan Rai

Rishi Sunak has issued a warning to Vladimir Putin that he and other Western leaders are not going away, at the start of the G7 summit in Japan.

The prime minister said Russias president must understand that Western allies of Ukraine are steadfast in their support for the countrys resistance against his invasion.

My message to Putin is straightforward. Were not going away, Mr Sunak told Sky News at Hiroshimas Seifukan tea house shortly before the start of the summit.

Read the full story here:

Britain says Russia will pay the price for invasion as fresh sanctions unveiled

Russia puts International Criminal Court prosecutor on wanted list

06:08 , Arpan Rai

Russia has listed International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan on a wanted list following an ICC arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin over the forced deportation of Ukrainian children, independent Russian media publication Mediazona reported.

Mr Khans photo and personal information are visible on the Interior Ministrys database, listed as wanted on felony charges, the report added.

In early March, the ICC slapped arrest warrants for Mr Putin and Russias Childrens Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, holding themm allegedly responsible for the illegal transfer and deportation of children from Ukraine and the occupied territories to Russia during its full-scale invasion of the country since last February.

Fallen debris sparks fire in Dnipro, official says

05:33 , Arpan Rai

A fire has been caused by falling debris in the Dnipro district of the capital, Kyiv mayor Vitalii Klitschko said.

Fire on the roof of a 9-story building in one of the housing complexes in the Dnipro district. All services work on site. Information about the victims has not yet been received, he said.

Kyiv destroys all drones launched overnight, official claims

05:14 , Arpan Rai

The Ukrainian air defences have managed to shoot down all Russian drones launched overnight, the Kyiv city military administration said.

Air defenses in Kyiv intercepted all Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia, as per the preliminary information overnight on May 20, officials said.

Revealed: Boris Johnsons first words to Zelensky on night of Russia attack

05:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Volodymyr Zelensky told Boris Johnson I hope this is not the last time we speak at the dawn of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the former PMs comms chief.

Those were among the first words the pair shared during a 4am interaction on the night of the advance in February 2022, Guto Harri said, describing it as a man-to-man thing between the PM and the Ukrainian president.

Former GB News presenter Mr Harri told his Unprecedented podcast on Thursday that the two leaders were on the phone within minutes of Mr Johnson being woken to be told the news.

Revealed: Boris Johnsons first words to Zelensky on night of Russia attack

Remains of Marine veteran killed in Ukraine flown home to US

04:54 , Arpan Rai

The remains of a US marine veteran who was missing in Ukraine for more than a year have been returned to the United States and were headed to his hometown in eastern North Carolina.

A Turkish Airlines plane flying from Istanbul with the remains of retired Marine Capt Grady Kurpasi landed at New Yorks John F Kennedy International Airport in the early evening yesterday. They were loaded onto a private jet bound for Wilmington, North Carolina.

Kurpasi, a 50-year-old Iraq War veteran, volunteered in February 2022 to help evacuate Ukrainian residents and later fought in the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, according to the Weatherman Foundation, the group that located his remains and repatriated them.

Remains of Marine veteran killed in Ukraine flown home to US

Wagner chief again claims his forces close to capturing Bakhmut

04:44 , Arpan Rai

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian Wagner private army that is leading the assault on the city, said in a Telegram message that heavy, bloody battles were continuing and claimed his men were close to completing the capture of Bakhmut itself.

The Wagner chief has made similar claims in the past and followed it up with threats to pull out his mercenary force from Bakhmut due to lack of ammunition supply from Russia.

A Ukrainian mortar unit near the city told Reuters it had advanced this week, but was facing heavy fire from Russian forces who appeared to have significant strength in manpower and stocks of ammunition.

The fire was intensive this week. Our forces pushed forward a little, stopped near the canal. Its hard to push them (the Russians) out of there, said a soldier with the call sign Medvid, which means bear in Ukrainian.

The units troops said they were firing around 100 mortar rounds a day at Russian positions. They said their location could not be disclosed.

'Extremely fierce' fighting continues in Bakhmut, says Ukraine

04:22 , Arpan Rai

Russian forces had gained some ground inside Bakhmut but did not control the city in the latest war update from the frontline city in besieged eastern sector, deputy Ukrainian defence minister Hanna Malyar said.

Extremely fierce fighting continues in the area of Bakhmut. The enemy cannot win with quality, so he tries with quantity, she said in a Telegram post.

Russia had boosted its number of troops and amounts of ammunition, she said.

The rate of our troops advance in the suburbs of Bakhmut today is somewhat reduced. At the same time, the enemy is unable to regain lost positions  our soldiers repel all enemy attacks in this area, she said.

While the salt mining city holds little strategic value, Russia attaches significant symbolic value to it and has throw men and ammunition to capture it over the past 10 months.

Moscow regards its assault on Bakhmut as an important part of a campaign to capture the rest of the Donbas region.

US will support joint F-16 training effort for Ukrainian pilots  Biden to G7 allies

04:11 , Arpan Rai

Joe Biden has told leaders in Japan that the US will participate in the F-16 training, and that decisions on providing the jets to Ukraine will come later, officials in the US said.

It is not immediately clear if the US will simply allow other nations to send F-16s to Ukraine, or if the US will also send some.

There are also no estimates on how many jets will be provided to the war-hit nation and when will the deliveries be made.

Officials have acknowledged that it will not be in time for the anticipated spring offensive.

While they have added that the training will begin soon, it is not clear where it will be, how many pilots will be trained and what is going to be the duration of the training.

The US Air Force has two F-16 air wings in Europe: the 31st Fighter Wing at the Aviano Air Base in Italy and the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. The US also routinely sends F-16 fighters in and out of Europe on a rotational basis in smaller groups.

Zelensky to attend G7 Summit in person, confirms Japan

03:57 , Arpan Rai

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the Group of Seven (G7) Hiroshima summit in person tomorrow and hold a bilateral meeting with Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida during his stay, Japans foreign ministry confirmed today.

This comes amid conflicting messages from Kyiv on whether Mr Zelensky would attend the G7 in Japan in person or virtually. The secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defence Council said on national television the president would be there, but the council later walked back those remarks, saying Mr Zelensky would join via video link.

The presidents office has not confirmed either way for security reasons so far.

Mr Zelensky will take part in a session regarding peace and security alongside the G7 leaders and invited outreach countries, according to the foreign ministry.

The Ukrainian president is set to arrive in Hiroshima today, and is expected to hold bilateral meetings with other attendees of the G7 summit.

Not flying Zelensky to Japan for G7 meeting, says US

03:50 , Arpan Rai

The United States is not flying Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to Japan, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said today.

The top White House official added that it was a safe bet that Joe Biden would directly meet Mr Zelensky in Japan.

Mr Zelensky is set to make his first public appearance at the G7 summit in Japan since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia last year.

The Ukrainian leader will travel from Saudi Arabia to the G7 summit tomorrow, officials in Tokyo said. He will take part in the summits session with leaders and take part in a bilateral meeting with Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida.

This is also Mr Zelenskys first trip to Asia since the war broke out in Europe last year.

Putin claims West is trying to break up Russia into different states

03:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Vladimir Putin has said the West is trying to drive a wedge between different ethnic and national groups in Russia.

The Russian President said on Friday the West wants to break the country into lots of different states, according to Reuters.

He added that the more sanctions the West hits Russia with, the greater the level of cohesion within Russian society.

Putin claims West is trying to break up Russia into different states

The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary

02:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

It was a month into Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces had withdrawn from around Kyiv and in their wake Bel Trew and her team stumbled on a body by an abandoned Russian camp.

His hands were tied. He had been burned and shot in the back. Soldiers said he was a teenager.

As Bel tried to find out who he was and what had happened, she uncovered a nightmare world: a nation struggling to find thousands of its missing and to identify its dead.

The Body in the Woods by Bel Trew is streaming now on Independent TV and on your smart TV.

The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary

Zelensky accuses some Arab leaders of turning a blind eye to Russian invasion of Ukraine

01:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Volodymyr Zelensky has accused some Arab leaders of turning a blind eye to Russias invasion of his country.

The Ukrainian president on Friday attended an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia in an effort to seek support in the region for his war effort.

Appearing to evoke the Arab worlds own history of occupation, he said the leaders in the hall would understand that Ukraine will never submit to any foreigners or colonisers, adding: Thats why we fight.

But Mr Zelensky added: Unfortunately, there are some in the world, and here among you, who turn a blind eye to those [prisoner of war] cages and illegal annexations.

Im here so that everyone can take an honest look: no matter how hard the Russians try to influence, there must still be independence.

Zelensky accuses Arab leaders of turning a blind eye to Russian invasion of Ukraine

Ukraine says it repels attacks as Russia tries to retake land near Bakhmut

Saturday 20 May 2023 00:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine said on Friday it had repelled attacks by Russian forces trying to recapture land they had lost around the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, where Kyiv says it has inflicted heavy Russian casualties.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian Wagner private army that is leading the assault on the city, said in a Telegram message that heavy, bloody battles were continuing and claimed his men were close to completing the capture of Bakhmut itself.

He has though made over-optimistic military assessments in the past and Reuters was unable to verify his account.

A Ukrainian mortar unit near the city told Reuters it had advanced this week, but was facing heavy fire from Russian forces who appeared to have significant strength in manpower and stocks of ammunition.

The fire was intensive this week. Our forces pushed forward a little, stopped near the canal. Its hard to push them (the Russians) out of there, said a soldier with the call sign Medvid, which means bear in Ukrainian.

The units troops said they were firing around 100 mortar rounds a day at Russian positions. They said their location could not be disclosed.

Ukraine says it has made small advances this week on the flanks of the city in the industrial Donbas region even as Wagner has inched closer to capturing the city itself.

Deputy Ukrainian Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said the Russian forces had gained some ground inside Bakhmut but did not control the city.

Extremely fierce fighting continues in the area of Bakhmut. The enemy cannot win with quality, so he tries with quantity, she said in a Telegram post. Russia had boosted its number of troops and amounts of ammunition, she said.

The rate of our troops advance in the suburbs of Bakhmut today is somewhat reduced. At the same time, the enemy is unable to regain lost positions - our soldiers repel all enemy attacks in this area, she said.

Moscow regards its assault on Bakhmut as an important part of a campaign to capture the rest of the Donbas region.

Russia and Cuba ink deals to revitalize communist-run island's ailing economy

Friday 19 May 2023 23:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian officials and business leaders have signed multiple deals with Cuban counterparts at a forum in Havana this week, agreeing to work together to boost sugar and rum output, assure wheat and crude oil supply to the communist-run island, and overhaul crumbling tourist facilities.

The longtime political allies - both subject to U.S. sanctions - are seeking to cement economic ties by facilitating trade and investment.

(The deals) constitute a milestone in the history of our bilateral and business ties, said Ricardo Cabrisas, Cubas foreign trade minister, in a speech closing the forum on Friday.

The agreements include a contract for Russias Prodintorg to supply wheat to Cubas state-owned Alimport, aimed at guaranteeing the stability of supply to the Cuban population, according to a document from the Cuban-Russian Business Committee viewed by Reuters.

Another deal will create a Cuba-based marketplace for Russian goods, including food and home goods, called Rusmarket, which will also help spur development of more direct and fluid shipping routes between the two countries, the document said.

A third deal states Russian and Cuban intention to revive the decrepit residential beach community of Tarara, whose white sand beaches just minutes from Havana, the document says, are ideal for enjoying the ocean, fishing and diving.

Russian deputy prime minister for tourism, sport, culture and communications Dmitry Chernyshenko announced separately on Friday a presidential order to reinstate by July regular flights between Russia and Cuba, suspended since March 2022 due to the conflict in Ukraine.

Other agreements announced this week include one aimed at developing a Russian-Cuban rum company, which would seek to boost exports of Cubas prized rum. Russia also provided funds, know-how and technology to restart a steel mill in Cuba to supply construction materials on the island, according to Cuba state-run media reports.

Top Russian business leaders lauded Cuba earlier this week for opening the door to Russian investors and for providing them with preferential treatment, including tariff exemptions, long-term land concessions and ease in repatriating profits.

More than 150 Russian businesspeople attended the forum in Havana, according to Cuban officials.

US to provide F-16 fighter jets in battle against Putin

Friday 19 May 2023 21:47 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

President Joe Biden told G7 leaders on Friday that Washington supports joint allied training programs for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, senior U.S. officials said, a significant endorsement as Kyiv seeks to boost its air power against Russia.

Training on the U.S.-made jets will take place in Europe and will require months to complete, one of the officials said. U.S. officials have estimated the most expeditious time needed for training and delivery of F-16s at 18 months.

As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them, the official said.

Ukraines Volodymr Zelensky tweeted: I welcome the historic decision of the United States and @POTUS to support an international fighter jet coalition. This will greatly enhance our army in the sky. I count on discussing the practical implementation of this decision at the #G7 summit in Hiroshima.

Britain says Russia will pay the price for invasion as fresh sanctions unveiled

Friday 19 May 2023 21:02 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Rishi Sunak has issued a warning to Vladimir Putin that he and other Western leaders are not going away, at the start of the G7 summit in Japan.

The prime minister said Russias president must understand that Western allies of Ukraine are steadfast in their support for the countrys resistance against his invasion.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the summit in Japan on Sunday, as Mr Sunak and other leaders dial up the pressure on Russia. The prime minister said Russia will pay a price, as he launched a new wave of sanctions targeting the country, which include a ban on importing Russian diamonds, copper, aluminium and nickel.

Britain says Russia will pay the price for invasion as fresh sanctions unveiled

Russia branded terrorist state as flights with Georgia resume

Friday 19 May 2023 20:56 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Anti-war protestors branded Russia a terrorist state as they clashed with police in Georgia after flights resumed today.

The protestors descended en masse to Tbilisi Airport at around 13.20pm local time to meet Azimuth Airlines flight A4851 after it arrived from Moscow.

The flight is the first tourist plane to touch down in Georgia from Russia in four years.

Many protestors held placards emblazoned with statements such as Russian airship  go f*** yourself, you are not welcome and Russia is a terrorist state.

Russia branded terrorist state as flights with Georgia resume

Russia targets Greenpeace in crackdown on dissent but Kremlin critic Roizman avoids prison

Friday 19 May 2023 20:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia on Friday declared the global environmental group Greenpeace to be an undesirable organization, effectively banning it from operating in the country, its latest move to muzzle critical voices.

A statement from the national prosecutor-generals office said it had determined that Greepeace posed a threat to the foundations of the constitutional order and security of the Russian Federation and pointed in particular to the conflict in Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the special military operation of the Russian Federation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, Greenpeace activists have been engaged in anti-Russian propaganda, calling for further economic isolation of our country and tougher sanctions, it said.

Russia targets Greenpeace in crackdown on dissent but Kremlin critic Roizman avoids prison

Russia adds ICC prosecutor who sought Putin's arrest to wanted list

Friday 19 May 2023 20:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia has issued an arrest warrant for the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor who in March prepared a warrant for President Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges, Russian media reported on Friday.

The British prosecutor, Karim Khan, was added to the Interior Ministrys wanted list, state-owned news agency TASS said, citing the ministrys database.

Moscow opened cases against Khan and three ICC judges on March 20, days after the order for Putins arrest.

The ICC and its office of the prosecutor had no immediate comment.

The ICC warrant orders the arrest of Putin and Russias ombudsman for childrens rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, on war crimes charges related to the abduction of Ukrainian children.

Russia has not concealed a programme under which it has brought thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia but presents it as a humanitarian campaign to protect those abandoned in the conflict zone.

Russia and Putin deny committing war crimes offences during what the Kremlin calls its special military operation in Ukraine, saying they are victims of Western aggression and lies.

Putin claims West is trying to break up Russia into different states

Friday 19 May 2023 19:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Vladimir Putin has said the West is trying to drive a wedge between different ethnic and national groups in Russia.

The Russian President said on Friday the West wants to break the country into lots of different states, according to Reuters.

He added that the more sanctions the West hits Russia with, the greater the level of cohesion within Russian society.

Putin claims West is trying to break up Russia into different states

Ukrainian refugees living in EU forced to travel back for abortions, study warns

Friday 19 May 2023 19:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian women who sought refuge in European Union countries are being forced to travel through dangerous conflict zones to access abortions and contraception in their native country, a study has warned.

Research found some women from Ukraine now living in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia are having to temporarily return home as it is easier to access reproductive healthcare there, despite the stress of travelling back into the wartorn country.

The study, by the Center for Reproductive Rights and eight human rights organisations, warned refugees are being put at risk as they grapple with issues such as legal restrictions and cost barriers when trying to access the right care.

Ukrainian refugees living in EU forced to travel back for abortions, study warns

Russia says 500 Americans to be banned, list includes Obama

Friday 19 May 2023 18:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russias foreign ministry on Friday said former President Barack Obama was among 500 U.S. citizens who would be banned in response to the latest round of sanctions announced by Washington.

The ministry also said Russia had refused the latest U.S. request for consular access to detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in March on suspicion of spying.

This move was triggered by the U.S. refusal last month to give visas to media traveling with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the United Nations, it said in a statement.

Washington should have learned a long time ago that not a single hostile attack on Russia will go unpunished, it added.

Earlier on Friday the United States announced punitive measures against more than 300 targets, aiming to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and intensifying one of the harshest sanctions efforts ever implemented.

The secret network of tunnels under paranoid Putins bunker

Friday 19 May 2023 17:52 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian president Vladimir Putin has a secret network of underground tunnels that run beneath his palace hideaway by the Black Sea, unearthed plans suggest.

Mr Putin had a huge underground bunker built beneath Gelendzhik Palace, according to plans posted online by the engineering firm in charge of the project, with a network of tunnels lying around 50 metres under the surface.

The complex, first reported by Business Insider, is thought to have been constructed for protection in the event of a revolution or war and was built before Russia took over Crimea in 2014.

The secret network of tunnels under paranoid Putins bunker

WhatsApp faces first fine in Russia for failure to delete banned content

Friday 19 May 2023 16:01 , Martha Mchardy

Messenger service WhatsApp faces a maximum fine of 4 million roubles (51,500) after Russia accused it of failing to delete banned content, state-owned news agency RIA reported on Friday, citing a Moscow court.

Although WhatsApps parent company Meta Platforms Inc was last year banned in Russia as an extremist organisation, the messenger app - which is widely popular in Russia - has not previously been threatened with legal proceedings for failing to remove prohibited information.

The RIA report did not specify what information WhatsApp had allegedly failed to delete. It said the administrative case was filed by communications regulator Roskomnadzor.

At the outset of its military campaign in Ukraine, Russia introduced harsh new military censorship laws under which technology companies including Google, Wikipedia and Discord have been fined.

Russias nuclear weapons rhetoric dangerous and unacceptable - G7

Friday 19 May 2023 15:45 , Martha Mchardy

Russias nuclear rhetoric and stated intent to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus are dangerous and unacceptable, leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations said in a statement.

The G7 nations called on Friday for a world without nuclear weapons, urging Russia, Iran, China and North Korea to cease nuclear escalation and embrace non-proliferation, a statement released by the White House showed.

The leaders also said Russia should return to full implementation of New START treaty.

U.S. will back training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s, Biden tells G7 leaders

Friday 19 May 2023 15:39 , Martha Mchardy

U.S. president Joe Biden informed G7 leaders at their summit in Japan that Washington will support a joint effort with allies to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, CNN reported on Friday, citing a senior U.S. administration official.

U.S. sanctions on Russia hit 300 targets

Friday 19 May 2023 15:32 , Martha Mchardy

The United States on Friday unveiled a raft of new Russia sanctions, targeting hundreds of individuals and entities, the U.S. Treasury Department notice posted online.

Russia adds ICC judge who issued Putin warrant to wanted list

Friday 19 May 2023 15:17 , Martha Mchardy

Russias interior ministry has issued an arrest warrant for the International Criminal Court judge who in March issued a warrant for the arrest of president Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges, state-owned news agency TASS reported on Friday, citing the ministrys database.

Polish official says object that entered airspace was Russian-made rocket

Friday 19 May 2023 15:14 , Martha Mchardy

An aide to Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Friday that the object that entered Polands airspace last year and was found in April was a Russian-made rocket.

The aide, Pawel Szrot, said on Radio RMF FM that the nose of the rocket had been found and that its peculiar because its made of concrete. Its being examined by experts.

Szrot said it was Russian technology and most probably intended to give weight to the nose and allow the projectile to try to confuse Ukraines air defence systems in trying to repel Russian attacks.

The nose of the rocket contained no explosives, Szrot said.

Polands defence officials had been facing questions about an object that crash-landed on Polish territory in December and whose parts were found by a civilian in the woods near the city of Bydgoszcz in April.

The matter of air security, while there is a war in neighbouring Ukraine, became especially sensitive in Poland after two Polish men were killed when a missile landed in eastern Poland in November. Western officials said they believed a Ukrainian air defence missile went astray as Ukraine tried to repel a large-scale attack by Russia.

Ukraine would only allow Russian ammonia exports if gets expanded grain deal

Friday 19 May 2023 15:11 , Martha Mchardy

Kyiv would consider allowing Russian ammonia to transit its territory for export on condition the newly-renewed Black Sea grain deal is expanded to include more Ukrainian ports and a wider range of commodities, a government source told Reuters.

The comments are the first time Kyiv has publicly laid out its stance on Russian ammonia, which Moscow wants shipped via the Black Sea under the agreement.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July last year facilitates the safe navigation for the export of grain and related foodstuffs and fertilisers, including ammonia from three Ukrainian ports.

The Ukrainian government source, who asked not to be named, told Reuters the language of the deal does not cover the transit of Russian ammonia across Ukraine.

Russia, which used to export 4.4 million tonnes of ammonia a year before it invaded Ukraine, has pressed for ammonia supplies to resume through a pipeline from Russias Togliati to the Black Sea port of Pivdennyi, near Odesa, which is designed to pump up to 2.5 million tonnes of ammonia annually.

Despite Russian threats to pull out of the deal, the Black Sea deal was extended for two months on Wednesday a day before it was due to expire.

The government source said the text agreed on Wednesday made no mention of the Togliati-Odesa ammonia pipeline and transit and a further agreement would be needed if the Ukraine route is to be covered. In return, Ukraine would make demands.

We say the following - if it (the deal) includes an ammonia pipeline, then Ukraine should get some additional things which will serve our national interests, the source said.

That is the expansion of the agreements geography and the list of goods (for export via corridor). Then that could serve the interests of our country.

The source did not clarify the additional commodities Ukraine wanted included.

Russia trying to disrupt Ukraines preparations for counterattack - Kyiv

Friday 19 May 2023 14:54 , Martha Mchardy

Russia has shifted the focus of its missile strikes to target Ukrainian military facilities and supplies in order to disrupt preparations for a Ukrainian counterattack, a senior Ukrainian military intelligence official said.

After months of attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Russian forces are now increasingly targeting military facilities and supplies, said Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy head of the defence ministrys main intelligence directorate.

He said the Russians were striking decision-making centres, supply routes and places where large quantities of ammunition, equipment, fuel or troops were concentrated.

Previously, they failed to knock out our energy system, and now they have completely different priorities - to disrupt our plans and preparations for active (military) action during the spring-summer campaign, he told the RBK-Ukraine news portal.

The enemy began to pay special attention to the areas where our air defence equipment is located, Skibitskyi added.

He also said Russian aviation was now targeting areas on or near the front line more often than before.

Russia, whose air strikes have also often hit residential areas across Ukraine, did not immediately comment on Skibitskyis remarks.

Ukraine has said it is planning a counteroffensive to try retake territory occupied by Russian forces, but that recent advances around the eastern city of Bakhmut do mean the assault has started.

Zelensky thanks Saudi Arabia for helping secure release of prisoners of war

Friday 19 May 2023 14:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraines Volodymr Zelensky thanked Saudi Arabia for helping secure the release of some prisoners of war, and called for moves to protect the Ukrainian Muslim community -- a reference to Crimean Tatars in the Crimea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

Even if there are people here at the summit who have a different view on the war on our land in calling it a conflict, I am sure we can all be united in saving people from the cages of Russian prisons, he said.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the summit his kingdom was ready to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.

Zelensky seeks support for peace plan at Arab League summit

Friday 19 May 2023 14:14 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Volodymyr Zelensky urged countries attending an Arab League summit on Friday to support his peace initiative for ending Russias war in Ukraine.

Zelensky, making his first trip as president to Saudi Arabia, said in an address that delegates would each receive the text of the 10-point peace plan, and asked them to work with Ukraine directly without intermediaries.

I invite all of you who respect peace to join the implementation of the peace formula and thus, to reduce enmity, wars, suffering, and evil, Zelensky said in English. Russia is weak, we beat it when it had more weapons in their hands. Its aggressiveness does not come from strength but from the understanding that the time of empires has passed.

(SPA/AFP/Getty)

Why Ukraine's spring offensive still hasn't begun  with summer just weeks away

Friday 19 May 2023 14:00 , Martha Mchardy

For months, Western allies have shipped billions of dollars worth of weapons systems and ammunition to Ukraine with an urgency to get the supplies to Kyiv in time for an anticipated spring counteroffensive.

Now summer is just weeks away. While Russia and Ukraine are focused on an intense battle for Bakhmut, the Ukrainian spring offensive has yet to begin.

Here are some of the factors that may be delaying the counteroffensive.

WEATHER

A big part of the delay is the weather. Its taken longer than expected for Ukraines frozen ground to thaw and dry, due to an extended, wet, cold spring, which has made it difficult to transition into an offensive.

Instead, the ground has retained a deep mud that makes it more difficult for non-tracked vehicles to operate.

The mud is like a soup, the official said. You just sort of sink in it.

TRAINING

In the past few months, tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been trained by the U.S. and allies for the fight. But the final Ukrainian battalion the U.S. is currently training is just finishing its course now.

This final class brings the total number of Ukrainians the U.S. has trained for this fight to more than 10,700. Those forces have learned not only field and medical skills but advanced combined arms tactics with the Stryker and Bradley armoured fighting vehicles and Paladin self-propelled howitzers. It also includes highly skilled forces who were trained to operate the Patriot missile defence system.

According to U.S. Army Europe-Africa, as many as 11,000 additional Ukrainian troops a day are in other training programs run by more than 30 partner nations.

Soon a new phase will begin: The U.S. will start training Ukrainians on Abrams tanks at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. But the Ukrainians wont wait for the tank training to be finished before they launch their counteroffensive, Ukrainian defense minister Oleksii Reznikov told reporters in late April.

WEAPONS ARRIVALS

In just the past five months alone, the U.S. has announced it would send more than $14 billion in weapons and ammunition to Kyiv, most of which is being pulled from existing stockpiles in order to get the supplies to Ukraine faster. NATO and Western allies have responded too, pledging billions in tanks, armoured vehicles and air defence systems.

But a lot of that gear still hasnt arrived, said Ben Barry, a former British intelligence official who is now the senior land warfare fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

For example, of the approximately 300 tank systems pledged  such as the Leopard 2 tanks promised by countries including Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany  only about 100 have arrived. Of the 700 or so pledged fighting vehicles, such as British Marauders and U.S. Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, only about 300 have arrived, he said.

Ukraine will also need enough ammunition on hand to sustain a higher tempo fight once the counteroffensive begins, When it comes to the ammunition needed, Ukraines chief military logistician will also have a strong say in when the army is ready to launch, Barry said.

In just one munition  the 155mm howitzer round  Ukraine is firing between 6,000 and 8,000 rounds per day, Ukrainian parliamentary member Oleksandra Ustinova told reporters in April.

Putin claims West is trying to break Russia up into dozens of different states

Friday 19 May 2023 13:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Friday the West was trying to drive a wedge between different ethnic and national groups in Russia, and break the country up into dozens of different states.

He said the more sanctions the West hits Russia with, the greater the level of cohesion within Russian society.

(EPA)

Zelensky urges Arab League to help protect Ukraines Muslim community

Friday 19 May 2023 13:32 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Addressing the Arab League leaders in Jeddah, Ukraines Volodymr Zelensky said: Ukrainians has never chosen the war. Our troops didnt go to other lands. We do not engage in annexation and plunder of other nations resources. But we will never submit to any foreigners or colonisers. Thats why we fight.

I am sure you will understand our main emotion, the main call I want to leave in Jeddah, a noble call to all of you to help protect our people including Ukrainian Muslim community.

(SPA/AFP via Getty)

In pictures: Zelensky arrives in Saudi Arabia

Friday 19 May 2023 13:22 , Martha Mchardy

Deputy Emir of Mecca Prince Badr bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz (R) welcoming Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (SPA/AFP via Getty Images)

(SPA/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Crown Prince says kingdom ready to mediate between Russia and Ukraine

Friday 19 May 2023 13:20 , Martha Mchardy

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in the Arab League summit on Friday that his kingdom is ready to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.

He also added that he hopes Syrias return to the Arab League will end its crisis.

Friday 19 May 2023 13:10 , Martha Mchardy

Im here so that everyone can take an honest look no matter how hard the Russians try to influence, there must still be independence, president Zelensky said during an address to the Arab league in Saudi Arabia.

President Zelensky adresses Arab League

Friday 19 May 2023 13:08 , Martha Mchardy

None of you would turn a blind eye and allow your country to be invaded, president Zelensky said during an address to the Arab League in Saudi Arabia.

Zelensky arrives in Saudi Arabia for talks with Arab League leaders

Friday 19 May 2023 12:43 , Martha McHardy

President Zelensky has arrived in Jeddah for his first-ever trip to Saudi Arabia.

The Ukrainian president will meet with Arab League leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Ahead of the meeting, he tweeted: Beginning my first-ever visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to enhance bilateral relations and Ukraines ties with the Arab world. Political prisoners in Crimea and temporarily occupied territories, the return of our people, Peace Formula, energy cooperation. KSA plays a significant role and we are ready to take our cooperation to a new level.

Beginning my first-ever visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to enhance bilateral relations and Ukraines ties with the Arab world. Political prisoners in Crimea and temporarily occupied territories, the return of our people, Peace Formula, energy cooperation. KSA plays a    (@ZelenskyyUa) May 19, 2023

NATO is boosting capacity on Russias borders, Russias Patrushev says

Friday 19 May 2023 11:57 , Martha Mchardy

Russian security council secretary Nikolai Patrushev said on Friday that NATO was increasing its military capacity on Russias borders, the TASS news agency reported.

G7 leaders issue statment on Ukraine war

Friday 19 May 2023 11:56 , Martha Mchardy

The G7 has issued a statement ahead of its summit in Hiroshima in Japan.

G7 leaders said: We, the Leaders of the G7, reaffirmed our commitment to stand together against Russias illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. We condemn, in the strongest terms, Russias manifest violation of the Charter of the UN and the impact of Russias war on the rest of the world.

15 months of Russias aggression has cost thousands of lives, inflicted immense suffering on the people of Ukraine, and imperiled access to food and energy for many of the worlds most vulnerable people. We express our full sympathy and condolences to the Ukrainian people for their loss and suffering.

We salute the Ukrainian people for their brave resistance. Our support for Ukraine will not waver. We will not tire in our commitment to mitigate the impact of Russias illegal actions on the rest of the world.

The statement continued: We urge Russia to stop its ongoing aggression and immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops and military equipment from the entire internationally recognized territory of Ukraine.

Russia started this war and can end this war.

Russias aggression against Ukraine constitutes a violation of international law, in particular the UN Charter. We reiterate our firm rejection of Russias illegal attempts to acquire Ukrainian territory by force.

We underline that a just peace cannot be realized without the complete and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops and military equipment, and this must be included in any call for peace.

Putin ally says U.S. was involved in assassination attempts of pro-war Russians

Friday 19 May 2023 11:31 , Martha Mchardy

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said on Friday that the United States was involved in the killing of a pro-war military blogger in a bomb blast in St. Petersburg in April, and the car bombing of a nationalist writer and politician earlier in May, Russian news agencies reported.

It comes after The Kremlin said on Friday that the last remnants of arms control agreements between Russia and the United States were disappearing, after a group of U.S. Republican lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bill to scrap the New START treaty on nuclear arms.

Russian president Vladimir Putin earlier this year suspended Russias participation in the treaty, which caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the United States and Russia can deploy.

We can now only state with regret that there are no serious, substantive contacts on these issues between Moscow and Washington, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Lets just say that the last remnants of the international legal framework in this area are slipping away.

Zelensky to meet Saudi crown prince to discuss peace formula as he lands in Jeddah

Friday 19 May 2023 11:28 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday he would meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on his first-ever trip to Saudi Arabia.

He said after arriving in Saudi Arabia that his priorities were to discuss Ukraines peace formula for ending Russias war on his country, protection of the Muslim community in Ukraine, and the return of political prisoners from Crimea, which has been annexed by Russia.

President Zelensky landed in Jeddah earlier today to attend an Arab League summit, Saudi-owned al-Hadath TV reported.

Gulf states have tried to remain neutral in the Ukraine conflict despite Western pressure on Gulf oil producers to help isolate Russia, a fellow OPEC+ member.

Saudi Arabia said last year it was granting Ukraine $400 million in humanitarian aid after it faced heavy criticism from the United States over an OPEC+ decision to cut oil production, seen as helping Russia to refill its coffers by boosting prices.

Former Russian mayor fined $3,245 for 'discrediting' army

Friday 19 May 2023 10:52 , Martha Mchardy

Russian opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman was fined 260,000 roubles ($3,245) on Friday after a court found him guilty of discrediting the Russian army, Russian news agencies reported.

Roizman, a former mayor of Russias fourth-largest city of Yekaterinburg, was detained last August and banned from the internet after he referred to Moscows actions in Ukraine as a war in a YouTube video.

Russia calls the conflict a special military operation and people risk prosecution if they use the words war or invasion.

Since invading Ukraine last year, Russia has prosecuted dozens of people under new laws designed to punish critics of the war and crack down on dissent.

Popular and charismatic, Roizman is an outspoken supporter of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and has often criticised the Kremlin in sometimes crude language on social media.

He was elected mayor of Yekaterinburg in 2013 amid a wave of discontent with Vladimir Putins return as Russian president in 2012.

His tenure in the role was controversial for his aggressive crackdown on drug users in the city. In 2018, he resigned after regional lawmakers there voted to abolish direct mayoral elections, a move he said was directed specifically against him.

Putin will pay price for illegal invasion of Ukraine, says foreign secretary

Friday 19 May 2023 10:27 , Martha Mchardy

UK foreign secretary James Cleverly tweeted: Putin will pay the price for his illegal invasion of Ukraine. Today were increasing economic pressure  cracking down on Russias theft of Ukrainian grain and the remaining revenue sources that support its military machine.

Putin will pay the price for his illegal invasion of Ukraine.



Today were increasing economic pressure  cracking down on Russias theft of Ukrainian grain and the remaining revenue sources that support its military machine.  James Cleverly (@JamesCleverly) May 19, 2023

0ver 480 children killed in Ukraine and hundreds missing

Friday 19 May 2023 10:01 , Martha Mchardy

More than 480 children have been killed in Ukraine and hundreds more as missing, according to Ukraine authorities.

At least 482 children have been killed and more than 1,461 have been injured, according to the prosecutor generals office.

Of the children injured, 979 had serious injuries, while 401 under-18s are missing at the moment, the National Police of Ukraine said.

It is impossible to establish the exact number of injured children due to active hostilities and the temporary occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine, said Ukrainian government-run website Children of War.

Woman badly wounded as Russia strikes Zelenskys hometown

Friday 19 May 2023 09:54 , Martha Mchardy

A 64-year-old woman has been badly wounded after Russia launched a new wave of overnight air strikes on Ukraine early on Friday, setting ablaze several buildings in president Volodymyr Zelenskys hometown.

Another man was injured and buildings were set alight after Russian air strikes hit the city of Kryvyi Rih where president Zelensky grew up.

Several explosions occurred in (the central Ukrainian city of) Kryvyi Rih. The enemy hit a private industrial enterprise. Several buildings caught fire at once, the presidents office said in a statement.

Ukrainian authorities offered little detail about what had been struck except for the damage in Kryvyi Rih, the steel-producing city where Zelensky grew up.

A 64-year-old woman was injured. She was hospitalised in a serious condition, the presidents office said. The enemy attack caused a fire in the administrative building. It has already been extinguished.

A 45-year-old man also received light injuries, it said.

Air raid sirens also blared across the capital and most of the country as people slept. In Kyiv, the night sky was lit up as air defences searched for drones.

The Ukrainian military said it had shot down three of six cruise missiles, and 16 of 22 attack drones that were fired. The figures implied an unusually high proportion of the Russian missiles and drones attacks had not been intercepted.

Kyiv attributes the recent increase in the frequency of air strikes to Moscows concerns about an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive aimed at recapturing land occupied by Russia in the south and east.

Ukrainian authorities do not report hits on critical infrastructure or military facilities. Russia reports its air attacks as successful strikes on its intended targets.

G7 leaders says Ukraine has budget support for 2023 and early 2024

Friday 19 May 2023 09:49 , Martha Mchardy

Group of Seven (G7) leaders on Friday said they had ensured that Ukraine had the budget support it needs for this year and early 2024 as they renewed their commitment to provide financial and military support in its fight against Russia.

Today we are taking new steps to ensure that Russias illegal aggression against the sovereign state of Ukraine fails and to support the Ukrainian people in their quest for a just peace rooted in respect for international law, they said in a statement at the G7 summit, which kicked off in the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Friday.

Indias Modi to meet Ukraines Zelensky on sidelines of G7 summit

Friday 19 May 2023 09:39 , Martha Mchardy

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of G7 summit in Hiroshima, broadcaster CNN-News 18 reported on Friday.

Derailed Crimea train will increase Kremlins concerns about ability to protect key infrastructure in city

Friday 19 May 2023 09:38 , Martha Mchardy

The Kremlins concerns about its ability to protect key infrastructure in the annexed Ukrainian city of Crimea have been enhanced after a train derailed yesterday, the UKs ministry of defence (MoD) has said.

Russia claimed interference from outsiders caused a train to derail near the capital of Crimea Simferopol yesterday, blocking the only railway track into the port of Sevastopol of Russias Black Sea Fleet (BSF).

In an intelligence update posted on Twitter, the MoD said the incident will disrupt deliveries of supplies and potentially also weaponary to Russias BSF.

Any sabotage in this sensitive area will further increase the Kremlins concerns about its ability to protect other key infrastructure in Crimea, the update continued.

The peninsula plays a vital role in enabling Russias war in Ukraine, according to the MoD.

The peninsula has been under Russian control since it was illegally annexed in 2014, but Ukraine has said it will fight to take it back.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 19 May 2023.



Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/eUVGkPAewS



 #StandWithUkraine  pic.twitter.com/j4PmEWbVnn  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) May 19, 2023

Rare Russian drone found by Ukrainian soldier in Luhansk

Friday 19 May 2023 09:24 , Martha Mchardy

A rare Russian drone has been uncovered by a Ukrainian soldier in Luhansk, Ukraines ministry of internal affairs has said.

A video shows a Ukrainian soldier finding an Eleron-3 drone, according to reports.

The drones are reportedly used by Russia for aerial reconnaissance and short-range surveillance, but Ukraine has not captured many.

In a video shared online, the soldier said: I managed to capture this new Russian drone relatively unscathed.

Therefore, I consider the hunt to be successful, and interesting data from this drone was transferred to the relevant authorities of the Defence Forces of Ukraine.

Ukraine says Russia trying to recapture land around Bakhmut as Kyiv repels attacks

Friday 19 May 2023 09:05 , Martha Mchardy

Russian forces are trying to recapture land they have lost around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut but Kyivs forces are repelling the attacks, deputy Ukrainian defence minister Hanna Maliar said on Friday.

Russian forces have gained some ground inside the city itself, but they do not control it and fighting rages on, Maliar said in televised comments.

Ukraines Zelensky to meet Arab League leaders in Saudi Arabia

Friday 19 May 2023 08:48 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is on his way to the Arab League meeting in Saudi Arabia, a source familiar with the meeting told Reuters.

Zelensky will then travel on to the G7 meeting in Hiroshima in Japan from the Saudi city of Jeddah on a French government plane.

Putins troops unlikely' to capture Bakhmut soon, says Wagner chief

Friday 19 May 2023 08:18 , Martha Mchardy

Bakhmut is unlikely to fall to Russian mercenary troops in the next two days, Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin has said

The Ukrainian city of Bakhmut is in ruins after months of intense fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces.

Bakhmut has still not been taken, Prigozhin said in a voice message posted on Telegram. Bakhmut is unlikely to be taken either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

There is a quarter known as the Airplane - it is like an impregnable fortress from a bed of multi-storey buildings in the southwest of Bakhmut, where incredibly heavy battles are going on.

Russia has been trying to capture Bakhmut since last summer in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war, but Ukrainian defenders have held out.

If Russia took the city, it would provide a stepping stone to advance on two bigger cities it has long coveted in the Donetsk region: Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

It comes as deputy Ukrainian defence minister Hanna Maliar said Kyivs forces are repelling attempts by Russian forces to recapture land they have lost around Bakhmut.

Russian forces have gained some ground inside the city itself, but they do not control it and fighting rages on, Maliar said in televised comments.

Russian PM to meet Xi in China next week

Friday 19 May 2023 08:13 , Martha Mchardy

Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin will visit China on May 23-24, where he will meet Chinese president Xi Jinping, the Russian government announced on Friday.

Russian mental producer says British sanctions won't affect company

Friday 19 May 2023 08:12 , Martha Mchardy

Russian metals producer Severstal said on Friday that British sanctions against it will not affect the company, the TASS news agency reported.

Russian forces enhance defensive positions at Ukrainian nuclear power plant, witnesses say

Friday 19 May 2023 08:10 , Martha Mchardy

Russian military forces have been enhancing defensive positions in and around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine in recent weeks, four witnesses said, ahead of an expected counteroffensive in the region.

New trenches have been dug around the city and more mines have been laid. Surveillance cameras at the plant are pointing north across a wide reservoir towards Ukrainian-controlled territory.

The Russians have had firing positions set up atop some of the plants buildings for several months. Nets have been erected in a possible deterrent to drones.

The measures described by two Ukrainians who work at the power plant and two other residents in the city of Enerhodar underline the risks the war poses to the security of the facility.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears for their safety in a city under Russian occupation.

The Ukrainian military intelligence agency, the Russian defence ministry and Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom did not respond to requests for comment on fortifications at Enerhodar and the security risks the counteroffensive may pose.

Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Some nuclear industry experts said they were alarmed and warned that any damage to the plant could have dire consequences for people, the surrounding area, the war and the global nuclear industry.

Nuclear reactors were not designed for war zones and I do not believe they can be safe or secure in a war zone, said Nickolas Roth, director at think tank the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

Petro Kotin, chief of Ukraines Energoatom nuclear agency, told Reuters he did not believe Ukrainian forces would stage an attack directly on the site and could instead try to force the Russians to retreat by cutting off supply lines.

But there is concern in the international community that the six-reactor nuclear plant, Europes largest, could be caught up in fighting, particularly as military analysts expect Ukraine to try to push Russian forces back in Zaporizhzhia region.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog says that the military presence and activity is growing in the region, underlining the need for urgent action. It has warned for months of the danger of a major accident at the plant.

The agency plans to present a deal between Russia and Ukraine to the U.N. Security Council later this month to protect the facility, four diplomats told Reuters.

UK issues new Russian sanctions targeting grain theft

Friday 19 May 2023 08:04 , Martha Mchardy

Britain announced a new wave of sanctions against Russia on Friday, targeting companies connected to the theft of Ukrainian grain and those involved in the shipment of Russian energy.

Along with the United States, Britain and the rest of the Group of Seven major economies are set to unveil sanctions and export controls targeting Russia over its war against Ukraine, at the G7 summit in Japan this weekend.

Britain said in a statement that it was sanctioning 86 individuals and entities as part of a new crackdown on what it called shady individuals and entities connected to the theft and resale of Ukrainian grain.

The sanctions would also target Russias major energy and arms shipping companies, including those connected to Russias state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom, and the owner of the Russian Copper Company, Igor Altushkin.

Ukraine repels latest drone and missile attack, says military

Friday 19 May 2023 08:01 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian air defence repelled another Russian air attack early on Friday morning, destroying 19 drones and missiles out of 28 launched, Ukrainian military said.

Three calibre missiles launched from the Black Sea and 16 drones were shot down. Shelling continues on an almost daily basis, Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian television.

Not all targets were hit, he added.

Russia has increased the number of missile and drone attacks this month, which Kyiv attributes to Moscows fear of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Ukrainian authorities do not report hits on critical infrastructure or military facilities.

Sunak unveils new sanctions against Russia

Friday 19 May 2023 08:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Britain is banning Russian diamonds in a new wave of sanctions to pressure Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine as Rishi Sunak warns allies against complacency at the G7 summit in Japan.

The prime minister announced the new measures against Russia, also including a prohibition on imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel, on the eve of the meeting in Hiroshima yesterday.

Having signed a new defence and security pact with Tokyo, Mr Sunak will visit the atomic bomb dome ruin with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, to reflect on the nuclear devastation in the Second World War.

More here.

Sunak unveils new sanctions against Russia as he meets allies at G7 summit

Sunak issues stark warning to Putin as G7 vows more Russian sanctions

Friday 19 May 2023 07:41 , Martha Mchardy

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has issued a stark warning to president Vladimir Putin as Group of Seven (G7) leaders gather in Japan.

Mr Sunak told the BBC he hopes to ensure that Russia pays a price for its illegal activity, hours after the UK announced a ban on imports of Russian diamonds.

In an interview with Sky News, the prime minister also told the Russian president: Were not going away,

Russia needs to know that we and other countries are steadfast in our resolve to support Ukraine, not just in the here and now with the resources it needs to protect itself, but for the long term as well, he said.

Rishi Sunak and Volodymyr Zelensky embrace at Chequers (Downing Street)

He added to ITV News: They cant just outlast us in this conflict.

One of the common topics of conversation Ill be having and have been having with my fellow leaders is about the longer-term security agreements that we put in place in Ukraine, to deter future Russian aggression.

Mr Sunak said he believes other G7 nations will follow suit, and ban Russian diamonds and imports of metals from Russia including copper, aluminium and nickel.

The diamond export industry was worth more than 3 billion to Russia in 2021, but No 10 conceded direct imports have been low since the UK sanctioned state-owned miners Alrosa last year.

The G7 are set to unleash new sanctions against Russia in an effort to make Moscow end the war in Ukraine.

The UK is also preparing new individual sanctions against 86 people and companies to apply further pressure on the Russian president and his supporters.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Hiroshima, Japan, on Sunday to join the leaders of the worlds advanced democracies at the G7 summit, Reuters reported, citing a European Union source.

It comes after president Zelensky travelled to the UK to seek more support for his countrys war effort last week, joining Rishi Sunak at Chequers.

Mr Sunaks official spokesman said: Guarding against economic coercion is something that the Prime Minister is pushing for.

Why Ukraines spring offensive still hasnt begun

Friday 19 May 2023 07:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

For months, Western allies have shipped billions of dollars worth of weapons systems and ammunition to Ukraine with an urgency to get the supplies to Kyiv in time for an anticipated spring counteroffensive.

Now summer is just weeks away.

While Russia and Ukraine are focused on an intense battle for Bakhmut, the Ukrainian spring offensive has yet to begin.

Last week Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensyy said its been delayed because his country lacks enough Western weapons to succeed without suffering too many casualties. Weather and training are playing a role too, officials and defense experts say.

Officials insist the counteroffensive is coming. Preliminary moves by Ukraine to set the conditions it wants for an attack have already begun, a US official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

More here.

Why Ukraine's spring offensive still hasn't begun  with summer just weeks away

Putin clashes with own finance minister over damage done to Russian economy by oil sanctions

Friday 19 May 2023 07:00 , Emily Atkinson

Vladimir Putin has shot down concerns of his own finance minister who acknowledged a problem with Russias energy revenues, underscoring the damage done by Western sanctions to its economy.

In a televised meeting chaired by President Putin through a video link, Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday that Russias revenues from oil and gas have taken a hit, blaming deep discounts offered to countries following the Ukraine invasion.

Russias non-energy revenues are on track for growth as planned, with the potential for a small surplus by year-end, but there is a problem with energy revenues, said Mr Siluanov.

Shweta Sharma reports:

Putin clashes with own finance minister over damage by oil sanctions to Russia

US signals to European allies it wont stop them from sending F-16s to Ukraine

Friday 19 May 2023 06:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The Biden administration has conveyed to European allies in recent weeks that Washington will allow the export of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, CNN reported, citing sources.

The White House is facing mounting pressure from Congress members and allies urging the administration to help Ukraine procure the jets in order to counter aggressive Russian attacks.

Several European countries have a supply of the US-made F-16s and have expressed willingness to export some of them to Ukraine. But the US would have to approve that third-party transfer because of the jets sensitive US technology.

While the US remains reluctant to send any of its own F-16s to Kyiv, US officials told CNN that the administration is prepared to approve the export of the jets to Ukraine if that is what allies decide to do with their supply.

US lawmakers and congressional staffers have joined in the F-16 lobbying campaign, urging the administration to provide the jets to Ukraine.

As a bipartisan group of lawmakers, we view the transfer of F-16 fighter aircraft to Ukraine as essential for providing Kyiv with the air support capability required to fully defend their nation against Russias unprovoked, illegal, and brutal invasion, and to make the territorial gains necessary to reclaim their country, a group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter to president Joe Biden.

The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary

Friday 19 May 2023 06:00 , Emily Atkinson

UK-supplied cruise missiles have been used by Ukraine, confirms Wallace

Friday 19 May 2023 05:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Ukrainian forces have used UK-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles against Russian targets, Ben Wallace has confirmed.

The defence secretary suggested the Storm Shadow missiles could help provide some of the same capabilities to strike at Russian positions behind the front line.

The UK confirmed it would supply the weapons to Ukraine earlier this month.

Ukraines leader Volodymyr Zelensky has lobbied Western leaders to supply Nato fighter jets to his nation, particularly F-16s which the UK does not possess.

At a press conference at the UKs Permanent Joint HQ in Northwood with his Norwegian counterpart Bjorn Arild Gram, Mr Wallace said: It is my understanding that it (Storm Shadow) has been used since we announced its deployment to Ukraine.

More here.

UK-supplied cruise missiles have been used by Ukraine, Wallace confirms

Zelensky to attend G7 summit in person

Friday 19 May 2023 05:10 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Hiroshima, Japan, on Sunday to join the Group of Seven (G7) leaders summit in person, a European Union source told Reuters.

Earlier, the Japanese officials said that Mr Zelensky would join virtually.

Accounting error overvalued Ukraine weapons aid by $3bn - report

Friday 19 May 2023 05:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The Pentagon reportedly overestimated the value of the missiles, ammunition and other equipment it sent to Ukraine by around $3bn, an error that may pave the way for more weapons being sent to Kyiv.

The error was the result of assigning a higher than warranted value on weaponry that was taken from US stocks and then shipped to Ukraine, Reuters reported, citing two senior defence officials.

Weve discovered inconsistencies in how we value the equipment that weve given to Ukraine, one of the defence officials said.

Congress is being notified of the accounting adjustment, the sources said.

Since August 2021, the US has sent weapons valued at about $21.1bn to Ukraine from its stockpiles.

Russia sent waves of drones toward Kyiv, says military

Friday 19 May 2023 04:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The head of Kyivs military administration said Russian forces had sent waves of drones toward the capital.

This was the 10th attack this month and the second in less than 24 hours.

This Kremlin tactic is an attempt to overwhelm our anti-aircraft forces and put psychological pressure on civilians. It wont happen! Serhiy Popko wrote on Telegram.

All air targets sent toward Kyiv were destroyed by our anti-aircraft defences.

The military had warned that central regions and Kyiv were at risk from drones.

Air raid alerts throughout Ukraine

Friday 19 May 2023 04:03 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Air raid alerts sounded throughout Ukraine early today, with some areas later reporting explosions and officials saying anti-aircraft units were pressed into action in several regions.

The alerts extended to all regions of the country for about an hour from 2 am (local time).

However, there were no reports of strikes on infrastructure or civilian targets and no indications of casualties as the alerts were withdrawn in Kyiv and in central and southern regions.

Politics explained: Why does Japan matter to the UK?

Friday 19 May 2023 04:00 , Emily Atkinson

Rishi Sunak is in Tokyo to announce a new defence partnership with Japan and support 18bn of private business deals, and will then join in the wider G7 talks with the other leaders, from Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United States. Theyll be focusing on strategy towards Russia and China, with an obvious focus on the war in Ukraine, writes Sean OGrady.

Why does Japan matter to the UK?

Here come more sanctions: How effective are they are stopping Russia's invasion of Ukraine?

Friday 19 May 2023 22:07 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The U.S. and other Group of Seven nations rolled out a new wave of global sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine as they met Friday during a summit in Japan. The sanctions target hundreds of people and firms  including those helping Russia to evade existing sanctions and export controls. Some of the sanctions focus on additional sectors of Russias economy, including architecture, construction and transportation.

After 15 months of war, the allied nations are still aiming at new targets for financial penalties that block, freeze and seize access to international funds.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the newest sanctions will tighten the grip on Russian President Vladimir Putins ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions.

Here come more sanctions: How effective are they are stopping Russia's invasion of Ukraine?

Russia extends detention of US consular worker by three months

Friday 19 May 2023 03:00 , Emily Atkinson

A Russian court on Thursday extended by three months the detention of a former employee of the US consulate in Vladivostok on charges of cooperating with a foreign state.

The US state department has condemned the arrest of Robert Shonov, which was reported this week. He was detained in Vladivostok on the Pacific coast and brought to Moscow.

The specifics of the charges havent been reported, including Shonovs alleged actions or what country he was suspected of cooperating with.

Russia extends detention of US consular worker by 3 months

UN official hopes for breakthrough on Russian food, fertilizer shipments

Friday 19 May 2023 02:00 , Emily Atkinson

A top UN official said Thursday that he hopes for a breakthrough soon after months of efforts to ensure that Russian food and fertilizer can be shipped to developing countries struggling with high prices.

A day after Moscow agreed to renew a wartime accord allowing Ukraine to export critical food supplies, UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths told The Associated Press that secretary-general Antonio Guterres recently met with insurance titan Lloyds to help iron out coverage for shipments of Russian agricultural products.

UN official hopes for breakthrough on Russian food, fertilizer shipments

Watch: CIA urges Russians to spill secrets in new video campaign

Friday 19 May 2023 01:00 , Emily Atkinson

China says Ukraine envoy met with Zelensky during talks in Kyiv

Friday 19 May 2023 00:00 , Emily Atkinson

China says Ukraine envoy met with Zelenskyy during talks in Kyiv

Ukraine repels Russian forces in Bakhmut after overnight strikes on Kyiv

Thursday 18 May 2023 23:00 , Emily Atkinson

Ukraine said it had repelled a day of Russian attacks in and around Bakhmut on Thursday, making small gains while buying time for other planned actions.

While Russia boosted its forces in the city and attacked suburbs to the north and south, Ukraines forces advanced up to one 1km, deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said on her Telegram channel.

The defence of Bakhmut and its outskirts is meeting its military objectives, she said. As of now, we control the southwestern part of Bakhmut.

More on this story here:

Ukraine repels Russian forces in Bakhmut after overnight strikes on Kyiv

Latest images from contested Bakhmut

Thursday 18 May 2023 22:00 , Emily Atkinson

(REUTERS)

(REUTERS)

(REUTERS)

Russia has intent and ability to target underwater infrastructure

Thursday 18 May 2023 21:00 , Emily Atkinson

There is no doubt Russia has the intent and the ability to target the Wests underwater energy and communication lines, Ben Wallace said as he launched a security partnership with Norway.

At a press conference alongside his Norwegian counterpart at the Northwood military base on Thursday, the defence secretary said Moscow has submarines and spy ships specifically designed to potentially sabotage or attack critical national infrastructure belonging to its adversaries.

More on this story here:

Russia has intent and ability to target underwater infrastructure

Crimeas return to Ukraine will happen for certain, says Zelensky

Thursday 18 May 2023 20:00 , Emily Atkinson

President Volodymyr Zelensky has set up a reintegration council to advise on the restoration of Ukrainian rule over Crimea, saying liberation of the peninsula, seized by Russia in 2014, will happen for certain.

He was speaking at a gathering in Kyiv to mark the anniversary of the mass Soviet-era deportation of Crimean Tatars from the peninsula in 1944.

Zelensky said that more and more countries realised it would be impossible to return peace to international relations and the full force of international law without first returning Crimea.

(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

We continue our work in order to liberate the Crimea. It will happen for certain - its full-fledged return to Ukraines state system, Zelensky told Tatar community leaders and senior officials.

We are preparing to reintegrate Crimea. I signed the decree about the advisory council on reintegration and de-occupation of our Crimea and the (Crimean port) city of Sevastopol.

Ukrainian refugees living in EU forced to travel back for abortions, study warns

Thursday 18 May 2023 19:30 , Emily Atkinson

Ukrainian women who sought refuge in European Union countries are being forced to travel through dangerous conflict zones to access abortions and contraception in their native country, a study has warned.

Research found some women from Ukraine now living in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia are having to temporarily return home as it is easier to access reproductive healthcare there, despite the stress of travelling back into the wartorn country.

The study, by the Center for Reproductive Rights and eight human rights organisations, warned refugees are being put at risk as they grapple with issues such as legal restrictions and cost barriers when trying to access the right care.

Our womens correspondent Maya Oppenheim reports:

Ukrainian refugees living in EU forced to travel back for abortions, study warns

Ukraine deputy defence minister says Russia on offensive in Bakhmut

Thursday 18 May 2023 19:00 , Emily Atkinson

Ukrainian deputy defence Minister Hanna Maliar said in a Telegram post that Kyivs forces had repelled day-long attacks by Russia in the embattled city of Bakhmut on Wednesday.

The enemy gathered most of its reserves to Bakhmut and significantly strengthened the group, she said. Today the enemy attacked Bakhmut for the entire day. All attacks were repelled.

Ukrainian soldiers fire a cannon near Bakhmut (AP)

Stoltenberg expects new defence investment pledge at Vilnius summit

Thursday 18 May 2023 18:30 , Emily Atkinson

Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg has said he expected allies would agree on a new investment pledge to spend 2 per cent of their GDP on defence at the alliances summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July.

Nato members needed to commit more, Stoltenberg told a joint press conference with Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa in Lisbon.

(AFP via Getty Images)

The Nato chief has repeatedly urged allies to speed up increases in defence spending as the world had become more dangerous following Russias invasion of Ukraine last year.

Seven of the alliances 30 countries met the current goal of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence in 2022 - one fewer than in 2021, before the war in Ukraine - according to estimates in the Nato secretary-generals annual report, released in March.

Revealed: Boris Johnsons first words to Zelensky on night of Russia attack

Thursday 18 May 2023 18:00 , Emily Atkinson

Volodymyr Zelensky told Boris Johnson I hope this is not the last time we speak at the dawn of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the former PMs comms chief.

Those were among the first words the pair shared during a 4am interaction on the night of the advance in February 2022, Guto Harri said, describing it as a man-to-man thing between the PM and the Ukrainian president.

Former GB News presenter Mr Harri told his Unprecedented podcast on Thursday that the two leaders were on the phone within minutes of Mr Johnson being woken to be told the news.

William Mata has more:

Revealed: Boris Johnsons first words to Zelensky on night of Russia attack

Norway donating F-16 jets to Ukraine 'not on the agenda' now - defence minister

Thursday 18 May 2023 17:30 , Emily Atkinson

Norway donating F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine is not on the agenda at the moment, the countrys defence minister Bjoern Arild Gram said.

(PA)

When it comes to F-16 ... its not on the agenda now and I really dont want to speculate on any possible future donations, he said during a news conference with British counterpart Ben Wallace, when asked by a reporter whether Norway would be giving F-16s to Ukraine.

Storm Shadow missiles have been used in Ukraine

Thursday 18 May 2023 16:20 , Emily Atkinson

Long-range Storm Shadow missiles provided to Ukraine by Britain have been used, British defence minister Ben Wallace said on Thursday.

(Getty Images)

All I can say is it is my understanding that it has been used since we announced its deployment to Ukraine, but Im not going to go into further details, Wallace said at a press conference.

Black Sea grain corridor has not yet resumed operations - Ukrainian official

Thursday 18 May 2023 15:52 , Martha Mchardy

The Black Sea grain corridor designed to ensure the safe supply of Ukrainian food to world markets has not yet resumed operation despite statements by Turkey and Russia on extending the agreement, a senior Ukrainian official said on Thursday.

The deal has been extended for two more months, in what U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres hailed on Wednesday as good news for the world, a day before Russia could have quit the pact over obstacles to its grain and fertiliser exports.

This was announced yesterday, but so far these statements have not led to the resumption of work and the joint centre in Istanbul did not inspect vessels for entry yesterday or today, Yuriy Vaskov, Ukraines deputy restoration minister told Reuters.

We expected it to be yesterday immediately after the statements of our partners. We are expecting the partners position today and believe that they will be able to resolve this issue, he told in an interview.

He said 62 vessels are ready for inspection and some of them have been standing by for several months.

Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan announced the extension in a televised speech on Wednesday and it was later confirmed by Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations.

The United Nations and Turkey brokered the deal for an initial 120 days in July last year to help tackle a global food crisis that has been aggravated by Moscows invasion of Ukraine, one of the worlds leading grain exporters.

Pope hopes to send peace envoys to Kyiv and Moscow

Thursday 18 May 2023 15:48 , Martha Mchardy

Pope Francis hopes to send personal peace envoys to the Ukrainian and Russian presidents to try to broker a ceasefire in the war, a Catholic website reported on Thursday.

Il Sismografo, which specialises in Vatican news, said this is the mission Francis spoke of cryptically when he was returning from Hungary last month.

According to the website, the plan would be for Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna to go to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and for Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, the head of the Vaticans department for Eastern Churches, to go to Moscow to meet president Vladimir Putin.

Pope Francis and presdient Zelensky

It said both presidents had agreed to meet with the papal envoys, without citing sources or giving details.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said he had no comment on the report but pointed a reporter to recent comments by Vatican secretary of state cardinal Pietro Parolin that now is the moment to take the initiative to create a just peace in Ukraine.

Zuppi and Gugerotti could not be reached for comment and a key diplomatic source said nothing was yet concrete.

If the envoys are sent, it would be identical to a gesture by the late Pope John Paul II, who in 2003 sent high-level representatives to Washington and Baghdad in an unsuccessful attempt to thwart the start of the Iraq War.

President Zelensky met Pope Francis at the Vatican last Saturday but in comments afterwards he appeared to downplay the possibility of a papal mediation.

With all due respect for His Holiness, we do not need mediators, we need a just peace ... Putin only kills. We dont need a mediation with him, president Zelensky said on Italian television.

In pictures: Ukrainians celebrate Vyshyvanka day

Thursday 18 May 2023 15:43 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainians are celebrating Vyshyvanka day today, a holiday dedicated to celebrating the vyshyvanka - a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt.

The shirt is said to be a symbol of the Ukrainian people's heritage.

People gather during an event celebrating the World Vyshyvanka Day in Lviv, Ukraine on May 18, 2023. (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Women take a selfie during the celebration of World Vyshyvanka Day in Lviv, Ukraine (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A couple of elderly people wearing vyshyvankas on Vyshyvanka Day walk the Khreshchatyk Street in Kyiv (Global Images Ukraine via Getty)

The National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide for the first time put on the monument Bitter Memory of Childhood (a girl with ears of corn) a Ukrainian embroidered shirt (Global Images Ukraine via Getty)

A Ukrainian woman wears traditional clothing as part of the Vyshyvanka day celebrations in Canggu, Bali, Indonesia (EPA)

Kyiv residents sleep deprived and angry after attack on capital

Thursday 18 May 2023 15:15 , Martha Mchardy

A Ukrainian MP said Kyiv residents are very angry following the ninth attack on the capital this month in a noticeable escalation after a quieter period.

In the early hours of Thursday, Ukraine shot down 29 out of 30 cruise missiles amid an escalation of attacks on the country, according to Ukrainian officials.

Speaking in Kyiv, Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun said: I think people are very angry. This is the major feeling. Everybody is angry.

Everybody is sleep deprived very much, including myself today, because its not like you can easily go back to sleep when this happens and just pretend that nothing happened.

Ms Sovsun said she woke up to the sound of one big explosion in the early hours.

A couple of hours after that, I got a message from my neighbour and she sent me the picture of the fragment of the missile, which landed on our building, which is goddamn scary, she said.

Ms Sovsun believes the escalation of attacks by Russia is an attempt to undermine our spirit and hit warehouses possibly storing ammunition to weaken Ukraines ability to defend itself.

Russia fails dramatically to dampen Ukrainians determination, Ms Sovsun said, because after every single attack, people are getting more angry and less willing to negotiate, if there was anyone willing to do that.

An explosion of a missile is seen in the sky over the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv (REUTERS)

The MP believes Russia is trying to find and to hit the warehouses with weapons ammunition, which we have received for the counter offensive.

Ms Sovsun said the country is extremely grateful to the UK for No 10s announcement that Britain will send hundreds of air defence missiles and additional unmanned aerial systems to Ukraine, saying the UK has been a great friend to Ukraine.

She said: I remember when there was a change of leadership, there was speculation that maybe the new leadership will not be as supportive, will not be providing so much help, but I always believe that this UK position about this war is based on an understanding of the UK interests.

It is not just humanitarian help, it is an understanding to what extent Russia is a threat to the UK national interest as well, and that is why Im very happy to see this coming through, that the new leadership is still as supportive.

We really wish that the rest of the world were as proactive as the UK is in helping Ukraine to protect ourselves.

The recent escalation of attacks shows Russia is concerned about a counter-offensive, Ms Sovsun said, adding: Theyre definitely not happy about their so-called winter counter-offensive not being successful.

They were talking about their counteroffensive for so long but they still do not have the full control of Bakhmut city, which they have been trying to claim for three months now.

Ms Sovsun believes questions are being raised in the Russian army but also among Russian people about how much the army can achieve.

I think that that is why they are trying to target civilian infrastructure and cities, and then try to scare people, because they believe that they cannot do much on the frontline, she said.

The MP said the countrys residents have to continue to live our lives, adding: I am absolutely sure that we will win.

Japan and US to continue Russia sanctions and Ukraine support

Thursday 18 May 2023 14:56 , Martha Mchardy

Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida has agreed with U.S. president Joe Biden to continue sanctions against Russia and support of Ukraine, prime minister Kishida told reporters as the two leaders met in the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Thursday.

Prime minister Kishida added that both countries also affirmed the importance of working together on common issues regarding China.

Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut advance by more than a mile as Wagner group reports retreats

Thursday 18 May 2023 14:43 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian troops have advanced by more than a mile on the outskirts of the besieged city of Bakhmut, according to reports.

Ukraines military, which has been cautious so far in reporting gains in the area, said troops had advanced in places by more than a mile. Its forces had been on the defensive for half a year, weathering a huge winter and spring offensive by Moscow that saw only slow gains.

Despite the fact that our units do not have an advantage in equipment ... and personnel, they have continued to advance on the flanks, and covered a distance of 150 to 1,700 metres (1.1 miles), military spokesperson Serhiy Cherevatyi said in televised comments.

It comes after the head of the Russian Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin accused commanders of Russias regular forces of abandoning vital ground on the flanks north and south of Bakhmut.

In May, Prigozhin announced his intention to withdraw his troops from Bakhmut in a row over support from Vladimir Putins government - but appeared the backtrack on this claim soon after.

Yevgeny Prigozhin (PRIGOZHIN PRESS SERVICE)

The Wagner group reported Russian retreats from Bakhmut today.

Unfortunately, units of the Russian Defence Ministry have withdrawn up to 570 metres (1,880 feet) to the north of Bakhmut, exposing our flanks, Prigozhin said in his latest voice message on Thursday.

I am appealing to the top leadership of the Ministry of Defence - publicly - because my letters are not being read, Prigozhin said, addressing Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

Please do not give up the flanks.

The Russian defence ministry has acknowledged some withdrawals from positions near Bakhmut over the past week but denies Prigozhins assertions that flanks are crumbling, or that it has withheld ammunition from Wagner.

However, Russias presence remains on the battlefield. Ukrainian troops near the front line said Russia was bombarding access roads to slow the Ukrainian assault on Bakhmut ahead of the countrys planned counter-offensive.

Now, for the most part, as we have started to advance, they are shelling all the routes to front positions, so our armoured vehicles cant deliver more infantry, ammunition and other things, said Petro Podaru, commander of a Ukrainian artillery unit.

Russian ministry says struck Ukrainian targets using high-precision missiles -TASS

Thursday 18 May 2023 14:13 , Martha Mchardy

The Russian defence ministry said on Thursday that it had struck Ukrainian military targets using high-precision missiles, a day after a major wave of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported.

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website
Biden signs off on Ukrainian pilot training.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday thanked U.S. President Joe Biden for supporting an international plan to train Ukrainian Air Force pilots on Western fighters like the U.S.-made F-16.

I welcome the historic decision of the United States and @POTUS to support an international fighter jet coalition, Zelensky said in a tweet. This will greatly enhance our army in the sky. I count on discussing the practical implementation of this decision at the #G7 summit in Hiroshima.

https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1659590726840197123

Zelensky was reacting to reports earlier Friday that Biden informed leaders of the G-7 group of nations that the U.S. will support a joint international effort to train Ukrainian pilots on modern fighter aircraft, including F-16s, Politico reported, citing a senior administration official.

https://twitter.com/laraseligman/status/1659566774625398784

That represents a major shift in the administrations position on Ukraines need for F-16s, something Biden has opposed.

The decision to support the training initiative came together very quickly, officials said, and was made by Biden following meetings with G7 leaders in Hiroshima, Japan, where the topic of F-16s to Ukraine was a key point of discussion, CNN reported. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been pushing particularly hard in recent days for countries that have the jets in their stockpile to send them to Ukraine so that the country can better defend itself against Russias daily aerial attacks.

https://twitter.com/OstapYarysh/status/1659569324833603584

There is a growing effort to create an international "coalition of jets" including an international effort to train Ukrainian pilots, something you can read more about in our story here.

There have been several new steps by Biden toward that effort. On Friday, CNN reported that Biden signaled he would not block the foreign export of F-16s to Ukraine. That, coupled with Bidens decision on pilot training, is another incremental move toward creating a fleet of foreign-donated Western fighters akin to Western armor Ukraine has managed to accumulate as U.S. and allied concerns about providing more modern tanks slowly faded.

The move could pave the way to eventually send advanced Western fighter jets to Ukraine, and discussions are ongoing about how and when that would happen, the official said, Politico reported. The coalition of countries participating in the training effort will decide when to actually provide the jets, how many to send and who will transfer them as the training takes place over the coming months.

The training will most likely take place in Europe, not in the U.S., Politico and CNN reported.

But US personnel will participate in the training alongside allies and partners in Europe, the official said, CNN reported. It is expected to take several months to complete and the official said the hope is it will begin in the coming weeks.

As we reported yesterday, a U.S. Air Force assessment earlier this year of Ukrainian pilots who came to the U.S. for simulator testing found that they could be trained in basic operations of American-made F-16 Viper fighter jets in around four months, far quicker than the Pentagon had previously suggested.

That assessment, first reported by Yahoo News, is very close to the training schedule estimates that F-16 pilots provided to The War Zone for a feature published back in February.

An F-16C Viper fighter jet assigned to the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing. The 162nd was the unit that oversaw the assessment of two Ukrainian pilots earlier this year. Air National Guard

The Biden decision on training Ukrainian pilots comes as officials in Kyiv, from Zelensky on down, have continuously pushed for more modern aircraft than its current tactical aviation fleet that consists mainly of Soviet-designed Su-27s and MiG-29s.

While any pilot training, let alone operational use of donated aircraft, will be too late for the looming Ukrainian counteroffensive, there is no indication that hostilities will end any time soon. So whenever the pilots are trained, and they have Western jets to fly, that will be welcome news for Ukraine.

Before we head into the latest from Ukraine, The War Zone readers can catch up on our previous rolling coverage here.

The Latest

On the battlefield, there are claims and counterclaims about the status of Bakhmut.

Thanks to the skill and courage of the heroes, it was possible to knock the Russians out of their positions and gain a foothold on advantageous lines in the Bakhmut direction, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said on his Telegram channel Friday. Counteroffensive actions of the Defense Forces continue.

https://twitter.com/albafella1/status/1659542224038658048

The enemy withdrew most of its reserves from Bakhmut and significantly strengthened the group, Ukraines Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Thursday on her Telegram channel. The enemy attacked Bakhmut all day today. All attacks were repelled by our defenders. We currently control the southwestern part of Bakhmut.

Russian forces also attacked the outskirts north of Bakhmut. Attacks repulsed. In some areas, there is an advance of our troops by 500 meters. Fierce fighting continued throughout the day in the southern suburb of Bakhmut. The enemy went on the offensive and tried to regain the lost territories, but suffered losses and was unable to complete its tasks. In some areas, our troops advanced by 1 kilometer.

The defense of Bakhmut and its suburbs will buy time for certain planned actions, she added. The command of the Khortytsia Security Service, in whose area of responsibility the Bakhmut direction, keeps the situation under control.

https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1659269104954482717

Yevgeny Prigozhin, boss of the Wagner mercenary group doing most of the fighting for Russia in Bakhmut, claimed that while Ukrainian troops have almost been fully pushed out of the city, it won't likely fall in the next two days.

"Bakhmut has still not been taken," Prigozhin said in a voice message posted Friday on his Telegram channel. "Bakhmut is unlikely to be taken either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

https://twitter.com/Orgetorix/status/1659579480065597443

"There is a quarter known as the 'Airplane' - it is like an impregnable fortress from a bed of multi-story buildings in the southwest of Bakhmut, where incredibly heavy battles are going on," Prigozhin went on to say.

The fighting is going on for the fortified area of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Airplane area - the last stronghold of the enemy in the city, he wrote. Everything that can fly flies from us there. At the same time, enemy artillery and mortars also continue to work on our positions.

Despite everything, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to resist fiercely, Prigozhin wrote, adding that his troops say Ukraine is using a lot of Polish and Turkish mercenaries. Nevertheless, PMC Wagner definitely reached the final stage of the battle for Bakhmut. Unraveling very soon.

We continue to press. And then either they will have to retreat, or they will all be destroyed," he wrote.

The battle for Bakhmut is moving towards its logical conclusion. Ukrainian formations now control less than 1 square kilometer - we are talking about pieces of territory 700-800 meters. Any attack by attack aircraft is supported by artillery fire. The enemy resorts to counter-battery combat, but strikes chaotically: perhaps, agony, they are trying to somehow hook.

https://twitter.com/mikaelvalterss1/status/1659586903958593536?s=12&t=BQRSNakUKt7_8ssZiGBW-A

https://twitter.com/WarMonitors/status/1659544485393473538

Speaking of Wagner, the group "has been working to obscure its efforts to acquire military equipment for use in Ukraine, including by trying to source the materials from Mali, where the group has a strong foothold," CNN reported, citing a U.S. official.

The official, citing U.S. intelligence declassified within the last week, said the Biden administration "has been informed that Wagner has been trying to ship equipment for use in Ukraine through Mali and falsifying paperwork for the transactions," according to CNN.

"There are no signs yet that Wagner has successfully procured the equipment, but the group has continued working to procure mines, drones, radar and counter-battery systems from contacts in Mali for use in Ukraine, the official said. We are monitoring this closely, the official added.

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1659597323058524161

Video has emerged showing what appears to be a Ukrainian long-range strike on the Azov Sea port city of Mariupol, fully captured by Russia a year ago. We cannot confirm what happened or the extent of damage, if any. But the official Ukrainian Mariupol City Council says that residents heard at least three "powerful explosions" in that city, about 50 miles from the front lines.

"Explosions in the Mariupol district," it reported Friday. "It is known about three powerful explosions that Mariupol residents heard. Pre-hitting the location of the personnel of the occupiers on the territory of the Mariupol airport. Judging by the video, if the information is confirmed, the enemy should have suffered significant losses. We are waiting for good news."

The location of the explosion was previously a base for 150 Russians "and was systematically used to install air defense systems," Mariupol Mayoral Advisor Petro Andriushchenk wrote on his Telegram channel. "Russia lies about the place deliberately. To prevent correction and finishing."

We will update this story with more details as they come in.

https://twitter.com/auto_glam/status/1659626549530771474

Russian forces continue to fortify their positions in and around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) ahead of a Ukrainian counteroffensive that could run right through the location of Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which is located on the banks of the Dnipro River. A potential attack route through Zaporizhzhia Oblast is something we first reported on in December.

"New trenches have been dug around the city and more mines have been laid," Reuters reported, citing interviews with four anonymous witnesses. "Surveillance cameras at the plant are pointing north across a wide reservoir towards Ukrainian-controlled territory."

As we reported last month, Russians have had firing positions set up atop some of the plant's buildings for several months. Now it appears that nets have been erected as well in a possible deterrent to drones, Reuters reported.

"The measures described by two Ukrainians who work at the power plant and two other residents in the city of Enerhodar underline the risks the war poses to the security of the facility," according to Reuters.

https://twitter.com/IuliiaMendel/status/1659507794280685573?s=20

Highlighting the dangers of a nuclear power plant in a war zone, power was cut off in 15 settlements in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts as a result of Russian shelling, the Ukrainian News Agency reported, citing the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy.

"In the Zaporizhzhia Region, eight settlements were cut off as a result of shelling, 4,700 consumers were left without electricity. In the Donetsk Region, seven settlements were cut off due to shelling, and 10,200 consumers were left without electricity. There is also a power outage in the Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk Regions due to shelling."

https://twitter.com/UN_Agency/status/1659554237305573378?s=20

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry (MoD) said Defense Minister and Federation General of the Army Sergei Shoigu inspected the forward command post of one of the Vostok Group of Forces in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Shoigu "received reports by the commander of the Vostok Group and staff officers on the current situation, the nature of enemy operations, and the combat tasks performed by Russian troops in the main tactical areas," according to the MoD.

He also met with the group commander, "where he praised the grouping's excellent effectiveness in identifying and neutralizing hostile military hardware and manpower."

Shoigu "ordered the group's leadership to continue to actively carry out comprehensive reconnaissance to uncover the enemy's plans in advance and prevent their implementation. He also emphasized the organization of all-around supplies for the troops involved in the special military operation, as well as the establishment of conditions for personnel safety."

https://twitter.com/Alfaiomi/status/1659492331899199489

Thursday's apparent sabotage of a train in the occupied Crimean peninsula could have lasting effects on Russian logistics, the U.K.'s Defense Intelligence Directorate (UKDI) reported Friday.

Occupation railway authorities blamed the derailment of a train near Simferopol on "interference by outsiders," according to UKDI. That blocked the only rail line into the port city of Sevastopol, headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet (BSF).

While Russia will work toward a quick repair, "the incident will disrupt deliveries of supplies and potentially also weaponry, such as Kalibr cruise missiles, to the BSF," UKDI said. "Any sabotage in this sensitive area will further increase the Kremlin's concerns about the ability to protect other key infrastructure in Crimea. The peninsula retains a vital psychological and logistical role in enabling Russia's war on Ukraine."

When asked whether sabotage on the rail line shows Ukraine's reach in Crimea and whether more such attacks could be expected, Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR), told The War Zone that "we cannot comment, not confirm and not deny this information."

https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1659435835018604546?s=20

As a result of the attack, Russian investigators opened up a terrorism investigation, the Russian SHOT Telegram channel reported.

"After undermining the railway tracks in the Simferopol region of Crimea, a criminal case was initiated under the 'Terrorist act,'" according to SHOT. "The power of the explosion was about 25-40 kilograms of TNT, according to our source. They are looking for saboteurs."

The train was traveling from Simferopol to Sevastopol, according to SHOT.

"After the explosion, 11 out of 23 cars derailed: five of them overturned, one was torn apart. A crater with a diameter of 12 meters formed at the site of the explosion."

There were no injuries and traffic was eventually restored, according to SHOT.

https://twitter.com/NewsZapper/status/1659543768284950533?s=20

British special operations forces are working close to the front lines in Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported.

U.K. special operations forces "from the British Armys SAS and SRR regiments and the Navys SBS units are operating very close to the front lines," the newspaper reported. "These personnel are serving as key interlocutors between North Atlantic Treaty Organization intelligence efforts and Ukrainian forces. They arent fighting, but their guiding influence on Ukrainian special-forces activity is evident in the sabotage operations Ukraine has conducted against Russian railway, airfield, fuel and other logistical nodes. The British army is also regarded by the Ukrainian military command as its most reliable advisory partner."

https://twitter.com/shashj/status/1659503452823900162?s=12&t=BQRSNakUKt7_8ssZiGBW-A

President Zelensky visited Saudi Arabia today, where he met with Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

"I thanked him for the invitation to participate in the Arab League Summit as an honored guest," Zelensky said on his Telegram channel. "During the meeting we discussed in detail the current bilateral relations and global issues. I informed him about the security situation in our country and countering the Russian aggressor. I also spoke about the main elements of the Ukrainian Peace Formula."

Zelensky said he "noted the successful participation of Saudi Arabia in the return of 10 foreign prisoners of war from Russian captivity. We are interested in continuing joint efforts to release people."

"I am grateful to Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud for supporting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and for his principled position in the framework of international organizations."

https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM/status/1659517394987958273?s=20

A volunteer fighting for Ukraine claimed the discovery of a nice cache of 10 Russian 9M114 Kokon anti-tank guided missile weapon systems generally mounted on tracked armor vehicles.

https://twitter.com/TJK_EOD/status/1659437169704828931?s=20

You can watch Ukrainian troops destroy a Russian Buk-M2 anti-aircraft missile launcher in this video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVmNLJcRHC4&t=59s

Near Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, a Russian MT-LB loaded with anti-tank mines was hit by several drone-dropped grenades and eventually exploded in a ball of fire, which you can watch in this video below.

https://twitter.com/UAWeapons/status/1659481263420440577?s=20

Modern warfare is becoming more and more like a video game, which you can see as these Ukrainian First Person Video (FPV) drones chase down and destroy a Russian BMP-3 Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) in Donetsk.

https://twitter.com/UAWeapons/status/1659300830103707649?s=20

There have been some Mad Maxian modifications made by both sides in the war, but this creation might be the wildest yet.

https://twitter.com/Archer83Able/status/1659586463405678594

And finally, Russian claims about the weapons it destroyed continue to not only mount but to often exceed the amount of existing equipment. The U.S., for example, has only delivered 18 M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, yet Russia claims to have destroyed 50, according to one OSINT researcher.

https://twitter.com/defmon3/status/1659496521102966786?s=12&t=BQRSNakUKt7_8ssZiGBW-A

That's it for now. We'll update this story when there's more news to report about Ukraine.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
Ukraine strikes back around Bakhmut as Wagner reaches last streets in the city

On the evening of May 9, just half a day after a single T-34 tank rolled through Red Square during Moscows subdued Victory Day celebrations, something unexpected happened.



Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of Russias Wagner mercenary group, announced that units of the Russian regular armys 72nd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade had fled their positions southwest of Bakhmut, the destroyed city in Donetsk Oblast, that has been for nine months the site of the bloodiest battle of Russias war against Ukraine.



A few hours later, Ukraines Third Assault Brigade confirmed Prigozhins claims that the 72nd was in flight, reporting their own capture of Russian positions west of a key canal running adjacent to Bakhmut.



A video published by the brigade on May 13 showed Ukrainian assault infantry, backed by multiple tanks and armored vehicles, surging forward across pockmarked fields, facing little resistance.

The next few days showed that this Ukrainian advance was not an isolated occurrence.

Since then, Ukrainian forces have reportedly made significant advances not only on the southern, but also the northern flank of Bakhmut near the villages of Khromove and Bohdanivka.

Here, according to geolocated footage and Russian Telegram channels, Russian regular military units abandoned their positions in a similar fashion.

According to the latest official information from the Ukrainian military, Ukraine has taken back more than 20 square kilometers around the city, including positions that Russian forces have held since February.

On May 18, the Third Assault Brigade once again reported a successful localized breakthrough on the western outskirts of Bakhmut.

Meanwhile however, the battle inside the city continues to move in favor of Russian forces led by Wagner and Russian paratrooper units.

Flanks around Bakhmut hold as brutal urban fighting continues for city blocks Two months after Ukraines defense of Bakhmut seemed doomed, the bloodiest battle of Russias full-scale war against Ukraine is still going against all expectations. Making rapid advances at the end of February, Russian forces seemed to be on the cusp of surrounding the city, as the only roads Kyiv IndependentFrancis Farrell

Twilight of the battle

The neverending battle for Bakhmut can now be understood almost as two separate battles, those on the flanks and that inside the city.

Ukraines counterattacks have pushed Russian forces back from the two main Roads of Life into Bakhmut, which, in theory, makes Ukraines famed fortress city easier and safer to reinforce and resupply.

Unfortunately for Ukraine, over five months since Wagner fighters first entered Bakhmuts urban area, there is barely anything left of the fortress.

As of May 18, Russia controls over 95% of Bakhmut, with the latest open-source maps showing Ukrainian forces holding on only to a handful of streets and apartment buildings on the western outskirts of the city.

In almost daily updates, Prigozhin has begun to measure Wagners daily advances in streets and square meters, testifying to the slow progress made by the much-depleted mercenary force.

On May 17, Russian sources claimed that Wagner had taken the entirety of a neighborhood dubbed the Nest, where Ukraine had allegedly concentrated a large number of defending units.

Maxar satellite imagery released on May 15, 2023 showing the destruction of a residential area in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast. (Maxar Technologies via Getty Images)

The Battle of Bakhmut, by now likely the bloodiest single military engagement of the 21st century, looks to have finally entered its twilight.

As costly as the defense has been, with Ukraine reportedly suffering high casualties, the initially controversial choice of the Ukrainian command to hold the city for as long as possible seems to have paid off.

According to U.S. estimates as of early May, Russia is believed to have suffered at least 100,000 casualties over five months since its assault on Bakhmut gained intensity in late autumn. This rough figure amounts to half of Ukraines own estimates of Russias total personnel losses since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

Though the roads into the city were for months under constant fire from Russian forces less than a kilometer away in some areas, Ukraine did manage to keep its defense of the city stable, and the fear of a disastrous encirclement proved unfounded.

In tense urban fighting where almost every street and building was contested, Ukraine successfully carried out a holding operation that will likely be remembered as one of the most decisive engagements of the war.

Army of hired guns: How Russias PMCs are becoming the main invasion force Private armies are illegal in Russia, so naturally, Moscow has been using them for decades. Now, its making them the main invasion force. The rate at which Russia creates new private military company-like units sped up after 2014 but it really took off during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv IndependentIgor Kossov

Wagners last victory?

In a battle like that for Bakhmut, for part of the attacking force to continue its relentless urban assault while, just a few kilometers away, other units chaotically flee their positions is an unusual phenomenon.

In this case though, latest developments are likely to be closely connected to the boiling feud between Prigozhin and the Russian Defense Ministry.

While reporting Wagners gains inside Bakhmut, Prigozhin consistently goes out of his way in his daily updates to mention Russian retreats on the flanks, which Wagner handed over to the ministry back in mid-April.

In competition with the regular army for favor and resources from the Kremlin, Prigozhin has become increasingly desperate to portray the ministry as incompetent and even traitorous.

Prigozhins main asset is his fighting force, which has been severely attrited over months of heavy fighting, often in human wave-style front-on attacks.

Things came to a head on May 5, when Prigozhin recorded an expletive-laden video blaming Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and General Staff Head Valerii Gerasimov for the death of his fighters due to a lack of munitions supply.

In another video message the next day, Prigozhin threatened to pull Wagner forces out of Bakhmut if his demands werent met, a threat the mercenary boss later backed down on.

A screenshot from a video released by the press service of Yevgeny Prigozhin on May 13, 2023, shows the Wagner Group boss describing the tactical situation around Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast. (Telegram)

Although Wagner seems to finally be on the cusp of victory in Bakhmut, it now seems likely that it could be the end for the group as a force to be reckoned with in Russias war against Ukraine.

Speaking earlier in May to the Kyiv Independent, political scientist and expert on Russian security structures Mark Galeotti said that Wagner in its current state was a shadow of what it once was.

No longer able to personally recruit from Russias prison systems, Prigozhin has ruined relations with the Defense Ministry, upon which he relies on for ammunition and transport for his troops.

With Wagner having served its purpose in taking Bakhmut and Russian forces now shifting to a more defensive posture across the front line, it looks unlikely that the Kremlin will seek to allocate Prigozhin the resources needed to go further, especially as the Defense Ministry and other elites continue to invest in their own private military companies.

Of all the war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, Wagners brutal, lawless approach to both war and civilian life has earned the group a notorious reputation for cruelty.

The imminent downfall of Wagner is thus good news not only for the Ukrainian war effort, but also for the Ukrainian people.

Wagner a shadow of what it once was: Russia security expert on the rage of mercenary boss Prigozhin After seeming to have calmed down over early spring, the internal conflict between Wagner mercenary group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Russian Defense Ministry has escalated dramatically. In the early morning of May 5, Prigozhin recorded a video in front of what he claimed to be the bodies of doz Kyiv IndependentFrancis Farrell

Has the counteroffensive begun?

When Ukraine first moved forward around Bakhmut, there was chatter among Russian military bloggers that this was the beginning of Ukraines much anticipated counteroffensive.

In a tone that bordered on panic, propagandist Yevgeny Poddubny wrote on Telegram on May 11 that Ukrainian forces were making major breakthroughs around Bakhmut, and could soon push so far as to surround the Wagner forces inside the city, in a maneuver much like the Soviet counterattack in Stalingrad.

Similar claims about the Ukrainian counteroffensive already starting were also made by Prigozhin himself, eager to draw more attention to the failures of his political rivals.

Here, the obvious-seeming difference between a counterattack and counteroffensive must be stressed.

Significant as they were, pushing Russian forces back around Bakhmut for the first time in over half a year, the Ukrainian gains are no more than local counterattacks by the brigades already stationed in these sectors, exploiting Russian weakness and poor morale to regain the initiative.

Ukrainian servicemen of the Adam tactical group ride a T-64 tank towards a front line near the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, on May 7, 2023. (Sergey Shestak / AFP via Getty Images)

While Ukraine could assign more resources to Bakhmut in an attempt to build on these gains, the large-scale counteroffensive, one which will be undoubtedly spearheaded by fresh brigades and new Western equipment, has yet to begin.

Sound military doctrine dictates that the main push should be accompanied by a second or third offensive elsewhere, to distract Russias defense and force Moscow to spread its troops thin, and the Bakhmut area might be part of Kyivs plans.

But this part of central Donetsk Oblast, where almost every kilometer has been won and lost with massive effort and casualties on both sides, is very unlikely to present an opportunity for the kind of strategic breakthrough that will enable Ukraine to call the counteroffensive a success.

Nonetheless, the disunity among Russian forces comes at a highly beneficial time for Ukraine in the context of Kyivs counteroffensive plans.

Having failed to make any real progress in large-scale offensives over winter in other sectors in Donetsk Oblast including Vuhledar, Lyman, and Avdiivka, the regular Russian military has itself taken heavy losses, and has now proved itself vulnerable to targeted Ukrainian counterattacks.

After a grim winter defined by the wars most brutal fighting so far, Ukraines counterattacks show that the threat of Russia surging onward from Bakhmut towards Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the key hubs of Ukraines defense of Donetsk Oblast, has now subsided.

Russias months-long offensive in the region has run out of steam, finally opening the window for Ukraine to take the initiative, at a time and place of its choosing.

Note from the author:

Hi, this is Francis Farrell, cheers for reading this article. I grew up on the other side of the world, but in Ukraine I have found a home unlike any other. Just like with so many of our readers, I understand that you don't have to be from near here to realize how important Ukraine's struggle is for freedom and human rights all over the world. The Kyiv Independent's mission is to lead the way in continuing to bring the best homegrown, English-language coverage of this war, even if the rest of the world's attention starts to fade. Please consider supporting our reporting.
Key developments on May 19:

Zelensky arrives in Saudi Arabia, meets with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Zelensky expected at Hiroshima G7 Summit after Saudi Arabia

Ukraine's military confirms gaining initiative near Bakhmut, makes further advances

NBC: US, allies plan to supply Ukraine with F-16 jets, official says

President Volodymyr Zelensky, on May 19, made his first-ever visit to Saudi Arabia, where he called on Arab leaders  many of whom remain neutral or hold close ties with Moscow  to support his peace plan to end Russia's brutal all-out war.

Speaking at the annual Arab League summit in the city of Jeddah, Zelensky underscored the importance of cooperating together to free Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars who are held in Russian captivity.

"We have a positive experience with Saudi Arabia on the release of our people captured by Russia," Zelensky said, referring to a major prisoner swap in September 2022 involving 215 people, which the president said was reached with Turkey and Saudi Arabia's help.

During his visit, Zelensky met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, adding that the kingdom must play an important role in helping Ukraine return home prisoners of war.

At the May 19 summit, where Russian-backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was allowed to attend for the first time since 2011, Zelensky said, "I hope that most of us are here for the sake of peace and justice."

Zelensky's surprise visit to Saudi Arabia comes after the president's tour of European capitals, where he called for support to create a fighter jet coalition. In a few days, Zelensky visited Rome, Berlin, Paris, and London, meeting leaders of each country.

After Jeddah, Zelensky is expected to attend the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan. The three-day summit will last until May 21.

When dying stops being scary: Worn out Ukrainian soldiers in Donbas hold off Russian assaults Editors Note: This story is based on interviews with Ukrainian soldiers, conducted in Donetsk Oblast, near the eastern front line, in late March. Some of the soldiers declined to give their last names for security reasons, and are identified by first names and callsigns instead. DONETSK OBLAST  U Kyiv IndependentAsami Terajima

Bakhmut counterattacks

Ukrainian forces were once again able to advance up to 500 meters in some areas over the past day, Serhii Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's Eastern Operational Command, said on May 19.

Speaking on television, Cherevatyi said that Ukraine is "seizing" the battlefield initiative and using the opportunity to launch counterattacks near Bakhmut, even as Russia concentrates all of its efforts to finally capture the destroyed city.

The Ukrainian military's report comes as Ukraine appears to be gaining ground on some flanks of Bakhmut.

Earlier, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported that Ukrainian forces control the southwestern part of Bakhmut, and the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade reported marginal gains in the city's western outskirts.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a D.C.-based think-tank analyzing the war in Ukraine, confirmed Ukraine seizing "the tactical initiative" and making "tactically significant gains" near Bakhmut on May 18.

But within the city, Ukrainian authorities reported Russia  led by the brutal Wagner mercenaries  is continuing to make limited gains.

Ukraine strikes back around Bakhmut as Wagner reaches last streets in the city On the evening of May 9, just half a day after a single T-34 tank rolled through Red Square during Moscows subdued Victory Day celebrations, something unexpected happened. Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of Russias Wagner mercenary group, announced that units of the Russian regular armys 72nd Separat Kyiv IndependentFrancis Farrell

Ukraine to receive F-16 jets

The U.S. and its allies plan to supply Ukraine with U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, but the time frame and which countries would provide them are still unclear, a senior White House official told NBC News.

The official told NBC News on May 19 that the decision on the quantity of jets that Ukraine would receive, who would provide them, and the timeframe would be made in the coming months.

The report of Washingtons possible shift in its stance regarding the F-16s comes as U.S. President Joe Biden shifts to support an international fighter jet coalition. Earlier, the U.K. and the Netherlands agreed to build an international coalition to help procure F-16s for Ukraine.

Biden also told G7 leaders at the Hiroshima Summit that the U.S. will support a joint initiative to train Ukrainian pilots on modern fighter jets, including F-16s, CNN reported, citing a senior U.S. official.

Several European nations, including the Netherlands, possess F-16s, but the U.S. would need to approve the third-party transfer given the sensitive U.S. technology incorporated in the aircraft.
F-16 fighter jets: Biden to let allies supply warplanes in major boost for Kyiv

Portuguese F16

The US says it will allow its Western allies to supply Ukraine with advanced fighter jets, including American-made F-16s, in a major boost for Kyiv.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said President Joe Biden "informed his G7 counterparts" of the decision at the bloc's summit in Japan on Friday.

US troops will also train Kyiv's pilots to use the jets, Mr Sullivan said.

Russia said countries would run "enormous risks" if they supplied F-16s to Ukraine, state media reported.

Deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko told state-owned news agency Tass that Western countries were "sticking to the scenario of escalation".

"This will be taken into account in all our plans, and we have all the necessary means to achieve our goals," he said.

Ukraine has long sought advanced jets and President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the move as a "historic decision".

Countries can only resell or re-export American military hardware if the US approves it, so this decision clears the way for other nations to send their existing stocks of F-16s to Ukraine.

Although it seems increasingly likely that Ukraine will eventually receive the advanced jets it so desperately wants, no government has so far confirmed it will send them to Kyiv.

The US and allies had so far "focussed on providing Ukraine with the systems weapon and training it needs to conduct offensive operations this spring and summer", Mr Sullivan told reporters in Hiroshima, saying the moves were part of Washington's "long-term commitment to Ukraine's self-defence".

"As the training unfolds in the coming months, we will work with our allies to determine when planes will be delivered, who will be delivering them, and how many."

Ukraine has repeatedly lobbied its Western allies to provide jets to help in its fight against Russia.

Ahead of Saturday's official announcement, President Zelensky said the jets would "greatly enhance our army in the sky".

He said he looked forward to "discussing the practical implementation" of the plan at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, where he arrived on Saturday.

The US had been sceptical about providing Ukraine with modern fighter jets - at least in the near term. Its focus has instead been on providing military support on land.

Some Nato member countries have expressed worries that handing jets to Ukraine would be viewed as escalating the war, risking a direct confrontation with Russia.

Senior US military officials were previously sceptical about the ability of Western-supplied fighter jets to dramatically alter the conflict - there are lots of air defence systems on the ground, and Russia's large air force has struggled to gain air superiority.

In February, President Biden told reporters that he was "ruling out for now" sending advanced fighters to Ukraine.

But Mr Sullivan told reporters that the US had provided weapons to Kyiv as they were needed on the battlefield, and the decision to pave the way for fighter jets indicated the conflict had entered a new phase.

"Now we have delivered everything we said we were going to deliver, so we put the Ukrainians in a position to make progress on the battlefield through the counteroffensive. We've reached a moment where it is time to look down the road, and say what is Ukraine going to need as part of a future force to defend against Russian aggression," he said.

Mr Sullivan also indicated any jets Ukraine received would only be used for defence purposes, and that the US would neither enable nor support attacks on Russian territory.

"The Ukrainians have consistently indicated that they are prepared to follow through on that," he said.

While the change in US policy is significant, training pilots to fly F-16 jets will take time.

Ukraine has more trained fighter pilots than aircraft at present, but even training experienced fighter pilots on a new plane could take up to four months.

Nations will also need to agree to supply the jets.

The F-16 is widely used by a number of European and Middle East nations as well as the US, which still manufactures the aircraft.

The UK, Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark also welcomed the US move.

Mr Zelensky is joining the G7 leaders in Japan

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: "The UK will work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs."

The UK does not have any F-16s in its air force itself.

Denmark has announced it too will now be able to support the training of pilots, but did not confirm whether it would send any jets to Ukraine. Denmark's air force has 40 F-16s, around 30 of which are operational.

Earlier this week, Mr Sunak and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said they would build an "international coalition" to provide fighter jet support for Ukraine.

Mr Sunak said the UK would set up a flight school to train Ukrainian pilots. French leader Emmanuel Macron said his country was willing to do the same but would not provide jets.

Some of the opposition to sending the jets has centred around maintenance issues, with former Nato official Dr Jamie Shea saying they require extensive maintenance after almost every fight.

At the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine was believed to have around 120 combat capable aircraft - mainly consisting of aging Soviet-era MiG-29s and Su-27s.

But officials say they need up to 200 jets to match Moscow's air-power - which is thought to be five or six times greater than Kyiv's.

Mr Zelensky has primarily been asking its allies for F-16s. First built in the 1970s, the jet can travel at twice the speed of sound and can engage targets in the air or on the ground.

While now eclipsed by the more modern F-35, it remains widely in use. Experts say modern fighters like the F-16 would help Ukraine strike behind Russian lines.

Earlier this year some Eastern European countries sent Soviet-era Mig fighter jets to Ukraine.
Ukraines Zelensky caps frenetic week of diplomacy with plans to appear in person at Japans G7 summit

Volodymyr Zelensky will travel in person to Japan for the Group of Seven (G7) summit, according to officials familiar with the planning, a stark display of confidence and Western solidarity as Ukraines wartime leader tries to keep crucial support from allied nations flowing.

The surprise trip  which would be the Ukrainian presidents first to Asia since Moscows invasion of his country last February  comes as Kyiv is preparing a highly anticipated counteroffensive against Russia and building pressure on partner governments for more military aid amid intensifying aerial attacks.

And it also illustrates how Moscows onslaught against its neighbor has unleashed repercussions far beyond Europes borders in Asia, where Western-allied democracies are increasingly rattled by the growing authoritarian assertiveness of both Russia and China.

The war already tops the agenda of the three-day G7 summit, where leaders from the worlds wealthiest democracies are expected to make a strong statement of unity in support of Ukraine and unveil new measures to choke off Russias ability to fund and supply its war.

Very important things will be decided there, Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said on Ukrainian television Friday.

Therefore the physical presence of our president is absolutely important  to defend our interests, to explain, to provide clear proposals and clear arguments on the events that are taking place in our country, he said.

G7 member countries, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, include the largest backers of Ukraines defense.

Diplomatic push

Zelenskys appearance at the summit will bring him face-to-face not only with the leaders of the G7 nations, but also others who have been invited to attend.

Each year the summit includes geopolitical players outside the G7 alliance, and this year that list features leaders who have been hesitant to fully back Kyiv against Russias invasion.

The key to Zelenskys visit is not his coming to see the G7  he already has their full support. The key is seeing in person the governments who have been invited the summit as participants this year  India, Indonesia, Brazil, and more, said Josh Lipsky, the senior director of the Atlantic Councils GeoEconomics Center.

These so-called fence-sitter countries as (US Secretary of the Treasury) Janet Yellen described them, have never seen him in person, Lipsky said. This is a rare opportunity to press his case directly to some of countries that are providing key economic support by continuing to trade with Russia.

Earlier this week, Zelensky completed a whirlwind European tour, where he made a bid to restock Ukraines military arsenal during stops in Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

Lives wasted

The Ukrainian leader also attended the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday, where he urged sympathy from leaders in Saudi Arabia who turn a blind eye to the war in Ukraine.

Look at how much suffering the long-term wars have brought to Libya, Syria, Yemen, how many lives have been wasted by years of fighting Sudan and Somalia, in Iraq and Afghanistan, Zelensky told his counterparts.

I hope that most of us are here for the sake of peace and justice.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was present at the Arab League summit for the first time in a decade, and was seen on camera in the conference room minutes ahead of Zelenskys speech. Syria was only one of only two countries in the world (along with North Korea) to recognize Russias claimed annexations last year of four Ukrainian regions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on Friday for the Arab League summit, where he called on leaders not to "turn a blind eye" to Russia's invasion. - alekhbariyatv/Reuters

Zelenskys expected travel halfway around the world to Japan would give him another chance to stress his appeal for further military support to leaders of the worlds wealthiest democracies face-to-face.

It would also send a signal of a confident and well-connected Ukraine that contrasts sharply with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who has become increasingly isolated and cut off in recent months  especially after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes.

Japans Ministry of Foreign Affairs had previously said Zelensky would participate virtually in a Sunday session of the G7, after being invited to the gathering by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida earlier this year.

Kishida made a surprise visit to Ukraine in March while earlier this month Japan confirmed it is in talks to open a NATO liaison office, the first of its kind in Asia, arguing Russias invasion of Ukraine had made the world less stable.

Weapons wishlist

The week of frenetic diplomacy comes amid deepening urgency at home as Russias war consumes Ukraines resources and people in an existential fight for survival.

Aerial attacks rained down across Ukraine Thursday, with explosions heard in areas across the country, including the capital, which city officials say Russia has pelted with a series of air strikes of unprecedented power and intensity this month.

But Kyivs anti-missile defenses  bolstered by crucial Western weaponry  have had apparent success with the Ukrainian Air Force claiming to have downed 29 out of 30 cruise missiles launched by Russia overnight Thursday.

Zelenskys appearance at the summit could add momentum to his appeal for more of that kind of equipment, which Kyiv says it desperately needs to protect its people from Russias aerial onslaught, and bolster any counteroffensive.

What Zelensky wants to get from the G7 is reassurance about their support for the war, and he wants to make sure that there is no fatigue, said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, an emeritus professor of political science at Hong Kong Baptist University, adding that the timing of Zelenskys travel near the start of Ukraines counteroffensive against Russia was important.

The Ukrainian leader welcomed additional pledges of military support for that effort  including $3 billion in military aid from Germany  at the close of his European tour earlier this week, but renewed demands for the modern fighter jets.

Zelensky welcomed the USs decision to support a joint F-16 fighter jets training effort for Ukrainians. This will greatly enhance our army in the sky, he wrote on Twitter.

At the top of Ukraines list in recent months have been F-16 fighter jets, and Britain earlier this week said it was working with the Netherlands to form an international coalition to help Ukraine procure the jets and train pilots to fly them.

The Biden administration recently signaled to European allies that the US would allow them to export the jets to Ukraine, CNN reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the discussions.

Zelenskys expected visit to Asia will follow on the heels of one from Ukraines first lady Olena Zelenska.

On Tuesday, Zelensky pressed South Korea to provide air defense systems as well as non-lethal military hardware to her country during a meeting in Seoul with President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The outreach to Asia comes as Beijing dispatched its own special envoy to Europe this week to promote conversations around ending the conflict, as China  which is not part of the G7 and maintains close ties with Russia  attempts to play a role in brokering peace.

Zelensky met with envoy Li Hui earlier this week, Chinas Foreign Ministry said Thursday. Ukraines Foreign Ministry earlier that day had confirmed Li met Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and discussed ways to stop Russian aggression.

CNNs Kevin Liptak in Hiroshima and Olga Voitovych in Kyiv contributed to this report. CNNs Mick Krever contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
JAKARTA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The outbreak of African swine fever in Indonesia has triggered concerns in the country over disruption of exports to neighboring countries.

Indonesian Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo said on Wednesday that the infections were expected to cause a temporary interruption to the exports of both live pigs and freshly slaughtered pork.

Currently, the number of pigs infected by the disease is not too high, but it has affected our exports quite a lot because most of live pigs and pork produced in Indonesia go for exports, Limpo told reporters at his office in Jakarta.

The disease is harmless to humans but highly contagious and fatal for pigs as there is no known cure.

Limpo revealed that the outbreak had been reported in Luwu Timur regency and Gowa regency in South Sulawesi province, and in Riau Islands province.

Data from the department of agriculture and food security of Luwu Timur regency showed that from May 12 to 15, more than 17,100 pigs, or nearly half of the total 38,556 pigs in the region, died from the disease, and the number is expected to increase.

Singapore, which is the largest market of pig exports of Indonesia's Pulau Bulan regency, has halted imports of live pigs from the region since April 23, after the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) detected the disease in a consignment of pigs.

As a consequence, Indonesia's value of pig exports to Singapore in April slumped to only 2.85 million dollars.

I Ketut Hari Suyasa, chairman of the Bali pig farmers association, said that the price of live pigs from breeders had fallen to 48,000 rupiahs per kilogram from previously 60,000 rupiahs per kilogram since the outbreak in Sulawesi island.

The death toll of pigs infected with the disease is quite high. If one pig is infected, pigs in the same pen will most likely die. As an impact, pig sellers did panic selling, Suyasa said.

Taking preventive measures, Limpo said his ministry had instructed a tight isolation in the affected areas and intensified vaccine intervention to pigs across the country.

As the disease can spread during export trips, the ministry will also trace the flow of distributions at export points, or from any properties that could have had direct or indirect contact with affected farms, he said.

To anticipate worsening spread, the Ministry of Health urged all breeders to wear personal protective equipment when handling the livestock and routinely cleaning cages and stalls with disinfectant.

"Breeders must destroy their livestock if they are found sick or die suddenly," said Siti Nadia Tarmizi, who is in charge of prevention and control of zoonotic diseases at the ministry.

"We recommend that people not buy sick animals for cooking, even though the price is usually cheaper," she said. (1 dollar equals 14,923 rupiahs) 
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, greet each other during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 21, 2023. Zelenskyy will join leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies in Hiroshima, Japan, making his furthest trip from of his war-torn country as leaders are set to unveil new sanctions on Russia for its invasion. | Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via Associated Press

This week, the leaders of the most powerful democratic governments in the world are meeting in person. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join the Group of Seven summit on Sunday, but on Friday before his arrival, part of what the other leaders had on the agenda was addressing the war in Ukraine.

They vowed Friday to tighten punishments for Russia for its 15-month invasion of Ukraine, the Associated Press reported.

What will world leaders discuss at the G7 Summit?

Our support for Ukraine will not waver, the G7 leaders said in a statement, per The AP News. They also vowed to stand together against Russias illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.

Zelenskyys attendance at the G7 Summit will follow an in-person visit to Saudi Arabia in his latest stop on a flurry of trips outside of Ukraine to shore up support ahead of a widely anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive, The New York Times reported.

What did Zelenskyy say on his trip to Saudi Arabia?

During his unannounced trip to Saudi Abrabia for the Arab League Summit, he pushed for the return of political prisoners from Crimea and other Russian-occupied regions, according to BBC.

Unfortunately, there are some in the world and here among you who turn a blind eye to those (prisoner of war) cages and illegal annexations and Im here so that everyone can take an honest look, no matter how hard the Russians try to influence, there must still be independence, Zelenksyy said during the summit, per BBC.

What other leaders will be at the G7 Summit in Japan?

In Japan, Zelenksyy will appear alongside President Joe Biden, along with top leaders from Japan, Canada, Britain, France, Germany and Italy. They also are likely to discuss how to enforce Russian sanctions and how to get peace talks on the table between Russia and Ukraine, per the Times.

We were sure that our president would be where Ukraine needed him, in any part of the world, to solve the issue of stability of our country, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, said on national television, per AP. There will be very important matters decided there, so physical presence is a crucial thing to defend our interests.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine are seizing the initiative on the Bakhmut front and attempting to counterattack. Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces advanced up to 500 metres in different directions.

Source: Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the East Grouping of Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, during the national joint 24/7 newscast on 19 May

Details: Asked whether the statement of the American Institute for the Study of War is true regarding Ukraine's seizing of the initiative under Bakhmut, Cherevatyi answered:

Quote: "The situation is very difficult on this front, but under control. We see the enemy's intentions, predict them, and anticipate them. You can say that yes, there is a certain, let's say, element of us seizing the initiative from them and trying to counterattack."

More details: Cherevatyi added that Bakhmut remains the priority target for the Russians. Over the last day, 10 combat engagements took place; the Russians fired 477 times at Ukrainian positions and carried out nine air attacks. 141 occupants were killed, 220 were wounded and one was taken prisoner.

Quote: "The enemy continues to conduct attacks directly in the city. Our units, where possible, are also putting pressure on the enemy and continuing to advance across the territory. In particular, our defenders managed to advance up to 500 metres in different directions over the last day.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






A year after the fall of Ukraine's Mariupol, the families of captive fighters are still trying to bring them home

Yevgenia Synelnyk can barely look at her brother's photo a year after Russia captured him and over 2,000 fighters in the Azovstal siege. She fears she hasn't done enough to bring him home.

Families like hers have used protest, political pressure and their own pain to battle for their loved ones' return since the siege in the port city of Mariupol, which came to symbolise Ukrainian resistance.

But advocacy groups say just under 500 of the fighters have been freed in exchanges - while the rest are cut off from families who have at times been left to wonder if they are even still alive.

"I almost do not open his photos now because I'm kind of ashamed that I'm not doing enough, or haven't done enough," said Synelnyk, 30.

"He's still there, I'm still here, and it's been a year. I'm somehow ashamed to look him in the eye, even in the photo," she added.

A horrific battle for Mariupol came down to Ukrainian troops and civilians holding out beneath the Azovstal steelworks, but that ended with Kyiv's order for them to surrender to save their lives.

Russia said it had taken captive 2,439 men and women fighters by the May 20, 2022 fall of the bombed works, which was equipped with bunkers and tunnels that had sheltered the holdouts.

- 'Reminder that we exist' -

Before and after the fall of Azovstal, their families protested to raise pressure on the government to help the troops.

"Earlier there were more rallies, and they were all over the world. Actually, I held rallies in Georgia, Poland and Geneva," said 21-year-old Tamara Protsenko, whose boyfriend Oleksandr Kalashnyk is in Russian detention.

One protest around Christmas, which featured tables set for a holiday celebration and banners calling for the fighters' release, apparently displeased Moscow.

"The Russians didn't like how we presented them," Protsenko said, noting that feedback had come via the Ukrainian authorities.

Families have organised themselves into support and advocacy groups, said Ganna Lobova, whose husband Oleg is in Russian hands.

The groups meet with Ukrainian authorities to push for their loved ones' release, to raise questions and as Lobova said: "Remind them that we exist".

She is particularly active on the issue of the Olenivka prison in eastern Ukraine, where her husband was held.

The centre controlled by pro-Russian forces was bombed in late July, killing dozens of Ukrainian prisoners.

Kyiv accused Russian-controlled forces while Moscow blamed the Ukrainian army.

"He was in the barracks in Olenivka that was blown up. Russia recorded him both as dead and wounded," she said.

It was only weeks later, when Oleg appeared in images on a pro-Russian Telegram channel, that she was sure he was alive.

Lobova and other families are pushing for a full investigation of the deadly incident in an effort to seek justice for a tragedy they believe has not received proper attention.

The families are carrying on with their advocacy while having only fragmentary information about their loved ones.

Under the Geneva Convention's rules for the treatment of prisoners of war -- to which Russia is a party -- captives must be allowed to send and receive letters.

In reality, the only news to arrive has come from prisoners who return home after swaps with the Russians and can carry precious updates about those still in detention.

- 'Hardest is the unknown' -

After 45 fighters were freed earlier in May, Protsenko went from one person to the next seeking even the tiniest bit of information.

"Today I was told that yes, he is where he was, and in principle he is in OK condition," she added with a broad smile on Wednesday.

"Sometimes, it feels like maybe he's already gone -- and I wouldn't know about it," Protsenko said. "This is what I fear the most."

Some families have had absolutely no contact with their captive loved ones since terse last messages sent in the heat of the Azovstal fighting.

"The hardest thing is the unknown. Because you don't know where he is and when he will come back," said Lobova. "How much longer?"

There is no answer to that question but the Ukrainian government said it is working to arrange prisoner exchanges for all its fighters that have been captured by Russia.

"A lot depends on the Russian side, and we are trying to take from Russian captivity as many of our citizens as possible," said Petro Yatsenko, spokesman for Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for Treatment of Prisoners of War.

bur-jmm/lcm
Ukraines' Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces discusses work of Patriot air defence system with US General Mark Milley

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, discussed the effective work of Patriot air defence systems in Ukraine with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, General Mark Milley.

Source: Zaluzhnyi on Telegram

Quote: "Informed [Milley  ed.] in detail about the situation in the main parts of the front. We continue to conduct a defensive operation and prepare for further actions.

I told him about the [large-scale  ed.] Russian drone and missile attacks, in particular with the aeroballistic Kinzhal Kh-47M2. Thanked him [for the supply of  ed.] Patriot systems and noted their effective work. The priority is additional air defence systems to strengthen the protection of our sky."

Details: According to Zaluzhnyi, they also discussed the need to supply weapons and ammunition, long-range shells in particular.

He added that he and Milley agreed to continue their cooperation.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan in person on Sunday, a trip that will mark one of the farthest distances he has traveled from Ukraine since Russia's invasion.

Zelenskyy's expected appearance at the annual meeting of leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies was confirmed by Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council.

We were sure that our president would be where Ukraine needed him, in any part of the world, to solve the issue of stability of our country, Danilov said Friday on Ukrainian national television. There will be very important matters decided there, so physical presence is a crucial thing to defend our interests."

Neither the summit's host  Japan  nor the U.S. has confirmed Zelenskyy's attendance, though Ukraine's leader did make a surprise visit to a summit of Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Friday, with assistance from France.

President Joe Biden is due to depart the summit on Sunday to return to Washington for debt ceiling talks that have at times that loomed over his overseas trip. He canceled stops in Papua New Guinea and Australia and departed a dinner on Friday before other G-7 leaders to receive a briefing on the budget negotiations.

Because of his canceled trip to Australia, the White House said Biden will meet with other members of the so-called Quad security pact  Australia, Japan and India  on Saturday evening while he is in Hiroshima. Biden will also sit down with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier in the day at a separate function.

G-7 leaders walk to a flower wreath laying ceremony at a Hiroshima memorial for atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima, Japan on May 19, 2023.

Japan is about 5,000 miles from Ukraine. Zelenskyy traveled a similar distance to Washington, D.C. in December last year. The war in Ukraine is one of the top items on the agenda in Hiroshima. Zelenskyy's attendance will come as G-7 countries  the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan  unveiled fresh sanctions on Russia over its invasion.

Over the last week, Ukraine's leader has undertaken a diplomatic blitz of Europe, visiting Germany, France, Italy and the U.K. to drum up military and financial support as Ukraine hopes to turn the tide of the war with a heavily signaled impending counteroffensive against Russian forces. Zelenskyy's trip to Japan also comes as peace initiatives led by China and some African countries have been met with skepticism in Kyiv and western capitals.

"Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainian people. We are on our land and (are) fighting for our future, exercising our inalienable right to self-defense," Zelenskyy said in a phone call with China's leader Xi Jinping last month. "There can be no peace at the expense of territorial compromises."

'Ukraine is alive and kicking': Zelenskyy addresses Congress amid cheers, pledges of support

The news of Zelenskyy's trip to Japan came as G-7 leaders gathered Friday morning to lay flowers at a peace memorial in Hiroshima that commemorates the approximately 70,000 people who died when the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the city, effectively setting in motion Japan's surrender and the end of World War II.

Russian President Vladimir Putins nuclear threats against Ukraine, along with North Koreas missile tests and Chinas expanding nuclear arsenal, make nuclear disarmament a major part of the Hiroshima summit.

After a group photo near Hiroshima's distinctive bombed-out dome, G-7 leaders issued a collective statement Friday that said they "remain united in imposing coordinated sanctions and other economic actions to further undermine Russias capacity to wage its illegal aggression."

The Biden administration said it would blacklist 70 entities from receiving U.S. exports and introduce more than 300 new sanctions on individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft that would target financial facilitators and other actors in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

As part of the sanctions, the U.S. said it is working to sever Russia's access to architecture and engineering services. It also introduced sanctions on foreign nationals aiding Russia's intelligence and military divisions and Russian officials accused of helping to facilitate the forced deportation and adoption of Ukrainian children.

Our collective efforts have cut Russia off from key inputs it needs to equip its military and is drastically limiting the revenue the Kremlin receives to fund its war machine," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

Putin wields a nuclear threat: Is it an empty one?

Britain unveiled punitive measures that will block imports of Russian copper, aluminum and nickel. It also banned imports from Russia's lucrative diamond industry.

Australia said it would target Russian companies involved in nuclear research and weapons manufacturing. The European Union was focused on closing the door on loopholes, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, said.

The G-7 statement said that it would action to "further prevent the evasion and circumvention of our (sanctions) measures against Russia," an acknowledgement that Russia has found at least some sanctions workarounds.

G-7 leaders stand near a shrine in Hiroshima, Japan on May 19, 2023.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine's President Zelenskyy to attend G-7 meeting in Japan
Law enforcement officers have detained a resident of Bukovyna, a historic region in western Ukraine, who had committed high treason.

Source: Security Service of Ukraine (SSU); Chernivtsi Oblast Prosecutors Office

Details: The suspect collected intelligence on the location of critical infrastructure and Ukraines defence forces in the country's east and west, and passed it on to Russian occupation forces.

Ukraines Security Service said that he was particularly interested in where units of Ukraines Security Service and Border Guards were based, and the exact coordinates of key bridges and electricity substations in Kharkiv Oblast and the Bukovyna region.

Security Service officers detained the Russian spy in the western city of Chernivtsi, as he was trying to covertly photograph a military facility.

The investigators say that the suspect, who collaborated with the aggressor state, was a resident of Chernivtsi. He moved to Kharkiv in 2021 to work as an internet setup technician.

In the wake of Russias full-scale invasion, he started sharing pro-Kremlin narratives on his profile in Odnoklassniki, a Russian social media website banned in Ukraine. The SSU said Russian military intelligence officers became aware of his activity in February 2023.

A Russian intelligence officer approached him online, and offered the man to collaborate with Russia.

Still in Kharkiv, he carried out the tasks assigned by the Russian handler, gathering information about where Ukrainian checkpoints and defence fortifications were located in the city; he also passed on the geolocation of Kharkiv energy facilities to the Russian occupiers.

In May, the suspect was given a new task: to go back to his native Chernivtsi under the pretext of visiting family, but in fact to spy on the SSU office in Chernivtsi Oblast, the local border guards detachment, and the Chernivtsi military enlistment office.

He was also tasked with supplying the coordinates of local transport bridges, and information about their security, as well as the locations of major logistical hubs and humanitarian aid storage facilities.

The man used a messenger app on his phone to share the information with his Russian handler, who promised to transfer payments for each successfully completed task to his bank card.

During the search at the suspects place of residence, the SSU found a mobile phone and a laptop that he used to carry out the subversive operations against the Ukrainian state.

Based on the evidence gathered, SSU investigators served the Russian agent a notice of suspicion of high treason committed under martial law.

He is currently in custody.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Ukrainian border guards repel Russian assault on a stronghold in Bakhmut, forcing Russians to retreat with losses

Ukrainian forces have successfully repelled a Russian attempt to assault a State Border Guard Service stronghold in Bakhmut.

Source: State Border Guard Service of Ukraine on Telegram

Quote from the SBGS: "Border guards have successfully repelled another assault. An enemy infantry group attacked an SBGS stronghold, attacking a firing point and attempting to approach the border guards positions.

Our defence forces fired back, and threw grenades at the occupation forces when they approached."

Details: The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported that the border guards killed two members of the Russian assault unit and injured three.

The Russian unit retreated after having failed to assault the border guards positions.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
A group of unions has filed an anti-trust lawsuit against UPMC, calling on the government to investigate the health care giants alleged abuse of market power against workers and patients.

The suit alleges that UPMC uses a dominant market position to allegedly suppress wages and increase workloads, and then lock workers into substandard conditions by restricting their movement and illegally retaliating against workers who speak out for better conditions.

Click here to read the full complaint.

The plaintiffs say the complaint follows a nine-month investigation.

President of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania Matt Yarnell held a virtual meeting about the complaint earlier this week.

UPMC Chief Communications Officer Paul Wood sent Channel 11 the following statement:

UPMC is moving to $18 per hour for our non-union workforce by 2025. This is the highest entry-level of any health care provider in the state. UPMC is among the best places to work in all the regions we served throughout PA, NY and MD due to our wages and our above-industry employee benefits, which are designed to support our employees and their families.

o UPMC added first-dollar health care coverage, through the introduction of HRAs, for our employees making less than $18.04 per hour or about $37,500 per year. For 2023, we added HRAs for our employees making up to around $75,000 per year to help offset these same costs.

o UPMC was the first health care organization in PA to offer Paid Parental Leave and among the first to offer backup/emergency daycare for our workforce.

o UPMCs health care premiums are often half of what other health systems in the area charge.

o UPMC also provides an important role in the community for those without college degrees. UPMC provides careers that allow individuals to come to UPMC in entry level roles, and utilizing our career ladders, support systems, and tuition assistance programs they can go as far as they would like in advancing themselves. Tuition assistance is also offered for dependent children and spouses/partners.

UPMCs average wage is more than $78,000.

o There are no other employers of size and scope in the regions UPMC serves that provide good paying jobs at every level and an average wage of this magnitude.

Nursing care UPMC provides for our patients is based on their acuity and needs, not staffing ratios, enabling us to staff with flexibility, deploying our nurses to best meet patients needs.

There is no policy that prohibits someone who leaves employment at a UPMC facility from being hired by another UPMC facility.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

TRENDING NOW:

Homeless man found stabbed to death, Pittsburgh police say Shell Cracker Plant in Beaver County will be in shutdown mode for weeks to come Eric Fairman: Former teacher, coach sentenced after taking plea deal for sex abuse charges VIDEO: Victim identified, suspect named in fatal Neville Township shooting DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
In unprecedented move, Cuba will let Russians lease land as the two countries get closer

In a clear signal of their strengthened alliance, Cuba will grant preferential treatment to investors from Russia, allowing them to lease land for 30 years, an unprecedented step in the history of the islands communist government, a Russian official told Russian business representatives in Havana.

Boris Titov, Russias presidential commissioner for entrepreneurs rights and chairman of the Russia-Cuba Business Council, told representatives of more than 50 Russian companies on Thursday that Cuban authorities are ready to provide special conditions for Russian businessmen, Russian news outlet Sputnik reported.

According to Sputnik and the Reuters news agency, the Russian official said the concessions include the right to make use of Cuban land for 30-year terms, duty-free importation of agricultural machinery and the right to repatriate profits in foreign currency, which the Cuban government currently restricts.

In a separate announcement, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, who arrived on the island on Thursday on an official visit, said the Cuban government has also green-lighted Russian banks to open subsidiaries to finance Russian businesses on the island and that the countries will transition to ruble-based investment in our joint projects, according to a Russian government statement.

On Friday, Chernyshenko announced that Russian state airline Aeroflot will resume regular flights to Cuba on July 1, the Russian news agency Tass reported.

Relations between Russia and Cuba have historical significance, Chernyshenko said upon arrival on the island, adding that he carried instructions from Russian President Vladimir Putin, a Russian government statement said. We intend to do everything possible to help the Cuban economy reach a decent level.

The flurry of announcements is the clearest sign yet of the Cuban governments decision to move further away from opening its economy to U.S. investors, especially Cuban Americans, in favor of its old political ally as the island seeks a lifeline out of its economic crisis. It might also add tension to Cubas already strained relationship with the United States at a time when the Biden administration is moving to further expand sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Nothing and no one can stop it, Cubas minister of foreign commerce, Ricardo Cabrisas, said of the economic ties with Russia, Reuters reported.

In contrast, the Cuban government has yet to respond to the Biden administrations authorization to a U.S. company to offer a loan and invest in a small private business in Cuba last year, a first in several decades.

Cuba blames the islands economic crisis on the U.S. economic embargo and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic while refusing to make substantial reforms to its inefficient centrally planned economy, which restricts private property, market competition and investments. The government authorized Cubans to own small and medium-sized private businesses in 2021 for the first time in several decades. But factions within the government are divided on how far they want to go to boost the private sector, which Communist Party hardliners see as a threat to their grip on the population.

Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have tried to assure potential U.S. investors, in particular Cuban Americans, that they can do business on the island. Still, the lack of Cubas response to the U.S. license and the increased ties with Russia signal that hardliners are winning for now.

Allowing Russian companies to lease land might be particularly controversial because American citizens and companies still hold certified property claims over lands confiscated by Fidel Castro shortly after he took power in 1959.

The land-lease measure, which was not reported in Cuban state media, might also add to the populations discontent with the government of Miguel Diaz-Canel.

The Cuban government is the countrys largest land owner after Castro ordered the confiscation of most land through a so-called agrarian reform. Excessive government control over lands, farming, food distribution and prices has caused agricultural production to plummet, and economists have advised the government to let more Cubans own or lease land for agriculture.

For Russia, finding new markets for its products has become more crucial after its invasion of Ukraine led to financial and economic sanctions by the U.S. and the European Union. Several officials have traveled in recent months to the island, which Putin sees as a key ally only 90 miles away from U.S. shores.

Russian officials in Havana touted a number of deals in the works, including Cuban hotels accepting Russian Mir payment cards, increasing the number of charter flights connecting the two countries, opening a trading house in Havana and establishing a direct route for freight transportation. Officials also said Russian trade with Cuba has grown to $452 million, three times the amount in 2021, with oil accounting for most of it.

But some experts doubt Russian companies real appetite to invest on the island and take advantage of the promised benefits, given Cubas long history of defaulting on creditors and fears of litigation over property rights.

These concessions are not representative of a robust government-run economy; it is almost a message of desperation, said John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, whose company received the U.S. government license to invest in a private business in Cuba.

Given Cubas financial history, it is quite likely that the Russian experience may not be long-lived, he added.
US and allied naval commanders in Mideast transit Strait of Hormuz, in show of force against Iran

An Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessel watches an American warship in the Strait of Hormuz Friday, May 19, 2023. The Mideast-based chiefs of the U.S., British and French navies transited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday aboard an American warship, a sign of their unified approach to keep the crucial waterway open after Iran seized two oil tankers. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

ABOARD THE USS PAUL HAMILTON IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ (AP)  The Mideast-based commanders of the U.S., British and French navies transited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday aboard an American warship, a sign of their unified approach to keep the crucial waterway open after Iran seized two oil tankers.

Tensions in the Persian Gulf have been volatile since Iran's nuclear deal with world powers collapsed, following the U.S.' unilateral withdrawal five years ago. The incredibly rare, joint trip by the three navy chiefs aboard the USS Paul Hamilton, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, saw three fast boats of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard approach the vessel at one point.

Guardsmen stood by uncovered machine guns on their decks, while sailors aboard the Paul Hamilton similarly stood by loaded machine guns as others shot photographs and video of the vessels. An Associated Press journalist also accompanied the allied naval commanders.

While the Guard kept its distance from both the Paul Hamilton and the passing British frigate HMS Lancaster, their presence showed just how tense passage for vessels can be in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of global oil supplies passes.

Iran has seized or attacked 15 ships in the last two years. Eight seizures and seven attacks," Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, who oversees the U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet, told the AP. "So the shipping industry is mindful of what the security posture looks like in the region. We have the ability to positively impact that influence and thats what were doing now.

Cooper said Iran's Guard ships Friday came within 1,000 yards (915 meters) of the Paul Hamilton, which is based out of San Diego.

The U.S. has viewed securing the Middle East's waterways, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, as key since then-President Jimmy Carter's 1980 speech vowing to use military force to protect American interests in the wider Persian Gulf. While focused then on the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, the Carter Doctrine's vow to allow the free movement of Middle East oil now pits the U.S. against Iran, which has seized a series of oil tankers since the collapse of its nuclear deal with world powers.

Last week, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists that America planned to make a series of moves to bolster our defensive posture in the Persian Gulf, while criticizing Iran's recent seizures of tankers. Cooper said the joint trip on the Paul Hamilton represented part of that push, with the aim of having more coalition ships passing through the strait on a regular basis.

"The volume of commerce that flows through the Strait of Hormuz  it is critical to the worlds economy, he said.

For its part, Iran long has bristled at the American presence in the region. After Kirby's remarks, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani issued a lengthy statement accusing the U.S. of creating and intensifying instability and insecurity in the Persian Gulf region for decades with its interventionist and destructive policies.

However, Kanaani also specifically mentioned the U.S. seizing and confiscating some Iranian oil cargoes in international waters. The suspected American seizure of the Suez Rajan, a tanker linked to a U.S. private equity firm believed to have been carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil off Singapore, likely sparked Tehran to recently take the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Advantage Sweet. That ship carried Kuwaiti crude oil for energy firm Chevron Corp. of San Ramon, California.

There was no immediate reaction in Iranian state media nor from the Guard about the Paul Hamilton's trip from the Persian Gulf out through the strait to the Gulf of Oman. However, it was unlikely the Iranians immediately knew that the American, British and French commanders had been aboard the vessel, though at least one Guard member aboard the fast boats was studying the Paul Hamilton with a pair of binoculars.

Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the trip.

On the trip through the Strait of Hormuz, at least one Iranian drone watched the Paul Hamilton. Meanwhile, an U.S. Navy Boeing P-8 Poseidon also was overhead. U.S. forces also routinely fly drones in the region as well, while a Navy task force also has put some drones out to sea.

Securing the Strait of Hormuz has been a challenge since the Carter Doctrine  and deadly. The so-called 1980s Tanker War involved American naval ships escorting reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers through the gulf and the strait after Iranian mines damaged vessels in the region. The U.S. Navy even fought a one-day naval battle against Iran at the time, as well as accidentally shot down an Iranian commercial airliner, killing 290 people.

Former President Donald Trump's decision to unilaterally withdraw from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers sparked new challenges from Iran in the region. Tehran seized tankers, while the Navy also blamed Iran for again using mines against shipping. The Trump administration came up with its Sentinel program, which also involved it and partner nations escorting ships in the region. But tensions with Europe after the nuclear deal's collapse didn't see a wide buy-in with the program.

This renewed effort under President Joe Biden does not appear to involve escorting individual ships, but trying to put more allied forces in the region. Already, the U.S. has brought A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and a submarine in the region to try to deter Iran.

America also could bring more ships into the Persian Gulf. The end of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the war in Ukraine and American concern over China's expansion in the South China Sea, has halted routine carrier deployments in recent years.

For now, Cooper pointed to the presence of his British and French colleagues  Commodore Philip Dennis, the commander of the United Kingdom Maritime Component Command, and Vice Adm. Emmanuel Slaars, the joint commander of the French forces deployed in the Indian Ocean  as a sign of the resolve of America and its partners.

This is part of our increase in presence in the region, which was described by the White House last week, and thats now in execution, Cooper said.

___

Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
VIENTIANE, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Laos recorded a trade surplus of 1.39 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, and the total value of the country's imports and exports was 15 billion dollars.

In 2022, the country's exports were worth about 8.19 billion dollars, while imports were valued at 6.8 billion dollars, the Lao Economic Daily reported on Friday.

Thailand was the largest export market for Laos in 2022, followed by China, Vietnam, Australia and Cambodia.

Thailand was also Laos' largest source for imports, followed by China and Vietnam, according to the report.

Electricity represented the largest share of Laos' total exports in 2022, with a value of 2.35 billion dollars, followed by mining, gold, rubber, coffee, cassava, garments and other agricultural products.

Meanwhile, the main imported products for Laos included fuel, vehicles and spare parts, machinery, steel and steel products, wood pulp and paper scraps, sugar, and plastic products.

Lao researchers said although Laos recorded a trade surplus in the past year, the country still exports a considerable volume of raw materials that need to be processed for export.

They suggested that attracting investments into manufacturing raw materials is essential to adding value to Lao products and boosting the country's exports.

Researchers also recommended that it's critical to create favorable conditions for entrepreneurs to bring all foreign currencies into Laos earned from exports, not depositing offshore, as the move will help stabilize exchange rates and maintain the value of local currency, said the report. 
US State Department special envoy for hostage affairs Roger Carstens speaks during the Global Security Forum in Doha on March 15, 2023

The detention of US journalist Evan Gershkovich in Russia has put a new strain on the workload of US hostage envoy Roger Carstens who even before the arrest said his office resembles a "hospital emergency room".

Gershkovich is one of a growing number of Western nationals seen as "pawns" in global political battles.

The US government's special envoy for hostage affairs told AFP the majority of people monitored by his office were detained under government orders.

"There used to be a lot of hostage cases, very few wrongful detainee cases, and that has shifted. I would say two-thirds of my cases are now wrongful detentions, nation-states taking people," Carstens said on the sidelines of a recent security conference in Doha.

Using Qatar and other intermediaries, the United States is seeking to free three dual nationals in Iran.

Two other Americans are held in Russia -- former marine Paul Whelan and language teacher Marc Fogel, though only Whelan is considered "wrongfully detained".

Despite Iran's release of two French nationals last week, it still has at least four other French detainees, described previously as "hostages". Britons, Germans and other Europeans are also detained there.

Carstens took up the post in 2020 and is the last State Department political appointee from Donald Trump's administration still serving under Joe Biden, a sign of the respect he has earned and the importance of the post.

The former special forces lieutenant colonel told the Global Security Forum that the United States changed its handling of hostages after what he called "failures", notably over the killing of Americans in Syria in 2014.

Four Americans, including journalist James Foley, were beheaded by the Islamic State group. Foley's mother, Diane, now runs a foundation in his name to campaign for detained Americans.

The United States was wrong not to negotiate in many cases, had failed to communicate with families and bring together different government agencies, Carstens said.

The United States set up the special envoy post in 2015, coordinating work across the government.

The Biden administration recently used a 2020 act on wrongful detentions for the first time to impose sanctions on Russian and Iranian security services and individuals, over their role in holding Americans.

The State Department has also added a D-list on its travel advisories naming countries where "wrongful detention" is a risk.

Russia, Iran, China, North Korea, Venezuela and Myanmar are on it -- along with the likes of Hong Kong and Macau as Chinese-controlled territories.

- 'Crying' with families -

Carstens said 24 Americans had been released in the previous 24 months.

The Foley Foundation estimates there are still more than 50 Americans held in foreign prisons for varying reasons. The State Department did not give a "wrongfully detained" figure, citing the sensitivity of cases. Gershkovich is one however.

There are many "desperate" families, Diane Foley told the forum. "We are finding with wrongful detainees, that they are being held longer and longer because captors make it very difficult to get them out."

Carstens said he spends up to four hours a day speaking with families of detainees.

"My office is like a hospital emergency room, it is 24/7 activity," he said.

"If someone calls at 10 at night on a Friday we don't have the option of saying, 'Call us Monday, I left work at five.' We are going to pick that phone up and if they want to cry for two and half hours -- and that has happened -- we are going to be crying there with them."

The envoy said his team has the power to discuss release deals. The office "has ability to go and talk to and negotiate with ISIS if they take an American," he told the forum.

Unlike some Western nations, however, the United States says it does not pay ransom, believing that would incentivise hostage-taking.

- 'Pawns' between powers -

Vina Nadjibulla, an international relations professor at the University of British Columbia whose husband, Michael Kovrig, was one of two Canadians detained in China for more than 1,000 days, said Western countries must make greater use of negotiations to free what she called "pawns in international affairs".

"My own research shows that as we get deeper into the geopolitical competition and as we are in this new environment, I think wrongful detentions by state actors will continue to increase," she said.

Kovrig and Michael Spavor only left China in September 2021 on the day that Canada freed Chinese Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who had been wanted in the United States on fraud charges.

Nadjibulla said that some countries "weaponise their judiciary" for diplomatic gain and called Iran "a perpetual offender". "They essentially have a whole enterprise around this."

tw/sct/bgs
US expands sanctions on Russias military and technology sectors

US imposes new sanctions against Russia

The treasury imposed sanctions on 22 individuals and 104 organizations, while the State Department targeted nearly 200 individuals, entities, airplanes, and ships. The White House added 71 companies to the blacklist, prohibiting them from buying U.S. tech products without a license, according to Reuters.

Read also: Russian propaganda accuses Ukraine of using tanks on Russian territory

The updated list includes Russias Foreign Intelligence Service, Russian importers of technology and electronics, research institutes, design bureaus and military factories, mining companies, as well as the 223rd and 224th aviation groups of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

These new U.S. restrictions aim to prevent Russia from obtaining semiconductors and other microelectronics manufactured abroad for its military equipment.

Read also: World at inflection point, as Ukrainians do incredible job, says Biden

According to Reuters, U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has suspended the export of a wide range of goods to Russia. The new restrictions will affect goods that may be used by the Russian military, including dryers, snowplows, and other machinery.

Read also: Zelenskyy to meet with Biden at G7 Summit in Japan

On May 19-21, the G7 leaders are meeting in Hiroshima, Japan. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also be attending, scheduled to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden.

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
FILE PHOTO: Signage is seen outside of FDA headquarters in White Oak, Maryland

By Leroy Leo and Sriparna Roy

(Reuters) -A panel of advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, wary of the safety of Intercept Pharmaceuticals' oral drug for a type of fatty liver disease, recommended on Friday holding off on an accelerated approval of the medicine.

The panel of outside experts voted 15-to-1 against the approval for obeticholic acid (OCA) based on surrogate biomarker data suggesting it was likely to benefit patients with NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis) and fibrosis, or scarring, of the liver.

The panel by a wide 12-to-2 margin voted that the benefits of Intercept's drug did not outweigh the risks in NASH patients with fibrosis based on current data. Two members abstained.

Responding to the FDA decision Intercept CEO Jerry Durso said in a statement, "We are disappointed in the outcome of todays meeting."

"We continue to disagree with the FDA on certain characterizations of OCA's efficacy and safety in pre-cirrhotic fibrosis due to NASH and the role of non-invasive tests (NITs), as discussed in today's meeting," the statement added.

NASH is a huge unmet need with no approved drugs after numerous clinical failures by several drugmakers. The progressive fatty liver disease affects about 5% of adults in the U.S., according to the American Liver Foundation.

"If you're talking about millions of people with NASH who could go on this drug, 1-in-1000 could get severe DILI (druginduced liver injury), you're talking about a new epidemic of liver disease as an adverse effect of a drug," said panel member James Floyd, an associate professor at University of Washington.

The condition is the fastest-growing cause of liver transplants in developed countries, with obesity and diabetes increasing the risk of NASH.

Intercept was previously turned down by the FDA in 2020, with the agency determining that the drug's predicted effectiveness failed to outweigh potential risks.

The drugmaker resubmitted its application last year, with additional analysis on its effectiveness and safety, but the FDA still appeared unconvinced.

"The FDA initially concluded that the OCA was associated with an unfavorable benefit/risk profile, and in the resubmission our assessment of efficacy has remained unchanged," Ruby Mehta, FDA's medical team leader for liver diseases, said during Friday's meeting.

The FDA usually follows the recommendations of its advisory panels but is not obligated to do so. It has been concerned about the drug's safety due to a signal of an increased risk of diabetes and liver injury, among other adverse effects.

A decision from FDA is expected by June 22, but accelerated approval is highly unlikely after Friday's vote.

Patients enrolled in the ongoing trial will continue to be evaluated for clinical benefit, which could be the basis for a potential future traditional approval, the agency told the panel.

"We wonder if the company will take a hard look at the significant cash needed to get to outcomes data 2 years away, which ultimately may not work - and then faces too much competition," said Jefferies analyst Michael Yee.

Other drugmakers such as Novo Nordisk, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals and Akero Therapeutics are among those developing treatments for the disease.

"The FDA wants to see a large, strong safety database and adverse events will be closely examined," Yee said.

In 2016, OCA was approved under the brand name Ocaliva for treatment of a chronic liver disease called primary biliary cholangitis, but the FDA restricted its use in 2021 in patients with advanced cirrhosis of the liver because of the potential for serious harm.

The total patient population eligible for OCA, if approved, would be between 6 million and 8 million in the U.S. alone, according to the FDA.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy and Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Jacqueline Wong)
US offers $100 mln to help Sudan, neighbors cope with displaced

Sudanese refugees who crossed into Chad, in Koufroun, near Echbara, gather for aid distribution on April 30, 2023

The United States on Friday promised $103 million for Sudan and neighboring countries to support displaced people as a month of war between rival generals triggers a humanitarian crisis.

Samantha Power, chief of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), announced the new assistance on a visit to Chad, which before the latest fighting was already the host of some 600,000 refugees, mostly from Sudan.

USAID said it was committing $50 million to address needs inside Sudan as well as $22 million for South Sudan, $17 million for Chad and $6 million for Egypt.

In Chad, the assistance will go through the UN's World Food Programme to provide food and cash assistance to more than 135,000 people, including newly arrived refugees from Sudan.

The United Nations said Wednesday that $3.03 billion would be needed to provide urgent aid for Sudan as well as for the more than one million people expected to flee into neighboring countries this year.

USAID noted that Chad was already "stretched thin." South Sudan has been coping with its own internal humanitarian disaster.

"The conflict in Sudan forces humanitarian partners across the region to make difficult choices about how to address compounding needs with limited resources," a USAID statement said.

"The United States urges other donors to help us address critical funding gaps."

Sudan descended into war on April 15 in a conflict between the army and a powerful paramilitary unit as they rejected a plan to merge under a promised transition to civilian rule.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have been leading mediation in hopes of reaching another at least temporary ceasefire to allow in assistance.

sct/caw
US to take part in "coalition of fighter jets" and train Ukrainian pilots

At the G7 summit in Japan, US President Joe Biden confirmed Washington's participation in the allies' initiative to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter jets, including the F-16.

Source: CNN referring to a White House official, reported by European Pravda

Details: According to the CNN source, the training of Ukrainian pilots will likely take place only in Europe, but American personnel will participate along with European allies and partners.

"As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them," the US official added.

They have stressed that "to date, the United States and our allies and partners have focused on providing Ukraine with the vast majority of the systems, weapons, and training it requires to conduct offensive operations this spring and summer."

"Discussions about improving the Ukrainian Air Force reflect our long-term commitment to Ukraines self-defense," the CNN source said.

Background: Earlier, CNN reported that the Biden administration had made it clear to European allies in recent weeks that the United States would allow them to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

In addition, Yahoo News obtained a document from the US Air Force, which states that the training program for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s could last four months.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






Biden talking to tech CEOs

Joe Biden has launched his re-election campaign with a video in which he says the country faces a pivotal moment in the 2024 vote.

The Democratic Party, however, still need convincing that he is the best candidate they have.

Polls show about half of Democrats want the party to nominate someone else - although many of those said they will still vote for him.

With the party unlikely to schedule any debates ahead of the primary election, Mr Biden is not expected to face a serious challenge.

So who else is running?

Marianne Williamson

Marianne Williamson at a Los Angeles event in 2021

Self-help guru Marianne Williamson was the first Democrat to jump into the 2024 race, with a formal campaign launch in March.

Ms Williamson, 70, is a long-time social justice activist, best-selling author and former "spiritual advisor" to Oprah Winfrey who made her first foray into politics in 2020.

She transfixed audiences with a frenetic performance at two Democratic primary debates, in which she declared that the only way to defeat Donald Trump was to "harness love for political purposes".

The fringe candidate ended that campaign before voting began but she has remained an outspoken voice for the progressive left.

Her 2024 policy platform backs universal government-run healthcare, free childcare, at least $1tn (800bn) in slavery reparations to black Americans and a federal agency called the Department of Peace.

Ms Williamson is seeking to build her campaign by engaging with young voters on TikTok, where her content has gained millions of views.

Robert F Kennedy Jr

Robert F Kennedy Jr at a 2021 event in Italy

The nephew of President John F Kennedy, who was assassinated, and the son of US Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, who was also killed, launched his campaign for the White House in April.

He is at least the 12th member of the Kennedy dynasty to run for political office, which has helped Mr Kennedy, 69, garner as much as 21% support in recent polls.

The long-time environmental lawyer once won plaudits for campaigning on issues such as clean water, including working to clean up the Hudson River in New York.

But he has been publicly shunned by much of his family over what they call his "tragically wrong" conspiracy theories about vaccines, and embraced by far-right personalities like Alex Jones and Steve Bannon.

Mr Kennedy's vaccine scepticism long predated Covid-19, but he found a new audience during the pandemic, when revenues to the anti-vaccine non-profit he founded in 2011 doubled.

Dennis Kucinich, a former Democratic congressman and two-time presidential candidate who routinely bucked the party line, is managing Mr Kennedy's campaign.
Nikki Haley, former US Ambassador to the UN, says she will challenge Donald Trump to be the Republican 2024 presidential nominee

The path to the 2024 US presidential election began almost as soon as last November's midterm elections ended - and several candidates are waiting in the wings.

Former President Donald Trump has announced he will run in the party's nominating contest, vowing to "make America great and glorious again".

Mr Trump remains the favourite choice of Republican voters, but his legal troubles and his role in an underwhelming midterm election performance for the party have left him vulnerable.

The ex-president, who will be 78 when the general election begins, could face a stiff challenge from a coterie of Republican hopefuls, including some who once backed him.

Tim Scott

Tim Scott

Senator Tim Scott has a decades-long career in South Carolina politics and entered the race in May with nearly $22m (18m) - more than his rivals - in cash on hand.

The only black man to ever serve in both chambers of Congress, the 57-year-old has represented South Carolina in the Senate since 2013.

Mr Scott is the grandson of a cotton field worker and the son of a single mother, and he has often spoken of how his family rose "from cotton to Congress" in a lifetime.

He launched his 2024 bid vowing to turn around "a nation in retreat" and revive America's "culture of greatness".

Well-liked among his colleagues, he quickly earned endorsements from two fellow senators, including John Thune, the chamber's second highest-ranking Republican.

But he's not the only top South Carolina Republican with a hat in the ring.

Nikki Haley

Nikki Haley

Nikki Haley announced her bid for the presidency in mid-February, becoming the first major Republican candidate to commit to taking on Mr Trump.

Once considered one of the Republican Party's brightest young prospects, Ms Haley, 51, has kept a lower profile in recent years.

Born in South Carolina to Punjabi Sikh immigrants, Ms Haley became the youngest governor in the country in 2009.

She earned national attention in 2015 after calling for the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Capitol.

Despite saying she was "not a fan" of Mr Trump in 2016, she later accepted his nomination to be the US ambassador to the United Nations, a tenure marked by her dramatic exit from a UN Security Council meeting as a Palestinian envoy was speaking.

Her campaign, which includes a call for mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old, stresses the need for "a new generation" of US leaders.

Ron DeSantis

Ron DeSantis

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has worked hard to emulate Mr Trump, and is viewed as the candidate most capable of defeating him in a head-to-head race.

Boosted to the governorship by Mr Trump's endorsement, he romped to re-election in last year's midterms by more than 1.5 million votes, the largest margin in the state in more than four decades. Under his tenure, Republican voters outnumber Democrats in the state for the first time.

At 44 years old, the Harvard and Yale-educated lawyer is still a relative newcomer in US politics.

He once served in the US Navy, including a tour in Iraq. He was also a little-known member of the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018.

But Mr DeSantis has seen his star rise considerably since he became governor in 2019, a role in which he has positioned himself as an enthusiastic culture warrior.

He has backed legislation to defund diversity and inclusion programmes, to ban teaching on gender identity in public schools, ban drag shows and gender-affirming care for minors, and restrict abortions and loosen gun laws. He also mired in an escalating legal battle with Walt Disney World.

The governor has touted his record as a "blueprint" for conservative leadership, and supporters have touted him as a drama-free alternative to re-nominating the former president.

Mr Trump appears to be paying very close attention and has attacked him almost daily on social media.

Mike Pence

Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a campaign event for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp

For four years, Mike Pence was a loyal deputy to Mr Trump as his vice-president - until 2021's Capitol riot splintered their relationship.

The son of a Korean War veteran, Mr Pence began his career in conservative politics as a talk radio host.

He was elected to the House in 2000 and served until 2013, describing himself as a "principled conservative" and aligning with the Tea Party movement.

He also served as governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017. In that role, he passed the largest tax cut in state history, and signed bills to restrict abortion and protect religious freedom.

Mr Pence, 63, is a born-again evangelical Christian and his addition to the 2016 presidential ticket is credited with helping mobilise the crucial voting bloc on behalf of Mr Trump.

Calm and soft-spoken, he was seen as an effective surrogate to the bomb-throwing Donald. But Mr Trump turned on him for lacking "courage" after he refused to help overturn the 2020 election results.

Pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol in January 2021 and were heard chanting "Hang Mike Pence!". At one point, they were reportedly within 40ft (12m) of the vice-president.

The two have largely kept their distance since then, but Mr Pence has been in a delicate dance to avoid alienating Trump-friendly voters.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on March 03, 2023

Vivek Ramaswamy, 37, launched his dark-horse White House bid during a late February appearance on the Fox News channel.

An Indian-American biotech entrepreneur with no previous political experience, he was a regular fixture on Fox host Tucker Carlson's daily programme, formerly the most-watched cable news show in the US.

The Harvard and Yale graduate argues the country is in the midst of a national identity crisis driven by a decline in faith, patriotism and meritocracy.

He ran a pharmaceutical company from 2014 to 2021, then co-founded Strive Asset Management, which shirks the "divisive" environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) framework and offers itself as an alternative to large firms like Blackrock.

Mr Ramaswamy is also the author of Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam.

Asa Hutchinson

Asa Hutchinson speaks at a New York City event on May 17, 2022

Former two-term Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announced his run for president during an April interview with ABC News just days after Mr Trump was indicted on criminal charges in New York.

Mr Hutchinson, 72, called the case "a sideshow and distraction" that should prompt Mr Trump to withdraw from the race.

The former attorney and businessman was the youngest federal prosecutor in the nation under the Ronald Reagan administration.

He also served two terms in the US House of Representatives, including as a prosecutor in Bill Clinton's impeachment trial, and was George W Bush's Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief.

Presenting himself as a "non-Trump" candidate with experience and a record of leadership across multiple roles, he has vowed to lean into "common sense, consistent conservatism".

Larry Elder

Larry Elder

The conservative talk radio host launched an unsuccessful campaign for California governor in 2021, pledging to repeal mask and vaccine mandates.

A lawyer who grew up in Los Angeles' South Central neighbourhood, Mr Elder, 71, has slammed Democrats' "woke" agenda and the idea of systemic racism.

He announced his long-shot bid by tweeting: "America is in decline, but this decline is not inevitable."

Glenn Youngkin

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin gives the inaugural address on the steps of the State Capitol on January 15, 2022

Glenn Youngkin thrilled the Republican Party when he won the governor's race in Virginia in 2021. A political novice who spent 25 years at the Carlyle Group private equity firm, he beat a man who had been in Democratic politics since the 1980s.

In a state that has trended toward Democrats in recent years, Mr Youngkin criticised partisan politics as "too toxic" and campaigned on a tone of bipartisanship.

But the 55-year-old has waded into hot-button topics since his first day in charge, from revoking the state's Covid-19 restrictions to banning the teaching of critical race theory in schools.

After saying he would not join the 2024 presidential race, Mr Youngkin is reportedly reconsidering a run amid donor interest in a non-Trump candidate.

Perry Johnson

Perry Johnson, a 75-year-old businessman who tried to run for Michigan governor last year but was disqualified, joined the race in March.

He is touting a plan to reignite the economy by shaving 2% in federal spending every year.

Others who could run

Chris Christie: The former New Jersey governor supported Mr Trump after his own failed 2016 presidential bid but has become a vociferous critic since the US Capitol riots.

Chris Sununu: Allies of the moderate Republican, who was New Hampshire governor from 2011 to 2017 and was well-liked by voters, say he is exploring avenues to mount a viable campaign.

Doug Burgum: The former software executive and current North Dakota governor has already filmed television ads for a likely presidential campaign.

Francis Suarez: Miami's Cuban-born mayor, the first US politician to take their salary in cryptocurrency, is mulling a bid and has described himself as "someone who needs to be better known by this country".

Will Hurd: The former Texas congressman, who retired from the US House of Representatives in 2021, says a 2024 rematch between Mr Trump and President Joe Biden is a "rematch from hell" that few Americans want to see.

Liz Cheney: The daughter of former vice-president Dick Cheney was once a rising star in the party but lost her seat in the House of Representatives in 2021 over her fierce opposition to Mr Trump.

Greg Abbott: The Texas governor has routinely waded into national debates on immigration, abortion and gun rights.

Who is not running?

Larry Hogan: The moderate former governor of Democrat-friendly Maryland said he did not want to be part of a crowded field that helps elect Mr Trump again.

Ted Cruz: The Texas senator placed second in the Republican primary for the 2016 presidential election behind Mr Trump but has said he will run for re-election to the Senate in 2024.

Rick Scott: The Florida senator has frequently exchanged vitriol with President Biden but says he too will run for re-election to the Senate.
The News

The U.S. and Taiwan say theyre ready to sign an initial agreement strengthening trade ties in the coming weeks, the latest step in an increasingly tight relationship between the two governments.

Because it falls short of a full free trade pact, the deal wont require an up or down vote from Congress. But U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tais office said it would help U.S. businesses send more goods to Taiwan, while streamlining regulatory procedures so products move more smoothly.

We look forward to continuing these negotiations and finalizing a robust and high-standard trade agreement, Tai said in a statement.

Know More

The announcement is almost sure to be met with anger by China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and has reacted furiously to signs of the still-technically unofficial relationship between Washington and Taipei growing stronger.

Building up trade with Taiwan has been a hot topic on Capitol Hill, particularly within the Houses select committee on China, whose members met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California earlier this year. Earlier this week, the committees chairman, Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., told reporters hed like to see Congress pass a tax agreement with Taiwan as a way to stop the double taxation of U.S. and Taiwanese businesses.

A source close to the China select committee told Semafor that while the panel welcomes the Biden administrations agreement with Taiwan, advancing it without congressional approval will harm their durability and limit any effectiveness in providing trading partners meaningful alternatives to deeper trade and economic ties to China.
One dollar bills

While President Joe Biden, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and other politicians in Washington strive to reach a deal to raise the US federal governments $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, the US Treasurys cash balance fell to $87 billion on Monday (May 15), the lowest its been since April 12.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers this week that the department may not be able to avoid breaching the statutory debt limit around early June, narrowing the window of time left to come to a resolution on the debt ceiling. Prior projections estimated the Treasury would run out of cash in July or August.

Read more

If the US breaches its debt ceiling and cannot pay its bills, the economic consequences could be catastrophic. The White House issued a statement saying that a breach of the debt ceiling could cause significant disruptions to financial markets that would damage the economic conditions faced by both households and businesses.

datawrapper-chart-a90x1



When will the US run out of cash?



The Treasury Department cannot determine the exact date the US government will run out of cash, but refers to the date as the X-date. The problem has been developing for months. The US reached its statutory debt limit on Jan. 19, which caused the Treasury Department to begin using workaround accounting maneuvers to conserve cash and avoid breaching the cap.

With the possibility of now depleting cash reserves by June 1, the actual date when the Treasury runs out of cash to pay government bills could be days or weeks later than that. The lower the cash reserves, the harder it is to predict when a default would happen, due to the process of huge payments going out and tax revenues coming in, making an exact date a moving target thats difficult to pinpoint.

Some analysts think that if no deal is signed into law by Memorial Day, and the X-date is potentially still on course to happen, that short-term suspension of the borrowing cap could be imposed to give Congress more time. Comparisons have been drawn to the debt crisis in 2011, when an agreement was not made until days before the US could have defaulted on its debt. Negotiations saw similar arguments for spending cuts made by GOP-led lawmakers, in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.

More from Quartz

Sign up for Quartz's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Utah mom accused of poisoning husband with fentanyl in cocktail took out $2 million in life insurance policies on him

PARK CITY, Utah  A woman who allegedly spiked her husband's drink with fentanyl and then wrote a children's book about grief after he died is now accused of secretly taking out almost $2 million in life insurance policies on him.

The allegations against Kouri Richins were raised in an amended court document filed Thursday that led to the postponement of a detention hearing originally scheduled for Friday.

Richins, 33, is charged with aggravated murder and three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute following the death of her husband, Eric Richins, last March 4.

He was found unresponsive in the bedroom of their home in Kamas, about 40 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, after she made him a Moscow Mule to celebrate a business deal. An autopsy and a toxicology report found that he died from a fentanyl overdose, according to a probable cause statement.

Prosecutors said Richins slipped five times the lethal dose of fentanyl into the cocktail.

A year after his death, she published a book about grief titled Are You With Me? to create peace and comfort for children who have lost a loved one, according to a description on Amazon. She dedicated the book to my amazing husband and a wonderful father. It has since been removed from Amazon.

The court document filed Thursday alleged that in September 2020, Eric Richins found out that his wife had obtained and spent a $250,000 home equity line of credit on their home in Kamas, had withdrawn at least $100,000 from his bank accounts, and spent more than $30,000 on his credit cards.

Richins is also accused of appropriating distributions made from her husband's business "for the purpose of making federal and state quarterly tax payments and not paying the taxes," the document alleged. The stolen tax payments totaled at least $134,346, it said.

Eric Richins confronted his wife about the money and she agreed to pay him back, according to the document.

Eric Richins. (Walker Mortuary)

The following month, in October 2020, Eric Richins consulted a divorce lawyer and an estate planning lawyer, the document said. Unbeknownst to his wife, he changed his will, formed a living trust, placed his estate under the control of his sister Katie Richins-Benson, and designated the trust as the beneficiary of his $500,000 life insurance policy, according to the filing.

It further alleged that between 2015 and 2017, Richins bought at least four life insurance policies on her husband totaling almost $2 million. Eric Richins was unaware that she had purchased the policies, the document said.

Richins also allegedly changed a separate life insurance policy that her husband had to list herself as the beneficiary. The policy had initially listed his business partner as the beneficiary.

Eric Richins was alerted to it and was able to change it back to his business partner, the filing said.

Kouri Richins (KPCW.org via AP)

The document also provided additional details on Richins' alleged attempts to poison her husband with fentanyl pills she obtained from an acquaintance identified in court documents as C.L.

Eric Richins' family has said that she tried to poison him multiple times.

One of those attempts happened last Valentine's Day. According to the filing, Richins allegedly made her husband a sandwich and left it on the seat of his truck with a love note.

"Shortly after consuming the sandwich, Eric Richins broke out in hives and had difficulty breathing," it said. "Eric found his son's EpiPen and administered it to himself and slept."

Eric Richins believed he had been poisoned and told a friend that he thought his wife was trying to poison him, according to the document. Despite his suspicions, he stayed in the marriage because of his children, his familys spokesperson said.

Late last February, Richins allegedly asked C.L. to get stronger fentanyl pills, the document said.

"C.L. initially stated that the defendant specifically asked for 'some of the Michael Jackson stuff' during this request for fentanyl, but subsequently conceded that the defendant may have made the Michael Jackson reference during her first request for fentanyl," it said. (The pop superstar died in 2009 at his Los Angeles home after having received a lethal dose of propofol.)

C.L. obtained the pills for Richins, the document said.

A medical examiner said that Eric Richins had five times the lethal dosage of fentanyl in his system when he died and that it was illicit fentanyl, not medical-grade. It is also believed he ingested the drugs orally, according to the statement.

Days after her husband's death, Richins allegedly had a locksmith drill into his safe, which contained between $125,000 and $165,000 cash, according to Thursday's filing. When Eric Richins' sister suggested that Richins should not touch the money, she allegedly became enraged and punched the woman in the face and neck.

The document alleges that last March 9 or March 10, after her husband's death, Richins told C.L. to leave more fentanyl pills in a fire pit at a home she owned.

Prosecutors said they needed more time to provide discovery related to the new allegations in the document, according to a motion filed Thursday.

Richins' attorneys said they needed time to review the discovery and prepare for the hearing.

"The State amended the charging Information and has not turned over discovery yet that supports it," Skye Lazaro, an attorney for Richins, said in an emailed statement. "Therefore we couldnt be prepared to argue about the sufficiency of the evidence."

The new detention hearing is scheduled for June 12.

Alicia Victoria Lozano reported from Park City, Utah, and Minyvonne Burke from New York City.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
DHAKA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Registration is open for a new round of training at Huawei BUET (Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology) ICT Academy, the Chinese telecommunication giant has announced.

It is part of Huawei's efforts to help develop the ICT ecosystem in the South Asian country.

Interested learners can register till May 25 to join the class from June 8 at the academy in the country's capital Dhaka, and get Huawei Certified ICT Associate (HCIA) certificate, Huawei said in a statement on Thursday.

The 4th-year undergraduate students, post-graduate students and graduates from the relevant engineering departments can enjoy this great opportunity to brush up skills as hands-on training, it said.

The new trainees will have training on Cloud Computing and Storage for seven weeks, where each week will have four hours of classes and 30 participants in each course will be selected.

Huawei has more than 1,500 such ICT academies in more than 90 countries and regions worldwide.

The BUET ICT Academy was launched in March 2022 and its formal journey was kicked off in January this year. The first batch of 24 students have graduated from this academy recently. 
The Utah mother-of-three charged with poisoning her husband took out four insurance policies on his life without his knowledge  with benefits totaling nearly $2m, prosecutors alleged in documents updated Thursday.

A detention hearing for jailed Kouri Richins, 33  who is being held at Summit County Jail after her arrest earlier this month  was scheduled for Friday but postponed until 12 June. In the 14 months since her husbands death, Kouri wrote a childrens book about grief and loss that she promoted on local television.

According to the updated documents, Kouri took out the policies between 2015 and 2017, and her husband, Eric, discovered other surreptitious financial activity in 2020, AP reported. The Utah father, who grew up in a well-known ranching family and co-owned a stone masonry business, found that his wife had taken out a $250,000 home equity line of credit and spent it, withdrawn $100,000 from his bank accounts, and spent more than $30,000 on his credit cards, according to the documents.

Kouri Richins also stole about $134,000 from her husbands business meant for tax payments, the documents state, AP reported, adding that the filings claimed Kouri agreed to repay Eric when he confronted her.

Hed also met with a divorce attorney and estate planner in 2020, according to the documents  less than 18 months before prosecutors allege Kouri fatally poisoned him.

Kouri Richins is accused of murdering her husband Eric in March 2022 (Facebook)

It was a nefarious and untimely end that Eric had, tragically, seen coming. He suspected his wife had tried to poison him before and had removed Kouri as a beneficiary from his wife and estate.

She, however, did not know, according to documents  and the alleged poisoning for profit brought not an immediate financial windfall but a nightmare of legal wrangling and, ultimately, murder charges.

Its been a bit of a whirlwind, because Eric died over a year ago, and [his family] had obviously been involved in taking care of his estate, trying to maintain some relationship with the children, and working with the police and prosecutors who were investigating his wife, lawyer and Richins family spokesman Greg Skordas told The Independent on Wednesday.

And so everything sort of happened all of a sudden, and she was charged, and it wasnt necessarily unexpected, but it certainly brought on a flurry of attention to the case that hadnt happened for over a year.

He says: It was right up until the end that she was carrying on as though nothing had happened, and that she was a victim, and she was a martyr and promoting her book. And I dont know to what extent she knew this was coming or suspected it, but we certainly did.

Court records mention a private investigator, presumably retained by the family, though Mr Skordas declined to comment.

He said the family had intended to attend the Friday hearing to show that they were watching the case closely.

This photo provided by KPCW.org shows Kouri Richins at the KPCW studio in Park City, Utah, April 12, 2023 (AP)

In this day and age, when a person dies of an opioid overdose, its not necessarily immediately seen as a problem, because it happens far too often -- and so it took a while to show the police and have the police confirm that this wasnt an accidental drug overdose and, in fact, it was something that was caused by someone else, Mr Skordas tells The Independent. And once they did their investigation, and they did a great investigation, they were able to confirm what the family already knew.

According to previously filed court documents, Kouri and Eric celebrated Valentines Day 2022 with a dinner at home after which Eric again became very ill.

Eric believed that he had been poisoned, the documents state. Eric told a friend that he thought his wife was trying to poison him.

Within weeks, prosecutors allege, she did exactly that.

At some point between December 2021 and January 2022, according to court documents, Kouri had contacted an acquaintance with drug convictions and asked them to procure some pain medication for an investor who had a back injury.

The acquaintance bought hydrocodone pills from a dealer and left them at a house Kouri was flipping; she left cash in return, the documents state. But Kouri reached out again about two weeks later, claiming the investor wanted something stronger and asking for some of the MichaelJackson stuff ... specifically for fentanyl. Three days before Valentines Day, Kouri paid $900 for 15-30 fentanyl pills, the documents state.

But two weeks after that, she again went back to the acquaintance and asked for another $900 worth of the same drugs; the pills were left a the outdoor fire pit of the Midway house, where Kouri had left cash, according to the documents.

Eric died six days later of a fentanyl overdose  and Kouri almost immediately closed on the Midway house, which theyd allegedly been arguing about; relatives believed Eric was going to tell his wife he didnt want to buy the home. She held a party at her home the day after his death to celebrate the property deal; according to court documents, Eric had never informed her hed taken her out of his will  and it was only at the party that she discovered that fact.

Two weeks after his death, Kouri put the 20,000-square-foot home back on the market, KPCW reported after her arrest. Realtor Mike Malmrose told the outlet that the mansion was under contract with an asking price of $3.75m.

The Richins family has petitioned to invoke Utahs slayer statute, which prevents killers from profiting from their crimes.

Kouris arrest, which happened just days before the weekend combination of Mothers Day and Erics birthday, was all hard because it all just resurfaced again, Richins spokesman Skordas told The Independent.  And youve got to think about the boys too, because theyve lost their father. And, for most purposes, theyve now lost their mother.

Kouris lawyer has not responded to requests for comment from The Independent.
The 'Vanderpump Rules' finale showed covering for your friend's affair will catch up to you. As someone who has also been burned by the 'bro code,' it was cathartic to watch.

Tom Sandoval, left, and Ariana Madix. Getty Images

In the "Vanderpump Rules" finale, Ariana Madix learned of partner Tom Sandoval's affair.

Throughout the episode, other women on the show rallied around her to get details and support her.

They broke down years of bro code on the show, which was cathartic to watch.

We each poured our glasses of Lisa Vanderpump's (surprisingly good) rose  a beloved tradition of my #pumprules group-chat watch party  and sat down for our heart-wrenching version of the Super Bowl. As the "Vanderpump Rules'' finale unfolded, I caught myself wondering if there has ever been anything quite like the Scandoval in the history of reality television. While watching, the group chat blew up: We rage-texted our reactions in all caps, fingers moving as quickly as possible.

"We just watched 10 years of this woman's life with this worm with a mustache and it ended in the worst possible way," my friend Amanda wrote.

And it's true. We've been watching Ariana Madix and most of the original cast for the past decade as they've grown up on this show, letting us into their lives  all the ups and downs, the drunken fights, the teary makeups. As longtime fans, we've watched Madix stick up for Tom Sandoval for years; she's defended his antics, been his "ride or die" (in her own words), and continually had his back 100%  just to be stabbed in the back as he had an affair with Raquel Leviss, someone she thought was one of her closest friends.

The affair between Tom and Raquel felt personal for longtime fans

"Watching a hushed affair between friends explode on a reality show you've invested time and emotional energy into for a decade creates a strange but deep parasocial relationship," my friend Amy  also in my #pumprules text group  told me when I talked to her for this piece. "It makes the infidelity we've seen play out feel more personal, like it's pulling from the pages of our own stories of betrayal, salacious secrets, and grief. Tom is a symbol of every dumb man that a woman has invested her time, trust, and heart into only to be met with betrayal, gaslighting, and contempt."

For those who have watched "Vanderpump Rules" even casually over the years, this season cuts deeper than previous ones. Even though most of the cast members have become more successful, in many ways, these are still the young, hungry kids who have hustled in restaurants and lived in cheap apartments while trying to make something of themselves, all as the drama of their lives plays out onscreen.

Somehow, the fact that we've seen them go home to apartments with shabby carpet and window AC units to put together Ikea furniture after serving appetizers and Pumptinis all day makes their lives feel more like ours, even if that's not quite how their lives look anymore.

And unlike many other reality shows, the friends that they have in "real life" are the same friends you see on the show  as are their potential romantic partners.

Watching Ariana deal with the aftermath was surreal

We had chills while watching old photos of Ariana and Tom in their first year together, sipping wine in Napa Valley, flash across the screen, only to cut straight back to Ariana rightfully reading Tom for filth, enraged by his mind-boggling betrayal.

"Watching Ariana dress down Tom was a master class. She couldn't have done a better job. I was yelling, cheering, crying right along with her," my sister, also a #pumprules text-group member, said.

For the most part, the women this season showed respect for each other as they rallied around Ariana; more than once cast members carefully approached her, broaching the topic of strange goings-on or inklings they had about Tom and Raquel (whose real name, we've since learned, is Rachel).

Her friends brought up their concerns but ultimately decided to follow Ariana's lead and respect her point of view when she told them she trusted Raquel not to do anything  though in the end, we learned those intuitions and gut feelings were absolutely on the mark.

It felt all too familiar for those of us who've been cheated on

But if watching #Scandoval collectively has solidified anything, it's this: The "bros before hoes" code has been alive and well, thriving in the shadows of the show's 10-year history. In the finale, producers (give them an Emmy, please) took us right back to moments when Tom Schwartz, on camera, admitted in 2017 that he didn't know about Jax Taylor's cheating but that if he did know, he would cover for him.

We see another flashback from 2013 of a young Stassi Schroeder in a pool begging Jax  both previous cast members who've commented on the scandal  to "stop covering for each other." Finally, we see Katie Maloney, in the current episode, confront Schwartz for being complicit in the affair, despite Ariana being a "groomsman" at his wedding. She asks when he first knew about it, and he waffles back and forth  first saying a month before news of the affair broke in early March, then admitting he "knew about the one-night stand" that happened a year earlier.

Most of us have dated at least a few of these guys  those of the "bros before hoes" and "deny till you die" code. If not, many of us have close friends who've encountered them.

For me, watching these clips raises my heart rate and puts me right back in my college apartment, the first I shared with a boyfriend who never admitted to cheating on me despite the fact that I found texts on his phone from his ex that confirmed it.

It also brings me back to another moment, when I saw our roommate's girlfriend of two years flee the apartment in tears after she found out he had been cheating on her with a new girl in the friend group  all while my then-boyfriend knew about it, too.

You don't have to have had an ex-boyfriend who fucked your best friend to relate to what happened this season. We've been collectively gaslit watching Tom try to preemptively paint Ariana as a villain and a "scapegoat" for the demise of their relationship and the reason for his need to seek attention elsewhere.

And though the unfolding of the scandal on the show was gut-wrenching, it was heartening to see the majority of us aren't buying it, and that the narrative around the rest of the women  as well as some of the media coverage of them  is becoming more positive.

For too long, as they've stood their ground on the show, they've often been vilified, gaining names like "Tequila Katie" and "Crazy Kristen"; now, as the scandal has vaulted coverage of the show from the Bravo-verse to mainstream outlets, including CNN and The New York Times, the story has shifted. It's clear their anger has been justified all along. A majority of "Vanderpump Rules" viewers, myself included, are glad that Ariana Madix has friends like these in her corner, championing her all the way and giving her the support she deserves.

Read the original article on Insider
Paltry cybersecurity and slow-moving bureaucracy at the U.S. Postal Service meant hundreds of mail carriers, handlers and service clerks fell victim to a complex direct deposit scheme that left them without pay and angry that the federal government had failed to heed multiple warnings.

Postal leaders downplayed the incident, telling USA TODAY in a statement that they first were notified in December about an unusual log-in activity involving a limited number of employees.

In reality, cybercriminals had for months lured employees searching for their payroll system with a mirror-image-like website that reportedly tricked hundreds of employees into providing their usernames and passwords. The bad actors then used that information to sign in to the real system and reroute employees paychecks.

That left employees like Atlanta mail handler Joe Hoagland in a serious pinch for cash.

When the paychecks stopped, Hoagland initially figured his credit union had screwed up. Then his paystub revealed $900 had been siphoned off. When his supervisor finally told him there had been a security problem, Hoagland was furious.

Im the primary breadwinner in my family; this isnt 200 bucks, this is $900 out of my check, Hoagland said. They knew about it for weeks and dragged their feet on telling us.

Unions pushing for answers and fixes

A postal truck delivers mail in Washington D.C. Hundreds of workers for the USPS say they had paychecks stolen through a fake website scheme. (Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS, AFP via Getty Images)

Unions representing postal workers helped relay information and advocate for shoring up the PostalEASE human resources system.

The American Postal Workers Union says at least 460 of its members lost at least one direct deposit, for a total of about $1 million. About half of that money has been recovered by banks voluntarily returning the money.

Michael Martel, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspector, said he could not discuss the ongoing investigation. However, he noted that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has partnerships across the globe to protect the Postal Service and the American public.

Anyone who engages in such conduct should know they will not go undetected, and they will be held accountable, no matter where they are located, he said.

The culprits may never be caught. Experts say siphoned money is traditionally moved quickly through other financial networks, offshore or into cryptocurrency, which makes it hard for the justice system to follow the trail.

The union said one employee says the Postal Service tried to claw back wrongly routed money and issued them a check for what remained in the fraudulent account: $1.78. Another employee didnt notice the problem until all of her automatic payments bounced, which resulted in $500 in bank fees.

Charlie Cash, the unions industrial relations director, said the Postal Service has taken the position that the institution did nothing wrong and therefore is not culpable.

We completely disagree, Cash said. A lot of these workers in the middle class live paycheck to paycheck, and this happened just before Christmas.

Cash pointed to warnings dating back to a 2013 audit from the Office of Inspector General about vulnerabilities in the HR system that left it open to unauthorized access. Cash and the postal workers union have filed a grievance known as a national dispute and he said the union is considering escalating the complaint to a national arbitrator.

A union member also alerted the Postal Service in March 2022 to the series of fake HR websites that left employees vulnerable, according to emails provided to USA TODAY. He was told to send an email to spam@uspis.gov and, although the Postal Service investigates and sends cease and desist letters, the sites come and go with astonishing frequency, an unsigned email from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service responded.

The Postal Service denied a Freedom of Information Act request from USA TODAY for the cease and desist letters, citing commercial trade secrets. USA TODAY has appealed the ruling.

Postal Service sympathetic but says its not responsible

The official line from the Postal Service is that it notified employees, monitored their compromised accounts, tried to recover their rerouted money and purchased a year of credit monitoring for them. It also said it warned all employees about cybercriminals.

Public affairs staff at the Postal Service declined requests from USA TODAY for an interview to answer questions about the causes and scope of the problems and the changes that followed.

In mid-January, however, the Postal Service rolled out its first multifactor authentication process for access to the HR site. That type of sign-in could have prevented many of the unauthorized account changes because it requires a user to confirm their identity via a second device, such as a smartphone.

National cybersecurity experts say multifactor authentication is the bare minimum organizations should deploy to safeguard direct deposit systems. Some called operating without it "security malpractice."

Kevin Gosschalk, founder and CEO of cybersecurity firm Arkose Labs, said such attacks are tragically common. He pointed to FBI reports that showed wire fraud and diversion accounted for $2.7 billion in losses across the U.S. last year.

Its low-risk and high-reward, he said, in part because the financial mechanics of wire transfers mean its extraordinarily difficult to unwind.

How can you avoid payroll diversion scams?

Employees should never follow a link in an email or a text or search result to access a sensitive site, experts said. Instead, they should bookmark their site or enter a URL manually to avoid look-alike sites.

Employers also should train employees to detect phishing, they said, and implement multifactor authentication and passwordless authentication including biometrics, and add multilayered controls that can detect phishing and adversary in the middle interceptions, Gosschalk said. Those middleman scams are part of attempts to get around multifactor authentication by standing between the user and entity and capturing credentials and cookies to gain access.

More: Beating the bad guys: How one vigilante aunt in Ohio took down an identity theft scheme

For Joe Hoagland, it took navigating a phone tree, voicemails, emails and in-person visits with his supervisor to untangle the mess of his paychecks, which typically had been automatically deposited in his checking account. He received paper reimbursement checks about two months late.

By then, the Postal Service had identified the rerouted destination of his money as a Choice Bank in Fargo, North Dakota. As with other cases, postal staff requested the money back.

Choice Bank CEO Brian Johnson confirmed to USA TODAY that the bank was used by the scammers. He said the bank had frozen accounts and begun the process of returning lost money.

Joe Hoagland's paycheck was hijacked and arrived in paper form, two months late.

Hoaglands payroll problem was resolved by March, but his problems related to the identity theft may have just begun. Recently he received notices that credit card applications were being canceled for cards he had never requested.

Hoagland blames himself for being tricked but says he also splits accountability evenly between his employers and the bad actors targeting him.

Im a realist; I know there are scammers out there, Hoagland said. You just have to protect yourself and realize (the threat) is never going away.

Nick Penzenstadler is a reporter on the USA TODAY investigations team. Contact him at npenz@usatoday.com or @npenzenstadler, or on Signal at (720) 507-5273.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USPS fake site scam targets workers making changes to payroll system
A legendary Green Beret added another honor to his distinguished resume on May 12 when he was inducted as a distinguished member of the Special Forces Regiment.

Retired Col. Paris Davis, who received the Medal of Honor last year for his actions leading a Special Forces team in 1965 during the Vietnam War, was recognized at a Special Forces Association event held at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia.

Then a captain, Davis was leading a pre-dawn raid on an enemy camp near Bong Son, on June 18 of that year when all hell broke loose. In what became a 19-hour battle, every member of his team was wounded. But Davis disobeyed an order to withdraw and leave behind some of his troops  he instead sprinted repeatedly into a flooded rice paddy, working his trigger with the pinky of a grenade-shattered hand, and rescued them one at a time.

Retired sergeant major and future CIA operator Billy Waugh, whose April New York Times obituary lauded him as Godfather of the Green Berets, would have been captured that day had Davis not hauled him off the battlefield on his shoulders.

A man, a medal and what it takes to lead

Davis retired from the Army in 1985 after commanding the 10th Special Forces Group, then-headquartered at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. But he left the service without its highest award for valor, partially because the paperwork recommending the Black officer for the medal was lost at least twice.

After receiving a Silver Star for the battle, Davis always told reporters that hed forgotten about the misplaced nomination. But his soldiers never did  they were the ones who pushed for the officer to be reconsidered for the medal in recent years.

I only have to close my eyes to vividly recall the gallantry [of Davis], Waugh said in a 2016 statement supporting the upgrade petition, according to the New York Times.

The final upgrade approval came around nearly two years after former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller wrote a 2021 opinion article in USA Today to say he feared that bureaucratic requirements could keep Davis from receiving the deserved honor. Davis was awarded the Medal of Honor on March 3 at the White House by President Joe Biden.

The Armys John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School  commonly known as SWCS  runs the Distinguished Member of the Regiment program to recognize major achievements and contributions to the services special operations community by special forces, civil affairs or psychological operations troops.

The SWCS commander, Brig. Gen. Will Beaurpere, lauded Davis achievements in a speech marking his formal induction.

The event also honored members of Thailands special forces units and the Americans of the 46th Special Forces Company, where Davis served a tour, that trained them throughout the Cold War. The southeast Asian countrys ambassador to the U.S., Tanee Sangrat, was in attendance.
Vineland man admits to embezzling almost $850K. How did he do it?

VINELAND  A former dispatcher at a local trucking firm has admitted to embezzling almost $850,000 from his employer, according to the state Attorney Generals Office.

Antwoin L. Brown, 55, of Vineland used the money for personal expenses that included home improvements, a pool, automobiles and motorcycles, the state agency said.

Brown allegedly diverted funds through his position as a coordinator who scheduled pickups and deliveries by independent truckers for his employer.

More: Violent incident in Vineland Police shot a South Jersey man twice after charging cops. Who is he and what happens next?

Browns theft scheme involved creating phony trucking hauls and fake invoices for payments owed to drivers who purportedly made the hauls, the Attorney Generals Office said in a statement.

But instead of making the checks out to the drivers, Brown would write the checks to himself, it said.

The Attorney Generals Office identified Browns former employer only as a Cumberland County trucking business.

However, Browns Facebook page and LinkedIn profile say he was a dispatcher for Krichmar Produce of Vineland.

He had a great position but greed got the best of him, said Jay Krichmar, the firms president.

My other key employees remember me always saying, Damn, I thought we were earning more profit, said Krichmar, who noted his firm has expanded since the embezzlement was discovered.

As for my company, I guess my employees would have received better bonuses if the firms true profits were known, Krichmar said.

Brown's attorney also could not be reached.

What did Antwoin Brown admit to doing?

Brown pleaded guilty to theft by deception at a May 11 hearing before Superior Court Judge George Gangloff.

At the hearing, he admitted to writing hundreds of company checks to himself from January 2016 through December 2019, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Brown disguised the thefts by logging the checks into company records as payments to independent drivers, the agency's statement said.

He cashed the checks at local check-cashing businesses and deposited the money in small amounts into his personal bank accounts, the statement said.

The scheme was detected in early 2020, when the IRS contacted a driver about unpaid taxes on checks that had been created in his name.

A plea agreement recommends a sentence of four years in prison and restitution.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 27, 2023.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email him at jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Antwoin L. Brown of Vineland pleads guilty to embezzlement scheme
While attending the Cannes Film Festival on Friday, Viola Davis expressed her frustration with the available roles for Black women in Hollywood.

When it comes to Black women who are over 50, then that is when [the lack of interesting roles] is problematic. Thats when it is a vast desert, the EGOT winner, who most recently portrayed Michael Jordans mother Deloris Johnson in Air, told People. Women are no longer begging for a seat at the table, theyre creating their own.

Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Kerry Washington, Issa Rae  Halle Berry, Keke Palmer, we can keep going on and on  even Marsai Martin, who is what, 18? she added. Theyre empowering themselves by understanding that theyre the change that they want to see.

Davis has certainly helped pave the way for younger generations of Black women in Hollywood  and has become the most-Oscar-nominated Black woman of all time. And yet, Davis has witnessed a dearth of interesting roles for Black women over 50 firsthand.

I play a lot of moms, she told People. Everyone wants me to play their mom. I have people who hug me in the street who call me Mom.

Davis, the most Oscar-nominated Black woman in history, said she doesn't

Davis, the most Oscar-nominated Black woman in history, said she doesn't "hustle" anymore.

Davis jumped at the chance to play Jordans mother, however, and said Ben Affleck  who wrote and starred in Air alongside pal Matt Damon  wisely crafted the Deloris Jordan character as being an undeniable key to her sons success.

I think the enticement came that it wasnt your normal mom role, Davis told People. He turned it on its head so that she was the one who negotiated the [multi-million dollar Nike] deal that we know today. And that intrigued me. I like surprises.

Michael Jordan signed a five-year deal worth $2.5 million in 1984 and became a billionaire in 2014.

Davis added that Black women constantly feel like theyre hustling to validate their worth. Davis, who won her first Tony Award in 2001, an Emmy in 2015, a Grammy in 2023 and received an Oscar in 2017, doesnt feel that way anymore, however.

I dont hustle anymore, she told People. And it has nothing to do with my age and how long Ive been in the business. Its a realization. Its a self-actualization that worth is nothing to be negotiated with. I was born worthy. Thats not on the table. Whats on the table?

Maybe you have to see it the way I see it.

Related...
Wagner Group looking to procure weapons in Mali, report says

Wagner Center, opened by Evgeny Prigozhin in St. Petersburg

According to the report, these efforts to obscure arms supplies to Russia were uncovered by U.S. intelligence.

Read also: TDF Commander Tantsyura survived assassination attempt thanks to intelligence intercept - Ukrainska Pravda

CNNs source said that Wagner has successfully purchased some equipment already, and now looks to procure more landmines, drones, and artillery radars from the PMCs contacts in Mali.

We are closely monitoring this, the unnamed official told CNN.

Wagner has been collaborating with the armed forces of Mali to help control jihadist insurgencies. In 2021, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed cooperation between the two countries in ensuring security.

Read also: Russian collaborator convicted of treason against Ukraine, sentenced to life

The unnamed U.S. official added that in early February, representatives of Wagner also met with "Turkish contacts" with the intention of "purchasing weapons and equipment in Turkey" that could then be used in Ukraine.

"Wagner is directly supporting Russia's war against Ukraine, and we oppose efforts by any other country to assist Russia through Wagner," the report quotes the official.

On May 19, Financial Times reported that a Russian company associated with Wagner purchased tens of thousands of helmets from China for its mercenaries fighting in Ukraine, at the end of 2022.

Read also: China urges foreign embassies to remove signs showing support for Ukraine

Wagner mercenaries have been fighting in Ukraine since 2014, and have also been involved in combat operations against the Ukrainian army since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

Since early 2023, fighting has intensified and many of Wagner's mercenaries have been killed in the battle for Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast.

Read also: Videos show Russian regular troops seeking to join Wagner, whats Prigozhin up to?

Wagner is currently under sanctions from the United States, the UK, Canada, and the EU.

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
Washington law does not allow US state to 'kidnap' children

A Washington law that aims to protect children seeking reproductive or gender-affirming care has been targeted by claims that it permits "state-sanctioned kidnapping." This is false; while the measure expands cases in which shelters may contact the US state's Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) in lieu of parents, it does not address custody or remove notification requirements.

"The newly signed law will allow the government to hide the whereabouts of runaway children who claim to be seeking sex changes or abortions. Meaning, no one can protest the 'state-sanctioned kidnapping of children,'" says a May 10, 2023 Instagram post from the Gateway Pundit, a website that AFP has repeatedly fact-checked.

An April 14 headline from the Epoch Times, another website that has previously spread misinformation, says: "Washington State House Approves Bill Authorizing Hiding of Children Seeking Transgender Medical Intervention From Parents."

Screenshot of an Epoch Times article taken May 18, 2023

Numerous articles and social media posts on Twitter, TikTok and Facebook, including many in Spanish, make similar claims about the law.

Democratic Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5599 (SB-5599), titled "Supporting Youth and Young Adults Seeking Protected Health Services," on May 9, 2023.

"This legislation is simply about access to safe, stable shelter and ensuring children do not end up homeless on the street," said Erin Hut, a communications officer for the Washington Senate Democratic Caucus.

"Senate Bill 5599 allows licensed shelters to contact the (DCYF) instead of parents in certain instances, like when a child is seeking reproductive health services or gender-affirming care."

Parental notification, custody

The legislation cited online does not mention legally separating or taking custody away from parents, nor does it eliminate the state's obligation to inform them about their child.

Washington law (archived here) says licensed shelters must "contact the youth's parent within 72 hours, but preferably within 24 hours, following the time that the youth is admitted to the shelter."

There are circumstances when the shelter can contact the DCYF in lieu of parents, including if notifying a parent could subject a minor to injury, neglect or sexual abuse and exploitation.

SB-5599 broadens those cases to include minors seeking "gender-affirming treatment" or "reproductive health care."

Even with these changes, DCYF is required to make a good-faith attempt to notify parents. The agency must also offer services designed to "resolve the conflict and accomplish a reunification of the family," according to the legislation.

Deirdre Bowen, director of the Family Law Center at Seattle University, told AFP that, in order to protect transgender youth in cases where they may be at risk of harm or discrimination, "the shelter does not directly contact the parents." But this does not mean they are not notified.

"Instead, this is where the state comes in to provide support and family reunification services," she said. "The bill in no way authorizes the state to remove minors from their parents."

Doing so without due process "would be unconstitutional," Bowen said. The only time children are removed from their parents' custody in Washington is when they are abused or neglected.

The bill also does not change the age of medical consent, which is 18 -- nor does it offer reproductive or gender-affirming services, Bowen said.

More of AFPs reporting on LGBTQ misinformation can be found here.
Sign up for the Happiness is a Warm TV newsletter here.

Heres whats on TV tonight.

Dateline: The Killings on King Road (9 p.m. ET, NBC)

Keith Morrison goes to Moscow, Idaho, to report the latest on the murders of four college students in November 2022. Morrison gets exclusive information on the suspected murder weapon, plus details on an incident police believe the alleged killer, Bryan Kohberger, committed before the murders. Also, we learn more about what was going on in the Kohberger family home in the days before his arrest.

Morrison will interview forensic psychologist Dr. Gary Brucato, former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer, former FBI profiler and president of the Cold Case Foundation Greg Cooper, friends of the victims, a classmate of Bryan Kohberger and others.

Related: An ABC News podcast on Idaho murders

If youre interested in whats going on with the University of Idaho murders, ABC News is releasing a podcast called The King Road Killings: An Idaho Murder Mysery on June 7, with new episodes dropping weekly.

There are five episodes planned, and its hosted by ABCs Kayna Whitworth, who spent six weeks in Moscow reporting the story.

It covers the murders of four University of Idaho students  Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Kaylee Goncalves  who were stabbed to death in their off-campus house on King Road in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022.

ABC News says to expect a deeply reported podcast series that will detail the night of the murders and profile the victims, and also examine why these particular students may have been targeted. It will also take a broader look at the town, which was gripped in fear during the early days of the investigation, when little information was coming from law enforcement. The final two episodes will include real-time updates revealed in the preliminary hearing for the accused murderer scheduled for summer.

20/20: It Happened Here - A Year in Uvalde (9 p.m. ET, ABC)

John Quinones reports on the courageous journeys of families and survivors following the mass shooting tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

This will stream the next day on Hulu.

Some programming descriptions are provided by networks.
Back in 1958, Lexington leaders had a visionary plan to ensure that its scenic and economically productive horse farms would be protected from development. They created the nations first urban service boundary, which protected the rural land outside the city.

Back then, no one seemed to worry that stifling the supply of available land would create an affordable and accessible housing crisis in subsequent years. Like government bodies throughout our history, successive councils and mayors kicked the can of affordable housing down the road for other people to worry about.

In 1996, under pressure from the business and development community, and against the wishes of the agriculture and equine community, the council agreed to open the boundary to allow 5,330 acres to be developed.

Mistakes were made. There was little to no data-driven planning as to what development made the most sense where, nor were landowners consulted whether they even wanted to open their land up to development. Most of the housing built was single family sprawl. Half of the land is still undeveloped today. But our housing prices keep rising and the housing crunch continues to affect everyone, from the unhoused to people trying to buy their first home.

So we come to today. This year, the citys comprehensive plan is up for its five-year review. Now called Imagine Lexington, it is supposed to be separate from the issue of the Urban Services Boundary, but as the comp plan directs our future growth, the boundary is inexorably drawn into these conversations.

The comp plan has now been complemented by two more task forces  the Goal 4 Task Force and the Sustainable Growth Task Force, which helped lay out a more detailed process of how Lexington should approach new development. A matrix of information would determine if and when the boundary were to be opened, and whether it should be used for industry, housing, commercial or retail space. The report said that more than 97,000 acres in the rural areas should be preserved but also identified 27,000 acres that could be developed if and when the city decides growth is necessary. Most of that acreage is along the already bustling Winchester Road and Athens-Boonesboro near I-75. Under the proposal, the city will decide, using a sustainable growth matrix, if and when the city needs more land for various needs  industry, housing, commercial or retail space. If that was determined, developers could submit plans to show how they would meet that specific need.

This report did not please everyone, but it sets a new precedent for a data-driven process that should be adopted before any conversations about new land development begin.

A slick public relations campaign by a group called Lexington for Everyone, started and supported by Commerce Lexington, has added urgency to the idea by demanding the addition of 5,000 acres for development immediately. But council members should not be fooled: As the situation stands right now, there is nothing to ensure that more acreage would guarantee subsidized or affordable housing, and in fact, historical precedent would suggest the opposite. In addition, affordable housing requires substantial infrastructure such as groceries, transportation, schools and jobs, so saying the border should be expanded to build it is a straw man argument.

We do need more speed on the housing issue, but that discussion needs to include exactly how we can create more infill and development inside the USB, how zoning problems still hold the city back, and how any new developments fit inside the comprehensive plans ideals of a more bikeable, walkable and connected city.

On May 23, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council will begin its adoption of the Goals and Objectives of the comprehensive plan. The goals adopted by the Planning Commission call for keeping the boundary as it is but recent public discussions may have given the impression that it was up for a vote, and its possible that council members could make amendments that push us closer to that path.

Instead we urge the council to compromise: Amend the Goals and Objectives to include the process laid out in the Goal 4 report, but include language to begin the process sooner than 2026, as the report currently suggests. This would allow pockets of land to be proposed for specific development that the Planning Commission and the council would have to approve through zoning changes. Rather than just opening up acreage, it would confine new development to one project at a time, subject to requirements about what Lexington needs most, such as housing. It would also create time limits so that if a project is not completed in a certain amount of time, that approval would be removed. If the Goal 4 matrix needs polishing, theres time to do it. This is hardly a perfect solution  it may lead to even more and more heated zoning fights, but in our view, we have reached a point in our land use that every project deserves individual scrutiny and developers require accountability they havent always received.

In many ways, this fundamental struggle is still between horse people who want the boundary to stay exactly as it is forever and developers who want to develop much more with little to no restrictions on how to do so. But one reason for that is that these issues are so intensely complicated that only the most passionate advocates understand the hundreds of dull but crucial intricacies. We should all educate ourselves because we now see first-hand how much they affect us all. The citys website on the Comp Plan is an excellent place to start, as is CivicLexs information on the history and how we got to this point. And as always, reporter Beth Musgraves reporting on this topic is essential.

We all need to understand and we all need to care. This is one of the most important decisions this council will make. Our housing crunch demands both action and thoughtful process but they can be used together to reach some resolution.

Lexingtons Comprehensive Plan affects how the city expands. Heres what you should know
PHNOM PENH, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government on Friday approved the construction of the first-ever waterway connecting the Bassac River in Phnom Penh with the sea in the southwest Kep province, said government chief spokesman Phay Siphan.

The approval was made during a Council of Ministers meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Siphan said.

Siphan said the 180-kilometer Bassac River Navigation and Logistics System will link between the Bassac River in the capital and the sea in Kep province, passing through Kandal, Takeo, and Kampot.

"It will be the first time in the history of Cambodia's waterway transport sector that there is a linkage between the Mekong River system and a sea route," he wrote on his official Facebook page.

The new waterway project is estimated to cost about 1.7 billion U.S. dollars and it will take about four years for the project to be constructed, he added.

Siphan said the project will importantly contribute to the country's economic development as it will help reduce both delivery time and distance.

According to the official, a total population of 1.6 million currently live on both sides of the waterway. 
Bellingham, Whatcom County and the rest of Western Washington can expect a warmer than normal summer with less rainfall, according to long-range forecasts issued Thursday.

Forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Climate Prediction Center call for above-normal temperatures and below-normal rainfall for the months of June, July and August.

That could be from the influence of a growing El Nino weather phenomenon, which usually means a warmer and drier winter for the Northwest, said Dev McMillian, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Seattle.

Theres now a 90% chance of an El Nino this winter, according to the Climate Prediction Center.

But drought development is also seen as unlikely, at least in the short term, because the mountain snowpack didnt begin to melt until recently, McMillian told The Bellingham Herald in an interview.

It was kind of funny how that played out. Our precipitation was below normal, but we had such a cool spring that the snowpack hung around, he said.

Snowpack in the North Cascades near Bellingham is now 68% of normal, down from 89% or normal in March, according to measurements from the USDAs Natural Resources Conservation Service..
Greg Mathieson/Mai - Getty Images

In the last week, a semi-formal coalition of European countries has emerged. Its aimed at enabling Ukraine to operate U.S.-built F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters, both by training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s andeventuallysupplying the aircraft.

Prime ministers Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom and Mark Rutte of the Netherlands announced the formation of the coalition on May 16. However, Paris, Belgium, Denmark and Poland had already previously indicated that they might contribute to training Ukrainian pilots and even possibly supplying F-16 aircraft.

The coalition is peculiar, admittedly. Initially, its two largest countriesthe United Kingdom and Francehad themselves never operated F-16s. And the United States, which builds F-16s, had ruled out providing them to Ukraine.

But the coalition appears to have achieved its political goals stunningly fast. This Friday, U.S. officials told the New York Times that the U.S. would also participate in training Ukrainian pilots for F-16s and collectively determine with its European allies how those aircraft might be supplied. Reportedly, the main advocate for the change of policy was U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who convinced Joe Biden, despite the presidents concerns that F-16s might be used for strikes on Russia.

This is promising for Kyivs efforts to acquire a more modern fighter capability, as its Soviet-era MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters remain outclassed by Russias newer Su-35 fighters and MiG-31BM interceptors that can detect and shoot at Ukrainian aircraft from beyond range of retaliation. The F-16 may not be a super-fighter 45 years after the initial models entered service, but its agile, affordable and upgradeable and could give Ukrainian pilots the tools needed to fight back.

By preparing the human component needed for F-16 operationssomething which normally takes many monthsthese aircraft could become operational much more rapidly if and when they are donated to Ukraine. A recently leaked U.S. Air Force report assessed Ukrainian pilots could become minimally proficient with F-16s with just four months of training.

And now that the training program has U.S. buy-in, it looks increasingly inevitable that Ukraine will be getting the F-16 jets it has lobbied very hard forfrom one source or another.

NurPhoto - Getty Images

How It Could Work

Rather than training Ukraines veteran fighter pilots, removing them from frontline duties, the coalitions plan is to train new cohorts of Ukrainian pilots on general operation of Western aircraft. In that respect, both France and the UK could play a role preparing trainees on jet trainers.

But eventually, Ukrainian pilots would graduate to conversion training, and would need to train on F-16 simulators and fly actual F-16s, even if they dont get to take them back home in Ukraine. Here, two other coalition partners could help. One is Belgium, which has ruled out aircraft donations but is willing to train Ukrainian pilots using some of its 44 single-seat F-16AMs and 8 two-seat F-16BMs. The other is the Netherlands, which has 24 F-16As and Bs.

Loop Images - Getty Images

Training fighter pilots to fly a specific fighter usually requires many months, with a Basic F-16 course ordinarily requiring 9 months: one month of classroom instruction, followed by simulator sessions and around 60 training flights. An accelerated wartime schedule of 6 months is expected to apply to Ukrainian trainees.

aviation-images.com - Getty Images

Overall, training pilots before the planes themselves are guaranteed has a certain logic because the pilots are a long-lead time element. And jet training on Royal Air Force BAe Hawk T2s and French Mirage 2000Bs (which have characteristics similar to the F-16s) may prepare pilots for faster conversion training to F-16s later on.

Oli Scarff - Getty Images

Leaked documents from March 2023following a U.S. Air Force evaluation of two Ukrainian pilots that spent 11.5-hours of training on a simulatorsuggest that four months (ie. 13 weeks) of training could be realistic for experienced Ukrainian pilots to become proficient in minimal required task, including proficiency in a radar and infrared-guided missile type (likely AIM-120 and AIM-9 Sidewinder). The pilots performed above average on many parameters, despite some concerns over language aptitude.

That said, any training time that surpasses the minimal necessary will better prepare trainees for the extremely high-threat environment facing Ukraine, contending with sophisticated Russian S-400 long-range surface-to-air missiles and Su-35S fighters.

HIGH-G Productions/Stocktrek Images - Getty Images

However, training expert ground crew and maintainers also requires a lot of timelikely more than conversion-training pilotsand thus merits its own program. Fortunately, neighboring Poland and Romania also operate F-16s and thus have maintenance bases, which could potentially be used to help sustain F-16s given to Ukraine.

Still, it would be absurd to go through time-consuming efforts to train pilots only for no F-16s to be available. Here, the coalitions intentions are fuzzier. However, several states claim they may consider donating F-16s.

REMKO DE WAAL - Getty Images

.

That includes the Netherlands (which has claimed it is open to the idea) and Denmark (which has 33 F-16As). It does not, however, include Poland as some speculated, as the country is counting on F-16s to replace MiG-29s it donated to Ukraine.

All three of those countries are currently adopting F-35 stealth fighters. The air forces of Denmark and the Netherlands may thus feel they can spare some of the older jets. But neither has firmly committed to giving away valuable combat aircraft.

NurPhoto - Getty Images

The Dutch and Danish F-16As and Bs have received the Block 20 MLU update, bringing their avionics close to the standard of the second-generation F-16C/D. This includes the APG-66(V2) doppler radar, GPS navigations, night-vision goggle-compatible multi-function cockpit displays, andcruciallysupport for the AIM-120 missile.

The U.S.'s Role

The Biden administration had previously firmly communicated that it isnt considering giving F-16s to Ukraine, but had also explicitly stated it wouldn't prevent other countries from doing so. As the leaked report from March indicates, the administration has clearly studied what an F-16 transfers would entail. And as of this Friday, it has now made clear that the U.S. would directly participate in the F-16 training effort.

Early in 2022, the U.S. intervened to prevent European states from giving away their aging inventory of Soviet fighters to Ukraine. It was later revealed that this fulfilled the U.S.'s end of a secret deal with China which, in return, promised to use its influence to restrain Russia from using or threatening use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. By early 2023, though, the deal apparently had run its course, and Washington supported the transfer of numerous Soviet fighters to Ukraine.

Still, the Biden administration seemingly viewed transfers of Western-built fighters as more politically and technologically sensitive. It also argued that they weren't the best bang-for-military-aid-buck option in terms of impacting the ground war in Ukraine, as jet fighters are expensive, challenging to integrate, and difficult to leverage in airspace overwatched by powerful air defenses. The U.S. may also be weary of advanced technologies transferred to Ukrainesuch as later-model AIM-120 missiles or AESA radarscould be recovered from lost aircraft and studied by Russia and China.

Realistically, even as a non-participant, the U.S. would have to approve transfers of F-16 to Ukraine as per end-user license agreements. And tacit acquiescence would have been required for sustainment of F-16s in Ukrainian service through maintenance, spare parts, and munitions.

With the U.S. now definitely supporting the training effort, the provision of actual aircraft is looking more likely. The U.S. is sitting on large numbers of retired F-16s, and the Air Force's operational F-16 fleet is contracting. Longer term, Washington also has the finances and access to procure new F-16s tailored for use by Ukraine, much as it furnished specially modified F-16s to Iraq.

Anadolu Agency - Getty Images

Thus the most realistic endgame of the F-16 coalition will likely involve U.S. provision of some F-16s alongside its European partners, with Ukrainian pilots (and hopefully, at some point, maintainers) trained and ready to operate the type soon after delivery.

Why the F-16?

The Lockheed-Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon (commonly dubbed the Viper in recent years) is a versatile yet affordable single-engine multi-role fighter designed for short-range operations. They have seen plenty of action since entering service in 1978, downing by one accounting 76 combat aircraft without air-to-air losses (unless counting 2 accidental shoot downs.)

Ukraine especially needs two qualities from Western fighters. First, they need to be both available and sustainable. Second, they need to be able to effectively engage in beyond-visual range (BVR) combat with Russian jets.

Russian pilots have more powerful radars, have long-range R-77-1 and R-37M air-to-air missiles, and avoid closing within visual range of Ukrainian fighters. Thus, Ukrainian pilots rarely have a chance to shoot back effectively, particularly as they must fly low to mask themselves from radar detection as long as possible.

Frances recently retired Mirage 2000D fighters pass the availability test, but fail on the qualitative level, as their BVR missiles have been retired. Swedens JAS 39 Gripen jets, conversely, are qualitatively ideal for Ukraine. But only a few hundred were built, and Sweden has made little indication that its ready to give them away. Frances newer Rafale jets are excellent, but unlikely to be donated, and probably too expensive for Ukraine to procure .

Amongst these, the F-16 most convincingly passes both tests. Its the worlds most numerous military jet, with over 4,600 built, and remains relatively cheaper to operate, sustain and procure. And over two-dozen countries still operate F-16s, meaning there are distributed supplies of spare parts and training pipelines.

The F-16 also passes the qualitative test because it has a decent radar and can employ AIM-120C and D fire-and-forget air-to-air missiles with a range of around 60 and 86 miles respectively. While it doesnt necessarily out-match Russias best fighters (which are beefier, twin-engine designs) they can still challenge them, with the AIM-120C-series missile arguably out-performing the R-77-1 missile.

US Air Force - Getty Images

Another plus to operating F-16s is that the substantially improved F-16 Block 70/72 model is also in production. This would give Ukraine a future pathway to eventually acquiring a more capable version through upgrades or factory-fresh procurement, much as Taiwan is expanding and upgrading its F-16C/D fleet to the F-16V model. The Block 70/72 notably introduces an AESA-type APG-83 radar with capabilities Russian radarseven longer range onesstill lack.

The one fly in the ointment may be that the F-16s underslung jet engine intake is particularly prone to sucking in debris, causing Foreign Object Damage (FOD). British air warfare analyst Justin Bronk has argued this make its unsuitable for Ukraines air force, which is compelled to disperse aircraft to potentially austere satellite airfields to avoid Russian attacks.

David Silverman - Getty Images

Bronk fears Ukrainian efforts to prepare select bases for F-16s (which reportedly have been already underway for months) would simply draw Russian attacks. This is why he argues the Swedish Gripen would be a better choice, as it was designed from the ground up to support operations from primitive, dispersed bases.

However, a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter pilot going by callsign Juice disagreed on social media that Ukrainian airfields posed a major FOD risk, pointing to a 2011 exercise in which F-16s deployed to Ukraine. As far as he's concerned, the F-16 remains by far the most realistic and effective option.

Should Russias war on Ukraine drag on, the introduction of a few dozen Ukrainian F-16s in 2024 could disrupt the Russian air forces risk-averse modus operandi, which recently has come to include lobbing glide bombs at Ukrainian cities at standoff range. But it's debatable whether that would greatly impact the ground war in Ukraine, as manned aircraft have had relatively limited overall effect due to overwhelming ground-based air defenses.

Still, Ukrainian pilots believe they could accomplish a lot by combining the guerilla air warfare tactics theyve relied on to survive with Western fighters with the reach to fight back. The sooner the lengthy process of adopting those jets is set in motion, the less time Russia will have to grind on with its current strategy, seemingly aimed at running out Kyiv's inventory of surface-to-air missiles.

You Might Also Like
Where did the $250M in ARPA money for housing go? These projects will get a piece.

Gov. Dan McKee's administration has awarded $101 million to 23 housing projects across the state while debate about the best ways to increase the housing stock and combat the affordability crisis heats up at the State House.

The new project funding was approved on Thursday by the Rhode Island Housing board of directors and, combined with other pots of financing, is expected to create or maintain 1,481 housing units in total. Most of the $101 million comes from the federal government and is part of the $250 million in American Rescue Plan funds approved for a variety of housing-related uses.

"It is no secret Rhode Island has building challenges at multiple levels, and for Rhode Island to be an attractive place to live and work, to raise a family, we must address the availability of quality housing," McKee told the housing board before the votes. "That means everything from providing supports for those experiencing homelessness, [to] increasing affordable housing, to ensuring we build more workforce housing for the working class."

Can you buy a home in RI? What inventory and interest rates mean for homebuyers this spring.

State Housing Secretary Stefan Pryor cautioned on Thursday that allocating money and seeing it spent are two different things. The 23 projects, all in various stages of development, will need additional financing, permitting and other steps before they can be built.

What will the money be used for?

Of the $250 million approved for housing programs last year, $155 million is for production, and $115 million of that has been allocated so far by Rhode Island Housing, according to a McKee news release. Adding in the money awarded without going through RI Housing, $147 million of the $250 million has been allocated, Department of Housing spokesman Joseph Lindstrom said.

The project awards come two weeks after McKee proposed a budget amendment adding another $29 million in federal funds for housing (on top of the $250 million approved last year) plus the creation of a state low-income-housing tax credit and a new "proactive development subsidiary of Rhode Island Housing."

Political Scene: How a Maryland public housing program could influence Rhode Island

That potential expansion of the state Housing Department could meld with separate legislative proposals from Rep. June Speakman and Sen. Meghan Kallman to create a state housing developer.

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi has said he is interested in exploring new social or public housing creation programs, such as a revolving fund based on one in Montgomery County, Maryland. And lawmakers put aside $10 million of the $250 million approved last year for public housing authorities.

Just last week, the Housing Department issued a request for proposals from public housing authorities to use half of the $10 million this year, Lindstrom said. The remaining $5 million will not be committed before the end of the fiscal year on June 30, but could be rolled into the state budget lawmakers are working on now for the year starting July 1.

"How do we aim to remedy the imperfections of the market that are holding us back and keeping us in last position for housing production in the country?" Pryor asked the House Finance Committee on Wednesday when speaking about the proposed development subsidiary. "This is an entity that could acquire land, assemble land, could help to fill out that capital stack and work with public and private financial institutions and products to make this development happen."

Eminent-domain powers raise concerns

In addition to creating this new development subsidiary in the Department of Housing, McKee's budget amendment would also give Pryor eminent-domain power to seize property. That power has raised concerns from Republicans and Democrats in the General Assembly who worry that, as written, there would be few checks on Pryor's ability to use eminent domain, a power that was often abused in the mid-20th century.

"Now we have legislation which would allow Stefan Pryor to take someones home, although it is not blighted, and give it to someone else for housing," state Republican Party Chairman Joe Powers said Wednesday in a news release titled "Taking Your Home Away."

"This is not only unfair, but probably unconstitutional," it said.

At least some of those concerns are shared by Shekarchi.

"There seems to be a broad base of authority granted to the secretary," he said. "It is not personal to Secretary Pryor, but I generally like to have guardrails around that. I am not saying we have to take that power away, but we have to certainly focus it and limit it to what it is intended to be for."

The first candidate for a new eminent-domain taking might be the former Memorial Hospital building in Pawtucket, which is going through a messy foreclosure proceeding and about which the Housing Department has said it is exploring condemnation.

Asked after addressing the Rhode Island Housing board whether he could guarantee that Pryor would not seize anyone's home if given eminent-domain power, McKee said, "We are going to use whatever authority we have to accomplish the goals we need to accomplish in a way that's appropriate."

What projects will get funding?

The 23 projects approved for funding by the Rhode Island Housing Board Thursday are:

Central Street Development, 62 units in Pawtucket/Central Falls

Rosebrook Commons, 64 units in Middletown

Southpoint Commons, 72 units in Westerly

Reynolds Farm Senior Housing II, 40 units in North Kingstown

Broad Street Homes, 47 units in Central Falls

Ade Bethune House, 54 units in Portsmouth

Potters Tigrai Apartments, 57 units in Providence

The Avenue, 85 units in Providence

Summer Street Apartments, 176 units in Providence

Lockwood Plaza Phase I, 209 units in Providence

Copley Chambers II & III, 124 units in Providence

Pocasset Reserve Phase I, 275 units in Tiverton

Ralph R. Russo Manor, 22 units in Johnston

Villages at Manville, 72 units in Lincoln

Millrace District, 70 units in Woonsocket

Studley Building, 65 units in Providence

East Point, 100 units in East Providence

Walker Lofts, 126 units in Lincoln

Georgiaville Place, nine units in Smithfield

Bernon Mills, 60 units in Woonsocket

24 Inkerman Street, three units in Providence

Hive Apartments, 124 units in Providence

25 Bough St. in Providence.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Projects building homes in RI will get $101 million in ARPA money
The White House late Thursday said there has been steady progress in negotiations between the administration and lawmakers on talks over the debt ceiling and the budget, with President Biden phoning his team from Japan for an update.

Biden requested and received an update on talks while in Hiroshima for the Group of Seven (G-7) Summit, a White House official said.

The presidents team informed him that steady progress is being made, the official said. The president directed his team to continue pressing forward for a bipartisan agreement and made clear the need to protect essential programs for hardworking Americans and the economic progress of the past two years as negotiations head into advanced stages.

He remains confident that Congress will take necessary action to avoid default, they added.

The White Houses talk of steady progress came hours after Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters he could see the path to an agreement, though he acknowledged there was still work to be done.

Biden will be in Japan until Sunday, when he is scheduled to return to Washington, D.C. He scrapped plans to visit Australia and Papua New Guinea next week in order to be back stateside for debt ceiling negotiations.

The Treasury Department has warned lawmakers they must raise the debt ceiling by June 1, or the U.S. risks defaulting. A default could have major economic consequences, officials have warned, including increased borrowing rates, job losses and a stock market downturn.

Biden met Tuesday with McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Biden and McCarthy appointed officials from their respective camps to lead negotiations on hammering out a budget agreement while simultaneously pushing for an increase in the debt limit.

The White Houses side is being led by Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, White House aide Steve Ricchetti and legislative affairs director Louisa Terrell. McCarthys side is being led by Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.).

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Biden administration officials Steve Zicchetti and Shalanda Young. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP; Mariam Zuhaib/AP)

President Biden has tasked two members of his administration  Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young and White House senior adviser Steve Ricchetti  to negotiate with House Speaker Kevin McCarthys proxy to try to avert an imminent default on U.S. debt payments.

With the country in danger of hitting the existing debt ceiling on June 1, the consensus among economists is that not raising the spending limit would result in catastrophic consequences for the U.S. economy and for average Americans.

McCarthy and his Republican colleagues, meanwhile, are insisting that Biden slash spending that funds some of the presidents top priorities in exchange for agreeing to lift the debt ceiling.

Still, the selection of Young and Ricchetti was welcomed by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.

Choosing Steve Ricchetti and Shalanda Young to lead these negotiations was the best move the Biden administration could have done, Sinema told Yahoo News partner Politico in a Wednesday interview. It would have been good if it happened sooner, but the fact that it happened yesterday is really good. And there is enough time for them to get to an agreement, but it couldnt happen with all the others in the room.

Heres a look at the two people Biden has chosen to help guide the nation through the current impasse.

Shalanda Young

Young testifying before the House Appropriations Committee, March 23. (Jose Luis Magana/AP)

Young was appointed by Biden in 2021 to oversee the Office of Management and Budget, the first Black woman to hold that position. Previously she served as deputy budget director and acting director of that agency, which oversees the federal budget.

At OMB, I get to work with an amazing team that is committed to serving the American public, she said during a May 2022 event for the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan nonprofit based in D.C., adding that, at the agency, she shared Bidens goal of restoring trust in government  from making evidence-based decisions to keeping improper political interference from undermining the work, and ultimately our country.

Before joining the Biden administration, Young worked at the House Appropriations Committee for more than a decade, overseeing annual appropriations bills. She also was involved in drafting proposals focused on ending the 2018-2019 federal shutdown, handled disaster aid and played a major role in distributing COVID-related spending.

She has impressed some lawmakers on the other side of the aisle. You might talk me out of voting for you, but I doubt it, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told her during her confirmation hearing for her current role.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., remarked at the time that in his decade-long tenure in Congress, he had never worked with a budget director that was as attentive, that was as understanding as Young.

Young is a native of Baton Rouge, La., and earned degrees from Loyola University New Orleans and Tulane University.

Steve Ricchetti

Ricchetti leaving a bipartisan infrastructure meeting on Capitol Hill, June 22, 2021. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

Ricchetti, currently the counselor to the President of the United States, worked in both the Clinton and Obama administrations, and joined then-Vice President Bidens staff in 2012. He went on to serve as chairman of Bidens 2020 presidential campaign.

In his earlier days in Washington, he served as a legislative aide and deputy chief of staff for President Bill Clinton. Prior to that, he held a leadership role as executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Currently, Ricchetti has helped broker deals on legislative packages that have become key aspects of the presidents domestic policy agenda.

A native of Cleveland who earned a law degree from George Mason University, Ricchetti played a major role in negotiations over the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, which Congress passed in 2021, one of Bidens biggest achievements to date.

The New York Times reported that Ricchetti has also helped the president outside of the political arena, according to people close to both men.

Republican side

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speak to reporters after meeting with President Biden and fellow congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Ricchetti and Young are not the only subordinates who have been chosen to hammer out a debt ceiling deal. McCarthy picked Rep. Garret Graves, R-La. to represent Republicans at the negotiating table.

Like Young, Graves is also a native of Baton Rouge, where he currently lives with his wife and their three children, according to his congressional website. The chairman of the Aviations Subcommittee on Transportation, Graves has been credited with using technology to improve efficiency within the federal government.

Hes described as a policy wonk and Capitol Hill insider by his colleagues, according to NBC News, and has been a longtime staffer in both houses of Congress.

While both parties agree that negotiating the standoff through proxies has helped move the process forward, it remains to be seen whether whatever deal is reached will be agreeable to Democrats, who are wary the administration will give away too much, and to Republicans, who are using a potential default as leverage for drastic spending cuts.

Were going to hold the line. I think thats what Graves is going to do, thats what the speakers going to do, Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., told reporters Wednesday.
Why investing with your bank could be an expensive mistake

Why investing with your bank could be an expensive mistake

One of the first and most important questions you need to ask yourself before you start investing is which platform you should trust with your nest egg.

You may feel tempted to invest with a familiar brand, like your current account provider. Nowadays, the major high street banks offer ready-made portfolios for investors who want the ease and simplicity of a fund tailored to their risk profile, allowing them to choose between funds with labels such as cautious, balanced and adventurous.

But there is a price to pay for investing through retail banks, whose portfolios are infamous for delivering lacklustre returns.

Here, Telegraph Money weighs up whether or not a high street bank is the best home for your Isa.

Higher risk doesnt mean higher returns

Over the past five years, you would have been better off investing in a cheap global index tracker than putting your money in even the most adventurous portfolios offered by Barclays, HSBC and Santander.

The Barclays Wealth Global Markets 5, Santander Atlas Portfolio 7 and the HSBC Global Strategy Adventurous Portfolio have returned 38pc, 30pc and 45pc respectively over the past five years, whereas the Fidelity Index World tracker has delivered 68pc in the same period.

This is despite the fact that these funds are labelled higher-risk by the banks. In exchange for shouldering more risk, you would expect to be rewarded with high returns. But hefty charges and the use of cash and bonds have dragged on the funds performance.

Rob Morgan, of wealth manager Charles Stanley, said these multi-asset funds are taking "a lower level of risk than a pure equity fund", which explains why they have lagged behind those that simply track the stock market. The banks adventurous funds all have between 80pc and 90pc of their assets in shares.

Spokesmen for Barclays, HSBC and Santander said that because their funds have exposure to a mixture of equities, bonds and cash they should not be compared to tracker funds that are linked to a single index because they are not like-for-like.

Some of their portfolios have less than 20pc in equities. These low-risk portfolios have done even worse. Barclays Wealth Global Markets 1, which has 18pc in shares and the rest in cash and bonds, is down 5pc over the past year, whereas HSBC Global Strategy Cautious Portfolio and Santander Atlas Portfolio 3 have fallen 6pc.

Now read: How to invest like the best (and the strategies to avoid)

Tracker funds often prove cheaper

The portfolios also charge, in some cases, 10 times as much as a cheaper tracker fund. The most expensive of the banks portfolios is the RBS Coutts Managed Adventurous fund, which has a 0.65pc annual management fee and charges 0.27pc for other costs including custodian fees.

Santander Atlas Portfolio 7, meanwhile, charges 0.55pc. The cheapest is the HSBC Global Strategy Adventurous Portfolio, which charges 0.2pc.

Bear in mind that these funds are mainly invested in passive funds themselves. The top holdings of Santander Atlas Portfolio 7 are the Invesco S&P 500 ETF and the HSBC FTSE All Share Index.

Over time, charges will eat into your investment returns. An advantage of tracker funds is they carry fees as low as 0.06pc, in the case of the Vanguard FTSE UK All Share Index Unit Trust.

On top of fund fees, you will also pay a platform fee to the provider. Ian Millward, of financial advice firm Candid Financial Advice, said that in this respect some banks are much better value than the old established players.

Barclays Smart Investor charges 0.2pc a year plus 3 a fund trade, with a maximum monthly charge of 125.

But whether this is cost-effective for you depends on the size of your portfolio. The 0.2pc fee makes it a relatively cheap option for someone with a 50,000 pot, who would pay 512 a year.

However, for those with larger pots, charges could add up to a maximum of 1,500 annually. These investors would be far better off with a platform that charges a flat fee, like Interactive Investor, which charges 120 annually.

Now read: Have you got the cheapest Isa? The providers charging the most  and least  in 2023

Is investing with a high street bank ever worthwhile?

In general, customers are less satisfied with investment services from a bank than from a dedicated investment provider, said Holly Mackay of Boring Money, which interviews 3,000 platform investors every six months to track and benchmark service and satisfaction.

Banks typically dont offer so much choice, their apps tend not to be great and its a much less sophisticated offering, with less inspiring content.

On the other hand, banking customers can access their investments via online banking, and security and governance is tight, she added. Its also convenient and can be reassuring for those who dont actually want to be confronted with loads of choice.

However, Ms Mackay said there are few decent options available.

I think Barclays are the best of the bunch for people who want access to lots of choice with the simplicity of online banking log-ins.

Halifax is extremely cheap for those who know what theyre doing and dont want bells and whistles. And the rest have work to do to be competitive with investment peers.

Its a real missed opportunity  years of profitable mortgage and credit card divisions have seen investments play second fiddle in terms of strategic priorities. And this underinvestment shows.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
Why are Kwik Trip employees passionate about the company? Here are four good reasons.

Tyriek Curtain brings sandwiches to the hot spot at the Kwik Trip at 2807 River Valley Road in Waukesha.

There's no question that Wisconsin has a special relationship with Kwik Trip.

From online fan groups to incorporating stores into special occasions like weddings, customers' passion for the La Crosse-based chain of convenience stores is unmistakable. But look deeper and you'll find the same passion among the company's 36,000 employees.

Kwik Trip has been recognized as a Top Workplace in southeastern Wisconsin for 13 consecutive years. The company, which now employs 4,000 people at 81 southeast Wisconsin locations, ranked ninth this year among the survey's 20 largest employers.

Here are four reasons why Kwik Trip is consistently named one of southeastern Wisconsin's top places to work.

Good people create great workplaces

Kwik Trip is picky about who puts on the company's uniform. Very picky.

The company gets about 200,000 job applications a year, and hires between 8% and 10% of those applicants, company spokesman David Niemi said.

The screening process considers honesty, integrity, respect, a commitment to excellence, hard work and the ability to work with other people. Creating teams with those sorts of shared qualities and values helps employees feel connected to their jobs, their store and the company, Niemi said.

"When you find 30 or 40 people with that kind of values it's noticeable," Niemi said. "That's the magic sauce, find the right people and then support them."

The nearly 1,600 Kwik Trip employees who responded to the Top Workplaces survey frequently cited teamwork among their co-workers and managers, and a sense of belonging, among the reasons they liked their jobs.

Lindsey Zettel, assistant store leader, checks out a customers at the Kwik Trip at 2807 River Valley Road in Waukesha.

At Kwik Trip, employee support, workplace culture begin at the top

Company leadership has been dedicated to setting a tone that employees matter for more than three decades.

It began with CEO Don Zietlow, who retired at the end of last year. Zietlow was known for visiting stores in uniform, insisting that employees be referred to as co-workers, and spreading the message that each employee matters and makes a difference.

People are our No. 1 asset, Zietlow said when he announced he would retire. Theres more to a job than pay. You need to feel like you are making a difference. Thats our mission, and thats what our coworkers do every day.

That won't change now that his son, Scott Zietlow, is running the company, Niemi said.

"With Kwik Trip being a family-owned business they really take the family part seriously and make sure everyone is treated like their own family," one employee said.

A sense of ownership solidifies connection to Kwik Trip

Having a stake in the success of the company certainly helps.

Don Zietlow recognized that early on and followed through with consistently making sure the first 40% of the company's pretax profits went to employees through profit sharing and contributions to retirement accounts.

"They just, literally, put their money where their mouth is," Niemi said of the Zietlow family. "They'll keep maybe 5% and the rest goes to building new stores and capital improvements pay in taxes. But the biggest chunk of all goes to the workers every year. It's amazing."

Other benefits include health insurance for full-time workers and access to three company health clinics and associated wellness programs and preventative care for all employees.

Employees who responded to the survey also cited flexible scheduling as a key benefit of working at Kwik Trip.

A Kwik Trip job can become a career

To understand the opportunities at Kwik Trip, consider this: Three people promoted in the past year to vice president started in entry level jobs.

And it's not just in the executive suites. Most store and district leaders, Niemi said, also started with work behind the counter.

"We're blessed," Niemi said. "Our turnover is less than a third of what what's out there in the industry. Our seasonal workers come and go  they're college kids, and they're part timers  but we have a lot of co-workers that hang with us because there's a loyalty and a built into being valued."

Several survey respondents talked about their desire to pursue a career at Kwik Trip.

"I feel included and valued by my management team and peers. I look forward to work every day, and feel as though I have a strong potential for a career here for years to come," one employee said.

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: Kwik Trip has been a Top Workplace for 13 years running. Here's why.
My sense is [Stone] has recognized how important this sector of Christianity is for the ongoing radicalized Trump base, says Christian scholar.

Roger Stone speaks during a press conference for The America Project held at Beths Burger Bar across the street from where the Conservative Political Action Conference CPAC is being held on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022 in Orlando, FL. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Roger Stone has been in and out of Donald Trumps orbit for more than four decades. But since Trump commuted his three-year prison sentence for lying to federal investigators, the self-proclaimed specialist in political dirty tricks had been preaching the gospel of Trumpism to the former presidents most fervent religious supporters.

I am a soldier in the army of the Lord, Stone, who has said he converted to Christianity shortly after his 2019 conviction, announced last Friday at a meeting of Pastors for Trump at the former presidents Doral resort in Miami.

The meeting was organized by a failed U.S. Senate candidate from Oklahoma and a Missouri couple named David and Stacy Whited, who have a background in multi-level marketing and host a podcast called Flyover Conservatives.

The 2024 election, Stone said, will be a fight between light and darka struggle between good and evilan epic fight between the godly and the godless.

Stone spoke alongside Michael Flynn, Trumps former national security adviser, as well as Stacy Whited, who promised the crowd that Trump will be elected president again in 2024.

Stone and Flynn are using more religious and apocalyptic rhetoric

Retired United States Army General Michael Flynn delivers a speach to a crowded barn full of supporters during a campaign event for U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel on April 21, 2022 at Mapleside Farms in Brunswick, Ohio. (Dustin Franz/Getty Images)

Like Flynn, Stone has been using more explicitly religious language over the past few years, especially when attending the Reawaken America tour events that mix evangelical church services with speeches promoting Qanon conspiracy theories and Trumpism.

The events combine a devotion to Trump with an apocalyptic religious view of politics. Flynn and Stone, over the past two years, have joined pastors and podcasters from a particular stream of American evangelicalism in calling their political opponents evil and even demonic.

This is a war that were in, this is a big spiritual war, Flynn said last year, with Stone standing behind him. I mean people like Nancy Pelosi, shes a demon.

Stone too has added a religious component to the type of anti-establishment political rhetoric hes used for years. The two parties are dominated by neocons, by globalists, by those who have turned from the Lord, he said last year.

Stone has become a regular guest on an internet show called Elijah Streams, which caters to those who believe in modern-day prophets and seers. Last year Stone told the host of the show that a Satanic portal was physically right above the White House  a claim he has reiterated in appearances with other right-wing Christians.

What is Stone up to?

Roger Stone greets people before former U.S. President Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) take the stage to headline a rally at the Miami-Dade County Fair and Exposition on November 6, 2022 in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Matthew D. Taylor has studied the world of independent charismatic evangelicals, the specific stream of Christianity that Stone and Flynn are catering to with their political and religious rhetoric. Taylor is the Protestant scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Baltimore, and is publishing a book on these believers and their ties to the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Taylor believes that Stone and Flynn are looking to have much more direct influence in that world, not mediated by pastors and prophets and rabbis but by their own speaking of charismatic language.

My sense is [Stone] has recognized how important this sector of Christianity is for the ongoing radicalized Trump base, Taylor told Yahoo News. I think he's been cultivating his own ability to speak to that world and his own credibility in it, in hopes of him having some sway with it.

Stone has long been interested in bypassing traditional media to reach people directly. Taylors theory is that he is trying to go around established authorities inside the Charismatic evangelical world as well to gain more influence. Stone did not respond to a request for comment.

The danger of dehumanizing rhetoric

Attendees pray together before President Donald Trump addresses the crowd at the King Jesus International Ministry during a "Evangelicals for Trump" rally in Miami, FL on Friday, Jan. 3, 2020. (Scott McIntyre/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Trumps hold on evangelicals has shown some signs of slipping. Numerous leaders have so far declined to support him.

So these efforts by Stone and Flynn to keep the most hardcore base of Christian Trumpists engaged make political sense. But the rhetoric of violent spiritual warfare that permeates this world has already played a role in sparking real world political violence once on Jan. 6, Taylor argued in his Charismatic Revival Fury podcast series.

And the violent rhetoric has not abated. Stone often appears on the Elijah Streams show alongside a man named Robin D. Bullock, a full-length leather-jacket wearing Alabama religious leader who claims hes been to heavena few times and watched God create the world one time.

Bullock may be controversial among other Charismatic evangelicals, but his YouTube channel has 201,000 subscribers. Stone called Bullock a good friend this week. And in comments last year to the Whiteds, Bullock said that the FBI raid on Trumps Mar-A-Lago compound had triggered the day of vengeance described in the biblical Book of Isaiah.

I will tread them in mine anger and trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled on my garments, Bullock said, reading the passage. Yes! exclaimed a smiling Stacy Whited.

Taylor is concerned that this ongoing dehumanization of opponents by comparing them to demons, and violent spiritual rhetoric that sometimes spills into hints of actual physical violence or predictions of sudden deaths among Trump opponents, is creating an early-on, groundswell rationalization for the next Jan. 6th.
Why Ukraine's spring offensive still hasn't begun  with summer just weeks away

FILE - Ukrainian soldiers fire a cannon near Bakhmut, an eastern city where fierce battles against Russian forces have been taking place, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, May 15, 2023. For months, Western allies have shipped billions of dollars worth of weapons systems and ammunition to Ukraine with an urgency to get the supplies to Kyiv in time for an anticipated spring counteroffensive. Now summer is just weeks away. While Russia and Ukraine are focused on an intense battle for Bakhmut, the Ukrainian spring offensive has yet to begin. (AP Photo/Libkos, File)

WASHINGTON (AP)  For months, Western allies have shipped billions of dollars worth of weapons systems and ammunition to Ukraine with an urgency to get the supplies to Kyiv in time for an anticipated spring counteroffensive.

Now summer is just weeks away. While Russia and Ukraine are focused on an intense battle for Bakhmut, the Ukrainian spring offensive has yet to begin.

Last week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it's been delayed because his country lacks enough Western weapons to succeed without suffering too many casualties. Weather and training are playing a role too, officials and defense experts say.

Officials insist the counteroffensive is coming. Preliminary moves by Ukraine to set the conditions it wants for an attack have already begun, a U.S. official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

A look at the factors delaying the counteroffensive and the preparations both sides are making in anticipation of it starting soon.

WEATHER

A big part of the delay is the weather. It's taken longer than expected for Ukraine's frozen ground to thaw and dry, due to an extended, wet, cold spring, which has made it difficult to transition into an offensive.

Instead, the ground has retained a deep mud that makes it more difficult for non-tracked vehicles to operate.

The mud is like a soup, the official said. You just sort of sink in it.

TRAINING

In the past few months, tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been trained by the U.S. and allies for the fight. But the final Ukrainian battalion the U.S. is currently training is just finishing its course now.

This final class brings the total number of Ukrainians the U.S. has trained for this fight to more than 10,700. Those forces have learned not only field and medical skills but advanced combined arms tactics with the Stryker and Bradley armored fighting vehicles and Paladin self-propelled howitzers. It also includes highly skilled forces who were trained to operate the Patriot missile defense system.

According to U.S. Army Europe-Africa, more than 41,000 additional Ukrainian troops have been trained through programs run by more than 30 partner nations.

Soon a new phase will begin: The U.S. will start training Ukrainians on Abrams tanks at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. But the Ukrainians won't wait for the tank training to be finished before they launch their counteroffensive, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told reporters in late April.

WEAPONS ARRIVALS

In just the past five months alone, the U.S. has announced it would send more than $14 billion in weapons and ammunition to Kyiv, most of which is being pulled from existing stockpiles in order to get the supplies to Ukraine faster. NATO and Western allies have responded too, pledging billions in tanks, armored vehicles and air defense systems.

But a lot of that gear still hasnt arrived, said Ben Barry, a former British intelligence official who is now the senior land warfare fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

For example, of the approximately 300 tank systems pledged  such as the Leopard 2 tanks promised by countries including Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany  only about 100 have arrived. Of the 700 or so pledged fighting vehicles, such as British Marauders and U.S. Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, only about 300 have arrived, he said.

Ukraine will also need enough ammunition on hand to sustain a higher tempo fight once the counteroffensive begins, When it comes to the ammunition needed, Ukraines chief military logistician will also have a strong say in when the army is ready to launch, Barry said.

In just one munition  the 155mm howitzer round  Ukraine is firing between 6,000 and 8,000 rounds per day, Ukrainian parliamentary member Oleksandra Ustinova told reporters in April.

COUNTEROFFENSIVE CLUES

Both Russia and Ukraine are taking steps in anticipation of the counteroffensive.

Russia has approximately 200,000 troops along a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) battle line, dug in using the same type of trench warfare tactics used in World War I, a Western official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.

These troops are not as highly trained as Russia's initial invading force, which sustained heavy casualties. But they are defended by ditches, minefields and dragon's teeth  above ground triangle-shaped concrete barriers that make it difficult for tanks to move.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has begun shaping operations, such as targeting Russia's forward lines with long-range artillery fire. That may indicate that Ukraine is about to push forward on that location  or it could be a decoy to draw Russia's attention from its actual planned first strike, the official said.

When Ukraine does try to punch through those lines  whether in a limited area or a complex campaign carried out in multiple locations  that will be the likely indicator the offensive has begun, both Barry and the Western official said.

Barry said when Ukrainian brigades start crossing into Russian-held territories and try to attack the first line of Russian defenses, thats going to be a dead giveaway I think.

___

Associated Press reporter Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.
The widow of Putin's political mentor and mother of his rumored goddaughter is increasingly voicing concerns about Russia's war in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lyudmila Narusova, widow of former St. Petersburg mayor Anatoly Sobchak, stand at the monument to Anatoly Sobchak during the 20th anniversary of his death in in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020 Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

A prominent Russian senator with close ties to Putin is increasingly criticizing the war in Ukraine.

Sen. Lyudmila Narusova, whose late husband was a mentor to Putin, has been a skeptic of the war since the start.

Her public discontent is a sign of mounting chaos in the Kremlin following months without a win.

A prominent Russian senator with close ties to President Vladimir Putin is increasingly and publicly criticizing the ongoing war effort in Ukraine, exemplifying the mounting chaos currently gripping the Kremlin.

Sen. Lyudmila Narusova, who is also the widow of Putin's one-time political mentor, Anatoly Sobchak, recently spoke out about her growing frustrations with Russia's 15-month war more than a year after she first expressed concerns about the invasion.

Narusova's public aspersions signal a shift in the Russian public's perception of the war following months of heavy Russian casualties in the strategically-unimportant city of Bakhmut, as well as increasingly public infighting between Russia's military brass and Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has taken to shaming the country's defense leaders.

"Nobody has explained how victory is supposed to look," Narusova told an interviewer with Forbes Russia in an April video, according to a translation in The Washington Post. "If we think of the originally declared goals, 'denazification' and 'demilitarization,' the entire Ukrainian army must have been already destroyed by now."

Narusova added that Russian soldiers are now up against NATO-armed Ukrainian troops.

"Does that mean we are demilitarizing NATO?" she asked. "That goal is unattainable."

Narusova, who was elected to the State Duma in 1995 and has served as a member of the Federation Council of Russia for decades, was an early skeptic of Putin's invasion, telling Russian state television that she did not "identify herself with those representatives of the state that speak out in favor of the war," just days after the conflict began, according to The New York Times.

"I think they themselves do not know what they are doing," Narusova told the independent Dozhd channel in February 2022, per The Times. "They are following orders without thinking."

Narusova also told the Dozhd outlet that dead Russian soldiers were laying in Ukraine "unburied; wild stray dogs gnawing on bodies that in some cases cannot be identified because they are burned."

In March 2022, she spoke to the Russian Federation Council of heavy Russian losses and was the only lawmaker to abstain from voting for an electronic draft summons in the mobilization of the Russian army earlier this year.

Narusova's criticism is notable given her close connection to Putin, who was a protege of Narusova's late husband, as well as the rumored godfather to her socialite daughter, Ksenia Sobchak, who has been called "Russia's Paris Hilton."

Her husband, Anatoly Sobchak, who served as the first democratically elected mayor of Saint Petersburg and helped co-author the Constitution of the Russian Federation, was a mentor to two future Russian presidents, Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, the current deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.

Sobchak died in February 2000 soon after traveling to the city of Kaliningrad to support Putin's then-election campaign.

His widow's public defiance is a sign of the worry growing among top Russian officials ahead of Ukraine's much-anticipated counteroffensive. Anna Nemtsova, a Daily Beast correspondent who has covered the Putin regime for more than two decades, wrote in The Post this week that the Ukrainians are successfully rattling the Kremlin, leaving the country in an unprecedented state of chaos and disarray.

Read the original article on Business Insider
PHNOM PENH, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese investment has greatly contributed to socio-economic development and poverty reduction in Cambodia, officials said here on Friday.

Chea Vuthy, deputy secretary-general of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, said the Chinese investment accounted for 90.5 percent of the foreign direct investment (FDI) to Cambodia in 2022, and 73.5 percent in the first four months this year.

"China has always been the largest source of FDI to Cambodia," he told a Cambodia-China business forum in Phnom Penh.

"FDI, especially from China, has played an important role in developing the national economy and improving the livelihoods of the Cambodian people," he added.

Vuthy said investment from China has injected new capital to Cambodia, brought about new technologies, created jobs, increased production and export, and helped boost the kingdom's integration into regional and global value chains.

"The inflow of FDI from China has showed strong confidence of Chinese investors in Cambodia," he said. "The close relationship between the two governments is a key factor in attracting Chinese investors to Cambodia."

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce Secretary of State Chhuon Dara said over 80 percent of the foreign investors in the Southeast Asian country were from China.

"The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, and the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement, among others have encouraged more Chinese investors to Cambodia," he said at the forum.

"The Chinese investment here has provided mutual benefit and win-win results for all," he added.

Senior economist Ky Sereyvath, director-general of the Institute of China Studies at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said the Chinese investment has played a crucial role in supporting Cambodia's socioeconomic development and poverty reduction, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs for locals.

"Under the BRI, a lot of China-funded mega-projects such as roads, bridges, ports, airports, hydropower plants, economic zones, national stadium and expressway have existed in Cambodia," he told Xinhua. "These projects have provided and will continue to provide great benefits to Cambodia and its people."

Neak Chandarith, director of the Cambodia 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Research Center, said Chinese-funded enterprises were pivotal in boosting Cambodia's economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.

"They are key contributors to helping Cambodia achieve its ambitious goal of becoming an upper middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country in 2050," he told Xinhua. 
Wife says she waited hours for husband. He was killed in road rage shooting, cops say

A 40-year-old man was killed in a road rage shooting along an Ohio interstate, police say.

The shooting happened around 5:35 p.m. on Wednesday, May 17, on Interstate 76 in Norton, a suburb of Akron.

George Jensens wife said her husband was coming home from work when he was shot, according to media reports.

Officers in Norton responded to the interstate for a report of a single-car accident, and they found Jensen had been shot several times, police said. He was taken to a hospital in Akron, where he died.

Allison Jensen, George Jensens wife, told the Akron Beacon Journal it wasnt until 10 p.m. when family learned of the shooting.

(We) didnt get information from anybody; it was hours, she told the publication.  What are they doing in Norton? Come on. His ID was on him. They took him into the hospital for treatment.  They could have sent a human being out to tell his entire family.

Witnesses said Jensen was the victim of road rage when a driver in a Camaro fired multiple shots at him, police said.

The driver of the Camaro was last seen traveling east on the interstate, according to police.

Theres a person out there on the loose, Allison Jensen told WEWS. There are also a lot of issues with a certain type of mentality that allows people to act so cavalierly like they can be the one who determines whoever lives and dies just because they have a device in their pocket that can shoot bullets.

Two nurses were among those who tried to help Jensen before first responders arrived, but they lost his pulse when the ambulance got there, a coworker told the Beacon Journal.

Jensen was described by his wife as a really special guy who was extremely sweet (and) really compassionate, according to WJW.

His father said his son was adamant against gun violence, but the family was not shocked about the shooting because it happens almost every day, he told WOIO.

We all sort of knew, George Jensen Sr. told WOIO. We just knew it wasnt good news. It was a blue Mazda we had heard on Facebook, so we knew it was him and sure enough, we got the bad news together. Im glad we were all there together.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Norton police at 330-706-0084.

A great life was taken yesterday over a senseless act on someone elses behalf and it shattered the lives of some of the most beautiful people I know, a loved one said on Facebook.

Family leaving zoo is struck in fit of road rage and forced into tree, Texas cops say

Liquids fly in chaotic road-rage battle at In-N-Out drive-thru, California video shows

Video shows woman stomping windshield in road rage incident at Florida traffic light
On Friday, a New Hanover County Jury found a Wilmington man guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Jody Marie Lopez.

After a four-week-long trial, a New Hanover County jury convicted a Wilmington man in the murder of Jody Marie Lopez.

On Friday, Ray Anthony Southers, 39, was found guilty of second-degree murder, misdemeanor breaking and entering, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Following the jurys verdict, a judge sentenced Southers to between 21-27.5 years in prison.

More: Man charged with murder in Wilmington shooting

More: Wilmington man accused of shooting woman scheduled to soon face judge

According to the Wilmington Police Department incident report, officers responded to the 1300 block of South Front Street and found Lopez with a gunshot wound. A news release stated that officers performed life-saving measures at the scene, and Lopez was transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center where she later died.

Lopez had just given birth to her third child only three months before her death.

Previous reports say officers quickly located Southers and the murder weapon and took him into custody without resistance.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington man convicted in 2020 shooting death
Winner of 'Prove Mike Wrong' contest takes Mike Lindell to court for $5 million after successfully proving him wrong

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Mike Lindell owes Robert Zeidman $5 million over a contest to disprove the 2020 election was rigged.

Zeidman is asking a court to enforce an arbitration panel decision granting him the $5 million.

Lindell told Insider that Zeidman, a computer scientist, "isn't even a cyber guy."

In August 2021, the far-right conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell held a "Prove Mike Wrong" contest.

Five million dollars, Lindell said, would go to any person who could look at his trove of "cyber data and packet captures from the 2020 November election"  which he said shows that the 2020 presidential election was rigged  and prove that it is "not valid data from the November Election."

Robert Zeidman, a computer scientist who entered the contest, did exactly that.

Lindell refused to pay him. Now he's taking Lindell to court to get the $5 million.

"Mr. Zeidman followed everything to a T," Zeidman's attorney Cary Joshi told Insider Friday. "He's a meticulous guy."

According to an April arbitration panel decision, Zeidman successfully demonstrated that the data contained generic information about polling places, was completely unrelated to the election, or was just gibberish.

Lindell's contest judges declined to declare him the winner. In an interview with Insider on Friday, the MyPillow CEO maintained that Zeidman was part of "a big cover-up to a much bigger picture" and shouldn't have been allowed in the contest in the first place. The 2020 presidential election was not stolen or rigged.

"Zeidman isn't even a cyber guy. He didn't even have the credentials to be in the contest," Lindell said. "This is all a sham, and we're gonna go to court."

After Lindell refused to award Zeidman the money, he took the pillow mogul to a binding arbitration, in accordance with the contest rules. A panel agreed that Zeidman won the contest fair and square with his analysis of the data, and told Lindell to pay up.

Lindell refused, telling Insider in April that the arbitration panel made a "horrible decision." Lindell asked a state court to vacate the arbitration panel decision, saying the panel "exceeded its powers."

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell at a rally for former President Donald Trump. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

The MyPillow CEO told Insider on Friday that the arbitration decision was "a big sham" and "a big setup" and that his lawyers were "working on" getting the evidence to prove it.

"These three arbitrators unanimously decided in our favor on every single point," Joshi said. "The fact that their petition doesn't say anything is what's really surprising. They have such a huge hurdle to overcome."

In a petition filed to federal court in Minnesota, first reported by the Washington Post, Zeidman asked for a judgment in the amount of $5 million against Lindell. A judgment would allow Zeidman's lawyers to go to the financial institutions backing Lindell's company Lindell Management LLC and get the money from them directly.

The petition also asks for an additional 10% in annual interest on the $5 million award, in accordance with Minnesota law.

Joshi told Insider there's no basis for Lindell's claim that Zeidman should not have been in the "Prove Mike Wrong" contest.

"It's just a complete misunderstanding of the facts in the case," Joshi, Zeidman's attorney, said. "At no point during our legal proceedings did they ever, ever challenge the idea that Mr. Zeidman didn't fulfill whatever the prerequisites were to be able to be a part of the contest."

Lindell maintained his own petition, filed to state court on Thursday, would reveal the truth.

"Mike Lindell is not gonna take this big sham," he told Insider, speaking in the third person.

Lindell is separately facing defamation lawsuits from Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems, two election technology companies he falsely claimed rigged the 2020 presidential election.

Last month, Fox Corp. and Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle Dominion's separate lawsuit against them, the largest publicly known settlement in a defamation case in US history. Part of the litigation concerned false statements Lindell made on Fox News broadcasts.

Lindell told Insider Friday he was frustrated that Fox News caved.

"Whatever backdoor deal they made with Dominion was disgusting," he said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Police in Miami are searching for a woman accused of drugging a man she went out on a date with and stealing more than $600,000 in Rolexes and other jewelry from him. Police released surveillance video of the suspect and urged the public to contact them if they recognize her.

According to news release from the Miami Police Department, the man met the woman at a club on May 7 and took her back to his place at around 5:30 a.m. the next morning. The man, who was not identified, said he had a drink with the woman in his apartment and fell asleep.

NEWS RELEASE: We need assistance identifying the woman seen on this video. She drugged victims drink and once he fell asleep, she took $600k of victims jewelry. This occurred May 8, in downtown Miami. If you recognize her, you are urged to call 305-603-6030 or @CrimeStopper305 pic.twitter.com/2ElDCEPrWK  Miami PD (@MiamiPD) May 17, 2023

When the man woke up around noon, he said he noticed his safe was open and the jewelry inside it was gone. So was the woman.

The alleged victim immediately contacted police.

Among the pricey items taken were a Rolex Daytona rainbow watch with diamonds, Sky-Dweller Rolex, a gold chain, Franco gold bracelets, Cartier sunglasses, and a rose gold diamond ring.

Surveillance video from the apartment building shows the woman arriving with the man in an elevator and then leaving the building. When the woman is seen leaving the building, she is seen carrying two Solo cups. Police suspect one of the cups was used to drug the man.

"She's taking the Solo cup that she drank because it has her DNA," said Officer Michael Vega, an MPD spokesman, according to WSVN. "She's taking his Solo cup because it has not only his DNA, but it also has whatever drugs she put in."

Police said she appears to be in her mid-30s, between 5'08" to 5'10", and about 140 pounds.

Morley Safer visits Art Basel | 60 Minutes Archive (2012)

Zelenskyy addresses Arab League Summit, close Russian ally Assad also in attendance

Debt ceiling talks break down with default deadline coming fast
A Utah mother accused of killing her husband, and then authoring a childrens book about grieving, took out millions of dollars in life insurance on him years before his death, prosecutors alleged.

According to updated charging documents obtained by The Associated Press, prosecutors said that Kouri Richins bought four life insurance policies on behalf of her husband, Eric Richins, without his knowledge from 2015 to 2017, including benefits totaling nearly $2 million.

The woman, age 33, is accused of poisoning her 39-year-old husband in March 2022 by lacing a Moscow mule cocktail with a lethal dose of fentanyl. She reportedly told investigators that she had found her husband unresponsive in the middle of the night, and earlier this month, she was charged with murder.

A statement of probable cause alleged that Kouri Richins had made previous attempts to poison her husband. He once became ill after she made him a drink while on vacation in Greece, it said, and he also became sick after eating a sandwich she made on Valentines Day last year.

According to court documents, investigators found messages that Kouri Richins sent to an acquaintance about obtaining drugs including fentanyl and some of the Michael Jackson stuff, presumably referring to the anesthetic propofol. Prosecutors allege that these substances were used in the attempts to kill her husband.

Before his death, Eric Richins reportedly planned to divorce his wife and changed his will to benefit a sibling rather than her. Three months before his death, however, Kouri Richins made herself the sole beneficiary, according to local news outlet KPCW.

Kouri Richins is pictured in Park City, Utah, on April 12.

Kouri Richins is pictured in Park City, Utah, on April 12.

According to the AP, Eric Richins met with a divorce attorney and estate planner to cut his wife out of his will in October 2020 after learning about financial moves that Kouri Richins had made without his knowledge.

These allegedly included her taking out a $250,000 home equity line of credit, withdrawing $100,000 from his bank account, spending more than $30,000 on his credit cards, and stealing $134,000 from his business.

Greg Skordas, a spokesperson for Eric Richins family, told CBS affiliate KUTV that despite his suspicions that his wife tried to poison him, the man likely wanted to preserve the relationship for his children.

It appears Eric may have stayed in a relationship that wasnt good because he loved his boys, and wanted to keep the family relationship together, Skordas told KUTV. Maybe he was hopeful things would change, but his number one concern was for his boys.

After her husbands death, the widowed mother of three self-published a childrens book about grieving the loss of a loved one. Are You With Me? follows the story of a child whose late father continues to watch over them after his death.

In an interview with local station ABC4 in April, Kouri Richins said she and her children began writing as a way to navigate life following Eric Richins death.

The new allegations in the updated charging documents have led her detention hearing to be rescheduled. She is next expected in court on June 12.

Subscribe to our true crime newsletter, Suspicious Circumstances, to get the biggest unsolved mysteries, white collar scandals and more delivered straight to your inbox every week. Sign up here.

Related...
Woman, inmates accused of conspiring to smuggle drugs into New Castle prison

NEW CASTLE, Ind.  An Elkhart woman is accused of mailing drugs to the New Castle Correctional Facility.

Denay A. Tuggle, now 39, was charged in Henry Circuit Court 2  in June 2022  with trafficking with an inmate, a Level 5 felony carrying up to six years in prison.

Investigators said a letter Tuggle sent to a NCCF prison inmate, in November 2020, purported to be legal correspondence from an attorney, and contained sheets of paper that had been laced with MDMB-4en-PINACA, a synthetic cannabinoid.

According to an investigator, such sheets once received by a prisoner are "cut down into strips," and then "smoked to obtain a high or altered state of reality."

While the mailing was addressed to another inmate, investigators believe it was intended for inmate Charles Miller, described as Tuggle's boyfriend.

More: Nursing aide at New Castle prison charged with smuggling drugs to inmate

Evidence in the case includes recorded phone conversations between Tuggle and Miller, serving a 45-year sentence imposed in 2009 for a Marion County murder conviction.

Miller was also charged last June with trafficking with an inmate, as was the prisoner to whom the mailing was addressed, 27-year-old Thomas R. Leachman III.

Now held at the Miami Correctional Facility, Miller, of Kokomo, has a projected release date in January 2031. Leachman has completed a sentence imposed in 2017 for a drug-dealing conviction in Clark County.

Tuggle, booked into the Henry County Jail on Tuesday, continued to be held Friday under a $7,500 surety bond and a $750 cash bond.

According to court documents, her record includes convictions for robbery, escape, driving after a lifetime suspension (at least three times), resisting law enforcement, false informing and leaving the scene of an accident.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Woman accused of mailing drug-tainted paper to New Castle prison
A woman says she had anaphylaxis and used 2 EpiPens on a flight after passengers were served nuts, but the plane didn't make an emergency landing

Sara Metzger was flying from Sarasota, Florida, to Portland, Oregon. Sara Metzger; Getty Images

A Delta passenger went into anaphylaxis on a flight after cabin crew served nuts to people near her.

Sara Metzger said she used two EpiPens but the plane did not make an emergency landing.

Delta said passenger safety was its top priority and crew were trained to respond to onboard events.

A Delta passenger said her flight did not make an emergency landing after she had an anaphylactic reaction to nuts and had to inject herself with two EpiPens.

In a complaint filed with the Department of Transportation's Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, Sara Metzger argued that Delta Air Lines failed to accommodate her disability and didn't respond when she experienced life-threatening symptoms.

Metzger was flying on Delta from Sarasota, Florida, back home to Portland, Oregon, in April after visiting family. The incident occurred after she changed planes in Atlanta, she said.

Metzger told Insider she informed the cabin crew of her life-threatening nut allergy when she boarded the flight in Atlanta. But passengers aboard the plane were told that snacks, including almonds, would be given out.

After reminding the cabin crew again of her allergy, Metzger said she was asked if she'd like a buffer zone around her or for the crew to not serve almonds at all. She asked for the latter.

Soon after snacks were distributed, Metzger said her throat began to swell and she started itching  common signs of anaphylaxis. She noticed that some passengers around her were eating almonds.

Metzger administered an EpiPen in a bathroom and then told crew members that the plane needed to make an emergency landing. Another passenger who said he was a cardiologist examined her and advised her to wait and see if her symptoms improved.

Because her symptoms persisted, she said she gave herself a second EpiPen injection. "At this point, none of the staff is really talking to me. They're all talking through this doctor," Metzger told Insider.

Metzger said the passenger's advice contradicted what Delta pilots were told by medical staff on the ground, who suggested that the plane make an emergency landing.

"I'm just sitting there having the residual effects of this anaphylactic reaction, hoping that it doesn't come back again and that I don't die on this airplane. It was just a really terrifying situation to be in," she said.

The flight landed as planned in Portland. Metzger said she was told on several occasions that the pilots were trying to find an airport for an emergency landing.

"Despite Ms. Metzger's medical peril and the directive of medical services on the ground, the pilot followed the preferences of the cardiologist/passenger rather than the obvious medical needs of Ms. Metzger or the directive from medical services on the ground," the complaint to the Department of Transportation says. "The pilot refused to land."

When the plane did land, Metzger said a medical crew had to wait until other passengers left the aircraft before reaching her.

She has vowed never to fly Delta again. "It is totally up to the whim of the airline staff whether or not they're going to put my life at risk and take my disability for what it is," Metzger said. "I don't want to die on a Delta flight. So that's not a risk that I'm going to take again."

Metzger wants Delta to be fined for disability discrimination.

A Delta representative told Insider: "While we unfortunately cannot respond to this specific event, passenger safety is Delta's top priority and our crew are trained and prepared to respond to onboard events as they occur."

Allergen campaigners are calling for more awareness by airlines after a series of close calls related to the distribution of nuts.

Last month, Lianne Mandelbaum complained that she was left "humiliated" by a United Airlines cabin crew when she attempted to ask for a "buffer zone" to account for her son's nut allergy.

Read the original article on Business Insider
I wore a tuxedo to a family wedding instead of a dress, and it was liberating. The most memorable part was how my family responded.

The writer, right, with her partner in their tuxes. Eryn Johnson

When I came out as queer, I started dressing more masculine and wore a tux to a family wedding.

When I first tried on my tux, I felt powerful and more like my queer self.

My Nanny's joy at seeing me and my partner in our tuxes helped me feel even more liberated.

Getting dressed for a wedding used to be easy: Slip into one of a few black dresses hanging in the back of my closet, slide into a pair of spiked pumps or chunky sandals, and run a flat iron through my hair.

When I came out as queer, it got harder. I started to question everything: Did I dress how I did because it was what I liked or because it was how I'd been told to dress in order to be desirable to men?

I realized patriarchal standards have been instilled in me since birth. Those standards are braided with my own need to be desired and loved.

But at 26, I wasn't dating a man, so I didn't feel the need to look feminine for the first time. I thought about how I genuinely wanted to present myself to the world.

I started small: a pair of short purple overalls, too loose to show off my breasts. I then went for sunset-colored Crocs, which a lot of people find ugly. Then it was an oversize orange-creamsicle button-up shirt  too masculine to make it into my former closet.

But when I wore a tuxedo to my family member's wedding, that's when I felt truly liberated.

When my partner's cousin got married, I couldn't stomach the idea of performing femininity as I'd done so many times before

By 2022, the rituals of dresses, makeup, and heels had grown foreign. The wedding was black tie, and my partner, a nonbinary trans-masculine person, decided they would be wearing a tuxedo. I wanted to join them.

When we walked into Men's Warehouse, the nice lesbian in a striped, collared shirt and tie met our eyes right away. She knew we needed her. She wrapped a measuring tape around my waist, found a shirt big enough to fit my chest, and gently pinned cuff links into my sleeves.

When I looked at myself in the mirror in the tux for the first time, it felt like my queerness and burgeoning gender queerness were announced to the world.

My feet were sweaty inside the stiff dress shoes, but I felt powerful.

Without my partner by my side, I usually passed as a straight girl, but in my tux, men would see me and know that I wasn't interested. Women would see me and not expect me to perform the usual rituals of cis-heterosexual femininity with them: the curling of hair, the complaining about boyfriends. Other queers would see me and know I was one of them.

I couldn't wait to see our grandmother's reaction when she saw me in my tux

My partner and I loaded our backpacks and garment bags into the car and made the two-hour drive from Philadelphia to the Baltimore suburbs where my partner's grandparents lived. When my own family couldn't accept me, Nanny and PopPop welcomed me into theirs as another grandchild with unprecedented ease, and we visited them often.

Nanny had always loved all things fancy. She was also a few years into her dementia diagnosis. She often didn't know she was in her own home, but she remembered that she loved us.

We planned to get ready at Nanny and PopPop's house, lugging our garment bags inside for a pre-wedding visit. With so much of the familiar now unfamiliar to her, anxiety and fear clouded her days. Maybe being part of our fancy day would bring her joy.

When we walked out of the guest room in our crisp tuxes and matching blue pocket squares, she gasped and beamed with joy.

"This is just wonderful!" she exclaimed, a soft hand thrown over her mouth. She thought we were getting married right then and there in her living room, and she was thrilled to be included.

Raised in Southern Baptist Christianity, no one in my family celebrates my queer love. So I'll never forget Nanny's hands clapping together and the grin that stretched across her face when she saw my partner and me in our outfits.

At the wedding, I felt truly myself in my tux

When we got to the wedding, most of our family only quietly tolerated our visible display of queerness. But it didn't matter. My partner and I weren't asking for their approval or excitement. We already had the celebration we needed.

At the wedding, we twirled and spun around on the dance floor, taking up our own space, being exactly ourselves  just the way Nanny liked us.

Read the original article on Insider
Worker told to pose as shooter for drill, then cops hold him at gunpoint, lawsuit says

A man employed as a skilled laborer at a childrens psychiatric hospital was instructed to pose as one of two intruders for an active shooter drill at the facility.

What 32-year-old Brandon Woodruff didnt know was that the hospital staff, children under their care and the police had no idea it was a drill that day on Dec. 21 at the Hawthorn Center in Northville Township, Michigan, according to a lawsuit.

As Woodruff was unaware employees were fearing for their lives and frantically calling 911  telling authorities that two men armed with AR-15s were inside the building  he would soon fear for his own life, the lawsuit says.

When he and a co-worker, who was told to pose as the second intruder, stepped outside after completing their part of the drill, they were met with police officers in tactical gear and guns drawn, pointed at them, shouting Get Down! through a bullhorn, according to a complaint filed May 15.

After being held at gunpoint, Woodruff and his colleague were handcuffed and detained for about 30 minutes, the complaint says.

Im the one who almost got killed, but Im honestly more concerned about the kids and how the other staffers feel, Woodruff told ClickOnDetroit in an interview.

He said at that moment, they were afraid of him, according to the outlet.

Woodruff is suing four Hawthorn Center officials, including his supervisor who asked him to pretend to be the intruder, over the unannounced drill, the lawsuit shows. The center is run by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

State health department public information officer Chelsea Wuth told McClatchy News in a statement on May 19 that the agency understands that our patients, staff and community were affected by the incident in December.

She said state-run psychiatric hospitals must conduct safety analyses, including active shooter drills, at least every two years.

The health department is working with authorities on an improved active intruder training and drill process as part of updating its emergency operations policy, Wuth said.

The morning of the drill

The morning of Dec. 21, Woodruffs supervisor, the facilitys state-designated safety officer, ordered him and a maintenance department worker to pretend they were active intruders in a drill, the complaint says.

They were told to walk through the center, ensure doors were locked and that staff and children were hidden, according to the complaint.

Woodruff, who had started working at the facility in July, was under the impression that this was a typical safety exercise for the facility, the complaint says.

At the time, he and his wifes baby was due in 2023, and he felt he couldnt refuse an order from his supervisor out of fear of potentially losing his job, according to the complaint.

Although his supervisor asked him to carry an object with him during the drill, Woodruff didnt do so and thought the request was unusual, the complaint says.

Shots fired

The drill began with a panicked voice of a front desk worker, who announced active intruders were inside the building over an announcement system between 10 and 11 a.m., according to the complaint.

Woodruffs supervisor made a second announcement, saying two active intruders, one caucasian male, one African American male, armed with AR 15s, shots fired, the complaint says.

Chaos and fear erupted throughout the hospital, according to the complaint.

Children were crying, staff were extremely afraid  as some sent what they thought could be their last messages to loved ones  and barricaded themselves inside rooms, the complaint says. A few employees called 911.

When police arrived, staff /believed they had their worst fears confirmed that this was a genuine active shooter situation, according to the complaint.

Police response

When Woodruff and his colleague finished their task, they saw armed police officers, with at least eight patrol cars, ordering them to get down when they walked outside the building, according to the complaint.

Woodruff, scared he was about to die, complied and had his Apple watch call his wife so she could hear the last moments of his life, the complaint says.

Ultimately, the officers frisked and handcuffed his colleague and then ordered Woodruff to get up before searching him, according to the complaint.

Woodruff tried telling officers he was an employee, but he was handcuffed and detained, the complaint says.

The Northville Township Police Department issued a news release later that day and said they and three other law enforcement agencies responded after receiving multiple 911 calls from the center indicating an active threat on Dec. 21.

They called it a surprise drill that was unannounced, according to the release.

According to Wuth, other staff members engaged with law enforcement officers to resolve the situation.

Now, the Michigan Attorney Generals Office is reviewing the incident, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The matter was referred to the office by Michigan State Police for a review of possible criminal charges, Danny Wimmer, the offices press secretary, confirmed to McClatchy News in a statement May 19.

State police are investigating the active shooter drill and the attorney generals office will make any possible charging decisions, according to Wimmer.

Meanwhile, the drill left Woodruff with trauma, and he regularly experiences emotional distress, including panic and anxiety attacks, the complaint says.

Woodruffs lawsuit isnt the only lawsuit filed over the drill, according to his attorneys.

A class-action lawsuit was also filed by parents of a child receiving treatment at the center as well as state health department employees, according to attorney Michael Pitt, of Pitt, McGehee, Palmer, Bonanni & Rivers PC law firm.

Pitt and attorney Robin B. Wagney, also of the law firm, are representing the cases.

Northville is about 25 miles west of downtown Detroit.

Woman had booze-filled day at bars before killing bride in crash, grooms lawsuit says

Black couple accused of smelling like weed forced to leave restaurant. Theyre suing

Morgue worker shared graphic photos with 20,000 Instagram followers, NY lawsuit says
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 19)  It's time to bring out those Eribongs again as Sehun and Chanyeol of K-pop supergroup EXO are back in Manila for their "Back to Back" fancon tour on May 20.

The duo arrived in the country late Thursday for their sold-out tour at the Araneta Coliseum.

EXO-SC is EXO's second subunit featuring the group's two rappers. They made their debut in 2019 with "What a Life."

The "Back to Back" tour marks the subunit's first live meeting with their global fans, as their intial fan meeting in 2020 was only held virtually due to the pandemic.

EXO-Ls can expect the duo to perform their hits "1 Billion Views, Telephone, and We Young. Fans will also have the chance to know more about Sehun and Chanyeol through interactive activities.

Concert organizer PULP also released more details to guide concertgoers, including the event day schedule, venue map guide, and more reminders.

Sehun and Chanyeol were in Manila in 2019 as part of "EXO Planet #5  EXplOration" world tour.
By Matthias Williams, Olena Harmash and John O'Donnell

LONDON/KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine wants its allies to be bolder in imposing sanctions on Russia, including by targeting banks that provide financial services to serving soldiers, a senior adviser told Reuters.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, who advises President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, also urged allies not to fear that a tougher sanctions clampdown could drive some countries closer to Russia, describing such a worry as overblown.

He was speaking in an interview from Kyiv as world leaders meet to discuss new sanctions measures and how to prevent Russia and companies in third countries from circumventing sanctions imposed after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year.

Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) convene in Japan this weekend, with Zelenskiy expected to join them, while European Union members are also working on an eleventh sanctions package.

We are grateful for all the support we have received from our allies and we have seen some positive signals on the latest sanctions packages under consideration," Vlasiuk said.

"But our allies should be bolder and refuse to pander to Kremlin propaganda that increased sanctions will drive nations closer to Russia.

Vlasiuk called on allies to tighten sanctions on banks, singling out three lenders whose banking cards had been found on dead or captured soldiers on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine.

The three lenders are Gazprombank - the financial arm of Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom, Tinkoff Bank, owned by TCS Group Holding, and Rosselkhozbank, an agricultural bank. All three banks did not respond to a request for comment.

The Gazprombank card was in khaki colour and emblazoned with the words "Russian army", according to photos shared with Reuters.

Tinkoff and Rosselkhozbank have already been excluded from the SWIFT global payments system, but other banks have been subjected to full blocking sanctions.

Gazprombank has escaped the harshest sanctions as it is a key conduit in the energy trade.

Russian banks who provide financial services to Russian soldiers fighting an unlawful war of aggression on Ukrainian soil should face the toughest possible sanctions from our allies," Vlasiuk said.

"These bank cards are fresh evidence of the loopholes in the sanctions regime brought in to respond to the war crimes extravaganza currently taking place within Ukraine," he said, adding there were "no further excuses".

CLOSING LOOPHOLES

Vlasiuk said Rosselkhozbank had been shielded from sanctions because it was seen to be linked to food security, but he questioned the logic behind this.

"We have nothing against food security but, again, if these banks are also doing some transactions in the military area, that makes it not particularly a food security bank," he said.

Citing a rise in exports to Russia's neighbours as evidence that entities in third countries such as Kazakhstan and Georgia were being used to circumvent sanctions on Moscow, Vlasiuk called on Ukraine's allies to be bolder.

He also criticised threats from neighbouring Hungary to block new EU sanctions and military aid unless Kyiv removes Hungarian bank OTP from its list of war sponsors, saying the two issues should be kept separate.

Vlasiuk was encouraged about movement towards sanctions on Russia's diamond industry but was more pessimistic that countries would fall into line with a U.S.-led push to widen the scope of sanctions of traded goods with Russia.

U.S. officials expect G7 members to adjust their approach to sanctions so that, at least for certain categories of goods, all exports are automatically banned unless they are on a list of approved items, according to people familiar with the talks.

"There is an idea pushed mostly by the U.S. to ... forbid all the dual-use goods trade except for some exceptions," Vlasiuk said.

"But I'm not sure that all the G7 countries are going to support that. So I don't really think there is going to big progress in that regard but maybe, maybe, maybe they will surprise us, so let's wait and see."

(Reporting by Matthias Williams, Olena Harmash and John O'Donnell, editing by Mark Heinrich)
Fandom Fracas

Writers are threatening to pull their stories from Archive of Our Own (AO3), one of the world's largest fanfiction websites, after staff posted that they will not prohibit the publication of artificial intelligence-generated fanfiction on the website.

Typifying the anger, one Twitter user wrote that they "would rather have one hundred thousand unreadably bad human-written fics added to AO3 every day than one AI fic."

The fandom drama kicked off earlier this month when the nonprofit group Organization for Transformative Works (OTW), which oversees AO3, posted an excerpt of an interview with Betsy Rosenblatt, professor of law at The University of Tulsa and chairperson of OTW's legal committee, who expressed enthusiasm over AI scraping fanfiction on the Internet.

"One of the things that excites me  which is probably a bit off to the side of what most people are talking about with AI and copyright  is that AIs are reading fan fiction now," she said in the interview, originally published in February by the Association of Research Libraries.

Friends to Enemies

Fanfic writers expressed outrage.

"I think OTWs Legal Chair Betsy Rosenblatt needs to step down," one wrote on Twitter. "I don't want a rep of OTW chatting happily about how great it is to train AI on fanfic."

But at least one writer was pleased that somebody, even an AI bot, was reading their smutty fanfic.

"AI CHATGPT fanfic bots scraping my AO3 and filling their neural networks with my depraved gay incest porn," one quipped.

Epilogue Ride

After deleting the interview excerpt and posting an apology, OTW published a blog post that said staff members had put in place "technical measures to hinder large-scale data scraping on AO3" in a bid to calm frayed tempers.

However, in the same blog post, OTW staff also wrote that AO3's Terms of Service does not prohibit AI-generated fanfiction.

"If fans are using AI to generate fanworks, then our current position is that this is also a type of work that is within our mandate to preserve," it wrote.

This isn't the first bump in the road for the fanfiction community when it comes to AI. It recently came to light, for instance, that Sudowrite, an AI writing assistant, was able to generate fiction that featured the concept "omegaverse," an erotic fanfiction trope  leading to suspicion that OpenAI's GPT, which powers Sudowrite, had trained its model on data scraped from the AO3 website, which has an ever-expanding trove of stories set in disparate worlds ranging from "Harry Potter" to Goethe's "Faust."

More on AI: Newspaper Apologizes for Accidentally Running Deranged AI-Generated Article
Xi Jinping called on China and Central Asian countries to "fully unleash" their potential in trade, economic and infrastructure cooperation

Xi Jinping called on China and Central Asia to "fully unleash" their potential in trade, economic and infrastructure cooperation Friday, as he wrapped up a landmark summit with heads of state from the strategically vital region.

The Chinese leader is hosting the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan at a summit in Xi'an in northern China this week -- a meeting Beijing has said is of "milestone" significance.

Beijing says trade with Central Asia reached $70 billion in 2022 and expanded 22 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023.

The region is also a crucial link in China's trillion-dollar global infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative.

Speaking to regional leaders, Xi said the countries must "fully unleash the potential of traditional cooperation in economy, trade, industrial capacity, energy and transport," according to a state media readout.

He also stressed the need to develop "new growth drivers... such as finance, agriculture, poverty reduction, low carbon, health, and digital innovation".

"China and Central Asian countries should deepen strategic mutual trust, and always offer clear and strong support for each other on issues of core interests."

Belt and Road is a defining geopolitical project for Xi, with Beijing keen to restart cooperation and fill the vacuum left in former Soviet states by Russia's war in Ukraine.

On Friday, Xi said the region and China must "take the lead" in that project and "deepen strategic mutual trust".

Beijing will aim to expand transport links with the region, he said, and work to speed up the expansion of the Central Asia-to-China gas pipeline.

Xi also pledged 26 billion yuan ($3.7 billion) in "financing support and free assistance" to the region.

And with a goal to "uphold everlasting friendship", the Chinese leader said the leaders would aim to meet again in Kazakhstan in 2025.

"China is trying to convince Central Asian countries that there is this multipolar world that is in the making," Niva Yau, a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub, told AFP.

"And there is Central Asian unity towards strong ties to China," she said.

Xi's speech also saw him call for expanding security cooperation on what Beijing dubbed the "three evils" in the region: separatism, terrorism and extremism.

"The six countries should resolutely oppose external interference in the internal affairs of regional countries and attempts to instigate 'color revolutions'," Xi said, a reference to unrest in former Soviet states that Moscow and others allege is backed by the West.

- Growing influence -

Moscow's invasion of Ukraine has allowed China to carve out a greater role in Central Asia, leading many in the region to question their long-standing ties with Russia and seek economic, diplomatic and strategic assurances elsewhere.

"Russia's military involvement in Ukraine has led to the imposition of sanctions by the West, which has weakened Russia's power and led to a relative decline in its influence in Central Asia," Lu Gang, director of Center for Central Asian Studies at East China Normal University, told AFP.

"This result has led Central Asian countries to place greater emphasis on economic cooperation and political support from China," Lu said.

This week's summit comes as Xi positions himself as a global statesman keen to expand China's reach far beyond its borders.

"Xi will position himself as a leader that can promote global development and peace," Zhiqun Zhu, a Professor of International Relations and Political Science at Bucknell University, told AFP.

The summit also coincides with a meeting of the G7 in Hiroshima that will likely focus on efforts to "push back China's growing influence around the world", Zhu noted.

ehl-oho/dva
(Bloomberg) -- President Xi Jinping said China is ready to help Central Asian nations bolster their security and defense capabilities as he wrapped a summit of the regions leaders, underscoring Beijings efforts to deepen its influence there as an expansionist Russia raises fresh security issues.

Most Read from Bloomberg

China can help the region improve its law enforcement, security, and defense capability construction, Xi said during a keynote speech at the inaugural in-person China-Central Asia Summit, according to a report published by the official Xinhua News Agency. He also said China would provide 26 billion yuan ($3.7 billion) in financing support and free assistance to the countries.

The event assembled the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for two days in the Chinese city of Xian, where they discussed ways to deepen ties on everything from defense to finance, trade and energy.

The summit came as President Joe Biden joined the other leaders of the Group of Seven nations in Japan this week to discuss, among other things, measures to counter perceived Chinese threats to global economic security. The simultaneous meetings symbolized an increasingly multipolar world, as China tries to challenge the US-led system.

While Russia and China are united in that mission to counter Washington, Xis decision to assemble five former Soviet states without President Vladimir Putin demonstrated Beijings increasingly senior position in their no limits relationship.

Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has become reliant on China to provide both economic cover from Western sanctions and much-needed diplomatic support. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will next week lead a delegation to a Shanghai business forum that has also invited sanctioned tycoons, exemplifying how China can shelter Moscow from Western economic sanctions.

At the summit, Xi also stressed that Central Asia has the conditions and capabilities to become a Eurasian hub, adding that their sovereignty, security, independence and territorial integrity must be safeguarded.

That emphasis on their sovereignty came weeks after Lu Shaye, the Chinese ambassador to France, sparked a firestorm when he questioned the independence of ex-Soviet states during a TV interview. The controversy at the time sent China into damage control mode, spurring the Chinese embassy in Paris to explicitly reaffirm its respect for their ability to govern themselves.

Russias invasion of Ukraine in February last year also deepened a tussle for influence in the resource-rich Central Asian states, which were already on a trajectory of economic realignment toward China.

Last year, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan each did more trade with China than with either Russia or the G-7 bloc, according to the International Monetary Fund. Chinese imports from the region are mostly commodities, including cotton, oil, natural gas and copper, according to official trade data.

China made some inroads on other economic ties during this weeks summit. On Thursday, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan vowed to ensure the stable supply of gas to China. The two countries combined accounted for about 6.4% of Chinas gas imports in 2021, but Uzbekistan last year began reducing Chinese export volumes so it could keep more fuel for its growing domestic petrochemical industry.

The worlds second-largest economy also sought to deepen its relationship with Kazakhstan. China National Petroleum Corp. and Kazakhstans KazMunayGas National Co. agreed this week to explore the expansion of the Central Asia-China pipeline  the development of which Xi highlighted in his keynote speech as well.

Kyrgyzstan, meanwhile, agreed to expand its financial relationship with China. The nations said in a joint statement that there was a lot of potential in setting up bank-to-bank transaction accounts, collaborating on payments systems and conducting settlements in local currencies.

China buys almost nothing from Kyrgyzstan, but exports have jumped since early 2021. About half of that trade is just in shoes and clothing, according to Chinese government data. More trade settled in the two local currencies would mean either that Chinese exporters build up a stock of the Kyrgyz som, or importers there will have to gain access to yuan deposits.

The Kyrgyzstan announcement comes as more countries  including Brazil and Saudi Arabia  look to settle more of their trade with China in local currencies as they try to reduce their reliance on the US dollar or overcome other financial obstacles.

While Chinas strict controls on cross-border capital flows remain a major hurdle to efforts to lift the yuans global status, US sanctions on Russia and other countries are helping promote the currency as an alternative for international transactions.

--With assistance from Jing Li.

(Updates throughout.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
An illustration of someone tapping on ChatGPT's "new chat" button on the service's interface.

After making a big statement about how ChatGPT could negatively impact student learning, New York City public schools are taking a step back and stating the AI chatbot isnt so bad.

David Banks, the head of the citys public schools, announced on Thursday that the system would lift the ban on ChatGPT it enacted in January. At the time, New York City public schools appeared to be concerned that OpenAIs chatbot would lead to a barrage of cheating by students and affect their critical thinking and problem solving skills. Now, though, the systems knee-jerk fear and risk response has evolved to one of cautious exploration, according to Banks.

Read more

The knee-jerk fear and risk overlooked the potential of generative AI to support students and teachers, as well as the reality that our students are participating in and will work in a world where understanding generative AI is crucial, Banks wrote in an op-ed on Chalkbeat. While initial caution was justified, it has now evolved into an exploration and careful examination of this new technologys power and risks.

The head of New York Citys public schools proceeded to explain that staff found a variety of examples of ChatGPT being used positively in classrooms. For instance, Banks said students at a Queens middle school were debating ethical issues surrounding AI prejudice as well as asking ChatGPT questions and researching whether its answer were correct (many times, they are not). In addition, Banks stated that teachers at the middle school were using ChatGPT to create lesson plans and grade papers.

After analyzing these examples and consulting with tech industry leaders, Banks and other officials decided to unban ChatGPT and encourage its use in schools.

New York City Public Schools will encourage and support our educators and students as they learn about and explore this game-changing technology while also creating a repository and community to share their findings across our schools, Banks said.

The education department will provide teachers with resources, real-life examples of successful AI implementation in schools, and an AI toolkit, he added.

The about-face of New York Citys public school system comes during a time of intense debate about what role, if any, AI should play in schools. Earlier this week, a professor at Texas A&M UniversityCommerce gave a group of students an X in his course because ChatGPT told him it had written their last three essay assignments of the semester, Rolling Stone reported.

I have opened my own account for [ChatGPT], Jared Mumm, a campus rodeo instructor who teaches agricultural classes at the university wrote. I copy and paste your responses in [ChatGPT] and [it] will tell me if the program generated the content. I put everyones last three assignments through two separate times and if they were both claimed by [ChatGPT] you received a 0.

However, thats not how ChatGPT works. As noted by Rolling Stone, the chatbot from OpenAI cannot detect material thats written by an AI and has in the past claimed credit for writing lines from renowned novels, such as Crime and Punishment.

As a result of the incident, a number of the students in Mumms class were being denied their diplomas, the outlet found. The university told the outlet it was investigating the case and developing policies on the use of AI in the classroom.

More from Gizmodo

Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
These New York Republicans Said They Wanted Santos Out. Then They Helped Keep Him In Office.

Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-N.Y.) describes Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) as a

Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-N.Y.) describes Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) as a "disgusting liar." He also voted to block a floor vote on Santos' expulsion.

Several House Republicans from swing seats in New York said theres not enough votes to kick fraudster Rep. George Santos out of Congress  after they blocked a vote that would have put exactly that question to the test.

These five New York Republicans  Reps. Mike Lawler, Anthony DEsposito, Nicholas LaLota, Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams  joined the rest of their party in preventing an up-or-down vote on the expulsion of Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), despite repeatedly calling for him to leave office.

Their justification? Given the need for a two-thirds majority to expel any member of the House, Santos expulsion wouldnt have passed an up-or-down vote anyway.

Since we dont yet have the needed 2/3 supermajority to expel Santos, the quickest way to rid this institution of this stain is to refer this issue to the House Ethics Committee, DEsposito said in a Wednesday statement, after leading the charge for an Ethics Committee referral.

Heres how it happened: In response to California Rep. Robert Garcias introduction of a resolution to expel Santos, House Republicans instead passed a motion to refer the matter of Santos expulsion to the House Ethics Committee.

All 221 House Republicans, who participated in the vote, voted in favor of the motions passage.

While Republicans involved in the effort depicted it as a matter of adhering to proper protocol  or, as in the case of the New York members, pragmatism  their action amounted to punting on the expulsion indefinitely.

The bipartisan House Ethics Committee has already been investigating Santos since March. And the Department of Justice, which earlier this month charged Santos with 13 fraud and theft-related crimes, has reportedly instructed the House panel to stand down and allow federal prosecutors to take precedence.

Instead, House Democrats maintain that their GOP counterparts are simply keen to avoid prompting a special election that would, at the very least, create a temporary vacancy that would jeopardize their ability to pass party-line legislation. Republicans have nine more seats than Democrats in the House, but the routine defection of far-right members of the House Republican Conference has given them even less wiggle room on close votes.

This was an effort to bury accountability for a serious fraudster, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said at a Thursday press conference. Why? Perhaps its because extreme MAGA Republicans need George Santos vote.

Whatever House Republicans motive, their successful tabling of a Santos expulsion effort puts five New York Republicans in purple House districts in a tight spot.

Those members have been among the most outspoken voices condemning Santos and calling for his exit, either through resignation or expulsion.

DEsposito, who flipped a Democratic-held Long Island seat in November, was the first House Republican to call on Santos to resign.

Asked how he reconciled his decision to vote against an expulsion vote with his previous calls for Santos resignation, DEspositos office referred HuffPost to the Congress members Wednesday statement affirming that he wished to expel Santos but that there is not yet a two-thirds majority in the House needed to expel him. In that statement, he also described Santos as a disgusting liar.

LaLota, also a Long Island Republican, called for Santos to resign shortly after DEsposito did, and went on to endorse his expulsion in late February.

Asked to explain Wednesdays vote, a spokesperson for LaLota referred HuffPost to his statement from that day.

If the Democrats were serious about his expulsion, they would work with us to get a report and referral from the Ethics Committee, rather than offer a political resolution that has no chance of passing the House.Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.)

While I would have preferred there to be enough votes to expel the sociopath scam artist, Congressman DEsposito has spearheaded the next best option: To refer this matter to the Ethics Committee where we expect a result within 60 days and for the terrible liar to be gone, by resignation or expulsion, before August recess, LaLota said.

Rep. Marc Molinaro, who represents a district stretching from the upper Hudson Valley to the Finger Lakes region, was perhaps the first New York Republican to say he would support Santos expulsion in early February, a position he reiterated in March.

Molinaro also based his vote on an understanding that the House lacked the two-thirds majority needed for expulsion, according to a spokesperson, who also shared a statement with HuffPost.

George Santos should not be a Member of Congress. He has irrevocably lost the trust of his constituents and colleagues, Molinaro said. I expect the Ethics Committee to conduct an immediate and swift review.

Lawler, a lower Hudson Valley lawmaker who ousted then-Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chair Sean Patrick Maloney in November, has repeatedly demanded Santos resignation.

After voting for the motion to send Santos expulsion to the House Ethics Committee, Lawler accused Democrats of playing politics.

If the Democrats were serious about his expulsion, they would work with us to get a report and referral from the Ethics Committee, rather than offer a political resolution that has no chance of passing the House, he said in a Wednesday statement.

Finally, Rep. Brandon Williams of central New York has more than once called for Santos to resign. Williams represents a seat long held by the GOP, but where President Joe Biden won in 2020.

HuffPost did not receive an immediate response from a Williams spokesperson about his vote to send Santos expulsion to committee.

Regardless of these Republicans explanations, House Democrats see an opportunity to inflict damage on five of the Republicans they are hoping to unseat in 2024.

The DCCC, House Democrats campaign arm, announced Friday that it was spending thousands of dollars on a small digital advertising campaign blasting the five New York Republicans for their vote. (A second ad blitz is due to target House Republicans in 14 other states.)

Vulnerable House Republicans have proven they are too weak to buck party leadership and  instead of expelling serial grifter and indicted criminal George Santos from Congress  they are protecting him, DCCC spokesperson Viet Shelton said in a statement.

Jonathan Nicholson contributed reporting.
The following contains spoilers from Young Sheldons Season 6 finale.

The Big Bang Theory didnt exactly prepare us for Young Sheldons latest twist.

More from TVLine

As expected, Thursdays hour-long finale culminated in a natural disaster. Sheldon and Marys flight to Germany took off before a tornado touched down in Medford, forcing the rest of the Cooper/McAllister clan to hunker down and take cover.

Young Sheldon 6x22 Spoilers

The storm was alluded to in a Season 1 episode of Big Bang, when Sheldon told Penny about his stint in Heidelberg. At the time, he said that his mother flew back to Texas to help his dad after their house slipped off cinderblocks. It was tornado season, and it was an aluminum house, he explained. But clearly Sheldons memory was a bit fuzzy, because it wasnt his childhood home that suffered the brunt of the damage.

Once it was safe to leave the laundromat, Meemaw returned home to discover that her house had been decimated. Heartbreaking, right? As the hour drew to a close, George extended an invite to his mother-in-law and Mandy to come stay with him and Missy  at least for the duration of Sheldon and Marys time abroad.

Young Sheldon 6x22 Spoilers

Thursdays finale also featured a major Georgie-and-Mandy development: On the drive back from their not-so-romantic spa getaway, Mandy proposed to Georgie! Well, it wasnt so much a proposal as it was Mandy telling Georgie that they should get married. You think Im not all in, but I am, she assured him. Shortly thereafter, Meemaw loaned Georgie the money for an engagement ring  an engagement ring theyll probably have to pawn to help get Meemaw back on her feet in Season 7.

What did you think of Thursdays back-to-back episodes of Young Sheldon? Scroll down to see additional photos of Georgie presenting Mandy with her engagement ring, then grade the finale via our poll.

Best of TVLine

Get more from TVLine.com : Follow us on Twitter , Facebook , Newsletter

Click here to read the full article.
President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on May 19.

As he announced on Telegram, the president is expected to speak at the Arab League summit and to meet the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for bilateral talks.

As priorities of the visit, Zelensky stressed the support for the return of political prisoners and illegally deported people from Crimea and other occupied territories, and protection of the Muslim citizens of Ukraine.

To that account, Ukraines president arrived together with Mustafa Dzhemilev, a representative of the predominantly-Muslim Crimean Tatars and the former chair of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis.

Saudi Arabia has previously involved itself as an intermediary between Russia and Ukraine.

Leveraging its good relations with Moscow, Riyadh helped to facilitate the release of 10 foreign-born Ukrainian fighters from Russias captivity in September 2022.

Zelensky met the Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Feb. 26., after which Saudis confirmed their pledge to provide Ukraine with $100 million of humanitarian aid and $300 of oil products.

Saudi foreign minister meets Zelensky in Kyiv, signs $400 million aid agreements The visit was the first by an official Saudi delegation to Ukraine since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1993. According to Ukrainian presidential office head Andriy Yermak, Saudi Arabia will provide Ukraine with $100 million in humanitarian aid and $300 millio Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk

Al Saud also added that Saudi Arabia could play a bigger role as a third-party mediator for the release of Ukrainian prisoners.

However, Riyadhs steps have put the country at odds with Ukraines Western partners.

On April 3, Riyadh and other Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) states announced drastic cuts to oil production, ramping up the products costs and indirectly aiding Russia.

In response, Washington accused Saudi Arabia of siding with Moscow and threatened with consequences.

Following his visit to Jeddah, Zelensky is expected to fly to Japan for the G7 summit.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to make an in-person appearance at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Japan this weekend, according to media reports.

The visit comes amid Zelenskys latest diplomatic push to shore up support ahead of Kyivs long-awaited counteroffensive. The Ukrainian president landed in Saudi Arabia on Friday to join a summit of Arab leaders, following a swing through several European capitals.

Very important things will be decided there, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said of the three-day G-7 summit in Hiroshima, according to CNN.

Therefore, the physical presence of our president is absolutely important  to defend our interests, to explain, to provide clear proposals and clear arguments on the events that are taking place in our country, he added.

Zelenskys expected visit comes as the U.S. plans to unveil a substantial sanctions package against Russia at the summit Friday, aimed at targeting Russian sanctions evasion and sectors of the Russian economy key to its military-industrial complex.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Arab League summit in Jeddah

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused some Arab leaders of ignoring the horrors of Russia's invasion of his country during a speech Friday at an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia.

"Unfortunately, there are some in the world and here, among you, who turn a blind eye to those cages and illegal annexations," Zelensky told Arab heads of state, urging them to "take an honest look" at the war.

Zelensky's surprise trip to the summit in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah was his first to the Middle East since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

It gave him an opportunity to address leaders of a region that has been far less united in its support of Ukraine than his staunch Western allies.

Host Saudi Arabia has positioned itself as relatively neutral during the war, highlighting what it describes as the benefits of maintaining ties with both Moscow and Kyiv.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, attending his first Arab League summit in more than a decade, leads one of just five countries to vote against UN Security Council resolutions demanding that Russia cease hostilities in Ukraine.

After Zelensky spoke on Friday, Syria's pro-government daily Al-Watan reported that the Syrian delegation did not use headphones provided for simultaneous translation of his speech, delivered in English.

Zelensky highlighted how the war in Ukraine has affected Muslims in the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

"Crimea was the first to suffer under the Russian occupation and until now most of those who are subjected to repression in occupied Crimea are Muslims," he said.

Zelensky also thanked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for supporting Ukraine's "territorial integrity", and called for unity "in saving people from the cages of Russian prisons".

- Neutral war stance -

Zelensky flew to Saudi Arabia on a French government plane arriving from Poland, the French ambassador to the kingdom, Ludovic Pouille, said in Twitter posts authenticated by embassy officials.

An Arab League official told AFP the invitation came from Saudi Arabia, not the bloc itself.

Saudi officials did not respond to a request for comment.

Riyadh has backed UN Security Council resolutions denouncing Russia's invasion as well as Russia's declared annexation of territory in eastern Ukraine.

At the same time, it has continued to coordinate closely with Russia on energy policy, including oil production cuts approved last October that Washington said at the time amounted to "aligning with Russia" in the war.

Last September, Riyadh played an unexpected role in brokering the release of foreign fighters detained in Ukraine, including two from the United States and five from Britain.

Earlier this year, a Saudi official told journalists that Riyadh remained open to contributing to mediation to end the conflict, especially "on important minor issues that may help cumulatively in the end to have a political solution of the whole issue".

As of February, Saudi Arabia had pledged $400 million in relief to Ukraine, about two-thirds in oil products and one-third in other humanitarian aid, including allocations for Ukrainian refugees who fled to neighbouring countries.

ht-rcb/kir
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 19)  The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday said the national government lost up to 50 billion in a "fake receipt" scam allegedly patronized by large companies.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said for 15 years, some "ghost" companies had been running a "sophisticated" operation to manufacture fake receipts which large corporations that want to cheat on income tax payments could purchase. He said this resulted in liabilities of up to 50 billion, as estimated by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

"This is a systematic way of defrauding the governmentThese are income tax payments made with deductions, and in the deductions themselves are fake supporting documents," Remulla told the media.

"Fake receipts are a scam. It is submitted to support the itemization of deductions. These are fake receipts being submitted to pass off as deductions which is a violation of the National Internal Revenue Code and the Revised Penal Code," he added.

The National Bureau of Investigation last December raided a Quezon City condominium being used as an office and found fake receipts and sales invoices.

In March, the BIR filed criminal complaints with the DOJ against four ghost corporations linked to the alleged sale of fake receipts to large companies. Officials said the scheme led to tax liabilities of up to 25.5 billion for taxable years 2019 to 2021.

READ: BIR files 25.5 billion tax cases vs. 'ghost' corporations

Remulla added that the DOJ had 24 of the companies' computers containing details on the scheme, and the agency had recruited the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime group to investigate.

The justice secretary alleged that businessman and esports personality Bernard Chong was linked to the fake receipt scam.

"Ang alam ko [I know] he is one of the top incorporators, one of the top officers in these companies and he was mentioned by one of the witnesses [in the BIR criminal complaint] as one of the ones running the scam," Remulla said.

"He [Chong] is in the US or Canada now, he's a fugitive from justice because of the shabu case," he added.

The Court of Appeals earlier cleared the businessman of the raps which stem from a failed drug smuggling operation in 2019.

Meanwhile, Remulla said some of the largest companies in the country were patrons of the scheme. He refused to name any but hinted that some were in the food and real estate industries.

"Usually dito, 0.8% nung fixed value binabayad ng mga gumagamit ng fake receipts [those paying for the fake receipts pay 0.8% of the fixed value]. For every 1 million deduction, they pay 8,000 [to the scheme operators]," he said.
The President of Ukraine has arrived in Saudi Arabia to address the Arab League summit.

Source: Zelenskyy on social media

Quote: "I will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud and hold other bilateral talks.

Our priorities are bringing back all political prisoners of Crimea and the temporarily occupied territories, bringing back all prisoners and illegally deported persons, presenting our peace formula, the implementation of which should involve as many states as possible, and guaranteeing energy security next winter.

Another priority is the protection of the Muslim community in Ukraine... Crimea was the first to suffer from the Russian occupation, and most of those who are subjected to repression in occupied Crimea are Muslims."

Details: Zelenskyy has said that Mustafa Dzhemiliev, the leader of the Crimean Tatar people, is also part of the Ukrainian delegation.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






HIROSHIMA, Japan  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will make an in-person appearance at a summit of leading industrialized nations this weekend, ensuring the war is a central focus of the democratic leaders whose sustained backing he needs to thwart Russias invasion.

A senior Ukrainian official indicated Friday that Zelenskyy will join the Group of Seven meeting underway in Hiroshima, where President Joe Biden and allies have announced a slew of new sanctions meant to impede the Kremlin's ability to prolong the war.

Very important decisions will be made there, which is why the presence of our president, physical presence is important in order to defend our interests, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, said on national television. A Western official confirmed to NBC News that Zelenskyy is expected to attend the summit in person.

In the run-up to the G-7 summit, participants had expected him to appear at least virtually. But until Friday, there had been no confirmation that he would make the potentially dangerous trip from Kyiv, the furthest he will have traveled from his country since last year's invasion.

Biden G7 Hiroshima Leaders (Pool via AFP - Getty Images)

Asked if President Joe Biden would have a face-to-face meeting with Zelenskyy at the summit, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters, I think its a safe bet that President Biden will meet him, but I dont have a formal announcement of that.

John Kirby, a spokesman for the White Houses National Security Council, earlier said that Zelenskyy "was always going to participate in the G-7 in some form or fashion."

"It's really important right now, at this inflection point in the war in Ukraine, that G-7 leaders hear directly from him about conditions on the ground and what he needs going forward," Kirby said.

A charismatic presence in his trademark green fatigues, Zelenskyy will presumably make the case that his nations survival hinges on a continued flow of money and sophisticated weaponry from the United States and its allies.

Before heading to Japan, he was in Saudi Arabia for the Arab League summit Friday, seeking closer ties with countries beyond the West. He then heads to the G-7 summit that has already agreed on new steps to make the war costlier for Russia.

Biden attended a working luncheon Friday focused on the conflict  with papers spread across a round table and flags of each country in the background. Present were the leaders of Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Commission and the European Council.

A subsequent joint statement released by the G-7 leaders laid out a series of new sanctions. Looking to undercut the Kremlin's war-making capacity, the nations agreed to restrict exports to Russia that include industrial machinery, tools and technology.

We will starve Russia of G-7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine, the statement reads.

Biden later tweeted, "In lockstep with my fellow G7 Leaders, weve placed on Russia the largest set of sanctions and export control actions ever imposed on a major economy."

"Today, were taking more action  disrupting Russias ability to source inputs for its war, closing evasion loopholes, restricting their access to the international finance system, and reducing reliance on Russian energy," Biden added.

Ahead of the summit, a Biden official speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record, said, Our commitment to continue tightening the screws on Russia remains as strong as it was last year.

But recent polling shows that Americans are tiring of the war and are eager to see an end date.

Russia failed to swiftly conquer its smaller neighbor but has given no sign that it is prepared to withdraw its forces. Nor is Kyiv about to surrender. Ukraine is readying a counteroffensive to retake occupied land and showcase the difference Western support can make on the battlefield.

Biden, who last saw Zelenskyy in person during a surprise trip to Kyiv three months ago, vowed at the time that the U.S. would stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.

Image: (Saudi Press Agency / AP)

That open-ended commitment will test the resolve and patience of Americans in an election season, as the Biden administration spends billions to help keep Ukraine in the fight.

The war figures to be an issue in the 2024 presidential race. Republican front-runner Donald Trump has stopped short of saying he wants Ukraine to win and told a recent CNN town hall that, if elected, hed end the conflict in 24 hours by meeting with Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

An unexpected domestic problem has intruded on Biden's trip: the debt ceiling fight back in Washington.

Biden had originally planned to visit Papua New Guinea and Australia as part of an effort to rally U.S allies and curb China's growing influence in the Pacific. He canceled those legs of the trip so that he could return to the White House on Sunday and resume talks over raising the debt ceiling and averting an unprecedented default that could have global implications.

Biden left a group dinner a little early Friday to get an update from his negotiating team, the White House said.

"It's a minor miracle that Biden went ahead with the trip to Hiroshima," said Daniel Russel, former director of Asian affairs in the Obama White House. "I'm glad he did and we should all pray that this gets wrapped up, because the consequences would be devastating -- and not only for the U.S. Everyone is concerned," he said referring to the debt ceiling fight.

Beyond sanctions, Zelenskyy has asked for advanced F-16s to help repel Russian forces. The U.S. and its allies now plan to provide the fighter jets to Ukraine, a senior Biden administration official said Friday, although they may not necessarily come directly from the United States.

For months, the Biden administration has declined to provide the planes out of concern that weapons capable of reaching Russian soil would risk escalating the war. But the U.S. has invited Ukrainian pilots to train on simulators to assess how long it would take them to learn to fly the aircraft.

At the summit, Zelenskyy will have a fresh opportunity to engage with allies.

Its very helpful," Russel said of Zelenskyy's visit. "If the industrialized countries get Ukraine fatigue before Russia gets war fatigue and tired of fighting, then theres going to be a big problem. Zelenskyy has been brilliant in ensuring that the world sees the situation for what it is, and that it doesnt burn out and get tired.

The summit's location is symbolic of the mortal threat that is an everyday concern for Ukraine, as well as Asian countries living in the shadow of nuclear-armed China and North Korea.

During World War II, the U.S. leveled Hiroshima with a single atomic bomb. On Friday morning, Biden and his counterparts toured the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and met a woman who survived the attack.

In the park outside, the leaders laid wreaths and planted a tree overlooking the skeletal remains of a once-domed building that Japan has preserved as a reminder of the bomb's toll.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
HIROSHIMA, Japan  With Russias war on Ukraine nearing a potential inflection point, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to travel to Japan this weekend to address U.S. President Joe Biden and other G-7 leaders, drawing on this citys tragic history as a backdrop for his latest plea to secure more military and financial support.

Although the details of Zelenskyys travel plans remained opaque due to security concerns, the head of Ukraines national defense council, Oleksii Danilov, announced the trip on national television Friday, confirming news reports that he would attend.

Zelenskyy, who has traveled in recent days to the U.K. and other European nations, will fly to Japan after an appearance in Saudi Arabia at the Arab League summit. The spate of travel offered Ukraines president the opportunity to make in-person appeals for additional support and to show that his country, still under attack from Russian forces in the air and on the ground, is stable enough for him to travel abroad.





The news of Zelenskyys visit comes as Biden and other G-7 leaders on Friday reaffirmed their commitment to defend Ukraine against Russia by ratcheting up the Wests economic pressure campaign.

In a joint statement, the G-7 vowed to provide the financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support Ukraine requires for as long as it takes.

The U.S. added 70 entities to its export blacklist and expanded sanctions on another 300 entities and additional sectors of Russias economy. Meanwhile, Britain announced a ban on Russian diamonds and metal imports.

The announcements emerged from a working session on Ukraine that followed a visit by G-7 leaders to Hiroshimas hypocenter, the spot the U.S. detonated an atomic bomb some 78 years ago.

Biden and other leaders visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum before laying wreaths at an outdoor memorial just steps away from the bomb dome, the only structure left standing after the atomic blast and a striking symbol of the most destructive force ever created by man. They also met with an atomic bomb survivor named Keiko Ogura, Japans foreign ministry said.

The leaders deepened their understanding of the reality of the atomic bombings and joined their hearts in consoling the souls of lost lives, the Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement. This visit became an opportunity to confirm G-7s commitment to the realization of a world without nuclear weapons.





Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida chose to host the annual meeting of the worlds leading democracies in Hiroshima to affirm the importance of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Moscows saber-rattling over nuclear weapons, Chinas growing hawkishness toward Taiwan and North Koreas revived missile test program are stoking new fears about another nuclear holocaust in our time.

The existing nuclear security architecture is being shaken, said Kyoko Imai, a fellow at the Atlantic Councils Indo-Pacific Security Initiative.

The G-7s rejection of any challenges to that status quo is, Imai continued, not just a message for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, but also for Chinese leader Xi Jinping and North Koreas Kim Jong Un. The war in Ukraine has clearly shown that regional crises have global ramifications, Imai said.

While the G-7 has responded to Russias war in Ukraine with conviction and cohesion, differences have emerged over member countries varying willingness to send more advanced weaponry to Kyiv. Germany, long reluctant about defense posturing and averse to military conflict, just announced 2.7 billion (close to $3 billion) in additional assistance for Ukraine, its largest package since the war began.

Zelenskyy, whose military is under growing pressure to turn the tide on the battlefield in the coming months, has asked Western allies to give it U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, which Washington has thus far been unwilling to provide.

During the G-7 discussion Friday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the circumvention of sanctions by third countries as extraordinary.

There is more and more circumvention of our massive sanctions. Its quite extraordinary to see the trade data and evidence on the ground, she told fellow G-7 leaders, according to her spokesperson.

High tech exports to third countries, from micro-processors and sensors for Russian cruise missiles to chips in military communications equipment, make their way onwards to Russia and end up in weapons used against Ukraine on the battlefield. We must put a stop to this, added von der Leyen.

She again rallied the G-7 leaders to support Zelenskyys peace plan, adding: Peace negotiations that equate the aggressor and the victim must be rejected.
Zelenskyy will meet with Biden at G7 summit in Japan  Office of Ukrainian President

The head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Andrii Yermak, confirmed Volodymyr Zelenskyy's participation in the Group of Seven summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

Source: Yermak said this on air during the national joint 24/7 newscast, a correspondent of European Pravda reports.

Quote: "Yes, I can confirm this," said the official in response to whether the President of Ukraine will attend the G7 summit in Japan personally.

He also announced that Zelensky and US President Joe Biden "will meet in the coming days" and discuss the creation of an international coalition of fighter jets and "many other issues".

Quote: "Today we can officially announce the creation of the coalition of fighter jets, and this indicates that Ukraine will very soon have everything necessary to protect our Ukrainian skies, our cities and our citizens," Yermak added.

Background:

On Friday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Saudi Arabia, where he took part in the summit of the League of Arab States. According to Bloomberg, Zelensky will fly from there to Japan on a US military plane.

The peace summit on Ukraine is expected to become a topic of discussion among the leaders of the G7 countries.

Last week, Zelenskyy toured European countries. In particular, the Ukrainian president visited Rome and the Vatican. Then, he visited Germany and France. Zelenskyy was also on a visit to London.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Zelenskyy to meet with Biden at G7 Summit in Japan

Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskyy near St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv

Yermak confirmed Zelenskyy's participation in the summit and their meeting, which will include discussions on Ukraines international partners supplying Kyiv with modern fighter jets.

Read also: Indian PM Modi will reportedly meet with Zelenskyy in Japan

President (Zelenskyy) will meet with President Biden in the coming days, Yermak said.

But we can already officially announce the creation of a coalition of (countries to supply Ukraine with) aircraft. Ukraine will soon have everything necessary to defend our skies.

Read also: G7 leaders agree to strengthen sanctions against Russia, continue financial support for Kyiv

Earlier on May 19, NBC News reported that the United States and its allies are planning to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets. While its unclear when the aircraft will be delivered, an unnamed U.S. official said they wont arrive in time to participate in Ukraines anticipated summer counteroffensive.

CNN reported that U.S. President Joe Biden informed G7 allies that Washington will support training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s. This training is expected to take a few months. Yahoo News reported that the U.S. Air Force expects Ukrainian pilots to learn how to operate and fly F-16s in just four months, shorter than previously anticipated.

Read also: Zelenskyy visits Saudi Arabia: meeting with Crown Prince, keynote address at Arab League summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on May 16 that the Netherlands, France, and the UK have support equipping Ukraine with modern war planes as part of a broader international coalition, with London and Paris confirming their readiness to train Ukrainian pilots.

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
Zelenskyy to take part in G7 summit in Japan online  NSDC

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Earlier, NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov told Ukrainian television broadcasters that Zelenskyy would personally attend the G7 summit.

According to Danilov, very important things will be approved at the meeting, which is why Zelenskyys physical presence is important.

Who would doubt that our president wont be there (at the G7 summit in Japan), he said.

Read also: G7 vows to block Russian assets until war in Ukraine ends

We were sure that our president is where the country needs him to be, in any part of the world, to solve the issue of our countrys stability.

Earlier, the Bloomberg news agency reported that Zelenskyy would personally fly to Japan for the G7 summit. Also, according to the agency, he will first visit the 2023 Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia, to be held on May 19.

The summit of the G7 countries  the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, the United States, and Japan  will be held in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 19-21, 2023.

Read also: Zelenskyys Europe trip secures more military aid, makes progress on fighter jets

The leaders are expected to discuss further actions in response to Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including new sanctions.

According to Bloomberg, they may also agree on joint work to track imports of Russian diamonds. At the same time, they will not impose a full ban on them.

During May 13-15, Zelenskyy visited Italy, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, whose leaders vowed to provide Ukraine with new weapons.

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
Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will go to Hiroshima (Japan) to personally join the leaders of the G7 countries.

Source: Bloomberg with reference to informed sources

Details: Zelenskyy will fly to Japan on a US military plane after stopping in Saudi Arabia to participate in the Arab League summit, anonymous sources told the outlet.

According to Bloomberg, a spokesman for the US National Security Council has declined to comment.

Japanese officials have reportedly said earlier that Zelenskyy would join the summit virtually, even though an extra session on Ukraine was added on Sunday, 21 May, to accommodate the Ukrainian president's schedule.

"The visit to Hiroshima, ground zero for the first nuclear attack 78 years ago, is particularly symbolic given Russian President Vladimir Putins periodic threats to use atomic weapons in Ukraine," Bloomberg said.

Background: The summit of G7 leaders will start on 19 May in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The participants of the summit plan to announce new sanctions against Russia.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Zelenskyy talks to heads of UAE, Oman and Kuwait delegations in Saudi Arabia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with the heads of delegations of the United Arab Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman and the State of Kuwait in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he arrived to participate in the Arab League Summit.

Source: Office of the President of Ukraine

Details: During his talks with Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, Zelenskyy has informed him about the situation on the Ukrainian front and the countrys resistance to the Russian Federation's full-scale aggression.

The parties have paid special attention to the implementation of the Ukrainian peace formula and the possibility of involving as many countries as possible, including the UAE, in this process.

Zelenskyy and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan have discussed global food security and the work of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

The parties have agreed on the work of the delegations and discussed the development of trade, economic and investment cooperation.

During his meeting with Asa'ad bin Tariq Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation of the Sultanate of Oman and Special Representative of the Sultan at International Forums, Zelenskyy has also brought up the implementation of the Ukrainian peace formula.

The President has stressed the importance of the countries of the region supporting Ukraine's peace efforts.

The parties have discussed bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Oman and possible further contacts.

During his talks with Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Crown Prince of Kuwait, Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to Kuwait for its consistent support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity while Ukraine is confronting Russian full-scale aggression, the support that was repeatedly confirmed during the voting for the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly.

Zelenskyy has pointed to the possibility of cooperation between Ukraine and Kuwait in a number of humanitarian issues. The President thanked Kuwait for supporting Ukraine in the energy sector. The parties agreed to strengthen cooperation in these areas.

While in Jeddah, Zelenskyy also held a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani.

Zelenskyy thanked Iraq for solidarity with Ukraine and its people, its firm support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, the inviolability of its borders, and international law.

Zelenskyy said he was particularly grateful to Iraqs support for Ukraine within international institutions, including in the UN General Assembly.

The two leaders discussed the possibility of Iraqs participation in the implementation of Ukraines peace formula.

Zelenskyy invited the Iraqi Prime Minister to visit Ukraine to discuss key avenues for the countries cooperation.

Background: In the first year of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's presidential term, his trip to Oman gained a lot of publicity.

At the very beginning of 2020, Zelenskyy and his family flew to Oman. Although he allegedly flew there on a private jet at his own expense, the president met with Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman.

Journalists of the Skhemy project found out that Zelenskyy returned from Oman to Kyiv on a Bombardier Global Express 6000 charter plane, on the same day that Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev was travelling to Oman on this flight.

On 19 May 2023, Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived with an official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he met with Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud before addressing the participants of the Arab League Council.

Journalists reported that Zelenskyy will next travel to Hiroshima, Japan, to take part in the G7 summit in person. However, Ukraines National Security and Defence Council said that Zelenskyy will participate in the meeting of G7 leaders online and not in person.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Saudi Arabia

Former head of the Mejlis, the representatives body of the Crimean Tatar people, Mustafa Dzhemilev, accompanied the president.

Read also: Zelenskyy talks with South Africa's president over alleged weapon supplies to Russia

According to the head of state, one of the priorities of the visit is to protect the Muslim community of Ukraine.

"Our priorities are the return of all political prisoners of Crimea and the temporarily occupied territories, the return of all prisoners and illegally deported persons, the presentation of our peace formula, the implementation of which should involve as many states as possible, and the guarantee of energy security next winter," he stressed.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Press service of the President of Ukraine

Read also: Saudi Foreign Minister visiting Kyiv

Later, the president's press service reported that he had met with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud.

Zelenskyy updated bin Salman on the security situation in Ukraine, countering Russia, and the main elements of the Ukrainian peace initiative.

The President also noted the successful participation of Saudi Arabia in the return of 10 foreign prisoners of war from Russian captivity and expressed interest in continuing joint efforts for the return of POWs.

Read also: Saudi Arabia claims Ukraine-Russia prisoner exchange was facilitated on humanitarian grounds

He thanked bin Salman for his support of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty and his principled position within international organizations.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Muhammad bin Salman al Saud Press service of the President of Ukraine

Read also: Saudi Arabia pledges $400 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine

According to the press service, bin Salman confirmed his interest in investing in Ukraine and restoring the country.

In turn, Zelenskyy invited him to pay a visit 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
OMAHA, Neb. (AP)  Engineers who operate trains for Union Pacific will soon have much more predictable schedules allowing them to plan when they are going to be off, a change that addresses one of the key quality-of-life concerns that pushed the rail industry to the brink of a strike last fall.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 19)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday raised concerns on the impact on the country's power supply situation if the franchise of the privately owned National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is revoked.

According to Marcos, there could be difficulty in finding a replacement for the power grid operator, possibly causing service disruptions.

"I think however we handle the franchise problem, kung tanggalin natin 'yung prangkisa, kunin ng gobyerno, ibigay natin sa ibang korporasyon [if we revoke the franchise, if the government takes control, or if we give it to another corporation], whatever it is, but the delay that will be caused is the problem that we have," Marcos told reporters.

"Tatanggalin mo 'yung prangkisa, 'yung nandyan ngayon, tanggal silang lahat. Saan natin kukunin 'yung kapalit? [If we revoke the franchise, all of NGCP personnel will be removed. Where will we find the replacement?]" he added.

Still, the president did not categorically oppose the proposed revocation, which Senate committee on energy chairman Raffy Tulfo said is possible as complaints on power outages mount. Marcos simply said there must be a "good reason for it."

He also acknowledged some lawmakers' concerns that the 40% Chinese share in NGCP may pose threats to national security. The State Grid Corporation of China has a 40% stake in the NGCP, while 60% is held by investment group Synergy Grid and Development Philippines of Henry Sy Jr. and Roberto Coyiuto Jr.

READ: NGCP: China's 40% stake not a national security threat

But if the franchise is to be reviewed, the president said he considers as more important the corporation's performance and compliance to contracts.

"It is really the performance," Marcos said. "Halimbawa, bakit nagkakaroon ng outage sa Negros at saka Panay Island [For example, why have there been outages in Negros and Panay Island]?"

"And there was very clear agreement in the contract as to what, how much investment the grid corporation will put in. Pinag-aaralan ngayon nagawa ba talaga nila lahat 'yun? Kung nagawa nila lahat 'yun, bakit kulang pa at nagkakaganito? [It is now being reviewed if NGCP was able to fulfill its contract obligations. If yes, why are there still shortcomings and why is the situation like this?] That's the issue at hand for me," he continued.
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.
Australia-listed oil and gas firm Invictus Energy has recently confirmed its discovery of light oil, gas condensate and helium in a remote northeastern region of Zimbabwe, which is hailed as a culmination of months of exploration.

Analysis of samples from its remote sites near the border with Mozambique definitively proves the presence of hydrocarbons in multiple reservoir pay zones at one of the wells. The Australian company said analyzed samples demonstrate a consistent, high-quality natural gas composition, exhibiting low inert content, containing less than 1% carbon dioxide. Invictus Energys landmark discovery at its Cabora Bassa project, which comes 30 years after US giant ExxonMobil gave up its quest to secure crude oil in the area, has sent its shares up 8.7%.

Zimbabwe suffers severe power outages of up to 19 hours a day and the find could lead to the countrys first gas production that would help improve power supplies. Invictus Energy inked the exploration, development and production deal with Zimbabwe in 2018, promising to also build a gas-to-power facility to supply the national grid. The discovery is also a boon for President Emmerson Mnangagwas government which is entitled to as much as 60% of the projects output. Helium is a key component in the manufacture of semiconductors, liquid crystal display (LCD) panels and fibre optic wire. The Perth-based Invictus Energy is an independent upstream oil and gas company focused on sub-Saharan Africa.

In a separate but related development, Invictus Energy has now awarded Polaris Geo, a specialist onshore seismic data gatherer, a contract to gather additional 400 kilometers of 2D seismic data over Invictus Energys acreage in Zimbabwe, building on similar contract undertaken in 2021. Australia-listed junior Invictus drilled its technically challenging Mukuyu-1 wildcat in the Cabora Bassa basin last year, which established the presence of oil, gas and helium. A follow-up appraisal well will be spudded shortly with an upgraded rig and improved equipment to further test this new play, while simultaneously acquiring valuable seismic data on adjacent blocks.
Senior Moroccan and Spanish officials from the interior departments met on Wednesday in Madrid to discuss coordination to ensure a smooth return of Moroccan expatriates for their annual summer holidays.

The joint meeting focused on the operational measures put in place by both parties to ensure the best possible conditions for the 2023 transit operation, particularly in terms of fluidity, security and safety, assistance and proximity actions, public health vigilance & awareness campaigns.

To support and help inbound travelers, Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity deploys a large network including more than 1,400 social workers, doctors, nurses, temporary workers and ambulance drivers in rest areas and at border crossing points.

Thirty-two ferries will offer this year Moroccan expatriates 12 maritime routes. The vessels are capable of transporting daily more than 45,529 passengers and 12,357 vehicles on the Tanger Med-Algeciras ferry-line.

Nearly $30 million has been invested by Morocco to upgrade port facilities infrastructures in the cities of Tangiers, Nador and Al-Hoceima as well as for the comfort of travelers during customs and security processing.

Medical teams, consular staff and security agents have been beefed up to provides best services to Moroccan travelers on their way to spend their annual summer holidays in their homeland.

There are about 6 million Moroccans living in Europe, mainly in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Most of them prefer to travel by car due to the relatively short distance separating Morocco from Europe, but nearly 1 million prefer the faster air travel.
Morocco will host a meeting of the Libyan steering committee to prepare for elections on which hopes are pinned to break the deadlock that left the oil-rich and war-torn country politically divided.

The news was reported by Italys Nova news agency citing Libyan House of Representative spokesman Abdullah Belhaq.

He said views are converging between the rivals after they agreed on mechanisms to make progress towards elections.

A political process to resolve more than a decade of conflict in Libya has been stalled since an election scheduled for December 2021 collapsed amid disputes over the eligibility of major candidates.

The U.N.-backed government in the capital of Tripoli has very loose control over about a third of the country. To the east, Libya is controlled by a renegade general leading what they have called the Libyan National Army, which has tried and failed to topple the government in Tripoli.

Morocco has by the past hosted meetings between Libyan rivals including the Skhirate agreement which still serves as a reference for a political and peaceful settlement of the crisis in Libya.

Libya has descended into chaos since 2011 as the country is de-factor divided between a Tripoli-based government in the west and vast swathes of the east under the control of renegade general Khalifa Haftar.
Morocco is busy working to reduce its dependence on foreign-made weapons by developing its own defense industry, said Defenseweb online publication.

To reach its strategic goal, Morocco signed in 2019 with Brazil an agreement to share military technology. The agreement, which includes investment cooperation and facilitation in military industry, is the first of its kind between Brazil and a Maghreb country, added the specialized South African news platform.

Under this agreement, Brazil pledges to share military science and technology, help in defense product acquisition and train Moroccan officers in advanced military technologies.

In February, Brazils Senate Foreign Relations & National Defense Committee approved a draft decree for a defense cooperation agreement with Morocco. The deal, which was already approved by Brazils lower House, still needs the Senates endorsement before implementation.

The cooperation agreement between Brazil and Morocco is part of Rabats strategy of diversifying its security partnerships globally. In 2022, the countrys military spending amounted to $5 billion, almost 4% of its GDP.

The US is Moroccos major arms supplier, followed by France, other European countries and China. In 2020, Moroccos House of Representatives passed a law seeking to attract foreign investment, promote innovation and expand the countrys defense industrial base.

Several media outlets have published lately a photo of the first Morocco-made armed vehicle, a multi-mission track destined for armed forces.

According to Frost & Sullivan group, a research and consulting firm, Morocco is set to become a weapons producing country in the few coming years as the country is set to host foreign factories specialized in arms manufacturing by 2025.
The Archduchess of Austria-Este, Princess Astrid of Belgium, is expected in the Senegalese capital of Dakar, May 21-25 with an important economic delegation to sign several deals with parties in the West African country.

Hubert Roisin, the Belgium ambassador to Senegal made the announcement noting that the royal personality has been assigned the mission by the Belgian monarch King Philippe.

This mission is made of 367 participants representing 160 companies, 20 universities or colleges and a dozen federations of companies and investment funds, the diplomat said during a press conference.

These companies participate with great interest in these missions in the sense that the Belgian government and HM the King take a particular interest in them and that is why the King has asked his sister Princess Astrid to lead this mission on his behalf, he added.

It is important for Belgium to continue to develop its historical ties with new African countries and in particular Senegal. This is why Senegal was chosen as the host country for this mission.

Exports from the European country to Senegal hit 1 billion euros last year, accounting for a 30 per cent increase. Belgium-bound Senegal exports also soared by 10 per cent.

Trade between the two countries revolve around petroleum products and derivatives, transport materials, machinery and equipment, metals, pharmaceutical industries and food products.

Both countries also have developed partnership in several areas including engineering, water, real estate, logistics, lime production, culture and port, Roisin posited.

The mission will attend B2B meetings with 500 Senegalese companies. Around 30 agreements between companies, schools and universities are expected.
The criminal chamber of Nabeul Court of First Instance, in Tunisia, has ordered the release of two students arrested Tuesday over a song condemning the countrys laws on drugs and treatment of youth by security forces.

Dhia Nassir, 26, and Youssef Chelbi, 27, appeared before the prosecutor Tuesday upon request from the ministry of interior for posting on social media a song deemed an offense to the countrys laws on drugs and law enforcement officers treatment of youth.

Their lawyer told local media Mozaique FM that the court rejected their bailout request to allow them to sit for their exam scheduled May 17-18.

However, the court backtracked Thursday setting them free after President Kais Saied, during a meeting with Prime Minister Najla Bouden, laid into the detention of the young students.

I dont want to interfere in the affairs of the judiciary, but I dont like injustice () There is no justification for the arrest of two students who are about to take their exams It is unacceptable, he said.

Also on Thursday, Faker Bouzghaya, the spokesperson for the ministry of interior, launched an administration probe into the arrest of the two youths. Tunisias laws have criminalized the use of drugs. In 2021 a court sentenced four young men to 20 years in prison for forming a drug trafficking network in the capital. The court also slapped around $35,000-fine on each.
Ahead of Cameroons National Day on 20 May, thousands of people are demonstrating this week, calling for peace and reconciliation in what a recent briefing paper referred to as a bloody civil war.

The demonstrators, led by activists, traditional leaders and clerics, gathered in the capital, Yaounde, on Thursday, calling for an end to hate speech and the separatist conflict, as well as peace and reconciliation in the Central African country. The protests began in towns and villages across Cameroon on Monday (15 May), and on Thursday thousands of Christians from Cameroons Catholic, Presbyterian and Baptist churches joined the protests. It is wickedness and the type of hate speech that destroys the country, Reverend Father Humphrey Tatah Mbui said. If we want peace in this country we must learn to start controlling the kind of words we use, the way we talk to other people and dialogue.

Cameroon has been engulfed in the full-blown civil war since 2017, which has claimed more than 6,000 lives, forced more than 1 million people to flee their homes and left nearly 4 million people dependent on humanitarian assistance, according to Obiora Ikoku, a Nigerian freelance journalist and activist. The violence has raged on despite domestic and international efforts to broker peace. The 2019 peace talks mediated by Switzerland and the latest Canada-facilitated dialogue between the Cameroonian government and Anglophone separatists failed to halt the fighting, partly due to infighting among the separatists. But as Ikoku points out, while Yaounde took the blame for scuttling the most recent initiative, some observers chalked up the abortive dialogue to internal disagreements among the Anglophone leaders.
The United Nations has appealed for $3 billion to help those affected by the conflict in Sudan with a top UN official decrying multiple serious breaches of an agreement by Sudans warring parties last week to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure and to let in badly needed aid.

The United Nations humanitarian agency said it needs $2.6 billion to help those still within Sudan, saying 25 million people in the country are in need of humanitarian aid and protection. The agencys chief, Ramesh Rajasingham, said the fighting in Sudan has been a cruel blow to the people of Sudan, adding that the conflict has left at least 676 dead, with the true toll likely much higher. Meanwhile, UN aid official Martin Griffiths welcomed the declaration signed on 12 May in Jeddah by the two warring sides, vowing to refrain from attacking humanitarians delivering desperately-needed aid. However, while aid deliveries have picked up, Griffiths told AFP that there are breaches of the declaration however, which are important and egregious, and which have happened since the signing.

This comes after the UN recently reported that some 200,000 people have now fled Sudan to neighboring countries and hundreds of thousands more have been displaced inside the country, trying to escape bloody fighting that has been ongoing for almost a month. The International Organization for Migration (IOM), which is operating under the UN system, reported that more than 700,000 people have been displaced within Sudan. Humanitarian response to deal with the plight of the people fleeing the country will be challenging and costly, Sarrado warned. Some 30,000 refugees had arrived in Chad in just recent days, she said, bringing the total number who have arrived from Sudan in recent weeks to 60,000, with almost 90% of them being women and children.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 19)  The shipowner of the sunken MT Princess Empress has yet to appeal the revocation of its Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) as it is not yet final and executory, the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) said on Friday.

"The decision was issued by MARINA-NCR on May 11, 2023, which means it has yet to become final and executory," MARINA Legal Services Director Sharon Aledo told reporters in an online briefing. "Our procedural rules, the MARINA Revised Rules of Practice and Procedure, provide the period for the respondent to file an appeal."

"We'll wait for a period of 15 days from the issuance of the decision, wherein the respondent can file an appeal before it comes final and executory," she added.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Thursday announced the decision against RDC Reield Marine Services Inc.

The DOTr said in a statement that the revocation of the CPC, an authorization to operate a vessel, was contained in a May 11 resolution, based on the findings that the company operated MT Princess Empress without authority.

Reporters pressed Aledo for specific details of the decision but the MARINA official said the 15-day period must lapse first.

Once the revocation becomes final, RDC will not be authorized to operate its remaining fleet of two tanker vessels and a passenger ship, Aledo said. The company will be imposed a one-time maximum fine of 100,000.

MARINA previously issued two cease-and-desist orders against RDC.

Generally, shipowners can still apply for a fresh CPC but in the case of RDC, Aledo said MARINA is "already aware of what happened and that would be taken into consideration."

"To be honest, we do not expect that a new CPC will be applied for by RDC or that would be processed and issued even in the future," she added.

MT Princess Empress was carrying 900,000 liters of industrial fuel oil when it sank in the waters off Oriental Mindoro on Feb. 28  affecting approximately 41,000 families and the livelihood of 24,000 fisherfolk.

In April, MARINA said it was preparing to file administrative charges against RDC.

The Department of Justice previously said it is investigating the Philippine Coast Guard and MARINA for allowing the sunken oil tanker to sail without a permit.
The 32nd Arab Summit, held Friday in Jeddah, voiced strong support to the role played by Al-Quds Committee chaired by King Mohammed VI and Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency in defending the Holy City and the resistance of its Palestinian inhabitants.

King Mohammed VI is represented in the Jeddah Summit by Prince Moulay Rachid.

In their final declaration, Arab leaders commended the continuous efforts made by the Moroccan Sovereign in protecting Al-Quds Acharif and supporting the legitimate Palestinian cause.

The Jeddah Declaration also welcomed the projects carried out by Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency, the executive arm of the Al-Quds Committee, under the supervision of the Monarch, to enable the Maqdessis preserve their land and support their resistance, praising the increase to $ 12 million of Moroccos financial contribution to Al-Aqsa and Al-Quds funds.

The summiteers stressed the importance of highlighting the efforts of Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency in Al-Quds city information plan in line with the decision adopted by the Council of Arab Information Ministers.
Albert's Culbertson Grass is approximately 64 +/- acres of native grass pasture accessed by a well maintained, paved county road. The property has a barbed wire perimeter fence and there is a well with a windmill (the Seller nor their representative know the quality of the well). There is electrical service on the property. There are several potential building sites on the property so a Buyer will have many options with this terrific ranch.LandAlberts Culbertson Grass is 64 +/- acres of rolling native grass. ImprovementsThere is a perimeter barbed wire fence and electrical service to the property. RecreationAlberts Culbertson Grass and the Frenchman River Valley offers endless recreation, from hunting small game and varmints to monster plains mule deer and White-tailed deer. You also have the opportunity to go hiking, biking or having fun on your ATV/UTV all on your own property! Swanson Reservoir, which boasts some excellent fishing and waterfowl hunting is only a short 15 mile drive to the west of Alberts Culbertson Grass. AgricultureCurrently Alberts Culbertson Grass is operated as a cattle pasture. Water/Mineral Rights & Natural ResourcesAll appurtenant water rights associated with this property will transfer to the Buyer at Closing. Seller owned mineral rights will transfer to the Buyer at Closing. General OperationsAlberts Culbertson Grass is currently used as a cattle pasture. Region & ClimateHitchcock County, Nebraska gets 21 inches of rain, on average, per year.The US average is 38 inches of rain per year. Hitchcock County averages 24 inches of snow per year.The US average is 28 inches of snow per year. On average, there are 240 sunny days per year in Hitchcock County.The US average is 205 sunny days. Hitchcock County gets some kind of precipitation, on average, 71 days per year. Precipitation is rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground. In order for precipitation to be counted you have to get at least .01 inches on the ground to measure. Weather Highlights Summer High:the July high is around 90 degrees Winter Low:the January low is 14 Rain:averages 21 inches of rain a year Snow:averages 24 inches of snow a year HistoryThis area is rich in history. On 30 Aug. 1873 the first election was held in the county. It was held at the residence of F.U. Martin on Section 14, Township 3, Range 32 West, two miles east of the present town of Culbertson. The first officers elected were: Thomas LeGrand, W.W. Kelly and F.U. Martin, commissioners; W.Z. Taylor, Clerk, J.E. Kleven, Treasurer; G.E. Baldwin, Sheriff; A.J. Vanderslice, Judge; J.H. Conklin, surveyor; Daniel Murphy, Superintendent of Schools; J.H. Miller, Coroner. The county seat was located on the north half of Section 17, Range 31 West, the site of the town of Culbertson. Prior to 1869, the Republican Valley was a major retreat for the hostile Sioux and Cheyenne Indians. The valley was in the heart of buffalo range and was one of the great hunting grounds of the West. Whites made only occasional hunting trips into the region, due to the threat of Indian problems. In the summer of 1869, at the Battle of Summit Springs, near present Sterling, Co., Gen. Eugene A. Carr and his Republican River Expedition defeated the hostile Indians under Chief Tall Bull, which virtually cleared the Republican for settlement. The counties to the east of Hitchcock County were quickly organized by adventuresome frontiersmen and women. Though he did not file upon the land until August, George C. Gessleman was the first person to settle in what is now Hitchcock county, arriving in the early spring of 1873. During the next few months, he was joined by about a dozen other men, staking claims along Blackwood Creek to the east and north of present Culbertson. On 30 May 1873, a flash flood on the Blackwood brought near disaster to those first frontiersmen of the county. In the night, after everyone was in bed, most sleeping outdoors, a flood rushed down the creek, washing away tents, wagons and possessions. The boundaries for Hitchcock County had been defined by the legislature in January 1873 and named for Phineas W. Hitchcock, then serving as United States Senator from Nebraska. Situated near the southwest corner of Nebraska, the county is twenty-four miles north and south and thirty miles from east to west. In June the settlers petitioned Governor Robert W. Furnas for permission to organize the county, and he issued a proclamation on 5 July 1873, calling for an election to organize the county to be held on August 30th. In July, William Zacariah Taylor arrived on the present site of Culbertson and began building a store, probably at the instigation of the Republican Valley Land Company, the town site company of the Burlington Railroad. He named the site for Alexander Culbertson , noted trader of the Upper Missouri County in the 1840s and 1850s, who was living out his old age at Orleans, Harlan County, where his son-in-law was a Burlington official. Before the election, however, the settlers went through another time of trial, when the Sioux defeated the Pawnee at the Battle of Massacre Canyon on Tuesday morning, August 5th. The day before the battle a party of Sioux warriors had terrorized some of the settlers along the Blackwood, destroying some property. An account of the battle is given elsewhere in this history. Eighteen votes were cast at the first election on August 30th, and the men elected served only until the regular election on October 14th. Several of those elected had apparently left the county by the second election, however. A party of buffalo hunters were robbed in early October on the Stinking Water and left afoot on the prairie later making their way to the Kansas settlements. They and others said the robbery was done by some of these first county officials. During that first summer, only a few acres of ground were broken. For survival, these first frontiersmen depended upon the buffalo and other wild game. Supplies had to be transported from the railroad in the Platte Valley, mainly from North Platte or Plum Creek (Lexington). Having little money, many of the settlers traded buffalo meat for essentials. This was to remain the main source of trade until the buffalo herds were finally wiped out. Though 1874 started out well, the grasshopper hordes arrived in late summer and the few small fields were devastated. Many of the settlers left the county, leaving only a handful of men. In 1875 a major change came to the county. Large scale ranching began in Southwest Nebraska. Some ranchers came from the East, but others were Colorado ranchers who entered the region from the west. Thus began Culbertsons boom period. Though a few very small settlements, such as Stratton, Palisade and Benkleman were started about 1880, until about 1883, Culbertson was the only real settlement in Southwest Nebraska, being the only town between Indianola and Ogallala. Though many of the ranchers and their families lived in Culbertson, at least during the winter, and many of the men served as officials of Hitchcock County. Until the railroad built up the valley, few settlers entered the region, for they would have had no way to market their produce except for the long haul to the Platte. When the Burlington began to build west, many homesteaders entered the county, settling on the Driftwood and the Frenchman, as well as building up the river valley. It was not until about 1884, however, that homesteaders began to settle on the divide lands, booming the population of the county. Early history of Hitchcock County tells of frequent Indian scares, but no injury was ever done the settlers. In the fall of 1876, two horse thieves were killed in Massacre Canyon and buried near Culbertson. In the fall of 1878, a band of Cheyenne Indians escaped from their reservation, to visit their old Nebraska home, and passed near here. In the fall of 1881 the Burlington and Missouri Railroad was completed to Culbertson and trains began running regularly to this point. In March 1882, trains began running westward as far as Akron, Colorado. The first school district was organized 21 Feb. 1876. This district was the north one-half of the county. No other district was organized until 1879 when four more districts were added. Another district was formed in 1880 and three more in 1881, making nine school districts in the county by 1882. There were 335 children of school age and 12 teachers holding certificates. The salaries of the teachers ranged all the way from $20 to $40 per month. The first newspaper in the county was the spring of 1879 by W.Z. Taylor, and Nat L. Baker was the editor. This paper was published until the spring of 1800, when Baker took the material and started the Chipper. Taylor started another paper called the Sun at the same time and employed R.D. Graham as editor. During the same summer the Clipper failed and Baker returned the material and the Sun remained the only paper published in the county. LocationAlberts Culbertson Grass is located in Hitchcock County in SW Nebraska. The closest community is Culbertson and the nearest large community is McCook (15 minutes). The property is only a mile north of US Hwy 34 and is located almost an equal distance from Interstates I-70 and I-80.

View More
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A group of Pony Express riders made a pit stop in Cody Park Thursday afternoon on their way across Nebraska.

The group, riding motorcycles instead of horses, arrived around 1:45 p.m., escorted by North Platte Police Investigator Lisa Citta.

There they picked up letters to be delivered to state officials in support of mental health services for families and children.

The riders started in Scottsbluff Wednesday and were collecting letters in several cities along the way. They plan to arrive at the Capitol in Lincoln by 1:30 p.m. Saturday to deliver the letters and celebrate with food, booths and activities for children and families.

The letters will go to Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Interim Director Tony Green and DHHS Chief Operating Officer Larry Kahl.

Families 1st Partnership, a local nonprofit organization that coordinates a variety of services for families, provided lunch for the group.

These riders donate all of their time and their money for their gas, their lodging, time off work and everything said Holly Stevens, the groups coordinator, and so when someone is willing to feed us, that helps us be able to do it. Janssen Motor Group provided a support trailer, which Stevens said was also important and very appreciated.

Families 1st Partnership also collected letters from local people for the riders to take to the Capitol. They have been lending similar support to the group for four years, said Families 1st Executive Director Caroline Sabin.

I have children of my own that had to advocate for services that were not readily available in rural areas, Stevens said. That motivated her to organize the first ride about 16 years ago. It brought together her love of motorcycles, the (original) Pony Express ride and advocacy for childrens mental health as well as mental health in general, she said. We are lacking services clear across the state.

Stevens is an avid motorcyclist herself, the only one in her family.

I was part of a group called the Eagle Riders, and when this originally started we utilized (them) along with the Family Works (program) and married them up to make this take place, she said.  Since then its just become a ride of its own and weve been able to step away from any organized groups and make it 100% whoever wants to be involved.

Stevens organized the rides for the first three years before stepping away for several years. About six years ago, they came back to me and asked if I would please come back, and so she did.

The group is making a difference in raising awareness and getting the attention of state officials.

The mental health of our children should be considered just as important as their physical health, Green said in a DHHS press release. It is a great honor to participate in this event and witness the power of our strong communities as they come together to raise awareness and support our kids, the future of Nebraska.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

State Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont previously indicated support for Riepes 12-week amendment but expressed concerns that the Hansen proposal excludes a fatal fetal anomalies exception. She also has concerns about what guidance the chief medical officer and DHHS would impose on gender-affirming care, preferring a list she crafted with State Sens. John Cavanaugh and John Fredrickson. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska News Service)

LINCOLN  An expected final vote Friday on the Nebraska Legislatures efforts to further restrict abortions and limit gender-affirming care for minors may not be the last after a new amendment was filed Thursday.

However, key senators said they would not support the changes proposed.

State Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont filed an amendment to Legislative Bill 574, the now-combined abortion-gender care proposal. LB 574 is one vote away from passage after Tuesdays vote to combine and amend the respective measures.

The Walz amendment includes three key changes from the newly amended bill, which mirror an amendment from State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston on abortion:

Changing a 12-week abortion ban from gestational age to 12 weeks post-fertilization. This would allow abortions 12 weeks after fertilization rather than 12 weeks after a womans last period.

Adding a fetal anomaly incompatible with life exception for abortions. These are anomalies that with reasonable certainty would result in the death of a fetus within three months.

Specifying rules and regulations that youths must meet before receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapies or non-genital surgeries. Genital surgeries, which are not performed in Nebraska, would be prohibited.

Walz said she believes there need to be safeguards in place for gender-affirming care to support those youths.

I feel that its more important that we keep the care of our kids here in Nebraska, she said. If we dont come up with some type of guidelines and allow the care after the requirements are met, the kids are just going to go ahead and cross state lines.

LB 574 would gain Walz as a 34th vote if her amendment is adopted, though its unclear if doing so would lose any supporters.

Chief medical officer

Under the amended LB 574, the chief medical officer (Dr. Timothy Tesmer) would be authorized to outline the rules and regulations for blockers and hormones.

Tesmer, an ear, nose and throat doctor from Lincoln, was chair of the State Board of Health when it issued a statement in support of LB 574 in March. That version would have prohibited all surgeries as well as medications.

Supporters and opponents note that delegating the authority could lead to a full ban, though some, including Walz, hope the outlined regulations in her amendment could be a guide for Tesmer.

Those who have received the gender-affirming medications prior to Oct. 1, when that part of the bill goes into effect, could continue (though there are concerns about whether those patients could move to the next stage of treatment after Oct. 1).

Without the Walz amendment, there would be a full ban on new medications until new rules and regulations are in place.

Behavioral or mental health care would not be restricted.

Supporters have said LB 574 would protect kids. Walz said that without her proposed changes, that wont happen.

If we really want to protect kids, lets keep the children here in Nebraska, Walz said.

Were done

Walzs amendment  filed one day before lawmakers are slated to approve LB 574  appears defeated before it begins. It would need at least 25 supporters.

State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, LB 574s introducer, said supporters of the current bill have already come a long way to where they are now.

Were done, Kauth said, predicting that Fridays vote would be the final vote.

State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, who introduced the amendment combining the abortion ban with restrictions on gender care for minors, said he appreciates Walz for her work but said its unlikely to garner the votes to pass.

Im not going to say its too little too late, but nobodys going to want to go back to Select File [to adopt the amendment], Hansen said. The 33 people who voted for this bill are very comfortable with where theyre at, and I dont get any indication that anyones looking for anything different.

Thirty national and international organizations endorse gender-affirming care, but Kauth said the legislation is necessary because the care amounts to an adult decision that carries some permanent effects.

Kauth, Hansen and Walz used listening sessions between the second and third rounds of LB 574 debate to find a path forward, which led to some language in the respective amendments.

The other five senators who participated in those sessions were State Sens. John Arch of La Vista, Teresa Ibach of Sumner, John Cavanaugh of Omaha, John Fredrickson of Omaha and Tom Briese of Albion.

But Hansen said that his compromise is sufficient and that senators compromised even more than we needed to, or even what some in support wanted to.

I think sometimes when you have two sides that are conflicting, they both kind of feel like they should have half the apple, he said. But when you have a majority on one side and a minority on the other, we both dont get half.

Mounting legal challenges

Cavanaugh also introduced an amendment to add the rules and regulations Walz did. The pair and Fredrickson led those efforts in the listening sessions.

Cavanaughs amendment will be up first Friday, and while he did not say whether he would pull his amendment to get to Walzs amendment, he said it is a lot more reasonable than the bill is currently written.

Its more thoughtful and it integrates all of the lessons we learned or the ideas we took from the listening sessions, he said.

LB 574 is expected to face significant legal challenges, not to mention questions over whether it abides by the Nebraska Constitutions single subject requirement.

Cavanaugh said Walzs change may fare better, legally speaking, with regard to surgeries, because of the Fourteenth Amendments prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex.

He has not decided whether he will support Walzs amendment.

Kauth said that while a gender-affirming care ban remains blocked in Arkansas and is moving through the courts, conversations with an Arkansas representative suggest the challenge could be defeated soon.

Kauth said she has support from Attorney General Mike Hilgers on the bill, too.

Hes very confident that theres not going to be a problem, she said. Theyre ready for a fight if they need to, but he believes that this is a sound statute.

Hilgers staff said they couldnt comment on private conversations the attorney general may have had.

Final-round debate on LB 574 is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday. Debate is allotted for up to two hours but could be extended based on procedural challenges. The bill could also come up earlier in the day and will follow a similar roadmap as Tuesday.

Proposed rules and regulations The amendments offered by State Sens. John Cavanaugh and Lynne Walz include the following seven criteria before puberty blockers, hormones or gender-affirming top surgeries are allowed. The youths parent or guardian has provided voluntary and informed written consent. The patient demonstrates the emotional and cognitive maturity to provide informed consent. The patient meets diagnostic criteria of gender incongruence, which is marked and sustained over time. The patient has written documentation recommending treatment from at least two licensed mental health professionals, psychologists or psychiatrists who are not part of the same clinic. The patient has been informed of any reproductive effects and potential side effects or consequences of the treatments. The patient has reached a specific stage of puberty: Tanner stage two. Additional mental health concerns, if any, that may interfere with diagnostic clarity or the capacity to consent are addressed sufficiently so that such surgery can be provided optimally. An additional eighth criterion requires that patients must have received care for at least 12 months before they could receive top surgery.
Photo: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

A Washington, D.C., police officer was arrested on Friday after being charged with lying about sharing confidential information with the leader of the Proud Boys.

Shane Lamond, a 47-year-old lieutenant in the Metropolitan Police Department, was indicted on one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements, according to the U.S. District Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia. He is expected to be arraigned later on Friday.

The indictment alleges that Lamond, who was head of the departments intelligence branch, was in regular contact from July 2019 to January 2021 with Enrique Tarrio, then-leader of the far-right militia group, communicating at least 500 times via different channels including encrypted messaging app Telegram.

On December 12, 2020, Tarrio took part in a D.C. rally protesting the results of the presidential election the previous month and helped to steal and burn a Black Lives Matter banner belonging to a historic Black church. After the MPD launched an investigation into the incident, Lamond allegedly kept Tarrio up to date about the inquiry and, at times, seemed to advocate on Tarrios behalf to the department.

They wanted to know what I know about your group and if think you all are racist, Lamond said in an encrypted Telegram chat with Tarrio. I told them you are made up a lot of Latinos and blacks so not a racist thing. If anything said its political but then I drew attention to the Trump and American flags that were taken by Antifa and set on fire.

Lamond appeared to alert Tarrio when it became clear that a warrant was going to be issued for his arrest.

Just a heads up, CID had me ID you from a photo you posted on [social-media website] kneeling down next to the BLM banner so they may be submitting an arrest warrant to US Attorneys Office, Lamond wrote in another message.

In the time between the investigation and Tarrios arrest, the two exchanged several calls and messages that were set to auto-delete after being read, according to the indictment. Tarrio would ultimately be sentenced to five months in prison for desecrating the church.

Lamond and Tarrios interactions continued even after the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, in which several members of the Proud Boys participated. (Tarrio, who had been arrested in connection with the banner burning days earlier, was barred from the city by a judge and did not take part in the riot.) The day after the insurrection, Lamond allegedly shared with Tarrio the names of several people identified by the FBI in its investigation.

In another exchange, Lamond expressed support for Tarrio and his group.

Looks like the feds are locking people up for rioting at the Capitol. I hope none of your guys were among them, Lamond wrote.

Tarrio responded, So far from what Im seeing and hearing were good.

Great to hear. Of course I cant say it officially, but personally I support you all and dont want to see your groups name or reputation dragged through the mud, Lamond said.

Lamonds charges of making false statements stem from responses he gave to investigators from the U.S. Attorneys Office about his interactions with Tarrio. When asked if Tarrio would ever fish for information in their conversations, Lamond said, No, not really. He never really asked me questions about, like, you know, what we were doing or anything. It was more, you know, one-sided with just him telling me, you know, what their plans were.
Hey, Im still as radical as ever! Photo: CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH/EP/Shuttershock

After a long warm-up, it looks like Ron DeSantis will finally announce his presidential candidacy next week. And as his campaign goes live, his strategy is beginning to emerge from the shadows. The Florida governor, it seems, is going to steer sharply to Donald Trumps right in hopes of an early momentum-creating victory in Iowa, where culture wars are in season year-round.

The twin strategic decision to go big in Iowa and go right in messaging was explained by CNN after DeSantis began publicly defending his decision to sign Floridas six-week abortion ban after not mentioning it for weeks:

Abortion is not the only issue where DeSantis has found space to the right of the former president. As he readies a campaign for the White House, DeSantis has staked out positions on guns, immigration and the Covid-19 vaccine that appeal to the most conservative voters in the party.

And it isnt simply rhetoric. DeSantis has championed consequential new laws that will turn Florida into a state where its incredibly difficult to get an abortion and easy to carry a gun in public, where undocumented migrants are not welcome and doctors with fringe views are free to practice medicine.

Those new laws, pushed through with the help of Republican supermajorities in the state legislature, are part of a larger effort by DeSantis to leverage his political power into policy victories that could outshine any other potential rival in a presidential primary.

And theres no question DeSantis will be touting his more-reactionary-than-Trump views in Iowa, where the last three winners of competitive GOP presidential caucuses enjoyed support from the states powerful Christian conservative lobby, CNN notes:

DeSantis was well-received during an appearance Saturday in Sioux County, Iowa, a deeply red part of the states northwest corner where Trump won 82% of the vote and evangelical influences run through its politics. Before DeSantis spoke, the invocation included a call to protect children from conception on.

Perhaps even more impressive, Bob Vander Plaats, founder and CEO of the powerful Christian-right organization the Family Leader, has practically turned into a DeSantis cheerleader lately, as Rolling Stone reports:

A top evangelical leader in Iowa is calling on Republicans to turn the page on Donald Trump, and insists that the former presidents recent efforts to soften his politics on abortion have flung the doors of 2024 Iowa caucus contest wide open for likely competitors like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis 

Vander Plaats centered his criticism of Trump on what he characterized as the former presidents exhausting quest for vengeance for his loss in the 2020 election, and in his failure to back the anti-abortion agenda to the hilt.

Vander Plaatss power over Iowa Republicans may be a bit exaggerated, but at a minimum hes good at spotting parades to place himself ahead of, having endorsed caucus winners Mike Huckabee in 2008, Rick Santorum in 2012, and Ted Cruz in 2016. To be clear, he hasnt endorsed DeSantis and will undoubtedly play patty-cake with culture-war ultras Mike Pence, Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, and the endlessly slippery Nikki Haley. But theres no question that DeSantis has the money, the organization, and now the right-wing street cred to outflank all these people in Iowa and put at least a scare into Trump.

From a geographical point of view, DeSantis is spending nearly as much time in New Hampshire (which will hold its primary eight days after Iowas caucuses, likely in mid-January) as in Iowa. His team is almost certainly aware that the last three Iowa GOP winners lost in the Granite State; his grand strategy is to upset Trump in both of those early states (no Republican candidate who has won Iowa and New Hampshire has gone on to lose the nomination). If DeSantis can stay in the race that long, the primary in his home state of Florida on March 19, 2024, could be the deal-sealer (or deal-breaker: Even though he still lived in New York at this point, Trump beat Marco Rubio easily in the Sunshine State in 2016; he had already run Jeb Bush out of the contest).

There are some problems with DeSantiss hard-right strategy for winning the nomination. He could begin losing the more moderate voters who might otherwise be attracted to him as an alternative to Trump. And just as important, the sort of savage culture-war crusade the Florida governor seems to be planning could affect his general-election standing. Up until now, electability has been a big part of his rationale for running for president. At the moment, general-election trial heats versus Biden show DeSantis running a bit behind Trump as a potential head of the ticket. Running in the 2024 primaries as the champion of hard-core anti-abortion activists, Second Amendment absolutists, anti-vaxx conspiracy theorists, and persecutors of LGBTQ+ folk isnt going to help with swing voters. But I guess he and his team figure that so long as Trump is kicking his ass in the primary polls, none of that matters; DeSantis can think about pivoting to the center if hes the nominee.
Last week, when President Biden declared the most dangerous terrorist threat to our homeland is white supremacy, conservatives grumbled. Wilfred Reilly, writing in National Review, complained that Biden exaggerated the scope of the white-supremacist threat, since it only results in a small number of murders: Stop race-baiting and fearmongering, and lets widen our focus broadly  across avenging not merely the 20 or so annual victims of white-supremacist hate, but also the other 20,000 people murdered here every year.

It is true that Americans of any race have a statistically tiny chance of being murdered by a white supremacist. But the main threat of white supremacy is not random terrorist violence. It is that the movement is gaining actual political and state power.

A generation ago, this would have seemed far-fetched. In 1996, Bob Doles presidential nomination acceptance speech declared: If theres anyone who has mistakenly attached themselves to our party in the belief that we are not open to citizens of every race and religion, then let me remind you, tonight this hall belongs to the Party of Lincoln. And the exits which are clearly marked are for you to walk out. In 2005, Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman acknowledged and formally apologized to the NAACP for the partys Nixon-era Southern strategy, which deliberately courted racists.

There was enough ideological distance between the GOP and white supremacists that Jonah Goldberg could write a book, Liberal Fascism, positing that Nazi ideology was not on the political right at all. The thesis was never correct, but it retained a surface-level plausibility for a time. (After January 6, 2021, Goldberg conceded that fascism indeed has a home on the American right.)

One of Donald Trumps enduring contributions to American politics has been to give white supremacists a stake in Republican politics. They do not control the party, but they now have a role in it.

The evidence of the white-nationalist rights growing influence comes in slow drips, with every new revelation merely blending in to the landscape. Just in the week since Bidens speech, several stories have underscored how terrifyingly normal this phenomenon has become.

Talking Points Memo discovered that Wade Searle, the digital director for Representative Paul Gosar, a Republican from Arizona, is a follower of Nick Fuentes, the leader of a Nazi-like organization. Far from expressing any remorse at the news, Gosar has remained defiant.

Also this week, the FBI announced it had revoked the security clearance of three agents who had expressed sympathy for the January 6 insurrection. One of the agents refused to participate in an arrest of Tyler Bensch, who the bureau alleged belonged to a right-wing militia group connected to the Three Percenter movement.

On Friday came the most terrifying news of all. The supervisor of the intelligence branch of the police force in Washington, D.C., Shane Lamond, was indicted for allegedly tipping off former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio about his pending arrest in conjunction with January 6. The indictment alleges that Lamond and Tarrio communicated at least 500 times on an encrypted app.

All these stories are horrifying, but none of them are surprising. Organizations and ideas that were once too far from the political system to have any hope of influence, or didnt even exist at all, have gained a foothold in the system. They have allies in the security system and a voice in the conservative movements political network.

So no, maybe white supremacists dont kill as many people as regular street crime. It is nonetheless true that the threat it poses to Americans is profound and growing. And the conservatives who refuse to acknowledge it, and who complain about Biden invoking the danger while doing nothing to marginalize the extremists in their midst, are complicit.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Award-winning playwright Alicia Kester will showcase a staged reading of her new play at Auburn University on June 8.

The staged reading of Water Spirits, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 6 p.m. at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. It explores the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the experience of people coming home to the devastation of the Lower Ninth Ward and the things that were lost when people were forcibly displace, according to a press release from the Auburn Area Community Theatre.

Andrea Holliday, AACT artistic director, said shes excited to be able to present this play to the community and hopes to fill up the museum auditorium on June 8. She said it will be a great, thought-provoking experience.

It is a new work that no one has ever seen before by an up-and-coming filmmaker, playwright, poet and activist. Alicia Kester is an amazing person, Holliday said. This play has already won a couple of awards, even though its never been staged before.

The museum and AACT are working together to provide this free opportunity for residents to listen to the play. It follows the character Denise as she returns to an ancestral home and tries to make it habitable again while dealing with loss and real-estate companies that push her to sell the house.

Kester is a playwright, poet, fiction writer, and filmmaker. She draws on both her Yoruba (Nigerian) and Louisiana Creole heritages as well as her queer, disabled, and first-generation identities to address themes of migration, familial constructs, tribalism, environmentalism, the physical and/or racialized body and current events, according to the AACT.

She often explores speculative genres  infusing magical realism, absurdism, or futurism within mundane or hyperrealist contexts in her writing.

Water Spirits was a semi-finalist for the Eugene ONeill Playwright Conference and the Garry Marshall Theater New Works Festival.

Holliday said the play dives into what people went through after Hurricane Katrina and their feeling of being left behind.

Because the play is a candidate for more awards, Holliday said they couldnt put on a full production. It would disqualify it from the competition. The actors will be seated reading the script and the stage descriptions.

The staged reading will be directed by Abdul-Khaliq Murtadha, the assistant professor of theater and dance at Auburn University.

Because the Jan Dempsy Community Arts Center is under renovation and will be for the next several months, the AACT doesnt have a place to hold performances. So Holliday reached out to the museum to partner together by putting on the performance in the museum auditorium.

Holliday said it was a challenge to find something that would fit the museums exhibits. She read up on everything she could find about the exhibits currently on display. She was drawn to Kevin Briscos theme of roots and home as well as the story of Africans that were forcibly brought to America.

Briscos exhibit of 11 paintings, which are part of his Blue Sky Series, will be on display at the museum until Aug. 7. The museum website said Brisco examines the dubious nature of belonging and home for African Americans, in this series.

Holliday then asked for play submissions that focused the following keywords: homes, roots, migration, belonging and family.

She received about 300 play submissions, and shes still getting them. Shes read almost all of them, but Water Spirits was the closest to the what she thinks is at the heart of the Kevin Brisco exhibit.

A lot of New Orleans had to flee their homes, she said. Just get up and make hard choices about what could they take with them and what they had to leave. Sometimes they had to make heartbreaking decisions as they fled.

Holliday thinks that Kesters play makes a parallel between the circumstances of Hurricane Katrina and historical circumstances were people were forced to relocate. She also thinks the play will match the exhibit quite well.

The day before the stage reading, there will be a Meet the Playwright Reception at the Opelika Bottling Plant Center located at 614 North Railroad Ave. in Opelika on June 7 at 6 p.m., which is also free to attend.

The reception will provide an opportunity to meet Kester, ask questions and discuss the writing process.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A preliminary court date has been set for the 23-year-old man charged in the deadly May 5 Opelika shooting on Powledge Avenue.

Jerryonne JaQuion Patterson will appear at the Lee County Justice Center on June 21 to face one count of murder in the shooting of 22-year-old Jatavious Thomas. He remains in the Lee County Jail without bond.

On May 5, Opelika police officers were called to the 900 Block of Powledge Avenue around 5:57 p.m. to investigate a reported shooting. Witnesses said they heard several gunshots in the area, according to the police report.

While officers were responding to the scene, an on-duty officer working at East Alabama Medical Center notified dispatch that a 22-year-old male had just arrived at the Emergency Room with a gunshot wound, the police report states.

The victim was identified as Jatavious Thomas. He was in critical condition at the hospital for three days before he died on May 8.

Thomas body was transported to the Alabama Medical Examiners in Montgomery for a post-mortem exam, Lee County Coroner Daniel Sexton said.

Patterson was arrested two days after the shooting on May 10.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Opelika Police Departments Detective Division at 334-705-5220 or the Secret Witness Hotline at 334-745-8665. Anonymous tips can be submitted through the Opelika Police Mobile App.
China-Central Asia partnership to bear more fruits

China Daily) 09:53, May 19, 2023

SHI YU/CHINA DAILY

Editor's note: The China-Central Asia Summit, to be held on Thursday and Friday, is expected to not only strengthen relations but also boost cooperation and trade between China and the Central Asian states. Six commentators share their views with China Daily on China-Central Asia cooperation.

Cooperation important part of neighborhood diplomacy

In the 31 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) China has adhered to the basic diplomatic principle of good neighborliness and partnership, and considered Central Asia an important part of its neighborhood diplomacy.

These principles have helped strengthen bilateral relations between China and the five Central Asian countries. The relationships have also been strengthened because China and Central Asian countries support each other, and respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and choice of development path.

"Peace, harmony, cooperation, non-confrontation, and not seeking to establish a sphere of influence" are the basic characteristics of China's diplomacy with Central Asian countries. China and the five Central Asian countries have elevated their relationships from good-neighborly friendship to strategic partnerships, and have become veritable good neighbors, good friends, good partners, and a model for building a new type of international relations in the new era.

In fact, Central Asia became "the first strategic partner cluster around China", making remarkable achievements in various fields. And economic cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries has become the ballast strengthening bilateral relations. The two sides have also elevated their economic cooperation from mainly bilateral to a combination of bilateral and multilateral relations, with trade in goods and services becoming increasingly diversified, and the cooperation model changing from functional cooperation to institutionalized cooperation. The result is the establishment of a mutually beneficial economic relationship based on mutual respect, mutual benefit and good neighborliness.

We firmly believe the China-Central Asia Summit, to be held on Thursday and Friday, will usher in another golden period for China and Central Asia in the next three decades.

Lu Shanbing, dean of the Central Asia Institute of Northwestern University, Xi'an, Shaanxi province

Kazakhstan welcomes new format of cooperation

Relations between the five Central Asian states and China have reached an important milestone. Just over 30 years ago, the Central Asian countries gained independence and began building a new type of cooperation with their eastern neighbor. Relations between the five Central Asian states and China have reached an important milestone. Just over 30 years ago, the Central Asian countries gained independence and began building a new type of cooperation with their eastern neighbor. In this relatively short period of time, Kazakhstan's relationship with China has reached the high level of permanent comprehensive strategic partnership, characterized by multidimensional interaction in all spheres of activity.

At the turn of the millennium, we began interacting in a multilateral format under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which was formed following the resolution of all border issues among the six countries and the establishment of an atmosphere of trust and good neighborliness.

Exactly 10 years ago, China proposed jointly developing an economic belt along the Silk Road, thereby revitalizing the ancient artery that for centuries had facilitated exchanges between the peoples and civilizations along the route. The Silk Road Economic Belt, which President Xi Jinping proposed in a speech at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan, has evolved into the grandiose Belt and Road Initiative, which today involves more than 150 countries.

The past decade has seen Central Asian countries playing a key role in the development of the initiative. No wonder some of the largest Belt and Road projects have been implemented in Central Asia. New plants, factories, infrastructure facilities and new railway lines have been opened up, and plants generating clean energy have become operational.

Thanks to the joint efforts of all sides, we have managed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, as proved by lifting of the last quarantine and other restrictions this year. This year has also seen China announcing that it would vigorously promote the Belt and Road Initiative, promote multilateral cooperation, and help strengthen economic globalization. This year will also see China hosting the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, where Beijing is likely to announce new plans for advancing the initiative.

There is no doubt that in the next 10 years, the Belt and Road Initiative will reach new heights of development, with Central Asia continuing to play a key role in it. Scientific progress and advanced technologies have helped China and other countries to build the grand Western Europe-Western China Highway and open cross-border railway routes between China and Central Asia countries, which have made transportation more convenient. This in turn has allowed Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries to once again act as a multifunctional bridge between Europe and Asia.

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are connected with China through a single gas artery, and a new pipeline being built will connect Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan with China. Additionally, the promising China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project is entering a critical stage. This means all the five Central Asian countries have a solid foundation for strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation with China.

In this regard, we have high expectations from the Central Asia-China Summit, which will be held on Thursday and Friday. And there is every reason to believe the summit will open a new page in China-Central Asia relations based on pragmatic economic interests, and mutual understanding and trust. This is important because Central Asia-China cooperation could become a model of mutually beneficial relations amid rising xenophobia, trade protectionism and regional conflicts.

Ruslan Izimov, a researcher of the Center for the Study of Central Asia and China, Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan active participant in BRI

China has become one of the main trade and economic partners of Central Asian countries over the past three decades, especially due to the integration of Silk Road Economic Belt projects with the development programs of the five countries in the region in the past decade.

An important reason for this is the Chinese leadership's commitment to deliver on its promises in order to promote the country's peaceful development, which has had a significant impact on building good neighborly relations with Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries. It has also had a positive impact on the conceptual approach to the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, because jointly promoting peace is an important component of the comprehensive partnership under the SCO framework.

In 2022, marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the five Central Asian countries, President Xi Jinping emphasized that the key to successful cooperation between China and the five states lies in mutual respect, good-neighborliness, solidarity in trying times and mutual benefit.

In particular, China's experience of containing COVID-19 and providing medical assistance to the Central Asian countries helped the latter to implement better prevention and control measures. As for Kyrgyzstan, it received the first batch of testing kits and face masks in March 2020 at a time when they were in short supply throughout the world. After that, China dispatched doctors and other medical workers to Kyrgyzstan who shared their experience with Kyrgyz doctors, helping them to better combat the disease.

China has provided Kyrgyzstan with substantial support over the years for the implementation of major infrastructure projects in the fields of roads, water supply facilities, and housing for public sector workers.

One of the important areas of regional cooperation is the Silk Road Economic Belt, which, in the current global economic situation, can help stabilize the world economy and enhance the investment potential of Central Asia. As one of the most strategic projects of the Silk Road Economic Belt, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, when completed, will improve transportation and boost logistics cooperation among the countries. According to experts, the direct benefits from the railway include improved access to global markets for the Central Asian countries, better trade and economic infrastructure, and increased urbanization.

The railway project includes building bridges, tunnels, stations and logistics centers. Constructing housing, roads, warehouses and gas stations is also part of Belt and Road projects, which will improve urban agglomeration, create clusters of processing enterprises, and increase economic diversification. This in turn will lead to the emergence of hundreds and thousands of trade and service enterprises, creating new jobs and reducing the migration of workers. All this, according to some economists, will lead to an increase in Kyrgyz people's real incomes.

Yet to truly strengthen their economic cooperation, China and the Central Asian countries need to increase investment, and invite experts, the media and the public to objectively assess the results and prospects of interstate cooperation, so as to promote dialogue among the people and experts from all the countries.

Igor Shestakov, a political scientist at Ordo Center, Kyrgyzstan

Belt and Road projects benefit Tajikistan

Chinese President Xi Jinping's proposal of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in 2013 subsequently resulted in a common development policy called the Belt and Road Initiative, which is aimed at improving existing and creating new trade routes, and transport and economic corridors connecting more than 60 countries of Asia, Europe and Africa.

Tajikistan supports the Belt and Road Initiative because, among other things, it will also strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with China in the fields of trade, investment, transport and communication, and help establish a new, efficient and economically viable interregional transportation system.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a mega project of great historical significance in terms of its prospects for trade and economic cooperation for the benefit of all participating countries and helping improve the well-being of the people.

For Central Asian countries, the implementation of Belt and Road projects will create a good opportunity to deepen regional cooperation, expand the scale of transportation and communication corridors, and promote cultural exchanges. China may have proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, but all the countries involved will benefit from the Belt and Road projects.

The prospects of the revival of the ancient Silk Road were being discussed in the media for a long time, but after Beijing hosted the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2017 and in 2019, the whole world turned its eyes to China.

And as expected, the ancient Silk Road has been revived with renewed vigor in the 21st century.

Karieva Farangis Abdurahimovna, a researcher at the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan

Uzbekistan's cooperation prospects in BRI are high

Uzbekistan is an active participant in numerous projects under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, which helps improve infrastructure connectivity and create economic corridors connecting more countries in Asia, Europe and Africa. The projects will also contribute to the development of Uzbekistan's trade relations with other countries, especially China, which is a major trading partner of more than 140 countries.

The new model of cooperation envisages measures such as political coordination, infrastructure connectivity, trade liberalization, free movement of capital, and strengthening mutual understanding among peoples on the basis of mutual benefit and taking into account the interests of every country.

The unique nature of the Belt and Road Initiative lies in the fact that its projects are open to all countries, and regional and global organizations. It is also the foundation of economic cooperation and the reason for China's leading position in the projects.

Of particular interest to Uzbekistan is the Silk Road Economic Belt, which along with the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road makes up the Belt and Road Initiative, and starting from China, passes through Central Asia and West Asia to Europe (the Baltic Sea) and the Mediterranean.

As for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, it starts from China and passes through Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Indian Ocean to the Pacific on the one hand and the Persian Gulf and Africa on the other. Given its expanding range and geography, and since it facilitates the exports of goods, Uzbekistan also has great interest in the 21st Maritime Silk Road.

In the short term, Uzbekistan is interested in accelerating the implementation of the China-Central Asia-West Asia corridor. Belt and Road agreements outline projects in the fields of infrastructure construction, investment in industrial facilities, development of natural resources, trade, financial cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, environmental protection, and maritime cooperation. All of this will attract billions of dollars in investment, help create modern infrastructure, stimulate the training of personnel, and create new jobs, which will serve the interests of Uzbekistan.

As an important factor in expanding cooperation in the region under the Belt and Road framework, Uzbekistan's interactions with other economies on multilateral cooperation mechanisms through the SCO, the Asia Cooperation Dialogue, the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation Program and other similar organizations are crucial.

To finance projects, two new financial institutions were established at the initiative of China: the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund, which have provided loans for many countries and therefore helped them boost their economic development. For example, Uzbekistan has signed an agreement with the Silk Road Fund to get a loan of $585 million to invest in and develop its oil and gas sector.

The portfolio of the AIIB in Uzbekistan consists of investment projects in the fields of rural infrastructure development, water supply and sanitation, healthcare, road building and reconstruction, and energy development.

We are confident about the successful implementation of all Belt and Road projects, as they are based on equality, and mutual respect and trust.

Shukhrat Isakulov, an advisor to BRI Center in the Uzbek Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Heritage

There is a need to boost Sino-Turkmen friendship

China's unique tradition and its socioeconomic development over the past four decades are nothing less than remarkable. I've wanted to study in China since I learned in high school that China was the historical starting point of the ancient Silk Road in the East.

Turkmen President Serdar Berdymukhamedov has created an opportunity for us to know more about China by introducing Chinese language courses in Turkmenistan's universities. In addition, a lot of young people from our country are pursuing higher studies in China.

Having been studying in China since 2018, I find the Chinese people very kind and helpful. And I will try to introduce new elements of China's history, culture, tradition and governance system to the Chinese courses in Turkmenistan when I return home. That would be my contribution to the strengthening of China-Turkmenistan friendship and the advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Muhammedova Ogulbagt, a student at Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi province

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 19)  Suspended Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves claimed Friday the existence of an order directing immigration officers to instantaneously intercept him once he lands in the Philippines.

May order ngayon na kapag ako ay dumating, ako ay i-intercept. Ang mas nakakapagtaka, lumabas ang order na ito bago pa sila nag-file ng mga kaso laban sa akin, he said in a video posted on his Facebook page.

[Translation: There is an order that when I arrive, I will be intercepted. What's more surprising is that this order was issued before they even filed charges against me.]

The alleged order flashed on the uploaded video stated that all personnel must be on high alert and vigilant to monitor Teves arrival. The order, supposedly from Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco, also read that concerned officers must coordinate with law enforcement authorities.

Teves, who has been tagged as the mastermind in the killing of the provinces governor Roel Degamo and in alleged 2019 murders, said this was why some government officials have been urging him to return home despite threats to his life.

The embattled lawmaker even said that the order was a clear indication of political persecution and an attempt to violate his human rights.

He stressed that while he has pending cases, he remains innocent until proven guilty.

Hindi ako dapat i-intercept, hindi dapat ako hulihin, at hindi ako dapat ikulong, he said.

[Translation: I should not be intercepted, arrested, or imprisoned.]

Protocols

The BI, on the other hand, clarified that "such instruction is merely a part of the BIs protocols in monitoring individuals who are subject of high profile cases. Coordination with local law enforcement agencies is crucial in the proper implementation of BI procedures."

It added that arresting Filipino nationals is not part of the agency's scope.

The BI also said it has received a request from the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group to expedite arrival formalities for Teves, as they will be providing assistance to ensure his safety and security.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, meanwhile, distanced himself from the alleged order to intercept Teves.

"Intercept? You have to ask them [BI] because I didn't write it and I wasn't part of that. I don't think that there's anything that can be gleaned from that, they're making a big deal out of nothing because the BI is a sovereign body that guards the borders," he said.

The secretary also denied that Teves' rights have been violated.

"We've been observing due process in every way possible for every person accused of a crime," Remulla told the media on Friday.

"Ang dami niyang binabato, hindi naman kami pumatay ng sampung tao [He's making so many accusations but we're not the ones who killed 10 people]. Just go home and face the charges. Why should he charge us with something? he added.

On Wednesday, Teves dismissed Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remullas claim that he would return to the country within the day as fake news.

The National Bureau of Investigation filed murder complaints against Teves over the assassination of Degamo on the same day.

READ: NBI files murder complaints vs. Rep. Teves over Degamo killing

During an interview with CNN Philippines The Source, Justice Spokesperson Mico Clavano said the Anti-Terrorist Council technical working group is set to meet anew to discuss the plan to designate Teves as a terrorist.

Clavano said they expect to see more evidence emerge against the lawmaker, aside from those related to Degamos murder.

They had other sources that told them about other incidents which were not even filed with the court or with the prosecutor. But of course the NBI had to focus on the Degamo case first. But now, theyve started to dig into those other incidents, he said.

The official said Remulla is confident that the designation may happen in about a month or so.
Omg I completely forgot about Joanne the Scammer.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

We predicted this, white men fail up!

Reply

Thread

Link

Wow...another white asshole fails upward. Color me shocked.

Reply

Thread

Link

Stop. Giving. Bad. White. People. Money. Like you could just STOP. There is no pressure to fund this. Honestly I doubt everyone is getting paid back or that there's a lot of real money committed already but still.

Reply

Thread

Link

I mean, if he actually raises funds for it, and it never materializes... That's on the investors.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link





that boy aint right

Reply

Thread

Link

like first of all... why is he recording himself and never takes his eyes off the camera. girl could have been regina'd in one sec.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

If only.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link











Ja Rule??



Was one of those artists....Ja Rule??

Reply

Thread

Link

He should get his blue checkmark back for this tweet alone

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I need to pay someone to needlepoint this image for me. I'll frame it



(srsly)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I mean he said he secured performers/celebs for original Fyre Fest and lied so why would anyone believe him now lol

Reply

Thread

Link

Must be nice to be Caucasian.

Reply

Thread

Link

Nnnn, you know when Elizabeth Holmes gets out of prison she's gonna Cassie Claire her way to "I'm Annie Evans, you can call me Kiki. We'll blacklist you if you mention Elizabeth or Theranos in an article."

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

not Cassie Claire. THAT takes me back.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I thought he was in prison.

Reply

Thread

Link

The bitch got out last year, served less than 4yrs of his 6yr sentence and shared his plans of more scams the whole time.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

yeah, we definitely need to raise taxes

Reply

Thread

Link

Eisenhower 90% rates, plz.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

"We have to do it right guys! We have to make happen what was always a dream!"



Excuse me, sir...who is "WE"?



Surely not ME .

Reply

Thread

Link

I hope everyone who wants to work with this clown loses their money.

Reply

Thread

Link

I wouldnt believe anything a literal convicted scammer says, but IF he does have funding fuck every single person who pays for his shenanigans. The backers and the rich kids whod attend this shit just so they can say they did. What absolute lowlifes.

Reply

Thread

Link





i wish people would get scammed again

Reply

Thread

Link

I totally bet dumb ppl who have an internet platform would go to this hoping to get scammed for content.

Reply

Thread

Link

Oh they will! Like those people who went to the Ace Family Fair, or whatever that event was

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link
2 Employers Cited After Workers Found with Elevated Levels of Arsenic, OSHA Says

One employer faces about $124,780 in proposed penalties while the other faces $53,574.

Two employers are facing citations and proposed penalties after workers were found to have elevated levels of arsenic.

According to a news release, OSHA received a referral from the Georgia Poison Center after screening tests revealed the workers elevated levels. The agency inspected Arch Wood Protection Inc and the maintenance contractor at the site, Mullins Mechanical & Welding LLC of Carrollton, both of which were working at a site in Conley, Georgia, about 10 miles south of Atlanta.

It was found that a worker's exposure to arsenic was approximately 20 times above the permissible exposure limit while drum dumping, according to the citation. A worker'sthe citation does not specify if it was the same worker or a different oneexposure was also about 3.8 times higher than the limit when performing the same activity. The employer also did not give respirators to workers going into the area where the drum dumping was occurring, the citations allege.

Per OSHA, Arch Wood Protection was cited for:

Allowing hazardous inorganic dust to accumulate on desks, food packaging, lockers, refrigerators and the inner surfaces of workers respirators.

Not requiring employees using respirators to remove facial hair that might prevent a proper fit and seal.

Allowing workers to enter regulated areas without a respirator.

Not requiring contractors to change clothing and decontaminate properly at the end of their shifts.

Allowing pallets of materials to block emergency eyewash and shower stations.

Not providing adequate eye protection for workers handling inorganic arsenic acid samples.

In total, OSHA cited Arch Wood Protection for nine violations. The employerwhich also faces $124,780 in proposed penaltiescontested the findings.

Mullins Mechanical & Welding was cited for not using adequate work practice controls and not making sure certain workers showered when they finished working, among other violations, and faces proposed penalties of $53,574, per the citation.
Colombias beleaguered oil industry is facing a series of volatile headwinds as it struggles to return to a pre-pandemic tempo of operations. Petroleum output despite rising during March 2023 to 771,332 barrels per day remains well below 2019 pre-pandemic production of nearly 900,000 barrels daily. Meagre proven oil reserves of just over 2 billion barrels with a production life of eight years are also weighing on the crucially important hydrocarbon sector. The Andean countrys first leftist President Gustavo Petro, a former socialist guerilla, plans to end contracting for hydrocarbon exploration and officially ban hydraulic fracturing known as fracking. There are signs that the legislative prohibition of fracking is close to being enacted, which could spell disaster for Colombias economically crucial oil industry.

Various Colombian governments have long viewed fracking as a viable solution to the countrys shortage of proven oil and natural gas reserves, which at the end of 2021 stood at 2.4 billion barrels and 3.164 trillion cubic feet respectively. Those reserves possess a relatively short production life of 7.6 years and eight years, even with production volumes at far lower levels than before the pandemic. It is for those reasons that fracking has long been considered a solution for an industry that is a key driver of the economy and government finances. That is highlighted by data from Colombian government statistical agency DANE showing that during 2022 oil generated $19 billion of export earnings which is 33% of exports by value.

Oil is responsible for nearly a fifth of fiscal revenue, making it an important source of income for a country with a narrow tax base where the government is battling ballooning budget deficits. Indeed, Colombias government has long fought to broaden the tax base and bolster fiscal income, with Petros predecessor Ivan Duque seeking to hike taxes as part of a broad 2021 reform package that triggered violent nationwide protests. Despite recent reforms, including Duques revised 2021 tax increases and Petros $4 billion tax package approved in November 2022, Colombia still has one of the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in Latin America. OECD data shows that by the end of the 2022 it was a mere 18.7%, which is nearly half of the OECD average of 33.5%, placing Colombia 12th lowest in Latin America behind Ecuador and ahead of Mexico. A long-term chronic shortage of tax revenue is weighing heavily in Colombias government, especially since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic when the budget deficit blew out to 7% of GDP, remaining elevated ever since despite falling to 5.3% for 2022. For these reasons prior administrations have sought to introduce fracking to Colombia, which is estimated by the U.S. EIA to contain around 92 billion barrels of shale oil and 153 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in place. That underscores the tremendous unconventional oil and natural gas potential of the Middle Magdalena Valley and Llanos Basins which could resolve the risks created a by lack of hydrocarbon reserves. Related: Saudi Arabia, Russia May Cut Production, But Dont Expect Exports To Plunge

It is for those reasons that various energy companies, the industry regulator the National Hydrocarbon Agency and national government were exploring shale hydrocarbon potential over a decade ago. A decade ago, Bogota introduced regulations aimed at attracting unconventional hydrocarbon investment, the most notable being a 40% tax reduction for shale oil and gas. Between 2012 and 2015, the first shale blocks were allocated by the ANH to various energy companies including Ecopetrol, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Canacol Energy and Parex Energy. Since then, shale hydrocarbon exploration in the Andean country has been fraught with difficulties and failed to take off. A key problem being considerable community dissent and protests regarding the controversial hydrocarbon lifting technique. That eventually saw Colombias highest administrative tribunal the State Council place a moratorium on fracking during 2018 which prevented the technique from being employed in Colombia.

While the moratorium was upheld in 2019 the tribunal did, that year, exempt projects aimed at testing the controversial technique from the ruling, allowing Ecopetrol and ExxonMobil to proceed with the Kale and Platero fracking pilots. During July 2022, the State Council rejected a lawsuit (Spanish) seeking to abolish the regulations that made fracking viable in Colombia, essentially overturning the 2018 moratorium and consenting to the controversial hydrocarbon extraction technique being used in Colombia. By August 2022, newly inaugurated President Petro had introduced a bill to Congress to officially ban fracking in Colombia. Petro is seeking to prohibit fracking, which is outlawed in Germany, France, Spain and Australia, because of its association with groundwater contamination along with the tremendous amounts of toxic wastewater produced. Fracking is also believed to cause frequent minor earth tremors sparking concerns about its use in Colombias unstable geology.

The anti-fracking bill, after being debated and approved by the Senate (Spanish), has moved to the lower house of Congress for review, inching Colombia ever closer to prohibiting fracking. While that is pleasing many community and environmental groups opposed to the hydrocarbon extraction method it has sparked considerable fallout for Colombias economically crucial oil industry which has yet to recover from the 2020 pandemic.

Many of the energy companies holding fracking licenses are seeking to shelve them while global supermajor Exxon is exiting upstream operations in Colombia. Already the integrated energy company has announced its withdrawal from the VMM-37 Block in the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin where it was participating in the Platero fracking pilot which required an investment of $53 million. Exxon is also in the process of ditching several other blocks it holds interests in and is attempting to recover the investment already made in the Platero pilot from the Petro administration.

Exxons decision is understandable given the considerable success it is enjoying in Guyana, a lower risk South American jurisdiction, where it secured extremely favorable terms for the prolific offshore Stabroek Block. In that block alone the supermajor has discovered over 11 billion barrels of oil. Given the considerable risk now associated with operating in Colombia, other energy companies could very well follow suit creating a legal and financial headache for Petros government. Falling energy investment also threatens Colombias oil dependent economy, the value of the peso and government coffers with Bogota reliant upon income from oil rents, especially after Petros tax reforms boosted revenues from the petroleum industry.

By Matthew Smith for Oilprice.com

ADVERTISEMENT

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Crude oil prices look set to record their first weekly gain since mid-April as sentiment about future demand improves amid signs there may be progress on the debt ceiling negotiations in Congress.

On Thursday, President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said they would negotiate directly on lifting the debt ceiling, sparking hopes that a default would be avoided.

"We're going to come together because there's no alternative," President Biden said, as quoted by Reuters. "To be clear, this negotiation is about the outlines of the budget, not about the whether or not we're going to (pay our debts). The leaders (of Congress) have all agreed: We will not default. Every leader has said that."

As a result, oil prices inched up, with West Texas Intermediate gaining some 3% since the start of the week, according to Bloomberg.

At the time of writing, WTI was trading at a little over $72 per barrel, while Brent crude was changing hands at around $76.50 per barrel. Both remain down 10% since the start of the year, however.

In addition to debt ceiling optimism, prices got some support from the fact that driving season is around the corner with demand expected to pick up in accordance with usual seasonal variation. Some additional support was also provided by the Department of Energy when it announced it planned to buy 3 million barrels of oil for the strategic petroleum reserve, an IG analyst told Bloomberg.

On the flip side, U.S. leading economic indicators suggested the economy is gathering pace, which in turn reignited fears of more rate hikes as it pushed the greenback to the highest in two months.

"Good news for the economy is now bad news for the crude demand outlook as economic resilience will force the Fed to kill the economy," OANDA analyst Edward Moya told Reuters.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

ADVERTISEMENT

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
As the number of old oil tankers shipping Russian oil has soared, Chinese authorities in the Shandong province have increased the safety checks on old vessels arriving at the major oil import port of Qingdao, holding ships more than 20 years old at the port for weeks.

At least two old oil tankers, including one from Russia, spent nearly a month at the port of Qingdao, waiting to be inspected more thoroughly, Bloomberg reported on Friday, quoting sources familiar with the checks and a database of inspections in the Asia Pacific.

Last year, an unusually large number of tankers changed ownership in what analysts and shipping industry officials believe was a push from Russia to continue shipping large volumes of its crude and entities willing to profit from Russian oil trade in a sanctions regime. The dark or shadow fleet of oil tankers is growing to now include tankers not only shipping sanctioned Iranian and Venezuelan oil, but also increasingly larger volumes of Russian oil and products.

Ahead of the December 5 EU embargo on imports of Russian crude oil, which was announced months before the implementation, hundreds of vesselsmostly older ones nearing the end of service life and bound for scraphad changed ownership to companies not associated with the EU or G7, such as firms based in Dubai.

Chinas increased scrutiny of old vessels coincides with the surge of opaque trades and shipping practices after the price cap on Russian oil came into effect.

The number of tankers operating in opaque markets reached a record high in the first quarter of 2023, supported by Russian and Iranian trade, Vortexa said in a report last month.

Vortexa observed 125 tankers that switched from Iran and Venezuela to Russian trade and carried 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude in March 2023, a record high.

Shipping oil with old tankers without EU/G7 companies insurance is a disaster waiting to happen, shipping analysts and brokers say.

ADVERTISEMENT

Just this week, the United States and several other Western countries plus Ukraine called for increased surveillance for cracking down illicit ship-to-ship transfers of oil, which have soared since the embargoes on Russian crude and product exports came into effect.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Hiroshima, Japan (CNN)  US President Joe Biden and fellow world leaders were unveiling tough new sanctions on Russia as they prepare to hear in-person later this weekend from Volodomyr Zelensky, who officials said was planning a dramatic trip to Japan as he continues to appeal for military assistance amid Russias invasion.

The new sanctions are designed to plug loopholes and go after untapped industries as western leaders continue to work toward choking off Moscows war financing.

A dedicated G7 session on Ukraine was set for Friday afternoon. The war was expected to be a central topic of discussion among leaders here as Ukrainian forces prepare for a counteroffensive.

The high point will come when Zelensky addresses the group in person. Officials declined to say exactly when Zelensky would arrive or detail his travel arrangements. He has been traveling outside his country more as the war grinds onward, including a tour of Europe last week.

The lengthy trip from Ukraine to Hiroshima, where leaders from the worlds most powerful democracies are gathering, underscores Zelenskys desire to strengthen support fourteen months into the war.

The menacing nuclear undertones to Russias invasion were placed into sharp relief as the summit got underway. Leaders laid wreaths at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the epicenter of the American atomic bomb dropped here in 1945 that wiped out the city and more than 100,000 of its inhabitants while hastening the end of World War II.

In the background was the Atomic Bomb Dome, now a monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The dome was formerly the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, and the atomic blast struck almost directly above it, leaving the frame of its iron dome largely intact.

It was against that backdrop that Biden and his fellow leaders entered three days of talks.

The US said Friday it would tighten export controls, including by extensively restricting categories of goods key to the battlefield, and will announce nearly 300 new sanctions against individuals, entities, vessels, and aircraft.

Additionally, the US will place new designations across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and expand its sanctions authorities to further target Russias economy.

The United Kingdom said it will ban the import of Russian diamonds, as part of its latest sanctions against Moscow, Downing Street announced on Friday. The move aims to restrict one of Russias few remaining export industries that had been relatively untouched by the withering western sanctions already in place.

Imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminum, and nickel will also be banned under the UK legislation, which will be introduced later this year, the prime ministers office said in a statement.

The Russian diamond industry was worth $4 billion in exports in 2021, according to Downing Street.

Biden faces his fellow world leaders Friday in Japan under the shadow of a looming default on US debt, a scenario his advisers said risks subverting American leadership and sending the global economy into tailspin.

The risk appears particularly acute as Biden works to rally fellow G7 officials behind a shared approach toward Russia and China. On the first day of the summit talks, the group is expected to unveil a new tightening of sanctions on Moscow  a response to the invasion of Ukraine that relies on the strength of the American financial system.

Before arriving, Biden was briefed on the debt ceiling standoff by aides.

The Presidents team informed him that steady progress is being made, a White House official said.

The call lasted 20-30 minutes, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told pool reporters traveling with the President. A separate source with knowledge of the talks said  despite the optimism and positive signals  there is a long way to go to get a deal and its unclear if negotiators reach one by this weekend or if it will slip into next week.

How much the debt standoff arises in Bidens talks in Hiroshima remains to be seen; some European officials said they had been down similar roads before as American leaders worked to avert financial disaster only to find a solution at the last moment.

But even if it does not arise substantially in the many hours of leaders meetings spanning the next three days, the risk of default remains the backdrop against which Biden will attempt to project strength this week in Japan.

Debt ceiling brinkmanship that Republicans are driving in Washington, DC, undermines American leadership, undermines the trustworthiness that America can bring to not just our allies and partners but to the rest of the world, a senior administration official said as Biden began the high-stakes G7 summit.

Biden cut his trip to Asia short to return to Washington early as negotiations continue over raising the US borrowing limit ahead of June 1, the earliest date by which the country could run out of cash to pay its bills.

An extensive agenda of issues, including Ukraine, China and artificial intelligence, are all up for discussion. But it was clear from Bidens decision to cancel planned stops in Australia and Papua New Guinea  Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make a two-day visit to the latter instead  that other matters are weighing on the US presidents time.

To that end, Biden brought with him to Japan a top domestic policy aide, Bruce Reed, to keep him continually updated on the status of talks between White House aides and congressional Republicans.

Just the threat of default has the potential to weaken American diplomatic authority, the official said, citing a sanctions regime on Russia that relies on the strength of the US financial system.

All of those things reduce Americas capacity to lead, the official said.

Bidens meetings with fellow leaders in Hiroshima will present an opportunity to highlight just how essential it is that that the Republicans work to get this done expeditiously with the president, because a lot is riding on ensuring that the United States continues to lead and lead alongside the G7.

Nowhere is that more evident than Russias ongoing war in Ukraine. The conflict will be a key topic of discussion for world leaders Friday.

All G7 members are preparing to implement new sanctions and export controls, the senior official said, framing the US package of sanctions as substantial.

The official previewed a five-pronged plan of new steps G7 nations are taking more broadly to further economically isolate Russia, including efforts to disrupt Russias ability to source inputs for its war and to close loopholes that have allowed certain Russian entities to evade existing sanctions.

The sanctions come 14 months after Russia launched its invasion and as Ukraine prepares for a counteroffensive using billions of dollars in Western military aid.

Biden and fellow leaders were planning to discuss how much progress has been made on the battlefield, with an eye toward helping Ukraine regain territory and assume leverage in potential peace talks.

While the US remains Ukraines largest contributor of military assistance, some leaders have begun calling for ever-more-advanced weapons, including fighter jets, to send Kyiv. Biden has resisted those calls as he works to prevent an escalation.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Biden and G7 leaders prepare new Russia sanctions as Zelensky expected to attend Japan summit."
Three U.S. legislators have proposed a bill that would reimpose a ban on U.S. crude oil exports on the ground that this would benefit coastal communities, U.S. energy consumers as a whole, and help the U.S. achieve its climate change goals.

Block All New (BAN) Fossil Fuel Exports Act, legislation that would amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act and ban the export of American crude oil and natural gas abroad to protect frontline communities from dangerous export infrastructure, prioritize U.S. consumers against fossil fuel profiteering, and help ensure the United States meets its climate and clean energy commitments on the world stage, a news release on the page of Senator Edward Markey, a lead sponsor of the legislation, said.

This is the latest attempt to stop U.S. oil and gas producers from exporting their products overseas after a removal of the ban in December 2015 turned the United States into one of the largest energy exporters in the world.

Oil and gas companies continue to pad their pockets at the expense of American consumers and frontline communities  all while fueling our global climate crisis, Markey said. Our country is due for an oil change. A ban on oil and natural gas exports overseas is a win for environmental justice, for our economy, and for our planet.

The bill was introduced simultaneously in Senate and in the House of Representatives, where it will likely be rejected by the Republican majority. Yet it is a signal that the aggressive push against the oil industry from any direction possible is not letting up.

Previous attempts to reimpose the ban on crude oil and gas exports have run along similar lines with a special focus on keeping energy affordable for U.S. consumers. Opponents have invariably beat the initiative, however, pointing out that in a global oil market, even with an export ban, U.S. oiland retail fuelprices would be tied to global prices and a ban would lead to a surge in these.

An additional argument has been the importance of U.S. oil and gas for international partners such as Europe, which only avoided a major energy shortage last year thanks to urgent deliveries of U.S. liquefied natural gas.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

ADVERTISEMENT

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway bought additional shares in Occidental Petroleum this week, raising its stake in the U.S. oil firm to 24.4%, a regulatory filing shows.

Berkshire Hathaway acquired 3,457,222 Oxy common stock this week, at around $58 per share for some $201 million.

As a result of the latest transactions, Berkshire Hathaway now owns 217,330,133 common shares of Occidental, which are worth around $12.7 billion.

Earlier this month, Warren Buffett said that Berkshire Hathaway would not be seeking full control of Occidental Petroleum despite having amassed a stake of over 23%.

We dont know where the price of oil will be, but we like Occidentals position in the Permian, Buffett told Berkshire Hathaways shareholders at the companys annual meeting in early May.

Theres speculation about us buying control, were not going to buy control, Buffett added.

We wouldnt know what to do with it.

Three years ago, Berkshire Hathaway funded Oxys takeover of Anadarko with $10 billion in the form of equity. It was as part of this deal that the investment firm received the stock purchase warrants that could see it acquire 20% or more in Occidental.

To date, Berkshire is Oxys largest shareholder. Besides the purchase warrants, the company owns $10 billion worth of Oxy preferred stock, which carries an 8% dividend.

Oxy bought Anadarko for $55 billion in 2019, making it one of the biggest M&A deals in energy over the past few years. In that, it outbid Chevron, which had earlier announced a bid for the energy company.

ADVERTISEMENT

We will not be making any offer for control of Occidental, but we love the shares we have, Buffett said at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting.

We may or may not own more in the future but we certainly have warrants on what we got as part of the original deal on a very substantial amount of stock around $59 a share, and warrants last a long time, and Im glad we have them.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A traditional New York City pizzerias first location outside Brooklyn and Manhattan is coming to greater Gretna.

Williamsburg Pizza plants to open its doors southwest of 168th and Harrison streets on Thursday, June 1.

Jimmy Johns franchisee Dean Hodges is backing the pizza business move to Nebraska in partnership with investors.

The restaurant, which shares a building with a Jimmy Johns, has geared up for its opening by practicing making pizzas and delivering them to area schools for their end-of-the-year celebrations.

Even if theyre not perfectly round or perfectly put together, it will still get the word out, Hodges said.

For Hodges, the dough is in the dough.

We only opened up the book to do this because of the bread, Hodges said. The crust and quality is so good, just like Jimmy Johns.

The recipe for the dough was developed by nine-time World Pizza Champion Nino Coniglio, who opened the first Williamsburg Pizza location with partners in 2013. Last year, Coniglio won the competitive Food Network cooking show Chopped.

Now, a decade later, investors are eager to grow the popular pizzeria to new markets with a twist.

In New York, they just find a hole in the wall and fire up the ovens, Hodges said. Were attempting to create a brand with logos and a distinct look inside and out. All that we started with was the pizza.

The new Sarpy County restaurant will act as a prototype for the brand moving forward. If the new look works, other Williamsburg Pizza locations may be adjusted and follow suit in New York City.

The restaurant serves two pizza styles, Brooklyn round crust and Grandma square crust, with a build-your-own option to customize to your liking.

East coasters know theres pizza and then theres handcrafted New York pizza. According to their website, Williamsburgs Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Romano are made fresh daily or imported directly from Italy  delizioso.

The menu also offers salads, garlic knots and hero sandwiches  New Yorker slang for a sub sandwich served hot or cold.

Hodges and his company, DKPM Investments Corporation are slotting more restaurants for Omaha metropolitan area in the near future.

Hawaiian Bros. Island Grill plans to open its first Nebraska location southwest of Interstate 80 and Highway 370 in partnership with the investment company.

Were going to do four locations here in the Omaha area and one in Lincoln, Hodges said. I invested with them due to the freshness of their food.

The Hawaiian-inspired restaurant doesnt use freezers in their kitchen and ensures no food goes to waste.

We only want to associate what we are and what we do with the best of the best, Hodges said. Were all about serving our employees so they serve the best product.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

LINCOLN  The senator taking the lead on criminal justice reform in the Nebraska Legislature says recent talks brokered by the governor and state attorney general have paved the way for progress that can be achieved yet this year.

Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha, chairman of the Legislature's Judiciary Committee, said he has a package of proposals that he hopes to amend into a bill Monday during the waning days of the 2023 session.

In addition to several proposed changes aimed at cutting Nebraska's chronic prison overcrowding, the package calls for the formation of a state task force that would look to modernize and reform the state's sentencing laws.

Wayne said he believes the plan can make a dent in the state's burgeoning prison population while also creating a path forward for future changes.

The plan came out of talks last week with prosecutors and others who have opposed many past reform proposals. Wayne credited Gov. Jim Pillen, Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly and Attorney General Mike Hilgers with playing "a vital role" in convening the negotiations.

Kelly is a former federal and state prosecutor who is now part of the administration that must deal with running and funding the state's prison system. That gives him a unique perspective, Wayne said.

"We got something that I think will make a significant impact on reducing our prison population," Wayne said. "It's setting up a framework on how (to) tick off issues one at a time."

Among the proposals generally agreed to that Wayne hopes to amend into Legislative Bill 50 as early as Monday:

 Create a Nebraska Sentencing Reform Task force, made up of representatives from the governor's office, attorney general, Legislature, law enforcement and prosecutors, that over the next two years would work to overhaul the state's sentencing laws.

 Make "geriatric parole" available for most inmates aged 75 or older who have served at least 15 years of their sentence. Those convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping or crimes involving sexual contact would not be eligible. The decision on early release would still be up to the parole board.

 Create a mandatory window of parole eligibility for inmates beginning at least two years before they would be mandatorily discharged. The change is intended to reduce the number of offenders "jamming out," which means being released into the community without supervision when their sentences end. Release decisions would remain up to the parole board.

 Create a pilot program for what's often called a "halfway back house''  secure, temporary housing for parolees who commit technical violations  as an alternative to sending them back to prison.

 Require that for previous convictions to be used to elevate misdemeanor theft to a felony, the previous convictions should have occurred in the previous 10 years.

 Reduce the mandatory minimum sentence for alleged habitual criminals if the latest offense does not involve violence, threats of violence, sexual contact or unlawful possession of a firearm.

 Expand problem-solving courts  special courts like drug courts that seek to work with offenders to keep them out of prison.

 Streamline parole for certain qualified offenders, with one of the conditions being good behavior behind bars.

Other changes Wayne had sought  among them reducing penalties for possessing very small amounts of drugs  will be the subject of the future discussions on sentencing.

Nebraska lawmakers also appear poised to address the growth and overcrowding in the state's prison system by spending more than $350 million to build a 1,500-bed replacement for the Nebraska State Penitentiary.

But based on current projections for the state's prison population, Nebraska could be faced with building another new prison before the decade is out.

Nebraska's prison system for years has suffered from chronic overcrowding and staff shortages. Moreover, a World-Herald analysis found Nebraska's prison population has grown faster than in any other state over the past decade.

Between 2011 and 2021, Nebraska's prison population grew 21% while prison numbers fell nationally by 24%. Nebraska was one of only five states to increase its prison population during that period.

The plummeting inmate numbers nationally have been attributed to falling crime rates and states' re-examination of the get-tough-on-crime policies that swelled inmate ranks nationally since the 1980s. Nearly 40 states have engaged in such "justice reinvestment" initiatives since 2007.

But a similar reform effort in Nebraska crashed and burned in the Legislature last year.

Gov. Pete Ricketts and the state's prosecutors balked at any changes that reduced sentences or made inmates eligible for parole sooner, with Ricketts calling them "soft on crime." Since lawmakers and Ricketts were unable to reach any compromise in the final days of the session, nothing passed.

Wayne, the new chair of the committee that deals with criminal justice issues, was hoping to revive the effort this year with a new governor. But when his committee advanced a bill last month containing a number of last year's proposals and others, it faced opposition from Pillen, Hilgers and prosecutors.

Wayne said that led to the recent talks that produced some breakthroughs, as well as pledges to work for more in the future.

"It was the healthiest and most honest conversation I have been a part of," Wayne said.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A 15-year-old boy is in critical condition after being shot in South Omaha early Friday.

At 3:30 a.m., Omaha police went to the area of 3100 S. 40th St. after there were multiple 911 calls related to shots having been fired. Police found the boy, who was then taken to the Nebraska Medical Center.

Police said the boy may have been with a group that was allegedly breaking into vehicles in the area. Police added that a vehicle owner confronted the group and allegedly shot the boy. The vehicle owner has not been found.

One house was damaged by the gunfire.

Police ask that anyone in the area that has new damage to their vehicle or has cameras at their residence that may have captured the incident to contact the Police Department's Felony Assault Unit at 402-444-4600.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of May 2023
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Lulu Sodeinde and Michelle Montenegro may attend school in different Omaha communities, but they have one thing in common: the importance that their high schools had in their success.

As their graduation approaches, the Omaha Public Schools seniors say they wouldn't be walking across a stage without the staff and programs they found at school.

Sodeinde enrolled at Blackburn, the district's alternative program, nearly two years ago after her family moved from Texas to Nebraska. The high school is located in North Omaha and is one of the district's smallest schools with 200 students in grades 9-12.

Sodeinde, who was named prom queen last year and is the senior class president, said her journey through school was a rollercoaster. Her first month at Blackburn was challenging because she struggled to find her own identity.

"It was a lot of me trying to figure out what I wanted to do," Sodeinde said. "I was hiding behind everyone else's shadow."

Sodeinde said Blackburn's teachers eventually got her to open up and she began to rely on them for support.

"If I had any problems, I knew exactly what teacher I wanted to talk to. And every single time I needed them, they were always there," Sodeinde said. "No matter what, even if it was in school or out of school, they were always ready to talk to me."

Blackburn staff also changed her future plans. Sodeinde said she wasn't planning on going to college until one of the district's social workers, LaKeisha Bonam, recommended she go, especially after Sodeinde began her own clothing line. The passion stemmed from when she was 14 and helped her mom create a boutique.

Sodeinde began to sell T-shirts for $10 as a way to get extra money to pay her own bills. The business grew into selling custom hoodies, jackets, shorts and more. Sodeinde paused making clothing in December but is planning on resuming production this summer.

"I wore one (hoodie) once and then all the teachers were asking, 'Can I get one? Can you have any other colors?' " Sodeinde said. "The next thing I know, within two weeks everybody had a hoodie. And whenever I started doing my T-shirts, then everybody had a T-shirt."

Sodeinde said she wants to grow her clothing business while she goes to Metropolitan Community College in the fall to major in cybersecurity and computer science.

"I will use my job for more benefits, savings, things like that. And then my business, in the future, will hopefully be able to give me a life that I need," Sodiende said.

For Montenegro, teachers have also been the biggest influence during her time at South High School.

"The teachers put their all into us and it shows," Montenegro said. "Even just yesterday in my English class, my teacher had a party for the seniors with her own money. She bought this cake and handed out awards."

Montenegro said South High, a school of nearly 3,000 students in South Omaha, isn't her neighborhood school. She chose to attend after touring it and seeing all of the programs that fit into her path, she said.

"I absolutely fell in love. I still remember walking up the stairs on the fifth floor and it's full of student art," Montenegro said. "That's when I realized, this is where I belong. I still feel the same way."

Montenegro was able to continue dancing at South High, something she began to do in middle school. She also became involved in show choir.

This past year, Montenegro said she usually would wake up early before school and take a couple of hours after school to practice dance and teach choreography with the school's dance team, the Luvabulls. After a break for dinner, she would have show choir rehearsals until around 8:30 p.m.

Even if she was exhausted, Montenegro said, she was always motivated because of her mother, who made a lot of sacrifices in life to emigrate her family from Mexico to the U.S. After Montenegro was born, her family shifted between homes often but eventually settled in Omaha.

Now Montenegro is planning to attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a first-generation college student. She said she plans on becoming a dance teacher and wants to end up working in OPS.

Both Sodeinde and Montenegro are graduating in a few days. Blackburn's senior class is graduating at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Metro Community College's North Campus. South High seniors will graduate at 9 a.m. Thursday at Baxter Arena. Other OPS graduation ceremony details can be found on the district's website.

Both students also were honored as top seniors in OPS by Superintendent Cheryl Logan in a ceremony earlier this month. One or two seniors were chosen by the administration from each OPS school or program.

As they look forward to leaving high school, Sodeinde and Montenegro want people to look past the stigma that Blackburn and South High sometimes receive.

"We all see it in the media, whether it's fights in the hallways or stuff going on in the parking lot or sometimes stabbings, things like that. It's always kind of like, 'Oh, it's South, it's normal.' But it shouldn't be considered normal here," Montenegro said. "We are much more (than that). We are first-generation students in high school, a lot of first-generation students going to college. A lot come from immigrant households, single parents. We're still achieving even under these circumstances."

The North and South Omaha communities both contain racially and ethnically diverse populations. District schools that reside in these neighborhoods often serve low-income families.

Sodeinde said Blackburn is also labeled a "bad" school because it's often where students are reassigned if they aren't thriving, or are expelled, from other OPS schools. Students like Sodeinde can also enroll directly into Blackburn.

"Blackburn has a really bad image, where (people say), 'Oh, it's a school in the 'hood,'" Sodeinde said. "In reality, it's a school that has opportunities that a lot of people couldn't even imagine. I've gotten opportunities I thought I would never see. My mom is beyond proud of me and she's happy that she made the decision of moving me here. The school has done me wonders."

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of May 2023
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

From a grave situation arose Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

The states largest cemetery, for size and souls, dates to 1886 with its first burial  of the previous landowner.

It was the first in Omaha professionally designed.

Its part of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum and a bird sanctuary.

The need was foreseen in 1883 by one of Omahas pioneers, real estate magnate Byron Reed.

Prospect Hill is within the corporate limits and too near the center of population to be available for a permanent cemetery, he said at a City Council meeting. The rapid growth of the city within the past few years proves this beyond question.

It will be necessary to discontinue all transient burials at Prospect Hill within the coming year and unless other facilities are provided by that time the public will be put to inconvenience.

Expansion of Prospect Hill was out of the question, he said. The adjoining land was more valuable for development.

The Nebraska Legislature helped the city think big for its next general-population cemetery. In 1885, it increased the number of acres a cemetery association could own from 100 to 320.

West of Florence was the farm of Irish-born John H. Brackin. He came to Omaha by way of Ohio, traveling across Iowa with future Omaha banker Augustus Kountze. Brackin was in retailing in downtown Omaha while farming his preempted land of rolling hills and wooded areas.

The Forest Lawn Cemetery Association bought that land after its formation in 1885 and made Brackin a trustee. James B. Brown was association president, Jacob Denise chairman of the board, Simeon T. Josselyn treasurer and Eben K. Long the clerk.

Other trustees were Herman Kountze (Augustus brother and a co-founder of what is today First National Bank of Omaha), William R. Bowen, Charles H. Brown, Orlando S. Wood, Arthur P. Wood, John A. Creighton, John J. OConnor and James Forsyth.

After touring the site with Brackin, an Omaha Bee reporter gushed about the lands attributes:

(A) rolling expanse of level land broken by the hills and valleys which serve and furnish diversity to add to the beauties of the landscape. There are about 90 acres of tree growth on the land, consisting of oak, elm, walnut and other varieties.

The location is high and dry, and from the various spurs of the hills one commands views of the Nebraska fields and forests on the west and of the Iowa bluffs and prairies on the east, which for grandeur of sweep and scenery, is unsurpassed.

It is not at all an exaggeration to say that there could be no site better adapted for the city of the dead, so far natural as attributes are concerned, when art shall have cooperated to tone the rough beauties of lawn and woodland and to supply the few missing points of a perfect landscape, there will be in all of the broad land of America no more beautiful resting place for the dead.

Enter Joseph Earnshaw of Cincinnati, the artist of Forest Lawn. Among his works is Hollywood Forever, the final resting place for many a Tinseltown celebrity.

Earnshaw spent six weeks in the fall of 1885 laying out Forest Lawn. In the age of horse and buggy, he had the foresight to make the roads wide enough for todays two-way vehicular traffic.

His final site visit might have been May 1886, when the trustees opened lots on the most southeasterly eight acres. Lakes were built from a stream that meandered through the grounds.

For his efforts, Earnshaw received $2,800. And picked up another project here. South Omaha hired him to design Spring Lake Park.

Brackin was the first interred at Forest Lawn. At the time of his death in March 1886, he was working for the Union Pacific and had moved to California for his health, only to succumb from the aftereffects of a bad cold.

Note that Forest Lawn wasnt ready for burials. Brackins first gravesite was at Prospect Hill, where his wife and two children were buried.

On Sept. 18, 1886, his remains were moved to Forest Lawn as its first burial along with those of his family. Brackin left a request when he went to California that he be buried near an old oak tree on an elevation near the southern limit of the land he farmed.

The citys Typographical Union was the first organization to purchase a lot. Less than two months after the Brackins re-interment, Forest Lawns first gravesite service was for printer W.J. Clary on Nov. 12.

C.Y. Craig oversaw Forest Lawns construction and was its first superintendent, serving until his death in 1926. So respected was he that that Omaha renamed a street in Florence for him after annexing its northern neighbor.

In 1909, he recalled the Clary burial:

Clarys mother was heartbroken and her grief was great added to by the lonely and God-forsaken look of the spot where the grave was dug. Not a tree or a shrub was anywhere near the grave, not even a blade of green grass. It looked an unfit place to bury any human being. The mothers anguish was as keen that many were compelled to walk away from the scene, myself among others.

Incidentally, the dates of the Brackin and Clary burials are blurred to make incorrect the state historic marker placed at the cemetery during its centennial in 1985.

Andrew Larsen was the first to be cremated in the state, in 1913, and the funeral for A.J. Manderson the first held in the cemeterys chapel.

The crematory, now retired, and the chapel, returned to service, date to the early 1910s. Omaha architect John McDonald and general contractor Walter Peterson collaborated on the 40-by-60-foot marble-exterior chapel that was built over the crematory. The chapel was renovated in 1990.

The cemeterys original gate was at 40th and Forest Lawn Avenue. The road followed Spring Creek to 30th Street. The road first was paved in 1909. Streetcars ran to the cemetery from 1905 to 1947  in early years they went inside the gate  before giving way to bus service.

That gate was closed in the 1980s when the cemetery relocated its offices and entrance to the west side off Mormon Bridge Road.

Those who remember the east gate also may recall the many peony sellers for Memorial Day along the avenue and the Minne Lusa Greenhouse near 30th Street.

The burial list is a whos who of the city  Kountzes, Paxtons, Barkers, Storzes, Joslyns, Kiewits, Doorlys, Hitchcocks and so many more. Many of the gravesites and their monuments are along the north drive, from which branches off Kountze Circle and its overlook of Forest Lawns earliest resting places.

Whos not buried there? Byron Reed. He kept his plot at Prospect Hill.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A Nebraska prison inmate who was convicted of murdering two people in 2004 has died.

Michael Gunther, 67, died Thursday night at the Reception and Treatment Center, a facility in Lincoln managed by the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. While the department said no cause of death has been determined, it noted Gunther was being treated for a medical condition.

Gunther had been serving a life sentence after he was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2005. A carnival worker, Gunther was convicted of killing colleague Michael Zawodny, a 36-year-old from Athon, Iowa, on May 23, 2004, by shooting Zawodny 11 times at a Blues Amusements carnival near Bellevue.

Gunther had also been convicted of second-degree murder in Pottawattamie County District Court. The conviction stemmed from Gunther killing 45-year-old Sally Kennedy the same day as Zawodny, and he was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Kennedy, who owned the carnival company, had been dating Gunther. But after the relationship ended, he killed Kennedy by stabbing and slashing her 22 times in her trailer in Council Bluffs.

Gunthers Nebraska trial began in an unusual fashion: He apologized for Zawodnys murder and asked for the death penalty. Gunther acted as his own attorney.

A grand jury will investigate Gunthers death. Whenever someone dies in custody, state law mandates that a grand jury conduct an investigation.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of May 2023
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Three Cass County, Iowa, residents have been sentenced to 13 or more years in prison for distributing pills containing fentanyl that caused two overdoses.

Cam Christopher Jahnke, 33, Chase Daniel Jahnke, 29, and Kelsi Thurman, 27, were sentenced Tuesday for obtaining and distributing more than 10,000 pills containing fentanyl between August 2019 and June 2022, according to a press release from the United States Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Cam Jahnke was sentenced to 16 years and one month in prison, Chase Jahnke was sentenced to 17 years and Thurman was sentenced to 13 years, according to the release.

All three previously plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl causing serious bodily injury or death. An investigation found that they agreed to obtain fentanyl pills from sources in Omaha and then sold those pills in the Cass County area, the release said.

Two additional defendants in the case, Colby Clarken, 20, and Collin Clarken, 25, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl causing serious bodily injury or death and are scheduled to be sentenced in August, according to the release.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of May 2023
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

NEW YORK (AP)  Allies of former Vice President Mike Pence are launching a new super PAC to support his expected candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Committed to America, the Pence-sanctioned group, publicly launches Tuesday, according to people familiar with the project, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share details of the planning and strategy.

The countrys at real crossroads and the Republican Party needs a strong conservative candidate who can win, said Scott Reed, the longtime GOP consultant, who will co-chair the group. Pence has the experience, the unparalleled character, communication skills and the conservative credentials to win both the nomination and a general election.

The launch is the latest sign that Pence is moving ahead with his expected bid for the GOP nomination  a move that would put him in direct contention with his former boss, former President Donald Trump. Pence has said he will announce his plans well before late June and aides have been discussing potential launch dates for a campaign as early as May, but more likely in June. In the meantime, Pence has kept a busy schedule of visits to early-voting states, policy speeches and media interviews as he gears up for a run.

The new group will be co-chaired by Reed, who previously served as political director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and managed Bob Doles 1996 presidential campaign. Joining him will be former Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling, who developed a close friendship with Pence when they served in the House and is a former chair of the House Republican Conference.

Serving as executive director will be Bobby Saparow, who managed Georgia Gov. Brian Kemps winning 2022 reelection campaign. Kemp defeated his Trump-endorsed challenger, former Sen. David Perdue, by more than 50 points. Trump had targeted Kemp as retribution for the governor's refusal to go along with his desperate attempts to overturn his defeat in the state's 2020 presidential election  a plot that is now under investigation and expected to yield multiple indictments.

Mike Ricci, who previously served as communications director to former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, will oversee communications.

Pence faces an uphill battle to the nomination with much of the attention and fundraising focused so far on Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is planning his own entry into the race in the coming weeks. The field also includes former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has formed a presidential exploratory committee and is expected to formally launch his campaign next week.

The new Pence group is animated by the belief that while the former congressman, talk radio host, Indiana governor and vice president of the United States is widely known by voters, their perceptions are mostly colored by his time as Trump's ever-loyal second-in-command.

They believe that if people are reminded of his experience, his character and his conservative credentials, they will embrace his candidacy.

People know Mike Pence, they just dont know him well, Reed said. This campaign is going to reintroduce Mike Pence to the country as his own man, not as vice president, but as a true economic, social and national security conservative  a Reagan conservative.

The group sees early-voting Iowa as critical for Pence and plans to launch their efforts there before expanding to other states, including New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

Were going to organize Iowa, all 99 counties, like were running him for county sheriff, said Reed.

They note a large portion of caucus-voters identify as Evangelical Christians, and believe Pence, a born-again Evangelical, staunch opponent of abortion rights, and a Midwesterner, will connect especially well in the state, which in previous years boosted the campaigns of fellow conservatives like Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee. Ultimately, however, they all failed to win their partys nomination after first-place caucus finishes.

The people familiar with the super PAC would not say how much money had been committed to the group by donors, but insisted that they will raise as much money as they need to spend.

The group intends to focus on building a data and paid ground operation dedicated to turning people out to vote for Pence, citing Kemps campaign as a model.

We are going to do something very similar, Saparow said. You will see that what we built out with Gov. Kemp is going to be taken to the national stage. So we will also be doing a very extensive paid voter contact program through Committed to America."

There is a recipe and there is a roadmap of success that Ive worked on in the past that I believe well be able to replicate with the vice president," he added.

They also spoke specifically of Pence's role on Jan. 6, 2021, when he resisted Trump's pressure campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 election  a power that Pence, as vice president, never possessed. Pence had been proceeding over a joint session of Congress to certify President Joe Biden's win when a violent mob of Trump's supporters broke into the Capitol, smashing windows, ramming through doors and clashing with police. Pence was rushed to safety in a Senate loading dock as some outside the building chanted, Hang Mike Pence!

The people said they believe voters will be drawn to Pence's defense of the Constitution. Yet it remains unclear how salient that position will be in a party still dominated by the former president. A large swath of Trump's base will never forgive Pence for his actions that day, while many Trump critics see the former vice president as complicit in Trump's most divisive actions.

A Quinnipiac University national poll released in May found 36% of Republicans nationwide view Pence unfavorably -- a higher unfavorable rating than Trump or DeSantis.
(CNN)  The Biden administration has signaled to European allies in recent weeks that the US would allow them to export F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, sources familiar with the discussions said, as the White House comes under increasing pressure from members of Congress and allies to help Ukraine procure the planes amid intensifying Russian aerial attacks.

Administration officials are not aware, however, of any formal requests by any allies to export F-16s, and State Department officials who would normally be tasked with the paperwork to approve such third-party transfers have not been told to get to work, officials said.

A handful of European countries have a supply of the US-made F-16s, including the Netherlands, which has signaled a willingness to export some of them to Ukraine. But the US would have to approve that third party transfer because of the jets sensitive US technology.

While the US remains reluctant to send any of its own F-16s to Kyiv, US officials told CNN that the administration is prepared to approve the export of the jets to Ukraine if that is what allies decide to do with their supply.

National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby declined to comment specifically on the possibility of the US sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, but said broadly that the US has been forward-looking about future capabilities and needs. F-16s are not on the agenda at the G7, he said, though the aircraft could certainly come up on the sidelines of the summit.

US lawmakers and congressional staffers have joined in the F-16 lobbying campaign, urging the administration to provide the jets so that Ukraine can establish control over its skies.

As a bipartisan group of lawmakers, we view the transfer of F-16 fighter aircraft to Ukraine as essential for providing Kyiv with the air support capability required to fully defend their nation against Russias unprovoked, illegal, and brutal invasion, and to make the territorial gains necessary to reclaim their country, a group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden on Wednesday that was obtained by CNN.

The issue is expected to be a subject of debate at the next NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July, officials said.

Another open question is where Ukrainian pilots would train on these F-16s. A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said earlier this week that the UK and the Netherlands were looking to form an international coalition not only to procure the jets for Ukraine but also to train Ukrainian pilots on the 4th generation fighters, which are more advanced than the Ukrainian fighter fleet.

In March, the US hosted two Ukrainian pilots at a military base in Tucson, Arizona to evaluate their skills using flight simulators and to assess how much time they would need to learn to fly various US military aircraft, including F-16s. But US has no plans as of now to expand that training, a defense official told CNN, despite Congress setting aside money in the 2023 budget for such training.

US allies with F-16s could conduct training for Ukrainian fighter pilots, or the aircrafts manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, could carry out training as a private contractor. But the defense official said such an arrangement would likely need some level of US participation, even if it doesnt require an official US sign off like the transfer of US weaponry overseas.

Ukrainians upping their lobbying campaign

Top Ukrainian officials have escalated their public lobbying campaign for US-made F-16s in recent months, arguing they need them urgently to defend against Russian missile and drone attacks.

Russia launched an unprecedented series of missile attacks on Kyiv on Thursday morning, a Ukrainian official said, just days after Russia launched a barrage of six hypersonic missiles near the capital aimed at destroying Ukraines Patriot air defense systems.

A series of air attacks on Kyiv, unprecedented in their power, intensity and variety, continues, said Serhii Popko, head of Kyivs civil and military administration.

Without the jets, Ukraine is having to improvise, officials say. Defense officials and congressional staffers told CNN that Ukrainian troops have in recent weeks used the US-made Patriot air defense system to shoot down at least one faraway Russian fighter jet. The Russian jets have largely been staying behind Russian defensive lines, making them difficult for Ukraine to target with shorter-range systems like NASAMs.

The Russian planes the Patriot targeted were on a bombing run to fire missiles against Ukrainian targets, US officials said, which Russia has been doing throughout the past year to maximize civilian casualties.

The officials said the Ukrainians were responsible for making their own firing decisions once the west provided the Patriot systems, noting it is up to the Ukrainians when and how to engage the Patriots to protect their people.

Sophisticated fighter jets would make it easier for Ukraine to target the Russian planes, some congressional staffers argue, without having to expend expensive Patriot munitions that were made to intercept ballistic missiles.

Some US officials are skeptical of that argument, however, and note that Russia has extensive anti-aircraft systems that could easily shoot down the F-16s. Ukraine has not been conducting many air missions with the fighter planes it already has for precisely that reason, officials have said.

Still, there is a belief in Kyiv that with enough public pressure, the Ukrainians can eventually secure weapons systems that were once deemed a red line by the west. HIMARS, battle tanks, and the Patriot battery were all once considered off-limits  all are now either in country or heading there soon.

While the UK does not have any F-16s of its own, the British government appears to have done a U-turn on the issue over the last several months. In January, a British government spokesperson told reporters that the UK believes that the jets are extremely sophisticated and take months to learn how to fly. Given that, we believe it is not practical to send those jets into Ukraine.

On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv and London were actively moving forward on a plan to procure them.

We need F-16s, Andriy Yermak, head of the office of the Ukrainian president. And I am grateful to our allies for their decision to work in this direction, including training our pilots.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "US signals to allies it wont block their export of F-16 jets to Ukraine."
Here is a picture of the primary school pupils who were rescued last week by the Lagos State Police command over cult related activities.

It was gathered that about 12 Primary School pupils between the ages of 6 and 16, were reportedly recruited and initiated into the dreaded cult group known as Awawa in the city of Lagos.

According to police report, the pupils were recruited by a 16-year-old girl identified as Salami Rasheedat who attends Egan Senior Grammar in Igando, Lagos and were undergoing training in order to become hardened members in the future before it got exposed.

The arrest which happened was disclosed by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Imohimi Edgal, at the State Police Command. The police boss revealed that two men were also arrested for initiating the Primary School pupils into the cult gang.

The police said it was a Guardian and Counseling teacher at the Egan Community School in Lagos who uncovered the cultists initiation ceremony plan. The school comprised of both primary and secondary levels.

The teacher was said to have noticed a particular incision on the lower jaws of some of the students and decided to ask questions about it, to which one of the children confessed that any school pupil or student seen with the mark was a member of the Awawa cult group.

The teacher raised an alarm and the school authorities reported the matter to the police.

To Invest & Earn High Profits











Take A Loan & Pay Low Interest


Wudil indigenes in Kano State have appealed to the State House of Assembly to revisit the recent creation of Gaya Emirate Council under which they have been grouped.

Alhaji Yawale Muhammad-Idris, spokesman of the indigenes made the call shortly after a stakeholders meeting on Sunday in Wudil, headquarters of Wudil Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.

Muhammad-Idris further appealed to the State Government to return them to the old Kano Emirate where they rightly belong.

According to him, the current arrangement is not backed by historical antecedents and is of no benefit to the affected communities.

He said the stakeholders meeting was attended by various groups of indigenes of the LGA pointing out that Wudil town has a different historical background from Gaya.

We cannot afford to exist under Gaya Emirate, he said.

According to Muhammad-Idris, during the Jihad of Shehu Usman Danfodio, Wudil was one of the five royal hubs that were presented with flags.

He said that the people of Wudil are not happy with the new arrangement.

If Wudil LGA will not have a first class emir, we prefer to remain under Kano Emirate.

So for God sake why should government demean us by grouping us under Gaya instead of merging us with the Kano Emirate with which we have the same historical relation.

We reject this arrangement, he said.

Dr Baba Sani-Wudil, the secretary of the group also said government did not consult with the people of the area before grouping them under Gaya Emirate, describing the arrangement as inappropriate.

You can find out, neither our representative at the House of Assembly nor any elder or member of National Assembly was consulted on the issue, he said.

He said the group would present its grievances to the state government and the State House of Assembly.(NAN)
Advertisement

The Imo state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has charged the Inspector General of police and the Director General of the State Security Services, to investigate the activities of Governor Hope Uzodinma and some of his appointees who ate allegedly harvesting Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, from Imo electorates using the newly introduced Imo State Benefit Number exercise as a ploy.

The opposition party, in a press conference on Thursday, through its state Publicity Secretary, Collins Opuruzor, said that the exercise is currently going on in all the polling units in the state where agents of the government would promise the eligible voters of better life and to remove them from poverty by surrendering their PVCs.

According to the party, the unsuspecting voters are also requested to submit their Voters Verification Number (VIN), Bank Verification Number (BVN), and National Identity Number (NIN) to the agents.

The party described it as a ploy to manipulate the November 11 Imo governorship election to the favour of the candidate of APC, Senator Hope Uzodinma.

Hear him, two days ago, Imo people woke up to hear that Senator Uzodinma had dispatched appointees and agents of his government to all the polling units in the State to commence the illegal harvest of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) of eligible Imo voters. In order to hoodwink Imo people into releasing their PVCs, these agents of the rejected regime came up with a phony scheme of issuing what they termed Imo State Social Benefit Number to the people.

According to their deceit, the Social Benefit Number would give the people a better life and save them from poverty and disease. With this barefaced lie, many people in Imo have now surrendered their PVCs and become victims of voter identity theft designed for the cloning of the PVCs and front-loading of the BVAS ahead of the forthcoming governorship election in the State.

It is important to highlight that this latest anti-democratic onslaught launched by the APC regime in Imo State to indulge in the treasonable compromise of the BVAS was brought about by the recent Supreme Court judgement on the Osun State governorship election, which upheld the BVAS as the primary source of voter accreditation data.

Apart from taking hold of their Voter Identification Number (VIN), Imo people are further beguiled to submit their Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identity Number (NIN) to the agents of this infamous regime. With these highly sensitive details, the desperate regime of Senator Uzodinma can track the location of anyone in Imo State for arrest, harassment, intimidation, and possible elimination. Also, monies in their bank accounts have become completely unsafe.

Gentlemen of the Press, the salient point to note is that the regime of Senator Uzodinma, which is the chief creator of rural poverty in Imo State, has at last weaponized and deployed poverty as an instrument for electoral fraud. Imo people are now promised food and medicine on the condition that they yield to electoral fraud by submitting their PVCs, their only tool for political emancipation.

To bring home the situation in Imo State, an authoritative economic intelligence watchdog called Clacified just last month, ranked Imo FIRST in the prevalence of rural poverty in the Southeast Region, and FIRST in Nigerias misery index. This is as a result of the catastrophic failure of governance in the State and also a direct consequence of the willful and cruel diversion of the sum total of N206 Billion belonging to the local government system by the regime of Senator Uzodinma in the last forty months.

Imo PDP is deeply troubled by the Federal Governments silence over Senator Uzodinmas continued use of Imo State as a guinea pig for all anti-democratic and fascist experimentations. The enablers of Senator Uzodinma in Abuja should realize that the plot to deny Imo people the right to choose their own governor on November 11, 2023 will be an invitation to anarchy. To be clear, Imo under Senator Uzodinma has become a theater of bloodshed and human rights abuses, and this must never be allowed to continue. Never again!

Our Party, therefore, calls on the Inspector General of Police and Director General of the State Security Service to investigate the activities of Senator Uzodinma and to immediately apprehend and prosecute his appointees and agents who are involved in this massive harvest of PVCs, voter identity theft and plot to compromise the BVAS.

Our Party urges Imo people to keep faith with PDP and continue to support our Governorship Candidate, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, who has the character and proven track record to deliver good governance, and a clear roadmap to liberate the State from the maelstrom of squalor, misery, insecurity, infrastructural decay and educational miasma, and to make Imo safe again.

But reacting to the claims, the Special Adviser to the Governor of Imo State on Public Communications, Sir Collins Oghalaa, said that the PDP likes to play to the gallery to achieve cheap popularity, adding that the opposition party has not recovered from the Supreme Court loss since 2020.

The PDP has no other story to tell Imo people. It is either whining about insecurity, which Governor Hope Uzodimma has tackled to the glory of God and support of Imo people, or mourning over its loss of Jan 14, 2020. It has absolutely nothing else to say but to recycle these stories.

The PDP tried to deceive Imo people with the lie that the governor has done nothing since 2020, but it has backfired, as the Governors achievements are there for everyone to see. No one needs to be told about these achievements as they have all seen them. The PDP has run out of falsehood and is dwarfed by the governors efficiency and achievements.

If the PDP has a modicum of integrity left in it, it should apologise to Imo people on bent knees for stealing the peoples mandate, wasting our precious time and resources and running an illegal administration led by an illegal governor. The PDP should be refunding all the monies it pilfered while it illegally occupied the government house.

He however described the claims by the opposition party as totally untrue but most expected from it (PDP).

Related

Advertisement
A Yaba Chief Magistrates Court in Lagos has approved a request to extend the remand of Afrobeat star, Seun Kuti for an additional four days.

KanyiDaily recalls that Seun Kuti turned himself to the police on Monday, after the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, ordered his arrest for slapping an officer on Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos.

On Tuesday, Seun Kuti was arraigned before the Yaba Magistrates Court to face charges of assaulting a police officer, a violation of Section 356 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act.

The police asked the court to remand Kuti for 21 days, but the magistrate ordered that the defendant be remanded for 48 hours to allow the police to conclude their investigation.

The court, however, held that the defendant should be admitted to bail in the sum of one million Naira with two sureties in like sum, at the end of the 48-hour remand.

The magistrate adjourned the case for mention to May 23 and directed the prosecutor to duplicate the case file and forward a copy to the state director of public prosecutions for advice.

Court Remands Seun Kuti For 4 More Days

On Thursday, May 18, police secured an order from a Sabo-Yaba Chief Magistrate Court in Lagos to remand the musician for additional four days.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Adeola Olatubosun, extended Kutis remand period until May 22.

The application was presented by Mr. Simon Lough (SAN), who led a police legal team to the court. The extension was requested to enable further investigation into the case.

KanyiDaily had reported how Seun Kutis wife was driven away from the police station by officers, who subjected her to verbal abuse and threatened to arrest her as an accomplice when she brought food for him.

Related
The family of the late Nollywood actor, Obinna Nwafor, popularly known as Saint Obi, has denied the allegations made by filmmaker Zik Okafor, about the cause of the movie stars death.

KanyiDaily had reported how Saint Obi died at the age of 57 after a prolonged illness. According to reports, the actor passed away on Sunday, May 6, at the home of one of his siblings.

Following his death, Zik Okafor narrated how Saint Obis marriage to his ex-wife, Lynda Saint-Nwafor, led to his tragic death and exit from the movie industry.

Okafor claimed that Obi had conflicts with his in-laws, who viewed him as a fortune seeker due to Lyndas high-ranking position in a telecommunications company, MTN.

According to the filmmaker, Obis wife and her siblings always saw him as a gold digger and they often attack him physically before he reported the case to the police.

He also claimed that Linda forced Obi to lose contact with his Nollywood buddies as her siblings harassed him, and this eventually led to the end of the marriage.

Saint Obis Family Speaks

In a statement On Thursday, Obis family strongly refuted Zik Zulus claims, saying the filmmaker never consulted any member of the family before making the claims.

The family also dismissed the allegations as baseless, malicious, and lacking empathy, asserting that they do not align with their understanding of Lyndas character.

The statement reads, RE: DEMISE OF SAINT OBI (MR. OBINNA NWAFOR)

Our attention has been drawn to the publication by one Mr. Zik Zulu Okafor concerning the death of our son, Mr. Obinna Nwafor, popularly known as Saint Obi, and the accompanying negative commentary in social and other media portraying his widow in an unfair and most defamatory manner. This is in no way, shape or form an accurate portrayal of the Lynda that we know and relate with.

The Nwafor family also views the said article by Mr. Okafor as sad and most unfortunate. It was neither written in consultation with any member of the family nor authored with our consent or authority. We totally disassociate ourselves from it.

The views and allegations contained therein are entirely the opinion of the writer. They are false, malicious and insensitive to the wife, children and entire family he left behind.

This is a mourning period for the family, and while we appreciate the condolences of friends, fans, and well-wishers, we ask that the familys privacy be respected at this time.

The funeral rites will be communicated to the public in due course. May the soul of our dearly beloved brother, son, father and husband, rest in perfect peace. Amen.

Signed,

Ugoeze Edith Chinyere Obichuku

Eldest Sister (Texas, U.S.A)

Mrs. Freda Nwachukwu

Elder Sister (Jos, Nigeria)

For: The Nwafor Family of Umuezealaeze, Alaenyi, Ogwa, Mbatoli L.G.A, Imo State

KanyiDaily recalls that another movie producer, Zeb Ejiro said that Saint Obis failed marriage had a significant impact on his mental state and death as he was deeply committed to his family.

Related
This was contained in a short statement issued on Thursday evening by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka.

The APC said Goje remains is, and remains, a bonafide member of the Gombe State chapter of the party.

The statement reads, The attention of the National Headquarters of All Progressives Congress (APC) has been drawn to media reports of the purported expulsion of His Excellency, Senator Mohammad Danjuma Goje by the Gombe State Executive Committee of our Party.

The Party has directed that the said expulsion and all related actions in the matter be, and are hereby, set aside pending further review and decision of the Partys National Working Committee (NWC) on the matter.

Therefore, Senator Goje is, and remains, a bonafide member of the Gombe State Chapter of our Party.

Recall that the state chapter of the party had expelled Sen. Goje (Gombe Central) for anti-party activities.

Announcing the suspension to newsmen on April 18, 2023, APC Chairman in Kashere Ward, Tanimu Abdullahi, alleged that the senator committed 10 offences, including failure to grace the flag-off of APCs governorship campaign and general anti-party activities.

Abdullahi said the senators popularity could have given the party victory if only he had considered and meant well for APC during the elections.

For this, we, the APC executives at Kashere Ward, do not see any need to keep him in the party. He is hereby expelled for anti-party activities, he said.

Reports say the expulsion notice was, reportedly, signed by 31 executive members, including four state officials.

In other news, Kanyi Daily reported that the Delta State Police Command has announced that it is looking for family members/relatives or friends of an unidentified male corpse.

The command, in a statement issued by its Spokesman, Bright Edafe on Thursday, said the name and address of the deceased are unknown.

Related
Spread the love

The National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, and three other members of the national executive committee have resumed positions at the partys National Secretariat in Abuja.

This was contained in an announcement made by the embattled party chairman earlier today in Abuja.

During the conference, Abure assured party members and the public of the partys unity, emphatically stating that there were no factions within the Labour Party.

Furthermore, Abure exposed the unsuccessful efforts of the suspended Deputy National Chairman, Apapa Lamidi, to create a faction within the party.

He revealed that Lamidis attempts were effectively thwarted, as the Labour Party remained steadfastly united under his leadership.

READ ALSO: Labour Party factional chair, Apapa, hints at reconciliatory meeting with Tinubu

Abure also made it known that the FCT High Court in Abuja no longer held jurisdiction over a lawsuit seeking a restraining order against him.

He said, Having appealed and filed a motion for a stay which has been served on the judge, I and my colleagues have now fully assumed our constitutional responsibilities as National Officers of the party.

It has become imperative for me to address this press conference to properly put the legal issues surrounding the leadership of the party in proper perspectives. It is pertinent to state categorically that the Labour Party has no faction. It has only one leadership and that leadership is the National Working Committee led by myself, Barrister Julius Abure.

Recall that one month Julius Abure, and three other national executive members were barred by Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal High Court in Abuja from parading themselves as national officers of the party.

READ ALSO: Abure invited LP State Chairmen to Benin, fed them with lies  Apapa

Advertisement



The judge had declared that Abure, along with his National Secretary Alhaji Farouk Ibrahim, and National Organizing Secretary Clement Ojukwu, should no longer be recognized as party executives.

The order, which was issued in response to an ex-parte application presented by Chief James Ogwu Onoja, SAN, highlighted the alleged forgery of several documents from the FCT High Court.

The accused officials reportedly used these falsified documents for illicit substitutions during the recently-held 2023 general election.

During the court proceedings, Chief James Ogwu Onoja, a legal practitioner, informed the court about the unlawful activities of the implicated national officers.

He emphasised that the forged documents included receipts, seals, and affidavits of the court, which the party officials allegedly employed in the commission of their criminal actions.

The court found these claims to be substantial and subsequently ruled in favor of removing the accused individuals from their positions within the party.
The breakaway group of the Labour Party (LP) led by the former Deputy National Chairman, Apapa Lamidi, has accused Julius Abure, the suspended National Chairman of the Party, Julius Abure and other officials, of being in bed with the governing All Progressives Congress (APC).

The suspended former National Publicity Secretary of the party, Abayomi Arabambi told the media that Abure and other officials used the opportunity of the opposition party as a money-minting front to enrich themselves.

They just want to deceive the youth of Nigeria to be following their deceptive nature and this was evidence yesterday, they accused our executive of collecting money from APC.

Yesterday, Akpabio and the deputy Chairman of the APC, went to visit them and they accepted him, Arabambi told reporters.

Arabambis allegation stemmed from a visit on Wednesday to the National Secretariat of the Labour Party in Abuja by some senators reportedly lobbying across political parties for principal offices in the National Assembly.

The former national publicity secretary of the Apapa-led faction had accused Abure and other party officials of accepting N500 million bribes from the visiting lawmakers, an allegation countered by Abure during a briefing on Thursday.

Arabambi queried what the party leadership under Abure was doing with Akpabios quest for the Senate President in the 10th Assembly.

He said it was curious that the presidential candidate of the party in the February 25 election, Peter Obi, couldnt raise N1.5 million to secure the necessary documents from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cross the hurdle of the pre-hearing matter in its suit against the President  elect Bola Tinubu of the APC.

Arabambi said the issue was suspicious and smirked of ploy to deny the party from defending its matter before the Court on the mandate given to LP presidential candidate, Obi.

According to him, the development which was revealed by the Lead Counsel to Obi, Livy Uzuokwu, was deceptive and a ploy to deny Nigerians the mandate of the party in the presidential election tribunal hearing.

He said if the party led by Abure failed to comply with the court directive on pre-hearing, it may impact negatively on the case of its presidential candidate.

Arabambi said: Something happened at the election Tribunal yesterday, it is unfortunate that the lead lawyer will write a letter to INEC that they do not have N1,500,000 to pay knowing fully well that the pre hearing session will terminate on Sunday.

That means if we fail to do the needful, our petition would be dismissed.

Now what will 13 SAN be doing till April 17 when they were asked to meet INEC, collect all necessary documents only for their lead counsel to say oh, I have just been able to get 30 percent of the documents requested for.

The INEC led counsel said they invited him on Friday, he said he was at a party. A learned silk, Professor Ananaba went on behalf of them. They asked him to come on Monday, they did not show up, Tuesday, they did not show up, only for them to come to court on Wednesday, where Prof. Livy was asking the court for extension.

Which the court ruled yesterday, that they will not extend it, in line with the electoral Act, that it will only take 14 days. And they told them the court will not sit on Saturday and Sunday, today is Thursday. We have Friday and Saturday.

So how do we now work together, how do we get all these documents and so that we can now go to the hearing session because once we fail to cross the hurdle of the hearing session our petition will be dismissed.

They know what they were doing, how can you say Obi cannot afford N1.5m. They are either working for PDP or working for APC.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has cautioned members of the public to be cautions of fraudulent activities of those it described as loan sharks.

The commission said it has received over 20,000 complaints from those who have fallen victims of the sharp practices of the online fraudsters.

Head, Consumers Affairs Bureau, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Ayanbanji Ojo, made the disclosure yesterday during a telecom consumers sensitisation programme themed: Shine Your Eyes- No Fall Mugu, held at the spare parts Market, Agodi-Gate, Ibadan.

Noting the need to educate the people on the financial fraud going on in the telecom space, Ojo said the activities of the loan sharks have caused a lot of people pain with many traders vulnerable to what is going on.

He enjoined telecom consumers to approach their service providers to resolve their complaints adding that if they are unable to resolve it, they should approach the commission by dialling 622 which is toll-free.

He said The market people are our telecom consumers, without them we can not exist as a regulator. The market people deserve to know what is going on. Todays programme is different from what we did at Bodija and University of Ibadan.

Today we are talking about Shine-your-eyes which means there are so many financial fraud going on through the telecom and we want to educate our people particularly the traders because most of them are vulnerable to what is going on in the telecom space.

There have been so many complaints on loss of money, so we need to educate our consumers all the time because we are now in the sustainability of telecommunications industry and if we do not sustain the telecom consumers there is nothing we can not do.

The complaint we have been seeing so far is over 20 thousand, even this money the loan shark saying a person on your contact list collected loan, how did they get your number, this is the kind of things we are trying to protect and to protect people, we have to educate them, so when people have information they are protected.

Ojo, however, advised the traders to use strong password in emails, private networking platforms, avoid clicking on any link to avoid theft.

In his remarks, the President of Ibadan Motor Parts Dealers Association, Olanrewaju Ishola thanked the commission for bringing such educative program to the market.

He said market men and women were glad to receive the commission adding that the program was helpful and educative.

He said: This program is very important. As you can see, our people came out in their numbers to attend. They have listened and have learnt a lot.

We love the program. Its very helpful. We want to thank the NCC for bringing it to our doorstep. We look forward to having more programs of this kind.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Spread the love

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has raised alarm over the activities of some persons who act as his duplicate, mimicking his voice and calling people, all in an attempt to discredit him.

This was made known through a statement issued by Peter Obi on his official Twitter account on May 18, 2023, where he pointed out how he was impersonated by an unidentified person(s).

Obi said he was outside the country when his imposter tried to mimic him somewhere in Nigeria in the latest similar actions of trying to discredit him.

My duplicates are still on the rampage, they now mimic my voice and call people. There is no limit that people cannot go to cause mischief on their target. I have been a target both locally and internationally.

READ ALSO: Obi unwilling to pay exhibits certification fee, says INEC

The latest incident happened in Abuja yesterday, May 17, at the Court of Appeal premises of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal venue, where my attention was drawn to what was going on outside the courtroom.

A report came to me while I was seated in court that one Prince Mustapha Audu, son of the late Governor of Kogi State, held the OBIdients Chief Spokesman, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, and some others spellbound  castigating and talking down on me, describing me as an ethnic and religious bigot.

He claimed that I called him while I was in front of his office on Tuesday morning around 11 am, but suddenly cut off the phone after I spoke Igbo and he, Audu, was unable to respond.

According to him, Obi may have only helped to empower some businessmen strictly because they were Igbo and he wondered why Obi should aspire to lead the country if he cannot accommodate other ethnic groups.

READ ALSO: I must be Nigerias President  Peter Obi

It was one of my aides who quickly alerted me to what was going on and I pleaded with him to go outside and tell the OBIdients who were with the man to kindly delay him until I came out of the courtroom. After the court proceedings, I met with Audu and he repeated the same story, adding that he was angry at me for cutting off the phone on him because he could not speak Igbo.

Advertisement



I only flew into the country this morning for this court session. The young man, looking embarrassed and surprised at the same time, added that the voice of the caller and everything sounded like mine. We exchanged pleasantries and took pictures.

This is just one of the many desperate efforts to run me down and tag me as what I am not, with the intention to gain some perceived political mileage against me. Ordinarily, I am not scared or worried about competitions provided they are within the legitimate rules of engagement, but going this far is worrisome.

It is quite very worrisome because this is certainly not the right way to develop a nation that is in dire need of positive changes that will enable her to join the League of Nations that is moving forward.

I appeal to the public to beware and not easily deceived with the cheap tricks of impersonating me for whatever ulterior intentions.
Jarvis Johnson, the Representative of Texas District 139 in the United States House of Representatives, has made some serious accusations against President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.

Johnson claims that the Buhari government is actively plotting to assassinate Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), before May 29, when it plans to hand him over to the incoming administration.

In a letter addressed to the US Congress and dated May 10, 2023, titled Re: Appeal for Your Urgent Intervention in Urging the Government of Nigeria to Release Nnamdi Kanu from his Extraordinary Rendition, Johnson has urged his colleagues to promptly intervene and exert pressure on the Nigerian government to release the detained IPOB leader.

The letter, which was made public on Thursday by Kanus special counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, highlighted Johnsons concerns about the events surrounding the IPOB leaders situation.

According to the congressman, Kanu, as a British citizen, legally entered Nairobi, Kenya, on May 12, 2021. However, on June 19, 2021, he was reportedly abducted by Nigerian government agents, subjected to torture for eight days, and unlawfully extradited to Nigeria.

Furthermore, Johnson highlighted the deteriorating health condition of Kanu, emphasizing that he suffers from a serious heart ailment and other health issues, which necessitate immediate and adequate medical attention.

The US lawmaker said: There is now growing fear/concern that the Muhammadu Buhari administration intends to assassinate or cause Kanus disappearance before May 29, when it plans to hand him over to the incoming administration.

For months now, it is public knowledge that Kanus health condition has deteriorated. He suffers from a serious heart condition and other ailments for which he is not getting enough medical attention.

Appeal to the Nigeria Government to release the IPOB leader dated back to June 27, 2021.

Describing Kanu as a prominent champion of the Igbo peoples quest for self-determination, Johnson emphasized that the Nigerian governments persecution of him has escalated since his visit to Nigeria from London, United Kingdom, in 2015.

He further stated: First, few days after his arrival, on October 14, 2015, he was arrested in Lagos by agents of the Nigerian government.

He was held in solitary confinement by the Department of State Security (DSS). Ultimately, he was granted bail by the Nigerian courts.

After his release, he resided primarily in his ancestral home in Abia State, Nigeria, with his parents, siblings and other extended family members.

The US congressman also brought attention to the attack and invasion of Kanus home in Abia State by the Nigerian military from October 10 to October 14, 2017. This violent incident resulted in numerous fatalities, injuries, disappearances, and Kanus subsequent escape to his London residence.

Johnsons letter provides a distressing account of Kanus abduction on May 12, 2021, in Nairobi, Kenya, as a British citizen, followed by torture endured during the eight days of his disappearance.

He wrote, On October 10, 2017 to October 14, 2017, the Nigerian military attacked and invaded his home. In the process, dozens of people were killed, many were injured and maimed, while many others were captured alive and have disappeared.

Fortunately, Kanu escaped the invasion and returned to his London residence to reunite with his nuclear family.

On May 12, 2021, he traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, as a British citizen and was legally admitted into the country.

On June 19, 2021, he was abducted by agents of the Nigerian government. He disappeared in Nairobi and was tortured for eight days.

KanyiDaily recalls that Ohanaeze Ndigbo had also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to release Nnamdi Kanu before leaving office on May 29.

Related
Umealo, who hailed from Umunze in Orumba South Local Government Area of the state, had attended a meeting in one of the communities.

Gunmen have assassinated a popular businessman, Sir Edwin Umealo.

He was murdered by some yet-to-be-identified assailants at Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State.

Umealo, who hailed from Umunze in Orumba South Local Government Area of the state, had attended a meeting in one of the communities in the state and was returning from the meeting when the assailants trailed his vehicle and struck.

The reason for the attack has not been ascertained but a close family source who did not want his name mentioned because of the sensitive nature disclosed the news to journalists on Thursday.

According to the source, the slain businessman, popularly called Sir White by his friends and business associates, was killed at 7pm last Sunday as he was driving to his Asaba, Delta State residence after the meeting.

It was further gathered that his assailants, after shooting him, allowed him to die in the pool of his blood in his SUV car without taking any valuable.

His car, handsets, cash and other valuables that were with him were left intact when the Police came and took his corpse to the mortuary. Family sources believe he must have been trailed from where he attended the meeting, the source added.

Umealo who is a businessman at Ogboefere Market, Onitsha is married with four children.

The Anambra State police spokesman, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, has yet to respond to text messages and calls to his mobile line when contacted for confirmation on the matter as of the time of filing this report at about 8:24pm on Thursday.
Some members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, have been abducted by gunmen in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State.

It was gathered that the victims were on their way back from the recent orientation camping exercise in Ondo State. They were abducted around 9 p.m., Tuesday, on their way to Port Harcourt.

The incident was confirmed by a witness, who called a radio station in the city to announce the abduction of her sister-in-law and colleagues.

The witness said the corps members were abducted on the Rumuji axis of the East-West Road in Emohua, Rivers State.

Five of the corps members were said to have escaped the abduction and reported at the Rumuji Divisional Police Station.

Number of victims abducted by the kidnappers could not be ascertained at press time.

Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, Okon Effiong, has deployed a police tactical team to track down gunmen who abducted the NYSC members at Rumuji.

Rivers Police Commands spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, who disclosed the CPs order in Port Harcourt, yesterday, explained without giving specific figures that some of the corps members have been rescued and efforts are on to free those still with the kidnappers.

However, a security source and eye witness told Vanguard: Those the police say they have rescued were lucky corps members, who escaped the kidnap. What happened was that a group of corps members, who live in Rivers were on their way to Port Harcourt from the NYSC Camp in Ondo after passing through orientation in that state.

It happened on May 16. They likely had jointly hired the Port Harcourt bound bus. At Rumuji, about 9p.m., on the East West Road, they were already in Rumuji when the bus was hijacked. It is not clear how many persons were abducted but five of the travellers escaped and ran to the Rumuji Police Division to report the matter.
The suspect, Monday Alfred

A man identified as Monday Alfred has been arrested by the Lagos state police command for allegedly being in possession of human parts.

The suspect was apprehended on Wednesday, May 17 by a police patrol team along Ori-okuta old Shagamu road Imota in Lagos state.

The suspect and his accomplice were spotted on a motorcycle riding on top speed heading towards Shagamu from Imota.

Immediately they were stopped by the police for a search, both men jumped down and ran into the bush, the police gave them a hot chase and arrested Monday Alfred of Isale-Aye Araromi Mota while the second escaped through the bush paths.

The police searched Alfred and found two cut hands suspected to be human parts inside a liquid suspected to be alcohol in a plastic bucket.

His motorcycle as well as his phone were confiscated while efforts are being made to apprehend the fleeing suspect.




The state police spokesman, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed that they were rescued unhurt by the joint security forces in the early hours of Friday.

Security operatives have rescued two staff of the United States Consulate in Nigeria, abducted during the attack on their convoy at Ogbaru Local Government Area in Anambra State on Tuesday.

The state police spokesman, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a press release to journalists in Awka, on Friday.

Although their names and identities were not disclosed, but Ikenga said they were rescued unhurt by the joint security forces in the early hours of Friday.



In the early hours of Friday, May 19, 2023, the joint security forces rescued unhurt the two remaining victims abducted during the attack on a US convoy attack along Atani/Osamela road in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.

Operations are still ongoing and further details shall be communicated, please, Ikenga added.
The spokesperson of the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Council, Tanko Yunusa, has reacted to the Federal High Court ruling in Kano on Friday which nullified the candidature of Abia State Governor-elect, Alex Otti.

The Kano court also nullified all the candidates of the Labour Party in Abia and Kano State, alleging that their emergence was not in compliance with the provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act.

Reacting, however, to the development, Yunusa, who was the chief spokesperson of LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, described the courts verdict on Friday as the work of the opposition party, which he said will not stand.

According to him, the Federal High Court in Kano lacks the jurisdiction to hear the electoral matter. The LP chieftain said there is no cause for alarm because the legal team of the party is already working to appeal the judgement.

The judgement will not stand because the Federal High Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain an electoral matter. It is within the jurisdiction of the electoral tribunal. I believe this is the work of the opposition party; however, the will of the Abia people will stand, Yunusa said.

Naija News recalls that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had months confirmed Otti as the winner of the March 18 governorship election in Abia.

The electoral commission said Otti polled 175,467 votes to win the election.
Abia State Governor-elect, Alex Otti has reacted to the Kano court judgment dismissing his candidacy and other Labour Party (LP) candidates in Abia and Kano States.

Alex Otti called on Abians to be calm and not be worried over the judgment.

Kanyi Daily earlier reported that the judge of the Federal High Court, Justice M N Yunusa handed down the judgment.

Justice Yunusa ruled that the candidates emergence was not in compliance with the provisions of the 2022 electoral act.

One Mr. Ibrahim Haruna Ibrahim filed a suit with No FHC/KN/CS/107/2023, against the Labour Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Acting on the suit, the court ruled that the failure of the Labour Party to submit its membership register to the INEC within 30 days before their primaries renders the process invalid.

According to the governor-elect, there is no cause for concern as the judgement is an unjust decision that cannot undermine the will of the people.

Otti, who spoke in Abia confirmed that preparations for his scheduled inauguration on May 29 are proceeding as planned.

He declared that the enemies of democracy cannot thwart the wishes of the Abia populace.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party has dismissed the court ruling as a futile exercise, emphasizing that it holds no significance.

In other news, the Abuja Division of the Appeal Court has set aside the injunction granted by the High Court of Kogi State restraining the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, from the investigation and prosecution of officials of the state.

Related
Advertisement

By Izunna Okafor, Awka

No fewer than four persons reportedly died, while goods worth millions of naira were destroyed, as unidentified gunmen launched an attack on another community in Anambra State, barely two days after a deadly attack that led to the death of seven persons in another community in the state.

The latest attack was said to have badgered at Eke Awgbu Market in Awgbu community, Orumba North Local Government Area of the State at about 9.pm, Thursday.

It was gathered that the gunmen, during the attack, also set the market on fire. Three of the persons who died during the attack were said to have been gunned down by the gunmen, while they burnt the other person alive, right inside his shop where he was selling fuel.

Speaking on the suspected cause of the attack, a source and eyewitness from the village who pleaded anonymity, revealed that danger started raging in the area on Wednesday, May 17, when some hoodlums went for a criminal operation in Amaokpala, a neighbouring community to Awgbu.

It was gathered that, after their operation, the hoodlums wanted to escape through Awgbu community, which made the commercial cyclists (Okada riders) in Amaokpala to contact their colleagues operating at Awgbu Market and inform them that the hoodlums who attacked them were approaching to pass through the Eke Awgbu Market.

This, according to the source, made the commercial cyclists to team up with the local vigilante in the area, strategically position themselves and chase after the hoodlums, whom they eventually captured two of them, while others escaped.

The source, however revealed that, out of anger over what the people of the area had suffered in the hands of the hoodlums, some of the angry youths in the community who were at Eke Awgbu that day, started torturing the two captured hoodlums, until they eventually died in their hands. The youths also reportedly set the corpses of the hoodlums ablaze at the Market.

It was gathered that the gunmen, on Thursday night, stormed the community for retaliation. They were said to had first visited the office of the local vigilante of the community, but found no one there, which made them rush to the Eke Awgbu Market and start shooting sporadically, during which they gunned down three civilians, set a portion of the Market on fire, and also set one person (identified as Mr. Ofor) ablaze inside his shop.

The source further hinted that the local vigilante eventually came to the Market at about 12 midnight, long after the gunmen had left.

Although, there is a police station in Awgbu community, the source revealed that the station had not been operational for a long time now, given that the police officers attached to the station fled since the surge of gunmen attacks in different parts of the State.

All efforts made by this reporter to get the reactions of the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Anambra State, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, proved abortive, as he was yet to respond to enquiries sent to him on the incident, as at the time of this publication.

Related

Advertisement
The spokesperson of the command, CSP Gambo Isah, said the suspect attacked police officers detailed to arrest him with a dangerous knife.

The suspect, Umar Abubakar

A 23-year-old suspected gang leader of a criminal group terrorizing parts of the Katsina metropolis has been arrested by the police.

Spokesperson of the Kaduna State Police Command, CSP Gambo Isah, who disclosed this in a statement on Friday, May 19, 2023, said the suspect, Umar Abubakar, attacked police officers detailed to arrest him with a dangerous knife.

On 17/5/2023, at about 2215hrs, based on credible intelligence, the command succeeded in arresting one Umar Abubakar alias Sabon-Sarki, m, aged 23 years old, of Rahamawa quarters, Katsina, a notorious suspected gang leader of social miscreants (Kauraye), terrorizing Sabuwar Unguwa, Rahamawa, andJanbango areas of the Katsina metropolis, the statement read.

A sharp, dangerous knife which the suspect used to attack officers detailed to arrest him while trying to evade arrest was recovered. Investigation is ongoing.
Oba of Benin, Ewuare II has gotten an appointment from the federal government.

The Federal Government appointed the monarch as the chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria, two years after the institution has been without a Chancellor.

The university, is the largest in Nigeria with over 120,000 students, cutting across the various learning centres nationwide.

The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Olufemi Peters, who announced this when the management staff of the institution paid a courtesy visit to the Oba on Friday in Benin City, Edo State, assured that the fortunes of the university would improve.

He said, It is heartwarming to announce that the Oba is the new vice chancellor of the Open University. We are sure that his tenure will usher in good development for the school.

The reason why this university was established by the federal government is to bring tertiary education to as many Nigerians as possible, no matter where they are, whatever their circumstances or hindrances may be.

We are in every state of the country, serving every area. We have over 120,000 students. It is the biggest university in the country.

Responding, His Royal Majesty, Ewuare II, Oba of Benin, accepted his appointment and commended President Muhammadu Buhari for finding him worthy of the position.

He promised to bring his wealth of experience to bear in the discharge of his duties and leverage on his experience during his diplomatic sojourn towards improving teaching and learning in the University with the support of the management team.

When I was first informed about my appointment, I was very happy.

We thank God almighty for this recognition of the work we are doing in Benin Kingdom. We hope to hope to bring our experience in piloting the affair of the institution.

I am most grateful to the Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari for deeming it fit to appoint me as Vice Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria, Oba Ewuare II said.

Highpoint of the visit was the presentation of some literature of the National Open University of Nigeria by the Management of the school to the Oba.
Shehu Sani

Shehu Sani, former Kaduna Central Senator, has reacted to the purported threat by the coalition of northern groups to evict all southerners doing business in the north if the federal government doesnt rescind its decision to suspend the RUGA settlements of Fulani herders within 30 days.

It was reported that the Federal Government suspended the Ruga initiative in a bid to curb incessant clashes between Fulani herders and host communities.

But the government was forced to suspend the decision after it was greeted by widespread criticisms.

Angered by the news of its suspension, the northern youths purportedly issued a 30-day ultimatum to every southerner residing in the north to vacate unless RUGA is implemented.

Reacting to the purported threat by the supposed northern youths, Sani described the threat as a clownish act by vendors of anarchy.

On his Twitter page, he wrote: The Northern group that issued an ultimatum to the FG and quit notice to others are clownish and comical masquerades and Vendors of anarchy.
According to Punch Metro, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission on Thursday said it had recovered hospital equipment meant for constituency project on the premises of Mma Obot Foundation, allegedly belonging to Senator Godswill Akpabio.

In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Rasheedat Okoduwa, the commission said it also recovered six tractors from a farm belonging to Senator Isa Misau, who represented Bauchi Central Senatorial District.

The anti-graft agency said it recovered the items during its ongoing tracking of constituency projects around the country.

It said the six tractors recovered from Misau were meant to be used by farmers in the six council areas of the Bauchi Central Senatorial District.

The ICPC said, The CPTG assessment and review of constituency projects across Nigeria by the commission and its partners  Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Bureau of Public Procurement, Budget Office of the Federation, Premium Times, BudgIT and Udeme.ng  is aimed at ensuring satisfactory execution of all constituency projects across the country.

It has so far led to multiple recoveries of items, hospital equipment, vehicles and funds. It has also forced many contractors, who hitherto had abandoned projects, to return to site to complete them.

Among the recoveries so far made by the CPTG team are dialysis machine, ECG monitor, oxygen regulator, anaesthetic machines, generators and other hospital equipment meant for a cottage hospital in Ukana, Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, from the premises of Mma Obot Foundation, alleged to belong to Senator Godswill Akpabio.

The ICPC said the tractors recovered from Misau were part of items meant to be bought from the sum of N430m to help farmers in his senatorial district.
A farmer, Oladosu Nureni, who was alleged to have shot and killed two persons in Iwoye community in Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State, has been arrested by the police, five months after he committed the dastardly act.

Nureni, otherwise known as Otele has been on the run since he killed the Amuludun of Iwoye, Ajayi Onifade and head of local hunters in the community, Olatunji Ayinla, on March 27.

But the suspect, who threatened to kill more members of the community if they dared come after him, was finally apprehended by the police on Wednesday night.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Ogun State Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed the arrest in a statement on Friday, said the Area Commander in charge of Ilaro, ACP Chris Adeyeri, received information that the suspect had been sighted at Irogun-Ishaga village in the local government.

He added that Adeyeri, upon receiving the information, promptly mobilised his men and stormed the village where the suspect was arrested at about 10.30pm on Wednesday.

One locally-made gun, gun powder and assorted charms were recovered from him.

Meanwhile the Commissioner of Police, Bashir Makama, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspect to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) for proper investigation and prosecution.
A relation of one of those abducted by the suspected Fulani bandits in Ajeoku Village in Osun State on Sunday, simply identified as Tunde has said those abducted were travellers heading towards Osogbo from Abuja.

The abduction, a former Obokun Local Government Chairman, Mr. Sunday Ojo-Williams, said occurred in the village located between Otan Ile and Imesi Ile towns.

Tunde said his relation, a lady was among those abducted and he had to visit the scene late Sunday.

He said that drivers in Ota Efun Park, Osogbo, upon being informed of the incident also visited the scene in Ajeoku.

According to him, four commercial buses heading towards Ota Efun Park in Osogbo from Abuja were stopped by the kidnappers and some passengers were abducted.

Tunde said that while nursing mothers, the elderly and children were freed, others were led into the bush by the gunmen.

The Osun State Coordinator of Oodua Peoples Congress, Prince Deji Aladesawe, told our correspondent that his men were in the bush working with the police to rescue those in the custody of the kidnappers.
The Area Commander, Suleja Area Command of the Nigeria Police Force, Mr. Isa Rambo, has been kidnapped by gunmen around Kaduna, Sunday PUNCH has learnt.

A senior police officer told our correspondent that Rambo, who is an Assistant Commissioner of Police, was kidnapped on his way to Jos on Saturday evening.

The senior officer said, He was kidnapped around Kaduna and was on his way to Jos along with his driver when they were attacked and whisked away. The kidnappers have made contact with us and are demanding a ransom of N50m.

The victim is the second senior police officer to be abducted in the last three months.

In August, a Divisional Police Officer in Delta State identified as Okoro was abducted and released after a ransom of N3m was paid but the police denied the incident.

The Abuja-Kaduna expressway has witnessed unprecedented kidnappings in recent times causing many to opt for trains rather than road transport.

When contacted, the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, said he was not aware.
Minister of works and housing, Babatunde Fashola says that reason why Julius Berger is the preferred contractor for Nigerian projects is because the firm is a Nigerian company.

Mr Fashola stated this while speaking at a joint session of the committees on housing of both houses of the National Assembly Thursday, October 24, 2019.

According to him, Julius Berger is registered in the country and trades on the Nigerian Stock Exchange hence, contractors prefer them above other indigenous companies. Fashola said:

By Nigerian law, Julius Berger is a Nigerian company. Thats the law of this country. You cannot do a contract in Nigeria if youre not registered as a Nigerian company. Thats an act of parliament. We dont set those (inaudible), once you comply with Nigerian law as a Nigerian company with a certificate of occupancy The shares of Julius Berger are traded on the Stock Exchange of Nigeria, not on the stock exchange of London. The shareholders and owners are mixture of Nigerians, Germans and also Lagos state government and whether it is Akwa Ibom or Cross River is also a shareholder. The chairman is a Nigerian. So lets be clear (on) what the definitions are. We dont set the definitions. So if a Nigerian company bids, we cant exclude it because apart from the main works there are a lot of subcontracted works that we also must pay attention to.

He added: On the second Niger bridge when I went there, the marine works and all the boat works there (are) by indigenes who are paid. They hire their boats to do all the underground, geological water works.

He, nonetheless, said the country has to come to terms with the limitation it has in technology. For this reason, seeking expertise abroad wont be an unpatriotic move, he said.

The minister also called for improved funding to existing road construction in the country.

He said as a cushion to the existing limited budgetary provision for the constructions of roads, the government has subscribed 28 roads to the non-interest sukuk bond.

What the budget provided for was not going to take us anywhere. So when we looked at those roads that will go into the sukuk it was a creative way of getting private capital to come to fund those assets. So we took 28 roads and made sure that the volume of traffic, the access to port, access to depot, connectivity to agro areas, which are the top economic focal areas of government, remain in our considerations as we chose the 28 roads that will benefit, he explained.

Meanwhile, Julius Berger has revealed that the ongoing work in the second Niger Bridge will be completed on February 28, 2022.




Fabiana Santana killed by her 13 year old sister

A 13-year-old girl has murdered her pregnant sister and her son before tearing the unborn baby from the womb on the orders of a 35-year-old woman who wanted to keep the baby for herself, a report by Dailymail has revealed.

Fabiana Santana, 23, was eight months pregnant when the girl attacked her.

Santanas seven-year-old son Gustavo was then drowned when he tried to save her in Porto Velho, Brazil.

She had been bludgeoned around the head with an iron bar, leaving her face disfigured and stabbed to death.

Police say the 13-year-old girl carried out the attack with a 15-year-old boy on the orders of Catia Rabelo who masterminded the plan.

She was arrested on Wednesday after going on the run and has allegedly confessed to inciting the teenagers to commit the brutal killings.

It is believed Rabelo intended to trick her boyfriend, a gold prospector, into believing she had given birth to his child.

Remarkably, police found the baby alive in the care of the 15-year-old accomplice at his familys home.





Police say the 13-year-old girl carried out the attack with a 15-year-old boy on the orders of Catia Rabelo (pictured) who masterminded the plan

The 15-year-olds mother, who was not present at the murders, had fled from the home.

The child, weighing 3.9lbs, is under observation at Porto Base Old Hospital and is in good health despite his horrifically violent birth.

The expectant mother and her son were reported missing by relatives after they failed to return from an evening out on October 18 with the teenage suspects.

Mrs Santana body was found buried in a shallow grave on a vacant plot of land in Porto Velho three days later.

An autopsy report released on Friday suggests she may have been alive when her baby was cut from her womb with a knife.

Her young son was found floating in a man-made lake, less than 100 metres from where his mother was buried.

Investigators are also trying to substantiate allegations made by the adolescent girl against her deceased sister and a family member.

Police chief, Leisaloma Carvalho told FocusOn News: The girl made a separate claim that she committed the crimes out of revenge because she was sexually abused by her sisters husband and ill-treated by Fabiana who didnt believe her stories.




Dikeocha Chukwuebuka

The Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arrested a blogger, Mr Dikeocha Chukwuebuka, who published a picture of a crowded open cell in his Twitter handle @TheRealDayne, claiming that it is that of Port Harcourt office of the EFCC.

The Port Harcourt Zonal Head of the Commission, Mr Usman Imam who announced the arrest while briefing newsmen in Port Harcourt today, February 27, 2020 said the suspect was picked up at about 4pm on Wednesday, February 26 in the premises of a new generation bank on Ada George Road in Port Harcourt.

He said the arrest was a fulfillment of the vow he made to track and apprehend the author of the malicious tweet.

He recalled that the tweet was a most embarrassing moment for the Commission, given that the fake news, represented the very opposite of what the EFCC stands for, as far as care of detainees is concerned.

I want to assure the suspect and indeed the media, that the Commission will follow through this investigation and ensure that justice is served in accordance with the law, he said.

Imam warned social media influencers to be circumspect in using information which they have not checked to save the society from the ordeal of fake news.

A remorseful Chukwuebuka, admitted his error in publishing the picture which he said belonged to another agency. He apologized to the EFCC and his followers for the false and misleading report.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

BLOOMINGTON  Central Catholic High School's senior class raised over $10,057.54 for the Bloomington-Normal Boys & Girls Club.

The class presented a check to the organization during the Class of 2023 Honors Day on Wednesday.

The donation was part of a tradition, as each year Central Catholic's senior class selects a charity to raise funds for throughout the year. The seniors also spend time volunteering with the charity.

This year, students raised money starting with the Senior Car Wash in August and through their monthly "Dress Down Days."

Central Catholic seniors have raised over $110,000 for charities over the past 10 years.

Another tradition includes hosting Special Olympics Young Athletes on the last day of classes. The seniors participate with the athletes in Special Olympics Opening Ceremonies before taking a lead role in guiding them through different stations.

Students, faculty and staff then all join the seniors in cheering on the athletes during their "Walk of Champions," which took place Friday, May 12.

Past senior charities have included Miracle League, Children's Home & Aid, Penguin Project, Birthright of Bloomington, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and St. Vincent DePaul.

Watch now: Photos from the Celebrity Bartending fundraiser at the Windjammer Celebrity bartenders Bill Croff and Brian Peterson with Leslie Coombs Kirsten Evans, Carly Ewan, Kristin Peterson, Brian Mueller Hannah Lefler, Jay Evans Make Laffey, Charlie Farner, Marlene Shepherd, Paul Van Hook Kate Burcham, Pam Deaton, Willie Thompson, Jolene Aldus, Annie Swanson Carly Ewan, Jason Backer Kathy Prince Cathy Oloffson, Tony Morstatter Kirsten and Keith Evans Jonell Kehias, Charlie Farner
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

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

May 18, 1923: The 29th annual report of the Wither's public library was given Friday by Miss Nellie Parham, librarian. A few more than 11,000 readers were enrolled at the close of the year. Of these, 60% use their cards continuously and 25% occasionally.

75 years ago

May 18, 1948: John J. Hogan handed Civil Aeronautics Administration's grant offer of $210,000 in federal funds to Mayor Mark B. Hayes as the government's portion of the cost of the $420,000 Bloomington Municipal Airport improvements. A similar offer from the state has also been received.

50 years ago

May 18, 1973: James A. Stahly, 2009 Castle, was elected president of Illinois Wesleyan Alumni Association. Mrs. Kenneth G. Saito, 19 Kingswood, Normal, was elected recording secretary. Stahly, a 1962 graduate, is assistant public relations director of State Farm Automobile Insurance Co.

25 years ago

May 18, 1998: The Normal Town Council adopted tree-trimming guidelines that limit cuts to limbs with a diameter of 4 inches or less. The new standards will not go into effect for 10 days because of publication requirements. Until then, the town will continue its trimming ban against Illinois Power. Representatives of the utility, Bloomington, Normal and the Illinois Commerce Commission are set to meet to discuss the issue.

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'
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

From Illinois law: No unit of local government shall levy any tax on stock, commodity or options transactions.

That statute has long been targeted for elimination by the Chicago Teachers Union and its allies. The CTU reliably shuns any proposal to increase property taxes across the board, instead pushing often-times magical solutions as alternatives. Its one way the union has maintained its popularity among Chicago voters.

And new Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who spent much of his career working for the CTU, made it clear during his inaugural address that he will eschew property tax increases, lumping them in with onerous fines and fees. We have a structural deficit, Johnson told his audience. And we have to invest in people. And we have to do that without breaking the backs of working people with fines, fees and property taxes.

During the campaign, Johnson proposed a 1-2 percent Big Banks Securities and Speculation Tax that would raise $100 million. So, naturally, theres worry that Mayor Johnson will try to use his considerable contacts in the General Assembly and CTUs clout to persuade Gov. J.B. Pritzker to reverse his position on allowing Chicago to impose a transaction tax and ease the citys structural deficit.

When he was asked last month about the transaction tax, Pritzker said, Obviously what we all want is a thriving financial services economy in the state and the city. I have not stood for a transaction tax, because I think it would be easy for those companies' servers to move out of the state.

The financial services industry employs thousands of Illinoisans. And one of the leaders of that industry left Chicago in a huff last year. Citadel CEO Ken Griffin abruptly announced his move to Florida after shutting down funding for his preferred Republican gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin. Griffin and Pritzker have exchanged verbal jabs ever since then and Pritzker has repeatedly full-on attacked Griffins Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

It's not a stretch to believe that Griffin would love to see more Illinois-based companies relocate to Miami. Crains Chicago Business, citing multiple industry sources, recently reported that investment firm Guggenheim Partners, which has strong Chicago ties, is on the verge of deciding to move its headquarters to Miami, the Florida city to which Citadel recently decamped.

And lots of heads turned last week when Bloomberg reported that CME Group CEO D indicated that the company could leave Chicago. CME has already sold all of its real estate in the city and the state, Duffy said. In our leases, we have a language in there that says if theres something thats ill-conceived from the city or the state, that our leases are null and void, Duffy said on a Bloomberg podcast. Were in a very strong position. If we had to leave, we could leave.

Duffy did make it clear that We like Chicago, saying he wants to be part of the solution, not a part of the problem. Also, if you listen to the podcast, Duffy made a point to say he realized that campaign rhetoric often changes when people assume office and have to govern.

And Johnsons own campaign website claims: We should raise revenues from activities that wont leave and cost us jobs.

While Duffy has strong, lifelong ties to Chicago, he is clearly not happy with how the city has been run. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Duffy said: Three oclock in the afternoon, my wife got carjacked right in the city of Chicago and its absolutely insane whats going on here.

Duffy said he was also upset with the response he received from then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot about how the homicide rate was falling. I said, Dont go there. Please dont go there. One is too many.

I would assume that Duffy has been inundated with offers to move his company elsewhere since the progressive Brandon Johnsons election. Company headquarter locations are very often subject to the whims of the CEO. Duffy said during his most recent interview that he hadnt yet talked with the new mayor. I'm hopeful that he reaches out, I don't care if it's me or whoever, and talks about these things.

So, I reached out to the two legislative leaders to see where they stood on allowing home rule units like Chicago to impose a tax on electronic transactions.

Spokespersons for both Senate President Don Harmon and House Speaker Chris Welch said their bosses opposed the idea.

This thing is off the table.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

I must take exception to the "Flick Fact" of May 1. Jesse Fell was not "a right-wing conservative" for establishing Normal as a "dry" community.

Jesse Fell was a lawyer, businessman and land speculator. He founded Normal and was responsible for the founding of today's Illinois State University. He was also on Illinois Wesleyan's original board. He helped bring the railroads to this area and the railroad shops. He founded or helped found many of this area's communities. He also founded what is today's Pantagraph.

Fell proposed the Lincoln-Douglas debates, helped found the Illinois Republican Party and got his friend Abraham Lincoln's name known in the East before the 1860 elections. He was an abolitionist strongly opposing slavery. After the Civil War he made certain Normal was an integrated community and the public schools were open to all. He also worked to secure the Soldiers Orphans Home {ISSCS} for Normal.

Fell supported women's suffrage and was an environmentalist. He caused as many as 30,000 trees to be planted in Normal. And this is not a full list of his accomplishments.

Temperance was a 19th century reform movement. This war on alcohol in many ways resembled today's war on drugs. It is difficult today to imagine how evil alcohol was viewed by many in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Temperance movement resulted in the U.S. Constitution being amended to ban alcohol nationwide. After this amendment was repealed many states, counties and communities remained "dry." Being opposed to alcohol was quite mainstream in Jesse Fell's world.

Called "the person most important to McLean County's superior growth and prosperity" in Don Munson's "Sesquicentennial Stories," it is hard to imagine a two-mile funeral procession and the schools being let out for someone other than this great community visionary.

Paul Harmon, Normal
The Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC), Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, has assured Ghanaians that with the advent of the Jospong Group Rice Project, the importation of rice into the country will be minimised if not stop completely.



"Where we (JGC) see a problem we confront it and solve it and this project that we have begun walahi talahi the rice importation must end," he vowed.



Dr. Agyepong was speaking at a two-day Ghana Food Security Conference under the theme "Enhancing Food Security: The role of Ghanaian Scientists" in Gomoa Fetteh in the Central Region.



He encouraged the stakeholders, particularly rice farmers and scientists not to despair because there are no adequate policies to support the initiative but rather be hopeful that when "fruits begin to yeild", policies will change to favour them.



"Whether policy is supporting or not, never be discouraged, let us do our part and when we begin to yield fruits, policies will change to favour us," he assured.



Quoting former president Barack Obama, he further challenged the government to choose hope over the fear that if it bans the importation of rice, Ghanaians will go hungry but rather be hopeful that the Ghanaian farmer will be challenged and empowered to produce quality rice for the country.



The CEO of the Asian African Consortium (AAC), Mrs. Adelaide Siaw Agyepong who is leading the Jospong Group Rice Project noted that science, research and development have traditionally been the drivers of innovation and productivity and are central to everything done in the world.



According to her, if immediate measures to enhance food production are not undertaken, the cost of Africa's yearly food import might rise from $50 billion to US$110 billion by 2030.



"When there is a food crisis, the poor suffer the most since they are unable to obtain food due to price hikes" she noted.



She said this motivated the Jospong Group of Companies and the AAC in partnership with the CSIR to "perceive" the need to bridge Ghana's food security gaps.



On his part, the Director General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Prof. Paul Bosu, was hopeful that the two-day conference will chart a course towards realizing Ghana's goal of achieving food security and becoming self-sufficient in rice production.



"We in Ghana have all that we need to become food secured," he stressed.



He reiterated that the CSIR and the AAC recently signed an MoU to work together towards the vision of helping Ghana to become food secured.



"We need to support the government to achieve its objective of feeding the Ghanaian population and earn more foreign exchange, " he charged the stakeholders.



The General Secretary of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Labi, who spoke on behalf of the Chairman of the Church of Pentecost noted that this initiative has come at the right time to help Ghana achieve the Sustainable Development Goal two: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.



He noted that the conference theme, "Enhancing Food Security: The Role of Ghanaian Scientists" is crucial in Ghana's development discourse, especially at a time when the economy is distressed.



"While we await IMF assistance, it is critical that steps be taken locally to strengthen our country's economic issues," he noted.



The Church commend the CSIR, whose key mandate is to drive national development and global competitiveness in the industry through scientific and technological research, for partnering with Jospong Group.



He noted that the conference is rightly in sync with the 5-year vision of the Church of Pentecost, which has the theme "Possessing the Nations".



"The overarching goal is to equip members who will possess their nations by transforming every worldview, thought, and behaviour with the values, principles, and lifestyles of the Kingdom of God, thereby turning many to Christ'" he mentioned.



The conference aims to



 ESTABLISH INTER-INSTITUTIONAL TECHNICAL TEAMS WITH CLEAR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES TO DRIVE THE PRODUCTION OF SELECTED COMMODITIES (IE RICE, JUTE, MAIZE, SOYA BEAN, TOMATO, ONION, ETC.), AND ESTABLISH TIMELINES FOR DELIVERABLES.



 CONDUCT A THOROUGH ANALYSIS OF THE KEY AREAS OF OPERATIONS FOR EACH COMMODITY, INCLUDING BREEDING, GOOD AGRONOMIC PRACTICES, MECHANIZATION, INNOVATION, ETC. AND DEVELOP ACTION PLANS TO ADDRESS ANY IDENTIFIED GAPS.



 DEVELOP CLEAR MODALITIES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMME DELIVERABLES, INCLUDING RESOURCE ALLOCATION, TIMELINES, AND COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS.



 PREPARE A COMPREHENSIVE WORK PLAN AND BUDGET PER SELECTED COMMODITY, OUTLINING SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES, DELIVERABLES, TIMELINES, AND RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS.



 RECOMMEND TRAINING PROGRAMMES THAT WILL BUILD CAPACITY OF THE TECHNICAL TEAMS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVED IN THE PRODUCTION OF SELECTED COMMODITIES.



The conference brought together Many partners from universities, experienced civil servants from all persuasions and agencies and other partners from Nigeria and Thailand.

Source: Peacefmonline com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Tour Operators Union of Ghana (TOUGHA) led by the President, Mrs. Alisa Osei Asamoah partnered with the Nigerian counterparts, National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) with their President, Mrs. Susan Akporiaye to push the need for the continent to improve inter-Africa travels, trade, tourism and investment through collaboration, partnership and innovation. About 70 delegates from TOUGHA and close to 100 participants from NANTA were at the conference in South Africa.



The maiden NANTA  TOUGHA conference was hosted by the School of Tourism and Hospitality, University of Johannesburg from 4th to 7th May, 2023 and endorsed by South Africa Tourism under the theme, ITS TIME FOR AFRICA, to promote Africa as a destination for Tourism and unite the continent. The conference being birthed out of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agenda brought together industry players, practitioners and professionals across the African continent to market their tourism products as well as brainstorm on how to ensure seamless travels across the continent without the need for borders in Africa that hinder travel businesses to flourish.



The training sessions assembled the best of faculty members from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa on tourism enterprise and related businesses to lecture on best practices with practical experiences and examples. There were two panel discussions and a workshop involving government and private sector participation from Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria. One of the major highlights of the conference was that all participants were presented with certificates by the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is worthy to note that the University of Johannesburg is ranked number one (1) in Africa and number nine (9) in the world.



TOUGHA and NANTA participated in one of Africas biggest Pan-African Trade and Exhibition show, Africas Travel Indaba in Durban, South Africa under the theme, Unlimited Africa which speaks directly to the continents uncapped potential indicating that the African continent is open for the world to explore, connect and grow, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tour Operators Union of Ghana (TOUGHA) led by its President, Mrs. Alisa Osei Asamoah joined more than 6,000 delegates, including 1,000 international buyers and 1,000 exhibitors showcasing 350 products, trade associations, destination marketing companies, leisure tourism services partners, and the media across the continent.



South Africas Tourism Minister delivering her key note address at the Official opening of Africas Travel Indaba 2023 said Competition is essential for destination marketing and tourism and there is also the need for collaboration, partnership and innovation across the value chain to drive growth in the sector. She noted that harmonizing visa regimes and simplifying the application process is vital for unlocking Africas tourism potential.



The President of TOUGHA, Mrs. Alisa Osei Asamoah and members participated fully in all activities at the 2023 Africas Travel Indaba in the vibrant and bustling city of Durban as it kicked off with the Business Opportunity Networking Day (BONDay) session held at the iconic Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre. Some of the activities also include plenary sessions and panel discussions, B2B, speed marketing, Women in Tourism, Global Media Face-Off with Richard Quest, etc.



The President of TOUGHA, Mrs. Alisa Osei Asamoah was optimistic that the collaborative initiative with South African Tourism (SAT) and its West African Office, the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) and NANTA, consisting of structured engagements, aimed at invigorating the tourism sector. She opined that the partnership and collaboration will lead to the establishment of dedicated workstreams by members of TOUGHA focusing on specific markets and aspects of tourism and destination marketing. She stated that this years Indaba offered members of TOUGHA an opportunity to experience new things ie. New partnerships and collaborations, learn from one another, make new contacts, seal new deals and network like never before and to work together towards a more sustainable and inclusive tourism industry.



Members of TOUGHA with a common voice were also happy about the fostering of business networking and connections with Exhibitors and Buyers at this years Africas Travel Indaba. They took the opportunity to take some time before and after the event to visit areas of interests in South Africa including unique tourism products, restaurants, cuisines, nightlife, great weather, hospitable people, rich culture and history.



The TOUGHA President, Mrs. Alisa Osei Asamoah expressed her profound appreciation to the South African High Commissioner to Ghana, Mrs. Grace Mason in facilitating the visa acquisition process for about 70 members of TOUGHA prior to the Conference in Johannesburg and and Africas Travel Indaba in Durban, South Africa. She was also grateful to South Africa Tourism for the support and goodwill created over the years leading to TOUGHAs participation over the years through its West African Office. Moreover, a lot of commendation to the Executives, Council and Advisory Board Members of the Tour Operators Union of Ghana. Finally, she expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) and the main implementing agency, the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) as well as the Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC).



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
Governance Lecturer, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah together with host of Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' morning show, Kwami Sefa Kayi have hailed the Member of Parliament for Asawase Constituency, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka on his victory in the NDC primaries over the weekend.



Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah commended Hon. Mubarak Muntaka for his show of bravery to be re-elected to serve the constituency despite the little hope people had in him to win his seat again during the primaries.



To Dr. Otchere-Ankrah, the MP has proven to be a strong man.



"In all sincerity, I thought he will lose the seat but he has proven to be strong. Forces from several quarters - from his party - from within and without wanted him removed but he's proven that he is on the ground," he applauded Hon. Muntaka.



On the part of Kwami Sefa Kayi, affectionately called "Chairman General", he affirmed Hon. Muntaka to be a fine and good gentleman.



He noted that he and Muntaka have a very good relationship, albeit their individual jobs have caused them to drift apart from each other.



"He was really my guy some time ago. It's life and work that have caused us to go separately . . . There is no offence between us. I mean we've just drifted apart, not that he has offended me or I have offended him but about 10/15 years ago, he was my real gee," Mr. Sefa Kayi said.







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
Member of the Communication team for the Convention People's Party (CPP), Sylvester Soprano Sarpong has blamed the erstwhile Mahama administration and the current Akufo-Addo government for the arrest of Hajia4real.



The US Department of Justice (DoJ) on Monday, May 15, 2023, announced the indictment of Ghanaian socialite Mona Faiz Montrage popularly known as Hajia4Reall on fraud-related charges.



According to the DoJ, Mona was arrested in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2022, in connection with a series of romance schemes and money laundering between 2013 and 2019.



She is said to have received payments amounting to over $2 million from her victims in collaboration with a criminal enterprise operating in the West Africa area.



She is facing up to 95 years jail term if found guilty on all six charges levelled against her.



Soprano reacting to this on Neat FM's Me Man Nti programme believes if the two administrations had put the right systems, especially for the youth, people like Hajia4real would not have been arrested.



"...look at these leaders who were given everything on a silver platter; they've just ruined us and brought us to our knees. Look at what Hajia4real was doing and I can tell you that is what almost every youth is doing; it's called Yahoo Yahoo and it's because there's no alternative. So what has happened to Hajia4real is a direct result of the presidency of Mahama and Akufo-Addo. I'll put the blame at their doorstep..." he stated.



Listen to him in the video below





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
There has been overwhelming endorsement of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia's Flagbearership bid throughout his consultations with stakeholders of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in various Regions.



Dr. Bawumia, whose interest to contest the vacant NPP Flagbearership for the 2024 election is an open secret, has initiated consultations with key stakeholders of the party and beyond over the past few weeks to inform them of his intentions and then to seek their blessing and support before he formally goes public.



First, sources say he informed the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, former President J.A. Kufuor and other stalwart of the NPP before meeting key party blocks including the influential Majority Caucus to formally inform them of his decision.



The Vice President, in extending reverence to religious and chieftaincy institutuons, is also said to have informed and sought the blessings of several traditional and religious authorities across the country, an important exercise his fellow contenders glossed over.



In the past two weeks, Dr. Bawumia has shifted his focus on respecting the NPP's Regional structure by meeting with key stakeholders across the Regions and the reactions have been overwhelmingly positive.



Last week, he spent time in the Western North, Western, Central, Volta and Oti Regions where he met enthusiastic party faithful who minced no words in declaring their support for him.



This week, Dr. Bawumia has been to the three Bono and Ahafo Regions as well as to the Ashanti and Northern Regions.

The support has been massive for the Vice President in all these Regions he visited.



In Volta Region, a former Campaign Manager for Alan Kyerematen, a contender for the flagbearership, stunned buoyant Regional party stakeholders when he declared his support for Dr. Bawumia.



"Dr. Bawumia is the only one who can break the 8 for the NPP and I support him," Kofi Dzamesi, a former close ally of Alan Kyerematen, said.



In the Bono Region, while Dr. Bawumia was locked in a meeting with the party stakeholders, scores of people charged outside chanting the his name and demanding he addresses them.



The Vice President obliged but he was just short of phblicly confirming his flagbearership bid.

Instead, he thanked the charged crowd, called for party unity and assured them the government will continue to work.



The story was not different in the Ashanti Region, the NPP's stronghold.



The Region's major stakeholders including constituency executives openly chanted Bawumias name and declared their unflinching support for him, commending him for his hardwork and loyalty to the party.



The Constituency Chairman for Oforikrom, Anthony Amankwaa, summing up the sentiments of his colleague Ashanti Regional Constituency Chairmen, said they had long realized the significant contributions by Dr. Bawumia to the party and government and have been working hard for him.



"Dr., this work (to get you elected) did not start today. We the started it long time ago, together with our Chairman, Wontumi. There is even no need for us to say anything today because we already doing the work. We will see you through and we believe you will go and break the 8 for us; may God bless you," Chairman Amankwaa said to a loud applause from his colleagues.



Another Chairman, Collins Addai of Atwima Mponua, lauded Dr. Bawumia for his immense contributions to the electoral success of the NPP, especially, noting in areas which the NPP traditionally didn't do well until the emergence of Dr. Bawumia.



The trend of massive stakeholder endorsement, positive testimonials and enthusiastic grassroot support for Dr. Bawumia continued in the North as he proceeded with his key stakeholder engagements in the Upper West, Savannah and Northern Regions.



As the NPP opens nominations for the Presdential contest next week and Vice President Bawumia gets set to make a formal public declaration to commence what promises to be a historic journey, only time will tell what is ahead.



But the early signal is clear that he is the favourite and the grassroot's man to lead the NPP into next elections.

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
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:

90% of teaching positions in NSW are located in areas where housing is unaffordable on a teacher's salary. Credit: Shutterstock

The teaching profession is already struggling with shortages and a lack of new candidates in a situation widely regarded as a crisis. Now, research warns that teachers are being priced out of housing near their schools, with many areas even too expensive for educators at the top of the pay scale.

The study, published recently in The Australian Educational Researcher analyzed quarterly house sales and rental reports in New South Wales (NSW) and found more than 90% of teaching positions across the statearound 50,000 full-time rolesare located in Local Government Areas (LGAs) where housing is unaffordable on a teacher's salary.

The situation is particularly dire for new teachers. There are 675 schoolsnearly 23,000 full-time teaching positionswhere the median rent for a one-bedroom place is unaffordable on a graduate teacher's salary.

Housing is considered unaffordable if a person spends more than 30% of their income on housing costssometimes called being in housing stress. Those in housing stress may not have enough money remaining to cover the cost of food, clothing, and other essentials.

But affordability isn't just an issue for early career teachers. For experienced educators at the top of the pay scale, 70 schoolsabout 2,000 full-time rolesare in an LGA where a single-bedroom dwelling is also unaffordable.

"The study shows the last time a first-year teacher salary could comfortably afford the rent for a one-bedroom dwelling was around a decade ago," says Professor Scott Eacott, the author of the study and Deputy Director of the Gonski Institute for Education at UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture.

"Fundamentally, there's been an increasing gap between salary and the costs of housing that the standard pay rise isn't covering, and it's pushing teachers further away from their workplaces or out of the profession entirely.

"The issue is not just limited to teachers, but all essential workers who are increasingly finding it difficult to find affordable places to live within a reasonable distance of their workplace."

Home ownership is also out of reach for teachers on a single income, with median prices in some areas more than ten times the average teacher salary. Sydney is particularly cost-prohibitive, with the most unaffordable LGAs for teachers being Bayside, Canada Bay, Sydney, and Waverley.

"We'll find it hard to attract new teachers when even a modest one-bedroom apartment is unaffordable," Prof. Eacott says. "But also, we'll lose many experienced teachers simply because they can't afford to live close to where they work."

A profession in crisis

Prof. Eacott says housing affordability has been somewhat overlooked in the teacher shortage crisis because of other important issues like increasing workloads, poor working conditions, and stagnant pay.

"The teacher shortage is complex, and there are many factors why we lose teachers, especially in the first five years," Prof. Eacott says. "But housing affordability is one of those understated reasons why, and not doing anything to address it will only amplify the problem."

Prof. Eacott says the extraordinary price of housing means teachers have to choose between spending a significant amount of their salary to live in reasonable proximity to their school or endure a long and grinding daily commute.

"Commutes of more than an hour would not be uncommon, which is a lot of productive time lost for teachers, not to mention all the hidden costs of tolls and parking. We're going to look at it more in future research," Prof. Eacott says.

Some projections indicate that NSW will need 13,000 more teachers in the next decade to meet student demand. While much of the projected growth is in areas not historically considered hard-to-staff, Prof. Eacott says that is likely to change if teachers aren't able to live locally.

"The school system is struggling to find enough teachers as it is," Prof. Eacott says. "If teachers can't afford to live near or within reasonable commuting distance of their schools, we can only expect those shortfalls to continue to grow."

Creating housing pathways for teachers

Prof. Eacott says part of the challenge is that no single government department or the private sector is ultimately responsible for housing essential workers. While more investment from superannuation funds in essential worker housing developments is welcome, it won't be enough to address the issue at scale.

"The simple answer is we do need to be paying teachers more. But that may not necessarily solve supply problems," Prof. Eacott says. "For example, it is just incredibly difficult right now for teachers to find a place to rent given record low vacancy rates.

"It's also important that we're not confining teachers to just teacher apartments, but creating pathways to home ownership."

Prof. Eacott says salary loading for teachers working in severely unaffordable LGAs would be one potential policy solution that could be implemented in the short term to help alleviate the cost of housing.

"An allowance for those teaching in LGAs where housing is out of reach would be a targeted and tailored first intervention," Prof. Eacott says. "The issue is, it may end up being the entire eastern seaboard, which, at that point, is just a salary rise."

Long-term, Prof. Eacott says teachers and other essential workers should be considered more in infrastructure planning when developing future cities.

"We rely so much on our teachers, so it's only fair we take steps towards providing them and other essential workers with affordable and secure housing options," Prof. Eacott says.

More information: Scott Eacott, The systemic implications of housing affordability for the teacher shortage: the case of New South Wales, Australia, The Australian Educational Researcher (2023). DOI: 10.1007/s13384-023-00621-z
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 study includes scientists from Insilico Medicine, Foxconn, Zapata Computing, and University of Toronto. Credit: Insilico Medicine

Insilico Medicine, a clinical stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery company, today announced that it combined two rapidly developing technologies, quantum computing and generative AI, to explore lead candidate discovery in drug development and successfully demonstrated the potential advantages of quantum generative adversarial networks in generative chemistry.

The study, published in the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, was led by Insilico's Taiwan and UAE centers which focus on pioneering and constructing breakthrough methods and engines with rapidly developing technologiesincluding generative AI and quantum computingto accelerate drug discovery and development.

The research was supported by University of Toronto Acceleration Consortium director Alan Aspuru-Guzik, Ph.D., and scientists from the Hon Hai (Foxconn) Research Institute.

"This international collaboration was a very fun project," said Alan Aspuru-Guzik, director of the Acceleration Consortium and professor of computer science and chemistry at the University of Toronto. "It sets the stage for further developments in AI as it meets drug discovery. This is a global collaboration where Foxconn, Insilico, Zapata Computing, and University of Toronto are working together."

Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) are one of the most successful generative models in drug discovery and design and have shown remarkable results for generating data that mimics a data distribution in different tasks. The classic GAN model consists of a generator and a discriminator. The generator takes random noises as input and tries to imitate the data distribution, and the discriminator tries to distinguish between the fake and real samples. A GAN is trained until the discriminator cannot distinguish the generated data from the real data.

In this paper, researchers explored the quantum advantage in small molecule drug discovery by substituting each part of MolGAN, an implicit GAN for small molecular graphs, with a variational quantum circuit (VQC), step by step, including as the noise generator, generator with the patch method, and quantum discriminator, comparing its performance with the classical counterpart.

The study not only demonstrated that the trained quantum GANs can generate training-set-like molecules by using the VQC as the noise generator, but that the quantum generator outperforms the classical GAN in the drug properties of generated compounds and the goal-directed benchmark.

In addition, the study showed that the quantum discriminator of GAN with only tens of learnable parameters can generate valid molecules and outperforms the classical counterpart with tens of thousands parameters in terms of generated molecule properties and KL-divergence score.

"Quantum computing is recognized as the next technology breakthrough which will make a great impact, and the pharmaceutical industry is believed to be among the first wave of industries benefiting from the advancement," said Jimmy Yen-Chu Lin, Ph.D., GM of Insilico Medicine Taiwan and corresponding author of the paper. "This paper demonstrates Insilico's first footprint in quantum computing with AI in molecular generation, underscoring our vision in the field."

Building on these findings, Insilico scientists plan to integrate the hybrid quantum GAN model into Chemistry42, the Company's proprietary small molecule generation engine, to further accelerate and improve its AI-driven drug discovery and development process.

Insilico was one of the first to use GANs in de novo molecular design, and published the first paper in this field in 2016. The Company has delivered 11 preclinical candidates by GAN-based generative AI models and its lead program has been validated in Phase I clinical trials.

"I am proud of the positive results our quantum computing team has achieved through their efforts and innovation," said Alex Zhavoronkov, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine. "I believe this is the first small step in our journey. We are currently working on a breakthrough experiment with a real quantum computer for chemistry and look forward to sharing Insilico's best practices with industry and academia."

More information: Po-Yu Kao et al, Exploring the Advantages of Quantum Generative Adversarial Networks in Generative Chemistry, Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling (2023). DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00562 The data acquisition code and source codes associated with this study are publicly available at: github.com/pykao/QuantumMolGAN-PyTorch Journal information: Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling
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:

Bulk PEO8k thermodynamics, rheology, and morphology. (A) Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) heating curve (rate = 10 K/min) showing (apparent) melting at 335 K. The imbibition temperature (T = 330 K) is indicated with an arrow. (B) Storage modulus (green circles), loss modulus (red circles), and viscosity (blue spheres) measured at the imbibition temperature (T = 330 K) measured in rheology. (C) Small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) curves of PEO8k obtained at ambient temperature following slow cooling from the melt. The lamellar domain spacing is shown in the inset for different cooling rates, R. a.u., arbitrary units. (D) Spherulitic morphology obtained by polarizing optical microscopy (POM) with crossed polars at ambient temperature following slow cooling from the melt. Credit: Science Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg8865

Semicrystalline polymers are solids that are assumed to flow only above their melting temperature. In a new study published in Science Advances, Chien-Hua Tu and a research team at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Germany and the University of Ioannina Greece confined crystals within nanoscopic cylindrical pores to show the flowing nature of semicrystalline polymers below their melting point, alongside an intermediate state of viscosity to the melt and crystal states.

The capillary process was strong during the phenomenon and dragged the polymer chains into the pores without melting the crystal. The unexpected improvement in flow facilitated polymer processing conditions applicable to low temperatures, suited for use in organic electronics.

Crystalline state

About 2,500 years ago, the philosopher Heraclitus proposed that "everything flows," and while perfect crystals at zero temperature do not flow, crystalline materials do flow under specific conditions. For example, existing research from about 100 years ago showed that the flow of cast iron in the form of flowing metal grains surrounded by a thin amorphous layer is analogous to an undercooled liquid.

Using molecular dynamics simulations, researchers have confirmed the ideas to further suggest the significance of the complex grain boundary "fluid" on plastic deformation. For instance, the inner core of the Earth is similarly proposed to retain iron in a crystalline state. Furthermore, the core of planets such as Neptune and Uranus are composed of superionic crystalline water, and flow to generate their magnetic field, which may have ultimately led to our own existence.

Crystalline materials that exhibit fluid-like mobilities are known as "superionics" and are important for energy applications. Semicrystalline polymers are solids that do not flow under normal conditions. In this work, Tu and colleagues showed how even the semicrystalline polymers underwent flow. To examine the phenomenon, they used two semicrystalline polymers; poly (ethylene oxide) and poly(-caprolactone) with specific molecular characteristics. The materials scientists developed self-ordered nanoporous alumina templates for the study, based on existing literature protocols.

Imbibition of PEO8k in nanopores revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). (A) Left: SEM image from a fractured surface of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) having nanopores with a diameter of 400 nm infiltrated with PEO8k at 330 K for 28 days. Right: A zoom-in to the blue rectangular dashed area in left. Blue arrows indicate the meniscus. (B) AFM two-dimensional height image corresponding to the cyan rectangular dashed area of (A, right) (C) AFM two-dimensional image to the same area as (B). (D) A zoom-in AFM two-dimensional image to the meniscus region. Credit: Science Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg8865

Materials characterization

The scientists examined the thermodynamics, structural and rheological properties of bulk polyethylene oxide materials. And the data confirmed the material film on the alumina template to be in a semicrystalline state. The team observed the domain spacing organization of crystalline lamellae with small-angle X-ray scattering. They used polarizing optical microscopy to study the superstructure of bulk polyethylene oxide with a film slowly cooled from melt to ambient temperature. The outcomes indicated a single spherulitic superstructure for polyethylene oxide, while the structural dynamics of poly(-caprolactone) synthesized with a catalyst differed.

The research team carried out a 28-day imbibition (uptake of water that leads to swelling of materials) of the two polymer materials within anodic aluminum oxide templates and observed the samples with scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy to characterize them. In contrast to the relatively smooth appearance of polyethylene oxide, the poly(-caprolactone) materials showed abundant grain structures due to diverse morphological origins in intracrystalline diffusion. After studying the surface appearances of materials, the researchers performed nano-infrared microscopy to obtain additional images of the surface topography of the two materials. The outcomes clearly showed the semicrystalline nature of polyethylene oxide. They also addressed the possibility of the capillary force in the experimental setup to be sufficiently high to melt the crystals during flow and noted the viscosity of semicrystalline polymers to be reduced during the experiments.

Nanoinfrared (IR) reveals the semicrystalline nature of the polymer in the nanopores. (A) Schematic arrangement of the sample for the nano-IR measurements. After scanning the edge of the anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) surface, the atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip is positioned on the polymer or on the AAO surface. Then, the wavelength of the IR laser is tuned. The vibrational amplitude of the AFM tip corresponds to the nano-IR response of the selected position, respectively. (B) Topographic image of the AAO nanoporous sample filled by PEO8k. We selected three positions on the PEO (#1, #2, and #3) and three positions on the AAO (#4, #5, and #6), respectively, and recorded IR spectra. (C) Corresponding IR spectra taken at the marked positions in (B). For positions #1 to #3, absorption peaks at 1061, 1108, and 1149 cm1 are present (in yellow) that are absent for positions #4 to #6. Peaks at 1061, 1108, and 1149 cm1 are typical for semicrystalline PEO. Credit: Science Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg8865

Mechanisms of imbibition

The mechanisms of fluid uptake and materials swelling known as imbibition from the semicrystalline state relied on the dynamics of its crystalline and amorphous domains. Four processes acted on the amorphous and crystalline regions; segmental relaxation governed the dynamics in the amorphous domain, whereas three other processes affected the crystalline domain to demonstrate intracrystalline chain diffusion for crystal-mobile polymers such as polyethylene oxide.

Since the imbibition of crystals also involved the diffusion of entire crystallites, Tu and the team examined the influence of the molar mass of the polymers on the process of imbibition. The outcomes showed that the molar mass regulated the imbibition speed.

Molecular mechanism and associated time scales during imbibition of semicrystalline polymers in nanopores.(A and B) Hierarchical structures and associated kinetics pertinent to semicrystalline polymers: (A) Organization of polymer chains into ordered lamellae involves the movement of segments within the crystalline (d c ) and amorphous (d  ) regions. Four processes are defined as follows:  stem represents the diffusion time of PEO chains in the length scale of the crystalline domain (d c );  lc illustrates the growth time of a unit crystal lamellae; < c > depicts the switching time of two helical defect jumps within the crystal;  segmental represents the segmental dynamics within the amorphous regions. l represents the intermolecular distance (l = <a + b>/2; a and b are the crystal unit cell parameters along x and y axes, respectively). (B) Imbibition of polymer chains ( imbibition ) proceeds via adsorption with a characteristic time  adsorption . The anchored units on the pore walls are indicated with the red color. (C) Characteristic time scales and their temperature dependence:  imbibition (yellow sphere),  adsorption (red dashed line),  lc (blue spheres),  stem (cyan spheres), < c > (orange spheres), and  segmental (green crosses). The original data are provided in table S1. (D) The effect of lamellar orientation with respect to the pore axes on the variable penetration lengths. (E) AFM height (left) and phase (right) images reveal well-oriented crystalline (PCL) lamellae inside nanopores (cyan framed regions). Scale bars, 200 nm. Credit: Science Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg8865

Outlook

In this way, Chien-Hua Tu and colleagues used several imaging methods in materials science, such as scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and nano-infrared results to examine how semicrystalline polymers underwent flow within nanopores made of anodic aluminum oxide via capillary action. They measured the viscoelastic behavior of the polymers with a shear rheometer, and the capillary action appeared to drive the polymer adsorption process.

While successful imbibition was a relatively slow process, the capillary force was strong enough to drag polymer crystallites into the nanopores without melting the crystals. The unexpected increase in flow while preserving the polymer crystallites applied to polymer processing at low temperatures. Such phenomenon can lead to cold flow and subsequent bonding of polymers to ceramics or metal under specific conditions to prevent polymer degradation. Such semicrystalline polymers and ferroelectric materials have a variety of applications in organic electronics to affect their electronic and physical properties.

More information: Chien-Hua Tu et al, When crystals flow, Science Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg8865 Journal information: Science Advances

 2023 Science X Network
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:

Left: evolution of a multimode shocked fluid layer experiment. Middle: experimental (top) and simulated (bottom) x-ray self-emission during an ICF capsule implosion. Right: volume fraction from RMI simulations. Red arrows indicate likely vortex rings and dipoles. All images are reproduced with permission. Credit: Physical Review Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.194001

Better understanding the formation of swirling, ring-shaped disturbancesknown as vortex ringscould help nuclear fusion researchers compress fuel more efficiently, bringing it closer to becoming a viable energy source.

The model developed by researchers at the University of Michigan could aid in the design of the fuel capsule, minimizing the energy lost while trying to ignite the reaction that makes stars shine. In addition, the model could help other engineers who must manage the mixing of fluids after a shock wave passes through, such as those designing supersonic jet engines, as well as physicists trying to understand supernovae.

"These vortex rings move outward from the collapsing star, populating the universe with the materials that will eventually become nebulae, planets and even new starsand inward during fusion implosions, disrupting the stability of the burning fusion fuel and reducing the efficiency of the reaction," said Michael Wadas, a doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering at U-M and corresponding author of the study.

"Our research, which elucidates how such vortex rings form, can help scientists understand some of the most extreme events in the universe and bring humanity one step closer to capturing the power of nuclear fusion as an energy source," he said.

Nuclear fusion pushes atoms together until they merge. This process releases several times more energy than breaking atoms apart, or fission, which powers today's nuclear plants. Researchers can create this reaction, merging forms of hydrogen into helium, but at present, much of the energy used in the process is wasted.

Part of the problem is that the fuel can't be neatly compressed. Instabilities cause the formation of jets that penetrate into the hotspot, and the fuel spurts out between themWadas compared it to trying to squish an orange with your hands, how juice would leak out between your fingers.

Vortex rings that form at the leading edge of these jets, the researchers have shown, are mathematically similar to smoke rings, the eddies behind jellyfish and the plasma rings that fly off the surface of a supernova.

Perhaps the most famous approach to fusion is a spherical array of lasers all pointing toward a spherical capsule of fuel. This is how experiments are set up at the National Ignition Facility, which has repeatedly broken records for energy output in recent years.

The energy from the lasers vaporizes the layer of material around the fuela nearly perfect, lab-grown shell of diamond in the latest record-setter in December 2022. When that shell vaporizes, it drives the fuel inward as the carbon atoms fly outward. This generates a shockwave, which pushes the fuel so hard that the hydrogen fuses.

While the spherical fuel pellets are some of the most perfectly round objects humans have ever made, each has a deliberate flaw: a fill tube, where the fuel enters. Like a straw stuck in that crushed orange, this is the most likely place for a vortex-ring-led jet to form when the compression starts, the researchers explained.

"Fusion experiments happen so fast that we really only have to delay the formation of the jet for a few nanoseconds," said Eric Johnsen, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at U-M, who supervised the study.

The study brought together the fluid mechanics expertise of Wadas and Johnsen as well as the nuclear and plasma physics knowledge in the lab of Carolyn Kuranz, an associate professor of nuclear engineering and radiological sciences.

"In high-energy-density physics, many studies point out these structures, but haven't clearly identified them as vortex rings," said Wadas.

Knowing about the deep body of research into the structures seen in fusion experiments and astrophysical observations, Wadas and Johnsen were able to draw on and extend that existing knowledge rather than trying to describe them as completely new features.

Johnsen is particularly interested in the possibility that vortex rings could help drive the mixing between heavy elements and lighter elements when stars explode, as some mixing process must have occurred to produce the composition of planets like Earth.

The model can also help researchers understand the limits of the energy that a vortex ring can carry, and how much fluid can be pushed before the flow becomes turbulent and harder to model as a result. In ongoing work, the team is validating the vortex ring model with experiments.

The research is published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

More information: Michael J. Wadas et al, Saturation of Vortex Rings Ejected from Shock-Accelerated Interfaces, Physical Review Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.194001 Journal information: Physical Review Letters
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

An archaeologist and a biologist have found evidence of birds being sacrificed to the goddess Isis in the excavated ruins of the Temple of Isis in Pompeii. In their study, reported in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, Chiara Assunta Corbino and Beatrice Demarchi studied frescos found at the ancient site revealing the role birds played in ritual banquets.

The goddess Isis was first worshiped by people in ancient Egypt. Myths from the time suggest she resurrected her husband and slain brother and thus came to be known as a goddess who helped the dead enter the afterlife. Worship of Isis spread to ancient Greece, where the name meant "great mother," and eventually to Italy and the rest of the Roman Empire.

During this latter time, belief in Isis became a cult-like obsession in which she was worshiped as part of ritual celebrations. Corbino and Demarchi suggest that such rituals were likely performed by priests. They believe they have found evidence of such rituals in frescos on the walls of the Temple of Isis in Pompeii.

Prior research has found that the Temple of Isis was mostly destroyed during an earthquake sometime around A.D. 62. Imagery in the frescos suggest they were added after the earthquake as part of renovations. The researchers found depictions of rituals involving birds. Thus far, they have found evidence of geese, turtle doves, chickens and ibises, along with pigs and various sea creatures. This new finding, the researchers suggest, adds more evidence to theories that birds were used in Isis worship rituals in other places.

The researchers note that the find is significant because such rituals were conducted in private; thus, little evidence of them have been found. The Isis frescos are the first to have been found in Italy. The researchers also note that the birds were charred, suggesting that the people conducting the rituals had eaten themlikely as part of a banquet similar to some of those shown in the frescos.

More information: Chiara Assunta Corbino et al, Birds for Isis: The evidence from Pompeii, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology (2023). DOI: 10.1002/oa.3224

 2023 Science X Network
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:

BZR1 regulatory network in maize and Arabidopsis. a Distribution of ZmBZR1 binding around transcribed genes. Frequency of ZmBZR1 binding peaks up to 10 kb up- or downstream of TSS or TTS and intra-genic, respectively. b ChIP-seq identified ZmBZR1 binding in proximity of putative targets repressed (BR6ox2/BRD1), induced (IAA19) or not controlled by BR (CNX5). Black line shows normalized BZR1 ChIP reads (reads per genome coverage, RPGC) and red line depicts the negative control (non-transgenic siblings). Genes are depicted in blue; black arrows indicate direction of transcription. c, d Significantly overrepresented ZmBZR1 binding motifs, BRRE (CGTG[C/T]G) and G-box (CACG[A/T]G) (c) as well as BRRE significantly co-localizing secondary motifs for TCP TF class I (GG[A/C]CCA) and class II (GTGGGC) (d) determined by GEM. e Direct and indirect targets of ZmBZR1. Shown is the overlap of BZR1 ChIP-seq and RNA-seq of the BR-deficient brd1 mutant +/ BR. f Conservation of the BZR1 targets between Arabidopsis and maize (Arabidopsis orthologs). g Conservation of Arabidopsis and maize (Arabidopsis orthologs) BR up- and downregulated genes. h Overlap of orthologous BR-responsive (B) and non-responsive (N) BZR1 target genes (T) and non-target genes (N) in Arabidopsis (At) and Maize (Zm). Color-coding indicates fold enrichment compared to random expectation (blue, low enrichment to red, high enrichment). eNumbers indicate p-values of significance of this enrichment assuming a hypergeometric distribution. i Heatmap of direct orthologues target genes of BZR1 in Arabidopsis and maize induced (green) or repressed (red) by BR. Overall, 65% of 1:1 orthologs and 72% of 1:2 copy orthologs of direct BZR1 targets between Arabidopsis and Maize, respectively, showed the same direction of BR regulation. Credit: Genome Biology (2023). DOI: 10.1186/s13059-023-02909-w

Plants show enormous variety in traits relevant to breeding, such as plant height, yield and resistance to pests. One of the greatest challenges in modern plant research is to identify the differences in genetic information that are responsible for this variation.

A research team led by the "Crop Yield" working group at the Institute for Molecular Physiology at Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf (HHU) and the Carnegie Institution of Science at Stanford has now developed a method to identify precisely these special differences in genetic information.

Using the example of maize, they demonstrate the great potential of their method in the journal Genome Biology and present regions in the maize genome that may help to increase yields and resistance to pests during breeding.

The blueprint of all organisms is encoded in their DNA. This includes the genes that encode the proteins and determine an organism's inherent characteristics. In addition, there are other important sections of the DNA, in particular the regions that control the regulation of genes, i.e. when, under which conditions and to what extent the genes are activated.

Compared to the genes, however, these regulatory regionsalso known as "cis elements"are difficult to find. Changes in precisely these DNA elements are largely responsible for the differences between organismsand thus also between different plant varieties.

In the past few decades, researchers have discovered that the regulatory regions are the binding sites of specific proteins. Known as transcription factors, they determine when and for how long genes are activated.

Co-corresponding author Dr. Thomas Hartwig, who heads the Crop Yield research group at HHU's Institute for Molecular Physiology and the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (MPIPZ) in Cologne explains, "Finding the few variations that are key to changing traits such as pest resistance among the millions and millions of non-causative genome differences is the ultimate search for a needle in a haystack."

"Unlike protein-coding genes, regulatory sites usually cannot be identified based on the sequence alone. This makes them very difficult to pinpoint. Our method uses hybrid plants to measure the direct effects of variation in DNA sequence on transcription factor binding," says lead author Professor Dr. Zhi-Yong Wang from the Carnegie Institution for Science.

The study was developed in a cooperation with researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) in Gatersleben as well as from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Iowa State University, U.S..

Using hybrids, i.e., the first generation of plants created by crossbreeding two varieties, the research team can compare which regulatory regions differ across the entire genome. Co-author Dr. Julia Engelhorn says, "Our analytical method allows us to measure precisely whether transcription factors bind more to the maternal or paternal genome." This procedure has also enabled the team to identify thousands of differences associated with traits, such as yield and pest resistance in maize.

The technology was demonstrated for a transcription factor in the brassinosteroid pathway, a hormone related to growth and disease. Institute director Professor Dr. Wolf B. Frommer says, "The team has identified thousands of genomic variations that can explain why one variety of maize behaves differently in terms of its yield or resistance to disease. Moreover, the team was able to show that these differences are almost equally genetic and epigenetic." The latter describes processes that influence gene activity without being encoded in the DNA sequence itself.

One central result of the study is a list of more than 6,000 genome regions that can be targeted for plant breeding. These may include, regions through which positive traits are expressed in certain maize varieties that others plants lack.

Hartwig says, "Knowing where in the genome modern breeding methods can be applied to transfer characteristics from certain varieties to others is of great importance to biotechnology. Our study may serve as a guide on how to find these interesting genome regions."

Professor Frommer adds, "The study findings lay the foundation for using modern techniques to cultivate new varieties of maize by skillfully combining the optimal variants."

More information: Thomas Hartwig et al, Hybrid allele-specific ChIP-seq analysis identifies variation in brassinosteroid-responsive transcription factor binding linked to traits in maize, Genome Biology (2023). DOI: 10.1186/s13059-023-02909-w Journal information: Genome Biology

Provided by Heinrich-Heine-Universitat Dusseldorf
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:

An artistic representation of African population genetics. The extensive admixture found in African genomes is symbolized by a marbled paint effect. Credit: Joseph Lachance et al.

The course of human history has been marked by complex patterns of migration, isolation, and admixture, the latter a term that refers to gene flow between individuals from different populations. Admixture results in a blending of genetic lineages, leading to increased genetic diversity within populations. In addition to admixture among modern human populations, ancient humans reproduced with other hominin groups, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans.

This resulted in fragments of DNA from these ancient lineages being passed down to modern humans in a process known as introgression. Two recent studies published in Genome Biology and Evolution examine patterns of admixture in two different regions of the worldAfrica and the Americasrevealing how this process has shaped the genomes of modern humans.

Africa is the birthplace of humanity, where our species originated and diversified. Because of this, Africa contains the highest levels of genetic diversity and population structure among humans, with non-African populations largely representing a subset of the genetic variation present on the African continent. Genomes of Africans contain mixtures of multiple ancestries, each of which has experienced different evolutionary histories.

In the article "Evolutionary Genetics and Admixture in African Populations," researchers from two institutesGeorgia Institute of Technology and Mediclinic Precise Southern Africareviewed how multiple demographic events have shaped African genomes over time.

According to Joseph Lachance, one of the review's authors, "What stands out is the sheer complexity of human demographic history, especially in Africa. There are many examples of population divergence followed by secondary contact, the legacy of which is written in our genomes."

For example, ancient introgression from archaic "ghost" populations of hominins that are no longer extant contributed approximately 46% of the ancestry of present-day Khoe-San, Mbuti, and western African populations. More recent demographic events that have occurred over the last 10,000 years have similarly resulted in admixture among modern humans, including gene flow among different click-speaking Khoe-San populations, the spread of pastoralism from eastern to southern Africa, and migrations of Bantu speakers across the continent.

Importantly, biomedical studies often fail to capture this diversity, resulting in implications for the health and disease of those with African ancestry. A better understanding of genetic architecture can help predict disease risk in a population or even inform clinical decision-making for individual patients. Such information is critical for equitable biomedical research, leading the study's authors to call for more ethically conducted studies of genetic variation in Africa.

"A critical point right now is the relative lack of African genetic data," says Lachance. "Most genomic studies have focused on Eurasian populations, and this limitation can exacerbate existing health inequities."

One avenue for better understanding the genetic architecture of African genomes is the study of ancient DNA: "Going forward, analysis of ancient DNA is expected to become much more common. Future studies are also likely to focus on fine-scale population structure in Africa. However, logistical and financial obstacles persist. There is a clear need for funding mechanisms that build research capacity in Africa."

A second article recently published in Genome Biology and Evolution, titled "The impact of modern admixture on archaic human ancestry in human populations," focuses on admixture in the Americas, which were colonized by modern humans relatively recently. The first people to enter the continent were Indigenous Americans who migrated from Siberia. Subsequent migration of Europeans and Africans due to European colonization and the Transatlantic slave trade resulted in admixed populations that combine ancestries from different continents.

In the study, researchers from Brown University, the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, and the University of California-Merced analyzed how the resulting gene flow between modern humans redistributed archaic ancestry in admixed genomes. They used data from the 1000 Genomes Project that were acquired from several admixed populations, including Colombians from Medellin, individuals with Mexican Ancestry from Los Angeles, Peruvians from Lima, and Puerto Ricans from Puerto Rico. These genomes were compared to the high-coverage genomes of Neanderthals and Denisovans, ancient hominins that diverged from modern humans about 500,000 years ago and mated with humans in Eurasia before going extinct about 40,000 years ago.

According to one of the study's authors, Kelsey Witt from Brown University, these admixed populations are relatively understudied compared to more homogeneous populations. "It is common in studies like this for admixed populations to be excluded because the multiple ancestry sources can make those questions harder to answer. For this work, we wanted to focus on admixed populations to determine what we could learn from them, and whether admixed populations could provide information about all of the ancestry sources that contributed to them."

The study found that the amount of introgression from Neanderthals and Denisovans was proportional to the amount of Indigenous American or European ancestry in each population. Although European and Indigenous American tracts in these admixed genomes have approximately equal proportions of Neanderthal variants, Denisovan variants are found primarily in Indigenous American tracts. This reflects the shared ancestry between Indigenous Americans and Asian populations, which also have higher levels of Denisovan introgression.

Moreover, by searching for archaic alleles present at high frequency in admixed American populations but low frequency in East Asian populations, the study's authors identified several genes as candidates for adaptive introgression. These genes were related to multiple pathways including immunity, metabolism, and brain development. Such findings have potential implications for the health of individuals in these admixed populations.

"We've seen many examples of genetic mismatch in the literature," says Witt, "where some variants were adaptive at some point in the past, but in the present environment, they have a negative impact on health. In addition, in admixed populations, genetic variants that are unique to separate populations may now interact in unexpected (sometimes negative) ways when they are present in the same individual. Our work suggests that some archaic variants are specific to some ancestry sources and not others."

Like Lachance, Witt knows that additional research is needed to continue to untangle the effects of admixture on modern humans. "In a lot of ways, admixed populations in the Americas are straightforward to study because we have a good idea of the timing and number of gene flow events," notes Witt.

"I'd like to apply this work to other admixed populations, where we may not know when admixture occurred or which populations contributed to it, or in cases where the contributing populations are more closely related. I think that the answers in those cases may not be as clear-cut, but they may contribute to a better understanding of those recent admixture events."

These studies show admixture has played a significant role in shaping human evolution, both in Africa and in the Americas. Admixture not only reshuffles the genetic variation within and between populations, but also introduces new sources of variation that may have adaptive potential. By comparing the genomes of admixed populations with those of their ancestral groups and with those of archaic humans, these studies reveal how the mixing and matching of alleles has shaped the evolution of our species.

More information: Aaron Pfennig et al, Evolutionary Genetics and Admixture in African Populations, Genome Biology and Evolution (2023). DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evad054 Kelsey E Witt et al, The Impact of Modern Admixture on Archaic Human Ancestry in Human Populations, Genome Biology and Evolution (2023). DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evad066
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: Holli, Shutterstock

Collectively, we are driving Earth and civilization towards collapse. Human activities have exceeded planetary boundaries. We are changing the climate, losing biodiversity, degrading land, contaminating freshwater, and damaging the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles upon which we all depend.

We ask how this could happen. Also, why democratically elected governments ignore the wishes of the majority of their people. Why some governments continue to export fossil fuels despite commitments to climate mitigation. Why some go to war in distant lands without any debate in parliament or congress. Why some give tax cuts to the rich while those on the dole struggle below the poverty line.

The answers to these questions all come down to one thing: decision-makers and influencers are captured by vested interests. That is the inconvenient truth revealed in our new book, The Path to a Sustainable Civilization: Technological, Socioeconomic and Political Change. But these forces can be overthrown.

We argue it is not sufficient for citizen organizations and governments to address specific environmental, social justice and peace issues. It's certainly necessary, but we must also struggle for systemic change. This means challenging the covert driving forces of environmental destruction, social injustice and war, namely, "state capture" and the dominant economic system.

It's 90 seconds to midnight on the Doomsday Clock, so there's no time to waste.

Confronting state capture

Political scientists and political economists argue governments, public servants, the media and indeed the majority of decision-makers and influencers become captured by vested interests.

This is known as state capture, where state means the nation-state. The captors include fossil fuel, armaments, finance, property and gambling industries.

State capture can also involve foreign governments. There is justifiable concern in Australia and elsewhere about subversion by the Chinese Communist Party.

Yet there is little discussion of the fact that, since 2015, six "retired" US admirals worked for the Australian government before the AUKUS announcement on nuclear powered submarines.

State capture could explain why Australia's defense is being shifted to the South China Sea under US sovereignty.

Confronting state capture involves reversing several undemocratic practices. Of particular concern is the funding of political parties by corporate interests as well as the revolving-door jobs between government and corporate interests.

There is also the concentration of media ownership and the influence of so-called "think tanks" funded by vested interests.

The first step is to set up coalitions or networks to oppose the power of vested interests. This would bring together diverse civil society organizations with common interests in democratic integrity and civil liberties.

One example is the Australian Democracy Network, which campaigns for "changes that make our democracy more fair, open, participatory, and accountable". The Network was founded in 2020 by the Human Rights Law Centre, the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Australian Council of Social Service.

Challenging economic ideology

Conventional economic theory failed us when it came to recovery from the Global Financial Crisis of 200709 and the COVID pandemic. Nevertheless, many governments still accept its prescriptions.

The dangerous and destructive myths of conventional economics include the claims that:

economic theory can treat the natural environment as an infinite resource and infinite waste dump

endless economic growth on a finite planet is feasible and desirable

wealth trickles down from the rich to the poor

well-being and welfare can be measured by GDP

government intervention in the market must be avoided.

Although these myths have been refuted many times, even by world famous economist Joseph Stiglitz, they still determine much government policy.

Australian economist Steve Keen first published Debunking economics in 2001. The financial crisis of 2007 gave him plenty of material for a revised edition in 2011. Richard Denniss gave us Econobabble: How to Decode Political Spin and Economic Nonsense in 2021. Yet, as John Quiggin so eloquently puts it, dead ideas still stalk the land (Zombie Economics.

They have devastating impacts on our life support system (the biosphere) and social justice. One of the principal destroyers of our planet is excessive consumption, especially consumption by rich individuals and rich countries.

A more appropriate economic framework for human and planetary well-being is the interdisciplinary field of ecological economics.

Unlike neoclassical economics, ecological economics gives priority to ecological sustainability and social justice over economic efficiency. It works towards a transition to a steady-state economy. That is, one with no global increase in the use of energy, materials and land, and no increase in population.

Since planetary boundaries have already been exceeded and low-income countries must develop, social justice demands that the rich countries undergo planned degrowth.

On the pathway to a sustainable civilization, environmental protection and social justice must be addressed together. Because the rich are responsible for the biggest environmental impacts, reducing the gap between rich and poor is critical.

Universal basic services such as improved public health, education, housing and transportationand a government-funded job guaranteecan achieve greater equality and give people incentives to support the transition.

Citizen action

Why would governments free themselves from state capture and discard economics ideology? Former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt once told a delegation: "OK, you have convinced me. Now get out there and make me do it!" In other words, pressure from voters is needed to make government action politically feasible.

That's why we need citizen-based environmental, social justice, public health and peace groups to form alliances to challenge the overarching issues of state capture and flawed economics ideology.

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 couple walk through a flooded road of Lugo, Italy, May 18, 2023. The floods that sent rivers of mud tearing through towns in Italys northeast are another soggy dose of climate change's all-or-nothing weather extremes, something that has been happening around the globe, scientists say. Credit: AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File

The floods that sent rivers of mud tearing through towns in Italy's northeast are another drenching dose of climate change's all-or-nothing weather extremes, something that has been happening around the globe, scientists say.

The coastal region of Emilia-Romagna was struck twice, first by heavy rain two weeks ago on drought-parched ground that could not absorb it, causing rivers to overflow overnight, followed by this week's deluge that killed 14 and caused damages estimated in the billions of euros.

In a changing climate, more rain is coming, but it's falling on fewer days in less useful and more dangerous downpours.

The hard-hit Emilia-Romagna region was particularly vulnerable. Its location between the Apennine mountains and the Adriatic Sea trapped the weather system this week that dumped half the average annual amount of rain in 36 hours.

"These are events that developed with persistence and are classified as rare,'' Fabrizio Curcio, the head of Italy's Civil Protection Agency, told reporters.

Authorities on Friday said that 43 towns were impacted by flooding and landslides, and that more than 500 roads had been closed or destroyed.

Antonello Pasini, a climate scientist at Italy's National Research Council, said a trend had been establishing itself: "An increase in rainfall overall per year, for example, but a decrease in the number of rainy days and an increase in the intensity of the rain in those few days when it rains," he said.

People sit on a truck after being rescued by firefighters in the village of Castel Bolognese, Italy, May 17, 2023. The floods that sent rivers of mud tearing through towns in Italys northeast are another soggy dose of climate change's all-or-nothing weather extremes, something that has been happening around the globe, scientists say. Credit: AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File

Italy's north has been parched by two years of drought, thanks to less-than-average snowfall during the winter months. Melting snow from the Alps, Dolomites and Apennines normally provides the steady runoff through spring and summer that fills Italy's lakes, irrigates the agricultural heartland and keeps the Po and other key rivers and tributaries flowing.

Without that normal snowfall in the mountains, plains have gone dry and riverbeds, lakes and reservoirs have receded. They cannot recover even when it rains because the ground is essentially "impermeable" and the rain just washes over the topsoil and out to the sea, Pasini said.

"So the drought is not necessarily compensated for by these extreme rains," he said, "Because in northern Italy, the drought depends more on snow being stored in the Alps than on rain. And in the last two years, we have had very little snow."

Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said the new normal of extreme weather events in the Mediterranean requires Italians to adapt and Italy to rethink its flood protections nationwide. He cited a fierce storm-triggered landslide last fall on the southern island of Ischia, off Naples, that left 12 dead.

A man walks in a flooded street in the village of Castel Bolognese, Italy, May 17, 2023. The floods that sent rivers of mud tearing through towns in Italys northeast are another soggy dose of climate change's all-or-nothing weather extremes, something that has been happening around the globe, scientists say. Credit: AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File

"We can't just pretend that nothing is happening," he said Thursday. "Everything must change: the programming in hydraulic infrastructures must change, the engineering approach must change."

He said those changes were necessary to prevent the types of floods that have left entire towns swamped with mud after two dozen rivers burst their banks.

The key going forward is prevention, he said, acknowledging that's not an easy sell due to costs.

"We are not a nation inclined to prevention. We like to rebuild more than to prevent," he told Sky TG24.

Italy is far from alone in lurching from dry to deluge. California and the United States West sloshed their way from a record-setting megadrought to at least a dozen atmospheric rivers dousing the region with so much rain that a long-dormant lake reappeared.

Rescuers checks buildings in the flooded village of Castel Bolognese, Italy, May 17, 2023. The floods that sent rivers of mud tearing through towns in Italys northeast are another soggy dose of climate change's all-or-nothing weather extremes, something that has been happening around the globe, scientists say. Credit: AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File

People are rescued in Faenza, Italy, May 18, 2023. The floods that sent rivers of mud tearing through towns in Italys northeast are another soggy dose of climate change's all-or-nothing weather extremes, something that has been happening around the globe, scientists say. Credit: AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File

People use a plastic portable pool to carrie bags and personal effects in a flooded road of Lugo, Italy, May 18, 2023. The floods that sent rivers of mud tearing through towns in Italys northeast are another soggy dose of climate change's all-or-nothing weather extremes, something that has been happening around the globe, scientists say. Credit: AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File

Scientists say flash floods of the kind seen in Germany and Belgium two years ago, which killed more than 220 people and caused billions of euros in damage, will become more likely as the planet warms.

"The rainiest events seem to be in many places getting rainier," Princeton University climate scientist Gabe Vecchi said Thursday.

In 2021, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scientific panel said it was "established fact" that humans' greenhouse gas emissions had made for more frequent and intense weather extremes. The panel called heat waves the most obvious, but said heavy precipitation events had also likely increased over most of the world.

The U.N. report said "there is robust evidence" that record rainfall and one-in-five, one-in-10 and one-in-20 year type rainfall "became more common since the 1950s."

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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:

Steam billows from Lake Vui in the volcano crater of Mount Manaro on the island of Ambae, part of the Vanuatu islands chain, Dec. 8, 2005. A 7.7 magnitude earthquake Friday, May 19, 2023, in the far Pacific created small tsunami waves in Vanuatu. Credit: AP Photo/Rick Rycroft

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake Friday in the far Pacific created small tsunami waves in Vanuatu.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves less than half a meter (1.5 feet) were measured off Lenakel, a port town in the island nation. Smaller waves were measured elsewhere off Vanuatu and off New Caledonia.

Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office advised people to evacuate from coastal areas to higher grounds. The office said people should listen to their radios for updates and take other precautionary measures.

New Zealand's National Emergency Management Agency said it expected coastal areas would experience strong and unusual currents, with unpredictable surges at the shoreline.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also said small waves were possible for Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Guam and other Pacific islands.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake's epicenter was near the Loyalty Islands, southwest of Fiji, north of New Zealand and east of Australia where the Coral Sea meets the Pacific. It was 37 kilometers (23 miles) deep.

The area is part of the "Ring of Fire," an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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:

Steam billows from Lake Vui in the volcano crater of Mount Manaro on the island of Ambae, part of the Vanuatu islands chain, Dec. 8, 2005. A 7.7 magnitude earthquake Friday, May 19, 2023, in the far Pacific created small tsunami waves in Vanuatu. Credit: AP Photo/Rick Rycroft

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake caused a small tsunami to wash ashore on South Pacific islands Friday. No damage has been reported, and the threat passed in a few hours.

Waves 60 centimeters (2 feet) above tide level were measured off Lenakel, a port town in Vanuatu, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. Smaller waves were measured by coastal or deep-ocean gauges elsewhere off Vanuatu and off New Caledonia and New Zealand.

Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office advised people to evacuate from coastal areas to higher grounds. The office said people should listen to their radios for updates and take other precautions.

New Zealand's National Emergency Management Agency said it expected coastal areas would experience strong and unusual currents, with unpredictable surges at the shoreline. The PTWC said small waves of 20 centimeters (8 inches) above tides were measured at North Cape, New Zealand.

The tsunami danger passed within a few hours, though the center said small sea level changes may continue.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake's epicenter was near the Loyalty Islands, a province in the French territory of New Caledonia. The quake was 37 kilometers (23 miles) deep.

The area is southwest of Fiji, north of New Zealand and east of Australia where the Coral Sea meets the Pacific.

The region is part of the "Ring of Fire," an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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 image provided by Blue Origin shows the Blue Moon lander. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin received a $3.4 billion contract Friday, May 19, 2023, to develop a lunar lander named Blue Moon. It will be used to transport astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2029. Credit: Blue Origin via AP

Jeff Bezos' rocket company has won a NASA contract to land astronauts on the moon, two years after it lost out to SpaceX.

Blue Origin received a $3.4 billion contract Friday to lead a team to develop a lunar lander named Blue Moon. It will be used to transport astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2029, following a pair of crew landings by Elon Musk's SpaceX.

NASA will get astronauts to lunar orbit using its own rockets and capsules, but wants private companies to take over from there.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the agency wants different landing options as it seeks a return to the moon more than a half-century after the end of the Apollo moonshots.

Blue Origin is kicking in billions of dollars, on top of the NASA contract, to help establish a permanent presence on the moon.

"We have a lot to do before we successfully land and return astronauts," said John Couluris, a Blue Origin vice president.

Two years ago, Blue Origin sued after NASA awarded SpaceX the contract for the first lunar landing. A federal judge upheld the space agency's decision.

NASA's Artemis program, which follows the 1960s and 1970s Apollo moonshots. kicked off with a successful test flight late last year. Launched atop NASA's new moon rocket, an empty Orion capsule went into lunar orbit before returning home.

The next Artemis flight will come late next year when one Canadian and three U.S. astronauts fly to the moon and back, but not land. Two Americans would descend to the lunar surface aboard a SpaceX Starship on the mission after that, no earlier than late 2025.

Like SpaceX, Blue Origin plans to practice landing on the moon without a crew, before putting astronauts on board.

While the shiny, stainless steel Starship has a science fiction look, Blue Moon resembles more of a traditional capsule perched atop a tall compartment with legs. The latter will stand 52 feet (16 meters) on the moon.

Both companies' landers are meant to be reusable.

Blue Origin will use its still-in-development New Glenn rocket to launch its lunar missions from Cape Canaveral. Starship, the world's largest rocket, made its debut last month from South Texas; the test flight ended in an explosive fireball a few minutes into flight.

Blue Origin's team includes five partners: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Draper, Astrobotic Technology and Honeybee Robotics.

Only one other bid was submitted for the contract competition, according to NASA.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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:

Fruit fly with its wings up and evidence of a fungal outgrowth. Credit: Carolyn Elya

In a new study published in eLife, lead author Carolyn Elya, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard, reveals the molecular and cellular underpinnings behind the parasitic fungus, Entomophthora muscae's (E. muscae), ability to manipulate the behavior of fruit flies.

Elya first described the manipulated behavior, called summiting, in a study published in eLife in 2018. Elya, who was studying microbes carried by fruit flies while a graduate student at University of California (UC) Berkeley, set out rotting fruit to capture wild fruit flies.

When she later checked to see is she had captured any, she found instead zombie flies, with a banding pattern on their abdomen, that had died striking an interesting pose. Through extraction and sequencing of DNA Elya confirmed the suspected cause, E. muscae.

Summiting occurs at sunset when the infected flies climb to an elevated location and extend their proboscises to the surface. A sticky droplet that emerges from the proboscis adheres the fly to the surface right before the wings raise up and away from the body and the flies die.

"The climbing is very important as it positions the fly in an advantageous location for the fungus to spread to the most possible hosts," says Elya. "The fungus jumps to the new host by forming very specialized and temporary structures that burst through the fly's skin and shoots spores into the environment that are only good for a handful of hours. It's a fleeting process, so an advantageous position is everything to survival."

Zombie flies strike their final pose adhered to a wooden dowel. Credit: Carolyn Elya

While at UC Berkeley, Elya developed a laboratory model she refers to as the Entomophthora muscae-Drosophila melanogaster 'zombie fly' system using the wild fungal isolate she found in her backyard. With this system, Elya could continuously infect fruit fliesa laboratory staple, as well as culture the fungus independently of the fly host in media thought to mimic the internal environment of the fly.

Summiting has appeared several times in scientific literature, but studies had only been observations of dead house flies. No one had ever observed how flies behave in their last hours of life. Elya set out to fill this knowledge gap of what happens when flies summit by developing a high-throughput behavioral assay to automatically track hundreds of infected flies. While using this platform to monitor the behavior of flies becoming zombies, she encountered a surprise.

"We found that summiting is not about climbing," said Elya, "it's actually this burst of locomotor activity that starts about two and a half hours before the flies die."

With this discovery, Elya and co-authors paired her system to create on-demand zombie flies with the lab's powerful fruit fly genetic toolkit. With these and the author's new behavior assay they could identify genes and neurons required for flies to summit.

"Overall, we found the flies hormonal axes was mediating summiting behavior. When we silenced these neurons the flies were really bad at summiting," Elya says. These neurons send projections to a neurohemal organ that produces juvenile hormone, a hormone conserved in insects. "We think the fungus is actually driving the activity of these neurons in order to drive the release of this hormone, which is causing the flies to have this burst of locomotor activity."

Zombie flies strike their final pose at the top of a vial. Credit: Carolyn Elya

Elya and co-authors were then able to collect a behavioral dataset consisting of hundreds of infected flies, which they then used to train a computer to identify flies as they are summiting. This classifier tool enabled the team to discover that fungal cells invade the fly's brains in an organized way, occupying specific regions of the brain during summiting.

Interestingly, the team also discovered that the flies blood brain barrier is compromised when exposed to the fungus. Normally the neurons are protected from the blood that's circulating through the fly's body. The breakdown of the blood brain barrier has important consequences for what the neurons are being exposed to, potentially allowing things that are circulating in the blood to interact with neurons in the brain, thus providing a route for modulating neural activity.

"We think this could be important for the way that the fungus is driving behavioral changes," Elya said, "and we actually found that you can pull blood from flies that are doing the summiting behavior, put it into naive flies and drive some of this increased locomotion. So we've shown that there's at least the partial ability to recapitulate this summiting behavior just by transferring fly blood."

Elya says that these experiments show some blood-borne factors can drive summiting behavior, though it's not yet clear what the identity of these factors are or who produces them (the fungus or the fly).

Elya hopes to next develop transgenics to help modulate things from the fungus side in addition to perturbations that can already be made in the flies. "There are still a lot of open questions here," she says, "what the fungus is doing is still a mystery."

More information: Carolyn Elya et al, Neural mechanisms of parasite-induced summiting behavior in 'zombie' Drosophila, eLife (2023). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.85410 Journal information: eLife
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 massive, star-forming interstellar cloud Lupus 3 is captured with the 570-megapixel US Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera at NSF's NOIRLab's Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. The dazzling central region of this sprawling cloud reveals a pair of infant stars bursting from their natal cocoons of dust and gas to illuminate the reflection nebula known as Bernes 149. These contrasting regions make this object a prime target of research on star formation. Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA/ T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF's NOIRLab)Image Processing: D. de Martin & M. Zamani (NSF's NOIRLab)

The massive, star-forming interstellar cloud Lupus 3 is captured with the 570-megapixel US Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera at NSF's NOIRLab's Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. The dazzling central region of this sprawling cloud reveals a pair of infant stars bursting from their natal cocoons of dust and gas to illuminate the reflection nebula known as Bernes 149. These contrasting regions make this object a prime target of research on star formation.

The clashing of energy and matter can lead to fantastical sites on Earth, such as glowing auroras and powerful lightning displays. The same can be said about space, where energy from bright young stars and protostars floods their surroundings, illuminating vast interstellar clouds of dust and gas to create spectacular objects known as reflection nebulae.

One stunning example of these clashing forces is the star-forming interstellar cloud Lupus 3, captured here by the 570-megapixel US Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera at NSF's NOIRLab's Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. This star-forming nebula is located about 500 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Lupus (the Wolf).

The two blue stars blazing in the center of the sprawling nebula, known as HR 5999 and HR 6000, illuminate nearby gas and dust, creating the bright blue reflection nebula Bernes 149. These stars grew out of the dark nebula Lupus 3, which stretches like a blanket across the background of stars. This cloud is not just a coal-black cosmic blob, however. It is home to a fleet of infant stars known as T Tauri stars, which will eventually use the material of Lupus 3 to grow into fully fledged stars. The massive, star-forming interstellar cloud Lupus 3 is captured with the 570-megapixel US Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera at NSF's NOIRLab's Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. The dazzling central region of this sprawling cloud reveals a pair of infant stars bursting from their natal cocoons of dust and gas to illuminate the reflection nebula known as Bernes 149. These contrasting regions make this object a prime target of research on star formation. Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA/ T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF's NOIRLab) Digitized Sky Survey 2/N. Bartmann/D. de Martin Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF's NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin Music: Stellardrone - Airglow

At the relatively young age of about 1 million years, HR 5999 and HR 6000 are the oldest of the stars in the Lupus 3 region. These stars are pre-main-sequence stars, meaning that despite their brightness, they are not yet powered by nuclear fusion, like our sun. They are instead powered by gravity, which compresses and heats up the internal matter. These sibling stars have blown away nearby gas and dust, illuminating the remnants and creating the Bernes 149 reflection nebula.

When the true nature of this nebula was first discovered, astronomers hoped that it and similar regions would be useful in finding areas of recent or active star formation. This hunch was proven correct and Lupus 3 has since provided many insights into the early stages of star formation.

Lupus 3 is one of at least nine clouds within the massive Lupus cloud complex. Lupus 3 itself stretches across an area of the sky equivalent to about 24 moon-diameters as seen from Earth. With a whopping 2.2-degree field of view, DECcam can capture massive objects like Lupus 3 in a single image. The pairing of DECam's wide-field capabilities and the light-collecting capabilities of the Victor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope's 4-meter-wide mirror produces crisp, high resolution images.
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:

Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB) from Sentinel-2 images (2020) in Son Servera Bay. The main study area, Cala Millor beach, is located in the southern part of the image. Credit: Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB) from Sentinel-2 images (2020) in Son Servera Bay. The main study area, Cala Millor beach, is located in the southern part of the image / Sandra Paola Viana-ICMAN

Satellite-derived bathymetry continues to advance and improve rapidly. A recent study has confirmed the effectiveness of a methodology developed to obtain bathymetric data from satellite images in the Western Mediterranean. The results of this research, published in the International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, reaffirm the value of this tool for monitoring coastal areas with varying turbidity levels and diverse seafloor characteristics.

The study was conducted in Cala Millor (Mallorca, Spain), an ecosystem of great significance due to its marine biodiversity but also its potential vulnerability to the effects of global change. The researchers successfully and accurately mapped its coastal seabed using satellite images from the Sentinel-2 twin satellites. This study represents the first attempt to test this methodology in an area with the presence of Posidonia oceanica, an endemic Mediterranean aquatic plant with significant ecological value.

This work has been carried out through a collaboration between researchers from the Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia (ICMAN-CSIC), the Coastal Observation System of the Balearic Islands (ICTS-SOCIB), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States.

"These tools are a valuable support for coastal management, as they provide up-to-date and continuous information on the morphodynamic changes occurring along the coasts. They are relevant in assisting decision-makers and defining effective adaptation measures against the impacts of global change, ultimately contributing to a more resilient coast," explains Sandra Viana-Borja, a researcher at the ICMAN-CSIC.

Bathymetry, decisive for Marine Strategies

Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB) is moving a step closer towards consolidating itself as an alternative to traditional bathymetric techniques carried out by aircraft or ships. The main advantage that satellites offer is their open-access data and higher spatial coverage, eliminating the need for physical presence in the area or costly deployments.

Nevertheless, despite the substantial advancements achieved in recent years, researchers are confronted with the primary challenge of substantiating the global and operational efficacy and precision of replicating these models in regions characterized by distinct features.

This methodology has already been employed with consistent results in other regions of the planet, such as the East Coast of the United States and the Caribbean. Now, it has been evaluated in a different ecosystem, the Mediterranean, where Cala Millor beach is one of the most monitored by the Comprehensive Beach Monitoring System of the ICTS-SOCIB, which has been operating since 2011.

Moreover, due to its significance, the European Commission has recently approved a grant for the LIFE AdaptCalaMillor project, aiming to promote the adaptation of this beach to climate change and enhance the resilience of its infrastructure, ecosystems, and services.

Generating detailed maps of underwater topography is crucial to support a wide range of activities near the coast, such as dredging, environmental management, planning communication cable and pipeline routes, infrastructure maintenance, hydrographic applications, navigation, aquaculture and fisheries, research, tourism, and recreational sports.

Moreover, bathymetry is one of the key features for the formulation of Marine Strategies, as outlined by the directives of the European Commission. This instrumental component establishes the overarching regulatory framework that guides and governs diverse sectoral policies and administrative measures pertaining to the marine environment.

"Currently, we are implementing these tools in other regions such as Galicia (NE Atlantic), South Korea, and Alaska, where we have obtained promising results. It is important to highlight that, according to the International Hydrographic Organization, more than half of the shallow seafloors in our oceans remain unmapped or are outdated. Satellite-derived bathymetry is a free and easily accessible technology. Undoubtedly, it is the future of coastal monitoring," emphasizes Isabel Caballero de Frutos, a researcher at ICMAN-CSIC.

More information: Sandra Paola Viana-Borja et al, Semi-automated bathymetry using Sentinel-2 for coastal monitoring in the Western Mediterranean, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.jag.2023.103328
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:

Sketches of the three hypotheses of the electronic decay mechanism of the photoexcited uracil. The long trajectory hypothesis assumes that the uracil relaxes into minimum energy geometry in the S2 state and then decays to S1 state in several picoseconds. The short trajectory hypothesis assumes that the uracil arrives at S1 in about 70 femtoseconds. The intermediate trajectory hypothesis assumes that part of the uracil evolves to S0 state within about 0.7 picosecond. Credit: Ultrafast Science

The nucleobase molecules carrying the genetic codes are the most important ingredients for life, but they are also very vulnerable. When the ultraviolet component in the sunlight irradiates these molecules, the electrons in the molecules will be excited, and the excited nucleobase molecules may result in irreversible changes or even damages to the DNA and RNA chains, leading to the "sunburn" of organisms at molecular level.

It is widely believed that there is a "sunscreen" mechanism in these nucleobase molecules which can lead to rapid decay into the ground state. The ultrafast decay mechanism for most types of nucleobases has been confirmed. However, the research team of Professor Todd Martinez at Stanford University proposed that there may be a shallow potential barrier for the excited electronic state of uracil (U) nucleobase, which hinders the decay of excited molecules.

This can be understood as a trick reserved by nature to promote biological variation and evolution.

This novel point of view has caused wide controversy and discussion. There are many different kinds of theoretical models about whether there is indeed a hindrance to the decay of excited state uracil. In this article, using ultrashort electron pulses and X-ray free electron lasers, the research led by Professor Zheng Li and Professor Haitan Xu provides a detailed theoretical analysis of an experimental scheme that incorporates multiple signals of ultrafast electron and X-ray diffraction and X-ray spectroscopy, and opens a way to resolve this interesting controversy.

There are currently three hypotheses about the decay time scale of photoexcited uracil nucleobase. In 2007, the group of Todd Martinez proposed that the decay time of photoexcited uracil may be much longer than other nucleobases, reaching more than 1 picosecond, because the shallow potential barrier for the uracil excited state hinders the decay process.

In 2009, the research group of Zhenggang Lan from the Max Planck Institute proposed that the decay of the uracil base would not pass through the potential barrier. This theoretical model predicts short decay time of photoexcited uracil, which is about 70 femtoseconds.

In 2011, the research group of Pavel Hobza from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences proposed the intermediate trajectory hypothesis, in which the uracil may have another way of structural relaxation, and the decay time through this path takes about 0.7 ps. Because the predicted potential barrier in the uracil excited state is very shallow, and due to the precision limit of quantum chemical calculations, different theoretical hypotheses give contradictory predictions of electronic decay pathways.

The authors propose an approach which can uniquely identify the electronic decay mechanism of the photoexcited uracil with ultrafast X-ray spectroscopy (XPS), ultrafast X-ray diffraction (UXD), and ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) methods. Incorporating the signatures of multiple probing methods, the authors demonstrate an approach that can identify the geometric and electronic relaxation characteristic time scales of the photoexcited uracil molecule among several candidate models.

The XPS signal provides the toolkit to map out the valence electron density variation in the chosen atomic sites of molecules. X-ray can ionize core electrons of molecules, and the shift of photoelectron energy in XPS in the molecule reflects the strength of electron screening effect of nuclear charge, which maps out the local density of valence electrons at the specific atom. Ultrafast diffraction imaging has been widely used to resolve the molecular structural dynamics.

UED is capable of characterizing the correlation between electrons and can be used to monitor the electronic population transfer dynamics. Compared to UED, UXD can resolve the transient geometric structure with higher temporal precision, which is free of pulse length limitation of UED because of space charge effect of electron bunch compression.

Combining the above signals of multiple experimental results, the characteristic time scales of geometric and electronic relaxation can be obtained, and the decay pathway of photoexcited uracil molecule can be identified.

The authors have performed molecular dynamics simulations following the long trajectory hypothesis, and calculated the ultrafast X-ray spectroscopy and coherent diffraction imaging signals. In the long trajectory hypothesis, the uracil molecule first relaxes into minimum energy geometry in the S2 state and then decays to S1 state.

The structural and electronic transition dynamics during the decay of uracil nucleobases can be reflected by XPS signal. Choosing the carbon K-edge for the X-ray probe, the variation of XPS signal in corresponding energy range is fitted, and two relaxation time scales (about 3.5 ps and 0.2 ps) are obtained.

These two characteristic time scales are related to the molecular structural evolution and electronic state transition dynamics, but the exact determination of the time scales requires combining analysis of coherent diffraction imaging, because the information of structural and electronic evolutions are usually mixed in the XPS signal.

UED is capable of characterizing the mean distance between electrons and can be used to detect the electronic population transfer dynamics. The calculated time-resolved electron diffraction signal based on molecular dynamics trajectories reflects 4.2 ps time scale of electronic state decay obtained by exponential fitting, which confirms that the 3.5 ps characteristic time scale of XPS is related to electronic transition dynamics.

The pair distribution function reflecting the average distance between atoms is obtained by Fourier transformation of UXD signal, which shows that one of the C-C bond lengths in uracil molecule is elongated in about 0.2 ps after photoexcitation followed by relaxation into minimum energy geometry in the excited state.

The time-frequency analysis of UXD signal by continuous wavelet transform reveals the frequencies of the dominant modes, and the 0.2 ps time scale of molecular structure evolution, which is consistent with the characteristic frequencies and 0.2 ps time scale of structural evolution obtained from XPS signal.

It is shown that the characteristic time scales of geometric relaxation and electronic decay of uracil in the long trajectory model can be faithfully retrieved by incorporating time-resolved XPS, UED and UXD analyses.

Incorporating the signatures of multiple probing methods, the authors demonstrate an approach to identify the decay pathway of photoexcited nucleobases among several candidate models. This study demonstrates the synergy of spectroscopic and coherent diffraction imaging with ultrafast time resolution, which can also serve as a general methodological toolkit for investigating electronic and structural dynamics in ultrafast photochemistry.

The research is published in the journal Ultrafast Science.

More information: Xiangxu Mu et al, Identification of the Decay Pathway of Photoexcited Nucleobases, Ultrafast Science (2023). DOI: 10.34133/ultrafastscience.0015

Provided by Ultrafast Science
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

Several wild horse carcasses have been discovered this spring on the southwestern shores of Mono Lake, after California endured a cold and snowy winter.

As multiple feet of snow finally melted around one of Mono County's greatest attractions, U.S. Forest Service officials and volunteers found remnants of a large presence of wild horsesones that typically range much farther eastthat wintered around Mono Lake and left behind massive amounts of manure, ecological damage and in some cases, decaying skeletons.

"Visitors should be prepared to come across horse carcasses and manure," Inyo National Forest officials posted on Facebook last week. "There have been reports of several horse carcasses around the South Tufa and Navy Beach areas of the lake, and this may increase in areas where the wild horses have roamed over the winter season."

The Forest Service said the horse deaths were probably linked to the long, cold winter, but it noted that an official cause of death hadn't been determined.

"Land managers are not particularly concerned [by these deaths], as this was somewhat of an expected outcome from the long and harsh winter we've had, along with the fact that this horse herd had grown so large in size," Lisa Cox, a spokesperson for the Inyo National Forest, said in a statement. "This has been and will be the case for many other wildlife species in this area."

It's also not clear how many horses were found dead.

But some Mono Lake ecologists and volunteers worry the deaths, massive amounts of manure and disrupted habitat are the latest signs of a growing problem as more wild horses keep migrating into the Mono Lake Basin.

"Nearly every square meter of trail at South Tufa and Navy Beach was covered in manure, and manure piles blocked handicap access along the boardwalk from the parking lot to the lake," according to an online post Thursday by the Mono Lake Committee, a nonprofit that works to protect the lake and its habitats. "Several horses died at South Tufa over the winter and their scavenged carcasses were draped between tufa towers and along the lakeshore."

Bartshe Miller, the committee's Eastern Sierra policy director, said based on anecdotal evidence and game cameras, they estimate there could have been a dozen to 200 horses spending the winter in the area, where springs, wetlands and tufa towers are particularly fragile and easily damaged by the large animals. This region is well beyond the horses' typical range, which is more than 20 miles east of the lake in a federally designated herd management area surrounding the California-Nevada border, but Miller noted the animals have started moving west in recent years.

Cox said the wild horses cause "negative ecological impacts to the sensitive hydrological resources of Mono Lake."

"The recent deaths of these horses provide further evidence that the size of this herd cannot be supported by the landscape which they are expanding onto," Cox said. She said the Forest Service is "exploring options" to update the wild horse management planwhich hasn't been updated since 1988but no changes have been made yet.

A 2019 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommended the Inyo National Forest work on updating the management plan over the next five years for this herd, known as the Montgomery Pass Herd, but that hasn't started.

Earlier this month, Inyo National Forest officials and volunteers removed two of the horse carcasses and more than 1,000 pounds of horse manure "to lessen visitor impacts in the main trail areas," Inyo National Forest officials wrote on social media.

The wild horses, which are federally protected, are part of the Montgomery Pass Herd, for which officials have designated almost 200,000 acres, 70,000 of which are in the Inyo National Forest, according to federal reports.

But the horses started moving west beyond that designated territory and into the Mono Lake Basin in 2015, said Geoff McQuilkin, the Mono Lake Committee's executive director. Last winter, the horses made it to the western side of the lake, where this year they made their presence even more evident.

"They've been generally pushing westward as the population increased," McQuilkin said. "Based on the amount of manure at the site [this year], they were probably caught there due to the heavy snow."

McQuilkin said the horses were probably attracted to the location because of the availability of some grasses, the lake's freshwater and, especially so this winter, the absence of human activity, as snow shuttered access to the lake.

A 2020 census conducted by the Forest Service counted approximately 654 horses in the Montgomery Pass Herd, which is three to four times the appropriate management level established in 1988, with 76% of those horses being outside of the established range, Cox said.

"It would be helpful for people, the habitat and the horses if there was a good plan in place, that protected the horses, protected Mono Lake and its habitats, and protected public safety," said Miller, noting that the horses have started to move close to some roadways as well.

2023 Los Angeles Times.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

MILTON  Two men from Lake Luzerne were arrested after allegedly damaging a car during an argument, New York State Police said.

On Monday at 5:22 p.m., troopers were called to the area of North Milton Road for the report of a dispute involving a person with a hammer, according to an agency news release.

Troopers said Michael B. Tranka, 56, of Greenfield; Douglas N. Macwhinnie, 36 of Lake Luzerne; and Richard M. Macwhinnie, 32 of Lake Luzerne;came to the location and approached a car occupied by three adults and two children under the age of 12. Tranka and Doughlas Macwhinnie reportedly struck the vehicle causing damage, while all three were yelling and "acting in a manner that alarmed the vehicles occupants," the news release said.

Troopers said Douglas Macwhinnie allegedly brandished a hammer during the incident, but did not strike anyone or the vehicle with it.

Tranka also allegedly exposed himself during the dispute, troopers said. He was charged with enangering the welfare of a child, fourth-degree criminal mischief, public lewdness and disorderly conduct.

Douglas Macwhinnie faces charges of fourth-degree criminal mischief, second-degree menacing, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and disorderly conduct.

Troopers charged Richard Macwhinnie with second-degree harassment.

According to the news release, none of the victims exited the vehicle and no one was injured.

All three suspects were arrested at Trankas home in Greenfield. The men were issued appearance tickets for the Milton Town Court and released.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The man who was arrested and charged with murder last month in the shooting death of a 20-year-old Schuylerville woman has now been indicted by a Washington County grand jury.

News Channel13, The Post-Stars news media partner, first reported on Thursday afternoon that Kevin Monahan, the murder defendant in the death of 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis in April, was indicted this week by a grand jury on three charges.

Monahan is facing a second-degree murder charge stating he acted with a depraved indifference toward human life, according to Channel13. Hes also accused of reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence.

Monahan has been held without bail in the Warren County Jail since Gillis death on April 15 in the remote Washington County Town of Hebron. The Schuylerville graduate was looking for a friends house when the car she was traveling in got lost and attempted to turn around in Monahans driveway.

The 65-year-old allegedly fired a shotgun at the vehicle from his porch, as it was leaving, striking and killing Gillis, authorities have said.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

After 38 years with the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, including the last 10 as the agencys acting commissioner, Anthony Annucci will retire this summer.

DOCCS confirmed Thursday that Annuccis last day is June 9 and his retirement will be official on Aug. 11.

It has been an honor and a privilege to oversee (DOCCS) for the last 10 years, Annucci wrote to the departments staff. Every day throughout my 38-plus years in the agency, I have learned something new and have developed nothing but the utmost respect and appreciation for this department and its incredible workforce.

Gov. Kathy Hochul can nominate Annuccis successor. In the meantime, Daniel Martuscello III, the departments executive deputy commissioner, will oversee the agencys operations.

Michael Powers, president of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, said the union had strong differences of opinion with Annucci on how to run DOCCS, but added that the relationship was based on the respect for our roles of running both DOCCS and representing our membership.

We wish Acting Commissioner Annucci and his family the best as he moves to a new chapter in his life, Powers said.

Annucci was named acting commissioner by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2013. He remained acting commissioner for his entire decade at the helm. Hochul attempted to nominate him for the post last year, which would have lifted the acting tag from his title, but there was bipartisan opposition in the state Senate.

As acting DOCCS commissioner, Annucci was tasked with carrying out many of the prison closures that occurred during the Cuomo administration. The state has closed 24 correctional facilities since 2011 due to the declining incarcerated population.

During Annuccis tenure, there was a spike in prison violence. A record number of assaults on staff and incarcerated individuals was reported in 2022, part of a trend that began a decade ago. Annucci responded by implementing new policies and deploying equipment, such as body-worn cameras, to address the uptick in attacks.

Annucci also led the department when two inmates escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison, in 2015. The prison break and subsequent manhunt drew international attention.

Most recently, Annucci oversaw the implementation of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act, a law that took effect in April 2022 and limits how long incarcerated individuals can be held in special housing units. DOCCS has been criticized because data shows that some incarcerated individuals have been held longer than the 15-day maximum, which is in violation of the law.

Annucci joined DOCCS as deputy counsel in 1984 and was promoted to deputy commissioner and counsel in 1989. Before being named acting commissioner, he served as executive deputy commissioner for six years. His DOCCS biography notes that he wrote several bills, including the shock incarceration law, and has advocated for sentencing reform.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Officials from Brigantine, Margate and Ventnor will host a joint community meeting at noon Saturday at the Dominic Potena Arts Center in Margate to discuss the potential impacts of offshore wind development off South Jersey.

The meeting, sponsored by the Downbeach Coalition in partnership with state Sen. Vince Polistina and Assembly members Claire Swift and Don Guardian, all R-Atlantic, is in response to the communities growing concerns about the economic and environmental impact of offshore wind.

The meeting will feature presentations from U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, Polistina, Dr. Bob Stern from the Save Long Beach Island citizens action group, attorney Chris Placitella and Brigantine Mayor Vince Sera.

Weve already seen a large number of unexplained whale and dolphin deaths up and down the coast in the same areas that the ocean wind companies are doing their survey work, and we need to know if there is any connection between the work theyre doing and these tragic deaths, Sera said Tuesday.

Ventnor officials urged residents, second homeowners, visitors and business owners to attend the meeting.

It is important to become more informed on the impacts the wind turbines and the construction process itself will have on our environment. We all love where we live and have made efforts to protect our communities from outside impacts that can negatively impact our homes, our livelihoods and our marine environment, Ventnor Mayor Lance Landgraf said.

Trenton hearing continues debate over cause of whale deaths TRENTON  Offshore wind power development runs the risk of devastating Cape May Countys tou

Landgraf and Sera were two of several New Jersey mayors who have signed a memorandum calling for the halt of development of all offshore wind projects until more studies are done and can show that testing and other pre-construction offshore wind activities are not harming marine life.

Federal agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management have said there is no proof that offshore wind testing has caused the marine mammal deaths. Some of the whale deaths have been attributed to vessel strikes, and some experts have argued that a warming ocean has brought whales and their food closer to shore, raising the likelihood of strandings.

Since December, New Jersey has seen a number of marine mammal strandings on its coast, including two humpback whales in Atlantic City and one in Brigantine.

But officials opposition does not lie solely in whale deaths.

Concerns beyond the effect on our marine environment include the impact on our views from the beaches, said Landgraf. Recently, Ventnor received notice from one of the developers that the proposed turbines will have a negative effect on the views and vistas of two historic structures in our community. One is our fishing pier, the longest fishing pier in the state. Should these turbines be constructed just 10 miles off our coast, this will have a devastating impact on our community by negatively impacting our shore community and discouraging tourism, our regions life blood.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Atlantic County Democratic Chair Michael Suleiman said this week he has formed South Jersey Forward, a nonprofit think tank and advocacy organization that will explore public policy to move South Jersey forward.

The new group is not a political action committee and will not engage in partisan politics, Suleiman said in a news release.

Its first endeavor will be a live roundtable discussion on expanding middle-class housing in Atlantic City. Last year, Suleiman wrote an op-ed for New Jersey Spotlight in which he proposed housing incubator zones funded through casino taxes.

Panelists will include Orange Loop developer Pat Fasano and Pastor Alexander Smith of Community Harvest Church in Atlantic City.

From Atlantic City to the Delaware Bay, the Pinelands to Cape May, we will research and identify solutions that will make South Jersey a better place to live, Suleiman said in a news release.

The new organization will host roundtable discussions, write public policy papers, conduct research and work with policymakers to enact good public policy, according to Suleiman.

The roundtable will be 7 p.m. May 31 and will be livestreamed on the South Jersey Forward Facebook page.

Police, fire survivors' bill advances

A bill sponsored by state Sen. Vince Polistina, R-Atlantic, advanced this week to expand the eligibility of surviving children to receive pension benefits from deceased parents who were members of the State Police Retirement System and the Police and Firemans Retirement System.

Polistinas bill, S2689, removes the requirement that the death must occur during active duty to allow a full-time college student under age 24 to be considered a child and be eligible for pension benefits.

Surviving children already have to grieve the loss of a loved one. Their ability to receive benefits shouldnt hinge on whether their loved one died in the line of duty, Polistina said. Allowing more children to benefit from their family members pension can provide a sense of financial security during a very difficult time.

The State Government, Wagering, Tourism, and Historic Preservation Senate Committee approved the bill, which now goes to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.

Currently, a person is considered a child under the PFRS and SPRS when they are under 18, 18 or older and attending a secondary school, or under 24 and enrolled in college as a full-time student or disabled if the parent died on active duty.
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.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

MIDDLE TOWNSHIP  For years, residents, advocates and police have reported encampments in the woods around the Rio Grande section of the township.

The encampments tend to relocate often, and in some instances, police have removed people at the request of property owners.

In those instances, police say, they have had social workers available to help people access social services.

In an attempt to better regulate or perhaps eliminate the encampments, the Township Committee on Monday introduced an ordinance to prevent people from living in tents. The ordinance limits the use of temporary structures, like tents and canopies, and states that they may not be used for habitation.

Township officials emphasized the ordinance was not intended to regulate the licensed campgrounds in the township.

Resident Jim Chew questioned Mayor Tim Donohue about the ordinance, suggesting it was aimed at people without homes. Chew describes himself as an advocate for the homeless and often speaks at committee meetings. He said he read the ordinance thinking about the people living in tents in the woods.

Branches offer food, help and more in Rio Grande MIDDLE TOWNSHIP  Isaac Williams doesnt mind bragging about the devastating fastball he had

If its enforced, they cant be in the woods, Chew said.

I intend to vote on it and support it. These are the tools that our Police Department and our Code Enforcement Department need when it comes to the discretion and having the authority to remove people from property theyre not permitted to be on, Donohue said. The purpose is not to punish anyone, but we have people who are camping on property that they dont own.

Some is state land.

In some cases, there are camps on private property, Donohue said. He said there have been fires and unsanitary conditions. In some instances, the sites were left strewn with trash.

Its a necessary tool to add to our toolbox, Donohue said.

The ordinance establishes requirements for dimensions, proper anchoring and setbacks from property lines and roads. Temporary structures would not be permitted for more than seven days within a 180-day period, with violators facing a fine of up to $2,000 and up to 90 days in county jail, or community service.

Middle Township police substation to move to county facility MIDDLE TOWNSHIP  Opened in 2016, the township police substation in Rio Grande is set to clo

A public hearing and final vote on the ordinance are planned for June 19, at which time residents will have a chance to comment on the ordinance.

A notice about the ordinance sent by the township Tuesday said it will help address unsanitary plumbing and defective electrical equipment in use in the encampments. In some cases, the tents are dilapidated or abandoned.

We are concerned about the hazards these encampments present for the community, said Donohue in a statement. Our Police Department is working closely with Volunteers of America to connect homeless people with the resources to help them get off the streets. We also need to address the other piece of the issue, which is ensuring the community is safe and clean for those who live, shop and run businesses there.

The township has struggled to find solutions to issues in Rio Grande, including with panhandling and other behaviors. Chew said there are problems with substance abuse, alcoholism, mental health issues and theft among the homeless population, but thats just like the rest of society.

They need a place to stay somewhere. The government is not providing a place, Chew said.

Township officials have said police and social service agencies have sought to get people into better situations, but many are reluctant.

At previous meetings, police Chief Christopher Leusner said some people even refuse to come in when there is a Code Blue alert in the winter.

So when theyre removed, where are they removed to? asked resident Dawn Robinson.

Theyre not removed to. Theyre removed from, Donohue said. He said the township works with Volunteers of America and other organizations to help those they can, but he said many do not want help from the township.

Donohue described mounds of trash and scorched areas from out-of-control fires.

These property owners have rights as well. We realize the homeless have rights, Donohue said.

At the Monday meeting, Chew advocated for giving people a tent and a sleeping bag, arguing the current emergency shelter system does not work. Cape May County has places open during Code Blue emergencies, when the temperature drops below freezing, but does not have a homeless shelter, but there are emergency housing programs available through county government.

The Branches celebrates new building in Middle Township The Branches Outreach Center board and staff invited elected officials, volunteers and commu

But Chew said if someone gets a job, they no longer qualify for benefits. If they have a tent in the woods, they could start to work and perhaps save enough money to pay a security deposit and a months rent on an apartment.

It puzzles me why this method is neither encouraged nor condoned, he said. If it were made the primary method, we could even eliminate some Social Security job positions, which would pry loose more money to buy tents and sleeping bags.

He said few in Rio Grande would want tents pitched near their homes, while the township is not receptive to finding locations for the encampments.

The government method does not work. The tent in the woods methods work, he said.

Can you tell me any city or town in America where this has worked long term? Donohue said. Have you looked at cities where this has been encouraged and condoned?

He said he applauds Chews passion and compassion, but said his proposal would only worsen the situation in Rio Grande.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

ATLANTIC CITY  Teens have been going through the same process of filling out paper forms to get working papers since their grandparents were minors, but that is all about to change.

The Department of Labor on Thursday unveiled a new website and process for those under 18, their parents or guardians, and employers to use rather than the old paper chase.

We are two weeks out from the change taking place, said Robert Asaro-Angelo, the state commissioner of labor and workforce development, of an all-online process at MyWorkingPapers.nj.gov.

Schools will no longer be involved, and a doctors note will no longer be required.

We are absorbing the work of 600 school districts around the state, Asaro-Angelo said of processing an estimated 130,000 sets of working papers per year.

The changes are required by a new law (based on bills A4222 and S2796) signed by Gov. Phil Murphy last year to enhance protections for the states young workers.

We typically hire 250 to 300 teenagers (who need working papers) annually, said Denise Beckson, vice president of Moreys Piers and Water Parks in Wildwood. This approach is more dynamic and relevant to the times.

Until now, she said, the same paper process has been used that she used decades ago to get working papers.

Anyone who needs working papers before June 1 should continue using the old paper forms, which are available at nj.gov/labor/youngworkers/find-a-job/working-papers, Asaro-Angelo said.

And anyone who has already gone through the process the old-fashioned way by June 1 doesnt need to do anything more, he said.

Asaro-Angelo led a roundtable discussion of the new process in a room at the Casino Control Commission, where representatives of employers who use a lot of teen workers, such as Wakefern Shop-Rite, Steel Pier, Chick-fil-A, Six Flags, Billys Beach Service in Wildwood and more met to learn about the new system and suggest possible improvements.

I think when you talk about youth employment, we have all the biggest names in the state, said Asaro-Angelo, who grew up locally and whose first job as a teenager was on the Atlantic City Boardwalk in a store that no longer exists.

Temporary Workers Bill of Rights goes into effect in New Jersey The Temporary Workers Bill of Rights went into effect, in part, on Sunday, and the New Jers

Representatives of programs for disabled youngsters and county workforce development boards also attended.

Those under age 18 need working papers to get a job in New Jersey, Asaro-Angelo said, to protect them from exploitation and to ensure they get the special treatment required under law. There are limits on hours they are allowed to work and the type of work they are allowed to do.

Assistant Commissioner Nick Toth led participants through a slideshow of the application process.

1. Teenagers and their employers each go to MyWorkingPapers.nj.gov to get started.

2. Employers receive a unique eight-digit code when they register, which they share with every minor they hire.

3. The minor completes the online working papers application, entering their caregivers name and email address, and the employers eight-digit code, which links the application to a specific employer.

Training to start for offshore wind jobs; here's how to apply ATLANTIC CITY  The application period is open for 21 slots in a Wind Power Ready training p

4. Emails prompt the employer and teens caregiver  a parent or guardian  to complete their portions of the application and sign their permission. Caregivers also will be asked to upload a copy of a birth certificate, passport or other official document verifying the minors age.

5. The minor begins working when their application is approved.

As the law allows, however, if the caregiver does not respond in 14 days, the working papers will be approved, Asaro-Angelo said. If the caregiver responds negatively, they will not be approved.

After getting feedback from participants, Asaro-Angelo said the department will look into changing it slightly so employers dont have to attest to a teens age until later in the process when the teen has to provide documentation.

Some participants also asked that the forms be available in more languages than just English, and Toth said the department plans to also offer it in Spanish.

Others expressed concerns that not all teens and caregivers have easy access to computers and knowledge of using them.

The only concern I have is about people who do not have access to online services, said Francis Kuhn, executive director of the Atlantic County Workforce Development Board, who is gearing up to place about 200 young people in summer jobs.

Dominique Hyder, director of business development for Avenues to Independent Living, which serves those with disabilities, said her population will be particularly challenged to negotiate the new system. School involvement has been helpful for those teens, she said.

Toth said the department will reach out to all school districts so they can share information on the new process with students.

More information for young workers on resume writing and interviewing skills, child labor laws and more can be found at MyWorkingPapers.nj.gov.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A 7-year-old girl has died from injuries she suffered in a large fire that ripped through a Maple Shade apartment complex last week  a blaze that also killed her 12-year-old brother, police said Thursday.

Hope Marles died as a result of critical injuries from the fire, Maple Shade Township police said in a statement Thursday. The girl had been hospitalized since the May 7 blaze.

Her brother, Alan John "AJ" Marles, died last week shortly after the fire. The children's mother, Shannon Marles, 35, remains hospitalized in stable condition, police said.

The siblings' organs and tissues were donated to the Gift of Life Donor Program, "giving others the opportunity to live," police said.

A GoFundMe page posted by a family member remembered AJ as "one-of-a-kind" and a "hero," noting that though he is "gone from this earth he will live on" through the donation.

Beth Norcia, superintendent of the Maple Shade School District, which both children attended, said the siblings were "loved by their teachers, their classmates, and all of the staff that they came in contact with over their years in school."

"AJ and Hope were both exceptional children who brought joy, enthusiasm and genuine love for learning to our schools," Norcia said. "Our hearts are with their family at this time."

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. It began just before 10:30 p.m. at the Fox Meadow Apartments on Adams Drive in the Burlington County town. Officials evacuated residents as flames and thick smoke spewed from the roof of the complex.

Three other people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, police said. In total, the fire damaged 16 apartments and displaced 22 families, according to Red Cross New Jersey. The agency said last week that it had provided temporary lodging, food and clothing to 40 people.

Administrators in the Maple Shade School District said last week that crisis teams were available to support students and their families. Hope was in second grade, and AJ was in sixth grade, Norcia said. The school district will honor the memory of the siblings, she said, "by coming together as a community and supporting one another."

"Together we will find solace, strength, and resilience as we remember and celebrate the lives of two exceptional children and students," she said.

The Maple Shade Business Association is collecting money and donations for the families affected by the fire.
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 currency note from circulation. However, RBI also said that the banknotes in Rs 2,000 denomination will continue to be legal tender. The decision has been taken in pursuance of the 'Clean Note Policy' of the Reserve Bank of India.

The banks have been advised to stop issuing Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes with immediate effect. Citizens can exchange or deposit the notes at the bank and regional offices of RBI and the maximum limit to exchange of the banknotes at a time shall be Rs 20,000.

The decision to put restrictions on deposit or exchange limit has been taken to ensure operational convenience and avoid disruption of regular activities of banks. The deposit or exchange at banks will be available from May 23, 2023.

RBI has urged citizens to exchange or deposit the money in Rs 2,000 denomination before September 30, 2023. Earlier in 2019 the RBI had stopped printing of Rs 2,000 banknotes.
The department of registration and stamps, are using nine-year old software used for the process facing issues, the registration department has written to the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to provide an updated version of the same.

The citizens are facing issues, people are not able to register during work hours. The applications for lease agreements have been pending for the last 10-12 days. The NIC ensure system functions properly, but the technical glitches are likely to continue unless a new version is installed.

Inspector General of Registration (IGR) contributes the largest revenue to the state exchequer.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The autopsy photos of Jamon Winfrey were shown to jurors Wednesday during John Hanes III's trial.

The 14-year-old Winfrey lay on his stomach, head turned slightly to the left, his face obscured by a towel. His arms were extended from his side. It was a picture of a naked, still-skinny kid on an autopsy table.

A white forensics ruler was positioned just below the entry point of the single bullet fired Feb. 24, 2021, from near the intersection of 13th and Farnam streets in Davenport. That bullet passed through Winfrey's back and traveled through his left lung before stopping under the front portion of his left collar bone.

The secondhand horror drew laughter from two young men seated in the back of Courtroom No. 3. Before the teenagers were removed by a Scott County Sheriff's deputy, a man in his 60s and dressed all in black tried to quiet them.

Winfrey's murder started as the story of teenagers killing teenagers. Now the narrative had teenagers laughing about it.

'My son didn't do this'

The man in black was John Hanes Jr., the father of the 19-year-old facing a mandatory life sentence if he is found guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Winfrey.

"I was having a hard time believing those guys were laughing," Hanes Jr. said Thursday after the morning portion of his son's trial. "I don't think my son did this terrible thing. But I don't want to see anyone disrespected like that, especially a kid laying dead."

Hanes Jr. has not missed a minute of his son's trial. He said Hanes III "got caught up in this case" because of an incident that happened roughly two months after Winfrey's shooting.

Hanes III was arrested April 28, 2021, after police stopped the car he was driving and found a Springfield XD-40 near the driver's seat. He was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and participation in a criminal gang.

The police report said Hanes III was a member of the Mad Max Gang and said MMG has an " ... ongoing feud with members of the Savage Life hybrid gang."

In a deal, Hanes III pleaded guilty to participation in a criminal gang and avoided facing the firearm possession charges.

Hanes III was arrested March 16, 2022, and charged with Winfrey's murder.

"I feel like taking that deal set my son up to be charged with this killing," Hanes Jr. said. "My son was not in a gang. He ran with guys he knew, guys from the neighborhood. They called themselves MMG, whatever. They are not a gang."

Hanes Jr. said he and his neighborhood friends stuck together when he was a teen.

"We called ourselves the East Side Boys," he said. "There was Michael Nunn and Taterhead and a guy we called Moses. We ran together. We got in fights. You want to belong and stick up for each other."

"Today is different.

"When I was young, the only time any of us ever saw a gun was if one of our dads went hunting," he said. "None of us had guns. None of us would have used a gun."

Three guns, one dead teen

There was no shortage of guns at the scene of Winfrey's killing.

Scott County Assistant State Attorney Elizabeth O'Donnell called Fredrick Cooks to the stand Thursday. He was in a van, traveling 13th Street on Feb. 24, 2021, while his friends, Dale Shorter and Winfrey, rode next to him in a car.

Javon Combs testified he and Hanes III each had a handgun and fired multiple rounds after they saw Cooks, Shorter and Winfrey in the two vehicles. Cooks admitted during testimony that he fired his handgun during the incident.

Cooks testified that he was not a member of the Savage Life gang. He then testified that Shorter and Winfrey were not members of the gang. Later during the same testimony, he admitted to being an "associate" of members of Savage Life.

Cooks then testified that he "did not know of MMG or a Mad Max Gang until investigators told him about it."

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Beau Bergmann, Cooks testified he did not see Winfrey run from the car and he did not see if Winfrey had been shot. He did say that after the incident he drove around looking for Winfrey.

During the first three day of testimony, no witness have said they saw Hanes III shoot Winfrey. His DNA was not identified from any of the samples taken in the car the prosecution says he was in during the shooting.

'That's the reality of our life'

Sylvia Abbey said she wasn't surprised when young men laughed when Winfrey's autopsy photos were shown Wednesday.

"That's kids who want attention," said the 39-year-old, who is Winfrey's aunt. "Their laughing doesn't mean nothing because they don't even understand. It doesn't mean anything to them because I'm not even sure they know it's real."

Johnnae Abbey is 18 years old and said she knows "more than three people" who have died in gun violence.

"It's mostly been my family, and it's mostly been kids, younger people," she said. "I think it's kids following what the leader does. They don't really think about it; they just want to be a part of something."

Sylvia Abbey said kids just wanted to fit in and they wanted to have some kind of a name for themselves and "be known."

"If the leader gets a gun, they get a gun," she said.

As Thursday's portion of the trial drew to a close, a pair of young men waited in the lobby of the Scott County Courthouse. They had listened to testimony all day.

They considered the question of guns. A teen wearing a Nike shirt with the slogan "Just Do It" emblazoned across his chest offered logic.

"Guys carry guns to protect themselves from the other guys carrying guns," he said. "That's the reality of our life."
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Former Moline-Coal Valley superintendent Dr. Cal Lee hopes to be a helpful figure as he begins his role of interim superintendent for the neighboring Rock Island-Milan school district on Monday.

"I'm doing this because I want to help," he said. "I want to make a good district better, if I can."

The Rock Island-Milan school board made the unanimous decision to hire Lee in a special meeting on Tuesday. He will serve as interim superintendent through June 30 and plans to focus on gathering information and input from district stakeholders.

"They're going to be looking for a new superintendent, so I think it's important for the board to know what the community is looking for," Lee said. "I'm not looking to move any personnel or anything like that. I'm just looking to find ways to maybe help the district identify what they're looking for, what they want in the next superintendent."

Lee's hiring comes after the board's recent decision to part ways with current superintendent Dr. Reginald Lawrence. Both parties say the decision was mutual, though the board has declined to comment on any details or reasoning behind the contract termination.

Agreeing to a $350,000 payout, Lawrence's departure was set for June 3, though district officials will work with Lee on the transition beforehand.

Lee said he'd meet with Lawrence on Monday and planned to tour Rock Island-Milan buildings to get a feel for the district's climate and needs.

"I just want to do what needs to be done and help them move forward," he said. "I'm trying to help them identify strengths and weaknesses."

In doing so, Lee said he'll look at district data and trends.

When asked if he'd extend his interim role past June 30, Lee said he wouldn't say no, but that, "its not my goal."

"Life is short, and I need to help as much as I can, when I can," he said. "I also realize that every day is precious. I think in this process, I want to help Rock Island find somebody who is going to stay and do the job long-term. That's my goal, and I know that I'm not that person."

Lee retired in 2012 after serving as the head superintendent at the neighboring Moline-Coal Valley schools for 11 years  something he feels is an advantage for his interim role.

"Experience and the successes we've had in Moline, we focused really exclusively on student success in and out of the classroom, period," he said.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Lee previously served as an interim superintendent for the Quincy Public School District in Quincy, Illinois  first in 2012 and again in 2015. He was also part of Illinois' Large Unit District Association for 11 years, serving as an officer for five and a president for one term.

Reflecting on his tenure, Lee said school districts often grapple with a, "perception problem" within their communities.

"I think school districts don't do enough to highlight the good things and being upfront about the things that aren't," he said. "I think we need to do a better job at demonstrating that we are doing our best. Rock Island, Moline, East Moline  there's so much good going on, we just don't take enough time to let our community know what's happening, or ask for help. There are people out there who are absolutely willing to help us get better. We just have to identify our needs and ask."

Rock Island-Milan school board vice president Michael Matherly said the board was ironing out its next steps for the superintendent search.

"We'll make that known once the details are finalized," he said.

Photos: Rock Island High School hosts Naturalization Ceremony for 60 new citizens
China's major AI event opens in Tianjin

Xinhua) 10:48, May 19, 2023

TIANJIN, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The seventh World Intelligence Congress (WIC), a major artificial intelligence (AI) event in China, kicked off in the northern Tianjin Municipality on Thursday.

With an aim to build a global platform for academic exchanges, exhibitions, innovation and business promotion in the field of intelligent technology, this year's event has attracted almost 500 exhibitors from all over the world.

"In recent years, China has experienced rapid growth in the AI industry, resulting in notable economic and social benefits," said Wang Zhigang, China's minister of science and technology, speaking at the opening ceremony of the event.

By 2022, China had secured the top position globally in terms of the number of patent applications filed for AI technologies. The scale of the core AI industry in China has surpassed 500 billion yuan (about 71.46 billion U.S. dollars), with more than 4,200 major enterprises, comprising approximately 16 percent of the global total, the minister noted.

The four-day event, themed "Intelligence: Extensive Development Space, Sustainable Growth Driver," is being held at National Convention and Exhibition Center (Tianjin) and multiple other venues in the port city.

Covering a record exhibition area of 120,000 square meters, the intelligent technology event has set up 10 themed exhibition areas, including information technology application innovation, AI and 5G+ industrial internet.

Since its inauguration in 2017, the event has offered a platform for scientists, entrepreneurs and economists from home and abroad to discuss the frontier trends of intelligent technology.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Bettendorf and the YMCA are asking residents for donations for the new waterpark and ice rink to help land a state grant.

A state tourism board's staff recommended The Landing receive a $750,000 Community Action and Tourism (CAT) grant with a condition of more community participation in fundraising for the $21 million complex at 23rd Street and Middle Road.

"No gift is too small or too big, but we need a gift in order to meet the requirement of that grant application," City Administrator Decker Ploehn told the City Council this week.

Ploehn said city staff thought the individual contribution campaign would meet the intent of the Enhance Iowa Board. City officials will return to Des Moines June 1 for an award hearing.

The waterpark is a joint venture between the YMCA of the Mississippi Valley and the city of Bettendorf to replace the current Splash Landing with an activity pool, lazy river, three-story slides and splash deck. Once completed, the park will be operated by the YMCA.

The cost of the $18 million waterpark is split three ways, with the YMCA contributing $6 million, the city of Bettendorf contributing its $6 million from federal COVID-19 relief funds and $6 million being raised from donors and grants. Ploehn said the city had raised about $5.9 million from grants and donations without the state grant.

As part of the deal, the YMCA also got ownership of the city's Life Fitness Center.

Infrastructure for a permanent ice rink structure, which has not been designed yet, is budgeted for $3 million.

The City Council earlier this month approved a contract to General Constructors, Inc., or GCI, of Bettendorf, for $19.6 million to build the swimming pool, water park and five outbuildings for the aquatic center and new Frozen Landing.

Engineering for the project, being done by RDG Planning and Design, is about $1.4 million, according to City Engineer Brent Morlok.

Morlok said demolition on Splash Landing was expected by late May or early June. Completion of the pool portion of the waterpark is expected by May 2024, with the slides and lazy river being completed by the following year.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Kerry Gruenhagen is a Republican who resides in Walcott and represents Senate District 41. He is a farmer and serving his first term in the Iowa Senate.

Key votes

Education savings accounts: Yes.

Property tax reductions: Yes.

Gender affirming health care ban for minors: Yes.

Restrictions on LGBTQ topics, school library books: Yes.

Loosening child labor laws: Yes.

Bills sponsored

Senate File 108: Requires businesses to use the e-verify system to verify residency of employees (did not pass).

Senate File 221: Increases penalties for the sexual exploitation of minors (passed as Senate File 84).

Senate File 223: Makes assault of a pregnant person a Class D felony (Signed into law as Senate File 90).

Successes of the session

"One of my biggest issues through the campaign last year was school choice for parents. I firmly believed parents should have more choice in their childs education and ensuring that opportunity was available for all parents. Voting to pass school choice and see it signed into law was one of the biggest successes of this legislative session, and I was proud to support it my first year in the Iowa Senate."

Disappointments from the session

"This year I was proud to support historic property tax relief, school choice, more flexibility for Iowa schools, a state government overhaul and welfare reform, along with policies to grow and strengthen our workforce, protect taxpayers and expand health care availability and affordability in Iowa. I do not have any disappointments from this year, and I look forward to talking with my constituents throughout these coming months to see what we can accomplish next year."
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Meals on Wheels Western South Dakota is looking for volunteers to bring meals and smiles to senior citizens in the Black Hills.

Meals on Wheels currently delivers about 2,000 noontime meals per day each weekday in Black Hills communities, and almost 1,000 of those are delivered to older residents in Rapid City. Requests for the meals are steadily increasing, and Meals on Wheels needs more volunteers to deliver the food.

In years past, Meals on Wheels would receive a couple of requests each week from people who wanted the service. Now, Meals on Wheels gets one or two requests a day, said Tim Schnider, community resource coordinator for Meals on Wheels Western South Dakota.

Schnider believes the areas growing senior population, along with higher food and gas prices, is contributing to the rising demand for Meals on Wheels. The program provides meals Monday through Friday to people 60 and older. In Rapid City, 14% of the population is 60 and older, according to censusreporter.org. Schnider said Meals on Wheels serves a few people who are 100 or older.

Meals from Meals on Wheels Western South Dakota are available on a donation basis according to suggested income guidelines. Those younger than 60 can receive meals and are asked to pay the full cost of the meal, which is $8.25. Food stamps and EBT cards are accepted. No eligible participant will be denied a meal based on inability to pay.

Volunteers must be at least 18 years old, have a valid drivers license and insurance, and successfully pass a background check. Many volunteers choose to deliver one day a week, although some deliver meals more often or serve as substitute drivers as their schedules permit.

Id love to see 15 new volunteers. That would be wonderful, Schnider said.

Currently, Meals on Wheels has 27 delivery routes in Rapid City and more routes are needed, but adding routes requires more volunteers, Schnider said.

We try and keep our routes to between 10 and 15 stops so it doesnt take volunteers too long of a time, but several routes are up to 17 or 20 stops, Schnider said. When the routes start getting large, we start a new route which requires five volunteers minimum. We just started a new route out in Rapid Valley, and now the southeast side of town is growing so we might have to start a new route.

We always have volunteers taking vacations or (working). Its constantly a challenge, said Schnider, who was a meal delivery volunteer for five years before becoming the programs community resource coordinator. He still delivers meals and said hes recruited neighbors, friends and family to volunteer.

If someones considering volunteering, reach out to us to at least ride along with a volunteer to see what we do. Its a very rewarding experience for volunteers in helping out and giving back to the community, he said. We do take new volunteers out on the route their first time and we show them what we do.

Meals on Wheels serves multiple roles in the lives of people who receive the food.

Meals are prepared locally in-house. The meals are certified by nutritionists at the South Dakota Department of Health to be heart healthy and diabetic friendly. Frozen meal options for nights and weekends are available.

The friendly conversations between seniors and volunteers is vital and welcome, too. Data released this year by the U.S. Surgeon General, titled "Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation," finds that about half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness.

Seniors like the companionship and chatting with the volunteers when they come out, and (seniors like) the food as well but I think companionship is a big part of it, Schnider said. Sometimes the volunteer is the only person seniors see that day.

I have one volunteer who said the seniors have paved the wayso its nice to give back to them for paving the way, Schnider said. Its such a wonderful experience. You get to chatting with them and hearing stories from the past, and you realize how lucky we are to be living with the conveniences we have.

The deliveries serve as a safety check as well. Volunteers knock at a seniors door to be sure the person is home to receive the meal. If no one answers, Meals on Wheels attempts to call the person to reschedule meal delivery and be sure the person is safe and healthy. If the person cant be reached, Schnider said Meals on Wheels contacts the seniors emergency contact.

Go to mealsprogram.com/volunteer or call 605-394-6002 for more information or to sign up to volunteer.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

FISHERSVILLE  In August 2021, the Augusta County Board of Supervisors approved a rezoning for a mysterious 1 millionsquare-foot warehouse in Fishersville.

Over the next few months, residents wondered what company would build there in what Augusta County Administrator Tim Fitzgerald joked was the "worst kept secret in town." Gov. Glenn Youngkin ultimately revealed in February 2022 the plans for an Amazon fulfillment center at 32 Trader Road.

On Wednesday, county officials and Amazon representatives officially celebrated the center's launch with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"It's a great day in Augusta County," Fitzgerald said.

The center  which officially opened on April 30  is primarily responsible for picking, packing and shipping larger items such as furniture or outdoor equipment to customers.

The opening of the Fishersville operation comes at a time when Amazon has made more headlines for scaling back its real estate footprint than growing it. The e-commerce titan invested heavily in industrial space when demand was soaring at the peak of the pandemic before taking its foot off the pedal in the waning years of the global health crisis.

Amazon grew its warehouse footprint by roughly 125 million square feet in 2020 and added 137 million square feet in 2021, according to logistics consulting firm MWPVL. Last year, it grew its footprint by just 52 million square feet.

The Fishersville operation took about 18 months to get from approval to opening day, which Fitzgerald noted included setbacks such as a potential tornado going directly through the site.

"There has been much excitement and build-up of anticipation for this moment," Fitzgerald said. "The truth of it is that I don't think Augusta County has seen such a fast, efficient and smooth construction operation the likes of Amazon in this county."

Fishersville's location joins 10 other Amazon fulfillment centers in Virginia. The center today employs about 200 workers, but it ultimately aims to have 500 on staff.

Holly Sullivan, Amazon's vice president of worldwide economic development and public policy, said the economic impact of a center such as this creating so many jobs is significant.

"Out of the employees we've hired thus far, 75% of those live within a 30mile radius," Sullivan said. "Those are people that are living, shopping, buying cars, renting apartments and buying homes in the regional area."

Irfaan Hafeez, the Fishersville center's general manager of operations, said the first few weeks went smoothly at the center, as they started by getting their dayshift operations going before ramping up into the 24-hour operation they are now.

Hafeez praised the center's rapid growth and Amazon's onboarding process for new employees.

"You don't have to have a background in anything," Hafeez said. "We come and train you. We invest multitudes of weeks of training to teach folks what they need to do to be successful here. Once you start here, the opportunities are endless."
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Brown Grove has now reached national significance with recognition from the National Park Service, marking it a place worthy of preservation, as announced this week by a local preservation group.

The historically Black community is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The rural historic district is the only such district in Virginia that honors Black rural or suburban heritage. It was first designated to the Virginia Landmarks Register in 2022.

But the Brown Grove Preservation Group had been pushing for both state and national designations as a way to honor the community and as a way to protect it from future development that could break up the historic land.

Richmond honors fallen officers who 'gave everything' Richmond dignitaries, police officers and higher-ups honor the memory of its officers who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Initially an antebellum plantation economy, Brown Grove was later established by former enslaved people during the Reconstruction Era. It emerged as a self-sufficient agricultural community featuring a network of small farms and general stores around the community focal point, Brown Grove Baptist Church, along with a schoolhouse, some of which remains.

Today, the 1,200-acre area around Sliding Hill and Ashcake roads in Hanover County is a middle-class residential neighborhood, but evidence of its past remains. Many modern residents can trace their roots back to the enslaved families that established the community.

Caroline Dobson Morris, a midwife, was nicknamed the mother of Brown Grove. She was born into slavery and bought by slave owners in the area when she was 9 years old, but later became freed and settled in the area.

When Morris died, she had 112 grandchildren. Nearly all of the remaining descendants with ties to slavery are modern generations from Morris family line, according to Diane Smith Drake, a great-grandchild of Morris and an area historian.

She was a very stern lady, Drake said. A lot of people looked up to her.

Morris legacy is honored in stained glass at the church that anchors the community to this day.

The National Park Service alerted the Brown Grove Historic Preservation Group that it earned its national designation in April. The group worked with Hanbury Preservation Consulting and the William & Mary Center for Archaeological Research to prepare its application. A GoFundMe page raised over $13,000 to cover costs for the process.

The push for a historic designation has followed a slow process of industrial encroachment over the decades.

Most recently, Brown Grove has been at the center of a controversy involving the 1.1 million-square-foot Wegmans distribution center that is almost completed, erected right in its center. But the encroachment began even before that.

The community was split in half when Interstate 95 was first built in the late 1950s. Then the Hanover Regional Airport opened in 1971. Then a landfill, further suburban development and eventually Wegmans massive center came in.

The eight-person Brown Grove Preservation Group pushed for the historic designations, hoping to protect its community from more encroachment.

They thought that we were going to sit back and take it because thats what our parents did, and their parents did, Drake said. But this is a different generation now, and we said enough was enough.

For the people in Brown Grove and in many historically Black communities across the South, parents worked hard to earn their land and maintain a living. Drake said it was the only thing they really had to pass on to their descendants.

No money could ever buy that from me, Drake said. We know how they were brought up and what they had to go through. It was such abuse that they had to go through, and we had to struggle just to get what we have.

Close This July 1955 image shows the building, at Madison and Grace streets in Richmond, that once sat downtown and housed First Presbyterian Church. Completed in 1853 at the current site of Old City Hall, the buildings outer shell was moved to Madison and Grace in the mid-1880s to make room for the city building. In 1943, the Acca Shriners, who had lost the Mosque (now Altria Theater) during the Great Depression, purchased the old church building. They used it until the mid-1950s; the building has since been torn down. In May 1977, this 150-foot smokestack came down, thanks to Controlled Demolition of Towson, Md. The smokestack stood behind what used to be Broad Street Station in Richmond; the demolition was part of a contract with the state for removal of the stack and several buildings in the area. This April 1951 image shows St. Andrews School in Richmonds Oregon Hill area. Noted philanthropist Grace Arents founded the school in 1894 and was a key supporter of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. The school offered a wide range of programs, including sewing, music and physical education. It still stands today, serving low-income children. In May 1959, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway announced plans to move about a third of its workforce from Richmond to Huntington, W.Va., by 1961-62. Many employees worked in the First and Merchants National Bank building at Ninth Street downtown, which was partially owned by C&O. The building has been converted to First National Apartments. This July 1947 image shows the new Curles Neck Dairy plant at 1600 Roseneath Road in Richmond. The building, which cost more than $200,000, gave the 13-year-old dairy modern features including a refreshment room that served up to 50 people, ice-cream-making facilities and curbside service. The building is now home to the Dairy Bar restaurant. This March 1987 image shows the Independent Order of St. Luke building at 900 St. James St. in Richmond, which was the new home for the citys Head Start program. The building, which today stands empty, was built in the early 1900s and was expanded between 1915 and 1920. It was home to the benevolent society under Maggie Walkers leadership, as well as the first location of the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank that she ran. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. This May 1935 image shows Herberts shoe store at 419 E. Broad St. in downtown Richmond. The store advertised itself as the first air-cooled shoe store in the entire South. A fall sale that year offered womens shoes as low as $1.77. This May 1957 image shows the Woolworths at Fifth and Broad streets in downtown Richmond. The $1 million building opened in September 1954, and it housed several departments for the nearby Miller & Rhoads, which had an earlier store on the site in the late 1800s. An ad for the Woolworths Easter sale offered handbags for $1, records for 99 cents, and cowhide and plastic belts for between 39 and 98 cents. In February 1968, the National Theater on East Broad Street in Richmond was about to undergo a $150,000 remodeling to make it suitable as a movie theater  the building, which opened in 1923, was designed more for vaudeville and other live performances. In June 1968, the theater reopened as The Towne and operated until 1983. It has since been restored again and now hosts concerts. From the Archives: Old Richmond buildings This July 1955 image shows the building, at Madison and Grace streets in Richmond, that once sat downtown and housed First Presbyterian Church. Completed in 1853 at the current site of Old City Hall, the buildings outer shell was moved to Madison and Grace in the mid-1880s to make room for the city building. In 1943, the Acca Shriners, who had lost the Mosque (now Altria Theater) during the Great Depression, purchased the old church building. They used it until the mid-1950s; the building has since been torn down. In May 1977, this 150-foot smokestack came down, thanks to Controlled Demolition of Towson, Md. The smokestack stood behind what used to be Broad Street Station in Richmond; the demolition was part of a contract with the state for removal of the stack and several buildings in the area. This April 1951 image shows St. Andrews School in Richmonds Oregon Hill area. Noted philanthropist Grace Arents founded the school in 1894 and was a key supporter of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. The school offered a wide range of programs, including sewing, music and physical education. It still stands today, serving low-income children. In May 1959, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway announced plans to move about a third of its workforce from Richmond to Huntington, W.Va., by 1961-62. Many employees worked in the First and Merchants National Bank building at Ninth Street downtown, which was partially owned by C&O. The building has been converted to First National Apartments. This July 1947 image shows the new Curles Neck Dairy plant at 1600 Roseneath Road in Richmond. The building, which cost more than $200,000, gave the 13-year-old dairy modern features including a refreshment room that served up to 50 people, ice-cream-making facilities and curbside service. The building is now home to the Dairy Bar restaurant. This March 1987 image shows the Independent Order of St. Luke building at 900 St. James St. in Richmond, which was the new home for the citys Head Start program. The building, which today stands empty, was built in the early 1900s and was expanded between 1915 and 1920. It was home to the benevolent society under Maggie Walkers leadership, as well as the first location of the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank that she ran. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. This May 1935 image shows Herberts shoe store at 419 E. Broad St. in downtown Richmond. The store advertised itself as the first air-cooled shoe store in the entire South. A fall sale that year offered womens shoes as low as $1.77. This May 1957 image shows the Woolworths at Fifth and Broad streets in downtown Richmond. The $1 million building opened in September 1954, and it housed several departments for the nearby Miller & Rhoads, which had an earlier store on the site in the late 1800s. An ad for the Woolworths Easter sale offered handbags for $1, records for 99 cents, and cowhide and plastic belts for between 39 and 98 cents. In February 1968, the National Theater on East Broad Street in Richmond was about to undergo a $150,000 remodeling to make it suitable as a movie theater  the building, which opened in 1923, was designed more for vaudeville and other live performances. In June 1968, the theater reopened as The Towne and operated until 1983. It has since been restored again and now hosts concerts.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Richmonds officeholders and its elite, the brass and rank-and-file, and families bound to each by a badge of law and honor, but also heartbreak, gathered inside the citys police training headquarters on Thursday to honor the memory of the citys officers who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Under a bright sunny sky, they joined together during a gathering to lay a wreath during a solemn ceremony, as a bagpipe dirge filled the air, to mark the memory of each officer in a tribute that has become a yearly tradition at the start of National Police Week.

Among the many heartbreaking stories, one belonged to Edwin Robert Stephenson, who was just 9 months old when his father died in the line of duty in 1974.

His father, Patrolman Edwin Stephenson Jr., was just 23 years old when he and his partner, Patrolman Leaward R. Rich, responded to a call for a reported robbery near Brook Road and Westbrook Avenue. While turning, the car hit a bump that sent it out of control and barreling into a tree. Stephensons father died instantly. His partner died at Richmond Memorial Hospital a few hours later.

Stephensons memory of his father has lived through accounts from his grandparents and uncle. He has a recording of his fathers voice, saying that he wanted to get Edwin a pair of shoes for Christmas, his words brimming with excitement at getting his son something for his first Christmas.

He was a very stoic man, he was loved and he definitely loved me, Stephenson said. He was a proud Mechanicsville man; you could hear the twang in his voice. He was loved by many.

You got to remember the fact that (fallen officers) gave all, Stephenson said. They didnt give some, they gave everything. They sacrificed not only their lives, but being with their families, more than anyone could possibly give.

President John F. Kennedy first designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day in 1962, and the week that follows is known as National Police Week. Localities around the country hold their own individual memorials for officers who died in the line of duty.

So far this year, 42 law enforcement officers have been killed nationwide. Nineteen of those officers were killed by gunfire. A total of 21 states were represented in those deaths  none in Virginia.

Richmond last lost one of its police officers in 2003 when Officer Douglas E. Wendel was responding to a call for an armed person. He was shot during the investigation and taken to MCV, where he later died from his injuries. In total, Richmond has lost 39 officers since the 1870s.

No matter what we say or do today, there will never truly be enough words to properly recognize these brave men and women who gave effort, said Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney at the memorial. But we must continue to come together to grieve to comfort one another to pay our respect to the fallen; pause and give respect to the current men and women in uniform.

Two Virginia State Police officers were commended by Richmonds interim police chief, Rick Edwards. VSP Trooper Chad Dermyer was killed at the Greyhound Bus Station on Arthur Ashe Boulevard in 2016. VSP Special Agent Michael Walter died just a year later in Richmond while partnering with a Richmond police officer.

They might not have worn our uniform, but they share our goal of public safety for our city, Edwards said. We remember a real-life service of others. And this week and all the weeks to come, we will remember that and honor them for the brave and honorable people they were.

In August, an officer was wounded after an exchange of gunfire. The bullet that grazed his hip left him with bone fragments lodged in his body, and he needs a cane to walk.

I think about all those dangerous incidents and I say a prayer every time we make it through another night where we have not had to add to that terrible list, Edwards said.

The interim chief said part of his daily routine involves reviewing body camera footage from officer interactions from the evening before.

Many days I look at the bodycam footage of the nights events because there are so many acts of heroism and bravery that nobody knows about, Edwards said. Some of the videos of what our officers face are public, but most are not. When I watch those videos, I think about how lucky I am, this year in particular.

This years National Police Week is from May 14 to May 20.

Youre only given one life, Stephenson said. To use that to protect somebody, that means everything, and youve got to take time to remember and memorialize that sacrifice.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Correction: Richmond Police Sgt. Jennifer Ward was incorrectly identified as a Richmond Police officer in a story that online and in print on page A3 on Friday. The story below has been updated.

Standing on the doorstep of a home on Cliff Avenue, Richmond Police Department Sgt. Jennifer Ward listened as a resident expressed concerns about cars speeding in her neighborhood.

As almost on cue, just minutes later a car sped by Ward as she made her way up the front steps of a house down the street.

While Ward was not on duty to conduct a traffic stop, she was one of the dozens of Richmond public safety officers who walked through the Brookland and Providence Park neighborhoods on Wednesday evening as part of the RPD command staffs monthly community walk.

This walk was the fifth in a monthly series when RPD officers meet with officials from the Richmond Fire Department; the Department of Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response; the Sheriffs Office and the ambulance authority in neighborhoods around the city to go door to door to speak with residents about their safety concerns.

While most residents of the approximately 50 houses Richmond safety officers approached on Wednesday did not answer the door, the citizens concerns were relatively minor, ranging from cars speeding through the narrow streets to the rare gunshot. Officers also reminded residents to make sure their smoke detectors worked and provided each house with informational pamphlets about gun safety and tips for contacting 911.

One resident, who rents his home, admitted he did not have smoke detectors in the house. But a firefighter, who was part of the entourage, politely suggested he talk to his landlord about getting the potentially lifesaving smoke detectors.

The walks are part of RPDs outreach program with the goal of building relationships and communicating with citizens outside of emergency situations, said Rick Edwards, RPD interim chief of police.

It gives the community the opportunity to engage with us when its not an emergency and we can hear some of their concerns so we can work together to address them, Edwards said.

Stephen Willoughby, director of Richmonds emergency communications department, also acknowledged that while each neighborhoods concerns are unique, it is still valuable for safety officers to remind residents they are there to help.

The walks take place on the third Wednesday of each month in one of Richmonds 12 police sectors. Each walk is overseen by the police lieutenant who oversees the area. This months walk took place in RPDs Fourth Precinct, in an area officially designated sector 411 that stretches from Upper Shockoe Valley to Providence Park.

Though residents said the Brookland and Providence Park neighborhoods are relatively safe, Sector 411 Lt. Claude Picard chose to visit those areas to learn about unreported problems and get feedback for possible improvements.

Sometimes I dont know exactly what to work on in a particular neighborhood, especially if Im not getting crime reports from a neighborhood, so I want to hear if there are issues or crimes happening that are going unreported, Picard said. Its really an opportunity for me as a sector lieutenant to find out what I need to work on in this neighborhood.

After the walks, sector lieutenants then communicate residents concerns to corresponding public safety organizations so they may be addressed. For example, to solve residents concerns about cars speeding, Picard would work with the City Council and traffic enforcement to get more speed limit signs and speed bumps installed, he said.

Along with the safety walks, RPD officers also connect with community members through pop-up events with a variety of family-friendly activities they host in collaboration with nonprofit organizations and other safety agencies in neighborhoods across Richmond on the fourth Thursday of each month.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Peter Blake, director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, is leaving his job by the end of the calendar year.

Blake, 66, has been the councils director for 12 years. He announced his departure this week.

SCHEV approves enrollment projections and degrees of study for Virginias 15 public universities and 23 community colleges. It also enacts legislation, tracks statistics and implements a vision for higher education in the state.

Blake leaves at a time of great change. College enrollment in the state has declined almost 4% in the past decade, and it is expected to generally decline for the next 10 to 15 years. While the states largest and most competitive colleges are generally prospering, other schools are struggling to fill their seats.

The cost of education has continued to rise, too. Most colleges in the state announced tuition hikes for the fall semester.

Blake joined SCHEV as a research associate in 1985. He later worked for the House Appropriations Committee, was deputy secretary of education under then-Gov. Mark Warner and later was vice chancellor of the Virginia Community College System.

Few careers allow one to work on important issues with smart, capable and committed people on important issues, Blake said in a statement. Higher education does indeed change lives, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to help make Virginia one of the best states for education.

The councils board members will hire a new director. Blake said he will take time off before making plans for the future.

From the Archives: WCVE-TV W.C.V.E. W.C.V.E. W.C.V.E. W.C.V.E. W.C.V.E. W.C.V.E. W.C.V.E. W.C.V.E. W.C.V.E. W.C.V.E. W.C.V.E. W.C.V.E. W.C.V.E. W.C.V.E.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

FAIRFAX CITY  Gov. Glenn Youngkin couldnt escape issues of student diversity and equity Thursday at George Mason University, the largest and most culturally diverse public higher education institution in Virginia.

A number of students stood in protest  including the student commencement speaker sitting two seats from the governor  as Youngkin celebrated the graduation of nearly 11,000 students at the university here, including more than 1,500 who represent the first generation of their families to receive a college or university degree.

Youngkin, who has come under fire for an adviser who told another higher education audience that diversity, equity and inclusion is dead, countered by celebrating the stories of three graduates, by name, who had overcome adversity to earn their degrees at Mason.

No matter your faith, no matter your nationality, no matter your race, your culture or creed, as you walk across the stage (to receive a diploma), you will have the opportunity to become a builder of Virginia, a builder of this nation, a builder of the world, he told graduates who hailed from 111 countries and every state.

I know you will choose to build because that is the nations way, he said.

George Mason President Gregory Washington, the first Black person to lead the university and the first member of his family to earn a university degree, set the stage by remembering the example that Mason students set after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending a half-century of legal protection for abortion and leaving states to decide the issue for themselves.

Competing factions sought to condemn or support the ruling in a protest at Masons campus in Arlington County, where its Antonin Scalia Law school is based. But they ultimately negotiated terms for both sides to voice their opinions respectfully, Washington said.

Neither side was silent nor silenced each other, he said.

Washington also commended the class as the last to enter before the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed their studies. The pandemic put so much stress on the fabric of our world that society seemed to be coming apart at the seams, he said. You didnt fight each other. You fought the virus and, together, you won.

The Mason graduation was the largest in Virginias history  with more than 10,000 students receiving degrees and 700 earning certificates  but some students objected to Youngkins appearance as commencement speaker. Some had warned the university that they planned to protest by walking out, holding signs or turning their backs on the governor as he spoke.

The most visible protest came from Galilea Sejas-Machado, an honors student in criminology and sociology who founded the Hispanic Latine Leadership Alliance and served as a student ambassador at the Center for Culture, Equity and Empowerment.

After delivering a student commencement speech that honored Indigenous communities and sovereign tribes and her own identity as a strong, independent Latine woman, Sejas-Machado shook the governors hand and then rose as he spoke with a sign that stated We Will Not Debate Humanity! and Mason Demands Action.

I think that gave some currency to the people who feel this should not have happened, said Mark Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at Mason, who estimated that a dozen students walked out during the speech.

Rozell said the protests grew from student concerns about what they termed Youngkins attacks on public education, especially programs to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. He cited a speech by Martin Brown, the governors chief diversity, opportunity and inclusion officer, who declared DEI is dead in an appearance at Virginia Military Institute last month.

The protest was entirely appropriate, the veteran political analyst said, but he commended Youngkin for how he handled the situation.

It was a good speech because he honored GMU and he told stories about three students who graduated after overcoming adversity, Rozell said. It could have gone a very different way.

Those students were: Daniel Lee, a student from South Korea whose mother traveled from their country to watch him receive a bachelors degree in computer science; Noel Quezada, a first-generation student who served in the U.S. Army Reserve while earning a bachelors degree in criminology, law and society with a double major in forensics and psychology; and Brandon Roy Roca, another first-generation student majoring in international politics whose parents both were diagnosed with cancer during the pandemic.

The governor celebrated the largest graduating class in the history of George Mason University, their stories, and diversity of thought in the commonwealth, said Macaulay Porter, Youngkins press secretary. The governor will continue to deliver for Virginia, preserve and protect free speech, and praise the many accomplishments of GMU grads.

Mason Rector Horace Blackman introduced Youngkin as the leader of the most diverse leadership team in history with Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Black woman from Jamaica, and Attorney General Jason Miyares, the first Hispanic elected to statewide office in Virginia.

Washington, the university president, said diversity is Masons greatest strength.

That diversity in origin, identity, circumstances and thought is what we call, all together different,  he said.

Youngkin digital ad

In another development on Thursday, Youngkin, who has ruled out a presidential run this year, released a digital ad that appeared to again fan the flames. In the ad, gleaned from a speech that Youngkin gave May 1 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, he says: President Ronald Reagan changed lives. Now its our turn, a time to choose life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness over oppression and dictatorial rule. The stakes are high and the consequences couldnt be greater.

Its time to usher in a new era of American values. Its our turn to choose life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. pic.twitter.com/IH8enVaL5B  Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) May 18, 2023

Youngkin is among a number of prominent Republicans to speak at the Reagan library as part of the A Time for Choosing speaker series, named for an address that Reagan gave in 1964 during Barry Goldwaters presidential campaign. Speakers in the series have included GOP presidential hopefuls such as former Vice President Mike Pence; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.; and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

The Washington Post reported that the ad mistakenly presents footage of a European fighter aircraft rather than an American fighter.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Pausing for a moment Friday to pick up a theme from his remarks at a memorial ceremony to honor police and sheriffs officers who died in the line of duty, Gov. Glenn Youngkin was blunt:

I need a budget, he said.

Beginning with lessons learned from the Partnership for Petersburgs push to tackle violent crime in the hard-pressed little city, Youngkin last year launched his Operation Bold Blue Line effort to boost law enforcement resources  and the money for that is tied up in the budget impasse.

That money includes $30 million to recruit 2,000 new members of law enforcement, and additional funding for prosecutors and to tackle the pay issues that make retaining experienced officers a challenge, as well as funding for equipment and training.

They have our back, we need to show we have theirs, he told the memorial ceremony, before joining Beverly Carey, widow of Broadnax Police Chief Joe Carey, and her granddaughter Bayleith, to lay a wreath before Capitol Squares granite memorial for the more than 500 Virginia officers who died in the line of duty.

Carey was struck and killed by a vehicle last December as he stopped with emergency lights on to remove a traffic hazard, a dead dog, from U.S. 58.

Youngkin said Virginians need to recognize the sacrifices all law enforcement officers make.

We need to show not only that we need our law enforcement professionals but that we want them, Youngkin said.

On Thursday at an event to announce Jeffery W. Keller, a history teacher at John Handley High School in Winchester, as the state teacher of the year, Youngkin said he agreed with leaders of the state Senate and House of Delegates money committees that it made sense to hold off on nailing down an agreement to narrow a $1 billion gap between the two bodies budget packages while the federal debt ceiling crisis hangs over the economy.

But, he said, we have ample, ample funds to weather any economic turmoil from the federal debt standoff and still provide for tax relief and major investments his budget proposal called for in education, mental health services, law enforcement and water quality measures for the Chesapeake Bay.

Education funding is one area of dispute, since the Senates version of a budget calls for three times as large a boost in direct state aid to K-12 schools  a $1 billion increase  while axing Youngkins proposed cut in the top income tax rate to 5.5% from 5.75% as well as increasing the standard deduction and cutting the corporate tax rate to 5% from 6%.

Youngkin said he thinks President Joe Biden needs to take more seriously the GOP-led U.S. House of Representatives demands to cut spending as a quid pro quo for increasing the federal debt ceiling.

That ceiling says the U.S. cannot borrow more than $31.46 trillion. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned it means the government could run out of cash as early as next month because it is unable to borrow money in the short term to cover the usual fluctuations in revenue that any enterprise sees.

The issue does not arise in Virginia since the state constitution says its budget has to have a balance between spending and revenue, which as a practical matter means maintaining large reserves.

As of the end of fiscal year 2022, those stood at $2.65 billion and were projected to rise to $3.8 billion by the end of this fiscal year on June 30.

The states borrowings are made for the same reason homeowners take out mortgages or drivers arrange car loans  to cover the big lump sums needed for a major investment, such as expanding highways or erecting college buildings.

Youngkin said the excess of revenue over state spending so far is running above the $3.6 billion projected when he was putting together his budget proposal.

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 GET THE NEW TIMES-DISPATCH APP 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 April 15, 2023 April 16, 2023 GET THE NEW TIMES-DISPATCH APP April 17, 2023 April 18, 2023 April 19, 2023 April 20, 2023 April 21, 2023 April 22, 2023 April 23, 2023 April 24, 2023 April 25, 2023 April 26, 2023 April 27, 2023 April 28, 2023 April 29, 2023 May 1, 2023 May 2, 2023 May 3, 2023 May 4, 2023 May 5, 2023 May 6, 2023 May 7, 2023 May 8, 2023 May 9, 2023 May 10, 2023 May 11, 2023 May 12, 2023 May 13, 2023 May 14, 2023 May 15, 2023 May 16, 2023 May 17, 2023 May 18, 2023 May 19, 2023 May 20, 2023 May 21, 2023 May 22, 2023 May 23, 2023 May 24, 2023 May 25, 2023 May 26, 2023
FGJ finds more evidence on real estate cartel in Mexico City

Mexico City, Mexico  The spokesman for the Mexico City Attorney Generals Office (FGJ CDMX), Ulises Lara, reported that there is more evidence on possible money laundering associated with a real estate corruption network in Mexico City.

The real estate cartel, as its being called, took place in the area of Benito Juarez in Mexico City and, according to the FGJ, was headed by Sofia N, sister of Christian N.

As will be remembered, Sofia Soraya N was located and apprehended in the town of Juriquilla, in the state of Queretaro. Said person served as the legal representative of companies, which are probably linked to Nicias Rene N, former director of Works of the Benito Juarez who is also being investigated for illicit enrichment, said Lara.

The network consisted of front companies to give real estate as collateral with the purpose of preventing their origin from being known. It was highlighted that the participation of 12 other people has been identified, including former officials and their relatives.

Lara added that this crime was possibly executed and planned by public servants of that demarcation and that the money laundering could have been through three companies of different lines such as a construction company, private educational centers and investments.

He mentioned that, there are names and probable perpetrators in positions of a pyramid of complicity, in which front men and front companies associated with each other could have participated, who acquired, disposed of, managed and gave real estate as collateral, with the purpose of prevent its origin from being known .

Likewise, the spokesman for the Prosecutors Office reported that the case could pass into the hands of the Attorney Generals Office of Justice (FGJ) because they are federal crimes.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The Roanoke man shot after he wielded a knife during a confrontation with a police officer earlier this year has refused to be evaluated by a psychologist, but was ordered on Thursday to cooperate.

Frank Joseph Distefano, 51, is charged with assaulting an officer during the Jan. 25 incident at an apartment complex in the 3700 block of Stratford Park Drive Southwest.

According to court documents, police went to the apartment complex that morning in response to a 911 call about a domestic disturbance.

A male officer encountered Distefano, who repeatedly proclaimed to the police officer that he [...] was King of the Jews, King of Jerusalem, and King of Israel, an affidavit reads.

Distefano made threats to kill the officer, then advanced with a knife in hand. The officer fired his weapon, striking Distefano in the abdomen.

A Roanoke Circuit Court grand jury indicted Distefano on the officer assault charge in February. During a hearing on Feb. 10, Distefano waived his right to an attorney.

However, Judge Christopher Clemens signed an order on Feb. 28 that appointed Cathy Reynolds, a Roanoke lawyer, to his case for reasons appearing proper to the Court.

Clemens also ordered a competency evaluation for Distefano, who continues to be held at the Roanoke City Adult Detention Center without bond.

The Court finds that there is probable cause to believe that the defendant lacks substantial capacity to understand the proceedings against him or to assist counsel in his own defense, Clemens order reads. The Court further finds that there is probable cause to believe that the defendants sanity will be a significant factor in his defense.

A licensed clinical psychologist went to the jail to see Distefano on April 28, according to a letter dated May 17.

He refused to meet with me so I was not able to evaluate him, the psychologist wrote.

Reynolds said during Distefanos hearing Thursday that she also visited him in jail, but he refused to speak with her. The lawyer said she is not so sure he actually wants [her] help, but added that she wants to assist if she can.

Distefano maintained in court on Thursday, sometimes speaking over Judge Onzlee Ware, that he is competent to stand trial and doesnt need an evaluation or an attorney.

I dont need anyone to represent me, Distefano said. I have diplomatic immunity.

Distefano claimed he has connections to world leaders overseas who would declare war if he continued to be incarcerated.

Were all going to die one day, he said. Put me in handcuffs and put me in jail for one day.

Ware ordered Distefano to cooperate with the psychologist who has been asked to evaluate him. If Distefano refuses to comply, Ware said, he will be found guilty of contempt of court.

Distefanos bench trial is scheduled for June 26.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

MONETA  The Franklin County Sheriffs Office released the identity of the victim in the Monday morning drowning at Smith Mountain Lake.

John Charles Lewis, 51, of Portland, Oregon, was found in the water by first responders near the dock of a home in the 400 block of Channelview Drive in Moneta. The Franklin County Sheriffs Office, Franklin County Public Safety and Smith Mountain Lake Marine Volunteer Fire Department responded to a 911 call for a possible drowning at the home at 9:54 a.m.

According to Sgt. Megan Huston with the sheriffs office, Lewis was believed to be working on the dock at the time.

Despite extensive life saving measures, the male was pronounced deceased, the Huston said in a news release provided on Monday.

Huston said there does not appear to be any suspicious circumstances in the drowning at this time. Lewis was not wearing a life jacket, according to the sheriffs office.

This incident marks the third drowning in Smith Mountain Lake this year. Two Danville men died when their boat capsized Jan. 2. Authorities recovered their bodies Jan. 5 near the Anthony Ford Public Boat Ramp in Penhook.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

United Way of Southwest Virginia and United Way of New River Valley are combining their resources to better serve Montgomery County, Pulaski County, Giles County, Floyd County and Radford City.

United Way of Southwest Virginia uses a cradle-to-career framework for community support and has been recognized as one of the top 10 United Ways in the country.

"As we enter our 60th year of serving the New River Valley, we cannot imagine a better way to renew our commitment and deepen our collective impact than this partnership between the United Way of Southwest Virginia and the United Way of the New River Valley, said Heather Nicholson, board president of the United Way of New River Valley. United Way of Southwest Virginia's 'cradle-to-career' approach is deeply invested in the well-being of children and families in our region. We are proud to join them under the United Way Southwest Virginia moniker and work to make a collective difference."

Using a cradle-to-career approach, United Way of Southwest Virginia is addressing the challenges facing tomorrows workforce. From increasing the quality of child care to coordinating high school internships to providing trauma-informed professional development opportunities for educators, United Way is investing in Southwest Virginias youth at every stage.

In addition, United Way of Southwest Virginia has been aligning local support and investment from schools, businesses and government officials. For every dollar donated, they secure $10 in grant funding.

Joining forces allows for deeper collaboration with important partners such as Virginia Tech and Radford University. It also allows for more multi-regional projects with GO Virginia Region II. In order to ensure a deep connection with New River Valley partners and the community in general, United Way will maintain an office in Christiansburg throughout the transition period and for the foreseeable future.

Brendan McSheehy, chairman of the board at UWSWVA and vice president of innovation and intellectual property at Universal Fiber Systems, said, The board of directors from both organizations are excited about what this means for Southwest Virginia. United, we amplify our ability to fight for the health, education and financial stability of every person that lives and works here.

Some highlights of United Way of Southwest Virginias programs include:

Annual Rural Summit. This event brings together leaders, practitioners, educators and community members to explore proven strategies for building resilient and prosperous communities.

This event brings together leaders, practitioners, educators and community members to explore proven strategies for building resilient and prosperous communities. Virginias Community Schools Conference. This event explores the evidence-based equity strategies proven to improve attendance, school culture, family engagement, academic achievement, graduation rates and college/career readiness.

This event explores the evidence-based equity strategies proven to improve attendance, school culture, family engagement, academic achievement, graduation rates and college/career readiness. Ready SWVA. This economic development and workforce expansion project includes a hub-and-spoke model of workforce readiness. The anchor facility for this project is the first of its kind in our region and features a hands-on career simulation facility, STEM teacher training labs, and a shared services alliance for qualifying licensed child care providers serving our region.

United Way will also conduct a community needs assessment and meet with community members to better understand what role they can play in the future.

Travis Staton, CEO and president of United Way of Southwest Virginia, will be leading the transition, and added: I am excited about joining forces for the greater good, and were building a transition team made up of community members to help us map the process. As an organization serving the community, we want that community to have a voice in how we approach this. It will take time, but we will be thoughtful and intentional so that gaps in services or resources do not occur. This is how we become stronger, together.

- Submitted by Ryan Dye
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Its not yet summertime in Virginia, but people fall ill to heat each year as soon as May, state data shows.

As of Monday, health care providers in the Roanoke Valley have treated five people for heat-related illness so far this month, according to Virginia Department of Health data. Heat-related illness ranges from mild cramping to potentially deadly heat stroke.

Between May and September last year, more than 2,900 people visited emergency departments and urgent care centers in Virginia for heat-related illness, the data shows. Those stats are familiar to Phil Hysell, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Blacksburg.

Heat is the number one weather-related killer across the United States, Hysell said. On [May 15], we changed the heat advisory and excessive heat warning criteria for our mountain counties, basically the New River Valley and areas west.

In the counties of Floyd, Montgomery, Craig, Alleghany, Bath and westward, the National Weather Service now issues heat advisories when the heat index reaches 100 degrees. Excessive heat warnings will occur when the index hits 105 degrees.

Heat index differs from the base temperature readout on a thermometer, Hysell said. More humid air feels hotter.

The heat index takes into account humidity levels, Hysell said. Higher humidity with the same temperature will create a higher heat index value.

The weather service changed its heat advisory and warning criteria for mountain counties after reviewing heat-related illness data from state health officials, Hysell said.

We found that there were many more urgent care center and hospital visits that were well below the criteria we had in place, Hysell said. We lowered that by five degrees, so the trigger for the excessive heat warning went from 110 to 105 [degrees].

Since 2011, the Blacksburg NWS office has issued only four excessive heat warnings in its 40-county area covering parts of Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina, plus 44 heat advisories since 2006, according to data provided by the agency.

We also found  just looking chronologically at the Blacksburg heat index values over the past 45 years  that Blacksburg never reached the excessive heat warning criteria, Hysell said. So it didnt align with the impacts or the climatology.

He said although the criteria for heat warnings and advisories are lowered, the weather service still might issue heat headlines during cooler conditions, especially if many people were without power due to storm damage, for example. In other words, the heat guidelines are flexible, and people should be too.

Anytime we get into the summer months, we need to be prepared for excessive heat, Hysell said. As we move into the summer months, make sure you have a plan if you dont have air conditioning to go to a place that does where you can get cooled down.

Across the country, about 700 heat-related deaths occur each year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can save a life to occasionally check on people without air conditioning, particularly those who might have mobility issues, old or young, Hysell said.

When you look at the Commonwealth of Virginia, there have been multiple instances where small children have died by being left in their vehicles when temperatures outside are in the 80s or 90s, Hysell said. Beat the heat, always check the backseat before you leave the car.

Summer starts June 21.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

For a guy who had never been in politics, Gov. Glenn Youngkin is beginning to master one of its requisite skills: being petty.

If that is what one should call it. Petty is in the eye of the beholder, after all.

Ask the loyalists denied the prized two- and three-digit license plates in 1990 by a fellow Democrat for whom being petty is a profession: Gov. Douglas Wilder, who had as chief of staff Jay Shropshire, a self-styled Secretary of Revenge.

Ask House Democrats whose road projects were dropped from a giant transportation initiative by Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore  literally scratched out by Speaker Vance Wilkins, R-Amherst, right before their eyes with a red pen  because they balked on backing the proposal.

Ask senior Republican delegates booted from the House appropriations, general laws and rules committees by GOP Speaker Bill Howell of Stafford as punishment for breaking ranks and delivering in 2004 a $1.4 billion tax increase for Gov. Mark Warner, lifting the Democrat into presidential orbit.

Ask lobbyists dressed down in person by Gov. Gerald Baliles  who, depending who you ask, kept a list on paper of slights to be avenged  because their industries supported the creation in the mid-1980s of a business-oriented legislative report card that, he predicted, would be used against Democrats.

Nowadays, the beholder is the Democratic lawmaker or two wincing from the steel of executive power: in particular, a gubernatorial veto. These Democrats contend their bills or those they supported were spiked by Republican Youngkin, not because he necessarily objected to these measures on policy grounds, but because their names were on or associated with them.

Last week, Youngkin vetoed Republican-authored legislation unanimously passed by the General Assembly that promotes burying electric power lines rather than stringing them from ugly above-ground towers. It was among five bills rejected by Youngkin, having been sent him by the General Assembly at its April session.

The bill was written by a delegate, Michael Webert, the No. 3 Republican as House majority whip, and a retiring senator, Jill Vogel. Both Webert and Vogel are from Fauquier County: the bucolic horse country where such giant towers are no more than carbuncles to the Piedmont Environmental Council, a green group financed by people with a lot of it.

In an accommodation of Sen. Scott Surovell, a Democrat, the proposal was tweaked to include a power line adjacent to a major road in his eastern Fairfax County district.

Youngkin opposed that feature, saying  and this qualifies as the nougat coating of a noxious sandwich  it would raise electric bills for homes and businesses.

Youngkin succeeded  presumably this was his intention  in raising the hackles of Surovell, who is no fan of the governor, has told him to his face and does not hesitate to remind voters why he disapproves of him. If Youngkin wanted to punish Surovell, he did so with the stroke of a pen.

Youngkin behaved similarly in 2022, vetoing nine of 10 bills by Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, but signing the identical House  read: Republican  versions of six of them. The vetoes were among 25 in Youngkins first legislative session as governor. In killing the Ebbin bills, Youngkin apparently telegraphed his anger over the torpedoing by an Ebbin-led committee of controversial gubernatorial appointees.

These vetoes seem no more than hard-nosed politics, which is not without a personal dimension. Otherwise, it would not sting.

And hard-nosed politics should  for punishment to be inflicted, for retribution to be taken, for a lesson to be learned and for limits to be set. The peril for Youngkin is that displays of power, if seen as gratuitous, can disrupt his relationships with legislators, many of whom he barely knows, and sully his image as the nice guy next door.

Still, Youngkin deserves a soupcon of credit for growing into a job like no other he has had; that, in the 16 months he has been governor  when he is not flitting here or there as a presidential prospect  he has shown an occasional mastery of an office from which a thunderbolt of petulance must sometimes be hurled.

Youngkin may not fully appreciate the difference between an executive in government and an executive in the corpocracy, as he was for more than two decades. Executive power in government is not absolute. It is offset by the power of the legislature and the power of the judiciary, of which the former  because it is split between a Democratic Senate and Republican House  is giving Youngkin fits.

State government veterans in both parties, especially those who have worked in the governors office, might tell you that Youngkin committed a rookie mistake in vetoing the Webert-Vogel legislation, that it signals a certain blindness on his part.

For most delegates and senators, their legislation is like a baby: It is conceived and born over months, if not years, to solve a problem and support a community.

More often than not, these lawmakers have little interest in the national ambitions of a governor whose signature is required for their bills to become law. They would tell you that those national ambitions are a needless distraction from addressing local concerns.

That may not be foremost to the few General Assembly-focused folks in Youngkinworld, on whom a governor  largely surrounded by outsiders and out-of-staters unfamiliar with Richmond  relies to identify targets of opportunity.

They include his policy and legislative directors, Ali Ahmad and Jesse Lynch, respectively, and Matt Moran, a political operative who was an aide to two Republican speakers, Howell and Kirk Cox of Colonial Heights.

Whether this qualifies as bare-knuckle politics, deliberate pettiness or a sign Youngkin is now more familiar with the governorship is not something the administration cares to discuss. Queries by text Wednesday to the governors office went unanswered, part of a communications strategy that toggles between selective engagement and controlled hostility.

Silence notwithstanding, the message could not be clearer: Watch what we do, not what we say.
Dennis Beaver Practices law in Bakersfield and welcomes comments and questions from readers, which may be faxed to (661) 323-7993, or e-mailed to Lagombeaver1@Gmail.com. Also, visit dennisbeaver.com.
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
" " Believers say astral projection is an out-of-body experience you can control. sdominick/Getty Images

The year 2020 was all about the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns and quarantines. It's no wonder, then, that stir-crazy people around the world were looking for a way  anyway at all  to escape the tedium of a solitary indoor existence. Perhaps that's why an old declassified document from the CIA mentioning astral projection created a buzz on Twitter this summer.

Astral projection, after all, is like taking a vacation without even leaving your home. All you have to do is, well, leave your body. Unlike the sort of out-of-body experience some people report when near-death, astral projection is an intentional out-of-body experience.

Advertisement

"An out-of-body experience (OBE) is a transient experience some people have, while conscious, that their self seems to becomes separated from their body, floats above the body and looks back down at that body from an elevated location," says Jane Aspell, a cognitive researcher at Anglia Ruskin University in England, via email. "Astral projection (AP) is an intentional OBE that usually involves the experience that the self can seem to travel far from their body  even to other countries or planets."

Western esotericism commonly uses the term astral projection to describe a purposeful OBE. In short, it's a way of describing the human consciousness or soul  or "astral body"  temporarily leaving the physical body. Unanchored from its mortal flesh and blood, the astral body can supposedly do all sorts of miraculous things.

"Astral projection is when the consciousness of a human is projected outside of his body into what we call the astral world," emails Robert Rubin, a tarot card authority at Mysterium Philippines. "Astral projection happens when the consciousness is sent to the astral form of this world (i.e. the astral representation of Katipunan, Manila, San Francisco, etc.) It usually has many, if not most similarities, with its real-world counterparts."

In other words, if you can harness the power of this phenomenon, you could potentially travel anywhere your imagination desires. How handy would that be in the middle of yet another stay-at-home order?
Evidence indicates a thick ice sheet, not annual sea ice and icebergs, covered the Arctic Ocean at some point during the last 140,000 years. Now, University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists will be looking for more geologic proof of the ice sheet's existence, sources, behavior and extent.

UAF Geophysical Institute scientists will focus on the Beaufort and Chukchi seas region, both offshore and onshore.

They hope to discover the extent of glaciation and improve understanding of the timing of glacial advances and retreats. Those cycles are thought to have occurred approximately 140,000 to 70,000 years ago, a period known as the mid- to late Pleistocene Epoch.

"The story of the Arctic Ocean is much more complicated than we may have originally thought and involves processes that we haven't really considered before," said Louise Farquharson, a research assistant professor at the UAF Geophysical Institute and the lead investigator.

Farquharson is working with UAF geophysics professor Bernard Coakley, who specializes in the history and formation of the Arctic Ocean, and research associate professor Andy Aschwanden, who studies glacier and ice sheet responses to atmospheric and oceanographic changes.

The National Science Foundation is funding the two-year project.

The researchers will build a geographic information system database of existing marine and terrestrial geologic evidence that could relate to a 1-kilometer thick glacier in the Beaufort-Chukchi region. Researchers will use that database to test the hypothesis that glaciation was extensive in the western Arctic Ocean at several points during the late Pleistocene.

A second component would use that database to model what type of climate would have allowed the initial glaciation and subsequent advances and retreats. That will also give scientists information about the main ice sources that contributed to the buildup.

The scientists hope to obtain additional funding for that research.

Knowledge gained through the two research efforts can improve understanding of how climate change affects today's high-latitude ice sheets, Farquharson said.

Earth now has only two ice sheets, both of them high-latitude: Greenland and Antarctica. The two sheets cover 3% of Earth's surface and 11% of the planet's land. During glacial periods, ice sheets covered up to 8% of Earth's surface and 25% of the land.

Offshore evidence to be included in the database includes seafloor and ridge scour marks, ocean core samples, bathymetric surveys and sonar data. Onshore evidence includes large boulders known as erratics and old shoreline ridges caused when ice pressing down on the landscape caused the ocean coast to move inland.

Finding onshore evidence is a "bit more complicated," Farquharson said.

"That's because we're not really sure how far on land this Arctic Ocean glacier came, if at all," she said. "But what we do see are these huge glacial erratics, big boulders up to the size of a car, deposited across the North Slope. There isn't really a good mechanism for them being placed there other than through glacial transport and deposition."

One theory states that ice streams flowing from the Canadian archipelago and feeding an Arctic Ocean glacier carried the boulders, which were left behind as the glacier retreated. An ice stream is an area of an ice sheet or ice cap that flows faster than the surrounding ice.

The new project builds on research of recent decades.

Some of that research comes from Coakley, who co-authored a 2001 paper offering evidence of glaciation rather than the then-prevailing view that only annual sea ice and icebergs covered the Arctic Ocean. That paper described glacial scouring and shaping of the seafloor and large-scale erosion of submarine ridge crests indicative of glacier movement.

That prior work has added to the Arctic Ocean glaciation hypothesis first presented by British glaciologist John Mercer in 1970. Mercer based his hypothesis on commonalities between the modern-day Arctic Ocean and the former sea of West Antarctica now occupied by an ice sheet.

Mercer's hypothesis has gained traction in the past decade as more Arctic Ocean data has been able to be collected due to advances in technology and the reduced presence of sea ice. Research in the mid- to late 1990s and early 2000s by others found evidence of glacial ice grounding and erosion.

A 2016 paper by Swedish marine geologist Martin Jakobsson provided new evidence of ice-shelf groundings in the central Arctic Ocean. Jakobsson concluded that new data seems to suggest that ice sheet centers existed on the Chukchi or outer East Siberian shelf or both and that the northern East Siberian Islands contained evidence of glacial impacts.

Farquharson and Coakley also hope to test the hypothesis that Arctic Ocean glaciation occurred even as glaciers at lower latitudes receded. Scientists believe, based on geologic records, that the contrasting trends arose from differences in the moisture available for snow and ice formation.

Farquharson led research that produced that finding in 2018. UAF colleagues Daniel Mann of the Department of Geosciences, Pamela Groves of the Institute of Arctic Biology and Ben Jones of the Institute of Northern Engineering, along with scientists from Utah State University and in Germany, are co-authors on that research.

Provided by University of Alaska Fairbanks
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

FLORENCE, S.C.  Florence County sheriff's deputies arrested two men after a search at 1516 Willow Trace Drive Apartment D in Florence.

The search came after a month-long undercover investigation and resulted in the discovery of "a large quantity of illegal narcotics, a firearm and approximately $7,000 in U.S. currency," according to a media advisory.

Investigators arrested Jermaine Felipe Stukes, 38, of 1516 Willow Trace Drive, Apt. D, and charged him with trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in cocaine base, distribution of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, trafficking in methamphetamine, trafficking in psychedelic mushrooms, possession of controlled substances, trafficking in heroin and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

Investigators also arrested Jasmine Zhane Davis, 26, of 561 Burch Drive, Dublin, Ga., and charged her with trafficking cocaine, trafficking cocaine base, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, trafficking in methamphetamine, trafficking in psychedelic mushrooms, possession of controlled substances, trafficking in heroin and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

Investigators said the heroin seized would constitute about 4,600 doses with an estimated street value of $117,000.

Stukes and Davis remain in the Florence County Detention Center awaiting a bond hearing.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

FLORENCE  The city will soon pressure landlords to evict criminals in an effort to fight crime, Councilwoman Lethonia Barnes said Friday.

Landlords who refuse to evict tenants who actively participate in illegal activities will have their permits and license to rent the property revoked, Barnes said at a press conference. The Community Redevelopment Committee, which she is a part of, is taking the lead on the initiative, she said.

We are confronted with a critical safety crisis in our community, Barnes said. We are calling for owners of tenant properties to join us in this crusade to make all of Florence safe and a wonderful place to live and raise a family.

An ordinance allowing the city to pressure landlords in this way has been on the books since 2020, but she said city staff has not had the time or manpower to enforce it.

The purpose of the ordinance is not to put people out on the street, but instead to make people think twice about committing criminal acts, she said.

Many criminals do not consider that what they are doing is hurting those around them, according to Barnes. If they have to choose between committing a crime and finding a new place to live, it may force them to reconsider, she said.

If you are a tenant and you are committing crimes and causing unrest in our communities, know that we are asking for you to be evicted from your home, Barnes said.

Councilwoman LaShonda NeSmith-Jackson said the evictions should not add to the homeless population because criminals are not hopeless and will find another place to live.

The city is focusing on blighted areas of the city, where 60% to 70% of the homes are rented, according to Barnes. She said enforcement of the ordinance will focus on properties where criminal activity takes place.

According to data provided by Captain Mike Brandt with the Florence Police Department, the city had four murders between the start of this year and the end of last month.

Last year, the city had a significant spike in murders at 18. In 2021 and 2020, the city had only five murders each year.

Aggravated assaults involving firearms, which include both threats with firearms and discharging, stayed fairly consistent from 2020 to 2022 with an average of 143 per year. From the start of this year to the end of last month, the police saw 32 such cases.

The city knows that crime is caused by poverty, and it is trying to address those problems, but it still must do everything it can to stop crime, NeSmith-Jackson said. The city does not have the ability to evict people, so the landlords need to do that, she said.

The community must also come together to let the city know about what is happening, Barnes said.

The crime will stop when silence in the community stops, she said.

The enforcement of this ordinance will not fix crime in the city, but it is an important first step, said NeSmith-Jackson.

Soon, the city will begin outreach programs to inform the public, landlords or not, about the ordinance, she said. The ordinance deals with more than just criminal activity: it also requires that rental properties be kept up.

Even though this ordinance is a couple years old, it has not really taken off in our community like it should, said NeSmith-Jackson. A lot of them still do not understand what this rental registry is and how it was set up to protect them.

The ordinance created a registry of all rental properties in the city and required landlords to obtain a rental permit. It also requires landlords to provide the city with contact information.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

FLORENCE, S.C.  A ribbon cutting was held at On the Go on recently to celebrate its continued membership in the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.

Jiana Rishmawi cut the ribbon, joined by her uncle Johnny Rishmawi, owner, Mayor Teresa Myers Ervin, the owners family, store staff, chamber staff and chamber ambassadors for the celebration.

The store opened the first week of May. The downton location represents the third On the Go in Florence for Johnny Rishmawi.

The mayor thanked Rishmawi for his dedication to the city of Florence and lauded his food selection, especially the deli and salad menus, as a welcome addition to what the mayor described as a food desert.

In addition to gas, On the Go sells convenience store items such as bread, milk, bottled water, cold drinks, candy and more.

Rishmawi said they are a family-owned and -run business local to Florence. He said they are interested in growing their base in the city of Florence and Florence County.

We are members of the chamber of commerce with our other stores, Rishmawi said. He said the chamber is a great way to meet other business owners and members of the community.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Something trendy comes along thats annoying and you resist. Some manager at work decides to implement a new work procedure. You dont like it. Cmon now, just go with the flow.

It takes courage to resist others. In going with the flow people make minor decisions that lead to major consequences. They cant know that the decision, say, to move to a certain place will lead to situations never imagined. Thats what happened to you in (fill in where you live)? Howd you end up there?

Yes, how.

I think about my life a lot, where I ended up. These thoughts came to me on a chilly, foggy morning in Jones Gap State Park near Marietta, South Carolina. I was there to photograph the magical Middle Saluda River, a fairy tale of whitewater running over green moss-covered rocks through alleyways of green laurel and rhododendron. Before I got to the river and all that majesty, however, I found myself staring at a granite face cloaked in fog, but no ordinary granite face, mind you.

The vertical slab is part of the Eastern Continental Divide, which determines where the waters of our streams, creeks, and rivers end up  the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico. We humans navigating the river of life face a great divide too, but all too often were unaware of it. So do me a favor. Stop and think about the decisions youve made. Which among them decided where you ended up? Which decision towers over all others as the one that changed your life forever? That would be your continental divide.

I stood beneath that great wall watching mists swirl, watching the brilliant green of springs freshly minted leaves play hide and seek with a writer from the flatlands. I imagined bursts of summer rain cascading down that face of granite. Waters on one side heading to Apalachicola and its famed oysters, waters on the other heading to Cape Romain Wildlife Refuge and sea turtles and baby pelicans.

I watched the mists render hardwoods and conifers into impressionistic art, and then I thought about a book that charted a writers river of life. In his memoir, Burning The Days, James Salter wrote of a life-changing moment. His work as a writer and his friendship with Robert Redford and Roman Polanski, among others, had taken him into the heady world of writing screenplays for Hollywood movies. Too many screenplays he wrote seemed to crash and burn. Spoiled actors, insufficient budgets, and other things killed one promising film after another. Projects with potential slipped into unmarked graves in this place where Salter ended up. It got to be too much. He decided not to go with the flow.

And so he came face to face with his Continental Divide. There was another final script, which in fact ascended before crashing as the result of a directors unreasonable demands, and I suppose there might have been another and another, but at a certain point one stands on the isthmus and sees clearly the Atlantic and Pacific of life. There is the destiny of going one way or the other, and you must choose. And so the phantom, which in truth I was, passed from sight.

Waters in the Southeast have no choice in deciding where they go. There destiny is the Gulf or Atlanticeasy enough, just go with the flow. You and I, however, had a choice as to where we ended up. That person you met, that job you took, that death in the family, that crazy night you  that job you turned down  there stood your wall of granite and perchance you took the easy way out. You went with the flow. You had no idea you were about to cross your personal continental divide. For some it was good, for some it was not. Either way, your river of life headed for an altogether new destination.
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
 Prison Policy Initiative shines light on "shadowy form of incarceration" known as civil commitment | Main | Minnesota through new legislation becomes 28th state to prohibit juve LWOP 

May 19, 2023

Intriguing report that Trump legal team believes Apprendi can require downgrading his NY criminal charges

A helpful colleague made sure I did not miss this new Daily Beast article headlined "Trumps New Ploy to Knock the Manhattan DAs Case Down to Misdemeanors." Here is how the piece starts:

When the Manhattan District Attorney finally indicted former President Donald Trump in March, Alvin Bragg made the curious decision to not detail Trumps crimes in the official indictment  something critics seized on almost immediately to say this was an overblown case. While previous investigators had wrestled with how to charge Trump with felonies, Bragg overcame that hurdle by essentially charging Trump with 34 misdemeanor counts of faking business records  then leveling them up to felonies in a parallel legal document. Under New York law, faking business records is only a felony if its done while committing another crime. In this case, prosecutors say Trump hid his 2016 porn star hush money payment in order to break election laws, therefore the 34 counts of taking business records become felonies. But according to a source familiar with the Trump legal teams internal discussions, the former presidents lawyers are now exploring how to use that otherwise ingenious move as a weakness to severely power down the case. And Trumps lawyers believe their new tactic could force the DA to reconsider if this is a fight worth having. Their legal strategy all comes down to a Supreme Court case where a white guy in New Jersey got drunk and shot at a Black familys home in 1994  and then managed to get hate crime charges overturned. Trumps lawyers are eyeing the 2000 SCOTUS decision Apprendi v. New Jersey, which stressed the importance of putting in an indictment all the aspects of a crime that could enhance penalties.

Here is more:

When Trump was arraigned in criminal court in April, his defense lawyer Joe Tacopina assured reporters this case would never make it to trial. And the Trump teams new potential tactic threatens to downgrade the severity of the case before it ever reaches a jury, which could force the DA to consider whether a case full of misdemeanors justifies an expensive prosecution. The legal precedent Trumps team is considering is also buttressed by a 1999 Supreme Court decision, Jones v United States, which decided that any fact other than prior conviction that increases the maximum penalty for a crime must be charged in an indictment, submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt. If Trumps team successfully uses that defense strategy, it would be an embarrassing defeat for Bragg, who could have just as easily put all the information about the case that was included in the Statement of Facts in the indictment and avoided this whole mess.

May 19, 2023 at 09:33 AM | Permalink

Comments

Alvin Bragg's maneuver here is, I agree, something of a fancy dance, but Jones is not going to bail Trump out because Jones is about sentencing (a judicial function), and does not by its terms limit charging, an executive branch function.

Posted by: Bill Otis | May 19, 2023 9:47:20 AM

"Their legal strategy all comes down to a Supreme Court case where a white guy in New Jersey got drunk and shot at a Black familys home in 1994  and then managed to get hate crime charges overturned."

Why do you quote this twaddle?

Posted by: federalist | May 19, 2023 11:06:16 AM

federalist: the Daily Beast appears to be the only outlet reporting this notable legal story, and I just quoted their coverage for context. You are, of course, welcome to provide you own accounting of Apprendi and/or Trump's possible legal defenses in the comments.

Posted by: Doug B | May 19, 2023 11:48:45 AM

It's just crap commentary.

Posted by: federalist | May 19, 2023 12:10:09 PM

I am not sure that the motion is anything more than a nothingburger. While Apprendi might make the current indictment defective, it would not require the reduction of the charges to a misdemeanor. It would merely require more specificity in the charging document.

The procedural mechanism for remedying an Apprendi defect in a charge is a matter of state law and I am not familiar enough with New York procedure to be certain, but, in my State, the remedy for omitting a needed element from a charge (and in Trump's case, it was not omitted but just not adequately alleged) would be to file an information in lieu of indictment specifying that detail. For example, in the case of a burglary, if the indictment said that the defendant intended to commit a criminal offense inside the residence, we would change the charge to read that the defendant intended to commit stealing. The court would not reduce the charge to trespassing.

It looks like the Manhattan DA has ideas of what offenses were being concealed by the fraud and just is trying to keep the options open until they reach trial. That's not an Apprendi violation, it's simply, at most, a defective charging document that can be remedied.

Posted by: tmm | May 19, 2023 12:27:11 PM

I agree with tmm. Superseding indictment fixes this. Now, I don't know how close we are to the running of the statute of limitations and if there is an argument there.

Posted by: defendergirl | May 19, 2023 1:02:51 PM

It's interesting to cite Apprendi, but I think Apprendi applies only to the sentence versus the conviction. This whole case is a load of crap anyway. It's hard to even say that the charged conduct is a crime--calling a settlement "legal expenses" doesn't make the business record "false."

Posted by: federalist | May 19, 2023 2:17:13 PM

Your readers may be interested in this:

https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/21/21-30625-CV1.pdf

Posted by: federalist | May 19, 2023 4:36:36 PM

federalist: it is both, in a way. Apprendi says that any fact that changes the statutory maximum must be pled and proved to the jury. Later cases apply that to mandatory minimums as well. So, they may be right that the related election law charge that elevates the business record charge to a felony from a misdemeanor must be plead and proved.

Posted by: defendergirl | May 19, 2023 4:39:20 PM

Or tax charge. The documents supporting the indictment seem to suggest multiple offenses that were furthered by the mischaracterization of the expense as a legitimate business expense to settle a claim against the company.

The question now is does the charging document have to be amended to expressly identify the underlying offense or can that be resolved by a bill of particulars.

Posted by: tmm | May 19, 2023 5:21:34 PM

Interesting case, federalist. Do you agree with the result? It appears Percy Taylor here "served over a year longer than he should have" and yet he is failing to secure any recovery in tort. That certainly troubles me.

Also, if I understand your feelings properly, you believe Mr. Taylor had a "right" to attack prison guards involved in his wrongful incarceration during his extra year of imprisonment and also had special 1st Amendment rights (that were surely deprived). Do I have that right?

Posted by: Doug B | May 19, 2023 5:21:40 PM

I don't think I said "attack"--but given the fact that the right to self-defense is constitutional, I don't see how people held past their incarceration date don't have it. The case law involving prisoners' truncated rights don't really obtain, as the incarceration is illegal. If a guard steps out of line with an ordinary prisoner, then the prisoner's truncated rights require him/her to submit, unless the guard's assault is egregious--e.g., sexual assault. However, given the illegal nature of the incarceration, I don't see how ordinary self-defense rights don't obtain against a prison guard assault, which do happen btw.

And where the 1A rights would come into play would be things like good time credits--I would argue that the state would have no right to take away good time if an illegally incarcerated prisoner (i.e., held past sentence) disrespected a guard.

You have yet to identify any caselaw regarding the rights of prisoners held past their release date.

Posted by: federalist | May 22, 2023 9:08:15 AM

still more federalist feelings -- though still unclear whether you feel Mr. Taylor had a "right" to attack any prison guards who ordered him to go back to his cell or who ordered him to go to a meal or to do anything else regularly ordered of prisoners during his final year in prison. Do prisoners sometimes get to attack guards or not, federalist? When? Can prisoners kill guards that they believe are holding them illegally (since guards have guns and other means of deadly force to enforce prison rules depriving liberty)? Even your explanations of your feelings here are unclear, and I continue to be unaware of any actual law in support of your feelings about the "rights" of prisoners to attack guards.

The problem, of course, is you continue to fail to confront the reality that there is often legal dispute or uncertainty about whether and when anyone is being held past their incarceration date. Here the Fifth Circuit panel concludes that it was not "objectively unreasonable" that LA Department Secretary James LeBlanc did not realize Mr. Taylor was being held illegally. And yet you think prison guards and wardens somehow had to figure our Mr. Taylor's true status and afford him all sorts of special "rights" that other prisoners do not have during his last year in prison? How will the other prisoners come to understand that special treatment? How will guards make sure Mr. Taylor gets his internet access and church access and other 1A rights respected during that year?

Your goofy assertion about "good time credits" shows how little logical thought you have given your feelings here. If Mr. Taylor is legally supposed to be OUT because he is being held past his release date, he should be let out ASAP without any need to worry about "things like good time credits" once he has completed his proper amount of time and his status has been figured out.

It is great that you have strong feelings, federalist, about some people being excessively incarcerated. Let's just try to channel those feelings into some thoughtful and administrable doctrines --- e.g., robust constitutional and statutory tort recoveries for excessive deprivations of liberty, fewer limits on habeas petitions in various settings, no broad immunities for government actors, etc.

Posted by: Doug B | May 22, 2023 9:57:02 AM

I have trouble seeing a workable rule of a right to resist based on the fact of illegal incarceration.

First, what qualifies as illegal incarceration? For habeas relief, the issue is simple -- is the underlying judgment invalid for some reason or has it expired. But, in my job, I regularly see claims from inmates that assert a reason why their conviction should be set aside, and, in the majority of these cases, that reason is either based on a rewriting of the evidence in the case or a misunderstanding of the law. And, while there are some cases in which it is clear that the sentence has expired, in many cases, whether the sentence has expired involves contested issues of credits (either jail time or good time) and the sentencing structure.

Second, how is prison personnel supposed to know that inmate A is actually being held illegally while inmate B is still serving a sentence? In most prisons/jails, keeping track of the status of the inmates' release dates falls on some clerical person in the records department. The people who interact with inmates on the floor do not know that the records department has screwed up and kept inmate A past his release date. So the people interacting with the inmates treat inmate A and inmate B the same. The prison personnel believe that their use of force against inmate A is lawful.

Third, assuming that we are talking a legal defense (and phrasing the right to self-defense as constitutional requires a lot of manipulation of legal history no less that declaring the insanity defense constitutional given the different ways that the elements of a valid claim of self-defense has been defined over the years), that still raises the question of whether a defendant's belief that the use of force by prison personnel was unlawful in a particular case was reasonable. Given the above, I shudder at thinking of the evidence that would be presented and how a jury would be instructed on this issue.

I guess if your goal is to end all incarceration, recognizing a wrongfully-detained inmate's right to self-defense would be a great tool. Prison already have a hard time finding good candidates for their staff positions. Giving inmates a way to get away with assaulting prison personnel would make it much, much harder to staff the prisons.

Posted by: tmm | May 22, 2023 10:55:18 AM

"Your goofy assertion about 'good time credits' shows how little logical thought you have given your feelings here. If Mr. Taylor is legally supposed to be OUT because he is being held past his release date, he should be let out ASAP without any need to worry about "things like good time credits" once he has completed his proper amount of time and his status has been figured out."

Gotcha. You obviously failed to understand the timing element here--(a) incarceration becomes illegal on January 1, then (b) prisoner disrespects guard and loses good time January 2, which then extends his "legal time" past January 2. I knew you'd fall for my trap.

With respect to the constitutional right of self-defense, which is a right--why is there a Second Amendment, all the practical things in the world don't add up to taking away someone's right to self-defense. And are you really saying that a prisoner, illegally held in terms of being held past the date upon which he should have been released, who is being assaulted by a guard (something that does happen) has no self-defense rights against a guard illegally assaulting him, unless the assault is egregious?

I am a law and order guy. I just think that "law" includes the government following it.

You guys keep trying to change the hypo. And don't these problems show the absolute necessity of getting the release dates right?

Posted by: federalist | May 22, 2023 11:26:18 AM

federalist: It is not a "trap" because the hypo makes no sense as a "1A rights" issue. If the prisoner on Jan 2 decided to use throw around food at the mess because he is so angry about being held too long, does he lose his good time credit? How about if he demands to go to his church of choice and broke a bunch of prison rules trying to leave the facility to do so? How about if he talks back to the guard and then a physical fight ensues? What makes your hypo ridiculous -- and illogical -- is that you think there is a magical (and unexplained and undefined) 1A exception to losing good time credit only for certain prisoners after some point. Uh, okay if by "trap" you mean a dumb hypo. Again, feel free to explain your feelings, but all you do is continue to show how little logical thought you have given your feelings here, federalist.

And, of course, the "law" includes the government following it. That is not the debate -- the debate is what remedies apply when the government fails to follow the law. Notably, when the failure is extreme enough in the eyes of a jury, years or even decades in prison for the government official can be the "remedy" (see, eg, Derrick Chauvin or Kim Potter). But, as I said before, if your goal is to make sure the government follows its own (often very complicated) incarceration rules, the sound response would be thoughtful and administrable doctrines --- e.g., robust constitutional and statutory tort recoveries for excessive deprivations of liberty, fewer limits on habeas petitions in various settings, no broad immunities for government actors, etc.

Posted by: Doug B | May 22, 2023 11:43:59 AM

Try to keep up. Let's say that on Jan 1, he should have been released 30 days prior. On Jan 2, he mouths off to a guard which causes him to lose 60 days good time credit. January 3, they figure out that he should have been released December 2 of prior year, is he let out immediately, or does the state get to tack on 60 days from December 2, and can the state use the new February 2 date in litigation as the proper date and if so, can he assert 1A?





Posted by: federalist | May 22, 2023 12:19:10 PM

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/juliorosas/2023/05/22/illegal-immigrant-accused-of-sex-crimes-had-lengthy-criminal-record-n2623535

Law wasn't followed here--so where does this rape victim go?

Your framing of the "debate" fails---we all agree that illegal government activity can be resisted at some point--do we not? Women have the right to resist forcible rape by a guard, do they not? People have the right to resist excessive force, do they not? So where is the line drawn? The First Amendment, which applies to the states, doesn't have a coda that says that government actors can violate it, and you can do nothing to stop them, but you may get a civil suit.



Nowak got abused, and got nothing. And if you really want to see where self-defense ought to be ok, check out some of the guardianship abuses that go on with the imprimatur of state courts. Some truly horrible stories . . . . and they don't even get their money back.

Posted by: federalist | May 22, 2023 12:28:05 PM

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/09/how-the-elderly-lose-their-rights

To get everyone's blood boiling--but no right of self-defense there.

Posted by: federalist | May 22, 2023 12:36:58 PM

It is sometimes is amusing, though a bit tiresome, federalist, that when we are trying to understand the scope of your feelings on one topic, you then cite to articles about other issues you have feelings about. It is hard to "keep up" with your hypos because they keep changing, both in the "facts" you posit and in the law you claim feelings about (SD? 1st A, but just "speech"?). Now you are citing articles complaining about immigration failings and about guardianship abuses -- and the only connecting thread is that you have feelings about all this stuff.

I assume you mean to reference the Novak (not "Nowak"), and the problem there was broad application of qualified immunity. Ergo, I will say yet again that you ought to join me in advocating for thoughtful and administrable doctrinal reforms --- e.g., robust constitutional and statutory tort recoveries for excessive deprivations of liberty, fewer limits on habeas petitions in various settings, no broad immunities for government actors, etc.

Posted by: Doug B | May 22, 2023 1:32:48 PM

Re: Novak (Homer nods), QI should not have been granted. I agree with Thomas' view that time to think should massively reduce the opportunity for QI.

Habeas. The problem there is that the federal courts have abused habeas. Innocence should always be looked at.

Once again--looks to me like the text is on my side--I don't see anything in the Constitution that says that the government gets to tell people that they cannot defend themselves against a violation of rights. And do you really think that some old person, subject to a bogus ex parte court order has to submit to someone taking him away to have all his property taken and be doped up on Haldol, doesn't get to defend himself? That's why we have a Second Amendment.

But you didn't think that slaves have the right to use force to escape . . . .

Posted by: federalist | May 22, 2023 2:46:14 PM

Slaves absolutely have the MORAL right to use force to escape their bondage. Just like I think a factually innocent person has a MORAL right to escape incarceration. Do you think a factually innocent person has a legal (and constitutionally enforceable) right to escape incarceration? Are you saying that Mr. Taylor could have legally killed a guard to escape from his incarceration and/or that any prosecution/sanction of him for any crimes related to effort to escape during his excessive incarceration would be unconstitutional?

I am still trying to figure out the "rule of federalist" here --- I already know the rule of law as it has been applied --- and I remain eager for you to produce some accounting of what you think the wrongly incarcerated have a "right" to do that I could send to all the incarcerated who seek my help. I really do want to use your ideas to help people. Do you? I am sure hundreds of thousands of prisoners in thousands of prisons would be eager for your accounting of their rights (not sure the guards will be keen on "rule of federalist" but you do not seem to care about them).

Posted by: Doug B | May 22, 2023 3:28:00 PM

Hmmm. Did I say factual innocence? Nope--that's not a claim in and of itself. Conviction procured by fraud . . . . you be the one to tell the guy he cannot escape . . . . I don't think he gets to kill a guard who has nothing to do with it--and I don't think I've said anything to the contrary. if self-defense is a thing, then it's a thing---how do you cabin it? I think it clear though that someone unlawfully incarcerated can certainly forcibly resist otherwise illegal assaults by guards . . . . whereas ordinary prisoners probably just have to take it unless it rises to a level of egregiousness described earlier.

Posted by: federalist | May 22, 2023 5:19:07 PM

Post a comment
 Intriguing report that Trump legal team believes Apprendi can require downgrading his NY criminal charges | Main | "The Public Voice of the Defender" 

May 19, 2023

Minnesota through new legislation becomes 28th state to prohibit juve LWOP

Via email from The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, I learned this afternoon that "Minnesota has officially become the 28th state to ban juvenile life without parole as an omnibus public safety bill (SF 2909) was signed by Minnesota Governor Walz after passing through the Minnesota Senate and House of Representatives." This Equal Justice Initiative piece provides some details and context:

Minnesota lawmakers this week abolished life imprisonment without parole for children. The reform is part of a public safety bill designed to transform the states approach to children accused of criminal offenses. The bill not only retroactively eliminates juvenile life-without-parole sentences but also provides that children sentenced in adult court will be eligible for supervised release after at least 15 years in prison. A newly created Supervised Release Board will be required to consider an expert assessment of the individuals cognitive, emotional, and social maturity as well as relevant science on childrens neurological development. Approximately 40 people will be eligible for review, University of Minnesota law professor Perry Moriearty told the Star Tribune. The new law also creates a statewide Office of Restorative Practices to promote alternative, community-based approaches to hold children accountable, respond to victims needs, and address the issues underlying childrens behavior. State grants will be provided to counties to develop local restorative justice initiatives, such as victim-offender dialogues and family group conferences, with input from parents, youths, school administrators, county prosecutors, and local law enforcement.

LawProf Mark Osler has this Twitter thread about the public safety bill that was just signed into law in Minnesota, and it highlights some other interesting sentencing features (among many others):

The bill restructures clemency. Among other features, the Pardon Board (the Gov, AG & Chief Justice) can grant clemency by a 2-1 vote with the gov in the majority. Previously, it required a unanimous vote. It also establishes a clemency commission to evaluate cases.... Adds members to the board of public defense and to the sentencing commission (including a formerly incarcerated member).... Creates an avenue for prosecutor-initiated re-sentencing. Caps probation at 5 years, and makes that cap retroactive for those already sentenced.... Establishes good-time credits for those in prison who pursue programming and education (up to 17% of a sentence can be earned), on top of the 1/3 of sentences that already are presumptively on supervised release.

May 19, 2023 at 06:04 PM | Permalink

Comments

This is fantastic news! 22 states still permit LWOP for juveniles, however 5 of those states do not have juveniles serving LWOP. Change comes slowly in the U.S. but I hope LWOP for juveniles is banned nationwide.

Posted by: Anon | May 19, 2023 10:37:11 PM

Post a comment
 Some extended discussion of criminal doctrines as SCOTUS unanimously dismisses federal tort suit against Twitter alleging "aid" to ISIS | Main | Intriguing report that Trump legal team believes Apprendi can require downgrading his NY criminal charges 

May 18, 2023

Prison Policy Initiative shines light on "shadowy form of incarceration" known as civil commitment

The folks at the Prison Policy Initiative have released yet another new effective and informative data report. This new report is titled "What is civil commitment? Recent report raises visibility of this shadowy form of incarceration" and is authored by Emma Peyton Williams. Here is part of the starting text:

As if serving a prison sentence wasnt punishment enough, 20 states and the federal Bureau of Prisons detain over 6,000 people, mostly men, who have been convicted of sex offenses in prison-like civil commitment facilities beyond the terms of their criminal sentence. Around the turn of the millennium, 20 states, Washington D.C., and the federal government passed Sexually Violent Persons legislation that created a new way for these jurisdictions to keep people locked up  even indefinitely  who have already served a criminal sentence for a sex offense. In some states, people are transferred directly from prison to a civil commitment facility at the end of their sentence. In Texas, formerly incarcerated people who had already come home from prison were rounded up in the middle of the night and relocated to civil commitment facilities without prior notice. This practice, though seldom reported on, made some news in 2017 when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case from Minnesota after a federal judge deemed the practice unconstitutional. The Prison Policy Initiative has included civil commitment in our Whole Pie reports on U.S. systems of confinement, but here we offer a deeper dive, including recently-published data from a survey of individuals confined in an Illinois facility under these laws. Some advocates call civil commitment facilities shadow prisons, in part because of how little news coverage they receive and how murky their practices are. In Illinois, for example, the Department of Corrections (DOC) facilities are overseen by the John Howard Association, an independent prison watchdog organization. But Rushville Treatment and Detention Facility, a civil commitment center that opened after Illinois enacted its own Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act in 1998, is not subject to the same kind of oversight because it is housed under the Department of Human Services and is not technically classified as a prison. This is true in many states that have Sexually Violent Persons laws on their books, and consequently, horrific medical neglect and abuse proliferate in these shadowy facilities. For instance, a New Jersey civil commitment facility was one of the deadliest facilities at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.... A second critique of this system is reflected in another term advocates use to describe it: pre-crime preventative detention. Civil commitment (unlike other involuntary commitment practices, such as for the treatment of serious mental illness) can be seen as double jeopardy repeat punishment for an initial crime, or preventative detention for a theoretical future crime that has not occurred. Advocates rightly critique the fact that one of the primary justifications for civil commitment is the predicted risk that detained individuals will re-offend, even though people who have been convicted of sex offenses are less likely to be re-arrested than other people reentering society after incarceration. Regardless, in many states, people who have been convicted of sex offenses are transferred from DOC facilities to civil commitment facilities at the end of their sentence and held pretrial, then re-sentenced by the civil courts. The length of these sentences is often indeterminate, as release depends on progress through mandated treatment. But neither risk assessment nor progress through treatment are objective measures. In fact, advocates and people who have experienced these systems argue that risk assessment tools are used to rationalize the indefinite confinement of identity-specific groups, and that assessing progress through treatment is a highly subjective process determined by a rotating cast of therapeutic staff.

May 18, 2023 at 05:49 PM | Permalink

Comments

Wondering if the "tough on crime" mob, (which includes current and former prosecutors, college professors and even some defense attys.), endorse this evidently "legal" scheme of "shadow incarceration"?

One must assume that many if not all members of the legal profession have been aware of this scheme for quite some time now. Their noticeable silence on this subject, in my opinion, belies their incessant posturing on morality and ethics.

Posted by: SG | May 19, 2023 2:53:59 AM

I'm glad that these systems are getting more attention. One thing that has always struck me is that they are ready-made for scientists to evaluate their effectiveness because less than half the states have them. Presumably, if they were essential pieces of public safety infrastructure, then we would be able to see evidence of that.

But research that's been done looking at the question has determined that for as much as these systems cost us (financial, human, and constitutional costs), they produce no discernible benefit, no impact on rates of sexual violence. I mean it isn't exactly that there's blood running in the streets of states that don't have them, nor is it that "sexually violent predators" only exist in states that do have them.

But, once they get on the books, what legislator is going to move to repeal them? "Let's let these people, whom we have previously declared to be incorrigible threats to public safety such that we need to bend the law to indefinitely imprison them, back out into your communities" is a fantastic campaign promise. In the wake of Karsjens, the courts have also more or less placed them beyond the reach of meaningful judicial review.

They're probably here to stay, but given their expense, they don't appear to be spreading, so I suppose that's something.

Posted by: Guy Hamilton-Smith | May 19, 2023 8:24:41 AM

Doug, this has been an ongoing issue--take a look at guardianship abuse case. Enough to make your stomach turn.

Posted by: federalist | May 19, 2023 8:45:28 AM

I never did a civil commitment case, so my knowledge is limited. I will say that in the NYC subway choke-hold case, the guy who was acting erratically and got choked to death had a long, long history of behavior produced by mental illness, and very likely would have been better off in civil commitment than he was just wandering the streets and subways. At the minimum, at least he'd still be alive now. What happened to him or something like it was inevitable absent some kind of intervention.

Not happy-making, but these things seldom are.

Posted by: Bill Otis | May 19, 2023 9:55:12 AM

SG --

"One must assume that many if not all members of the legal profession have been aware of this scheme for quite some time now. Their noticeable silence on this subject, in my opinion, belies their incessant posturing on morality and ethics."

Of course the "soft-on-crime mob" has NEVER been known to posture on morality and ethics.

HAHAHAHAHA

Posted by: Bill Otis | May 19, 2023 9:58:47 AM

I was a former employee of one of these programs for almost 2 years - are the men there because they are the worst of the worst as it relates to sex offenses - I can unequivocally attest to there criminal histories and convictions falling into that category. That being said, and I think where the problem lies is not with their civil commitment, but there release back into the community. Not many (very few) make it back into the community for a myraid of reasons, one of which is the ever changing treatment process and in some cases, the backlog of cases waiting to be reviewed for release.

Posted by: atomicfrog | May 19, 2023 4:23:32 PM

Im not for civil commitment. Im for longer sentences for those committing those crimes.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | May 22, 2023 12:04:07 AM

I first became aware of this shocking "involuntary civil commitment" process when I briefed and argued the then pending U.S. Supreme Court case of "Allen v. Illinois". 478 U.S. 364 (1986) in my appellate advocacy seminar at U.Va. Law School. The Supreme Court held that the defendants have no 5th Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, so their interviews and evaluations by court-appointed psychiatrists can be used against them in the civil case -- and they cannot refuse to cooperate. One particularly offensive part of the Illinois scheme is that the defendants are committed to the maximum security penitentiary at Menard, Illinois, next to convicts with serious felony convictions, so it is sheer hypocrisy to say that this is really a "civil commitment". But the Supreme went along with it. Also, in that case, criminal charges were filed against the defendant over the same incident, but there was insufficient evidence to convict criminally. Truly offensive to the U. S. Constitution.

Posted by: Jim Gormley | May 22, 2023 7:10:38 AM

Does PLRA cover civil commitment?

Posted by: federalist | May 22, 2023 9:18:44 AM

And I agree with Tarls.

Posted by: federalist | May 22, 2023 9:18:54 AM

Post a comment
A GIC sign is pictured at their office in Singapore

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Brookfield Asset Management will sell two commercial properties in India to a partnership of its locally listed REIT Brookfield India and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC in a deal with an enterprise value of $1.4 billion.

The properties being acquired are in India's financial capital Mumbai, Maharashtra, and Gurugram, a satellite city of the national capital region.

"We expect growth in the India office sector to continue, driven by an established IT industry, increased focus by global corporations on digital adoption, and the availability of skilled talent," said Kishore Gotety, co-head of real estate, Asia ex-China, GIC, in a statement

With this acquisition, Brookfield India REIT's portfolio will expand by 35% in total leasable space and 44% in operating area.

Brookfield India REIT said the deal will increase its gross asset value to $3.5 billion and the net asset value to $2 billion.

(Reporting by Navamya Ganesh Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Sohini Goswami)
 92  65    2.5 3  AirwallexVisa 2653 905 50  55 0.68%  Netflix330     1.93% 2.25% 95% 22% 9200  265 5 50.51% 4700 VinFastSUV  8.6  668   2.06% 2.47% 6 49.9% University Hill190   AI 356  12 2000   0.97%0.76% mReferral_Column - 
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

SIOUX CITY  The Sioux City Parks and Recreation Department is promising something for residents of all ages with its slate of summertime events.

Friday, Sioux City Parks and Rec announced a total of 12 programs which are divided into: youth events, adult events and family events. A number of the one-off affairs are set for June. Certain recurring programs, such as "Yoga in the Park" start in June and will run through August.

According to the department, the three youth programs are: "Track camp at the Seaboard Triumph Foods Expo Center" (May 3  May 24), "Youth tee ball at Riverside fields" (June 10  July 15) and "New lacrosse camp at Seaboard Triumph Foods Expo Center" (June 14  June 15).

The five adult programs are: "Beer yoga at Cone Park on Wednesday nights" (May 31  October 4), "Free yoga in the park Saturday mornings on the Riverfront" (June 3  August 26), "Free Zumba in the park at Anderson Dance Pavilion" (June 4  August 28), "Summer Cornhole League at the Seaboard Triumph Foods Expo Center" (June 8  July 13) and "Urban Scramble at Seaboard Triumph Foods Expo Center" (June 17).

Then, the four family-oriented programs will be: "Live Health Iowa track meet at Elwood Olsen Stadium" (June 1), "1st movie in the park at Grandview Park: 'Minions: The Rise of Gru'" (June 10), "1st 'Pop-Up-Park' of the summer at Dale St. Park" (June 20) and "2nd Pop-Up-Park of the summer at Lyons Park" (July 11).

A release from the Parks and Rec Department said those who want to register, or get more information about prices, dates and requirements, can go to: webtrac.sioux-city.org/wbwsc/webtrac.wsc/SPLASH.html or call 712-279-6126.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

MORAINE, Ohio (AP)  A feud over a woman led a man to fatally shoot a coworker and then shoot himself in the head at a General Motors engine factory in Ohio, police said Friday.

A third employee was wounded at the DMAX plant Thursday night, possibly by a stray bullet as the man fired more than 12 rounds from a handgun, Moraine Police Sgt. Andrew Parish said during a news conference.

"This was a feud between the two men, apparently over a female," Parish said.

The woman in question also works at the plant, but it wasn't clear if she was there at the time. She wasn't injured, Parish said.

Jeffrey James Allen III, 28, of Dayton, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The shooter was alert and conscious when officers found him outside the factory, Parish said. He underwent surgery at a hospital and was listed in critical but stable condition.

No charges have been filed so far, but the investigation is ongoing. Police have not released the shooter's identity.

The third employee was being treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening. His name has not been released, but his girlfriend told The Dayton Daily News that he was standing near the men when gunshots rang out and he was struck in the foot.

(He's) just in pain and traumatized, because he actually saw the dude shoot the other dude, Candace Champ was quoted as saying. He thought it was over. He thought he was about to lose his life.

Two other people reported injuries unrelated to the shooting, according to Parish. They apparently were hurt as dozens of workers fled the building, but further details were not disclosed.

Im shook up, said Brian Smith, who has worked at the factory for about 10 years. He told WHIO-TV that he got scared and ran after hearing at least 10 to 12 shots.

Officers and firefighters responded just after 9 p.m. to a 911 report of an active shooter. Parish said multiple magazines were recovered with live ammunition. It was not yet clear if the shooter reloaded, he said, noting that some semiautomatic handguns can hold at least 12 rounds.

Authorities searched the suspect's home Thursday night, but Parish said he didn't know what evidence  if any  was recovered.

The DMAX plant in Moraine provides diesel engines for pickup trucks, according to the General Motors website. It's a 60/40 joint venture between GM and Isuzu Motors that employs more than 800 workers and has built engines in Moraine since 1999.

Production at the plant was suspended until further notice, according to Pat Morrissey, GMs vice president for corporate communications.

In a statement, factory director Paul Tanis expressed deep sadness and condolences to everyone affected and said the company is working with local authorities on the investigation.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

FORT DODGE, Iowa  Participation in Iowas state-funded child care assistance program is projected to increase 15 percent, thanks to an expansion of eligibility signed into law Thursday by Gov. Kim Reynolds.

The new law raises the eligibility threshold for state-funded child care assistance from 145 percent of the federal poverty level to 160 percent. That means a family of four with a household income of up to $48,000 would be eligible for help.

That increase will apply to more than 2,600 children, according to projections from the Legislative Services Agency, the states nonpartisan fiscal analysis agency.

The new law increases how much the government reimburses child care providers.

And it increases the number of hours that most adults in the child care assistance program must work each week or participate in an education program.

Reynolds signed the bill into law during a ceremony at ChildCare Discovery Center in Fort Dodge, flanked by children who attend the day care center. She called it an important bill that will help expand access to high quality child care.

With these changes, child care centers will be better positioned to again recruit and retain a stable workforce to serve families, Reynolds said.

The changes will increase costs to the states child care assistance program by more than $25 million annually, according to the Legislative Services Agency.

In 2022, an Iowa family with the median household income] and with an infant in child care spent between 10 percent and 14 percent of their income on child care, before taxes, according to Iowa Child Care Resource and Referral. Nationally, 7 percent is considered affordable child care.

A state report published in November 2021 said that 23 percent of Iowans, and nearly 35 percent of rural Iowans, lived in a child care desert, which is an area with a shortage of licensed child care providers.

That same report, which was a product of Reynolds state task force on child care, said the states average monthly cost for child care  just more than $1,000  was higher than what the average Iowa family paid for housing at the time.

Reynolds on Thursday acknowledged the high cost of child care with a personal anecdote, saying her daughter at one point left the workforce for a time because, with the costs associated with three children of day care age, her daughter was at a deficit.

Reynolds said the new law is an attempt to help more families access affordable child care and address the states workforce shortage by increasing the work or study requirements from 28 to 32 hours per week.

Were just trying to do whatever we can to really help families but (also) to encourage them, with such a workforce shortage in the state of Iowa, Reynolds told reporters after the ceremony. I think it was a fair and reasonable place to land for the bill.

Tammy McNeil, the owner and administrator of the ChildCare Discovery Center, said the increased reimbursement rate will make a huge difference. She said more than half the centers clients are on the states child care assistance program.

She said the center also has benefited in recent years from federal grants, which helped equip the center with infrastructure and toys.

The new law includes some of the recommendations made by Reynolds 2021 task force. She said the state has invested $500 million in child care since 2020.

The new law, as House File 707, passed the Iowa Legislature with near-unanimous support, on votes of 48-0 in the Senate and 92-1 in the House.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Bullets do not discriminate. They care not for names.

In Davenport, those bullets have killed teenagers. Testimony given Tuesday in the trial of John Eddie Hanes III  one of three arrested for the 2021 fatal shooting of 14-year-old Jamon Winfrey  proves it.

Friends and family say Winfrey died alone, on the side of an abandoned house on Farnam Street, simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Multiple people connected to Hanes' case claim Winfrey's killing was triggered by the 2018 murder of another teenager.

The bullets fired in the late afternoon of Feb. 24, 2021, carried a tragic legacy. It's a legacy that destroyed the lives of four men who weren't even 20 years old.

Bullets, it seems, have the power to travel through time.

'There go the opp'



Winfrey was shot down Feb. 24, 2021, in the area of 13th and Farnam streets. Hanes, Javon Combs and Chrystian Z. Smith  all in their late teens at the time  were arrested and initially charged with first-degree murder and intimidation with a weapon.

Hanes is the only defendant to go to trial.

Smith, 19, pleaded guilty in February to a single count of attempted murder. His plea was part of an agreement with the Scott County Attorneys Office, and District Court Judge Henry Latham sentenced him to up to 25 years in prison.

Just before the start of Hanes' trial, Combs turned state's witness with a plea deal that will put him in prison for a minimum of 20 years on three felony counts of intimidation with a deadly weapon and one felony count of willful injury. He testified Tuesday.

Combs knew Hanes from as far back as grade school, and he said it was not unusual for the pair to cruise around Davenport with Smith and other friends.

In response to questions by Scott County Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth O'Donnell, Combs testified that on the afternoon of Feb. 24, 2021, he joined Hanes, Smith and two other people in a car. He had a handgun loaded with .40-caliber bullets, and Hanes had a Glock handgun.

While "riding around," Combs said, they were near the intersection of LeClaire and 13th streets when they spotted a car and a van on Farnam and, "... someone in the car said, 'There go the opp.' "

Combs said the "the opp" referred to the Savage Life street gang. Combs said he and Hanes and Smith were part of a group known as MMG  the initials for Mad Max Gang. He testified that Savage Life was "the opp," meaning the opposition, the enemy.

In a matter of moments, Smith wheeled the vehicle out of the intersection, and Combs emptied his handgun at the car. Smith stopped in the entrance to the alley between LeClaire and Farnam streets. It was then, Combs testified, that Hanes began firing the Glock.

He saw someone run from the car, but he was out of bullets. He did not say he saw Hanes shoot Winfrey. Moments later, Combs was hit by gunfire from the van. He went home after, he testified, then to the hospital.

'Under his momma's wing'

At some point in the hail of gunfire, Winfrey was hit. He tried fleeing, but he managed to get just four houses down Farnam before collapsing on the side of an abandoned house.

The next day, neighbors spotted the 14-year-old's body in a yard.

During Combs' first court appearance in May 2022, police accused him, Smith and Hanes of being members of the Mad Max Gang, or MMG, and said Winfrey was a member of the Savage Life gang.

At the time of the shooting, the gangs had shoot-on-sight orders for each others members, according Davenport police Detective Jordan Sander, who testified during a preliminary hearing in Combs' case.

Sander had worked as a member of the Davenport Police Department's major crimes unit for six years at the time of the March 2022 hearing. The unit investigates crimes, such as homicide and burglary, but "gang-related shootings take up a fairly decent amount" of the unit's time, Sander testified.

Sylvia Abbey is Winfrey's aunt. She knew him his entire life and said he never was a member of Savage Life.

"Jamon was under his momma's wing," she said. "He was a momma's boy, still. He had cousins, friends, who were Savage Life.

"But Jamon was not in that gang. His favorite thing to do was be at home playing video games. That's what he loved, being up all night playing those video games."

Tanyah Shelton is 16 and was Winfrey's girlfriend at the time of his murder. She agreed with Abbey.

"He was a momma's boy, and he loved the girls," Shelton said. "He was a bad boy, that way. He was all about girls.

"He had a lot of energy. He liked to play. And like I said, as he got older, he wanted to be around the girls. He loved that attention. He was not in a gang."

'A revenge gang'

During Tuesday's testimony, Combs testified that the Mad Max Gang was formed in the wake of the murder of a teenager called "Jovi".

Jovontia Jones, 16, Davenport, was killed on May 19, 2018, in the 1200 or 1300 block of Harrison Street, outside the Hilltop Liquor Store. Police described the incident as a "drive-by shooting" and said Jones was "targeted."

What the police did not say publicly was that Jones was a member of Savage Life.

Following the murder, then-Davenport Mayor Frank Klipsch led what would become a yearlong effort to curb what was called "youth violence and crime."

Klipsch led months of meetings with hundreds of community leaders to get to the root of what he called "a criminal subculture with no regard for human life."

While city leaders were meeting, young men and women formed the Mad Max Gang.

"MMG was basically a revenge gang; that's true," Abbey said. "Jovi was Savage Life. So were some of MMG.

"You have to understand that we are not talking about gangs like the Gangster Disciples. These are neighborhood gangs. They are not out there selling big amounts of drugs or guns. MMG was all about getting revenge for Jovi."

Winfrey would have been 11 years old when Jones was killed.

'Bullets don't have names on them'

Combs' mother, Miranda Combs, and his sister, Shebra Waters, heard his testimony Tuesday.

"Javon grew up loved," his mother said. "He was a good boy. He loves his family. That's why he is testifying. I pray that he will be able to come home to us some day."

Miranda Combs said she also prayed for Hanes and Smith.

"So young. This violence is destroying lives. It's killing children and destroying young lives before they ever really get started. John (Hanes) could go away for life."

Waters said she and her mother thought of Winfrey often.

"The trauma never goes away for anyone," she said. "We want his family to know how sorry we are. I think about how young he was. I think of all the things he'll never get to experience. He'll never finish school, never be able to raise a family.

"This violence, it kills kids and then it destroys the families. It just goes on. Those bullets don't have names on them, not really. Those bullets don't care who you are, so when you shoot them you never know whose life you're gonna destroy."

Photos: Rockingham Road Burger King sustains damage from Tuesday morning fire 051623-qc-nws-fire-07.jpg 051623-qc-nws-fire-05.jpg 051623-qc-nws-fire-02.jpg 051623-qc-nws-fire-04.jpg 051623-qc-nws-fire-03.jpg 051623-qc-nws-fire-01.jpg 051623-qc-nws-fire-06.jpg
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A federal jury in Nebraska has returned a $3 million verdict in favor of a North Platte woman who sued her former employer for continued sexual harassment by a male co-worker.

At the end of a four-day trial in U.S. District Court in Omaha, the jury awarded Katrina Beran $500,000 in total damages for emotional distress and $2.5 million in punitive damages against the company that owns Linden Court, a skilled nursing home in North Platte.

In the lawsuit, her attorney, Jennifer Turco Meyer, said Beran had started working there in March 2019 as a nursing aide and medication aide.

In January 2020, a male employee, Chris Eugene, started to sexually harass her at work.

Meyer said Beran was stunned when he groped her buttocks in the cafeteria when she was bent over, then unexpectedly grabbed her hand and wouldn't let go when they were making a bed in a patient's room.

Another time, she said, Eugene shoved Beran out of the way while lifting a resident, saying it was a "man's job," then pushed Beran against the wall and groped her breasts.

She learned other women had similar experiences with the man touching them and saying derogatory things about women.

On Jan. 27, 2020, she reported the harassment to her supervisor after he told her to "cool your hormones and take the rag out" and she got so upset she started to cry.

Meyer said Beran's supervisor asked her if she was overreacting because she was stressed but agreed to report it to her supervisor and move Beran to another hall so she could avoid him, according to the lawsuit.

Later that same day, the man elbowed her in the chest in suspected retaliation for reporting him, she said. Beran reported that, too, and asked to move floors to avoid further incidents.

But there continued to be incidents, including two with a female resident, who had previously complained about the same man.

Meyer said on Feb. 6, 2020, Beran reported the incidents between the man and the resident, but her supervisor and a human resources employee tried to convince Beran to say things that weren't true.

She refused and told the truth.

The next day, Beran was suddenly terminated.

When Beran asked why, she was told it was because she was "targeting" her co-worker.

The next month, Beran filed a claim for sex discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Later that year, she filed a lawsuit against VSL North Platte Court LLC, which owns Linden Court.

At trial, Meyer argued Beran had been subject to a hostile work environment and that other female staff members had made similar complaints about the same employee.

Attorney Colin Bernard, who represented VSL, argued Beran's allegations were "entirely uncorroborated by supporting evidence" and lacked credibility.

In his trial brief, he said, even if Beran capably convinced the jury her description of her male co-worker's conduct was accurate, it wasn't extreme enough to demonstrate a hostile work environment.

On Friday, the jury disagreed and found in Beran's favor.

This week, Bernard told the Journal Star: "While Linden Court appreciates the jurys time and attention to the matter, it adamantly disagrees with the jurys verdict."

He said they were reviewing all available options for post-trial motions and an appeal.

On the other side, Meyer said: "The jurys verdict demonstrates our communitys commitment to keeping employees safe in the workplace and the communitys expectation that companies go beyond adopting merely symbolic statements on equal employment opportunity and toothless policies in the employee handbook."

Eugene, the employee whose conduct was at issue, no longer has a nurse's aide license in Nebraska.

Photos: Nebraska Legislature considers bill on transgender health care and abortion
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

South Carolina Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott will join other 2024 Republican hopefuls at Iowa U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst's annual "Roast and Ride" fundraiser June 3 in Des Moines.

Ernst announced Scott as a special guest on social media Thursday.

Other Republicans who have said theyll attend are former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, all of them presidential hopefuls, and conservative talk radio host Larry Elder.

Scott is expected to officially enter the 2024 presidential race Monday, with a major announcement in North Charleston, S.C.

After that, hell head to Sioux City on Wednesday, May 24, and on to New Hampshire the next day, according to his presidential exploratory committee. Details of the visits are not yet available.

Americans are ready for new leadership  leadership that will stand in defense of the conservative values that make our nation exceptional, Scott said in a statement.

He was most recently in Iowa for his Faith in America town hall series and the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition event in Clive last month.

Scott headlined Ernsts motorcycle ride, hog roast and rally in 2017. He also has appeared at several Iowa GOP events in recent years and helped raise money for Iowa Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson of Marion.

"I'm grateful to Joni for inviting me back to her annual Roast and Ride, Scott said in a statement. I know from my frequent visits to the Hawkeye State that Iowans are committed to defending the conservative values that make our nation exceptional."

Iowa is set to kick off the Republican presidential nominating process with its first-in-the-nation caucuses.

Every potential candidate in the 2024 GOP presidential primary has been invited to the June 3 event.

PHOTOS: Roast and Ride: Sen. Joni Ernst takes fundraiser on the road Election 2022 Iowa Election 2022 Iowa Election 2022 Iowa Election 2022 Iowa Election 2022 Iowa Election 2022 Iowa Election 2022 Iowa Election 2022 Iowa Election 2022 Iowa Election 2022 Iowa Election 2022 Iowa Election 2022 Iowa Election 2022 Iowa Election 2022 Iowa Election 2022 Iowa Election 2022 Iowa Election 2022 Iowa
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed House File 185 into law on Thursday, expanding eligibility for a state fund that provides grants to small butcheries and meat processors.

The law will allow a butchery with up to 75 employees to take advantage of the the Butchery Innovation and Revitalization Fund, increasing the threshold from 50 employees.

State lawmakers devoted $1 million to the fund for the upcoming fiscal year. According to the Iowa Economic Development Authority, the fund can be used to expand, refurbish or establish a new small-scale meat processing business, custom locker or mobile slaughter unit. Businesses can also use the money to purchase equipment.
Its more fun via email (promise). This article first appeared in our Slatest evening newsletter, which seeks to surface the best pieces published across Slates digital and audio journalism. We publish it there to help you cut to the chase at the end of each day. To get it in your inbox, along with more of the best work we published that day, sign up below.

The latest episode in the ongoing dramascratch that, its a comedybetween Ron DeSantis and a cartoon mouse may have been the most momentous yet: The Walt Disney Company announced it had nixed a $1 billion plan for a new campus in central Florida that wouldve shipped in 2,000 high-paid Imagineers.

Advertisement

Those workers will remain in California, a state known for: 1) not passing Dont Say Gay laws; 2) not retaliating against private companies that criticize said laws; and 3) not somehow allowing this fight to go on for so many months that it begins to drag on its governors not-even-announced presidential run.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

But! Henry Grabar writes that liberals should not take comfort in a Fortune 500 company effectively telling a prejudice-stoking, enemy-punishing GOP governor to stuff it. The overall trend is clear: Major blue-state cities have become so unaffordable that even the most culture-war-laden red states are beckoning highly educated workers and the companies that employ them with warm weather and low taxes.

Advertisement

DeSantis is going to have to do a lot more DeSantis-ing before the rest of the knowledge economy decides to shun the Sunshine State.

I object!

The Senate isnt the only one with a gerontocracy problem.

Federal judges are among the most powerful people in Americaand yet many of them insist on staying in the role long after they can handle the rigors of the job, Aliza Shatzman writes. The story of a 95-year-old federal judge whos suing her colleagues to avoid having to take a cognitive test sheds light on the broader issue.

Shots fired

Advertisement

Advertisement

Somebody call the ballistics department to investigate all these direct shots! Please enjoy Ben Mathis-Lilleys review of these hilariously weak jabs that GOP presidential hopefuls have recently taken at Trump.

Montana vs. TikTok

I have no idea, not a clue in my mind, what China would do with information gathered from people who live in Montana. Being an unofficial ambassador, and having been a Montana native for 20 years, born and raised here, theres nothing that goes on. Like, they can look up and gather Montanans interests, hobbies, dislikes, and they can use that, I guesssure. But what does the Chinese government care about what brand of firearm Montanans prefer? Or about whats the prime month for hunting?

Advertisement

Advertisement

 Montana-based TikToker Christian W. Poole spoke to Nitish Pahwa about the states move to ban the app to protect residents private information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party.

A wild ride

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

This Fast and Furious installment seems to have even more lore than usual. And even by the standards of this franchise, there is a lot going on here (Fake deaths! Resurrections! Long-lost siblings!).

If you leave the movie theater confused this weekend, come back and read Nadira Goffes guide to all of Fast Xs ludicrous twists and turns to debrief.

Today, Slate hasHUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PAGES GOING BACK TO THE 1990s

like the comprehensive administrative record the 5th Circuit court (where law goes to die, per Mark Joseph Stern) complained they needed in order to make a decision at a hearing earlier this week. (These are not serious people, Stern writes. This is not how real judges conduct themselves. This was barely a judicial proceeding. You can catch up on the whole mess here).

Hope your weekend stays pleasantly free of struggle sessions with anti-abortion zealots! Thanks so much for reading, and well see you on Monday.

The Slate News Quiz for May 19

Think youre up to date? Prove it with this weeks news quiz.

ICYMI

See all of the latest slatests at slate.com/slatest.

Episodes for May 19

See all of the latest podcast episodes from Slate here.
Last week, 89-year-old Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein returned to the Senate after spending more than two months in California recovering from what her office said was a case of shingles. Feinsteins cognitive capacity has been in noticeable decline in recent years, and this week, when Slates Jim Newell and the Los Angeles Times Benjamin Oreskes spoke to her in a Capitol hallway, she appeared not to remember that shed just been absent:

No, I havent been gone, she said. OK. You should follow theI havent been gone. Ive been working. When asked whether she meant that shed been working from home, she turned feisty. No, Ive been here. Ive been voting, she said. Please. You either know or dont know.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

While Feinstein has announced that she is not running for reelection in 2024, a number of observers and a few elected Democrats have suggested that she should resign now, if only because the party doesnt have enough votes to pass judicial nominations through the Senate Judiciary Committee if shes again unable to work. (Filling as many federal judgeships as possible has been a Democratic priority under Biden, particularly given the recent spate of aggressive rulings by conservative judges on issues like the abortion pill mifepristone.)

If Feinstein did resign, California Gov. Gavin Newsom would appoint her temporary replacement. Newsom said in 2021 he would appoint a Black woman to the role; at the time, he was being criticized for appointing a man (Alex Padilla) to take the states other Senate seat over from a Black woman (Kamala Harris) when she became vice president. But, by general consensus, the Black woman in California who has most obviously earned the job is Oakland-area Rep. Barbara Lee, who has already announced that she is running to replace Feinstein full-time. So have Rep. Katie Porter and well-connected Los Angeles Rep. Adam Schiff, who has the support of even more well-connected ex-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Schiffs chances of winning the seat would ostensibly suffer if Feinstein resigned now and Lee gained the advantage of incumbency in their race.

Advertisement

Advertisement

One way to prevent giving Lee this leg up would be for Newsom to announce or signal that he would appoint literally anyone else besides her (or Katie Porter or Adam Schiff) to Feinsteins seat. Another would be to have Nancy Pelosis eldest daughter, Nancy Corinne Prowda, follow Dianne Feinstein around all day in Congress helping her pretend to be able to fulfill her job duties. Politico reported Thursday that California Dems are going with the latter option:

Advertisement

Not only did Prowda escort Feinstein around Capitol Hill last week, she was again at her side yesterday, helping aides surround the senator in a Capitol hallway as a reporter tried to speak to her. Multiple people familiar with the arrangement say its only the most visible part of a quiet but critical role the Pelosi family has played in helping to take care of the ailing senator, both in Washington and San Francisco.

Advertisement

Neither Feinsteins nor Pelosis office responded to questions about whether Prowda is living with the senator, why she was chosen for the job, whether she is getting paid for her duties or whether shes been encouraging Feinstein to remain in office, the publication says, though both sides sought to emphasize that the two have known each other for decades and said that Prowda is simply supporting Feinstein in her recovery from shingles.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that Feinstein was also diagnosed during her absence with encephalitis, or swelling of the brain, a condition which can cause permanent damage and which was not disclosed to the public by Feinsteins office.

Its quite a situation! Im sure theyll all figure out how to resolve it sensibly and with respect for the principles of democracy.
Something rare is happening right now in the Federal Circuit, the circuit in Washington, D.C., responsible for patent litigation. Several things, in fact. First, Judge Pauline Newman, age 95, is under investigation pursuant to the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act, the federal law that governs judicial discipline. The Judicial Council of the Federal Circuit has alleged that Newman may suffer from a disability that precludes her from efficiently exercising her judicial duties. Second, several orders regarding this matter are public. And now, Newman is suing her judiciary colleagues, including Chief Judge Kimberly Moore, who is her boss, and the judge leading the investigation into her health.

Advertisement

The case is emblematic of larger issues in our federal judiciary and beyond. In all three branches of government, questions around whether leaders are serving well beyond their capacity to serve the people have only grown more dramatic in recent years. This problem in the federal judiciary is exacerbated by the fact that judges enjoy lifetime tenure. Some Article 3 federal judges with life tenure do take senior status in their later years, continuing to hear a reduced caseload. Occasionally judges retire to pursue careers as law firm partners, mediators, or arbitrators. Sadly, too many judges choose to retain their judgeship to the point that they will die in office. Modern medicine may enable us to live longer, healthier lives. Yet it is clear that some judgeswho are among the most powerful people in our constitutional systeminsist on remaining on the bench until long after they are fit to handle the rigors of federal judicial service. Judge Newmans story is a very dramatic recent example of a dangerous ongoing trend.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

In March, Federal Circuit Chief Judge Moore confirmed the investigation into Newmans health, detailing various issues. Judge Newman heard fewer cases than her colleagues between 2021 and 2023. She issued fewer opinions. She incurred substantial delays in resolving cases. Once these matters were reassigned to other judges, they were handled swiftly. Moore convened a special committee to investigate further, pursuant to the federal judiciary rules for proceedings related to judicial conduct and judicial disability. These rules define a disability as a temporary or permanent impairment, physical or mental, rendering a judge unable to discharge the duties of their judicial office. Pursuant to Rule 13(a), medical testing can be recommended. A judges noncompliance can be considered evidence of misconduct.

Advertisement

In April, the special committee concluded that there is a reasonable basis to conclude [Judge Newman] might suffer a disability that interferes with her ability to perform the responsibilities of her office. The committee recommended that Newman undergo medical testing and evaluation. The order also indicated that Newman had thus far refused to accept service in the proceedings against her.

Then, earlier this month, Newman filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging various constitutional violations under the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments, dramatically escalating the conflict and showing how determined she is to cling to office. Once again, Newman also objected to the requested medical evaluation and testing. This fight is not going away with the lawsuit, even if Newman is able to temporarily hold on to her place on the bench.

Advertisement

Advertisement

This week, Moore issued an order reiterating the committees multiple requests that Newman agree to neurological testing and evaluation, as well as turn over medical records related to the inquiry, in order to determine whether Newman suffers from a cognitive impairment that precludes her from exercising her judicial duties. The order also reiterates numerous troubling details about Newmans conduct between 2021 and 2023, including: 1) allegations that she mistreated law clerks and violated the confidentiality provision of the employee dispute resolution plan; 2) substantial delays in issuing opinions and resolving cases, as well as comparatively lower overall productivity than her colleagues; and 3) evidence of a cognitive impairment, including challenges handling basic tasks and remembering information, and appearing confused (in at least one instance, Newman claimed during a proceeding that hackers had invaded her devices). The order also responded to Newmans claims that her productivity has not declined, clarifying that the courts internal data provides a more accurate picture of overall productivity than public records. The committee again ordered Newman to participate in neurological evaluation and testing, which the committee is authorized to do under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act of 1980.

Advertisement

Advertisement

While judicial misconduct investigations rarely become public, we do occasionally hear about judges stepping down amid misconduct investigations. Much less attention is given to the equally important disability provision, which, when implemented correctly, should ensure that judges who are no longer fit to serve do not endanger the public by continuing to hear cases. Yet neither the U.S. Constitution nor judiciary policies and procedures nor existing federal laws have fully grappled with the issue of elder judges serving beyond when they should and refusing to give up their black robes. When some elder judges died in office, questions were raised about their health and capacity to serve, including the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who many argued should have retired several years before her death. However, rarely have a judges poor health and fitness for judicial services been so publicly disputed.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Legal scholars have long argued that the intent of life tenure for Article 3 federal judges was to ensure unbiased judicial decision-making, uninfluenced by partisan considerations like reelection or reappointment. Yet recent research suggests that, in fact, federal judges retire or take senior status in strategically partisan ways.

The consequences can be devastating. Federal judges render opinions every day that affect the livelihoods and liberty of litigants. Delayed rulings can be particularly harmful to litigantswhether individuals or businesseswho rarely get a window into the behind-the-scenes machinations of the courts.

Its important to note that Newman is not an example of an employee seeking reasonable disability accommodationsin fact, the judiciary is exempt from such accommodations, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act. Rather, we are witnessing, on the one hand, a judges ongoing ethical lapses, jeopardizing public trust and refusing to acknowledge that it is time to step down, and on the other, laudable efforts by Newmans colleagues to enforce the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act and protect the public from a judge who is no longer able to perform her judicial duties.

Advertisement

Advertisement

This controversy in the Federal Circuit opens the door for several potential areas of judiciary reform. First, term limitsthereby ensuring that both political parties have the opportunity to replenish the bench with fresh blood and fresh ideas on a regular basis. Second, a mandatory retirement age, similar to those enforced in more than 30 states and the District of Columbia for local judges. Third, regular medical evaluations for all judges.

The federal judiciary should ensure reasonable accommodations for disabled judges who are otherwise fit to servejust like it should ensure reasonable accommodations for law clerks and judiciary employees who seek them. However, for judges like Newman, who has enjoyed a lengthy and storied judicial career, but who now appears unable to efficiently exercise her judicial duties, her interest in remaining a judge must be weighed against the interests of the numerous litigants who appear before the court. These litigants have been and will continue to be irreparably harmed by delayed rulings and court backlog. We must also consider the harm that is caused when those in the next generation of aspiring judges are indefinitely delayed from entering federal judicial service.

Advertisement

In the immediate term, the Federal Circuit Judicial Council must ensure that no further litigants are harmed by Newmans refusal to acknowledge her own fallibilities. Newmans cases can be reassigned until the investigation concludes. However, should Newman refuse to participate in the probe into her health, and should she refuse to step down, she can only be removed by congressional impeachment, which is exceedingly rare. Judge Newmans refusal to retireand lack of effective processes to remove herspeak to a larger lack of accountability in the judiciary that has garnered additional attention recently, as well as a lack of public trust in the third branch. In the long term, both federal judiciary leadership and Congress must develop procedures to ensure that judges who can no longer handle the rigors of federal judicial service do not remain on the bench well beyond their capacity to serve.
Its more fun via email (promise). This article first appeared in our Slatest evening newsletter, which seeks to surface the best pieces published across Slates digital and audio journalism. We publish it there to help you cut to the chase at the end of each day. To get it in your inbox, along with more of the best work we published that day, sign up below.

Republicans have more power in the North Carolina state Capitol than theyve had in years. And this week, they used that power to override the Democratic governors veto of a devastating new 12-week abortion ban.

Advertisement

But hope is not lostthe state has been here before. Billy Corriher looks to the past to explain how citizens can rally to save its democracy once again.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Plus: What Next asks whether Republicans will pay for the new abortion law.

5th Circuit of hell

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is where law goes to diea place where the nations most partisan jurists recklessly wield their power to enact hard-right policy under the guise of judging, Mark Joseph Stern writes.

Theyre furious that the Supreme Court has already decided they cant be trusted with a case about a key abortion drug. (In case you missed that whole thing last month, you can catch up here.)

Advertisement

And instead of learning anything from this rebuke, they turned a hearing yesterday into a shitshow of epic and catastrophic proportions. Stern is here to walk you through this whole mess.

Man overboard!

Advertisement

Advertisement

Hoo-boy! Josh Hawleys long-threatened tome about masculinity is here. Yes, the Republican senator who comically jogged away from Jan. 6 has some urgent thoughts about American manhood.

Why did a man who is probably our leading national pipsqueak decide that promoting manliness was his ticket to political power? Rebecca Onion asks. She read it so you dont have to.

Erdogans censorship machine

Freedom of expression has long been threatened in Turkeyand its getting worse. Yaman Akdeniz, a professor of law at Istanbul Bilgi University whose own tweets have been censored before, explains why Twitters decision to block content matters.

Nothing to see here

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

One might think it a bit  curious that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosis daughter is the one following Dianne Feinstein around the Senate, as she seems to be experiencing severe cognitive issues. Ben Mathis-Lilley examines the eyebrow-raising situation.

Not investment advice

Bed Bath & Beyond stock is about to be worthless. But something strange is happening: For some reason, Reddit-adjacent investors continue to buy it as if its a trading card that will have value after Bed Bath is gone, Alex Kirshner writes. In an effort to figure out whats going on, he bought 400 shares. Lets see what happens!

Come hang out

Advertisement

Advertisement

Slate staffers are going to be hopping on a Zoom call to discuss the dynamics, disasters, and demons facing the women of Succession. And youre invited to join!

Grab your ludicrously capacious bag, prepare your sexual harassment claim against Roman Roy, and join us to discuss the fashion, power, and relationship dynamics of one of HBOs biggest shows.

Todays Slate Asterisk was EVERYONE COULD STAND TO BE A LITTLE LESS ONLINE HERE*

Right? Maybe. You know, all things in moderation. Right? Maybe. You know, all things in moderation.

ICYMI

Some more recent Slate stories you may have missed.

Advertisement

Slate Podcast episodes for May 18

Listen to the new trailer for Slates Slow Burn Season 8: Becoming Clarence Thomas.

Where Clarence Thomas came from, how he rose to power, and how hes brought the rest of us along with him, whether we like it or not. The new season hosted by Joel Anderson premieres May 31 2023.

Listen here or on Youtube!
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finalized a long-overdue update to its blood donor eligibility policy, most notably a move that eliminates time-based deferrals and screening questions specific to men who have sex with men. Now all prospective donors, regardless of sexual orientation, will be asked risk-based questions that aim to reduce the likelihood of blood donation from someone with a new or recent HIV infection. These updated recommendations have been heralded in the news and by advocates alike as an end to the so-called gay blood ban. But is that true?

Advertisement

In the 1980s, during the early years of the AIDS epidemic, the FDA implemented a lifetime ban on blood donation from any man who had sex with another man since 1977 (along with a ban on other groups including sex workers and people who inject drugs) to prevent HIV from entering the blood donation pool, especially in the absence of the type of highly sensitive and specific tests we have today. A byproduct of this blanket ban was further stigmatization of groups most affected by the epidemic, a predictable consequence when the FDA chose to focus on entire groups of people rather than on specific sex acts and the associated likelihood of HIV transmission. The ban was relaxed to a one-year deferral period in 2015, and then to three months in 2020, amid blood shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the updated policy removes references to sexual orientation entirely and instead directs that all prospective donors who report having a new sexual partner, or more than one sexual partner in the past three months, and anal sex in the past three months, would be deferred from donating, per the FDAs news release.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The FDA explicitly does not recommend anyone go off PrEP to donate blood.

But the updated recommendations also include an additional, puzzling deferral criterion: People who use HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, are not eligible to give blood. PrEP is the use of HIV antiretroviral medications as either pills or injections for HIV-negative people to prevent them from acquiring HIV. The medications are highly effectiveindeed, more than 99 percent effective when taken as prescribedand are currently our most crucial defense against the spread of HIV. But the FDA says potential blood donors must delay donation for three months from their last dose of oral PrEP or two years from last injection, even though it recognizes that PrEP is safe, effective, and an important public health tool. In fact, the FDA explicitly does not recommend anyone go off PrEP to donate blood.

Advertisement

So why is the FDA targeting PrEP users? It seems the agencys main concern is that the drugs could lead to false-negative HIV screening tests in blood donations, meaning a test shows a donation does not have HIV when it actually does. While it is true that PrEP use may delay HIV detectionfor example, in someone who acquired an undetected HIV infection shortly before going on PrEPthis has only been documented in antibody and antigen tests. All donated blood is also screened using nucleic acid testing (NAT), which looks for HIV RNA, genetic material that shows up sooner in the seroconversion process than antibodies or antigens. A paper from authors affiliated with the Australian Red Cross specifically focused on HIV and blood donation determined such rare infections are highly likely to be caught early with NAT tests.

Advertisement

Advertisement

If it is likely that NAT would catch early HIV infections associated with PrEP use, then we deserve far more transparency about why the FDA has decided to continue to bar PrEP users from blood donation. In its news release, the agency does not explicitly point to any data; instead, it says it has reviewed numerous data sources, apparently including the NAT tests. To bring at least some credibility to its exclusion of PrEP users, the FDA has a responsibility to be clear about what data it used. As Joseph Osmundson, a clinical assistant professor of biology at New York University, told me, The burden should be on the FDA to produce models of what they think is happening. So far, the agency has failed to provide it.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Now, only HIV-negative gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men who do not use PrEP and who are abstinent from anal sex for at least three months, or are in a sexually monogamous relationship (or believe themselves to be), are able to donate blood. But no one is tested for HIV more often than PrEP users, who are screened every three months as part of taking the medication. The blanket ban excludes a large group of people who have more current information about their HIV status than almost anyone else in the country.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Anyone can take PrEP regardless of sexual orientationand anyone who thinks it may be right for them should speak with their medical provider!but PrEP is overwhelmingly used by men, most of whom are gay or bisexual. Efforts are underway to get even more folks on PrEP, as only a fraction of people who may benefit actually take it. The FDAs new rules not only muddle the message of this vital effort, but they mean the policy is not an end to the gay blood ban at all, because so many such men are still excludedmen who, again, are taking a proactive step to protect their health.

Advertisement

Its unclear exactly how many people take PrEP, but Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data suggests at least 35 percent of gay and bisexual men considered at high risk of HIV doa decision health authorities endorse. So how can we consider the FDAs new policy an end to a ban when a large swarth of our community still cannot donate? Without more concrete, publicly available data, the FDAs decision does not seem rooted in the most current science. The agency now runs the risk of casting a shadow on PrEP use and continuing to stigmatize gay and bisexual mena damaging mistake that this long-awaited change in policy was meant to correct.
As nationwide momentum ramps up among American lawmakers to do something, anything, about the purported menace posed by the megapopular Chinese video app TikTok, local governments are pushing ahead with their own measures. On Wednesday, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill that would ban TikTok from operating within state borders by Jan. 1. Though TikTok users themselves wouldnt be targeted for activity, Apple and Google would be held liable for up to $10,000 a day if their app stores allow Montanans to download TikTok at any point from 2024 onward.

Advertisement

This would be not only the first-ever all-out TikTok ban in the U.S., but the first such full-on ban of any app by any state. No one is quite sure how it would work. Tech companies dont have much ability to geofence their apps on a state-by-state basis, and its not even clear that the law will withstand legal scrutiny, especially if opponents bring a free-speech lawsuit. Nevertheless, the bill has passed, and Montana Republicans are beating their chests as they take a shot at China: Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect Montanans private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party, Gianforte declared in a statement. We will defend the State of Montana and its people against threats to our security, privacy, and way of life.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

How do TikTok users in Montana feel about all this? I asked one enthusiast of the app therewho, ironically, used TikTok back in February to bring attention to the Chinese balloon that floated above the stateabout what hell do if the ban stands. Christian W. Poole, aka @swellcchrissyp, is a 20-year-old who brands himself the Unofficial Ambassador for the State of Montana. Poole is a lifelong Montanan, from the college town of Bozeman, whos found an eager 420,000-strong following on TikTok with videos that delightfully skewer everyday life in the Treasure State. When I called him Thursday, he said hed been on the phone with news outlets all day, and he certainly had thoughts. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Advertisement

Nitish Pahwa: Montanas TikTok ban has been in the works for a while. When did you start hearing about it?

Christian W. Poole: I had been down in Texas, off the internet, and when I came back home in April, I was looking through my phone and getting all these updates where our representatives were making it very clear that they wanted to ban TikTok. And I was like, Oh, this is a nice welcome-home party. That first day, I was pretty afraid, but then I did some more research, looked into the congressional hearing with TikToks executive on whether China was using TikTok to gather our data, and it didnt seem like they had a strong foothold for their case.

Advertisement

Advertisement

I have no idea, not a clue in my mind, what China would do with information gathered from people who live in Montana. Being an unofficial ambassador, and having been a Montana native for 20 years, born and raised here, theres nothing that goes on. Like, they can look up and gather Montanans interests, hobbies, dislikes, and they can use that, I guesssure. But what does the Chinese government care about what brand of firearm Montanans prefer? Or about whats the prime month for hunting? The only concern I can genuinely see is Malmstrom Air Force Base, since Montanas known for having a bunch of nuclear silos. Nobody wants a member of the Air Force making a dance video in front of some launch codes. That is totally understandable. And there are a lot of places where you shouldnt have your cellular device anyway, for security reasons.

Advertisement

Advertisement

So, sure, if you need to ban it in those locations, totally understandable. Im not gonna step on any shoes there. But when it comes to the average personlike me, my sister, my friendsnone of us matter. None of us are such big key players, even in the worst-case scenario that China is farming every ounce of our data from just TikTok. Montana is historically a private, pretty anti-government statewe dont want our data being put out there. But the United States governments already doing it! No matter how far away you get from the government, no matter how secluded, you still are gonna have some government presence in your everyday life, in everything you do. And that government is still gathering our data to a far greater extent than China ever potentially could through one app thats mainly used by the younger generation.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Have you had much interaction with any of your local representatives in city or state government?

I havent had any interactions with the government. Ive had a bunch of interactions with local radio stations because the content I make is funny, you know? People see that and are like, Oh, hey, this guys poking fun at this part of Montana, and its totally true. Lets talk about it. But thats it, because I dont make my account super political. This alone is the most political Ive gotten.

TikTok is such a great publicist no matter where you are in the country. Youd think the government would want that sort of platform to showcase the area.

Advertisement

Well, nobody here likes anybody from outside of the state. Im not saying that, because you arent in Montana, that means I have a personal hatred for you. But we dont like advertising our state because we have such an issue with people from other states moving here and causing problems and disrupting the state. Thats one thing I really liked about my account: that I never used it to advertise Montana as a place where you should move. I made a bunch of videos that were like, Ill be honest: As a Montana native, this place kinda blows. And then viewers would be like, Yeah, get em!

Advertisement

Advertisement

Montanans have a very set way of life. When we get a bunch of people from California coming in here and jacking up the taxes and property rates, taking our housing, making our cities more urbanizedit becomes an issue because its pushing out those comfort bubbles of every Montana local. What I like doing is using my broadcast to be like, You should probably go somewhere else if youre looking to movelike, the Dakotas are really pretty this time of year.

Advertisement

Your account is quite funny, and you have a pretty unique take on your subject. Has your TikTok presence gotten you many business opportunities inside or outside the state, beyond the local radio stations?

Nothing outside of our state borders. Actually, I was bored yesterday, so I Googled my TikTok username and found one international article that is about me, on a video I made a while ago about working at McDonalds and how weird it is to make chicken nuggets. The U.K. got ahold of that and theyre like, This guy talks about how weird chicken nuggets are made. But thats the extent of it.

Do you prefer not having a huge online presence?

Advertisement

Advertisement

Honestly, its pretty cool to tune in to the radio station I listen to every morning and hear the hosts start talking about me, and listening to my voice on the radio was super cool. It was also great reading the article in the Billings Mix about how I talked about all the dangers of Billings, how its like a war zone. Thats a half-truth. Like, Billings is a town thats kinda well known in Montana for being really dangerous, and after the article, even people in Billings were like, Oh yeah, its true. Its super fun to see all these inside jokes that we have with Montanans, getting a laugh from people outside of my friend group.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Im sure it would be cool to get outside traction. But the content I make is generally just about Montana. So, I totally understand why its just resonating in the state.

Do you have any sort of community or relationship with other TikTokkers in Montana? Is there a remote hype house thats more of a cabin?

Man, there are very few. Ive been told by every single interviewer todayand Ill probably be told by the next fewthat there are no content creators from Montana. Its tough because Montanas a huge state in terms of space. Were the fourth biggest in the nation, and we have so few people. There are mutuals I have on TikTok, like the Bearded Bardhe lives in Lewistown, and he has over a million followers. But I would have to drive all the way from Bozeman just to go say hi to him, and whats the point of driving all those miles just to say hi when you can reach them through TikTok, right?

Advertisement

Advertisement

It isnt a huge community, but were all connected. I think Im probably getting interviewed the most from the state because I mainly make content about Montana. This ban will probably bring us together because were gonna have to rally behind a cause hereit wouldnt be great to have to fight this separately.

For that reason, I suppose there wasnt some sort of unified TikTok lobby that could go and protest the proposed ban, unlike how so many creators with huge followings went to the White House to lobby against a nationwide ban.

I mean, the TikTokker in Montana who has the most followers is probably Hank Green, but he just happens to live here. He does all his science stuff, all his educational stuff, but hes not really Montana-driven. People who focus purely on Montana like I do, the amount of followers I could get from that is 1 million at the most, because thats our population. Even then, theres a very small fraction of that population that uses TikTok, and an even smaller portion of them who agree with my videos. There are definitely a few folks that arent the biggest fan of that, that somebody from Bozeman of all places is our unofficial representative. Bozeman gets a bunch of flak for being the most Californian townand, like, yeah, those critics are right. But its tough because we dont have any big national voices that we can really work with. So, I think all of us creators getting together would really help.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Right. I remember looking through the Montana TikTok scene back in February, when the Chinese balloon was flying overhead, but when I went back through those today, a lot of those videos have been taken down. I saw that there was also a verified Visit Montana account that went inactive in December

That account did not sit well with most Montanans.

Because of the words Visit Montana?

Yeah. Our state slogan is Get Lost. If I keep driving, like, 15 minutes in this direction, I will literally pass by a barn that has a massive Get Lost sticker that is readable from the interstate because nobody really wants you here. I shouldnt say you specifically, but, you know.

I appreciate your frankness. Why do you think the government was hellbent on getting TikTok banned? I have my theories, but Im curious what you think.

Advertisement

This is a question I wish more people would bring to me in interviews. What seems to be happening is, there are representatives from all over the nation who are trying to ban whatever, X, Y, and Z, right? For Montana, I think theyre using this as the baby step, the stepping stone, to see if it is possible for representatives to ban a certain app based on whatever security reasons they can make up or exaggerate or whatever. Then, if it goes off without a hitch, with little to no pushback, representatives from other states are gonna look at this and go, Oh my gosh, we can do that, and ban TikTok with little backlash or few problems. Then they can easily start banning other stuff as they see fit. Whether its certain websites that they dont like, or different apps, or anything they arent a big fan of, they can start banning it left and right because theyre like: Were allowed to do this because the precedent has been set by the state of Montana. Theyre the pioneers to do it. If little rinky-dinky Montana can do it, we can absolutely do it. Right? Thats a big fear for so many folksnot just in the state of Montana but across the nationwho dont want this to happen. Thats going to lead to so many infractions of our First Amendment rights, especially freedom of speech and media. Once we start having those infractions, it becomes a constitutional issue, and its going to become a bigger issue than it ever needed to be in the first place.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Its interesting: One of the most prominent TikTok users from Montana is state Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the transgender Democratic lawmaker whos been kicked off the House floor for the rest of this term

I did see that. That was wild.

And this ban acts as another means of shutting down her voice, or the voices of other Montanans who may share those politics, or those who are seeking another outlet in general. But maybe TikTok going away is not a widespread concern.

I mean, those who want to be on it are already on it, right? I know my dad doesnt care about TikTok. Hes much more of an Instagram Reels guy. Half our state is. So, I think the TikTok door is already closed.

Is there anything you would wanna say to TikTokkers or TikTok enthusiasts in other states who may worry that a ban could be coming their way?

If we couldnt stop it, you guys absolutely can, because you will get support from those who have lost TikTok in their own areas. Youll be able to see whats happened, and you wont want that to happen. Montana will be an example for what legislators can do, but were also gonna be an example for what people can do. The time weve lost, and all the creation and effort weve lost, you can do better to ensure that that does not happen to you. You guys can fight back harder than we can because youll have the people; youll have the support. So thats that.
On May 25, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is hosting a significant event for military spouses aspiring to join the world of entrepreneurship. The SBAs Office of Veterans Business Development, in collaboration with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundations Hiring Our Heroes, is set to roll out a virtual Military Spouse Entrepreneur Summit. The event, slated from 1 to 3:30 p.m. ET, aligns with the initiatives put forward by First Lady Jill Bidens Joining Forces.

The free summit aims to bridge the gap between military spouses and the resources necessary for starting or growing a small business. With a variety of informative panels, attendees can expect insights into entrepreneurship training, counselling opportunities, and the chance to engage in peer-to-peer networking. The strategic timing of the summit in May underscores its importance, coinciding with Military Appreciation Month and following the heels of Military Spouse Appreciation Day celebrated on May 12.

Kickstarting the event will be the SBA Administrator, Isabella Casillas Guzman, who will deliver video-recorded remarks. The summit will also feature a diverse set of panel speakers from a range of organizations committed to supporting military families and their entrepreneurial aspirations. Representatives from the SBA, Hiring Our Heroes, Department of Labor Transition Employment Assistance for Military Spouses and Caregivers (TEAMS), Department of Defense Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO), Network, Blue Star Families, DAniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), and Joining Forces will be present. Attendees will hear first-hand from military spouses and military spouse business owners, sharing their experiences and insights.

This virtual summit is an invaluable opportunity for military spouses to explore the realm of small business ownership. With the diverse resources on offer, attendees can learn more about harnessing entrepreneurial skills, understanding the nuances of starting and expanding a business, and networking with like-minded individuals. This initiative underscores the SBAs commitment to supporting military families, recognizing their potential to contribute significantly to the small business sector.

If youre a military spouse aspiring to set up a small business, or even if youre an established entrepreneur looking to expand, this event promises to provide vital insights and connections. Dont miss the chance to engage with industry leaders, fellow military spouses, and business owners, gaining the confidence and knowledge needed to succeed in your entrepreneurial journey.

Register now to ensure your participation in this informative and empowering event, designed specifically to celebrate and support the entrepreneurial spirit of military spouses. As the saying goes, small businesses are the backbone of the economy, and military spouses can be a critical part of that foundation.

For the latest, follow us on Google News.
Interested in humorous, heartwarming novels featuring quirky characters? Then check out "Graceland" by Nancy Crochiere.

What was your inspiration behind your most recent book?

I wanted to write a novel about identity, and specifically, the struggle many of us face to accept who we truly are versus who we feel others want us to be. Several of the characters in Graceland grapple with this issue on their road trip to Memphis. My protagonist, Hope, is a people-pleaser who feels she can never make her flamboyant, soap-star mother happy. Her best friend, George, who cross-dresses as Jordan, has struggled with a parent who rejected him for his cross-dressing, but eventually learned to embrace his own truth. During their journey to Graceland, Jordan is in a unique position to challenge Hope on the lies shes spun to hide her truth and her past.

What does "Reading with Pride" mean to you?

Everyone, regardless of how they identify, should be able to find characters in literature they can identify and associate with. In the past few years, Ive noticed more transgender characters in popular novels, but no one who identifies as a cross-dresser. Ive had friends and acquaintances who cross-dress, and it felt important to me that they be seen, as well.

Why do you feel representation of a variety of people is so important when it comes to writing books?

I was a fan of the Star Trek original series and always loved the Vulcan philosophy that the glory of creation is in its infinite diversity. The more we embrace and find beauty in each others differences, the more vibrant our lives become. And since literature is one place we get exposed to different ideas and different people, its vital we include characters who reflect the diversity of our world. I wouldnt write from the point-of-view of someone with a different identity, but I feel comfortable including them in my fictional worlds as the friends, relatives, and neighbors they are in my own life.

Tell us a little more about the book and why you decided to write it.

My background was writing humorous columns about family life, and I wanted to write from that place of strength, but expand into fiction, incorporating a more diverse set of characters.

"Graceland" is the story of a single mom forced to chase her Elvis-obsessed mother and pink-haired teenaged daughter to Memphis to stop them from revealing her long-held secret. As it turns out, though, all the main characters harbor secrets that are uncovered during their road-trip chase from Boston to Memphis. I enjoyed exploring how, over the course of their journey, these battling family members gradually stumble toward self-acceptance, forgiveness, and grace.

What can fans expect from your book?

Graceland is a fast-paced, humorous, and heartwarming novel. Its filled with quirky characters and weaves in important themes and issues for that make for a great book club discussion or a fun vacation read.

What's up next for you in the bookish world?

Ive drafted a screenplay and begun work on a new novel. Its all very exciting! Im constantly pinching myself.

Nancy Crochiere wrote a humor column about family life for Massachusetts newspapers for thirteen years. Her essays have appeared in The Boston Globe, Writers Digest, and WBURs Cognoscenti blog. Graceland is her first novel. Follow Nancys writing adventures at www.nancycrochiere.com.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been on a bill signing spree since the end of the legislative session, and the results have been mixed.

While he signed a bill going against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on public colleges and universities, as well as the Florida Department of Education nixing two books that cover the Holocaust, DeSantis also signed a bill that requires the teaching of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history.

No to DEI

On May 15, DeSantis signed a bill that barring public colleges and universities from spending funds on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), nor can they promote or engage in political of social activism.

During a press conference at New College in Sarasota, NPR reported that the governor said, If you look at the way this has actually been implemented across the country, DEI is better viewed as standing for discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination  and that has no place in our public institutions.

This comes as no surprise, as he has been on a rampage against DEI programming for months. Members of the Divine Nine, a coalition of Black fraternities and sororities founded over a century ago when they were not allowed to join Greek life on campus, voiced their concern about their future on Florida college campuses with the passage of the bill

Yes to AAPI

However, days earlier on May 9, DeSantis signed a general education bill that would mandate the teaching of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history in Florida schools. Specifically, the bill includes the history of Japanese Americans who were forcibly placed in internment camps, AAPI identity and culture, and the contributions of AAPI people to American society.

The public was quick to point out that AP African American Studies has been banned from Florida high schools, as DeSantis and other leaders said the lesson content had a political agenda. Specifically, the inclusion of queer theory in the course.

In a press conference, DeSantis addressed the controversy by pointing out that one of the course subjects covers queer theory.

Now, who would say that an important part of black history is queer theory? That is somebody pushing an agenda on our kids, he said. We believe in teaching kids facts and how to think, but we dont think they should have an agenda forced on them.

No to Woke Holocaust Books

Another decision made impacting education was rejecting two high school textbooks that cover the Holocaust. Modern Genocides was denied because it covered social justice and critical race theory, according to the Jewish Telegraph Agency. The second was The History of the Holocaust; the publisher told JTA that it would be appealing the states decision.

In a press release from the Department of Education, it shared that it approved 66 of the 101 books submitted for review. However, that was after the department worked with publishers to update their materials to align with Florida law  before the edits, only 19 of 101 were approved.

A middle school textbook was used as an example by the department, showing that the question What social justice issues are included in the Hebrew Bible? was edited. In another example, an entire section discussing Black Lives Matter and the death of George Floyd was removed. The department categorized it under unsolicited topics.


Radiation remains at normal levels.

Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled

A hoax spreading via social media is blaming an explosion in Ukraine for higher radiation rates over Slovakia. The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMU) and the Public Health Authority (UVZ) say radiation levels are normal.

Several Slovak disinformation websites and politicians that habitually spread hoaxes and disinformation have been sharing a video of a supposed radioactive cloud that they claim is nearing Slovakia. According to the hoax, the cloud originates from the Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi, the Aktuality new website reports.

A storage site for conventional weapons near the city, in western Ukraine, was hit by Russian missiles on May 13, causing large explosions. However, Ukraine possesses no nuclear or radiological weapons. Russia has been waging an unprovoked war on Ukraine since February 2022.

Disinformation websites compared the explosion to the Chernobyl power plant tragedy in 1986. There is a nuclear power plant in Khmelnytskyi, but it was not damaged in the Russian strike.

SHMU debunked claims of heightened radiation levels on its website. According to its meteorologists, airborne radiation is currently at 115 nSv/h, which is within the standard range of 100-200 nSV/h. SHMU writes that the rate can vary  it tends to increase slightly for a short period following heavy rain  but has remained normal all week.

Meteorologists say that they would be able to detect an anomaly or sudden rise in radiation levels within ten minutes, which they could raise immediately with international radiation safety organizations. The Radiation Safety Office of the Public Health Authority added that there have been no increases in radiation concentrations recorded anywhere in Europe.

Both authorities add that people can check the current concentration, potential dangers, and a range of other information at either the Radioactivity Environmental Monitoring website or directly on the SHMU website, which is updated hourly.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230519/african-leaders-peace-proposal-fbi-vetoed-2016-election-assad-at-arab-league-summit-1110450381.html

African Leaders Peace Proposal; FBI Vetoed 2016 Election; Assad at Arab League Summit

African Leaders Peace Proposal; FBI Vetoed 2016 Election; Assad at Arab League Summit

The Durham report shows that the FBI actively and assertively worked to upend the 2016 presidential election.

2023-05-19T05:06+0000

2023-05-19T05:06+0000

2023-05-19T12:07+0000

the critical hour

radio

ukraine

uhuru movement

arab league

israel

north korea

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/05/12/1110450223_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_f1b75a930d87fb7544c1c7c5f4dc68cb.png

African Leaders Peace Proposal; FBI Vetoed 2016 Election; Assad to Arab League Summit The Durham report shows that the FBI actively and assertively worked to upend the 2016 presidential election.

Prof. Nicolai Petro, Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island, joins us to discuss Ukraine peace proposals. A number of African leaders have come together to present proposals for peace in the Eastern European conflict. Also, the US has limited options in Ukraine as the summer approaches.Caleb Maupin, journalist, and political analyst, joins us to discuss the Durham report. The Durham report shows that the FBI actively and assertively worked to upend the 2016 presidential election.Margaret Kimberley, editor and senior columnist at Black Agenda Report and author of "Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents, joins us to discuss articles for the Black Agenda Report. The FBI was weaponized by the Democrat Party. Also, the African People's Socialist Party makes its first public comments on FBI indictments.Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of Economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, joins us to discuss the economy. The commercial real estate market is looking to be a problem as work-at-home-employees change the landscape. Also, Ukraine's neoliberalism on steroids project is selling out the country.Laith Marouf, broadcaster, and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Syria's president Assad will be attending the Arab league summit for the first time in over a decade. Also, the US is conducting war drills with Israel aimed at Iran.Craig "Pasta" Jardula, co-host of The Convo Couch & AM Wakeup on Rokfin, joins us to discuss government misinformation. The US government has created an AI tool to allegedly combat online misinformation. Also, the Pentagon has created a perception management office.Dr. Wilmer Leon, host of The Critical Hour, joins us to discuss the "teach in for truth" summit. Dr Leon is in Florida speaking on Governor DeSantis' moves to block African American history courses.Nicholas Davies, peace activist and author of "Blood on Our Hands: The American Invasion of Iraq," joins us to discuss the New York Times advertisement for peace in Ukraine. Nicholas Davies and Medea Benjamin have penned an article discussing the importance of the recent advertisement pushing for a peaceful solution to the conflict.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

israel

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

the critical hour, ukraine war peace proposals, what is in the durham report
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230519/argentina-eager-to-cooperate-with-russia-on-nuclear-aviation-industries-1110455468.html

Argentina Eager to Cooperate With Russia on Nuclear, Aviation Industries

Argentina Eager to Cooperate With Russia on Nuclear, Aviation Industries

Argentine Ambassador to Russia Eduardo Antonio Zuain told Sputnik that his country wishes to to use Russian technologies and develop cooperation in nuclear, shipbuilding and aviation industries.

2023-05-19T06:16+0000

2023-05-19T06:16+0000

2023-05-19T06:16+0000

world

russia

russian economy under sanctions

argentina

nuclear energy

aviation industry

shipbuilding

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/0b/16/1104545559_0:294:3119:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_8a858bd48f9ce98645a1d8886c622fc2.jpg

The diplomat noted that Argentina sees Russia as a great partner and a friendly nation. The ambassador also recalled that Argentina was one of the largest economies in Latin America with vast natural energy resources, as well as export-oriented agriculture and animal husbandry. Despite the fact that the country has significant opportunities in some manufacturing sectors, its innovative enterprises are not developed enough and require high-end technologies, he added. The Argentine ambassador arrived in Saint Petersburg to participate in the Latin America Days event and hold meetings with the city administration. He also attended an international book fair.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230427/building-akkuyu-how-russia-helped-turkiye-power-its-nuclear-heart-1109871071.html

russia

argentina

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

russia, argentine, nuclear energy, shibbuilding, aviation
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230519/china-central-asia-summit-beijing-becoming-more-consequential-player-on-global-stage-1110462550.html

'G7 No Longer Globally-Determining Force' Amid Emerging Multipolarity

'G7 No Longer Globally-Determining Force' Amid Emerging Multipolarity

China hosting the Xian summit is critically important when it comes to Beijing expanding its international clout, Mehran Kamrava, Professor of Government at Georgetown University in Qatar, told Sputnik.

2023-05-19T14:33+0000

2023-05-19T14:33+0000

2023-05-19T14:48+0000

asia

china

saudi arabia

japan

g7 summit

central asia

player

markets

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/05/13/1110461383_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_0103bb64d20d3ebd94a799fc3984f17b.jpg

Friday saw the opening of two high-level regional gatherings: the China-Central Asian summit in Xian and the Arab League summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The events come as leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the UK and the US gathered in Hiroshima for a G7 summit.Even though the G7 remains an institution that enables its members to sit down and discuss coordinating policies, this "no longer means that they can dictate the health or well-being or direction of the global economy," Kamrava said.When asked about the significance of the China-Central Asian summit, Kamrava touted the event as "quite important", something that he said reflects the fact that Beijing "has belatedly discovered the strategic significance of the Central Asian republics."He added that the China is internationally known as "a major producer of technology", an important "commercial actor" in Africa and "a consequential player" in the Persian Gulf.He was partly echoed by Dmitry Evstafiev, a Moscow-based political scientist and HSE University professor, who told Sputnik that the China-Central Asia summit is "very important" as a venue to discuss Beijing foraying into international markets, among other things.On the G7 summit, Evstafiev referred to it as having a "non-creative format, which was inherited from the past and is currently used by inertia." The political analyst underscored the point that the G7 format is "completely and unconditionally dependent on the US."

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230519/from-syria-to-sudan-what-is-the-arab-league-summits-agenda-1110456153.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230519/hiroshima-g7-summit-just-photo-op-for-bidens-confrontation-with-china-1110458775.html

china

saudi arabia

japan

central asia

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

arab league summit in jeddah, china-central asia summit in xian, g7 summit in hiroshima, major player, international markets
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230519/finland-urged-to-maintain-nuclear-bans-despite-nato-membership-1110455270.html

Finland Urged to Maintain Nuclear Bans Despite NATO Membership

Finland Urged to Maintain Nuclear Bans Despite NATO Membership

A renowned group of pundits advised Finland against joining any nuclear attack drills and specifically cautioned against them taking place in Finnish airspace.

2023-05-19T07:30+0000

2023-05-19T07:30+0000

2023-05-19T08:53+0000

military

erkki tuomioja

finland

sweden

nato

f-35

nuclear

nuclear weapons

nuclear non-proliferation

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/104597/64/1045976442_0:0:2778:1563_1920x0_80_0_0_d4495173b31f3a9a3e98ec8a0763f4d7.jpg

New NATO member Finland has been advised to maintain its prohibition in place on the importation, manufacturing, possession and detonation of nuclear explosives in a fresh report.In the report, which assessed the role of nuclear weapons and the associated security risks for Finland given its new membership status, the Nuclear Weapons Monitoring Group, whose members range from anti-nuclear weapons activists to military researchers, urged the Nordic country to adopt a cautious approach towards NATO's nuclear weapons drills, including participation in them.It also urged Finland to stay true to its long-standing goal of promoting nuclear disarmament despite joining NATO.The independent monitoring group's members include veteran Social Democrat and former Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja as well as numerous researchers from institutions such as Helsinki University's Aleksanteri Institute, which specializes in Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian studies, as well as the National Defence University.Earlier, the Finnish Defence Ministry said it will participate in the the Western military alliance's nuclear planning and support operations, while deciding against stationing nuclear arms on its soil, a pledge reiterated by the country's president, Sauli Niinisto.Finland applied to join NATO together with Sweden last year, citing a change in Europe's security landscape and abandoning their long-standing non-alignment policy. It formally entered the alliance earlier this year, whereas its neighbor Sweden still waits for Hungary and Turkey to unblock its accession.Russia denounced the move as "encroachment on its security and national interests," vowing to take "countermeasures to ensure its tactical and strategic security."Having just joined NATO, Finland has "coincidentally" recorded its highest year-on-year spike in defense spending since 1962, the height of the Cold War. Overall, the Nordic country's military expenditure has risen from 1.3 percent to 2 percent of its GDP within several years, due to a number of costly purchases such as a brand new fleet of US-made F-35 jets.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230410/newly-fledged-nato-member-finland-to-buy-israeli-us-anti-missile-system--1109306886.html

finland

sweden

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Igor Kuznetsov

Igor Kuznetsov

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Igor Kuznetsov

finland nuclear arms, finland nato member, finland nuclear ban, nato expansion, finland defense spending
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230519/hiroshima-g7-summit-just-photo-op-for-bidens-confrontation-with-china-1110458775.html

Hiroshima G7 Summit Just 'Photo-Op' for Biden's Confrontation With China

Hiroshima G7 Summit Just 'Photo-Op' for Biden's Confrontation With China

US President Joe Biden's blow-up with Beijing may dominated the G7 summit in Hiroshima, said best-selling author and historian of Asia and the Indo-Pacific James Bradley, but it will be forgotten as soon as he flies home.

2023-05-19T12:35+0000

2023-05-19T12:35+0000

2023-05-19T12:35+0000

world

us

g7 summit

g7

joe biden

hiroshima

china

japan

brics

james bradley

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/05/13/1110454279_0:93:1280:813_1920x0_80_0_0_b9a80f046c5ac13b350a9c3da4d0423e.jpg

The G7 summit in Japan is just a "kabuki dance" of feigned support for US confrontation with China, says an Asian-based author.Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hosted US president Joe Biden and leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea and the European Union in the city destroyed by the US in the world's first atomic bombing in August 1945.James Bradley told Sputnik that Biden's trip to Hiroshima was just "a photo-op, and the main subject of the photo-op is China."But he argued that Biden's credibility in the Asia-Pacific region had been damaged by his government's "economic aggression" in seizing of hundreds of millions worth of Russian-owned assets and finances following the launch of the military operation in Ukraine.While the Japanese government is now painting China as a threat to justify ditching its post-WWII constitutional imperative of armament only for self-defence, the historian said the real danger was from the US.The "kabuki dance" of support for Biden's confrontation with Beijing will go on only until his plane takes off for Washington, the author argued."The only country that's talking about war with China is America. The Asian countries want to trade with China." Bradley said. For more in-depth coverage of world events, check out our Sputnik Radio show The Final Countdown.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230518/g7-hiroshima-summit-fading-bloc-sticking-to-its-guns-to-contain-china-russia-1110444787.html

hiroshima

china

japan

beijing

washington

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

japan, hiroshima, g7 summit, joe biden, china, cold war, russia, ukraine
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230519/north-korea-joint-us-south-korean-drills-put-region-on-brink-of-explosion-1110470544.html

North Korea: Joint US-South Korean Drills Put Region on 'Brink of Explosion'

North Korea: Joint US-South Korean Drills Put Region on 'Brink of Explosion'

North Korea warned on Friday that wargame operations by South Korea and the United States have put the peninsula on "on the brink of explosion."

2023-05-19T21:27+0000

2023-05-19T21:27+0000

2023-05-19T21:23+0000

south korea

dprk

f-35a

seoul

japan

white house

north korea

military drills

washington

asia

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/106119/07/1061190717_0:98:4001:2348_1920x0_80_0_0_fcc12023e4bb65a13d2cd01514e51e97.jpg

North Korea warned on Friday that joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States are pushing the region close to armed conflict.An article published in state-owned North Korean media says the peninsula is on the brink of explosion, and that the joint military exercises have become more undisguised and dangerous [in] nature.South Korea and the United States are set to begin their largest military exercise ever, taking place in five phases from May 25 to June 15. It will involve forces in the air, sea and land and will include F-35A fighter jets, AH-64-Apache Helicopters, various tanks and multiple rocket launchers. It will also mark the 70th anniversary of the alliance between South Korea and the United States, and the 75th anniversary of South Koreas military.The North Korean article, titled No End to the Ceaseless War Moves, states it is a legitimate right of a sovereign country to equip itself with more powerful self-defensive means in order to cope with the prevailing grave situation and prospective threats.In April, the White House announced the Washington Declaration, an agreement between South Korea and the United States on nuclear deterrence, which the article described as a nuclear threat and blackmail against the DPRK [Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.]The United States has insisted its military drills are not meant to provoke North Korea and are instead intended to demonstrate its commitment to protect its ally from potential North Korean attacks.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230517/kim-inspects-work-on-north-koreas-first-reconnaissance-satellite-1110413070.html

south korea

seoul

japan

washington

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

north korea, korean war, south korea, washington declaration, joint-military drills
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230519/pentagon-no-longer-confident-syria-drone-strike-killed-al-qaeda-leader-instead-of-farmer-1110470246.html

Pentagon No Longer Confident Syria Drone Strike Killed Al-Qaeda Leader Instead of Farmer

Pentagon No Longer Confident Syria Drone Strike Killed Al-Qaeda Leader Instead of Farmer

Having previously claimed that a May 3 airstrike in northwestern Syria killed a top Al-Qaeda leader, the Pentagon is now expressing doubts.

2023-05-19T21:15+0000

2023-05-19T21:15+0000

2023-05-19T21:10+0000

world

syria

tahrir al-sham

airstrike

civilian deaths

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107265/88/1072658817_0:130:1280:850_1920x0_80_0_0_8e18b36486ffc12e87e96811ea4dd80e.jpg

Having previously claimed that a May 3 airstrike in northwestern Syria killed a top Al-Qaeda** leader, the Pentagon is now expressing doubts.However, the same paper reported that other Pentagon officials were still maintaining they had killed a member of the terrorist group.The strike was carried out on May 3 near the town of Qorqanya in northern Idlib Governorate, an area of Syria still occupied by Al-Qaeda-aligned militias and Turkish troops. US Central Command claimed it had killed a senior Al Qaeda leader using a Hellfire missile. However, the family of the victim soon identified him as Lotfi Hassan Misto, a 56-year-old shepherd and former bricklayer with no ties to Al-Qaeda.After Mistos story spread, the Pentagon said on May 9 it was in the process of confirming the identity of the individual killed in the strike.This is far from the first time the US has made such a mistake. During the final days of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, a US airstrike inside the city of Kabul purported to kill a Daesh-Khorasan suicide bomber en route to attack civilians massed outside the citys main airport. However, CENTCOM admitted several weeks later that the strike had killed Zemari Ahmadi, an employee of a US-based aid group, and nine other members of his family, including seven children.*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia and many other states.**Al-Qaeda and al-Nusra Front (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) are terrorist organizations banned in Russia and many other countries.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230509/syrias-return-to-arab-league-shows-us-gulf-allies-tired-of-regime-change-1110219420.html

syria

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

syria; airstrike; isis; daesh; al-qaeda; civilian
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230519/report-ukraine-has-five-months-to-impress-us-before-being-pressured-into-peace-talks-1110453032.html

Report: Ukraine Has Five Months to Impress US Before Being Pressured Into Peace Talks

Report: Ukraine Has Five Months to Impress US Before Being Pressured Into Peace Talks

US Media is reporting that Ukraine has five months to impress the US with significant gains, or support could soon wane.

2023-05-19T04:03+0000

2023-05-19T04:03+0000

2023-05-19T05:58+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

volodymyr zelensky

donald trump

joe biden

ukraine

white house

republicans

un general assembly

turkiye

italy

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/03/0c/1108320099_0:0:3000:1688_1920x0_80_0_0_15cb02c1ad15a3e58e255df1471b0925.jpg

US media is reporting that Ukraine has five months to show demonstrable and significant gains or Western allies fear financial and military support from the US may wane and pressure will mount on Ukraine to enter into peace negotiations.US media reported on the matter, citing several senior European officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The United States is entering an election cycle and it is important, one European official says, that the American public can be sold on the idea that the more than $113 billion in taxpayer aid given to Ukraine has been effective and "to prove that all of those aid packages have been successful in terms of Ukrainian advances."US officials contend that the current $48 billion package which was authorized last year, is enough to sustain Ukraine for roughly five more months, but European allies are concerned future aid packages from the US will come close to matching that level.Nevertheless, earlier this month Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country needed more Western weapons before he could order the start of Ukraines much-hyped counter-offensive. He visited four NATO nations this week, Italy, Germany, France, and the UK, securing billions in more aid, but European support is still a fraction of what the US has been providing.The US government has also hit its self-imposed debt ceiling, which has led to a debate on domestic spending. Some social programs may be cut in the negotiations, which would make selling aid packages to the American taxpayer even more difficult if Ukraine cannot be presented as a winning bet.US President Joe Biden has, publicly at least, remained steadfast in his support for Ukraine. Before heading to the G7 Summit on Wednesday, a White House official said that President Biden has been very clear about supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes.However, Bidens likely opponent in 2024, former President Donald Trump, said last week he didnt think of the war in terms of winning and losing, and is instead focused on getting it settled so we stop killing all these people. He also would not commit to sending more aid packages and promised to end the war in 24 hours.And there have been hints from other Republicans that support for Ukraine is not unlimited. While House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said he will continue to support aid to Ukraine, he also said previously that it wont come in the form of a blank check.Support among the American public for Ukraine has also been slipping. Polls have shown support as low as 48% in January and while other polls have had that number over 50% in more recent months, it is still far from last summer when 73% of Americans supported military aid to Ukraine.Without significant gains by the Ukrainian armed forces, it is unlikely that trend will reverse itself.Both the UN General Assembly and G20 summit take place in September. Both events would represent an opportunity to get both sides to the negotiating table.Several countries have offered to act as mediators, including China, Brazil and Turkiye, but Zelensky has rejected mediation since the beginning of the conflict when Ukraine pulled out of negotiations mediated by Turkiye. On Saturday, he rejected another offer from Pope Francis for mediation.But much of Ukraines sustained capabilities depend on Western support, and another European official said they cant keep the same level of assistance forever, though he felt another year or two may be possible.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230516/mccarthy-deal-on-us-debt-ceiling-possible-but-talks-still-very-far-apart-1110407013.html

ukraine

turkiye

italy

russia

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

ukraine, russia, when will the war in ukraine end, us military aid
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230519/the-democrats-attack-fbi-whistleblowers-1110449866.html

The Democrats Attack FBI Whistleblowers

The Democrats Attack FBI Whistleblowers

On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan discussed current events including the Pentagon making a three billion dollar error in Ukraine aid, and articles of impeachment of Joe Biden introduced.

2023-05-19T04:52+0000

2023-05-19T04:52+0000

2023-05-19T12:05+0000

the backstory

radio

fbi

whistleblowers

george soros

pride

target

massachusetts

jeffrey epstein

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/05/12/1110449709_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_b22eedba4a322c9c071182727145d8a0.png

The Democrats Attack FBI Whistleblowers On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan discussed current events including the Pentagon making a three billion dollar error in Ukraine aid, and articles of impeachment of Joe Biden introduced.

Carmine Sabia - Writer and Editor at Large at SabiaReport.com | Target Sells Pride Clothing, Republicans Show a Backbone, and Whistleblowers Don't Trust the Democrats Tyler Nixon - Attorney, Media Relations Specialist | Kari Lake Keeps Fighting in Arizona, Will Joe Biden Make it to 2024 ?, and Will Hunter Biden be Pardoned In the first hour, Lee spoke with Carmine Sabia about the Republican-led hearings on FBI whistleblowers, and Democrats attacking FBI whistleblowers. Carmine discussed the FBI whistleblower hearing and the retaliation the whistleblowers have faced. Carmine shared his thoughts on trans clothing sold by Target and Russia protecting children from LGBT propaganda.In the second hour, Lee spoke with Tyler Nixon about the Kari Lake election court hearings, Joe Biden has no real supporters, and Democrats hostility towards FBI whistleblowers. Tyler discussed the FBI whistleblower hearings and the absurd behavior from the Democrats. Tyler spoke about the 2024 election and the prospects of Joe Biden pardoning Hunter Biden.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.

massachusetts

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Lee Stranahan https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125222_0:0:293:292_100x100_80_0_0_a8bc846f559660e5bf7574f8a9608a1d.png

Lee Stranahan https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125222_0:0:293:292_100x100_80_0_0_a8bc846f559660e5bf7574f8a9608a1d.png

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Lee Stranahan https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125222_0:0:293:292_100x100_80_0_0_a8bc846f559660e5bf7574f8a9608a1d.png

the backstory, trans propaganda, lgbtq+ in russia, how much aid has the u.s. sent ukraine, how much is nato giving ukraine
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230519/uk-norway-launch-strategic-partnership-in-undersea-domain-1110453810.html

UK, Norway Launch 'Strategic Partnership' in Undersea Domain

UK, Norway Launch 'Strategic Partnership' in Undersea Domain

Despite both nations ostensibly teaming up to protect undersea infrastructure following Nord Stream blasts, their own role in the attacks remains unsolved.

2023-05-19T06:30+0000

2023-05-19T06:30+0000

2023-05-19T06:30+0000

military

ben wallace

seymour hersh

maria zakharova

norway

russia

north sea

us navy

russian foreign ministry

nord stream

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/104849/86/1048498647_0:0:1527:859_1920x0_80_0_0_34d0e19184cb7fb604cab924d24f36b3.jpg

The UK and Norway have signed a security partnership in undersea domain, which includes the prevention of attacks on infrastructure, including gas pipeline and cables.Under the agreement, announced by the defense ministers of both countries, Ben Wallace and Bjorn Arild Gram, Britain and Norway have also pledged to exchange intelligence, counter mine threats and improve the detection of submarines from hostile nations."The growing use of the seabed for energy and communications purposes has resulted in increased opportunities for adversaries to threaten Western subsea critical national infrastructure, as seen through the damaging of the Nord Stream pipeline, where the UK and Norway have jointly increased security patrols in the region," a statement by the UK Defence Ministry said, citing "shared interests in the North Sea" and promising to simplify the process for allies and partners to "join or complement" the UK-Norwegian cooperation.Gram also cited last year's sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines as a "concrete reminder of what is at stake."This announcement builds on ongoing defense cooperation between the two countries, as well as shared capabilities such as P-8A maritime patrol aircraft and F-35s. On a more concrete level, the UK will send its first patrolling ship, the RFA Proteus, to the North Sea in July, with the goal of protecting wind farms, cables and gas pipelines in Norwegian and British waters, Wallace said, claiming Russia's alleged "intent and capability" to sabotage critical Western infrastructure.The references to the Nord Stream blast sounded rather uncanny as a series of revelation pieces published by US veteran journalist Seymour Hersh earlier this year specifically uncovered Norway's alleged role in it. According to Hersh, explosives under the Russian pipelines were planted by US Navy divers, assisted by Norwegian specialists, under the guise of the Baltops exercise.The role of the UK in the Nord Stream blasts isn't clear as well, as last November Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova sought answers regarding the mysterious "It's done" iPhone message allegedly sent by then-Prime Minister Liz Truss to the US secretary of state Antony Blinken moments after the sabotage attacks against the Nord Stream network in late September.Following the blasts, Western officials and media immediately launched a chorus claiming that Russia blew up its own $20 billion pipeline infrastructure for whatever reasons. The Kremlin accused the West of an "unprecedented act of state terrorism" involving Nord Stream, but did not name any specific states, with President Vladimir Putin only hinting involvement by the "Anglo-Saxons" (which in Russia is seen as a typical reference to the Anglosphere).

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/seymour-hersh-us-norway-have-cooperated-on-clandestine-operations-since-vietnam-war-1107709280.html

norway

russia

north sea

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Igor Kuznetsov

Igor Kuznetsov

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Igor Kuznetsov

ben wallace, seymour hersh, maria zakharova, norway, russia, north sea, us navy, russian foreign ministry, nord stream, f-35, nord stream, nord stream pipeline
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230519/ukraines-depleted-uranium-blast-europe-on-brink-of-environmental-disaster-1110462939.html

Ukraine's Depleted Uranium Blast: Europe on Brink of 'Environmental Disaster'

Ukraine's Depleted Uranium Blast: Europe on Brink of 'Environmental Disaster'

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev warned on Friday that a radioactive cloud was heading towards Western Europe following the destruction of a Ukrainian warehouse storing British-supplied depleted uranium ammo.

2023-05-19T15:46+0000

2023-05-19T15:46+0000

2023-05-19T16:51+0000

analysis

russia

ukrainian crisis

ukraine

depleted uranium

radioactivity

radioactive

radioactive material

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/05/13/1110466332_0:0:1276:717_1920x0_80_0_0_21c8adc19246607e037778d2a3e8b350.png

Sputnik News spoke with Dr. Chris Busby, physical chemist and scientific secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk, about how the Wests decision to provide depleted uranium (DU) ammunition to Ukraine has potentially caused a continent-wide ecological disaster. Below is his answer in full.Recently, several web media outlets provided videos of an enormous explosion in the town of Khmelnitski, located to the West of Kiev, and about 200 km from the border with Poland. There were two major explosions which produced a massive roiling swirling fireball which, like an atomic bomb, developed upwards and formed a mushroom cloud, which was black.I have represented nuclear atmospheric test veterans in the Royal Courts of Justice in London and have seen many films of nuclear explosions: this was not one. A nuclear explosion is characterised by an immediate intense white light which wipes out the camera film or detector.So, what was it? It was suggested by several commentators that an arms depot that had been hit contained the Depleted Uranium (DU) weapons sent by the UK to the Ukraine for use in the British Challenger tanks as anti-tank penetrators. That the explosion was one involving the burning of the DU in the fireball. Since I am a scientific authority on Uranium and its health effects, but have also examined its dispersion and behaviour in the environment, I will comment on what I believe happened, and why it is important. I was a member of the UK government Ministry of Defence Depleted Uranium Oversight Board (DUOB) in 2000-2005, and also the UK government Committee Examining Radiation Risk from Internal Emitters (CERRIE) 2000-2004. I am Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk (ECRR) which is an independent NGO that provides advice on risk from ionising radiation.My main research interest in this area is Uranium and health, particularly the DU particles, which are so small they act as a gas and move over very large distances once they are created by the burning of DU. I found them in England in 2003 after they had come from Iraq. I found them in 2023 in England after they came from the Ukraine war. So that is the first thing: the material is able to travel very large distances.Therefore, if the Khmelnitsky explosion was a DU one, the material would move with the wind direction and should be detectable at monitor sites downwind.First, we need to say that DU has a gamma signature, it releases gamma rays. The UK and USA governments lie about this. They point to the fact that the U-238, that remains after the fissile U-235 is removed in the centrifuges (and is sent off for nuclear weapons and reactors), is a weak alpha emitter.They say that alpha radiation cannot penetrate skin and so the DU itself is harmless. That it cannot be detected by a Geiger Counter and the alpha particles dont make it through the window. There is, of course, a health problem if the post-impact particles are inhaled and pass into the body through the lung into the lymphatic system or directly into the digestive system, but essentially DU is harmless.What you need to know is that Uranium 238, when it decays with its alpha emission, turns into Thorium-234 and Protoactinium-234m which then turns into Uranium 234. Thorium 234 is a beta and gamma emitter delivering 6% of its decay energy as a gamma ray. Thus, large clouds of DU particulate aerosol will be detectable by gamma detectors.When I visited Iraq with Al Jazeera in 2000 I went to the south and examined the corpses of the tanks that had been hit by DU in the first Gulf War. Some of the A-10 DU penetrators were still lying around. They gave off an intense gamma ray signal, and the holes in the tanks were highly gamma ray active. So much for only an alpha emitter.I am a yachtsman: examination of the UK metereological weather pressure maps tell us that at the time, and for days after the explosion, there was an anticyclone to the North of the explosion site and winds were weak but from the South East blowing North Westerly around the high-pressure area. So, the plume would move towards Poland. If the winds were about 5km/h they would reach any Poland detectors 250 km away on the 15th.After Chernobyl, the European Union set up a Europe-wide gamma radiation detector system that used to give gamma readings in real time. I went to look. But astonishingly, all the data was blocked. The web- based system, administered from Germany, (EURDEP) would not provide the detector maps that are normally available. Luckily, there were some location maps on the web and some that had been already downloaded by colleagues of mine before the system stopped working. I obtained maps from Poland. One of these I show below.You will see that a very highly significant increase in gamma radiation occurred at this detector, north west of the explosion site almost exactly when it would be expected on the basis of a distance of 250km and a mean wind speed of 5km/h. The increase, from 60nSv/h to 90nSv/h was highly statistically significant about 50%. Other detectors all across Poland showed an increase*, as the plume passed over them, the increase being weaker the further away (due to dispersion of the plume).Later, the Poles measured the increase at the Marie Curie Institute in Lublin, but their map was a more sophisticated one and needed some expert interpretation. The Polish map gave gamma increases split into two natural isotopes, Bismuth and Thallium, also total gamma and cosmic ray gamma.From the map, we are to assume (and this was the implicit message) that the gamma peak was due to Bismuth. Enter Sherlock Holmes. Bismuth 214 is a Radon daughter. The natural background radioactive gas Radon (Rn-222) is always present, since it is produced from Uranium and Radium in the ground. If there is a sudden change in atmospheric pressure, or when it rains, there is a gamma peak from Radon, which shows itself as the Bi-214 peak. So, the Poles seem to be implying that the increase in gamma radiation is normal and nothing to get scared about. Many have picked up on the Bismuth spectrum. But the way in which the Polish graphs are presented is misleading.The problem with a radon argument is first that the gamma increases go up all across Poland at a time scale that identifies a plume from Khmelnitsky and second that there was a stable anticyclone weather system and no atmospheric pressure changes that might pull radon out of the ground. I checked all that. There was only some light rain over Lublin.There is, however, an additional possibility. Very fine particles attract Radon: you get a slight increase in gamma from Radon near factory chimneys that emit fine particles.The European radiation detector system web map came back online on May 18. The map type had been changed and everything we saw in the downloads had disappeared or had been smudged out by data analysis averaging. Why? This, and the early blocking of access to the site suggest panic and cover-up.So taken all together, what we see is a massive explosion which is thought to be DU, and reports of a spike in gamma radiation near the site. Uranium oxide is black, and the black plume moves north west slowly, the weather pattern is stable and the wind blows to Poland. The Polish EU detectors all show gamma radiation increases at the expected time of arrival of the plume. The EU detector system is shut down rapidly, but not before we have obtained data from several sites. The Poles provide a detector result that identified Bismuth as the cause of the increase, but do not go so far as to formally state that it is (in case of later blowback).One final piece of evidence. We see videos on the internet of the Ukrainians clearing up the explosion site using Robot vehicles, not ordinary firemen. Why do they need Robot vehicles? The last times we saw Robot vehicles clearing up was in the ruins of Chernobyl and Fukushima.If I am right, there has been an environmental disaster, and the DU particles will travel across Poland, Germany and Hungary, and will end up in the Baltics, probably later the whole of Europe including the UK (after all, the Chernobyl Uranium particles came to the UK).They will deliver genetic damage and death like that seen in the Balkans and Iraq. Cancer, birth defects, miscarriage, infertility, lung damage, mental problems (Gulf War Syndrome) and so forth. The scientific and epidemiological evidence on this has been clear since the Gulf War. It is all there in the scientific literaturebut the governments in the West and the military ignore it, deny it and cover it up. In the case of the UK coroners court finding for Stuart Dyson, the jury found that DU caused his fatal colon cancer. But when the coroner wrote to the health minister (as he had to by UK law, Rule 43) the reply was: we disagree. This stuff can be measured, but no one will measure it, or if they do, they will be attacked and their arguments dismissed.Even if I am wrong, and there is some other explanation for the gamma peaks, DU must be banned. It is a weapon of indiscriminate effect and kills civilians, the enemy and your own troops (well, Ukrainian troops). It is much worse than a war gas, like Sarin, or phosgene, mustard gas or all the other chemical agents banned by civilisation. This stuff destroys the genetic basis of life itself. And no one does anything. Those who use it base their action on obsolete science supported by dishonest epidemiology carried out by dishonest scientists and obsolete and fantastical risk models.Those who provide the weapons, the UK government in this case, are morally bankrupt. Unless it is their intention to destroy the Ukrainian people. Who knows anymore? The world has gone mad.*Poland's National Atomic Energy Agency claims there is no increase in radiation levels

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230519/radiation-from-depleted-uranium-ammo-in-ukraine-approaches-europe--top-security-official-1110459293.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230425/uk-gave-ukraine-thousands-of-shells-including-depleted-uranium-rounds-1109828799.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230328/depleted-uranium-doesnt-distinguish-between-ukrainians--russians-it-poisons-everyone-journalist-1108864101.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230329/fractured-ukraine-poisoned-by-depleted-uranium-win-scenario-for-pentagon-says-ex-dod-official-1108935140.html

russia

ukraine

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

depleted uranium, khmelnitsky depleted uranium, ukrainian depleted uranium, ukraine radioactive explosion, british depleted uranium exploded in ukraine, radioactive cloud from ukraine, why radiation levels increase
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230519/uks-prime-minister-bans-imports-of-russian-diamonds-copper-aluminium--nickel-1110451750.html

UK PM Reportedly Bans Imports of Russian Diamonds, Copper, Aluminium & Nickel

UK PM Reportedly Bans Imports of Russian Diamonds, Copper, Aluminium & Nickel

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Thursday an embargo on imports of diamonds, copper, aluminium, and nickel from Russia.

2023-05-19T02:31+0000

2023-05-19T02:31+0000

2023-05-19T04:28+0000

russia

european union (eu)

rishi sunak

charles michel

embargo

diamonds

copper

aluminium

nickel

g7 summit

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/15635/62/156356295_0:47:500:328_1920x0_80_0_0_a2c3e02fa8acf1147138e2c031ab1576.jpg

UK media reported the sanctions also include a $4 billion freeze on the diamond export market in addition to sanctioning 86 individuals and entities involved in Russia's military industrial sector.Sunak is currently in Japan's Hiroshima to attend the summit of the Group of Seven (G7). European Council President Charles Michel said on Friday that the European Union was planning to restrict trade in Russian diamonds. "We will restrict trade in Russian diamonds," Michel said as G7 leaders gathered for the summit in Japan's Hiroshima, as quoted by French media. The G7 Summit is being held in Hiroshima from May 19-21 and will focus on the Ukraine conflict, economic security, green investments, and developments in the Indo-Pacific region. The leaders of India, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Comoros, and the Cook Islands have been invited to participate in the G7 Summit as well as the heads of seven international organizations, including the United Nations, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization.

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

uk prime minister rishi sunak, diamonds, copper, aluminium, nickel, embargo, group of seven, uk
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230519/us-debt-ceiling-issue-to-undermine-g7-capacity-in-shaping-world---biden-official-1110451884.html

US Debt Ceiling Issue to Undermine G7 Capacity in Shaping World - Biden Official

US Debt Ceiling Issue to Undermine G7 Capacity in Shaping World - Biden Official

The situation regarding the United States debt limit and the potential for the US government to default on its financial obligations undermines the ability of the G7 countries to shape the world, a senior Biden official said.

2023-05-19T02:51+0000

2023-05-19T02:51+0000

2023-05-19T02:46+0000

economy

g7

people's republic of china

russia

china

janet yellen

joe biden

sanctions

russian economy under sanctions

us debt ceiling crisis

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/05/13/1110451592_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_1c581b7242d3013266e71c2592a112f7.jpg

The official pointed out that the debt ceiling brinkmanship undermines the United States' leadership in the world and the ongoing centrality of the US financial system in the global economy by calling into question the full faith and credit of the Treasury. US President Joe Biden and Republican lawmakers are currently engaged in ongoing negotiations to reach a deal to raise the debt limit before the US government risks defaulting as early as June. Debt ceiling talks have been ongoing for months but only within the last few weeks have matters intensified with both parties appearing to make some movement to a looming deal; however, an official confirmation has not yet been made.The US has been operating under "extraordinary measures" since January, emergency efforts that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has indicated will begin faltering as early as June 1. The Biden administration official further told reporters that Biden's trip will see the US commander-in-chief reaffirm American commitment to nuclear non-proliferation, as well as show a "historic degree of unity" on the People's Republic of China. It was also noted that the Group of Seven would be using the opportunity to unveil over 300 Russia-related sanctions in addition to blacklisting entities. Some of which have already been announced."The United States will be rolling out a substantial package of our own ... Among other things, this involves extensively restricting categories of goods key to the battlefield and also cutting off roughly 70 entities from Russia and third countries from receiving US exports by adding them to the Commerce blacklist," the official told reporters.The US will also announce "upwards of 300 US sanctions" against individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, targeting sanctions circumvention and other actors helping to support Russias operation in Ukraine, the official said.However, sanctions wouldn't be all officials would be discussing, according to the unidentified senior official who further indicated parties would undertake measures to cut reliance on Russian energy and isolate Russia economically.In addition, the leaders will reaffirm their commitment to upholding the price cap on Russian oil, including through effective monitoring enforcement, while also avoiding spillover effects and maintaining global energy security, the official stated.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230518/g7-hiroshima-summit-fading-bloc-sticking-to-its-guns-to-contain-china-russia-1110444787.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230517/wests-price-ceiling-caves-in-russian-oil-exports-hit-post-february-2022-high-1110419698.html

russia

china

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

biden administration, us debt ceiling, group of seven countries, financial obligations, us
Standardbred Canada (SC) would like to advise members that its main office in Mississauga, Ont. will be closed on Monday, May 22 in observance of Victoria Day.

The office will resume regular operating hours on Tuesday, May 23.

Standardbred Canada would like to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Two Orange County residents were killed this week in separate crashes, according to Virginia State Police.

The most recent crash occurred Tuesday at 2:11 p.m. on State Route 522 in Orange, just north of State Route 701. State police Sgt. Brent Coffey said 68-year-old John J. ODonnell Jr. of Locust Grove was heading north in a 2019 GMC Yukon when the vehicle crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a southbound 2021 Freightliner tractor-trailer.

Police said ODonnell died at the scene. The truck driver, a 31-year-old North Chesterfield man, suffered minor injuries in the crash and was taken to Mary Washington Hospital for treatment.

Coffey said the crash shut down Route 522 for about 10 hours. It remains under investigation.

On Monday, a Burr Hill woman died in a single-vehicle crash on State Route 686 in Culpeper County. Coffey said that Cecelia A. Frye, 69, was heading east, just west of Route 522, when her 2001 Ford Focus ran off the right side of the road and overcorrected before crossing the centerline. The car then ran off the left side of the road and overturned.

Frye died at the scene, police said.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Smoke from wildfires in Canada began impacting air quality for people involved in outdoor activities Thursday across Nebraska.

The National Weather Service posted an alert for possible moderate to unhealthy air quality through noon Friday for the entire state. Conditions could range from moderate to unhealthy for sensitive populations to unhealthy for anyone engaged in outdoor activities.

Dirk Petersen, a meteorologist with the weather service in Valley, Nebraska, said Thursday that forecasters had been seeing reduced visibility due to smoke in the northern part of the state, at times below one mile.

The federal AirNow.gov website, home of the U.S. Air Quality Index, indicated that the Nebraska Panhandle and parts of northeast Nebraska were seeing air quality in the very unhealthy category.

Kim Engel, director of the Panhandle Public Health District, said conditions were overcast and smoky in the area.

Petersen said a cold front moving slowly into the region was pushing down smoke that had been staying higher aloft.

The smoke moved into the Omaha area Thursday afternoon.

Officials with the Douglas County Health Department said smoke from the wildfires was expected to push air quality index in the area into the unhealthy for sensitive groups category and possibly the unhealthy zone possibly into Saturday night.

Residents are likely to see a distinct haze in the sky. The particulate matter in the air from the fires can create serious health issues for people with heart and lung disease, older adults and children, health officials said.

Anyone who may be impacted by such conditions is advised to minimize outdoor activities during such times. Residents can monitor local conditions at douglascountyairquality.com or by going to Air Quality in the drop-down menu on the health departments home page, douglascountyhealth.com.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The Scottsbluff Police Department honored one of its own during National Police Week ceremonies on Thursday.

Officers recognized Scottsbluff Police Officer Albert W. Peterson as 2023 marked 100 years since his death in the line of duty. Peterson, the sole Scottsbluff officer who had died in the line of duty, had been shot and killed as he attempted to apprehend Frank Allen, also known as Harold Randall.

Capt. Brian Wasson who has overseen multiple efforts to honor the fallen officer gave the tribute to Peterson during Thursdays ceremonies. He gave a brief background of the circumstances behind Petersons death.

Peterson had found a still and went with a Scotts Bluff County Sheriffs Deputy Guy Carlson to arrest Allen at a home in Mitchell. As they arrived, the man fled to a shed behind the home, and opened fire as officers spoke his name. Peterson was shot in the abdomen and died at the scene.

Deputy Carlson recounted that Officer Peterson told him, he was done for, Officer Peterson also told Deputy Carlson to tell his wife that his last thought was for her, Wasson said.

Carlson was shot twice, and Allen escaped. About five days later, Keith County Sheriff George Heiser learned of Allens whereabouts and formed a sheriffs posse to apprehend the man. As the posse moved in on the man, he exchanged gunfire with them, killing a second law enforcement officer  Heiser. However, Allen also did not escape the gun fight, also being killed.

Wasson also shared some details about the process to ensure that the officer received one of the top posthumous honors  the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington D.C. In order for the officer to be listed on the monument Wasson had to track down living relatives who knew his story  something that was not easy to do 80 years later. He worked with a local genealogical society and the Scottsbluff library to track down details that led him to living relatives.

One of those relatives, a great-great niece of Petersons, Deann Spiers, of Chappell, her husband, Tim, and son, Payton, attended the ceremonies at the Scottsbluff Public Safety building. Speirs said her family is honored by the ways that the Scottsbluff Police Department has paid tribute to Peterson through the years, including a marker that sits in front of the department and ensuring he was listed on the National Law Enforcement Memorial.

We are very thankful to the Scottsbluff Police Department for the way in which they have honored Albert. They have been amazing, she said, sharing that family members did know about Petersons sacrifice prior to the first time they heard from Wasson. My grandma had told us about it.

Speirs said she and her mother, Norma Asher, who has since died, attended the ceremonies in Washington D.C.

It (the ceremonies) were so emotional, even when it is someone you have never met, she said. I cant fathom what it is like for someone who has lost a family member that they have known and loved.

Through the years, she said, the department has stayed in touch with her family, even sending an annual Christmas card.

Ceremonies on Thursday were moved into the fire departments garage area due to heavy rains. During the ceremonies, Scottsbluff Mayor Jeanne McKerrigan read a proclamation recognizing the week and declaring Thursday as Police Officers Memorial Day in Scottsbluff. In the proclamation, she urged all citizens to take advantage of this opportunity to honor the police officers of our community and to provide a wider base of understanding of their daily work.

She also personally thanked the officers  all from the different agencies within Scotts Bluff County, including the sheriffs department, Nebraska State Patrol and local firefighters  for their integrity and courage in service.

Students in the Scottsbluff High School JROTC program presented the U.S. flag and other colors and one student played during the ceremony. A local honor guard made up of officers from local police, sheriff and the NSP conducted ceremonial observances, including a gun salute that brought the ceremonies to a close.

PHOTOS: Police Officer Memorial 2023
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Two people have been federally charged in connection with a traffic stop on Interstate 80 near Lincoln earlier this month that turned up more than 55 pounds of methamphetamine.

Gerardo Soto-Sigala, 39, and Daisy Franco, 34, were indicted Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

In U.S. District Court records, Colin Strickland, a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, said that on May 9, Lincoln Police Officer John Hudec stopped a 2010 Honda Odyssey with California plates for a traffic infraction just west of Lincoln's airport exit.

Strickland said that during the stop, the driver, Soto-Sigala, gave Hudec consent to search the minivan, which led to the discovery of a concealed compartment under the center console with 50 individual packages of narcotics hidden inside.

The drugs weighed 25.7 kilograms, or nearly 57 pounds.

The two were arrested and are being housed at the Douglas County jail in Omaha. On Friday, they both made initial appearances on a federal complaint.

The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to say where Soto-Sigala and Franco are from.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce is hosting the fourth annual Kids Biz Expo presented by AFC Urgent Care on June 2 at 5:30 p.m., with set-up at 4:30 p.m. It will be located at the Broad Street Methodist Church lawn, located at 315 W. Broad St. in Statesville. This year it will be held in tandem with the Piedmont HealthCare Friday After 5 Concert with Chairmen of the Board scheduled at the same time.

The Kids Biz Expo is designed for school-age children from kindergarten through high school and offers them the opportunity to set up a booth/table with a product they feel passionate about. In previous years, the young entrepreneurs have sold a variety of items such as lemonade, banana bread and healthy snacks, photography, jewelry, walking sticks, various crafts and other handmade items.

Not only is this a showcase for the kids creativity, but also an opportunity to understand the elements of owning ones own business. These young business entrepreneurs will learn and use real-life skills such as math, budgeting, marketing, communication and creative thinking. The development and marketing of their product or service will have an impact on their sales at the event and offer them some insight into what it takes to own their own business.

Awards sponsored by R&B Games will be given for Most Original Business Idea, Most Creative Presentation and Highest Business Potential and judged by several chamber members from various industries.

To sign up for the event, visit the Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce website at StatesvilleChamber.org/svl-kids-expo/. For more information, call 704-873-2892.
Mariam Torosyan, founder and CEO of Safe YOU, has been named one of the top three impact-driven entrepreneurs in Europe by the Cartier Womens Initiatives Regional Award. The award recognizes and funds talented impact entrepreneurs who are leveraging business as a force for good, The Armenian Mirror Spectator reported.

Mariam Torosyan was selected for her dedication to combating Gender-Based Violence (GBV) through innovation by using AI technologies for prevention, as well as for providing additional tools for prosecution and creating systemic change.

For the first time in its 16-year history, the Cartier Womens Initiative has chosen as a finalist a woman entrepreneur from Armenia. This is a significant milestone for Safe YOU, which was founded by Mariam Torosyan in 2020 to combat GBV and promote gender equality. The initiative aims to empower women by providing them with free safety tools and resources to seek help in dangerous situations, as well as remote legal and psycho-social support. The project also works to raise awareness about domestic violence and promote gender equality in Armenia.

The Cartier Womens Initiative is committed to supporting women who are leading businesses that create positive social and environmental impact. Its main vision is to ensure every woman entrepreneur driving social and environmental change can reach their full potential. The program focuses on businesses in a variety of sectors, including healthcare, education, environment, technology, and social entrepreneurship. Over the years, the program has supported a diverse range of businesses from all over the world.

It is a great honor to be selected as one of the CWI 33 new fellows this year and join a global community of nearly 300 influential impact entrepreneurs who are impacting and changing the world every day! said Mariam Torosyan. Being in the top 3 is a recognition of the hard work and dedication of our Safe YOU team and the impact that our initiative is having on the lives of women in Armenia and beyond.,

This years awards ceremony was filled with incredible philanthropists, activists and forces for change including award-winning artist and environmental activist Melanie Laurent, award-winning actor, director and activist, Nadine Labaki, and award-winning actor and producer Yara Shahidi.

Presenting the final awards on stage were the distinguished Amal Clooney, renowned human rights lawyer, Renaud Lestringent, Director of Cartier France and Cyrille Vigneron, President and CEO of Cartier International. Mariam Torosyan placed second in Europe.

Follow NEWS.am STYLE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  A high school student who killed three women in northwestern New Mexico with an indiscriminate spray of gunfire left a cryptic note presaging the end of the chapter" and wore a bulletproof vest that he discarded before being shot to death by police, authorities said Wednesday.

Police added new details to the profile of the lone gunman and the weaponry he used as he walked through his residential neighborhood before being confronted by officers and fatally shot outside a church. The shooter discharged more than 190 rounds during the rampage, according to authorities, most of them from the home he shared with his father.

Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said in a news conference that 18-year-old Beau Wilson was wearing what appeared to be a modified vest with steel plates and that the note was found in his pocket. Handwritten in green lettering, the message said in part, if your reading this im the end of the chapter.

Wilson began shooting with an AR-15 rifle just outside his home, from the front porch area, but quickly dropped that into some bushes even though it still held more live ammunition, police said.

The gunman continued firing with two pistols, discarding a .22-caliber gun and then depleting rounds from a 9-mm handgun in the final shootout with police, during which he let off at least 18 rounds.

Slain by the shooter were longtime Farmington residents Gwendolyn Schofield, 97, her 73-year-old daughter, Melody Ivie, and 79-year-old Shirley Voita, police said.

The women were well known in the community, in part through participation in faith-based groups. Ivie ran a preschool for four decades that was attended by several generations of residents.

Those wounded in the attack include Farmington police Sgt. Rachel Discenza and New Mexico State Police Officer Andreas Stamatiadas. The officers were treated at a local hospital and released.

Police are probing Wilson's access to weapons and concerns about his prior mental health, and efforts are underway to subpoena medical and school records that might shed light on any issues.

We have been talking with family members and trying to do more investigation into his mental health that appears to  early on  to be a factor, Hebbe said.

At the same time, Hebbe said, there did not appear to be significant indications that ... something was going to happen that day.

New Mexico enacted a so-called red flag law in 2020 that can be used to seize guns from people who pose a danger to themselves or others. Judicial records show the Farmington Police Department has petitioned successfully for the removal of guns in other instances, most recently in February.

In November, after he turned 18, Wilson legally purchased the assault-style weapon used Monday, according to police. They believe two of the three weapons he carried were owned by relatives.

Two days before the attack, Wilson purchased additional ammunition magazines, police said.

Authorities said it appears he shot indiscriminately at vehicles, and bullets struck 11 of them along with seven homes.

Additional weapons and ammunition were found at the home Wilson shared with his father, but Hebbe said he did not appear to have organized those before he left the house. The suspect had access to over 1,400 rounds of ammunition and 10 other weapons at the time of the attack.

He planned to use the three weapons he had, Hebbe said, and he went outside and he did just that.

Police say evidence shows that at least 176 rounds were fired by Wilson from an assault rifle near his house at the outset of the rampage.

A community vigil was planned for Wednesday night at the Farmington Museum, the latest in a series of gatherings to remember and mourn victims of the shooting.

Wilson was a senior at Farmington High School and had been scheduled to graduate the next day.

At the school's commencement ceremony Tuesday, speakers talked of resilience and hope.

A chair was left empty with a bouquet of white roses in memory of those we lost throughout the years, school district spokesperson Roberto Taboada said.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

FAIRFAX CITY  Gov. Glenn Youngkin couldnt escape issues of student diversity and equity Thursday at George Mason University, the largest and most culturally diverse public higher education institution in Virginia.

A number of students stood in protest  including the student commencement speaker sitting two seats from the governor  as Youngkin celebrated the graduation of nearly 11,000 students at the university here, including more than 1,500 who represent the first generation of their families to receive a college or university degree.

Youngkin, who has come under fire for an adviser who told another higher education audience that diversity, equity and inclusion is dead, countered by celebrating the stories of three graduates, by name, who had overcome adversity to earn their degrees at Mason.

No matter your faith, no matter your nationality, no matter your race, your culture or creed, as you walk across the stage (to receive a diploma), you will have the opportunity to become a builder of Virginia, a builder of this nation, a builder of the world, he told graduates who hailed from 111 countries and every state.

I know you will choose to build because that is the nations way, he said.

George Mason President Gregory Washington, the first Black person to lead the university and the first member of his family to earn a university degree, set the stage by remembering the example that Mason students set after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending a half-century of legal protection for abortion and leaving states to decide the issue for themselves.

Competing factions sought to condemn or support the ruling in a protest at Masons campus in Arlington County, where its Antonin Scalia Law school is based. But they ultimately negotiated terms for both sides to voice their opinions respectfully, Washington said.

Neither side was silent nor silenced each other, he said.

Washington also commended the class as the last to enter before the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed their studies. The pandemic put so much stress on the fabric of our world that society seemed to be coming apart at the seams, he said. You didnt fight each other. You fought the virus and, together, you won.

The Mason graduation was the largest in Virginias history  with more than 10,000 students receiving degrees and 700 earning certificates  but some students objected to Youngkins appearance as commencement speaker. Some had warned the university that they planned to protest by walking out, holding signs or turning their backs on the governor as he spoke.

The most visible protest came from Galilea Sejas-Machado, an honors student in criminology and sociology who founded the Hispanic Latine Leadership Alliance and served as a student ambassador at the Center for Culture, Equity and Empowerment.

After delivering a student commencement speech that honored Indigenous communities and sovereign tribes and her own identity as a strong, independent Latine woman, Sejas-Machado shook the governors hand and then rose as he spoke with a sign that stated We Will Not Debate Humanity! and Mason Demands Action.

I think that gave some currency to the people who feel this should not have happened, said Mark Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at Mason, who estimated that a dozen students walked out during the speech.

Rozell said the protests grew from student concerns about what they termed Youngkins attacks on public education, especially programs to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. He cited a speech by Martin Brown, the governors chief diversity, opportunity and inclusion officer, who declared DEI is dead in an appearance at Virginia Military Institute last month.

The protest was entirely appropriate, the veteran political analyst said, but he commended Youngkin for how he handled the situation.

It was a good speech because he honored GMU and he told stories about three students who graduated after overcoming adversity, Rozell said. It could have gone a very different way.

Those students were: Daniel Lee, a student from South Korea whose mother traveled from their country to watch him receive a bachelors degree in computer science; Noel Quezada, a first-generation student who served in the U.S. Army Reserve while earning a bachelors degree in criminology, law and society with a double major in forensics and psychology; and Brandon Roy Roca, another first-generation student majoring in international politics whose parents both were diagnosed with cancer during the pandemic.

The governor celebrated the largest graduating class in the history of George Mason University, their stories, and diversity of thought in the commonwealth, said Macaulay Porter, Youngkins press secretary. The governor will continue to deliver for Virginia, preserve and protect free speech, and praise the many accomplishments of GMU grads.

Mason Provost Horace Blackman introduced Youngkin as the leader of the most diverse leadership team in history with Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Black woman from Jamaica, and Attorney General Jason Miyares, the first Hispanic elected to statewide office in Virginia.

Washington, the university president, said diversity is Masons greatest strength.

That diversity in origin, identity, circumstances and thought is what we call, all together different,  he said.

Youngkin digital ad

In another development on Thursday, Youngkin, who has ruled out a presidential run this year, released a digital ad that appeared to again fan the flames. In the ad, gleaned from a speech that Youngkin gave May 1 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, he says: President Ronald Reagan changed lives. Now its our turn, a time to choose life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness over oppression and dictatorial rule. The stakes are high and the consequences couldnt be greater.

Its time to usher in a new era of American values. Its our turn to choose life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. pic.twitter.com/IH8enVaL5B  Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) May 18, 2023

Youngkin is among a number of prominent Republicans to speak at the Reagan library as part of the A Time for Choosing speaker series, named for an address that Reagan gave in 1964 during Barry Goldwaters presidential campaign. Speakers in the series have included GOP presidential hopefuls such as former Vice President Mike Pence; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.; and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

The Washington Post reported that the ad mistakenly presents footage of a European fighter aircraft rather than an American fighter.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

There are more than 230 million licensed drivers in the U.S. They cross nearly 620,000 bridges on a regular basis. That's a lot of wear and tear.

Data compiled by the Federal Highway Association and analyzed by a trade association for transportation builders shows that just under 7% of the nation's bridges are considered "structurally deficient."

So it's no surprise that infrastructure is often cited as one of the major areas of concern facing the country. Nearly three-quarters of Americans told the Pew Research Center in 2021 that the condition of America's roads and bridges was a "very big" or "moderately big" problem.

In light of that, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law in November 2021, setting aside $110 billion to repair and replace bridges and roadways  including nearly $540 million for Virginia projects over a five-year span, $18 million of which is going to replace the bridge that carries Arthur Ashe Boulevard over railroad tracks near The Diamond.

On average, the commonwealth's bridges are in relatively good condition.

Of Virginia's 14,042 bridges, 501 are considered structurally deficient, a 3.6% rate that is one of the 10 lowest among the 50 states and District of Columbia. On top of that, conditions are improving; there were nearly 150 more bridges graded as deficient in 2018 than in 2022.

But that does not mean that every bridge is in brand-new shape. Of the 20 most-traveled structurally deficient bridges in Virginia, six are in the Richmond area:

I-95, crossing over Route 608/Reymet Road (Chesterfield County)

Year built: 1958

Crossings per day (2020): 98,000

I-195, crossing over Route 197/Westwood Avenue and CSX rail tracks (Henrico County)

Year built: 1974

Crossings per day (2020): 61,400

I-64, crossing over Stony Run (Henrico)

Year built: 1965

Crossings per day (2020): 56,700

East Broad Street, crossing over I-95 (Richmond)

Year built: 1958

Crossings per day (2020): 28,100

East Broad Street, crossing over abandoned CSX spur line (Richmond)

Year built: 1909

Crossings per day (2020): 28,100

Ramp from I-64 to Fifth Street and I-95 South, crossing over I-95 (Richmond)

Year built: 1958

Crossings per day (2020): 23,600

What does that mean for everyday drivers in the Richmond area?

The Richmond Times-Dispatch spoke to the Virginia Department of Transportation engineer who oversees bridges in the Richmond district to find out.

Inspections every two years

Calling a bridge structurally deficient does not mean that it's unsafe for daily driving, VDOT engineer Craig Ponte said.

VDOT conducts "hands-on inspections" of bridges every 24 months, with a focus on three major components: the deck, which the surface that cars actually drive on; the superstructure, made up of the horizontal beams and other elements that bear the weight placed on the deck; and the substructure, foundational elements like columns and abutments that connect a bridge to the ground below.

Those components are rated on a scale from 0 to 9 at each inspection. If any of the major components is rated 4 or below, it is deemed to be in poor condition, which automatically flags that bridge for inspection every 12 months and places it on a priority list for repair or replacement, according to Ponte.

But only ratings of 3 or below indicate a risk of component failure, according to VDOT's grading standards, and a component must be rated a 2 before the guidelines suggest closing a bridge.

FHWA data shows that just five of the 14,042 bridges in Virginia were rated 2 or worse for any of the three key components in the most recently released data, gathered in 2021, and only one of those was in the Richmond area: the St. Andrews Street Bridge in Petersburg, which reopened in November after being closed for 15 years.

That's part of the reason VDOT is phasing out the "structurally deficient" terminology in favor of simply calling bridges poor, Ponte said. It connotes a risk of imminent collapse that, in many cases, just isn't there.

Ponte told The Times-Dispatch that when concerns arise about the amount of weight that a bridge can support, VDOT lowers the top allowable weight on that bridge  preventing the heaviest trucks from crossing  before taking measures that could affect everyday drivers.

What's on the docket?



Bridges built under old design standards typically last about 30 years before they start to need repairs, Ponte said. Much of the deterioration in that time period is caused by water and the salts used to de-ice roads during winter weather conditions seeping into bridge components through the joints  gaps where the ends of bridges meet ground level, which exist to accommodate thermal expansion or contraction of bridge materials.

But VDOT is using new jointless design methods for all new construction, and even some current repair projects, that will more than double the life of Virginia's bridges.

"The design life for new bridges is 75 years," Ponte said. "It's pretty cool."

The heavier the traffic on the bridge, the higher priority it's given for repairs. Ponte said VDOT aims for a maximum window of six years before a bridge gets the repairs it needs  a figure that varies based on the level of funding available to the agency  but that at the top, things "can move pretty quickly, with (as little as) a couple of years before repairs are complete."

Some of the poorly-rated bridges in the Richmond area are already being worked on.

The I-95 bridge over Reymet Road, which was built in 1958 and reconstructed in 1990, is currently under construction, according to VDOT. The superstructure is being replaced, and the project will also add a few inches to the vertical clearance under the bridge to account for taller vehicles.

A "megaproject" to rehabilitate several bridges over I-95 in downtown Richmond is underway as well, and Ponte said plans to rehabilitate the Cary Street and Grove Street bridges over I-195 are currently in the design phase.

'Easier to weather'



The state of bridges impacts more than daily commutes, family drives and road trips. It has a direct impact on the economy and businesses.

Ari Augenbaum, executive chef and co-owner of JewFro, a Jewish African fusion restaurant in Shockoe Bottom just a few blocks from where Broad Street crosses over I-95, has spent plenty of time thinking about local construction and development projects. But he isn't particularly worried about a future bridge construction project having major negative effects for the restaurant.

"We're more of a destination restaurant," Augenbaum said. "So people are seeking us out, which makes it easier to weather things like that."

However, that feeling doesn't necessarily extend to the other restaurants he co-owns, like the North 2nd Street location of Soul Taco, which transitioned into Sear Burger in late 2022.

It was "exponentially more difficult" to keep business strong through construction in Jackson Ward, Augenbaum said, and that location also faced significant obstacles from the ongoing saga surrounding the redevelopment of the Richmond Coliseum area.

But Augenbaum said that was a natural risk of committing to a location based on the expectation that one of the city's signature development plans was going to move forward quickly  a risk that has touched JewFro as well. Coffee and happy hour concepts designed around a planned expansion of Richmond-to-Washington commuter rail transit out of Main Street Station have yet to get off the ground at the Shockoe Bottom restaurant.

Other organizations located near poorly-rated bridges say that there could be some impact if there were to be significant construction projects nearby, but also believed that such projects would not cause a major hit to day-to-day operations.

PARK365, an inclusive park located off of Westwood Avenue near the I-195 crossing, accommodates many patrons with disabilities or sensory issues that might be adversely affected by the commotion of a major construction project. Andrea Siebentritt, communications and public relations manager for the park's nonprofit parent organization, SOAR365, said that the group would have to consider creative ways to mitigate noise pollution and other negative effects, but that construction on the bridge would not cut off access to the park.

Ponte said that VDOT generally replaces bridges in stages in order to keep traffic patterns as unaffected as possible. But concerns that local business owners have about the impact of construction projects are something that VDOT thinks about on a broader scale, rather than considering the effect on individual businesses.

"That's kind of outside of my area of expertise," he said. "But when we're setting up these design projects, we do want to keep traffic (moving) through the area."

31 photos from The Times-Dispatch archives Cloverleaf Mall VA State Capitol Broad St. Air Force Women Country Club of Virginia Folk Dancing The Diamond Monroe Park Broad St. Westhamtpon School Piccadilly Cafeteria Jackson Ward Reunion Hull St. Station Richmond Day Dogwood Dell VCU Gym Noldes Bread Jackson Ward Central State Hospital Reynolds Metals Richmond Symphony Mooer's Field South Side Health Center Remote Controlled Cars Mail box YWCA Sobles Salt O.K. Foundry Mailboxes
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Mike and Becky Dowells support for law enforcement has proven to be unwavering. Chilhowie Police Chief Andrew Moss reflected on the couples support of his department as he and the towns elected leaders remembered their son, Trooper Lucas B. Dowell, who died in the line of duty on Feb. 4, 2019.

The 28-year-old Dowell grew up in Chilhowie, where his parents still live.

He was at the forefront of minds Thursday during the Chilhowie Town Council meeting and again Monday during a Peace Officers Memorial Day ceremony in Marion.

The Chilhowie council unanimously adopted a resolution recognizing National Police Week.

More than 800,000 men and women serve as law enforcement officers in communities across the United States, Moss noted. In Virginia, he said, 544 officers have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Moss also told the council how the Dowells provide a great support network to us. The chief said they frequently help the Chilhowie PD. When the agency flew flags across an interstate bridge as a procession bringing the bodies of soldiers killed in action traveled through, he said, the Dowells were there to help.

He presented a framed copy of the resolution to the Dowells for their steadfast support of law enforcement.

On Saturday, the Dowells travelled to Washington, D.C., for the annual National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial candlelight vigil.

On Monday, they also took part in the ceremony held at the flagpoles at the Marion Town Hall. They placed a wreath in memory of their son as members of the Marion, Chilhowie, and Saltville police departments, the sheriffs office, and the Virginia State Police gathered to honor officers who have died in the line of duty.

At that ceremony, Marion Police Chief John Clair reflected, The Apostle Paul tells us, that as ministers of justice, we bear not the sword in vain. This means that the sacrifice of police officers has a cosmic meaning, not merely earthly significance. I believe were prone to forget these sacrifices are not made because we merely accepted a certain career responsibility, they are made because of who we are, in service of that responsibility. The officers who we honor today laid down their lives in the service of their communities, as individuals with deeply held commitments. They would have exercised those commitments in any context, yet thank God they chose law enforcement. As such, we should all make every effort to be continually worthy of their sacrifice.

We should always remain conscious that despite our failings, the law enforcement community is a coalition of the willing  those willing to do what many would leave undone. Today, we say thank you to the 224 officers killed in the line of duty this past year, and pray their names are added to those tables of stone in our nations capital, so that future generations might understand what it took to forge our society, Clair concluded.

Following that ceremony, the Marion Town Council also adopted a resolution in recognition of National Police Week.

Also last Thursday evening, the Smyth County Board of Supervisors recognized the communitys law enforcement, adopting a resolution, and presenting framed copies to Sheriff Chip Shuler, Chief Moss, Chief Clair, and Saltville Chief Erik Puckett.

Supervisors Chair Charlie Atkins told the law enforcement leaders, We support all of you.

Supervisor Roscoe Call added his backing and said he knows that their work is often thankless and unappreciated. However, he told the gathering, Id trust them with my life.

Supervisor Mike Sturgill thanked the men for their leadership and said the service provided in the county and towns is top-notch.

The resolution said, in part, Smyth County prides itself in the four agencies of Smyth County that protect and serve its citizens including the Smyth County Sheriffs Office, Town of Chilhowie Police

Department, Town of Marion Police Department, Town of Saltville Police Department for their dedication, passion, and enthusiasm.

As the supervisors honored their work, Vice Chair Lori Deel asked for a moment of silence to remember Cpl. Chris Paschal, who died in January 2009, at 37 years old. With the Smyth County Sheriffs Office, he died after sustaining critical head injuries in an accident on an icy Interstate 81. He was off duty that morning and traveling with his wife, Kasey, and daughter, Keyleigh, when he saw a vehicle crash. As he telephoned central dispatch to report the accident, police said, the Paschals vehicle lost traction on the ice.

He was on the phone with the dispatcher, saying there was an accident, and all of a sudden he advised her he was wrecking. Then he lost contact, said then Smyth County Sheriff David Bradley.

He was an outstanding officer, Bradley said in 2009. Dedicated 110 percent. He loved his job and was ready to go at any time.

Paschal was in the sheriffs office for eight years.

He was also survived by a son, Tanner.

Paschals and Dowells names are among those engraved on the national Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. The supervisors resolution noted that the names of 245 officers killed in 2022 and 34 this year will be added to the memorial.

Dowell was a member of the Virginia State Police Tactical Team that was assisting the Piedmont Regional Drug and Gang Task Force with executing a search warrant at a Cumberland County residence, just north of Farmville.

According to the Virginia State Police, the tactical team made entry into the home and a man inside the residence began shooting at them. The tactical team members returned fire, fatally wounding the man.

Trooper Dowell was transported to Southside Community Hospital in Farmville, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Your daily brief of the English-speaking press on Syria.

According to his office, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is traveling to Saudi Arabia to participate in a regional summit. This marks his initial visit to the oil-rich country since the start of Syrias conflict in 2011. The situation emphasizes the significant decline of Qatars influence as a diplomatic force in the Middle East. However, Riyadhs decision to reintegrate Syria into the Arab community, reconcile with Iran, and establish peace in Yemen are all part of a broader initiative to enhance security and stability in the region.

Syrias Assad Heads to Saudi Arabia for regional summit

Syrian President Bashar al Assad has headed to Saudi Arabia to attend a regional summit, his first visit to the oil-rich kingdom since Syrias conflict began in 2011, his office said on Thursday.

Assads attendance at the Arab League summit, which starts on May 19th, is expected to seal Syrias return to the Arab fold following a 12-year suspension and open a new chapter of relations after more than a decade of tensions.

Turkish TRT reports that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been pushing for peace in the region and over the past months, Riyadh has improved its relations with Iran, restored ties with Syria and is ending the kingdoms yearslong war in Yemen. Iran, a main backer of the Syrian government in the countrys conflict, signed an agreement in China in March to resume relations with Saudi Arabia.

The renewed Saudi-Iran ties are expected to have positive effects on Middle East countries where the two support rival groups.

However, TRT adds, investments in war-torn Syria are unlikely as crippling Western sanctions against Assads government remain in place and could prevent oil-rich Arab countries from rushing to release reconstruction funds.

Saudi Arabia Banks on Arab League

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit welcomed the Syrian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad.

I hope that Syrias regaining of its seat at the league will allow for the ending of its crisis and allow its full and active participation in the Arab world, Aboul Gheit said as he addressed the Syrian foreign ministers and Arab officials.

Speaking ahead of the summit, Aboul Gheit told The National during a working visit to Abu Dhabi that the meetings in Jeddah were taking place amid positive developments in the region.

I imagine that it being held in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and with the vitality of Prince Mohammed bin Salman, that the summits presence and agenda, I expect, will be a very large one that will represent an addition to the Arab Summit, Mr Aboul Gheit said.

The National says that the push by Riyadh to thaw ties is part of its policy and comes a month after it agreed to a deal to revive diplomatic relations with its regional rival Iran.

Riyadhs willingness to bring Syria back into the Arab fold, heal the kingdoms rift with Iran and achieve peace in Yemen are all part of efforts to increase regional security and stability.

A senior Saudi diplomat said last week that Sudans army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, one of two generals at the heart of the conflict, had been invited to represent Sudan, but that it was unclear who would attend. No official confirmation of an invitation by the Saudi authorities was made clear by Wednesday.

Representatives of Gen Burhan and of his adversary, paramilitary leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, have been in Jeddah for more than a week for talks set up by Saudi Arabia and the U.S.

Analysis: Qatar takes diplomatic back seat as Saudi flexes political muscle

The Arab Leagues welcoming back of Syrias President Bashar al-Assad into its ranks highlights how far behind Qatar has fallen in its bid to be a diplomatic voice that carries weight in the Middle East, Reuters reported.

Earlier this month Qatar reluctantly withdrew its opposition to Saudi Arabias initiative to readmit Syria. It clarified that it opposed normalizing its ties with Damascus but said it would not stand in the way of an Arab consensus.

The dismay in the diplomatic mission in Doha of a Syrian opposition group, which Qatar recognizes as Syrias official embassy to the state, was a stark reminder of the shifting tides.

Qatar did not accept this decision, but they did not stand in the way, Belal Tourkya, the missions charge daffaires, told Reuters.

Analysts say the change in Dohas position on Syria is a sign it may be dialling back on its once-ambitious regional foreign policy to avoid raising the ire of its most powerful neighbours.

Assad is expected to attend the Arab League summit in Jeddah on Friday for the first time in 12 years, a powerful signal his regional isolation over Syrias civil war is ending.

Saudi Arabia used its leverage over Arab League members to push them to return Syria to the body, said Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Gulf State Analytics.

Qatar didnt want to play any obstructive role that would have risked angering the leadership in Riyadh and other Arab capitals, he said.

Qatar has been steadily mending ties with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

But in recent weeks, Reuters added, Qatar has had little say in peace talks between Yemens Houthi movement and Saudi Arabia, or in seeking an end to fighting between rival military factions in Sudan.

The Gulf state is prioritizing a good working relationship with its neighbours, especially Saudi Arabia, said a Western diplomat in Doha who spoke on condition of anonymity.

This makes them keen to avoid getting involved in regional confrontations and that is why they are less engaged in Yemen and Sudan than in former times, the diplomat said.

Qatar says its foreign policy is staunchly independent and strives to build consensus in the (Gulf) and wider Arab region through constructive dialogue that does not compromise our foreign policy, a Qatari official told Reuters.

For this reason, Qatar decided not to block Syrias readmission to the Arab League but has not normalized relations with the Syrian regime, the official said.

The misguided re-engagement with Syrias Bashar al-Assad

The Financial Times has published an extensive analysis of Assads invitation to the Arab Summit.

When Saudi Arabia hosts an Arab League summit on Friday, a chair will be set aside for Bashar al-Assad, a despot who has tortured, imprisoned, bombed, gassed and besieged the people he is supposed to serve. If, as expected, the Syrian president attends it would be the first time he has been welcomed at the annual meeting of regional leaders since Syria was suspended from the league 12 years ago. It would be a sad day for Arab diplomacy and send a chilling message to victims of the regimes atrocities: that Assad can continue with impunity.

The re-engagement with Assad picked up pace after a flurry of Saudi-led diplomacy, FT explained.

That came after China brokered a deal that led to the kingdom agreeing to restore diplomatic relations with its arch-rival Iran. Those pushing for re-engagement argue it is a realpolitik approach that recognizes Assad is going nowhere after regaining control of most of the country with Moscows and Tehrans military backing  and that Arab states need to address problems that ripple across borders.

This includes the plight of refugees and the illicit trade in Captagon, an addictive amphetamine that is an economic lifeline for Damascus and a growing headache for countries such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia. But by readmitting Syria to the Arab League, Assad has been rewarded without first making concessions to ease the agony of Syrians.

This makes a mockery of what Arab states had previously suggested would be a step-by-step, carrot-and-stick approach to the Assad regime. The United Arab Emirates, which reopened its embassy in Damascus in 2018 and has lobbied for normalization, has gone even further, inviting Assad to this years COP28 climate change summit in Dubai. Yet there are no signs that Assad is about to change his thuggish behaviour. He has shown no contrition for his crimes.

Hopes of a political settlement with the weak opposition were dashed years ago. While the US and Europe pay limited attention to Syria, Russia, Iran and Turkey have for years been the main foreign actors in the country. The idea that the 6mn Syrian refugees abroad would rush home if Gulf states or others poured money in to rebuild cities devastated by Assads forces is fanciful. Many would fear for their lives. Tens of thousands of Syrians remain arbitrarily detained or disappeared.

FT added that the regime weaponizes humanitarian aid and any financial support would simply subsidize Assads efforts to cement his hold over the nation. Much of it would find its way to his henchmen.

The US and Europe must remain united in enforcing sanctions on the regime while using their leverage with Arab partners to curb the drift toward full normalization. Millions of Syrians are suffering horribly in the war-devastated country, it is economy in collapse. There are no simple solutions to easing their plight as long as Assad is in power. But freely rewarding the regime that is responsible for the catastrophe is not the answer.

NYTimes

For its part, the New York Times reported that the decision to welcome al-Assad reflects a significant shift among Arab states, many of whom had severed ties with him due to his brutal tactics, including the use of chemical weapons and torture during the civil war.

While Saudi Arabia initially supported rebel groups, the evolving regional challenges and the need for unity against external interference have prompted a change in approach. Arab countries now openly engage with al-Assad, focusing on countering Irans influence, preventing illicit drug trade, and addressing the situation of Syrian refugees.

According to the paper, the summit aims to provide Arab solutions to regional issues, with Syria expressing eagerness to work together with its Arab counterparts.

The Rehabilitation of Dictator Assad

In his opinion piece titled Syria: The Rehabilitation of Dictator Assad, independent journalist Gwynne Dyer addresses the issue of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator, and the lack of justice surrounding his regime. The article, published on May 17, 2023, explores the growing acceptance and normalization of Assads rule, despite his atrocities during the Syrian civil war.

Dyer emphasizes the absence of justice as he highlights the efforts to rehabilitate Assads image on both the domestic and international fronts. He points out that many countries, including Russia and Iran, have supported and contributed to Assads survival, enabling him to consolidate his power. Moreover, Dyer discusses the return of foreign investment and the reopening of diplomatic ties with Assads government, reflecting a disturbing trend of rehabilitation and acceptance.

The article questions the international communitys commitment to justice and the consequences of allowing a dictator responsible for countless human rights violations to regain legitimacy. Dyer argues that overlooking Assads crimes may set a dangerous precedent, potentially encouraging other authoritarian leaders to believe they can escape accountability.

Overall, Dyers thought-provoking piece highlights the troubling reality of Assads rehabilitation and calls for a reevaluation of the international communitys approach to dealing with dictators and their crimes.

Iran and Russia Won Syrias Civil War (and the U.S. Lost It)

Another opinion piece titled Iran and Russia Won Syrias Civil War (and the U.S. Lost It), by Shay Khatiri, discusses the return of Syria to the Arab League summit and the implications of this development. Published on May 17, 2023, the article portrays this as a political triumph for Iran, which supported Bashar al-Assads regime during the Syrian Civil War, and a moral failure for U.S. foreign policy.

The author argues that Assads survival during the civil war can be attributed to his willingness to resort to extreme violence and the lack of intervention by the Obama administration. Additionally, Assad cultivated strong alliances with Iran and later Russia, which further bolstered his position. The article emphasizes that the Syrian Civil War, with its devastating consequences, including hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions displaced, the rise of the Islamic State, and damage to U.S. credibility, represents a significant strategic blunder and a moral catastrophe.

The United States chose to stay out of the conflict due to a growing inclination toward foreign restraint and concerns about jeopardizing nuclear arms control negotiations with Iran. However, Iran and Russia ultimately provided the military solution in Syria. The deployment of Irans Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the subsequent entry of the Russian military into Syria reshaped the regional dynamics. This allowed Iran to extend its military presence and influence near Israels borders and facilitated the return of Russian military power to the Middle East.

The article suggests that the failure to hold Assad accountable for his genocidal actions has resulted in his regime being welcomed back as a normal state in the Middle East. The author highlights the United States repeated promises to withdraw from the region, leaving Arab states vulnerable and seeking closer ties with Iran. The consequences include increased armament and tensions between regional powers, such as the Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia.

The Syrian Civil Wars lasting impact includes the consolidation of order with permanent Iranian military bases near Israel and Hezbollahs dominance in Lebanon, serving Irans interests against Israel. The article concludes by criticizing the inaction and moral stain of President Obamas Syria policy, which ignored the genocide and handed a victory to Iran and Russia.

The Jerusalem Post: A Crossroads

The Jerusalem Post has also shared its two cents on this issue.

The paper argued that Syrias participation in the upcoming Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia has attracted attention both regionally and globally. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is expected to attend the summit, marking Syrias reintegration into the Arab League after more than a decade of civil war. However, Western countries like the US and Germany have expressed concerns about Syrias return.

The Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia and several Gulf countries, along with Egypt, have been at the forefront of efforts to normalize relations with Syria, aiming to restore stability to the region. The Arab League states have been grappling with the aftermath of the Arab Spring uprisings, where Syria and Bahrain experienced protests. While some countries supported Syrian rebels, extremist groups like ISIS and local al-Qaeda factions gained prominence, causing alarm among regional players, JPOST added..

Iran and Russia intervened in the conflict, and the US also deployed forces to fight against ISIS alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkeys incursion into Syria resulted in the occupation of territories and the displacement of Kurds. In an attempt to settle the Syrian conflict, Russia hosted talks involving Syria, Iran, and Turkey.

Apart from Syrias reintegration, the Arab League summit also aims to address other crucial issues, including the ongoing civil war in Sudan. Arab delegates seek to reduce the conflicts impact and explore opportunities for stability. Some view these developments as part of a shifting diplomatic landscape, with Iran and Saudi Arabia also reconciling. The reduction of US influence and the emergence of a multi-polar world order, where China plays a significant role, are seen as factors shaping the region.

Countries in the Gulf are exploring closer ties with China and Russia, potentially diminishing Western influence. The Arab League Secretary-General has praised Syrias restoration of its seat while emphasizing the need to address the crisis in Sudan. The conflict in Sudan is deemed critical due to clashes between well-equipped armies in urban areas, resulting in casualties, damage, and population displacement.

Overall, the Arab League summit represents an opportunity for regional players to engage in discussions on Syria, Sudan, and the changing dynamics of the Middle East in a multi-polar world order.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Mekdad said the primary objective of talks was ending any form of illegal military presence on Syrian territory, according to Athr Press.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu emphasized the necessity of a strong and coordinated military and diplomatic approach to the Syrian-Turkish rapprochement process. The foreign ministers of Syria, Russia, Turkey, and Iran gathered with the shared objective of eliminating terrorist threats, facilitating the safe return of Syrian refugees, and revitalizing the political process in Syria. These interconnected issues require comprehensive plans, as stated by Russia Today.

In response to Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanovs confirmation of ongoing efforts to develop a road map for Syrian-Turkish rapprochement, Davutoglu highlighted that the foreign ministers meeting would take place after the Turkish presidential elections.

During the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized the importance of the road map, stating that it should clearly define the positions of Syria and Turkey on key matters. These include the restoration of the Syrian governments control over the entire territory, ensuring border security along the 950-kilometre common border with Turkey, preventing cross-border attacks and terrorist infiltration, and facilitating the safe return of Syrian refugees. Russia, Syria, Turkey, and Iran consider the priority of enabling Syrians to return safely to their homeland.

Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad expressed the primary objective of ending any form of illegal military presence on Syrian territory, including Turkish forces. Mekdad emphasized that without progress on this issue, no substantial results can be achieved. The Syrian government will continue to work, demand, and insist on the withdrawal of foreign forces.

The official activation of the Syrian-Turkish rapprochement occurred on December 28 with a meeting between the defence ministers of Syria, Russia, and Turkey in Moscow. Subsequently, the deputy foreign ministers of Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Russia held a meeting, followed by another meeting of the defence ministers of the four countries on April 24. Positive outcomes were achieved at the military level, including discussions on the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Syrian territory. Additionally, the implementation of a special agreement was addressed. Days later, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar confirmed the establishment of a military coordination center in Syria involving Turkey, Russia, Syria, and Iran.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Saudi Arabia is attempting to persuade Washington to consider its approach by offering incentives to Assad in exchange for US support, according to al-Tareeq.

According to Reuters, Saudi Arabia has allegedly offered Bashar al-Assad, the head of the Syrian regime, $4 billion to halt the production and trade of Captagon. This tactic of blackmail is not new and may be a key factor in Assads continued hold on power.

However, the dynamics of control over the drug trade as a blackmail tool might be shifting. Unlike previous instances where resistance or extremism were used for political and security gains with limited material returns, the use of drugs as a means of extortion has become a lucrative source of revenue for Assads regime, its affiliated militias, and even members of the ruling family.

Qatar: Normalization with Syrian Regime is Sovereign Affair of Individual Countries

This raises the question of whether Assad can control this tool when he desires. As Saudi Arabia attempts to entice Assad to participate in the Arab summit and regain his image as a national leader rather than a drug cartel figurehead, it remains uncertain whether Assad, even if willing, can rein in the military and security apparatus that are deeply entwined in the drug trade. This includes his own brother, who commands a significant regular military force involved in these activities.

The report suggests that the key to understanding Assads ability to curb the drug trade lies in a recent meeting in Amman. During the meeting, Assads foreign minister reportedly tied the reduction of Captagon trade to Arab pressure on the United States to ease sanctions. Assad deliberately made this demand, knowing it would be challenging to fulfill due to the Western, particularly American, stance on tightening sanctions. This move coincides with Assads forthcoming anti-Captagon law, which further highlights his awareness of the situation.

Saudi Arabia is attempting to persuade Washington to consider its approach by offering incentives to Assad in exchange for US support. However, Assad has preemptively demanded a price, making it difficult for Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations seeking normalization with him.

These events will likely determine future developments. If Assad fails to control the drug trade, it could hinder or even reverse the course of Arab normalization. Assad would remain confined to the role of a drug cartel leader, while his surroundings contemplate ways to mitigate his negative influence. Regional actors must now seriously consider alternative policies to resist blackmail, as previous understandings with Assad on matters of resistance or extremism are no longer possible due to his loss of control. This situation poses a medium and long-term threat to Assads regime, prompting his regional counterparts to either dismantle it or accept their status as major markets for his drugs, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Toutle Lake High School sophomore Sophia Thomas has been selected to receive one of 250 annual scholarships offered to students nationwide by the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange.

The scholarship is funded by the United States and the German governments to promote student exchange between the two countries, according to a press release.

Thomas will be a junior ambassador and exchange student to Germany, living with a German host family and attending a local German high school during her exchange year.

The scholarship will cover the full cost of a year in Germany for the 2023-24 school year.

Thomas exchange year will be managed by the ASSE International Student Exchange Program and will be represented by local and regional ASSE representatives.

For more information on the ASSE student exchange program, cooperating countries and scholarship opportunities, visit www.host.asse.com.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Now that theres an Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire in place this week, brokered with the help of Egypt, its critical that the two sides not stop with this short-term agreement.

For this cease-fire  in fact, any cease-fire  to become permanent, we need a political process to begin immediately. The alternative is to keep seeing Israelis and Palestinians traumatized and killed as militants and politicians practice one-upmanship against each other.

It would be easy to place blame on this or that side. Its possible to list the number of Palestinian rockets that were launched at Israel and the number of targets that Israel attacked. But what good would that do?

The Palestinian-Israeli cycle of violence has become so normalized that it no longer elicits serious interest from the world community. Whether one side uses precision rockets that kill children and women or the other uses indiscriminate rockets that cause injury, death and destruction, the resulting carnage is the same.

Those on each side scream that there is no partner on the other side, when what they mean is that there is no partner that fits their own perception of a good counterpart. But peace is made with enemies.

Resorting to violence, whether it is extrajudicial assassination or indiscriminate shelling, is not the answer. Both are war crimes and perpetrators must be held accountable. But the conflict is not symmetrical, and so solutions might require more from one side than the other. Anyone who really wants to end this conflict must invest time and effort into forcing everyone back to the negotiating table.

In all cases, some fundamental principles need to be established. Self-determination is a right for all people, and the application of this right cannot be limited to one side of the conflict. It is impossible to talk about Israels political rights without equally respecting Palestinian political rights.

A solution to the conflict requires an end to occupation, allowing Palestinians to live in freedom whether this is in their own sovereign and contiguous state or in a single state where all citizens have equal rights. The current discriminatory situation with one side occupying the lands of the other side must stop.

All sides have to commit to refraining from actions that can affect the outcome of negotiations. This includes stopping Israeli settlement expansion, and both sides must ensure that civilians are protected from violence  from the Israeli army and settlers as well as from Palestinian paramilitary organizations.

There has to be a commitment to discussing in good faith the future of Jerusalem, settlements, refugees and borders. And there needs to be a Palestinian commitment to security coordination, conditional on Israel respecting Palestinian sovereignty in major cities. Something as basic a right as a free passage between Gaza and the West Bank must be respected.

No one is naive enough to think that these commitments will happen overnight. Any political process  even to begin a process  will need the support of the people of the region and the international community. Staying away from a conflict in which one side is powerful and the other side weak (but not willing to surrender) will not produce any kind of solution.

We cannot afford to accept the idea that were doomed to a never-ending conflict. This would be a cop-out. But we need to go beyond politically correct statements and positions if were to find a way out.

Despite all the problems and the decades of war, there is still a genuine yearning for peace. While in the middle of a cycle of violence, all sides are polarized, and everyone returns to their known positions and embraces the policies of their tribe, right or wrong. This cannot go on.

Palestinians and Israelis have been unable to find a comprehensive solution. Right now, everyone is taking sides while living in the middle of the bloodshed. What is needed is help from outside to get us out of the mess we are in.

For the sake of our children, the international community has to resume a role in helping to break this cycle of violence. Yes, it will take sustained effort. But Israelis and Palestinians cannot do it alone.
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 Westjet Boeing 737-800 taxies at Pearson Airport in Toronto, Ontario, in May 2022.

Canadian airline WestJet on Friday announced it had reached a tentative deal with its pilots union, a day after it canceled nearly 100 flights in anticipation of a strike.

With the country beginning a long holiday weekend, Canada's second-largest airline said in a statement it was "ramping up its operations as quickly and efficiently as possible," but that "full resumption of operations will take time."

The Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l (ALPA) had notified WestJet on Monday that 1,800 pilots would stop work starting early Friday morning if a deal was not reached with company executives by Thursday evening.

The union said it was working to negotiate a "fair and equitable" agreement with WestJet to bring the pilots' contracts in line with salary increases recently seen at some American companies.

Though details have not yet been released, WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said the tentative agreement was "industry-leading within Canada" and provided "meaningful improvements to job security and scope, working conditions and wages."

"We appreciate we were able to arrive at a deal, however, recognize the impact on our guests and we sincerely appreciate their patience during this time," he added.

Captain Bernie Lewall, chair of the ALPA's WestJet branch, said in an early morning podcast that the four-year deal had been reached at 12:30 am (0430GMT) and represented "significant" improvements in pay.

"For the past several years, we have unfortunately been nothing more than a training ground for pilots looking to leave for better opportunities," Lewall said in a statement.

"This contract will change that and make WestJet a career destination once again."

The agreement will next be put to a union vote for ratification.

With more than 16,700 flights scheduled for the month of June, WestJet represents nearly a third of Canada's domestic air travel market, while AirCanada controls about half.

 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:

This photo, in New York, Thursday, May 18, 2023, shows the ChatGPT app on an iPhone. The free app started to become available on iPhones in the U.S. on Thursday and will later be coming to Android phones. Unlike the web version, you can also ask it questions using your voice. Credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew

ChatGPT is now a smartphone app, which could be good news for people who like to use the artificial intelligence chatbot and bad news for all the clone apps that have tried to profit off the technology.

The free app became available on iPhones and iPads in the U.S. on Thursday and will later be coming to Android devices. Unlike the desktop web version, the mobile version on Apple's iOS operating system also enables users to speak to it using their voice.

The company that makes it, OpenAI, said it will remain ad-free but "syncs your history across devices."

"We're starting our rollout in the U.S. and will expand to additional countries in the coming weeks," said a blog post announcing the new app, which is described in the App Store as the "official app" by OpenAI.

It's been more than five months since OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public, sparking excitement and alarm at its ability to generate convincingly human-like essays, poems, form letters and conversational answers to almost any question. But the San Francisco startup never seemed to be in a hurry to get it onto phoneswhere most people access the internet.

"We're not trying to get people to use it more and more," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told U.S. senators this week in a hearing over how to regulate AI systems such as those built by his company.

The delay in getting the product on phones helped fuel a rise of clones built on similar technology, some of which the security firm Sophos described as "fleeceware" in a report this week because they push unsuspecting users toward enrolling in a free trial that converts into a recurring subscription, or use intrusive advertising techniques.

The OpenAI logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen displaying output from ChatGPT, March 21, 2023, in Boston. The head of the artificial intelligence company that makes ChatGPT is set to testify to Congress as lawmakers call for new rules to guide the rapid development of AI technology. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is scheduled to speak at a Senate hearing Tuesday, May 16. Credit: AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File

Another privacy researcher, Simon Migliano, said the official ChatGPT app might eventually starve similar-sounding apps of new users, but that could take a while because many of those apps were given names deliberately intended to confuse people into thinking they already have the official app. They were also "hyper-optimized" to rank highly in Apple's App Store search results, said Migliano, head of research at Top10VPN.com.

"For many of those who have already downloaded a clone, it's likely they will simply stick with the ChatGPT apps they already have and continue to have their personal data harvested and sold," Migliano said.

Altman told Congress this week that his company doesn't try to maximize engagement because it doesn't have an advertising-based business, and because it's costly to train and run its AI models on computer chips known as graphics processing units.

"In fact, we're so short on GPUs, the less people use our products, the better," Altman said.

The new app does include an option to pay for a premium version of ChatGPT with additional features. Along with those subscriptions, the company makes money from developers and corporations that pay to integrate its AI models into their own apps and products.

Its chief partner, Microsoft, has invested billions of dollars into the startup and has integrated ChatGPT-like technology into its own products, including a chatbot for its search engine Bing.

The ChatGPT app will now compete for attention with the Bing chatbot already available on iPhones, and could eventually compete with a mobile version of rival Google's chatbot, called Bard. Versions of OpenAI's chatbot technology can also be found in other apps, such as the "My AI" feature on Snapchat.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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 law known as Section 230 gives internet platforms blanket immunity from legal fallout from third party content.

The US Supreme Court handed a victory to Twitter and Google on Thursday, saying the social media giants could not be held liable by victims of terrorist attacks for posts that endorsed the Islamic State group.

Crucially, the cases that targeted Google-owned YouTube and Twitter were seen as potential challenges to decades-old legal protections for tech companies.

The justices declined to wade into the debate, indicating that the cases fall outside the scope of the law because the platforms did not in any case "aid and abet" IS terror attacks by hosting postings supportive of the extremist group.

A law known as Section 230 gives internet platforms blanket immunity from any legal fallout of content that comes from a third party, even if it is pushed out as a recommendation by the website.

Section 230, which became law in 1996, is credited with allowing the no-holds-barred expansion of the internet but has increasingly been seen as helping cause the harmful effects of social media on society.

Without it, websites would potentially be open to lawsuits for content posted by users, making the free-wheeling discussions seen on social media subject to much stricter moderation.

A bitterly divided US Congress has failed to update the rules, and many US states are passing their own laws to make platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok more responsible for content.

"Enough is enough... Congress must step in, reform Section 230, and remove platforms' blanket immunity from liability," said influential Democratic Senator Dick Durbin after the ruling.

'Decline to address'

The justices of the Supreme Court largely evaded the question. They said that the allegations against YouTube and Twitter did not amount to a liable infraction and therefore the debate over section 230 was not pertinent.

"We therefore decline to address the application of Section 230 (in a case) that appears to state little, if any, plausible claim for relief," they said.

The US Supreme Court is seen in Washington, DC, in April 2023.

The justices however gave no indication on how they could potentially address the immunity issue in the future, nor were their stances on the matter made clear at hearings in February.

Google welcomed the result.

"Countless companies, scholars, content creators and civil society organizations who joined with us in this case will be reassured by this result," said Halimah DeLaine Prado, Google's general counsel.

An association representing US tech companies said the decision was good news.

"The Court correctly recognized the narrow posture of these cases and declined to rewrite a key tenet of US Internet law, preserving free expression online and a thriving digital economy," said Matt Schruers, head of the Computer & Communications Industry Association.

'Fight another day'

The first of the two cases involved a US victim of the 2015 Paris attacks, claimed by the IS group.

The other case was brought by the family of a victim of a 2017 attack by the group on an Istanbul nightclub.

The family alleged that Twitter's failure to take down and stop recommending IS tweets constituted aiding an act of terror.

The Supreme Court declines to hear the vast majority of the cases that come its way, and experts had predicted that by opting to decide on this one justices could be willing to modify the increasingly contested landmark law.

But in the hearings, the justices largely expressed doubts that the case would be fit to begin a debate about reworking Section 230.

 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:

During a study conducted for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, PNNL researchers made sure that the drone flew slowly while maintaining an altitude of approximately one foot over the ground for accurate radiological measurements. Credit: Graham Bourque, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Unoccupied aerial vehicles, better known as drones, have rapidly advanced from a quirky, high-flying novelty to a versatile workhorse.

They are tools for search and rescue, traffic monitoring, weather monitoring, and perhaps even package hauling.

One day, they may work with humans to augment the task of conducting surveys to detect low levels of radiationinformation that could contribute to the decommissioning of sites no longer needed for nuclear-related energy production or research.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) researchers found that drones have potential to conduct decommissioning radiological surveys, but further research is needed before the devices are approved for decommissioning purposes. The PNNL researchers detailed their findings for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in the recently released proof-of-concept report, "Drones for Decommissioning."

"Drones would be particularly useful in areas that are unsafe for humans to access due to things like terrain that's difficult to walk on," said Amoret Bunn, an environmental engineer at PNNL and a study author. "Drones could also survey vertical surfaces that humans can't get to like the outside of a tall building."

Researcher Harish Reddy Gadey walks a test path as a human surveyor, using a rolling cart to collect radiological data for comparison to the data collected by the same survey devices attached to a flying drone. Credit: Graham Bourque, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Low and slow

Decommissioning surveys are conducted at former nuclear power plants and at former buildings or sites where radiological materials were present to demonstrate that a site is in compliance with regulations and can be released for alternative uses.

In the study to assess drones for radiological detection, researchers conducted an experiment at an open field on the PNNL campus in Richland, Washington. The experiment compared the ability of a flying drone carrying radiological survey equipment with the same survey equipment secured to a rolling cart. The cart was chosen because it could best mimic human-collected data to compare with the flying drone.

The drone was a six-propeller Aurelia X6, made by UAV Systems International, capable of carrying a payload of up to 11 pounds. A Federal Aviation Administration licensed pilot operated the drone.

A space below the battery platform and above the landing gear accommodated a payload and provided protection for delicate instruments. That payload included a data logger, a radiation detector, and a geography sensing system. It was secured to the drone with customized 3-D-printed casings.

The flying drone and its rolling imitator traveled the same prescribed path, looking for the same radiological elements that researchers had placed on the field: small samples of cobalt-60 (Co-60), cesium-137 (Cs-137), and americium-241 (Am-241).

Small samples of radiological sources commonly surveyed during decommissioningcobalt-60 (Co-60), cesium-137 (Cs-137), and americium-241 (Am-241)were duct-taped to 2  4 boards to create a test track for the drone- and handcart-mounted radiological detectors. The path included an area for measuring background radiation. Credit: Andrea Starr, Pacific Northwest National Laborator

Both the drone and the human-propelled device performed about 13 feet above the surface. Altitude proved to be a significant factor in the flying drone's ability to collect the radiological data.

External factors such as wind and weather changes also need to be considered, said PNNL physicist Harish Reddy Gadey.

"At most decommissioning sites, we are looking at very low levels of radiation," said Gadey, a study author who played a key role in crafting the experiment while he was still a postdoc. "We need to be as close to the ground as possible, going as slow as possible to detect some of these very low levels of radiation. For a drone, flying low and slow is not typical."

Good potential

Drones already have an important role in radiation monitoring and in the nuclear industry worldwide. Those equipped with radiological detection systems evaluate radiation for incident response and cleanup. Drones are used to develop contamination maps at legacy uranium sites, to monitor and detect radiation leaks, make visual inspections at nuclear facilities, and conduct unsupervised radiological measurements. After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan, drones assessed the damaged reactor's condition.

"The NRC's mission is to protect public health and the environment," said Stephanie Bush-Goddard, the drone project lead for the NRC's Future Focused Research Program. "This work by PNNL advances this mission and makes the use of drone technology possible for these applications."

The study concludes with suggestions for overall improvements in drone performance as well as upgrades to the flying drone that would make it better suited for a decommissioning radiological survey. Among other things, the study says, "once additional research and instrumentation improvements are complete, NRC could provide guidance on the compliance with UAV [drone] usage at decommissioning sites with consideration of aviation safety."

Eventually, Gadey said, survey-suitable drones could likely be programmed to perform remotely at a site, without constant piloting.
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 pump jack and wind turbines stand inside of a cotton field on Oct. 18, 2015, near Lamesa, Texas. The U.S. government is greenlighting a proposed multibillion-dollar transmission line Thursday, May 18, 2023, that would send primarily wind-generated electricity from the rural plains of New Mexico to big cities in the West Credit: Edyta Blaszczyk/Odessa American via AP, File

The U.S. government is greenlighting a proposed multibillion-dollar transmission line that would send primarily wind-generated electricity from the rural plains of New Mexico to big cities in the West.

The Interior Department announced its record of decision for the SunZia project Thursday. It comes about a year after an environmental review was completed as part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to clear the way for major transmission projects as it looks to meet climate goals and shore up the nation's power grid.

The SunZia transmission project in New Mexico has been more than a decade in the making. The U.S. Defense Department and others initially raised concerns about the path of the high-voltage lines, prompting the developer to submit a new application in 2021 to modify the route.

New Mexico's renewable energy authority is among those invested in the SunZia project, which would include roughly 520 miles (836 kilometers) of transmission lines and a network of substations for getting wind and solar power to Arizona and California.

The anchor tenant is California-based Pattern Energy, which has been busy building massive wind farms in central New Mexico.

Federal land managers said they completed the latest review in less than two years.

"The Department of the Interior is committed to expanding clean energy development to address climate change, enhance America's energy security and provide for good-paying union jobs," Laura Daniel-Davis, principal deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management, said in a statement.

The Bureau of Land Management has approved nearly three dozen renewable energy and grid improvement projects since 2021. Included are solar and geothermal projects that officials said would be capable of producing enough electricity to power more than 2.6 million homes.

More than 150 applications for solar and wind development are still in the agency's queue, official said.

Land managers also are reviewing two other major transmission projects that would funnel electricity generated from renewable sources in remote spots to large western markets. One would run through seven counties from Las Vegas to Reno, Nevada, and the other would stretch between central Utah and east-central Nevada.

Pattern Energy announced Monday that it signed long-term purchase agreements with Shell Energy North America and the University of California for a portion of the electricity that will be flowing through SunZia.

Construction is expected to start later this year. It will be about three years until the line begins delivering power, the company said.

Pattern CEO Hunter Armistead has said SunZia will be able to tap "some of the best wind in the world." He explained that the wind farms in New Mexico have a wind generation profile with an evening peak that will complement daytime solar generation elsewhere.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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:

Elon Musk leave the Phillip Burton Federal Building and United States Court House in San Francisco, Jan. 24, 2023. In a letter issued Thursday, May 18, 2023, a lawyer for Twitter owner Musk accused Microsoft of misusing the service's data and demanded an audit from the software giant. The move could foreshadow legal action over earlier Musk allegations that Microsoft and its partner OpenAI "illegally" used Twitter data to develop AI systems. Credit: AP Photo/ Benjamin Fanjoy, File

A lawyer for Twitter owner Elon Musk accused Microsoft of misusing the service's data and demanded an audit from the software giant.

The letter primarily addresses a seemingly narrow set of alleged infractions by Microsoft in drawing information from Twitter's database of tweets. But the move could foreshadow more serious developments. Musk has previously accused Microsoft and its partner OpenAI in a tweet of "illegally" using Twitter data to develop sophisticated AI systems such as ChatGPT.

" Lawsuit time," Musk wrote in that April tweet.

But the letter, signed by Musk lawyer Alex Spiro, tiptoed around that concern. It noted that Microsoft's agreement with Twitter barred it from overuse of the service's data such as exceeding "reasonable request volume" or "excessive or abusive usage." Spiro then noted that "despite these limitations," Microsoft had retrieved more than 26 billion tweets in 2022 alone.

He provided no context for those numbers. The process of training AI systems requires enormous amounts of data such as written text, which AI algorithms scour for patterns that the AI can use to make sense of language and large bodies of knowledge.

In other respects, the letter primarily laid out a series of vaguely worded allegations. For instance, it noted that while Microsoft was required to inform Twitter about its intended use of the data, it failed to do so for six of the eight Microsoft apps that drew on information from the Twitter database.

Similarly, the letter asserted that at least one Microsoft app had supplied Twitter data to a number of virtual locations that "reference a government entity or agency." That apparently violated Microsoft's agreement with Twitter, the letter stated, which prohibited the company from retrieving Twitter data "on behalf of 'any government-related entity'" without first notifying Twitter.

The letter stated that Microsoft had failed to provide such notification.

Microsoft spokesman Frank Shaw provided a statement noting that Microsoft will review questions raised by the letter and then will "respond appropriately." The statement added that "we look forward to continuing our long term partnership" with Twitter, which it did not refer to by name. Shaw declined to address specifics from the letter.

Spiro's letter demanded that Microsoft describe in detail the Twitter data it possesses or has previously destroyed, the purpose for each of its apps that drew on Twitter information, and any government entities that used these Microsoft apps and whether they received data from Twitter's database.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Four Eurovision songs have made the top ten of the official UK charts this week.

Fresh from last Saturdays contest in Liverpool, tracks from Swedish winner Loreen, Finlands runner up Kaarija, the UKs Mae Muller and Norways Alessandra have all cracked the top tier of the Official Singles Chart.

The Official Charts Company says its the most Eurovision entries in the Official Chart Top 10 simultaneously ever.

Swedens Loreen performing at Eurovision. Credit: BBC/Guy Levy

Swedens Loreen, who made history by becoming the first woman to win the contest twice, ranks at Number 2 with her track Tattoo. It outperforms her 2012 winning song Euphoria, which peaked at Number 3.

Kaarijas Cha Cha Cha is at Number 6 while the UKs very own Mae Muller is up to Number 9 with I Wrote A Song. Alessandras Queen of Kings rounds off the tracks at Number 10.

Finlands Kaarija performs Cha Cha Cha at Eurovision. Credit: BBC/Guy Levy

Speaking exclusively to Official Charts, Loreen said: Im absolutely overwhelmed by all the love and support that Im receiving right now, especially from my UK friends thatve been with me since day one. The UKs become my second home, and to receive a new peak there with Tattoo means the world to me. Thank you for being a part of the journey. Together, weve created history.

Kaarija added: This feels amazing. Im just a normal guy from Finland! I made a song and people love it, Im very grateful for that. Making it to the UK Top 10 is just crazy. I know its not easy to get there, especially with a Finnish song. To all my UK fans, I want to say thank you for all your love and support. I hope I can come back someday and do my own show there!

Meanwhile Mae said: Thank you so much for all the support, I cannot thank you guys enough. It could not have happened without you, without the UK getting behind me. Its been a weird couple of days, but this has just been such an amazing end to my Eurovision journey. Im so, so grateful.

My first Top 10! This is a big deal, I cant lie. Its just the beginning. I love you so much!

The last time more than one Eurovision track made the top 10 was back in 1982 when Germanys Nicole went to Number 1 with A Little Peace followed by UK entry Bardos One Step Further at Number 2.
South Africa: Presidential Imbizo an opportunity for citizens to have their say

Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Thembi Nkadimeng, says it is critical for all spheres of government  national, provincial and local  to work together for the betterment of all South Africans.

Nkadimeng was speaking at the 6th Presidential District Development Model Imbizo - led by President Cyril Ramaphosa - in the Drakenstein Municipality in the Western Cape.

The District Development Model (DDM) is aimed at getting all of government working together in order to accelerate service delivery and the Imbizo is part of governments efforts to hear the challenges of the citizens straight from them.

We are guided by an all-of-government, for an all-of-society approach in ensuring that we  promote active community participation in all our governance.

In growing South Africa together, it becomes paramount  as our Intergovernmental Framework mandates  that we plan together, we structure together, we need to put resources together and we need to take care of our communities together, she said.

She explained that the DDM is a guiding tool on how the spheres of government can work together.

"It is within that spirit that when a Premier raises an issue of a school, the Minister of Education listens and hears that there is a need. We are mandated to provide these services ... in a sustainable manner and we cant be sustainable if we dont plan together, she said.

Nkadimeng emphasised that government has embarked on a programme to bring the leaders of government departments, provinces and municipalities to the people in order to listen and act on their challenges.

It is a chanceonce in a lifetime. The DDM brings the President to come to his people and say: Im listening to you. It can only happen when you have a President who has an interest in the people that he leads.

The Minister called on all of government to recommit itself to serving the citizens of South Africa.

We should all commit ourselves today that, through the District Development Model, we will put our people first, well deliver the most basic municipal services and  well strive for good governance and a proper administration. We will ensure that we have sound financial management and, of course, we will instill institutional capability to ensure that our people are the direct beneficiaries.

[The Imbizo] is about building and growing South Africa together, she said.

The Presidential Imbizo is currently underway with community members expressing their challenges and Ministers and President Ramaphosa set to respond.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-05-19. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Northwest China's Xi'an opens air routes to all Central Asian countries

11:10, May 19, 2023 By Wang Lewen, Zhang Danhua ( People's Daily

Photo taken on April 18, 2023 shows a night view of the Datang Everbright City, a tourist landmark of Xi'an featuring a grand street with characteristics of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). (People's Daily Online/Sun Lijun)

Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi province, opened an air route to Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan, on May 18.

It marked the 16th international passenger flight route currently in service in Xi'an. Today, a total of 11 flights fly each week between Xi'an and Central Asian destinations.

At present, Xi'an becomes the only Chinese city that has opened air routes to all the five Central Asian countries.

According to Zhang Xuan, general manager of the marketing department of the Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, the airport will resume and open 30 air routes in each of the next three years to destinations including Central Asia, West Asia, and even Central and Eastern Europe, to facilitate the tourism, business and trade exchanges.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). From camel caravans in ancient times to express trains and international flights, the transport evolution has significantly shortened the distance between Xi'an and Central Asia.

As the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, Xi'an has intensively integrated itself into Belt and Road construction over the past decade. It has witnessed how the BRI has transitioned from high-level plans to intensive and meticulous implementation under the joint efforts of participating countries and regions.

A China-Europe freight train is ready to leave Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi province, April 16, 2023. (People's Daily Online/Liu Xiang)

The China-Central Asia Summit, the first major diplomatic activity that China hosts this year, kicked off in Xi'an as scheduled. It is the first summit held offline by the heads of state of the six countries since the establishment of diplomatic ties 31 years ago, and a historic milestone in the development of relations between China and Central Asian countries.

Nodir Nurmatov, governor of the Jizzakh region, Uzbekistan, arrived in Xi'an days before the summit. He said representatives from some 30 government departments and enterprises in the Jizzakh region would visit China during the summit, hoping that the summit would promote the growth of foreign trade between China and Uzbekistan and further strengthen their economic and trade ties.

The summit is currently being organized in the decorated conference center in an orderly and friendly atmosphere. The staff is doing their best to meet foreign guests' demands in transport, currency exchange and other areas. Considerate and hospitable catering services are provided, providing the guests with exquisite Chinese cuisine.

"We have done our best to prepare for the summit, striving to host a high-standard, timely-responded and outstanding event," said Yao Hongjuan, director in charge of foreign affairs of Shaanxi province.

Yao said the summit will demonstrate a brand-new image of Xi'an to the world, expand the cooperation between Shaanxi province and Central Asian countries and improve the province's capability in serving major diplomatic activities.

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
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.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Texas is on the brink of blocking transgender minors from getting puberty blockers and hormone therapies, treatments that leading medical groups say are important for supporting their mental health.

Gov. Greg Abbott told Fox News on Thursday that he will sign Senate Bill 14, which both legislative chambers passed this month over the fierce opposition of LGBTQ advocacy groups and parents of transgender youth.

Im not going to make any secret about it. Ill be signing it, he said. This is about protecting children.

The Senate voted 19-12 on Wednesday to accept the Houses version of the bill and send it to Abbotts desk. On Thursday, legal groups opposing the legislation  including the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, Lambda Legal and the Transgender Law Center  also said they will launch a legal challenge to try to block the legislation from taking effect.

SB 14 is a legislative priority for the Republican Party of Texas, which opposes any efforts to validate transgender identities. Its also a key proposal among a slate of GOP bills that would restrict the rights and representation of LGBTQ Texans this session, amid a growing acceptance of Christian nationalism on the right.

Authored by New Braunfels Republican Sen. Donna Campbell, SB 14 would prohibit trans Texans under the age of 18 from accessing transition-related medical treatments including puberty blockers, hormone therapies and surgeries.

The bill also would require trans youth who are already getting this care to be weaned off in a medically appropriate manner. This is slightly out of step with the abrupt cutoff mandated by the version the Senate approved last month, but the upper chamber has chosen not to ask for a conference committee to iron out the difference.

In pushing for SB 14, Campbell and other backers have disputed the research and science behind transition-related care. They also say the legislation is an effort to save Texas families from health care providers who are taking advantage of a social contagion and pushing life-altering treatments on children who may later regret taking them.

We are the Legislature  our job is to protect people, Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, said. We protect children against lots of things. We dont let them smoke. We dont let them drink. We dont let them buy lottery cards.  And so we are doing the right thing.

Medical groups, trans Texans and their families, however, say this care is vital to trans youths mental health. Treatments are not rushed, they say. Instead, its a time-intensive process to access this care, including multiple required medical evaluations.

They also have warned that the House versions proposed tapering off process is still likely to bring physical discomfort and psychological distress to a group that is already more likely to be at risk of depression and suicide than their peers.

That would push me past my breaking point, said Randell, a 16-year-old trans youth from North Texas who has been on hormone therapies the past few years. He agreed to speak with The Texas Tribune if only his full name isnt used to protect his safety.

Pending Abbotts signature on SB 14, Texas would become one of over a dozen states that restrict transition-related care for trans minors. The ACLU, Lambda Legal and other advocacy groups for LGBTQ rights have sued several of them.

Texas lawmakers are hellbent on joining the growing roster of states determined to jeopardize the health and lives of transgender youth, in direct opposition to the overwhelming body of scientific and medical evidence supporting this care as appropriate and necessary, the legal groups said in a joint statement Thursday. We will defend the rights of transgender youth in court, just as we have done in other states engaging in this anti-science and discriminatory fear-mongering.

And already, the prospect of losing access to these treatments has prompted many parents  including Randells  to consider traveling out of state for care or flee Texas altogether, costly options that are not available to all. Others also have spoken publicly about not wanting to abandon the community that they love or that their families have been in for generations.

Were not going to be able to know how many children will be saved, as its been called, from this lifestyle, but we will definitely be able to track what harm it may cause, said Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, on Wednesday. It is my hope that every child affected by this bill can have a chance to grow up and see that things will get better.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

WASHINGTON  Sen. John Cornyn has joined the anyone-but-Trump caucus, becoming the most prominent Texas Republican to shun the former presidents 2024 comeback bid.

We need to come up with an alternative, Cornyn said. I think President Trumps time has passed him by and whats the most important thing to me is we have a candidate who can actually win.

Cornyn made the comment in a call Thursday afternoon with Texas reporters, when asked by The Dallas Morning News whether Trumps performance on a prime-time CNN town hall last week gave him pause about the ex-presidents efforts to win the partys nomination.

Trump is currently the prohibitive frontrunner for the Republican nomination, supported by 56% of Republican voters nationally in an average of recent polls. Thats almost triple the support for the runner-up, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who could formally join the race next week. Trumps lead is commanding but smaller in New Hampshire, which hosts the first primary.

Eleven of 49 Republican senators have endorsed Trump. None have endorsed any of Trumps rivals.

Few besides Cornyn, a top lieutenant and potential successor to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have declared publicly that they dont want Trump on the ticket.

That short list includes Indiana Sen. Todd Young. He came out against Trump last week, just after a jury found the former president liable for a sexual assault decades ago, and after a prime-time CNN town hall at which he vowed to pardon people involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack at the U.S. Capitol, some of whom were convicted of sedition.

Sen. Ted Cruz has remained neutral on the 2024 field. His own 2016 presidential campaign manager, Jeff Roe, is now chief strategist for the DeSantis political action committee.

Cornyn emphasized the difference between winning primaries and a general election.

To me, this all boils down to electability. Ive been through quite a few elections in my life. And theres no prize for coming in second. In other words, losing, Cornyn said. Unless you can win an election, you dont get to govern your priorities.

Trump trailed President Joe Biden nationally by 7 million votes in 2020, out of 155 million. The party suffered major setbacks during the 2018 midterms with Trump in office. The 2022 midterms were also a bitter disappointment. With Trump casting a long shadow, Republicans failed to win the Senate and took the House by only a handful of votes.

I dont think President Trump understands that when you run in a general election, you have to appeal to voters beyond your base. Theres no question that President Trump has some enthusiastic supporters as part of his base. That works well for him in a Republican primary, but not well when you need to expand your appeal in a general election, Cornyn said.

Its a much firmer anti-Trump stance than Cornyn took last week after Trumps May 10 televised town hall. Then, he told CNN that hes concerned about Trumps electability but was happy to let the process play out during the primaries.

Hes got a unique ability to rally his base, but not to grow beyond his base, which is a problem, Cornyn said last week.

Trumps town hall was held one day after a New York City jury found him liable for sexually abusing former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll decades ago, then defaming her, and ordered him to pay $5 million in damages. On CNN, he called her a whack job and reiterated his assertion that she fabricated the accusations  the stance the jury had deemed defamatory.

Among the many revelations that CNNs Kaitlan Collins elicited: Trump continues to maintain that fraud and cheating cost him the election. He does not see victory by Ukraine over Russia as a goal, or describe Vladimir Putin as a war criminal.

Apart from Young and Cornyn, the short list of GOP senators who oppose Trump includes Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who voted to convict Trump at two impeachment trials, and Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Cassidy voted guilty at the second impeachment trial, on charges related to the Jan. 6 riot.

Young, the Indiana senator, cast his own opposition in terms similar to Cornyns: As President Trump says, I prefer winners. ... He consistently loses, he told HuffPost. I cant think of someone worse equipped to bring people together ... and advance our collective values.

Cornyn declined to pick a favorite among the other GOP contenders.

I know several of them and theyre friends, he said. If they can win, Ill be happy to support them.

DeSantis, he said, has been very successful in Florida, which shows some ability to win crossover votes.

Cornyn and his wife, Sandy, attended a get-to-know-you event DeSantis hosted for members of Congress last month in Washington, emerging neutral.

More than a dozen Texas Republicans in the U.S. House back Trump, whose campaign listed most of them in March as part of his Texas elected leadership team.

U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, endorsed Trump shortly after attending the DeSantis event. U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, was an early DeSantis backer.

DeSantis has shown he can appeal beyond the base, Cornyn said Thursday, listing two other contenders with that knack: South Carolinas former governor and one of its current senators. Nikki Haley has shown that she can. Tim Scott has shown he can.

Thats an important lesson to learn from 2020, that youve got to do more than just turn out your enthusiastic base of support. I just want to win and we need a candidate who can win.

Asked about Will Hurd, the former Texas congressman, who also has been testing the waters, Cornyn said hes the right kind of person. Smart guy, good character. He would be in it for all the right reasons.

Hurd, a former CIA officer, has cast himself as a thoughtful moderate who can work with anyone and lower the temperature in a bitterly partisan capital.

He could do that someday, Cornyn said of Hurds White House aspirations. Im not sure that hes got the name ID and the visibility he would need in order to mount a race.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The Texas House signaled its approval Thursday of a revamped version of its $16.3 billion proposal to cut property taxes  but its unclear whether the Senate is going to like it, and time is running out for lawmakers to act on one of their biggest priorities this year.

The House gave a preliminary thumbs-up to Senate Bill 3 by a 140-5 vote. The bill would send $12 billion to school districts to drive down tax rates, significantly boost the states homestead exemption on public school taxes and  to the chagrin of critics and tax policy experts  tighten the states appraisal cap.

The bill provides immediate and permanent property tax relief and improves the predictability of the property tax system, said state Rep. Morgan Meyer, a Dallas Republican and the Houses point person on tax cuts.

The House must vote on the proposal before sending it back to the Senate, where lawmakers from both chambers will try to hammer out their differences.

How to deliver property tax relief to Texas homeowners and business owners has proven to be one of the most divisive fights of this years legislative session. The states top Republicans have been deadlocked on the issue for weeks.

At the heart of the dispute is Texas House Speaker Dade Phelans proposal to lower the states cap on annual increases to a homes taxable value from 10% to 5% and to extend the benefit to businesses, which dont have such a cap. Phelan has backed the idea in response to complaints from homeowners and business owners about their rising appraisals, which they fear will result in higher tax bills.

But tightening the appraisal cap could have all kinds of nasty side effects. Tax policy experts and critics of the proposal have warned it would create vast inequities between homeowners and drive up housing costs while disproportionately benefiting wealthier households.

For all that, local governments and school districts could easily keep their tax rates higher than they otherwise would have to make up for revenue lost because of the tighter cap  a possibility acknowledged by a House document assessing the financial impact of the idea.

If House lawmakers had those concerns, they didnt express them during minimal floor debate on the measure. State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, a San Antonio Democrat who heads the House Democratic Caucus, lauded the proposed boost in the homestead exemption.

Regardless of where your ZIP code is, this will have a tremendous homestead exemption for modest communities that I think will give folks more bang for their buck, Martinez Fischer said.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and property tax warriors in the Senate have declared the Houses appraisal cap proposal dead on arrival in that chamber  refusing to even bring it up the for a committee vote.

Meanwhile, the signature feature of the Senates $16.5 billion package to cut property taxes is a proposed boost to the states homestead exemption for school districts  the amount of a homes value that cant be taxed to pay for public schools  from $40,000 to $70,000, plus an additional $20,000 bump for seniors. That benefit will provide some aid to property owners no matter what happens with property values, Patrick and proponents of the Senate proposal have said.

The Senates tax-cut package would send an additional $5.38 billion to school districts and also provide tax credits for businesses.

But the House appears to be taunting the Senate with its counterproposal. The Houses version of the Senate bill ups the ante by boosting the homestead exemption to $100,000 for most homeowners and $110,000 for seniors. And they also tacked on the appraisal cap proposal as well as more than $12 billion for school districts  $6.6 billion more than the Senates proposal  so they can lower their tax rates.

Representatives for Patrick and state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican and chief tax-cut writer in the Senate, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Under both the House and Senate proposals, Texas voters would ultimately decide at the ballot box whether to cut their own taxes.
Stock analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Protalix BioTherapeutics (NYSE:PLX  Get Rating) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The firm set a hold rating on the stock.

Protalix BioTherapeutics Stock Performance

About Protalix BioTherapeutics

(Get Rating)

Protalix Biotherapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company, which engages in the development, production, and commercialization of recombinant therapeutic proteins based on plant cell based expression system. Its products include Alidornase alfa, PRX-115 and PRX-11. The company was by Yoseph Shaaltiel in 1993 and is headquartered in Carmiel, Israel.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for Protalix BioTherapeutics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Protalix BioTherapeutics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
The North American Income Trust plc (LON:NAIT  Get Rating)s share price crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of GBX 280.12 ($3.51) and traded as low as GBX 271.30 ($3.40). The North American Income Trust shares last traded at GBX 273 ($3.42), with a volume of 81,039 shares changing hands.

The North American Income Trust Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of 378.16 million, a P/E ratio of 937.81 and a beta of 0.70. The companys 50-day moving average price is GBX 279.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 298.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.57, a current ratio of 10.20 and a quick ratio of 7.40.

Get The North American Income Trust alerts:

The North American Income Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 4th will be given a dividend of GBX 3.50 ($0.04) per share. This is a boost from The North American Income Trusts previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 4th. This represents a yield of 1.26%. The North American Income Trusts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3,793.10%.

About The North American Income Trust

The North American Income Trust plc is an exchange traded fund launched and managed by Aberdeen Fund Managers Limited. The fund invests in the public equity markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in the stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. The fund invests in the stocks of large-cap companies, within the market capitalization range of S&P 500 Index.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for The North American Income Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for The North American Income Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Camden National Bank lifted its position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:USMV  Get Rating) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 62,354 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 1,401 shares during the quarter. Camden National Banks holdings in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF were worth $4,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cowa LLC acquired a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp acquired a new position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000.

Get iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF alerts:

iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Stock Up 0.2 %

USMV stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.03. The company had a trading volume of 2,191,502 shares. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $72.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.52. iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF has a 12 month low of $47.44 and a 12 month high of $55.45. The stock has a market cap of $28.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17 and a beta of 0.75.

iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Profile

The iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (USMV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Minimum Volatility (USD) index. The fund tracks an index of US-listed firms selected and weighted to create a low-volatility portfolio subject to various constraints. USMV was launched on Oct 18, 2011 and is managed by BlackRock.

Recommended Stories

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding USMV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:USMV  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
BTCS (OTCMKTS:BTCS  Get Rating) and Sprott (NYSE:SII  Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for BTCS and Sprott, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Get BTCS alerts:

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score BTCS 0 0 1 0 3.00 Sprott 0 0 0 0 N/A

BTCS presently has a consensus target price of $1.50, indicating a potential upside of 14.50%. Given BTCSs higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe BTCS is more favorable than Sprott.

Risk & Volatility

Valuation and Earnings

BTCS has a beta of 1.75, indicating that its stock price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sprott has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

This table compares BTCS and Sprotts top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio BTCS $1.69 million 10.72 -$15.89 million ($0.89) -1.47 Sprott $145.18 million 6.09 $17.63 million $0.74 46.04

Sprott has higher revenue and earnings than BTCS. BTCS is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sprott, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares BTCS and Sprotts net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets BTCS -802.57% -33.49% -30.93% Sprott 14.13% 6.75% 4.94%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

4.8% of BTCS shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.0% of Sprott shares are owned by institutional investors. 42.2% of BTCS shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 18.3% of Sprott shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Sprott beats BTCS on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BTCS

(Get Rating)

BTCS, Inc. engages in the digital currency ecosystem and blockchain technologies. It manages an online marketplace where consumers can purchase merchandise using digital currencies such as bitcoin. The company was founded by Timothy Sidie and Michal Handerhan in 2008 and is headquartered in Silver Spring, MD.

About Sprott

(Get Rating)

Sprott, Inc. provides investment advisory services. It operates through the following segments: Exchange Listed Products, Lending, Managed Equities, Brokerage, and Corporate. The Exchange Listed Products segment provides management services to the companys closed-end physical trusts and exchange traded funds. The Lending segment provides lending activities through limited partnership vehicles, as well as through direct lending activities using the companys balance sheet. The Managed Equities segment provides asset management and sub-advisory services to the companys branded funds and managed account. The Brokerage segment includes the activities of Canadian and U.S broker-dealers. The Corporate segment provides capital, balance sheet management and enterprise shared services to the companys subsidiaries. The company was founded by Eric Steven Sprott on February 13, 2008 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Receive News & Ratings for BTCS Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BTCS and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Copper Mountain Mining Co. (OTCMKTS:CPPMF  Get Rating) has received a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $2.65.

Several brokerages have commented on CPPMF. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Copper Mountain Mining from C$3.00 to C$2.75 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Scotiabank cut shares of Copper Mountain Mining from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Desjardins cut shares of Copper Mountain Mining to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. National Bank Financial cut their price target on shares of Copper Mountain Mining from C$2.65 to C$2.60 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Copper Mountain Mining from C$2.20 to C$2.60 in a research report on Friday, April 14th.

Get Copper Mountain Mining alerts:

Copper Mountain Mining Price Performance

Shares of CPPMF opened at $1.77 on Friday. The stocks fifty day moving average is $1.69 and its 200-day moving average is $1.53. Copper Mountain Mining has a one year low of $0.92 and a one year high of $2.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $378.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.72.

Copper Mountain Mining Company Profile

Copper Mountain Mining ( OTCMKTS:CPPMF Get Rating ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 27th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter. Copper Mountain Mining had a net margin of 7.31% and a negative return on equity of 8.37%. The firm had revenue of $66.50 million for the quarter.

(Get Rating)

Copper Mountain Mining Corp. engages in the exploration, development and operation of mineral deposits. It holds interest in Copper Mountain Mine, Eva Copper, New Ingerbelle, and Cameron Copper Projects. The company was founded on April 20, 2006 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Copper Mountain Mining Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Copper Mountain Mining and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Harsco Co. (NYSE:HSC  Get Rating) has received a consensus recommendation of Hold from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $11.83.

A number of research firms have weighed in on HSC. TheStreet upgraded Harsco from a d rating to a c- rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Harsco from $7.50 to $9.50 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Harsco in a research report on Thursday. They set a hold rating on the stock.

Get Harsco alerts:

Harsco Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE HSC opened at $9.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $747.16 million, a PE ratio of -4.98 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.24. Harsco has a twelve month low of $3.73 and a twelve month high of $9.69.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harsco

Harsco ( NYSE:HSC Get Rating ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The industrial products company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.17. The company had revenue of $496.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $455.93 million. Harsco had a negative net margin of 7.75% and a positive return on equity of 0.09%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.01) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Harsco will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP increased its position in Harsco by 63.9% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,094 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,986 shares during the period. Pathstone Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Harsco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in Harsco by 969.4% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 11,026 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 9,995 shares during the period. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new position in Harsco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Harsco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.91% of the companys stock.

Harsco Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Harsco Corp. engages in the provision of industrial services and engineered products. It operates through the Harsco Environmental and Harsco Clean Earth segments. The Harsco Environmental segment provides environmental services and material processing to the global steel and metals industries. The Harsco Clean Earth segment provides processing and beneficial reuse solutions for hazardous wastes, contaminated materials, and dredged volumes.

Read More

Receive News & Ratings for Harsco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Harsco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Shares of iShares Canadian Select Dividend Index ETF (TSE:XDV  Get Rating) rose 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$28.10 and last traded at C$28.09. Approximately 15,503 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 37,832 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$27.99.

iShares Canadian Select Dividend Index ETF Stock Performance

The firms fifty day simple moving average is C$28.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$27.96.

iShares Canadian Select Dividend Index ETF Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This is an increase from iShares Canadian Select Dividend Index ETFs previous monthly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 22nd.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for iShares Canadian Select Dividend Index ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Canadian Select Dividend Index ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (NYSE:KREF  Get Rating) has earned an average rating of Moderate Buy from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.64.

Several research firms have issued reports on KREF. JMP Securities dropped their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a market outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $15.50 to $12.00 in a research note on Monday, April 24th. Raymond James decreased their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $18.00 to $15.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $16.50 to $12.50 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $16.00 to $11.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 6th.

Get KKR Real Estate Finance Trust alerts:

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Stock Performance

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust stock opened at $10.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.16, a current ratio of 356.67 and a quick ratio of 356.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.88. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 52-week low of $9.94 and a 52-week high of $20.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $753.19 million, a P/E ratio of -16.52 and a beta of 0.84.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Dividend Announcement

Insider Transactions at KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.78%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trusts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -260.61%.

In other KKR Real Estate Finance Trust news, Director Christen E.J. Lee purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.17 per share, with a total value of $101,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 15,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at $152,550. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Christen E.J. Lee bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.17 per share, with a total value of $101,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $152,550. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO W Patrick Mattson purchased 8,000 shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.60 per share, for a total transaction of $84,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 245,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,603,900.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 43,000 shares of company stock valued at $454,000. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 3.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 438,282 shares of the companys stock valued at $9,032,000 after purchasing an additional 16,216 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in the first quarter valued at $443,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 8.9% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,902 shares of the companys stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 61.6% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 19,541 shares of the companys stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 7,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 3.8% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 116,159 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,394,000 after purchasing an additional 4,252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.26% of the companys stock.

About KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

(Get Rating)

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, Inc engages in originating and acquiring senior loans secured by commercial real estate assets. Its target assets include mezzanine loans, preferred equity and other debt-oriented instruments. The companys investment objective is capital preservation and generating attractive risk-adjusted returns for its stockholders over the long term, primarily through dividends.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for KKR Real Estate Finance Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Pola Orbis Holdings Inc. (OTCMKTS:PORBF  Get Rating)s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $14.51 and last traded at $14.51, with a volume of 0 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Pola Orbis from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd.

Get Pola Orbis alerts:

Pola Orbis Trading Up 3.4 %

The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.59 and a beta of 0.43. The companys 50 day moving average is $13.75 and its 200 day moving average is $13.01.

Pola Orbis Company Profile

Pola Orbis Holdings Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells cosmetics and related products in Japan and internationally. It operates through Beauty Care and Real Estate segments. The Beauty Care segment offers cosmetics; skincare products; health foods; and fashion products, such as women's underwear, women's apparel, and jewelry under the POLA, ORBIS, Jurlique, H2O PLUS, THREE, DECENCIA, Amplitude, ITRIM, FIVEISM  THREE, and FUJIMI brand names.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for Pola Orbis Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Pola Orbis and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Tredje AP fonden grew its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI  Get Rating) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,130 shares of the construction companys stock after acquiring an additional 3,317 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fondens holdings in United Rentals were worth $8,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,179,328 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $2,905,379,000 after acquiring an additional 186,931 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in United Rentals by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,631,282 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $1,521,122,000 after buying an additional 41,952 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in United Rentals by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,171,320 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $416,308,000 after buying an additional 8,369 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,168,327 shares of the construction companys stock worth $317,729,000 after purchasing an additional 248,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 909,639 shares of the construction companys stock worth $245,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the companys stock.

Get United Rentals alerts:

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on URI. Credit Suisse Group cut their target price on United Rentals from $544.00 to $482.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on United Rentals from $441.00 to $435.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on United Rentals from $490.00 to $458.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on United Rentals in a research report on Thursday. They set a hold rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on United Rentals from $399.00 to $406.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $421.08.

United Rentals Stock Up 0.2 %

United Rentals stock traded up $0.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $345.50. 535,969 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 915,138. The businesss 50 day moving average is $368.84 and its 200 day moving average is $382.61. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.54 and a 52 week high of $481.99. The company has a market capitalization of $23.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The construction company reported $7.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $8.12 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.17 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.77% and a net margin of 17.65%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.73 EPS. Analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 40.06 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 10th will be paid a $1.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 9th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. United Rentalss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.99%.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 725 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.63, for a total transaction of $260,731.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,520 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,787.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 725 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.63, for a total value of $260,731.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,520 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,344,787.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 12,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.99, for a total value of $5,735,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,276 shares in the company, valued at $48,408,915.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the companys stock.

United Rentals Profile

(Get Rating)

United Rentals, Inc engages in the equipment rental business. It operates through the General Rentals and Specialty segments. The General Rentals segment includes the rental of construction, aerial and industrial equipment, general tools and light equipment, and related services and activities. The Specialty segment focuses on the rental of specialty construction products such as trench safety equipment, power and HVAC equipment, fluid solutions equipment, mobile storage equipment and modular office space.

Featured Stories

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding URI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for United Rentals Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for United Rentals and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG  Get Rating)  Zacks Research raised their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Penske Automotive Group in a research note issued on Monday, May 15th. Zacks Research analyst R. Singhi now expects that the company will earn $14.08 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $13.89. The consensus estimate for Penske Automotive Groups current full-year earnings is $15.59 per share.

Get Penske Automotive Group alerts:

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The company reported $4.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.28. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 31.14% and a net margin of 4.65%. The company had revenue of $7.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.76 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday. They set a buy rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $140.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 9th.

NYSE:PAG opened at $142.45 on Wednesday. Penske Automotive Group has a 1 year low of $94.49 and a 1 year high of $155.36. The stock has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $138.35 and a 200-day moving average of $130.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Penske Automotive Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 16,800.0% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 338 shares of the companys stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 32.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Penske Automotive Group

In related news, Director Kimberly J. Mcwaters sold 8,524 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.53, for a total value of $1,206,401.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Kimberly J. Mcwaters sold 8,524 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.53, for a total value of $1,206,401.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John Barr sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.31, for a total value of $290,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,712 shares of the companys stock, valued at $539,390.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 46.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 22nd will be given a $0.66 dividend. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Groups previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 19th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Penske Automotive Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.51%.

About Penske Automotive Group

(Get Rating)

Penske Automotive Group, Inc is an international transportation services company, which engages in the distribution of commercial vehicles, diesel engines, gas engines, power systems, and related parts and services. It operates through the following segments: Retail Automotive, Retail Commercial Truck, Non-Automotive Investments, and Other.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Penske Automotive Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Penske Automotive Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada

Zip Code
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Just a month after providing temporary funding to last the remainder of the current school year, the Franklin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday discussed providing a school resource officer at every school for the next school year and beyond.

Supervisors approved $100,000 in additional funding for the Franklin County Sheriffs Office last month to pay for a school resource officer at each school in the district. The request came following a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, that killed six people.

The additional money funded six additional resource officers to ensure each elementary school had an officer. Previously, six officers rotated between the countys six elementary schools.

At Tuesdays work session, supervisors agreed having a school resource officer at each of the schools should continue. The concern was how the county would fund it moving forward.

Some additional funding could come from a grant from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Service that the Franklin County Sheriffs Office applied for earlier this year for eight additional school resource officers.

If approved, it would provide $461,904 in funding annually for the next four years.

Franklin County would be required to provide a local match of $305,000 for the grant. That amount would increase to more than $400,000 annually by 2027.

Even with additional funding from grants, supervisors were concerned how the county would be able to afford the additional costs. The countys 2023-24 fiscal year budget approved last month was called a maintenance budget with little additional spending.

This cannot be done without a tax increase. Period, said Boone District representative Ronnie Thompson.

Thompson said a 1 cent increase to the real estate tax rate would increase revenue for the county by approximately $700,000. A real estate tax increase would need to be several cents to continue funding officers in the schools, especially after the grant ends in 2028. That year the countys cost for the program is estimated to exceed $2 million.

Thompson also asked what impact having officers in the schools would have on patrols in the county. He said it could take away officers from other areas where they are needed and create more problems in the future.

Hiring part-time officers to fill the school resource officers could provide some savings for the county, but costs would still exceed $1 million by 2028, according to a draft of possible funding options provided at Tuesdays meeting. Blue Ridge District representative Tim Tatum said he was in support of using some or all part-time officers to fill the positions.

Our job is to balance all this out, Tatum said. Weve got to roll up our sleeves and decide how we are going to fund this.

Blackwater District representative Ronald Mitchell said the county is in support of funding the officers. He said it is still necessary as there are still constant reports of mass shootings.

There is a mass shooting almost every day, Mitchell said.

While supervisors were unable to come to an agreement Tuesday, a vote will be necessary at an upcoming meeting if the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Service grant for eight additional school resource officers is awarded. A response is expected in the coming weeks.

If awarded, supervisors have 60 days to approve matching funds of $305,000.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Construction of a natural gas pipeline through the Jefferson National Forest, held to a near standstill since 2018 by litigation, received its latest approval Monday from the U.S. Forest Service.

The permit, issued for the Mountain Valley Pipelines 3.5-mile path through the forest in Giles and Montgomery counties, is a step toward the companys goal of completing construction by the end of this year.

However, the $6.6 billion project still must receive authorizations from other government agencies  and survive legal challenges from environmental groups  if it is to avoid additional delays.

In an announcement late Monday, the Forest Service said it approved amendments to its Land and Resource Management Plan to allow the massive buried pipeline. But work in the national forest, which will include boring a tunnel under the Appalachian Trail at the top of Peters Mountain, cannot start until Mountain Valley has other permits in hand.

We maintain that the Mountain Valley Pipeline cannot be built through the Jefferson National Forest without lasting damage to sensitive forests, habitats and waters, said Jessica Sims, Virginia field coordinator for Appalachian Voices.

Amending a forest plan 11 times to accommodate a ruinous project on federal land is unacceptable, Sims said.

Siding with environmental groups, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has twice thrown out earlier Forest Service approvals for the pipeline, first in the summer of 2018 and again in the winter of 2022.

Each time, Mountain Valley has obtained a new permit. The latest permit issued Monday follows a year of additional review by the agency and an updated environmental impact statement.

The statement takes into account newly listed protected species and other issues that were identified by the Fourth Circuit when it struck down the second permit last year, according to the Forest Service.

The Forest Service said it considered significant public input that consisted of 359 comment letters, roughly 9,100 forms and several petitions. Appalachian Voices has said that more than 30,000 individuals and organizations oppose the pipelines route through the forest.

A spokeswoman for Mountain Valley called the approval a notable step forward in completing this critical infrastructure project. The company now expects the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to soon issue a right-of-way permit, Natalie Cox wrote in an email.

Last year, just two weeks after it invalidated the then-existing permit for Mountain Valley to pass through the Jefferson National Forest, the Fourth Circuit dealt the company another setback  rejecting a biological opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that found construction was not likely to jeopardize endangered and threated species.

After additional evaluation, the Fish and Wildlife Service came to the same conclusion in March. The following month, environmental groups went back to court, asking the Fourth Circuit to review the Fish and Wildlifes finding for what will be the third time.

Appalachian Voices and about a dozen other environmental and community groups that filed suit are asking the appellate court to stay construction while the case is pending.

Citing Mountain Valleys stated goal of finishing the long-delayed pipeline by the end of this year, the groups argue in court papers that without a stay, the pipeline may very well be completed before this petition is resolved.

The resumption of grading, trenching and steam crossings will increase sediment loads in nearby streams that will harm protected species of fish, and the felling of trees endangers bats, the groups argue in their request for a stay.

In rejecting the Fish and Wildlife Services finding last year, the Fourth Circuit warned that an agency may not press on the gas when a species is already speeding toward the extinction cliff.

Attorneys for Appalachian Voices wrote that the agencys foot remains firmly on the pedal in a 24-page brief asking the Fourth Circuit to again intervene.

The pipelines route passes through the habitats of five protected species: the endangered Indiana bat, the threatened northern long-eared bat, the endangered Roanoke logperch, the endangered candy darter and the threatened Virginia spiraea, a flowering shrub native to southern Appalachia.

Mountain Valley argues that government agencies have devoted six years of careful study to ensure the survival of wildlife and plants along the pipelines 303-mile path through West Virginia and Virginia.

Environmental groups want to kill the Mountain Valley Pipeline  regardless of the consequence to bipartisan national energy policy or the impact of further delay on the environment and landowners, attorneys for the company wrote in arguing against a stay.

A decision is expected in the coming weeks.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Franklin County Public Schools were closed Monday following a ransomware attack that is still impacting the school division.

According to a statement from schools Superintendent Bernice Cobbs, the decision was made to cancel classes Monday in the interest of on-campus security as the impact of the cyberattack was being reviewed. Measures taken by the school system included taking certain systems offline.

Like many other organizations across the country, Franklin County Public Schools became the victim of a ransomware incident, Cobbs said in a statement. Immediately upon detection, we began an internal investigation and engaged third-party experts to assist in our remediation efforts. Fortunately, through this teams quick response, we were able to stop the progress of the attack.

Students and teachers returned to classes on Tuesday.

Cobbs said Franklin County Public Schools is working with local and national law enforcement in the process, including the FBI and Virginia State Police.

Cobbs provided an additional statement on Wednesday. She said system operations were shut down to deal with the incident which involved shutting down certain security systems and other important technology.

Cobbs said the school system has regained system control and work is being done now to assess the impact of the incident.

Our investigation is ongoing, however, at this time, we do not have evidence that personal identifying information of staff or students was stolen, Cobbs said. Our team is conducting a thorough investigation under the leadership of leading outside cybersecurity experts to investigate this matter. We will know more in the coming days and will notify impacted individuals if any information was stolen and will provide free credit monitoring if so.

The FBIs Internet Crime Complaints Center defines ransomware as a type of malicious software, also known as malware, that encrypts data on a computer, making it inaccessible to its owner until a ransom is paid. Cyber-criminals also sometimes steal data off a system and hold it hostage for payment.

This is not the first cyberattack on a local government in the Roanoke and New River valleys. In fall 2017, a malware attack halted email, phone and computer networks in Roanoke City Public Schools for several days. In fall 2018, a phishing attack compromised email accounts in the town of Christiansburg, resulting in the town to offer free credit monitoring to more than 900 people.

Nationally, the FBI reported in March in its 2022 Internet Crime Report that more than 2,300 ransomware attacks were reported in 2022, with adjusted losses of $34.3 million. Among critical infrastructure sectors hit by ransomware attacks, health care and public health agencies were the most frequent targets, followed by the critical manufacturing sector, with government agencies, such as the Franklin County Public Schools, third.

Over the weekend The Philadelphia Inquirer was unable to publish its Sunday newspaper after a cyberattack compromised its content management system, the Associated Press reported. It was the biggest disruption to the newspapers operations since a massive snowstorm 27 years ago.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Build Grand Island is primed to build more of, well, Grand Island.

The Nebraska Department of Economic Development has awarded the Grand Island Area Economic Development Corporation a $1 million grant through the 2022 round of Nebraskas Rural Workforce Housing Fund.

The Build Grand Island program is a 0% interest revolving loan fund for developers to spur residential development, according to corporation President Mary Berlie. The program prioritizes owner occupancy and upper story living in Railside, with a focus on student, intern and young professional housing.

The corporation and partners pledged $675,000 in matching funds for the grant.

"We get to fold this new $1 million in (the loan fund) and the EDC and our business partners will match, we get to fold that into our current program," Berlie said. "So well have a total of $3.675 million in our revolving loan bucket."

Of that total, the first $2 million has been loaned and is, "out in the community working," Berlie said. She said the request for proposals for that first $2 million brought in $13 million in project requests.

"So theres significant demand for housing funds," Berlie said. "Our population is increasing, but our housing stock is not increasing at the same rate."

Berlie said the funds are expected to reach the Grand Island Area Economic Development Corporation coffers within a year, give or take, and from there a new round of request for proposals will start.

The grants were part of $22,825,000 in awards for the 2022 round of Nebraskas Rural Workforce Housing Fund. Authorized by the Rural Workforce Housing Investment Act of 2017, the RWHF helps communities create quality, affordable housing to accommodate growth, according to a release from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

For the 2022 funding cycle, awards were available to eligible nonprofit development organizations who supplied at least a 50% match. The department administers the RWHF program on behalf of the State of Nebraska through a competitive application process. The department then partners with recipients to provide input regarding project design, development and implementation.

Other area awards include $1 million to the Aurora Housing Development Corporation for work in Hamilton County, $860,000 to the South Central Economic Development District, Inc. for work in a number of counties, including Buffalo, Hall, Hamilton and Merrick, $1 million to the Merrick County Development Corporation for work in Central City, $1 million to Greater Loup Valley Activities, Inc. for work in Valley County, primarily in Ord, $1 million to the Hastings Economic Development Corporation for work in Hastings, and $350,000 to the Ravenna Economic Development Corporation for work in Ravenna.

Growing rural Nebraska is a priority for our agency, said department Interim Director Joe Fox. The RWHF supports job creation and helps attract residents to our rural communities through strategic investments in affordable, high-quality housing. We had an outstanding batch of applicants for this cycle of RWHF awards. Congratulations to the awardees.

And there could more good news on the rural workforce housing front. Nebraska Legislature Bill 249 would fund the Nebraska Rural Workforce Housing Fund with $20 million and also remove the limit of one application per organization per cycle, increase the grant maximum from $1 million to $5 million and strike language prohibiting using rural workforce housing funds for projects also receiving certain other state grants and credits.

It was introduced by state Sen. Tom Briese of Albion, who represents the 41st District, which includes the majority of Hall County, along with all or parts of Buffalo, Sherman, Howard, Valley, Greeley, Wheeler and Boone counties.

Berlie said that increase would greatly benefit housing efforts in the Grand Island area.

"GIEDC is serious about adding solutions to our housing shortage," she said. "Rural workforce housing is just one more tool in our toolbox to help our community."
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Ongoing

Art exhibit featuring work by local artist Casey Hansen, through May 26, Grand Island Public Library, 1124 W. Second St. Library hours: 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday; 308-385-5333.

Friday, May 19

Nebraska Volunteer Fire School, through Sunday, Fonner Park.

Spring Barn Festival, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, 3045 S. Marian Road, Hastings (take 281 south of Hastings, turn west on Prairie Lake Road). More than 70 vendors, indoors and out, featuring food, home decor, crafts, clothing, food trucks, and more. Free shuttle bus runs from the Adams County Fairgrounds every 15-20 minutes. Admission is $5 per day, four-day pass is $10; www.barnfestival.com.

Coloring with Pastor Kelly, 2 p.m., the Chocolate Bar, 116 W. Third St., Grand Island. Adult coloring get-together led by the Rev. Kelly Karges of Trinity United Methodist Church most Friday afternoons; 308-382-1952.

Saturday, May 20

Live Horse Racing, last day, Fonner Park.

Classic Car Show, to benefit Childrens Hospital, hosted by Sams Club and Chef Anthony, noon to 3 p.m., Sams Club parking lot, 1510 N. Diers Ave. Registration starts at 10 a.m., entry fee is $20. Event also includes oldies music, food, raffles and more.

Ride for Woody Poker Run, Armed Forces Day event to benefit local veterans, Sams Club parking lot, 1510 N. Diers Ave. Registration starts at 10 a.m.; kickstands up at 11. Route includes stops in Ravenna, Gibbon and Doniphan, then back to Grand Island; $20 per hand, $30 per couple.

Bicycle Ride for Veterans, Armed Forces Day event to benefit local veterans, Northridge Church, 3025 Independence Ave. Registration starts at 8:45 a.m., ride begins at 9:30.; 20 mile route includes a stop in Cairo. Entry fee is $25 per rider; helmets and waivers required.

Family Saturday: Birding Hike, 1 to 3 p.m., Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center, 9324 Alda Road (just south of the I-80 interchange at Alda). Event includes a brief bird-watching lesson and a trail walk; best for kids 5-15 with their grown-ups, dress for the weather. Free, but donations appreciated; Amy Sandeen, 308-382-1820.

Guided bird outing, hosted by Rowe Sanctuary in observance of Nebraska Bird Month, 9 to 10:30 a.m., Cottonmill Park, Kearney (meet in the parking lot facing the swim beach). Binoculars and field guides available to borrow. Free; suitable for all ages and abilities; rowe.audubon.org/events Nebraska Volunteer Fire School, through Sunday, Fonner Park.

Stolley Park Railroad, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Grand Island. Tickets are $3.50 for anyone age 3 and older; children age 2 and younger ride for free with a paying adult. Punch cards and group rates available. All dates and times are weather permitting; 308-389-0290.

Sunday, May 21

Heartland Lutheran High School graduation, 2 p.m., 3900 W. Husker Highway.

Fast & Furriest, event featuring cars and dogs to benefit the Good Life Rescue, 11 a.m., 1420 Ada St. Car show starts at 11 a.m., dogs (available for adoption) arrive at noon; trophies presented at 3 p.m. Event also includes food trucks, bounce house, raffles and silent auction items and more. Car show information: 308-381-4313.

Tosca Lee, author visit, 4 p.m., Grand Island Public Library, 1124 W. Second St. Lee will discuss her new World War II novel, The Long March Home, co-written with Marcus Brotherton; 308-385-5333.

Bingo, 2 p.m., United Veterans Club, 1914 W. Capital, Grand Island. Doors open at 1; open to the public; 308-381-1555.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Grand Island Public Schools Associate Superintendent Robin Dexter is taking on a different position at the district and will be replaced by a former finalist for Nebraska state education commissioner.

Dexter will be GIPSs chief of secondary education, a position that merges roles recently vacated by Ashley Tomjack (director of curriculum) and Dan Phillips (director of Innovation for Career & College Readiness).

Dexter joined GIPS in 2009 as one of GIPSs two assistant superintendents.

Summer Stephens will fill Dexters position. Stephens was a finalist in the most recent search for commissioner of education for the State of Nebraska. She was most recently superintendent of Churchill County School District in Nevada.

Stephens also spent years as an educator in Nebraska. She will also take on some of the duties from Tomjack and Phillipss positions.

In a district statement, Stephens said, Throughout my time in Nebraska earlier in my career, I would consistently look to Grand Island for inspiration and insight on how best to champion students and staff. My aim is to bring positive energy to the good things taking place in the district, to support students and staff, and continue collaborating with community partners.

According to The Nevada Appeal of Carson City, Stephens was named Nevadas 2023 superintendent of the year by the Nevada Association of School Superintendents. The association cited Stephenss work during the coronavirus pandemic as a factor in the decision. Because of the statewide honor, Stephens is a candidate for National Superintendent of the Year, facilitated by the American Association of School Administrators.

Included in the secondary education shuffle is a new director for GIPSs GearUP Promise program at Grand Island Public Schools, as current GearUP Director Alison Bailey departs the district.

Amber High, who before served GIPS for eight years will succeed Bailey. According to the district, hiring Baileys replacement from within.

Mitch Roush, director of communications for GIPS, explained that no new positions are being formed; rather, duties are being rearranged and positions renamed accordingly.

In a district statement, Superintendent Matt Fisher said, As we look to revise some of our district structure, having these strong leaders in place will be critical.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

HIROSHIMA, Japan  President Joe Biden on Friday endorsed plans to train Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, according to two people familiar with the matter, as he huddled with leaders of the world's most powerful democracies on plans to toughen punishments on Russia for its 15-month invasion of Ukraine.

The Group of Seven leaders were convening in Hiroshima, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is to join them on on Sunday in his farthest trip from his country since the war began last February.

The leaders heard for the first time of Biden's backing of training Ukrainian pilots on advanced fighter jets, as a precursor to sending the jets to Ukraine.

The G7 leaders also set out new sanctions on Moscow as well as plans to enhance the effectiveness of existing financial penalties meant to constrain President Vladimir Putin's war effort.

"Our support for Ukraine will not waver," the G7 leaders said in a statement released after closed-door meetings. The vowed "to stand together against Russia's illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine."

"Russia started this war and can end this war," they said.

The F-16 training is to be conducted in Europe and will likely begin in the coming weeks. But Biden told the leaders that decisions on when, how many, and who will provide the fourth-generation fighter jets for Ukraine to use in battle will be made in the months ahead while the training is underway.

That's according to the who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Biden's private conversations with allies.

Zelenskyy has consistently called for the supply of Western fighter jets to bolster his country's defenses against Russia's invasion, but has until now faced skepticism from the U.S. that they would turn the tide in the war. Now, as Ukraine has bolstered its air defenses with a host of Western-supplied anti-aircraft systems, officials believe the jets could become useful in the battle and essential to the country's long-term security.

Separately, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, confirmed on national television that Zelenskyy would attend the summit.

"We were sure that our president would be where Ukraine needed him, in any part of the world, to solve the issue of stability of our country," Danilov said Friday. "There will be very important matters decided there, so physical presence is a crucial thing to defend our interests."

Zelenskyy announced Friday that he had opened a visit to Saudi Arabia, where Arab leaders were holding their own summit.

European allies in recent weeks have warmed to the notion of sending fighter jets to Ukraine, as have elements of Biden's Cabinet, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has emerged as a staunch advocate within the administration. Under export licensing rules, the U.S. needed to sign off on any allied effort to train Ukrainian pilots or to provide them with the jets.

The announcement Friday came as the U.S. and its allies also announced a series of actions meant to tighten restrictions on already-sanctioned people and firms involved in Russia's war effort. More than 125 individuals and organizations across 20 countries were hit with U.S. sanctions. The financial penalties were primarily focused on sanctions evaders connected to technology procurement for the Kremlin. The Commerce Department also added 71 firms to its own list.

Additionally, new reporting requirements were issued for people and firms that have any interest in Russian Central Bank assets. The purpose is to "fully map holdings of Russia's sovereign assets that will remain immobilized in G7 jurisdictions until Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine," a Treasury statement reads.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Friday sanctions "will further tighten the vise on Putin's ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions."

Putin's nuclear threats against Ukraine, along with North Korea 's months-long barrage of missile tests and China's rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal, have resonated with Japan's push to make nuclear disarmament a major part of the G7 summit. World leaders Friday visited a peace park dedicated to the tens of thousands who died in the world's first wartime atomic bomb detonation.

After group photos near the city's iconic bombed-out dome, a wreath-laying and a symbolic cherry tree planting, a new round of sanctions were unveiled against Moscow, with a focus on redoubling efforts to enforce existing sanctions meant to stifle Russia's war effort and hold accountable those behind it, a U.S. official said. Russia is now the most-sanctioned country in the world, but there are questions about the effectiveness of the financial penalties.

The G7 nations said in Friday's statement that they would work to keep Russia from using the international financial system to prosecute its war, would "further restrict Russia's access to our economies" and would prevent sanctions evasion by Moscow.

They urged other nations to stop providing Russia with support and weapons "or face severe costs."

The European Union was focused on closing loopholes and plans to restrict trade in Russian diamonds, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, told reporters Friday.

The U.S. plans to expand its sanctions authorities on Russian architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, and transportation firms, according to Treasury.

The UK also announced new sanctions that freeze the assets of 86 people and organizations connected to Russia's energy, metals, defense, transport and financial sectors.

"We need to give Ukraine the tools now to successfully defend itself and regain full sovereignty and territorial integrity. We should provide Ukraine the necessary military and financial support. And we have to do this as long as it takes," EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, wants nuclear disarmament to be a major focus of discussions, and he formally started the summit at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park. The visit by world leaders to a park dedicated to preserving reminders of Aug. 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, provided a striking backdrop to the start the summit. An estimated 140,000 people were killed in the attack, and a fast-dwindling number of now-elderly survivors have ensured that Hiroshima has become synonymous with anti-nuclear peace efforts.

"Honestly, I have big doubts if Mr. Kishida, who is pursuing a military buildup and seeking to revise the pacifist constitution, can really discuss nuclear disarmament," Sueichi Kido, a 83-year-old "hibakusha" or survivor of the Nagasaki explosion, told The Associated Press. "But because they are meeting in Hiroshima I do have a sliver of hope that they will have positive talks and make a tiny step toward nuclear disarmament."

Biden, who scrapped plans to travel on to Papua New Guinea and Australia after his stay in Japan so that he can get back to debt limit talks in Washington, arranged to meet Saturday on the G-7 sidelines with leaders of the so-called Quad partnership, made up of Japan, Australia, India and the U.S.

The four originally had been scheduled to meet in Australia as part of Biden's effort to revitalize relationships in the Indo-Pacific.

As G7 attendees made their way to Hiroshima, Moscow unleashed yet another aerial attack on the Ukrainian capital. Loud explosions thundered through Kyiv during the early hours, marking the ninth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the city after weeks of relative quiet.

The United States has frozen Russian Central Bank funds, restricted banks' access to SWIFT -- the dominant system for global financial transactions -- and sanctioned thousands of Russian firms, government officials, oligarchs and their families.

The Group of Seven nations collectively imposed a $60 per-barrel price cap on Russian oil and diesel last year, which the U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday defended in a new progress report, stating that the cap has been successful in suppressing Russian oil revenues. Treasury cites Russian Ministry of Finance data showing that the Kremlin's oil revenues from January to March this year were more than 40% lower than last year.

The economic impact of sanctions depends largely on the extent to which a targeted country is able to circumvent them, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report. So for the past month, U.S. Treasury officials have traveled across Europe and Central Asia to press countries that still do business with the Kremlin to cut their financial ties.

"The challenge is to make sure the sanctions are painful against Russia, not against ourselves," said Michel. "It's very clear that each package is more difficult than the previous one and requires more political effort to make a decision."

G7 leaders and invited guests from several other counties are also expected to discuss how to deal with China's growing assertiveness and military buildup as concerns rise that it could could try to seize Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict. China claims the self-governing island as its own and its ships and warplanes regularly patrol near it.

In a bit of dueling diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting the leaders of the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for a two-day summit in the Chinese city of Xi'an.

The leaders are due to discuss efforts to strengthen the global economy and address rising prices that are squeezing families and government budgets around the world, particularly in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The G7 includes Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union.

Photos: President Biden at G7 summit in Japan
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

State Sen. Julie Slama and other backers of a voter ID initiative submit signatures in July 2022. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN  After a rare do-over Thursday, members of the Legislatures Government and Military Affairs Committee again endorsed an approach to voter ID in Nebraska that supporters called focused and an opponent called an abomination.

State Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar, who sponsored a competing proposal, pressed to have the committee vote again Thursday, challenging the original committee vote. Slama argued that Wednesdays vote during an executive session risked violating the constitutional separation of powers and legislative rules, because a representative of the Secretary of States Office attended.

Once again, the committee adopted an amendment by State Sen. Tom Brewer, committee chairman, spelling out rules about providing photo identification while voting, as now required in the Nebraska Constitution. The amendment includes letting voters write down their state-approved ID number on the form requesting an early voting ballot and having election officials confirm the IDs electronically.

I think it was a pretty clear voice from the committee on how they saw things, Brewer said of AM 1748. Comparing the two, there was one that was a much better option than the other.

One vote shifted

On Wednesday, the committee voted for Brewers amendment, 6-0. Thursdays vote was 6-1. State Sen. Rita Sanders of Bellevue made a different choice Thursday, saying the committee should have sought more input from people who preferred Slamas approach.

Slama doesnt serve on the committee, but she introduced voter ID legislation this year. She also led the ballot initiative effort last year to place voter ID on the November ballot. That initiative was funded primarily by the family of U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb.

On this bill, it felt like we heard a lot, but we heard it from one side, Sanders said of AM 1802. I talked with Julie, and I think we should have heard more.

Slama said she will do whatever it takes to defeat her own bill, Legislative Bill 535, now that the committee has endorsed replacing her plan with Brewers. She has called his amendment weak, unconstitutional and not conservative enough.

Slamas goal is to pass her version of voter ID, even if that requires a special session.

The people who hate voter ID, who have fought against voter ID from the beginning, are now in control  and trying to undermine voter ID in Nebraska with a fraud-friendly bill, she said.

Added citizenship checks

Slama said she wanted to give the committee another chance to adopt a conservative version of voter ID. She shared a document raising questions about whether the Brewer amendment follows the constitutional requirement for checking a photo ID.

Slamas proposal also would add new layers of citizenship checks on top of how the state checks citizenship when someone registers to vote. It would also require voters to get a notarys signature when they return a ballot by mail, or get a witness to vouch that they had seen the ID. Her measure would create a criminal penalty if the witness was found to be lying.

One concern committee members raised Wednesday about Slamas approach was the higher cost to taxpayers compared with Brewers approach. Slama proposed some changes Thursday to address the cost, but a committee staffer said the amendment was still projected to cost more than $20 million (down from $23.6 million), compared with $1.8 million for Brewers amendment. Slama disagreed with both estimates on her proposal.

A narrower focus

Brewer had urged the committee to keep broader proposals to reform Nebraska elections out of the voter ID bill and hew instead to the mission of deciding how the state will check IDs and how to design the ID checks in ways that follow state and federal law and election case law.

A lawyer working for the committee said Thursday that the Brewer amendment follows the law and court precedent but expressed concerns about the Slama amendment.

Slama said her proposal had been undermined at all turns with lies, secret meetings and direct attacks. She again blamed Secretary of State Bob Evnen, whom she described as lazy.

Evnen this week defended his offices work and said the choice is the Legislatures alone on deciding how to implement voter ID. Brewers amendment was backed by 92 of 93 county election officials.

The lone exception: Sarpy County Election Commissioner Emily Ethington, Slamas sister.

Every Whos Who in the Zoo

Brewer defended his committees work and its decision to stop pursuing an amendment Slama could support. He said her compromise amendment kept changing, including a new version filed Thursday that removed the requirement that localities plan for how theyd provide IDs.

We just kept trying to find that magical place where were able to do what we were directed to do by the people and still meet the needs of the introducer, he said. And that was a process.

He said he and Slama met with every Whos Who in the Zoo, the secretary of state, the attorney general, the governors chief of staff and Speaker of the Legislature John Arch. They discussed a dozen versions of the bill over 100 days, Brewer said.

It wasnt for lack of effort, and it wasnt because we didnt want to have that bill become the law, he said. Theres a point where you run out of time.

Brewer said he sought input at Wednesdays hearing from the Secretary of States Office because he wanted the committee to hear from the officials the bill would impact.

I said I would agree to re-do the exec, because I wanted it to be a vote that didnt have any controversy as to how things were done, he said. I agreed to that.

Next steps

Floor debate on LB 535 is expected to start next week. Slama has filed an amendment that may give her a chance to regain control of the bill.

She also filed an amendment on LB 514. Gutting that bill and amending Brewers proposal into it is the committees backup plan if Slama succeeds at killing LB 535. But Slamas amendment on LB 514 sits behind one from State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, a committee member who supported the Brewer amendment.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

With a bill to legalize cannabis for medical use in Nebraska stuck in committee, medical marijuana advocates will try to put the issue before voters for the third straight election cycle.

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana plans to file two initiatives with the Secretary of States office on Thursday with the goal of qualifying the measure for the November 2024 general election ballot.

Crista Eggers, the statewide campaign coordinator for Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, earlier told state senators on the Judiciary Committee that if the Legislature failed to take action that parents like her would.

For 10 years this has been talked about and advocated for by patients and caregivers like myself, said Eggers, whose 8-year-old son, Colton, has intractable seizures. I would have hoped our legislative body had decided it was important enough, but unfortunately that has not happened.

Two separate petitions have identical language to a pair of measures that were circulated in 2022. Both seek to force the Legislature to change state statute and legalize cannabis for medical use instead of amend the state constitution.

The first petition will enact a new state statute protecting doctors who recommend cannabis and patients who use it for medical reasons, and the second requires the Legislature to legalize the production, supply, and distribution of cannabis for medical purposes.

We know the people support this, Eggers said. We are going to execute and put that into motion to have safe and regulated medical cannabis in Nebraska.

Once the petition language has been accepted by Secretary of State Bob Evnen, Eggers said Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana are planning to launch their campaign in June, with the goal of exceeding the signature-gathering requirements outlined in state law.

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana will need to submit a number of signatures equal to 7% of registered voters in the state, including 5% of voters in 38 of Nebraskas 93 counties.

The renewed effort comes after the two petitions fell about 9,000 signatures short of qualifying for the November 2022 general election ballot, and after the state Supreme Court found a 2020 ballot violated the single-subject rule for ballot initiatives after nearly 200,000 signatures were submitted.

The decision to pursue a ballot initiative also comes as the Legislature once again failed to act on Lincoln Sen. Anna Wisharts attempt (LB588) to pass a medical marijuana law in Nebraska.

Wisharts bill, which was heard by the Judiciary Committee in February, outlined a narrow list of qualifying medical conditions for which patients could seek medical marijuana, and also detailed the steps physicians must perform before they can recommend cannabis to a patient.

Patients recommended cannabis were allowed to purchase and possess up to 2.5 ounces or 2,000 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol  better known as THC  from state-licensed dispensaries, which were required to contract with licensed pharmacists trained in medical cannabis.

LB588 would have also prohibited patients from smoking or vaping cannabis, cultivating their own marijuana plants, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of cannabis, or from using cannabis while riding as a passenger.

The bill, which Wishart said would have been one of the most conservative medical marijuana laws in the country, was the result of agreements between doctors, pharmacists and state senators who voiced concern about past efforts they found too broad.

But even after emotional testimony from a handful of parents of the roughly 19,600 Nebraska children who live with severe epilepsy and other individuals who described living with chronic pain, Wisharts bill remained stuck in committee.

Wishart said turnover in the Legislature and on the Judiciary Committee resulted in a membership that did not follow the actions of past committees which had advanced medical marijuana legislation to the floor for debate.

Attorney General Mike Hilgers, who opposed medical marijuana when he was a state senator, and Nebraska's chief medical officer also added to the opposition at the committee hearing earlier this year.

Wrestling with how to proceed, Wishart tried to narrow the bill further than it had already been narrowed, eventually landing on a right to try proposal for parents of children with severe epilepsy only.

That proposal would not have allowed for dispensaries to open in Nebraska  there would have been no industry here, Wishart said  but would have allowed those patients, at the recommendation of their doctor, to travel to other states to buy cannabis.

It also would have decriminalized possession of marijuana for those individuals, she added.

I think I could have gotten that out of committee, Wishart said, but I didnt feel confident I would have enough votes on the floor and because of that and because it was so narrow, we decided we needed to go back to the ballot.

There are more people than those with epilepsy that would benefit from having access, she added.

Eggers said she likely would have stepped aside had the Legislature acted on the right to try legislation, which she says would have helped her son. But with the bill still sitting in committee and with its paths closed this year, she said shes prepared to throw herself behind the ballot initiative again.

I voiced this to several senators that if the Legislature does not do something, anything to show progress, that we would do it ourselves, Eggers said. It was a straight-up threat, and I intend to follow through with that threat.

The new ballot initiatives revive what Wishart called the battle-tested language reviewed by local and state attorneys used in a previous effort that fell just short of gathering the needed votes in 2022.

Wishart, who is one of the sponsors of the initiative, said filing the petition language more than a year ahead of the July 2024 deadline for qualifying for the ballot will give the campaign a long runway to collect the necessary number of signatures.

What weve learned is that we dont have to wait for a major donor to start, she said. We basically collected 180,000 signatures on a volunteer-led, shoestring budget campaign the last time around, and now weve got a year and a half to do what we did in three months last time.

Eggers added the lessons learned from falling just short in two campaigns over the last two years have been used to adjust the strategy moving forward.

We have signers who have signed this petition, not once but twice, she said. We have a lot going for us, and I think we have the ability to get it done.

Top Journal Star photos for May 2023
Congressional leaders negotiating a deal to avoid a catastrophic default on the nations debt are talking about including an overhaul of how the federal government reviews projects for their environmental impact.

There is bipartisan support for changes to the lengthy environmental approval process among climate-minded Democrats eager to speed construction of renewable energy projects, as well as Republicans who have complained for years that the burdens of federal permitting restrict development.

But with a handful of competing and conflicting proposals floating through Congress and the clock ticking toward default as soon as early June, time is running out for a deal on permitting legislation to be included in a debt limit bill.

Its probably not likely that youre going to get substantive permitting reform in the debt limit bill, said Frank Maisano, a Republican media strategist and partner with Bracewell LLP, a firm whose clients include energy companies.

There just isnt enough time to get through some of the thorny details and the complexities.  Its going to require a lot of back and forth, and its going to require a lot of willingness to compromise from all parties.

The shape of such a compromise had not emerged by Thursday, roughly two weeks before the federal government could run out of funding to pay its bills without a debt limit law. Instead, lawmakers may agree on a framework to a framework, and work out the details later, Maisano said.

Two weeks is not enough time to work through negotiations this challenging, said Lisa Frank, the executive director of the Washington legislative office for advocacy group Environment America.

These are really complicated and difficult issues to address, Lisa Frank said. So throwing something slapdash into the debt ceiling deal, I think, would wind up being a pretty bad idea.

Competing proposals

The Republican-controlled U.S. House included major overhauls to environmental reviews in a comprehensive energy bill that the chamber approved  with little support from Democrats  in March.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, has said he has no plans to bring the measure up there.

Four key senators, the top Democrats and Republicans on the Environment and Public Works Committee and Energy and Natural Resources Committee, have all introduced bills to update the permitting process.

But none has emerged as a clear favorite.

The latest Senate bill, led by Democrats Tom Carper, a Delaware senator who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Hawaiis Brian Schatz, was introduced only Thursday. Sens. Tina Smith of Minnesota, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Alex Padilla of California cosponsored the measure.

That bill includes guidelines for time limits, but those would not be enforceable.

That creates a conflict with Wyoming Republican John Barrasso, the ranking member on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, who said at a hearing last week that enforceable timelines were among his dealbreakers for a bill.

A bill led by West Virginias Shelley Moore Capito, the ranking Republican on Carpers committee, also includes a strict two-year timeline.

Barrasso, the third-ranking Senate Republican, also said he would demand a bill treats all forms of energy equally. That would appear at odds with the Carper bill that is focused on renewable energy and requires that environmental reviews consider cumulative effects, including climate change.

And while President Joe Biden is in support of changing the approvals process, a framework the White House released last week also said renewable energy projects should be prioritized.

Centrist West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin III authored another measure, the only one with demonstrated bipartisan support through a failed Senate floor vote last year. Manchin, the chairman of the Senate Energy panel, urged compromise at the hearing last week.

We need to take our names off the bill and go back to a bipartisan permitting reform bill, he said. Thats the only way we can take politics out of this.  Make no mistake: Actually getting something done will require a lot of compromise and prioritization.

Environmental objections

Even with some Democratic climate hawks in the Senate pursuing a deal for its renewable energy potential, environmental groups are still largely wary of changes to bedrock environmental laws like the National Environmental Policy Act that requires the lengthy reviews at issue.

Complaints about permitting delays are overblown, said Aaron Weiss, the deputy director of conservation group Center for Western Priorities.

It is a tiny portion of NEPA reviews that ever run past two years, he said. And when they do, its for good reason, its because either its incredibly controversial or theres something deficient about the initial proposal that needs to be addressed.

The federal government could speed reviews without undermining environmental protections, by adding staff to the Bureau of Land Management, he said.

Some environmental groups concede the process could be hastened, especially for renewable energy projects, but are loath to support anything that would ease approvals for fossil fuel approvals.

Some of these problems we think are worth solving, Frank said. And some we think are not, in fact, problems.
At least a few people are having trouble seeing some of the Blur images, for which Im very sorry. I had trouble with the images in the post, but I loaded them again and again and tested the post three times over a two-hour period before leaving. Unfortunately theres nothing I can do about it now except apologize. Ill definitely look into it as soon as I get home. Very sorry to the readers whose pictures are affected, too. I hope not everybody is seeing problems. [UPDATE: It looks like the problem is with TypePad. The image caching on one of their servers is faulty. It affects about one in four viewers. Theyre working on a permanent fix, but this has been going on for a while now. Thanks to Roger Bradbury for bringing me up to speed with this.]



I had a lovely drive through the Indiana countryside this evening, passing Amish buggies and watching the red ball of the sun descend out of the haze and touch the treelines. I was in the car for 10 hours and 10 minutes, drove 505.5 miles, and got 35.4 miles to the gallonnot bad for a nearly 10-year-old car. I can tell you the worst speeders Ive seen are Ohioans! New Yorkers are law-abiding by comparison (well, at least Western New Yorkers, thats all I can say.) In Ohio I decided to drive exactly at the speed limit of 70 miles per hour, and many, many cars passed me very quickly and disappeared into the distance. A lot of semis passed me too, but more slowly. Doesnt Ohio have a State Patrol? I finally got curious and paced one of the speeding SUVs, accelerating behind him to see how fast he was really going. Right about 100 MPH! Thats impressive on an American public highway. Takes some chutzpah, I think would be the proper Yiddish. It must have been an off-duty cop. Only a cop would have the nerve to speed like that. Although other cars that passed me seemed to be going just as fast.

Every day I get a gift whether I take it or not. Today it was an old country church, after dusk, with a graveyard next to it, and a sign out from that said He Is Risen. The composition was right there for the taking, but it was lateduskand I didnt stop. Forgot the tripod, anyway! I always forget something. Long day, and my reward is a pretty marginal motel room that smells like somebody got sick in it a few nights ago. Oh well, I will never pass this way again. Tomorrow I will reach my destination.

Mike
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Downy mildew is making its annual appearance in South Carolina a little early this year and a Clemson University specialist says now is the time to protect cucurbits.

Downy mildew destroys plant foliage and is common on cucurbits, a family of plants that includes cucumbers, various melons, squashes and gourds. It makes annual unwelcome visits to South Carolina in late May or early June. The first sighting for 2023 was on butternut squash in Charleston on May 12.

This is two weeks earlier than when it was first detected in 2022, said Tony Keinath, professor of plant pathology, and Research and Extension vegetable pathologist at Clemsons Coastal Research and Education Center in Charleston. The strain that affects squash and watermelon often is not seen until later in the year.

Keinath credits downy mildews early appearance with South Carolinas spring temperatures.

The moderate spring temperatures weve had may be responsible since the downy mildew organism doesnt like extremely hot weather, he said.

Growers should not be alarmed by this early appearance but should spray all cucurbits with one of the fungicides recommended in the Cucurbit Downy Mildew Management spray guide available from the Clemson Cooperative Extension Services Land-Grant Press.

Growers also should be prepared to start applying downy mildew fungicides weekly after the disease appears in their area, he said.

To stay updated, growers can get cucurbit downy mildew forecasts at https://cdm.ipmpipe.org/.

Cucurbit downy mildew is caused by the fungus-like oomycete Pseudoperonospora cubensis. It does not overwinter in South Carolina but spreads from more southern states via wind-blown spores and can travel up to 1,000 miles in two days.

This pathogen also can be spread through infected transplants. The disease begins as dark, irregular spots that spread quickly on plants leaves, causing them to curl. It ultimately leads to a reduction in photosynthesis that can interfere with fruit development.

In addition to South Carolina, Downy mildew also has been reported on watermelons in Florida and squash and cucumbers in southern Georgia. Keinath advises South Carolina watermelon growers to spray their crops with protectants. Spray recommendations can be found in the Watermelon Fungicide Guide, also available from Clemson Extensions Land-Grant Press.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

COLUMBIA  The wide empty spaces in pews between parishioners at a Sunday service at Zion Baptist Church in South Carolina's capital highlight a post-pandemic reality common among many Black Protestant churches nationwide.

At its heyday in the 1960s, more than 1,500 parishioners filled every seat at Zion. But membership at the historic church  a crucial meeting point for many during the Civil Rights Movement  dwindled over recent decades.

The trend has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which infected and killed Black Americans at a disproportionate rate. Zion's attendance dropped from 300 parishioners before the outbreak to 125 now.

Founded in 1865, Zion still has a choir capable of beautiful singing, but it also shrunk by more than half. The stomping of feet and the call-and-response of the leader and congregation have dimmed from what they were before the pandemic.

"It saddens my heart," said Calvernetta Williams, who has worshipped at Zion for 40 years. "The pastor has a lot of outreach to do, and so do we  because it'll never be the same."

Zion's shrinking attendance is in line with a recent Pew Research Center survey; it found significant attendance drop among Black Protestants that is unmatched by any other major religious group. The number of Black Protestants who say they attend services monthly has fallen from 61% in 2019 to 46% now, said Pew, and they are the only group in which more than half (54%) attend services virtually.

Zion broadcasts services online, produces digital content and is active on social media. But the Rev. M. Andrew Davis said his church's virtual experience can't match in-person interactions, including the smiles of children, and how sometimes older congregants share testimonials about how God healed them.

Davis' sermon on a recent Sunday was titled: "Trust during times of trouble." He recalled the pandemic as one the most challenging times in his church's history  and offered words of hope. "We may not ever go back to the way it was, but we can do better," Davis told parishioners.

Black Americans  two-thirds of whom are Protestant  attend church more regularly than Americans overall, and pray more often, surveys show. But patterns of worship are shifting across generations: younger Black adults attend church less often than their elders, and those who attend are less likely to do so in a predominantly Black congregation.

"It's imperative that we get our young people back," said Donnie Mack, a deacon at Zion. "As we say in old churches  if you don't see any young people, if you don't hear any babies crying, then, you're at a dying church."

Several Black church leaders said it's proved difficult to convince members to return for in-person worship. They note that many congregants are older, have inadequate access to health care, and hesitate to return to church for fear of catching a contagious illness.

Black adults also suffer from higher rates of obesity, diabetes and asthma, making them more susceptible. They are also more likely to be uninsured.

Additionally, many Black working people had jobs deemed essential and were less able to work from home during the pandemic, raising concerns about exposing others in their often crowded households to the virus.

"The pandemic exasperated that," said the Rev. Quardricos Driskell, pastor at Beulah Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia.

Attendance at his 160-year-old church dropped from a peak of more than 200 people who met in two Sunday services in the early 2000s, to less than half that at a single service. "We're lucky if we have 100 on any given Sunday," Driskell said.

Despite the attendance drop, academics, pastors and parishioners agree that churches remain fundamental to Black communities, providing refuge and hope.

"No pillar of the African American community has been more central to its history, identity, and social justice vision than the 'Black Church,'" Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. wrote in 'The Black Church,' his companion volume to the PBS series.

"For a people systematically brutalized and debased by the inhumane system of slavery, followed by a century of Jim Crow racism, the church provided a refuge: a place of racial and individual self-affirmation, of teaching and learning, of psychological and spiritual sustenance, of prophetic faith."

Although there's broad respect for the historical role of Black churches, including their crucial role fighting for racial equality, polls show that there's also a perception among Black Americans that they have lost influence in recent decades.

"It still functions in the same way: It's a source of hope for people who cannot hold on to political promises, they can't necessarily go to the law and get the things that we need and give them the safety that we need," said Tamura Lomax, professor of religious studies at Michigan State University who specializes in the Black church.

But attendance had been dwindling  even before the pandemic and the 2020 protests over racial justice  because the way people connected to the church had changed, Lomax said. A pivotal moment came when the Black Lives Matter movement was founded. Its members, she said, embraced some of the African spirituality and religious practices that were taken from their ancestors during enslavement and rejected the Christ-centered movement that had been pivotal to the civil rights struggle.

"They didn't want to carry the patriarchal kind of Black masculinity leadership model," Lomax said.

During the pandemic, Black pastors used their influence to encourage vaccinations from the pulpit, while hosting testing clinics and vaccination events in church buildings.

The Rev. Eldren D. Morrison of Shaw Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Georgia's Cobb County, said in-person attendance plunged by half  from 400 worshippers to about 200  since the virus outbreak. But the pandemic helped pastors like him rethink how to connect with their congregation.

"It's teaching us that we're not necessarily looking for numbers, but we're looking for engagement," Morrison said.

"Whether that's virtual, or whether that's people in pews or whether it's through some type of ministry involvement throughout the community, people are involved with the church and are growing their faith. And that's what the mission is in the end anyway."
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Calhoun County is planning to extend its solid waste collection site hours at the Sandy Run and the Riley Road locations as part of a trial run to gauge the demand.

The sites will be open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. The sites will also accept tires and electronics.

This will be pilot project to see how many folks actually come in and utilize during that period of time, County Administrator John McLauchlin said. If it gets to a point where we have enough response, we will certainly look at it at a bigger picture throughout the county.

Our goal is to ultimately have it convenient for the citizens but also convenient where you are not throwing on the side of the road when these convenience sites are closed, McLauchlin said.

The public will be kept abreast of when the new hours and days will take effect. The change is expected to start in the coming weeks.

The site at 43 Riley Road will remain open on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays.

The Sandy Run Road site, located at 9507 Columbia Road, will remain open from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays.

Calhoun Hills

During Calhoun County Councils most recent meeting, council also unanimously agreed to spend $26,250 to replace the roof of the Calhoun Hills Clubhouse.

Reliable Roofing and Repairs LLC will remove the existing roof and replace it with 30-year architectural shingles, McLauchlin said.

We do have a working relationship, McLauchlin said. We have worked with them in the past on a few roofs and they have done a good job.

McLauchlin said the county received six bids ranging from $26,250 to $31,500.

It is in the budget, McLauchlin said.

Councilman James Haigler said, It has been postponed for several years and we thought we ought to do something because we dont want any more damage.

We know water can give you a lot of damage over a period of time.

Rules and procedures

Council gave unanimous first reading to an ordinance establishing rules and regulations for council meetings.

A lot of that ordinance we probably dont even need, Haigler said. There are just a couple of things we will be proposing to change on that.

We are revisiting that, McLauchlin said. There is already an ordinance in place. We are making a few changes to it.

McLauchlin said details of the specific changes will be provided at the next reading.

Fire District

Council unanimously passed a resolution appointing commissioners to the Calhoun County Fire District. Members were nominated by their departments.

The individuals who will sit on the fire district board and their terms include:

 Ross Binsley, Belleville Volunteer Fire Department, term expires June 30, 2025

 Scott Pate, Midway Volunteer Fire Department, term expires June 30, 2025

 Christopher Sanders, Jumper Station Volunteer Fire Department, term expires June 30, 2027

 Caroline Sandlin, Fort Motte Volunteer Fire Department, term expires June 30, 2025

 Nick Stabler, Caw Caw Volunteer Fire Department, term expires June 30, 2027

 Christian Wolfe, Sandy Run Volunteer Fire Department, term expires June 30, 2027

The terms are staggered based upon the terms of their respective Calhoun County Council seat representatives.

In other business:

 Council unanimously passed a resolution honoring attorney Mary Pondexter Miles, who served in the S.C. House in 1982-1984.

Miles was praised for her advocacy of human and civil rights.

 Council went into closed session to discuss an economic development matter related to Project Volta-Pile and to discuss a personnel matter.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A 30-year-old Neeses man is accused of hitting a womans leg with an axe and taking her car. He allegedly also stole an 85-year-old womans car and left her on the side of a road.

Jorico Devonte Tyler, of 139 Litman Road, is facing the following charges by the Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office: armed robbery, kidnapping, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and carjacking.

The first incident occurred on May 11 at a Cold Drive home outside Orangeburg, according to an incident report.

A woman claims Tyler came to her home and asked for money. She told him no several times.

She claims Tyler then pulled an axe from his waist area and chopped her with it above her left knee.

She alleges that Tyler told her that if she didnt give him money that hed chop off her fingers and head.

Tyler allegedly handed her his cellphone so she could send $300 to him through an app.

After the transaction was completed, Tyler allegedly told her that hed kill her if she called police.

She told deputies that she pleaded with Tyler to help her and let her go to the hospital.

Instead, she claims, Tyler gave her a rag so she could stop the bleeding and clean up the blood.

She alleges Tyler then took her 2008 Dodge Avenger, Nokia cellphone and Motorola cellphone.

Deputies spoke with the woman at MUSC-Orangeburg, where she was receiving treatment.

According to a separate incident report, an 85-year-old Neeses Highway woman claims Tyler rode a bicycle to her house around 3 p.m. on Mothers Day.

She knew Tyler from when he and his brothers did some work at her home years before. She occasionally crossed paths with him at a local store, but hadnt seen him a long time.

Tyler told her he wanted a drink of water, the woman said. She let him in her house to get some water.

He then asked for a ride to North, she said.

She told him that wouldnt be a problem because she was going in that direction anyway.

They got into her 2015 white Toyota Prius and she drove Tyler to North, the report said.

As they got close to North, Tyler allegedly told her that he needed to go to Norway instead, so the woman took them there.

After they passed through Norway, Tyler allegedly directed her to turn down odd roads, she said.

They eventually reached a dirt road that didnt have any homes on it, she said.

At that point, Tyler said he needed to get out of the car, the report said.

Once she stopped, he got out of the passengers seat.

She said before she knew it, Tyler allegedly opened her door, grabbed her by her left arm and dragged her out of her seat.

She claims he managed to get her car key from her hand and then took off in her car.

Tyler was taken into custody following a traffic stop where he was charged with first-offense failure to stop for blue lights and first-offense driving under suspension license not suspended for DUI.

He remains at the Orangeburg County Detention Center. A circuit judge may consider setting his bond at a later date.

If convicted, Tyler faces up to 30 years in prison.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

South Carolina State University alumni classes raised $1.34 million last Alumni Weekend, the largest amount in the universitys history.

During the Alumni Honors and Awards celebration held during commencement weekend, the Golden Class of 1973 presented President Alexander Conyers with a check for $450,500  nearly one-third of the donations raised by all alumni class reunion groups this year.

Only members of the Class of 1959 have raised more for a reunion, having donated $706,609 in 2019 at their 60th anniversary.

With this historic gift, the class of 1973 is changing the way people think about philanthropy, said golden class alumnus Dr. James Salley. We have established the template that our classes in reunion and other donors can follow as they contemplate giving to the university moving forward.

Salley, an Orangeburg native and member of the Thomas E. Miller Society, stood with officers of his class to present the check to the university.

Were trying to make a real effort to raise funds for our university so we can provide more scholarships. We are really committed, said golden class alumna Dr. Gerry M. Watson Coleman.

I think everyone knows what the goal is, we have to get funds for the university and support President and First Lady Conyers, she said.

Watson Coleman was the 37th Miss SC State for the class of 1973 and received her PhD in speech pathology. She is a retiree from Greenville County Public Schools and lives in Greenville. She worked as an assistant professor of speech at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro.

Even though some of her classmates are deceased, she was overjoyed to be able to reconnect with her college friends and classmates who attended the reunion.

We have made a special effort to stay together, she said. Over 100 people came out and we all have great interpersonal relationships with each other. We can communicate  communication is the main thing and thats whats unique about us.

Throughout the weekend the golden class alumni attended numerous social events where they were honored and got the chance to mingle with their classmates.

With approximately 105 registered classmates, this was the largest returning class in S.C. State history.

We are blessed to be here. We have 62 people who have gone on to their heavenly homes, but here we are able to come back, and were able to come back in person, said golden class alumnus and former S.C. State University board chairman Rodney Jenkins. Classes before us had to deal with COVID-19, so for us to make it to this point is a true blessing. Were very proud, very honored and very blessed.

I think we were the class of change. When we came in right after the Orangeburg Massacre, things started to change as far as some small traditions, Jenkins said.

Jenkins described his class as being the last of the old school and the first of the new school.

Golden Class alumnus Larry Mitchell said, Its an honor and it feels good to be here with all my classmates. Everybody looks so well and so expensive, so Im highly impressed.

Mitchell resides in the Cayman Islands and travels back to Orangeburg every year.

He majored in business administration and ran a photography and custom framing business in Orangeburg for approximately 30 years before retiring.
It must have been a delight for President Justice Adrian Saunders to welcome another CARICOM country (St. Lucia) to full membership of the CCJ.

Justice Adrian Saunders, President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), has welcomed St. Lucia as the fifth Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country to become a full member of the regional court.





In a statement, May 09, Justice Saunders said that the CCJ, which has both an Original and Appellate jurisdiction, had taken note that the Constitution of St Lucia (Amendment) Act had been assented to by the Governor General, Errol Charles.





He said as a result, St Lucia has "now officially acceded to the CCJs Appellate Jurisdiction and extended "sincerest congratulations to the people of St Lucia on this momentous occasion.





Justice Saunders continued in his statement to disclose that statistics collated by the Court in 2022 reveal that in each Caribbean state that has acceded to the CCJs appellate jurisdiction, "the volume of cases being heard by that countrys final court annually has at least doubled, thereby contributing to the dynamism of the countrys jurisprudence and considerably expanding access to justice for its citizenry.





"We have no doubt that St Lucia too will have a similar experience, he added.





Justice Saunders assured that the Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Dame Janice Pereira, and the President of the Saint Lucia Bar Association, Diana Thomas Hunte, have been written to advising of the readiness of the CCJs Registry staff to assist St Lucian court officials, litigants and counsel alike in the use of the CCJs electronic filing and case management portals in order to facilitate access to the Court.





"The CCJ looks forward to serving the people of St Lucia as we do all the states and people of the Caribbean Community and in particular, those of Guyana, Barbados, Belize and the Commonwealth of Dominica, whose final appeals we hear, Justice Saunders said, closing with, "the CCJ looks forward to more CARICOM states accessing the CCJs Appellate Jurisdiction in the future.





The Trinidad-based CCJ was established in 2001 to replace the London-based Privy Council as the Caribbeans final court.





St Lucia joins Barbados, Dominica, Belize and Guyana as the CARICOM countries which have acceded, to date, to the CCJ as their highest Court of Appeal.





The CCJ also functions as an international tribunal interpreting the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that governs the 15-member regional integration grouping.





While most of the CARICOM countries are signatories to the CCJs Original jurisdiction, Trinidad and Tobago, where the CCJ is headquartered is among regional countries not full members of the court. (Source: CCJ Release)




Cleveland Sam, CXC Assistant Registrar/Public Information confirmed that the CXC headquarters in Barbados was bombarded with inquires and complaints about the leak.

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has launched investigations on learning of a possible examination paper leak.





In a press release issued at 5:12pm on Wednesday, May 17, CXC indicated it "is aware of the concerns that the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Math Paper 02 which was scheduled to be written on Wednesday, May 17.





"This matter is of great concern to us, we have commenced our investigations and will make a definitive statement once the investigation is completed. In the meantime, candidates can rest assured that this matter is being treated with the highest urgency, the CXC release continued.





As expected it didnt take long for the issue to become numero uno topic on social media across the region, with some users saying that the leak occurred in two territories.





CXC did not, in its official release, or in response to efforts to solicit a verbal comment, give any indication with respect to which territory or territories were involved in the leak.





Notwithstanding CXCs posture on the issue, reports are rife that one of the territories in which the leak occurred is right here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.





At least one news outlet here said that it had obtained "proof of images of CSEC Mathematics Paper 2 pages that were shared on a messaging app the night before the exam and were seen by students from at least two secondary schools.





And THE VINCENTIAN has spoken with persons who said that they had had information about copies of a CXC exam being circulated before the date of the exam.





The Ministry of Education weighed in on the issue by confirming that it had received complaints about the leak.





But according to THE VINCENTIANS investigation, this story is not one that morphed on Wednesday 17th May as many felt were led to believe.





Reports from Guyana on Tuesday 16th May said that that countrys Education Minister Dr. Henry Jeffrey "has postponed the mathematics examination and recalled the papers while they investigate the source of the leak., pointing to confirmation that the Mathematics exam was leaked in that country prior to Wednesday.





In fact, one newspaper in Guyana reported that copies of the CSEC mathematics paper were being distributed and sold in parts of that country and online, at prices ranging from US$50.00 to $120.00 per copy.





As this news spread, CXC in Barbados moved quickly to reach out to other countries in its jurisdiction, to assure them that the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) mathematics examination scheduled for Wednesday, May 17, "will proceed as planned despite a leak of the paper in Guyana.





In compliance, candidates here in SVG turned up for the examination, the vast majority of them not aware that St, Vincent and the Grenadines was being implicated in a leak of the exam.





Cleveland Sam, Assistant Registrar/ responsible for public information at the CXC head office in Barbados, told regional media that there have been numerous calls from across the region since the story of the leaked exam broke in Guyana.





"We were getting some calls not just from students from Barbados but in other Caribbean countries and people and the radio stations were picking it (the news) up and were getting confused, Sam said.





At that time, Tuesday, Sam indicated that Guyana was the only country affected by the breach and the participating territories were all advised of this.





The news of this countrys involvement in a similar leak came on Wednesday but as of Wednesday evening, there was no statement by CXC or the Ministry of Education as per the situation here.





This is not the first time that CXC examinations have been tampered with or leaked.





As recent as last year, thousands of Guyanas students were affected when the CXC withheld the exam results for four subjects, including mathematics, to investigate what authorities described as "extensive tampering of examination papers. (Sources: Media in Guyana, Jamaica)




On Saturday 29th April, 2023 at the 36th Annual General Meeting of Soroptimist International St Vincent and the Grenadines (SISVG) Donnette OOneil was unanimously returned as President for a second year.





Other members voted in to serve on the Board of Directors were: Vice President, Jane Farrell; Secretary Jonelle OGarro; Treasurer Christine da Silva; Programme Action Shannon Durrant - Samuel; Membership and Safeguarding Andrea Gaymes  Mohess; Governance and Development Rene Baptiste; Communications Lavinia Gunn with Ikarmola Laborde continuing as Immediate Past President.





Euna Thompson and Samantha Cordice respectively continue in their positions as Assistant Treasurer and Assistant Secretary. Rene Baptiste continues to serve as the Clubs representative at the regional body Soroptimist International Caribbean Network (SICN) in the capacity of President Elect.





In her Presidents Report, Donnette ONeil noted that despite it being a challenging year for many of our sister Clubs internationally which saw a reduction in membership and minimal growth, SISVG was able to attract six new members and develop additional programmes and projects having focused mainly on volcanic emergency relief during the previous two years.





While thanking the Executive and Club members for their support during the year, President Donnette also reminded members that volunteerism is about dedicating time to connect and assist with the many Club activities that make an impact on our community.





Two noteworthy events were highlighted during the AGM. The Club received an award from Soroptimist International Caribbean Network (SICN) for the most impactful work in the Caribbean Network during 2021 - 2022 when over 3,000 lives benefitted from SISVGs emergency relief efforts during and after the eruptions of La Soufriere volcano. Secondly, an important development was the Incorporation of the Club as a Non-Profit Organisation in February 2023.





The theme of the empowerment of women and girls was highlighted throughout the year. Programme Action headed by Shannon Durrant - Samuel held the annual Girls On Fire programme in July 2022 . It was attended by 18 secondary school girls under the theme " My Voice, Our Equal Future. It was a great success covering topics such as public speaking and increasing self-confidence.





Other activities during the year spotlighted violence against women and girls, human trafficking, the prevention of cyber bullying among teens and networking with the Medical Association to raise awareness of breast cancer by assisting in sharing documentation to educate on Self Breast Examination.





Improving literacy continued to receive attention with books being donated to libraries at Sandy Bay Government School in May 2022 and Spring Village Methodist and Chateaubelair Methodist Schools in 2023. Books will also be donated as part of the Women Behind Bars Project to women who are incarcerated. Glebe Preschool, Helping Hands Centre and the Female Surgical Ward continued to receive support.





Developing this theme further the Club networked with a sister Club, the Soroptimist International Club of San Fernando, and the Barrouallie Training Institute to develop and launch a sewing project. Twelve (12) sewing machines and fabric were donated by SI San Fernando with SISVG donating funds including transportation costs to enable needy students to attend classes. Continued support was provided to Glebe Pre School, Helping Hands Centre, The Female Surgical Ward, the elderly and to the annual scholarship holder.





It was noted that the Club continued to raise its profile through increasing its networking capacity with member representation at many events including Rene Baptiste attending the "Freedom from Slavery Forum  in Port of Spain in February 2023; and the President in the round table discussion regarding The Digital Divide hosted by the Public Service Union.




Dr. Godwin Friday, Leader New Democratic Party (NDP), delivered a wide-ranging address about why his party is the hope for the future of SVG.

A call by Dr. Godwin Friday, Leader of the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) for the trade unions to join his party in its "mission to rescue our country, has been rubbished by Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves.





Dr. Gonsalves briefly responded to Dr Fridays appeal while speaking on the NBC Radio Face-to-Face radio programme on May 17, saying that he was confident that the membership of the countrys trade unions will not heed the call to assist the New Democratic Party (NDP) in bringing down the government.





"The unions not bothering with them, he said, adding that apart from a few persons within the unions leadership, the general membership would ignore the statement.





Dr. Godwin Friday, addressing his well-attended New Democratic Partys Hope Rally at Mount Young on May 13, called on the trade unions here "to join with us in our mission to rescue our country, interpreted to mean to remove the Unity Labour Party from the seat of government.





He named the Public Service Union, the Teachers Union, the Police Welfare Association in his call, telling them, "This is not a time for mincing words, this is a time to stand up and when you are standing up, sometimes it means physically standing up  putting yourself on the line.





He continued, "We have to join together; we cannot do it alone because that is how he (Prime Minister) wished for us to conduct ourselves, divided so that we can be picked upon, and encouraged the trade unions to "embrace the offer and to make the NDP the "vehicle of change.





The Opposition Leaders appeal to the trade unions was prefaced by his reference to the governments vaccine mandate, which resulted in a number of public servants being forced to vacate their posts because they refused to take the COVID-19 vaccination.





"If they claim to love people so much, then how can you in Gods name understand how they have been treating the public servants of this countrythey decided not to be vaccinated and the government decided to fire them, he said.





Dr. Friday promised that an NDP government will bring policies of victimization to an end and ensure that all workers affected by the vaccine mandate get back their jobs.
Eric Glasgows death marred what would have been otherwise celebrations for Mothers Day across the state.

A 47-year-old electrician is counted as the latest homicide in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. His death brings the homicide count to 15 with an additional three deaths attributed to police actions so far for 2023.





On Sunday 14, Mothers Day, sometime after 2pm, Eric Conliffe, a 47-year-old Electrician of Kingstown Park, was shot and killed while working in a building near to the DHL building at Upper Middle Street, that part of Middle Street that meets James Street on the West and Sharpe Street on the east.





Reports are that a man was seen on foot coming from the uptown area. He entered the building where Conliffe was working and shortly after a barrages of gunshots was heard.





On arrival at the scene, police is said to have discovered Glasgow dead where he lay, with multiple gunshot injuries to his body, including to his head.





The person who allegedly discharged the shots was seen fleeing the scene, a report said.





"I was attending a funeral service in the area. We heard the loud gunshots when the shooting happen, a middle age woman told THE VINCENTIAN. "I cant believe our people are so heartless and is like the killers enjoying it because they getting away with it. But those of us who care about peace and love are concerned. Vincentians wake up because there might not be a safe haven.





Persons also took to social media to offer reactions to the killing. The majority of the postings expressed concern about the rate of crime in the country, the fact that the killers are not being apprehended and the brazenness of the killings.





"How hard could this be? On one end, Lewis Building have multiple cameras, KCCU building have multiple cameras, one social media user wrote.





Other sentiments expressed, took issue with what they deemed as the lack of information, including from surveillance cameras, being provided by the police in an effort to solicit the publics help.





Arnos Vale resident Andrew Providence " a woman was killed sometime last year I tink, on de ole airport tarmac...I went and see for myself police cams on all de poles in de vicinity but...police still waiting on people 2 bring de comess.





A post mortem is expected to be conducted on his body to ascertain the cause of death.





Records show that Conliffe had run-ins with the law.





In 2008 he was one of four men arrested by police in connection with the March 15, 2008, daylight robbery of over $200,000 from a Western Union outlet in Kingstown. The other men charged were Glenroy Miller, of Ottley Hall; Anthony Doyle, of Edinboro; and Leslie Ashton, of Campden Park. Ashton was shot and killed on February 24, 2018 in Kings Hill, Diamond.





In 2021 Conliffe was arrested again with two other males after an investigation that led to a Zaviar AR-15 rifle and 60 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition and marijuana being seized at the Gibson Corner residence of Linford George Robinson. Conliffe was released without charge.





The motive for last Sundays shooting is unclear.
(L-R): St. Vincent and the Grenadines Consul General to the United States Rondy Luta McIntosh, Mayor of New York City Eric Adams and Trinidad and Tobago Consul General Andre Laveau.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Consul General to the United States Rondy Luta McIntosh said it was "indeed an honor to be invited to Gracie Mansion to celebrate the Garifuna Heritage.





Gracie Mansion, on the East Side of Manhattan, is the official residence of New York City Mayor, Eric Adams who last month, hosted the first-ever Garifuna celebration at Gracie Mansion in honor of Garifuna Heritage Month.





"I stood there and felt a sense of pride and joy for the descendants of our Garifuna ancestors, McIntosh told THE VINCENTIAN. "I reminisced about the history and journey of the Garifuna people, who were exiled to Baliceaux (small uninhabited island in the St. Vincent Grenadines), with the intention of genocide by the colonial powers and their attempt at wiping that ethnic group from the face of the earth.





"Today, we can proudly say, they survived, and are being recognized by the Mayor of the greatest city on earth, Eric Adams, Mayor of New York City, he added. "People with good intentions make promises, and people with good character keep them.





"And, for this, I applaud Mayor Adams because eight years ago, when he was Brooklyn Borough President, he made a promise to the Garifuna people that when he becomes the Mayor of New York City, he will have the first Garifuna celebration in Gracie Mansion, and he stuck to his word and made it a reality on April 13, 2023, McIntosh continued.





"Let me also take the opportunity to commend Jose Avila and the Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc. for your work in preserving the history, language and culture of the Garifuna civilization. Abaisieni, The CG said.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines is the ancestral homeland of the Garifuna people

Planting a seed

Adams told the celebration that, when he was the Brooklyn Borough President, he pledged, eight years ago, that when he becomes the mayor, "were going to have the first Garifuna celebration in Gracie Mansion, because I knew, if I planted the seed, many people dont want to acknowledge.





"They acknowledge your success in business. They acknowledge your success in civil service. They acknowledge your success in education, but they dont know you have a direct communication with the ancestors, he said. "And I planted a seed with you; you made it happen and you created what was to come into existence.





"I am just really proud here, the mayor added. "Everywhere I go, someone pulls me over. If Im in an agency, they pull me over and they say, Im from Garifuna, Im Garifunan, Im Garifunan, Im Garifunan.





"If its someone from St. Vincent, if its someone from Honduras, if its someone from Trinidad, if its someone from Grenada, it doesnt matter where I am, I am around my Garifuna families, and I just really appreciate the support that you have shown me, Adams continued. "But your strength is so larger than the Bronx. As our assemblyman stated, your population is strong and you are multiplying throughout the city, but you are a powerful force and deep in your ancestry; think about it.





Adams urged the Garifunas to reach "into your history and "rise up as the mighty people you are.





Jose Francisco Avila, chairman of the Board of the Bronx, New York-based Garifuna Coalition, USA, Inc., expressed "sincerest gratitude to Major Adams for celebrating Garifuna heritage at Gracie Mansion for the first time ever.
According to Minister of Health, Wellness and the Environment, Hon. St. Clair Prince, Vincentians will be able to access Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) services here very soon, with the prime Minister promising it by the end of June.





The health Minister made the disclosure during a recent interview with the Agency for Public Information (API) in which he expressed excitement for the imminent availability of the service.





"I am very excited we have this particular machine here, of course, we have been trying to upgrade our diagnostic system nationally here... we have CT scans, X-ray and now this, of course is going to be a big boost to our diagnostic ability here.





He noted that a lot of investment is being made in the health sector and the MRI machine is "a feather in the cap of the healthcare system. The installation the MRI machine was completed on Monday, May 15.





Prime Minister Hon. Ralph Gonsalves, speaking on NBC Radio this week, endorsed the Health Ministers statement. Giving a detailed outline of his recent visit to the Modern Medical Complex in Georgetown, he recalled the various specialists onsite to ensure that proper procedures were maintained.





"I went to Georgetown yesterday, he stated, "Jimmy Prince was there, other public officials including the Hospital Administrator for the Modern Medical and Diagnostic Complex, Idinga Miller-Walker. Also present were two engineers from the company, ... actually the manufactures of the MRI machin - two engineers from Poland, and the seven Cuban professionals were also there. There was a radiographer, a radiologist, two biomedical engineers, and three other mechanical engineers.





Dr. Gonsalves went on to describe the installation process: a module was constructed into which the highly sensitive MRI machine would be placed. To enable proper placement, the roof of the module had to be lifted off and the machine lifted in. With that completed, the modules roof was replaced.





He expressed his expectation of forthcoming use of the machine. "In all the technical work to be done, ... by the first of July God willing, we would be able to offer MRI facilities. The 29th of June will be the 5th anniversary of the Modern Medical and Diagnostic Centre. .... So, hopefully we are looking at a target date of 29th June to be able to inaugurate the facility and start everything from 1st July.





According to the Health Minister, the MRI machine itself costs in excess of $5 million USD.
St Clair Major Leacock, MP for Central Kingstown, is expected to be named Crime Tsar in a NDP government.

A New Democratic Party (NDP) government will fix the crime situation within its first term in office.





This was the bold promise made by leader of the NDP, Dr. Godwin Friday as he delivered the feature address at his partys Hope rally held last Saturday, May 13, at Mount Young, Dr. Friday went on to say that he intends to assign the task of getting the job done. To St Clair Major Leacock, Parliamentary Representative for Central Kingstown.





"And he will get it done, Friday told party supporters.





Dr. Friday has been critical of the governments handling of the crime situation here, and has been consistently calling on the government to step up its anti-crime activity.





According to the leader of the opposition, crime and violence were out of control.





Referring to the record homicide count, 22, recorded in 2022 , the Opposition Leader told his audience, "People dont feel safe in their homes anymore, they dont feel safe in public anymore, adding that all the government did was blame everybody else for the problem.





"They blaming pretty girls who have high maintenance, theyre blaming the judges, the magistrates, he said.

"But the people who are in control of the government, they dont blame themselves. But I say this, if you dont take responsibility, then you could never fix the problem because youre saying its not your problem, Dr. Friday reasoned.





"Well I believe that we can do better, and we will do better  I promise you that, Dr. committed.





In his address at the rally, Leacock said that the task of dealing with crime started with someone who understood the issue.





"And one who understands the mission and purpose of this great institution, the New Democratic Party, that the first responsibility of any prime minister and any government was to secure the people, he said.





"And in the NDP we hold that responsibility very close to our heart and we make a solemn promise we will protect you, we will defend you and we will take full responsibility for your safety and your security, he promised.
Akley Olton, filmmaker, is understandably elated having not just won an award but about having collected it after the Covid-19 pandemic prevented him for do so earlier.

Vincentian filmmaker Akley Olton has finally collected his Best Short Documentary award from the organizers of the Belize International Film Festival.





Olton won the award in 2021 at the 15th Edition of the Belize International Film Festival (BelizeIFF) for his film Hairouna, Land of the Blessed. However, the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic prevented him from collecting the award at that time.





Hairouna, Land of the Blessed is a documentary film that tells the story of a young man from the Caribbean nation, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, who discovers that he is a descendant of the  Black Caribs who survived the genocide and exile during the English colonization. He travels around the island learning all he can about his lost heritage from historians, activists and artists. But to gain spiritual reconciliation, he must travel to Central America to learn the language of his ancestors from the descendants of the exiles who still speak it in communities all along the Caribbean coast.





In a statement on Tuesday moments after receiving the award, the talented film maker expressed sincere gratitude for the recognition. "I am so honored to have been recognized by such a prestigious festival, and I am grateful for the support and encouragement that you have provided me throughout this journey, said Olton.





He said Hairouna is a film that is very close to his heart. "It is a story about my grandmother, who was a Garifuna woman. The Garifuna are a people who have a rich and unique culture, and I wanted to share that with the world through this film. I am so glad that you were able to see the beauty and importance of this story, and I am humbled that you have chosen to award it, said Olton.





He is currently working on a feature-length version of Hairouna, and said he hope to complete it soon. "I am confident that this film will be even more powerful than the short film, and I am grateful for the support of the Belize International Film Festival as I continue to work on this project. Thank you again for this wonderful award. It means the world to me, and it is a reminder that I am on the right track, the filmmaker noted.





In an interview with THE VINCENTIAN, Olton said that SVG is a different place than it was years ago and the creative industry presents real opportunities of which Vincentians can take advantage. "But what we have to do is equip ourselves with knowledge and put ourselves in the way to take advantage of these opportunities. We are in a place that is rich and full of culture and that is enough raw material and food to fund and support and inspire all kind of creative endeavors, said Olton, adding, "What you want to do is to try and see what you can do and dont focus on all the conditions that you will need to make that thing ideal.





He said that from his experience, you take one step towards your goal and your goal takes ten steps towards you.





"All you need to do is to get started, said Olton when asked about his advice for aspiring film makers.





Oltons Hairouna, Land of the Blessed was also the recipient of an Ambassadors Award for Film and Culture from the Garifuna International Indigenous Film Festival in LA.
The state-owned Russian aircraft that was at the AIA from May 3 to 7.

There was no stopping the comments that surfaced recently especially among employees of and service providers at the Argyle International Airport (AIA).





At the centre of the comments was a Russian aircraft that landed at the airport on May 3. The aircraft was confirmed as being the property of a Roscosmos, a Russian state-owned company listed among those companies against whom the USA government had imposed sanctions.





Roscosmos, the internet says, is a State Space Corporation of Russia .... responsible for space flights, cosmonautics programs, and aerospace research.





The aircraft, with the demarcation Roscosmos clearly visible on the its tail, departed AIA on May 7.

The natural progressions of the reaction was whether there would be reprisals against the government and people of SVG by USA.





Comments that surfaced included concerns like: "Would this thing make it harder for Vincentians to get US visas? "Would Vincies in the USA feel a squeeze as a result of SVG flying in the face of the USA? "Does SVG have a special arrangement with Russia that we dont know about? "Has SVG now become a satellite of Russia? "Would the US government bring pressure to bear on AA and Air Canada that service the AIA?





One person with whom THE VINCENTIAN spoke said he thought it was a commercial aircraft on an inaugural flight, visit and suggested that if that was the case, it "would be good business for AIA and SVG.





And while THE VINCENTIAN, amid wild conjecture and speculation, was unable to confirm the purpose of the (aircrafts) visit, what aroused further interest was the fact that the Russian aircraft landed at the AIA less than a month since Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves had met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Venezuela, on Tuesday 18th April.





According to Dr. Gonslaves the two had discussed the fallout from Russias invasion of Ukraine.





Until such time as some persons with authority can say why an aircraft owned by a Russian company sanctioned by the government of the USA landed at the AIA, speculation will run rampant among Vincentians home and abroad.
His Excellency Peter Sha-Li LAN, Taiwans resident ambassador to St. Vincent (SVG), sought to dispel certain impressions that a large number of Taiwanese fishing vessel are exploiting the Vincentian shipping registration facility.

Not for the first time, a representative of the Government of Taiwan has refuted claims that Taiwanese fishing vessels or trawlers are fishing in the waters of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).





His Excellency Peter Sha-Li LAN, Taiwans resident ambassador to St. Vincent (SVG), made the rebuttal while speaking on the Boom FM OMG programme, last week Tuesday, May 2.





"The fact is, I can say it loud and clear. Right now, there are only four Taiwanese fishing vessels registered under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and they are not even working in the waters of the Caribbean; they are working somewhere else. This information is correct because we checked the registration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery here in St. Vincent. Ambassador Sha-Li LAN said on the radio programme.





The ambassadors "explanation follows a 2019 statement by Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves in which he said that the revenue this country gains from registering Taiwanese fishing vessels was not worth the headache, and the government was discouraging the registration of these vessels.





He went on to say that at that time there were fewer than twenty (20) Taiwanese vessels registered under the Vincentian flag.





The recent disclosure by Ambassador Sha-Li LAN is seen as a response to a school of thought here, spearheaded by the SVG Green Party, that there are numerous Taiwanese fishing vessels operating under the Vincentian flag, but do not pay tax that they ought to in accordance with the international protocol governing the fishing of Bluefin tuna in particular.





Back in 2016, then Taiwanese Ambassador to SVG, H.E. Baushuan Ger declared ""It is very sad that a few people in this country (SVG) have kept spreading false accusations to this (above) effect.
The temporary Bailey bridges at Noel and Overland, officially estimated at a cost of EC$3.5, were officially opened on May 11, with a function held at Overland.





The Bailey bridges project was executed under the Volcanic Eruption Emergency Project (VEEP), with funding provided by the World Bank and through the European Union.





Construction of both bridges started in August 2022 with the Noel bridge completed in February 2023 and the one at Overland in January 2023.





The bridges and support work





Both bridges are 30 metres in length, with the facility at Noel being single-lane with a cantilevered pedestrian walkway and the bridge at Overland providing two lanes also with a pedestrian walkway.





According to Nerissa Fergus, Project Engineer for VEEP, a key component to the construction of the bridges was the river defense wall and river draining which was done by the OECC group.





These components, she said, was expected to provide additional control of the water flow in order to protect the abutments.





This work was currently ongoing however.





Fergus added that traffic signs were installed at both bridges to assist users; and storm drains were inserted to control the natural flow of run-off with some green areas added between the concrete.





Reducing lifes challenges





All in all, it was a good day for residents on the North-eastern section of mainland St. Vincent, who on a seemingly regular basis, had to wait patiently for the flood waters to subside in order to cross the many fords and river crossings spread throughout the North Windward constituency.





"Never again will we be stuck at this bridge, Montgomery Daniel, Minister of Transport and Works and Parliamentary Representative for the constituency declared as he addressed the opening ceremony.





Referencing the challenges faced by residents Daniel said, "Mans basic needs for survival was challenging and the existing natural forest was continuously denuded and as a result, there was increased run-off.





"So when there was heavy rainfall the rivers ran tremendously and accessibility between villages was non-existent until the waters subsided, the transport and works minister continued.





As recent as Christmas Eve 2021, residents living north of the Rabacca/Dry River and who were making their way home from Kingstown, found themselves stuck at Overland after heavy rainfall. Some persons said that they arrived home during the early hours on Christmas morning after being stuck since 5pm the day before.

There were a number of other incidents that occurred, including some fatalities due to the lack of proper river crossings in the area, Daniel said.





And of the 21 river crossings throughout the constituency, Daniel said that the government was able to construct 14 bridges, including one at Rabacca.





Time between temporary and permanent

In his address, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves said that the situation as it related to the crossings at Noel and Overland was that they required an emergency solution.





This country had purchased seven Bailey bridges in 2013, but gave five to Dominica following the passage of Tropical Storm Erika in 2015. The remaining Bailey bridges were used at one site and another was sourced out of St. Lucia.





The Prime Minister emphasized that Bailey bridges are temporary and disclosed, "We have now signed a design contract for permanent bridges.





Permanent structures will be built at Noel, Overland and London, Dr. Gonsalves assured, and informed that the design contract had been awarded to Trintoplan Consultants Limited of Trinidad and Tobago, who are expected to supervise the project once construction gets underway.





He, however, cautioned that there will a "little time before that happens, given that the design phase could last up to 12 months.





Until the designs are complete, no estimate cost could be given for the three bridges but the Prime Minister posited that each could cost EC$4 million based, he said, on the fact that the Caratal bridge cost over EC$3 million.




(TBTCO) - Bo Nong nghiep va Phat trien nong thon va Ngan hang Nong nghiep va Phat trien Nong thon Viet Nam (Agribank) vua chinh thuc ky ket thoa thuan hop tac. Su kien nay se la tien e e tang cuong hon nua su phoi hop chat che giua Agribank voi Bo Nong nghiep va Phat trien nong thon cung huong en hien thuc hoa cac chu truong, chinh sach cua ang, Nha nuoc ve phat trien nong nghiep, nong dan, nong thon en nam 2030, tam nhin en nam 2045.
You have reached a premium content area of Transitions. To read this entire article please login if you are already a Transitions subscriber.



Not a subscriber?



Subscribe today for access to:

Full access to the website, including premium articles videos, country reports and searchable archives (containing over 25,000 articles).


Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Homes could cost $500 to $1,000 more to build in Casper as the city gets ready to adopt the latest national standards for electrical installation this summer.

The regulations, known as the National Electric Code, exist primarily to prevent fires. Theyre set by the National Fire Protection Association, a trade group.

The changes will go before council on June 6 in the form of an amendment to municipal code. It'll have to receive approval from councilors three times before the changes could become official.

Pat Sweeney, a longtime member of Caspers business community and former state lawmaker, urged the council to resist the code.

I know theres certain things we have to do to come in compliance, Sweeney said. It affects insurance ratings and all the rest of it. But he's worried about how the rules would affect economic development.

He pointed to downtown Caspers First and Center Building, once the Gladstone Hotel, of which he is a former owner. The building, which was built in the 1920s and is currently listed for $600,000, has been for sale for years  in part because it would be so expensive to bring it up to fire code.

The city doesnt appear to have much choice in the matter. The state will adopt the new standards on July 1, and Wyoming law requires communities to follow suit within a year.

In order to obtain local enforcement authority, we have to adopt the codes, at a minimum, at the level that the state has adopted them, City Attorney Eric Nelson said during the meeting. The risk, generally speaking, is that if we dont adopt them, then the state of Wyoming can come in and assume enforcement authority, and basically preempt the city of Caspers ability to regulate our own citizens.

That said, Nelson offered to explore potential alternatives to adopting the code in full before the amendment's brought before the council in June.

Surge protection has doubled and will certainly add cost to new motels and hotels, Justin Scott, a building inspector for the city of Casper, wrote in an April 28 memo to city staff.

According to the memo, notable updates to the regulations include:

a new rule requiring motels, dormitory units and sleeping quarters in assisted-living facilities and nursing homes to install surge protectors;

more rules mandating certain kinds of appliances, in certain situations, to be protected by ground-fault circuit interrupters, a type of circuit breaker;

While Scott threw out $500 to $1,000 as a rough estimate for what the average impact on residential units could be, he stressed that costs would look different for each development.

Its hard to put an actual number on this because since there are many factors involved in these types of buildings such as numbers and types of rooms, the memo stated.

Costs like these are often ultimately absorbed by consumers. However, the exact impact for those who own or rent property is unknown at this point.

The changes come as certain kinds of electrical equipment, including panels, wires and breakers, are in short supply, it added.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A collared pronghorn took her last breath on Feb. 16. The adult does remains were found on the south end of the Pinedale Mesa.

Another marked-and-tracked doe died a couple days later, just 500 yards away. A week later the third adult female went, her final resting place a mile or so north of her migratory compatriots.

With that, every collared animal that traveled the celebrated Path of the Pronghorn in 2022 was dead.

It was a grim sign for a migratory pronghorn population that has thrived in recent years. Now, following the deadliest winter on record in which a disease outbreak compounded fatalities, the fate of the long-distance travelers that winter in the Green River basin but sojourn for the summer in Grand Teton National Park, the National Elk Refuge and along the Gros Ventre River is unclear. Wildlife scientists arent sure how many remain.

Anythings possible, right? Brandon Scurlock, a regional wildlife coordinator for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, said. But I would have to think that some of those animals made it and will make that migration.

But the outlook is grim, with the large majority of animals from the larger Sublette Herd likely dead, according to Scurlock. Pronghorn in the herd were being closely studied as the state considers whether to recognize and protect a route that remains undesignated due to political pressure from industry groups. The monitoring effort tracked 83 does throughout the herd as recently as December. By Tuesday, when Scurlock spoke to WyoFile, just 21 of them were still alive  including zero of the Jackson Hole migrants.

We lost 75% of our collared animals, he said. Its erroneous to [extrapolate] that 75% to the entire herd, but thats our best indication of survival. If we did have 400 or 500 [Jackson Hole migrants], our best guess is that 75% of those might be gone.

In Jackson Hole pronghorns favor is that the migratory population has thrived of late. Counts in 2020 and 2021 were the highest on record.

If the so-called Path of the Pronghorn does live on, its all but assured that drastically fewer animals will make the journey, which cuts through gas fields, skirts coming-soon subdivisions and treads over a mountain pass.

Lost before

An archaeological site along the migration route at Trappers Point holds evidence that humans have hunted pronghorn along the path as long as 6,000 years ago.

But even within that long history, the Path of the Pronghorn has faded before.

Joel Berger, a Wildlife Conservation Society researcher and former Jackson Hole resident, was part of the multi-agency research team around the turn of the century that first mapped the route. The science led to the Bridger-Teton National Forest amending its management plan, in essence creating the first federally designated migration corridor in the United States. The southern reaches remain undesignated  to the chagrin of some wildlife advocates.

Early reports were a couple of thousand around the turn of the century, then they went extinct locally in Jackson, Berger said.

The migration route was lost, he estimated, between about 1910 and the 1950s.

The pronghorn were just all shot out, Berger said, because we didnt have good conservation in those days.

Green River basin pronghorn evidently learned the ancient route into modern day Teton County again some four decades later. Berger likened them finding their way back to a pinball players inevitable outcome.

What happens? Ultimately, the ball ends up in the hole, right? Berger said. From our GPS data we know they were bouncing all over, but the only access into Jackson was the single route.

Fast forward to the present, and management of the pronghorn herd is much more deliberate and science-based.

Game and Fish and the National Park Service not only survey the Jackson segment annually, the state agency keeps close tabs on numbers within the entire herd, which spans western Wyoming from Green River to northern Grand Teton National Park. The population breached 60,000 in the early 2000s but was last estimated at 43,000, Scurlock said.

In past bad winters over the last couple decades the herd has fared OK.

We know we did lose some pronghorn in 16-17, but this winter was unprecedented in terms of the number of days below zero and the depth of the snow on the winter range.  Scurlock said. We just didnt see these large foci of carcasses [in 16-17].

In the wake of winter 2022-23, there are conspicuous concentrations of death scattered throughout the region. Motorists can see them without leaving their vehicle in places like the East Fork hill, located on the east side of Highway 191 between Farson and Boulder.

Were seeing these clusters of animals on the landscape that are now dead, Scurlock said. Rock Springs to Boulder, over to Big Piney, down by Kemmerer.

Outbreaks of mycoplasma bovis, a new affliction in the Green River basin that causes a deadly respiratory disease, have been observed in the hardest-hit areas, he said. The carcass of the first Jackson Hole migrant that died this winter was shipped to a Laramie laboratory and tested positive for the disease.

The verdict

There are a few bright spots better for survival along the southern fringes of the Sublette Herds high desert home, Scurlock said. Those areas, he said, include the Red Desert between the Killpecker Sand Dunes and the town of Superior and the bluffy country overlooking Interstate 80 near James Town.

Although its an open question what remains of the Jackson Hole segment, answers should come through in the next couple weeks.

In a nutshell, we wont know until they show up in June, Game and Fish wildlife biologist Aly Courtemanch said.

State and federal agencies will partner to do a more-thorough census of whats left later in the summer. Game and Fish has drastically reduced hunting opportunities to give the herd its best shot at recovery. Doe and fawn hunting  which has the most impact on populations  has been eliminated in all hunt areas roamed by the herd, Scurlock said.

They are fairly fecund, and they can bounce back pretty quick just because they have twins as the norm, he said. Our plan is to give the herd the maximum opportunity to bounce back by eliminating that reproductive harvest.

Still, the populations starting point will likely be significantly lower than wildlife managers have seen in their lifetimes. Theyre beginning to see what that looks like.

Game and Fish biologist Gary Fralicks territory doesnt cover the Sublette Pronghorn Herd, but he drove through a swath of its habitat on Monday on his way to take a look at whats left of the Wyoming Range Mule Deer Herd.

Typically thered be several hundred pronghorn foraging this time of year on pastureland and in the sagebrush from the Hoback Rim down to Daniel Junction, he said.

Fralick, a 30-year veteran at his biologist post, saw only 11 animals. Their absence, he said, isnt because of a delayed migration. Its because theyre dead.

Since Ive been around, in that country its always the pronghorn leading the deer, Fralick said. And theyre not there.

Photos: Collaring Wyoming mule deer for migration study Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Study Deer Collaring Study
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The debt ceiling standoff between President Joe Biden and House Republicans has illuminated the Public Debt Clause of the 14th Amendment, one of the most obscure provisions in the Constitution and one seldom discussed since the Civil War. Its invocation may be the key to avoiding economic catastrophe.

Section 4 of the 14th Amendment provides: The validity of the public debt, authorized by law. . . shall not be questioned. Legal scholars and historians agree that the clause was designed to ensure that the federal government would not repudiate its debts, as some former Confederate states had done.

This relatively unknown clause of the 14th Amendment aimed to place beyond doubt the obligations of the government to repay debts incurred by the Union in suppressing the southern rebellion, but its language, as the Library of Congress analysis justly observes, indicates a broader connotation. The validity of the public debt embraces whatever concerns the integrity of the public obligations and applies to government bonds issued after as well as before adoption of the Amendment.

Simply put, the Public Debt Clause declares to the world that America pays its bills. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said, America has never defaulted, and it never will.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin has warned Congress and President Biden that they have only until June 1 to reach a deal to raise the nations $31.4 trillion borrowing limit or face a default. The consequences of a default  the failure of America to pay its bills  economists and government officials tell us, would be far-reaching: more than eight million people would lose their jobs, millions of social security beneficiaries, veterans and military families could lose their monthly payments and vital federal services including air traffic control could be disrupted if government employees are not paid. In addition, many businesses would be forced into bankruptcy and financial markets would be gripped by panic. Economic pain in America and across the globe would be long-lasting. It is with good reason that the standoff is described as a crisis.

The looming deadline and the deep-seated difficulties in winning a compromise between President Biden and House Republicans suggest resort to the Public Debt Clause as a solution, although it has never been invoked in previous debt ceiling fights and is wrapped in controversy.

Under section four of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees that the U.S. will not default, but in fact pay its bills, it is unconstitutional for our nation not to pay its debts. President Biden, in the exercise of his duty under Article II of the Constitution  He shall take care to faithfully execute the laws of the land  would direct the Treasury Department to issue debts without congressional action that raises the debt ceiling.

Under this theory, since the money authorized by Congress has been spent, the federal government has an obligation to somehow find or mint the money to pay in full those whom it has promised to pay. For those wondering, President Biden, on the authority of a 1998 Supreme Court decision in the line-item veto case, has no discretionary authority to pick and choose which debts to pay. Again, the nations debts must be paid. In full.

Those who object to this theory on grounds that such presidential action would constitute a usurpation of the congressional power of the purse, including the authority under Article I, Section 8, Clause 2, to borrow Money on the credit of the United States, certainly have a legitimate, textual point.

What is to be done, however, if Congress fails to exercise that power to fulfill its duty in the face of an obligation under the 14th Amendment, a scenario fully contemplated by the drafters of this pivotal Reconstruction Amendment who were very much alive to the possibility that a post-Civil War Congress might resist payment of its debts? Mindful of that scenario, and the economic and systemic calamity that it could produce, the Framers of the 14th Amendment employed language that imposed on the federal government a direct constitutional command: the validity of the public debt, authorized by law, shall not be questioned.

The constitutional command would be rendered toothless by an obstinate Congress unwilling to carry out its duty to pay debts that have been incurred. But the 14th Amendment is the supreme law of the land and cannot be ignored or circumvented by a legislative body unwilling to pay Americas bills. And because it is a law, the president, who has a constitutional duty to execute the laws, should fulfill it by invoking the Public Debt Clause. The fact that there is no clear legal mechanism for the president to do so, other than under the authority of the Public Debt Clause through the performance of his duty in Take Care Clause, does not relieve the federal government of performing its constitutional obligation to pay the nations debts.

While the failure of both branches  executive and legislative  to meet their constitutional responsibilities would be reprehensible, it would not begin to compare with the global financial calamity unleashed by the United States if the public debt is not paid before June 1.
Vote the United National Congress (UNC) into office and get more matters like Piarco Airport, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has told citizens.

Though stating that Thursdays political meeting in San Fernando was not the launch of the Peoples National Movement (PNM) local government campaign, Rowley trained his guns on Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the UNC.
THE United States Supreme Court with its justices appointed for life is being portrayed as a divided group of jurists making them the butt of jokes worldwide.

These justices may very well focus without any bias on significant matters related to interpreting the law, on how a law should be applied or even its relevance in some instances.
Therese May and George Reel see plenty of wildlife at their east-side home near Saguaro National Park, but the visitor that dropped in on Mothers Day was something new.

At first, it seemed like any other Harriss hawk. Except this bird of prey decided to perch on their front gate and didnt fly away when May moved in to take its picture.

Thats when May noticed the leather straps wrapped around the hawks legs. One of the straps, known as a jess in the falconry world, had a small bell strung through it.

The hawk eventually flew off, but it showed back up later in the day, this time on their back patio. When May went out for a closer look, the bird gazed back at her intently.

Then she flew right at me, and I ducked, May said with a laugh. It wasnt an attack thing. She almost flew at me like Are you my mother? or whatever.

After its flyby, the hawk perched in a nearby tree and continued to stare at May. It flew at her twice more after that, but she dodged it each time.

Finally, the bird settled onto the back of a patio chair less than five feet from where May was standing. I thought, I bet her handler is a female, she said.

With the help of their granddaughters, May and Reel grabbed a dog crate from their garage and set it up on the patio with the door open. Then May tried to lure the bird inside by pretending to drop food though the top of the cage.

The gesture seemed to catch the hawks attention.

The bird walked into the crate, and my husband shut the door. It was as simple as that, May said. It was a well-behaved hawk.

With their visitor finally in hand, they called around in search of help. They also posted a picture of the caged bird  with the caption Whos missing their hawk?  in a Facebook group for desert wildlife enthusiasts.

Through it all, the hawk sat calmly inside the crate.

It didnt look stressed. It looked curious, May said. It wasnt flapping around, but Im sure it was ready to go home.

Flight risk

Less than an hour later, May and her husband delivered the caged bird to the nearby Tucson Wildlife Center, which returned the young female Harriss hawk to the licensed falconer who had lost it.

According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, which regulates falconry in the state, there had been other reports of a hawk with jesses on its legs flying free in the area for the past week or so. On May 13, a woman who lives less than a quarter of a mile from May and Reel posted pictures in a Facebook wildlife group after the hawk landed in her backyard.

Game and Fish spokesman Mark Hart said the owner of the bird, whose name was not released, told the Tucson Wildlife Center that the hawk had been frightened off by something and did not return.

That is something that does happen, but Id say its infrequent, said Kenneth Jacobson, raptor management coordinator for Game and Fish. Once a year or so, we get a call about a hawk with jesses thats flying around Phoenix or Tucson.

Falconers are required to fit their birds with numbered leg bands that can be used to trace them back to their owners, but they dont have to report a missing bird until it has been gone for at least 30 days, Jacobson said.

Agency records show 139 licensed falconers statewide and 37 in Game and Fishs Region 5, which includes Tucson and the rest of Southeastern Arizona.

It is not a pastime one enters into casually, Jacobson said. There are well-defined skill classes based on experience, and it can take years for an apprentice to become a general falconer and for a general falconer to become a master.

All falconers, regardless of skill level, must be licensed by the state.

Jacobson said an apprentice falconer has to be sponsored for a license by someone with general- or master-class certification. Then they must score at least an 80% on the states written test for falconry and have their hawk holding facility, known as a mews, inspected before they are allowed to keep a bird of prey.

For the birds

Raptors used for falconry are either trapped in the wild or obtained through captive-breeding programs. Jacobson said falconers are required to maintain an up-to-date inventory with the state, reporting any new additions or birds that die or escape.

Falconers in Arizona are only allowed to capture two wild birds a year, he said, and there are additional limitations based on the species of the raptor.

Harriss hawks and red-tail hawks are among the most popular species used for falconry in the state, but Jacobson said people train a whole host of other birds from small American kestrels to giant golden eagles, which are extremely difficult to obtain and require advanced certification.

It definitely takes a lot of effort and dedication to become a falconer, he said. Its a daily commitment. You cant take a break from caring for this wild animal.

Falconry dates back thousands of years and generally involves training a captive raptor to hunt small game. Professional falconers are still used today to control pest birds and animals at commercial buildings, airports, landfills and other urban settings.

Some hobbyists will keep their birds for years, while others prefer to catch a newly fledged hawk each year, train it to hunt and then set it free to use its skills to survive on its own in the wild.

Jacobson said it was fortunate that May and Reel were able to get the lost hawk back to its owner. The bird easily could have died had it gotten its jesses caught on something or been unable to find its own food.

Though trying to capture the hawk themselves might not have been the best idea, he said the couple did everything else right  from calling around once they spotted the bird to quickly delivering it to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator instead of trying to care for it themselves.

In the rare event that you encounter someones lost falconry bird, Jacobson recommends calling Game and Fish at 623-236-7201 and providing the agency with an exact location and a photo if possible. He said that information will be relayed to falconers in the area, so anyone who might be missing a bird will know where to look for it.

Therese May has one more piece of advice: Be prepared to duck, she said.
The bright purple vacation RV-turned-mobile-medical-clinic sits in the dirt parking lot of the New Life Community Center on Tucson's south side. Inside, space is tight, to say the least, but the atmosphere is clean, professional and friendly.

Were here because the people keep coming, and its a nice environment to be in, Gregory Loring says with a smile as he sits behind the wheel. It just makes you feel good.

Loring is the driver and Jack of all trades, as he puts it, for the March of Dimes Mom and Baby Mobile Unit.

An arms-length away, Lorings co-workers chat happily as they greet a new patient.

Whether theyre walking up to car windows or answering knocks on the recreational vehicles door, the teams only questions are patients names and how they can help. The mobile clinics services are free, providing maternity care for pregnant women and basic medical care for others who are undocumented, unhoused, uninsured or underinsured.

Osiris Lopez, a mother of two, visits the mobile clinic for pregnancy care and basic health care needs. She and her husband, immigrants from Mexico, have found it difficult to find health insurance in the U.S.

One of my cousins who also gave birth told me about the clinic, so thats how I found out and then I came, Lopez said in Spanish. Her second child was born in September at the Banner-University Medical Center Hospital after weeks of care from physicians at the mobile unit.

Anahi Briones, a University of Arizona undergraduate studying public health, is the first friendly face patients see when entering the clinic on wheels. Briones, a native of Nogales who speaks Spanish and English, does the initial check-ins. Out of respect, she talks with patients in their preferred language.

Most of the people I work with are Spanish speakers and because Im bilingual it helps them feel more comfortable, she said. Briones said some members of her family who immigrated from Mexico have struggled finding health care. A translator is important.

After check-in, Briones will lead a patient into one of two exam rooms.

The patient has a private consultation with Dr. Cynthia Sanchez or Dr. Francisco Gomez, residents in the Family and Community Medicine program at UA.

Gomez has been a doctor on the RV since September 2022 and has built close relationships.

Ill see a mom, and then in the next few times I might see that persons husband, and then I might see their grandmother, Gomez said, so that initial interaction is what really keeps bringing people in.

Shadie Tofigh, director of Maternal and Infant Health with the March of Dimes, said the Tucson-based unit is one of five mobile clinics owned by the March of Dimes and the only one in Arizona. The clinic is operated by the March of Dimes partner, the University of Arizonas College of Medicine.

The March of Dimes website says the mobile centers are designed to address a problem that more than 7 million women in the United States face  limited or no access to maternity care.

Arizona was identified as an area of need in the March of Dimes annual report card on the state of maternal-infant health. The report says 1 in 10 babies in 2021 were preterm, or born before 37 weeks of gestation. The March of Dimes links preterm births to higher rates of illness and says that babies who are born too soon are often born too small.

Arizona is also home to several populations that have been identified as being at high risk for preterm births. Hispanic mothers are 6% more likely than white mothers to give birth early, and Black mothers are an astounding 51% more likely to do so. Thats disproportionate to the population: In the July 2022 Census, nearly 4 out of every 10 Arizona residents identified as Black or Hispanic.

Dr. Nicole Person-Rennell, the medical director for the mobile health program and an assistant clinical professor at UA's Department of Family and Community Medicine, said medical care carries a high cost many cant afford.

Lack of insurance is a huge barrier in the United States health care system, Person-Rennell said. Without insurance the cost is incredibly prohibitive to almost everybody.

The census said nearly 12.8% of Arizonas population fell below the poverty line last year. In 2021, the American Immigration Council estimated that 13% of Arizonans were born in another country, with more than half born in Mexico.
One of the worlds largest pieces of bright-green bling is now in the hands of the Smithsonians National Museum of Natural History, thanks to some generous Arizona gem experts.

The precision-cut, 116.76-carat tsavorite gem known as the Lion of Merelani was donated to the Smithsonian by Tucson mining businessman Bruce Bridges and Scottsdale-based Somewhere In The Rainbow, a private gem and jewelry collector and exhibitor.

This tsavorite is truly one of the most important colored gemstones to have been mined this decade, said mineralogist Jeffrey Post, the Smithsonians curator-in-charge of gems and minerals. A gem like this is one of Earths natural treasures and is an exciting addition to the National Gem Collection and to our public exhibition.

The exceedingly rare, glowing green garnet was mined in Africa and cut in Tucson into a square cushion with 177 mirror-like facets. It went on display at the museum in Washington, D.C., late last month, alongside other famous gems such as the Hope Diamond and the Rosser Reeves Star Ruby.

It is quite remarkable, at least in the gem world, said Bridges, whose gem business, Bridges Tsavorite, is based in Kenya but has its sales office in Tucson. To have even a 2-plus carat (tsavorite) stone is a rare gem.

The rough stone weighed 283 carats when it was unearthed in late 2017 near Merelani, an area of northern Tanzania known for its gem deposits.

Bridges said he acquired the massive tsavorite (pronounced sah-vor-ite, with a silent first t) within about three weeks of its discovery, but he declined to say what he paid for it.

His business prides itself on mining rare colored stones and cutting them into finished gems in-house at its facilities in Africa. Bridges said this particular crystal required special tools and a world-renowned pair of hands.

Somewhere In The Rainbow connected him with gemcutter Victor Tuzlukov, a Russia-born grand master who traveled to Tucson from his home in Thailand to do the job. It took three months of planning and one month of cutting to produce the worlds largest square cushion tsavorite and the largest tsavorite gem ever cut in the United States.

Faraway Tucson

Bridges said Tuzlukov warmed up for the main event by cutting two other enormous tsavorite stones  one 31 carats, the other more than 58 carats  that have since been sold to buyers in Asia.

Either one of those in itself could be the largest stones you will ever see in your life, Bridges said, except neither are likely to be seen in public again, at least not in North America.

Thats why he was so eager to see the Lion land at the Smithsonian, where millions of people could appreciate its splendor. He said he wanted that for his father, to preserve his legacy and his dream for tsavorite to be brought to the world.

Bridges said the Lion of Merelani was named for the place in Tanzania where it was found and in honor of his father, Campbell Bridges.

He was the king of the colored gemstone world in Eastern Africa, and he wore a beard for most of his life that made him look a little like a lion, his son said with a laugh. All of the important gems have got a name.

Campbell Bridges discovered tsavorite in northern Tanzania in 1967. When the government of the East African nation blocked his efforts to mine the previously unknown semi-precious stone, the elder Bridges traced his tsavorite deposit into southern Kenya and opened a mine there in the early 1970s. The family has been mining in that area ever since.

Bruce Bridges said he learned about the Old Pueblo at an early age because of the Gem and Mineral Show.

When I was a boy growing up in Africa, my father used to leave for a month and go off to this far-away place called Tucson, Arizona, he said.

Bridges ended up attending the University of Arizona and earning a varsity letter as a sprinter on the track team, before graduating in 2004 and returning to Kenya to work for the family business.

Thats where he was on Aug. 11, 2009, when Campbell Bridges was murdered in front of him two weeks shy of his 72nd birthday. Bridges said he and his father were traveling on a mine road with four employees when they were ambushed by a mob that had been threatening them and trying to chase them off their holdings for several years.

Bridges said he still travels to Kenya regularly, but he and his wife, Danielle  also a 2004 graduate from UAs Eller College of Management  are raising their three children in Tucson to keep them safe.

Lion on display

According to the Smithsonian, Post and the rest of the museums gem-collection team got their first look at the Lion of Merelani during a secret meeting with Bridges at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in 2020. They were astonished by its size and quality.

Post said faceted tsavorites over 10 carats are rare, and this one outweighs the Smithsonians second largest specimen of the jewel by more than 100 carats.

As Tuzlukov shaped, cut and polished the stone, Bridges and others filmed the entire process for a documentary that will be shared with the Smithsonian to accent the gems display.

We knew this was a once in a lifetime experience for everyone involved, Bridges said.

We are confident that this great tsavorite will quickly become a visitor favorite, for its beauty and its well-documented story, Post said in a written statement. It will be the iconic garnet in the National Gem Collection, the one that all other tsavorites will be compared to in the future.

The Lion of Merelani was briefly on public display in Tucson last year at the Alfie Norville Gem & Mineral Museum in the historic Pima County Courthouse downtown.

The UA-run facility features a host of gemstones and jewelry pieces on loan from Somewhere In The Rainbow, which works with museums and galleries to display items from its collection for all to enjoy. Somewhere In The Rainbow partnered with Bridges to keep the Lion in the U.S. and available for public display.

Their goal is education, Bridges said of the organization.

The Smithsonian held a public unveiling of the Lion of Merelani on April 20, with guests including Tuzlukov and Somewhere In The Rainbow curator Shelly Sergent. Three generations of tsavorites founding family were also in attendance: Bridges, his wife, his children, and his mother, Judith.
Missouri-born Chick-in Waffle opened its first restaurant outside its Kansas City homebase in a former midtown Tucson Burger King on Friday, May 19.

A second Arizona location is expected to open in Mesa in June, and a downtown Phoenix location is expected later this summer.

Oro Valley businessman Sunny Patel and several family members are the franchise operators for the Tucson and Mesa Chick-in Waffle locations. Patel also operates outposts of Taco Plus Mexican Grub on East Speedway and North Stone Avenue, as well as two locations of the Texas-based chain Tikka Shack Indian Grub in Phoenix.

Chick-in Waffle, 5524 E. Grant Road, is the first chicken and waffles restaurant in Tucson since Mays Counter Chicken & Waffles on East Speedway closed in 2018. Several Tucson restaurants, including The Drunken Chicken on North Fourth Ave., serve chicken and waffles, but none of them focuses on it exclusively.

Chick-in Waffle serves bone-in and boneless chicken wings and tenders in 10 varieties, from Nashville hot to Asian chile, buffalo style and maple, paired with a bubble waffle or waffle cone (yes, the same kind of waffle cone used for ice cream).

They also serve eight versions of chicken sandwiches and 10 variations of loaded fries, including poutine topped with chicken strips.

I think people in this community will absolutely love it, Patel said Friday as he and Chick-in Waffle founders Dennis Alazzeh and Sara Azraq worked with Patel and his staff at the Tucson restaurants grand opening.

Alazzeh said he had been hesitant at first about opening a franchise in Tucson, given how far it is from Kansas City.

I flew down to Tucson and I started driving around and found all these trendy restaurants, he said. Im excited for whats to come in Tucson. I think its a great place for our kind of food, and not just chicken and waffles.

Alazzeh and Azraq came up with the idea for Chick-in Waffles when Azraq was pregnant with their daughter, who is now 4. Alazzeh said he would come home from work to find his wife, who was craving sweet and savory foods throughout the pregnancy, in the kitchen making chicken and waffles. Every day was a different kind of chicken, including spicy variations.

The couple joked that they would open a chicken and waffles restaurant, but after their daughter was born, Alazzeh decided opening a restaurant wasnt such a bad idea.

I decided I needed a change so I put in my two weeks notice, said Alazzeh, who grew up in his familys restaurant business but went in a different direction after college. I swore off the restaurant business after working in the family business, but something told me this is my calling and I went back into it.

The couple opened their flagship restaurant in Kansas City in January 2020, and after having to slow down courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic, the business took off on social media once pandemic restrictions were lifted.

Everything just kind of took off for us, Alazzeh said.

The couple franchised a second Kansas City location, and a third, in nearby Independence, Missouri, is opening soon.

Alazzeh said the concept could expand to Texas and Tennessee.

I would love to have Chick-in Waffle in all 50 states and beyond, in Canada, Alazzeh said.
Arizona, California and Nevada have agreed on a plan to shave a total of 3 million acre-feet over the next three years from their Colorado River water use in return for federal compensation of at least $1 billion, sources familiar with the negotiations say.

The agreement reportedly has approval from the U.S. Interior Department on amounts of water saved and the federal compensation.

While its a lot less than Interior officials wanted to get from the states until recently, one source said its the best deal that can be obtained without litigation. An environmentalist, however, blasted the proposed cuts as pathetic. Federal officials had said they wanted the states to save at least 2 million to 4 million acre-feet a year.

Other issues remain to be settled, including how the rivers three Lower Basin states would share the cuts. Also unsettled at this time is how Arizonas share of whatever cuts are approved would be split among various water users, including cities like Tucson and farmers along the river in Yuma and other areas.

Its also uncertain whether the rivers Upper Basin states  Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming  will sign onto this agreement, a source close to the negotiations said. Interior has wanted to get all seven states to support an agreement.

Also not clear is whether Arizona, California and Nevada and the federal government can reach complete agreement in time for a May 30 deadline, set by the feds, to comment on an earlier, draft federal environmental impact statement on the river. That statement analyzed two proposals calling for much more draconian cuts than the states are now talking about.

The agreement was first reported Wednesday by the Washington Post, citing anonymous sources. The Star was able to confirm its basic terms by interviewing sources familiar with or close to the negotiations. They also spoke on the condition their names and professional affiliations not be disclosed.

Federal and state officials directly involved in the negotiations have declined to comment, citing the gravity and sensitivity of the issues involved.

Terry Goddard, president of the Central Arizona Projects governing board, said hes heard that the amount agreed for savings may be lower, at 2 million acre-feet total over three years. He doesnt sit in on the negotiations himself. CAP General Manager Brenda Burman does sit in on them, but DeEtte Person, an agency spokeswoman, said Burman isnt commenting on the negotiations for now.

There has been a request made to Interior by Lower Basin states to extend the May 30 deadline for comments on the environmental report for another 60 days, Goddard said.

I think there are some details that need to be worked out. The timing Ive been privy to is if you are going to have to do your serious legal comments by the end of the month, time for discussion is almost over, Goddard said. It takes at least two weeks to put them together. I think it is far better to put some time in now to see if the states can come to an agreement.

This was a hurry up deal in the first place to get the comments in by 45 days after the draft was released, he said.

The 3 million acre-feet over three years thats now under discussion for savings by the Lower Basin states represents less than 10% of the water that all seven river basin states pull from the river in that period. Of all the water used from the river, at least half usually goes directly to the Lower Basin states.

California controls the largest share, at 4.4 million acre-feet a year. Arizona is second largest, with rights to 2.8 million, although it has used significantly less than that in recent years due to voluntary conservation measures.

The rest is accounted for by use in the Upper Basin and Mexico and evaporation of water from the river and its reservoirs.

The 3 million is far less than Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton told Congress nearly a year ago, in mid-June 2022, that she was demanding the states save.

She said at the time that cuts of 2 million to 4 million acre-feet a year were needed to insure that Lakes Mead and Lake Powell dont fall so low that they could no longer generate electricity.

The Interior Departments Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the river, released in mid-April, also analyzed much more severe cuts. Depending on how high the reservoirs are in a given year, the Interior-studied proposals could cut up to 2 million acre-feet in 2024 and up to 4 million in 2025 and 2026.

Toutons comments came, however, at a time when the short-term outlook for the river and its big reservoirs was much more dire than it is today.

At the time, Lake Powell in particular stood barely 30 feet above the level at which it could no longer generate electricity. Interiors draft environmental reports proposals were based on computer modeling that relied on those very low reservoir levels.

This year has brought a complete change in weather patterns, after three dry years in the river basin. Snowpack in the Upper Basin reached 150% of normal. River runoff into Powell is now expected to reach 172% of the average runoff from April through July 2023.

As a result, the river is now forecast to carry 18 million acre-feet this year, about 50% above its annual average flow. That means that on top of the 3 million acre-feet in savings the states have agreed to, the river will get the benefit of another 6 million acre-feet in additional water, one source close to the negotiations noted Thursday.

You take 6 million this year plus 3 million and its 9 million in net gains for the river over three years, that source said.

The agreement probably will be front loaded to put a larger percentage of cuts over the next two years, and will contain contingencies requiring more cuts if the next few years are very dry, the source said.

If we get drier years, all bets are off, that source said. We go back to the drawing board.

This was a miraculous year, and from the modelling the basin states have done, it appears that even if the next two or three years are dry, we are going to be OK at least through 2025, added a second source familiar with the negotiations.

That would keep the river and its reservoirs in good shape going into a separate but related set of negotiations seeking to set long-term operating standards for the river when the current ones expire in 2026, that source said.

The federal government is likely to go along with this reduced level of cuts because thats the best deal they can get without facing litigation by the states challenging higher levels of cuts, said another source familiar with the negotiations.

But while 1 million acre-feet a year is better than nothing and way better than litigation, its not sufficient to resolve the imbalance weve been experiencing between supply and demand on the river since 2000, that source said.

It may take years. It may take five years, but if thats all there is (in water savings), we will go back into the same situation there was last summer, that source said.

John Weisheit, an environmentalist with the Utah-based Living Rivers, savaged the states proposed cuts, calling them pathetic and pitiful.

Thats not even close to what needs to be done. For every good snowmelt year we have three bad ones. That proposal proves theyre still kicking the can down the road, Weisheit said. Its impossible for them to get serious about climate change and the long-term impacts, because it every decade will get worse, not better.

Water-use cuts of only a million acre-feet a year would be problematic if they include several hundred thousand acre-feet of cuts already approved, for instance, in Arizona, said Sarah Porter, director of Arizona State Universitys Kyl Center for Water Policy. But if the newly agreed-upon round of cuts come on top of those already planned and paid for, they could be acceptable, Porter said.

As for the Upper Basin states, their water officials havent yet agreed to sign on to the water-saving proposal, a source close to the negotiations told the Star. Thats because the Lower Basin states have conditioned the proposal on getting a commitment from the federal government not to limit releases from Lake Powell to Lake Mead below 7 million acre-feet unless the feds also release some water to Powell during a dry year from reservoirs lying upstream.

The purpose of both limiting Lake Powell releases and of releasing water from upstream reservoirs would be to keep Powells water level at least at 3,500. Thats 10 feet above the level at which the lake could no longer generate electricity.

The concern about this Lower Basin proposal is that without the three states taking sufficient measures to cut their water use, the releases from Lake Powell to the Lower Basin are propping up overuse in the Lower Basin," the source said. The 1 million acre-feet a year cuts now being discussed aren't enough to eliminate that overuse and reduce the rivers long-term deficit, the source said.

"The Upper Basin reservoirs were being drawn down without a deal in the Lower Basin to further reduce usage and we know there is a structural deficit between supply and demand in the Lower Basin," that source said.

Also, if water releases from an upstream reservoir such as Flaming Gorge at the Utah-Wyoming border raises Powell high enough, that could trigger a provision in the river's existing operating guidelines that would require additional releases from Powell to Mead, the source said. Their purpose would be to "balance" the two reservoirs' contents.

In an email to the Star, Chuck Cullom, director of the Upper Colorado River Commission that represents the four Upper Basin states on river water issues, declined to comment on this matter, saying, I am unable to comment on discussions between the Lower Basin and Interior.
Sonia Massoud, a nurse for 14 years and resident of Tucson, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001.

She attended her annual mammogram appointment in February of that year, and everything was normal until she scratched an itch on her chest two months later. Thats when she found lumps. Massoud said she was convinced it was a cyst but then received her breast cancer diagnosis.

I got an email that I got a new result in a pie chart, and I was like OK, great. I sat there and I read it at a light on my way to work. So that was a little nerve-wracking for me, Massoud said.

Massouds first thought was about her daughter, she said, who was 8 at the time. She said it was difficult to find the right time to tell her, but she found out on her own after overhearing Massoud.

Massoud said she reassured her that everything would be fine, but as a single mom, she also worried about what might happen if she died.

What would I do? That was not an option though, Massoud said. Im just going to do whatever the doctor tells me.

Massouds mother was a nurse and instilled in her an instinct to get health issues taken care of, so she knew she needed to get the lump checked out immediately.

However, as a nurse herself, Massoud said shes had patients who are reluctant to see their doctor. Massoud said that she understands the fear, but its important to get examined anyway.

You have better outcomes and prognosis if you go. As scary as it is to find out, its scarier when you have less options because you waited, Massoud said.

Andrea Casillas, a research grants manager at the patient advocacy organization Susan G. Komen, said breast cancer risk is particularly high for women in the Hispanic community.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in Pima County, and although breast cancer-related deaths have declined by 43% from 1989 to 2020, breast cancer is currently the leading cause of cancer-related death for Hispanic women in the United States.

Yet according to the CDC, Hispanic women were less likely to have had a mammogram in the past two years at 64.6% compared to white women, 71.2%.

Casillas said the foundation has observed a cultural taboo in the Hispanic community when discussing breast cancer, something she said shes noticed herself as a Mexican American. For instance, in Mexico, breast cancer is called cancer de mama or mothers cancer rather than cancer de senos, the Spanish translation of breast cancer.

Casillas said the organization is trying to change the image of breast cancer from something taboo to thinking of the illness clinically.

Its important to destigmatize, Casillas said. Its not dirty words, its important in our health.

This shift is needed, Casillas said, because having open conversations with relatives about their familys cancer history can save lives. Breast cancer deaths are often linked to finding the cancer at a late stage, and although Casillas addressed the importance of getting mammograms, she said its equally important for women to know their health information.

She said if they discover a first-degree relative of theirs, a parent, sibling or child, is diagnosed, Komen recommends that everyone in the family gets tested to make sure they dont have breast cancer, as well. Casillas said this advice is relevant for all families and communities.

Finding support

Unfortunately, not everyone has generational knowledge or a record of their medical history. This is often the case for people experiencing poverty, and financial limitations play a powerful role in survivability. Women with a household income 2.5 times less than the poverty level were 1.44 times more likely to die of breast cancer than women whose household income was five or more times greater than the poverty level.

Casillas said Komen is combating economic disparities with a financial assistance program. Women with stage 0 to 3 breast cancer can receive $500 in assistance if they are 300% percent of the federal poverty level or below, and women with stage four breast cancer can receive $750.

One of the hurdles women have in breast cancer treatment may just be money and we dont want that to impact their health, Casillas said.

Komen also staffs a free helpline from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday. The helpline is available in English and Spanish; Casillas said having someone who understands ones native language and cultural competency while theyre navigating a difficult diagnosis like breast cancer can make the process more manageable.

Casillas has been raising money for The Susan G. Komen three-day fundraiser in Denver, where participants each raise at least $2,000 and walk 60 miles over three consecutive days. Last year she raised about $2,500. Currently, shes made 20% of her goal and said shes planning to raise the rest before the walk in August.

A local nonprofit organization is also working to help cancer patients and survivors in Tucson. The all-volunteer-based organization, Tucson Cancer Conquerors (TCC), was started by a group of women, including the president of the TCC and anesthesiologist Dr. Elizabeth Almli.

Almli was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. She felt a lump in her chest, and when she had it checked out, the doctors told her they thought it was a cyst and she needed to follow up in six months. Almli said she wasnt comfortable waiting and had the lump removed. She was shocked to discover the lump was not a cyst but an aggressive invasive ductal carcinoma, cancer in the milk duct.

Ive been involved in the care of cancer patients ever since I started doing anesthesia, I just didnt ever think I would be one, Almli said.

She had a bilateral mastectomy where her breasts were removed, had reconstruction, and finished her chemo 17 years ago. Almli found community through exercising with a group of friends also going through cancer. After getting personal training certifications and discussing expanding the group, they applied for and received nonprofit status in 2014.

I know for me I was like, I dont need a support group, Im a doctor and Im busy, but when I started exercising with people, that was my support group, Almli said. It didnt have to be cancer, it was making a connection with people who were my friends, who understood me.

Exercise is still one of the groups objectives, as exercising can help during treatment and lower a persons rate of cancer recurrence. However, volunteers have contributed to a long list of activities for members, from mindful hiking to conversations over coffee. What started as a small exercise group has grown to about 140 members, Massoud being one of them.

Massoud said the group took away her fear of being alone. She didnt know anyone whod experienced cancer, but through the TCC, shes found social support, education about cancer and how to maintain a healthy survivorship.

Some of these women in the group, they remind you of your grandma, Massoud said. You just love them to pieces and youre like, oh my gosh, youre 80 and you survived this 20-some years ago, which means I can do this.

To learn more about the Susan G. Komen Foundation, its support programs or to donate, visit komen.org.

To learn more about Tucson Cancer Conquerors, visit tucsoncancerconquerors.org.
PHOENIX  The key witness for Kari Lake testified Thursday he doesnt believe it was possible for Maricopa County election workers to have met their legal requirement to compare the signatures on early ballots cast with other records.

Eric Speckin, testifying for the unsuccessful GOP candidate for governor as she tries to get the 2022 election results overturned, said his examination of data he got from Maricopa County shows people employed by the elections department compared the signatures on 321,495 envelopes in less than three seconds. That led Kurt Olsen, one of Lakes attorneys, to ask Speckin his expert opinion about whether its possible to make such a comparison in such a short time.

I dont believe it can be done, Speckin answered. This is what I do and Ive done for 30 years, handwriting and signatures, he said, saying he believes he is at the top of the pyramid of who could to this kind of comparison.

If I cant do it, I dont see how anyone could do it on a mass scale, day after day, hour after hour at these rates, he said. It cant be so.

But Rey Valenzuela, the countys elections director, testified thats not true.

He said it could take just seconds for a verifier, with an image from the envelope and an image of the registration record on a screen in front of them, to determine they are consistent.

Arizona law requires election officials, on receiving early ballots, to compare the signatures thereon with the signature on the electors registration record. Lakes case is built on her contention the county never met that requirement, though her lawyers have offered no explanation of why they say that didnt happen.

Under cross examination, Craig Morgan, an attorney representing the county, asked Speckin  who never actually examined any of the ballots or the comparison signatures  whether he could say that any ballots with mismatched signatures were counted.

He conceded he could not.

Elena Rodriguez Armenta, an attorney representing Gov. Katie Hobbs, who defeated Lake in the November election, told the judge that means Lake has not met her burden on proving by clear and convincing evidence that the legally required examination of ballots was not conducted.

Even if Lake could show that  a point Rodriguez Armenta is not conceding  Lake can win her case only if she also can show there is a competent mathematical basis that the outcome of the election would have been different. Hobbs attorney said Lake offered no such evidence.

Theres something else that could affect Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompsons eventual ruling.

Lake offered up Speckin, who charges $600 an hour, as an expert witness to help the court analyze and understand the evidence. But Morgan said Speckin calls himself a forensic document analyst, though there is no such official title.

In your line of work you can call yourself whatever you want, Morgan told Speckin.

Sure, he responded. But Speckin said that has to be backed up in court.

Morgan pointed up one case, out of Hong Kong, where he said an appellate judge said an opinion Speckin gave in court was not reliable.

There is also the question of whether the Maricopa County data on which Speckin was opining  the number of seconds per review  is accurate. Speckin said it was what he received after he submitted a public records request.

Olsen said the question of whether Speckin examined ballots is irrelevant, saying the data itself proves Lakes case despite the countys claim it was complying with the law to verify signatures.

Signature verification is not simply what we say it is, Olsen told the judge. He said the law requires reviewers to not just compare signatures  meaning take look at both  but to make actual comparisons.

And that takes time, he said. You cannot just throw two signatures up on a screen and do a comparison, Olsen said. Defendants would have the court believe that compare has no meaning.

He said the numbers back that up  and not just the ones showing 321,495 signatures verified in three seconds or less.

He cited Speckins testimony that about 70,000 signatures were verified in fewer than two seconds. Speckin said the top seven reviewers in that category verified 100% of the signatures as matches.

Whatever Thompson rules is virtually certain to be appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court.
WASHINGTON  Emily Reed lost her younger sister Jessica more than 10 years ago. For much of the past decade, shes visited Jessicas Twitter page to help keep her memory alive.

Twitter became one of the places where Emily processed her grief and reconnected with a sister she describes as almost like a twin. But Jessicas account is now gone.

Last week, owner Elon Musk announced Twitter would be purging accounts that have had no activity for several years. That decision has been met by an outcry from those who have lost, or who fear losing the thoughts and words of deceased loved ones linked to now-inactive accounts.

Reed immediately returned to Jessicas page as she had done a day or two earlier after learning of the purge. In place of Jessicas page was an account suspended message that suggested it may be in violation of Twitter rules.

Reeds tweet recounting her shock over the loss of the account has received tens of thousands of responses. Others shared similar experiences of pain upon learning that the account of a deceased loved one had vanished.

Having these digital footprints  is super important to me, Reed, 43, said.

The advent of social media has come with new way in which people mourn, returning to the place where they connected with friends and family in the past. In addition to memories and physical traces left behind, snippets of lives are have are now being captured in the digital space.

It is something that social media platforms have wrestled with for recent years.

Twitter backed off an attempt to purge inactive accounts in 2019, years before Musk arrived, due to a similar backlash.

Other social media sites have found ways to allow people to mourn those theyve lost.

Facebook and Instagram allow users to request an account be deactivated, or a memorialization of the account. Memorialized accounts show the word Remembering next to the persons name.

In this modern age, we have these electronic reminders of people  (including) little snippets of a thought they had on a particular day or pictures that they shared, said Shira Gabriel, professor of psychology at University at Buffalo. Looking through a late loved ones social media can be both a healthy way to process grief and gather as a community in remembrance, Gabriel said.

The prospect of that resource disappearing can bring about a sense of mourning again, Gabriel said. There is a real psychological cost of getting rid of this digital thumbprint that was left behind and this ability for community members to gather in one spot.

It is unknown if Musk will backtrack on the decision to purge. The billionaire CEO of Tesla has launched policies that have rattled users and advertisers alike and shown little interest in amending those policies in response.

Musk named a new CEO last week, Linda Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal advertising executive, who will have her hands full with a platform seemingly now in a perpetual state of chaos.

Deleting inactive accounts can be seen as fulfilling a promise Musk made when he bought the company, particularly winnowing down junk accounts and bots, said Samuel Woolley, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austins School of Journalism and Media.

There are good reasons to preserve inactive accounts, and also reasons to delete them, Woolley said, but he is leery of the one-size-fits-all approach.

Advocates of purging accounts cite skewed metrics caused by inactive accounts or bogus on social media platforms. Yet on top of emotional pain for some users mourning late loved ones, deleting inactive accounts could also mean losing tweets that documented historical events, commentary and breaking news on the app over the years.

Twitter operates in many ways like a library of data, Woolley said. Just because someone hasnt been active for 30 days or a few years, doesnt mean their tweets dont still have a great amount of relevance.

Musk did say the reasoning behind removing inactive accounts was to free up unused Twitter handles, or user names, and that those inactive accounts would be archived.

What exactly that means is not known  including what inactive accounts will look like when theyre archived, and whether theyll be easily accessible. Other details of the plan are also unclear, such as the number of accounts to be removed and whether the policy will be evenly enforced.

Picking and choosing accounts for deactivation would create precisely the kind of tiered system that Musk says he wants to avoid, Woolley said.

Reed talks about the importance of Jessicas Twitter and Facebook pages during her journey with grief  from following her sisters difficult journey with cystic fibrosis, a progressive genetic disorder that Reed also has, to cherishing tweets that showed the joy and... the vibrancy that came out of her words.

Over time, the image and memories of someone who has passed away can slowly change in your mind  like a fading photograph, Reed said. Having online resources, she added, can help keep a persons memory alive, in a way that just your own personal memory cant.
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

Republican politicians who take absolute positions on three issues  abortion, gun control and election denial  are turning off voters. This is the second of three opinion pieces, each exploring one issue that has made Republicans vulnerable.

Election denialism came long before Donald J. Trump began proselytizing about it.

Yet Trump and denialism have become inseparable, burdening the Republican Partys ability to elect candidates and making the state of Arizona election denial headquarters.

In 2016 when he was elected, sore winner Trump claimed that fraud gave Hillary Clinton an edge in the popular vote. Since then:

Republicans lost the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, as 41 seats flipped to Democratic, including one in Arizona. It was the nations highest percentage voter turnout for a midterm election in more than a century. Many factors were involved, with Trumps election fraud lies, bombast and overall behavior significant contributors.

Trump lost re-election in 2020. Democrats won the Senate, including an Arizona seat and both Georgia seats in a runoff election featuring Trump-endorsed election deniers.

The 2020 Trump loss included Arizona. He and fellow Republicans were incredulous, driving an ill-conceived, partisan audit of Maricopa Countys results. That turned off many Republican and Republican-leaning voters, leading to what happened in 2022.

In Arizonas 2022 election, four Republican and Trump-endorsed election denialists lost statewide races  for U.S. Senate, governor, secretary of state and attorney general. In other states, nearly all denialists supported by Trump lost their races.

Of note is that Arizona had two statewide Republican winners in 2022, Treasurer Kimberly Yee and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne. How did they avoid the states blue wave? By not seeking Trumps endorsement and not espousing election denialism.

Those results were further evidence of what Trump and denialism have done to Republicans. In 2022, they barely won a U.S. House majority and lost ground in the Senate. The real denialism was that the GOP was denied the predicted red wave.

Arizonas deniers, and those elsewhere, continue pressing their false claims, even with clear evidence that there was no fraud, no electronic conversion of Republican votes to Democratic candidates, no Mexican cartel or Mormon Church interventions.

In tossing denialist Liz Harris out of the Arizona House of Representatives on April 12, Republicans made no reference to her claims of election fraud, but rather said her actions brought disrepute and embarrassment to the House of Representatives. As if the GOP doesnt already make the Legislature disreputable and embarrassing.

Harris, after her election last year, said she would not vote on any bill until the 2022 election was redone. She shortly after dropped that idea but continued her denialism.

Alexander Kolodin, another Republican House member and a lawyer for Republican election deniers who are still appealing their losses, voted against expelling Harris. Kolodin said Harris was elected to rock the boat, and excluding her sent a bad message to voters.

What message does calling for a redo of the legitimate 2022 election send? Its one thing to rock the boat. Its another to punch a hole in it and stand by as it fills with water and sinks, taking democracy to the bottom of the sea.

Politico reporter David Siders, in a Feb. 3 story, quoted the director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research about the election denial phenomenon.

I asked David Becker, the groups founder and executive director, if there was one state more than others that he worried about election denialism in the run-up to 2024, Siders wrote in Politico.  Yeah, said Becker.  This is not going to shock anyone, but Arizona. 

The falsity of election denialism has driven many voters away from Republican candidates, among independents and Republicans in Arizona and elsewhere.

Only about one-third of Arizona registered voters are Republicans, and many of them are not election deniers. Those who are and the candidates they support will be rightfully to blame if Republicans continue losing elections.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

LOS ANGELES (AP)  A man who waged a year-long series of BB gun attacks on a Southern California Planned Parenthood clinic was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in federal prison.

Richard Royden Chamberlin, 53, was sentenced Monday in Los Angeles federal court, the U.S. attorney's office said in a statement.

At least 11 attacks targeted a Planned Parenthood facility in Pasadena between June 2020 and May 2021. No one was hurt but a person waiting outside for a patient was nearly struck, staff was terrified and the building was damaged, prosecutors said.

Pasadena police stopped Chamberlin after a May 7, 2021, attack and found he had eight BB guns and a backpack containing a loaded .22-caliber pistol.

The U.S. attorney's office said that Chamberlin, who was convicted in Arizona in 2012 of felony attempted transportation of a narcotic for sale, subsequently tried to sell or transfer ownership of other firearms. A search of his home found thousands of rounds of ammunition, gun powder, a dozen BB guns, and other weapons-related items.

Chamberlin pleaded guilty in December 2022 to one count of violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Editor's note: Reviews included are from 2021 to present.

Il Seme

15 W. Fifth St., 539-525-0265, ilsemetulsa.com

Chef Lisa Becklund returned to her culinary roots with Il Seme, a concept that grew out of having to close her Farm Bar restaurant temporarily. Like that restaurant and the farm-to-table dinners she creates at Living Kitchen in Depew, Becklund sources most of her ingredients locally, although some of the items that go into the dishes at Il Seme can only come from Italy. Whatever the source, the results are impressive. The simple tomato sauce that accompanies the arancini appetizer is good enough to eat with a spoon. Bolognese sauce over fresh fettucini noodles is light yet richly flavored. And desserts such as rose panna cotta and strawberry Pavlova are simply divine.

Mr. Kims

119 S. Detroit Ave. 918- 856-6456, fantasticmrkims.com

One of four new concepts the McNellie Group opened in 2022, Mr. Kims is the most personal expression of culinary director Ben Alexander, one that speaks equally to his own Korean heritage as well as his love of his adoptive parents and country. Everything centers around the in-table grills, where guests can choose individual items from the menu, or go with one of the Omakase, or Chefs Tasting Menu, which includes a mix of beef and pork preparations  some marinated, some lightly adorned with a dusting of flaked sea salt, all raw and of a quality that all they really need is a little heat to be tasty  along with a trio of appetizers and banchan, the array of side dishes that are a familiar part of Korean cuisine. One can do the cooking, or have servers assist in the preparation. It makes for a wonderfully communal and kaleidoscopically flavorful meal.

Copaneazis Pizzeria

522 S. Boston Ave. 918-392-8008

Using a custom-made gas-fired stone-lined oven, Copaneazis creates some seriously good pizza, with a crust recipe developed by executive chef Joey Guns that is relatively thin, yet sturdy without being cracker-crisp, with a slightly nutty flavor and a light texture that is just a touch chewy without being doughy or gummy. One can choose from the reds (topped with San Marzano tomato sauce) or the whites (drizzled with olive oil), and indulge in such gangster-inspired pies as The Bugsy with mushrooms and onions; the Fughettaboutit with artichokes, mushrooms, onions, and roasted red peppers; and the Goodfellas with cup-and-curl pepperoni.

Wildflower Cafe

1306 E. 11th St., in the Meadow Gold District, 918-764-8843, wildflowercafetulsa.com

When a restaurant makes a grilled cheese sandwich using house-made pimento cheese, then actually griddles the cheese to create a crisp, caramelized layer over the rest of the creamy, tangy mixture, one can be sure this place takes the concept of comfort food seriously.

Chef and owner Heather Linville does just that at Wildflower Cafe, making food that is simple, real, fresh and well-made. Try the Snickerdoodle waffle with house-made cinnamon syrup or the biscuits and gravy for breakfast, or sample one of the regular lunch specials, such as the full Thanksgiving dinner available every Thursday.

Restaurant Basque

114 N. Boston Ave., 918-442-2996, basquetulsa.com

The latest concept from restaurateur Amelia Eesley, overseen by chef Andrew Donovan, features foods from the Basque region, an area that straddles the Spanish-French border, and which draws its cuisine equally from the land and sea.

The small plates encourage sharing, although there might be some dishes one will want to keep to oneself, such as the salt-baked petrale sole, the charred Spanish octopus, the Basque-style snails, tender to the point of creaminess, in a lively, potent sauce of bacon and choricero peppers.

Oakhart Barbecue

1644 E. Third Street, 539-867-1175, oakhartbbq.com

Co-owners Brian Hodges and Chris Emmons wanted to bring the sort of Central Texas barbecue made famous by such pitmasters as Aaron Franklin  Ive never been to Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas, but if it is producing the sort of barbecue that Oakhart does, I can understand why people wait in line for hours.

The ribs, brisket and house-made sausage are among the standout entrees, but sides such as cheesy grits more than hold their own.

La Tertulia

311 E. Second St., 539-525-0853, facebook.com/latertuliatulsa

James Beard Award-winning chef Kevin Nashan pays homage to his family history with this restaurant that serves up contemporary takes on the New Mexican cuisine that drew travelers to his grandparents Santa Fe restaurant.

The menu is not extensive, but it is varied; newcomers might wish to start with the deluxe combination dinner, which gives one a fairly comprehensive sampling of what La Tertulia can do, with a taco, a rolled blue-corn enchilada, a tamale, a chili relleno and a good portion of carne adovada, which is chunks of pork shoulder simmered in a rich and spicy red chili sauce, rice, pinto beans and pozole, or hominy.

Red Light Chicken

332 E. First St., 918-986-7733, redlightchicken.com

Red Light Chicken specializes in chicken made the way many people believe God intended  dredged in seasoned flour and fried to a state of golden-brown deliciousness.

The menu is, indeed, uncomplicated. One can order chicken either on the bone or as boneless tenders, the latter of which also serve as the principal filling for the restaurants sandwiches, and as an optional topping for the two salads available.

Rosa Cantina

302 S. Cheyenne Ave., 918-576-6641, rosatulsa.com

Rosa opened in late March with a menu focusing on shareable snacks, gourmet tacos and what it bills as Damn Strong Drinks.

The queso (which can be augmented with chorizo or esquites for an additional charge) was topped with a sprinkle of finely crumbled cojita cheese, chopped tomatoes and sliced scallions and was served with fresh, well-salted tortilla chips. The queso itself was thick and creamy, full of flavor and just a hint of peppery heat, and we left little, of any, of it behind.

Salt & Lime Social

1121 S. Elgin Ave., saltandlimesocial.com

The same sort of invention that can turn Brussels sprouts into a craveable snack is evident throughout Shelby Remy and Spencer Snows new concept, Salt and Lime Social.

The two women had been friends for years and had long talked about opening a restaurant. In 2020, they were selected for the Kitchen 66 program, the food business incubator sponsored by the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation. They opened Salt and Vinegar in November 2021.

Alley Cat Ranch

723 E. Second St., 918-808-7562, facebook.com/AlleyCatRanchTULSAOK

The brisket was chopped and mounded on a corn tortilla, with three pork ribs atop that, all streaked with lines of house-made barbecue sauce. The grits came in a cardboard bowl, and a small pile of pickled onions, candied jalapenos and dill pickles completed the meal.

The ribs were very good, requiring the slightest pull to get the meat off the bone, and flavorful enough that no sauce was needed. The brisket was finely chopped, which helped it to have a melt-in-the-mouth quality; we mixed together some of the regular and hot sauces to pour over the brisket, which complemented the meat perfectly.

Bourbon Street Cafe

211 E. Second St., 918-583-5555, bourbonstreetcafe.com

The interior is done up in black and white  white tables and walls with black chairs, banquettes and fixtures. Images of jazz artists and New Orleans scenes adorn some of the walls, while a trio of flat-screen TVs show show jazz-oriented films and music videos.

The bar in the west end of the building has a stage area for the live music thats presented Thursday through Sunday. The restaurant has a relatively short wine list but an impressive array of craft cocktails, including its take on such NOLA staples as the Hurricane and the Sazerac, and a quartet of bourbon flights.

Chimera Cafe

212 N. Main St., 918-779-4303, chimeratulsa.com

Chimera Cafe has been serving its trademark tacos and burritos, sandwiches and salads from its prime location in the heart of the Tulsa Arts District. In 2016, the restaurant expanded its kitchen and transformed an empty space into the Chimera Ballroom, with a stage area, and which also provides additional seating during the restaurants busiest times.

The restaurant itself began as an all-day venture, but in recent years has focused primarily on its breakfast and lunch offering, closing each day at 4 p.m.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

CreepyPasta, a horror film with Tulsa ties, will premiere May 23 on ScreamBox.

Executive producers Juan Pablo Reinoso, Colin H. Tucker, Tom Biolchini and Melanie Brooke Sweeney are from Tulsa, as is producer Gregory S. Burkart, according to Reinoso.

CreepyPasta was shot all over the country by different directors and production crews. The film is available for pre-order and will be available to rent or purchase on the premiere date. The ScreamBox channel can be added to any smart TV or personal streaming device.

Three questions with Reinoso:

1. What do you want to say about the film  I have seen it described as an anthology?

It is, indeed, an anthology film. The idea started with Gregory S. Burkhart and his partner Simone C. Williams. The sub-genre of horror called creepypasta  horror or supernatural stories primarily born and shared via the internet  was something completely foreign to me. But having spent his entire career in the horror market, Gregory knew there was a massive fan base for it.

And since there had yet to be an official creepypasta movie  some creepypasta stories such as SlenderMan had, of course, been turned into films, but not specifically marketed as a creepypasta film  he jumped on it. So he and Simone and some other people involved with the initial production started curating a list of award-winning creepypasta short films and then created another film to tie all of them together into one cohesive anthology, kind of like Twilight Zone: The Movie.

During that process my oldest brother had his high school reunion and reconnected with his classmate, Gregory. And Gregory had actually seen the one and only horror short I ever did  a Stephen King adaptation of The Man Who Loved Flowers called Flowers for Norma  over a decade ago and brought it up to my brother. One thing led to another, and I came on board CreepyPasta as an exec producer to help fund it and shepherd it to where we are now.

2. Im guessing scary movies have been a passion of yours. Want to tell me about it, if true?

Not at all. My favorite films are epic period pieces, but those are notoriously near impossible to get made. So when I started going back and forth between Brooklyn and Tulsa to help care for my parents, I started reconnecting with the history of Oklahoma. And as I spent more and more time back here and continued hitting walls on the projects I loved the most, I decided the way I should go was to write a more commercial vehicle, i.e. something more likely to get made and sell.

That project happened to be a horror-comedy called Cry Baby Hill  no connection to Tulsa Tough. And by dumb luck, that script took on a life of its own. I had it when I connected with Gregory and Simone. That led to partnering with a renowned Canadian-based horror production company, and then since we wanted to produce a slate of films for the investors, I wrote another film based on a nightmare Id had and ... here we are.

Ideally, if all goes well, these films will help generate enough success to allow for me to eventually make some of the period pieces I really want to make. In fact, thats started happening with a western I wrote, inspired by the loss of my life-partner Brittany, set in 1865 Oklahoma Territory titled Whirlwind. That project is set to start production sometime in fall 2023.

3. Was there any particular thing that inspired this film?

As with any film you have to weigh so many factors, (including) commercial viability and built-in audiences. Horror is arguably the most successful genre worldwide. Its a genre that translates well across virtually any language. Thats not to say there isnt art when it comes to horror, because of course there is. Or, well, of course there can be. There are the obvious cash-cows and then there are the ones that manage to balance potential ROI with a great story. And, in the specific case of CreepyPasta, I knew that they werent just looking to sell a product for the sake of box office, but wanted to also satisfy the artistic hunger of the built-in fan base. Hopefully it will also bridge the gap with non-horror fans, almost in the way my own ignorance to this specific sub-genre of horror turned me into a full-on fan.

The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The shot-in-Oklahoma film Killers of the Flower Moon, which was scheduled to premiere May 20 at Cannes Film Festival, is a topic in a new interview which is available via the Voices of Oklahoma oral history project.

Killers of the Flower Moon is based on David Granns best-selling book about the Osage Reign of Terror.

John Erling interviewed Geoffrey Standing Bear, principal chief of the Osage Nation, for Voices of Oklahoma, which allows voicesofoklahoma.com listeners to hear interview subjects tell their stories in their own words.

Killers of the Flower Moon was among many topics in the Standing Bear interview. Standing Bear recalled a meeting with Martin Scorsese when the filmmaker confirmed the movie would be shot in Oklahoma.

Said Standing Bear: So the next part of it was, Well, were concerned about how youre going to portray the Osage because we just dont want to be a bunch of dead bodies.

The concern ended when Scorsese said he was going to make a movie the Osage will be proud of, according to the interview.

I was so amazed by this man, Standing Bear said of Scorsese. And hes a great storyteller, let me tell you, of course. Hes easy to talk to.

For the complete interview, go to voicesofoklahoma.com.

The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today.
Cain's Ballroom: Favorite moments

The Rodgers family has owned Cains Ballroom for 20 years. Among questions pitched to members of the family: Got a favorite live show or backstage moment during those 20 years?

Alice: Too many to count. Jack White for three sold-out shows. A Brooks & Dunn video shoot. Loretta Lynn. Robert Plant. Todd Rundgren. Chris Stapleton. We book so many artists who are on the cusp or have just hit it.

Jim: Dylan, Killers, Kings of Leon, Robert Plant.

Hunter: There are too many moments to narrow down, but a few that stand out are the recent reunion of Turnpike Troubadours, The Strokes, meeting Buckethead, multiple Jack White shows, Green Day. ... The list goes on and on.

Chad: There are so many amazing moments that weve been a part of over the last 20 years. Its hard to narrow it down. One that will always stick out to me, was when the L.A. Times named the Cains Ballroom in their top 12 places to see live music in America. It was amazing to know that people all over America and the world see what we feel everyday. Theres not a better place in the world to see live music than at the Cains Ballroom.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

An Owasso art student is gaining recognition for her award-winning work.

Alexandra Floreac, who won the Fine Art Friday event at Owasso Chambers Redbud Festival Days the first week of May, will now see her first-place painting displayed on the walls of the organizations office.

Floreacs large canvas represents the art shows theme of Celebrate Community through its depiction of several multicolored hands lifting a blooming flower toward a bright sun.

I wanted to make visible that everybodys different, but if we are all together, we can  make the world better, Floreac said. I think thats what community is supposed to become.

Floreac, an 18-year-old from the Eastern European country of Moldova, took home the most votes from the public against several other Owasso and Rejoice Christian high school students who participated in Fine Art Friday.

To me, its a big achievement because I came to America and I had this opportunity to show my vision on this topic, she said, and this possibility (winning first place), its a great thing for me.

Shelly Collins, Owasso High School art teacher and Floreacs instructor, added: I love it for her, that this is a memory that she got to make while she was here in the U.S. for this one year. I think its something that shell always remember.

Floreacs painting will soon be displayed in the Owasso Chambers front entranceway, which will be easily visible for passersby to admire  a new addition that President Chelsea Feary is looking forward to seeing.

Our job at the Chamber is to connect humans to other humans, Feary said. This painting represents that connection, and the encouragement of connecting humans breeds a better community.

Floreac received a $500 check from the Owasso Chamber to award her creative efforts.

She plans to return to her European hometown and study architecture or design at a university in either Romania or Moldovas capitol of Chisinau.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Southern New Hampshire University recently named several students to its winter 2023 presidents and deans lists.

Dakota Johnson and Auvyuan Dumas, both of Owasso, were named to the schools presidents list. Terri Crowder, Alexander Nessim and Andrew Roe, also from Owasso, were named to the deans list.

Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum GPA of 3.700 and above for the reporting term are named to the presidents list. Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum GPA of 3.500 to 3.699 are named to the deans list.

Full-time status is achieved by earning 12 credits over each 16-week term or paired 8-week terms grouped in fall, winter/spring, and summer.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The Tulsa Police Department received fewer complaints in 2022 than in the previous year, but the number of formal investigations based on those complaints increased over that time period, according to the agencys annual Internal Affairs report released this week.

During the same time period, the number of disciplinary actions taken by Chief Wendell Franklin against Tulsa Police Department staff decreased from 66 to 51. The 2022 figures do not include 23 cases still pending.

Franklin, who was named police chief in January 2020, said hes optimistic about the direction of the Police Department while acknowledging that not every officer is a fan of the policies hes implemented to ensure discipline and accountability.

You know, one thing that I heard a lot of in my early days was that it depends on who you are determines what kind of discipline you get. And that was something that was said across our department, Franklin said. And when I became chief, I wanted to make sure that, no, it doesnt matter who you are; the discipline is going to be the same based on what you did. And so thats how Ive operated.

Now, some of those that were, you know, talking about the disparate discipline, now have shifted around and it comes back that, oh, this guy is too tough on officers.

But, you know, I think theres a fair majority that will tell you that if you do your job and you do it right, you dont have anything to worry about.

Franklin said he went to work immediately on setting the bar high within the Police Department, beginning with a list of Expectations From The Chief that all employees are required to read and sign annually.

It is just trying to drive that culture for what we want within the department and kind of infuse it across the department, Franklin said. So I think its working, and I think our numbers are going to show that its working from our administrative complaints and investigations and things like that.

A complaint can come from a citizen, from another agency or from within the Police Department. In the past five years, complaints peaked at 464 in 2019, followed by a steady decline to 313 in 2020, 291 in 2021 and 251 in 2022.

In 2021, 79 of the 291 complaints led to formal investigations. In 2022, 251 complaints led to 99 formal investigations.

Among those, 47 were sustained  meaning the incident occurred and the officer was found to be in violation of policy. Six were not sustained; seven resulted in exonerations; and two were withdrawn.

Eight officers in 2022 either resigned or retired while under investigation. Police officials note that not all of the resignations and retirements were necessarily connected to investigations initiated in 2022, as it can take a long time to complete them. Twenty-three investigations are pending.

The rate of complaints related to calls for service and arrests, meanwhile, were up slightly in 2022 over the year before.

In 2022, the complaint rate was 1.23 per 10,000 calls for service and 2.63 complaints per 1,000 arrests. The 2021 complaint rate per 10,000 calls for service was 0.83, and the rate of complaints per arrest was 2.01 per 1,000.

Tulsa police responded to 275,923 calls for service in 2021 and 267,402 in 2022. Arrests increased in 2022 to 12,553, compared to 11,445 in 2021.

Franklin took disciplinary action 51 times in 2022, including 29 reprimands and 18 counseling sessions. Three suspensions were issued, and one officer was terminated.

Disciplinary actions jumped to 91 in 2020, Franklins first year on the job, from 60 the year before, and have been gradually declining since. Franklin has terminated five officers employment since 2020; seven had been fired in the two years before he became chief.

What we know is that we are looking at things and scrutinizing things closer, Franklin said. And in administering discipline, from us noticing the errors, my hope is that that helps us in the long run with citizen complaints going down.

Franklin said the overwhelming majority of TPDs 800-plus officers are doing a great job.

They are operating in a complex environment, and they are doing so with great, great attitudes towards work and regarding everyones rights, as they should, he said.

You know, Ill never ever stand up and say we are always 100% right and that our officers will never do anything wrong,  but I think for the most part  and my hope is  that we have turned the curve in that we are, everyone that wants to be on board is on board and were all operating in harmony.

Here are some other key takeaways from the Internal Affairs report:

Uses of force: Nonlethal use of force as defined in the Internal Affairs report may include a takedown or deployment of a Taser. According to the report, there were 345 use-of-force incidents in 2022, 332 of which were found to be within policy. Seven were found to be out of policy, and six remain under investigation.

Of the 345 use-of-force reports, 43% involved Caucasians, 41% involved African Americans, 8% were Native Americans and 7% were Hispanic.

The 345 figure does not include 694 physical control holds, or low-force holds such as grips or gestures, resulting in no injury. Of the 12,553 arrests made by TPD in 2022, 92% were made without any use of force.

Excessive use of force: Internal Affairs investigated five alleged incidents of excessive force involving eight officers. Two cases were sustained; one was determined to be unfounded; and one is pending. The officer or officers involved in the fifth case were exonerated.

Deadly force: Tulsa police used deadly force 10 times in 2022, up from nine times in 2021 and the same number of times as in 2020. Those killed by police in 2022 included five Caucasians, two African Americans, two Native Americans and one Hispanic person.

Seven of the deadly force incidents were determined to be within policy; three are pending.

The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

OKLAHOMA CITY  An international green energy company is expected to announce next week that it will open a solar panel manufacturing facility at the Tulsa Port of Inola, Gov. Kevin Stitt said Friday.

The new manufacturing plant is expected to result in at least 1,500 new jobs.

Stitt signed legislation Wednesday to create a $218.6 million incentive package for Italian company Enel, which already has offices in Oklahoma City and operates 11 wind farms in the state.

In a news conference, Stitt said hes really, really excited about the proposed development. Stitt said he recently spoke with the companys CEO, who also expressed excitement about expanding Enels footprint in Oklahoma.

It is over $1 billion worth of investments and over 1,500 jobs, Stitt said. When you put those together, thats the largest (economic development project) in state history.

The governor signed Senate Bill 1177, which creates the Perform Act, forming the basis for the new economic development incentive.

The law that took effect upon Stitts signature would allow Enel to recover up to 10% of its capital expenditures and/or payroll costs with a minimum required investment of $1 billion. To qualify for the full $180 million offered in incentives through the Perform Act, Enel will have to invest $1.8 billion in Oklahoma over 10 years.

Stitt also signed a companion bill that provides $38.6 million for water and sewer improvements at the Tulsa Port of Inola in relation to the proposed Enel plant.

The two acts combine to form the $218.6 million incentive package.

In April, Giovanni Bertolino, head of Enels U.S. solar manufacturing arm, told Reuters that Oklahoma was the leading candidate for the companys new solar panel and photovoltaic cell factory.

Stitt also said hes optimistic that the state will be able to close a deal for Panasonic to open a massive electric vehicle battery plant at the MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor.

Panasonic asked the state to pay for $245 million in site work at the industrial park before it would commit to building in Pryor. Its unclear whether the Oklahoma Legislature will fund the site work in addition to offering the company up to $698 million in economic development incentives.

The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today.

Photos: Take a look inside the Sofidel paper manufacturing plant in Inola Sofidel plant Sofidel plant Sofidel plant Sofidel plant Sofidel plant Sofidel plant Sofidel plant Sofidel plant Sofidel plant Sofidel plant Sofidel plant Sofidel plant Sofidel plant Sofidel plant Sofidel plant Sofidel plant Check out our latest digital-only offer and subscribe now
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

After a Delaware County cannabis-testing facilitys license was suspended due to the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authoritys citing a possible public health emergency, its owner says the state has denied due process for the lab to defend itself.

Genesis Testing Labs in Grove was making efforts to expand operations with a second facility when OMMA inspectors arrived at the new lab in April, owner Tony Brixey said. They refused to communicate with lab staff while documenting what Brixey said built a case that Genesis was operating illegally out of an unlicensed facility in Broken Arrow.

Its great theyre going after the bad actors. But Im a good guy, Brixey said in a Tulsa World interview. I didnt do anything wrong.

In a news release, the OMMA said more than 80 emergency orders of summary suspension have been issued so far this year.

Among the reasons cited: large numbers of untagged cannabis plants, diversion of medical marijuana products and sale of material that failed safety testing.

Brixey said Genesis requested an administrative hearing, as statute allows, to discuss the inspection and the emergency suspension. He said he intended to show proof that Genesis staff members were conducting tests on tea leaves and Haribo gummy candies at the Broken Arrow lab  no products containing THC, as was alleged  while working toward its required accreditation.

Brixey lamented the 30-day lapse between the request and the May 4 hearing date, as the Genesis facility in Grove hit dire financial straits while not in operation. He said it hardly fits the spirit of the statute, which calls for the hearing to be scheduled promptly.

When finally given the chance to defend the lab, Brixey said whatever right he thought he had under law was worthless.

At the administrative hearing, he said no evidence or witnesses were allowed.

To call it a kangaroo court would be generous, he said.

By statute, such a hearing has only one order of business: An administrative judge decides whether the OMMA license should remain suspended pending a final disciplinary hearing and ruling with the burden on the licensee to show good cause why the suspension should be set aside.

Brixey said he thinks the burden at the administrative hearing should be on the OMMA to make its case that a license should be suspended, a move that can easily bankrupt many companies.

Genesis took the question to district court and won an injunction lifting the summary suspension Monday, but Brixey said that judges ruling wont help the lab physically reopen.

Were hundreds of thousands of dollars in the hole, he said, adding that Genesis staff have had to find new employment while operations were shut down.

A hearing has been set for May 25 in Delaware County District Court, where the OMMA will be asked to show cause for the Genesis shutdown. However, Brixey said, the state agency has been reluctant to allow OMMA officials and inspectors to be subpoenaed, and the OMMA has asked for a venue change.

Brixey said he hopes to come to a financial agreement with the state oversight agency that would help the lab reopen, especially considering how few laboratories are licensed to test the products of thousands of growers and processors.

At least two other suspensions, one in Ottawa County and another in Pontotoc County, have been taken to district court and won injunctions. The three licensees are represented by attorney Ronald Durbin.



The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Enforcement of Oklahomas new ban on gender-affirming care for minors will be delayed until at least mid-summer as the result of an agreement announced Thursday evening.

According to a filing in a May 5 lawsuit to block implementation of Senate Bill 613 and a press release by the ACLU of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Attorney Generals Office has agreed that the state will not enforce the provisions of the legislation signed into law on May 1 while the plaintiffs motion for preliminary injunction is pending in federal district court in Tulsa.

Thursdays filing says arguments and responses on the motion are scheduled to continue until at least July 10.

This agreement should in no way be interpreted as a concession of any kind, on any issue, by Defendants, including the existence of harm, the filing states. Further, the filing of this document should not be deemed to constitute a waiver of any objection or defense.

The agreement is signed for the state by Solicitor General Garry Gaskins.

The lawsuit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the Jenner & Block law firm on behalf of six transgender minors, their parents and Dr. Shauna Lawlis, a University of Oklahoma Health physician specializing in adolescent medicine who provides gender-affirming care.

The suit says the law created by SB 613, which bars gender-affirming surgeries and drugs for minors, threatens transgender youth health and safety and is dissimilatory because it does not apply to similar treatments for other medical conditions among non-transgender minors.

We welcome this opportunity to preserve the rights of transgender adolescents and their families to access medically necessary health care while our challenge proceeds, the legal team said in a press release. SB 613 is a cruel intrusion by the state into the rights of families and their childrens doctors with grave costs for transgender adolescents across the state.

We expect all state officials to abide by this agreement while our motion is pending and stand ready to hold the State accountable and defend the rights of all trans Oklahomans, should any enforcement of SB 613 occur.

The Attorney Generals Office issued a statement Thursday evening saying it continues to fulfill its duty to defend Senate Bill 613. A temporary stay of enforcement simply allows more time to mount the strongest possible defense.



The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

OKLAHOMA CITY  A political power struggle may be brewing at the state Capitol over the renewal of some state-tribal compacts.

A House panel advanced two bills on Wednesday that would renew for five years compacts the state has entered into with Oklahomas Native American tribes on the sale of tobacco products and motor fuels, as well as the costs associated with vehicle licensing and registration.

But Gov. Kevin Stitt on Friday criticized the move and said the tribes are trying to block him from renegotiating the compacts by pushing the renewals back until hes out of office.

Stitt, who is a member of the Cherokee Nation, has a rocky history with most Oklahoma tribes since he unsuccessfully sought to renegotiate the states tribal gaming compacts.

House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, said the tribes requested the legislation to renew the current compacts as is, though he did not specify which tribes asked for the bills. Its unclear whether the Senate will advance the two measures, House Bills 2898 and 2899.

The state compacts with the tribes to split tax revenue from the sale of tobacco products and motor fuels in Indian Country. The state and the tribes also ink agreements on motor vehicle licensing and registration fees.

Stitt said the states compacts with the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations are set to expire at the end of the year. A spokeswoman for the Chickasaw Nation said 15 Oklahoma tribes have compacts that will expire this year.

Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby applauded the Oklahoma House for taking charge on renewing the compacts.

These carefully constructed agreements are the result of diligent efforts to balance the rights and responsibilities of Tribal and State governments, he said in a statement. When we choose to work together, everyone benefits.

McCall said the renewal legislation is intended to prevent the state from facing lawsuits while compact negotiations take place.

He also cited a 2020 judges ruling that Stitt overstepped his legal authority by signing new gaming compacts with two tribes.

Treat v. Stitt upheld the authority of the Legislature to compact with the tribes, and we are exercising that authority through the legislative process to stabilize the current situation where compacts have expired or will expire soon, McCall said in a statement.

In a news conference Friday, Stitt contended that hes the only state official with the power to negotiate state-tribal compacts. The compacts then go to the Legislatures Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations for approval, he said.

Stitt said the compact renewal bills came as a surprise. He said he was disappointed that the bills emerged in the dark of the night when compacting has not been a topic of discussion this session.

The governor said the terms of the compacts must be renegotiated in light of the U.S. Supreme Courts 2020 McGirt decision, which found that the Muscogee Nation reservation had never been disestablished  a ruling that has since been expanded to include other tribes reservations.

Im not against renewing the compacts, but the language has to change, Stitt said.

The governor was critical of the amount of tax revenue tribal nations receive as a result of the compacts. Under the compacts, the state sends 50% of tobacco tax revenue generated from the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products at their businesses to the tribes, Stitt said.

Two of the tribes, the Chickasaws and the Choctaws, get $17 million annually wired to them from the state, Stitt said. They operate some of the largest casinos in the country, you know, billions of dollars in income and revenue (and) flying around in private jets.

In an unusual move, leaders of Oklahomas Five Tribes endorsed Stitts opponent in last years gubernatorial election. That came after years of Stitt and tribal officials butting heads on issues such as compacts and tribal sovereignty.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. noted that Stitt allowed the states hunting and fishing compacts with his tribe and the Choctaw Nation to expire after the parties could not agree on new terms.

Legislation to extend tribal-state compacts is needed because Governor Stitt has shown that he doesnt want to work with tribes, even when it benefits the entire state, Hoskin said in a statement. Hes already allowed numerous tribal-state compacts to expire on his watch, forfeiting millions of dollars and setting back tribal relations.

If the compacts arent extended, Oklahoma loses out on stable revenue streams. We would go back to the costly lawsuits and disruption of business that we saw in the 1990s.

Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, said he also was caught off guard by the two bills introduced in the House.

Noting that the state could lose tax revenue if tribal compacts dont get renewed, Treat said he would be open to extending the current agreements. Treat said hes pushing for a one-year extension rather than a five-year renewal.

The governor has not been successful in trying to get those renewed with the terms that hes offered, Treat said of previous compacts. I want to make sure that were working well with our tribal partners but that were also upholding the state interest on that.

The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The only person ever held responsible in the high-profile disappearance of two teen girls from the scene of a double homicide in late 1999 is about to be released from prison.

Ronnie Dean Busick, 71, is set for release from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections Lexington Correctional Center on May 19, said Kay Thompson, acting chief administrator of communications at DOC.

Laurias mother, Lorene Bible, said she was shocked by the development because she expected Busick to serve eight years in prison.

The state didnt tell me  it was just word on the street that, boom, got confirmed yesterday, she told the Tulsa World on Friday.

Just over 23 years ago, 16-year-olds Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman disappeared from the scene of a double homicide outside the northeastern Oklahoma town of Welch.

Since that day, Dec. 30, 1999, when Freemans parents, Danny and Kathy Freeman, were found shot to death inside their burned out mobile home, the whereabouts of the two teen girls, who were best friends having a birthday sleepover, have remained a mystery.

The case has been the subject of numerous television documentaries and podcasts and remained cold until a break in spring of 2018, when prosecutors charged Busick in the deaths of the Freeman couple and the two girls and implicated two other men  Warren Phillip Welch II and David A. Pennington  who by then were deceased.

Law enforcement investigators believe the trio of Welch, Pennington and Busick went to the Freeman farm the night of Dec. 29, 1999, to confront Danny Freeman over a drug debt, and that the girls likely survived the fire and were kidnapped and taken to a trailer in Picher, where they were bound, tortured and sexually assaulted for two weeks before being killed.

In August 2020, Busick, the only suspect still living, pleaded guilty to accessory to murder and received a 10-year prison sentence, plus five years probation.

The DOC spokeswoman said Busick received credit for county jail time he served while he was awaiting trial, plus he earned credits to reduce his sentence under state law that applies to DOC inmates who receive outstanding evaluations for such things as work, education, hygiene and maintenance of living area.

She said Busicks five-year probation will include only one year under official supervision.

In reflecting on the news, Lorene Bible said Busicks early release shouldnt have come as a surprise to her.

He knows how to work the system  he has a rap sheet a mile long with drugs and alcohol and violence, she said.

Bible and her niece Lisa Broderick have never stopped conducting their own investigation of new leads, and they post regular, public updates on their Find Lauria Bible Facebook page, which counts nearly 30,000 followers from all over the globe.

Busick had been offered reduced sentencing in exchange for information about the whereabouts of Lauria and Ashleys missing remains, but all of that came to no end.

Bible still thinks the man could have knowledge that could be helpful to her and the law enforcement team that still conducts site searches in the case in old mining shafts, wells and root cellars.

Time is of the essence, as Busick is now in his 70s and in poor physical health.

Its the good ones that go first. The bad ones, mean people, they hang around. He definitely knows more, Bible said of Busick. He told me the day he was brought into Craig County Jail he was the lookout in a car. He said he didnt kill anybody, he didnt shoot anybody, he didnt set the fire. You might not have physically actually done it, but when you drove the getaway car, youre guilty.

After they were killed, thats the part he is very vague about. He says all he knows is what Pennington and Welch said happened after.

Timeline: Welch girls Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible go missing on this day in 1999 September 2018: Inside the Welch Girls Investigation Dec. 29, 1999 Dec. 30, 1999 Dec. 31, 1999 Dec. 31, 1999 January 2000 January 2000 March 15, 2000 Jan. 1, 2001 June 14, 2001 July 26, 2001 July 26, 2001 Jan. 24, 2003 2009 2010 May 2011 January 2013 December 2017 April 2018 April 23, 2018 April 23, 2018 April 23, 2018 June 2019 June 14, 2019 July 29, 2019 July 30, 2019 July 31, 2019 Nov. 19, 2019 Nov. 23, 2019 Nov. 26, 2019 Dec. 13, 2019 Dec. 18, 2019 Jan. 8, 2020 July 16, 2020 Sept. 1, 2020 Oct. 1, 2020 Oct. 11, 2020 April 26, 2021 April 27, 2021 April 29, 2021 Special report: Missing Welch girls investigation Part II: Who are the three men accused in the case of the missing Welch girls? Hear from those who knew them Part III: In first in-depth interview, cold-case investigators explain why they haven't given up on finding two missing Welch girls Check out our latest digital-only offer and subscribe now
Taiwanese shoemaker PouYuen Vietnam Co. Ltd., the most labor-intensive firm in Ho Chi Minh City, will lay off over 5,740 more workers in late June and early July due to a shortfall of new orders, heard a press briefing on the citys socio-economic performance on Thursday.

Deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs Nguyen Van Lam told the press conference that Pou Chen Group, the parent of PouYuen, had earlier announced the lay-off plan to the department.

The mass dismissal will be conducted into two phases, with 4,520 employees to be fired on June 24 and 1,225 others on July 8.

Among the laid-off workers, 34.3 percent reside in Long An and Tien Giang Provinces in the southwest region and 30.4 percent are dwellers in Ho Chi Minh City.

The number of affected workers at the firm living in the central and northern regions accounts for 35.3 percent.

Over 53 percent of the redundant employees are over the age of 40.

Pregnant employees, workers on maternity leave, parents of under-12-month-old children, and those who are disabled will not be subject to the lay-off, according to the company.

The shoemaker will work with employees to terminate labor contracts and offer allowances.

Accordingly, the employer will support the laid-off workers with 0.8 months' salary for every year they have been with the company.

The payment will be calculated based on the average salary of their six straight months of employment before the lay-off.

Lam said that the municipal department teamed up with the Center for Employment Services in Ho Chi Minh City and the companys labor union to conduct a survey on the laid-off workers potential ability to get new jobs.

The firm has introduced 4,960 positions at 16 enterprises to the affected workers.

The department has joined hands with the Peoples Committee of Binh Tan District to support the affected workers.

In February, PouYuen Vietnam, located in Binh Tan District, slimmed down its workforce by eliminating over 2,300 positions, blaming a decline in orders.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Police in Thanh Hoa Province, north-central Vietnam have arrested three Iranian men on suspicion of fraudulently exchanging banknotes and stealing money and assets from local stores.

The trio included Sabri Bejandi Mehdi, 45, Aslrosta Maddi, 43, and Salehi Rad Hossein, 41.

Two of the suspects visited a store inside the cultural post office of Quang Thang Ward, Thanh Hoa City in the namesake province at about 3:30 pm on April 24, police said on Thursday.

They gave a US$100 banknote to the store owner and asked for change.

At some point during the exchange, the two managed to steal VND100 million ($4,291) and flee the scene.

Local police then arrested the two suspects and their accomplice while they were fleeing to Ho Chi Minh City.

The three declared that they had entered Vietnam as travelers and used fake passports to stay in the country.

They regularly changed their accommodations in Vietnam, mainly staying at local hostels, and did not register temporary residence.

The men stole money and assets in Vietnam by pretending to buy goods and demanding various kinds of commodities to distract store owners.

They later asked for cheap products, used banknotes with high face values or foreign banknotes to make payments, and took advantage of preoccupied store owners' neglect when giving them change to fraudulently exchange banknotes and steal money.

Thanh Hoa police officers have called on local business households to be vigilant against such new ruses and call for help from neighbors to catch suspects.

Owners of lodging facilities were asked to comply with regulations on the registration of temporary residence for foreigners.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
More than VND101 trillion (US$4.3 billion) is required to fund 120 flood control and sewage treatment projects in Ho Chi Minh City in the 2021-25 period, but the citys flood control projects have been allocated a mere VND17.4 trillion ($749 million), according to the municipal construction authority.

The funding shortfall has led to delays facing the flood control projects and an increase in the number of locations vulnerable to flooding.

The construction site of a drainage system project at Tham Luong - Ben Cat Canal in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: T.T.D. / Tuoi Tre

More flooded areas emerge

Many years prior to 2021, Nguyen Huu Canh Street spanning District 1 and Binh Thanh District was a flooding hotspot that was severely inundated just after a 30-minute downpour.

The situation has been improved significantly after a VND473-billion ($20.3 million) project to upgrade the street and tackle flooding was completed in late April 2021.

Meanwhile, flooding is looming large in many other inner-city and outlying districts.

Some streets such as To Ngoc Van, Vo Van Ngan, La Xuan Oai, Le Van Viet in Thu Duc City, Nguyen Van Khoi, Le Duc Tho, Pham Van Chieu in Go Vap District, or Binh Tri Dong and Ten Lua in Binh Tan District were heavily flooded after downpours.

In Thu Duc City, To Ngoc Van has remained a flooding hotspot for years.

Similarly, local people get headaches whenever they travel on Vo Van Ngan Street and areas encircling Thu Duc Market during the rainy season due to frequent flooding.

Work on a drainage system project on Vo Van Ngan Street started in October 2020 but it has yet to reach completion, making life tougher for daily commuters.

To Ngoc Van Street in Thu Duc City under Ho Chi Minh City is heavily inundated following a rain on May 6, 2023. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

In need of over VND100 trillion ($4.2 billion)

Between 2021 and 2025, the southern metropolis needs more than VND101 trillion ($4.3 billion) to implement 120 projects to cope with flooding.

During the first two years of implementing its flood control and sewage treatment program, the city was provided with around VND6.7 trillion ($285.5 million) and managed to tackle rain-induced flooding on five out of 18 streets and high tide flooding on seven major streets.

The municipal Department of Construction said flood control projects were lagging behind schedule mostly due to financial woes, while private investors showed little interest in them.

In addition, the citys earlier planning on drainage issues is no longer appropriate and did not take climate change into account, thereby not helping flooding abate, the department said.

Workers dredge a sewer along Nguyen Huu Tho Street in Distirct 7, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tu Trung / Tuoi Tre

Multiple pending flood control projects

Although the city already mapped out its plan to address flooding, most of its flood control projects are still pending.

Phase one of an environmental sanitation project related to the Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe river basin, which was backed by official development assistance loans, has just been completed. Phase two is underway.

Similarly, the city has finished phase one of a project to improve the water environment for the Tau Hu - Ben Nghe - Doi river basin and is working on the second phase.

Meanwhile, site clearance issues are hampering a subproject to revive Hang Bang Cannal and build a drainage system to ease flooding in the Hang Bang river basin.

Cleared land is only fully handed over to the project developer by the end of 2024, said Luong Minh Phuc, director of the management board for the construction investment of traffic work projects in Ho Chi Minh City.

Regarding another project to renovate Tham Luong - Ben Cat - Nuoc Len Canal, it got off the ground in February this year after years of suspension.

Experts in the field suggested that the city should adjust its planning on drainage issues by updating input data and extending the areas in need of flood control measures.

Besides, the city needs to come up with feasible solutions to call on investors to fund flood control projects.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
A truck collided with a seven-seater car and crashed into two power poles on National Highway 20 in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam in the early hours of Friday morning, knocking over the poles and causing a power outage for thousands of households in the area.

The incident occurred in Tan Phu Town, Tan Phu District at around 3:25 am, when a truck ran into a seven-seater car, jumped a curb, and hit two medium-voltage poles while driving on National Highway 20 from Dong Nai to the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.

The collision injured the truck driver, prompting his hospitalization.

It also damaged both the truck and car, as well as broke the two utility poles.

A seven-seater car is knocked over following a traffic accident on National Highway 20 in Tan Phu District, Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: An Binh / Tuoi Tre

As a result, 8,658 households in Tan Phu Town and Tra Co, Phu Thanh, and Phu Xuan Communes in Tan Phu District suffered a power outage, according to Dong Nai Power Co. Ltd., which promptly worked to reconnect the power network and brought the electricity back to 5,718 households.

Power is expected to return to the remaining 2,940 households by 1:00 pm on Friday.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked the Ministry of Health to coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to downgrade COVID-19 to a Group-B infectious disease from one in Group A and declare the end of the pandemic.

Group A infectious diseases are extremely dangerous and highly contagious with high mortality rates or unknown disease-causing agents, according to Vietnam's Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases.

Meanwhile, Group B infectious diseases are dangerous and may spread fast and cause a risk of fatality.

The Ministry of Health will submit dossiers about the announcement of the end of the pandemic to the government chief for consideration and approval, according to the Government Offices dispatch sent to the minister of health.

The prime minister also required the Ministry of Health to join hands with the Government Office to hold a meeting of the national steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control on May 27 to announce the accomplishment of its missions, signaling its disbandment.

The Ministry of Health was asked to rely on the World Health Organizations recommendations and the pandemic situation in Vietnam to draw up a long-term pandemic control plan in the 2023-25 period.

Vietnam's COVID-19 tally has reached some 11.6 million, ranking 13th among 231 countries and territories around the world.

The country places 120th in terms of the total COVID-19 cases per one million people.

Vietnam officially declared COVID-19 a national epidemic on April 1, 2020.

The World Health Organization ended the global emergency status for COVID-19 on May 5, more than three years after its original declaration, and said it is still a significant public health problem and looks likely to remain one for the foreseeable future.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Taste of Australia 2023 kicked off at the Reunification Palace on Thursday night to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Australia.

The event, hosted by the Australian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, highlighted Australias culinary excellence and featured premium Australian food and beverages.

The gala was attended by vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee Vo Van Hoan, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski, Consul General of Australia in Ho Chi Minh City Sarah Hooper, and world-renowed Vietnamese-Australian chef Luke Nguyen.

Some 500 guests at the gala learned about the diversity of Australian culinary techniques from Vietnamese and Australian chefs, as well as enjoyed several traditional dishes.

A booth showcases various kinds of cheese and fresh fruits at the Taste of Australia 2023 at the Reunification Palace on May 18, 2023. Photo: Tieu Bac / Tuoi Tre News

Addressing the gala, Ambassador Goledzinowski noted that this year marks the 50th anniversary of bilateral ties between Vietnam and Australia and the deep and long-standing relationship between the two countries has been based on cooperation in the fields of education and trade, as well as the connection between the two governments and peoples.

One of the primary drivers of the relationship between the two countries has been the annual Taste of Australia event, which has served to bridge the two countries through food, hospitality, and partnerships between restaurants and hotels, Goledzinowski said.

Vietnam is one of the worlds leading food hubs. Meanwhile, Australia is one of the worlds major manufacturers of wine, food, and beverages, Goledzinowski stressed.

Vo Van Hoan, vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee, delivers a speech at Taste of Australia 2023 at the Reunification Palace on May 18, 2023. Photo: Tieu Bac / Tuoi Tre News

The gala was part of a series of activities held to celebrate 50 years of Vietnam - Australia diplomatic ties in 2023, a milestone that offers an opportunity to reflect on the incredible progress made over the past five decades, according to vice-chairman Hoan.

The relationship between the two nations has been flourishing across various domains. At multilateral forums, we have worked together toward regional and global peace and prosperity, said Hoan.

Guests try wine products at Taste of Australia 2023 at the Reunification Palace on May 18, 2023. Photo: Tieu Bac / Tuoi Tre News

We have strengthened our diplomatic ties, advancing from a comprehensive partnership in 2009 to an enhanced comprehensive partnership in 2015 and a strategic partnership in 2018, he underlined.

Moreover, he also mentioned the remarkable achievements that the partnership between the two countries has had in the realms of politics, trade, security, defense, education, and cultural exchange.

As such, the Taste of Australia was a testament to the strength and vitality of the bilateral relationship, especially in the fields of trade investment and cultural exchange.

The event is not just a highlight of our trade and cooperation, it is also a chance to deepen our cultural understanding, Hoan said, adding that he expected to use the gala as an opportunity to build stronger partnerships based on mutual respect and shared values.

Guests at the Taste of Australia 2023 at the Reunification Palace on May 18, 2023. Photo: Tieu Bac / Tuoi Tre News

A dish made from Australian truffles. Photo: Tieu Bac / Tuoi Tre News

Australias Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski speaks at Taste of Australia 2023 at the Reunification Palace on May 18, 2023. Photo: Tieu Bac / Tuoi Tre News

Guests sample Australian cheese at Taste of Australia 2023 at the Reunification Palace on May 18, 2023. Photo: Tieu Bac / Tuoi Tre News

I am so impressed by the importance of cuisine in the Vietnamese culture and in building relations, Consul General Hooper told the event.

Australia was Vietnams seventh-largest trade partner in 2022, with a total trade turnover reaching VND362.5 trillion (US$15.6 billion).

Trade between Ho Chi Minh City and Australia totals over VND27.8 trillion ($1.2 billion) each year, Hoan said.

An Australian dish. Photo: Tieu Bac / Tuoi Tre News

A foreign chef prepares dishes for guests at Taste of Australia 2023 at the Reunification Palace on May 18, 2023. Photo: Tieu Bac / Tuoi Tre News

Vietnamese-Australian chef Luke Nguyen introduces Australian dishes and chefs to guests at the Taste of Australia 2023 at the Reunification Palace on May 18, 2023. Photo: Tieu Bac / Tuoi Tre News

Guests enjoy Australian food at Taste of Australia 2023 at the Reunification Palace on May 18, 2023. Photo: Tieu Bac / Tuoi Tre News

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Feature: China-aided Senegalese museum becomes place of cultural exchanges

Xinhua) 11:14, May 19, 2023

DAKAR, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The wonders of China come to life through the brushes of African artists at the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar, the capital of Senegal.

The recently opened painting exhibition, titled "Perspectives Across Oceans: China through the Eyes of African Artists," showcased a vibrant array of Chinese landscapes and scenes as seen by African painters.

This exhibition, a result of collaboration between China and Senegal, highlighted 39 paintings created by 20 African artists from various countries including Benin, Chad, Mozambique, and South Africa.

These paintings, crafted during their trip in China, depicted the vivid colors, play of light and shadows, and the artists' unique vision of this distant land.

The artwork has already won the admiration of visitors such as Semou Diouf, a high school student from Dakar who visited the exhibition with his classmates.

Enthralled by the painting titled "Morning Sun in Nanjing," Diouf said, "I love how alive and vibrant this painting is. It makes me want to travel to China one day."

The Museum of Black Civilizations, the venue hosting this exhibition, was built with the assistance of China and was inaugurated in 2018. During the museum's opening ceremony, Senegalese President Macky Sall hailed it as a "gift from China," symbolizing the friendship and solidarity between the Chinese and Senegalese peoples.

As a significant cultural project in Senegal, the museum aims to display the diversity of black civilizations while fostering exchanges and dialogue among cultures and civilizations from around the world. Since its inauguration five years ago, it has established itself as one of Senegal's and the African region's major cultural landmarks, fully embracing its roles as a curator, exhibitor, and educator.

Lamine Biaye, a cultural mediator at the museum, expressed his gratitude for China's support of Senegal's culture and heritage. "Apart from the museum's construction, the Chinese government's support remains consistent, whether through the establishment of infrastructure, provision of materials, or the presence of the Chinese team," he said in an interview with Xinhua.

Biaye also emphasized the increasing cultural exchanges between China and Senegal at the museum in recent years, citing the exhibition of China through the Eyes of African Artists, and another ongoing exhibition celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Chinese medical mission's deployment.

These achievements, he said, are essential to promote cultural cooperation between the two countries, whether through delegation visits or infrastructure development.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
First Nations producers / directors Aaron FaAoso and Rachel Perkins were this week both nominated as National NAIDOC Week Award finalists.

Aaron FaAoso, who recently delivered the Hector Crawford Memorial Lecture, established Lone Star Production Group (Strait to the Plate, Blue Water Empire).

Rachel Perkins, who founded Blackfella Films, is best known for producing and/or directing Redfern Now, The Australian Wars, Mystery Road, Mabo, and First Contact.

They join author / playwright Dr Anita Heiss as three finalists in the Creative Talent category.

The National NAIDOC Committee is very fortunate to be able to read the stories of so many of our people who are achieving remarkable results and working tirelessly to support their communities said Co-Chair of the National NAIDOC Committee, Dr Lynette Riley. It is an honour to be entrusted with selecting these incredible finalists.

National NAIDOC Week Awards seek to recognise and honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who really understand their community and work to create positive change said Co-Chair Steven Satour, Each year we receive nominations from all over the Country, from big cities to small communities, and today we pay tribute to every single one of those people.

A Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Aunty Dr Naomi Mayers OAM, a Yorta Yorta and Wiradjuri woman, leader in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, and was an original member of the ground-breaking music group, The Sapphires.

Winners will be announced at the National NAIDOC Week Award Ceremony on Saturday 1 July.
Eurovision 2023 winner Loreen returned home to Sweden after some post-show duties in the UK.

Swedish broadcaster SVT organised a public homecoming gig at Kungstradgarden in the countrys capital.

Hosted by Per Sinding-Larsen, the event saw thousands flock to the park in the centre of Stockholm, to greet Loreen and applaud her on the win that saw Sweden equal Irelands tally for most Eurovision Song Contest wins: 7.

There, she performed her winning song Tattoo, and also answered some questions. Her plan for the coming week? Ill probably work a few more days. But then Im going out into the forest.

Helsinki Airport was also awash with bright hues of toxic green on the afternoon of Sunday 14 May, as Kaarija landed in Finlands capital.

A huge crowd came out to meet the much-loved star, after he gave Finland its second-best result in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, with a second-place Finnish in Liverpool.

Source: Eurovision
Q+A is live from Melbourne on Monday with the Class of 22.

One year on from the election that changed Australias political landscape, five first-term parliamentarians join the panel. So just how different is the reality of a political career to what they imagined?

With an economy under pressure amid fears of a global recession, a worsening housing crisis and the approaching winter putting more strain on energy supplies  how much impact can one politician have on the problems Australians are facing?

The Senate is proving pivotal to the governments legislative agenda, and independents Tammy Tyrell and David Pocock have been making their presence felt. From securing commitments on social housing to putting more scrutiny on economic inclusion, these first-time senators are fighting for the issues theyre passionate about.

In the lower house, Max Chandler-Mather was swept in on Brisbanes Green wave. A renter throughout his adult life, he has made housing his priority, but is his partys refusal to pass the housing future fund bill helping or hurting the very people living through housing stress?

Labors Michelle Ananda-Rajah  who turned one of Melbournes premier blue-ribbon seats red  hasnt been shy about putting her views forward, including calling for an increase in JobSeeker. And Zoe McKenzie held off a Teal challenge in her Liberal Victorian seat  so what does she make of the Coalitons post-election woes?

What does the Class of 22 make of being inside the Canberra bubble?

Panellists:

Labor Member for Higgins Michelle Ananda-Rajah,

Liberal Member for Flinders Zoe McKenzie,

Independent Senator for ACT, David Pocock ,

Independent Senator for Tasmania Tammy Tyrrell

and Greens Member for Griffith Max Chandler-Mather

9:35pm Monday on ABC.
ABC host Stan Grant will stand down from Q+A following ongoing criticism and abuse, particularly around his appearance on ABC Coronation coverage.

In a statement, ABC Director News Justin Stevens, said, Over many months, but particularly in recent days, Stan Grant has been subject to grotesque racist abuse, including threats to his safety. This has become particularly virulent since he appeared as part of the ABCs Coronation coverage.

It is abhorrent and unacceptable.

Stan personally addresses this issue in a column published today.

Grant wrote,On social media my family and I are regularly racially mocked or abused. This is not new. Barely a week goes by when I am not racially targeted. My wife is targeted with abuse for being married to a Wiradjuri man.

I dont even read it, yet I cant escape it. People stop me in the street to tell me how vile it is. They tell me how sorry they are. Although I try to shield myself from it, the fact it is out there poisons the air I breathe.

He continued, I am not beyond criticism. I occupy a privileged and prominent place in the media  I should be critiqued. And I am not thin skinned. Aboriginal people learn to tough it out. Thats the price of survival.

Grant was made permanent host of Q+A in July 2022 following a short period of rotating hosts, with Virginia Trioli and David Speers.

Since Tony Jones departure in 2019 Grant has attracted headlines including asking an audience member to leave in March last year.

Grant recently openly criticised a lack of diversity by ABC in its recent NSW Election night coverage, saying There is no excuse for what I saw on air last night. None. I have worked at organisations around the world and nowhere would what we presented last night be tolerated.

Stevens then said he welcomed constructive discussion whilst defending the editorially strong and well presented panel.

Grant today wrote that, no one at the ABC  whose producers invited me onto their coronation coverage as a guest  has uttered one word of public support. Not one ABC executive has publicly refuted the lies written or spoken about me. I dont hold any individual responsible; this is an institutional failure.

I value the friendship of ABC Director of News, Justin Stevens. He has been a support and a comfort. He is trying to change an organisation that has its own legacy of racism. But he knows I am disappointed. I am dispirited.

I was not the producer nor presenter of the coronation broadcast yet every newspaper article accusing the ABC of bias has carried my image. I am writing this because I will not have people depict me as a person of hate.

Stevens said today, Stan is one of Australias best and most respected journalists and broadcasters. The ABC stands by him and condemns the attacks directed towards him,

The ABC has and will continue to refer any threats to police. Already this year the ABC has lodged a detailed complaint with Twitter over the racist abuse of Stan being published on its platform.

Stan Grant was one of a range of panelists who appeared during the 6 May Coronation coverage at the invitation of the ABC. He was not the instigator of the program. He was asked to participate as a Wiradjuri man to discuss his own familys experience and the role of the monarchy in Australia in the context of Indigenous history.

It is part of the ABCs role to facilitate such important conversations, however confronting and uncomfortable, and to reflect the diversity of perspectives.

The panel discussion in which he participated aired early as one segment in around eight hours of live Coronation coverage. The timing of this important discussion in the lead-up to the event has resulted in a strong response from some viewers. This is regrettable. The ABC Ombudsman will investigate editorial complaints about the coverage, according to the customary process.

The responsibility for the coverage lies with ABC News management, not with Stan Grant. Yet it is he who has borne the brunt of a tirade of criticism, particularly in the usual sections of the media that target the ABC. Reporting on his contribution to the panel discussion has been unfair, inaccurate and irresponsible. It has contributed to fuelling horrendous personal and racial abuse.

Any complaints, criticism  or vitriol  regarding the coverage should be directed to me, not to him.

Yindyamalgirridyu mayinyguwal. In Wiradjuri that means I will respect other people.

Grant will stand down as host after Mondays show. ABC is yet to indicate when he will return.

Updated.
UAF scientists to hunt for clues about Arctic Ocean glaciation

Evidence indicates a thick ice sheet, not annual sea ice and icebergs, covered the Arctic Ocean at some point during the last 140,000 years. Now, University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists will be looking for more geologic proof of the ice sheets existence, sources, behavior and extent.

UAF Geophysical Institute scientists will focus on the Beaufort and Chukchi seas region, both offshore and onshore.

They hope to discover the extent of glaciation and improve understanding of the timing of glacial advances and retreats. Those cycles are thought to have occurred approximately 140,000 to 70,000 years ago, a period known as the mid- to late Pleistocene Epoch.

The story of the Arctic Ocean is much more complicated than we may have originally thought and involves processes that we havent really considered before, said Louise Farquharson, a research assistant professor at the UAF Geophysical Institute and the lead investigator.

Photo by Ben Jones

Research assistant professor Louise Farquharson works at an ancient raised marine shoreline on the north shore of Teshekpuk Lake near Alaskas Arctic Ocean coast in 2013. The ancient shoreline is believed to have formed due to an ice shelf pressing down on the Beaufort Sea coast.

Farquharson is working with UAF geophysics professor Bernard Coakley, who specializes in the history and formation of the Arctic Ocean, and research associate professor Andy Aschwanden, who studies glacier and ice sheet responses to atmospheric and oceanographic changes.

The National Science Foundation is funding the two-year project.

The researchers will build a geographic information system database of existing marine and terrestrial geologic evidence that could relate to a 1-kilometer thick glacier in the Beaufort-Chukchi region. Researchers will use that database to test the hypothesis that glaciation was extensive in the western Arctic Ocean at several points during the late Pleistocene.

A second component would use that database to model what type of climate would have allowed the initial glaciation and subsequent advances and retreats. That will also give scientists information about the main ice sources that contributed to the buildup.

The scientists hope to obtain additional funding for that research.

Knowledge gained through the two research efforts can improve understanding of how climate change affects todays high-latitude ice sheets, Farquharson said.

Earth now has only two ice sheets, both of them high-latitude: Greenland and Antarctica. The two sheets cover 3% of Earths surface and 11% of the planets land. During glacial periods, ice sheets covered up to 8% of Earths surface and 25% of the land.

Offshore evidence to be included in the database includes seafloor and ridge scour marks, ocean core samples, bathymetric surveys and sonar data. Onshore evidence includes large boulders known as erratics and old shoreline ridges caused when ice pressing down on the landscape caused the ocean coast to move inland.

Finding onshore evidence is a bit more complicated, Farquharson said.

Thats because were not really sure how far on land this Arctic Ocean glacier came, if at all, she said. But what we do see are these huge glacial erratics, big boulders up to the size of a car, deposited across the North Slope. There isnt really a good mechanism for them being placed there other than through glacial transport and deposition.

One theory states that ice streams flowing from the Canadian archipelago and feeding an Arctic Ocean glacier carried the boulders, which were left behind as the glacier retreated. An ice stream is an area of an ice sheet or ice cap that flows faster than the surrounding ice.

The new project builds on research of recent decades.

Some of that research comes from Coakley, who co-authored a 2001 paper offering evidence of glaciation rather than the then-prevailing view that only annual sea ice and icebergs covered the Arctic Ocean. That paper described glacial scouring and shaping of the seafloor and large-scale erosion of submarine ridge crests indicative of glacier movement.

That prior work has added to the Arctic Ocean glaciation hypothesis first presented by British glaciologist John Mercer in 1970.

Farquharson and Coakley also hope to test the hypothesis that Arctic Ocean glaciation occurred even as glaciers at lower latitudes receded. Scientists believe, based on geologic records, that the contrasting trends arose from differences in the moisture available for snow and ice formation.

Farquharson led research that produced that finding in 2018.

ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Louise Farquharson, 907-474-5623, lmfarquharson@alaska.edu

182-23
More than 100 killed as herders, farmers clash in central Nigeria

More than 100 people in central Nigeria have died in several days of intercommunal violence that have destroyed hundreds of homes and caused thousands to flee, local officials said on Friday.

The clashes between cattle herders and farming communities in Plateau State are the worst in years in a region that has long struggled with ethnic and religious tensions and reprisal attacks.

The death toll from attacks by gunmen on farming villages in and around the district of Mangu since the start of the week has passed 100, after earlier reports said 85 people were killed, a local official said.

Plateau state security forces had said on Thursday that calm had been restored, but local sources said several villages were still struggling with violence and residents were fleeing.

"The number of people killed has exceeded 100 people from those attacks," Mangu district chairman Daput Minister Daniel told AFP.

"Up till now there were reports of attacks and burning of houses in many places within the local government area."

A lawmaker representing Mangu and neighbouring Bokkos in the House of Representatives also said around 100 people had been killed and more than a dozen communities ravaged by attacks.

Lawmaker Solomon Maren told AFP on Friday that the situation was now calm, but access to some communities was still complicated.

Plateau State government has so far not given any death toll, only saying the violence "left many dead."

The state government convened an emergency meeting over the attacks and pledged security forces on the ground would stem further violence, a statement said on Friday.

(AFP)



Read more on FRANCE 24 English



Read also:

More than 200 killed as herders, farmers clash in central Nigeria

Dozens dead as bandits, militia clash in Nigeria

Dozens killed in Nigeria amid clashes between herders and farmers
FILE PHOTO: Man walks while smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment in Khartoum North

'Where is the state?': Mass looting engulfs Sudanese capital FILE PHOTO: Man walks while smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment in Khartoum North

By Khalid Abdelaziz

DUBAI (Reuters) - Mass looting by armed men and civilians is making life an even greater misery for Khartoum residents trapped by fierce fighting between Sudan's army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), witnesses said.

While the RSF dominates the capital on the ground and the army conducts frequent airstrikes, the witnesses said police had simply vanished from the streets when the fighting started in Khartoum on April 15.

"Nobody protects us. No police. No state. The criminals are attacking our houses and taking everything we own," said Sarah Abdelazim, 35, a government employee.

As mayhem grips Khartoum, the army accuses the RSF of looting banks, gold markets, homes and vehicles. The RSF denies the charge and has released videos showing its men arresting looters. The paramilitary force say some people wear RSF uniforms and steal to make them look bad.

Some witnesses said the RSF was stealing vehicles and setting up camps in people's houses. The RSF also denies this.

More than 17,000 men who were jailed in Sudan's two most dangerous prisons -- Kobar and Al Huda -- were released early in the fighting. Both sides blame the other for the prison break.

'THE DEVIL'S CITY'

"We are now living in the devil's city. People are looting everything and neither the army nor the RSF nor the police, none of them want to protect ordinary people. Where is the state?" said Mohamed Saleh, 39, a primary school teacher.

The fighting erupted after disputes over plans for the RSF to join the army and the chain of command as part of a political transition. It has caused some 200,000 to flee to nearby countries and over 700,000 have been displaced inside Sudan, triggering a humanitarian crisis that threatens to destabilise the region.

Intense battles have continued to rage in Khartoum and its sister cities of Bahri and Omdurman despite Saudi and U.S.-brokered talks between the army and the RSF in Jeddah aimed at securing humanitarian access and a ceasefire.

Most attention is focused on the battles, not the chaos which is demoralising the population, or the rapidly depleting supplies of food, cash, and other essentials that drive much of the looting.

Huge groups have been seen looting mobile phone, gold, and clothes stores.

Factories including a wheat mill belonging to DAL Group, the country's largest conglomerate, were looted in Sudan's main industrial zone, which contains key food and industrial manufacturers.

"They were brandishing machetes, they wave them in the air," said Qassim Mahmoud, a bank general manager who passed through the zone as he fled Khartoum for Egypt and saw people carrying away sacks of wheat and large appliances.

Three commodities and storage facilities were burned down in Omdurman. On Thursday, people could be seen in a video stealing mattresses and clothes and loading them onto trucks. Others used donkey carts.

"Yesterday thieves came and burgled my house in Omdurman. Who do I complain to," said Ahmed Zahar, 42, a trader.

Many Khartoum residents have put posts on social media seeking assistance in retrieving stolen cars.

At one bank where money had already been looted, people were also seizing televisions and furniture, said a Reuters witness.

Aid warehouses have also been targeted by the looters.

Medical aid agency MSF, one of few entities continuing to provide aid in Khartoum, said armed men had broken into its warehouse in Khartoum on Tuesday and taken two cars filled with supplies.

(Additional reportinb by Maggie Michael in Wadi Halfa, Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Gareth Jones)
What is the Arab League? Volodymyr Zelensky and Bashar al-Assad attend Saudi Arabia summit

What is the Arab League? Volodymyr Zelensky and Bashar al-Assad attend Saudi Arabia summit

On the same day G7 leaders met in Hiroshima, the Arab League summit brought together leaders in the Middle East with Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Ukrainian president was in the Saudi Arabia capital, Jeddah, to appeal for support for his country as the war with Russia continues.

Most of us are here for the sake of peace and justice, he said. We do not have missiles as our enemy has. We have less air power; we do not possess numerous killer drones that Iran supplies to Russia. We do not have that much artillery, but we do stay strong because we do have truth on our side.

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, vice-president of UAE and deputy prime minister, is received by Prince Badr Bin Sultan (Reuters)

He will be hoping to get Arabian leaders onside as Kremlin forces continue to attempt to make ground in Ukraine.

In Jeddah, there was also one premier coming in from the cold. Bashar al-Assad attended the event on Friday, making it the first time Syria has been represented since 2011.

Saudi Arabia came out strongly against Mr Assad soon after Syrias civil war broke out in 2011 but has more recently changed tack along with many Arab countries represented at the summit  despite objections by the West and many Syrians who see him as a war criminal.

Reuters reported that Mr Assad lined up for the Leagues family photograph, he shook hands with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. They then spoke to Tunisian president Kais al-Saeid and the UAEs Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during the Arab League summit in Jeddah (Reuters)

Qatars Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, however, who in 2018 called the Syrian president a war criminal, did not greet Mr Assad at the beginning of the function.

It marks a new dawn for the group of nations, which has been meeting for more than 60 years. But what is the Arab League?

What is the Arab League?

The Arab League conference (KUNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Since 1945, countries in the Arab-speaking world have held an annual conference to discuss their shared interests and support of each other. It is always held in one of the member countries.

The league itself says the purpose is to draw closer the relations between member states and coordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries.

When the league began it had only six nations but these days has 22, with Syria rejoining for the meeting in Saudi Arabia.

The member states are: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

In addition, Armenia, Brazil, Eritrea, India and Venezuela have the opportunity to participate but cannot take part in votes.

UAE's Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan meets Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky (UAEs ministry of presidential affairs)

What have been the successes and failures of the Arab League?

For years, the league concentrated on economic programmes but went on to establish educational programmes and a cultural organisation.

It has also helped give representation to Palestine despite the state not being universally recognised although the Arab-Israeli conflict has led to rifts emerging between member states. The Arab spring events of 2011 also caused problems for the league.

The Arab League has been noted by some critics for its lack of kinship between its members.

Michael Barnett and Etel Solingen wrote in their book Crafting Cooperation: In its existence the Arab League has achieved a relatively low level of cooperation.

Although the league has had a measure of influence in socialising some Arab elites, it has fallen short in changing state preferences, in forcing significant adjustment of prior policies, or in achieving a pan-Arab blueprint to guide their collective behaviour.
Nick Maimer's send-off was like any other family event, filled with laughter and fond memories. The Army Special Forces veteran and Idaho native was heading to Spain to teach English in early 2022.

No one at the time, not even Maimer himself, knew he would end up in the thick of war in Ukraine. The retired staff sergeant, 45, was killed in the eastern city of Bakhmut, Ukraine, this week after an apparent barrage of artillery destroyed the building he was in.

Like other American veterans, he was drawn to the struggle and need there, as Ukrainians fend off an invasion of Russian forces -- a David and Goliath conflict, Western democracy against the aggressive authoritarian military might of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Read Next: Nearly 1 in 3 Female Recruits Were Injured in Army Basic Training Last Year

"He's a protector," Nate Peterson, a judge advocate general in the Idaho National Guard and Maimer's step-cousin, told Military.com on Thursday. "I know a lot of people who would die for family, a lot of people who would die for country, but I know very few people who would go somewhere else and die for someone else's freedom, somebody else's rights and liberties. And that was Nick."

In a grim twist, Maimer's death was broadcast around the world by a Russian mercenary group. In the video, the Wagner Group's chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, flashes Maimer's ID cards and stands over his body amid the ruins of the besieged city.

"So, we will pass him along to the United States of America, we will put him in a coffin, and cover him with an American flag because he didn't die in his bed an old man but died in war and most likely in a worthy way, right?" Prigozhin says in the black-and-white video.

The propaganda video "pissed off" and hurt Maimer's loved ones, according to friends, family and members of his former unit who spoke to Military.com. It was unfair in their eyes that this was how the world came to know the man they described as a big-hearted and passionate protector.

After Military.com interviewed more than half a dozen friends, family and colleagues about Maimer, a clear image of an uninhibited, come-as-you-are veteran and friend emerged.

Peterson remembered tutoring Maimer at Boise State University where they both attended and seeing him around the Idaho National Guard where they both served. Maimer was a rocket at trivia and a self-taught audiophile and, if anything bad went down, Peterson wanted him on his side.

Bill Fackler, a retired Army veteran and current civilian employee for the Idaho National Guard, knew Maimer for more than a decade. They were friends and worked together processing personnel in and out of the unit, he said.

"When he did something, he did it 150%," Fackler told Military.com on Wednesday. "And he also was the kind of guy that would give his shirt off his back to anybody.

"If you needed a room to sleep in, he would give up his place," Fackler added, recounting that Maimer offered his place to wayward members of the unit on multiple occasions.

In January 2022, when Maimer and his family were having a last celebration before he left, Eastern Europe wasn't at war and the retired staff sergeant was looking to teach English in Spain. At the same time, it was becoming increasingly clear that Putin was about to launch a full-scale invasion into Ukraine.

In late February, he did -- and Maimer wanted to help the Ukrainians in any way he could.

"I had that strong internal debate on whether I should, what I could contribute," he told NBC months before he died, though the news network had concealed his identity at the time. "Should I accept the risk? Ultimately, I decided that it was worth it to help Ukraine."

Fackler tried to talk him out of going, he said, "but I knew it was useless."

"You don't have to do this," he recounted telling Maimer. "I respect you, but that's truly dangerous."

Maimer entered the country through Poland around March, looking for an organization to join and put his Special Forces skills to use. He first tried the Mozart Group -- a now defunct, pro-Ukrainian private military company that shuttered earlier this year.

Maimer's story picked up around April 2022 when he met retired Lt. Col. Perry Blackburn, founder of the non-profit AFGFree, a group providing humanitarian aid and training in Ukraine.

The relationship between the retired staff sergeant and the organization, as described by Blackburn, consisted of periodic check-ins and a wide berth of responsibility for "partners" like Maimer.

"Nobody controls anyone's activities or operations," Blackburn, also a retired Green Beret, said of his organization. "They just go to, and then find the need, and we support that need from various places within Ukraine.

"But we have multiple folks that work within our networks and do remarkable things every day," he added. "And Nick was one of those people."

He said Maimer was a liaison between his organization and Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces. He also conducted site visits to best direct aid across the country.

Blackburn recounted a time that he and Maimer were in the basement of a besieged restaurant working on getting fuel to the front and meeting with someone for help with logistics support.

"Our eyes are all glassy from the smoke, and there's vodka being given out," he said.

"And Nick didn't touch a drink the whole time. ... He kept a level head throughout the whole thing [and], at the end of it, when we came down to the brass tacks of negotiating how this was going to happen, it was Nick that put the fine print on how this was going to work."

That's what Blackburn believes Maimer was doing in Bakhmut, the current epicenter of the war and site of Ukraine's counter-offensive against Russia. He believes Maimer was there on a site visit to best provide humanitarian logistics to the area.

Blackburn said that he and Maimer spoke last about three weeks before his death when there were rumors of a big offensive that was going to occur on Ukraine's eastern front.

"We also understood that there was an opportunity that we needed to be there to help bring in supplies for Russian-occupied areas, to the civilians, because every time it happens, there's no commerce that comes in and out of that area," he said.

"So, I believe that he was there with the Territorial Defense doing an assessment to determine where the best places were that needed the most help," he added. "And unfortunately he got caught in that irregular battlefield geometry and got hit by Russian artillery."

The Wagner video, which was released Tuesday, emerged shortly after.

"Here we have a veteran, Nicholas," Prigozhin said after mumbling about "military humor" in the video.

The video showed what Fackler and Blackburn said was Maimer's body.



"It was the hardest thing I've ever seen," Fackler told Military.com.

"That's not what professional soldiers do," Blackburn said. "It's just really, really upsetting to the family -- the family's seen it -- they had to know that the family was going to see it. It just shows the callousness of them."

The video traveled across the internet and, in pro-Russian circles, was used to portray Maimer as a mercenary himself.

"To think that he went over there to make a bunch of money as a mercenary and fight the Russians is inaccurate," Blackburn told Military.com. "His main emphasis was to help with humanitarian aid and help train them to facilitate that humanitarian aid where needed."

After his death was publicized in the video, friends expressed their love for Maimer over social media, consistently referring to his compassion. He was a humanitarian, as one person wrote. A group with 100 members emerged on Facebook with friends and loved ones sharing pictures and stories about Maimer.

Others, like Karl Watts, who met Maimer through the Big Brother program when he was just 12 years old, said that the former soldier had his "ups and downs" throughout his life.

"He was courageous, he pursued life with a passion, he had strength to work through and overcome a lot of the negative in his life," Watts said. "That even through all that he was not cynical or pessimistic -- he somehow carried this very positive attitude, a smile on his face through it all."

Zac Feuerborn, a cousin who grew up with Maimer since he was a toddler and reconnected with him as adults, said that a phrase that rings familiar when he thinks about Maimer is "come as you are."



"He was friends with everybody, he accepted everybody for who they were and where they were at in their lives," he said. "He was a loyal friend."

Members of his Idaho National Guard unit recounted Maimer's long service to the country and his community -- one that included at least four different jobs from cavalry scout to Special Forces engineer to armor crewman and finally infantryman.

"The guy served and served his country well beyond and above what most people do," said Dustin Schenstrom, who retired from the Army after 24 years. He served with Maimer and recounted how the Special Forces NCO helped him through some of the toughest moments of his life, even while he was in the Ukrainian war zone.

"He was an honorable man." Schenstrom said. "He was a man of service; he definitely wanted to serve not only our country, but humankind."

Maimer originally joined the Army in 1996, according to the service, which provided his records to Military.com. Over the next 20 years, he rotated between the Idaho, Utah and California National Guards. He became a Green Beret in 2005 and deployed with the Utah Guard's 19th Special Forces Group in 2006 to the Philippines.

In 2018, he retired with the Idaho National Guard as a staff sergeant, taking a nonpunitive, administrative rank reduction from sergeant first class, according to Fackler -- a not unheard-of occurrence for Guard members looking for specific jobs in specific states.

"Nick was a member of the Idaho National Guard," Lt. Col. Christopher Borders, a spokesperson for the unit, told Military.com Wednesday. "So this hits close to home here and our hearts and prayers are with him, his family and his friends in the community.

"He was a valued member, he did a lot of great things for this organization. And it's sad to see one of our brothers in arms fall, regardless of the conflict or action," Borders said.

Friends and family said they are trying to get Maimer's body back to the U.S. Peterson, his step-cousin and a JAG officer, said that they hope to bury Maimer in an Idaho military cemetery.

Feuerborn, his cousin, said that Maimer would want a celebration, too. And even in death, Maimer's humor -- sometimes dark -- made Feuerborn laugh.

Maimer once said that if the worst came to pass, he would want to be cremated and his ashes flushed down the toilet "because ashes are just ashes."

"He would do anything for the people that he loved," Feuerborn said.

-- Drew F. Lawrence can be reached at drew.lawrence@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @df_lawrence.

Related: Russian Mercenary Group Claims American Veteran Killed in Ukraine Firefight
(Bloomberg) -- The Philippine government will take back control, if needed, of the company that runs the nations power transmission network partly owned by State Grid Corp. of China, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.s office said.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Marcos met with Senator Raffy Tulfo who heads a committee investigating the situation at National Grid Corporation of the Philippines following recent incidents of power outages in the Southeast Asian country. Marcos backed Tulfos proposal to conduct a comprehensive study or hold hearings, Marcoss communications office said in a statement posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday.

Tulfo aimed to examine the security aspect, particularly on who truly controls the corporation, according to the statement. If necessary, the government will take back control of the entity, it said.

Chinas State Grid has a 40% stake in NGCP after winning, with other investors, a 25-year concession to run the Southeast Asian countrys power transmission network in 2007. The remaining 60% is held by Filipino investors including Synergy Grid & Development Phils Inc. President Henry Sy Jr. and Prudential Guarantee & Assurance Inc. chairman Robert Coyiuto Jr.

Shares of Synergy Grid slid as much as 7.4% on Wednesday to the lowest since 2010.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin did not directly respond to a question on the Philippines plans when asked during a regular briefing in Beijing. China supports Chinese companies in expanding cooperation with the Philippine side and achieving mutually beneficial results, Wang said, adding that Manila is a friendly partner of Beijing.

Previous efforts by officials for government to reclaim control of power grid operations didnt prosper and the Department of Energy has proposed to amend a 2001 law to ban foreign-owned or foreign government-backed enterprises from engaging in power transmission.

At a hearing of the energy committee on Wednesday, Senator Risa Hontiveros said they may need to scrutinize not just Chinas control of NGCP but the performance of the company itself, adding this time we might need to see if we have to revoke its franchise.

NGCP is ready to answer any and all questions raised concerning how we do business, said spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza, adding the company had invested 300 billion pesos ($5.3 billion) to strengthen the transmission system.

--With assistance from James Mayger.

(Adds comments from Chinese foreign ministry, Philippine grid operator, lawmaker)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Food, fashion, parentingyou name it. The French always seem to have that certain je ne sais quoi when it comes to how they navigate lifes many choices. On the child-rearing front in particular, weve been obsessed with their tactics ever since Bringing Up BeBe entered the zeitgeist back in 2012. But whats au courant when it comes to parenting the French way these days? We reached out to Isabelle Bertolami, an American expat and influencer on TikTok and Instagram, who has been living in Paris with her familyincluding her three-year-old daughterfor the last five years to find out.

1. Gentle Parenting is Out, Little Adulting is In

Courses for discipline, eating, sleep trainingthey dont really exist in France, says Bertolami. Ive never been marketed anything like that in France, she says. Instead, its an adult world and French kids are just living in it. It has a lot to do with the school situation, she suggests. At age 3, theyre in a kindergarten setting that would be what youd expect for a 5- or 6-year old in the United States, she explains. Theyre feeding themselves, pouring their own watermy own daughter took the metro at age three on a field trip. Theyre pushed faster to gain independence and children just learn to adapt.

2. No Screens at Restaurants

Paw Patrol over coq au vin? Mais non, says Bertolami who maintains that you really dont see French families dining out with kids glued to an iPad and headphones. Instead, theyre just along for the ride. Even on Saturday nights, you dont see a ton of French parents booking sittersthe kids just come along to whatever the parents are doing. If that means theres a child falling asleep on someones couch, thats just what happens. Parents do what they want to do, but the kids are more flexible and go-with-the-flow as a result. Thats not to say that a French toddler is joining their parents for a three-hour restaurant meal, Bertolami adds. But if theyre at their grandparents house, kids are expected to stay at or near the table for the length of the meal and stay well-behaved throughout.

3. No After-School Snacks

In France, you dont snack, you have your meals, which is why Bertolami says that post-pickup, her daughter has something called a gouter, which is seen as a 4:30 p.m. meal. This starts at childhood and continues through your whole lifemy husband still wants a gouter mid-afternoon, she laughs. (Often times, this meal consists of something sweet and savorylike a baguette with chocolate and butter.) Also, the timing of the after-school meal means that dinner happens later for kids, typically around 7:30 or 8, which pushes bedtime back, too. The upside? French kids love to sleep in.

Boomer vs. Millennial Parenting: 5 Ways Were Different (& One Way Were Exactly the Same)
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has agreed to meet with the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. The Russian-mediated summit will take place next week in Moscow.

"We received a proposal from Russia to hold a trilateral meeting at the highest level under the mediation of the president of Russia on 25 May," Pashinian told his cabinet meeting in Yerevan.

The two Caucasus neighbours have fought two wars over the Nagorno-Karabakh region and often see deadly clashes along their volatile border.

Baku and Yerevan have been seeking to negotiate a peace agreement with the help of the European Union and the United States, whose diplomatic engagement in the Caucasus has irked traditional regional power broker Russia.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will also host the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks in the Russian capital on Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at their meeting during the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II in Moscow, 9 May 2023 - Vladimir Smirnov/AP

Nagorno-Karabakh

The two countries fought two wars, in 2020 and in the 1990s, for control of Azerbaijan's mostly Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Pashinyan said both sides must "demilitarise" their shared border, blaming Baku for "continuing the policy of escalation."

Six weeks of hostilities in autumn 2020 ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire that saw Armenia cede swathes of territory it had controlled for decades.

Yerevan has grown increasingly frustrated over what it calls Moscow's failure to protect Armenia in the face of military threat from Azerbaijan.

With Russia bogged down in Ukraine and unwilling to strain ties with Azerbaijan's key ally Turkey, the United States and European Union have sought to steer a thaw in ties.

On Sunday, Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met in Brussels for a fresh round of talks hosted by European Council President Charles Michel.

In his speech on Thursday, the Armenian prime minister said both sides agreed in Brussels to recognise the other's territorial integrity, hailing "the important step towards peace and stability in the region."

He said that "progress" had been made towards preparing "the final text of a peace agreement."

Another meeting between Pashinyan and Aliyev set for 1 June in Moldova was expected to involve French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
FILE PHOTO: An attendant walks past EU and China flags ahead of the EU-China High-level Economic Dialogue in Beijing

By Katya Golubkova

HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - European Council President Charles Michel said on Friday it was in the EU's interest to maintain "stable and constructive" cooperation with China, as the Group of Seven countries met to consider China's "economic coercion" and other concerns.

G7 leaders, gathering in the Japanese city of Hiroshima from Friday, are expected to issue a statement with a "a section specific to China", listing issues that include "economic coercion and other behaviour", a U.S. official said.

G7 leaders are focusing on how to warn the world's second biggest economy against what they see as its threat to global supply chains and economic security without alienating a powerful and important trade partner.

The EU wants to "de-risk to reduce over-dependencies and diversify to address unfair practices", Michel told a briefing in Hiroshima.

"Stable and constructive relations with China is in our mutual interest," he said.

"Given its role in the international community and the size of its economy, China has a special responsibility in the world and it has to play by international rules," he said.

China has traditionally been one of Russia's top trading partners, thanks to energy, and Russia has increased its reliance on China for state revenues from exports after Western buyers cut ties after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Michel called on China to use its influence over its neighbour to end the war in Ukraine.

"We call on China to press Russia to stop its military aggression," Michel said.

Since February, China has promoted a 12-point proposal for a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

(Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim, Robert Birsel)
Wowing on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival  Phoebe Waller-Bridge looked exquisite in a black fishtail gown.



Attending the 76th Cannes Film Festival, the Fleabag award-winning actress was the picture of beauty in a dreamy black fishtail dress.

Andreas Rentz

Gracing the carpet for the premiere of Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny, Phoebe was joined by her co-stars in the upcoming movie, including Mads Mikkelsen and Indiana Jones himself, Harrison Ford.

Phoebe rocked vintage vibes in her classic black fishtail gown, designed by Italian haute couture fashion house Schiaparelli. Delicate spaghetti straps and monochrome black gloves completed the old Hollywood look.

Stephane Cardinale - Corbis

The new Disney Indiana Jones film is set to be released on June 30, and received a five-minute long standing ovation during its world premiere in Cannes.

Phoebe's role is that of the estranged goddaughter of Indiana, Helena Shaw, who is somewhat of a con artist. Indiana is on a quest to find retrieve a dial which could alter the course of history. Not long into his adventure, Indiana finds himself squaring off against Jurgen Voller, a former Nazi who works for NASA.

This will be Phoebe's first appearance in the franchise, and the first Indiana Jones film since 2008.

John Phillips

Ditching the fishtail part of her gown, Phoebe kept the main body and long gloves for the after party, pairing the satin dress with open toe heeled sandals.

The Cannes Film Festival is in full swing and has already seen several showstopper outfits. Stars such as Catherine Zeta-Jones, Viola Davis and Uma Thurman have walked the red carpet in beautiful gowns.

You Might Also Like
The innovative Student Aid (SA) program initiated by RMIT Vietnam Equitable Learning Services (ELS) was awarded the 2023 ADCETs Accessibility in Action Award for its exceptional work in furthering accessibility, diversity and inclusion for its students.

The SA program was first launched in 2017 at RMIT Vietnam Saigon South and Hanoi campuses to provide support for registered students with a range of circumstances.

SA staff are currently enrolled RMIT students who work in diverse roles such as notetakers, exam scribes, readers and participation assistants in lectures, tutorials, practical sessions, exams, and field trips.

To qualify, students need to have completed one-third of their program and sustained a GPA of at least 3.0/4.

Starting as an extra service team of only two student aids, the team now comprises 35 team members across campuses to meet the growing demand for this highly specialised and unique service.

Each semester, ELS supports an average of 120 students and around 20% of these students request assistance from the SA program. From 2019-2022, the SA program provided a total of 10,580 hours of service. The service was maintained during the COVID-19 pandemic amidst major changes including transitioning to online learning.

Assistance by SA is determined on an individual basis following careful consideration of each students unique support needs. For example, students with sensory conditions may benefit from having a note-taker and participation assistant to better engage with activities offered through multiple sensory modes. Students who have ongoing health conditions may also benefit from SA service during their absences due to hospitalisations. Some neurodiverse students have specific note taking, reader or scribe requirements that SA support can provide.

Since 2022, SA staff have also engaged actively in converting some study materials to digital formats, contributing to efforts to improving digital accessibility at RMIT Vietnam.

RMIT Vietnam Equitable Learning Services Manager Ms. Carol Witney said that currently in Vietnam, RMIT is the first and only higher education institution which can support the needs of students who are neurodiverse or living with a disability, mental health condition, a long-term health concern or carer responsibilities impacting their educational participation through the provision of appropriate educational adjustments.

Assistance by SA is a critical part of the comprehensive services provided to registered students to ensure their equitable access and participation in academic activities, Ms. Witney said.

With the support of the SA program starting from their foundation or first year, students are provided with a smoother transition into an international higher education setting and the reinforcement of inclusivity beyond the campus environment.

As a result, this program has aided in not just changing the Vietnamese social stigma toward people with disability, it has also played a key role in promoting individual students independence with dignity and respect.

It is also a testament to RMITs new Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) framework 2023, which is based on a universal design for learning, respect for intersectionality and individual differences and building community capacity. Our Student Aids will have leadership and graduate competencies in IDEA. A community well versed in this area creates a safe and respectful environment for all, Ms. Witney added.

A registered student using the SA service since 2020 said that with the respectful, helpful and dedicated support from Student Aid, the student can access lectures more quickly and more conveniently.

And thanks to the SA program, I have made many great friends, the student said.

The Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET) is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education under the Higher Education Disability Support Program and is hosted by the University of Tasmania. The Accessibility in Action Awards are held annually in line with the Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) where everyone gets to talk, think and learn about digital access and inclusion of more than one billion people with disabilities/impairments.

This year, the ADCET Accessibility in Action Awards received an overwhelming response, highlighting the growing commitment and dedication to fostering accessibility in the tertiary education sector. The winners were chosen by a panel of judges with expertise in accessibility and inclusive learning, design and student support.

Everyone has demonstrated outstanding innovation, dedication, and impact through their initiatives, and awards like this allow this work to be shared across the sector, said Ms. Darlene McLennan, Manager of ADCET.
HA NOI  Thanks to the investment of domestic and foreign investors in tourism infrastructure, especially resort real estates, poor rural areas have been turned into enchanted destinations for tourists, making Viet Nam more attractive to investors.

Boasting 3,260km of coastline with about 400 beaches and thousands of natural landscapes and relic sites across the country, Viet Nam is an ideal place for strategic investors such as SunGroup, Vingroup, FLC and VinaCapital.

Many modern hotel chains meeting international standards have been built, mostly in popular tourist attractions in Ha Noi, a Nang, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, HCM City and Ha Long.

Meanwhile, many reputable international brands such as Accor, Mariott, Hyatte, IHG, Four Seasons, and Archipelago have marked their presence in Viet Nam, contributing to enhancing the governance capacity and tourism service quality of the country.

According to Dr. Phan Huu Thang, former Director of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, foreign direct investment (FDI) in tourism and resort real estate has been helpful for Viet Nam from the first years of opening and integration, with the development of a system of high-end resorts and hotels.

In the last 20 years, investment in tourism accommodation has boomed. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), the number of accommodations in Viet Nam increased from 12,500 facilities in 2010 to 33,330 in 2022, with 667,000 rooms. As of the end of 2022, Viet Nam had 215 five-star hotels with 72,000 rooms, and 334 four-star hotels with 45,000 rooms.

According to statistics from the Vietnam Real Estate Association (VNREA), the country is home to 239 tourism real estate projects with a total value of VN681.8 trillion, or about US$30 billion.

Su Ngoc Khuong, Senior Director of Savills Viet Nam, said that despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism real estate in Viet Nam is still an attractive segment for investors, where they can find opportunities to join the Vietnamese market.

In reality, amid the difficult situation in the real estate sector, foreign investors, especially those from the Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong (China), have still shown great attention to resort real estate, especially in the south central coastal region. Many big names such as Mandarin Oriental, JW Marriott, M Gallery, Le Meridien, Wink Hotels and The Ascott Limited are likely to launch their projects in the region.

According to CBRE, a Nang drew 10 projects as of the end of 2022. Binh Thuan expects more than 5,000 vacation villas by 2025, while Phu Yen will provide more than 72 villas and hotel rooms to the market by 2026. Experts held that in 2024, the accommodation occupation rate will recover to the pre-pandemic level of 63 per cent.

According to Ha Van Sieu, Vice Director of the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), this year, the tourism sector aims to serve about eight million foreign visitors and 102 million domestic tourists, earning about VN650 trillion ($27.71 billion).

The sector plans to announce the Viet Nam tourism planning for the 2021-30 period with a vision to 2025 right after it is approved. It has implemented a marketing strategy until 2030, along with a project to strengthen the application of new technologies in developing smart tourism and turning tourism into a spearhead economic sector of the country. A community-based tourism project is also underway, said Sieu.  VNS
HA NOI  The VAT cut bill introduced on May 6 has sparked heated debate in the National Assembly (NA).

Minister of Finance Ho uc Phoc said the bill, Resolution No.72, was intended to accelerate economic recovery through a tax-induced consumption boost. It would serve the same purpose as the Resolution No.43, which activated VAT cuts of 2 per cent on various categories of goods and services in 2022.

As the exclusion of certain items from Resolution No.43 caused higher compliance costs for taxpayers and administrative costs for tax authorities, the Government fixed the issue by drafting the bill with a broader scope, covering all categories of goods and services being subject to a VAT of 10 per cent.

"Regarding businesses that issue invoices on those goods and services, the Government in 2023 also pressed for a smaller portion of their revenues to be held VAT-taxable," said Phoc.

In his estimation, the State Budget would lose VN35 trillion (US$1.5 billion) in the last six months of 2023 should the bill pass in the NA. However, its benefits would far outweigh its costs as the cuts would produce a significant effect on domestic consumption.

Nguyen Van Chi, deputy head of the NA Committee for Financial and Budgetary Affairs, was concerned about the steps which the Government had followed to get the bill on the NA agenda. Those steps did not comply with Resolution No.50 on law-making procedures, resulting in committees having to review the bill at very short notice.

The Committee also disagreed with the scope of the bill, which covers a wider range of items than Resolution No.43, including those in the banking, securities, and realty sectors. The Committee opines that the bill should be revised to target the same goods and services as the resolution to reduce its impact on the State Budget.

NA Secretary-General Bui Van Cuong thinks differently. He said lawmakers should not exclude any items from the bill but rather expand it to cover the categories of goods and services being subject to a VAT of 5 per cent.

In his perspective, the fiscal stimulus should be all-inclusive to produce a broad-based effect on the economy. He requested the Government to make a report on the scenario in which 5-per-cent-taxed items come into play.

Meanwhile, NA Chairman Vuong inh Hue shares Chi's view, saying that a wider range of items subject to tax cuts would not necessarily means a more favourable effect on the economy, because the situation in 2023 is different to last year.

The chairman calls for the bill to be revised to have the same scope as did Resolution No.43. The chairman also requests an additional clause to the bill, which holds the Government responsible for its timely implementation.

NA's Standing Committee requests the Government to implement the bill, if passed, in a manner that would not cause a shortfall in the projected fiscal budget. In other words, the increased domestic consumption must be sufficient to offset the loss in the State Budget.

Some MPs opine that an effective date in May would be relatively late for the bill to have its desired effect on the business sector.  VNS
HA NOI  World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala praised Viet Nam as an example of using trade to accelerate economic development and expand opportunities for people during her visit to the Foreign Trade University (FTU) on Thursday.

Since the start of the oi Moi process in the mid-1980s, Viet Nam has sustained one of the highest economic growth rates in the world. By successfully tapping into external demand, Viet Nam substantially turbocharged poverty reduction, said Iweala.

According to Our World in Data, the rate of the population living in extreme poverty in Viet Nam (living below US$2.15 per day) was dramatically reduced from 45.1 per cent in 1992 to 1.23 per cent in 2018.

The WTO Director-General also shared about current issues related to the multilateral trading system in the context of globalisation as well as the implementation of Viet Nam's trade policies in the context of increasingly deep integration into the global economy.

Foreign direct investment and integration into global value chains continue to be a driving force behind Viet Nam's trade performance. The resulting expertise, learning-by-doing, and capital have helped the country increase production and export capacities. Viet Nam has been improving its business environment with measures aimed at levelling the playing field across State-owned enterprises, domestic and foreign operators, said the WTO Director-General.

As more businesses seek to diversify and deconcentrate production networks to better manage climate, economic, and geopolitical risks, Viet Nam has attracted investment. The country's participation in global value chains grew by an annual average of 14.3 per cent through the 2010s. Nominal merchandise trade (exports and imports) grew from $111.3 billion in 2007 to $730.2 billion in 2022. GDP per capita more than quadrupled from $843 in 2007 to $4,086.5 in 2022.

Together with Viet Nam's impressive public health response to COVID-19, international integration helped the country weather the pandemic relatively well. Growth remained positive, at 2.9 per cent in 2020 and 2.6 per cent in 2021, before rebounding to 8 per cent in 2022.

The WTO Director-General also praised the efforts and contributions of the FTUs teachers and students in using global trade to drive growth and development, especially when the FTU was selected as part of the WTO Chairs Programme.

FTU's courses for government officials and enterprises on issues such as trade preferences, navigating technical barriers to trade and competition make a practical difference for Viet Nam's engagement in trade policy fora and in international markets, added Iweala.

Speaking at the meeting, FTU President Bui Anh Tuan said that FTU was recognised as the leading university in Viet Nam in its fields of education, especially in international trade.

As FTU is one of the 17 new Chairs in the WTO Chairs Programme Phase III, we highly value our partnership and relationship with the WTO Chairs Programme, which has allowed us to enhance our academic programmes and broaden our research capabilities. We are grateful for the support and collaboration of the WTO Chairs Programme, and we remain committed to continuing to strengthen our relationship. Together, we can build a better future for our communities, said Tuan.

Participants also focused discussion on various topics, such as the impact of re-globalisation on global supply chains; how the WTO can support the resilience of Vietnamese supply chains in the fishery, textile and agriculture sectors; and regulations in new-generation FTAs and their impact on countries, especially developing countries.  VNS
HA NOI  Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said she highly appreciated Viet Nam's active role in the WTO, including its participation in important rounds of negotiations and contributions to the reform and improvement of the organisations operational efficiency, at a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son on Thursday.

The leader, who is on a working visit to Viet Nam from May 17 to 19, said she is impressed with Viet Nams socio-economic achievements and hoped that Viet Nam will share experiences with developing countries on economic integration and development.

She wished that Viet Nam will actively contribute to the WTOs cooperation priorities in the time to come; soon ratify the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies; and support the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference next year.

In response, the Vietnamese minister affirmed Viet Nams consistent policy of proactively integrating into the world and supporting an open, transparent, fair and rules-based multilateral trading system, in which the WTO plays a central role.

Son stressed that as a responsible member of the WTO, Viet Nam always makes efforts to play an active role in the organisations cooperation frameworks.

He said the foreign ministry will further work closely with relevant agencies to beef up Viet Nams contributions to the WTO.

The host and guest discussed the WTOs programmes on training and capacity building for Viet Nams foreign affairs staff, as well as financial and technical support for Viet Nam so that the country will make deeper integration and greater practical contributions to the operation of the organisation.  VNS
During his journey to seek the right revolutionary path for Viet Nam, President Ho Chi Minh formed the thought on the issue of opening the doors and integration.

In an article published in the LHumanite newspaper on August 2, 1919, he wrote that in terms of principles, common progress depended on the development of internationalism and civilisation could only be beneficial when international relations were expanded and enhanced.

After the success of the 1945 August Revolution, President Ho Chi Minh attached importance to the expansion of international relations and sending of personnel to learn scientific and technical advances of other countries to serve socio-economic development.

In his letter sent to then-US Secretary of State James Byrnes on November 1, 1945, the Vietnamese leader put forth the initiative of building people-to-people diplomacy to start cooperative ties between the peoples of Viet Nam and the US.

His strategic thought on an open economy was mentioned most fully and clearly in the Appeal to the United Nations issued in December 1946. In this letter, he stated that with democratic countries, Viet Nam was ready to carry out the open door and cooperation policy in all fields:

a. Viet Nam would create favourable conditions for investment from foreign companies into all of its industries.

b. Viet Nam was ready to expand ports, airports and roads for international trade and transit.

c. Viet Nam accepted to take part in all international economic cooperation organisations under the leadership of the United Nations.

d. Viet Nam was ready to sign special security agreements and conventions related to the use of some of its naval and air force bases with naval and ground forces within the framework of the UN.

Throughout the revolution, those viewpoints reflected the Presidents far-sighted vision.

Attracting external resources to bring into play internal strength

President Ho Chi Minh steadfastly pursued the open-door policy to help maintain stability in the region and the world so that the Vietnamese people could live in peace and freedom and pursued economic integration into the world to receive assistance from international friends in order to have conditions for tapping into the countrys potential.

However, he also emphasised that internal strength must be the key and noted with great internal strength, diplomacy would be successful. If the internal strength is a gong, diplomacy is the sound. Only when the gong is large, can the sound be big.

The leader called on each Vietnamese citizen to strongly uphold the spirit of independence, self-reliance, standing on their own feet, and exerting their own efforts to liberate themselves. He said: If a nation does not exert its own efforts but waits for help from others, it does not deserve independence.

The President requested cadres work well with foreign experts, learn advanced experience from other countries, and properly preserve and use the machinery and commodities provided by other countries; stringently fight bureaucracy, wastefulness, and embezzlement; and gradually build a contingent of international economics personnel who have both revolutionary virtues and high professional capacity to easily cooperate with and learn from foreign entrepreneurs.

Nowadays, Viet Nam has built a foreign policy matching the domestic and international situations and also conforming to the principles based on President Ho Chi Minh's ideology, serving as the basis for expanding external economic relations.

The 10th National Party Congress affirmed the policy of actively integrating into the world and properly handling the relationship between independence, self-reliance and international integration; and comprehensively, intensively, flexibly, and effectively integrating into the world for the sake of national interests with national independence, self-reliance, and sovereignty guaranteed.

Viet Nams foreign policy is targeted at firmly maintaining national sovereignty, independence, self-reliance, and the socialist-oriented development path; setting up friendly and equal relations with other nations, making use of the assistance and cooperation from people around the world for its national reform, development, and safeguarding; firmly maintaining regional and global peace and stability to focus on economic development; ensuring Viet Nams extensive integration into the global economy; and unceasingly improving the countrys position in the region and the world.  VNS
HIROSHIMA  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and a high-ranking delegation from Viet Nam arrived at Hiroshima Airport on Friday afternoon, beginning a three-day trip to attend the expanded Summit of the Group of Seven (G7) and pay a working visit to Japan at the invitation of his Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio.

Welcoming PM Chinh and the Vietnamese delegation at the airport were Japanese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Yamada Kenji, Governor of Hiroshima prefecture Hidehiko Yuzaki, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu, among others.

According to the working agenda of the expanded G7 Summit, the Vietnamese leader will attend three discussion sessions on the topics of handling multiple crises, joint efforts for a sustainable planet, and working towards a peaceful, stable and prosperous world.

He is scheduled to participate in activities related to the G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) initiative, and have bilateral meetings with leaders of countries and international organisations.

At the discussion sessions, and multilateral and bilateral activities, the PM is expected to contribute to the international community in association with Viet Nam's interests on many issues, especially those related to security-development, sustainable development, health cooperation, climate change response, the environment and energy.

Through those activities, PM Chinh will convey the message of Viet Nam's dynamic development, innovation, extensive and effective international integration, and proactive and responsible contributions to the common affairs of the international community, while protecting and promoting the legitimate interests of the country.

PM Chinh will hold talks with his Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio to discuss bilateral cooperation, as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern.

He is set to attend and deliver a speech at a seminar with leaders of large Japanese enterprises; meet representatives of economic organisations, corporations and big enterprises of Japan; and meet with representatives of the Vietnamese community and intellectuals in Japan.

The invitation for Viet Nam to attend the expanded G7 Summit by Japan, which is holding the rotating Presidency of the G7, demonstrates the importance that the G7 and Japan attach to the countrys increasing role in the region.

Viet Nam is among the eight countries that have been invited by Japan to the event. Notably, Viet Nam is one of the two Southeast Asian guest nations, apart from Indonesia, which holds the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023.

This is the third time Vietnamese leaders have attended the summit, following their attendance in 2016 in Japan and in 2018 in Canada, and the second time Viet Nam has been invited as a single nation, not in its capacity as a representative of an organisation or a group of countries in the region.

As Viet Nam and Japan are celebrating the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2023, PM Chinh's trip to Japan is expected to further strengthen mutual trust and drive bilateral relations forward, particularly cooperation in focal areas such as economy, trade, new-generation ODA, high-quality infrastructure, green transformation and energy transition, as well as promote coordination in regional and international issues of shared concern.

Meeting with the Vietnamese community

At the PM meeting with the Vietnamese community, Ambassador Hieu said the presence of 476,000 Vietnamese in Japan makes it the second-largest foreign community in Japan and the second-largest Vietnamese community in the world.

Among them, there are approximately 250,000 workers, trainees, and interns, about 50,000 international students, 60,000 engineers, and about 40,000 residents in Japan. Vietnamese people, mostly young, currently live, work, and study in all 47 prefectures and cities of Japan.

PM Chinh said he is glad to witness the growth and strength of the Vietnamese community in Japan, touched by their love, dedication, responsibility, and desire to contribute to their homeland and country, showing the cultural identity of the Vietnamese people.

PM Chinh emphasised that the Party and State always affirm that overseas Vietnamese are an important part that cannot be separated, and a driving force for the country's development. The Party and State have a responsibility to take care of overseas Vietnamese and hope that the Vietnamese community abroad will also take the responsibility to contribute to the homeland.

At the meeting, the Vietnamese community raised a number of proposals to help grow the community here, including promoting the image of Viet Nam in Japan, establishing policies and mechanisms that allow overseas Vietnamese to contribute more to the country and to the Viet Nam-Japan relationship, such as organising more cultural exchange activities between Viet Nam and Japan; implementing policies that provide more flexible land use for overseas Vietnamese; establishing tax policies for Vietnamese workers in Japan; simplifying procedures for scientists to contribute more to the country; promoting the application of scientific works in Viet Nam by Vietnamese in Japan, etc.

PM Chinh said the proposals will be considered, adjusted, and supplemented by relevant ministries, agencies, and institutions to suit the situation.

He requested the Vietnamese Embassy, Viet Nam's agencies abroad in general and in Japan in particular to consider overseas Vietnamese as "family members," to protect their legitimate interests.  VNS
A NANG  Two Indian Navy ships, guided missile destroyer INS Delhi and multi-purpose stealth destroyer INS Satpura, docked at Tien Sa Port on Friday, starting a courtesy visit to the central city of a Nang.

Representatives of the Viet Nam People's Navy Region 3 Command, the Military Region 5 High Command, the Military Command of a Nang City, the citys Border Guard, and the Department of Foreign Affairs welcomed the Indian Navy ships.

At the reception, Rear Admiral Gurcharan Singh, the Indian Navys Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, said that in 2022, the defence ministers of Viet Nam and India signed a Joint Vision on Defence Cooperation to 2030 between the two countries in which navy cooperation is a central part of the bilateral defence partnership, covering a wide range of activities, including human resource training and development, bilateral exercises, repair and maintenance, and logistical support to enhance capacity.

During their journey to a Nang City, both INS Delhi and INS Satpura participated in the first ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise 2023 (AIME) together with navy ships of ASEAN countries, including Viet Nam's Frigate 015-Tran Hung ao. The exercise highlighted the strong friendship between the navies of the ASEAN countries and India.

Rear Admiral Gurcharan Singh also said that during this visit to a Nang City, the delegation hopes to step up people-to-people connections, experience the rich culture of Viet Nam, and meet with local partners, thus strengthen relations and mutual understanding between the two navies.

The Indian Navy also looks forward to welcoming the Vietnamese Navy's ships and delegation to the upcoming MILAN multinational exercise in India in 2024.

While in a Nang, Rear Admiral Gurcharan Singh, officers and commanders of two navy ships will pay a courtesy visit to leaders of the Military Region 5 High Command and the municipal People's Committee.

Viet Nam and India celebrated the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations last year. The bilateral relations were upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016, and defence cooperation is an important pillar of this partnership.  VNS
HIROSHIMA  Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with the Republic of Korea (RoK)'s President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday in Hiroshima, Japan, as part of his G7 trip.

PM Chinh expressed his pleasure at the remarkable achievements in the relationship between the two countries over the past 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, including the upgrading of the bilateral relationship to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" last year.

The Vietnamese Government leader affirmed that Viet Nam and RoK share many similar strategic interests in the development of each country as well as views on various international and regional issues, especially the promotion of the role of international law, multilateralism, and putting people at the centre of service.

In its foreign policy approach, Viet Nam consistently values its relationship with RoK, and desires to deepen cooperation between the two countries, with a focus on economic and trade cooperation as the core, political trust as the foundation, contributing to peace and prosperity in the region and the world.

On Viet Nam's economic and social development orientations, PM Chinh affirmed with the RoK leader that Viet Nam is building a Socialist rule-of-law state, a socialist-oriented market economy, and a socialist-oriented democracy that places people at the centre, as the objective, subject, and driving force for development.

In that spirit, PM Chinh proposed that the RoK continue to cooperate and support Viet Nam in five specific areas, including capital, technology, human resources, institutional building, and management.

The Vietnamese PM suggested that the two sides continue to promote economic, trade, and investment cooperation, with the goal of achieving a balanced and healthy trade of US$150 billion by 2030. He also welcomed RoK businesses to invest in major infrastructure projects in Viet Nam, and vouched that the State, Government, and relevant agencies of Viet Nam will continue to create favourable conditions for RoK's businesses to invest and expand their investment in the country in the future.

President Yoon Suk Yeol concurred with the Vietnamese leader on the assessment of the outstanding results of bilateral ties over time, and affirmed that Viet Nam is one of the RoK's top important partners in the region, as demonstrated by Viet Nam being its third-largest trading partner.

Regarding the orientations of the relationship's development, the RoK is ready to work with Viet Nam for closer cooperation in various fields, especially in areas where the RoK has strengths and Viet Nam has needs, such as science and technology, innovation, etc., contributing to the socio-economic development and improving the lives of people in both countries.

The RoK President believes that on the basis of the comprehensive strategic partnership, the two countries' ties will grow stronger and more substantial.

The two leaders also affirmed that practical measures will be taken to support the Vietnamese community living and working in the RoK and the Korean community living and working in Viet Nam.

Both sides agreed to continue to exchange and coordinate on international and regional issues of common concern at multilateral cooperation mechanisms and international organisations, contributing to the maintenance of peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.  VNS
HA NOI  For journalist and photographer Chu Chi Thanh, being able to live and work in a vibrant period of Viet Nams history was what made his job worthwhile.

The former war correspondent for the Vietnam News Agency will today receive the Ho Chi Minh Prize for Literature and Art, on the occasion of the late President Ho Chi Minhs birthday.

Being chosen for this prestigious honour brought many emotions flooding back to the 79-year-old. He said he is happy because his work reflected the late President Ho Chi Minhs thoughts and the righteousness of the Vietnamese people.

The award is even more meaningful to him as it was presented on Uncle Ho's birthday.

Thanh was born in Hung Yen northern province.

In 1966, after he finished his third year at the Faculty of Literature University, he was among the young people selected to go into battle.

He attended a press training course in Ha Tay Province (now a Ha Noi suburb) to learn either news writing or photography, with Thanh choosing the latter as he had already been taught how to write.

He also believed that during battles, the camera will be very useful as photographs can be used immediately and images can be forever saved as a document.

At the end of 1967, Thanh was assigned to the military photo team of the Viet Nam News Agency - the spearhead force of journalism and communications during the war.

The young journalist reported from the frontlines in Ha Noi, Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces during the years 1967-1973.

This was also the period when he recorded a vivid "battlefield diary" with thousands of photographs.

Among those, four photos Hai nguoi linh (Two soldiers), Tay bat mat mung (Shaking hands with happy smiles), Cau Quang Tri (Quang Tri Bridge) and Nhung ban tay luu luyen (Nostalgic hands) were awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize for Literature and Art this year.

Fifty years have passed, but memories of those photos are still intact and clear in his mind.

In 1973, he went to Quang Tri Province to observe prisoners returning after the Paris Agreement was signed.

By the end of March, he went to the border area at the Long Quang Post in Trieu Trach Commune, Trieu Phong District.

For the first time, he witnessed the Sai Gon Government soldiers crossing the border to joyfully meet liberation soldiers.

It was amazing to see the Sai Gon soldiers and the liberation forces happily welcoming them, Thanh said.

They talked openly and patted each others shoulders. It was a very surprising moment because I used to think that they were on two sides of the battlefield.

It was a moment Thanh had to capture on film. Two soldiers stood side-by-side who, uniforms apart, could well be peers.

Thanh said: At that time, I thought the image of two soldiers with their arms around each other's shoulders was a symbol of the desire for peace and national reunification. The day of liberation was very close and the war was about to end. And I took the photograph in that joyous moment.

The meeting was very quick, so Thanh did not have time to record information about the Sai Gon soldier, only knowing that he was a second-year student with a literature major from Sai Gon.

From the few clues and thanks to help of colleagues and the whole community, a good thing came.

In 2015, Nguyen Huy Tao made himself known as the young soldier from the image.

Two years later, the Sai Gon soldier Bui Trong Nghia, also came forward and in 2018, on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the Paris Agreement (January 27, 1973-January 27, 2018), they recreated that very same image.

In addition to the photos Hai nguoi linh (Two soldiers) and Tay bat mat mung (Shaking hands with happy smiles), there is another image of returning prisoners in 1973 in Quang Tri.

This photograph, Nhung ban tay luu luyen (Nostalgic hands), was taken with Sai Gon soldiers sitting on motorboats returning to the south. They turned back and waved to the north and to the liberation soldiers. On the shore, the liberation soldiers also waved.

The Cau Quang Tri (Quang Tri Bridge) photograph captures the painful moment the soldiers from two sides came near to each other.

"The photo series expressed humane sentiments and Vietnamese peoples generous spirit. Perhaps this helped our nation put an end to the war and make a victory," Thanh said.

I am extremely touched and happy to receive this prestigious award. I am even happier when my photo series is recognised by everyone, which means that Ho Chi Minh's thoughts will be replicated.

Indeed, the photos that I and many war correspondents took at that time are historical documents with very high aesthetic value. The truth is presented convincingly by pictures, not by far-fetched deductions.

Thanh has spent his days engrossed in photography. His eyes, heart and mind are so focused on the camera that he did not hear the gong warning that bombs were coming. His photographs reflect the truth and make hearts flutter in the past, present or future.

Critic Vu uc Tan, from the Viet Nam Association of Photographic Artists, said that photographer Chu Chi Thanh had a good fortune to become a war correspondent at the climax of the national liberation war.

It was a golden time to take photographs.

Tan said: As a student of literature, Thanh brings a lot of artistic, aesthetic and important messages into his work. I think that in both the field of art and press photography, he has neutral, simple and very humane values."  VNS
HA NOI  President Ho Chi Minh, born on May 19, 1890, was not only an outstanding leader, a beloved comrade, a teacher, and a close friend in the hearts of every Vietnamese person, but also a great and humble man with the erudite wisdom, far-reaching vision, and noble ambitions "giving everything for the fatherland, for the people in the eyes of international friends.

Major General inh Quoc Hung - Political Commissar of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Protection Command said the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh (Uncle Ho) is a shining example of patriotism and great encouragement for generations of Vietnamese.

Tran Viet Hoan, a bodyguard of President Ho Chi Minh during 1966-1969 and former Director of Uncle Ho's relic site, said: Uncle Ho passed more than 50 years ago, but on the occasion of his birthday in May every year, Vietnamese people miss him very much.

Uncle Ho was a great leader but very simple, close, sincere and always cared for everyone around him.

At that time they knew each other, Hoan said Uncle Hos meal would often only be a bowl of vegetable soup and some ca phao (salted egg plants). Sometimes, there were also slices of braised meat or fish.

Uncle Ho often asked the kitchen to mix the rice with cassava roots to save rice like everyone else did while the country was very poor. Every Saturday for dinner Uncle Ho only ate porridge, Hoan said.

He did this, Hoan said, to be able to save the rice and give it to the poor.

Chiles late President Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens said behind President Ho Chi Minhs soft look is a strong, brave and indomitable spirit.

At first Westerners just laughed at his clothes, then many people realised that his special clothes prove that no matter where, among the elite or among the masses, he never forgets that he is one of the people of his beloved country, Salvador said.

If anyone wants to find words that can sum up all of President Ho Chi Minhs life, simplicity and humility.

Blaga Nikolova Dimitrova, a Bulgaria's female poet, wrote in her work: "An hour with Comrade Ho Chi Minh" that "Hope has many different names, but in Viet Nam, hope is symbolised by President Ho Chi Minh."

Honorary late President of the World Peace Council (WPC) Romesh Chandra said: Wherever there is fighting for independence and freedom, there is Ho Chi Minh and the flag of Ho Chi Minh flies high.

In November 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid an official visit to Viet Nam and visited President Ho Chi Minh's residence. Putin wrote in the visitors book that: "Humanity has entered the 21st century, a century of peace, progress and prosperity. But Ho Chi Minh's ideological and moral values are believed to be a torch, a symbol of a future culture. So, history will forever refer to him as a saint.

Symbol of peaceful diplomacy, culture

In 1919, the first time he appeared on the political arena sending his eight-point demand to the Versailles Conference, President Ho Chi Minh expressed his desire to fight for the freedom and equality of the nation by peaceful means.

During the later stages, President Ho Chi Minh always expressed the idea of peace and aspirations for peace.

Facing the risk of the outbreak of the Viet Nam-France war, on July 12, 1946, in Paris, Uncle Ho declared: "We don't want to push the French out of Viet Nam Viet Nam needs France. France also needs Viet Nam. Only mutual trust, honest and equal cooperation can lead to friendly results between the two countries.

While later fighting the United States, Uncle Ho maintained: ''Please believe me when I say that I will be very happy to welcome the US President to come here peacefully. We extend a hand of friendship to any country that recognises Viet Nam as a free and independent country."

Right after independence, the first communique on foreign policy of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam dated October 3, 1945, set out the goal of contributing to world peace.

The statement said: "The Democratic Republic of Viet Nam earnestly wishes to maintain friendship and sincerely cooperate on the basis of equality and mutual assistance to build lasting world peace."

After signing a temporary treaty on September 14, 1946 with the French Government, President Ho Chi Minh told the Paris- Sai Gon newspaper: "My compatriots and I sincerely want peace. We don't want war."

In 1955, Uncle Ho said: The Vietnamese people firmly believe that all disputes in the world can be resolved by peaceful means, firmly believe that despite different social systems and different forms of consciousness, all countries can live together in peace."

Uncle Ho's thoughts on peace and friendly cooperation for development, is a great thought with timeless vitality because it contains the eternal values of humanity.

That thought has suggested a way to approach and solve the problems of the contemporary world, just as Indian Late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said: The world today is going through a crisis. What we need now is to approach peace and friendship. Ho Chi Minh is emblematic of that approach."

Uncle Hos footprints all over the world

Time flies, the darkness of war has also passed, but President Ho Chi Minh's footprints have remained in many places around the world where he visited during his life of revolutionary activities, finding the way to liberate the nation.

There are 29 statues and monuments and 11 memorial areas dedicated to Uncle Ho around the world. Twenty roads, avenues and many schools are also named after the former President.

In France, there are about 45 relic sites that store many precious documents and artifacts related to Uncle Ho's revolutionary career from 1911 to 1927. The most notable is House No. 9 on Compoint Alley, in District 17, where President Ho Chi Minh lived and worked from 1921 to 1923 during his journey to search ways for national salvation.

In Moscow, Russia, there is a very special square named after the great leader of the Vietnamese nation - Ho Chi Minh Square. Here there is a monument of President Ho Chi Minh, which has been a popular place for public gathering of Vietnamese people on special occasions. The monument was inaugurated on May 18, 1990 on the occasion of President Ho Chi Minhs 100th birth anniversary.

In the city of Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg University established the Ho Chi Minh Academy, which has conducted in-depth research on Vietnamese history and culture.

The talent and noble personality of President Ho Chi Minh is also the inspiration of many world writers and artists. There have been many films and songs written by foreign authors about him, including the song "The ballad of Ho Chi Minh" by British musician Ewan MacColl. The song has been translated into many languages and become familiar in international events about Uncle Ho.

Far away across the ocean,

Far beyond the seas eastern rim,

Lives a man who is father of the Indo-Chinese people,

And his name it is Ho Chi Minh.

Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh.

Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh ..  VNS

President Ho Chi Minhs biography

Ho Chi Minh (alias Nguyen Sinh Cung, Nguyen Tat Thanh, and Nguyen Ai Quoc), was born on May 19, 1890 in Kim Lien Village, Nam an District, Nghe An Province.His father was a patriotic scholar; his mother was a farmer. His older sister and brother both took part in the anti-French movements and were imprisoned by the colonial administration.On June 3, 1911, Ho Chi Minh left the country. He lived by doing many different jobs. He also participated in the revolutionary movements of many peoples while making great efforts to struggle for his nations independence and freedom.In 1941, he returned Viet Nam, convening the 8th Conference of the Central Committee of the Indochina Communist Party, deciding the way for national salvation, establishing the League for Independence of Viet Nam, building armed forces and revolutionary bases, leading the people to launch the uprisings and prepare the general insurrection to seize power throughout the country.After the August 1945 Revolution, on September 2, 1945, at Ba inh Square, President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence to establish the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam; organised the free nation-wide general election to select the National Assembly and approved the first democratic Constitution of Viet Nam. The First National Assembly appointed Ho Chi Minh as the President of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam (1946).On December 13, 1946, he gave the appeal to wage the anti-French resistance war for the sake of national independence and freedom. Under the leadership of the Central Party Committee, headed by President Ho Chi Minh, the Viet Nams resistance war won a resounding victory at ien Bien Phu (1954).After the Northern part of Viet Nam was liberated (1955), the Party Central Committee and President Ho Chi Minh put forward the two strategic tasks for the Vietnamese revolution: carrying out the socialist revolution and building socialism in the North; and struggling to liberate the South and reunify the country, fulfilling the peoples national democratic revolution in the whole country.  VNS
PHU YEN  The Vietnam Coast Guard High Command has carried out many activities accompanying fishermen in coastal localities in socio-economic development, and this has become a bright spot in the mass mobilisation work in the new period.

Commander of the force Major General Le Quang ao said that from 2017 to April 2023, they implemented the Coast Guard standing shoulder-to-shoulder with fishermen programme in 22 coastal localities.

The programme aims to step up dissemination of the Party's guidelines and the State's policies and laws; build safe areas and a strong political system; support localities in socio-economic and cultural development, new-style rural area building, implementation of social welfare activities; assist fishermen in working at sea and contributing to maintaining security and sovereignty over sea and islands; and mobilise human resources, means and ships to participate in the protection of sovereignty over sea and islands.

Since 2022, the force has disseminated the Party's guidelines and policies, and the State's policies and laws on sea, islands, and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing to nearly 50,000 people and fishermen.

It has mobilised different resources to provide about VN18 billion (US$768,200) for social welfare and poverty reduction activities.

ao affirmed that the Vietnam Coast Guard is one of the core forces in the dissemination, advocacy and implementation of anti-IUU fishing regulations. In the first quarter of 2023, it has provided dissemination for 1,435 Vietnamese fishing vessels, exchanged 255 messages related to IUU fishing prevention and control, and verified cases of Vietnamese vessels staying uncontacted.

It has deployed 30 ships to perform patrols and controls.

Thanks to these efforts, the number of Vietnamese vessels violating foreign waters decreased in the first quarter of this year.

In the future, the force will continue coordinating closely with the Vietnam Peoples Navy in using surveillance aircraft to grasp the situation at sea, monitor and supervise fishing vessels operating in the sea area bordering Viet Nam - Thailand - Malaysia - Indonesia, and deploy forces and ship to patrol and control IUU fishing in the Gulf of Tonkin.  VNS
ONG NAI  ong Nais Department of Natural Resources and Environment has announced that it will inspect the investor of Long Thanh International Airport - Airports Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV) in handling the dust pollution during the construction of the project.

The move came after the airport company sent a document to report its plan to reduce dust pollution in the area.

The department said it will coordinate with other agencies to monitor the companys implementation of dust mitigation measures at the project twice a week.

In the document sent to the environment department, ACV said it will establish a fleet of specialised sprinkler trucks at the construction site with constant frequency.

Construction work will halt when the weather is dry and hot with strong winds.

The area where excess soil is stored that covers more than 720 ha will be covered up and the road surface will be moistened when soil is transported in dry and hot days. Excess soil and rock dumped in the area will be compacted and the company will use vehicles meeting emission standards.

ACV will also provide training for personnel working on the construction site to ensure they comply with environmental regulations.

The vehicles must run on watered service roads, limiting the speed of transport vehicles.

In March 2023, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment coordinated with ong Nais authorities to inspect the observance of the law on environmental protection for ACV at Long Thanh airport.

Following that, the ACV was fined VN270 million (US$11,250) for improperly or incompletely implementing regulations mentioned in the environmental impact assessment report.

ACV has neither arranged temporary reservoirs to store rainwater nor built a system of rainwater drainage ditches during the construction process, nor has it built reinforced embankment and sedimentation ponds.

It does not regularly spray water around the construction site, increasing dust in the surrounding environment.

ACV has been punished for causing air pollution with dust levels exceeding five to ten times the standard level.

According to farmers in Binh Son Commune, Long Thanh District, the red dust from the airport construction site has become pervasive in recent months, spreading heavily to nearby areas of fruit trees and residential areas since February, just as the rambutan and mangosteen trees began to bloom and bear fruit.

The dust has stuck to the leaves, and the hot weather has made it difficult for the trees to photosynthesize, resulting in nutrient deficiency, wilting, fruit dropping, and a failed harvest.  VNS
The launch of Hanoi's Industrial Products, Machinery, Equipment and Automation Trade Fair in 2023 on May 17 is expected to promote cooperation between local and foreign enterprises and support market expansion.

Industrial enterprises visit booths at the event. Photos: Hoai Nam/ The Hanoi Times

The fair has attracted enterprises operating in Hanoi and localities, exhibitors from foreign markets such as South Korea, Japan, Taiwan (China), China and Thailand who, in nearly 250 booths, display products in key ancillary industries such as components, spare parts, and supporting industries serving industrial and hi-tech fields.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Tran Thi Phuong Lan, Acting Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Commerce, stated that the department and related units have focused on executing tasks, solutions, and recovery programs to improve ancillary industries and key industrial companies and encourage sustainable production and business activities.

Delegates attend the opening ceremony of the trade fair.

She added that the Hanoi Industrial Products, Machinery, Equipment and Automation Fair 2023 is an opportunity to help enterprises access and transfer new technologies and automate their production and business activities, thus modernizing production and enhancing their ability to participate in the global supply chain of the international industrial sector.

Nguyen Van, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi Supporting Industry Business Association (HANSIBA), said that through the fair, ancillary industry enterprises will have more opportunities to promote and introduce their brands and products and organize trade promotion activities.

In the city's 2021-2025 plan, Hanoi focuses on developing ancillary industries to account for 30% of total industrial output value by 2025, up from 5% currently, and increasing the value of key industrial products to 40-45% of total industrial output.

The city expects 10% of its enterprises to reach Vietnam's top 500 list.

Hanoi Times
Former and present Hyundai engineers and designers commemorate the Pony Coupe Concept restoration in the birthplace of the original's design and debut in 1974

The restoration represents the company's historic past, present success and future mobility vision, shown alongside the innovative Pony Coupe Concept-inspired N Vision 74 concept

Hyundai Motor to enter the Pony Coupe Concept-inspired N Vision 74 'Rolling Lab' into the concept car competition at the upcoming Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este

COMO, Italy and SEOUL, South Korea, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor Company today celebrated the restoration of the Pony Coupe Concept at Hyundai Reunion held at historic Villa Pliniana in Lake Como, Italy.

Inaugural Hyundai Reunion Celebrates Rebirth of Hyundai Motor's Pony Coupe Concept

Hyundai Motor collaborated with Italian design firm GFG Style, notably its father and son founders Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro to rebuild the influential 1974 Pony Coupe Concept that young Giorgetto created for Hyundai's debut at the 1974 Turin Motor Show.

At the event, Hyundai Motor also showcased its N Vision 74 concept, which was inspired by the Pony Coupe Concept. These two vehicles represent a shared lineage between the company's past and future, illustrating the continuation of its ambition to be innovative and daring.

"Despite the poor industrial environment in the 1970s, my grandfather and Hyundai's Founding Chairman Ju-young Chung poured his heart and soul into rebuilding Korea's economy and improving the lives of its people after the devastating Korean War. He finally realized his vision of making Korea a country capable of developing its own vehicles with perfection," said Euisun Chung, Executive Chair of Hyundai Motor Group. "I express my sincere gratitude to everyone from both Italy and Korea who played a critical role in the success of Pony."

Hyundai Reunion, a heritage brand platform that reflects on Hyundai Motor's past and its future direction, has brought together all the designers and engineers involved on N Vision 74 and the original Pony Coupe Concept, including Giorgetto Giugiaro and former Hyundai Motor President Chung Goo Lee, for the celebration.

"In the age of electrification, a key condition for Hyundai Motor Company to become a leader in future mobility will be our ability to remain faithful to the unshakable values we inherited," said Jaehoon Chang, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company. "Moving forward, through Hyundai Reunion and other heritage communication initiatives, we will continue to leverage our past as a unique vector for our future innovation."

Inaugural Hyundai Reunion Celebrates Rebirth of Hyundai Motor's Pony Coupe Concept

Inaugural Hyundai Reunion Celebrates Rebirth of Hyundai Motor's Pony Coupe ConceptSource: Hyundai Motor Company Related Stocks: Korea:005380 OTC:HYMTF
BEIJING, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from People's Daily: Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi province, opened an air route to Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan, on May 18.

It marked the 16th international passenger flight route currently in service in Xi'an. Today, a total of 11 flights flying each week between Xi'an and Central Asian destinations.

At present, Xi'an becomes the only Chinese city that has opened air routes to all the five Central Asian countries.

According to Zhang Xuan, general manager of the marketing department of the Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, the airport will resume and open 30 air routes in each of the next three years to destinations including Central Asia, West Asia, and even Central and Eastern Europe, to facilitate the tourism, business and trade exchanges.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). From camel caravans in ancient times to express trains and international flights, the transport evolution has significantly shortened the distance between Xi'an and Central Asia.

As the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, Xi'an has intensively integrated itself into Belt and Road construction over the past decade. It has witnessed how the BRI has transitioned from high-level plans to intensive and meticulous implementation under the joint efforts of participating countries and regions.

The China-Central Asia Summit, the first major diplomatic activity that China hosts this year, kicked off in Xi'an as scheduled. It is the first summit held offline by the heads of state of the six countries since the establishment of diplomatic ties 31 years ago, and a historic milestone in the development of relations between China and Central Asian countries.

Source: People's Daily
The event aimed to bring together the most recognised investors in the region and introduce them to the latest innovative companies emerging from Antler's portfolio.

The event gathered over 250 attendees to learn from the best in the tech ecosystem through a curated group of speakers, startup pitches, matchmaking sessions, and networking opportunities. It witnessed the participation of more than 100 selected investors and 39 emerging startups.

During the event, Jussi Salovaara, co-founder and managing partner of Antler in Asia, spoke about the firms mission to back the worlds most driven founders from day zero to greatness. He emphasised that Antler is fuelled by a passion that goes beyond traditional investing, having created and invested in more than 750 startups globally and over 220 startups in ASEAN. Antler is currently the most active investor in the region and worldwide.

A total of 39 startups have engaged with the top investors in Southeast Asia. Some of the prominent sectors represented by those startups include climate tech, health, property, finance, software as a service, and many more.

The event also attracted a diverse range of Vietnamese startups, demonstrating the thriving entrepreneurial landscape in the country. Among the participants were notable companies such as AirCity, Tribee, Vucar, and SOFTENMIND. These startups represent a variety of industries and sectors, showcasing the breadth of innovation and talent within Vietnam's startup ecosystem.

Salovaara said, We seek out visionary founders who possess a proven track record of accomplishments, whether through successful ventures of their own or through their involvement with startups and established corporate entities.

With a sector-agnostic approach, we focus on early-stage investments and place significant emphasis on the calibre and potential of the founders themselves, recognising that business models may evolve and adapt over time to suit market dynamics and emerging opportunities, he added.

Kevin Lin, a prominent figure in the tech industry and co-founder and former COO of Twitch - the leading social video platform and community for gamers, also brought a wealth of experience and expertise to the event.

At present, we have not resorted to laying off any employees due to the integration of generative AI into our workflows. In fact, we encourage our team members to explore and utilise the tools that best suit their roles. We view generative AI as an instrument that enhances efficiency rather than a replacement for human creativity and expertise, he said.

Lin also noted that talent acquisition knows no boundaries.

We have been fortunate to assemble a diverse workforce from different corners of the globe. Our employees hail from Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, Pakistan, Turkey, Spain, Sweden, Brazil, and numerous locations within the United States, he said. Working across time zones poses its challenges, especially for founders, but when executed effectively, the handoff between teams from one zone to another can operate seamlessly.

Private equity deal value plunges by half in SE Asia According to the Bain & Co. Southeast Asia Private Equity Report 2023, the private equity (PE) deal market in the region had a disappointing run in 2022.
This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.
Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of Vingroup

VinFast achieved a groundbreaking milestone by entering the US stock market through a business merger with Black Spade on May 12, propelling the company onto the global market.

With half of the listing process completed, VinFast is nearing the transformative union that will significantly enhance its global presence.

Vuong addressed concerns about profitability and shared an optimistic outlook based on their strategic plan. Despite initially expecting losses, Vuong anticipates that VinFast will reach the break-even point in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation by 2024-2025, provided its business operations align with the plan.

With a valuation of $23 billion, Vuong is confident in reclaiming the $8 billion invested by Vingroup and its shareholders, but it will take time.

Vuong emphasised that VinFast's mission goes beyond commerce, as it is guided by the principles that shape its visionary journey.

As a leading Vietnamese conglomerate, Vingroup recognises its responsibility to contribute to the country's development. VinFast aims to elevate the stature of the Vietnamese brand globally and set itself apart, he said.

In addition, recognising the opportunities presented by the green revolution, VinFast ventured into the electric vehicle (EV) industry. Vuong expects VinFast to break even by the end of 2024, with profitability anticipated in 2025. The company's valuation is projected to surpass $23 billion, reflecting its remarkable achievements in the EV market.

"Entering the EV industry was not an immediate decision for VinFast due to the limited interest and acceptance of EVs five years ago. But, a successful initial public offering on the US stock market would establish VinFast as the world's third-largest pure EV manufacturer, underscoring its impressive accomplishments," he added.

Looking ahead, VinFast plans to introduce an extraordinary line up of vehicles in August, catering to diverse consumer needs across all segments. Market dynamics, such as the growing demand for SUVs, will influence the introduction of new models.

"We are currently working on launching an ultra-compact and affordable car by the end of 2024. It will be both aesthetically appealing and cost-effective, and we will announce it in a few weeks. In our pursuit of becoming a leading global automotive company, we won't overlook any product that meets market demand," highlighted Vuong.
Deutsche Bank enhances FX platform for new Vietnam FX hedging rules Deutsche Bank Vietnam, part of Deutsche Bank, a leading bank in Germany with strong European roots and a global network, is enabling offshore institutions and corporates to better manage their exposures to Vietnams currency by launching new features for post-trade activities on its award-winning foreign-exchange platform, Autobahn.
Digital economy likely to contribute 25.5 pc to Malaysias GDP by 2025: Minister / In Kuala Lumpur (Photo source: Xinhua/VNA)

Kuala Lumpur  Digital economy is expected to contribute 25.5 per cent to Malaysias Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2025, and the country will attract major investments to data centres, innovation, and digital economy in the next few months, said Minister of Communications and Digital Fahmi Fadzil.

Fahmi said that with the current positive growth of the economy and upcoming investments, Malaysia can achieve the number earlier than expected.

Meanwhile, Vantage Data Centers, a US-based leading global provider of hyper-scale data centre campuses, has announced the development of a second data centre campus in Malaysia with an additional investment of 13.32 billion RM (3 billion USD).

The campus will be Vantage's largest data centre in Southeast Asia and the region. Meanwhile, Leave A Nest will focus on innovation, problem-solving, and deep technology aspects with an investment of 20 million RM and an expected economic impact of up to 100 million RM.

Fahmi said that such an announcement is a positive signal proving that foreign investors still choose Malaysia as a favourite investment destination.



He said it is important to ensure sustainable investment by expanding the pool of local talent including programmers, animators, and entrepreneurs in the digital economy.

Malaysia intensifies gold reserves in last decade Malaysia had the fifth-highest increase in gold reserves in the last decade, increasing 6.84 per cent to 38.88 tonness from 36.39 tonnes, according to City Index using data from 2013 to 2022 of the World Gold Council.

Malaysia faces new wave of COVID-19: experts Malaysia is facing a new wave of COVID-19 infections after Hari Raya Aidilfitri, the biggest traditional festival of Muslims, warned experts.

Vietnamese, Malaysian oil and gas service companies enter joint venture Vietnamese offshore support vessel service provider Hai Duong Petroleum and Marine Corporation (Haduco) and Malaysias oil and gas marine service provider RMS Synergy Sdn Bhd (RMS) on May 11 signed a cooperation deal in Kuala Lumpur to form a joint venture between the two companies.
The request was published by the Government Office on May 17 in a summary of a meeting between ministries and sector leaders to eliminate obstacles for solar and wind power projects.

Ha asked the MoIT to direct Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to settle temporary prices with investors for power generation projects connected to the grid once the project's construction investment and legal documents are finalised. After negotiations, the official price will be used to pay for the initiatives.

The MoIT has so far approved the temporary values of eight wind and solar power facilities negotiated by EVN and investors as of the afternoon of May 18.

There are currently 84 renewable energy projects for commercial operation with a total capacity of over 4,600MW that are behind schedule. 34 transition projects, including 28 wind power projects and 6 solar power projects, with a combined capacity of roughly 2,100MW have been completed and tested.

These projects are not eligible for a feed-in tariff for twenty years and must negotiate electricity prices with EVN based on the MoIT power generation pricing framework introduced this year, with prices 20 to 30 per cent lower than before. However, investors and EVN have difficulty negotiating electricity prices due to the lack of detailed guidance on the method for calculating MoIT prices.

According to EVN, there were 31 projects in the transitional category that had submitted documents to negotiate electricity pricing by mid-May, but only half of those projects had sufficient legal documentation and were negotiating prices. Concerns such as total investment, financial records, connection agreement, and planning must be clarified for the remaining projects.

In addition, only 13 of 84 transition initiatives have electricity operation licences, required for electricity generation. EVN added that among the investors who have submitted documents, sixteen have proposed applying the interim price during the negotiation period. Ten factories now accept a provisional price equal to half of the MoIT's ceiling price bracket.

Indian research intern: Vietnams clean energy transition accelerates Vietnam is undergoing clean energy transition at an accelerating rate and is considered the leader of clean energy transition in Southeast Asia, Shubham Rai, a research intern in the Southeast Asia and Oceania Centre at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), India, wrote in an article.

Germany ready to assist Vietnam in energy transition: official A German official has voiced the countrys readiness to become a trustworthy and capable partner helping with energy transition in Vietnam.
This makes Gojek the first tech company in Vietnam to utilise Dat Bike electric vehicles (EVs), as well as the first to pilot mobility services via electric motorbikes.

The Gojek-Dat Bike partnership will help Gojek become the first tech platform to use electric motorbikes to provide ride-hailing services for users in Vietnam

As part of the agreement, Dat Bike will provide Gojek driver-partners with access to Dat Bike Weaver++ motorbikes for use when fulfilling GoRide, GoFood, and GoSend orders on the Gojek platform.

By using Dat Bike Weaver++ bikes, Gojeks driver-partners will reduce their fuel costs by more than four times compared to internal combustion engine motorbikes, enabling them to save on operating costs whilst significantly reducing CO 2 emissions.

Dat Bikes Weaver++ can be fully charged in just three hours. With a top speed of 90km/h and a range of 200km on a full charge, Gojek driver-partners will be able to enjoy efficient performance, ensuring they can maintain their earnings.

Drivers can charge their Dat Bike battery for free at community charging points across Ho Chi Minh City. In addition, the Weaver++ is also equipped with a fast charging port so that it can quickly charge the first 100km in one hour from any household electrical outlet and in just 20 minutes at Dat Bikes fast charging stations.

The Dat Bike Weaver++ is uniquely equipped with a powerful 7000W motor and tubeless tyres, making the bikes easy to manoeuvre and limiting the risk of punctures which might cause inconvenience for the drivers. The single fork design of the electric vehicle and large saddle also provide a smooth and comfortable experience for Gojek driver-partners and their passengers.

Son Nguyen, CEO of Dat Bike said, This project is part of Dat Bikes ambition to convert all petrol motorbikes across Southeast Asia to electric. Tech platform drivers account for a large proportion of the people who frequently use motorbikes, so through this pilot, Dat Bike aims to show more users the power and convenience that electric motorbikes can offer. It also aims to accelerate the transition to greener transportation and a better environment.

Sumit Rathor, general manager of Gojek Vietnam said, Vietnam is an important market for Gojek, and we aim to continue to provide users with impactful solutions that support the sustainable growth of our partners and deliver quality and convenient services at an affordable price. Partnerships like this are incredibly important and will benefit our entire ecosystem, helping us to deliver even greater value for all our users while creating a positive impact on the community in which we operate.

Rathor added, Our partnership with Dat Bike is an important step in GoTo Groups Three Zeros by 2023 commitment, and supports our efforts to help us cut our emissions and transition our fleet to 100 per cent EVs. It also enables us to facilitate the governments goal of reducing emissions, contributing to the sustainable future of Vietnam.

From May 18, Gojek users will have the chance to enjoy GoRide, GoFood, and GoSend services on Dat Bike electric motorbikes, which are compact, quiet, and emission-free.

Gojek appoints new leader in Vietnam Gojek, Southeast Asias leading on-demand mobile platform, on January 18 announced that Sumit Rathor had been appointed as its general manager.

Gojek just the ticket for struggling shopkeepers Indonesian-backed Gojek Vietnam has been implementing a tech initiative to help small and micro merchants improve their livelihoods.
On May 18, Hai Duong Peoples Committee held a conference to discuss the obstacles that foreign-invested enterprises face in the province, while simultaneously honouring them for their outstanding achievements.

Hai Duong is located in the centre of the northern delta. It is densely populated and boasts convenient transport infrastructure with its proximity to Noi Bai International Airport and Haiphong Port.

Local leaders have worked hard to facilitate enterprises that want to invest and do business there. Annual business dialogues are organised to discuss and tackle the difficulties that enterprises contend with.

For example, the one-door system has been applied to avoid involvement from multiple agencies and to help investors solve issues smoothly and promptly. However, some investors still face problems related to investment procedures, labour recruitment, transport infrastructure, and land clearance.

Kurihara Kiyokazu, general director of Sumidenso Vietnam Co., Ltd. said, Human resources in the province are limited, which necessitates recruiting labour from other areas. However, this shortage has been a long-term concern, especially for highly qualified employees such as those with IT, foreign language, and automation skills.

The social housing system has not yet been developed enough to solve accommodation concerns for low-income staff and those from remote provinces. Besides this, the inter-district and interprovincial bus system does not meet demand to cover three shifts. This means numerous staff members have to go to work in their personal vehicle, which poses the risk of traffic accidents, especially at night, Kiyokazu added.

Representatives from Vietory Co., Ltd., DSGlobal Vina Co., Ltd., Sumiden Vietnam, and Zhi Xing Vietnam also highlighted the difficulties they face in recruiting labour, including both skilled and unskilled employees. They have requested career service centres to support enterprises and allow them to connect with local people.

They stated that the human resource training system needs to closely follow actual demand, especially in the areas of machine repair, electronics, logistics, foreign languages, and the rapidly developing digital technologies.

Hai Duong authorities have committed to improving the local business and investment environment and creating better conditions for foreign-invested enterprises.

Speaking at the conference, Secretary of Hai Duong Party Committee Tran Duc Thang said the authorities will guide the relevant agencies to promptly deal with the obstacles businesses face.

The focus will be on reforming administrative procedures, increasing access to different resources, promoting support services, enhancing the quality of dialogue with local businesses, and taking immediate action to tackle any issues, he said. When enterprises send their proposal dossiers to the provincial authorities, the departments will report back within a maximum of 15 days.

The secretary stressed that overseas investment has played an important role in the socioeconomic development of the province. As such, Hai Duong People's Committee also honoured 24 foreign-invested enterprises for their outstanding achievements in the province at the event.

Widescale renovations needed for FIEs to thrive in Dong Nai Unfinished roads for industrial parks, dust pollution from airport construction, and lack of housing for on-site workers are just some of the difficulties facing foreign-invested enterprises in southern province of Dong Nai.

Changes in labour market since Vietnam's Law on Foreign Investment The official passage of the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam in 1987 is considered a historic turning point that contributed to attracting an increasing number of foreign-led enterprises to the nation. Nguyen Xuan Son, operations manager for Staffing and Outsourcing Services at ManpowerGroup Vietnam, discusses the laws effect on the labour market and employees in Vietnam, as well as the expected trends for the next few years.

Fire safety regulation frustration lingers for FIEs Many foreign-invested enterprises are confused with the inconsistent regulations relating to fire prevention and safety, which may impact their factories construction and operation processes.
Hoan My Medical Group launches Prima Medical Centre

Prima offers premium healthcare services anchored in an experience-oriented and patient-centric approach with a team of dedicated specialist doctors in a caring and compassionate environment.

In an increasingly fast-paced world, society faces greater challenges to both its physical health and mental wellbeing. Therefore, treating the symptoms of disease is no longer enough. Patients need a holistic approach in which medical professionals treat the physical, social, and psychological causes of illness to enable longer, happier, and healthier lives.

Commenting at the official launch, Dr. Dilshaad Ali Bin Abas Ali, CEO of Hoan My Medical Group said, The World Health Organization defines health as complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. From this holistic vision, and through our new brand Prima, we aim to provide the best and most comprehensive care for patients. In doing so, we will raise awareness and shape the culture of premium healthcare in Vietnam. Prima Medical Centre will address the physical, emotional, and psychological needs of patients, ensuring that they feel heard and understood in a caring and compassionate way.

Primas guiding principle, For Your Complete Wellbeing, is delivered through the three critical pathways of personalised care, a holistic approach, and a compassionate environment.

Evidence from around the world proves that patients should be at the heart of healthcare. The body's natural healing capacity and holistic human medicine should be considered, including mental, emotional, spiritual, and social factors.

In this spirit, the doctor-patient relationship should be a true partnership, with patients voices being heard. This is particularly true for chronic diseases, where patients have an important role in managing their conditions. This involves recognising symptoms, looking for treatments, and booking appointments, while also making proactive lifestyle changes and managing social and psychosocial issues.

Prima Medical Centre offers a range of clinical specialities including general internal medicine, cardiology, endocrinology, gastro-entero-hepatology, gastrointestinal endoscopy, paediatrics, ophthalmology, andrology, dental and maxillofacial care, otorhinolaryngology, obstetrics and gynaecology, dermatology, orthopaedics, and musculoskeletal medicine. The diversity in specialities is combined with specialists working seamlessly together to meet the different needs of each patient.

Prima minimises the time spent looking for treatment to enhance each persons quality of life. As work and life become more demanding, it can be difficult to prioritise physical and mental wellbeing, even if it means living with suboptimal health and leads to more complex medical problems. Therefore, it is crucial that everyone receives a holistic approach that addresses their physical, mental, and social wellbeing.

Holistic care provides an in-depth awareness of individuals and their various care needs. This approach requires medical professionals to evaluate and understand the patient as a whole person, not just an individual with a disease. To deliver effective care, doctors and nurses need to be competent communicators, listeners, and thinkers, with compassion and an understanding of other people's perspectives.

Through Prima's digital solutions, patients can receive fast and regular health monitoring thanks to the effective integration of specialist knowledge and creative digital technologies. Having a healthcare navigator by a patient's side, regardless of the time or place, helps early disease detection and facilitates prompt medical attention.

To deliver the best possible medical diagnosis, treatment, and care to patients, the Prima Healthcare Centre has been built to international standards.

Hoan My Mayo Science and Technology Conference 2021 to optimise healthcare during the new normal Hoan My Medical Corporation has announced that the Hoan My Science and Technology Conference will be held as a virtual conference for the first time from December 10 to 11 with a view to improving healthcare in the new normal.

Hopes rise for legal medical reform While Vietnam has made improvements in the rules for medical devices, international pharma groups are proposing extra refinements.
Le Duy Hiep, Chairman, Vietnam Logistics Business Association

One of the highlights is the development of logistics infrastructure. Seaport infrastructure has been strongly developed, with Cai Mep-Thi Vai deepwater seaports and Lach Huyen seaport enabling direct goods transportation directly from Vietnam to Europe and America. They include seaports in joint ventures with foreign-invested enterprises.

In shipping, there are many joint ventures, such as Vietfracht Vietnam with Neptune Orient Line Singapore, and Vinalines Vietnam with CGM of France. This development investment is important because more than 90 per cent of imported and exported goods of Vietnam are shipped through seaports.

Investment in road development, especially expressways, has also helped facilitate transportation and develop multimodal transport. The northern province of Quang Ninh takes the lead in attracting private funding in the development of seaports, highways, and airports.

Besides that, there are investments in the development of warehouses and means of transport, and logistics service centres. Vietnams T&T Group and Singapores YCH Group have jointly worked on a project to develop an inland container depot logistics centre in northern Vinh Phuc province, for example.

At present, Vietnamese logistics enterprises have gradually mastered in the technology of management. Many businesses have strong financial capacity to invest in modern logistics infrastructure by themselves. Therefore, the state needs to have encouraging policies to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese logistics enterprises. We should only selectively encourage foreign-invested projects in the high-tech logistics sector.

Development journey

The logistics service industry has developed since the 1970s from forwarding and transportation services, and has now entered the development stage. According to the 2018 World Bank Report, Vietnams Logistics Performance Index ranked 39/160 and ranked third among ASEAN countries after Singapore and Thailand.

Around this time, the contribution of logistics services to the countrys GDP was about 4-5 per cent, with the growth rate of 12-14 per cent. The rate of outsourcing logistics services reached 60-70 per cent; and related costs are equivalent to about 16-17 per cent of GDP. The logistics service industry plays an increasingly important role in the countrys socioeconomic development, and is supported by the Party and state for its development, and is getting more interest from the business community.

In the development of the logistics service industry, domestic and foreign investment have made important contributions to the development of infrastructure, especially by road and sea. Advanced science and technology have been approached and applied in the industry, investing directly in operating equipment and advanced business technology to keep pace with global logistics activities.

Through more cooperation, joint ventures, associations, and mergers and acquisitions with foreign investors, Vietnamese service providers have developed advanced service businesses, expanded the market, and increased business performance. Many companies have also provided third-party logistics services, such as Gemadept, Transimex, Tan Cang Saigon, and T&M Forwarding with the wider application of more advanced technology.

These businesses are also aiming to provide fourth-party integration services. Enterprises have had better business results and market expansion after mergers and acquisitions with foreign or domestic enterprises. They include Transimex, ASL Logistics, InterLOG, Aviation Logistics, Sotrans, and others.

Policies and laws related to the development of logistics services are one of the pillars of Vietnams logistics service industry. After the 2005 Law on Commercial, which regulates services business, the government has issued various decrees to implement the nations commitments in the World Trade Organisation.

Among them, Decree No.163/2017/ND-CP stipulates that foreign investors can put money into a representative office, business cooperation contract, joint venture, establishment of an enterprise, or contribute capital/purchase shares in an enterprise. In which, the capital contribution ratio of foreign investors does not exceed 49-51 per cent, or is unlimited depending on the type of logistics service provided.

The increasingly open legal changes in recent years have positively impacted the picture of private and foreign funding in the sector. These changes have initially met certain requirements of both investors and logistics service enterprises.

However, foreign investors expect more liberalisation in related activities in the logistics service industry in the context of digital transformation and development of new investment models that have a strong impact on services.

New impetus

Vietnams logistics industry has been adapting and developing after the pandemic on the back of a swift recovery of the economy. However, interruptions in the global supply chain is now affected by many unpredictable factors, thus affecting Vietnams import, export, and investment. New-generation free trade agreements have contributed to strongly promoting these things, however.

The impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution with digital transformation and innovation has helped the countrys economy in general and the logistics service industry in particular develop sustainably. This is the impetus for the industry to continue to develop.

Multinational corporations are turning to new cross-border funding models, searching for better business results. Foreign investors usually look for the provision of trademarks and intellectual property rights. However, in the ASEAN region, new ventures have not yet joined that flow when the rate of attracting non-service investment is still quite high.

This trend will become stronger in the coming years in Vietnam when the state has policies to encourage and guide service businesses to do so to attract advanced service technologies from European countries and North America to invest in the logistics service industry, especially contributing to the development of green and smart logistics.

In addition to considering amending the Law on Investment to attract cross-border funding forms without capital contribution, it is necessary to continue administrative reform, such as shortening licensing times and import and export procedures, especially customs procedures.

The upcoming application of a global minimum tax of 15 per cent will reduce competitiveness in attracting investment in developing countries such as Vietnam, which mainly rely on tax incentives to attract foreign funding. The application of this tax will have a multidimensional impact on Vietnam. Therefore, the government should soon study the application of this tax to take measures to attract investment, and to prevent any reductions.

The major hindrances to tourism logistics expansion Vietnams tourism logistics has not yet established optimal conditions for visitors. VIRs Angela Nguyen spoke with Samuel Wilson, CEO of TKHS Group Incorporated, about the measure required to boost tourism logistics.

Lower expenses in logistics as an outcome of GMT In order to boost ability to draw in foreign investment, Vietnam must reduce business costs, particularly in logistics. Dang Dinh Dao, former director of the Institute for Economic Research and Development at the National Economics University, discussed the reasons why with VIRs Manh Bon.
Decree No.13/2023/ND-CP is the first comprehensive regulation on personal data protection in Vietnam and will take effect from July 1. The key points can be analysed based on a comparison with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Nguyen Huu Phuc, Lawyer, Dentons LuatViet

The decree expands to all Vietnamese and foreign individuals and organisations in Vietnam; Vietnamese individuals and organisations operating abroad; and foreign individuals and organisations directly involved or related to personal data processing activities in Vietnam.

The definition in the decree is generally broader than the GDPR when regulating all individuals and organisations processing data in Vietnam. However, it is still unclear whether personal data processed in Vietnam for foreign individuals falls under the scope of this decree.

In addition, the decree provides a detailed definition of personal data when referring to any information, whether in the form of symbols, letters, numbers, images, sounds or other electronic means, that is linked to an individual or can be used to identify them. It includes all basic personal data and sensitive personal data.

Consent is the legal basis for processing personal data, unless a derogation or exception applies. Both the decree and GDPR have more detailed circumstances on this requirement. Therefore, explicit consent would be required to process the basic and sensitive data. To be more specific, if the organisation or individual processing personal data intends to rely on the consent of individuals, they should ask for the consent of data subjects before processing personal data.

Personal data cannot be bought or sold in any form, except as otherwise provided by law. This new provision is seen as an excellent solution to the current situation where personal information is often disclosed or sold in many forms. GDPR is silent on the sale of personal data, but to do so, it must rely on the principles of personal data processing.

This may include the consent of the data subject, other legal bases necessary to perform the contract, and the need to notify the data subject. Therefore, it can be seen that Decree 13 applies strictly to protect personal data in Vietnam.

There are new terms and definitions, including personal data controller, personal data processor, personal data controller and processor, and third party. In this, the definition of personal data controller and processor aree different to GDPR. Further, Decree 13 does not clarify whether the data controller can identify a purpose or individual measures for processing or bear joint responsibility with other subjects.

According to Article 24, the data controller, data processor, and data controller/processor must establish and maintain a record of the assessment of the impact of personal data processing in all cases. This new obligation under the decree will impose additional burdens on data processors and controllers, such as providing services when performing data processing contracts.

Compared to GDPR, the impact assessment report is considered a strict requirement that Vietnamese law applies to individuals and organisations processing data. GDPR only requires an impact assessment for the use of new technologies that could pose a high risk.

Regarding the act of transferring personal data across borders, as regulated in Article 25, the data processor must comply with the conditions for transferring personal data. Unlike GDPR, the decree does not impose restrictions on transferring personal data to third countries  for example, the European Commissions decision that the third country ensures an adequate level of data protection.

There is a new requirement for processing sensitive data: designating an internal agency responsible for protecting personal data and appointing a person in charge of protecting personal data and exchanging information with the competent authority. This provision has a transition period of two years from the establishment for small- and medium-sized enterprises and newly established enterprises, except for those directly engaged in processing personal data.

According to Article 17, processing personal data without consent shall include: in emergencies where personal data needs to be processed immediately to protect the life and health of the data subject or others; public disclosure of personal data in accordance with the law; processing of data by authorised state agencies in the case of emergencies related to national defence, national security, and similar; to fulfill obligations under contracts between the data subject and relevant agencies, organisations, or individuals in accordance with the law; and for the activities of state agencies as provided by specialised laws.

These regulations are similar to those provided under GDPR. However, GDPR also includes another case that benefits the data controller or third party when processing is necessary for the legitimate interests of the data controller without requiring the consent of the data subject.

Decree 13 is considered a significant milestone for Vietnam in response to the recent wave of serious personal data violations. With specific and detailed provisions, it will resolve persistent issues that were previously scattered and lacked consistency in many legal documents.

As such, the business communities are strongly encouraged to continuing with to advocate for the alignment of local provisions with international standards and communicating with the relevant competent authorities. Also, Vietnam can also consider being part of more regional cooperation by signing MoUs with neighbouring countries. Efforts such as these could help the local framework springboard into an approach that is tailored and fitting to the specific needs and context of Vietnam.

Decree on Personal Data Protection promulgated The Government on April 17 issued Decree on Personal Data Protection which specifies measures and conditions to ensure the work.

Legislators seek to reinforce protection of personal data The addition of provisions on buying and selling private information is expected to be a robust sanction to protect the personal data of consumers in Vietnam.

Protections to be ramped up via new personal data rules The new Decree No.13/2023/ND-CP on protection of personal data will come into effect on July 1, and will apply to both local and offshore entities engaged in personal data processing. While Decree 13 does reflect most of the comments and views from the business community, there are additional requirements applicable to businesses that process such data. In comparison to the last draft, Decree 13 introduces several new and revised concepts.

Six highlighted points of new decree on personal data protection in Vietnam Vietnam has officially issued a new decree on personal data protection, which shall be become effective in July. Nguyen Thi Thuy Chung, senior partner at ASL Law, explains how the decree could significantly affect the way such data is collected, transferred, stored, and handled in Vietnam.
On May 4, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) sent documents detailing the problem to several localities and government agencies, including the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Defence. These documents require all stakeholders to control and supervise poultry-import activities and to apply their own strict punishment to violators to prevent the risk of infectious diseases.

The MARD expects that these parties will develop solutions to survey border crossings, trails, seaports, and waterways to control the situation.

According to the prime minister's request, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will require market management groups to prevent the distribution of illegally imported products, while the prime minister has asked the MARD and the Department of Animal Health to improve quarantine measure for animals and animal products, and to apply strict punishments for violations. Batches of illegally imported poultry will be either sent back or culled immediately.

In addition, on May 17, the Vietnam Poultry Association (VIPA) sent a document to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the prime minister, and relevant authorities to propose solutions to deal with the difficulties in the sector.

Accordingly, along with proposals to prevent poultry smuggling, the association proposed solutions to foster the long-term development of the livestock sector. It asks the Ministry of Planning and Investment to add and amend the specific regulations to the Resolution No.57/2018-ND-CP on incentive policies for investing in the agriculture and rural development sector, including exemptions and reductions in land rent.

Prime minister asks for $435 million bailout to support forestry and aquatic sectors Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has tasked the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) with studying a bailout worth VND10 trillion (almost $435 million) to support the forestry and aquatic sectors.

MARD calls for unity against poultry smuggling The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is calling on all parties to implement solutions that will prevent the ongoing issue of poultry smuggling with its lasting impact on the operations of livestock companies.

All options on the table as livestock firms take on losses Livestock businesses in Vietnam are struggling with record low profits after a drop in both prices and demand.

Livestock switch serves up dispute Livestock companies in the southern province of Dong Nai are struggling to comprehend what they say is a rushed roadmap to relocate thousands of breeding farms for environmental reasons.
(Photo : Kiyoshi Ota/Pool/Getty Images)

The G7 Summit is being held in Hiroshima Japan and United States President Joe Biden is set to float the idea of a new sanctions package on Russia over its war on Ukraine.

United States President Joe Biden seeks to impose new sanctions on Russia over its war on Ukraine

The Group of Seven nations are also planning to reduce their reliance on Russian energy sources

The situation comes as the most powerful countries meet in Hiroshima, Japan, for this year's G7 Summit

United States President Joe Biden attends the G7 Summit being held in Hiroshima, Japan, and floats the idea of imposing new sanctions on Moscow as other world leaders work to reduce reliance on Russian energy sources.

One senior US official said that the US and its allies want to make it more difficult for Russia to avoid sanctions, access the international financial system, and continue its invasion of Ukraine. Nations that are part of the Group of Seven will also move to reduce their reliance on Russian energy further to limit Moscow has global influence.

US To Impose New Sanctions on Russia

The Biden administration also said it would block 70 entities from receiving American exports. The government would also introduce more than 300 new sanctions on several individuals, entities, vessels, and aircraft that are believed to target financial facilitators and other actors in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, as per USA Today.

Despite the announcement, no additional details were revealed regarding the new sanctions package against Russia. However, a senior official who spoke anonymously said that it would be "substantial" and demonstrate how the US remains committed to restricting Russia over its actions.

The situation comes as other countries also plan to impose additional sanctions on Russia. The bloc seeks to disrupt Russian war supplies, close evasion loopholes, and reduce its reliance on Moscow's energy sources.

A European Union official on Thursday said that one potential target for discussion was Russia's multi-billion-dollar diamond industry. They added that there is a need to limit Russia's trade exports in that particular sector.

The official also said that Indian buy-in would be crucial in properly making any new measures against Russia work. This comes as India accounts for the majority of the global trade of rough diamonds, according to France24.

Read Also: Russian Forces Fire 30 Cruise Missiles at Various Ukraine Areas

G7 Summit Agenda

Fortunately, G7 nations will have a chance to directly make their case to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as his territory has close military ties with Russia. So far, New Delhi has not decided to condemn Moscow's war on Ukraine.

The Indian prime minister is among leaders from major developing nations invited to the latest G7 Summit. It comes as the bloc is trying to win over countries skeptical of its approach to Russia's war on Ukraine and China's increasing global influence.

Biden also met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida before the G7 Summit to work on further cooperation against China and Russia. During a briefing after he met with the US president that lasted about an hour, Kishida said that the international community is currently at a crossroads in history.

Meeting the world's superpowers is a chance to show their commitment to a "free and open international order" based on the rule of law. Reuters said that the Japanese prime minister's language referenced China and Russia's recent actions that go against that idea.

Related Article: Rishi Sunak Arrives in Tokyo to Launch UK's New Defense Accord With Japan

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Setting its sights on becoming a leading digital bank in Vietnam by 2030, Shinhan Bank Vietnam has been diligently driving the process of digital transformation in the banking sector over the past few years.

Shinhan Bank Vietnam takes centre stage with prestigious digital transformation award

The bank's efforts have borne fruit, as evidenced by the successful establishment of the groundbreaking Future Bank Group in May 2022, which has paved the way for the increased utilisation of digital devices in the retail banking sector.

Furthermore, the bank introduced the latest version of the Shinhan SOL Vietnam digital banking application in December 2022, sporting a more intuitive user interface and an array of exceptional and convenient features.

Keen on encouraging customers to transact through the Shinhan SOL Vietnam application, the bank has launched a range of utilities to entice users, including the cashback shopping feature, which offers attractive incentives from numerous reputable brands.

Additionally, Shinhan Bank Vietnam has strengthened its collaboration with esteemed Fintech partners in the Vietnamese market, such as MoMo, Tiki, and Baemin, forging the path towards a superior digital banking ecosystem that caters to the evolving needs of customers.

The bank's digital transformation endeavours have yielded impressive numbers. As of the end of Q1 2023, nearly 1.1 million individuals have logged into its mobile banking and internet banking platforms, a testament to the bank's growing digital presence.

In its pursuit of digitalisation excellence, Shinhan Bank continues to collaborate closely with its parent organisation, Shinhan Bank Korea, to leverage its exceptional digitalisation capabilities. The ultimate goal is to gradually establish a seamless 100 per cent online procedure for all product lines and deliver unparalleled convenience to its customers.

Adding to its list of accolades, last month, Shinhan Bank proudly maintained its long-term rating of BB+ from renowned international credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings with a stable outlook. This recognition underscores S&P's admiration for Shinhan Bank's efforts in cultivating sustainable business activities within the Vietnamese market.

The bank's standing as one of the largest foreign banks in Vietnam in terms of total assets at the end of 2022 further solidifies its significance. S&P expresses confidence that Shinhan Bank Vietnam will sustain its high strategic performance for at least the next 18-24 months.

These accolades and commendations serve as well-deserved acknowledgement for Shinhan Bank's unwavering commitment to various aspects of its operations. The bank's dedication to optimising value for customers and enhancing the financial experience within the realm of a robust digital transformation is clearly evident and deserving of the attention it receives.
Lam Hoang Nghiep, Deputy Chairman of Soc Trang Peoples Committee, said that many domestic and foreign investors are interested in the development. Under the master plan for the development of Vietnam's seaports, Tran De is planned to become a special deepwater port and has been singled out as an investment priority.

Once completed, the seaport will act as a gateway to the region and will be capable of berthing vessels with a capacity of between 100,000 and 160,000DWT.

The Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang is offering a range of incentives to entice private investment in the port. Investors will enjoy a preferential tax rate of 10 per cent for ten years, tax exemptions for four years, and a 50 per cent reduction on payable taxes for the following nine years, as well as exemptions on land and water surface rentals for the entire leasing period.

The project covers a total area of 4,550 hectares and will handle 30-35 million tonnes of cargo annually. It is one of the projects earmarked to become a Mekong Delta gateway and should make a significant contribution to the development of the region.

Investors seek seaport access improvements While having interest in seaport projects, both domestic and foreign companies are seeking better infrastructure access and development of quality distribution and logistics centres before making concrete plans.

Railway, seaport networks need to be arteries of economy: Deputy PM The railway network connecting economic hubs and seaports needs to be designed as the key arteries of the economy, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha said at a meeting with the Ministry of Transport and relevant departments on March 2.

Momentum for seaports hard to retain While complex global developments are affecting the performance of seaports, action is needed to ensure growth momentum.

Seaports missing out on fee windfalls Vietnamese shipping organisations proposal to raise charges for container loading and unloading services at seaports, if becomes true, will not affect exporters and importers.
The process is expected to take approximately 23 months, with the completion of procedures and receipt of the remaining 90 per cent of the funds estimated by the end of July or early August.

The bank is currently taking necessary steps to finalise the transaction, including obtaining approvals from relevant authorities and conducting a private offering to increase its charter capital in accordance with legal regulations, Thao said.

VPBank held a signing ceremony for a private placement agreement last March, allocating 15 per cent of its charter capital to SMBC, one of the top financial institutions in Japan, in a $1.5 billion deal.

Having a significant capital buffer allows the bank to realise its ambitions for both VPBank and the comprehensive ecosystem, Thao noted.

The involvement of SMBC positions VPBank as the second-largest bank in terms of equity in Vietnam, following Vietcombank. This significant increase in equity enables VPBank to have the financial strength to meet the needs of customers across all strategic segments.

VPBank announces SMBC as foreign strategic investor VPBank announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Japans Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), a subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG), to issue a 15 per cent equity stake through a private placement, officially welcoming SMBC as a foreign strategic investor of the bank.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Waco ISD school board candidate Peaches Henry chose not to request a recount in the May 6 election she lost by three votes to Angelo Ochoa, clearing the way for Ochoa to be sworn in for a second term.

Im grateful for Peaches running her campaign with such integrity, Ochoa by phone Thursday. Together, she and I showed people how important every single vote can be. Im grateful to everyone who voted.

In the race for the Waco Independent School District Board of Trustees at-large Place 7 seat, Ochoa received 1,072 votes to Henrys 1,069. The three vote difference was well within the margin allowed in the Texas Election Code for a candidate to request a recount. In this case, the deadline for Henry, a McLennan Community College English professor, was 5 p.m. Thursday.

To request a recount, Henry would have had to file a document called a petition with the McLennan County Elections Administrators office and pay a deposit of about $2,000. State election laws require both the petition and deposit to be submitted by 5 p.m. on the second day after the canvassing of the election results.

The board of trustees validated the results of the May 6 election Tuesday.

The elections office did not receive a petition or deposit from Henry or a representative of her campaign, so no recount will be conducted.

Without a recount, Ochoas victory stands.

He was sworn in during a school board meeting Thursday night, along with newly elected District 5 Trustee Jim Patton and District 3 Trustee Jose Vidana, who was unopposed in the May 6 election in his bid for a second three-year term. Ochoa started in his at-large seat after winning a special election for an unexpired term in May last year. With his reelection, he is starting his first full three-year term.

Ochoa said Henry did a great job running her campaign and getting the vote out.

Its not hard to find examples of negative campaigns, but Peaches ran one that was really positive, Ochoa said.

Ochoa said he looks forward to the new schools being built. He said he hopes the Legislature would be thoughtful about the effects its laws have on school districts.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A Texas House bill that seeks to ease permitting restrictions on dairies upstream of Waco is stalled in a Senate committee headed by a senator representing Waco, who has no intention of hearing it as the 88th Legislature winds down.

House Bill 2827 has been pending since May 12 in the Senate Natural Resources and Economic Development Committee, but no hearing has been scheduled as the May 24 deadline to reach the Senate floor approaches.

State Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, is chair of the committee and does not have any plans on taking it up in a committee hearing, Birdwells chief of staff, JW Galloway, said in an email Thursday to the Tribune-Herald.

House Bill 2827 would eliminate individual permits for large dairy operations in the North Bosque River watershed, which is federally designated as impaired for phosphorus pollution and is the main source of water for Lake Waco, the citys drinking water reservoir.

The bill, introduced by Rep. DeWayne Burns, R-Cleburne, passed the House earlier this month over the objections of the city of Waco and State Rep. Charles Doc Anderson, R-Waco, before it was sent to the Senate and left before Birdwells committee.

Birdwell represents McLennan County as well as the North Bosque watershed counties of Erath, Somervell, Bosque and Hamilton.

Waco Mayor Dillon Meek said he has been checking with Birdwell on a near-daily basis about the citys concerns.

Im really appreciative of his willingness to go deep in evaluating this matter, Meek said in an interview Thursday.

He added later in a text statement: Sen. Birdwell has proven to be resolved to ensure Waco and McLennan County are well represented regarding this issue. We remain optimistic HB 2827 will not pass the Senate, and the City is doing all it can to ensure this is the case.

Text messages obtained through the Texas Public Information Act show text conversations between Meek and Birdwell dating back to May 8, following House approval the previous week.

In the May 8 text, Meek told Birdwell that McLennan County leaders are united against the legislation, and that he hoped the bill could be defeated for the sake of Wacos water supply. He said that after the session, agriculture and city leaders could meet to discuss how to streamline regulations on dairies.

Meek also warned of possible House efforts to attach the same legislation as an amendment to another bill.

In a May 10 reply, Birdwell appeared confident the bill would not pass.

While I think the bill goes no where, my greater (concern) is watching any (amendments) on other bills that might be germane, Birdwell texted. Doc and I spoke again tonight, and hes watching to make sure it doesnt get added to a bill over there as well.

Rep. Anderson attempted to derail the bill at a May 4 reading on the House floor by raising points of order, calling the supporting information on the bill misleading. The House approved it that day 77-61, with support from State Rep. Angelia Orr, R-Hill County, whose district includes Bosque County and part of McLennan County.

The bill passed 80-53 on a follow-up vote May 5, then headed to the Senate.

The bills most contentious measure would allow general permits rather than individual permits, which Waco officials have long seen as a keystone in the 22-year-old state plan to clean up the North Bosque River.

Individual permits allow state regulators to tailor a waste disposal plan for each dairy and give neighbors and other affected parties an opportunity to contest operation-specific plans through an official process, unlike general permits.

House Bill 2827 would also eliminate waste disposal training for dairy operators and lift testing requirements on third-party fields where dairy manure is spread.

Burns and officials with the Texas Farm Bureau and Texas Association of Dairymen have said the individual permitting process has put onerous burdens on dairies in the watershed and hampered the viability of the dairy industry in the region.

In a newsletter Tuesday, governmental affairs officials for the dairy association noted the controversy of House Bill 2827 and the short time left in the session and wrote that the bill has a steep climb to final passage.

In an email exchange with the Tribune-Herald, association spokesperson Kirsten Voinis said the main consideration is time.

At this point in session, anything that isnt on its way to the governor is considered a steep climb, by people worried about legislation they are interested in, she said.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The city of Waco and Waco Police Department led a ceremony Thursday to honor peace officers from many law enforcement agencies who died in the line of duty to protect the people of McLennan County.

Following a tradition that has endured since President John Kennedy started it in 1962  by proclaiming the week of May 15 as National Police Week to honor fallen officers  the ceremony paid homage to local, state and federal peace officers who died in the line of duty in McLennan County from 1871 to 2021. Peace officers, family members and residents gathered Thursday morning for the ceremony at the Waco Peace Officers Memorial at Indian Spring Park.

Waco City Marshal Laban Hoffman, who died Jan. 6, 1871, was the first peace officer to die in the line of duty in McLennan County. The most recent deaths of local officers in the line of duty were caused by COVID-19 during 2021. West City Marshal Michael Keathley died Sept. 2, 2021, and Officer Ricky Roberts of the McLennan Community College Police Department died July 19, 2021.

In nearby Milam County, Sgt. Joshua Lee Clouse of the Cameron Police Department died May 11, following an exchange of gunfire while serving a search warrant related to domestic violence. Clouse is the only officer to die in the line of duty this year in Texas, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page website.

To date this year across the United States, 42 law enforcement officials have died in the line of duty. Nineteen died by gunfire, eight for medical reasons and six in automobile crashes, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.

Last year, 246 officers died nationally, including 82 of COVID-19, and 36 died in Texas, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Waco police have released the name of an 81-year-old woman who died Wednesday after a three-car collision on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Dorthey Small, of Fountain, Colorado, was pronounced dead at a local hospital after the wreck, Waco police spokesperson Cierra Shipley said in a statement Thursday.

Waco officers responded at about 12:15 p.m. Wednesday to the crash in the 1000 block of North Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Shipley said. The 1000 block is north of where MLK passes under Waco Drive.

A Mazda 5 was traveling south down MLK, made a U-Turn and was hit by a second vehicle causing the two to (collide) with a third vehicle, Shipley wrote.

The crash ejected two passengers of the Mazda, who were taken to an area hospital: Small and a 3-year-old girl who lived with minor injuries, according to Shipley. The occupants of the other vehicles were expected to be OK, Shipley said.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

LINCOLN  What is an RCUT? How much longer will I have to wait? These were just a couple of the questions asked when nearly 200 North Bend Central High School students sat down with the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) representatives last week to learn about the new RCUT (Restricted Crossing U-Turn) intersection under construction at the U.S. Highway 30 expressway (US-30) and Nebraska Highway 79 (N-79). The intersection is tentatively scheduled to open late this summer, prior to the start of school.

The RCUT design is newer to Nebraska, which is why NDOT is taking their involvement one step further.

Although NDOT has pushed a lot of information out, we think a hands-on approach is just as important, said Alan Swanson, NDOT Traffic Analysis engineer. Our goal by meeting with younger and new drivers is to educate them on the basics of this new intersection design so that they will be ready once it is open.

Swanson explained to the students what they need to know to navigate the new RCUT intersection safely. He shared that the RCUT intersection forces a change in how drivers cross and turn onto the highway from side roads, and how these intersections have been shown to decrease right-angle crashes on four-lane divided highways.

The RCUT intersections significantly reduce the potential for crashes by allowing drivers to focus on one direction of traffic, Swanson said. This is accomplished by requiring motorists approaching the divided highway from the side road to turn right and then make a U-turn at a designated median opening.

Swanson presented an animation that illustrates exactly how these turns are accomplished and how this contributes to a safer intersection at US-30 and N-79. He also emphasized that traffic would flow more smoothly with fewer delays during busy times of the day.

By not allowing left turns or cross traffic, drivers dont need to wait for a gap in both directions to cross the highway, Swanson said. There is less delay than with the use of a traffic signal or crossing both sets of traffic lanes. Drivers turning left from side roads will also find it quicker, easier, and safer to focus on one direction of traffic at a time.

For additional information about RCUTs, visit ndot.info/RCUT.
SEATTLE, May 19, 2023The Museum of Flight awarded $238,000 in scholarships to 14 Washington students for post-secondary education and flight training during a ceremony held at the Museum on May 16. The scholarships are awarded each year to students who have participated in The Museum of Flights education programs or are enrolled in Raisbeck Aviation High School. The recipients represent a racial and economic diversity of 77 applicants chosen from 27 school districts. The ceremony was emceed by the Museums Vice President of Education, Dr. Dana Riley Black, with additional remarks by the Museums President and CEO, Matt Hayes.

The Museums education programs are designed to guide students inspiration, exploration and preparation of space and aviation topics. These annual scholarships create a unique bridge from the Museums programs to the students next steps in their education and careers, said Dr. Black. The post-secondary STEM education scholarships are opportunities for high school seniors planning to attend a college, university or trade school in science, technology, engineering or mathematics-related fields, and the flight training scholarships provide opportunities for high school students who want to earn their private pilot licensewhich is an important first milestone for anyone with aspirations to become a professional pilot or aviation industry professional. We are so proud to see that past recipients have since become commercial pilots and aerospace professionals.

The 14 scholarship recipients represent nine school districts, and they reported their gender as 57 percent male and 43 percent female. Fourteen percent reported eligibility for Free/Reduced lunch. (Detailed data is available upon request.)

Image: 2023 Scholarship recipients at The Museum of Flight awards ceremony. Sean Mobley/The Museum of Flight.

THE AWARDS

One Frank Sam and Betty Houston Post-secondary Scholarship at up to $120,000 towards a degree related to the field of aviation or aerospace.

Five Frank Sam and Betty Houston Flight Training Scholarships at $12,000 each for flight instruction to the level of Single-Engine Land.

One Alaska Airlines Flight Training Scholarship at up to $12,000 for flight instruction to the level of Single-Engine Land.

Two Benjamin L. Ellison Future Pilot Scholarships at up to $12,000 flight instruction that leads to solo, with the possibility of additional funding toward earning a Private Pilot Certificate.

One Aeronautical Science Pathway Scholarship Recipient at up to $3,000 toward flight training and/or post-secondary studies at a university, college, technical school, or other accredited institution of higher education.

One Stephen and Hazel Eastman Memorial Post-secondary Scholarship at $4,000 to offset post-secondary expenses.

One Stuart Knopp Memorial Scholarship Recipient at $5,000 to offset post-secondary expenses.

One Jim and Sue Johnson Post-Secondary STEM Education Scholarship Recipient at $5,000 toward STEM-based scholarship pursuits with opportunity for renewal.

One Reba Gilman Endowed Scholarship Recipient at $5,000 to offset college expenses.

THE RECIPIENTS

2023 Frank Sam and Betty Houston Post-Secondary STEM Education Scholarship Recipient | Up to $120,000 towards a degree related to the field of aviation or aerospace:

Cilicia Diaz is a senior at Tahoma High School in the Tahoma School District. She is currently enrolled in the Museums Aeronautical Science Pathway program (ASP). Her future career plan is to become a commercial airline pilot. She received the Aeronautical Science Pathway Scholarship in 2022 and used those funds to begin her flight training in March 2022. After eight months of training, she earned her Private Pilot License.

On the majority of flights I have taken, I had only ever seen white men or rarely, a white woman, on the flight deck. I cannot wait for the day a little girl walks onto my flight, looks over, and sees a woman of color in control of the flight. Being a role model for women around the world is the core reason this career is made for me.

2023 Frank Sam and Betty Houston Flight Training Scholarship Recipients | Up to $12,000 each toward earning a Private Pilot license:

Myla Fox is a senior at Tahoma High School in the Tahoma School District, she previously participated in the Museums Private Pilot Ground School program (PPGS). Fox plans to be a commercial pilot and has passed her FAA Written Exam.

I was so lucky to have found this free ground school program, because like other kids who cant afford the expensive world of flying, I had always just ignored those nagging thoughts and pushed aviation away. Now that I know I am capable of enjoying and succeeding in this field, I have decided that I will find a way.

Sterling Norris is a senior at Bellarmine Preparatory School and resides in the Clover Park School District; she previously participated in the Museums Private Pilot Ground School program (PPGS). Norriss long-term career goal is to be a commercial airline pilot.

Honoring my younger selfs dream, I know my life will be in the air. I want to know that feeling of people feeling confident aboard my plane with me as their pilot. I want to inspire other girls and raise the number of female pilots way higher than 29.3% and female pilots of color (Native American and Hispanic) as am I. I want to be an example for those women from basic, middle-class backgrounds who dare to dream.

Robert Peterson is a junior at Foster High School in the Tukwila School District; he previously participated in the Museums Private Pilot Ground School program (PPGS) and is currently enrolled in its Aeronautical Science Pathway course (ASP). Petersons long-term career goal is to be a captain of a large aircraft while transporting either goods or people.

ASP has been beyond beneficial to me, I am surrounded by peers with the same passions and interests who only push each other forwards never backward, I am mentored by a very knowledgeable and experienced person who also has the same interests and is there to support. Through these programs, I am best set up for success on the path I am walking, and is giving me a major head start in aviation and working towards my goals.

Owen Teodoro is a senior at Raisbeck Aviation High School in the Highline School District. He is currently enrolled in the Museums Aeronautical Science Pathway program (ASP). Teodoro plans to be a commercial airline pilot and hopefully, one day, fly for the National Parks Service.

Its not always easy remembering how unique of an experience I am getting from an aviation-focused high school and through a program like ASP. I get to eat lunch under a B-52, watch planes take off all day in class, and have many friends that already have their Private Pilots License. I have received a foundation in aviation that other students in normal classes dont.

Hailin Truman is a senior at Raisbeck Aviation High School in the Highline School District. He has interned at the Museums Pathfinder Gala for the past two years and was an attendee prior to that. Hailin intends to major in Aerospace Engineering and hope to innovate and design aircraft and possibly spacecraft in the future. Hailin was the first ever High School Intern for the Boeing Companys engineering team.

Overall, The Museum of Flight has changed my world. It has led me down the path of aviation and instilled in me the dream of one day floating in space.

2023 Alaska Airlines Flight Training Scholarship at up to $12,000 toward earning a Private Pilot license:

Rhys Nelson is a senior at Raisbeck Aviation High School in the Highline School District. He is currently enrolled in the Museums Aeronautical Science Pathway Program (ASP). Nelson plans to attend Green River College and earn a bachelors degree in Aeronautical Science with the long-term goal of becoming a Commercial Airline Pilot.

I am dedicated to furthering my education in the aviation industry and am looking forward to putting these skills into practice to become a pilot my family will be proud of, and even more importantly, I will have the chance to be doing something I love in an industry that continues to show promise, financial and job security, as well as growth.

2023 Benjamin L. Ellison Future Pilot Scholarship Recipients | Up to $12,000 each toward earning a Private Pilot license:

Zane Johnson is a junior at Tahoma High School in the Tahoma School District. He is currently enrolled in the Museums Aeronautical Science Pathway program (ASP) and has previously participated in the Museums Private Pilot Ground School program (PPGS). His long-term career goal is to be an Airline Transport Pilot for either cargo or passengers.

I think The Museum of Flight is an extremely important building to maintain, as it is the place I first found my passion for aviation. Ever since I was young, I was always looking for the planes I could hear soaring over me.

Henry Dejanikus is a sophomore at Lakeside School in Seattle. He is a Museum Volunteer and will be attending the Museums Private Pilot Ground School program (PPGS) this summer.

The Museum of Flight fuels my fascination for anything flying more than I can describe. From an early age, I remember trips with my mom or dad to the Museum, walking up the stairs into the Queen of the Skies, or standing next to the sleek and long blackbird. These trips fostered and enriched my passion for aviation, and truly, the museum is, more than anything else, the reason I want to fly.

2023 Jim and Sue Johnson Post-Secondary STEM Education Scholarship Recipient | $5,000 toward STEM-based scholarship pursuits with opportunity for renewal.

Nicole Piedrahita is a senior at Everett High School in the Everett School District. She previously participated in the Museums Washington Aerospace Scholars program (WAS). Her future career goal is to become a Propulsions Engineer and to find a sustainable way to fuel rockets.

I also know that the aerospace field needs a bit more diversity. As someone of Colombian descent, I want to inspire girls and young women of diverse backgrounds to follow their aerospace goals. Being involved in an aerospace career would make it easier for me to help others since I could serve as a mentor or a reference. I hope I can show others that overcoming stereotypes and difficulties is possible and that there is space for them.

2023 Aeronautical Science Pathway Scholarship Recipient | $3,000 toward flight training or post-secondary education:

Edan Tsegaye is a senior at Kentridge High School in the Kent School District. She is currently enrolled in the Museums Aeronautical Science Pathway program (ASP). Her future plans are to work as an aerospace engineer at a space exploration-based company and design spacecraft.

Participating in this program [ASP] has enhanced my learning in ways that I never imagined possible. Through the participation of this program I have been immersed in a highly interactive environment with interactive exhibits, lectures, and discussions as well as hands-on activities and simulations that have provided me with a variety of opportunities to gain a greater understanding of the principles and practices of aeronautics and science.

2023 Stephen and Hazel Eastman Memorial Scholarship Recipient | $4,000 toward post-secondary education:

Hunter Trujillo is a senior at Auburn Riverside High School in the Auburn School District, and he is a Running Start Student at Green River College in Auburn. He previously participated in the Museums Michael P. Anderson Memorial Aerospace program (MPA) and the Washington Aerospace Scholars program (WAS). Trujillos career goal is to become a commercial airline pilot.

Referencing the Museums MPA event he said, I remember being excited about the information we were learning, enjoying the small group of peers that I spent the day with, and in awe when we had the chance to meet a real-life astronaut. I came home from that event and asked my parents to frame the photo we were given along with my certificate of completion from the program.

2023 Stuart Knopp Memorial Scholarship Recipients | $5,000 toward post-secondary education:

Abigail Krawcyzk is a senior at Shorecrest High School in the Shoreline School District. She has previously participated in the Museums Aerospace Camp Experience (ACE), Aeronautical Explorations program (AE), and Washington Aerospace Scholars program (WAS). Krawcyzks long-term career goal is to become an aerospace engineer and fly planes in her free time.

I have long been fascinated with aerospace and aviation, and through my experiences at school, have also fallen in love with engineering. I love creating and problem-solving, and engineering is a direct fruition of that. When considering my future and my long-term plans, it only makes sense for me to pursue the combination of my two loves: aerospace engineering. I hope to follow that age-old adage of love what you do and youll never work a day in your life.

2023 Reba Gilman Endowed Scholarship Recipient | $5,000 to offset college expenses:

Ali Karim is a senior at Raisbeck Aviation High School (RAHS) in the Highline School District. In the future, Ali hopes to use data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to transform outdated technology and data collection methods to create better simulations, do more in-depth data analysis, and create new computational modeling programs to better explore our solar universe. Karim co-founded a non-profit called Balanced Media, a platform to encourage healthy conversations and bipartisanship in a politically divided America. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer.

Creating this nonprofit wouldnt have been possible without the connections, staff, and mentors available to us through school. Without the support of my RAHS community, a community I only found through The Museum of Flight, I would still be the shy and timid kid who never followed his dreams.

Photos and detailed bios of each recipient are available upon request through The Museum of Flight. Data is also available detailing the applicants school districts, gender and eligibility for free/reduced lunch programs.

The Museum of Flights Boeing Academy for STEM Learning

All education programs at The Museum of Flight operate under the umbrella of

The Boeing Academy for STEM Learning, which was created in 2015 through a major investment by The Boeing Company and Mr. and Mrs. William E. Boeing, Jr. From pre-kindergarten to college prep and career readiness programs, the Academy provides unparalleled learning opportunities for students to explore and prepare for education and career pathways in aviation and space.

The Academy strives to accelerate opportunities for all youth, with particular focus on those populations underrepresented in aviation and space, by connecting them to fulfilling, in-demand STEM careers. The Academy operates in partnership with schools, community-based organizations, government, business and industry to ensure that the next generation of workers are ready to lead and innovate.
On June 6, 1944, more than 11,000 aircraft were mobilized as Allied forces began their massive land, sea, and air invasion now known as D-Day. It was a massive undertaking that was known as the beginning of the end of WWII.

In 2019, 15 legendary DC-3 type aircraft made a historic North Atlantic crossing to celebrate both the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the 70th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift. Featured on the international stage and in media across the world, the men and women of the D-Day Squadron touched tens of thousands of lives as they flew to honor the worlds Greatest Generation.

Building on these accomplishments, the D-Day Squadron is coordinating a fleet of aircraft to fly to Europe in 2024 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion of Normandy and the 75th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift. In mid-May 2024, DC-3 variants representing World War II and Cold War vintage aircraft will cross the pond from the United States to the United Kingdom, cross the English Channel to Normandy, France, then fly on to Berlin, Germany and beyond.

This is no easy task, and while nothing can compare to the amount of organization the Allied forces faced in planning for the D-Day invasion, there is still a tremendous amount of preparation, time, and cost involved in recreating this historic anniversary tour. Start-up costs for the 2024 Legacy Tour branding and design, mission operation and planning, campaign management, and advanced logistics in Europe are significant, and they need our help to get off the ground.

According to Lyndse Costabile, D-Day Squadron Executive Director, Our duty is to remember the significance of these events and to ensure that future generations never forget. Today, our mission continues, to perpetuate the sights and sounds of Flying Freedom, and to promote the legacy of the Greatest Generation and the Douglas DC-3s in which they flew. The D-Day Squadron is currently setting the schedule for the 2024 Legacy Tour, organizing appearances across Europe, and serving as Mission Control  a central unit for all operators, crew, and operations.

The D-Day Squadron Kickstarter lasts 30 days with a goal of $7,500. As always, backers can choose from a variety of reward levels and perks including special edition ball caps, playing cards, commemorative artwork and challenge coins. These are exclusive rewards only available through the Kickstarter campaign. You can find them all right here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fiveoaks/d-day-squadron-2024-legacy-tour

Starting from the Northeast United States in May of next year, the aircraft must complete six total flight legs to Europe involving crew rest, refueling, proper maintenance, formation planning, and logistics. Can you imagine? It will take the squadron 15 days, close to 3,000 nautical miles, approximately 15 hours of flight time, 120 gallons of oil, more than 1,400 gallons of fuel, and 150 crew to make this historic transatlantic crossing!

Once again, more than 150 parachutists are planning to fill the skies in 2024 symbolizing freedom, the sacrifices made during the Normandy invasion, and the overall war effort. Flown by retired servicemen and women, as well as civilian seasoned pilots, each crew member participates as a volunteer with this effort. Flying this legend of an airplane, the Douglas DC-3, is an honor and privilege for each crew. The C-47 was the most ubiquitous airplane of the war, performing multiple services in all theaters of operation, from North Africa to Burma, from New Guinea to Normandy, and from Sicily to Holland. Along with the C-54, the DC-3 was among the heroes transporting and dropping food and supplies into West Berlin during the Berlin Airlift.

A portion of the Kickstarter funds will cover the cost of campaign graphics, merchandise, swag, and cool items  which will be added to the perks and revealed on June 6, 2023. All profits received after campaign costs will go directly to the D-Day Squadron.

This effort is dubbed the 2024 Legacy Tour. With many WWII veterans having flown west since the 2019 mission, 2024 will be the opportunity to focus on both the LEGACY of these WWII veterans and the legendary aircraft that served as the backbone to multiple war campaigns. Our veterans are our window to the past, and this is a chance for us to continue honoring those who made sacrifices for the freedoms we have today.

Key Details

Operators Involved: DC-3/C-47/C-53/C-46 operators across North America

Expected Total Trip Dates: May 15  late June 2024

Mobilization: Assemble in Northeast USA for training and cross North Atlantic as a squadron

Flight Plan: Oxford, Connecticut, or New York (TBD)  Presque Isle  Goose Bay  Greenland  Iceland  Scotland  England

Proposed Timeline

May 15-25: Train and cross North Atlantic

May 25-31: Europe training and buffer for weather / mechanical

June 1-5: Imperial War Museum, Duxford, multiple events/flyovers, photo flights before English Channel crossing

June 6-11: Normandy

June 11-14: Berlin Airlift (TBD)

June 15-21: Lido Italy/Portugal (TBD)

June 21-28: Return to North America

Following the successful mission in 2019, the D-Day Squadron has continued to be a presence at multiple flyovers, aviation events, and warbird-themed airshows, Costabile continues. We also launched the DC-3 Society to actively aid operators and enthusiasts with maintenance, operations, airworthiness, and displays. The Allies won the War, in part, because of their logistical abilities. Its only appropriate that we, as the stewards of these noble aircraft, continue to fly and maintain the very airframes that were the backbone to achieving victory.

The ceremonies in 2024 celebrating the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the Berlin Airlift will be a momentous occasion to celebrate peace, liberty, and reconciliation. This is your chance to celebrate these amazing, historic aircraft, and ensure a proper launch effort and a safe journey for their crews!

You can find them all right here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fiveoaks/d-day-squadron-2024-legacy-tour
(Photo : Andreas SOLARO / AFP) (ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images)

Vatican police arrested a man after the allegedly mentally unstable individual drove a vehicle through the holy city's Sant'Anna entrance.

Vatican City police arrest an allegedly mentally unstable suspect who drove a vehicle through the Sant'Anna entrance

The vehicle was initially denied entry but later returned at a higher speed to force its way through

One guard shot at the car's front tires, hitting the front left fender but failing to stop the vehicle from moving

Vatican police arrested a suspect, believed to be mentally unstable, after driving his vehicle through the holy city's Sant'Anna gates.

The incident, which happened on the evening of Thursday, had the suspect drive past Swiss Guards and head into a palace courtyard, prompting authorities to fire at the vehicle. The car was initially denied entry by the Pontifical Swiss Guard, causing it to leave only to return at a higher speed to force its way through the entrance.

Vatican Police Arrest Trespasser to Holy City

One of the Gendarmerie inspectors guarding the gate to prevent the car from getting further through fired at its front tires. As per CBS News, despite the bullet making contact with the front left fender, the car did not stop its advance.

Authorities quickly arrested the suspect after voluntarily exiting the vehicle in the San Damaso courtyard. Doctors at the Directorate of Health and Hygiene of the Vatican City State later examined the man in question, and they found him to be in a "serious state of psychophysical alteration."

The incident comes as it was not immediately clear whether or not Pope Francis was anywhere near the area. The religious leader lives on the other side of Vatican City at the Santa Marta hotel, where he normally has dinner and is retiring to his room when the incident occurred.

The driver ramming through the Vatican's gates is a rare incursion as most of its areas are off-limits to the general public. Despite visitors having access to St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums during business hours, they need permission to enter other buildings in the enclave.

Swiss guards are in charge of the Apostolic palace, where the papal apartments are located, as well as key reception rooms, the Vatican archives, and officers. At the same time, gendarmes man various checkpoints, according to ABC News.

Read Also: China Warns Embassies Over 'Propaganda' Displays of LGBTQ+ Flags

Mentally Unstable Individual

The latest incident is not the first time an individual with apparent psychiatric issues caused a disturbance at the Vatican City. In 2009, during a Christmas Eve Mass, a woman jumped over the barricade of St. Peter's Basilica and attempted to tackle Pope Benedict XVI. fortunately, the religious leader was not harmed, but a cardinal walking in the procession broke his hip during the altercation.

The incident comes before Australian aboriginal elder Dr. Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann is set to visit the Vatican from May 29 until June 3. During her visit, she is expected to speak on spirituality, ecology, and reconciliation between the Church and Indigenous Australians.

Baumann was also set to meet with Pope Francis during her week-long visit and attend several events alongside senior figures of the holy city, said the Vatican News.

Related Article: UK Government Expenses for Queen Elizabeth II's Funeral, Mourning Reach 162M

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)  The Nebraska Legislature on Friday approved a 12-week abortion ban and restrictions on gender-affirming care for people younger than 19 in a move so contentious that lawmakers on both sides have said they may be unable to work together in the future.

Conservative lawmakers called in a visibly ill colleague so they would have enough votes to end a filibuster and pass a bill with both measures. Republican Gov. Jim Pillen, who pushed for the bill, has promised to sign it into law.

The mood in the Nebraska Capitol has been volatile since lawmakers on Tuesday advanced by a single vote the hybrid measure that ties together restrictions that Republicans have pursued across the U.S. One lawmaker, Omaha state Sen. Megan Hunt, disclosed in March that her teenage son is transgender and said Friday that she now plans to leave the state.

North Carolina also passed a 12-week abortion ban this week, among a slew of restrictions enacted in states after the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that established a nationwide right to abortion. Fourteen states now have bans throughout pregnancy.

Nebraska, however, had not passed new restrictions while continuing to prohibit abortion starting around 20 weeks of pregnancy. The 12-week ban includes exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the mother. Opponents unsuccessfully sought an exception for fatal fetal anomalies and to explicitly protect doctors from criminal charges for performing a contested abortion.

The bill also would prevent transgender people under 19 from receiving any gender-confirming surgery. It would also restrict the use of hormone treatments and puberty blockers in minors, putting the states chief medical officer  a political appointee who is an ear, nose and throat doctor  in charge of setting the rules for those therapies. In Nebraska, people younger than 19 are considered minors.

At least 17 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for minors, and proposals are pending before the governors of Texas and Missouri. Medical groups and advocates say such restrictions are further marginalizing transgender youth and threatening their health.

Nebraska's restrictions on gender-affirming care wouldn't take effect until Oct. 1. The abortion ban will take effect as soon as the governor signs it. Bill opponents promised to sue to stop both measures.

Fridays debate was briefly halted when protesters in a chamber balcony stood and yelled obscenities at conservative lawmakers while throwing what appeared to be bloody tampons onto the floor. The Nebraska State Patrol cleared both balconies and said at least six people were arrested. As lawmakers began voting, hundreds of protesters packed into the Capitol rotunda shouted, Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! just outside the chamber.

Hundreds of businesses and medical professionals signed letters warning that both the abortion ban and the trans health restrictions would prompt corporations and doctors to leave the state. A letter submitted Friday and signed by more than 1,200 Nebraska medical professionals called the bill a direct attack on the medical community of our state.

Sen. Kathleen Kauth, who authored the trans health measure, has repeatedly referred to an increase of children who identify as transgender as a social contagion." She said the measure is aimed at protecting children from doing something they might later regret.

It does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that we hate them, she said. Quite to the contrary: We love them.

Kauth's measure was the genesis of an epic filibuster by Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, who along with a handful of progressive allies, including Hunt, have slowed the business of passing laws to a crawl by introducing amendment after amendment to every bill that made it to the Senate floor. That sent leadership scrambling to prioritize which bills to push through.

After lawmakers merged the abortion limits with the transgender health bill, state Sen. Julie Slama insinuated that conservatives were supporting the restrictions on gender-affirming care simply to retaliate against Cavanaugh. Slama noted that the restrictions did not initially have the 33 votes needed to survive.

On Friday, Cavanaugh vowed to continue her filibuster until the end of this year's session in early June and even through all of 2024.

This place is morally bankrupt, Cavanaugh said. "Im looking forward to 2025 when I no longer have to serve with many of you.

Conservatives in the one-house, officially nonpartisan Legislature announced early this month that they would amend the trans health bill to squeeze in the abortion restrictions. That unconventional move came after conservatives failed to advance a bill that would have banned abortion once cardiac activity can be detected  generally around six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.

Legislative rules state that a bill failing to defeat a filibuster must be tabled for the year. So opponents were surprised by the plan announced just last week.

Left-leaning lawmakers complained that conservatives essentially created a new bill that received no public hearing. They also say it violates state law that requires amendments be related to the underlying bill.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  Torture is how New Mexicos top prosecutor describes the treatment a 38-year-old developmentally disabled woman endured before her death at the hands of her caregivers, who he said were paid thousands of dollars a month through a special program meant to offer an alternative to institutional care.

Attorney General Raul Torrez detailed the womans injuries during a news conference Thursday, saying she died weeks after being found in the back of a van as the caregivers tried to take her to Mexico so her wounds could be treated.

"The abuse and neglect that she endured was horrific and the injuries she sustained are among the worst I have seen in my career as a prosecutor, Torrez said. This was torture. Theres really no other word for it.

Three people were arrested and charged Wednesday with abuse and neglect following an investigation that began with the stop at the U.S.-Mexico border in late February.

The case spurred a statewide review of New Mexico's entire developmentally disabled waiver system. Social workers spent weeks conducting individual wellness checks on thousands of developmentally disabled people who receive care through the federally-funded waiver program.

More allegations of possible abuse and neglect were turned up, and the state Health Department canceled contracts with four providers in the Albuquerque area.

An affidavit filed by the Attorney Generals Office details the abuse that resulted in the charges filed Wednesday against Angelita Rene Chacon, 52, and Patricia Hurtado, 42, both of Rio Rancho. They face counts of abuse or neglect of a resident resulting in death, false imprisonment and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.

Luz Scott, 53, of Clovis, an acquaintance of the women, has been charged with false imprisonment and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.

Messages seeking comment from Daniel Lindsey, an attorney listed for Scott, were not immediately returned. Court records didn't indicate whether Chacon and Hurtado had lawyers yet.

The women were scheduled to make their first court appearances Friday.

According to the attorney general's office, Chacon and Hurtado contracted with At Home Advocacy and three other contractors to provide supplemental care for the victim. They were receiving about $5,000 a month under the waiver program to care for her.

Prosecutors say a preliminary review of available business records indicate that At Home Advocacy received nearly $250,000 to coordinate care and support for the victim in the three years before her death.

Records show the company last visited the home on Jan. 25, one month before the victim was found at the port of entry in El Paso.

According to court records, a supervisor with At Home Advocacy told FBI agents the company conducted monthly wellness visits at Chacons home but that body checks were not conducted during those visits and that no injuries were seen.

Authorities said the woman who died was severely dehydrated and drugged when she was found in the van. She also had numerous open wounds, bedsores with exposed bone and bruises and lacerations on various parts of her body.

They also described marks consistent with being restrained for a prolonged period of time.

Unable to speak when discovered by federal agents at the border crossing, she was transported to University Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, where she died on April 7. The Associated Press generally does not name people who have been abused.

Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and top health officials had warned that any caregivers who mistreat and abuse developmentally disabled or otherwise vulnerable people would be held accountable.

Republican legislative leaders also requested that the federal government investigate, saying an independent inquiry would ensure transparency and might prevent such cases in the future.

Both Torrez and Raul Bujanda, FBI Albuquerque agent in charge, called the case a wake-up call about the treatment of developmentally disabled people in New Mexico.

The woman who died could easily have been our loved one," Bujanda said. "You expect, you demand that your loved one is taken care of in such a way that ... the only thing youll ever worry about is making to time to go and see them.

Torrez urged the governor and lawmakers to overhaul protocols at the state Department of Health. His suggestions included increased staff and training, mandatory inspections every 90 days and new civil and criminal penalties for companies and providers.

He tallied 12 auditors for more than 6,000 sites statewide and faulted administrators and the Legislature for relying on care providers to self-report problems.

Thats one of the fundamental problems that has arisen in this case, Torrez said, suggesting that lucrative contracts with the state provide no incentive for providers to police themselves.

State Health Secretary Patrick Allen said Thursday that an independent investigation is ongoing to identify any systemic flaws that would allow for abuse or neglect to go unchecked. He also said the agency will continue to refer any other cases of suspected abuse and neglect to law enforcement.

Persons with disabilities often rely on others for their day-to-day living. They literally entrust their caregivers with their lives, Allen said, adding that when their care is covered by a state program "everyone is accountable, and we must ensure their health and safety needs are met.

This story has been corrected to show the arrests were announced and a news conference was scheduled Thursday, not Wednesday.

Associated Press writers Ken Ritter in Las Vegas and Walter Berry in Phoenix contributed to this report.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

WATERLOO  This month marks the 75th anniversary of one of the most tragic and violent episodes in Waterloo labor history.

But it started one local Black labor leader on a path to becoming a major figure in the American civil rights and social justice movements.

All hell broke loose at the Rath Packing Co. on the afternoon of May 19, 1948.

It resulted in one death, a riot and the dispatching of hundreds of Iowa National Guard troops to Waterloo to restore order.

Some 4,200 members of United Packinghouse Workers of America Local 46, known for its racially integrated membership and leadership, had been on strike at Rath  then the citys largest employer  for two months, as part of an industry-wide strike involving several U.S. packinghouses.

Workers were seeking a 29-cent hourly raise. Theyd been offered nine cents. They were making less than $1 an hour.

Union members striking at Rath were especially angry when they saw the strikebreakers  scabs, they called them  coming to cross the picket line and report for second-shift work that afternoon.

One of them was 55-year-old Fred Lee Roberts, a Black farmer who lived near Dunkerton. He had 15 children and needed the money.

Roberts had a gun  a World War I .45 caliber pistol. And on that day, he used it.

After being turned away at one gate where primarily Black picketers were located, Roberts headed for the main gate. Another group of strikers jumped on Robertss car and started rocking it, trying to get him to turn back. He shot and killed one of them, William Chuck Farrell, who had jumped on the cars running board and was part-way through the window.

Fellow picketer Jim Hamlyn Sr., who had climbed on the opposite side of the car from Farrell, said in a 1998 Courier interview that Roberts had shot Farrell through the cheekbone and he was dead before he hit the ground. The bullet passed through Farrells head and struck bystander Margaret Draheim in the shoulder. She was hospitalized but survived.

Waterloo police officer Charlie Rehorst jumped on Robertss car, ordered him to drive away from the scene and disarmed and took him into custody without incident. But the strikers, angered over Farrells death, snapped, overturning cars and setting spilled gasoline on fire.

Local authorities contacted Iowa Gov. Robert Blue, who dispatched more than 800 National Guardsmen from 16 cities including Waterloo  one fifth of the states contingent  to restore order. The strike was crushed and the union accepted the nine-cent hourly raise.

A grand jury investigated. A trial jury found Roberts innocent of manslaughter, deeming it either an accident or self-defense. Some union officials were fined and one was sentenced to 60 days in prison. They were pardoned by Gov. Herschel Loveless in 1960.

Shortly after the strike one of its local organizers, Russell R. Lasley, rose to national prominence within the UPWA and played a major role in the national civil rights movement.

Lasley was one of several union officials criminally charged with conspiracy in the strike and riot. He was ultimately fined $500 on a lesser contempt of court charge in 1951.

Less than a month after the strike, Lasley, also a 1948 candidate for Iowa lieutenant governor on former Vice President Henry Wallaces Progressive Party ticket, was elected vice president with the UPWA international union that June in Chicago. Lasley moved there, resigning from the Progressive ticket.

It was at that point that the UPWA and Lasley became nationally involved in civil rights. The union began pursuing anti-discrimination activities in 1949 and formed an anti-discrimination department in 1950, which Lasley headed.

Lasley also brought the power of his union to bear to create one of the driving forces of the American civil rights movement  the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

I guess the Southern Christian Leadership Conference would not have existed without the Packinghouse Workers union, King scholar Clayborne Carson, professor of history and director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University in California, said in a 2013 Courier interview.

Lasley participated in the organizational meeting of the SCLC in January 1957 and served on its board of directors.

I am sure the union provided the majority of the SCLCs budget when it first was established, said Carson, who was selected by Coretta Scott King in 1985 to edit and publish her late husbands papers.

Lasley was one of my heroes, said the late Lyle Taylor, who was president of the UPWAs successor union local at Rath.

Despite his substantial role on the national labor and civil rights scenes, Lasley never forgot his Waterloo roots. He was a guiding force in contract negotiations and other labor matters at Rath.

At national conferences, Wed always meet with him because he was from our local originally, Taylor said. He was a quiet  but very stern  man, and when he spoke you knew it was fact, Taylor said. He was also very reasonable, and when we came to meet with the company, hed figure out a way to resolve issues.

What a jewel, Anna Mae Weems, longtime Waterloo civil rights activist, said of Lasley in 2013. Like many local Waterloo civil rights leaders, Weems got her start through the union local at Rath.

Lasley, Weems recalled, was a big, tall man, light complected, and had big hands. Hed slam his hand down on the table when making a point. Wed say, Dont break the table! She also recalled he worked with the company to improve the flow of the meat-cutting operation on the shop floor.

By the time Lasley passed away in 1989, Rath had liquidated in bankruptcy and his union had merged with another.

One has to look closely to find Lasleys footprints in the sands of history today. But they are there, and they are substantial.

Pat Kinney is a former longtime Courier reporter and editor who still writes freelance. His column, View from the Cedar Valley, can be seen online at patkinney.substack.com.

States where the most households own more than the typical 2 vehicles States where the most households own more than the typical 2 vehicles Mountainous states lead the U.S. in vehicle ownership by household 51. District of Columbia 50. New York 49. Florida 48. Louisiana 47. Massachusetts 46. Rhode Island 45. New Jersey 44. Illinois 43. Vermont 42. Delaware 41. Maine 40. West Virginia 39. Pennsylvania 38. Michigan 37. Connecticut 36. Alaska 35. Nevada 34. Ohio 33. Arizona 32. Maryland 31. Texas 30. New Hampshire 29. Mississippi 28. South Carolina 27. Kentucky 26. Indiana 25. Arkansas 24. Missouri 23. Georgia 22. Oklahoma 21. Oregon 20. Hawaii 19. New Mexico 18. North Carolina 17. California 16. Tennessee 15. Virginia 14. Wisconsin 13. Alabama 12. Colorado 11. Washington 10. Kansas 9. Iowa 8. Minnesota 7. Nebraska 6. South Dakota 5. Wyoming 4. Idaho 3. North Dakota 2. Utah 1. Montana
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

CEDAR FALLS  Care4Kids, a Save4Later initiative hosted by the Iowa Insurance Division is providing a free event for owners and operators of child care organizations.

The event will be held 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday at Bien VenU Event Center, 7400 Hudson Road.

The goal is to provide resources needed to run a profitable child care business such as identifying state-offered resources, answers to questions related to insurance requirements and options, and tips for increasing an organization's revenue.

All child care providers who attend the event will receive three hours of health and human services training credits. To receive credits, participants must register through the i-PoWeR Professional Workforce Registry.

In addition to registering on i-PoWeR, those participants should register separately on the event site Care4Kids Registration.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

WAUKON  A Waterloo woman charged with setting fire to her downtown Waukon gift shop in 2022 is getting a new court-appointed attorney. Again.

The move comes after attorney Daniel Key asked the court to take him off Mindy Jo Jones arson case because she allegedly sold him bogus charity raffle tickets in an unrelated case.

Counsel appreciates the opportunity to participate in what appears to be a very interesting case, but his involvement as a potential victim in the raffle ticket affair creates an uncomfortable situation for both defendant and him and is a conflict of interest, Key wrote to the court in asking that the arson case be re-assigned.

District Court Judge Alan Heavens has since appointed attorney Scott Sobel to represent Jones in the arson case.

Authorities allege Jones, also known as Mindy Jo Riley, set fire to her Tin, Rust and Harmony shop in Waukon on Feb. 13, 2022. The fire killed a dog that lived in the apartment above the store. Jones insurance company refused to pay on the policy, according to court records.

Before Keys was appointed, attorney Nathan Mooren had been representing Jones. Mooren was removed from the case in April 2023 for conflict-of-interest reasons because had represented the dogs owner.

In 2022, Jones pleaded to gaming charges in connection with an unlicensed charity raffle in Minnesota, where she operated a second Tin, Rust and Harmony shop that has since closed.

WATCH NOW: Business fire videos Tri-City Clothing fire Salvage yard fire, Cedar Falls, Iowa April 10, 2017 Luigi's Restaurant fire, Oelwein, Iowa, Nov. 12, 2016, Great Wall Fire, Cedar Falls, April 29, 2016 Recycling fire, Airline Highway, Waterloo, Iowa Jan. 24, 2018 Warehouse fire, Oelwein, Iowa May 2, 2017
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

WATERLOO  Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said shes been underestimated in everything shes ever done  but that makes her scrappy and a hard worker.

The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and governor of South Carolina stopped at the Waterloo Boat House on Thursday afternoon to speak to a group of prospective supporters.

Haley, the first Indian-American woman to become governor in the U.S. and the first Indian-American to hold a cabinet-level position in the federal government, said she didnt just deal with one country  but 193 of them at the U.N.

No one else has that experience, Haley said. No one else has the passion to do what I know we can do.

In her role as governor, she said she took double-digit unemployment percentages and turned the state of South Carolina into the beast of the southeast, noting that companies like Boeing, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo came to the state.

During her tenure 35,000 unemployed people went back to work and, therefore, got off welfare. In addition, the state achieved the lowest prison recidivism rate in the country while she was governor. She noted South Carolina was also known as the friendliest state in the U.S. as well as the most patriotic.

She began her address to a packed room of people by stating Iowa has the best governor in the country.

After a question from the audience about what Haley admires in Gov. Kim Reynolds, Haley said she appreciates that Reynolds has reduced taxes, introduced the school choice bill, consolidated government, and works with the Legislature.

When you look at her and compare with other governors, shes done more for you in Iowa than any other governor in the country, she said.

Haley has some of the same accomplishments as Reynolds  including signing a law that consolidates state government. She also shared similar opinions about how transgender girls participate in school sports.

Its the womens issue of our time and no one is doing anything, Haley said. She said her daughter ran track in high school and wouldnt have known how to have a conversation with her about it.

She also commented on Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender celebrity who was featured in a social media promotion for Bud Light which resulted in backlash.

That is a guy dressed up like a girl making fun of women, Haley said. Companies are glorifying (transgender women) and then you wonder why a third of teenage girls last year seriously contemplated suicide.

As a governor herself, she said she had to balance a budget. She rhetorically asked Why is Congress the only group thats exempt from balancing a budget? If elected president, Haley said she would stop the country from spending, borrowing, and earmarking.

I will veto any spending bill that doesnt take us back to pre-COVID levels, she said.

She noted the U.S. is $31 trillion in debt and is borrowing money to make its interest payments. Its easy to say Biden did this  but our Republicans did that to us, too, she said, stating Congress passed a $2.3 trillion COVID-19 relief bill which was then signed by President Donald Trump in 2020.

Because of this, she said, 90 million Americans are on Medicaid and 42 million are on food stamps.

And did Republicans try and make that right? She asked. No, they doubled down and opened up earmarks for the first time in 10 years.

One way she plans to cut down on spending is by using her international expertise. She said the U.S. spends $46 billion in foreign aid, mentioning countries such as Pakistan, Iraq, Zimbabwe, Belarus and China.

When I am president we will not give any money to countries that hate America, she said. The statement was met with applause from the audience.

In the year she spent as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., she said she wanted every country to know what America stood for and what it was against.

To do this, she said the country withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, otherwise known as the Iran nuclear deal. Under the deal, Iran agreed to dismantle part of its nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars worth of sanctions relief.

Haley also said she pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement which is an international treaty on climate change. President Joe Biden has since brought the U.S. back into the agreement.

Her reasoning for this, she said, is because the treaty was trying to put all these regulations on the U.S. when were the good actors. She said if the world wants to deal with environmental issues, China and India should be considered first.

Another example she gave was moving the U.S. embassy out of Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in Israel in 2018. After this decision, 128 countries in the U.N. condemned the U.S. The move was controversial because the city of Jerusalem is claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians, and remains as one of the main issues in the conflict between Palestine and Israel.

Haley also said the U.S. passed the largest set of sanctions against North Korea.

The most important thing we did was we took the kick me sign off of our backs at the U.N. and we were respected again, she said.

One issue repeatedly addressed by Haley, as well as people in the audience, was veterans affairs. A roar of applause came after she said she would protect and take care of every veteran in the country.

Haley said when she was governor, she went to her legislature to fight for veterans and would do the same to Congress.

If a person is willing to shed blood to defend and protect us  we should take care of them for the rest of their life, she said. When you take care of those that take care of you  thats a value this country holds dear. And now we need to prove it.

A woman in the audience brought up the issue of veterans who own large assets, such as farms, dont receive benefits. Haley reiterated that no matter the situation a veteran is in, they shouldnt have to worry about anything financially.

In closing, Haley asked the audience to remember how simple it used to be but now there is a national self loathing of the U.S.

Dont you want that again? We could have that again, she said. But in order to have that we need a new generational leader.

Photos: Biden honors 9 with Medal of Valor
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

WATERLOO  Students in Waterloo are celebrating as a bill heads to Gov. Kim Reynolds desk.

During Iowas legislative session the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill that would include suicide hotline numbers and a QR code on public school student identification cards.

Input on how the bill should look was given by the Waterloo Youth City Council, a group of students from the citys four high schools: West, East, Expo and Columbus high schools.

The organization was started in 2018 by Mayor Quentin Hart. The youth city council is one of five in the state of Iowa.

Similar to the Waterloo City Council, students elect officers to serve as councilmembers or as committee chairs. The councilmembers represent all of Waterloos five wards and those students meet with their respective Waterloo councilmember for mentoring.

The bill, introduced to the WYCC by Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, D-Waterloo, is also known as House File 602. It reads that a public school which issues ID cards to students in grades seven through 12 should include crisis hotline telephone and text numbers as well as an internet address for Your Life Iowa  a statewide crisis line.

In the original bill, only a telephone number wouldve been provided, by students told Brown-Powers that kids wont dial a number, therefore the bill was amended to add a text line and QR code.

The youth council worked with Lifetouch, which produces ID cards. The business said they would add the QR code at no extra cost. During a celebration event Wednesday night, it was stated the numbers and code will be on 477,000 student IDs.

At the end of March, WYCC members went to the State Capitol to meet with senators to push the bill forward for approval during the legislative session.

Scarlett Bertram, the incoming mayor for the 2023-24 school year, said she was emotional when she saw the bill reached the final hurdle.

I definitely cried, Bertram said. It will impact so many people that I dont know, and my peers who I see five days a week.

Hart was in attendance for the celebration and said the students are never too young to make a difference and was in awe that they got a bill passed in the Legislature. He said the students always have a home in Waterloo, even though many are graduating this year.

I want to make sure that as a young person, that youre able to see yourselves in this community, Hart said. Because when you go out and you leave and you make your mark, whether its here, whether its around the country  that you always remember your voice and values and know that you have an incredible potential to be something.

As the youth council convenes next year, Bertram said she wants to continue pushing for mental health initiatives. She also wants to take a look at women and sexual assault issues.

Close Waterloo East rightfielder Gavin Peters camps under a fly ball Wednesday during a game against Columbus Catholic. Columbus Catholic catcher John Meier tags out Waterloo East runner Jonah Helmrichs at the plate during the metro tournament Wednesday in Cedar Falls. Cedar Falls pitcher Drew Grete unleashes a pitch against a Waterloo West batter Wednesday in Cedar Falls. Waterloo East pitcher Maddox Harn fires a pitch Wednesday during a game against Columbus Catholic. Columbus Catholic's Patrick Underwood dives back to first as Waterloo East's Justin Thomas catches the throw. Columbus Catholic shortstop Aiden Hosch catches a pop up against Waterloo East Wednesday in Cedar Falls. Columbus Catholic pitcher Nick Merrifield throws a pitch to a Waterloo East batter Wednesday. Waterloo West pitcher Tayvon Homolar throws a pitcher during the Wahawks' game with Cedar Falls Wednesday. Cedar Falls centerfielder Teeghen Rath hauls in a fly ball Wednesday in a game against Waterloo West in Cedar Falls. PHOTOS: Semifinals of the Metro Baseball tournament at Cedar Falls Waterloo East rightfielder Gavin Peters camps under a fly ball Wednesday during a game against Columbus Catholic. Columbus Catholic catcher John Meier tags out Waterloo East runner Jonah Helmrichs at the plate during the metro tournament Wednesday in Cedar Falls. Cedar Falls pitcher Drew Grete unleashes a pitch against a Waterloo West batter Wednesday in Cedar Falls. Waterloo East pitcher Maddox Harn fires a pitch Wednesday during a game against Columbus Catholic. Columbus Catholic's Patrick Underwood dives back to first as Waterloo East's Justin Thomas catches the throw. Columbus Catholic shortstop Aiden Hosch catches a pop up against Waterloo East Wednesday in Cedar Falls. Columbus Catholic pitcher Nick Merrifield throws a pitch to a Waterloo East batter Wednesday. Waterloo West pitcher Tayvon Homolar throws a pitcher during the Wahawks' game with Cedar Falls Wednesday. Cedar Falls centerfielder Teeghen Rath hauls in a fly ball Wednesday in a game against Waterloo West in Cedar Falls.
The College of Law prepares to celebrate the Class of 2023.

The College will welcome The Honorable Erin Lagesen JD'00 as the speaker for its 137th Commencement held at 10:30 a.m., Sunday, May 21, on the Quad. The ceremony will also honor Professor of Law Emeritus & Former Dean Leroy Tornquist as the Law Faculty Member of the Year, Professor Caroline Davidson as the recipient of the Robert L. Misner Award for Law Faculty Scholarship, and graduate Larraina Erland JD'23 as the Class of 2023 valedictorian.

Commencement Speaker Chief Judge Lagesen

Chief Judge Erin Lagesen JD'00

Chief Judge Erin Lagesen has been a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals since 2013. She was the presiding judge of the courts Department Three from 2017 through 2021 before becoming the courts Chief Judge in 2022.

Prior to receiving her law degree from Willamette Law in 2000, Chief Judge Lagesen taught high school mathematics. She began her legal career by clerking for Judge Susan Graber of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She then worked in the litigation section at Stoel Rives before joining the Appellate Division of the Oregon Department of Justice in 2004. In the Appellate Division, Chief Judge Lagesen handled a wide range of civil, criminal, and administrative appeals.

Chief Judge Lagesen is an elected member of the American Law Institute and a long-time member of the Oregon State Bar Constitutional Law section where she served on the sections executive committee and was the past chair.

Law Faculty Member of the Year Award

Professor Leroy Tornquist

As voted by the graduating class, the Law Faculty Member of the Year Award is given annually to the faculty member whose teaching has had a significant impact on the class. This years award will go to Professor Leroy Tornquist.

Professor Tornquist served as dean of the College of Law from 1979 to 1986. During his service as dean, he championed dispute resolution long before it became a standard part of the curriculum and imported an intensive trial practice program he began at Loyola Universitys law school in Chicago. The program is designed to simulate what it feels like to give a deposition, deliver an opening statement, and more generally to think on ones feet.

Tornquist is renowned as a specialist in trial practice, evidence and civil procedure. Accordingly, after returning to the faculty following his distinguished service as dean, he taught civil procedure, evidence, negotiation and trial advocacy. Additionally, he remained active as a scholar, writing books and articles on evidence, negotiation, trial practice, civil procedure and dispute resolution. He took Emeritus status in 2011 but remained engaged as a part-time faculty member by continuing to teach.

Between his time as dean and as a prominent member of the faculty, Professor Tornquist has left a lasting impression at Willamette. The Class of 2023 recognized both the significance of his accomplishments and contributions and also that an award of this kind did not exist while he was a member of the full-time faculty. As such, the Class of 2023 found it fitting to recognize his ongoing commitment to the College of Law.

I am so pleased that the Class of 2023 selected Professor Tornquist for this honor. Professor Tornquist is a shining example of how our faculty places students at the forefront of everything we do, says Willamette Law Dean Brian Gallini.

Robert L. Misner Award for Faculty Scholarship

Professor Caroline Davidson

As recommended by the College of Law and awarded by the Office of the Provost, the Robert L. Misner Award for Law Faculty Scholarship is awarded each year to a Willamette University College of Law professor whose scholarship has contributed significantly to the national or international legal canon.

This years recipient is Professor Caroline Davidson. Professor Davidson teaches criminal law, criminal procedure, evidence, international criminal law, and international human rights. Her scholarship explores international and comparative criminal law and human rights, in recent years with a focus on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

Most recently, her scholarly work earned her a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award. Professor Davidson spent the past semester in Colombia, where she has conducted research on the treatment of SGBV in Colombian courts. In particular, her work compares the approach toward SGBV taken at the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, a special transitional justice mechanism established as part of the Colombian peace agreement, with that of the ordinary criminal justice system.

Professor Davidsons scholarly work is, in a word, transformative and Im so pleased to see her receive this well-deserved recognition, commented Karen Sandrik, Associate Dean for Faculty.

Aristeion Symeon Symeonides Awards Goes to Valedictorian Larraina Erland JD23

Larraina Erland JD'23

The valedictorian for the Class of 2023 is Larraina Erland.

As valedictorian, Erland will receive the Aristeion Symeon Symeonides Award for having earned the highest grades in the class. Established in 2010, this award is given every year at commencement to the student with the highest GPS in the College of Law graduating class. The award is also accompanied by a commemorative plaque and a medallion to be worn at commencement. The award was named for and funded by the 19th dean of Willamette Law, Symeon C. Symeonides.

Ceremony Details

Plan to attend the in-person commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 21, at 10:30 a.m. PDT, on the Quad at Willamette University. The ceremony will also be

broadcast live online

.
18.05.2023 (14:45)

Last night, the Russian Armed Forces launched group strikes by high-precision long-range sea- and air-based weapons against the enemys reserves and full-sized depots storing foreign armament and hardware.

The purpose of the strike has been achieved. All the assigned targets have been engaged.

As a result of the strikes, significant stockpiles of AFU weapons and ammunition were destroyed, and the movement of reserves into combat areas was thwarted.

In Kupyansk direction, aviation and artillery of the Zapad Group of Forces have engaged the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) close to Novomlynsk and Kotlyarovka (Kharkov region).

The actions of two sabotage and reconnaissance parties were foiled by active operations by units of the 138th and 27th Motorised Rifle Brigades. During the day, the enemy lost 60 Ukrainian military personnel, two armoured fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, and a D-20 howitzer in this direction.

In Krasny Liman direction, Operational-Tactical and Army aviation and artillery of the Tsentr Group of Forces engaged the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Ploshchanka and Kuzmino (Lugansk Peoples Republic).

Two sabotage and reconnaissance groups have been eliminated by units of the 98th Airborne Division near Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk Peoples Republic).

During the day, more than 75 Ukrainian troops, one tank, four armoured fighting vehicles, two pick-up trucks, and a D-30 howitzer were neutralised.

In Donetsk direction, assault detachments fought to liberate Artyomovsk with active support of the Airborne Troops.

Operational-Tactical and Army aviation and artillery of the Yug Group of Forces have inflicted a fire damage on the enemys manpower and hardware close to Chasov Yar and Bogdanovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

The Russian aviation have made 7 sorties in this area during the day. The Groups artillery have performed 72 firing missions.

The enemy has suffered losses of up to 200 Ukrainian troops, one tank, three armoured fighting vehicles, five motor vehicles, and two Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems in this direction in the past 24 hours.

In South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, aviation and artillery of the Vostok Group of Forces inflicted a fire damage on the AFU units close to Ugledar (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

The enemys losses in this direction during the day have amounted to up to 150 Ukrainian troops killed and wounded, five motor vehicles, one Strela-10 surface-to-air missile vehicle, one FH70 howitzer, and one U.S.-made M777 artillery system.

In Kherson direction, over 35 Ukrainian troops, one armoured fighting vehicle, and three motor vehicles have been destroyed.

Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Group of Forces have engaged 68 AFU artillery units, manpower and hardware in 97 areas during the day.

One U.S.-made AN/TPQ-37 counter-battery radar station has been destroyed near Krivaya Luka (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

Fighter aviation of Russian Aerospace Forces has shot down one Su-24 aircraft of Ukrainian Air Force near Slavyansk (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

Russian air defence facilities have shot down one Mi-8 helicopter of Ukrainian Air Force near Novopavlovka (Zaporozhye region).

In addition, four HIMARS and one Uragan projectiles have been intercepted during the day.

Moreover, 11 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down close to Pologi, Romanovskoye (Zaporozhye region), Gorlovka, Peski, Blagodatnoye, Volodino (Donetsk Peoples Republic), Nikolayevka, Novovodyanoye, and Kremennaya (Lugansk Peoples Republic).

In total, 428 airplanes and 234 helicopters, 4,208 unmanned aerial vehicles, 423 air defence missile systems, 9,218 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 1,100 combat vehicles equipped with MRLS, 4,843 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 10,284 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.

Tags:

WtR
A survivor of six heart attacks and a brain tumor, a grumpy bear of a man, whom has declared Russia as his new and wonderful home. His wife is a true Russian Sweet Pea of a girl and she puts up with this bear of a guy and keeps him in line. Thank God for my Sweet Pea and Russia.
(Photo : HERIKA MARTINEZ / AFP)

The United States Supreme Court dismisses an attempt by Republican-led states to maintain Title 42, a Trump-era policy that sought to reduce the number of immigrants at the border.

Supreme Court dismisses attempts of Republican-led states to maintain Title 42

Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar's brief that was filed in February told the court that the case is moot

The Supreme Court canceled arguments after the brief in apparent support of Prelogar's stance

On Thursday, the United States Supreme Court dismissed an attempt by GOP-led states to keep the Title 42 immigration policy in effect.

The brief order of the highest court was only one sentence long and included instructions to an appeals court to dismiss the state's motion to intervene in the case as moot. The decision was almost guaranteed to have been spurred by the end of the health emergency that Republicans used to justify the policy.

Supreme Court Dismisses Attempts To Maintain Title 42

Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar filed a brief in February where she told the court that "absent other relevant developments, the end of the public health emergency will (among other consequences) terminate the Title 42 orders and moot this case."

The Supreme Court then canceled arguments in the case a week following Prelogar's brief, which was a sign that it was inclined to agree with the Solicitor General's stance on the matter. As per the New York Times, the Trump-era policy allowed officials to turn away immigrants who might have otherwise qualified for asylum in the United States.

On Thursday, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, saying that she would have gotten to largely the same place in another way if she had dismissed the case as "improvidently granted."

On the other hand, Justice Neil M, Gorsuch, used the situation to issue eight pages of reflections on the "disruption we have experienced over the last three years" regarding how the country's legislation is made and how freedom is observed, which was a reference to the coronavirus pandemic.

In December, the two justices issued a dissent when the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case regarding the immigration policy. At the time, Gorsuch wrote that the court agreed to address a legal question that needed to be more important in its own right and normally would not have warranted expedited review.

Read Also: Georgia Republican Lawmaker to File Impeachment Papers Against Biden

End of the Immigration Policy

The latest development comes after the Supreme Court justice in December last year voted 5-4 to temporarily block a lower court judge's order that sought to end the immigration policy prematurely, according to Politico.

However, the Biden administration unilaterally announced plans to terminate the public health emergency earlier this month. This prompted the Supreme Court justices to remove the case from their argument calendar. The emergency was formally ended last week, including related immigration control.

Republicans strongly supported former United States President Donald Trump's use of Title 42 to reduce the number of immigrants at the border. However, many immigrant rights groups have opposed the policy, calling it inhumane.

Republican-led states, Arizona and Louisiana, filed the emergency request last year, arguing that Joe Biden's administration had already abandoned meaningful defense of the rule. This prompted other GOP-led states to intervene in the case to keep the immigration policy in effect, said NBC News.

Related Article: US Supreme Court's Public Confidence Hits 50-Year Low After Abortion Ruling

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Fewer medical appointments and backlogged benefits could be a reality for veterans in the Coulee Region and nationwide, according to a report from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Nearly 44,000 veterans in Wisconsins 3rd Congressional District  which covers much of western Wisconsin from Chippewa Falls to Platteville and Stevens Point  could be affected by across-the-board funding reductions in the House of Representatives spending bill.

The VA department released a fact sheet on how the House Republican spending bill would affect veterans operations for fiscal year 2024. The budgetary change will lead to staff reductions, fewer medical treatments and job training services, the fact sheet stated.

Congressional Republicans passed a spending bill that sets the fiscal year 2024 top line at $1.471 trillion, equal to the fiscal year 2022 level, while exempting defense spending from a reduction.

Under the assumption that funding for defense in 2024 will at least match the current baseline level of $885 billion, non-defense funding would total $586 billion, which is 22% lower than the currently enacted level of $756 billion.

Despite the claims from the department, U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, supported the legislation and said on Twitter: There are zero cuts for vets.

In an interview with the Tribune, Van Orden affirmed his statement and added that Congress just approved the top line budget levels but does not tell departments how to spend the money.

The secretaries of these departments are solely responsible for how these monies are applied, Van Orden said in an interview. So if the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or the Secretary of Transportation wants to prioritize the bureaucracy over the safety of the rails or the medical care for our veterans, thats on them, not me.

Because there is no specific language in the House-passed measure to exempt veteran funding from the reduction, the Veterans Affairs assumed a full, 22% cut for fiscal year 2024 compared with 2023 funding, an estimated reduction as high as $29.7 billion.

Under the proposal, the Veterans Benefits Administration stated it would have to eliminate more than 6,000 staff, increasing the disability claims backlog by an estimated 134,000 claims.

Forcing veterans and their surviving loved ones to wait longer for the benefits they have earned, including pensions, life insurance, GI Bill educational support and employment services, the department stated.

More than 80,000 jobs would be cut from the Veterans Health Administration leading to 30 million fewer medical appointments for care, including wellness visits, cancer screenings, mental health services and substance use disorder treatment, the fact sheet stated.

The proposed spending reduction would mean 4,200 fewer veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness would receive job training, counseling and job readiness services provided through the Department of Labors Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.

The proposal would eliminate funding for Housing Choice Vouchers for as many as 50,000 veterans, putting them at greater risk of homelessness, according to the fact sheet.

The House Republican bill includes a rescission for unspent COVID-19 relief funds, about $2 billion from the veterans department.

House Democrats introduced an amendment to the bill that would exempt VA funds from the relief money rescission, but the amendment failed in committee. Under the amendment, the relief funding would remain available through September 2024.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

After years of waiting, a building in disrepair in downtown Portage may finally be put to good use.

The former antiques shop at 114 W. Cook St., built in 1876, was acquired by the city in 2021 after being basically abandoned by its previous owner Martin Schmidt. Since then, the citys Community Development Authority (CDA) worked to make minor repairs while searching for a developer to take over the project.

Businessman John Morauski, who ran for Portage mayor in 2016, and his wife Heather Morauski submitted a proposal in March to take on the historic structure, transforming the lower level into an upscale distillery, tasting room and steakhouse. The second floor would become an unspecified number of apartments available for rent.

The Morauskis have a combined 45 years of experience in construction, business and marketing. Together, they own Red Rooster Construction Company.

Once off the ground, the couple told the city that the Heart of Hearts Distillery would be operated by Anthony Burkett. Burkett has 35 years of experience in industrial laboratory applications.

Under the Morauskis proposal, the structure wouldnt be demolished as some feared, but completely rehabilitated. The city previously halted a decision to repair the roof after a contractor confirmed it would need to be replaced, believing that a future developer may raze it regardless.

John Morauski did not make himself available for interview, but Portages Director of Business Development and Planning Steven Sobiek confirmed that maintaining the buildings charm was central to their plans.

This developer wants to save the building. They want to return it to its historic heritage, including the interior and exterior elements, he said.

A five-step plan was put forth, which would include remedying exterior issues including the roof, windows and facade, updating all electrical and plumbing, building out the distillerys amenities and constructing apartments.

The Morauskis estimate that the work could take three years to complete.

The plan isnt set in stone, yet. Sobiek stated that the CDA is carefully weighing their options. However, this is the first developer that the committee has seriously considered.

Theyre taking their time. Theyre deliberating and analyzing everything and all the funding mechanisms. Its pretty exciting, he said.

Sobiek has already begun working to put together a development agreement where both Portage and the Morauskis could pool funding to renew the building and, subsequently, return it to the tax roll. One option would be applying for a Community Development grant from Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation for $250,000, which the developer would be required to match.

If all goes well, the city will sell the building to the Morauskis for a nominal sum in exchange for ensuring the project goes according to plan. The CDA meets next Wednesday at the Portage Municipal Building to review the draft development agreement.

A decision will be made shortly afterward.

Then its off to the races, Sobiek added. If they greenlight this agreement, then the developer would be able to purchase the building and begin needed repairs. Stay tuned!

PHOTOS: Nine 'Canoes on Parade' in place throughout Portage 063022-port-news-canoes01.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes02.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes03.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes04.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes05.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes06.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes07.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes08.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes09.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes10.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes11.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes12.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes13.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes14.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes15.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes16.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes17.jpg 063022-port-news-canoes18.jpg
Weather Alert

...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of central Washoe County through 345 PM PDT... At 312 PM PDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 10 miles west of Pyramid Lake, moving east at 20 mph. HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and pea size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Locations impacted include... Pyramid Lake, The Needle Rocks and Tohakum Peak. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. && MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN; MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH
FILE - This artist depiction shows Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, right, appearing in U.S. District Court in Boston, April 14, 2023. A federal judge has ordered the Massachusetts Air National Guard member accused of leaking highly classified military documents to remain behind bars while he awaits trial. In issuing his ruling Friday, May 19, U.S. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy said Jack Teixeira had breached his obligation to protect national security information belonging to the United States. (Margaret Small via AP, File)
FILE - People sit on a truck after being rescued by firefighters in the village of Castel Bolognese, Italy, May 17, 2023. The floods that sent rivers of mud tearing through towns in Italys northeast are another soggy dose of climate change's all-or-nothing weather extremes, something that has been happening around the globe, scientists say. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, right, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, look out towards trees planted by Winston Churchill as they walk in the garden at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence, in Aylesbury, England, Monday, May 15, 2023. While the world awaits Ukraine's spring offensive, its leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already launched a diplomatic one. In a span of a week, he has dashed to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France and Britain to shore up support for the defense of his country. On Friday, May 19, 2023, he was in Saudi Arabia to meet with Arab leaders, some of whom are allies with Moscow. (Carl Court/Pool via AP, File)
For many Black Americans, death comes too soon, according to researchers who reviewed more than two decades of U.S. death certificate data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Black Americans experienced 1.63 million excess deaths during that period. This refers to the difference in the number of deaths that occurred during a particular period and the number of deaths expected during that time.

The higher mortality rate meant a cumulative loss of more than 80 million years of life compared with white Americans from 1999 to 2020. The excess death rates are largely due to increased rates of heart disease, cancer and infant mortality, according to a newly published report in JAMA.

It is important to remember this is not an abstract concept. There is a real human toll to these entrenched inequities, coauthor Marcella Nunez-Smith, M.D., an associate dean for health equity research at Yale School of Medicine, said in a statement. The impact on families and communities should be unacceptable to all of us.

The study found encouraging gains were made in the early 2000s, but those evaporated in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The report notes that even when disparities were at their lowest mark, there were more than 50,000 annual excess deaths and 3 million annual excess years of potential life lost among the Black population compared with the white population.

Clyde Yancy, M.D., a coauthor of the study and chief of cardiology at Northwestern Universitys Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a statement that the numbers provide a reasonable quantitative assessment of racial disparities in death. The sheer size of the problem suggests an overwhelming need for a public health response to solve it, he said.

If we are indeed a civil and just people, our charge must be the adaptation of new public health initiatives targeting health equity, Yancy said. As we go forward, and with the aging of our population, the health of our citizenry directly impacts the health of our economy  the pandemic made that incontrovertibly clear. We are reminded once again that the absence of health in anyone of us affects the health of all of us.
When rock band Fanny formed in California in 1970, the members were in their early 20s and there wasnt much discussion about being of Filipina heritage. Sisters June and Jean Millington immigrated to California from the Philippines, but their heritage wasnt a focus. 



We werent thinking about were half Filipino, says Jean Millington, founding member and bassist of Fanny, in an interview with AARP to commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. We were struggling to make it as women in the music business. That did not enter into our consciousness at the time.

June Millington, Fanny founding member and lead guitarist, agrees. We were conditioned to not really think about talking about being Asian American or Filipina American or AAPI, she says. We didnt even mention it. But Im so glad that it seems to be something thats important to people now.

As part of AAPI Heritage Month, Fanny will perform at the Center for Asian American Medias CAAMFest  an exhibition of Asian American and Asian films. AARP is a supporter of the performance. A documentary about the band is set to premiere on PBS.

Breaking barriers

Brie Darlings mother wanted her children to fit in after the family migrated to California from the Philippines, so Darling,  a Fanny drummer, didnt learn her mothers language or culture. I didnt really know that I was Asian or Asian American, Darling says, but she knew she was different. She felt there wasnt room for people who looked like her with her mixture of European and Asian features. I do feel though that at the time, a lot of minorities, and especially Filipinos and especially Filipino Americans, were not even recognized.

Fanny  originally the Millingtons, Alice de Buhr and Nickey Barclay  was the first all-female band to release an album on a major record label. The group released four albums with Reprise Records, including Charity Ball (the title song hit number 40 on Billboards Top 100 chart in November 1971) and Fanny Hill. Butter Boy from the album Rock and Roll Survivors (Casablanca Records) reached number 29 on Billboards chart in 1975.

A Fanny billboard appears on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood promoting a concert at the famed Whiskey release of their first album in 1970. Linda Wolf

There were various members at different times. Darling joined Fanny as the drummer when de Buhr left in 1973; Patti Quatro played lead guitar after June Millington left the band. Although the group was an inspiration for female rock bands such as The Go-Go's and The Bangles, initially, Fanny wasn't taken seriously in the music business.

To be a woman musician, I might as well have said, Im going to walk on the moon,  June Millington says. There was no room in their sort of mental paradigm for us to walk in with our electric guitars and bass and drums, right? There was no room that we belonged in, so we had to create that room by continuing to perform.
The Department of Veterans Affairs will host more than 130 Memorial Day ceremonies at its national cemeteries to honor those who gave their lives for the nation.

Veterans, their families, caregivers, survivors and members of the public are invited to attend the wreath-laying services, held between May 25 and May 30. Find the ceremony closest to you; dates and times may change due to inclement weather.

On Memorial Day, we honor the service members who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation  and we pay our respects to the families and loved ones who mourn them and miss them dearly, said VA Secretary Denis McDonough in a statement. 

Leading up to Memorial Day, many locations will need volunteers to place small American flags in front of veterans headstones. Help will also be needed to remove and store the flags in the days following the observance. 

National cemeteries with full staff typically conduct wreath-laying events accompanied by speeches, music, a moment of silence and the playing of taps. 

VA Burial Benefits Almost all veterans who received an honorable discharge are eligible for a burial benefit, even if they did not serve in combat. Although federal burial grounds are long established, many veterans and military families are unaware of the broad eligibility and benefits available to them. Click here to learn more.

This year, the VA is encouraging Americans to honor fallen service members by leaving a tribute on the Veterans Legacy Memorial website, which includes 4.5 million pages of information about veterans buried in national, state, territorial or tribal VA cemeteries. 

To view live streams, recorded videos and photographs from many of these observances, visit the National Cemetery Administrations Facebook and Twitter pages. 

All VA national cemeteries will be open from dawn until dusk Memorial Day. Some observances of note include: 

Secretary McDonough will preside over a wreath-laying ceremony May 27 at BG William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Wrightstown, New Jersey.

in Wrightstown, New Jersey. Acting VA Deputy Secretary Guy Kiyokawa will set a wreath May 29 at Washington Crossing National Cemetery in Newtown, Pennsylvania.

in Newtown, Pennsylvania. Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Matt Quinn will speak at a wreath-laying and flag-placing event May 26 at Annapolis National Cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland. He will also speak on Memorial Day at the Albert G. Horton Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Suffolk, Virginia.

There are 155 national cemeteries and 34 soldiers lots and monument sites across 44 states and Puerto Rico. The VAs Veterans Cemetery Grant Program also funds 121 additional state, territorial and tribal cemeteries, many of which are also holding Memorial Day ceremonies.
(Photo : Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein returned to the Senate floor last week, but her comeback is marred with more complications than initially revealed.

California Sen. Diane Feinstein's return to the Senate floor was marred with more complications than initially revealed

The Democrat's comeback followed a two-month-long absence due to shingles

The 89-year-old lawmaker was seen in a wheelchair being steered by an aide

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein returned to the Senate floor last week after a two-month-long absence due to shingles. Still, her comeback is marred with more complications that initially revealed about her health.

The Democrat was seen using a wheelchair, and the left side of her face was frozen, with one of her eyes nearly shut. The senator seemed disoriented while an aide steered her wheelchair through the marble corridors of the Senate while the Democrat could be heard complaining about something being stuck in her eye.

Dianne Feinstein's Return to the Senate Floor

The senator's weak appearance resulted from various complications following her hospitalization for shingles in February. Some of these were not publicly disclosed. The disease was found to have spread to her face and neck, which caused impairments to her vision and balance and facial paralysis, as per the New York Times.

The virus also caused encephalitis, a rare but potentially debilitating complication of shingles. On Thursday, a spokesman for Feinstein confirmed it after it was first revealed in a report, adding that the condition had already resolved itself in March.

Post-shingles encephalitis is characterized by swelling of the patient's brain that can leave them with long-term memory or language issues, sleep disorders, bouts of confusion, mood disorders, headaches, and difficulties with walking.

Older patients also tend to have the most difficulty recovering from the disease. Furthermore, before the latest health condition, the California Democrat had already had a battle with substantial memory issues that raised concerns about her mental state.

Read Also: Disney Cancels New Florida Campus Worth $1 Billion Amid DeSantis Feud

More Health Complications

Last week, aides to Feinstein said that the Democrat is still recovering from the condition and that she would operate on a reduced schedule. Due to the time she was absent, the California senator missed some votes where she was not needed, according to the Associated Press.

For example, Feinstein missed the first three Senate votes on Wednesday but could return for the last two, where the margin was much closer. In recent years, the Democrat faced questions regarding her apparent declining health and mental acuity. She said in February that she would not run for re-election in 2024.

In a statement, Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin of Illinois said that Democrats need Feinstein in committee and on the floor. He emphasized the need for the California senator to vote on judicial nominees who lack support from the GOP. He added that they were trying to be sensitive about Feinstein's health condition.

On the other hand, Sen. Jon Tester of Montana said that Feinstein has been ill and is already old. He spoke on behalf of other Democrats when he said that the California senator's situation was "difficult," said Politico.

Related Article: US Supreme Court's Public Confidence Hits 50-Year Low After Abortion Ruling

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A city paved with gold sounds like something from a fairytale, but that was the reality in the city of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia during the late 19th century. Miners trying to avoid being tricked by fools gold accidentally used real gold to build the city from the ground up. When it was realized that the precious metal was in the walls and roads of the city, a massive effort was made to extract every ounce of gold. However, it is believed that some gold still remains in these structures today.

There were a few rushes near the Coolgardie Goldfields

Before the Kalgoorlie rush, an 1892 gold rush occurred in the nearby Coolgardie region of Western Australia. Three Irish prospectors, Tom Flanagan, Patrick Paddy Hannan, and Dan OShea, decided to travel there with another group of prospectors to try their hand at gold mining. On their journey, they noticed something peculiar about the path they were traveling on.

A discovery was made in secret

The three men had spotted the tell-tale signs of gold in the area and wanted to see for themselves if it were true. Instead of letting the other prospectors know of their potential discovery, they pretended one of their horses had escaped, giving them the excuse to hang back and look for it while the other group proceeded to their destination of Mount Yule.

They struck gold, literally

The three men began mining for gold and found great success. The area was littered with alluvial gold nuggets and no one knew about it but them. Their first haul landed them with a remarkable 100 ounces of gold, but their secret would soon be a secret no more. As per protocol, they had to register their mining claim in the nearby town of Coolgardie, basically announcing to the world that they had struck gold.

People began flocking to the area

As you can imagine, news of the find spread quickly, both locally and internationally. Within three days, approximately 750 other prospectors arrived in the area, hoping to get their share of the riches. The gold rush occurred in Western Australia practically overnight. The population of Western Australia in 1891 was just under 50,000, but after news had spread of the wealth of gold in the area, it more than doubled, reaching over 100,000 by 1895.

The first residents had it rough

In the early years of the rush, men built shabby huts of canvas and iron so they could spend day and night searching for gold. This became a makeshift community, but the conditions were horrible. The area was extremely desolate and arid, making prolonged living difficult. Many men who traveled there died in their search for riches, succumbing to starvation, water deprivation, and disease.

A proper town sprang up in the area

It didnt take long for a settlement to be built near the gold deposits. Within a few years, several hotels and breweries were built that helped sustain the men digging for the precious metal. This little town was at first named Hannans, after the prospector who first identified gold in the region, but was later renamed Kalgoorlie. The addition of the Goldfields Water Supply pipeline made life much easier, as water become an accessible resource to the residents. This made Kalgoorlie even more attractive, promoting more people to take up residence there.

Gold deposits in different forms

The gold deposit discovered around Kalgoorlie had earned the name the Golden Mile, as it was determined that it held an estimated 1,500 tons of gold. About 70 to 75 percent of this gold occurs as native gold, while five to 10 percent is invisible gold found as minute particles or in crystal formations. The remaining 20 percent is tellurides, gold-bearing minerals.

Prospectors found what they believed was fools gold

In the rush to find native gold, many miners also found another telluride mineral called calaverite. Calaverite is a gold-bearing telluride, but miners who extracted it from the ground believed it to be pyrite, better known as fools gold due to its difference in appearance from native gold. As such, the miners discarded any calaverite they found, continuing their search for native gold instead.

The city was built with gold

Men were so convinced that the calaverite was fools gold that they tried to make use of it as a resource in other ways, such as the towns infrastructure. Buildings were built using calaverite. Everyone was unaware of the gold hidden within the mineral, so they unknowingly built the city of Kalgoorlie with gold. Even the walkways and roads were made from calaverite, meaning that the streets of Kalgoorlie were literally paved with gold.

Calaverite was identified as a gold-bearing mineral

For three years, people continued to build the city with calaverite. However, in 1896, someone made the distinction of calaverite from fools gold. Everyone realized they had been using the mineral in the construction of their town. This began an absolute frenzy to try and extract the gold contained in the buildings, roads, and walkways located all throughout the city.

There was a rush to get the gold back

Trying to get the calaverite out of the citys infrastructure in order to smelt it down and extract the gold was no easy task. Deconstructing buildings and roads was an arduous and costly endeavor, but gold is gold, so the people of Kalgoorlie took down every building and tore out every stone that had been made with calaverite. For about a decade after it was determined that calaverite wasnt fools gold, nearly everything that was constructed between 1893 and 1896 had been destroyed and tilled for the valuable mineral.

Gold mining has remained a vital part of Western Australia

The Golden Mile wasnt just prosperous back in the day. Even now, the gold deposits are actively mined. The largest open-pit gold mine in Australia is located there, called the Super Pit. In 2019, the company celebrated the pouring of its 50,000th gold bar, bringing the total amount of gold mined from the deposit over the last 120 years to a whopping 60 million ounces. And theres still more to be found.

It wasnt always smooth sailing for gold miners

There were three instances when the Golden Mile was not as profitable for miners. The first came in the early 20th century, when extraction and processing costs had increased, leading to a general decline in the gold industry in Australia. The second came at the advent of the Second World War, when there was a labor shortage as men were sent to fight. The third came during the second half of the 20th century, when gold no longer held its title as the states leading mineral for production value. By 1970, it only made up two percent of the value of all mining in Australia.

Kalgoorlie warns visitors not to search for gold

Today, people still try their hand at finding some gold for themselves in Kalgoorlie. However, the Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines have searched pretty much everywhere for it, making efforts futile for the rest of us. Some people have even tried to chip away at buildings and roads in Kalgoorlie, hoping to find calaverite within, but the city has made it illegal to do this. Anyone who damages city property in search of gold will have a hefty price to pay for it.

More from us: 7,000-Year-Old Road Discovered Off the Coast of Croatia

Although the rush for gold in Kalgoorlie is over now, the city will go down in history as the city accidentally built from gold.
On Memorial Day, honor our veterans

THE COMPASSUS program serving the Albuquerque Metro area and the surrounding areas reminds community members to pause this Memorial Day to acknowledge the true meaning of the national holiday. All Americans are encouraged to observe one minute of silence at 3 p.m. local time to remember and honor those who have died in military service to the United States.

CompassusAlbuquerque is a Level III partner of We Honor Veterans, a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, to empower hospice and other health care providers across the country to meet the unique needs of seriously ill veterans and their families. We Honor Veterans addresses the growing need for veteran-centered care as our servicemen and servicewomen age and need access to end-of-life services.

Matt Weissert, division president of Compassus and veteran of the U.S. Air Force, says we are honored to serve our veteran patients and their families and to recognize them along with our extraordinary veteran volunteers and team members. Memorial Day is about taking the time to honor Americas fallen heroes. It is a time to acknowledge sacrifice, to grieve for those lost and to provide comfort and support for their loved ones. It is often hard to put appreciation of this magnitude into words, but I encourage everyone to take some time to honor those that gave their lives so that we can remain free.

One out of four dying Americans is a veteran. As a We Honor Veterans partner, Compassus has demonstrated its commitment to providing relevant education and training for our team members and volunteers.

Elizabeth Ross, Albuquerque

As to geothermal, NM isnt Iceland

IN OUR most recent monthly climate change column (Journal May 8), the writer chastised MLG for not signing the geothermal energy bill passed in the recent legislative session. She also stated New Mexico should be more like Iceland and use our geothermal energy to generate electricity to help us prevent the terrible things that will happen to us if we dont quit using fossil fuels.

Comparing New Mexico to Iceland in terms of geothermal energy is not valid. Iceland has one third the area and less than one fifth the population we have in New Mexico. And in Iceland approximately 60% of the people live in Reykjavik and the surrounding area. That makes it much easier to provide power to most of its residents since hundreds of miles of transmission lines are not required. The geothermal sources in Iceland are close to the surface and do not require drilling hundreds or thousands of feet to access them, so they are much cheaper to use to generate electricity.

We have been hearing a lot lately about the false statements and claims that were made during the COVID pandemic, such as wearing masks, vaccines and lockdowns would protect us. The doctors, scientists, politicians, government and business leaders who made these statements knew they were false, but their only concern was keeping and enhancing their power, control and profits. I firmly believe in the future we will learn the same things regarding climate change. 

Jeffrey Peace, Kirtland
A leader of the pack of critically endangered Mexican gray wolves in New Mexico was killed last month by federal officials because of his recent penchant for hunting livestock, according to Fish and Wildlife Service officials.

Rusty, also known as AM1296, was killed in New Mexico on April 12, shortly after Brady McGee, the Fish and Wildlifes Mexican gray wolf recovery coordinator, announced the decision to take out the alpha of the Mangas Pack, which roams southwestern New Mexico in the northern Gila National Forest.

McGee said in a memo announcing the decision that the pack had killed 13 livestock in a 10-month period. Rusty, who wore a radio-collar, was directly linked to nine of those kills, though he sometimes hunted with another male, according to the memo.

Even without Rusty, the Mangas pack will have an adult, a sub-adult and three pups. McGee said that Rustys genes will continue to be present in the wild because he has offspring and siblings.

Further, we do not anticipate that the removal of AM1296 will impact the ability of the pack to raise pups because there are numerous yearlings and adult members of the pack to assist in raising pups, McGee said.

Aislinn Maestas, a spokeswoman for the wildlife service, said the decision to kill the wolf by gunshot was reached only after non-lethal management techniques were used.

Wolf advocates still raised concerns about Rustys death.

Chris Smith, a southwest wildlife advocate for WildEarth Guardians, said that killing the breeding or alpha male of a pack can disrupt pack dynamics. There can be in-fighting within the group, and younger wolves who are less experienced hunters can seek out livestock or carcasses  easier prey than an elk, for example  which can lead to more encounters with domesticated animals.

When you remove kind of a key figure in that social group, theres all kinds of things that can go awry, he said.

Maestas said the packs breeding female has denned and is raising currently raises the rare pups.

Mexican gray wolves remains critically endangered. Smith said there are fewer than 250 of the animals in the United States.

We should always just be reminded that this is an animal on the verge of extinction. And cattle are anything but, Smith said. Theyre out on the landscape to provide private profit. And I just think that needs to be reiterated and remembered every time one of these (wolves) is killed.

Other wildlife advocates also decried the decision.

Wolves belong in the wild, and each individual wolf is essential to the species survival, said Nina Eydelman, Animal Protection of New Mexicos chief program and policy officer  equine and wildlife. Ranchers who choose to place their domestic cattle on our public lands should have to accept the conditions that come with those public lands, including the presence of healthy populations of native carnivores. Wolves were there first.
Albuquerque police on Thursday identified an 18-year-old who was shot and injured by police earlier this week, as officers were trying to arrest another teen in connection with the murder of a high school student last year.

Isaac Reyes, 18, is recovering at a local hospital after being shot by police on Tuesday night.

Police said Reyes was shot while they were trying to arrest Isaiah Espinosa, 16, in connection with the shooting death of Albuquerque Academy student Jada Gonzales, 18, who was killed at house party in December 2022.

Gilbert Gallegos, a police spokesman, said in a news release that officers stopped a vehicle that Espinosa was in on Tuesday evening near Silver and Adams in southeast Albuquerque. The were four people total in the vehicle fled on foot and Reyes  who police said had a gun  was shot.

Gallegos said officers provided medical aid to Reyes after the shooting and he was transported to a local hospital. It wasnt clear Thursday if police plan to charge Reyes with any crimes once he is released from the hospital.

After shooting Reyes, Gallegos said officers took Espinosa into custody in connection with Gonzales death. Another man in the car, David Baldonado, 21, was arrested Tuesday evening on a felony warrant in a domestic violence case.

A female in the car at the time was questioned and released by police.

Two others, Jesse Parra, 19, and Cruz Medina, 16, were arrested in January in connection with Gonzaless death.
Where are all the migrants? we asked as we toured Juarez, Anapra, El Paso and Sunland Park on May 10 and 11.

Our first stop was the Sacred Heart church on Oregon Street where there were far fewer people on the streets than when I had last visited on April 28.

Then we crossed into Juarez to the site of the deadly fire that killed 40 migrants on March 27 where we spoke to a 16-year-old girl named Ana who had made the arduous journey from Venezuela with her father and her younger sister, Fatima, age 12.

They left Venezuela eight months ago, crossed the very dangerous Darien Gap, traveled with a small group instead of hiring a coyote because that would have been too expensive. They had spent two months in the Mexican governments Kiki Romero shelter in Juarez, a former gymnasium converted to shelter up to 200 people, but said it was so horrible that they decided to live on the street in a tent. Their hope is for an asylum hearing soon and they certainly deserve it.

We then took food and clothing to the nearby Respettrans shelter. They were housing roughly 200 migrants and there had been no additional influx due to Title 42.

We toured both the U.S. and the Mexican sides of the border wall to the west in the Sunland Park-Anapra area and eastward to the Zaragoza bridge, spotted a few migrants on the Mexican side, but no buildup.

On (May 11) we took food, clothing and medical supplies to Sacred Heart but there were only about 45 migrants there, far fewer than two weeks earlier.

Later we returned to Juarez and spent several hours driving around in the city center but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

In short ending Title 42 did bring about an increase in the number of migrants, but nothing like the chaos that was predicted.

Some conclusions.

Well continue to have a need for migrant shelters and its time, therefore, to set standards, support the nonprofits like Respettrans that are humane and cost-effective, force improvements in shelters like the Kiki Romero. Thus, I continue to recommend the creation of a U.S.-Mexico shelter task force that would include the involvement of those who run the nonprofits.

Since September 2022, Ive had extensive contact with Venezuelan migrants often in very harsh circumstances as when they were living in terrible conditions on the riverbank in Juarez across from El Paso. They have always displayed great optimism and courtesy and many would be assets to our economy if we had an expanded guest worker program to fit them.

Now, there are about 4 million unfilled jobs in the U.S. for which we have no workers.

Conditions in countries like Venezuela arent going to suddenly improve so we cant just focus on migration when theres an event like Title 42 and then forget about it.

In addition, a word of support for the Border Patrol and their extraordinarily difficult work. Congress could easily resolve their staffing shortage just as it could resolve the shortage of judges for asylum cases.

Last, we cant forget that this is an issue of humanity, not just political gain.

Morgan Smith has been reporting on border issues for the last decade and can be reached at Morgan-smith@comcast.net.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is set to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Japan in person.

According to recent reports, the Ukrainian leader will fly to Hiroshima on board a United States military plane.

Ukraine President Zelensky To Join G7 Japan Summit in Person

According to Bloomberg, officials in Japan previously announced that the Ukrainian president is joining the G7 leaders virtually on Sunday. His virtual attendance seeks to grace the additional summit session on Ukraine.

However, the sources of Bloomberg, who are familiar with the matter, say that President Zelenskiy is joining the Japan summit in person rather than virtually. The sources were unnamed since the attendance of the Ukraine leader is confidential.

The G7 Japan Summit holds immense importance for global affairs. Leaders from the world's most influential democracies discuss crucial issues shaping our collective future. The summit covers pressing topics, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine. With Zelensky's arrival, the stakes have been raised even higher.

Notably, President Zelensky has an array of critical topics to address during the G7 Summit centering on the escalating tensions with Russia. The upcoming visit of Zelenskiy to Hiroshima is quite significant due to its utter symbolism since it was the ground zero for the first-ever nuclear attack in 1945. In the present day, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been spewing various threats of possibly using atomic weapons against Ukraine.

Read Also: EU, Ukraine Show Solidarity on Europe Day, but Kyiv Membership Remains Uncertain

Ukraine President's Visits After Russian Invasion

The Ukraine President had his first-ever trip since Russia's invasion late last year. According to The Washington Post, Zelensky visited Washington in the United States to meet President Biden at the White House last December 2022. The Ukraine leader also addressed the US Congress during his visit last year.

Since then, Zelensky has visited various European countries to seek heightened Western support amid the Russian invasion. His recent trips include G-7 member countries, including Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy.

The Catholic News Agency reports that the Ukraine president and Pope Francis met last May 13, marking the first encounter between the two since the Russian invasion. Their meeting lasted for roughly 40 minutes, as Zelenskiy discussed the situation in Ukraine amidst the ongoing conflict with the Catholic leader.

After Zelensky's stop in Saudi Arabia to join the Arab League summit, the Ukraine leader reportedly continues with his international diplomatic discussions. He will fly via a US military plane to Hiroshima, Japan, to attend the G7 Summit. It marks his first-ever visit to Asia since the Russian invasion.

Related Article: China Warns Embassies Over 'Propaganda' Displays as Ukrainian, LGBTQ+ Flags Raised Among Buildings

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Two caregivers and another person have been charged in the April death of a 38-year-old developmentally disabled woman who was found to have suffered horrific injuries related to abuse while in the states care.

The abuse case is the one that led the state to terminate contracts with four health care providers involved and, on Thursday, Attorney General Raul Torrez suggested reforms to the states Developmental Disabilities Waiver program.

Torrez described the abuse as nothing short of torture.

He said the DD waiver program when it is well-executed allows for adults and children with disabilities to be cared for outside of institutions and in the community, looked after by either loved ones or trained professionals.

That was not the case for Mary Melero.

Authorities uncovered the alleged abuse on Feb. 27, when Angelita Chacon and her girlfriend, Patricia Hurtado, tried to drive a van across the border to Mexico. Melero was on the floor of the van with severe injuries: bedsores that went to the bone, open wounds that were septic and bruises from being restrained, according to court records.

Melero reportedly had been left in a bath at Chacons home for days at a time in her own urine and feces, among other abuses.

Border Patrol agents who found Melero described her as wanting to speak however, only tears fell from her eyes. One agent was so disturbed that he warned a colleague to not look, that he didnt want to see this.

Melero was taken to an El Paso hospital, where she had a heart attack and never regained consciousness before being taken off life support on April 7.

On Tuesday, Chacon, 52, Hurtado, 42, both of Rio Rancho, were charged with abuse and neglect of a resident resulting in death, false imprisonment, failure to report and conspiracy in the case. Luz Scott, 53, of Clovis, who allegedly let the women use her van to take Melero to Mexico, is charged with false imprisonment and conspiracy.

If convicted, Chacon and Hurtado  who have been booked into jail  face up to 20 years in prison. Scott, who has a warrant out for her arrest, faces up to three years in prison.

It is unclear if any of the three women have an attorney.

Background

Chacon is a convicted felon, charged with auto theft in 1999, who was initially denied a 2014 application to be a caregiver for the states DD waiver program. Torrezs office said Chacon filed an appeal and the ruling was overturned. Thats when she began caring for her son, now 29, who is developmentally disabled and on the waiver program.

Torrez said Meleros mother  her primary caregiver  died several years ago and in October 2020 she was placed in Chacons care.

Torrez said Chacon collected $236,000 in Medicaid funding since then for caring for Melero and Chacons son. Like Chacon, Hurtado collected $2,500 a month to care for Melero, although it is unclear the total amount she was given.

In March, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the states Department of Health terminated its contracts with At Home Advocacy Inc., New Vision Case Management, Lynn Barbour, LLC and Sylvester & Company, which had collected hundreds of thousands in Medicaid dollars for overseeing Meleros care.

On Thursday, Torrez said At Home Advocacy Inc., which provides residential in-home care, documented several visits to Chacons home up to a month before she showed up at the border. He said his office is looking into the quality of those visits and whether they had even occurred or were just billed.

At Home Advocacy said, in a released statement, All instances of neglect and abuse must be addressed head on. The recent arrests are an important step in doing just that. We intend to continue cooperating with investigators, as we have all along.

None of the other providers could be reached for comment.

In all, officials said the four companies provided care for up to 700 adults and took in anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of federal dollars for those services.

In March, Lujan Grisham also announced a plan to check in on thousands of other disabled adults who receive care as part of the state program.

At the news conference Thursday, Torrez said the state had done wellness checks on 6,800 DD waiver participants between March 20 and April 21. He said officials found 61 cases of possible substantiated abuse and eight of those have been referred to Torrezs office for possible prosecution.

Torrez said they are all active investigations and no charges have been filed.

I have a suspicion that before we are done, we will have several more instances of, not only criminal referrals, but likely prosecutions resulting from abuse and neglect in this population, he said. But it is difficult, at this point, to know how wide and how severe this problem truly goes.

Meleros case

When Melero was placed in Chacons care in 2020 she could reportedly walk, talk, shower and make simple meals for herself. By the time she was found, authorities say Melero was clinging to life.

On Feb. 27, Chacon and Hurtado tried to drive into Ciudad Juarez around 7 p.m. but Mexican authorities thought they were suspicious and found marijuana inside the van, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in Sandoval County Magistrate Court. The pair were ordered back to the El Paso checkpoint for further inspection and agents found Melero on a piece of foam under the backseat.

Authorities said Meleros lips were stitched, she had huge bedsores and dirty bandages covered open wounds on her body. Chacon told agents she gave Melero the antihistamine Benadryl and was bringing her to a doctor in Mexico because hospitals in America couldnt treat her.

After Melero was taken to a hospital, Chacon was cold and indifferent and she and Hurtado were eager to head back to Rio Rancho, according to the affidavit. Melero had a heart attack  caused by septic shock from the wounds covering her body  shortly after arriving and she lost consciousness.

Authorities said the van was registered to Scott and she had followed behind the van in Chacons car on the trip to Mexico. Scott told New Mexico State Police Chacon had called her and asked if she could bring penicillin to her Rio Rancho home.

Scott told police when she saw Meleros wounds, she told Chacon antibiotics wouldnt do any good, according to the affidavit. She said Chacon asked to borrow her van to seek help in Mexico.

Authorities said Scott then asked for an attorney.

On March 10, Chacon told FBI agents that Melero came to live with her on Oct. 31, 2020, describing her as so smart but also sneaky, conniving.

Agents said Chacon told them Melero broke her and she couldnt take it anymore. She told agents Melero had recently thrown a stereo at her so Chacon threw it back, splitting Meleros lip.

Chacon told agents she didnt seek medical help, fearing her son would be taken from her care, and had a friend stitch Meleros lips with a kit bought online, according to the affidavit. Chacon detailed multiple physical fights between Melero and her, with Hurtado also getting involved.

Agents said Chacon told them she begged a supervisor with At Home Advocacy Inc. to remove Melero from her home but they did nothing. Chacon also said AHA was billing for nursing hours that never happened.

Chacon told agents in November or December Melero got combative and started defecating and urinating in the bath tub, according to the affidavit. She said she would leave Melero in the tub, covered in her own waste, for up to three days  only asking if she wanted anything to eat.

Agents said Chacon told them she told Melero she could stay like that if she wanted to live like that but she reported the behavior to AHA. Chacon said after one fight in which Hurtado repeatedly hit Melero in the head, an AHA supervisor told her to call the cops.

Chacon told agents a behavior consultant with Lynn Barbour LLC told her she had the right to defend herself (against Melero) in any way she could, according to the affidavit. Chacon said in January Melero began to defecate and urinate all over her room and, on Feb. 28, she saw Meleros wounds and panicked.

Agents said Chacon told them she didnt want to take Melero to a hospital in New Mexico out of fear her son would be taken away due to Meleros injuries. Chacon said they were going to a hospital in Texas but made a wrong turn into Mexico.

The FBI called the AHA supervisor and she told them Chacon received just over $5,000 monthly to care for both her son and Melero.

Agents said AHA received more than $236,000 in Medicaid dollars for Meleros placement and care since February 2020. The provider documented nine instances where they billed for services, for visits or otherwise since July 2022.

Agents said the supervisor told them Melero had weekly video visits with a behavior consultant and monthly wellness visits at Chacons home, according to the affidavit. She said the last home visit was Jan. 25 and body checks were not done but no injuries were seen on Melero.

The supervisor told agents the next wellness visit was set for Feb. 27 but Chacon called to reschedule.

On April 7, Melero was taken off life support after being on a ventilator for 35 days.

An official cause of death has not been released by the Office of the Medical Investigator. Doctors told agents Melero came in suffering from sepsis and pneumonia.
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez on Thursday said he has very serious concerns that Mary Melero isnt the only developmentally disabled person on the states waiver program that fell victim to abuse.

He called the 38-year-old womans death, allegedly at the hands of her caretakers, a wake up call.

Torrez suggested several reforms to the DD waiver program, which he said is very well intentioned, but could benefit from more resources and oversight.

He said additional staffing and training for in-home visits, pointing out that there are only 12 inspectors to oversee a population of nearly 7,000 members.

With that staffing level, Torrez said less than 10% of clients such as Melero would get a random inspection once a year.

I dont think thats probably their preference. I just think its a function of what theyre capable of doing with current resources, he said. For others like (Melero), really what I worry about right now is, Who else is out there?'

Torrez said there should be checkups at least every two months, adding that other states rely on technology and other resources to keep tabs on members.

He said there needs to be regular health and safety inspections by the state on the providers themselves who, up until now, are self-reporting abuse. He said an independent system of checks and balances is needed.

If you are the leader of a company  you have a very lucrative contract thats at stake with the state of New Mexico, he said. What real incentive do you have to self report that someone in your system has been engaged in this kind of abuse and neglect? Probably not a lot, right? Because your concern is, if I report this, could it mean the end of the contract.

Torrez said there needs to be mandatory referrals to law enforcement for any substantiated case of abuse, neglect and exploitation. He said there also needs to be more public awareness, so community members know where to report allegations of abuse or concerns and be on the lookout.

Lastly, Torrez said the Legislature needs to look at new civil and criminal penalties for companies and providers who operate in the waiver program. He said, as it stands, providers can face civil penalties outlined in their contract, but there is not a state statute to be enforced.

Torrez called the current system inadequate.

He thought of parents like Meleros mother, who died not knowing where her child would end up, or who would care for her.

They live with this fear of What happens to my child when Im gone? And they shouldnt have that fear, Torrez said. In the back of their minds, what theyre wondering is, What if he ends up in a home like this and Im not there to protect them?

Thats where the government steps in, he added. Thats what the state of New Mexico and the Department of Health needs to step in and make sure that weve done this the right way.
Police were investigating Jamol Pete in connection with a 2019 shooting death when they learned he had also sexually abused a 13-year-old girl at gunpoint and recorded the attack on video, attorneys said at his sentencing hearing Thursday.

Second Judicial District Judge David Murphy sentenced Pete, 22, to 25 years in prison after hearing from the young victim of the sexual attack.

The girl said she has experienced emotional breakdowns and was hospitalized for psychiatric treatment after the 2019 attack.

Not only did he take a life, but he ruined mine, the girl said of Pete in a letter read at the hearing. The girl attended the hearing remotely by video.

I was a 13-year-old girl, your honor, when he took my innocence, she said. He not only sexually abused me, but he emotionally and physically abused me. Hes not a man  hes a predator.

A prosecutor said Pete pointed a gun at the girl and made a video recording of the attack, which prosecutors used to build a case against him.

Pete pleaded guilty in December to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of 18-year-old Noah Najera, who was found fatally shot in a parking lot of the Canyon Vista Apartments at Montgomery and Morningside NE on Dec. 16, 2019.

Pete also pleaded guilty to criminal sexual contact with a minor, attempted criminal sexual penetration of a minor and manufacturing visual medium of sexual exploitation of children.

The sexual attack also took place in December 2019, court records show.

Petes attorney, Stefanie Gulley, said Pete had adults in his life to model to him what appropriate behavior looks like.

Gulley said she was shocked that the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department had no role in Petes life. Guns and drugs were a part of his environment from early childhood, she said.

Our system failed him, I do believe, from day one, Gulley said. He was never given a fair opportunity in life to realize what it looks like to be an upstanding citizen.
HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP)  Leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies warned China and North Korea against building up their nuclear arsenals, pivoting to major northeast Asian crises ahead of the arrival later Saturday of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The focus on Asia at the Group of Seven summit comes as leaders tighten sanctions meant to punish Moscow and change the course of its 15-month invasion of Ukraine. Japan confirmed that Zelenskyys decision to attend the G7 in person stemmed from his strong wish to participate in talks that will influence his nations defense against Russia.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that President Joe Biden and Zelenskyy would have direct engagement at the summit, a day after Biden announced his support for training Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, a precursor to eventually providing those aircraft to Ukraines Air Force.

World leaders have faced a high-stakes balancing act in Hiroshima as they look to address a raft of global worries demanding urgent attention, including climate change, AI, poverty and economic instability, nuclear proliferation and, above all, the war in Ukraine.

China, the worlds No. 2 economy, sits at the nexus of many of those concerns.

There is increasing anxiety in Asia that Beijing, which has been steadily building up its nuclear bomb program, could try to seize Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict. China claims the self-governing island as its own and regularly sends ships and warplanes near it.

The G7 leaders issued a statement warning that Chinas accelerating build-up of its nuclear arsenal without transparency (or) meaningful dialogue poses a concern to global and regional stability.

North Korea, which has been testing missiles at a torrid pace in an attempt to perfect a nuclear program meant to target the mainland United States, must completely abandon its nuclear bomb ambitions, the leaders said, including any further nuclear tests or launches that use ballistic missile technology. North Korea cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon State under international nuclear treaties, the statement said.

The green light on F-16 training is the latest shift by the Biden administration as it moves to arm Ukraine with more advanced and lethal weaponry, following earlier decisions to send rocket launcher systems and Abrams tanks. The United States has insisted that it is sending weapons to Ukraine to defend itself and has discouraged attacks by Ukraine into Russian territory.

Weve reached a moment where it is time to look down the road again to say what is Ukraine going to need as part of a future force, to be able to deter and defend against Russian aggression as we go forward, Sullivan said.

An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity to brief reporters on the deliberations, said Zelenskyy will take part in two separate sessions Sunday. The first session will be with G7 members only and will focus on the war in Ukraine. The second session will include the G7 as well as the other nations invited to take part in the summit, and will focus on peace and stability.

The G7 leaders also used their summit to roll out a new wave of global sanctions on Moscow as well as plans to enhance the effectiveness of existing financial penalties meant to constrain President Vladimir Putins war effort.

Our support for Ukraine will not waver, the G7 leaders said in a statement released after closed-door meetings. They vowed to stand together against Russias illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.

Russia started this war and can end this war, they said.

Zelenskyy has consistently called for the supply of Western fighter jets to bolster his countrys defenses against Russias invasion, but has until now faced skepticism from the United States that they would turn the tide in the war.

Now, as Ukraine has improved its air defenses with a host of Western-supplied anti-aircraft systems and prepares to launch a counteroffensive against Russia, officials believe the jets could become useful in the battle and essential to the countrys long-term security.

Bidens decisions on when, how many, and who will provide the fourth-generation F-16 fighter jets will be made in the months ahead while the training is underway, Biden told leaders.

The F-16 training is to be conducted in Europe and will likely begin in the coming weeks. Thats according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Bidens private conversations with allies.

Zelenskyy said Friday that he had opened a visit to Saudi Arabia, where Arab leaders were holding their own summit.

The latest sanctions aimed at Russia include tighter restrictions on already-sanctioned people and firms involved in the war effort. More than 125 individuals and organizations across 20 countries have been hit with U.S. sanctions. The financial penalties have been primarily focused on sanctions evaders connected to technology procurement for the Kremlin. The Commerce Department also added 71 firms to its own list.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Friday sanctions will further tighten the vise on Putins ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions.

In addition, new reporting requirements were issued for people and firms that have any interest in Russian Central Bank assets. The purpose is to fully map holdings of Russias sovereign assets that will remain immobilized in G7 jurisdictions until Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine, the U.S. Treasury Department said.

Russia is now the most-sanctioned country in the world, but there are questions about the effectiveness.

Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said going into the summit that while G7 countries deserve credit for their sanctions, Russia still maintains capacity to fight this war in the long term.

She added that wars costs are easily manageable for Russia in the next couple of years at least, and the cumulative effect of sanctions is just not strong enough to radically alter that.

The G7 nations said in Fridays statement that they would work to keep Russia from using the international financial system to prosecute its war, and they urged other nations to stop providing Russia with support and weapons or face severe costs.

World leaders Friday visited a peace park dedicated to the tens of thousands who died in the worlds first wartime atomic bomb detonation. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, wants nuclear disarmament to be a major focus of discussions.

The peace park contains reminders of Aug. 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, a city that has become synonymous with anti-nuclear peace efforts.

Biden, who scrapped plans to travel on to Papua New Guinea and Australia after his stay in Japan so that he can get back to debt limit talks in Washington, arranged to meet Saturday on the G-7 sidelines with leaders of the so-called Quad partnership, made up of Japan, Australia, India and the U.S.

As G7 attendees made their way to Hiroshima, Moscow unleashed yet another aerial attack on the Ukrainian capital. Loud explosions thundered through Kyiv during the early hours, marking the ninth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the city after weeks of relative quiet.

In a bit of dueling diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting the leaders of the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for a two-day summit in the Chinese city of Xian.

The G7 leaders are also to discuss efforts to strengthen the global economy and address rising prices that are squeezing families and government budgets around the world, particularly in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

A U.S. official said the leaders on Saturday would issue a joint communique outlining new projects in the G7s global infrastructure development initiative, which is meant to offer countries an alternative to Chinas investment dollars.

The G7 includes Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union.

__

Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Elaine Kurtenbach and Mari Yamaguchi in Hiroshima, Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.
New Mexicos former state archaeologist has filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit alleging he was fired this year in retaliation for reporting to human resources rumors of an illicit sexual affair between his boss and a subordinate.

Eric Blinman, who was fired in Feb. 13 as longtime director of the New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies, also alleges his termination was motivated by age, race and sex discrimination.

Blinman, a 59-year-old white male, had served 17 years as the states archaeologist. He was under the supervision of Department of Cultural Affairs Secretary Debra Garcia y Griego, who was appointed in 2019 by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

The suit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, names Garcia y Griego and Lujan Grisham among the defendants. The suit asks for unspecified damages, fees and costs.

Maddy Hayden, a spokeswoman for Lujan Grisham, called the allegations outlined in an email from the Journal based on the suit completely false.

Daniel Zillmann, spokesman for the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, echoed the Governors Office.

These allegations against Cabinet Secretary Garcia y Griego are both untrue and unfounded, Zillmann wrote in a statement Friday morning. I will reiterate what has been stated on multiple occasions and remains relevant: while no reason was required by the statute for dismissal of at-will employees, there was sound and carefully considered reasoning behind the termination of Dr. Blinman.

The lawsuits whistleblower allegations center on a report Blinman made in 2022 to the human resources director at the Department of Cultural Affairs.

Blinman reported a rumor that he said was circulating among Cultural Affairs staff members that Garcia y Griego was having a sexual affair with a subordinate, the suit alleges.

Mr. Blinman believed that the rumor itself had the potential to negatively impact the efficiency of the department and was not in keeping with the States code of professional conduct, it said.

Blinmans attorney, Merit Bennett, said Thursday that Blinman wrongly believed his report would remain confidential.

We dont know exactly what happened, but obviously the confidential reporting was disclosed to Garcia y Griego, who has a friendship with the governor, Bennett said. So basically they began to retaliate against Dr. Blinman.

The retaliation included Garcia y Griegos refusal to provide Blinman with staff members he requested, the suit alleges.

Garcia y Griego knew that not providing Dr. Blinman with this hiring authority would deprive him with competent employees and necessary tools to enable him to effectively perform his job duties, the suit said.

In an interview with the Journal published in February, Blinman said the Department of Cultural Affairs had denied his requests to hire a deputy director and another staff member to handle finances.

Blinman said in February he had made an official complaint to the states Office of Human Resources, citing a hostile work environment, just weeks before he was fired.

Bennett said the departments refusal to allow Blinman to hire personnel is an issue in the lawsuit.

He needed the resources and they basically starve him out, Bennett said.

The suit also alleges that age, race and sex discrimination played a role in the decision to fire Blinman.

Basically, they wanted to get him out of there because he was an older white guy, Bennett said. Thats the other aspect of this case, that there was a civil rights violation happening at the same time as the whistleblower violation, he said.
Title 42, the health decree allowing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials to quickly expel asylum seekers on the southern U.S. border, expired on May 11. Under this policy, a person crossing illegally into the U.S. could be expelled multiple times without a fine or long-term banishment.

Title 42 was replaced by Title 8, which is the longstanding U.S. border policy that deports, not expels people who cross illegally. Unlike Title 42, crossing illegally under Title 8 has consequences that could involve being fined or banned from attempting to access the process to legally enter the U.S. for years. There was much confusion leading up to the changing of border policy, and many migrants were fed bad information from human traffickers that the end of Title 42 meant an open border in which they could freely cross.

This did indeed cause an uptick in the numbers of migrants gathering in Mexican border cities such as Juarez, waiting for Title 42 to end. Some didnt wait and surrendered themselves to CBP officials before May 11, causing cross-border delays and congestion at rescue missions and churches in cities such as El Paso.

On the day Title 42 expired, I drove from Santa Teresa, New Mexico, to downtown El Paso, where the bulk of migrants in the region have been entering the U.S. to seek asylum at the Bridge of the Americas.

I, like everybody else, have been watching the national press reporting that the border would be chaos and a mess after the expiration of Title 42. For this very fact, I have tended to avoid downtown El Paso for the past few weeks.

Driving the 15 minutes between Santa Teresa and downtown El Paso took me along the border wall and Rio Grande. Upon entering Texas, I immediately saw strings of barbed wire that had been laid north of the river. There were Texas DPS and National Guard vehicles pointing towards Juarez. I drove cautiously along the border wall, fearful that migrants would be scaling this wall, entering the U.S., and running desperately across the border highway. However, I did not see any migrants crossing the river, being apprehended by officials, or crossing the road.

Arriving in downtown El Paso, I took a drive to a couple rescue missions expecting to see migrants milling around the buildings seeking aid. I saw exactly one person with a backpack within the gates of the El Paso Rescue Mission. Driving around the streets, I saw some younger people with backpacks, but I could not tell if they were migrants or students who live in Juarez and come to school in El Paso on a daily basis.

I took a drive to the Sacred Heart Church, where there had been reports of hundreds, if not thousands of migrants arriving there for assistance. I arrived to see the road adjacent to the church blocked on both sides and a few migrants milling around on the street. Across from the church, three El Paso policemen were present. Some pedestrians, whom I perceived to be migrants, were walking down the sidewalk. However, driving around downtown El Paso felt like driving in a ghost town. I have never seen this area so calm and quiet in the late afternoon. I saw tens, not hundreds or thousands, of what I believed to be migrants on my trip. I subsequently returned a few more times on different days to monitor the situation. While the number of migrants in downtown El Paso fluctuated on certain days, they were by no means spilling out of shelters and into the streets in masses.

Did I, like so many other people, get swept up in the hyperbole that the northbound trek of migrants would be unmanageable and cause severe problems? Undoubtedly, there have been thousands of migrants entering border cities such as El Paso. However, as El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego stated, We have a manageable crisis. If migrants can prove that they have a certain level of fear factor because of political, religious, or other persecution back in their home countries, they will be paroled into the U.S., where they can wait as their asylum process unfolds.

Seeing such a deserted downtown El Paso, I began to wonder where the thousands of migrants had gone who were reported entering the U.S. in the weeks before the end of Title 42. It became obvious to me that migrants receiving parole in the U.S., who are not remanded to holding camps or shelters, arrange for quick transport by bus or other mode of transportation to live with relatives or associates while they wait for their asylum proceedings, which can often take more than a year. They are not generally staying in cities such as El Paso, but are traveling to cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and New York. Other migrants are mindful of the penalties that Title 8 can impose, and are choosing to use legal pathways such as the CBP mobile asylum app, to attempt to come to the U.S.

At present, public officials and non-governmental organizations seem to be handling the situation safely and efficiently. The shifting of resources and preparedness have been key to this success.

Next column: Why are we letting migrants into the U.S., and what can they do when they are here?

Jerry Pacheco is the executive director of the International Business Accelerator, a nonprofit trade counseling program of the New Mexico Small Business Development Centers Network. He can be reached at 575-589-2200 or at jerry@nmiba.com.<br>
CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  Police shocked a 95-year-old woman with a stun gun as she approached them using a walker and carrying a steak knife in an Australian nursing home, sending her to the hospital in critical condition after her head hit the floor.

The extraordinary police takedown of Clare Nowland, who has dementia, on Wednesday prompted a high-level police internal investigation.

It also has sparked debate about how New South Wales state police use stun guns, which are widely known as Tasers after a major manufacturer. They are a less lethal option than firearms but have occasionally proved more dangerous than other policing options.

Police said Nowland received her injuries from striking her head on the floor, rather than directly from the stun guns debilitating electric shock.

Two police officers went to Yallambee Lodge, a nursing home in the town of Cooma that specializes in residents with higher care needs including dementia, after staff reported that Nowland had taken a serrated steak knife from the kitchen.

Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter declined to say whether he thought a police officer with 12 years experience used excessive force by firing a stun gun at Nowland, who is 1.57 meters (5 feet, 2 inches) tall and weighs 43 kilograms (95 pounds).

Cotter said police engaged in negotiations with Nowland for several minutes and used the stun gun when she approached the doorway where the officers were standing.

At the time she was tasered, she was approaching police. But it is fair to say at a slow pace. She had a walking frame. But she had a knife. I cant take it any further as to what was going through anyones mind, Cotter told reporters.

Nicole Lee, president of the advocacy group People with Disability Australia, said she was shocked by the police response.

Shes either one hell of an agile, fit, fast and intimidating 95-year-old woman, or theres a very poor lack of judgment on those police officers and there really needs to be some accountability on their side, Lee said.

Family spokesperson Andrew Thaler said Nowlands dementia waxes and wanes.

The question will be, how was it appropriate to use this level of force on a 95-year-old woman? Thaler was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald.

Cotter described video from the two police officers body cameras of the incident as confronting footage. But he said the video was part of an internal police investigation and it would not be in the public interest to be releasing that.

Cotter said the police officer who fired the stun gun was currently not in the workplace, but it was unclear whether the officer was suspended.

Nowland, a great-grandmother, made headlines in 2008 when she went skydiving to celebrate her 80th birthday.
Jane, a 3-year-old Labrador-griffon mix, and Tiger Lily, an 8-year-old rescue-party mix, made a little New Mexico history Monday. The two well-traveled dogs were the first to visit the log cabins of Valles Caldera since the national preserve amended where leashed pets are allowed.

The change is part of the protected areas frontcountry expansion, said Dave Krueger, chief of interpretation at Valles Caldera National Preserve.

Were trying to provide more options for people that travel with pets, Krueger told the Journal, since we know a majority, or close to a majority, of people do travel with their pets and want to have at least some options when they go to national parks.

The preserve, which is part of the National Park System, is located less than a 100 miles north of Albuquerque and 60 miles northwest of Santa Fe. It encompasses nearly all of a 13.7-mile-wide volcanic crater plus the meadows, streams, historic buildings and wildlife within it.

On May 15, the National Park Service roughly doubled the area designated as frontcountry, Krueger said. Frontcountry areas generally have more services for visitors like roads, restrooms and educational displays.

Previously, the frontcountry in Valles Caldera National Preserve consisted of the 2 miles of road from the parks edge to the entrance station. Now it runs about 4 miles into the preserve, allowing visitors and their leashed pets to drive to the Cabin District and explore nine twentieth-century buildings built back when the land was privately owned and used for ranching.

They can see more of Valle Grande, have a better chance to view elk from different locations as well as they have some other trail options up in the Cabin District that they can do, thats now considered the frontcountry, Krueger said.

Leashed pets are also allowed on La Jara Trail, Coyote Call Trail, Valle Grande Trail and in the parking lot of the Valle Grande entrance station. Pet owners must make sure their animals are respectful of the wildlife, the resources and of other visitors, Krueger said. Owners are also responsible for cleaning up after their pets.

Ill be there soon with doggie bags in my pack! one Facebook user said in response to the preserves post about the change.

A few other Facebook users had questions or comments about animals in the backcountry portion of Valles Caldera. That area continues to be off limits to pets, Krueger said.

Were preserving the land, the landscape, for the wild ecosystem thats out there, he said. Not having those wildlife-pet interactions is important.

The land in the Cabin District, however, has already been impacted by people and their domesticated animals. It makes sense to allow pets there because the human imprint in that area makes encounters between wildlife and pets less likely, Krueger said.

Jessica Harbin, guardian of Jane and Tiger Lily, was delightfully surprised by the policy change that allowed her and her partner Jim Gascoigne to take their dogs deeper than they expected into the preserve.

If they werent allowed past the entrance lot, we werent really going past the entrance lot! Harbin said. Since they were allowed to go up to the Cabin District, we got to see and learn more about the area, which was great.

Rules for pets

Pets must be kept under physical control at all times  caged, crated or on a leash no longer than six feet in length.

Pet owners must clean-up and dispose of pet feces.

Pet owners are prohibited from leaving an unattended pet tied to an object.

Service animals are allowed in the park but emotional support therapy animals are not allowed on trails, other non-motorized areas or in vehicles that go into the backcountry.

For more information on pet safety and regulations at Valles Caldera National Preserve, visit www.nps.gov/vall/planyourvisit/pets.htm

Upcoming public comment

Valles Caldera National Preserve is also in the process of holding public comment meetings to share concepts and get feedback on their general management plan which addresses what infrastructure the park should invest in. The public comment period runs from May 8 to June 9. More information can be found on Valles Caldera National Preserves Facebook page or at https://www.nps.gov/vall/getinvolved/planning.htm
Netflix/YouTube Music

The former One Direction member is recognized for his hit single 'As It Was' while the former vocalist of the Police takes home the top honor this year.

May 19, 2023

AceShowbiz - Sting, James, Harry Styles, and Raye become the winners at this year's Ivor Novello Awards with Amazon Music. The former Police frontman delivered a special rendition of his song "Message in a Bottle" at the ceremony held at the Grosvenor House hotel in London on Thursday, May 18 as he was honoured with the prestigious Fellowship of The Ivors Academy, joining the likes of Sir Paul McCartney and Kate Bush in receiving the accolade.

Raye sang "Escapism", and she and her co-writers 070 Shake and Mike Sabath won the award for Best Contemporary Song for the track. As she was handed her gong, an emotional Raye was reduced to tears and she used her acceptance speech to urge major record labels to do more to help songwriters earn more for their work.

She said, "I've really fought really hard [for this] I started my songwriting career when I was 14 years old after school at BRITs School I was like I just need to be the best I can be. I saw one of these [awards] at 15 and I was like, 'Oh my goodness.' So this is ridiculous."

"I have to take this opportunity to address all the major label representatives in this room. It would be an insult to suggest that you go to work for free, it's an insult that you think that songwriters should do the same. It's time  Songwriters are the beating heart of this industry and it's time to show songwriters respect, I had to use this opportunity to say this. Thank you so much to the Ivors Academy."

Matilda Mann also sang, treating the audience to a cover of Blondie's "Heart of Glass" in honour of the group's Debbie Harry and Chris Stein receiving the Special International Award.

British indie band James - comprising Tim Booth, Saul Davies, Jim Glennie, Larry Gott, and Mark Hunter - scooped the PRS for Music Icon Award. Speaking on the red carpet ahead of the ceremony, Tim quipped to BANG Showbiz and other media about the honour, "Every day I get up and look in the mirror and go, 'There goes an icon.' "

Insisting that the focus for the group is to keep making new music and not allowing themselves to become a heritage act that only plays their greatest hits on tour, he added, "We don't look back. We never listen to our back catalogue, we're always looking forward."

"We think one of the best records we made was the last record and we keep being bloody-minded and we change the set at every gig and we play a lot of new songs and our audience get it and the ones that don't they don't and they don't come and we're happy with that and we've always been happy with that We've always been like, 'People will catch up with great music, so just do your thing and they will come to you in the end."

Other winners included Charli XCX, who scooped the Visionary Award with Amazon Music, Little Mix, Dua Lipa, and The Saturdays' songwriter Kamille, who was honoured with the Outstanding Song Collection award, and Victoria Canal, who took home the Rising Star Award with Amazon Music.

The 2023 Ivor Novello Awards with Amazon Music winners:

Academy Fellowship: Sting

Best Album: "11" - Written by Dean " Inflo " Josiah Cover, Jamar McNaughton , Cleopatra Nikolic , and Jack Penate - Performed by SAULT

" Josiah Cover, , , and - Performed by Best Contemporary Song: "Escapism" - Written by 070 Shake , Raye , and Mike Sabath - Performed by Raye and 070 Shake

, , and - Performed by and Best Original Film Score: " Don't Worry Darling " - Composed by John Powell

" - Composed by Best Original Video Game Score: " Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope " - Composed by Gareth Coker , Grant Kirkhope , and Yoko Shimomura

" - Composed by , , and Best Song Musically and Lyrically: "King" - Written by Jack Antonoff and Florence Welch - Performed by Florence and the Machine

and - Performed by Best Television Soundtrack: " The Midwich Cuckoos " - Composed by Hannah Peel

" - Composed by Outstanding Song Collection: Kamille

PRS for Music Icon Award: Tim Booth , Saul Davies , Jim Glennie , Larry Gott , and Mark Hunter for James

, , , , and for PRS for Music Most Performed Work: "As It Was" - Written by Kid Harpoon , Tyler Johnson , and Harry Styles - Performed by Harry Styles

, , and - Performed by Rising Star Award with Amazon Music: Victoria Canal

Songwriter of the Year with Amazon Music: Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers

and Special International Award: Debbie Harry and Chris Stein

and Visionary Award with Amazon Music: Charli XCX

You can share this post!
British Vogue Magazine/Steven Meisel Celebrity

The 'Wrecking Ball' hitmaker used to feel ashamed and guilty about the controversy she created as she got rid of her Disney image for a more mature one.

May 19, 2023

AceShowbiz - Miley Cyrus admitted to feeling "guilty" in the past about the controversy she caused when she broke away from her child star image. The 30-year-old pop megastar became a teen idol when she started playing the title role on the hit TV series "Hannah Montana" in the late-2000s but infamously shed her Disney Channel image upon quitting the show with raunchy singles such as "We Can't Stop" and "Wrecking Ball" as she matured into her twenties and, while she used to feel "shame" about the upset she caused, she now believes that she was "harshly judged" by others.

"I carried some guilt and shame around myself for years because of how much controversy and upset I really caused. Now that I'm an adult, I realise how harshly I was judged. I was harshly judged as a child by adults and now, as an adult, I realise that I would never harshly judge a child," she told British Vogue.

Meanwhile, the "Jaded" hitmaker divorced "The Last Song" co-star Liam Hemsworth in 2020 after less than two years of marriage and has now reflected that she "wouldn't erase" any part of her history as she continues to make "proud" choices that "protect" her as she goes through life.

She added, "I wouldn't erase my story or want it to be erased. Having an interesting life makes for interesting storytelling. I make choices that I'm proud of that protect me... I put my mental and physical health before a paycheque..."

"I freed up space for myself to be with friends and family doing what I love, which is working out, eating well, learning ways about how to enhance my life, staying dedicated to practices and protocols that are specifically designed for me."

You can share this post!
China urges G7 members to stop making provocations on Taiwan question

Xinhua) 11:22, May 19, 2023

BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Thursday urged the United States, Japan and other G7 members to stop conniving at and supporting "Taiwan independence" forces, stop making provocations and playing with fire on the Taiwan question.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily press briefing, in response to media reports that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that Japan shares the position during the G7 summit that the issue of Taiwan should be resolved peacefully through dialogue and sent out the message.

It was also stated by Japanese media that G7 members are coordinating on including such content as "the importance of peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait" into the summit joint statement.

Wang said the real threat to cross-Strait peace and stability is the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' unwillingness to recognize the 1992 Consensus which embodies the one-China principle, separatist activities to seek "Taiwan independence" and attempts to change the status quo that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China.

The United States, Japan and certain countries have been fudging and hollowing out the one-China principle, and echoing and collaborating with "Taiwan independence" forces in political, military and economic dimensions. It is quite clear they are also responsible for the tensions in the Taiwan Strait, he said.

To keep the Taiwan Strait peaceful, it is essential to unequivocally uphold the one-China principle and oppose risky and provocative moves by "Taiwan independence" forces and resolutely contain foreign connivance and support for "Taiwan independence" activities, Wang pointed out.

He said those who talk about peace in the Taiwan Strait without mentioning the need to oppose "Taiwan independence" forces will only embolden the separatists as they solicit foreign support for "Taiwan independence" and take reckless moves, which can only mean greater danger to the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Those who talk about peaceful resolution of the Taiwan question without mentioning the need to support China's reunification are actually trying to impede China's reunification and create a "peaceful division". The Chinese people will firmly oppose it, he added.

Wang said China is committed to striving for peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and the utmost effort.

China will not accept any attempt by anyone or any force to curb the effort to stop separatism for "Taiwan independence", Wang said, adding that China will not allow anyone or any force to meddle in China's own affairs under the disguise of seeking peace.

China urges the United States, Japan and other G7 members to adhere to the political documents on their bilateral relations with China, follow the one-China principle, stop conniving at and supporting "Taiwan independence" forces, stop making provocations and playing with fire on the Taiwan question and never stand on the opposite side of over 1.4 billion Chinese people, Wang said.

"Those playing with fire will get burnt," he added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
(Photo : BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

A person holds a sign during a press conference about their opposition to a TikTok ban on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on March 22, 2023.

Five TikTok users who also create content for the short-video app filed a lawsuit late Wednesday in US District Court in Montana to prevent the state's new prohibition on the Chinese-owned platform.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed legislation banning TikTok in the state, effective January 1. The five users want to obstruct the law, which makes it illegal for Google and Apple's app stores to offer TikTok within the state.

TikTok Users Seek to Overturn Montana's Statewide Ban

Over 150 million Americans utilize the video application. The lawsuit names Attorney General of Montana Austin Knudsen. According to The Strait Times, TikTok users argue that the state is attempting to "exercise powers over national security that Montana does not possess and to suppress expression that Montana may not prohibit."

Users assert in their lawsuit that the law violates their First Amendment rights. Knudsen did not comment immediately. The case has been assigned to Judge Donald Molloy, who was appointed to the bench in 1995 by former Democratic president Bill Clinton.

TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance, stated that Montana's prohibition "violates the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana by unlawfully prohibiting TikTok" and that it will "continue to defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana."

Read Also: Never-Before-Seen Titanic Wreckage Revealed in Largest Underwater Scanning Project

Critics: Montana's TikTok Ban Violates Free Speech

In the complaint, Montana residents also argued that the state has no authority over matters of national security. The complaint states that the law restricts and prohibits the protected speech of all TikTok users in Montana to prevent the speculative and unsubstantiated possibility that the Chinese government could direct TikTok Inc. or its parent company to eavesdrop on some Montana users.

Per AP News, TikTok has argued that the law violates the First Amendment rights of individuals. Plaintiffs are Montanans who use the video-sharing app to promote businesses, interact with military veterans, share outdoor adventures, and convey their sense of humor, among other things.

Two of them have over two hundred thousand followers. Carly Ann Goddard, a content creator, shares videos about ranch living, parenthood, recipes, and home decor. The complaint states that her 97,000 followers have enabled her to roughly quadruple her family's household income.

Creators on TikTok can earn money in a variety of methods, including by being compensated to advertise products to their followers. The lawsuit, which was filed mere hours after Gianforte signed the bill into law, asserts that the prohibition would "immediately and irrevocably deprive Plaintiffs of their ability to express themselves and communicate with others."

The case could serve as a test case for the TikTok-free America envisioned by many national legislators. According to cybersecurity specialists, it may be difficult to enforce.

Concerns about the potential influence of the Chinese government on TikTok have prompted a growing number of US legislators and state officials to call for the app's nationwide ban.

The company has repeatedly denied sharing data with the Chinese government and stated that it would refuse to do so if requested. Under the new law, TikTok and app stores that violate the moratorium could be fined, as per Guardian.

Former President Donald Trump's attempt to prohibit new installations of TikTok and WeChat in 2020 via a commerce department order was thwarted by multiple courts and never went into effect.

Related Article: Montana Bans TikTok, Becomes First in US To Restrict Access to Social Media App

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Cover Images/ROGER WONG Celebrity

The Donna Martin depicter on 'Beverly Hills, 90210' declares that she's searching for a lawyer around a week after revealing that her children's 'continual spiral of sickness' was caused by mold infection.

May 19, 2023

AceShowbiz - Tori Spelling has had enough of health woes caused by extreme mold in her home. Turning to social media, the Donna Martin depicter on "Beverly Hills, 90210" declared that she's searching for a lawyer to solve the issue.

"Does anyone know how [to] find a major great MOLD lawyer in [California] that can help our family?" the 49-year-old asked her online devotees via Instagram Story. She added in the Wednesday, May 17 post, "Our troubles are next-level with our MOLD problem and the house that's been slowly killing us for 3 years."

My kids and [I] are so sick and can't get well and our family needs help," the TV personality added. "Overwhelmed. We do need to start with an amazing lawyer who can guide us thru this."

Around a week prior, Tori divulged that her children's "continual spiral of sickness" was due to mold infection. Sharing pictures of her and her kids at urgent care, she began, "Let's talk about MOLD Here we are again at Urgent Care. We've all been on this continual spiral of sickness for months."

Offering more background on the situation, Tori detailed, "Sick. Get better. To get sick again. Used to think well that's what happens when you have young kids in school. They just continually bring sicknesses home. But, when it gets to the point where they are at home sick more than being in school we had to reassess what was going on."

"Kids will be kids but when you have your youngest (10 and 6) so sick they are sleeping all day and say they feel dizzy even standing I knew something bigger was going on," she went on to elaborate. "Enter Mold inspection! Thx to Sean at Pacific Scope Inspections who came out and discovered extreme mold in our home."

"The pieces all started to fall into place. Has anyone ever been thru Mold Infections? You just keep getting sick, one infection after another," the mother of five continued listing the symptoms her children experienced. "Respiratory infections. Extreme allergy like symptoms too and like my poor Finn skin rashes as well."

"As we sit here today in Urgent Care  watching everyone getting swabbed and first up Finn with Strep throat and high fever of 103," the wife of Dean McDermott further dished. "We now know that when the house was labeled a health hazard and not live able that wording was FACT. We now GET IT! It's hard to just uproot a huge family especially in midst of all feeling so sick and in bed."

You can share this post!
Movie

While many are excited about the new film from Scorsese which also stars Robert De Niro, DiCaprio's fake midwestern accent is getting some major side-eye on Twitter.

May 19, 2023

AceShowbiz - Leonardo DiCaprio's acting isn't always flawless. Despite his versatility that has helped him earn numerous accolades, including an Academy Award in 2016, the actor has received criticism for his accent in upcoming movie "Killers of the Flower Moon".

DiCaprio's accent has been scrutinized after the first teaser trailer for the film was officially released by Apple TV+ on Thursday, May 18. In the film, he plays Ernest Burkhart, the nephew of an influential local rancher (Robert De Niro), who is married to an Indigenous woman (Lily Gladstone) who has inherited an oil fortune but at deathly costs.

Throughout the nearly-two-minute video, DiCaprio's fake midwestern accent is very prominent as he narrates the video. While many are excited about the film that reunites the 48-year-old with director Martin Scorsese, some couldn't help raising eyebrows over his accent.

"will watch and im sure it's great but my tolerance for leo dicaprio accent work is wearing," someone wrote on Twitter. Another irritated user commented, "Obviously excited for this but is nobody else at least slightly bothered by Leo's accent here? Like I can tell it's Leo just doing an accent."

A third can't wait to mock DiCaprio over his fake accent, saying, "I can't f**king wait to go around everywhere doing an impression of Leo's fake Southern accent for the next 3 months after seeing this." A fourth user questioned, "Did Leo just invent a new accent, has anybody ever sounded like that?"

Written by Eli Roth based on David Grann's broadly lauded best-selling book, "Killers of the Flower Moon" is set in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror.

Using Grann's quote, DiCaprio described the film in his Instagram post. "In the 1920s, members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma were the wealthiest people per capita in the country, because oil had been discovered under their land. Then, one by one, they began to die under mysterious circumstances," it read. "Killers of the Flower Moon tells the story of one of American history's most sinister conspiracies and terrible racial injustices. Like the Tulsa Race Massacre, which occurred only thirty miles away during the same period, this critical chapter has long been erased from our nation's history books. A century after these crimes, we have tried to shine a light on the true story. Killers was filmed in Oklahoma in the very places where these events took place, and several Osages whose relatives perished appeared in the film. It is an American crime story that is less about who did it than who didn't do it. It is about widespread complicity. And ultimately, it is about a reckoning with our past that is long overdue."

The actor also expressed his excitement about the film as he wrote in a caption of the teaser, "#KillersOfTheFlowerMoon will exclusively be in theatres from @paramountpics and @appletv this October. It's a project I am very proud to be part of and I cannot wait to share it with you all."

The Western crime drama also stars Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser and John Lithgow among others. It will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, May 20 and is scheduled to open wide in U.S. theaters on October 20. It will also be made available for streaming on Apple TV+ on an unspecified date.

You can share this post!
Instagram Celebrity

When asking for a restraining order against the 'Awwsome' rapper, the model tells a judge that her ex-boyfriend has been threatening to kill her and her mother since she broke up with him in April.

May 19, 2023

AceShowbiz - Shy Glizzy allegedly threatened his former girlfriend and her family prior to his recent arrest. Amaya Colon has accused the rapper of making threats since she called it quits with him in April of this year.

Amaya makes the claim in court documents when asking a judge to grant her a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend. She tells the judge that Shy has repeatedly told her he will kill her and her mother. In one of text messages he sent to her, he allegedly said, "Ima f**k ya life up."

Amaya says she and Shy started dating in December 2022, but broke up with him on April 28 because he has "anger issues." She says that Shy did not take the breakup well and it culminated in his May 13 arrest.

In the docs obtained by TMZ, Amaya details the incident that led to his arrest. She says she was driving around Los Angeles and noticed Shy was following her. She says she was stopped at a red light, and he got out of his car and approached her car, banging her car with the handle of a gun. Amaya says she drove away but he followed her and tried to run her off the road, hitting her car with his car and causing damage.

Amaya says she's asked Shy to stop contacting her, but he keeps messaging her, threatening to kill her and posting explicit pictures and videos of her without her consent in what she believes is an attempt to ruin her modeling career. He allegedly also texted Amaya's best friend, "Imma get her a** beat."

Amaya has since been granted a temporary restraining order that tells Shy to stay 100 yards away from her and to stop contacting her. He's also prohibited from posting or distributing any explicit photos or videos he may have of Amaya.

Shy was arrested on Saturday, May 13 after a verbal altercation with his ex-girlfriend which escalated to the point where he grabbed a firearm and made a threat. It reportedly occurred on a public street around 9 A.M. on Saturday and he took off after the argument.

West Hollywood Sheriff's Deputies somehow got involved and a criminal report was made. Shy was eventually tracked down by 6 P.M. that day and arrested on a felony charge of making criminal threats.

Police reportedly did not find a gun on Shy when he was arrested and he denied ever threatening his girlfriend, whom he has reportedly been dating on and off for 4 months. Records show he was released after about 4 hours behind bars on a $50,000 bond, while the case remains under investigation.

Shy has since denied allegations that he pulled a gun on his ex-girlfriend. He posted on his Instagram Story on Tuesday, May 16, "The accusations made against me are completely false." He insisted, "I would never in my life pull a weapon out to harm a female in any way so stop with the BS allegations! What is wrong with ppl?"

You can share this post!
Instagram Celebrity

Reported to have spent a night in a cell in Ibiza following the incident, the jewellery designer and her male friend are scheduled to appear in court on May 19 at the very least.

May 19, 2023

AceShowbiz - Jade Jagger might have landed herself in trouble. The second child of Mick Jagger was reported to have been arrested alongside a male friend in Ibiza, Spain due to an alleged drunken tirade and assault on national police officers.

The 51-year-old daughter of The Rolling Stones rocker was, per a report by the Mirror, at a restaurant on Wednesday, May 17, when she and her pal involved in an altercation with the restaurant staff for "shouting, threatening and insulting" the employees. The two were also said to have yelled and threatened the other restaurant guests.

As a result of Jade and her friend's antics, national police officers arrived to mediate. However, Jade and her friend were reportedly "very aggressive and violent" with the police officers. The two were said to have been consuming alcohol or "some type of substance." Following her arrest, she was alleged to have stayed for the night in a cell.

On what actually happened, a source told Mirror, "Police arrested two people last night, a man and a woman, in Ibiza. Around 9 P.M. there was a police intervention as a result of a call from a restaurant about a man they said was behaving violently with customers and workers. The man had gone by the time police arrived."

"People at the restaurant including staff and a manager and a couple of customers told officers he had been aggressive towards them and they had refused to serve him any more drinks and he left. A man in the street then approached the police patrol cars outside and told them there was a man threatening passers-by," the source continued.

"When officers approached him he began to insult them in English with increasing aggressiveness, refusing to identify himself and being very hostile. They tried to calm him down several times and he ended up hurling himself at police and assaulting one of them and he had to be arrested," the source added. "That's when a woman appeared who was very aggressive and hurled herself at a police officer, pushing him and insulting him."

Explaining that Jade's pal also attacked health workers, the source further explained, "Police managed to calm her down and then call an ambulance for the man who was very aggressive and in a bad way and attacked health professionals and police again when the ambulance arrived. At that moment the woman enters the scene again, squaring up to an officer before pushing and punching that officer. She was then also arrested."

Accordingly, Jade and her male friend were expected to be present in court on Thursday afternoon, May 18 or on Saturday morning, May 19.

You can share this post!
Columbia Pictures Movie

During filming of a dramatic scene for the upcoming buddy cop comedy movie, the Oscar winner is seen talking to his co-star who is standing on an 8-story ledge while wearing a hospital gown.

May 19, 2023

AceShowbiz - Some things will apparently take an emotional toll on Detective Lieutenant Marcus Miles Burnett in an upcoming "Bad Boys" movie. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have been spotted filming a dramatic scene for "Bad Boys 4" as they were pictured filming together for the first time.

The two actors were seen on the set in Atlanta on Wednesday, May 17. In images which have circulated online, both of them were fully in character as Detective Lieutenant Michael Eugene "Mike" Lowrey as and his partner/best friend Marcus respectively.

During the filming, Lawrence was screaming on an 8-Story Ledge wearing a hospital gown that blew in the breeze. Smith appeared to be trying to talk him down before the two shared an emotional hug.

Smith and Lawrence announced that "Bad Boys 4" got a green light" in late January. "Bad Boys for Life" directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah return to helm from a script by Chris Bremner. Jerry Bruckheimer, Smith for Westbrook, Doug Belgrad and Chad Oman are back producing, with Lawrence, James Lassiter, Mike Stenson, Barry Waldman and Jon Mone serving as executive producers.

The plot is still kept under wraps, but Vanessa Hudgens has been confirmed to return as Kelly, a weapons expert of AMMO. Meanwhile, Eric Dane has been cast as the villain.

In April, Smith and Lawrence hyped the excitement for the upcoming movie when appearing in a video during CinemaCon. Lawrence joked, "We're not sorry we couldn't be there," but Smith quickly interjected, "We glad we not there because we here and they're paying us to be here," noting that they were "hype" and "excited" for "Bad Boys 4".

No release date is set for the fourth installment of the "Bad Boys" franchise, which kicked off with the first film in 1995, just yet.

"Bad Boys 4" is the first movie that Smith has been filming since he was embroiled in drama regarding his behavior at the 2022 Academy Awards. At last year's ceremony, he slapped Chris Rock on stage when the comedian joked about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head while presenting an award.

The "King Richard" star kept a low profile in the next few months following the incident, during which he reportedly had the "best time" of his life. "After Will did his smack, Will got to travel. Will got to step outside of all this stuff and when he was back he said - best rest he's ever gotten. Best time he got to sit back and look at things," his friend and "Bad Boys 3" co-star John Salley said in an interview with VladTV. Furthermore, Smith's expulsion from the Academy meant that "now you can just make movies because you love to make movies," according to Salley.

You can share this post!
Cover Images/Facebook/Fayes Vision Celebrity

During an interview on 'America Reports', the 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' alum bluntly states that the 21-year-old trans woman does not 'belong in women's spaces.'

May 19, 2023

AceShowbiz - Caitlyn Jenner has bluntly criticized transgender woman Artemis Langford. During an appearance on "America Reports", the former "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star, who is a trans woman herself, discussed the lawsuit launched by the University of Wyoming sorority sisters over the admission of its trans member.

On Wednesday, May 17, the 73-year-old voiced her thoughts on the uncomfortable environment sorority members had to endure due to the enlisting of the 21-year-old. She said, "If you look at those pictures, what I have to say is, he is a perverted, sexually deviant male. I'm sorry, Artemis Langford, you are not a woman and you do not belong in women's spaces."

The ex-partner of Kris Jenner further stated, "I was listening to Fox News the other night and Clay Travis, I think, put it just perfectly. He says living in this world, equality really, really has become inequality, and it's so true because the women are not being protected here, and that is a shame."

About her role in protecting women's sports, the parent of Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner went on to share that she has been "fighting this woke world for a long time." She added, "And you know, you got to fight back all this B.S. Every day, tooth and nail."

Caitlyn has also made use of Twitter to voice her support to the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority members. She wrote, "Today on @FoxNews on the biological male showing his erect penis to sorority members. Boycott KAPPA KAPPA GAMMA! They are not for women. Disgraceful!"

In a follow-up tweet, Caitlyn stressed, "Let's be very clear. The person is not a true trans." She went on to elaborate, "They are a sexually deviant perv who hangs around a female sorority watching women undress with a visible erection! He is a sexually and mentally disturbed person. He says if you call him out he will get the girls in trouble."

Previously, members of Kappa Kappa Gamma and their lawyer, Cassie Craven, opened up on "The Megyn Kelly Show" about their fear of being in the same sorority house with the trans woman. In the May 16 episode of the show, one of the members said, "It's a weird, gut-wrenching feeling that every time I leave my room there's a possibility that I'll walk past him in the hall."

"It's a weird feeling just to know that I could run into him anytime  (he has) full access to the house. But this just goes to show like we need women's spaces for that reason. Like our house is our home," she added. "Just like anyone else's home, like, you go home at the end of the day to feel comfortable and relaxed in your own skin. And you can't do that knowing that this individual has full access to your house."

You can share this post!
Instagram Celebrity

The Tom Tom Bar owner and the former beauty pageant queen were recently rumored to be calling it quits, just two months after the news of their affair made media headlines.

May 19, 2023

AceShowbiz - Rumors that Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss have split may be true after all. Hours before the news hit the web, the Tom Tom Bar owner was spotted looking cozy with a mystery woman at a swanky hotel bar.

Making the claims was TikTok user Sarah Koefod. In a video shared on Wednesday, May 17, Sarah said, "Last night I was actually out in Austin, Tex. where I live and I saw Tom with a mystery woman."

The TikToker went on saying that she was at the Austin Proper Hotel with a friend when she saw the "Vanderpump Rules" star "across the bar" wearing a hat and sunglasses inside. Sarah also shared a photo of the cover band frontman as he sat with an unidentified woman, whose face was blurred out.

"Here is Tom and said mystery woman," Sarah said. "You'll notice this little pomeranian that was sitting with them. It's the woman's dog. And I was actually able to find her Instagram, it was pretty easy."

The TikTok user then shared a photo of the woman with her head cropped out of the photo. "So here she is with the said pomeranian," Sarah noted. While showing another picture of the woman, Sarah added, "And this was her Instagram with the dog last night at dinner once they were seated at the Peacock [restaurant inside the Austin Proper Hotel.]"

Tom's sighting came before it was reported that Tom and Raquel called it quits just two months after the news of their affair made media headlines. A source said that Tom's "relationships with everyone right now are on the back burner, and he's focusing on his music."

"He's about to turn 40 and trying his best to move away from all of this, but he's struggling at times," the source added, "Like anyone trying to better themselves, it's one day at a time." Meanwhile, a different informant claimed, "Raquel dipped out. Sandoval is not the one for her."

Tom's ex Ariana Madix, however, didn't buy the reports. During her appearance on "Watch What Happens Live" on Wednesday, she told host Andy Cohen that Raquel, who is in mental health rehabilitation, recently sent letters to Tom to her and Tom's shared house.

"She was sending letters to my house like four days ago," Ariana, who said that she and Tom still live in the same house but don't communicate, explained. "I didn't open it. It was addressed to him and it was her handwriting. I just brought in the mail, saw it, put it on the table and walked away."

Ariana went on noting that the letter was "just the one that I know of." When Andy asked, "From her treatment facility?" Ariana replied, "I guess. I don't know."

You can share this post!
Cover Images/Jose Perez Celebrity

A source spills that the Hermione Granger in 'Harry Potter' movie series has split from the son of British fashion tycoon and billionaire Philip Green after dating for 18 months.

May 20, 2023

AceShowbiz - Emma Watson and Brandon Green reportedly have called it quits. A source spills to Daily Mail that the Hermione Granger in "Harry Potter" movie series has split from the son of British fashion tycoon and billionaire Philip Green.

According to the news outlet, the pair broke up "some time after Christmas." The two were in a "serious" relationship for 18 months as they had met each other's parents.

It's unknown what caused the split, but the report suggested that Emma "had some kind of epiphany connected to her 'Saturn return' and decided that she wanted out of the relationship." While celebrating her 33rd birthday on April 15, Emma wrote on Instagram, "This is 33. Holy moly. Before 29 I hadn't even heard of a Saturn Return as a concept. Let's just say that now I am well acquainted."

She went on to say that she had re-evaluated her life, done "a lot of therapy" and "said goodbye to my Grandma and Grandpa." She wrote, "I cut my thumb nail off on both hands trying to cook for myself and then was only able to do things one-handed for months."

"I felt really sad and really p*ssed off about a lot of things. I learnt more about love and being a woman... It took me three years but I have finally figured out a daily practice and can actually keep it for more than a few days in a row," she continued.

The actress was first linked to the 29-year-old in summer 2022. At the time, they were photographed holding hands during their romantic getaway in Venice, Italy.

The split rumors arrived after it was said that Emma is getting back together with one of her ex-boyfriends. The "Beauty and the Beast" actress was previously spotted attending a Taylor Swift concert in Las Vegas with her ex Brendan Wallace. However, it's unknown if it was just a friendly outing or there's more between them.

Brandon, meanwhile, is known for being a party-lover. He used to date a number of models and was once caught patting Kate Moss' bottom on holiday in St Barths.

You can share this post!
The year 2023 has started on a rollercoaster note, with an accelerated adoption of generative AI, AI chatbots, and digital innovations. This is bringing in new operational efficiencies, stronger strategies, a far greater emphasis on building deep bonds with various stakeholders and consumers. In keeping with the current market ecosystem, technology and a human approach are seen as going hand in hand.

As part of our annual TRENDING NOW series, Adgully has been approaching key industry leaders to Crystal Gaze into 2023 to highlight the major trends and developments that they see dominating the industry in the year ahead.

In conversation with Adgully, Ravi Garg, Director - Business Messaging, India at Meta, speaks about key trends in customer experience in 2023, the immense potential of the WhatsApp Business App, key focus areas for Whatsapp to grow businesses and consumer engagement in the year ahead, and much more.

Key trends dominating customer experience in 2023

Some of the key trends that we see in customer experience in 2023 include:

There is a transformational shift in how customers and brands are engaging through new and digital models instead of the traditional ways. Brands are increasingly realising the value and potential of engaging customers in personalised, relationship-building conversations on their preferred messaging platform/s. Rich, personalised conversations have become critical in nurturing customers through their purchase life cycle.

Business messaging is the way forward and heres why:

In India, WhatsApp is now a part of peoples daily lives. People love to message friends, family, their neighbourhood shop, or just about anybody on WhatsApp.

Over time, we have learnt that user-preference is to message businesses and shops too, over WhatsApp. In fact, in a survey that Kantar conducted for us last year, we learnt that 70% of the surveyed online adults prefer messaging a business. Given such strong consumer insights, we have innovated and created new options for businesses of all sizes to engage with users on WhatsApp.

Business Messaging on WhatsApp is conversational and gives a personal customer experience, it's rich and engaging - adding to customer satisfaction, it is persistent in giving the customers what they want or need, it complements other existing marketing strategies.

Business messaging helps brands understand and meet customer requirements quickly. For brands, it is advantageous to interact personally with customers, at scale.

It, therefore, enhances the customers experience, and the fact is that these rich conversations are happening quickly and on a medium, thats preferred by the customers, so its more efficient.

The interactions evolve from mere clicks to deeper engagement and conversions and in the process the brands can get the opportunity to mature customers throughout their purchase lifecycles basis their likes and preferences.

Businesses of all sizes, across sectors, are already turning to WhatsApp to reach their customers.

We think that with WhatsApp, we have the opportunity to create a new wave of adding value and convenience to the everyday lives of our users  whether it is banking, shopping, book cab rides, charge their Metro passes on the go, pay their bills, place a complaint, order groceries like one can with JioMart on WhatsApp or receive tickets on WhatsApp through MakeMyTrip, literally one can do everything at the click of a button on WhatsApp.

More examples:

With the Government of Indias MyGov Helpdesk chatbot on WhatsApp even today any one can download our Covid Vaccination certificates or Digilocker documents like Drivers License , and others, right on WhatsApp.

even today any one can download our or , and others, right on WhatsApp. With Bengalurus Namma Metro - BMRCL and several more , people can now simply buy their tickets or recharge their metro-passes on WhatsApp while on-the-go.

- , people can now simply buy their tickets or recharge their metro-passes on WhatsApp while on-the-go. There are over 250 million policyholders throughout the country who can now access LIC services 24X7 on LICs WhatsApp chatbot. You can check your premium, buy a policy and much more.

All this has been possible with medium or large businesses using our WhatsApp Business Platform, our enterprise API, that enables businesses to connect with customers and offer custom services, at scale.

At the same time, enabling and empowering the small business ecosystem in the country is of immense importance to us. We believe, for a growing economy like India, strengthening the ecosystem of 60 million plus small businesses is of immense value as they are the backbone of the economy.

Im delighted to share that WhatsApp Business App, our simple, manual, free-of-cost app, especially created keeping in mind the Indian micro and small enterprises, has today empowered millions of SMBs and micro-entrepreneurs. It has features like the Catalog, or Labels, or Away Messages, that help to advance their customer-service. The pandemic was a catalyst for small businesses across to adopt such simple digital technology and the trend continues to grow.

Let me share some examples: Bhumika Kandpal & Sheela Padte from Mumbai run Revive Beauty & Hair Salon that saw a 30% increase in sales after they digitised their operations on the WhatsApp Business App. Similarly, a blue-pottery small business from Rajasthan, Neerja International Inc., was able to expand their business hugely once they started using the WhatsApp Business App.

Major expectations from 2023

WhatsApp has become a way of life for people in India. People are connecting on WhatsApp because it is so simple to use and does not require any tech knowledge for anybody. This is where the opportunity lies. Millions of users who are comfortable using WhatsApp may or may not be comfortable downloading/ visiting an app or connecting on a portal. For reaching such incremental consumers WhatsApp is the answer. It is an exciting time and opportunity to explore the untapped potential of business-messaging through WhatsApp. Businesses of all sizes can use messaging to build versatile, custom solutions, have deeper conversations with the customers and nurture them.

For example, Uber first launched a pilot of their WhatsApp to Ride (WA2R) service for users in Lucknow. The pilot impact initially revealed that the WA2R audience is younger than the average Uber App users with almost 50% of them being less than 25 years old. More importantly, 33% of the inbounds during this pilot were received from new users, indicating the potential of WhatsApp to acquire new customers.

WhatsApp is a user-first platform, and our focus and priority will always be users first. To give them a seamless, secure, reliable and convenient experience.

In making our users digital journey more convenient and seamless, with WhatsApp Business Platform, our aim and vision is for users to be able to find all their digital solutions within WhatsApp itself for any requirement a user has, from morning till night, whether it's for personal banking, or travel and ticketing, or ordering groceries like on JioMart - she can very conveniently connect with the business of her choice, all from within WhatsApp.

We are already seeing gains in customer satisfaction, agent efficiency and improvements in marketing and sales  ultimately driving better results, at scale. Businesses want to unlock new ways to engage (for example, proactively sending a boarding pass or reminding a customer when an item is back in stock or even about deals for a big upcoming holiday sale). They want to move more of their customer support to WhatsApp. And they want to close sales.

As mentioned earlier, with WhatsApp, businesses can now tap the additional potential opportunity to connect with the new or next 100 or 200 million customers who arent perhaps accessing other modes.

We think with Business Messaging we have another meaningful role to play in the next phase of the country's digital transformation.

Key focus areas for WhatsApp Business messaging in 2023

With WhatsApp, we want our users to engage with businesses in the same simple, secure way as they do with friends & family and get things done, whether it is buying something, doing financial transactions or getting an issue resolved.

The four key areas that Business Messaging is focused on are:

Expand and digitally enable the SMB Ecosystem through the WhatsApp Business App: India has a rich SMB ecosystem with 63 million MSMEs in the country contributing over 30% to the GDP and has the potential to grow further. We believe that our digital apps and solutions can play an important role in their growth journey. SMBs are able to create a professional digital identity for their business through WhatsApp Business App and with a host of consumer-friendly features like Catalog, Quick Reply, Greeting Message, Labels and others, it adds efficiency to a small business like a home-baker or to any micro business who has limited means.

For medium and large businesses, we have built the WhatsApp Business Platform - an Enterprise API solution that helps to reach customers at scale. Every day, hundreds of thousands of businesses are onboarding the WhatsApp Business Platform to offer services at scale to customers and this is the technology that is being used by enterprises across the board whether it is Uber, MakeMyTrip, JioMart, WOW Momos, WOW Skincare, Sirona Period Tracker, MyBMC Assist, SBI, LIC, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited, or MyGov, among others. With WhatsApp, users can do anything round the clock. They can do their banking, shopping, book cab rides, charge their Metro passes on the go, pay their bills, place a complaint, literally do everything at the click of a button on WhatsApp.

We recently launched the WhatsApp Cloud API hosted by Meta, effectively opening up WhatsApp to any developer or a business of any size to build their own experiences right into the chat thread.

Recently, we announced a partnership with Salesforce to make Cloud API hosted by Metas powerful capabilities easily available to all Salesforce customers globally. This partnership enables businesses to offer new experiences right on WhatsApp and easily manage these across Salesforce Customer 360 applications.

Click to WhatsApp Ads (CTWA): Ads that click back to WhatsApp and help businesses start a conversation with an interested customer brings immense value.

Businesses get discovered by new customers and are then able to build a direct relationship with their customers.

If you are a business on WhatsApp, you can create a link to be placed on Metas other platforms such as Facebook or Instagram. This adds instant discoverability of the business and helps the business gain new customers from those platforms and thereafter, engage in rich conversations with them and build direct relationships with customers for the future.

Examples:

Geeta Kundel and her husband Himanshu Pandir started NM Pickles after they lost their jobs. Using CTWA, NM Pickles successfully grew its business.

Likewise, Shweta Ashish, owner of Kalakusar uses the CTWA to enhance her business and on an average receives about a thousand customer responses!

We see immense potential for small businesses particularly, to grow using this new model of CTWA.

We are committed to consistently add value to millions of businesses and people for whom WhatsApp is a way of life, every day.
Reckitts household insecticide brand, Mortein and DENTSU CREATIVE India came together to unveil their new initiative Suraksha Ka Teeka to participate in the fight against malaria in Bareilly. The awareness program is launched with the aim to leverage the everyday habit of applying teeka and to educate on protection from vector-borne diseases.

The everyday tradition followed in most Indian households, across the nation, of applying kaala teeka on their childrens forehead to protect them from buri nazar (evil eye) is now revamped as Suraksha Ka Teeka and has been distributed as part of an awareness campaign against malaria. The teeka has been reformulated at Mortein Advanced Research Lab and infused with natural ingredients, such that it would act as a natural mosquito repellent. Innovated in 2022, the teeka was distributed to mothers via an awareness campaign in Bareilly district which contributed to approx. 50% of all malaria cases are in the biggest state of India, Uttar Pradesh.

Saurabh Jain, Regional Marketing Director, Hygiene, Reckitt- South Asia said, "At Reckitt, we believe in leaving no one behind and Mortein has been consistently working to make a difference and provide protection against mosquito-borne diseases. We recently partnered with Malaria No More to launch Mission Zero Malaria program in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh with the aim to work towards Indias goal of eliminating Malaria by 2030. With our latest association with Dentsu on, Suraksha Ka Teeka, we are leveraging an age-old tradition by reformulating the teeka to fight vectors of Malaria and Dengue. Ideas like this, backed by science, will help us eradicate unscientific beliefs which are in practice, ensuring better overall protection.

Aalap Desai, Chief Creative Officer, Creative Experience, West, DENTSU CREATIVE India commented, It is rare to have an idea like this. An idea that turned into a concept. An idea that used tradition in a way thats never been used before. An idea made possible because of a visionary client. An idea that is so simple and yet, is doing the most difficult thing ever - educating about the menace of mosquitoes. We are both proud and honoured to be part of the journey.
(Photo : JACK TAYLOR/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

President Xi Jinping held his first in-person regional meeting to strengthen ties with Central Asia, a region once dominated by Russia.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged to construct more railways and other trade connections with Central Asia and proposed jointly developing oil and gas sources during a meeting with regional leaders on Friday that highlighted Beijing's expanding influence.

The two-day China-Central Asia summit took place in the western city of Xi'an as President Joe Biden and other leaders of the Group of Seven met in Japan. It reflected Beijing's efforts to construct trade and security networks centered on China, which resents the dominance of the United States in international affairs.

China Seeks to Cement Ties with Central Asia

China is making economic inroads into Central Asia, including by constructing railways and other trade-related infrastructure as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. This has diminished Russia's influence over former Soviet republics that view the world's second-largest economy as a significant market and investment destination.

In a speech to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan leaders, Xi stated, "We need to expand economic and trade ties."

China accuses the West of aiding opposition to the governing Communist Party in the western region of Xinjiang, which is home to ethnic minority groups that are primarily Muslim and have ties to Central Asia. At a press conference with his Central Asian counterparts, Xi stated, "This summit has added new impetus to the development and revitalization of the six countries and infused powerful positive energy into regional peace and stability."

China has positioned itself at the vanguard of the race for political influence and energy assets in the resource-rich region. Russia is preoccupied with its conflict in Ukraine, and the United States' presence in the region diminished by the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

With a network of trade corridors, the five former Soviet republics offer China alternative routes for transporting petroleum, food, and other commodities in the event of disruptions elsewhere.

The pledges of support and cooperation at the two-day summit will contrast with the "negative" image of China that will be invoked at a Group of Seven summit in Japan. China's assistance to Central Asia appears to be a response to US accusations of coercive diplomacy, according to Reuters.

Xi stated that China and Central Asian nations should deepen their trust and provide "explicit and firm support" for fundamental interests such as sovereignty, independence, national dignity, and sustainable development.

Xi stated that China would also enhance bilateral investment agreements and increase the volume of cross-border freight with the region. He added that it would encourage Chinese-funded businesses in Central Asia to create more employment, construct warehouses, and initiate a tourism-promoting train service.

Read Also: TikTok Creators Sue Montana Over Nation's First Law Banning App

Russian Influence Weakens in Central Asia

Per Yahoo, the simultaneous meetings represented a world that is becoming increasingly multipolar as China attempts to challenge the US-led system. While Russia and China are united in their mission to oppose the United States, Xi's decision to bring together five former Soviet states without Vladimir Putin demonstrates Beijing's ascendancy in their "no limits" relationship.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, the Kremlin has come to rely on China for both economic protection against Western sanctions and much-needed diplomatic support. Next week, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will lead a delegation to a Shanghai business forum to which sanctioned tycoons have also been invited, demonstrating how China can shield Moscow from Western economic sanctions.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February of 2014 intensified a struggle for influence in the resource-rich Central Asian states, which were already reorienting their economies toward China.

While China's strict restrictions on cross-border capital transfers remain a major impediment to efforts to elevate the yuan's global status, US sanctions against Russia and other nations are assisting in promoting the yuan as an alternative for international transactions.

Related Article: China Warns Embassies Over 'Propaganda' Displays as Ukrainian, LGBTQ+ Flags Raised Among Buildings

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Marking its 50th anniversary, Nippo ignites a new era, captivating a generation of Indians with its fresh identity. Symbolizing dynamic growth, Nippo's expanded portfolio now includes LEDs, torches, mosquito swatters, and electricals alongside its core batteries, solidifying its position as a household name. With this vibrant new identity, Nippo is ready to explore a wide range of new categories and adjacencies.

"Commemorating Nippo's Golden Jubilee, our new brand identity represents an exciting era of growth, reflecting our commitment to evolving consumer needs. We aim for a niche yet consumer-driven approach amidst today's rapid changes. Our focus is on identifying, innovating, and tapping into new opportunities in emerging categories. The new identity represents a significant stride in that direction. says Mr. Aditya Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Indo National Limited.

Prasad BLN, Vice President - Marketing, Indo National Limited, adds, "Nippo has established itself as a formidable force in the battery market, and we have continually expanded our horizons. Our fresh brand identity, coupled with the captivating proposition of "New Nippo for a New You," will drive our consumer narrative in the market. It aims to enthrall our loyal customers and entice new ones to explore our diverse range of categories."

Underdog, a Mumbai-based agency, will partner Nippo's transformation as it celebrates its 50th year. Co-Founders and CCOs of Underdog, Vikram Gaikwad and Vistasp Hodiwala, stated, "Reinventing Nippo for the modern era, the new campaign will transcend a singular medium, allowing us to deliver a comprehensive brand experience."

Muthar Basha, COO, Indo National Limited, summed up the changes brand Nippo is going through, "Our new identity is Trendier, Exciting and Transformative than ever before. It reflects Nippo's ability to be in sync with the vibrant energy of this young nation, ready to embark on an exciting journey of innovation and excellence. That's the new Nippo for you."
In Alabama, Black students are nearly twice as likely to face every type of classroom removal as compared to their white peers.

During the 2018-2019 school year, Alabama students spent 203,465 days in alternative school. And, although Black students made up only 32% of the student population in 2019, they served almost 60% of those alternative school days, according to an AL.com analysis of the most recent year of data provided. White students, who made up about 55% of the population, served only 33% of the days given.

AL.com Education Lab reporter Savannah Tryens-Fernandes followed a high school senior who spent most of his year in disciplinary limbo over something he said he didnt do. CJ, a student in Tuscaloosa City Schools, eventually withdrew and finished high school in a homeschool program.

Read the story: How Alabamas culture of removal takes a toll on Black students.

I have been awakened by this incident with my son, said his father, Cory Jones.

Auburn University Hannah Baggett and Carey Andrezejewski say alternative school isnt necessarily an effective punishment or deterrent to future bad behavior.

Black children and white children behave and misbehave in similar ways, Andrezejewski said, but Black children tend to be punished more often and more severely, which can have long-term negative consequences on their success in school and life.

The disparities are significant, Andrezejewski said.

Watch Carey Andrezejewski describe her research into school discipline here.

The Alabama Education Lab team at AL.com is grant- and donor-supported. Report for America offers a partial, tax-deductible match for current contributions. You can make one here.
The oldest resident of the William F. Green State Veterans Home has a birthday coming up on May 21, and the thing he wants most is to receive cards from as many people as possible. Hed like to have the same number of cards as the number of years hes lived: 102.

The tradition of sending birthday cards to Henry Burgess started when he was approaching his 100th birthday. Since then, explains his son, Michael Burgess, each year, Henry starts watching for the cards to arrive.

We read every one of them to him, says Michael.

Henry cant read them himself because his vision is so poor. Other than that, hes a healthy centenarian with an encyclopedic memory. He has survived Covid twice.

He takes a Tylenol PM at night and sometimes a Prilosec for indigestion, and thats it, his son says. Hes always been that way.

Henry attributes his longevity to three shots of Evan Williams bourbon, which he takes religiously every afternoon.

Born in Mobile during the Great Depression, Henry joined the U.S. Army in 1942 and served two years in Burma, where he worked as an aircraft mechanic on small airplanes. He returned to Mobile and his sweetheart, Mary, whose letters had sustained him while he was so far from home.

Henry Burgess, pictured while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, turns 102 on May 21, 2023. (Photo courtesy Michael Burgess)

Henry and Mary were married for 75 years and raised three sons and a daughter. They loved Mardi Gras and were members of a non-parading organization. They were both phenomenal dancers, Michael says.

When they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, 500 people attended the party. The International Trade Club was packed, Michael recalls.

Henry has outlived his beloved Mary, as well as all his brothers and sisters. But his memories are as clear as can be. He remembers everything, from the day he was born  everybody hes ever met, every building in Mobile, says Michael. If you lived in Mobile, my daddy knew you.

For the past three years, he has lived at the veterans home in Bay Minette. At 98, he was on his roof, cleaning it off, Michael says. I had to get him down. Henry insisted that he didnt want to be a burden to his children  even though they would never consider him a burden  and called Michael to say, I think Im ready.

He enjoys playing cards and bingo with his fellow residents at the home. For the past week or so, whenever Henry walks down the hall, he hears, Here comes the birthday boy! He would love to receive as many birthday cards as possible, even if they dont arrive in time for his special day.

If youd like to help make Henrys birthday a memorable one, send a card to:

Henry L. Diddy Burgess

c/o William F. Green State Veterans Home

300 Faulkner Dr.

F Wing

Bay Minette, AL 36507
Alabama fans may hate the color orange, even enough to notice when it isnt even there -- in this case in the signage on a new Whataburger on the Strip in Tuscaloosa.

The city is getting a third location of the popular Whataburger franchise, soon at University Town Center on University Boulevard just a few blocks from Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Located next to Insomnia Cookies and a few doors down from the University of Alabama Supply Store and Mediterranean Sandwich Co. (and across the street from Buffalo Phils), this Whataburger location looks a little different than most you see nationwide, even across town.

The signage outside the building does not feature any of the franchises standard orange coloring. The lettering in the word Whataburger and the restaurants logo are white against the red brick building. Alabama fans took notice online.

If you think Rivalries in College dont mean anything, youre dead wrong! one Facebook user wrote in response to the lack of the chains customary orange hue in their signage. The post got more than 2,000 shares, with Crimson Tide fans writing Roll Tide! and Yeah we dont do orange here.

But despite how many die-hard Bama fans feel about the color worn by their bitter SEC rivals like Auburn and Tennessee, the choice was made merely for aesthetic purposes, at least according to the restaurant and the property owners.

A Whataburger public relations representative told AL.com that the white signage outside the restaurant was a requirement from the landlord.

A University of Alabama spokesperson shared this statement: As a requirement for occupancy of the space, Whataburger needed to adjust their typical signage for the location in University Town Center. This type of requirement is typical to ensure aesthetic consistency in developments. The University appreciates Whataburgers willingness and eagerness to offer the campus community another dining selection.

It remains unclear when the restaurant at University Town Center will open, but construction crews are hard at work.

Two years ago, the UA System Board of Trustees approved an commercial lease agreement with Whataburger for the stretch of University Boulevard known as The Strip. Tuscaloosas first two Whataburgers opened in 2018, on Skyland and McFarland Boulevards. (These locations have the standard orange coloring.)

The Texas-based franchise is currently expanding throughout Alabama, with a location in Albertville open this year and restaurants announced for Jacksonville and Gadsden. Whataburger already has 26 locations in Alabama and added a Madison restaurant in November.

Following the opening of a restaurant in Athens last year, the Albertville location was the second of 30 restaurants set to open through 2027 in partnership with MWB Restaurants, Whataburgers local franchise group. Whataburger also has locations in Alabaster, Athens, Auburn, Birmingham, Brewton, Chickasaw, Clanton, Daphne, Decatur, Foley, Fultondale, Homewood, Hoover, Huntsville, Leeds, Mobile, Montgomery, Opelika, Pelham, Saraland and Tuscaloosa.

William Thornton contributed to this story.
A young Ensley man has been convicted of capital murder in the 2018 shooting death of another man at Birmingham apartment complex.

A Jefferson County jury on Thursday found Corey Lamont Beckwood guilty in the Nov. 17, 2018, slaying of 34-year-old Eric Jermaine Jackson. Beckwood was 16 years old when he was arrested in Jacksons death.

He was also convicted of two counts of attempted murder for the wounding of two others in the same incident.

People need to realize theres a penalty to pay when they grab a gun and kill someone, said Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr.

This tragic case involved an extraordinarily brutal and utterly senseless act of gun violence from a teenager,' said Deputy District Attorney Tiffany Ould. The verdics are justice for the victims, especially the family of Eric Jackson, and for the community.

West Precinct officers responded just before 1:30 a.m. that Saturday to the parking lot of The Hamilton Apartments in the 1900 block of Avenue O on a report of gunshot victim. Once on the scene, officers found Jackson in a back seat of a white SUV wounded and unresponsive. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Investigators said the shooting happened at nearby Smart Food Mart in the 900 block of 20th Street Ensley. A woman then drove the victim to the apartment complex seeking help. The rear window of the SUV had been shot out.

Hours after the killing, Birmingham police released surveillance photos from the store, asking the public to help identify the suspect. He was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force four days later in east Birmingham.

A Birmingham man was shot to death Nov. 17, 2018, outside an Ensley store. He was then driven to an apartment complex where police responded and pronounced him dead. (Carol Robinson)

Birmingham police and Jefferson County sheriffs deputies set up a perimeter around a home after receiving information the suspect was there. They knocked on the door and could hear a lot of moving inside but nobody would answer the door.

The homeowner gave lawmen permission for the marshals to enter the home. Ultimately, they found Beckwood hiding behind a stove in the kitchen. He had pulled out the stove, climbed in behind it and moved it almost back into place. He was taken into custody without further incident.

The charge against Beckwood was a capital crime because the victim was in a vehicle. A sentencing date wasnt immediately available, but Beckwood could face a maximum punishment of life without parole. Because of his age at the time of the killing, Beckwood was not eligible for the death penalty.
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has asked government and military officials involved in the pending U.S. Space Command headquarters location decision to preserve all documentation related to that decision.

Rogers is responding to reports this week that the Biden administration has problems with moving the base to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. Redstone finished No. 1 in the official government ranking of competing base sites in 26 states.

NBC News was first to report this week that President Biden has decided to leave the headquarters in its startup location of Colorado Springs permanently. NBC said two government officials and one defense official said the decision was in part because of concerns about (Alabamas) restrictive abortion law.

The White House last December ordered an Air Force review of the base selection process after former President Trump said he made the decision for Alabama personally.

Rogers said in his statement today that, The Air Forces deleterious actions concerning the selection of a location for SPACECOM Headquarters require the Committee to now seek document preservation in this matter.

Rogers also said, Air Force officials have continued to delay finalizing the move of SPACECOM Headquarters to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, in response to apparent politically motivated interference by political appointees in the Biden Administration.

Rogers said the U.S. Space Forces overall mission and success requires a swift decision on finalizing the move. That move has been severely delayed  over two years beyond when the Air Force made the right decision after scrutinizing multiple locations and considering multiple factors to locate SPACECOM Headquarters in Huntsville, and over a year since the GAO and the DOD Inspector General affirmed Air Forces decision.

Moving expeditiously to locate SPACECOM Headquarters at Redstone Arsenal is in our countrys best national security interests, Rogers said.

After citing federal law requiring record preservation related to a broad range of governmental and policy decisions, Rogers said other records involving the president and his staff could also be secured.

Rogers said preserve means securing and maintaining the integrity of all relevant documents, communications, and other information, including electronic information and metadata, by taking reasonable steps to prevent the partial or full destruction, alteration, testing, deletion, shredding, incineration, wiping, relocation, migration, theft, mutation, or negligent or reckless handling that could render the information incomplete or inaccessible.
Keshan Darrel Allen, 29, of Athens made his first appearance in court Thursday afternoon since his arrest Tuesday, May 16. Allen is charged with aggravated child abuse and felony murder in the death of his girlfriends 2-year-old son.

The bond and preliminary hearings were held in the courtroom of Judge R. Gray West. District Attorney Brian Jones questioned Athens Police Department Detective Sgt. Kelly Fussell about the events leading to Allens arrest.

Fussell testified that on Friday, May 12, a 911 call was placed from Oakleaf Apartments at 10:24 a.m. in regard to an unresponsive child. APD and medical responders arrived on scene within 10 minutes where they found the unresponsive toddler. The child was taken to Athens Limestone Hospital where he died later that same afternoon.

Allen had told officers that the child was placed in the shower after using the bathroom in his pants. As he went to retrieve a new diaper, Allen claims to have heard what sounded like the child falling. He then told officers that he found the boy unresponsive in the tub and, not knowing proper CPR, began punching him in hopes of reviving him.

The childs body was sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science for autopsy. The death was ruled to have been caused by blunt forced trauma.

Fussell was present for the autopsy and described seeing a lot of blood in the abdominal cavity and obvious hemorrhaging. The child also had a lacerated liver and his collarbone was broken. Fussell asked the examiner if the injuries could be caused by lifesaving measures and was told absolutely not. Absent was any bruising to the head one might expect from a fall in the shower or tub.

Detectives, including Fussell, questioned Allen again after the autopsy findings. Allen admitted to punching the 2-year-old in the stomach and grabbing his shoulder to put him in corner as discipline for the bathroom accident. The child then had another accident which led to Allen placing him the shower.

An eyewitness to the incident was the 4-year-old sibling of the deceased. She was taken to Limestone County Child Advocacy Center for a forensic interview where she described Allen striking the 2-year-old on his back prior to putting him in the shower.

Allen is believed to have been in Athens only three weeks after previously living in Michigan and California. His criminal history consists of several gun charges in California with references to possible gang activity. The mother of the two children was not at home at the time of the incident.

West is expected to render his decisions regarding bond and the charges by the end of the day Thursday.

___

(c)2023 The News Courier (Athens, Ala.)

Visit The News Courier (Athens, Ala.) at enewscourier.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Alabama Senate Thursday approved a bill that would prevent state entities from contracting with companies that refuse to do business with fossil fuel producers, firearm manufacturers, companies do not facilitate access to abortion or gender-affirming care and other entities.

SB 261 passed 27-8 on a party line vote after a roughly two-hour debate where Democrats said the bill would drive out business and compromise free speech.

This is a bad bill, said Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro. Youve been working on three years of a bad bill. Just because youve been working on it for three years dont make it right.

More from Alabama Reflector

The legislation is an anti-environmental, social and governance (ESG) bill, one of several pushed by Republican legislators around the nation. ESG aims to encourage companies to consider sustainability in investment decisions, particularly around climate change.

Were trying to address corporate boycott issues and contracts in this legislation, Sen. Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook, the bills sponsor, said on the floor of the Senate Thursday.

The legislation prevents governmental entities from entering contracts worth more than $15,000 with companies with more than 10 employees engaged in economic boycotts.

The bill defines economic boycott as refusing to deal with, terminating business activities with, or otherwise taking any commercial action that is intended to penalize or inflict economic harm on a company solely because the company, without violating controlling law or regulation doing the following:

Engages in the exploration, production, utilization, transportation, sale, or manufacturing of fossil fuel-based energy, timber, mining or agriculture

Engages in, facilitates, or supports the manufacture, import, distribution, marketing or advertising, sale, or lawful use of firearms, ammunition, or component parts and accessories of firearms or ammunition.

Does not meet, is not expected to meet, or does not commit to meet environmental standards or disclosure criteria, in particular to eliminate, reduce, offset, or disclose greenhouse gas emissions

Does not meet, is not expected to meet, or does not commit to meet corporate employment or board composition, compensation, or disclosure criteria

Does not facilitate, is not expected to facilitate, or does not commit to facilitate access to abortion or sex or gender change surgery, medications, treatment, or therapies.

Companies entering contracts with public entities must verify that they do not engage in economic boycotts as defined by the bill.

The bill authorizes the Alabama attorney general to use all remedies at law or in equity to enforce this act. The bill also requires the attorney general to oppose federal laws that would infringe on the bill.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in testimony before Congress earlier this month that global elites in the private sector have taken our country on a climate crusade.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, about 63% of Alabamas greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 came from power plants.

Sen. Robert Stewart, D-Selma, asked why the environment was included, saying that tornado season has extended since when he was growing up. He said there are often discussions about clean energy.

Why cant we be innovative? he asked. I think this legislation will stifle us from being innovative. We talk all the time about how our kids are leaving their state in droves, and theyre not coming back.

Singleton added an amendment to the bill from the governors office which would exempt the finance department.

Others questioned the priorities of the bill. Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, had questions about the section that related to abortion or sex or gender change surgery, medication, treatment or therapy and the preceding sections.

She said she was trying to figure out in our state where these things are happening.

Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, said that this is a bill trying to legislate morality.

When are we going to find the courage, as a body, to make the decision, not on politics, but on right and wrong, he said.

The legislation moves to the House of Representatives.
Alabama Regional Medical Services (ARMS), a local federally funded hospital previously known as Birmingham Health Care for the Homeless, recently announced the hiring of Collette Reece as their new Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

As CFO Reece will manage all of ARMS financial operations to ensure that they are meeting the guidelines for federal funding and can continue to offer affordable healthcare to underserved members of the greater Birmingham community.

Reece said she plans to use her position to increase financial efficiency at ARMS so that the money saved can be used to expand care to more patients and offer more services to those in need.

For those of us who might not know, what are your main responsibilities as CFO of ARMS?

Yeah so, a CFO is primarily in charge of managing a companys financial operations. Theyre responsible for the fiscal health of the organization, as well as internal and external reporting.
Over 33 million Americans are currently driving cars that may have a dangerous problem: the airbag inflators have the potential to explode during an accident, causing dangerous debris to scatter.

A resolution will likely be reached soon in the disagreement between a manufacturer of airbag components and federal regulators responsible for safety. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has ordered the company ARC Automotive to recall 67 million inflators due to the risk of explosion.

ARC Remains Firm

(Photo : by CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP via Getty Images)

Airbag functionality is demonstrated in a Mercedes car during a press preview at the International Motor Show (IAA), on September 6, 2021 in Munich, southern Germany. - Germany's revamped IAA auto show, one of the world's largest, officially opens in Munich on September 7, for a celebration of all things car-related, but climate concerns and pandemic woes threaten to spoil the party.

However, ARC refuses to comply with the order, which could result in a legal battle between the company and the agency. The inflators have the potential to cause serious harm by forcefully blowing apart a metal container and releasing shrapnel, as reported by AP News.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) believes that recalling ARC's inflators is necessary as they have caused the deaths of two individuals in the United States and Canada, with at least seven others being injured. These explosions have happened since 2009, with recent incidents this year.

After an eight-year investigation, the NHTSA has tentatively determined that the inflators are faulty. The agency's records reveal that the inflators are from the 2002 model year until January 2018, when ARC installed equipment to identify potential safety hazards.

ARC argues that there is no safety issue with its products and that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) request for a recall is based on a theory rather than scientific evidence. They also believe that it is the responsibility of the car manufacturers, not the parts manufacturer, to carry out recalls. ARC stated in a letter to NHTSA that no car manufacturer had found a problem with all 67 million inflators, and there is no known cause for the inflator ruptures.

According to a statement from NHTSA, both the ARC and car manufacturers are accountable for recalls. Furthermore, NHTSA can demand a recall from a supplier that provides parts to numerous car manufacturers.

The NHTSA needs to decide whether the inflators are faulty and then conduct a public hearing. They may take legal action against ARC to demand a recall if necessary. The NHTSA has not announced when or if any of these steps will occur.

Read Also: NHTSA Probes Ford's Discontinued Fleet of Big Sedans For Steering Issues

How Does This Affect Other Car Brands?

Currently, many car owners who have vehicles made by around twelve automakers, including Toyota, Ford, Chevrolet, and others, are still determining whether their cars have inflators made by ARC for the driver or front passenger side or even both.

ARC provides inflators used in airbags made by other car manufacturers, making it difficult for car owners to identify if ARC makes their inflators. There is no comprehensive list of affected car models released by NHTSA, ARC, or the car manufacturers.

The situation with ARC has caused difficulties for car manufacturers as they try to determine how many of their vehicles contain faulty inflators. They are also seeking guidance from NHTSA on whether they need to initiate recalls. While they have identified many affected models, they are still collecting data on newer models to determine which ones have the problematic inflators.

Related Article: US Traffic Fatalities Fall Slightly, but Remain Alarming

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A man set to die in Alabama for the 1997 brutal slaying of a Mobile County man cant be executed because hes intellectually disabled, an appeals court ruled Friday.

Joseph Clifton Smith, 53, has been on Alabama Death Row for over 25 years. The U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision Friday means, unless overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, he wont be put to death. On Friday afternoon, a spokesperson said the Alabama Attorney Generals Office plans to appeal the ruling to the nations highest court.

Smiths court battle has been waged in the federal court system for years, with his lawyers from the Federal Defenders for the Middle District of Alabama arguing Smith is intellectually disabled and cant be put to death under precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court.

In May 2017, Smith testified at an evidentiary hearing in the U.S. District Court in south Alabama.

Senior U.S. District Judge Callie Granade ruled in August 2021 that Smith was intellectually disabled and cannot constitutionally be executed.

As the Court stated previously, this is a close case, but the evidence indicates that Smiths intelligence and adaptive functioning has been deficient throughout his life, the judge wrote. Smith intelligence falls at the low end of the Borderline range of intelligence and at worst at the high end of the required significantly subaverage intellectual functioning.

The Alabama Attorney Generals Office appealed that ruling to the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and oral arguments were held on the case this spring.

The appeals courts Friday ruling means, if not overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, Smith will be automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Smith was convicted in 1998 and sentenced to death for the November 1997 murder of Durk Van Dam. Police found Van Dams body badly beaten near his pick-up truck in an isolated area of Mobile County. Smith confessed to the killing, according to court records, and initially told police conflicting versions of the crime.

During trial, a forensic pathologist testified that Van Dam died as a result of 35 different blunt-force injuries to his body.

Currently, there are 167 inmates on Alabama Death Row.

A spokesperson for the AGs Office said, Smiths IQ scores have consistently placed his IQ above that of someone who is intellectually disabled. The Attorney General thinks his death sentence was both just and constitutional. The Attorney General disagrees with the Eleventh Circuits ruling, and will seek review from the United States Supreme Court.
Chervis Isom, the author, longtime Birmingham attorney, and mainstay of civic engagement, has died.

Isom died unexpectedly while overseas Thursday. He was 84.

News of Isoms death sparked tributes from people who knew and worked with him over the decades.

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin called Isom a devoted advocate for the city.

A proud product of the Norwood neighborhood, Chervis loved Birmingham, Woodfin told AL.com. He was a great proponent of diversity and equality. As a civic-minded leader, he played a key role in the creation and placement of the memorial to the four little girls at Kelly Ingram Park. He will be missed.

Don Lupo, City of Birmingham Operations Manager, lamented the loss of a friend and humble civic leader.

In a Facebook post, Lupo said that Isom, saw the good in us and worked tirelessly on overcoming the bad.

Even with Isoms accomplishments, hell be remembered for his humility and reputation as a man who was approachable, a man who extended a hand of friendship to everyone he encountered, Lupo said.

Chervis Isom was a really big deal, but no one would ever know it because of the way he treated everyone he came in contact with including me, said Lupo.

On Facebook, Birmingham writer and editor Mark Kelly recalled his 2014 interview with Isom about his memoir The Newspaper Boy: Coming of Age in Birmingham, Alabama, During the Civil Rights Era. The book is an unvarnished look at Birmingham through the eyes of a white child coming of age in the 1950s.

Chervis was one of a kind, a bird in this world, as the old folks used to say, Kelly wrote.

Kelly said Isoms book is a strong illustration of his character.

His own words are the best possible testament to his legacy as a caring, concerned, thoughtful, humble, and loving man, Kelly wrote. Thanks for everything, Chervis.

Isom graduated from Birmingham-Southern College in 1962, then earned his law degree at Samfords Cumberland School of Law in 1967.

Isom practiced law for nearly 50 years, rising to senior counsel in the Birmingham office of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, where he worked for 48 years. He remained a fixture in civic organizations and initiatives.
The man who killed five co-workers at a Kentucky bank last month had made plans for the shooting and placed his phone in a front shirt pocket to livestream the killings, according to police records recently released.

The shooter, 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon, had also attempted suicide around the same time last year, according to four search warrants sent to tech and phone companies seeking access to information on his phone. Police also found a manifesto or note inside his Louisville residence, according to the search warrants, which were dated April 13 but were sealed by a judge for 30 days.

Sturgeons parents have spoken publicly about their sons mental health issues, and said they were helping him seek treatment. They told police that his mental health disorders may have played a part during this criminal act, according to one of the warrants.

See also: Louisville bank gunman was University of Alabama graduate

Messages and notes from the device were shown to have plans on how to conduct the shooting, a police investigator wrote in one of the warrants.

Sturgeon used an AR-15 assault-style rifle in the April 10 attack at Old National Bank in downtown Louisville before he was fatally shot in the lobby by a responding police officer. Eight others were injured, including a Louisville patrol officer, Nicholas Wilt, who was shot in the head and continues to recuperate. Wilt had just graduated from the police academy and had been on the job a few days.

The warrants do not give any details about what was found on the phones or the note found at Sturgeons home. Before the shooting, he went live on Instagram and placed his phone in his shirt pocket to capture the mass shooting, the warrants said.

The four unsealed warrants sought information from Google, AT&T, Apple and Snap Inc.

Sturgeons parents said their son had mental health challenges that were being addressed. But they said there were never any warning signs that he would commit a violent act.

The five bank employees killed in the shooting were Joshua Barrick, Deana Eckert, Tommy Elliott, Juliana Farmer and Jim Tutt Jr.
The Walt Disney Co. has scrapped plans to build a $1 billion office complex in Orlando, as the company continues to wage a political and legal battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

In an email to employees on Thursday, Disney executive Josh DAmaro said that considerable changes, including new leadership and changing business conditions, had led to the decision to cancel the project.

Disney had planned to move 2,000 employees to the Lake Nona complex once it was complete, mostly from the Imagineering division. The company announced the project in 2021, and reports indicated it could have benefited from as much as $500 million in state tax incentives.

But that was before the Dont Say Gay controversy severely damaged the companys relationship with DeSantis and the state legislature in 2022.

Disney is now suing the governor in federal court, accusing him of violating its First Amendment rights by retaliating against it for opposing the Parental Rights in Education law.

Disney had already pushed back the timetable for the Lake Nona development to 2026. Many company employees resisted the move from California to Florida, and some quit. Those complaints grew louder amid the battle with DeSantis.

As a result of the decision, the company will no longer be asking employees to relocate. DAmaro said the company would also work with employees who have already moved to Florida, and discuss the possibility of moving back.

Meanwhile, Disney still has plans to invest $17 billion in the Orlando theme parks over the next decade. Those plans are somewhat in peril as the company fights with DeSantis over the governance of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which encompasses the Orlando resorts.

DAmaro indicated in the memo that the theme park investments are in doubt, saying I hope were able to do so.

Disney controlled the district -- formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District -- for 55 years, until DeSantis and the Legislature renamed it and put state appointees in charge in February. The company is trying to invalidate that change through its First Amendment suit. The DeSantis-backed governing board, meanwhile, is pursuing its own litigation to invalidate a series of development agreements Disney negotiated with the former board.

DAmaros full email announcing the Lake Nona decision follows:

Team,

I wanted to let you know that weve just begun communication regarding our updated plans for the Lake Nona campus.

As many of you know, the company had decided to build a new Disney campus in Lake Nona and many Cast Members, Imagineers, and Employees were asked to commit to making a move to Florida. While some were excited about the new campus, I know that this decision and the circumstances surrounding it have been difficult for others.

Given the considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions, we have decided not to move forward with construction of the campus. This was not an easy decision to make, but I believe it is the right one. As a result, we will no longer be asking our employees to relocate. For those who have already moved, we will talk to you individually about your situation, including the possibility of moving you back.

It is clear to me that the power of this brand comes from our incredible people, and we are committed to handling this change with care and compassion. I remain optimistic about the direction of our Walt Disney World business. We have plans to invest $17 billion and create 13,000 jobs over the next ten years. I hope were able to do so.

We are committed to our teams who call Central Florida home and to all of our Cast Members around the world, and I want to thank you for your continued dedication to Disney Parks, Experiences and Products and for delivering world-class entertainment for our Guests.

More from Variety

 2023 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
Alabamians with certain non-violent crimes on their records will have the chance to get legal help to clear their criminal histories in Montgomery this weekend.

About five attorneys from Legal Services Alabama, a non-profit that represents low-income people will be meeting with residents at the First Baptist Church of Greater Washington Park in Montgomery on Saturday to start the legal process of expunging the records of anyone who shows up and is eligible.

Elizabeth Hollie, a managing attorney at legal services, said that under the Alabama Redeemer Act, passed in 2021, some nonviolent felonies and misdemeanors can be cleared from peoples records to help them get jobs and housing.

What we see here is a lot of people who are trying to get employment. They may have done something, years ago, you know, sometimes we have our youthful days where we make mistakes, she said.

The law allows people who have been convicted of nonviolent crimes, such as minor traffic violations, theft and drug related crimes, to apply for expungement, which clears criminal history from public records except for law enforcement purposes.

Expungements are especially important during our current eviction crisis, as even minor criminal records can impact a persons ability to find stable and quality housing, legal services said in a press release this week.

The group has held expungement clinics in cities around the state for the past year, according to Hollie. She said she expects about 500 people to attend the clinic in Montgomery on Saturday.

Normally the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency charges $25 for the expungement process, but many people who start the process through legal services will be able to do it for free.

Hollie said getting past crimes expunged from the record helps parents provide for their children.

If you cant support your child because you cant get a job, its creating a cycle of need, she said. Theyre going to lack if their parents cant afford to feed them, to clothe them (or) to give them housing.

Saturdays clinic will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Greater Washington Park in Montgomery.
More than 50 men and women killed in the line of duty as Birmingham police officers were remembered in Railroad Park Friday morning for making the ultimate sacrifice.

Police Chief Scott Thurmond, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Assistant Chief LaQuaylin Parhm Mack and Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr honored the 51 slain officers who have died in Birmingham since 1900.

Theres a tremendous amount of respect my team and I have for what you do every day, the sacrifices you make, the time away from your family, Woodfin told the officers gathered at the ceremony. I believe it is extremely unfortunate that over the course of time, this department as well as other police departments across our nation, have lost officers  men and women in the line of duty, protecting and serving, making the ultimate sacrifice.

I believe it does not matter if its been one day, one month, one year, multiple years, Woodfin said. The collective grief that exists among those fallen officers families is extremely important to remember.

Even in the midst of what were seeing across the country where weve seen an increase of active shooters in public spaces, the mayor said, one of the things that is very consistent is officers running straight into the fire and not even questioning or second guessing.

Fridays ceremony was held as part of National Police Week. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation which designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day. Bagpipes played and there was the symbolic wreath-laying.

Birmingham police Officer Truman Fitzgerald read the names of those Birmingham officers killed in service over the past 123 years.

Across the U.S., there have been 42 officers killed in the line of duty this year, including one in Alabama. Huntsville police Officer Garrett Crumby, 36, was killed and Officer Albert Morin, 34, was seriously injured on March 28.

In all of 2022, 246 officers were slain across the country, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.

The last Birmingham police officer killed in the line of duty was Sgt. Wytasha Carter, who was killed Jan. 13, 2019, as he and another officer attempted to arrest two men who were breaking into vehicles at a bar in 900 block of Fifth Avenue North.

Randall Versie Randy Smith, 63, died in 2020 as a result of a on-duty shooting that happened in 1995.

Thurmond said the 51 Birmingham officers killed died doing what they did best - serving and protecting.

Each of these officers are heroes who went above and beyond, and they sacrificed their own lives protecting those they served, Thurmond said. If each of these officers would have known their fate before arriving at work that day, they would have most likely come to work that day because being a police officer was their calling.

It takes a great deal of courage to become a police officer. There is no other profession where you have to put on a bullet proof vest and a gun belt to go to work, the chief said. There is no other profession where people run towards the sounds of gunfire to help those in need. Theres no other profession where people go the places where no one else is willing to go.

Each and every time an officer leaves home, Thurmond said, theres no guarantee they will return home safely to their loved ones.

Thurmond said when he was a young detective, he had a discussion with his partner about winning the lottery and what they would do if they won.

Toward the end of that discussion, I reminded him that we would never win the lottery because we were chosen to be police officers and serve our community selflessly each and every day, he said. And if we won the lottery, we would no longer be police officers.

Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr said, Theres a saying that you cant live a fulfilled day without doing something for someone who can never repay you. Each and every day, when you put that uniform on, youre doing something for a community that can never repay you.

Carr said all police officers are heroes.

When we think about who are heroes? The people who are standing there in uniform. The people who everyday show up and do what I call real leadership, he said. Its about making things right and every time you show up, you make things right for people who are at their worst moment.

Here is the list of Birmingham Fallen Officers:

1. J. Wafe Adams- EOW: 3/28/1900

2. George W. Kirkley- EOW: 3/28/1900

3.William P. Walton- EOW: 3/18/1902

4.James H. Mullin- EOW: 9/27/1903

5. Samuel H. Hamilton-EOW: 5/12/1907

6. Willis A. Smith-EOW: 3/10/1908

7. John W. little-EOW: 11/7/1908

8. George Clinton Eubank-EOW: 11/23/1909

9. Loner Denson Camp-EOW: 6/19/1910

10. W.C. Wallace-EOW: 11/8/1910

11. William Benjamin-EOW: 9/29/1913

12. Hugh Tulley-EOW: 10/13/1913

13. John Acquilla Moore-EOW: 12/5/1913

14. George A. Sims-EOW: 1/22/1918

15. John Dickerson Newby-EOW: 10/15/1919

16. Sam P. Dobyns-EOW: 9/19/1920

17. Walter C. Hollums-EOW: 8/18/1923

18. Virgil Ray Payne-EOW: 2/12/1927

19. .Alexander A. Manley-EOW: 5/26/1927

20. Elsie Turner Lewis-EOW: 3/3/1928

21. Henry Francis Mills-EOW: 8/8/1930

22. Lee Edward Buckalew-EOW: 5/23/1931

23. William Ira Latham-EOW: 10/24/1932

24. Dumas Froy Phillips-EOW: 4/23/1934

25. Forest J. Harris-EOW: 2/8/1935

26. James M. Early-EOW: 4/15/1935

27. Homer Earnest Poore-EOW: 6/30/1936

28. James Tillman Moser- EOW: 1/31/1939

29. Newton Edward Wolff-EOW: 7/12/1941

30. Fred R. Brockman- EOW: 11/3/1953

31. Herbert C. Osborn- EOW: 7/24/1962

32. Azell L. Harris- EOW: 5/4/1969

33. Kenneth Lee Spencer-EOW: 7/13/1969

34. Henry L. Thompson-EOW: 10/16/1972

35. Felix Underwood-EOW: 10/7/1973

36. William Stanley-EOW: 8/9/1975

37. James Earl Rhodes-EOW: 3/11/1978

38. Albert Eugene Ballard-EOW: 11/29/1979

39. Edward K. Alley, Jr.-EOW: 12/25/1980

40. Robert D. Patterson-EOW:10/31/1982

41. Sharon K. Robinson-EOW: 4/7/1984

42. Marcus L. Reid-EOW: 4/7/1984

43. Frank H. Dunn-EOW: 10/14/1986

44. John Martin Huffman-EOW: 5/21/1992

45. Sandy Sanderson-EOW: 1/29/1998

46. Joseph Jerome Daniels-EOW: 11/18/2002

47. C. Robert Bennett-EOW: 6/17/2004

48. Harley Alfred Chisholm, III-EOW: 6/17/2004

49. Carlos Winston Owens-EOW: 6/17/2004

50. Sgt. Wytasha Carter  EOW 1/13/2019

51. Randall Versie Smith  EOW 12/28/2020
At the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville on Friday, Gov. Kay Ivey stepped to the podium and almost shouted as she began her remarks.

Alabama is the only choice for Space Command headquarters, the governor said.

Related: Alabama congressman asks officials making SpaceCom HQ decision to preserve documents

That Ivey was speaking into a microphone did not matter, nor did the fact that she was in Huntsville to help cut the ribbon on the new $20 million Space Camp Operations center.

The audience of about 500 people immediately applauded.

No ifs, ands or buts, Ivey continued after the clapping subsided. The contest was not even close. The Pentagon knows it. The White House knows it. And Ill keep saying it and Alabama will keep proving it until the headquarters is officially in Huntsville.

And another round of applause broke out.

Alabama officials are cranking up the rhetoric in support of Huntsville in the aftermath of an NBC News report earlier this week that the Biden administration was looking to keep Space Command in Colorado Springs, Colo., as its permanent headquarters.

The Air Force in 2021 identified Huntsville as its preferred choice and multiple government assessments have agreed that Redstone Arsenal in the Rocket City is the best site.

Alabama officials said they believe President Joe Biden is making a decision on Space Command based on politics  noting that Colorado supported Biden in the 2020 presidential election while Alabama supported former President Donald Trump.

Meeting with reporters following the Space Camp Operations ceremony, Ivey went further in her comments.

Keep talking about it and not taking no for an answer, Ivey said when asked what she could do to help secure Space Command for Huntsville.

Ivey was also asked about Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who has been criticized and lacks of the support of the top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell for putting a hold on military promotions as a protest of a Pentagon policy providing travel expenses and paid leave for servicemembers to travel to states where abortion is legal.

Thats not the issue, Ivey said. The issue is the evaluation was made fair and square based on the merits of where the Space (Command) headquarters should be. And Alabama was chosen hands down. Theres no question. And so were going to stick to that. And keep working to get the Biden administration to put national defense first instead of politics and other side issues. But this is an important mission for the Space Command to be located here in Huntsville.
U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman Thursday accused Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of promoting racist tropes about Black men after she claimed to have felt threatened by his physical mannerisms during an argument on the steps of the Capitol.

Bowman, a Bronx Democrat who is Black, said Greene was spewing racist dog whistles when she claimed he should be monitored because she believes he acted aggressively during a verbal confrontation a day earlier.

Black men continue to be characterized as aggressive and threatening when we are passionate and outspoken, Bowman tweeted. Theyre not just using dog whistles, theyre using bullhorns.

Greene earlier Thursday made no effort to hide her thoughts about Bowman, a former Bronx middle school principal.

His physical mannerisms are aggressive, Greene, who represents a deep-red rural Georgia district, said at an unrelated Capitol Hill press conference. I think theres a lot of concern about Jamaal Bowman. And I am concerned about it. I feel threatened by him.

The two lawmakers were picking up where they left off the evening before with a war of words outside the Capitol.

The caught-on video confrontation started with Bowman and other progressive lawmakers heckling scandal-plagued Rep. George Santos, who escaped a possible expulsion vote when fellow Republicans referred his indictment to the ethics committee for a probe.

Bowman told Greene that the Republican Party needs to move away from right-wing radicalism.

No more QAnon, no more MAGA, no more debt-ceiling nonsense, he said.

Greene responded by pumping her fist and chanting: Impeach Biden.

Bowman advised her to do something about guns, prompting Greene to respond: Right, so close the border.

Despite the back-and-forth between the pair, the video showed the dispute never showed any sign of becoming physical.

-------

2023 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
NASA said today it has selected Blue Origin to provide the second set of lunar landers for its multi-mission Artemis program to return Americans to the moon.

The fixed-price contract calls for $3.4 billion in NASA funding for two landers. Blue Origin is also putting up more than that amount of its own funding and has named its first lander the Blue Moon Lunar Lander, NASA said.

The company will send a first uncrewed test lander to the lunar surface before a four-person crew flies in 2029 on the Artemis V mission and lands in the second Blue Origin lander for a weeklong stay, NASA said. Both missions will launch atop Blue Origins New Glenn rocket now in development.

NASA has already contracted with SpaceX to build and launch the first commercial human lunar landing system for $2.9 billion. At least one of those astronauts will be the first woman on the moon. Another goal of the Artemis program includes landing the first person of color on the lunar surface.

Having two distinct lunar lander designs, with different approaches to how they meet NASAs mission needs, provides more robustness and ensures a regular cadence of Moon landings, said Lisa Watson-Morgan, manager of the Human Landing System Program at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. This competitive approach drives innovation, brings down costs, and invests in commercial capabilities to grow the business opportunities that can serve other customers and foster a lunar economy.

Billionaire Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, owns Blue Origin. The company builds its BE-3 and BE-4 rocket engines in Huntsville and tests them at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The company leads what it calls the National Team working to return to the moon including team members Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Draper, Astrobotic and Honeybee Robotics.

(Updated at 1:33 p.m CST to name all National Team member companies)
The embattled rocket at the north Alabama welcome center scored what supporters considered a victory Friday when the board that oversees the U.S. Space & Rocket Center gave its backing to preserving the rocket.

The rocket center has been charged by NASA to take down the rocket but its board, the Alabama Space Science Exhibit Commission, tapped the brakes on that plan at its quarterly meeting.

The board voted without dissent to support a recommendation from board member Joe Fitzgerald that the rocket center make every reasonable effort to make sure the rocket at the under-renovation Interstate 65 welcome center just south of the Tennessee state line remains in place. NASA, which owns the rocket, and the rocket center  which has custody of the rocket on loan from NASA  have said the deteriorating rocket needs to be taken down because the cost for repairs is prohibitive and it poses a safety hazard.

During the board meeting, Fitzgerald gave a passionate defense of the rocket.

I stand before you today to ask you to save the Saturn 1B (rocket) and not to destroy it, Fitzgerald told his fellow board members. Make no mistake  a vote to take this rocket down is a vote to destroy it. That would be a horrible tragedy for our state.

The vote further freezes action on the rocket, which NASA announced in January would be taken down. The issue will go back to a ASSEC committee for further consideration and Fitzgerald said he intended to present new information to support his position to save the rocket. The rocket center already was awaiting an opinion from the Alabama attorney generals office on the legality of taking down the rocket, which could be protected under the 2017 Memorial Preservation Act.

The Saturn 1B rocket, which stands 168 feet tall with a diameter of 22 feet, has been in place at the welcome center since 1979. It is one of only two remaining in the world, according to the rocket center. A rocket center report from 2022 described the Saturn 1B as an overlooked workhorse of the Apollo program. Among its tasks was as the launch vehicle for the Skylab mission that, Fitzgerald noted, is celebrating its golden anniversary this year.

NASA said once the rocket is taken down, it will be disassembled.

The USSRC will take the rocket down at the welcome center, NASA said in February. NASA will then deconstruct it into small pieces for safe removal from the site and the metal will be reutilized. It will not go to a landfill. The rocket is beyond repair and restoration. Efforts going forward will focus on future plans for the rest stop, which will be led by state leadership.

No one spoke in favor of taking down the rocket at the meeting.

Do we have all the facts? Fitzgerald said of the status of the rocket or avenues for repairs. Do we want more facts or more information? This is a big move, folks. Were at the 50th anniversary of Skylab and were going to take now the principle vehicle that enabled that to happen during this year.

Afterward, Fitzgerald said he considered it a victory for the rocket but many more need to follow. The committee to which the issue was referred last year agreed that the rocket should be taken down.

As you notice, it was not on the (meeting) agenda, Fitzgerald told AL.com. Not discussed. Im going to say this, this was a fait accompli. Move on, nothing here to be seen. And thats the way its been. (Fridays vote) is a rekindling. Im saying theres a spark. Not saying weve got a fire but theres a spark. And theres hope.

While NASA, the rocket center and its board as well as the state legislature have been pondering the future of the rocket for more than a year, the issue jumped into the spotlight in January when state Tourism Director Lee Sentell told AL.com the rockets days were numbered.

Its time for it to go, Sentell said at the time. That was never intended to be anywhere that long.

Days later, NASA said it would cost about $7 million to repair the rocket while questioning if the rocket could withstand refurbishment. The legislature last year allocated almost $1 million to the rocket center to help fund rocket removal.

Meanwhile, Daniel Ponsford, a Georgia-based conservator who has worked on projects at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington and across the country, said he believed restoration costs could be as low as $4 million. Ponsford also said he believed the rocket could be restored while standing at the now-closed welcome center.

Ponsford, who has offered to give a firm estimate for repairs at no charge if allowed to assess the rocket, attended Fridays board meeting.

The rocket really is in overall good condition, Ponsford told AL.com last month.

NASA has disagreed.

Since the support structure has deteriorated over the years, the damage is too significant to repair, and could potentially pose a structural safety issue if left in place, the focus right now is getting the rocket down safely, NASA said in a statement to AL.com in February.

Three months later, the rocket appeared to receive a reprieve.

Now, at this particular moment, our objective was to bring as much knowledge and momentum to bear, said Steven Thornton, CEO of Monte Sano Research and a leader of a Huntsville group seeking to save the rocket. Weve been given a chance.
On Thursday, May 19, the U.S. Air Force announced that it plans to give a contract for its sixth-generation fighter jet in 2024. This is being done in order to maintain its superiority over the Chinese military technology, which is advancing at a rapid pace.

Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co, and Northrop Grumman Corp are anticipated to vie for the Next Generation Air Dominance program, which is intended to substitute Lockheed's F-22 Raptor with a fighter that can combat alongside unmanned aerial vehicles.

The Air Force shared a private proposal request with companies, outlining the specific technical needs for a new fighter jet.

While many details are still classified, it was revealed in 2020 that at least one prototype had successfully flown. The goal for the new fighter is to be able to function and adjust in challenging air environments, an area where the U.S. Air Force excels, according to Reuters. However, to maintain their superiority, action must be taken now.

In 2024, the Air Force has decided to allocate $2.3 billion towards a program, and an extra $595 million will be used to develop engines for the new fighter.

A Response to China?

The decision to develop a new sixth-generation fighter jet comes as the Chinese military continues to advance its technology rapidly. China has invested heavily in developing advanced weapons systems, including hypersonic missiles and stealth aircraft.

The U.S. Air Force is determined to maintain its technological edge by investing in cutting-edge technologies for its next generation of fighter jets. The Next Generation, Air Dominance program, will ensure that the U.S. can counter any potential threats from adversaries like China.

While details about the new fighter are still largely classified, it's clear that this project represents a major investment for both defense contractors and government agencies alike. With billions of dollars allocated towards research and development efforts over several years, there's no doubt that this program will have significant implications for national security and global geopolitics more broadly.

Only time will tell how effective these efforts prove to be at maintaining America's technological superiority on the battlefield - but one thing is certain: with so much at stake economically and militarily speaking, everyone involved is sure to give it everything they've got!

Read also: How Much Is Known About the B-21 Raider, US Air Force's Most Advanced Stealth Bomber

US-China Tensions

The increased investment in advanced fighter jets comes amid growing tensions between the U.S. and China. The two superpowers have been engaged in a trade war and have been at odds over human rights, Taiwan, and the South China Sea.

China has been rapidly modernizing its military in recent years and has made significant advances in areas such as hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence, and cyber warfare. This has led to concerns in the U.S. that China could soon pose a serious threat to American military dominance.

The Next Generation, Air Dominance program is just one part of the U.S. military's efforts to stay ahead of China technologically. Other initiatives include developing new missile defense systems and investing in areas such as quantum computing and space-based weapons.

While the U.S. remains the world's most powerful military, China's rapid rise has led to fears that the balance of power could shift in the coming years. The U.S. is thus determined to maintain its edge and is investing heavily in cutting-edge technologies to ensure that it remains the dominant military force in the world.

Related article: US Air Force Reassured B-21 Raider Won't Have Trouble like F-35 Despite Delays

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A 20-year-old has been identified as the man killed when police say he was carjacking another man in Birmingham earlier this week.

The Jefferson County Coroners Office identified the homicide victim as Patrick Bennett. He lived in Odenville.

Authorities said he was identified through fingerprints, and his family was notified on Friday.

East Precinct officers were called to the 700 block of Springville Road just before 8 p.m. Wednesday on a report of a person shot at the Springville Landing apartments, said Officer Truman Fitzgerald.

Officers found Bennett unresponsive from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead on the scene at 8:04 p.m.

Fitzgerald said as a second group of patrol officers headed to the scene, they were flagged about a second person down from gunfire in grassy area, also in the 700 block of Springville Road.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service transported the carjacking victim, who was found shot outside an apartment, to UAB Hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police said Friday he remains hospitalized.

The carjacking victim, police said, was on his way home when he was approached by multiple suspects. He was shot, and then returned fire, striking Bennet.

In less than 30 minutes, the departments Real Time Crime Center located the victims vehicle at 10 9th Ave. West in Smithfield. As officers approached the vehicle, a male began to flee.

Police then surrounded a home in Smithfield. A male and female exited without incident.

No arrests have been made.
A suspect is engaged in a standoff with several law enforcement agencies in north Alabama following a shooting Thursday night.

Rogersville police officers responded to a call of a shooting near Lauderdale County Road 70 and Lauderdale County Road 562 around 5:07 p.m. Thursday, Chief Brian Hudson told WHNT.

A victim was struck by gunfire and suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to Hudson.

The suspect fled the scene of the shooting and either began hiding in the woods or a residence, the chief said.

Lauderdale County sheriffs deputies and the Florence-Lauderdale SWAT team are engaged in a standoff with the suspect near Lauderdale County Road 70, WHNT reported.

The sheriffs office could not immediately be reached to confirm the report.
Austal USA announced that it received a new U.S. Navy contract to build ocean surveillance ships, a deal with a potential value of more than $3 billion.

According to information released by the Mobile shipyard, the contract covers detail design and construction of up to seven ships in the TAGOS-25 class. Austal will be the prime contractor, working with L3Harris Technologies, Noise Control Engineering, TAI Engineering and Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors.

The Austal USA team is excited to support the U.S. Navy with this critical program. We have enjoyed our long partnership with the Navy in delivering aluminum ships and we are honored to continue that relationship in delivering high-quality steel ships on schedule and on budget, Austal USA President Rusty Murdaugh said. This contract award was enabled by our continual focus on our people and our facilities. The Austal USA workforce is proud of our role in providing for the Nations defense by delivering these ships to the Navy.

According to www.navalnews.com, TAGOS ships provide a platform capable of theater anti-submarine acoustic passive and active surveillance and support the mission of the Navys Integrated Undersea Surveillance System.

According to a report from the Congressional Research Service, the new TAGOS-25 ships will replace a fleet of five older TAGOS ships based in Yokohama, Japan. The potential value of the contract, if all seven ships are built, is $3.195 billion.
An Alabama man was convicted by an Oklahoma federal jury of sexually abusing a child on a Native American reservation, prosecutors announced Thursday.

Dennis Hebert, 38, of Phenix City, was found guilty of one count of aggravated sexual abuse, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern of District of Oklahoma.

At trial, evidence was presented that Hebert sexually abused the victim in 2021 in McAlester, Okla., prosecutors said. The incident occurred within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation.

The jury also heard from a government witness who testified to being sexually abused by Hebert as a child.

Federal prosecutors tried then case instead of tribal police because the victim was a member of a federally recognized Native American tribe.

Tribal police and the FBI investigated the case.

Heberts trial began Monday and ended with a guilty verdict Wednesday.
This is a guest opinion column

There are 14,000 Alabamians on dialysis for kidney failure, most of whom are so sick they cant work. Living with kidney disease on a fixed income is a huge emotional, physical, and financial burden. Although kidney disease has no cure, some prescription medications can help manage the condition. Unfortunately, the harmful business practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)little-known middlemen in the healthcare industryare placing access to these treatments and many more outside patients reach. That has to stop.

Congress must act to reign in abusive PBM activity so Alabamians can access the prescription drugs they need.

Butyou might be askingwhat are PBMs, and how do they stand between patients and their prescriptions? In theory, PBMs are supposed to consolidate purchasing power to drive down the cost of prescription drugs for patients. PBMs negotiate prescription drug prices paid to drug manufacturers and compensate pharmacy networks that deliver medication to patients. In practice, however, PBMs are playing both sides of the market. They use their commanding market share to drive up the cost of medication and limit patient access to drug treatments.

For instance, PBMs determine health insurance plan formulariesthe menus of drugs covered by health plans and available to patients. Drug manufacturers offer rebates and discounts to PBMs in exchange for including their products in formularies. Unfortunately, PBMs do not pass on these discounts to patients in the form of lower list prices. Instead, PBMs use spread pricing to maximize the compensation they receive from health plan providers by overcharging them when their beneficiaries fill their prescriptions.

Spread pricing occurs when PBMs pay pharmacies a pre-negotiated rate for prescription medications but charge healthcare providers a higher price for those same drugs. The PBM absorbs the difference, and manifests inflated drug costs via higher insurance premiums, copays, and out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. Practices such as spread pricing allow PBMs to pocket profits at the expense of the patient and the taxpayer. Investigations reveal that PBMs used pricing schemes to overcharge Medicaid programs in Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, and Arkansas by hundreds of millions of dollars.

To make matters worse, the drugs covered by PBM-controlled formularies do not serve patient health needs. Frequently, PBMs opt to include expensive drug treatments for which they get higher rebates instead of the cheapest options for patients. If PBMs agree to cover multiple treatment options, they will still restrict patient choice. PBMs drive patients toward more expensive drug treatment plans through fail first policies, which require patients to attempt a PBM-preferred medication before gaining access to alternative drugs that their doctor may have initially prescribed. Under fail-first policies, a PBM only provides alternatives if its initial prescription fails to treat the patients condition or produces harmful side effects.

These PBM fail-first policies are wrong. Patients and their doctors should be free to select the treatments they determine are most appropriate. Patients should not be forced into treatment regimens for the sake of a PBMs bottom line. Yet fail-first policies continue to compel patients to vary and experiment with their prescriptions instead of optimizing for patient health.

Finally, and perhaps most troublingly, PBMs directly compete with the pharmacy networks they are supposed to service. All three major PBMs own pharmacies. PBMs push patients to use their own specialty pharmacies by refusing to fill certain prescriptions at independent pharmacy locations. These practices force independent pharmacies to close, thus reducing the number of prescription drug providers in the market and steering patients to rely on mail-order pharmacies to fill their prescriptions. The risk of delays and errors in the mail-order pharmacy system is high and results in gaps in treatment.

The fact that PBMs limit patient access to life-saving prescription drugs and strip doctors of treatment options is unconscionable. PBMs are supposed to lower drug costs and increase access to vital medicines. But opaque PBM pricing practices and conflicts of interest have actively hindered both goals.

Congress has taken steps to reduce harmful PBM business practices, but more must be done. The House Oversight and Accountability Committee recently launched an investigation into PBM practices, and a bipartisan group of senators is urging the FTC to complete a similar assessment. Hopefully, these efforts will reveal the full extent of PBM abuses.

Bipartisan legislation known as the HELP Copays Act is currently pending. Passing this bill would be a meaningful step toward holding PBMs accountable. We all have loved ones that rely on prescription medications for their health. PBMs put profits before medicine. Its time Congress did something about it.

David Reeves is the executive director of the Alabama Kidney Foundation.
A roundup of conversations we're having daily on the site. Subscribe to the Reckon Daily for stories centering marginalized communities and speaking to the under-covered issues of the moment.

A group of content creators filed a lawsuit against the state of Montana, challenging a first-in-the-nation ban on TikTok that was signed into law on Wednesday.

The five plaintiffs - Samantha Alario, Heather Dirocco, Carly Ann Goddard, Alice Held and Dale Stout - are Montana residents and TikTok content creators who use the app to promote a business, connect with military veterans, share outdoor adventures, or express their sense of humor. Two of them have over 200,000 followers.

One of them, Carly Ann Goddard, shares videos about her parenting, living on a ranch, food recipes and home decor. Her account has amassed 97,000 followers and, according to the lawsuit, allowed Goddard to roughly triple her familys household income.

This economic reliance on TikTok is shared by many, including small business owners in Montana. There are a lot of small businesses that operate via TikTok, and [] dont have a storefront, work out of their homes, said Maisie Gospodarek, a Missoula-based business owner whos used TikTok to reach a larger audience and see business grow, to NBC Montana.

Gospodarek adds that a potential statewide ban on TikTok would be detrimental to a lot of people, damaging businesses.

The lawsuit alleges that SB 419 violates the plaintiffs First Amendment rights. The content creators claim that Montana does not have any authority over matters of national security, challenging the reason that SB 419 was introduced in the first place.

The law takes the broadest possible approach to its objectives, restricting and banning the protected speech of all TikTok users in Montana to prevent the speculative and unsubstantiated possibility that the Chinese government might direct TikTok Inc., or its parent, to spy on some Montana users, the lawsuit states.

This controversial law, officially known as the Montana Social Media Accountability Act, was signed amid growing concern by local lawmakers, Congress and the White House that the app could provide user data to the Chinese government and, in turn, influence content in the U.S.

To protect Montanans personal and private data from the Chinese Communist Party, I have banned TikTok in Montana, tweeted Gov. Gianforte.

The law is slated to take effect on January 1, 2024, and imposes stringent regulations on TikTok and punishes app stores that allow users to download it.

TikTok will be fined $10,000 for every attempt from users to access it in the state of Montana and an additional $10,000 per day for every day TikTok continues to allow access to a Montana-based user.

For app stores like Google Play and Apples app store, the tech giants will face similar penalties if TikTok remains available for download for Montana users. Individual users will not be fined for accessing the app, however.

Montana can no more ban its residents from viewing or posting to TikTok than it could ban The Wall Street Journal because of who owns it or the ideas it publishes, the suit contends. Even if Montana could regulate any of the speech that users share through TikTok, the law wields a sledgehammer when the First Amendment requires a scalpel.

The plaintiffs also assert that the law unjustifiably singles out TikTok, while other social media platforms with similar features remain unaffected.

While Montana lawmakers supportive of this ban argue that the law is a pro-active step to protect users, especially minors, from potential harm associated with social media addiction and online predators, critics of the law believe that it is an overreach of government power.

Its not enough to point to a real problem. The mechanism you use to address the problem has to survive constitutional scrutiny, said Jameel Jaffer, the director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, in an interview with First Amendment expert Floyd Abrams. And I dont think that these kinds of bans can survive that scrutiny.

Jaffer likened the federal governments proposal to ban TikTok  and what Montana has now down  to authoritarianism, calling the move a hallmark of restrictive regimes.
Andy Rourke, The Smiths's bassist, passed away at 59 years old.

No less than the band's former guitarist, Johnny Marr, announced the passing of the iconic musician on social media.

Smith Bassist Andy Rourke's Death

According to BBC, Johnny Marr, The Smiths' guitarist who played enchanting melodies with Rourke, confirmed the heartbreaking news. He confirmed that the band's former bassist departed this life after suffering from pancreatic cancer.

The Smiths' guitarist took to Twitter to pay tribute to his dear friend and bandmate, describing Rourke as "a kind and beautiful soul." And for avid music fans, Rourke will be known for his legacy as a "supremely gifted musician."

But for now, Marr requested the privacy of their bandmate.

Rourke has played on the entire list of The Smiths' studio albums, including "Strangeways, Here We Come" in 1987, "The Queen is Dead" in 1986, "Meat is Murder" in 1985, and the earliest of them all, "The Smiths" in 1984. These albums amusingly defined the sounds of the British in music way back in the 80s.

And as such, the bassist has performed in all of the most famous hits of the iconic English rock band. Some of their chart-topping songs are "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" and "This Charming Man."

As per The Guardian, Rourke's passion for the bass persisted even as the band members went their separate paths. He continued playing the musical instrument for their lead vocalist Morrissey as The Smiths frontman ventured on a solo path. The bassist performed in Morrissey's solo songs, including "Interesting Drug" and "The Last of the Famous International Playboys."

The Smiths had two bassists before Rourke joined the English band.

When Marr and Morrissey formed the group, bassist Steve Pomfret later joined them, which Dale Hibbert eventually replaced. After the latter, Rourke entered the picture, gracing the band until they had separated ways.

But besides The Smiths and Morrissey's solo journey, Rourke also performed with other artists. He has played bass for Badly Drawn Boy, Sinead O'Connor, and The Pretenders.

Read Also: 22-Year-Old Filipino Boxer Dies After Match at Pacquiao-Endorsed Event

Rock Community Mourns Rourke's Passing

In an Instagram post, Marr continued to mourn the passing of his former band member and friend. The former Smiths guitarist reveals that Rourke used to play the guitar. But later on, he tried playing the bass, and he never looked back.

Mat Osman, the bassist of the English rock band Suede, also paid tribute to The Smiths bassist, remembering his distinct talent, Sky News reports. He tweeted, "A total on-off - a rare bassist whose sound you could recognize straight away."

Meanwhile, The Smiths producer, Stephen Street, described Rourke as a "lovely musician." But above and beyond that, he is "a lovely guy." Tim Burgess, the Charlatans vocalist, remembers the bassist as an "inspirational musician."

Related Article: Olympic Gold Medalist Tori Bowie, 32, Dies in Her Florida Home

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.










English News China, Central Asia to jointly build cooperation belt for high-quality development

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 16 Mai 2023



A training program on advanced and applicable agricultural technology for Central Asia was launched by China this April. More than 80 trainees from the five Central Asian countries joined the program and learned about China's experience and application of water-conservation technologies, facility agriculture technologies and environmental protection in agricultural production.

By Gong Ming, Zhou Hanbo, People's Daily China has developed strategic partnerships with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan since it established diplomatic ties with the five Central Asian countries 31 years ago, blazing a new path of good-neighborliness, friendship and win-win cooperation, thereby setting up a paradigm for a new type of international relations.



Under the strategic guidance of head-of-state diplomacy, China has deepened practical cooperation with the five countries and achieved fruitful results in bilateral and multilateral cooperation in agriculture, trade, investment, infrastructure and other fields.



From May 1 to 12, a number of featured products from Central Asian countries were displayed at an e-commerce exhibition held in Qingdao, east China's Shandong province, including fruit puree and juice from Kazakhstan, natural mineral water from Uzbekistan and traditional handbags from Tajikistan. The exhibition showcased the strong vitality of China-Central Asia economic and trade cooperation.



Trade between China and the five Central Asian countries set a record high last year. In the first two months this year, the trade volume saw year-on-year growth of 22 percent, maintaining strong momentum of development.



By the end of 2022, China's direct investment stock in the five Central Asian countries reached nearly $15 billion, with a number of cooperation projects launched in fields such as oil and gas exploration, processing and manufacturing, connectivity and digital technologies, bringing tangible benefits to people in these countries.



On April 26 in 2023, foreign ministers from China and the five countries jointly pushed the lever, launching the Chang'an Train from Xi'an to Central Asia commemorating the 10th anniversary of the China-Europe Railway Express and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), at the Xi'an International Trade & Logistics Park in northwest China's Shaanxi province.



Over the past ten years, the Chang'an China-Europe freight train service has operated over 16,000 trips, including over 4,250 trips to Central Asian countries. These trips witnessed the rapid development and remarkable results of the BRI in Central Asia.



Central Asia is where the BRI was initiated and has grown into a model area that sees tangible results of BRI cooperation. All relevant parties have actively pursued synergetic development between the BRI and their own development strategies and launched efficient cooperation projects.



A large batch of mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation have been completed under the framework of the BRI, such as the China-Kazakhstan crude oil pipeline, the China-Central Asia gas pipeline, a China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan highway, the Pengsheng Industrial Park and a China-Tajikistan-Uzbekistan highway, bringing tangible benefits to the people in the region.



China and the five Central Asian countries have constantly deepened and expanded BRI cooperation. Together, they promoted the construction of the China-Central Asia transport corridor and the fourth line of the China-Central Asia gas pipeline project. They also strengthened cooperation on artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and other high technologies.



Uzbek Ambassador to China Farhod Arziev noted that Uzbekistan attaches high importance to strengthening cooperation with China in various fields and will continue promoting the synergetic development between Uzbek strategies and the BRI for better development.



China and Tajikistan have jointly built a textile industrial park in Tajikistan, which employs advanced digital and intelligent agricultural machinery and textile equipment. Products produced in the industrial park have gained a foothold in the global high-end market.



A dairy factory jointly built by China and Kazakhstan in Kazakhstan''s Turkistan has been put into operation. Its camel dairy products are very popular among Chinese consumers.



In the Sirdaryo region of Uzbekistan, a China-Uzbekistan demonstration park of modern agricultural technology has been put into use. It has introduced a number of new varieties of high oleic peanuts, oil sunflowers, soybeans and corn.



From capacity cooperation to sci-tech exchanges and talent training, China and the five Central Asian countries have continuously deepened agricultural cooperation and built an agricultural partnership that carries rich connotations and brims with strong vitality.



Agricultural trade between the two sides continues to expand. More Chinese enterprises have settled in the five Central Asian countries for investment and development, whose cooperation projects cover many fields including the processing of wheat flour and vegetable oil, cotton planting and textile. They are contributing to the local agricultural development.



A training program on advanced and applicable agricultural technology for Central Asia was launched by China this April. More than 80 trainees from the five Central Asian countries joined the program and learned about China's experience and application of water-conservation technologies, facility agriculture technologies and environmental protection in agricultural production.



Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Kuchkarov said China's achievements and experience in poverty alleviation, as well as agricultural rural development, are worth learning from. Uzbekistan is willing to work with China to promote poverty alleviation cooperation, so as to achieve win-win results and bring more benefits to the two peoples, he added.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > Mines on Ningxia's Helan Mountain turn green, contribute to better ecology China's foreign trade sector strives for steady, high-quality growth Hainan works to promote high-level opening-up Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)










English News China's national project of millennial significance demonstrates historical foresight

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 16 Mai 2023



The country has basically completed the top-level construction and development of Xiong'an, secured major progress in infrastructure construction, achieved initial results in relieving the non-capital functions of Beijing, improved the ecological environment management and protection of the Baiyangdian Lake in the new area, witnessed positive progress in deepening reform and opening up, gradually improved the conditions for the gathering of industrial and innovation elements, and promoted the relocation and resettlement work in an orderly manner.

By Bu Le, People's Daily Boasting a civilization spanning more than 5,000 years, China is home to many thousand-year-old cities. According to incomplete statistics, 30 cities in China were built over 2,000 years ago, and 142 cities have been officially designated as national historical and cultural cities.



The history of cities represents the evolution of human civilization, a truth that holds universally without exception. Then, in the 21st century today, can a country design and build a "city of future" with lasting importance for the millennium to come?



Impossible as it sounds, the miracle is happening in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei province.



Six years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the plan to set up Xiong'an New Area. "We will relieve Beijing of functions nonessential to its role as the capital and use this effort to drive the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region; and we will develop forward-looking plans and adopt high standards for building the Xiong'an New Area," he said.



Xiong'an New Area is a historical heritage for future generations. Xi call for "global vision, international standards, distinctive Chinese features, and future-oriented goals" in the planning and construction of Xiong'an New Area has served as an important guideline for the development of the area.



Xiong'an has caught global attention since its establishment.



Singaporean newspaper Lianhe Zaobao pointed out that Xiong'an New Area will shoulder the strategic mission of searching for a path to the great transformation of the Chinese nation.



British daily business newspaper Financial Times said that Xiong'an New Area boosts strong and clear anticipation of growth in northern China.



Relevant articles published on the website of the Associated Press noticed that Xiong'an New Area is established to alleviate Beijing's non-capital functions and promote the coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, and bridge the economic disparity between the capital and the industrial and rural areas surrounding it.



Xiong'an New Area may provide an alternative development model and is expected to become a high-tech hub and a laboratory for intelligent city planning, according to an article published on the website of The Diplomat magazine based in Japan.



An article on the website of the British weekly newspaper The Economist quoted an official statement by China that the development of Xiong'an New Area is a "strategy crucial for the next millennium." However, it said that it would be unwise to bet all on the rise of Xiong'an, because "over the years China has tried to build numerous new cities, several of which have been costly failures."



It's assumed that it must take a long time for Xiong'an New Area to finally take shape, since its development is considered a national project of millennial significance. This is probably why discussions regarding Xiong'an cooled off gradually after it became a hot topic worldwide for a period.



For more than two years after China officially announced its plan to establish, nothing significant was built in the area except for some basic projects and temporary structures designed to ensure necessary operations.



However, a grand blueprint was being formed step by step.



More than 1,000 experts and over 200 teams from home and abroad, together with more than 2,500 professional and technical personnel, have participated in the formulation of the master plan for Xiong'an New Area.



To the surprise of the world, the "city of future" has experienced tremendous changes within a mere six years. It has been transformed from ground zero to an emerging modern city with neatly aligned new buildings, flat and wide streets, and ubiquitous greenery.



On May 10, 2023, Xi made an inspection tour of Xiong'an, which was his third visit to the new area, bringing the new area under the spotlight once again. From the media's focus on the inspection tour, major progress has been achieved in the development of Xiong'an.



The country has basically completed the top-level construction and development of Xiong'an, secured major progress in infrastructure construction, achieved initial results in relieving the non-capital functions of Beijing, improved the ecological environment management and protection of the Baiyangdian Lake in the new area, witnessed positive progress in deepening reform and opening up, gradually improved the conditions for the gathering of industrial and innovation elements, and promoted the relocation and resettlement work in an orderly manner.



The miraculous transformation of Xiong'an has aroused discussions, with many saying they have never before seen a plan for a city be formulated this way, which can take over Beijing's non-capital functions and pays so much attention to the inheritance of fine traditional culture.



They are also surprised by the integrated construction and planning that cover projects above and below ground as well as on online platforms, and such great efforts to improve the ecological environment of the Baiyangdian Lake.



These remarks bear testimony to the historical foresight of the Chinese leadership.



Over the past six years, new changes have taken place in Xiong'an day by day, and major progress has been achieved in the construction of the new area every year. A high-level modern city is sprouting up.



The miracle that is unfolding in Xiong'an has demonstrated that effective city design of "millennial significance" requires not only a well-established civilization, but historical foresight and remarkable wisdom of a country's leadership. Furthermore, the plan will only work when the government of the country has the resolve for continuous implementation.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > Mines on Ningxia's Helan Mountain turn green, contribute to better ecology China's foreign trade sector strives for steady, high-quality growth Hainan works to promote high-level opening-up Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
In May and early June 1967, the reborn State of Israel, then nineteen years old, was threatened with destruction by a coalition of Arab states. Israel stood alone. It seemed that a disaster akin to the Shoah [Holocaust] of just a generation before was about to revisit our world and my people.

High political drama and military tension pervaded the atmosphere around the Middle East and Israel. There were mobilizations and forward deployments of armies of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq facing Israel, amid Arab threats of war and destruction. On May 22, 1967, the Syrian president announced, We want a full-scale popular war of liberation ... to destroy the Zionist enemy. On May 27, the Egyptian president asserted Our basic objective will be the destruction of Israel. When asked in an interview on June second what will happen to Israelis if there is a war, the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization replied, Those who survive will remain. I estimate that none of them will survive.

Not friendly!

For a useful perspective, recall that in spring 1967 no Jews lived in the portions of Judea and Samaria that became known as the West Bank. During the 1948-1949 Arab war on Israel, the Kingdom of Transjordan (invading from across the Jordan River, i.e., the eastern portion of the former Mandate for Palestine, occupied areas of Judea and Samaria, destroyed all Jewish communities in those areas, and renamed itself the Kingdom of Jordan. (The more encompassing word Jordan replacing Transjordan.) Between 1949 and 1967, no Jews were allowed by Jordan to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, a Jewish prayer area since soon after the Roman conquest of Judea and destruction of the Jewish Temple more than nineteen hundred years ago, in the year 70 C.E.

During the 1967 pre-war crisis, Egypt blocked sea lanes to and from Israels southern port of Eilat, in effect closing off the Indian Oceans international waters from direct access by the Jewish state. In addition to the existing political alliance between Egypt and Syria, a threatening new military alliance was established between Egypt and Jordan. The latters military forces (east and west of the Jordan River) come under Egyptian command. Jordan also permitted Iraqi military units to move through its territory, some soon crossing the Jordan River soon to engage Israeli forces in combat.

At Egypts demand on May 16, 1967, the United Nations began withdrawing its peacekeeping units from the Sinai, opening the area to remilitarization by Egypt. Egypt had nationalized the Suez Canal in the mid-1950s, outraging the British and French. During the short 1956 war over the Suez Canal and Sinai Peninsula, involving Egypt versus France, Israel and the United Kingdom, Israel conquered most of Sinai (just earlier it had been the base for terror attacks on Israel largely via the region of Gaza), while the Europeans captured the canal region. Israeli, British, and French forces withdrew from those areas the following year, with United Nations military units being deployed in the largely desolate Sinai between Egypts center of gravity (Cairo, the lower Nile River area and its Delta region) and Israel, to serve as monitors and peacekeepers.

Not a simple history!

By mid-late May 1967, major Egyptian armored forces were deploying forward into eastern near the demarcation with Israel. Non-adjacent Arab states began threatening Israel.

The two superpowers were not helpful. The USSR had equipped/armed Syria and Egypt, and in the spring of 1967 encouraged them to attack Israel. The USA, heavily engaged in Vietnam, restrained Israel and ignored its 1957 pledge (during Eisenhowers presidency) regarding a demilitarized Sinai.

In the years leading to 1967, Israel obtained most of its weapons from France, a portion from the United Kingdom, some even from West Germany. Israel also established an industry to upgrade select obsolete military equipment purchased from abroad. Just before the June war, France embargoed all weapon deliveries and sales to the Middle East, a step mostly affecting Israel, since France was its primary supplier. The USA only took that role later.

During the crisis and buildup to war in 1967, Israels army deployed and stood on high alert. With virtually all reserve soldiers mobilized, the economy ground to a halt. Jewish organizations around the world began to mobilize support for Israel and call for volunteers to help that civilian society and economy with replacement workers, skilled and unskilled. With the eruption of war, the volunteer movement gained momentum in several countries.

I was an American Jew living and studying in London that year, not reading Jewish newspapers and thus did not notice calls to assist Israel -- I only learned about those notices years later when reading about the 67 war. But during the weeks of political-military emergency before the actual outbreak of war, I had begun thinking on my own of going to Israel to help.

T he morning of June 5, upon hearing the news of the wars opening, my decision was immediate. A graduate student in the United Kingdom following several years of active service in the U.S. Army (Ordnance Corps), I had significant military field experience as a platoon leader and company commander when serving in the Republic of Korea. Discharged from active duty in 1966 and soon studying in the United Kingdom, I asked myself Can I stand by and do nothing? I must help in some way. I looked up the address for the Israel Embassy, took a taxi there about nine that morning, and was directed to an office and interviewed.

I had never been to Israel, grew up in America, had a Reform Jewish bar mitzvah, and was delighted and proud to be an American. My mother was born in the USA, while her parents came from Eastern Europe when teenagers; my dad came to the States as a child. Several of my uncles, cousins, and my elder brother and I had served in the U.S. military. I was quite aware of some of the challenges and tragedies in Jewish history, especially the recent Holocaust in Europe. My decision regarding Israel in June 1967 seemed natural but was not inevitable. The act of going to Israel and assisting on the spot in various ways opened a new world and sense of self for me, as I think it probably did for all the volunteers.

I landed in Israel after the war; made my way to Jerusalem and found an offbeat hotel.

Another visitor at my small hotel told me about an office that placed foreign volunteers in jobs in Israel. The next afternoon I found the nondescript Jewish Agency office. A middle-aged man with a British accent interviewed me. When I mentioned my experience as an ordnance officer in the American army, he brightened and asked if my experience involved field or staff duties. I had served a year in Korea with the Seventh Infantry Division, in a forward support company as a platoon leader and company commander. I was a first lieutenant and later promoted to captain. That brief summary of my experience was a right answer. He called two men from the next room and they spoke animatedly in Hebrew, of which I understood not a word. Together they continued the interview, questioning me about military equipment. It was clear that they were checking my familiarity with military vocabulary to test my veracity.

Twenty minutes later they spoke among themselves again and then the fellow with the British accent stood up and said quite formally, We invite you to lead a group of civilian volunteers to work in Sinai to clear out damaged and abandoned military equipment. Are you interested?

I stood up also. Interested? Of course, I was interested! Suddenly I felt as if I was levitating six feet in the air. Yes, certainly!

Most Israeli ordnance workers are reservists. We need to demobilize as many as possible so the economy can begin functioning again, explained my interviewer. Your group will help facilitate that. When can you leave?

I was traveling with a backpack. It was at the hotel nearby. Virtually immediately, I said.

We would wear plain fatigues without insignia. We should avoid journalists. The pay was zero. Rations would be mediocre and we would be billeted, well, it was not yet clear how, but I should expect the facilities to be raw.

My heart rose.

My Sinai volunteer group had a hand in evacuating some two hundred and fifty armored and transport vehicles, many artillery pieces, and a wide variety of other military equipment. Later, upon viewing films and photos of the Egyptian/Russian equipment put into Israeli military service, and reading of such equipment being sent to the USA for analysis, I would feel a sense of ownership.

In 1967, we slept without dreams on the beaches, and when awake viewed the mountains pink and tan eastward across the sea in Jordan and Arabia -- hazy and mysterious, but not beckoning. Most of the volunteers, although not all, were in our ancestral home, profoundly happy to be there, aware that volunteering meant something undefined as yet, but lifechanging. Our forefathers came from this land, two millennia ago. Our ancient homeland, people and culture beckoned at a time of need, and we had returned.

Image: Picryl
On Thursday, May 18, California legislators prevented passing two significant environmental bills. The first proposed bill aimed to increase the state's emissions goals, while the second sought to hold oil companies responsible for the health issues of individuals living near oil wells.

These bills are part of the many bills that could not pass the suspense file of the Legislature. The suspense file is a process where lawmakers choose which bills will have the opportunity to become laws in the future and which ones should not proceed, without explaining, according to APNews.

Governor Gavin Newsom passed a law last year that prohibits the drilling of new oil wells near sensitive areas such as homes and schools within a distance of 3,200 feet (975 meters). However, the oil industry has qualified a referendum to be put on the 2024 ballot, which aims to overturn the law. As a result, the law has not yet come into effect.

Sparking Outrage among Environmental Activists

The referendum caused frustration among those who care about the environment and health. They felt that if the oil industry were going to prevent the law from being passed, they would attempt to create another law.

This law would allow individuals who became ill from living near oil wells to sue the oil companies responsible for their sickness. Senator Lena Gonzalez authored the bill, which demanded that oil companies pay up to $1 million to people who developed cancer or other health issues related to the well.

The Senate Appropriations Committee prevented the bill from being voted on by the entire Senate, indicating that it probably won't be enacted this year.

Kara Greene, who speaks for the Western States Petroleum Association, argued against the bill because she believed it would be unjust to oil and gas companies and have negative consequences. She claimed that the bill would result in billions of dollars in damages and create a financial burden for both the state and local governments due to their responsibility for inherited wells. Furthermore, the cost to the court system would also be significant.

A proposed bill by State Sen. Henry Stern, who represents Malibu and is a member of the Democratic party, aims to decrease California's greenhouse gas emissions to 55% below the levels recorded in 1990 by the year 2030. This is a more ambitious goal than the state's current plan to reduce emissions by 40% by the same deadline.

California plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, which involves removing the same amount of carbon emissions it releases. The state's Air Resources Board has passed regulations to reduce pollution from vehicles, lawn equipment, and trains to achieve this goal.

Read also: US Gas Prices Rise Again Following Global Oil Companies' Announcement of Production Cut

More Unsuccessful Bills

Several bills were unsuccessful, including one that would have allowed individuals with suicidal tendencies to add themselves to a list prohibiting them from purchasing firearms.

Another proposal aimed to prohibit individuals under 21 from using mobile phones while driving, even in a hands-free manner. Additional bills that failed included one that required investigations into all police use-of-force incidents resulting in civilian deaths and another that would have expanded mental health treatment for inmates.

A law to establish a mental health hotline for students in the California State University system and a proposal to provide free menstrual products in government restrooms were suggested and have been categorized as two-year bills. This indicates that they will not be voted on until January. After being voted on in either the Senate or Assembly, the bills that are approved will be passed on to the other chamber. The Legislature has until mid-September to pass bills, after which Governor Newsom will have around a month to either reject or approve them as laws.

Related article: California's New Oil Bill: Here's What It Means for Companies, Drivers

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Strong power does not tolerate a mafia. When Benito Mussolini came to power in Italy in 1922, he declared war on the Sicilian Mafia. In the Soviet Union, after the end of the war with Nazi Germany in 1945, there was an unprecedented crime wave resulting from the weakening of the central government. Gangs sprang up in the country, against which the Soviet authorities waged a merciless and ultimately successful war.

Some forty private military companies have now been established in the Russian Federation. One of the purposes of these companies is to provide mercenaries to fight for power in different countries. This business has always been popular and profitable. In the last year, the largest PMC in Russia, headed by businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been actively involved in the war in Ukraine against the Ukrainian army. However, a successful war requires centralization, unified command, and a clear military hierarchy. This means that private military companies are not only useless, but possibly harmful during military operations. Then why is the number of private military companies in the Russian Federation increasing so much?

In the last years of the Soviet Union, when the central government weakened, the country's leadership announced "perestroika. What is "perestroika"? Literally, the word means "building anew." Between 1985 and 1991, the policy of "perestroika" marked a change in the economic and political structure of the USSR initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev. Perestroika ultimately led to the collapse of the USSR as a united state. It began as a reform of the system of state socialism and ended with the collapse of this system. After the collapse of the USSR, the Russian Federation began privatization, that is, the process of transferring formerly state-owned enterprises into private ownership. As a result of privatization, a considerable part of Russia's nationally owned enterprises went into private ownership practically for next to nothing. So, a group of "oligarchs" appeared, owning property which was given to them for comparatively little money. This was criminal privatization. Nobel Prize laureate in literature Alexander Solzhenitsyn said in an interview:

"They robbed Russia [...]. With great speed our blessed subsoil, oil, base metals, coal, production was given away. Robbed Russia to the bone. What is this - democracy? Was there a referendum on the subject? Was anyone asked? Was it the people who exercised their power and their future? And out of the trash, out of nothing, they have grown some billionaires who have done nothing for their country."

Property in the Russian Federation is divided, and this redistribution is controlled by the authorities. But for how long? As long as this government is strong. What does the emergence of a large number of PMCs, which are not necessary for military operations in Ukraine, mean? Weakening of power due to military setbacks and preparation for redistribution of power and property. As already noted, organized crime in the Soviet Union emerged after the war with Nazi Germany. Its emergence meant a dramatic weakening of power. In today's Russia, the course of action is the opposite of that of the postwar USSR: the war in Ukraine is going on, it is in full swing, but the government has already shown its weakness, because they cannot defeat Ukraine. So society is preparing for the collapse of the central government, creating armed organized crime for redistribution of power and property. So, the creation of numerous PMCs is not a military necessity, but a consequence of military failures of the Russian Federation, which may lead to an armed confrontation of new mafia structures. This will not be a civil war, because there is no developed civil society in Russia, but a struggle of armed groups. Why can't such a war be called a civil war? The long history of the powerless subject in the Soviet state and then in the new Russian state has led to the loss of the concept of the citizen as a participant in the social process. In the Russian Federation, the individual citizen is very poorly protected, since the courts and law enforcement agencies are part of the executive branch, and so any confrontation between the citizen and officials and powerful individuals is hopelessly futile. The legal framework of society exists on paper, but it is not workable. The citizen of the Russian Federation is as helpless before the authorities as Bashmachkin, the hero of Nikolai Gogol's story "The Overcoat," is powerless before an "important person." Writer Vladimir Nabokov called "The Overcoat" "the best short story ever written in the Russian language."

The only way for a citizen to exist safely, having received social protection, is to render services to an oligarch or a group of "powerful people." A citizen can obtain protection not on a personal legal basis, but by joining the "right" group. As a result, he may have property, such as owning several houses, but his homeownership is secured not by law, but by an illegal and unwritten agreement to provide services to a powerful group. The formation of numerous private military companies testifies to the weakening of the authority of the president and the government of the Russian Federation and threatens the country with a destructive struggle of armed groups, a possible redistribution of power and property, and unchanging lawlessness.

Image: PxHere
My mother was 18 when she was transported by freight train from her village in Hungary to Auschwitz. Her mother and younger sister Katika, 13, did not survive. Gabriella, my cousin, was lost. She was 2 when stripped from her mothers arms by Nazi guards and never seen again.

In 1944 the Germans had orchestrated a coup, and the controlling values of their small unenthusiastic ally Hungary went from those still rooted in Christendom to something quite different.

History doesnt repeat itself, but it does rhyme, as Mark Twain noted.

It would, of course, be a gross exaggeration to make any parallels between what happened there and what is happening here, but there are two superficial similarities

De facto, weve had a coup in America. Granted, it merely refortified the establishment, but it was a coup. And de jure, Christianity in America is no longer a significant force.

The onset of the latter can be firmly marked: June 25, 1962. On that date the Supreme Court , ruling school prayer unconstitutional, set in motion the expungement of Christianity from America.

Like dominoes falling, society follows law. Divorced from Judeo-Christian norms, a large portion of the population, within 3 generations, would be remolded into a manipulated mass by a functionally atheist elite.

Americas elite portrays itself as progressive, but their underlying ethos cant be rooted in Marx. Marx isnt merely hypocrisy but a cover, a cloak. From their actions, redistribution of their wealth and a classless society where they have no more power and influence than the common man is the last thing they want.

Their motives, attitudes and values are explained best by Nietzsche. Perhaps one in ten Americans are familiar with the name; his thinking, though, describes and runs through those who run us. Nietzsche is the unifying theory that explains whats happened to the Western world  formerly known as Christendom  a word and world now extinct. His values were dominant in the pre-WWI German elite, leading to a war that effectively ended European dominance. Soldiers at the front received copies of his work.

Bertrand Russell put a relatively benign face on the Germans political agenda. He wants an international ruling race who are to be lords of the earth, a vast new elite in which their rule will be stamped upon for thousands of years.

Nietzsche saw in democracy the perfect weapon. Democracy will be the tool of thefuture masters of the earthphilosophical men of power and artist- tyrants who will employ democracy as their most pliant and supple instrument to control the destinies of the earth. His masters of the earth rule through wealth, media, and the manipulation of law, science and culture.

As if coming out of central casting is Klaus Schwab and his World Economic Forum. They have made man-made climate change the central issue of our times. The policies that would purportedly reduce the carbon footprint give the elite a chokehold on America and its middle and working classes. Even assuming that global warming is science, in terms of immediacy and the lives that would be lost, the threat is trivial compared to the very real risk of a prolonged power grid collapse . The latter, however, is of no interest to Davos. This is not an oversight. Climate change is a cover. It is Nietzsche science.

The WEFs claim of man- made climate change provides the rationale to ban nitrogen-based fertilizer, drastically cutting food production. Forty percent of the worlds population would not be here were it not for nitrogen fertilizer. Scarcity provides the opportunity for centralized control. More ambitiously, populations can be reduced though economic policy.

Nietzsche, in effect, centers on population control. Mankind in the mass sacrificed to the prosperity of a single stronger species of man - that would be an advance .  Most individuals have no right to existand if they were sacrificed or slaughtered that would be an improvement . 

The normative values of the world prior to Christianity ranged from the human sacrifices of Aztecs to the Helots of Sparta, with little in between. Nietzsche is the justification for the totalitarian control, Nazi and Communist, that was dominant for a significant portion of the 20th Century.

Our elite have chosen the Left as their vehicle to win and maintain power. The Left seeks the demise of the Judeo-Christian moral code, and to accomplish this intends the dissolution of the American nation and its core, white Christian America. If there is any evidence to the contrary, it has not been forthcoming. There is nothing in the Lefts agenda that fails to comport with Nietzsche.

The American masses vote Left. They are Nietzsches pliant and supple instrument. They will not respond to arguments based on moral principles. This is a post-Christian country. And much of this countrys population is of the quality of the OJ jury. They will not respond to merits of the argument. The only way to win the masses is on motive  and the motive is Nietzsche. Nietzsche is an obscure reference, but no more obscure than Mark Fuhrman was. And unlike Fuhrman, Nietzsche fits the elite like a glove. Five minutes revealing a malevolent motive can undo 20 years of propaganda and indoctrination. Not morality, not merit, but motive is the key

Alinsky teaches to define the enemy. The Republican establishment defines the conflict as being between socialism and capitalism  between Karl Marx and Milton Friedman. But the public doesnt know Friedman nor would they be impressed. Most live paycheck to paycheck. They have no particular aversion to Marx, and many approve. What they do know are the likes of Martin Shkreli (Pharma Bro).

The correct framing, the only one that will work, is between a Nietzsche elite and the common man. Unless the bulk of the population can be brought to recognize the motives behind what is transpiring in this country, this is a done deal. The populace cannot be won with libertarian talk of free markets and entrepreneurship. Nor can they be won with pleas to patriotism. America is no longer a nation but a country. The two are not synonymous.

In America, Nietzsche rhymes with Nazi. Hungary had a Nazi occupation. We have a Nietzsche occupation. Nietzsche called man a herd animal. Cattle cars are obsolete. There are better ways to cull. Also obsolete are tattoos on the forearm. There are better ways to control. We have gone from an analogue to a digital world. 80 years ago, a thousand year Reich was in the cards. They have an exponentially better hand now.

More likely than not, this train will go no further than serfdom. You will own nothing, and be happy. But more likely than not, we cannot be sure. Not to be a Luddite, but with Artificial Intelligence, much of the workforce will be superfluous, and the environmental movement views humanity as contagion.

The beginning of wisdom is the willingness to acknowledge unpleasant facts. The Judeo-Christian values that had perfused what had been a largely Christian nation are being systemically erased. Nietzsche rules.

August Harriman is a pen name.

Portrait by Gustav Schultze public domain
Another example of indisputably corrupt and unscrupulous Democrat behavior has erupted onto the national scene with the release of the years-long Durham probe into the alleged Russia-Russi-Russia influence on the 2016 election. Once again, virtually every phony charge against President Trump was proven to be false, virtually every claim he made about being spied on was proven true and the FBI has been revealed -- again -- to be a politically unethical organization far more concerned with tipping the electoral scales in favor of the Democrats than they are concerned with fighting crime. The Durham Report is just the latest in a long line of negative findings about prominent Democrats that never seems to result in any of them paying any tangible penalty for their wrongdoing.

The Democrats have made a habit of lying and gaming the system to their advantage. They always make sure they give the liberal mainstream media plenty of fodder with which to club Republicans over the head and they continually seek to arrange (if not outright rig) the relevant local ordinances, procedures, and laws to their unfair advantage in order to tilt elections in their favor.

BLM and Antifa riot, destroy private property and kill innocent bystanders, and the liberal mainstream media portray them as victim-heroes, while top Democrat leaders defend them, justify their actions and never prosecute them for any crimes. The police are characterized as racist vigilantes, more interested in violating the civil rights of minorities for sport than they are in protecting the publics safety. But let one Republican politician say something questionable and theyre pilloried mercilessly in the public square as if it were the crime of the century.

Hillary Clinton famously described one-half of the country she was vying to lead as a basket of deplorables, and there was not one iota of criticism from the liberal media, any Democrat politician, or any rank-and-file Democrat partisan. On the contrary, their unspoken reaction was, Well, shes right. They are.

During the January 6th 2021 protest, one protester -- Ashli Babbitt -- was shot dead in cold blood by Capitol policeman Michael Byrd. Say what you want about the Capitol protest (and well leave that discussion for another time), it certainly didnt appear on the video that Babbitt posed an imminent deadly danger to people. She brandished no weapon and took no life-threatening actions against anyone. Yet she was killed for reasons that remain, at best, highly questionable. In a different circumstance, with the races reversed, this action would be trumpeted by the liberal media and the Democrats as yet more proof of the inherent racism of the Republican Party.

The examples of Democrat Party malfeasance go on and on, through the three-letter acronym agencies like the FBI, CIA, and IRS, Democrat politicians like Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, and Elizabeth Warren who intentionally introduce false evidence into official government proceedings, have illicit affairs with hostile foreign operatives, and willfully misrepresent themselves to gain unfair professional advantage.

Yet through all this, Republican response is tepid at best. Hardly a protest or a word of objection. When asked about Babbitts shooting just a few weeks ago, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy sheepishly said, He was just doing his job. Really? His job was to shoot an unarmed protester who posed no danger -- an annoyance, yes, but no danger -- to anyone? Would that have been the response of a Democrat in a parallel situation?

So, the big question is why. Why do Republicans continue to act so timidly when Democrats commit such misconduct? Democrats never miss the opportunity to take Republicans to task for far less. Democrats get in front of every single mass shooting and try to blame it on Republicans who support the 2nd Amendment, or they try to link the alleged shooter with President Trump or the MAGA movement. And the Democrats are mostly successful in getting their liberal media allies to perpetrate their initial anti-Republican take on the story, even if it later proves to be false. The Democrats know its the first impression that counts. Accusation on Page One, Retraction on Page Twenty-Seven, as the old saying goes.

This brings us to what some people refer to as "Puppy Dog Syndrome." Puppies instinctively love their master. Even if that person mistreats them, the dog will continue to try to please its owner, hoping for improved treatment, a return to the affection of old. Please pet me again. Please play with me again. Ill do anything you want. I just want and need your approval.

Its almost as if Republicans believe that by showing restraint and not taking a hard line -- despite getting burned by Democrats time and time again -- Republicans are hoping that the Democrats and the liberal mainstream media will accord them some sort of credit and approval. It comes across like Republicans are trying to say to the Democrats with their soft, non-vindictive approach, See? Were not so bad. Tell everyone were really okay.

Being as devious, ruthless, and cutthroat in political matters as the Democrats simply doesnt occur to Republicans. The essential difference between Republicans and Democrats is that Republicans are more concerned with the good of the country and the merits of the specific issue at hand. Democrats are more concerned with gaining and retaining power and control. The good of the country doesnt really ever figure into Democrat party strategy. Alinskys Rules for Radicals, a blueprint on how to crush your political opposition, has no corresponding parallel in the Republican ranks. Likewise, the George Soros's and Klaus Schwabs of the world are uber-liberal progressives, interested only in obtaining power and control, by any means necessary. There is no Republican Soros. There is no Republican equivalent to the Soros-funded Democrat DA intentionally ruining our major cities with a soft-on-crime strategy intended to rip apart the fabric of society to give progressive government the excuse it needs to exert control.

Naive Republican lawmakers are not helping the country, their constituents or themselves by crawling back to the Democrat boot that just kicked them across the room and hoping that by wagging their tail, maybe this time theyll get a different outcome.

The country doesnt need any more Republican puppy dogs. The country needs Republican Doberman Pinschers.

Image: Wallpaper Flare
It was an episode, it was an action, it was a fight, it was not a crime.  My word is not the victim-word. I have not been raped. E. Jean Carroll, Vox, June 27, 2019

Naturally, the Democrat News-media Colluders (hereafter the DNC) were thrilled when E. Jean Carroll decided to accuse Trump of rape in the lead-up to the 2024 election. She did this despite the fact that the alleged crime happened almost 30 years ago (in either 1995 or 1996: shes not even sure of the year). This was made easier by the fact that she was funded by a Trump-hating Democrat billionaire, Reid Hoffman. In addition, she had already explicitly stated that Trump had not raped her and had not committed any crime!

But why shouldnt the DNC be thrilled? All their hoaxes against Trump (and the American people) had failed. These include their hilarious Trump-Russia collusion hoax, their hilarious Lafayette Park Bible photo-op hoax, once again, fabricated on the basis of no evidence whatsoever, their embarrassing Latitia James Stalinesque campaign promise to indict Trump even though she had no evidence whatsoever that he has broken laws, the comical and indefensible Alvin Bragg indictment of Trump that has been slammed by leading liberal law professors in the country, the crumbling Georgia electors hoax, etc.,

The occasion for the latest propaganda campaign was provided when the heavily Democrat New York jury found Trump liable, not for rape but for sexual abuse and defamation. Naturally, former Assistant to President Trump, Alyssa Farah, having found a new job on Joy Behars The View, tweeted that Trump had been found guilty of sexual abuse and defamation:

Lets be clear: the GOP frontrunner for President [Donald Trump] has been found guilty of sexual abuse and defamation. The Republican Party must walk away from this man. It is beyond morally indefensible.

In fact, nothing about Farahs statement is clear. Her claim that Trump has been found guilty of sexual abuse and defamation is flat-out false. One has to go slow here, just as if one is dealing with children (because sometimes one is). Since guilt and innocence are at issue only in criminal trials, it is not even possible that Trump could have been found legally guilty of anything. In civil cases, the standards of evidence are not the beyond a reasonable doubt standard of criminal trials but the mere preponderance of the evidence.

Further, Bill OReilly points out that there is much about this case that is suspect,

Since no [one] knows what actually happened between  E. Jean Carroll and  Donald Trump [almost 30 years ago in a private dressing room], it's impossible to analyze the initial situation in a fair way. Ms. Carroll's legal fees, at least some of them, were paid by a man who despises the former President. The judge allowed anti-Trump testimony from individuals who had nothing to do with the allegations.  No criminal action was involved.  [and] Trump has endured more attacks than any other politician in American history.

In fact, what is really beyond morally defensible is that Farrah does not even bother to correctly state that Trump was found liable for damages, not found guilty of anything. Farrah and the DNC want us to forget that the Democrat-appointed judge Lewis A. Kaplan lowered the standards of a civil case even further in order to get Trump by any means necessary. In normal times, one would have thought that Carrolls earlier statement that Trump had committed no crime against her would be more than sufficient to destroy her case. Unfortunately, these are not normal times. Common sense and reason have long been abandoned by the unhinged anti-Trump crusade by the D.C. swamp.

One is not advised to accuse any leading Democrat of rape if you dont even know the year and dont have witnesses or confession or physical evidence. Real evidence, in fact, a great deal of it, would be required for that charge, if one were allowed to bring it. But this is a Republican; indeed, this is Donald Trump, so a different standard applies. Somehow a New York jury found Trump liable for sexual harassment and defamation without knowledge of the year of the alleged offense or any physical evidence or witnesses or confession. Its a miracle! Of course, Trumps accusers can already count on a hysterical DNC pushing the accusation every day. The walls are closing in!

This neverending cascade of anti-Trump hoaxes, one after another on an assembly line, is all getting so silly that any fair-minded person would, at this point, have to admit that DNC is simply afraid of Trump. Indeed, they seem willing to tear down our system of constitutional protections in order to avoid facing him in a fair election (if such a thing is still possible) in 2024. There is, however, nothing too silly for the DNC.

This has now gone beyond the past unseemly attacks on Trump and has become literally unholy. No honorable person would want to have anything to do with this despicable continual targeting of one person for purely political purposes. Unfortunately, that means that most members of the DNC and some members of the Republicanswamp have no problem with it. Many cannot control their glee at the suspension of the Constitution to destroy one man and preserve their hold on wealth and power.

Since no one is a perfect person, Trump is not either. Most of his persecutors could not survive the kind of scrutiny he has been forced to endure. It should be clear to every honest person that the fact that the DNC has repeatedly had to fabricate alleged Trump crimes shows that he is far cleaner than most politicians. Lets see if Joe Biden or Nancy Pelosi or Adam Schiff could survive this kind of scrutiny.

It is now abundantly clear that Trumps real sin is that he challenged the legitimacy of the corrupt US elites that are unwilling to give up their exclusive hold on money and power. Globalist elites just have too much fun flitting around the globe on private jets while lecturing the peasants that they must abandon gasoline-powered cars and start eating bugs.

Since Trump is not a member of their unaccountable bipartisan grifters club and, since he has his own fortune earned in the private sector, he could not be bought off. Trump was never a member of the government where fraud and incompetence are never held accountable. By contrast, real skills are required to be successful in the private sector. The craven elites in both parties fear Trump will expose their incompetence and corruption because he is one of the few that does not fear them. Indeed, the very people who have targeted Trump have exposed their own corruption in their willingness to overturn every law and precedent in order to get him. One can only infer that they have a very great deal to hide, even much more than we had thought.

Photo credit: YouTube screengrab
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has humiliated herself, apparently in the false belief that truckers care what she thinks. She took to Twitter to call for a trucker boycott of shipments to Florida because of what she terms anti-immigrant policies of Governor Ron DeSantis, deliberately conflating legal with illegal immigration, the target of DeSantiss recent bill.

Anti-immigrant policies reap what they sow. DeSantis Florida is about to find that out. The US has such deep needs right now, particularly in labor. Yet policymakers (of ALL stripes) take our immigrant communities for granted. No mas. Time to stop biting the hands that feed.

Anti-immigrant policies reap what they sow. DeSantis Florida is about to find that out.



The US has such deep needs right now, particularly in labor. Yet policymakers (of ALL stripes) take our immigrant communities for granted.



No mas. Time to stop biting the hands that feed. https://t.co/FVGRjDr6BR  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 13, 2023

But as Jake Welch of The National Pulse points out, there has been no discernable effect, despite media lies to the contrary:

Even the leftist Tallahassee Democrat conceded this week they were unaware of any truckers actually boycotting the Sunshine State. The President of Florida Trucking Association, Alix Miller, furthermore, told the British left-wing website the Independent, Im aware of the reports, but have not heard of any issues. Corporate media sources originally reported empty shelves due to the protests. It soon became apparent that one of their videos was from October, and showed shortages due to Hurricane Ian. Another showed a recent refrigeration issue at a Walmart Supercenter.

With an increasing number of my friends living in Florida the past couple of years, I have yet to hear a single complaint about a diminished supply of goods reaching the shelves there. It looks like Ocasio-Cortez has just discovered that her influence with true working class Hispanics is a tiny fraction of what she imagined.

Image via Twitter (cropped)
From Civics 101, the president of the United States, in addition to the position's more well-known roles such as "Commander in Chief" and "Chief Executive," also has a designated, but less talked about, role as the nation's "Chief Citizen."

As such, the president's job is to represent all the nation's citizens and to work for the public interest. As a representative of all the nation's people, the president automatically assumes the role of its chief citizen, or popular leader. All citizens  regardless of political affiliation  expect the president to work for their interests, not just for the government or people that elected them, as well as provide moral leadership. Additionally, the president must place the nation's best interests above the interests of any single group or citizen. In essence, the president's role is to put aside partisanship to govern, lead, and make decisions for the "common and greater good" of all citizens and the nation.

So what, then, was President Biden thinking this past weekend when delivering the commencement address at Howard University to specifically declare that "white supremacy is the single most dangerous terrorist threat in our homeland" and warn of "sinister forces" trying to erase the nation's racial progress?

What could possibly have been his intent in making such remarks  at a college graduation, no less, when the occasion calls for an inspiring message to graduates looking forward to bright futures as they enter their work and professional lives? What did he seek to accomplish with such bleak divisive remarks as "stand up against the poison of white supremacy"? What message was he  as the nation's "chief citizen"  communicating to those present?

President Biden  separate from his political existence  has to know better in his conscience. (Let us pray he does.) Yes, there are Americans who exist holding such twisted beliefs as "white supremacy." But those very few people holding such beliefs exist on the far fringes of American society. The vast majority of Americans  from all walks of life  recognize them as such and do not support, condone, or hold similar beliefs. In fact, they reject and condemn them in the strongest possible ways. Those relative few on that fringe are societal outcasts, like those from anti-American groups at the opposite far left of the spectrum who also hold strong, twisted beliefs inimical to the values and existence of this nation.

But the political President Biden has taken sides, ignoring the progress our country has made, and instead chosen his own brand of "extremism." It is what Americans have come to expect from a politician-president more interested in stoking animosity and pitting Americans against one another for cynical political gain.

The president's remarks at Howard are but his latest in a series of confrontational verbal attacks on Americans holding different political views from his party's. On September 1, 2022, in a nationally televised speech from Philadelphia prior to the midterm elections, President Biden railed that "equality and democracy are under assault" in the U.S. as he angrily denounced "MAGA Republican" adherents, labeling them an "extremist" threat to the nation and its future. With the macabre setting (who can forget the eerie blood-red lighting?), it was political theater used as another opportunity to disparage his fellow Americans.

In his recent video announcing his re-election bid, President Biden made further antagonistic claims about his fellow Americans, describing what he called "MAGA extremists," who he said are "dictating what health care decisions women can make, banning books, and telling people who they can love, all while making it more difficult for you to be able to vote."

A pathology has developed with these and other events, where the president's go-to methods are to deride and demean fellow Americans and to inject racial divisions to further separate Americans into camps. Even his Democrat party seems satisfied with this and backs seeing such behavior, bitterly attacking Republicans as a key to victory for their 2024 nationwide campaigns.

With no sense of irony, throughout his campaign and the early days of his presidency, President Biden made grandiose promises and pledges to the American people of unity and a return to normalcy and civility. By what possible measure does President Biden, his speechwriters, or his handlers think such remarks as spoken at Howard University, in Philadelphia, or in his 2024 announcement video do anything to make good on his own promises and assurances to the American people to advance unity, normalcy, and civility for the good of the nation?

President Biden is scheduled to give the commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy on June 1. Will this be yet another occasion for him to deliver the same grim message he did at Howard? Are these the thoughts and words of the president of the United States for a diverse class of newly commissioned Air Force officers, already sworn in as lieutenants to "support and defend the Constitution" and work together in common cause to defend the nation?

Why ask these questions? Because at Howard he also asserted, "I'm not just saying this because I'm at a black HBCU. I'm saying this wherever I go." If he does, he again fails the nation in his role as "Chief Citizen." (Remember: "president for all Americans.") President Biden will also have once more reneged on his own promises to the nation to restore unity, civility, and normalcy. A concerned nation is watching.

Chris J. Krisinger (colonel, USAF ret.) is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, an honors graduate of the U.S. Naval War College, and a former National Defense Fellow at Harvard University. He served in policy advisory positions in the Pentagon and the Department of State. If you would like to continue the conversation, contact him at cjkrisinger@gmail.com.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Amazing what happens when the police are demonized and nobody wants to be a cop.

In Los Angeles County, they've got a real doozy of a problem: gangs turning up on the police side of the glass, inside the department itself.

According to the Los Angeles Times:

Less than a week after the county watchdog ordered dozens of deputies to show their gang tattoos and answer questions about violent cliques within the department, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna on Thursday sent a department-wide email commanding his staff to comply with the inspector generals request. Please be advised that all Department personnel who received such a request are hereby ordered to appear and cooperate in such interviews, Luna wrote in the firmly worded email. All statements made by Department personnel shall be full, complete, and truthful statements. Any employees who obstruct or delay an investigation, the email went on to say, could be disciplined or fired under current county policies.

Now to be clear, these gangs are homebrew gangs of lawmen teaming up together in initiated societies to form cliques of their own. They're crappy and trashy and yes, criminal, but they aren't MS-13 or any of the famous crime gangs on the streets of Compton or East L.A. These are their own thang -- with names like 'the Executioners' and 'the Banditos' who will need to show the inspectors their tattoos. (Maybe their expressive grillework will be next.) Others among the sheriffs' gangs, according to Jazz Shaw at Hot Air, who has an excellent report, have names like the Regulators, the Spartans, the Gladiators, the Cowboys and the Reapers. Shaw suspects that gang-to-gang, they could be making non-aggression pacts or share-the-spoils pacts with real gangs. But I have my suspicions about potential overlap with criminal street gangs, too. When I was in Los Angeles, I once met an authentic criminal at a BLM rally -- Mexican-American -- who explained to me how she and her homies had plans to get hired by the L.A. County Sheriff's office, showing me her gang tat on her forearm indicating that intention. She hastened assure me she wasn't 'pro-police' or anything, she and her homies just wanted a place on the inside. Another time, at a party at the Mexican consulate, I met a L.A. County sheriff who was militantly pro-Hugo Chavez over in Venezuela. Chavez, of course, pretty well turned his country over to gangs to rule the slums with an iron fist, so one wonders if that was at the root of his admiration for the brutal leftist dictator. When I read this Los Angeles Times story, suddenly I could see some of the dynamics of who is getting hired over there -- and with the police demonized, it doesn't take long for real demons to take over.

They are crappy indeed and heaven help any decent sheriff who has to work alongside them -- there are decent sheriffs, such as these L.A. County sheriffs I wrote about here. But apparently, many are not. According to the Times report, sometimes they run the stationhouses like jailhouse gangs. Imagine being a member of the LAPD and having to deal with these gang-tat guys as if they were fellow professionals.

Now we have word that a whole lot of these sheriffs belong to these gangs, and their loyalty is to gangs, not the city or citizens, we can also see that these are the guys who are getting caught up in police brutality cases, of which there are a lot of, forcing the city to pay out millions of dollars in damages as aggrieved characters in other gangs complain and launch lawsuits.

Ratting out who these characters are, and yes, firing them, seems like step one for professionalizing this sorrily fallen police force in Los Angeles and saving the department money. The second step will have to be building up the police from upstanding citizens and promoting those values on the force. How they are going to do that with the current leftist crew running the city is an open question, but this reveal-your-tattoo measure probably won't be about results in a city like that. Perhaps the locals will just have to accept that they are increasingly resembling Caracas where the gangs control the locals, particularly in the nastiest slums. Nice going, blue city monopoly.

Image: Twitter screen shot
Does Supreme Court "wise Latina" Justice Sonia Sotomayor have an ongoing feud with her equally leftist colleague, Justice Elena Kagan?

Sure looks like it, based on the catty notes Sotomayor wrote about Kagan's dissent in the 7-2 ruling on whether a photographer could sue the Andy Warhol Foundation for copyright violation for the use of her 1981 photograph, which was used as a reference for a series of his paintings depicting rock star Prince. Sotomayor's side won the case, but she couldn't shut up about it and had to take dig after dig at Kagan, whose side didn't win.

Most of the Court, including Sotomayor, ruled that based on the copyright terms of use of the photograph, in which Warhol's sponsor, Vanity Fair, paid the photographer $400 for a one-time use of her photo as a "reference" and hired Warhol to create some art from it, the contract was violated because Warhol made 16 different versions of silkscreen paintings (you can see them here), although he used only one of them for the magazine spread, as per the contract. (I suspect Warhol might have just been practicing when he created the others and never intended them for publication.) The Warhol Foundation, which inherited his series of Prince silkscreen images after he died, leased out another version of the painting to Conde Nast and got a $10,000 retainer for it, none of which was shared with the photographer, Lynn Goldsmith. The majority ruled in favor of Goldsmith.

In their majority ruling, they went through all the rules of fair use -- and the opinion, which is fairly interesting, can be read here.

Kagan (and Chief Justice John Roberts in a simple concurrence) didn't agree. Kagan argued-- like a total modern art lover, which I suspect she is after reading her chatty dissent straight from the kinds of lectures you hear in art class -- that the work was sufficiently 'transformative' that it should be counted as a totally separate work apart from the photo.

The issue of course is complicated, and both sides have a point. The mistake I can see is that Vanity Fair, or the Foundation which inherited the work, didn't pay for unlimited use of the reference photo, or at least for 16-times use, which would have cost them a pittance and prevented the court case. (16 x $400) - $400 they already paid = $6,000. (I would also argue that she couldn't raise her price just because Warhol did the silkscreens, which would have made their resale far more profitable, because, well, that's the transformative, or Warholian, part.)

Over at the New York Post, reporter Victor Nava found a host of snippinesses and snarks from Sotomayor directed against Kagan:

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan appeared to take umbrage at Justice Sonia Sotomayors majority opinion in a copyright case involving Andy Warhol and Prince, telling readers in her dissent that she would trust their good judgment rather than counter her colleagues fistfuls of comeback footnotes. The shot at Kagans fellow liberal came in a lengthy second footnote of her dissent, which several Supreme Court observers found interesting and noteworthy. One preliminary note before beginning in earnest, Kagan wrote. As readers are by now aware, the majority opinion is trained on this dissent in a way majority opinions seldom are. Maybe that makes the majority opinion self-refuting? After all, a dissent with no theory and [n]o reason is not one usually thought to merit pages of commentary and fistfuls of comeback footnotes. In any event, Kagan went on. Ill not attempt to rebut point for point the majoritys varied accusations; instead, Ill mainly rest on my original submission.

Blah, blah. Then Sotomayor bitched back:

In that opinion, Sotomayor said Kagan had employed sleight of hand and made a false equivalence between AWFs commercial licensing and Warhols original creation. The result is a series of misstatements and exaggerations, from the dissents very first sentence to its very last, she added. In response to Kagans conclusion that that the courts decision would stifle creativity of every sort  impede new art and music and literature  thwart the expression of new ideas and the attainment of new knowledge [and] make our world poorer, Sotomayor wrote: These claims will not age well. It will not impoverish our world to require AWF to pay Goldsmith a fraction of the proceeds from its reuse of her copyrighted work, the majority opinion went on. Nor will the Courts decision, which is consistent with longstanding principles of fair use, snuff out the light of Western civilization, returning us to the Dark Ages of a world without Titian, Shakespeare, or Richard Rodgers. In tracing the history of Renaissance painting  the dissent loses sight of the statute and this Courts cases, Sotomayor added. The Lives of the Artists undoubtedly makes for livelier reading than the U. S. Code or the U. S. Reports, but as a court, we do not have that luxury. The snarky asides made legal scholars and court reporters sit up and take notice.

They don't usually do this sort of thing.

But that one of the players here was the loosely wrapped Sotomayor, whom the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reportedly couldn't stand based on her low legal brainpower, shouldn't surprise anyone.

Now, one thing that may have been going on here is that Kagan pretty well told the rest of the Court they were a bunch of art philistines in her ruling.

Get a load of the flavor in the first part of her dissent, which begins on the 53rd page of the entire ruling:

JUSTICE KAGAN, with whom THE CHIEF JUSTICE joins, dissenting. Today, the Court declares that Andy Warhols eye-popping silkscreen of Princea work based on but dramatically altering an existing photographis (in copyright lingo) not transformative. Still more, the Court decides that even if Warhols portrait were transformativeeven if its expression and meaning were worlds away from the photothat fact would not matter. For in the majoritys view, copyright laws first fair-use factoraddressing the purpose and character of the use made of a workis uninterested in the distinctiveness and newness of Warhols portrait. 17 U. S. C. 107. What matters under that factor, the majority says, is instead a marketing decision: In the majoritys view, Warhols licensing of the silkscreen to a magazine precludes fair use.1 Youve probably heard of Andy Warhol; youve probably seen his art. You know that he reframed and reformulatedin a word, transformedimages created first by others. Campbells soup cans and Brillo boxes. Photos of celebrity icons: Marilyn, Elvis, Jackie, Lizand, as most  1By the time of the licensing, Warhol had died and the Warhol Foundation had stepped into his shoes. But for ease of exposition, I will refer to both the artist and his successor-in-interest as Warhol. 2 ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION FOR VISUAL ARTS, INC. v. GOLDSMITH KAGAN, J., dissenting relevant here, Prince. Thats how Warhol earned his conspicuous place in every colleges Art History 101. So it may come as a surprise to see the majority describe the Prince silkscreen as a modest alteration[] of Lynn Goldsmiths photographthe result of some crop[ping] and flatten[ing]with the same essential nature. Ante, at 8, 25, n. 14, 33 (emphasis deleted). Or more generally, to observe the majoritys lack of appreciation for the way his works differ in both aesthetics and message from the original templates. In a recent decision, this Court used Warhol paintings as the perfect exemplar of a copying use that adds something new and importantof a use that is transformative, and thus points toward a finding of fair use. Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., 593 U. S. ___, ______ (2021) (slip op., at 2425). That Court would have told this one to go back to school.

Meow!

Which must have stuck in low-class Sotomayor's craw.

The other thing is probably the first thing that came to mind -- that someone in Sotomayor's office was the abortion leaker, maybe even Sotomayor herself, whom no one seems to be able to catch -- and that has brought about a breakdown of trust in the court, and with it, open catfights.

An editor at Hot Air observes here:

Kagans not kidding, either. I started reading through the published opinion and found a forest of footnotes in Sotomayors argument that heaped scorn on Kagans reasoning, and not in a friendly manner either. There seems to be a footnote on nearly every page in which Sotomayor finds reason to ridicule Kagan, plus more directly in the body of the text. Pages 36-7 in particular obsesses over Kagans reasoning, making the arguments from the plaintiff and respondent almost an ancillary manner. Gorsuch is almost as bad in his concurrence, which runs only five pages with as many mentions of Kagans argument, but Gorsuch is a conservo-libertarian justice. It really does read as though Sotomayor and Kagan have some feud under way, or at least that Sotomayor really has a problem with her erstwhile liberal colleague. One wonders what that might be, if so. Perhaps related to a leak? Hmmm. Anyway, the real irony here is that the decision today doesnt actually settle the copyright claim. It just forces the district court to proceed to trial on it rather than dismiss under a fair-use argument.

Which makes one wonder if this is the shape of things to come on the Court.
Canada has enthusiastically embraced euthanasia. And maybe thats not surprising, given that socialist countries must inevitably ration treatment, and the best rationing is accomplished by limiting the number of people who need serious care. However, many Canadians are now thinking of euthanasia, not just as a cure for untreated or untreatable illnesses, but also for homelessness and poverty.

These numbers come from a Research Co. poll asking Canadians about their attitudes toward Canadas expanding Medical Assistance in Dying (or MAID) program:

One third of Canadians are apparently fine with prescribing assisting suicide for no other reason than the fact that the patient is poor or homeless. The results were contained in a recent Research Co. poll probing just how comfortable Canadians were with the current state of the countrys MAID (medical assistance in dying) regime. Starting in March 2021, Canada became one of only a handful of countries to legalize assisted suicide even in instances where a patient does not have a terminal illness. Ever since, a Canadian can be approved for MAID simply for having a grievous and irremediable medical condition. Research Co. found that 73 per cent of poll respondents favoured the current regime, and only 16 per cent opposed it. Pollsters also found not-insignificant numbers of Canadians who favoured assisted suicide in cases where no medical condition of any kind was present. If a Canadians only affliction was poverty, 27 per cent said they would be fine with legalizing that persons access to MAID. Another 28 per cent pegged homelessness as an appropriate bar to qualify for MAID.

Incidentally, when it comes to euthanasia for poverty (27% support) and for homelessness (28% support), another 11% of respondents really werent that sure. The only good news in the poll is that 44% of Canadians still oppose euthanasia for poverty, and 43% oppose it for homelessness. Expect these numbers to decrease in time.

Image designed using Pixlr AI.

Aside from showing how its becoming increasingly acceptable for doctors to kill rather than cure or help people, the study shows something deeply disturbing about the Western mind: We lack mental resilience.

Another study emerged recently, not about Canada but about America, showing that depression among Americans has reached a new high:

More than a quarter of American adults are depressed, a 10% surge from nearly a decade ago, according to the latest Gallup survey. [snip] Depression rates have sharply risen among women and Black and Hispanic people in particular. More than 36% of women report that a doctor has diagnosed them with depression in their lives, compared to 20.4% of men, with depression rates among younger people outpacing that of older respondents. While white people historically have reported the highest depression rates, Black and Hispanic adults are now reporting similar figures.

Some of this is going to be situational, given COVID and the terrible economic upheavals Bidens handlers have wrought. Also, its apparent that its worst among people who tend to be leftists: women, blacks, and Hispanics. Thats not a surprise because leftism is about existential gloom and doomand because theyre leftists, theres no afterlife or resurrection to offset the misery. When you die, youre dead.

But I also believe some of the depression is tied to the expectations that we have about a quality life in the First World. Ironically, in an age in which the First World is becoming increasingly socialist, we are inundated with ever more advertisements and commentary about the material things that will make our lives better. This materialism means we are constantly assured that one cant find love and happiness in a shack. You need the latest electronics, the finest plumbing, the most fashionable clothes, the biggest, most luxurious house, and so much more. Social media makes creature comforts the standard for happiness.

I happen to love my creature comforts, but Im old enough to understand that there is more to life than a dishwasher, spiffy shoes, and a hot bath. For young people and other leftists, though, already inundated with propaganda about an existential climate crisis and non-stop racial hatred, happiness is fragile, if not impossible. If you add to that the denial of the creature comforts shilled through non-stop commercialism, you have people who feel that the final straw in a nihilistic existence would be life without a hot bath or designer shoes.

No wonder so many people think its a mercy killing to offer someone poor or homeless a sanitized medical death. In the abstract, thats what theyd want for themselvesalthough it remains to be seen how theyll feel in some dystopian future when the mobile euthanasia truck comes for them because they cant pay their heating bill or just got evicted from their apartment.
Like many films during the COVID era, Memory, with the durable Liam Neeson starring, was consigned to cable (Prime Video, Netflix, Apple TV, Rowe, Redbox, Roku) instead of brick 'n' mortar theatres. The versatile star, now 70, exemplifies two rare points for first-tier movie talent: He seeks to 'play his age' rather than much younger; and he plays Alex, an accomplished though reluctant assassin, with encroaching Alzheimer's, doing so with subtlety and believability. He employs pills and mnemonic tactics to stay his forgetfulness.

Guy Pearce and Monica Bellucci also star, but this discussion concerns Liam Neeson and his choices as an actor.

Hollywood has always steered clear of age, more so with females than males, but taking a stand for playing one's vrai years, especially for a bankable star like Neeson, is courage in action.

Similarly, having a protagonist, not a bit player, portray the deficits and compromises of such disorders as PTSD and aphasia (as he did in a prior film outing, The Ice Road, 2021) or Alzheimer's, here, is doubly courageous.

In all films coming out of Hollywood's dream factory, no paid contract killer ever rejects the targets assigned to him. But in keeping with his usual complex characters with nuanced operational ethos, Neeson's character will not kill Beatriz, a character supposedly 13 in the film.

Neeson here looks his age, does not engage in the refurbishment seen by, for example, Robert De Niro in a recent film in the Godfather gangster tradition (Martin Scorcese's The Irishman, 2019).

The film did major photography in El Paso, Texas, which makes sense. But also, for the scenery and settings, as well as the favorable terms extended to studios making their products in their welcoming country, in Sofia and elsewhere in Bulgaria. Amusingly, commercials made in Bulgaria are neologically termed "bulgarials."

The script for Memory is not always as icicle-clear as some. Overall, though, there is action and emotion aplenty. along with the sociological footnoted carbon footprint of Bulgaria's standards, as well as the moral compass of the Neeson character.

Finally, there isn't a trunkload of swearing or gratuitous nudity, happily, which this reviewer found refreshing and a nice change.

Image: Open Road Films
(Photo : Julia Larson from Pexels)



Employees are not machines. They have emotions and life outside work. As an employer or boss, your employees will celebrate their birthday or wedding anniversary once a year.

Although no law mandates employers to gift their employees, it is a gesture that could motivate and invariably boost productivity.

As a worker, you might find it hard to decide on the perfect gift for your co-worker since you likely know nothing about them except for their job position and official name.

Whether you are an employer or worker that needs a corporate gift idea, there are more than enough options.

Types of corporate gifts

There are different gifts for various occasions in an organization. It is vital to understand the occasion to select the most appropriate gift. Meanwhile, personalized koozies are perfect for most events and occasions.

Celebration gifts

Celebration gifts are used to felicitate co-workers or employees for personal achievement. They are linked to an event in the personal life of the co-worker or the company itself.

This includes birthdays, housewarmings, anniversaries, baby showers, graduation, and wedding. A celebration gift idea can be presented in the office or at a party for the celebrant.

This category of corporate gift can be used to celebrate an employee's years of employment and professional milestone.

It can also be general to celebrate the company's anniversary or award.

Corporate celebration gift ideas

Gift card

Wine

All-expense paid trip

Company retreat

Professional course sponsorship

Holiday gifts

Holidays are usually a time employees reunite with their families. It is an event they usually look forward to, especially if they are the type that works overtime.

Corporate holiday gifting from an employer to an employee shows that the company cares about them and considers them family.

You may also gift your co-workers that are far away from their families and would probably be alone during the holiday celebration.

Corporate holiday gift ideas

Christmas gift hamper

Chocolate gift box

Books

Family board games

Noise-canceling earphones

Team or group gifts

A team or group gift can be amongst coworkers or from employers to employees. Group gifts can be used to mark the completion of a project, reward dedication among team members, or facilitate bonds.

During Valentine's celebrations, for instance, the team might roll up papers containing team members' names for everyone to pick and exchange gifts with the person they pick.

This activity can be used to improve team members' interpersonal skills. Ensure the gifts are delivered by hand, and make it a rule no one divulges who they pick until the day of the presentation.

It may also be a collective gift by a team to one of its members to celebrate them.

Corporate group gift ideas

Self-care boxes

Audio subscription

Fresh baked goods

Charging station

Online course sponsorship

Welcome gift

Welcome gifts are incorporated into a new team member or hire's welcome package. It makes them feel like being part of the organization from day one.

The gift can be personalized to reflect the new employee's name and role to make it easier for others to relate with them.

It can also be a gift they will likely keep on their desk. This means similar gifts can be found on other employees' desks. This gives a feeling of belonging.

Corporate welcome gift ideas

Sipper bottle

Jacket

Carry bag

Backpack

Highlighter and pen.

Personalized gifts

A personalized gift can be used in any corporate gift category. It is categorized separately because it requires careful thought and information about the receiver.

This gift category is designed to show the receiver that the gifter cares. They usually stand out among other gifts.

For birthdays, a personalized gift might have the name of the celebrant and the new age written on it instead of a generalized brand name.

Employers can also use it to communicate their appreciation of an employee's contribution to the company, such as gifting a pen with "best employee of the month" engraved on it.

Corporate personalized gift ideas

Handmade products

Personalized koozies

Customized mug

Phone covers

Blankets

Promotional gifts

Promotional gifts serve two purposes, recognition/appreciation, and brand promotion. This gift category includes wearable items that carry a company's logo.

They remain a crucial marketing tool despite the popularity of digital marketing. Promotional gifts are distributed not only to employers but also clients and anyone.

A t-shirt with your company's logo and website will increase its visibility. Personalized gifts can promote your brand beyond where typical adverts can reach.

Corporate promotional gift ideas

Notebooks

USB flash drives

Mousepads

Pens

Bags

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
With Floridas Governor Ron DeSantis allegedly on the brink of throwing his hat into the ring for the Republican presidential nomination, its no surprise that the Democrat media are going after him. However, it is a little surprising that theyre attacking his wife, Casey DeSantis, for being too good as a political wife. After all, they sang a very different song back in 1992.

Politicos Senior Staff Writer, Michael Kruse, put great effort into the article, entitled, The Casey DeSantis Problem: His Greatest Asset and His Greatest Liability. The subtitle hammers the message home: Ron DeSantis wife is going to play a very prominent role in his presidential campaign. Some of his supporters wonder if thats an entirely good thing.

The article is generic modern media in form, starting with an anecdote intended to show that Casey hates it when her husband has the limelight, while she doesnt. Then it discusses the conventional political wisdom that shes a not so secret weapon for a politician sometimes perceived (by the MSM) as awkward. (Ive never noticed that.)

However, were told, problems loom. Casey is accused of isolating Ron from important political advisors. My reading of this accusation is that Casey protects Ron from those Republican consultants who consistently (and for a high fee) lead their customers/candidates to spectacular losses.

I found the article boring, and faded away after a few paragraphs. As I said, its a generic hit piece. If you want more information, you can read Red States Bonchie, who writes about the former Republicans, failed consultants, and Trump supporters upon whom Kruse relies for the article. I have a couple of different points to offer.

Image by Andrea Widburg.

First, I attended a small Ron DeSantis presentation a few weeks ago, at which both Ron and Casey DeSantis spoke. Both were impressive. (And no, Im not endorsing him; Im just commenting on what I saw.)

This was the first time Id heard Casey speak because I usually read my news rather than watch it. Despite her elegant appearance and kittenish face, which make her look a bit doll-like, she has a commanding presence and a strong voice. She and her husband are obviously sympatico, each clearly respecting the other.

Casey is also intelligent. She told how, as her First Lady of Florida project, she looked at the states system for getting services to people experiencing poverty-related emergencies. She noted the overlapping agencies and the way in which, once sucked into the welfare maw, people never escaped. She also realized that there was a huge amount of available private charity but that it was a patchwork of services that were being underutilized. What Casey and her team did was to use the government, not to put people on welfare, but to connect people in need to local charities (often faith-based) that could help them.

Is the program as good as Casey said? I dont know. How large was her role? I dont know that either. I just know that she spoke very well about an intelligent-sounding program to tackle a vexing problem that government, somehow, never manages to solve. As I said, I was impressed.

Second, as I read the essay, I couldnt help thinking back to 1992, when one of the Democrats strongest selling points for Bill Clinton, then a relatively obscure governor of a southern state, was his wife, Hillary. Those of us paying attention in 1992 vividly remember Bill Clinton boasting that, if they elected him, voters would get two for the price of one. Hillary was going to be co-president with him.

When Bills marital indiscretions leaked out in 1992, Bill went onto 60 Minutes to prevaricate (rather brilliantly) about his conduct. And at his side was his wife Hillary, who explained in her faux southern accent that she wasnt a doormat, something she did in her inimitable abrasive, tactless style:

There was also Hillarys famously dismissive statement about stay-at-home moms:

I remember that era well because, as a good Democrat, I was desperate for George H.W. Bush to fail in his bid for reelection. Twelve years of Republican control of the White House, I believed, was enough (never mind the peace and prosperity). We needed one of us in the White House.

And thats why I remember the Democrat-led outrage heaped on those conservative troglodytes who failed to realize what an extraordinary blessing was being conferred on us with the promise that Hillary would be co-president with the man we elected. This was a duo, which was going to be way better than a single act.

That memory is why, in addition to finding the substance of Kruses piece silly and banal, I throw in the extra criticism that Democrats sure have come a long way, baby. Theyve gone from strongly supporting a powerful first wife in the White House to palpitating terror that an elected president might have a strong, accomplished wife who elegantly offsets his deficiencies.
Sam Brinton, the non-binary former head of nuclear waste management entrusted with that awesome responsibility by the Biden administration, has so far escaped jail time for the two previously reported thefts of luggage he has been found guilty of, at Las Vegas and Minneapolis airports. Will a judge buy in to the same leniency if he is convicted (or pleads guilty) in a third incident for which he was just arrested? Thomas Catenacci of Fox News reports:

Sam Brinton, the embattled former senior Department of Energy (DOE) official, was arrested as a "fugitive from justice" by Maryland police late Wednesday. According to county records reviewed by Fox News Digital, Brinton was taken into custody in Rockville. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Police, which is the lead law enforcement agency for both Washington, D.C., area airports, said the arrest was related to the theft of airport luggage, the third such criminal case involving Brinton. "Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police executed a search warrant May 17 in Montgomery County, Maryland, in connection with allegations of stolen property in luggage from Reagan National Airport that was brought to the departments attention in February 2023," James Johnson, a spokesperson for the MWAA, told Fox News Digital in an email. "With the assistance of Montgomery County Police, Samuel Otis Brinton, age 35, of Rockville, Maryland, was taken into custody Wednesday pending charges of Grand Larceny," Johnson said.

Yahoo News summarizes his previous offense:

Brinton was charged in October for allegedly stealing a travellers bags worth a total of $2,325 from the Minneapolis-St Paul Airport on 16 September. They [sic] were charged again in early December by Las Vegas prosecutors with grand larceny of an item with a value between $1,200 and $5,000. Those charges accuse Brinton of stealing a suitcase from the Harry Reid International Airport with an estimated worth of $3,670 on 6 July, 2022. That bag also contained jewellery [sic] valued at $1,700, clothing valued at $850, and makeup valued at $500. Brinton faced a combined 15 years in prison for the alleged thefts, but judges in both cases determined jail time was not necessary.

Brinton caught on surveillance camera at Las Vegas Airport (via NY Post)

As the New York Post reports, the latest arrest is the result of an investigation launched on the complaint of a fashion designer who saw her clothing being modeled by Brinton:

A lawyer for Tanzanian fashion designer Asya Khamsin later told The Post the charges are related to her missing suitcase. ,(snip) The Tanzanian designer had shared images of the MIT grad wearing her stolen custom clothing in February.

Brinton was spared the SWAT team style of arrest used against enemies of the Biden administration. Via Fox News:

In an interview Thursday with The Daily Wire, which first reported the arrest, a witness who claimed to be Brinton's neighbor said Brinton was arrested about an hour after four unmarked police cars arrived. "Montgomery County Police assisted in the arrest of Sam Brinton," Shiera Goff, a Montgomery County Police Department spokesperson, told Fox News Digital. "The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police are lead on this." "Brinton was arrested at approximately 10 p.m. last night in their home on College Parkway," Goff added. "They [sic] are being held in the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit on a no-bond status as they await an extradition hearing. Thats all of the information we have on our end."

As part of his deal to avoid jail for the Minneapolis theft, Brinton agreed to undergo a mental health evaluation. I have no idea what the outcome of that will be, but I suspect that Brinton would seek to base a claim for no jail time on the basis of mental illness, if that is a possibility.

This leaves the question of how many other incidents of luggage theft Brinton might be responsible for. I hope that at airports that have had luggage thefts reportred that authorities are reviewing CCTV recordings looking for him on the dates and at the luggage carousels where the thefts occurred.

The New York Times, which tells the rest of the media which stories to cover, has not a single word about the arrest today.
Facebook flagged with a warning  and then deleted  a post that simply read, Jesus died so you could live due to a hate speech violation, or so alleges Billy Hallowell, a former writer for Glenn Becks TheBlaze.

FaceBook considers Jesus died so you could live hate speech? It is just the opposite. It is, literally, the ultimate in love speech. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Hate speech? Goes against FaceBooks community code? That tells you everything you need to know about Meta, Zuckerbergand the values and agenda of the Left.

Logo or grade?

This is simply part of a broader war on Christianity, one now being fought in the West. Remarkably, even allegedly Christian institutions are aiding and abetting progressives in their attacks on Christianity. As just one of countless examples, a professor at Fordham, a purportedly Catholic university, believes that Christianity, going back to St. Paul the Apostle, is to blame for racism and antisemitismto this day. Professor Magda Teters new book, titled Christian Supremacy, was recently published. A description of the book says it offers a profound reckoning with history that traces the roots of the modern rejection of Jewish and Black equality to an enduring Christian heritage of exclusion, intolerance, and persecution.

Teter states, What I argue in the book is that white Christian supremacy becomes white supremacy. It never discards the Christian sense of domination and superiority that emerges from its early relationship with Jews and Judaism.

She goes on to say,

In the United States, Black people serve as contrast figures to whiteness, in the law and in the culture. You cannot have whiteness without Blackness. For Christians, Jews serve as that contrast figure.

Really? Contrast? How about complementarity? Oh, thats right, you folks dont believe in that.

And then theres Wendy Ashby, a former Waterloo Catholic District School Board trustee, who recently resigned after a tweet surfaced in which Ashby called white Christian males the most dangerous creature on the planet. Ashbys vile and preposterous anti-Christian tweets prompted more than 3,000 parents to complain.

Police in Loudoun County, Virginia, recently launched an investigation after a whistleblower revealed allegedly violent online threats against parents who dared to oppose radical curricula during school board meetings. The Loudon County sheriff characterized the threats as disturbing and almost demonic. Demonic.

Though it doesnt get much coverage by the mainstream media, many know that Christians are being persecuted and slaughtered-- and their places of worship destroyedin the Middle East and parts of Africa. But scores of Christian churches have been vandalized or even firebombed in the United States and Canada in recent months.

Detect a pattern?

The Left is attacking anything and everything that a majority has traditionally done or believed. Objective truths are to be discredited and thrown onto the proverbial ash-heap of history along with historical notions of morality, the idea of merit, and the capitalist economic systemall to be replaced by Communism and the most perverse forms of secularism/humanism/paganism.

Sadly, ever fewer Americans identify as Christians while ever more identify as non-believers. This goes a long way towards explaining the dramatic rise in crime, depression, hopelessness, suicide ratesand gender confusionoccurring in the country in the past few years. (The Biden administration has had a deleterious effect on these, too.)

Tolerance? Progress? Wokeness? Are we on the way to a collective utopia?

The Lefts utter intolerance for dissent leads to regression, not progression. If we dont wake up from our woke nightmare soon, we will soon find ourselves living in a collective dystopiafrom which we may never escape or recover.
For more than half a decade, weve seen smartphone manufacturers partner with camera manufacturers. This helps bring better results for the smartphone camera experience, and that does not seem to be slowing down. Japanese camera manufacturer Canon is looking to partner with a smartphone manufacturer.

We know about different partnerships between smartphone makers and Camera makers. Vivo has partnered with Zeiss, Xiaomi partners with Leica, and Oppo/OnePlus has partnered with Hasselblad. So, this isnt something thats entirely different.

The camera maker doesnt go in and build the camera for the phone, however. It would either contribute its optics or assist in the software development and tuning for the camera.

Canon is considering partnering with a smartphone manufacturer

Anyone in the photography world knows Canon as an all-around consumer-focused brand. The company has its flagship cameras that give you great results along with its mid-range and budget cameras that you will find at your local Walmart. So, the company knows what its doing.

Advertisement

According to a report from CNBETA, Hideki Ozawa, the chairman of Ken in China, said in an interview that the company has been studying the matter. So, this probably means that Canon does not have a particular brand in mind. However, we can imagine that it has a list of potential partnerships being written up as we speak.

So, since the company is just in the consideration stage, we shouldnt expect to see any phones boasting Canon Optics anytime soon. As for what companies would need this, we could probably expect companies like HTC. Not to say that HTCs cameras are bad, but this could definitely be a great marketing stunt to put HTC back into the consumer mindset.

The same could probably be set for Nokia. This company has been struggling to get back into the smartphone market, and posting the robust camera experience powered by Canon would definitely raise a few eyebrows.

Itll be interesting to see what company Canon decides to shake hands with. Only time will tell.
According to the federal appeals court, Elon Musk should still consult with a lawyer before publishing tweets about his EV manufacturing company Tesla, Engadget reports.

Back in 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Musk of lying about securing funds for taking Tesla private. The billionaire could later settle with the SEC while the agency insisted on his resignation as Tesla CEO. As a result of this legal battle, Musk was forced in 2019 to get a lawyer approval before tweeting about Tesla, and he also paid $20 million in fines. Musk called the consent decree an unfair prior restraint.

Elon Musks finance-related tweets about Tesla still need a lawyers approval

Since then, Elon Musk has constantly fought to regain freedom by tweeting about his own company. He even called the judge to void the previous settlement with the SEC, arguing that SEC had pressed him to settle and the agency had abused its power.

Musks request to void the deal was denied last April. The federal appeals court in Manhattan also denied the billionaires appeal. So Musk still needs to show his finance-related tweets to a lawyer before publishing them on his platform, Twitter.

Advertisement

The court panel argued that Musk could defend himself or negotiate a better settlement if he wanted to tweet freely about Tesla. Neither Elon Musk nor Tesla has yet responded to the new court ruling. Theyre unlikely to respond as Tesla has no communication team. And Musk doesnt want a new legal battle with the SEC.

In the initial days of taking over Twitter, Tesla shareholders argued that Musks occupation at Twitter might negatively affect the EV manufacturer. While Musk denied such claims at first, now hes convinced that Twitter needs a full-time CEO. Musk recently named Linda Yaccarino as Twitters chief executive. The billionaire added that Yaccarino would focus on business operations while he focuses on product design and new technology.
Large companies like Meta, Google, and Microsoft just cannot stay out of trouble with the government. Google has just settled a lawsuit against it which claims that the company profited from using location tracking without its users consent. The company had to Shell out almost 40 million dollars to settle, according to Android Authority.

Asking large companies whose revenue depends largely on ads to stay out of trouble with the government is like asking a fish to walk on land. These companies do whatever they can to soak up as much revenue as possible. In the case of Google, that means a lot. In 2021, ad revenue made up about 80% of the companys yearly income.

Google settled a large location tracking lawsuit

Security and privacy are some of the biggest topics in tech today. And, no one ever likes knowing that their location is being tracked by mega-corporations. This is what prompted Washington State to sue Google over its use of its users location data.

The state claims that Google tricked its users into thinking that they have control over their location data. Allegedly, even when users had their location permission turned off, Google was still able to access the location data. This means that the company was still able to profit from its users location even with a disabled.

Advertisement

That was a huge no-no for Washington State, and the State dragged Google into court. Were not sure how much Washington State wanted, but Google did settle for $39.9 million. Thats, obviously, not much for the trillion-dollar company.

Thats not the only lawsuit that Google went through over this matter. Last year, Arizona State brought a lawsuit against Google for much the same thing only, Google settled for more than twice as much as the Washington lawsuit. The company had to Fork over $85 million.

Not only did Google have to pay, but the company will be required to be more transparent with how its using users data. So, Google will need to explain how its using your location data on its website. This could be a major win for users all around the world.
Earlier this week, Montana became the first US state to announce a statewide ban on TikTok citing national security concerns. This came as federal officials consider a nationwide ban on the app. Unsurprisingly, the decision is already facing legal challenges. TikTok creators have filed lawsuits arguing that the ban is unconstitutional. It appears most US citizens have a similar stance on this decision. A quick survey by cybersecurity firm Secure Data Recovery showed that only 18% of Americans support the idea of a nationwide ban on TikTok.

The survey, which was run after the announcement from Montana Governor Greg Gianforte on Wednesday evening, assessed the opinions of 1,000 TikTok users on the matter. 51% of the respondents are concerned that the app will be banned across the country. However, the vast majority of them (almost four out of every five Americans) oppose this idea.

73% of TikTok users believe such a ban would be an act of authoritarianism, akin to Chinese government malfeasance, while 55% of them say stoking fears about Chinese spying is a form of xenophobia.

Moreover, three out of every five Americans (61%) arent afraid of Chinese spying. They dont care if the Chinese government has access to their data. Nearly half of the respondents (47%) would choose to be spied on rather than lose access to TikTok.

Advertisement

59% of them believe the US government wants to ban the ultra-popular social media app to control the fast spread of information. One out of every four American TikTok users said they would vote against their governor if their state banned TikTok.

YouTube and Instagram may benefit from the TikTok ban in the US

This survey also asked users what would be their preferred alternative if the US government announces a nationwide ban on TikTok. 46% of them said they would switch to YouTube Shorts, while Instagram Reels is the preferred destination of 44% of TikTok users. 8% of them would move to Snapchat.

TikTok currently has over 150 million monthly active users in the US. So itd be a massive win for these platforms if the US government favors a nationwide ban on the app, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.

But, as said earlier, the ban in Montana is already facing legal hurdles. So this is far from done. We will have to wait and see what the court decides. Meanwhile, here are some TikTok alternatives that you might want to check out.
Samsung is pushing a new update to the LTE variants of the Galaxy Watch 5 series. It appears to be the same update that Bluetooth-only Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro picked up last month. Rolling out with the firmware build number R9*5FXXU1AWDA, the latest release brings the skin temperature-based menstrual cycle tracking feature. The new feature is available through the Samsung Health app, which will also automatically update to the latest version once you install the new firmware release on your Galaxy Watch 5.

The latest update for the Galaxy Watch 5 series also brings a new security patch. Samsung isnt pushing the latest monthly release, though. The two smartwatches are getting last months patch. The Bluetooth variants also picked up the April security patch. Google has already updated the Pixel Watch to the May release, so Samsung is lagging here. That said, the Korean firm never pushes monthly security patches to its Wear OS smartwatches, so it isnt entirely surprising. The Galaxy Watch 5 series may never get the May security update.

Apart from these two changes, the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro dont appear to be getting anything notable with this update. Samsungs official changelog mentions improved system stability and reliability, but you may not notice any major improvements to performance. If youre using the LTE variants of either of these Galaxy smartwatches, the new update should be available to you soon. We can confirm that the rollout is live in some countries in Europe and Asia. A wider release should be just around the corner.

As usual, you will get a notification once a new software update is available for your Galaxy Watch 5 LTE or Galaxy Watch 5 Pro LTE. You can also manually check for updates on the watch, though. Open the Settings app, scroll down and enter the Software update menu, and tap on Download and install. This can be done through the Watch settings page on the companion Galaxy Wearable app on your connected smartphone as well.

Advertisement

Samsung is readying more temperature-based features for the Galaxy Watch 5

The Galaxy Watch 5 is Samsungs first smartwatch equipped with a temperature sensor. However, the infrared-based sensor served no purpose to users out of the box. This menstrual cycle tracking feature is the first use of the hardware and it came nearly eight months after the watches hit the market. But the company is just getting started. It recently confirmed that more temperature-based features are in the pipeline for its latest smartwatches. It may debut a few with the Galaxy Watch 6 series later this year. The new watches may arrive in late July.
British author Salman Rushdie made a surprise appearance at an event organized by PEN America Thursday night.

This is the author's first appearance since he was attacked in August 2022 while delivering a speech at a literary conference in the upstate New York town of Chautauqua. Rushdie received multiple stab wounds, resulting in the loss of sight in one eye and the loss of use in one hand.

Speaking in front of around 700 guests at the American Museum of Natural History and wearing glasses with a black lens over his right eye, Rushdie said he was glad to be invited to the event.

"I'm glad the dice rolled this way," he said.

Rushdie Grateful to People Who Aided Him

Rushdie, whose appearance at the event was withheld beforehand, received an accolade from PEN America, an organization dedicated to the defense of the freedom of expression and literature, which he also previously served as its president.

In his speech, he expressed gratitude towards the people who quickly apprehended his assailant, 24-year-old Hadi Matar, who is facing murder and assault charges for the incident and is awaiting trial. Rushdie, who received the organization's Centennial Courage Award, said that he owed his life to their courage.

"If it had not been for these people," Rushdie said, "I most certainly would not be standing here today."

"The struggle goes on"

Rushdie became an icon of free speech after publishing the 1988 novel "The Satanic Verses." The novel caused Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to issue a decree calling for Rushdie's death for allegedly publishing blasphemous phrases referring to the prophet Muhammad.

According to Al Jazeera, Rushdie admits he faced difficulty in writing his latest novel, "Victory City," due to the knife attack and his bouts with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Rushdie ended his emotional speech at the PEN America event with a call to continue the push for the freedom of speech and expression.

"The struggle goes on," he said in French, Italian, and English.

Earlier this week, the BBC reported Rushdie also received the Freedom to Publish award from the British Book Awards. In his acceptance speech, he criticized the encroachment of the freedom to publish in Western countries and lamented the loss of libraries and books for children in schools.

Other Awardees

Aside from Rushdie, other PEN America awardees include Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels, who received the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award and imprisoned Iranian journalist and activist Narges Mohammadi.

In a letter read at the ceremony, Mohammadi, who was awarded the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, urged attendees to help liberate the Iranian people "from the grip of the Islamic Republic." Receiving the award is her husband, Taghi Rahmani, who was also previously imprisoned by Iranian authorities.

Meanwhile, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos was awarded the PEN America Business Visionary Award but was absent from the event, citing the ongoing writers' strike organized by the Writers Guild of America (WGA).

Pen and Penguin Random House Sue School District for Book Bans

Earlier this week, PEN, alongside Penguin Random House and a group of authors and parents, filed a legal complaint against the Escambia County school district and school board in Florida for allegedly banning books regarding race and LGBT+ identities.

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A Just Stop Oil activist was thrown to the ground by a passer-by during a protest in central London.

In a video posted on social media, the man can be seen approaching a group of campaigners as they slow march in front of traffic on Mansell Street, near the Tower of London, on Friday.

The man then begins to snatch the groups banners out of the protesters hands before pushing the woman on to the ground.

He also appears to grab a phone from one of the campaigners and throw it away, as he tries to push the other demonstrators out of the way of traffic.

 Content warning.  Some violence is obvious, and some is hidden.  The hidden violence of approving new oil and gas, when people are dying in floods and wildfires is extreme.  Our government are guilty of drownings, death by smoke inhalation, heat stress and starvation. pic.twitter.com/9C3orcRx4S  Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) May 19, 2023

Meanwhile, the woman picks herself up and goes to sit on the pavement.

In a statement, the Met Police urged the public not to intervene when protesters are blocking the road.

The Met and City of London Police are aware of an incident shown on social media in which a member of the public appears to have an altercation with Just Stop Oil protesters on Mansell Street E1 this morning, Friday May 19, shortly before the arrival of police, a spokesperson for the force said.

At this stage, we are not aware that any allegations have been made in regard to this matter, however, we are in contact with the organisers of the demonstration.

We completely understand the frustration and anger of Londons communities when protesters walk slowly in the roads. We urge people not to intervene and to wait for the arrival of police, who will attend the scene promptly. We thank people for their patience.

Commenting on the incident, a spokesperson from Just Stop Oil said they understood how frustrating it can be to be disrupted.

We understand how frustrating it can be to be disrupted, however, as of this morning 13 people are dead and 13,000 people have had to be evacuated from their homes in Italy, due to six months worth of rain falling in a day and a half, the spokesperson said.

A quarter of a million people are currently homeless in Somalia due to extreme flooding, despite the country experiencing its worst drought in 40 years.

The disruption we are seeing on British streets is nothing compared to the disruption wrought if we do not stop licensing new oil, gas and coal.
The paedophile brother of TV presenter Phillip Schofield has been jailed for 12 years after being convicted of child sex offences.

Timothy Schofield, 54, was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child, after a trial at Exeter Crown Court in April.

Schofield, a civilian police worker from Bath, Somerset, told the jury while giving evidence that he had watched pornography with the boy who he insisted was over the age of 16 at the time.

He claimed they had masturbated while sitting apart and denied performing sexual acts on the teenager.

However, the jury found Schofield guilty on all counts with a majority of 10-2 after more than five-and-a-half hours of deliberation.

Avon and Somerset Police later dismissed Schofield, who had been suspended from his job at the forces headquarters in Portishead after being arrested and charged, without notice.

Mrs Justice Cutts, sentencing Schofield at Bristol Crown Court on Friday, told him: You exploited his innocence at this stage of his life for your own sexual gratification.

It was wrong on every level for you to behave as you did.

He felt forced to do what you wanted, trapped and unable to escape. He felt he couldnt tell anyone and did not do so for many years.

You took away his ability to be the teenager he should have been  carefree, relaxed, happy. It is clear to me that you became utterly obsessed with him.

She added: Your actions and behaviour have had a devastating impact on the boy.

In doing what you did, you thought only of yourself.

I have not heard a single word of remorse from you, only self-pity.

The judge commended the courage of the boy for reporting the abuse.

In a victim personal statement read to the court by Robin Shellard, prosecuting, the boy said he felt numb to life following the abuse.

He said: Before Tim was arrested, I felt I had no freedom. I often felt panic, stress and fear. I felt like I was trapped in a loop of fear and anxiety of the abuse happening again.

It was only after Tim was arrested that I felt safe. It was only after Tim was arrested that I felt free  free to be me, free to be happy, free to be relaxed.

Timothy Schofield leaving Exeter Crown Court in March (Matt Keeble/PA)

The boy added: I feel more blunt, I feel more bitter, I feel numb to life. I know I should feel really happy or really sad but I dont have the ability to emotionally react to what is happening.

During the trial, jurors heard that Schofield told his elder brother Phillip in September 2021 that he and the complainant had watched pornography together.

In a statement released by his lawyer after the guilty verdict, the This Morning host said: My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family. I hope that their privacy will now be respected.

If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my brother, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family.

These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother.

Timothy Schofield was convicted of three counts of causing a child to watch sexual activity, three of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, three of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and two of sexual activity with a child.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said her partys success in Northern Irelands local government elections is a message from the people that Stormont must return.

However, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has insisted his partys vote is holding up as counting continues to fill 462 seats across 11 council areas.

At 9.30pm, Sinn Fein led the way with 71 councillors elected. The DUP was next on 59, the cross-community Alliance Party had 31, the Ulster Unionists 24, the SDLP 12, with eight others.

In terms of the share of the first preference votes, Sinn Fein had 31.1% of first preferences of votes counted so far.

it's becoming clear from todays results that people across the North have seized the opportunity to send a clear signal that it is time to get the Assembly up and running. People are determined to see the positive transformation of our politics. Sinn Fein went into this pic.twitter.com/qtKASNBeZo  Michelle ONeill (@moneillsf) May 19, 2023

It means the republican party appears to be on course to repeat its success from last years Assembly elections when it emerged as the largest party for the first time.

The DUP secured 24% of first preference votes counted so far, with Alliance on 12.9%, the UUP on 11.7% and the SDLP on 8.7%.

The votes are being counted through the single transferable vote system and the process will continue well into Saturday.

The general pattern around voter turnout appeared to be up slightly in areas which would be regarded as predominantly nationalist/republican and down slightly in areas viewed as unionist majority.

Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald, right, and Sinn Fein vice president Michelle ONeill, second right, with Bronach Anglin and Micheal Donnelly at Belfast City Hall (Liam McBurney/PA)

The Stormont assembly has not been operational for more than a year due to the DUPs boycott of the powersharing institutions in protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Speaking at Belfast City Hall, Mrs McDonald said the election results showed a very strong showing for Sinn Fein right across the north.

She added: We are very pleased with that. We ran a very positive campaign and we are very pleased that the response to that has just been so positive by way of returns.

In the course of the election a lot of things were discussed, all the local issues but, in truth, the big issue was that of a return of the executive, the need to have government, the need to have leadership, the need to work together, to make politics work for everybody.

(PA Graphics)

The need for Michelle ONeill to come into post as the first minister for all.

So, for us, that is the significance of this result, it is undoubtedly a vote for progress, for change, for positivity and, above all else, for working together.

Party vice president Michelle ONeill said the British and Irish Governments now needed to come up with a plan to bring Stormont back.

She said: We ran a very positive campaign.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson at Laganvalley Leisureplex where counting is continuing for the Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council (Claudia Savage/PA)

But on the doors the conversation was very much centred around the need to have a restored Assembly and executive up and running.

That needs to be done now without delay. We would call on both governments to get engaged and actually make that happen.

There needs to be a plan now for a way back to a restored executive.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey said if Sinn Fein emerges as the largest party in local government, unionism will have to look at where its going.

Sinn Feins Geraldine McAteer is the first councillor elected in Belfast. She was elected in the Balmoral district electoral area with 2,037 votes. pic.twitter.com/lLmVAup2r3  Rebecca Black (@RBlackPA) May 19, 2023

Speaking at the Lisburn and Castlereagh council count, he said: Lets see when the final votes are all counted who is the largest party but, if Sinn Fein do emerge as the largest party in the council elections, I think yet again, as Ive been saying, consistently, there are lessons that unionism needs to learn here.

We cant go on with a situation where turnout in unionist areas is significantly lower than in nationalist areas, you cant go on with a situation where the unionist vote is continually splitting and splintering.

The result of that is that seats are gifted to Sinn Fein and to others when the unionist vote is split, and when that unionist vote doesnt transfer sufficiently.

So, I think, we really do need to learn the lessons behind all of this, the DUP without a shadow of a doubt is by far the largest unionist party and I think that unionism needs to look at where its going and regroup around a strong voice for unionism, and see more co-operation between unionist parties.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said she believes it has been a positive election for her party.

Speaking to the PA news agency at Belfast City Hall, Ms Long said: Its been very positive so far but its very early.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long (centre) with Eric Hanvey (left) and her husband Michael Long (right) at Belfast City Hall as the results come in for the Northern Ireland local elections (Liam McBurney/PA)

Its still too early to predict, any of the gains that we hope to make will come much later but it looks good, its been a strong turnout for Alliance and from our perspective its been a good day.

Undoubtedly Sinn Fein has had a fantastic election, I think everyone can see that, but with the exception of Sinn Fein I think Alliance is the only party to have made significant gains at this point.

Sinn Feins Gary McCleave was the first councillor to be elected on Friday at Lisburn and Castlereagh Council, securing a seat in the Killultagh district electoral area (DEA).

His election was swiftly followed by the DUPs Thomas Beckett and Claire Kemp of the Alliance Party in the same DEA.

In Belfast, sitting Lord Mayor Tina Black was among the first elected.

Her Sinn Fein colleague, Geraldine McAteer, was the first councillor to be elected to the capitals council in the Balmoral DEA.

A short time later, Ms Black, along with DUP candidates Frank McCoubrey and Nicola Verner, was elected in the Court DEA.

At the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council, UUP leader Doug Beattie referred to the possibility of unionism as a whole losing seats.

Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie said his party would not be changing path (Jonathan McCambridge/PA)

The question is will unionism as a whole lose seats in this election, if they do that, its a unionism-wide issue that has to be dealt with  as far as my party is concerned, weve set our path, Im not going to change that path, he said.

We believe that we need to get Northern Ireland working. We are confident unionists, we want to put out a positive, optimistic message and we will continue to do that, nothing will change.

Northern Irelands councils are responsible for setting rates, planning and waste collection as well as leisure services and parks.
A demonstration took place outside Downing Street on Friday following a spate of recent executions in Iran.

It took place on the same day authorities in Iran executed three men sentenced to death in connection with the nationwide anti-government protests last year.

Majid Kazemi, 30, Saleh Mirhashemi, 36, and Saeed Yaqoubi, 37, were convicted over their alleged involvement in a shooting that left three security officers dead in Isfahan on November 16.

Three roses, one for each victim, were placed on a wall opposite Downing Street while about 20 demonstrators held placards bearing their faces.

The rally, organised by campaign group the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), brought together several organisations which oppose the Iranian regime.

Speaking outside Downing Street, Association of Women and Youth Against Fundamentalism volunteer Rana Rahmanfard, 24, said: When I heard they had been executed it felt like the breath had been taken from my chest.

All I can think of is their families and the growing number of mothers and fathers losing children in Iran who are desperate for justice.

Ms Rahmanfard, a student from Barnet, north-west London, called on the British Government to cut ties with the Iranian regime.

People protested outside Downing Street (Yui Mok/PA)

University lecturer and president of the Women for Free Iran Association, Dr Ela Zabihi, urged the Government to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation and to shut down the Iranian embassy in London.

Dr Zabihi, 43, said: Today we were asking for strong condemnation from the British and international community of this regime.

The IRGC must be put on UK and EU terrorist lists. It has already been recognised by the US as a terrorist organisation.

We are also requesting for the Iranian embassy in London to be shut down and for those working in the embassy to be expelled.

The protest took place on the same day authorities in Iran executed three men (Yui Mok/PA)

Iranian people are ready to die because they are saying that under this regime, we have no life.

The legitimacy of the three mens sentences has been widely questioned, with the US state department calling the proceedings sham trials on Thursday.

Human rights charity Amnesty International said the men were fast-tracked through Irans judicial system without due process being observed.

Fridays hangings bring the total number of Iranians executed in connection with the protests to seven.

The protests swept across the Islamic Republic following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was detained by morality police in Tehran in September for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly.

In a statement on social media, NCRI president Maryam Rajavi said: I urge the United Nations, the European Union, and member states to strongly condemn this alarming wave of executions and swiftly implement measures that compel the mullahs regime to halt its barbaric cycle of arrests, torture, and killings.
People who suffer the most common type of stroke should be given a genetic test to find out which drugs can prevent future attacks, a watchdog has said.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said people who have had an ischaemic stroke  where a clot blocks the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain  or a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) should be tested on the NHS.

In new draft guidance, the watchdog said medics who are considering giving the drug clopidogrel should first reach for the genetic test.

Clopidogrel is a common drug which prevents platelets  a type of blood cell  from sticking together and forming a dangerous blood clot.

Nice currently recommends clopidogrel as an option for treating people at risk of having another stroke but it is not suitable for people with certain variations in a gene called CYP2C19 because they cannot convert the drug properly for use in the body.

The genetic test would help overcome this by finding people with these variants so they can be treated with an alternative drug.

Some 32% of people in the UK are thought to have at least one of the CYP2C19 gene variants.

Evidence has suggested they have about a 46% increased risk of another stroke when taking clopidogrel compared to people without the variants.

If laboratory testing  estimated to cost around 139 per test  is not possible, Nice said the Genomadix Cube test costing 197 and given at the bedside can be used instead.

There are around 100,000 strokes every year in the UK, of which around 43,000 are recurrent strokes.

Every year, 46,000 people in the UK have a TIA for the first time, which is seen as a warning that they are at risk of stroke.

Mark Chapman, interim director of medical technology and digital evaluation at Nice, said: The recommendation is a step forward in ensuring people who have had a stroke receive personalised care thanks to a genetic test run after their DNA is sequenced using their blood or saliva.

Treatment with clopidogrel is effective in preventing further strokes for the majority of people who dont have the gene variant.

But, until now, doctors have not known who cannot be treated with clopidogrel until after theyve had a second stroke or TIA and that could be too late.

If the CYP2C19 variants are found, other treatment options can be used.

This test ensures were getting the best care to people quickly, while at the same time ensuring value for money for the taxpayer.

Around 11 million items of clopidogrel are dispensed each year at a cost of around 16 million to the NHS, Nice said.

The draft guideline is subject to consultation.
A man has been jailed for at least 15 years after he admitted murdering his 84-year-old grandmother by repeatedly punching and stamping on her, causing her to die from her injuries six days later.

Scott McCulloch, 26, from Forres in Moray, pleaded guilty to one charge of murder when he appeared by video link at the High Court in Edinburgh on Friday.

He was handed a life sentence and was told he must serve at least 15 years before he is eligible for parole.

In a narrative, the court heard McCulloch lived with his grandmother Patricia Bitters at her home in the towns Oystercatcher Close.

McCulloch had been drinking with friends on Sunday August 28 last year and returned home just before 10pm.

He admitted repeatedly punching and stamping on Mrs Bitters, who was just 4ft 9in and weighed 49kg.

The court was told neighbours had reported hearing a male shouting aggressively and then a woman shouting, Help, help, stop, stop, no, before they went to Mrs Bitterss house.

They found McCulloch standing on the pavement saying: Ive killed my granny, Ive killed my granny. I didnt mean it.

Mrs Bitters was found lying on her side on the floor, pressed against a cabinet with blood coming from her mouth.

McCulloch had covered his face and said: I cant look.

Neighbour Wendy Harrower asked Mrs Bitters what had happened and she replied that her grandson had assaulted her.

When Mrs Harrower asked Mrs Bitters why, the pensioner said: I dont know, he just lost it.

Mrs Bitters also told Mrs Harrower: Dont leave me, I dont want to die alone. Please dont leave me when I die.

The court heard McCulloch had then asked to phone his mother, Melanie Hendry.

He was crying and slurred his words as he told her he had done a murder on his granny.

Mrs Hendry asked McCulloch what he was talking about because Mrs Bitters was in her bed, the court heard.

Scott McCulloch admitted murder when he faced the High Court in Edinburgh on Friday (PA)

McCulloch told him: No, shes lying on the living room floor covered in blood.

Mrs Bitters was taken to hospital where a CT scan showed significant haematoma and haemorrhage in her brain, as well as bruising to her sternum.

The court heard her pattern of injuries were consistent with being stamped on numerous times.

Following his arrest, the court heard McCulloch wrote a letter to his mother from prison, saying he was sorry about what happened and that he hoped his grandmother would survive, before asking Mrs Hendry if she could send him money for food and juice.

Mrs Bitters died on Saturday September 3 and a post-mortem examination showed she had a subarachnoid haemorrhage, brain hypoxia, and a hardening of the arteries over many years.

Four days later, McCulloch was charged with murder.

Defending, Donald Findlay KC said McCulloch was profoundly sorry for his actions and that he struggled to come to terms with them.

He told the court that while they had their differences, there was no simmering malice between McCulloch and his grandmother.

Judge Lord Beckett told McCulloch his actions had devastated Mrs Bitterss family and that he had taken advantage of her vulnerability.

She had given you a home and was entitled to expect your protection and support in return, he told McCulloch.

Lord Beckett also told McCulloch that being under the influence of alcohol was not an excuse for the crime.

But he reduced the time McCulloch must serve before being eligible for parole from 17 years to 15, after taking into account his remorse and his early guilty plea.

McCulloch was visibly shaking as he was sentenced.
A man has pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving after crashing into a mother who managed to pushed her babys pram to safety.

Dale Clark, of New Milton, Hampshire, was driving a Toyota RAV4 car when it hit Rebecca Sharp in the Redhill Park area of Bournemouth, Dorset, at 9am on April 11.

Mrs Sharp, in her 30s, was taken to hospital with a life-threatening injury and remains unconscious and in a critical condition, Bournemouth Crown Court was told.

Clark, 38, pleaded guilty to the dangerous driving charge and failing to stop after an accident but denies charges of drink-driving and drug driving after using cocaine.

Defending, barrister Nick Robinson said Clark maintains he was not under the influence of alcohol and cocaine at the time of the offences  only afterwards.

Judge William Mousley KC said charges of drink and drug-driving have to be tried in a magistrates court and adjourned the case for sentencing until after those charges have been transferred.

He told the victims loved ones, who sat in court: I am not allowed to try cases of drink-driving or drug-driving, thats why this case cannot proceed in this court.

Updating the court on Mrs Sharps condition, prosecutor Andrew Houston said: Rebecca still hasnt woken. She has opened her eyes and moved her lips but is not responding in any kind.

When opening her eyes, she doesnt appear to see anything. She has had no further CT scan but has had a scan to check she isnt fitting because of these eye movements which confirms she isnt fitting.

Its early days and the consultant could expect to see changes around six months.

Its waiting to see what level of recovery.

Judge Mousley imposed a driving ban on Clark and adjourned the case for a further hearing on June 20.

He told the defendant: In the meantime you will be remanded in custody. You are formally disqualified from driving as of today.
TikTok has been banned in Montana, sparking a debate on data privacy and free expression.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) criticized the Montana TikTok ban, calling it unconstitutional, but emphasized TikTok's unique circumstances due to China's censorship and surveillance policies.

The ban raises concerns about its impact on free expression and data privacy, potentially leading to litigation and wasteful spending.

The popular video-sharing application TikTok was recently outlawed in Montana, stirring a divisive discussion over upholding data privacy and free expression.

The Montana TikTok ban was condemned by the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which called the measure "unconstitutional" in a post on Twitter, CNET reported.

In a March article, the EFF recognized the broad data collection tactics used by social networking sites and internet companies but emphasized TikTok's unprecedented circumstances because of China's censorship and surveillance policies.

The EFF advocated broad consumer data privacy laws rather than naming a company or nation. The foundation argued that there would be less opportunity for governments, particularly China, to acquire or use such data if something was done about the enormous collection of personal data by all companies, including TikTok, used by over 150 million Americans.

The effect of the Montana TikTok ban on free expression and data privacy worries Jason Kelley, the EFF's acting director for action. He said the prohibition violated the First Amendment's limit on government restraints on free expression and would make Montana's enforcement difficult. Kelley hypothesized that the ban's main purpose might be litigation, which may lead to the squandering of public funds.

Serious Security Concerns Led Governments To Impose TikTok Restrictions

The FBI has issued advisories on China's potential to exert influence over the software on millions of devices via its connections to ByteDance. Security concerns prompted the United States and the European Union to ban TikTok on government equipment, according to Axios.

Read Also: Titanic Shipwreck Unveiled in Unprecedented Detail

To date, 33 states in the US have banned TikTok on state-issued mobile devices, and nine have expanded their prohibitions to include additional apps. Four states have put forward similar constraints, per CNN.

Beijing has frequently refuted claims that TikTok poses a danger to national security, and the CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, has said that ByteDance is not a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

TikTok Users Sue Montana Over Controversial Law

Montana is the first state in the United States to impose a statewide TikTok ban. Governor Greg Gianforte recently signed the legislation into law, making it illegal for app shops to allow TikTok downloads and forbidding the business from operating in the state.

The Montana TikTok ban will take effect on January 1; Montanans will not be allowed to download TikTok, and internet service providers and businesses facilitating access to the app will be subject to severe penalties of $10,000 per day.

Five TikTok users on Wednesday filed a case in US District Court in Montana, saying that the state cannot use power over national security to prohibit freedom of speech, protected by the First Amendment, as HNGN earlier reported.

The complaint questions whether the statute is constitutional, as Montanans utilize the video-sharing platform to advertise companies, communicate with war veterans, share outdoor activities, and express creativity.

Related Article: Twitter Accuses Microsoft of Data Policy Breach

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The mastermind behind an online fraud shop used to con victims out of more than 100 million has been jailed for more than 13 years.

Tejay Fletcher, 35, bought a 230,000 Lamborghini, two Range Rovers worth 110,000 and an 11,000 Rolex after making around 2 million from the iSpoof.cc website.

He was the founder and leading administrator of the site, which was brought down last year in the UKs biggest fraud sting.

Criminals were offered tools that allowed them to disguise phone calls so they appeared to be from a trusted organisation, such as a bank, so they could empty their targets accounts.

Victims around the world were defrauded of at least 100 million, including a minimum of 43 million from people in the UK, Southwark Crown Court was told.

The website earned around 3.2 million in cryptocurrency Bitcoin, with the lions share of around 2 million ending up with Fletcher, said prosecutor John Ojakovoh.

Fletcher last month pleaded guilty to four charges, including making or supplying an article for use in fraud, encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence, possession of criminal property and transferring criminal property, between November 30 2020 and November 8 2022.

Judge Sally Cahill KC jailed him for a total of 13 years and four months on Friday, telling him: For all the victims it was a harrowing experience.

One victim lost 3 million, while the 4,785 people who reported being targeted to Action Fraud lost an average of 10,000, according to police.

The judge said they suffered damage to their businesses, personal financial problems, sleeplessness, depression, emotional stress and fall-outs with family members.

She told Fletcher, who has 18 previous convictions for 36 offences, he didnt care about them, adding: The late expression of remorse is regret for being caught rather than empathy for your victims.

The evidence in my view shows very clearly you had a leading role and an active role in creating a sophisticated article for fraud, which generated a substantial profit for you.

Simon Baker KC, defending, had told the judge his client had no idea of the scale of the eventual fraud when he set up the website.

But the judge told Fletcher: As is the case with any successful business you probably didnt realise how successful and profitable your enterprise would be.

Fletcher was arrested at his girlfriends house in east London last November in a global operation to bring down iSpoof as part of the UKs biggest fraud sting.

Judge Cahill praised the Metropolitan Police force for its investigation, which involved 700 days of work.

The court heard Fletcher rented an east London apartment, which boasts views of the Royal Victoria Dock and the city skyline, and owned a 230,000 Lamborghini.

Fletcher also spent a total of 120,000 on two Range Rovers for him and his girlfriend, while police found a money counter, jewellery and an 11,000 Rolex in his home.

The Met said iSpoof was created in December 2020 and at its peak had 59,000 users, with up to 20 people per minute targeted at one point by callers using technology bought from the site.

The scam calls, along with other features offered through the site to obtain passwords and PINs, were all used to empty the victims bank accounts.

Users of the website paid hundreds or thousands of pounds a month for its features, which were marketed on a channel on the encrypted messaging app Telegram called iSpoof club.

The court heard Fletcher carried out market research, promoted new products and encouraged users to commit fraud.

Kate Anderson of the CPS said fraud is not a victimless crime (James Manning/PA)

Mr Baker described Fletcher, who has a young son, as an extremely bright young man, adding: It is extremely unfortunate that intellect was not channelled into gainful activities.

He worked with a youth charity and developed an anti-bullying campaign in the years before his arrest and had received an offer of a place at drama school, the barrister added.

His guilty plea reflects his genuine regret and remorse for his actions and his sincere wish to apologise to those who have suffered as a result of the frauds perpetrated against them as a result of the ispoof website, said Mr Baker.

Kate Anderson, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: Fraud is not a victimless crime and the cost to the many victims in this case has not just been financial, it has also had a huge emotional impact, causing extreme distress and devastation to those affected  many of whom had their life savings stolen from them.

This was a complex and challenging case, and I would like to thank the Metropolitan Police and the many national and international law enforcement partners who worked with the CPS to secure the evidence for us to present.

We were able to show how Fletcher was instrumental in the setting up of the website, which gave people the tools to defraud others.

Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: We are proud to have taken down criminals at the top of this fraudulent network, heartless people who were determined to facilitate fraud on an industrial scale, ruining the lives of many victims who were targeted.

Closing down iSpoof has been the UKs biggest ever fraud operation and was a collective effort.

The investigative excellence of the detectives who led this case is a great example of expertise at the Met bringing justice for victims. Huge thanks must also go to the officer in the case DC Ed Sehmer.
Ministers have moved to restrict the dispensing of a medicine used to treat the symptoms of menopause due to shortages being experienced in Britain.

The UK Government issued a serious shortage protocol (SSP) for Utrogestan 100mg capsules on Friday.

It means pharmacists will be able to dispense a maximum of two months supply per prescription in a bid to ensure women who use the hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can continue to access treatment.

According to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Utrogestan is expected to be in intermittent supply until late this year.

Officials said manufacturer Besins was increasing supply but was currently struggling to meet rising demand.

Womens minister Maria Caulfield said: Todays decisive action will mean more women will be able to access this medicine, and I want to reassure women that the vast majority of HRT products are in good supply.

The overall supply of HRT products has improved considerably over the last year and I am encouraged by how the industry is responding to the growth in demand and our continued calls for action to boost supply to meet it.

We continue working to help ensure continuity of supply  which is a key part of increasing support for menopausal and pre-menopausal women and improving their quality of life.

Prescriptions of Utrogestan will be limited to two months supply due to supply shortages (Anthony Devlin/PA)

The DHSC said a serious shortage protocol was a standard procedure, used frequently to manage temporary and potential medicine supply issues.

Since April last year, 22 SSPs have been made for HRT products but the department said only two remain in place  one relating to Fridays Utrogestan order and a second for Progynova 100 microgram patches.

An official said some HRT medicines had been added to the list of products that cannot be exported from, or hoarded in, the UK in a bid to ensure adequate supply remains available to patients.
Two contracts to service the Royal Navys domestic and international offshore patrol vessel fleets will cost 320 million, the Ministry of Defence has announced.

An eight-year contract worth about 250 million has been awarded to UK Docks Marine Services, based in the north east of England, to support a fleet that patrols across the globe.

The deal will create more than 100 engineer, technician, project manager and administrative roles within the company, with 25-30 based in South Shields, South Tyneside, and Gosport, Hampshire  while the remaining roles will be located overseas.

The team will service HMS Forth, HMS Medway, HMS Trent, HMS Tamar and HMS Spey.

A second contract for vessels patrolling UK waters has gone to BAE Systems in Portsmouth, with the deal worth 70 million over five years and set to sustain more than a dozen jobs.

The agreement to service three vessels  HMS Mersey, HMS Severn and HMS Tyne  will last until the ships retirement from navy service in 2028.

HMS Severn was one of the boats deployed to patrol the English Channel after a post-Brexit row broke out in 2021 between Britain and France about fishing rights around the coast of Jersey.

HMS Mersey has in recent years been used to monitor Russian submarines making their way through British waters.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: Working closely with our industry partners, we are securing a future for these versatile and important Royal Navy ships, delivering on our promises for UK prosperity and sustained UK presence overseas.

The project will also ensure dozens of UK jobs are supported, contributing to the vibrant health of our shipbuilding industry.

Tasks undertaken by the fleet include homeland defence, global counter-terrorism, anti-smuggling, maritime defence, humanitarian support operations and engagement with UKs Overseas Territories, allies and global partners.

HMS Mersey pictured monitoring Russian attack submarine RFS Rostov Na Donu in 2021 (Royal Navy/Crown Copyright)

They are designed to be available for operational tasking for more than 300 days per year, the MoD said.

The second batch, to be serviced by UK Docks Marine Service, are 90 metre-long vessels, similar to the length of two Olympic swimming pools, and are equipped with a 30mm cannon and flight deck capable of accommodating a Merlin helicopter.

With a range of more than 5,500 nautical miles and a top speed of more than 20 knots, they are permanently deployed worldwide with patrols in the South Atlantic, North Atlantic, Caribbean, Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific region.

The majority of the support work for the ships will be carried out at sites across the world, with UK Docks  who already supports HMS Protector, the Royal Navys Ice Patrol Ship  providing global engineering, technical and logistics support to secure spares, repairs and maintenance services.

The first batch, built by VT Shipbuilding  and now part of BAE Systems  are designed for high availability, with the 80 metre vessels regularly deployed off the UK coast.
Tescos chairman John Allan is to step down after the supermarket group said allegations of misconduct by the businessman risk becoming a distraction.

Mr Allan, who has been chairman of the retailer for eight years, has strongly denied three of four claims against him, including accusations of inappropriate touching, describing the allegations as utterly baseless.

The supermarket said it made no findings of wrongdoing against Mr Allan, whose tenure was coming to an end anyway.

In a separate statement, he said he regrets having to prematurely stand down from his position at Tesco.

Mr Allan denied three allegations about his behaviour and apologised for the fourth (Tesco/PA)

It comes a week after The Guardian said it had been approached by four women claiming Mr Allans behaviour had been inappropriate or unprofessional.

The newspaper said that Mr Allan allegedly touched a senior staff members bottom at last years shareholder meeting.

He was also accused of touching the bottom of a member of staff at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in May 2019.

Mr Allan, 74, was previously president of the CBI, which has been rocked by multiple sexual misconduct allegations in recent months.

The CBIs director general and staff members at the trade body have been fired after more than a dozen women came forward alleging they had been the victims of bad behaviour.

Mr Allan denied three of the allegations against him and apologised for the fourth  an allegation that he had commented on a womans appearance.

One claim was to do with last years annual general meeting (AGM).

Tesco, which investigated the allegation, said on Friday: This review has not identified any evidence or complaints in relation to John at the Tesco 2022 AGM or at all in his tenure as Tesco chair.

Board member Byron Grote said: John has made a valuable contribution to Tesco during his eight years as chair.

He has successfully led the board through the turnaround and Covid whilst helping to rebuild the business.

While we have received no complaints about Johns conduct and made no findings of wrongdoing, these allegations risk becoming a distraction to Tesco.

Mr Grote will serve as interim chairman until someone can be found to do the job full time.

In a separate statement Mr Allan said: It is with regret that I am having to prematurely stand down from my position as chair of Tesco Plc following the anonymous and unsubstantiated allegations made against me, as reported by The Guardian.

These allegations are utterly baseless, as the internal procedures undertaken by Tesco prove.

Tesco undertook an extensive internal review which included inviting Tesco employees and ex-employees to come forward on an anonymous basis if they had concerns about my conduct.

Tesco also conducted outreach to those who attended the meeting where the incident allegedly happened, and video footage of the meeting has also been reviewed.

He added: There is no evidence of any wrongdoing at that time or at any stage of my chairmanship at Tesco, and I remain determined to prove my innocence.
Tescos chairman of eight years will step down at the companys shareholder meeting next month.

The supermarket said it made no findings of wrongdoing against John Allan, whose tenure was coming to an end anyway.

But it said allegations over his personal conduct risk becoming a distraction.

Mr Allan denied three allegations about his behaviour and apologised for the fourth (Tesco/PA)

On Friday, Mr Allan said the claims against him were utterly baseless, although he had previously apologised for one allegation that he had commented on a womans figure.

Last week, The Guardian said it had been approached by four women claiming Mr Allans behaviour had been inappropriate or unprofessional.

The newspaper said that Mr Allan allegedly touched a senior staff members bottom at last years shareholder meeting.

He was also accused of touching the bottom of a member of staff at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in May 2019.

Mr Allan, 74, was previously president of the CBI, which has been rocked by multiple sexual misconduct allegations in recent months.

The CBIs director general and staff members at the trade body have been fired after more than a dozen women came forward alleging they had been the victims of bad behaviour.

Mr Allan denied three of the allegations against him and apologised for the fourth.

One claim was to do with last years annual general meeting (AGM).

Tesco, which investigated the allegation, said on Friday: This review has not identified any evidence or complaints in relation to John at the Tesco 2022 AGM or at all in his tenure as Tesco chair.

Board member Byron Grote said: John has made a valuable contribution to Tesco during his eight years as chair.

He has successfully led the board through the turnaround and Covid whilst helping to rebuild the business.

While we have received no complaints about Johns conduct and made no findings of wrongdoing, these allegations risk becoming a distraction to Tesco.

Mr Grote will serve as interim chairman until someone can be found to do the job full time.

In a statement issued separately to Tesco, Mr Allan said: It is with regret that I am having to prematurely stand down from my position as chair of Tesco Plc following the anonymous and unsubstantiated allegations made against me, as reported by The Guardian.

These allegations are utterly baseless, as the internal procedures undertaken by Tesco prove.

Tesco undertook an extensive internal review which included inviting Tesco employees and ex-employees to come forward on an anonymous basis if they had concerns about my conduct.

He added: There is no evidence of any wrongdoing at that time or at any stage of my chairmanship at Tesco, and I remain determined to prove my innocence.
The UKs semiconductor industry will receive 1 billion in investment over the next decade as ministers look to ensure the country is not reliant on China for technology advancements.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the funding, forming part of the national semiconductor strategy, would help build our competitive edge on the global stage.

The announcement of the 20-year plan comes after Mr Sunak used a G7-related trip to Japan to agree a partnership on semiconductors with Tokyo as part of efforts to reduce the reliance on Beijing for the supply of the essential microchips.

Britain and its Western allies are taking an increasingly hawkish stance towards Chinese technology, including in their communication networks and surveillance equipment, over fears President Xi Jinpings national security laws could force the Far East countrys tech giants to hand over foreign data to the ruling Communist Party.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said that almost every piece of technology depends on semiconductors, with the tiny chips found in mobile phones, computers, ventilators and power stations.

Officials said they also will underpin future technologies, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and 6G.

The UK Government strategy will focus on areas of design, compound semiconductors  set for use in driverless vehicles and future smartphones  and in research, which will be supported by the countrys higher education sector.

A sum of 200 million will be invested in 2023-25 to improve industry access to infrastructure, fund more research and development, and facilitate greater international co-operation.

The 1 billion over the next decade will aim to grow the domestic sector, mitigate against supply chain disruption and protect Britains national security, the department said.

Unveiling the strategy on Friday, the Prime Minister said: Semiconductors underpin the devices we use every day and will be crucial to advancing the technologies of tomorrow.

Our new strategy focuses our efforts on where our strengths lie, in areas like research and design, so we can build our competitive edge on the global stage.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has struck a deal with Japan to help reduce reliance on China for semiconductors (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

By increasing the capabilities and resilience of our world-leading semiconductor industry, we will grow our economy, create new jobs and stay at the forefront of new technological breakthroughs.

Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Chloe Smith said: Semiconductors are the beating heart of all electronic devices, from powering our phones and cars to medical equipment and innovative new technologies like Quantum and AI which will make a real difference to all of our lives.

Britain is already a world leader when it comes to researching and designing semiconductor technology  our new strategy will double down on these core strengths to create more skilled jobs, grow our economy, boost our national security and cement the UKs status as a global science and technology superpower.

Lucy Powell, Labours shadow digital, culture, media and sport secretary, said the scale of ambition in the strategy would likely be met with disappointment after years of delay.

She said: This failing Conservative Government is still not clear what role they will play in developing capacity and resilience in the UKs semiconductor capabilities.

Rather than the 1 billion headline, the reality is 200 million over the next three years  significantly less ambition than our competitors.

Following the listing of (British semiconductor company) ARM in the US, this strategy offers little assurance we can maintain and grow an industry vital for growth and national security.

Mr Sunak created the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which is behind the strategy announcement, earlier this year as part of a Whitehall shake-up as he looked to focus his administration on technological advances.
A former employee of a sensitive Government organisation is facing a trial at the Old Bailey for allegedly risking damaging national security by taking top secret data home.

Hasaan Arshad, 23, is charged with an offence under the Computer Misuse Act after an investigation led by the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command.

The defendant, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, appeared at the Old Bailey by video link on Friday morning for a preliminary hearing.

Mr Justice Baker set a timetable for the case, telling the defendant: So far as you are concerned, Mr Arshad, if a trial is required in your case it is going to take place on June 24 next year.

You will be required to be at this court on the link on September 1, when you will be required to enter your plea to the indictment.

In the meantime, you will remain on bail subject to conditions.

Arshad was arrested and his home was searched on September 22 last year.

He was charged under Section 3ZA of the Computer Misuse Act 1990, relating to unauthorised acts causing, or creating risk of, serious damage.

The charge states: Between August 23 2022 and September 23 2022 (he) did an unauthorised act in relation to a computer and at the time of doing the act knew that it was unauthorised; and the act caused, or created a significant risk of, serious damage of a material kind, this being damage to the national security of a country; and he intended by doing the act to cause serious damage of a material kind or was reckless as to whether such damage was caused.

Prosecutors say Arshad, before leaving work on August 24, took his work mobile phone into a top secret area and connected the device to a top secret work station.

He is accused of transferring sensitive data from a secure, top secret computer to the phone before taking it home.

Arshad allegedly then transferred the data from the phone to a hard drive connected to his personal home computer.

Top secret is the classification for the Governments most sensitive information, where compromise might cause widespread loss of life or threaten the security or economic wellbeing of the country or friendly nations, according to Ministry of Justice security guidance.
Sir Ian McKellen says he was sacked from his unpaid job as quizmaster of his own pub.

The veteran actor, 83, said devising the questions for the trivia evening had taken him a whole day each week.

Sir Ian is the leaseholder of The Grapes, Limehouse, a pub overlooking the Thames in east London.

Appearing on The One Show along with fellow actor Roger Allam, he discussed his venture.

Can you believe it? @IanMcKellen was 'sacked' as Quiz Master at his own pub?!  #TheOneShow  https://t.co/e02dA5i3uS pic.twitter.com/wo6QUvN25v  BBC The One Show (@BBCTheOneShow) May 19, 2023

Its been there since the 16th century and I dont drop in too often, but Im invariably there for the quiz on a Monday. I used to run the quizzes, he said.

I used to actually be the quizmaster and I devised all the quiz questions. It took me a whole day in the week  40 questions.

I did this for a year and then my partner in the pub said: We dont need you anymore.

I was sacked from my own pub, doing a job for which I wasnt paid.

He added: Anyway, theyve got professionals in now and its much better.
Slowthai has withdrawn from a scheduled performance at Wembley Stadium after appearing in court charged with two counts of rape.

The British rapper had been scheduled to appear alongside Britpop band Blur and Self Esteem at the show on July 8.

The 28-year-old, whose real name is Tyron Frampton, was bailed at Oxfordshire Magistrates Court on Tuesday, and will next appear at Oxford Crown Court on June 15.

The British rapper had been scheduled to perform alongside Britpop band Blur and Self Esteem at the show on July 8 (PA)

On Friday, a statement from Metropolis Music said: Metropolis Music confirms that Slowthai has withdrawn from his scheduled performance on July 8th at Wembley Stadium.

Slowthai has categorically denied the charges and said he is confident his name will be cleared.

I am innocent and I am confident my name will be cleared. Until then I will apply my energy to ensure this is concluded swiftly and justly, he wrote on Instagram.

I ask that my supporters dont comment about this situation and respect the process and privacy of my family during this time.

His withdrawal from the Wembley Stadium show comes after his name was removed from the line-ups of several major UK festivals.

He had been scheduled to perform at Glastonbury as well as Reading and Leeds this summer.

Earlier this week, the line-ups for the events  which previously listed him as an artist  no longer featured his name.

Slowthai was nominated for a Grammy award in 2021 and a Mercury prize in 2019, and has won gongs at the NME Awards and UK Music Video Awards.
A student who went on the run after stabbing a grandmother in the neck has admitted murdering her.

Alexander Carr, 33, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court via a videolink from prison to admit murdering Michelle Hanson in late November or early December.

The 47-year-old was a much-loved grandmother who was found dead at her home in Brady Street, Sunderland, having suffered suspected stab wounds.

Michelle Hanson whose body was discovered at her Sunderland home (Northumbria Police/PA)

An appeal was made to find Carr and he was arrested 18 days later in Islington, north London, armed with a hunting knife, and he had been living in a tent pitched on an embankment near Upper Holloway railway station.

Carr was named as the prime suspect as he was the last person to be seen with the mother-of-three at her flat, where investigators found discarded knives and forensic evidence linked to the defendant.

He was a student at the University of Sunderland, is from Wearside, and had links to London and several parts of the North East.

During the search for him, police said he was thought to have some survival skills and could have been hiding outdoors.

At the brief plea hearing at court, it was said that Carr suffered personality disorders at the time of the murder.

A CCTV image issued by police when Carr was at large (Northumbria Police/PA)

Judge Paul Sloan KC told Carr only a life sentence was possible, but he will set the minimum term the defendant must serve behind bars at a hearing on June 16.

While Carr was on the run, Ms Hansons daughter Shannon Brown paid tribute to her mother and appealed for the publics help in tracing him.

She said: As a family, we are all devastated by what has happened.

My mam was a caring, kind and loving person.

She would never hurt anyone, even if someone did something to hurt her, she would forgive them because she always saw the good in people.

She always got on with things and never gave up.

Shannon Brown holding a photo of her with her mother Michelle Hanson (Northumbria Police/PA)

Its heartbreaking for us as a family to know we will never see her again.

Outside court, senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Barr said: Firstly I would like to praise the bravery and strength shown by Michelles family throughout these proceedings.

Not only have they had to come to terms with the tragic loss of their mam and grandmother, but they also played a role in helping us to locate Carr, who was desperately trying to evade arrest.

His despicable actions speak volumes.

Carr murdered Michelle and then fled down south and went into hiding so he could not be held accountable.

That arrogance and lack of remorse has been difficult for Michelles family to come to terms with, and we are thankful he is now behind bars, facing a life sentence for his actions.

We know nothing can bring Michelle back but we hope today can serve as the first step towards the closure her family deserve.

No one should have to lose a loved one in such horrific circumstances and as a Force, we are committed to tackling all types of violence, and ensuring perpetrators are brought to justice.
(Photo : Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Naysa Woomer expressed her pleasure in resigning and emphasized how unreceptive George Santos was to counsel.

Representative George Santos' communications director has quit her job, saying the congressman resisted professional advice.

In her resignation letter, Naysa Woomer expressed her pleasure in leaving her position and emphasized how unreceptive George Santos was to counsel, CBS News confirmed.

Woomer stated that she was "honored to tender my resignation." She went on, saying that she was upset that her professional advice hadn't been taken into account.

Rep. George Santos faces a lot of trouble at the moment. The US Department of Justice charged him last week with 13 counts of fraud and money laundering. Santos barely escaped a House Democratic vote to expel him, and the case was forwarded to the House Ethics Committee.

Santos, a new member of Congress, has been accused of stealing money from his campaign, making fake claims to get jobless benefits, and lying about his finances, according to The Independent.

The Long Island congressman has also been called to resign after his resume was found to include various lies about his schooling and career experience.

Read Also: TikTok Ban in Montana

The Ethics Committee in March started looking into Santos' alleged illegal actions during the campaign, failure to disclose important information, potential violations of conflict-of-interest laws, and claims of sexual misconduct against a job applicant in his congressional office.

McCarthy Reacts on Fellow Republican's Scandal

George Santos labeled the accusations against him as a "witch hunt," though he earlier acknowledged lying about his professional background, per NBC News. He insisted that he was innocent and that he would not step down.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who recently stopped backing the controversial politician's re-election, said he favored the report method better than a vote for removal right away on the floor.

Former federal prosecutor Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said that the Ethics Committee may defer to the Justice Department's inquiry, which resulted in George Santos' indictment.

Related Article: Biden Administration, Republican Negotiators Debt Ceiling Talks Show Progress

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Published 19 May 2023 at 7:00 am

Rishi Sunak has talked up Ben Wallace as widely respected by international allies as the Defence Secretary confirmed his interest in becoming the next secretary general of Nato.

Speaking ahead of the G7 summit in Japan on Thursday, the Prime Minister said Mr Wallace is focused on his current role supporting Ukraine right now.

Mr Wallace confirmed his interest in succeeding Jens Stoltenberg at the top of Nato when his term expires in September, saying the job would be fantastic.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace during a visit to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Berkshire (Kirsty OConnor/PA)

The Prime Minister did not say whether he would support Mr Wallaces bid for the role, during an interview with ITV News Seifukan tea house in Hiroshima.

But Mr Sunak said: I know hes widely respected by his peers for the role that he has played.

Hes focused right now on supporting Ukraine. Hes doing a great job of that.

Mr Wallace indicated his eagerness over the role during a trip to Berlin for talks on Ukraine with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius.

Mr Wallace told German dpa news agency: Ive always said it would be a good job. Thats a job Id like.

But Im also loving the job I do now. I mean, to be Defence Secretary of the British Government at a time of reform and investment, just like Boris Pistorius (Germanys minister of defence).

He added that secretary general of the transatlantic alliance is a fantastic job and Nato is an incredibly important part of all our securities.

But its not for me to decide. Its for all the other allies, he added.

The race for the top job has been heating up, with Mr Stoltenberg indicating he will not seek a further extension after nearly a decade in the role.

Jens Stoltenberg (James Manning/PA)

Nato member states typically decide on the alliances next chief behind the scenes.

Mr Wallace would have to overcome the opposition of those said to be pushing for a woman or someone from eastern Europe.

France would reportedly prefer an EU candidate.

If the Defence Secretary did succeed, it could trigger a by-election in his Wyre and Preston North seat.

It is set to be carved up under a planned shake-up of Westminster constituencies later this year.

The appointment of Labour MP George Robertson as Nato chief in 1999 led to a by-election in his Hamilton South constituency, south west of Glasgow.
Rishi Sunak was unable to commit to bringing migration levels down by the next election as the Border Force rescued and brought ashore a group of people thought to be migrants.

A Border Force vessel brought about 70 people, including some children, in to Dover, Kent, on Friday after a small boat incident in the Channel.

It comes as the Prime Minister conceded he believes immigration into the UK is too high but would not spell out what he believes is an acceptable level as he faces pressure after dodging a Tory manifesto commitment to bring net migration down to the scale seen in 2019.

There have been a total of 7,217 small boat crossings this year  up to and including Thursday  according to the Home Office.

A Border Force vessel brought about 70 people in to Dover, Kent, on Friday (Gareth Fuller/PA)

During a round of interviews at Hiroshimas Seifukan tea house before attending the G7 summit, Mr Sunak said he is crystal clear he wants to reduce net migration.

But he said to BBC News: Im not going to put a precise figure on it but I do want to bring them down.

The numbers are too high and we want to bring them down. Now, the numbers last year were impacted by the fact that we welcomed Ukrainian refugees to the UK. Again, thats something I think we are proud of.

The 2019 Conservative manifesto promised that overall numbers will come down as the Government ends freedom of movement in the wake of Brexit.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak making a speech during a business reception at Mori Art Museum, Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, Tokyo (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Migration levels were at 226,000 then, they exceeded 500,000 in the year to June 2022 and it could be as high as one million in new figures due to be published in the coming weeks.

But Mr Sunak avoided giving a specific commitment when pressed by Sky News whether he can bring down net migration to below 500,000 by the next election.

Instead, he said: Im committed to bringing down the levels of migration that I inherited, and Im relentlessly focused on stopping the boats, thats one of my five priorities, and were doing absolutely everything we can to do that.

Downing Street said: (The Prime Minister) said specifically, I wont put a number on it. We dont know what the numbers will be next week and its right we take stock of those.

(PA Graphics)

But, of course, the Prime Minister speaks to his Cabinet colleagues and the Home Secretary specifically, theyve worked incredibly closely on the stop-the-boats Bill and the work the Governments taking forward to try and tackle illegal immigration.

Of course, the Prime Minister will work closely with Cabinet ministers on the ambition to reduce overall migration.

A Home Office spokesperson said: The unacceptable number of people risking their lives by making these dangerous crossings is placing an unprecedented strain on our asylum system.

Our priority is to stop this illegal trade, and our Small Boats Operational Command is working alongside our French partners and other agencies to disrupt the people smugglers.

The government has gone further by introducing legislation which will ensure that those people arriving in the UK illegally are detained and promptly removed to their country of origin or a safe third country.
A 21-year-old terrorist has admitted plotting a gun attack in Londons Hyde Park.

Edward Little planned to buy a gun to kill a Christian preacher and her camera crew at Speakers Corner as well as any police or soldiers in the area at the time, it was alleged.

He was on his way into London in a taxi with thousands of pounds in cash when he was stopped and arrested last September 23.

Earlier this year, he denied preparing to commit acts of terrorism but changed his plea and admitted the charge on Friday at the Old Bailey.

Little, from Pelham Street, Brighton, entered his guilty plea by video link from Belmarsh jail.

Court artist sketch of Edward Little appearing at the Old Bailey in London accused of plotting a terror attack at Hyde Park in London. (Elizabeth Cook/PA)

The prosecution has asserted Little researched targets including Christian preacher Hatun Tash, military figures and members of the Metropolitan Police.

But defence lawyer Tom Godfrey said Little only accepted targeting the preacher.

As part of his preparations Little had looked up different guns and their capabilities and arranged to buy one for 5,000.

As he set off on September 23 last year, Little agreed to pay the taxi driver 300 to take him to Lewisham, south London, saying money was no problem.

He asked to stop at a mosque to pray but said he would do it in the cab after being told there was none on route.

When arrested, he was carrying a rucksack with 5,000 in cash, a passport and two mobile phones.

Police later found an encrypted chat on one phone, setting out his attack plan and the gun purchase.

Going by the online name of Abdullah, Little was also said to have exchanged chat about religion, Iraq and kuffar.

Little planned to kill a preacher at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park, London (Carole Lloyd/Alamy/PA)

Little declined to answer questions in police interviews but his mood changed when he was shown a YouTube view of the preacher.

He launched himself from his chair across the table at an officer, swinging repeatedly with his fists before being restrained.

He went on to admit assaulting the officer at Newbury Police Station last September 28 and was sentenced to 40 weeks in prison.

The sentence was reduced on appeal for eight months in prison.

At a previous hearing at the Old Bailey, Judge Richard Marks said Little has an absolutely shocking previous record.

The defendant had been convicted of 14 offences on seven separate occasions, including for robbery, having a knife and drug dealing, dating back to 2017.

Little was due to stand trial on July 10 for the terrorism offence before pleading guilty at the hearing before Mr Justice Baker.

Prosecutor Duncan Penny KC asked for time to consider the defendants basis of plea in relation to his targets.

Mr Justice Baker adjourned sentencing until July 21 and remanded Little into custody.

Detective Chief Superintendent Olly Wright, head of Counter Terrorism Policing South East, said: This was a fast-moving investigation which our team responded to quickly.

This enabled us to stop Little in his tracks, before he could carry out his plans.

Littles guilty plea is a reflection of the strength of evidence our team was able to build and is a real example of why the Counter Terrorism Policing network exists.

Sussex Police Chief Superintendent Justin Burtenshaw, who is divisional commander for Brighton and Hove, said: We understand incidents such as this occurring locally can be concerning, but please be assured that a full investigation has taken place and there is no wider risk to the public.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who supported this investigation and helped to achieve this conviction.
The life of one of Britains last D-Day veterans was celebrated at his funeral, following his death aged 100.

Joe Cattini, who died on April 18, was just 21 years old when he drove a truck loaded with petrol and ammunition off a ship in one of the first waves of the Normandy landings on June 6 1944.

His daughter Fran Bradshaw, 71, said: He told the story of coming off the ship with his truck loaded with petrol and ammunition and being quite scared in case he got a direct hit which would have meant he would be blown sky-high.

Mr Cattini, who landed on Gold Beach on D-Day as a bombardier in the 86th Field Regiment of the Hertfordshire Yeomanry, spent his final months at a care home in Stowmarket, Suffolk.

The order of service for the funeral of veteran Joe Cattini (Joe Giddens/PA)

The electrician had previously lived in Eastleigh, Hampshire, before moving to be closer to family.

His funeral was held on Friday at St Edmunds Catholic Church in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, where his first wife Mary Cattinis funeral took place following her death in 1998, aged 73.

His funeral was attended by several generations of his family, members of the Royal Regiment Artillery and representatives from veterans groups.

His coffin, draped in a Royal Artillery Regiment standard, was carried past standard bearers to the top of the steps at the front of the church, followed by his children.

Members of his family then took over to carry the coffin inside the church for the service.

The arrival music was Ill Walk With God by the tenor Mario Lanza, and prayers were read by Mr Cattinis great-grandchildren.

BBC reporter Nicholas Witchell was at the funeral (Joe Giddens/PA)

Tributes were read by his daughter Marian Stevens-Farrow, and by representatives of the veterans groups D-Day Revisited, 18 September Foundation, Spirit of Normandy Trust and The British Normandy Memorial, with the latter represented by BBC reporter Nicholas Witchell, a founding trustee of The British Normandy Memorial.

The departure music, after the Last Post was played, was Highland Cathedral by piper Tosh MacDonald, as the coffin was carried out to the hearse. The order of service requested that any donations be made to the Normandy Memorial Trust.

His daughter Mrs Bradshaw, of Lavenham, Suffolk, said Mr Cattini did not speak much about what he experienced on D-Day until after the 70th anniversary.

I think it was the fact of meeting other veterans that prompted him, and all the daughters and sons of the veterans all said it was their mechanism to get through it basically, she said.

They just parcelled it up, put it away, and once they started talking it was incredible, the tears came and we heard such amazing stories.

It was a real privilege to be part of that.

A photo issued by the British Normandy Memorial of Joe Cattini (britishnormandymemorial.org/PA)

She described her father as a complete and utter charmer.

He was perhaps one of the most positive men youve ever met, said Mrs Bradshaw.

My sister and I would often say to him how come you can wake up every morning like that? and his answer to that was having survived the war he wanted to make every day count.

The fact he was here for 100 years was fantastic but I think it was down to his positivity.

She said that the two great loves in his life were the church and his family.

In the last 10 years of his life he joined veterans groups, went to memorial events and he just transformed, Mrs Bradshaw said.

He was respected and he was honoured in a way that he hadnt been before, she said.

Daughters Fran Bradshaw and Marian Stevens-Farrow at his funeral (Joe Giddens/PA)

A friend of mine put it, she said normally theyre just old men taking up time in a queue, then suddenly when they put a uniform on and they go to these events theyre suddenly given so much respect.

I think it floored my dad when he first started going.

He was shocked by people in Normandy clapping when they went down the road.

It was amazing.

He moved to Suffolk in his final months, and loved Bury St Edmunds which is full of restaurants.

His joy, being Italian, his absolute joy was having lunches out with a glass of red wine, said Mrs Bradshaw.

The coffin of D-Day veteran Joe Cattini is carried into church (Joe Giddens/PA)

That was the promise he made me make to him when we brought him up to Suffolk, that I would take him out for his lunches.

She said her father, who grew up in Hampstead, north-west London, had an incredible life and would have been incredibly humbled by tributes to him.

Dad always said they werent the heroes, they were the lucky ones that survived, she said.

The heroes were the ones whose names appeared on the Normandy memorial, the ones that lost their lives.

I think while he was thrilled with the attention he got in the last 10 years he was also humbled by the fact he felt he was so privileged to still be here.
A pensioner hit by a police motorcycle escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh remains in a critical condition in hospital  as investigators appeal for witnesses to come forward.

The motorbike collided with the woman, named in reports as Helen Holland, 81, from Essex, at around 3.21pm at the junction of Cromwell Road and Warwick Road in west London on May 10.

Police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) began an independent probe after investigators attended the scene alongside emergency services, when the woman was taken to hospital.

She remains in a critical but stable condition, police confirmed.

IOPC regional director Amanda Rowe said: Our thoughts are with the woman, who has sustained life-threatening injuries, and her family.

We have been in touch with them to explain our role and will keep them regularly updated as the investigation progresses.

While some witnesses to the collision have been identified, its important that as part of our enquiries we speak with anyone who witnessed or recorded any part of this incident to help us establish the full circumstances.

The watchdog said CCTV from nearby properties and police body camera footage will be examined in the investigation, as well as accounts from officers involved and witnesses to the collision.

Any witnesses or anyone with information can contact the IOPC on 0300 303 5621 or email westcromwellroad@policeconduct.gov.uk.
A pedestrian who shouted and waved aggressively at a cyclist, causing her to fall into the path of an oncoming car, has lost a bid to appeal against her three-year sentence for manslaughter.

CCTV footage showed Auriol Grey, 49, shout at retired midwife Celia Ward to get off the f****** pavement in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, causing her to fall into the road.

Grandmother Mrs Ward, 77, of Wyton, Cambridgeshire, died after she was struck by a car on October 20 2020.

Celia Ward (Cambridgeshire Police/PA)

Grey, who has cerebral palsy and partial blindness, denied manslaughter but was found guilty after a retrial at Peterborough Crown Court and was jailed for three years in March.

At a Court of Appeal hearing in London on Friday, Greys lawyer argued that the sentence was excessive and that an autism diagnosis secured after her trial may have made a difference in her case.

But Mr Justice Griffiths, sitting with Lord Justice William Davis and Judge Neil Flewitt, refused to grant permission for Grey to appeal against her sentence, concluding it was not arguably manifestly excessive.

Judges expressed their condolences to Mrs Wards family, with Mr Justice Griffiths concluding: A blameless woman had been killed by the unlawful act of the applicant (Grey) with devastating impact upon the family she left behind and upon others including the entirely blameless driver of the car.

He said the sentence passed had to mark the gravity of the unlawful killing while taking into account mitigating factors, such as Greys disabilities.

Miranda Moore KC, representing Grey, in the very unusual case, earlier told the court that a suspended sentence would have been appropriate.

The court heard that the issue of autism only raised its head after Greys sentencing, with a subsequent psychologist report placing her within the autism spectrum and saying she had a limited understanding of her own emotions.

Ms Moore said autism can give someone fixed views and that an autistic person does not like people being close to them.

This was a lady being sentenced as an aggressive and territorial pavement user and it was her aggression and territoriality which made her behave in the way that she did, Ms Moore said.

Having read this report with her diagnosis that is so much more understandable.

She also said criticisms of Grey for showing no empathy, leaving the scene and over what she said to police were less than fair knowing what we know now.

Ms Moore also challenged the way Greys sentenced was calculated, including the judges findings over evidence in the case and the weight given to mitigating factors.

Prosecutor Simon Spence KC, said the sentencing judge had applied legal guidelines entirely properly, arguing that the new psychologist report did not reduce Greys culpability.

Mr Justice Griffiths rejected Greys appeal arguments but noted she had expressed remorse for her offence and never intended to cause harm.

The judge placed very strong emphasis on the applicants (Greys) disabilities and their effect on her as mitigating features.

We do not consider that the recent psychology report calls for a greater reduction than was already given in this respect by the judge.

Judge Sean Enright, sentencing Grey, of Huntingdon, previously said her actions were not explained by disability.

He said that Grey had no mental disorder or learning difficulties and he said the pavement was 2.4 metres wide at the relevant point, describing it as a shared path on the ring road.

In a statement released through police after Grey was sentenced, Mrs Wards widower David Ward said: After 53 years of happy marriage, Celia was taken from me in a most horrific way, leaving me with my memories.

She was kind, calm, careful, cheerful and competent in all that she did.

Her death has caused me great suffering. We relied on each other, shared the same sense of humour and outlook on life, and enjoyed each others company.

I miss her terribly.

Her daughter Gillian Hayter added in a statement released through police: Her untimely death has turned our world on its head and there isnt a day that goes by when I dont wish I could pick up the phone to ask her advice, celebrate the special events in our lives or just tell her how much I love her.

Speaking after Fridays hearing, Ms Moore told reporters: The law of manslaughter needs to change because the perception of risk does not cater for people who are mentally challenged as Auriol is.

Speaking outside court, Alisdair Luxmore, Greys brother-in law, offered condolences to Mrs Wards family, adding: Our actions today must diminish nothing from the suffering theyve had to endure.

He said: We dont believe that prison is the right place for someone in Auriols circumstances and frankly its a complete waste of taxpayers money. Its doing no benefit to society and really its difficult to understand the point of it.

I think there are mitigating circumstances, her mental and her physical (conditions) and her eyesight, those issues all taken together mean she acts in a certain way thats different from everybody else and it appears the law doesnt take account of that or allow for that.
The support on Capitol Hill for what was once a fringe legal theory is growing by the hour as the debt ceiling talks head into their final days.

On Thursday, a group of of 11 progressive senators led by Sens. Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) released a new letter to President Biden calling on him to prepare to cancel the debt ceiling by invoking the 14th amendment.

We write to urgently request that you prepare to exercise your authority, they write, adding that Republicans have made it "seemingly impossible" to reach a deal.

Sens. Tina Smith (D-MN) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) at the start of a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Thursdays action in the Senate comes in addition to growing support across Capitol Hill on the issue. The head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus  Rep. Pramilla Jayapal (D-WA)  recently said that the vast majority of the 101 Representatives in her group support invoking the 14th Amendment over giving concessions to Republicans.

The increased adoption of an idea that could roil markets is a reflection of growing Democratic anxieties that the White House could be preparing for deep compromise as ongoing direct negotiations with representatives of Speaker Kevin McCarthy continue.

Republicans have rallied behind a plan that calls for repealing wide swaths of Bidens legislative wins since taking office in return for an increase in the government's borrowing authority.

Speaker McCarthy is holding the economy hostage because he wants to kick moms and kids off health insurance and food assistance. That cannot be tolerated.



President Biden should be ready to "break glass in case of emergency" and invoke the 14th Amendment to prevent default.  Senator Tina Smith (@SenTinaSmith) May 17, 2023

One group is still not publicly on board: Congressional leaders. Both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) have largely evaded the issue in recent days and pushed for the bipartisan negotiations to continue.

A 154-year-old amendment at issue

The debate over invoking the Civil War-era amendment to solve a debt-ceiling crisis stretches back for years and centers around a line that reads: "the public debt of the United States, authorized by law...shall not be questioned."

That provision was written in the context of the Reconstruction amid fears that Confederate states would default on their debts. Nevertheless, a growing number of legal scholars say it could be invoked by Biden today to overrule the 1917 law that created the debt limit.

After being dismissed for years, the movement gained a high profile backer two weeks ago when influential Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe announced a change of heart after opposing the idea during the 2011 debt ceiling standoff.

Other lawmakers - including historically bipartisan dealmakers like Sen. Angus King (I-ME) - are not yet signing on to formal efforts but have expressed openness, as Biden has, to the idea that the law is indeed unconstitutional.

1. The 14th Amendment says the debt of the United States shall not be questioned; a default questions the debt big time, and so is unconstitutional.  Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) May 17, 2023

Biden has confirmed that his administration has studied the 14th amendment and specifically mentioned Tribe's endorsement, saying the maneuver would be legitimate as a means to end the debt ceiling standoff.

Debating different options to defuse this ticking bomb

But the issue for Biden  and why the move still is seen by a long-shot by many  is that it would immediately be the subject of lawsuits that would likely end up at the Supreme Court. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has described what could follow as a constitutional crisis.

Even if the White House were to eventually prevail, weeks or months of chaos would almost surely roil the markets.

How this current crisis is resolved matters to markets, says Oppenheimer Chief Investment Strategist John Stoltzfus. A bipartisan deal would be far preferable for stability as opposed to one of these things where they get into a whole constitutional argument.

Moody's Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi recently said the 14th amendment is a likely recipe for a recession. Yet he remains open to the idea, saying if Biden wins it would forevermore take "a very significant weight off the economy."

President Joe Biden after delivering remarks on the debt ceiling in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on May 17. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The best way to resolve this at this moment would be for Speaker McCarthy to be reasonable, added Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MA) in a Yahoo Finance Live interview Thursday morning. He did not sign Thursday's letter but says Biden should explore all options, including the 14th amendment as a plan B, if that doesnt prove to be the case.

Van Hollen is behind another effort to end the debt ceiling and wants to pass a law later during a period of relative calm." One way or another, he said Thursday, the ceiling needs to go.

The question is why do we continue to have this ticking bomb within our code and my view is we should defuse it before one day it actually explodes and does a huge amount of damage to our economy, he said.

This post has been updated.

Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.

Click here for politics news related to business and money

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
NEW YORK (AP)  Veteran correspondent Christiane Amanpour became the most prominent CNN journalist to publicly criticize her network for airing last week's town hall with former President Donald Trump.

Amanpour told a group of graduating students at Columbia University's graduate school of journalism on Wednesday that she would have dropped the mic at nasty person, a reference to when Trump lobbed that insult at moderator Kaitlan Collins.

CNN was criticized for hosting Trump at a live event in New Hampshire, where the 2024 presidential candidate repeated lies about the last election before a mostly adoring audience. CNN Chairman Chris Licht has defended the town hall as newsworthy and important, and Amanpour said she had a robust discussion with him about it.

Everyone knows Trump tries to seize the stage and dominate at such events, said Amanpour, the chief international correspondent who has worked at CNN for 40 years.

No matter how much flak the moderator tries to aim at the incoming, it doesn't work, she said.

Perhaps today's journalism leaders should learn from those in the 1950s, who refused to give Sen. Joseph McCarthy attention unless his foul lies, his witch hunts and his rants reached the basic level for evidence allowed in a courtroom, she said.

Maybe less is more, she said. Maybe live is not always right.

Amanpour criticized the town hall's audience, chosen by CNN because they were Republicans or independents who plan to vote in the 2024 Republican primary.

Citing the precedents of past candidate debates or forums, CNN should have insisted that our invited guests behave themselves  no hooting, no hollering, no jeering, no cheering.

I can only hope that your trust in us might have been shaken but not shattered, that you believe that we can survive and rebuild that trust, she said.

A spokesman for Licht did not immediately return messages for comment. In an internal call with CNN staff members last week, Licht noted that people in the town hall audience represented a large swath of America.

The mistake the media made in the past is ignoring that those people exist, he said. Just like you cannot ignore that President Trump exists.
A hearing of the House Judiciary Committee descended into chaos on Thursday morning when Ohio representative and chair Jim Jordan asserted that the Republicans on the committee do not have to turn over key evidence to their Democratic colleagues because it came from a whistleblower.

Mr Jordan convened the committee on Thursday for a hearing on the weaponisation of government, calling witnesses to testify to alleged biases in federal law enforcement agencies such as the FBI.

Shortly after the hearing began, however, Democrats began raising an issue: Mr Jordans refusal to turn over evidence, including witness testimony, to the Democrat members of the committee.

Rep Stacey Plaskett, a delegate from the US Virgin Islands, asked Mr Jordan whether he would turn over the testimony regarding the Republicans conversation with a witness. Mr Jordan said no, arguing that the witness is a whistleblower.

Right now, youre not getting the testimony, Mr Jordan responded.

His refusal to turn over testimony to the minority party, a highly unusual practice for a committee hearing, continued to rankle Democrats.

I find it incredible that evidence that one side has garnered is not going to be shared with the other side, Rep Linda Sanchez of California said. Thats not how committees work.

Ms Sanchez went on to argue that the hearing as a whole was a vehicle to legitimise the events of January 6 and the people who legitimised it as former President Donald Trump makes another run for office.

Dems try to point out to Jim Jordan that he's violating the committee rules by not sharing testimony with them. Jordan just keeps plowing ahead. pic.twitter.com/ORzHbZ72uQ  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 18, 2023

Rep Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida then argued that Mr Jordan was violating committee rules by refusing to turn over evidence.

Its my understanding that the minority, in this committee, under the rules, is entitled to the same testimony, information, documents that the majority is titled to, Ms Wasserman Schultz said. Im not aware that youre able to withhold information from the minority that we would need to use to prepare.

Mr Jordan again argued that there are different rules concerning whistleblower evidence.

Dems try to point out to Jim Jordan that he's violating the committee rules by not sharing testimony with them. Jordan just keeps plowing ahead. pic.twitter.com/ORzHbZ72uQ  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 18, 2023

When it comes to whistleblowers, youre not, Mr Jordan said. When it comes to whistleblowers, you are not.

The hearing then descended into chaos, with several members speaking over each other and Mr Jordan growing animated  particularly at Ms Wasserman Schultzs observation that the witnesses in question have not been legally classified as whistleblowers at all.

These are not whistleblowers, Ms Wasserman Schultz said. Theyve been determined by the agency not to be whistleblowers. Are you deciding that theyre whistleblowers?

Mr Jordan then accused Ms Wasserman Schultz of not listening to witness testimony as the hearing eventually continued in a contentious fashion.
Special health zone becomes medical vanguard in south China

Xinhua) 13:22, May 19, 2023

HAIKOU, May 18 (Xinhua) -- A special medical zone in south China's island province of Hainan is rising as a medical magnet as it seeks high-quality development in recent years.

On Wednesday, doctors performed a pancreas-related operation at the Ruijin-Hainan Hospital in the Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone using a surgical system allowing robotic-assisted surgery through a single port.

"I think the operation makes great sense because it will benefit the general public by bringing more precision in future surgical operations," said Shen Baiyong, the professor who led the operation.

The operation is just one of the many successes recorded at the pilot zone.

Established in 2013 with the approval of the State Council, China's cabinet, the Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone develops the related industries of international medical tourism, such as licensed medical treatment, health management, care rehabilitation, medical cosmetology, and anti-aging.

With favorable policies, the pilot zone aims to "gather international and domestic advanced medical tourism services and international cutting-edge medical scientific and technological achievements and to create a cluster region for international medical technology service," according to its official website.

In recent years, the pilot zone has established cooperative relations with international pharmaceutical device and drug manufacturers from many countries and regions.

The pilot zone recorded 189,000 medical tourist trips in 2022, up 48.5 percent year on year, official figures showed.

In 2020, China released a master plan to build the whole of Hainan Island into a globally influential and high-level free trade port by the middle of the century.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
(Photo : Stefan Rousseau - Pool/Getty Images)

The United States and its allies have announced intentions to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter planes amid Kyiv's impending counterattack against Russia.

The United States and its allies have announced intentions to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter planes to improve its long-term protection, according to a high-ranking White House official.

The source pointed out that the F-16 planes would not be used in Ukraine's impending counteroffensive against Russia in the one-year-long war, per NBC News. The US and its partners have not decided on the F-16s' delivery schedule, quantity, and suppliers.

President Joe Biden notified the leaders of major industrialized countries that the US would finance Ukrainian F-16 pilot training.

Providing F-16s to Ukraine had previously been seen as impractical. Thus, the move represents a significant shift in Washington's stance.

In February, Joe Biden told ABC News that the US military assessment indicated Ukraine did not need F-16 jet fighters in the ongoing war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the US and President Biden's unprecedented support for a multinational fighter aircraft alliance. He noted that he was anticipating talks about the execution of the plan at the upcoming G7 meeting in Hiroshima.

I welcome the historic decision of the United States and @POTUS to support an international fighter jet coalition. This will greatly enhance our army in the sky. I count on discussing the practical implementation of this decision at the #G7 summit in Hiroshima.    (@ZelenskyyUa) May 19, 2023

Read Also: Ron DeSantis To Launch 2024 US Presidential Campaign

Although there were suggestions that the US might permit other nations to begin preparations for sending Western fighter planes, US allies did not expect Washington's direct participation in an F-16 training program, according to The Guardian.

Yehor Cherniev, deputy head of the Ukrainian parliament's national security committee, projected that F-16s might be operational four months after training.

Russia-Ukraine War Update

Meanwhile, some parts of Ukraine reported explosions during air raid alarms, per ABC. On Telegram, the Ukrainian military issued alerts on the presence of Russian aircraft and the possibility of hypersonic Kinzhal missile attacks across all areas.

Russian access routes were being bombed, according to Ukrainian soldiers positioned close to the front line, to block the Ukrainian attack. Ukraine claimed to have resisted Russian strikes and gained up to one kilometer in some locations, providing time for planned actions.

On Thursday, the Ukrainian military and Russia's Wagner private army reported more Russian withdrawals near Bakhmut, marking Kyiv's biggest gain in six months as it prepared for a counterattack.

Related Article: Ukraine President Zelensky To Join G7 Japan Summit in Person

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Peter Kramer - Getty Images

Netflixs latest documentary, Anna Nicole Smith: You Dont Know Me, explores the turbulent rise and fall of the late Hollywood star. The film uses exclusive footage and interviews to unpack the events that led to Smiths untimely death in 2007.



In her heyday, Smith was known for her modeling campaigns and highly publicized relationships. In 1994, she married J. Howard Marshall, a wealthy oil tycoon. Their union sparked a media frenzy, as people judged their age differenceSmith was 26, while Marshall was 89and the legitimacy of their union.

But to the surprise of many, this was not Smith's first marriage. Before becoming a household name? The model, born Vickie Lynn Marshall, married Billy Wayne Smith at 17 years old. Here's everything we know about her elusive first husband.

Who is Billy Wayne Smith?

Billy Wayne Smith is Anna Nicole Smiths first husband, and the father of their son, Daniel Wayne Smith. The pair met in Mexia, Texas, years before she became a household name. Smith's mother, Virgie Mae Hogan, told the The Daily Mail, that Billy was a sweet young man, very timid and shy. As the story goes, Billy wasnt initially charmed by Smith. According to Hogan, that upset Smith because he didnt pay attention to her. Looking back on their relationship, Smith once said, He drove me crazy. I chased him the way young girls do until I finally got him and married him. By then, of course, I wasnt interested.



How Did Billy and Anna Meet, and When Did They Marry?

Billy and Smith met while working at a fried chicken shack. Anna was a waitress, while Billy was a fry-cook. He was a year younger than Anna, and they both got jobs at the restaurant after dropping out of high school. From there, the young couple eventually dated for a few months. According to People, they married on April 4th, 1985, when Anna was 17 and Billy was 16. After their wedding, they moved into a house behind the chicken shop.



When Did Billy and Anna Have a child?



Anna gave birth to their son, Daniel Wayne Smith, on January 22nd, 1986. Daniel tragically passed away from a drug overdose on September 10, 2006. At the time, he was visiting his mother in Nassau, Bahamas, following the birth of her daughter, Dannielynn Birkhead.

Why Did Billy and Anna Get Divorced?

Smith and Billys union was short-lived. They separated in 1987, but didnt officially divorce until 1983. Per The Daily Mail, Anna claimed Billy was too controlling. I wasnt allowed to go out of the house or go to the store, she said. He was so jealous.

In 2017, Annas mother told The Daily Mail that after Daniel was born, Anna began working at Red Lobster. She then quit and became a stripper at Houstons Executive Suite Club. It was there that she met her next husband, the wealthy oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall.



You Might Also Like
Bettmann - Getty Images

Beside names such as Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and RuPaul is fellow LGBTQ+ icon and activist Harvey Milk. As the first openly gay politician in the United States, Milk was influential in advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and representation, making him an early pioneer in the fight for equality. He became a public figure during his run for office, calling for hope and change rather than hate and hiding with many  now famous  Harvey Milk quotes. In many ways, he was the first openly gay man to capture the attention of the public eye, though it wasnt always positive. He inspired hope not only in the gay community, but in the lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities, too.

Because of his admirable efforts and views on equality, Milk is honored with a May holiday of his own  Harvey Milk Day  which falls on May 22, 2023. This is the first of many days celebrating the LGBTQ+ community in May and June, as June kicks off Pride month. In preparation for the month-long celebration, learn more about Harvey Milk and read his words that inspired hope then and are still relevant today. If youre in search of more quotes for Pride captions and beyond, read through our collection of quotes from the LGBTQ+ community.



Who was Harvey Milk?

Milk became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the country when he was elected to a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977  a milestone victory that made headlines in the United States and beyond. His unapologetic proclamation of his identity gave new hope to people in the LGBTQ+ community, who faced severe discrimination.

In office, his ambitious agenda included protecting gay rights, as well as establishing daycare centers for working mothers, converting military facilities to low-cost housing, reforming the tax code to attract industries to derelict warehouses and factories, and other reforms.

Less than a year after he took office, Milk was assassinated, alongside Mayor George Moscone, by a disgruntled former city supervisor who snuck into City Hall through a basement window. Thousands marched in his honor after his death, and his words live on as a source of pride and inspiration to all.

Harvey Milks Most Memorable Quotes

Woman's Day/Getty Images

How can people change their minds about us if they dont know who we are?

I personally will never forget that people are more important than buildings.

Dont let people happen to you.

Heres to homogeneity!

We can set examples so that others will follow. We can start overnight.

Be with her in meaningful ways because that is beautiful, and that is generous, and that is what loving someone is.

"My name is Harvey Milk, and I'm here to recruit you."

Woman's Day/Getty Images

I will never forget what it was like coming out and having nobody to look up toward.

If you help elect more gay people, that gives a green light to all who feel disenfranchised, a green light to move forward.

Give me your support, and I'll fight for you.

I stand for all those who feel that the government no longer understands the individual and no longer respects individual rights.

There are people I might have loved had they gotten on the airplane or run down the street after me.

The more people open their hearts to us, the less we will have to fight for our rights."

"I would like to see every gay doctor come out, every gay lawyer, every gay architect come out, stand up, and let that world know. That would do more to end prejudice overnight than anybody would imagine."

Woman's Day/Getty Images

"I have tasted freedom. I will not give up that which I have tasted."

I know you can't live on hope alone. But without hope, life is not worth living. So you, and you and you: You got to give them hope. You got to give them hope!

We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets.

The events that started the American Revolution were the meetings in homes, pubs, on street corners.

"It takes no compromise to give people their rights. It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no survey to remove repressions."

"All men are created equal. No matter how hard they try, they can never erase those words. That is what America is about."

"If a gay can win, it means there is hope that the system can work for all minorities if we fight. We've given them hope."

Woman's Day/Getty Images

Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard.

"Worry about becoming a human being and not about how you can prevent others from enjoying their lives because of your own inability to adjust to life."

Hope will never be silent.

"We are coming out to tell the truths about gays, for I am tired of the conspiracy of silence, so I'm going to talk about it. And I want you to talk about it."

Gay brothers and sisters... You must come out. Come out to your parents... I know that it is hard and will hurt them but think about how they will hurt you in the voting booth!

"Once you have dialogue starting, you know you can break down prejudice."

"It means hope to a nation that has given up, because if a gay person makes it, the doors are open to everyone."

Woman's Day/Getty Images

Burst down those closet doors once and for all, and stand up and start to fight.

It's not my victory  it's yours and yours and yours. If a gay can win, it means there is hope that the system can work for all minorities if we fight. We've given them hope.

"Freedom is too enormous to be slipped under a closet door."

Politics is theater. It doesn't matter if you win. You make a statement. You say, 'I'm here, pay attention to me.'

The fact is that more people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason. That, my friends, is true perversion.

All young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential.

"If every gay person were to come out only to his or her own family, friends, neighbors and fellow workers, within days the entire state would discover that we are not the stereotypes generally assumed."

Woman's Day/Getty Images

If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.

"I fully realize that a person who stands for what I stand for, an activist, a gay activist, becomes the target or the potential target for a person who is insecure, terrified, afraid, or very disturbed with themselves."

I think that what we actually need... is a little more dirt on the seat of our pants as we sit on the front stoop and talk to our neighbors once again.

"Get out of the bars and into the streets!"

Ill fight for you because I am you.

"Unless you have dialogue, unless you open the walls of dialogue, you can never reach to change people's opinion."

Woman's Day/Getty Images

"I finally reached the point where I knew I had to become involved or shut up."

"I think I was always part of the movement. I wish I had time to explain everything I did. Almost everything was done with an eye on the gay movement."

"Last week I got a phone call from Altoona, Pennsylvania, and the voice was young. My election gave one more young person hope."

"Let me have my tax money go for my protection and not for my prosecution."

"I cannot prevent anyone from getting angry, or mad, or frustrated. I can only hope that they'll turn that anger and frustration and madness into something positive."

"If I do a good job, people won't care if I am green or have three heads."

Woman's Day/Getty Images

"Coming out is the most political thing you can do."

Dont sit there and wait for her to call, go after her because thats what you should do if you love someone. Dont wait for them to give you a sign because it might never come.

Let's make no mistake about this: The American Dream starts with the neighborhoods. If we wish to rebuild our cities, we must first rebuild our neighborhoods. And to do that, we must understand that the quality of life is more important than the standard of living.



"If you are not personally free to be yourself in that most important of all human activities  the expression of love  then life itself loses its meaning."

"Some people call me the unofficial mayor of Castro Street."

Every gay person must come out. As difficult as it is, you must tell your immediate family. You must tell your relatives. You must tell your friends if indeed they are your friends. You must tell the people you work with. You must tell the people in the stores you shop in. Once they realize that we are indeed their children, that we are indeed everywhere, every myth, every lie, every innuendo will be destroyed once and all. And once you do, you will feel so much better.

Woman's Day/Getty Images

"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness."

The only thing they have to look forward to is hope. And you have to give them hope. Hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow, hope for a better place to come to if the pressures at home are too great. Hope that all will be all right.

That is what loving someone is, that is raw and that is unguarded, and that is all that is worth anything, really.

"Without hope, not only are the gays, but the Blacks, the seniors, the handicapped, the us-es. The us-es will give up."



"I think that there's a distinction between those who use the movement and those who are part of the movement."

Once and for all, break down the myths, destroy the lies and distortions. For your sake. For their sake. For the sake of the youngsters who are becoming scared by the votes from Dade to Eugene.

"All over the country, they're reading about me, and the story doesn't center on me being gay. It's just about a gay person who is doing his job."

The civil and human rights champion Harvey Milk was a hero to many. He broke down barriers for gay and other marginalized people everywhere, and he spoke passionately about hope and equity as a leader in the movement until he was assassinated. But his poignant and powerful words live on decades later as an inspiration be proud, to be counted, to fight on.

Who Was Harvey Milk?

Milk became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the country when he was elected to a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977  a milestone victory that made headlines even around the world. His unapologetic proclamation of his identity gave unprecedented hope to LGBTQ people, who faced severe discrimination.

In office, his ambitious agenda included protecting gay rights as well as establishing daycare centers for working mothers, converting military facilities to low-cost housing, reforming the tax code to attract industry to derelict warehouses and factories, and other reforms.

Less than a year after he took office, Milk was assassinated in 1978, alongside Mayor George Moscone, by a disgruntled former city supervisor who snuck into City Hall through a basement window. Thousands marched in his honor after his death, and his words live on as a source of pride and inspiration. Here are 50 of Harvey Milks most memorable quotes.

You Might Also Like
CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  An 88-year-old Australian doctor held captive by Islamic extremists in West Africa for more than seven years has been freed and has returned to Australia.

Ken Elliott was safe and well and was reunited with his wife and their children on Thursday night, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said.

Im very pleased to advise that Dr. Ken Elliott, whos been held hostage in Western Africa for some seven years, has been reunited in Australia with his family, Wong told reporters in Sydney.

Elliott and his wife were kidnapped in Burkina Faso, where they had run a medical clinic for four decades. Jocelyn Elliott was released three weeks later.

We wish to express our thanks to God and all who have continued to pray for us, Elliott's family said in a statement released by Wongs department.

We express our relief that Dr. Elliott is free and thank the Australian government and all who have been involved over time to secure his release, the family statement said.

Wong said no ransom was paid to secure Elliott's freedom, but no other details on his release were disclosed. Media reported he was reunited with his family in Perth, the west coast city where he is from.

At 88 years of age, and after many years away from home, Dr. Elliott now needs time and privacy to rest and rebuild strength, the family added.

The militant group behind the kidnapping, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, rose to prominence in large part through kidnap-for-ransom operations targeting foreign aid workers and tourists.

On the day the Australian couple were kidnapped  Jan. 15, 2016  30 people were killed in an extremist attack in Burkina Fasos capital Ouagadougou. Al-Qaidas North Africa wing claimed responsibility for that attack and other high-profile strikes in West Africa months earlier, including killing 20 people in an attack on a hotel in Malis capital Bamako.

The Elliotts were kidnapped near the northern Burkina Faso town of Djibo, near the border with Mali and Niger.

Jocelyn Elliott was freed in neighboring Niger. Niger's then-President Mahamadou Issoufou had worked with Burkina Faso intelligence services to secure her release, his office said at the time.

Australia had not paid ransom to secure Ken Elliott's release, Wong said.

The Australian government has a clear policy that we do not pay ransoms, Wong said.

What we have done over the last seven years is ensure that we worked with other governments and local authorities in relation to Dr. Elliott, she added.
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP)  Saudi Arabia hosted an Arab League summit on Friday in which Syrian President Bashar Assad was welcomed back after a 12-year suspension and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to rally support against Russia.

Russian airstrikes have left a swath of destruction across both countries, but in Syria they came at Assad's invitation and helped him cling to power through years of grinding civil war. Other Arab states have deepened ties with Moscow while remaining largely neutral on the Ukraine war.

The odd pairing of the two leaders in the same forum is the result of a recent flurry of diplomacy by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is pursuing regional rapprochement with the same vigor he previously brought to the kingdom's confrontation with archrival Iran.

In recent months, Saudi Arabia has restored diplomatic ties with Iran, is ending the kingdoms yearslong war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen and led the push for Syrias return to the 22-member Arab League.

The Saudi crown prince welcomed both Assad and Zelenskyy to the Red Sea city of Jeddah, expressing support for whatever helps in reducing the crisis between Russia and Ukraine." He added that the kingdom, which brokered a prisoner exchange last year, is ready to exert efforts for mediation."

Addressing the summit in English, Zelenskyy appeared to invoke the Arab world's own troubled history of invasion and occupation, saying Ukraine "will never submit to any foreigners or colonizers.

He took a swipe at Iran for supplying attack drones to Russia and spoke about the suffering of Muslim ethnic Tatars living under Russian occupation in Crimea. He also accused some in the hall of turning a blind eye to Russia's violations.

The visit comes amid a whirlwind of international travel by the Ukrainian leader, but until now he has mostly visited allied countries.

Saudi Arabia pledged $400 million in aid to Ukraine earlier this year and has voted in favor of U.N. resolutions calling on Russia to end its invasion and opposing the annexation Ukrainian territory. But it has resisted U.S. pressure to increase oil production in order to squeeze Russia's revenues.

Assad, a close ally of both Russia and Iran, said he hoped the summit would mark a new stage of Arab solidarity" that would bring peace "instead of war and destruction. He added that Arab countries should reject external interference" in their affairs.

A collective statement issued at the conclusion of the summit rejected any illegitimate foreign presence in Syria and supported the eventual return of Syrian refugees. It also condemned Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people, called on Lebanon to overcome its political paralysis and encouraged dialogue in Sudan, where rival generals have been at war since last month.

In recent years, Assad's forces have recaptured much of Syria's territory from insurgents with crucial military aid from Russia and Iran. Saudi Arabia was a major sponsor of the opposition at the height of the war but pulled back as the insurgents were eventually cornered in a small pocket of northwestern Syria.

Saudi Arabias push to bring Syria back into the fold is part of a broader shift in the kingdoms approach to regional politics, says Torbjorn Soltvedt, a leading Mideast analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

The previously adventurist foreign policy defined by the Yemen intervention and efforts to confront Iran are now being abandoned in favor of a more cautious approach, he said.

Assads first official meeting on Friday was with his Tunisian counterpart, Kais Saied, who is waging his own crackdown on dissent in the birthplace of the Arab Spring protests that swept the region in 2011.

We stand together against the movement of darkness, Assad said, apparently referring to extremist groups that came to dominate the Syrian opposition as the civil war ground on, and which drew large numbers of recruits from Tunisia.

The Saudi crown prince later welcomed each leader to the summit, including a smiling Assad. The two shook hands and kissed cheeks before the Syrian leader walked into the hall.

There are some Arab holdouts to Damascus' rehabilitation, including gas-rich Qatar, which still supports Syria's opposition and says it won't normalize bilateral relations without a political solution to the conflict. Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, attended the start of the summit but walked out before Assad spoke, a Saudi official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release details of the proceedings.

Western countries, which still view Assad as a pariah over his forces aerial bombardment and gas attacks against civilians during the 12-year civil war, have criticized his return to the Arab fold and vowed to maintain crippling sanctions that have hampered reconstruction.

Years of heavy fighting involving Assad's forces, the opposition and jihadi outfits like the Islamic State group left entire villages and neighborhoods in ruins. The conflict killed nearly a half million people and displaced half of the countrys pre-war population of 23 million.

American lawmakers advanced bipartisan legislation this week that would further tighten sanctions on Assad, who came to power in 2000 after the death of his father. But the White House National Security Council expressed concern Friday that the additional measures would make it unduly difficult to provide humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people."

The U.S. administration remains committed to a roadmap to peace drafted more than a decade ago. But several rounds of peace talks held over the years went nowhere, and Assad has had little incentive to compromise since Russia entered the war on his side.

Arab leaders appear to be focused on more modest goals, like enlisting Assad's help in countering militant groups and drug traffickers, and bringing about the return of Syrian refugees, many of whom fled to escape his autocratic rule.

Asked about American criticism of the restoration of relations with Syria, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said there is no way to solve the Syrian crisis without a dialogue with the Syrian government.

There is a humanitarian crisis. There are Syrian refugees who want to return to their country, he said.

___

Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
Attorney Ben Crump, right, speaks alongside Sallamondra Robinson during a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Friday, on the investigation into the killing of Shanquella Robinson, left. (Courtesy of the Robinson family, Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON  Attorneys and the family of Shanquella Robinson, a 25-year-old Charlotte, N.C., woman who died last year while on a trip with a friend and five other American travel mates in Mexico, met with White House officials Friday morning, demanding that U.S. leadership extradite a suspect to Mexico to be held responsible for Robinsons death.

Were going straight to the top and we expect them to not disrespect or neglect Shanquella Robinson, family attorney Ben Crump said at a press conference shortly after the meeting held just steps away from the White House.

Crump says he was encouraged following the meeting with Steve Benjamin, director of the Office of Public Engagement, as well as members of the Office of the White House Counsel, who have a direct line to President Biden and Vice President Harris. He expressed optimism that the case would be prioritized.

We are grateful that they said No, dont give up on the process, we are going to look at what can be done to make sure that there is at least due process, Crump said.

Fridays series of events marked the 200th day of Robinsons death as frustrations mount over the lack of arrests despite video footage of Robinson getting physically assaulted by other people on the trip.

Activist Tamika Mallory speaks at a news conference on the killing of Shanquella Robinson, on Friday in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

There were around two dozen people in attendance at the press conference; a bevy of cameras captured the speeches and civil rights activists holding large signs with Robinsons face on them. The crowd frequently broke out into back-and-forth chants no justice, no peace and say her name.

Activist Tamika Mallory, co-founder of social justice organization Until Freedom who joined the White House meeting, was more reserved in her assessment of how things played out, saying the family had an opportunity to lay out the facts and holes in the case, but there was no immediate action taken.

They did not say what they would do. They did not say its going to happen. They did not say they were going to make the State Department or anyone else do anything. They said they were going to look into the situation, Mallory said.

What happened in Mexico?

More than six-and-a-half months ago on Oct. 28 of last year, Robinson was found dead less than 24 hours after traveling to the resort city of San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, with one friend and five travel mates to celebrate one of their birthdays.

Initially, the people on the trip told her mother that Robinson had died of alcohol poisoning, but the family later received an autopsy report from the Mexican Secretariat of Health and learned she had suffered a broken neck and a cracked spine. No mention of alcohol was included in the report. In a death certificate obtained by Queen City News in Charlotte, N.C., Robinson's death was attributed to a severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation, meaning that her first vertebra was loosened or detached from the base of her skull.

Shanquella Robinson, right, with her mother, Sallamondra Robinson, left. (Family handout)

Nearly a month later, the video footage of Robinson being attacked appeared on social media. Robinsons mother recognized the other people in the video as the ones who traveled with her daughter, and she believes it was captured on the trip to Cabo.

Mexican authorities issued an arrest warrant in the case in November for the crime of femicide, a form of gender-based violence. They also sought to extradite an American suspect to the country to face charges. But since then, no one has been held accountable.

Someone should have been arrested

Robinsons mother, Sallamondra Robinson, believes she knows why Robinson is no longer alive and who did it, based on video footage of her daughter getting physically assaulted, along with various investigative documents her family has retrieved. But she says that U.S. authorities arent taking action.

Someone should have been arrested after the video was released, she said Friday, referring to footage shared online just weeks after Robinsons death in which a blogger in North Carolina claims a woman is seen viciously attacking Robinson until her body goes limp. We cant sleep or eat. Were barely holding down a job. Were so heartbroken we dont know which way to go.

I want justice, because Ive seen her being brutally beaten, Sallamondra Robinson told Yahoo News last month. Thats enough evidence right there.

Sallamondra Robinson wipes her eyes after speaking at a press conference on Friday in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Shenita Binns, a civil rights activist who traveled from Atlanta, Ga., to support Robinsons family, told Yahoo News at Fridays press conference that this case reveals that there are two Americas and if Robinson were white, justice would have already come.

I feel like it is exactly what Dr. Martin Luther King said, Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, she said. If they can do this to Shanquella, they can do it to my daughter, they can do it to my cousin, my nieces, my nephews.

Crump echoed these sentiments, sharing the collective frustration over inaction by U.S. officials to date.

When it was Natalee Holloway and Gabby Petito, [two white women] you had everyone trying to get to the bottom of it, but when it was Shanquella Robinson, no one was trying to get to the bottom of it, he said.

Why has there been no arrest?

Experts say extradition remains on the table; however, the move is seen as rare and complex.

Lawyers from Ralls & Wille, an Arizona-based firm that regularly handles cross-border extraditions, told Insider that very few extraditions between the U.S. and Mexico occur involving American citizens  so few that their firm has only ever handled one such case.

Shanquella Robinson (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: family handout)

Still, the prosecutors decision to not file charges shouldnt affect a possible extradition, but political issues may complicate matters, according to Paul Arnell, an associate professor at Robert Gordon University.

"Political concerns can affect the decision to request an individual and the decision whether or not to accede to hand the person over, Arnell told Newsweek. The process is therefore somewhat dependent upon the overall relations between the countries. If, say, Mexico has refused to send persons to the U.S. then in turn the U.S. may act similarly.

Next steps

During Fridays press conference, Robinsons family and the family's attorneys vowed to not stop until someone is held accountable for her death, stopping short of setting any hard deadline for White House officials.

If we let a couple months go by and dont say Shanquella Robinson, then no one will, Crump said. We are going to keep saying her name.

An activist holds up a picture of Shanquella Robinson during a press conference on Friday in Washington, D.C., on the investigation into her killing. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Robinsons six travel mates  known as the Cabo 6  remain free. But advocates warn them not to get too comfortable.

These are some very dangerous individuals and if they did it to Shanquella, they can do it to someone else, Mallory said. When our government fails to move and do what it needs to do, then the community believes its only recourse is to step in and protect our sister, Shanquella.

Cover thumbnail: Courtesy of the Robinson family, Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., attends a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on Capitol Hill Thursday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Sen. Dianne Feinsteins office on Thursday confirmed that the 89-year-old California lawmakers complications from shingles were far more serious than previously known.

The disclosure came following a report by the New York Times revealing that Feinsteins shingles had spread to her face and neck, causing vision and balance impairments and facial paralysis known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome and had brought on a previously unreported case of encephalitis, a rare but potentially debilitating complication that causes inflammation of the brain.

Adam Russell, a spokesman for Feinstein, said in a statement that the encephalitis resolved itself shortly after she was released from the hospital in March. She continues to have complications from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, Russell added in the statement, which came after the Times story was published.

Heres everything we know about Feinsteins health and its impact on her work in the Senate, culled from original reporting and Yahoo News partners including the Times, Washington Post and others.

How rare are Feinsteins complications?

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is seen in a wheelchair as she returns to the Senate after a more than two-month absence on May 10. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Very. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shingles affects a third of Americans, but Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis are far less common and can be severe.

Michael Wilson, a doctor who specializes in encephalitis at the University of California at San Francisco, told the Washington Post that the risk for post-shingles encephalitis is about one in a thousand.

Encephalitis symptoms include fever, headache, sensitivity to light or sound, neck stiffness, or even seizures and loss of consciousness, the paper said.

Ramsay Hunt syndrome  which is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox and shingles  is also very rare. According to the Mayo Clinic, it's more common in older adults, typically affecting people older than 60.

But younger people can get it too. Last year, Justin Bieber, 29, announced he was suffering from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which paralyzed one side of his face and forced him to postpone his tour.

How long was Feinstein gone?

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., appears at a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on May 11 after a more than two-month absence. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Feinstein, who sits on the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, returned to Washington last week after months away from the Senate as she recovered from her case of shingles, which was diagnosed in February. In the same month, the six-term California Democrat announced she will not seek reelection in 2024.

Her extended leave caused concern among Democrats about missed votes, and prompted numerous calls for her to resign. Her absence from the judiciary committee held up President Bidens judicial appointees and undercut the panels ability to issue subpoenas investigating the numerous reports of Supreme Court corruption.

[Time: Why Diane Feinstein shouldn't quit]

Feinstein said last month that her return was delayed due to continued complications from her shingles diagnosis and that she had not been cleared to travel by her doctors.

She also asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to allow another Democratic senator to temporarily serve on the panel until Im able to resume my committee work.

What happened when she returned to work?

Feinstein, accompanied by Prowda, right, is pushed in a wheelchair as she leaves a meeting on Capitol Hill on Thursday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

When she did finally return to Capitol Hill, she appeared to be remarkably frail.

Using a wheelchair, with the left side of her face frozen and one eye nearly shut, she seemed disoriented as an aide steered her through the marble corridors of the Senate, complaining audibly that something was stuck in her eye, the Times reported.

And when speaking with a small group of reporters a few days later, Feinstein, who turns 90 next month, appeared to be confused when asked about the well wishes she'd received from her Senate colleagues since her return.

I havent been gone, she said, per the Los Angeles Times. I've been here. I've been voting. Please, either know or don't know."

[Politico: Feinsteins return leaves her party on edge]

The exchange did little to quell the calls for Feinstein to resign, which she has resisted.

The senator still sees the job as her calling and is no more receptive to a conversation about stepping aside than she was in 2018, when she decided to seek another term despite questions about her mental acuity, the New York Times said, adding: People close to her joke privately that perhaps when Feinstein is dead, she will start to consider resigning.

Im back in Washington, voting and attending committee meetings while I recover from complications related to a shingles diagnosis, Feinstein said in a statement Thursday. I continue to work and get results for California.

Whos running to replace her?

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., addresses a meeting of the Jan. 6 committee hearing on Capitol Hill, on June 21, 2022. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Feinstein is not running for reelection next year and three prominent Democratic representatives are vying to replace her.

Barbara Lee, 76, has served in Congress since 1998, representing the San Francisco Bay Area. Lee was the only member of Congress not to vote for the authorization of military force following the Sept. 11 attacks and has a slew of endorsements from progressives, the Congressional Black Caucus and top California officials, like the state attorney general and the mayors of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

[Yahoo News: The 2024 California Senate race could be Democrats' next big civil war]

Katie Porter, 49, came into Congress in what has been described as the 2018 "blue wave" of Democratic progressives, representing an Orange County district that is more competitive than those represented by her Senate rivals. Upon entering Congress, she quickly established a reputation as a tough questioner in committee hearings. Porter recently released a memoir and has earned the endorsement of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who was her professor at Harvard Law School.

Adam Schiff, 62, has represented a Los Angeles-area district since 2001 and was the lead manager for former President Donald Trumps first impeachment. The former House Intelligence chairman has received the endorsement of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and nearly two dozen other California House members, in addition to holding a significant fundraising advantage over his opponents.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinsteins office said Thursday that she is suffering from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a complication from the shingles virus that can paralyze part of the face, and that she contracted encephalitis while recovering from the virus earlier this year.

Feinstein, 89, had not previously disclosed those medical details, though she said in a statement last week that she had suffered complications from the virus. The longtime California senator returned from a more than two-month absence on May 10 after weeks of questions about her declining health and whether she would be back in the Senate at all.

Adam Russell, a spokesman for Feinstein, said that the encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, resolved itself shortly after she was released from the hospital in March. Feinstein continues to have complications from the Ramsay Hunt syndrome, Russell said.

Russell confirmed the two complications after the New York Times first reported them, raising questions about whether she had been hiding the extent of her illnesses. Upon her return last week, Feinstein was using a wheelchair and noticeably thinner, and has appeared confused at times when speaking to reporters or being wheeled through the halls.

The senator previously disclosed that she had several complications related to her shingles diagnosis, Russell said in the statement. As discussed in the New York Times article, those complications included Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis.

Feinsteins face has appeared partially paralyzed since she returned to the Senate, stirring some speculation about whether she had had a stroke. Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a complication that occurs when the shingles virus reaches a facial nerve near the ears. It can also cause hearing loss.

Encephalitis can also be caused by shingles. The swelling of the brain can have a number of different symptoms, including personality changes, seizures, stiffness, confusion and problems with sight or hearing, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Aides to Feinstein said last week that she is still recovering from her illness and would operate on a reduced schedule. Since she has returned, she has missed some votes where she was not needed. On Wednesday, for example, she missed the first three Senate votes of the day but appeared for the last two, in which the margin was much closer.

Feinstein has faced questions for several years about her clearly declining health and her mental acuity. In February Feinstein said she would not run for re-election in 2024.

But some Democrats have pushed for her to leave sooner. A member of the California congressional delegation, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, called on her to resign as she stayed away from Washington for more than ten weeks, and several other House progressives have echoed his call. And Senate Democrats were increasingly anxious during Feinstein's absence as they were unable to confirm some of President Joe Bidens judicial nominees with a narrow 51-49 majority.

As Democrats worried, Feinstein made an unusual request to be temporarily replaced on the Judiciary panel while she remained out of the Senate. But Republicans last month blocked a vote, saying there was little precedent for a temporary committee replacement and that they didnt want to help Democrats confirm the most partisan judges. Others said they thought Democrats were unfairly trying to push her out of office.

Two weeks later, Democrats said that Feinstein would return to Washington.

A senator for more than three decades, Feinstein has had a groundbreaking political career and shattered gender barriers. She was the first woman to serve as president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in the 1970s and the first female mayor of San Francisco. She ascended to that post after the November 1978 assassinations of then-Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk by a former supervisor, Dan White. Feinstein found Milks body.

In the Senate, she was the first woman to head the Senate Intelligence Committee and the first woman to serve as the Judiciary Committees top Democrat.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) sits with an aide at a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on Thursday in Washington. (Kent Nishimura /Los Angeles Times)

It's police week here at the nation's Capitol, and, with law enforcement officers flowing through the halls, the Senate Judiciary Committee took up several bills meant to support law enforcement.

Amid debate about legislation Thursday to recruit officers who agree to serve in their home communities, California's senior senator spoke up.

"I just wanted to say one thing, and thats about cops on the beat," Sen. Dianne Feinstein said  in her first extended public remarks since she returned to Washington, D.C., after several months at home in San Francisco with shingles.

"I was mayor of San Francisco for nine years," she said. "There was no program more favorable with people than police on the streets. They got to know them. There was a positive relationship. The crime rate went down.

"Anything we can do to help I think we should," Feinstein added.

Feinstein, 89, used a wheelchair to move around the Capitol and appeared sprier than in recent days. She walked into the hearing chamber and spoke for longer and more cogently than she did last week. During the May 11 hearing, she read her yes vote from a note and asked to be recorded as voting in person on three other judges whose nominations were raised before her arrival.

In the ensuing days she was scarcely seen except to vote on the Senate floor. Moving through the halls with Nancy Pelosi's eldest daughter, Nancy Corinne Prowda, at her side, Feinstein looked frailer than before her absence and struggled to walk very far without the supportive arm of an aide. Prowda is a longtime family friend who is not on Feinsteins staff.

"Nancy Corrine is a dear friend of Senator Feinsteins going back more than 40 years. She has been spending time with the senator as she continues to recover from shingles, Feinstein spokesman Adam Russell said.

Feinstein's eyelid and face appear to droop, which is a side effect of shingles known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome. It's a partial paralysis and relatively common for people who have shingles rashes on their face.

She has also had a case of encephalitis, a swelling of the brain, according to Russell. This complication from shingles, which was first reported by the New York Times on Thursday, can be debilitating, causing memory loss and other effects.

While the encephalitis resolved itself shortly after she was released from the hospital in March, she continues to have complications from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, Russell said.

A number of viruses and bacteria can cause infections leading to encephalitis, said Dr. Felicia Chow, a specialist in neuro-infectious diseases at University of California San Francisco Health. One of them is the varicella-zoster virus, which can cause shingles.

Not all cases lead to encephalitis, she said; but if the virus causes inflammation of the brain, it can lead to serious impacts on the mental status of patients, including reduced cognition, changes in personality, impaired memory and confusion.

Any function that the brain is responsible for  it can affect, Chow said.

Several factors can contribute to the impact encephalitis has on a patient, including what part of the brain is affected by the infection, and if the patient had previous cognitive issues.

If at baseline they have some impairment of the brain, some injury, dementia or something else, if a patient like that has preexisting issues, then they may be at risk of not recovering, Chow said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) uses a wheelchair to get around the Capitol with her staff and Nancy Corinne Prowda, a daughter of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco). (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

On Tuesday, Feinstein spoke with two reporters  including one from The Times  alongside Prowda and appeared to not recall she'd been absent from Congress for months due to her illness.

I havent been gone, she said. Ive been working.

Youve been working from home is what youre saying? the reporter asked.

No, Ive been here. Ive been voting. Please, either know or dont know, Feinstein said.

The interaction came on the heels of several reports, including one last year in the San Francisco Chronicle, that described the deterioration of her memory. Feinstein at the time dismissed the stories, saying she was fit to serve. The powerful senator is famous for being a very hands-on boss, and the case of shingles appears to have taken a toll.

It has raised questions about whether she can finish her term, which ends in 2025. Three members of the House of Representatives are competing for her seat on next year's ballot: Democratic Reps. Adam B. Schiff of Burbank, Katie Porter of Irvine and Barbara Lee of Oakland.

Still, her presence in the Senate is essential for Democrats to pursue their agenda  including confirming judges  while maintaining maximum leverage.

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer has asked his colleagues, who are out on recess, to be available on 24 hours' notice to return to Washington next week to vote on raising the countrys borrowing limit, which is the biggest controversy in halls of government at the moment. The New York Democrat, who was in contact with Feinstein during her absence and was by her side when she returned, lauded the chambers ability to confirm 10 federal judges during this recent monthlong work period.

Feinstein was integral in this work, including helping confirm Nancy Abudu to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday on a 49-47 vote. Abudu, a civil rights attorney, is the first Black woman to be confirmed to the 11th Circuit.

"We have a duty to ensure that federal judges are individuals of the highest caliber, and that includes appointing judges from a wide variety of personal and professional backgrounds," Schumer said, adding that the Senate has confirmed 129 judges this term.

Schumer declined to comment about Feinstein as he walked off the Senate floor after speaking and sending the chamber out on break.

After the Judiciary vote Thursday, Prowda, Pelosi's daughter , shielded Feinstein from reporters hoping to ask questions.

Two photographers backpedaled to capture her exit, and Feinstein asked, "What are they doing?"

"Theyre just gathering news clips," Prowda said.

Times staff photographer Kent Nishimura contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
HONG KONG (AP)  A Hong Kong court rejected an activist publishers latest effort Friday to use a British lawyer to defend him against national security charges as Beijing tries to crush a pro-democracy movement.

Jimmy Lai, the 75-year-old founder of the now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily, faces up to life in prison if convicted. In November, the citys top court approved Lai hiring veteran lawyer Timothy Owen for the case, but the citys national security authorities blocked that.

Lai and most of Hong Kongs leading pro-democracy activists were arrested after Beijing imposed a national security law on the former British colony following massive anti-government protests in 2019. The political saga over Lais choice of lawyer is widely seen as part of the citys crackdown on dissidents after the protests.

On Friday, Judge Jeremy Poon rejected Lais request to overturn the committee for safeguarding national securitys decision. Poon ruled courts have no jurisdiction over the committee under the security law.

The political row over Lai's lawyer began in November when the government voiced objection to it and asked Beijing to step in soon after the top court gave its approval.

Chinas top legislative body didnt directly rule whether foreign lawyers who do not normally practice in the city could handle national security cases. But it said the power to decide belongs to the citys leader and the committee.

Critics said Beijings intervention damaged the citys judicial independence, which was promised to the city when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

The committee concluded that allowing Owen to represent Lai would likely pose national security risks and advised the director of immigration to refuse any new work visa applications by Owen that involve representing the media tycoon in the case. The director of immigration said his department would act in accordance with that advice.

Lais lawyers filed an application in April for judicial review, asking the court to quash the committee and directors decisions. They argued that the committees duties relate to matters of general policy and coordinating major works and significant operations.

There is no power or jurisdiction to determine specific questions arising from cases, let alone overturn judicial decisions, they wrote in the application.

Robert Pang, one of Lais lawyers, insisted in an earlier hearing that the committee had overstepped its powers, saying the court had the power and the duty to ensure that the law was properly applied.

But Poon ruled Friday that the decision is fully within the committees power under the security law, as interpreted by the interpretation," and the supervisory power over the committee is reserved to China's central government exclusively.

The courts don't hold power over such matters "because they clearly fall outside the courts' constitutional competence assigned to them," he wrote.

Lais trial, originally scheduled to begin Dec. 1, was postponed until September as the city awaited Beijings decision.

He is accused of conspiring with others to call for sanctions or blockades, or engage in hostile activities against Hong Kong or China. He also faces a charge of collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security, and a separate sedition charge under a colonial-era law that is increasingly used to crush dissent.

Lai was sentenced to five years and nine months for a separate fraud case in December.

As of Tuesday, more than 100 publishers and editors around the world  including 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureates Dmitry Muratov and Maria Ressa  have signed a joint statement calling for his immediate release, according to the Reporters without Borders, which coordinated the move.

But the government, without naming any groups, condemned what it called wrongful attempt to interfere with the citys judicial proceedings under the pretext of press freedom. It insisted the prosecution of Lai was completely unrelated to the issue of press freedom.

Last week, Hong Kong lawmakers also passed an amendment to a law granting the citys leader the power to bar overseas lawyers from handling national security cases. Critics said the changes will leave defendants with even fewer choices when they look for legal representation in some of the citys most controversial cases.

The National Security Law criminalizes acts of succession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces. It has led to the arrests of many prominent democracy activists and damaged faith in the future of the international financial hub.
HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP)  Leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies vowed Friday to tighten punishments on Russia for its 15-month invasion of Ukraine, days before President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joins the Group of Seven summit in person on Sunday.

Our support for Ukraine will not waver," the G7 leaders said in a statement released after closed-door meetings, vowing to stand together against Russias illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.

Russia started this war and can end this war, they said.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, confirmed on national television that Zelenskyy would attend the summit.

We were sure that our president would be where Ukraine needed him, in any part of the world, to solve the issue of stability of our country, Danilov said Friday. There will be very important matters decided there, so physical presence is a crucial thing to defend our interests.

Zelenskyy announced Friday that he had opened a visit to Saudi Arabia, where Arab leaders were holding a summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putins nuclear threats against Ukraine, along with North Koreas months-long barrage of missile tests and Chinas rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal, have resonated with Japans push to make nuclear disarmament a major part of the G7 summit. World leaders Friday visited a peace park dedicated to the tens of thousands who died in the worlds first wartime atomic bomb detonation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

After group photos near the city's iconic bombed-out dome, a wreath-laying and a symbolic cherry tree planting, a new round of sanctions were unveiled against Moscow, with a focus on redoubling efforts to enforce existing sanctions meant to stifle Russia's war effort and hold accountable those behind it, a U.S. official said. Russia is now the most-sanctioned country in the world, but there are questions about the effectiveness of the financial penalties.

The U.S. component of the actions would blacklist about 70 Russian and third-country entities involved in Russia's defense production, and sanction more than 300 individuals, entities, aircraft and vessels, said a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the announcement.

The official said the other G7 nations would undertake similar steps to further isolate Russia and to undermine its ability to wage war in Ukraine. Details were to emerge throughout the weekend summit.

The G7 nations said in Friday's statement that they would work to keep Russia from using the international financial system to prosecute its war, would further restrict Russias access to our economies and would prevent sanctions evasion by Moscow.

They urged other nations to stop providing Russia with support and weapons or face severe costs.

The European Union was focused on closing loopholes and plans to restrict trade in Russian diamonds, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, told reporters Friday.

We should provide Ukraine the necessary military and financial support. And we have to do this as long as it takes.Ursula von der Leyen

The UK also announced new sanctions that freeze the assets of 86 people and organizations connected to Russias energy, metals, defense, transport and financial sectors.

We need to give Ukraine the tools now to successfully defend itself and regain full sovereignty and territorial integrity. We should provide Ukraine the necessary military and financial support. And we have to do this as long as it takes, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, wants nuclear disarmament to be a major focus of discussions, and he formally started the summit at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park. The visit by world leaders to a park dedicated to preserving reminders of Aug. 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, provided a striking backdrop to the start the summit. An estimated 140,000 people were killed in the attack, and a fast-dwindling number of now-elderly survivors have ensured that Hiroshima has become synonymous with anti-nuclear peace efforts.

Honestly, I have big doubts if Mr. Kishida, who is pursuing a military buildup and seeking to revise the pacifist constitution, can really discuss nuclear disarmament, Sueichi Kido, a 83-year-old hibakusha or survivor of the Nagasaki explosion, told The Associated Press. But because they are meeting in Hiroshima I do have a sliver of hope that they will have positive talks and make a tiny step toward nuclear disarmament.

President Biden, fourth right, and other G7 leaders pose for a photo during a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan, Friday, May 19, 2023, during the G7 Summit. Pictured from left: President Charles Michel of the European Council, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, U.S. President Joe Biden, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom and President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool)

On Thursday night, Kishida opened the global diplomacy by sitting down with President Biden. Kishida also held talks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The Japan-U.S. alliance is the very foundation of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region, Kishida told Biden. Japan, facing threats from authoritarian China, Russia and North Korea, has been expanding its military but also relies on 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan and U.S. military might.

We very much welcome that the cooperation has evolved in leaps and bounds, Kishida said.

Biden, who greeted U.S. and Japanese troops at nearby Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni before meeting with Kishida, said: When our countries stand together, we stand stronger, and I believe the whole world is safer when we do."

As G7 attendees made their way to Hiroshima, Moscow unleashed yet another aerial attack on the Ukrainian capital. Loud explosions thundered through Kyiv during the early hours, marking the ninth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the city after weeks of relative quiet.

The United States has frozen Russian Central Bank funds, restricted banks access to SWIFT  the dominant system for global financial transactions  and sanctioned thousands of Russian firms, government officials, oligarchs and their families.

The Group of Seven nations collectively imposed a $60 per-barrel price cap on Russian oil and diesel last year, which the U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday defended in a new progress report, stating that the cap has been successful in suppressing Russian oil revenues. Treasury cites Russian Ministry of Finance data showing that the Kremlins oil revenues from January to March this year were more than 40% lower than last year.

The challenge is to make sure the sanctions are painful against Russia, not against ourselves.Charles Michel

The economic impact of sanctions depends largely on the extent to which a targeted country is able to circumvent them, according to a recent Congressional Research Service repor t. So for the past month, U.S. Treasury officials have traveled across Europe and Central Asia to press countries that still do business with the Kremlin to cut their financial ties.

The challenge is to make sure the sanctions are painful against Russia, not against ourselves, said Michel. It's very clear that each package is more difficult than the previous one and requires more political effort to make a decision.

G7 leaders and invited guests from several other counties are also expected to discuss how to deal with China's growing assertiveness and military buildup as concerns rise that it could could try to seize Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict. China claims the self-governing island as its own and its ships and warplanes regularly patrol near it.

In a bit of dueling diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting the leaders of the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for a two-day summit in the Chinese city of Xian.

The leaders are due to discuss efforts to strengthen the global economy and address rising prices that are squeezing families and government budgets around the world, particularly in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The debate over raising the debt limit in the U.S., the world's largest economy, has threatened to overshadow the G7 talks. Biden planned to hurry back to Washington after the summit for debt negotiations, scrapping planned meetings in Papua New Guinea and Australia.

The G7 includes Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union.
A man named Jozef B was killed on May 16 after attempting to feed his pet lions at a small zoo he owned in the Slovakian town of Oskerda.

Police responding at the scene have only managed to retrieve parts of his body. They were also forced to kill two of the lions.

Animal maltreatment

According to The Sun, Jozef had a permit to breed the wild animals only until 2019. He has since kept the beasts without renewing the permit.

Moreover, locals complained about Jozef being "very arrogant" when he was called out for allegedly abusing the animals and leaving them in "very bad conditions." He also had run-ins with law enforcers and animal rights groups since 2017.

Expired permit

In 2019, a 29-year-old woman was injured after petting a tiger at Jozef's zoo. Jozef denied there were bad practices within the zoo, saying that no one was at risk.

Slovak authorities said they had last inspected the zoo in 2021, and the owner was fined 2,000 ($2,161.18) for unclear reasons.

They are now considering whether to put down all of the wild animals at the zoo due to its "unsuitable environment."

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  A 42-year-old man is jailed after a mosque in St. Paul was severely damaged by a fire that authorities say was deliberately set  marking the sixth attack on Muslim houses of worship in Minnesota in 2023.

The fire was reported early Wednesday at the Oromo American Tawhid Islamic Center. The suspect was arrested later Wednesday and booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree arson.

Deputy Chief Roy Mokosso said the mosque and a community center were extensively damaged. No one was inside the mosque at the time and no injuries were reported.

Jaylani Hussein, executive director for the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said at a news conference Wednesday that mosques across Minnesota should increase their security and asked for police to bolster patrols around them, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.

Minnesota Gov. Walz condemned the mosque attacks.

In the last several months, Minnesotas Muslim community has experienced several attacks motivated by hate, Walz said on Twitter. In Minnesota, we have a zero tolerance policy toward violence. We continue to stand with our Muslim friends and neighbors.

The fire comes three weeks after several instances of vandalism and arson fires on consecutive days at Muslim mosques in Minnesota.
One of the most vocal bystanders as a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd three years ago is suing the city, alleging he was assaulted and suffered emotional distress as he witnessed the handcuffed Black man beg for his life, go limp and stop breathing.

Donald Williams of Minneapolis filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court.

While now ex-officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyds neck on May 25, 2020, he threatened Williams and other bystanders with a can of mace, shaking it at them after Williams expressed concern for Floyd, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also alleges that Chauvin and another now-former officer, Tou Thao, taunted Floyd, Williams and other bystanders who expressed concern and that Thao placed his hand on Williams chest. Williams took those actions as threats and, the lawsuit says, he was fearful for his safety and the safety of the other witnesses.

The lawsuit says Williams is seeking more than $50,000 for each count, a standard dollar amount that must be listed in Minnesota if a plaintiff intends to seek anything above that figure. He alleges one count of assault, one count of intentional infliction of emotional distress and one count of negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Because of the officers' conduct, William has endured emotional distress, pain, suffering, humiliation, embarrassment and medical expenses, according to the lawsuit.

A city spokesperson told The Associated Press in an email Wednesday that the City Attorneys Office does not have a comment.

Chauvin was convicted of state murder and manslaughter charges in Floyds death and was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison. Chauvin also pleaded guilty to a separate federal charge of violating Floyds civil rights and was sentenced to 21 years on that count. He is serving the sentences concurrently at a federal prison in Arizona.

Thao was recently convicted of aiding and abetting manslaughter and is awaiting sentencing on that count. He has also been convicted of violating Floyds civil rights and received a 3 1/2-year federal sentence.

Floyd, a Black man, died May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, who is white, pinned him to the ground with his knee on Floyds neck for 9 1/2 minutes as he pleaded for air. The killing, captured on bystander video, touched off protests around the world and prompted a national reckoning with police brutality and racism.

Williams, a former wrestler and a mixed martial arts fighter who also worked security, testified during Chauvin's trial. He said Chauvin appeared to increase the pressure on Floyds neck with a shimmying motion and in response he had yelled at Chauvin that he was cutting off Floyds blood supply.

Williams was asked during the trial if he grew angrier as the arrest continued, and he agreed that he did. He also didn't disagree when a lawyer for Chauvin said Williams also called Chauvin names multiple times including tough guy and a bum.

Thao stepped toward Williams and touched him as a result of Williams' expressing concern for Floyd's safety, the lawsuit says. Thao was facing the bystanders and admonishing them to stay on the sidewalk, and then moved toward Williams when he appeared to step off a curb, according to trial testimony.
As House Speaker Kevin McCarthy expressed his most positive view yet on debt ceiling talks, a group of hardline conservatives on Thursday urged Republicans to stop negotiating altogether.

McCarthy said that while no deal has been reached, they're in a "much better place" than a week ago.

"We're not there. We haven't agreed to anything yet," McCarthy said during an impromptu gaggle with reporters. "But I see the path that we could come to an agreement. I think we have a structure now."

MORE: Congressional Budget Office warns of US debt default 'in first two weeks of June'

But undercutting McCarthy was The House Freedom Caucus, who said there should "be no further discussion" until the Senate passes the Limit, Save, Grow Act  which included substantial spending cuts in exchange for a one-year debt limit increase.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said the bill would be dead on arrival in the chamber.

"The House Freedom Caucus calls on Speaker McCarthy and Senate Republicans to use every leverage and tool at their disposal to ensure the Limit, Save, Grow Act is signed into law," the group said in a statement.

The House Freedom Caucus, an influential group of GOP hardliners, gave McCarthy a hard time in his ascension to the speakership and forced him to agree to several concessions before handing him the gavel. Their opposition could be problematic down the road if a debt ceiling agreement is reached.

PHOTO: Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy responds to a question from the news media during an impromptu question and answer session in Statuary Hall of the US Capitol, May 18, 2023, in Washington. (Shawn Thew/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

Lead negotiators were on Capitol Hill Thursday for a closed-door meeting on the debt ceiling.

Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget and Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president, have been working with Republican Rep. Garret Graves to find a compromise.

"They are exceptionally smart. They are tough ... it's very professional how this discussion is," McCarthy said of Young and Ricchetti. He later added, "They are working night and day."

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., described the conversations as "productive" as he left meeting room.

"We've got a lot more work to do. Nothing is close to being done," McHenry said. "But we're in the right discussions. The right things are being discussed. And we have the right people in the room to get this to the point where the principles can meet and have some agreement."

In the Senate, Schumer also touted positive momentum as he gave members the greenlight to leave town for recess  but made it clear they would need to return within a 24-hour window to vote on a debt ceiling measure.

"The negotiations are currently making progress," he said in floor remarks. "As Speaker McCarthy has said, he expects the House will vote next week if an agreement is reached, and the Senate would begin consideration after that."

PHOTO: US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) walks to a portrait unveiling for former US House Speaker Paul Ryan at the US Capitol, May 17, 2023, in Washington. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Still, some Democrats in his chamber are also urging an alternative debt ceiling fix.

A group of 11 senators led by independent Sen. Bernie Sanders have signed onto a letter urging Biden to prepare to invoke the 14th Amendment to lift the debt ceiling  an option Biden previously said would likely lead to lengthy litigation.

MORE: All the debt ceiling options, explained, if Biden and McCarthy don't reach a deal

The lawmakers argue the Republican position is untenable, and that Biden shouldn't have to negotiate with McCarthy in order to avoid default.

"Is this the perfect solution, is imposing the 14th Amendment the perfect solution? No it is not," Sanders said during a press conference on Capitol Hill. "But using the 14th Amendment would allow the United States to continue to pay its bills on time and without delay, prevent an economic catastrophe, and prevent devastating cuts to some for the most vulnerable people in the country."

PHOTO: Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a news conference on the debt limit, May 18, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Mariam Zuhaib/AP)

Providing more details on a potential timeline, McCarthy said Thursday in order for Congress to avoid the possible June 1 "X-date," a deal would need to be reached in principle by this weekend. After that, he predicted it would take up to 11 days  four in the House and seven in the Senate  to pass a bill and send it to Biden's desk.

Biden, who is currently abroad meeting with G-7 leaders in Japan, is cutting his trip short to return Sunday for "final negotiations."

MORE: Biden heads to Asia as US faces debt limit crisis

Moments before he left for Asia on Wednesday, Biden said he was "confident" an unprecedented, likely economically catastrophic default.

"All the leaders have agreed we will not default," he said. "Every leader has said that."

ABC News' Trish Turner and Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.

McCarthy praises debt limit negotiators, but GOP hardliners say talks should stop originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
WASHINGTON (AP)  A Navy investigation prompted by a spate of suicides is recommending widespread improvements in housing, food, parking and internet for sailors as well as changes to mental health and other personnel programs. The much-anticipated report lays out a sweeping condemnation of living and working conditions at naval shipyards that had languished for years but were brought to light by the deaths.

We let our people down. Navy leaders said in response to the findings.

The inquiry concluded that several suicides at the Newport News shipyard in Virginia last year were not connected or caused by any one issue. But the deaths underscored pervasive problems and poor living conditions, particularly among young enlisted sailors doing long-term ship maintenance at that base and others around the United States.

The focus on the maintenance mission has degraded our ability to take care of our most junior and at-risk sailors, said the investigating officer, Rear Adm. Bradley Dunham, in his findings released Thursday. This was not one seminal event, decision or individuals action, this was a series of actions and decisions shared by many that resulted in the wholly unnecessary conditions and challenges our sailors face.

Navy leaders said they have taken a number of steps already to improve conditions at Newport News. Additional planned changes are broader and call for similar moves at other shipyards where the same problems exist. Recommended increases in sailor pay, housing benefits, food, health care, job choices and counseling would affect service members across the board.

In a memo accompanying the report, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro and Adm. Mike Gilday, chief of naval operations, concluded that collectively, Navy senior leadership, officer and civilian, let our standards slip  and in doing so we let our people down. They blamed it on organizational drift and a slow erosion of conditions over time that became unacceptable.

___

EDITOR'S NOTE  This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a trained listener, call 988. Service members and veterans can call 988 and then press 1. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

___

The investigation began last year after seven service members assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington died over a 12-month period ending April 2022, including three in one week. The carrier was docked for overhaul at Newport News shipyard.

Of the seven deaths, three were health-related or accidental, but four were suicides, including the three during the week of April 9-15. A Navy investigation released last December found that the suicides were not connected, but that poor quality of life onboard the ship was a contributing factor in one of the deaths.

As that investigation was going on, four more sailors died by suicide between last Oct. 30 and Nov. 26 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center in Norfolk, Virginia, setting off a second examination. All four sailors had been assigned to limited duty jobs there due to injuries, health or other issues. A review concluded that those deaths were unconnected, but cited factors such as family, finance and career issues, alcohol use and access to personally owned firearms.

That review recommended improvements to the system that puts sailors into limited duty slots when they are unable to perform their regular jobs due to issues ranging from injuries and pregnancy to mental heath and other problems. It also called for expanded mental health care and increased staffing, which are similar quality of work and life concerns reflected in the shipyard report. In their memo, Del Toro and Gilday outlined needed changes in limited duty assignments as part of the broader effort to improve sailors' quality of service.

Every sailor unable to perform normally assigned duties deserves full, direct support, said Del Toro and Gilday, adding that sailors must be assigned in the right numbers, to the right commands, with access to the right resources.

They acknowledged that the shipyard and personnel problems will not be corrected with the stroke of a pen, but will require a long-term effort with more money, resources and policy changes.

Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander of the Navys Fleet Forces Command, said improvements to housing, parking and other services at Newport News have been made, and mental health facilities have been set up away from the ship, where crew are more likely to seek help. He said Navy leaders will be seeking more money from Congress; they had no specific totals or timelines for the changes.

Were going to have to do whats right, whatever the costs, Master Chief Petty Officer James Honea added in a call with reporters Thursday.

The Navy said it has requested $258 million in the 2024 budget for housing, parking garages and recreation facilities. Other changes, including pay and additional personnel for counseling and health care, could take years to get congressional approval and funding.

The shipyard report dug deeply into sailors' work and living conditions when they are assigned to a ship that is undergoing major overhaul or maintenance in a Navy shipyard. The George Washington, for example, was brought to Newport News for a four-year overhaul that includes refueling the nuclear reactors and other intensive repair work.

In one case, a young sailor who later died by suicide had been sleeping in his car due to noise on the ship. The investigation noted that he was counseled on the matter, but there was no evidence of any follow-through by leadership. In other cases, sailors complained that lack of nearby parking and the difficult commute were adding hours to their days. Depending on the location, sailors could face a three-hour commute from the time they left home, drove to the parking lot, took the shuttle bus and then walked the final stretch to the ship.

Since 2021, there have been five suicides among George Washington crew members. One death earlier this year is under investigation. Across the Navy, there were 70 suicides last year, compared with 59 in 2021. There have been 25 this year, as of April 30.

One key change, Caudle said, will ensure that young sailors do not spend the bulk of their first enlistment term on a ship docked for maintenance.

We definitely want a sailor who joined the Navy to go to sea, to get that opportunity to see the ocean, get into a port call, experience why that person joined, and not spend that entire tour in a maintenance facility where the ships being repaired, Caudle said.

Del Toro and Gilday said shipyard assignments are essential but should not consume a young sailor's early years. They endorsed recommendations allowing sailors to seek other jobs after one year, and limiting shipyard duty to two years.

Asked if anyone was disciplined as a result of the problems, Caudle said no one person was liable. Instead, Navy leadership was accountable and must ensure no other ships endure the problems the George Washington had.

Honea, the Navys most senior enlisted member, said leaders must be empowered to make changes. I cant write good enough policy to replace bad leadership, he said. But I can place good leadership that will overcome bad policy every single day.
In moments of crisis or concern, whether its at a store or a concert, security guards may be the ones people turn to for help.

The number of security guards in the U.S. is rising at a time when the number of police officers across the country is on the decline, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Private security companies are reporting a boost in business, like Ranger Guard, based in Houston. The company employs 400 security guards in Texas. It also operates in Florida and Nevada.

The majority of the company's business is providing unarmed security, but people like Meir Marcus train those who want to be armed security guards.

"The majority of it is classroom, then you have a hands-on course that covers combative, handcuffing, pepper spray, baton and firearms. And you'll do those things hands-on as part of your training," Marcus says.

Many of the guards he trains will patrol parking lots, construction sites and even schools  like a private one in Houston that caters to the Jewish community, he showed Scripps News.

Texas lawmakers are proposing a bill that would require all schools in the state to have at least one armed security guard on campus.

"A lot of that comes down to response time; you can't beat the response time of someone who is there on site already," Marcus says.

Ranger Guard's founder, David Catran, says the days of people perceiving security guards as just "mall cops," in his words, are changing.

He says demand for private security is growing with concerns about crime in many of the cities they work in.

SEE MORE: How Americans feel about crime can have a big impact on politics

Last year, property crimes increased in many large cities, according to a report by the Council on Criminal Justice.

Crimes like car thefts and break-ins are solved only 13% of the time, according to Pew Research.

Catran says businesses in recent years have become willing to pay him more for someone to stand guard.

"If we go back, I would say five years ago, where police would command, let's say, $45 an hour and a security guard company would come in at $19-$20 an hour, today I can say that we're even," Catran says.

While more businesses may be turning to private security with many police departments stretched thin, one expert says it's important to understand the difference between private security and private police.

Robert McCrie teaches at the John Jay School of Criminal Justice in New York and has studied private security since the 1970s.

"The industry doesn't like that term, 'private police,' because they really aren't police," McCrie says. "Private security officers are there to deter, to detect, to respond, but not to put their lives at risk if something untoward is occurring."

The qualifications to be a security guard vary from state to state. Along with firearms training, in Texas, security guards also need to pass a background check.

"Every state is different, so it's a state-run industry, and so even to the local level sometimes, there are really differences," says Steve Amitay of the National Association of Security Companies.

Amitay travels the country in support of states adding training requirements for security guards.

SEE MORE: From crime victim to advocate, a life of purpose

He says 28 states require specific hours of training for a security guard to carry a gun. Maryland's governor signed a bill that will make his state the 29th in 2024.

In states that do not regulate security guard training at the state level, it's up to cities and counties to put their own qualifications in place. There is no national standard, but he says more places have been putting in training requirements in recent years.

In 2022, a law went into effect in Tennessee that required security guards to go through de-escalation training as well as learn CPR and first aid. The law is called Dallas' Law, named after a man who died after being restrained by security guards in Nashville in 2021.

With more businesses turning to private security, Amitay says it's important people understand the role they play and the responsibilities they have.

"I do worry that people are going to think this private security officer  he's wearing a uniform, he's armed  but he's not a police officer, so tempering that expectation is very important," Amitay says.

Amitay says it's important people remember the job of many security guards is to deter crime, which is why Jared Dubin's company still has security guards patrol the properties it owns and manages.

"It's not going to stop everything but if you see a car that's marked with lights and it's driving around constantly present, that criminal looking to score that quick couple hundred bucks from a catalytic converter is going to think twice before stepping on the property," Dubin says.

Dubin says even with high-tech tools and camera systems on the market that can observe crime, there is power in the human touch, and people like those Marcus trains.
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

Dear Senator:

Californians are deeply grateful for your decades of public service. What stands out is not only your wisdom but your courage  in your opposition to the gun lobby; your struggle to release the torture report; your support for Israel and, at the same time, for Palestinian rights; the way you helped mend the rift in 2008 between supporters of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, paving the way for Obamas victory.

Your courage is sorely needed now as you face one of the deepest challenges of your life: the decision whether to resign from the Senate.

Like you, I am a feminist of a certain age. So I, too, am sensitive to the possibility that demands for your resignation represent sexism. I am here to tell you that they dont, and to explore why it is so difficult to step back when your country and your party need you to do so.

Its indisputably true that white men in the past have stayed in the Senate long past their ability to perform all their duties. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) is the prime example, though by no means the only one.

Why, then, shouldnt you stay the course? The situation in Washington now is different and dangerous, such that refusing to retire threatens your entire legacy.

The Senate is so partisan and so closely divided that your every vote is crucial. There is no cushion, no wiggle room for a lighter schedule with so much at stake for democracy and with your party working with such a slim majority in the upper house. Your health, we trust, is improving, but shingles and its complications can be serious and seriously debilitating.

Let me be blunt: We have been here before. We accepted Ruth Bader Ginsburgs desire to remain on the Supreme Court, her refusal to leave when President Obama asked her to so he could appoint another justice before he left office.

And what happened?

Your Senate colleague, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pushed through three Supreme Court justices nominated by President Trump, and their appointments led to the overruling of Roe vs. Wade. As a result, women have lost control of their lives. Thousands of children will be born to families ill-equipped to undertake the joyful but often arduous challenge of raising a child because Ginsburg wanted to stay on.

And why did RBG refuse to resign?

I suspect it was in large part for reasons similar to those that may be making you reluctant to leave the Senate  reasons I can relate to. Even though Im 20 years younger than you, we both faced an incessant barrage of messages telling us early on to abandon our careers. If you and your boyfriend are so smart, why dont you go home and breed? an interviewer asked when I was a Harvard Law School student in 1979. (I got him banned from campus interviews.)

Those of us who persevered had to tune out that kind of hazing. We persisted, ignoring the chorus around us insisting that we behave in a suitably ladylike fashion.

So when you hear people telling you to give up your career in a situation in which men havent been told the same thing, no wonder you assume this is the same old sexism youve been tuning out for years.

It isnt.

Im not defending Thurmonds selfishness. He should have resigned too. He exercised precisely the kind of white male privilege that condones a cowardly inability to face ones own limitations as a defense of ones dignity. The solution is not to extend that privilege to white women. Its to eliminate it for everyone.

Thurmond needed what you have: the courage to act in the public interest despite a threat to ones identity. I have no doubt that your sense of yourself is deeply intertwined with the dignity of your office and the work you have done supremely well, so much so that contemplating quitting may make you feel like you will have nothing left.

Thats untrue. Were you to resign you would gain two things that are very precious.

The first is to ensure that Senate business  confirming judges who respect our rights, bolstering Democrats slim majority in all votes, fully representing Californias needs and interests  will be conducted without delay or diminishment during the fast-shrinking window before the November 2024 elections.

The second thing you would protect is your legacy of courage. By resigning, you can safeguard your record as a woman who served the public interest in even the most challenging of times and in the most difficult of personal circumstances. Over your five decades in politics, we've come to respect your strength and your pragmatism. We know you won't disappoint us now.

Joan C. Williams is a professor at UC Law, San Francisco; the author of "What Works for Women" and "White Working Class" ; and the founder of Bridging the Diploma Divide.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The owners of a senior home on the Boise Bench have abandoned their efforts to turn the home into multi-family apartments. But the future of the assisted living center is in doubt, as its owners have said they are losing millions operating it.

DiNapoli Capitol Partners, a private-equity firm in Walnut Creek, California, has been trying to win approval to convert Arbor Village, at 1093 S. Hilton St., into apartments for the past year.

At a series of hearings at the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Boise City Council, city leaders have fretted about how the closure would affect 90 or so assisted living residents, many of whom have dementia or other disabilities.

The conversion would have required a conditional use permit, which gives city leaders latitude to impose conditions on a project. In the case of Arbor Village, those conditions became strict: six months of notice required for residents to vacate; a requirement that the owners identify and pay for relocation expenses to get residents into new housing; and a requirement that the company be responsible for any higher difference in rent for the former residents for three years.

Council members also expressed concerns about reports that the home was still accepting new residents while it sought to put the property to different use, so they added another requirement that DiNapoli stop accepting new tenants. Last fall, the council remanded the companys application back down to Planning and Zoning after concluding it had not properly notified residents of the impending changes.

In public discussions, city leaders have said they were weighing their desire to ensure the residents would be accommodated for while also trying to avoid imposing such stringent requirements that could lead the private company to extract itself from the property on short notice.

I worry ... that this will lend more credence for the owner to just simply close this facility and make this vulnerable population even more vulnerable, said Council Member Latonia Haney Keith at a May 2 council meeting, when the conditions were finalized.

At the Boise City Council earlier this month, DiNapoli Vice President Michael Sieman said the homes residents are on month-to-month leases. Instead of paying for moving costs, more expensive rent and giving six months notice to tenants in exchange for redeveloping the home as apartments, the company could give its residents 30 days notice and close the home.

If we dont get some relief, then we start exploring what our other options are in terms of vacating the building, selling it  I think everythings on the table, he said at the meeting.

DiNapoli withdrew its application early this month, according to a letter from the companys attorney, Amanda Schaus. Schaus did not respond to a request for comment.

Planning Director Tim Keane at Tuesdays council meeting said he has had several good conversations with DiNapoli to ensure that the city would be aware of whatever decision the company makes, so it could step in and help the residents in any way it can.

Boise assisted-living residents plead: Save our homes. Dont turn them into apartments

Theyre not making any rash decisions regarding what happens next, Keane said, adding that he does not expect a decision to be imminent.

Other than selling the property, the company could close the home and build single-family or duplex developments without conceding to additional demands from the city, according to an email from the Planning Departments spokesperson, Lindsay Moser.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)  The parents of three transgender children in Florida are trying to get a federal judge to block a new law that bans gender-affirming care for minors, a signature policy of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis as he nears his presidential campaign.

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle on Friday heard arguments from an attorney representing the three families in a case that argues they are being stripped of the right to make medical decisions for their children.

DeSantis has curtailed transgender medical treatments for minors in the state  often describing the issue in terms that are at odds with the nations major medical associations  as he leans into cultural divides that animate the Republican base ahead of his anticipated presidential run.

Florida's law, signed this week by DeSantis, prohibits the prescription of puberty-blocking, hormone and hormone antagonist therapies to treat gender dysphoria in minors. It also bans gender-affirming medical procedures or surgeries for minors.

The law also bans the use of state money for gender-affirming care and places new restrictions on adults seeking treatment. Among those restrictions are a requirement that people meet face to face with a doctor  not a nurse or nurse practitioner  and not through telemedicine. Private organizations that provide such care could be risking any state funding they receive.

Transgender medical treatment for children and teenagers has increasingly been subject to restrictions or outright bans from Republicans across the country.

At least 17 states have now enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, including Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and Oklahoma. Federal judges have blocked enforcement of laws in Alabama and Arkansas, and Oklahoma has agreed to not enforce its ban while opponents seek a temporary court order blocking it. Several other states are considering bills this year to restrict or ban care.

The treatments have been available in the United States for more than a decade and are endorsed by major medical associations as appropriate care for people diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Guidelines say surgery generally should be reserved for those ages 18 and older.

Treatment typically begins with an evaluation for the distress caused when gender identity doesnt match a persons assigned sex. With parental consent, persistent dysphoria can be treated with hormones, but typically not until age 16.

The parents did not appear in court Friday. It is unclear when the judge could issue a ruling on their request to block the law. Attorney Jennifer Levi, said the law is discriminatory against transgender people and hopes the judge moves quickly.

My hope is that what it means for these adolescents is that they will very quickly be able to be moving forward in getting the care that they need, but the judge is going to set the timeframe for that, Levi said.
WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal challenging the end of Title 42, the pandemic-era policy allowing border officials to expel migrants seeking asylum.

The move was widely expected  the court had already stricken the case from its argument calendar  though it served as a coda to the legal wrangling over the policy that has worked its way through courts for months. And it prompted a scathing statement from Justice Neil Gorsuch questioning the use of presidential emergency powers.

"The concentration of power in the hands of so few may be efficient and sometimes popular," Gorsuch wrote. "But it does not tend toward sound government."

The Supreme Court in December initially agreed to hear the challenge from conservative states that wanted to intervene to defend Title 42 after a federal judge ordered the Biden administration to shut it down. But the underlying case appeared to evaporate when the administration lifted the public health emergency that authorized the program. The administration lifted the health emergency that authorized the program last week.

Explainer: What is title 42? What crossings at the Southern border look like now that the policy has ended.

Impact: Title 42 is over; Biden says new approach at southern border will take time to work

Court weighs in as White House still assessing end of Title 42

The Supreme Court's single paragraph order Thursday was unsigned, so it was not clear how each justice voted. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she would have dismissed the case at the Supreme Court without upsetting a lower court's decision against the states who filed the challenge.

The Biden administration said this week that it is still assessing the impact of the end of controversial immigration rules known as Title 42, which made it easier to expel migrants seeking asylum at the southern border. The rules had been in place for three years as part of the federal public health emergency for COVID-19.

Thousands of migrants have been waiting in Mexico for the restrictions to end, and analysts predicted chaos and a surge of migrants looking to cross the border once the policy was lifted. So far, that hasn't happened.

Gorsuch: COVID restrictions were historic 'intrusions'

Gorsuch said he didn't disagree with the court's decision but wanted to air broader concerns about the ability of presidents to use emergency power to bypass Congress. He lamented what he described as potentially "the greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country" during the pandemic.

"I do not discount the states' concerns about what is happening at the border, but 'the current border crisis is not a COVID crisis,'" Gorsuch said.

"Many lessons can be learned from this chapter in our history, and hopefully serious efforts will be made to study it," he wrote. "One lesson might be this: Fear and the desire for safety are powerful forces....We do not need to confront a bayonet, we need only a nudge, before we willingly abandon the nicety of requiring laws to be adopted by our legislative representatives and accept rule by decree."

Immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S., who are stuck in a makeshift camp between border walls between the U.S. and Mexico, reach and look through the border wall as volunteers offer assistance on the other side on May 13, 2023 in San Diego, California.

Contributing: Michael Collins

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court tosses Title 42 suit; Gorsuch slams COVID intrusions
At her final State of the City address before a contested November election, Mayor Lauren McLean touted her work on affordable housing, park protections, and funding for businesses and residents through tax rebates and grants for some workers.

Speaking to a crowded room in downtown Boise on Thursday at JUMP (Jacks Urban Meeting Place), the mayor, who was elected in 2019, also touched on help for the police and fire departments, as well as transportation issues.

We will keep this our oasis, our safe and welcoming Boise for everyone, McLean said.

The mayors speech came as the political season is underway, and she faces a challenger to her political right: Mike Masterson, a former Boise police chief.

McLeans address painted a picture of a city at odds with the state and national political environment, which she said is divisive and looks to undo the very bedrock of our civil society.

Going for comfort on stage, Boise Mayor Lauren McLean delivers her State of the City address Thursday at JUMP.

Affordable housing in Boise

McLean emphasized the citys efforts to partner with developers to build affordable housing. By the end of the year, she said the city will have opened 250 new affordable homes, with a goal of completing 1,100 by the end of 2026.

The city also offered $1.2 million in property tax rebates to low-income homeowners through a program McLean advocated. It passed the Idaho Legislature in 2022.

I am intent on expanding the rebate program to more homeowners in the future, McLean said.

An affordable development is also going up on city-owned land at the corner of State Street and Arthur Lane.

A city-commissioned housing study in 2020 found that Boise needs 2,770 new affordable units every year for the next decade to meet demand in the growing city.

McLean also touted the zoning code rewrite, which aims to allow denser housing in Boises neighborhoods and has met some community opposition. McLean said the new changes, which will go before the City Council in June, would blend gently into existing neighborhoods.

She said cities that have not updated their zoning codes have seen worsening inequality and put up invisible walls.

We will not repeat the mistakes of other cities, McLean said. We will not give up on our neighbors.

Boise Mayor Lauren McLean spoke to a crowded room on Thursday afternoon.

Police, fire department staffing

McLeans speech came the same week that an independent investigator presented findings from a three-month investigation that highlighted problems with the Boise Police Departments hiring, promotions and training going back years. The investigation was prompted by the discovery that a retired captain had espoused white supremacist views.

At the State of the City, McLean said the citys violent and property crime rates are the lowest they have been in more than 20 years.

She also said the city is exploring adding police resources to a location on Willow Lane, near the site of the future Interfaith Sanctuary shelter. That facility, which broke ground in April, received pushback from the Veterans Park Neighborhood Association, which has taken the project to court.

As the fire department rebuilds its downtown station on 16th Street, McLean said her budget for the coming fiscal year includes funding to staff four firefighters on each fire engine instead of three.

Odette Bolano, president and CEO of Saint Alphonsus, listens with her hand on her chin to Boise Mayor Lauren McLean deliver the State of the City address Thursday.

Climate and transportation goals

Boise has a goal of getting to 100% clean electricity by 2035, and McLean said the city transitioned three buildings this year. Over the next year, the city plans to electrify City Hall West and the Boise Depot, the former train station.

McLean expressed confidence talking about public transportation and returning rail service to the Treasure Valley. The city is in the process of applying for federal dollars to reconnect Idaho to Salt Lake City.

I know we will do this, she said.
The ban on TikTok in the US is slowly becoming a possible reality as Montana becomes the first state to implement a total block of the app. Although it still has a lot of red tapes to cut through, it shows how far the ban can be taken, even nationwide.

Montana Governor Signs the Bill

Governor Greg Gianforte has officially signed the bill that bans TikTok in the state, which will take effect by 2024. Impressively, the bill was signed just one month after it was passed. However, it may face delays due to certain legal matters.

The ban may interfere with the First Amendment rights, which protects freedom of speech and the press, which TikTok is mainly used for. Although a timeline has already been set for 2024, it's unclear how early the ban will finally be implemented.

Users are still able to use VPN to use or download the app, and according to Engadget, they will not face the consequences for doing so. The app and the app stores, however, may face daily fines of $10,000 if they violate the newly signed legislation.

A TikTok spokesperson stated that it infringes on the First Amendment Rights of the citizens of Montana as they "unlawfully" ban the short-form video app. They added that they want people from Montana to continue expressing themselves and making a living through the app.

The turnout of the state ban can be a significant precedent for how the restriction of the app will be handled in other states, and even in the US. Should it become successful, then it's more likely that others will follow suit.

The concerns about TikTok being owned by a China-based company are still there, and they won't be going away any time soon as long as the circumstances haven't changed. Many officials still believe that a ban or restriction is the best way to protect US users' data.

One circumstance that can be used is the recent claim of a former executive from TikTok's parent company, who claims that ByteDace does indeed provide the Chinese government access to US data, among other unethical practices.

Read Also: TikTok Ban Bill Loses Support from U.S. Senator Rand Paul

Former Executive Reveals Chinese Government Access

The ex-employee called Yintao Yu claims that he was wrongfully terminated after speaking out of concern about the company's activities. He accused ByteDance of stealing content from other companies in order to profit from them.

Yu also stated in the lawsuit that the company has a special unit of Chinese Communist Party members called "the Committee," which was said to have "supreme access" to company data that includes the information of US users.

Other than that, ByteDance was also allegedly monitoring the apps and influenced the algorithm to control which content would be more prominent. The former executive stated that "the Committee" guided the company to promote "core Communists values through the app.

It was even called a worldwide scheme by Yintao Yu, according to The New York Times, which means that the US may not be the only country affected by the alleged meddling or manipulation of the Chinese government through the app.

Related: Former ByteDance Executive Reveals TikTok Provides Access to Chinese Government
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP)  Smiles, a handshake and what Tunisian President Kais Saied called a historic meeting with the long-ostracized Syrian leader Bashar Assad.

The talks between the two presidents, held before the start on Friday of the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia, buried memories, and perhaps the legacy, of the Arab Spring which started in Tunisia 12 years ago. That series of uprisings gave the North African country its first taste of democracy as protests rolled across the region, including in Syria.

Today, I am absolutely convinced of Tunisian support for Syria, a statement from Saieds office said after what it called the historic meeting.

Tunisia, reborn after its 2011 revolution which toppled autocratic ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was among the fiercest critics of Assad. But Saied has largely trampled the gains of Tunisia's revolution since his 2019 election, notably by assuming near full powers after suspending the legislature in 2021 then dissolving it in his crackdown on corruption and dissent.

Tunisia resumed diplomatic relations with Syria in April, and Assads presence at the Arab League summit sealed Syrias return to the club of Arab nations.

The official TAP news agency showed photos of him and Assad greeting each other with smiles, a warm hand shake and a sit-down for serious talks. Assad was invited to the residence where the Tunisian president was staying in Jeddah, the Saudi Arabian city hosting the summit.

Syria was kicked out of the club of Arab nations in 2011 at the start of its brutal civil war. That was months after Tunisias revolution.

We stand together against the movement of darkness, Assad said, apparently referring to extremist groups that came to dominate the Syrian opposition as his countrys war ground on, and militants groups there drew a large number of recruits from Tunisia.

In an interview with Tunisian television, Assad said that the North African country used to be a platform to propagate the (Islamist) mindset.

After my meeting with Kais Saied, I am now convinced that the Arab people hasnt changed and Tunisia is the same, he was quoted as saying by the Radio Mosaique.

Among numerous figures jailed in Saieds crackdown is Rached Ghannouchi, head of the moderate Islamist party that triumphed in Tunisias first free elections in October 2011. Ghannouchi was also speaker of the parliament that Saied dissolved.
Students demonstrate in support of University of California students who lack legal status and work permits. outside a Board of Regents meeting Wednesday at UCLA. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

The University of California regents, saying they support an equitable education for all, unanimously agreed Thursday to find a pathway to enact a bold policy to hire students who lack legal status and work permits.

The groundbreaking move would reshape the lives of thousands of young people who were brought to the country without papers as children and have lived precariously without legal access to jobs, research positions and career opportunities. California is home to about 1 in 5 of the nations college students without legal authorization.

The public university system has been under pressure to challenge a 1986 federal law barring the hiring of immigrants without legal status by asserting that it does not apply to states. A novel theory developed by UCLA law scholars argues that the federal law does not specifically include states  or UC, as a state entity  in its language establishing employer sanctions and therefore does not apply to them.

The regents voted to form a working group to examine that legal issue, along with practical considerations about how to roll out a policy that is already igniting controversy. But they made clear they are committed to their immigrant students and said the working group would complete its proposed plan by November.

"Absolutely, it is our intention to find a way to allow employment opportunities for all our students, regardless of their immigration status," said Regent John A. Perez, one of the key leaders in the effort to push a new policy forward. But he added the university needs time to work through the complex issue.

"This is too important to get wrong," he said.

UC President Michael V. Drake and Board of Regents Chair Rich Leib also affirmed UC's commitment to equity. "The University is committed to ensuring that all students, regardless of their immigration status, can pursue and attain a world-class UC education. This should include providing enriching student employment opportunities to all students," they said in a joint statement.

Students without legal status, along with their allies who have been collectively pushing for the right to work, said they were thrilled.

"This is a historic win for the immigrant rights movement that UC has agreed that undocumented students should have equal access, that we should have a seat at the table," said Karely Amaya, a UCLA graduate student in public policy who was brought to the United States illegally from Mexico at age 2. She lost out on a campus job that would have given her financial stability and research opportunities because of her status.

The high-stakes decision evolved over the last few days, as advocates for immigrant students listened to concerns of uncertain regents and tried to bring them around. Some questioned whether hiring students without work authorization would imperil their safety and any future ability to legalize their status. Students, however, say it should be their decision to weigh those risks.

UC officials have also weighed the potential for litigation against the university, public backlash and possible legal exposure to faculty and staff who would hire the students. Leib said regents need to make sure they consider the effect on all university members, including campus leaders who will need to implement any new policy.

Critics have warned of ramifications if UC moved forward with hiring those without legal status.

"If officials at the University of California were to knowingly hire aliens not authorized to work under federal law, they would be opening themselves up to both civil and, potentially, criminal penalties," said George Fishman, a senior legal fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall) wrote to Gov. Gavin Newsom this week asserting that federal law preempts state or local immigration actions and implied that UC would lose its federal funding by adopting the "legally unsound and sweeping policy."

Regent Jose Hernandez, the son of Mexican migrant workers who became a NASA engineer and astronaut and now heads an aerospace firm, said he had been prepared to vote to authorize the hiring despite the risks, but supported the working group.

"It's these tough decisions where one has to stand up and do the right thing," he said. "We need to give every student the same educational opportunity. And right now we have a two-class system where our undocumented students aren't allowed to partake in gaining that experience that's going to be useful for their careers."

Students from all nine UC undergraduate campuses participated in a rally Wednesday at UCLA to support students lacking legal status. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

The plight of students without legal status has intensified since 2017, when the Trump administration ended an Obama-era program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals  or DACA  which granted work permits and protection from deportation to certain youths who were brought to the United States as children.

A court ruling subsequently limited the government to granting DACA renewals  not accepting new applications  which has shut out a new generation of recipients. In 2023, an estimated 100,000 immigrant youths graduated from high school without legal status or DACA benefits  including about 27,000 in California.

About 44,000 students without DACA attend California colleges, which means many are prohibited from entering the labor market. About 4,000 of them attend UC.

At a rally Wednesday at UCLA, where the regents met this week, students without legal papers came from all nine UC undergraduate campuses to share their stories.

Yamir Aleman, a UC Irvine fourth-year student studying psychological science, said he was brought to the United States from Mexico at age 10 in 2010  missing the window of eligibility for DACA status by three years.

Aleman managed to land a paid fellowship at the UC Irvine Dream Center, which supports those affected by immigration policy, but he worries and wonders about his future.

Students and supporters demonstrate at UCLA, where the Board of Regents is meeting this week. About 4,000 students in the UC system lack legal status. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

"There's been a lot of insecurity and instability," he said. "Undocumented students give their best, but a lot of times we feel overlooked and overshadowed."

The ban on hiring noncitizens without work authorization stems from the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. The landmark law, signed by President Reagan, granted residency to about 3 million people in the country illegally and outlawed the hiring of workers without papers.

But scholars at the Center for Immigration Law Policy at the UCLA School of Law last year crafted a new legal analysisarguing that the federal law did not apply to states because it doesn't mention them. A memo signed by 29 immigration and constitutional scholars argued that before the 1986 law, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that if Congress wanted to change the balance between federal and state power by regulating an area under traditional state control, it must do so with unmistakably clear language.

Fishman, however, argued that Congress established the employer sanctions to weaken the job magnet luring migrants to the United States without papers and did not feel a need to "state the obvious" that states acting as employers would be subject to the law.

For Student Regent Marlenee Blas Pedral, the issue has been deeply personal. Blas Pedral, who graduated from UC Berkeley law school this week, said she empathizes with students because she was born in Mexico, was brought to the United States without papers and was able to legalize her status  allowing her to take full advantage of the opportunities here.

"This issue is near and dear to my heart," she said. "At the end of the day, I have benefited so much from my UC education, both as an undergraduate and now as a law student, and I want students to be afforded that same opportunity."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a summit of Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Friday before what a senior official said would be a trip to Japan for a meeting with the leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies.

Zelenskyy has in recent months made foreign trips to shore up diplomatic support for Ukraines fight against Russias full-scale invasion almost 15 months ago and solicit more military support.

He earlier this week returned from a three-day trip to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

Ukraine and Russia are squaring up for a major and potentially decisive phase of the war as Kyiv prepares an expected counteroffensive. The conflict has been bogged down in a war of attrition in recent months amid bad weather.

Zelenskyys office said he was invited to attend the Arab League summit in Jeddah, where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before holding other bilateral meetings.

They discussed Zelenskyys peace plan, the security situation in Ukraine and possible investments in the reconstruction of the country, a presidential statement said. Zelenskyy also invited Prince Mohammed to visit Ukraine.

Zelenskyy urged leaders at the summit to resist Moscows influence and consider his peace proposals, which include the withdrawal of the Kremlins forces from occupied areas of Ukraine.

Im more than sure that none of you will agree to surrender a third of your country to the invaders, Zelenskyy said in English.

Another priority is the protection of the Muslim community of Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. Crimea was the first to suffer from the Russian occupation, and most of those who suffer repression in occupied Crimea are Muslims.

Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev accompanied Zelenskyy on the visit.

Zelenskyy will later travel to a Group of Seven summit in Japan, where leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies aim to step up punishment on Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council.

However, Danilovs office later posted a statement backtracking on his announcement and saying Zelenskyy would appear at the G-7 summit via video. Zelenskyys movements are kept secret for security reasons.

Meanwhile, Russian forces kept up their long-range bombardment of Ukrainian targets while drones reportedly damaged train lines behind their front line.

About 130 meters (430 feet) of railway track were damaged and trains were halted for hours after an explosion derailed eight cars of a freight train carrying grain in Russia-occupied Crimea, Russian state media reported Friday.

Thursdays blast prompted renewed suspicions about possible Ukrainian saboteur activity behind Russian lines.

Train traffic was also halted in northern Crimea on Thursday night after a drone hit a railway track near the town of Dzhankoi, Russias Baza Telegram channel reported.

Sergei Aksyonov, the Kremlin-appointed head of Crimea, said in a separate post that four Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight in the peninsulas north. Aksyonov claimed there was no damage or casualties.

Russia overnight fired cruise missiles, drones and artillery at targets across Ukraine, killing two civilians, officials said Friday.

The attacks included an air assault on Kyiv for the second straight day and the 10th time in three weeks. The Kremlins forces also took aim at central, eastern and southern Ukraine, and the western Lviv region near the border with Poland.

Russia launched 22 Iranian-made Shahed drones and six Kalibr cruise missiles during the night, the Ukrainian Air Force said. It said air defenses downed 16 drones and three missiles.

The Russian shelling killed two civilians and wounded nine others in Ukraines eastern Donetsk region, said its governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko.

The missile attacks that have intensified recently aim to disrupt Ukraines plans and preparations for active military operations during the spring-summer campaign, according to a statement from Ukraines intelligence agency, published on Telegram.

The targets are Ukraines military control points and barracks, supply routes and the places where ammunition, equipment, fuel are stored, it said.

On Friday, the United Nations said operations to ship Ukrainian grain were partially restarting, two days after Russia gave a green light to extend the deal for two months. The U.N. also urged a swift return to the previous tempo of ship arrivals and departures from all three Black Sea ports and inspections of their cargo.

U.N. associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay said the Joint Coordination Center, which includes representatives from the four parties involved in the deal  Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations -- approved the registration Friday of six new vessels to participate in the grain shipments. Nine applications to participate remain pending, she said.

No ships are currently loading at any of the three ports, Tremblay said, but inspection teams from the center checked and cleared three new vessels Friday to proceed to the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk.

___

Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

___

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
UNITED NATIONS (AP)  The U.N. envoy charged with trying to protect children caught in conflicts is in Moscow, where she is reported to be meeting Russias childrens rights commissioner, who is charged with war crimes for deporting children from Ukraine.

Human Rights Watch strongly criticized Virginia Gambas reported meeting with Maria Lvova-Belova, saying the Russian commissioner should be behind bars and not meeting with senior U.N. representatives.

Its hard to imagine any circumstance that would justify Gamba meeting with a suspected war criminal, when there are clearly other officials she could meet with instead, Balkees Jarrah, associate director of the groups International Justice Program, said.

U.N. associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay did not confirm that Gamba was meeting with Lvova-Belova while in Moscow. Pressed on whether there was anyone else Gamba could meet with, Tremblay replied: Her role is really to do everything she can to improve the protection of children impacted by armed conflict and preventing violations that could be committed against them.

The spokesperson also would not say whether Gamba was discussing the return of Ukrainian children, telling reporters that details will be included in her report to the U.N. Security Council, which is expected in early July. Gamba was in Ukraine last week to meet with officials there before traveling to Moscow.

In March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Lvova-Belova and Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing them of abducting children from Ukraine.

The deportation of Ukrainian children following Russias Feb. 24, 2022, invasion is an emotional issue not only for the families but for millions of Ukrainians and their global supporters.

An Associated Press investigation published in October on Lvova-Belova's involvement in the abduction of Ukrainian children found that an open effort to put Ukrainian children up for adoption in Russia was well under way.

The exact number of Ukrainian children taken to Russia has been difficult to determine. A statement posted on Twitter by Ukraines U.N. ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, on April 5 said more than 19,500 children had been seized from their families or orphanages and forcibly deported.

In April, Lvova-Belova addressed an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council by video link. Western ambassadors boycotted the meeting, which had been called by Russia.

She told the council that the children were taken for their safety and Moscow was coordinating with international organizations to return them to their families. She said Russia had taken in more than 5 million Ukrainians, including 700,000 children  all with parents, relatives or legal guardians except for 2,000 from orphanages in Ukraines eastern Donbas, where fighting has been intense.

By early April, she said, about 1,300 children had been returned to their orphanages, 400 were sent to Russian orphanages, and 358 were placed in foster homes. She insisted there had been no adoptions.

After visiting Ukraine, Gamba commended the Kyiv government for measures it has taken to protect children, who she said are disproportionately affected by the war.

Children have been killed or maimed, their schools and hospitals have been attacked and the unbearable levels of violence they are experiencing daily is leaving deep scars that will last for a lifetime," she said in a statement on May 14.
By Mike Stone and Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden told G7 leaders on Friday that Washington supports joint allied training programs for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, senior U.S. officials said, a significant endorsement as Kyiv seeks to boost its air power against Russia.

Training on the U.S.-made jets will take place in Europe and will require months to complete, one of the officials said. U.S. officials have estimated the most expeditious time needed for training and delivery of F-16s at 18 months.

"As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them," the official said.

Although the official did not say which countries would participate, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the UK would work with the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark "to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs."

Denmark's defense ministry said it was ready to support the training.

The U.S. hopes to begin the training, which will be conducted on fourth-generation fighters including F-16s, in the coming weeks, the official added.

Ukraine is seeking the jets, made by Lockheed Martin, as it presses on with its biggest advance for months against invading Russian troops before a planned counteroffensive.

Ukraine, which does not possess any Western-designed jets, says the F-16s are far more effective than the Soviet-era fighters it still uses. Poland and Slovakia have handed over 27 MiG-29s to Ukraine.

Western governments have been wary of leaving their own countries undefended by giving away too much equipment. They have also avoided sending anything that could strike deep into Russian territory and give Moscow a reason to attack.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy received pledges this week from Britain and the Netherlands to help build a "jets coalition", although leaders from both countries stopped short of saying they will send planes.

On Friday, Zelenskiy welcomed the news. "This will greatly enhance our army in the sky. I count on discussing the practical implementation of this decision at the #G7 summit in Hiroshima," he said on Twitter.

(Additional reporting by Rami Ayyub, Phil Stewart, Mike Holden in London and David Ljunggren; editing by Doina Chiacu, Bill Berkrot and Grant McCool)
Migrants walk along U.S.-Mexico border fences near Somerton, Ariz., last week to turn themselves over to the U.S Border Patrol and request asylum before the change in immigration policy. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Fewer migrants are crossing the southern border of the U.S., and the doomsday scenarios that many politicians feared would follow the expiration of the pandemic-era restrictions known as Title 42 have not materialized.

The reasons for the decline in border crossings are still unclear  and the trend still in its infancy  but interviews with migrants offer some possible explanations.

Many U.S.-bound asylum seekers, aware of the risks of entering the country after the end of Title 42  including the threats of deportation, a five-year ban on reentering and even criminal prosecution  are playing a waiting game in Mexican border cities.

Cleven Ismael Peraza, a 26-year-old Venezuelan, is among those who hope to enter the U.S. One of more than 3,000 migrants camped out along the Rio Grande in Matamoros, Mexico, he said he had been turned back after crossing while Title 42 was in place.

We hear a lot of rumors  that theres an endless line to get in, that some people are getting in, some people are being deported. We really dont know exactly what is going on. Right now, seems best to wait, he said Tuesday.

Migrants know the rules are different now, and [that U.S. officials] can reject our applications for political asylum, Peraza added.

He said he would continue to try using the problematic CBP One mobile application in hope of scoring an appointment to request asylum at a port of entry. The U.S. government has told migrants to get appointments through the app as opposed to crossing without authorization.

We are scared. We had a dream to come here and start a new life. Now we are stuck here, Peraza said.

The Biden administration revealed Wednesday that the downturn in border encounters had continued early this week.

On Monday and Tuesday, border agents encountered fewer than 4,000 people at the southern border each day, according to Blas Nunez-Neto, a lead Department of Homeland Security official. Since last Friday, the first full day without Title 42, agents have encountered an average of 4,400 migrants per day, he said.

Thats a far cry from the more than 10,000 crossings per day early last week, and from the Homeland Security Departments projections of 12,000 to 14,000 daily encounters after the end of Title 42.

Nunez-Neto noted that governments in nearby countries, including Mexico and Guatemala, had deployed law enforcement and military personnel to police their southern borders.

He said U.S. officials continue to see encouraging signs that the measures we have put in place are working, but stressed that it was too soon to definitively predict what would happen next.

Migration experts and government officials who spoke with The Times agreed that it was too early to make any firm conclusions, but suggested several possible explanations for the decline.

I think its a combination of two things. One, migrants seem to have gotten the message that policies post-Title 42 would be tougher than during Title 42, so rushed in before Thursday night, said Julia Gelatt, a senior analyst at the Migration Policy Institute. Second, there is a lot of confusion about what the policies are, and people may be waiting to see how other migrants fare before attempting their crossings.

The Biden administration has worked hard to broadcast the warning that crossing the border without authorization can lead to serious consequences. A new administration policy restricts asylum access for those who cross into the U.S. without applying for protection on their way to the border.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas and other Biden administration officials have said repeatedly that the government will punish those who cross the U.S.-Mexico border without permission.

Do not believe the lies of smugglers, Mayorkas said last week in a statement directed at migrants. The border is not open. People who do not use available lawful pathways to enter the U.S. now face tougher consequences, including a minimum five-year ban on re-entry and potential criminal prosecution.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Twitter account shared photos of migrants being placed on a plane and buses.

This weekend, Venezuelan migrants were transported by Mexican authorities to interior parts of Mexico from Reynosa. There are long-term consequences to entering the US w/out authorization under Title 8, including removal from the US, including bars to future immigration benefits, the tweet read.

Nunez-Neto told reporters Wednesday that Venezuelan, Cuban and Nicaraguan migrants were being turned back to Mexico.

Among the changes since Title 42 expired, border officials have seen roughly 1,000 migrants from Mexico, 510 from Colombia and 470 from Guatemala try to cross each day. Thats compared with roughly 2,400 migrants a day from Venezuela, 1,900 from Mexico and 1,400 from Colombia who had attempted crossings in the days before the end of Title 42.

Caitlyn Yates, a fellow at the Strauss Center for International Security and Law who has been living in Tijuana for the last few months, said that her conversations with migrants in the area revealed that many were waiting in Mexico and trying to better understand the future of U.S. border policy.

Yates said that some migrants are waiting to see whether they will get a slot using the CBP One app. She added that many, especially those from the Western Hemisphere, have heard the messaging about deportations and restrictions on asylum, along with the potential for a five-year ban on reentry.

She said that the deterrence messaging had worked in the short term, but that she didnt know whether that would last. Migrants ability to secure appointments on the app will also affect whether they decide to cross, she added.

The administration has also advertised new legal avenues for migrants to enter the U.S. Those programs



include one in which migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti can apply to fly into the



U.S. if they have a financial sponsor and can pass background checks.

The future of the administrations policies, however, remains in limbo. The program allowing migrants to apply for legal entry is being challenged in a federal court in Texas. And the American Civil Liberties Union recently sued the Biden administration over its asylum restrictions, saying they were unlawful and resembled Trump-era policies.

Inside the government, officials have expressed some relief about the recent numbers, said one Homeland Security official, speaking to The Times on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

There is certainly the view that our messaging is working, the official said.

The deterrence message is working, so we need to keep up the pressure to demonstrate that there are people being removed through this process, the official said of the thinking in the department. People are worried that if there arent demonstrated consequences, the numbers will go back up.

The official was also cautious about whether the numbers would hold, and said it was too early to tell what the long-term effects of the policies would be.

U.S. government warnings have caused some asylum seekers to take a guarded approach.

By the morning after Title 42 expired, Alexandre Jean Verneau had slept for the four previous nights along the border across from El Paso, planning to give himself up to U.S. border officials.

But he had decided not to turn himself in with hundreds of other migrants who had also been waiting for days on the strip of no-mans land on U.S. territory along the Rio Grande. The 26-year-old Haitian feared they were being allowed to enter as a trick and that he could end up being deported back to Haiti, he said.

Since then, Verneau has found work in construction in Ciudad Juarez, on the Mexican side of the border. He says he plans to wait there until he can secure an appointment via the CBP One app. Like so many others, he fears that entering illegally now could lead to deportation and other legal troubles.

Ive been trying and trying, day and night, but havent been able to upload the application, he said Tuesday. I dont have a date for an appointment yet. I dont know when Ill have one.... But I want to get out of here now. I want to go to the United States.

Verneau is renting a room in a house in Ciudad Juarez.

For now, he plans to remain in Juarez until he can get an appointment.

Aleaziz reported from Healdsburg, Calif., and McDonnell from Mexico City. Special correspondents Gabriela Minjares in Ciudad Juarez and Juan Jose Ramirez in Matamoros contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Marysville, CA (95901)

Today

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 56F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 56F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
The world of tech news has been riddled with news about AI in the last several months, so it's only normal that people already have opinions and thoughts about them. According to a poll, 61% of respondents are more worried about the advancement of AI than excited.

Americans Are Worried

A Reuters/Ipsos poll was published showing two-thirds of its 4,415 respondents were wary about the potentially harmful effects of the emergence of AI. As for those who believe that AI can be a threat to civilization, 61% think that there is a potential risk.

Since the advancement of AI, organizations and companies alike are integrating AI into their business, which justifies the concern coming from people seeing as it now has a wide range of sectors that can be compromised such as government, medicine, education, and more.

More and more companies are joining in on the AI race, and tech giants are pushing it further than we could have imagined. Companies such as Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI have been working hard to develop AI to serve us in a way that hasn't before.

Despite that, even executives and experts in the field believe that there is a potential disaster in the development of AI. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman himself believes that the technology will need to be regulated to avoid possible incidents of misuse, as mentioned in Ars Technica.

Named the godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton also has doubts concerning the advancement of AI. His research has been instrumental to the progress that AI has achieved today, yet he believes that there are dangers to the technology, which may even be bigger than climate change.

Lawmakers are also expressing their concerns with the matter, with Senator Cory Booker saying that there is "no way to put this genie in the bottle." Everyone wants to join in on the hype, especially since the business world is flocking around it.

On one hand, there have been innovations that civilizations have been afraid of because they do not understand, yet they turned out to be beneficial. On the other, some discoveries that people believed would help has done more harm than good.

There is no way to know for sure, and the best developers and anyone involved in AI work can do, is process with caution. Ai has been moving at full speed and it would take a very big obstacle to stop it.

Read Also: 5 Movies That Warn Us About the Dangers of AI

Troubles to be Wary Of

We can't exactly say that the concerns are unfounded. After all, we are already seeing signs of AI being exploited based on certain incidents. We have already seen what generative AI is capable of, and that's only a glimpse compared to powerful versions that can be developed.

We first saw the possible way to exploit AI when students started using ChatGPT to create their homework for them. Although tools to detect such instances have been created, it may not be enough, and then there's the trouble of AI replacing human jobs.

White-collar jobs could soon be replaced by technology that can be programmed to process data, all without worrying about factors like human error. AI-generated images or sounds can be used to spread misinformation, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Related: President Biden Thinks AI 'Could Be' Dangerous, Tells Tech Companies to Ensure Their Products' Safety
YEREVAN, MAY 19, ARMENPRESS. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will attend the Group of Seven (G7) Hiroshima summit this weekend, Reuters reported citing a Ukrainian security official.

Zelenskiy will attend the gathering on Sunday, the third and final day, two officials who declined to be identified told Reuters.

"Very important things will be decided there and it is therefore the presence of our president that is absolutely essential in order to defend our interests," Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, told state television.

New sanctions targeting Russia are expected to be announced by G7 leaders, according to Reuters.

Earlier on Friday the G7 leaders laid wreaths in Hiroshima, a city that, along with Nagasaki, was destroyed by a U.S. nuclear attack 78 years ago that ended WWII.

Besides announcing new Russia sanctions, the G7 leaders are also expected to debate strategy on more than year-long conflict that shows no signs of easing.

Britain will announce a ban on Russian diamonds and imports of metals from Russia including copper, aluminium and nickel in support for Ukraine, it said in a statement.

Britain will also target an additional 86 people and companies from Putin's military industrial complex, in addition to those involved in the energy, metals and shipping industries, it said.

Europe will also restrict sales of Russian diamonds.

The United States is set to add 70 entities to its export blacklist, and to expand its sanctions authority to 300 entities as well as new sectors of the Russian economy, a senior U.S. administration official said.
YEREVAN, MAY 19, ARMENPRESS. Member of Parliament Vigen Khachatryan from the ruling Civil Contract Party has said that Russias behavior in relation to the closure of the Lachin Corridor and Azerbaijans aggression is incomprehensible when Russia has obligations.

Speaking at a press conference, the lawmaker said that the Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia, the shootings, are explicit provocations and a blatant attempt to derail all agreements. Khachatryan said that Azerbaijan doesnt intend to resolve the issues in a civilized manner.

When asked on the Brussels talks and expectations from the West, he said: Unlike the West, in case of Moscow we have a mediator who has assumed certain obligations. Thus, I have much more expectations from the mediator because it has obligations, thus I am entitled to also demand to respect the agreements. When the so-called eco-activists had blocked the road into Artsakh, Lavrov said its a matter of days for the corridor to be opened. I thought he has grounds to say so. But instead a checkpoint was installed. The West hasnt assumed obligations, it is providing a platform for dialogue. Russias behavior is incomprehensible for me, because our people and our country expect a lot more from Russia.

He said that the negotiations in Moscow will show whether or not Russia would display decisiveness.

Speaking about the CSTO, Khachatryan noted that the Armenian government has clearly stated that Russia must announce that Azerbaijan resorted to aggression and call for Azeri withdrawal from Armenian territories before speaking about CSTO aid. We demand a political assessment. When Russia is silent in this regard, I get worried that their presence could become the reason for new provocations. We have numerous examples when Russian peacekeeping forces pulled back and the Azerbaijanis appeared immediately on the spot.
YEREVAN, MAY 19, ARMENPRESS. In a number of points of the peace treaty, it was possible to bring the views of Armenia and Azerbaijan closer to a common vision, ARMENPRESS reports, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, announced after a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov.

"In a number of points of the peace treaty, which were discussed today, it was possible to bring the views of both sides closer to the common vision. Now the bilateral meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan has started, after which they will inform us about the results they have achieved.

Our task was to provide a platform for a bilateral meeting. We presented our approaches. We hope that this event will allow the ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia to achieve practical results. We will continue to contribute to the progress in order to fully implement all the provisions of all tripartite statements, which are the basis for efforts aimed at the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations," Lavrov said.
MCC Theater seeks a pro-active, experienced Director of Finance to lead organizational initiatives that will ensure sustainable, compliant financial operations and long-range planning/analysis. The new Director will have a proven track-record in financial forecasting and accounting and play a key role in charting the future course of MCCs operating plans.

Founded in 1986 as Manhattan Class Company, MCC began as a collective of young actors, writers, and directors determined to steer their own artistic development and redefine the NYC theater scene with the kind of stories they wanted to see on the stage. That work continues today in Hells Kitchen at The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space, a hotbed of creativity where our artists, students, and staff have the freedom to take artistic risks all under one roof.

Who is MCC Theater?

MCC Theater is an award-winning off-Broadway theater company. Our mission is to provoke conversations that have never happened and otherwise never would. We are dedicated to producing work that pushes audiences, artists, and students alike to confront and consider preconceived notions about contemporary social issues. We fulfill our mission across four program areas: annual productions of new plays and musicals; artistic development; deep and enriching public engagement programs; and in-school and after-school educational programs that foster in high school students the desire to be heard and the courage to speak out.

With the opening of the $20 million state-of-the-art Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space on West 52nd Street in January 2019, MCC brought all programming and administrative operations under one roof for the first time in its history. The space features two state-of-the-art theaters, the Newman Mills Theater (245 seats) and the Susan & Ronald Frankel Theater (100+ seats, flexible configuration), two studios and ample public space. Notable recent productions include Wolf Play, soft, The Wrong Man, BLKS, School Girls; or The African Mean Girls Play, The Legend of Georgia McBride, Hand to God, Punk Rock, and many others over its 30+ years.

Who is in leadership?

Bernie Telsey (he/him/his) is one of the Artistic Directors at MCC theater and co-founded the organization along with Bob LuPone as a collective of actors, writers, and directors eager to develop their craft in a highly collaborative manner shortly after graduating from New York University with a degree in Theater Administration and Acting. In 1986 the company, then called Manhattan Class Company, received its not-for-profit status and began producing the plays it was developing. During this time, Telsey began working at Simon & Kumin Casting as an assistant and then as a casting director at Risa Bramon & Billy Hopkins Casting. He opened his own award-winning casting office, The Telsey Office, in 1988. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Casting Society of America as Vice-President, and the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Will Cantler (he/him/his) is one of the Artistic Directors at MCC Theater. He studied at Washington & Lee University before a precipitous move to New York. He joined MCC Theater in 1984 and was instrumental in the companys evolution into a non-profit producing organization in 1986 with MCCs first New York production, Beirut by Alan Bowne. He directed early productions for MCC including Bownes Sharon and Billy starring Marisa Tomei, and Just Horrible by Nicholas Kazan. He joined Bernie Telsey and Bob LuPone as a Co-Artistic Director after a number of years as Associate AD. He is also an award-winning casting director and partner in The Telsey Office, focusing on plays.

Blake West (he/him/his) has been Executive Director of MCC Theater since 2007, after serving for one year as Director of Development. During his tenure he has led the organization through a period of expansion that included a $45 million capital campaign and the building of MCCs multi-theater complex, The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space, which opened in 2019. Prior to MCC he was Director of Planning and Projects at Manhattan Theatre Club during their expansion to Broadway. He was previously Account Executive at The Karpel Group, where he worked on marketing campaigns for numerous film, television and theater projects, including the original production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, De La Guarda, The Laramie Project, and others. He started his career as a public relations writer and editor.

What will you do?

The Director of Finance will lead the long-range planning and coordinate the day-to-day financial operations of MCC. This position works closely with Executive and Artistic Directors and several board committees to develop strategic financial plans for the institution.

The Director of Finance is a member of MCCs senior leadership team, reports directly to the Executive Director, and works closely with MCCs two Artistic Directors, and will foster a collaborative relationship with the General Manager and other department leaders. The Finance Department includes a full-time Finance & Business Manager, as well as a full-time Finance Assistant. The Director collaborates closely with outside vendors and consultants including auditors, banking institutions, insurance brokers, employee benefits brokers, and 403b plan administrator.

Areas of Accountability

Overview

 Establishes long-range priorities for operations and capital expenditures, including developing multi-year planning operating budgets and cash flows modeling on 23-year horizons.

Finance

Directly manages and coordinates the activities of the finance department, ensuring that U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) are followed in keeping MCCs financial records.

Drives and reports revenue and disbursement cycles; projects and manages cash flow and makes determinations regarding any variances and works with the Executive Director and others to take appropriate steps to get back on track and/or plan. Works with Director of Development and Director of Marketing to ensure earned and contributed income goals are met Coordinates financial communications across the institution

Creates annual budgets, cash flow reports and projections; establishes and evaluates key performance metrics and trends.

Establishes and maintains financial objectives and policies as well as written procedures and internal controls.

Coordinates financial inputs for grant applications and reporting.

Manages team of two; Finance and Business Manager and Finance Assistant.

HR

 Manages the administration of payroll and benefits.

 Steward departmental management of renewals of institutional and employee health insurance policies; direct related audits, such as workmans comp audit

 Steward departmental management of renewals of institutional and employee health insurance policies; direct related audits, such as workmans comp audit Act as a complaint handler for the organization pursuant to the Anti-Discrimination & Harassment policy

With General Manager and Executive Director, ensuring organization remains compliant with federal, state, and local laws pertaining to payroll, paid time off, leave, and other personnel matters

With outside consultants, review and maintain company HR policies; ensure Employee handbook and onboarding materials remain up to date.

Compliance

Develops on-going policies and procedures on budgeting and drives initiatives to improve operational efficiency, improve control and reduce risk.

Directs month-end, quarter-end and year-end closings of the general ledger; directs year-end audit and 990 preparations.



Board

Liaison to the Finance, Audit, Investment and HR & Equity committees.

Prepares regular financial reports on scheduled period basis.

Reports on quarterly financials at board meetings in conjunction with the Executive Director and Board Treasurer.

Who are we looking for?

The ideal candidate will be a confident, strategic, and creative thinker with experience in financial forecasting, accounting, and financial compliance management. This should include at least 2 years of experience managing direct-reports, and/or consultants, and experience with supporting or managing a nonprofit audit. This individual will bring an understanding of not-for-profit structure, facility with financial planning and possess strong leadership skills and capability. Excellent written and verbal communication skills are required, as well as strong organizational skills and the ability to multitask effectively.

The new Director of Finance will bring the ambition and proven track-record of financial forecasting, accounting, and dedication to support long-range institutional strategic goal setting and planning.

MCCs Core Values are central to the way this company operates, so a commitment to uphold these values in all practices and use them as the lens through which we view our work is a must.

How much are we paying and what are the perks?

COMPENSATION: This is a full-time, exempt position. Salary is commensurate with experience ranging $90,000-$100,000/yr

BENEFITS: Medical, dental and vision benefits, opt-in 403(b), generous paid time off, and other benefits.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: This is an in-person position. Work-from-home hours are available. The facilities at MCC Theater are fully accessible and ADA compliant with self-opening entrance doors, elevators, ramps, and ADA-compliant restrooms on both floors. Proof of vaccination and boosting against COVID-19 required.

Start Date

July 2023

How do I apply?

Email jobs@mcctheater.org to submit your application. Application deadline is June 12, 2023.

We know there are great candidates that may not have all of the qualifications listed above but possess intuitive knowledge or other fully transferable skills. If thats you, dont hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself.

MCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. Women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.

MORE
Short-form video platforms like YouTube Shorts, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok keep content short, simple, and easily consumable for audiences.

Thanks to this, content creators need to get creative to get their posts to become viral, along with attracting audiences and keeping them glued to their content.

While there are certainly worse ways to do it, there are ways to create viral content and attract audiences without putting oneself in danger, like the viral Wes Anderson trend.

What Is The Wes Anderson Trend?

The Wes Andersen trend is a relatively young short-form video format trending in short-form video platforms, particularly TikTok. The format, according to The Conversation, somewhat parodies the film director's style of directing productions of quick-cutting shots moving between carefully organized close-ups of objects related to the video's subject.

These shots are similar to the ones Anderson employed for a number of his films, such as "The French Dispatch," "The Budapest Hotel," and "Moonrise Kingdom."

Unlike many trends, the Wes Anderson trend began with a content creator by the name of Ava Williams, who posted a video of her train journey from Connecticut to New York in the film director's style.

According to Rolling Stone's conversation with Williams, her 24-second-long video included nine shots of the train interior and closeups of her shoes, her notebook, and her ticket. It has a score from Alexandre Desplat's "Obituary," a soundtrack featured in "The French Dispatch."

Josh Rimmey, a self-proclaimed "nerd" for anything Anderson, described Williams' video as "like looking at a painting and feeling sucked into it."

Read More: The Best Baking Tools and Equipment for World Baking Day

He also mentioned that Anderson's format and signature aesthetic is easy enough to replicate on smartphones and editing apps, making it prime real estate for content creators trying something new for their posts.

Replicating The Wes Anderson Format

While many Wes Anderson fans could easily replicate the film director's shots and aesthetic, those who haven't watched his films would have little to no idea how to do so.

Thankfully, you don't have to watch many of his films to get at least an idea of how to do it if pressed for time. All you have to do is mind some key factors:

Camera

Framing

Color

Music

Text

According to Lifestyle Asia and Bustle's interviews with various content creators, those looking to replicate Anderson's moves should keep in mind what's called "flat space camera moves" - the camera can pan, tilt, and zoom into something, but MUST remain stationary, preferably on a tripod. Meanwhile, the framing must be symmetric, meaning everything must be equally distributed in the video's framing for it to replicate Anderson's style.

As for color, look for as many pastels as possible - Anderson loves pastel colors and uses a limited color palette. Thankfully, color is an easy aspect to edit into post-recording, though you may need the technical know-how to do so.

Last but not least, the music. While "Obituary" is a non-negotiable when it comes to background music, you may want to experiment with other Anderson-adjacent or similar soundtracks to make your video unique from others trying to do the same.

Related Article: Montana's Bill for TikTok Ban Signed by State Governor
by Melani Manel Perera

Fourteen years after the end of the conflict between the army and the Tamil militias in the North and East regions, tens of thousands of women who have lost husbands, fathers and brothers are still struggling to survive in a context aggravated by the economic crisis. "We have only one dream: help to educate our children".

Jaffna (Asia News) - It has been 14 years since the end of the three-decade war in Sri Lanka. One group of people celebrated the 'victory', another who went through the most unpleasant experiences of the war remembers 'their tears' after losing everything. Tamil and Sinhalese women in the North and East, pushed to become 'breadwinners' by the war, are still trapped in trauma, poverty, social violence, cultural and religious prejudice and psychological tensions.

According to UN estimates, between 40,000 and 70,000 civilians in the north and east of Sri Lanka died in the last months of the conflict, which was declared over on 19 May 2009. Another 150,000 had been killed in 30 years of fighting between the government army and separatists. Some 65,000 men and women have joined the ranks of the 'missing', while tens of thousands of other families have been dragged away from their traditional lands and labelled 'displaced'.

Some are still living in camps set up on the Jaffna peninsula, in frustration and unbearable despair. According to Nagamuttu Inbanayagam, coordinator of the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO) in Jaffna district, there were 48 IDP camps in the north alone, and currently there are still nine in Jaffna alone. According to official data updated to 2020, there are 67,000 households headed by women in the North and 127,000 in the East.

In a conversation with 50 of these women - Tamil, Sinhalese and Muslim, who live in Mannar, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Trincomalee and Kalmunai - they told us that they receive monthly aid from the government, but the amount has remained the same as in the past and today, with the rise in prices, it is no longer enough to live on. Apart from a 'food parcel' provided during the pandemic and other disasters, there has been no other help or encouragement from the government.

Although they received a cow, a goat and some chickens for sustenance, only a few managed to earn a living. Some explained that these livelihoods failed because the place where they were living was not adequate and at the same time they also had to take care of several young children.

Only the financial assistance provided by non-governmental organisations, churches or related institutions, and which is still provided from time to time, barely helped them to survive, but without any kind of adequate care programme for their children.

Some of these women who became breadwinners because their husbands, fathers or brothers were kidnapped or killed in the war are now elderly. Others have died. Some have become disabled and mentally ill, others suffer from mental and physical stress that makes them weaker than their age. "We do not know when we will get relief from this oppression that has been imposed on us," they recount.

Arumanayagam Carmalittra - 53 years old, mother of five - lives in Mannar. Carmalittra's husband, who worked as a teacher, due to the impossibility of maintaining contact with the outside world during the war and the failure of health services, contracted a fever and died in three days at the age of 45 without being able to seek medical help.

At the time, she was responsible for raising two girls and three boys between the ages of 6 and 14. She was not entitled to any government support because her husband had only been a teacher for 10 years.

In 2008, one of Carmelittra's children disappeared while travelling from Paisalai to Mulankavil to visit her grandmother and relatives. Complaints were filed with the police and the Human Rights Commission, but no information has been received to date.

M. Najima - 49 years old - lives in Kalmunai, Eastern Province. Her father, who had gone to sell goats, disappeared during fierce fighting between the LTTE and the Indian army. The mother became mentally ill, unable to raise the children of the family.

Najima had to bear the burden of the family and in time, after her mother's death, she was forced to marry a man 30 years older than her by whom she had a daughter. Her elderly husband also died recently and she survives on a meagre income sewing clothes. "Rather than occasional assistance,' she says, 'we need a systematic programme for the education of our children.

Organisations working to support these women report that for Muslim women who have become widowed housewives, the oppression is even harsher: the poverty and injustices they face are not even openly discussed.

Anne Rita Vincent de Paul - a 49-year-old mother of six from the village of Valaiippadu - also lost her husband to a grenade attack on the bunker where they lived in 2009. She herself was wounded in the chest by gunshots while she and her children were seeking protection.

They lived in the Ananda Coomaraswamy camp before returning to their village of Valaipadu. With the help of Caritas Hudec of the Jaffna diocese, she rebuilt her house and managed to get back on her feet with a business selling dried fish. But today the challenge is to support her four children who are studying in the midst of the current economic crisis. Education for them today remains her only dream.
Thousands of nurses walk out to protest the presidents decision to veto a bill approved by South Koreas opposition-controlled National Assembly. Doctors are against the new legislation, claiming that it will cause chaos. For nurses, such concerns are unfounded, insisting that the country needs more care centres to cope with a rapidly aging population.

Seoul (AsiaNews)  Tens of thousands of South Korean nurses went on strike today after President Yoon Suk-Yeol's on Tuesday vetoed a bill designed to improve their pay and working conditions but opposed by doctors and nursing assistants, who believe the proposed legislation would hurt their jobs.

Last month, the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which has a large majority in the 300-member National Assembly, approved the Nursing Act, which is separate from the Medical Services Act. The new law is aimed at addressing nurses' concerns.

Nurses argue that the Medical Services Act subordinates them to physicians, and that they are often forced to perform tasks that go beyond their professional duties because of the ambiguities of the current law, resulting in overwork and lower quality care for patients.

Doctors describe the Nursing Act as an evil law that would allow nurses to interfere with their work and cause confusion in hospitals, putting patient safety at risk.

Nurses counter that such concerns are unfounded, insisting that the country needs more care centres to cope with a rapidly aging population.

Faced with such a stark contraposition, President Yoon used his presidential veto to stop the bill. However, under the Constitution of the Republic of (South) Korea, the National Assembly can override it by a two-third majority; otherwise, the bill is scrapped.

"The Nursing Act has caused excessive conflict between medical professionals," Yoon said during a cabinet meeting. "The move to separate nursing from medical institutions has also caused people to feel anxious about their health. It was regrettable that the Assembly failed to resolve such conflict.

The nurses, however, have no intention of giving up. They accuse the president of betraying a pledge he made to them during his election campaign, hence todays labour action.

For now, the walkout has had a limited impact. Most protesters used their holiday time or shortened their work hours. All major hospitals are reportedly operating normally.
The World Health Organisation is set to hold its annual meeting on 21-30 May in Geneva. Several countries support Taiwans presence as an "observer", but mainland China is poised to reject it. Taiwans Health Minister Hsueh Jui-yuan stresses that exchanging information in a post-pandemic world is crucial and points to the island's health system as a model".

Taipei (AsiaNews)  A couple of days before the World Health Organization (WHO) holds its annual assembly on 21-30 in Geneva, Switzerland, Taiwan is still hoping for a last-minute invitation.

Although mainland China considers the rebel island as an integral part of its territory, international support for its presence has been growing in recent weeks.

China has always opposed Taiwans presence at major international conferences, and nothing suggests that it is going to change its mind this time, despite Taiwans potential contributions in the health field.

Still, "Support for us is stronger than in the past, said Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu at a press conference. "Even though we still haven't received an invitation letter for the assembly this year, we haven't given up and continue to, through various channels, clearly express our demand to the WHO."

Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Japan, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic have joined US Secretary of State Antony Blinken who earlier this month urged the WHO to invite Taiwan as an observer.

Taiwans isolation from the WHA, the pre-eminent global health forum, is unjustified and undermines inclusive global public health cooperation and security," reads a joint statement by these countries.

The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO) and its annual meetings provide an opportunity to develop global and integrated health plans.

This is increasingly needed, especially after the global health crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic kept the world on hold for three years until recently.

In fact, experts explain that more pandemics will come; for this reason, it is imperative to work together and have international health experts meet, whereas those from Taiwan have been banned for years from international meetings because of a Chinese veto.

Until 2016, a Taiwanese delegation was able to attend the annual WHA without the right to address the forum. Chinas attitudes hardened after current Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, a "separatist" in Xi Jinpings eyes, was elected that year.

This is a thorny issue, because the presence of the "rebel" island would benefit everyone given its knowhow and experience in the medical sector; what is more, as well as representing a violation of the UN principles of equality, inclusion and collaboration, Taiwans exclusion constitutes a threat to global health.

One among many examples is the work of Dr Liu Yu-ming, who created an effective prognosis prediction tool for cancer, but cannot present it and share information with colleagues in the rest of the world.

In a statement, Taiwans Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan stressed the need for "sustainable health development in the post-pandemic era".

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan effectively mitigated the spread of the disease, leveraging its comprehensive public healthcare system, well-trained antipandemic personnel, and epidemiological surveillance, investigation, and analysis systems, writes the minister.

The Taiwanese people have played a pivotal role in the success of Taiwans antipandemic model by wearing masks, practicing social distancing, avoiding crowded areas, following quarantine regulations, and getting vaccinated.

What is more, Taiwan established a universal healthcare insurance system in 1995. Since that time, the government has continued to provide disease prevention and healthcare services so that people of all ages can enjoy the right to health.

Taiwans health system thus serves a model at both regional and international levels, which is why the failure to invite the country to the WHO assembly is even more serious.

Now that the COVID-19 pandemic is abating and dialogue on strengthening health systems worldwide is accelerating, Taiwan should not be left out.

Hence, Minister Hsueh urges all parties to support Taiwans inclusion in the World Health Assembly as an observer, as well as Taiwans full participation in WHO meetings, mechanisms, and activities, especially in light of its significant contributions to global public health.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

The religious leader of Tashkent province had spoken out against those who leave the country to seek work abroad and the dancing of young girls. The Uzbek State, in accordance with post-Soviet traditions, is trying to prevent the fundamentalist drift of Islam, while anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, anti-Western and offensive content against women is increasingly spreading on social networks.

Tashkent (AsiaNews) - The chief imam of the province of Tashlak, in the Fergana region of Uzbekistan, Sukrullo Egamberdiev, has been dismissed by the country's Administration for Muslims for being too strict.

Already known for provocative statements and anathema to 'too free' forms of social behaviour, this time he seems to have crossed the line even for the leaders of the Uzbek Muslim community itself.

The administration's statement said that 'Egamberdiev has acknowledged that he made a mistake in his public statements, which caused much controversy, and has apologised. Imam-khatib has assured that he will not repeat the mistake in his future activity, and we ask that he refrain from discrediting him, especially as a legal assessment will be applied to his actions, and the necessary measures will be taken'.

One of Egamberdiev's expressions that provoked several negative reactions on social media concerned criticism of migrant workers who go abroad to support their families. In the video he states that 'they complain that they have no work, but many do not leave and find work here. You have to work with your brain, make some effort, and turn to Allah, putting aside your arrogance. Here you don't sweep the streets, and they go to Russia to sweep them, here you don't clean the stables, and they go there to clean the pigs' droppings... if you don't try to study and work at home, you end up a slave to foreign masters'.

Even greater resonance was received by his words hurled at young girls dancing at at end-of-year school parties. "Look what happens at these little evenings...does end of school mean you can do whatever you want? Why are students allowed to go on holiday? They even waltz, but where do the teachers look? What about a 17-year-old girl who starts dancing with a peer in front of everyone? Who will have the courage to marry her, after everyone has peeked at her on the internet, knowing that she will not be faithful to her husband?".

The commission convened to assess these interventions concluded that they were "not worthy of an imam"; he will now have to find a job outside the mosques, remaining under the constant supervision of the civil authorities. The Uzbek State, according to post-Soviet traditions, tries to prevent fundamentalist drifts in Islam and other religions in any way.

Moreover, as the US Department of State's report on freedom of conscience worldwide shows, Uzbekistan does not mince its words when it comes to keeping the excesses of religious activism under its heel. There are at least 1,800 prisoners accused of belonging to fundamentalist groups, with various convictions for extremism and terrorism, among whom several would actually be religious freedom activists.

Some are in prison for refusing to shave their beards, and several others have had their beards cut off directly by policemen. Four new religious associations have been registered, while 16 others have been refused. According to many activists, anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, anti-Western and offensive content against women is increasingly spreading on Uzbek social networks, mainly by Islamic bloggers.

The alternative seems to be between fundamentalism and state secularism, both of which are very disrespectful of freedom of conscience and social relations.
At least 200 deaths have been confirmed. On the ground, the situation is complicated by collapsed bridges. Many shelters have been swept away, including in Buddhist monasteries. A UNHCR official tells AsiaNews that the main concerns now are the spread of waterborne diseases and the movement of landmines caused by flooding.

Sittwe (AsiaNews)  At least 200 people are confirmed dead, especially among displaced people in Myanmars Rakhine state, following the passage last week of Cyclone Mocha. The border region in neighbouring Bangladesh, which hosts tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, was also affected.

Rakhine is in western Myanmar. Here, the impact of the cyclone has been devastating, with Sittwe Township hardest hit, said Fabien Faivre, external relations officer with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), speaking to AsiaNews.

Homes, shelters and public infrastructure have been severely damaged throughout Rakhine State. We are extremely saddened by local reports of deaths and very concerned about people missing, including amongst internally displaced communities.

Now, People we have spoken to are in need of food, shelter, healthcare, and safe drinking water. Waterborne disease and the movement of landmines due to the flooding are major concerns.

Although the UNHCR had "prepared and set aside shelter materials and core relief items including blankets, mattresses, kitchen sets, mosquito nets in anticipation of the cyclone, in all internally displacement peoples camps, shelters have been severely damaged, requiring immediate emergency repair or reconstruction support. Infrastructure and community centres have not been spared.

Complicating the logistical situation and humanitarian relief efforts, Several bridges that provide access to displacement sites have been washed away and are hampering movement.

Faivre explains that, Cyclone-affected communities are struggling to repair their homes amid surging commodity prices. For example, the prices of aluminium roofing sheets and roofing iron have reportedly risen quite drastically.

Even before the cyclone, residents in Displaced Peoples camps were already in a desperate situation. At present, The devastation of Cyclone Mocha compounds the hardships of some 200,000 displaced people in Rakhine, of which 155,000 are Rohingya who were displaced since 2012.

The later were already extremely vulnerable and remained highly dependent on humanitarian assistance. They live in particularly precarious conditions, mostly in coastal areas which exposed them even more to Cyclone Mocha.

Because they are marginalized  which include impediments in obtaining citizenship, restriction in movement and access to basic services such as education and healthcare  they will face greater hardships in the aftermath of the cyclone.

The mostly Muslim Rohingya are concentrated in Rakhine, but are not recognised by Myanmars central government. Stateless for all intents and purposes, they have been the victims of brutal repression campaigns by the countrys Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) since 2017.

The state is also home to an ethnic armed force, the Arakan Army (AA), which has repeatedly clashed with Myanmars regular army. In November 2022 a ceasefire was arranged , and so far, it continues to hold but remains fragile, the UN official notes. However, some 75,000 largely ethnic Rakhine people [have been] displaced by the Arakan Army (AA) and Tatmadaw conflict.

Unfortunately, Most of them are sheltering in Buddhist monasteries where their shelters have been wiped out by the cyclone. They too have become more vulnerable. With the fragile ceasefire between the AA and the Tatmadaw and movement of landmines due to the flooding, it is becoming more challenging for them to return to their places of origin.

Rakhine State is not the only part of the country affected by Cyclone Mocha. North-western Myanmar has also been heavily impacted; houses have been blown and washed away as well as flooding of crops and fields; in Kachin State, winds and rains have damaged displacement camps. According to partners on the ground the main needs are shelter, relief items, water and sanitation, food, livelihoods, healthcare, and infrastructure repairs.
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.
People looking at a display at the World IT Show 2023 at COEX in Seoul / Courtesy of LG Display



Samsung Display, LG Display and other Korean display companies will make a combined investment of over 65 trillion won ($48.77 billion) by 2027 to secure innovative technologies and reclaim the world's No. 1 position, the industry ministry said Thursday.



The planned investments aim to expand the country's global market share to over 50 percent by 2027 from last year's 37 percent by developing new technologies for next-generation display items and expanding organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display production lines.



The country will also push to make 80 percent of materials, parts and equipment needed for the display industry with its own technologies, compared with 65 percent in 2022, and to achieve super-gap technologies to outstrip rival nations by more than five years.



The goals were announced during a meeting between Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang and senior corporate officials of the industry, including Kim Sung-chul, Samsung's chief technology officer (CTO); LG's CTO Yoon Soo-young; Kim Yong-jae, vice president of Samsung Electronics, and Park Won-hwan, chief of Hansol Chemical, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.



Korea became the world's No. 1 player in the display sector in 2004 by outstripping Japan and had maintained the position through 2020. But it was overtaken by China in 2021 amid intensifying competition. China's market share came to 42.5 percent last year.



To help the companies achieve the goals, the government vowed to provide display firms with policy financing of 900 billion won for their fresh investment and equipment manufacturing, and actively consider setting up special zones for the sector to extend infrastructure and other supports.



It plans to earmark over 1 trillion won for research and development projects to advance technologies for mass-producing next-generation panels and for developing inorganic LEDs, or iLEDs.





Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang, center, posing for a photo with senior officials of Korean display companies in Seoul, is seen in this May 18 photo provided by the industry ministry. Yonhap
SUV

PHEV

Back in 2015, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, a South Korean automaker was the first courageous soul to test the US waters with a proposal for a modern four-door compact pickup truck . The concept was named Santa Cruz, and Hyundai pondered for over half a decade if the company was doing the right thing when trying to recapture customers' love for pocket-sized workhorses. Based on the same platform as the quirky NX4-generation Hyundai Tucson, the little Santa Cruz was revealed in spring 2021 for the 2022 model year, and the company even decided they should build it locally at the Montgomery, Alabama (HMMA) plant.However, so far, the Hyundai Santa Cruz has turned out as a lost unibody compact pickup truck bet. Not because the model needs to be cooler to garner hype around it. Instead, the indecision to put it quickly into production gave rivals enough time to think of a potential measured response. And since Ford was the only one to bring theirs to market, the 2022 Maverick revival turned out a spectacular win in terms of sales  mainly because the Hermosillo, Mexico-built competitor, was cheaper and had a standard hybrid powertrain. Now, the Ford Maverick rocks the market in terms of deliveries, quarter after quarter.Naturally, that means more competitors will rethink their decision to refrain from jumping on the unibody compact pickup truck boat for a river party. According to the rumor mill, we heard Toyota plans to rekindle its affection for Stout little workhorses with a revival of the nameplate. On the other hand, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators has other fish to fry. For example, Dimas Ramadhan, the virtual automotive artist behind the Digimods DESIGN channel on YouTube, has taken up the task of revealing a reinvented Comanche - in CGI, all over again.As it turns out, this is not the first time the pixel master dreamt of bringing back the MJ Comanche pickup truck variant of the XJ-series Jeep Cherokee compact. Initially, the models produced between 1985 and 1992 for model years 1986-1992 were two-door trucks with six-foot (1.83 meters) and seven-foot (2.13 m) cargo bed lengths. But the CGI expert's initial vision looked like the European (all-electric) Jeep Avenger went to the US for a lucrative business visit and spawned an offspring after meeting an off-duty, best-selling Ford Maverick.Now, though, the unofficial Jeep Comanche revival has other, better plug-in hybrid coordinates to potentially tackle the electrified Ford Maverick. Plus, the design is also much better in terms of Jeep brand integration, and we can even see that it supposedly has a few tricks up its sleeves  like additional storage elements on the body, among other things. So, do we give it our CGI hall pass and hope that Jeep will approve of a smaller sibling for the mid-size Gladiator to mitigate the danger of a three-way Maverick vs. Santa Cruz vs. Stout battle? Or are these renderings simply wishful thinking, and we do not approve the Comancheproject because it needs more digital refinements?
Although we won't get to watch one of the most iconic races on the F1 calendar, we are glad to hear that Ferrari is sending help - the flooding was one of the worst in the history of the region. The FIA made the right decision to cancel the Imola GP and not place a further burden on authorities and, consequently, the people who live there by hosting a racing event.For a lot of us, it's next to impossible imagining what it would feel like to see your entire life's work washed away by the unstoppable force of nature. That being said, we must understand why the race could not be held and be thankful help is on its way to the people who need it.Ferrari decided it could not just stand by and watch as nature's wrath descended upon its home country, so the company took action. As such, it joined the regional fundraising campaign meant to help the people affected by the flooding.The Maranello-based automaker and racing outfit that's headquartered just 50 miles north-west of the region showed support for its community and proved Italy is one big family, at least as far as Ferrari is concerned. This is something that company CEO Benedetto Vigna has also pointed out, stating that the carmaker has a tradition of standing by its community in trying times, before thanking the authorities for their efforts.The funds donated by the team went to the Emilia-Romagna Region's Agency for Territorial Safety and Civil Protection. Ferrari was decisive in offering a tangible, rapid response to the people affected by this grim environmental disaster. The generous sum of one million Euros ($1,081,435) that Ferrari has donated will be used for more than just immediate response. According to the company, the funds are going to contribute toward environmental recovery and the management of hydrogeological instability with the hopes of being able to prevent similar calamities from happening again in the future.Other Formula 1 teams have shown some support as well, although it was mostly on social media, with no clear indications that they took concrete action. Alpha Tauri was quick to express its concerns for the people living in the region while also promising to ensure the safety of its employees, although their factory was unaffected.Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell also posted heartfelt messages, speaking to the affected community. But now, with Ferrari taking a step further, other teams will hopefully follow its example and make contributions to ensure help reaches the people who need it most.
IIHS

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

In case you're unfamiliar with the issue (although if you live in the US, that's highly unlikely), here's the gist of it. A TikTok challenge showcased how easy it was to start and steal certain Kia and Hyundai vehicles by removing the ignition cover and using a screwdriver or a USB cable to fire up the engine. The at-risk vehicles were certain 2015-2021 Hyundais and some Kias produced between 2011 and 2021 with key ignition and without an electric immobilizer.We don't have an exact figure regarding the total number of thefts, but the) will release it later this year. Clearly, this was no minor issue - many cities have recorded significant year-over-year increases in Hyundai and Kia theft reports, and some have declared that 60% or more of the car thefts involved Hyundais or Kias.For instance, Minneapolis police have received 1,899 Kia and Hyundai theft reports  that's almost 18 times the number for the same period last year. Besides numerous thefts, the "challenge" led to at least 14 reported crashes and eight fatalities in the United States. Another example is New York - by the end of April, the city's police said 966 Hyundai and Kia thefts, seven times the 2022 figure. City officials even organized a press conference to provide owners with tracking devices in case their vehicles get stolen.Measures were taken to solve this issue, but it took a while to implement them. In February, the brands introduced a free anti-theft software update targeted for almost four million vehicles. Naturally, the automakers' dealerships carried out the update free of charge.For customers whose vehicles do not support the security software upgrade, the Korean companies announced they would provide up to $300 (278) to purchase steering wheel locks and other theft deterrent or prevention devices, such as a glass breakage system. Kia Motors America said more than 65,000 locks have been given out so far.The lawyers for the owners and the automakers have announced that Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp have agreed to a consumer class-action lawsuit worth around $200 million (185 million). This settlement applies to about nine million US owners, including up to $145 million (134 million) for the losses customers who had their vehicles stolen suffered.Payments of up to $6,125 (5,681) per owner will be made for the loss of their vehicle. What's more, payments for the damage to the car and to the personal property could add up to $3,375 (3,130), and insurance-related expenses and other costs could be included, such as taxi fares, car rentals, and more.
EV

BEV

Many believed that traditional carmakers would have no problem surpassing Tesla, thanks to their superior manufacturing capabilities. They failed to account for the ingenuity of Tesla engineers and that building electric vehicles would require entirely new expertise. Tesla transformed car manufacturing in many ways, from the production line to the supply chain and technologies. That's why Tesla gigafactories look a lot different than traditional car plants and produce double the number of cars annually.One of the most important innovations Tesla brought to car manufacturing was using megacastings to replace hundreds of stamped parts welded together. Thanks to IDRA's gigantic die-casting machines called Giga Presses , Tesla could cast huge sections of the car's underbody in a fraction of the time needed to stamp and weld the same parts using the traditional method. Die-cast parts also don't need thermal treatment, another time-consuming operation.This eliminated about 650 feet (200 meters) of robotized welding lines on the factory floor and allowed Tesla to reduce the time it takes to assemble a car to only 10 hours. Considering that Volkswagen needs 30 hours to put together the ID.3 compact, it's clear why traditional carmakers struggle to make a profit on electric vehicles. But things are changing, and legacy carmakers have shown they are willing to learn.IDRA announced that it signed the first contract to supply its famous Giga Presses to a traditional carmaker. The brief announcement on LinkedIn doesn't mention the company's name but says it's a global US OEM, which narrows the scope to just three companies: Stellantis, General Motors, and Ford. All three have announced ambitious steps to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles.GM has been the most bullish in this regard, vowing to surpass Tesla by swamping the market with electric vehicles. Yet, we know from a previous report that GM already uses die-casting for the Cadillac Celestiq body. Still, the Detroit carmaker is concerned with the repairability of megacastings. To alleviate this, it uses six smaller castings for Celestiq's underbody frame, bonded and spot-welded into a single floor pan. We don't think GM would need Giga Presses for this task, so we can rule it out as IDRA's customer.That leaves us with Ford and Stellantis. Both companies plan a host of electric vehicles, but Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has been more reluctant to embrace electromobility. On the other hand, Ford is developing at least two new-only platforms, the GE2 to underpin the future generation Mustang Mach-E from 2026 and the TE1 for the next F-150 Lightning, Ranger, and Bronco BEV. Ford CEO Jim Farley has also admired Elon Musk and Tesla. Considering all these, our bets are on Ford.
NHTSA

Last month, in early April 2023, the peeps at Porsche Cars North America discovered incorrect coding for the brake pad wear indicator of certain vehicles produced for Puerto Rico. The German automaker's North American division immediately remedied this problem in production with updated software. Additional investigation concluded with no warranty records and no customer complaints over said issue.Puerto Rico became a US territory in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War. Vehicle regulations in the Caribbean island require said warning icon to be displayed in yellow rather than red. The warning icon is an ISO (International Organization for Standardization) symbol as opposed to BRAKE WEAR written in uppercase letters. As the headline implies, Porsche is dealing with a teeny-tiny regulatory issue.Affected Taycan vehicles include both four- and five-door units, produced for the 2020 through 2022 model years between May 11, 2020 and February 25, 2022. Porsche rolled out updated software in production back on April 27, and this very update is also in the offing for the 71 recalled vehicles.Dealers will be informed of this recall on May 30. According to Porsche'sreport (attached below), known owners will be notified through first-class mail on or before July 14.Based on the J1 platform that Porsche shares with Volkswagen Group brand Audi, the Taycan can trace its roots back to the Mission E concept from the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. Presented in production-ready flavor at the 2019 edition of the very same auto show, the first series-production electric vehicle from the Zuffenhausen-based automaker comes with either rear-wheel drive or a dual-motor configurator. Two battery choices are currently available.Not long now, the mid-cycle refresh will allegedly debut a three-motor setup that may be called Taycan Turbo GT after the Cayenne Turbo GT. Said performance version is expected with 1,000+ horsepower.The most performance-oriented Taycan currently available to configure for the 2023 model year is the Turbo S, which packs a simply ridiculous 751 horsepower and 774 pound-feet (1,050 Nm). Thanks to a two-speed gearbox out back, 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) takes 2.6 seconds and top speed is estimated at 162 miles per hour (260 kilometers per hour).If the four-door sedan isn't practical enough for your needs, fret not because Porsche has thought of that with the Sport Turismo shooting brake-style station wagon. A third variant  the Cross Turismo  is best described as the Sport Turismo on stilts. The easiest way of telling them apart is the crossover-inspired plastic trim and body cladding, as well as the slightly higher ground clearance.
With so many Rolls-Royce Cullinans rolling off the line at the Goodwood factory in England, it is no wonder some owners want to give theirs extra character. Coming in to fill this void, if we can call it that, are numerous tuners ready to get down to business by offering a variety of mods. From wide body kits and all sorts of carbon fiber parts to completely re-upholstered interiors and the occasional power boost, everything is available for this king of the (luxury crossover) hill.In this story, we will bring a lesser-known company known as Keyvany into the limelight. The German tuner was founded in 2018, and its goal is to "take luxury cars to a new level of refinement." We don't know how refined the pictured Rolls-Royce Cullinan is, but one thing is certain: you will either love it or hate it due to its controversial looks. We lean towards the former because, from certain angles, it looks like a muscly luxury crossover. And if the goal was to elevate its stance, then you can consider the job done.Named the Hayula, which is derived from the Greek word that stands for matter, the body kit is bound to make this posh machine stand out no matter where it goes. It comprises those fat fender flares, joined by a few add-ons at the front, sides, and rear, including the apron, side skirts, and what should be a matching diffuser. Carbon fiber was the material of choice here, and the bundle is joined by a set of new wheels shod in Vredestein tires. The black body of the Cullinan is contrasted by a few orange accents, with a matching interior that appears to have been reupholstered.Orange leather decorates the cabin, and it has the tuner's logo on the steering wheel and probably on other parts that are not visible in the images released by Keyvany on social media and shared in the gallery. It also comes with additional carbon fiber here for a sportier look, and while such a design would usually fit something a bit more track-focused, like, say, the Lamborghini Urus, it doesn't turn the Cullinan into an OTT project. Then again, looks can be deceiving, and in the end, it falls on each person to decide whether they like it or not. I do, but is it appealing or appalling to you?
Photo: Alpine Armoring

BEV

Photo: Alpine Armoring

Photo: Alpine Armoring

Photo: ArmorMax

Photo: ArmorMax

Photo: Alpine Armoring

Photo: Alpine Armoring

Photo: Alpine Armoring

Photo: Alpine Armoring

ICE

As I already mentioned, my main interest was understanding how these companies dealt with the fact that all Teslas, apart from the Model X, have frameless doors. For these vehicles to be armored, the companies have to create the frames, as Cameron Khoroushi told me. The director of design and engineering at Alpine Armoring said his company started working with Teslas in late 2013. For him, adding frames to doors that did not have them "is not challenging but merely a different implementation to the design process.""We design custom ballistic opaque armor for the outer channels of the glass to fit into the OEM channel, and the glass sits snug inside this channel as opposed to the armored glass being frameless, which is not done as that would introduce vulnerabilities and issues closing the door."That's a modest way to frame (pun intended) building an entirely new part of a car. Mark Burton has a different point of view. According to ArmorMax's founder and CEO, that can be a complicated element of armoring a Tesla."It is very challenging, and our team has a lot of experience working on similar vehicles without a door frame. Several structural adjustments underneath need to be added to support the thicker glass and still hold it in the door channel."Although it does not make much sense to open the windows in an armored vehicle, ArmorMax and Alpine Armoring offer that possibility to their clients. ArmorMax uses "special aftermarket motors that are able to lift the glass up and down." According to its CEO, "the range of operability is determined by the spacing inside the door and the thickness of glass." Khoroushi was more specific about how that reflects in the Americanmaker's products."Our armored Teslas have optional armored power windows. We had to develop completely custom window motors for the Tesla Model S due to the design complications inside the door. The power windows can go down roughly 6 inches (15.2 centimeters)."In other words  and for obvious reasons  you will never see an armored Tesla with frameless doors. That will already make these unusual Model S, Model 3, and Model Y units stand out from regular ones, which is not what armored car owners usually want them to be: the more discreet and similar to standard cars they are, the better. But this is hardly the only technical challenge Teslas offer with armoring. Among other difficulties, there's the aluminum body on the Model S and the Model X. For the Burton, aluminum bodies are indeed a bit more troublesome to armor, but not that much."It is more difficult to install armor on aluminum bodies but more so to the fact that you have to use different methods and tools."The Alpine Armoring director elaborated on these challenges."More time and engineering are required for aluminum body vehicles due to different processes in adhering the opaque armor to the vehicle. Structural ribbing and mounting points require adjusted designs to prevent panels from buckling under inappropriate loads."Tesla vehicles have another complication: their cameras. Even replacing the windshield in a car that relies on Tesla Vision for things as basic as parking maneuvers can be pretty sensitive. How do you armor the B-pillars with the cameras Teslas have? The ArmorMax CEO just said that "anytime you are dissembling a vehicle, there are always going to be technical difficulties." Khoroushi was more specific."In many ways, Teslas are actually easier to armor, as the center of gravity is lower and there is no engine or radiator to protect. Alpine uses a specially designed transparent armor process to keep the cameras working that we developed on the new generation Mercedes-AMG G 63 in early 2019: that eliminates any chance of visual refraction issues that the cameras may anticipate."The low center of gravity in Teslas and all BEVs is due to the massive battery pack they have to carry. If they are easier to armor , they also carry an enormous and vulnerable component. In March 2014 , Tesla had to reinforce the battery pack shield when some Model S units caught fire after running over road debris. Some cases still pop up every once in a while, with the most recent one that I have seen happening in November 2022 in Pennsylvania. In other words, damage to it may cause thermal runaway events.Now imagine a rifle bullet perforating the component. Causing the vehicle to stop may be the smallest issue such a situation could present. Despite these risks, Burton said that battery packs "are pretty well packaged and protected." "On the armoring side, we put our fragmentation blankets on top of the battery to protect the passengers inside the vehicle in the event of an IED (improvised explosive device) blast."Khoroushi stated that "explosive protection when it comes to EVs is still in a grey area with the armoring industry"  and you'll understand why a bit further."Currently, Alpine Armoring is undergoing R&D for explosive testing on EVs to see how the energy and blast dissipation affects the batteries of the vehicle."As competent as the armory industry has to be, it cannot prevent increasing the mass of armored vehicles. BEVs already are pretty heavy due to their battery packs, and making them even heftier will not help their ranges. Apart from that, there are several different armoring levels. Choosing a light and more affordable one may imply you are not guarding the car against the kind of weapon that criminals are using.Brazil is one of the world champions in armored vehicle sales and has a notorious story to illustrate that. In 2004, a Rio de Janeiro city councilman died when four heavily armed men shot his Honda Civic. Joao Monteiro de Castro dos Santos told his driver not to stop when the criminals ordered them to do so because the car was armored. The issue was that the murderers had assault rifles, something the armoring level of the councilman's car was not prepared to handle. He would have needed a B6+/A9 level to escape.Burton gave me some examples of armoring levels his company offers to Tesla cars and how much weight they usually add to these vehicles. "B4 is handgun protection," and it makes vehicles "approximately 195 kilograms (430 pounds)" heavier. B5 increases mass by "around 340 kg (780 lb)," and B6+  which offers high-powered rifle protection  should make a Tesla "approximately 560 kg (1,200 lb)" bulkier.Alpine Armor also works with several armoring levels, but Khoroushi told me the company started applying the A9/B6+ level to Tesla BEVs in 2020. He also shared how much mass it adds to a Model S "A copious amount of lightweight composite material was used to keep the overall weight of the vehicle down, especially in areas that are flat, such as the inside of the doors and the back wall behind the seats. We added roughly 1,350 lb (612.4 kg) to the vehicle."Predictably, this additional load has an impact on range. The ArmorMax CEO said that the B4 package makes a BEV run "around 4% to 8%" less, which is "similar to (having) 2 to 3 adults in the vehicle." The A9/B6+ armoring level has a much higher effect. According to the Alpine Armoring director, the Teslas his company prepares lose "roughly 20%" of the range. Anyone considering owning an armored BEV should focus on buying the option with the most range: Khoroushi advised them to purchase "any AWD or high-performance Teslas" because "these vehicles handle the weight of the armor better." And even they may not be enough to solve the range issue.Take the Model S Long Range, with its theoretical capacity to run 405 miles on a single full charge. Edmunds made tests with Tesla vehicles in the past, and most of them failed to meet their EPA numbers. Anyway, let's consider that 405 miles were attainable. If Alpine Armoring takes care of this hypothetical Model S with an A9 armoring level, 20% will represent a loss of a bit more than 80 miles. On top of that, Tesla advises customers not to fully charge its products with ternary cells, only those with LFP batteries . That means the car will only have 80% (324 mi) to 90% (364.5 mi) of its charge capacity.Combustion-engined vehicles also lose range with armor, but it only takes them a few minutes at fuel stations to solve that. Electric cars will have to stop more often at charging stations, where most of them hardly lose less than 30 minutes. When safety is critical, stopping at charging stations may increase the vulnerability of the BEV's occupants. On the other hand, electric cars can be recharged at home. If owners are sure they will never need to stop anywhere else but home for a charge, an armored BEV may be a good choice  but who can be certain about that? What if you suddenly need more energy to go somewhere that was not in the plans? An electric car will inevitably demand more time for that unless it has a swappable battery pack Things get even more complicated if you buy a Model 3 RWD and decide to give it an A9/B6+ armor level. With a 272-mile EPA range, it should lose slightly more than 54 miles. That restricts the BEV's ability to move around to a bit less than 218 miles. The cost to armor a vehicle will probably prevent that from happening with entry-level, low-range electric cars.Burton told me that ArmorMax's "starter features on any vehicle are usually around $42,000 to $48,000." However, most of his customers "spend around $75,000 on a presidential package." With Alpine Armoring, the prices are much higher. Khoroushi said that the "minimum and maximum packages range from $85,000 to $350,000, depending on the base vehicle and armoring options." Who would pay more money for shielding a car than they paid to purchase it in the first place? For the investment to make sense, it has to be on expensive automobiles.Taking all that into consideration, an armored Tesla is technically possible. However, we have to remember that an armored car is a safety tool. Tesla was sued for a design flaw with its motorized door handles . Its emergency door releases are difficult to reach . What will happen if the battery pack catches fire due to rifle shots or a bomb in a vehicle whose glasses can resist such shots? Tesla suspension components have notorious problems, although both armoring companies said they could handle the extra weight. What if they can't?Above all, the battery pack may be the Achilles' heel of an armored BEV. Would offensive driving  used to evade hijacking ambushes and other dangerous traps  be possible in a BEV? What if you manage to escape and need more energy to keep running as fast as possible?There are so many things that could go wrong with an armored BEV that people who actually need to protect themselves from gun violence should carefully consider all of them. It indeed is nice to be carbon neutral or close to it, but it may be the least of your concerns when safety is at stake. Strategically speaking, anarmored car may offer better chances of preventing and escaping an attack.
Photo: Volkswagen AG

Photo: American Muscle Cars/Twitter

Photo: Kia Worldwide/Twitter

Despite its undervalued status and widespread disregard, this transformative shift has emerged as the automotive industry's most remarkable metamorphosis in recent decades. A convergence of enhanced fuel efficiency, advanced technology, and elevated safety benchmarks serves as the driving force behind the captivating presence of the modern curved vehicles that grace our bustling streets. Within the unassuming fabric of this transition lies an extraordinary tale of progress, waiting to be fully appreciated and acknowledged.Peering through the rearview mirror of a contemporary American automobile, the lineage of its predecessors gradually morphs into a series of progressively blockier forms, retracing their line all the way back to the remarkable 1930s. Once considered mere vessels to navigate the expanse between point A and point B, with perhaps a touch of added comfort for a premium price, cars have experienced an extraordinary evolution.In the days of yore, our grandparents embarked on a quest to fashion automobiles that embodied practicality and utility. The art of design, intertwined with functionality, dictated a paradigm where boxiness reigned supreme, ingeniously maximizing the expanse within. Particularly evident in the opulent sedans predating the 1990s, the need to prove their speed took a backseat as automakers wholeheartedly dedicated themselves to transforming their four-wheeled marvels into rolling sanctuaries reminiscent of refrigerators, exuding a sense of spaciousness akin to rooms on wheels.The kingdom of technology posed a formidable challenge in a realm where vast expanses knew no bounds. The absence of computerized modeling thrust car manufacturers into a realm where wood and clay became their faithful companions as they painstakingly molded the very essence of automobiles. Like skilled carpenters navigating unyielding terrain, they grappled with the complexities of shaping curves using solid materials, their craft demanding immense patience and ingenuity.In the days of yore, as the clock ticked amidst a technological deficit, the pursuit of smaller yet mightier engines remained an elusive dream. The confines of antiquity simply lacked the means to birth such powerhouses. Hence, the engine bays of vintage muscle cars housed an average of eight and 16-cylinder behemoths that demanded a larger chassis for their dwelling. A grand tapestry of engineering woes unfolded, where the production of larger vehicles became a costly endeavor. Within the realm of rough-edged rectangles, automakers found solace in a prudent choice that allowed them to conserve precious materials in the face of financial constraints.In the cyclical dance of generations, each era encounters its own distinct fuel crisis, and those who witnessed the tumultuous 80s and 90s can attest to its profound impact. A compelling impetus behind the shift towards voluptuous car designs stemmed from the pressing need to enhance fuel economya truth rooted in the laws of physics. Though sparing the intricacies of scientific depths, it suffices to say that curves served as allies in the battle against resistance, allowing the seamless flow of air over vehicles and thereby reducing drag. The alluring consequence of these sleek contours? Improved miles per gallon, a respite in the relentless pursuit of fuel efficiency.However, it wasn't solely the automotive industry's endeavor to spare their clientele from fuel-related burdens. In the twilight of the 1970s , governmental authorities tightened their grip on fuel economy, heralding the impending arrival of stringent standards for car manufacturers. The task at hand was straightforward: crafting vehicles capable of traversing longer distances on diminishing fuel reserves. Yet, achieving this newfound efficiency under the hood proved to be an expensive venture. In this puzzle, curves emerged as a savior, offering a shortcut to augment fuel economy without delving into costly engine modifications. Embracing the realm of aerodynamics, automakers reaped the benefits of reduced costs while accelerating progress throughout the supply chain.To comply with regulations and curtail fuel expenses, every vehicle gracing the market became beholden to the allure of exuberant curves. Engineers and designers forged an unprecedented alliance, their collaborative efforts leaving no stone unturned in their quest for impeccable aerodynamics. Thus, gearheads owe a debt of gratitude to this harmonious partnership, as it birthed the beloved and undulating automotive icons of the 90s, such as the iconic fourth-generation Mustangs, forever cherished by enthusiasts.Just as fashion undergoes a metamorphosis over time, so too does the realm of car design. Where once the elegance of a top hat and suit captivated the early 20th century, a century later, the masses gravitated towards the comfort and casualness of jeans or shorts. In parallel, the allure of boxy cars began to wane as automotive aficionados steered their aspirations towards the seductive embrace of curves, a shift that car manufacturers keenly embraced.Across the annals of history, European automobiles stood as timeless embodiments of sensuous contours, driven by a desire to conserve fuel amidst sharper price hikes compared to their American counterparts. These iconic curvaceous wonders, epitomized by the likes of the Porsche 911 , wove a narrative that transcended geographical boundaries, imprinting their influence upon the American landscape.As German standards for automotive luxury rose in popularity across the United States, American automakers eagerly embraced these distinguished cues, incorporating similar touches within their own vehicles. Thus, a captivating fusion of European elegance and American ingenuity emerged, heralding a new era where curvaceous designs became the embodiment of automotive sophistication.The concept of curvaceous cars is far from a novel invention, with the rich tapestry of American automobile history boasting an array of luxurious and muscular vehicles adorned with sleek corners. This legacy stretches as far back as the groundbreaking Cord 810 in 1936. Throughout the annals of the American automotive industry, one can unearth a treasure trove of curvilinear marvels, each a testament to the ever-evolving nature of automotive design spread across the tapestry of time.In the realm of automotive nostalgia, curvaceous cars have always held a revered place. An embodiment of this allure lies in the iconic 1950s Corvette , a timeless beauty that gracefully graced the streets of yesteryear, bearing visible inspiration from across the Atlantic, a tribute to the European aesthetic that captivated the hearts of enthusiasts.While the fashion of boxy cars may have dwindled, remnants of their legacy endure. Emblematic badges, such as the enduring Dodge Challenger , remain steadfast in their origins, proudly flaunting sharp corners in the vast expanse of the 21st century. However, the reign of curvaceous cars is firmly entrenched, poised to dominate the automotive landscape for the foreseeable future.One can't help but ponder the musings of time, where we may gaze back upon the vehicles of today and marvel at how we once perceived their sleekness and modernity as our understanding and aesthetic sensibilities continue to evolve with the passage of years.
Photo: Hyundai News

Photo: Hyundai News

kWh

SUV

Although Hyundai's Pony Coupe Concept may initially appear as a corporate indulgence, this detailed recreation of a lost 1970s Hyundai concept by the esteemed design legend Giorgetto Giugiaro carries a real purpose. Notably, it catalyzes serious deliberations in Seoul, contemplating a limited production series of the exceptional N Vision 74 alongside three EVs inspired by the striking Genesis X Trilogy concept cars. Through the Pony Coupe Concept, Hyundai Motor Company confidently embraces its historical roots, forging a courageous path toward a bold future.Automakers typically exude a pragmatic approach, void of sentimentality, especially during their early stages when financial constraints and the constant specter of failure pervade their every endeavor. In the late 1970s, Hyundai found itself entrenched in a startup mindset. Having commenced car production in 1967, within a nation racing to embrace the industrial age, the lack of sufficient funds resulted in the regrettable decision to abandon the production of Giugiaro's charming Hyundai Pony Coupe concept. Consequently, the car was silently tucked away, consigned to obscurity, and forever lost.Thus, they enlisted the expertise of Giorgetto Giugiaro to craft an entirely fresh iteration of the Pony Coupe Concept. Forged at GFG Style in Italy, presently owned by Giugiaro and his son Fabrizio, the reborn Hyundai Pony Coupe Concept emerges as an almost indistinguishable replica of the original unveiled nearly half a century ago. Exuding the characteristic wedge and edge design of the 1970s, it boasts an ethereal greenhouse upheld by slender pillars and rolls on robust four-spoke wheels with tall sidewall tires, presenting a genuinely captivating aesthetic. Inside, its interior resonates with a faintly reminiscent "2001: A Space Odyssey" ambiance that remains modern and captivating, showcasing meticulously crafted forms and a delightful selection of materials.The sole discernible deviation from the original Pony Coupe Concept lies in the specification of its 15-inch wheels, one inch larger in diameter than those fitted in 1974. This alteration was necessitated by the unavailability of the correct section 14-inch tires, as revealed by Hyundai's design chief, SangYup Lee. Impressively, the revived Pony Coupe Concept is not a mere static tribute but a fully functional masterpiece."Despite the poor industrial environment in the 1970s, my grandfather and Hyundais Founding Chairman Ju-young Chung poured his heart and soul into rebuilding Koreas economy and improving the lives of its people after the devastating Korean War. He finally realized his vision of making Korea a country capable of developing its own vehicles with perfection, said Euisun Chung, Executive Chair of Hyundai Motor Group. I express my sincere gratitude to everyone from both Italy and Korea who played a critical role in the success of Pony.It rests upon the platform and mechanicals of a 1970s Hyundai Pony four-door hatch, mirroring the production version that would have materialized if not for the 1979 oil crisis and the subsequent recession, which significantly impacted the intended primary export marketthe United Statesleading Hyundai to shelve its production plans for the car. The fact that Hyundai genuinely contemplated building a production version of the Pony Coupe Concept, intending to spearhead its entry into one of the most fiercely competitive auto markets globally, speaks volumes about the ambition and determination of an automaker that, just a decade earlier, focused on producing Korean-market Cortina sedans for Ford Motor Company.Though a recreation, the Hyundai Pony Coupe Concept can rightfully be regarded as an authentic artifact, an origin point for the Hyundai brand, as it was built by the same person who crafted the original using the same design and fabrication techniques employed five decades prior. The presence of Giugiaro's DNA in this car remains palpable. However, what does it all signify? Senior Hyundai executives assert that it holds significant meaning. The most tangible manifestation of these sentiments may materialize in the coming years through a limited production series of the N Vision 74 concept, which draws inspiration from the Pony Coupe Concept in terms of form and proportions.If realized, the production version of the N Vision 74 would showcase Hyundai's expertise in hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain technology. The Hyundai Nexo stands as the only fuel-cell car available on the market, alongside Toyota 's Mirai, while Hyundai's construction equipment division is already manufacturing hydrogen fuel-cell-powered excavators.The company envisions hydrogen becoming a prominent transportation fuel by 2040, powering not only cars but also trucks, buses, trams, and more. Another venture potentially stemming from Hyundai's revitalized thinking, ignited by the resurrection of the Pony Coupe Concept, involves the production of limited quantities of the stunning Genesis X Trilogy concept cars.These vehiclesthe X Coupe, X Speedium, and X Convertiblewould all be electric, equipped with a nearly 600-horsepower dual-motor, all-wheel drive powertrain powered by the recently unveiled 99.8battery found in the Kia EV9, connected by Hyundai's fast-charging 800V electrical architecture.
The entrance of the North Korean Refugee Protection Center in Siheung, south of Seoul, is seen in this June 23, 2021 file photo. Yonhap



A group of North Koreans who crossed the de facto inter-Korean sea border aboard a fishing boat earlier this month fled the North to escape Pyongyang's rigid COVID-19 restrictions, they were quoted as saying by Seoul's spy agency Friday.



Military authorities found the group of nearly 10 North Koreans, presumed to be a family, on a ship approaching the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea at night on May 6. The government has since been questioning them to verify whether they have an intention to defect to South Korea.



"In an interagency questioning, the defectors said they had admired our society while watching South Korean television and decided to defect as they grew exhausted of the North Korean regime amid tightened social control stemming from the pandemic," the National Intelligence Service, one of the government organizations handling the questioning, said.



The North Koreans are believed to be relatives by marriage, but the spy agency declined to further elaborate, citing risks of exposing their identities and safety concerns of their relatives in the North.



The local daily Dong-A Ilbo reported earlier that the North Koreans, known to be two families, have expressed their intention to defect. If confirmed, it would mark the first such defection case, involving a family group, since July 2017.



Once the interagency questioning wraps up and they are confirmed to be willing to defect here, they are expected to undergo a 12-week resettlement education program to adjust to life in South Korea.



In recent years, the number of North Korean defectors here dropped due largely to the reclusive state's stringent border controls put in place in the wake of COVID-19. The number, which was tallied at around 1,000 in 2019, dipped to 229 in 2020 and 63 in 2021. Last year, it stood at 67. (Yonhap)


One of the Navy's most ambitious programs is called TAGOS-25. It aims to deliver in the near future a fleet of so-called Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance Ships that will be used both in the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans to spot enemy submarines.The ships that will come from this program are referred to as the T-AGOS 25 class, and we're talking about floating pieces of steel hardware measuring 110 meters (361 feet) in length. They are designed like SWATHs (small waterplane area twin hull), meaning a catamaran-like ship.The program has been in the pipeline for a while now (it was fast-tracked by the Navy last year), but it was only this week that the Defense Department announced it would be a company called Austal that would handle the detailed design and build of the T-AGOS.Under a contract worth potentially $3,195 billion, Austal will have to build no less than seven such ships, which will eventually be deployed under the United States Military Sealift Command.These vessels will be used to conduct anti-submarine warfare, more specifically detect and track submarines through both active and passive means. As per the DoD description, they are meant to gather "underwater acoustical data to support the mission of the Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS) by providing a ship platform capable of theater anti-submarine acoustic passive and active surveillance."The main tool used for the task is what is known as a Tail. Specialists call the technology Surveillance Towed-Array Sensor System (SURTASS), and it comprises sonars towed behind the ship. It can work regardless of weather conditions.The first ship to use SURTASS was the USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS-23), which launched in the early 1990s as the sole ship of its class. In its case, the sonar system had a weight of 155 tons, but since then lighter variants have been developed.Austal will not be alone in working on this mammoth project, with several other big names in the defense and marine industries already involved: L3Harris, Noise Control Engineering, TAI Engineering, and Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors. Austal gave no info on when the first ship of the T-AGOS 25 class could be ready.The company is no stranger to military contracts, and over the years was responsible for several high-profile military assets, not directly involved in combat, coming to life. The list includes Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ships, Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transports, Navajo-class Towing, Salvage and Rescue (T-ATS) Ships, and Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutters.
But he suggested that the two sides need to restore Armenian-Azerbaijani transport links, start delimiting their long border and bolster the ceasefire regime in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone before they can finalize such a treaty.

Lavrov held separate talks with Foreign Ministers Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov of Azerbaijan before sitting down with them in a trilateral format.

Work on the peace treaty is undoubtedly fundamental, he told the press after the trilateral meeting. But our partners confirmed today that without solving the issues of delimitation, unblocking transport and economic links and an overall improvement of the security situation in both Karabakh and on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border its very hard to make progress on concrete aspects of the peace treaty. We discussed all this together.

Lavrov said in that regard that a Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani task force dealing with practical modalities of the transport links will meet next week after a long pause.

We hope that a positive result will be achieved as a result. The parties are already very, very close to a final agreement, he said without elaborating.

Lavrov further announced that a separate Armenian-Azerbaijani group working on the border delimitation and demarcation with Russian assistance will also resume its activities soon.

Regarding the peace treaty, I think that on a number of articles which we discussed today we managed to bring the two sides understandings closer to a common vision, added the top Russian diplomat.

As Lavrov spoke Bayramov and Mirzoyan continued their negotiations in his absence. Mirzoyans press office said afterwards that the two ministers had a constructive exchange of views on issues on which the parties have differences. It did not disclose those issues.

According to the U.S. State Department, Bayramov and Mirzoyan made tangible progress towards the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal during their four-day talks held outside Washington earlier this month.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev tried to build on that progress when they met in Brussels on May 14. Pashinian afterwards reaffirmed Armenias readiness to recognize Azerbaijans territorial integrity through the document currently discussed by the two sides.

The two leaders are due to meet again in Moscow on May 25 at Russian President Vladimir Putins invitation.

Another Armenian-Azerbaijani summit is slated for June 1. Aliyev and Pashinian will be joined by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Union chief Charles Michel. Analysts believe that the United States and the EU are pressing the parties to sign the far-reaching deal.

Moscow has repeatedly accused the West of trying to use the Karabakh conflict to drive Russia out of the South Caucasus. It maintains that Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements brokered by Putin are the only viable blueprint for settling the conflict.
19 May 2023 08:30 (UTC+04:00)

Rena Murshud Read more

According to the Armenian media, the successful agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Brussels, and especially Pashinyan's re-admitting that he recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, was met with great turmoil in the country. The Armenian media allegedly mentions that Pashinyan, returning from the meeting in Brussels, faced an assassination attempt against himself and his son.

This information mentioned about Pashinyan is also similar to the scenario of Karen Demirchiyan, who had been assassined in 1999 in the Armenian parliament. Some sources even mention that Pashinyan wants to make himself a hero. Supposedly, because there are conspiracies against him, Pashinyan is trying to insure himself in order to deny his promise in the future.

Turkish political analyst, professor Husameddin Inac, in a comment for Azernews on the issue, evaluated this chaos in the Armenian society as follows: Pashinyan is currently in a very difficult situation. In fact, since he was defeated in the 44-day war, he is somehow thinking of signing peace. But, unfortunately, he cannot accept this either in his country, or due to pressures of members in his government and even society.

The expert, who approaches the issue from the prospect of both Russia and the domestic audience, noted that currently Russia is not an interested party in Armenia's rapprochement with Azerbaijan. Because, according to Inac, the settlement of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations means the end of the mission of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh. This does not leave the need for Russia to be a joint mediator. According to Husameddin Inac, another issue is related to the so-called artsakh in Karabakh.

If we look at it from a historical point of view, there was no state called "artsakh". Everyone knows that Karabakh is historically the territory of Azerbaijan and no so-called state can be a matter of discussion.

Armenia accuses Azerbaijan by inventing various excuses. Allegedly, they claim that if Azerbaijan starts the great retun to Karabakh, it will carry out ethnic cleansing against the Armenians there. This is a completely fictitious claim. However, Mr. Ilham Aliyev said that the population could only under the condition of accepting Azerbaijani citizenship. They will have the same rights as other citizens and will live in peace and tranquility. Unfortunately, since this condition did not satisfy them, they falsely spread a series of fake news in the media about the oppression of Armenians by Azerbaijanis. And now they also want to blame Pashinyan for what he has only done right in Brussels."

At the same time, Husameddin Inac touched upon the protests that took place in Karabakh after Pashinyan's meeting in Brussels.

"If we look carefully at the processes, we will see that after Pashinyan's meeting in Brussels, the protests by separatists in Karabakh started to become more active. This is not only the influence of the separatists, but also of the foreign forces that reign over Yerevan. I think that direct and sincere dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia will not be possible as long as this influence is on Yerevan. First of all, Yerevan should take control of the separatists in Karabakh and dissuade them from empty claims as possible," the political analyst said.

---

Follow Rena Murshud on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
19 May 2023 16:00 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

For centuries, Armenia, which has been chasing dreams of the so-called 'greater armenia', eyed on the territories of Azerbaijan and always invaded the lands whenever it had the opportunity, is not satisfied only with Karabakh. It should be recalled that 13 villages of the Gazakh district of Azerbaijan, located far from Karabakh, were occupied by Armenians in the 1990s. But later, 6 of those 13 villages were freed from occupation. At present, 7 villages of Gazakh, as well as the territory of Nakhchivan called Kerki, have been under the occupation of Armenia since that time.

The occupation of those villages has laid bare the Armenian whopper and proved to the world that the issue is neither the violation of minority rights nor self-determination, the issue is expansionism and false idea of usurping lands of neighbor countries.

Unfortunately, the scale of atrocity committed by Armenians against the native Azerbaijanis in Garabagh was so big that it has overshadowed and caused to forget the occupation of those territories. Except for the IDPs of these villages, neither Azerbaijan nor the world talked about them until the humiliating defeat of Armenians in the 44-day War in 2020. After the war, Azerbaijan raised the issue of these villages several times and the Armenian side brought some excuses as usual. Last time the issue was raised by the EU ambassador to Armenia.

She noted that there are one or two stations in the border with Azerbaijan, from which Armenia should withdraw its troops. She underscored that this issue was voiced in Brussels, as well, and the EU hopes that the parties will start this process soon.

It should be noted that the opinion of the experts regarding the current and subsequent fate of the occupied villages was received.

Speaking to Azernews the military expert Adalat Verdiyev also confirmed that the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan had stated in his last statement in Reykjavik that he recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan as 86.6 thousand square kilometers. He underlined that this means Armenia recognizes Karabakh, Eastern Zangazur, and eight villages that are under occupation as the territory of Azerbaijan.

Despite Azerbaijan regaining control over other areas, these eight villages still remain under the control of Armenia. Armenia realizes that their return to Azerbaijan would cause serious problems for Armenia. For example, the return of the village of Karki to Azerbaijan allows Azerbaijan to take control of the Yerevan-Gafan highway, and the return of 7 villages of Gazakh allows Azerbaijan to control the Ijevan Noyemberyan M4 Highway. This promised serious problems for Armenia, and therefore Armenia is trying to solve this issue in slightly a different way, Verdiyev said.

Reminding that four of these villages are Azerbaijans exclave within Armenia, the expert admitted that solving this issue will be very hard. However, he believes that Azerbaijan and Armenia can solve the problem if Armenia approaches the issue rationally.

For example, it will not be easy to open a corridor to Azerbaijan from the Yukhari Eskipara village [exclave], which borders Armenia on all four sides, and ensure the safety of Azerbaijani citizens there. Similarly, the other 3 exclaves. Therefore, the exchange of these areas may be possible. However, we do not observe any open discussions about territorial exchange yet, he noted.

He added that in any case, the victorious Azerbaijan will not compromise an inch of its land to the Armenian side. This is an axiom, and this proof does not need any further evidence. Besides, Armenia also does not have the military capabilities to control the territories of Azerbaijan.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Azerbaijan and Hungary are united by centuries-old historical ties. The two countries enjoy a long-standing partnership in many fields, including political, economical, cultural, etc.

Hungary recognized Azerbaijan's independence on December 26, 1991, while diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on April 27, 1992.

The two nations have a strong and lasting relationship based on friendship, trust, and mutual respect, which has continued to evolve, reaching the level of a strategic partnership.

The cultural ties between the two countries have grown and developed significantly over the past years. Cultural cooperation is also characterized by high dynamics of mutual visits.

In his interview with AZERNEWS, artistic director of the Debrecen Folk Dance Ensemble (DNE) Vilmos Hercz shared his thoughts and cultural experiences in Azerbaijan.

Q: Could you tell us about yourself and the purpose of your recent visit to Azerbaijan?

A: My name is Vilmos Hercz, and I am artistic director of the Debrecen Folk Dance Ensemble (DNE), folk dance pedagogue, choreographer, Young Master of Folk Art. I have been taking the DNE for almost 20 years, we have been the standout at many domestic and international folk dance festivals! Nearly 200 people in 5 age groups dance in the group!

It was a great experience to participate in the Azerbaijan tour. We have never been to this country before, so we were really looking forward to the moment of the trip and after our arrival we enjoyed a lot of Azerbaijani hospitality, which hereby we would like to thank the organisers again!

Q: What is common in the cultures of Azerbaijan and Hungary? What kind of music did you like in Azerbaijan the most?

A: There are many common features in the traditional performance of folk music, folk dance and folk songs in Azerbaijani and Hungarian culture, for example they improvise very nicely and perform it at a high level and pass it on to the audience.

The Mugham music was impressive and captivating; we heard original music and staged arrangements as well. The diversity of dances and the vibrancy of the costumes were very beautiful.

Q: You have attended the Kharibulbul International Music Festival in Shusha. How impressive was the event for you? What was the most particular moment that remained in your memory?

A: The location of the Kharibulbul Festival was held in a beautiful environment. We danced twice on the main stage, it was the most beautiful place where we have danced so far. The music and theater productions on the small stages in the city were fantastic as well.

We really liked the selection of locations and the diversity of the programs at the Festival! I would highlight the decoration of the performance venues with live flowers, it was beautiful!

Q: Would you recommend Azerbaijan as the best tourist destination in Hungary? And if you could come to Azerbaijan once again, which places would you want to see again?

A: I recommend Azerbaijan to everyone as a tourist attraction! We met very nice people in Baku and have already started organizing another tour.

There are still sights left, we only spent one day sightseeing! We also ate very delicious food, but we would continue this cultural gastronomic journey by getting to know other features of the region.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Newly appointed director of the International Mugham Center Honored Artist Sahib Pashazade has been introduced to his team.

According to Azernews, Deputy Culture Minister, People's Artist Murad Huseynov congratulated Sahib Pashazade on his appointment and spoke about the attention and care of the state to mugham art.

In his speech, Advisor to the Culture Minister. Honored Art Worker Jahangir Selimkhanov spoke about Sahib Pashazade's worthy presentation of the Azerbaijani performing arts worldwide.

Sahib Pashazada successfully tours many countries like Turkiye, Morocco, China, Lithuania, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, Canada, Japan, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Greece, Georgia, Kazakhstan, etc.

In 2011, Sahib Pashazada was awarded with the title of Honored Artist of Azerbaijan. He is an associate professor of the Azerbaijan National Conservatory.He is the first Azerbaijani musician, who has been awarded a medal for high performing skills during a concert program dedicated to the International Day of Peace.

Sahib Pashazade thanked for the trust, emphasizing that the team of the International Mugham Center is dear to his heart. The tar musician have apperead on the center's many times. He took part numerous concert programs and musical projects.

Sahib Pashazade promised to continue his fruitful activity as a director of the center.

The International Mugham Center is constantly expanding its activities, organizing numerous international projects, concert programs, seminars, and conferences aimed at promoting mugham art.

Over the past years, the Mugham Center has also successfully implemented multiple cultural projects aimed at promoting national music: "Evenings of ashug music", "Treasury of Secrets", "Unforgettable", and "Pearls of ethnic music", etc.

The long-standing cooperative relations between the Mugham Centre and international partners are a solid basis for expanding the scope of international cultural ties.

For several years, the International Mugham Centre has successfully cooperated with Hungary.

For the first time, the sides expressed their readiness for cooperation when the International Mugham Center and the Hungarian Cultural Heritage signed a memorandum on cultural cooperation.

The memorandum contributes to the expansion of cultural ties between the countries and the promotion of mugham art and Azerbaijani music.

A memorandum of cooperation signed between the International Mugham Centre and the Japanese Embassy in Azerbaijan is another step in expanding international ties.

The center also takes important steps toward bolstering cultural cooperation with Turkiye, Poland, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Morocco, and other countries.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
19 May 2023 11:18 (UTC+04:00)

The 5th "SHE Congress" brought together more than 500 business women from the country and the region. The event, the main partner of which was the country's leading mobile operator Azercell Telecom, was remembered for interesting speeches, panel discussions, dynamic sessions and seminars.

The Congress, held under the slogan "OWN YOUR LIFE", was aimed at developing women's leadership and professional skills of the participants, and also provided them with a unique opportunity to network and exchange experiences.

Azercell was represented at the event by Director of Corporate Communications Department Sona Abbasova and Director of Legislation, Ethics and Compliance Department of Azercell Shirin Aliyeva.

Sharing her success story within the framework of the event, Shirin Aliyeva managed to inspire the participants of the event with her own example. Sh. Aliyeva noted the importance of the favorable conditions created in Azerbaijan for the advancement of women throughout her 19-year career. In her speech, she stressed that today in Azerbaijan there are many opportunities for women to actively participate in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the country.

The speech of the Director of Corporate Communications Department Sona Abbasova also attracted the attention of the participants of the event. S. Abbasova spoke about the numerous programs implemented by Azercell as part of the corporate social responsibility strategy, and then invited Gulshan Akhundova, the head of the Women's Hotline, established on the initiative and with the support of Azercell, to the stage. The session, which was held in the format of a panel discussion, provided detailed information about the work of the hotline, touched upon the main topics of calls to the service, the problems and difficulties faced by women in society. The speakers called on all women in need of support to contact the service at the short number 116111.

It should be noted that having allocated more than 22 million US dollars for the implementation of social projects, Azercell always pays special attention to the protection of women's rights and their comprehensive development. The company implements numerous programs aimed at the adaptation of women in society, increasing their level of education, knowledge and skills in various fields, as well as the implementation of career growth.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
19 May 2023 10:54 (UTC+04:00)

The "Caspian Basin Studies" program organized by the Specialization Programs of the Institute of Development and Diplomacy ("IDD") operating under ADA University has been completed.

According to Azernews, more than 10 foreign diplomats accredited in our country participated in the program that ended on May 17. Argentina, Czech Republic, Algeria, Palestine, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are among the countries represented by them.

On the last day of the program, Javid Musayev, head of the communication policy sector of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, delivered lectures on topics such as the main principles of working with the international media, and Elchin Allahverdiyev, the deputy head of the International Security Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, on the achievements and problems of Azerbaijan's foreign policy. Fuad Huseynov, Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs, informed the participants about the return of our IDPs to the regions freed from occupation.

Later, Aygun Hajiyeva, the adviser to the vice-rector for state, foreign and student affairs of ADA University, the deputy director of the Institute of Development and Diplomacy, congratulated the participants who successfully completed the program and presented them with certificates.

It should be noted that during the program, diplomats got the opportunity to listen to lectures covering a wide range of topics, such as the political system of the region, tourism prospects, as well as cultural diplomacy, economic and geopolitical aspects of Caspian energy, principles of working with international media, foreign policy, solving the problems of internally displaced persons and working with international organizations.

The program was taught by professors and teachers of ADA University and program directors of "IDD", as well as representatives of various government institutions and think tanks.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
19 May 2023 12:47 (UTC+04:00)

Rena Murshud Read more

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Mexico Mammad Talibov took part in the 9th summit of the heads of state and government of the Association of Caribbean States, held in Antigua (Guatemala).

According to Azernews, in the embassy, within the framework of the event with the participation of high-ranking representatives of more than 35 countries, Mammad Talibov met with the President of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei.

During a short conversation, Ambassador Mammad Talibov conveyed to Alejandro Giammattei the greetings of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and expressed gratitude for inviting our country to participate in the event.

The head of the Guatemalan state, in turn, asked to convey his greetings to President Ilham Aliyev.

As part of the event, Ambassador Mammad Talibov also held bilateral meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, Mario Bucaro, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama, Janahina Tewani, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, Arnoldo Andre. At the meetings, an exchange of views took place on the continuation and expansion of the existing relations of friendship and cooperation between our countries in bilateral and multilateral formats.

At the meeting with the Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States Rodolfo Sabonga, gratitude was expressed for inviting Azerbaijan to take part in the event, it was brought to the attention that our country is ready to expand ties with this association and its member states. The Secretary General highly appreciated the fact that Azerbaijan is participating for the first time in the summit of the heads of states and governments of the association, noted the interest of the Caribbean countries in the further development of relations with Azerbaijan.

It should be noted that the Antiguan Declaration was adopted at the summit chaired by the President of Guatemala.

To recall that the Summit of the ACS is the most important meeting of the organization  held periodically at the very highest level, facilitating the convergence of Heads of State and/or Government or their High Level Representatives from the entire Membership of the organization, being Member States, Associate Members, Founding Observer Organizations, Observer Countries, Social Actors, Observer Organizations, as well as Specially Invited Guests from other International and Regional organizations.

All meet in culmination of prior technical discussions and preparation, to reaffirm and recommit to the organizations goals, objectives and plan of action that would benefit the peoples of the region that is the Greater Caribbean.

Integral to Summit proceedings, is the discussion of regional and global affairs, more specifically as they relate to regional cooperation on the focal areas of the Association, viz: Sustainable Tourism; Trade Development and External Economic Relations; Air and Maritime Transport and Disaster Risk Reduction.

The Summit caucus or retreat allows for the conscientious examination and analysis of these issues and/or problems faced by the region and to further stimulate collaborative and concerted action.

Also an integral part and highlight of the Summit, is the adoption and signing of the Declaration, whereby regional Leaders reaffirm, commit and instruct for the successful undertaking of proposed policies, positions and actions outlined in the document.

---

Follow Rena Murshud on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
19 May 2023 14:40 (UTC+04:00)

A new print edition of the AZERNEWS online newspaper was released on May 19.

The new edition includes several interesting articles, such as "Armenia's tantrum: how Macron will help Pashinyan in Chisinau?"; "Belarus can make great contribution in field of agriculture related to Karabakh"; "State Tourism Agency preserves Khinalig's unique architecture "; "Brussels meeting mirrors Azerbaijan's political power " etc.

AZERNEWS is an associate member of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

The online newspaper is available at www.azernews.az.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Geon-hee are preparing to leave to Japan for G7 summit at the Seongnam International Airport, May 19. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived in Hiroshima on Friday for a Group of Seven (G7) summit and other meetings on the sidelines, including one with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and another with Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden.



The three-day visit comes amid a flurry of diplomacy as Yoon pushes to rebuild Seoul's relationships with Washington and Tokyo, and strengthen ties with like-minded nations that share the universal values of freedom, human rights and democracy.





Yoon will be the fourth South Korean president to attend a G7 summit and is accompanied by first lady Kim Keon Hee. South Korea is not a member of the bloc but was invited as one of eight guest nations, along with Australia, Brazil, Comoros, the Cook Islands, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.



Yoon will address an expanded session of the G7 summit and speak on issues that include food security, health, climate change and energy. The session will also include a discussion on policies for a rules-based international order and engaging with emerging countries.



"Our selection as a G7 invited country this year will be an opportunity to confirm our status as a global partner for defending the rules-based international order and responding to global challenges," Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo told reporters earlier.



"The trend we're seeing is a strengthening of relations with key friendly nations, such as the United States and Japan, and an expansion of the bilateral diplomacy basis, where we have built trust, to the multilateral diplomacy forum," he said.





South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Geon-hee are preparing to leave to Japan for G7 summit at the Seongnam International Airport, May 19. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



A highlight of the trip will be a trilateral meeting among Yoon, Biden and Kishida on the margins of the G7 summit.









The meeting is likely to take place Sunday, on the last day of Yoon's visit, and will build on the three leaders' previous summit in Cambodia last November.



It will come on the heels of two summits between Yoon and Kishida, in March and May, and Yoon's state visit to Washington in April.



"Based on the foundation of a more robust bilateral relationship between South Korea and the U.S., and between South Korea and Japan, they're expected to discuss strategic cooperation measures to upgrade South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation one step further in the face of North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, regional supply chain instability, the energy crisis and other common challenges," Kim said.



Chief among the agenda items will be their agreement in Cambodia to share missile warning data in real time to counter growing North Korean missile threats, though no new agreement is expected to be announced.



"I think the three leaders will be briefed on progress made so far, review it and then the three countries will each announce a coordinated outcome," a presidential official said.



Separately, Yoon and Kishida will hold a bilateral summit Sunday, their third since March.



Bilateral relations have warmed significantly following Seoul's decision in March to compensate Korean victims of Japanese wartime forced labor without asking for contributions from Japanese firms.





South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Geon-hee are preparing to leave to Japan for G7 summit at the Seongnam International Airport, May 19. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
19 May 2023 13:38 (UTC+04:00)

Rena Murshud Read more

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov notes the positive dynamics in the negotiations with Armenia on a peace treaty, Azernews reports.

This format was still expected at the end of last year (in December), however, due to circumstances beyond the control of the participants in this meeting (Azerbaijani and Russian FMs), it did not happen then. We highly appreciate the organization of this meeting and the emerging positive dynamics in the negotiation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan; I mean quite close contacts in May, and such an opportunity, Bayramov said on Friday in Moscow at a meeting with his Russian counterpart.

The Azerbaijani minister added that today there will be an opportunity on a bilateral basis to discuss a number of issues related to the post-conflict settlement between Azerbaijan and Armenia on various tracks, as well as to discuss the bilateral agenda between Azerbaijan and Russia".

Speaking about cooperation with Russia, Bayramov noted that an Azerbaijani delegation of about 80 people headed by Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev is currently in Kazan, which will hold talks with the Russian side, during which Baku and Moscow will consider a wide range of issues.

To recall, a trilateral meeting of Foreign Ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia Sergey Lavrov, Jeyhun Bayramov and Ararat Mirzoyan will be held in Moscow on May 19.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
19 May 2023 14:04 (UTC+04:00)

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili sent a letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Heydar Aliyev, Azernews reports.

The letter reads:

President Heydar Aliyev was distinguished statesman who played an instrumental role in shaping the modern state of Azerbaijan. It was precisely his vision that laid the foundation for building a strong and prosperous nation.

As a beacon of hope for the entire country, Your fathers deeds and efforts directed toward the prosperity of the Azerbaijani people will be remembered by future generations and will always serve as their source of inspiration and pride, the President of Georgia said.

Under President Heydar Aliyevs leadership Azerbaijan established itself as an important state on the global stage. He played a decisive role in developing the relations between our countries, Georgia appreciates the firm friendship and partnership with Azerbaijan and we are ready to further deepen this tie for the prosperity of our people," Salome Zourabichvili emphasized in her letter.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
19 May 2023 14:22 (UTC+04:00)

The UK Department of Foreign Affairs and International Development (FCDO) responded to a letter from the Azerbaijani community operating in this country regarding Azerbaijani soldiers Agshin Babirov and Hussein Akhundov held captive in Armenia.

Azernews reports, citing the State Committee for Work with Diaspora.

The letter addressed to the chairman of the Society of British Azerbaijanis Farida Panahova expressed gratitude for the information provided about the inhuman treatment of both Azerbaijani soldiers by the Armenian authorities.

FCDO is committed to promoting universal human rights. We call on states to ensure that prisoners are treated in accordance with international human rights law. This includes humane treatment and respect for the dignity of the human person, as required by Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

States must take steps to ensure minimum guarantees for the humane treatment of persons under their care. This includes providing services related to the primary and basic needs of prisoners. The UK government regularly raises human rights issues with various partners, including Armenia," the letter emphasizes.

It should be noted that the servicemen of the Azerbaijani army - Babirov Agshin Gabil oglu (born 2004) and Akhundov Huseyn Ahliman oglu (born 2003) - went missing on April 9 in the Shahbuz region of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic on the border with Armenia due to limited visibility due to adverse weather conditions.

Later, the Armenian side admitted that the Azerbaijani military were with them. Photographs and video footage of the ill-treatment of one of them were also published.

On May 8, A. Babirov was sentenced by the court to 11.5 years in prison on fabricated charges.

Earlier, we reported that the Azerbaijani community in the UK strongly condemned the torture of Armenians against Azerbaijani servicemen.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
19 May 2023 16:44 (UTC+04:00)

Azercell Telecoms Human Capital Management department arranged a meeting with ADA Schools students and teachers, Azernews reports.

The 11th-grade students of ADA School got acquainted with the Network Technology Department of the country's leading mobile operator and had the opportunity to watch its working principle. During the event, schoolchildren shared their practice and observations on Azercell's network coverage and service quality. This was a great opportunity for them to demonstrate the theoretical knowledge they acquired from various sources in a real telecommunication environment and gain valuable experience.

Managers and specialists of the Network Quality Control and Reporting Sector of Azercell's Network Technology Department have given certain instructions and recommendations to improve the students work and skills to motivate young guests who are interested in this field from school age. Azercell team also conducted a session on the topic What is a STARTUP for the students and answered their questions on the latest startup trends, directions, and opportunities. A group exercise, given on the related topic allowed students to further improve their skills.

An excursion program was also arranged for the students at Azercell Plaza, the companys head office. The students were shown the equipment for network benchmarks and test drives, as well as getting acquainted with the principles of their operation; the students participated in a Q&A session where they were able to address their questions to Azercell experts. At the end of the event, all young participants received certificates and gifts.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
19 May 2023 22:26 (UTC+04:00)

On May 19, 2023, talks were held in Moscow between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

Azernews reports, citing Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry on Friday that Jeyhun Bayramov and Ararat Mirzoyan presented their positions on the implementation of the tripartite statements of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia.

The parties continued to work on the draft agreement "On the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations". The sides had a constructive exchange of views on topics on which there are still disagreements.

The ministers expressed their gratitude to the Russian side for organizing the talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The parties agreed to continue discussions.

The ministers also held separate meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
20 May 2023 00:50 (UTC+04:00)

President of the United States of America Joseph Biden has sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on May 28 - Independence Day, Azernews reports.

The letter reads:

His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Dear Mr. President,

On behalf of the people of the United States, I send our best wishes to you and the people of Azerbaijan as you celebrate your Independence Day.

The partnership between Azerbaijan and the United States has helped advance prosperity across the region. Together, we are combating terrorism, addressing narcotics trafficking, and countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. We have stood together to advance European energy security, particularly during Russias brutal war against the people of Ukraine. The United States will continue to support a sustainable and just peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia  which will promote security and prosperity across the South Caucasus for generations to come.

In the year ahead, I look forward to strengthening our partnership even further  including deepening our security and economic cooperation. And, I wish you a joyous national holiday.

Sincerely,

Joseph R. Biden

President of the United States of America

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
19 May 2023 08:00 (UTC+04:00)

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov will pay a working visit to the Russian Federation on 21-22 May 2023. This was announced by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, Azernews reports citing UzDaily.

According to her, during his stay in Moscow, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov will hold talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov.

The ministers will consider all aspects of bilateral political cooperation based on strategic partnership and alliance, as well as topical issues of a trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian nature.

The heads of the foreign ministries will discuss the tasks related to the development of interstate dialogue in the current year.

The ministers will exchange views on the regional situation, taking into account the coordinated contribution to the development of cooperation, as well as maintaining stability and security in Central Asia and adjacent territories.

It is also planned to discuss key integration processes in the Eurasian space and consider common issues that are significant for the states of the continent.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
19 May 2023 20:10 (UTC+04:00)

The US has decided to expand its sectoral sanctions on Russia and sanction more than 300 individuals and entities, a senior US official said on Thursday, Azernews reports citing TASS.

The restrictive measures will affect not only Russia, but also some third countries, the official told reporters in a conference call ahead of US President Joe Bidens trip to Japan for a G7 summit.

"The United States will be rolling out a substantial package" of sanctions, the official said. "Moreover, we will announce upwards of 300 new sanctions against individuals, entities, vessels, and aircraft. These will go after circumvention. These will go after financial facilitators, as well as future energy" the official went on to say.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
20 May 2023 00:00 (UTC+04:00)

The US has announced new sanctions and export restrictions on 71 companies from Armenia and other countries, the Commerce Department said on Friday.

Azernews reports that according to a document published in the federal register, the agency "expanded the list of export restrictions on 71 companies. They, as determined by the US government, act contrary to the interests of national security and foreign policy of the United States," the document says.

The Armenian Medisar LLC, which supplies industrial raw materials, chemicals and laboratory equipment, was sanctioned for cooperation with Russia.

To recap, earlier US had imposed sanctions against Russia, 28 companies belonging to China, Malta, Singapore, UAE, and so on got restricted to carry on export. The most important point is that Armenia, which owns 10 of the 28 companies, ranked on the top among the above-mentioned countries. And the most interesting point is that Armenia, which has no domestic production other than mines, increased its exports to Russia amid the Russo-Ukrainian War.

According to experts, Armenia's dependence on Russia is at the highest level among the CIS countries. It is still the second country after Belarus in terms of dependence on Russia.

This proves once again that Armenia's Western-oriented policy is a rhetoric, a policy for receiving more support from the West. In other words, it is a political game created by the Pashinyan government.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Meet DArcy Drollinger, a drag queen who's now the first drag laureate in the US

San Francisco has named the nation's first drag laureate to represent the citys famous LGBTQ+ community at a time when rights are under attack




Top officials of Korea and the United States have discussed ways to bolster technology diplomacy in artificial intelligence (AI) and other areas, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday.







The director-general-level meeting, held in Seoul the previous day, was attended by Yun Hyun-soo, head of the ministry's bureau for climate change, energy, environment and scientific affairs, and Seth Center, the deputy envoy for critical and emerging technology of the U.S. State Department.







The two sides discussed cooperation on quantum technology, bioscience and AI as part of follow-up measures to last month's summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)


Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
With the 2023 Point-in-Time count in the rearview mirror, officials at the Housing and Homelessness Committee congregated Tuesday to focus on 
'Like a weight has been lifted off me': Mother reacts as man is found guilty in her daughter's stabbing death in 11-year cold case
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz/ Yonhap



German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Friday his government clearly welcomed an approach by South Korea and Japan to rapidly thaw long-strained bilateral ties, emphasizing the need for close cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo over geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.



In an exclusive written interview with Yonhap News Agency ahead of his visit to South Korea for summit talks with President Yoon Suk Yeol, Scholz said such initiatives to mend ties between Seoul and Tokyo required "political courage and broader perspective."



During the summit, Scholz said he will give Yoon his explicit respect for such initiatives.



South Korea and Japan are "close partners to us, sharing values and goals," Scholz said, adding that, along with Germany, the three nations "are firmly convinced that conflicts around the world should be resolved under the rules of international law." The interview was conducted in German and translated into English.



Yoon held a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Seoul earlier this month. The summit was the second of its kind in less than two months and marked the resumption of "shuttle diplomacy" between the countries' leaders after a 12-year hiatus.



Bilateral relations have warmed significantly since the Yoon administration offered in March to resolve a dispute over wartime forced labor by compensating the Korean victims without contributions from Japanese firms.



The German chancellor plans to arrive in Seoul on Sunday for the summit with Yoon after attending a Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan. He will first visit the Demilitarized Zone, which separates the two Koreas, ahead of the summit.



On North Korea, Scholz said Germany is monitoring developments related to the country's missile tests and that it condemns such threatening actions in the strongest terms.





President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during their summit in New York in this September 2022 file photo. Newsis
Now that the public is allowed to know the truth regarding the Hunter Biden Laptop Scandal, after more that 2 1/2 years of deception by the corrupt Corporate Media Kabal, propropagandidats all, and the discredited Deep State, we have NOW learned that the infamous laptop is far less about the Biden Boy's fetish for pornography, narcotics and Russian whores, and far more about Hunter's pivotal role in the Biden Crime Syndicate's selling of deep access to our foreign adversaries, and to what extent it has compromised our national security: What is your opinion about this possible coordinated Treason?

It is imperative that we know the truth of what may be the greatest scandal in our Republic's history, and all aforementioned parties prosecuted for their crimes against the People.

Currently, our Two Tiered Justice System is constructed to protect all Democratic Socialists, their corrupt "Journalist" spokes-sheople, and their Deep State enablers ... so why bother.

It is Donald Trump's fault.
A bill known as the Health Care Practitioner Titles and Designations bill is headed to the desk of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this week, according to a May 16 report from ABC affiliate WPBF.

The bill would require all practitioners to wear name tags that include their profession when located inside a medical office.

Any type of advertisement for a practice or practitioner must also include the physician's educational degree.

Additionally, the bill sets guidelines on who can be referred to as a "physician," meaning certain specialists, including optometrists, would not be able to be classified as physicians.

Specialists including anesthesiologists, neurologists, psychiatrists and endocrinologists would be allowed to retain the physician title.

The American Optometric Association put out a statement opposing the bill, saying that it will "vigorously oppose any attempt to prevent Florida-licensed doctors of optometry from legally practicing at the highest levels allowed by state and federal law, including their ability to effectively communicate with their patients by introducing unnecessary confusion. The proposed legislation undermines the doctor-patient relationship that will, in turn, jeopardize patient outcomes."

Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell, a sponsor of the bill, said it's about "informing patients and about transparency. We want to make sure that patients understand who is treating them."

If signed by Mr. DeSantis, the new rules will go into effect on July 1.
In June, new prior authorization rules from UnitedHealthcare concerning select gastroenterology procedures will take effect, requiring patients and physicians to seek authorization for gastroenterology endoscopy services, including esophagogastroduodenoscopies, capsule endoscopies, diagnostic colonoscopies and surveillance colonoscopies.

Several physician groups, including the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the California Medical Association, have expressed opposition to the changes, citing patient safety concerns and undue physician burden.

UnitedHealthcare begs to differ, saying that these changes will actually improve patient safety by preventing procedure overutilization.

"Prior authorization is an important checkpoint to make sure a service and procedure is safe and clinically appropriate. It also helps ensure that patients don't pay out of pocket for care they don't need," Tracey Lempner, director of communications for UnitedHealthcare, told Becker's.



"Endoscopy procedures are important diagnostic tools, and are generally safe, but there are a wide range of complications. Complications including bleeding, bowel perforation and anesthesia-related events. Clinical studies have also shown both an over utilization of these procedures and a lack of compliance with clinical guidelines," she said.

According to UHC data shared with Becker's, the average out-of-pocket cost for members is $944 for a diagnostic/surveillance colonoscopy procedure or an esophagogastroduodenoscopy.

"If we know a procedure with known and documented risks is being performed inappropriately, we work to reduce harm and long-term risk and avoid hospital admissions and readmissions for our members," according to a UHC statement on the new policies.

While several medical societies have expressed concerns around potential delays caused by these prior authorization changes, UHC believes that no such delays will happen.

"It is not going to delay care. Our electronic submission process allows for immediate approvals for physicians with a history of following best clinical practices. All other decisions will be made within two business days once we receive all clinical information, which is well within average wait times for clinical procedure appointment scheduling," Ms. Lempner told Becker's.

Additionally, she noted that all clinical information submitted will be reviewed by board-certified gastroenterology specialists.

Last month, physicians submitted 70 percent of their GI prior authorizations through UnitedHealthcare's online portal, and 50 percent were approved immediately through the automated system, according to data shared with Becker's.

"We have made no changes to our policy regarding screening colonoscopies for preventive care, and this policy does not impact screening colonoscopies. We are asking physicians to follow the guidelines and evidence-based practices developed by their own gastroenterology medical societies to help ensure our members have timely access to safe and clinically appropriate care," Ms. Lempner said.
Hospitals are employing a range of different measures to address capacity challenges and reduce emergency department wait times.

As of May 13, more than 73 percent of U.S. hospital beds were in use, which isn't a significant drop from rates seen during past COVID-19 surges.

Here are four efforts Becker's has reported on in recent weeks:

Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital has opened a "discharge lounge"  a designated space in the lobby for patients waiting to be transported home, which enables the hospital to open up beds for new admissions sooner than they would be able to otherwise.

Hackensack Meridian Health's Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, N.J., has cut its average ED wait time to seven minutes though the Pull to Infinity program implemented last June. The initiative involves taking patients who enter the ED straight from check in to a "triage hallway," bypassing the typical waiting room or triage room. The triage hallway has dedicated nurses and patient care technicians who start care right away.

Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J., is utilizing a similar approach that has shrunk its "left without being seen rate" to nearly zero. Emergency medicine leaders at the hospital put a direct bedding initiative in place, which eliminated the need for a waiting room and has cut waiting times to see a physician to under 10 minutes. The approach involved cooperation and collaboration from every service line that works with the ED.
Commentary: Japan's nuke wastewater dumping plan perilous, irresponsible

Xinhua) 13:51, May 19, 2023

TOKYO, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government is digging in its heels. When it comes to sugarcoating its nuclear-contaminated wastewater dump, no chance is too small for Tokyo.

Preliminary farming started last year in seawater at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to show water safety. A small group of chefs, restaurateurs and retailers was invited this March for a special tasting event of made-in-Fukushima food. Even the upcoming Group of Seven summit is about to witness Japan wooing its allies to trust ingredients from the prefecture.

The trickery is too crystal clear to miss: The self-serving Japanese government has attempted to shush objections at home and abroad and okay a dumping plan both perilous and irresponsible.

Chief among worries is the contaminated water itself.

After suffering core meltdowns, the nuclear plant has been generating massive amounts of radiation-tainted water. Substances like tritium, a radioactive byproduct of nuclear reactors, are hard to filter. Added to the risks are traces of ruthenium, cobalt, strontium and plutonium isotopes in the wastewater.

In this regard, the Pacific faces immense pollution due to Japan's reckless and shameless actions. Estimates have showed that if contaminated water from Fukushima is released into the ocean, it will only take seven months for it to reach the shores of South Korea's Jeju Island, and to touch as far afield as the U.S. West Coast in several years' time.

Besides, Japan's headstrong decision-makers have proceeded with its unpopular plan without having enough science-based and professional discussions and full communication with the public. Their irresponsible move has undoubtedly sparked a huge outcry both at home and abroad.

In April 2021, the Japanese government announced its controversial plan to release diluted wastewater into the sea, claiming the release is "the most realistic" solution, which is absolutely not. Although neighbouring countries have voiced concern, the government refused to change its mind and said in January that the discharge will start "in the spring or summer."

With the deadline for the dumping plan looming, hundreds of the Japanese people on Tuesday gathered at multiple locations in Tokyo to protest against the government's scheme, demanding immediate suspension.

According to a recent poll, more than 43 percent of people in Japan are against the ocean discharge and over 90 percent of people believe that this move will lead to negative effects. If the Japanese government is unable to convince its own people, how can it expect any trust from the international community?

Moreover, the Japanese government has chosen to take a shortcut that puts economic interest above everything else.

Instead of hammering out a better plan to tackle the issue, the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the crippled plant's operator, just claimed the space is running out and they will release more than a million tons of water into the sea, which showed a reckless disregard for the alternative options proposed by the public.

In fact, experts from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and non-governmental organizations have suggested other disposal options, including vapor release, hydrogen release, geosphere injection or underground burial.

If Tokyo or TEPCO is determined to address the lack of storage, they will certainly find a safe and responsible option. Surprisingly yet sadly, the company said it would be too time-consuming to negotiate with the local government and landowners.

The Pacific Ocean does not belong to Japan. If Tokyo insists on such perilous, toxic nuclear wastewater discharge plan, it will leave another indelible mark of sin on its history due to its irresponsible behavior.

(Zhang Yiyi, Qian Zheng in Tokyo, and Yoo Seungki in Seoul also contributed to the story.)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a hotel in Hiroshima, Japan, Friday. Joint Press Corps



By Nam Hyun-woo



HIROSHIMA, Japan  President Yoon Suk Yeol held summits with the leaders of Australia and Vietnam, Friday, and agreed to strengthen economic cooperation with the two countries, which are South Korea's comprehensive strategic partners.



Yoon met Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on the first day of his three-day visit to Hiroshima, Japan. Yoon is visiting the Japanese city to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit.



It was the second South Korea-Australia summit since Yoon was elected into office in May 2022. Yoon and Albanese met in June of last year on the sidelines of the North Atlantic treaty Organization Summit in Spain.



According to presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon, Yoon and Albanese recognized that bilateral relations are deepening in various fields after diplomatic ties were upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2021.



"Our government aims to strengthen strategic communication with Australia, a key like-minded country in the region, in order to implement our Indo-Pacific strategy more effectively," Yoon was quoted as saying.



Agreeing with Yoon, Albanese lauded the South Korean president's efforts to improve relations with Japan and maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.



They agreed that South Korea and Australia, whose economies complement each other, should continue to bolster cooperation in global supply chain resilience and stabilize bilateral trade in rare minerals, which are essential for the progress of advanced industries. The leaders also shared opinions on expanding bilateral cooperation in the fields of defense, based on their achievements so far.



Currently, South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace is seeking to export its Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle to Australia. It is competing with Germany's Rheinmetall KF-41 Lynx for the Australian weapons procurement project.









Albanese expressed his hope of realizing plans to expand defense cooperation between the two countries and increase the frequency of joint military exercises in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the spokesperson.



Both leaders shared the view that North Korea's unprecedented provocations pose a serious threat not only to the Indo-Pacific region, but also to the peace and prosperity of the international community.





President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh during their summit at a hotel in Hiroshima, Japan, Friday. Yonhap
Welch (W.Va.) Community Hospital is looking to close its long-term care unit, according to the West Virginia health department.

The closure of the 59-bed unit is part of the hospitals transition to the West Virginia University Health System, according to the news release. A hearing to discuss the closure will be held June 15. Staff members are working to place residents in new facilities.

Morgantown-based WVU Medicine took over the hospital in January.
Healthcare will be more virtual, automated and consumer-friendly five years from now, while digital integration will feel seamless, several health system digital leaders told Becker's.

"Just as we no longer talk about electronic commerce as different from business generally, we are at the point where digital health is simply health," said Daniel Barchi, executive vice president and CIO of Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health.

At CommonSpirit, which has 143 hospitals across 22 states, that digital shift includes using the Catholic health system's scale, mission and digital population health tools to "aggregate data and help clinicians and patients partner to manage their wellness," Mr. Barchi said.

"In five years, we will have adopted, integrated and implemented several different technologies at Jefferson," predicted Nassar Nizami, executive vice president and chief information and digital officer of Philadelphia-based Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health. "Digital health encompasses a cultural transformation of traditional healthcare."

The health system plans to improve upon its AI technology that already helps physicians access the risk of cancer in lumps or nodules, the risk of stroke in CT scans, and patients' chances of needing blood transfusions, Mr. Nizami said. Jefferson is using automation to reduce administrative tasks in IT, human resources, sourcing and through its virtual nursing pilot. Its JeffConnect telemedicine program encompasses mobile health and remote patient monitoring and has been a model to other health systems it has advised on launching similar initiatives.

Pittsburgh-based UPMC is focusing its digital efforts on boosting access to care and driving efficiencies through automation in departments like the call center and scheduling, said Brenton Burns, executive vice president of UPMC Enterprises, the health system's innovation and venture capital arm, where he oversees digital solutions.

"Digital tools are allowing us to think outside of our traditional walls to provide care across a diversity of formats and settings, including via telemedicine or in the home," Mr. Burns said. "Clean, accessible and interoperable data are critical to ensuring our success, so we are continuing to build those capabilities internally."

Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health is not only working to build up its own digital capacity but support other health systems through its digital health subsidiary, Accrete Health Partners.

"As an organization, we are developing, investing in and partnering with industry leaders to provide services and opportunities for systems wanting to optimize their IT operations, improve patient access to care by leveraging leading patient-care solutions, and unlock data, analytics and automation needed to engage patient populations," said Jason Szczuka, chief digital officer of Bon Secours Mercy Health.

New Orleans-based Ochsner Health is planning to scale its asynchronous virtual tools like e-visits and e-consults, make online scheduling more available, and boost its AI and remote monitoring capabilities, said Denise Basow, MD, executive vice president and chief digital officer.

"We are using technology to be more predictive, preventive and personalized in our approach to health, to manage patients efficiently and effectively in ambulatory and home settings, and to lower the total cost of care in a value-based environment," Dr. Basow said.

Orlando (Fla.) Health is investing in its foundational IT platforms, infrastructure, data and analytics to better connect providers and patients wherever they are physically located, said Novlet Mattis, senior vice president and chief digital and information officer. The health system also plans to establish an enterprise digital platform embedded with clinical decision support tools.

"By prioritizing digital engagement using simple, secure, fully integrated products and services  whether that be for virtual visits with your care team, care within the hospital, or for advanced hospital care at home  we envision digital health in five years as more of a norm rather than a new innovation in one's health and wellness journey," Ms. Mattis said.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Advocate Health, which was recently formed through the merger of Atrium Health in Charlotte and Advocate Aurora Health in Illinois and Wisconsin, is using its increased reach to accelerate its digital transformation, said Kelly Jo Golson, executive vice president and chief brand, communications and consumer experience officer.

"This will only be achieved by putting the consumer first in all that we do," Ms. Golson said. "It means meeting our patients where they are, anywhere, anytime; building a flexible, dynamic platform with a consistent experience and simplified scheduling for every Advocate Health touchpoint; interconnected programs that tap into advances in remote patient monitoring; and new care delivery systems that embed 24-7 virtual access into our clinical workflows."

Nashville, Tenn.-based Ardent Health Services is working to make care easier to access, whether it's in person or digital, by building, investing in or partnering around solutions, said chief consumer officer Reed Smith.

"Digital health will just be healthcare  there will be no segmentation between how it is delivered," Mr. Smith predicted. "The consumer will have more at their fingertips, and we will leverage our care teams to support patients through interdependent locations. Individuals want to find information and take action on their own in a DIY fashion  care will follow suit, especially for lower acuity needs."
Artificial intelligence voice assistant company Suki has integrated with EHR vendor Epic Systems, allowing customers to use its ambient note-generating capabilities.

The AI-based tool from Suki can generate clinical notes by ambiently listening to a patients' conversation with their clinician, according to a May 17 press release from Suki. The tool can then take those notes and automatically send them back to the Epic EHR.

The tool uses generative AI to document conversations and allows clinicians to review, accept, reject or edit the content it generates to ensure all information is accurate.
KPC Promise Hospital in Vicksburg, Miss., may be forced to close next month after missing lease payments to its landlord, Flowood, Miss.-based Merit Health.

Promise Hospital  a 35-bed long-term acute care facility  has been leasing space from Merit Health River Region, a 361-bed facility, since 2018. It previously spent 15 years at River Region's west campus, according to radio network Supertalk Mississippi.

"KPC Promise Hospital, which has been leasing space on the hospitals 6th floor, has been unable to fulfill its contractual obligations for more than a year," a representative for Merit Health told Becker's. "Prior to terminating the lease, we worked with KPC Promise for several months toward a mutually agreeable resolution. KPC Promise Hospital leadership has not shared with us their plans for the future."

Two long-term care facilities in Jackson will facilitate admission for patients who still require long-term acute care services post-discharge, the health system said.

Torrance Green, MD, Promise Hospital's medical director, told Becker's the services they provide are vital to the rural patient population.

"We're an integral part of this community," Dr. Green said. "We provide services that are not duplicated or accessible to this community in 60, 90 miles in any direction."

Although the hospital was behind $1 million on rent, Promise Hospital has a "very good relationship" with Merit Health River Region, according to Dr. Green. He believes the decision to evict the hospital is coming from the corporate level  Merit Health's parent company, Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems.

Dr. Green pointed to recent service cuts the company has made in Mississippi, including the closure of the state's only burn center and broad service cuts at Merit Health Central in Jackson. Evicting Promise Hospital would further deprive the region of care, he said.

"Here again, they're given a decision where it would enhance access to care," Dr. Green said. "They're making a decision for the bottom line."
Google is collecting the private health information of patients across the United States, a federal lawsuit alleges.

The class-action complaint was filed May 17 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District Court of California by two plaintiffs known as John Doe: one from Wisconsin and a patient of La Crosse, Wis.-based Gundersen Health System, another from Maryland who is a patient of Columbia, Md.-based MedStar Health.

They claim Google's code, which is present on 94 percent of healthcare provider websites, tracked, collected and monetized their health information, violating federal, state and common law. In the lawsuit, they cite Google's own generative artificial intelligence chatbot, Bard, confirming the "impropriety of its conduct."

They seek actual damages and any profit Google made from the data, as well as equitable and declaratory relief, including injunctive relief.

A Google spokesperson told Becker's the company is reviewing the lawsuit.
Despite healthcare's smartphone-enabled digital transformation, many physicians still prefer using good old-fashioned beepers, The Wall Street Journal reported May 19.

"They're like the cockroaches of the healthcare system," Meredith Barrett, MD, an assistant professor of transplant surgery at Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine, told the newspaper. "They won't go away."

She said her pager sometimes works in places where her phone doesn't, gives her more control and time to process messages, and helps divide her work-home life because she can leave it in her car when she's not on call.

Secure text messaging via phones has surpassed the use of pagers at hospitals, according to research cited by the Journal. But the boxy old devices still come in handy in certain situations.

Community Hospital of the Monterey (Calif.) Peninsula turned to pagers when a storm caused cellular and electrical outages in March, allowing on-call medical staff to go home instead of staying at the hospital, according to the story.

Colm McCarthy, MD, an orthopedic surgeon in Fall River, Mass., told the newspaper he has four apps on his phone to communicate with patients at his hospital. With the latest one, he receives a message with a phone number that he then has to call to get the patient's phone number.

"I was constantly ranting about how this is ridiculous that we use technology from the '80s when we have a computer in our pocket," he told the Journal. "Now that I have that, I'm screaming to get my pager back."
More than 100 unionized resident physicians at Oakland, Calif.-based Highland Hospital have reached a tentative contract deal that includes more than 20 percent compensation increases over three years, successfully averting a strike.

The bargain is "excellent," the Committee of Interns and Residents  which represents the physicians - wrote in a May 19 news release shared with Becker's.

The union filed multiple unfair labor charges against the health system during an eight-month bargaining period. On May 15, the physicians told the hospital's parent system, Alameda (Calif.) Health System, that they planned to strike later in the month. This led the health system to accelerate bargaining, which drew to a close May 18, according to the union.

In addition to pay increases, the physicians secured "eight weeks' paid parental leave, fair pay for when they're forced to come in unexpectedly, an increase in their diversity fund to $30,000 annually, mental health benefits, and an enforceable commitment to negotiate family building and fertility benefits later this year," the union release said.

The health system told Becker's that they have engaged in good-faith negotiations with the union "from day-one."

"AHS residents have always been among California's highest-paid resident physicians, and our residency programs are regarded as among the most desirable in the country," the health system said in a statement. "For example, current residents and recent alumni rank Highland Hospital's emergency residency program among the top five in the country."

"AHS is delighted to have reached an agreement with CIR/SEIU, which represents the physician residents who train at AHS hospitals and facilities," the health system continued. "We are especially pleased that this contract includes benefits that will continue to attract and support residents who reflect the diversity of the community we serve."
A man was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after allegedly bringing a rifle on the property of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, according to a police report shared with Becker's.

The man's name is redacted from the police report. A hospital spokesperson confirmed that the incident took place May 17 and that the individual is a Massachusetts General Hospital employee.

About 8:15 p.m., police were dispatched to an area of Fleet Street for a report of a man experiencing a mental breakdown while reportedly carrying a hunting rifle, police said.

Dispatch initially reported that the man "called 911 and stated that he heard God telling him that if he did not want to be shot that he should bring his rifle out and also that the police were out to kill him," police said.

Officers eventually made contact with the man via his cellphone and determined the man was on the Massachusetts General Hospital property. A physician also communicated that the man was on the hospital property.

Police said a hospital security officer was able to make contact with the man "and requested that he place the object he was carrying on the ground; not knowing that it was a rifle as it was covered by a shower curtain."

An officer took possession of the rifle from hospital security while another officer walked the man to the emergency entrance with hospital security, police said. Custody of the rifle was transferred to a detective.

Police said it is unknown what the intention of the man was in bringing the rifle.

"Boston Police responded to an individual in distress on the MGH campus," the hospital said in a statement shared with Becker's. "The incident was quickly resolved, and no one was harmed. No patients were affected and the hospital remained open and operating normally. We appreciate the quick actions of all involved including our colleagues and the Boston Police Department."

Police said officers were informed that the man "had a history of psychosis" and that the man claimed he "bought something he shouldn't have, took it, and that was the reason he was acting in this manner."

Police also said the man claimed he "got the rifle from his grandfather because he thought it was a cool old antique."

A physician informed police that the man would be transferred to an inpatient locked psychiatric unit, police said. The man was released from police custody and charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm.
A jury has awarded John Farmer, MD, a former employee of Baptist Health Madisonville (Ky.), $3.7 million after finding that the hospital violated terms of his contract and interfered with his future business relationships, according to The Indiana Lawyer.

Dr. Farmer was a third-year family medicine resident at Baptist when the mother of a patient accused him of being "impaired" and "touching his nose a lot," according to court documents.

After the complaint was filed, Diana Nims, MD, director of the residency program, consulted with two supervising physicians who worked with Dr. Farmer that afternoon. One of those physicians participated in the patient visit, and both denied that he was impaired by alcohol or drugs.

In such cases, according to Baptist Health's policies, the accused physician should be spoken to and assessed for possible impairment. Then, if there is a reasonable suspicion of impairment, the accused physician should be immediately tested for drugs and alcohol.

However, the complaint alleges Dr. Farmer was not told about the allegations until the next morning, when leadership already agreed to require him to go for evaluation and possible treatment, according to the report. Dr. Farmer was placed on a leave of absence, pending an evaluation.

In November 2019, he signed an order that prohibited him from practicing medicine until the Kentucky Physicians Health Foundation approved him to do so. He was evaluated in December and signed a contract that included a two-year agreement to abstain from drugs and alcohol in addition to regular testing, monitoring and therapy.

The health foundation then extended that to five years and made compliance a condition of retaining his medical license, according to the report. Dr. Farmer completed his residency in September 2020 and sued Baptist in January for alleged breach of contract and interference with business activities, arguing that the contract and order would deter potential employers.

The jury awarded Dr. Farmer about $236,000 for breach of contract damages, including $170,000 for lost wages, and $3.5 million for humiliation, mental and emotional distress, according to the report.

"Baptist Health followed its medical staff policies, and appropriately responded to concerns raised about Dr. Farmer's well-being and behavior on the date in question," a spokesperson for the health system told Becker's. "We are evaluating our post-verdict options, as we believe the facts as they occurred do not support the verdict. Our primary focus remains providing high-quality care to our patients and families."
National Nurses Week or Month has to be more than a luncheon, a poster contest or even distributing hospital swag. Celebrating the nursing profession means examining how nurses are "uniquely prepared" to be leaders when it comes to improving quality care and ensuring safety, according to Lisa DiBlasi Moorehead, EdD, MSN, RN, surveyor at The Joint Commission and current field director of the Psychiatric Hospital Accreditation Program, in an article published May 18 on The Joint Commission's website.

While reports predict the nursing shortage will get far worse in the next few years, today's 3 million nurses represent the biggest slice of the healthcare professional pie.

"Nurses are knowledgeable on the needs and expectations of individual patients as well as communities. We understand pathophysiology and the effects of medications, treatments and procedures. We perform ongoing assessments and coordinate care among members of the team to ensure patients get the care they need," Dr. DiBlasi Moorehead said.

As the American Nurses Association often reiterates, advocacy is a pillar of the profession and nurses are in a position to be patient advocates.

Nurses are also on the front lines of healthcare and often can see dangerous situations that could cause adverse events before any other member of the healthcare team. When it comes to breakdowns in communication between clinicians and the patient, nurses can be the liaison who clarifies misunderstandings and reduces incidents of human mistakes.

Three areas nurses can focus on to improve quality and patient safety include recognizing everyone is a human being and humans make mistakes. "Since nurses provide the most direct care, we know where there are risks within care delivery systems, what works, what doesn't, and workarounds that may save time but can increase risk," Dr. DiBlasi Moorehead said.

Making sure there are consistent assessments of patients is "critical in determining patient responses to treatment" and can inform modified care resulting in improved outcomes.

Finally, communication is a key part of any safety protocol. "Nurses spend the most time with patients [and] we are often the first to notice subtle changes in patient condition and can take quick action to prevent an emergency," Dr. DiBlasi Moorehead said, noting that communicating well in those situations, as well as during transitions in care and discharge, can mean the difference between a successful patient experience and an adverse event.

"Nurses have the knowledge to create safer systems that account for these human factors to help all members of the healthcare team provide safer, higher quality care," the nursing leader said.






President Yoon Suk Yeol holds the hands of Park Nam-joo, a South Korean victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, during a meeting with victims of the bombing at a hotel in Hiroshima, Japan, Friday. Joint Press Corps



President arrives in Hiroshima for G7 Summit



By Nam Hyun-woo



HIROSHIMA, Japan  President Yoon Suk Yeol apologized, Friday, to South Korean victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, saying their country was not there to help when the victims were suffering in a foreign land.



"When [South] Koreans were suffering from the atomic bombing, their country was under colonial rule. It was later liberated and become an independent country, but continued to face difficulties, such as a lack of national strength and an invasion by communists," Yoon said during a meeting with 10 surviving South Korean victims in Hiroshima.



"Due to that, the South Korean government and the country were not there when our nationals were suffering in a foreign land As the president, representing the government and the country, I offer my deep apology for the fact that the nation was unable to be there with our fellow compatriots in their moments of sorrow and pain. I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences once again and convey words of comfort to all of you."



Yoon met the victims of the atomic bombing on the occasion of his three-day visit to Hiroshima, Japan, Friday, to attend the 2023 Group of Seven (G7) Summit. This is the first time since the country's liberation from Japan's colonial rule in 1945 that a South Korean president met the victims.



The meeting was part of Yoon's attempts to top off months of efforts to normalize Seoul's ties with Tokyo, by attending symbolic events related to the countries' thorny history.



"On Sunday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and I will jointly pay tribute to the monument of South Korean victims of the Hiroshima atomic bombing," Yoon said. "This is the first time that the leaders of the two countries will visit the monument together and it is the first time for a South Korean president to pay tribute to it. Again, I apologize to the victims for this happening too late."



The monument is a 4.5-meter stone tower inside the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The tower faces the Korean Peninsula.



The exact number of South Korean victims of the Hiroshima bombing remains unknown, but Seoul believes that approximately 30,000 South Koreans died in the Aug. 6, 1945 bombing or afterwards due to burns and side effects from the radiation.



"The joint visit will be a solemn moment for the leaders of the two countries to remember the South Korean victims of war and a chance to reaffirm our commitment towards the two countries' future of peace and prosperity," Yoon said.









During the meeting, Kwon Yang-baek, a member of the victims' association, said people in the two countries should not dwell too much on the past, but look ahead and make sure such tragedies never happen again.





President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, disembark from the presidential jet after landing at Hiroshima Airport, Japan, Friday. Yonhap
In fiscal year 2023, Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital's average length of stay for sepsis patients was 0.8 days shorter than in 2022. Early mortalities  patients who die within 48 hours of coming to the hospital with sepsis  have been reduced from 6 to 4 percent.

More than 1.7 million adults in the United States were diagnosed with sepsis and close to 270,000 died from it in 2021, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The CDC suggests the number of cases of sepsis that result in severe illness or death is increasing because incidents are being better tracked, people are living longer with chronic diseases, there are more antibiotic-resistant infections known to lead to sepsis, and organ transplants, which require the use of immune system suppressing medications, are more common.

Clinical leaders at TGH are determined to make sure their hospital doesn't follow the predicted trends. "People love technology" in hospitals because "it will show us where the problem is," Peggy Duggan, MD, chief medical officer at TGH, told Becker's. "But building the structure around the technology is often short. Technology is useless if I don't have people who know how to use it, deploy it and then give us feedback as to how to make it better. Our job as hospital administrators is to create the environment for success."

The hospital launched a sepsis early warning system to diagnose and treat the deadly condition, first before the pandemic and then again in 2022 with accompanying technology. This initiative, which makes use of "process, people and technology," is used when patients arrive in the emergency department with sepsis and when admitted patients are showing signs of sepsis, Jaimie Weber, MD, medical director for clinical quality analytics at TGH, told Becker's.

TGH's electronic health records system is connected to a command center that aggregates every patient's data  labs, notes, vital signs, etc. The hospital has a rapid response team that receives sepsis alerts in real time and notifies highly skilled, specially trained nurses who can observe the situation and determine if a call to the physician is warranted.

Once admitted, "if it looks like a patient is developing sepsis, we have a pathway to follow. There are [pre] written orders and a plan so patients get the sepsis care they need over the next three to five days," said Dr. Weber, noting if a patient presents at the emergency department with sepsis, the program is initiated immediately.

"We developed a tool that gives us alerts, but the real difference here is that we have trained individuals who are monitoring these systems," Dr. Duggan said.

One of the goals of the system is to give nurses tools that fit into their current workflows without adding extra things to do. "We're not trying to push a new technology on them and ask them to change the way they do things," Dr. Weber said. "We're trying to give them information that will help them do their work."

The same rapid response team monitors patients throughout the protocol to make sure they receive appropriate care in line with the hospital's sepsis reduction program.

The initiative has increased awareness around the hospital about the severity and urgency of sepsis. All members of the hospital team who might interact with patients  physicians, nurses, lab technicians, phlebotomists, environmental service workers, nutrition counselors and others  are in the loop when it comes to the hospital's intent on reducing sepsis statistics.
A patient is in critical condition after falling six stories from a window at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington May 15, a hospital spokesperson confirmed to Becker's May 19.

The individual reportedly opened and exited a window in a stairwell that is accessible to patients but mainly used by hospital staff, the spokesperson said.

Staff members stabilized the patient, who experienced multiple injuries, in the hospital's emergency room, and the patient continues to receive care at the hospital. The spokesperson declined to provide additional information about the patient, citing privacy rules.

"This was an extremely distressing situation for everyone involved," Stephen Leffler, MD, president and COO of UVM Medical Center, told Becker's. "I am grateful for the teams who provided life-saving care, and also want to thank the teams who continue to care for this patient."

The hospital said it is investigating the incident and immediately notified police after it occurred.
San Francisco-based Laguna Honda Hospital was granted its third and final extension May 18 as it attempts to avoid being shut down, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The hospital recently applied for a third extension to recertify and delay transferring patients. CMS decertified the facility in April 2022. Originally set to close Sept. 13, the closure deadline was extended after nine patients died upon transfer to another facility. In February, the closure deadline was extended again, to May 19.

Now the facility has until Sept. 19, but regulators warned it would be the last extension. In a letter to the CEO, regulators cited a May 8 incident in which the facility was cited for placing a patient in immediate jeopardy by failing to provide a care plan for the patient with a history of suicide attempts but noted the hospital addressed the problem by May 12.

The extension was granted because "Laguna Honda has made some significant quality improvements," the letter said, but warned it would terminate the agreement if the facility made another serious violation.

Hospital officials told the San Francisco Chronicle that they plan to apply for reinstatement before the end of the next deadline.
A woman in Washington state who became infected with Tuberculosis in January and repeatedly refused treatment for the highly-contagious disease is still at large, but set to appear for a court hearing May 19, according to NBC News.

In March, a Judge issued a warrant for civil arrest of the woman. Due to the severity of the disease, health departments have an obligation of protecting public safety by ensuring any infected Tuberculosis patients receive treatment and/or remain in isolation.

When the unnamed woman repeatedly refused treatment, Tacoma-Pierce County health officials took the case to a Judge, asking 16 times for legal enforcement help as a "last resort" Nigel Turner, the county's director of communicable disease control, said in a March statement.

As of May 18, NBC News reported that the Pierce County Sheriffs Department confirmed the woman  identified as V.N. in court documents  was not in custody, but still at large. Her attorney declined comment to the news outlet regarding whether she would be in attendance for the May 19 hearing.

"Most people we contact are happy to get the treatment they need," Mr. Turner said in a Jan. 30 statement. "Occasionally people refuse treatment and isolation. When that happens, we take steps to help keep the community safe.  The Health Department has an obligation to the community and the legal authority to seek a court order to persuade patients to comply, and in very rare cases we will do so."

This is a developing story and Becker's will provide updates as more information becomes available.
Think of all the once-worrisome ailments that are now afterthoughts thanks to clinical trials.

Polio? Virtually nonexistent in the United States. Chickenpox? A right of passage for older generations but unknown to todays kids thanks to an effective vaccine. Even scurvy, once the scourge of sailors everywhere, was eradicated following what is considered the worlds first clinical trial, conducted by Dr. James Lind in 1747.

The list goes beyond vaccines, as scientists have discovered countless medicines, therapies, devices and procedures thanks to clinical trials and the millions of generous people who have volunteered to participate in them.

But while many of us appreciate the importance of this research  and some may even be familiar with the work of Dr. Jonas Salk or even Dr. Lind  clinical trials are still widely stigmatized as inherently risky or, at the very least, misunderstood.

International Clinical Trials Day (May 20) is the perfect opportunity to take the mystery out of clinical trials.

What are clinical trials?

Clinical trials are human research studies designed to evaluate a medical, surgical or behavioral intervention. Some trials test whether a new drug or device is safe and effective. Others study whether a new treatment is better than the existing standard of care, whether a new diagnostic technique can detect disease earlier or whether a preventive measure can stop a health problem from developing.

Why do people participate in trials?

People participate in clinical trials for a variety of reasons. Healthy volunteers want to assist in scientific discovery and offer hope to people who are suffering. Those who are ill may gain access to a broader range of treatment options available only in select clinical trial programs across the country. Once enrolled, participants may gain comfort from receiving one-on-one support and answers from clinical research coordinators.

Why are participation rates lower than researchers would like?

Fewer than 1 in 20 cancer patients participate in clinical trials even though clinical trials are crucial to advancing cancer treatment. Research shows that financial barriers, logistical concerns and restrictive eligibility criteria can lead to low rates of trial participation. People may have misinformation about trials  or may simply not know that the option exists at all. Moreover, these same barriers make those with lower incomes and individuals who identify as racial or ethnic minorities less likely to participate. However, if more patients had known about and participated in clinical trials over the decades, advancements in disease treatment that are now standard may have been discovered sooner.



How are patients protected during clinical trials?

Clinical trials would not be possible without the thousands of volunteers who participate each year. Our participants safety, comfort and wellness are our highest priority, and we are deeply committed to maintaining the highest professional and ethical research standards.

We take specific steps to protect the safety, health and welfare of our research participants while carefully communicating with them every step of the way. These efforts include a thorough internal review and approval process for every research project.

Its important to note that all treatments examined in clinical trials go through years of rigorous evaluation before researchers begin testing on people. Trials are free for patients. Hospitals that participate in clinical trials receive funding from the government and pharmaceutical and device companies to cover the cost of the treatment or procedures. Patients can choose to participate in a study or leave a trial at any time.

Celebrating progress

We thank and celebrate all our clinical trial participants, clinical research team for their invaluable support of our research mission and other health care organizations who participate in research for their contribution to science and discovery. Happy International Clinical Trials Day.

Learn more about clinical trials at Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care by visiting aah.org/research.
The debate over Minnesota's proposed nurse staffing bill is heating up, but as most of the state's health systems attempt to gut the legislation, Rochester-based Mayo Clinic has successfully passed through a loophole.

The Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act, if passed, would require hospitals to form staffing committees of equal parts direct care workers and hospital leaders. The state would require hospitals to abide by the nurse-to-patient staffing ratios established by their committee.

Mayo Clinic has been among the most outspoken opponents of the union-supported bill, claiming it would pull billions of dollars in future investments from the state if it becomes law. On May 18, state lawmakers fully exempted all of Mayo Clinic's Minnesota facilities from the bill: a step up from previous compromises, which only granted exemption to the Rochester hospital.

The updated version of the Senate's bill  SF1384  excludes any hospital that "is a national referral center engaged in substantial programs of patient care, medical research, and medical education meeting state and national needs; that receives more than 40 percent of its patients from outside the state of Minnesota; and that is located outside the seven-county metropolitan area." It also waives oversight of hospitals owned, operated or governed by a hospital that meets those criteria.

In Minnesota, these stipulations only apply to Mayo Clinic.

"The governor has said that  from his perspective  it's better for Mayo to be carved out," Sen. Erin Murphy, the lead author of the bill, told the Minnesota Reformer. "I don't agree, but I want, for the 90 percent of hospitals that are going to benefit from this legislation, I want for us to proceed."

Rahul Koranne, MD, president and CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association, said he believes the exemption is proof that the bill is problematic.

"If there's an exemption, that means the authors know that the underlying bill is flawed, and we are calling on them to fix it," Dr. Koranne told Becker's in a May 18 interview. "We're all joined, including the Mayo Clinic CEO, in saying that if there is an alternative compliance pathway given to one organization  no matter which one it is  it must be made available to all."

Staffing ratios will only lead to service cuts, according to Dr. Koranne: "We just don't have the humans," he said. With more than 50,000 open healthcare jobs in the state and 57 percent of nurses working part-time, the Minnesota Hospital Association estimates that the bill will decrease hospital capacity by 15 percent, reducing care availability for 70,000 Minnesotans.

"This is a time where healthcare is in a complete crisis, especially nonprofit healthcare in Minnesota," Dr. Koranne said. "Naming a bill with a very jazzy name, which is actually going to force hospitals to shutter services and close units, is not the answer."

"We need the leaders and lawmakers to give us lifelines, not mandates," Dr. Koranne said. "Otherwise, the nonprofit ecosystem of healthcare in Minnesota will surely crumble."

As for Mayo Clinic, the health system continues to advocate against the bill, Amy Williams, MD, executive dean of practice and chair of Mayo's clinical practice committee, told Becker's.

"Mayo continues to advocate for a policy-based, data-driven approach that supports an alternative path to compliance for all hospitals and health systems, including Mayo Clinic Rochester and Mayo Clinic Health System locations, that use an acuity tool incorporating nurse input and patient needs," Dr. Williams said. "We believe any hospital that meets this high standard should be able to pursue this pathway. We encourage lawmakers to adopt this approach that reflects policies focused on patients and staff."



Nurses and the unions that represent them traditionally support nurse staffing ratios. Read more about their perspective here.
BBC staff take part in 24 hour strike action at Broadcasting House. (Pic: Pacemaker)   Jonathan Porter / Press Eye

BBC NI staff take part in 24-hour strike action at Radio Foyle (Pic: Aodhan Roberts / Belfast Telegraph)   Aodhan Roberts

BBC NI staff take part in 24-hour strike action at Broadcasting House in Belfast (Pic: Pacemaker)   Jonathan Porter / Press Eye

Eamonn Holmes has shown his support for the hundreds of journalists striking at BBCNI as he stopped by to take photos with them on Friday evening.

It comes as the director of BBC NI had to step in to read the news as journalists take part in 24 hour strike action.

The Belfast-born presenter joined those on the picket line earlier.

Radio Ulster programming was replaced by national coverage on one of the biggest news days of the year.

The stations flagship breakfast show Good Morning Ulster was off the airwaves as vote counting began to elect 462 councillors across NI.

BBC NI director Adam Smyth

It was replaced by a Radio 5Live broadcast which provided regular national news bulletins and updates on traffic across England.

A local news bulletin was broadcast at 9am which was read by BBC NI chief Adam Smyth.

"Director Adam Smyth forced to read news bulletins on @BBCRadioFoyle and @bbcradioulster - because just about everyone else is supporting the @NUJofficial strike, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) tweeted.

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

However, output resumed as BBC Radio 5Live following the brief update with The Nolan Show also off the air. Radio 2 later replaced normal programming as Talkback was also off the airwaves on Friday afternoon.

The TV news was also disrupted, with no 1.30pm bulletin, while a planned programme covering the election results was pulled on Friday afternoon.

A BBC spokesperson said. A significantly reduced news service will be available from BBC Northern Ireland on Friday, May 19.

"We regret the inconvenience caused to audiences.

"Fuller coverage of the local council election results will be available from Saturday 20 May.

Some journalists picketed outside BBCs Broadcasting House in Belfast and Radio Foyle in Londonderry on Friday holding signs which said stop the cuts and support local news.

The NUJ confirmed over 200 members within BBC Northern Ireland are taking part in the 24 hour walk out which commenced at 12.15am on Friday.

It was anticipated that the broadcasters coverage of the local election results would be adversely affected.

Industrial action had been agreed by staff opposed to proposed cuts to jobs and programmes which included the reduction of BBC Radio Foyles breakfast programme.

The north-wests flagship morning show was axed last month and replaced with a half-hour news programme.

The move faced protests including a town hall-style meeting, and gatherings outside the stations Derry headquarters with signs reading Save Radio Foyle.

BBC NI staff take part in 24-hour strike action at Radio Foyle (Pic: Aodhan Roberts / Belfast Telegraph)   Aodhan Roberts

The NUJ said the corporation's bid to save 2.3 million had resulted in 36 posts being cut, with the prospect of other job losses.

The first election results are expected on Friday afternoon with the counting due to continue into Saturday.

Its unclear if coverage will be affected once the strike is officially over.

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

The NUJ has said members want to resolve the dispute and are available for meaningful negotiations with management.

Paul Siegert, national broadcasting organiser, said the public have rallied behind members recognising this strike is about defending services journalists are committed to protecting.

Assistant general secretary Seamus Dooley said the union has been engaged in comprehensive negotiations but sufficient progress has not been made.

The decision to strike on such a significant news day has not been taken lightly and reflects frustration on the part of NUJ members, he said.

"They want to report the news rather than make their own headlines, it is regrettable that they find themselves in this situation. We assure viewers, listeners and readers that the priority of the NUJ is the maintenance of public service broadcasting and that commitment informs this dispute.

A number of political parties have vowed to boycott BBC NI on Friday in a gesture of solidarity with staff.

Both the SDLP and People Before Profit have said they will not engage with programmes.

"From the outset, the SDLP has warned that these cuts will have a devastating impact on local news coverage, particularly in Derry and the North West, and that they do not have the support of BBC staff or local people, Colum Eastwood said.

Meanwhile People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said: We will never cross a picket line. Therefore, our election candidates and activists will not engage with the BBC while its staff are on strike. We would urge the BBC to urgently reverse these cuts and to reconsider its so-called restructuring plans.

BBC staff take part in 24 hour strike action at Broadcasting House. (Pic: Pacemaker)   Jonathan Porter / Press Eye

The BBC has expressed deep regret over the negative impact strike action will have on services on election results day.

We are glad to have been able to offer roles to all at risk staff during the redundancy process a spokesperson said.

The BBCs region-wide programming from Foyle has been increased and its net staffing levels will be maintained.

"Our engagement with staff and the trade unions will continue.
The pregnant IRA bomber given up to police by dad of her child

Ex-republican prisoner tells new BBC documentary about her early years, how she would plant bombs in shops, and her time in Maghaberry

Ann Marie McKee says the 1988 Milltown Cemetery attack sparked a lot of anger   BBC/Keo Films/Gus Palmer

Suzanne Breen Fri 19 May 2023 at 07:50
The air forces of South Korea and the United States stage air drills over the Korean Peninsula in this April 14 photo released by Seoul's defense ministry. Yonhap



North Korea on Friday condemned South Korea and the United States for planning to kick off their major joint live-fire drills next week, describing the drills as a "war exercise" against Pyongyang.



South Korea and the U.S. are set to stage the drills from May 25 to June 15 as they mark the 70th anniversary of their alliance. The drills are expected to involve advanced weapons systems, including F-35A stealth fighters, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, K2 tanks and Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers.



The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that the drills are a "serial and extension of the anti-DPRK war exercises." DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.



The KCNA said such drills against a "nuclear power" are "sheer bullshit."



Pyongyang also issued a warning against South Korea and the U.S., noting the "dangerous war exercises" will take place "in an area only a few kilometers away from our front."



South Korea and the U.S. "are bound to face corresponding responses for their madcap nuclear war racket," the KCNA said in an English-language dispatch.



It stressed that it is a "legitimate right" to "equip itself with more powerful self-defensive means in order to cope with the prevailing grave situation and prospective threats" in what appeared to be an apparent justification of its nuclear and missile developments. (Yonhap)


The paedophile brother of TV presenter Phillip Schofield has been jailed for 12 years after being convicted of child sex offences.

Timothy Schofield, 54, was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child, after a trial at Exeter Crown Court in April.

Schofield, a civilian police worker from Bath, Somerset, told the jury while giving evidence that he had watched pornography with the boy who he insisted was over the age of 16 at the time.

Timothy Schofield (Avon and Somerset Police/PA)   Avon and Somerset Police

He claimed they had masturbated while sitting apart and denied performing sexual acts on the teenager.

However, the jury found Schofield guilty on all counts with a majority of 10-2 after more than five-and-a-half hours of deliberation.

Avon and Somerset Police later dismissed Schofield, who had been suspended from his job at the forces headquarters in Portishead after being arrested and charged, without notice.

Mrs Justice Cutts, sentencing Schofield at Bristol Crown Court on Friday, told him: You exploited his innocence at this stage of his life for your own sexual gratification.

It was wrong on every level for you to behave as you did.

He felt forced to do what you wanted, trapped and unable to escape. He felt he couldnt tell anyone and did not do so for many years.

You took away his ability to be the teenager he should have been  carefree, relaxed, happy. It is clear to me that you became utterly obsessed with him.

She added: Your actions and behaviour have had a devastating impact on the boy.

In doing what you did, you thought only of yourself.

I have not heard a single word of remorse from you, only self-pity.

The judge, who imposed a sexual harm prevention order on Schofield and barred him from working with children, commended the courage of the boy for reporting the abuse.

After sentencing Schofield, she said: I sincerely hope that the boy and his family find a way to move forward from the dreadful events and I commend him for his bravery.

In a victim personal statement read to the court by Robin Shellard, prosecuting, the boy said he felt numb to life following the abuse.

He said: Before Tim was arrested, I felt I had no freedom. I often felt panic, stress and fear. I felt like I was trapped in a loop of fear and anxiety of the abuse happening again.

It was only after Tim was arrested that I felt safe. It was only after Tim was arrested that I felt free  free to be me, free to be happy, free to be relaxed.

Timothy Schofield leaving Exeter Crown Court in March (Matt Keeble/PA)   Matt Keeble

The boy added: I feel more blunt, I feel more bitter, I feel numb to life. I know I should feel really happy or really sad but I dont have the ability to emotionally connect to what is happening.

Representing Schofield, Peter Binder said his client had no previous convictions and had mental health issues.

To his eternal shame, he completely lost any semblance of a moral compass, Mr Binder told the court.

Described by his closest friend as a broken man following his arrest, the signs are he was really broken long before that.

During the trial, jurors heard that Schofield told his elder brother Phillip in September 2021 that he and the complainant had watched pornography together.

In a written statement read to the jury, Phillip Schofield described how his brother came to his home in London and they spent several hours talking and eating a meal before he went to do the washing up.

The TV star told how his brother said You are going to hate me for what I am about to say, with him assuring him there was nothing he could say that would do that.

Mr Schofield said in the statement: Then he said that he and (the boy) had time together and that last year they had watched porn  and (masturbated).

I turned and said, What did you just say? He said it was last year and we were alone together. Tim said it was just this once. I told him it should never happen again.

I said, F***, stop. I shouted at Tim that he had to stop. I didnt want to know any of the details but he made it sound like a one-off.

I said, I dont want you to tell me any more. I said, Youve got to stop, just never do it again. Regardless how that happened, it must never happen again.

In a statement released by his lawyer after the guilty verdict, the This Morning host said: My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family. I hope that their privacy will now be respected.

Timothy Schofield in court (Elizabeth Cook/PA)   Elizabeth Cook

If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my brother, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family.

These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother.

Timothy Schofield was convicted of three counts of causing a child to watch sexual activity, three of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, three of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and two of sexual activity with a child.

Speaking outside Bristol Crown Court following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Keith Smith of Avon and Somerset Police described Schofields offending as sickening.

Schofield was arrested, interviewed and charged within 48 hours of the offences being reported to the force in December 2021.

He was dismissed without notice during a misconduct hearing held after his criminal convictions and will now be placed on a national barred list preventing him from working in law enforcement in the future.

Detective Inspector Keith Smith of Avon and Somerset Police speaks to the media outside Bristol Crown Court following the sentencing of Timothy Schofield (Jonathan Brady/PA)   Jonathan Brady

Det Insp Smith said: The victim in this case has shown remarkable bravery in disclosing the horrific offences committed against them, and their support of the police investigation and court process has been invaluable.

We hope their courage and determination will encourage other victims of sexual abuse to come forward and speak to the police, no matter how long ago the offences were committed.

He said the offences committed by Schofield were not connected to his employment with the police but the fact he was a member of police staff will be of great concern to the public.

Its important to stress that before the allegations were made to the police in December 2021, there were no prior complaints or allegations made about this defendant, and his former colleagues have been horrified by the offences hes now been convicted of, Det Insp Smith added.

But we want to be absolutely clear, were on a mission to root out all those who betray the standards and values were committed to uphold. The public must be able to trust police officers and staff, and protecting this bond of trust is our priority.

Finally, we want to thank all those who supplied us with information and evidence in support of our investigation, which has ultimately enabled us to achieve justice for the victim in this case.
A father was allegedly stabbed in the back after challenging his neighbour about a suspected brick attack on cars in north Belfast, a court heard today.

Police said the victim confronted 32-year-old Terry Mairs because one of the slabs thrown at vehicles narrowly missed his child.

Mairs, of Silverstream Avenue in Belfast, is charged with attempting to murder the other man on June 10 last year.

A judge granted bail to the accused on condition that he obtains an approved address well outside the city.

Belfast Magistrates Court heard bricks were thrown at several cars during disturbances at Silverstream Avenue, with one of the rocks nearly hitting a young girl in the area.

An investigating detective said her father approached Mairs to remonstrate with him about the incident.

He then turned to walk away and felt that he had been punched, the detective claimed.

But it transpired that he had been stabbed in the back twice.

The man sustained significant wounds and spent four days in the Royal Victoria Hospital.

Mairs faces further charges of possessing a knife in public, having an offensive weapon - namely bricks, criminal damage to three cars, and common assault.

Opposing his release, the detective added: This happened in a neighbourhood setting.

Defence barrister Jonathan Browne suggested that prosecutors may not ultimately persist with the attempted murder charge.

He argued that his client should no longer be held in custody due to delays in the case.

Granting bail, District Judge George Conner stressed Mairs must find accommodation approved by police.

He said: I want to make it quite clear that any address has to be well outside the Greater Belfast area.
A former soldier and Iraq war veteran who beat a man into unconsciousness in an attack a judge described as unprovoked and grotesque, has been handed a three-year sentence.

Ordering Jamie Edgar, from Dundooan Park in Coleraine, to serve a year of his sentence in jail, Judge Alistair Devlin told the 34-year-old today that the offence had been a completely unprovoked, wanton, sustained and violent physical attack on the victim.

He added that it was carried out primarily for no other reason than you had voluntarily grossly intoxicated yourself with alcohol to the extent that your cognitive functioning was grossly undermined.

The judge explained he was ordering Edgar to complete two years of the sentence under licence to help and support him as he begins to tackle the diagnosed PTSD he developed from serving in Iraq and because he has abstained from alcohol since the incident.

Whether these changes remain in place, is substantially down to you, Judge Devlin told Edgar.

On the day his trial was to start earlier this year Edgar entered a guilty plea to inflicting grievous bodily harm on his victim with intent.

Summarising the case during his sentencing remarks, Judge Devlin outlined how the victim and his friend had been out socialising on March 15, 2020, when they got a taxi back to Plantation View in Limavady where the friend lived.

Edgar, who lived nearby at the time, had been in his house drinking all evening and by coincidence, he was outside when the taxi pulled up and he dragged the victim out of the vehicle before launching his rain of punches.

While the victim could only remember the first blow, Judge Devlin said his friend had told police Edgar approached them demanding to know are you here to [have sex with] my wife before he felled the victim with punches to the head.

With the victim on the ground and completely defenceless, Edgar hit him again but even though he got up, the judge said the friend described him as groggy and totally out of it.

You punched him again to the head and he was knocked down again and rendered unconscious, the judge told Edgar.

He added that you then calmed down and tried to lift the injured party up but were, unsurprisingly, told to go away by his friend.

While the police arrested Edgar, an ambulance took the victim to Altnagelvin Hospital where he was found to have sustained a fractured skull, bleeding and swelling to his brain, a broken cheek bone as well as general cuts and bruises.

Forced to have surgery to mend his cheekbone, the victim spent five days in hospital and the judge revealed that according to a victim impact statement, the victims facial injuries were such they he didnt allow his kids to see him for a month.

When the victims daughter next saw her father, she ran out of the house in tears because of the way he looked, said the judge, outlining to Edgar that even now, three years since the attack, his victim finds it difficult to put into words the pain that he lives with every day.

Judge Devlin said while Edgar had accepted his guilt, albeit on the morning of his trial and had expressed remorse and shame, there were also aggravating features to the completely and utterly unprovoked beating including his excessive alcohol consumption, hitting the victim multiple blows, including when he was unconscious, and the fact that it was carried out in a public street where some neighbours witnessed what happened.
Two men have pleaded guilty to being members of the IRA following a sting in a Co Louth hotel in 2015.

Carl Reilly and Paul Philip Crawford attended Belfast Crown Court and both pleaded guilty to an offence dating back almost 10 years.

Reilly, from Pollard Close in Belfast, was charged with belonging or professing to belong to a proscribed organisation  namely the Irish Republican Army  between January 1, 2014, and October 17, 2015.

When the charge was put to the 47-year-old, he replied guilty.

The same charge was put to co-accused Crawford, who is also 47 and from Carrickree Mews in Warrenpoint, and he too replied guilty.

After both men entered pleas to the charge, a Crown barrister told Judge Paul Ramsey that a second offence levelled at Reilly  namely directing the activities of the IRA over a period from January 1, 2014 and October 17, 2015  was not being proceeded with by the Crown.

This resulted in Judge Ramsey saying: I order that count to be left on the books, not to be proceeded with without leave of this court or the Court of Appeal.

Although no details about the case emerged during today's re-arraignment, a previous court was told it was the Crown's case that Reilly and Crawford met at the Carrickdale Hotel in Co Louth in February 2015.

The conversation was secretly recorded by the An Garda Siochana and the two were caught discussing the terrorist activity of Oglaigh na hEireann (ONH), including attempting murders and bombings.

Noting the case dates back to 2015 and that both men are on bail and have been for some time, Judge Ramsey set the date for the plea hearing as Friday, June 30.

Addressing the pair as they stood in the dock, Judge Ramsey said he would be obtaining a factual background and history of the case as well as defence submissions.

He also told both men he would hear the plea on June 30, and indicated he will not pass sentence on that day as this will be done on a date shortly thereafter.

The duo were then released on continuing bail ahead of next month's plea hearing.
Jim Crossley, who was murdered at Filbert Drive in west Belfast in March 2022 (Credit: Family handout/PA)   Photopress Belfast

Julie Ann McIlwaine (32), of Hazel Close in Lagmore, appeared at Belfast Crown Court to be formally arraigned on a single charge she faced.

When the charge of murdering James Joseph Crossley on March 2, 2022, was put to her by the clerk of the court, mother-of-four McIlwaine replied softly from the dock not guilty.

Defence counsel Eilis McDermott KC told Mr Justice O'Hara: As you can see from the case overview, she accepts she caused the fatal injuries in this case.

The issue is her mental state at the time. My instructing solicitor has been endeavouring to secure the services of a consultant psychiatrist.

The first consultant approached was not able to a provide an appointment for the defendant until January 2024.

Julie Ann McIlwaine (Credit: Pacemaker)

Ms McDermott added that a second consultant psychiatrist has been approached who can provide an appointment in October 2023.

No details were given in court today about the nature of the incident.

But at a previous hearing a court heard the 38-year-old victim sustained fatal wounds at McIlwaine's former home in Filbert Drive, west Belfast.

Detective Inspector Griffin from the PSNI's Major Investigation Team outlined how the auxiliary nurse reported to the Ambulance Service that she had stabbed her boyfriend at least six times.

She said that when police arrived, Mr Crossley was on his hands and knees at the side of a blood-stained bed.

Both him and the bedroom were covered in blood and all he could say was that he couldn't breathe.

The victim was taken by ambulance to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast but en route he suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 12.48am.

Detective Inspector Griffin said that during police interview, McIlwaine gave an open and honest account of what happened, namely that Mr Crossley had sustained five stab wounds to the right side of his chest and one to his upper inner thigh.

The detective told Lisburn Magistrates' Court that McIlwaine had previously been deemed high risk.

McIlwaine told detectives that Mr Crossley had gone to bed telling her she had to choose between him and her family and that there was a history of domestic violence.

She described their relationship as one of control and aggression but she was keeping the relationship a secret from her family and social services.

A defence solicitor claimed that at various times, McIlwaine had been choked and beaten by Crossley who had convictions for domestic violence.

No trial date was set today and Mr Justice O'Hara said he would review the case in November 2023.

McIlwaine was released on continuing bail.
A Belfast priest has faced online criticism after hitting out at those who present their children for sacraments but dont donate to the church.

During a service last weekend, Fr Martin Magill of St Johns on the Falls Road said it was not fair for those who dont regularly attend Mass to bring their kids for sacraments and then neglect donating to the parish.

Addressing the churchs webcam during the service, he began his homily by calling on its volunteers to share out their responsibility, as it was not fair that more and more being asked of those who already volunteer.

He went on to address those watching the service through the webcam.

Thats you, the parents who bring your children for baptism, we certainly welcome you.

Some of you leave a donation which goes to parish funds and some of you dont.

This is not about paying Father, the priest said.

I suspect the hotel or restaurant you go to afterwards might have something to say if the bill is not paid.

We are able to offer St Johns because people here who give week after week to keep this place open.

Fr Martin Magill pictured at the Parochial house in Belfast. Photograph-Stephen Hamilton

Think about this, you are taking advantage of other peoples generosity, thats not fair.

When I am talking to you, when you bring your children for baptism, you take on the responsibility to pass on the faith to them.

Simply sending them to a Catholic school and the next time you turn up is for their first confession isnt meeting that responsibility, at some stage we need to talk about cheap grace.

Have a look at first communion. We had three classes here on a Sunday. How many of you have been back since?

Let me address this. I have heard afterwards some parents or some of those who were here used the word disgrace when we took up the parish collections.

Let me say, if we didnt take up those collections, there wouldnt be a St Johns church for you to attend for first holy communion.

Following his sermon, which was broadcast on St Johns Facebook page, many took to social media to express their anger at Fr Magills comments.

This is a disgrace. There are families struggling to pay their bills and feed their wee children and youre on complaining about not getting enough money! one user wrote.

Many people pointed out that the Catholic Church is one of the wealthiest institutions in the world.

A west Belfast resident said: The Catholic Church need to bring themselves into 2023. Parents struggling to put food on the table, heat their homes, keep the electric on never mind worrying about donating to one of the most profitable wealthy religious organisations in the world.

When contacted, Down and Connor Diocese said Fr Magill was not available for interview.

It said his homily was to highlight challenges around volunteering and to provoke his congregation to reflect on how they currently are involved and how they might further support the pastoral life of St Johns parish community, again particularly through voluntary engagement within the parish community.
Mayors ousted, leaders deposed and defectors rewarded  it wouldnt be an election in Northern Ireland without a few surprises.

One of the biggest shocks came when Lewis Boyle became Northern Irelands youngest elected representative.

He was elected to Antrim and Newtownabbey Council for Alliance and will be sitting his politics A-level in a few days.

The first major blow of the election was for the DUP in Lisburn and Castlereagh, with Mayor Scott Carson losing his seat at the expense of independent Gary Hynds, who quit the Tories last year in protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Two other quitters had remarkably different results when they stood against each other in Derry and Strabane. Ryan McCready, who defected from the DUP to join the UUP in 2021, topped the poll in the Faughan DEA with 1,282 first preferences.

But former Derry and Strabane Mayor Graham Warke, who left the DUP to run as an independent, came bottom of the poll (279) in the same DEA.

The party had better luck elsewhere, with the DUPs only openly gay representative Alison Bennington topping the poll in Glengormley Urban.

It was also a good day for Breanainn Lyness, who has become the first Sinn Fein councillor in the Ballymena Town DEA.

The SDLPs withdrawal and suspension of Ryan Barkley as a candidate didnt stop 173 people voting for him, ahead of the last placed Green candidate.

In Belfast, two leaders of smaller parties lost out. Greens leader Mal OHara became the second party leader to lose their seat in two years, after his predecessor Clare Bailey failed in her Assembly bid last year.

PUP leader Billy Hutchinson was not expected to make it in Belfasts Court DEA.

It was, however, a good day for Alliance couples.

North Belfast MLA Nuala McAllister saw husband Sam elected in the Castle DEA, while Maeve Donnelly  wife of East Antrim MLA Danny Donnelly  held his old seat by topping the poll in Larne Lough.

Others had mixed family fortunes. Both the TUVs Peter McEvoy and Aontus Leza Houston welcomed new arrivals into the world while on the campaign trail.

While neither candidate fared particularly well with the voters, they will certainly have their hands full.
Caroline Devine and Antaine O'Fearghail, right celebrate after they claim the final two seats in the Derg DEA on Derry City and Strabane District Council. Picture Martin McKeown. 19.05.23

SDLP Party leader Colum Eastwood MP at the local election count in the Foyle Arena. Picture Martin McKeown. 19.05.23

Julie Middleton who has been elected to Derry City and Strabane District Council to represent the Faughan DEA following in the footsteps of her MLA husband Gary who was a counxcillor and deputy mayor for the DUP. PIcture Martin McKeown. 19.05.23

Sinn Fein look set to have a resurgence in Derry City & Strabane where they lost five councillors at the last election.

On Friday, members of the party were confident of returning all 18 candidates.

For now they have 10 elected with four DEAs were counted, having made gains from the SDLP and Alliance.

A DEA being watched closely was Faughan where two DUP candidates topped the poll in 2019.

One of the stories of the day in Derry and Strabane was how former Mayor Graham Warke performed having left the DUP and decided to run as an Independent candidate.

However, he received the lowest number of votes (279) in Faughan and was eliminated at the first count.

Sinn Fein gained a seat from the Alliance Partys Rachael Ferguson, damaging the cross-community partys ambitions of growth west of the Bann after recently opening an office in Derry city centre.

Sinn Fein Vice President Michelle ONeill said people across Northern Ireland have seized the opportunity to send a clear signal that it is time to get the Assembly up and running.

People are determined to see the positive transformation of our politics. Sinn Fein went into this campaign with a commitment to work for all, and our councillors across the North will take forward that commitment.

I want to again thank every one who placed your trust in Sinn Fein to deliver a better future for all, she added.

While SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the party would hold up in Derry and Strabane, he said it is going to be a tough couple of days for the party, but that the SDLP has to be relentlessly focussed on the future.

It is a strong unionist DEA with the UUPs Ryan McCready receiving the highest number of first preference votes.

Mr McCready has proven to be a strong acquisition for the UUP after defecting from the DUP and he narrowly missed out on being elected to the Assembly in May.

Julie Middleton was also elected in Faughan. Her husband Gary is an MLA but the new Alderman made it clear she will be carving her own path.

I am very capable on my own accord' as an experienced youth and community worker, she told the Belfast Telegraph.

She is keen to engage with residents to address major road safety concerns.

There has been some unionist dismay at council after what they believe to be the snubbing of events such as the centenary of NI and the recent Kings Coronation.

Alderman Middleton believes that unionist views should be taken on board at council level with funding given to allow communities to celebrate events such as the recent King's Coronation.

"I would also like to see some education around why we celebrate what we do," she added.
Counting finished after 2.30am on Saturday morning

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson at Laganvalley Leisureplex where counting is taking place for the Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council   PA

The DUP and Alliance were the big winners as the final results were confirmed in Lisburn and Castlereagh. The council joined Mid-Ulster and Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon in counting ballot papers well into the early hours of Saturday morning.

Spurred on by a determined chief executive, David Burns, and benefiting from early verification, the results for Lisburn and Castlereagh came in at a (mostly) respectable 2.30am.

The final breakdown of the 40 seats was 14 for the DUP, 13 for Alliance, six for the UUP, four for Sinn Fein and two for the SDLP. One independent was also elected.

While the early headlines were made by Sinn Fein, support wilted as the count continued in the predominantly unionist Lisburn. The party still doubled their seats from two in 2019.

However, the rest of the night - and morning - belonged to the DUP, who managed to retain almost all their seats, but losing one - mayor Scott Carson out in the main shock here - since 2019.

The DUPs representatives appeared happy with their results, with Samantha Burns paying tribute to the party during her election speech for Castlereagh East.

This means the DUP has now doubled their number of women, she said.

Local MLA Emma Little-Pengelly said she was so proud of the incredible performance of all DUP candidates across Lagan Valley, Lisburn and Castlereagh and beyond.

The strong showing of Alliance was another of the headline stories from Lisburn and Castlereagh.

Starting strong with the election of the youthful Kurtis Dickson and Aaron McIntyre, Alliance made big gains here, with its 13 seats up from nine in 2019.

Mr McIntyre paid tribute to his family following his win, saying he wanted to sent thanks to my wife, who sadly couldnt be here tonight because shes probably in a theatre somewhere delivering a baby.

The UUP were slightly muted having secured only six seats, while the SDLP elected two and the TUV and Greens didn't gain a single seat on the council.

Other notable moments included DUP Alderman David Drysdale in Castlereagh East losing his seat, while Sharon Skillen, a former DUP policy officer, retained hers.

It was the latter twos area which closed out the night, with Castlereagh East struggling to find its stride in results as night turned into morning.

The area finally ended Lisburn and Castlereagh Councils 2023 count by electing John Laverty for the DUP and Hazel Legge for the UUP.

For Sinn Fein, it was celebrating four seats on the council.

Gary McCleave retained his Killultagh seat with almost 2,000 first-preference votes on Friday and was followed by Paul Burke in Lisburn North, who became the partys first councillor elected in the area. Ryan Carlin and Daniel Bassett followed later in Castlereagh South.

Sinn Fein president Mary-Lou McDonald, vice-president Michelle ONeill and North Belfast MP John Finucane made a stop-off at the council centre.

Ms McDonald said: Everyone has worked very hard. I know from talking to our teams, the politics was local but also much bigger at the same time. Its clear people have came out in big numbers and said very clearly that they want politics to work for everyone and that we need government back up and running.

Its a great day for us and significant for Sinn Fein, I am so pleased for everyone from the canvassers to all the candidates and their families. This is a mandate for progress and change, and for good government.

Mr McCleave said that people wanted to send a clear signal.

People want politics to work for all, and they want people back to work  mainly the DUP. Workers and families are suffering across the north, and Sinn Fein is ready to go back in tomorrow to help.

Mr McCleave said the partys campaign message resonated in that they wanted to show they could work for all across the council area.

I would hope we can build on this, he added.

One of the most shocking moments came when the current mayor of Lisburn and Castlereagh  the DUPs Scott Carson  lost his seat in Lisburn North.

The loss became clear ahead of the formal announcement after independent candidate Gary Hynds was seen being hugged and congratulated.

The DUP man fell short of the quota, with Mr Hynds taking the sixth and final spot in the district electoral area after a close run off between the two.

Mr Hynds, who was previously a representative for the Northern Ireland Conservatives, said: I feel absolutely amazing.

I am beyond grateful to every single person who came out and voted for me. Ive said to people throughout this election I did it because I care, and the support has been incredible. Its been such hard work.

Mr Hynds said he had canvassed over 5,000 doors during the campaign hoping to gain those important votes ahead of Friday.
Breanainn Lyness has become the first Sinn Fein councillor elected to the Ballymena DEA.

The DUP held on to all their seats in the three completed counts in Mid and East Antrim as Fridays poll results moved towards a close.

The broadest smiles at the Seven Towers Leisure Centre were on the faces of Alliance and Sinn Fein candidates as both made advances.

The first results came from Carrick Castle, where 2019 poll topper Lauren Gray repeated the feat with an increased vote of 1,607.

Over in Larne Lough, Maeve Donnelly held the seat first secured by her husband Danny in 2019, building on his vote to top the poll with 1,389 votes.

People have clearly opted for politics that works, said Lauren Gray after being returned to Carrick Castle.

Its on all our posters; we mean it, we want to see Stormont back up and running and I do feel that this vote signals that.

The Ballymena count was topped by independent Rodney Quigley, who ensured an independent candidate topped the poll for the third Council election running.

Mr Quigley said he was chuffed to top the poll.

If youre out there doing a bit of work and youre seen in the community, it reaps rewards at the end of the day, he said.

There was a historic moment too in part of Ballymena where again the nationalist plates shifted.

Breanainn Lyness became the first ever Sinn Fein councillor for the Ballymena Town area, gaining the seat from the SDLPs Eugene Reid.

Reid had taken the seat in 2019, building on veteran Declan OLoans vote, but his departure now leaves the area without an SDLP presence for the first time in more than 30 years.

Mr Lyness said he was proud to follow in the footsteps of his grandad, who stood as a candidate in the area in the 1970s.

Im delighted. My grandfather stood in 1978 for the Irish Independence Party, he was the first republican to stand in Ballymena, he said.

We had a local candidate that knows the issues of the town and I said that round the doors. Im looking forward to making Ballymena a better place for everybody.

It was a solid day too for the DUP. What they had in 2019, they held.

Lawrie Philpott and Reuben Glover were returned in Ballymena, Paul Reid and Gregg McKeen in Larne Lough, while Billy Ashe and Cheryl Brownlee held their seats in Carrick Castle.

Ian Paisley, involved in Mr Philpotts campaign, made a further call for unionist unity.

We cant keep self-harming as unionists, we keep salami slicing and all were doing is diminishing the strength in unionism, he said.

This town is over 60% unionist, but on a small poll of 45% turnout, less than 60% of that is coming back as unionist candidates.

Do we keep damaging ourselves for the luxury of individuals or individual parties just to get one over on someone? There has to be a coming together, an umbrella movement in unionism that takes us forward.
ROKS Cheonan frigate, named after a corvette torpedoed by North Korea in March 2010, is seen in this May 19 photo provided by the Korean Navy. Yonhap



The Navy was set to hold a ceremony Friday to officially introduce into service a new frigate named after a warship torpedoed by North Korea in 2010, officials said.



The commissioning ceremony for the 2,800-ton Cheonan, was scheduled to take place at a key naval base in Changwon, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the armed service and the state arms procurement agency.



The 1,200-ton Cheonan sank near the Northern Limit Line, a de facto western inter-Korean sea border, in March 2010, after a North Korean midget submarine fired a torpedo at it, killing 46 sailors aboard.



The ceremony will be attended by former crew members of the eponymous vessel, including Choi Won-il, the captain of the corvette at the time of its sinking.



The new Cheonan is the seventh warship produced as part of Korea's plans to procure eight new frigates designed to replace the aging fleet of 1,500-ton frigates and 1,000-ton corvettes.



The warship is equipped with anti-ship and ship-to-ground missiles, anti-submarine torpedoes, as well as hull mounted and towed array sonar systems.



After undergoing further operational assessment, the frigate is expected to be deployed for operations in the Yellow Sea late this year.



"Containing the patriotism of the Cheonan's 46 fallen soldiers, the revived Cheonan will perfectly conduct operations to protect our seas as a core asset of the Republic of Korea's Navy," Vice Adm. Kim Myung-soo, commander of the ROK Navy Fleet, was quoted as saying. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, Korea's official name. (Yonhap)


Scroll down to read how the day unfolded

Pacemaker Press 19/05/23 Alliance Leader Naomi Long at Belfast City Hall on Friday. Voters went to the polls on Thursday to decide who would represent them on the 11 councils. A total of 1,305,553 people were eligible to vote, according to the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker

Pacemaker Press 19/05/23 Alliance candidates for Balmoral Tara Brooks and Micky Murray at Belfast City Hall on Friday. Voters went to the polls on Thursday to decide who would represent them on the 11 councils. A total of 1,305,553 people were eligible to vote, according to the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker

Paula Bradley is congratulated by Alison Bennington as both DUP councillors were re-elected to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council at the Valley Leisure Centre count in Newtownabbey today. (Pacemaker)

UUPs Ryan McCready who has been re-elected to Derry City and Strabane District Council. Picture Martin McKeown. 19.05.23

PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 19/5/2023: DUP's Jeannie Archibald celebrates being elected for Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council at the Valley Leisure Centre count in Newtownabbey today . PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON

PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 19/5/2023: Neil Kelly of the Alliance Party celebrates being elected for Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council at the Valley Leisure Centre count in Newtownabbey today. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON

PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 19/5/2023: The DUP's Alison Bennington celebrates being elected for Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council at the Valley Leisure Centre count in Newtownabbey today. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON

DUP South Antrim MP Paul Girvan looks on as the votes are counted at the Valley Leisure Centre in Newtownabbey (STEPHEN DAVISON)

Sinn Fein's Annie O'Lone, Lucille O'Hagan and Henry Cushnahan celebrate being elected for Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council at the Valley Leisure Centre count in Newtownabbey   Stephen Davison / Pacemaker

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O'Neill celebrates with candidates and party workers as the count continues in the Northern Ireland council elections on May 19, 2023 in Magherafelt (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images).   Getty Images

Sinn Feins Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle ONeill with Lord Mayor of Belfast Tina Black while Green Party leader Mal O'Hara (inset) lost his seat on the city council.

The DUP is marginally down on its 2019 council election performance, but easily remains the largest unionist party on 24%.

On 3%, the TUV has failed to make a major breakthrough overall, although it appears poised to take a seat in Belfast City Hall with Ron McDowell edging out PUP leader Billy Hutchinson in Court. On 12%, the UUP is down two points from 2019. Its most high-profile casualty was chairwoman Jill Macauley in Banbridge.

Although Alliance has made some gains in terms of council seats and is Northern Irelands third-largest party on 13%, it is up only one point in first-preference votes from the last local government election and has so far failed to make the significant progress predicted.

The SDLP has suffered the biggest drop in support. On 9%, its down three points on 2019. While the party performed much better than anticipated in Belfast, it has lost ground elsewhere.

It failed to see its councillor returned in Ballymena, leaving it without representation on Mid and East Antrim Council.

The smaller parties were squeezed in this election, with the Greens on under 2% and People Before Profit 1%.

Green leader Mal OHara lost his seat in Belfasts Castle ward amid a huge surge for Sinn Fein, with SF transfers helping bring the SDLPs Carl Whyte across the line.

In Lisnasharragh, the Greens Brian Smyth saw a slight drop in his vote, but he was elected on the final count. Hopes of the partys deputy leader Lesley Veronica securing a seat in Glengormley Urban were dashed.

The DUP suffered a significant blow when Lisburn and Castlereagh Mayor Scott Carson failed to be re-elected. Former DUP Derry mayor Graham Warke, who stood as an independent, was also defeated.

An extraordinary day for Sinn Fein saw it make historic breakthroughs with councillors elected for the first time in parts of Ballymena and Lisburn  both on the first count.

With counts continuing today, Sinn Fein led the way last night at 11.30pm with 90 councillors elected across Northern Ireland. The DUP was next on 76, while Alliance had 39, the UUP 29, and the SDLP 18. There appears to have been a higher nationalist than unionist turnout.

Mary Lou hails Sinn Fein result in Lisburn as 'historic'

Mary Lou McDonald said her partys success was a message from the people that Stormont must return.

She described the results as a very strong showing for Sinn Fein right across the north.

We are very pleased with that. We ran a very positive campaign.

In the course of the election a lot of things were discussed, all the local issues but, in truth, the big issue was that of a return of the Executive, the need to have government, the need to have leadership, the need to work together, to make politics work for everybody, the need need for Michelle ONeill to come into post as the first minister for all.

Ms ONeill said London and Dublin now needed to come up with a plan to bring Stormont back. On the doors, the conversation was very much centred around the need to have a restored Assembly and Executive up and running, she said.

That needs to be done now without delay. We would call on both governments to get engaged and make that happen.

Allison Morris takes us behind the scenes at Belfast City Hall where the election counts are underway

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said if Sinn Fein emerges as the largest party in local government, unionism will have to look at where its going.

He said: Lets see when the final votes are all counted who is the largest party but, if Sinn Fein do emerge as the largest party in the council elections... there are lessons that unionism needs to learn here.

We cant go on with a situation where turnout in unionist areas is significantly lower than in nationalist areas, you cant go on with a situation where the unionist vote is continually splitting and splintering.

The result is that seats are gifted to Sinn Fein and to others when the unionist vote is split, and when that unionist vote doesnt transfer sufficiently.

The DUP is by far the largest unionist party and I think that unionism needs to look at where its going and regroup around a strong voice for unionism, and see more co-operation between unionist parties.

UUP leader Doug Beattie said wider losses for unionism would prompt discussion.

As far as my party is concerned, weve set our path, Im not going to change that, he said. We are confident unionists, we want to put out a positive, optimistic message and we will continue to do that, nothing will change.

Naomi Long described it as a positive election for her party, adding: With the exception of Sinn Fein, I think Alliance is the only party to have made significant gains at this point.

How the first day of counting unfolded by Christopher Leebody and Brett Campbell:
Belfast resident Leah Ni Mhurchu who was turned away from a polling station on Thursday

A Monaghan woman living in Belfast whose Irish provisional driving licence was refused as valid ID at an east Belfast polling station has branded the denial of her right to vote as appalling.
Just Stop Oil protesters have been slow marching in front of traffic in central London (Luke OReilly/PA)   Luke OReilly

A Just Stop Oil activist was thrown to the ground by a passer-by during a protest in central London.

In a video posted on social media, the man can be seen approaching a group of campaigners as they slow march in front of traffic on Mansell Street, near the Tower of London, on Friday.

The man then begins to snatch the groups banners out of the protesters hands before pushing the woman on to the ground.

He also appears to grab a phone from one of the campaigners and throw it away, as he tries to push the other demonstrators out of the way of traffic.

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

Meanwhile, the woman picks herself up and goes to sit on the pavement.

In a statement, the Met Police urged the public not to intervene when protesters are blocking the road.

The Met and City of London Police are aware of an incident shown on social media in which a member of the public appears to have an altercation with Just Stop Oil protesters on Mansell Street E1 this morning, Friday May 19, shortly before the arrival of police, a spokesperson for the force said.

At this stage, we are not aware that any allegations have been made in regard to this matter, however, we are in contact with the organisers of the demonstration.

We completely understand the frustration and anger of Londons communities when protesters walk slowly in the roads. We urge people not to intervene and to wait for the arrival of police, who will attend the scene promptly. We thank people for their patience.

Commenting on the incident, a spokesperson from Just Stop Oil said they understood how frustrating it can be to be disrupted.

We understand how frustrating it can be to be disrupted, however, as of this morning 13 people are dead and 13,000 people have had to be evacuated from their homes in Italy, due to six months worth of rain falling in a day and a half, the spokesperson said.

A quarter of a million people are currently homeless in Somalia due to extreme flooding, despite the country experiencing its worst drought in 40 years.

The disruption we are seeing on British streets is nothing compared to the disruption wrought if we do not stop licensing new oil, gas and coal.
Sinn Feins Michelle ONeill, left, and Mary Lou McDonald arrive at Belfast City Hall as results continue to come in for the Northern Ireland local elections (Liam McBurney/PA)   Liam McBurney

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said her partys success in Northern Irelands local government elections is a message from the people that Stormont must return.

However, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has insisted his partys vote is holding up as counting continues to fill 462 seats across 11 council areas.

At 9.30pm, Sinn Fein led the way with 71 councillors elected. The DUP was next on 59, the cross-community Alliance Party had 31, the Ulster Unionists 24, the SDLP 12, with eight others.

In terms of the share of the first preference votes, Sinn Fein had 31.1% of first preferences of votes counted so far.

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

It means the republican party appears to be on course to repeat its success from last years Assembly elections when it emerged as the largest party for the first time.

The DUP secured 24% of first preference votes counted so far, with Alliance on 12.9%, the UUP on 11.7% and the SDLP on 8.7%.

The votes are being counted through the single transferable vote system and the process will continue well into Saturday.

The general pattern around voter turnout appeared to be up slightly in areas which would be regarded as predominantly nationalist/republican and down slightly in areas viewed as unionist majority.

Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald, right, and Sinn Fein vice president Michelle ONeill, second right, with Bronach Anglin and Micheal Donnelly at Belfast City Hall (Liam McBurney/PA)   Liam McBurney

The Stormont assembly has not been operational for more than a year due to the DUPs boycott of the powersharing institutions in protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Speaking at Belfast City Hall, Mrs McDonald said the election results showed a very strong showing for Sinn Fein right across the north.

She added: We are very pleased with that. We ran a very positive campaign and we are very pleased that the response to that has just been so positive by way of returns.

In the course of the election a lot of things were discussed, all the local issues but, in truth, the big issue was that of a return of the executive, the need to have government, the need to have leadership, the need to work together, to make politics work for everybody.

(PA Graphics)   PA Graphics

The need for Michelle ONeill to come into post as the first minister for all.

So, for us, that is the significance of this result, it is undoubtedly a vote for progress, for change, for positivity and, above all else, for working together.

Party vice president Michelle ONeill said the British and Irish Governments now needed to come up with a plan to bring Stormont back.

She said: We ran a very positive campaign.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson at Laganvalley Leisureplex where counting is continuing for the Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council (Claudia Savage/PA)   Claudia Savage

But on the doors the conversation was very much centred around the need to have a restored Assembly and executive up and running.

That needs to be done now without delay. We would call on both governments to get engaged and actually make that happen.

There needs to be a plan now for a way back to a restored executive.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey said if Sinn Fein emerges as the largest party in local government, unionism will have to look at where its going.

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

Speaking at the Lisburn and Castlereagh council count, he said: Lets see when the final votes are all counted who is the largest party but, if Sinn Fein do emerge as the largest party in the council elections, I think yet again, as Ive been saying, consistently, there are lessons that unionism needs to learn here.

We cant go on with a situation where turnout in unionist areas is significantly lower than in nationalist areas, you cant go on with a situation where the unionist vote is continually splitting and splintering.

The result of that is that seats are gifted to Sinn Fein and to others when the unionist vote is split, and when that unionist vote doesnt transfer sufficiently.

So, I think, we really do need to learn the lessons behind all of this, the DUP without a shadow of a doubt is by far the largest unionist party and I think that unionism needs to look at where its going and regroup around a strong voice for unionism, and see more co-operation between unionist parties.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said she believes it has been a positive election for her party.

Speaking to the PA news agency at Belfast City Hall, Ms Long said: Its been very positive so far but its very early.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long (centre) with Eric Hanvey (left) and her husband Michael Long (right) at Belfast City Hall as the results come in for the Northern Ireland local elections (Liam McBurney/PA)   Liam McBurney

Its still too early to predict, any of the gains that we hope to make will come much later but it looks good, its been a strong turnout for Alliance and from our perspective its been a good day.

Undoubtedly Sinn Fein has had a fantastic election, I think everyone can see that, but with the exception of Sinn Fein I think Alliance is the only party to have made significant gains at this point.

Sinn Feins Gary McCleave was the first councillor to be elected on Friday at Lisburn and Castlereagh Council, securing a seat in the Killultagh district electoral area (DEA).

His election was swiftly followed by the DUPs Thomas Beckett and Claire Kemp of the Alliance Party in the same DEA.

In Belfast, sitting Lord Mayor Tina Black was among the first elected.

Her Sinn Fein colleague, Geraldine McAteer, was the first councillor to be elected to the capitals council in the Balmoral DEA.

A short time later, Ms Black, along with DUP candidates Frank McCoubrey and Nicola Verner, was elected in the Court DEA.

At the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council, UUP leader Doug Beattie referred to the possibility of unionism as a whole losing seats.

Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie said his party would not be changing path (Jonathan McCambridge/PA)   Jonathan McCambridge

The question is will unionism as a whole lose seats in this election, if they do that, its a unionism-wide issue that has to be dealt with  as far as my party is concerned, weve set our path, Im not going to change that path, he said.

We believe that we need to get Northern Ireland working. We are confident unionists, we want to put out a positive, optimistic message and we will continue to do that, nothing will change.

Northern Irelands councils are responsible for setting rates, planning and waste collection as well as leisure services and parks.
A man has appeared in court on a charge related to a suspect device being abandoned outside a PSNI station which led to a major security alert (Niall Carson/PA)   Niall Carson

A man has appeared in court charged with a terrorism offence following an incident in which a car was hijacked and a hoax bomb left outside a police station.

Sean Pearson, 29, was refused bail at Dungannon Magistrates Court in the wake of the alert which occurred in Omagh, Co Tyrone, on May 6.

The court heard that Pearson is accused of buying the objects which were used to make the device. A defence lawyer said his client strenuously denied the allegation.

A major security alert was sparked after a motorist was held at gunpoint and forced to drive a suspicious object to the towns police station.

The court heard that this was the sixth national security attack in Northern Ireland in six months and had occurred just miles from a dissident republican murder bid on a senior PSNI detective in February.

Pearson, from Culmore Link in Omagh, appeared via videolink and made no response when the charge of possessing articles for use in terrorism was put to him.

A PSNI detective chief inspector told the court he could connect Pearson to the charge.

Defence solicitor Owen Beattie said there would be an application for bail as well as a challenge to the detective connecting his client to the charge.

The detective told the court: On Saturday May 6 2023 the injured party was in the car park at St Marys church, Drumragh.

As he exited his vehicle he was approached by two males who told him to stay where he was and stated they were from the IRA.

One of the males commented that the timer had already been set and a third male appeared.

One of the males produced a firearm and placed an item in the boot of the injured partys vehicle.

He was told take this to barracks, you have 20 minutes and was in such fear that he felt coerced to do what was demanded of him.

The injured party then drove his vehicle to Omagh police station, abandoned it outside and made himself known to security staff on the site.

The officer said the subsequent alert led to road closures and homes to be evacuated.

The court was told that the security alert had occurred just miles from where DCI John Caldwell was shot by dissident republicans (David Young/PA)   David Young

He said the hoax device contained a yellow gas bottle, a five-star 227g butane gas canister, a grey plastic tube which contained 130g of low-grade explosives assessed to be fireworks, a 24-hour mechanical timer switch, a white plastic tube and numerous lengths of black and silver adhesive tape.

He said it was the police case from CCTV evidence that the accused had purchased the butane gas canisters and mechanical timer switch from a Home Bargains store in Strabane and the black and silver tape from a B&M Bargains store in Omagh.

The officer said the items from the device had been submitted for forensic examination.

He said that during interview Pearsons solicitor said he bought the mechanical timer because his mobile phone overheated and could only be charged for two hours, the tape was for his work and the gas canister for use with a camping stove.

Outlining his objections to bail, the officer cited concerns over risk of reoffending and concerns over interference with witnesses and the course of justice.

He added: There is a firearm outstanding in this case and there are at least two, potentially three outstanding suspects.

The injured party was highly traumatised by this and is a man from the local area.

There has been significant public sentiment, there was disruption in the fact houses had to be evacuated and a Mass had to be cancelled on the Sunday morning.

This is the sixth national security attack within the last six months and this comes two months after the attempted murder of DCI John Caldwell only two miles up the road.

Defence solicitor Owen Beattie said there was no DNA which linked his client to the items in the hoax device. He also said that detectives had conceded during interviews with his client that the items could have been bought at any store.

He said: We are working from a very limited field in terms of what is connecting the accused to the charge.

The decision by the investigating team to charge the accused in relation to this single count has been premature.

District Judge Ted Magill said he was satisfied that the defendant could be connected with the charge.

He also refused the application for bail and remanded Pearson in custody.
Barry Nicolles actions led to the deaths of five red kites (PA)   Ben Andrew

An exotic bird breeder has been sentenced for poisoning multiple birds of prey in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in Scotland.

Barry Nicolle, 67, of near Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway, will have to complete 216 hours of unpaid work after he admitted lacing duck meat with banned pesticides and leaving it out on his land for scavengers in a bid to protect his own collection of prized waterfowl.

His actions, branded shockingly irresponsible by prosecutors, led to the deaths of five red kites and 10 rooks, whose bodies were discovered at various locations around the local authority area, including at Springholm Primary School.

Nicolle also left poisoned hunks of bread on fence posts around his land, which lies just 150 metres from the school.

The Crown Office said Nicolle, of Wickerty Snook, Springholm, pled guilty to 13 wildlife crime charges involving the indiscriminate use of banned poisons and possession of a number of highly toxic pesticides.

He also admitted using a crow trap illegally and a further air weapon charge.

It was said Nicolle laid the poisoned bait for birds between May 2019 and February 2020.

Fiona Caldwell, who leads on wildlife and environmental crime at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said after Nicolles sentencing: The laying of bait laced with poisons was shockingly irresponsible and Nicolle has shown an utter disregard for the wildlife laws which serve to protect these species.

I would like to thank Police Scotland, RSPB Scotland, the Scottish SPCA, the SRUC (Scotlands Rural College) Veterinary Investigation Centre and Sasa (Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture) for their part in investigating and gathering evidence of these repugnant offences.

The law protects wild birds and those who seek to poison them or possess stocks of illegal poison can be assured that the procurator fiscal will continue to prosecute such cases and ensure that offenders face the consequences of their actions.

A container holding banned pesticide Aldicarb recovered from Nicolles property in February 2020 (COPFS/PA)

Nicolle was given a community payback order and told to carry out 216 hours of unpaid work when he was sentenced at Dumfries Sheriff Court on Friday.

Prosecutors said numerous reports of suspicious deaths of red kites in the Kirkpatrick Durham and Springholm areas were made to Police Scotland, RSPB and Scottish SPCA inspectors by members of the public.

Several red kites were found lying motionless on the ground in a distressed state and had to be euthanised.

Springholm is at the heart of the breeding red kite populations range in south-west Scotland, making it a key area of the country for the birds and their future conservation.

Subsequent post-mortem examinations by the SRUC Veterinary Investigation Centre and toxicology analysis by the Sasas chemistry branch established a pattern and cause of death linked to a banned Carbofuran-based pesticide called Aldicarb.

All the deaths centred around Nicolles property and as a result, police were granted a warrant to search Wickerty Snook.

During the search of the property in February 2020, the poisons Aldicarb, Bendiocarb and Phostoxin, which contains aluminium phosphide, were found, as were poisoned bait and traps, including an illegal Larsen trap.

A video showing the placement and nature of these items was taken prior to them being seized.
By Sam Blewett, in Hiroshima, and Sophie Wingate, PA Political Political Staff

By Sam Blewett, in Hiroshima, and Sophie Wingate, PA Political Political Staff

Rishi Sunak has talked up Ben Wallace as widely respected by international allies as the Defence Secretary confirmed his interest in becoming the next secretary general of Nato.

Speaking ahead of the G7 summit in Japan on Thursday, the Prime Minister said Mr Wallace is focused on his current role supporting Ukraine right now.

Mr Wallace confirmed his interest in succeeding Jens Stoltenberg at the top of Nato when his term expires in September, saying the job would be fantastic.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace during a visit to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Berkshire (Kirsty OConnor/PA)   Kirsty OConnor

The Prime Minister did not say whether he would support Mr Wallaces bid for the role, during an interview with ITV News Seifukan tea house in Hiroshima.

But Mr Sunak said: I know hes widely respected by his peers for the role that he has played.

Hes focused right now on supporting Ukraine. Hes doing a great job of that.

Mr Wallace indicated his eagerness over the role during a trip to Berlin for talks on Ukraine with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius.

Mr Wallace told German dpa news agency: Ive always said it would be a good job. Thats a job Id like.

But Im also loving the job I do now. I mean, to be Defence Secretary of the British Government at a time of reform and investment, just like Boris Pistorius (Germanys minister of defence).

He added that secretary general of the transatlantic alliance is a fantastic job and Nato is an incredibly important part of all our securities.

But its not for me to decide. Its for all the other allies, he added.

The race for the top job has been heating up, with Mr Stoltenberg indicating he will not seek a further extension after nearly a decade in the role.

Jens Stoltenberg (James Manning/PA)   James Manning

Nato member states typically decide on the alliances next chief behind the scenes.

Mr Wallace would have to overcome the opposition of those said to be pushing for a woman or someone from eastern Europe.

France would reportedly prefer an EU candidate.

If the Defence Secretary did succeed, it could trigger a by-election in his Wyre and Preston North seat.

It is set to be carved up under a planned shake-up of Westminster constituencies later this year.

The appointment of Labour MP George Robertson as Nato chief in 1999 led to a by-election in his Hamilton South constituency, south west of Glasgow.
The coffin of D-Day veteran Joe Cattini is carried into a church (Joe Giddens/PA)   Joe Giddens

The life of one of Britains last D-Day veterans was celebrated at his funeral, following his death aged 100.

Joe Cattini, who died on April 18, was just 21 years old when he drove a truck loaded with petrol and ammunition off a ship in one of the first waves of the Normandy landings on June 6 1944.

His daughter Fran Bradshaw, 71, said: He told the story of coming off the ship with his truck loaded with petrol and ammunition and being quite scared in case he got a direct hit which would have meant he would be blown sky-high.

Mr Cattini, who landed on Gold Beach on D-Day as a bombardier in the 86th Field Regiment of the Hertfordshire Yeomanry, spent his final months at a care home in Stowmarket, Suffolk.

The order of service for the funeral of veteran Joe Cattini (Joe Giddens/PA)   Joe Giddens

The electrician had previously lived in Eastleigh, Hampshire, before moving to be closer to family.

His funeral was held on Friday at St Edmunds Catholic Church in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, where his first wife Mary Cattinis funeral took place following her death in 1998, aged 73.

His funeral was attended by several generations of his family, members of the Royal Regiment Artillery and representatives from veterans groups.

His coffin, draped in a Royal Artillery Regiment standard, was carried past standard bearers to the top of the steps at the front of the church, followed by his children.

Members of his family then took over to carry the coffin inside the church for the service.

The arrival music was Ill Walk With God by the tenor Mario Lanza, and prayers were read by Mr Cattinis great-grandchildren.

BBC reporter Nicholas Witchell was at the funeral (Joe Giddens/PA)   Joe Giddens

Tributes were read by his daughter Marian Stevens-Farrow, and by representatives of the veterans groups D-Day Revisited, 18 September Foundation, Spirit of Normandy Trust and The British Normandy Memorial, with the latter represented by BBC reporter Nicholas Witchell, a founding trustee of The British Normandy Memorial.

The departure music, after the Last Post was played, was Highland Cathedral by piper Tosh MacDonald, as the coffin was carried out to the hearse. The order of service requested that any donations be made to the Normandy Memorial Trust.

His daughter Mrs Bradshaw, of Lavenham, Suffolk, said Mr Cattini did not speak much about what he experienced on D-Day until after the 70th anniversary.

I think it was the fact of meeting other veterans that prompted him, and all the daughters and sons of the veterans all said it was their mechanism to get through it basically, she said.

They just parcelled it up, put it away, and once they started talking it was incredible, the tears came and we heard such amazing stories.

It was a real privilege to be part of that.

A photo issued by the British Normandy Memorial of Joe Cattini (britishnormandymemorial.org/PA)   britishnormandymemorial.org

She described her father as a complete and utter charmer.

He was perhaps one of the most positive men youve ever met, said Mrs Bradshaw.

My sister and I would often say to him how come you can wake up every morning like that? and his answer to that was having survived the war he wanted to make every day count.

The fact he was here for 100 years was fantastic but I think it was down to his positivity.

She said that the two great loves in his life were the church and his family.

In the last 10 years of his life he joined veterans groups, went to memorial events and he just transformed, Mrs Bradshaw said.

He was respected and he was honoured in a way that he hadnt been before, she said.

Daughters Fran Bradshaw and Marian Stevens-Farrow at his funeral (Joe Giddens/PA)   Joe Giddens

A friend of mine put it, she said normally theyre just old men taking up time in a queue, then suddenly when they put a uniform on and they go to these events theyre suddenly given so much respect.

I think it floored my dad when he first started going.

He was shocked by people in Normandy clapping when they went down the road.

It was amazing.

He moved to Suffolk in his final months, and loved Bury St Edmunds which is full of restaurants.

His joy, being Italian, his absolute joy was having lunches out with a glass of red wine, said Mrs Bradshaw.

The coffin of D-Day veteran Joe Cattini is carried into church (Joe Giddens/PA)   Joe Giddens

That was the promise he made me make to him when we brought him up to Suffolk, that I would take him out for his lunches.

She said her father, who grew up in Hampstead, north-west London, had an incredible life and would have been incredibly humbled by tributes to him.

Dad always said they werent the heroes, they were the lucky ones that survived, she said.

The heroes were the ones whose names appeared on the Normandy memorial, the ones that lost their lives.

I think while he was thrilled with the attention he got in the last 10 years he was also humbled by the fact he felt he was so privileged to still be here.
The USS Paul Hamilton is seen after passing through the Strait of Hormuz (Jon Gambrell/AP)   Jon Gambrell

The Middle East-based commanders of the US, British and French navies have transited the Strait of Hormuz aboard an American warship, a sign of their unified approach to keeping the crucial waterway open after Iran seized two oil tankers.

Tensions in the Persian Gulf have been volatile since Irans nuclear deal with world powers collapsed, following the USs unilateral withdrawal five years ago.

The incredibly rare, joint trip by the three navy chiefs aboard the USS Paul Hamilton, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, saw three fast boats of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard approach the vessel at one point.

Guardsmen stood by uncovered machine guns on their decks, while sailors aboard the Paul Hamilton similarly stood by loaded machine guns as others took photographs and video of the vessels.

An Associated Press (AP) journalist also accompanied the allied naval commanders.

While the Guard kept its distance from both the Paul Hamilton and the passing British frigate HMS Lancaster, their presence showed just how tense passage for vessels can be in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of global oil supplies passes.

HMS Lancaster sails as Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels follow behind it in the Strait of Hormuz (Jon Gambrell/AP)   Jon Gambrell

Iran has seized or attacked 15 ships in the last two years. Eight seizures and seven attacks, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, who oversees the US Navys Middle East-based 5th Fleet, told the AP.

So the shipping industry is mindful of what the security posture looks like in the region. We have the ability to positively impact that influence and thats what were doing now.

Vice Admiral Cooper said Irans Guard ships on Friday came within 1,000 yards (915 metres) of the Paul Hamilton, which is based out of San Diego.

The US has viewed securing the Middle Easts waterways, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, as key since then-president Jimmy Carters 1980 speech vowing to use military force to protect American interests in the wider Persian Gulf.

While focused then on the Soviet Unions invasion of Afghanistan, the Carter Doctrines vow to allow the free movement of Middle East oil now pits the US against Iran, which has seized a series of oil tankers since the collapse of its nuclear deal with world powers.

Last week, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists that America planned to make a series of moves to bolster our defensive posture in the Persian Gulf, while criticising Irans recent seizures of tankers.

An Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessel watches an American warship in the Strait of Hormuz (Jon Gambrell/AP)   Jon Gambrell

Vice Admiral Cooper said the joint trip on the Paul Hamilton represented part of that push, with the aim of having more coalition ships passing through the strait on a regular basis.

The volume of commerce that flows through the Strait of Hormuz  it is critical to the worlds economy, he said.

For its part, Iran has long bristled at the American presence in the region.

After Mr Kirbys remarks, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani issued a lengthy statement accusing the US of creating and intensifying instability and insecurity in the Persian Gulf region for decades with its interventionist and destructive policies.

However, Mr Kanaani also specifically mentioned the US seizing and confiscating some Iranian oil cargoes in international waters.

The suspected American seizure of the Suez Rajan, a tanker linked to a US private equity firm believed to have been carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil off Singapore, likely sparked Tehran to recently take the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Advantage Sweet.

That ship carried Kuwaiti crude oil for energy firm Chevron Corporation of San Ramon, California.

There was no immediate reaction in Iranian state media nor from the Guard about the Paul Hamiltons trip from the Persian Gulf out through the strait to the Gulf of Oman.

US Navy sailors work in the Combat Information Centre of the USS Paul Hamilton in the Strait of Hormuz (Jon Gambrell/AP)   Jon Gambrell

However, it was unlikely the Iranians immediately knew that the American, British and French commanders had been aboard the vessel, though at least one Guard member aboard the fast boats was studying the Paul Hamilton with a pair of binoculars.

Irans mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the trip.

On the trip through the Strait of Hormuz, at least one Iranian drone watched the Paul Hamilton.

Meanwhile, a US Navy Boeing P-8 Poseidon was also overhead.

US forces routinely fly drones in the region as well, while a navy task force has also put some drones out to sea.

Securing the Strait of Hormuz has been a challenge since the Carter Doctrine  and deadly.

The so-called 1980s Tanker War involved American naval ships escorting reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers through the gulf and the strait after Iranian mines damaged vessels in the region.

The US Navy even fought a one-day naval battle against Iran at the time, as well as accidentally shooting down an Iranian commercial airliner, killing 290 people.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels watch an American warship in the Strait of Hormuz (Jon Gambrell/AP)   Jon Gambrell

Former president Donald Trumps decision to unilaterally withdraw from Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers sparked new challenges from Iran in the region.

Tehran seized tankers, while the navy also blamed Iran for again using mines against shipping.

The Trump administration came up with its Sentinel programme, which also involved it and partner nations escorting ships in the region.

But tensions with Europe after the nuclear deals collapse did not see a wide buy-in with the programme.

This renewed effort under President Joe Biden does not appear to involve escorting individual ships, but trying to put more allied forces in the region.

Already, the US has brought A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and a submarine into the region to try to deter Iran.

America could also bring more ships into the Persian Gulf.

The end of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the war in Ukraine and American concern over Chinas expansion in the South China Sea, has halted routine carrier deployments in recent years.

From left, Commodore Philip Dennis, commander of the United Kingdom Maritime Component Command, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper of the US Navys Middle East-based 5th Fleet and Vice Admiral Emmanuel Slaars, joint commander of the French forces deployed in the Indian Ocean, look out from the USS Paul Hamilton in the Strait of Hormuz (Jon Gambrell/AP)   Jon Gambrell

For now, Vice Admiral Cooper pointed to the presence of his British and French colleagues  Commodore Philip Dennis, the commander of the United Kingdom Maritime Component Command, and Vice Admiral Emmanuel Slaars, the joint commander of the French forces deployed in the Indian Ocean  as a sign of the resolve of America and its partners.

This is part of our increase in presence in the region, which was described by the White House last week, and thats now in execution, Vice Admiral Cooper said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is greeted by Prince Badr Bin Sultan, deputy governor of Mecca (Saudi Press Agency via AP)   Uncredited

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has addressed a summit of Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia before what a senior official said would be a trip to Japan for a meeting with the leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies.

Mr Zelensky has in recent months made foreign trips to shore up diplomatic support for Ukraines fight against Russias full-scale invasion almost 15 months ago and solicit more military support.

He earlier this week returned from a three-day trip to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

Volodymyr Zelensky arrives at Jeddah airport (Saudi Press Agency via AP)   Uncredited

Ukraine and Russia are squaring up for a major and potentially decisive phase in the war as Kyiv prepares an expected counteroffensive.

The conflict has been bogged down in a war of attrition in recent months amid bad weather.

Mr Zelenskys office said he was invited to attend the Arab League summit in Jeddah where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before holding other bilateral meetings.

They discussed Mr Zelenskys peace plan, the security situation in Ukraine and possible investments in the reconstruction of the country, a presidential statement said.

Mr Zelensky also invited Prince Mohammed to visit Ukraine.

This video grab shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arriving at the airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Saudi state TV: Al Ekhbariya via AP)   Uncredited

The Ukrainian president urged leaders at the summit to resist Moscows influence and consider his peace proposals, which include the withdrawal of the Kremlins forces from occupied areas of Ukraine.

Im more than sure that none of you will agree to surrender a third of your country to the invaders, Mr Zelensky said in English.

Another priority is the protection of the Muslim community of Ukraine, he said.

Crimea was the first to suffer from the Russian occupation, and most of those who suffer repression in occupied Crimea are Muslims.

Syrian President Bashar Assad, is accompanied by Prince Badr Bin Sultan, deputy governor of Mecca, upon his arrival at Jeddah airport (Saudi Press Agency via AP)   Uncredited

Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev accompanied Mr Zelensky on the visit.

Mr Zelensky will later travel to a Group of Seven summit in Japan where leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies aim to step up punishment on Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defence Council.

However, Mr Danilovs office later posted a statement backtracking on his announcement and saying Mr Zelensky would appear at the G7 summit via video link.

Mr Zelenskys movements are kept secret for security reasons.
Koo Ja-kyun, charman of LS Electric / Courtesy of LS Electric



Koo Ja-kyun, chairman of LS Electric, has been referred to the prosecution for investigation on charges of a speeding violation, along with a company official who initially falsely claimed to be the driver, police said Friday.



The Yongsan Police Station in Seoul said it sent Koo and the director, identified by his surname Kim, to the prosecution early last month. Kim faces charges of allowing a criminal suspect to escape.



Koo, 65, is a younger cousin of Koo Ja-eun, chairman of LS Group, the 16th largest conglomerate in the country.



Koo allegedly drove his Ferrari on a highway in Seoul on Nov. 9 at a speed exceeding 160 kmph, twice the legal speed limit of 80 kmph.



On Dec. 23, Kim visited the police station and initially claimed to be the driver. But he later retracted his statement during police interrogation.



In March, Koo appeared at the police station, and admitted to driving the car and exceeding the speed limit.



Driving at a speed exceeding 80 kmph above the speed limit can lead to criminal punishment, including a fine of up to 300,000 won ($225) or a short-term detention, rather than an administrative monetary penalty or a ticket.



LS Electric, the electrical and energy solutions subsidiary of LS Group, said Kim mistakenly claimed to be the offender, believing he would receive a lighter penalty.



"During the subsequent police investigation, Kim stated he was not driving. It was not an attempt to switch drivers or evade criminal punishment," a company official said. (Yonhap)


When Indonesian President Suharto resigned on May 21, 1998, it marked the end of his longtime dictatorship and the start of a new era known as Reformasi (Reformation) for Southeast Asias largest and most populous country.

Although Indonesia emerged as a fledgling democracy out of street protests that took place amid a regional financial crisis and brought about the fall of Suharto, deep-seated graft still gnaws away 25 years into Reformasi. Among other things, the proponents of Reformasi sought to end rampant corruption, collusion and nepotism as well as increase accountability and establish the rule of law.

Indonesian authorities this week arrested yet another cabinet minister  the fifth since President Joko Jokowi Widodo came to power nine years ago  for his suspected role in a graft case that caused more than half a billion U.S. dollars in state losses, officials say.

Ridding government of corruption was one of the main planks in Jokowi's campaign platform before he was first elected president in 2014.
Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, who serves as education secretary, meets with students at the Pinaglabanan Elementary School in San Juan, a Manila suburb, Dec. 13, 2022.

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday added to intrigue surrounding the countrys ruling party by announcing she was resigning her membership over concerns about political toxicity.

Dutertes surprise resignation followed the demotion of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a former Philippine president and fellow party member, from senior deputy speaker to deputy speaker in the House of Representatives. Duterte and Arroyo are widely considered the two most powerful women in Philippine politics.

Both women were instrumental in removing a former House Speaker eventually replaced by Arroyo. Reports also surfaced this week about Arroyo allegedly plotting some kind of political coup against the current House Speaker, who is the cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

This is to announce my irrevocable resignation as a Lakas-CMD member effective today, Duterte announced in a statement without giving a specific reason for her decision, but she hinted at a possible power play at the Lakas-CMD party ahead of congressional elections two years from now.

Duterte retains her posts as vice president and education secretary.

I am here today because of the trust of the Filipino people in me to lead and serve them and the country, and this cannot be poisoned by political toxicity or undermined by execrable political power play, she said without elaborating.

Duterte thanked party members for their support, but said politics would not distract her from doing her job.

Nothing is more important to me than being able to meaningfully serve our fellow Filipinos and the Philippines  with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr leading the way. Trust that my word, my commitment will be immutable, she said.

Despite leading in presidential popularity surveys ahead of the 2022 national election, Duterte gave way to Marcos who won the race while voters elected her vice president. In the Philippines, the president and vice president are elected separately.

Political debt

Duterte, 44, is the daughter of Rodrigo Duterte, the former president whose six-year term ending last year was marked by widespread killings of alleged drug addicts and dealers.

President Marcos has been under pressure from local and international human rights groups to allow International Criminal Court prosecutors to enter the Philippines to investigate the thousands of deaths under his predecessor.

Analysts have said that Marcos, a member of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas party who was backed by Lakas-CMD, had promised Sara Duterte that he would not hand over her father to international investigators, clearing the way for Marcos successful presidential run.

Former President Duterte, meanwhile, has been a member of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP)-Laban.

Joined by her parents, Elizabeth Zimmerman and outgoing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Sara Duterte takes the oath of office of vice president in Davao city, Philippines, June 19, 2022. [Jeoffrey Maitem/BenarNews]

Sara Duterte announced that she was quitting the party two days after the congressional demotion of Macapagal-Arroyo, the partys chairwoman emeritus.

The power play and intramurals in Lakas may result in further resignations by Arroyo and Duterte loyalists ahead of the 2028 presidential election, said Edcel Lagman, an opposition congressman.

These political developments will have repercussions in the revamp of the Marcos cabinet, he said.

Arroyo claimed that she was demoted over fears that she posed a threat to House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

When I learned that there were reports that I was suspected of plotting a coup against Speaker Romualdez, I decided I must speak out to clarify my political position, Arroyo told reporters Friday.

She said she was content to represent her district in the lower house while supporting the legislative agenda of Marcos and Romualdez.

Third, (is) to use whatever experience I have as a former president to help out when I am called upon to do so, she said.

In December 2019, the Philippines anti-graft body under former President Duterte cleared Arroyo of corruption charges filed in 2016 over allegations she misused more than 73.6 million pesos (U.S. $1.3 million) in funds from the state-run lottery agency.

The case against Arroyo, 76, and several officials of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office stemmed from allegations of misuse of funds from 2004 to 2007. The office raises funds for health programs and medical assistance through daily lotteries.
The Philippine Navy ship BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) launches the Bullfighter chaff decoy in South China Sea waters off Zambales province, northern Philippines, May 19, 2023.

The Philippine Navy showcased its warfare capability on Friday by test-firing a newly acquired anti-missile decoy from one of its most advanced warships in the South China Sea.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was on hand to watch the firing of the Bullfighter from another ship nearby in waters off Zambales, a province of the northern Philippines that faces the contested sea.

With the fluid security situation in our region, it is imperative that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and of course the Navy is substantially equipped, trained, and always on alert to respond to any and all exigencies that may confront our nation, he said.

Marcos urged the navy to continue fulfilling its mandate and noted that the acquisition boosts the countrys warfare capabilities.

The missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) fired the Bullfighter decoy, which distracts radar-guided missiles by dispensing a small cloud of aluminum, metalized glass fiber, or plastic that appears as a cluster of targets on radar screens, officials said.

The Bullfighter is a new generation of 130mm decoys for Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Chaff (SRBOC) and other 130mm launcher systems to protect naval vessels up to the size of frigates against anti-ship missiles, Capt. Benjo Negranza, navy spokesman, said in a statement.

The Navy said it was also supposed to launch a Mistral 3 surface-to-air missile on Friday, but the target drone did not take off for still unknown reasons.

Navy chief Vice Admiral Toribio Adaci Jr. said the acquisition of these defense systems signified the states support and commitment in equipping them with the necessary tools to face any challenges that may arise.

These modern acquisitions not only signify our readiness to defend our maritime domain but also reflect the tremendous progress we have made in reinforcing our naval force, he added.

Australia providing drone equipment

Meanwhile on Thursday, visiting Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong promised to provide the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) with drone equipment and training to help boost its maritime capabilities in the West Philippine Sea, the part of the South China Sea within the countrys exclusive economic zone.

Wong, who met with her Filipino counterpart Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, said that Australia and the Philippines were like-minded partners seeking a safe, stable, and prosperous Southeast Asian region where they could enhance cooperation.

This includes Australia providing drone equipment, training and other technology to strengthen your coast guards maritime domain awareness and protection capabilities, she said.

We are committed to continuing Australias longstanding presence in the region, including in the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea. We are open to cooperating with all our partners to exercise freedom of navigation and overflight, and the Philippines is a longstanding, important security partner for us, Wong added.

Manalo, for his part, said the Philippines was still considering a possible trilateral cooperation with Australia, Japan, and the United States.

We look forward to discussing with Australia, and our other partner, Japan and even with perhaps the United States on possible modes of cooperation, Manalo said.

Jeoffrey Maitem contributed to this report from Batanes province, northern Philippines.
Thai police escort Thitisan Utthanaphon, a former policeman known as Jo Ferrari, while leaving the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok, Aug. 26, 2021.

Thailands national police on Friday said it would implement a court order this week to immediately implement an anti-torture law that requires officers to videotape interrogations of suspects in custody.

Maj. Gen. Achayon Kraithong, the Royal Thai Police spokesman, said officers would accelerate the process to enforce the law.

There should be no problems complying with the enacted law, he told BenarNews.

We already have a number of cameras in place, and from now on, procurement for more will begin, he said. Meanwhile, if there is an emergency, the police chief has directed officers to utilize existing cameras.

The Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act was to take effect in February, but the government had delayed its enforcement citing a police request for more time to procure enough video recording equipment.

On Thursday, the Thai Constitutional Court ruled 8 to 1 that the cabinets decision to postpone enforcement had violated the Constitution and ordered that terms of the act, including videotaping of suspects in custody and interrogations, must begin at once.

Lawmakers had passed the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act on Aug. 24, 2022, and announced it in the Royal Gazette on Oct. 25, 2022, to take effect in 120 days (Feb. 22). The new law requires police and military personnel to videotape and record interrogations of suspects in custody.

The act defines what torture, enforced disappearance and victims constitute. It declares that direct commanders could be held criminally liable. It also does not allow secret detention and protects from retaliation those who file complaints.

Two months before that act was passed, six police officers were sentenced to life in prison for the in-custody death of a drug suspect. The interrogation  in which the suspect was handcuffed with plastic bags over his head  was caught on video in 2021 and released on social media.

The officers included former police Col. Thitisan Utthanaphon, nicknamed Jo Ferrari, because he owned a fleet of expensive cars.

Meanwhile, a court in Songkhla province in the Deep South ruled in May 2022 there was no evidence to show that a suspected insurgent who fell into a coma and died after the Thai military arrested him was tortured during interrogation.

The ruling ended a two-year inquest into 34-year-old Abdullah Esomusos 2019 death and dashed his familys hopes that military personnel might be charged for it.

Activists react

Angkhana Neelaphaijit, former national human rights commissioner, said she appreciated the court ruling as she had fought for the laws passage.

I am pleased because we have been waiting for a long time, and we want to see enforcement by the relevant authorities, including Thai police, DSI and prosecutors, she told BenarNews using an acronym for the Department of Special Investigation.

We want to see people who have been affected by enforced disappearances and torture receive justice. We would like to see non-refoulement, which means not forcibly repatriating individuals to their countries if it would expose them to danger, she said.

The government should demonstrate responsibility for proposing laws that conflict with the Constitution.

Pornpen Kongkajornkiat, director of the Cross Cultural Foundation, a Thai NGO, praised the decision.

The courts ruling today is legitimate. It demonstrates respect for the peoples fundamental rights as well as respect for the parliamentary system, she told BenarNews.

What the new government should do from now on is uphold the law and give remedies for people who have been affected by previous state officials misconduct.

Wilawan Watcharasakwej in Bangkok contributed to this report.
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.
Supreme Court building in Seoul / Yonhap



The Supreme Court upheld a 30-year prison sentence Friday for a mother and stepfather accused of neglect and starvation that resulted in the death of their 2-year-old daughter last year.



The couple in their 20s, who resided in Ulsan, 299 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was found guilty of causing the child's death through abuse and negligence, including failure to provide adequate food for about five months starting from October 2021.



The young girl died on March 3, 2022, due to malnutrition and cerebral hemorrhage.



The couple was also charged with mistreating their 17-month-old son, resulting in his suffering from malnutrition and developmental problems.



Investigations revealed that despite receiving child benefits from the government, the couple frequently deprived their children of food and left them unattended in the house for as long as 25 hours while they went out to meet friends or play games.



Last July, a district court handed down a 30-year prison sentence, saying, "It is difficult to imagine the pain and fear that the victim must have felt."



The court also ordered the defendants to participate in a child abuse treatment program and banned them from working in child-related facilities for 10 years.



On appeal, the couple blamed each other for their daughter's death.



The mother argued their daughter died due to her husband's beating, not starvation. The stepfather argued he should not be held accountable for murder by child abuse since he was not the victim's legal guardian.



The appeals court, however, ruled the two conspired in the child's death, noting neither of them restrained the other's behavior while continuing to engage in acts of abandonment.



The Supreme Court dismissed the defendants' appeal, confirming the previous ruling. (Yonhap)


Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Three of the towns five cannabis shops are behind at least one quarter of fiscal 2023 payments, according to town records.
WEST STOCKBRIDGE  Its still a tie.

A painstaking, laborious electronic recount on Friday yielded the same vote totals for Select Board Chair Kathleen Keresey and challenger Jon Piasecki: 202-202.

The 90-minute Town Hall event was held under the watchful eyes of the candidates, their chosen observers and about 20 onlookers. The 406 ballots, which included a Humpty Dumpty write-in and a blank, were counted in groups of 50 and fed into the Dominion Systems electronic voting machine and recounted on the other side to ensure all 50 had made it through.

Anytime theres a recount, youre hoping it comes out exactly the same, and it did, said town counsel Brian W. Riley of KP Law, the Boston firm representing West Stockbridge. All the equipment worked, no mistakes. Its just unfortunate its a tie, so now we have to do it again.

The election process heads back to square one, with a town caucus at 6 p.m. June 12 to select the candidates, including Keresey, Piasecki and any others who may be nominated and seconded by registered voters. The new election is slated for July 17, with voting hours to be announced.

Keresey said the outcome of the recount was expected.

The process was very regulated and orderly, she said. A fifth-generation town native whose family settled in the town in the 1840s, she returned full-time a few years ago after pursuing her career in New York City. Keresey was seeking reelection to her second three-year term and will run again for the July 17 replay.

Its a brand-new election and wipes out this past election for the Select Board race, she said. Meanwhile, the Select Board will meet as scheduled, with Keresey chairing the sessions.

Piasecki, who had filed for the recount and specified an electronic replay rather than a hand count of the ballots, called the procedure very fair, very thorough, complete and well thought-out. Im very happy its a tie and there wasnt any discrepancy. Its back to ground zero and a new election, starting over again. Its all good.

Repeating one of the central themes of his candidacy, Piasecki, a local farmer, called it a clear sign of division in the Berkshires, changing demographics are happening and its a question of respect for whats gone before and integrating whats new. We have to see if we can do it, I think were right at the front edge of that.

Presiding over the recount were West Stockbridge Town Administrator Marie Ryan, whos also the assistant town clerk, Terri Iemolini of Stockbridge, Kerry Sullivan of Lenox, Felecie Joyce of Sheffield and Jenn Messina of Great Barrington. The outcome of the revote was announced by West Stockbridge Town Clerk Ronni Barrett.

The outcome of the replay also was a vote of confidence for the integrity of Dominion Systems, the company reviled by 2020 election deniers, including Fox News hosts. The company recently won a $787 million judgment in a pretrial settlement of its lawsuit against Fox.

Turnout for the election on May 8 was 33 percent  406 voters out of 1,218 registered in the town.

The result appeared to be only tie in recent memory for a Berkshire County municipal election. In 2002, an election for a vacant seat on the Stockbridge Select Board yielded a 194-194 deadlock between William F. French and George Shippey, according to Eagle archives. Shippey won the seat in a follow-up election.

In the 1970s, longtime Richmond resident and Eagle columnist Ruth Bass recalled, there were two ties that had to be resolved with follow-up votes.
PITTSFIELD  The lucky don't notice such things, but its the high season for allergy sufferers who may think there's no escaping the triggering pollen surrounding us.

The forecast of pollen counts from Pollen.com shows they are expected to remain mostly high at least through Saturday.

If you've noticed the fine layer of yellow-green dust that settles on cars left outside, it's the pollen.

This spring has been particularly bad, said Dr. Jasdeep S. Badwal, an allergy specialist at Berkshire Allergy Care on South Street in Pittsfield. And climate change is not helping. We are in the thick of it.

Kari Nadeau, professor of Climate and Population Studies and chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, was recently quoted in a Boston 25 news article explaining the effect of the warming of the planet on pollen proliferation.

Nadeau said that because warmer weather signals plants to bloom, pollen seasons are starting earlier and lasting longer. Greenhouse emissions also increase the levels of carbon dioxide, which stimulates plants to boost the release of pollen. And with colder regions becoming warmer, pollen-producing plants are growing in new areas.

This year, the pollen count started climbing in March, and it will continue, from trees, some flowers, grass and other vegetation, through the fall.

Unlike a cold, hay fever isn't caused by a virus, but rather by an allergic response to a harmless outdoor or indoor substance the body identifies as harmful. Symptoms  runny nose, itchy eyes, congestion, sneezing and sinus pressure  can be caused by pollen, dust mites and tiny flecks of skin shed by cats, dogs and other animals with fur or feathers.

The number of those with hay-fever is growing. Badwal said allergies are inherited, so allergic parents could have allergic children, spreading the suffering.

Eventually, Badwal said, people without allergies will be less common.

Trees and grass are the biggest offenders, he said, because there are so many of each, their pollen is thicker in the air.

This year, they popped up quickly, he added.

One way to minimize the symptoms is to minimize exposure, but inside a building isnt always pollen-free. Other aids  over-the-counter medicines or prescription nasal inhalers  simply mask the symptoms.

Its really just a Band-Aid, Badwal said.

The most effective treatments are allergy shots. He said that the shots would be taken every one to two weeks for a while as the tolerance to pollen slowly increases. After a few months, the shots are monthly, and after about a year, most patients feel significantly better during hay-fever season.

One of the problems with hay fever is that it can exacerbate symptoms of asthma or eczema, but for some, the allergy shots clear up those symptoms as well.

These allergy symptoms can have a heavy impact on someones quality of life, Badwal said. But a lot of people dont know that shots are available.

Such annoyances as post-nasal drip or itchy eyes at night can disturb sleep, creating problems within families and ineffectiveness at work, Badwal said.

Spring is the busy time of year, but he said new patients can usually be fit into the schedule pretty quickly, adding, Youre better off to get it under control sooner rather than later.
Reading for 20 minutes a day has incredibly positive effects on kids, notes columnist Curtis Honeycutt. If you read to your child for 20 minutes per day, they'll be exposed to 1.8 million words per year.
A view of the New York City skyline, as seen from One World Trade in 2021.
State Rep. Tricia Farley Bouvier recently co-sponsored a bill that would decriminalize "prostituted people, and allow them a pathway to exit the sex trade."
Guerre en Ukraine: Joe Biden est pret a autoriser certains pays europeens a donner une partie de leurs avions F-16 a l'Ukraine

Le Danemark va former des pilotes ukrainiens sur les avions de combat F-16, apres le feu vert americain. Une decision qui ouvre la voie a la livraison d'avions du meme type.
Ukraine: feu vert americain pour la formation de pilotes ukrainiens sur les avions de combat F-16

Le Danemark va former des pilotes ukrainiens sur les avions de combat F-16, apres le feu vert americain. Une decision qui ouvre la voie a la livraison d'avions du meme type.




Police sought a warrant Friday to arrest actor Yoo Ah-in on suspicions of the illegal use of five different drugs.







The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency filed for the warrant for the 37-year-old actor, accused of illegally using five different drugs for non-medical purposes: propofol, marijuana, cocaine, ketamine and zolpidem, an insomnia medication.







Police reportedly made the decision in consideration of the seriousness of Yoo's case, the risk of flight and his continued denial of drug use.







A court is expected to decide whether to issue the requested warrant after holding a hearing early next week.







Yoo previously underwent two rounds of police questioning, including on Tuesday, and reportedly denied the drug allegations. He partially admitted to smoking marijuana, but insisted the use of propofol, ketamine and others was for medical purposes.







Police launched a probe into Yoo in early February after the state drug safety agency found he had shots of propofol, a sedative, on a total of 73 occasions during a span of 2021.







In a following test of his urine and hair samples, he tested positive for marijuana, propofol, cocaine and ketamine. His medical records additionally raised suspicions that he may have acquired zolpidem prescriptions for non-medical purposes. (Yonhap)


When God covenanted with Abraham that nations would come from him as recorded in Genesis, Abraham was an old man with no children. But God kept His promise and gave Abraham a son  Isaac. Abrahams grandsons Jacob and Esau both went on to have many children.

The account of Exodus continues to follow the line of Jacob as they grow from 12 sons into a nation that had a unique relationship with the God who created the universe. After they left Egypt, God formalized their relationship with law, with blessings for when they are pursuing Him rightly, and outlining the ramifications for when they are not in one accord with Him. During this time in the wilderness at Mount Sinai, God declared,

You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you (Exodus 23:25).

This blessing, which was made at the same time the law was established, assured the soon-to-be nation of Israel that if they loved Him and kept His ways, He would bless them with good food, an abundance of water, and health. This covenant with the nation of Israel gives insight into the patterns of strength and weakness through the centuries, and can encourage believers today as an assurance of Gods love, though it does not apply to the church the same way.

What Does This Verse Mean?

This verse comes after God established the Ten Commandments, and begins to institute the Law for the nation of Israel. He commanded,

When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you (Exodus 23:23-25).

In essence, God is giving a command to the nation of Israel, and making a promise. If the Israelites worship Him, and do not fall into idolatry or the sins of the nations around them, they shall be blessed. God will protect them from famine, drought, and disease.

What Is the Context of Exodus 23?

In many cultures, the relationship between a persons tribal and ethnic identity can be deeply tied to their religious practices. Tribes and cultures had their specific deities they worshipped. As a general pattern across time, this has held true.

After Adam and Eve sinned, God told the serpent, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15). To bring about the family line from which this man (Jesus Christ)  who would bruise the head of the serpent  would come, God identified a man, Abram. Through him, God would create a family which would become a nation.

Abram became Abraham, who begat Isaac, who begat Jacob, who became Israel. Through Jacobs 12 sons, 12 tribes developed. During a time of famine, Jacob and his sons settled in Egypt, leading to the enslavement of their descendants.

God used Moses, a man born in the tribe of Levi but raised in the Egyptian court, to lead the Hebrew people out of slavery and out of the land of Egypt. During their time of enslavement, the Hebrew people had developed a unique identity as a people, but did not have a nation. While He began to lead them to a place where they would have their own country, they stopped at Mount Sinai. Here, God formalized their nationhood by establishing the Law. These laws started out as the way to have a right relationship with Him as an individual, as a people, and how they were to practice their faith. It expanded into other laws, including how they were to handle the influence of other nations.

Over the course of the Old Testament, the nation of Israel would vacillate between obeying Gods laws and obtaining His blessings, and falling into sin, and subsequently losing that blessing. During the days of King David and King Solomon, the nation mostly did what was right in the Lords eyes, and the Israelites were blessed. During the days of wicked kings, like King Ahab when Elijah was the prophet, Israel suffered invasions, drought, and other tribulations. God took His hand of protection off the nation of Israel during their times of disobedience, culminating in the invasion of the Babylonians and the exile.

Why Will God Bless Those Who Worship Him?

God blessed the nation of Israel during their times of obedience because Israel was called to be a nation that demonstrated His love, power, justice, and mercy to the world, so they may be drawn to Him. I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness (Isaiah 42:6-7).

God made covenants with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the entire Hebrew people. When they kept their part of the covenant, they received Gods blessings and protection. When they did not, He allowed them to experience the consequences of their actions, but always restored them.

Does This Promise Apply to Christians Today?

This promise to Israel does not apply to the church today, because it was related to the Law under which the Hebrew people lived. These blessings and covenants were directly related to the nation of Israel worshipping Him, which included the Ten Commandments, the Levitical Law, honoring the Feast Days, and tithing appropriately.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus obeyed these laws. After His death, the veil in the temple was torn. Gods presence used to settle in the Holy of Holies, but with Jesus death, the temple system was no longer required. The Law was no longer required, and the Holy Spirit resides in every person who believes in Him.

The covenants with Israel do not apply to the church and Christians today. They were made to a nation, and the church is not called to be a nation. Instead, believers are described as strangers or sojourners. And Paul affirmed, But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20). Later, the writer of Hebrews said something similar,  For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come (Hebrews 13:14).

In fact, Christians are guaranteed sufferings in the New Testament, not blessings. Jesus said, In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world (John 16:33b). Christians today have their hope and faith in the future promise of eternal life and salvation in Jesus Christ. They are free from the law, living in a more perfect faith, waiting for the day when Jesus will rule and reign forever.

The account of Israels history in Exodus reminds people today of Gods power, His love, and His faithfulness. It can be confusing sometimes reading some of the promises made to the nation of Israel out of context, and wonder why it seems God does not bless Christians today in the same way. There is hunger, pain, drought, illness, and many other tribulations that exist as a byproduct of the Fall and Adam and Eves sin. While the promise of Exodus 23:25 was made to Israel, it does serve as a reminder that God will always keep His promises.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation (Hebrews 11:1-2).

Sources

Halley, Henry. Halleys Bible Handbook.Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1965.

Henry, Matthew. Commentary on the Whole Bible: Genesis to Revelation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1961.

Morrow, William. An Introduction to Biblical Law. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2017.

Photo credit: Getty Images/Oscar Gutierrez Zozulia

Bethany Verrett is a freelance writer who uses her passion for God, reading, and writing to glorify God. She and her husband have lived all over the country serving their Lord and Savior in ministry. She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com.
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
President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the end of their joint news conference after their summit in Tokyo, March 16. Yonhap



President Yoon Suk Yeol will meet with a group of Korean victims of the 1945 Hiroshima atomic bombing during a visit to the city Friday, his office said.



Yoon will be the first Korean president to have such a meeting, which demonstrates his commitment to "continuing to resolve historical issues while at the same time pursuing a better future for the two countries," presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon said during a press briefing.



"This can be understood as symbolically demonstrating the commitment of Korea and Japan to not close the door on history, while opening the door to the future," he said.



Yoon is set to visit Hiroshima on Friday for a Group of Seven summit and a series of meetings, including one with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and another with Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden.



During the three-day trip, Yoon and Kishida also plan to pay a joint visit to a cenotaph for Korean A-bomb victims at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.



Around 50,000 Koreans fell victim to the atomic bombing, including 30,000 killed, after many were taken to Japan to work as forced laborers during its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, according to the Korea Atomic Bombs Victim Association. (Yonhap)


Lesotho has imposed a nationwide curfew on its residents after a prominent radio presenter was shot dead earlier this week.

Reports say Ralikonelo Leqhashasha Joki, who worked for Tsenolo FM radio station, was shot at least 13 times by unknown assailants in Maseru as he left the studio at 10pm after his Sunday evening show.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Lesotho chapter stated that Joki's untimely death was an evident effort to suppress journalists. Known for his critical analysis of politicians and government policies, his current affairs show fearlessly tackled pressing issues. Joki had been subjected to death threats due to work. In 2021, he made headlines by uncovering a scandal involving five politicians engaged in the illegal alcohol trade.

Police said any residents found to be on the streets between 10pm and 4am will be arrested and will have to pay a fine or face two years in prison.

Implemented on Tuesday, the newly imposed curfew is a part of the government's efforts to tackle gun violence and address the alarming murder rate in Lesotho, a small southern African country.

According to the recent World Population Review report, Lesotho ranks third in the world for its homicide rate, surpassed only by El Salvador and Jamaica. The report reveals that Lesotho records 43.5 murders per 100,000 individuals, while El Salvador has 52 and Jamaica has 43.8.
KFC's popular Kentucky Town pop-up has arrived in Pretoria at the KFC Lynnwood in Hillcrest Boulevard Shopping Centre.

Amapiano star Uncle Waffles has partnered with KFC for the Pretoria pop-up. Source: Supplied

The activation will run for 11 days  in honour of the brand's 11 Herbs and Spices secret recipe  from 18 to 28 May, and will once again offer a new limited-edition menu and branded gear, customisation stations and unique KFC experiences and competitions.

The Kentucky Town Pretoria pop-up introduces a host of new limited-edition menu items such as the Pretoria-inspired Kentucky Sphathlo, Dunked Pops Cones, Churro Cones, KFC sliders, and a La Litchi Boba Sparkling Krusher. The menu also features a selection of the most popular limited-edition items from previous Kentucky Towns, such as the Doughnut Zinger Burger, Ghost Pepper Dunked Wings, The Blaze Burger, KFC Chachos and Kentucky Fried Oreos.

Source: Supplied

The pop-up will also be selling a limited number of KFCs famous 'Zinger Sauce', 'Dunked Sauce' and the Colonels Sauce so guests can take their favourite KFC sauces home with them.

Uncle Waffles collab

Kentucky Town Pretoria will also be celebrating KFCs latest collab with SAs amapiano sensation, Uncle Waffles. This partnership sees the introduction of the limited-edition Uncle Waffles Burger onto the menu - a crispy KFC fillet coated in KFCs secret 11 herbs and spices, dunked in maple chipotle sauce and served between two warm waffles.

Who said two GOATS couldnt coexist???



Head over to KFC on Lynnwood Road, Pretoria, for another #KentuckyTown exclusive...our @unclewaffffles x KFC collab drip!  pic.twitter.com/ucEEMjT1hK  KFC South Africa (@KFCSA) May 18, 2023

The world-renowned entertainer has also partnered with KFC to create a selection of Uncle Waffles x KFC clothing that will be sold exclusively at Kentucky Town.

Fans can also win a VIP backstage experience with Uncle Waffles at a live performance in Gauteng by sharing their ultimate vibes in the Uncle Waffles x KFC Vibe Bucket.

KFC will once again be selling a range of limited-edition KFC gear, including vintage tees, hoodies, trakkie pants, sleep shorts, long-sleeve vests, varsity style jackets with iron-on KFC patches, press-on KFC nail art, Crocs Jibbitz as well as sling bags, flat caps and bucket hats.

Source: Supplied

There will be a free Sneaker Customisation Station where visitors can book in their kicks for artistic customisation, with each booking being an entry to win a pair of sneakers worth R5,000 which will be customised by the talented Blackfaff. Guests can also get creative at the Bougie Bucket Station and design their own personalised AI-created KFC buckets and stickers or participate in the KFC Hot AF Wings Challenge for another chance to win prizes.

KFC addiction but make it fashion  #KentuckyTown pic.twitter.com/4jrOIig6ZN  KFC South Africa (@KFCSA) May 17, 2023

KFC will also be opening its online pop-up store, kentuckyshop.co.za so fans around South Africa can purchase the KFC sauces and a limited number of the new Kentucky Town merch from 18 May.

KFCs marketing director Hloni Mohope said, Our Kentucky Town pop-up is designed to offer our greatest fans the best of KFC but on a whole new level, and this winter, our 11-day pop-up is back, bigger and better, in Pretoria, with a new mouth-watering limited-edition menu and tons of KFC original gear, memorabilia and finger lickin good fun. We cant wait to bring the vibe to our fans.
There are mixed emotions and growing concerns about the potential for AI and generative technology (ChatGPT) to replace recruiters in their jobs. If anything, this emerging technology has now provided support to those recruiters who have always questioned their skills as writers and marketers. At the same time, embracing such technology can free up talent leaders to focus on creative recruitment marketing and employer branding initiatives. They now have the opportunity to demonstrate the much-needed value-add that they never had time to offer to both hiring managers and candidates.

Leveraging AI capabilities, recruiters can discover new ways to build outreach mailers, social media posts, employer brand-rich job adverts, and recruitment marketing mailers. These machine learning models are trained on massive amounts of text data and can generate human-like responses to various prompts or questions. Although many users are currently utilizing AI, it is crucial to keep in mind that working with machines requires teamwork. This involves utilizing the powerful functionality of AI while also preserving your creativity.

As we work more closely with machines and aim for a future where we can work together as a team, it's important to figure out how we can maximize this collaboration to achieve our goals.

Here are some tips to maximise ChatGPT to elevate your recruitment marketing and employer branding initiatives:

Ideate

Dont expect ChatGPT to generate ideas, but rather be real and maintain your uniqueness through ideating, brainstorming and bouncing ideas off your co-pilot.

Example: When writing a social media post, draft your idea and request the tone of voice you typically use. If you are not happy, ask ChatGPT to generate additional suggestions until it aligns with your communication style.

Remain human and dont outsource

You might very well receive generic suggestions, content or wording, which you must consider as raw material or a starting point. Do not leave it at that as you will begin to sound like everyone else. To remain unique, you need to keep prompting and challenging your co-pilot to come up with the final quality outputs.

Example: You might want to compose a job advert common to many (such as a call centre operator, software developer, business analyst). To distinguish yourself from others, highlight your companys culture, values, value proposition and selling points unique to your organisation.

Research and Fact-Finding

When writing white papers, articles or reports, cross check your sources and validate links through various search engines to ensure dependability. Do not accept researched information from one chatbot (like Googles Bard) but ensure that you are combining your research across several resources to ensure 100% reliability.

Example: If you are writing a white paper or article, ensure that you are cross checking your sources through various search engines without relying on generative AI to spit out information that you take at face value.

Dont disappear in the world of sameness

In today's fast-paced digital age and cluttered social media world where everyone is competing for attention, it's easy to get lost in a world of sameness. While it is undoubtedly helpful to leverage AI to generate social media posts, automated outreach mailers or assist with email communications, it's important not to rely solely on these mechanisms. Doing so can result in a generic and impersonal approach that fails to showcase your unique culture, values, and writing style.

Example: Use automation to assist with time-consuming tasks, such as social media or email scheduling or data analysis, while you maintain the personal touch in your communications. Additionally, be intentional in your use of language and tone to ensure that your brand's messaging aligns with your company's values and culture.

Balance

By striking a balance between the convenience of AI and the human touch of personal communication, you can differentiate your brand from talent competitors and build and engage meaningful relationships with your audience. Remember, in a world of sameness, authenticity and human connection are more valuable than ever.

In conclusion, AI can provide a significant advantage for companies that have never had the time, capacity, and resources to initiate recruitment marketing and employer branding strategies. With AI, one can now build these communication strategies, to begin actively differentiating themselves from the competition, improving on how they inform, shape, nurture and build on their employer brand reputation.

However, it's important to use AI as a tool to complement human interaction, rather than a replacement for it. Through leveraging AI in recruitment marketing and branding, businesses can improve their candidate pool and increase their chances of engaging passive and attracting top talent.

As co-authors of this article, my co-pilot and I stand behind this statement.
South Africa's advertising watchdog has rapped Toyota SA Motors over the knuckles for a Corolla Cross GR-Sport Hybrid advertisement it ruled was "misleading".

The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) has ruled against Toyota South Africa Motors after a consumer complained an advertisement for the Corolla Cross GR-Sport Hybrid was misleading.

Complainant Justin Brown approached the advertising watchdog about a Facebook post (dated 20 February 2023) from Toyota promoting its locally built Corolla Cross GR-Sport Hybrid. The advert in question included the following text: If you thought the Corolla Cross GR-Sport couldnt get any better, think again. The Corolla Cross GR-Sport Hybrid is here!.

As a reminder, the Corolla Cross GR-Sport Hybrid launched in South Africa in February 2023, with production taking place at Toyotas Prospecton facility in KwaZulu-Natal.

Brown submitted the advertising was misleading since it created the impression the vehicle was available for sale. However, the complainant said several dealerships confirmed there was no available stock, and that the waiting list for the Corolla Cross GR-Sport was anywhere between 12 and 24 months.

Toyota SA points to global hybrid battery shortage

In response, Toyota SA Motors initially refuted the claim there was no available stock, saying there had been a steady inflow of these vehicles to the dealer network. Still, it explained waiting periods might apply due to a global hybrid battery shortage, which it added should normalise by 2024.

It further pointed out the Corolla Cross GR-Sport Hybrid was indeed launched at the time it was advertised, suggesting the reference to it being here was factual, as the vehicle had officially become part of the Corolla Cross range, albeit in limited numbers due to serving a niche demand.

Publicis Groupe Africa, the company appointed as Toyota SA Motors agency partner late in 2022, echoed this sentiment, saying the post merely announced the addition of the GR-Sport Hybrid model to the overall Corolla Cross model range.

A screengrab of the Facebook post in question

According to the Japanese firms local division, the Corolla Cross production plan at Prospecton included an average of 49 units of the GR-Sport Hybrid per month, with an annual plan of 542 units (for 2023). By comparison, around 1,500 units of the regular Corolla Cross were produced per month on average since launch, with the non-hybrid GR-Sport version sitting at about 141 units a month.

Explaining there was no other advertising actively promoting the sale of the vehicle in question, Toyota submitted it was not unreasonable to communicate its arrival despite having to put some customers on a waiting list. But, having considered all the material before it, the directorate of the ARB ultimately ruled against Toyota SA Motors.

Advertising watchdog explains its ruling against Toyota

The Facebook page that led to this complaint states that this vehicle is here. In the absence of any context that suggests the contrary, a reasonable person would interpret this to mean that this vehicle is generally available for purchase. In addition, the advertisers website, which is accessible by clicking on the URL provided in the advertisement, reads Corolla Cross GR-Sport. Now Available in Hybrid, ARBs ruling said.

Neither of these advertisements communicate any sense of potential delays, shortages or long waiting lists (between 12 and 24 months) that might apply. The advertiser appears to concede that this is the case. However, it has not explained why its advertising does not inform consumers of this. It merely submitted that demand outstrips supply at this point and that it was not actively advertising this vehicle, the watchdog added, saying the matter was further complicated by the fact Toyota had not submitted any supporting information.

Clause 16.1 of Section III of the ARB Code sits at the centre of the complaint and reads as follows: Advertisements should not be submitted for publication unless the advertiser has reasonable grounds for believing that it can supply any demand likely to be created by the advertising. In addition, ARB considered Clause 4.2.1 of Section II, which reads: Advertisements should not contain any statement or visual presentation which, directly or by implication, omission, ambiguity, inaccuracy, exaggerated claim or otherwise, is likely to mislead the consumer.

The hybrid version of the Corolla Cross GR-Sport launched locally in February 2023

In the absence of anything to show that the advertiser had reasonable expectations of meeting the demand for this vehicle, the Facebook [post] that gave rise to this dispute is found to have breached Clause 16.1 of Section III of the Code. By the same reasoning, the advertisement appears to be misleading and in contravention of Clause 4.2.1 of Section II of the Code, ARB ruled.

In light of its findings, ARB ruled Toyota SA Motors was required to withdraw or appropriately amend its advertising to ensure that consumers are adequately informed of the reality of the situation and the likelihood of prolonged waiting periods.

Though the post in question still appears on the companys Facebook page (at the time of writing, anyway), we, Cars.co.za, noticed the Corolla Cross page on Toyotas website now includes a line below the main image of the GR-Sport Hybrid, reading: subject to limited stock availability.

This article was originally published on Cars.co.za...
Luzuko Funda from Nelson Mandela University was recently named the winner of the 36th Corobrik Student Architecture Awards, winning the top prize of R70,000.

Luzuko Funda, winner of the 36th Corobrik Student Architecture Awards

I am deeply honoured by the recognition, as I am striving to make architecture accessible to all. I feel like I am already an inspiration for the next generation, he said.

Fundas project, The design of buildings for the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Fort Hare in East London, aims to revitalise the city surrounding the campus. It creates an edge building that interacts with the public realm while lightly touching the natural landscape. It adapts the existing Old Miriam Makeba building on the site and uses modular systems to create a sustainable structure that fits the context.

Ane Meyer from the University of the Free State received a Special Commendation and a R20,000 prize.

This year, the judges felt it was such a close competition that they wanted to commend a student who delivered outstanding work, commented Corobrik chairman Peter du Trevou.

The finalists were selected from the eight major universities based on architectural masters theses from the class of 2022. Each received a R10,000 prize and a chance to be in the running for the top spot. For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, this years adjudication process was held in person.

The judges were Wandile Mntambo from GASS Architecture Studios, Jodi Davids-Harber from TJA Architects, and Henry Pretorius from Typology Architects. The judges commended the eight finalists for the high quality of the work produced, which they said bodes well for the next generation of architects in South Africa.

Wandile Mntambo, Ane Meyer, Jodi Davids-Harber, Luzuko Funda, Peter du Trevou and the 36th Corobrik Student Architecture Awards finalists

Recognising excellence in architecture

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Corobrik CEO Nick Booth said: There is no doubt that the present economic environment in South Africa has had a deleterious effect on the building industry, which has not helped investment in future generations. Funding has also become a major driver for academia. That is why we need to continue to have events like this to recognise excellence. Corobrik remains committed to the awards and to the architectural profession.

MC Farai Mubaiwa, a strategy manager at Accenture, said the fact that 70% of Africas population is under 30 means the continent finds itself at the intersection of an opportunity and a crisis. How do we transform Africas youth boom into an economic opportunity rather than an economic burden? she asked.

Mubaiwa said the highest-growth sectors in Africa, from construction to energy, water and manufacturing, all linked back to architecture. Architects play such an incredible role in how we shape an Africa that is inclusive and full of growth. Even more importantly, architects are part of the narrative of achieving this in a sustainable manner.
The global airline industry is fast recovering from the unprecedented pause to flying imposed by COVID-19. In some parts of the world, such as the Middle East , airlines are even expanding rapidly - well beyond pre-pandemic levels.

But how will the industry continue to grow while doing its fair share on climate change? Unless global aviation changes tack, its greenhouse gas emissions are projected to cause about 0.1 of total global warming by 2050.

So-called sustainable aviation fuels are being promoted by the aviation and energy industries as the preferred solution. These fuels can be made from organic matter such as plants (also known as biomass), waste such as used cooking oil, and synthetic kerosene.

However, as our new research shows, sustainable aviation fuel is not a silver bullet. Even if the industry could make the shift, theres not enough land or renewable energy potential on Earth to produce all the sustainable fuels airlines need.

Source: Oleksandr Ryzhkov via Freepik

A tough ask

In 2021, the International Air Transport Association released a plan for airlines to achieve net-zero carbon by 2050.

Individual airlines have made similar commitments, including American Airlines, Qantas and Air New Zealand.

But there are very few low-carbon alternatives to traditional fossil jet fuel. That makes reducing emissions from the aviation sector extremely difficult.

Two options  batteries and liquid hydrogen  face significant challenges. For example, neither are suitable for long-haul flights. Thats why industry is turning to sustainable aviation fuels.

These fuels effectively perform in the same way as their fossil fuel-derived counterparts. They are suitable for long flights and can be used in existing planes so airlines wouldnt have to replace whole fleets.

But at the moment, very little sustainable aviation fuel is being produced  and its much more expensive than fossil jet fuel.

Sustainable aviation fuel also raises serious environmental concerns. So is the transition actually feasible? Our new research set out to answer this question.

What we found

Our study involved analysing 12 roadmaps or plans for decarbonising the global aviation industry. They were published by the industry, outside organisations and academics.

We found the plans rely heavily on biofuels in the medium-term and synthetic e-kerosene in the longer term.

Currently, all sustainable aviation fuels used commercially are produced from food waste such as cooking oil or animal fat. Energy crops (such as soy and willow), agricultural residues (husks, bagasse), and forest biomass (such as logging residue and manufacturing waste) provide larger volumes of raw materials, but chemical engineering processes to turn them into fuel are still developing.

If e-kerosene is to be produced cleanly, it requires electricity produced from renewable energy sources to split the water (a process called electrolysis) and produce hydrogen. This hydrogen is then combined with carbon dioxide.

Our research found the roadmaps largely omitted a number of fundamental problems with sustainable aviation fuels.

The first is the huge amount of biomass and clean energy needed. On average across the roadmaps, producing sustainable aviation fuels would require about 9% of global renewable electricity and 30% of available biomass in 2050. Even then, about 30% of fuel used by airlines in 2050 would be fossil-derived.

Source: Maxim Blinkov via 123RF

Other industries also use biomass resources. For example, the cosmetics industry uses tallow in skincare products. Bagasse  the pulp left after sugar cane juice is extracted  is used for heat in sugar mills. So demand for sustainable aviation fuels risks displacing other industries.

Second, the process of converting raw materials into sustainable aviation fuels leads to a major loss of energy, in the form of heat. In the case of e-kerosene, only about 15% of the primary renewable electricity remains to power the aircraft.

Not only is this inefficient, it leaves less clean energy for other industries wanting to decarbonise.

Third, producing sustainable aviation fuels creates greenhouse gas emissions. Growing bio-crops, for instance, requires the use of emissions-intensive fertiliser, harvest machinery and transport.

And already, vast tracts of rainforest are being razed to make way for crops used in biofuels. If sustainable aviation fuels were produced in this way, theyd be considerably worse for the climate than fossil fuels.

Finally, carbon dioxide is not the only aviation emission that contributes to climate change. Others include nitrogen oxides, water vapour and soot. Research to date is inconclusive about whether sustainable aviation fuels will improve this problem.

Unrealistic and irresponsible

The above is not an exhaustive list of the potential climate damage caused by sustainable aviation fuels. But clearly, while the fuels will play a useful role to some extent, the industrys growth plans are unrealistic and irresponsible.

Private and government investment should instead be directed to lower-carbon forms of transport, such as rail. And for the travelling public, a shift in mindset is required, involving how often and how far we need to travel.

Aviation is not the only industry that must rapidly decarbonise in coming decades. The whole global energy system needs to transition.

That means airlines must not take more than their fair share of finite resources to claim the label of sustainable.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The Loeries announced on Friday that Khensani Nobanda, group executive for Marketing and Corporate Affairs at Nedbank, has been appointed to the Board of the Loerie Awards Company.

Khensani Nobanda has been appointed to the Loeries Board.

Nobanda succeeds Sydney Mbhele, Absas group chief marketing & corporate affairs officer, who was in the position for the past three years.

Contributing to the industry

I am immensely honoured to have been nominated and appointed to the Board of the Loerie Awards Company, says Nobanda. Having participated in the Loeries in various forms over many years, I look forward to contributing to the industry in an even more impactful manner, not only from a festival perspective, but also in addressing some of the critical issues we encounter to help truly transform the face of the industry.

Nobanda was the 2021 Loeries Marketing Leadership & Innovation Award recipient, has judged at the Loeries and has won numerous Loerie Awards for her work rooted in created excellence. She also brings a wealth of experience, not only from her time at Nedbank but also from her work at several blue-chip companies such as Unilever, South African Breweries and Vodacom.

Im really excited to welcome Khensani onto our Loeries board. Shes someone Ive personally admired from a distance, not only for incredible work shes done at the marketing helm of Nedbank, but also the passion and energy she exudes in everything she does, says Loeries chairperson and CCO of The Odd Number, Sbusiso Sitole, We couldnt be luckier to have someone of her calibre as a part of the Loeries.

Sound governance

Nobanda was elected to the board post a voting process conducted by the current Loeries Board. Her role on the board will be to ensure continued sound governance of the Loeries, which celebrates forty-five years in existence this year. She will additionally automatically become a member of the Loeries Committee which is responsible for guiding the operational objectives of the Loeries.

We are so honoured to have Khensani join us on the Loeries Board & Committee, says Loeries CEO, Preetesh Sewraj, Khensani will be in good company as the board & committee is made up of some of the most senior leadership from the brand communications industry, across Africa and the Middle East. Her valuable guidance and support will help strengthen the Loeries in delivering its mission to the industry and society at large.

The Loeries was started in 1978 and has grown, over the past forty-five years, into an organisation dedicated to supporting the brand communications industry as a tool for societal impact. The Loeries runs several programmes including the flagship Loeries Creative Week. This year the theme is Blood Sweat Tears which speaks to the efforts of the brand communications industry in creating work that impacts society.

Loeries Creative Week will be held during the first week in October in the City of Cape Town.




South Africa has granted Turkey's Karpowership access to the three ports of Ngqura, Durban and Saldanha Bay for a period of 20 years, the transport ministry said on Thursday, 18 May, as it tries to find solutions to the country's power crisis.

President Cyril Ramaphosa attending a media briefing and signing ceremony at Tuynhuys to strengthen the country's bilateral relationship with Singapore. 2023. Source: Reuters/Esa Alexander

Karpowership aims to generate power on its floating gas ships and distribute it through South Africa's electricity grid. The plan received a boost from President Cyril Ramaphosa last week after he told lawmakers the ships would help ease the prolonged power shortage countrywide.

Karpowership has in the past faced numerous challenges from environmental activists and small-scale fishermen since the South African government in 2021 granted it the biggest share of a 2,000MW emergency power tender to generate electricity.

On Thursday, the transport ministry said it had granted the application, which was approved by the minister on 26 February, in consultation with Transnet National Ports Authority.

20-year contract too long, say opposition parties

Opposition parties have criticised the 20-year contract, valued at billions of rand, saying it was too long for an emergency power supply and suggesting that none of Karpowership's other contracts in countries such as Ghana and Brazil were for such a lengthy period.

Eskom earlier on Thursday warned the country to brace itself for winter when almost daily power cuts were likely to increase due to higher demand.
South Africa will auction at least 10 new onshore blocks for shale gas exploration in the environmentally sensitive Karoo region, a government official told Reuters, as the country eyes alternative energy sources to ease its worst-ever power crisis.

Sheep gather around a watering hole near Aberdeen in the Karoo, a semi-desert wilderness stretching across the heart of South Africa. Source: Reuters/Mike Hutchings

The first competitive auction for oil and gas resources, expected in 2024 or 2025 once legislation makes provision for the bid round is passed, includes acreage once held by Shell.

"We are potentially looking at a minimum of about 10 shale gas blocks in the Karoo that will be released through competitive bidding," Bongani Sayidini, chief operating officer at the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (Pasa) said.

Pasa estimates the Karoo Basin holds around 209 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of technically recoverable shale gas resources, although a 2017 study by geologists at University of Johannesburg said this was probably 13tcf, the lower end of estimates ranging between 13tcf to 390tcf.

Even 5tcf would be enough for a 1,000MW to 2,000MW gas-fired power plant to supply electricity for up to 30 years, the Academy of Sciences of South Africa said in its Karoo shale gas action plan released last year.

Unclear cost comparisons

It isn't clear how the cost would compare to existing coal-fired power stations or the ever-cheaper wind and solar energies that are gradually replacing them.

Fracking in the Karoo Basin, a vast area covering more than half of South Africa's land surface, has been shelved for a decade because of resistance from environmental activists and farmers, and regulatory uncertainty.

Shell's 90,000 square kms is available after the oil major early last year withdrew an application to explore, Sayidini said.

Confirming the withdrawal, a Shell spokesperson said they are focusing upstream investment on fewer basins that align with global strategy and where Shell has competitive advantages.

New shale blocks offered will be smaller to increase participation, Sayidini said. It could take a decade or longer for the first gas output, if sufficient resources are found.

Risk to environment

Falcon Oil & Gas and Bundu Gas and Oil Exploration, a majority-owned unit of Australia's Challenger Exploration, retained rights to apply for exploration licenses, Sayidini said.

"We believe this is the place to be with the best potential to make it commercially viable," Philip O'Quigley, Falcon's CEO told Reuters of the southern part of the basin, where the company is seeking a license.

Some 2,500 soil samples from the Karoo were sent overseas for analysis, Pasa officials said.

"Those confirmed gas and even oil seepages, so we now believe there might even be potential for oil in the Karoo," Sayidini said.

Activists and farmers worried about air quality, soil degradation and water use in a parched, semi-arid region remain sceptical.

"The enormous risk it poses to the environment cannot be understated," said Jonathan Deal, founder of Treasure the Karoo Action Group, a non-profit organisation specifically established to oppose fracking in the area.

Water-scarce region

Hydraulic fracturing or fracking, a process where chemicals and water are injected into rock fissures to free gas, requires vast quantities of water.

Oil companies have suggested trucking or piping it in, although this might prove prohibitively expensive. Others propose water used for drilling and fracking being recovered and re-used, although it is unclear how viable that is.

New fracking regulations released for public comment last year are to be finalised in August, the department of environmental affairs said.

But farmers - fearing competition over scarce water that may become depleted or polluted - think the fracking risk is too great.

Brent McNamara, chief executive of Agri-Eastern Cape, said he feared it would damage agricultural productivity.
International study confirms that eight out of 10 Grade 4 learners still can't read for meaning...

An international literacy study has confirmed that 81% of South Africas Grade 4 children could not read for meaning in any language in 2021, almost exactly the same proportion as in 2011. This means that a decade of slow progress in reading has been wiped out.

The child literacy rate observed by the Progress on International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) in 2011 was 82%. In 2016, the figure was 78%.

Learning losses associated with the Covid-19 pandemic are the main reason for the slide backwards since 2011. But a research paper published to coincide with the PIRLS results has shown that the Department of Basic Education has done almost nothing to help children catch up on lost time. Viewfinder and GroundUp also revealed last week that the Departments National Reading Plan, which it has touted in Parliament as a success, is actually a serious failure from a planning, implementation and monitoring perspective.

More than 12,000 South African learners from 321 schools participated in the 2021 round of PIRLS. The study is conducted every five years. Of the 57 countries and regions that participated, South Africa performed the worst.

Professor Nic Spaull, an education economist from Stellenbosch University and a member of the Reading Panel 2030 set up to monitor reading interventions, hosted a briefing on the results a few hours after they were published on Tuesday. He pointed out that South Africa was two to five years behind other middle-income countries, such as Jordan, Egypt, Iran and Brazil.

The results, Spaull said, were indicative of a wider generational catastrophe for more than four million primary school children whose schooling had been disrupted by the pandemic.

Research on school closures from natural disasters like earthquakes in Pakistan and the Ebola crisis in West Africa all show that there are long term consequences to short term crises. These include lower educational attainment, lower earnings, higher unemployment, and being more likely to be in lower skilled occupations in adulthood, he said.

Also at the briefing was Professor Ursula Hoadley from the University of Cape Towns Education Department. Hoadleys most recent paper, published on Tuesday, mapped out learning losses in public schools. She criticised the DBE for a business as usual approach, noting that there are no nationally coordinated programmes or attempts to recoup class time and learning losses. One notable exception is in the Western Cape where the provincial Department of Education recently launched its R1.2-billion #BackOnTrack campaign.

Hoadleys paper showed that learning losses associated with the pandemic were worst for learners in South Africas poorest provinces and communities, deepening education inequality in the country. These findings were mirrored in the PIRLS results, which showed that learners in Afrikaans language and English language schools experienced no decline in reading outcomes when compared to the previous five-year cycle of the study which ended in 2016. In comparison, African language schools showed significant declines.

Universal literacy for ten-year-olds is one of the top five goals in President Cyril Ramaphosas Medium Term Strategic Framework for addressing poverty, inequality and unemployment.

The DBE is the department tasked by the President to put policy interventions in place and with guiding the provinces in a nationally coordinated program. Viewfinder and GroundUp last week published findings based on exclusive access to the Departments National Reading Plan and progress reports. These documents showed there is no massive reading campaign underway in South Africa, as promised by the President during his State of the Nation Address in 2019.

The department has blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for its failure to properly implement the plan.

Ahead of the PIRLS results launch, we requested comment from the Departments spokesman Elijah Mhlanga. He responded saying that our reporting was faulty and directed us to attend the Departments seminar on reading literacy, which was scheduled to coincide with the PIRLS launch. He did not respond to a follow-up query about which aspects of Viewfinder and GroundUps reporting he found to be faulty.

At the seminar, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga gave the opening address.

We are finalising our revised National Reading Plan to address the gaps in our approach, she said.

Our plan will ensure further provision of minimum learning and teaching support material especially designed to support reading  The plan will expand the implementation of more direct and targeted training and support. The primary focus will be on home language literacy as children need to learn to read in a language that they understand, said Motshekga.
Park Ku-yeon, the first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, speaks during a press briefing, May 19. Yonhap



A 21-member team of South Korean experts will make a six-day visit to Japan starting Sunday for an on-site inspection ahead of the planned release of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean, the government said.



The delegation, headed by the chief of the country's nuclear safety commission, will review the safety of the entire process of discharge and check Tokyo's capability in analyzing radioactive materials, according to the Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC).



The inspection visit was agreed upon in principle when President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a summit in Seoul earlier this month. South Koreans have been concerned about possible health and environmental hazards from the planned release of contaminated water.



Diplomats from the two countries have since worked out details of the visit.






Dis-Chem is the latest South African retailer to report rising costs associated with load shedding, as companies attempt to shield their operations from rolling power cuts by investing in backup power solutions.

Source: Dis-Chem Group

The pharmacy retailer said its strategic early investment in generator capacity has resulted in minimal disruption to its ability to trade, but its diesel expenses have increased by 65% to R91m for the 12 months ended 28 February.

"While the group has taken the necessary measures to minimise the operational impact of load shedding, the unavoidable increase in operational costs will continue to impact earnings," the company said.

The group today published its reviewed annual condensed consolidated results for the 12 months ended 28 February, reporting revenue growth of 7.4% to R32.7bn. Rising operational costs grew at a faster rate than revenue for the period, with Dis-Chem reporting a 16.1% overall growth in expenses (excluding depreciation).

Earnings per share and headline earnings per share are 116.3 cents and 116.5 cents per share respectively, reflecting an increase of 17.2% and 17.4% respectively.

Wholesale revenue grew by 10.4% to R24.2bn. Total income grew by 15.7% to R10.2bn, with the groups total income margin being 31.1% compared to 28.9% in the corresponding period.

During the 12 months to 28 February 2023, Dis-Chem opened 30 retail pharmacy stores and closed eight, which were all former Medicare stores. Eight retail baby stores were also opened.

Outlook

Dis-Chem said it expects that the South African consumer will continue to experience financial hardship, but noted that the company's integration into the healthcare value chain reinforces the "resilient nature" of its current and future earnings profile.

The group's board announced earlier this week that Dis-Chem cofounder Ivan Saltzman will step down as CEO at the end of June 2023 after 45 years at the helm. Saltzman will remain an executive director on the board and continue to serve as an active member of the executive management team, with his role including an emphasis on the groups commitment to accelerate retail space growth, together with a concentrated focus on the trade of the retail store network.

Commenting on the move in today's financial update, Dis-Chem said, "The recently announced succession implementation ensures a smooth leadership transition and ensures executive managements commitment to deliver on the groups strategic ambitions over the long term."

Distribution centre acquisition

Dis-Chem also announced earlier this week that it's in the final stages of entering into an agreement to acquire a 63,000m distribution centre in Gauteng for a purchase consideration of R502m. With the acquisition of this property, the group will increase its warehouse space by 75%.

The company said that this imminent acquisition of the distribution centre will support the group's commitment to accelerate retail space growth, adding warehouse capacity for the group to double its current store count, and continue to grow its market share in the independent market.
GreenCape, in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, invite innovators and entrepreneurs with economically viable green economy innovation business ideas to enter the 2023 GreenPitch Challenge. Entries are open from 15 May 2023, and close at noon on 8 June 2023. The digital entry form is online on thewebsite. Click here

Enter your green economy innovation business idea to stand a chance of pitching to a panel of esteemed judges at a shark tank-style hybrid networking event, hosted in Cape Town in July 2023. Network with potential investors, business incubators, local government decision-makers and green economy experts. Prizes, including a cash prize and in-kind business support, are sponsored by RMB Ventures, LaunchLab, Google Startups for Accelerated Development and SAREBI, with more to be confirmed.

While South Africas economy finds itself crippled by Stage 6 load shedding, the 2023 GreenPitch Challenge is a ray of light. With this platform, we aims to foster much-needed economic progress and job creation through green and market-driven innovation, said Cecelia Kok of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

Entry requirement

Your green economy innovation business idea has to be positioned within at least one of the Green Economy sectors  refer to the investment opportunities highlighted in GreenCapes Market Intelligence Reports. Your business can be based anywhere in South Africa.

Who should enter?

Early-stage startup (proof of concept e.g. pilot project running, looking for first round of seed funding) and Pre-growth (registered and trading, with sales - looking for series A funding) phase businesses.

Why enter?

Access to the eco-system of green economy support. Prizes, including a cash prize and in-kind business support, are sponsored by RMB, Google, LaunchLab and SAREBI. More details to follow. Network with potential investors, business incubators, local government decision-makers and green economy experts.

How to enter

Fill out the digital entry form available online here. The digital form allows you to submit a 500-word written motivation.

Key dates

Entries Open: 15 May 2023

Entries Close: 8 June 2023

Finalists Announced: 30 June 2023

Pitch prep workshop with RMB: 20 July 2023 (FNB Portside, Cape Town)

Pitching event: 27 July 2023 (venue in Cape Town, TBC)

The winner will be selected by a judging panel on the day of the event. Their decision is final.

Terms and Conditions apply.
US consumers are no longer able to to receive the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ordered healthcare providers to discard remaining doses they had in stock, citing they had expired last week.

It is estimated that 19 million people in the US received the J&J vaccine since its release, and that 31.5 million doses were delivered to states and other jurisdictions. This accounts for 12.5 million unused doses, CDC data reveals.

About 7% of those in the US who are vaccinated got the J&J as their first shot.

The CDC said the J&J vaccines were linked to 60 confirmed cases of thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), including nine deaths, according to the CDC.

Covid-19 no longer represents a public health emergency in the US and the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech are still available to the public, and are free as long as federal supplies are in stock.

Last year, Johnson & Johnson said it was temporarily stopping the production of its single-dose Covid-19 vaccine at its Leiden plant in the Netherlands. It pledged to continue to fulfill its contractual obligations in relation to the Covax facility and the African Union.

Instead, it began making an experimental but potentially more profitable vaccine to protect against an unrelated virus.

The plant had been the sole facility manufacturing usable doses of the single-dose J&J Covid-19 vaccine.
[Source: themichiganstar.com]

New investigation should be opened that examines pivotal role played by the Agency in scandal that was used to mobilize liberal support for regime change in Russia and war in Ukraine.

May 15 saw the release of the much-awaited Durham report, which detailed how the FBI initiated what was essentially a phony and heavily politicized investigation into Donald Trumps Russia ties based on raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated intelligence.

John Durham was appointed Special Counsel by Attorney General William Barr in May 2019 to investigate the FBIs Operation Crossfire Hurricane which, from July 31, 2016, to May 17, 2017, looked into coordination between the Trump campaign and Russians during the election.

John Durham [Source: mnewsfr.com]

Drawing on 480 interviews and review of one million documents, the Durham report makes clear that there was never any evidence that anyone in the Trump campaign had been in contact with any Russian intelligence officials during the 2016 election campaign.

Read the Durham report here.

These latter findings dovetailed with the 2019 Mueller Report, which concluded that there was no evidence of any collusion between the Russian government and members of the Trump administration to try to influence the 2016 election.

For years Democratic Party officials and liberal media outlets like CNN and MSNBC claimed that Trump had been blackmailed by the Russians who allegedly received a video showing that Trump had slept with Russian prostitutes at a Moscow hotel and watched them urinate.

The existence of these alleged tapes were detailed in the infamous Steele dossier, named after a former British MI6 spy, Christopher Steele, who was hired by Fusion GPS, a private eye firm employed by Hillary Clintons presidential campaign to conduct oppositional research on Trump and his associates.

Christopher Steele [Source: [Source: dailymail.co.uk]

The Durham report emphasized that the FBI could not corroborate any of the information presented in the Steele dossier.

Steeles main source, Igor Danchenko, a Russian national living in the U.S. and former Brookings Institution fellow, said that he could not corroborate any of the information that he gave Steele, which he defined as rumor and speculation.

The FBI wanted to pay Danchenko $300,000even after the Bureau found his evidence not crediblein an apparent bid to buy his silence.

Igor Danchenko [Source: dailymail.co.uk]

Danchenkos source of information for the Steele dossier was Charles Dolan, a Virginia-based aide to Hillary Clinton who admitted to fabricating information presented in the Steele dossier, and said that his information derived from a Russian public relations executive, Olga Galkina, who was promised a job in the State Department if Hillary Clinton won the presidency in 2016.

Charles H. Dolan [Source: nypost.com] Olga Galkina [Source: nypost.com]

Though aware of Dolans connection to Danchenko, the FBI inexplicably failed to interview him so they could try to corroborate what he was saying. The FBI also did not take basic steps, such as securing telephone call recordings for Danchenko or another dubious Steele dossier source, Belarusian businessman Sergei Millian, while ignoring red flags about their credibility.

Sergei Millian [Source: stuff.co.nz]

The Crossfire investigation was first initiated after FBI headquarters in Australia received unverified information about comments allegedly made by George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, in a tavern.

George Papadopoulos [Source: huffpost.com]

Belief in the existence of a secret communications channel between the Trump organization and the Russian-based Alfa Bank derived from the false claims of employees of Hillary Clintons campaign who were helping their boss to divert attention from the growing scandal over Clintons use of a private email server for official business as Secretary of State.

These same Clinton operatives planted salacious stories in media outlets like The New York Times and CNN, which displayed the same lack of critical rigor as the FBI.

Peter Strzok [Source: wikipedia.org]

The Durham report includes leaked text messages between Peter Strzok, Section Chief and Deputy Assistant in the FBIs counter-intelligence division, and his lover, FBI lawyer Lisa Page, in which Strzok called Trump a douche, utter idiot and disaster, and said that Hillary should win [the 2016 election] 100,000,000-0.

Durham ultimately concluded that there was no political motivation for the FBIs mistakes although these quotes indicate there was along with a desire to reignite the climate of the Cold War as a means of sustaining support for record military budgets that were presented to the public as being necessary to counter the big, bad Russians.

Posters of people who had entered guilty pleas in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election are held up before Strzok testified before a joint hearing of the House Judiciary Committee and Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Capitol Hill on July 12, 2018. [Source: nypost.com]

Nail in the Coffin to Russia GateBut What About the CIA?

Promoters of Russia Gate, like MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, predictably underplayed the breadth of Durhams findings after the reports release, saying it posessed nothing we already didnt knowan admission that the report was factually accurate. Peter Strzok appeared on MSNBC to claim the report didnt come up with anything, calling it a predictable, sad ending to an investigation that never should have taken place.

But the report is actually significant in delivering the nail in the coffin to the Russia Gate narrative that so many people bought into for so long.

The Durham report nevertheless is very limited in its focus on the FBIand failure to investigate the role that the CIA and White House played in Russia Gate.

The CIA Director at the time, John Brennan, is known as the godfather of Russia Gate. Soon after the start of the FBIs Operation Crossfire Hurricane, Brennan briefed Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) on alleged Russian election interference.

Reid then wrote to then-FBI Director James Comey, warning him not to ignore the evidence of a direct connection between the Russian government and Donald Trumps presidential campaign. Comey apparently responded by initiating Crossfire Hurricane.

Brennan subsequently oversaw the drafting of an Intelligence Community Assessment that was released in January 2017, which falsely suggested illicit ties between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, while also revealing that such contacts were the subject of a federal investigation.

The release of the assessment cast a pall of suspicion over Trump just days before he took office, setting the tone for the unfounded allegations of conspiracy and treason that engulfed his presidencywhich Brennan continued to advance as an MSNBC news commentator.

Brennan was especially close to President Barack Obama, who with Hillary Clinton played a central role in manufacturing the Russia Gate scandal.

Brennan had performed a vital service when he helped destroy documents that exposed deceits in the story told by Barack Obama about his family background prior to the 2008 election. Obama has strong family ties to the CIA, worked for a CIA front company after college; wrote a memoir that has all the trademarks of a CIA disinformation/psywar pamphlet; and basically gave the CIA everything that it wanted when he was President.

Obama announcing Brennan as his new CIA Director. [Source: thetimes.co.uk]

Handwritten notes by Peter Strzok about a January 5, 2017, meeting show Obama, with then-Vice President Joe Biden, encouraging the FBI and Justice Departments investigation of Michael Flynn, Trumps first National Security Adviser, for allegedly lying to the FBI about a conversation he had with the Russian ambassador, even as they were told that Flynns actions appear legit.

On learning that the FBI was set to close its investigation into Flynn after finding no evidence of wrongdoing, Obama and Biden suggested finding ways to keep it open, with Biden bringing up the dead-letter Logan Act.

Michael Flynn leaving court. [Source: nytimes.com]

The notes additionally have Obama ordering that the continued investigation be kept secret from incoming President Trump and his people.

While the latter shenanigans were going on, Obamas administration was escalating U.S. military support to Ukraine while it was engaged in a dirty war in the east of that country that resulted in the deaths of more than ten thousand civilians.

After promoting a policy reset toward Russia during his first term, Obama reignited the Cold War by levying sanctions on Russia under fraudulent pretexts and triggering a right-wing anti-Russian coup in Ukraine.

Additional Known CIA Involvement

In April 2015, the Democratic National Committee hired a Ukrainian-American activist, Alexandra Chalupa, as a $5,000-a-month consultant.

Chalupa was convinced that Trumps Achilles heel was Paul Manafort, a lobbyist who had done work for the party led by Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraines pro-Russian president from 2010 to 2014.

Chalupas effort to attack Trump by exposing Manaforts alleged Russian ties was the seed of the collusion hoax.

Alexandra Chalupa [Source: dailykos.com]

Journalist Paul Sperry reported that Chalupa visited the White House at least 27 times during 2015 and 2016.

Among the government officials she worked closely with was Eric Ciaramella, the CIA detailee to the White House who would later be the whistleblower regarding Trumps 2019 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that led to his first impeachment (for allegedly threatening to withhold military aid to Zelensky if he did not investigate Hunter Bidens corruption in Ukraine).

Eric Ciaramella [Source: carnegieendowment.org]

Protection from a Company Man

The $64,000 question is why Durham was only tasked with investigating the FBI and not the CIA, which played a central role in Russia Gate.

The answer is not difficult to discern: The CIA is very good at public relations and able to protect its good name by penetrating the highest reaches of the U.S. governmentas it routinely does foreign governments.

Durham was considered a trusted functionary because he had helped protect the Agency when he failed to issue any indictments after heading an investigation into the destruction of CIA videotapes of detainee interrogations in 2008, and legality of CIA enhanced interrogation techniques in 2009.

The man who commissioned Durhams report, former Attorney General William Barr, is a company man who was officially employed by the CIA from 1971 to 1977. Barrs father Donald was in the CIA before becoming headmaster of the prestigious Dalton School in Manhattan, where Jeffrey Epstein taught.
I recently penned an article about Tucker Carlsons musings over the mysterious collapse of Building 7.

Building 7, also known as the Salomon Brothers building, was not struck by an airplane or any such projectile that day. Nonetheless, it collapsed at free-fall speed neatly into its own footprint.

Anyone whos ever seen a controlled demolition will recognize the kinetic pattern.

Predictably, I was attacked by a few disgruntled readers/trolls with the conspiracy theorist smear.

Fair enough. That 9/11 was either actively facilitated or passively allowed by the powers that be is a conspiracy theory, and its one that I subscribe to.

I bear the cross with joy.

Have such detractors ever sincerely grappled with the endless anomalies and curiosities surrounding the event?

For instance, Larry Silverstein, Building 7s owner, admitted that he liaised with the New York Fire Department on 9/11 and they decided to pull it and then we watched the building go down.

Heres Larry Silverstein, then leaseholder of WTC7, re-telling of when he gave the order to pull it, meaning demolish the building. He would later claim that this was a mistake of wording. https://t.co/ChrI6E1ymU pic.twitter.com/rUYCaxpaD7  Deeda Weeda aka DMAN (@DeemTheDreem) July 10, 2021

I remember getting a call from the fire department commander, telling me that they were not sure they were gonna be able to contain the fire, and I said, Weve had such terrible loss of life, maybe the smartest thing to do is pull it. And they made that decision to pull and we watched the building collapse, Silverstein recalled.

Fact check organization Snopes later claimed that Silverstein actually meant pull the firefighters out of the building.

Thats plausible  super sketchy, but plausible. One would think he would have used the plural pronoun them as in pull them, but whatever.

Then theres the spectacle of the BBC reporting that Building 7  which, again, was not struck by any projectile  had collapsed a full twenty minutes prior to its actual collapse. You can actually see Building 7 in the background of the New York skyline during the report.

How curious, indeed, if not dispositive of malfeasance. It wont be enough to dissuade the skeptics, who swallowed the government line, from their reflexive trust in the authorities version of events. Theyre impervious to persuasion.

We should probably expect, then, that they will also willfully ignore the recent bombshell court filing that implicates the CIA in the attacks.

Via The Gray Zone:

A newly-released court filing raises grave questions about the relationship between Alec Station, a CIA unit set up to track Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his associates, and two 9/11 hijackers leading up to the attacks, which was subject to a coverup at the highest levels of the FBI The filing is a 21-page declaration by Don Canestraro, a lead investigator for the Office of Military Commissions, the legal body overseeing the cases of 9/11 defendants When originally released in 2021 on the Offices public court docket, every part of the document was redacted except an unclassified marking. Given its explosive contents, it is not difficult to see why: as Canestraros investigation concluded, at least two 9/11 hijackers had been recruited either knowingly or unknowingly into a joint CIA-Saudi intelligence operation which may have gone awry.

The article is labyrinthine in its details. It painstakingly documents the process by which these pair of hijackers were identified by US intelligence in Kuala Lumpur while at an al-Quaeda summit, subsequently put on a flight to LA, bypassing customs scrutiny, handed an apartment (the CIA paying for the lease), and then potentially groomed to carry out the 9/11 attack.

Read the court filing in its entirety.

The facts of Alec Station and its potential grooming of two 9/11 hijackers are obscured by heavy bureaucratic redaction of relevant documents and FBI-vs-CIA infighting. We may never know the full extent of the CIAs relationship with these figures.

There are, indeed, many unanswered questions about the cozy ties between the Deep State and the Saudis as it relates to their activities preceding and following the attacks.

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, while the FAA had the entire US airspace locked down, US intelligence whisked several prominent Saudis, including members of the bin Laden clan, out of the country.

Via LA Times:

It began with a chartered flight from Tampa, Fla., to Lexington, Ky., on Sept. 13. Soon there were at least eight planes stopping in 12 U.S. cities to fly Saudis out. About two dozen passengers were related to Bin Laden. Because of the lockdown, the initial flight required authorization from the highest levels of government  and specifically from the White House.

No member of the Bush administration or the permanent Deep State bureaucracy has ever been made to answer under oath for going out of their way to evacuate these people. Why wouldnt they have been kept inside the country for interrogation?

We have overwhelming circumstantial evidence  not limited to that which has been laid out here  that elements of the US government were involved in the biggest terrorist attack in American history.

We also have motive.

Project For a New American Century was a neoconservative think tank comprised of future leaders in the Bush administration, including Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Paul Wolfowitz.

As its magnum opus, the group produced a 1997 document outlining its lofty geopolitical ambitions called Rebuilding Americas Defenses.

In it, they recognized that ramping up Americas already-bloated military budget and instigating foreign wars would be a hard sell without sufficient justification.

This process of transformation is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event like a new Pearl Harbor, they wrote.

A few short years later, with PNACs members installed in the highest levels of the Bush administration cabinet, they got their catastrophic and catalyzing event.

What blissful serendipity! What a fortuitous turn of fate!

The only piece of evidence we dont have is the proverbial smoking gun, like a full-throated admission from one of the attacks architects regarding the US governments complicity.

Unfortunately, such conclusive evidence may never be forthcoming, so you can put the puzzle pieces together however you will.

As for me, the conspiracy theory smear is a badge of honor.

Ben Bartee is an independent Bangkok-based American journalist with opposable thumbs.

Join Armageddon Prose via Substack or Locals if you are inclined to support independent journalism free of corporate slant. Also, follow Armageddon Prose at Gab and Twitter for the latest content.

Insta-tip jar and Bitcoin public address: bc1qvq4hgnx3eu09e0m2kk5uanxnm8ljfmpefwhawv
President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a memorial ceremony at a national cemetery in the southwestern city of Gwangju to mark the 43rd anniversary of a pro-democracy uprising, May 18. Yonhap



President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating rose for the third straight week to 37 percent, a poll showed Friday.



In the poll of 1,000 people aged 18 and older conducted by Gallup Korea Co. from Tuesday to Thursday, the positive assessment of Yoon's performance rose 2 percentage points from the previous week to 37 percent.



The disapproval rating was 56 percent, down 3 percentage points from a week earlier.



Yoon's handling of foreign policy was cited as the main reason for both the positive and negative assessments amid divided views of his state visit to the United States last month and his drive to restore frayed relations with Japan.



Among those who expressed support for Yoon, 37 percent picked his handling of foreign affairs as the main reason, while 33 percent of those negative about the president's performance also chose foreign policy.



Support for the ruling People Power Party (PPP) fell 3 percentage points to 32 percent, while that of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) inched up 1 percentage point to 33 percent.



The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. (Yonhap)




Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute.

Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno.

Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi.
China urges G7 members to stop making provocations on Taiwan question

(People's Daily App) 14:58, May 19, 2023

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Thursday urged the United States, Japan and other G7 members to stop conniving at and supporting "Taiwan independence" forces, stop making provocations and playing with fire on the Taiwan question.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily press briefing, in response to media reports that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that Japan shares the position during the G7 summit that the issue of Taiwan should be resolved peacefully through dialogue and sent out the message.

It was also stated by Japanese media that G7 members are coordinating on including such content as "the importance of peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait" into the summit joint statement.

Wang said the real threat to cross-Strait peace and stability is the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' unwillingness to recognize the 1992 Consensus which embodies the one-China principle, separatist activities to seek "Taiwan independence" and attempts to change the status quo that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China.

The United States, Japan and certain countries have been fudging and hollowing out the one-China principle, and echoing and collaborating with "Taiwan independence" forces in political, military and economic dimensions. It is quite clear they are also responsible for the tensions in the Taiwan Strait, he said.

To keep the Taiwan Strait peaceful, it is essential to unequivocally uphold the one-China principle and oppose risky and provocative moves by "Taiwan independence" forces and resolutely contain foreign connivance and support for "Taiwan independence" activities, Wang pointed out.

He said those who talk about peace in the Taiwan Strait without mentioning the need to oppose "Taiwan independence" forces will only embolden the separatists as they solicit foreign support for "Taiwan independence" and take reckless moves, which can only mean greater danger to the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Those who talk about peaceful resolution of the Taiwan question without mentioning the need to support China's reunification are actually trying to impede China's reunification and create a "peaceful division". The Chinese people will firmly oppose it, he added.

Wang said China is committed to striving for peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and the utmost effort.

China will not accept any attempt by anyone or any force to curb the effort to stop separatism for "Taiwan independence", Wang said, adding that China will not allow anyone or any force to meddle in China's own affairs under the disguise of seeking peace.

China urges the United States, Japan and other G7 members to adhere to the political documents on their bilateral relations with China, follow the one-China principle, stop conniving at and supporting "Taiwan independence" forces, stop making provocations and playing with fire on the Taiwan question and never stand on the opposite side of over 1.4 billion Chinese people, Wang said.

"Those playing with fire will get burnt," he added.

(Video edited by He Jieqiong)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Park Ku-yeon, left, the first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, speaks during a news conference at the Government Complex Seoul, Friday. At right is Yoo Guk-hee, chairperson of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission who will lead a delegation to inspect the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul



Head of Nuclear Safety and Security Commission to lead Seoul team



By Jun Ji-hye



Korea will dispatch a 21-member delegation to Japan this Sunday to assess the neighboring country's plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, the government announced, Friday.



The delegation, led by Yoo Guk-hee, who chairs the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, will stay in Japan until May 26 to conduct on-site inspections at the plant and hold discussions with Japanese officials.



Park Ku-yeon, the first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, announced the plans as the two countries reached a consensus on the details of the inspection after working-level talks.



In April 2021, the Japanese government announced a plan to start releasing into the Pacific Ocean starting in 2023 water containing tritium, an isotope of hydrogen, from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which was devastated by a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in March 2011.



The Fukushima plant, on the east coast of Japan, holds an estimated 1.25 million tons of contaminated water in more than 1,000 tanks.



The dispatch of the delegation was agreed upon during a summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on May 7, as part of measures to ease concerns of many Koreans over possible health and environmental hazards from the release of water from the wrecked plant.



The delegation is comprised of 21 members  19 experts from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, one expert from the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology and Yoo.



"The official schedule of the delegation will begin Monday when a meeting with Japan's relevant institutions is scheduled," Park said during a press conference at the Government Complex Seoul. "On-site inspection activities will be conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday to check how contaminated water has been managed."



Another meeting and Q&A session with Japanese institutions will be held on Thursday based on the results of the on-site inspection, Park noted.



The Japanese institutions include the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Nuclear Regulation Authority and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the crippled power plant.





Storage tanks for contaminated water at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant are seen in this March 11, 2022 photo. Yonhap
Boston Scientific has announced it is to create over 400 new jobs over the coming years as part of an 80 million investment in its site in Clonmel, Co Tipperary.

The investment will increase office and manufacturing space, while also transitioning the site to use over 90 per cent of its energy from renewable sources.

Recruitment is already underway for a number of highly specialised roles in the areas of production, engineering, quality, supply chair and research & development.

The investment comes as the company celebrates the Clonmel site's 25th anniversary.

"Boston Scientific has been steadily growing its footprint in Ireland for the past quarter century," Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said.

"Ireland is a global leader in the life sciences sector, and the decision by the company to invest again in Clonmel shows real confidence in the talent and infrastructure available."

Advertisement

Boston Scientific's vice-president of operations Conor Russell added: "Our growth in the region has been possible thanks to our talented workforce here in Clonmel.

"Our team has worked to build strong manufacturing and R&D capabilities and also a high-performing and inclusive culture that we are proud to continue to foster."




Rep. Kim Kyung-hyup of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea was sentenced to a suspended prison term Friday on charges of making an unauthorized land purchase, a sentence heavy enough to remove him from parliament if finalized at the Supreme Court.







The three-term lawmaker was indicted on charges of purchasing 668 square meters of land in a regional government-designated zone in Bucheon, just west of Seoul, where prior permission from the regional government is required for land transactions.







Kim allegedly bought the land from former Labor Minister Lee Sang-soo in May 2020 for 500 million won ($376,732) without the mandatory permission. The land was selected as a site for a public development project, and 1.1 billion won was later offered to buy up the land.







On Friday, the Incheon District Court's branch in Bucheon sentenced Kim to a six-month prison term, suspended for two years, while handing out a four-month prison term to the former labor minister, also suspended for two years.







By law, a lawmaker gets automatically removed from parliament if he or she is sentenced to a prison term or worse. (Yonhap)


The appointment of an official liquidator to three companies in the SIAC construction group has been approved by the High Court.

On Friday, Mr Justice Brian O'Moore said it was appropriate to make an order winding up the firms, appointing insolvency practitioner David O'Connor of BDO as official liquidator.

Mr O'Connor was appointed provisional liquidator earlier this month when the two companies in the group petitioned for the winding up.

Those were two trading companies, SIAC Construction Ltd, which has a net liability of 12.3 million, and SIAC Roofing and Cladding Ltd, which had been profit making for several years, but is predicted to have losses of around 500,000 in 2023.

The group holding company, SIAC Holdings (Ireland) Ltd, while not a trading company, was also insolvent and the judge included it in the winding up order.

Advertisement

The company was majority owned by the Feighery family until 2014 when it went into examinership. The judge said it was a sad day to see a company, which we are all familiar with, being forced into liquidation.

The judge said the only matter of potential controversy in the winding up application was an initial objection by Tom Feighery, a creditor through his shareholding in a parent firm XTA Investments Ltd, to the appointment of Mr OConnor as liquidator.

This had evaporated in the course of the hearing, the judge said, and as no other creditor having expressed concern he was satisfied Mr OConnor was the appropriate person to appoint as official liquidator.

Cash difficulties

Earlier, Kelley Smith SC, for the petitioner, said following engagement with Ciaran Lewis SC, on behalf of the corporate entity for the Feigherys, the position over the appointment of Mr OConnor had changed slightly.

Mr Lewis said in the light of a commitment by Mr OConnor to establish an investigation and appoint a committee of inspection which will include his client, there was now no objection to the appointment of Mr OConnor as official liquidator.

SIAC's operations are in the building, civil engineering, roofing and cladding sectors, with the company having worked on many high profile building projects, including motorways.

Advertisement

The court heard last month that it claims it has experienced severe cash difficulties in recent years resulting in the companies becoming loss-making and insolvent.

Its difficulties included the negative impact of Covid-19 on the construction sector, significant increases in costs in labour and materials, insurance and bonding difficulties, as well as onerous conditions placed on those performing civil engineering projects for public bodies in the State.

The loss of senior key personnel in recent months had also had a negative impact on the companies, the court heard.

Ms Smith said on Friday that uncertainty about the companies ability to pay their debts had led to a loss of confidence among suppliers led to knock-on effects in terms of cash flow. If the companies continued to trade, the concern was that they could incur liabilities they could not meet, counsel said.

The court also heard last month that the companies accept staff could not be paid.

The group has assets worth some 11.2 million and the operating companies had been relying on financial support from its XTA parent.

The judge had previously directed the firms' director to file a statement of affairs in relation to the roofing and construction firms. He also directed on Friday that a statement be provided in relation to the holding company.
Jade Jagger and her boyfriend are appearing before a judge this morning over an alleged police assault following two nights in custody.

The pair were due to be driven in a police van the short distance from Ibizas National Police headquarters to an island courthouse for the hearing.

Police arrested jewellery designer Jagger, 51, and her new lover Anthony Hinkson on Wednesday night.

They were formally questioned by detectives on Thursday following a night in a police cell and are understood to have spent a second night in police custody ahead of their court transfer this morning.

Police have not formally named them or released an official statement about the incident, which led to 31-year-old Mr Hinkson being pinned to the ground and arrested before his girlfriend was held just after 9pm on Wednesday following an earlier row in trendy Ibiza Old Town restaurant La Oliva.

Advertisement

However, police sources have confirmed a man and woman were arrested after an alleged assault on officers who responded to calls of an English-speaking male acting aggressively towards restaurant staff who refused to serve him any more drinks and asked him to leave.

Police on the island confirmed early on Friday morning: The detainees arrested on Wednesday night will go to court today.

No charges

Neither Jagger, the daughter of musician Mick Jagger, or her boyfriend have been charged with any crime under Spanish law, as is normal in Spain where formal charges are only laid shortly before trial.

Police arrested them on suspicion of committing the crime of atentado contra la autoridad, which covers offences ranging from resisting arrest to assaulting an officer.

People found guilty of such an offence can face prison sentences of one to four years in Spain as well as fines.

Jail sentences of two years or less are normally suspended in Spain for first-time offenders.

It will now be up to an investigating judge to decide what sort of charge the police accusations against Jagger and her lover merit.

It was not immediately clear this morning if the case will be dealt with by way of a speedy trial.

The other most likely option would be for the judge to release the jewellery designer and her partner on bail following a behind-closed-door court quiz, pending an ongoing criminal investigation.

If that occurs the judge could attach conditions to the release that might include a ban on leaving Ibiza and the obligation to sign on at court every month or fortnight.
US rapper and actor Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges said he would continue to shatter stereotypes as he was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Ludacris thanked his fans, family and the people who showed up for me, that had inspired his hard work and dedication throughout his career.

As a recording artist, he has sold more than 24 million albums worldwide, with tracks including Stand Up, Get Back, Southern Hospitality, Number One Spot, Money Maker and My Chick Bad.

The US rapper thanked his fans, family and the people who showed up for me, that had inspired his hard work and dedication throughout his career (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

He later transitioned to the big screen, starring in the blockbuster franchise Fast And Furious.

His character of Tej was first introduced in 2003s 2 Fast 2 Furious, and Ludacris reprises the role for the seventh time in Fast X  due for worldwide release on May 20.

Ludacris was joined at the ceremony in Los Angeles on Thursday by his Fast and Furious co-star Vin Diesel, as well as rapper LL Cool J, both of whom gave remarks.

Advertisement

In his own remarks, Ludacris thanked his village for helping him go from a young man with a dream to being honoured on the Walk of Fame.

No matter what people say I cant do, I will continue to shatter those stereotypes and show people its possible in order to make everyone who got me here proud, he said.

Ludacris greets fans following a ceremony honoring him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Because you all inspire my hard work and dedication to receive this star today. Im motivated by legacy and history.

He continued: This means that Ive made my mark my own personal history being documented. To be amongst these names is just amazing to me.

I went from being a young man with a dream to having my name cemented in one of the most visited places on Earth.

People walk this block and their eyes are glued to the ground.

If kids and parents or anyone walking up and down the street sees my name and the pavement and it ignites just the smallest spark of creativity, drive and ambition in any of these people, it will continue to just mean the world to me and I know its all worth it.

Ludacris hugs his daughter Karma Bridges (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

So getting a star as a statement, but be clear about this statement, the even bigger statement to me is that we are all interconnected.

Advertisement

And I am a culmination of the people who showed up for me today believing in me and pushing me to inspire me. Im a reflection of you.

So yall be clapping for me all day Im gonna need yall to give yourselves a round of applause, because Im nothing without you.

Ludacris was also surprised by his daughter who had previously told him she would not be in Los Angeles to attend the event.

Karma Bridges described her father as my rock, my hero and the perfect example of a father.

Ludacris was joined at the ceremony in Los Angeles on Thursday by his Fast and Furious co-star Vin Diesel, as well as rapper LL Cool J (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Words cant describe how much being here for you today means to me. If practice what you preach was a person, it would be you, she said.

You are a go-getter, you are a natural leader, you are a risk-taker, you are a multitasker, you are a king, and you are a perfect example of a father.

After years of being the one surprising me, it is my honour to have the tables be turned.

Diesel also praised Ludacris curiosity, loyalty and gratitude and said he would not be here if not for the rapper.

Weve never seen anybody dominate the music world and then come and dominate cinema while being entrepreneurial in the way that he is, he said.

Advertisement

Ludacris star is the 2,756th on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is awarded in the category of Motion Pictures (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

I come from a place that the way you show love to somebody and say I would die for you. What Chris has brought in is another variation on that term which is I will live for you.

So I will live for you my brother, always, and I love you from the bottom of my heart.

Ludacris star is the 2,756th on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is awarded in the category of Motion Pictures

It is located at 6426 Hollywood Boulevard.
A cat has had to be euthanised after being caught in a gin trap.

Police in Co Antrim are investigating after the cat was found alive in the illegal trap in Ballycastle on Thursday.

A police spokesman described it as horrific.

He said: Police received a report of a cat caught in an illegal gin trap, in the Carey Mill area of the town, at approximately 7.30am yesterday.

The cat was found alive and transferred to a local vet, but subsequently had to be put to sleep due to injuries sustained.

To witness an animal in this situation is horrific, no animal should have to go through such pain as a result of a careless person setting a trap illegally.

At this stage it is unclear as to where the trap had been set, as it was not anchored to the ground, with the cat able to move with the trap still attached.

Advertisement

The trap may have been set elsewhere and we would advise anyone not to touch any objects they are unsure of.

The spokesman said the PSNI takes all wildlife crime very seriously.

At present, we have a dedicated policing operation titled Op Subrision in place to combat rural and wildlife crime.

Anyone with information about this incident can contact us on the 101 number quoting 1425 18/05/23.
A convicted murderer who tried to kill another man during a shooting in Dublin in 2019 has been jailed by the Special Criminal Court for 15 years.

Sentencing Bernard Fogarty at the non-jury court on Friday, presiding judge Mr Justice Tony Hunt said the organised hit on Mark Ivers warranted a headline sentence of 20 years, but Fogarty's "wise course of action" in pleading guilty would see a deduction of five years.

Last March at Fogarty's sentence hearing, the court heard the defendant was the balaclava-clad gunman who tried to murder Mr Ivers during the shooting in Donaghmede.

Fogarty (35), with an address at Cromcastle Court, Kilmore, Coolock, Dublin 5, had pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Mr Ivers at Streamville Road, Donaghmede, Dublin 13, on September 6th, 2019.

Fogarty has 54 previous convictions, including a conviction for murder for which he is serving a life sentence.

Advertisement

In December last year, judges at the Special Criminal Court convicted both Fogarty and Robert Redmond of the murder of father-of-five Barry Wolverson, who died after spending more than a year in a coma. They both received mandatory life sentences for the murder.

The men were also found guilty of assault causing harm to Gerard Wildman, who was shot during the same attack at around midday on January 17th, 2020.

Organised attempted murder

Before delivering the sentence on Friday, Mr Justice Hunt noted Fogarty had pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Mr Ivers in Donaghmede last February.

What had emerged from the event, the judge said, was an organised attempted murder with which the court was all too familiar, adding the evidence in the case bore all the normal hallmarks of that type of crime.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Hunt said the court must compose a proportionate sentence which marries the culpability and gravity of the offence.

Having regard to the gravity of the offence, the judge said the maximum sentence was life in prison. He said the headline sentence must reflect the culpability of the defendant and set it at 20 years imprisonment.

The judge said barrister Seamus Clarke SC, defending Fogarty, had identified a few things which could be said in favour of his client, adding the court was bound to take those matters into account.

Advertisement

Mr Clarke previously pointed out that Fogarty had a history of drug and alcohol misuse. He said his client had entered a guilty plea to the attempted murder of Mr Ivers, and asked the court to be as lenient as it could.

In mitigation, the judge noted the significant mitigating factor in a case as complicated as this was the defendant's guilty plea and that a plea in such circumstances had very considerable value. He said: "Mr Fogarty is undoubtedly entitled to normal credit for the wise course of action he took."

Ireland Main beneficiary of contested will was subject of... Read More

Mr Justice Hunt also referred to Fogarty's previous convictions and current circumstances, pointing out that this sentence may not affect the defendant's duration in custody.

However, the judge said "a different body" might come to consider an application he may make in a different case. "Bearing all that in mind, we will apply a discount for his wise course of action," he added.

Mr Justice Hunt, sitting with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Alan Mitchell, sentenced Fogarty to 15 years imprisonment.

Sean Gillane SC, prosecuting, informed the court that the accused went into custody on this matter on July 12th, 2021. However, Mr Justice Hunt said there was no good reason why there should be any backdate in the case.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said her partys success in Northern Irelands local government elections is a message from the people that Stormont must return.

However, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has insisted his partys vote is holding up as counting continues to fill 462 seats across 11 council areas.

Shortly after 6pm, Sinn Fein led the way with 47 councillors elected. The DUP was next on 35, the cross-community Alliance Party had 15, the Ulster Unionists 11, the SDLP six, with six others.

In terms of the share of the first preference votes, Sinn Fein had 30.6 per cent, more than 7 per cent higher than the first preference share it enjoyed in the last council elections in 2019.

it's becoming clear from todays results that people across the North have seized the opportunity to send a clear signal that it is time to get the Assembly up and running.



People are determined to see the positive transformation of our politics.



Sinn Fein went into this pic.twitter.com/qtKASNBeZo Advertisement  Michelle ONeill (@moneillsf) May 19, 2023

It means the party appears to be on course to repeat its success from last years Assembly elections when it emerged as the largest party for the first time.

The DUP secured 23.7 per cent of first preference votes, with Alliance on 12.8 per cent, the UUP on 12 per cent and the SDLP on 8.5 per cent.

The votes are being counted through the single transferable vote system and the process will continue well into Saturday.

The general pattern around voter turnout appeared to be up slightly in areas which would be regarded as predominantly nationalist/republican and down slightly in areas viewed as unionist majority.

Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald, right, and Sinn Fein vice president Michelle ONeill, second right, with Bronach Anglin and Micheal Donnelly at Belfast City Hall (Liam McBurney/PA)

The Stormont assembly has not been operational for more than a year due to the DUPs boycott of the power-sharing institutions in protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Speaking at Belfast City Hall, Mrs McDonald said the election results showed a very strong showing for Sinn Fein right across the north.

She added: We are very pleased with that. We ran a very positive campaign and we are very pleased that the response to that has just been so positive by way of returns.

In the course of the election a lot of things were discussed, all the local issues but, in truth, the big issue was that of a return of the executive, the need to have government, the need to have leadership, the need to work together, to make politics work for everybody.

Advertisement

(PA Graphics)

The need for Michelle ONeill to come into post as the first minister for all.

So, for us, that is the significance of this result, it is undoubtedly a vote for progress, for change, for positivity and, above all else, for working together.

Party vice president Michelle ONeill said the British and Irish Governments now needed to come up with a plan to bring Stormont back.

She said: We ran a very positive campaign.

Leader of the DUP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said unionist vote-splitting was giving seats to Sinn Fein (Brian Lawless/PA)

But on the doors the conversation was very much centred around the need to have a restored Assembly and executive up and running.

That needs to be done now without delay. We would call on both governments to get engaged and actually make that happen.

There needs to be a plan now for a way back to a restored executive.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey said if Sinn Fein emerges as the largest party in local government, unionism will have to look at where its going.

Sinn Feins Geraldine McAteer is the first councillor elected in Belfast. She was elected in the Balmoral district electoral area with 2,037 votes. pic.twitter.com/lLmVAup2r3  Rebecca Black (@RBlackPA) May 19, 2023

Speaking at the Lisburn and Castlereagh council count, he said: Lets see when the final votes are all counted who is the largest party but, if Sinn Fein do emerge as the largest party in the council elections, I think yet again, as Ive been saying, consistently, there are lessons that unionism needs to learn here.

Advertisement

We cant go on with a situation where turnout in unionist areas is significantly lower than in nationalist areas, you cant go on with a situation where the unionist vote is continually splitting and splintering.

The result of that is that seats are gifted to Sinn Fein and to others when the unionist vote is split, and when that unionist vote doesnt transfer sufficiently.

So, I think, we really do need to learn the lessons behind all of this, the DUP without a shadow of a doubt is by far the largest unionist party and I think that unionism needs to look at where its going and regroup around a strong voice for unionism, and see more co-operation between unionist parties.

Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie said his party would not be changing path (Jonathan McCambridge/PA)

Sinn Feins Gary McCleave was the first councillor to be elected on Friday at Lisburn and Castlereagh Council, securing a seat in the Killultagh district electoral area (DEA).

His election was swiftly followed by the DUPs Thomas Beckett and Claire Kemp of the Alliance Party in the same DEA.

In Belfast, sitting Lord Mayor Tina Black was among the first elected.

Her Sinn Fein colleague, Geraldine McAteer, was the first councillor to be elected to the capitals council in the Balmoral DEA.

Advertisement

A short time later, Ms Black, along with DUP candidates Frank McCoubrey and Nicola Verner, was elected in the Court DEA.

At the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council, UUP leader Doug Beattie referred to the possibility of unionism as a whole losing seats.

The question is will unionism as a whole lose seats in this election, if they do that, its a unionism-wide issue that has to be dealt with  as far as my party is concerned, weve set our path, Im not going to change that path, he said.

We believe that we need to get Northern Ireland working. We are confident unionists, we want to put out a positive, optimistic message, and we will continue to do that, nothing will change.

Northern Irelands councils are responsible for setting rates, planning and waste collection as well as leisure services and parks.
A Dublin man who carried out an appalling assault on his former partner, which was witnessed by their children, will be sentenced later this year.

The 39-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm and burglary on January 4th, 2020 at an address in Co Dublin.

A local garda told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Friday that they responded to a call to attend the injured party's home at 11.30am on the day in question.

The injured party told gardai that her former partner had been shouting and throwing cans of beer, but she did not want to make a formal complaint.

Gardai returned to the property later that day following another call.

The complainant told them the defendant had come into her bedroom and hit her numerous times. Gardai observed that she had bruising to her face and appeared to have bite marks on her hand.

Advertisement

The woman told gardai that she was out with friends on January 3rd, 2020, and found her ex-partner sitting on the sofa when she returned home. She asked him to leave, but he started talking to one of the friends who had returned to the house with her.

The woman said the defendant left her home in the early morning but returned later, pushing past her into the sitting room. Their three children were upstairs at this time.

The man became angry and started shouting, then left when he was told the gardai would be called.

The court heard that the complainant went upstairs to her bedroom to sleep. She received several calls via Facebook Messenger from the defendant, who wanted to collect clothes. She told him she didn't want him to come.

The man later returned to the house and entered the woman's bedroom. She pretended to be asleep. The man asked her about the car, then said he would burn it and punched her approximately 20 times.

She screamed for help, and her children came into the room and asked their father to stop. One of the children got into the bed and hugged the woman.

The man then lifted the child off the woman and moved them to the bottom of the bed before hitting the woman several more times. She also felt him biting her hand while lying on top of her.

Advertisement

The victim's mother said the defendant later rang her and said the complainant deserved it.

The court heard that the man's Safe Pass was spotted by the gardai in the hall of the house.

He was arrested and, when interviewed, accepted that he was the former partner of the complainant and that he had taken her phone.

He denied the assault and told gardai one of the children had called him as their mother was not at home.

The woman was taken to hospital. Photos of her injuries were handed to the court along with a victim impact statement which was not read aloud.

The man has 24 previous convictions, including public road, road traffic and possession of drugs offences.

The investigating garda agreed with Geraldine Small SC, defending, that her client had consumed a considerable amount of intoxicants on the day in question.

He also agreed that the defendant's previous convictions are all at the District Court and are indicative of someone with addiction issues.

Ms Small said her client wished to express his absolute remorse for his outrageous behaviour towards his ex-partner. She said absolutely appalling violence was carried out by the man upon his ex-partner in the presence of their children, which he accepts is an aggravating feature.

Counsel said the man's chronic addiction fed into his offending behaviour, and this incident had been a wake-up call for him.

Ireland Judge orders medical intervention for teenage boy... Read More

He spent six months in custody and weaned himself off drugs. She said her client is working full-time and attempting to build bridges with his children.

She said the man was willing to engage with the Probation Service.

A number of testimonials were handed into the court on behalf of the man. Judge Patricia Ryan said some of these were not suitable as they were not signed and dated.

Adjourning the case to July 14th for finalisation, Judge Ryan ordered a probation report and directed the defence counsel to review these references.
A record number of Irish beaches have won the prestigious blue flag and green coast awards, though six sites have failed to retain the environmental accolades.

Some 159 beaches and marinas won an award from An Taisce in 2023, two more than last year.

The 94 beaches and marinas awarded blue flag status include three new additions all from Co Mayo  Bertra, Clare Island and Old Head. A blue flag is awarded for excellent water quality.

The four beaches to lose blue flag status are Cappagh Pier, Kilrush in Co Clare, Garretstown in Co Cork, and Counsellors' Strand and Dunmore Strand in Dunmore East, Co Waterford.

Advertisement

The Green Coast Award has included 65 awards for the 2023 bathing season. This is an increase of three awards compared to last year, and the highest number of awards given since its establishment.

The three new sites awarded a Green Coast Award are Carrowniskey Beach, Co Mayo, awarded for the last time in 2019, Bettystown in Co Meath, awarded for the first time, and Rosslare Harbour Beach in Co Wexford, last awarded in 2021.

The Green Coast is awarded for excellent water quality and environmental management.

Waterville in Co Kerry and Portacloy in Co Mayo, last awarded in 2022, did not receive a Green Coast Award after not achieving the excellent water quality status required.

Eight beaches received both the blue flag and Green Coast Award. They are Fountainstown and Inchydoney East Beach (Co Cork), Balcarrick, Donabate (Fingal), Salthill Beach and Silverstrand Beach (Galway City), Tra Inis Oirr (Co Galway), Baile an Sceilg, Ballinskelligs (Co Kerry) and Rosses Point Beach in Co Sligo.

Lifestyle Ireland's best beaches revealed: Full list of blue... Read More

The director of An Taisces environmental education unit Cathy Baxter the number of awards is a tribute to the immense dedication and effort to manage a beach or marina to meet the rigorous standards set by these prestigious award programmes.

The awards were presented at a ceremony on Donabate beach in north Dublin by the Minister for Housing, Darragh OBrien.

The minister said: During its 36 years, the Blue Flag has become an internationally recognised symbol of high standards in water quality, environmental management, environmental education and safety.

Todays high number of awards is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the local authorities, An Taisce, local coastal communities and other volunteers around the country.
The decision by Wilsons Hospital School to suspend teacher Enoch Burke was lawful, the High Court has ruled.

Furthermore, his continued attendance at the school following his suspension and dismissal led to the court ruling that there are significant aggravating features which make it proper to award damages of 15,000 to the school.

As the Irish Examiner reports, this is in addition to any daily fines currently being imposed on Mr Burke for breaches of existing court rulings, with the judge declaring he has no right to enter school premises.

In his ruling, Mr Justice Alexander Owens said: In light of what the Board knew about Enoch Burkes actions in the school towards the end of the previous academic year and his behaviour at the Board meeting, apprehension that he would engage in harmful and disruptive conduct if permitted to teach in the school was rational and reasonable.

Advertisement

The Board was entitled to take into account that Enoch Burke did not address the issue of how he would behave in the school.

Mr Justice Owens also said it was the courts provisional view that the costs for the board of Wilsons Hospital School arising from this action should be paid by Enoch Burke.

However, the judge made no order in this regard and a costs hearing may take place at a later date.

While the school had argued it was correct in the process it followed to place Mr Burke on administrative leave pending a disciplinary process, Mr Burke argued his suspension, the disciplinary process, and ultimately his dismissal from his job was unlawful.

The issue related to a student who told the school they wished to be identified by a different name and pronoun.

Ireland Judge emphatically rejects Enoch Burke accusatio... Read More

This was the second such occasion of such a situation happening in the school and the principal issued an email to staff requesting the student be addressed by their chosen pronoun and name.

At a subsequent staff meeting, the court heard Mr Burke erupted over the matter and voiced his opposition to transgenderism, saying it was in opposition to his religious beliefs.

At a chapel service the following month in June, Mr Burke again raised the matter with the school principal and allegedly confronted her in a disrespectful manner.

Ahead of the new school year starting, a decision was made to place Mr Burke on administrative leave pending a disciplinary hearing. The High Court heard in evidence that there was concern over what form his next protest might take.
A father of three was allegedly caught red-handed with just over 1 million worth of cannabis in Dublin after returning from Lanzarote, a court heard.

Derek Landers (41), with an address at Park Terrace, Dungarvan, Waterford, but has been living in Lanzarote for the past 20 years, was arrested on Thursday by officers from Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.

He was charged with possessing cannabis with intent of sale or supply in Dublin 1.

Objecting to bail, Garda Eoghan McGowan told the judge that the accused was allegedly caught red-handed in possession of 54kg of cannabis, worth 1,000,080, stored in a vehicle.

He had used his passport card, but his passport book was still in Lanzarote.

The garda said he did not think the accused resided at the Co Waterford address he furnished but had been staying with friends in Dublin.

Advertisement

Defence solicitor Tony Collier said his client could reside with a relative in Cork. The solicitor said Mr Landers had been planning to move back to Ireland with his partner and children.

Ireland Herbal cannabis worth more than 1m seized in Dubl... Read More

Judge Smyth set bail in his bond of 1,000 and required approval of an 80,000 independent surety, half of which must be lodged.

The defence said his client would not have access to someone with that amount.

However, Judge Smyth said it was a serious matter, and the court was concerned with flight risk, and the decision was not only based on the alleged value of the drugs.

He remanded the accused, who did not address the court, in custody with consent to bail to appear at Cloverhill District Court next week. Legal aid was granted.
Wemade CEO Chang Hyun-guk speaks to lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party at the company's headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Joint Press Corps



By Park Jae-hyuk





Independent lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk / Yonhap

Controversy over suspicious cryptocurrency trading by independent lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk, who left the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea after the scandal, has developed into a conflict between local gaming companies and professors specializing in the field, according to industry officials, Friday.



Their dispute erupted after the Korea Game Society published a statement on May 10, asking lawmakers to probe whether Wemade and other gaming firms have bribed politicians to legalize play-to-earn (P2E) games.



P2E games refer to those offering cryptocurrencies or non-fungible tokens to players in rewards for their plays. Wemade is the issuer of WeMix, one of various virtual assets in which Kim has invested.



Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) also wrote on Facebook on May 12 that he had rejected requests from the gaming industry to legalize P2E games, during President Yoon Suk Yeol's presidential campaign.



"As Wemade tried to deliver a speech at a forum I hosted, I had to change the panel," Ha said. "I also canceled a meeting with industry officials, as Wemade wanted to attend."



In response, Wemade filed a criminal suit on Wednesday against Korea Game Society Chairman Wi Jong-hyun, a professor of Chung-Ang University's College of Business Administration. The company alleged the professor hurt its reputation by spreading false information.



"We are also considering filing a civil suit, in order to ask for compensation for significant damages to our shareholders and investors," the gaming firm said.



The Korea Association of Game Industry, which represents domestic gaming firms, also issued a statement that day threatening to take stern measures against Wi. The association urged him to stop defaming the local gaming industry.



Dongyang University's School of Game professor Kim Jung-tae, who belongs to the Korea Game Society, even claimed that the society had published its statement without getting approval from its members.





Korea Game Society Chairman Wi Jong-hyun delivers a speech during a forum hosted by the society in Yeouido in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
Micheal Martin has said that outrageous false stories about refugees moving into communities are being spread that is spreading unease among communities.

The Tanaiste said he was not speaking about Clare specifically, where a protest is being held outside Magowna House hotel after more than 30 asylum seekers arrived by bus on Monday night.

Some locals have raised concerns about the quality of the accommodation and the lack of services in the area, and have blocked the road to stop more buses from arriving at the hotel.

They also raised concerns about a lack of prior consultation.

The government has said that concerns need to be listened to, but stressed that no one can veto the arrival of people into a community and insisted that the hotel will still be used as accommodation.

Advertisement

Mr Martin said he does not underestimate the pressures on people and on communities, but added this is not peacetime, referencing the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other conflicts.

He acknowledged that the government needed to improve communications and consultation, and said there was never anything wrong with engagement, referring to minister of state Joe OBriens meeting with locals in Clare on Thursday.

I think were always ready to improve communications and consultation, Mr Martin told reporters on Friday.

But theres another side to the story as well.

There has been, as I say, close to 100,000 people now housed by the state and in this country  that also reflects the welcome that many have received and the degree to which many communities across the country have not been engaged in blockades and so on, rather the opposite.

Theyve been working to help people to settle down, and acclimatise and integrate, and Ive been in many schools over the last while and I must say the education community have been to the fore in helping young children of asylum seekers and indeed Ukrainian children to continue their learning, continue their education.

And those environments are ones of warmth and of welcome. But of course, they dont get the headlines and rarely get the headlines, he said.

Advertisement

He said that Ireland needed to rebut and refute rumours about migrants that are without foundation.

More generally, we are aware of false stories being spread about people who come into the country that have no foundation. And some of them are outrageous in terms of whats been asserted, and we just have to stand up against that.

Ireland Minister proposes four-week freeze on new asylum s... Read More

I met a person last week who was convinced that 150 people had arrived in the night before in a particular location, when that wasnt the case at all, no one had arrived the night before.

But it was posted on Facebook that 150 had arrived in and saying all sorts of things are going to happen and your children are in danger and so on like that.

And thats kind of shocking stuff and that is a factor, I think, thats beginning to spread unease, and we have to really rebut that, refute that, and its unacceptable.
A notorious Limerick criminal with a previous conviction for nailing a man to a kitchen floor has been jailed for 3 years after being caught with money and two phones that were the proceeds of crime.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt at the Special Criminal Court said that Gerard Mackin handled the money "in the context of some form of serious organised criminality in the Limerick area". While the sum of money, 4,780, was "at the lower end of the scale", the judge said the circumstances were not and Mackin's previous conviction for assault causing harm is "relevant to this case in that it explains the background against which the proceeds of crime in this case were handled".

In mitigation, the judge considered Mackin's early guilty plea and lack of sophistication in how he implicated himself when questioned by gardai about the money. He set a headline sentence of four years and eight months and reduced that to three years and six months after taking into account the mitigating factors. He backdated the sentence to December 5th, 2022 when Mackin first went into custody.

Advertisement

At a hearing last March, Mackin accepted through his lawyers that he had made poor choices and intended to turn his life around with his family in Spain when he is released from prison.

The Belfast native, with a previous address at Rhebogue Road in Limerick, was once the first person convicted of a Belfast murder by a Dublin court before his conviction was quashed and a retrial collapsed.

Guilty plea

The 40-year-old was extradited from Alicante in Spain last December and pleaded guilty to laundering 4,780 as the proceeds of criminal behaviour at Rhebogue Road in Limerick on April 17th, 2019.

Mackin had pleaded guilty before the three-judge court to knowing or believing, or being reckless as to whether property, 4,780, was the proceeds of criminal conduct, did handle, acquire and/or possess the said property contrary to Section 7 of the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act of 2010.

Detective Garda Stephen Ahern previously told the court that he arrested Mackin at Dublin Airport on December 5th last year in relation to a European Arrest Warrant issued on April 7th, 2022.

At the hearing in March Detective Sergeant Padraig O'Dwyer told prosecution counsel Fiona Murphy SC that two gardai on patrol had observed an Opel Insignia car suspiciously parked outside Mackin's house on April 17th, 2019. Gardai had a conversation with the driver of the vehicle and he was searched.

Advertisement

Det Sgt O'Dwyer said the driver was found to be in possession of 4,780 in cash, an Aquaris phone and an iPhone wrapped in bubble wrap and tied together with elastic bands.

The driver spoke to gardai and said he was self-employed and that the money belonged to him. A cautioned memo was later taken from the driver of the car.

On that date, the court heard that Mackin came out of his house and conversed with gardai telling them that the money belonged to him. Mackin informed gardai that the driver of the car was going to Belfast the next day and that the money was to be given to his [Mackin's] fiancee.

Mackin produced a receipt from a credit union showing that he had a loan for 10,000. A search was carried out on the driver of the Insignia and Mackin but nothing of evidential value was found.

Mackin was later arrested and taken to Henry Street Garda Station, where he was interviewed on a number of occasions and denied the offence of money laundering.

During his fourth interview Mackin told officers that he had seen gardai outside his house and from his experience of gardai in the past "I said, put that money up for safekeeping in case you coming for me".

Advertisement

When asked about the Aquaris phone, which the court heard is used to communicate privately, Mackin told detectives that it had been left in his house and he had picked it up.

Mackin said the 4,780 was made up of a deposit by him to his previous landlord. Ms Murphy said a statement was taken from the landlord, who said the denominations were in 50 notes but that the money seized had been in 20 notes.

Mackin was then released and a file was sent to the DPP.

It is the prosecutions case, said Ms Murphy, that the money in the package was "not derived from a deposit" but was the proceeds of crime.

Counsel said the guilty plea was entered by Mackin in circumstances where he accepts the circumstances of the seizure and his guilt for the offence of money laundering. She said the view of gardai is that Mackin was engaged in criminality at the time of the offence.

The court heard that Mackin has one previous conviction for assault causing harm.

Arrest warrant

When directions were issued by the DPP to charge Mackin with money laundering, the accused had moved to Spain and a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) was issued. Mackin, the court heard, consented to his surrender and has been in custody since his arrest in Spain on December 5th, 2022.

Advertisement

Defence counsel Ronan Kennedy SC said there "is little enough to be said for the offence itself" and that obviously any money laundering offence is serious but the sum of money involved in the case fell at the lower end of the scale.

Mr Kennedy asked the court to take into account that his client had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. He said that Mackin was in a long-term relationship with his partner since 2005 and they had two children together.

In his submissions, Mr Kennedy said that Mackin and his family decided to move to Spain in September 2021 where the defendant found employment working in a building firm. "Things were going well until his past came back to haunt him and he was then arrested on foot of a EAW," he said. The court heard he went into custody in Spain on December 2nd, 2022.

Counsel asked the court to take into consideration that Mackin has never met his eight-week-old son because of his surrender and that he has been incarcerated since then. "That is a source of very significant upset and regret to him that he wasn't present for his son's birth. His absence has also caused particular hardship to his partner in the last number of weeks," he added.

Advertisement

In mitigation, Mr Kennedy said actions speak louder than words and that the manner in which his client met the case was instructive. "He came home to Ireland to face the music and wipe the slate clean," he said, adding that Mackin had not made an application for bail.

In terms of the future, counsel said that Mackin would be on the first flight back to Spain when he is released from prison as he intended to build a new life there with his family and does not intend to return to this jurisdiction, certainly in the short-term.

Furthermore, the lawyer said Mackin intended to turn his life around when he is released from prison. "He is a person who has had an opportunity to look back on his past behaviour and readily accepts he made poor choices in the past and is determined to make a go of it when he serves his sentence," he stated.

The barrister said the defendant was born into a family where alcohol was "rife" and had taken positive steps in recent years to deal with this by having an implant inserted in 2020.

Ms Murphy, prosecuting, said the court needed to look at three matters namely the amount of money involved, the circumstances in which the money was moved and how it was obviously of relevance that the defendant was found with other items.

Previous trial

In January 2011, Mackin's retrial for the murder of Edward Burns, a taxi driver and 36-year-old father-of-five, dramatically collapsed at the Special Criminal Court after the State entered a 'nolle prosequi' [a decision not to prosecute]. Several of Mackin's supporters who were in court applauded and cheered while members of the victim's family openly wept.

Ireland Convicted killer Bernard Fogarty jailed for 15 yea... Read More

The chief prosecution witness refused to give evidence at the trial after telling a Belfast High Court judge he was threatened that if he gave any evidence, he would be shot dead.

Mackin had pleaded not guilty to the murder at Bog Meadow, Falls Road, Belfast on March 12th, 2007.

It was the second trial of Mackin after a 2008 conviction  which made Mackin the first person convicted in a Dublin court for an alleged murder in Belfast under a rarely-used cross border anti-terrorism law  was quashed by the Court of Criminal Appeal and a retrial ordered.

In July 2013, another nolle prosequi was entered against Mackin at the non-jury court on a charge of IRA membership and demanding money with menaces on behalf of the INLA in Co Monaghan on May 18th and 21st, 2012.
Discussions over the housing of asylum seekers, reaction to an assault on a teenager in Co Meath, and Gerard Hutch's travels are among the stories covered in Friday's front pages.

The Irish Times reports 'Hundreds of asylum seekers to stay on streets as Coalition tries to quell tensions', amid an ongoing blockade around a centre housing asylum seekers in Inch, Co Clare.

The Irish Examiner covers Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's pleas for the blockade in Clare to end, alongside an article on the sharing of video footage online which showed the 'stomach churning' attack on a boy in Navan.

The Echo's headline reads: 'Jail for driver as life risked', after a man was jailed for injuring a garda as he attempted to flee the scene of a drug deal.

The Irish Daily Mail reports the Government has been warned about a 'rural revolt on rewetting', while both the Irish Daily Star and Irish Daily Sun report Gerard 'the Monk' Hutch has returned to Spain following his acquittal in the Regency trial.

Advertisement Friday's front page pic.twitter.com/4yAMtMokzf  The Irish Daily Mail (@irishdailymail) May 18, 2023

In Britain, concerns over the rise of AI leads the national papers.

The i reports the British government is pushing for regulations to protect humanity from the potential dangers of artificial intelligence, while the Daily Mail leads with telecommunications giant BT announcing plans to replace 10,000 workers with AI.

I: UK warns: new rules needed to tame AI #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/9HFPbocJGs  Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 18, 2023

Staying with politics, The Guardian says the government has unveiled a new swathe of sanctions against Russia, including banning Russian diamonds as well as Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel.

Guardian front page, Friday 19 May 2023: Fresh sanctions against Russia as PM seeks to rally support for Kyiv pic.twitter.com/R6M5Sjq4Wx  The Guardian (@guardian) May 18, 2023

The Daily Express carries comments from British prime minister Rishi Sunak, who predicted Tory success at the next general election.

The Daily Telegraph reports household energy bills are expected to rise by almost 120 a year under the governments net-zero plans.

Advertisement

TELEGRAPH: Net zero drive will add 120 to energy bills #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/UOkRL4XuzZ  Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 18, 2023

Elsewhere, The Times leads with analysis revealing international nurse recruits accounted for two thirds of the rise in numbers since 2019.

TIMES: UK reliance on foreign nurses at critical level #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/mvvxY1K4LJ  Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 18, 2023

The Independent reports an inquiry into maternity care failings at an NHS trust has been deemed insufficient as only a fraction of black and Asian women have come forward.

INDEPENDENT DIGITAL: Maternity scandal inquiry slams NHS for exclusion of Black and Asian victims #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/mpFpEyMIY2  Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 18, 2023

Water firms have asked customers to foot the bill to end the sewage crisis affecting the nations rivers and beaches, according to the Metro.

The Daily Mirror leads with a six-year-old boy surviving a horror dog attack.

The Sun reports Ant and Dec are stepping down from Saturday Night Takeaway after 20 years.

On tomorrow's front page: Ant and Dec are stepping down from Saturday Night Takeaway after 20 yearshttps://t.co/Z6438aVeB6 pic.twitter.com/iUqgtypr1z  The Sun (@TheSun) May 18, 2023

And the Daily Star says Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has caused sales of Y-fronts to soar.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to join the G7 summit in Hiroshima in person as allies seek to turn up the pressure on Russia.

Mr Zelenskiy will attend the summit in Japan on Sunday, it is understood.

It will potentially bring Mr Zelenskiy into contact with Indias Narendra Modi and Brazils Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who have not opposed the invasion like their western allies.

Mr Zelenskiy has met many western politicians recently, but his attendance at the G7 meeting would be an opportunity to build stronger links with the Indian prime minister, who has remained neutral, and the Brazilian president, who the US has accused of parroting Russia propaganda.

G7 leaders attend a working lunch at the Grand Prince Hotel during the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Attending G7  the group that Russia was expelled from over its 2014 annexation of Crimea  would also be a new display of solidarity.

Advertisement

Talks between G7 allies, including US president Joe Biden and French president Emmanuel Macron, will centre on military and economic support for Ukraine as they seek to show a united front.

The three-day summit  also including Germany, Italy and Canada  will include talks on economic stability and the security of Taiwan in the face of Chinese aggression.

India is being represented at the G7 summit because it is the current G20 chair, while Brazil has been invited as a guest.
A former priest and columnist who was sentenced to four years in prison for sexual assaults on a school boy in the late 1990s has had his conviction quashed and is to be retried.

Barry Fergal Jennings (57) of Cloonkeerin, Frenchpark, Co Roscommon, was convicted by unanimous jury decision in March of last year of six counts of sexual assault of the boy at locations in Dublin on dates between September 1998 and December 1999.

Mr Jennings, aka Fr Jennings and Fr Fergal Mac Eoinin, was a chaplain at a community school in Dublin at the time of the alleged offences. He had denied the charges.

At his trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Monica Leech BL, prosecuting, said it was the State's case that the priest went to the victims home and molested him in his bed. Counsel said it was the State's case that the accused also sexually assaulted him a number of times while driving him around and also molested him twice at locations at the school.

Advertisement

In his victim impact statement, the man said that he was previously a happy child, but that the sex attacks destroyed his life, resulting in him turning to alcohol and drugs and making him feel suicidal.

At the Court of Appeal on Friday, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said that in December 2017 the complainant made statements to An Garda Siochana alleging the abuse. The complainant had already told a doctor, a separate priest and his mother that he had been assaulted.

In May 2018, the complainant also made a phone-call to a life-long friend to say that he had contacted the gardai.

Evidence of the making of the complaints were heard in the trial and put before the jury.

Value of evidence

Ms Justice Kennedy said it was the submission of Mr Jennings' legal team that the jury were not directed on the value of this evidence about how the complaints were made.

She said it was argued that the trial judge erred in omitting to explain the purpose upon which the complaint evidence was admissible, "namely, to show consistency of the account, not for the purpose of proving the fact of the complaint itself and [that it] did not constitute corroboration".

Lorcan Staines SC, for Mr Jennings, had argued that it was "clear that this was an error or oversight which simply was not noted by any party to the trial".

Advertisement

Mr Staines said the omission was "a legal principle of such fundamental importance, that the failure to instruct the jury on the limited use of this evidence amounts to a fundamental deficiency in the trial".

The State had argued that no requisition was made of the judge by the defence following the judge's charge to the jury before they began deliberations.

The State also submitted that nothing had arisen "to raise an apprehension that a fundamental injustice has occurred" due to the omission.

Ms Justice Kennedy said: "It must be recalled that evidence of complaint is not evidence of the truth of the allegation made and nor is such evidence capable of constituting corroboration of the complainant's testimony."

The judge said that complaint evidence could be relied on for the "limited purpose of seeking to show consistency on the part of the complainant". Ms Justice Kennedy said "it should always be made clear to the jury that such evidence is not evidence of the facts on which the complaint is based" but rather to show the victim was consistent with their testimony in court.

"There is a risk in the absence of an instruction by a trial judge that a jury, unaware of the legal niceties, may consider such evidence to be supportive of the complainant's account or that the evidence confirms the complainant's account.

Advertisement

"An express instruction is required in most circumstances to obviate that risk. Such an instruction was not furnished in this trial," said Ms Justice Kennedy.

The judge said the evidence of complaint was "clearly of importance" in the case and warranted a direction from the trial judge.

In quashing the conviction, Ms Justice Kennedy said there had been "an oversight or error of substance, giving rise to the apprehension of real injustice".

The judge said the complaint evidence was "critical to the prosecution's evidence against the appellant and the absence of the appropriate direction as to the specific use of that evidence in those circumstances renders the conviction unsafe".

Ireland Judge orders medical intervention for teenage boy... Read More

Ms Justice Kennedy then quashed the conviction and Mr Jennings is to appear before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Wednesday of next week.

At the trial, Patrick OSullivan BL, defending, said Mr Jennings was a highly-educated man who had a number of primary degrees and qualified as a barrister. He joined the Dominican order in 1993 and became a chaplain at the school in 1996 before moving to a parish in Waterford.

The court heard Mr Jennings had a column in The Irish Times which ended as soon as the allegations against him came to light.

Defence counsel said Mr Jennings left the priesthood in 2016 after becoming disillusioned and that he now lived effectively as a hermit in a rural area in Co Roscommon, where he has little interaction with anyone.
A Hong Kong court has rejected an activist publishers latest effort to use a British lawyer to defend him against national security charges as Beijing tries to crush a pro-democracy movement.

Jimmy Lai, the 75-year-old founder of the now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily, faces up to life in prison if convicted.

In November, the citys top court approved Lai hiring veteran lawyer Timothy Owen for the case, but the citys national security authorities blocked the move.

Lai and most of Hong Kongs leading pro-democracy activists were arrested after Beijing imposed a national security law on the former British colony following massive anti-government protests in 2019.

The political saga over Lais choice of lawyer is widely seen as part of the citys crackdown on dissidents after the protests.

Advertisement

 #HongKong: Jimmy Lai has fought for press freedom his whole life - and now it's our turn to fight for him.

RSF's @rebecca_vincent explains why we've brought together 116 media leaders from around the world, united in a single call on Hong Kong: #FreeJimmyLai! pic.twitter.com/kknI5aahz5  RSF (@RSF_inter) May 16, 2023

On Friday, Judge Jeremy Poon rejected Lais request to overturn the committee for safeguarding national securitys decision. Judge Poon ruled courts have no jurisdiction over the committee under the security law.

The political row over Lais lawyer began in November when the government voiced objection to it and asked Beijing to step in soon after the top court gave its approval.

Chinas top legislative body did not directly rule whether foreign lawyers who do not normally practice in the city could handle national security cases. But it said the power to decide belongs to the citys leader and the committee.

Critics said Beijings intervention damaged the citys judicial independence, which was promised to the city when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

The committee concluded that allowing Mr Owen to represent Lai would likely pose national security risks and advised the director of immigration to refuse any new work visa applications by Owen that involve representing the media tycoon in the case.

Advertisement

The director of immigration said his department would act in accordance with that advice.

Lais lawyers filed an application in April for judicial review, asking the court to quash the committee and directors decisions. They argued that the committees duties relate to matters of general policy and coordinating major works and significant operations.

There is no power or jurisdiction to determine specific questions arising from cases, let alone overturn judicial decisions, they wrote in the application.

Hong Kong legislators have passed an amendment to a law granting the citys leader the power to bar overseas lawyers from handling national security cases, following a high-profile row sparked by the Jimmy Lai case (AP)

Robert Pang, one of Lais lawyers, insisted in an earlier hearing that the committee had overstepped its powers, saying the court had the power and the duty to ensure that the law was properly applied.

But Judge Poon ruled on Friday that the decision is fully within the committees power under the security law, as interpreted by the interpretation, and the supervisory power over the committee is reserved to Chinas central government exclusively.

The courts do not hold power over such matters because they clearly fall outside the courts constitutional competence assigned to them, he wrote.

Lais trial, originally scheduled to begin on December 1st last year, was postponed until September as the city awaited Beijings decision.

Advertisement

He is accused of conspiring with others to call for sanctions or blockades, or engage in hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.

Lais trial was postponed until later this year (AP)

The 75-year-old also faces a charge of collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security, and a separate sedition charge under a colonial-era law that is increasingly used to crush dissent.

Lai was sentenced to five years and nine months for a separate fraud case in December.

As of Tuesday, more than 100 publishers and editors around the world  including 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureates Dmitry Muratov and Maria Ressa  have signed a joint statement calling for his immediate release, according to the Reporters Without Borders, which coordinated the move.

But the government, without naming any groups, condemned what it called wrongful attempt to interfere with the citys judicial proceedings under the pretext of press freedom.

It insisted the prosecution of Lai was completely unrelated to the issue of press freedom.

Last week, Hong Kong lawmakers also passed an amendment to a law granting the citys leader the power to bar overseas lawyers from handling national security cases.

Critics said the changes will leave defendants with even fewer choices when they look for legal representation in some of the citys most controversial cases.

Advertisement

The National Security Law criminalises acts of subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces.

It has led to the arrests of many prominent democracy activists and damaged faith in the future of the international financial hub.
President Joe Biden has endorsed plans to train Ukrainian pilots on US-made F-16 fighter jets, according to reports.

The unnamed sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Mr Bidens private conversations with allies, said he announced he had approved the training, which is likely to be conducted in Europe over the coming months, during a meeting of G7 leaders in Hiroshima.

Mr Biden told the leaders that decisions on when, how many, and who will provide the fourth-generation fighter jets for Ukraine to use in battle will be made in the months ahead while the training is under way.



President Volodymyr Zelensky welcoming US President Joe Biden to Kyiv (Office of the President of Ukraine)

President Vlodymyr Zelensky has consistently called for the supply of Western fighter jets to bolster his countrys defences against Russias 15-month invasion, but has until now faced scepticism from the US.

Advertisement

Under export licensing rules, the US needed to sign off on any allied effort to train Ukrainian pilots.

European allies in recent weeks have warmed up to the notion of sending fighter jets to Ukraine, as have elements of Mr Bidens Cabinet, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has emerged as a staunch advocate within the administration.
Sir Salman Rushdie has made an emotional and unexpected return to public life, attending the annual gala of PEN America and giving the literary events final speech as he accepted a special prize, the PEN Centenary Courage Award.

The event comes just nine months being after Sir Salman was stabbed repeatedly during an appearance in New York state.

Mr Rushdie (75) received a standing ovation after telling hundreds gathered at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City: Its nice to be back  as opposed to not being back, which was also a possibility. Im glad the dice rolled this way,

It was his first in-person appearance at a public event since he was attacked last August while on stage at a literary festival in Western New York.

Advertisement

Tonight at the 2023 #PENGala in New York, PEN America honored author @SalmanRushdie with PEN Centenary Courage Award.



Rushdie accepted the award in person, in his first public appearance since he was severely wounded in a knife attack nine months ago. https://t.co/GrbQsA2n6T  PEN America (@PENamerica) May 19, 2023

Mr Rushdie, whose attendance had not been announced beforehand, spoke briefly, and dedicated some of his remarks to those who came to his help at the Chautauqua Institution, a non-profit education and retreat centre.

He cited a fellow attendee, Henry Reese of the City of Asylum project in Pittsburgh, for tackling the assailant and thanked audience members who also stepped in.

Mr Rushdie added: I accept this award, therefore, on behalf of all those who came to my rescue. I was the target that day, but they were the heroes.

The courage, that day, was all theirs, and I thank them for saving my life.

And I have one last thing to add. Its this: Terror must not terrorise us. Violence must not deter us. La lutte continue. La lutta continua. The struggle goes on.

Attacks against Mr Rushdie have been feared since the late 1980s and the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses, which Irans Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini condemned as blasphemous for passages referring to the Prophet Mohammed.

Advertisement

Mr Rushdies public appearance at the 2023 PEN America Literary Gala is his first since he was repeatedly stabbed just nine months ago (AP)

The Ayatollah issued a decree calling for Mr Rushdies death, forcing the author into hiding, although he had been travelling freely for years before the stabbing.

Since then, he has since granted few interviews and otherwise communicated through his Twitter account and prepared remarks. Earlier this week, he delivered a video message to the British Book Awards, where he was given a Freedom to Publish prize.

Mr Rushdie was clearly elated to attend the gala, but his voice sounded frailer than it once did and the right frame of his glasses was dark, concealing the eye blinded by his attacker.

PEN galas have long been a combination of literature, politics, activism and celebrity, with attendees ranging from Alec Baldwin to senator Angus King of Maine.

Other honourees on Thursday included Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels and the imprisoned Iranian journalist and activist Narges Mohammadi, who was given the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award.

Dear writers, thinkers, and sympathisers, I implore you to help the Iranian people free themselves from the grip of the Islamic Republic, or morally speaking, please help end the suffering of the Iranian people, Mohammadi wrote from prison in a letter read aloud at the ceremony.

Advertisement

Let us prove the magic of global unity against authorities besotted with power and greed.

PEN America Files Lawsuit against Florida School District over Unconstitutional Book Bans



Lawsuit joined by @penguinrandom, parents, and authors asserts that Escambia County School Board unlawfully removes or restricts access to books about race, racism, and LGBTQ identities. pic.twitter.com/9FFps68Gd6  PEN America (@PENamerica) May 17, 2023

Mr Rushdies surprise appearance was the highlight of an eventful month for PEN, the literary and free expression organisation that has been in the middle  by choice and otherwise  of various conflicts.

On Wednesday, PEN and Penguin Random House sued a Florida school district over its removal of books about race and LGBTQ+ identities.

Earlier in the week, writer Masha Gessen disclosed she had resigned as vice president of the PEN board after a World Voices panel with Russian dissidents she was scheduled to moderate was called off amid objections to their presence from Ukrainians in town for a separate PEN event.

Last week, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos announced he would not attend the gala, where he was to accept the PEN America Business Visionary Award. Sarandos cited the writers strike, during which Netflix has been a prime target of criticism among union members. But the company was cited Thursday night as a prime sponsor of the dinner ceremony.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has addressed a summit of Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia before what a senior official said would be a trip to Japan for a meeting with the leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies.

Mr Zelensky has in recent months made foreign trips to shore up diplomatic support for Ukraines fight against Russias full-scale invasion almost 15 months ago and solicit more military support.

He earlier this week returned from a three-day trip to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.



Volodymyr Zelensky arrives at Jeddah airport (Saudi Press Agency via AP)

Ukraine and Russia are squaring up for a major and potentially decisive phase in the war as Kyiv prepares an expected counteroffensive.

The conflict has been bogged down in a war of attrition in recent months amid bad weather.

Advertisement

Mr Zelenskys office said he was invited to attend the Arab League summit in Jeddah where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before holding other bilateral meetings.

They discussed Mr Zelenskys peace plan, the security situation in Ukraine and possible investments in the reconstruction of the country, a presidential statement said.

Mr Zelensky also invited Prince Mohammed to visit Ukraine.



This video grab shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arriving at the airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Saudi state TV: Al Ekhbariya via AP)

The Ukrainian president urged leaders at the summit to resist Moscows influence and consider his peace proposals, which include the withdrawal of the Kremlins forces from occupied areas of Ukraine.

Im more than sure that none of you will agree to surrender a third of your country to the invaders, Mr Zelensky said in English.

Another priority is the protection of the Muslim community of Ukraine, he said.

Crimea was the first to suffer from the Russian occupation, and most of those who suffer repression in occupied Crimea are Muslims.



Syrian President Bashar Assad, is accompanied by Prince Badr Bin Sultan, deputy governor of Mecca, upon his arrival at Jeddah airport (Saudi Press Agency via AP)

Advertisement

Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev accompanied Mr Zelensky on the visit.

Mr Zelensky will later travel to a Group of Seven summit in Japan where leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies aim to step up punishment on Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defence Council.

However, Mr Danilovs office later posted a statement backtracking on his announcement and saying Mr Zelensky would appear at the G7 summit via video link.

Mr Zelenskys movements are kept secret for security reasons.
Korean Air B787-9 / Courtesy of Korean Air









By Kim Hyun-bin







Korean Air is facing growing headwind in its bid to acquire domestic rival Asiana Airlines as U.S. and European transport authorities are increasingly reluctant to give the green light, citing concerns about monopoly, according to industry officials and media reports, Friday.







According to Politico, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is reviewing options to file a lawsuit to block the acquisition of Asiana Airlines by Korean Air. The possible lawsuit is based on concerns that the acquisition could harm competition in passenger and cargo transportation between the U.S. and Korea. However, the decision to file a lawsuit has not been finalized.







While the U.S. does not have jurisdiction over Korea-based airlines, Politico reported that it could explore measures to prevent corporate consolidation if it has a negative impact on competition within the U.S.







The DOJ has been reviewing the Korean Air-Asiana merger since November 2020. The key concern is the potential impact on overlapping routes in the U.S., which could harm local airlines.







Both Korean Air and Asiana Airlines operate flights to New York, Los Angeles (LA), San Francisco and Seattle.







If the DOJ files a lawsuit, it would be the first case in which the U.S. government has initiated legal action to block a merger between foreign airlines.







"At the last meeting with the DOJ on May 12, Korean Air learned that the authority has neither taken a position nor confirmed the timeline. Korean Air and the DOJ will continue the dialogue until the final decision is made by the DOJ," a Korean Air official said.







In addition, the EU's executive body informed Korean Air by issuing a statement of objections (SO) on May 17 that the merger could limit market competition.







The European Commission's investigation revealed concerns about the potential contraction of passenger transportation services on routes to four European countries  France, Germany, Italy, and Spain  as well as the potential impact on cargo transportation services between Europe and Korea. The commission's basic position is that there is a lack of solutions to address monopolistic issues in the operation of passenger and cargo transportation services on these four routes following the merger.







Korean Air proposed giving up some slots on major routes to Europe. However, these proposals were reportedly rejected by the EU.







Even if Korean Air submits additional modifications, there is still a possibility that the EU will disapprove the merger. In 2021, the EU did not approve the merger of the top three airlines in Canada and Spain due to monopoly concerns.







If the EU does not approve the merger, Korean Air's acquisition of Asiana Airlines can be ditched. Despite obtaining approvals from 11 countries, including the U.K., the merger cannot proceed if any of the competition authorities in the U.S., EU or Japan refuse to approve.







"Korean Air has made, and continues to make, every effort to obtain all necessary approvals by emphasizing that the majority of the customers on the affected routes are Korean nationals and that the airline fully complies with a robust and comprehensive set of remedies ordered by Korea's Fair Trade Commission," the company official said.


Walt Disney Co is scrapping plans to build a nearly $1 billion corporate campus in central Florida that would have housed 2,000 employees, according to an e-mail to employees on Thursday.

The news is set against the backdrop of its ongoing legal battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Disney parks chief Josh D'Amaro said "changing business conditions" prompted Disney to reconsider its 2021 plan to relocate employees, including its Imagineers, who design theme park rides, to a new campus in Lake Nona.

The company was expected to spend as much as $864 million on the project, according to the Orlando Sentinel, on a campus that would have served as a base for Walt Disney Imagineering and the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products division.

Disney's decision to move the California-based Imagineering staffers across the country drew complaints from employees, many of whom said they did not want to move to Florida.

Advertisement

"Given the considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions, we have decided not to move forward with construction of the campus," D'Amaro wrote. "This was not an easy decision to make, but I believe it is the right one."

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Photo: Associated Press

A week ago, Disney chief executive Bob Iger publicly questioned Florida's interest in the company's continued investment in the state. In a call with investors to discuss quarterly results, he noted that Disney employed more than 75,000 people in Florida, attracts millions of visitors each year to Walt Disney World and had plans to invest $17 billion to expand the resort over the next decade.

"Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people and pay more taxes, or not?," Iger asked.

DeSantis's press secretary, Jeremy T. Redfern, wrote that while Disney announced the possibility of a Lake Nona campus nearly two years ago, "nothing ever came of the project, and the state was unsure whether it would come to fruition".

Redfern wrote that given the company's financial position, "it is unsurprising that they would restructure their business operations and cancel unsuccessful ventures".

Disney and DeSantis have been locked in an increasingly acrimonious battle that started in March 2022, when Disney's then-chief executive, Bob Chapek, criticised legislation in Florida that would limit discussion of gender identity and sexuality in elementary schools.

Advertisement

DeSantis, who is expected to soon announce that he will seek the 2024 Republican nomination for US president, then moved to strip Disney of its long-standing self-governing power over Walt Disney World in Orlando. The governor argued that "woke Disney" should not receive special treatment in the state.

Disney called the move political retaliation over what should be protected free speech and sued the state last month to have the moves reversed.

Former US president Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign was quick to seize on the news, with the Trump War Room account tweeting that DeSantis's actions cost the state jobs and investment. Democratic State Senator Linda Stewart, who represents part of Orange County, called it "disappointing" that Florida would lose jobs.

Former Congressman Carlos Curbelo, a Republican who represented Miami, praised DeSantis's leadership during the pandemic, but said the governor was tarnishing his own record and dissuading businesses from coming to Florida or expanding in the state.

"This is first obvious negative consequence of an overly aggressive approach to governing and to politics," Curbelo said.

Iger's predecessor announced plans in July 2021 to relocate jobs from Southern California to a new facility in central Florida, citing its "business-friendly climate." While Disney has never disclosed the value of its investment, the Los Angeles Times reported that it would receive nearly $580 million in tax credits over the next 19 years.

"I remain optimistic about the direction of our Walt Disney World business," D'Amaro wrote. We have plans to invest $17 billion and create 13,000 jobs over the next ten years. I hope were able to do so." -Reuters
MONARCHY

The Queen is Dead

Stan Grant

Fourth Estate, $34.99

Stan Grant is one of Australias most successful journalists. Stan Grant is also a proud Wiradjuri-Kamilaroi-Dharrawal man who carries within him the deep scars of Australias genocidal history.

In the introduction to The Queen Is Dead, Stan Grant writes that he is wrestling with swirling emotions. Among them has been anger. The anger runs through the book in ways that will discomfort and challenge readers such as myself who do not share the bitter memories and daily experiences of Indigenous Australians.

Stan Grant rails against identity politics in his book. Credit: Chris Hopkins

The Queen is Dead is an extended reflection on why Grant, as an Indigenous Australian, could not share in the sense of loss that was occasioned by the Queens death. But Grant is too subtle a writer to deny that he, too, felt something of that loss. Central to his book is the distinction between the living person who was the Queen and the symbolic power structure that is represented by what he terms the White Queen.
Stan Grant, the award-winning Indigenous host of the ABCs Q+A, is stepping down, citing exhaustion from the torrent of racist abuse to which he has been subjected on social media, especially in the wake of his contribution to the public broadcasters coverage of the coronation of King Charles III.

Racism is a crime. Racism is violence. And I have had enough, Grant writes in a lengthy piece published Friday on ABC websites, explaining his decision to quit the flagship show.

Stan Grant is stepping down as host of the ABCs Q&A program. Credit: ABC

Grant, a 59-year-old Wiradjuri man from the Griffith region in NSW and a triple Walkley Award winner, has been the sole host of Q+A since August last year. Before that he had been one of three  alongside Virginia Trioli and David Speers  who shared hosting duties from August 2021, following the departure of Hamish MacDonald, who also cited social media vilification as a factor in his decision to quit.

Throughout his tenure on the show Grant has frequently been targeted with accusations of political bias, from both the Right and the Left, as well as slurs about his ethnic and cultural identity.
Amanda Hootons feature on whales was a confronting and thought-provoking read. Her extraordinary journey to Antarctica, along with dedicated scientists, gave her a revealing insight into the plight of the whales that call this unforgiving place home. Their future depends on so many things, and involves many countries coming together to make the right decisions that will protect their food sources and their environment. These magnificent animals are highly intelligent and we, as caretakers of their environment, need to make intelligent decisions to keep them protected. Judith Caine Donvale, Vic

I was shocked to read that a dozen industrial-sized factory ships are competing against female humpbacks and their babies for Antarctic krill after the mothers return from a 17,000-kilometre round journey [May 13]. Thankfully, Australias minister for the environment and water, Tanya Plibersek, is striving to create a Marine Protected Area in East Antarctica. But Russia and China are blocking this. Hopefully, the recent signing by 200 nations of the Global Oceans Treaty protecting two-thirds of the high seas will break the impasse so that once and for all, the whales may again feed in peace. Thanks to Amanda Hooton for a superbly written report. Ray Peck Hawthorn, Vic

Loading

As a long-time reader and first-time correspondent, I wanted to say thank you for the article by Antony Loewenstein about Israel and Palestine. Im sure youll receive a concerted barrage of outraged letters accusing you of anti-Semitism for publishing it. Im glad you had the journalistic integrity to publish a minority, unpopular but nevertheless fair and just opinion.

Fleur Taylor

Heidelberg, Vic

There are many falsehoods in Antony Loewensteins piece. They cannot go unchallenged. Loewenstein ostentatiously cast himself out of the Jewish community. Its his right to be an anti-Zionist and to criticise Israel, but not to assert that the community is politically homogeneous and that the state of Israel is irredeemable. It is false to suggest that criticism of Israel leads to ostracism. I have publicly done so and wasnt ostracised by anyone across the political spectrum.

The most shocking passage, however, was this: Yes, anti-Semitism is a real and growing threat, but combating it requires an understanding of how unqualified Jewish support for Israeli behaviour sometimes contributes to it. Implicitly, Jews are responsible for anti-Semitism, despite the cute deployment of the adverb sometimes. Imagine writing this: Yes, anti-Indigenous racism is a real and growing threat, but combating it requires an understanding of how unqualified Indigenous support for constitutional recognition sometimes contributes to it. One would be rightly cast out of polite society.

Nick Dyrenfurth

Balaclava, Vic

I was very disappointed by this article. I understand that we need to let everybody express their opinion, but the facts shouldnt be distorted. Israel was declared an independent state after the UN resolution of a two-state solution. The Arab population, with the help of the Arab countries, attacked the Jewish population. Many of these people had just survived the Holocaust. It was a bloody war, but the Jewish population won minus some territories. Some Arabs fled. In 1967, Israel was attacked again by the Arab countries, so they fought back and won. They gained territories. There were other attacks and they won again. Should they apologise for winning? I agree there are many problems, but its up to the government to solve. There are no easy solutions.

Judy Davies

Rose Bay, NSW
Now is not the time for a quickly tossed salad or an outdoor barbecue. Now is the time for stew, and thank heavens for that. Such a daggy term doesnt seem fair for such a noble pursuit as slow-cooking big, tough muscles of meat in wine, stock, onions and carrots until tender and gelatinous. Its not even meat any more, but stew, and its glorious.

Credit: Simon Letch

Stews take longer to cook, and require further consideration as to wine. You cant eat them on the run; they demand sitting down in a civilised manner. They also demand a sympathetic carbohydrate, such as mashed potato or rice or pasta, which is half the fun.

Travelling through some of Europes most charming smaller cities recently, I did my usual in-depth research, tapping chefs and friends for recommendations, and trawling through the Michelin Guide, Gault&Millau, Worlds 50 Best Restaurants, World of Mouth (a handy new insider-based restaurant guide app) and each citys own locally produced guides. As a result, I dined extremely well on variations of robata-grilled white asparagus, North Sea shrimp, steak tartare, Brittany crab, sweetbreads, pate en croute, morels and gariguette strawberries.

After a week of such truffle-snuffling, however, Id had enough, and just Googled stew. First, Id sleuth which stew the locals had developed over the past few hundred years  beef carbonnade in Brussels, for instance, cooked in the local beer. Then I would Google best carbonnade in Brussels, and book in for dinner. A search for best waterzooi in Ghent yielded a mighty platter of chicken stew studded with carrots, leeks and potatoes in a creamy sauce thickened with egg yolks. Inevitably, I dined in ancient restaurants founded in 1865 or 1892, seemingly staffed by the original waiters. There were no cocktails, no fancy flourishes and no pretensions, just a mutual understanding that you wanted stew, and they had stew.
China poses a grave danger to each of our countries, our way of life, our democracies and the freedoms that we value so much, Abbate said. Abbate also said the FBI had no doubt the Chinese state was using organised crime groups as agents of influence in Pacific Island nations. Its multi-faceted. Theyre [the Chinese government] leveraging these [criminal] groups to undermine, again, our democracy. Thats one facet of it. Theyre reaping profits from it at the same time. And then theyre spreading malign influence. He described how the FBI had tracked money flows  from the organised criminal groups in the Pacific to individuals within [the Chinese] government.

Security sources separately said Five Eyes intelligence had identified triad bosses who were working to corrupt powerful officials from Pacific nations through CCP United Front organisations, whose aim is to influence foreign elites such as politicians and business people. Chinas ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, declined a request to be interviewed, but Beijing has previously dismissed accusations it is involved in unlawful conduct as baseless. Canadas police commissioner, Mike Duheme, also singled out Beijing for the level of its interference in crime, intelligence and political circles. Duheme said that in Canada, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in March ordered a probe into allegations of Chinese interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections, there were ties from organised crime all the way up to the Chinese state. Britains National Crime Agency director-general Graeme Biggar described a massive effort from the Chinese state to engage in cyber espionage. Biggar said while Russian hackers were responsible for much of the worlds cyber criminality, Beijing was engaged in a really significant campaign of pure espionage on a normal state level and then industrial espionage to steal intellectual property.

Britains chief counter-terror officer, assistant commissioner Matt Jukes, detailed Beijings concerted effort to influence political figures, intimidate diaspora communities and  forcibly repatriate people who are opponents or to intimidate people whose families are in opposition to the Chinese Communist Party. The US, Canada and Britain have all moved against secret Chinese police stations in their countries in recent weeks. Duheme, Abbate and Jukes said they were used by Beijing to track and intimidate dissidents. Australias first two, and only, foreign interference prosecutions involve allegations that Chinese intelligence operatives were directing third parties to carry out clandestine activities on behalf of Beijing in Australia. But Kershaw has also recently renewed partnerships with Beijings security services that have led to multi-tonne drug seizures.

Lowy Institute China scholar Richard McGregor said Kershaws caution in public [on China] is not surprising, as he has always been open about what he believes to be the value of Chinese co-operation in cracking down on the narcotics trade. Loading But McGregor said it was certain that if the FBI has tracked connections between Chinese organised crime and Chinese government-linked bodies in the Pacific, then not only would Australia know about it. We would have been instrumental in uncovering the information. Pressed on why he refused to discuss Beijings hostile activities in his interview with this masthead, Kershaw cited the AFPs success in operationalising intelligence provided by Chinas Ministry of Public Security and revealed hed recently met with law enforcement leaders and agreed to continue to exchange intelligence and ... respect each others sovereignty. Abbate accused Beijing of abetting the fentanyl crisis in the US. He said the Chinese government plays a huge role and serves as a driver of Americas opioid addiction epidemic by failing to curb the mass export of fentanyl from China.

Officials who briefed this masthead said Chinese authorities shared information with Australia only when it suited Beijings interests. Research fellow from the US think tank the Brookings Institution, Vanda Felbab-Brown, recently told the US Congress: While China takes counter-narcotics diplomacy in South-East Asia and the Pacific very seriously, its operational law enforcement co-operation tends to be highly selective, self-serving, limited and subordinate to its geopolitical interests. Battle for influence Kershaw would also not be drawn on whether the AFPs recent Pacific expansion funding in the budget was about containing Chinese influence.

I think part of it is countering any organised crime group thats actually eroding away democracy and the economies of the Pacific, he told this masthead and 60 Minutes. Loading He made the comments after delivering a speech to the FELEG in which he attacked unnamed state actors who are using and profiting from organised crime. Chinese security services have made significant inroads in Pacific Island nations, including Solomon Islands and, until the recent change of government, Fiji. The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, the US agency responsible for combating transnational organised crime, both said Beijing was working with organised criminals in the Pacific to advance its geopolitical aims. In late 2020, the US government sanctioned notorious triad boss Wan Broken Tooth Kuok Koi, alleging he was engaging in organised crime in South-East Asia and the tiny Pacific Island of Palau while maintaining close ties with the CCP. Beijing denied the latter claim. US government officials are considering sanctioning other Chinese crimes bosses across the Pacific.
When Sabine Walton enrolled at a boarding school in Normanhurst three years ago almost all the girls in her shared dorm room were from the states north-west.

Our family home is in the city, so I definitely stood out among the boarders who are mostly from farms and regional towns, says Sabine, whose family home is in Dulwich Hill, about a 50-minute drive in peak hour from the all-girls private school.

Year 10 boarding students Sabine Walton (left), from Sydneys inner west, and Sophia from regional NSW, in a dormitory at Loreto Normanhurst. Credit: Louise Kennerley

It was daunting at first. I definitely could have been a day girl, but boarding saves so much time commuting, she says.

The year 10 student at Loreto Normanhurst in Sydneys north-west is one of about 5900 boarding students across the state. They include about 1000 students whose families are from metropolitan areas but are enrolled in boarding schools.
A man has been committed to stand trial in the NSW Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to murdering his fiancees nine-year-old daughter Charlise Mutten and dumping her body in a barrel on the banks of the Colo River.

Justin Stein, 32, has been charged with domestic violence-related murder and improperly interfering with a corpse or human remains after the schoolgirl disappeared from his familys remote Blue Mountains estate, Wildenstein, early last year.

Justin Stein is accused of murdering his partners daughter. Credit: Facebook

In Penrith Local Court on Friday, Steins solicitor Peter Katsoolis said his client pleaded not guilty to the two charges.

Asked by magistrate Fiona Toose to confirm his pleas, Stein, appearing via video link, replied: Yes, thats correct.
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 Melbournes far-right are agile and adaptive at spreading their message of hate. Though small, they practise a nimble strategy to develop support, concealing their activities in encrypted channels, leapfrogging from issue to issue as they attempt to insert their antisemitism and white supremacist view into conservative movements. First it was multiculturalism, then the pandemic and vaccine mandates, now trans rights. Deakin University extremism expert Dr Josh Roose explains its a process called breadcrumbing  where a person drops nibbles of interest with the aim of engaging with someone else  and its effective in both polarising the debate and growing the far-right movement. On Thursday, Roose joined a confidential meeting of more than 100 council representatives and police, all of them desperate to understand how to manage the hate manifesting at their meetings and drag queen story times. The briefing was convened to cope with threatening and unpredictable behaviour that mayors across Melbourne had seen in the past few months, and Roose was up in the middle of the night on a work trip to Denmark to provide advice and skills to protect democratic norms now under siege.

Advertisement

For the last few years, most prominently since the Reclaim Australia movement emerged in 2015, far-right activists have targeted particular issues in an attempt to surreptitiously introduce their beliefs into public discourse. Neo-Nazis salute outside Parliament House in Melbourne during the Let Women Speak rally in March. Credit: Chris Hopkins These conversations, buried deep in encrypted Telegram channels, happen every day  some explicit, others implicit  and attempt to draw people already in thralls of conspiracy into a community of violence. Loading Roose says the far-right members participate in online debates about hot topics and slowly attempt to introduce extreme ideas with the aim of eventually shaping the debate and increasing the pool of potential recruits. They continue to have a base due to their presence on social media and encrypted messaging apps: skilful tactics to gain media notoriety and anger and alienation amongst at least some of the community, he says. Almost 24 hours before the meeting, on Wednesday afternoon, a demonstration petered out against a drag story time celebration at Eltham Library, in Melbournes north-east.

Advertisement

Far-right activist Jimeone Roberts posted a message in a Telegram channel called MyPlace, warning people about medical experiments, deriding vaccine mandates, and making comments pejorative of rainbow activists campaigning for trans rights, according to screenshots collected by researchers from the White Rose Society, which tracks neo-Nazis online. MyPlace, a fast-growing anti-government group targeting councils across Victoria, is a forum of mixed purpose. There are some who use it to sell organic meat and vegetables; others complain about vaccine mandates and plug holistic medicine retreats; and several share their political aspirations, discussing ways to animate and organise voters in Victoria they believe share their views. Loading There are now more than 100 MyPlace groups throughout Australia, 49 of them in Victoria. Not all MyPlace groups or members are from the far-right or neo-Nazis. But the rise in the number of MyPlace groups is an example of what researchers and police have been observing for years, the tendency for far-right activists to target groups with strong views on conservative subjects. Entertainer Dean Arcuri, who dons his alter ego drag queen Frock Hudson for story time at suburban libraries, has been a target of demonstrators this week.

Advertisement

Its insane to think that this harassment is happening. And then someone says the word Nazi, and you just think  what? It is absolutely surreal, Arcuri says. Felicity Marlowe, the Rainbow Families manager at LGBTQI+ support service Switchboard Victoria, says the groups Zoom meeting last week was gatecrashed by protesters who posted vulgar comments in the chat. Drag queen Frock Hudson reads for young children and their families at Parliament House on Wednesday. Credit: Luis Ascui Roberts, who has a swastika Hakenkreuz tattooed on his chest, wasnt the first National Socialist Network (NSN) member attempting to steer the conversation inside the MyPlace network. In early April, Stefanos Eracleous, a former Young Liberal and also a member of the NSN, more pointedly asked members to begin exploring the encrypted channels popular among neo-Nazis and the groups leader, Thomas Sewell. Add yourself to an active Aussie chat for Australian patriotic discussion and freedom rally updates, said a message on April 4. It was forwarded from a group called Australian Meditations 51, the 51 being a figure celebrated by the group because it is the number of people killed in the Christchurch massacre. More recently, the actions of a group of neo-Nazis spilled onto Melbournes streets. They gatecrashed a Let Women Speak rally in March and two members were arrested during an anti-immigration protest in the CBD last Saturday, when police used capsicum spray. On both occasions, the group members wore all black and most concealed their identities while doing the Nazi salute. The topics the far-right use to steer their message has varied depending on the political issue of the day, says Dr Mario Peucker, an associate professor at Victoria University, and depends on what they believe is strategically useful.

Advertisement

Peucker says that during the moral panic around Islam in mid-2010, the far-right organised around anti-Islam messaging. A few years later, it was the African gang panic. Then, for a short time, they organised around bushfires and climate crises before the pandemic emerged as their dominant theme. Police officers use capsicum spray during a demonstration in Melbournes CBD last Saturday. Credit: Justin McManus Now that this has been exhausted, neo-Nazi groups, probably inspired by white supremacy groups in the US, saw a new opportunity in targeting LGBTIQ+ friendly events, Peucker says, and most recently they seem to have moved to the issue of housing crisis in combination with relatively high levels of immigration. The Andrews government has announced it will ban the Nazi salute but is unsure how far away the legislation is. Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said this week it was not a straightforward process as it collides with free speech issues. Other countries, including Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland  all of whom have far-right movements  have banned the salute. In the meantime, though, it means police have limited powers to act. Assistant Commissioner David Clayton, who attended the online forum with councillors on behalf of Victoria Police, summarised the dilemma succinctly: Some of this stuff is awful, but its not unlawful.

Advertisement
When David Quayle moved to Swan Hill in 1974, plans to replace the ageing lift bridge over the Murray River were already under way.

At the time, he imagined the much-needed replacement might not be too far off.

The lift bridge at Swan Hill, which is due for replacement. Credit: Erin Jonasson

And yet, almost five decades on, there has been little progress on replacing the deteriorating heritage-listed river crossing despite authorities identifying the project as a high priority.

Quayle, who is president of the Bridge Position Action Committee and former Swan Hill mayor, said communities on both sides of the river were beyond frustrated by the failure of successive governments to deliver the replacement.
"G7 Hiroshima" flower sign at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, ahead of the G7 Leaders' Summit, in Hiroshima City, Japan, May 18. UPI-Yonhap



Leaders of the world's most powerful democracies gathered Thursday for Group of Seven meetings in Hiroshima, with Russia's invasion of Ukraine high on the agenda for a summit convened in the shadow of the world's first atomic bomb attack.



The G7 nations, which officials said have reached new levels of cooperation more than a year into Russia's brutal war, were set to unveil a new round of sanctions against Moscow when the summit officially opens on Friday, as well as announce that they would redouble their efforts to enforce existing sanctions meant to stifle Russia's war effort and punish those behind it, a U.S. official said.



The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement, said the U.S. component of the actions would blacklist about 70 Russian and third-country entities involved in Russia's defense production, and sanction more than 300 individuals, entities, aircraft and vessels.



The official added that the other nations in the group would undertake similar steps to further isolate Russia and to undermine its ability to wage war in Ukraine. Details were to come out over the course of the weekend summit.



Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is hosting the summit in his hometown, opened the global diplomacy with a sitdown with U.S. President Joe Biden after Biden's arrival at a nearby military base . Kishida also held talks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before the three-day gathering of leaders opens .



The Japan-U.S. alliance is the "very foundation of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region," Kishida told Biden in opening remarks.



"We very much welcome that the cooperation has evolved in leaps and bounds," he said.



Biden, who greeted U.S. and Japanese troops at nearby Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni before his meeting with Kishida, said: "When our countries stand together, we stand stronger, and I believe the whole world is safer when we do."



As G7 attendees made their way to Hiroshima, Moscow unleashed yet another aerial attack on the Ukrainian capital. Loud explosions thundered through Kyiv during the early hours, marking the ninth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the city after weeks of relative quiet.



"The crisis in Ukraine: I'm sure that's what the conversation is going to start with," said Matthew P. Goodman, senior vice president for economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.



Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said there will be "discussions about the battlefield" in Ukraine and on the "state of play on sanctions and the steps that the G7 will collectively commit to on enforcement in particular."





U.S. President Joe Biden meets Fumio Kishida, Japan's prime minister, prior to a bilateral meeting ahead of the Group of Seven (G-7) leaders summit in Hiroshima, Japan, May 18. Reuters-Yonhap



Russia is now the most-sanctioned country in the world, but there are questions about the effectiveness of the financial penalties despite their breadth.



The U.S., for example, has frozen Russian Central Bank funds, restricted banks' access to SWIFT  the dominant system for global financial transactions  and sanctioned thousands of Russian firms, government officials, oligarchs and their families.



The Group of Seven nations collectively imposed a $60 per-barrel price cap on Russian oil and diesel last year, which the U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday defended in a new progress report , stating that the cap has been successful in suppressing Russian oil revenues. Treasury cites Russian Ministry of Finance data showing that the Kremlin's oil revenues from January to March this year were more than 40 percent lower than last year.



The economic impact of sanctions depends largely on the extent to which a targeted country is able to circumvent them, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report. So for the past month, U.S. Treasury officials have traveled across Europe and Central Asia to press countries that still do business with the Kremlin to cut their financial ties.



G7 leaders and invited guests from several other counties are also expected to discuss how to deal with China's growing assertiveness and military buildup as concerns rise that it could try to seize Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict. China claims the self-governing island as its own and its ships and warplanes regularly patrol near it.



Security was tight in Hiroshima, with thousands of police deployed throughout the city. A small group of protesters was considerably outnumbered by police as they gathered Wednesday evening beside the ruins of the Atomic Peace Dome memorial, holding signs including one which read "No G7 Imperialist Summit!"



In a bit of dueling diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting the leaders of the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for a two-day summit in the Chinese city of Xi'an starting Thursday.



During the meeting in Hiroshima, Kishida hopes to highlight the risks of nuclear proliferation. The leaders on Friday are scheduled to visit a memorial park that commemorates the 1945 atomic bombing by the U.S. that destroyed the city and killed 140,000 people.



North Korea's nuclear program and a spate of recent missile tests have crystalized fears of a potential attack. So have Russia's threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. China, meanwhile, is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal.





President Joe Biden, left, holds a bilateral meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Hiroshima, Japan, May 18, ahead of the start of the G-7 Summit. AP-Yonhap
CityLink owner Transurbans plan to take over EastLink has raised concerns the toll road giant will gain an inescapable stranglehold over Melbourne, freezing out potential rivals and giving the company undue influence to shape Victorias transport network in its interests.

The $45 billion ASX-listed giant confirmed in February that it wants to buy the 39-kilometre freeway that runs between Mitcham and Frankston from owner Horizon Roads, which has said it will put a controlling 55 per cent stake up for sale mid-year.

Transurban, which operates CityLink, is looking to buy the EastLink tollroad. Credit: Wayne Taylor

Transurban would become the only toll operator in Victoria if successful  with EastLink joining its CityLink tollways on the Monash and Tullamarine freeways, the Bolte Bridge, and Burnley and Domain tunnels, as well as the new $10 billion West Gate Tunnel when it opens in 2025.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched an inquiry into the proposed takeover, looking at whether the sale would let Transurban gouge motorists, impact competition between roads, or reduce competition from rival operators for future toll road projects.
Police made a huge dent in WAs drug industry this week after they seized $14 million worth of methamphetamine from a Ballajura property, arresting ex-bikie Mohammed Charif Oueida.

Oueida was charged at his northern suburbs property on Thursday as part of what police say was an ongoing investigation into suspected drug trafficking activity in Western Australia.

Alleged drug kingpin Mohammed Oueida.

A second man, Christopher Mark Mitchell, 49, from Ellenbrook, was also arrested at the address, with police alleging he was a delivery driver who arrived at the premises before police entered.

A duffle bag was located inside the home containing 14 kilograms of methamphetamine.
An Australian man who spent seven years in captivity in west Africa after being kidnapped by terror group al-Qaeda has been released and reunited with his family after a remarkable struggle for survival.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Ken Elliott, 88, was safe and well, applauding his fortitude for surviving after being captured in Burkina Faso in 2016.

Dr Ken Elliott has been freed after spending seven years being held captive in West Africa.

Elliott and wife Jocelyn spent 43 years running a 120-bed hospital in Djibo, a town in northern Burkina Faso, before al-Qaeda extremists stormed their home, pulled them from their beds and abducted them to an unknown location.

Jocelyn Elliott was released after about three weeks while her husband, the only surgeon for the 2 million people in the area, remained in captivity.
However, since the vote was primarily a rejection of Morrison rather than an endorsement of Albanese, it did not matter. Here he was, the beneficiary of the main propellant of modern-day politics: negative partisanship, in which voters are motivated more by animosity towards the other side rather affection for their own. Fortunately, for an underwhelming Albanese, the 2022 contest was about loathing not love. There was no groundswell for the Labor leader.

During the 2022 campaign, the teals often made the case against a tired and untrustworthy Coalition government more effectively than he did. After a series of stumbles , he ended the campaign as he started it, without having clearly demonstrated that he was oven-ready for The Lodge.

The lucky country has a lucky leader - a statement which I mean to be taken literally, rather than to mimic Donald Hornes legendary sledge against second-rate Australian politicians. For charmed is the prime minister who gets to peer across the dispatch box at an opposition leader as deeply unpopular as Peter Dutton, and blessed is the opposition leader who gets to fight a federal election against a prime minister as deeply unpopular as Scott Morrison. When Anthony Albanese rose to the leadership of the ALP, his main rival, Tanya Plibersek, was confronting a family trauma  which she has spoken of heartrendingly since  that precluded her from entering the race for the leadership. He rose to power a year ago this weekend with the lowest Labor primary vote since the 1930s.

On the international front, Albanese must thank his lucky stars that Joe Biden is the US president rather than Donald Trump. Always it helps to have an ideological fellow traveller in the White House  although Biden is a pragmatic centrist who has moved further to the left, whereas Albanese is a pragmatic leftist who has moved closer to the centre. Not being able to celebrate his first year in charge by hosting the Quad summit in his home city is a deflating personal blow. But better to have a friend in Washington who cancels on you than a bully who trashes you on Twitter.

On the home front, unpopular Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe is a useful foil. The governor can be blamed for hiking interest rates rather than the treasurer. It helps, too, that the Murdoch empire does not wield anywhere near the power of old or instil the same political fear. Besides, The Daily Telegraph has long had a soft spot for Albo and reckons it helped save him his inner west seat of Grayndler from a Greens challenge at the 2016 election. The Teles Save Our Albo front page hangs in his electoral office in Marrickville.

llustration: John Shakespeare. Credit:

Yet just as we made the mistake of underestimating him in the run-up to last years election, it would be error to under-praise him now. Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity, according to the motivational meme. This he demonstrated on election night by delivering a command performance which included his promise to push for the Voice. Within the first paragraph of his victory speech, a small election was vested with larger meaning. That he has reached his first anniversary as prime minister without ever really having to check out of the honeymoon suite is an impressive achievement.

Obviously, he still benefits from not being Scott Morrison. After the truth-twisting of the ScoMo years, Honest Albo has built on his longstanding reputation for unshowy matter-of-factness. After Morrisons singular approach to governance, with its secretive ministerial power grab and Trumpian I alone can fix it overtones, he understands the importance of team work and transparency.
More than 8 per cent of young school-aged children are participants of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, fuelling concerns that more severe autism is being over-diagnosed so that families can receive support for their struggling kids.

Quarterly NDIS data published on Friday reveals 11 per cent of 5 to 7-year-old boys and 5 per cent of girls are participants of the scheme  representing a jump of almost one percentage point in just three months.

For participants under 18 years old, who make up more than half of those enrolled for NDIS, autism is the most common disability (54 per cent) followed by developmental delay (21 per cent). Both are more prevalent in boys than girls.

But Jim Mullan, the chief executive of peak autism body Amaze, said the rates of autism suggested by the NDIS statistics were greater than a scale we would normally expect to see.
Victoria could end native forest logging before its 2030 deadline without paying contractual penalties, according to fresh legal advice commissioned by environmental groups.

The Andrews government is contractually obliged to supply pulpwood, a by-product of harvesting for sawlogs, to Maryvale pulp and paper mill.

Maryvale mill relies on pulpwood  a byproduct of logging in native forests  to make paper and cardboard. Credit: Simon Schluter

Opal Australian Paper, a subsidiary of Japanese paper giant Nippon, operates the Maryvale mill  the biggest employer in the Latrobe Valley.

In February, the Maryvale mill  the last producer of white paper in Australia  announced it would cease the production of white paper, but would continue making paperboard, kraft paper, corrugated board and folding cartons.
Another female detainee claimed another officer acted inappropriately while they were playing sports. Loading [The child] has witnessed [the guard] touch his front part or crotch area as he is looking at the girls. This makes [her] feel scared, the ALS said. ALS lawyers claimed another incident in December quickly escalated to violence in the centres library after two officers mistakenly thought a girl was defacing centre property with a pen when she was actually writing on her own body. The girl then picked up a chair and was told to put it down as the officers picked up chairs themselves and hit the girl on either side of her head at the same time, leaving her with lumps on either side of her head.

She was then placed in handcuffs and moved into a hog-tie or folded up position  a practice which is now banned in the centre  and dragged across the floor while restrained. Pettitt lashed the McGowan government for its response to the issue, including waving off the relevance of disorders such as foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which is prevalent in the centre; in 2018 nine out of 10 detainees have been found to have a severe neurodevelopmental impairment, according to the Telethon Kids Institutes research. If the state government continues with business as usual at Banksia Hill and Unit 18, it will only be a matter of time before there is a tragic and entirely avoidable death of a child in custody, he said. ALS said it had not received a substantive response from the Department of Justice to the systemic and administrative issues raised in the letters.

The comprehensive failure to properly respond to these complaint letters is disgraceful but entirely in keeping with a government which has no answers to the crisis confronting juvenile detention and which seeks to deflect blame by demonising young people in its care, WA branch chief executive Wayne Nannup said. A Department of Justice spokeswoman said the department always followed up claims of staff misconduct with complainants. Since January 1, ALS had raised 42 allegations of misconduct at Banksia Hill and Unit 18, of which 30 had been closed with 29 resulting in no disciplinary breach and one with an officer counselled after an adverse finding. Ten will be investigated further while two are being assessed. The executive director of people, culture and standards meets regularly with representatives of the ALS WA and provides progress updates about complaints. The last meeting occurred on April 4 in which a number of case files were discussed, the spokeswoman said. Corrective Services Minister Bill Johnston said if anyone had allegations of unprofessional conduct within the Department of Justice, then it should be referred to the departments professional standards directorate.

Alternatively if anyone has any evidence of illegal actions by a youth custodial officer, it should be referred to a relevant authority such as WA Police or the Corruption and Crime Commission, he said. The union representing the guards said the contents of the letters were distressing and said the current state of youth detention in WA was serving no one. Loading Our members want a safe centre, safe staffing ratios and practices and a therapeutic model of care that enables the genuine rehabilitation of young people in detention. We are deeply concerned for the physical and psychosocial safety of staff and young people, CPSU/CSA WA secretary Rikki Hendon said. We are only here because successive Governments have failed to invest in a safe and effective youth justice system. We call on the McGowan Government to fulfil its legal obligations to staff and young people at the centre.

The letters were made public days after a group of 40 WA Aboriginal leaders including Noongar elders Dr Richard Walley and Doreen Nelson met to urge the McGowan government to change tack on youth justice. The continued decay of the Youth Justice system in WA cannot be hidden by a smokescreen of inflammatory language and political grandstanding, the group said in a statement. Compliant girls zip-tied during riot Disturbing details of last weeks riot continue to emerge including reports in The West Australian that a male and female detainee took the opportunity to have sex during the 14-hour standoff. The revelation was made by the law firm Levitt Robinson, which is running two class actions against the state government on behalf of Banksia Hill and Unit 18 detainees.

It casts doubts on assurances given by Department of Justice deputy commissioner Christine Ginbey the day after the riot, that three girls who were freed during the riot were quickly taken back to safety by centre staff. Loading WAtoday can also reveal that the six compliant girls not involved in the riot were taken to the centres gymnasium and had their arms zip-tied behind their backs for more than three hours as the incident unfolded. The justice spokeswoman said detainees not involved in the incident were moved to the gymnasium for their own safety and for security purposes. She also said it would not be appropriate to comment about individual detainees but throughout the riot, detainees were offered multiple opportunities to surrender to staff and be taken to a safe place.
While Australias close neighbour is peaceful and a thriving democracy, it remains one of the poorest countries in Asia, held back by myriad difficulties, from sporadic access to clean water and electricity in rural areas to troubling rates of infant mortality and stunting in children. Ricardino de Orleans Carlos, centre, says leaders need to prioritise opportunities for young people. Credit: Raimundos Oki Youth unemployment is also a big issue, with the job market unable to absorb the thousands who emerge from high school and university each year. Magno, who hails from the southern town of Suai but lives in the capital, Dili, would like the next government to invest in Timor-Lestes agricultural sector to create new opportunities, and also to prioritise education. In the past, the youth wrote on the postcards that they wanted the young people of the future to have access to good education, she said.

But right now, we dont have access to good education and facilities, especially in the rural areas. Education is the key for our future so that we can achieve anything. Two hours drive south in mountainside Maubisse, the youth are also clamouring for change. The young people of Timor will be out en masse this Sunday. Credit: Raimundos Oki At a pre-election rally there for Gusmaos National Council of Timorese Resistance, they spoke about local challenges such as the low quality of roads connecting the town centre to the more remote villages and of a desire for the tourism sector to be developed to take advantage of the countrys scenic landscape and views. The big thing I hope from the new government is to look after the future of the new generation. To create better job opportunities, said 20-year-old Ricardino de Orleans Carlos.

Loading As the new generation graduates to voting age, Timor-Lestes celebrated political elites are still the centre of attention. But there are signs even they are beginning to cast an eye to the future. Independence hero Gusmao has had his 20-year-old Australian-raised son Kay Olo, who is something of a TikTok star, with him on stage at campaign events. Olo has a thick Australian accent  a product of his Melbourne upbringing with his mother, Gusmaos ex-wife Kirsty Sword Gusmao  but he can speak Tetum, the Timorese language. He intends to spend more time in Timor-Leste and party officials already have designs on him going into politics one day. Kay Olo, son of Xanana and Kirsty Gusmao, grew up in Australia, but now leaves in Timor-Leste. Credit: TikTok/@sensi_200 As for his father and his fellow elders, with another five years until the next poll, this could be their last outing barring a snap election in between.

One would assume that, the [Mohamad] Mahathir model notwithstanding ... people are expecting a political transition in the term of parliament coming, said Swinburne University of Technology professor Michael Leach, referring to the former Malaysian prime minister, who was 94 when he last held the post in 2020. These leaders have all that resistance-era legitimacy. They are capable of uniting the country. They have a glorious history of a successful independence struggle. The next generation of leaders  some of them were clandestine activists and bring that sort of legitimacy as well. Kay Olo, left, with his mum Kirsty Sword Gusmao and siblings Alex, right, and Daniel in 2013. Credit: Simon Schulter But those younger ones are less associated with the military resistance. That said, they are also less divided. This generation has had a lot of political conflicts. The next generation, it is hoped, will be a lot more unified. Parker Novak, a Timor-Leste analyst and non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Councils Global China Hub, said the so-called generation of 1975 had retained political relevance because so much of Timorese identity was wrapped up in the resistance to Indonesian rule.

But many in the younger masses are focused on modern-day realities, rather than the tragedy and ultimately triumph that came before them. Loading They grew up after the occupation. For some of them its the past. Theyre young, theyre hungry, they perhaps want more, Novak said. They revere their leaders, they trust them, but youre also seeing signs of frustration with their ability to find a job and make a living. I take the view that theyre thirsty for more and that changes the political dynamics moving forward. Magno, the university student, is among those already acting to improve the nation.
Latest News Australian Mortgage Awards nominations open Get your 2023 entries in for industry's night of nights

MFAA national conference: Brokers focus on future 900 participants urged to embrace change

The CEO of artificial intelligence consulting firm Simplyai, Anthony Scott, has said AI and automation in banking could make brokers twice as productive, and also lead to greater mortgage market competition.

Simplyai is an automation and artificial intelligence consulting services business with five regional bank clients that has recently been acquired by mid-market investment group Liverpool Partners.

Scott (pictured above) said the development and roll-out of AI within banking would speed up the processing of mortgages, which could allow some brokers to double the number of applications they submitted.

One banking customer we have worked with was able to automate their mortgage loan origination process down from 23 days to under seven minutes, Scott said.

This included cutting out waiting times for bank staff to review submitted application documents, via the automated identification and notification of missing pieces of customer information.

End-to-end automated process that include assessing applications against loan criteria, decisioning and issuing pre-approvals can result in 85% of loans going straight through, Scott said.

Staff within the banks can then be redirected towards problem solving the remaining applications.

What we are automating is those straight through, high volume, low value processes  they just go through, you get a quick answer, and that then frees up staff to problem solve the rest, Scott said.

For brokers, Scott said this would result in a fast response if there was missing information, so brokers would not need to wait out the banks broker service level agreement periods again and again.

It could also make brokers much more productive when it comes to their submitted loan volumes.

There is a greater opportunity for brokers to bring more work on without the overheads. They will be able to process a higher volume of loans because a lot will be automated, Scott said.

This could see a one- or two-person broker businesses managing 10 to 20 applications a week, doubling their output without having to increase their footprint, making their business more viable.

Scott said brokers should be encouraging the banks that they deal with to adopt AI and automation due to the faster turnarounds available for customers and advantages for their businesses.

This type of automation improves the customer experience, as well as the staff experience. Brokers should be putting pressure on the institutions they deal with for faster turnarounds.

Another aspect of Simplyais work includes working data to ensure it is structured correctly, such as looking up a post code to ensure it matches a suburb, or ensuring a street name is correct.

Improving the data integrity is improving the whole experience, Scott said. The key to this is that you want a human being to maintain and own those key moments with the customer, and you want to get rid of the low value processing type of work. You want to be able to concentrate on delighting and adding value to that customer.

Simplyai said AI and automation could drive greater competition in the Australian banking industry and mortgage market by making smaller regional banks more competitive.

The firm said that regional banks in the past had largely been unable to compete with the majors on data analysis, and as a result, credit worthiness and risk management.

How will AI improve your broker business? Tell us in the comments section below
Latest News Australian Mortgage Awards nominations open Get your 2023 entries in for industry's night of nights

MFAA national conference: Brokers focus on future 900 participants urged to embrace change

Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, NAB, and ANZ, as well as 13 other Australian banks, have rolled out a new digital platform that will facilitate the quick reporting of fraudulent payments en route or transferred to another bank.

Owned and operated by the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange (AFCX), an independent body built and funded by Australian banks, the new Fraud Reporting Exchange (FRX) platform will help disrupt scammers by enabling faster and more targeted reporting of scam payments in real time, boosting the chances of recovering as much money as possible for scam victims.

Given every minute can be crucial in disrupting scams, the launch of the FRX is a major development, said Anna Bligh (pictured above), Australian Banking Association (ABA) CEO. It means more and more scammers are going to hit a brick wall and adds to the arsenal of anti-scam initiatives underway.

With 17 banks already on board or in the process of joining the FRX, banks are now better placed to jointly identify funds which have been fraudulently transferred, which should improve their ability to prevent any further losses to a customer.

A trial of the FRX platform has shown that the time to resolve most scam cases declined by more than half.

David Pegley, AFCX managing director, said the new FRX platform will help enable a more streamlined approach to managing scams.

Thanks to the banking sector, and particularly the four major banks, this new platform is set to make an impact on scammers and can also be used to help to bring together banks and any other organisations involved in payments, Pegley said.

Bligh said it is critical that consumers report a fraudulent or scam payment to their bank ASAP.

The sooner that banks know about a fraud, the sooner they can take swift action to try to halt the payment before it gets to the scammers, she said.

Below are the key features of FRX:

Near real-time reporting of fraudulent transactions between member banks

The ability to, where possible, halt multiple fraudulent transactions taking place as part of the same scam

Shared intelligence between banks to assist with fraud and loss prevention efforts

A faster, more streamlined return of funds, where possible

Secure and tracked communications between member banks within the platform with agreed timeframes, reducing the need for multiple phone calls and emails between banks

ABA members who have joined, or are in the process of joining, the fraud reporting exchange also included AMP, Bank Australia, BOQ, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, HSBC, ING, Macquarie, MyState, Rabobank, and Suncorp. Three Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) banks are also in the process of joining the platform.

What do you think about this new move? Wed love to hear from you in the comments below.
Clockwise from left, U.S. President Joe Biden, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council Charles Michel, Italy's Premier Giorgia Meloni, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, France's President Emmanuel Macron and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend a meeting during the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima, western Japan, May 19. AP-Yonhap



Leaders of the world's most powerful democracies huddled Friday to discuss new ways to punish Russia for its 15-month invasion of Ukraine, days before President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joins the Group of Seven summit in person on Sunday.



Zelenskyy will be making his furthest trip from of his war-torn country as leaders are set to unveil new sanctions on Russia for its invasion. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, confirmed on national television that Zelenskyy would attend the summit.



"We were sure that our president would be where Ukraine needed him, in any part of the world, to solve the issue of stability of our country," Danilov said Friday. "There will be very important matters decided there, so physical presence is a crucial thing to defend our interests".



Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear threats against Ukraine, along with North Korea's months-long barrage of missile tests and China's rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal, have resonated with Japan's push to make nuclear disarmament a major part of the summit. World leaders Friday visited a peace park dedicated to the tens of thousands who died in the world's first wartime atomic bomb detonation.



Japanese leader Fumio Kishida said he invited Zelenskyy to the G7 Summit during his visit to Kyiv in March.



Zelenskyy is also set to appear virtually at a Friday meeting of G7 leaders, where they are to be updated on battlefield conditions and agree to toughen their efforts to constrain Moscow's war effort.



After group photos near the city's iconic bombed-out dome, a wreath-laying and a symbolic tree planting, a new round of sanctions were to be unveiled against Moscow, with a focus on redoubling efforts to enforce existing sanctions meant to stifle Russia's war effort and hold accountable those behind it, a U.S. official said. Russia is now the most-sanctioned country in the world, but there are questions about the effectiveness of the financial penalties.



The U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement, said the U.S. component of the actions would blacklist about 70 Russian and third-country entities involved in Russia's defense production, and sanction more than 300 individuals, entities, aircraft and vessels.



The official added that the other G7 nations would undertake similar steps to further isolate Russia and to undermine its ability to wage war in Ukraine. Details were to emerge over the course of the weekend summit.





Wife of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Akshata Murty, U.S. First Lady Jill Biden, wife of Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Yuko Kishida, wife of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britta Ernst, and husband of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Heiko von der Leyen, lay flower wreaths at the Cenotaph for Atomic Bomb Victims in the Peace Memorial Park as a part of G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima, western Japan, May 19, in this handout photo released by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Reuters-Yonhap



The European Union was focused on closing the door on loopholes and plans to restrict trade in Russian diamonds, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, told reporters early Friday.



He said the G7 would also try to convey to leaders of countries that are non-member guests at the summit why it's so important to enforce sanctions.



Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, wants nuclear disarmament to be a major focus of discussions, and he formally started the summit at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park. The visit by world leaders to a park dedicated to preserving reminders of Aug. 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, provided a striking backdrop to the start the summit. An estimated 140,000 people were killed in the attack, and a fast-dwindling number of now-elderly survivors have ensured that Hiroshima has become synonymous with anti-nuclear peace efforts.



"Honestly, I have big doubts if Mr. Kishida, who is pursuing a military buildup and seeking to revise the pacifist constitution, can really discuss nuclear disarmament," Sueichi Kido, a 83-year-old "hibakusha" or survivor of the Nagasaki explosion, told The Associated Press. "But because they are meeting in Hiroshima I do have a sliver of hope that they will have positive talks and make a tiny step toward nuclear disarmament."



On Thursday night, Kishida opened the global diplomacy by sitting down with President Joe Biden after Biden's arrival at a nearby military base . Kishida also held talks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before the three-day gathering of leaders opens .



The Japan-U.S. alliance is the "very foundation of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region," Kishida told Biden in opening remarks. Japan, facing threats from authoritarian China, Russia and North Korea, has been expanding its military but also relies on 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan and U.S. military might.








The guests have been invited to meet the senior officials of the conglomerate and wine and dine at a five-star hotel near Mumbai's international airport. In a bid to restore their confidence in the Adani Group companies, Gautam Adani has invited bankers on a trip between June 8 and 10, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Thursday. The trip will include a visit to the new airport his conglomerate is building outside Mumbai as well as his port in Mundra, Gujarat.



Previously, Adani Enterprises had called off a $2.4 billion follow-on public offer (FPO) following the sharp sell-off in its shares owing to allegations in the report by US-based Hindenburg Research. The development comes as two of the group's companies -- Adani Transmission and Adani Enterprises -- are seeking to raise a combined $2.5 billion. The boards of the companies approved the plan last week.



The report has till now wiped off $100 billion from the market value of the Adani Group's listed companies. The invitation is also the first such development after the report was released in January. The conglomerate has in the past been supported by big banks like Standard Chartered, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank but mostly all of them have been reluctant to lend money since the allegations of misappropriation of funds surfaced in the report.

Also Read Give report on Adani-Hindenburg probe by August 14, SC tells Sebi MPC lowers projection for inflation, raises growth outlook a bit in FY24 Adani-Hindenburg: May grant Sebi a three-month extension for probe, says SC Wipro to consider buyback proposal; board meeting on April 26-27 To win back investors' trust, Adani Group to probe Hindenburg allegations AWS to invest Rs 1.05 trillion to boost cloud infrastructure in India Big win for Twitter, Google at US Supreme Court in internet liability cases Disney scraps plans for new Florida campus as fight with Guv continues Twitter allows verified users to upload 2-hour long videos on platform Insolvency filing depressing in growing Indian market: Airbus India chief

Moreover, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is also investigating the group over the allegations in the report. The Supreme Court has appointed a panel to assist Sebi. They were given two months to submit a report based on the findings of the probe. But earlier this week, Sebi was given an extension til August 14 to do so.


Amazon's cloud computing unit on Thursday said that the planned investment in data centre infrastructure in India will support an estimated average of 1,31,700 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in Indian businesses each year. Amazon Web Services (AWS) WILL invest Rs 1.05 trillion into cloud infrastructure in India by 2030 as it looks to meet growing customer demand for cloud services in the country.



In the statement, AWS said it plans to invest Rs 1.05 trillion into cloud infrastructure in India and added its long-term commitment in India will reach Rs 1.36 trillion by 2030. These positions, including construction, facility maintenance, engineering, telecommunications, and other jobs, are part of the data centre supply chain in India.



"This investment is estimated to contribute Rs 1.94 trillion to India's total gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030," the statement said. This follows AWS' investment of Rs 30,900 crore between 2016 and 2022, which will bring AWS' total investment in India to Rs 1.36 trillion by 2030.

Also Read AWS to invest $4.4 bn in India by 2030 through new Hyderabad region service Budget 2023 to increase capex for infra projects for growth: Experts Accenture partners with AWS to launch cloud acceleration platform Q3 GDP numbers: Taking a look at some high-frequency indicators China's crackdown on data access adds to list of missing statistics Big win for Twitter, Google at US Supreme Court in internet liability cases Disney scraps plans for new Florida campus as fight with Guv continues Twitter allows verified users to upload 2-hour long videos on platform Insolvency filing depressing in growing Indian market: Airbus India chief Godrej Agrovet, SBI partner to offer loans to palm oil farmers: Report



AWS has two data centre infrastructure regions in India -- the AWS Asia Pacific (Mumbai) Region, launched in 2016, and the AWS Asia Pacific (Hyderabad) Region, launched in November 2022. AWS added that its investment in India has a ripple effect in the local economy in areas, such as workforce development, training and skilling opportunities, community engagement, and sustainability initiatives.



AWS has invested more than Rs 30,900 crore in the AWS Asia Pacific (Mumbai) Region between 2016 and 2022. This included both capital and operating expenditures associated with constructing, maintaining, and operating the data centres in that region. "The two AWS Regions are designed to provide Indian customers with multiple options to run workloads with even greater resilience and availability, securely store data in India, and serve end-users with low latency," it said.



"PM Narendra Modi's Digital India vision is driving expansion of cloud & data centres in India," Minister of state for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrashekhar said. Its overall contribution to the GDP of India between 2016 and 2022 was more than Rs 38,200 crore, and the investment supported nearly 39,500 FTE jobs annually in Indian businesses, AWS estimates.



"MeitY is also working on a Cloud and Data Centre Policy to catalyse innovation, sustainability, and growth of India Cloud," the minister said. The latest investment will catalyse India's digital economy.



AWS observed that hundreds of thousands of its customers in India run their workloads on AWS to drive cost savings, accelerate innovation, and increase speed time to market. Puneet Chandok, president of commercial business - AWS India and South Asia at Amazon Web Services India, said the planned investment will "help create more beneficial ripple effects, supporting India on its path to becoming a global digital powerhouse."



AWS also helps several Indian businesses build digital solutions locally that can be scaled globally through the AWS Partner Network (APN) where Indian partners can use programmes, expertise, and resources to build, market, and sell customer offerings. This includes government entities such as Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, public healthcare institutions like Aarogyasri Health Care Trust, large Indian enterprises such as Ashok Leyland, Axis Bank, HDFC Life and Titan, small and medium businesses like Havmor, Qube Cinema, and Narayana Nethralaya, and startups like BankBazaar, HirePro, M2P, and Yubi, among others.
By Mohi Narayan

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Oil Corp., the country's top refiner, said on Friday it is looking to decarbonise its petrochemical feedstocks by introducing bio-naphtha at its crackers.

"To attain sustainability, bio-based feedstocks such as bio-naphtha and bio-ethanol are being envisaged as the natural transition for the petrochemical industry," the company's Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said at Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference, without providing a timeline.

Bio-naphtha is typically obtained from hydro-treatment of used vegetable and cooking oils.

"It is under research and development at our Faridabad facility in northern India... we have kept the used cooking oil pathway open but we're trying to get it via bio-ethanol," the company's executive director of petrochemicals, A. S. Sahney, told Reuters on the sidelines of the event.

Also Read IndianOil, Adani-Total, Shell lap up Reliance's KG-D6 gas; IOC top bidder Fuels from Russian crude oil get backdoor entry into Europe via India Kirit Parikh panel may recommend price caps to help moderate CNG rates Reliance makes rare buy of Russian naphtha, ups fuel oil imports: Data CNG, piped gas prices to be cut but no clarity on deregulation: Analysts Tesla delegation stops short of committing to India plant in renewed talks Shein is coming back to India. Here's why it was banned in the past Suzlon bags 69 MW wind energy order from Nordic Energy's Indian subsidary Why is Tesla so confused about Indian market? Challenges and opportunities In Adani-Hindenburg saga hard to pinpoint regulatory failure, says SC panel

(Reporting by Mohi Narayan; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Biotechnology company GeneSys Biologics Pvt Ltd is planning to invest USD 50-60 million to set up a new large-scale recombinant bulk manufacturing facility in Genome Valley here for the production of insulin analogues.

The insulin analogues (medical insulin that are altered forms of the human hormone insulin) will be produced in the recombinant bulk manufacturing facility in which purified bulk insulin will be derived through fermentation.

An official press release said the Hyderabad-based company has already invested approximately USD 50 million in its Genome Valley plant.

Telangana IT and Industries Minister K T Rama Rao expressed delight over the expansion plans of GeneSys saying it will not only contribute to the growth of Hyderabad's biotech sector but also facilitate the company's ongoing collaboration with US-based Civica Rx.

GeneSys has partnered with Civica Rx, a US non-profit generic drug company, to manufacture and distribute affordable insulin.

The minister congratulated both companies as their efforts will contribute to addressing the insulin affordability crisis and improve the lives of patients living with diabetes.

Also Read Kerala should give importance to virology research: NITI Aayog member Pakistan faces shortage of life-saving medicines including insulin: Report Glenmark Pharma launches combination drug for Type 2 diabetic patients Genesys appoints Paypal's Deepa Madhavan as Country Head for India Govt approves Bharat Biotech's intranasal Covid-19 vaccine as booster Berger Paints expects better margin with drop in input costs: Official Maruti Suzuki working on various initiatives to make roads safer: Official SC dismisses Tata Motors plea challenging HC order on disqualification JSW Steel elevates Jayant Acharya as Joint MD, CEO with immediate effect Zomato narrows losses to Rs 188 cr in Q4, expenses fall to Rs 2,431 cr

GeneSys is focused on developing and manufacturing "high-quality, affordable medications, including multiple insulin analogue biosimilars," the release said, adding that the company currently employs about 250 personnel and anticipates adding approximately 300 jobs for its new facility.

Meanwhile, Rama Rao, who is currently on a US tour attending business meetings and roundtables, has met CEOs of more than 30 companies in Washington DC to pitch for IT companies to be set up shop in Tier-II cities of Telangana.

He has been highlighting the growth of IT in Telangana's Tier-II cities and explaining the measures taken by the state government to support the sector, in order to urge the US companies to start operations in the state, another press release said.

Rama Rao also participated in an aerospace and defence roundtable in Washington DC. The event saw the participation of prominent US majors, advisory firms, think tanks, and startups, creating a dynamic platform for discussion and collaboration.

At the roundtable, the minister showcased the spectacular growth of the aerospace sector and private sector defence investments in Telangana in the past nine years, which he said made Hyderabad the most-preferred investment destination for US aerospace and defence corporations.


Lenders have reportedly accused Byjus Alpha, which has no employees, of hiding $500 million as part of a battle between creditors and the edtech giant. The allegation was made during a court hearing on Thursday in Delaware, where Alpha faces a lawsuit over who should control the firm. Lenders claim that because of a default earlier this year, they have the right to put their representative, Timothy R Pohl, in charge. Byjus said on Friday a court in Delaware has given an interim order asking the edtech giant to maintain status quo with Byjus Alpha, an inoperative US entity set up to receive a loan, but rejected as "bewildering" claims made by litigants.



As Alpha is a non-operative entity, Byjus said the funds were transferred to other operative entities for growth and global expansion. Byjus said it entered into a Term Loan B agreement with the clear intention of utilising the raised funds to drive growth and expansion in its global operations and is free to transfer and use the funds as necessary. The litigants have made bewildering claims that Byjus 'moved' $500 million from Byjus Alpha, insinuating that these acts were somehow wrongful, said Byjus legal team. This is entirely incorrect. We categorically deny these allegations. The transfers were in full compliance of and did not contravene any terms of the parties Credit Agreement and the agreed-upon rights and responsibilities. In fact, even lenders have not alleged that the transfer was not permitted under parties existing contractual arrangement.



There have been no monetary defaults under the loan, said Byjus. The lenders' allegations (which also we dispute) concern merely insignificant technical and non-monetary defaults. Additionally, Byjus said it has fulfilled all its contractual payment obligations as agreed upon in the Term Loan B signed in 2021 and has not missed a single payment.

Also Read Byju's allegedly buying contacts of children, threatening parents: NCPCR Edtech major Byju's to raise $700 million in fresh funding round this month Byju's lenders ready for loan restructuring but want $200 mn prepayment After many rocking years, we needed a rocky year: Byju's CEO Raveendran Edtech giant Byju's lays off nearly 1,000 employees across verticals Google to kill 3rd-party cookies for 1% of Chrome users early next year Hyundai, Kia agree to $200 mn settlement over TikTok car theft challenge Suzlon Energy secures fourth wind energy project order in less than a month Sign of the times: Infosys cuts employees' variable pay for Q4 FY23 to 60% Adani Group stocks lose $10 billion in value as MSCI exclusion weighs



Byjus Alpha was sued by an agent for lenders who are owed $1.2 billion after months of negotiations between creditors and the education technology firm, according to a Bloomberg report. The lawsuit was filed by Glas Trust Company and investor Timothy R Poh, Tangible Play, and Riju Ravindran. The two companies being sued are units of Think and Learn Private, the edtech giant founded by Byju Raveendran. The case is Glas Trust Company vs Riju Ravindran, 2023-0488, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington). The company said the order does not have any bearing on any other subsidiary of Byjus anywhere in the world. Further, this is a temporary order and the Court has not made any final determination against Byjus Alpha, including in relation to the transfer, said Byjus.



In the face of unrealistic and unacceptable terms being demanded by a collective of lenders engaged primarily in opportunistic trades, we remain steadfast in our pursuit of a fair and equitable resolution through good-faith negotiations, said Byjus legal team. Our unwavering commitment to meeting all our financial obligations is demonstrated by our impeccable track record of consistently honouring timely payments. Riju Ravindran is a director of Think and Learn Private Limited, according to a regulatory filing. Tangible Play is the business behind Osmo, the US-based educational gaming company Byjus bought in 2019 for $120 million in a stock-and-cash deal.



Last year in December, a group of creditors asked Byjus to liquidate its assets in the US worth about $500-800 million to repay a part of a $1.2-billion loan if the firm is not able to provide the money from its cash reserves, according to sources in the know. If Byjus cannot repay or is unable to liquidate the US assets, the creditors had mentioned that they could take legal action, said people familiar with the matter. The lenders had hired Houlihan Lokey, a global investment bank that focuses on mergers and acquisitions, to advise them on amending covenants after Byjus allegedly breached terms, according to the sources. Earlier this year Byjus sought more time from lenders to renegotiate an agreement governing a $1.2 billion loan that is in breach of covenants, according to people familiar with the matter. The lenders also pushed back against a company proposal to restructure the $1.2 billion term loan.



The new funding round is expected to help Byjus meet its financing needs amid a funding winter and pay a portion of the $1.2 billion term loan B that the company raised in 2021, according to the sources. They said the firm is also planning an Rs 8,000-crore initial public offering (IPO) of its subsidiary, Aakash. Aakash was acquired by Byjus for $1 billion in 2021. The lawsuit has come at a time when Byjus has closed a Rs 2,000 crore ($250 million) round from Davidson Kempner Capital Management, a US-based investment firm, in a structured instruments deal, according to people familiar with the matter. This is part of an ongoing $1-billion funding round the Bengaluru-based firm is raising in a mix of equity and structured instruments at its current valuation of $22 billion.



The searches allegedly revealed that the company received foreign direct investment of about Rs 28,000 crore between 2011 and 2023. Byjus has made a number of overseas acquisitions (investing an amount of approx. Rs. 9,000 crore) over the years as part of its growth strategy. The lawsuit in Delaware has also come at a time when Indias Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently conducted search and seizure operations at three premises of Byjus under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).



The US-based asset manager BlackRock recently reduced the valuation of the Byjus by about 50 per cent to $11.5 billion. This is a sharp decrease from the $22 billion at which the Bengaluru-based edtech decacorn was last valued in 2022. Byjus posted losses of Rs 4,588 crore in FY21, 19 times more than the preceding year, according to the latest available financial report. Byjus, valued at $22 billion, was targeting to be profitable by March this year. Byjus has raised $5.8 billion in total from investors like Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Sumeru Ventures, Vitruvian Partners, BlackRock, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia, Silver Lake, Bond Capital, Tencent, General Atlantic and Tiger Global. The firm has over 150 million learners.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)
Since we are not doing any cash appraisals this year, and since all of you have been working so hard, we have decided to accelerate everyones vesting by one year. For options that are getting vested before August 31, 2024 acceleration will happen and vesting will be done immediately (or as soon as you complete one year). Vesting of the remaining unvested options will be preponed by a year, Gaurav Munjal, co-founder and chief executive officer of Unacademy told his employees in an internal note, according to the sources. This is only applicable for people who are active employees of the company and are not on notice period. This is applicable for Unacademy, Graphy, NextLevel and Cohesive. This is not applicable for Founders and Management of Companies that we acquired since we have a separate Agreement for that.

SoftBank-backed Unacademy has decided to expedite the vesting period of employee stock options (ESOP) by one year for all its employees. There is being done to compensate employees who will not be getting cash appraisals this year.
In this section

First Published: May 19 2023 | 1:13 PM IST

Rajasthan govt to disburse Rs 22,000-cr interest-free crop loans in 2023-24

Centre unlikely to undertake any new PSU disinvestment in 2023-24

India-focused offshore funds, ETFs inflow drop 9% to $803 mn in Q4

Tax bodies must ensure fast closure under trader amnesty scheme: CBIC

El Ninos cost trillions of dollars with lasting economic scars: Study

G20: India asks IMF, FSB to draft new technical paper on crypto assets

G20 foreign ministers' meeting to kick off in Delhi today; all details here

LIVE: Blinken asks for 'contact' with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov

G20 foreign ministers' meeting today: Schedule, agenda, other details here

Crisis in multilateralism affecting developing nations most: PM at G20 meet

Ashokas two millennia old pillar edicts include directives on fish which are "to be fully protected during breeding" and other instructions against their "careless slaughter".

The Ocean 20 Dialogue starting May 21 in Mumbai seeks to support sustainable fishing, too. The event on the use of ocean resources is part of the Group of 20 (G20) talks, and will also look at financing sustainability in the blue economy. That economy has no one definition, but fishing is a key component of it. Indias fish production has grown in recent years and the surge is inland, shows an analysis of government data as seen in chart 1 (click image for interactive chart).

Your browser does not support the audio element.

To read the full story, subscribe to BS Premium now, at just Rs 249/ month.

Key stories on business-standard.com are available only to BS Premium subscribers. Already a BS Premium subscriber?LOGIN NOW

Register to read more on Business-Standard.com
The official observed that the airlines have been advised to increase flights but they are unable to do much because of paucity of fresh capacity (new planes). Go First has squarely blamed Pratt & Whitney (PW) for the cash crunch, stating that it did not supply engines on time, due to which almost half of its 54 aircraft fleet is grounded. Not just Go First, even IndiGo is suffering due to this iss

Go First stopped operating flights from May 3 onwards. The top five routes of the airline, which was operating about 200 flights per day in April, were Delhi-Srinagar, Delhi-Leh, Mumbai-Goa, Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Pune. On such routes, the ministry has observed that the spot airfares have rapidly risen after Go First's exit.
Feng Shih-kuan did not spell out the price the island might be asked to pay. SCMP





Former Taiwanese defense minister Feng Shih-kuan has warned that the island will pay a price for accepting free weapons provided by the United States.



US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed recently that the Pentagon would send "additional security assistance" free of charge to the island amid escalating tensions with mainland China.



Taiwan kicks off annual Han Kuang war games with eye on latest PLA threats



"If you suddenly receive such free aid, you need to pay a certain unthinkable price," Feng told reporters on Thursday when asked to comment on the plan.



Feng, who now heads Taiwan's Veterans Affairs Council, declined to say what that price would be.



Asked if he meant war, Feng replied: "I believe we would not be that stupid, and that there should be some choices." He did not elaborate further.



Beijing has warned the US and other countries not to provide military aid or have exchanges with Taiwan, something it views as a breach of its sovereignty.



The US, like most countries, does not recognize Taiwan as an independent state but is opposed to any forcible change in the status quo and is legally bound to help it defend itself.



Earlier this month, the White House said it would send $500 million worth of free military aid to Taiwan after deliveries of American weapons, including Stinger missiles and F-16V fighter jets, were delayed.



According to Republican Congresswoman Young Kim, the value of the items Taiwan is waiting for has now reached $21 billion.



The US authorized the sale of 250 Stingers to Taiwan in 2019 but the shoulder-mounted missiles have been in demand in Ukraine.



The US State Department has said that the backlog is due to the limited production capacity of the country's defense industry, rather than to any prioritizing of Ukraine.





Taiwanese soldiers fold the national flag during the daily flag ceremony at the National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, May 7. AP-Yonhap
Security personnel while conducting a patrol in the violence-affected area of Manipur recovered a "Remote Initiation Mechanism" for improvised explosive devices (IED) on Wednesday, Army said on Thursday.

"Indian Army Patrol operating along foothills of Imphal East district recovered explosives and Remote Initiation Mechanism for IEDs in Village Bungbal Khullen on Wednesday. Three kilograms of TNT, 15 electric detonators, four circuits, and remote firing devices have also been found," the Spear Corps of the Army said. A major threat was averted by the prompt action of the security forces, said the Army further.

"Area Domination and offering solace and medical assistance to people are being undertaken by multiple long duration patrols day and night by the Army and Assam Rifles columns. These patrols aptly serve as a conduit for communicating problems faced and ensuring early redressal," the Spear Corps said.

Meanwhile, the movement of trucks carrying essential commodities such as rice, sugar, and pulses to Imphal Valley has resumed as the India Army and Assam Rifles stepped in to assure protection to vehicles carrying essential goods to and from Imphal, informed Indian Army officials.

According to the Indian Army, a convoy of 28 vehicles including trucks, fuel tankers, and JCB carrying rice, sugar, pulses, and fuel moved under the escort of CRPF and Manipur Police from Noney to Imphal.

"On May 15, a convoy of 28 vehicles including trucks, fuel tankers, and JCB carrying rice, sugar, pulses, and fuel moved under the escort of CRPF and Manipur Police from Noney to Imphal. Prophylactic domination of the area was provided by Assam Rifles to ensure safe passage to the convoy which reached Imphal safely by afternoon," stated Indian Army officials. In addition, monitoring was also ensured through unmanned aerial vehicles, informed officials.

Also Read 54 dead in Manipur violence, Imphal peaceful, most shops, markets open Imphal peaceful but tense; gunfights between militants, security forces Northeastern Railway cancels all Manipur-bound trains following violence Manipur situation under control, efforts underway to restore normalcy: Army Violence in Manipur a well-planned conspiracy, alleges JNU Professor State's performance good, despite Centre's unfavourable approach: Kerala FM Country-based quota behind long Green Card wait time for India: Official Delhi to expect a dry morning as humidity levels drop to 57%, says IMD IndiGo reinstates cabin crew bonus after 2nd consecutive profitable quarter BSF seizes gold worth Rs 86 lakh at Indo-Bangladesh border in WB's Nadia

"Together for Peace in #Manipur" Movement of vehicles on NH 37 commenced on 15 May. The same ensured beefing up of essential supplies, levels of which were gradually dwindling. #IndianArmy and #AssamRifles are committed to safely move through troops on ground & aerial surveillance," Tweeted Spear Corps, Indian Army.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday announced a month-long programme to expand his Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party's network in over 45,000 villages in urban civic bodies in Maharashtra.

Rao made the announcement while addressing the party cadres' training programme in Nanded, where he asserted that the efforts taken by his party workers during this 30-day exercise may change the politics of Maharashtra.

This was his fourth rally in Maharashtra in four months - of which three were held in Nanded district alone. His first rally was held in February this year.

"We will go to over 45,000 villages in Maharashtra and in 5,000 municipal wards in civic bodies," Rao said at the training programme attended by party representatives from across 288 Assembly constituencies in Maharashtra.

He asked party workers to form nine committees at each place, comprising farmers, youth, women, backward classes, tribals, minorities, students and workers.

"From May 22 to June 22, go to five villages in a day. Spend two hours in each village. The efforts taken in these 30 days will change the politics of Maharashtra," Rao told BRS workers.

Also Read SC faults Maha governor and speaker, but won't restore Thackeray govt Time has come for farmers to run the country: KCR at BRS' national rally Telangana CM KCR hails startups for making history in space sector YS Sharmila, Telangana's X-factor, turns out to be new irritant for KCR Delhi excise policy case: CBI to question KCR's daughter in H'bad tomorrow Is Centre conspiring to overturn SC order on services matters: Kejriwal Adequate security arrangements in place in view of farmers' meet: Police Sisodia's letter from Tihar jail calls for education as key to equality Demands of wrestlers should be met, impartial probe be carried out: Pilot DRDO tank 'Zorawar' to be ready for trials by year-end along China border

He asked the party workers to eat with farmers and Dalits.

"Other parties are rich, we are a poor party...The party workers should remain simple and have food with farmers or Dalits in those villages," he said.

"India awaits new leadership. India is fed up with present leaders. Today we are focusing on Maharashtra. Tomorrow you will have to work in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh," he said.

The party workers trained in Maharashtra will go to other states in the country to expand the party's base, he said, adding, "Once the party work in Maharashtra begins, I will also go to the states in north India for a couple of weeks and work for the BRS there."



Highlighting that change was the way to achieve progress, Rao said, "In the recent Karnataka polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost and the Congress came to power. But nothing will change there either. Countries like China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia changed themselves and moved ahead with their past experiences. They changed themselves. These countries, which were once behind us, have now gone ahead of us."



Nine years back, the situation in Telangana was worse than what it is in Maharashtra. If we deduct one year of demonetisation and one more year of the coronavirus pandemic, Telangana has achieved a lot in a period of seven years. Officials have remained the same, only will power brought about a change there. Every house has a water tap in Telangana. In cities, we gave each connection at just one rupee, he said.

But there is no will power in the political parties in Maharashtra, he alleged.

"The city of Solapur receives water once in 10 days, Akola in seven days, Aurangabad in eight days. If the parties here had the will power, they would have changed the situation by now. Even the national capital Delhi doesn't get ample water and electricity," the BRS chief said.

"I started working in Maharashtra two-three months back. The states of Telangana and Maharashtra share nearly a 1,000-km-long border. There are many relatives of people living on the other side of the border in both the states," he added.

Talking about farmers, he asked, "Will the pain of farmers end? I am confident the pain of farmers will end under BRS leadership."



Rao spoke of the 'Telangana model' for welfare of farmers.

"Before I became CM, farmers in Telangana were dying. Today the Telangana model is famous all over the country. Every home in Telangana has tap water," he said.

He said he came to know that Yavatmal district in Maharashtra witnesses one farmer suicide every day.

"Farmers in this country have fought a lot since long. In Maharashtra also many agitations took place under the leadership of late Sharad Joshi. Recently, farmers under the leadership of CPI(M) walked from Nashik to Mumbai to demand better price for onion crop. We don't ask people to agitate. They just need to vote for change now," Rao added.

He said the BRS is spending crores for buying offices in Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur.

"The purchase of a site for the BRS office completed in Nagpur and it is underway in Aurangabad and other divisions of Maharashtra," he said.

Rao held the Congress and BJP governments in the last 75 years responsible for "failure" to use rain and river water in the country.

"There is 1.40 lakh TMC rain in India each year. Half of it evaporates, so 70,000 TMC usable water remain in our rivers. These are central government figures," he said.

"Of this, just 20,000 TMC is being used. The remaining 50,000 TMC goes to sea," the Telangana CM said.

Rao spoke of the inability by governments in the last 75 years of setting up mega dams.

"The Jayakwadi dam near Aurangabad has a capacity of 100 TMC. On the other hand, there is a 6,500 TMC dam in a small country like Zimbabwe," he added.

Rao said Telangana has surpassed Punjab in foodgrain production due to its pro-farmer policies.

He claimed that BRS is bringing about a change.

"Earlier when BRS held a rally in Nanded, the Maharashtra government announced Rs 6,000 aid for farmers. Now the Maharashtra government says it is thinking of abolishing the talathi system. Recently, some officers said that farmers should be given aid of 10,000 rupees based on the Telangana model. Why was this not done earlier?" Rao asked.


The SC-appointed panel said such a committee would be useful in cases where the skills and expertise of multiple regulatory and enforcement agencies are necessary. The Supreme Courts six-member expert panel, headed by retired SC judge Justice A M Sapre, has suggested a temporary multi-agency committee, set up by the Centre, to investigate complex enforcement matters with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).





What the panel said A case would be referred to such an investigating committee by terming it a systematically important investigation. The panel clarified that the government would be able to resort to such a framework only when the case involved has serious cross-sectoral repercussions and needs multi-disciplinary skills in a coordinated manner. In complex enforcement matters, where the skillset and expertise of multiple regulatory and enforcement agencies would be necessary, it would be vital to have a framework by which a multi-agency committee (investigating committee) with a temporary shelf life (just what is required for investigating that particular case), the panel report said. The report said the investigating committee may be set up by the Government of India under the aegis of the Financial Stability and Development Council and at the end of the investigation, with the initiation of appropriate proceedings, such a committee must be disbanded.

No. of proceedings initiated by the regulator in 2021-22 rose to 7,195 as compared to 562 in 2020-21 and 249 in 2019-20

Sebi should look at a few large cases as compared to many tiny ones

Complete absence of timelines in Sebi law needs correction

Creation of a financial redressal agency that handles investor grievances across sectors

Sebi could consider separating its investigative arm from its quasi-judicial arm

The panel noted that proceedings initiated by Sebi in 2021-22 skyrocketed to 7,195, as compared to 562 cases in 2020-21 and 249 cases in 2019-20. It suggested that the regulatory objective of Sebi may be better served by timely and sharp action in a few large and complex cases, as compared with frittering energy and resources in thousands of tiny cases. For the regulator to achieve its objective, it has to be strategic on how best it can prosecute cases of serious significance. Increase in proceedings begs the need to study how settlement proceedings can be made effective and viable alternatives, the report said.

Also Read Adani woos bankers: Invites them for a trip to restore confidence MSCI drops Adani Transmission and Adani Total Gas from India index Supreme Court forms an expert committee to probe Adani allegations Adani Group stocks sink up to 20%; CLSA sees limited risk to banks Give report on Adani-Hindenburg probe by August 14, SC tells Sebi Nepal Foreign Minister Saud prepares for PM Prachanda's India visit Bank loan fraud: ED attaches Rs 122 cr assets of Pune businessmen, others Hyderabad preferred destination for US aerospace, defence firms: KTR In a first, defence production crosses Rs 1 trillion-mark this year FPI identification pursuit a 'journey without destination': Expert SC panel



However, it noted that there was a need for judicial discipline for the regulator as sometimes different officials decide the same cases differently. The panel noted that since the market regulator has been granted robust powers from licensing of intermediaries to legislative, executive, and quasi-judicial powers to discharge its role, it does not see the need to confer any more powers to Sebi at this stage.
The Congress targeted the prime minister on Friday over the RBI announcement on the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation, saying the move was "typical of our self-styled vishwaguru" and his method of "first act, second think".

A party MP said it was the beginning of a second demonetisation "disaster", in an apparent reference to the demonetisation exercise of November 8, 2016 when the legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes was withdrawn by the Narendra Modi government.

"Typical of our self-styled Vishwaguru. First Act, Second Think (FAST). 2000 rupee notes introduced with such fanfare after that singularly disastrous 'Tughlaqi firman' of Nov 8 2016 are now being withdrawn," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter, targeting the prime minister.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore tweeted, "Second Demo disaster starts .. M = Madness."



The Reserve Bank of India on Friday announced withdrawal of Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation, and existing notes in circulation can either be deposited in bank accounts or exchanged by September 30.

The Rs 2,000 denomination bank note was introduced in November 2016, primarily to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes that were in circulation at that time.

Also Read SC upholds demonetisation, says test of proportionality satisfied SC upholds 2016 decision on demonetisation by 4:1 majority verdict Plea seeking review of verdict on demonetisation filed in SC today Slap on the wrist of govt: P Chidambaram on SC's demonetisation verdict What does the SC's demonetisation verdict mean SC panel suggests govt-formed committee to probe complex enforcement issues Nepal Foreign Minister Saud prepares for PM Prachanda's India visit Bank loan fraud: ED attaches Rs 122 cr assets of Pune businessmen, others Hyderabad preferred destination for US aerospace, defence firms: KTR In a first, defence production crosses Rs 1 trillion-mark this year
The Delhi High Court has said the appellate tribunal under the senior citizens welfare law should make all efforts to ensure that the provision mandating its to decide matters within one month is implemented in its true spirit to the extent it is practical.

Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 was enacted to ensure that senior citizens and parents of vulnerable age are not unnecessarily deprived of their shelter and its Section 16 (6) therefore casts an obligation upon the appellate tribunal i.e. Divisional Commissioner to pronounce its order in writing within one month of the receipt of an appeal.

"It is not far to see as to why such a provision was inserted by the legislature. The preamble of the Act itself makes it clear that the said Act is only for the purposes of ensuring that senior citizens and parents, who may be in a vulnerable age and stage of their lives, are not unnecessarily deprived of their shelter. In all probability it is with the aforesaid and above noble cause that the aforesaid Act containing benevolent provisions was promulgated," the court said in a recent order.

"No doubt that the Sub-Section 6 of Section 16 of the Act places an obligation upon the appellate tribunal to pronounce its order in writing within one month of the receipt of the appeal, the appellate tribunal should make all efforts to ensure that the said provision is implemented in its true spirit to the extent it is practical, the court stated.

The petitioner in the present case sought directions from the court for early disposal of her appeal before the appellate tribunal against an order passed by the sub-divisional magistrate concerned.

The court disposed of the petition and requested the appellate tribunal to take up the appeal as soon as practically possible and dispose of the same in accordance with the provisions of Section 16 of the Act, preferably within next three months.

Also Read NGT asks panel to take remedial action in illegal groundwater extraction HC seeks stand of start ups' body on Google's challenge to CCI probe Abolition of Odisha Administrative Tribunal constitutionally valid: SC Widowed daughter-in-law need not pay maintenance to her parents-in-law: HC HC seeks govt stand on PIL to restrict cash transactions on online shopping Skyrocketing airfares force many tourists to visit Kashmir by bus Risk appetite of employees see sharp uptick, open to new job opportunities Sebi probe into Adani's alleged violations drew blank, says SC panel CBI or ED may include my name in supplementary charge sheet: Tejashwi Yadav MoU signed for ferry service on Brahmaputra to connect 7 religious sites
The Indian government on Friday set free 22 Pakistani prisoners following the completion of their sentences, officials said here.

They were handed over to the Pakistani Rangers at the Joint Check Post (JCP) at the Attari-Wagah border by Border Security Force personnel, they said.

All of them crossed over to Pakistan on the basis of 'Emergency Travel Certificates' issued by the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi since none of them had any kind of travel documents on the at the time of arrest, the officials said.

Of the 22, nine were fishermen brought here from the Kutch prison in Gujarat, 10 from the Amritsar Central Jail and three from other prisons, they said, adding that the fishermen had been nabbed by the Indian Navy.

Also Read Over 10 mn Pakistanis lack safe drinking water after 2022 floods: Unicef India's expectation from Pakistanis never very high: Jaishankar on Pak FM Nearly 8 mn Pakistanis still displaced after summer floods, says diplomat Uttarakhand will be drug-free by year 2025: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami India launches 'Operation Kaveri' to evacuate its nationals from Sudan Jalan Kalrock Consortium moves NCLAT to stop SBI for invoking guarantee Rs 2,000 note withdrawal might disturb business, but not much: Traders Pradhan reviews progress of infra projects of 43 Education Institutions Violence-hit Manipur facing acute shortage of life-saving drugs: Report SC dismisses Tata Motors plea challenging HC order on disqualification
The Jharkhand Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) on Friday said it has blacklisted a real estate firm and its three partners, debarring them to undertake any projects for violation of norms and non-registration of projects.

A total of 18 complaints have been received against the firm and its three partners.

"In a first such move in Jharkhand, we have blacklisted M/s Rebloon Impex and its three partners - Dharmendra Kumar Dheeraj, Rajesh Kumar and Shashikant Singh for failure to get registration done with Jharkhand RERA despite court order in this regard 3.5 years back and violation of various norms," Jharkhand RERA Chairman, Ranjeet Kumar Choudhary told PTI.

Member, Jharkhand RERA, Birendra Prasad said the authority was committed to ensure justice to buyers and was forced to take the step of blacklisting the firm as a last resort.

"A total of 18 complaints have been registered against M/s Rebloon impex and its three ... out of which orders have been passed on 17. In the first case which was disposed of in December 2019 a fine of Rs 5 lakh was imposed on the firm for failing to do RERA registration in two weeks...Similarly after repeated violations, they were served notice by the court as to why no action should be initiated to blacklist them...Failure to comply to all these resulted in blacklisting of the firm and partners," Choudhary said.

Section 3 of RERA Act makes it mandatory for promoters to register their ongoing or new real estate project (residential, commercial, plotted development/layout, villa or mixed development) with more than 8 units or 500 square metres of land with RERA.

Also Read Non-NCR cities attracted 60% new housing projects in last 5 yrs: UP RERA Sony-owned Guerrilla confirms new multiplayer Horizon game on Twitter 1.24 million Indian tourists visit Dubai in first 9 months of 2022 Kerala govt to act in accordance with court verdicts in Arikomban issue US FTC sues Microsoft to block its $69 bn Activision Blizzard acquisition Mumbai Trans Harbour Link will be ready by next week, check details here Kiren Rijiju takes charge as earth sciences minister, thanks PM Modi BGMI game on 3-month trial, closely watching user harm, addiction: MoS IT Navy's Submarine Vaghsheer begins sea trials, to be commissioned next year Adani-Hindenburg: SC panel says can't pinpoint regulatory failure

Choudhary and Prasad said the Authority has till date received 382 complaints from home buyers of which 189 have been disposed of while 193 are pending.

They said the Authority had received 1,736 applications, both in off line and online modes, in the state for projects registration of which 1,144 where registered while 525 were rejected for not fulfilling norms.

Without Registration no promoter shall advertise, market, book, sell or offer for sale, or invite persons to purchase in any manner any plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, they said.

The officials said in order to protect the interests of home buyers, so far orders have been issued to file certificate cases in 17 execution cases and letters have been sent to concerned Deputy Commissioners for recovery of the amount.

Choudhary said efforts are also made to settle the dispute between buyer and builder through reconciliation and so far 17 cases have been disposed through conciliation talks at the Mediation Centre.

He said to protect the interest of buyers so far registry has been done in favour of four flat owners as per the order from Jharkhand RERA court as the builder was not registering despite full payment.

In one case the Jharkhand RERA court ordered for payment of Rs 29,000 per month by a builder in Dhanbad to a complainant as possession certificate was not given resulting in loss to the party, he said.
Also Read NCLT clears transfer of Jet Airways' ownership to Jalan-Kalrock Consortium Jet Airways' fate in jeopardy as NCLT deadline for Jalan-Kalrock nears Jet Airways lenders move NCLAT against Jalan-Kalrock consortium Jet Airways looks into abyss as JKC fails to renew its flying permit Four issues between lenders and Jalan-Kalrock delay Jet Airways take-off Rs 2,000 note withdrawal might disturb business, but not much: Traders Pradhan reviews progress of infra projects of 43 Education Institutions Violence-hit Manipur facing acute shortage of life-saving drugs: Report SC dismisses Tata Motors plea challenging HC order on disqualification Brij Bhushan's comments on our medals demeaning: Protesting wrestlers

The Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC), which won the bid to revive the grounded Jet Airways, moved an application in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to stop the State Bank of India (SBI) from invoking its bank guarantee of Rs 150 crore.The appellate tribunal will hear the matter on May 22.The consortium on Friday urged the tribunal to grant an interim injunction stopping SBI from invoking its bank guarantee. Meanwhile, SBI told the tribunal that the consortium had to pay certain dues to it by May 15, but it has not done so yet.Jet Airways air operator permit (AOP)  which was revalidated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on May 20 last year  expired on Friday, indicating that the airline is unlikely to start flights anytime soon. By May last year, JKC had deposited a total of Rs 150 crore with lenders as performance bank guarantee (PBG).The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had in December ordered the lenders to hand over Jet Airways to JKC. It had also told JKC to submit Rs 185 crore  decided under the resolution plan  with the lenders by May 14, so that the process of ownership transfer could begin. The lenders have not received this amount yet.As per the resolution plan, JKC was required to deposit with lenders a PBG of Rs 150 crore in two tranches: The first tranche of Rs 47.5 crore when the Committee of Creditors (CoC) approve the resolution plan and a second tranche of Rs 102.5 crore on effective date when all conditions precedent were fulfilled.A refundable earnest deposit of Rs 15 crore was made to the lenders in July 2020, when JKC submitted its resolution plan to lenders. The first performance bank guarantee tranche of Rs 47.5 crore was deposited in October 2020, when the CoC approved the resolution plan. The remaining Rs 87.5 crore was deposited in the second PBG tranche on May 20 last year  called the effective date  when all CPs were fulfilled.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said he was "shocked" by the language of Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena's letter to him and the issues raised, and alleged that it smacked of "bickering".

Saxena earlier in the day wrote to Kejriwal, raising the issue of alleged misbehaviour of Services Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj with Services Secretary Ashish More.

In his response, Kejriwal said he cannot believe the lieutenant governor's words against Bharadwaj.

Bharadwaj a person having "such calm and congenial nature" and yet if he indeed said anything Saxena could summon him and upbraid him as he was like his younger brother, Kejriwal said.

The Delhi LG, in his letter to Kejriwal, referred to Bharadwaj's alleged misbehaviour with More citing a report filed by the officer with the chief secretary.

"The officer with close to two decades of professional experience elaborated the misbehaviour meted out to him by Bharadwaj forcing him to sign his dictated statement," the LG wrote.

Also Read Operation Sheesh Mahal: Why do BJP and Congress want Delhi CM to resign? Microsoft introduces 'sign language view' feature in Teams for deaf users BJP demands white paper on pollution from Delhi govt as AQI deteriorates Centre, other states can also consider anti-radicalisation cell, says Shah TOEFL to be shortened by an hour, candidates to get real-time score status Rs 1,000 notes may be back now: Opposition slams Rs 2,000 note scrap Railways to run 6,369 trips of 380 special trains on major routes: Ministry Supreme Court terms district judiciary as 'backbone of the judicial system' India sets free 22 Pakistani nationals after completion of jail terms Jalan Kalrock Consortium moves NCLAT to stop SBI for invoking guarantee

More had alleged that Bhardwaj intimidated him by shouting "sign kar, aise kaise sign nahi karega...tere ko karna hi padega. Isske baad tera career khatam. Teri toh zindagi barbaad karke rahunga...Chiarg Dilli ka rahena wala hu (Sign it, you have to sign. After that, your career is over. I will ruin your life. I hail from Chirag Dilli)."



Saxena also flagged instances of Bharadwaj's alleged "misbehaviour" with IAS officers, including a woman officer.

Kejriwal, in his letter to Saxena, defended Bharadwaj and questioned whether "such things" should be topic of any correspondence involving a lieutenant governor and a chief minister.

The people of Delhi have got justice after waiting for many years following the Supreme Court verdict. The apex court in its May 11 judgement gave the Delhi government the executive control over transfer and posting of officers.

Earlier, the transfer and postings of all officers of the Delhi government were under the executive control of the lieutenant governor.

"We have to do a lot of works. Delhi people have high expectations from us. We have to make Delhi number one city in the world and we will do it," Kejriwal said.

In his letter, Kejriwal hoped for Saxena's "blessings and cooperation" for accomplishing many things for Delhi.
RBI to withdraw Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation; the notes will continue to be legal tender till September 30.



The Supreme Court has issued notice to Centre, UP on the plea of the mosque panel against the HC order for a scientific survey, carbon dating of 'Shivling' The court stated we need to tread carefully in this matter, the HC order needs closer scrutiny.



An expert committee appointed by the Supreme Court said it cannot conclude any regulatory failure around Adani Group's stock rallies, and that Sebi has "drawn a blank" in its probe into alleged violations in money flows from offshore entities into the conglomerate.

"The foundation of Sebi's suspicion that led to investigations into the shareholding of the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in the Adani-listed companies is that their ownership structure is "opaque" because the ultimate chain of ownership above the 13 overseas entities holding Adani Group stocks is not clear," the report said.


Long-term visa holders known as documented dreamers, who are estimated to be about 250,000, grew up legally in the US but risk deportation when they turn 21 years old. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation in the US Congress that proposes protection to children of documented dreamers, a significant majority of whom are Indian Americans, from self-deportation after turning 21 years.



Introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate, Americas CHILDREN Act would allow individuals to obtain permanent residency if they were brought to the US as dependent children of workers admitted under employment visas, have maintained status in the US for 10 years (including eight years as dependents), and have graduated from an institution of higher education. The current system forces documented dreamers to leave the US and return to their country of birth, robbing them of their future and livelihoods in America.



The Bill, among other things, establishes age-out protections that lock in a childs age on the date on which their parents file for a Green Card and would provide work authorisation for individuals qualifying for age-out protection. It would also protect any child who has been in the US for an aggregate of eight years before the age of 21 as a dependent of an employment-based non-immigrant by allowing them to remain dependent on their parents non-immigrant visa until they can find another status.
BJP president J P Nadda said on Friday that a host of schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has empowered women in a true sense on the grassroots.

Speaking at the launch of "KamalMitra" initiative of the party's 'Mahila Morcha' Nadda said cited various schemes to assert that it has benefitted crores of households, especially women.

While more than 11 crore toilets have been built under 'Swachhta Abhiyan', over nine crore houses were given gas cylinder connections, helping women members get rid of smoke emanating from the use of firewoods, he said.

Nadda said, "In the defence sector, the permanent commission is now given to women. They also have the opportunity to get combat training and get admission to the NDA".

The 'KamalMitra' initiative envisages training more than one lakh BJP workers on various dimensions of around 15 women-centric schemes of the central government so that they could reach out to women across the country with their benefits, the party's women wing's president, Vannathi Srinivasan, said.

The 'Mahila Morcha' (BJP's women wing) is eying to train on average 200 women in every Lok Sabha constituency.

Also Read T20 World Cup Final Highlights: Australia complete 2nd hattrick of titles Women's T20 World Cup: India fail again, lose to AUS by 5 runs in semifinal Women's T20 World Cup Semis: South Africa create history, qualify for final Women's T20 World Cup final: Australia vs South Africa live stream in India BJP President Nadda to visit Odisha tomorrow, to address 2 public meetings NCP slams govt on Rs 2,000 notes withdrawal, says citizens being harassed Rs 2,000 note was 'band-aid' to cover up demonetisation, says P Chidambaram Bengaluru swearing in and the shifting sands of opposition alliances L-G writes to Delhi CM Kejriwal, alleges disregard of rules by AAP govt Rahul's speech writers have to come up with something more outlandish: BJP

Government schemes beneficiaries, 'labharthi' as the BJP calls them, have been a key voting segment that the party has often successfully tapped and are an important constituent as it prepares for the next year Lok Sabha polls.


Nor has the six-member committee, in its interim report submitted on May 6, made any adverse observations on the port-to-power conglomerate, which was attacked by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, which led to a Rs 12-trillion rout in its groups market value. The Supreme Court-appointed expert panel has said it has not found any regulatory failure on the part of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in relation to the way it has dealt with the affairs at Adani Group.



Sebi is investigating allegations of violations of minimum public shareholding (MPS) and related-party transactions (RPT) norms. It is expected to reach a conclusion by August 14, the new deadline set by the court to complete the probe. The report, which came into the public domain on Friday, triggered gains of between 1 per cent and 7 per cent in the 10 Adani Group stocks, helping them add Rs 34,000 crore in market cap. However, the market value of the Gautam Adani-led companies is still down by close to Rs 10 trillion since the short-sellers attack.

Panels key observations At this stage, taking into account the explanations provided by Sebi, supported by empirical data, prima facie, it would not be possible for the committee to conclude that there has been a regulatory failure around the allegation of price manipulation, the six-member panel has said in its 173-page report.

Also Read Adani woos bankers: Invites them for a trip to restore confidence MSCI drops Adani Transmission and Adani Total Gas from India index SEBI plans to restrict borrowing by AIFs to prevent systemic risk Adani Group stocks sink up to 20%; CLSA sees limited risk to banks Sebi plan to prune MF costs: New expense slabs, no additional charges 11 jawans injured after storm hits CRPF camp in Chhattisgarh's Bastar Uttar Pradesh govt top buyer of goods and services from GeM portal in FY23 Retail inflation for farm, rural workers eases marginally in April No special drive being undertaken to probe all past tariff plans: Trai Scindia discusses manpower planning for peak season with airport operators

No pattern of artificial trading or wash trades among same parties multiple times was found

Sebi found that some entities had taken short positions prior to Hindenburg report and profited after price crash

Suspicious trading observed on part of 13 entities

On minimum public shareholding, there is a need for an effective enforcement policy

Sebi has drawn a blank in its probe into suspected violations

The members of the committee are Justice A M Sapre, O P Bhat, Justice J P Devadhar, K V Kamath, Nandan Nilekani, and Somasekharan Sundaresan.



The panel also observed intense volatility after the publication of the report on January 24 was largely restricted to the Adani stocks and the market as a whole was not unduly affected. It said the market had re-priced and re-assessed the Adani stocks. On the allegation of stock price manipulation at Adani Group companies, the committee has said there was no pattern of artificial trading or wash trades and no coherent pattern of abusive trading has come to light. The expert panel, however, has noted that some entities took short positions prior to the publication of the Hindenburg report and profited from squaring off their positions as the stock prices of Adani Group companies crashed after the report. These entities are currently being investigated by Sebi, the report has revealed.



On MPS compliance, the panel has said if the outcome of Sebis investigation is able to establish that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) that have invested in Adani listed firms are linked to the promoters then it would mean that the companies are not compliant with the MPS requirement. While they may not have returned to the pre-January 24 levels, they are stable at the newly re-priced level, it said, adding that the measures taken by Adani Group, including the move to pare its debt, had helped rebuild investor confidence.







This is where it has hit a wall, the report has observed. However, the report said changes in the regulatory structure and lack of cooperation from other regulatory bodies had thwarted Sebis attempts in finding the contributors who had an economic interest in these FPIs.

Sebi has found 42 contributories to the assets under the management of the 13 FPI entities and has been pursuing various avenues to ascertain the same.



While the FPIs in question declared the beneficial owner by identifying the natural persons controlling their decisions, a 2018 law had done away with the very requirement to disclose the last natural person owning any economic interest in the FPI. It has been a long-standing suspicion of Sebi that some of the public shareholders are not truly public shareholders and could be fronts for the promoters of these companies, it said.



The committee reached out to a host of foreign banks such as JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Citibank, Bank of Merill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley. It has pointed out that none of the international securities firms and banks was desirous of engaging with the matter. A few of them cited conflict of interest owing to their commercial relationship with Adani Group. In the context of RPTs, the report has noted Sebi has identified 13 specific transactions and is investigating if they were fraudulent in nature. The panel recommended these investigations must be completed in a time-bound manner.

The expert committee has prescribed measures to Sebi to improve its regulatory functioning and for increasing investor awareness.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday handed over appointment letters to nearly 3,500 secondary-level teachers here and gave an assurance that recruitment drives would continue in the state despite challenges like CBI and ED raids.

The 3,469 teachers will be posted in all 24 districts of the state.

Terming the day as historic, the chief minister said that the government was committed to continuing with its development programmes and appointments though the country, including the eastern state, was facing another pandemic CBI and ED raids.

Listing action by the central agencies in the state at the behest of the Centre" as one of the challenges, Soren said, "Jharkhand's economy was battered by the COVID-19 pandemic but we faced it and provided relief to our people. As soon as we overcame the pandemic, we were faced with another epidemic.

The entire country is facing CBI, ED raids and our state is not untouched by it. They can continue with their searches and we will continue with our development programmes and appointments. "



The chief minister made the comments while addressing a programme at Tana Bhagat Indoor Stadium, Khelgaon.

The Enforcement Directorate is investigating over a dozen land deals in the state, including one pertaining to defence land, wherein a group of mafias, middlemen and bureaucrats allegedly "connived" in forging deeds and documents from as early as 1932. It is alleged that land parcels of the poor were usurped as part of this fraud.

Also Read Jharkhand Assembly adjourned twice on ruckus over new employment policy BJP to launch district-level agitation against Jharkhand govt from tomorrow Centre bars tourists at Shri Sammed Shikharji in Jharkhand, amid protests Cong rejigs Jharkhand unit, appoints 11 V-Ps, 35 gen secys and 82 secys Jharkhand Assembly passes Rs 8,534 crore supplementary budget by current FY Must pay attention to financing risk disaster mitigation: India at UNGA Ladakh border row: India fully prepared to protect dignity, says PM Modi Uddhav govt did nothing for farmers hit by rains, crop loss: Fadnavis Bombay HC asks CBI not to take action against Wankhede till Monday Was not removed as law minister due to some wrongdoing: BJP's Kiren Rijiju

It has already arrested two Jharkhand cadre IAS officers - Chhavi Ranjan in connection with alleged illegal land deals and Pooja Singhal in a money laundering case linked to the alleged embezzlement of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme funds in Khunti and other suspicious financial transactions.

The CBI has also conducted several raids in the recent past.

"Despite attaining the status of a separate state, Jharkhand is the most backward state in the country though possessing enough minerals and other resources that fuel growth in the entire country," Soren said.

We will continue with our recruitment drives, citing the recent induction of additional public prosecutors, assistant engineers, medical officers, and nurses.

He said that there were many candidates from BPL categories who had qualified for the Jharkhand Public Service Commission examination and were appointed to various posts.

Teachers were given appointment letters for educating students in regional languages, including Santhali, Mundari, and Kudukh.

Of them, 779 teachers were for History and Civics, 398 for Sanskrit, 341 for Geography, 337 for Hindi, 260 for Economics and 268 for Mathematics and Physics.

Besides 249 English teachers, 232 trained in teaching Biology and Chemistry, 184 in Physical Education, 118 in Commerce, 97 in Music, 27 in Urdu and 50 in Home Science were also given appointment letters.

The teachers who got the appointment letters are for subjects like Santhali (42), Bangla (29), Kudukh (28), Nagpuri and Mundari (11 each), Kurmali (4), Odia (2) and Panchparganiya and Ho (1 each).

While the maximum of 279 teachers is for Ranchi, 263 will be posted in East Singhbhum, 240 in Dhanbad, 230 in Seraikela-Kharsawan, 228 in Godda and 200 in West Singhbhum.

Meanwhile, the BJP slammed the JMM-led government over its employment policy and claimed that these recruitments were possible due to the efforts of the previous BJP regime in the state.

BJP state president and MP Deepak Prakash challenged the chief minister to come out with the facts regarding these appointments.

"As far as the appointments of these teachers are concerned, the public and the candidates know that it is a gift of the previous BJP government. The vacancies were advertised in 2016 during the tenure of the Raghubar Das government.


Shein, the brand

More than two years after the Shein app was banned in India, Reliance is set to bring the Chinese fashion retailer back to the country. The fast-fashion retailer mainly aimed at young women, providing on-trend, affordable clothing and accessories. As the company re-enters India, here is everything you need to know about Shein, its ban and its re-entry into the Indian market.



The company was initially considered a drop-shipping business. However, in 2012 it began establishing its supply-chain system and became a retailer. Shein is an international online fashion retailer founded in October 2008 by Chris Xu. The company is based in China and operates primarily through its website and mobile app. Shein offers a wide range of trendy clothing, accessories, and other fashion items at affordable prices that attract a large customer base on a global level.



Shein's website claims that the company's branded products come primarily from the United States, India, Brazil, and Australia, making these attractive markets for the company. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Shein's valuation totals $66 billion after its latest funding round. WSJ reported Wednesday that this is a third less than its previous year's value.

Also Read Shein is ready to make its second entry into India with Reliance Retail Tata CLiQ Luxury expands its luxury fashion category with launch of Le Mill Athletic apparel retailer Lululemon to ramp up tech team in India US toy retailer, ToysRUs enters India for the 2nd time, opens first store Civil society, pesticide industry present contrasting picture on ban order SC gets 2 new judges: CJI administers oath of office to Mishra, Viswanathan Kerala CPI(M) upset over CM not invited to Siddaramaiah's swearing-in Ex-NCB Sameer Wankhede moves HC to seek quashing of CBI FIR against him India records 865 new Covid-19 infections, cases in country dip to 9,092 Army recovers explosives, electric detonators during patrol in Manipur

The ban

Shein was famously banned in India along with 58 other apps in June 2020 by the Government of India. The ban on Shein and other Chinese apps came after a border dispute between India and China in mid-2020, as their bilateral relations worsened.



The Indian government's official stance on banning these apps was based on concerns that these platforms were involved in activities detrimental to India's sovereignty, integrity, defence, and security. The root cause of the border issues was the 3,440 km-long disputed border, otherwise known as the Line of Control, where Indian and Chinese soldiers came face to face at various spots.



In addition to Shein, other Chinese apps banned in India include popular ones like TikTok, UC Browser, CamScanner, WeChat, and Clash of Kings, among others. The ban was implemented under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, which grants the government the power to block access to certain websites and services in the interest of national security.



Despite the ban on the app, Shein's products continued to be sold through other online retailers such as Amazon. The ban affected a wide range of app categories, including social media platforms, utility apps, gaming apps, and e-commerce platforms. Since June 2020, India has banned 270 Chinese apps as they were referred to as "prejudicial" to India's sovereignty, integrity and national security.

Controversies

While Shein has gained popularity for its fast-fashion model and competitive pricing, it has faced several controversies throughout its existence, ranging from environmental and health issues to offensive imagery used in its designs. These are some of the larger ongoing controversies the company faces.

Data privacy concerns

Prior to its ban in India, Shein faced concerns over data privacy and security. There were allegations that the app collected and shared user data with third parties without explicit consent, raising concerns about protecting personal information, according to media reports in June 2020.



Intellectual property infringement In 2018 the company experienced a data breach and lied about the number of accounts compromised at the time. According to a BBC news report in October 2022, 39 million user information was stolen, and Zoetep, Shein's parent company, was fined $1.9 million by US authorities.



AirWair International, makers of the Dr Martens boot, filed a suit stating that not only had Shein deliberately created counterfeits but that they also used images of genuine Dr Martin boots on their website, listed under the name "Martin boot", as reported by FT. The Financial Times reported in June 2021 that the company was sued by Levi Strauss & Co for copyright infringement on their trademarked jean stitching in 2018. The case was settled out of court.



In July 2022, Reuters reported Mexico's concerns over the use of Mayan design by Shein, sharing that they were "deeply saddened" by the "plagiarism". The designs were promptly removed from the company's website. In March 2021, Fashion Law, an American fashion law journal and media platform, reported on Ralph Lauren's trade mark infringement and unfair competition lawsuit against Shein for exploiting the "genuine reputation" of the brand to sell "confusingly similar" clothing.



Allegations of forced labour Many designers and smaller brands have also complained on social media, sharing side-by-side images of their designs with Shein's. This is likely to continue as the company's popularity lies in selling cheap alternatives to on-trend fashion items.



According to a Reuters report in August 2021, the company also violated anti-slavery laws in Australia and breached United Kingdom's 2015 Modern Slavery Act. In 2021 an investigation by Public Eye found that working conditions at Shein violated Chinese labour laws by having staff work 75 hours a week.



Shein has outright denied allegations against human rights violations, stating they had "zero tolerance for forced labour" to the BBC, adding that they are committed to "respecting human rights and adhering to local laws and regulations in each market we operate in". On 2nd May of this year, IANS reported that a group of lawmakers from the United States had called for the Chinese fast-fashion brand to be investigated over claims of forced labour of Uyghur, an ethnic group in China.

Partnership with Reliance Retail

Three years after the ban, the retailer is re-entering the Indian market through its partnership with Reliance Retail. Shein will have access to Reliance Retail's sourcing capabilities, warehousing, and logistics infrastructure and access to their portfolio of online and offline stores.
Skyrocketing airfares have forced many tourists to visit Kashmir by bus this summer.

Due to high demand, a return air ticket from Delhi to Srinagar these days can cost anywhere between Rs 25,000 and Rs 40,000. This makes some holiday destinations abroad such as the UAE, Thailand and Malaysia look cheaper with return air ticket per person costing as low as Rs 18,000.

"We travelled to Kashmir by bus. We could have come by air but tickets were so costly. At such prices, we could go to Dubai as well," Rajesh, a tourist from Gujarat, told PTI.

Varsha Mankwada also took a bus to Kashmir in view the expensive airfares.

"The air tickets were so expensive. To and fro fare was around Rs 25,000. So, we came through travel agency by bus. Comparatively it was reasonable," she said.

Tushar Bhai, hailing from Gujarat, travelled to Srinagar by a flight from Mumbai. "I came here from Mumbai. We planned travel according to our budget but it has cost us dear. From Mumbai to Srinagar, it costs us Rs 16,000 per person," he said.

Also Read Job aspirants protest in Srinagar, demand inquiry report to be made public Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar likely to host G20 event: Govt official Toll in Malaysia landslide rises to 21, search for 12 missing still on Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury seeks discussion in parliament on Jammu-Kashmir Thailand targets 2 million Indian tourists in 2023, same as pre-Covid Risk appetite of employees see sharp uptick, open to new job opportunities Sebi probe into Adani's alleged violations drew blank, says SC panel CBI or ED may include my name in supplementary charge sheet: Tejashwi Yadav MoU signed for ferry service on Brahmaputra to connect 7 religious sites Official death toll from cyclone Mocha at least 145, says Myanmar

"We came here to see this beautiful place but we feel it's too expensive to travel to Kashmir. I think we may have got cheaper tickets if we were to travel somewhere else," he added.

Sanjeev, also from Gujarat, had a similar story to tell.

"The ticket cost us Rs 16,000 and they (airline) even don't offer anything complimentary...," he said.

Aashish from Delhi said this fare hike may be due to the peak tourism season.

"We gave a thought to cancel this trip but we are newlyweds. I visited here 2018 in same season as well but that time I didn't feel it was so expensive," he added.

Nikhil said the cost of air tickets should be reduced so that more and more tourists can visit Kashmir.

Some of the tourists said they had booked cheap fares with Go First as early as January but its flights were cancelled after the private carrier filed for insolvency earlier this month.

Manzoor Ahmad Pakthoon, the owner of Silkroute Holidays, said the rise in airfares was badly affecting tourism.

"As far as airfares are concerned, it's badly hitting the tourism sector. We are committed to the packages we have sold but we cannot commit on behalf of the airlines. Due to rising fares, many tourists are cancelling their bookings," he said.

Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo, the president of Nigeen Tourist Traders Association, said the high airfares were affecting the tourism fraternity here.

"We have seen businesses flourishing in the last two years. Hotels, guest houses, houseboats are full and shikara and ponywallas all were happy but unfortunately this airfare hike really affected us in last two months," Wangnoo said.

He said middle-class families prefer to travel to the UAE when airfares to Kashmir shoot up.

"When a family of four or five people cannot afford, they prefer to go to Dubai and other places rather than visit to Kashmir.

"I personally suggest...the Civil Aviation Ministry to take this issue seriously and put some kind of a cap on air fares so that the middle-class tourists can come here," he added.
The previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government under Uddhav Thackeray did not do anything for farmers distressed by unseasonal rains and crop loss and relief was provided to them by the Eknath Shinde dispensation, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Friday.

Addressing a gathering of BJP functionaries in Katol here, he said the Shinde government had started various farmer welfare schemes after coming to power in June last year, adding that 12-hour daytime power supply will begin for the agriculture sector soon under the CM Saur (solar) Krishi Yojana.

"The Uddhav Thackeray government did not do anything for farmers hits by unseasonal rains that damaged crops. Financial assistance was provided to them by the Eknath Shinde government. The Maharashtra government has set aside Rs 3,000 crore for drip irrigation, cotton shredders and will implement four schemes for farmers," he said.

Expressing confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party will win upcoming polls in the state, including the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Fadnavis asked party workers to reach out to citizens and explain to them the benefits of government schemes.

Also Read Ignore orders of 'unconstitutional' Maharashtra govt: Raut to officials Extortion calls made investor drop Rs 6,000 cr Maha plan last yr: Fadnavis Sena says no need to take Maha BJP chief seriously on Fadnavis as 2024 CM Maha govt will teach lesson to those who want unstable state: Fadnavis Amid protest, Shinde, Fadnavis to meet Maha farmers' representatives today Bombay HC asks CBI not to take action against Wankhede till Monday Was not removed as law minister due to some wrongdoing: BJP's Kiren Jijuju President Murmu appoints 4 additional judges to Madras High Court NHRC issues notice to Bengal govt over 9 deaths in firecracker factory Tesla seriously looking at India production, innovation base: Chandrasekhar
China said that it has become the world's biggest exporter of cars after overtaking Japan in the first three months of the year.

China exported 1.07 million vehicles in the period, up 58 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2022, the BBC reported.

At the same time Japan's vehicle exports stood at 954,185, after edging up 6 per cent from a year earlier.

China's exports were boosted by demand for electric cars and sales to Russia.

Last year, the Asian giant overtook Germany to become the world's second largest car exporter.

According to China's General Administration of Customs, the country exported 3.2 million vehicles in 2022, compared to Germany's 2.6 million vehicle exports, the BBC reported.

Also Read Auto Expo returns after 3 years; some prominent firms to skip event Maruti eyes doubling SUV sales in FY24; aims top position with 25% share India's electric vehicle dawn fans expectations fuel demand may peak early South Korean carmakers' global market share falls to 7.3% in 2022 Utility vehicles sales rise in Dec, demand for entry-level cars muted Why is Tesla so confused about Indian market? Challenges and opportunities Hyundai, Shell sing MoA to expand charging network for electric vehicles Realtors buy 2,181 acre land since Jan 2022 for about Rs 26,000 cr: Report No fitness certificate for vehicles fitted with LED/neon lights: Kerala HC BS VI phase 2: Jeep discontinues petrol, Trailhawk variants of Compass

The shift away from fossil fuels has helped fuel the rise of China's motor industry.

First quarter exports of new energy vehicles (NEVs), which includes electric cars, rose by more than 90 per cent, compared to a year earlier.

Tesla's China arm, SAIC -- the owner of the MG brand -- and BYD, which is backed by veteran US investor Warren Buffett, are among China's top exporters of NEVs.

Elon Musk's electric carmaker Tesla has a huge manufacturing plant in Shanghai which exports to regions including Japan and Europe.

Tesla's 'Gigafactory' is currently capable of producing 1.25 million vehicles a year, and the company is planning to further increase capacity.

Last month, it started making Model Y sport utility vehicles for export to Canada, the BBC reported.

China has also seen exports to Russia surge since the start of the Ukraine war, as Western countries imposed trade sanctions on Moscow.

Last, year, Chinese carmakers, including Geely, Chery and Great Wall, saw their market share in Russia jump after rivals including Volkswagen and Toyota quit the country following the invasion of Ukraine.

--IANS

san/ksk/
Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday asked foreign companies to invest in India's petrochemical industry that presents huge business opportunities.

Addressing 'Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference 2023', Mandaviya asserted that the Modi government is pro-farmer, pro-poor and is also industry-friendly.

He said the government is making long-term policies for chemicals and petrochemicals sector to attract investments from domestic and foreign companies.

The minister asked industry to follow the path of reclaim, reuse and recycle for sustainable development.

"India is poised to be the new destination of petrochemicals, globally. Due to our business-friendly policies, the world views India as a trusted partner and priority destination for investment," Mandaviya said.

He said the Indian chemical manufacturing industry has truly been one of the emerging global manufacturing hub for petrochemicals.

Also Read Health Minister Mandaviya launches Bharat Biotech's nasal Covid-19 vaccine RT-PCR to be mandatory for passengers from 5 countries, says Mandaviya Digitisation giving big boost to healthcare, medical education: Mandaviya India in advanced stage to deliver on global plan for TB vaccine: Mandaviya Govt working to level number of medical UG and PG seats in 4 yrs: Mandaviya Trident Group acquires Shipra Mall in Ghaziabad for Rs 551 cr via auction High inflation, lower-demand drive car sales in Pakistan down by 84% YoY Defence production crosses Rs 1 trn for first time ever: Defence ministry Recruiting nurses remain a major hurdle to hospital bed expansion Electric scooter companies divided on impact of FAME II subsidy cutback

"Today, India is promoting ease of doing business as the Indian government is industry-friendly government by minimising government's interference and through various other measures such as reduction in corporate tax, reduction in compliance burden and by policy changes," the minister said.

India is committed to becoming a trusted partner in the world in global supply chain of chemicals and petrochemicals, the minister said.

Mandaviya emphasised that this is the best time to invest in India with such a huge population.

"India, itself is a big market to invest. We are making way for free trade agreements with many countries...," he said.

The government is working effortlessly on policies to attract investment from domestic and foreign sources to address the major issue of availability of petrochemical.

He said the government has made necessary changes such as production-linked incentive scheme for chemicals and also proposed the manufacturing of difficult and strategic chemicals intermediates in India.

"India also provides an opportunity for easy import and export. It provides a win-win situation for foreign countries for joint ventures," the minister said.

Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) is a broad-based petrochemical industry conference with membership from seven partner countries India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Over 1,200 delegates from seven member nations, participants from Europe, China, America, Middle East and other Asian countries, other senior government officials of key nations as well as regional and global partners participated in the conference.
For long-term investors, the simple 200-DMA provides a broad outlook on the market or stock trend. Investors and traders prefer stocks holding above their respective 200-DMA as the Sixteen of these stocks, which include Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries, JSW Steel, Eicher Motors, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, and Cipla, have breached their respective 200-day moving averages (DMA) on the downside.

The domestic benchmark indices  the S&P BSE Sensex and the National Stock Exchange Nifty50  had lost close to 1.5 per cent in three days last week before gaining slightly on Friday and Monday. Notwithstanding weakness and volatility, the Nifty50 has managed to hold on to the 18,000 mark, while the Sensex has managed to stay above the 61,000 level. The performance of the stocks that comprise these front-line indices remains polarised. The 20 stocks that comprise the Nifty50 index appear weak, according to their technical chart patterns.


Further, the regulator plans to bring expenses like transaction costs, brokerage, and goods and services tax (GST) within the TER. The Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has shared the blueprint of the Total Expense Ratio (TER) overhaul of mutual funds and it's set to bring down the expenses paid by investors. In a consultation paper released on Thursday, the regulator proposed a new TER structure where the cap on total expenses will be linked to the total assets of mutual funds in each asset class in place of the present model where the maximum expenses depend on the total assets being managed in a scheme.



As a result, while the maximum TER limit is proposed to go up slightly for equity schemes, the overall expenses paid by investors will come down as there won't be any charges over and above the TER. The regulator has proposed the highest TER slab for equity schemes at 2.55 per cent compared to the present cap of 2.25 per cent. For debt, the maximum TER slab is proposed to be brought down to 1.2 per cent from 2 per cent. "It is observed that spending of some schemes towards brokerage and transaction cost is more than even the maximum TER limits prescribed. This has resulted in investors paying more than double the permissible TER limits... It is proposed that brokerage and transaction expenses may be included within the TER limit and the transaction-wise limits," the consultation paper states.



While the regulator acknowledged the burden on MFs due to the inclusion of additional expenses, especially the transaction cost and brokerage, it said that the move is important to "bring in much needed transparency in the costs charged to unitholders, and greater accountability in respect of the significant brokerage costs, with oversight from the AMC Board/Trustees". According to the regulator, the total expenses paid by investors of new equity oriented schemes are presently 2.78 per cent on an average, much higher than the prescribed limit of 2.25 per cent due to additional charges. The consultation paper reveals that the new expense structure can bring down the expenses paid by investors by 4.55 per cent. In the financial year 2022, the MF industry charged a total of Rs 30,806 crore for the management of active schemes and going by the proposed model, these expenses amounted to Rs 29,404 crore.

Also Read Sebi fines DSP group firms Rs 1 lakh for charging TER from AMC books Large-cap MFs, Index Funds to attract flows as markets pick pace: Analysts Sebi's MF Lite plank for passive funds seen boosting India ETF landscape Why do states want a bigger share of GST? Sebi likely to scrap small town-linked incentive for mutual funds Axis Bank, L&T, Thermax: Chris Wood rejigs India equity portfolio Adani Total Gas hits over 2-year low; stock slips 26% in six trading days Gland Pharma tanks 20%, hits record low on weak Q4 results Rupee to see more losses on hawkish Fed, RBI intervention likely Wipro Share Buyback: Here's how retail investors can benefit



The regulator has also proposed to open an avenue for MFs to charge higher fees if they are able to outperform. Sebi said that MFs may be allowed to charge higher management fees if the scheme performance is more than an indicative return (the benchmark returns adjusted for operating costs). In such a model, the base TER will be that of passive schemes and the total fee will go up based on the outperformance will be charged during redemption. It has proposed to allow asset management companies (AMCs) to obtain limited purpose membership with stock exchanges for executing trades for their own mutual fund schemes. This set up is likely to bring down the transaction expenses for mutual funds.



"An additional incentive may be introduced for distributors for new investments/inflows from women investors(new PAN) at the industry level. It shall have to be ensured by AMCs that the proposed incentive for women investors is extended only in those cases where B-30 incentive is not given," the regulator stated. Further, the additional expenses paid to distributors for bringing investors from smaller towns is proposed to make a comeback, albeit in a different form. The plan is to now reward distributors only for bringing in new investors (based on PAN) rather than the previous structure where investments from all B-30 investors were eligible for additional commission in the first year. The regulator plans to extend this commission structure for women MF investors residing in top cities as well to enable financial inclusion of women in MF space.

These additional commissions would be paid to distributors from their investor education budget to ensure that there is no additional burden on MF investors.


The proposals are aimed at ensuring adequate due diligence and regulation of money coming through this route in India and ensuring that the funds are sourced from bona fide investors and meet the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) requirement, and other applicable law. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is planning to align the registration process and eligibility criteria for Foreign Venture Capital Investors (FVCIs) with those of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs).



FVCIs are provided with certain benefits under the regulations to incentivise investments in these sectors. These benefits include exemption from lock-in requirements, provisions related to open offers, tax reliefs, and classification as qualified institutional buyers (QIBs). FVCIs invest in early-stage startups, sunrise sectors, unlisted companies, Category-I alternative investment funds (AIFs), and also in companies with weaker financial health.



Under the proposed framework, designated depository participants (DDPs) will be entrusted with the registration and post-registration process for FVCIsa process akin to that followed by FPIs. Sebi noted that it is necessary to ensure safeguards similar to those prescribed for other routes of foreign investment.

Also Read Shift of axis from Indian markets: FPIs pivot to China as it unlocks Overseas investors oppose Sebi's data localisation norms, cite cyber risk Venture capital investments down 70% across globe in Q1CY23: KPMG study Mutual funds, FPIs show appetite for a slice of Adani FPO anchor pie Indian real estate saw foreign inflows of $26.6 billion between 2017-22 ITC slips 4% in 2 days post Q4 results but analysts remain bullish on stock Stocks to Watch today, May 19: ITC, Thomas Cook, Zomato, Nexus REIT, IndiGo F&O Strategy: Go for Bull Spread on Bank Nifty, recommends HDFC Securities MARKET LIVE: Sensex, Nifty flat; IT stocks gain, Gland Pharma sinks 20% Sell Nifty Energy, Commodities indices on rise, suggest charts



However, many provisions applicable on FPIs are proposed to be extended to FVCIs. These include norms specifying that the FVCIs or the controlling investors are only from the permitted foreign jurisdictions and from countries that have strategic anti-money laundering measures. Further, the requirement of approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is proposed to be removed along with the minimum commitment requirement of $1 million.



Sebi has also proposed to mandate FVCIs to hold their investments only in dematerialised form apart from those types of instruments where dematerialisation is not available. The new norms also prescribe limits on investments by NRIs or OCIs along with the introduction of fit and proper criteria for FVCIs.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav targeted the BJP-led government at the Centre on Friday over the RBI's decision to withdraw Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation, saying "some people realise their mistakes too late".

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation but gave public time till September 30 to either deposit such notes in accounts or exchange them at banks.

Reacting to the development, Yadav tweeted in Hindi, "Some people realise their mistake too late The same happened in the case of the Rs 2,000 note, but the people and the economy of this country will have to pay for it."



"Governance works not through arbitrariness but through wisdom and honesty," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister added.

In a statement issued in the evening, the RBI said Rs 2,000 notes currently in circulation will continue to be legal tender. It said the notes can be exchanged in banks from May 23.

According to the RBI, around 89 per cent of the Rs 2,000 notes were issued before March 2017 and are nearing the end of their estimated life of four-five years.

Also Read RBI hikes repo rate by 35 bps to 6.25%, cuts FY23 GDP forecast to 6.8% RBI MPC: Here is what experts have to say about the policy announcement MPC lowers projection for inflation, raises growth outlook a bit in FY24 Xiaomi to launch Redmi Note 12 5G series smartphones on January 5: Details Xiaomi launches Redmi Note 12 5G series smartphones in India: Details here Delhi L-G approves proposal to assign charge of Services dept to A K Singh Govt's 'admission of failure': MVA slams plan to yank out Rs 2,000 notes Rs 1,000 notes may be back: Opposition slams junking of Rs 2,000 notes Modi government's schemes have truly empowered women, says Nadda NCP slams govt on Rs 2,000 notes withdrawal, says citizens being harassed


(Bloomberg) --Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. are among companies interested in increasing electronics production in India, a minister said, a boon for the countrys push to challenge neighboring China as a manufacturing hub.

By Sankalp Phartiyal



Weve had considerable success and tailwinds in the smartphone segment and we have increased interest from the likes of Apple and Samsung in expanding and growing here, Chandrasekhar said. We want to essentially replay that and add to that. The South Asian nation is seeking to expand its early success in smartphones to other product categories, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Indias minister of state for technology, told Bloomberg TVs Rishaad Salamat and Haslinda Amin on Friday. The country is launching a $2 billion plan to boost local output of laptops, servers, tablets and other electronics.



Prime Minister Narendra Modis government also wants to attract chip fabrication and chip packaging plants to India, he said. India is set to revive its effort to lure prospective chipmakers into the country as projects already disclosed, including billionaire Anil Agarwals $19 billion plan, are taking time to get off the ground, Bloomberg News reported this month. Indias financial incentives for smartphone manufacturing have resulted in Apple and Samsung exporting billions of dollars of handsets from the country. The new IT hardware production-linked incentive plan has been drawn up for companies such as Dell Technologies Inc., HP Inc. and Lenovo Group Ltd., Chandrasekhar said.

Also Read Honor to launch MagicBook X 14, MagicBook X 16 laptops in India on April 21 Asus launches Zenbook S 13 OLED thin-&-lightweight laptop in India: Details Honor MagicBook X 14, X16 laptops available for purchase on Amazon India Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro: Lightweight laptop lifted by ecosystem benefits Asus expands enterprise-centric ExpertBook line with 6 new laptops: Details QR code, the smudgy pattern on a square, is becoming a tool for marketing AWS to invest Rs 1.05 trillion to boost cloud infrastructure in India Twitter Blue subscribers will now be able to upload 2-hr-long videos: Musk OpenAI starts rolling out ChatGPT app for Apple iOS in US: Details here Netflix, Ola, Uber not integrated with PIPOnet app, says NuRe Bharat CEO

--With assistance from Rishaad Salamat and Haslinda Amin.
He says that the company has got steady web traffic as a result. We keep track and consider the scans as a lead. We know how many people have visited the website and encourage them to leave a query and follow up, Allaphan says, adding that JK Tyre plans to use QR code for its branding on a Kochi Metro train soon, besides on regular magazin

The idea was to make it interactive and provide more information than what hoardings normally do, says Srinivasu Allaphan, director, sales and marketing, JK Tyre & Industries.


Assad was given a warm welcome, winning a hug from Saudi Arabias Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, at a meeting of leaders who had shunned him for years, in a policy shift opposed by the US and other Western powers. Saudi Arabia hosted an Arab League summit on Friday in which Syrian President Bashar Assad was welcomed back after a 12-year suspension and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to rally support.



Washington has objected to any steps towards normalisation with Assad, saying there must first be progress towards a political solution to the conflict. We hope Syrias return to the Arab League leads to the end of its crisis, Mohammed said in his remarks, years after Arab states suspended Syria as the country descended into a civil war that has killed over 350,000 people.

Zelenskyy asked for support to Ukraines formula for peace and thanked Riyadh for its role in mediating a prisoner release last year. The Americans are dismayed. We (Gulf states) are people living in this region, were trying to solve our problems as much as we can with the tools available to us in our hands, said a Gulf source close to government circles.
China will make use of the Russian port Vladivostok near the border as a transit hub for domestic shipments of goods from its northeast Jilin Province to the eastern parts of the country to bring down the transport costs.

China has approved Vladivostok in Russia as a cross-border transit port for domestic trade shipments, the move aimed at implementing the national strategic plan to revitalise Northeast China's industrial base and facilitate the cross-border transport of domestic trade goods with the use of overseas ports, official media quoted Chinese customs announcement.

The agreement which will take effect in June, provides China a shorter and cheaper route to transport goods from its northeastern region to its eastern economic powerhouse, of Zhejiang province, the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported.

The agreement will make the Russian port, in essence, a domestic Chinese port for Jilin, from where the goods will be shipped by rail or truck to the port with no tariffs nor taxes incurred, it said.

By transporting goods through Vladivostok in the future, the land transportation distance can be shortened by more than 800 kms, and the cost will be greatly reduced for Chinese goods, state-run Global Times reported.

China-Russia reached the agreement to use the Vladivostok as the two countries continue to firm up their ties in the midst of Ukraine war with Beijing increasing its trade and economic ties with Moscow, especially by buying cheaper Russian oil.

Also Read Are the rising Covid-19 cases in China a worry for India? Ukraine needs more than a $30 billion arsenal for counterstrike on Russia Russian shelling cuts off power again in liberated Ukrainian city China backs Putin's foreign policy; plans to boost ties with Russia, India China's 'slow, painful' reopening threatens to strain economy even further Flight between Russia, Georgia resumes despite protests, strained ties 11 killed in road accident along China-Vietnam border: China officials Nepal Foreign Minister Saud prepares for PM Prachanda's India visit Wall Street points higher on hopes for US debt ceiling breakthrough Any indictments in Trump election investigation would likely come in August
China on Friday warned against the introduction of geopolitical games in the South Pacific following the announcement that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Papua New Guinea next week.

The U.S. opted to send Blinken after President Joe Biden cancelled what was to have been a historic stop in Papua New Guinea as well as a visit to Australia for a meeting of leaders of the so-called Quad partnership so he can focus on debt limit talks in Washington.

The administration has made putting a greater focus on the Pacific region central to its global outreach, largely to counter China's growing influence there.

China has no objection to normal exchanges and cooperation between relevant parties and Pacific Island countries, and has always advocated that the international community should pay more attention to and support the development and revitalisation of the island countries, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily briefing.

However, Wang added, We also oppose any introduction of any geopolitical games into the Pacific Island country region."



Biden's planned Papua New Guinea visit would have been the first by a sitting U.S. president to the island country of more than 9 million people.

The area has received diminished attention from the U.S. in the aftermath of the Cold War, and China has increasingly filled the vacuum through increased aid, development and security cooperation.

Also Read Homes destroyed, 4 reported dead from Papua New Guinea earthquake Antony Blinken expresses concern over China collecting DNA of Tibetans China violated sovereignty of nations across 5 continents: Antony Blinken China no longer comfortable with status quo on Taiwan: Antony Blinken Israeli-Palestinian tensions test US diplomacy as Antony Blinken visits Pak police obtain warrant to search ex-PM Imran Khan's residence in Lahore Britain unveils $1.2 bn strategy to boost semiconductor chip industry High inflation, lower-demand drive car sales in Pakistan down by 84% YoY UK extends Russian export ban to diamonds, metals over Ukraine conflict Rishi Sunak, Akshata Murty's fortunes take a hit in new rich list analysis

The U.S. and regional partners New Zealand and Australia were particularly concerned when China signed a security pact last year with the Solomon Islands that could allow the presence of Chinese naval ships and security forces.

The Solomon Islands later agreed to sign an accord between the United States and more than a dozen Pacific nations after indirect references to China were removed, with its foreign minister saying he didn't want his country to be forced to take sides.

Last September, Biden also hosted leaders from more than a dozen Pacific Island countries at the White House, announcing a new strategy to help the region with climate change and maritime security.

A second summit is planned later this year.

His administration also recently opened embassies in the Solomon Islands and Tonga and has plans to open one in Kiribati.

During his visit on Sunday and Monday to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea's capital, Blinken will meet with leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum on Biden's behalf, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Thursday.

The sides will discuss shared priorities such as tackling the climate crisis, advancing inclusive economic growth for the people of the Pacific Islands, and highlighting the U.S. commitment to realise a prosperous, resilient, and secure Pacific Islands region, Miller said, without mentioning China.

Blinken will also meet with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape and sign bilateral defence cooperation and maritime security agreements, Miller said.
Direct flights resumed on Friday between Russia and Georgia amid protests and sharp criticism from the South Caucasus nation's president, just over a week after the Kremlin unexpectedly lifted a four-year-old ban despite rocky relations.

Georgian police on Friday afternoon dispersed protesters who had gathered at Tbilisi airport to meet an Azimuth Airlines flight from Moscow, the first to arrive from Russia since July 2019, with signs and slogans criticizing the Kremlin and what they described as the current Georgian government's pro-Russia course.

Georgia's pro-Western president, Salome Zourabichvili, who has previously clashed with the government over mending ties with Moscow, also voiced her opposition in a tweet posted on Friday.

Despite the opposition of the Georgian people, Russia has landed its unwelcome flight in Tbilisi. No to flights to Russia!, Zourabichvili said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last Wednesday unexpectedly abolished visas for Georgian nationals and lifted the flight ban Moscow unilaterally imposed in 2019 after a wave of anti-Kremlin protests in Georgia.

Putin's decrees came a day after leaders of several Central Asian and South Caucasus states stood beside him at a military parade marking the anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II, in what looked like the Kremlin seeking to show that Russia still had allies and wasn't completely isolated.

Also Read India invited to join regional group on Afghanistan: Russian FM Lavrov Ex-prez Obama urges Georgia Democrats to push turnout for Warnock Georgia special grand jury wraps up probe of Donald Trump, allies Georgia legislature passes resolution condemning Hinduphobia in US Ukraine needs more than a $30 billion arsenal for counterstrike on Russia 11 killed in road accident along China-Vietnam border: China officials Nepal Foreign Minister Saud prepares for PM Prachanda's India visit Wall Street points higher on hopes for US debt ceiling breakthrough Any indictments in Trump election investigation would likely come in August Pak police arrive at Imran Khan's residence in Lahore for search operation

Following Putin's decrees, Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement lifting its 2019 recommendation for Russian citizens to avoid travelling to Georgia.

Russia-Georgia relations have been complicated since the Soviet Union's collapse in the early 1990s. The two countries fought a short war in 2008 that ended with Georgia losing control of two Russia-friendly separatist regions.

In the aftermath, Tbilisi severed diplomatic ties with Moscow, and the issue of the regions' status remains a key irritant, even as relations have somewhat improved.

Opposition lawmaker Giorgi Vashadze told reporters that Georgia's pro-Western political parties planned to hold a rally outside the parliament building on Friday evening.

The current authorities want rapprochement with Russia, but the population is against this and is committed to the Euro-Atlantic course, Vashadze said, referencing Tbilisi's stalled European Union. membership bid and decades-long aspirations to join NATO.

By contrast, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday said at a media briefing that restoring direct flights from Russia was the right thing to do.

Garibashvili stressed that Tbilisi wouldn't allow flights by Russian airlines sanctioned by the West, but said that stopping trade and economic relations with Moscow would harm the interests of the Georgian people.

The Georgian aviation authority this week authorised two smaller Russian airlines, Azimuth Airlines and Red Wings, to launch flights to Tbilisi and Georgia's second city of Kutaisi.
Leaders of the world's most powerful democracies planned to devote much of the first full day of the Group of Seven summit to finding new ways to punish Russia for its 15-month invasion of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear threats against Ukraine, along with North Korea's months-long barrage of missile tests and China's rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal, have resonated with Japan's push to make nuclear disarmament a major part of the summit.

World leaders Friday visited a peace park dedicated to the tens of thousands who died in the world's first wartime atomic bomb detonation.

After group photos and a symbolic tree planting, a new round of sanctions were to be unveiled against Moscow, with a focus on redoubling efforts to enforce existing sanctions meant to stifle Russia's war effort and hold accountable those behind it, a U.S. official said. Russia is now the most-sanctioned country in the world, but there are questions about the effectiveness of the financial penalties.

The U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement, said the U.S. component of the actions would blacklist about 70 Russian and third-country entities involved in Russia's defense production, and sanction more than 300 individuals, entities, aircraft and vessels.

The official added that the other G7 nations would undertake similar steps to further isolate Russia and to undermine its ability to wage war in Ukraine. Details were to emerge over the course of the weekend summit.

Also Read Ukraine urges nations to vote to preserve its territory in UN resolution UN draft resolution calls for peace to ensure Ukraine's sovereignty Fire erupts at Crimea oil depot as hit by Ukraine's drone: Russian official Ukrainian Military hints hitting Russian cruise missiles in occupied Crimea A year after, the global economy changed by Russia Ukraine war: Report UK announces ban on Russian diamonds in fresh sanctions ahead of G7 Twitter accuses Microsoft of data misuse, foreshadowing a fight over AI Disney scraps plans for new Florida campus as fight with Guv continues LIVE: Tsunami alert for Vanuatu after 7.7 magnitude quake jolts far Pacific Indonesia's Merapi volcano erupts, releasing lava 24 times in a day

The European Union was focused on closing the door on loopholes and plans to restrict trade in Russian diamonds, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, told reporters early Friday.

He said the G7 would also try to convey to leaders of countries that are non-member guests at the summit why it's so important to enforce sanctions.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, wants nuclear disarmament to be a major focus of discussions, and he will formally start the summit at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park.

The visit by world leaders to a park dedicated to preserving reminders of Aug. 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, will be a striking image to start the summit.

An estimated 140,000 people were killed, and a fast-dwindling number of now-elderly survivors have ensured that Hiroshima has become synonymous with anti-nuclear peace efforts.

On Thursday night, Kishida opened the global diplomacy with a sitdown with President Joe Biden after Biden's arrival at a nearby military base. Kishida also held talks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before the three-day gathering of leaders opens.

The Japan-U.S. alliance is the very foundation of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region, Kishida told Biden in opening remarks. Japan, facing threats from authoritarian China, Russia and North Korea, has been expanding its military but also relies on 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan and U.S. military might.

We very much welcome that the cooperation has evolved in leaps and bounds, Kishida said.

Biden, who greeted U.S. and Japanese troops at nearby Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni before his meeting with Kishida, said: When our countries stand together, we stand stronger, and I believe the whole world is safer when we do."



As G7 attendees made their way to Hiroshima, Moscow unleashed yet another aerial attack on the Ukrainian capital. Loud explosions thundered through Kyiv during the early hours, marking the ninth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the city after weeks of relative quiet.

The crisis in Ukraine: I'm sure that's what the conversation is going to start with, said Matthew P. Goodman, senior vice president for economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said there will be discussions about the battlefield in Ukraine and on the "state of play on sanctions and the steps that the G7 will collectively commit to on enforcement in particular.

The United States has frozen Russian Central Bank funds, restricted banks' access to SWIFT -- the dominant system for global financial transactions -- and sanctioned thousands of Russian firms, government officials, oligarchs and their families.

The Group of Seven nations collectively imposed a $60 per-barrel price cap on Russian oil and diesel last year, which the U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday defended in a new progress report, stating that the cap has been successful in suppressing Russian oil revenues. Treasury cites Russian Ministry of Finance data showing that the Kremlin's oil revenues from January to March this year were more than 40% lower than last year.

The economic impact of sanctions depends largely on the extent to which a targeted country is able to circumvent them, according to a recent Congressional Research Service repor t. So for the past month, U.S. Treasury officials have traveled across Europe and Central Asia to press countries that still do business with the Kremlin to cut their financial ties.

The challenge is to make sure the sanctions are painful against Russia, not against ourselves, said Michel. It's very clear that each package is more difficult than the previous one and requires more political effort to make a decision.

G7 leaders and invited guests from several other counties are also expected to discuss how to deal with China's growing assertiveness and military buildup as concerns rise that it could could try to seize Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict. China claims the self-governing island as its own and its ships and warplanes regularly patrol near it.

Security was tight in Hiroshima, with thousands of police deployed throughout the city. A small group of protesters was considerably outnumbered by police as they gathered Wednesday evening beside the ruins of the Atomic Peace Dome memorial, holding signs including one which read No G7 Imperialist Summit!



In a bit of dueling diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting the leaders of the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for a two-day summit in the Chinese city of Xi'an.

The leaders are due to discuss efforts to strengthen the global economy and address rising prices that are squeezing families and government budgets around the world, particularly in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The debate over raising the debt limit in the U.S., the world's largest economy, has threatened to overshadow the G7 talks. Biden plans to hurry back to Washington after the summit for debt negotiations, scrapping planned meetings in Papua New Guinea and Australia.

The British prime minister arrived in Japan earlier Thursday and paid a visit to the JS Izumo, a ship that can carry helicopters and fighter jets able to take off and land vertically.

During their bilateral meeting Thursday, Sunak and Kishida announced a series of agreements on issues including defense; trade and investment; technology, and climate change, Sunak's office said.

The G7 includes Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union.

A host of other countries have been invited to the summit in hopes of strengthening ties to non-G7 countries while shoring up support for efforts like isolating Russia.

Leaders from Australia, Brazil, India, Indonesia and South Korea are among the guests. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to join by video link.
The Group of Seven (G7) leaders, who will be joined this weekend by Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, vowed to restrict any exports to Russia that could help it in its 15-month war against Ukraine.

Leaders of the worlds richest democracies agreed on Friday to stiffen sanctions against Russia, while a draft communique to be issued after their talks in the Japanese city of Hiroshima stressed the need to reduce reliance on trade with China.
"WELCOME TO MY COUNTRY!" Central Asian students send their best wishes to Chinese friends!

People's Daily Online) 15:32, May 19, 2023

The China-Central Asia Summit is being held on Thursday and Friday in northwest China's Xi'an. What kind of food and scenery can we look forward to in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan)? Let's get some recommendations from international students from these countries at Beijing Foreign Studies University!

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Liang Jun)
Japan is mulling to join India's UPI payment system and promote cooperation on the digital identity system, an official statement said on Friday.

Bhutan, Nepal, Singapore and UAE have already started accepting Unified Payment Interface (UPI) payment systems.

"Almost every global forum, whether G20, SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) or G7, wherever we are presenting Hon'ble PM Modi's Digital India vision, has very good traction.

"People understand how Modi ji has democratised digital technology. I thank the Japanese digital minister. He has accepted PM Modi's very deep and extensive vision of Digital India," Union Minister for IT and Telecom Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

Japanese Digital Minister Kono Taro earlier on Friday said in an interview with a media channel that Japan is mulling joining India's UPI system and working on mutually recognising digital identities as well.

"We just had our G7 Digital Ministers' meeting last month and we had our Indian Digital Minister Mr Vaishnaw join with us and right now. Japan and India are trying to promote digital cooperation.

Also Read ICICI Bank to offer EMI facility for UPI transactions above Rs 10,000 Paytm, PhonePe to launch UPI Lite for smaller epayments soon: Report UPI volume cap deadline extended by 2 yrs in relief for PhonePe, Google Pay UPI continues to dominate digital payments thanks to wide use of QR codes Top card cos to go live with UPI-linked RuPay credit card feature by June Fed's Jerome Powell says no decisions made yet on next rate action Biden endorses plans to train Ukrainian pilots on US-made F-16 fighter jets Ford CEO Farley out to prove Wall Street wrong on 'crazy high' EV goal China to use Russian port as hub for inter-provincial transfer of goods Flight between Russia, Georgia resumes despite protests, strained ties

"We are now seriously thinking about joining Indian UPI, the payments system and also, we are contemplating how we can mutually recognise e-ID, for well starting with cooperation, so we can increase interoperability," Taro said.
Japanese and US leaders met in Hiroshima prior to a larger gathering of G7 nations, overshadowed by protests and a tense atmosphere.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who holds the G7's rotating presidency and will host a three-day G7 summit which starts on Friday, held talks with US President Joe Biden on Thursday evening in the western Japanese city.

The two leaders discussed further strengthening deterrence of the Japan-US alliance and decided to advance Japan-US-South Korea cooperation, according to notes released after the meeting.

Hiroshima, devastated by US atomic bombings in 1945, has become the scene of intense demonstrations decrying the bloc days before the summit, while police officers from all over the nation were seen patrolling the streets, Xinhua news agency reported.

Nearly 100 protesters gathered from Wednesday to Thursday in front of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, also known as Atomic Bomb Dome, at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which will be shut till next Monday due to the summit.

Pulling up banners and signs such as "Crush the G7 Summit" and "No War-themed Conference," protesters shouted slogans such as "No Japan-US leaders talk" and "Withdraw US military bases in Japan".

Also Read Biden, Kishida meet: To announce steps to raise US-Japan ties to new level Biden to host Japan FM Kishida for talks on North Korea, economy Japan will carefully monitor investigation against Putin: PM Kishida Security tightened in Tripura ahead of vote counting, says Official Yoon Suk Yeol, Fumio Kishida vow better Seoul-Tokyo ties following summit Twitter Blue subscribers will now be able to upload 2-hr-long videos: Musk WHO recommends new Covid-19 shots should target only XBB variants In Twitter case, US Supreme Court protects companies from terrorism Wall Street gains, dollar climbs on solid data, debt ceiling progress Former Russian unit resumes LNG supplies to GAIL, 6 US firms offer stake

The protesters, including university students and family members of atomic bombing victims, rallied along one of the main streets in Hiroshima, crowded by police over 10 times the number of protesters.

The Japan-US leaders' talk on Thursday will eventually lead to upgrade of the military alliance between the two countries in East Asia, said Ryo Miyahara, head of a Hiroshima citizens' group and one of the protests' organisers, citing the Japanese government's aggressive announcements of counterattack abilities in striking enemy bases and doubling its defence spending.

"Today's talks will definitely ignore the ideas of ordinary people," said Akamine Chiaki, a college student from Okinawa at Thursday's rally.

His words were echoed by another protester on-site, a 23-year-old French student named Fred who now studies Japanese in Osaka, who said there is nothing to be expected from the G7 gathering.

"The G7 summit has nothing to do with the interests of humanity," he told Xinhua, adding that it is simply a game for the rich bloc.

--IANS

int/khz/
Nepal's Foreign Minister N P Saud on Friday met his predecessors and discussed the possible agenda of the proposed visit of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" to India, sources close to the minister said.

Prachanda's visit to India has been postponed thrice due to internal reasons.

The visit to India would have been his first foreign trip after he assumed charge as Prime Minister for the third time in December last year.

Saud held consultations with ex-foreign secretaries and former Nepalese ambassadors to various countries on Thursday, according to an aide to the foreign minister.

During the meetings, matters relating to water resources, trade, commerce, border, tourism and culture came up, sources said.

Saud was sworn in as Nepal's Foreign Minister last month.

Also Read Indian Embassy, Nepal govt sign MoUs for projects in education, healthcare China's new envoy vows to further enhance bilateral ties with Nepal Nepal plane crash: At least 68 dead, rescuers search for 4 missing persons Nepal plane crash: Death toll rises to 70; handover of bodies begins Nepal, China to resume two-way trade via key border points from today Wall Street points higher on hopes for US debt ceiling breakthrough Any indictments in Trump election investigation would likely come in August Pak police arrive at Imran Khan's residence in Lahore for search operation Russian PM to visit China amid criticism of Western arms sales to Ukraine China warns against 'geopolitical games'; Blinken to visit Papua New Guinea

Although the date of the Prime Minister's forthcoming visit to India is yet to be fixed, Prachanda is likely to visit India in June, after Saud presents the budget for the new fiscal year in May-end, sources said.

However, the foreign ministry is yet to officially announce the date and the itinerary of the visit.

Earlier, the government was busy preparing for Prachanda's visit to India between the second and the third week of May.

Prachanda visited India in July last year at the invitation of BJP National President J P Nadda.

He was sworn in as the Prime Minister for the third time on December 26 last year after he dramatically walked out of the pre-poll alliance led by the Nepali Congress and joined hands with opposition leader K P Sharma Oli.
A Lahore anti-terrorism court has granted pre-arrest bail to former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in three cases registered against him after the May 9 violence that started after his arrest in the Al Qadir Trust case, Dawn reported.

The ATC judge barred the police from arresting Imran Khan till June 2.

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) Judge Ijaz Ahmed Buttar announced the verdict after hearing arguments from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan's counsel Salman Safdar in cases related to the attack on the Jinnah House, PTI protesters' clashes with police at Zaman Park and Zilley Shah's murder, ARY News reported.

The cases were lodged against Imran Khan at Sarwar Road, Shahdman and Gulberg police stations. During the hearing, Imran Khan's lawyer, Salman Safdar, said that the cases lodged against Imran Khan were politically motivated.

Salman Safdar expressed concerns over no action taken against the individual responsible for injuring the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and questioned why the attacker had not been arrested, as per the news report.

The ATC judge asked Imran Khan's lawyer to cooperate with the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in the Zilley Shah murder case and warned to cancel his client's bail in case of non-cooperation. Salman Safdar assured the court that they will cooperate with the team investigating the Zilley Shah murder case.

Also Read IMF treating cash-strapped Pakistan like a 'colony': Maryam Nawaz Pak anti-corruption watchdog seeks 14-day physical remand of Imran Khan Imran Khan's party to contest bypolls in all 33 vacant parliamentary seats Miffed Pakistan judges briefly adjourn hearing on Imran's bail plea My arrest part of London plan, says Imran; accuses govt of planning arrest Official death toll from cyclone Mocha at least 145, says Myanmar More than 50% of world's largest lakes are losing water: Research Tsunami warning issued in New Caledonia after 7.7 magnitude earthquake 7.7 magnitude earthquake in far Pacific creates tsunami threat for Vanuatu Salman Rushdie makes first public appearance since stabbing incident

After the arguments in the hearing, the ATC judge decided to reserve the decision on the interim bail applications of Imran Khan in two cases pertaining to the Zaman Park vandalism case, according to ARY News report.

The ATC judge barred the police from arresting Imran Khan till June 2. Ijaz Ahmed Buttar also directed Imran Khan to become part of the investigation in the cases and submit surety bonds worth Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 100,000 in all the cases, according to ARY News report.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan was arrested by Rangers personnel from Islamabad High Court (IHC). The PTI chairman was arrested as part of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

After Imran Khan's arrest, PTI workers held protests in cities across the country, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar, and Mardan, reported Geo News. Several videos surfacing on social media platforms show groups of men, some with their faces covered, entering the gated premises of GHQ with sticks, which they later were seen using to hit the walls.
In a fresh round of sanctions, the UK has announced a ban on Russian diamonds, alongside the military-industrial complex and metals amid the ongoing Ukraine war.

An industry worth USD4 billion in exports in 2021, the ban on diamonds comes amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The ban has also been announced on imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel, the UK government said in a statement on Thursday.

Along with these trade sanctions, the UK is also preparing to target an additional 86 members of Putin's military-industrial complex as well as those engaged in vital industries including energy, metals, and shipping, the statement said.

As the UK continues to engage with G7 allies to address all types of sanctions circumvention, they also include those who actively help the Kremlin in its efforts to weaken the impact of current sanctions, it said.

As he meets with G7 leaders in Hiroshima, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will also issue a warning against complacency in preserving "our ideals and against despotic governments," the UK government said.

To hinder Russia's war effort, the UK has applied the harshest set of sanctions ever placed on a significant economy, it said.

Also Read Amid Ukraine conflict, Covid-19, India emerges as voice of Global South Russia threat to exit Ukraine grain deal adds risk to global food security Ukraine works to restore water, power after Russian strikes Kherson Russia attacks Ukraine with 16 Iran-made drones, Kiev officials claim Russia attacks Ukrainian energy systems leading to power emergency Twitter accuses Microsoft of data misuse, foreshadowing a fight over AI Disney scraps plans for new Florida campus as fight with Guv continues Latest LIVE: US, UK announce fresh sanctions on Russia ahead of G7 meet Indonesia's Merapi volcano erupts, releasing lava 24 times in a day 1 person killed, 3 injured in motorcycle bomb blast in Pakistan's Peshawar

"To date we have sanctioned over 1,500 individuals and entities, freezing more than 18 billion of assets in the UK, and sanctioned over 20 billion of UK-Russia goods trade," the official statement of UK government read.

Along with other G7 leaders, the prime minister is set to visit the A-Bomb dome site at the Hiroshima Peace Park before participating in discussions on global collaboration, the G7 reaction to the Ukraine, Indo-Pacific security policy, and nuclear non-proliferation.

"He will urge the international community to stay the course on Ukraine, ensuring it has the diplomatic, military and economic support it needs, in the interests of international peace and security," the government statement said.

In his meeting with President Zelenskyy on Monday, the Prime Minister confirmed increased military assistance and emphasised the significance of long-term international support for Ukraine, particularly for the country's future in NATO. This announcement comes after that meeting. The leaders talked about Ukraine's road to a stronger political alliance and greater cooperation with G7 and NATO members.

Recently, Russia has considerably increased the number of missile attacks against Ukraine, but it also seems that Ukraine is shooting down more of Russia's missiles.

Meanwhile, the United States will also unveil new sanctions to "extensively restrict Russia's access to goods that matter for its battlefield capabilities," a US official said on Friday ahead of a G7 summit in Japan.

The United States apparently plans to blacklist about 70 companies and organizations for selling restricted US products to Russia.

"We will continue to expand export controls to make it even harder for Russia to sustain its war machine. Among other things, this involves extensively restricting categories of goods key to the battlefield, and also cutting off roughly 70 entities from Russia and third countries from receiving US exports by adding them to the Commerce blacklist," the official stated.
The UK on Friday extended its package of sanctions against Russia with a ban on Russian diamonds, an industry worth USD 4 billion in exports in 2021, as well as imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel and sanctioned 86 more people and entities linked with the country over the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is in Japan for the G7 Summit, said the trade measures and individual sanctions will hit Russian President Vladimir Putin's key revenue streams.

During talks with world leaders in Hiroshima the site of the World War II atomic bombing, Sunak warned against complacency in defending democratic values and standing up to autocratic regimes.

For the sake of global peace and security, we must show that brutal violence and coercion does not reap rewards, said Sunak.

As today's sanctions announcements demonstrate, the G7 remains unified in the face of the threat from Russia and steadfast in our support for Ukraine. We are meeting today in Hiroshima, a city that exemplifies both the horrors of war and the dividends of peace. We must redouble our efforts to defend the values of freedom, democracy and tolerance, both in Ukraine and here in the Indo-Pacific, he said.

The latest announcement follows Sunak's meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a surprise visit to London earlier this week when he confirmed new military aid and stressed the importance of long-term international support for Ukraine.

Also Read US sanctions on Russian diamonds: Surat industry stares at 25% job loss Lessons from a year of war Metal stocks: Will export duty rollback help? UN draft resolution calls for peace to ensure Ukraine's sovereignty Fire erupts at Crimea oil depot as hit by Ukraine's drone: Russian official Rishi Sunak, Akshata Murty's fortunes take a hit in new rich list analysis Pak's anti-Terrorism court grants pre-arrest bail to Imran Khan in 3 cases Official death toll from cyclone Mocha at least 145, says Myanmar More than 50% of world's largest lakes are losing water: Research Tsunami warning issued in New Caledonia after 7.7 magnitude earthquake

The leaders discussed Ukraine's path to deeper political partnership and increased interoperability with the G7 and NATO allies, Downing Street said.

Putin and his supporters must and will pay the price for their illegal invasion of Ukraine. That's why through today's new sanctions we are increasing the economic pressure on Putin making it harder for him to wage his illegal war and inflict untold suffering on innocent Ukrainians, said UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

We will continue to increase this pressure and crack down on all emerging forms of circumvention until Ukraine prevails and peace is secured. Our support for Ukraine is, and will remain, resolute for as long as it takes, he said.

The latest set of 86 sanctions target individuals and organisations connected to Russia's energy, metals, defence, transport, and financial sectors, which the British government said is aimed at ramping up pressure on Putin's remaining revenue and attempts to use these sectors to support the military machine.

The UK Foreign Office said the package builds on the UK's recent sanctions against Russia, including implementing new trade measures to ban every item used on the battlefield to date and designations to crackdown on "financial fixers and oligarch enablers" last month.
Stathera Inc., a leading provider of MEMS (Micro-electromechanical Systems) timing solutions, announced today that the company has raised $15 Million in a Series A funding round. The round was co-led by BDC Capitals Deep Tech Venture Fund and Celesta Capital, with additional participation from strategic investors including MediaTek, Seiko Epson, and TXC.

Technology scaling using conventional timing architectures has hit a wall when it comes to synchronizing next-generation electronics. Statheras technology introduces a new approach to integrating and manufacturing timing devices, said George Xereas, Statheras CEO and Co-founder. We are excited to be the only company with state-of-the-art DualModeTM frequency technology, which has the potential to re-architect the entire $9.4 Billion electronics timing industry. We are grateful to our investors for recognizing and investing in this potential, which will allow us to expand our world class team and drive commercialization.

As a core component of their commercialization strategy, Stathera is developing numerous strategic partnerships with industry-leading companies who will help enable global distribution of their products. Stathera has entered into a commercial collaboration agreement with South Korean conglomerate, Doosan. The company is also pursuing partnerships with semiconductor industry leader MediaTek, as well as quartz timing leader TXC.

Businesses and consumers today expect more. It is clear that next generation electronics are in great need of new solutions that can meet the growing demands of performance and cost, said Nicholas Brathwaite, Founding Managing Partner of Celesta Capital. We are delighted to support the fantastic team at Stathera as they work to bring their differentiated technology to the market at scale.

We are proud to support Montreal-based and founded Stathera and its highly talented team,  adds Charles Lesperance, Partner, Deep Tech venture Fund at BDC Capital. Alongside other notable investors in this round, were confident that the companys high-performance MEMS timing solutions developed to replace quartz oscillators will allow them to be at the forefront of innovation with forthcoming products that will enable new capabilities in sectors like IoT, computing, automotive and telecommunications.

Stathera intends to use the proceeds from the Series A funding to fully commercialize its DualModeTM GEN1 MEMS timing product line, increasing production capacity in the months ahead to meet anticipated customer demand. In parallel, Stathera plans to invest heavily in the advancement of its GEN2 high-performance technology, which brings an improvement of one order of magnitude over legacy MEMS timing solutions.

With the Series A investment, BDC Capital Partner Charles Lesperance and Celesta Capital Partner Terry Gilton will join Statheras Board of Directors.

About Stathera:

Stathera is fabless semiconductor company focused on providing cutting edge MEMS-based timing solutions. With offices in Montreal and Toronto, our team is re-architecting the traditional quartz-based timing industry with the introduction of state-of-the-art DualMode frequency technology. This breakthrough innovation is redefining what is possible in timing applications and synchronization, and has the potential to transform the entire $9.4 Billion electronics timing industry.

For more information, please visit www.stathera.com.

About BDC Capital

BDC Capital is the investment arm of BDC, Canadas business development bank. With over $6 billion under management, BDC Capital serves as a strategic partner to the countrys most innovative firms. It offers businesses a full spectrum of capital, from seed investments to growth equity as well as ownership transition solutions, supporting Canadian entrepreneurs who have the ambition to stand out on the world stage. Visit bdc.ca/capital.

About Celesta Capital:

Celesta Capital is a leading deep technology venture capital firm that leverages synergies between leading centers of innovation in the US, India, and Israel to create globally impactful enterprises. The Celesta team, with deep operating experience, has built multi-billion-dollar businesses at companies such as Intel, Cisco, and Flex. The firm has funded over 90 technology companies globally, spanning numerous advanced hardware and software applications. Learn more at http://celesta.vc.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230518005002/en/
HUNDREDS of people, who want to work in the United Kingdom, are losing huge sums of money to fake agents who are promising to facilitate smooth migration from Zimbabwe.

In the latest scam, Bethel Shelton Rundofa of Waterfalls was sold a dummy by one Tadiwanashe Themba Ndlovu, aged 21.

He promised to facilitate a certificate of sponsorship, in two weeks, for a hefty fee of US$4000.

Hoodwinked, Rundofa made an appointment with Ndlovu and the two met in the CBD at a certain office near Third Street and Central Avenue.

Ndlovu is said to have explained the process and Rundofa returned the next day with US$4000, which she paid to Ndlovu.

She received an affidavit from one, Gerald Pondai, who was working hand-in-hand with Ndlovu.

Rundofa realised that she had been duped after Ndlovu became evasive and failed to provide the certificate of sponsorship within the agreed times.

She filed a police report.

Ndlovu appeared in court yesterday facing fraud charges and was released on $300 000 bail.

Last month, another job syndicate candidate was busted.

It landed Frank Nguwi in custody after he allegedly advertised two job offers in Bedfordshire for domiciliary care and live-in care on Facebook.

Interested candidates were asked to deposit money into an FBC Bank account and Nguwi became evasive after receiving the money.

Nguwis victims lost US$10 000 through his scam.

He worked with his suspected accomplices Tapiwa Mugove, Loyd Idaishe Chiwanza and one only identified as Calvin, who are still at large. H Metro
United Nations General Assembly - 12/Oct/2022 Getty Images

Russia accuses West of dragging Ukraine into prolonged conflict, US says arms shipments prevent Moscow from brutalizing Ukrainian civilians

UNITED NATIONS (AA) - Russia and the US traded barbs at the UN on Thursday over arming Ukraine, with Moscow blaming the West for using the Eastern European country as a ''testing site'' for their weapons.

Speaking at the UN Security Council, Russia's UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia said that Ukraine was being dragged into a prolonged conflict by the West.

''The delivery of more and more powerful weapons systems and their ongoing transfer of them to Kyiv in order to carry out strikes and also the training of Ukrainian armed forces on their own territory means that these states are not only parties to the armed conflict with Russia... but they're also accomplices of war crimes,'' said Nebenzia.

US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood called the Russian narrative ''twisted.''

''We are here again, listening to Russia's allegations that arms shipments from the United States and other countries providing support to Ukraine in its self-defense are the grave threat in the Ukraine conflict and not Russia's invasion of its sovereign neighbor,'' Wood said.

''These arms shipments help prevent Russia from further brutalizing Ukraine's civilians, forcing them from their homes and driving up energy, food costs across Europe and around the world.''

He said that arms shipments by the US and others to Ukraine are not the cause of the continuation of Russia's ''needless'' war.

Betul Yuruk/AA
Enterprise policies

Within this document all references to "we" is a reference to Falmouth Publishing

Privacy Policy

We take your privacy very seriously and will never sell, rent, or otherwise disseminate your personal information without your express consent.

Privacy and Your Account. Registration data and other information about you are subject to our Privacy Policy. Your information may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country where Falmouth Publishing Co, Inc. has facilities, and by subscribing to a Service, you consent to the transfer of information outside of your country. If your access to a Service has been provided by or through a third party (for example, your employer or an education institution where you are a student) (each, a "Third Party"), the Third Party may have provided us with information about you to enable us to provide you with access to the Service and distinguish you from other subscribers (such as your email address or name). If you access a Service using a password, you are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of that password. If you provide someone else with access to your password to a Service, they will have the ability to view information about your account and make changes through the website for the Service. Similarly, if you tell someone the answer to your security question for a Service, they will be able to request information about your account and make changes through Customer Service. You agree to notify us promptly if you change your address or email so we can continue to contact you and send any notices required hereunder. If you fail to notify us promptly of a change, then any notice we send to your old address or email shall be deemed sufficient notice.

Personal Information

Website registration

Registration at our website requires a valid e-mail address, username and password. If you are a subscriber, your subscription number is attached to your registration.

You may add additional personal information to your registration profile. This information is voluntarily provided and is not required to receive any services from us.

Website usage: Any content shared by you may be stored under your registration. Also stored under your registration will be any e-mail newsletters you have chosen to receive, saved items, follow notifications and calendar of event submissions. Automated technologies to collect and store this data may include third-party cookies, server logs and other similar technologies.

Due to the limitation on content provided for free to non-subscribers, content viewed by you will be stored under your registration if you are not a subscriber. This will also allow you to view an article you have already viewed without it counting down your free looks.

Comments on website: Any comment made by you and approved by us will show on the website with your username.

Subscription

Identity and Contact Data: A subscription to any one of our newspapers (The Falmouth Enterprise, The Mashpee Enterprise, The Sandwich Enterprise, The Bourne Enterprise), requires that you provide us with your first name, last name, delivery/mailing address, billing address, e-mail address and telephone number.

Financial Data: Financial data needed to purchase a subscription would include payment card details.

Transaction Data: This includes details about payments and the services you have purchased from us.

In processing your order and managing your payment methods, we may need to share your information with a third-party service provider. Payments are proessed by Paypal and Authorize.net.

Gift subscriptions: Before you use the personal information of another person, you must obtain that persons consent to both the disclosure and the processing of that information in accordance with this privacy notice. If you provide us with that personal information, you acknowledge that you have the other persons permission to do so.

Statistics Data: We gather data that is included in statistics about our website users. Examples include browser type and version, browser language, operating system, date/time stamp, time zone settings, basic geolocation, device type, unique device identifiers, referring/exit pages, browse plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform on devices used to access our services.

We may use third-party applications and automated technologies (for example, Google Analytics) to determine how often readers access our content with the purpose of gaining readership and providing interesting content.

We may collect, use and share statistical or demographic data for any purpose. This data may be derived from your personal information but does not directly or indirectly reveal your identity.

Data collected from European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA)/Switzerland

We do not collect personal information on race or ethnicity; sexual orientation; religious or philosophical beliefs; political opinions; information about your health, genetic and biometric data; information about criminal convictions and offenses; sex life; or trade union membership.

If the personal information needed to provide our services is refused, we will not be able to provide that service (delivery of our print edition, viewing of our e-edition, viewing of our web content).

Website Audience

Our website serves current and past residents of the Upper Cape. Visitors to the Upper Cape area may also have an interest in our website and the advertising on it.

Our website is not intended specifically for residents of the European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA)/Switzerland.

Security Policy

Third Party Web Sites, Services and Software. We may link to, or promote, web sites or services from other companies or offer you the ability to download software from other companies. You agree that we are not responsible for, and do not control, those web sites, services and software.

Your personal information is always safe. Our software is the industry standard and among the best software available today. It encrypts all of your personal information, including your name, and address, so that it cannot be read over the internet.

Comments and Moderation

User Moderation: In order to keep the discussions on topic we have implemented a report feature which is there to allow members to report comments they feel may be in violation of these policies. All reported comments will be assessed by the web team at Falmouth publishing, and at that time we will make a final decision to either hold the comment, if we determine it to not be in line with our policies, or put it back on the site once a comment has been approved by the web team it cannot be reported again. Users who are found to be abusing the reporting feature will receive one warning email and if the abuse continues will be banned from all online services provided by Falmouth Publishing.

Web Team Moderation: The capenews.net web team will continually monitor comments posted to the site and reserves the right to remove any comments that are not in line with our policies. Any users found to be abusing the comment feature will be banned from all online services provided by Falmouth Publishing.

Reasons comments will be removed include but are not limited to :

Off Topic-Comments that are not on topic with the current discussion thread or are otherwise meant to disrupt the discussion.

Spam-Any comments found to be advertisements.

Abusive-Any comments that are directly abusive to other users of the site.

Copyright Notice

All content is copyrighted by and remains the property of the Enterprise, except original photographs which are copyrighted by and remain the property of the owner. Reprints are for personal use only. Content may not be copied or reproduced in any manner without express permission in writing from the copyright holder and may not be used for publicity, promotion or advertising. Please contact the Enterprise for assistance.

Photo Contests

Photos must be submitted by the original photographer

Enterprise employees, and their families are ineligible to enter the contest.

The original photographer retains all rights to the works submitted while Falmouth Publishing retains the limited right to use all submitted photos in print and online including social media for the purpose of promoting this and future contests.

Limit of three submissions per photographer per contest.

Full resolution images must be available in order to win the contest.

Falmouth Publishing accepts no liability for any losses or damage resulting from entering any photo contest on capenews.net.

By entering Enterprise Photo Contests you agree to receive regular email updates from capenews.net

General. This Agreement contains the final and entire agreement between us regarding your use of the Services and supersedes all previous and contemporaneous oral or written agreements regarding your use of the Services. We may discontinue or change the Services, or their availability to you, at any time. This Agreement is personal to you, which means that you may not assign your rights or obligations under this Agreement to anyone. No third party is a beneficiary of this Agreement. You agree that this Agreement, as well as any and all claims arising from this Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States of America applicable to contracts made entirely within Massachusetts and wholly performed in Massachusetts, without regard to any conflict or choice of law principles. The sole jurisdiction and venue for any litigation arising out of this Agreement will be an appropriate federal or state court located in Massachusetts. This Agreement will not be governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

We reserve the right to change these policies at any time so please check back regularly.

Publisher Contact Information

E-mail: bhough@capenews.net or webeditor@capenews.net

Phone: 508-548-4700 between 8 AM and 5 PM (Eastern US Time Zone)

Fax: 508-540-8407

Mail: 50 Depot Avenue, Falmouth, MA 02540
CUET UG 2023: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the CUET UG Admit Card 2023 for the upcoming May 21 exam. Candidates who have registered for the CUET UG 2023 examination can now download their hall tickets from the official website of NTA CUET at cuet.samarth.ac.in. It is important for candidates to possess their admit cards to gain entry into the examination hall.

Step-by-Step Guide to Download CUET UG 2023 Hall Tickets:

Visit the official website of NTA CUET at cuet.samarth.ac.in.

On the home page, locate and click on the "CUET UG Admit Card 2023" link.

Enter your login details, such as registration number and password, and click on the submit button.

The CUET UG admit card will be displayed on the screen.

Carefully review all the details mentioned on the admit card.

Download the admit card from the website using the provided download option.

Take a printout of the CUET UG hall ticket 2023 for future use.

The CUET UG 2023 exam will be conducted from May 21 to May 31, 2023, in Computer Based Mode (CBT) across various centers throughout India and 24 cities outside India. In some cities where a large number of candidates have registered, the examination will be extended to June 1, June 2, June 5, and June 6, 2023. Additionally, reserve days of June 7 and June 8, 2023, have been allocated.
Kerala SSLC 2023 results will be released today, May 19. The Kerala Pareeksha Bhavan's official website will contain the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC), or Class 10, results. Previously slated to be released on May 20, the Kerala board SSLC results will now be released on today. Students can access the SSLC Kerala results through the official website.These results will be declared at 3 pm.

Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty is anticipated to release SSLC results at a press conference, which would include information such as pass percentage, attendance, and so on.

SSLC Result 2023 Kerala

The Kerala Board of Public Examinations successfully administered the Kerala SSLC Exams for class 10 pupils from March 9th to March 29th, 2023 to a total of 4,19,554 students from across the state. When the SSLC Result 2023 Kerala is announced, it will include information such as the students' marks, percentage attained, grades, qualifying status, and so on.

How to Check Kerala SSLC Result 2023

Go to keralapareekshabhavan.in, the official website.

On the homepage, click the Kerala SSLC Result 2023 link.

Enter your login information and press the 'Submit' button.

Download the Kerala Class 10 result and save a hard copy for future use.

Supplementary and Revaluation

Students that fail to qualify for the Kerala SSCL Board Exams 2023 and receive a D will be required to sit for the SAY (save a year) exam to improve their Kerala Class 10 results. Students who are unhappy with their SSLC Kerala 2023 results can apply for revaluation, the dates of which will be notified later.
Subaru and Mazda have topped the list when it comes to recommended carsnew or usedfor teen drivers. This is according to the U.S.-based In...
Last week, Nigerian animated feature Gammy & the Living Things debuted at Filmhouse Cinemas in Victoria Island, Lagos.

Gammy and the Living Things is a musical cg-animated feature that tells the story of Gammy, an agama lizard who has dreams that reach far beyond the borders of his local ecosystem. A musician by trade, Gammy wants to take his talents to Lagos and find out if he can make it big.

In attendance at the premiere were the films writer-director, some crew, musicians, the main voice cast, and Nigerian vice president Yemi Osinbajo.

Its not every day that a near head of state attends the screening of an animated film, but Gammy & the Living Things is one of Nigerias first animated features and is representative of the rapid growth of the countrys screen industries.

This is really, really exciting and I want to congratulate the Utricle Studios and the Euphoric Sounds for an excellent performance, Osinbajo said, singling out the films production company and the musical group that wrote the original songs featured in Gammy. He also had kind words for several of the Nigerian film stars who lent their voices to the film, praising them for getting involved in the early days of Nigerian feature animation.

Writer-director Ikem Isiekwena addressed the audience and explained his teams ambitions in producing Gammy and the Living Things. We wanted to create a true classic that fuses picture, music, the orchestral culture, history, comedy, and some social commentary, into an entertaining masterpiece, he said.

According to Isiekwena, Gammy is far more than just a talented reptile. He says that the films protagonist symbolizes the spirit of the everyday dreamer yearning for something more than the monotonous routine of mundane life. He is irresistibly drawn to the allure and excitement of Lagos, a city pulsating with possibilities where success and greatness seem within reach.
In our ongoing series on exceptional international animation schools, we take a look at one of the most famous animation schools in the world: California Institute of the Arts.

Located in Valencia, California, the Calarts animation program  part of the schools film and video department  is among the worlds most unique places to study animation. Calarts actually has two separate animation programs: character and experimental. So if you want to work at Disney, you got it. You want to carve out a career as an indie artist, you can do that too.

Calarts boasts one of the industrys most impressive alumni bases. Check out this very brief list that reads like an animators hall of fame: Brad Bird, Pete Docter, Ralph Eggleston, John Musker, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Shannon Tindle, J.G. Quintel, JJ Villard, Amy Kravitz, Glen Keane, Joanna Priestley, Mark Osborne, Steven Subotnick, Kathy Zielinski, Chris Sanders, Eric Darnell, Henry Selick, Kathy Rose, Pen Ward, Alison Schulnik, Stephen Hillenburg, Jorge Gutierrez, and recent Oscar-nominee Sara Gunnarsdottir. Equally impressive are the countless major figures who attended the school but never graduated, among them Tim Burton, Joe Ranft, Peter Chung, Lauren Faust, and Genndy Tartakovsky.

Character Animation

Calarts Character Animation program launched in 1975. The aim of the program is to provide an artistic education while preparing students for a creative or industry career. According to the U.S. Dept of Education, the average tuition paid by students in 2020-2021 was $56,074 after financial aid. There are currently 174 students enrolled and typically between 30-35 graduate annually. There are nine full-time faculty and another 43 part-timers.

During the first year, courses focus on life drawing, design, story, and character animation. Students work in 2d and cg. In year two, sound, storyboarding, and layout are added to the mix. By third year, says program director Maija Burnett, students move to the advanced level in their coursework, which can include story classes, cg computer animation, and specialized work in visual development, cinematography, painting, and illustration. In the fourth and final year, students move up to the highest level of the core classes and can customize their curriculum according to their own specific areas of interest. During the course of their studies, students develop a professional-caliber portfolio, and create one short individually-made animated film per year.

The character department has a close relationship with the animation industry and regularly invites local and international professionals for weekly talks. There is an annual Portfolio Day which is also open to students in the experimental program. At the event students meet with studio representatives [recruiters, artists, directors] to network, receive feedback on their work, and  if the opportunity is available  to discuss potential internships or jobs, says Burnett. In addition, each year there is a year-end screening  called the Producers Show  where student films are screened and judged by the programs faculty. The event is attended by 600-700 people including many from the animation industry.

Experimental

The Experimental Animation [EA] program is currently directed by Alexander Stewart. It was founded in 1970 by Jules Engel under the name Abstract Experimental Animation. According to Stewart, The programs goal is to help students develop their own distinctive vision as an animator, and to push the creative possibilities of the art form.

The experimental BFA program runs four years and the MFA takes three. There are currently 88 students enrolled in the program (52 BFAs, 36 MFAs), and approximately 14 BFAs graduate annually along with another 12 MFAs. There are nine full-time faculty and another seven adjuncts.

Our curriculum is organized around year-long production and critique courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level, says Stewart. Students make one project a year in these courses, working according to their specific interests and goals. Students complement these year-long courses with electives that give them a chance to develop skills and explore new ways of working. Our electives include topics in stop-motion, hand-drawn animation, cg, comics, interaction, documentary practices, motion capture, live puppetry, sound, writing, and animation history.

Although the Experimental program is geared more towards personal expression, students do have options if they want to connect with the industry. We offer a course on professional practices in animation that is tailored to the interests and areas of work relevant to students in our program, says Stewart. We also support students doing internships with animation studios and production companies, and organize events like studio tours. Students in the Experimental Animation program have the option to participate in Portfolio Day alongside the students in the Character Animation program.

Student Perspectives

Weve heard from the program directors and laid out the facts, now lets hear what the students have to say about their experience at Calarts. Almuni Chaerin Im (2020), Masashi Yamamoto (2021), and Christina Woo (2023) spoke with us about their overall impressions of the program.

Why Calarts?

Chaerin Im came to Calarts from Korea. I was in South Korea, finishing my BFA program in visual communication design. In South Korea, you think of getting a higher degree after a BFA, so doing an MFA was obvious. Calarts Experimental Animation program and UCLAs animation program became the places to aim. Because of Erick Oh, the UCLA animation MFA program was famous in South Korea. Calarts, because of character animation and Disney.

Amy Kravitz and Steven Subotnick were my professors when I was an undergrad [at Rhode Island School of Design], says Masashi Yamamoto. They are alumni of MFA Experimental Animation in Calarts. I really loved their teaching style and artistic approach. I was interested in their creative roots and I wanted to study in the same program, so I applied to Calarts.

Christine Woo was drawn to Calarts because of its reputation and what the program had to offer. The roster of alumni that have come out of the animation program is so crazy, it seems like odds are you are more likely to come out successful than not. And as a student, you are expected to make a film every year. I think having the pressure and resources to finish a film not only lets you find your voice as an artist, but also makes you learn every aspect of the animation pipeline.

Expectations Met?

One of the reasons I liked Calarts Experimental Animation when applying was they treated animation as contemporary art and filmmaking, says Im. However, most South Korean international students aim for U.S. schools because of the American dream, pursuing a new life, and finding roots there. For this purpose, of course, EA didnt help at all. An art major doesnt help get jobs that support visas unless you prepare your portfolio for commercial art. So for the first year, it was a nightmare internally. I did not get along with many white American students who did not understand the struggle and anxiety of colored non-American students. We had to figure out a lot in the short term of the program while withstanding discrimination and microaggressions. I hated the power imbalance of matching up to the dominant white group in the EA program.

Ims second year improved once she discovered that she could apply for an artist visa. I decided to take the risk of focusing entirely on my independent filmmaking and festival records. Because I was focused on getting good results and making good quality films in the three-year program, I missed a lot of friend gatherings and social networking events. The EA program is a great place to focus on independent animation filmmaking and hang out with other students. I would have enjoyed the program a lot more if it wasnt for my struggles.

For Yamamoto, the key challenge was learning how to filter advice from his professors and to find his own personal voice. As there are many talented and unique professors, each one offered different advice on my animation project. I asked five teachers for advice and I was confused because everyone has different suggestions and perspectives. My project was getting complicated since I followed all those voices. Then I learned that I also need to think about what my vision and perspective are telling me. So I acquired a skill to know my instinct in my creative process.

According to Woo, In terms of classes, teachers, and faculty, I could not have asked for a better education. The teachers care so much about their craft and their students that it makes you want to work harder. In terms of facilities, Calarts could use a bit of work. During the pandemic our Character Animation classrooms and facilities were flooded and theyve been rebuilding ever since. My class that came in during 2019 were sent home when the pandemic started and even though classes are back in person, Im still disappointed I didnt get to spend all 4 years in the same classrooms that a lot of the people I look up to took classes in.

What was missing?

For Im, the lack of structure presented a problem. There wasnt a basic template of how to start a lecture and how to finish it. I think there should be one, she suggests. Being an art school allows the instructors to be less formal and structured. The informality is okay, but less structure doesnt benefit the students. However, the program aims for the faculty and students to get along. Even the faculty offices are inside the student studio with transparent glass walls. The faculty members focused on each students work and treated us as filmmakers. I liked this a lot.

It could be more exciting if they have more interaction between Experimental and Character Animation programs in the curriculum, adds Yamamoto. In addition to Experimental Animation classes, I took several classes from Character Animation where I met interesting professors. I think it would be fun if they have some experimental and character joint classes.

My only gripe for myself is that I wish I had taken a film directing class, adds Woo. The amazing thing about Calarts is that its not just an animation school. As a student, youre given the opportunity to take classes in other metiers and I wish I had taken more advantage of that. Calarts is incredibly interdisciplinary, so you are able to collaborate with so many different artists, filmmakers, musicians, etc. And on the topic of collaboration, I wish we were given more opportunities to collaborate with our fellow animation classmates. Dont get me wrong, Ive loved being able to work on my own projects and films. I think this might be the only time in my career that Ill be given the space and ability to solely work on my own projects, but animation is such a collaborative medium that I think it would have been fun to work on more films with my classmates.

Ready for the World?

In the end, do Calarts graduates feel ready for the working world?

Im says she didnt feel prepared but also acknowledges that thats not the primary purpose of the Experimental Animation program. I dont think the EA program can teach what they teach if it focuses on getting prepared for the working world. We cant make our own unique film when we consider the commercial world. Unless we become teachers and professors or our artistic style has a bit of connection to the recent trend of the commercial world. However, because I did my graduation film with a production company by signing a co-production contract, I learned a lot about the independent animation world outside of school. My mentor and many faculty and staff members helped me finalize the contract. They even supported me in writing the contract. They also taught me what the legal terms meant.

I felt well prepared, says Yamamoto. After I graduated from the school, I started my internship as a fabricator in a stop-motion animation studio and I am currently a stop-motion fabricator in the animation industry.

Of course theres a doubt that I will be a fish out of water as soon as I step into my first job, but our teachers prepare us pretty well for the industry, says Woo. The way the classes are structured and making a film every year, you get a lot of information and practice jammed into your time here. As of right now, it seems like the industry isnt quite ready for us. Animation is cyclical, of course, but its scary to see so many layoffs (and the writers strike) as youre graduating. Im still optimistic though.
Kentucky Author Jen Jeffrey Billington, a former Chattanoogan.com writer and 30-year resident of Chattanooga, will be at Barnes & Noble at Hamilton Place for a book signing of her memoir, "Breadcrumbs - Finding True Love's Trail.

Ms. Billington's book chronicles her personal journey in Chattanooga, from painful moments to finding true love. Her story offers key insights for anyone seeking love.

The book signing will be Saturday, May 27, from 2-4 p.m.

In addition to "Breadcrumbs, Ms.

Billington has authored two other books, "Faith Blossoms" and "12 Doors". She is currently co-authoring a book with CEO Chad Cartledge of Running 4 Heroes nonprofit, which supports families of fallen first responders.
Former District Attorney Neal Pinkston has filed suit in Federal Court in behalf of the son of Sam Pettyjohn, Chattanooga crime figure who was among those killed during the scandalous period of the Governor Ray Blanton administration.

The suit, filed in behalf of Marrell Graham of Cobb County, Ga., says the FBI was negligent in not protecting Pettyjohn, who was cooperating with the agency against the Blanton administration. Pettyjohn was murdered at his beverage store on South Market Street in 1979.

The suit says Pettyjohn had testified before at least one federal grand jury concerning payments of $15,000 to get drug dealer Larkin Bibbs of Chattanooga out of state prison.

It says Pettyjohn "provided the FBI vital information about criminal activities of a sitting governor and other powerful individuals."

The complaint says the FBI "had a duty to protect Pettyjohn and his family due to his cooperation in a highly visible federal investigation."

Here is the full lawsuit:

1. This action for monetary damages is brought pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Title 28 U.S.C.  2671, et seq. (hereinafter the Federal Tort Claims Act) and under the common and statutory law of the State of Tennessee. Jurisdiction is based upon 28 U.S.C.  1331 and 1346 (b) and on the supplemental jurisdiction of the court under 28 U.S.C.  1367(a) for claims arising under state law. Venue is proper under 28 U.S.C.  1391 (a)(1) and (b)(2).

2. Plaintiff alleges that several known and unknown federal officials failed to adequately protect a cooperating individual with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and further failed to recognize the cooperating individual had become a target for murder. These failures led to the untimely death of the cooperating individual on 2/01/1979. The cooperating individual was Plaintiffs father, Samuel Pettyjohn.

Parties

1. The following person is the plaintiff in this action:

a. Marrell Graham at all times material to this complaint was and is a resident of Cobb County, Georgia. He is of full age. He is the son of the decedent, Samuel Pettyjohn.

2. The following person is the defendant in this action:

a. The United States of America is the appropriate defendant under the Federal Tort Claims Act and was at all times material to this complaint the employer of known and unknown FBI Agents.

Facts

3. Leonard Ray Blanton (Blanton), a Democrat, was elected as the 44th Governor of the State of Tennessee in 1975. Blanton served as governor from 1975-1979.

4. Blanton appointed Thomas Edward Sisk (Sisk) as Chief Legal Counsel for the Governor in 1975.

5. Marie Ragghianti (Ragghianti) was hired by Sisk to be an extradition officer and handled all communications with the States Board of Pardons and Paroles for the Blanton administration. She would later sue Blanton for wrongful termination.

6. William Aubrey Thompson (Thompson) was a Chattanooga, Tennessee business owner and main Chattanooga political contact for Blanton. Thompson was known to have unfettered access to Blanton and his cabinet. Thompson had a reputation for dealing in various types of illegal activities.

7. Samuel Pettyjohn (Pettyjohn) owned several businesses in Chattanooga, Tennessee.In addition to his legitimate business interests, Pettyjohn was known to engage in various Illegal activities as well.

9. Pettyjohn owned the Stardust Lounge (Stardust) which was a restaurant/bar located at or near the 300 block of 9th Street in downtown Chattanooga. Several years later, he owned the Beverage Center located at 2001 Market Street near downtown Chattanooga.

10. In the early hours of 8/29/1974, a bomb ignited on 9th Street in Chattanooga. The blast destroyed Stardust as well as almost an entire city block. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) investigated the explosion along with the Chattanooga Fire Department (CFD). After several years of investigation, the ATF was unable to charge any individuals with the bombing. The investigation went dormant.

11. Pettyjohn and other Thompson confidants received insurance payments for the total property loss suffered during the explosion. These proceeds were paid by Lloyds of London.

12. Sometime in 1975, an illegal scheme emerged wherein prisoners in the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) could pay monies, through intermediaries, to the Blanton administration and to receive early parole.

13. Larkin Bibbs (Bibbs) was a well-known Chattanooga drug dealer who was convicted of second-degree murder and ordered to serve fifteen (15) years in the TDOC. He began serving his sentence on 8/26/1975.

14. In November of 1975, Thompson visited Bibbs in the TDOC for unknown reasons.

15. In December of 1975, Pettyjohn visited Bibbs in the TDOC for unknown reasons.

16. Pettyjohn secured approximately Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,00.00)and delivered it to Thompson. The funds were procured from several individuals believed to be Chattanooga business people.

17. In late 1975, Bibbs was released from TDOC after serving less than four (4) months of a fifteen (15) year prison sentence.

18. The illegal scheme that allowed Bibbs to leave prison early became known throughout the state and various law enforcement circles. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened an investigation into the Blanton administration and the parole system known as TENNPAR (Tennessee Parole). Hank Hillin (Hillin) and other unknown FBI Agents led the investigation.

19. During these times, other prisoners were released early from TDOC. Many of the early releases had Chattanooga ties.

20. Investigative efforts led to raids of Sisks office in the Tennessee State Capitol in late 1976.

21. Grand juries were convened in Nashville and Chattanooga Tennessee to examine the growing TENNPAR investigation.

22. Pettyjohn appeared before at least one grand jury and gave testimony. He also further cooperated with the FBI regarding the TENNPAR investigation.

23. It is not known how the FBI defined their relationship with Pettyjohn. Generally, the FBI defines individuals from whom they get information as confidential informants, cooperating witnesses, assets, or sources of information.

24. Regardless of the title, Pettyjohn testified before a federal grand jury. In September 1977, Pettyjohn and the FBI met at a clandestine location in Chattanooga to discuss further aspects of the TENNPAR investigation. At this meeting, Pettyjohn supplied the names of five (5) individuals who paid the proceeds to have Bibbs released early. The names were reduced to a written document that Pettyjohn signed. Upon information and belief, the list of five (5) names became a permanent exhibit to the FBIs TENNPAR investigative file.

25. Sometime in 1978, the ATF reopened their investigation into the 9th Street Explosion based upon newly developed information.

26. The Hamilton County Tennessee Grand Jury indicted Pettyjohn on the charges of murder and arson for his involvement in the 9th Street Explosion. The indictment was returned against Pettyjohn in November 1978.

27. On 12/15/1978, Sisk and several other Blanton administration officials were arrested by the FBI. Thompson was later arrested and indicted for his role in the pardon scandal as well as unrelated tax evasion charges.

28. On 12/18/1978, Blanton was subpoenaed to appear and testify before a coming federal grand jury. Blanton would later publicly state he was a target of the TENNPARR investigation. He had previously announced he would not be seeking a second term as governor.

29. Blanton continued his suspicious activities in January 1979 and commuted the sentences of fifty-two (52) state prisoners. Many had violent convictions. The TENNPAR investigation revealed Blanton was set to release more prisoners.

30. Based upon conversations with federal and state law enforcement, state government officials intervened and removed Blanton from office and Lamar Alexander (Alexander) was sworn in early as the State of Tennessees 45th Governor.

31. Pettyjohn provided the FBI vital information about criminal activities of a sitting governor and other powerful individuals. The TENNPAR investigation was reported widely throughout the United States. He was also the main target for the 9th Street Explosion. The FBI never provided any security or protection for Pettyjohn.

32. On 2/1/1979, Pettyjohn was found murdered inside of the Beverage Center. He had been shot four times with three (3) gunshot wounds to the head and one (1) gunshot to the chest. Robbery was not the motive. The Beverage Centers cash register was untouched and Pettyjohns jewelry valued at over One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) remained on his person.

33. The FBI was on notice that the safety of cooperating TENNPAR witnesses was a serious issue. Bernard Weinthal (Weinthal) was involved in the pardon scheme by paying Thompson for various individuals. Weinthal later became a cooperating TENNPAR witness and appeared several times before the federal grand jury.

34. In July 1976, Weinthal was found dead under unusual circumstances. At the time, police ruled his death as a suicide.

35. Kevin McCormack (McCormack) was an assistant to Ragghianti. Ragghianti became aware of the pardon scheme and spoke publicly at the issues. Based upon her knowledge, Blanton terminated Ragghiantil. She later sued Blanton for wrongful termination. McCormack was a witness in her lawsuit against Blanton. In June 1978, law enforcement found McCormack had been strangled to death by an unknown assailant. His body was located at the Capital Park Inn in Nashville. The inn was often the location where monies were advanced to Blanton administration members in the pardon scheme. It is not known if the FBI provided any information about McCormack to other law enforcement agencies about his testimony against Blanton.

36. Subsequent to Pettyjohns murder, Ernie Anglin (Anglin) was found shot to death in the front yard of his Columbia, Tennessee home. Anglin had previously attempted to buy his brothers early release from TDOC. Anglin never wanted to cooperate with the FBI but later told them he would. Several days prior to his FBI meeting regarding cooperation, Anglin was brutally murdered. Anglins case remains unsolved.

37. Another cooperating witness, Lawrence Verable, was found murdered in his Tennessee home. Verable was known to pay monies to the Blanton administration for the protection of his liquor store.

38. Despite other instances of witnesses being killed, the FBI abandoned Pettyjohn and his safety.

39. As the TENNPAR investigation concluded, Sisk, Thompson, Blanton, and other administration members were convicted of federal crimes dealing with the pardon scheme and the additional investigation into illegal liquor licenses.

40. Pettyjohns murder remained unsolved.

41. In the 1990s, the FBI began investigating a multi-state bank robbery scheme. The investigation revealed the leader of the robbery gang to be William Edward Alley (Alley) Alley and other individuals were later indicted and sentenced to federal prison for multiple bank robberies.

42. Information was provided to the FBI by Alleys co-defendants. Such information included the reason(s) why Pettyjohn was murdered and the identity of the murderer.

43. Pettyjohn was murdered because he had cooperated against the Blanton administration during the TENNPAR scheme and other information he had related to other illegal activities like the 9th Street Explosion.

44. Alley was paid by various individuals including some closely connected to the Blanton administration to murder Pettyjohn. On 2/1/1979, Alley carried out the contract murder.

45. It is unknown what the FBI did with the information regarding Pettyjohns murder that was discovered from the bank robbery investigation.

46. It is unknown what the FBI did with the information about the five (5) names they were provided to by Pettyjohn. These five (5) people would have been considered suspects in Pettyjohns contract murder.

46. It is known that the FBI never shared any information regarding Pettyjohns murder with the plaintiff, Marrell Graham.

47. The FBI had a duty to recognize the potential threats posed by Pettyjohn for his cooperation in a highly visible federal investigation.

48. The FBI had a duty to protect Pettyjohn and his family due to his cooperation in a highly visible federal investigation.

49. The FBI had a duty to protect Pettyjohn because they were aware other cooperating TENNPAR witnesses were murdered and/or died under unusual circumstances.

50. The FBI had a duty to protect Pettyjohn because at the time of his cooperation they knew Pettyjohn was terrified for his own safety.

51. The aforesaid acts and omissions of the defendant and its employees were motivated, in part, by the intention of the defendant and its employees to obtain further pertinent information to a federal investigation and successful prosecution(s) despite any dangers subjected to cooperating individuals.

52. As a direct and proximate result of the intentional, reckless and/or negligent actions and omissions of the defendant as set forth above, the plaintiffs father, Samuel Pettyjohn, suffered a wrongful death. As a surviving child, Graham can seek recovery for the wrongful death of his father, including the monetary value of the decedents life.

53. As a direct and proximate result of the intentional, reckless, and/or negligent actions and omissions of the defendant as set forth above, the plaintiff was deprived of the loss of the income, services, protection, care, assistance, society, companionship, comfort, guidance, counsel, and advice of his father. Plaintiff continues to be deprived of the loss of income, services, protection, care, assistance, society, companionship, comfort guidance, counsel, and advice of his father.

54. As a direct and proximate result of the intentional, reckless, and/or negligent actions and omissions of the defendant as set forth above, the decedent was denied his fundamental right, guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution, of the right to direct the care, upbringing, and education of the Plaintiff. Plaintiff was denied similar fundamental rights in a relationship with his father, the decedent.

55. The defendant and its employees never shared any of the vital information surrounding Pettyjohns murder with Graham or any of his family members. Other than to leave the information stored away in the defendants investigative case files; it is not known if the defendant did anything with the information surrounding Pettyjohns murder.

56. In June 2021, a Hamilton County Tennessee Grand Jury returned findings that if Alley were alive today, they would have indicted him for the first-degree murder of Pettyjohn.

57. Prior to the June 2021 grand jury findings, the plaintiff was never made aware of the Information held by the defendant relating to his fathers death.

58. It is unknown if the FBI maintained any relationship with Alley.

59. Since the defendant withheld the information from the plaintiff and the rest of society, the plaintiff continues to suffer emotional distress and the losses as alleged in prior paragraphs. Plaintiff continues to search for more truth surrounding his fathers untimely death.

60. After the June 2021 grand jury findings, the defendant has failed to share with the plaintiff any information surrounding his fathers death.

COUNT I

CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST THE UNITED STATES

UNDER THE FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS ACT

61. Paragraphs 1 through 60 are incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth.

62. At all times material to this complaint, the agents and employees of the Department of Justice and the FBI referred to herein, were acting within their scope of employment.

63. The United States, if a private person, would be liable to the plaintiffs for the acts and omissions of its employees and agents described herein under the law of the place where said acts and omissions occurred.

64. The plaintiff submitted an Administrative Claim to the FBI on or about April 12, 2023.

Such claim has subsequently been denied by the FBI.

COUNT I

COMMON LAW WRONGFUL DEATH UNDER TENNESSEE LAW

65. Paragraphs 1 through 60 are incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth.

66. The defendant is liable to the plaintiff for injuries and damages resulting from the defendants failure to protect Samuel Pettyjohn which lead to his wrongful death.

COUNT II

COMMON LAW LOSS OF CONSORTIUM UNDER TENNESSEE LAW

67. Paragraphs 1 through 60 are incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth.

68. The defendant is liable to the plaintiff for injuries and damages resulting from the loss of consortium the plaintiff has experienced and continues to experience since the death of his father.

COUNT III

COMMON LAW INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS UNDER TENNESSEE LAW

69. Paragraphs 1 through 60 are incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth.

70. The defendant is liable to the plaintiff for injuries and damages resulting from the intentional infliction of emotional distress that the plaintiff has experienced and continues to experience due to the acts and/or omissions of the defendant.

COUNT IV

COMMON LAW NEGLIGENT INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS UNDER TENNESSEE LAW

71. Paragraphs 1 through 60 are incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth.

72. The defendant is liable to the plaintiff for injuries and damages resulting from the negligent infliction of emotional distress that the plaintiff has experienced and continues to experience due to the acts and/or omissions of the defendant.

WHEREFORE, plaintiff requests that this Court:

1. Award compensatory damages to the plaintiff against the defendant;

2. Award costs and attorneys fees to the plaintiff;

3. Award such other and further relief as this court may deem appropriate.

THE PLAINTIFF HEREBY DEMANDs A JURY TRIAL ON THOSE COUNTS ON WHICH HE IS

ENTITLED TO HAVE A TRIAL BY JURY.

Submitted this the 16th day of May, 2022

/s/ Neal Pinkston____________________

Neal Pinkston, TN BPR # 021245

Pinkston Law, PLLC
Here are the upcoming Chattanooga Live Music events through May 28 plus Festival Schedule. Check the CLM Facebook event page for details. Send your event co-host invites to Chattanooga Live Music to amplify your events.



18-May Zois Harbor Lights w/ The Essentials at 6 PM

18-May Big River Grille w/ Gary Hemstreet at 5:30 PM

18-May The FEED co. Table & Tavern w/ Mark Andrew at 6:30 PM

18-May Songbirds w/ S McConnell & G Starr Present: My Sister, My Brother 7 PM

18-May The Signal w/ Bad Omens w/ Erra & Invent Animate at 7 PM

18-May HiFi Clyde's w/ Aaron Carney at 7 PM

18-May Barrelhouse w/ Tribute To John Prine w/ The AL Troubadours at 9 PM

19-May Chattanooga Brewing w/The ExLaws / M Harrison / R White / C B Booth 6 PM

19-May The Signal w/ All Time Low w/ Mayday Parade & Games We Play at 7 PM

19-May Barking Legs Theater w/ Will Hoge at 7:30 PM

19-May Wood Shop Presents: Randy Steele + High Cold Wind at 8 PM

19-May Farm To Fork w/ Mr.

Brownstone at 8:30 PM19-May Puckett's w/ Maya Trippe & Scott McNabb at 8 PM19-May Big River Grille w/ Mother Legacy at 6:30 PM19-May Springhill Ooltewah Creekside Grille w/ Jesse Black at 6 PM19-May Fountainhead Taproom Tim Hughes Quartet is at 7 PM19-May Barrelhouse w/Dopapod with The Afternooners at 9 PM19-May The Diving Mouse w/ Easily Amused at 9 PM20-May Chickamauga Down Home Days w/New Grass Express at 1 PM20-May The Westin Sky Bar w/ Aaron Carney at 6 PM20-May The Dark Roast w/A Vessel of Honor at 7 PM20-May The Bode Hotel w/ Improv Chattanooga at 8 PM20-May Barley Chattanooga w/The Essentials at 8 PM20-May Whiskey Cowgirl w/ Dusty Leigh Huston at 9 PM20-May Barrelhouse w/ Distinct Motive, Lily of Valley, Pluff at 9 PM20-May HiFi Clyde's w/ CONVERTIBULL Party Band at 9 PM20-May The Honest Pint w/Good Grief Returns for Road To Pintfall! 9 PM20-May Gordon Lee Mansion w/ Liv Noelle also Donnie & Robbie at 6 PM20-May Big River Grille w/ Jesse Black at 6:30 PM20-May Grinderhouse (Crossville) w/ Mother Legacy at 6 PM CST20-May Farm To Fork w/ Tatrum at 8:30 PM20-May Puckett's w/ Sam Steadman at 8 PM20-May Crescent City Tavern (Dalton) w/ Voodoo Slim at 9 PM Inc.  Dalton21-May Barrelhouse Funday with Danimal, Martelli, & Forlines 1 PM21-May Wanderlinger w/ Jess Goggans at 6 PM22-May Gate 11 Distillery Monday Nite Blues Jam at 8 PM21-May Wood Shop (St Elmo) Sunday Brunch & Bluegrass ft. Slide Bayou 11 AM23-May Tremont Tavern w/ Open Mic Mike McDade at 8 PM23-May 1885 Grill - St. Elmo w/ Jason Lyles at 6 PM23-May Chattanooga Whiskey Event Hall w/ Carl Pemberton at 8 PM24-May 1885 Grill - St. Elmo w/ Mark Stachowicz at 6 PM24-May The Dark Roast w/ Blankstate at 7 PM25-May The FEED co. Table & Tavern w/ Jason Lyles on the Patio at 6:30 PM25-May Songbirds Foundation w/Ally Venable at 7 PM25-May Barrelhouse Ballroom w/ Tanner Usrey at 9 PM26-May Barking Legs Theater w/Pink Houses: The John Mellencamp Tribute at 8 PM28-May Wanderlinger w/ The Other Brothers at 6 PMChattanooga Live Music Festivals20-May JFest 2023 Christian Artists/Bands (Live Music)2-Jun Jun 2 - 4 / Riverbend Festival - Chattanooga2-Jun Friday Festivals Downtown (Cleveland) Tribute to Jimmy Buffet w/ ULA at 7 PM9-Jun Friday Festivals Downtown (Cleveland) Seth David Coley & the Rabbit Valley Boys 7 PM16-Jun Friday Festivals Downtown (Cleveland) w/September Song 7 PM23-Jun Friday Festivals Downtown (Cleveland) w/ Scenic City Sound 7 PM30-Jun Friday Festivals Downtown (Cleveland) w/ The Dexter Thomas Band 7 PM17-Jun Songwriters Festival, Dunlap TN12-Jul July 12 - Aug 26 / Riverfront Nights, Chattanooga9-Sep 9 - 10 / Moon River Festival - Chattanooga6-Oct 6-7 / The 3 Sisters Bluegrass Festival - Chattanooga6-Oct 6 - 8 / Cave Fest at the Cavern in Grundy Co. TN13-Oct 13, 14 &15 / Motor Car Event Chattanooga (Live Music)10-Nov 10, 11 & 12 / Hamilton County Fair (Live Music)
The Tennessee Valley Authority encourages residents across the seven-state region to participate in its 90th anniversary celebrations at events across the Tennessee Valley.

TVA was established with the signing of the TVA Act by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 18, 1933. To kick off celebrations Thursday, on its actual anniversary, TVA employees and retirees participated in a Day of Service, volunteering in more than 150 projects at agencies and non-profit organizations across the region.

Nine decades ago, TVA arose as a force for good - to lift up a struggling region of our nation, said Jeff Lyash, TVA president and CEO. TVA was created on a clear mission to benefit the public good. Its a mission that has stood the test of time.

Service is at the heart of everything we do, and our employees exemplify that by their commitment to our communities, even after they retire, each and every day. We are privileged to serve the communities and people across this region. We look forward to continuing to work together on even more successes in the next 90 years.

TVA's employees serve the people of the seven-state region through energy production, environmental stewardship and economic development. This three-fold mission of service has stood the test of time and is as relevant today as ever before, said officials.

TVA welcomes the public to join in its 90th celebration, which includes:

Opportunities for the public to tour several of its historic dams. Built for the People tours are being offered on a limited basis at Kentucky Dam, Norris Dam, Pickwick Dam, Fontana Dam, Chickamauga Dam, Wilson Dam and Raccoon Mountain from June into September. Anyone interested in joining a tour can sign up at www.tva.com/90. Names will be drawn at random for each of the tours and individuals will be notified prior to the dates of the tours.

And if youve ever dreamed of a road trip to check out the best spots across the Tennessee Valley, we have you covered with Pat & Ashleys Excellent Adventure. TVA Historian Pat Ezzell and Social Media Specialist Ashley Walker will hit the road in July, making stops at some of the most interesting and significant places across the region. You can keep up with their adventures on social media platforms.

TVA is also bringing the festivities to communities throughout the summer. Look for booths at locations including Riverbend Music Festival in Chattanooga, HydroFest in Guntersville, Al., the Tennessee State Fair, and the Asian Festival in Knoxville. For more information and a complete schedule of the anniversary activities visit www.tva.com/90.

There is so much history and so many stories to share about TVA over the last 90 years, said Ms. Ezzell. We hope youll be a part of our celebration.
Harry Reeder, a Covenant College graduate and former Chattanooga pastor who built a Birmingham, Ala., church to over 4,000 members, died Thursday morning in a car crash.

Birmingham Police said Rev.



He had been the senior pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church since its founder, Frank Barker, retired in 1999.



Briarwood Executive Pastor Bruce Stallings said, It is with a deeply heavy heart that I communicate to you that our Lord has called Pastor Reeder home through a car accident. Please pray for Cindy, Jennifer, Ike, Abby and their entire family as well as our staff and church family as we all grieve this tremendous loss together. But we do not grieve without hope because we know our pastor is with His Savior and has been received by grace with - Well done My good and faithful servant. '



Rev. Reeder was also an author and hosted a podcast.



He is survived by his wife, Cindy, three children and a number of grandchildren.



Rev. Reeder came to Covenant after he first studied at East Carolina University. He graduated at Covenant in 1974.



He then pastor an Independent Bible Church here for six years, while studying part-time at Tennessee Temple.



He pastored Pinelands Presbyterian Church in Miami, where he gained a divinity degree at Westminster Seminary. He was later the founding pastor of Christ Covenant Church in North Carolina. Both those churches went from small congregations to large numbers.




The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed the remaining claims against Hamilton County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Goforth in the Wilkey baptism case.

In that matter, former Deputy Daniel Wilkey "baptized" a woman he had arrested in a traffic stop, taking her to Soddy Lake.

It was alleged that Deputy Goforth arrived on the scene. A lawsuit against him said he should have tried to stop the baptism.

Attorney Jerry Tidwell said, "In a unanimous opinion, the court ruled that deputy Goforth was entitled to qualified immunity as his actions violated no clearly established constitutional right of the late Shandle Riley.

"While the plaintiff has the right to request the U.S. Supreme Court to review this ruling, deputy Goforth is gratified that this high court has ruled in his favor. Deputy Goforth has consistently stated that he did not intend to nor in fact did he violate the late Ms. Riley's constitutional rights.

"Deputy Goforth has been the object of sometimes vicious and uninformed attacks on social media and press coverage. This coverage often cherry-picked facts without covering the facts in the public domain that tell another side to these events.

"Therefore, deputy Goforth has asked us as his counsel to make this ruling available to all the public for review."
Flagship factories of foreign companies in China indicate country's optimized structure of foreign investment attraction

15:54, May 19, 2023 By Kong Dechen ( People's Daily

China's actual use of foreign capital in high-tech industries grew 18 percent year on year to 156.71 billion yuan ($22.34 billion) in the first quarter this year.

More and more multinational corporations have invested in Chinese high-tech industries and established their global flagship factories in the country, which mirrored the importance they attach to China and the strength of China's high-end manufacturing.

Photo shows Siemens High Voltage Switchgear Ltd. Shanghai. (Photo from Shanghai Observer)

In Tesla's Shanghai plant, electric cars are rolling off production lines one after another for quality check. The two-storey factory, which looks like a mechanical puzzle cube, have long production lines that stretch beyond one's eyesight. Auto parts there are handled by robotic arms.

Different from this super large plant, the factory of Siemens Energy in Shanghai is smaller and more "delicate."

The products manufactured in the factory are customized by its clients, with each of them requiring different assembling techniques, which decides that massive production is not an option for the factory, said Zheng Feng, head of the Siemens Energy factory.

Though covering a small area, the factory features fine-tuned and efficient production, and is a world-leading manufacturer of its type, Zheng told People's Daily.

At present, factories of foreign enterprises in China are marching toward digitalization and fine-tuned production. It indicates higher-quality foreign investment into China and a constantly optimized structure of foreign investment.

"China has become an innovative country and its economic structure is being adjusted rapidly. The developments of new businesses, models and growth drivers are powered by high-tech industries, which promotes the optimization of the structure of foreign investment," said Zhang Jianping, deputy director of the Academic Steering Committee of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Employees of Faurecia Clarion Electronics (Fengcheng) Co., Ltd., a wholly France-owned enterprise in Fengcheng, east China's Jiangxi province, assemble a production line for automotive electronic products. (People's Daily Online/Zhou Liang)

The fast growth of high-tech industries, especially high-tech manufacturing, not only indicates the huge potential of China's manufacturing industry and a complete ecosystem of high-tech manufacturing, but also proves that new comparative advantages of China are taking shape, Zhang added.

China's increasing appeal for foreign investment also comes from the optimization of business environment in the country.

Zhang noted that the Chinese government has issued a series of favorable policies and reform measures, which have created a sound environment for the development of foreign enterprises in China.

According to him, China's progress in intellectual property right protection and relevant laws and regulations has ensured stable development of foreign enterprises in China, too.

Digitalization, intelligence and greening are features of the flagship factories of foreign companies in China.

An executive of Tesla's Shanghai plant told People's Daily that the factory's automatic production lines are covered by a reliable industrial network, which offers complete online services for equipment automation, wireless connection of production equipment, production data collection, human-machine interaction and smart decision making.

Photo shows Tesla Giga Shanghai. (People's Daily Online/Ji Haixin)

Recently, Siemens High Voltage Switchgear Ltd. Shanghai under Siemens Energy was listed as a green factory by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

"Green factory is one that achieves intensive land use, utilizes environmentally friendly raw materials, adopts clean production, recycles waste materials and relies on low-carbon energy," said an executive of the switchgear manufacturer.

According to the executive, by developing new solutions of green energy, the factory has established an energy structure in which different types of energy complement each other and thus promoted refined management of energy.

Top-notch foreign-funded projects have been implemented in China this year, as regions across the country have actively launched new measures and policies to attract foreign investment and worked vigorously to better business environment.

A 6-billion yuan aircraft lifecycle service center of Airbus is currently under construction in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province. A drink production base of Thai TCP Group with total investment of about 2 billion yuan has completed about three quarters of construction. Tesla recently announced that it will build an energy-storage mega factory in Shanghai.

Shu Jueting, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce noted that over 300 new foreign investment projects have been signed since the outset of this year, involving key sectors such as biomedicine, advanced manufacturing, chemical industry, energy and modern services.

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
One person was killed in a wreck in Marion County on Thursday afternoon.

He was identified as Larry Thomas, 46, of Tennessee.

At 2:21 p.m. CST, the Haletown Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to a fatal single-vehicle wreck on Highway 156 near Macedonia Road.

There was a single occupant in the vehicle who was declared deceased.

Also responding were the Marion County Sheriff's Department, the New Hope Fire Department and the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol said the driver was going west on Highway 156 when he left the roadway to the right, went into a thicket, and struck a tree.

The driver was not wearing a seat belt.
May 23, Ribbon Cutting for Harrys #45

11 to 11:30 a.m.

Harrys #45: 8107 Standifer Gap Rd.

Join the Chattanooga Chamber for a ribbon cutting event for Harrys #45.

May 23, Ooltewah/Collegedale Council After Hours

5 to 7 p.m.

Springhill Suites by Marriott Chattanooga North/Ooltewah: 8876 Old Lee Hwy.

Come network with us at our monthly happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m.

No cost.

May 24, AM Networking|Print Cubes



8 to 9 a.m.

Print Cubes: 428 Market St.

AM Networking brings an average of 100 business professionals from around Chattanooga together for hot coffee and networking. Print Cubes is hosting AM Networking in the month of May.

Register here.

No cost.

May 24, Enterprise Gateway Council Meeting



8 to 9:30 a.m.

CSLA (Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts): 4850 Jersey Pike

Join us as we hear from Krystal Scarbrough, Principal of CSLA. She will share with us some of the exciting work that is taking place within CSLA as well as giving a tour of the facilities.

Register here.

$10

May 24, Red Bank Signal Mountain Council Meeting  Money Does Grow on Trees



11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Red Bank Community Center: 3653 Tom Weathers Dr.

Join us as we hear from Red Bank Commissioner, Hayes Wilkinson and SORBA Chattanooga President, Mike Gehard. They will share about some of the great efforts involving conservation and wildlife and how being environmentally minded promotes a higher quality of life in work, personal lives and for our community. As we listen I think we will all better understand how Money Does Grow on Trees.

Register here.

$15

May 24, Ribbon Cutting for TwelveStone Health Partners Chattanooga Infusion Center



1:30 to 2 p.m.

TwelveStone Health Partners Chattanooga Infusion Center: 1206 Point Centre Dr., Ste. 230

Join the Chattanooga Chamber for a ribbon cutting event for TwelveStone Health Partners Chattanooga Infusion Center.

May 24, Red Bank Signal Mountain Council After Hours



5:30 to 7 p.m.

Clever Alehouse: 2122 Dayton Blvd.

Join us as we get together for a time of networking. We hope to see you there. All are welcome.

No cost.

May 25, Leadership Chattanooga Graduation and LCAA Annual Meeting



6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Austin Hatcher Foundation: 1705 S Holtzclaw Ave.

The Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce and the Leadership Chattanooga Alumni Association invite you to an exciting evening to celebrate the 39th Graduating Class of Leadership Chattanooga and welcome them into the Alumni Association. Presented by the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer, Clever Alehouse, Civil Provisions and Bar and sponsored by Tennessee Valley Authority. In addition to honoring our Leadership Chattanooga graduates, there will be a brief business meeting of the LCAA membership to discuss and vote on necessary changes to continue taking the organization forward.

Register here.

$55
The Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday reversed the termination of the parental rights of two parents whose infant son suffered multiple rib fractures while he was in their custody. The Court held that, under Tennessee law, the evidence did not support the trial courts finding that the parents failure to protect their child from injury was knowing.

The case involved the parents of Markus E., who was born premature in 2014 with several significant medical conditions. As an infant, the parents took Markus to see many doctors about his medical conditions. Early in 2015, when he was around seven months old, the mother took Markus to a hospital for breathing problems. X-rays ultimately showed the child had 22 rib fractures. Doctors determined the rib fractures were not the result of the childs other medical conditions or an accident.

The hospital notified the Tennessee Department of Childrens Services, which removed the child from the parents custody because they suspected severe child abuse. Markus was later placed in foster care, where he has remained.

DCS later sued Markuss parents to terminate their parental rights. The lawsuit claimed that the mother and father had severely abused Markus. Both parents denied any abuse. After a trial in the Circuit Court for Davidson County, the trial judge terminated the rights of both parents for severe child abuse. The parents appealed to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed. The Tennessee Supreme Court granted the parents permission to appeal.

On appeal, the Tennessee Supreme Court explained that, under Tennessee law, severe child abuse can either be knowingly using force on a child that is likely to cause serious injury or death, or knowingly failing to protect a child from such force. For very young children in the custody of both parents, the child may be too young to say which parent hurt him, and it may not be possible to determine it from the evidence. In such cases, under Tennessee law, the court is not always required to figure out which parent did what. Courts can hold that both parents committed severe abuse if the proof shows at least one of them must have knowingly inflicted the injury and the other must have knowingly failed to protect the child from it.

But the Supreme Court pointed out that the proof must showas to both parentsthat even if they didnt actually inflict the injuries, they must have knowingly failed to protect the child. To show the failure to protect was knowing, DCS needed to prove both parents were aware of facts that would alert a reasonable parent to take action to protect the child, and yet the parents did not act. The Supreme Court said courts must ask as to both parents: What did they know and when did they know it?

In this trial, the Supreme Court observed, the doctor who testified for DCS said a child with rib fractures will seem fussy and in pain, and may have breathing difficulties, but there would not be bruising or other visible signs of injury. The doctor admitted that a parent who didnt inflict the rib fractures wouldnt be able to tell the difference between fussiness from rib fractures and fussiness from another cause. Here, Markus had other unrelated medical conditions that could have caused him to be fussy, in pain, and have breathing difficulties. The parents noticed the childs symptoms and took him for medical care. None of the doctors suspected rib fractures until finally x-rays revealed them.

Here, the Supreme Court said, given Markuss other medical conditions and medical care he received before the x-rays revealed the rib fractures, the proof did not show the parents failure to protect Markus was knowing. The Court reversed the termination of the parental rights of Markuss parents.

The Court emphasized that its decision to reverse the termination of parental rights did not mean that the parents automatically regain custody of the child. It pointed out that separate dependency and neglect proceedings on Markus are still pending, and they involve different standards. The Court also recognized that the trial court must consider that Markus has been living in foster care since 2015, and events and lives have not stood still while the dispute played out in the courts.

Justice Sarah K. Campbell wrote a separate opinion concurring in part and concurring in the Courts judgment. She said the majority opinion suggests that statutory interpretation requires consideration of a statutes purposes and objectives separate and apart from its text, and she disagreed with that premise. Justice Campbell stressed that courts must focus on the text of a statute and be careful to use the text itself to define the statutory purpose.

To read the Courts opinion in In re Markus E., authored by Justice Holly Kirby, and the separate opinion authored by Justice Sarah K. Campbell, go to the opinions section of TNCourts.gov.
Gildardo Carmona Ruiz passed away peacefully on Monday, May 15, 2023.

He was born on June 8, 1936, in Santa Lucia, Durango, Mexico to Beatrice and Antonio Carmona de la Rosa. He graduated from the University of Coahuila, in Saltillo, Mexico in 1958 with a B.S. in Agronomy/Agricultural Engineering and in 1963 with a M.S. in Soils Science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville under a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship. It was at the U.T. library that he met Margaret Jeanne Morring of Chattanooga, the love of his life. They married on May 26, 1963, had two children, and enjoyed a loving marriage lasting 50 years.

In addition to being a kind and loving husband and father, Gildardo or Gil, as he was known to friends and family, was an accomplished scientist and professor. He held the position of Director of Research and Dean of the Agriculture College at the University of Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, Mexico. In addition, he served as a member of the Advisory Council on Higher Education for the President of Mexico. In 1988 while on sabbatical at the International Fertilizer Development Center in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, he was honored with the Visiting Scientist Award where he later worked for the Research and Development Division. After retiring as a scientist in 2001, he became a Certified Nurse Assistant ultimately providing care for patients in Hospice in Chattanooga.

Gil was known for his peaceful, kind and serene disposition. He had a deep love for nature, geology, music and the arts. After retiring a second time he joined a hiking club which he immensely enjoyed. He was truly an amazing father, scientist, world traveler and loving husband.

As a devout Christian, Gil was an active member of the Red Bank United Methodist Church for 34 years. During the 26 years that he and his wife and children lived in Monterrey, Mexico, they were also faithful members of the Union Church of Monterrey.

Cherishing his memory are his son David, his wife Kelly and their daughter Tyler of Mill Valley, California; son Daniel, his wife Holly and their daughter Wren of Nashville, Tennessee; sister Martha Beatrice Carmona Ruiz of Durango, Mexico; and brother-in-law, David Morring and his daughter Marika of Eugene, Oregon.

Family will receive friends for a memorial service at the Red Bank United Methodist Church at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 17, in celebration of Gils life and legacy.
Preserve Chattanooga has listed 10 top historic sites in Chattanooga that local citizens want to see preserved.

Todd Morgan, executive director, said, "May is Preservation Month across America. During April, Preserve Chattanooga asked the community to nominate historic places they would like to see preserved next. Chattanooga has an ever-growing list of historic places preserved and adapted to new uses. Historic buildings showcase our citys unique history and architectural heritage and are worthy of investment. Preserve Chattanooga seeks to raise awareness of places that could be the next great preservation success story through its PreserveNEXT program.

"The Williams-Hardy House, also known as Littleholme, retains community interest despite the National Parks long-term goal to demolish the house for parking. Located adjacent to the Cravens House, Littleholme was designed by Chattanooga architect Clarence T. Jones for Edith Soper Hardy and dates to 1928. Mrs. Hardy was the founder of the Humane Educational Society of Chattanooga and would later become a national figure among humanitarians as a director of The American Humane Association. The property was donated to the National Park Service by the Williams family in 2001.

"Preserving neighborhoods also emerged as a top priority with strong interest in revitalizing Olde Towne Brainerd and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Register District, once known as the Big 9. At its peak, the Big 9 earned comparisons to Memphis Beale Street. Since 1994, the neighborhood has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places for being the only cohesive area left that is historically associated with Chattanoogas African American population. Home to the Bessie Smith Center and several popular bars and restaurants, the neighborhood has lost 17 of the original contributing structures to the National Register District and gaps in the streetscape are highly visible.

"Several places on the Top 10 list have been popular preservation topics for years. The Burchay Building, Ellis Restaurant, and Jazzy Buildings, all on Market Street downtown, remain on the preservation wish list. So does Engel Stadium. Nominees added three new sites this year. Rivoli Mills on E. 28th Street is an art deco brick building built in 1910. Old mills have proven to be popular adaptive reuse projects across the country. Parkway Towers on Reggie White Boulevard remains a highly visible eyesore. Built in 1920 to be a Tennessee Electric Power Company substation, it isnt difficult to appreciate the five-story buildings imposing facade, good proportions, and its prominent spot on the Chattanooga skyline. The All Saints Academy on 8th Street was originally home to Notre Dame Academy which relocated in 1965. Still owned by the Diocese of Knoxville, the building experienced a fire in October 2022 and has had several windows boarded since then.

"Preserve Chattanoogas mission is to protect the architectural heritage of Chattanooga, be its advocate, and celebrate it."
State Rep. Mike Cameron (R-Rossville) said the state selected recreational spaces in Walker County to receive grant funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. These investments, totaling approximately $4.81 million, will support specific projects across Walker County, including the Rossville Recreation Center, the LaFayette Multisport Recreation Park and the Chattooga River Greenway, as well as the John Ross Commons ADA-compliant playground.

I want to thank Governor Brian Kemp for his careful consideration of this grant funding, which is a testament to his commitment keeping Georgia a great place to live, work and play, said Rep. Cameron. These investments will have a profound impact on creating opportunities for physical activity, economic growth and enhanced accessibility. On behalf of Rossville and Lafayette, I express my heartfelt gratitude to the state for these grants, which will make a significant difference in the lives of our residents.

Walker County will oversee a $2.2 million grant award for projects at the Rossville Recreation Center, such as plans to expand the walking track and construct a splash pad and playground. As an activity hub for the Rossville community, this recreation center aims to increase the physical activity of local youth and adults through these improvements.

The city of Rossville was also awarded with $425,700 to build out an ADA-compliant playground at the John Ross Commons, which includes the historic John Ross House. This playground projects is expected to complement improvements made to the area in the last few years. In addition to the playground, the project will add fences and ADA compliant restroom and sidewalks to make this historic area more accessible to the public.

The city of LaFayette will receive $2.19 million in grant funding to support the development of the Multisport Recreation Park and Chattooga River Greenway. City officials expect that these local projects will create an economic impact for the downtown area and large employers, such as the Roper Cooperation.
The crime rate in Soddy Daisy is lower now than it has been for a while, said Mayor Steve Everett at the commission meeting Thursday night. He said one of the most important things the city does is to provide a safe environment for those who live, visit or move into Soddy Daisy. On the recommendation of Police Chief Mike Sneed, the commissioners voted to fund a system of tag reader cameras that will be another tool for continuing to boost safety.

Chief Sneed said that the city will be receiving a $43,000 grant from Homeland Security for License Plate Reader cameras. That would pay for the cameras and software for the first year of a five-year contract. The chief said that the second-year payment could come out of the police drug fund. The commission approved paying $27,000 each year for the remainder of the contract.

The 16-17 tag readers can be moved around as needed. They will be located on the city roads, not Highway 27. The tag on each vehicle that passes a camera will be scanned so that it identifies who the car is registered to. It also detects any illegal activity associated with the person, such as an outstanding warrant. That information is automatically sent to the local police department by text message, alerting them to who is coming through the town.

Chris Cosby, who has moved to Chattanooga from Saint Frances Health Care in Memphis, and been named Parkridge CEO, was introduced to the Soddy Daisy commissioners. The emergency room in Soddy Daisy that will be built by Parkridge will be the third built in the area. The first is near Hamilton Place Mall, and another is under construction just outside Camp Jordan Park in East Ridge. Mr. Cosby said the ER in Soddy Daisy will represent a $16 million investment by Parkridge. The building will be 11,000 square feet, with 12 ER beds. It will be open 24/7. A helicopter pad will be on site for transporting people who are experiencing an emergency and who need immediate attention beyond what the emergency room can do. Work is expected to begin in Soddy Daisy when the facility in East Ridge is finished, using the same contractor. The construction is expected to begin in August or September, and to take six to eight months to finish.

Soddy Daisy has been under a moratorium for months regarding short term vacation rentals in the city limits. The city has now amended the ordinance regulating the rentals that will guide the issuance of permits to operate. Public Works Director and Building Inspector Steve Grant said that application fees have been increased from $300 to $500 a year. Likewise, yearly renewal fees for a permit and inspection fees have also been raised. It puts a limit of less than 30 days on the length of a stay. One of the most important conditions that has been added is for fire safety. There is the requirement for a sprinkler system, hard-wired fire detectors in certain rentals and extinguishers. And after three nuisance complaints, the license can be pulled permanently.

Those who already have a legal permit will be grandfathered in until that license expires at which time a new inspection will have to be done. If changes are needed, the location will have to come into compliance with the citys ordinance before being renewed. Mr. Grant has developed a check list for inspections and it will be given to owners when it is time to renew their permits. It will also be available for owners of any new rentals before their initial inspection. Fire Chief William Morgan told the commissioners that most short term rentals that have a permit at this time already meet the new fire requirements.

Attorney James Exum has been chosen to fill the new position of Administrative Hearing Officer for Soddy Daisy. He will primarily handle code violations and will have the authority to issue fines of up to $500 a day for violations. $500 per day changes attitudes, and is an effective tool for getting corrections taken care of to get properties in compliance, said Mayor Steve Everett

Two rezoning requests, both recommended by the citys planning commission, have been approved on the first reading. Tracts located at 11912 and 11916 Dayton Pike were rezoned from R-1 Single Family. And tracts of land located at 9612 and 9616 Church Street, where an old church has been demolished, were rezoned from M-1 Industrial to R-2 Urban Residential so a house can be built.

City Attorney Sam Elliott has rewritten the Soddy Daisy beer code according to what other nearby communities are doing. The amended ordinance establishes rules for permitting beer sales at special events. This is expected to be used for organizations holding fundraisers. Among other things, an application will have to be made 30 prior to the event.

City Manager Burt Johnson received formal approval from the commission to sell the dental office the city owns. It had been bought to expand office space before the decision was made to build a new addition behind the current city hall. He also was given the authority to pass $1.7 million the city received from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, on to the Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority. Mayor Everett said the money will be passed on to WWTA because it owns and manages the citys sewer system. The money is restricted for upgrading sewers in the city but Soddy Daisy does not own the system. The commissioners also approved the lowest bid of $14,850 for the Fourth of July fireworks display.

The Public Works Director Grant reported that paving Dayton Pike from the south end where it meets Highway 153 to the north where it intersects Highway 27, had been postponed until after school was out for the summer. It is now scheduled to begin May 24 or 25.

On the request of Commissioner Marcus Keith, caution signs will be provided to the volunteer organization Keep Soddy Daisy Beautiful, to be used for their safety when they are working in the city.

The second and final approval was given for the budget and tax rate for fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023 and ending June 30, 2024. The tax rate will remain $1.1159, the same as in 2023.
Penny Murray Shelly Jackson Arielle Hayes Previous Next

Hamilton County Schools on Friday announced three leadership assignments for the 2023-24 school year. The announcements include the principal for the districts new University High, an elementary school principal, and one district office position.



As the current school year comes to a close, it is important that our leadership team across the district is in place for the coming year, said HCS Superintendent Dr. Justin Robertson. The announcements we are making today move us a step closer to beginning the summer with our key players in place and ready to begin the work of having a successful launch for the 2023-24 school year.

All three of these individuals have strong track records of working to meet the districts core commitments: Every Student Learns, Every Student Belongs, Every School Equipped, Every Employee Valued, and Every Community Served. I look forward to working with each of these leaders in the months ahead.Penny Murray has been named Executive Director of Human Capital and Financial Solutions for Hamilton County Schools, where she will work with the districts Talent and Finance Departments on issues involving the districts workforce. Ms. Murray returns to HCS after serving as director of human resources for Chambliss Law since August 2022. She had previously served in several human resources positions for HCS, most recently as chief talent officer.I am thrilled to be returning home to Hamilton County Schools, Ms. Murray said. I find great joy working with educators and love seeing our employees' positive impact on students. I am excited to help lead and support the great work to ensure every employee is valued and that Hamilton County Schools remains an employer of choice.Ms. Murray first joined HCS as a human resources operations coordinator in 2011, a position she held until 2017. She served as the districts interim assistant superintendent for human resources from November 2017 until February 2018, when she was named director of human resources operations. She held that position until being named chief talent officer in March 2020.We are excited to welcome Penny back to the HCS family, said Superintendent Robertson. Her knowledge of the district and her experience will allow us to put a new focus on our workforce as we continue to make sure every HCS employee is valued.Ms. Murray holds a B.S. Degree in Business Administration from Tennessee Tech University and an MBA in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.As a first-generation college graduate, public education was transformational for me, Ms. Murray said. As a result of that experience, my personal mission is to help provide the best opportunities possible for future generations to thrive and experience a future without limits.Shelly Jackson has been named the new principal at Alpine Crest Elementary School. Ms. Jackson has served as an assistant principal at Big Ridge Elementary School since 2018.I am honored to have the opportunity to serve and lead Alpine Crest Elementary, Ms. Jackson said. I believe in creating a student-centered environment that fosters engagement and allows students to achieve success. Within this environment, I want students to feel safe and nurtured. I hope to continue to build on the community involvement Alpine Crest has established over the years. Together, we can make a positive difference for our students, school, and community.Prior to her time at Big Ridge Elementary, Ms. Jackson served as a teacher on special assignment at Spring Creek Elementary from 2016-18. She previously served as a second and third grade teacher at Spring Creek from 2007-16.Shelly has a heart for students and their success, and she has a history of working with teachers and staff to bring out their best, said HCS Deputy Superintendent Dr. Sonia Stewart. I am looking forward to working with Shelly as she steps into her new role and facilitates new connections between students, staff, and the community.Ms. Jackson holds a B.S. Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and an M.A. Degree in Instructional Leadership from Tennessee Technological University.I believe in serving our community and being a lifelong learner, which is why I have chosen the education profession, Jackson said. I love to see the looks on students faces when they gain the knowledge of something new or build on what they already know. It is absolutely rewarding to be given the opportunity to be a part of the lives of children in their elementary years because it sets the foundation for their future success.Arielle Garcia Hayes has been named principal of the newly created University High, a collaboration between Hamilton County Schools and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga that will be based on the UTC campus. She has served as an assistant principal at Center for Creative Artssince 2021.The biggest change we can make as a community is to support efforts and actions towards equity for all students and families, Ms. Hayes said. University High will be the beacon for equity in action, in collaboration with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. As an educator, there are few things more exciting than providing a whole student approach to curriculum and instruction. University Highs foundation is built upon recruiting local untapped talent and nurturing those students through community involvement and partnership. I am honored to be the inaugural principal and to implement the vision of University High.According to HCS Director of Innovation and Fine Arts Grant Knowles, Ms. Hayes brings the right skillset to lead the new program.Ms. Hayes has a history of building relationships with students and stakeholders while designing innovative approaches to make learning personally relevant for all students, Ms. Knowles said. She is a great fit to launch and lead University High. She believes in empowering students, and we look forward to supporting her as she establishes a student-centered culture for this new program.Prior to arriving at CCA, Ms. Hayes served as the districts school choice charter coordinator in 2021. She was an assistant principal at East Hamilton Middle School for 2020-21, and she served as principal of Dalewood Middle School from 2016-20. Ms. Hayes was an assistant principal at Orchard Knob Middle School in 2015-16, and the lower school site principal at Normal Park Museum Magnet from 2013-15. Before becoming an administrator, she taught middle school social studies and history from 2008-13.Ms. Hayes holds a B.S. Degree in Secondary Education History and an M.Ed. Degree in Educational Leadership, both from Tennessee Technological University.
Paul McCartney remains one of rock musics greatest icons today. Throughout his time with The Beatles, and even long after, he made some of the best-selling music of all time and got to know plenty of other famous stars in the process. Musician Buddy Holly had a career that started several years before McCartney joined The Beatles, but Hollys influence over McCartney was evident throughout McCartneys career. In fact, he was a big part of McCartneys desire to become a famous musician.

McCartney once revealed that if he could say anything to Holly today, hed ask him one  well, maybe two  important questions.

Paul McCartney in New Jersey in 2016 | Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Paul McCartney was influenced by Buddy Hollys music

Its no secret that McCartney is a big Buddy Holly fan, but its lesser known that Holly is a big reason why McCartney and John Lennon started The Beatles. Back in 1958, McCartney was just a teenager, and he and John Lennon attended one of Hollys shows in the United Kingdom. By then, Holly had blown up, with hits like Thatll Be The Day and Peggy Sue. And upon seeing Holly live, Lennon and McCartney knew they wanted a music career like his.

Back in 1973, just a few years after The Beatles broke up and 15 years after Hollys untimely death, McCartney and his then-wife, Linda Eastman, purchased the rights to Hollys music catalog, which included all of his biggest hits. According to The Paul McCartney Project, McCartney opened up in a past interview about how Linda Eastmans father helped him decide to purchase Hollys music.

[Lee Eastman] asked me what kind of music I liked and the first name I said was Buddy Holly, McCartney said. Lee got on to the man who owned Buddy Hollys stuff and bought that for me because the Buddy Holly stuff was up for sale.

Buddy Holly in 1958 | Steve Oroz/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Paul McCartney revealed what hed ask Buddy Holly if given the chance

Holly has always been one of the artists who inspired McCartney the most, and back in 2020, McCartney revealed the one question hed ask Holly if ever given the chance.

It would have been, How do you do the riff from Thatll Be The Day? McCartney said in an interview with British GQ.

Thatll Be The Day was one of Hollys biggest hits and the song that put him on the map in both the United States and United Kingdom. McCartney added that The Beatles worked that one out and eventually figured out the riff. Interestingly, McCartney followed that question up with another idea: Id probably ask him why he took that plane flight, he said.

Hollys infamous death came far too soon. The musician had achieved world fame by the late-1950s, and while touring in the United States, he boarded a plane from Iowa that was headed to Minnesota for the bands next show. However, just a few minutes after takeoff, the plane crashed, killing Holly, the pilot, and two people. Holly was at the height of his fame and was just 22 years old. It became one of the most infamous deaths in the music industry, with Don McLean labeling it the day the music died.
Prior to Putins invasion of Ukraine, Europe sourced a great deal of natural gas from Russia. But as a result of EU sanctions on Russia, this supply is no longer there. European countries have scrambled to find and secure new suppliers. But if both the war and these sanctions last into next winter, gas will remain in short supply  especially if next winter is a cold one and people need a lot of gas for heating. There is a distinct possibility that a shortage of gas will mean homes go unheated and will force industry to halt production. As a result, some countries might be tempted to prioritise the needs of their own citizenry and economy over showing solidarity to other countries.

But how would the effects of such a selfish behaviour play out? And how far removed from a show of solidarity would such a scenario be? Researchers in the group of Giovanni Sansavini, Professor of Reliability and Risk Engineering at ETH Zurich, have examined this using model calculations. One of the studys key findings is that collaborating in solidarity is worthwhile. At the very least, it would allow European countries to avert drastic and involuntary energy demand curtailment.

Collaborating in solidarity means countries helping each other out when gas is in short supply and signing bilateral agreements to that effect. This would involve a country voluntarily lowering its energy demand in order to supply gas to other countries should they desperately need some. Only eight such agreements have been reached in Europe to date.

The alternative to collaborating in solidarity is acting selfishly. Several Central European countries such as Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands would be better off acting selfishly as they would then have more gas available. However, this would cause shortages in other countries. Hardest hit would be countries along the eastern edge of Europe: from Finland down through the Baltic States to the Balkans.

Redirected gas flows in Europe

The main reason for all of this is that the disappearance of Russia as a supplier caused a fundamental shift in Europes supply channels. Russia used to supply eastern European countries as well as Finland. Although Finland shares a border with Norway, a big producer of natural gas, there is no gas pipeline between these two Nordic countries.

Europe is now offsetting its need for Russian gas largely with liquefied natural gas (LNG), which arrives by sea chiefly from the US, Qatar and Nigeria. Most of the ports for handling LNG are found on the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea, with Spain being the largest transfer zone. Production in Norway remains high, as do imports from Algeria, reaching Europe through pipelines to Spain and Italy.

In other words, its now countries in Western Europe that are serving as the continents gateway to gas. And countries in the east and southeast suddenly find themselves at the end of the supply chain.

The trouble is that Europes gas infrastructure wasnt designed for such a shift, says Paolo Gabrielli, a senior researcher in Sansavinis group and co-author of the study. Cross-border pipelines are operating at maximum capacity, especially in Southeastern Europe. This is why Southeastern Europe is particularly vulnerable to gas shortages and relies on agreements with other countries. Gabrielli adds that existing bottlenecks can be removed by additional investments in the gas infrastructure.

Based on their results, the researchers are calling on policymakers to coordinate the distribution and consumption of gas at the international level. Moreover, private individuals and companies throughout Europe must be given greater incentives to effect a measured reduction in their gas consumption wherever possible  even when there is no acute shortage. This would help keep gas storage as full as possible so as to be prepared for a cold winter.

Voluntarily reducing demand to distribute the burden evenly is far less painful than forcing a country to massively reduce its demand because theres no energy available, says Jacob Mannhardt, doctoral student in Sansavini's group and lead author of the study. International collaboration together with anticipatory energy savings are the most cost-effective way of preventing a severe energy crisis.

Reducing climate impact and dependence

In their study, the ETH researchers analysed the entire energy system by looking not just at gas but also at other energy sources and the electricity grid. This allowed them to calculate that turning off gas-fired power stations and instead generating more electricity through coal would offset 15 percent of the supply gap left by Russian natural gas. The downside would be climate damage: such a move alone would trigger a 5 percent increase in greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity and heating sector.

We show that diversification in natural gas supply, and especially LNG imports, have stabilised Europes gas supply, Gabrielli says. But Europe must learn its lesson from this energy crisis, namely that it is dangerous to be dependent on foreign countries for its energy supply. Switching to a different foreign supplier merely shifts the dependency.

To avoid damaging the climate and simply forging new dependencies, the researchers recommend channelling the current momentum into investing in domestic energy supply, expanding renewable technologies, pursuing electrification efforts, and ensuring electricity trading across Europe.
Do you know the woman who was considered to be the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood?

Her name was Anna May Wong, and she made history in the film industry.

Anna was born in 1905 in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles, California. Her birth name was Wong Liu Tsong, and she was one of eight children in her family. Eventually, she was given the English name Anna May.

As a young kid, Anna was sent to a public school where she and her sister were constantly harassed and bullied because of their race. It got so bad that she had to transfer schools and finally felt safe at the Chinese Mission School in Chinatown.

In school, Anna studied English and Cantonese but excelled in speaking English. She worked at her parents laundromat and became interested in movies growing up. Anna would use her money from working at the laundromat to buy movie tickets and would visit film sets near her home as often as possible.

In 1919, when she was 14 years old, she responded to a casting call for extras for the film The Red Lantern. She got a role as an extra and carried around a lantern in one of the films scenes. Although it wasnt a major film debut, it catalyzed her career.

While still attending school, Anna took on more film roles as an extra and began auditioning for whatever she could. Finally, in 1921, she dropped out of high school to begin acting full-time and started going by the name Anna May Wong.

By the time she was 17, Anna had landed her first leading role in the silent drama film The Toll of the Sea, which was one of the first American films to be made in Technicolor.

Although she was making a name for herself, Anna often had to deal with racial stereotyping and racist policies in the American film industry. For example, she was making films during an era when interracial actors were not allowed to kiss on screen.

Sign up for Chip Chicks newsletter and get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
Pixabay/Barta IV

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints allegedly violates the terms of its religious tax exemption by using a one-hundred-billion-dollar fund to bail out firms with ties to the church. It was stated by a whistleblower named David Nielsen, who served as the church's former portfolio manager.

$100 Billion Fund That Bailed Out Church's Business

David Nielsen, also a committed Mormon faith member, was initially approached to work at Ensign Peak when he was employed on Wall Street, The Guardian reported. He claimed that during his time working for Ensign Peak, he witnessed the church's investment company "[masquerading] as a charity," evading what would amount to billions of dollars in taxes by fabricating documents and generally deceiving other individuals who adhere to the Mormon faith. Tithing is an ordinance in which people who attend the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donate around 10% of their annual earnings to the religious organization. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered roughly $7 billion from its 17 million members through this practice each year.

Approximately one billion dollars of the collected money was placed into an emergency fund at Ensign Peak, recognized as a non-profit organization. This fund was then invested, and any generated profits were exempt from taxation. Nielsen explained that the reserve fund was established in 1997 and has grown to over one hundred billion dollars, nearly twice as large as Harvard's endowment. "I thought we were going to change the world. We just grew the bank account," he added. The documents show funds from the church's reserve fund have been used to finance for-profit projects. These ventures included a shopping mall in Salt Lake City constructed on church land and a church-owned insurance company.

According to a report from The Salt Lake Tribune, Nielsen would break his public silence by speaking with 60 Minutes reporter Sharyn Alfonsi on the newsmagazine program, which would run on CBS/Channel 2 at 6 pm on Sunday, and would also be streamed on Paramount+. Nielsen has asserted that considerable sums of money donated by churchgoers for charity have been utilized to fund business enterprises, such as the construction of the City Creek Center retail mall in the downtown area of Salt Lake City and the rescue of Beneficial Life Insurance Company.

As motioned, he submitted their affidavits in the lawsuit by former Utahn James Huntsman in the summer of 2021. The case claims top Latter-day Saint officials of fraud and attempts to recover millions of dollars in tithing that was improperly refunded. In addition, the issue of Huntsman is currently being considered for appeal by the 9th United States Circuit Court of Appeals. Moreover, at the beginning of this year, Nielsen pushed his concerns to Congress. He urged the Senate Finance Committee to investigate the faith's financial operations. Also, Nielsen shared "evidence of false statements, systematic accounting fraud", and violations of tax laws and other federal regulations. He noted that, among other things, his previous employer had evaded over $20 billion in taxes and another $2 billion in penalties.

Also Read: Latter Day Saints Serve and Donate to Countries in Need

Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' Response to the Allegations

The Church officials of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints strongly denied the allegations. They stated in a press release issued at the time that the church "complies with all applicable law governing our donations, investments, taxes, and reserves." In addition, they have argued that the funding used for the business initiatives came from "earnings on invested reserve funds" rather than the actual tithing gifts themselves. As per MSN, Bishop Christopher Waddell justified how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints manages its financial investments and assets.

He also stated that Ensign Peak Advisors is the church's treasury. "They're just holding the assets, reserves, on behalf of the church," he noted. Furthermore, Waddell responded "no" when he was questioned if people who part of the church are could lose trust in the church because of the private nature of this money. He believes divulging all of the assets at Ensign Peak is unnecessary and that whistleblower Nielsen needed a complete understanding of the issue.

Related Article: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Pay $5M Settlement Following Concerns on Churchs Investment
Unsplash/Clem Onojeghuo

The First Congregational Church in Laurel Park, Henderson County, had to suspend its morning services when a peaceful protest outside the building turned into a scene of heightened tensions.

The First Congregational Church is a well known supporter and promoter of inclusivity, and for being accepting of the LGBTQ community, serving as the main point of the protest. The protesters gathered on a sidewalk that was near the church carrying placards with anti-LGBTQ sentiments and some religious signs.

Henderson County Residents Stand Against Anti-LGBTQ Protest, Incident Captured on Video

According to the article in ABC 13 News, as the distressing incident played out just outside their door, the protest quickly gained pace and neighbors were forced to step in. One local homeowner had to be forcibly restrained following a heated interaction with a protester shouting anti-LGBTQ views into a bullhorn, further worsening the situation. After many 911 calls from worried neighbors, the Laurel Park and Hendersonville police departments were also summoned to the site.

Colleen Spillain, a neighboring homeowner who recorded the disturbing situation on her phone, called the incident "hate speech." Spillain recalled, "Everyone in the neighborhood came walking over and they were livid."

Spillain used her phone to record the proceedings, catching one incredibly stressful moment when a neighbor confronted the demonstrators by approaching a man using a bullhorn while moving over the grass. The man was heard yelling that the protesters to go and "get out of here," but he was unheard and the protest continued.

A church in Henderson County, North Carolina, is preparing for a protest by a group that opposes inclusivity and LGBTQ rights. Reverend Dr. Dwight A. Moody of Providence Baptist Church revealed that members had informed him about the protest following an incident at the First Congregational Church.

According to his website, The Meeting House, the Providence Baptist Church is organizing an LGBTQ outreach event on May 24, and the protesting group is believed to be from a South Carolina church that previously protested a Pride Picnic.

Rev. Moody condemned the intolerance and discrimination faced by the LGBTQ community, stating that it goes against the teachings of Jesus Christ. The small congregation is making arrangements to handle the protestors, although there is no public property nearby where they can legally assemble. Concerns about the broader division within American society have been raised, exemplified by the confrontations witnessed during the protest in Laurel Park on Mother's Day.

Also Read:Fresno LGBTQ-Inclusive Church Hosts Vigil Following Vandalism Incident

Other LGBTQ Inclusive Church Experienced Hate, Community Support and Attend Candlelight Vigil

According to the article shared here in Christianity Daily, after a hate crime that targeted the church, members of the Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Fresno held a candlelight vigil. The Fresno Police Department has investigated and suspected the incident as a hate crime after the church's windows were severely damaged on April 18 and als has been defaced with the name of the far-right group, "the Proud Boys." Over $25,000 has been estimated in damages.

This attack on the church is not the first to occur. In December, the Proud Boys' intimidation of drag event attendees sparked worries about the church's continued targeting. The church community is steadfast in its mission to eradicate prejudice and intolerance, notwithstanding the upsetting instances. The church has started a GoFundMe campaign to generate the money required for repairs in an effort to offset the costs associated with the damage.

The event was emotionally charged as attendees mixed grief and worry about the recent attack. In a related incident reported in NBC Chicago, vandals targeted a church in Chicago, destroyed its sign, and took a picture of Jesus with a rainbow. Reverend Stephens, the church pastor, is unfazed and promises to support inclusivity and love despite the constant threats and assaults.

Related Article: Persistent Vandalism at United Methodist Church in Chicago Prompts Pastor to Seek Police Intervention
A conversation about how the Church can make a difference in the lives of children and families.

What if we could help every child flourish in the face of adversity and trauma? Join us as we speak with two staff members of Christian Heritage, a non-profit agency in Nebraska: Roy Baldwin (Executive Director) and Emma Sugita (Training Director). Christian Heritages mission is to see the gospel redeem the most broken families through their programs and services, including Beyond Prison, Families Together, and Care Portal.

Roy and Emma relate stories of hope from the front lines of foster care ministry, touch on how their organization prioritizes the flourishing of their employees, and share practical ways believers and churches can come alongside foster care families.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone wanting to learn more about the challenges and opportunities in foster careor any trauma-informed ministry.

Bios:

Roy Baldwin currently serves as CEO for Christian Heritage in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is the former Director of Parenting and Youth at Focus on the Family. Roy has worked for over 25 years with vulnerable youth and families and often writes about faith and families at SincereReligion.com.

Emma Sugita currently serves as the Director of Training at Christian Heritage. Emma worked at Christian Heritage for 6 years as a Foster Care Specialist and Licensing Specialist before taking on her current role.

Dena Dyer serves as the Communications Specialist for Humanitarian Disaster Insitute.

Resources:

Christian Heritages website

Article:: Orienting our Hearts and Mind for Effective Foster Care

Previous episode: Becoming a Trauma-Informed Church

Download our FREE trauma-informed church action tool

Free e-book: 101 Ways to Overcome Burnout (includes 94 pages of helpful tools, research, and encouragement)

Spiritual First Aid certificate course

___________

This episode was produced by Wildfire Creative.

Theme Song Turning Over Tables by The Brilliance

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | Stitcher | RSS

Follow us on Twitter: @kentannan | @drjamieaten

Follow on Instagram: @wildfirecreative

(Note to the listener: In this podcast, sometimes we'll have evangelicals, and sometimes we won't. We believe learning how to do good, better involves listening to many perspectives with different insights and understanding. Sometimes it will make us uncomfortable; sometimes we'll agree, and sometimes we won't. We think that's good. We want to listen for correction. Especially in our blind spots.)

Jamie Aten, Ph.D., and Kent Annan, M.Div. co-direct the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College and are also the co-founders of Spiritual First Aid.
This piece was adapted from Russell Moores newsletter. Subscribe here.

This week on my podcast, I talked to Rainn Wilson, the writer, actor, and comedian who played the character Dwight Schrute on The Office. (For the first time, my kids insisted on attending a recording of The Russell Moore Show.)

As he and I were talking, I started to realize that Dwight might explain how weve arrived at this scary moment in American life.

In his (amazingly good) history of the television show, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s, journalist Andy Greene tells of a fierce debate that broke out among the writers and producers of the show. When Steve Carell, the actor who played Michael Scott, left the show after seven seasons, the team had to decide which character would replace him as the Worlds Best Boss at Dunder Mifflin Scranton.

I did not think Dwight should be the boss because I think Dwight is not as benign as Michael Scott, recounts one of the writers, Aaron Shure. Hes like this weird amalgam of Mennonite and Star Trek nerd.

I also didnt want Dwight to be empowered because I was afraid he wouldnt be funny anymore with power, Shure says. Its funny if he sets the office on fire and blowtorches all the doorknobs. But if he did that all day long without any sort of check on his behavior, it would be terrifying.

By contrast, writer Danny Chun argues that responsibility might have changed Dwights character for the better. To me it felt like he was going to do some insane, inappropriate, horrible, and cruel things, but he may now suddenly be forced into a position to contemplate what he was doing a little more, and that seemed intriguing.

This in-house dispute among television writers in Sherman Oaks, California, reflects one of the most fundamental issues in American culture right now. Our nation seems precarious and anxious because our institutions are more than just weak. Theyre also scary. When we look at the tech industry, public health authorities, the press, law enforcement, political bodies, the church, or nearly any other organization in American life, we see two almost equally terrifying realities.

On the one hand, we see leaders who lack good judgment. No one really questions whether the scientists and engineers working on artificial intelligence programs in Silicon Valley are good at what they do. Rather, we fear theyre as skilled as those who created a social media ecosystem thats highly effective at isolating people through algorithms and enraging them with disinformation.

Article continues below

Similarly, no one wonders whether the pharmaceutical marketers who sold entire populations into opioid addiction knew what theyre doing. We worry they knew all too well and all too much.

The little nub of truth at the root of this fear is where conspiracy theories thrive. Anxious people start to assume there are all sorts of highly competent, morally depraved people running everything around them. That can be scary.

But the Dwight Schrute problem is even scarier. One of the most popular episodes in the series was the one referenced by Shure, in which Dwight plans a fire drill by torching doorknobs and sends the office into such a frenzy that someone has a heart attack. But as Shure notes, Dwight was limited in his ability to carry out mayhem. He was just the assistant to the regional manager.

Michael Scott is an idiot, to be sure. But his idiocy is hemmed in by sweetness and sincerity. He is a delusional narcissist in many ways, but he ultimately wants to be loved and accepted by family and friends. Even when he does objectively awful things (like attempting to frame the human resources director for a crime), he still seems to have some sense of boundaries. Michael simply wants to sing karaoke with Jim, be invited to parties by Ryan, and serve as the godfather at the christening of Pams baby.

When Dwight becomes manager, he hangs a dictator-style portrait of himself in the office and has the desk modeled after that of Saddam Husseins son. But all of it seems somewhat innocuous because his position is temporary. His power appears limited.

We see these same pictures in our culture. People start to worry when they realize their leaders have neither the expertise to navigate challenges nor brakes for their worst impulses. What could be funny in a person without power can be terrifying in someone with actual authority.

Perhaps thats why people find ways to mythologize institutions or leaders when things start looking scary. To some, a political leader without a moral compass is playing brilliant four-dimensional chess that only looks chaotic because hes too smart to let them know what hes doing. We tell ourselves that a pastor who screams uncontrollably is nonetheless a church-growth guru who can take the congregation to the next level.

Article continues below

Behind those stories is the assumption that, as some Office writers thought of Dwight, responsibility itself will transform character and competence. Dwight might put Sprinkles the cat in the freezer to euthanize it, but once hes manager, the thought goes, hell actually step up to the task. The stakes are high, after all.

This magical thinking helps us sleep through the night, but it isnt true. Yes, Dwight finally becomes manager at the series end, but only after a long character-altering arc.

The idea that private character doesnt matter to public leadership is not only morally corrosive but also fear-inducing. Regardless of whether someone is the regional manager of a midlevel northeastern paper company, a church bishop, or the president of the United States, the position itself doesnt suddenly transform the person.

The same dynamic is true of life in Christ. Jesus tells us, Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much (Luke 16:10). Whats internal to a person eventually shows itself. A diseased tree cannot yield good fruit (Matt. 7:18), even if the whole community is counting on it to combat starvation. Dwight Schrute might be right that nitrogen is the most essential element for above-ground leafy growth, but all the nitrogen in the world cant grow something out of a dead root.

Any mythology needs a chaos figurea Loki, a Joker, a Dwight. But when those figures get put in charge, the results are bleak. We start giving up on character and competence and start looking for an even more chaotic figure to put checks on the first. In an office, on a film set, in a country, or in a church, that way leads to Threat Level Midnight (one of The Office episodes). And deep down, we all know it.

Russell Moore is the editor in chief at Christianity Today and leads its Public Theology Project.
Hardly anyone could be more qualified than Timothy Keller to receive the Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Witness. It should have been the culmination of a remarkable career.

Keller applied Reformed theology to the heart of American culture while preaching at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he planted in 1989 with his wife, Kathy. Kellers writing introduced Kuypers theology of vocationhis vision of God who claims every square inch of creation for his gloryto new generations of Christians around the world.

But the reaction from many Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) students and alumni revealed just how much American culture had shifted since 1989 when Keller stepped down from the pulpit in 2017. Kellers views on womens ordination and homosexuality countered the prevailing norms at PTS and other mainline seminaries, not to mention the broader culture.

By this evolving standard, Abraham Kuyper wouldnt have been eligible for his own award. Under pressure from various advocacy groups, PTS leaders rescinded their decision to grant Keller the 2017 Kuyper Prize (which has since been hosted by Calvin College). The renowned pastor seemed poised to become yet another casualty in the ever-expanding culture wars.

Or not.

Keller did not receive the prize, but he agreed to give the lectures anyway. PTS did not want to reward him, but he still tolerated them. And for all the preceding protest, enthusiastic applause greeted Keller when he stepped to the podium on April 6, 2017. PTS president Craig Barnes got the message once again when he returned to dismiss the crowd.

I didnt attend the PTS lectures, but I understand the surprising affection for Keller.

As a teenage evangelical convert in the late 1990s, I knew my faith was not welcome in the halls of power, whether that was in the classrooms of an elite private school or in the offices of the US House of Representatives. I never expected my zeal for Christ would make me popular or famous or rich. I just wanted to be faithful to God and obedient to his Word no matter where he led. I wanted to share my faith without reserve, even among hostile crowds.

And in 2007, I found an exemplar who modeled how to do that in Americas most secular settings. Timothy Keller shared the gospel boldly in the idioms of his day, without demeaning or demanding anything but faith and trust in our faithful, trustworthy Savior.

When the tragedy of 9/11 gave way to a new and more virulent outbreak of the culture wars, Keller demonstrated a different way. As an associate editor for Christianity Today in 2007, I reported on the first public event of The Gospel Coalition (TGC), which Keller cofounded. My initial read of TGCs Theological Vision for Ministry, drafted by Keller, set forth an agenda I could follow as a young Christian coming of age in this contentious 21st century.

Article continues below

Keller centered me on the gospel of Jesus, which fills Christians with humility and hope, meekness and boldness, in a unique way. The biblical gospel isnt like traditional religion, which demands obedience for acceptance, or like secularism, which weve seen make American culture more selfish and individualistic.

The gospel, Keller taught with a nod to his late friend Jack Miller, says, We are more sinful and flawed than we ever dared believe, yet more loved and accepted in Jesus than we ever dared hope.

Steady amid hostility

Rare among preachers, Keller could engage the heart as much as the head. His books introduced me to social critics whose writing I could barely comprehend. But somehow, Kellers books also struck me as profoundly simple in their consistent emphasis on the gospel of grace.

You can see this dynamic at work in his PTS address, which engaged with Lesslie Newbigins 1984 Warfield lectures at PTS. In these lectures, which became the 1986 book Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture, Newbigin argued for a missionary encounter with Western culture, which had become post-Christian. I dont know many Christian leaders who can simultaneously claim the heritage of Abraham Kuyper, famed Old Princeton theologian B. B. Warfield, and missiologist Lesslie Newbigin.

But that was Kellers gift. Its no clichehe never stopped learning or growing. In my book, Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation, I describe his intellectual and spiritual development as rings on a tree.

Keller retained the gospel core he learned from mid-century British evangelicals such as J. I. Packer, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and John Stott. He grew to incorporate such varied writers as Charles Taylor, Herman Bavinck, N. T. Wright, and Alasdair MacIntyre. And he somehow synthesized them with Kuyper, Warfield, Newbigin, and dozens more in the middle.

Kellers final task, the great unfinished project he left to us, was charting a course for mission in the 21st-century West that bore scant resemblance to the middle-class context in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he grew up in the 1950s.

Article continues below

Keller didnt even believe his own successful ministry in New York would offer much guidance for the generations that would succeed him. Keller followed Newbigin, who identified the post-Christian West as the most resistant, challenging missionary frontier of all time.

None of the traditional Christian reactions to culture would suffice as the basis for an effective missionary program under these contemporary conditions. If anything, these responses could only warn Christians of what not to do. Christians must not withdraw like the Amish, pursue political takeover like the Religious Right, or assimilate like the mainline Protestants.

Keller matched these categories to his friend James Davison Hunters workTo Change the World: Defensive Against (Religious Right), Relevance To (mainline), and Purity From (Amish). Hunter proposed faithful presence within as a more promising alternative, which Keller adopted as his own perspective in Center Church.

As many American Christians began to shift their social and political tactics in 2016, Keller came under increased criticism and scrutiny from fellow evangelicals. But anyone who followed his work over the decades could see that he was not the one who had changed.

Keller did not court such opposition. Anyone working with him could attest to his extreme aversion to conflict. In all our personal conversations, I cannot recall hearing a single critical comment from him directed toward a fellow believer.

His steadiness under this growing hostility gave courage and comfort to younger leaders who became disillusioned by the fall of so many of our former heroes. Even I worried about uncovering unflattering secrets when I began writing his biography. Instead, talking to dozens of Kellers close friends and family members who knew him from childhood only confirmed my personal experience of him.

But growing closer to Keller didnt lead me to idolize him. It simply allowed me to witness 2 Corinthians 4:7 in action, a flawed vessel carrying the most valuable treasurenothing less than the surpassing power of God.

Love the local church

Keller may have demurred at his ability to anticipate new challenges for the late-modern West. But he still laid out an agenda that could radically reshape evangelicals prioritiesif only they would turn off the cable news and listen. Kellers PTS lectures proposed seven steps for a missionary encounter in the post-Christian West.

Article continues below

First, he called for public apologetics in the vein of Augustines City of God. For this, readers could start with Kellers Making Sense of God, one of his overlooked classics. Second, he proposed a third way between the mainline concern for social problems and the evangelical concern for spiritual problems: Justification must lead to justice. Third, he challenged Christians to critique secularism from within its own framework, not from an outward construct. Borrowing from Daniel Strange, Keller called this process subversive fulfillment.

Fourth, as Keller had insisted so many times before, he encouraged laity to integrate their faith with their work. Non-Christians must see the difference faith makes in day-to-day living. Fifth, he encouraged Americans to learn from the global church. Keller admitted in his 2017 PTS lecture that conservative evangelicals in the United States put too much faith in their own methodology and struggle to see the kingdom of God apart from American national interest.

Sixth, Keller highlighted the difference between grace and religion. As Richard Lovelace showed Keller in his first class at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 1972, missionary encounters that produce social change depend on grace, not on the rules of religion. Only grace brings spiritual transformation. Apart from the Spirit of God, were helpless to effect lasting change in our fallen world.

Keller would have excelled as a professor if hed stayed at Westminster Theological Seminary instead of moving to New York with his young family and planting Redeemer. He made enough money on his books and speaking that he would never have run out of venues inviting him to pontificate. But God called Keller to pastoral ministry, and that is what so often set him apart.

Even when Keller chastised evangelicals, he spoke and wrote as a pastor with love for his flock. Kellers only mentor, Edmund Clowney, helped him to love the local church, warts and all. As easily as Keller quoted obscure academics or New York Times columnists, he aimed to build up the local church. And in the explosive early growth of Redeemer church, and again in the dark days after 9/11, Keller witnessed the Spirit moving in unexpected and powerful ways.

Seventh, and lastly, Keller left American evangelicals with a vision for Christian community that disrupts the social categories of our culture. These thriving communities lend credibility to the transformative power of the gospel.

Article continues below

Keller cited the work of Larry Hurtado in Destroyer of the gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World. In this incisive study, Hurtado showed how the persecuted early church wasnt just offensive to Jews and Greeks. It was also attractive. The first Christians opposed abortion and infanticide by adopting children. They did not retaliate but instead forgave. They cared for the poor and marginalized. Their strict sexual ethic protected and empowered women and children.

Christianity brought together hostile nations and ethnic groups. Jesus broke apart the connection between religion and ethnicity when he revealed a God for every tribe, tongue, and nation. Allegiance to Jesus trumped geography, nationality, and ethnicity in the church. As a result, Christians gained perspective so they could critique any culture. And they learned to listen to the critiques from fellow Christians embedded in different cultures.

Instead of delivering this lecture at PTS, Keller could have challenged the administration and canceled his talk. This would have gained greater attention and support from his fellow conservative evangelicals. He could likely have raised more money for his ministry too. But Keller put his teaching into practice. He had told Christians for years that the gospel offers a distinct alternative to the intolerance of secularism and the tribalism of religion.

I dont yet see widespread evidence that evangelicals have taken Kellers advice or followed his example. Intolerance has been met with intolerance, hostility with more hostility.

But I suspect, if the Holy Spirit blesses us with another awakening, our churches will look more like what Keller envisionedwhere grace will once more find a way through the tangles of religion and secularism.

Collin Hansen serves as the vice president of content and editor in chief of The Gospel Coalition and is the author of Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation.

Editors note: In addition to this tribute to Tim Keller in eight languages, CT offers an obituary in nine languages and a special collection of articles by and about the New York City pastor who modeled a winsome witness.

[ This article is also available in espanol, Portugues, Francais, , , Indonesian, , and . ]
When Hlaing heard that the extremely severe Cyclone Mocha was barreling toward Sittwe township on the western coast of Myanmar, she worried about her family and the 105,000 other displaced Rohingyas living in camps on the low-lying floodplains. Where could they go to shelter from the storm?

From the Thailand office of the Partners Relief and Development, Hlaing (who asked to only be identified by one name for her security) started sending updates about the cyclones strength and location to the groups local contacts so they could alert the rest of the Rohingya community in the area. Team members on the ground urged people to evacuate to schools or temples that could withstand the wind. Hlaings family was able to shelter at a school across the street from their home.

Through the organizations local network, Partners sent money to secure 200 bags of rice and provide for other needs ahead of the storm. We expected the worst, said Brad Hazlett, president of Partners. There didnt seem to be any way for the people to escape, and weve had other experiences where people were restricted from escaping the path of the cyclone.

As the storm lashed out with 150-mph winds on Rakhine state Sunday, Hlaing continually checked Facebook for updates but saw no news about the camps.

Then on Monday night, she finally heard from Partners local contact: Everything in the camp is destroyed, he said. He sent pictures of piles of bamboo where homes used to stand, broken bridges, downed trees. He also visited her family to check up on them: They were unhurt, but the roof of their house had blown off.

The full extent of the damage caused by the stormwhich was equivalent to a category 5 hurricaneis still unknown. Thats due to the difficulty accessing the worst-hit areas, the disrupted cell service, and the military juntas obstruction of access and information.

The junta, which took power in a 2021 coup, placed the death toll at just 54 on Thursday. Yet Partners team members counted 110 dead in just seven of the Rohingya villages and camps they visited in Sittwe.

As of Thursday, the UN and other aid groups have not been allowed to access the area. Partners local team, on the other hand, has been able to provide food and tarps, as well as survey and publicize the damage.

Hazlett noted that Partners, a Christian aid group, can respond so quickly because of their decade-long relationship with the Rohingya community in Sittwe. By consistently showing up and providing food, health care, bathroom facilities, and schools, theyve gained trust and developed networks that can mobilize quickly.

We built a close relationship with the community and people in the camps, Hazlett said, Weve worked very hard to improve their situation, but the situation remains so dire for themthey have no rights, theyre in camps behind barbed wire.

An open prison without end

The devastation brought by the cyclone has exacerbated an already disastrous situation facing the stateless Rohingya, whom the junta does not recognize as citizens. In 2012, violent riots led to the Rakhine, who are predominantly Buddhist and make up the majority in the state, driving up to 140,000 Rohingyas Muslimsincluding many living in Sittweout of their homes and into camps in the floodplains.

Rohingyas in the camps and nearby villages have had their freedom of movement severely restricted and are denied access to work and education. Heavy police presence, and in some places barbed wire, keep them in an open prison without end, as one former camp resident described it to Human Rights Watch.

After Rohingya insurgents attacked Burmese border posts in 2016, the army cracked down on the Rohingya living elsewhere in Rakhine state, killing thousands, burning villages, and driving them out of Myanmar and into Bangladesh. Nearly one million Rohingyas have fled across the border to Coxs Bazar, once a beachside tourist destination that has now become the worlds largest refugee camp.

Now the reports released in the wake of Cyclone Mocha paint an even more devastating picture on the Rohingya who have remained in the country. The storm has destroyed 90 percent of the homes in Sittwe. Massive tidal waves swept over Rohingya villages near the Bay of Bengal, as dead bodies believed to be locals have been spotted along the coast Wednesday, according to Myanmar Now.

Outside Rakhine state, the cyclone also severely damaged homes, businesses, and infrastructure in Chin state and Magway and Sagaing regions, leaving more than three million people with humanitarian needs, the UN estimates.

In Sittwe township, survivors need food, fresh water, and tarps. The cycle destroyed the marketplace, flooded rice paddies, and damaged roads, making transportation difficult.

Yet the UN humanitarian office (OCHA) said Wednesday it was still waiting for the junta to allow them into these communities to start coordinated field missions to gauge the full scope of the humanitarian situation.

On Thursday, Partners posted on Twitter that it had distributed rice and tarps to 30 families and tarps to an additional 20. Hazlett noted the group can send funds directly to their team members on the ground to procure the aid.

Why do Christians care about us?

Hlaing, who like most Rohingyas is Muslim, first encountered Partners in 2012 when she and her family fled their home in downtown Sittwe due to the violence. At the camp, she saw the organization provide medical aid to the many displaced Rohingyas who suffered from diarrhea and skin diseases. Soon she started volunteering with the group.

Partners is an openly Christian organization that works with and employs local Rohingyas. Hazlett noted that because the group is from the West, people automatically assume they are Christians. They will then ask, Why do Christians care about us? It gives him an opportunity to share that its because of our faith, this is what we are called to do. Scripture is clear we are to love our neighbors.

And the Rohingya have been receptive to that help. They see Partners consistency working in the community over the past decade, providing rice for Rohingyas in the camp who arent recognized as internally displaced persons (because they fought back against the military, Hlaing said). Partners set up toilets and hand water pumps in the camps. They built schools so children growing up in the camps could access education.

They tried to transition to sustainable development projectshelping Rohingya with farming plots of land or raising goats and chickensyet those failed as the local Rakhine stole the fruits of their labor, claiming the land was theirs.

Hlaing noted that the Rohingya community is thankful for Partners because the group was the first to help them when there was no support and nothing happening for them.

 otherwise many more will die

For Hlaing and others, Cyclone Mocha and the governments response evokes memories of another devastating storm 15 years earlier: Cyclone Nargis, which killed more than 138,000 people in 2008. The junta didnt warn people about the magnitude of the coming storm, preventing them from evacuating and taking shelter. They also resisted international aid, leaving many to die from injuries or lack of basic necessities.

Hlaing noted that, this time, while many Rohingya evacuated, others stayed likely because they didnt realize how dangerous the cyclone would be. Once again, the government didnt provide adequate warning or preparation before the storm, reported Myanmar Now. While officials made alerts about the storm over a loudspeaker at the camps, they did it in Burmese, which many Rohingya dont speak. The government also didnt provide transportation or accommodations for those who wanted to leave.

The government has also followed its 2008 playbook for disaster relief. The Burmese military are not helping them, said Tun Khin, the president of Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, in a statement. The international community needs to act urgently to reach survivors with medical and humanitarian aid, otherwise many more will die.

Hlaing also hadnt heard any reports of the government aiding Rohingya survivors. Instead, people have tried to assist each other individually, In the camps, everyone has lost everything, so they cant help each other.

Beyond Partners, other Christian groups are trying to find ways to help victims. Dave Eubank of Free Burma Rangers (FBR), which trains ethnic minorities as first responders, said that after Cyclone Mocha, their Rohingya team is providing food and aid to Rohingyas who have fled across the border to Bangladesh.

However, the FBRs focus remains on the ongoing fighting against ethnic armed groups and armed Burmese groups. Even amid the rain the cyclone brought in, the military continued shelling, displacing, wounding, and killing in Karenni state, Eubank said Tuesday.

As bad as the cyclone is, to me the much bigger story is the three million already internally displaced people since the coup and the nonstop attacks, he said.

Eubank also worries that the junta will take money donated for disaster relief and use it for their own purposes.

Amid all the challenges facing the Rohingya, Hazlett noted that over the years, Partners has made deep, lasting friendship with the Rohingya community and continue to walk with them. And yet it gets harder and harder. These friends ask [themselves], What do we have to live for? Theyre not ever going to be able to move beyond this situation.
Prominent PCA Pastor Harry Reeder dies in car crash

The senior pastor of one of the largest churches in the theologically conservative Presbyterian Church in America has died in an automobile accident in Alabama.

The Rev. Harry Reeder III, the 75-year-old lead pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama, died in a car crash on Thursday morning when his vehicle struck a dump truck. The other driver was unharmed.

Briarwood Pastor Bruce Stallings announced the death of Reeder on the church's Facebook page, where he wrote that our Lord has called Pastor Reeder home through a car accident.

Please pray for Cindy, Jennifer, Ike, Abby and their entire family as well as our staff and church family as we all grieve this tremendous loss together, wrote Stallings.

But we do not grieve without hope because we know our pastor is with His Savior and has been received by grace with  Well done My good and faithful servant.

Condolences for Reeder have been posted to social media, including one from Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., who attends Briarwood.

Reeder was more than a pastor, he was a dear friend, mentor, and a man who understood and exemplified Godly leadership. Harry had an enormous impact on the lives of countless men and women, tweeted Palmer. I will miss his teaching and his friendship, but Im confident in knowing that one day I will see him again. Ann and I are praying for his family during this time.

Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and host of the podcast The Briefing, also shared his condolences in a post on Twitter.

So sorry to hear of the death of my friend Harry Reeder, pastor of Briarwood PCA in Birmingham. Harry was a stalwart for the faith and a genuinely gracious man. I pray for his wife & family and for the church he so dearly loved and led, Mohler wrote.

Reeder took over Briarwood in 1999 after the retirement of founding pastor the Rev. Frank Barker. Reeder also hosted a podcast and was an author, according to al.com.

He also pastored Independent Bible Church of the Chattanooga, Tennessee area, Pinelands Presbyterian Church of Miami, Florida, and was the founding pastor of Christ Covenant Presbyterian Church in North Carolina in 1983.

Reeder is survived by his wife, Cindy, three children and several grandchildren.
UMC church hosts 'family friendly drag show' with children, 'furries' in attendance

Protesters, drag performers and at least one adult in a so-called furry costume were on hand last weekend for a family-friendly drag show that was moved to a local church at the last minute.

The Pride Prom event hosted by Grayson County Pride was originally scheduled for May 13 at Pecan Grove Park West in Sherman, located about 65 miles north of Dallas.

Prior to the event, however, the location was reportedly changed to 118 W Pecan Street, which is the address of the Mosaic Campus of First United Methodist (FUM) Sherman, according to the churchs website.

The location change was first reported by Protect Texas Kids, a conservative advocacy group, whose members were among several people on hand to protest outside the venue.

A handful of protesters held signs and one waved an American flag as the event got underway at the location, where kids were seen on video attending the drag show.

Another group of protesters, The New Columbia Movement, a Catholic advocacy group, marched with a flag reading DEFEND PURITY, REJECT PERVERSION were also on hand as they prayed the rosary alongside locals at the event.

As the day went on, counter-protesters  including a gay Spiderman holding a rainbow flag  showed up outside the church. Another person held a rainbow flag with the libertarian motto Dont tread on me.

Later in the evening, Sherman police officers were seen escorting drag performers and even a person in a furry costume around the location.

It's a mess out here. @shermanpolice officers are escorting the drag queens and furries around the "church."



Lots of kids are still inside the building for the drag show. pic.twitter.com/4xVWvkbx3p  Protect Texas Kids (@protecttxkids_) May 14, 2023

A spokesperson for Sherman police told The Christian Post that event organizers hired two off-duty officers to provide security for the event.

It is common practice for businesses and/or organizations to hire off-duty officers to provide security, Sherman Police Sgt. Brett Mullen told CP via email Wednesday. Sherman Officers engaging in off-duty employment are there solely to keep the peace and enforce state law.

Neither FUM Sherman nor Senior Pastor Rev. Denise Peckham responded to a request for comment Wednesday from CP. This story will be updated in the event that a response is received.

A statement on the FUM Sherman website indicated that the church is an LGBT-inclusive congregation: We are young and old, married and single, gay and straight, liberal and conservative, non-conformists and traditionalists, those recovering from addictions, those still battling addictions, and those whose challenges take other forms.

We are imperfect children of God who find meaning and purpose as followers of Christ, and who find authentic community at [the UMC church].

Last year, Grayson County Pride organized a similar all ages drag event at Pecan Grove Park, complete with an alcohol-free mocktail bar," though it wasn't clear whether that was continued at this year's event.

A bill that would restrict such all ages drag performances in Texas passed the Senate last month and is in committee in the state House.

Under Senate Bill 12, anyone under the age of 18 would be prohibited from attending sexually oriented events and could subject businesses which host such events to fines as large as $10,000 for each violation.
Tim Keller, influential Evangelical pastor and author, dies at 72

Timothy Keller, the notable Evangelical author, theologian and New York City-based pastor, has died following a lengthy battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He was 72 years old.

Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, a congregation that Keller helped found, sent a statement to members informing them that he died Friday morning.

"We are forever grateful for his leadership, heart, and dedication to sharing the love of Christ with others. While we will miss his presence here, we know he is rejoicing with his Savior in heaven," stated Redeemer in the message that was shared with The Christian Post.

"Tim loved what he did. He loved interacting with Redeemer congregants and global ministry leaders alike. He delighted in communicating the profound wonder and transforming power of the gospel of grace. He would quickly disarm you and brush away your addressing him as Dr. Keller. 'Just Tim, please.'"

Read the full announcement below:

It is with a heavy heart that I write today to inform you that Redeemer Presbyterian Church founder and long-time senior pastor, Tim Keller, passed away this morning at age 72, trusting in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection. We are forever grateful for his leadership, heart, and dedication to sharing the love of Christ with others. While we will miss his presence here, we know he is rejoicing with his Savior in heaven. Tim loved what he did. He loved interacting with Redeemer congregants and global ministry leaders alike. He delighted in communicating the profound wonder and transforming power of the gospel of grace. He would quickly disarm you and brush away your addressing him as Dr. Keller. Just Tim, please. The life I witnessed was rooted in his identity as a beloved child of God. There was no dissonance between the man you saw publicly and the man you witnessed privately. When asked how he wanted to be remembered, he would say that he didnt think a lot about legacy, and then reference something Martin Lloyd Jones said about his name being written in the Lamb's book of life. And he might on occasion say, I do hope my grandchildren remember me. There will never be another Tim Keller and we will all miss him. A worship service followed by a memorial will be held in New York City in the coming weeks, and both will be available by live stream for those who would prefer to participate remotely. More information will be provided as details become available. We ask for your continued prayers for his beloved wife whom he adored and Redeemer co-founder, Kathy, as well as the entire Keller family.

In a public update on Facebook, the famed pastor's son, Michael Keller, wrote:

"Timothy J. Keller, husband, father, grandfather, mentor, friend, pastor, and scholar died this morning at home. Dad waited until he was alone with Mom. She kissed him on the forehead and he breathed his last breath. We take comfort in some of his last words, 'There is no downside for me leaving, not in the slightest.' See you soon Dad."

Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1950, Keller earned a bachelor of arts degree from Bucknell University, a master in divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a doctor in ministry from Westminster Theological Seminary.

He served as pastor of West Hopewell Presbyterian Church of Hopewell, Virginia, an associate professor at Westminster, and the director of Mercy Ministries for the Presbyterian Church in America.

In 1989, Keller founded Redeemer Presbyterian Church of New York City, a congregation that would eventually grow to have approximately 5,000 average weekly worship attendees.

Keller also chaired and co-founded Redeemer City to City, an organization that helps to launch new churches in New York and other cities, and provides resources on how to minister in major urban environments.

Keller authored multiple books, including the 2008 bestseller The Reason for God, an apologetics work centered on tackling tough questions like why God allows suffering and sends the unsaved to Hell.

Keller has compiled a list of the most frequently voiced doubts skeptics bring to his church as well as the most important reasons for faith, noted the books official description.

Keller uses literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and reasoning to explain how faith in a Christian God is a soundly rational belief, held by thoughtful people of intellectual integrity with a deep compassion for those who truly want to know the truth.

Other books authored by Keller include: The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness, The Meaning of Marriage, The Prodigal God, The Songs of Jesus, and The Prodigal Prophet.

Keller occasionally garnered controversy for his theologically conservative views, as well as his opposition to other clergy posing a political litmus test for Christians.

In 2017, Princeton Theological Seminary decided not to award Keller their Kuyper Prize due to complaints over his churchs stance on LGBT issues and the ordination of women.

In order to communicate that the invitation to speak at the upcoming conference does not imply an endorsement of the Presbyterian Church in America's views about ordination, we have agreed not to award the Kuyper Prize this year," stated Princeton Seminary President M. Craig Barnes at the time.

During the 2020 presidential election cycle, Keller garnered widespread attention when he took to Twitter to denounce the idea that American Christians had to vote for one party or another.

The Bible binds my conscience to care for the poor, but it does not tell me the best practical way to do it, stated Keller at the time. Any particular strategy (high taxes and government services vs low taxes and private charity) may be good and wise  [It] may even be somewhat inferred from other things the Bible teaches, but they are not directly commanded and therefore we cannot insist that all Christians, as a matter of conscience, follow one or the other.

In May 2020, Keller was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and underwent chemotherapy and an immunotherapy drug trial at the National Institutes for Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

On the two-year anniversary of his diagnosis, Keller took to Twitter to report that chemotherapy was reducing the cancer, noting that God has seen it fit to give me more time.

Watch Tim Keller's last video interview with CP on forgiveness, repentance and fallen pastors

In March, Keller announced that new cancer tumors had developed in his body, prompting him to return to the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda for additional treatment.

They are unfortunately in some fairly inconvenient places, so the doctors encouraged us to go through the treatment again, this time targeting a different genetic marker of the cancer, he explained at the time.

Kellers son, Michael, shared an update on Thursday, saying that his father had been moved to hospice care at his home. Michael also quoted a prayer that Keller had prayed earlier that week.

I'm thankful for all the people whove prayed for me over the years. I'm thankful for my family, that loves me. Im thankful for the time God has given me, but Im ready to see Jesus. I cant wait to see Jesus, Timothy Keller prayed.

Send me home.
Tim Keller's son says his dad is being moved to hospice at home, says he's ready to see Jesus

Notable pastor and bestselling author Timothy Keller has been moved to hospice care at his home after receiving a new round of treatments for pancreatic cancer.

Kellers son, Michael, shared the update on Facebook Thursday evening, writing that his father was being discharged from the hospital to receive hospice care at home.

Over the past few days, he has asked us to pray with him often. He expressed many times through prayer his desire to go home to be with Jesus, wrote Michael Keller. His family is very sad because we all wanted more time, but we know he has very little at this point.

Michael Keller then quoted his father's prayer from earlier this week: I'm thankful for all the people whove prayed for me over the years. I'm thankful for my family, that loves me. Im thankful for the time God has given me, but Im ready to see Jesus. I cant wait to see Jesus. Send me home.

In May 2020, Keller was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, undergoing chemotherapy and an immunotherapy drug trial at the National Institute for Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

On the two-year anniversary of his diagnosis, Keller took to Twitter to report that chemotherapy was reducing the cancer, noting that God has seen it fit to give me more time.

In March, Keller announced that new cancer tumors had developed in his body, prompting him to return to the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda for additional treatment.

They are unfortunately in some fairly inconvenient places, so the doctors encouraged us to go through the treatment again, this time targeting a different genetic marker of the cancer, he explained at the time.

Kathy Keller, his wife, gave an update last week, explaining that there had been complications regarding the latest round of treatment, and asked for prayers during this slow recovery.

Keller founded Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, New York, in 1989 and pastored the congregation for several years as it grew to around 5,000 members.

He also authored several books, including: The Reason for God, The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness, The Meaning of Marriage, The Prodigal God, The Songs of Jesus, and The Prodigal Prophet.
141 Pennsylvania churches leave UMC over homosexuality debate

One hundred forty-one congregations in Pennsylvania have officially left the United Methodist Church, largely because of the ongoing debate over sexual ethics in the mainline Protestant denomination.

At a special session of the UMC, Susquehanna Annual Conference held Wednesday at the Community Arts Center in Williamsport, the disaffiliations of 141 churches were approved. This leaves 665 congregations in the regional body.

The special session divided the votes by district, beginning with churches based in the Altoona District and ending with churches based in the York District. Between district votes, there were prayers and moments of silence observed.

During the meeting, Stephanie Evans, a lay member of Grace United Methodist Church of Harrisburg, asked what would become of those belonging to churches that disaffiliated who wanted to remain in the UMC.

The Rev. Kathleen Kind, director of Connectional Ministries for the Conference, responded that the goal was to, in any ways possible, provide support, but warned that its not a one size fits all and we want to make sure that the specific needs of individuals and families and groups are cared for as we move forward together.

After the votes were taken, Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball addressed the gathering, calling this a time of brokenness, noting that we are indeed different when we walk out these doors tonight than when we came in.

Whether or not you are part of a congregation that made a decision to disaffiliate or not, we are all part of Gods family, said Ball. And we need, in the midst of this time, to dedicate ourselves to being the repairers of the way.

To spend some time with one another, praying with one another, confessing to one another, forgiving each other. For just as the Lord forgave each one of us, in the same way, we are asked to forgive one another.

Ball added that no matter what denomination a church may belong to, we are still called to be the Body of Christ in this world and to witness to Christs love and the gift of redemption and salvation.

Weve made so many other things known in the midst of these disaffiliation conversations, she said. Now is the time to redeem ourselves, to put on the mind and the heart of Christ, and to focus on repairing the way and making Christ known.

Cortez Community Church of Jefferson Township, formerly known as Cortez United Methodist Church, was not among the 141 congregations that had their disaffiliation affirmed.

In April, the Susquehanna Conference filed a lawsuit against Cortez, arguing that the congregation failed to follow the proper process of discernment for disaffiliating from the UMC.

According to the suit, Cortez Community Church leadership decided to unilaterally leave the UMC in February, taking control of the church property and seizing bank accounts, as well as changing its signs to reflect a new affiliation.

Over the past couple of years, more than 3,000 congregations have officially left the UMC, driven in large part by the denominations ongoing debate over whether to change its official stance on LGBT issues.

According to the UMC Book of Discipline, the denomination prohibits the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of people in same-sex romantic relationships. It also bans the funding of LGBT advocacy groups.

Although efforts to change these rules at UMC General Conference have always failed, many progressive leaders in the Church have refused to follow or enforce the official standards.
Canadian police arrest teen handing out Bibles during altercation with trans activists

Canadian police arrested a teenage conservative activist handing out Bibles after a violent altercation broke out between his Save Canada group and trans activist counter-protesters.

Josh Alexander, 16, was handcuffed for allegedly causing a disturbance and provoking violence because he approached the activists during an organized International Walkout event supported by the conservative Christian group Liberty Coalition Canada, Rebel News reported.

Alexander passed out Bibles on a public sidewalk in Calgary, Alberta, and interacted with a crowd of people holding transgender flags and carrying LGBT-themed signs. Authorities detained Alexander for allegedly causing a disturbance by approaching the counter-protestors, accusing him of provoking violence, Rebel News reported.

Today I was handcuffed and put in a paddy wagon for offering students Bibles on a public sidewalk in Calgary, Alexander wrote in a Wednesday tweet. "I was released and told if I returned I would be arrested and charged. I continued handing out Bibles. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.

In a follow-up tweet, the teenager asserted that Calgary police arrested him because his views were "too 'inflammatory to be expressed near the Western Canada [High School]."

"Thankfully some of my assailants were charged after the event," Alexander added. "I will not yield to the pressure of the woke mob or corrupt state. We will continue to spread the truth in love."

A spokesperson for the Calgary Board of Education told The Christian Post in a Thursday statement that the district did not schedule the protests, nor did CBE support them. Since it was a regular school day, the expectation was that students attend class unless a parent or guardian excused them.

Schools did not prevent students from leaving class during this time; however, any students who were not present in class were marked as an unexcused absence, the statement read.

Every day, we work together with students, parents and staff to create welcoming, caring, respectful and safe school communities where each and every student feels a sense of belonging."

The spokesperson went on to say there was "a wide range of diversity in our community" and that everyone has "the right to be open about who they are, including expressing their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression without fear of unwanted consequences.

This is not the first time that Alexander has been arrested as a result of his actions.

Alexander was arrested in February for trespassing after he attempted to attend his Automotive Mechanic class at St. Josephs High School in Renfrew, Ontario, reported The Eganville Leader.

Prior to the arrest, Alexander had been issued a non-disciplinary exclusion by the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board after he organized a protest to stop boys from entering girls' bathrooms.

St. Josephs High School did not immediately respond to CP's request for comment.

I was not sure if I was going to the police station to be formally charged or what was happening, Alexander told the Leader. I sat in the back for about 20 minutes and then they let me out. They did not handcuff me but they did give me a ticket and a fine for $65.

In April, the teenager officially filed a human rights complaint against the Catholic school board, alleging that the district discriminated against his religious beliefs. Alexander promised that he would not attempt to enter school property without authorization again.

I have a right to physically go to my classes and it is far better than online learning, plus I do better in a classroom. My lawyer is still helping me appeal, but the school board wont even recognize my appeal, he said, as quoted by the Leader.

That is why I intend to go the Human Rights Tribunal and lodge a complaint because my human rights are being taken away and it's all based on religious discrimination.
Indonesian authorities reduce blasphemy charge for official who ordered Christians to stop worshiping

SURABAYA, Indonesia  Authorities have reduced a blasphemy charge to one of mere intrusion for an official on western Indonesias Sumatra Island who broke up a worship service, sources said.

Church leaders in Indonesia said such leniency would never be granted to a Christian who broke up mosque prayers and appealed for equal treatment under Indonesian law.

Wawan Kurniawan, head of the Rukun Tetangga area of Rajabasa Jaya village, on Feb. 19 stopped the worship service of the Tabernacle of David Christian Church (Gereja Kristen Kemah Daud, or GKKD), saying it lacked a permit, sources said. The village is located in the southeast corner of Sumatra in Bandar Lampung Regency, Lampung Province.

The Lampung High Prosecutors Office stated that instead of charging him with violating the blasphemy law, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine, Wawan would be charged only with intruding into the church compound without permission, which carries a punishment of less than a year in prison and a $30 fine, according to Kompas.com.

The prosecutors office said the due process of law would be carried out in the near future, according to Kompas.com, though many Christians doubt authorities would follow through due to the influence of Muslim extremist groups.

Charges may have been reduced in part because Wawan reached a settlement with the GKKD church on Feb. 23, said the Rev. Henrek Lokra, executive secretary of justice and peace bureau of the Communion of Christian Churches (Persatuan Gereja Indonesia or PGI). Wawan, Bandar Lampung Sub-district officials and other local authorities initiated the settlement.

The agreement called for Wawan to publicly ask the GKKD congregation for forgiveness and for both parties to forego legal action against each other, leaving any prosecution to the government, which Christians believe is biased in favor of Islamists.

The agreement also called for the GKKD congregation to accept Wawans apology and granted the church a temporary permit to continue using its building for worship.

In spite of the settlement, the PGIs Pastor Lokra said problems remain.

The government in general and the legal authorities, in particular, should maintain peoples trust, the trust among the citizens, that their voice is heard and the problem solved accordingly, he told Morning Star News in a text message.

Lukas Sutrisno, a church planter in Magelang, Central Java, said authorities should consistently enforce the law.

The whole process itself is incomprehensible  dismissing [breaking up] the Sunday service is a crime which should be punished, Sutrisno told Morning Star News. Its hard to imagine such a case happening to the majority religion  I mean, what would happen if Christians dismissed Muslim prayers?

Such disruption of church services could reoccur unless the government applies consistent enforcement policies, he said.

The law authorities, I think, should treat the citizens equally before the law, Sutrisno said.

Lampung Police spokesman Zahwani Pandra Arsyad said that Wawan had been briefly arrested in February shortly after the disruption, and that investigators in March concluded that he had fulfilled the elements to be named a suspect under blasphemy laws, Kompas.com reported on March 16.

Police detained Wawan Kurniawan on March 22 under Indonesias blasphemy law, according to Kompas.com. But the head of Information and Legal Section of the Lampung High Prosecutors Office, Made Agus Putra, said last week that the Public Prosecution Team at the Bandar Lampung Prosecutors Office on May 11 released Wawan, as the charges had been reduced and his wife and legal counsel requested a detention suspension, according to Kompas.com.

Demonstrations

Various groups in Lampung Province launched demonstrations against Wawans March 22 arrest.

Protestors at the Lampung High Prosecutors Office on March 23 demanded his release, according to Kumparan.com, and demonstrators from the Lampung Move Alliance on April 10 amassed with the same purpose at the Lampung Regional Police Headquarters compound in Bandar Lampung, Lampung.com reported.

Demonstration coordinator Gunawan Pharikesit said Wawan was only carrying out his duties when he dismissed the GKKD Sunday service.

Wawan Kurniwan has just carried out his job in regard to religious service regulation as stipulated in the Joint Decree of Two Ministers (Surat Keputusan Bersama Dua Menteri), which has been criminalized, he told Lampung.com.

Religious freedom advocate Ary Permadi, widely known as Abu Janda, criticized the demonstrations.

The demonstrations show that barbarity has been supported by barbarity again, Janda said in a video on his Instagram account on March 30. Yesterday we saw the HTI sleeper cells reappearing among the Lampung demonstration participants, demanding the [disruptor] of religious worship be released.

Janda said the suspect who disrupted the worship service could be charged with multiple articles of Indonesian civil law, including Article 175 for obstructing worship, punishable by up to one year and four months in prison; Article 167 for trespassing, punishable by nine months in prison; and Article 156 for blasphemy, punishable by up to five years in prison.

Appeal for help

PGI General Secretary Jacklevyn F. Manuputty had appealed for government action soon after the service was disrupted.

PGI understands that there are rules that must be met in order to build a house of worship, Manuputty said in a Feb. 20 press statement. Even so, incomplete permits should not be an excuse for forcibly stopping an ongoing worship service, let alone since the dissolution was carried out in a very undignified way and caused terror and fear.

Manuputty added that the states authority would fade if it allowed such incidents to continue, and that public trust would also decrease.

Wawan previously said church Pastor Naek Siregar on Dec. 10, 2016, signed a statement pledging not to use the building until the church had a permit, according to IDNTimes.com. The outlet said the church has not met requirements to obtain a permit, but Parlin Sihombing, chairman of the GKKD Church Construction Committee, told IDNTimes.com the congregation had met the requirements in their application.

The church, whose building was constructed in 2009, applied for a permit for a place of worship in 2014, but officials have not responded, he said. He said the 2014 application included the approval of 75 area residents; 60 are required under Indonesias Joint Ministerial Decree of 2006. Parlin Sihombing said the number of congregation members has reached 100, also exceeding the required 90 members under the 2006 decree.

Indonesia ranked 33rd on the Christian support organization Open Doors 2023 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Indonesian society has adopted a more conservative Islamic character, and churches involved in evangelistic outreach are at risk of being targeted by Islamic extremist groups, according to Open Doors WWL report.

If a church is seen to be preaching and spreading the Gospel, they soon run into opposition from Islamic extremist groups, especially in rural areas, the report noted. In some regions of Indonesia, non-traditional churches struggle to get permission for church buildings, with the authorities often ignoring their paperwork.
Tim Keller on how cancel culture, therapeutic age has created 'crisis' around forgiveness

Tim Keller believes there is a cultural crisis going on.

In recent years, he began noticing that with the rise of the punitive movement known as "cancel culture" came a disturbing trend: Young people were becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of forgiveness.

They dont know how to forgive, and theyre not even sure they should, the 72-year-old pastor and New York Times bestselling author told The Christian Post. The emphasis of young people on doing justice is important, and forgiveness seems to contradict justice. It seems like, Well, I can forgive or I can pursue justice. That's one problem. And then secondly, we live in a culture where people don't do face-to-face stuff  they don't know how to deal with conflict or disagreement.

There's a cultural moment here where I think forgiveness is very important to talk about. We live in a culture that is very fragmented, polarized, there's an awful lot of anger, and people are really after each other. Forgiveness is not in the air.

It was this concern that prompted Keller to write his latest book, Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I?The longtime pastor, whose books have sold more than 3 million copies, said forgiveness is an essential part of the Christian life; in fact, its at the heart of the Gospel.

In the Lord's Prayer, the only statement that Jesus repeats is, Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, he said. And then, at the end of the prayer, Jesus adds, If you do not forgive other people, then there's no reason why God should forgive you. Its very, very central to what the Bible teaches.

In response to secular skepticism, Keller addresses the seeming contradiction between forgiveness and justice. He stresses that unless the two are pursued together, its impossible to enact justice.

Instead of saying, I can forgive or pursue justice, no, you need to forgive in order to pursue justice, because if you don't forgive all, you'll be pursuing his vengeance, Keller said. Your motivation will tend to be anger. Anger is more exhausting than love  as an emotion, anger spends you, love fills you up. Anger can twist you.

And if that's the main reason you're going to try to do justice, I think you will overreach; often, when you're talking to people that you think are doing injustice, you won't persuade them or win them over  in many cases, you'll make them worse, because theyll feel like theyve got to protect themself.

Keller, the founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church and City to City, was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in May 2020 and is undergoing immunotherapy. He said the treatments have kept his cancer at bay, keeping him exactly where I was two-and-a-half years ago when I got the cancer diagnosis.

Most people are gone within months or a year; I'm still going strong and I'm going into two-and-a-half years. I'm very, very grateful to God, he said.

Since his diagnosis, Keller has continued to write and teach, sharing biblical wisdom surrounding topics including race, social relationships, systemic injustice and sexuality. In Forgive, he addresses how the Church has sometimes restored abusers to positions of power  a timely topic as some denominations grapple with decades of sexual abuse in their ranks.

He quotes Rachel Denhollander, a Christian attorney who led the charge against USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, about how the Church has historically mishandled abuse allegations or pressured victims to forgive and forget.

In the '70s and '80s, there was a tendency on the part of Evangelical churches to feel like, All we have to do is get people to repent and forgive and not go outside to the world; we can solve everything, he said. But when it comes to actual child abuse, or sexual abuse or wife abuse, these things are against the law. And if you think, We don't want to go out there, we're going to just deal with it right in here, then it really is very bad for victims.

It doesn't get rid of the necessity of forgiveness, he added. But we have to admit that the Evangelical churches use that as a weapon against victims, and that's another reason why it's been discredited to some degree.

According to Keller, there are four actions that constitute real forgiveness: Naming a trespass instead of ignoring it; identifying the perpetrator as a fellow sinner; releasing the wrongdoer from liability by absorbing their debt, and finally, aiming for reconciliation.

Though he stresses reconciliation is always the goal of forgiveness, Keller does address how to truly forgive when such a result isnt possible or safe.

He cited how, when Moses disobeyed God, God forgave him  yet prevented Moses from leading the Israelites into the Promised Land. And when David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he faced severe consequences.

Forgiving somebody does not mean you have to trust them; I think trust comes back, gradually, he said. Maybe they haven't changed or maybe they haven't changed fast enough. It's never loving to make it easy for a person to sin against you.

The same principle applies when a pastor or church leader publicly fails, Keller said.

I would say, pastors who fall should certainly step out of ministry completely, but not just for a few weeks, or for even a few months, and then come back as if nothing had happened  and I do see that happening. I think you need to acknowledge what happened and say, I can never go back and act as if that never happened because I'm calling people to come and trust me when I've really done something quite wrong, a real breach of covenant, a real breach of trust.

They probably shouldn't be the main preacher  especially if there's been a sexual misconduct of some kind, or financial misconduct of some kind," he added. Essentially, I would say forgiveness does not mean a complete restoration to exactly where they were before. In fact, that probably generally shouldn't be.

Keller examines common obstacles to forgiveness, including the rise of social media and how todays therapeutic age focuses on self-interest instead of the true reason Christians are called to forgive: For the glorification of God and the common good.

If the main purpose of forgiveness is, how do I get happy? you're not doing all the forgiveness you actually should do, he said. I think what forgiveness is supposed to do is not only give you inner peace but make you an agent of reconciliation in the world.

Christian forgiveness understands that Christ has forgiven, while the therapeutic model is all about getting your mind off of the past, Keller said, adding: We're not trying to reconcile with anybody, and we're not drawing on God. We're all about making ourselves feel better.

In an age where forgiveness is increasingly unpopular, Keller urged Christians to regularly take inventory of their own hearts and repent of their sin on a regular basis. A good repenter, he said, is able to extend forgiveness and love instead of harboring bitterness.

Basically, what prepares you to forgive other people, is you going and getting forgiveness from God and weeping and crying and thanking Him for it, and realizing that only because of what Jesus has done is He able to give you this incredible mercy, the pastor said.

Then, if you are in a position where you have to forgive people, it won't be hard  or at least, it won't be as hard.

Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I? is now available.
Lets not forget stepmoms and stepdads in celebrating parenthood

We have just celebrated Mothers Day this last Sunday (May 14) and we will celebrate Fathers Day next month (June 18). We should all be exceedingly grateful for our parents and the extraordinary impact they have on our lives.

However, I have been sensitized over Mothers Day weekend by dear Christian friends and some close family members that too often as we celebrate Motherhood on Mothers Day, we unconsciously leave out a significant portion of that blessed sisterhoodnamely, stepmothers. And, of course, the same lack of awareness could be applied to stepfathers.

Now, you will not find a bigger fan of motherhood than me. Mothers Day has always been one of my favorite days of the year. My mom went home to be with the Lord in January 2016 at the age of 92 (having completed the newspaper crossword puzzle just two days prior to her demise). This was my eighth Mothers Day without her.

I miss her, but I am so grateful that God gave me the mother that He did. My mom is the one who taught me that God loves me, that Jesus died for me, and that God had a wonderful plan and purpose for my life that no one could fulfill as well as I could with His guidance and help.

I have often said that nobody loves you like your mother except God. Ideally, a Mothers love is sacrificial and unconditional. God bless them. If your mom is still alive, tell her how much you love her and appreciate her while you still can. Husbands, tell the mother of your children how grateful you are that she is the mother of your children, and what a great mother she is. (Wives, this goes for you as well when it comes to your husband and Fathers Day.)

We have undergone profound changes in our culture over the past four decades. Nuclear families like mine where my parents were married to each other for 69.5 years (beginning in 1943) are increasingly rare. My younger brother and I could not have imagined our parents being divorced. Today, 62% of married/cohabitating couples under 55 years of age have at least one step kin relationship" (Weimers, et.al, 2017). According to Pugh Research, approximately 114 million Americans have a step relationship. By age 15, 29% of Americas children have now experienced two or more mother partnerships either through marriage or cohabitation.

As Christians, we should reach out to embrace stepmoms and stepdads as they undertake the difficult task of fulfilling parental roles for stepchildren who are suffering through the emotional trauma of their parents divorce. Many Christian women in our churches are laboring mightily to fill a serious void in the lives of their stepchildren, thankless roles an American woman is called upon to fulfill in the year of our Lord 2023.

And yet, they can have tremendous influence for good. They have the same instructions as stepparents that natural parents do as detailed in Ephesians 6:1-4:

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise). So that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

The Apostle Paul is here exhorting Christian parents. Bring up is ektrepho, meaning to nourish up to maturity, to nurture, bring up, to rear up and includes bringing up or rearing in the various departments of life. (K. Wuest Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, vol 1, p. 137).

Let us all covenant together to encourage, to equip, and inspire each other as Christian parents, step and otherwise, to be the Christian moms and dads God intends for us to be and our children, step and otherwise, need for them to be.

And history does furnish us with a tremendously inspirational example of a very successful stepmotherAbraham Lincoln, our greatest president, proclaimed, All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother, referring to his stepmother, Sarah.

We should remember that parenting is always a difficult task and we should all call upon the spiritual resources God provides for us to fulfill our sacred duties. I must confess being a father of three children (Jennifer, Richard, Jr., and Rachel) has been the most rewarding, humbling, and difficult task I have ever undertaken.

And I know I was a difficult child to rear. The last Mothers Day card I sent to my mother acknowledged that I had been a very difficult child to raise. I was hyperactive with Attention Deficit Disorder. If they had had Ritalin when I was a child, they would have marinated me in it.

So, the card I sent Mom said, Sometimes God knew I would .. a Mom just like you...Some days it must have taken all of your patience, your faith, and your sense of humor, but I hope I have been worth it. Thanks for loving me, Mom, no matter what. You were Gods gift to me and a blessing in my life. All of my love, Richard.

I know somewhere in heaven my mom is now enjoying the heaven she taught me about when I was a boy. Mom, I love you, and I look forward to seeing you again someday.
Archbishop of Canterbury seeks to unify the Church in prayer

"Prayer is simple, accessible to all and yet indispensable. Absolutely anyone can pray," says Archbishop Justin Welby.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is launching a new initiative which aims to "demystify" prayer through teaching and learning how to pray in unity.

A series of Prayer Day events will take place around the country with the goal being to "strengthen existing initiatives" and "inspire the whole Church to explore new possibilities of how to pray".

The initiative, scheduled to take place three or four times a year, is part of Archbishop Justin's priority of Prayer and the Religious Life, and will include the Community of St Anselm, the ecumenical community of young Christians who live at Lambeth Palace for a year in prayer, study and service.

Canterbury Cathedral is the location for the first event, set to take place on 27 May.

There, Archbishop Welby will be joined by Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin, as well as the Chemin Neuf Community and the Community of St Anselm.

At each of the gatherings, the Archbishop will share his vision for prayer and participants will have the chance to hear from local leaders about the impact of prayer and experience the prayer traditions of different denominations.

The Archbishop's hope for the initiative is that it will "bring the Church together" in all its "glorious diversity and traditions" in learning to "pray to God who hears every prayer".

"In prayer we learn to see God at work in our world and open our lives to God's transforming love," he said.

The event is free but booking is required.
Disability campaigner continues fight against discriminatory abortion laws

A woman with Down's syndrome is taking her landmark case against the UK's disability abortion laws to the European Court of Human Rights.

Under current UK law, babies with Down's syndrome or other disabilities can be aborted up to birth. The usual time limit for abortion is 24 weeks.

Heidi Crowter, who has Down's syndrome, took the UK government to court over the disability clause but lost in the High Court and Court of Appeal.

She is seeking permission to appeal to the ECHR after the UK Supreme Court refused to hear her case.

Commenting on her decision to continue her legal fight, she said that the law "singles out babies with disabilities" and is "not fair".

"I am taking my case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg because it is downright discrimination that people with disabilities are treated differently," she said.

"In 2023, we live in a society where disabled people are valued equally after birth but not in the womb."

She continued, "This law sends a message to people like me with Down's syndrome that we are less valuable than others. This is not true and it is not right."

She added, "I have a great life. I want every baby with Down's syndrome to have the same chance to live and enjoy their life.

"I hope we win. People shouldn't be treated differently because of their disabilities, it's downright discrimination."

Government figures show that there were 3,370 disability-selective abortions in 2021, up by 9% on the previous year. Of these, 859 were for babies with Down's syndrome.

The number of disability-selective abortions that took place after 24 weeks rose by 20% to 274 in 2021, with 24 being for babies with Down's syndrome.

In 2017, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recommended that the UK government change its abortion laws to remove disability discrimination. The government has not acted upon this recommendation.

Lynn Murray, spokesperson for Don't Screen Us Out, whose daughter has Down's syndrome, said: "By stating that disability is grounds for termination, section 1(1)(d) of the Abortion Act, promotes inequality and perpetuates negative stereotypes. This law sends a message that people with disabilities are less worthy of life and protection than others.

"The provision in the Abortion Act harks back to a time when we thought it was better for people with disabilities not to be part of our society. We live in a far more inclusive and progressive society now, where we celebrate diversity, and all of our laws should reflect that."

Christian advocacy group CARE said that Crowter's case is "important".

Ross Hendry, CEO of CARE, said: "The fact UK law permits abortion up to birth in cases involving disability is disturbing. Would we accept legislation enshrining abortion on the grounds of race, or sex? The current approach sends a message that disabled lives are worth less.

"It's disappointing that Supreme Court judges won't hear Heidi's hugely important case, but we commend Heidi's determination to continue her fight to the ECHR. A ruling in her favour would have positive implications across Europe - not just for disabled people but the whole of society and how we respect every person equally.

"Whatever the outcome, we pray that in time, whether it is through the courts or the parliamentary process, the UK will end regressive disability abortions."
UK report finds Britons' lack of faith knowledge deeply disturbing

To outsiders watching the leader of Britain's established church crown its new monarch, King Charles III, in a deeply religious ceremony, it might seem faith still looms large in the country. But a newly published report, commissioned four years ago by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, cites a profound need for improving Britons' knowledge of religion in general and for protecting faith in an increasingly secularized landscape.

The title of the independent review, "Does government do God?," harks back to a notorious episode at the start of the premiership of the Labour Party's Tony Blair. His top spin doctor at the time advised that converting to his wife's Catholicism would cause a media circus, saying the British government "doesn't do God." (Blair converted soon after leaving office in 2007.)

In 2019 Johnson nonetheless charged Colin Bloom, a former director of a Conservative Party evangelical group, with discerning how government might better engage with faith.

While Britain continues to have an established faith in the Church of England, it is a diverse, multifaith society, where Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism are particularly represented in the inner cities by immigrants from its formerly colonial Commonwealth countries. It also has a small Jewish population, many of whom have historic roots in Britain and others who arrived as refugees in the 1930s, escaping from Nazism and fascism in Europe.

The country's broad diversity of faiths continues to be supplied by a flow of refugees from the Middle East, Ukraine and war-torn African nations.

The changes in the religious landscape have led governments since Blair's time to increasingly recognize that religion matters, both in the welfare of its people and in how newcomers are assimilated into British life.

These issues are reflected in the government department that commissioned Bloom's study  the Department for Levelling Up, which focuses on alleviating inequalities in the United Kingdom.

The report surveyed more than 21,000 people, more than half of whom said they believe that freedom of religion is under threat in the UK. This view was held by Christians more than any other group, with 68% saying that people were penalized for being open about their faith in the workplace.

Bloom's study also highlights the need for improvement of religious education. Teaching about religion in mainstream schools gets little attention, said the report, to the point that it is considered a "Cinderella subject"  a neglected stepchild of the education system. Jewish yeshivas and Muslim madrassas, meanwhile, were found to be in need of proper regulation and inspection.

Schoolchildren are not the only members of British society who need to understand faith better. The report pointed out that leaders of the public sector required better understanding of religious communities and beliefs to tackle major problems, from faith-based extremism (especially terrorist radicalization in prisons) to forced marriages.

Bloom was particularly critical of the government's record on the latter, citing an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 forced marriages a year among Roma, Orthodox Jewish and Muslim communities, and called for faith officials to be prosecuted if they knowingly conduct such weddings.

"I'm very angry that government has not done more despite its fine words, and I'm angry that previous governments haven't done more," Bloom told reporters at a Religion Media Centre briefing in releasing the report.

Among Bloom's 22 recommendations was an independent office that would champion faith in addition to expanding the role of the government's existing Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief. He suggested that the office bring in a team of experts to advise it to help develop better relations with different faiths.

Bloom also recommended faith literacy training for all public sector staff; holding regular roundtables with national faith leaders; adopting working definitions of "religion," "belief" and "faith"; and reinforcing distinctions between extremist Islamism and Islam, and between Islamist extremists and ordinary Muslims.

Bloom leaves his post as the government's faith engagement adviser in just a few weeks. What happens to the report under Johnson's current successor, Rishi Sunak (the first Hindu to lead a British government), or whether any of its recommendations will be accepted is not clear.

 Religion News Service
A measure of friendship marked by fire: Alberto Burris Combustione

In May, Christies in Milan will offer an artwork gifted by Alberto Burri to his friend, the novelist Rosetta Loy. Loys husband, Giuseppe, was a passionate photographer, and his images of Burri offer beguiling insights into the life and work of an intensely private artist

Burri was a rough man. At times he was rude, the novelist Rosetta Loy once said of her friend, the artist Alberto Burri. But I found him very enjoyable. Rude, but very nice. In fact, Loy and her husband, photographer Giuseppe Loy, enjoyed an enduring friendship with the standard-bearer for Arte Povera, who lived a stones throw from the couple in a converted farmhouse on Via di Quarto Peperino in Rome. Burri was a reserved and intensely private man who generally avoided other artists. Yet he became close to Giuseppe, inviting him to be his companion at the Venice Biennale in 1966, and posing freely for the Sardinians ever-present Leica.

Open a larger version of this image Rosetta Loy, 1954. Photograph by Giuseppe Loy. Archivio Fotografico Giuseppe Loy

In the 20th/21st Century Milan Online Sale, which runs until 31 May 2023, Christies is offering Burris Combustione (1965), one of four works in the sale from the collection of Giuseppe and Rosetta Loy. The culmination of a decade of the artists experimentations with the violent energy that fire could unleash upon his canvases, the work was gifted to Rosetta in January 1965, with an inscription on the back that reads: a very small combustion for the editor Rosetta. It is about the size of a postcard that has been cut in half.

Open a larger version of this image A very small combustion for the editor Rosetta  Alberto Burris gift to Rosetta Loy, Combustione, 1965 (verso), offered in the 20th/21st Century Milan Online Sale until 31 May 2023 at Christies Online

In was also in 1965 that Giuseppe Loy  by then in his late thirties, and some 13 years younger than Burri  enjoyed the first exhibition of his photographs, at the Einaudi bookshop on Romes Via Veneto. It must have been quite the occasion for him, because photography was a private passion, pursued outside of his career as an executive with his father-in-laws construction business. Giuseppe should have been a professional, Rosetta once said. This was his nature. He always took pictures when he could, every Saturday and Sunday... He didnt have enough faith in his talent.

Yet, according to the photography scholar Antonio Arcari, it was perhaps this inability to commit to his talent that elevated his work. In his review of Loys exhibition for Foto Magazin, he declared that the non-professional nature of Loys photography gave it a distinguishing freshness, whether his subjects were residents of Romes crumbling urban sprawl or sunbathing holidaymakers at the beach. It is, however, Loys candid and disarming shots of his artist friends  in particular Burri, Lucio Fontana (winner of the Grand Prize for Painting at that 1966 Biennale) and Afro Basaldella  for which he is best remembered. Of this trio, Loy was closest by far to Burri, with whom he enjoyed a very strong friendship, according to Rosetta, in spite of their political differences (while Burri didnt like to talk about politics, her husband, she said, was a communist).

Open a larger version of this image Giuseppe Loy in 1981. Photo: Archivio Fotografico Giuseppe Loy

Loy took countless photos of Burri at home, sometimes appearing relaxed, drinking coffee, at other times scowling into the distance. He also took pictures of Burris studio: pots of liquid ready to boil on a Smeg cooker, stacks of cut card next to woodworking tools and shelves piled with old magazines, brush pots and bottles of liquor. One image even shows Burri pointing to a burnt hole on a huge canvas, which is hung next to a rack filled with shotguns. In fact, Burri and Loy both enjoyed using guns, spending afternoons together at the clay-pigeon shooting range on Via Tiberina. An enigmatic image from one such expedition shows Burri dressed in a corduroy jacket and standing in front of a row of parked cars, squinting down the barrel of his shotgun directly into Loys lens.

Open a larger version of this image Alberto Burri at a clay-pigeon shooting range, Via Tiberina, Rome, 1968. Photograph by Giuseppe Loy. Archivio Fotografico Giuseppe Loy

A few months after he made Combustione, Burri described his pyrotechnic process in an interview. Theres nothing random about it, he explained. What Im doing here is the most controlled and controllable of paintings. Surviving film footage from the era shows how Burri, deep in concentration, was able to use a wet brush and his breath to manoeuvre flames like oil paint, turning their destructive power into a force of creation, like an alchemist. Combustione is not only an important work from Burris oeuvre that charts his fascination with fire, says Elena Zaccarelli, head of the 20th/21st Century: Milan Online Sale, it is also a touching memento that offers a rare glimpse into the private life of an artist renowned for being solitary.

Open a larger version of this image Alberto Burris studio in Rome, 1968. Photograph by Giuseppe Loy. Archivio Fotografico Giuseppe Loy. Artwork:  Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri, Citta di Castello - DACS 2023

Burris friendship with Loy came to a close with the latters premature death from a heart attack  still only in his early fifties  in 1981. He left an archive of more than 1,800 rolls of film, 70,000 photographs and piles of correspondence including manuscripts and poems, which is now overseen by his son, Angelo, as the Fondazione Loy.

Sign up today Christies Online Magazine delivers our best features, videos, and auction news to your inbox every week Subscribe
At every turn the eye would fall on something beautiful: the Robin and Rupert Hambro Collection

Rupert, a scion of the Hambro banking dynasty, and Robin, an American-born former model and Vogue editor, created dynamic homes filled with Modernist sculpture and 20th-century paintings, which sat happliy alongside Old Masters and decorative arts

Known for her impeccable taste and love of the eclectic, Robin Hambro, together with her husband, the banker and philanthropist Rupert Hambro, built a superb collection of fine and decorative arts from all over the world. Robin was not only glamorous and had impeccable style but also, having worked for Vogue, she had the discerning fashion editors eye, says Amelia Walker, Christies Specialist Head of Private Collections. Rupert was a highly respected and successful financier, a trusted adviser to the British royal family, with a finely tuned cultural sensibility and a broad appreciation and understanding of art. Their collection reflects the rich strands of their dynamic and creative life together. All of their works were carefully displayed in their homes  at Ebury Street in London, Copse Farm in Hampshire and Saint-Remy in Provence  so that at every turn the eye would fall on something beautiful, adds Walker. On 8 June 2023, The Robin and Rupert Hambro Collection will be offered at Christies in London. It includes an important group of Modern British art, jewellery, Impressionist, post-war and contemporary art, furniture and Old Master paintings.

The objects and paintings represent some of the great artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, from Alfred de Dreux and Pablo Picasso to Francois-Xavier Lalanne and Barbara Hepworth. The Hambro collection shows just how well traditional and contemporary pieces can work together, says Walker. Robin had a talent for combining styles, colours and textures incredibly successfully. The collection includes works of art by well-known artists such as Picasso, Calder , Hockney and Hitchens, which carry accessible pre-sale estimates, and all lots with an estimate of 1,000 or less will be offered with no reserve.

Open a larger version of this image Robin Hambro (then Butler), 1969. Photo:  Lichfield

Born in Philadelphia in 1934, Robin began her career as a model in New York, working with the leading photographers of the day, including Horst P. Horst and Norman Parkinson. She was later appointed the American director of public relations for Christian Dior Couture and, in 1967, fashion editor for American Vogue. Her interest in collecting across categories and periods can be traced back to those early days in Manhattan. She lived in a beautiful ground-floor apartment filled with eclectic finds from her travels, and modern art including works by the Colombian artist Fernando Botero, says Walker, adding that the apartment in question was photographed for American Vogue in 1967. The Vogue photographs showcase her talent for mixing old and new to create a wonderfully layered aesthetic.

After moving to the UK in the late 1960s, Robin was appointed London editor for American Vogue. Afterwards she worked at Christies, and later as an art adviser and artist. A selection of Robins own works are being offered for sale, among them a lively sketch of a northern cardinal and a vivid red bird against a blue background. She also designed a jewellery collection for Hennell of Bond Street and served on the boards of the English National Opera and the Institute of American Studies in Oxford, as well as the Development Committee of the National Gallery.

The drawing room was filled with an eclectic range of artworks spanning periods and styles, all arranged in happy juxtaposition  specialist Amelia Walker

Her experience in the worlds of art and fashion undoubtedly shaped her eye as a collector, says Walker, adding that Robin enjoyed finding pieces on her travels as well as at auctions. She decorated her homes herself, reimagining the traditional country house aesthetic by adding pops of colour as well as striking modern and contemporary pieces. Robin met Rupert Hambro shortly after moving to London, and they married in 1970. The great-grandson of Carl Joachim Hambro, who had founded Hambros Bank in 1839 in London, Rupert was energetic, gregarious and always entertaining company. In 1986, he left the family firm  with his father and younger brothers  to form J O Hambro, a boutique operation specialising in investment advice. Alongside a huge portfolio of boardroom and committee roles, Rupert was a director of Racecourse Holdings Trust and a trustee of the Wallace Collection and Chiswick House. He also chaired the governors of the Museum of London, the development board of London Zoo and the council of the University of Bath at Swindon.

Over the course of their five-decade marriage, Robin and Rupert lived at various London addresses including Argyll Road, The Boltons and Eaton Place, before finally settling on Ebury Street. Their home was an early Georgian country house in the heart of London, featured in Architectural Digest in 1995, whose restrained 18th-century facade belied the wide-ranging vision of the couple displayed within. A comfortable family home, it was also a fitting backdrop for frequent entertaining. Guests were as likely to be friends and family as high-profile acquaintances from the worlds of art, music and business. Their hospitality in London was legendary. Robin was a generous and thoughtful host who knew how to make everyone comfortable, and this influenced her choices when it came to decoration.

Open a larger version of this image Her experience in the worlds of art and fashion undoubtedly shaped her eye as a collector: Robin Hambro and her husband Rupert

Ive had a pink dining room in every place Ive lived, Robin told Architectural Digest. Its a very flattering colour, and if everyone looks wonderful, they have a good time. Off the main entrance was a traditional panelled hallway that led to a light and airy drawing room at the back of the house. It had a very distinctive but welcoming feel to it, recalls Walker. It was filled with an eclectic range of artworks spanning periods and styles, all arranged in happy juxtaposition.

Among the rooms notable works of art were two Francois-Xavier Lalanne monkeys. Made from gilt bronze and conceived in 2007, they sat on both ends of the mantlepiece. They speak to the Hambros playful side, says Walker. The monkeys bring a sense of mischief to an otherwise quite formal drawing room setting. Animals, especially dogs, are a recurrent motif throughout the collection, including canvases from the circles of Levieux and Desportes, as well as bronze and silver sculptures of Robins beloved pekineses. Alfred de Dreuxs portrait of a child and three dogs from around 1855-58 offers a rare insight into the artists studio: an unfinished sketch of three horses is visible in the background, and there are opulent red, blue and gold fabrics draped around the sitters chair, which resemble the costumes used by de Dreux in his Orientalist paintings, notably his Guerrier Ottoman a cheval. Also in the collection is John James Audubons hand-coloured engraving of two snowy owls, one of only three night scenes depicted in The Birds of America. The dramatic background heightens the contrast with the birds plumage and their perch to superb decorative effect, says Walker.

Adorning the walls of the drawing room was a collection of assorted portraits, abstract landscapes and vibrant floral studies, among them A Circle of Flowers (1968) by Ivon Hitchens and Green House (2006) by Marc Quinn. Robin's taste continued to evolve, and she was buying daring contemporary artists like Quinn well into her seventies, always looking for colourful new works. Other significant pictures coming to auction include a 1972 pencil drawing of onions by David Hockney, a vibrant painting of a horse and rider by Marino Marini (1954) and a sensitive portrait of the Jamaican-born model Henry Thomas by Glyn Warren Philpot from 1936. Born in London in 1884, Philpot established a strong reputation for painting British and American society in the years before the First World War. While black male sitters had been among Philpots favoured subjects since 1912, this painting belongs to a small series of half-length seated men produced between 1936 and 1937.

In their later years, the Hambros took their collection in an increasingly 20th-century Modernist direction, with a particular focus on sculpture. They acquired works by Lynn Chadwick and Antony Gormley, as well as important pieces by leading female artists including Barbara Hepworth and Emily Young. At almost six feet tall, Time Boy (2011) is a magnificent example of Youngs distinctive style and her ability to carve serene human forms from ancient hardstones.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
This often leads to non-compliance and millions of dollars in penalties, or people getting stuck in contracts with no exit. Similarly, if cutting-edge products are rolled out in the hope theyll benefit the organization, you have to ensure there are enough people with the skills needed to maintain these products, adds Gangavarapu. Weve found this to be a challenge with SAP SuccessFactors and UKG Dimensions products where we struggle to find resources, he says.

Sharing insights from PageGroups talent intelligence platform, Page Insights Data Centre, Nicolas Dumoulin, senior MD at Page India and Thailand, explains that software development talent is currently the toughest to find, with IT leadership roles like CIO and CTO also relatively difficult to fill. This trend, he says, can cause increased competition for talent, as is the case with any shortage in the market. As Gangavarapu highlighted, this can mean having to pay higher salaries and offer better benefit packages in order to attract and retain talent. More often, says Dumoulin, businesses are being forced to pay premiums for outsourcing just so they can fill temporary gaps in resources. But this can be expensive and result in decreased control over projects and outcomes, he says.

Finding ways to stand out

In order for organizations in APAC to minimize the effects of this tech skills crunch, Dumoulin says it comes down to company culture, providing a good employee experience, building the business brand, and prioritizing diversity and inclusion. Company culture must be at the center of any talent strategy, particularly when employees are spoiled for choice. Creating a positive employee experience is critical to retain IT professionals, he says. This includes providing a supportive work environment, offering clear opportunities for growth and development and recognizing accomplishments.

Nicolas Dumoulin, senior MD at PageGroup India and Thailand PageGroup

Northern Beaches Council is looking to address skills gaps through reskilling and upskilling, says Gangavarapu. For example, by training broader IT staff in cybersecurity and getting them involved in incident management, they can increase awareness around cyber risks. From a procurement perspective, the Council is also looking to train and upskill IT staff by getting them more involved in procurement processes. Using a buddy system, where they pair people up with a senior manager, they can teach employees and make sure they get the experience needed.

And their training efforts extend beyond internal staff. Northern Beaches Council acknowledges that if it wants to address future talent shortages, it needs to look at the tech talent pipeline. As such, its actively discussing supply with high schools and universities so it can tap into the student talent pipeline and hopefully interest young people to pursue careers in areas where skills are most needed.

In addition, Gangavarapu and his team are heavily investing in artificial intelligence and automation to help them better manage skills shortages. For example, theyve already rolled out AI tools and machine learning to protect their internal systems from cyber threats, and deployed AI engagement, wellbeing, and productivity nudging tools to uplift capabilities of employees across different departments. Globally, demand for technology talent still significantly exceeds supply. Until this issue rights itself, all CIOs can do is build capability and capacity from the inside, says Gangavarapu. In doing so, they can make the most of the skills they already have.
Caritas Cehia anunta concurs pentru contractarea unei echipe de experti sau o entitate pentru evaluarea serviciilor de ingrijire la domiciliu
China-Central Asia relations contribute to regional peace, stability: Xi

Xinhua) 16:46, May 19, 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping, together with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, meets the press following the successful conclusion of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

XI'AN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- With concerted efforts, China-Central Asia relations will inject strong positive energy into regional peace and stability, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday when meeting the press following the successful conclusion of the China-Central Asia Summit.

Xi, together with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, jointly met the press.

The six countries jointly signed the Xi'an Declaration of the China-Central Asia Summit, adopted a list of summit outcomes, and charted a blueprint for the future development of China-Central Asia relations, Xi said.

He noted that the six countries are determined to work together to rise to challenges and foster a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future.

China and the Central Asian countries will firmly support each other on issues concerning their respective core interests such as sovereignty, independence, security and territorial integrity, Xi said.

The Central Asian countries fully recognize the significance of the Chinese path to modernization for the world's development and reiterate their firm commitment to the one-China principle, he added.

Xi pointed out that China and the Central Asian countries will take the 10th anniversary of Belt and Road cooperation as a new starting point and make efforts to build better synergy among development strategies to form a new cooperation paradigm featuring high-level complementarity and mutual benefit.

The six countries will deepen their people-to-people exchanges across the board by actively cooperating on sports, archaeology, tourism, medical and health care, and other areas, Xi noted.

He said all parties will resolutely combat all forms of terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as drug trafficking and transnational organized crimes, joining hands to build a Central Asia that features non-conflict and enduring peace.

All sides have expressed support for and readiness to implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, Xi added.

Xi and leaders of the five Central Asian countries announced a decision to officially inaugurate the China-Central Asia Summit Mechanism.

The two sides -- China and Central Asian countries -- will take turns to host the biennial summit.

The next summit will be held in Kazakhstan in 2025.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, together with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, signs the Xi'an Declaration of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 19, 2023. Xi and leaders of five Central Asian countries met the press on Friday following the successful conclusion of the China-Central Asia Summit. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, together with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, walks to meet the press following the successful conclusion of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, together with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, meets the press following the successful conclusion of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Rachel Grocott was the second person to work for Bloody Good Period (BGP), and after four years wearing many hats at the organisation she took over as chief executive last June.

BGP began as a Facebook group in 2016 when founder Gabby Edlin realised some food banks and asylum seeker centres were not providing essential period products.

Seven years on, BGP has six employees, an income of over 450,000 and has received coverage in both the local and national media.

BGP buys period products direct from suppliers and distributes them to its charity partners, many of which are food banks and refugee centres.

It also provides a workplace accreditation programme called Bloody Good Employers, which educates businesses and their employees about menstruation and period products.



The charity has grown quite rapidly in the last few years, says Grocott, which is a reflection of the need, but also the appetite for support for this issue, which is really heartening to see..

Grocott says public ignorance of menstruation has consequences. The charity recently responded to a Twitter post in which someone suggested period poverty was a myth because there is no one in the UK who cant afford 13 per year for sanitary products.

Periods are so stigmatised often its really difficult to get this information or to ask for it, Grocott says.

We encourage everybody, including those who dont menstruate, to engage in this, and. It does a massive disservice to people who dont have periods to think that they dont need to know about this stuff.

Because, at minimum, theyre going to know someone who has a period and likely theyre going to care for someone who does, whether thats a co-worker or a friend or partner or mother. So why wouldnt they want to understand an entirely normal human experience?

Being okay with receiving complaints

BGPs loud-and-proud style has meant the charity has received lots of media attention and some complaints.

We always wanted to be bold and unapologetic, because whispering about it has got us to the situation were in now where so many people cant access the products and support they need.

Its attention-grabbing because we need to fix this issue, not carry on whispering about it. And we do sometimes get complaints about it. But were okay with that because you cant keep all people happy all the time.

BGP received a complaint from someone horrified about its most recent Christmas campaign called Festive Period, because it featured a graphic with a glittery red tampon.

Grocott says: There was one comment on Facebook that just said awful under this picture, to which I had great fun writing a response how yes, it is awful that people dont have access to period products and its awful that girls start their period and dont know whats happening to them, and its awful that small charity has to fill the gap.

Those are the awful things here. Not a stylised picture of a red glittery tampon, which has clearly got your attention, which was the objective. It's too late to be silent about these things.

Grocott says BGP has a real and very large red glittery tampon in the charitys office that they take to its events. They call it the Glampon.

The humorous tone of some of BGPs comms is deliberate, Grocott says.

Humour helps to break down barriers. It helps to get people relaxed and then talking about it. Its the same principle behind our comedy night, bloody funny, which is a favourite of mine because its such a joyful occasion. What can be more human than laughter?

How does BGP raise funds?

The majority of BGPs income comes from individual and community donations, which Grocott says the charity is incredibly grateful for and speaks to how its cause has captured peoples hearts.

It's a cause that really does speak to people I think, because everybody who has a period has been in that situation of not having access to the products you need, whether that's a one-off or an ongoing situation. So, its very easy to think about the situation that refugees and asylum seekers, for example, find themselves in where they don't get the products that they need or an allowance for them. I think it's really captured people's attention but also hearts.

That means that we still have a really strong base of support, despite all the pressures on people's budgets, which we're very grateful for. Lots of individual donations from the public and community fundraising, and especially in the last year with the resurgence of events.

We dont want to have to exist

BGPs ultimate aim is to help end the need for its services, Grocott says, but there is no sign of it being able to shut up shop anytime soon.

The cost-of-living crisis did not impact the charitys income as much as expected, Grocott says, but BGP has seen a downturn in regular giving because of it.

In the current economic climate, she says it is hard to predict where the charitys growth in income will come from but corporate relationships remain important for starting conversations about menstruation as well as bringing in vital funds.

.

We hope that we will be able to continue growing corporate income with very carefully considered relationships with corporates. Bloody Good Employers have had a really strong start to 2023. We added menopause to the programme, so we now cover the whole kind of menstrual lifecycle.

The challenges of fundraising as a smaller charity

There are many challenges to fundraising as a small charity, with there being a perpetual question about where you invest limited resources in order to get the most return, Grocott says.

Especially when a cause generates such passion in people. We dont want to be turning people away.

We recently invested in a CRM for the first time after operating for a long time without one. We now have a CRM, which has really transformed the way we do things and the speed of lots of other internal processes, which frees us up to do lots of other things.

For example, we can make gift aid pay automatically every month after battles. I should think many fundraisers will resonate with having to do HMRC, spreadsheets manually.

So, investing in that process, thats not the only thing that CRM has helped us with, but its one of the main ones has really helped us free up other things so we can invest in fundraising elsewhere.

Limited resources make it difficult to know when to speak up

Knowing when to speak up about political issues affecting your cause can also be difficult with limited resources and a small team, Grocott explains.

There are lots of moments where we could speak up, fundraise linked to key events, and we dont have the capacity to do them all. But we want to make sure that we are doing appropriate activity that links back to our values and our core objectives.

With a small team working on what can be a difficult issue emotionally, its important to balance people's wellbeing, time and energy too, she says.

Theyre tough issues to be working on. So, they take resilience as well and we need to make sure we're looking after our people.

She goes on to say that the charity offers flexibility to its workers to support them in their roles.

People have other things going on in their lives, other caring responsibilities and other parts of their life, which we always think should be balanced. So, everyone has complete flexibility and is trusted to do the work in the way that works for them, and I think that creates a really positive culture.

For me personally the thing I have to make sure I do is exercise. I am also a Zumba teacher. So, I teach three classes a week and I would definitely not be in a good position to lead anyone myself or an organisation without that other part of my life.

sign up to receive the Civil Society News daily bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector,
In the lead-up to the 2024 presidential campaign, the bosses are speaking out. In interviews and op-eds, senior figures in the world of American journalism are pushing back against critics of traditional objectivity, hoping to reset the tone as newsrooms enter a political season that will likely be more tainted by disinformation and more dangerous for reporters than any in recent memory.

In recent weeks, Marty Baron, the former editor of the Washington Post; Chris Licht, the CEO of CNN; andin these pagesA.G. Sulzberger, the publisher of the New York Times, have all sought to reclaim ground in a debate that will be central to how we cover a presidential candidate, Donald Trump, and a political party, the GOP, that persist in skewering the truth and threatening journalists who tell it.

Their word will not be final. At CNN, journalists have spoken out against the networks recent town hall with Trumpand what seems to be a broader effort, on Lichts part, to drag CNN to the middle of the road. Oliver Darcy, CNNs chief media reporter, wrote on the evening of the town hall that it was hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that his network aired. This week, Christiane Amanpourthe prominent CNN anchor, who had previously discussed the town hall privately with Lichttold graduating students at Columbia Journalism School, Both-siderismon the one hand, on the other handis not always objectivity. It does not get you to the truth. Drawing false moral or factual equivalence is neither objective nor truthful.

Licht, for his part, has defended the town hall, which he orchestratedincluding by stacking the audience with cheering Trump partisans. The people in that audience represent a large swath of America, Licht told staff on an internal call, according to an account in the Times. The mistake the media made in the past is ignoring that those people exist. Just like you cannot ignore that President Trump exists.

Sulzberger, in a detailed essay for CJR, sought to reframe the discussion beyond coverage of Trump; his argument had less to do with objectivity than independent thought:

Independence asks reporters to adopt a posture of searching, rather than knowing. It demands that we reflect the world as it is, not the world as we may wish it to be. It requires journalists to be willing to exonerate someone deemed a villain or interrogate someone regarded as a hero. It insists on sharing what we learnfully and fairlyregardless of whom it may upset or what the political consequences might be. Independence calls for plainly stating the facts, even if they appear to favor one side of a dispute. And it calls for carefully conveying ambiguity and debate in the more frequent cases where the facts are unclear or their interpretation is under reasonable dispute, letting readers grasp and process the uncertainty for themselves.

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

In his piece, Sulzberger linked to an excerpt from a speech by Baron that was published recently in the Washington Post. Baron offered a straight-up defense of objectivity, framed partly as an exercise in humility:

I believe our profession would benefit from listening more to the public and from talking less at the public, as if we knew it all. I believe we should be more impressed with what we dont know than with what we knowor think we know. In journalism, we could use more humilityand less hubris. We of course want journalists to bring their life experiences to their jobs. The collective life experiences of all of us in a newsroom are an invaluable resource of ideas and perspectives. But every individuals life experience is, inescapably, narrow. Life experience can inform us. But, lets be honest, it can also limit us.

Across the industry, disagreements between management and staff may make journalists unlikely to accept edicts from their bosses. We may be in for a season of tension within newsroomsall while reporters have to contend with attacks from outside.

What the moment calls for, it would seem, is conversation within news outlets about how to cover the electionand everything else. Amanpour, in her remarks at Columbia, hinted at paths forward, including different ways of covering Trumpnot broadcasting him live, for exampleand noted that being objective doesnt mean giving noxious views airtime.

Wesley Lowery, in another recent piece for CJR, observed that weve been here before. For a century, the high priests of American institutions have proclaimed themselves objective when it is apparent to any thinking person that they are not, he wrote. We live under the myth of objectivity in legal research and writing, Arthur Selwyn Miller, a leading constitutional scholar, observed in 1969. Is it not time that something was done about it?

For Lowery, that something lies in embracing, rather than dismissing, the very different lived realities of people inside newsrooms. There is no universally accepted set of journalistic priorities and principles; they vary among those in the room. Rather than seeing subjectivity as a weakness, he argued, we should view it as a strength:

Every story is, in fact, many stories. Despite our best efforts, very rarely does any one journalist or media organization tell any of them completely. The same question, asked several times, can yield different answers. Some sources eager to speak with you will refuse to talk to me. Our eyes are connected to our bodies, which often shape the way we experience the world and how the world experiences us. My eyes will see some things that yours never will. The story we seek to tell is in fact a mosaic that must be filled in piece by piece. While one journalist may supply many tiles, seeing the entire scene requires others to fill in the rest. Thus, understanding objective reality requires a diversity of contributors. As the Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar observed: truth is symphonicthe only way to hear its totality is if each instrument contributes its distinct part.

Hearing from journalisms executives, one gets the sense that they are hoping to settle the objectivity questionor at least make it clear why, going forward, they are making the decisions they are. This week, Sulzberger began an internal and outward-facing campaign at the Times to sell his views on independence to members of the staff and readers. But what we know from Loweryand from the restiveness inside the newsrooms themselvesis that the matter is far from settled. You can read Sulzbergers essay here and Lowerys here.



Other notable stories:

ICYMI: The Messenger is a news startup, but it feels like a blast from the past

Kyle Pope is the editor in chief and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review.
More than 40 years ago, the Illinois legislature sought to reduce the number of defendants in medical malpractice actions by allowing plaintiffs to name health care providers as respondents for the purposes of discovery and convert them to defendants later if the facts showed they were culpable.

State lawmakers did not intend to make it more difficult to bring malpractice actions when they passed section 2-402 of the Code of Civil Procedure in 1976, the Illinois Supreme Court said Thursday.

In a 6-0 decision, the high court reversed rulings by the trial court and Illinois Appellate Court that dismissed a lawsuit filed by Carol Cleeton against Southern Illinois University Healthcare and eight other defendants. They are accused of errors that led to the death of Cleetons son.

The laws purpose was to protect health care providers from excessive litigation, the court said.

However, there is no indication in the legislative history that the legislators intended to make it more difficult for a plaintiff to name a defendant or convert a respondent in discovery to a defendant, the opinion says. The trial court in the case on review misapprehended section 2-402 and its underlying purpose.

Cleetons attorney, Timothy M. Shay, said the Illinois Supreme Court has never before addressed the threshold of evidence required to convert a respondent in a medical malpractice action to a defendant. He said if the decision had gone the other way, plaintiffs attorneys would stop naming potential defendants as respondents and instead sue every health care provider who potentially could be liable.

It would be an absolute mess because of litigation and it wouldnt benefit doctors because their insurance would have gone up, Shay said during a telephone interview Thursday.

Donald Cleeton severed his spinal cord in swimming pool accident when he was 17 years old, leaving him a quadriplegic. Doctors implanted a device in his body that pumped medicine, called baclofen, into his spinal cavity to control the involuntary spasms caused by nerve damage.

The device required regular refills, which involved inserting a needle through his abdomen. In October 2017, Donald and his mother were visiting the Southern Illinois University neurology clinic to refill the baclofen pump, but two nurses made several failed attempts before finally making contact with the pump and refilling it.

Four days later, Donald was admitted to Memorial Medical Center emergency room complaining of a headache, abdominal pain and increased spasms. The on-call neurology resident recommended that his treating physician have the manufacturer of the baclofen pump, Medtronic, test the pump to see if it was functioning. The test revealed no problems. Treating physicians diagnosed Donald with sepsis and acute urinary tract infection. He was admitted to the hospital.

The next day, Donald was transferred to the hospitals intensive care unit. The hospital contacted Medtronic for help with troubleshooting the pump. Medtronic faxed instructions to the hospital for emergency procedures to treat baclofen withdrawal syndrome.

Shay said patients who are treated with baclofen cannot suddenly stop using it. Withdrawal from the drug causes symptoms that are similar to sepsis, he said.

A neurologist who examined Donald reported that he may be suffering withdrawal from baclofen, but did not make a firm diagnosis. He discussed the possibility with the ICU physician, Dr. Mouhamad Bakir, but admitted he was not familiar with baclofen withdrwal.

Bakir treated Donald for sepsis. He did not administer baclofen until a code blue was called because Donald lost his pulse. By that time, it was too late.

Shay said an autopsy revealed that a catheter connected to the baclofen pump and been punctured, preventing the medicine from reaching Donalds spinal canal.

Carol Cleeton filed a lawsuit against the hospital, SIU Healthcare and other defendants, but initially Bakir was named only as a respondent because his role in the events that led to Donalds death were not yet known, Shay said.

When Shay filed a motion to convert Bakir to a defendant, the Sangamom County Circuit Court denied the motion, finding the evidence insufficient. The Appellate Court affirmed the ruling.

The Supreme Court said Section 2-402 requires that a plaintiff demonstrate probable cause when requesting to convert a respondent in a medical malpractice suit to a defendant. Both the trial court and Appellate Court, the opinion says, were demanding a higher standard than what the statute requires.

The opinion says Cleeton had presented sufficient evidence to assert that Bakir had deviated from the standard of care by failing to recognize that her son was suffering from baclofen withdrawal syndrome. That isnt to say that Bakir is liable, the court said, only that Cleeton should have a chance to make her case before a jury.

The opinion says Section 2-402 doesnt require plaintiffs to prove that a defendant is liable at the discovery stage.

Instead, the threshold the plaintiff must meet is to present evidence that would establish a reasonable probability that the respondent in discovery could be liable for the plaintiffs injury, the opinion says.

The Illinois State Medical Society, American Medical Association, and the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel filed amicus briefs in support of Bakir, but Shay said he believes the Supreme Courts decision actually benefits doctors.

He said during oral arguments that if the Circuit Courts decision were not overturned, plaintiffs attorneys would return to the old Wild West days when every person or institution potentially liable was named as defendants.

The Supreme Court reversed the circuit court and appellate court decisions and remanded the case.

Top photo: Springfield attorney Timothy Shay makes oral arguments before the Illinois Supreme Court in Carol Cleetons medical malpractice lawsuit.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Next month will mark 56 years since Jim Brown and the countys top Black athletes gathered in Cleveland to support Muhammad Ali during his refusal to enter the military while opposing the Vietnam War.

Brown had helped form the Black Industrial Economic Union (then called the Negro Industrial Economic Union), a self-help entrepreneurial organization for Black athletes, which had an office in Cleveland on Euclid Avenue.
BEREA, Ohio -- City Council Reps. Erika Coble and Gene Zacharyasz, who both also serve on the Shade Tree Commission, have introduced legislation to raise the reimbursement rate for homeowners who obtain a free permit to plant a tree in their city-owned tree lawn or front yard.

The current 1981 ordinance, which only reimbursed homeowners up to $25, will be repealed if council eventually passes the new measure, which received its first of three public readings at the May 15 meeting.

Reimbursement under the proposed new ordinance would be equal to one-half the purchase price of the tree(s), which may also include the costs of delivery, installation or other sums related to planting the tree(s), but not more than a maximum of $100 per tree and not more than a maximum of $200 per residential building lot per year, the legislation indicates.

A residential homeowner shall be limited to seeking a reimbursement for up to two trees per residential building lot per year, provided that one tree be planted in the front yard and the other planted in the tree lawn.

Only trees listed on the citys Approved Tree List may be planted, or the homeowner must obtain approval from the public works director.

Homeowners will need to indicate on the permit application exactly where the tree will be located, its species and its estimated cost. After receiving city approval to proceed and then planting the tree, the homeowner must present the original sales slip to the city for reimbursement.

This is a needed update, Coble told council at its May 15 meeting. I think its a fair amount of money at this point to reimburse people for.

Public Works Director and City Engineer Tony Armagno indicated that the number of participants in the program in recent years has not been great.

Over the last 10 years, there has been very little participation because the $25 the program currently allows does not go very far, especially with the cost of trees and installation, Armagno said.

The Shade Tree Commission believes the $100 will promote more participation in the program.

Council President Jim Maxwell then emphasized that people who wish to plant a tree in their front yard do not need a permit to do so unless they wish to be reimbursed.

Read more stories from the News Sun.
BROOK PARK, Ohio -- At its May 16 meeting, City Council enacted a 12-month moratorium on the issuance of permits for new car wash businesses.

The resolution instituting the freeze was discussed at that evenings caucus and moved to the regular meeting that followed. Council members then suspended the legislations second and third readings, passing it 7-0.

According to the resolution, council during the ensuing 12 months will be able to enact reasonable regulations to protect the health, safety, welfare, peace and comfort for the citizens of Brook Park more effectively if a moratorium is in place.

Council and city officials plan to review current Brook Park ordinances, including zoning, building and business regulations. Similar actions are also under way for a vape and smoke shops moratorium.

Just like what weve done in the past when weve had moratoriums for other things  we have to sit down with the committee and build some good plans, Mayor Ed Orcutt said.

For example, we may want to include certain distances apart from each other. This (moratorium) gives us some time to build that (plan). We need to build zoning criteria that will give us a variety of businesses along our main streets.

Councilman Tom Troyer said he would like to have Orcutt, as Planning Commission chairman, broach the subject for discussion at a future commission meeting.

I think we need to be very, very cautious about some of the limited space we have for businesses, and we have to be smart, Councilman Jim Mencini said, urging careful consideration to avoid empty buildings.

Councilman Brian Poindexter mentioned the uniqueness of car wash facilities.

Unlike many other businesses, a car wash changes the design and use of the building, Poindexter said. So, if that business fails, were stuck with a vacant property only a car wash can go in, or someone will have to come in and demolish the building or have major construction costs to open a business.

We definitely dont want to discourage businesses from coming, but too much of a good thing is not a good thing, right?

Troyer later noted that people can view the car wash issue positively or negatively.

There are a lot of ways to look at it, Troyer said. But we do have to regulate it.

Read more stories from the News Sun.
MEDINA, Ohio -- Its time to play and learn outdoors.

The Medina County Park District has organized several programs certain to interest, educate and entertain 7- to 12-year-old children. These free drop-off programs are designed to encourage children to love and be comfortable in nature and the outdoors.

Register for all programs at www.medinacountyparks.com.

Kids Get out and Fish Camp: 9:30 a.m. to noon June 6-8 or June 27-29, Buffalo Creek Retreat, 8708 Hubbard Valley Road in Seville.

Does your child love to fish? Learn some new tips and tricks to catch all different types of fish, including bluegill, bass and trout. Take advantage of this opportunity to fish the closed ponds at Buffalo Creek Retreat.

Please bring your own fishing rod, tackle and bait if you prefer, but fishing rods and bait will be provided. This is a three-day program. The class is geared toward all fishing skill levels.

Register your 7 to 12-year-old for this free drop-off program. Groups are small and space is limited, so please only sign up for one three-day class per child.

Register by June 2 for the June 6-8 program or by June 23 for the June 27-29 program at www.medinacountyparks.com.

Mandala Playshop for Kids: 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. June 8, Oenslager Nature Center, 6100 Ridge Road in Sharon Township.

Join Jo Oklessen as she guides your child in creating mandalas with mindful expression using various media. The student will learn about the types of mandalas and this unique approach to nature sculptures.

Ages 7 to 12. Register by June 6. Free.

Awesome Amphibians: 9:30 a.m. to noon June 13, Plum Creek Park Lodge, 2390 Plum Creek Parkway in Brunswick Hills Township.

Spend a morning exploring Plum Creek Park. Completely outdoors, this drop-off program is designed for your nature-loving child. Dip nets into woodland pools and lift logs on the forest floor in search of the awesome amphibians that call this park home.

Ages 7 to 12. Register by June 8. Free.

Habitat Hike: 9:30 a.m. to noon June 15, Green Leaf Park, 1674 S. Medina Line Road in Sharon Township.

Spend a morning exploring Green Leaf Park. Students will search the fields, forest and pond for wildlife, insects and plants.

Ages 7 to 12. Register by June 12. Free.

Trek to Africa: 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. June 20, Oenslager Nature Center.

Join Jo Oklessen to explore the five ecosystems of Africa.,Through nature games and stories, your child will learn about the plants, animals and cultures of this rich continent, as well as African dances and drumming.

Ages 7 to 12. Register by June 18. Free.

Hunting Dragons: 9:30 am to noon June 22, Buckeye Woods Park, 6335 Wedgewood Road in Medina.

Enjoy the beauty of dragonflies as we hunt for them in all their stages. Find nymphs in the pond and adults in the meadow as you investigate these habitats.

Ages 7 to 12. Register by June 20. Free.

Creek Critters: 9:30 a.m. to noon June 30, Hubbard Valley Park, 8600 Hubbard Valley Road in Seville.

Wade your way through this creek walk adventure as you search above and below the waters surface for all kinds of creek critters.

Ages 7 to 12. Register by June 28. Free.

Read more from the Medina Sun.
CLEVELAND, Ohio A Euclid man who admitted to fleecing elderly residents by telling them that they had won a lottery or sweepstakes was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in prison.

U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson also ordered Javon Spencer, 31, to pay back $267,000 to his 64 victims and spend three years on post-prison supervision.

Spencer previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit mail fraud and three counts of mail fraud.

FBI agents arrested Spencer in January 2022.

Spencer, a Jamaican national, carried out the scheme from March 2018 through April 2019. He and others involved in the scheme contacted several elderly people and told them that they had won a lottery, sweepstakes like Publishers Clearing House or some other contest.

He told them that to claim the prize, they would first have to pay an upfront fee or tax on the winnings, according to prosecutors.

Several people sent money back, including one woman who shipped $4,500 back to Spencer, according to court records.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian McDonough wrote in court records that Spencer directed people to mail checks to his wifes home, then deposited them in his bank account.

Spencer withdrew some money, but others in Jamaica had access to the bank account and took money from ATMs there. McDonough wrote that lottery scams are common in Jamaica and can often lead to gang violence in that country.

McDonough also wrote that scammers are often savvy, evidenced by former CIA Director William Webster falling victim to a similar sweepstakes scam in 2014.

Spencers attorney, James McDonnell, wrote in court records that Spencer is a father of four children and was 4 when his father died. He has no other criminal history and had never before been arrested.

McDonnell argued for Spencer to be sentenced to probation.

Adam Ferrise covers federal courts at cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. You can find his work here.
NORTON, Ohio  A driver opened fire on another vehicle in an apparent road rage incident on Interstate 76, killing a 40-year-old Akron man, police say.

The shooting occurred at about 5:35 p.m. Wednesday on I-76 near Ohio 21, police say. The driver of a black Chevrolet Camaro, believed to be a 2018 or newer, fired multiple shots at another vehicle as it drove past, according to police.

The driver of the other vehicle, identified as George Jensen of Akron, ended up crashing into the median, according to the Summit County Medical Examiners Office. Jensen was taken to Akron General Medical Center with a gunshot wound but was pronounced dead at 6:14 p.m.

The Camaro was last seen driving east on I-76. No arrests have been reported.

Police say anyone with information on the shooting can call detectives at 330-706-0084.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Each year, cleveland.com publishes a series of stories identifying which food businesses have the most health department violations in the Greater Cleveland area. Often, restaurants and customers alike ask how these lists are formed and where the information comes from. Here is how we do it.

Where does the data come from?

Each year, cleveland.com requests data from the Ohio Department of Health from health departments across the state for the previous inspection year, which begins on March 1 and runs to Feb. 28 of the following year.

We request the data for our coverage area, which includes the facility name, address, number of violations, violation descriptions, inspectors and whether the violations are repeated or resolved.

The Department of Health collects data from over 50 county and city health departments that file their reports electronically. However, about half of the states health departments do not participate in the voluntary program first offered in June 2013. Information from those districts is missing.

Which areas are covered in these stories?

Three cities  Cleveland, Akron and Kent  all receive individual stories. Cleveland and Kent have their own health departments separate from the county.

We then write stories about five counties  Cuyahoga, Lake, Lorain, Medina and Summit. For Cuyahoga and Summit counties, the stories are focused on the suburban areas because we write separately about the cities.

Geauga and Portage counties do not participate in the voluntary Ohio Department of Health program.

What if there are restaurants with the same name but multiple locations?

This happens a lot, mostly with large restaurant chains or gas stations. Because of that, we parse the data by both the name of a restaurant and an address to ensure we are as specific as possible and target an individual location.

Why do you break out violations by date in the story?

This is how violations are reported on the individual health department inspection portals. Additionally, if there are discrepancies or reasons for concern, we can narrow it down to specific periods to find an answer.

Also, sometimes a business has a bad day. One day of high violations may be enough to make the list, but it is not indicative of a full operational year.

What is the difference between critical and non-critical violations?

The health department identifies some violations as critical, which they say are of greater concern than other violations. Beginning in the 2021-2022 inspection year, we have added a story on businesses with just the highest number of critical violations in Greater Cleveland to spotlight the difference.

Where do you get the photos from?

A reporter goes out to the businesses to take the photos. Additionally, cleveland.com also checks to see if a business is still open, as Google isnt always up to date. Sometimes, its hard to tell, even in person. Sometimes places close between when we write the story and when we publish.

Other FAQ

Does cleveland.com do these inspections?

No. Local health departments do all inspections. Discrepancies about the count or citations have to be addressed with whichever health department did the inspections.

I dont believe I should be on the list. How can I be taken off?

We are transparent about the cutoff for each area we cover, whether its a city or an entire county. We must abide by what the data tells us, even if some locations have extraneous circumstances. We check the data for errors, like duplicated violations, but will not censure or change a list.

If you have questions, you may contact a reporter or editor at news@cleveland.com, who will get back to you as soon as possible.

Is there any bias in the list?

An inspector does each inspection, and not every inspector focuses on the same things. Some places get the same inspector throughout the year; some have to deal with multiple inspectors. There is no way for the data to reflect that information.

Can I access these records myself?

You can. Below is a list of each areas inspection portals. This will also provide a clear breakdown of each facilitys violations.

Cleveland

Cuyahoga County

Kent

Lake County

Lorain County

Medina County

Summit County/Akron

Why doesnt cleveland.com post the violation details?

Its a long list. Some places have over 100 violations alone. In the past, we have experimented with providing databases. These stories are to tell you which places have a high number of violations and narrow down which places to look for in the health department portals if you have concerns.

Does this mean I shouldnt eat at these places?

That is up to you. Sometimes, fan favorites make the list. Sometimes a well-known franchise will make the list. We have also seen people happily continue to patronize places despite being on the list for a particular year. Multiple reporters who have worked on these stories have stopped for lunch at restaurants on the list and would do so again.

We hear from people who thank us because health code violations are important to them. Others write in to say it doesnt matter to them. It is entirely up to personal preference.
MADISON, Wisconsin -- When police officers can impose a de facto death penalty for a broken license plate light, its difficult to see the criminal system as legitimate.

On April 18, a grand jury in Akron, Ohio, failed to charge officers involved in the June 27, 2022, death of Jayland Walker. The 25-year-old Black man was shot 46 times in 6.7 seconds. That doesnt even account for the 48 bullets that missed.

In Ohio, the instigating traffic violation, which led to a pursuit by car and then on foot, is only punishable only by a fine. Yet the law allows room for police officers to create situations where the use of force becomes inevitable and the level of force is certain to be fatal.

Walker was unarmed at the time he was killed and had no criminal record.

When police attempted to pull Walker over, he refused to stop. Officers began to chase him on a highway and then onto city streets. Police pursuits are inherently dangerous, and many departments only permit officers to engage in them when the person fleeing is suspected of committing a violent offense. For example, Cleveland and Cincinnati law enforcement departments only permit pursuit when the person is suspected of a violent felony.

Akrons pursuit policy states that an officer should take into account the seriousness of the original offense, adding that a pursuit must be based on the officers reasonable belief that the immediate danger to the officer and the public created by the pursuit is less than the immediate or potential danger to the public should the suspect remain at large. The policy doesnt specifically prohibit the pursuit of someone suspected only of a traffic infraction, but even under Akrons permissive standard, it seems impossible to justify the initial decision.

Forty seconds into the pursuit, officers reported hearing a gunshot, which created an obvious additional justification. Once Walker stopped and fled on foot, he was pursued by eight police officers carrying semi-automatic handguns. A trained officer can fire more than three rounds per second. All eight of the officers pursuing Walker had their guns drawn, meaning they could unleash a fatal barrage of more than two dozen bullets in under one second. Three of the officers who shot Walker managed to fire all 18 rounds in their handguns in just over six seconds.

All f the officers involved were trained to fire until the perceived threat had ended, a policy they refer to as shoot to stop. Police policies do not label this shoot to kill, but almost all departments reject the idea that officers should shoot to wound. Use-of-force experts also agree there are a few seconds of delay between when officers perceive someone is no longer a threat and when they stop shooting. When officers are using semi-automatic handguns, this gap translates to three or four more bullets, and when eight officers all have their guns pointed at a suspect, this gap is fatal.

Another factor that makes Walkers death almost an inevitability at this point in the pursuit is that the law permits officers to use deadly force when it is reasonable under all surrounding circumstances. What that means is officers dont have to visually confirm that someone has a gun; they just need a reasonable belief that the person might be reaching for a gun.

When Walker stopped running on foot, he could have been surrendering, but officers predisposed to think he was armed said he took a shooting stance. I believe this phrase will now be added to the police lexicon of justifications for using deadly force.

John P. Gross is a clinical associate professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School and director of the law schools Public Defender Project. (Beth Skogen Photography/University of Wisconsin Law School, 2020)Beth Skogen Photography

While video captured images of Walker shooting once from his car and a handgun was eventually found in the car, at the time he was shot, none of the officers had seen him with a weapon.

This case shows how the law, which focuses on the decision to use force, ignores the ways officers escalate the dangers and end up using a disproportionate amount of force.

Akrons use-of-force policy states that preservation of life is the highest value in the Akron Police Department. It is hard to hear that over the sound of 94 gunshots.

John P. Gross is a clinical associate professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School and director of the law schools Public Defender Project. His research focuses on the structure of indigent defense systems, criminal defense, and police policies and practices regarding the use of force.

Have something to say about this topic?

* Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication.

* Email general questions about our editorial board or comments or corrections on this editorial to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio  A mixed bag of largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are a good bet for spring fishermen who are targeting the Lake Erie tributaries in eastern Ohio, or the harbor areas around western Lake Erie.

The lake-run smallmouth bass have been a bit hit in such rivers as the Grand, Rocky and Chagrin. The largemouth bass are moving to the shallow shorelines of jog many of the harbor areas around Western Lake Erie, but good fishing has been noted in the harbor waters around Lorain and Cleveland, depending on the wind and weather.

Small swim jigs and rubber-legged jigs are good choices for largemouth bass in the shallow areas, and especially around rocky and woody structure. Ned Rigs with light 1/32- and 1/16-ounce jig heads are tops in the shallow waters, as well.

Ned rigs with heavier 1/2- and 5/8-ounce jigs are are also good choices on Lake Eries deeper reefs and rocks, as well as drop shot rigs. Tube jigs are also a good choice, with Erie green a favorite.

Summer Slam entry deadline is May 28: The annual Summer Slam walleye derby will lure walleye fishermen to Lake Erie on Monday, May 29 through Sunday, June 25. The entry is $36, and the top prize is a fully-rigged 2023 Starcraft Fishmaster 196 worth $100,000.

For more information, including rules, or to sign up visit walleyeslam.com or Erie Outfitters, 5404 E. Lake Rd., Sheffield Lake. All walleye weigh-ins will be at Erie Outfitters.

Lorain a top spot for walleye this week: Anglers trolling for walleye off Lorain didnt have to go far for a limit of six fish. They just had to go early.

The walleye fishing was very good in the near-shore areas, but the heavy boat traffic scattered the big schools of walleye by mid-morning and the pickings were pretty slim. When that happened, savvy fishermen headed out to the deeper 40- to 45-foot depths and found bigger walleye and better success.

Diving plugs, Dipsy Divers and spoons and weighted lines and double-bladed spinner rigs took over.

Take the kids fishing: The popular Spring Childrens Fishing Derbies will take over Wallace Lake in Berea on Saturday, and the Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation in Cuyahoga Heights on Sunday. Boys and girls 8 and under will be allowed to wet a line from 9 a.m.-noon in both derbies. The older kids from 9 to 16 years of age are allowed to try their luck from 1-4 p.m. Prizes will be given after the sessions.

Channel catfish and rainbow trout have been released for the derbies. Expect temperatures in the 60s, with some rain on Saturday and sunny skies forecast for Sunday.

Bring rods and reels, rain jackets and a cooler and ice for whatever the kids catch. There will be volunteers to provide a few loaner roads and reels, but bring a cooler with ice to bring refreshments and to take the catch home.

Lake Erie a little fickle lately: The roller coaster of weather patterns bouncing along the Northern Ohio shoreline have made the Lake Erie fishing a bonanza, at times, but a bit difficult with cooler temps, some rain, and a bit of windy weather.

The walleye spawning season has wrapped up, and this week anglers had to experiment to see just what lure presentation caught a limit or a few trophies.

Trolling diving plugs, or crankbaits, seemed to be the best way to fool walleye this spring, but this week trolling diving planers and spoons were a surprising success. To muddle the situation, a few fishermen made an early transition to double-bladed spinner rigs and nightcrawlers and did well.

The waters around the Lake Erie Firing Zone off Port Clinton and Camp Perry was a hot spot for a while for both drift-and-cast fishermen using blade baits and weight-forward spinner rigs and nightcrawlers.
Twitter is accusing Microsoft of using the social media company's data in ways that were unauthorized and never disclosed.

Alex Spiro, a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and attorney for Twitter owner Elon Musk, sent a letter to Microsoft on Thursday laying out the claims, including that the software company "may have been in violation of multiple provisions" of its agreement with Twitter over data use.

It's the latest rift among tech companies in the growing debate over who owns data that can be used to train artificial intelligence and machine learning software. The New York Times first reported on the letter, a copy of which was obtained by CNBC.

After Musk led a buyout of Twitter in October and appointed himself CEO, the company started charging for use of its application programming interface, which enables developers to embed tweets into their software and services and access Twitter data.

The API was previously free to use for some researchers, partners and developers who agreed to Twitter's terms. Twitter API-driven apps include Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Sprinklr.

According to the letter from Spiro to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and the company's board, last month Microsoft "declined to pay even a discounted rate for continued access to Twitter's APIs and content."

As of April, Microsoft had at least five products that used the Twitter API, including the Azure cloud, Bing search engine and Power Platform low-code application development tools, Spiro wrote.

The agreement restricts excessive use of Twitter's programming interfaces. However, for one of the Microsoft services using Twitter data, "account information outright states that it intends to allow its customers to 'go around throttling limits,'" Spiro wrote.

A Microsoft spokesperson acknowledged receipt of the letter and told CNBC the company will review it and "respond appropriately."

"Today we heard from a law firm representing Twitter with some questions about our previous use of the free Twitter API," the spokesperson said in an email. "We look forward to continuing our long-term partnership with the company."

Musk has been openly critical of Microsoft's tight relationship with OpenAI, the creator of the chatbot ChatGPT. Musk was an early backer of OpenAI, but the company has since raised billions of dollars from Microsoft, which is embedding its AI technology into many core products.

"Microsoft has a very strong say, if not directly controls, OpenAI at this point," Musk told CNBC in an interview this week. Nadella recently challenged Musk's claim in an interview with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, saying Microsoft has "a noncontrolling interest" in the startup.

Spiro did not name OpenAI or mention its ChatGPT and DALL-E applications or large language models in the letter. He did press Microsoft for any details about, "a description of any token pooling implemented in any of the Microsoft Apps, including the time period(s) when any such token pooling occurred and the number of tokens that were pooled."

Musk and Nadella have had other interactions of late.

Last year, Musk approached Nadella as he was raising money for his Twitter buyout, according to text messages that became public via court filings. Nadella wrote in one text to Musk, "will for sure follow-up on Teams feedback!" Teams is Microsoft's chat app.

Read the full letter from Twitter to Microsoft, here.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testifies before a Senate Judiciary Privacy, Technology, and the Law Subcommittee hearing titled 'Oversight of A.I.: Rules for Artificial Intelligence' on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 16, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters

At most tech CEO hearings in recent years, lawmakers have taken a contentious tone, grilling executives over their data-privacy practices, competitive methods and more. But at Tuesday's hearing on AI oversight including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, lawmakers seemed notably more welcoming toward the ChatGPT maker. One senator even went as far as asking whether Altman would be qualified to administer rules regulating the industry. related investing news How artificial intelligence could threaten major industries and business models Altman's warm welcome on Capitol Hill, which included a dinner discussion the night prior with dozens of House lawmakers and a separate speaking event Tuesday afternoon attended by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has raised concerns from some AI experts who were not in attendance this week. These experts caution that lawmakers' decision to learn about the technology from a leading industry executive could unduly sway the solutions they seek to regulate AI. In conversations with CNBC in the days after Altman's testimony, AI leaders urged Congress to engage with a diverse set of voices in the field to ensure a wide range of concerns are addressed, rather than focus on those that serve corporate interests. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story.

A friendly tone

For some experts, the tone of the hearing and Altman's other engagements on the Hill raised alarm. Lawmakers' praise for Altman at times sounded almost like "celebrity worship," according to Meredith Whittaker, president of the Signal Foundation and co-founder of the AI Now Institute at New York University. "You don't ask the hard questions to people you're engaged in a fandom about," she said. "It doesn't sound like the kind of hearing that's oriented around accountability," said Sarah Myers West, managing director of the AI Now Institute. "Saying, 'Oh, you should be in charge of a new regulatory agency' is not an accountability posture." West said the "laudatory" tone of some representatives following the dinner with Altman was surprising. She acknowledged it may "signal that they're just trying to sort of wrap their heads around what this new market even is." But she added, "It's not new. It's been around for a long time." Safiya Umoja Noble, a professor at UCLA and author of "Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism," said lawmakers who attended the dinner with Altman seemed "deeply influenced to appreciate his product and what his company is doing. And that also doesn't seem like a fair deliberation over the facts of what these technologies are." "Honestly, it's disheartening to see Congress let these CEOs pave the way for carte blanche, whatever they want, the terms that are most favorable to them," Noble said.

Real differences from the social media era?

watch now

At Tuesday's Senate hearing, lawmakers made comparisons to the social media era, noting their surprise that industry executives showed up asking for regulation. But experts who spoke with CNBC said industry calls for regulation are nothing new and often serve an industry's own interests. "It's really important to pay attention to specifics here and not let the supposed novelty of someone in tech saying the word 'regulation' without scoffing distract us from the very real stakes and what's actually being proposed, the substance of those regulations," said Whittaker. "Facebook has been using that strategy for years," Meredith Broussard, New York University professor and author of "More Than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech," said of the call for regulation. "Really, what they do is they say, 'Oh, yeah, we're definitely ready to be regulated.'... And then they lobby [for] exactly the opposite. They take advantage of the confusion." Experts cautioned that the kinds of regulation Altman suggested, like an agency to oversee AI, could actually stall regulation and entrench incumbents. "That seems like a great way to completely slow down any progress on regulation," said Margaret Mitchell, researcher and chief ethics scientist at AI company Hugging Face. "Government is already not resourced enough to well support the agencies and entities they already have." Ravit Dotan, who leads an AI ethics lab at the University of Pittsburgh as well as AI ethics at generative AI startup Bria.ai, said that while it makes sense for lawmakers to take Big Tech companies' opinions into account since they are key stakeholders, they shouldn't dominate the conversation. "One of the concerns that is coming from smaller companies generally is whether regulation would be something that is so cumbersome that only the big companies are really able to deal with [it], and then smaller companies end up having a lot of burdens," Dotan said. Several researchers said the government should focus on enforcing the laws already on the books and applauded a recent joint agency statement that asserted the U.S. already has the power to enforce against discriminatory outcomes from the use of AI. Dotan said there were bright spots in the hearing when she felt lawmakers were "informed" in their questions. But in other cases, she said she wished lawmakers had pressed Altman for deeper explanations or commitments. For example, when asked about the likelihood that AI will displace jobs, Altman said that eventually it will create more quality jobs. While Dotan said she agreed with that assessment, she wished lawmakers had asked Altman for more potential solutions to help displaced workers find a living or gain skills training in the meantime, before new job opportunities become more widely available. "There are so many things that a company with the power of OpenAI backed by Microsoft has when it comes to displacement," Dotan said. "So to me, to leave it as, 'Your market is going to sort itself out eventually,' was very disappointing."

Diversity of voices

A key message AI experts have for lawmakers and government officials is to include a wider array of voices, both in personal background and field of experience, when considering regulating the technology. "I think that community organizations and researchers should be at the table; people who have been studying the harmful effects of a variety of different kinds of technologies should be at the table," said Noble. "We should have policies and resources available for people who've been damaged and harmed by these technologies ... There are a lot of great ideas for repair that come from people who've been harmed. And we really have yet to see meaningful engagement in those ways." Mitchell said she hopes Congress engages more specifically with people involved in auditing AI tools and experts in surveillance capitalism and human-computer interactions, among others. West suggested that people with expertise in fields that will be affected by AI should also be included, like labor and climate experts. Whittaker pointed out that there may already be "more hopeful seeds of meaningful regulation outside of the federal government," pointing to the Writers Guild of America strike as an example, in which demands include job protections from AI. Government should also pay greater attention and offer more resources to researchers in fields like social sciences, who have played a large role in uncovering the ways technology can result in discrimination and bias, according to Noble. "Many of the challenges around the impact of AI in society has come from humanists and social scientists," she said. "And yet we see that the funding that is predicated upon our findings, quite frankly, is now being distributed back to computer science departments that work alongside industry." Noble said she was "stunned" to see that the White House's announcement of funding for seven new AI research centers seemed to have an emphasis on computer science. "Most of the women that I know who have been the leading voices around the harms of AI for the last 20 years are not invited to the White House, are not funded by [the National Science Foundation and] are not included in any kind of transformative support," Noble said. "And yet our work does have and has had tremendous impact on shifting the conversations about the impact of these technologies on society." Noble pointed to the White House meeting earlier this month that included Altman and other tech CEOs, such as Google's Sundar Pichai and Microsoft's Satya Nadella. Noble said the photo of that meeting "really told the story of who has put themselves in charge. ...The same people who've been the makers of the problems are now somehow in charge of the solutions." Bringing in independent researchers to engage with government would give those experts opportunities to make "important counterpoints" to corporate testimony, Noble said. Still, other experts noted that they and their peers have engaged with government about AI, albeit without the same media attention Altman's hearing received and perhaps without a large event like the dinner Altman attended with a wide turnout of lawmakers. Mitchell worries lawmakers are now "primed" from their discussions with industry leaders. "They made the decision to start these discussions, to ground these discussions in corporate interests," Mitchell said. "They could have gone in a totally opposite direction and asked them last." Mitchell said she appreciated Altman's comments on Section 230, the law that helps shield online platforms from being held responsible for their users' speech. Altman conceded that outputs of generative AI tools would not necessarily be covered by the legal liability shield and a different framework is needed to assess liability for AI products. "I think, ultimately, the U.S. government will go in a direction that favors large tech corporations," Mitchell said. "My hope is that other people, or people like me, can at least minimize the damage, or show some of the devil in the details to lead away from some of the more problematic ideas." "There's a whole chorus of people who have been warning about the problems, including bias along the lines of race and gender and disability, inside AI systems," said Broussard. "And if the critical voices get elevated as much as the commercial voices, then I think we're going to have a more robust dialogue." Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. WATCH: Can China's ChatGPT clones give it an edge over the U.S. in an A.I. arms race?
An American Airlines plane prepares to land at the Miami International Airport on May 02, 2023 in Miami, Florida.

American Airlines and its pilots have reached a preliminary agreement for a new four-year labor contract after months of tense negotiations, a milestone for the country's biggest carrier.

The terms of the deal weren't disclosed but are likely to include big raises as the industry faces a pilot shortage and aviators seek better pay after the Covid-19 pandemic paused new contracts for years. Pilots have also pushed for quality-of-life improvements like better scheduling.

The airline was prepared to offer 40% cumulative raises in a four-year deal, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said in March. The airline had said that including 401(k) contributions, a senior narrow-body captain would be making $475,000 a year at the top of the scale.

The new agreement will likely take several weeks to finalize. The union said it has to approve contract language before sending it to American's roughly 15,000 pilots for a ratification vote.

"We're pleased to have reached an agreement in principle on a new four-year contract with the Allied Pilots Association (APA) that provides our pilots with pay and profit sharing that match the top of the industry with improved quality-of-life provisions unique to American's pilots," an American spokeswoman said in a statement.

Negotiations across the industry have been tense. American's pilots recently authorized the union to call a strike if an agreement couldn't be reached.

Pilots at United Airlines , Southwest Airlines and FedEx are still in negotiations. Aviators throughout the industry have picketed at airports around the country over the past few years. They have demanded pay hikes and better schedules, among other improvements, as they faced what they described as grueling schedules during the rocky travel rebound and higher costs of living without raises in years.

Delta Air Lines ' pilots in March approved a new labor agreement with 34% raises over four years. Delta was the first of the large U.S. carriers to reach a deal.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought more shares of Occidental Petroleum on each of the last six trading days, boosting its stake in the Houston-based oil and gas producer to 24.4%, according to regulatory filings. The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate purchased a total of of 5.6 million shares for $327.2 million over the past six sessions at an average price of $58 a share. Berkshire now owns 217.3 million shares with a market value of nearly $12.7 billion. Shares of Occidental rose nearly 2% in premarket trading Friday. The stock is down about 7.5% this year, after more than doubling in 2022. The company once known for being founded by legendary oilman Armand Hammer was the best-performing name in the S & P 500 last year. For his part, Buffett has made it clear that he won't take full control of the oil company. There had been speculation of a takeover after Berkshire received regulatory approval to purchase as much as a 50% stake. "There's speculation about us buying control; we're not going to buy control," Buffett said at Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting earlier this month. "We wouldn't know what to do with it." The 92-year-old investor told shareholders that he could be interested in buying more shares, and he's content with the warrants he owns. "We may or may not own more in the future but we certainly have warrants on what we got on the original deal on a very substantial amount of stock around $59 a share, and warrants last a long time, and I'm glad we have them." Berkshire owns $10 billion of Occidental preferred stock, and has warrants to buy another 83.9 million common shares for $5 billion, or $59.62 each. The warrants were obtained as part of the company's 2019 deal that helped finance Occidental's purchase of Anadarko Petroleum . A full redemption of the preferred equity could lift Berkshire's ownership of Occidental above 40%, Wells Fargo estimated.  CNBC's Alex Crippen contributed reporting.
R1 RCM can extend this year's rally following an uptick in product use, Bank of America said. Analyst Michael Cherny reiterated his buy rating and raised his price target by $3 to $22. His new price target implies the medical-billing stock could rally 31.1% over the next year. Challenges related to customer issues, long payer cycles and management changes all weighed on the stock at the end of 2022, but these conditions have started mitigating, he said. The stock finished 2022 down 57%, its first year ending lower since 2016. Shares have surged 53.2% year to date. RCM YTD mountain R1 RCM, year-to-date "We think this all sets RCM up to get back on its previous growth track  call it a delay in realization vs. a full derailment of the story," Cherny said in a note to clients Friday. He noted the company has acknowledged progress is being made on the go-live process and the pay cycle. There's also new leadership in place, with CEO Lee Rivas and CFO Jennifer Williams at the helm, he said. The company is uniquely well positioned for an uptick in utilization, which could cushion year-end results and full-year guidance, according to the analyst. He explained that RCM's revenue model is tied to when it collects from different hospital systems, and an uptick in first-quarter product use could lead to a bump in net operating fees not typically seen until later quarters. That gives upside potential to the stock. Shares could also be helped by improving implementation among core customers, growth and synergy in the medical cloud space and if any new customers are obtained, he said. The new multiple of price to enterprise value to EBITDA is still reasonable and at a discount to the long-term average, Cherny noted.  CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
The Group of Seven summit will be held in Hiroshima, Japan, from May 19-22.

Leaders of the Group of Seven have committed to a set of further measures to pressure Russia, as its invasion of Ukraine continues for a second year.

"We are imposing further sanctions and measures to increase the costs to Russia and those who are supporting its war effort," the group said.

G-7 leaders are in Hiroshima, Japan, for a three-day meeting to discuss international trade and security, as Russia continues its war in Ukraine, while the U.S. and China battle for influence in a multipolar world.

"We will starve Russia of G-7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine," the group said in a statement released late Friday, which also revealed its economic support for Ukraine's recovery following the war.

The newly announced sanctions build on previous measures and will be broadened to "ensure that exports of all items critical to Russia's aggression including those used by Russia on the battlefield are restricted across all our jurisdictions, including exports of industrial machinery, tools, and other technology that Russia uses to rebuild its war machine," the G-7 said in its statement.

The restrictions were announced as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to fly to Japan to attend the G-7 summit.
Italy is setting up a public and private fund to boost key parts of its economy.

Italy is moving ahead with a sovereign fund to support critical parts of its economy, amid a wider push by several European nations to bring global supply chains closer to home.

Italy's Minister of Enterprises Adolfo Urso announced Wednesday a public-private fund that looks at consolidating "national strategic supply chains" in the areas of raw materials and energy. A diplomatic source in Italy confirmed to CNBC that only high-potential or systemically relevant firms will receive funding. They added that this plan is expected to pass through Parliament before the end of the year.

The announcement comes after Ireland, another EU nation, said earlier this month that it intends to start a sovereign wealth fund next year. This would be capitalized by windfall tax receipts and target long-term costs such as pensions and infrastructure.

France, the second largest euro area economy, earlier this month also presented a plan for an investment fund for critical metals. More broadly, these announcements follow a trend in Europe where nations are aiming to reduce their dependency from other countries, like China.

"This is a response to growing international competition over critical resources and supply chains," Federico Santi, a senior analyst at political consultancy Eurasia Group, told CNBC via email.

"The pandemic first and later the war in Ukraine and resulting energy crisis have laid bare how supply chains are vulnerable to political and geopolitical shifts. At the same time, massive investment in the green transition and related technologies has increased the need for critical resources," he said.

Italy established a wealth fund back in 2011 which has investments in energy, communications and aerospace sectors. The latest plan for a separate fund reinforces the idea that Rome is trying to boost its industrial policy.

When Covid-19 hit in early 2020, many European nations struggled to get their hands on masks and other protective equipment, which were manufactured in Asia. More broadly, multinationals that had their supply chains spread across the world struggled to continue their assembly lines and many products became more expensive as a result.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine disrupted further sectors, most notably agricultural goods and fertilizers.
An American Airlines plane takes off near a parked JetBlue plane at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 16, 2020 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

A federal judge Friday ordered American Airlines and JetBlue Airways to end their partnership in the Northeast, a win for the Justice Department after it sued to undo the alliance arguing it was anti-competitive.



The lawsuit, filed in September 2021, alleged that the airlines' alliance was effectively a merger that would hurt consumers by driving up fares. The trial began a year later in Boston and wrapped up in December.

"Today's decision is a win for Americans who rely on competition between airlines to travel affordably," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. "The Justice Department will continue to protect competition and enforce our antitrust laws in the heavily consolidated airline industry and across every industry."



Both airlines expressed disappointment with the decision and said they were considering next steps.

"It makes the two airlines partners, each having a substantial interest in the success of their joint and individual efforts, instead of vigorous, arms-length rivals regularly challenging each other in the marketplace of competition," U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin said in his ruling.

Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines and New York-based JetBlue Airways argued they needed the so-called Northeast Alliance to better compete with other large carriers Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in congested airports in the region.

"Whatever the benefits to American and JetBlue of becoming more powerful  in the northeast generally or in their shared rivalry with Delta  such benefits arise from a naked agreement not to compete with one another," Sorokin wrote. "Such a pact is just the sort of 'unreasonable restraint on trade' the Sherman Act was designed to prevent."

He ordered the airlines to end the partnership 30 days after the ruling. The carriers are likely to challenge the decision. A JetBlue spokeswoman said the carrier is studying the decision and evaluating next steps.

"We are disappointed in the decision," a JetBlue spokeswoman said in a statement. "We made it clear at trial that the Northeast Alliance has been a huge win for customers. Through the NEA, JetBlue has been able to significantly grow in constrained northeast airports, bringing the airline's low fares and great service to more routes than would have been possible otherwise."

"The Court's legal analysis is plainly incorrect and unprecedented for a joint venture like the Northeast Alliance," an American Airlines spokesman said in a statement. "There was no evidence in the record of any consumer harm from the partnership, and there is no legal basis for inferring harm simply from the fact of collaboration."

Undoing the partnership would be difficult, especially during the peak summer travel season for which airlines have already sold tickets.

JetBlue and American are not allowed to coordinate fares under the partnership, which was approved in the final days of the Trump administration in 2021 and has since expanded.

JetBlue had previously warned in a securities filing that a ruling against the NEA "could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

"Additionally, we are incurring costs associated with implementing operational and marketing elements of the NEA, which would not be recoverable if we were required to unwind all or a portion of the NEA," the company said.

The department separately in March filed an antitrust lawsuit to block JetBlue's proposed acquisition of budget carrier Spirit Airlines , arguing the deal would drive up fares, "harming cost-conscious fliers most acutely."

That combination faces a high hurdle for approval by the Biden administration, which has vowed to take a hard line against what it views as anti-competitive deals.
Federal prosecutors alleged Friday a Nevada man helped defraud 10,000 investors out of more than $45 million by touting a fake metaverse project with its own crypto token that would one day be sold for trillions of dollars.

Bryan Lee, a 57-year-old Las Vegas resident, was named in a superseding indictment over his involvement in an alleged investment fraud scheme called CoinDeal. Lee was charged with conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and criminal monetary transactions. Indictments in the broader case date back to June of last year.

Lee worked alongside three other individuals to convince investors CoinDeal was a legitimate family of businesses working toward developing virtual reality products, federal prosecutors alleged. Lee and his co-conspirators also said they were in talks with a potential "consortium of wealthy buyers," according to the indictment.

CoinDeal's promoters told investors the funds were needed to pay for operating expenses until the sale was realized, with Lee and his co-conspirators promising significant returns. In reality, the alleged fraudsters spent lavishly on luxury cars and real estate, prosecutors said.

The superseding indictment says the conspirators falsely advertised the names of two billionaires as being part of the potential buying group. Billionaire-1 is described as the founder and executive chairman of an "online retailing company," and Billionaire-2 as the founder and CEO of an "electric car company."

While no names were attached in the indictment, those two descriptions match the characteristics of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, though he's not actually a founder, two of the wealthiest people in the world.

Lee worked at the direction of Neil Chandran, who "held himself out as the owner" of the conglomerate, and alongside Michael Glaspie, a Florida man who helped collect investor funds, prosecutors said.

Lee was not named in a January U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission complaint, but Chandran and Glaspie were charged alongside five others for their roles in the CoinDeal investment scheme with the unregistered offer and sale of securities.

Prosecutors have also charged another unnamed co-conspirator, Individual-1, for allegedly raising and laundering money for Chandran. The SEC charged a Nevada man, Garry Davidson, who matches the description of Individual-1.

Chandran was arrested and charged in June 2022, while Glaspie pleaded guilty to wire fraud in February.

Chandran is described as a "recidivist securities law violator and convicted felon" in the SEC complaint. He and his backers "targeted mostly unsophisticated investors," claiming his technology would be sold for "trillions of dollars" to the fake billionaire-backed consortium, the SEC alleged.

WATCH: A deep dive into Solidus Labs' 2022 rug pull report
Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile , or SQM, is worth dropping given its direct exposure to lithium prices, Goldman Sachs warned. Analyst Marcio Farid initiated coverage of the lithium producer's stock with a sell rating. His $60.60 price target implies shares could slide 16.7% from where they ended during Thursday's session. "We recognize SQM's unique, large and low-cost asset base, as well [as] the company's distinctive ability to operate brine ponds, but believe this is already priced in," he said in a note to clients Friday. "We also think consensus is too bullish on their forecasted lithium prices, potentially leading to earnings downgrades in the short-to-medium term." Farid noted his sell rating is out of the norm on Wall Street. Nearly two-thirds of analysts rate the stock a buy or equivalent rating, according to Refinitiv. Lithium prices have taken dramatic swings in recent months. Farid said the sell rating is due in part to the firm's expectations for a multiyear oversupply of lithium and continued price pressure. He noted Goldman sees strong demand growth for the chemical, known for its use in electric vehicle batteries, being overshadowed by an even greater increase in supply. The price moves come at a time when the company's performance is increasingly tied to the price, with Farid noting the chemical's relevance increased from 40% of EBITDA in 2019 to 80% in 2022. Farid also noted there are uncertainties tied to the company's concession renewal and if that would have any new terms or costs. He said Salar de Atacama, the company's main asset and source of lithium, has a concession ending in 2030, but a renewal is not in Goldman's base case expectation. Those uncertainties have been bolstered by plans from Chile to nationalize the country's lithium resources, he said. The company could also see limited production growth compared with peers after 2024. That relatively small growth expectation, paired with the forecast of oversupply, can signal a potential decline in free cash flow, Farid said. He said declining prices should be partially offset by growth in production, strength in other businesses and lower costs related to royalties and taxes. Despite these reasons for optimism, Farid said EBITDA and free cash flow should both struggle in the coming years as a result of the challenges around pricing and supply. The stock has lost about 8.8% so far this year.  CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
Travellers check in for the flight at the Singapore Airlines counter in the departure hall at Changi International Airport in Singapore on December 2, 2021. Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty Images

Three major airlines in Asia are back in the black, rebounding from their pandemic doldrums as global travel picks up, and they're all saying that China could be the next bright spot for them. Just this week, Singapore flag carrier Singapore Airlines posted a record net profit of 2.16 billion Singapore dollars ($1.61 billion) for the financial year ended March. This was its highest net profit in its 76-year history and a stark reversal from the loss of SG$962 million recorded in the previous financial year. In a further sign of financial strength, the airline also announced its intention to redeem SG$3.1 billion of mandatory convertible bonds. It comes six months after the company redeemed another tranche of mandatory convertible bonds worth SG$3.5 billion.

Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon

Japan's All Nippon Airways also saw its first full year profit since the Covid-19 pandemic started ANA recorded a net profit of 89.4 billion yen ($650.3 million) for the year ended March, compared to a net loss of 143.6 billion yen the year before. This has already surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2019 fiscal year that ended March 2020. At that time, ANA posted a net profit of just 28 billion yen, less than a third of its current net profit. Japan Airlines also saw a turnaround in its financial year ended March, with full year net profit coming in at 34.4 billion yen, in contrast to the 177.5 billion yen loss in the same period a year ago.

Hopes in China reopening

All three airlines are looking to China to power further growth. SIA said travel demand from March to June "remains robust," underpinned by the recovery in air travel in East Asia. "Forward sales remain healthy across all cabin classes, led by a strong pick up in bookings to China, Japan, and South Korea," the carrier said in its earnings statement. Executive vice president for commercial Lee Lik Hsin said during the earnings briefing on May 17 that the airline is "excited" about China's reopening, and that travel will recover when stakeholders like tour operators ramp up their bookings to China in the months to come. This sentiment was also shared by JAL. While the Japanese carrier managed to capture demand from international passengers on Japan-bound routes in its previous financial year, the international segment is expected to see further growth given the easing of restrictions on the China routes. ANA did not name any specific country or region it was looking to for growth, but the airline said the environment in the industry "is improving rapidly," with domestic flights seeing an easing of activity restrictions, and international flights seeing countries lift entry restrictions. The Japan Times reported ANA CEO Koji Shibata as saying that while the recovery from Europe and China was still lagging, "demand from Chinese tourists in the summer will "have further effect on our earnings," he added.

Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon
Bank of America has named a number of European stocks that are expected to perform well across three economic phases. The investment bank screened for stocks based on their ability to withstand fluctuations in a slowdown, recession, and boom. "Our Style Cycle model ... remains in the 'Slowdown' phase but is near the crossing line of the next phase," wrote Paulina Strzelinska, quant strategist at Bank of America in a note to clients on May 17. "Historically, the 'Recession' phase is the typical successor of the 'Slowdown' phase, but a 'Boom' phase has also followed 'Slowdown' in the past." A slowdown is when economic growth softens without stopping. Under this scenario, Bank of America screened for stocks that are "high quality, [large] size, growth-over-value, rising momentum and low risk". The bank described a recession as negative growth for two consecutive quarters, leading to job losses and reduced consumer spending. For this scenario, Bank of America looked for stocks it defined as high quality, large, value-over-growth, and low risk. On the other hand, a boom is when there's rapid economic expansion with increased production, employment opportunities, and overall wealth. For this eventuality, the Wall Street bank identified stocks it considers value-over-growth, rising momentum, high risk, small market cap, and low quality. The table below shows stocks ranked under these scenarios: The list includes Infineon Technologies , STMicroelectronics , SSE , Swatch Group , Dassault Aviation , HSBC Holdings , Coca-Cola HBC , and Siemens , among others. According to Bank of America, these companies currently trade at a 28% discount compared to their average prices over the past decade  the biggest such discount since 2020. According to the bank's strategist, the bank's European Composite Macro Indicator index is still showing signs of slowing down but is nearing the point where it may cross into recession or boom, which would impact these chosen stock performances. "A change in the European bond yield has been the main driver of moving out of the 'Slowdown' phase into the next one in 7 out of 11 historical episodes," said Strzelinska. However, the bank said that some sectors, like industrials and discretionary, have improved due to increased demand from China's reopening economy and easing supply chain bottlenecks.
This under-the-radar software stock could be the next big artificial intelligence winner investors are ignoring, according to some Wall Street analysts. Dynatrace , a Massachusetts-based software company that harnesses artificial intelligence for a host of use cases, including business analytics and application security, could win big in the latest AI arms race. Shares have gained more than 28% so far in 2023. DT YTD mountain Dynatrace shares in 2023 BMO Capital Markets' Keith Bachman called the stock a "clear leader" within AI in a Wednesday note to clients. He views compelling growth and margin opportunities for Dynatrace through its Grail analytics tool that uses AI to help users better understand their data. This offering, he said, may also help improve customer stickiness. Transitioning customer platform subscriptions to longer contract agreements should also benefit annual recurring revenue growth and support retention rates, he added. Given his conviction in Dynatrace's AI potential, Bachman raised his price target to $55 from $50 a share reflecting about 12% upside from Thursday's close. Bachman isn't alone in his attitude toward Dynatrace. BTIG's Gray Powell cited similar trends in his upgrade of Dynatrace to a buy rating on the heels of its fiscal fourth-quarter print, citing upside potential and a solid outlook for 2024. Powell viewed the results as a sign of stabilizing growth even in a difficult economic backdrop, and called commentary on new products like applications security and log monitoring "encouraging." "Looking forward, we think guidance for FY24 is conservative and believe that an upside bias to estimates now exists after a period of uncertainty that started back in early 2022," he wrote. Powell also expects Dynatrace to benefit from greater cloud adoption and the push by companies to transform and improve efficiency for customers. "While our recent fieldwork leads us to believe that a weakening economy is putting increased pressure on IT budgets and broader observability initiatives, DT's execution in recent quarters has shown a stabilization in trends," he wrote. "Plus, new products like Application Security and Log Monitoring represent material expansion opportunities."  CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting
Likely Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) speaks at a campaign town hall meeting at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., May 8, 2023.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina filed paperwork Friday to run for president in 2024, officially throwing his hat into a growing Republican primary lineup that former President Donald Trump has so far led.

Scott is expected to announce his presidential campaign on Monday morning in North Charleston. He made it official Friday morning when he filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission designating a principal campaign committee for a presidential bid.

The 57-year-old lawmaker, who is the Senate's sole Black Republican, arrives as an underdog in the primary. He has polled in the low single digits in surveys of the potential field even after launching an exploratory committee last month.

Scott's campaign didn't comment on the filing, which allows the senator's campaign to start placing TV and radio ads as part of a massive $6 million buy for Iowa and New Hampshire. The ads are expected to begin running next Wednesday.

Scott's brand of politics, marked by optimism and gestures toward stitching a divided nation back together, has been mostly absent from the Republican presidential conversation.

Trump, the clear polling frontrunner, is a regular source of divisive rhetoric that describes the U.S. under President Joe Biden as something like a dystopia. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a top contender who is expected to announce his own presidential run next week, rose to national prominence by engaging in polarizing political fights over hot-button social issues.

Scott has been critical of Biden, but he has also homed in on a message of unity that in some ways echoes the Democratic president's messaging in the 2020 election. He announced his presidential exploratory campaign on the day marking the start of the Civil War, underlining that America's soul in that contest "was put to the test, and we prevailed."

"I will never back down in defense of the conservative values that makes America exceptional," he said in a video released on that day.

Scott's fellow South Carolina Republican, former Gov. Nikki Haley, has been running for president since February.

Democrats quickly sought to tie Scott with Trump.

"Even before he refused to name a policy difference with Trump, Scott was a fierce advocate of the MAGA agenda  supporting national abortion bans and championing plans to end Medicare and Social Security as we know them," Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison, who once ran for one of South Carolina's U.S. Senate seats, said in a statement Friday. "There's no question that special interests are celebrating as Tim Scott throws his hat into the 2024 race for the MAGA base."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan touted his country's "special relationship" with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, speaking to CNN during an interview broadcast Friday.

"We are not at a point where we would impose sanctions on Russia like the West have done. We are not bound by the West's sanctions," Erdogan told the network. "We are a strong state and we have a positive relationship with Russia."

"Russia and Turkey need each other in every field possible," Erdogan said.

He added that the U.N. and Turkey-brokered Black Sea Grain Corridor Initiative, in which he played a key role helping to unlock crucial Ukrainian grain exports blocked by Russia's invasion, "was possible because of our special relationship with President Putin."

"The West is not leading a very balanced approach. You need a balanced approach towards a country such as Russia, which would have been a much more fortunate approach," he said.

The powerful Turkish leader's closeness to Putin, despite its membership in NATO, has made many Western leaders and diplomats nervous.

The comments came ahead of Turkey's runoff presidential election vote, the second round in a highly-charged and tense race being held on May 28 because neither Erdogan nor his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu won more than 50% of the vote in the first round.

Erdogan finished ahead by a few points in the initial vote, and is leaning into his image of a strong nationalist leader that pushes back against Western dominance, despite Turkey being a member of NATO. Kilicdaroglu, meanwhile, has pledged to strengthen Turkey's ties with the West and NATO. Turkey is home to the alliance's second-largest military after the United States, and houses 50 American tactical nuclear warheads.
Kyiv's Group of Seven allies have committed to further sanctions targeting Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as officials gather for the group's annual summit in Hiroshima, Japan, from Friday to Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also expected to join the meeting.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (R) and First Lady Yuko Kishida wait to receive G7 leaders during a visit to the Peace Memorial Park on the sidelines of the G7 summit on May 19, 2023 in Hiroshima, Japan.

"We are imposing further sanctions and measures to increase the costs to Russia and those who are supporting its war effort," the bloc said in a Friday statement. "We will starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine."

The group also said that they have ensured Ukraine will benefit from the budgetary support it requires for 2023 and early 2024.

G-7 powers have relied on sanctions to reduce Russia's war coffers in a bid to stall the progress of its military offensive in Ukraine.

The U.K. has already stepped forward with concrete measures. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the U.K. was banning imports of Russian diamonds and copper, aluminum and nickel, and announced new restrictions against the theft and resale of Ukrainian grains.
A look at Upside's prepared chicken product. Upside Foods

When Amy Chen took her first bite of chicken meat grown directly from cells in a lab, her initial reaction was a cliche one-liner: It tasted like chicken. That bite was years in the making. related investing news Bank of America boosts price target on Eli Lilly to $500 on obesity drug demand Chen is the operating chief at Upside Foods, a Berkeley, California-based food-technology company that's been working to bring what's known as cultivated meat to the American mainstream since 2015. Chen's unusual dining experience, which she calls "the most remarkable and most unremarkable" of her life, could become a lot more common in the years to come. In November, the Food and Drug Administration cleared Upside's cell-cultivated chicken as safe for human consumption, marking the first time the agency has given that designation to a lab-grown meat product. The FDA green light brings Upside to a major inflection point, Chen said. Since 2015, the company has largely been a scientific endeavor. Now, the next chapter of Upside's story is whether that credible science can turn into a functional business model. Upside Foods' pivotal moment also comes at a key moment in the alternative meat industry. Demand for plant-based meats, once the darling of meat alternatives, has largely cooled as an influx of products crowded the market. Yet the environmental concerns that drove their rise to popularity persist: Global emissions from food production are expected to rise 60% by 2050, with livestock a major driver of that increase. Big name backers, such as Bill Gates and Richard Branson, plus industry leaders like Chen, hope that cultivated meat, which doesn't require the land or livestock-related emissions that comes with traditional meat production, could be the solution. But getting consumers on board  and the products on grocery shelves  promises to be a steep climb.

Will the public dig in?

The cultivated-meat industry could have a wider consumer base than previously introduced alternative meat products, because unlike plant-based meats, it's "real" meat  minus the slaughtered animals. If the taste is up to snuff, as Chen felt it was, Upside's products could potentially appeal to both conflicted carnivores and vegetarians who avoid meat for environmental or animal-welfare concerns. The challenge for companies like Upside is getting the public on board with eating meat made in a lab from animal cells. While some vegetarians might be willing to partake, Chen said Upside is "laser-focused" on targeting "improvers," or people who recognize the current food system is unsustainable and want to make it better  but still eat meat, maybe occasionally or maybe daily. "When you think about that consumer [group], it's actually a pretty decent part of the population," she said. Chen jokes with her team that their current task is merely getting "people past thinking that this is a science project." To the untrained ear, it certainly sounds like a science project: To make its chicken product, Upside first takes a small amount of cells from a fertilized chicken egg. Then, its scientists select the best cells to develop a cell line. Those cells are placed in a cultivator, where they're fed nutrients like water and amino acids in order to multiply. After a few weeks, the meat is removed from the cultivator and separated from the cell feed so it can be shaped into a chicken fillet. That's a far cry from the comparatively simple process for making plant-based meats. And, accordingly, some traditional meat companies have expressed interest in the burgeoning cultivated-meat industry, which one day could become a competitor. Tyson Ventures, the venture capital branch of Tyson Foods , for example, was an early investor in Upside. "That sort of perspective from a meat company says a lot about how they view the potential consumer base," said Elliot Swartz, the lead cultivated-meat scientist at the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit think tank focused on improving the global food system. The organization, which advocates for alternative protein innovation, has been funded by Silicon Valley startup accelerator Y Combinator, according to Crunchbase. Y Combinator has also funded cultivated-meat company Micro Meat.

Chef Dominique Crenn at work in her kitchen Upside Foods

Rather than thinking of other alternative meat companies as Upside's rivals, Chen regards the company's main competition as the status quo, since meat eaters can already get what they're looking for at a low price. An Upside Foods representative said it expects to enter the market at a "price premium" but the company's "aspiration" is to achieve price parity with traditional meat in the next five to 15 years. There are plenty of other companies in the cultivated-meat space, which could also sway prices. Swartz said there's about 150 companies worldwide developing cultivated meat or helping build the industry's future supply chain. Other companies, like Finless Foods, BlueNalu and Fork & Good, are also developing various cell-cultured meat products in the U.S. A Fork & Good representative said the company expects to "sell at the cost of meat of the same value," while a BlueNalu representative said it aims to "offer products at or close to price parity," but says it's "not in a position to provide details around cost" since it has yet to bring a product to market. But despite these signs of growth, customers may not be able to try cultivated meat for some time. Upside plans to debut its chicken products in restaurants, starting with Michelin-starred Atelier Crenn, helmed by chef Dominique Crenn, in San Francisco, because of a marked tendency to try new dining experiences outside of the home. That debut can't occur, however, until Upside gets the full regulatory go-ahead. Chen added that the company will keep its meat exclusively in restaurants "for some time" before expanding to consumer products. That's been a common go-to-market strategy for similar companies, Swartz pointed out, adding that Impossible Foods took that approach in 2016 when it launched its products at David Chang's Momofuku Nishi in New York City. "I think it will be a near-ubiquitous strategy in this industry," he said, especially since most cultivated-meat facilities lack the production volume for much more at the moment. "You cannot, with the existing infrastructure, get these products onto grocery store shelves," Swartz added.

Beefing up

The entire cultivated-meat industry faces a problem of scale. While hailed as a climate-friendly meat alternative, the products can only realize that truth when they can be shipped in cost-efficient volume in order to compete with the traditional grocery fare on store shelves. In fact, cultivated-meat companies may never compete with traditional meat in price, Swartz said, but in order to demonstrate true proof of concept, they'll have to at least demonstrate that they can make products in accordance with their estimated pricing models. "What drives consumers really comes down to price, taste and convenience," he said. "Convenience implies operating at massive scale, and one of the limiting factors for the industry is going to be building new infrastructure." There isn't a supply chain in place for cultivated meat, and the blueprint is being created in real time by companies like Upside Foods. In 2021, Upside opened its first production facility in Emeryville, California, a 53,000-square-foot space powered entirely by renewable energy. At that facility, Upside tests new technologies and processes to determine what changes need to happen in order to scale up, Chen said. The plan is to transfer those models into Upside's eventual larger facilities, she said, adding that its first commercial plants will likely open later this year.

Upside's 53,000 square foot Emeryville, CA facility is powered by renewable energy. Upside Foods

"When we talk about scale, especially with respect to the food system, it's still really, really small scale," Swartz said of existing cultivated-meat facilities, including Upside's. As the industry grows, he said he expects it to take a similar path to another once-fringe, now-ubiquitous, innovation: electric vehicles. When electric vehicle companies started out, the cost of batteries was tremendously high, so much so that batteries were often the most expensive part of producing a given vehicle. Electric vehicle companies worked around that by introducing hybrid options "where the cost is diluted by the existing product that's on the market," Swartz explained. Some cultivated-meat companies are taking a similar approach, mixing cultured animal cells with plant-based proteins to keep costs down and increase the range of available products. After Upside launches its first consumer product, the cultivated chicken fillet, its next debut will be ground products made up of both animal cells and other ingredients, including vegetables and plant-based proteins. Industry prices could be influenced by other companies taking the same hybrid approach, but some cultivated-meat companies, like BlueNalu, have expressly said they have no plans to bring plant-based proteins into their mix. Another crucial boon for the electric vehicle industry was governmental funding, in which agencies invested in research and encouraged incentives for building new electric vehicle infrastructure. The cultivated-meat industry will need a similar boost if it's ever going to become a grocery store staple, Swartz said. Upside is part of a multi-member coalition, the Association for Meat, Poultry and Seafood Innovation, that lobbies on behalf of cell-based meat interests, with a particular focus on working with regulators to create a transparent pathway to market. Within the past decade, investors already poured billions of dollars into cultivated-meat companies, but that's just "a drop in the bucket compared to what's going to advance this still nascent technology," Swartz said. To get cultivated meat on grocery store shelves at a reasonable price point, it's going to take "many, many, many more billions of dollars," he added.

Red meat for regulators

One other factor is keeping cultivated meat outside of supermarkets: government clearance. While the FDA milestone last November was a watershed moment in the cultivated-meat industry, Upside still has a number of regulatory hurdles to get over before its products enter the U.S. market. The FDA's clearance was a voluntary premarket consultation, which means the agency has no further questions about the safety of Upside's products. Now, Upside must meet the same stringent FDA requirements as any other food product, including registering its facilities, an agency official told CNBC via email. In March 2019, the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture agreed to a joint regulatory framework for handling foods made with animal-cell technology. When regulating companies like Upside Foods, the FDA will oversee cell collection, cell banks and cell growth and differentiation. In the cell-harvest stage, oversight will shift to the USDA-FSIS, which will oversee post-harvest processing and product labeling. The joint regulatory structure means Upside's manufacturing establishments need a grant of inspection from the USDA-FSIS in addition to meeting FDA requirements. Additionally, its food products will need a mark of inspection from USDA-FSIS before they can be sold in the U.S. FSIS stands for the Food Safety and Inspection Service. A USDA representative told CNBC that Upside's grant of inspection application is currently under review and "proceeding normally."

Upside Foods' office space Upside Foods

The grant process requires discussions between the company and the USDA to ensure all meat and poultry products are safely produced and properly labeled, according to the representative. That makes it unclear when products could be OK'd for sale. Chen says Upside is "optimistic" it'll happen this year, and the company is conducting its internal planning with that timeframe in mind, while ultimately deferring to the agencies. "That process is thorough and ongoing," she added. "We've had really productive conversations going on with the USDA." While curious consumers who've known about cultivated meat for awhile might be impatient for their first taste, Swartz noted that "for a technology that incorporates different aspects of biotech, it's a very fast timeline to get government approval." Though Upside Food was the first to get the FDA's premarket seal of approval, a second entity, GOOD Meat, Inc., a cultivated-meat company that received regulatory approval from the Singapore Food Agency in 2020, made the grade in March. These moves have paved the way for others. While the FDA doesn't typically discuss the status of ongoing consultations, the agency says it's already in talks with other companies working to make food from animal cells. Chen, for her part, is excited for what's to come. "This is the moment where cultivated meat comes to the world, and comes into its own," she said.
watch now

VistaJet CEO Thomas Flohr defended his company's financial standing following reports that the fast-growing private charter jet company is facing liquidity and debt trouble. Speaking to CNBC's Dan Murphy, the Swiss entrepreneur-turned-aviation-disrupter denied that VistaJet's high debt levels were spooking investors. "Look, none of this is new. All documents and data was always available to our equity and debt holders," Flohr said. VistaJet offers a charter service that it says eliminates the expense and burden of owning a private jet, instead using a subscription model that bills by flight hours and provides private travel to and from airports around the world in as little as 24 hours' notice. A report published this week by the Financial Times said that VistaJet's net losses totaled $436 million over the past four years, and its debt "more than doubled last year to $4.4 billion" as the company's fleet grew to 360 jets, a 50% expansion after its acquisitions of charter firms Air Hamburg and U.S.-based JetEdge. The FT cited company disclosures to investors and bond holders. Auditing firm EY warn in a report on the company's 2022 accounts that "a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the group's ability to continue as a going concern," the article said. Flohr denied that these points meant any risk to the company, which is headquartered in Malta and flies to 1,900 airports in 96% of the world's countries, according to its website. He stressed that VistaJet is profitable on an EBITDA basis, which is the company's main focus. "We as a company, both shareholders and bondholders, [are] only focused on EBITDA, the cash creation of the company," Flohr said. "The adjusted EBITDA was over $800 million in 2022. We never focused below the EBITDA line."

watch now

EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and is a way of measuring a company's income before a slew of deductions. If a company's investors see a good growth rate in its EBITDA, they may use that indicator to assess future growth and return-on-investment potential. EBITDA is not an actual indication of cash flow, because the final figure after interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization is generally substantially different. Berkshire Hathaway leaders Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger famously deride the accounting metric. Flohr also explained his company's depreciation timeline, which is when the cost of an asset purchase  like a jet  is gradually written off over the course of its operating lifetime. "The company has a very conservative depreciation policy, where over 13 years we depreciate our aircraft to zero. That's as a private company the choice we're making as this conservative policy in place, but we might change it going forward." Thirteen years is a relatively shorter timeline of jet use compared to the industry average, which is between 15 and 25 years. "If we just mark-to-market our airplane, the company would be highly profitable," the CEO added, referencing an accounting strategy that provides the current market value of company assets. Mark-to-market would calculate the jets' values by comparing their cost to how much they are worth in current market conditions, rather than once they depreciate fully.

An airplane in VistaJet's fleet. Courtesy of VistaJet

Flohr said that he may consider using mark-to-market accounting this year rather than what he describes as "a very, very conservative 13 years to zero" depreciation policy, which he says would then mean the company is turning a profit. He stressed that the company has a clear EBITDA growth path. "Going forward, this infrastructure really allows us to grow the company from approximately $800 million EBITDA to $1.5 billion EBITDA," he said. The FT report also notes that VistaJet had $831 million worth of prepaid flights on its books at the end of 2022, but only $134 million left in actual cash. Flohr emphasized that this did not warrant concern, explaining that the company only needs roughly 22% of clients' up-front payments to fly the jets they book. "It's not a problem at all. It's a snapshot of December 31. Think about when clients pay us money up front  we need only about 20 to 22% of that number to serve our clients for the direct operating expenses of those flights," he said. He stressed that those deposits are non-refundable and is not money that clients can withdraw. "We have a subscription business model. The key of this number is to serve these hours. It costs us about 22% of those numbers to actually fly them."

watch now
Since 1980, the total cost of four-year public and private colleges has nearly tripled. Student loan debt has ballooned to over $1.6 trillion for more than 45 million borrowers. One-third of borrowers never attain a degree, and those who graduate do so with close to $25,000 in debt.



In order to help working and middle-class American borrowers the Biden administration in August announced a three-part plan to forgive a portion of student loans for borrowers. Part of his plan and campaign promise was to forgive $10,000 in student debt for tens of millions of borrowers. He upped the relief to $20,000 for borrowers who received a Pell Grant in college.



Biden's plan was met with legal opposition and criticism.



"At this point in our economy, we really don't need to be adding $500 billion of deficit spending for a purpose that frankly includes wealthy law students and business school graduates getting tens of thousands of dollars," said Jason Furman, Harvard economics professor and former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, during an interview with CNBC in August.



In October, courts blocked the continuation of the plan due to lawsuits from Republicans, states and individuals.



The Supreme Court agreed to hear two of those legal challenges: One brought by six GOP-led states that argue that forgiveness will hurt the companies in their states that service federal student loans, and another involving two plaintiffs who say they've been harmed by the policy by the fact that they are partially or fully excluded from the loan forgiveness.



Biden's attorneys denied the claim that the Biden administration was overstepping its authority, laying out the White House's argument that it is acting within the law. It points to the fact that the Heroes Act of 2003 grants the U.S. secretary of education the authority to waive regulations related to student loans during national emergencies.



Federal student loan payments won't resume until the end of August, unless the litigation over the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness plan is resolved sooner.

Watch the video above to find out more about what's at stake in the student loan forgiveness battle.






Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 19)  Ayala-led Globe Telecom generated an additional 5.5 billion as it continues to transfer assets, with the latest transaction covering the handover of 431 towers.

The major telco player said the assets turned over to Frontier Tower Associates Philippines Inc. are composed of 82% ground-based towers, while the rest are rooftop towers.

Following this third closing, Frontier Tower Associates now holds a total of 1,981 acquired towers.

Globe said total collections from tower sales now stand at 47.9 billion.

"We are more than halfway done towards the full turnover of the towers to Frontier and this transaction could not have happened at a more opportune time. Despite persistent economic headwinds, we remain committed to providing the country seamless digital connectivity," said Globe Chief Finance Officer Rizza Maniego-Eala.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 18)  Australia will provide equipment and training to the Philippine Coast Guard to enhance its capabilities in maritime awareness and protection, a senior Australian official announced Thursday amid simmering tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

Visiting Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong also said Australia would continue its presence in the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, and is open to "cooperating with all our partners to exercise freedom of navigation and overflight."

Australia wants to work with the Philippines to support the "vital contribution" of ASEAN to peace and security in the region, she added.

"We discussed today the ways in which we will enhance cooperation. This includes Australia providing drone equipment, training, and other technology to strengthen your Coast Guard's maritime awareness and protection capabilities," Wong said at a joint press conference with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo.

RELATED: Australia 'deeply committed' to developing strategic partnership with PH

The foreign minister said Australia is also sharing information and providing technical assistance to legislators and government officials to help boost the Philippines' capacity to deal with illegal fishing in the maritime zone.

"The Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Defence in his visit here in February spoke about the importance of increased cooperation including increased combined maritime activity such as joint patrols," she said. "Our departments are discussing the best pathway to take this forward and we want to keep working with the Philippines on that."

In February, Australia voiced its support for the country after a Chinese vessel allegedly pointed a military-grade laser at a Philippine boat near Ayungin Shoal.

Earlier this month, Australia's ambassador also expressed worry about the unprofessional and dangerous conduct against the Philippines following the near collision of a Chinese ship with a Philippine coast guard vessel which was on sovereignty patrol in the West Philippine Sea.

RELATED: Marcos: PH to propose 'fishing rights map' to China after near-collision in WPS

In a separate interview on CNN Philippines' The Source on Wednesday, Wong said, "We all want a region in which rules ameliorate the exercise of power and it is through that that countries can maintain their sovereignty and their capacity to make their own decisions."

Planning is also underway for further joint training activities of the two countries' armies.

RELATED: PH-Australia kick off joint army-to-army exercises
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 18)  The government will provide farmers with "vouchers" that will allow them to choose their preferred biofertilizers next year.

"Ipapalit yung voucher kung ano ang magandang biofertilizer na nakita nila at 'yun ang kanilang gagamitin," Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian said in a public briefing.

[Translation: They can exchange the vouchers for their preferred biofertilizers and that's what they'll use.]

The undersecretary said that the initiative will also serve as an assurance that the biofertizer program will be corruption free.

The DA has proposed a 1.9-billion budget for the program in 2024. It aims to boost rice production by combining the use of organic fertilizers, biofertilizers and inorganic fertilizers (urea), and cut farmers' cost of production.

"Nakita natin na noong pumalo ng mataas ang presyo ng inorganic fertilizer, bumagsak din ang paggamit ng mga magsasaka sa fertilizer at bumagsak din ang production ng palay," the DA official said.

[Translation: We've seen that when prices of inorganic fertilizers soar, the use of fertilizers by farmers and rice production also fell.]

READ: DA eyes 1.9-B budget for biofertilizers in 2024

Sebastian maintained that the procurement process for biofertilizers will be "fair and transparent."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 19)  The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Friday said each of the 815 Filipinos directly affected by the recent suspension of visa issuance in Kuwait will receive financial assistance worth 30,000.

This will hopefully help their families and also offset some of the costs involved in their application process, DMW Secretary Toots Ople said in a press briefing.

Ople said these are Filipinos who already have an Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) and just awaiting flights to Kuwait. Out of the 815 affected, Ople said 514 were supposed to leave the country as experienced domestic workers.

Meanwhile, DMW Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the agency will also provide livelihood and employment assistance to the affected Filipino workers.

As we speak there is profiling of each and every affected worker in terms of finding out their skill sets as well as job preferences, he said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier confirmed that only Filipinos with valid resident visas are allowed to enter the Gulf state effective May 10.

READ: Kuwait suspends issuance of visas for Filipinos

The reason for the visa suspension remains undisclosed but DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega earlier said it is likely because of the 2018 agreement between the two nations allowing the Philippine embassy to serve as a shelter for Filipino workers escaping from their employers.

READ: DFA firm with keeping shelter in Kuwait open

Without disclosing the details of the bilateral talks with the Kuwaiti government that occurred from May 16 to 17, Ople said she is optimistic that the visa issuance suspension in Kuwait will be resolved soon.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 19)  The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday clarified the 11 detained suspects in the murder of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo have not yet recanted their earlier statements even after several of them hired private lawyers.

Just to set the record straight, there have been no recantations to date. What actually happened was that several of the suspects have lawyered up, DOJ spokesperson Mico Clavano told CNN Philippines The Source.

He was referring to the 6 or 7 suspects who have become uncooperative after getting themselves a private lawyer.

Following this move, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier said it is possible that these suspects may take back their statements, but noted they are not afraid of this because everything was fairly given, said in front of counsel.

Clavano said this could be seen as a good thing because it assures the suspects that their rights are protected.

While the department also expects the remaining suspects to get private lawyers, Clavano said they believe they have a solid case.

As of right now, we do have the affidavits from the time that they were arrested and these statements are usually made, well after a startling occurrence like the assassination or the massacre, they were caught soon after. And the natural tendency of people to speak the truth after something like that has happened is very high, Clavano explained.

He also noted they all pointed in the same direction without them having the time to collude.

Authorities earlier said that the statements made by some suspects are pointing to Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves as one of the masterminds behind the assassination of Degamo.

The National Bureau of Investigation filed this week murder complaints against the lawmaker who continues to refuse to return to the country after flying to the United States late-February.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 19)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that the newly-enacted amendments to the law which mandated fixed terms for high-ranking military officials partially addressed the grumblings within the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

On May 17, Marcos signed into law Republic Act (RA) 11939 to amend RA 11709 which set fixed three-year terms for top AFP officials.

READ: Marcos OKs law amending fixed terms in AFP

"We are still in the midst of putting together the pension plans so that it will be self-regenerating. However, this takes care of  to a very large extent  the problem of the seniority," Marcos told reporters on Friday, referring to the possibility that top officials who hold their post for too long could lead to others being passed over for promotion.

Related: Marcos wary of military pension reform's impact despite approval

"The amendments to the AFP law were really to address some of the comments and complaints from some of the younger officers," Marcos said.

Defense Officer-in-Charge Carlito Galvez Jr. previously admitted that there were grumblings among AFP officials over the fixed term law.

The president added that the retirement age was also moved from 55 to 57, or after 30 years of active duty, because of the shift to the K-12 curriculum.

"Ang mga recruit mas matanda na [Recruits are older now], they come in two years later so we should move also to adjust for the retirement, and mukha naman well received yun [and it looks like it's well received]," Marcos explained.

He also said the government was working on a housing program for uniformed personnel and that this could be tied in with the proposed pension reform.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 19)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Friday that the Philippine Navy's new missile system aimed to counter air attacks bolsters the country's defense capabilities, especially as the region faces a "fluid security situation."

The chief executive attended the Philippine Navy's capability demonstration in San Antonio, Zambales, where he witnessed the test firing of the new defense and other weapons systems.

"With the fluid security situation in our region, it is imperative that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and of course the Navy is substantially equipped, trained, and always on alert to respond to any and all exigencies that may confront our nation," he said.

"It is for this prime reason that we exert a continuous effort to strengthen the capacity of our Armed Forces," Marcos added.

The president said the administration will continue to push for similar naval exercises, as he reiterated the government's commitment to modernizing the military.

"We are now working on horizon three of the AFP modernization program. As we do so, let us likewise ensure parallel training and capacity building for our personnel, especially for those who would actually operate and maneuver these major naval assets and with the backing of their highly technical training," he said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 19)  The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) is preparing to issue show cause orders against some of its personnel who may have been involved in green lighting the operations of the sunken MT Princess Empress despite its questionable seaworthiness.

In a press briefing on Friday, MARINA Legal Services Director Sharon Aledo said the agency's anti-graft and corruption committee has already convened to discuss the results report of the fact-finding group tasked to gather information on the operations of the shipowner RDC Reield Marine Services, Inc.

Aledo said the fact-finding committee conducted interviews with MARINA personnel who oversaw the construction of the vessel until its registration.

When asked how many personnel will be issued with show cause orders, Aledo said: "As of the report I got, we have two. Let's see ang magiging preliminary investigation ng [the preliminary investigation of the] anti-graft and corruption committee."

After the issuance of show cause orders, the anti-graft and corruption committee is expected to conduct a clarificatory hearing and a preliminary investigation before filing an administrative case, she said.

When asked if the internal probe will involve high-ranking officials, Aledo said: "Of course, sa proseso kasi [according to the process], it is the regional director that approves and implements the policies, the MARINA circulars in the regional offices."

The MARINA official said RDC registered the MT Princess Empress in the Bicol region.

On Thursday, the Department of Transportation announced that MARINA-National Capital Region has revoked the Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) of RDC based on the findings that it operated the MT Princess Empress without authority. RDC has yet to make an appeal.

The CPC is defined as an authorization it issues to a domestic water transport service provider to operate a vessel for commercial or public use, for which no franchise is required by law.

The MT Princess Empress was carrying around 900,000 liters of industrial fuel oil when it sank in the waters off Oriental Mindoro on Feb. 28.

The oil spill affected 41,245 families or 193,901 people and the livelihood of around 24,000 fisherfolk, disaster management officials said.

The remaining oil inside the sunken tanker has yet to be siphoned off.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 19)  Philippine authorities deported two Indian nationals believed to be members of the terrorist organization Khalistan Tiger Force.

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) on Friday said the two men  Amrikh Singh, 23, and Hayer Amriptal Singh, 24  boarded a Manila to New Delhi via Bangkok flight Thursday night.

They were arrested in an apartment inside an exclusive subdivision in Iloilo City on March 7. A third suspect was also arrested but remained in the country "to undergo local legal processes," according to the CICC.

The three were reported to have entered the Philippines using fake passports.

The CICC said the suspects will face criminal charges in India, including murder.

"The Union Home Ministry [in India] has classified the Khalistan Tiger Force as a militant outfit because it aims at reviving terrorism in Punjab. The organization is promoting various acts of terrorism, including targeted killings in Punjab," the CICC said in a statement.

The suspects were also on the Red Notice watchlist of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

According to Interpol, a Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant but a "request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 19)  The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday revealed adding five more respondents in the criminal complaint over the killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo in March.

Some of them are look-outs, some of them are those that bought certain materials or essential tools for the assassination. Some of them bought the vehicles. Now we have a clearer picture of the whole planning stage, DOJ spokesperson Mico Clavano told CNN Philippines The Source.

DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Thursday announced the inclusion of five additional respondents. He said they were identified by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

According to Clavano, the five suspects were not yet arrested, but complaints were filed against them along with alleged mastermind Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves.

The five are on top of the 11 earlier arrested, along with Teves, bringing the total number of respondents to 17.

Asked why it took so long for authorities to discover the five individuals, Clavano explained that law enforcement agencies needed to gather more evidence to make a solid case.

As soon as these cases are filed and it goes through preliminary investigation and an information is finally filed in court then a warrant of arrest will be issued by the court, he said.

The NBI filed the complaints against Teves and the additional respondents this week.

Teves, who has maintained his innocence, continues to refuse to return to the Philippines after flying to the United States in February, citing security concerns.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 18)  Vice President Sara Duterte has resigned irrevocably as member of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), dubbed as the ruling political party in the House of Representatives.

Duterte, who serves as the partys chairperson, said the resignation is effective Friday.

She did not provide a specific reason for her decision to quit the party, but hinted at "powerplay" as the rationale behind it.

I am here today because of the trust of the Filipino people...This cannot be poisoned by political toxicity or undermined by execrable political powerplay, Duterte said, without elaborating further.

Last February, Duterte and House Speaker Martin Romualdeza first cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.reassumed their roles as chairman and president of the Lakas-CMD, respectively.

I am grateful to all the party members for the support that also once demonstrated that unity is possible to advance our shared dreams for our fellow Filipinos and our beloved country, she said.

Duterte also said her commitment to serve Filipinos remains immutable.

Lakas-CMD, meanwhile, said it respects and understands Dutertes decision to leave.

It also thanked the vice president for the services she rendered to the party and for helping build a Unity Team aimed at bringing meaningful change to Philippine society.

We also support her call for all political leaders to unite in support of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., and for all of us to work for the success of this administration for the benefit of our people, read the statement issued by the partys Secretary General Rep. Joboy Aquino.

Asked to comment on Duterte's remarks, Marcos said it's "exactly as she says."

"Kung ano 'yung sinabi niya, 'yun ang ibig sabihin nya [Whatever it is that she says, that's what she means]," Marcos told reporters at an event in Ilocos Norte.

The president added that he understands Duterte's move, considering she has to simultaneously fill her roles as vice president, secretary of the Department of Education, and co-vice chairperson of the government's anti-communist task force.

"She has too much work to do. She cannot be involved in any of this, she cannot allow herself to be distracted, that's the way I read it. And it's true," Marcos said.
Kalibo, Aklan (CNN Philippines, May 19)  Aklan is now under a state of calamity due to an outbreak of the African Swine Fever (ASF).

"The Office of the Provincial Veterinarian (OPVET) has confirmed that seven (7) municipalities have already recorded cases of ASF within their jurisdictions, namely: Balete, Tangalan, Makato, Numancia, Kalibo, Batan, and New Washington," the local government said Friday.

It added that convective polymerase chain (cPCR) testing by the Department of Agriculture-Western Visayas detected at least 18 ASF cases among local pigs.

The state of calamity declaration allows the provincial government to tap quick response funds to address the outbreak.

Local officials have also ordered stricter movement of pigs in and out of municipalities' territorial jurisdictions, as well as culling operations in the affected areas to prevent ASF from spreading further.

Like Aklan, Cebu is also dealing with rising ASF infections.

With reports from Aklan-based correspondent Carla Doromal.
Four lawmakers in the Colorado House are looking to move to the upper chamber, filing to run next year for seats in the state Senate.

According to campaign finance reports from the Colorado Secretary of State's Office, the following House lawmakers are running for the Senate in the 2024 November election, as of Friday:

 Rep. Cathy Kipp, D-Fort Collins, for Senate District 14

 Rep. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, for Senate District 18

 Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City, for Senate District 21

 Rep. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, for Senate District 28

All four of the Senate seats will be open come the election, as the seated senators are term limited in 2024.

Michaelson Jenet and Weissman are also both term limited, meaning they would be unable to re-run for their House seats in the 2024 election. But Kipp and Amabile were elected in 2018 and 2020, respectively. That gives Kipp one more potential two-year term in the House, and Amabile another two terms.

The House quartet are aiming to replace some of the most powerful Democrats in the Senate, including Senate President Steve Fenberg in District 18 and Majority Leader Dominick Moreno in District 21. Long-time party staples Sens. Rhonda Fields and Joann Ginal represent districts 28 and 14, respectively.

So far, Kipp and Weissman have each raised just over $12,000 for their Senate campaigns, according to the reports. Amabile has raised $47,370. Michaelson Jenet has not reported raising any money.

Amabile is the only one of the four representatives who has formally announced her campaign, revealing the news in a release last week.

I am proud of the progress we made in the General Assembly this year, Amabile said. Im looking forward to continuing this work during the interim, and also connecting with voters in Senate District 18 as I prepare for election to that office in 2024.

Fenberg is endorsing Amabile to succeed him in the District 18 seat. Amabile is also endorsed by House Speaker Julie McCluskie, House Majority Leader Monica Duran, Sen. Dylan Roberts and Reps. Shannon Bird, Karen McCormick and Kyle Brown, according to her campaign.

Judy is the right person to serve as the next state senator from District 18, Fenberg said. "With hard work, strategic vision, and skilled pragmatism, Judy has earned the respect of her colleagues in the state Capitol and shown herself to be a leader who gets things done. I am confident that Judy will continue to deliver for the people of Boulder and for Colorado in the Senate, and I am proud to endorse her."

No one has yet registered to run against Amabile for the Senate seat, according to campaign finance reports. Kipp is also currently running unopposed.

Weissman could face former state House candidate Cory Parella, a Republican, for the Senate District 28 seat. Michaelson Jenet could come up against Republican Frederick Alfred Jr. for Senate District 21.

Democrat Lesley Smith, an at-large University of Colorado regent, is running to fill Amabile's seat representing House District 49.

Two Democrats are filed to run for Kipp's House District 52 seat: Yara Zokaie, a chief deputy assessor for Larimer County, and Ethnie Treick, a community volunteer and former Capitol lobbyist for Xcel Energy.

Four candidates are running for Weissman's House District 36 seat: Democrat Eric Olsen; Democrat law firm owner Michael Carter; Republican law enforcement officer Pedro Espinoza; and Democrat business attorney Idris Keith, who previously ran for the Aurora City Council.

No one is currently registered to run for Michaelson Jenet's seat representing House District 32.
Today is May 19, 2023 and here is what you need to know:

A nearly-20 point win over his Republican challenger in November, a Democratic supermajority in the House and a near one in the state Senate.

What more could a Democratic governor ask for?

Gov. Jared Polis started off the first year of his second term laying out an aggressive agenda on the state's most pressing issues, such as housing and water. That agenda also included a state responses to gun violence, notably seeking a ban on ghost guns and strengthening Colorado's red flag law.

Polis early on spoke of the need to address skyrocketing property taxes and continued his call for reducing the state's income tax.

The 2023 agenda also included pushing the Democratic agenda on climate change; increasing the use of transportation that employs cleaner sources of energy, as well as renewable energy; and, his signature issue from his first term  reducing the cost of health care. In 2023, that meant reducing the cost of prescription drugs and taking aim at Colorado hospitals for what the administration believes is high profits and a practice of overcharging patients.

Such an ambitious agenda, however, fell flat in a number of areas, due in part to disagreements with progressive Democrats in the House and Senate Democrats who refused to go along with his biggest priority, a bill to address the state's shortage of affordable housing.

The political newcomer  a restaurant owner running for mayor of one of Colorado's largest cities as a moderate, pro-business outsider in a wide field of seasoned candidates and civic insiders  began the race as an affable underdog but confounded observers by finishing first in the general election and going on to win the runoff by a wide margin, defeating an established municipal officeholder.

Voters of all stripes flocked to the dark horse once it became clear he had a shot in the nonpartisan race. The swelling momentum was understandable in hindsight, in part because the early frontrunners had spent months tearing each other down and driving up their negatives, all while mostly ignoring the longshot candidate, leaving his image untarnished.

By the time ballots were counted, it was clear the city was ready for a different approach as the term-limited incumbent  a veteran politician with decades of public service under his belt  prepared to hand over the office of mayor to his successor.

The year was 2003, and the newly elected, fresh-faced mayor was brewpub owner John Hickenlooper, the entrepreneur and civic activist who charmed Denver voters with his talk of an inclusive, business-friendly approach to governing a city inching its way back from an economic downturn. Hardly anyone gave him a chance of winning when the former geologist launched his campaign to succeed outgoing Mayor Wellington Webb, joining a field already crowded with experienced politicians.

But a series of twists and turns, coupled with an electorate ready to chart a new course, propelled the unconventional candidate to a convincing, double-digit win over career politician Don Mares, who had served the previous two terms as the city's auditor after a lengthy tenure in both chambers of the General Assembly.

As readers have no doubt realized, the above particulars could as easily describe this week's election in Colorado Springs, when entrepreneur and civic activist Yemi Mobolade, a Nigerian immigrant and former pastor, trounced career politician Wayne Williams, a former county commissioner, county clerk, Colorado secretary of state and at-large city council member, to become the city's first elected Black mayor.

The job of a state legislator is to pass laws, but in Colorado, some are more effective than others.

To figure out the most and least successful lawmakers of the state's 2023 legislative session, Colorado Politics looked at the bills they prime-sponsored in both chambers and ranked the number of bills passed, percentage of bills passed and percentage of bills with bipartisan sponsorship, according to the Colorado General Assembly's website.

Democrats predictably won big this session after the November election increased their hold over the state legislature to a 69-31 split  the largest Democratic advantage in 85 years. But while Democrats topped the lists for most bills passed, Republicans led in bipartisanship, a reflection of their need to compromise with the supermajority in order to address their legislative agenda. Plus, some categories that were one-party topics last year featured both this year, and vice versa.

On average, each of the 100 lawmakers sponsored nearly 20 bills this year. The House and Senate approved approximately 82% of each legislator's bills, and around 52% received bipartisan sponsorship.

News that Texas Gov. Greg Abbot sent scores of immigrants by bus to Denver took center stage in the latest debate between mayoral aspirants Kelly Brough and Mike Johnston on Thursday night, with both candidates offering largely similar approaches to the crisis.

The 41 immigrants sent by the Abbot administration to the Mile High City is but a fraction of the 10,000 immigrants who have arrived in Denver since December, straining the city's resources and prompting pleas by Colorado leaders to the federal government for direct action at the border and financial aid for cities bearing the brunt of the crisis, such as Denver.

Both Brough and Johnston said the solution is collaboration.

About two-thirds of U.S. adults say they are highly concerned about the impact on the national economy if the U.S. debt limit is not increased and the government defaults on its loans, according to a new poll, even as few say they have a solid understanding of the ongoing debt limit negotiations.

The poll shows about 6 in 10 say they want any increase in the debt limit to be coupled with agreed-upon terms for reducing the federal budget deficit. At the same time, Americans are more likely to disapprove than approve of how President Joe Biden and congressional negotiators on both sides of the aisle are handling negotiations. Still, slightly more approve of Biden's handling of the situation than of congressional Republicans.

The new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows 27% say they approve of Biden and 26% say the same about congressional Democrats, while 22% approve of congressional Republicans. Close to half disapprove of each.
Reflecting warnings given earlier, Apple is now among the growing number of businesses banning employees from using OpenAI's ChatGPT and other similar cloud-based generative AI services in a bid to protect data confidentiality. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has also barred staff from using GitHubs Copilot tool, which some developers use to help write software.

A recent survey found that 39% of Mac developers are using the tech.

Why a blanket ban makes sense

While a ban may seem extreme, it shows the company is paying attention to the flood of warnings emanating from security professionals regarding the use of these services. The concern is that their use could lead to the disclosure of sensitive or confidential data. Samsung banned the tools earlier this year when it discovered that staff had uploaded confidential source code to ChatGPT.

Security professionals are very aware of the problem. Wicus Ross, senior security researcher at Orange Cyberdefense warns:

While AI-powered chatbots are trained and further refined by their developers, it isnt out of the question for staff to access the data thats being inputted into them. And, considering that humans are often the weakest element of a business security posture, this opens the information to a range of threats, even if the risk is accidental.

While OpenAI does sell a more confidential (and expensive to run) self-hosted version of the service to enterprise clients, the risk is that under the public use agreement, there is very little to respect data confidentiality.

Thats bad in terms of confidential code and internal documentation, but deeply dangerous when handling information from heavily regulated industries, banking, health and elsewhere. We have already seen at least one incident in which ChatGPT queries were exposed to unrelated users.

Your question becomes data who owns it and can you trust them?

While Apples decision may feel like an over-reaction, it is essential enterprises convince staff to be wary of what data they are sharing. The issue is that when using a cloud-based service to process the data, it is very likely the information will be retained by the service, for grading, assessment, or even future use.

In essence, the questions you ask a service of this kind become data points for future answers. Information supplied to a cloud-based service may be accessed by humans, either from inside the company or by outside attack. Weve already seen it happen. OpenAI had to take ChatGPT offline following a data breach earlier this year.

Advice from the UK National Cyber Security Research Center (NCSC) explains the nature of the risk. It points out that queries will be visible to the service provider, stored and almost certainly be used to develop the service at some point.

In this context, the terms of use and privacy policy for a service need to be scrutinized deeply before anyone makes a sensitive query. The other challenge is that once a question is asked, it, too, becomes data.

As the NCSC explains: Another risk, which increases as more organizations produce LLMs, is that queries stored online may be hacked, leaked, or more likely accidentally made publicly accessible. This could include potentially user-identifiable information.

And who will own your questions tomorrow?

There is also another layer of risk as consolidation across the AI industry accelerates. A user might ask a sensitive question of a verified secure LLM service that meets all the requirements of enterprise security protocols on Tuesday, but that service could be purchased by a third-party with weaker policies the following week.

That purchaser would then also take possession of the sensitive enterprise data previously supplied to the service but protect it less effectively.

These concerns arent being raised because security professionals have seen them in some form of fever dreams; they reflect events weve already seen. For example, one recent report revealed over 10 million confidential items, such as API keys and credentials were exposed in public repositories such as GitHub last year.

Much of the time, this kind of confidential data is shared through personal accounts using services of this kind, which is what has already happened to information from Toyota, Samsung, and, presumably given the ChatGPT usage ban, Apple.

With this in mind, most security professionals I follow are united in warning users not to include sensitive/confidential information in queries made to public services such as ChatGPT.

Users should never ask questions that could lead to issues if they became public, and within the context of any major company attempting to secure its data, a blanket ban on use is by far the easiest solution, at least for now.

Generative will go to the edge

It wont always be this way.

The most logical path forward is toward small LLM systems capable of being hosted on the edge device. We know it is possible, as Stanford University has already been able to make one run on a Google Pixel phone. This makes it plausible to anticipate that at some point, no one will be using the recently introduced ChatGPT app on an iPhone, because theyll be using a similar tech supplied with the phone itself.

But the bottom line for anybody using cloud-based LLM services is that security is not guaranteed and you should never share confidential or sensitive data with them. Its a testament to the value of edge processing and privacy protection in a connected age.

Please follow me on Mastodon, or join me in the AppleHolics bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe.
Prisons are buildings that convert criminals into angrier, better-connected criminals. As tools for reforming people, they arent terribly effective. We design them to punish inmates, not to fix them. The reasoning is that a miserable prison deters people from committing crime. Even when a convict leaves prison and never offends again, that might not be because they emerged a better person. It may just be because, having tasted prison, they fear it all the more and never want to return.

Yeah, people dont want to be sentenced to prison. Except for the occasional weirdo who does, for their own bizarre motives.

5 To Beat Cocaine Addiction In 2010, Canadian Michael Zehaf-Bibeau went to police and confessed to an armed robbery from the year 2000. The police did not now arrest him for that crime, because when they looked at their records, they discovered the incident he was talking about never happened. They did arrest him under the Mental Health Act, but they released him the following day. Zehaf-Bibeau wanted them to put him behind bars, which he figured would be a good place to detox from cocaine. You might think thats what rehab is for, but rehab might not be so easy to get into, not if youre Canadian and expect to be treated for free. Plus, Zehaf-Bibeau thought he deserved to be punished, for unspecified sins. So, he wanted prison, and if falsely confessing to armed robbery didnt earn him a sentence, he had to commit armed robbery for real. He held up a McDonalds  with a stick, so the robbery would qualify as armed. The clerk did not hand over any money but did call the police, who arrested the robber. Zehaf-Bibeau spent a little while in jail awaiting trial but was ultimately sentenced to time served. Emil Huang The clerk was sentenced to Billions Served. That would be the end of the funny story of Michael Zehaf-Bibeau. Except, in 2014, he went to the National War Memorial in Ottawa and shot a soldier dead. He used a hunting rifle this time, not a stick. Half a dozen officers then fired at Zehaf-Bibeau, killing him before he could attack anyone else. Hey, maybe when someone says he belongs behind bars, you should believe him. Advertisement

4 To Research a Book, for Christmas In 1932, George Orwell could either spend the days before Christmas with friends and family or land himself in jail. He chose option B. BNUJ Freedom is slavery. Orwell was writing a series of essays about poverty, which would eventually form his book Down and Out in Paris and London. You cant really know about all walks of poverty without getting to know what life is like for people behind bars. So, that December, he got really drunk, enough for constables to arrest him for his disorderly behavior. George Orwell He recorded in his essay Clink his observations of the jail where they dumped him. Thats what he claimed, anyway. Many people suspected that he made up the whole story. He even said he gave the cops a fake name, which thwarted all attempts to verify his account. The dialogue in the essay sounded a little too entertaining to be real. This dialogue also veered a little too colorful for the essay to be published: George Orwell Advertisement Advertisement But whether or not his reporting included a few artistic flourishes, Orwell was telling the truth. Archivists 80 years later confirmed his story, looking through jailhouse filings and finding proof of his arrest. They were also able to cross-reference the prisoner list at that time to the characters in the essay, identifying each of them, despite the fact that hed taken care to invent fake names. We wish there was some adjective to describe such a system where records make privacy impossible.

3 To Check Out North Korea In 2014, North Korea arrested an American tourist, accusing him of espionage. It is very much possible for an American to visit North Korea, but your tour operator will warn you to strictly follow rules, or else police might nab you. Matthew Miller sounded like someone whod mistakenly fallen afoul of these rules and had paid the price. Advertisement Then, after America negotiated Millers release, he told a very different story from what wed assumed. Hed gone to North Korea wanting to be arrested, he said. He did not say this with a gun to his head, he was free now, and his interviewers were a news agency devoted to reporting on North Korea critically. Hed filled a notebook with jottings that falsely described him as a hacker carrying state secrets for Wikileaks. Hed defaced his genuine North Korean visa, to attract suspicion. Finally, hed provoked authorities repeatedly till they took him into custody. Uri Tours I *said* Kim Jong Un is a big doodoo head. Hello? Anyone hear me? Advertisement Millers motive in all this? He wanted to learn what North Koreas really like, something thats fairly impossible in an organized tour but that incarceration surely reveals with great clarity. He came away from his experience confused that he wasnt tortured and pleasantly surprised by the conditions of his captivity. We therefore have our doubts that his curated prison stint revealed anything about what life is like for North Koreans. Sometimes, when you escape a simulation, you just find your way into a more convincing simulation. Advertisement

2 As an Alternative to Homelessness Ichiro Kojima decided prison was preferable to life on the streets. So, did this homeless guy steal a pack of gum, like the classic criminal who just wants to be arrested? Nope. Kojima wanted to be set for life, which meant he needed a life sentence. On June 9, 2018, he boarded the train from Tokyo to Osaka with a knife and a machete. He slashed at two women, both in their 20s. Then another passenger intervened, 38-year-old Kotaro Umeda. Kojima stabbed him dozens of times, with one wound half-a-foot long killing him. After that, he stopped. He had boarded the train with the intention of murdering someone, to secure his prison term, and he had succeeded. JobanLineE531/Wiki Commons Hed have used a gun, but doing so on the bullet train would have been too on-the-nose. Advertisement Japan sentenced him to life in prison. Yes, this was precisely what hed sought in attacking those passengers, but the laws the law. The rules have no loophole to guard against giving criminals exactly what they want. Advertisement
People like to pretend that the pen is mightier than the sword, but thats mostly something nerds say right before they get packed into a school trashcan like a musket ball. In reality, if you have a sword, youre generally in control of most situations  both from the physical threat it imposes and the unhinged energy being a sword guy projects. Good luck negotiating with the kind of guy whos bringing a katana into the Chipotle, no matter what your IQ is.

That doesnt mean that words dont have real power though  whether its just emotional damage or something that snowballs into a genuinely dangerous situation. For example, just think about all the workplace accidents that occurred as a direct result of someone shouting, Youre clear! Throw in the human minds aptitude at confusion and you realize that, much like sticks and stones, words can indeed hurt you.

Here are five times that words not just hurt, but ended a life

5 A Deadly Joke Public Domain Oh yeah, this guy looks hilarious. Its not common, but excessive laughter can actually kill someone  despite supposedly being the purest auditory expression of joy. So maybe, instead of criticizing him, we should consider that Jimmy Fallon is just trying to keep everyone safe. One of the most famous documented deaths from laughing goes all the way back to Athens, with a philosopher known as Chrysippus of Soli. More interestingly, apparently the joke that ended Chrysippus life was his own, saving the Greeks from what would have been a highly confusing murder trial. Apparently, Chrysippus, during the Olympiad, saw a donkey eating figs and hit the ass with the stellar retort, Now give him some pure wine to wash down those figs! Maybe he was more of a performer than a writer? Regardless, he sent himself into such a disastrous laughing fit that he collapsed and started foaming at the mouth, later dying. Theres also a suggestion that Chrysippus was absolutely zooted off undiluted wine, which makes the whole thing seem a little more likely. Advertisement

4 Thinking An Injured Man Was Gay Pixabay Hemophilia is perfectly natural. Language is complicated, despite what that bastard Duolingo owl would like you to think. Even a difference of a couple measly letters, run through one language to another, can completely muddle a very important sentences meaning. This is exactly what happened to a Norwegian man in Denmark in 2009. The man was a hemophiliac, so when he was hit in the head with a drinking glass, he sought medical treatment, knowing his blood was constantly trying to kill him over any small injury. He headed to the hospital and attempted to communicate in Norwegian that he was a hemofil, or hemophiliac. Unfortunately, the Danish doctor, with their ever-so-slightly different language, thought the man was simply coming out of the closet as a homofil, or homosexual. The doctor gave him what he must have thought was a very encouraging talk about how there was nothing wrong with that, and he needed no treatment. The confused, and presumably very straight man, died of a brain bleed two days later. Advertisement

3 A Suspected Wizards Final Words mullica Innocent until proven crispy. Advertisement The witch trials of the old world have a pretty generous name, considering that they relied less on the rule of law and more on peoples flotation and fire resistance. When Giles Corey was accused of being a wizard in 1692, he knew the exact degree of bullshit he was about to be in for. He also knew another bit of law, in that someone executed for witchcraft would have their property taken away after their death, preventing them from passing it onto their children. With that in mind, he found a loophole that would make a corporate accountant proud: He refused to plead guilty or not guilty. At the time, without a plea, he couldnt be tried. Of course, those with the pitchforks didnt respond with a simple dagnabbit! and let him free. Instead, they turned to the approved method for getting a plea out of someone: torture. Specifically, pressing, where the suspect was placed beneath a wooden board while stones were stacked on top of them until they yelped out a choice. Corey, knowing he was fucked either way, but wanting his children to keep their inheritance, stayed quiet until the end, except for his extremely hardcore final words: More weight. Advertisement

2 The Word That Launched Two Nukes Public Domain With eyebrows like that, you  d think expressing his emotions would be easy. Japanese is an incredibly complicated language, with many words having highly nuanced or multiple meanings. And so, youd expect that people translating highly important communications to or from the language would be crack teams, given that the stakes were much higher than effectively communicating what exactly Yoshi is. If you were, for example, trying to negotiate a surrender during World War II, youd think theyd want to make sure all the kanji was correctly crossed and dotted. Advertisement Advertisement Instead, they went with a tragically subpar translation of Japanese Prime Minister Suzukis response to the Potsdam Ultimatum. The ultimatum demanded an immediate surrender or threatened prompt and utter destruction. Suzuki responded with the word mokusatsu. Correctly translated given the situation, he was basically using the old political chestnut of no comment. Instead, his response was translated as silent contempt or not worthy of response. The Allies, thinking theyd just been given a Logan-Roy-esque fuck off, proceeded with the prompt and utter destruction, by which they meant dropping atom bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima 10 days later.
The unique relationship between China and Pakistan

10:28, May 19, 2023 By Zamir Ahmed Awan ( People's Daily Online

The relationship between China and Pakistan is characterized by a long-standing friendship, mutual trust, and cooperation on multiple fronts. Over the years, the two nations have nurtured their ties through diplomatic, political, economic, cultural, educational, defense, technological, agricultural, and other collaborative endeavors. China-Pakistan relations are unique and often referred as a role model in international relations.

The formal diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on May 21, 1951, and every year this day is marked with a high spirit of friendship by both nations with several activities and celebrations.

Diplomatic and political relations

China and Pakistan share a remarkable history of diplomatic and political collaboration. The two nations have consistently supported each other on important international forums, advocating for each other's interests and concerns. They have stood together on matters of regional security and have been instrumental in maintaining stability in the region. Regular high-level visits and exchanges have further strengthened their bond and enhanced their strategic coordination. There exists a comprehensive harmony and identical approach toward international disputes, concerns, and geopolitics. Both nations have a similar vision of peaceful development, and support each other for win-win cooperation. There exists immense goodwill among the people of Pakistan for China, especially the youth.

Economic cooperation

Economic cooperation is a cornerstone of China-Pakistan relations. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has significantly bolstered economic ties between the two countries. CPEC has transformed Pakistan's infrastructure landscape, fostering connectivity, energy cooperation, industrial development, and trade. This landmark initiative has opened new avenues for economic growth, job creation, and poverty alleviation in Pakistan. China has become the largest single investor in Pakistan. Chinese assistance has been instrumental in the revival of Pakistan's economy and has saved Pakistan from default on several occasions.

Cultural and educational exchanges

China and Pakistan share a deep cultural affinity, and cultural exchanges have played a crucial role in strengthening their bond. Both nations have actively promoted cultural understanding through cultural events, festivals, and people-to-people exchanges. Furthermore, educational cooperation has flourished, with thousands of Pakistani students studying in Chinese universities, contributing to the human resource development of both countries. China has become a top priority destination for Pakistani youth for higher education.

Defense and security cooperation

China and Pakistan enjoy robust defense and security cooperation, which has played a vital role in maintaining regional stability. The two countries have conducted joint military exercises, shared intelligence, and engaged in defense technology cooperation. China has been a reliable partner in supporting Pakistan's defense modernization efforts, contributing to Pakistan's national security and defense capabilities.

Technological collaboration

Technological collaboration forms a crucial aspect of China-Pakistan relations. China's expertise in various fields, including information technology, telecommunications, and space exploration, has benefited Pakistan significantly. Joint research and development initiatives, technology transfers, and cooperation in emerging sectors have propelled technological advancement in both countries. China has been assisting Pakistan in emerging technologies, with no restrictions.

Agricultural cooperation

China and Pakistan have fostered agricultural cooperation, aiming to enhance food security and promote sustainable agricultural practices. Exchange programs, knowledge sharing, and joint research projects have helped improve agricultural productivity, crop diversification, and irrigation techniques. Such collaboration has had a positive impact on rural development, poverty alleviation, and farmer empowerment in Pakistan. Being an agricultural economy, Pakistan has huge potential for growth and the highest impact on its economy.

Key agreements and projects

China and Pakistan have signed numerous agreements and initiated projects to solidify their partnership. The Long-Term Plan for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Free Trade Agreement, and the establishment of Special Economic Zones are some notable agreements that underline their commitment to mutual growth and development. Projects like the Gwadar Port, Thar Coal Power Plant, and various infrastructure development initiatives are testimony to their shared vision and progress.

The relationship between China and Pakistan is a shining example of enduring friendship, marked by cooperation and mutual support. Their unique bond spans multiple dimensions, including diplomacy, economics, culture, education, defense, technology, and agriculture. The strategic collaboration between the two countries has yielded remarkable outcomes, benefiting both nations and contributing to regional stability and prosperity. As China and Pakistan continue to deepen their relations, their partnership serves as a model for building fruitful and enduring friendships in the international arena.

Zamir Ahmed Awan is a non-resident fellow at the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) and a sinologist at the National University of Sciences and Technology in Pakistan. E-mail: [email protected]

The opinions expressed in this article reflect those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of People's Daily Online.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Wu Chengliang)
How the world turns. Eight decades ago, Britain and her allies were fighting a brutal war in Asia and the Pacific against Imperial Japan, in which our troops were subjected to atrocities far worse than anything we were experiencing in the fight against Nazi Germany.

I knew many of my father's generation who'd fought in World War II and came, over time, to accept reconciliation with Germany. But they could never forgive Japan, such were the barbarities they'd seen or suffered.

Yet today Japan is a crucial ally in the defence of democracy and the battle against aggressive dictatorships.

'Relations between Britain and Japan have never been closer or more important,' a senior Downing Street adviser said to me this week. 'And they are set to become even closer and more important still. We see Japan as a crucial partner for post-Brexit Britain in the 21st century. They think the same of us. This is a friendship which is flourishing.'

It was hardly surprising, therefore, that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak should use his trip to Japan for this weekend's G7 summit of the world's biggest market economies to agree a major new Anglo-Japanese agreement with his opposite number, Fumio Kishida.

The G7 leaders pose for a group photo as they visit the Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island in Hatsukaichi, western Japan on Friday

It's been dubbed the 'Hiroshima Accord' because it was signed in Hiroshima, Kishida's hometown and one of two cities on which America dropped an atomic bomb (the other was Nagasaki) 78 years ago to force Japan to surrender.

It is not without significance, as an illustration of the closer relationship between the two countries, that Sunak is the first British PM to visit Hiroshima, a site, within living memory, of unimaginable devastation.

The Accord will promote greater military cooperation, upping British participation in joint training exercises with Japan to protect supply chains and keep our economies going should China attempt to blockade Taiwan and disrupt global trade in the process.

It also heralds far greater co-operation in research and development, trade, science and cyberwarfare, where Britain has much to offer Japan, and will result in 18 billion of new Japanese investment in the UK covering everything from clean energy to the life sciences and affordable housing.

Crucially, it's designed to help keep up the supply of microchips should China try to cut them off. These chips are vital to pretty much every part of a modern economy: phones, home appliances, robotics, cars, planes and advanced weapon systems all rely on them. A conflict in the South China Sea would undermine the entire global economy.

Japan is already the fifth-biggest foreign investor in the UK with 92 billion invested. On some official projections it could soon be second only to the United States.

The Accord talks about a 'global strategic partnership' and designates the two countries 'closest security partners' in Europe and Asia, which means Japan regards Britain as its most important European ally and Britain sees Japan as its most important Asian ally.

All this is an irrefutable and robust refutation of those who claimed Brexit would leave Britain adrift and friendless in the world, without any clear purpose.

I certainly wouldn't argue that Brexit has been a success so far. It is increasingly clear that those who argued most passionately for it had no idea what to do with it if it ever happened. But it is nonsense to claim it has left us alone and pointless.

We remain best friends with the world's biggest economy, America, with unmatched security, intelligence and economic ties. What's not to like about becoming best mates with the world's third-biggest economy, Japan, which occupies a pivotal position in the Pacific Rim, where the most important geopolitics of the 21st century will play out?

ANDREW NEIL: The deal Sunak struck in Hiroshima got decent enough coverage back in Blighty largely because he was travelling with a big UK press pack for the G7 summit

The naysayers, of course, will point out that Japan is not the economic powerhouse it once was, and it is true that ever since its property and stock markets imploded over 30 years ago, the Japanese economy has somewhat stagnated. But the German economy is not what it was either, yet we still rightly wish to retain close diplomatic, military and economic ties with Berlin.

Japan is still an economic powerhouse with a GDP of almost $5 trillion (4 trillion), 40 per cent bigger than ours and bested only by the world's two superpowers, America and China.

It is a prosperous and successful society by any measure  and the worst of its economic troubles may be over.

Its benchmark stock market index (the Nikkei 225) just this week hit its highest level since 1990 when it started a decades-long sojourn in the doldrums. Growth this year has been stronger than expected and a weak yen has bolstered its fabled export industries. Japan's economy may have been down but it's very far from being out.

The deal Sunak struck in Hiroshima got decent enough coverage back in Blighty largely because he was travelling with a big UK press pack for the G7 summit. But the true depth and extent of Anglo-Japanese relations remains largely unappreciated. The Hiroshima Accord comes fast on the back of a previous military pact agreed only in January, which facilitates the rapid deployment of military aid in both directions during times of crisis.

Put simply, we can deploy friendly forces on each other's soil whenever either of us feels threatened by a hostile power and in need of help, without going through the myriad clearances and conditions such a controversial move would normally involve. That's a true friendship.

So is the work that's begun with Japan (along with Italy) to develop the next state-of-the-art, sixth-generation jet fighter, yet another example of our increasingly close military ties.

The two countries already deploy the current most advanced fighter, the Lockheed/BAE F-35. A senior figure in the Japanese defence ministry recently told me he looked forward to the day when Japanese F-35s could fly off Britain's new aircraft carriers and talked of how the Japanese navy could provide a British carrier fleet in the Pacific with perimeter defence.

What has brought our two countries together? In a word, China. Some Japanese defence establishments have a map on their walls which show the world from Beijing's perspective, with the arc of the Japanese archipelago acting as a massive barrier to China's expansionist ambitions for a greater global role.

As China becomes ever more aggressive in pursuit of that role  and especially bellicose about taking back Taiwan  Japan becomes ever more nervous about its vulnerability. It is looking for friends  and re-arming fast.

It's decided that Britain is the European nation with the most to offer, though obviously we pale in comparison with the importance of its alliances with America. But to retain the support of Washington and win over new friends like Britain, it knows it must be seen to be helping itself.

A senior figure in the Japanese defence ministry recently told me he looked forward to the day when Japanese F-35s could fly off Britain's new aircraft carriers (file image)

So, a country which has not fired a shot in battle since it surrendered in 1945 is now doubling spending on its military.

The pacifist constraints of its constitution have been loosened as military spending is set to rise by a massive $330 billion (265 billion) over the next five years (taking defence spending from one per cent to two per cent of its huge GDP) and its combined military, known as the Self-Defence Force, is given rather more latitude as to what constitutes self-defence.

A key feature of its new arsenal will be missiles with a range long enough to deter China from doing anything stupid. The Chinese are furious, describing the rearmament of Japan as a 'long dark vortex'.

Britain and Japan have much in common. Both are independent island nations. Both parliamentary democracies. Both with an interest in stopping the totalitarians from reshaping the world to their advantage.

Japan has been staunch in its support for Ukraine because it knows Russian success would only embolden China to invade Taiwan. Britain stands with Japan and its allies to deter that.

And we're constitutional monarchies, with friendly, modern ties. Emperor Naruhito studied at Oxford University in the 1980s, a time he looks back on so fondly he wrote a memoir about it. He went salmon fishing with the then Prince Charles at Balmoral and participated in the obligatory royal barbecues. Recently released letters from our national archives show how much he treasured his time here. A state visit  either the King to Tokyo or the Emperor to London  cannot be far off.

Personal relations and soft power matter when it comes to alliances. They will help to nurture this new era of Anglo-Japanese friendship. Along with the new submarines-and-technology 'Aukus' deal Britain has done with America and Australia, Britain is set to play an important role as the world pivots to the Pacific.

Suddenly the 21st century doesn't look so lonely after all.
Ah, Labour. It will do anything for the working man except listen to him.

Following the 2016 Brexit referendum, Labour was split between a faction (led by Jeremy Corbyn) which wanted to accept the result, and a faction (led by Sir Keir Starmer) which wanted a second referendum.

After the 2017 election, the Starmerites got the upper hand, and it became clear that Labour was blocking Brexit. This upset a lot of people, including even many Remainers. We are a fair-minded country, and no one liked the idea of being sent back to try again, like so many dim-witted children. Labour was duly walloped in 2019, securing its worst result in more than 80 years.

Since then, Sir Keir has had to move more carefully. He now says that he wont rejoin the EU, its single market or its customs union. But he cant quite hide his disappointment with the rest of us. Hence his promise, in a speech to business leaders in London, to negotiate a closer trading relationship with the EU.

Now on one level, this is an uncontroversial ambition. Of course we want a closer trading relationship with the EU, just as we want closer trading relationships with India, Malaysia and the rest. Removing trade barriers is always and everywhere a good idea.

Labour was duly walloped in 2019, securing its worst result in more than 80 years. Since then, Sir Keir has had to move more carefully

But those barriers are, for the most part, not on our side. Consider some of the asymmetries in our arrangement with Brussels.

Britain grants what is known as equivalence to EU financial services companies  essentially, an agreement to trust their regulators as if they were our own. The EU does not reciprocate. Although it offers equivalence to companies from the United States, Mexico and even China, it denies it to British firms which operate under the same rules as when we were in the EU.

Britain does not require EU visitors to queue for a stamp at immigration, but lets them use our electronic passport gates. Brussels does not return the favour.

Britain has never suggested that it needs to check produce coming from Ireland to protect the integrity of the UK single market. But the EU insists that such checks on its side are indispensable.

Britain is happy to co-operate in joint scientific research programmes. Brussels, while happy to work with Ukraine, Tunisia and Israel, says no.

My point is not that Britain should retaliate. Protectionism always does the most damage to the country (or, in this case, group of countries) applying it. Britain should want businesses to invest here, and travellers to visit, because openness to the world makes us wealthier. As the economist Joan Robinson argued in 1937, if other countries put rocks in their harbours, you dont respond by putting rocks in your own harbours.

No, my point is a different one. Does Sir Keir really imagine that British negotiators during the lengthy withdrawal talks did not seek the closest possible trading terms with the EU?

The reason obstacles exist is not that Britain imposed them. It is that Eurocrats were miffed at the referendum, and wanted to teach us a lesson, even if it meant damaging their own economy.

Rather than setting out to maximise the benefits of free exchange, Brussels saw trade as a weapon. Instead of agreeing not to erect obstacles, Brussels demanded that, if Britain wanted to continue to buy and sell freely, it would have to adopt EU standards.

Rather than setting out to maximise the benefits of free exchange, Brussels saw trade as a weapon

This was a markedly different attitude to the one it took to, say, Canada. But then, the EU does not regard Canada as a renegade province.

When Sir Keir talks of closer trade terms, what he really means is agreeing to follow EU rules  not just as they stand now, but as they evolve. This was what the Northern Ireland border row was about: Brussels declared that, if the UK wanted to remove internal checks on its own territory, it must agree to so-called dynamic alignment in certain fields  in other words, automatically downloading future EU regulations.

Sir Keir forgets that trade barriers harm both sides. When, for example, the EU denies equivalence to Londons financial services companies, it denies its own firms unfettered access to the worlds best and cheapest money markets.

The same is true of the issue that supposedly prompted Sir Keirs intervention, namely pressure from British carmakers to improve cross-Channel access. Precisely the same pressure is being brought on the other side. The German car-making association, the VDA, called this week for urgent changes to the deal lest there be a significant competitive disadvantage for the European car industry relative to its Asian competitors in the vital UK market.

With cars, as across the board, Britain wants maximum trade liberalisation, but the EU (to the frustration of its own companies) is hanging back, determined to show that there is a price to be paid for Brexit.

When will British Europhiles accept that the other sides obstreperousness is not our countrys responsibility? If they encounter lengthy immigration queues at, say, Atlanta airport, it does not occur to them to blame anyone except the American authorities. But if they run into the same problem at Amsterdam, well, thats all because of Brexit.

Fully seven years after the referendum, a vocal fronde of Remainers  a minority of the minority  still cannot move on.

Sadly, many of them are to be found in the civil service, which is why ministers must battle to secure even the slightest divergence from the EU. It is extraordinary, more than two years after leaving, that we have not made our financial services rules more competitive, or freed up our labour market, or even dropped our tariffs on things we dont produce such as olive oil and bananas.

Few are so stuck in 2016 as Sir Keir. Who can doubt that, if he saw a way to do it, he would seek to overturn the result, in substance if not in name?

Look at how he intends to expand the electorate. Not only is he proposing to give the vote to 16-year-olds  despite Labour having raised the age of consent to 18 for everything from buying a knife to getting a mortgage, from purchasing cigarettes to acquiring a tattoo. No, he also plans to give the vote to EU citizens, a right that EU states do not even extend to each others nationals.

Dont get me wrong, I want to have a much closer trading relationship with EU states. They are our friends and allies, our suppliers and customers. Both sides would benefit from the creation of a European economic zone, open to EU and non-EU states, in which there were no obstacles to commerce or investment.

But the way to get there is through a negotiation between sovereign equals, a negotiation based on mutual respect. The EU is not quite ready to begin such talks. On some level, Eurocrats still think that, if Brexit is made tough enough, we might come crawling back.

The surest way to convince them that they are right, and thus the surest way to prevent a mutually beneficial deepening of trade links, is to agree unilaterally to adopt a series of EU standards.

If we were following the EUs rules anyway, there would be precious little point in being outside. Sir Keir knows this. Which makes me wonder whether his real agenda is to prepare for eventual re-entry.
When was the last time you heard a politician of any party mention the NHS without prefacing its initials with that little word our? Its driving me mad. In everyday conversation, surely, most of us use the definite article, as Ive just done.

After all, you dont hear many people saying they had an operation on our NHS. They call it the NHS. Only politicians insist on the possessive pronoun.

Its obvious why they do it, of course. The word our has a protectively affectionate ring to it, as in the northern expression our kid, with perhaps a touch of reverence, as seen in references to the Virgin Mary as Our Lady.

The idea is to convey the impression that they care deeply about the NHS, remind us that it belongs to us all and convince us that they share our love and respect for it. These are all innocent enough motives, no doubt, but I find our NHS an intensely irritating expression, uttered in a bid to manipulate us.

It makes me want to chuck things at the telly every time I hear it.

TOM UTLEY: When was the last time you heard a politician of any party mention the NHS without prefacing its initials with that little word our? Its driving me mad (File photo)

Maddening

Now, you may well argue that, these days, we have many more important things to worry about than an annoying use of a three-letter word. Im thinking of such matters as the cost of living crisis, the collapse of public services, the threat of nuclear war over Ukraine and the scaremongers claim that if we keep burning fossil fuels, one day in the not-too-distant future mankind will be burned to a crisp by global warming.

Its just that the older I get (Ill turn 70 in the autumn), the more infuriating I find minor irritations that, lets face it, dont matter much in the great scheme of things. And nowhere is this more true than where words are concerned.

Indeed, if I were less tongue-tied and camera-shy, I would be an ideal candidate to appear in a revival of the BBC series Grumpy Old Men, in which men of a certain age sounded off about their pet gripes. My only problem, apart from my terror of appearing on TV, would be knowing where to begin.

Well, at least I have the comfort of knowing Im far from alone in getting steamed up about maddening words and phrases in increasingly common currency.

Mumsnet, the website for parents, set the ball rolling last month, when somebody posted the comment: Late shift so cant sleep and this has been bugging me. Loads of examples I am sure but the two that are currently p***ing me off are curating and sourcing.

When did buy new clothes become curate fresh wardrobe? I do not curate. I am not a curator. I need clothes. I buy clothes. I wear clothes. End of.

TOM UTLEY: When did buy new clothes become curate fresh wardrobe? I do not curate. I am not a curator. I need clothes. I buy clothes. I wear clothes. End of (File photo)

As for the word sourcing, this sleep-deprived shift-worker remarked: Has anyone ever said I am going to Tesco to source our ingredients. Have they f***!

(A brief digression: I would include among my own pet hates the authors stand-alone sentence: End of, which offends me quite as much as his or her profanities. But then theres no accounting for taste, and Im quite sure that the briefest trawl through my own writings over the past half century or so would yield countless examples of words and phrases that set some peoples teeth on edge. In my time, I may even have written End of, though I very much hope not.)

Anyway, followers of Mumsnet were soon piling in with their own bugbears, of which heres a sample: I hate that everything is journey . . . My weight loss journey, my pregnancy journey . . . ; Why does coffee have to be grabbed?; Gifting drives me wild. Gift is a noun. To give is the verb.

I say amen to all of these, and to lots more that have appeared on the website. In particular, I was delighted to see that a great many people share my dislike of the Americanism reach out, which is now widely used as an alternative to the less emotional, more British words contact or get in touch.

Ballistic

In my trade, I receive scores of emails from PR companies every day, of which increasing numbers begin with the words: Hi, Tom, I hope youre having a great weekend! Im excited to reach out to you with news about an incredible new range of . . .  There was a time when I used to read them all diligently. But now that Im old and grumpy, I press delete as soon as I see the words reach out. So I never get to discover whether the incredible new range in question is of mascara, scatter-cushions, vegan sandwiches or intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Now Susie Dent, the serenely authoritative lexicographer who presides over Dictionary Corner on Countdown, has stirred up another hornets nest of irritants, after appealing to her 1.1 million followers on Twitter to name the hated words and expressions they would like to see expunged from the English language.

Publishing her findings this week, she revealed that the most unpopular expression among her fans was going forward  the phrase so often used by bureaucrats, bank managers and ministers to mean in the future.

TOM UTLEY: Now Susie Dent, the serenely authoritative lexicographer who presides over Dictionary Corner on Countdown, has stirred up another hornets nest of irritants, after appealing to her 1.1 million followers on Twitter to name the hated words and expressions they would like to see expunged from the English language (File photo)

A surprise entry at number two (surprising to me, I mean, because it has never particularly grated on me) was No disrespect, but . . .  This was followed by the word like, used as a filler (Hes, like, so hot I could shack up with him, like, tomorrow.)

I wanted to reach out crops up again, at number four, while others in the top ten named by Miss Dents followers included Im not gonna lie, the optics of something (meaning the appearance or the impression), basically and my bad. Oh, and people who begin their answers to every question with the word So came in for a pasting too (Whats your job? So, Im a community outreach officer for Haringey Council.)

As for my own list, I could add so many to the above that they would fill a fat volume. Ill just say here that among them would be: can I get? (meaning may I have?); literally (used to mean its opposite, metaphorically); and that other staple of politicians let me be absolutely clear, which invariably precedes a statement thats anything but.

Grumpy

Pronunciations can infuriate me too. Why does almost everyone these days pronounce words such as research, resource and ice cream in the American way, with the stress on the first syllable (REE-search, REE-source, ICE-cream) instead of the old British way, with the stress on the second?

Meanwhile, is it hopelessly old-fashioned and pedantic of me to insist that words such as media and data are plural, and therefore demand plural verbs when theyre the subject of a sentence? I fear so, since even in the most respectable newspapers these days you will see constructions such as the data shows . . . , where my instinct would be to write the data show . . . 

TOM UTLEY: Pronunciations can infuriate me too. Why does almost everyone these days pronounce words such as research, resource and ice cream in the American way, with the stress on the first syllable (REE-search, REE-source, ICE-cream) instead of the old British way, with the stress on the second? (File photo)

I know, I know. There are many reading this who will tell me to get a life (another candidate for my banned list).

Others will point out that living languages evolve all the time, while the meanings and pronunciations of words change as the years roll by.

Yes, data and media may have started life as neuter plurals of the Latin words datum and medium. But perhaps we should accept that when enough people start treating them as singular, then singular they will become.

I have a sneaking feeling, however, that theres a grumpy old man in most of us  of all ages and both sexes.

Together, surely, we should rise up in revolt against vandals of English who reach out to tell us, like, that theyre not gonna lie, were all doomed, going forward. End of.
What a dismal time this is for those of us who regard ourselves as conservative, either with a small or a large 'C'. It's not just that the party appears to be heading for defeat in next year's election, and probably a long time in the political wilderness.

There is also a widespread feeling that Britain is a divided, dysfunctional and fractious country in which many things from the NHS to the railways don't work, and privatised water companies brazenly pump sewage into our rivers and seas.

Net immigration is running at about three times the highest rate notched up by New Labour, while the economy groans and splutters under the heaviest burden of taxes ever experienced by this country in peacetime.

Tomorrow, the Tories will have been in power longer than New Labour. An incredible thought. But imagine if it were the other way around. Pretend it were Labour politicians who had ruled for the past pretty miserable 13 years. How we would scorn them!

What have the Conservatives achieved? One or two things, to be sure, which I'll come to. But it's impossible to draw up a list of notable accomplishments, and, believe me, I've tried.

What a dismal time this is for those of us who regard ourselves as conservative, either with a small or a large 'C'. It's not just that the party appears to be heading for defeat in next year's election, and probably a long time in the political wilderness (Stock image)

Tory apologists might point to the external calamities and difficulties that have dogged the party  from clearing up the economic mess created by the 2008 economic crash and bequeathed by Labour, to the stormy aftermath of Brexit, to the convulsions of the pandemic.

But successful governments must cope with the bad times as well as luxuriate in the good. The Tories have been dealt a challenging hand, which for the most part they have played abysmally.

Might it be that there is something fundamentally wrong with the Conservative Party  a failing caused by having the wrong people in charge or an absence of authentically Tory guiding principles, or both?

The question has particular salience because of a conference that took place in Westminster earlier this week, organised by an American movement calling themselves National Conservatives, known as 'NatCon'.

Their meeting made the national news after two Extinction Rebellion activists interrupted a speech by Home Secretary Suella Braverman. What she said also attracted interest. She criticised the lax immigration policies of the very Government of which she is a leading light.

I admit I went to the conference in a slightly suspicious frame of mind. It had been represented in some quarters as a gathering of extremists, or even dangerous lunatics, some of whom were said to be supporters of Donald Trump.

Not that I take my prejudices from the Guardian or the BBC. The former ludicrously described National Conservativism as 'a divisive, far-Right movement'. Auntie dismissively referred to a meeting of 'Right-wing Conservatives'. If Conservatives are pretty awful in her eyes, Right-wing ones are beyond the pale.

No, what had put me on my guard  mistakenly, as it turned out  were the misgiving of sensible people, often Tories. Professor Tim Bale, an expert on the party, opined that NatCon's focus on 'culturally conservative' policies was likely to be a 'dead end' in 'a country that is becoming more socially liberal over time'.

Pictured: Secretary of State for the Home Department Suella Braverman speaks during the National Conservatism Conference at The Emmanuel Centre in London on May 15, 2023

In the event, I heard nothing nasty or extremist. On the contrary. There were lots of ideas that could help regenerate a moribund and beleaguered Tory party staring defeat in the face after 13 mostly wasted years  if Rishi Sunak has the gumption to listen.

I was struck by the large number of young people, and a standard of debate higher than anything I've ever heard at a Tory party conference. Speeches and interventions from the floor conveyed an almost universal disenchantment with the Government.

The guru behind NatCon, and its chairman, is Yoram Hazony, a 58-year-old Israeli-American political philosopher who is a devout modern Orthodox Jew. He spoke on the first morning.

Hazony's essential thesis is that National Conservatism is the opposite of 'liberal internationalism'. This has fostered globalism, undermined the nation state and promoted disastrous American-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in which the West attempted to impose values it regards as universal.

In his analysis, liberal democracy finished off fascism in World War II and saw off communism in the Cold War. For a time it reigned supreme. But now it is ceding to what he calls 'woke neo-Marxism', with its transgender obsessions, its excoriation of colonialism and 'white' culture, and its catastrophising about climate change.

For Hazony, tradition is paramount. It flourishes in the nation state, sustained by national customs, laws and institutions. Family is the bedrock of society, and religion a valuable influence.

Liberal internationalism and globalism are, in his view, the enemy. It is a natural and laudable instinct to be loyal to one's country. The capitalist who uproots his profitable factory, and transplants it to China in search of cheaper labour, is a contemptible figure.

The guru behind NatCon, and its chairman, is Yoram Hazony (pictured), a 58-year-old Israeli-American political philosopher who is a devout modern Orthodox Jew. He spoke on the first morning

National Conservativism is the child of the Edmund Burke Foundation, named after the 18th-century British political philosopher, and based in Washington DC. A famous utterance of Burke's was quoted more than once during the conference. It is a stirring thought, which might serve as NatCon's battle cry.

'[Society] is a partnership in all science, a partnership in all art, a partnership in every virtue and in all perfection. As the ends of such a partnership cannot be obtained in many generations, it becomes a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born.'

One aspect of Hazony's speech which I found especially moving was his insistence on the exceptional, and possibly unequalled, contribution of Britain to the modern world, in science, political philosophy and literature.

He claimed: 'There has never been a people like the British, and that gives people hope . . . Like many people round the world, when Britain is weakened, when Britain is confused, I feel weakened, I feel confused. But when Britain is strong, it strengthens all democratic countries, it strengthens the entire West.'

Doubtless there is a large dollop of flattery in these words. But I think there is a sincere recognition of Britain's historic and enduring importance, to which Little Englanders in all the main political parties, often obsessed with decline, are oblivious.

It isn't, of course, necessary to concur with everything Yoram Hazony and other NatCon speakers said, and I should anyway stress that there was a healthy divergence of views. Some may think the NatCon prospectus implies too powerful a state. Or that the conference was strong on ideas, less so on implementation.

Others may be alarmed by the word 'National', mindful that the Nazis described themselves as National Socialists, and that Marine Le Pen's far-Right party in France is called the National Rally. But in this context 'national' really means 'patriotic'.

Whatever one's reservations, NatCon's commitment to the importance of family, tradition, nation, religion and mutual loyalty should appeal to most Tories. It certainly does to me.

Indeed, what the Tory thinker T. E. Utley (father of my Mail colleague, Tom) said over 40 years ago bore a remarkable resemblance to what Hazony says now. There's little new under the sun, and the National Conservatives are not as novel as they think.

I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that the Left, in the shape of the Guardian, should denigrate NatCon, though even I was astonished by an article in the newspaper which alleged that one of the main speakers, Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, used an anti-Semitic trope.

Tomorrow, the Tories will have been in power longer than New Labour. An incredible thought. But imagine if it were the other way around. Pretend it were Labour politicians who had ruled for the past pretty miserable 13 years. How we would scorn them! (File photo)

Mr Roberts repeatedly blamed 'globalists' for the world's political problems. According to the Guardian, the word 'globalist' is 'a term associated with the far-Right and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories'. This is surely nonsense.

It seems a desperate move to smear Mr Roberts with anti-Semitism, not least because NatCon's leading voice is Jewish. And this from a newspaper which recently carried a grotesque cartoon of former BBC chairman Richard Sharp with tropes that were indubitably anti-Semitic, as the Guardian later conceded.

The Left is bound to hate the National Conservatives, no doubt partly because it recognises that some of their ideas could have widespread electoral appeal. But will the Tories listen?

Several Conservative MPs have publicly disapproved. One, quoted anonymously in The Times and supposedly on the Left of the party, claims that NatCon is 'about transporting extreme Right-wing culture and American division and rhetoric, which we need to reject'. This epitomises the philosophical insularity, smugness and ignorance of some Tories.

Such a response is indistinguishable from the Guardian's, and misrepresents what NatCon stands for. Here are the Tories  adrift, unpopular even with many of their natural supporters, and apparently about to lose an election.

You might think they would show some humility, as well as a smidgeon of common sense, since institutions in crisis, which the Tory party undoubtedly is, need to look outwards for help.

If only the Conservative Party since 2010 had had more respect for traditional Tory values  which, as I say, NatCon is reviving rather than inventing  it wouldn't have made such a mess of the past 13 years.

Granted, David Cameron and George Osborne were hamstrung by their coalition with the Liberal Democrats, so that manifesto pledges such as raising the inheritance tax threshold to 1 million were abandoned. But these weren't resuscitated even after the Tories won an overall majority in 2015.

David Cameron and George Osborne were hamstrung by their coalition with the Liberal Democrats, so that manifesto pledges such as raising the inheritance tax threshold to 1 million were abandoned. But these weren't resuscitated even after the Tories won an overall majority in 2015

Almost the first thing Cameron and Osborne had done was to cut the defence budget by 8 per cent. It was already squeezed as a result of our ill-conceived entanglement in Afghanistan. They were trying to balance the books, but reducing our Armed Forces to the bare bones was profoundly un-Tory.

Our Army, Navy and Air Force have remained underfunded ever since, so much so that a senior American general not long ago declared that this country is no longer capable of defending itself.

Even now, in the midst of a European war, and with China presenting an ever greater threat, the Government is increasing defence spending by only a derisory amount. What's the point of the Tories if they won't properly defend our country?

They have shown a similar carelessness towards the British people over net immigration. David Cameron repeatedly undertook to bring it down to 'the tens of thousands', though in 2015, the year before the EU referendum, it reached 329,000.

This administration has done even worse. Next Thursday, we are likely to learn that net immigration in the 12 months to December 2022 increased by between 700,000 and one million  an all-time record, and a betrayal of Brexit.

Already overstretched public services are put under immense pressure by uncontrolled immigration, while the housing crisis is exacerbated. And our national culture  the precious, delicate organism cherished by Yoram Hazony  can't continue to absorb numbers on this scale.

Meanwhile, more than five million adults under the age of 65 are 'economically inactive'. About half of these are said to be incapacitated by illness (can they all be?), while the rest are reluctant to work. They have been abandoned by the Tories.

As the academic Matthew Goodwin pointed out during the conference, Britain has some of the highest rates of family breakdown in the Western world, with more than 40 per cent of children no longer living with both their parents when they turn 18. This obviously isn't all the fault of the Conservatives, but how have they made things better?

Almost the first thing Cameron and Osborne had done was to cut the defence budget by 8 per cent. It was already squeezed as a result of our ill-conceived entanglement in Afghanistan. They were trying to balance the books, but reducing our Armed Forces to the bare bones was profoundly un-Tory

The list of Tory failures goes on. They cut back the police. Cameron and Osborne sucked up to China, and recklessly encouraged Beijing to invest in British infrastructure. They invaded Libya for no good reason, and then forgot all about it. They have consistently built fewer houses than they promised.

Have there been any achievements in the past 13 years? Michael Gove, who spoke at the conference on Tuesday, cited improving school academic standards (for which as a former Education Secretary he was largely responsible) and Iain Duncan Smith's Universal Credit, which has revolutionised social security.

And then there is Brexit, for which no preparations were made by Cameron and Osborne, and on which this timid Government has failed to capitalise. But it lives on as an idea whose time could still come  unless or until Sir Keir Starmer takes over.

Governing is difficult, I know that, and it is easy enough to criticise. But who can doubt that these past 13 years have been largely wasted? The Tories have been managerial, rather than strategic in their thinking  and they haven't been much good at managing.

In many ways, the Tories' period in office might as well have never happened. As I shall discuss in tomorrow's Mail on Sunday, we live in a state largely fashioned by New Labour. Unlike successive ineffectual Tory administrations, the Blairites and Brownites knew what they wanted to achieve. They left a legacy.

And now, in what may be the dying days of the Tories, the National Conservatives come up with some interesting ideas, many of which sound familiar to those of us with long memories.

Might not championing these ideas help revive Tory fortunes among voters who feel ignored and marginalised by a Government whose preoccupations seem so very far from their concerns?

I believe in miracles, so maybe the Tories will astonish us and win next year's election. More likely, they'll find themselves in the political wilderness. In either event, I live in hope that this broken party will one day become Conservative again.
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
Today, the phrase People's Princess has an unshakeable association with the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

So it might come as a surprise to learn of an earlier People's Princess, a woman who was also known for her charity work and who, like Diana, was a favourite with the public.

But there the comparisons stop. Because Princess Mary Adelaide would eventually earn a very different reputation thanks to her love of parties, luxury living and general excess.

In due course, 'Fat Mary' as she was known, was forced to flee the country.

Princess Mary was known as the 'People's Princess' because of her charity work. She also acquired the less fortunate nickname of 'Fat Mary'

Princess Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth of Cambridge was born in 1833. Mary and her sister Princess Augusta were the last people to carry the title Princess of Cambridge until Princess Charlotte was born in 2015

Princess Mary Adelaide, later known as the Duchess of Teck, with her husband Prince Franz of Teck, later known as the Duke of Teck. Circa 1885

Today, Princess Mary Adelaide has largely been forgotten, although as mother to Queen Mary - wife of George V - she was great grandmother to King Charles and holds a significant position in the royal family tree.

Doubtless in time, William and Kate's daughter Charlotte, Princess of Cambridge, will look her up as Mary Adelaide had been the last to hold the title Princess of Cambridge with her sister with her sister Augusta.

Born in 1933, Princess Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth was the daughter of Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge and Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, a granddaughter of King George III and cousin of Queen Victoria.

The sisters also had a brother called George, who was Prince of Cambridge before he inherited his fathers dukedom.

The family grew up in Hanover, where their father served as the areas viceroy - the King's representative - on behalf George IV and then William IV.

German was her native language.

As Mary Adelaide grew up, she became a favourite in the public eye - more so than her sister.

And thanks to her charitable work, she quickly became known as the Peoples Princess, the same name later accorded Princess Diana.

At 33, Mary Adelaide married another German speaker, Austrian-born Prince Franz of Teck.

The couple were to be known as the Duke and Duchess of Teck and had four children: Princess Mary, Prince Adolphus, Prince Francis and Prince Alexander.

Prince Mary and her husband lived at White Lodge in Richmond Park, London for a number of years. (Today, White Lodge is home to the Royal Ballet School).

The couple lived at White Lodge in Richmond Park - a Palladian villa commissioned by George II. Today it is home to the Royal Ballet School

The Duke and Duchess spent extravagantly and would eventually flee the country to escape their creditors

Princess Mary Adelaide and her husband had four children: Princess Mary, Prince Adolphus, Prince Francis and Prince Alexander

Queen Victoria was particularly fond of their eldest daughter Princess Mary, who was also known as Princess May

For all the seeming grandeur, however, they were living well beyond their means.

The couple became famous for their lavish parties and extravagant expenditure that in 1883 they fled Britain to avoid their creditors.

They bounced between familys homes in Germany and Austria, at one point hiding in Florence. It was not until 1885 that they returned home.

Even so, Queen Victoria was particularly fond of their eldest daughter, Princess Mary, also known as Princess May.

Victoria visited the princess at Kensington Palace (her own childhood home) just after Mary's birth and wrote: In the former bedroom, in which Mama and I slept, [I found] dear Mary, Aunt Cambridge, and the baby  a very fine child, with quantities of hair  brushed up into a curl on the top of its head.

When she was older, Mary became engaged to Queen Victorias grandson Prince Albert Victor, the eldest son of Prince Edward VII and his wife Alexandra.

Tragedy struck, however, when he died suddenly of pneumonia when he was just 28-years-old, the consequence of an influenza pandemic.

As a result, Queen Victoria persuaded Mary Adelaide to marry his brother, Prince George instead.

The couple married in May 1893 - just a few months before the death of her mother, Princess Mary Adelaide who died on October 27 1897 after an emergency operation.

Her daughter, Princess Mary, however, later had a key role in the modern royal family we know today.

Following the death of King Edward VII in 1901, George V became King and Princess Mary his Queen Consort. The late Queen Elizabeth was her granddaughter. Pictured: Queen Mary and Princess Elizabeth in 1927

Following the death of King Edward VII in 1901, Prince George became King and Princess Mary his Queen Consort.

They had two children together, King Edward VIII, who only served for 325 days and was never crowned, and King George VI, Queen Elizabeths father.

Princess Mary of Adelaides great-great-great-grandson is Prince William, who was given the Dukedom of Cambridge on his marriage in 2011.

Princess Charlotte is the first Princess of Cambridge since.
For all the latest Royal news, pictures and video click here

But she swapped into a backless Stella McCartney dress for evening reception

Meghan Markle's stunning wedding gown was everything royal fans had hoped for - and more - as she walked down the aisle towards Prince Harry.

The Duchess of Sussex moved her groom to tears in the classic silk gown in pure white, with a 15ft veil embroidered with flowers of the Commonwealth.

The dress, designed by Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy, was minimal yet classic, the main focus being the open bateau neckline that gracefully framed the shoulders and sculpted Meghan's waist.

However, another wedding dress would soon be on view that day - five years ago today. And this one wowed the crowds in quite a different way.

For the wedding ceremony at St George's Chapel, Windsor, on May 19, 2018, Meghan wore a pure white silk Givenchy dress

The elegant dress by designer Clare Waight Keller had a simple bateau neckline and a long train

As with other royal brides, Meghan changed into a second dress for the evening, this time opting for a bespoke Stella McCartney design

The ceremony had taken place St George's, Windsor, on May 19 2018 in front of 600 guests.

Afterwards, however, 200 of the bride and groom's closest friends and family went on to Frogmore House on the Windsor estate for an evening reception hosted by Prince Charles .

As with other royal brides, Meghan changed into a second dress for the intimate gathering, this time opting for a bespoke Stella McCartney design.

While the first dress was expected to be a 'traditional and elegant' wedding gown, the second was a modest yet more glamorous number.

The slinky evening dress was made from silk crepe and the halter neck gown was pure white just like Meghan's 200,000 Givenchy number for the ceremony.

The backless number allowed the Duchess of Sussex to show off her toned shoulders and back and the figure-hugging gown featured a dramatic fluted skirt.

Meghan paired the evening gown with heels by Aquazurra made in silky satin with nude mesh and soles painted in baby blue.

Meghan wore an aquamarine ring belonging to the late Lady Diana Spencer, thought to have been a sentimental gift from Prince Harry so as to include his mother on the big day.

The evening halter-neck dress was made from silk crepe and the halter neck gown was pure white. Here Meghan and Harry are pictured leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House

The happy newlyweds danced the night away following an outfit change

The low-cut design of the evening gown showed off Meghan's back and shoulders

Meghan shows of an acquamarine ring that had once belonged to her mother-in-law, Diana

Prince Harry also had an outfit change into a sleek dinner suit with black tie as he and Meghan headed to the reception in an ice-blue vintage Jaguar.

Sharing a sketch of the design Meghan wore to the evening reception in 2018, British designer, Stella McCartney said:

'I am so proud and honoured to have been chosen by the Duchess of Sussex to make her evening gown and represent British design.

'It has truly been one of the most humbling moments of my career and I am so proud of all the team on this stunning sunny royal day,' she told fashion magazine Women's Wear Daily.

Many had suspected that Meghan would choose McCartney, given the designer's stance against using fur and leather, as well as her use of organic fabrics - an outlook which fits with Meghan and Harry's eco-friendly principles

Stella McCartney spoke of her pride as she shared a sketch of the evening halter neck gown

Unlike the dress worn during the ceremony, the evening gown had a smaller train and the slinky material meant Meghan and Harry could dance the night away.

Her hair - styled by George Northwood - was up in a tight bun with face-framing layers, which perfectly suited the dress and the less-formal evening occasion.

Celebrity stylist Lucas Armitage revealed to Femail that the gown would probably have cost around 80,000 for fabric, design and fittings.

Kate, the Princess of Wales, also wore two wedding dresses on her big day in 2011, which were both designed by Alexander McQueen's Sarah Burton.
An young woman who was told to leave a beach because her 'bikini was too small' has hit back saying 'no one should care' if she wears skimpy clothes because 'she's hot'.

Annie Knight, 26, who claims to be in the top 0.4 per cent of creators on OnlyFans, says she was spending a Saturday at the beach when an 'old wrinkly' woman approached her and told her to leave.

The influencer says the woman was 'clearly just jealous of her' and that she should be able to wear what she likes.

'I just had a woman come up to me at the beach and tell me I had to leave because my bikini is too small,' the OnlyFans star explained.

'It is a micro bikini but who cares, I'm hot.

Scroll down for video

Annie Knight, who claims to be in the top 0.4 per cent of creators on OnlyFans, says she was spending a Saturday at the beach when an 'old wrinkly' woman approached her and told her to leave

Annie said that no one should care about her wearing the micro bikini (pictured) because she's 'hot'

'She was so so rude to me, she was the definition of a Karen,' the Gold Coast influencer added in a TikTok clip.

'She was obviously just jealous of me because I'm young a hot and she's old and wrinkly.

'Honestly if you feel uncomfortable just move away.

'I made it my mission to stay there longer than her.

'F*** you, you're not the council, let me f***ing live,' she went on.

Annie is no stranger to risque bikinis and loves to pose in micro swimsuits

The influencer says she was wearing a 'micro-bikini' but it shouldn't matter, and that the woman was 'clearly just jealous of her'

Annabelle previously revealed she was fired from her marketing job after her boss discovered her OnlyFans account  and believes a colleague dobbed her in.

Poll Do you think the bikini is too skimpy for the beach? Yes, it's inappropriate No, let people wear whatever Do you think the bikini is too skimpy for the beach? Yes, it's inappropriate 1369 votes

No, let people wear whatever 956 votes Now share your opinion





The former marketing manager started her OnlyFans in September 2020, in a bid to save money to buy a house but had never expected it to become so lucrative so quickly.

Within a month Annabelle made thousands, and continued to use it for the next 18 months as a side project to her full-time job, averaging $1,794-a-month.

She now makes around $969 a day sharing saucy photos of herself online.

'I am pleased to [have been fired] an extent, I'm a lot happier now and have a lot more freedom,' Annabelle told Jam Press.

'I'm earning a considerable amount more now than I was at the other job.'

The skimpy bikini had a g-string back
Kyle Richards has been flaunting her very svelte physique in new shoot while once again slamming rumors that she slimmed down with Ozempic.

The actress, 54, dazzled in a series of figure-hugging outfits as she posed up a storm in Manhattan for a feature in Art Bodega Magazine.

In one series of snaps, Kyle wolfed down a bowl of spaghetti - before hitting back at rumors about her weight loss as 'simply not true.'

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star instead credited a new fitness regime for her enviable physique which includes two hours of gym, going hiking, and quitting alcohol.

Kyle Richards has been flaunting her very svelte figure in new shoot while once again slamming rumors that she slimmed down with Ozempic

In one series of snaps, Kyle wolfed down a bowl of spaghetti - before hitting back at rumors about her weight loss as 'simply not true'

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star dazzled in a series of figure-hugging outfits for a feature in Art Bodega Magazine

She credited a new fitness regime for her enviable physique which includes two hours of gym, going hiking, and quitting alcohol

In recent weeks Kyle has been accused of taking the medication Ozempic to achieve weight loss.

Alluding to the rumors, she said: 'If people think that I would take any drugs to lose weight, that is simply not true. I've worked very hard.

'I am sure if my mother would have had the knowledge of how you can take hormones and improve your health after your 50s, find ways to eat and take care of yourself, which is something I study diligently and I am concerned about on a daily basis, she might not have died of breast cancer.

'I've read studies of how alcohol can affect you. I used to drink very moderately, not even two glasses of wine and I would get hungry all the time. I would start eating cookies - it was so unhealthy.

'That prompted my decision to quit alcohol, start exercising more. I was in a better mood; why change that?'

Elsewhere she discussed her new fitness regime, and revealed: 'I wake up early in the morning to hit the gym for two hours.

'I love biking, hiking - I work very, very, hard to be healthy. I read all the books about how to feel better, for my own wellbeing.

'It's important to take care of yourself, and that's why I quit drinking 10 months ago. It has allowed me to lose weight and feel amazing inside and out.'

In recent weeks Kyle has been accused of taking the medication Ozempic to achieve weight loss after posing in a very tiny black bikini with a bra top and low cut bottom

Alluding to the rumors, she said: 'If people think that I would take any drugs to lose weight, that is simply not true. I've worked very hard'

Kyle had previously told DailyMail.com that she found it frustrating to see her hard work dismissed as the result a 'cheat drug'

Kyle had previously told DailyMail.com that she found it frustrating to see her hard work dismissed as the result a 'cheat drug.'

'When people try to blame my appearance on surgery or Ozempic, which would be completely irresponsible to use when diabetics cant get their hands on it, its really frustrating to me.'

'It bothers me. Id rather just inspire people with what I'm doing so they can try the same things Ive been doing and see what happens to them.'

Ozempic is a drug usually prescribed to individuals who have type 2 diabetes and need to improve their blood sugar.

In 2021, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved approved semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic, for weight management in adults with obesity or overweight with at least one related condition such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol.
Newly-released photographs have pictured Princess Anne hard at work in London, as she attended a Colour Parade of the voluntary First Aid Nursing Yeomanry.

The images, taken on Wednesday, show the Princess Royal in her full military get-up as she stood watch over the parade - before meeting with some of those involved.

Anne, 72, has been the Commandant-in-Chief of the Corps since 1981. The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry is an independent, all-female charity that was formed in 1901.

It was active in both nursing and intelligence work during the World Wars.

Wednesday's Colour Parade was described as an 'important milestone' for the Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps by the British defence ministry.

Newly-released photographs have pictured Princess Anne hard at work in London, as she attended a Colour Parade of the voluntary First Aid Nursing Yeomanry

The images, taken on Wednesday, show the Princess Royal in her full military get-up as she stood watch over the parade - before meeting with some of those involved

Anne, 72, has been the Commandant-in-Chief of the Corps since 1981. The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry is an independent, all-female charity that was formed in 1901

The Ministry of Defence said: 'It saw them transfer from the aegis of The Royal Corps of Signals to become part of London district.

'This reflects the focus of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry within the capital, given that for many years, in order to be a FANY, you needed to live or work within London, so that you could deploy rapidly when needed.'

Last year marked a record year for the Corps, with 950 days of voluntary support given.

This is 'something the 2023 recruits will be more than aware of as they celebrated with their Passing Out', a celebration which took place under the watchful eye of Princess Anne.

Wednesday's Colour Parade was described as an 'important milestone' for the Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps by the British defence ministry

The Ministry of Defence said: 'It saw them transfer from the aegis of The Royal Corps of Signals to become part of London district'

Last year marked a record year for the Corps, with 950 days of voluntary support given

The Parade set off at 7.10pm led by the Colour Party - and received a Royal Salute

The Parade set off at 7.10pm led by the Colour Party - and received a Royal Salute.

The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry are on call 24/7 and deploy multi-faceted rapid response teams to support civil and military authorities in times of crisis.

In the Second World War, some 6,000 served with the Special Operations Executive and Auxiliary Territorial Service as agents, drivers, coders, signallers and support staff.

The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry are on call 24/7 and deploy multi-faceted rapid response teams to support civil and military authorities in times of crisis

The late Queen had trained with the FANY as a driver as Princess Elizabeth in 1945

The late Queen had trained with the FANY as a driver as Princess Elizabeth in 1945.

The new images come after the Princess Royal took part in a ceremony of remembrance for National Service veterans on Thursday.

Anne had visited the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire to commemorate ex-servicemen.

The National Service was introduced as a form of peacetime conscription for British men after WWII and was demobilised in 1960, with the last servicemen discharged in 1963.
The Prince and Princess of Wales's 'slick' Instagram reels will create a new generation of royal fans, says Richard Eden.

Speaking on this week's episode of PALACE CONFIDENTIAL, the Daily Mail's diary editor said the couple were 'trying to reach a younger audience' with their videos on social media - including a behind-the-scenes round up of the King's Coronation.

Whereas some, including the Daily Mail's Sarah Vine, had criticised the Waleses for the incredibly slick clips, Eden disagreed and made the point that the videos would reach 'people who are less supportive of the royal family generally'.

Rebecca English, royal editor at the Daily Mail, also thought the couple's 'social media blitz' would win over young people.

She noted that, while overall support for the royal family was high among the British public, there was a 'generational difference' in levels of support.

The Daily Mail's royal editor Rebecca English and diary editor Richard Eden discussed the Prince and Princess of Wales and their new Instagram strategy on this week's episode of Palace Confidential

Speaking to Jo Elvin, she said: 'Support [for the royal family] is really rock solid amongst the older generation, but not so much amongst the younger generation.

'So the Waleses have been looking at this for a while and they've really ramped it up since Easter. 'How do we tell our story to these people? How do we engage them?''

She added that, as well as showing people what their lives are like as people, the videos also gave the Waleses a chance to share the work they are carrying out on issues such as homelessness.

However, she added the 'jury is still out' on whether or not the Waleses are going about this in the right way.

'These social media clips are almost topo well put together, there's a lot of jazzy music that goes with it,' she said.

The Waleses have begun posting 'slick' edited videos on their Instagram account showing behind-the-scenes clips of events they have attended, including King Charles's Coronation

Jo Elvin added: 'Arguably [the videos] could be a little bit alienating for the younger generations, couldn't they? So much wealth, so much gloss.'

English said a source in the royal household had told her the Waleses had got the 'right idea' but that there was still some discussion about the slick production of the videos.

Eden joked that there might be a 'competition' between the Waleses and the King and Queen, who are now advertising for their own videographer, presumably to produce similar content.

He said: 'It's quite amusing but that's what you've got to do if you want to reach different age groups.'

The pair made the point that the royals have not yet joined TikTok, amid scepticism from the British government over its security after government workers were banned from downloading the Chinese-founded app onto their work devices.

However he joked that if the royals did join TikTok, he was looking forward to seeing King Charles and Queen Camilla involved in a 'dance-off' against the Prince and Princess of Wales.

English laughed: 'If they don't do it, AI will do it for them.'

She also revealed that the Waleses have had talks with TikTok, but it was more to gain an understanding of how the platform works.

Elsewhere in the episode, the panellists discussed the 'stalemate' between King Charles and Prince Andrew, over the Duke's occupancy of the Royal Lodge on the Windsor Estate.

It has been reported that the King had planned to throw out Andrew and instead move the Prince and Princess of Wales into the property, which the Duke, 63, has spent tens of thousands of pounds of his own money doing up.

But Eden disagreed with the idea, and the extraordinary suggestion this week that Charles could 'cut off' resources to the property.

'Prince Andrew thinks, quite rightly, 'why on earth should I move? I spent all my money doing up this house' he said.

'He's got a 75 year lease, so he's got it for life and I think he's outraged at the idea that he should have to move at all.'

For now, neither side will budge, and that's not a good look, argued English.

'There is stalemate, so where do they go from here? The King's made really clear, 'we feel that you should move out'.

Andrew's saying, 'no way I'm doing that, I took on that role in good faith',' she said.

'Then there are the optics. Is it right that in this day and age, is it right that a non-working royal should be living in a fabulous 30-room house, just him and his ex-wife?'
Akshata Murty has made an elegant global debut at the G7 Summit as she led premiers' partners for a series of activities.

As the forum began this morning, Rishi Sunak's wife struck a sophisticated chord in a cream and ivory ensemble.

After passing through Tokyo, the 43-year-old touched down in Hiroshima with a green 675 Joseph midi dress and a Union Jack umbrella.

Akshata  who is rumoured to be working with the stylist of former Tory first lady Samantha Cameron  has worn a selection of brands from the British high street for the visit.

This afternoon she chose a 295 pink floral dress from royal favourite ME+EM to attend the spouses' programme in Hiroshima, while earlier she donned a 350 turtleneck from Joseph and 150 Sezane skirt to visit a memorial.

Akshata Murty has made an elegant global debut at the G7 Summit as she led premiers' partners for a series of activities in Hiroshima today

She struck a sophisticated chord (pictured left, arriving at Hiroshima yesterday, and right, visiting the Peace Memorial Park)



In an excellent example of 'dopamine dressing'  dressing to lift the mood  her bright pink Chinti & Parker jumper and emerald green Me+Em trousers looked cheerfully optimistic as she and Rishi first arrived in Japan this week.

Their hues were no doubt carefully chosen for that all-important 'feel-good factor' that every First Lady needs to convey when her husband is hoping to secure billions of pounds of Japanese investment for the UK.

The mother of two opted for a cream ensemble as she joined a number of other First Ladies at Peace Memorial Park, which commemorates the 135,000 civilians who were killed by the 1945 nuclear blast.

Japan's First Lady Yuko Kishida was also present, bowing at the cenotaph to mark the tragedy.

But there appeared to be a moment of levity as the partners smiled while making their way back from the park.

Yuko, 58, appeared in high spirits as she spoke with US First Lady, Jill Biden.

The PM's wife was later seen chatting with other leaders' partners as she kicked off day one of the conference

Akshata teamed her colourful dress with a chic black blazer, opting for minimal accessories for the day. Pictured at the spouses' programme of the G7 Summit

Akshata and the other partners listened attentively as they attended the the spouses' programme of G7 Summit

The PM's wife speaking at the event today, having kicked off today's summit after arriving in Hiroshima yesterday

It is suspected Akshata's move towards more middle-class options comes in a bid to be more favourable with the electorate. Pictured today at the spouses programme of G7 Summit

The 71-year-old wore an all-navy ensemble for the visit.

Later, the partners were pictured at the spouses' programme, where Akshata wore a hot pink 295 dress from ME + EM with a black blazer and heels.

Akshata's canny use of sartorial diplomacy was also made clear before the Coronation when she greeted Ukraine's First Lady, Olena Zelenska, in a 200 blossom-print shirt by Sleeper, a Ukrainian label.

The following day, she hosted Ms Biden while wearing blue suede LK Bennett heels and a 325 silk dress by Rixo, a British label whose dresses have also been worn by the Princess of Wales and actresses Sandra Bullock and Margot Robbie.

But it was at the Coronation itself that Akshata really showed her fashion flair.

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko posed with Rishi and Akshata as the day kicked off at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park

Since the bombing in 1945, Hiroshima has been rebuilt to become Japan's tenth largest city and is where this week's summit is hosted

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty were welcomed by Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko

Akshata Murty and Jill Biden were sombre today as they led G7 premiers' partners' at a moving memorial for atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima, Japan

The wife of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britta Ernst, and Ursula von der Leyen's husband Heiko also appeared emotional as they today laid down wreaths at Peace Memorial Park

The partners of the G7 Summit at a memorial site this morning

Each leader was given a golden shovel and dropped one shovelful of dirt around the cherry tree, which was planted to mark their visit

Rishi Sunak's wife, 43, appeared especially emotional as she walked over to the site before the flowers were laid down today

Her dress  powder blue, belted at the waist, with a subtle print of roses  was perfectly pitched neither to stand out nor blend in, and was sensibly paired with black heels, a black clutch and a black Jane Taylor hat.

The dress, by Shropshire-based designer Claire Mischevani, created so much demand for the small, rather unknown label that, two weeks after the Coronation, Mischevani's website still has a message on its homepage advising customers that there will be a 'short delay' in the delivery of their orders.

Meanwhile, at the Coronation Big Lunch that took place in Downing Street the following day, Akshata opted for an 85 blue Boden shirt embroidered with red hearts, coordinating Me+Em red trousers and blue and white shoes. Another example of electorate-friendly elegance.

Rixo, Boden and LK Bennett have all noticed an uptick in sales as a result.

Despite being incredibly wealthy  her and Rishi are estimated to be worth 730million together  it is suspected Akshata's move towards more middle-class options comes in a bid to be more favourable with the electorate.

In recent weeks, Akshata has taken a leaf out of Samantha Cameron and Carrie Johnson's book, two former Tory First Ladies who made a point of dressing in labels with price points they could comfortably afford.

Akshata Murty in Tokyo earlier this week

Getting off the plane at Tokyo earlier this week, Akshata dressed to lift the mood in a pink Chinti & Parker jumper and emerald green Me+Em trousers

Former Samantha Cameron PA and dresser Isabel Spearman was seen going into Number 10 ahead of the Coronation earlier this month

In fact, if rumours are to be believed, Akshata has even used the woman who masterminded Samantha's wardrobe choices, fashion consultant Isabel Spearman.

Spearman has neither confirmed nor denied any such arrangement  but was spotted heading into No 10 just days before the Coronation.

Now, all eyes are on Ms Murty as she joins her husband for the G7 Summit in Japan.

The world leaders are gathering as Russia is threatening to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine and North Korea has been conducting tests of nuclear missiles.

'We need to send out a strong message that we will not tolerate the use of force to change the status quo unilaterally as witnessed with Russia's invasion of Ukraine... that we will protect the international order based on rule of law,' Kishida told the Japan Times in April.

'We won't allow the treat of nuclear weapons by Russia.'

Since the bombing in 1945, Hiroshima has been rebuilt to become Japan's tenth largest city.

On the first morning of the G7, the leaders toured Hiroshima's Peace Park and Memorial Museum.

While there, Joe Biden, 80, met with Keiko Ogura, a hibakusha or an atomic bomb survivor. She was eight years old on August 6, 1945.

The G7 leaders  which include the heads of the United States, the European Union, Canada, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France and Japan  then took a moment to stand at the memorial to pay their respects. Many bowed their heads.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose family is from Hiroshima, was seen speaking to them and pointing out parts of the park.

Akshata showed her fashion flair at the Coronation earlier this month, opting for a powder blue dress by Shropshire-based designer Claire Mischevani

She hosted US First Lady Jill Biden at Number 10 earlier this month, dressed in blue suede LK Bennett heels and a 325 silk dress by Rixo

They also posed for a group photo in front of the memorial before moving further down the park to participate in a tree-planting ceremony.

Each leader was given a golden shovel and dropped one shovelful of dirt around the cherry tree, which was planted to mark their visit.

'Through their visit to the Peace Memorial Park, the G7 leaders deepened their understanding of the reality of the atomic bombings and joined their hearts in consoling the souls of lost lives,' Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement.

'The G7 leaders reiterated their position that threats by Russia of nuclear weapon use, let alone its use are inadmissible.

'We are convinced that this visit became an opportunity to confirm G7's commitment to the realisation of a world without nuclear weapons,' the ministry said.
Must read: I gave my husband a threesome for his 40th birthday

She is the granddaughter of the property magnate and porn publisher Paul Raymond, and made the Sunday Times rich list when she was just 16.

Yet India Rose James, 31, has insisted she is not a 'nepo baby.'

The mother-of-one was left roughly 300m after her grandfather died in 2008, making her richer than the Queen.

But after years of 'having no motivation', she now the Soho Revue Gallery in Greek Street, London.

She says that, while the money gave her a leg up, she works hard and her credit card has a 'limit'.

She is the granddaughter of the property magnate and porn publisher Paul Raymond, and made the Sunday Times rich list when she was just 16. Yet India Rose, 31, has insisted she is not a 'nepo baby'

Speaking to The Times, she said that - at a recent party - people were talking of nepo-babies and some looked at her.

She added, 'What can I say? I was left money, which undoubtedly gave me a leg up.

'But I set up the gallery on my own; I pay a higher percentage to the artists than most galleries because I want to invest in the creative community.

'If I inherit some money, does that make me a nepo baby? I dont think so.'

In 2013 India, then 21, was the youngest person to make the Sunday Times Rich List, her vast 329million making her richer than the Queen.

Paul Raymond, India's beloved grandfather 'Papa', opened the famously raunchy Raymond Revuebar in 1958 before branching out and founding his own adult magazine empire in 1964.

Over the following years ploughed his profits into property to the extent that it was said he bought a freehold a week in 1977. The nickname 'the King of Soho' followed.

When Paul died in 2008, the majority of his portfolio was left to India and her half-sister Fawn (whose biological father is Duncan Mackay from the rock band 10cc, but was adopted by India's father John James as a child) then aged 16 and 22, respectively. A hefty chunk was also left to Paul's son Howard.

India and Fawn's mother Debbie Raymond, Paul's daughter, died of a drug overdose at the age of 36, leaving behind ten-month-old India and six-year-old Fawn.

Paul Raymond at his RevueBar in Soho, London with Linzi Drew (left) and unknown model in around 1981

India, whose 329million fortune saw her beat the Queen's wealth and make the Sunday Times rich list at just 21, posted a glimpse at her '30th Yule Ball' on Instagram

The family fortune, which was estimated at 482 million in the 2016 Sunday Times rich list, is derived from a property empire that includes the site of Soho House, nightclub The Box, and the former premises of the bookshop Foyles.

In 2020 India, who at one point was nicknamed the 'Princess of Soho', revealed she was 18 months sober after quitting and her hard-partying ways to become a better role model for her daughter Sapphire, now seven.

She says she has now been sober for five years and enjoys a 'clear head'.

India now counts an art gallery and book among her achievements, and she is also working on renovating the famous Madame JoJo's in Soho.

She spends her days chasing suppliers and sorting out shipping quotes.

She also collects art, and has pieces from Howard Hodgkin and Tracey Emin.

But she insists that she always looks at the price tag and that her credit card has a limit.

Despite this, she is known for her extravagenace.

In 2021, she threw a lavish Harry Potter-themed 30th birthday party.

Along with India's magical, custom-made LED dress taking centre stage, the sumptious bash included a bookshelf with a hidden bar behind it, a boa constrictor, a tattoo bar and an army of performers performing a martial arts inspired dance during a sit-down meal.

Invites came in the form of wizardly gold coins, while posters echoing those of Sirius Blacks face were plastered across the wall, bearing the faces of India's friends including model Tigerlily Taylor and actor Matt Smith.

Meanwhile India's custom dress was designed by India's pal and London-based designer Sonny Tassell, featuring clever LED lights which lit up in the dark.
As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex mark their fifth wedding anniversary, their lives have changed exponentially since the day of their nuptials at St George's Chapel in Windsor in 2018.

The couple now have two children, Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet Diana, 23 months, they live in Montecito, California, and they are no longer working members of the royal family.

Following their decision to leave the UK and step down as senior royals in January 2020, a rift has formed between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family, which has no doubt been exacerbated in recent months by the couple's 88 million Netflix series Harry & Meghan and the release of Prince Harry's bombshell memoir, Spare.

In the Netflix documentary, they revealed what their time living in the UK was like after they married in May 2018, and shared stories of feeling uncomfortable in the limelight as senior members of the royal family.

However, the couple also revealed happier times as they reminisced over their 'fairytale' wedding reception and Meghan revealed how much it had meant to her that King Charles had walked her down the aisle and how she had dubbed the day a 'modern fairytale' in her wedding speech.

As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary, FEMAIL looks back on their 'modern fairytale' wedding day in which they celebrated with joyous guests and had their first dance to Land of a Thousand Dances (pictured)

The order of service itself was a break from tradition in some ways as the couple chose an American Bishop, Reverend Michael Curry, to deliver a rousing sermon which captivated audiences around the world and became one of the standout events of the day.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain after the wedding, Rev Curry was glowing about the newlywed couple saying their love and wedding had brought together a diverse group people.

'The love between those two people, between that royal couple, was so powerful, not only did we all show up, but it brought all these different worlds together, he said on GMA.

'It brought different nationalities, different ethnicities, different religious traditions, people of all stripes and types, people of different political persuasions, actually for a moment we were together, organized around love.'

Following a dispute with her father Thomas Markle, who did not attend her wedding at St George's Chapel in Windsor, the Duchess instead asked her father-in-law King Charles to walk her down the aisle

The Prince and Princess of Wales and Prince George and Princess Charlotte were front-and-centre during the wedding day of the Sussexes

He also spoke of the hope the couple's marriage had given to people around the world, adding: 'They're going to work to make this world better and empowering women is one of the ways we do that.'

The little details within the wedding ceremony also hinted at the Duke and Duchess's commitment to serving as senior royals - such as Meghan's stunning wedding veil, into which was embroidered a flower from every single Commonwealth country.

In Harry and Meghan's Netflix documentary, the Duchess revealed the difficult situation she found herself in days before the wedding when her own father, Thomas Markle, had been found to have staged paparazzi photos and communication between the pair broke down.

When it became apparent that Mr Markle would not be attending the wedding, Meghan asked King Charles, her father-in-law, to walk her down the aisle and give her away, in what was a touching moment to witness.

Speaking in the documentary, Meghan said: 'Harry's dad is very charming. And I said to him, like, 'I've lost my dad in this'.

'So him, as my father-in-law, was really important to me. So I asked him to walk me down the aisle and he said yes.'

Now-embattled brothers Prince William and Prince Harry were side-by-side on Harry's wedding day with the Prince of Wales as the best man

The Duchess also revealed in the documentary how the wedding reception had been planned so the music would be 'fun' and said the couple had had their first dance to Land of a Thousand Dances by Wilson Pickett.

She asked Harry: 'Song of Thousand Dances? A Thousand Dances? I always get it wrong.'

The Duchess added: 'That was our first dance. It was so fun. Just spinning like a whirlwind. It was so great.'

The series also shared a series of previously unseen snaps from the reception in which the guests looked overjoyed to be celebrating the couple.

Photographs showed the couple cutting their cake, the Duke of Sussex giving a speech while the Duchess looked on and her mother Doria Ragland cheering next to Camilla and Prince William at Windsor Castle.

Another image showed the late Queen beaming and one showed the Princess of Wales at the drinks reception speaking to another guest.

Elsewhere, Prince Harry could be seen offering Doria a kiss on the cheek after the ceremony, while another image showed Charles and Meghan greeting one another.

There were also a number of pictures from the drinks reception which followed at Windsor Castle.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding reception produced many joyful photos, including one of the groom laughing with guest and DJ Idris Elba

One showed Sir Elton John performing on a piano for the crowd which included Meghan's mother Doria.

Meghan even shared an excerpt of her wedding reception speech in the documentary, which revealed how she thought her nuptials were like a 'modern fairytale'.

Reading out a line from the speech, she referred to 'a story that I wrote about the man that I love and the way that we met. Lets call this a modern fairytale.'

Another photograph showed the couple apparently offering a brief speech to the guests at the event. They can be seen cutting their wedding cake in another snap.

Today, following several years of a deepening rift between the Sussexes and other members of the royal family, the couple are understood to have little to no contact with their in-laws, but on their wedding day in 2018, things were very different.

Prince William, Princess Kate, Prince George and Princess Charlotte all had front-and-centre placing in the wedding ceremony, with little Charlotte as a bridesmaid (although reports later emerged that the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex had fallen out over Charlotte's dress).

And the brothers themselves appeared closer than ever as they walked into St George's Chapel in Windsor, smiling as they strolled side-by-side. With William as Harry's best man, he joked ahead of time that 'revenge is sweet'.

When asked prior to the wedding how he felt at being named Harry's best man, William said: 'It feels great. Thrilled and delighted obviously. Revenge is sweet.'

It was an apparent reference to Harry's cheeky behaviour when he played the same role at William's wedding in 2011.

Underneath the public banter, where they once regularly poked fun at each other, the pair shared a special bond which was strengthened following the death of their mother Diana, Princess of Wales, in a Paris car crash.

When Harry's engagement was announced, William said his family were 'all very excited, delighted for them both and wishing them all the happiness in this very exciting time'.

He joked: 'For me personally I hope it means he stays out of my fridge, it will stop him scrounging off all my food, he's done over the last few years.'
A DJ has left Good Morning Britain viewers fuming as she insisted signing off work emails with kisses is 'suggestive' and 'weird'.

Broadcaster Neev Spencer, from London, told hosts Kate Garraway and Ben Shephard that the gesture is 'inappropriate' in a professional setting.

Discussing the subject on this morning's show, the mother said including kisses in emails is especially problematic if it's coming from someone in a position of authority.

It comes as an IT worker sued her boss for sex harassment after he marked an email where he wanted more information with 'xx'  which she took for kisses.

Neev said: 'You've got to think about the context here. If you're working with someone... if there's someone of the same sex and they're a friend, fine, put a kiss, put two kisses.

A DJ (pictured right) left Good Morning Britain audiences rolling their eyes when she insisted that writing 'x' kisses in emails is 'suggestive' and 'weird'. Left, Sadia Azmat

'But if its someone in a position of authority it's just weird. Putting two kisses is really bizarre - three, means it's on.'

However author Sadia Azmat, who was also on the show today, vehemently disagreed.

'I send three kisses a lot and it's never been on,' she remarked. 'Sometimes it's auto pilot, sometimes it's trying to be friendly, sometimes I don't even mean it - I just put it.'

Sadia continued that the tension around the topic makes people feel needlessly paranoid at work now.

She continued: 'People are too afraid at work now... People are too afraid to be their authentic self.

'You spend so long at work you have to be able to be comfortable and be yourself.

'But having too much of this tension around it makes people feel a bit like, on edge and then that's what makes things uncomfortable because then you can't have these conversations when you kind of could nip something in the bud a little bit earlier and save everybody a bit of embarrassment.'

Sadia added that she hates sign offs like 'kind regards' and 'best wishes' - which feel 'fake'.

However, Neev was adamant that the inclusion of kisses leaves too much up in the air in a corporate setting

Comedian Sadia said that the tension around the topic makes people feel needlessly paranoid at work now

A DJ left Good Morning Britain audiences rolling their eyes when she insisted that writing 'x' kisses in emails is 'suggestive' and 'weird'

Ben also agreed, admitting that he doesn't see the x's as real kisses, which Sadia also said are more like a 'nice warm sentiment' rather than a suggestion of something sexual or romantic.

'As long as it doesn't say "can we start an affair" I don't see a problem,' Sadia added.

'I think you know when someone's trying it on and the thing is I trust men enough to know that if they're not interested they'll let you know.

'You have to start with something and give people a chance... It's not a kiss, it's just an x!'

However, Neev was adamant that the inclusion of kisses leaves too much up in the air.

'I have wasted a lot of time looking at this evidence with friends and going "what does he mean, he's put two kisses or three",' she told the programme.

'Now Ben you said earlier that you put kisses on all your emails - I mean you're just giving everyone such hope... A kiss is a kiss in my book...

Social media users hit out at the debate, and some left their own opinions on the topic of leaving 'x' kisses in work emails

'Two kisses is wrong, three is ridiculous.'

Unsurprisingly, the segment sparked fierce debate among GMG viewers - who took to Twitter to discuss the topic further.

'The woman in green must be offended permanently by everything,' one wrote, referring to Neev.

'OMG get a life seriously,' another quipped.

A third simply wrote: 'What a load of [poop emoji].'

Karina Gasparova claimed that Aleksander Goulandris's use of question marks in the 'xx' message was also code for asking her 'to engage in sexual acts'.

She said her superior was trying to 'chat her up' when talking business on a work call where he was running his hands through his hair and 'staring' at her, a London employment tribunal heard.

Ms Gasparova took her employers  paperless documents firm essDOCS  to the tribunal claiming sex harassment, discrimination and unfair dismissal. In April 2021 she submitted a detailed grievance against her boss and resigned when it was rejected twice.

But a judge-led panel has thrown out her case, ruling she has a 'skewed perception of everyday events' and regularly misinterpreted 'innocuous' interactions.

Ms Gasparova was also ordered to pay 5,000 to essDOCS for failing to comply with tribunal procedures in adequate time.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
A distraught donkey was spotted on camera crying for her newborn foal after it was stolen from an animal farm.

Baby Moon was cruelly snatched from a field at Millers Ark farm in Hampshire, on Monday - and now a 10,000 reward is being offered for its safe return.

The national campaign has sparked outrage across the country, with animal lovers calling for the two-month-old to be reunited with its mother Astra.

The farm's owner, Elizabeth Miller, said she realised Moon was missing when she went to bring all of the mothers and foals back from the fields in the evening.

Elizabeth is gravely concerned that the adorable foal may not be strong enough to survive without it's mother, likewise Astra, who isn't coping well without her baby.

Distressed donkey Astra, was spotted on camera crying for her newborn foal after it was stolen from an animal farm

Baby Moon, aged two months, was cruelly snatched from a field at Millers Ark farm in Hampshire on Monday

The pair were said to be inseparable - and now a 10,000 reward is up for grabs for the foal's safe return

She told ITV: 'Astra has been just completely devastated, just really stressed, pacing up and down the fence line, braying.

'She doesn't know what to do with herself because all of her natural instincts are to find the foal.'

Elizabeth added that the poor donkey was so distraught, she had barely eaten since the incident, but all efforts were now in place to reunite the pair.

She also suggested that with the presence of unfamiliar faces at the farm, the foal could have been swiped as staff looked after visiting tourists.

She said: 'We feel she may have been lifted over the fence and taken away. They're very small and they're very friendly, so we think that's what has happened.'

Hampshire police and Isle of Wight news are on the case to find baby Moon and finally reunite her with her mother.

In a post on Facebook, the agency said: 'A rescue team are on standby and available if the location is disclosed to us 24/7 and we will ensure your personal details remain totally anonymous.'

The farm's owner, Elizabeth Miller, fears Moon may have been abducted while staff were busy tending to tourists

Elizabeth is gravely concerned that the adorable foal may not be strong enough to survive without it's mother

'This reward is not through the Police or any other Organisations so information would need to be passed directly to us on our message section for a reward to be paid once verified.'

'If you would rather contact the police then please call 101 with the reference 44230191581.'

In recent years, animal thefts have reached a seven-year high, with the equivalent of eight dogs being stolen every single day.

In 2021 alone 2,760 dogs were snatched from their owners, and the number of heart-breaking thefts has risen 16 per cent since 2015, according to new data.

The most likely breeds to be targeted are French Bulldogs, followed by Jack Russell Terriers and other small dogs like Chihuahuas and Pugs, figures revealed under the Freedom of Information Act and compiled by Direct Line Pet Insurance show.

Coronavirus restrictions over the last couple of years have led to a boom in the puppy market, with 3.8 million people getting a dog during the pandemic.

The demand has led to a rise in the cost of dogs, with pedigree French Bulldogs costing upwards of 3000, making them a lucrative target for criminals.

London was the worst hit area with 422 incidents reported to the Met police, followed by West Yorkshire and Kent.
Residents of an Austrian mountain town known for its shimmering lakes, soaring peaks and pretty church have taken action against swarms of selfie hunters they say are disturbing their peace.

Lakeside Halstatt, in the country's north, attracts more than a million tourists every year thanks to its picture-perfect scenery - but this week had a fence erected in its most famous vista point.

Search the town's name on Instagram and there's more than 33,000 posts dedicated to its beauty - with many of the images featuring tourists striking a pose for the Gram.

It's thought the Alpine scenery was used as inspiration for the kingdom of Arendelle in the Disney movie Frozen, and that's why it's proving such a hit with smartphone-wielding visitors from all over the globe.

The picturesque town of Halstatt, in Austria's north, is thought to have inspired Arendelle, the fictional mountain backdrop in Disney's 2013 film Frozen. This week, the town's Mayor, Alexander Scheutz, responded to residents complaints about continuous noise - and put a 'privacy screen' up

However, the locals who reside in their town say they've had enough of tourists posing up in their quiet streets - and the Mayor decided to literally block the view to stop them.

One resident, Andrea Zimmermann, told the ORF TV network in the country that her home just above the beauty spot was besieged by constant noise - to the point where her health was suffering.

Mayor Alexander Scheutz ordered a 'privacy screen' to be put up blotting out the horizon...but soon whipped it down again after a social media protest.

He told Upper Austrian News afterwards: 'It was just a tryout. We discussed it in the municipal council. But the plan has now been discarded, there will be no such privacy screen in Hallstatt.'

The beautiful mountain town attracts more than a million visitors every year

The reality for residents: one particular beauty spot offering a clear view of the town is awash with camera-wielding tourists, say locals

Smile like Anna! The town's church is visible in the background as tourists pose for a shot

He's not the first to start a war with tourists. In April, a tiny fishing village in Italy launched new anti-tourist measures with 275 fines for loitering in selfie hotspots in an attempt to put an end to 'anarchic chaos'.

The mayor of Portofino introduced a no-loitering rule in two 'red zones' where visitors often take photographs and tourism groups crowd together, The Times reported.

The no-waiting zones were put into effect amid the Easter break tourism boom that saw around 1.7million holidaymakers visiting Italian city centres, a 12 per cent increase from last year.

Portofino's newly instated no-waiting zone bans are active daily from morning time until 6pm. The bans will remain in effect through October 15.

Portofino's newly instated no-waiting zone bans are active daily from morning until 6pm. The bans will remain in effect through October 15. Pictured: Stock image of Portofino town and port with boats

Mayor Matteo Viacava insists the ban is not aimed at making the city 'more exclusive' but instead to 'allow everyone to enjoy our beauty' and 'avoid dangerous situations caused by overcrowding'.

He said the crowds of loitering tourists prevent access for emergency services which could be very dangerous.

The tiny fishing village, which has a population of 369, is known for its seafood, luxurious boutiques and pastel-coloured homes.

The village has reportedly been popular with celebrities. Both Steven Spielberg and Rhianna have been photographed holidaying in the yacht town.

Destinations across Europe have measures in place to discourage tourists, including Portofino, Italy which recently launched two 'red zones' where police can issue 275 fines to anyone who is loitering in selfie hotspots

But Mr Viacava claims there will not be favouritism towards stars when issuing loitering fines.

'Portofino isn't anyone's property, it belongs to everyone,' he said. 'Everyone must respect it.'

Several European cities have taken measures to discourage tourism and the negative behaviours associated with it.

Tourist chiefs in Amsterdam warned British men to 'stay away' as part of a major new operation to clean up the city and rid it of rowdy and hedonistic behaviour.

The new campaign features a staged video showing a young man being arrested after he was found stumbling along the city's streets.

The video features large red and white writing saying: 'Coming to Amsterdam for a messy night and getting trashed = 140 fine and a criminal record.'

It then shows the police officers taking the tourist to a prison cell and making him kneel down in front of a bed in a bizarre scene.

The footage is overlaid with red writing which reads: 'So coming to Amsterdam for a messy night? Stay away.'

Despite the campaign deliberately targeting young men from the UK, Dutch sex workers have come out in support of male British tourists.

WHERE TOURISTS HAVE BEEN TOLD TO STAY AWAY Portofino, Italy The mayor of Portofino has introduced a no-loitering rule in two 'red zones' where visitors often take photographs and tourism groups crowd together. The no-waiting zone bans are active daily from morning time until 6pm. The bans will remain in effect through October 15. Those caught violating the ban face a 275 fine. Lanzarote, Canary islands Lanzarote President Dolores Corujo has claimed the island was being saturated by British tourists. She said the island instead wants to accommodate more 'higher-quality' travellers from mainland Europe. Amsterdam, Netherlands Dutch tourist chiefs launched a new campaign warning British men to 'stay away' as part of a major new operation to clean up the city's red light district. Officials warned that those who come to Amsterdam for a 'messy night and getting trashed' will be hit with a 140 fine and a criminal record Siurana, Catalonia Mayor Salvador Salvado declared 'overcrowding' a problem in Siurana last year and declined to have the village featured in a tourism magazine. Siurana limits its car park to 200 vehicles, which Mr Salvado estimates allows for about 400 visitors to the area. He said he wants 'the town not to become crowded and for the people who arrive in Siurana to leave happy.' Venice, Italy Venice, the capital of northern Italy's Veneto region, this year announced a 3 to 10 entrance fee for all day visitors ages six and older. Alhambra, Granada Alhambra in Granada is also now requiring entrance fees - ranging from 3, 7 or 9 - and requires reservations for visitors. Mallorca, Spain Mallorca has moved to limit hotel beds to 430,000 in attempt to have 'tourism of greater value and less volume'. Calanque de Sugiton, France The Parc National des Calanques in Calanque de Sugiton, France now requires an online booking for entrance. Snowdonia National Park, Wales Spaces at the Pen-y-Pass car park, the closest to Snowdonia National Park, must now be pre-booked. Giants Causeway, Northern Ireland Tourism managers at the Giants Causeway, on the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland, have also cut the number of visitors welcomed at the park. Advertisement

Hundreds held a protest against the campaign in support of Brits - saying that they are not associated with bad behaviour any more than any other nationality - and attacking the campaign as an attempt to gentrify the heart of the Dutch capital.

Similarly, Lanzarote President Dolores Corujo last month claimed the island was being saturated by British tourists and instead wanted to accommodate more 'higher-quality' travellers from mainland Europe.

Ms Corujo claimed the island would pursue 'a diversification strategy to reduce dependence on the British market.'

But her remarks were met with backlash, including from the Tourist Federation of Lanzarote (FTL) which reiterated the island has 'very strong ties' with British tourists and will continue to be 'absolutely hospitable' towards them.

The tourism body called on Ms Corujo to 'clarify the situation' and meet with representatives from the UK market to reiterate that 'our island is open to the reception of visitors from any part of the world.'

The mayor of Siurana, a village in Catalonia, Spain, last year declined for the city to be featured in an annual list of the country's prettiest villages. Siurana's two car parks have a total capacity of 200.

Like Mr Viacava said of Portofino, Mayor Salvador Salvado declared 'overcrowding' a problem in Siurana and told The Times he wanted 'the town not to become crowded and for the people who arrive in Siurana to leave happy.'

Venice, the capital of northern Italy's Veneto region, this year announced a 3 to 10 entrance fee for all day visitors ages six and older.
The coronation outfits worn by King Charles and Queen Camilla are to go on public display at Buckingham Palace.

The clothing will form part of a special Coronation exhibition staged in the pale Ballroom to celebrate the historic service held at Westminster Abbey on 6 May.

Visitors will be able to examine Charles's Robe of Estate, which he wore as he exited the Abbey.

Other historic vestments worn at the moment of crowning, including the Coronation Glove, worn to hold the sceptre, the sword belt, which was around his waist, and the Stole Royal, will also be on show.

Camilla's dress featuring floral designs to show the couple's love of nature will also be in the exhibition.

King Charles pictured in full regalia in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace. He is wearing the Robe of Estate, the Imperial State Crown and is holding the Sovereign's Orb and Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross

Royal Collection Trusts Sally Goodsir, curator of the special display, said: 'We are delighted that visitors to the Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace will have the opportunity to view up close the ensembles worn by Their Majesties for key moments at the Coronation.

'We hope that visitors will enjoy learning about the incredible craftsmanship involved and discovering the history and personal associations behind Their Majesties Coronation ensembles.'

The Coronation display can be seen as part of the Summer Opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace, from 14 July  24 September 2023, with tickets available through the Royal Collection Trust website.

The display will focus on Charles's Robe of Estate, which he wore on Buckingham Palace balcony to wave at fans.

The historically significant item was worn by his grandfather King George VI for his Coronation in 1937 and is made of purple silk velvet with gold lace.

The Kings cream silk overshirt, worn throughout the service, and the Purple Coronation Tunic, will also be on show.

As too will the Stole Royal - which was presented to the King by The Prince of Wales during the service and worn for the moment of crowning.

The stole was newly created and embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework from a design prepared by the Royal College of Arms.

Queen Camilla is pictured in The Green Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace. She is wearing Queen Mary's Crown and Robe of Estate

The monarchs are pictured in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace after the historic coronation

And it was inspired by the stole worn by Queen Elizabeth II for her Coronation in 1953.

Its design features a series of roundels, set in a gold chain framework and applied to cloth of gold.

The embroidered images included the emblems of the United Kingdom - a dove of peace , a Tudor Crown, and a pattern inspired by the Cosmati Pavement in Westminster Abbey.

The Coronation Glove, worn to hold the Sovereigns Sceptre, and the King's girdle - also worn by King George VI at his Coronation in 1937 - will also be on display.

Royal fans who flock to see the items will no doubt note the theme of nature present on many of the clothes.

The King's overshirts collar and cuffs feature embroidered oak leaves and acorns, while the tunic is made of purple satin and trimmed with gold artillery lace.

While the Queen's Coronation coat dress - designed by Bruce Oldfield -was made from silk and featured silver and gold embroidered floral designs intertwined with celebratory bunting.

It was decorated with swathes of wildflowers including daisy chains, forgetme-nots, celandine and scarlet pimpernel.

The front hem area of the underskirt and the cuffs are embroidered with the floral emblems of the four nations of the United Kingdom - rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock.

Camilla's robe of estate will also be on show.

The item was made in rich purple velvet by Ede and Ravenscroft, and designed and hand embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework using goldwork  a technique that dates back more than a thousand years.

The robes design draws on themes of nature and the environment, featuring the floral emblems of the United Kingdom and a further 20 plants chosen for their personal associations.

These include Lily of the Valley, which featured in Her Majestys wedding bouquet and was a favourite flower of the late Queen Elizabeth, and Delphinium, a favourite of the King.

For the first time on a Coronation robe, the design also features insects, including bees, butterflies, a beetle and a caterpillar.
Messages of condolence previously flooded in for Taylor, including from Jenelle

Teen Mom star Jenelle Evans' close friend Taylor Lewis' cause of death has finally been revealed after her body was discovered in a hotel room earlier this year.

The 29-year-old passed away in Eden, North Carolina, in January.

Her death has now been ruled as an accidental drug overdose involving fentanyl and oxycodone.

Messages of condolence previously flooded in for Taylor, who had appeared on Teen Mom 2, including from Jenelle who said she was 'very saddened.'

Taylor Lewis (right), who was a friend of Teen Mom alum Jenelle Evans (left), passed away in Eden, North Carolina, in January

The 29-year-old's death has now been ruled as an accidental drug overdose involving fentanyl and oxycodone

Mom-of-one Taylor was found 'unresponsive' on a bed in a hotel room by a friend.

In the autopsy report obtained by The US Sun, it stated: 'The friend stated that the evening before they were partying with a male in the room. The male left at some point during the night, taking the decedent's vehicle to get the tire fixed.

'A note was found in the room that stated: "What are the chances of y'all getting out of this hotel without paying me the $200 you took from me! Karma is a b***h!"'

In light of the chilling note, police requested an autopsy.

But Taylor's cause of death has now been listed as 'acute fentanyl and oxycodone toxicity' and classified as an 'accident' - although no drugs paraphernalia were found at the scene.

The report said 'no attempt of resuscitation was made' as there were 'obvious signs of death.'

It concluded that: 'Investigation by law enforcement determined that the note may have been older and possibly even written by the decedent. Law enforcement found no evidence to support foul play.'

Speaking at the time of Taylor's death, MTV alum Jenelle took to Facebook with a heartfelt post that read: 'Taylor what happened?! We were once best friends and we went our separate ways because of the [different] crowds we chose to hangout with.

Speaking at the time of Taylor's death, MTV alum Jenelle took to Facebook with a heartfelt post about her 'once best friend'

Taylor has a daughter, Jordan Ashlee Nikole Lewis (pictured together previously), whom she welcomed with ex-husband Courtland Rogers in 2011

'I wanted to see you eventually flourish as a woman from a distance but was always rooting for you.

'I don't know what happened but I am very saddened to hear this news and hope you're resting easy. Im so sorry and sending your family prayers.'

In a follow-up post, the 31-year-old added: 'If your friends message you, just respond back. See how they are doing, check up on them.'

The star also shared a series of throwback snaps to her Instagram Stories captioned: 'RIP Sweet Angel.'

Taylor has a daughter, Jordan Ashlee Nikole Lewis, whom she welcomed with ex-husband Courtland Rogers in 2011.
Boris Johnson's wife Carrie has expertly hidden her growing baby bump with a series of clever styling tricks, a stylist has revealed.

The mother-of-two, 35, shared the happy news that she is pregnant with the couple's third child on Instagram this afternoon.

'New team member arriving in just a few weeks,' she wrote alongside a sweet photo of Wilf, three, and one-year-old Romy.

Opening up about her third pregnancy, Carrie told her 65,000 followers: 'I've felt pretty exhausted for much of the last 8 months but we can't wait to meet this little one.

'Wilf is v excited about being a big brother again and has been chattering about it nonstop. Don't think Romy has a clue what's coming She soon will!'

Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie Johnson pictured arriving at King Charles and Queen Camilla's Coronation earlier this month

Carrie Johnson made the surprise announcement on Instagram. 'New team member arriving in just a few weeks,' she wrote alongside a sweet photo of Wilf, three, and one-year-old Romy

Although Carrie is well into her third trimester, the mother-of-two relied on her faultless wardrobe to keep her pregnancy a secret.

Speaking to FEMAIL, stylist Rochelle White explained how Carrie's recent looks have been more 'low key and relaxed' than the outfits she wore while Boris was still in Number 10.

During her last pregnancy with the couple's daughter Romy, the mother favoured bold prints - but has instead opted for darker shades this time round which have disguised her changing figure.

In March, Carrie and Boris attended a campaign launch in Westminster to prevent the early release of Robert Brown - who bludgeoned his 46-year-old wife Joanna to death in 2010.

Carrie - who spoke of her spoke of her battle for black cab rapist John Worboys to remain in prison - was dressed in a navy button-down coat dress with a white shirt poking out from underneath.

Rochelle said: 'She has been strategic in what she has worn, loose fitting pieces, some even oversized to how she has positioned herself in photos

'Her colour palette has been quite dark in tones which again is a good way to conceal a baby bump.

'This coat is a shape and design that is great for most body types and being slightly oversized, Carrie could layer outfits or wear fully buttoned up and no one could know [about her bump].

In March 2023, Carrie and Boris attended a campaign launch in Westminster to prevent the early release of Robert Brown - who bludgeoned his 46-year-old wife Joanna to death in 2010

For the campaign launch, Carrie donned a navy button-down coat - which Rochelle says expertly covered her bump

For her 35th birthday, Carrie visited a wildlife reserve. For the occasion, she wore a wool camel coat over a printed maxi dress

Rochelle noted: 'The pictures have been strategically taken with only the top half of her showing or the full body in a concealing position. Her style is classic and relaxed which I feel is a theme she likes to stick to'

'The dark colour doesn't draw attention to the outfit or catches eyes and I feel that has been her main thing in all her current garment choices.'

Later that month, Carrie posted some photos of the family's visit to a wildlife reserve to celebrate her 35th birthday.

For the occasion, the expectant mother wore a wool camel coat over a printed maxi dress - which carefully disguised her growing bump.

Rochelle commented: 'With the outfit, she has cleverly layered her look. From what I can see she has on another loosely fitting dress, that covers her knees and a well fitted oversized coat.

'Even in the images shared, they have been strategically taken with only the top half of her showing or the full body in a concealing position. Her style is classic and relaxed which I feel is a theme she likes to stick to.'

In April, Carrie jetted out to South Carolina with her family and shared a series of photos of her glamorous outfits.

Carrie was photographed while taking a selfie and wearing a loose-fitting Carole Bamford dress

Carrie was seen in a pool wearing a bright pink swim suit and heart-shaped sunglasses and a gold necklace

Posting on her Instagram Stories, the former PM's wife shared a mirror selfie which showed her posing in a floaty white tiered button-down dress by Carole Bamford.

Tagging the designer, she captioned the post: 'The perfect, throw-on holiday dress.'

Embracing her natural curls, Carrie finished off her look with a simple gold pendant necklace and burgundy sliders.

Next, Carrie also posted a photo of herself enjoying some time with her children in the pool.

Opting for a glamourous ensemble, Carrie rocked a hot pink swimsuit which she paired with a gold star chain and heart-shaped tortoiseshell sunglasses.

She is beaming with delight and seen helping an excitable Wilfred leap into the water.

Carrie wore a blue printed maxi dress to King Charles' Coronation that she had worn during her pregnancy with Romy in 2021

Carrie pictured attending the annual LGBT+ pride reception hosted in partnership with Stonewall during the Conservative Party conference in Manchester in October 2021

Explaining how the soon-to-be mother-of-three had carefully hidden her pregnancy in these images, Rochelle said: 'Looking at Carrie's style during her surprise third pregnancy, I feel she has kept herself very low key and relaxed and I feel that is reflected in her recent holiday snaps.

'She has kept the images of herself limited with the position of her back to front facing.'

Earlier this month, Carrie attended the Coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla with her husband - and donned a blue maxi dress with a navy jacket with gold buttons.

Rochelle said Carrie purposefully picked this outerwear to disguise her baby bump.

The stylist commented: 'I feel that she knows her body shape well and worn this dress because she knew she could get away hiding it.

'She knew that this would be a good outfit that wouldn't show too much, especially with an added jacket.'

However, Carrie did drop a subtle clue about her pregnancy at the Coronation - as she had previously worn the dress to the Conservative Party conference when she was expecting Romy in 2021.

The couple already share two children - Wilfred, who was born in April 2020, and Romy, who was born in December 2021.

Romy was born at University College London Hospital and was named after Carrie's aunt Rosemary.

When announcing their daughter's name, Boris and Carrie explained how Iris came from the Greek word meaning rainbow and Charlotte was chosen as a tribute for Mr Johnson's late mother, who they 'miss so much'.

When announcing she was pregnant with Romy, Carrie revealed she had suffered a miscarriage earlier in 2021 and described her as her 'rainbow baby'.

Boris will now become a father of eight, having had two children with Carrie, four children with his second wife Marina Wheeler and at least one from an affair.

His children with Ms Wheeler are all in their 20s - Lara Lettice is 29, Milo Arthur is 27, Cassia Peaches is 25 and Theodore Apollo is 23.
Dog enthusiast James Middleton teased he 'can't wait to meet fellow dog enthusiasts' at Good Woof festival on Instagram today.

The younger brother of the Princess of Wales, 36, shared a post on his official social media saying he was looking forward to a weekend of 'wagging tails, joyful barks, and paw-some memories' in Chicester.

Sharing a number of snaps with his pooches, the entrepreneur wrote: 'One more sleep! I'm absolutely thrilled for @goodwoofdogs festival.

'From incredible agility demonstrations, to fun competitions and delicious treats, this event promises to be a fantastic day for all dogs (and their well-behaved humans) and I can't wait to meet fellow dog enthusiasts and see some amazing canine talents in action.'

James' appearance comes after it emerged his parents Carole and Michael Middleton have sold their Party Pieces business to an Essex ice cream entrepreneur in a rescue deal after it fell into administration.

Dog enthusiast James Middleton, 36, teased he 'can't wait to meet fellow dog enthusiasts' at Good Woof festival on Instagram today

The younger brother of the Princess of Wales , 36, shared a post on his official social media saying he was looking forward to a weekend of 'wagging tails, joyful barks, and paw-some memories'

Writing on Instagram, James posted: 'I'm also feeling so honored and excited to present a one-of-a-kind creation by the talented (and Oscar winning!) Charlie Mackesy.

'Over the weekend, a beautifully hand-painted Babboe dog cargo bike will be auctioned off at Goodwoof, with all the proceeds going to @petsastherapy_uk.'

'Get ready for a weekend filled with wagging tails, joyful barks, and paw-some memories! Who else will be there?'

His appearance comes amidst a busy period for the Princess' brother, James attended the King's Coronation at Wesminster Abbey.

The entrepreneur posted on Instagram a photo of one of his cufflinks, which featured an image of his beloved late pooch Ella who died in January of this year at the age of 15.

Posting the close-up shot of the accessory, he wrote: 'Ella still comes with me everywhere I go... even to the Coronation.'

He added: 'Very proud day to be British. God save the King.'

James announced the death of his much loved pooch in January in a heartbreaking Instagram post paying tribute to the therapy dog who helped him during a battle with clinical depression.

The business owner, who founded the dog food enterprise Ella & Co named after her, said Ella supported him 'from my darkest days to my happiest'.

James' appearance comes after it emerged his parents Carole and Michael Middleton have sold their Party Pieces business to an Essex ice cream entrepreneur in a rescue deal after it fell into administration

His appearance comes amidst a busy period for the Princess' brother, James attended t he King's Coronation at Wesminster Abbey

He has previously credited the black spaniel with helping him overcome his mental health struggles and introducing him to his wife, Alizee Thevenet.

The Middletons have maintained a close relationship to the royals, appearing at many family occasions following the 2011 marriage of Kate and William.

And as Kate has ascended the ranks of the Royal Family, Carole and Michael have continued to play an important role in the lives of their grandchildren, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

They also continue to remain a pillar of stability for William, who they have known since his university days.

It is believed that William is very fond of his in-laws, and that he very much enjoys spending time with Kate's parents and siblings.

As well as spending time with their daughter and son-in-law, and their children, the Middletons have also been spotted at other royal events and have even been invited to join the royals at church in Sandringham, Norfolk.

After speculation around whether they would or wouldn't appear at Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee last June, they were spotted at the Platinum Party on the Saturday night.

Making an appearance at a much more sombre occasion, Carole and Michael joined senior members of the Royal Family for the Queen's funeral and Committal Service in September.

James posted a photo on Instagram of one of his cufflinks he wore to the King's coronation which contained an image of his beloved dog Ella, who died in January

Last December, Kate's family turned out in full support of their daughter's carol concert at Westminster Abbey, which came after the release of the final three episodes of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's explosive Netflix documentary.

The family will today be showing their support for the new King and Queen as they are crowned.

Kate's siblings have also been thrown into the spotlight after her entry into the Royal Family.

Mother-of-three Pippa made headlines around the world, when she was maid of honour at her sister's wedding, with many sharing photos of her striking gown.

She is married to hedge fund manager and former racing driver, James Matthews, brother of Made in Chelsea star, Spencer Matthews.

Her brother James married his wife Alizee Thevenet at a French Riviera wedding in 2021.

He has previously spoken out about how he has battled depression and was also diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).

Speaking on his depression, he revealed to The Telegraph that he 'couldn't do anything', including seeing his family while he was struggling and that he was in a 'dark and miserable place'.

He added that Kate would join him at therapy sessions and his mother, father and sister Pippa also supported him.

Last year, Kate's family turned out in full support of their daughter's carol concert at Westminster Abbey, which came after the release of the final three episodes of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's explosive Netflix documentary.
A traveler has revealed that one of her fellow plane passengers was forced to weigh themselves on a baggage scale in front of 'the whole airport' before getting on the aircraft.

The woman, named Lillian, explained that everyone had to share their weight with airline crew for 'safety reasons' - but when the workers suspected that one person was not being truthful about the number, they had her stand on a scale.

Lillian shared a photo of the woman, who was not identified, being weighed to TikTok earlier this year, and it sparked a fierce reaction from viewers who were left divided over the situation.

Some slammed the airline for 'embarrassing' the woman and others bashed her for 'lying' about her weight and 'risking' the other passengers' 'lives.'

A traveler has revealed that one of her fellow plane passengers was forced to weigh themselves on a baggage scale in front of 'the whole airport' before getting on the aircraft

The woman, named Lillian (seen), said everyone had to share their weight with crew for 'safety' - but when they suspected one person was lying, they made her stand on a scale

'The whole airport trying to mind their own business as a woman is asked to step on the baggage scale because she claimed she was 130lbs,' Lillian wrote in the video, alongside the snap of the woman and a meme of actor Pedro Pascal eating a sandwich.

Lillian shared a photo of the woman, who was not identified, being weighed to TikTok, and it sparked a fierce reaction from viewers who were left divided over the situation

She added in the caption, 'Its a tiny plane so they needed our weight to take off for safety reasons.'

People quickly took to the comment section to share their thoughts.

'That's not OK,' one person wrote, while another asked, 'Why are people so mean?'

A different person revealed that they were once put into a similar situation, and they said they had 'never been so embarrassed in their life.'

'This embarrassment to the customer couldve been avoided,' a different commenter pointed out.

'I'd cry,' admitted someone else.

Others defended the airline, with another user quipping, 'Nah because why would she lie and risk all our lives including hers?'

Some slammed the airline for 'embarrassing' the woman and others bashed her for 'lying' about her weight and 'risking' the other passengers' 'lives'

'Weight and balance is really important on small aircraft,' someone else said, while another agreed, 'It's not personal... It's life or death.'

Many airlines around the world have required weight checks for passengers who are traveling on smaller planes - to ensure that the aircraft is balanced and doesn't go over the safe limit.

Uzbekistan Airways, which flies between Asia and Europe mostly, announced in 2015 that it would start weighing people to 'ensure flight safety.'

The airline said in a statement at the time, per CNN: 'The full confidentiality of results is guaranteed.'

A man who traveled on Mokulele Airlines between Hawaiian Islands earlier this year revealed that he was asked at check-in about his weight.

'I was flying in a Cessna 208 small plane. A Cessna 208 has an empty weight of 4,730 pounds and a maximum takeoff weight of 8,000 pounds,' he wrote in a blog post about his experience.

'So Mokulele wants to make sure that the total weight of pilots, crew, passengers and baggage is not above the maximum takeoff weight.

'Besides the total weight, airlines flying light weight planes like a Cessna 208 also have to account for balance between the front and back and left and right of an airplane.

'For that reason, on my Mokulele Airlines flight at least, you dont actually get a boarding pass or seat assignment when you check in.

'Once everybody has checked in, the gate agent brings everyone to the gate and tells everyone where they need to sit.

'This is done to ensure everything is in accordance with the weight and balance needs of the aircraft.'
A young woman who had unprotected sex twice in the same day said she took two morning after pills in 24 hours 'just to be safe' - but doctors say that taking the pill twice is pointless.

Amy Mae, from Adelaide, claims she had to do the 'walk of shame to the pharmacy twice in one day' following the bedroom 'accidents'.

Australian General Practitioner Dr Deb Cohen-Jones confirmed with FEMAIL there's no need to take two 'Plan B' pills in the same day. The respected doctor, who has a focus on women's health, said the idea was ridiculous.

The 21-year-old OnlyFans star shared a now-viral TikTok detailing the situation and telling FEMAIL both 'accidents' were with the same man.

Amy Mae took two Plan B pills in the same day after having unprotected sex twice. She wasn't sure if the first pill would 'cover' her so she went back to the pharmacy to ask

The 21-year-old OnlyFans star shared a now-viral TikTok detailing the situation and also told FEMAIL she had sex with one man in the same day, no two

The Plan B which is also known as the morning after pill, when taken appropriately, stops the woman's egg from being released and therefore stops her from becoming pregnant.

Poll Have you ever taken the morning after pill 'twice in one day'? No, that's odd. Yes! Nope, but I have asked if I needed to. Have you ever taken the morning after pill 'twice in one day'? No, that's odd. 246 votes

Yes! 14 votes

Nope, but I have asked if I needed to. 27 votes Now share your opinion





If the young woman had had unprotected sex twice in one day then she still would have been covered by the one pill.

In the video Amy said at first she wasn't worried, but quickly became worried the second time round.

'When it happened the first time I was like ''it's fine, I'll just get a Plan B'',' she said.

'And then the second time it happened later in the day I was stressed because I didn't know if the Plan B would cover me or if I needed a new one.

'So I had to do the walk of shame back to the pharmacist and ask.'

Amy started her OnlyFans just six months ago and says she is already in the top percentage of creators.

'I was told by my pharmacist to take two Plan B's just to be safe, however it sparked a huge amount of controversy in the comments,' she told FEMAIL.

How often can you take the morning after pill? Taking the morning after pill (also known as emergency contraception) multiple times doesn't change its effectiveness, and won't cause any long-term side effects. You can use the morning after pill whenever you need to. But it's not a good idea to use the morning after pill as your regular, go-to method of birth control. This is because: The morning-after pill doesn't prevent pregnancy as well as other types of birth control like the IUD, implant, pill, shot, ring, or condoms.

Taking the morning-after pill over and over again is usually more expensive and less convenient than being on a regular method of birth control.

Morning-after pill side effects - like bleeding between periods or nausea - are temporary and harmless, but they can be annoying.

The morning-after pill might make your periods irregular and hard to predict when you're using it a lot. Source: planned parenthood Australian General Practitioner Dr Deb Cohen-Jones confirmed with FEMAIL there's no need to take two 'Plan B' pills in the same day. The respected doctor, who has a focus on women's health, said the idea was ridiculous Advertisement

The video has since been viewed a staggering five million times and many said it's 'pointless' taking two morning-after pills in one day.

'Sweetie you did not need two.. are you okay?' one commented, another said: 'Twice is crazy.'

A third added: 'Doesn't matter how much you take [it] because they just cancel each other out. So only one is ever needed.'

However, despite the backlash, other women admitted they've done the same thing in the past 'to be safe'.

'I wasn't sure so it took two over a few days as well,' one woman said, another said: 'I would've done the same thing.'

Another woman said she relies on the IUD so she doesn't need to 'keep taking' the morning after pill.
The NHS's over-reliance on nurses and midwives from overseas is 'not sustainable', officials warned today.

Figures suggest that the number of UK-trained nurses registered to work in Britain has risen by 22,000 since 2019.

Yet, this is half the increase seen in staff trained abroad over the same time-frame, which sits closer to 44,000. It means that international recruits make up two-thirds of the growth.

Health bodies said the figure signals that the NHS is leaning on foreign recruits too heavily to plug vital staffing issues.

They issued fresh calls for the Government to tackle the spiralling workforce crisis, which insiders say is fuelling poor performances across the health service.

India and the Philippines account for the lion's share of international nurse recruits for 2021-22 but a fifth came from 'red listed' countries where the NHS is banned from actively poaching nurses. These were Nigeria, Ghana, Nepal, and Pakistan. This data, from the UK's Nursing and Midwifery Council, covers the period before Britain struck a special deal with Nepal to allow the NHS to recruit nurses from the country

Analysis of the Nursing and Midwifery Council figures by the Nuffield Trust found international recruits account for two-thirds of all new nursing and midwifery staff in the three years since September 2019. Despite falls in the number of staff from the EU, some 43,736 recruits were non-UK staff, while just 22,226 had been trained in the UK

While the headcount of full-time-equivalent adult nurses, who account for most nurses in the NHS in England, has gone up the number of total nursing vacancies has remained stubbornly high, official figures show. This has left the NHS essential treading water in terms of addressing staffing shortages

Miriam Deakin, director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, said: 'Chronic staff shortages have meant that the health service has become increasingly over-reliant on nurses and health workers from across the world to deliver care to patients.

'The contribution these staff make is invaluable but an over-reliance on international recruitment is not sustainable.'

She added: 'We need to significantly invest in expanding the number of staff trained within the UK alongside ongoing recruitment of colleagues from abroad.

'It's vital the Government publishes the fully-funded long-term workforce plan for the NHS so that we can make real progress towards tackling severe staff shortages and boosting education and training.

'We cannot afford to delay any longer.'

Read more: School leavers will be able to start working as doctors WITHOUT going to university under drastic NHS plans to fix staffing crisis Advertisement

Meanwhile, Dr Billy Palmer, senior fellow at the Nuffield Trust, said: 'Turning off the taps to international recruitment is just not feasible nor desirable for the NHS.

'Our health services rely on overseas nurses, who on average stay longer with the NHS than their counterparts trained in the UK.

'But we know international recruitment can't be the answer to ensuring we have the staff we need to keep services going.'

He added: 'Even now, the NHS is competing with other health systems for overseas staff and in some cases, our working conditions, pay and career prospects are looking unfavourable to other countries.

'Employing more homegrown NHS staff is rarely a quick process, but there are immediate steps the government should focus on including making public services a more attractive prospect for graduates and pushing to reduce the record numbers of staff choosing the leave the NHS.'

Latest data from the Nursing and Midwifery Council shows almost half of all nurses and midwives (23,408) who joined its register in 2022 trained outside the UK.

Nurses must register with the NMC to work in the UK.

Currently, around a fifth (19 per cent) of the UK's nursing and midwifery workforce is accounted for by those trained overseas.

Some 23,444 people who trained outside the UK joined the register between April 2021 and March 2022, almost double the previous year (9,884).

Of these recruits, two thirds were from India and the Philippines alone.

Some are from 'red list' nations, where the World Health Organization deems nurse shortages are severe and urges wealthy countries not to poach staff from.

Caroline Waterfield, director of development and employment at NHS Employers, said: 'NHS leaders are hugely appreciative of the commitment of all of our staff, including the talented individuals who decide to leave their home country to work in the NHS.

'As a result of the government's commitment to grow the workforce, leaders have seen an increase in the numbers of nurses joining the NHS, mainly in hospitals with smaller numbers in social care and community settings.'

She added: 'However, we know the growing numbers of staff recruited from overseas highlights the overall gap between supply and demand.

'This needs urgent and sustained attention including long term funding linked to a long-term workforce plan.'

The number of internationally trained nurses joining the NHS has skyrocketed over recent years. Numbers have increased year-on-year, minus a blip of the Covid pandemic which hampered immigration, data from the Nursing and Midwifery Council shows. The number of international nurse recruits is now almost equal to the number of British nurses joining the profession for the first time

NHS data shows efforts to get more nurses into the health service are only barely keeping pace with the number of experienced nurses quitting

Pat Cullen, general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), also told MailOnline: 'Internationally educated colleagues are hugely valued and experienced.

'But in the context of a global nursing workforce crisis the Government has got its policy completely back to front.

'We have repeatedly called on the UK Government to invest in nursing, including fair pay, as that is the one lever at their disposal to immediately boost recruitment and retention.'

She added: 'Instead, they are recruiting nurses from countries that can ill afford to spare them themselves.

'The forthcoming NHS workforce plan must contain a fully-funded strategy to recruit and retain the nursing staff needed to deliver safe patient care.

'It must reduce numbers of nursing vacancies - currently standing at tens of thousands - that is contributing to record waiting lists and putting health and care services under unsustainable pressure.'

It comes amid a widespread staffing crisis engulfing the health service, which saw the Government consider drastic proposals earlier this month to allow aspiring doctors and nurses to start working in the NHS without going to university.

It could see school-leavers enroll in an apprenticeship scheme to 'earn while they learn', with officials hoping up to a third of all nurses could eventually be trained through this radical new approach to recruitment.

Plans are expected to be laid out in full in the long-awaited long-term workforce plan, which could come within weeks.

For years, health secretaries have turned to the foreign sector as an easy quick-fix solution to shore up staff numbers.

Internationally trained nurses must register with the NMC to work in the UK and have to sit an English language exam before being allowed to practise, if their qualification was not taught in English.

They also have to sit a test of competence.

In 2019, the Government pledged to recruit 50,000 extra nurses for England by the end of March 2024.

While it is expected to meet this target, heavy international recruitment has played a critical role in this.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care told MailOnline today: 'The supply of homegrown NHS staff is increasing, with record numbers of doctors and nurses, and international recruitment is only one part of growing the NHS workforce.'

'We're on track to deliver 50,000 more nurses by next year, with almost 43,000 more working in the NHS compared to September 2019.

'We will shortly publish a long term workforce plan to go even further, including projections for the number of doctors, nurses and other professionals we will need in five, 10 and 15 years' time.'

In March, the DHSC again updated its code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England.

The code prohibits 'active recruitment' from 'red list' countries designated by the World Health Organisation.

But the code does not prevent individual health workers from 'red list' countries from seeking employment independently.

UK employers however should not be actively recruiting from those countries, the DHSC warns.

Experts have estimated there will be a global shortage of 13million nurses by 2030, with levels particularly short in South East Asia and Africa.

It comes as union leader Ms Cullen this week called on Health Secretary Steve Barclay to restart pay negotiations with a proposed rise in double digits.

Hundreds of thousands of RCN members will begin to vote next week on whether to hold strike action, after the existing six-month mandate ran out at the start of the month.

This could see nursing strikes rumble on until Christmas, forcing thousands more operations and appointments to be cancelled.

The majority of nursing unions opted to accept the government's offer of a five percent pay rise plus a one-off payment worth up to 1,600 in England earlier this month.

But nurses in the RCN rejected the deal by a slender majority, leading the general secretary to admit she had 'underestimated' members after she advised them to vote in favour of it.
A Pfizer vaccine that could protect unborn babies from the common seasonal bug respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been recommended for approval by advisors to the Food and Drug Administration.

The agency's expert panel voted unanimously that the shot was effective at preventing severe illness from RSV in infants under six months old on Thursday.

But four out of 14-panel members raised concerns over whether the shot was safe, saying there was evidence that it may raise the risk of premature births.

The vaccine is given as a single dose to pregnant women in the second or third trimester of pregnancy and works by triggering RSV-fighting antibodies that can then be passed on to babies in the womb via the placenta.

The FDA is still set to rule on the shot but could approve it as early as August just before RSV season, making it the world's first RSV vaccine for infants. It comes after the agency approved the world's first-ever vaccine for RSV earlier this month.

The FDA's expert panel voted unanimously that the vaccine was effective, but concerns were raised over its safety profile. A decision from the FDA is expected in August, although it generally follows the advice of its expert panel

Virtually all children catch RSV at least once by the time they are two years old, with most facing a mild, cold-like illness.

But the FDA says that babies under six months old are at particular risk of severe disease from the virus, which may be because their immune systems are still developing or they are not able to cough as forcefully as older children.

Up to one in 50 children in this age group are hospitalized by the virus, the FDA says, facing treatments including IV fluids and mechanical ventilators. A few hundred under five years old die from the infection every year in the US.

The Pfizer vaccine  dubbed RSVpreF  works by exposing the mother to a protein from the surface of RSV, triggering an immune reaction and the production of RSV-fighting antibodies.

These can then enter babies still in the womb via the placenta. They can also be transferred after birth through the colostrum  the first milk that an infant drinks from its mother.

They can persist in an infant for up to six months, boosting defenses as an infant gradually builds up their immune system.

Other vaccines already use this system to trigger immunity in infants, including the flu vaccine and the shot against Whooping Cough.

All 14 members of the FDA's panel voted that the vaccine was effective at preventing severe disease in infants when administered to pregnant mothers, and ten out of 14 voted that its safety data was 'generally favorable' for use in pregnant women.

The FDA will now decide whether to approve the vaccine, but the agnecy normally follows the advice of its expert panel.

Some members raised concerns, however, that the vaccine raised the risk of premature births.

Dr Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia who has previously raised concerns over the Covid vaccine, said that in general, the safety data was 'reassuring'.

But he added, reports CNBC, that 'if you're in any sense risking premature births with this vaccine, I think there'll be a big price to pay'.

He also pointed out that GSK had shelved its trials of a similar RSV vaccine in pregnant women after noticing an uptick in preterm births and neonatal deaths, or when a baby dies during the first 28 days of life.

Dr Offit said this move was 'hanging over' Pfizer's own RSV shots for infants.

'If GSK truly abandons a program on a similar, almost identical vaccine, that is going to hang over [Pfizer's] program.'

Dr Jay Portnoy, medical director at the Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City who voted in favor of the vaccine's safety and effectiveness, also warned preterm births could dampen the benefits of the jab.

'The problem is if the child is born earlier, that also reduces the efficacy of the treatment because earlier birth means less antibodies are transferred,' he said.

'So, this is a very complex thing because now the harm actually makes the benefit less so. There's an interaction between the two.'

Infants who are born prematurely  before week 37 of pregnancy  are at higher risk of many health complications, including respiratory problems, infections and delays in development.

The above graph shows RSV-related hospitalizations in the United States by month and year. They tick up between September and the end of spring  RSV season

The approval was based on data from a phase three trial of the vaccine, which involved 7,400 pregnant women  half of which received the shot while the rest got a placebo.

This showed that it was 82 percent effective at preventing severe disease from RSV in newborns during the first 90 days of life.

The shot was also about 70 percent effective during the first six months of the baby's life against severe disease.

But the study also showed that there was a higher risk of premature births among mothers who got the shot compared to those who got the placebo.

In the vaccine group, nearly six percent of mothers had a preterm birth, while in the placebo group, the figure was 4.7 percent.

Pfizer said that the difference was not statistically significant, but this has still raised concerns among scientists.

Backing the safety of their vaccine, Pfizer's senior vice president for vaccine research and development Dr William Gruber, said: 'Certainly, in our eyes, there is no definitive evidence to suggest there is a risk of prematurity.

'So the question is, do you hold hostage the potential benefits of the vaccine for something which you have no statistical significance at this point?'
A young nurse from Virginia claims he cheated death after a pod-a-day vaping habit caused his lung to collapse.

Jonathan Belcher, 22, woke up one morning in his Covington, Virginia, home with excruciating pain behind his left shoulder, and the pain worsened with every shortened breath.

Terrified, Belcher was driven to the hospital emergency department where it was revealed his lung had collapsed, a byproduct of pulmonary trauma causing an air leak into the cavity surrounding the lungs.

Doctors were able to insert a chest tube to drain the air but they saw a hole in the lung that had to be stapled shut.

Belcher claims doctors attributed the injury to e-cigarettes, which have hooked millions of Americans on nicotine.

Jonathan Belcher, 22, began vaping from a nicotine e-cigarette when he was 17. He was vaping the equivalent of 20 cigarettes daily (about one Juul pod)

Belcher said the short drive to the hospital was terrifying, and when he arrived, doctors told him to 'call your mom, your lung has collapsed and its really severe'

Jonathan said: 'It felt like my shoulder was a balloon about to pop. I was really short of breath and any breath I took made the shoulder hurt worse but I didnt realize why'

With a piece of his lung surgically removed and emotionally traumatized from his brush with death, Mr Belcher has pledged to steer clear from the highly potent e-cigarette that caused his condition.

He said recently after the ordeal in April: The whole experience was terrifying, painful and so bad that I will never touch a device that produces smoke ever again.I was truly looking death in the face.

I completely understand that its very hard to quit and the bottom line is its addictive.

'But after the pain that I went through, the trauma that it created and the problems that it has made in my life since, the best advice I could give for trying to quit is think that this will happen to you.

He had been vaping since the age of 17 and typically took in the equivalent amount of nicotine as 20 cigarettes.

For reference, one single Juul pod contains 20 cigarettes worth of nicotine, although it's not clear which brand Belcher used.

The pain that morning woke Mr Belcher, who said it felt like my shoulder was a balloon about to pop.

He would learn later that the pain was caused by a collapsed lung, or pneumothorax, which leads to air leaking from the lungs into the surrounding cavity, or, pleural space.

The air in the pleural space increased pressure on the lung so that it could not expand as much as it normally does during normal breathing.

Mr Belcher said: The moment they said, you can call your mom, your lung has collapsed and its really severe, I just broke down crying.

I will never forget when I called my mom, and the way she screamed and cried.

To remedy the leak and relieve pressure on the lung, doctors inserted a chest tube to drain the air from the space between the lungs and the chest wall. Typically, the problem will heal on its own as the lung reinflates.

But the hole in Mr Belchers lung required surgery to repair and part of the organ had to be removed because it had died in the process due to restricted oxygen.

He said: I told the surgeon that if he was ready for surgery then I was ready for surgery as well. I was just in so much pain that I wanted something that could fix it.

Pneumothorax is fairly common and usually survivable. Roughly 20 per 100,000 males and 6 for every 100,000 females experience it per year, and taller, thinner people are more susceptible to it.

Typically, pneumothorax will heal once the air surrounding the lungs has been drained using a chest tube

Doctors had to surgically repair the hole left in Mr Belcher's lung, which required them to remove part of the organ that had died due to lack of oxygen

Mr Belcher, who gets short of breath doing normal daily activities such as talking on the phone, has sworn off e-cigarettes

It is usually caused by a ruptured air blister, or bleb, that sends air into the space around the lung. It is believed that chronic vaping could lead to the formation of blebs on the lungs, while strong inhalation of a vape could cause an existing bleb to rupture.

The exact physiological effects of vaping e-cigarettes, which contain a highly-potent mixture of nicotine, propylene glycol and glycerol, and concentrated flavors are still being examined.

But claims that vaping is a safer alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes because it removes the carcinogen-laced tar and smoke from the equation are increasingly in doubt.

Cases like Mr Belchers are not unique. There have been myriad clinical case studies of vaping-induced pneumothorax in recent years.

Vaping has become an acute problem, especially among young people and those who have never smoked cigarettes in the first place  a major blow to e-cigarette manufacturers purported goal to switch smokers to safer vapes.

In 2019, 1.97 million never-smokers between 18 and 29 reported that they vaped, compared to just 1.37 million current smokers.

But, by 2021 vaping among young never smokers increased by more than a third, to 2.68 millon.

Jonathan was discharged on May 9th and claims the trauma of the incident was worse than the pain, as he now frequently struggles to sleep.

Although his lungs are now able to function on their own, Jonathan claims they will be weaker for the rest of his life.

Jonathan said: 'The pain hasnt been the worst part since coming home, its actually been the trauma.

'It has affected my sleep, because I woke up to the lung collapsing. Now, I have a really hard time being able to sleep and wake up all through the night with really bad sweats.

'Its gone from being able to do normal things without getting winded to having to sit down after a phone call to catch my breath.'
It may have a reputation as a macho sporty Italian brand, but half the buyers of Maserati's stylishly capable and comfortable new Grecale SUV are expected to be women.

Named after a Mediterranean wind, it has blown across to British shores and I've just been driving it here in Maserati's fifth largest market.

I've always had a soft spot for the marque and the Grecale covers new ground for it, taking on the likes of the Porsche Macan, Range Rover Velar, Audi Q5 Sportback and BMW X4. It's impressive, with a commanding view of the road and a smart interior.

Clutter is kept to a minimum thanks to control buttons for drive, park, and reverse set between two central dashboard touchscreens.

At launch there are three trim levels, all linked to an eight-speed automatic transmission but with prominent paddles near the steering wheel for manual override.

Girl power: Half the buyers for the new Grecale SUV are expected to be women

The entry level GT at 61,570 is powered by a 300hp 2-litre in-line four-cylinder mild hybrid petrol engine which propels it from rest to 62mph in 5.6 seconds up to top speed of 149 mph.

The sporty mid-range Modena, which I drove mainly, has the same engine set-up, but with enhanced trim and 330hp, 0-62mph in a sprightly 5.3 seconds, priced from 67,180.

I also took a shorter spin in the more powerful, 50kg heavier, top-range Trofeo model costing from 99,700 which features distinctive detailing and a 530hp 3-litre twin turbo V6 Nettuno petrol engine that propels the Grecale from 0 to 62mph in just 3.8 seconds and up to a top speed of 199 mph.

A fully electric Grecale called the Folgore  Italian for lightning  will launch here within the year following the arrival of a battery-powered GranTurismo Folgore.

Maserati says the 400v 105kWh high-energy battery equivalent to more than 500 hp will deliver a 310-mile range, and top speed above 125mph.

Maserati, which is now part of the giant Stellantis conglomerate, plans to be fully electric by 2030.

Half the buyers of Maserati's stylishly capable and comfortable new Grecale SUV are expected to be women

The entry level GT at 61,570 is powered by a 300hp 2-litre in-line four-cylinder mild hybrid petrol engine which propels it from rest to 62mph in 5.6 seconds

Clutter is kept to a minimum thanks to control buttons for drive, park, and reverse set between two central dashboard touchscreens

There are four main drive mode settings

At launch there are three trim levels, all linked to an eight-speed automatic transmission but with prominent paddles near the steering wheel for manual override

Whether for business, pleasure, stylish school runs and shopping trips, or a leisurely lunch with friends, prepare to see more Maserati Grecale in fashionable places

 Slide me  It's a beauty without being too much of a beast

So what's it like to drive?

Whether for business, pleasure, stylish school runs and shopping trips, or a leisurely lunch with friends, prepare to see more Maserati Grecale in fashionable places.

My Modena trim was fitted with nearly 20,000 of 'extras'.

It's a very engaging and yet refined drive with real road presence though without the growling exhaust roar associated with the sportiest Maseratis.

There are four main drive mode settings: Comfort for chilling and ambling around town and country, GT for grand touring on long journeys; Sport (my favourite) for more engaged driving on twisty or fast flowing roads, and off-road should you be doing a bit of grass and gravel travel for which the ride height also increases.

It's a beauty without being too much of a beast.

By contrast the full-bodied range-topping Trofeo does incline more towards the beast. It's great fun and a noticeable step up in power, but a tad over the top for school-run duties.

Will it fit in my garage? New Maserati Grecale Modena Price: from 64,625 Price as driven with 'extras': 84,775 Full Grecale range priced from: 61,570 Length: 4847mm Width (without mirrors): 1979mm Height: 1667mm Wheelbase: 2901mm Weight: 1895kg Transmission: 8-speed automatic Engine: 2.0 litre 4-cylinder mild hybrid 48v Power: 330hp 0-62mph: 5.3 seconds Top speed: 149mph Stopping distance (62mph to 0): 40m CO2 emissions: 210g/km Fuel economy: 30.4 to 32.1mpg Fuel tank: 64 litres Boot capacity: 5351 litres Max tow capacity: 2300kg Max roof load: 70kg Those costly little 'extras' on my car included Assistance Package plus: 2,535.00 Includes: Adaptive cruise control with stop&go; Active lane management; Blind spot monitor; Drowsy driver protection; Adaptive full-LED matrix headlights High gloss carbon fibre twill trim: 2,030.00; 21-speaker 1285kw Sonus Faber high; premium surround system: 2,200; 21 inch aluminium alloy wheel trims: 1,585.00; Panoramic sunroof: 1,500; Airs suspension  Skyhook: 1,400; Laminated glass: 880.00; Surround view camera: 880.00;Ventilated front seats: 795.00; Metallic paint: 720.00; Heating for two outer rear seats: 445.00; Rear privacy glass: 400.00; Roof rails: 350.00; Heated steering wheel: 220.00; Auto-dimming exterior mirrors: 180.00; Kick sensor: 180.00 Other Maserati Grecale trim levels: :: Entry-level GT from 61,570 - 300hp 2-litre in-line four-cylinder mild hybrid petrol engine, 0-62mph in 5.6 seconds, Top speed 149mph. :: Flagship Trofeo from 99,700 - 530hp 3.0 litre twin turbo V6 Nettuno petrol engine, 0 to 62mph in 3.8 seconds, Top speed of 199mph To come: :: Fully electric Folgore ( Italian for lightning) - 400v 105kWh high energy battery equivalent to more than 500 horse-power, 310-mile range and top speed in excess of 125mph, 0-60 circa 3 seconds.

Dacia Jogger hybrid impressive

After road testing the 1-litre pure petrol version of the impressively flexible seven-seater Dacia Jogger, this week I had the chance to try out the frugal self-charging hybrid version set to account for more than a third (35 per cent) of sales  and it's even more impressive, if a tad more expensive.

Impressive: The self-charging hybrid version of the Dacia Jogger

Riding on 16 in wheels and priced from 22,995, the capable TCe 140 self-charger links a 1.6 litre petrol engine with two electric motors and automatic six-speed gearbox

Riding on 16 in wheels and priced from 22,995, the capable TCe 140 self-charger links a 1.6 litre petrol engine with two electric motors and automatic six-speed gearbox to return 56.5mpg with 0 to 62mph acceleration in 10.1 seconds.

It comes with a clever patented roof rack system in which the bars running the length of the car can be swivelled to form supporting cross beams.

It's highly affordable; even the top of the range model in Extreme trim with cedar green paint and copper detailing starts from 23,995.

Car row erupts

A long-simmering row affecting all of Europe finally erupted this week when car bosses met Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch.

At stake are millions of European motor industry jobs (including 800,000 in the UK) and higher car prices.

Row: At stake are millions of European motor industry jobs (including 800,000 in the UK) and higher car prices

A post-Brexit deal means that, from January, 45 per cent of a car's content must be sourced in the EU or UK  or face a 10 per cent tax.

But batteries can make up half of a car's value and most are imported from Asia.

Bosses warn that unless the deadline is moved to 2027, it will be uneconomical for them to make cars and factories risk closing.
Government to miss motorway EV charging targets: The DfT pledged that every service station in England will have at least six 'rapid' chargers by the end of 2023

The Government is on course to miss a major target it set for bolstering the nation's electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.

Just over a year ago, the Department for Transport pledged to 'ensure that every motorway service area has at least six rapid chargers by the end of 2023'.

However, the reality shows that just 27 out of 119 motorway services in England currently have six or more high-powered devices.

Ministers also set out an objective to have 300,000 public charging points in place across Britain by 2030.

But with just over 40,000 in place currently, the Government needs to increase its average monthly installations by what appears an insurmountable 215 per cent.

The RAC has flagged the DfT's likely failure to meet its target for motorway service station charging points - and by some margin.

It stated that fitting high-powered chargers is 'not straightforward' and urged ministers to 'make this process simpler'.

Rapid charging points typically offer speeds above 43 kilowatts (kW) while ultra-rapid devices provide in excess of 100kW.

Rapid devices can add around 100 miles of range to an EV in just 35 minutes while ultra-rapid chargers can boost a battery from 10 to 80 per cent capacity in less than half an hour.

It is these types of device with the shortest charging times that are seen as crucial to encourage more motorists who use their cars for long journeys to make the switch from petrol or diesel to electric.

In a DfT document published in March 2022 it stated that 'many operators' of motorway services had 'embraced the ambition' to install six high-powered chargers by the end of 2023, with 'over 70 per cent' of locations having a plan to deliver this.

It added: 'We will continue to work with site operators to ensure that every site is reached.'

However, the RAC's analysis of Zap-Map data shows there is little hope of the government meeting this objective.

In fact, less than a quarter (23 per cent) of England's services have at least six rapid devices on site today.

Rapid chargers are seen as essential for long-distance journeys in electric cars. They can add around 100 miles of range from a 35 minute charging session

Simon Williams, RAC EV spokesman, said: 'Our findings show there is much work to be done before the end of the year if the Government's target is to be met.

'Installing these types of units is not straightforward as connecting to the electricity grid is expensive and time consuming, but clearly more needs to be done to make this process simpler than it is currently.

'While we understand the Government is taking steps to expedite matters, the importance of ensuring sufficient high-powered charging is readily available up and down our motorway network can't be emphasised enough.

'A lack of charging facilities is rapidly becoming one of the most widely quoted reasons for drivers not going electric.

'All parties involved in making installations happen must work together to overcome this obstacle.'

Sue Davies, head of consumer protection policy and Which? said its own research shows that one of the main barriers preventing drivers from switching to EVs is concerns about a public charging infrastructure that is 'falling short'.

She said: 'We found that many drivers struggle to find reliable charging points in good working order, or are unable to rely on adequate charging points close to their homes or to get them through a long journey.

'Charging should be easy, reliable and seamless to support people making the move to an electric car.

'The government must quickly improve the consumer experience of using public charging networks so that drivers feel confident making the switch to an electric vehicle when they are ready.'

Pictured: Moto's Rugby motorway services at Junction 1 of the M6 opened in April 2021. It was the operator's first new site in 14 years and features 24 ultra-rapid electric vehicle chargers

Quentin Willson, former Top Gear host turned EV campaigner and front man of the FairCharge group, added: 'When you look at how quickly Tesla put their Superchargers into the motorway service network, you're forced to wonder why the Government is working at such glacial speed to do the same.

'We simply must pick up the pace.'

Erik Fairbairn, CEO of charging point operator Pod Point said UK motorway services rapid chargers 'only represent a small fraction of the charging network'.

He told This is Money: 'The reality for most drivers is that the vast majority of charging takes place when your vehicle is parked, be it at home, at work or when youre at the shops.

'Whilst motorway charging does have a role to play in very long trips, drivers should understand that topping up overnight at home is almost always more than enough for your day.'

Minsters have promised 300k public EV charging points across the UK by 2030. Latest figures show there were just over 40k on 1 April. Average new monthly installations is 1,032 devices, the stats show. To meet the target for the end of the decade, this needs to increase to 3,248

Monthly public charge point installations need to rise by 215% to reach 2030 target

Ministers also look set to dramatically miss their target of having 300,000 public charging points available to EV drivers by 2030 - the data it has earmarked to end the sale on new petrol and diesel cars and vans in an effort to push more motorists into cleaner battery-powered vehicles.

However, the DfT's most recent charging infrastructure update shows that only 30,290 charging points were in place by 1 April 2023.

It confirmed just 3,095 new devices were added to the network in the three months from the start of the year to the end of March - that's an average monthly installation rate of 1,032 chargers.

In order to meet its target of 300,000 by 2030, government needs to oversee that 3,248 new devices are added to the nation's public charging infrastructure in each of the remaining 80 months before the start of the next decade.

That would mean a rise in monthly installations of a whopping 215 per cent.

Earlier this month, we revealed which parts of the UK are best - and worst - served for EV charging points today - check the interactive map below to see how you region stacks up.
Watchdogs are under pressure to decide Revolut's future, experts warned last night.

Speculation is mounting over the fintech company's fate.

The London-based firm  once seen as the darling of the sector  has been seeking a UK banking licence for more than two years.

The application has become increasingly mired in controversy amid growing frustration at Revolut over the drawn-out process.

One City analyst warned there was now 'a lot of pressure on regulators' and urged them to be 'very careful'.

Pressure: Revolut - once seen as the darling of the sector  has been seeking a UK banking licence for more than two years

Licence applications need to be approved by two regulators  the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). Rivals Monzo and Starling have secured licences and the process usually takes about a year.

But Revolut's chances suffered a setback in early March when its auditor said parts of its overdue accounts were 'materially misstated'.

At the time, the company insisted it would still be granted a licence 'imminently', possibly within days, but nearly three months later it is still waiting.

In the meantime, finance chief Mikko Salovaara has stepped down for 'personal reasons' while other senior figures have also left. Revolut's impatience appeared to boil over earlier this month when boss and co-founder Nik Storonsky lamented the 'long and tiring process' and warned Britain was an undesirable place to do business.

But the outburst prompted criticism from observers, with one analyst warning that throwing a 'tantrum' would not help Revolut secure a banking licence.

Speculation over its fate intensified this week when it emerged the PRA had told the Treasury it was minded to reject its application for a banking licence.

Failure to get a licence from its home regulators could seriously dent its ambitions to expand overseas. Revolut is understood to have offered to withdraw from the UK, asking regulators if it was not wanted here. But it got reassurances that the process was ongoing and its application was still being considered.

Dame Angela Eagle, Labour MP and a member of the Commons Treasury committee, said regulators must take their time with the licence process.

Gary Greenwood, investment analyst at Shore Capital, said: 'There is a lot of pressure on regulators if this goes wrong, so they need to be very careful.'

The Bank and the FCA declined to comment on the application process.

A Revolut spokesman said: 'We do not comment on ongoing regulatory applications. We're a British company and London is our home.'
Disney has dropped plans to build a 725million office complex as the fairy tale in Florida turns into a nightmare.

The media giant behind Mickey Mouse and Mulan decided to U-turn on plans for a site in the US state amid an ongoing row with Governor Ron DeSantis.

The plans would have seen thousands of jobs shifted from California to Florida.

U-turn: The plans would have seen thousands of jobs shifted from California to Florida

But in an internal email, Disney's parks chief Josh D'Amaro cited 'leadership changes' as the key reason behind the backtrack.

Disney has been at odds with DeSantis since its former chief executive Bob Chapek criticised legislation that would limit the discussion of sexuality in schools  the so-called 'Don't Say Gay' law.

The governor slammed 'woke Disney' and has looked to cancel the special treatment given to the company, which includes self-governing powers in its 25,000-acre resort.

Disney shares tumbled last week after its streaming service lost 4million subscribers in the first three months of 2023.
Two of Britain's biggest firms are facing shareholder revolts over their 'inadequate' climate change goals.

Shell and Glencore are braced for gruelling annual meetings next week as they struggle to balance pressure to drive profits alongside calls to tackle the climate crisis more vigorously.

Shell has come under fire for an earnings 'bonanza' as a result of spiralling oil and gas prices since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Glencore, meanwhile, has been criticised for its expansive coal business as well as its energy trading arm.

At the Shell AGM on Tuesday, the Church of England Pensions Board has said it will vote against the re-election of Shell chairman Andrew Mackenzie and chief executive Wael Sawan in protest over the company's climate policies.

Under pressure: Shell has come under fire for an earnings 'bonanza' as a result of spiralling oil and gas prices

And a small but influential group of investors is set to support a resolution filed by activist group Follow This calling for tougher emission reduction targets by 2030.

A Dutch court last May told Shell to adjust its climate targets, a ruling the energy giant has appealed.

If Shell loses its appeal, it may have to slash profitable parts of its business.

Fund manager Federated Hermes, which advises clients with around 800billion in assets, has recommended its members support the Follow This resolution at Shell's annual general meeting.

Glencore, the Switzerland-based miner and commodity trader, has also come under fire for its energy strategy.

Proxy adviser Pirc has recommended investors oppose Glencore's climate progress report and back a shareholder resolution calling for greater disclosure of climate reporting  including admitting how the company will meet coal production goals.

Ahead of the meeting next Friday, the group has called on investors to oppose the company's chairman and annual report for failing to address climate risks by setting adequate targets.

Revolt: Shell and Glencore are braced for gruelling annual meetings

Paul Hunter, head of policy at Pirc, said: 'Time is running out to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and reduce the climate-related risks facing investors.

'This means that those companies in high-emitting sectors, including mining, urgently need to be setting adequate short-term targets as part of climate credible action plans.'

BP was able to fend off its own shareholder revolt last month, with less than one in five shareholders voting against the business's weakened plans to scale back oil and gas production.

The world needs to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent from 2019 levels by 2030 to have any hope of limiting global warming to 1.5 Celsius, the level scientists say can prevent the most severe consequences and enshrined in the Paris Climate Agreement.
Just four decades ago, Dubai was little more than a desert. Now, the city stands as a metropolis of indulgence and extravagance.

Skyscraper upon skyscraper shoots into the sky, surrounded by pristine man-made bodies of water. The beating desert sun shines off the vast glass facades of this concrete jungle as if it were a CGI-constructed set of a utopian film.

Back in the 1990s, the World Trade Centre was Dubais tallest tower with little else surrounding the lonely 603ft (184m) structure. More than 30 years later, the building once considered the jewel in the then-desolate crown is now lost among the vast clusters of high-rise monuments.

Now at the centre of this city state is the 21st-century's Tower of Babel. The Burj Khalifa imposes itself over the rest of Dubai's sheer opulence, standing at just over half-a-mile tall.

Yet this is not enough to quench Dubais thirst for the biggest and best. A short distance to the east, the Dubai Creek Tower is slowly being pieced together in the hope that it will one day succeed the current title holder.

Around 90 per cent of Dubai's population is already made up of expats. Pictured: General view of Burj Khalifa and Business Bay district in Dubai

The Burj Khalifa imposes itself over the rest of Dubai's sheer opulence, standing at just over half-a-mile tall

Opulence is synonymous with this city. Enormous wealth flows in and out as a continuous stream. This has long created something of a gated community for the rich and famous who have made it their home.

But after years of being seen as a playground for tourists and only a home for the rich, Dubai is now changing. After a boom through its relative infancy, the city has somewhat matured since the Covid-19 pandemic. And those with perhaps less well nourished wallets are uprooting and making the move to the city state.

In recent years, families and young professionals from the UK have flocked to Dubai. While the exact number is unknown, it is estimated that around a quarter-of-a-million Brits now call Dubai their home.

And with around four days of rain a year, no income tax, and one of the lowest crime rates in the world, its no wonder that so many have flocked to the Emirates' biggest city.

Now many schools are reporting increased demand forcing them to put children on waiting lists to wait for spots to open up.

Around 90 per cent of Dubai's population is already made up of expats. While foreigners are slightly limited by the property they can purchase, Dubai's ruling family has aimed to present the city as an ideal location for those wanting to be liked to the East and West.

In 2022, Dubai's population hit 3.5 million. But the government has set a target of 5.8 million by 2040 as it hopes to continue luring migrants to its year-round sun. This has been made easier by expats no longer needing to find a sponsor to make the move.

In 2022, Dubai's population hit 3.5 million. But the government has set a target of 5.8 million by 2040. Pictured: The Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world

Rizwan Sajan, the founder and chairman of Danube Properties - who has just unveiled his latest project (pictured) - says his business has had to cope with Dubai's demand in recent years

Rizwan Sajan, the founder and chairman of Danube Properties, one of Dubai's biggest real estate developers, says his business has had to cope with Dubai's demand in recent years.

Speaking to MailOnline, Sajan said: 'When people come to UAE or Dubai, they don't want to go back to their home country. It's such an addiction that when you come and stay here for one or two years, you will want to stay here.

'Dubai has changed like anything over the last decade. Dubai is everyday changing, it's really difficult to keep up with that skyline and what is happening in Dubai.

But despite Dubai's increased demand, Sajan was insistent that expats could still come to the city without blowing their budget.

'When you look at Dubai, Dubai is full of glitter, glamour, fashion, lifestyle - people want to enjoy and really feel.

'People come to Dubai for extravagance but that they want it at an affordable price,' the developer said.

Rizwan Sajan recently unveiled his plans for the latest construction - a partnership with Europe's FashionTV brand

The interior of Danube's latest tower with partner FashionTV is pictured. The chairman said his business has had to cope with Dubai's demand in recent years

The developer recently unveiled his plans for the latest construction - a partnership with Europe's FashionTV brand - at an ornate press conference last month

Sajan describes the new building as a 'ultra-fashionable residential tower that will stand out on its own and be a remarkable addition to the iconic Dubai skyline'

The developer recently unveiled his plans for the latest construction - a partnership with Europe's FashionTV brand - at an ornate press conference last month. The eponymous 'Fashionz' tower is the latest creation set to open in 2026. The residential tower will have over 700 apartments spread over 65 floors.

Sajan describes the new building as a 'ultra-fashionable residential tower that will stand out on its own and be a remarkable addition to the iconic Dubai skyline.' Hoping to continue the trend of luring expats to the city, and to beat his competitors to their business, he said his apartments will start at 850,000 dirhams (around 185,000).

The developer is excited by Dubai's future and says he expects the country's popularity to continue.

'Over the next ten years I believe Dubai is going to be the busiest airport in the world. What you see in the infrastructure, we are expanding day by day. Digitally we are going to grow crazy.

'Dubai is going to become a very cosmopolitan city. It already is but it is going to take over many other cities in the world.
A mother-of-six has recalled the moment she was engulfed in flames after throwing a tiny splash of petrol on an outdoor fire pit and the harrowing consequences of her near-fatal mistake.

The Friday night began like any other for Anita Ferguson, 38, who was getting ready to enjoy a quiet night at home with her kids and a lasagne while watching an NRL game on the couch.

The single mum was lighting the fire pit in her Claymore backyard in Sydney's south-west last weekend to keep warm when it suddenly exploded into flames after she poured the smallest drop of petrol on it to get the flames going.

Ms Ferguson suffered serious second degree burns to 30 per cent of her body, including two thirds of her face, head, right arm, neck and shoulder.

She and her family shared harrowing details of the traumatic ordeal with Daily Mail Australia in a desperate plea to others to not make the same mistake.

One week on, Ms Ferguson is still covered in bandages and in excruciating pain from her horrific burns, which had been a distressing sight for her kids.

Anita Ferguson (before the accident) was lighting a fire pit in her backyard when disaster struck

Anita Ferguson's family shared harrowing photos of her injuries so others don't make the same mistake when lighting a fire pit

'I usually use small pieces of wood but couldn't find any so I put big pieces into the pit,' Ms Ferguson told Daily Mail Australia.

'As I poured in a tiny splash of petrol, the flames shot up and landed on my arms and in my face.

'It was a stupid thing to do and I know I shouldn't have done it.'

Her children whose ages range from 19 to three were inside at the time.

One of her teenage sons Bryson, 15, dragged her from the backyard and into the shower as they waited for emergency services to arrive.

Speaking a week on, Ms Ferguson is still in excruciating pain and has a long road to recovery ahead of her.

She was discharged from hospital earlier this week but requires check-ups on her extensive burns every second day.

The part-time disability support worker will be off work for up to six months.

'I couldn't tie my shoelaces this morning, I had to get my nine-year-old daughter to help me,' Ms Ferguson said.

The single mum (pictured with her four biological children after the accident) has a daunting road to recovery ahead of her

Anita (left) has to ask for help from her nine-year-old daughter Carly (right) with tying her shoelaces

Ms Ferguson has four children aged between 19 and nine and also cares for two foster children aged three and four, who both have intellectual disabilities.

'It was the first time in a long time the kids had been home all at the same time,' her brother Marc Ferguson told Daily Mail Australia.

'She had picked up the kids from school and was getting ready to watch the rugby league, which is very big in the household.'

'She added a little splash of petrol while lighting the fire and the flames just engulfed her.'

The accident has not only take a heavy physical and mental toll on Ms Ferguson but also the rest of the family.

'The kids are struggling with seeing the extent of their mum's injuries,' Mr Ferguson said.

'The amount of pain of Anita is going through right now I wouldn't wish on anyone.

The latest incident comes after five people were rushed to hospital after another fire pit exploded while being refilled with ethanol at a gathering at Newport on Sydney's northern beaches over the Easter long weekend.

One woman ended up in an induced coma with severe burns to her face, neck and chest.

Several others escaped by jumping into the backyard pool, which paramedics said lessened the extent of their injuries.

The local community is rallying around the much-loved disability support worker (pictured)

Anita Ferguson was rushed to Concord Hospital with serious burns to 30 per cent of her body

'Now is not to the time to be complacent, especially going into the winter,' Mr Ferguson said.

'Everyone needs to be cautious about lighting fires.'

'Sitting around the fire pit in the backyard on a cold night is a great way for a family to spend time together but if you're going to use a fire pit, use them safely.'

'And keep children safely away from them.'

Using petrol to light the fire is a no-no.

'Growing up in regional NSW, that's how we used to get a fire started,' Mr Ferguson said.

'Anita won't be using petrol again to light any more fires, she and I have had a very long conversation about that.'

Anita Ferguson (pictured) suffered serious burns after using petrol to light a fire pit

Anita Ferguson (pictured in hospital) is still in excruciating pain one week on

Friends and the local community have rallied around Ms Ferguson and her young family with an online fundraiser set up to help support them in the challenging months ahead.

The part-time income she's lost as she recovers would normally keep the household running.

'Anita is the first person to help others, she is there for everyone, and its time that Anita needs everyones help,' the page set up by Mr Ferguson and Anita's sister Jenna states.

'Anything you can offer to support is greatly appreciated, Anita will not be able to return to work for many months while she recovers and gets her life back to normal while recovering from her serious injuries.'

'With six children to feed and run around after Anita will struggle over the coming months.'

More than $6,500 has been raised within a few days.

'There's no words to describe the overwhelming support Anita has received,' her brother said.

'Whether it's dropping off meals, offering to look after the kids or sitting with Anita when she's on her own in the house during the day, it all means a lot.'
Non-binary activist Deni Todorovic has been hit with a restraining order.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal the controversial influencer was served an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) by NSW Police on behalf of his former partner Mitchell Latham, a Sydney-based transgender artist.

The pair announced their relationship on Instagram live during this year's Mardi Gras festival.

But Latham, who uses the pronouns they/them, is understood to have ghosted Todorovic after the activist's erratic behaviour on social media in recent weeks.

Melbourne-based Todorovic, 35, is due to face Newtown court in Sydney's inner west on Monday.

Non-binary activist Deni Todorovic has had a restraining order taken out again him by his former partner Mitchell Latham

The pair collaborated together on a Trans Lives Matter T-shirt campaign

Mitchell Latham is Sydney-based while Deni Todorovic lives in Melbourne

Todorovic posted a worrying a series of worrying social media posts following the order being taken out, but his family reassured his followers on Friday saying: 'He (is) safe and in good hands.'

Last month Todorovic, who uses all pronouns, shared a number photos of the couple together on Instagram.

'We've made a choice to keep things off the 'gram for as long/short and as frequently/infrequently as we so chose too,' Todorovic told their 80K followers in April.

'You have been some of the best 5 weeks of love, I have had the honour of experiencing in my 35 short laps around the sun.

'Here's to another 5 weeks, months, days, hours, years, decades, life times.'

The pair also released a 'Trans Lives Matter' shirt collection designed by Latham.

The AVO comes after weeks of bizarre behavior by the 35-year-old who is currently in Sydney attending Afterpay Australia Fashion week.

The prominent queer fashionista made a 'political' fashion statement that saw them flash their genitals to Newscorp journalists - Confidential's Jonathan Moran and Page 13's Alice Coster - at Australian Fashion Week on Tuesday, leaving them distressed.

'It was a distressing situation that's true, it was distressing because they are clearly not well and the system, I think has failed them and they need to be helped,' Moran told 2GB host Ben Fordham.

'They were wearing one of those man-kini type things under their pants, so you could see quite a lot - there was not a lot left to the imagination'

Deni Todorovic attends the BEC + BRIDGE show during Afterpay Australian Fashion Week

Todorovic was seen with his legs exposed outside Fashion Week, with faint scrawlings seen on his thighs following a row with Jetstar

Todorovic is pictured speaking to police after a row at Sydney Airport

Just one day after the flashing scandal, Todorovic had their fashion week plans dashed after being stopped by security at Nadia Bartel's Henne show at St Barnabas in Ultimo.

According to fashion sources, Afterpay Australian Fashion Week organisers are furious Todorovic's antics this week have made more headlines that the showcasing designers.

Before the event had even started he had a heated hour-long run-in with airport workers in Melbourne before flying to Sydney on a Jetstar flight.

Todorovic said he had been subjected to 'homophobic and racist' behaviour by staff requesting that he pay $100 for excess luggage, and subsequently wrote with black marker pen, 'Jetstar, suck my d***', across the top of both thighs when he turned up at AAFW.

A Jetstar representative denied staff did anything wrong.

Photographs of the incident show Todorovic with his mother, along with four police officers.

The model appeared upset and rested his head on his mother's arm. No charges were laid.

Todorovic first came to prominence when receiving a starring role as an ambassador for swimwear brand Seafolly - leading to a customer boycott in March.

But things have been coming unstuck for the influencer in a very public fashion for weeks.

Earlier this month, the model and activist began making wild accusations to close associates on social media and attacking brands that Todorovic formally worked for.

But subsequent erratic behaviour and tirades have seen the model ditched from various public roles by underwear label Bonds, youth charity Minus 18, and gin brand Tanqueray.

Friends, family and fans have expressed concern for Todorovic's mental health over recent weeks.

They claimed to have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and have undergone treatment at Royal Melbourne Hospital.

'I have a psychologist, a therapist, a psychiatrist, I'm going to the Banyans clinic, and they better not be any f***ing paparazzi when I get there,' they said.
A high schooler fighting for life after allegedly being stabbed by her male classmate has been identified as a talented artist with a background in graphic arts.

Melody Neal, 18, was allegedly knifed several times by Marc Rajan Taylor, 18, at the Lutheran College in Kamerunga, north-west of Cairns, at 10.35am on Tuesday.

Taylor faced Cairns Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder.

Ms Neal, who'd been enjoying recess with her friends at the time, was rushed to hospital after the attack and remains in a critical condition.

Her social media pages are filled with cartoon anime drawings and last year she said she was thinking about writing a comic book.

Melody Neal, 18, (pictured) was allegedly knifed several times by Marc Rajan Taylor, 18, at the Lutheran College in Kamerunga, north-west of Cairns, at 10.35am on Tuesday

Ms Neal works in hospitality and has jobs at McDonald's and Fenglehorn Sauces.

Snaps from her Instagram show her on a trip to Singapore just three weeks ago.

The 18-year-old underwent surgery on Wednesday and remains in critical care.

On Tuesday morning, Taylor allegedly pulled out a blade and carried out the attack in front of fellow students and teaching staff before he was restrained, the court heard.

Marc Rajan Taylor faced Cairns Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder

A crime scene was declared and police uncovered a knife at the school.

Detective acting Inspector Jason Chetham described the incident as 'very traumatic' and said police are 'investigating what the relationship is between the parties'.

Taylor will apply for bail when he faces court again on June 12.

Peace Lutheran College said in a statement that support was being provided to students who were affected by the incident.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with all members of our community during this difficult time,' the school said.

'The safety and wellbeing of all members of our community is our highest priority.'

'We ask the community to keep our injured student in their prayers.'
A political couple have both received ministerial promotions from Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk following a shock poll result for Labor.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey, 55, has gained the Digital Services portfolio while his girlfriend Meaghan Scanlon, 30, is the state's new Housing Minister.

The Left faction ministers with a 25-year age gap have been public about their relationship since 2018, but had been seeing each other since 2016.

They are both on salaries of $327,705 as state cabinet ministers who were previously political staffers before being elected to Parliament.

Mr Bailey, an inner-city Brisbane MP, is a former drama teacher and anti-nuclear campaigner.

He lived in a Tarragindi share house, after living in Byron Bay, before being elected to Parliament in 2015, and immediately becoming a minister.

Ms Scanlon is a former lawyer who became Australia's youngest minister in 2020 aged 27, and has held Labor's only seat on the Gold Coast, Gaven, since 2017.

A political power couple have received ministerial promotions from Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured, front left) following a shock poll result for Labor. Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey (back, left), 55, has gained the Digital Services portfolio while his girlfriend Meaghan Scanlon (back, second from left), 30, is the state's new Housing Minister. They are also pictured with Governor Jeannette Young (centre), new Health Minister Shannon Fentiman (front, right), returning Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath (left, second row), new Treaty and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Minister Leeanne Enoch (middle, second row), Employment Minister Di Farmer (right, second row), Child Safety Minister Craig Crawford (back, second right) and Environment Minister Leanne Linard (right, back)

Their promotions follow a YouGov poll, published last month in the Courier-Mail, which showed the Liberal National Party Opposition leading Labor 51 to 49 per cent after preferences - marking a four per cent swing against the government since the October 2020 election.

Should this result be replicated at the next state election - due in October 2024 - Labor would lose power and nine seats, including Townsville, Thuringowa and Mundingburra in north Queensland, Barron River north of Cairns, Bundaberg and Hervey Bay, the Sunshine Coast seats of Nicklin and Caloundra, and Redlands in Brisbane's Moreton Bay area.

Ms Palaszczuk has also promoted Shannon Fentiman into the troubled Health portfolio, making her a possible future Labor leader from the party's dominant Left faction who could compete with Deputy Premier Steven Miles.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey (right), 55, has gained the Digital Services portfolio while his girlfriend Meaghan Scanlon (left), 30, is the state's new Housing Minister

Yvette D'Ath, a Right faction ally of the Premier who was previously in federal politics, is being demoted back to her old Attorney-General portfolio, following problems in the Health portfolio.

Ms Palaszczuk, Australia's first female premier to win from Opposition in 2015, was re-elected in 2017 and again in 2020 after her decision to close Queensland's border during the pandemic saw her Labor Party win coastal retiree electorates it doesn't normally hold.

But her third term government has faced political troubles from ambulance ramping to DNA testing flaws and youth crime in Townsville.

'I've been listening to the community, and we need to do better,' she said.

'I've heard this message loud and clear.'
A father has spoken out after a thief sped off in his partner's car with their baby boy still in the backseat.

The mum had briefly ducked into a pet food store at Clearview Plaza in Adelaide's north on Thursday morning and left her sleeping one-year-old son in the car parked outside.

She kept a close watch on the white Mazda CX9 SUV the entire time as an opportunistic thief jumped into the car and began reversing out.

New CCTV footage from The Pet Food Centre has emerged of the shocking moment the frantic mum raced outside and startled customers watching on in horror as the store owner contacted police.

The distressed mum tried to confront the thief and open the back door but was knocked to the ground as the car sped off.

Police tracked the car's movements using her mobile phone before the vehicle was located abandoned 20 minutes later 4.6km away in Rowe Circuit, Walkley Heights.

The little boy was still in the backseat unharmed.

His panicked dad Michael Ryan rushed to the scene and has since recalled the harrowing moment of getting the call from police.

The stolen Mazda CX9 with a baby boy fast asleep in the backseat was captured on CCTV speeding off, sparking 20 minutes of panic

'When I got the call that there was an emergency, my partner was getting dog food and someone had decided to jump in our car while my partner was inside and drove off leaving with my son in the car,' Mr Ryan told 10 News.

'Obviously when you get the call you think the worst, just lucky this person had half of a heart and a conscience.'

Paramedics treated the mum at the scene for bruising suffered while being dragged on the ground by the moving car.

Both she and the little boy were taken to hospital for assessment.

'I think (it's) lucky that he's (his son) not old enough to have known what was going on,' Mr Ryan said.

'He's a trooper.'

The thief, who was last seen running towards Stockdale Botanic Park remains on the run as of Friday morning.

CCTV captured the moment Michael Ryan's partner raced outside the pet store after seeing an opportunistic thief jump into her vehicle while her baby was asleep in the backseat

The boy's dad Michael Ryan (pictured) is just relieved the thief had a conscience

Shocked witnesses have recalled how the mum desperately tried to cling onto the car as the thief sped off.

'I just saw the lady yelling and screaming, trying to hang onto the car and as it drove off yelling 'Oh they got my baby, baby's in the back,' John told Seven News.

The mother was away from her car for 90 seconds and did not take her eyes off the vehicle during that time.

'We were serving a few customers at the time. She ran out after the car. She was the car the whole time, you could tell,' The Pet Food Centre co-owner Tim Beaton said.

The desperate manhunt to track down the thief continues.

He's described as Caucasian appearance with a scraggly beard. He was wearing faded track pants with light lines down the side, a hooded jumper which was creamy in colour with a bit of white.

Detectives urge anyone who may have noticed suspicious behaviour in Walkley Heights and a Mazda CX9 station wagon to contact Crime Stoppers.

Michael Ryan (right) rushed to the scene after getting the call from police

The incident comes less than a year after another Adelaide mum experienced a similar harrowing ordeal.

In June last year, Erika Carter left the motor running with four-month-old baby son Jordan asleep in the back seat of her car as she ducked into a deli to buy a loaf of bread in Klemzig.

Seconds later, the distraught mum was captured on CCTV racing into the carpark as the alleged thief reversed out and sped off in the vehicle.

Her car was found abandoned two hours later with Jordan still inside, crying but unharmed.
A major cab company has refuted claims it uses price surging at times of peak demand despite customers suggesting otherwise.

13Cabs denies it employs surge pricing after a test revealed the astonishing price difference between a trip in the morning compared with the afternoon.

Rideshare apps such as Uber and Didi use surge pricing - when demand increases in a particular area, an algorithm senses the demand rise and prices spike on their apps.

But on the13Cabs website, the company states: 'We don't believe you should be taken by surprise just because there's a high demand for cabs. When you ride with 13Cabs, there's no surge, ever.'

Popular taxi company 13Cabs has been questioned about whether it uses price surging in peak periods with a claim on its website that it does not use the infuriating tactic (pictured: 13Cabs line)

At 3.37pm, 13Cabs quoted a $212 fee for the approximately one-hour trip from Surry Hills to Rooty Hill yet the very next day at 9.37am, the fare was priced at a much reduced $133

News.com, however, reported a trip from Sydney's CBD to Western Sydney had a staggering price difference based on the time of day it was taken.

A trip to and from the same locations would set back the traveller $79 more in the afternoon peak hour than in the morning.

At 3.37pm, 13Cabs quoted a $212 fee for the approximately one-hour trip from Surry Hills to Rooty Hill.

Yet the very next day at 9.37am, the fare was priced at a much reduced $133, despite the trip being estimated to be only 10 minutes quicker.

The cab company says its fares are set by the NSW Government and that its prices are calculated based on the time of day.

Sources say there are other explanations for why the price could differ such as the density of traffic at the time of the trip and the route taken based off Google's recommendation.

Daily Mail Australia understands the government sets prices three times during a 24-hour period and that is out of the control of taxi companies such as 13Cabs.
The death of a woman allegedly at the hands of a man known to her has sparked renewed calls for coercive control reforms and an overhaul of domestic violence laws.

Twenty Australian women have been allegedly killed in less than five months this year. Almost all were victims of alleged violence by men, according to The Red Heart Campaign.

According to a landmark Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study, one in four women has experienced emotional abuse by a current or previous partner.

It's estimated one Australian woman dies every week, with many dying allegedly at the hands of men known to them.

It's a concerning statistic that angered Sunrise host Natalie Barr during an emotional interview with the parents of Hannah Clarke last Friday.

Sue and Lloyd Clarke were on the program in the wake of the death of a young mother-of-four who died on Queensland's Sunshine Coast last week following an alleged confrontation with her partner.

It's been three years since Australia was shocked by the deaths of their daughter Hannah, 31, and her three children, doused in petrol by her estranged husband, who then set the family car on fire in Brisbane's south.

Hannah Clarke and her children were doused in petrol by her estranged husband before being burned alive

'We are still seeing one woman a week in this country murdered by her current or former partner,' Barr told Hannah's parents Sue and Lloyd Clarke.

'It just seems unbelievable that we keep repeating this and doing these stories. You keep suffering, and nothing seems to change.'

Rowan Baxter, 42, killed Hannah, 31, and her children Aaliyah, six, Laianah, four, and Trey, three, as they set off for school at Camp Hill, in Brisbane's south, on February 19, 2020.

He doused the inside of the vehicle with petrol and then set it alight before fatally stabbing himself on a suburban street in front of horrified residents.

Hannah Clarke's tragic death resulted in landmark changes in domestic violence laws in Queensland, with the coercive control of a partner or family member set to become a criminal offence this year.

NSW became the first Australian state to create a stand-alone offence of coercive control six months ago, while South Australia is expected to introduce laws later this year.

Her parents are campaigning for coercive control laws in every state and territory.

That includes Victoria, where Paul McDonough, 41, has pleaded guilty to the 2019 manslaughter of his partner Bekkie-Rae Curren-Trinca, 28, as she was preparing to leave him.

The court previously heard he attacked the mother-of-one after coming home from prison on November 26, 2019, to find she had packed her bags and was getting ready for him.

Mother-of-one Bekkie-Rae Curren-Trinca (pictured) had been preparing to leave her partner when she was bashed to death

McDonough had been released on bail for unrelated weapons offences.

Neighbours reported seeing McDonough chase Ms Curren-Trinca down the street before dragging her back into the house, where she was brutally bashed into a state of unconsciousness.

The court heard he called emergency services from a nearby pay phone the following day, telling them there was 'a lady that needs help' at his address.

Emergency responders told her shattered family her injuries were 'the worst domestic violence incident they'd ever seen'.

She had two swollen black eyes, her body was covered in bruises, while her hair was matted with blood.

Ms Curren-Trinca was airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with face and head trauma injuries and died a week later when her life support was turned off.

At a pre-sentencing hearing last month, the court heard the young mother-of-one had warned friends he might kill her.

Ms Curren-Trinca had been in contact with Warrnambool domestic violence support services half a dozen times and was preparing to report Paul McDonough to the police.

'You hurt my face and my eye and could easily kill me,' she said to McDonough in a chilling text a week before he died.

'I get angry because my daughter needs me and you could easily take that away from her.'

Another text read: 'I don't like c**** who condone or act violent towards women, I don't deserve it...'

McDonough, who pleaded guilty last December, will be sentenced later this year.

Bekkie-Rae Curren-Trinca, 28, from Warrnambool, Victoria, was beaten to death by her partner Paul McDonough in November 2019

Paul McDonough (left) has pleaded guilty to manslaughter of the death of his partner (right)

Former Deakin University digital media lecturer Adam Brown, 40, will be sentenced later this year after he pleaded guilty to stabbing his wife.

The body of mother-of-one Chen Cheng, 35, was found in the backyard of the couple's Croydon North home in April 2022.

Ms Cheng had moved to Melbourne from China to study seven years earlier and met Brown the following year.

Brown sobbed as he sat in a dock at Melbourne's Supreme Court during a pre-sentence hearing in March.

His barrister told the court Brown was 'deeply sorry' and had accepted he would serve a lengthy jail term for his wife's murder.

The court heard the couple were arguing about future kindergarten arrangements for their toddler when the fight escalated.

Brown claimed Ms Cheng spat in his face, hit him around his ears, and he tried to restrain her and push her away before the couple went into the kitchen and both armed themselves with knives, prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC said.

The court heard Ms Cheng was stabbed in the neck and lost a large amount of her blood before the fight moved to the backyard, where she and Brown ended up on the ground struggling over a knife.

The court also heard neighbours went to the home after they heard Ms Cheng screaming, 'help me, he's trying to kill me'.

An autopsy revealed that Ms Cheng died from three deep stab wounds to her chest and neck.

Adam Brown (left) has pleaded guilty to the murder of his wife Chen Cheng (right). The former university lecturer will be sentenced later this year

Mother-of-one Chen Cheng (pictured) died from multiple stab wounds to her chest and neck

Adam Brown was seen arriving at the Supreme Court of Victoria in March for a pre-sentencing hearing, where he broke down in the dock

In February 2021, grandmother Doreen Langham, 49, died at the hands of her former partner Gary Hely in a fire at her Browns Plains townhouse, south of Brisbane.

Hely had forced his way inside, dousing her and the home they once shared in petrol before setting it alight. He also died in the blaze.

An inquest into the apparent murder-suicide in 2022 found that Ms Langham spoke to at least 16 different police officers in the five days before she was killed but was turned away.

'All but one of those officers failed her - none took her seriously,' criminologist Professor Kerry Carrington told the Coroners Court.

'Huge amounts of information that could have been used to save her either slipped through the cracks or were misinterpreted.

'There was just error after error. It was a calamity of errors.'

The night before the fire, Ms Langham called the police, fearing Hely was trying to break into her home.

Police went to the home and left to a McDonald's drive-thru after knocking on the door once and getting no answer.

The inquest also heard ten days before the fatal blaze, Hely told police he was shocked to be served with a domestic violence order, insisting his former partner had nothing to fear.

Deputy state coroner Jane Bentley concluded police 'failed to take even the most basic steps' and found numerous missed opportunities in their response to Hely's escalating behaviour.

'It is possible that had every complaint been dealt with in accordance with relevant duties and obligations, Mr Hely would not have killed Ms Langham or himself,' she said when she handed down the findings.

'A holistic investigative approach would have revealed that Hely had a concerning domestic violence history interstate and that the frequency and severity of his behaviour was escalating,'

The corner added urgent reforms were needed to address inadequate responses to domestic violence victims.

Grandmother Doreen Langham (right) died at the hands of her former partner Gary Hely (left) in a fire at her Browns Plains home in February 2021

An inquest heard Doreen Langham (pictured) had desperately asked 16 police officers for help when her former partner became abusive and sent her death threats

A 2022 inquest heard Doreen Langham 'could still be alive' if police responded differently on the night of her death. Pictured is the aftermath of the house fire that claimed her life

Young mum Tara Brown, 24, was killed by her ex-partner, Bandidos sergeant-at-arms Lionel Patea on September 8, 2015.

After dropping off their three-year-old daughter at daycare, Ms Brown was driven off a Gold Coast road by Patea as her car rolled down an embankment .

As Ms Brown lay trapped in her car, Patea bashed her to death with a 7.9kg steel fire hydrant cover hydrant cover found at the roadside, leaving her 'non-survivable' brain injuries.

She had been hiding from her ex-partner at a safe house and friends' homes and had taken a domestic violence order against Patea just days earlier.

Patea pleaded guilty to her murder and was sentenced to life behind bars in 2017.

An inquest into Ms Brown's death in 2021 report found that Patea was repeatedly violent with the young woman and allegedly asked Bandidos members to bash one of her friends whom he thought she was sleeping with.

While pregnant with their child in 2012, Ms Brown was allegedly strangled and pushed down the stairs by Patea, who then threatened to slit their dog's throat and bash her brother.

It was also revealed Patea had threatened Ms Brown in the days leading up to her death by holding a pair of scissors to her throat after he allegedly learned she had begun seeing another man.

Ms Brown received hundreds of threatening texts and calls a day In the days leading up to her death.

Gold Coast mother-of-one Tara Brown (left) was killed by her bikie ex-partner Lionel Patea (left) in 2015

In 2017, Lionel Patea (left) was jailed over the murder of Tara Brown, the mother of his child

Sue and Lloyd Clarke have become outspoken advocates to legislate coercive control, an insidious form of family violence which slowly restricts victims and strips them of their power within a relationship.

The first round of legislation inspired by Hannah that aims to stop abusive relationships will soon become law in Queensland.

The Clarkes were as heartbroken and angry as Sunrise host Natalie Barr when they heard the news of the

'I was devastated. I cried, I always cry when I hear this,' Ms Clarke said.

'It should not be happening, it should not still be happening to other families.'

'This is why we have to change the laws.'

Her husband Lloyd added: 'This why our journey has still got a long way to go.

'We've still got to get other states and territories to get on board with coercive control. We've had got three states there now but we need all states and territories to get on board with coercive control laws.'

Hannah's parents Sue and Lloyd Clarke are outspoken advocates to legislate coercive control

Hannah Clarke's tragic death resulted in landmark changes in domestic violence laws

The Clarkes plan to travel to Victoria in the coming weeks to lobby Victoria's Attorney General Jaclyn Symes, who's yet to respond to the couple's request for a meeting.

'It doesn't matter how hard everybody's working towards stopping this,' Ms Clarke said.

'We, it's, people are talking more about it and I think people are understanding coercive control more, but we do need to get the laws in place.'

The 12 signs of coercive control 1. Isolating you from your support system. An abusive partner will cut you off from friends and family, or limit your contact with them so you dont receive the support you need. 2. Monitoring your activity throughout the day. 3. Denying you freedom and autonomy. A person exerting coercive control may try to limit your freedom and independence. For example, not allowing you to go to work or school, restricting your access to transportation, stalking your every move when youre out, taking your phone and changing passwords, etc. 4. Gaslighting, where the abuser makes you doubt your own truth, experience and sanity, by insisting that they are always right, and instils their narrative of a situation, even if the evidence points against this. Gaslighting in essence, is based on lies and manipulation of the truth. 5. Name-calling and severe criticism, as well as malicious put-downs which are all extreme forms of bullying. 6.Limiting access to money and controlling finances. This is a way of restricting your freedom and ability to leave the relationship. Financial abuse is listed above as a specific form of abuse but, within the context of coercive control, financial control is a tactic to keep a person disempowered, by utilising strategies such as: [lacing you on a strict budget that barely covers the essentials such as food or clothes

limiting your access to bank accounts

hiding financial resources from you

preventing you from having a credit card

rigorously monitoring what you spend. 7. Coercing you, to take care of all the domestic duties such as cleaning, cooking and childcare without sharing the responsibility and tasks involved to undertake these duties. 8. Turning your children against you. If you have children either with the abuser or someone else, they may try to weaponise the children against you by making comments that are critical of you, belittling you in front of the children, or telling them that youre a bad parent. Sometimes the techniques are very subtle and insidious, involving slow drip-feeding of a narrative that regards you as abnormal. 9. Controlling aspects of your health and your body. The abuser will monitor and control how much you eat, sleep, exercise, or how much time you spend in the bathroom. They may also control where you go for medical help, and the medications you take. 10. Making jealous accusations about the time you spend with family or friends, either in person or online, as a way of phasing out all your contact with the external world, except for them. 11. Regulating your sexual relationship, for example making demands about the amount of times you engage in sex each day or week, and the kinds of activities you perform. 12. Threatening your children or pets as an extreme form of intimidation. When physical, emotional, or financial threats do not work for the abuser as desired, they may make threats against others such as your loved ones, children and pets, who are also beloved members of the household. Advertisement

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

Lifeline 13 11 14
Man known for eating a cane toad arrested without bail

A man who gained online notoriety for eating a cane toad has been arrested for allegedly intimidating his neighbour, who had previously accused him of stalking.

Ian Bartholomew, 57, was granted bail for the stalking charges on May 16 after he allegedly followed his neighbour to her car at Toowoomba home, 130km west of Brisbane.

Just hours after arriving home, he is alleged to have been caught on CCTV outside of the same neighbour's house.

He allegedly walked slowly past her house while wearing a Michael Myers mask, from the Halloween horror film franchise, before staring down the lens of one of the security cameras.

Bartholomew was also found guilty of two charges of wilful damage to the same neighbour's property in January.

A man known for eating a cane toad and brains on TikTok, Ian Bartholomew (pictured), has been arrested for allegedly intimidating a witness hours after being granted bail

Bartholomew was charged with a single act of intimidating a witness.

His bail was revoked and he will remain remanded in custody until his return to court on July 4.

Bartholomew has built a considerable online presence on TikTok for his eccentric and often bizarre cooking videos.

On April 18, he posted a video to the social media app recounting the events at the Toowoomba Court House for the stalking charges.

'Just come out of court and things really didn't go my way,' Bartholomew said, before the video cuts to him riding a Segway through the streets.

'I'm not suggesting for a moment that I haven't made a huge contribution to the dilemma I'm in by being quite the d***head.'

He then describes his neighbour as 'goon guzzling' before revealing her name.

The TikTok home cook is alleged to have worn a Michael Myers mask (pictured) - from the Halloween horror movie series - outside of his neighbour's house just hours after being released on bail for allegedly stalking her

Bartholomew rose to infamy for his eccentric and often bizarre cooking videos on TikTok, with one notable case of him catching and cooking a cane toad (pictured)

Bartholomew became infamous for catching, cooking and eating a cane toad that he described as 'delicious'.

In a video posted to TikTok, he showed himself catching a small toad and then putting it inside a plastic bag and into a freezer.

The bloody chopped-up remains of the toad were displayed on a chopping board before Mr Bartholomew put flour on them.

'A little bit of flour, rosemary salt,' the cook said as he sprinkled the amphibian's legs with the ingredients.

The portions were then shallow fried in oil before his mates were seen at the end of the video eating the meaty legs.

'It's actually 10 times better than I thought it would be,' a man said in the video.

'F****** delicious.'

One disgusted commenter wrote: 'Sorry, but no, no, no,'.

'There's no way,' another wrote.
Fetterman has only recently returned to Congress after he was diagnosed with depression earlier this year

It came to light after a Washington Post reporter deleted a tweet featuring quotes from the senator's office regarding the grilling of a banking exec

Sen. John Fetterman's office is accused of doctoring his speeches in official transcripts in order to make him sound more coherent

Democratic Senator John Fetterman's office has been accused of smoothing over transcripts of his congressional appearances to hide the stroke victim's struggles to articulate himself.

During a session about the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank Tuesday, Fetterman was filmed saying: 'The Republicans want to give a work requirement for SNAP. You know, for a uh, uh, uh, a hungry family has to have these, this kind of penalties, or these some kinds of word  working uh, require  Shouldn't you have a working requirement, after we sail your bank, billions of your bank?,' the liberal senator said during the session.

'Because you seem we were preoccupied, uh when, then SNAP requirements for works, for hungry people, but not about protecting the tax, the tax papers, you know, that will bail them out of whatever does about a bank to crash it,' he continued in the verbatim transcript.

But a release of Fetterman's remarks shared by his office with Washington Post reporter Jeff Stein later was markedly different.

'Shouldn't you have a working requirement after we bail out your bank? Republicans seem to be more occupied with SNAP requirements for hungry people than protecting taxpayers that have to bail out these banks,' the 'official' version, issued by Fetterman's office, read.

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman's office was slammed for doctoring the lawmaker's congressional transcripts to make him sound coherent, after he suffered a stroke a year ago

A Fox News Digital review showed Tuesday's incident wasn't the only time that the transcripts released did not match recordings of him actually speaking. Transcripts later released by his office revealed a clean, coherent version of his remarks.

Fetterman, who suffered a stroke a year ago, only recently returned to Congress after being hospitalized with depression. But his health has been called into question as he continues to struggle with cognitive issues during Senate hearings.

The most-recent ordeal was brought to light this week when Washington Post economics reporter Jeff Stein tweeted what Fetterman had asked Silicon Valley Bank ex-CEO Greg Becker.

'Shouldn't you have a working requirement after we bail out your bank? Republicans seem to be more preoccupied with SNAP requirements for hungry people than protecting taxpayers that have to bail out these banks.'

He later deleted the tweet and admitted that he had been provided the cleaned up quote from Fetterman's office.

'That was my fault,' Stein wrote. 'Though it captured his meaning, I deleted the tweet since some of the words in the quote were inaccurate.'

The video of the hearing revealed that the lawmaker's words were more jumbled as he stumbled over himself, muttering several ums and other filler words.

Conservatives suggesting that Fetterman was not capable of serving in Washington after seeing his attempt to grill the Silicon Valley Bank's CEO Greg Becker

A Fox News Digital review showed the Tuesday incident wasn't the only time that the transcripts released did not match recordings of him actually speaking

When Fox News Digital conducted a review, they reported that there were other times his office had altered his remarks since his return in April.

Following his April 26 hearing, his office posted a transcript on the website.

'I'm really excited about Whole-Home Repairs. Here in Pennsylvania, one of my friends, Nikil Saval in the Senate, shepherded it. And he got linked up with the Republicans and they actually created one of the first kinds of a program like this in the nation.

'I come from a community here, in Braddock, Pennsylvania, where your home can go bad really quickly. And I'm really excited that we can take something like that, which is happening in Pennsylvania, and take it federal.'

But the recorded version of the Fetterman's remarks were different than what is office had posted.

'I'm really excited by it, because here in Pennsylvania one of my friends really [inaudible] it, Nikil Saval, he was one of the literally  quite literally  as hard left as a politician I'm aware of  you know  certainly in the Senate,' Fetterman says. 'Um, he really helped shepherd that. And he got linked up with the Republicans, and he actually created the first kind of a program like this in the nation, you know. And one of my colleague  Mr. Vance  talked about well if there's a leak in the ceiling, what if you don't have the money to fix that? What can happen to that, kinda things?

'I come from a community down in Braddock, Pennsylvania, where there's a lot of  your home can go bad quickly if you were having those kinds  so I'm a big  you know  I'm incredibly, I think I'm excited that could take from Pennsylvania and go federal.'

In mid-April, Fetterman returned to Washington after spending almost two months in Walter Reed military hospital being treated for clinical depression.

Fetterman was released from the hospital at the end of March but went home to Pennsylvania as the Senate was on a two-week spring break.

He checked into Walter Reed on that day after weeks of what aides described as Fetterman being withdrawn and uninterested in eating, discussing work or the usual banter with staff.

At the time, Fetterman was barely a month into his service in Washington and still recovering from the aftereffects of the stroke he suffered last May. He went to Walter Reed on the advice of the Capitol physician, Dr. Brian P. Monahan.

During his stay, his staff emphasized he was working, being kept briefed on issue and in contact with them.

Fetterman declined to answer questions upon his return

Fetterman returned to the Capitol in April after a 2-month absence to be treated for depression

Fetterman suffered his stroke in May of 2022, days before Pennsylvania's Democratic primary, but he still won the race.

The stroke, which almost killed him, kept him sidelined for months from the campaign trail in his race against the Trump-backed Republican, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the former television personality.

The Democrat was able to win the office in part because of some creative trolling of Oz from his team, as the Republican spent decades living in New Jersey before his Keystone State Senate run.

His shaky debate performance - which highlighted his unusual speech patterns and auditory processing issues leftover from the stroke - rattled some Democrats, as it gave Oz an opening to win.

But on election night, the race was called for Fetterman by 1am, with Oz conceding shortly thereafter.
Gambling-related signage will be removed from outside pubs and clubs across NSW as the new Labor government moves to honour an election pledge.

All external gambling-related signs will need to be removed or altered before September 1.

Pubs and clubs will be formally notified from next week and will have three months to remove the signage.

If venues cannot remove the signs due to circumstances outside their control they have a further three months grace period to get rid of them.

Names such as 'VIP room' and 'VIP lounge' will be among the banned terms, while images of dragons, coins or lightning will also be barred from club signage.

Other prohibited signs include 'Golden Room' and 'Prosperity Lounge'.

Names such as 'VIP room' and 'VIP lounge' (pictured) will be among the banned terms, while images of dragons, coins or lightning will also be barred from club signage

Gaming Minister David Harris said there were already laws in place to prohibit gaming-related signage, but venue operators are able to circumvent the system by advertising so-called 'VIP lounges'

Venues that fail to remove signs can face fines of up to $11,000

Gaming Minister David Harris said there were already laws in place to prohibit gaming-related signage, but venue operators are able to circumvent the system by advertising so-called 'VIP lounges'.

'The facades of pubs and clubs across the state are littered with signs such as 'VIP lounge' to alert those walking or driving by that they have gaming machines,' he said.

'We are putting an end to this loophole.'

The government said it would work with industry associations and venues across NSW during the transition period.

Those that failed to remove their signs could face penalties of up to $11,000 for each offence.

Mr Minns has also promised a cashless card trial on 500 machines from July 1 and other measures such as a reduction in pokie machines and a ban on political donations from clubs with gaming operations.

The former coalition government pledged to go further and introduce mandatory cashless gaming cards across the state with a daily spending cap.

But Wesley Mission said its new survey shows 56.7 per cent of NSW residents think the government should abandon the 500-machine trial and instead fully implement a cashless system for poker machines.

'Casino-based poker machines in NSW will be cashless next year, and all Tasmania's poker machines will be as well,' Wesley Mission CEO Rev Stu Cameron said on Friday.

'There is also sufficient evidence from the successful implementation of cashless systems overseas to inform a full roll-out in NSW.'

'One in three people told us they knew a colleague, friend or family member who has been harmed by playing poker machines,' Wesley Mission CEO Rev Stu Cameron said

The Wesley survey, which involved 1,000 people, also found 70 per of NSW residents don't think the government is doing enough to reform the poker machine industry and 66 per cent think it has too much influence on government policy.

'Community concern about the level of harm caused by poker machines remains very high,' Rev Cameron said.

'One in three people told us they knew a colleague, friend or family member who has been harmed by playing poker machines.'

Last month, NSW Liquor and Gaming revealed a record $8.1billion was lost to poker machines in NSW last year - equivalent to $1,000 for every adult and child in the state.

The state government's gambling reform package was a response to the NSW Crime Commission findings that said criminals were using the poker machines to launder money.
A boy of six cried 'am I dying?' to his mother after their American Staffordshire terrier viciously attacked him and ripped skin from his scalp.

Vick Zidko was walking down the stairs at his home in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, when their dog, which they bought on Facebook just two weeks prior, clamped its jaws round his head.

The young boy pleaded with the dog, called Diesel, to stop as it brutally bit and scratched him on his head and back, The Mirror reported.

The boy's family was eventually able to prise the dog's mouth open after his father Vitalijus put his arm in the dog's jaw to protect his son - after which, young Vick cried: 'Mummy, am I dying?'.

After five days in hospital Vick had the torn-off piece of scalp reattached - it is now under a large patch on his head.

A six-year-old boy was scalped by an American Staffordshire terrier called Diesel (pictured) just two weeks after it was purchase on Facebook

The dog (pictured) was destroyed by police after it tore skin off the head of Vick Zidko

Officers are investigating the incident and the dog was destroyed by police.

Forklift truck driver Vitalijus told The Mirror the family had thought 'long and hard' about getting a dog and described Diesel as 'really soft' and 'jumping around'.

Last Thursday at 7pm, the dog was chewing a bone just before the attack began leading Vick's sister Gabriel, 18, to think 'it was as if he saw Vick as a chew toy'.

After the attack a piece of Vick's scalp ended up on the floor at the home and was almost stepped on by a police officer.

Mother Eugenija, 41, told The Mirror: 'I grabbed Vick and ran to the bedroom, locking the door.

'I was trying to calm him down. I put a towel on his head to stop the bleeding. He saw all the blood and said, "Mummy, am I dying?".

'Then he asked "is [his twin brother] Nick and Gabriel OK.'

She added her son is now having bad dreams where he relives the moment the dog attacked him.

She added: 'He said, "Promise me, we'll have no more dogs in our house".'

It comes as a dog walker who was mauled to death by eight dogs in January is believed to have been killed by her own American Bully XL.

Natasha Johnston died from multiple bites to the neck

Police at the scene in Gravelly Hill in Caterham, Surrey, where dogs fatally attacked Ms Johnston

Witnesses to the horrific attack said the dogs turned into a pack of 'wolves' when they attacked Natasha Johnston, 28, at the Gravelly Hill beauty spot in Caterham on January 12.

She died from multiple bites to the neck, including one that perforated her jugular vein, an inquest heard. Eight dogs were seized at the scene of the frenzied attack.

Police confirmed Ms Johnston's dog was the only animal to have been destroyed.

They are continuing to hold five other dogs following a vet's forensic report but two seized dachshunds were returned to their owner last month.
Alabama officials are set to consider parole for a woman known as the 'Lady Sundown Killer,' who was convicted of abducting, torturing and murdering a 13-year-old girl alongside her husband in 1982.

Judith Ann Neelley, 58, will appear before the Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole Boards on May 25, marking her second chance at parole since her death sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1999.

Neelley was sent to prison in 1983 for murdering 13-year-old Lisa Ann Millican, after she and her husband Alvin Neelley abducted the girl from a Georgia shopping mall, sexually assaulted her, injected her with drain cleaner and fatally shot her.

At Neelley's first parole hearing in 2018, officials deliberated for 55 seconds before denying her bid for freedom.

If she were granted parole next week, she would be immediately transferred to authorities in Georgia to serve a separate life sentence for murdering another young woman alongside her husband, who died behind bars in 2005.

Judith Ann Neelley, 58, will appear before the Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole Boards on May 25, marking her second chance at parole since her death sentence was commuted

Neelley was convicted in 1983 with husband Alvin Neelley of murdering 13-year-old Lisa Ann Millican (top right in a family photo), who was abducted from a Georgia shopping mall

Alvin and Judith Neelley are seen in an undated photo. The couple abducted, tortured and murdered two female victims, all while they had two-year-old twins at home

However, even the possibility that Neelley could be granted parole in Alabama is dredging up painful memories for the families of her victims, who want to see the killer serve out her life sentence in Alabama.

'With each passing parole, I fear it gets closer to Georgia,' Lisa's sister-in-law Cassie Millican told the Times-Journal last month. 'She's been here so long already that I fear eventually they'll send her to Georgia to do her sentence there.'

'We are, of course, urging protest letters once again,' said Cassie. 'With each parole [hearing], typically there will be less exposure.'

On Facebook, Cassie shared a letter from the Sheriff of Chattanooga County in Georgia, on behalf of the family of Neelley's second victim, Janice Kay Chatman, who was abducted and killed there in October 1982.

In the letter, Sheriff Mark A. Schrader strongly recommends that Neelley be denied parole in Alabama, but advises that his deputies are waiting to immediately take her into custody to serve her Georgia sentence in the event she is freed.

The sickening saga of Judith and Alvin Neelley's crimes dates back to September 25, 1982, when the married couple abducted young Lisa Ann Millican from Riverbend Mall in Rome, Georgia.

At the time of the crime, the Neelley couple had two-year-old twins, and Judith was pregnant with their third child.

Judith (left) and Alvin (right) Neelley's crimes date back to September 25, 1982, when the married couple abducted young Lisa Ann Millican from Riverbend Mall in Rome, Georgia

Judith Ann Neeley is photographed October 19, 1984 at the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Alabama. Known as the infamous 'Lady Sundown' killer, she was the youngest American woman to receive the death penalty at trial

Judith Ann Neelley is seen on death row in 1984. In 1999, when she was days away from execution, Alabama Governor Fob James commuted her death sentence

Chattanooga Sheriff Mark A. Schrader strongly recommended that Neelley be denied parole in Alabama, but advises that his deputies are waiting to immediately take her into custody

According to the Times-Journal, the Neelleys drove 13-year-old Lisa to a motel in Franklin, Georgia, where she was raped and made to sleep naked on the floor.

The following day, after picking up their own young couple, the married killers took Lisa to the Five Points Inn in Scottsboro, Alabama where Alvin raped her repeatedly over the course of two days, and Judith beat her and kept her handcuffed in the bathroom.

Planning to kill the girl and dispose of her body, the couple took Lisa to Little River Canyon in Fort Payne, where Judith injected the girl six times with drain cleaner.

Frustrated that the poison did not kill the teen quick enough, Judith then shot the girl in the back and pushed her body into the canyon, the court heard.

After the brutal murder, the Neelleys drove to nearby Gadsden to enjoy breakfast.

Less than a month later, the murder spree continued in Rome, Georgia, when the Neelleys abducted 23-year-old Janice Chatman, after shooting an injuring her fiance John Hancock in early October 1982.

Janice was also taken to a hotel, tortured and sexually assaulted, before the Neelleys murdered her and dumped the body.

The murders were solved when the Neelleys were arrested on a bad check charge in Tennessee, and authorities connected Judith to phone threats against a juvenile detention center in Rome where she once served time.

By chance, Hancock, the surviving victim, was being interviewed about Janice's abduction when he happened to hear recordings of the phone threats, and identified the voice as the woman who had shot him and abducted Janice.

Alvin eventually led investigators to Janice's body and pled guilty to murder and aggravated assault in Georgia.

Only Judith was tried in Alabama for Lisa's murder. She was found guilty there and sentenced to death by execution, and pleaded guilty in Georgia for a life sentence.

Judith was just 18 at the time of the murders, making her the youngest woman in US history to be sentenced to execution.

In 1999, when she was days away from execution, Alabama Governor Fob James commuted Judith Neelley's death sentence to life behind bars.

A 2003 Alabama law to bar her from parole eligibility was ruled unconstitutional in March.

Frankie Mason, center, the mother of murder victim Lisa Ann Millican, speaks with reporters after Alabama's parole board refused to release Neeley in 2018

Tina Millican, left, and Judy Bradley, both sisters of murder victim Lisa Ann Millican, are seen at the 2018 parole hearing. They strongly oppose Neelley's new bid for parole next week

In 2018, Alabama officials swiftly rejected Neelley's bid for parole after deliberating for less than one minute.

Calvin Millican said at the hearing that his sister's killing devastated his family and that Neelley should have gotten the death penalty.

'Judith Ann Neelley is a very cruel, sick person and needs to do her punishment for killing, taking lives,' he said, according to the Associated Press.

Lisa Millican's sister Tina Millican also remarked at the 2018 hearing that Neelley 'is the true essence of evil.'

Parole board members heard dueling depictions of Neelley during the 30-minute hearing: that she was a cold-blooded person who killed for sport or that she was an abused teen dominated by an older, controlling husband.

'She loved killing. She enjoyed the death of Lisa Millican,' said Mike O'Dell, a district attorney who prosecuted Neelley.

But an attorney representing Neelley told the board Neelley was coerced by Alvin Neelley into committing the crime.

'To say that Miss Neelley was brainwashed was a vast understatement. She was more like a zombie,' Julian McPhillips said.

'Unquestionably the crime committed was a dastardly and unthinkable crime that defies human comprehension,' said McPhillips.

'Miss Neelley couldn't agree more with that and will be to her very dying moment incredibly ashamed and remorseful for what happened. She has said many times if she could trade her own life for the victim's she would have done so.'
A black laborer at a Detroit psychiatric hospital for children is suing after he was asked to play a gunman for an active shooter drill which ended with him being arrested after his bosses failed to share their plans.

Brandon Woodruff, 32, had been working at the site for five months when his supervisor asked him to participate in the drill four days before Christmas 2022.

But neither the police nor patients or their families were informed of the plan, and many staff were also unaware of what was going to happen.

When Woodruff - a dad of one - appeared with a fake rifle, patients panicked and dialed 911, prompting 50 cops in tactical gear to race to the scene and arrest Woodruff.

'Although the terror, panic and mortification of those trapped inside Hawthorn was real, there were no intruders, there were no AR-15s and there were no 'shots fired',' the suit states.

'Rather, the State of Michigan created the terror and panic at Hawthorn Center as an ill-conceived 'safety' drill.

'Even the scores of law enforcement who responded to the frantic 911 calls from those trapped inside the building thought there were intruders with military style weapons; they too were preparing to risk their lives to save the children and the adults who were trying to protect them.'

Brandon Woodruff, 32, a laborer at a Detroit psychiatric hospital for children, is suing for damages after he was arrested at work, while participating in 'an ill-conceived 'safety' drill'

Woodruff's suit was filed a month after families and staff filed their own class-action suits, seeking damages.

A physical description of Woodruff, a black man soon to be a father, was circulated when the alert was issued and an unarmed Woodruff was told to walk through the corridors of the hospital, noting down how people reacted.

Woodruff said he was uneasy at the idea, but complied.

Yet when he went in the building he was deeply upset by the terror he saw.

Woodruff did not know that the people in the building had not been warned of the drill, according to the lawsuit.

He told The Detroit Free Press he was one woman sprinting 'like she ran for her dear life.'

Woodruff added: 'It was one particular room that drew me off guard, one of the living areas.

'It was the way it was barricaded' with mattresses and chairs, said Woodruff.

'I had an uneasy feeling, like maybe these kids think this is real. I'm gonna like leave them alone in this area. They probably a little scared and not know what's going on. So, I just left that area and just continued.'

Those inside the building 911, and sent what they feared were final texts to loved ones.

One woman whispered during her 911 call, asking a dispatcher, 'Are the police here?'

When the dispatcher said officers were checking things out, the caller said, 'Please, please, please, help me.'

The dispatcher told her to stay calm and that he was there with her.

'I'm so scared,' she whispered.

Police are seen responding to the drill at Hawthorn Center on December 21

A tearful Woodruff spoke to the Detroit Free Press about the traumatic incident

On receiving the 911 calls about an active shooter, officers were dispatched: 22 heavily-armed police rushed to the center, from Northville and Livonia townships.

Michigan State Police also rushed there.

When they arrived, officers quickly grabbed their tactical weapons and heavy gear.

In front of the building, two people - one of them being Woodruff - told police it was just a drill.

But they were then told to lie on the ground until police confirmed their story.

Woodruff, face down, used his smartwatch to call his wife, who recorded what she heard.

According to the lawsuit, Woodruff feared for his life and wanted to make sure that his wife heard the last moments of his life.

Woodruff's attorneys say he 'heard the safeties come off the police officers' weapons.'

They said: 'Mr Woodruff was scared for his life.'

He had not been told the police were unaware it was a drill.

Woodruff (right) was handcuffed, along with a white colleague (left) and held for 30 minutes

The two men are seen being detained over the December 21 drill

'Woodruff did his best to comply with the anxious, sometimes conflicting orders from the police officers, getting down on the ground, then moving slowly towards them with his hands raised, and finally lifting his shirt and turning around several times to show that he was not armed,' the lawsuit states.

Footage shows Woodruff handcuffed.

He was kept under police control for at least 30 minutes as police sorted out the situation.

The drill was held at 10:30am.

At 5:11pm, Victoria Petti, the hospital director, emailed staff to explain what had happened and apologize for 'the stress', saying she accepted it had 'touched you all in different ways'.

Woodruff's attorneys state the drill was announced only to supervisors in advance, with strict instructions not to inform subordinate employees or children.

On a typical weekday morning, about 50 children and 200 staff are at the center, they said.

'This morning an active intruder alert was announced on the overhead system,' Petti wrote.

'Although this was a drill it was not announced as such.

'Understandably, many in the building became frightened and some contacted 911. A tactical team responded to these calls and arrived armed and in full gear.

'I want to convey how deeply sorry I am that this occurred and for the stress it's caused.

'I spoke with many of you today and hope to reach others in the next few days.

'I know this has touched you all in different ways.'

Woodruff said he has struggled at work since the incident

He is pictured with his baby daughter, who was born in February

Two former Hawthorn Center employees told Click On Detroit they were left with lasting trauma from the attack.

One said: 'After the drill was over, a lot of the children actually had to be sedated, so they had to call emergency for outside hospitals.'

Another explained: 'I couldn't stop crying, tears rolling down my eyes, I couldn't stop shaking, I was trembling uncontrollably,' one of the employees said.

'It's created anxiety, trouble sleeping. Every time this is mentioned, it's like reliving the event.

'So every little sound you hear, that I particularly heard, I felt like, okay, are they out in the hallway, you know, I really have nowhere to hide that's going to protect me. So I just felt like, you know, this is probably going to be, you know, my last day here.'

David Horeine, whose son was a patient at Hawthorn during the drill, said the terrified parents placed themselves between the door and their children, hoping to save them.

He told Click On Detroit: 'But the kids were informed if the adults were to go down, the kids would have to fight for their lives.'

Horeine said they were not told by the hospital what had happened, even afterwards.

'We find out over Facebook. We were never notified by the hospital about what happened at all on that day.'

Horeine, who has joined the class suit, called for people to be fired over the drill.

'I don't mince words. So I will say that I think that people who orchestrated this event need to be terminated. I think that it was gross negligence.'

The families and staff have filed two class-action lawsuits.

One lawsuit targets the state, as the Department of Health and Human Services operates the Hawthorn Center, while the other lawsuit focuses on specific members of the hospital staff who initiated the unannounced active shooter drill.

The lawsuits seek a comprehensive investigation by the state attorney general, full accountability for what the plaintiffs consider a grossly irresponsible decision, and damages.

Woodruff said he struggles to go in to work, but has to to support his family.

His attorney said he missed work at times over distress from the drill, and as a result of taking time and a miscalculation from the state on military service credit, Woodruff was told he didn't qualify, by less than a day's work, for parental leave when his baby was born in February.

His attorneys also said in March he was denied a request for mental health treatment.

Initial counseling offered by the hospital was 'half-assed,' and no one in the administration apologized.

'There was no transparency about the aftermath of this,' he said.

'I feel they don't care about what happened and they're trying to minimize it and sweep it under the rug 'cuz they know we are about to leave this building.'

The state health department said they were reviewing procedures.

The authority said in a statement it understood that 'patients, staff and community were affected by the incident in December.'

'The Joint Commission requires the state psychiatric hospitals conduct a hazard vulnerability analysis at least every two years to identify potential emergencies, including active shooter drills.

'MDHHS is working with township law enforcement and the Michigan State Police on an improved active intruder training and drill process as part of updating its emergency operations policy.'
One simple statistic drives me mad  and should do the same to you. Over the past three years, water companies have been dumping sewage into the rivers and along the coastlines of England and Wales for about 7.5million hours.

There's no way of knowing exactly how many millions  perhaps billions  of tons of waste that represents.

Yesterday, nine English water companies came together and said sorry for 'not acting quickly enough' to avert this deluge of filth.

Apologies don't come more hollow. Where is the apology for the years of multi-million-pound bonuses paid to underperforming, incompetent executives?

Where is the apology for the past conduct of these companies  and for their arrogant refusal to face scrutiny? And where is the apology for poisoning our water supply?

FEARGAL SHARKEY: One simple statistic drives me mad  and should do the same to you. Over the past three years, water companies have been dumping sewage into the rivers and along the coastlines of England and Wales for about 7.5million hours

Their words are so pathetic, you could almost laugh. But the damage has been done.

What's more, these companies also had the nerve to announce yesterday that they intend to charge us for the 10billion they allegedly plan to spend upgrading our water supply systems. Yes, we whose bills underwrite the bosses' fat salaries and hefty bonuses now need to remedy the ecological destruction that they have wrought on our rivers, lakes and coastline. Over ten years, 10billion means an extra 400 for every household in England and Wales. It's the last thing any of us need.

Ten billion might sound like a lot of money  but it's a pittance in an industry of this size. Just look at Thames Water as an example. Last Christmas, it announced it made profits just shy of 500million  and that was made in just six months.

It staggers me that these water companies now have the gall to charge households an extra 1billion per year, when one firm alone makes nearly that amount every year in profit. Why are we being charged twice for a service we've already paid for? I can't for the life of me see why each of the nine water companies can't raise that 10billion themselves. It would mean just 111million per company per year, which they could easily afford.

FEARGAL SHARKEY (pictured): Yesterday, nine English water companies came together and said sorry for 'not acting quickly enough' to avert this deluge of filth. Apologies don't come more hollow

Remember, the English water companies alone paid out nearly 19billion in dividends from 2010 to 2021  an annual average of 1.6billion. Can it be right  or even legal  for that cash to line the pockets of investors before it is used to clean our most precious resource?

There is one glimmer of hope: before the water companies can extort this money from householders, it has to be approved by the regulatory body Ofwat.

However, I fear that Ofwat will nod the extra charge through  and, in doing so, will once more prove itself utterly incapable. The regulator seems to look at sewage spills as a reputational problem.

It is failing to understand the mood of the nation. At this month's local elections, sewage was a huge issue. People really made their voices heard  and terror was struck into the heart of local politicians.

Therese Coffey, the Environment Secretary, has the power to fine these companies 10 per cent of their annual turnover. What is stopping her? Fines might sharpen bosses' minds  and go a long way to stopping the dumping. Make no mistake: Water quality will be a huge issue at the next election. A party that fails to grasp this will be dumped by voters  just as these companies have dumped all that waste in our seas.

Feargal Sharkey is an environmental campaigner
The Prime Minister has vowed to save the Green Belt from housing development, creating an election dividing line with Labour.

Rishi Sunak faced down critics in his own party who want a fresh push on housebuilding, saying it is vital to make sure our green spaces are protected.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Japan, Mr Sunak defended his decision to scrap controversial top down housing targets, saying local communities are more likely to accept new homes if they are given a proper say.

His comments create a clear dividing line with Sir Keir Starmer, who indicated that Labour is willing to sanction development on the Green Belt as part of plans to back the builders, not the blockers.

Senior Tories accused Sir Keir of introducing a developers charter after he vowed to tear up planning rules to allow more building.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has vowed to save the Green Belt from housing development, creating an election dividing line with Labour

He also faced charges of flip-flopping, with critics pointing out he had previously ordered his MPs to back the right of local communities to object to unsuitable schemes.

In an interview this week, Sir Keir said it was time to have that discussion about opening up the Green Belt for development.

Asked about protection of the Green Belt, Mr Sunak said he was very clear about the need to ditch the nationally imposed, top down targets, which required councils to permit a set number of new homes each year.

I dont think that is the right approach, he said.

I was very clear over the summer I wanted to make sure our green spaces are protected. I think that is what local communities want.

'At the same time, we have empowered local communities with local plans. Weve made it easier for local communities to adopt local plans so they can have a more meaningful say in the type of development happening in their areas.

Sir Keir vowed to take on so-called Nimbys who object to local development on principle.

In a speech to the British Chambers of Commerce, the Labour leader said: A generation and its hopes are being blocked by those who  more often than not  enjoy the secure homes and jobs that theyre denying to others.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer indicated that Labour is willing to sanction development on the Green Belt as part of plans to back the builders, not the blockers

You cant be serious about raising productivity, about improving the supply-side capacity of our economy and about arresting our economic decline, without a plan for the windfarms, the laboratories, the warehouses and the homes this country so desperately needs.

But the PM said opposition to housebuilding was often driven not by Nimbyism but by legitimate concerns about the nature of proposed development.

He said: What I find is that its not necessarily an opposition to housing itself, its how and where exactly it is done and the infrastructure that comes alongside it.

But Tory sources have highlighted Labours hypocrisy over the issue, pointing out that senior figures such as levelling up spokesman Lisa Nandy had opposed development in their own constituencies while urging it on in others.

You cant trust a word that Starmer says on housing, one source said. These are more empty promises from Labour.
Cambridge University is offering adult colouring books and Lego-building sessions to stressed students as exam season approaches.

A range of activities have been introduced across libraries at the prestigious university, as it attempts to provide 'wellbeing support'.

One college library has even set up a DIY nail bar alongside yoga sessions and embroidery, according to The Times.

The university told the newspaper that there was 'good evidence to suggest that activities promote relaxation and mindfulness' as students flock to its study spaces.

Increased welfare support at the university comes after the deaths of six students last year.

Cambridge University is offering adult colouring books to stressed students as exam season approaches

Speaking last July after five suicide or suspected suicide cases over four months, Professor Graham Virgo, the senior pro-vice-chancellor for education, said that the university was working with the NHS and public health agencies to 'review what has happened and what the lessons [are] that we can learn'.

The stress-handling measures also follow the launch of the university's new Reach Out campaign, which encourages struggling students to seek help.

The campaign was set up to handle the increased demand for mental health services at Cambridge, where the number of people accessing the services has risen by 30 per cent over the past four years.

It will invest 4.7million over three years to lower waiting times for mental health services while colleges plan to recruit wellbeing advisors who will coordinate the university's provisions.

Stress-busting activities vary across the university's collection of libraries, with the Engineering Library offering games of Hide and Seek.

For a more static solution, other study spaces have provided students with stress balls and weighted blankets to make revising more comfortable.

Lego-building sessions, yoga sessions and a DIY nail bar are all part of an attempt to provide 'wellbeing support'

As well as Lego, the list of games extends to Scrabble, Dobble and Linkee to help students switch off.

The university's Marshall Library even allows students to swap out their study buddy for Jasper, a three-legged tom cat, who they are able to spend time with.

For those who seek refuge in books, a 'wellbeing collection' made up of 150 books concerning topic including faith, race and gender is also provided.

While the university has suggested that the new activities have been popular with students, one student accused the organisation of 'mollycoddling'.

Second year student Devika Shah, 20, told The Times that the measures do not address 'the actual problem of mental health and lack of fulfilment' among students at the university.
Scotland's two pandas will be returned to China this year having failed to produce offspring in the past 12 years because they 'just don't get on'.

The two giant pandas, named Tian Tian (which translates as Sweetie) and Yang Guang (Sunshine), arrived at Edinburgh Zoo in December 2011.

Huge crowds rushed to the zoo when the pair first arrived on a 10-year lease -extended due to Covid - after years of negotiation between Scotland and China.

Numerous attempts were made to encourage the pair to breed  with keepers even resorting to artificial insemination  since 2013.

However Yang Guang was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2018 and was later castrated.

The two pandas are likely to be split when they return to china, but one expert thinks they won't mind at all.

The two giant pandas, named Tian Tian (which translates as Sweetie) and Yang Guang (Sunshine), arrived at Edinburgh Zoo in December 2011 but will be returning to China this year

Alison MacLean, giant panda team leader at Edinburgh Zoo, said they are likely to be split up in China

Edinburgh Zoo shells out 640,000 a year just to rent the pandas from the Bifengxia Breeding Centre in Sichuan province.

There are only 1,864 pandas left in the wild, the WWF estimates, part of the reason is because all female pandas are only fertile for two or three days a year.

Alison MacLean, giant panda team leader at Edinburgh Zoo, told The Mirror: 'I'd have loved to have seen Tian Tian with a youngster.'

Despite having lived together for 12 years, in separate but adjoining enclosures, Tian Tian and Yang Guang are likely to be split up when they go back to China.

She explains: 'It's highly unlikely they'll live together, because they tend to constantly be solitary anyway.

'She's quite happy never to see him and he's quite happy to never see her.'

In January David Field, chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said female Tian Tian and male Yang Guang appeared to be a perfect match when they arrived from China in 2011.

Mr Field told the Telegraph the pandas did not gel at their Edinburgh Zoo home.

The male Yang Guang, also known as Sunshine, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2018 and was later castrated

Numerous attempts were made to encourage the pair to breed  with keepers even resorting to artificial insemination  since 2013

Female Tian Tian, also known as Sweetie, had produced twins prior to her arrival in Scotland.

He said 'perhaps Tian Tian wouldn't have swiped right' in reference to the dating app Tinder.

'They are one of the most fantastic ambassadors for people falling back in love with nature.

'But I think the biggest disappointment has been for Tian Tian, because that maternal cycle is really important for them as part of their natural behavioural repertoire  everything from all the hormonal cycles to the nest building to rearing.'

He added: 'Sometimes animals just don't get on. Genetically they were apparently an extremely good match but behaviourally, if it was Tinder, perhaps Tian Tian wouldn't have swiped right if she had the choice.'

'They are hugely emblematic, they are iconic for conservation and they make people smile with sheer abandonment.'
The stepfather of schoolgirl Charlise Mutten, accused of murdering her and dumping her body in a barrel, will fight the charges at trial after pleading not guilty.

Justin Stein, 32, appeared at Penrith Local Court via audiovisual link on Friday, charged with a raft of offences including murder, interfering with a corpse, and possession of child abuse material.

He is accused of murdering Charlise, the daughter of his fiancee, and dumping her body in a plastic barrel.

The nine-year-old's body was found with gunshot wounds in bushland near the Colo River in NSW's Central Tablelands in January last year.

In Penrith Local Court on Friday, Mr Stein's lawyer Peter Katsoolis entered not guilty pleas to the charges of murder, interfering with a corpse and possession of child abuse material.

When asked by Magistrate Fiona Toose whether he was pleading not guilty, Mr Stein said: 'Yes, that's correct'.

The stepfather of schoolgirl Charlise Mutten, Justin Stein (pictured) will fight charges of murder, interfering with a corpse and possession of child abuse material at trial after pleading not guilty

Mr Stein was committed to stand trial in the NSW Supreme Court for the charges of murder (domestic violence related) and interfering with a corpse.

He will be arraigned in the Supreme Court in July.

Outside court, Mr Katsoolis told reporters Mr Stein will be defending the charges.

'He's maintained his innocence from the outset in relation to these charges, and they'll be vigorously defended,' Mr Katsoolis said.

Charlise had been visiting her mother and Mr Stein at a Blue Mountains property, where police allege she was killed. There is no suggestion that Charlise's mother was involved in her death, and she has never been accused of any wrongdoing in this respect.

Charlise Mutten was reported missing on January 14, 2022.

Police mapped Mr Stein's movements in the hours following her disappearance, from the property to the northwest and inner west suburbs of Sydney, where they allege he tried multiple times to launch a boat alleged to have contained her body.

After being unable to start the boat, it is alleged Mr Stein travelled back to the Colo River, near where Charlise's body was eventually found.

The disappearance of the Tweed Heads schoolgirl on January 14, 2022, sparked a lengthy multi-agency search of the surrounding bushlands, involving hundreds of volunteers.

Police allege Mr Stein murdered Charlise either on the evening of January 11 or in the early hours of January 12 when they were alone together at the property.

Charlise was living with her grandparents in Coolangatta and was visiting her mother over the Christmas school holidays when she disappeared.

Mr Stein was arrested in January 2022 and has remained behind bars on remand ever since.
A teenage boy who was planning to go to the movies with his brother was instead been stabbed to death in front of his cousin.

Investigations are still ongoing after Pasawm Lyhym, 16, was killed at the Sunshine Station bus interchange in Melbourne's west on Thursday afternoon.

His cousin, who wished to stay anonymous, said she was on a bus when she saw someone knifing her cousin.

Pasawm's brother, Mawm, 24, said he had been working at the time of the incident and spent hours with his brother's body while police investigated.

CCTV footage captured a hooded man running through a nearby alleyway wielding a large knife at 3:39pm.

16-year-old Pasawm Lyhym (pictured) was on the way to the movies to watch the new Fast and Furious movie with his brother when he was stabbed to death on Thursday afternoon

CCTV footage released shows a hooded man running through a nearby alleyway shortly after the tragic incident

Pasawm was intending to watch the new Fast and Furious movie with his brother.

'We have a sibling group chat and I messaged them saying 'do you guys want to watch Fast and Furious on Thursday night?' Mawm said on Friday morning.

'He was the first person to respond, (he said) "yes, let's go".'

Mawm found out about his brother's death after being called by Pasawm's friend's.

'I googled it. I didnt see anything. I didnt believe it until all his friends starting calling me and texting me on Instagram. Then I left work,' he said.

He attempted to Facetime, call and text his brother to no response.

He then revealed he and his family had stayed by Pasawm's body for hours until 12:30am when the coroner came to take him away.

'We couldnt go to the coroner so we had to go home,' he said.

'Hed been here for six or seven hours. In this cold weather, he was on the concrete.'

His cousin revealed to The Herald Sun that she wan on a bus when she witnessed the attack.

'I screamed and said that's him, that's him (her cousin),' she said.

'I tried to run and get help. I didn't want to look. It was all so fast.'

His family remembered him as 'funny, really nice, a welcoming and kind person', and stayed by his body for hours until just after midnight when he was taken by the coroner

Mawm remembered his brother as 'funny, really nice, a welcoming and kind person'.

'He didnt do anything, life's not fair,' he said.

Flowers, candles and other memorials were placed at the bus shelter by family and friends on Friday morning.

Mawm urged the perpetrator to come forward and apologise to his family.

'You come to us. We want to see you, whoever did this. I want you to apologise,' he said.

A self-proclaimed witness told 3AW the attacker 'was the one who screaming'.

They also claimed they were wearing a black hoodie and fled the scene.

Pasawm attended Staughton College in Melbourne and would often visit the interchange to hang out with friends after school.

Several family members gathered at the interchange on Thursday as detectives inspected the crime scene.

Pasawm's family arrived in Australia from Burma in 2013, and have since been a part of Melbourne's Chin community.

Emergency services were called to Station Place in Melbourne's west at about 3:45pm on Thursday and are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident

Emergency services were called to Station Place at about 3.45pm following reports of an injured male.

Victoria Police say the exact circumstances surrounding the incident are still to be determined and the Homicide Squad are investigating.

The area around Sunshine train station has been taped off as crime scene investigators process the area.

There have been reports of youths with knifes hanging around the bus interchange.

Trains on the Sunbury line ran non-stop through Sunshine station at the request of police for nearly an hour.

Police have asked anyone who witnessed the incident or has mobile phone, dash-cam or CCTV footage to contact police.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
An Aussie man was shocked to discover he had won $15 million in the Lotto - on his first time playing.

The man was on a smoke break in Gladstone, Queensland when his colleague told him to check his Oz Lotto entry.

He was shocked to discover he was one of two people who held division one winning entries in the Oz Lotto draw on Tuesday.

The man will now take home a $15 million home - and says he has beginner's luck to thank.

The man was on a smoke break in Gladstone, Queensland when his colleague told him to check his Oz Lotto entry

The winning entry was purchased at newsXpress Kin Kora, Shop 27 Kin Kora Centre in Gladstone

'Stop it, brother! This is incredible, thank you,' the man yelled when an official from The Lott confirmed his prize.

'Oh, I think I might throw up. I need to sit down.'

He also explained how he had discovered his win while on smoko.

'I was just in the car on the way to get some smoko, and my mate told me someone in Gladstone had won division one in Oz Lotto.

'I thought, 'oh, I had entry into that draw'.

'Next thing you know I'm on the phone to you! What a whirlwind morning. I've never even played Oz Lotto before. It's my first time, so I think a bit of beginner's luck might be at play here.

'What do I do now? I've got no idea what I'll do yet.

'I'm struggling to process this mate! Oh my god, I'm a millionaire.!'

The winning entry was purchased at newsXpress Kin Kora, Shop 27 Kin Kora Centre in Gladstone.

The store's owner Ian Chapman said he and his team were celebrating another big win in Central Queensland.

'Customers are excited as well. They love to see that major prizes happen locally as well,' he said.

The man will now take home a $15 million home - and says he has beginner's luck to thank

'We last sold a division one winning entry about three years ago and have sold seven division one wins since Lotto commenced in Queensland. This is the first Oz Lotto division one win we have sold.

'Our congratulations go to the winner and we hope that they use it wisely.'

The winning numbers in Oz Lotto draw 1526 on Tuesday 16 May 2023 were 37, 22, 45, 21, 34, 17 and 5, while the supplementary numbers were 47, 41 and 35.

Across Australia, there were two division one winning entries in Oz Lotto draw, with the other being in New South Wales.

The Lott's division one winning tally has now reached 373 so far this financial year, including 91 won by Golden Casket customers.

In 2022, 15 division one winning Oz Lotto entries across Australia collectively won more than $275 million.

During this time, the biggest Oz Lotto winner was a mum from Cranbourne in Melbourne who won $50 million in October 2022.

Of the 15 Oz Lotto division one winning entries in 2022, seven landed in New South Wales, four in Victoria, three in Queensland and one in Western Australia.
President Joe Biden and Jill Biden needed a little guidance Friday morning when they fumbled around during a photo-op, getting turned around as they tried to find their spot.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida stepeped in to direct them as the first couple posed with him and his wife Yuko during the first day of the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

Biden, 80, and the first lady were joining other G7 leaders Friday morning for a tour of Hiroshima's Peace Park and Memorial Museum.

They arrived last and walked down a red carpet where there were four markings on the floor. The foursome shuffled around each other as they tried to determine the lineup.

'We'll figure it out,' Jill Biden said laughing, as the prime minister helped direct them to their marks on the floor.

The president's age has been an issue as he heads into his re-election campaign. Even some Democrats questioned whether a new generation of leadership should take over the party.

WHERE DO WE STAND? President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden (center) try to figure out which marking on the floor to stand on as they pose for a picture with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (left) and his wife, Yuko Kishida (right)

On the first morning of the G7, the leaders toured the museum at the Peace Memorial, which is dedicated to the thousands who died in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II.

While there, Biden met with Ms. Keiko Ogura, a hibakusha or an atomic bomb survivor. She was eight years old on August 6, 1945.

They also participated in a wreath laying with each leader lining up before the Cenotaph for Atomic Bomb Victims with a wreath in front of them. In unison, they each stepped forward to place their wreath.

The G7 leaders - which include the heads of the United States, the European Union, Canada, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France and Japan - then took a moment to stand at their memorial to pay their respects.

Many bowed their heads.

Kishida, who is from Hiroshima, was seen speaking to them and pointing out parts of the park.

They also posed for a group photo in front of the memorial. Then they moved further down the park to participate in a tree-planting ceremony. Each leader was given a golden shovel and dropped one shovelful of dirt around the cherry tree, which was planted to mark their visit.

'Through their visit to the Peace Memorial Park, the G7 leaders deepened their understanding of the reality of the atomic bombings and joined their hearts in consoling the souls of lost lives,' Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement.

'The G7 leaders reiterated their position that threats by Russia of nuclear weapon use, let alone its use are inadmissible. We are convinced that this visit became an opportunity to confirm G7s commitment to the realization of a world without nuclear weapons,' the ministry said.

During their time at the memorial, Biden didn't apologize for the U.S.'s use of the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II.

The G7 leaders walked together to place their wreaths at the Cenotaph for Atomic Bomb Victims in Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park. Participants included (from left): President Charles Michel of the European Council, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, President Joe Biden, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom and President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission

President Joe Biden, fourth right, and other G7 leaders pose for a photo during a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park: Pictured from left: President Charles Michel of the European Council, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, U.S. President Joe Biden, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom and President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission

French President Emmanuel Macron (left) puts his hand on the shoulder of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (center) during a wreath-laying ceremony Friday morning, alongside President Joe Biden (right)

(From left) Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, US President Joe Biden and Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visit the Peace Memorial Park

Wife of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Akshata Murty; husband of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Heiko von der Leyen; wife of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Britta Ernst; wife of Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Yuko Kishida; and US first lady Jill Biden walk to a flower wreath laying ceremony at the Cenotaph for Atomic Bomb Victims

US President Joe Biden, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council Charles Michel, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, France's President Emmanuel Macron and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend a lunch meeting during the G7

'No,' White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters on Thursday when asked if Biden would offer an apology.

It's estimated that around 135,000 civilians were killed in by the atomic bombs used in 1945 with another 69,000 injured.

Kishida, who is hosting the gathering of world leaders, is from Hiroshima.

He entered Japanese politics as a member of the Japanese House of Representatives for Hiroshima's First District.

The Peace Memorial is the remains of the only building in Hiroshima to survive the nuclear blast.

The site includes memorials for the dead, the iconic bombed-out Peace Dome, and a museum on the bomb and its aftermath. The Peace Park is dedicated to the pursuit of peace and nuclear disarmament.

Kishida has made nuclear proliferation and disarmament part of his life's work. He and President Biden will hold a one-on-one meeting on Thursday evening shortly after the U.S. president arrives in Hiroshima.

When Kishida announced the G7 summit - the gathering of leaders from the United States, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and Italy - would take place in his hometown, he said he hoped the location would 'send a message to the world that mankind will never again cause the catastrophe of nuclear weapons.'

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden (left) arrive at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park on Friday and are greeted by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko Kishida (right)

President Joe Biden and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sign a guest book as they visit at Peace Memorial Museum

Survivors of the nuclear blast in Hiroshima in 1945; It's estimated that around 135,000 civilians were killed in by the atomic bombs with another 69,000 injured

President Barack Obama hugs Mori Shigeaki, a survivor of the atomic bombing, during his May 2016 visit to Hiroshima (left); Obama lays a wreath at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima during his May 2016 visit

The world leaders are gathering at a time Russia is threatening to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine and North Korea has been conducting tests of nuclear missiles.

'We need to send out a strong message that we will note tolerate the use of force to change the status quo unilaterally as witnessed with Russia's invasion of Ukraine ... that we will protect the international order based on rule of law,' Kishida told the Japan Times in April.

'We won't allow the treat of nuclear weapons by Russia.'

Since the bombing in 1945, Hiroshima has been rebuilt to become Japan's 10th latest city.

The United States has been careful not to apologize for the use of the weapon while expressing sorrow over the destruction it caused.

Barack Obama visited Hiroshima in 2016, but did not apologize for the U.S. attacks.

Instead he spoke about the costs of war and the need for peace and nuclear disarmament.

'In the image of a mushroom cloud that rose into these skies, we are most starkly reminded of humanity's core contradiction: how the very spark that marks us as a species  our thoughts, our imagination, our language, our tool-making, our ability to set ourselves apart from nature and bend it to our will  those very things also give us the capacity for unmatched destruction,' he said.

Obama vision for a world without nuclear weapons contributed to his winning of the Nobel Peace Prize.

The only building in Hiroshima to survive the 1945 bombing is now the iconic Peace Memorial

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko Kishida greet President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden with Peace Memorial building visible in the background

On August 6th and August 9th 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively.

It remains the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict.

Some Japanese politicians have called for the U.S. to offer an official apology but many Americans feel to do so would undermine the war efforts.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis all but outright declared his presidential campaign in a call with donors on Thursday, in which he slammed top rival Donald Trump as unelectable.

DeSantis rallied key supporters and donors in the conference call, in which he argued that he is the only Republican with a chance of defeating President Joe Biden in the 2024 election.

DeSantis also took several veiled swipes at Trump, the current frontrunner in the GOP presidential primary, and hinted that the former president puts himself before his party.

'There are some that kind of raise money just for themselves,' said DeSantis, according to a New York Times reporter listening to the call, an apparent reference to criticisms that Trump's PAC hoarded a war chest during the midterms, and didn't do enough to support GOP candidates.

DeSantis will officially launch his campaign by filing papers with the Federal Election Commission on May 24, with a more formal kickoff event planned around June 1, CBS News reported, citing three sources.

DeSantis is expected to formally announce that he is running for United States president next week, and has already taken shots at rival Donald Trump in a call with donors

In a donor call, DeSantis also took several veiled swipes at Trump, the current frontrunner in the GOP presidential primary

A spokeswoman for DeSantis did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com late on Thursday.

During the donor call, DeSantis said there were only three 'credible' candidates for the 2024 presidential race, and that he was the only one who could win both the GOP primary and the general election.

'You have basically three people at this point that are credible in this whole thing,' Mr. DeSantis told donors on the call, organized by the super PAC supporting him, Never Back Down.

'Biden, Trump and me. And I think of those three, two have a chance to get elected president  Biden and me, based on all the data in the swing states, which is not great for the former president and probably insurmountable because people aren't going to change their view of him,' he argued.

Biden officially announced on April 25 that he will seek a second term as president in the 2024 election.

In addition to Trump, GOP candidates who have declared candidacies include former Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.

US Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina also plans to formally announce his presidential campaign on Monday, a person familiar with the matter told DailyMail.com.

But once DeSantis declares, the high-profile governor will immediately become Trump's biggest rival in the primary race, shaking up a contest that has so far been largely one-sided.

Biden, seen Thursday on a visit to Japan, officially announced on April 25 that he will seek a second term as president in the 2024 election

Once DeSantis declares, the high-profile governor will immediately become Trump's biggest rival in the primary race, shaking up a contest that has so far been largely one-sided

DeSantis will likely file paperwork declaring his candidacy ahead of a key meeting with donors in Miami on May 25, due to election rules that require a candidate to formally declare before raising money.

The invitation for the May 25 event stated that donors would be put to 'work,' an apparent allusion to raising money for DeSantis, according to a source familiar with the event.

In recent weeks, Trump has stepped up his political attacks on the Florida governor and maintains a commanding lead in the 2024 Republican primary, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.

DeSantis' insistence on staying out of the race until the Florida legislature completed its spring session earlier this month rattled some high-profile Republican donors who had wanted him to jump in sooner rather than later to rebut Trump's .

Those attacks have taken a toll on DeSantis' standing in national polls.

But in the donor call Thursday, DeSantis suggested that his ability to respond to attacks and criticism would soon change, a veiled reference to becoming a candidate.

Notably, DeSantis did not mention his growing war with the Walt Disney Company during the donor call, which came on the same day that Disney cancelled plans for a new $1 billion campus in central Florida.

The Walt Disney Co. and its powerful CEO took its war with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to a new level Thursday, announcing it will scrap a new $1billion planned Orlando campus (above) that would have brought 2,000 jobs to the state

The project, first announced in July 2021, was had been expected to relocate 2,000 jobs from California to Lake Nona, which is about 20 miles east of the huge Disney World complex in Orlando.

In cancelling the project, and saying the 2,000 workers would remain in California, Disney in a memo cited 'new leadership and changing business conditions,' in an apparent reference to returned CEO Bob Iger and his feud with DeSantis.

DeSantis and his advisers hoped to use the Florida legislature's session, which adjourned on May 5, as a springboard to a campaign announcement. They have stayed true to their timetable.

Republican lawmakers gave DeSantis a bevy of conservative victories in recent months: They expanded the state's school voucher program, prohibited the use of public money in sustainable investing efforts, scrapped diversity programs at public universities, allowed for the permitless carry of concealed weapons and perhaps most notably, banned almost all abortions in the state.

DeSantis has had help in readying the ground for his candidacy.

A new political action committee supporting him, Never Back Down, which can raise unlimited funds, has been hiring staff in early voting states and running TV ads championing DeSantis and knocking Trump.

DeSantis, 44, was re-elected as governor just last year, trouncing his Democratic opponent by nearly 20 percentage points.
The cop who tasered a 95-year-old great-grandmother who was using a walking frame, leaving her clinging to life, is a veteran officer with more than a decade of experience.

Clare Nowland, a dementia sufferer, was tasered by the senior constable at 4am on Wednesday as she slowly approached a team of officers 'armed' with a steak knife at the Yallambee Lodge aged care facility near Cooma, in the NSW Snowy Mountains.

At a press conference on Friday, Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter confirmed the taser was fired once and that Ms Nowland had hit her head after falling to the ground.

The officer in question has been stood down while an investigation is underway.

Clare Nowland, who has suffered with dementia, was injured during 'an interaction' with officers at Yallambee Lodge near Cooma

Cops were called to the nursing home (pictured) after being told she had a kitchen knife. Ms Nowland was tasered while standing next to her walking frame

Sombre NSW assistant police commissioner Peter Cotter said the officer was a 12-year veteran of the Force and has been stood down

Asst Comm Cotter said the highest level of investigation had been launched by the NSW Homicide Squad.

He suggested Ms Nowland's case is being treated as if she could soon be dead. A family representative told Daily Mail Australia she was receiving end of life care.

Mr Cotter said he had viewed the bodycam footage of the incident and admitted it was 'confronting footage' - but officers are refusing to release it.

He revealed the officer who tasered Ms Nowland was a 12-year veteran of the Force. Mr Cotter has been temporarily stood down while the incident is investigated.

He did not say when the officer will return.

'If we are hurt or we hurt someone during the course of our duties we are always on the front foot to put out a statement,' Mr Cotter said.

'I cannot say whether or not this officer .. will face criminal charges. 'We have to be very sure before we put out all the specific details.'

Mr Cotter said Ms Nowland had taken the serrated steak knife from the nursing home kitchen while wandering around the facility for a couple of hours.

'She was approaching police but it is fair to say at a slow pace, she had a walking frame but she had a knife.' he said.

He said she had been given clear instructions to drop the knife by police and had 'approached the doorway' of a small 'medical treatment room' when an experienced male police officer tasered her.

She was alone in a treatment when the tasering occurred.

Mrs Nowland's family is gathered around her in the expectation that she does not have long to live.
The owner of a construction company in Arizona faces an assault charge after a video posted on TikTok showed him slapping a female worker across the face while yelling profanities at her for scratching a cabinet.

Brent Hospelhorn, 46, was identified by Phoenix police as the supervisor who was filmed belligerently yelling at the soft-spoken woman and other workers on the job site in North Phoenix on Tuesday.

His victim has not been named but the clip, which was uploaded to a female colleague's TikTok account, has been widely-shared.

Hospelhorn was taken into custody, cited and released, which enraged social media users who demanded to know why he wasn't in jail, as they accused police of a lack of action.

Police on Wednesday released a statement that social media users were spreading an 'inaccurate narrative' and that the claims of a 'lack of action' on their part were false. Hospelhorn was not booked in a jail, but police said the man is being 'recommended for charges.'

Scroll for video

Brent Hospelhorn, 46, an Arizona construction company owner, faces an assault charge after a TikTok video shows him slapping a female worker across the face for scratching a cabinet

In the video posted on TikTok by Guadalupe Solano, a caption in Spanish translated to 'no one can treat you like this, even if they're the owner simply because the cabinet was scratched'

The incident happened around 12:30pm at a property under construction near Deer Valley Drive and 56th Street in north Phoenix, police said.

Hospelhorn, who owns a construction company in Scottsdale called BPH Construction LLP according to online records, was recorded screaming profanities at the workers on the job site.

'Leave! Get the f*** out of my building right now,' he screams as he jabs his finger at the person recording the video.

A woman over to the side quietly says 'no' and and an enraged Hospelhorn reaches out and slaps her, yelling 'you f****** b*tch.'

It is difficult to see how the woman reacts in the aftermath, because the camera focuses on Hospelhorn as he walks away.

In the original video posted on TikTok by Guadalupe Solano, a caption in Spanish translated to 'no one can treat you like this, even if they're the owner simply because the cabinet was scratched'.

Hospelhorn is then seen on the video yelling at the workers about scratches on the cabinets as he kneels down to inspect them.

He tells the person behind the camera that she could keep recording all she wants, adding: 'You're a goddamn worthless piece of s***'

Hospelhorn, who owns a construction company in Scottsdale called BPH Construction LLP according to online records, was recorded screaming profanities at the workers on the job site

Hospelhorn is then seen on the video yelling at the workers about scratches on the cabinets as he kneels down to inspect them

Police on Wednesday released a statement that social media users were spreading an 'inaccurate narrative' and that the claims of a 'lack of action' on their part were false

'All over my f****** cabinets,' he yells. 'How many times do I have to tell you f****** people to take the g****** belt off.'

When another worker appears to defend the woman, Hospelhorn yells back: 'Bull****, it's f****** her, it's her. A hundred percent, because she was leaning up against when walked in here.'

'Get that b**** off my jobsite,' he yelled. 'I'm the motherf****** super. What I say f****** goes,' he continued yelling.

He tells the person behind the camera that she could keep recording all she wants, adding: 'You're a goddamn worthless piece of s***.'

Officers were called to the job site where Hospelhorn was detained for misdemeanor assault, cited and then released after being 'recommended for charges,' the statement read. 'Detectives will be following up on this incident.'

Sgt. Robb Scherer, a spokesperson for the Phoenix police The Arizona Republic: 'Citing him is not letting him go, he has a court cite to attend.'

Hospelhorn is scheduled to appear in court on May 26.
A man on the run from Queensland when he was accused by police of wildly shooting an automatic weapon at a man has been arrested in Sydney after an alleged carjacking.

Mitchell James Wilson, 27, was arrested in Earlwood, in Sydney's inner south-west, after allegedly stealing a car at gunpoint in nearby Dulwich Hill.

Wilson is wanted after he allegedly threatened several people with a semi-automatic firearm in three separate incidents across Brisbane on April 6.

During Thursday's incident, police allege Wilson entered a 38-year-old man's car and threatened him with a firearm.

Wilson then fled and led police on a short pursuit on foot where he was caught and arrested.

He was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for observation, where he remains under police guard.

He is expected to face Newtown Local Court on Friday.

Queensland Police have indicated they will apply to have Wilson extradited back to the state once legal matters conclude in New South Wales.

'From what we understand, NSW Police acted swiftly in apprehending and arresting this man...' Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham of Queensland Police said.

'Once their court proceedings are finalised, Queensland Police will be equally swift in applying for the man's extradition to Queensland, where he's wanted in relation to numerous alleged weapons and arson offences across Brisbane in early April.'

Mitchell James Wilson (pictured), 27, was arrested on Thursday night after allegedly stealing a car in Dulwich Hill at gunpoint on Thursday night

Wilson has been on the run from Queensland authorities since early April when he was alleged to have committed a spree of crimes throughout Brisbane.

Police also noticed that Wilson's ankle monitoring bracelet had been removed and left in Bracken Bridge, also in north Brisbane.

He had been wearing the device as part of his bail conditions related to alleged drug trafficking offences, police said.

Wilson allegedly crashed the car in Earlwood before fleeing through several properties and taking police on a pursuit on foot before being caught and taken to hospital for observation

He has been on the run since early-April after he allegedly committed several firearm offences and allegedly burnt down a house in Brisbane on April 6

Police also allege that Wilson had ordered a woman to get into his grey Audi at about 8:55pm that same night after driving to a business in Mount Gravatt, south of Brisbane.

He allegedly approached two women, both known to him, once they left the business and requested them to leave with him.

Both women fled and hid from Wilson who allegedly fired shots at the pair.

He is then alleged to have travelled to a house in Sunnybank, south of Brisbane, with a firearm and jerry can of fuel searching for one of the women.

Police allege he threatened a resident before setting the house on fire and fleeing the scene at 9.15pm.
Ailing Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein's office has admitted the 89-year-old did suffer a brain infection, despite her own insistence that she'd just been battling the flu.

The New York Times reported on Thursday that Dianne Feinstein, 89, has been diagnosed with vision and balance impairments as well as facial paralysis known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome in addition to encephalitis, a brain infection.

'It was a really bad flu. I'm doing better thank you,' Feinstein said initially about her condition.

The senator's own office went against her and confirmed it to CNN later Thursday. It's unclear if Feinstein meant to mislead reporters she spoke to about having the flu - or if she's just too old and infirm to remember what happened.

After confirming that her diagnosis included Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis, a spokesperson said: 'While the encephalitis resolved itself shortly after she was released from the hospital in March, she continues to have complications from Ramsay Hunt syndrome.'

That statement could signal an escalation of efforts to try and force Feinstein out of her Senate seat, with sources claiming she's resisting pleas to go.

Ailing Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein's office has admitted the 89-year-old did suffer a brain infection, despite her own insistence that she'd just been battling the flu

Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a known complication from shingles, which Feinstein had been recovering from, leaving the Democrats one vote short in the Senate.

It causes facial paralysis, the effects of which appear to be visible in recent photos of a very frail-looking Feinstein.

The virus also brought on a previously unreported case of encephalitis that leaves patients with lasting memory or language problems, sleep disorders, bouts of confusion, mood disorders, headaches and difficulty walking.

Feinstein, a Democrat representing California since 1992, had been set to stand down when her sixth and final term ends next year.

The lawmaker is also known to be suffering from vision and balance problems, and aides often take her around the Senate building in a wheelchair.

She had faced growing calls to resign during her months-long absence, notably from fellow California Democrats and the New York Times editorial board.

But her cognitive abilities and health have been under question for months after she missed a series of key Senate votes.

She has also appeared confused in public, sometimes shouting at aides as she struggles to keep up with votes in the upper chamber.

Her return to work earlier this month also restored the Democrats' 51-49 majority in the Senate, boosting the chances of Dem-backed bills to get rubber stamped.

Feinstein, a Democrat representing California since 1992, had been set to stand down when her sixth and final term ends next year. She's pictured in the year she joined the Senate

A far frailer Feinstein is pictured in the Senate on May 18

Feinstein, pictured May 18, is said to be resisting attempts to remove her from office over fears for her health and mental wellbeing

'My doctors have advised me to work a lighter schedule as I return to the Senate,' Feinstein said last month. 'I'm hopeful those issues will subside as I continue to recover.'

She sparked confusion during her first appearance in the Senate in close to three months by claiming she has been there the whole time.

'No, I've been here. I've been voting,' the 89-year-old told reporters when they asked how she was feeling and what her colleagues thought of her return. 'Please. You either know or don't know,' she bizarrely added.

She then made her return to the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday, arriving nearly 90 minutes late and after some judicial nominees had already been voted on.

She received a standing ovation from Republicans and Democrats alike on the panel when she joined them after being gone due to health issues.

She is being aided around the U.S. upper house of Congress by the daughter of former speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Nancy Corinne Prowda, 58, has been spotted by the side of Dianne Feinstein, 89, who has just returned from a 10-week sick leave absence due to shingles.

The marketing executive has appeared with the retiring senator after the departure of several trusted aides, amid questions about her fitness for office.

Feinstein, seen earlier on Thursday, has been flanked by Nancy Pelosi's daughter in recent weeks. She is already set to retire next year

When asked last week what it felt like to be back in the Senate after her three-month battle with shingles, Feinstein bizarrely said that she has been there the entire time

A spokesman for Feinstein said Prowda was not drawing a salary for her role. Feinstein's office did not respond to a separate request regarding the senator's health diagnosis.

Politico reported on Thursday that the Pelosi family is helping to take care of the long-serving lawmaker to boost the chances of Nancy Pelosi's preferred successor.

The outlet's Playbook newsletter said that ensuring Feinstein sees out her full term will help Adam Schiff, currently a member of Congress, to win the seat.

Schiff, who as chair of the House Intelligence committee probed the now-debunked conspiracy theory that Donald Trump colluded with Russia, has already raised $15 million for a possible election race.

But California Governor Gavin Newsom has vowed to appoint a female of color if Feinstein retires early.

That would leave the door open for Barbara Lee, a Congresswoman representing California, to take up the seat for the rest of the current term.

California has a jungle primary, meaning the top two winners, regardless of party, move forward to the general election.

That would see the heavily-Democratic state with two Democrats running in the November 2024 election.

Pelosi, seen here at a protest for more affordable child care, is backing Adam Schiff to take over from Dianne Feinstein in the Senate

Schiff has already raised more than $15 million and is ahead of his nearest rival, Katie Porter, in the polls

Pelosi's office angrily denied the claims, insisting their friendship is 'personal, not political.'

'Nancy Corinne and Senator Feinstein have been friends for decades. Nancy Corinne has been supporting her in her shingles' recovery,' the spokesman said.

Feinstein, a long-time ally of the former speaker of the House of Representatives, has been a senator for the Golden State since 1992 and is the oldest senator in the chamber.

She has gradually stepped back from several senior positions in recent years.

In 2020, she said she would not serve as the top Democrat on the judiciary panel after criticism from liberals about her handling of Justice Amy Coney Barretts confirmation.

Fiercely independent, she also famously clashed with the Obama administration over her refusal to keep intelligence reports secret about the use of torture by the U.S. military.
President Joe Biden held a virtual meeting on the debt crisis on Friday morning as fears of a U.S. default loom over the G7 summit and the clocks tick toward America being unable to pay its bills.

Biden's call came after Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday tried to step in to the negotiations but struggled with voice problems on a zoom call with leaders.

The president, surrounded by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jen O'Malley Dillon held a 20-30 minute zoom call with his negotiating team back in Washington, where it was late Thursday night.

Biden requested the update, the White House said, and was told 'steady progress' is being made. Harris was not pictured on the call in a photo tweeted out by the White House.

President Joe Biden hosted a virtual meeting with debt limit negotiations while he attended the G7 summit in Japan

'The President directed his team to continue pressing forward for a bipartisan agreement and made clear the need to protect essential programs for hardworking Americans and the economic progress of the past two years as negotiations head into advanced stages. He remains confident that Congress will take necessary action to avoid default,' a White House official said.

Reed, one of Biden's top domestic policy advisers, is specifically traveling with the president to keep him updated on the debt talks.

Biden is cutting his trip short - skipping scheduled stops in Australia and Papua New Guinea - to return to the negotiating table in Washington after his meeting with G7 leaders.

But he will have to spend some of his time in Hiroshima reassuring leaders the United States is a reliable partner even amid questions about whether Washington can pay its debts.

Harris tried to help out on Thursday. The White House has emphasized the vice president is a huge part of the negotiations but she was absent from Biden's first sit down with congressional leaders on the subject.

And, on a zoom call organized by the White House Office of Public Engagement on Thursday, she could barely get out her opening lines.

'You can hear I have a bit of a frog in my throat, please forgive me,' she said as her voice cracked.

'I've been talking about this issue a lot recently,' she said, chuckling.

Harris only managed to get out a few lines of her pitch about the 'unprecedented' nature of a default.

'It has never happened before,' she said. 'It would mean if it happened it would be the first time in history that the United States government did not pay its bills.'

Just as she was getting going blasting the tax cuts under Donald Trump, even while still struggling with voice problems, her audio cut out.

Vice President Kamala Harris stepped into negotiations on Thursday  but struggled at times to get through her remarks with a 'frog' in her throat

Top aides to Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are continuing to hold talks as the Treasury Department says the U.S. will default on June 1.

McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol on Thursday said it was important to have an 'agreement in principle' by the weekend if they hope to get to a House vote next week.

That would leave enough time for the Senate to also act ahead of June 1.

'Everyone's working hard.' McCarthy said.

The White House negotiating team was at the Capitol on Thursday and is expected to be back on Friday as both sides try to reach an agreement that Democrats and Republicans can live with.

Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president, along with Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young and legislative affairs director Louisa Terrell are representing the administration in the talks.

McCarthy has tasked Republican Reps. Garret Graves of Louisiana and Patrick McHenry of North Carolina with taking the lead for the GOP.

'I'm confident that we'll get the agreement on the budget and America will not default,' Biden said Wednesday before he departed for Japan.

Republicans wanted massive cuts to federal spending before they would agree to any debt deal, which Biden called a non-started. The president wants a clean raise of the debt ceiling.

One area where both sides seem likely to agree would be the Republican proposal to claw back some $30 billion in unspent COVID-19 funds now that the federal government has declared an official end to the pandemic emergency.

McCarthy's Republicans want to roll back spending to fiscal 2022 levels and cap annual increases at just 1% over the next decade - sparing Defense and Veterans accounts - in what Democrats say would be devastating cuts inflicting hardship on many Americans.

The Republicans know their proposal would only make a dent in the nation's growing debt load, but they argue that spending cuts need to start somewhere to get a handle on what they say are unsustainable annual deficits.

Democrats are resisting, and negotiators are eyeing budget caps for the next several years as an alternative to limits that would extend for a decade.

Notably absent from the negotiating room are they congressional appropriators - the House and Senate chairwomen who run the Appropriations Committees, which actually put the spending plans in place. It's clear that Democratic appropriators and perhaps even some Republicans would almost certainly balk at the levels of cuts being considered.

Showing the pressure McCarthy faces from his right flank, the conservative House Freedom Caucus said in statement 'there should be no further discussion' until the Senate approves the House-passed Republican bill.

With the Senate in Democratic control, thats highly unlikely. And Biden already said he would veto it.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Thursday the Republican proposal for tougher work requirements on recipients of government aide is a 'nonstarter. Period. Full stop.'

President Joe Biden will have to spend some of his time at G7 reassuring leaders the U.S. is a reliable partner

Jeffries noted that many House Republicans themselves, including McCarthy, voted against enhanced work requirements for food stamp recipients in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program just a few years ago.

'This is hostage taking,' Jeffries said. 'They are trying to extract ransom notes in order to avoid a default.'

But Biden opened the door to some work extra requirements for non-health care programs like Medicaid, and the discussions over food stamps and cash assistance programs are ongoing.

On changes for permitting, Republicans are eager to undo the National Environmental Policy Act, called NEPA, to allow energy projects to be approved and developed more quickly, without years of delays from challenges and lawsuits.

Biden's own climate adviser John Podesta met this week with some House Democrats as the administration, too, seeks changes that would more quickly unleash clean energy projects and upgrade transmission lines to fight climate change.

But the two sides remain far apart over the size and scope of the permitting reforms, with several prominent lawmakers, including Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia having their own proposals.

It's unclear if the negotiators will be able to reach a final agreement on the permitting provisions or simply arrive at a framework that could lead to future discussions between the White House and Congress.

Time is short ahead of the deadline as soon as June 1 to raise the debt limit and avoid what economists warn would be a devastating default, the first of its kind, tearing across the economy.

McCarthy has vowed to abide by House rules that require 72 hours notice before voting on any bill, meaning an agreement is needed this weekend if the House wants to vote before it leaves at the end of next week for the Memorial Day recess.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol on Thursday said it was important to have an 'agreement in principle' by the weekend if they hope to get to a House vote next week

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told senators Thursday, as they prepared to depart for their own weeklong recess, said they need to be ready to return with 24 hours notice to vote, if needed. More likely, the Senate would be expected to start voting when it returns after Memorial Day.

Democrats in the House and Senate are engaging in other strategies, including trying to force a vote to raise the debt limit without the spending cuts Republicans demand. Progressives are also pushing Biden to invoke the 14th amendment to raise the debt ceiling, something the president has signaled he's not yet inclined to do.
This is the chaotic moment a brave man was stabbed as he fought off three home invaders with a scooter - before the robbers' getaway driver slammed through the wall with his ute in a desperate bid to flee.

Pandemonium broke out at a home at Logan's Bahrs Scrub, south of Brisbane, on Thursday afternoon when three men in hi-vis clothes stormed into the property.

Footage shows them attempting to flee after the man inside - the owner of the home's brother - charged at them, swinging a scooter round his head.

Amid the carnage, one of the robbers stabbed the man - but he was so adrenaline-fuelled that he didn't notice and kept on fighting back.

Suddenly a ute is seen bursting through the front window as the gang's getaway driver grows impatient with waiting for his associates to escape.

As the thugs are escaping, two hero tradies working on a site down the road rush in and help the victim, who by now is soaked in his own blood.

The three men - two of them sporting bright orange hi-vis shirts - huddled at a glass doorway attempting to make a getaway while the plucky man inside the home launched at them with a kid's scooter (pictured)

Logan Detectives investigating the violent home invasion confirmed a man was stabbed during the incident before being taken to Logan Hospital.

'A 49-year-old man confronted the group before a physical altercation occurred in which he sustained a stab wound to the stomach,' police said in a statement.

'A waiting Ford Ranger, stolen from Algester on May 17, has then driven into the front of the home, causing damage.

'The group have then entered the car and driven from the scene.'

An accomplice who was waiting outside in a stolen Ford Ranger smashed through the home in a bid to set his mates free (pictured)

A vehicle was then seen taking off as the resident ran out after them still clutching the scooter (pictured)

The brave victim remains in a stable condition.

Investigations into the incident are ongoing.

Detectives are appealing to anyone with information, relevant CCTV or dashcam footage in the area at the time to come forward.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is now expected to attend the G7 summit in Hiroshima in person, where he is likely to make asks for additional military aid.

Zelensky's participation has been rumored for days and comes as G7 leaders plan to announce a new round of tough economic sanctions on Russia in an attempt to cripple Vladimir Putin to the point where he would end the war in Ukraine.

The Financial Times first confirmed Zelensky would make the trip to Japan, reporting that he would be engaged in meetings on Sunday.

Before he reaches Hiroshima, Zelensky will top at the Arab League meeting in Saudi Arabia on Friday evening.

On a call with reporters Thursday night, the White House hinted the Ukrainian leader could come.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is now expected to attend the G7 summit in Hiroshima in person, where he is expected to make asks for additional military aid

A senior administration official simply said Zelensky 'has always participated' in prior G7 engagements on Ukraine, adding that Zelensky 'in one, way, shape or form' would engage with leaders at this one.

Zelenksy previously participated in such conferences virtually.

His visit comes as the United States' is preparing to give its nod of approval to European allies that they can send American-made F-16s to Ukraine.

Several European nations have shown a willingness to send the planes to Zelensky but the United States has to approve any third-party transfer because of senstitive American technology on board.

U.S. officials told CNN that the administration is prepared to approve the export of the jets to Ukraine if that is what allies decide to do with their supply.

The signal of approval for the transfer of the advanced military jets, along with another new round of tough sanctions show the desire of western allies to have Putin end this war and that the measures already taken haven't been enough to deter the Russian president.

The sanctions to be fleshed out Friday will target Russia and third-world nations receiving exports that help Putin's war effort. The United States will also add around 300 new sanctions against individuals and entities.

'We're upping the economic pressure on Russia. We will continue to expand export controls to make it even harder for Russia to sustain its war machine among other things,' a senior administration official said.

The sanctions will attempt to tighten the screws on Moscow's war effort, targeting Russia's mighty energy sector and other exports that aid Russian military.

'This is going to be a significant effort that will that will extensively restrict Russian access to goods that matter for its battlefield capabilities,' the official added.

The action comes as Western allies hunt for new ways to tighten already restrictive sanctions on Russia, which include visa restrictions and an oil price cap.

The leaders may also look at tightening language in already existing sanctions that could make it harder for Moscow to find gaps in the sanctions regime.

The G7 consists of the United States, Japan, Italy, France, Germany, Canada and the U.K.

The G7 kicked off Friday morning in Hiroshima with (from left) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, President Joe Biden, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni gathering at the Peace Memorial Park

G7 leaders will announce tough new sanctions on Russia - above Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (right)

New sanctions would aim to cripple Russian President Vladimir Putin's war machine

US President Joe Biden (L) is greeted by Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (R) on Thursday as leaders arrive in Hiroshima for the G7

President Joe Biden arrived in Hiroshima on Thursday evening. Russia's 15-month invasion of Ukraine will top the leaders' agenda, as are ways to counter China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

'We stand up for the shared values including supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereign territory and holding Russia accountable for its brutal aggression,' Biden said as he met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Thursday evening, in his first official bilateral of the summit.

As world leaders made their way to Hiroshima on Thursday to kick off Friday's summit, Russia unleashed another attack, firing 30 cruise missiles against different parts of Ukraine.

G7 leaders have reportedly been working on a document to reiterate support for Ukraine, which would be separate from the group's traditional joint statement at the end of its gathering.

Ukraine, backed by Western weapons and cash, is expected to launch major counter-offensive operations in the coming weeks to try to recapture tracts of its east and south from Russian forces.

Zelensky was in Europe this week to meet with leaders from France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany.

He traveled to the United States to meet with Biden and address Congress in December.

Fighting in Ukraine continues and has been ongoing for more than 15 months

At the last gathering of G7 leaders - in Germany of June 2022 - the gang of seven imposed a price cap on Russian oil and petroleum products.

Several G7 nations have individual sanctions on purchases of Russian oil. Crude is its top export and finances much of Putin's war effort.

However, countries like India and Turkey have helped make up for the lack of European oil purchases by upping their own.
An assistant police commissioner has snapped at reporters for demanding to know whether a senior constable who tasered a 95-year-old woman - leaving her clinging to life - will be charged.

Clare Nowland, who suffers dementia, is 157cm tall (five foot two inches) and weighs just 43 kilograms, was blasted with a Taser by police at the Yallambee Lodge aged care facility near Cooma, in the NSW Snowy Mountains, about 4am on Wednesday.

According to a police account, Mrs Nowland was by herself in a treatment room with a knife at the time, having collected it from the kitchen earlier. Officers claim Mrs Nowland was approaching police 'at a slow pace', with her walking frame, when she was blasted with the Taser by a senior constable with 12 years' experience.

The Taser blast caused her to fall and hit her head. Community advocate Andrew Thaler told Daily Mail Australia on Friday morning that Mrs Nowland was now receiving end-of-life care in hospital.

Her family is gathered around her in the expectation that she does not have long to live, Mr Thaler said.

Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter stressed the investigation into the incident is being taken very seriously, but declined on multiple occasions to answer questions over whether the senior officer who discharged the Taser would be charged.

'I am not the investigator, I'm not in the position to talk about whether this officer will or will not face criminal charges,' he said.

Towards the end of the press conference, Asst Cmnr Cotter was asked: 'What are the potential charges the officer could face?'

'I'm not going to answer that,' he responded.

Clare Nowland, who has suffered with dementia, was injured during 'an interaction' with officers at Yallambee Lodge near Cooma

Cops were called to the nursing home (pictured) after being told she had a kitchen knife. Ms Nowland was tasered while standing next to her walking frame

Sombre NSW assistant police commissioner Peter Cotter said Mrs Nowland had been wandering around the facility for a couple of hours with the knife

Asst Cmnr Cotter then thanked the journalist for raising the question, but cautioned her against continuing to ask.

'I know where you're going with it, but in absolute fairness to everyone involved here, I'm not going to talk about this specific officer and any criminal charges,' he said.

'Let me just soften that one for you. But, please, don't ask it again. I think I'm clear on it.'

'She had a walking frame. But she had a knife'

The senior police officer gave a public explanation of the incident for the first time, describing how two officers attended the scene after receiving a call about Mrs Nowland wandering about wielding a knife.

Asst Cmnr Cotter said police 'negotiated' with Mrs Nowland, trying to convince her to put down the kitchen implement, which he described as a serrated steak knife.

'She was approaching police but it is fair to say at a slow pace,' he said.

'She had a walking frame. But she had a knife.

'She did have a knife in her hand and it is fair to say she was armed by that knife. The knife in question was a steak knife.

'Negotiations commenced with Clare to essentially drop the knife. For whatever reason, Clare did not do that.'

Asst Cmnr Cotter revealed there was 'confronting' bodycam footage of the incident but insisted that it was 'not in the public interest' to release the video - despite an international uproar over the forcefulness of the police response.

Asst Cmnr Cotter also suggested Mrs Nowland's case was being treated as if she could soon be deceased. He said the highest level incident investigation underway by the NSW Homicide Squad was consistent with a 'potential coronial investigation'.

She had a walking frame. But she had a knife Assistant Police Commissioner Peter Cotter

Despite the assistant commissioner's assurance that Mrs Nowland's family did not want to speak with the media, Daily Mail Australia understands that they have been instructed not to talk with reporters.

The 12-year veteran police officer who tasered Ms Nowland has been temporarily stood down during the investigation into the incident.

'I cannot say whether or not this officer ... will face criminal charges.' he said.

In the hours following the incident, which involved two police, the NSW Police Force initially only described the Taser shooting as an 'interaction' with officers.

It was unclear why an assistant commissioner, rather than Commissioner Karen Webb, fronted the media.

An independent investigation is now underway into the incident.

What we know about the incident

Mr Thaler earlier said that Mrs Nowland's family had been under the belief that their beloved oldest member could simply have been making toast in one of the kitchens beforehand.

'Her family is just incredulous (at what happened),' he said.

The family believe the facility itself was not properly staffed to care for patients with dementia.

Yallambee Lodge is a 40-bed facility designed for people who can no longer look after themselves in their own homes, according to the council's website.

Mr Thaler believed there may have been just two carers on duty at 4am for 40 patients in five houses and there was 'a lack of training and for some of these workers, English is not their first language, they may have panicked'.

He said funding for dementia care to be set up at Yallambee had not been passed on by the Snowy Monaro Regional Council, but was vitally needed.

Mr Thaler challenged NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb to travel to Cooma and sit down with Ms Nowland's family for the difficult task of watching the police bodycam of the incident.

On Thursday night, Commissioner Webb said in a statement: 'My thoughts are with the family at this difficult time.

'I understand and share the community concerns, and assure you that we are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness.'

Mrs Nowland is a pillar of the local community who worked at the local St Vincent de Paul's outlet and has been described as a 'helper who loves helping people'.

Cops were called to the nursing home early on Wednesday after being told Ms Nowland had a kitchen knife.

Police claim they tried to speak to her, but tasered her as she stood next to her walking frame.

It's believed officers had struggled to disarm her before pulling out their tasers and firing at her back and chest.

She fell over and hit her head and was taken to hospital.

Ms Nowland, who was well known in the local community and is believed to have been at the facility for about five years, collapsed and sustained critical injuries.

NSW Council for Civil Liberties president Josh Pallas said police shouldn't be using Tasers on vulnerable people experiencing dementia or a mental health crisis.

'Surely, there must be more appropriate ways to deal with non-compliant people who are suffering,' he said.

According to NSW Police guidelines, an officer can use a stun gun when violent resistance is occurring or is imminent or when an officer is in danger of being overpowered.

The Snowy Monaro Regional Council, which runs Yallambee Lodge, said staff had followed procedure.

'Council are supporting our staff, residents, and families during this difficult time,' the council said in a statement.

NSW Police have launched a critical incident investigation to examine the responding officers' actions. The investigation will be subject to independent review.

Ms Nowland, who was well known in the local community and is believed to have been at the facility for about five years, collapsed and sustained critical injuries

President of People with Disability Australia Nicole Lee said it was a 'shocking' incident.

'She's either one hell of an agile, fit, fast and intimidating 95-year-old woman, or there's a very poor lack of judgement on those police officers and there really needs to be some accountability on their side of this,' Ms Lee said.

'This woman, an older woman of 95, she needed somebody to de-escalate the situation with her and to talk to her, and to handle her with compassion and time and not tasers.'

Mr Thaler called on Commissioner Webb to personally explain to Ms Nowland's family what happened, and to apologise.

'The country is rightly outraged,' he said.
Disgraced former Department of Energy official Sam Binton's latest arrest for stealing airport luggage stems from the theft of an East African fashion designer's luggage, after the designer saw photos of Brinton wearing her own custom clothes.

Brinton, who identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, was arrested at home in Maryland on Wednesday in connection with the alleged theft of property from Reagan National Airport in northern Virginia.

Brinton, 35, is being held without bail at the Montgomery County Detention Center, pending extradition to Virginia to face charges of grand larceny.

Now, Tanzanian-American fashion designer Asyakhamsin says through her attorney that she filed the report with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police (MWAA) that resulted in Brinton's latest arrest -- their third on similar charges.

Attorney Peter C. Hansen told DailyMail.com on Friday that his client 'provided to the MWAA images of Mr. Brinton wearing her bespoke designs and lost jewelry, along with comparison photos showing them on models and Asyakhamsin herself.'

Hansen said that during a search of Brinton's home in Rockville on Wednesday, police 'recovered a number of items matching the descriptions and images provided by Asyakhamsin.'

Tanzanian-American fashion designer Asyakhamsin (above) says that she filed a police report after seeing former Department of Energy official Sam Binton wearing her stolen clothes

Brinton (seen in 2019 in an alleged stolen outfit) was arrested at home in Maryland on Wednesday in connection with the alleged theft of property from Reagan National Airport

The attorney noted that his client's luggage, stolen on March 9, 2018, contained 'more than a dozen bespoke articles of clothing that she had designed, along with a number of other valuable items for her business.'

'Asyakhamsins business was seriously damaged by this loss, which remained a mystery until she was recently alerted to photos of Sam Brinton wearing articles from her lost luggage,' said Hansen.

The attorney said that Asyakhamsin is 'leaving her options open' for a civil suit against Brinton, but has not yet filed any lawsuit.

'Certain public images of Mr. Brinton in Asyakhamsins designs were widely published, including on Vanity Fairs Italian website,' said Hansen, noting that his client's designs were 'displayed without attribution in many other publications' while being worn by Brinton.

'Asyakhamsin is a black, female, Muslim immigrant entrepreneur, and she has built a distinguished career over forty years,' he added. 'She deserves credit for her works.'

In February, a shocked Asyakhamsin went public with her allegations, saying that her suitcase went missing from Reagan National in 2018, and that she had since seen photos of Brinton wearing her custom designs.

The fashion guru, based in Houston, shared side by side photos of herself wearing one of her outfits next to a photo that surfaced of Brinton in what she believed is the same garment.

Asyakhamsin's luggage containing the outfits she has accused Brinton of being photographed in, went missing at the airport when she flew to Washington, D.C. in 2018 for a fashion event.

The outfits were meant to be on display, but the designer said at the time she was unable to participate in the event as she'd hoped after her luggage went missing.

Brinton in a previous mugshot. They have now been arrested three times for stealing women's suitcases in airports

Brinton was fired as deputy assistant secretary of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the Office of Nuclear Energy in December 2022 after twice being charged with stealing luggage from airports.

In October 2022, Brinton was charged with felony theft after allegedly stealing a woman's suitcase at MinneapolisSaint Paul International Airport the prior month.

In December 2022, new charges emerged stemming from the theft of a womans luggage at Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport in July 2022.

In the Minnesota case, Brinton entered a diversion program and agreed to undergo a mental health evaluation to avoid jail time, and was required to write an apology to the victim, return the stolen items and participate in three days of community service.

Brinton last month pleaded no contest to the Las Vegas charges, and was given a suspended sentence of 180 days, and ordered to pay $3,670 to the Las Vegas victim.

Sam Brinton (pictured left at the Starbucks in West Hollywood in October 2019) appeared to be wearing Brinton's one of a kind designs

Brinton is seen left at an event on June 11, 2018 in an outfit that Khamsin said resembled one of the outfits that went missing with her luggage in March 2018, similar to the design seen right

Brinton was arrested on Wednesday at their home in Maryland. Their husband Kevin (left in February) was kept in the house while Brinton was led out in cuffs

In the latest incident, airport police said that the case was first brought to their attention in February, the same time Khamsin went public with her allegations.

A police spokesman told DailyMail.com: 'Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police executed a search warrant May 17 in Montgomery County, Maryland, in connection with allegations of stolen property in luggage from Reagan National Airport that was brought to the departments attention in February 2023.'

'With the assistance of Montgomery County Police, Samuel Otis Brinton, age 35, of Rockville, Maryland, was taken into custody Wednesday pending charges of Grand Larceny,' the official said.

Initial reports listed Brinton as being held in Maryland as a 'fugitive from justice', though this appears to refer the out-of-state charges originating from Virginia, which will require extradition.
A tradie has been jailed for raping a teenager nearly two years after his teacher ex-fiancee was sentenced for having sex with her 14-year-old student.

Mohammed 'Moey' Krayem, 24, was sentenced to a maximum of 17 months behind bars at Sydney's Downing Centre Court on Friday.

Krayem, a paver, had pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual intercourse without consent after raping a woman, then aged 19, in his car at a carpark in Chullora in Sydney's west in August, 2020.

The court heard he had performed oral and digital sex on the victim, and penetrated her with his penis - all without her consent - after the pair arranged to meet via Snapchat.

Krayem was once engaged to Monica Young, who worked as a geography teacher and who is now serving a prison sentence for three counts of having sex with a child.

Mohammed 'Moey' Krayem, 24, (right) was sentenced to a maximum of 17 months behind bars in Sydney's Downing Centre Court on Friday. His ex-girlfriend Monica Young (left) is already in jail after having sex with her 14-year-old student

Seven weeks after Young's last sexual encounter with the boy, Krayem lured his victim to the shopping centre carpark.

Krayem appeared in court on Friday in his prison greens via videolink.

When asked about how Young's behaviour had impacted him, Krayem said he was 'blind-sided'.

'It was enormous in my life, it was something I didn't see coming, it blindsided me,' he told the court.

'One morning I saw it on the news. It went from me almost getting married to this girl to her doing things like that which I don't condone and I don't respect.'

Krayem said his mental health suffered greatly as a result and he is now on medication for anxiety and depression.

When the allegations first arose, Krayem had stood by his girlfriend of six years, having met in high school.

Young (above) and Krayem were engaged when she first had sex with the 14-year-old boy on June 24, 2020. That was two days after Krayem had first contacted his victim

In the days after Young pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated sexual intercourse with a child, Krayem posted a 'message to the haters' on his Facebook page dedicated to Young.

He uploaded a video of himself kissing her on the cheek and captioned it as 'my always and forever', before posting a separate picture of Young decorated with a love heart.

Krayem had by then split with Young but told Daily Mail Australia at the time: 'I'll still be sticking beside her no matter the outcome. I'll always be beside her.'

During his sentencing on Friday, Krayem said he cut all contact with Young after she pleaded guilty.

'I supported her for the first week she was in custody as a supportive fiance, but once the facts came out I realised that the allegations against her were the truth,' he said.

'She'd denied it. It was blindsiding, she never told me the truth, how could she do that?

'I was with her for several years, it was devastating, and my family were good to her. It was sickening.'

Young and Krayem had been childhood sweethearts and were engaged to be married when she first had sex with the 14-year-old boy on June 24, 2020.

Krayem had initially supported Young after the allegations surfaced but said in court on Friday she 'blindsided' him

That was just two days after Krayem made initial contact with his victim and Young had been teaching only three months.

Young and the boy had sex on multiple occasions over the next two weeks, including at least twice on the school's grounds and once in her car at a park.

She was jailed for a maximum of four years and nine months in July, 2021.

At Krayem's sentencing on Friday, Judge Peter Berman SC took into account his young age and accepted he'd shown genuine remorse for his crime.

A harrowing victim impact statement was read to the court, in which the victim revealed the catastrophic effects Krayem's assault had on her.

She described in detail how the incident had changed her life 'irrevocably', explaining she has countless nightmares every night and is never able to have a peaceful sleep.

'I mourn the life I've lived': Victim's harrowing statement

She no longer trusts those around her, including her husband, family and friends, and battles with severe anxiety and depression.

'I saw beauty in everything and everyone, everything was exciting, everything had life,' she said.

'I remember everything I was before this trauma and I cry. I mourn the life I lived and the life I could've lived if this didn't happen.'

The victim also spoke of her severe paranoia that her offender would attack her again, revealing she constantly had nightmares he was standing in her room watching her.

'I am disgusted by the contrast of the girl I used to be and the girl I am standing before you today,' she said.

'The ugly truth is I cannot trust anyone anymore. I miss going to the movies and not feeling like he is watching me, ready to attack again.

'It dawns on me this feeling of isolation I feel will stay with me until I die.'

Her self-worth has reduced so significantly since the event, the victim said she cannot bear to even look at herself in the mirror.

'My own husband has triggered me just by being around me when I'm not in sound mind, not even he can help me when I'm panicking,' she continued.

'No woman should feel this way around her husband, friends or family.

'No time or place in my life has felt safe since the attack.'

The victim struggles to leave home, answer the door when friends come to check in, and says she has a daily fear of being in a room with more men than women.

Krayem messaged the 19-year-old woman via Snapchat on August 24, 2020 to arrange meeting in person for a sexual encounter. He asked her to wear a skirt and no shoes

Krayem shut his eyes during moments of the victim impact statement, before being given the chance to speak.

'I'm glad I got the chance to see the victim, to talk to her, I'm shattered by the choice I made at the time. It was reckless,' he said.

'I'm regretful, remorseful, there's times I cry myself to sleep thinking that I hurt someone.

'I'm not usually the type of person that would hurt anyone, I'm so disappointed in myself, I'm from a good family.'

Krayem said he'd taken part in programs on consent and was a 'way better' person than the man he was at the time of the attack.

The court heard while in custody he was bashed by three inmates, leaving him with stitches under his eyebrow. Krayem said a prison guard had leaked his charges.

Krayem first contacted his victim on June 22, 2020 using the Snapchat name 'emkayd69er' and claimed to be a construction site manager whose father was a millionaire businessman.

According to a statement of facts tendered to the court, communication between the pair became increasingly frequent and featured messages, pictures and videos of a sexual nature.

Eventually there was a disagreement and the pair stopped talking but resumed sending messages on Snapchat two months later.

The pair arranged to meet in the carpark with Krayem, who told the woman he had limited time to spare, asking her to wear a skirt to their liaison.

'And don't wear shoes,' he wrote. 'I wanna see those toes.'

The court heard the pair began kissing in his car but Krayem then went on to orally, digitally and vaginally rape the woman.

The encounter lasted for just under 18 minutes and ended with Krayem's mother calling him.

'Oh, that's my mum,' he said.

The victim then said, 'I'll go' and Krayem responded, 'Yeah, do you mind?'

The pair drove off separately and the victim told a friend what had happened on her way home.

She reported the assaults to police at Marrickville and Krayem was arrested and charged nine months later on April 26, 2021.

Judge Berman said his prison sentence would be backdated to February 12 this year.

Counting time already served, Krayem could be released on parole on October 20 this year.

His ex-fiancee will be eligible for parole on October 31 this year.
A man who allegedly stabbed a sales clerk who tried to stop an alleged robbery of a designer handbag at the David Jones Emporium in Melbourne has been charged.

It is alleged a male staff member confronted a man and a woman as they attempted to steal the handbag from the Little Bourke Street department store shortly before midday on May 16.

As the Saint Laurent sales assistant tried to stop the man he allegedly stabbed him in the arm.

The male then allegedly fled with his female accomplice and the staff member was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Police have charged a man over the alleged stabbing of a Melbourne retail worker as the employee attempted to stop a robbery of a designer handbag from David Jones at Little Bourke Street (pictured)

On Friday, detectives raided two properties in Maidstone and Ascot Vale, Victoria, and arrested two men.

In the search police also seized a firearm and a quantity of drugs including heroin and amphetamine.

The 19-year-old Maidstone man was charged in relation to the alleged David Jones stabbing.

He was charged with intentionally causing injury, multiple counts of theft, firearm offences, drug possession and committing an indictable offence while on bail.

He will appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday evening.

An 18-year-old Ascot Vale man was also arrested on matters unrelated to the alleged stabbing.

Police say he is assisting them with their inquiries.

Victorian Police continue to search for the identity and whereabouts of an alleged female accomplice in the stabbing incident.

A 19-year-old man has been charged in relation to the alleged David Jones stabbing after a property in Maidstone was raided on Friday morning

Following the incident David Jones released a statement stating they continue to work on bolstering their store security.

'For David Jones the safety of our team members, our concession partner team members and our customers is paramount,' the statement said.

'Our thoughts are with the team member and we are assisting police with their investigation into this incident.

'Across the country retailers are seeing increasing incidents of theft and violence towards workers.

'This is completely unacceptable, and we continue to partner with the police and have taken appropriate measures with security across our store network.'
Salman Rushdie made an emotional and unexpected return to public life on Thursday night, attending the annual gala of PEN America and giving the event's final speech to a standing ovation.

The 75-year-old lost an eye and the use of one hand following the assault on the stage of a literary event held near Lake Erie in western New York state in August.

Hadi Matar, a Shi'ite Muslim American from New Jersey, sympathetic to extremist Iranian causes, has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree attempted murder and assault.

Rushdie accepted a special prize, the PEN Centenary Courage Award, on Thursday - nine months after being stabbed repeatedly and hospitalized. PEN is a nonprofit that promotes freedom of expression through literature and human rights.

'It's nice to be back - as opposed to not being back, which was also a possibility,' he said, to a standing ovation.

'I'm glad the dice rolled this way.'

Sir Salman Rushdie, 75, made a surprise appearance on Thursday night at the PEN gala in New York City, and received a standing ovation

Rushdie used his speech to urge people not to give in to terror threats

Rushdie's appearance at the gala, held at the American Museum of Natural History, was his first public event since the stabbing

Rushdie is asked about protests in Iran, and says he supports the women calling for freedom

Thursday's gala, at the American Museum of Natural History, was Rushdie's first in-person appearance at a public event since he was attacked.

Rushdie, whose attendance had not been announced beforehand, spoke briefly, and dedicated some of his remarks to those who came to his help at the Chautauqua Institution, a nonprofit education and retreat center.

He cited a fellow attendee, Henry Reese, of the City of Asylum project in Pittsburgh, for tackling the assailant and thanked audience members who also stepped in.

'I accept this award, therefore, on behalf of all those who came to my rescue. I was the target that day, but they were the heroes.

'The courage, that day, was all theirs, and I thank them for saving my life,' he said.

'And I have one last thing to add.

'It's this: Terror must not terrorize us. Violence must not deter us. La lutte continue. La lutta continua. The struggle goes on.'

Rushdie is pictured with his fifth wife, poet Rachel Eliza Griffiths. The couple married in 2021

Rushdie is pictured with Suzanne Nossel, chief executive of PEN America

Attacks against Rushdie have been feared since the late 1980s and the publication of his novel 'The Satanic Verses,' which Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini condemned as blasphemous for passages referring to the Prophet Mohammad.

The Ayatollah issued a decree calling for Rushdie's death, forcing the author into hiding for many years - although he had been living and traveling freely for decades before the stabbing.

Since his attack, he has since granted few interviews and otherwise communicated through his Twitter account and prepared remarks.

Earlier this week, he delivered a video message to the British Book Awards, where he was given a Freedom to Publish prize.

Rushdie was clearly elated to attend the gala, but his voice sounded frailer than it once did and the right frame of his glasses was dark, concealing the eye blinded by his attacker.

PEN galas have long been a combination of literature, politics, activism and celebrity, with attendees ranging from Alec Baldwin to Senator Angus King of Maine.

Hadi Matar (right) has been charged with attempted murder for stabbing Salman Rushdie (left). Matar said he only read two pages of Rushdie's book: Rushdie has brushed him off as 'an idiot'

The Indian-born British author, 75, was about to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution when he was stabbed around 12 times, including once in the neck

Rushdie was airlifted to the hospital after the attack on August 12. He spent six weeks there before being discharged

Other honorees Thursday included 'Saturday Night Live' producer Lorne Michaels and the imprisoned Iranian journalist and activist Narges Mohammadi, who was given the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award.

'Dear writers, thinkers, and sympathizers, I implore you to help the Iranian people free themselves from the grip of the Islamic Republic, or morally speaking, please help end the suffering of the Iranian people,' Mohammadi wrote from prison in a letter read aloud at the ceremony.

'Let us prove the magic of global unity against authorities besotted with power and greed.'

The host Thursday night was 'Saturday Night Live' head writer Colin Jost, who inspired nervous laughter with jokes about the risks of being in the same room as Rushdie, likening it to sharing a balcony section with Abraham Lincoln.

He also referred briefly to the Hollywood writers strike, which has left 'Saturday Night Live' off the air since early May, saying it was 'disorienting' to spend the afternoon on a picket line and then show up 'for the museum cocktail hour.'

PEN events are familiar settings for Rushdie, a former president of PEN, the literary rights organization for which freedom of speech is a core mission.

He has attended many times in the past and is a co-founder of PEN's World Voices Festival, an international gathering of author panels and interviews held around the time of the PEN gala.

Rushdie's surprise appearance was the highlight of an eventful month for PEN, the literary and free expression organization that has been in the middle - by choice and otherwise - of various conflicts.

On Wednesday, PEN and Penguin Random House sued a Florida school district over its removal of books about race and LGBTQ+ identities.

Earlier in the week, writer Masha Gessen disclosed she had resigned as vice president of the PEN board after a World Voices panel with Russian dissidents she was scheduled to moderate was called off, amid objections to their presence from Ukrainians in town for a separate PEN event.
Stan Grant is 'walking away from the ABC' after he was racially abused for using live coverage of King Charles' Coronation to focus on Aboriginal dispossession.

He is now taking indefinite leave as Q+A host just 10 months after taking on the role, with the Monday night program losing its second full-time presenter in just two years following the departure of Hamish Macdonald in July 2021.

The ABC reportedly received more than 1,000 complaints for its allegedly 'disrespectful' May 6 Coronation coverage, which linked the British monarchy with the dispossession of Aboriginal people since 1788.

In a powerful essay, Grant - who is presenting his last Q+A show on Monday before taking leave - said he had been subjected to 'relentless racial filth' with viewers targeting him because he is Indigenous.

Some of the social media abuse was been reported to police.

'The ABC has this year lodged an official complaint with Twitter about the relentless racial filth I am subjected to,' he said.

'I am not beyond criticism. I occupy a privileged and prominent place in the media  I should be critiqued. And I am not thin skinned. Aboriginal people learn to tough it out. That's the price of survival.

'For years I've been a media target for racism and paid a heavy price. For now, I want no part of it  I'm walking away,' he said.

'For how long? I don't know. I don't take time out because of racism  I won't give racists the satisfaction.

'I don't take time out because I believe the ABC was wrong to discuss the legacy of colonisation and empire on the day of the Coronation.

'We did that, I believe, with maturity and respect.'

Grant also called out the top bosses at the ABC - prompting the national broadcaster's head of news Justin Stevens to issue a statement on Friday afternoon.

'No one at the ABC  whose producers invited me on to their coronation coverage as a guest  has uttered one word of public support,' he said.

'Not one ABC executive has publicly refuted the lies written or spoken about me.

'I don't hold any individual responsible; this is an institutional failure.'

Scroll down for video

ABC host Stan Grant has decided to 'walk away from the ABC' after he copped criticism for his coverage of King Charles' coronation

But Grant said he valued the friendship of Mr Stevens.

'He has been a support and a comfort. He is trying to change an organisation that has its own legacy of racism. But he knows I am disappointed. I am dispirited,' he said.

In a statement on Friday afternoon, Stevens acknowledged Grant had 'been subject to grotesque racist abuse, including threats to his safety' following the Coronation coverage.

'This has become particularly virulent since he appeared as part of the ABC's Coronation coverage,' he said.

'It is abhorrent and unacceptable.

'Stan is one of Australia's best and most respected journalists and broadcasters.

'The ABC stands by him and condemns the attacks directed towards him.

'The ABC has and will continue to refer any threats to police.'

The ABC reportedly received more than 1,000 complaints for its 'disrespectful' May 6 Coronation coverage, which linked the British monarchy with the dispossession of Aboriginal people since 1788 (pictured is King Charles III with Queen Camilla)

Grant in January 1992, at age 28, became the first Indigenous host of a prime time TV show as the frontman of Seven's Real Life current affairs program, which in 1993 briefly out rated Mike Willesee's A Current Affair on Nine

Grant in January 1992, at age 28, became the first Indigenous host of a commercial prime time TV show as the frontman of Seven's Real Life current affairs program, which in 1993 briefly out rated Mike Willesee's A Current Affair on Nine.

He later hosted Today Tonight on the same network and was a Europe correspondent for Seven before moving to Hong Kong to present for CNN.

Despite his successful career, he suggested the media industry had let him down, citing the pile-on of criticism against him arising from his commentary on King Charles' Coronation - the first for the royal family since the late Queen in 1953.

'Sadly, it seems there is no place in the media for love, kindness, goodness or God,' he said.

'There is no place in the media for respect,' Grant said.

With the ABC often accused of left-wing bias, Grant said he didn't intend to offend those who supported keeping Australia's constitutional ties with Great Britain, having sat on the Coronation coverage panel with monarchist Liberal MP Julian Leeser.

'I am sorry that some monarchists were offended at our coverage,' he said.

'That was never my intent. I thought I used words of love.

'Clearly, I failed. I have to accept I am part of the problem. I am part of the media that fails the Australian people every day.'

Grant, who opens each Q+A live broadcast with an acknowledgement to country in his native Wiradjuri language, said he didn't want the racists to win (he is pictured with his wife Tracey Holmes)

Grant, who opens each Q+A live broadcast with an acknowledgement to country in his native Wiradjuri language, said he didn't want the racists to win.

'I don't take time out because of racism  I won't give racists the satisfaction,' he said.

He argued the Australian media was often too 'fragile' to discuss the horrors of Aboriginal oppression, from the dispossession of land to the stolen generations being forcibly taken from their parents until the late 20th century.

Grant stirred controversy last year when he accused the ABC of being too obsequious to the late Queen who died aged 96.

'I take time out because we have shown again that our history  our hard truth  is too big, too fragile, too precious for the media,' he said.

A referendum on amending the Constitution to add an Indigenous Voice to Parliament is being held later this year, but Grant accused the media of focusing on partisan divides.

'The media sees only battle lines, not bridges. It sees only politics,' he said.

'I want no part of it. I want to find a place of grace far from the stench of the media.

'I want to go where I am not reminded of the social media sewer.'

Grant's temporary departure from the ABC is the biggest drama in his career since 2000, when a month before the Sydney Olympics, he resigned as the host of Today Tonight after leaving his former wife Karla, an Indigenous SBS presenter, for Seven Network sports commentator colleague Tracey Holmes

Grant, who has presented television programs on Seven, the ABC and SBS, has now suggested his career may have been all for nothing.

'My parents have been proud of the career I have built. I owe anything I have done to them. I have tried to represent my people and do some good in the world,' he said.

'I don't know now if it has amounted to anything. I thought I had come a long way from that scared, little Aboriginal boy in the school photo.

'Now I wonder if I have travelled very far at all.'

Q+A returned to its old Monday night time slot this year after ratings in the five mainland state capitals fell to just 165,000 in 2022 when it was on Thursday.

There has been little improvement in 2023, with only 210,000 viewers in March.

Grant's temporary departure from the ABC is the biggest drama in his career since August 2000 when - a month before the Sydney Olympics - he resigned as the host of Today Tonight after leaving his former wife Karla, an Indigenous SBS presenter, for Seven Network sports commentator colleague Tracey Holmes.

Holmes, the new woman in Grant's life, was going to be the face of Seven's Olympic coverage, as Ian Thorpe and Cathy Freeman, an Aboriginal woman, won gold for Australia.

The breakdown of his first marriage irked Seven's more conservative viewers at the time during an era when former Liberal prime minister John Howard, a monarchist, was refusing to say 'sorry' to the Aboriginal stolen generations.

Grant in 2017 told ABC Radio's Nightlife program his former colleagues at the Seven Network had made racist comments about his new relationship, which he found out about later.

'There was things that were said by other people, particularly to Tracey, that were very explicitly racist from people inside the media,' he told broadcaster Sarah Macdonald.

'Explicitly. People we had worked with.'
Two people have been hospitalised after a laptop battery caught on fire at a school in Oxenford on the Gold Coast.

Paramedics rushed to the scene at Gaven State School shortly after 1pm on Friday when they were alerted to a fire.

Up to 20 children were assessed by emergency services at the Universal St address.

Two patients were taken to Gold Coast University Hospital in a stable condition as a 'precautionary measure, according to a Queensland Ambulance spokeswoman.

A laptop battery has caught on fire at a school in Oxenford on the Gold Coast, causing two people to be taken to hospital

The school's principal, Phillip Carleton, provided an update for members of the school community on the Gaven State School Facebook page on Friday afternoon.

'At 12:30pm today one of our year 6 students cut up what we believe to be some sort of battery which in turn started smoking,' Mr Carleton posted.

'As a result all students and staff in the school were evacuated to the oval. The battery was removed from the classroom and the rooms were ventilated.

'Year 6 students have not been allowed back in their block and are spending the afternoon in the hall as a precaution. The ambulance and fire brigade are in attendance and are checking all students and staff who were exposed to the smoke.

'There is no cause for concern at this time. All measures are precautionary.'
Rishi Sunak has warned Vladimir Putin 'we're not going away' as world leaders at the G7 summit in Japan lined up behind Ukraine.

The PM delivered the stark message to Putin as it emerged Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the gathering in person on Sunday.

Britain is banning Russian diamonds in a new wave of sanctions to pressure Moscow that will also prohibit imports of copper, aluminium and nickel.

There has been uncertainty whether the EU will follow suit on diamonds, with the trade particularly lucrative for Belgium, but Mr Sunak said he is 'hopeful and confident' allies will follow.

Talks between G7 allies, including US President Joe Biden and France's Emmanuel Macron, will centre on military and economic support for Ukraine as they seek to show a united front.

The Biden administration has told its European allies it is ready to allow them to send 'game changing' fighter jets to Ukraine to use against Vladimir Putin's forces, according to reports.

The White House is coming under increasing pressure to help Ukraine procure the US-made F-16, which is already in the arsenals of a number of European countries.

Rishi Sunak has warned Vladimir Putin 'we're not going away' as world leaders at the G7 summit in Japan lined up behind Ukraine

G7 leaders, from left to right, European Council President Charles Michel, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, pose for a group photo as they visit the Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island in Hatsukaichi, western Japan

Rishi Sunak with a bemused Emmanuuel Macron and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni

The G7 is hoping to show a united front to the Russian president at the summit in Hiroshima

The PM delivered the stark message to Putin as it emerged Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the G7 gathering in person on Sunday

The Biden administration could sign off the delivery of 'game changing' fighter jets to Ukraine from some of its European allies to use against Vladimir Putin's forces, according to reports.

Having signed a new defence and security pact with Tokyo, Mr Sunak will visit the A-bomb dome ruin with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, to reflect on the atomic devastation in the Second World War.

'My message to Putin is straightforward. We're not going away,' Mr Sunak told Sky News during a round of interviews at Hiroshima's Seifukan tea house shortly before the summit kicks off.

Mr Sunak told Sky: 'Russia needs to know that we and other countries remain steadfast in our resolve to support Ukraine, not just in the here and now with the resources it needs to protect itself, but for the long term as well.'

He added to ITV News: 'They can't just outlast us in this conflict.

'One of the common topics of conversation I'll be having and have been having with my fellow leaders is about the longer-term security agreements that we put in place in Ukraine, to deter future Russian aggression.'

The UK is also preparing new individual sanctions against 86 people and companies to apply further pressure on the Russian president and his supporters.

The diamond export industry was worth more than 3 billion to Russia in 2021, but No 10 conceded direct imports have been low since the UK sanctioned state-owned miners Alrosa last year.

Britain's move will add pressure on any hesitant allies to follow suit.

Mr Sunak told the BBC: 'I'm hopeful and confident that our partner countries will follow as they have done when we've done this previously, that will make the sanctions more effective, ensure that Russia pays a price for its illegal activity.'

Talks between G7 allies, including US President Joe Biden (second from right) and Canada's Justin Trudeau (third from right), will centre on military and economic support for Ukraine as they seek to show a united front

The three-day summit  also including Germany, Italy and Canada  will also include talks on economic stability and the security of Taiwan in the face of Chinese aggression.

Mr Sunak's official spokesman said: 'Guarding against economic coercion is something that the Prime Minister is pushing for.'

On Sunday, Mr Sunak will meet his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, who is attending the summit as a guest.

Mr Modi, who has been close to the Russian president, has remained neutral on the Russian invasion, calling for peaceful dialogue to end the war.

The Prime Minister told reporters travelling with him in Japan that he has seen 'positive' steps from India in its stance and stressed the need to keep up the dialogue.

'One thing we have to keep doing is talking to countries like India and also Brazil, that is going to be in that second part of the summit which is a good thing,' Mr Sunak told reporters.
New York has been rocked by a rare earthquake this morning, with residents reporting shaking houses in parts of the state.

Seismologists said the magnitude 2.2 was reported in the early hours on Friday morning, with the sound of a 'loud rumble' also heard.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake struck around a mile south-south-west of Hastings-on-Hudson.

Locals across the region took to social media to say they had felt the quake, with people reporting a tremor in the Bronx to the south, and in New Jersey across the Hudson river.

Natalie Pasquarella, a reporter for WNBC News, asked her followers on Twitter: 'Just woke up to a huge rumbleour house shook in Bergen County, anyone else?'

New York has been rocked by a rare earthquake this morning, with residents reporting shaking houses in parts of the state. Pictured: The Manhattan skyline (file photo)

Seismologists said the magnitude 2.2 was reported in the early hours on Friday morning, with the sound of a 'loud rumble' also heard. According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake struck around a mile south-south-west of Hastings-on-Hudson

In a follow up, she wrote: Not sure what that was! Never felt an earthquake before but - whew that was odd! Our house in NJ shook and heard a loud rumble.

'Kids slept right through it' she added.

Other users also asked whether people in the area had felt the quake.

'Uhhh was there just in earthquake in New York because [what] was that?' one asked. Another asked: 'I think I might've just had an earthquake . Anyone in New York New Jersey area feel/hear that?'

One person said 'something shook the floor for like two seconds.'

Other New York residents said they heard a rumble and questioned whether it could have been an explosion.

'Earthquake in New York? Police say they've receive multiple calls like mine reporting what felt and sounded like a huge explosion,' one user wrote.

As of 3 a.m. local time, there had been no reports of damage or injury, and the speculation of an explosion appeared unfounded.

News of the quake comes just months after upstate New York was hit by a 3.8 magnitude earthquake in February, rocking Buffalo.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located 1.3 miles from West Seneca, with shockwaves reaching Lackawanna, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Tonawanda.

Again, there were no reports of significant damage of injuries.
The experience of two high profile ABC presenters subjected to appalling online abuse from trolls appears to have prompted vastly different reactions from the national broadcaster.

Indigenous Q+A host Stan Grant on Friday wrote a lengthy column explaining he was stepping down from the show after receiving 'relentless' racial abuse, which had ramped up since he appeared on coverage of King Charles' coronation.

'I am writing this because no one at the ABC - whose producers invited me onto their coronation coverage as a guest - has uttered one word of public support,' Mr Grant wrote in his column.

'Not one ABC executive has publicly refuted the lies written or spoken about me. I don't hold any individual responsible; this is an institutional failure,' he added.

In stark contrast, when white ABC News Breakfast presenter Lisa Millar was just weeks ago targeted by horrendous trolls who attacked her for an outfit she wore on the program, the ABC went 'on the warpath' almost immediately.

Q+A host Stan Grant announced on Friday he would be stepping down from the program following a surge in racist abuse from trolls before firing a parting shot at the ABC

Just a day after the March 6 incident, which happened to be the same week as International Women's Day, the broadcaster released a statement.

It hit out at not only the trolls but also other media outlets which had reported on it, particularly news.com.au and Daily Mail Australia.

'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,' news director Justin Stevens said.

'Media outlets that amplify this disgusting anonymous trolling need to take a good hard look at themselves and their standards,' he added.

News Breakfast co-host Michael Rowland also leapt to his colleague's defence tweeting: 'Enough of the abusive comments... and enough of amplifying the bullying'.

The Guardian reported it was 'new policy' at the ABC to publicly call out trolls targeting their staff, while Ms Millar was also given airtime on the show to address the situation.

But it seems Mr Grant feels he wasn't given the same treatment.

'I value the friendship of ABC Director of News, Justin Stevens,' Mr Grant said.

'He has been a support and a comfort. He is trying to change an organisation that has its own legacy of racism. But he knows I am disappointed. I am dispirited.'

Mr Grant did note that earlier this year the ABC lodged an official complaint with Twitter regarding the 'relentless racial filth' that was directed at him.

'I am not beyond criticism. I occupy a privileged and prominent place in the media  I should be critiqued. And I am not thin skinned. Aboriginal people learn to tough it out. That's the price of survival,' he wrote.

'For years I've been a media target for racism and paid a heavy price. For now, I want no part of it  I'm walking away,' he said.

'For how long? I don't know. I don't take time out because of racism  I won't give racists the satisfaction.

'I don't take time out because I believe the ABC was wrong to discuss the legacy of colonisation and empire on the day of the Coronation.

'We did that, I believe, with maturity and respect.'

The ABC was lightning quick to fiercely publicly defend News Breakfast host Lisa Millar when she was subjected to bullying from trolls regarding an outfit she wore in the program

Mr Stevens also released a statement on Friday condemning the racial abuse directed at Mr Grant.

It was similar in tone to the comments he made regarding Ms Millar.

'Racist abuse, including threats to (Mr Grant's) safety have become particularly virulent since he appeared as part of the ABC's Coronation coverage,' Mr Stevens wrote.

'Stan is one of Australia's best and most respected journalists and broadcasters. The ABC stands by him and condemns the attacks directed towards him.'

'The ABC has and will continue to refer any threats to police.'

'The responsibility for the coverage lies with ABC News management, not with Stan Grant. Yet it is he who has borne the brunt of a tirade of criticism, particularly in the usual sections of the media that target the ABC.'

In his column on Friday, Mr Grant gave no indication when he would be back on board with Q+A, one of the ABC's most-viewed programs.

'On Monday night I will present my Q+A program, then walk away. For how long? I don't know,' the host wrote.

'I take time out because we have shown again that our history  our hard truth  is too big, too fragile, too precious for the media. The media sees only battle lines, not bridges.'

Grant, who opens each Q+A live broadcast with an acknowledgement to country in his native Wiradjuri language, said he didn't want the racists to win and was only stepping down until he feels public discourse could handle such topics (he is pictured with his wife Tracey Holmes)

Mr Grant breathed new life into the popular current affairs discussion program after a brief stint with Hamish MacDonald at the helm.

Mr MacDonald revealed he quit the show also because of trolls and underwhelming support from ABC management.

'I knew there would be added scrutiny,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald in August, 2021.

'But I do think people would be surprised by the degree to which people who work in roles like that are left alone to navigate the trolling and the abuse that comes with it. It was a surprise to me.'

'It was overwhelming at times. It became something I could not manage on my own, and I could not get away from it.'

Lisa Millar in a statement after her trolling scandal was more optimistic, praising other social media users who called out the behaviour.

'I worry it might make you think that no progress has been made and that it's not worth it to be a woman in the public arena,' she wrote.

'On this International Women's Day I want to tell you the response over that rubbish yesterday gives me hope.

'We are making progress, and we will make more.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the ABC for comment.
The Smiths' guitarist Johnny Marr today paid a touching tribute to his former bandmate Andy Rourke after the 'supremely gifted' musician died aged 59.

Writing on Twitter on this morning, Marr said the bassist had passed away 'after a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer'.

He said: 'Andy will be remembered as a kind and beautiful soul by those who knew him and as a supremely gifted musician by music fans.'

Along with drummer Mike Joyce, Rourke provided a pounding and melodic rhythm section underlying Marr's pioneering chords as the Smiths became one of Britain's most influential bands during the 1980s.

In a lengthy Instagram post, Marr said it was an 'absolute privilege' to play alongside Rourke. He wrote about moving in with Rourke as a boy and how he was 'one of those rare people that absolutely no one doesn't like'.



Smiths guitarist Andy Rourke has died at the age of 59, it was announced this morning

The Smiths outside the Salford Lads Club. Pictured left to right - Marr, Morrissey, Rourke and Joyce

Rourke with his wife Francesca Mor (left) and Martene Rourke (right) at a premiere in New York in October 2022

He said: 'Andy and I met as schoolboys in 1975. We were best friends, going everywhere together. When we were fifteen I moved into his house with him and his three brothers and I soon came to realise that my mate was one of those rare people that absolutely no one doesn't like.

'Andy and I spent all our time studying music, having fun, and working on becoming the best musicians we could possibly be. Back then Andy was a guitar player and a good one at that, but it was when he picked up the bass that he would find his true calling and his singular talent would flourish.'

'I'll miss you, brother': Marr's full tribute to his former bandmate Andy and I met as schoolboys in 1975. We were best friends, going everywhere together. When we were fifteen I moved into his house with him and his three brothers and I soon came to realise that my mate was one of those rare people that absolutely no one doesn't like. Andy and I spent all our time studying music, having fun, and working on becoming the best musicians we could possibly be. Back then Andy was a guitar player and a good one at that, but it was when he picked up the bass that he would find his true calling and his singular talent would flourish. Throughout our teens we played in various bands around South Manchester before making our reputations with The Smiths from 1982 to 1987, and it was on those Smiths records that Andy reinvented what it is to be a bass guitar player. I was present at every one of Andy's bass takes on every Smiths session. Sometimes I was there as the producer and sometimes just as his proud mate and cheerleader. Watching him play those dazzling baselines was an absolute privilege and genuinely something to behold. But one time which always comes to mind was when I sat next to him at the mixing desk watching him play his bass on the song The Queen Is Dead. It was so impressive that I said to myself 'I'll never forget this moment.' We maintained our friendship over the years, no matter where we were or what was happening and it is a matter of personal pride as well as sadness that the last time Andy played on stage was with me and my band at Madison Square Garden in September 2022. It was a special moment that we shared with my family and his wife and soul mate Francesca. Andy will always be remembered, as a kind and beautiful soul by everyone who knew him, and as a supremely gifted musician by people who love music. Well done Andy. We'll miss you brother. Johnny x Advertisement

Marr continued: 'Throughout our teens we played in various bands around South Manchester before making our reputations with The Smiths from 1982 to 1987, and it was on those Smiths records that Andy reinvented what it is to be a bass guitar player.

'I was present at every one of Andy's bass takes on every Smiths session. Sometimes I was there as the producer and sometimes just as his proud mate and cheerleader. Watching him play those dazzling baselines was an absolute privilege and genuinely something to behold.

'But one time which always comes to mind was when I sat next to him at the mixing desk watching him play his bass on the song The Queen Is Dead. It was so impressive that I said to myself 'I'll never forget this moment.''

Marr also recalled the final time the pair played together - in New York City last year.

'We maintained our friendship over the years, no matter where we were or what was happening and it is a matter of personal pride as well as sadness that the last time Andy played on stage was with me and my band at Maddison (sic) Square Garden in September 2022,' he wrote.

'It was a special moment that we shared with my family and his wife and soul mate Francesca.'

He added: 'Well done Andy. We'll miss you brother.'

Suede guitarist Mat Osman, brother of Pointless presenter Richard, today paid tribute to a 'total one off'.

He tweeted: 'Aw man. RIP Andy Rourke. A total one-off - a rare bassist whose sound you could recognise straight away.

'I remember so clearly playing that Barbarism break over and over, trying to learn the riff, and marvelling at this steely funk driving the track along.'

Music producer Stephen Street, who worked with the band, said he was 'so saddened' to hear the news.

He wrote: 'Andy was a superb musician and a lovely guy. I haven't been able to read any other news about details yet but I send my deepest condolences and thoughts to his friends and family.'

Folk singer Billy Bragg described Rourke as 'an amazing bass player' in a tribute on Twitter.

He tweeted: 'Very sorry to hear that Smiths bassist Andy Rourke has passed away.

'I have great memories of him playing with Johnny Marr and myself on the Red Wedge tour. He was a lovely guy and an amazing bass player.

'My condolences to his family and friends.'

Meanwhile, Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess hailed him as 'an inspirational musician'.

'Such sad sad news about Andy Rourke - He was an inspirational musician with a style that made so many of us pick up a bass guitar; and the driving force for Manchester Versus Cancer,' he tweeted.

'Our thoughts are with everyone who knew him. Travel well x'

The bassist performs on stage at the Hammersmith Palais in West London on March 12, 1984

His former bandmate Johnny Marr announced the tragic news on Twitter, describing Rourke as a 'supremely gifted musician'

Suede guitarist Mat Osman and producer Stephen Street were among those paying tribute today

Born on January 17, 1964, to an English mother and an Irish father, Rourke showed a passion for music from an early age and learned the guitar aged seven.

He met Marr at 11, with the pair striking up a bond and jamming together on their guitars in the music room at their school.

After leaving school at 15, Rourke formed The Smiths in Manchester with Marr, Morrissey and drummer Mike Joyce in 1982.

The group became the seminal Manchester act of the 1980s and an icon of British alternative rock, with hits including This Charming Man, Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now and Girlfriend In A Coma.

Rourke was briefly sacked for two weeks in 1986 for taking heroin addiction but returned to record The Queen Is Dead album the same year.

The band went on to release four albums and earn three top 10 hits between 1982-1987 before a dispute over royalties from their now cavernous repertoire led to a bitter legal dispute.

Their demise was one of the most spectacular in the UK music world, although Rourke settled out of court and his friendship with Marr survived the case.

Rourke formed The Smiths in Manchester with Marr, Morrissey and drummer Mike Joyce in 1982

Today, Marr wrote a moving post on Instagram recalling how he and Rourke met and the last time they played together

Morrissey, who has increasingly flirted with far-right politics in recent years, was virulent about his former band-mates before adopting a more conciliatory tone in his book 'Autobiography'.

Rourke later went on to perform solo singles with Morrisey. He also played with the likes of Sinead O'Connor and Ian Brown from The Stone Roses.

Morrisey reunited the band's feud last year with an open letter attacking Marr on his Morrissey Central blog.

'This is not a rant or an hysterical bombast. It is a polite and calmly measured request: Would you please stop mentioning my name in your interviews?' he said.

'Would you please, instead, discuss your own career, your own unstoppable solo achievements and your own music? If you can, would you please just leave me out of it?

'The fact is: you don't know me. You know nothing of my life, my intentions, my thoughts, my feelings.

'Yet you talk as if you were my personal psychiatrist with consistent and uninterrupted access to my instincts.'

From left to right: Marr, Morrissey, Mike Joyce and Rourke before their first show in Detroit during the 1985 Meat Is Murder Tour
Spanish police union has said they will take private legal action against pair

Spanish cops today announced they will take private legal action against Jade Jagger and her boyfriend after they were arrested for allegedly assaulting police officers outside a restaurant in Ibiza.

The Spanish police union SUP said it has instructed a lawyer to pursue a private prosecution against Jade and her new lover Anthony Hinkson - in addition to any official charges they could face over the alleged assault on officers in Ibiza's Old Town on Wednesday night.

The union, which has more than 20,000 affiliated members, says it wants to 'bring the full force of the law' down on the couple if it is proved they assaulted police officers following a row with staff at the La Oliva restaurant.

'We are tired of seeing how assaults on police go virtually unpunished,' the union said in a statement today. 'SUP will present a private legal action against Mick Jagger's daughter for allegedly assaulting a National Police officer in Ibiza.'

Under Spanish law affected parties can prosecute as well as the state in an action which runs parallel but separately to the state case.

It comes as Jade, 51, the daughter of Rolling Stones star Mick Jagger, and Hinkson, 31, are believed to have arrived in court in Ibiza this morning following their arrest.

Jade Jagger and her boyfriend are believed to have arrived at a court in Ibiza in a police van this morning (pictured) where they will face a judge after they allegedly assaulted police officers outside a restaurant. A Spanish police Union today said they will launch private legal action against the couple

Shocking video shows how Jade Jagger's new boyfriend Anthony Hinkson was pinned to the ground by police before officers arrested the couple in Ibiza on Wednesday

Jade Jagger and her boyfriend Anthony Hinkson, who have both been arrested over an alleged assault on police officers in Ibiza, are pictured together here in London last month

The couple are thought to have been in a police van with blacked-out windows which arrived at court shortly after 8.30am local time with blue lights flashing.

The van was pictured pulling up outside the new Juzgado de Instruction 1 court in Ibiza Town before reversing down an internal ramp in a basement car park.

Jade, 51, and Hinkson, 31, could not be seen through the darkened rear windows of the van from Spain's National Police department. A metal door slammed shut preventing photographers from seeing who was getting out of the van in the basement.

The couple are believed to have been held for two nights in police custody after they allegedly assaulted police officers following a row with staff at the La Oliva restaurant.

Witnesses have told MailOnline that Hinkson was drinking whisky in the restaurant when he began behaving erratically and aggressively, threatening and swearing at staff and customers.

At one point he is said to have gone into the up-market Annie's clothes shop opposite the restaurant and bought a designer dress for more than 2,000 euros as an impromptu gift for a waitress at La Oliva.

Police were called by restaurant staff at around 9pm after he allegedly refused to leave, but he failed to quieten down and was seen being dragged to the ground by officers before being carried away in handcuffs.

Jade, 51, who was inside the restaurant, is said to have furiously protested about her boyfriend's arrest.

Jade, who split two years ago from her ex-husband, allegedly accused police of being racist and is said to have pushed one officer before being arrested herself.

Now, the Spanish police union SUP has announced it will launched private legal action against the pair.

In their full statement the union said: 'The incident occurred on March 17 following a call to police from employees at a well-known restaurant in Ibiza saying a person was behaving aggressively with customers and staff there.

MailOnline was told that the bust-up happened after Jade and her boyfriend went to the La Oliva restaurant (pictured today) in the heart of the old town area near Ibiza Castle

'It appeared from what the employees stated that this person could be under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

'Once they arrived police interviewed the employees who informed them a male had insulted and threatened staff and customers.

'When the police asked this person for identification as part of standard procedure he refused to comply and ended up allegedly assaulting several officers.

'Mick Jagger's daughter was with this man and she allegedly threw herself at a female police officer and assaulted her, causing her physical injuries.

'This led to her subsequent arrest.

'We are tired of seeing how assaults on police go practically unpunished and we are determined to make sure people who attack police officers do not get off practically scot-free.

'For this reason we are announcing today that we are going to launch our own legal action in the case involving this lady.'

The statement finished: 'We are not going to consent any more assaults on police.

'When others look away, our police officers always have their union to confide in.'

The news SUP is going to get involved in the prosecution sets up the possibility they may seek the maximum four-year penalty for Jagger and her boyfriend if the pair end up being charged with assaulting officers.

They were arrested for the Spanish offence of atentado contra la autoridad, which would cover everything from violently resisting arrest to attacking a police officer.

People found guilty of such an offence can face prison sentences of one to four years in Spain as well as fines.

Jail sentences of two years or less are normally suspended in Spain for first-time offenders.

This morning it was reported a charge of wounding could eventually be added because a female officer who responded to Wednesday night's incident is currently off work with a wrist injury.

Lawyers spearheading a private prosecution on behalf of crime victims often seek harsher penalties in Spain than the state lawyers prosecuting the same suspects as part of a case in front of a judge.

The legal team acting for the SUP police union is not expected to announce what sort of punishment they may end up seeking if Jagger and her boyfriend are charged until they have had a chance to properly review the evidence against them.

Neither jewellery designer Jade or her boyfriend have been charged with any crime under Spanish law, as is normal in Spain where formal charges are only laid shortly before trial.

This morning it was reported a charge of wounding could eventually be added because a female officer who responded to Wednesday night's incident is currently off work with a wrist injury.

Jade, the daughter of Rolling Stone star Sir Mick Jagger (pictured together in 2019) and his first wife Bianca, was arrested over the alleged assault

Lawyers spearheading a private prosecution on behalf of crime victims often seek harsher penalties in Spain than the state lawyers prosecuting the same suspects as part of a case in front of a judge.

The legal team acting for the SUP police union is not expected to announce what sort of punishment they may end up seeking if Jagger and her boyfriend are charged until they have had a chance to properly review the evidence against them.

Formal charges in Spain are not normally laid until shortly before trial.

Jade and Hinkson are believed to have been held at Ibiza's National Police HQ following their arrest on Wednesday night, only a short distance from the court.

They were formally questioned by detectives on Thursday following a night in a police cell and are understood to have spent a second night in police custody ahead of their court transfer this morning.

Police have not formally named them or released an official statement about the incident, which saw Hinkson being pinned to the ground and arrested after he allegedly assaulted a police officer at around 9pm on Wednesday.

Police sources have confirmed a man and a woman were arrested after an alleged assault on officers who responded to calls of an English-speaking male acting aggressively towards restaurant staff who refused to serve him any more drinks and asked him to leave.

Police on the island confirmed early this morning: 'The detainees arrested on Wednesday night will go to court today.'

It will now be up to an investigating judge to decide what sort of charge the police accusations against Jagger and her lover merit.

It was not immediately clear this morning if the case will be dealt with by way of a speedy trial.

The other most likely option would be for the judge to release the jewellery designer and her partner on bail following a behind-closed-door court hearing, pending an ongoing criminal investigation.

If that occurs the judge could attach conditions to the release that might include a ban on leaving Ibiza and the obligation to sign on at court every month or fortnight.

Video footage emerged yesterday showing how Hinkson was pinned to the ground by police before his arrest.

At one point Hinkson is said to have gone into an up-market clothes shop (pictured) and bought a designer dress for more than 2,000 euros as an impromptu gift for a waitress in a nearby restaurant

Jade (pictured in December in London) who split two years ago from her ex-husband allegedly accused police of being racist and is said to have pushed one officer before being arrested herself

Witnesses told MailOnline how Hinkson was drinking whiskey in the restaurant before he began behaving 'erratically' before his arrest. At one one he is said to have gone into an up-market clothes shop and bought a designer dress for more than 2,000 euros as an impromptu gift for a waitress in a nearby restaurant.

Hinkson is also believed to have berated passers-by before police were called by concerned staff at the La Oliva restaurant where the waitress works.

He was seen being forced to the ground after allegedly assaulting an officer before being taken away in handcuffs at around 9pm on Wednesday. Jade then allegedly assaulted a police officer before also being arrested.

MailOnline was told that the bust-up happened after Jade and her boyfriend went to the La Oliva restaurant.

A witness said: 'Jade's boyfriend was behaving very oddly. I don't know what made him be like that.

'At one stage he came outside and went into Annie's clothes shop on the other side of the road where he bought a dress.

'He was bothering girls who were in the shop and making comments to a girl who was working there. He was not really making much sense. He was saying, 'Give me the f***ing dress. He was really rude.

'Then he took the dress back to the restaurant and tried to give it to the waitress. His behaviour was so erratic that the restaurant manager decided to call police.

'Seven police officers came and it looked like they tried to calm him down, but he was resisting them and saying really horrible stuff.

'He did not have his T shirt on and he was bare chested. The police managed to pull him down and they put handcuffs on him, but he was still resisting.

'I recognised Jade and she looked really upset about what is happening. She was demanding that police officers identify themselves, saying: 'I don't want to mess with anyone. Give me your names.'

'The cops kept telling her to stay out of it, but she was saying, 'You are just arresting him because he is black'. The police were telling her to stay at home, but she said, 'No, I am coming with you.'

'An officer told her, 'If you keep going, I will arrest you'. Then she was arrested as well.

I didn't actually see her pushing or anything like that.

'But I saw an ambulance arrive, and there were loads of police.'

The witness said that Hinkson left the restaurant about half an hour before his arrest and splashed out on a sleeveless gold dress by New York designer LaQuan Smith , priced at 2,102 euros on the shop's website.

They added: 'He was buying the dress for a waitress. He was saying, 'Try something on. I will buy it for you.' He was bothering everyone and screaming.

'It was just really weird behaviour. I heard that they had been staying in a house nearby. It also looks like that the waitress got to keep the dress.'

La Oliva restaurant in Ibiza town, where Jade Jagger's boyfriend was arrested

A well-placed source said: 'Police arrested two people last night, a man and a woman, in Ibiza.

'Around 9pm there was a police intervention as a result of a call from a restaurant about a man. The man had gone by the time police arrived.

'People at the restaurant including staff and a manager and a couple of customers told officers he had been aggressive towards them, and they had refused to serve him any more drinks and he left.

'A man in the street then approached the police patrol cars outside.

'When officers approached him he began to insult them in English, refusing to identify himself and being very hostile.

'They tried to calm him down several times. That's when a woman appeared.

'Police managed to calm her down and then call an ambulance for the man who was in a bad way.

'At that moment the woman enters the scene again, squaring up to an officer. She was then also arrested.'

Lisa Salle, the owner of La Oliva restaurant, refused to comment, saying: 'We are not talking about this.'

But a waitress called Maria who works at nearby La Toretta restaurant, said: 'This man was super, super drunk. He was super, super crazy.

'He was drinking whisky in La Oliva. Then he became aggressive and the staff told him to leave. They said: 'You are disturbing customers. Please go.'

'Lisa Salle was very polite to him, but he had a bad attitude. He came in to our restaurant and we told him to leave because we were waiting on customers.

'He went into the shop and the girl in there was very scared of him. Then he went back to La Oliva and the police were called.

'The police told him, 'Please calm down. You are disturbing people.' He was saying things like 'F**k off', 'F**k the police' and 'F**k everything'.

'When the police were arresting him, he was kicking out with his legs. They first restrained him by the arms and then they restrained his legs.

'They had to carry him some distance to the police car. I am not clear whether Jade Jagger was in the restaurant at the time. I think she may have been staying in a house above a shop.

'But she came out when he was arrested. She was following the officers down the road as they were taking the man away.

'They warned her to calm down, but she kept on and she ended up being put against a wall and put in handcuffs.'

Jade who is Sir Mick's daughter from his marriage to first wife Bianca lasted posted an Instagram picture of herself a week ago when she was at Hotel Nobu in Ibiza.

She accompanied the snap with a message saying: 'Spring back to ibiza a (sic) with a little glamour @ibizabay #nobu.'

Jade who has had a home on Ibiza for many years was pictured hand-in-hand with Barbadian Hinkson in London last month.

Jade Jagger (pictured in Ibiza last week) has reportedly been arrested in Ibiza for allegedly assaulting a police officer when they were trying to mediate an altercation in a restaurant

Hinkson was offering bespoke sunset dining experiences at a beach bar in Barbados last year, with Instagram videos showing him manning the BBQ for customers.

It was revealed last month that she had liked a string of images on his account, writing 'beautiful life on the beach living the dream' on one picture of an oil drum BBQ.

He has also liked images on Jade's account, including one of her in a low-cut swimming costume while at sea.

Jade launched her 'paradisica' jewellery collection in January last year which she said was 'inspired by my Caribbean life'.

The businesswoman split from her DJ husband in 2021, nine years after their star-studded Cotswolds wedding.

She was said to be 'devastated' by the breakdown of their relationship, with a source at the time telling the Mail on Sunday: 'This is all very sad. They thought they would be together for ever but it didn't work out quite like that.'

Jade revealed in March that she had stopped making jewellery when she wrote on Instagram: 'Today is the first day I decided to stop working well at jewellery. I think it will bring new light new love and new opportunities thank u to all that supported me. Thanks for the sweet messages change is good.'
Miami cops have released footage of a scantily-clad woman they believe drugged her date before making off with $600,000-worth of his jewelry.

The unnamed woman, in her 30s, met the man at a bar in Wynwood on May 8 before they went back to his apartment at around 5.30am.

Here, cops say, she drugged his drink and stole the high-priced items after he passed out.

The man woke up around noon to find his safe open and the jewelry gone, along with his date.

Items she allegedly stole include the Rolex Daytona Rainbow with diamonds and a Sky-Dweller Rolex as well as a gold chain, Franco Gold bracelets, Cartier sunglasses and a rose gold diamond ring.

Surveillance footage from the apartment building shows the suspect in the elevator as she entered with the man, and again when she left on her own.

Police have accused a woman of drugging her Miami date's drink and stealing $600,000 from him in jewelry

On her exit, she is seen carrying two blue Solo cups, which police believe she was carrying because they contained her DNA as well as the drugs she used to put the man to sleep

On her exit, she is seen carrying two blue Solo cups, which police believe she was carrying because they contained her DNA as well as the drugs she used to put the man to sleep.

'Now sometimes you might say, "Oh, well she's just leaving with a Solo cup." No. She's taking the Solo cup that she drank because it has her DNA.

'She's taking his Solo cup because it has not only his DNA, but it also has whatever drugs she put in,' Officer Michael Vega, an MPD spokesman, said, according to WSVN.

'She's taking his Solo cup because it has not only his DNA, but it also has whatever drugs she put in,' Officer Michael Vega, an MPD spokesman, said
Rishi Sunak has suggested he is hoping for immigration to be running below 500,000 by the time of the next election - despite the Tory manifesto promising numbers will be under 226,000.

The PM conceded that net migration into the UK is 'too high' but refused to spell out what would be an acceptable level.

With figures next week expected to show another record amid the chaos in Afghanistan, Ukraine and Hong Kong, Mr Sunak hinted he was aiming to get inflows under the 504,000 reached in the year to last June.

He said he was focused on lowering the level he 'inherited'.

Mr Sunak has been struggling to contain Cabinet infighting over immigration, with Home Secretary Suella Braverman publicly pushing for tough action such as limiting the number of dependants students can bring in.

But Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has said she is 'hugely proud' about hitting a target for 600,000 foreign students coming to the UK, with internal documents reportedly boasting that the department will reach the goal 'year after year'.

Tory MPs have been growing increasingly restice on the issue, with one saying Mr Sunak's approach is 'completely insane' and there was 'effectively uncontrolled immigration'.

Rishi Sunak (pictured at the G7 summit in Hiroshima) has dodged on whether immigration will be running below 500,000 by the time of the next election

Officials said the increase in the year to last June was driven by hundreds of thousands of refugees from Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Ukraine

Immigration 'could go up' under Labour Migration could increase in the 'short term' under a Labour government, the party's chairwoman has suggested, but would ultimately be reduced by addressing the domestic skills shortage. Anneliese Dodds indicated Labour would focus less on a target-based approach to the number of people entering the country, and more on training within the UK. She pointed to the party's pledge to double the number of medical school places and train 10,000 more nurses and midwives each year as an example. Asked on Sky News whether Labour wants migration to increase, Ms Dodds said: 'Well, what we would see if we had an immigration system that was working properly would be potentially in some areas where there's a short-term need for skills, you could see in the short term actually people who are coming in increasing in number. 'But in the medium and long-term, a reduction, because we would be training people up in our own country. 'We've not had that unfortunately under the Conservatives. We've got skills shortages and those shortages are not being filled because there's not the domestic upskilling that needs to be taking place.' Advertisement

During a round of interviews at Hiroshima's Seifukan tea house this morning as the G7 summit kicks off, Mr Sunak said he is 'crystal clear' he wants to reduce net migration.

But he said to BBC News: 'I'm not going to put a precise figure on it but I do want to bring them down.

'The numbers are too high and we want to bring them down. Now, the numbers last year were impacted by the fact that we welcomed Ukrainian refugees to the UK. Again, that's something I think we are proud of.'

The 2019 Conservative manifesto promised that 'overall numbers will come down' as the Government ends freedom of movement in the wake of Brexit.

Migration levels were at 226,000 then. They exceeded 500,000 in the year to June 2022 and it could be as high as one million in new figures due to be published in the coming weeks.

Mr Sunak avoided giving a specific commitment when pressed by Sky News whether he can bring down net migration to below 500,000 by the next election,

He said: 'I'm committed to bringing down the levels of migration that I inherited, and I'm relentlessly focused on stopping the boats, that's one of my five priorities, and we're doing absolutely everything we can to do that.'

Tory MP Adam Holloway told GB News that the government was behaving in an un-Conservative fashion.

'You schedule your immigration to your public services and the needs of your labour market,' he said.

'A group of us are asking to see the Home Secretary next week, because it's not just about the Tory party's electoral prospects that are shattered by this, but it's actually about the shape and the feel of our country going forward. It's about public services.

'And every single MP, not just Conservative, should be looking at this and should say, 'what's the point of being in office if you don't do the right thing when you actually have the power?'

Mr Sunak raised migration with allies at a Council of Europe meeting in Iceland on Tuesday.

The PM believes he had made 'another big step forward' with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen to discuss the UK working with the bloc's border force, Frontex.

And he also held talks with the president of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Siofra O'Leary, over a review of the working of Rule 39.

The order was used to block the inaugural forced removal flight of refugees to Rwanda last year.

Mr Sunak sees the stalled policy as key to reducing unauthorised entries to the UK.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the G7 summit in Japan on Sunday in person, officials said, as Rishi Sunak and allies seek to turn up the pressure on Russia.

It will potentially bring Mr Zelensky into contact with India's Narendra Modi and Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who have not opposed the invasion like their western allies.

Mr Zelensky has met many western politicians recently, including Mr Sunak at Chequers on Monday.

But it would be an opportunity for him to build stronger links with the Indian prime minister, who has remained neutral, and the Brazilian president, who the US has accused of 'parroting' Russia propaganda.

Attending the G7 - the group that Russia was expelled from over its 2014 annexation of Crimea - would also be a new display of solidarity.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the G7 summit in Japan in person, officials said, as Rishi Sunak and allies seek to turn up the pressure on Russia. Above, Mr Zelensky and Mr Sunak in the UK on Monday

A Ukrainian soldier fires a mortar near the city of Bakhmut yesterday

A Ukrainian multiple rocket launcher fires rockets at Russian positions on the frontline near Bakhmut on Wednesday

Mr Zelensky addresses leaders at the Arab League Summit today

Earlier, Mr Sunak announced Britain is banning Russian diamonds in a new wave of sanctions that will also prohibit imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel.

There has been uncertainty whether the EU will go as far as Britain on diamonds, with the trade particularly lucrative for Belgium, but Mr Sunak said he is 'hopeful and confident' allies will follow.

Having signed a new defence and security pact with Tokyo, Mr Sunak visited the A-bomb dome ruin with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, to reflect on the atomic devastation in the Second World War.

Talks between G7 allies, including US president Joe Biden and France's Emmanuel Macron, will centre on military and economic support for Ukraine as they seek to show a united front.

Mr Sunak told Sky: 'Russia needs to know that we and other countries remain steadfast in our resolve to support Ukraine, not just in the here and now with the resources it needs to protect itself, but for the long term as well.'

Saudi Arabia's Deputy Emir of Mecca Prince Badr bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz welcomes Mr Zelensky in Jeddah today where he participated in the Arab League Summit

Mr Zelensky's appearance at the G7 meeting will potentially bring him into contact with India's Narendra Modi (pictured) and Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who have not opposed the invasion like their western allies

Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (pictured arriving at Hiroshima airport on Friday ahead of the G7 summit) has been accused of 'parroting' Russia propaganda by the US

Elsewhere, Mr Sunak told ITV News: 'They can't just outlast us in this conflict. One of the common topics of conversation I'll be having and have been having with my fellow leaders is about the longer-term security agreements that we put in place in Ukraine, to deter future Russian aggression.'

The UK is also preparing new individual sanctions against 86 people and companies to apply further pressure on Vladimir Putin and his supporters.

The diamond export industry was worth more than 3billion to Russia in 2021 but No10 conceded direct imports have been low since the UK sanctioned state-owned miners Alrosa last year.

Mr Sunak told the BBC: 'I'm hopeful and confident that our partner countries will follow as they have done when we've done this previously - that will make the sanctions more effective, ensure that Russia pays a price for its illegal activity.'

The three-day G7 summit - which also includes Germany, Italy and Canada - will feature talks on economic stability and the security of Taiwan in the face of Chinese aggression.

Mr Sunak's spokesman said: 'Guarding against economic coercion is something that the Prime Minister is pushing for.'

Mr Sunak told reporters travelling with him in Japan that he has seen 'positive' steps from India but that there is a need to keep the dialogue open with Mr Modi and Mr da Silva.

'One thing we have to keep doing is talking to countries like India and also Brazil, that is going to be in that second part of the summit which is a good thing,' the Prime Minister said.

India is being represented at the G7 summit because it is the current G20 chair, while Brazil has been invited as a guest.
The ex-wife and children of an Italian ice cream 'supremo' have won an inheritance battle against his widow over the tycoon's fortune.

Ernesto 'Ernie' Colicci died from coronavirus in 2021, aged 66, nearly 40 years after creating a London-based ice cream 'empire' with his first wife, Josephine Colicci.

Now Ms Colicci has won a High Court battle for a 1.6million stake in his 4.9million ice cream fortune, which was initially left to his second spouse, Russian-born Nora Grinberg.

Ms Colicci argued that her ex-husband's shares in ECSI Ltd should pass to their children, Robert and Rosanna Colicci.

Mr Colicci's widow Nora Grinberg argued they should pass to her. Recorder Mark Anderson yesterday ruled in favour of Ms Colicci and the children.

Robert Colicci and Josephine Colicci outside the High Court after a hearing in the inheritance row with Nora Grinberg

Ernesto 'Ernie' Colicci died from coronavirus in 2021, aged 66, nearly 40 years after creating a London-based ice cream 'empire' with his first wife, Josephine Colicci

Ms Colicci argued her ex-husband's shares in ECSI Ltd should pass to their children, Robert and Rosanna (pictured)

Mr and Mrs Colicci divorced in 2011, after being married for nearly 30 years. Ernie married his second wife, Russian-born Nora Grinberg (pictured), in 2014.

Robert, 39, and Rosanna, 36, played roles in the booming family enterprise.

Mr and Mrs Colicci divorced in 2011, after being married for nearly 30 years. Ernie married his second wife, Russian-born Nora Grinberg, in 2014.

The tycoon arrived in the UK from his native Italy in 1982 'with a dream to sell ice cream' and over subsequent years created a business based around 35 sites across London's parks, operating cafes, boutique restaurants and vintage ice cream trucks.

When Ernie died, his April 2017 will left his entire 4.75million fortune to Ms Grinberg and their infant daughter, penning a letter telling his children from his first marriage that he had given them enough money during his lifetime.

From left, Robert, Ernie, Josephine and Roseanna all played a role in the family business

Josephine Colicci, pictured with her ex-husband, sued Ernie's widow over his inheritance

Ms Colicci claims a 2016 legal deed between her, her ex-husband and their two children insured their inheritance

Ms Colicci sued her ex-husband's widow  whom the court heard she disparagingly referred to as his 'Russian maid'  arguing that his 1.6million stake in the ice cream business should rightfully go to her children.

Mr and Ms Colicci started the catering business after marrying in 1982.

It began by selling ice cream from vans and now operates a number of catering outlets in parks and public spaces.

The judge said the claim was based on a 2016 contract between Mr and Ms Colicci, and Rosanna and Robert.

The judge said Mr and Ms Colicci had 'covenanted that any shares they still held in the company when they died' would 'pass to Robert and Rosanna'.

He said Mr Colicci 'did not comply with this promise' but made a will in 2017 which 'left his shares to Nora'.

Ms Colicci said she had helped her husband build their empire through four decades of hard work

Ms Colicci and the children sought to 'enforce the 2016 deed'.

Ms Grinberg argued the 2016 agreement was superseded by a subsequent one made in 2017.

But a judge concluded this was not the case and added: 'I prefer the interpretation for which the claimants [Ms Colicci and the children] contend.'

Mr Colicci's estate had assets worth 4.9million, without the shares in dispute, and liabilities of 3.6million, the judge was told.

The siblings each already own a 10 per cent stake in the family company and Robert is a director, with Ms Colicci owning the remaining 40 per cent.

From the witness box, Ms Colicci told the court that, when her ex started a relationship with Ms Grinberg, she initially viewed her as a friend and even attended her wedding to Ernie.

She still had a good relationship with her former husband, with whom she had helped build their ice cream empire through four decades of graft, adding that even after their split he 'trusted me with everything'.

In his will, Ernie said he had provided 'sufficient financial provision' for his first two children

He said: 'They are independent adults now with financial security. I consider this more than sufficient financial provision for Roberto and Rosanna'

'We went from selling ice cream out the back of a van to the business we have today through a lot of hard work,' she told the court.

She said she and her ex agreed in 2016 that their two children would inherit their company shares when they died to safeguard their offspring's futures and the Colicci empire.

Ms Grinberg's barrister, Angela Walsh, argued that the terms of the 2016 deal had been 'wiped out' by a subsequent shareholders' agreement struck in 2017, which 'superseded previous agreements' and which also distributed 10 per cent of Ernie and Josephine's shares to Rob and Rosanna.

She accepted that his shares should stay within the Colicci family, but said that, because they are part of the estate left to Ms Grinberg by her husband, Rob and Rosanna should pay a fair price for them.

The barrister told Judge Mark Anderson KC that Ms Grinberg would face financial 'hardship' if she lost her late husband's stake in the family company for nothing.

She had sacrificed a dynamic career as a chemical engineer running her own business to raise a family with Mr Colicci  with their daughter now aged six and fatherless, the court heard.

Following the birth of their baby, Ernie had become determined to 'provide for his new wife and child'  feeling that he had already done his utmost to support his two children from his first marriage.

He even left behind a 'letter of wishes' making clear that he was writing Rob and Rosanna out of his will so that he could provide for Ms Grinberg.

In his letter, he explained: 'I love Roberto and Rosanna very much and my will is no reflection on how I feel about them.

'I have provided both of them with significant financial funds in their lifetimes, and I have set them up with properties, rental properties, and provided them with careers.

'They are independent adults now with financial security. I consider this more than sufficient financial provision for Roberto and Rosanna.'
A four-year-old girl has died from suffocation while playing in a bouncy castle after three staff members meant to be supervising her were distracted by their smartphones.

The tragedy occurred in an amusement park in the city of Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, last weekend.

The girl, named Valeria, was found tangled up in the structure's ropes by bouncy castle assistants after her mother, Anna, asked them to check on her because she had not heard her daughter's laughter for a while.

'At first Anna [the girl's mother] thought that Valeria had lost consciousness while playing in the heat and tried to wake her up,' said Natalia Kuchynska, a close friend of the family.

According to Mrs Kuchynska, a male witness called an ambulance while other park visitors were splashing water on the girl and carrying out mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions.

The four-year-old girl, named Valeria, was found tangled up in the structure's ropes by bouncy castle assistants

Bouncy castle employees were said to be glued to their phones while Valeria, four, was suffocating

'There were no medical assistants providing first aid on site. Someone brought dentists from a clinic nearby,' Mrs Kuchynska said.

'They examined the child, tried to wake her up with ammonia, and shone a light into her eyes. When the ambulance arrived, paramedics pronounced Valeria dead.'

Anna and Valeria were about to go home when the girl asked her mother to play for three more minutes. The woman agreed and waited for her daughter in the parents' zone in an area where she could not see the child, according to reports.

Three staff members who were supposed to look after the child while she was in the bouncy castle were distracted by their smartphones when the tragedy occurred, police found.

'The assistants fled the scene after Valeria was found,' Mrs Kuchynska said.

The girl's funeral took place on Wednesday.

'Anna is devastated by the loss. The funeral day was very difficult,' the family friend said.

The chief of police for Mykolaiv Oblast region, Sergiy Shaikhet, said: 'It was preliminarily established that a four-year-old girl got entangled in the loops on the wall of a bouncy castle while playing on it. According to preliminary findings of experts, the child died as a result of suffocation.'

The bouncy castle owner, 45, had been detained by the police. She faces up to eight years in prison if found guilty. The investigation is ongoing.

The bouncy castle owner, 45, had been detained by the police. She faces up to eight years in prison if found guilty
Little, who died in 2020, confessed in 2018 to killing two Macon women

The remains of a Georgia woman killed 46 years ago were identified and confirmed as the earliest victim of Samuel Little, known as the most prolific serial killer in US history, authorities said on Thursday.

Yvonne Pless was about 20 when Little killed her in 1977, according to a news release from the Bibb County Sheriff's Office and the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Her body was discovered off Arkwright Road in Macon and remained unidentified for years.

She had been dubbed 'Macon Jane Doe' by The Telegraph newspaper in the city.

Little - from Reynoldstown, Georgia -, who died in December 2020 in a Californian prison, confessed in 2018 to killing eight Georgia women, including two in Macon, prompting Georgia investigators to travel to Texas in 2019 to interview him.

They were able to confirm that his confessions matched the unsolved Macon cold case.

A composite of Yvonne Press, previously identified by the Macon Telegraph as 'Macon Jane Doe' - murdered in 1977 by Samuel Little

Serial killer Samuel Little (pictured during a court hearing in LA in 2014) died in a California hospital in December 2020, authorities confirmed. He was 80 years old

They were able to notify a remaining family member of the other woman, Fredonia Smith, who was killed in 1982.

But Ms Pless' remains had not been identified, so her family was not known.

Last year, investigators used forensic, genetic, genealogy to identify the remains of Ms Pless and then identified a relative who connected them with her remaining family in Macon.

By the time of his death at nearly 80 years old, Little had confessed to killing 93 people between 1970 and 2014. Most of the slayings took place in Florida and Southern California. Georgia authorities say eight of his victims were Georgia residents, and the remains of a Tennessee woman were also found in Georgia.

Little, who was in and out of jail for decades for stealing, assault, drugs or other crimes, for years denied killing anyone.

Little, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2014, had long denied killing anyone until 2018 when he confessed to killing 93 people

Once a strong, strapping boxer who used his powerful hands to strangle his victims, Little had been using a wheelchair to get around before is death

It was not until he was questioned by Texas Ranger James Holland in 2018 about a killing it turned out he did not commit that the details began to come out. Over about 700 hours of interviews, he gave details from scores of killings that only a murderer would know.

A skilled artist, he even provided Holland with dozens of paintings and drawings of his victims, sometimes scribbling their names when he could remember them, as well as details such as the year and location of the murder and where he'd dumped the body.

He said he started killing in 1970, on New Year's Eve in Miami.

'It was like drugs,' he told Holland. 'I came to like it.'

His last was in 2005, he said, in Tupelo, Mississippi. He also killed people in Tennessee, Texas, Ohio, Kentucky, Nevada, Arkansas and other states.

Holland has described Little as both a genius and a sociopath, adding the killer could never adequately explain to him why he did what he did.

Although known as an expert interrogator, Holland himself said he could only guess at why Little opened up to him.

The ranger did work tirelessly to create and maintain a bond with the killer during their hundreds of hours of interviews, bringing him favorite snacks such as pizza, Dr. Pepper and grits and discussing their mutual interest in sports.

He also gave Little assurances that he wouldn't be executed.

Holland would address Little by his childhood nickname, Sammy, while Little called Holland Jimmy and once told the Los Angeles Times he'd 'found a friend in a Texas ranger.'

He told 60 Minutes he hoped his confessions might exonerate anyone wrongly convicted of his crimes.

'I say if I can help get somebody out of jail, you know, then God might smile a little bit more on me,' he said.

Left: Black female between 35-40 years old killed in 1981 in Atlanta, Georgia. Center: Black female age 23 killed in 1984 in Savannah, Georgia. Right: Black female killed in 1992 or 1993 in Los Angeles

Little strangled most of his victims, usually soon after meeting them during chance encounters.

Almost all of his victims were women, and he targeted people living on the edges of society, such as prostitutes or drug addicts. They were people he believed would not be looked for and would not leave much evidence for police.

He was not wrong  police around the country initially classified many of the deaths as accidents, drug overdoses or the result of unknown causes.

Kentucky authorities finally caught up with him in 2012 after he was arrested on drug charges and his DNA linked him to three California killings.

When he began recounting the other killings, authorities were astounded at how much he remembered. His drawings, they said, indicated he had a photographic memory.

One killing was solved after Little recalled the victim wore dentures. Another after he told Holland he'd killed the victim near a set of unusual looking arches in Florida.

A victim he met outside a Miami strip club in 1984 was remembered as being 25 years old with short blond hair, blue eyes and a 'hippie look.'

As he continued to talk, authorities across the country rushed to investigate old cases, track down relatives and bring closure to families.

Little revealed few details about his own life other than that he was raised in Lorain, Ohio, by his grandmother. Authorities said he often went by the name Samuel McDowell.

He was married once, Little said, and involved in two long-term relationships.

He claimed he developed a fetish for women's necks after becoming sexually aroused when he saw his kindergarten teacher touch her neck.

He was always careful, he added, to avoid looking at the necks of his wife or girlfriends and never hurt anyone he loved.

'I don't think there was another person who did what I liked to do,' he told 60 Minutes.

'I think I'm the only one in the world. And that's not an honor, that is a curse.'

'Nothing he's ever said has been proven to be wrong or false,' Holland told the CBS news magazine 60 Minutes in 2019.

The number of people he killed dwarf that of Green River killer Gary Ridgeway (49), 'Killer Clown' John Wayne Gacy (33) and Ted Bundy (36).

In a 60 Minutes special that aired in September 2020, Texas ranger, James Holland revealed how he plied Little (left), with pizza, Dr Pepper and art supplies over 700 hours of interviews to get him to confess to 93 murders
British and Dutch forces are willing to help Ukraine obtain F-16 fighter jets but face opposition from the United States.

The US have expressed continued reluctance at sending the aircrafts to help to defend against Russia's invasion.

The F-16 has become the latest advanced weapon that Ukraine says it requires to needs to defend itself from Russia.

But what exactly is an F-16 fighter jet? Why does Ukraine want them? How many F-16 fighter jets are there in total?

Read on below for all you need to know about F-16 fighter jets.

The F-16 is a supersonic fighter jet which is wanted by Ukraine to help bolster their efforts to defend against Russia in the ongoing conflict

What is an F-16 fighter jet?

The F-16 is a supersonic fighter jet used by more than 25 countries for a combination of scenarios including air-to-air combat and air-to-ground strikes.

Historically, it has been used by the US in a number of recent international conflicts, including, most notably in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Built by the American defense contractor Lockheed Martin in the state of South Carolina, the jets can cost up to $63million.

However, Ukraine could find it difficult to get hold of the jets as the US appear reluctant to supply them any time soon.

Celeste A. Wallander, an assistant secretary of defense, said that the administration was focused on helping Ukraine in the most practical way possible, whilst assisting thier military needs in the conflict against Russia.

She stated: 'What do they require right now, which is what we've been focused on for the battles they are facing,'

Why does Ukraine want F-16 fighter jets?

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has highlighted the need for Ukraine to bolster its defences in the ongoing conflict against Russia.

Ukrainian officials say that F-16s and other advanced Western fighter jets are needed to sure up air defences. It sees the F-16 jets as being obtainable because of their high level of availability.

Zelensky said ballistic missile and drone attacks on his country showed 'Russia is trying very hard to improve its ability to kill'.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky appeared via video link at the Council of Europe summit on Tuesday 16 May 2023, where he said Ukraine needs 'more fighter jets, without which no air defence system will be perfect'

He said Ukraine consequently needed 'additional air defence systems and missiles'.

He added: 'We also need more fighter jets, without which no air defence system will be perfect.'

Asked on Monday 15 May 2023 if the US had changed its position on supplying the jets to Ukraine, John Kirby, a spokesperson for the White House's national security council, simply replied: 'No.'

Does the UK have F-16s?

In February, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the UK would develop a new training programme for Ukrainian pilots to support their efforts to build a new Ukrainian air force with NATO-standard, F16 jets.

Mr Sunak stated: 'This is a crucial moment in Ukraine's resistance to a terrible war of aggression they did not choose or provoke.

'They need the sustained support of the international community to defend against the barrage of unrelenting and indiscriminate attacks that have been their daily reality for over a year.'

The announcement comes as Downing Street also confirmed an 'international coalition' between the UK and the Netherlands to assist Ukraine in obtaining the F-16 jets.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with Zelensky at Chequers on Monday 15 May 2023. Zelensky paid a visit to discuss the next steps in how the UK can assist Ukraine in the ongoing conflict against Russia

A Downing Street spokesperson stated Sunak and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte 'would work to build an international coalition to provide with combat air capabilities, supporting with everything from training to procuring F-16 jets'.

However, the UK does not have any F-16 fighter jets in use, with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace stating it is 'up to the White House to decide if it wants to release that technology.'

How many F-16 fighter jets are there?

The Netherlands has about 40 F-16s - which have been supplied to them by the US - while seven other European NATO members fly the jets, including Poland and Norway.

There are approximately 3,000 currently in active military service across 25 countries worldwide, with hundreds being used in the U.S. Air Force and Navy.

No other fighter jets designed by Western forces have been supplied to Ukraine, who have had to rely on MiG-29 jets, 27 of which have been given to them by Poland and Slovakia.
Activists entered the site at 7am this morning demanding a calf is released

Vegan activists have this morning stormed a dairy farm demanding that a calf is released and rehomed in a 'sanctuary' - saying that 'baby cows just want to be free'.

Animal Rising said that 30 protesters entered and 'occupied' Grange Dairy in Winfrith Newburgh, near Dorchester, Dorset at around 7am this morning.

The group, which is opposed to the dairy industry, has asked the farm to release a calf to be rehomed in an animal sanctuary 'as a sign of good faith' while they negotiate 'over the need to transition towards a plant-based food system urgently'.

This comes after Animal Rising supporters ran onto the racetrack at Aintree last month before the Grand National last month - and last year protested against dairy by pouring milk from shelves over the Harrods food hall and in other supermarkets.

Activists claim a 2017 investigation found Grange Dairy kept calves as old as six months being kept in incredibly cramped conditions - despite a legal limit of eight weeks.

Vegan activists have this morning stormed a dairy farm in Dorset demanding that a calf is released and rehomed in a 'sanctuary'

Animal Rising said that 30 protesters entered and 'occupied' Grange Dairy in Winfrith Newburgh, near Dorchester, Dorset at around 7am this morning

An animal rising protester sitting down at Grange Dairy with a picture of a cow with two calves

However a Dorset Council investigation later found no evidence of animal welfare breaches, the Dorset Echo reported in 2017.

Activists claim the farm, owned by J.F. Cobb & Sons, supplies 'high welfare' milk to Marks & Spencer supermarkets.

M&S say they 'take animal welfare extremely seriously' and that all the dairy farms that supply their milk, including Grange Dairy, meet the 'rigorous requirements' needed to be an RSPCA assured select farm.

Activists at the farm were pictured 'comforting' some of the approximately 1,000 calves who are, according to Animal Rising 'kept in pens, isolated from each other'.

Ben Newman, who is part of the action at the dairy this morning, said: 'Just like every other animal in farms across the UK, the baby cows here just want to be free and live without the threat of being slaughtered for food or repeatedly impregnated so they produce milk.

'The dairy industry - indeed all of animal farming - is not working for any of us, farmers included.

'Exploiting these animals for our own purposes is hurting us, it's hurting our environment, destroying our rivers, and it's killing billions of innocent individuals each year.

'We need a safe and secure food system and that can only come once we all truly consider how to mend our shattered connection with all animals and create a world that is kinder to us all.'

Animal Rising supporters ran onto the racetrack at Aintree last month before the Grand National last month as a protest

Animal Rising protested against dairy by pouring milk from shelves over the Harrods food hall (pictured) in October last year

At least two activists made it onto the racecourse and attempted to glue themselves to the second jump

Activists at the farm were pictured 'comforting' some of the approximately 1,000 calves who are, according to Animal Rising 'kept in pens, isolated from each other'

Animal Rising have said managers at Grange Dairy have had discussions with activists who are trying to secure the release of a calf today

Animal Rising have said managers at Grange Dairy have had discussions with activists who are trying to secure the release of a calf today.

The group said protesters are 'trying to begin a dialogue with the farming industry' and that 'if we are to create a safe and secure food system in the UK, then British farmers must be at its heart'.

They added: 'An overwhelming majority of Britons support rewilding, where land is restored to nature and given the chance to bloom. This would restore biodiversity and begin carbon drawdown.'

Animal Rising claims that this can only be done if the government supports farmers and transition subsidies to help the industry change, adding that a recent survey suggested more than 60% of farmers in Scotland would transition to rewilding or plant-based production if adequate financial support were in place.

Animal Rising protesters sit in at Grange Dairy Farm this morning, which supplies 'high quality' milk to supermarkets like M&S

Around 30 supporters of the vegan activist group entered the dairy farm in Dorset today

A spokesperson for J.F. Cobb & Sons, who run Grange Dairy, said: 'We can confirm that we have several animal activists on our farm today.

'As a family-run dairy farming business, the welfare of our animals is our number one priority and, as well as working closely with our vets, we are regularly audited by Red Tractor and RSPCA Assured to ensure we meet stringent standards of animal care.

'Our farms operate within the top 5% of all animal health and welfare metrics in the UK, and the UK is a world leader in cattle welfare.

'We are in dialogue with the activists but can confirm that we will not be allowing them to remove any calves from the farm as we believe that would risk compromising the welfare of these young animals.'

A Marks & Spencer spokesperson said: 'All of our milk comes from RSPCA Assured Select Farms and is produced to the highest market-leading animal welfare standards, as set by RSPCA Assured.

'We take animal welfare extremely seriously and all of our dedicated milk pool farms, including Grange Dairy, follow these rigorous requirements.'
Australians have been warned that they could catch a brutal strain of the flu as cases of the disease soar to a rate 100 times higher than it was last year.

There have already been more than 40,000 cases of laboratory-proven influenza so far in 2023, with more than 8,173 cases diagnosed in the first half of May alone, according to the Australian Government's National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.

Aussie Pharma Direct managing director Daniel Seldon said that nearly everyone will be impacted by the illness this winter if people don't get vaccinated.

Australians are warned that they could catch a brutal strain of the flu as cases of the disease reach 100 times higher than they were last year (pictured, a woman is vaccinated for Covid)

There have already been over 40,000 cases of laboratory-proven influenza so far in 2023

'There's a very high chance that you will get it, I got it,' he said.

'For me it was a week flat on my back and about three weeks recovering from the symptoms.

More than three quarters (77 per cent) were influenza A, which has been termed the 'kindy flu', not because of its effects but because the disease has swept thorough early childhood centres and preschools.

The highest rate of infection in people is those aged five to nine, followed by those aged under four and those aged 10-14 years.

Despite the high number of children contracting the flu, they are among the least vaccinated with less than six per cent of those under five having received a flu vaccination, something Mr Seldon described as a 'problem'.

To try and prevent children bringing home unwanted germs, Mr Seldon advises parents make sure that they are sanitising their hands as the 'first thing' after school.

It appears that parents are already taking charge, with Aussie Pharma Direct noting a 200 per cent increase over the past two weeks in the sale of face masks, sanitiser, and the new dual rapid antigen test kit which tests for Covid-19 and the influenza A and B strains.

Pharmacist Daniel Seldon said that nearly everyone will be impacted by the illness this winter if people don't get vaccinated (pictured, Sydney commuters)

The most common place for people to contract an illness is while on public transport, with Mr Seldon urging people to keep away from people who are coughing and sniffling and to consider popping on a mask while on the train.

Mr Seldon himself came down with influenza A, shortly after receiving his vaccination but before his body received the full benefits of the shot, and he describes the symptoms as 'way worse' than when he had Covid-19.

'I'm still suffering, it really sat in my chest,' he said.

'I was sort of laid up in bed for about a week and then just couldn't get rid of this cough, it's still here and it really sort of sits in your lungs.'

He says that now is not the time to forget the hygiene lessons learnt during the pandemic, as they may save Australians from a bad case of the flu.
The composer who was the subject of wild speculation that the Duchess of Sussex snuck into the King's Coronation is celebrating 1,000 weeks in the classical charts.

Sir Karl Jenkins, whose 'haunting' work Tros y Garreg was played during the ceremony, caught the eyes of viewers with his distinctive look earlier this month.

But days after the event, the 79-year-old confirmed he was in fact not Meghan in a large white wig and glasses, or a thief dressed in disguise trying to steal the crown jewels.

Sir Karl, who is perhaps best known for composing the song Adeimus, told viewers that he has had his distinguished moustache since the age of 18.

He has today broken chart records by reaching over 1000 weeks in the UK Official Classical Artist Albums Chart with his work The Armed Man.

Sir Karl Jenkins (pictured) is celebrating 1,000 weeks in the classical charts with his song The Armed Man

Sir Karl was comically accused of being the Duchess of Sussex in disguise at the King's Coronation

The piece, composed in 1999 and commissioned by the Royal Armouries to mark the millennium, is also known as the 'Mass for Peace' and is an oratorio based on the 15th century French poem, 'L'homme arme'.

The world premiere of The Armed Man took place in the year 2000 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, conducted by Sir Karl himself, and featured The National Youth Choir of Great Britain with Julian Lloyd Webber as the cello soloist.

Since then, it has received close to 3000 performances across the globe, including a performance at Lincoln Center in New York on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, again conducted by Sir Karl.

The studio recording, featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra, along with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, was originally released in September 2001.

The work has since featured regularly in the 'Classic FM Hall of Fame', having just charted at its highest ever position at No.5. Karl Jenkins becomes the highest-ranking living composer in this year's poll.

Sir Karl Jenkins says, 'When I wrote The Armed Man: a Mass for Peace in 1999, little did I imagine that in 2023 we would be celebrating 1000 weeks in the UK classical chart and nearly 3000 performances worldwide.

'I am deeply honoured that it has touched so many people over the years; thank you to The Royal Armouries and Classic FM who commissioned me to write it, and to all those who have performed it and listened to my recording.

'I'm sad to say there has been no let-up in war and conflict since I dedicated the piece to the victims of Kosovo, but we continue to make music in remembrance of those who have perished and in the hope that humanity can find a way to heal.'

Composer Sir Karl Jenkins, 79, took to TikTok to tell Coronation viewers he was not Meghan Markle in disguise and that he has had his moustache since he was 18

Sir Karl told viewers how he had sported his moustache since he was 18, and that it was 'trendy' back then (Pictured: A younger Sir Karl)

Sir Karl's work Tros Y Garreg, an arrangement of a Welsh folk song drawn from his harp concerto Over the Stone, was performed as part of the music programme preceding the Coronation service, with the Official Royal Harpist Alis Huws as soloist.

The work was commissioned by His Majesty when Prince of Wales, and its inclusion was in recognition of The Kings long standing and deeply held relationship and affiliation with Wales.

'I am very honoured. It obviously sums up Welsh culture - the harp - and he [the King] has always supported Welsh music,' said Sir Karl.

'I don't know whether he chose it, but he was happy to have it there. I know he likes it otherwise he wouldn't have asked me.'

After the service royal fans also joked online about the misunderstanding, saying it was 'Tilda Swinton deep in character' or 'Just wait until the polyjuice [a transforming potion from Harry Potter] wears off'.

Many agreed that the off-the-cuff remark was one of the best jokes made about the day, which saw King Charles III crowed at Westminster Abbey alongside his wife, Queen Camilla.

Sir Karl said: 'I was quite surprised that some people thought I was Meghan Markle in disguise. Someone wrote I was there, whoever I was, to steal the crown jewels.'

Sir Karl chuckles then adds: 'I look like this all the time and in addition this on my neck, which is what they give you when you get a knighthood - this was around my neck over which my tie came and my jacket.

The 79-year-old' work Tros y Garreg was played during the ceremony (pictured in 2015 receiving his knighthood)

'Oh and my moustache has been referred to in The Times as well - but I've had the moustache since I was 18 years old. It was very trendy then. So that's me. Nothing sinister about it or surprising at all.'

Sir Karl studied music at Cardiff University and the Royal Academy of Music, where he is a fellow and an associate. He became the lead songwriter of jazz-rock bank Soft Machine in 1974, having joined the band two years earlier.

He collaborated with Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber on Jesus Christ Superstar and with Elton John on Tumbleweed Connection, released in 1970.

In 2008 Jenkins's The Armed Nab was listed as No. 1 in Classic FM's 'Top 10 by living composers'.

He received an OBE in the 2005 New Year Honours and a CBE in 2010, before being knighted in 2015.
A teenager has been arrested following the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old boy in Melbourne - as police hunt for several knives believed to have been used in the attack.

A 17-year-old has been arrested in relation to the death of Pasawm Lyhym, who was knifed near Sunshine bus station, in Melbourne's west, at about 3.45pm on Thursday.

The arrested boy from Carolina Springs was take into custody on Friday, as police continue to search for at least two other people allegedly involved the attack.

'The suspect is currently still assisting with enquires,' a Victoria Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Friday evening.

CCTV footage appearing to show a person holding a knife in the moments after the 16-year-old was stabbed in broad daylight was released earlier on Friday.

16-year-old Pasawm Lyhym (pictured) was stabbed to death at a busy Melbourne bus stop on Thursday afternoon in a potential high school rivalry

CCTV footage released appears to show a hooded man running through a nearby alleyway shortly after the incident in Melbourne's west

Multiple knives believed to have been used by the alleged attackers are yet to be found, with police investigating a white Audi sedan captured on CCTV footage.

It is understood a group of teenagers between 15 and 16 years old approached Mr Lyhym at the busy interchange before allegedly attacking him with a machete.

Several commuters witnessed the attack, including a cousin of Mr Lyhym's.

'I screamed and said that's him, that's him [her cousin],' she told the Herald Sun.

'I tried to run and get help. I didn't want to look. It was all so fast.'

Pasawm's older brother Mawn Lyhym, 24, said his brother, who was heading home, was chased down by at least one attacker.

'He was funny, really nice, a welcoming and kind person,' he said.

Police are investigating whether a potential rivalry between two schools in the area may have triggered the incident.

Detective Senior Sergeant Janet Stevenson said Mr Lyhym's death may prompt retaliatory attacks from other students in Melbourne's west.

Emergency services were called to Station Place in Melbourne's west at about 3:45pm on Thursday and are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident

'That would be of a concern to us and that's why we want to engage with the families and engage with the witnesses,' she told a press conference on Thursday.

'We'll do anything in our power to stop that from happening. We've identified two other persons of interest, and that's what we're working on at the moment.'

Other relatives of Mr Lyhym said they had spoken to him on Friday morning about going to see the new Fast and Furious movie before he was killed.

Victoria Matu Community secretary Anna Takluem said that she had known the victim's family for years and that the teenager was a familiar face at church.

Loved ones gathered at Chin Baptist Church, in Sunshine's industrial area, to hold a vigil for the 16-year-old, who had dreams of becoming a carpenter.
A 21-year-old terrorist has admitted to plotting a gun attack to kill an ex-Muslim who became a Christian preacher at Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park.

Edward Little planned to buy a gun to kill Hatun Tash, 40, and her camera crew at the public speaking area as well as any police or soldiers in the area at the time, it was alleged.

He was on his way into London in a taxi with thousands of pounds in cash when he was stopped and arrested on September 23 last year.

Little first declined to answer police interview questions, but after being shown a YouTube video of the preacher he launched himself across the table at an officer and swung at him with his fists before being restrained.

Earlier this year, he denied preparing to commit acts of terrorism but changed his plea and admitted the charge on Friday at the Old Bailey.

Edward Little, 21, from Brighton, has pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to plotting a gun attack at Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park

Edward Little planned to buy a gun to kill Hatun Tash (pictured at Speakers' Corner), 40, an ex-Muslim who became a Christian preacher, and her camera crew at the public speaking area as well as any police or soldiers in the area at the time, it was alleged

Little, from Pelham Street, Brighton, appeared at the Old Bailey today via video link from HMP Belmarsh wearing a grey tracksuit and admitted preparation to commit acts of terrorism.

The prosecution has asserted Little researched targets including Christian preacher Hatun Tash, military figures and members of the Metropolitan Police.

But defence lawyer Tom Godfrey said Little only accepted targeting the preacher.

Ms Tash was arrested twice for breaching the peace when she reported harassment and threats by Islamic demonstrators to the Met Police. She has since been paid 10,000 in damages.

Ms Tash regularly attended Hyde Park to debate Islam and Christianity with demonstrators.

Last year, she alleged that she was stabbed in the face by an unknown man dressed in black while she was in Speakers' Corner.

As part of his preparations Little had looked up different guns and their capabilities and arranged to buy one for 5,000.

As he set off on September 23 last year, Little agreed to pay the taxi driver 300 to take him to Lewisham, south London, saying money was no problem.

He asked to stop at a mosque to pray but said he would do it in the cab after being told there was none on route.

When arrested, he was carrying a rucksack with 5,000 in cash, a passport and two mobile phones.

Police later found an encrypted chat on one phone, setting out his attack plan and the gun purchase.

Going by the online name of 'Abdullah', Little was also said to have exchanged chat about religion, Iraq and 'kuffar'.

Little declined to answer questions in police interviews but his mood changed when he was shown a YouTube view of the preacher, Ms Tash.

He launched himself from his chair across the table at an officer, swinging repeatedly with his fists before being restrained.

Ms Tash regularly attended Speakers' Corner (file photo) in Hyde Park to debate Islam and Christianity with demonstrators

He went on to admit assaulting the officer at Newbury Police Station last September 28 and was sentenced to 40 weeks in prison.

The sentence was reduced on appeal for eight months in prison.

At a previous hearing at the Old Bailey, Judge Richard Marks said Little has an 'absolutely shocking previous record'.

The defendant had been convicted of 14 offences on seven separate occasions, including for robbery, having a knife and drug dealing, dating back to 2017.

Little was due to stand trial on July 10 for the terrorism offence before pleading guilty at the hearing before Mr Justice Baker.

Prosecutor Duncan Penny KC asked for time to consider the defendant's basis of plea in relation to his targets.

Mr Justice Baker adjourned sentencing until July 21 and remanded Little into custody.
Hong Kong: Maritime co-operation pact signed

The Transport & Logistics Bureau signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Greater Bay maritime co-operation with the Guangzhou Port Authority (GPA) at the 2023 Greater Bay Maritime Conference today.

The MoU was signed via video conferencing by Acting Secretary for Transport & Logistics Liu Chun-san with GPA Director Sun Xiuqing.

It will strengthen collaboration between the bureau and the GPA through establishing a communication mechanism for maritime development, enhancing exchanges on youth and maritime talent in the Greater Bay Area and actively promoting the maritime industry in the bay area.

The conference was hosted by the People's Government of Guangzhou Municipality and Guangdong Provinces Department of Transport. It was organised by the GPA, Nansha District Government, Huangpu District Government and Hong Kong Shipowners Association.

Chief Executive John Lee gave a pre-recorded speech at the conference.

He said the Task Force on Maritime & Port Development Strategy is working to put forward an action plan within this year, particularly in strengthening Hong Kongs competitive edge in high value-added maritime services, to further promote the development of Hong Kong as an international maritime centre.

Secretary for Transport & Logistics Lam Sai-hung also gave a pre-recorded speech at the conference, saying that the pact with the GPA is a concrete example of tapping the bay area synergy to enhance mutual competitiveness.

The Hong Kong Port has been a transhipment hub in the region, renowned for its high efficiency, strong connectivity and wide coverage, while the Guangzhou Port mainly handles domestic and foreign trade, Mr Lam noted.

He added that this will enable a differential development of the ports in the two places on the principle of complementarity, collectively benefiting the manufacturing industry as well as the import and export trade in the bay area and southern China area.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government proactively enhances the maritime sectors competitiveness through various measures.

These include the development of smart port, the introduction of a series of tax concessions, the establishment of a task force to put forward an action plan on strategies to further promote Hong Kongs development as an international maritime centre, as well as additional fund support on manpower training for home-grown talent.

This story has been published on: 2023-05-19. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Plans are underway to establish a dedicated Social Intelligence Unit aimed at safeguarding children and young individuals, according to State Minister of Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon. The minister highlighted the recent alarming incidents involving teenagers and stressed the importance of implementing measures to protect the future generation. The formation of this unit will be pursued in collaboration with schools across the country to ensure the safety and well-being of children.





State Minister of Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon during the event other security officers [Photo: Ministry of Defence]





In a visit to the Sri Lanka Police College in Kalutara, State Minister Tennakoon expressed the need for timely reforms in the National Cadet Corps (NCC) and emphasized the necessity of extending its reach to rural youth in the North and East provinces. The minister called for a comprehensive replacement of outdated models, citing inefficiencies and the lack of crucial qualities such as personality, practicability, knowledge, and leadership among young graduates.





During the visit, State Minister Tennakoon acknowledged the contributions of the Sri Lanka Police College and urged all police ranks to work together in shaping a bright future for upcoming generations. The event included a ceremonial Guard of Honour, a tree-planting gesture, and the presentation of a memento to mark the occasion.
President Joe Biden tripped as he walked down the stairs of the Itsukushima Shrine on Friday in his rush to greet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The president was running late - all the other G7 leaders had arrived on Miyajima Island and were waiting on him to begin the tour of the holy site - when he stumbled and caught himself before he fell.

He and Kishida continued on as if the slip didn't happen, joining the rest of the heads of state to see the iconic 'floating' torii gate. The evening on the famous island, known for its wild deer, capped the end of a long first day of the summit.

After the tour, the world leaders - the heads of the United States, Japan, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and European Union - had a private dinner on the island.

But Biden, 80, left that dinner early. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the 'plan' was for the president to receive an update from his debt ceiling negotiation team back in Washington where it is now morning.

President Joe Biden tripped as he walked down the stairs of the Itsukushima Shrine

Biden who is the oldest U.S. president, has faced and dismissed questions about his age, particularly as he campaigns for a second term in the White House.

His doctor has declared him healthy and fit to serve but has conceded the president's gait is 'stiff.' Biden has tripped before - twice boarding Air Force One: in March 2023 and in March 2021.

Earlier in the day, Biden needed guidance when he fumbled for a spot during a photo op with Kishida and their wives.

He could simply be suffering from jet lag. The president arrived in Hiroshima on Thursday, held separate meetings with U.S. troops and Kishida, and then headed to his hotel.

He was up early for a zoom call with his team in Washington D.C. negotiating with Republicans on raising the country's debt limit. His team and top aides to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are continuing to hold talks as the Treasury Department says the U.S. will default on its debt on June 1.

Friday, the president had a full schedule, which included a visit to the Peace Memorial Park and several meetings at the G7 summit. He also has a full agenda: convincing allies in the Indo-Pacific of U.S. support in the face of China's economic, political and military power; shoring up even more support for Ukraine; and convincing allies America is a reliable partner amid fears the country may default on its debt.

Biden has downplayed questions about his age, telling reporters last month: 'I can't even say the number, it doesn't register with me.'

Friday began with Kishida stepping in to direct Joe and Jill Biden as the first couple posed with him and his wife Yuko during the first day of the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

The Bidens were joining other G7 leaders and their spouses for a tour of Hiroshima's Peace Park and Memorial Museum.

They arrived last and walked down a red carpet where there were four markings on the floor. The foursome shuffled around each other as they tried to determine the lineup.

'We'll figure it out,' Jill Biden said laughing, as the prime minister helped direct them to their marks on the floor.

President Joe Biden exits the Beast, he was running late to join other G7 leaders on a tour of the Itsukushima Shrine

In his rush down the stairs Biden stumbled but caught himself before he fell

President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida continued on after Biden's stumble

Earlier Friday, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden (center) try to figure out which marking on the floor to stand on as they pose for a picture with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (left) and his wife, Yuko Kishida (right)

European Council President Charles Michel, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pose for the family photo at the Itsukushima Shrine

The leaders then toured the museum at the Peace Memorial, which is dedicated to the thousands who died in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II. Behind them, the iconic A-Bomb Dome behind them.

While there, Biden met with Ms. Keiko Ogura, a hibakusha - or an atomic bomb survivor. She was eight years old on August 6, 1945.

They also participated in a wreath laying with each leader lining up before the Cenotaph for Atomic Bomb Victims with a wreath in front of them. In unison, they each stepped forward to place their wreath.

The G7 leaders - which include the heads of the United States, the European Union, Canada, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France and Japan - then took a moment to stand at their memorial to pay their respects.

Many bowed their heads.

Kishida, who is from Hiroshima, was seen speaking to them and pointing out parts of the park.

They also posed for a group photo in front of the memorial. Then they moved further down the park to participate in a tree-planting ceremony. Each leader was given a golden shovel and dropped one shovelful of dirt around the cherry tree, which was planted to mark their visit.

'Through their visit to the Peace Memorial Park, the G7 leaders deepened their understanding of the reality of the atomic bombings and joined their hearts in consoling the souls of lost lives,' Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement.

'The G7 leaders reiterated their position that threats by Russia of nuclear weapon use, let alone its use are inadmissible. We are convinced that this visit became an opportunity to confirm G7's commitment to the realization of a world without nuclear weapons,' the ministry said.

The leaders spent the day holding meetings - and a group lunch - along with a session on the war in the Ukraine.

The G7 leaders received a tour of the Itsukushima Shrine from one of its priests

President Joe Biden talked with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the sidelines of the G7

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and President Joe Biden at the summit

One of the famous deer waits among Japanese police as Biden's motorcade travels to the Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima Island

But Biden also has been tracking the financial situation back in the United States.

The president, surrounded by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jen O'Malley Dillon held a 20-30 minute zoom call early on Friday with his negotiating team back in Washington, where it was late Thursday night.

Reed specifically came on the trip to the G7 to keep Biden updated on the talks.

Biden requested the update, the White House said, and was told 'steady progress' is being made.

The White House negotiating team was at the Capitol on Thursday and is expected to be back on Friday as both sides try to reach an agreement on the debt ceiling that Democrats and Republicans can live with.

Republicans wanted massive cuts to federal spending before they would agree to any debt deal, which Biden called a non-starter. The president wants a clean raise of the debt ceiling.

Biden is cutting his trip short - skipping scheduled stops in Australia and Papua New Guinea - to return to the negotiating table in Washington after his meeting with G7 leaders.

One area where both sides seem likely to agree would be the Republican proposal to claw back some $30 billion in unspent COVID-19 funds now that the federal government has declared an official end to the pandemic emergency.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend the G7 summit in person sometime this weekend.Before he reaches Hiroshima, Zelensky will top at the Arab League meeting in Saudi Arabia on Friday evening.

His visit comes as the United States' is preparing to give its nod of approval to European allies that they can send American-made F-16s to Ukraine.

Several European nations have shown a willingness to send the planes to Zelensky but the United States has to approve any third-party transfer because of sensitive American technology on board.

U.S. officials told CNN that the administration is prepared to approve the export of the jets to Ukraine if that is what allies decide to do with their supply.

The signal of approval for the transfer of the advanced military jets, along with another new round of tough sanctions show the desire of western allies to have Putin end this war and that the measures already taken haven't been enough to deter the Russian president.

The sanctions to be fleshed out Friday will target Russia and third-world nations receiving exports that help Vladimir Putin's war effort. The United States will also add around 300 new sanctions against individuals and entities.

'We're upping the economic pressure on Russia. We will continue to expand export controls to make it even harder for Russia to sustain its war machine among other things,' a senior administration official told reporters on Thursday night.

President Joe Biden hosted a virtual meeting with debt limit negotiations while he attended the G7 summit in Japan

The G7 leaders walked together to place their wreaths at the Cenotaph for Atomic Bomb Victims in Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park. Participants included (from left): President Charles Michel of the European Council, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, President Joe Biden, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom and President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission

US President Joe Biden, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council Charles Michel, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, France's President Emmanuel Macron and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend a lunch meeting during the G7

Heiko von der Leyen, husband of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen; Britta Ernst, wife of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz; Japan's First Lady Yuko Kishida; US First Lady Jill Biden; and Akshata Murty, wife of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, during a wreath laying ceremony at the Cenotaph for Atomic Bomb Victims in the Peace Memorial Park

The sanctions will attempt to tighten the screws on Moscow's war effort, targeting Russia's mighty energy sector and other exports that aid Russian military.

'This is going to be a significant effort that will that will extensively restrict Russian access to goods that matter for its battlefield capabilities,' the official added.

The action comes as Western allies hunt for new ways to tighten already restrictive sanctions on Russia, which include visa restrictions and an oil price cap.

The leaders may also look at tightening language in already existing sanctions that could make it harder for Moscow to find gaps in the sanctions regime.
Ministers are facing a backlash today amid claims the Net Zero hydrogen drive could add nearly 120 to the average energy bill.

The government has been accused of heaping more pain on struggling consumers with plans for a levy to fund the fledgling industry.

Tories have lashed out after analysis by the Onward think-tank suggested hitting a target of 10GW of hydrogen production capacity by 2030 will cost 50billion.

That would mean around 118 extra per year for dual fuel households, with complaints that everyone will pay the same no matter how rich they are.

The levy is due to take effect by 2025, with the government admitting it will 'ramp up' by 2030.

Net Zero Secretary Grant Shapps is stewarding the Energy Bill through Parliament

Ofgem cap details shows that social and environmental levies make up 165 of the average annual dual fuel bill - although the Government currently subsidises bills

Craig Mackinlay, chair of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group, told the Telegraph that many of his Tory MP colleagues are furious at No10's 'socialist energy agenda'.

'The thought of more levies to try and pick winners that are unproven and in my view unsound just continues what we've seen in the whole field of energy policy, which seems more reminiscent of the 1950s Soviet Union that we used to laugh at,' he said.

'We need markets back in control of energy policy because governments are making a complete mess of it. I sense there is concern about all these kinds of policies among colleagues.'

Onward has suggested funding hydrogen development with carbon taxes on heavy industry, rather than a direct levy on consumers.

Jack Richardson, the think-tank's Head of Energy and Climate, said in a recent analysis that under the current proposals going through Parliament 'households and small businesses will be paying'.

The costs are estimated at 50billion overall and 3.5billion a year from 2030.

Mr Richardson said the blueprint was 'deeply regressive' because it would be a flat rate on gas bills, rather than depending on how much energy is used.

'Going for the hydrogen levy option is a political decision that is a result of the price tag that comes with supporting the industry,' he said.

Department for Net Zero documents accompanying the Energy Bill - which has been sent for its committee stage after clearing second reading in the Commons - said: 'The purpose of the levy is to provide long-term funding for the hydrogen business model, which will enable hydrogen producers to overcome the operating cost gap between low carbon hydrogen and fossil fuels.

'The levy is not expected to be implemented until 2025 (subject to legislation being in place) and so we do not expect it to have impacts on consumer bills before then.

Department for Net Zero documents accompanying the Energy Security Bill said the levy is needed to 'provide long-term funding for the hydrogen business model'

'Once introduced, we expect its impacts will ramp up as we look to deliver our 2030 hydrogen ambitions to improve energy security.

'As policy development on the levy is ongoing, with a number of key decisions still pending, there is uncertainty regarding the precise impact of the levy on consumer bills.'

The department said: 'We've taken unprecedented action to drive down people's energy bills, including covering around half of the typical household's bill.

'We will continue to make sure bills are affordable in the long term and the costs of our energy transition are fair and affordable for all consumers.

'Our plans to power up Britain will ensure the availability of cleaner, cheaper and more secure energy sources  this includes our work in developing the hydrogen levy.'
The U.S. military has walked back claims that it killed a top al-Qaeda boss in a drone strike in Syria, according to reports.

Officials changed their tune after the family of the man killed by a Hellfire missile said he had no links to terrorists, and was tending to his sheep when he died.

The family identified father-of-ten Lotfi Hassan Misto, 56, as the man killed in the strike on May 3, who they say was a former bricklayer who lived in the quiet northern town of Qorqanya, according to the Washington Post.

U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, oversaw the operation, releasing a statement hours later that it had conducted a strike 'targeting a senior Al Qaeda leader.'

Officials have given no further details, and did not reveal the identity of the supposed terrorist leader that they were targeting with the attack.

Pictured: Father-of-ten Lotfi Hassan Misto, 56, who has been identified by his family as the man killed in the strike on May 3. They say was a former bricklayer who lived in the quiet northern town of Qorqanya, according to the Washington Post

'At 1142 am local Syrian time on 3 May, U.S. Central Command forces conducted a unilateral strike in Northwest Syria targeting a senior Al Qaeda leader,' the statement said. 'We will provide more information as operational details become available.

The statement quoted General Michael 'Erik' Kurilla, CENTCOM Commander, as saying: 'This operation reaffirms CENTCOM's steadfast commitment to the region and the enduring defeat of ISIS and Al Qaeda.'

However, according to the Washington Post, the family of Misto have denied that he had any connections to the notorious terror group. They said he was a kind, hardworking man whose 'whole life was spent poor,' the publication reported.

Speaking to The Post on condition of anonymity, two officials walked back on the claim that the strike killed a senior al-Qaeda leader.

'We are no longer confident we killed a senior AQ official,' one said, according to the newspaper. Another said: 'though we believe the strike did not kill the original target, we believe the person to be al-Qaeda.'

In the weeks since the original statement, military officials have refused to identify who the intended target of the attack was. They have also refused to say how the alleged error occurred, or whether an actual terrorist leader escaped.

A week after the strike, the US military did say it was investigating reports that there was a civilian casualty in the strike on the rural area in northern Idlib province.

Maj. John Moore, a CENTCOM spokesperson, said on May 9 that U.S. forces 'are in the process of confirming the identity of the individual killed in the strike.'

'We are aware of the allegations of a civilian casualty and the outcome of the confirmation process will inform if further investigation is necessary and how it should proceed,' he said.

The local civil defense group in northwest Syria, known as the White Helmets, said in a statement that it had responded to the site after hearing sounds of an explosion.

They said they found that a drone strike had killed 60-year-old Lutfi Hassan Masto (later reported to be 56), a local resident who was tending his sheep at the time.

Three of the animals were also killed, the statement said.

Mohammed Hassan Masto sits next to the grave of his brother Lutfi, who was killed on Wednesday, May 3, in a U.S. military strike, in the village of Qorqanya, a rural area in northern Idlib province, Syria, Sunday, May 7, 2023

U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, oversaw the operation, releasing a statement (pictured) hours later that it had conducted a strike 'targeting a senior Al Qaeda leader'

Masto's brother, Mohamed Masto, told The Associated Press that reports that his brother was involved in al-Qaida were 'absolute lies' and that his killing was 'an injustice and an aggression.'

'He had nothing to do with the revolution. ... He had nothing to do with the Al-Nusra Front or with the Islamic State' or any of the other armed groups involved in Syrias 12-year-old uprising-turned-civil-war, Masto said.

Fayad Jamil Raji, a neighbor, said he had known Lufti Masto - or 'Abu Hassan,' a nickname meaning 'father of Hassan' - for many years.

'The man was a civilian. He had a farm with poultry, cows and sheep,' he said.

Moore said that CENTCOM's missions are 'meticulously planned and executed to maximize success and minimize the risk of collateral damage and harm to civilians.'

It is understood that the strike was carried out by a MQ-9 Predator drone. The Washington Post said Masto had breakfast with his family in the morning, like any other day, before going to tend to his animals.

The Hellfire missile killed him at around 11:50 a.m. near to where he had shared tea with his brother some 20 minutes earlier. Residents described seeing a pillar of smoke rising from an explosion into the otherwise clear blue sky.

One resident contacted the White Helmets through an emergency line, and a team of responders arrived within ten minutes of the strike.

The Washington Post said it had seen a video of the aftermath, with Masto's relatives crying and being pulled away from his severely disfigured body.

Terror experts quickly raised doubts over the US military's claim that Masto was linked to the terror group, citing the White Helmets' quick response and the information they learned about the victim immediately in the aftermath.

Pictured: A US MQ-9 Reaper drone is seen during a combat mission in 2015 (file photo)

Nothing suggests he had terrorist links, they have said.

On any given day there are at least 900 U.S. forces in Syria, along with an undisclosed number of contractors, who partner with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

They are tasked with preventing a comeback by the Islamic State group, which swept through Iraq and Syria in 2014, taking control of large swaths of territory, and sometimes also target other militant groups.

In April, CENTCOM reported it had taken part in 35 missions in Iraq and Syria, killing 13 alleged IS operatives and detaining 28.
Families wishing to get away for a relaxing holiday abroad have been left disgusted with fellow passengers as flights from hell have tripled since the end of the pandemic.

Horrified holidaymakers have witnessed drunken passengers strip down to their boxers, boozy stag dos forcing emergency landings and mass brawls with 'fists flying everywhere' - as stunned air crews try to bring everything under control.

Figures show 1,028 cases of sexual assault, physical violence, mass brawls, drunken threats, verbal abuse and nudity were reported by airlines last year - triple the number in 2019 - which saw 373 incidents.

These 'air rage' cases have become so prolific that MPs are now calling for a law change to help cabin crew deal with drunken and disruptive passengers.

Such outbreaks have been filmed by shocked passengers and posted to social media over recent years.

In May 2022, a British passenger was arrested for starting a huge brawl on a Wizz Air flight to crete.

In one particularly shocking incident in May 2022, a British passenger was arrested for starting a huge brawl on a Wizz Air flight to Crete.

The flight descended into chaos when a man threw punches at other travellers and even the pilot, according to shocked holidaymakers.

Tourists said the passenger and his friend were smoking and vaping throughout the journey - which is illegal and can land anyone a hefty fine.

Flight attendants continued to serve the pair alcohol despite them claiming they had been drinking since 10am, and other passengers saying they had had enough.

But the pilot then emerged from his cockpit in an attempt to calm down the situation and was assaulted, witnesses said.

Police eventually dragged the blood-stained man away from the plane with his trousers around his ankles.

Some passengers escaped through the rear exit but had to wait two hours at security while they gave police statements, meaning many missed their transfers.

The man threw punches at other travellers and even the pilot, according to shocked holidaymakers

Tourists said the passenger and his friend were smoking and vaping throughout the journey

Disruptive passenger behaviour is one of the main reasons for emergency landings.

The punishment varies depending on the severity but acts of drunkenness on an aircraft face a maximum fine of 5,000 and two years in prison.

One intoxicated passenger found himself in court and was fined 700 for stripping down to his boxers on a Ryanair flight last year.

The passenger seated next to him, who asked to be kept anonymous, filmed the whole ordeal and said: 'After taking off the stewardess asked if they could put another passenger next to me.

'He kept shouting and as he was getting up he was knocking my partner and kids. People kept coming over and asking him to be quiet.

'The stewardess said they were going to divert the plane but I said 'please don't do that, I want to go on holiday'.

'It was progressively getting worse, he took his shoes, top and socks off and had his feet up high, screaming and shouting.'

One drunken passenger on a Ryanair flight to Turkey stripped down to his boxers in 2022

In September last year, drunken passenger Mark Warne, 47, also told a female cabin crew member to 'go f*** themselves' after she refused to serve him alcohol on a Ryanair flight to the UK from Barcelona.

Warne continued to hurl insults at other staff, telling them to 'go f*** themselves' and that they were 'f***ing nothing'.

The pilot radioed air traffic control and the police were called to Bournemouth Airport.

After one air hostess was 'left in tears' and the airplane landed, police boarded the airplane in Bournemouth, Dorset, and handcuffed him.

Warne later pleaded guilty to one count of behaving in a threatening, abusive, insulting or disorderly manner. He was fined 700 for the 'appalling act'.

Officers boarded the plane after it landed, put Warne in handcuffs and led him out of the cabin in front of all the other passengers.

Drunken passenger Mark Warne, 47, also told a female cabin crew member to 'go f*** themselves' after she refused to serve him alcohol on a flight to the UK from Barcelona, Spain, in September last year

Warne (pictured) later pleaded guilty to one count of behaving in a threatening, abusive, insulting or disorderly manner. He was fined 700 for the 'appalling act'

In October 2020, drunken passengers on a Ryanair flight from Malaga, Spain, to Manchester, UK, caused a brawl with 'fists flying everywhere'.

A woman in a 'rock and roll' jacket was seen marching down the aisle to a man and threatened to 'smash' him up before other passengers get involved and a brawl breaks out.

The Ryanair flight had taken off from Malaga and was only around 20 minutes from landing when the fight broke out.

Several passengers were filming the punch-up, one of whom said: 'It was disgusting, really.

'We were about 20 minutes from landing and I'm not sure what happened but the woman in the black jumper started laying into this guy in a big way. It wasn't a light slap or anything, she was going at him hell for leather.

'Suddenly three or four people ran to the front and got involved - there were just fists flying everywhere.'

In October 2020, drunken passengers on a Ryanair flight from Malaga, Spain, to Manchester, UK, caused a brawl with 'fists flying everywhere'

A woman in a 'rock and roll' jacket was seen marching down the aisle to a man and threatened to 'smash' him up before other passengers get involved and a brawl breaks out

Former director at Virgin Atlantic Paul Charles said the cases were a huge and expensive problem for airlines.

He told Sky News: 'The costs run into millions across the airline industry from disruptive passengers. They're facing potentially higher fuel bills by having to divert an aircraft to a different airport.

'They're facing the costs potentially of paying out all passengers on board because of a delay. That's longer than three hours to that particular flight and its arrival time.

An 'intoxicated' Ryanair passenger had to be restrained by seven people mid-flight on the way to Kaunas, Lithuania, from London in August last year.

The passenger was promptly detained by Lithuanian police when the flight touched down after the altercation, which was allegedly triggered by hosts requesting that he stopped drinking alcohol.

Video shows the rowdy passenger, who is wearing a vest top, leaning into the row behind him - where he is aggressively shouting at another passenger who is travelling with his young child.

An 'intoxicated' Ryanair passenger had to be restrained by seven people mid-flight on the way to Kaunas, Lithuania, from London in August last year

A British man on a flight from London to Turkey in 2020 also threw a punch at an African woman after allegedly racially abusing her, witnesses said.

In footage recorded at the time, a woman can be heard saying: 'I am African - do not chat sh*t about my people', before the man lunges over the seats towards her, flinging a clenched fist.

It is not clear from the video whether his punch connected with the victim or if it hit the chair in front.

Turkish police were called to meet the plane on arrival and footage shows the man being led from the plane.

Witnesses said it was the second time the Briton had been involved in on the flight after he allegedly kicked off when a passenger threw away his son's paper plane.

EasyJet staff intervened when the argument broke out at the front of the plane, and a video shows people shouting and swearing at each other

And in 2019, seven Brits on a stag do were escorted off an easyJet flight from Manchester, UK, to Tenerife, Spain, following a row between passengers with one spitting at a woman.

Two groups of men forced the flight to make an emergency landing in Faro, Portugal, according to witnesses.

The row is said to have broken out around two hours after the 5.35pm take-off, when a group of four, who were sat at the back, started punching each other.

A flight attendant broke up the fight, and seated one rowdy man at the front of the airliner in an effort to calm tensions.

Minutes later, the man returned to the back of the aircraft where his friends were sitting where another argument started.

Passengers then tried to break up the fight, leading to the moment one man apparently spat in a woman's eye.

In 2019, seven Brits on a stag do were escorted off an easyJet flight from Manchester, UK, to Tenerife, Spain, following a row between passengers with one spitting at a woman

The row is said to have broken out around two hours after the 5.35pm take-off, when a group of four, who were sat at the back, started punching each other

A furious passenger was also bundled off a plane in 2019 by three policemen after he allegedly locked himself in the loos during landing.

Passengers said the man was 'quiet all the flight' from Faro, Portugal to Gatwick, until the seatbelt signs came on, and he demanded to go to the toilet.

He apparently forced his way to the back of the plane and into the cubicle despite protests from staff, where he locked himself in for ten minutes.

By the time easyjet staff got him out, the captain was forced to abort the landing, and then spent an extra 40 minutes in the air and on the runway, onlookers said.

In a video, the man can be heard talking to the cops, who ask him to 'come and have a chat' because he was 'obstructive on the flight'.

But he then asks 'Are you kidding me?' before telling police to 'p*** off', at which point he was arrested.
Teachers at an east London school have managed to convince more than half of their GCSE students to do the unthinkable - give up TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram for the next two months.

Out of 300 students at Cumberland Community School in Plaistow, Newham, 160 of them have agreed to delete the social media platforms and take part in compulsory revision sessions.

Throughout May and June, those taking part will no longer have access to Instagram posts, WhatsApp messages or Snapchats in the unusual social experiment.

Many have also agreed to hand in their mobile phones while in school taking exams in a bid to boost their grades by avoiding any temptation or distraction.

Students are already reporting that the experiment is helping - student Dania Olajide, 16, from Tower Hamlets, said she now reads much more.

Deputy headteacher Amy Brown and headteacher Ekhlas Rahman, pictured in the school bus, hope the test will boost grades for the pupils

Amin Opayemi and Dania Olajide are giving up social media while sitting their GCSEs

The 16-year-old from Tower Hamlets said: 'Doing my mocks I was still on social media so tried to balance revising with socialising.

'Now that I'm off social media I expect my grades to improve. This will be an interesting test to see if I do better than my friends who aren't giving up. I think I will.

'I spend a lot of time on Instagram, Tik Tok and Snapchat but so far I have not had many withdrawals.

'I think this is a great idea by the school because it pushes us to be the best we can be. They are looking out for us.'

Fellow student Amin Opayemi, 16, from Beckton, said: 'I already feel like it has helped me and it's only been a few days. I have stopped procrastinating, checking my phone every five minutes while revising.

'Social media is highly addictive and so you can easily get sucked in. You say to yourself you will just check your phone then an hour has gone past and you haven't revised.

Students taking part in the test have been encouraged to hand in their phones in May and June

'It has massively helped to clear my head as well. Once I put it down for a few days the desire to pick it up started to leave me.

'I would advise all students who are serious about doing well on their exams to give this a try. It's only a few months and could make a huge difference to their futures.'

Headteacher Ekhlas Rahman predicts the students taking part will see a significant uplift in their results.

He said: 'As adults we know what a time thief these social networking site can be. For teenagers, the temptation is even stronger.

'If you are tweeting or posting or whatsapping you are not revising. We predict it is going to make a huge difference, possibly an entire grade point in each subject.

'We will monitor their progress against students not taking part in the scheme with similar grade predictions to see how they get on.

'We are always looking for an extra edge to give our students the best possible chance of getting strong grades.

'Newham is one of the poorest boroughs in the country so most of our parents cannot afford a private tutor so we provide it all for free, every day.'

The school also runs compulsory revision sessions for Year 11 pupils from 7am to 4.30pm every day.

Since introducing compulsory revision sessions, Cumberland has become among the best in the country for GCSE exam results, with its Progress 8 score jumping an entire grade from minus 0.46 to plus 0.55, making it the most improved in the country.

Cumberland Community School is operated by the Community Schools Trust.

Chief executive Simon Elliott said: 'I don't think it is controversial to say that these phones are highly addictive. At a time when they need to be concentrating on their exams many are glued to their phones.

'I am very proud of what these students and this school is trying to achieve. It takes a lot for a young person to step away from the crowd. They are pioneers.

'I am not a betting man but a huge uplift in the exam results of these students is as close to a sure thing as you can get.

'Their future selves will be very grateful they made this sacrifice at such a crucial stage of their academic careers.'
Rishi Sunak today talked up Ben Wallace after the Defence Secretary dropped his biggest hint yet that he wants to be the next head of NATO.

The PM heaped praise on the 'widely respected' minister amid mounting speculation that he will make a pitch for the top post at the military alliance.

Incumbent Jens Stoltenberg is due to stand down in September, but with 31 member states the appointment process is always highly political.

France is said to be pushing for a candidate from the EU, while others would prefer to break new ground by installing a woman.

Mr Wallace said yesterday that it was a 'job I'd like' - although he stressed that he is 'loving' being Defence Secretary.

Ben Wallace said yesterday that the post of general secretary for the military alliance was a 'job I'd like' - although he stressed that he is 'loving' being Defence Secretary

Rishi Sunak heaped praise on the 'widely respected' minister amid mounting speculation that he will make a pitch for the top post at the military alliance.

Mr Sunak stopped short of openly supporting Mr Wallace for the job, but told ITV News at the G7 summit in Hiroshima: 'I know he's widely respected by his peers for the role that he has played.

'He's focused right now on supporting Ukraine. He's doing a great job of that.'

Mr Wallace's latest signal came during a trip to Berlin for talks on Ukraine with counterpart Boris Pistorius.

The former soldier told German news agency DPA: 'I've always said it would be a good job. That's a job I'd like.

'But I'm also loving the job I do now. I mean, to be Defence Secretary of the British Government at a time of reform and investment, just like Boris Pistorius.'

He added that secretary general of the transatlantic alliance 'is a fantastic job and NATO is an incredibly important part of all our securities'.

'But it's not for me to decide. It's for all the other allies.'

Speculation has been mounting about Mr Wallace's intentions since he twice ducked out of running for the Tory leadership - despite polls suggesting he is the most popular member of the Cabinet with party grass roots.

NATO member states typically decide on the alliance's next chief behind the scenes.

Mr Wallace would have to overcome the opposition of those said to be pushing for a woman or someone from eastern Europe, and of France, which would reportedly prefer an EU candidate.

If the Defence Secretary did succeed, it could trigger a by-election in his Wyre and Preston North seat, although it is set to be carved up under a planned shake-up of Westminster constituencies later this year.

The appointment of Labour MP George Robertson as Nato chief in 1999 led to a by-election in his Hamilton South constituency, south west of Glasgow.
DO YOU KNOW THE PASSER-BY?

DO YOU KNOW THE PASSER-BY?

DO YOU KNOW THE PASSER-BY?

DO YOU KNOW THE PASSER-BY? Email tips@dailymail.com

Just Stop Oil protesters flocked to London's streets again today to demonstrate

This is the moment a furious passer-by confronted Just Stop Oil protesters on the streets of central London today and accused them of 'talking c**p'.

Police have shut down at least three marches by the demonstrators who targeted the capital's streets for the fifth day in a row on Friday.

In footage shared online, an elderly gentleman, who said he had worked in the fossil fuel industry, shouts at a protester: 'You're talking c**p... so f*** off!'

In another protest almost 20 Just Stop Oil demonstrators wearing hi-vis vests and holding orange banners flocked to Mansell Street in east London.

Footage filmed from a window above the street showed the moment another enraged onlooker took matters into his own hands and started snatching the protesters' banners.

He then hurled a female activist to the ground before smashing another's phone.

DO YOU KNOW THE PASSER-BY? Email tips@dailymail.com

One passer-by (pictured) who said he had worked in the fossil fuel industry told a demonstrator: 'You're talking c**p... so f*** off'

Another angry onlooker threw a Just Stop Oil protester to the ground as the group was demonstrating in London

The man was filmed taking the phone of another protester and throwing it down the street

The group appeared to be taking part in a slow march through the capital when the violence occurred

Around 20 Just Stop Oil protesters were slow marching through Notting Hill today as they held up traffic in London

The man was seen arguing with Just Stop Oil protesters who were on a slow march through London

The demonstrators appeared to be taking part in a slow march that was holding up traffic, including a double-decker bus.

The man was seen shoving one of the demonstrators to the floor and chucking another activist's phone down the street.

Police said Just Stop Oil protesters were 'walking slowly' in three marches in the capital today.

READ MORE: Just Stop Oil protesters arrested for slow march protest yesterday are and back out snarling up London traffic again less than 24 hours later Advertisement

Protesters were seen on Mansell Street, close to Tower Hamlets, as well as marching from Queen Victoria Street to Fleet Street and in from Bayswater Road towards Hyde Park.

In all three cases, police put a condition in place that protesters complied with, allowing traffic to pass.

The Met said: 'Police continue monitoring the situation and are ready to respond to any other Just Stop Oil protests should they occur.'

At 3pm police said officers were at another Just Stop Oil protest, this time in Barbican.

Just Stop Oil said four of their supporters had gone on a 'mini-march' in central London this morning and 18 others were slow marching as they demanded an end to all new oil, gas and coal projects in the UK.

One of those taking part in the mini-march this morning was Adrian Johnson, 57, a former deputy headteacher, from Forneth, Scotland.

Mr Johnson said: 'Having taught high school science for thirty years, I trust the scientists.

'They say there can be no new oil, gas or coal, yet our government is doing the opposite.

'My wife Carol and I have engaged in civil disobedience, as we have seen nothing else is working fast enough.

Protester Hannah has been marching today after demonstrating on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week. She was arrested on Wednesday

Pictured on Wednesday, Hannah was detained by police in Westminster. On Thursday she was back out on a demonstration, this time joining a slow march across Tower Bridge

The 21-year-old joined about 24 other Just Stop Oil activists in London on Thursday

'We do this for our children, our grandchildren and everything we love and care about.

'If we break the law, we do that in support of law and order, civil society and everything we value, because all these are at risk as the climate deteriorates.'

Another of those taking action this morning was Cam Ingram, 27, a gardener from Leith in Scotland.

It is unclear how Mr Ingram and Mr Johnson travelled from Scotland to London.

Mr Ingram said: 'As a gardener, I can see first-hand the effect extreme weather is having. Anyone who works on the land will tell you that the climate is spinning out of control.

'The conditions are making it difficult for crops to survive. If it's this bad now, what will 2050 look like?

'The criminals in this government are breaking the social contract, putting all our lives in danger, simply so they can enrich themselves.

'History shows us change only happens through disruptive acts like marching.'

The Met has tweeted about four Just Stop Oil protests in London so far on Friday

Just Stop Oil said it was unsure whether any of its protesters were hurt in this morning's violence.

It added: 'We understand how frustrating it can be to be disrupted, however, as of this morning 13 people are dead and 13,000 people have had to be evacuated from their homes in Italy, due to six months' worth of rain falling in a day and a half.

'A quarter of a million people are currently homeless in Somalia due to extreme flooding, despite the country experiencing its worst drought in 40 years.

'The disruption we are seeing on British streets is nothing compared to the disruption wrought if we do not stop licensing new oil, gas and coal.'

The Met told MailOnline: 'The Met and City of London Police are aware of an incident shown on social media in which a member of the public appears to have an altercation with Just Stop Oil protesters, shortly before the arrival of police.

'At this stage, we are not aware that any allegations have been made in regard to this matter, however, at this stage we are in contact with the organisers of the demonstration.

'We completely understand the frustration and anger of Londons communities when protesters walk slowly in the roads.

'We urge people not to intervene and to wait for the arrival of police, who will attend the scene promptly. We thank people for their patience.'

DO YOU KNOW THE PASSER-BY? Email tips@dailymail.com
Jack Chen, 53, claims she spiked his drink with the dangerous liquid on three occasions after installing secret cameras in the couple's home

She pleaded not guilty to poisoning and domestic battery during a brief hearing on Thursday

Dr Yue Yu, 45, is still practicing medicine under a deal with California's Department of Justice

A California dermatologist accused of poisoning her husband with Drano is still practicing medicine despite facing multiple felony charges.

Yue Yu, 45, also known as 'Emily' was caught on camera pouring the drain cleaner into her husband Jack Chen's drink  allegedly causing him serious injuries.

She pleaded not guilty to four felony charges, including poisoning and domestic battery during a brief hearing on Thursday at the Orange County Superior Courthouse in Santa Ana.

Yu was previously issued a restraining order against their two children, after Chen, 53, accused her of poisoning him with the dangerous liquid three times.

Chen, a radiologist, handed over footage of Yu supposedly pouring the Drano into his lemonade at their $2.7million mansion to cops in Irvine.

During the court hearing it was confirmed that she is continuing to practice medicine after she was indicted, though it is unclear if this is at her own practice, or as a dermatologist for a hospital.

Dr Yue Yu, 45, (pictured) also known as 'Emily' was caught on camera pouring the drain cleaner into her husband Jack Chen's drink but is still currently practicing medicine

Yu was previously issued a restraining order against their two children, after Chen, 53 (pictured) accused her of poisoning him with the dangerous liquid three times

Her license is stated as being 'renewed and current' on the Medical Board of California's website, with an expiration date of 2024.

She was indicted last month, but released on bail, and currently has an agreement with the California Department of Justice  who are representing the medical state board.

The agreement reportedly allows her to continue to practice medicine pending the outcome of the trial, with Yu facing up to eight years in prison if convicted of all the charges.

DailyMail.com contacted California's Department of Justice and the Medical Board of California but did not immediately receive a response.

Her attorneys have now accused her husband of 'setting up' Yu by placing nanny cams around their home, trying to gain the upper hand in the family courts amid their bitter divorce battle.

A judge granted him a restraining order which covered their two children  aged seven and eight  though Yu is now allowed to see her children unsupervised.

Initially her lawyers claimed she was only using the drain cleaner for its intended purpose, and poured it into an 'empty cup' to unclog a drain.

Dr Yu is continuing to practice medicine after coming to an agreement with the California Department of Justice  who are representing the medical state board

Her license is stated as being 'renewed and current' on the Medical Board of California's website, with an expiration date of 2024

Her legal team say Chen told her to put Drano into the cup to kill ants, and used the footage to spark a divorce filing and the felony charges

Chen, a radiologist, claims that he suffered swelling in his esophagus and stomach ulcers from drinking the spiked liquid

But now they say that Chen told her to put Drano into the cup to kill ants, and used the footage to spark a divorce filing

Scott Simmons, Yu's lawyer, said: 'He then sets her up after he knows she is going to do that. He sets up what he calls spy cameras to capture her pouring the Drano into the tea.

'The backdrop of all these facts, obviously, is the high-stakes divorce litigation that is going on.

'He's falsely claiming that she's trying to poison him. Instead of calling 911, he calls a divorce lawyer.'

Simmons added that Chen never went to the ER for treatment and that the medical evidence is inconsistent with him having consumed a drain cleaner.

David Dworakowski, Yu's divorce attorney, said his client 'is innocent of these outrageous charges; she looks forward to presenting her case at trial.'

Initially her lawyers claimed that she was only using the drain cleaner for its intended purpose, and poured it into an 'empty cup' to unclog a drain

Chen claims that he suffered swelling in his esophagus and stomach ulcers from drinking the spiked liquid

Simmons added that Chen never went to the ER for treatment and that the medical evidence is inconsistent with him having consumed a drain cleaner

Yu was arrested on August 4 after he accused her of poisoning him but was released a day later on a $30,000 bond.

Steven Hittleman, a lawyer for Chen, claims he suffered swelling in his esophagus and stomach ulcers from drinking the spiked liquid.

At a previous hearing, the court heard he spent weeks wondering what caused him to get sick, with his legal team releasing the footage of his wife from a hidden camera in their kitchen.

Chen claims he was tortured by his wife regularly, telling a court that he denied her a massage and she 'stepped on his head' until he did it.

The three dates he captured the alleged criminal act on camera were July 11, July 18 and July 25.

Court documents reveal he claims his wife's alleged rage and erratic behavior emerged early on, but he only became concerned after their children were born.

Chen called lawyers in July to share video evidence that his wife tried to spike his hot lemonade with Drano, the chemical substance typically used to rid clogs in drains

A copy of the domestic violence restraining order that was issued to Yu on August 5 after she was released

The alleged poison attacks are believed to have happened at their $2.7 million mansion in Irvine, California

Chen claims Yu and his mother-in-law , Yuqin 'Amy' Gu, started abusing their children when they were as young as two-years-old.

He claims the children were screamed at, slapped, insulted and deprived of sleep, and locked in their rooms.

Yu would allegedly commonly use a Chinese phrase towards the kids that means 'go die!'

He said the children learned early on that 'Emily's rule is everything' adding: 'Emily's parenting if you could call it that revolves around yelling, insulting, verbally abusing, hitting, pushing, pulling and being emotionally abusive.'

Chen said that Yu tried to turn the children against him, yelling at them if they told her they enjoyed spending time with him until they 'assured her they would not show affection' towards their father.

Her next hearing will take place on July 27 at Orange County Superior Courthouse.
A woman who admitted to having sex with a then 13-year-old boy - who referred to her as 'mom' - and then having his child, has been sentenced to three months in prison.

Andrea Serrano, 31, from Fountain, Colorado, was sentenced on Thursday. It comes after she was initially freed shortly after her original arrest in July of 2022 on a $70,000 bond.

The Fountain Police Department had charged Serrano at the time with sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, as well as sexual assault on a child. Investigators said that Serrano admitted to the relationship.

In March, it was widely reported that Serrano's lawyers had come to a plea deal with prosecutors that would force her to register as a sex offender but meant she would avoid prison and be put on probation until May.

Now, she must serve 90 days in prison in addition to still having to comply to the original terms of the plea deal. The terms included ten years to life on sex offender intensive supervised probation.

Andrea Serrano admitted to having a 'mother figure' relationship with the 13-year-old she assaulted

'I feel like my son is robbed of his childhood. Now hes having to be a father. Hes a victim, and hes going to have to live with that for the rest of his life,' the victim's mother told KKTV

Since her arrest, Serrano has given birth to the teen's baby. The child is in her care. His family are planning to petition the courts to gain custody. The victim is now 14 years old.

Serrano was first questioned by police after a therapist found out and came forward with the allegations. After being interviewed by the Fountain Police Department, Serrano confessed to her crimes.

An affidavit was unable to confirm the precise relationship between the pair, but said that Serrano took a surrogate mother position, with the teen referring to her as 'mom'.

'He looked at her like a mother figure and even called her "mom" before,' according to the criminal affidavit in the case, cited by the Colorado Springs Gazette.

'I feel like my son is robbed of his childhood. Now he's having to be a father. He's a victim, and he's going to have to live with that for the rest of his life,' the victim's mother told KKTV after the plea deal was made public.

'I feel like if she was a man and he was a little girl, it would definitely be different. They would be seeking more. I feel like because he is not a woman, they are not. They are having compassion for her,' she added.

At the time of her arrest, KOAA reported that Serrano and her victim were living together for a time.

The town of Fountain is located just south of Colorado Springs.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace today warned the world is facing a wider conflict as a range of adversaries around the world - from Russia to China - pose a threat to our future safety.

Wallace said by the end of the decade, the world will be a 'more dangerous, unstable place' in his starkest warning yet that there could be a World War Three.

He warned that a 'conflict is coming', pointing to how there could be a wider conflict between NATO and Russia in the future as well as the threat posed by a 'rising China' and African extremists.

'By the end of the decade, the world will be a more dangerous, unstable place and defence will be more critical to our lives,' Wallace told The Financial Times.

'I think a conflict is coming, whether it's hot or cold is to be seen... I think a conflict is coming with a range of adversaries around the world... We need to be all prepared for it.'

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace today warned the world is facing a wider conflict as a range of adversaries around the world - from Russia to China - pose a threat to our future safety. Pictured: Medics carry an injured pregnant woman from a maternity hospital damaged during a Russian airstrike in Mariupol, Ukraine, on 9 March 2022

Pictured: A Chinese soldier fires a weapon during a combat training of the 42nd fleet of the China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy at an unspecified location in the sea, on January 31

Wallace (pictured on Thursday) warned that a 'conflict is coming', pointing to how there could be a wider conflict between NATO and Russia in the future as well as the threat posed by a 'rising China' and African extremists

The defence secretary's stark warning came as he urged Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to set a firm date for when the UK's military spending will be raised from 2.1 per cent to 2.5 per cent of GDP.

Wallace's warning echoes that of United Nations chief Antonio Guterres and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who have said separately that the world is now facing a convergence of challenges 'unlike any in our lifetimes'.

G7 leaders are meeting in Japan today to tackle those challenges, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the rising tensions in Asia.

There are fears that the fighting in Ukraine could spin out of control and become a war between NATO and Russia, with Moscow repeatedly accusing Western allies of effectively becoming party to the conflict by providing Ukraine with weapons, training its troops and feeding military intelligence to attack Russian forces.

And there are also concerns of a renewed conflict in Asia as relations with China deteriorate.

Western leaders are increasingly concerned about what they see as Beijing's growing assertiveness, and fear that China could try to seize Taiwan by force, speaking a wider conflict. China claims the self-governing island as its own and regularly sends ships and warplanes near it to intimidate those living there.

During the G7 Summit, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also hopes to highlight the risks of nuclear proliferation during the meeting in Hiroshima, the site of the world's first atomic bombing.

The prospect of another nuclear attack has been crystalized by nearby North Korea's nuclear program and spate of recent missile tests, and Russia's threats to use nuclear weapons in its war in Ukraine.

China, meanwhile, is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal from an estimated 400 warheads today to 1,500 by 2035, according to Pentagon estimates.

Armed al-Shabab fighters ride on pickup trucks as they prepare to travel into the city, just outside the capital Mogadishu, Somalia, in 2008

A Ukrainian army Grad multiple rocket launcher, fires rockets at Russian positions in the frontline near Bakhmut, Ukraine, on Wednesday

And in West Africa's Sahel region, extremist violence is spreading south toward the coastal states.

Surging jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that's killed thousands, displaced millions and plunged countries into crises.

While most of the extremist activity is concentrated in West Africa's inland Sahel region in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, the violence is rapidly spreading to coastal states like Ghana, which is experiencing an upsurge in attacks by unidentified groups, which could have links to jihadis.

Northern Ghana had just one violent incident connected to an unidentified armed group in 2021 but that figure rose dramatically to 19 in 2022, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr is poised for a first post-invasion trip to the Asia-Pacific, with the leader set to meet allies at the G7 summit in Hiroshima

The previously unannounced visit was revealed by officials on Friday - a rare long-haul foray for the war-time president and an opportunity to huddle with leaders of seven wealthy democracies that bankroll his country's stoic defence.

The visit comes at a potentially pivotal time in the 15-month-old conflict, as Ukrainian troops push back against Russian gains at Bakhmut and ready a long-awaited spring offensive.

Top Zelensky security aide Oleksii Danilov said the Ukrainian leader would go 'wherever the country needs him, in any part of the world', including Hiroshima, a city synonymous with the horrors of war.

'Very important things will be decided there, and therefore the presence, the physical presence of our president is absolutely essential to defend our interests,' Danilov said.

An informed source in Hiroshima said that Zelensky was now expected to appear in person, though the timing of his arrival remained unclear.

The trip will also give Ukraine's president an opportunity to win over powerful unaligned nations, including Brazil and India, whose leaders have also been invited.

Zelensky recently embarked on a European tour, pleading for military support like modern US-made fighter jets, as well as tougher sanctions on Russia.
EQS-Ad-hoc: Rubean AG / Key word(s): Capital Increase/Corporate Action

Rubean AG resolves capital increase with subscription rights from au-thorised capital



19-May-2023 / 12:16 CET/CEST

Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Rubean AG resolves capital increase with subscription rights from authorised capital

Subscription ratio 11:2, issue price 7.00 Euro per new share

Munich, 12 May 2023 - The Management Board of Rubean AG, Munich (ISIN: DE0005120802, WKN: 512080), today resolved, with the consent of the Supervisory Board, to increase the share capital of the Company by up to EUR 2. 717,500.00 by up to EUR 532,750.00 to up to EUR 3,250,250.00 by issuing up to 532,750 new no-par value bearer shares ("New Shares") against cash contributions with shareholders' subscription rights. The New Shares shall carry dividend rights from 1 January 2022. The subscription price per New Share was set at EUR 7.00 ("Subscription Price").

The New Shares shall be offered to the shareholders of the Company within the scope of an indirect subscription right at a subscription ratio of 11:2 (i.e. 11 old shares entitle to subscribe to two New Shares) at the Subscription Price (indirect subscription right). The subscription period is expected to start on 25 May 2023 and to run until 7 June 2023 (both dates inclusive).

The subscription offer will be made without a prospectus pursuant to section 3 no. 2 of the German Securities Prospectus Act ("WpPG"). A securities information sheet prepared pursuant to section 4 WpPG is expected to be published on 23 May 2023. Trading in subscription rights on the stock exchange is not planned. New Shares not subscribed for by the shareholders on the basis of the subscription right within the subscription period may be offered for purchase by the Executive Board to selected investors at the subscription price, also in parallel with the subscription offer, within the framework of a private placement (non-public offer).

The subscription offer is expected to be published in the German Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger) on 24 May 2023 and will be technical supported by Bankhaus Gebr. Martin AG, Goppingen.

The company intends to use 100 percent of the proceeds from the capital increase for the further development of the Phone POS solution and the expansion of sales to additional international markets.

About Rubean:

Rubean AG is a leading provider of pure software point-of-sale solutions for banks, acquirers and merchants. Over its long history, Rubean has developed innovative software for the payments, finance and banking industries. This includes the mobile POS solution Phone-POS, which enables merchants to receive card payments directly on their smart phones without the need for another device. This solution is now being used by payment service providers, major banks, retailers and smaller merchants across Europe, now that the pilot phase for the product launch has largely been completed. In addition to its headquarters in Munich, Rubean has several locations in Germany and Europe. Rubean is listed on m:access as well as on most over-the-counter markets and XETRA.

Important notice: This publication constitutes neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation to buy securities. Neither this publication nor its contents may be relied upon in connection with any offer in any jurisdiction. An offer will be made exclusively on the basis of a securities information sheet to be published in Germany. The securities information sheet is expected to be available free of charge on the Company's website at https://rubean.com/investor-relations/ on 23 May 2023.

This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to buy, sell, exchange or transfer securities or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities of Rubean AG in the United States of America or any other jurisdiction. The securities of Rubean AG referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. Neither Rubean AG nor any other party to the transaction described herein intends to register any securities described herein under the Securities Act or with any securities commission of any state or other jurisdiction in the United States in connection with this announcement. The securities may not be offered in any jurisdiction under circumstances that would require the filing or registration in that jurisdiction of a prospectus or offering materials relating to the securities.

If you have any queries, please contact:

Bernd M. Krohn

Rubean AG

Kistlerhofstr. 168, D-81379 Munchen

+49 89 357560

Bernd.M.Krohn@rubean.com



german communications AG

Jorg Bretschneider

Milchstrae 6 B, D-20148 Hamburg

+49 40/46 88 33 0

presse@german-communications.com
A bizarre advert for an online fraud shop which helped criminals con British victims out of 43million has been revealed - as the store's mastermind was jailed for more than 13 years.

Tejay Fletcher, 35, was arrested next to his 230,000 Lamborghini, which he bought along with two Range Rovers worth 110,000 and an 11,000 Rolex after making around 2million from the iSpoof.cc website.

He was the founder and leading administrator of the site, which was brought down last year in the UK's biggest fraud sting.

The Metropolitan Police have revealed the strangely upbeat advert for iSpoof encourages users to 'start spoofing today!' using 'the number one spoofing service', saying that 'iSpoof is here to help' if you want to spoof your caller ID.

The advert, which is full of flashy graphics and cartoons of happy businessmen and women, boasted that iSpoof uses 'state of the art' methods to con victims with fake SMS messages and 'convincing call centre sounds'.

Tejay Fletcher, 35, who founded the iSpoof website which was brought down in the UK's biggest fraud sting, has been jailed for 13 years

The Metropolitan Police have revealed the strangely upbeat advert for iSpoof markets the fraud-enabling product as 'the number one spoofing service', saying that 'iSpoof is here to help' if you want to spoof your caller ID

Fletcher was arrested next to his 230,000 Lamborghini, and initially acted cagily when police asked him about it

The advert claims: 'iSpoof is made by spoofers, for spoofers.'

It then says that customers can pay via bitcoin before ending with a cartoon of people cheering as banks rain down upon them.

Footage released by the Met also reveals the moment officers burst in to arrest Fletcher at his girlfriend's house on the evening of November 6 last year.

Southwark Crown Court heard that victims across the world were defrauded of at least 100million, including a minimum of 43million from people in the UK.

The video footage shows officers raiding the address where they discover Fletcher dressed in a green tank top.

He is arrested and handcuffed before being escorted outside by police and into custody.

The site offered scammers the tools to disguise phone calls to appear to be from a trusted organisation such as a bank, so they could empty their targets' accounts.

The website earned around 3.2million in cryptocurrency Bitcoin, with the 'lion's share' of around 2million ending up with Fletcher, said prosecutor John Ojakovoh.

Users of the website paid hundreds of thousands of pounds a month for its features, which were marketed on a channel on the encrypted messaging app Telegram called 'iSpoof club'.

Fletcher last month pleaded guilty to four charges, including making or supplying an article for use in fraud, encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence, possession of criminal property and transferring criminal property, between November 30 2020 and November 8 2022.

Judge Sally Cahill KC jailed him for a total of 13 years and four months on Friday, telling Fletcher: 'For all the victims it was a harrowing experience.'

The court heard he rented an east London apartment, which boasts views of the Royal Victoria Dock and the City skyline, and owned a 230,000 Lamborghini.

Fletcher also spent 120,000 on two Range Rovers for him and his girlfriend, while police found a money counter, jewellery and an 11,000 Rolex in his home.

According to the Met Police, iSpoof was launched in December 2020 and had 59,000 active users at its peak.

Mr Ojakovoh said at the time of his arrest at his girlfriend's house Fletcher 'was evasive about a Lamborghini parked nearby.'

Police officers storm Fletcher's girlfriend's address, where he is arrested

Officers handcuffed and arrested Fletcher before escorting him outside

Fletcher rented an east London apartment, which boasts views of the Royal Victoria Dock and the City skyline, and owned a 230,000 Lamborghini

Using his fraud earnings Fletcher bought himself two Range Rovers worth 110,000

Officers from the Metropolitan Police launch their raid on an evening in November 2022

Fletcher last month pleaded guilty to four charges, including making or supplying an article for use in fraud, encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence, possession of criminal property and transferring criminal property, between November 30 2020 and November 8 2022

He said: 'That was his Lamborghini. It was subsequently seized. The keys were in his jacket.

'A Rolex watch was found in the search of his home address, this is the address he wanted to avoid the officers going to.

'There was a money counter, an item only of use for someone with a lot of cash to count.

'There were also Range Rovers, two Range Rovers. One in his name and one in his girlfriend's name which appears to be paid for by him. These are high value motor vehicles.

'230k for the Lamborghini. 90k for one Range Rover. About 30k for another Ranger Rover.

'The Rolex was valued at 11k. The Audemar Piguet watch was fake. You can't trust anyone these days.'

One of the site's most purchased bits of technology allowed fraudsters to make phone posing as fraud department employees to lower the guard of unsuspecting recipients.

The spoof calls, along with other features offered through the site to obtain passwords and PIN codes, were all used to empty the victims' bank accounts.

Mr Ojakovoh said a 'particularly dastardly exploitation of people's busy lives' was a tool allowing users to trick victims into entering new card details by claiming the information held by a trusted organisation was out of date.

One of the platform's victims lost 3million, while the 4,785 people who reported being targeted to Action Fraud lost an average of 10,000, police said.

Judge Sally Cahill KC said victims suffered damage to their businesses, personal financial problems, sleeplessness, depression, emotional stress and fallouts with family members.

She told Fletcher, who has 18 previous convictions for 36 offences, he 'didn't care' about them, adding: 'The late expression of remorse is regret for being caught rather than empathy for your victims.'

Simon Baker KC, defending, had told the judge his client had no idea of the scale of the eventual fraud when he set up the website.

But she told Fletcher: 'As is the case with any successful business you probably didn't realise how successful and profitable your enterprise would be.'

Ordering Fletcher to stand for the entirety of her 30-minute sentencing ruling, the judge also told him: 'You were the founder and leading administrator of the fraud-enabling website called iSpoof.

'I am told there was an extensive and complicated investigation in which there has been 700 days of work carried out by police officers.

'This website was something, which you suggested, was the most sophisticated siphoning platform available.

'The evidence shows clearly your leading role, and your active role, for using a sophisticated article for fraud and exploiting that for profit by you.'

The site offered scammers the tools to disguise phone calls to appear to be from a trusted organisation such as a bank, so they could empty their targets' accounts

According to the Met Police, iSpoof was launched in December 2020 and had 59,000 active users at its peak

Mr Simon Baker, KC, mitigating, said: 'I would like to begin with an apology.

'It is the victims of this fraud to which he owes that apology.

'It reflects genuine regret and remorse for his actions and he wishes to apologise to the victims of fraud that was perpetuated using the website that he provided.

'Mr Fletcher does not pretend for a moment that he did not know that fraud was being perpetrated.

'But he was insulated from the fraud. He did not know who they were or how much money was being extracted.

'He knew of course that there were victims and they suffered as a result of his actions, but they were very much in the abstract and he did not see, at the time, the misery that was caused by his website.

'It was only until recently that he was forced to confront the reality of his actions.'

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: 'We are proud to have taken down criminals at the top of this fraudulent network, heartless people who were determined to facilitate fraud on an industrial scale, ruining the lives of many victims who were targeted.

'The investigative excellence of the detectives who led this case is a great example of expertise at the Met bringing justice for victims, huge thanks must also go to the officer in the case DC Ed Sehmer.'

Commander Nik Adams from the City of London Police, the national lead force for fraud, said: 'This case is an excellent example of how coordinated and collaborative activity across a number of law enforcement agencies can result in a significant court result for victims of fraud and cybercrime.

'This type of crime will not be tolerated and those who are involved in fraud and cybercrime will be found and brought to justice.

'We would always encourage members of the public to follow the Take Five to Stop Fraud advice and if you think you have been a victim of fraud, to contact your bank immediately and report to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk.'
The schoolboy who was sexually abused by Phillip Schofield's 'self-pitying' brother told how the sickening crimes left him feeling 'numb to life' - as the paedophile was jailed for 12 years.

Schofield, 54, was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child, after a trial at Exeter Crown Court last month.

The civilian police worker from Bath, Somerset, told the jury while giving evidence that he had watched pornography with the boy who he insisted was over the age of 16 at the time. He claimed they had performed sexual acts while sitting apart but the jury found Schofield guilty on all counts with a majority of ten to two after more than five-and-a-half hours of deliberation.

Avon and Somerset Police later dismissed Schofield, who had been suspended from his job at the force's headquarters in Portishead after being arrested and charged, without notice.

In a victim impact statement read to the court by Robin Shellard, prosecuting, the boy said: 'Before Tim was arrested, I felt I had no freedom. I often felt panic, stress and fear. I felt like I was trapped in a loop of fear and anxiety of the abuse happening again.

'It was only after Tim was arrested that I felt safe. It was only after Tim was arrested that I felt free - free to be me, free to be happy, free to be relaxed.'

The boy added: 'I feel more blunt, I feel more bitter, I feel numb to life. I know I should feel really happy or really sad but I don't have the ability to emotionally react to what is happening.'

The victim said the fallout of the case has felt like 'everything was crumbling around me.'

Phillip Scofield and his brother Timothy, who has been jailed for child sex offences

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Timothy Schofield

Schofield, wearing a grey prison tracksuit, was brought to the dock at Bristol Crown Court for his sentencing today.

Mrs Justice Cutts, sentencing Schofield at Bristol Crown Court on Friday, told him: 'You exploited his innocence at this stage of his life for your own sexual gratification. It was wrong on every level for you to behave as you did.

'He felt forced to do what you wanted, trapped and unable to escape. He felt he couldn't tell anyone and did not do so for many years. You took away his ability to be the teenager he should have been - carefree, relaxed, happy. It is clear to me that you became utterly obsessed with him.'

She added: 'Your actions and behaviour have had a devastating impact on the boy. In doing what you did, you thought only of yourself. I have not heard a single word of remorse from you, only self-pity.'

Timothy Schofield was found guilty of 11 offences between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child

During the trial, jurors heard that Schofield told his elder brother Phillip in September 2021 that he and the complainant had watched pornography together.

In a statement to the trial read by Mr Shellard, Phillip recalled how he received a phone call from his brother asking if he was 'able to talk'.

'He said that he was on the verge of killing himself. He said that his head was in a mess and everything was a mess. Tim was clearly very upset and I asked him if he could drive. Tim said yes he could, so I told him to drive to my home in London.

'Around two hours or so later Tim arrived and I could see he was in a state of heightened agitation. It was distressing to see him in such a state. He was as angry as I've ever seen him. The conversation was about how angry he was. He was furious, angry, ranting and raving.'

Phillip tried to 'change the conversation' and asked what he was watching on TV and his brother was in 'floods of tears' as he described the series Pennyworth.

Phillip said it was usual for him to cry when telling stories but 'this was crazy'. He went on: 'We ended up having dinner and I was washing up. Tim was standing behind me and he said, "you are going to hate me for what I'm about to say". I said there's nothing he could say that would make me hate him.

'He said [the alleged victim and him] had their time together and last year watched porn.

'I turned and said, "What did you just say?"'

Phillip said Tim had told him it was only the one time and he said 'it should never happen again'.

Timothy Schofield covers his face as he leaves Exeter Crown Court on May 30 during the trial

The defendant then started describing the body of the alleged victim, and Phillip shouted: 'F***, stop!'

The statement continued: 'I told him that this had to stop. I just didn't want to hear any of the details, but it sounded like it was just one time.

'I said, "I don't want you to tell me any more. Regardless of how it happened, it must never happen again".

'He said it was just [their] time. I said "What the hell is that?"'

Schofield said he never spoke with his brother about it again.

Describing the distance between the siblings, he said: 'I don't have a relationship with Tim like a brother because there are seven years between us and I moved away when he was ten.

'I never spoke about what Tim told me ever again.'

In a statement released by his lawyer after the jury's guilty verdict for his brother, the This Morning host said: 'My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family. I hope that their privacy will now be respected.

'If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my brother, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family.

'These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother.'

Schofield was convicted of three counts of causing a child to watch sexual activity, three of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, three of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and two of sexual activity with a child.

A prison van arrives at Bristol Crown Court this morning prior to Schofield's sentencing

Speaking outside court following the sentence, Detective Inspector Keith Smith of Avon and Somerset Police said the victim showed 'remarkable bravery' and he hoped this would encourage other victims of sexual offences to come forward.

'Although the offences Timothy Schofield committed were not connected to his employment, we know the fact he was a member of police staff will be of great concern to the public,' he added.

'It's important to stress that before the allegations were made to the police in December 2021, there were no prior complaints or allegations made about this defendant and his former colleagues have been horrified by the offences he's now been convicted of.

'But, we want to be absolutely clear, we're on a mission to root out all those who betray the standards and values we're committed to uphold.

'The public must be able to trust police officers and staff, and protecting this bond of trust is our priority.'

He described the offending as 'sickening'.

Schofield was dismissed without notice from the force following a misconduct hearing held on April 25. He will be placed on a national barred list preventing him from working in law enforcement again.

An NSPCC spokesman said: 'Child sexual abuse can have a devastating and long lasting impact on a person's life. The victim in this case has shown real courage in coming forward to report what happened and giving evidence in court, and we hope he is receiving all the support he needs to help him move on with his life.

'It is vital that anyone who has been sexually abused, either recently or in the past, knows that there are always people ready to listen and help. Childline is available 24/7 for any young person with concerns and our NSPCC helpline is there for adults with worries about the safety or wellbeing of a child.'

Inside Phillip Schofield and his brother's relationship: Photos show siblings taking their mother to lunch and backstage at Dancing on Ice

The conviction of Phillip Schofield's brother for sexually abusing a teenage boy placed fresh scrutiny on the relationship between the siblings.

Pictures have emerged showing the brothers enjoying lunch with their mother and at a family party, while another shows Timothy backstage at Dancing On Ice in 2014.

Phillip told the trial that he and his brother did not have a close relationship because of a seven-year age gap and the broadcaster's decision to leave home when his brother was ten.

Phillip and his brother Timothy in a photo booth at a family party in 2014

The brothers grew up in Newquay, Cornwall, after the family moved there from Lancashire when Phillip was 18 months old.

Phillip described his love for growing up in Cornwall in his autobiography.

He said: 'To grow up in the place where everybody else came on their holidays was lucky and then some. The beach was core to the life of the town, our family and my school friends, though I have a problem with sand.'

The TV star's first job was working at an ice cream shop on Fistral beach.

Phillip said following the jury's verdict: 'My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family.

'I hope that their privacy will now be respected. If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my brother, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family.

'These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother.'

The brothers with their mother

Timothy, a police IT technician from Bath, had repeatedly blamed his actions on his 'mental health struggles' and suggested the complainant was 'exaggerating' what happened.

Meanwhile, his defence lawyer said that while he was guilty of 'the most serious crimes in the court of public morals' he had not committed a criminal offence.

But closing the case for the prosecution, prosecutor Robin Shellard said: 'We are not dealing with morals but criminal abuse against a child.'

He added: 'There are good reasons why society - and we here are all part of this society and the law which is founded because of society - treats those under 18 and those under 16 not as full adults.

'Society tries to protect children from adults who want to abuse them and tries to protect children from themselves.'

Referring to the defendant's claims of 'exaggeration', Mr Shellard said: 'The problem for Mr Schofield is how restrained the boy is in his allegations.

'Is that person motivated by hate and spite or is he saying things about what happened? We say the evidence shows the boy is not motivated by hate and lies.'
A transgender butcher who launched a sickening sex attack on a schoolgirl while dressed as a woman should face justice as a man, a leading SNP politician said today.

Kate Forbes, who lost out on the party leadership to Humza Yousaf last month, said Andrew Miller should 'without a shadow of a doubt' be held in a male rather than a female prison.

Her demand came hours after Mr Yousaf refused to rule out Miller, 53, who now goes by the name Amy George, being sent to a women's prison.

The trained butcher yesterday admitted abducting a primary school aged girl while dressed as a woman, before sexually assaulting her repeatedly over more than 24 hours.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, judge Lord Arthurson described Millers offending as abhorrent crimes of the utmost deviance and depravity which were the realisation of every parents worst nightmare.

Speaking to Times Radio today Ms Forbes said the public would want the brutal attacker held in a male prison.

'It makes your skin crawl. You know, it makes me feel physically sick to hear what somebody would do to an innocent primary school girl,' she said.

'And from my perspective, justice has got to be served on this man.'

Andrew Miller, also known as Amy George, lured the girl into his car while in female clothing, Edinburgh's High Court heard

Andrew Miller, also known as Amy George, lured the girl into his car while in female clothing, Edinburgh's High Court heard

Speaking to Times Radio today Ms Forbes said the public would want the brutal attacker held in a male prison. 'It makes your skin crawl. You know, it makes me feel physically sick to hear what somebody would do to an innocent primary school girl,' she said.

Miller pleaded guilty to four charges  abduction, sexual assault, watching pornography in the presence of the child under the age of 13, and possessing 242 indecent images of children.

The court heard the sex predator approached the child in February this year when she was walking home to offer her a lift. Instead of taking the child to her home, Miller took her to his home in the Scottish Borders. There, he subjected her to acts of sexual assault in his bedroom over the course of the next 27 hours.

For the time the child was confined at the property, Miller was dressed as a woman, wearing a bra and women's underwear.

The following evening, the child escaped the bedroom while Miller was sleeping. She tried and failed to escape the property, before using the landline to call police and say she had been touched inappropriately, the court heard.

The trans butcher appeared via video link from HMP Edinburgh  Scotland's most notorious men's prison, where transgender rapist Isla Bryson was jailed  to plead guilty.

But asked whether he should stay there for his sentence, Mr Yousaf prevaricated with media at Holyrood.

'No, in the male estate, where he currently is but of course what you're asking me to do is to make a judgment on a sentencing that is still to happen. That would be inappropriate for me to do so,' he said.

'The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has protocols in place, those have recently been updated in relation to some other very well publicised cases, and therefore I'm very confident in any risk assessment SPS makes in this regard.'
The committee is pressing for all its members to gain access to the document and warn that the subpoena is still in place

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks will be able to view the 'dissenting cable' and response after State Department stonewalling

The House Foreign Affairs Committee is postponing holding Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in contempt of Congress after the State Department agreed to allow committee leadership to view a key document related to the August 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal.

Last week, McCaul told DailyMail.com that the committee would move forward with taking legal action against Blinken on May 24 after he blew past a mandatory deadline outlined in a subpoena to turn over a classified dissenting cable that U.S. State Department employees sent prior to the Taliban's takeover on July 13, 2021.

The cable warned about a 'deteriorating' security situation' and urged the immediate evacuation of allies, a warning that the Biden administration did not heed, say Republicans.

However, Blinken missed the deadline of 6pm ET Thursday May 11 prompting Republicans to set a date for next legal steps - marking the first time in U.S. history that a secretary of state would be held in contempt of Congress.

But the committee is now postponing holding the contempt markup next week after McCaul, R-Texas, and Ranking Member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., accepted an invitation from the State Department to view the cable.

'In light of this invitation, I will pause efforts to enforce the Committee's subpoena pending my review of the documents,' McCaul said Thursday.

'Please note, however, that the subpoena remains in full force and effect, and the acceptance of this accommodation does not waive any of the Committee's rights regarding the subpoena.'

He is also demanding that all members of the committee get access to review the dissenting cable and response by the department.

Secretary of State Blinken blew past a deadline to comply with a subpoena by May 11

The chairman also called it 'interesting' that it would be the 'first time in history' that a secretary of state has ever been held in contempt by Congress.

In August 2021, 13 U.S. service members and 170 others were killed near the Hamid Karzai International Airport after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive.

Additionally, thousands of U.S. citizens and allies of the United States who were unable to quickly evacuate were left stranded in the country after the Taliban quickly took over the capital of Kabul.

The committee led by McCaul is investigating the Biden administration's role in the deadly withdrawal, which he has previously called a 'stunning failure' of leadership.

'American people and the veterans and the Gold Star families are right to know what the thinking was in the embassy at the time to take the extraordinary measure to dissent from the policy,' McCaul told DailyMail.com.

He added that he does not 'particularly relish' moving forward with legal proceedings, but it's not a political statement because he is an advocate for veterans and the Gold Star families.

'We also want to see Secretary Blinken's response to the dissenting cable to see what the state of mind was a month before the debacle and the collapse of Afghanistan which culminated in the killing of 13 service men and women,' he continued.

His request comes after a subpoena was issued to Blinken on March 28 requesting the 'dissent cable' along with other documents and Biden administration communications on the withdrawal.

The department provided an April 27 classified briefing, which Republicans on the committee have said did not fulfill the many demands they outlined.

The State Department has previously slammed the move by McCaul.

'It's unfortunate that despite having received a classified briefing on the dissent channel cable as well as a written summary, that the House Foreign Affairs Committee continues to pursue this unnecessary and unproductive action,' spokesperson Vedant Patel said.

'Nevertheless, we will continue to respond to appropriate oversight inquiries and provide Congress the information it needs to do its job while protecting the ability of State Department employees to do theirs,' Patel added in a statement.

However, McCaul writes in the letter that the information turned over to the committee from the State Department has been 'insufficient.'

McCaul writes in the letter that the information turned over to the committee from the State Department has been 'insufficient'

Hundreds of people gathered near a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane at the perimeter of the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 16, 2021

If Blinken is held in contempt of Congress, President Biden's Department of Justice would have the option to move forward with legal proceedings - but it is unlikely it would take action against him.

Other cabinet-level secretaries that have been held in contempt of Congress - including Trump-era Attorney General Bill Barr Obama-era Attorney General Eric Holder - but never in history has a secretary of state.

McCaul has pushed back the deadline for Blinken to comply with the subpoena multiple times.

The first deadline was April 1, then April 21, May 1 and finally May 11 following discussions with the State Department.
Labour today admitted its plans would push immigration even higher - insisting skills gaps need to be filled.

Party chair Anneliese Dodds gave a fresh insight into how Britain could look with Keir Starmer in power as she repeatedly refused to say whether inflows are too high.

She argued it was 'not sensible' to have a target, and conceded that in the 'short term' numbers might have to go up because not enough Britons had the right skills.

The comments came less than a week before the latest official net migration figures are due to be released - with fears they could rise from 504,000 in the year to last June, to 700,000 or even more.

Rishi Sunak acknowledged this morning that immigration is 'too high', but dodged saying whether it will fall before the election. Instead he pointed to arrivals fleeing the chaos in Afghanistan, Ukraine and Hong Kong.

The PM also swiped at Sir Keir for suggesting that Brexit needs to be reopened. Speaking at the G7 in Japan, Mr Sunak said the debate had been picked over 'multiple times'. 'We had a referendum. We've delivered the result of the referendum,' he added.

Rishi Sunak (pictured at the G7 summit in Hiroshima) has dodged on whether immigration will be running below 500,000 by the time of the next election

Officials said the increase in the year to last June was driven by hundreds of thousands of refugees from Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Ukraine

Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds repeatedly refused to say whether immigration is too high today

Immigration 'could go up' under Labour Migration could increase in the 'short term' under a Labour government, the party's chairwoman has suggested, but would ultimately be reduced by addressing the domestic skills shortage. Anneliese Dodds indicated Labour would focus less on a target-based approach to the number of people entering the country, and more on training within the UK. She pointed to the party's pledge to double the number of medical school places and train 10,000 more nurses and midwives each year as an example. Asked on Sky News whether Labour wants migration to increase, Ms Dodds said: Advertisement

Speaking on Sky News, Ms Dodds was challenged on whether she thought immigration was too high.

She ducked the questions, insisting that the government needs to bring in people with the right skills.

'What we would see if we had an immigration system that was working properly would be potentially in some areas where there's a short-term need for skills, you could see in the short term actually people who are coming in increasing in number,' Ms Dodds said.

'But in the medium and long-term, a reduction, because we would be training people up in our own country.

'We've not had that unfortunately under the Conservatives. We've got skills shortages and those shortages are not being filled because there's not the domestic upskilling that needs to be taking place.'

During a round of interviews in Japan, Mr Sunak suggested he is hoping for immigration to be running below 500,000 by the time of the next election - despite the Tory manifesto promising numbers will be under 226,000.

The PM conceded that net migration into the UK is 'too high' but refused to spell out what would be an acceptable level.

Mr Sunak hinted he was aiming to get inflows under the 504,000 reached in the year to last June.

He said he was focused on lowering the level he 'inherited'.

Labour has been coming under increasing scrutiny after Sir Keir hailed local election results as showing he is on track for Downing Street.

Tories have voiced alarm at signs Sir Keir would do a deal with the Lib Dems and hand the vote to EU nationals living in Britain, as well as 16-year-olds.

He has refused to rule out scrapping first past the post and switching to a PR system, which many believe would shut the Conservatives out of power indefinitely.

Sir Keir has also set a dividing line with Mr Sunak by declaring that he would open the door to more building on the Green Belt - a move seemingly designed to appeal to crucial Red Wall voters.

Earlier this week he raised the prospect of overhauling the UK's deal with the EU, saying it needed to be 'better' and 'closer'.

The remarks were a response to warnings from car chiefs that the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU needed to change to protect UK factories and thousands of jobs. Sir Keir stressed he did not want to reverse Brexit.

However, Tories highlighted that he had been one of the most strident voices trying to stop the UK leaving, warning that Labour would try to rejoin the bloc 'by the back door'.

Labour sources have been briefing that a 'new deal for working people' will be a key part of the manifesto.

That could include a 'right to switch off' based on legislation in France, where companies with more than 50 workers have been obliged since 2017 to set out the hours when staff are not supposed to send or answer emails. Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium have followed suit.

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner told the Financial Times that 'constant emails and calls outside of work should not be the norm' because they are 'harming the work-life balance for many'.

Under Labour's plans, companies would also be expected to offer flexible working  including working from home and staggered hours  as the default option from the first day of employment, 'except where it is not reasonably feasible'.

Business chiefs and Tories have dismissed the proposals as 'unbelievable' and 'bizarre', warning that they will tie the country up in more red tape.

Mr Sunak has been struggling to contain Cabinet infighting over immigration, with Home Secretary Suella Braverman publicly pushing for tough action while other ministers say foreign workers and student are needed to keep the economy running.

During a round of interviews at Hiroshima's Seifukan tea house this morning as the G7 summit kicks off, Mr Sunak said he is 'crystal clear' he wants to reduce net migration.

But he said to BBC News: 'I'm not going to put a precise figure on it but I do want to bring them down.

'The numbers are too high and we want to bring them down. Now, the numbers last year were impacted by the fact that we welcomed Ukrainian refugees to the UK. Again, that's something I think we are proud of.'

The 2019 Conservative manifesto promised that 'overall numbers will come down' as the Government ends freedom of movement in the wake of Brexit.

Migration levels were at 226,000 then. They exceeded 500,000 in the year to June 2022 and it could be as high as one million in new figures due to be published in the coming weeks.

Mr Sunak avoided giving a specific commitment when pressed by Sky News whether he can bring down net migration to below 500,000 by the next election,

He said: 'I'm committed to bringing down the levels of migration that I inherited, and I'm relentlessly focused on stopping the boats, that's one of my five priorities, and we're doing absolutely everything we can to do that.'

Mr Sunak raised migration with allies at a Council of Europe meeting in Iceland on Tuesday.

The PM believes he had made 'another big step forward' with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen to discuss the UK working with the bloc's border force, Frontex.

And he also held talks with the president of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Siofra O'Leary, over a review of the working of Rule 39.

The order was used to block the inaugural forced removal flight of refugees to Rwanda last year.

Mr Sunak sees the stalled policy as key to reducing unauthorised entries to the UK.
He created his own social media app and named it after himself, was caught breaching Covid rules he helped create and ate a camel's penis in the Australian jungle.

But now MP and reality TV star Matt Hancock has insisted he is just a 'normal person' as he prepares to quit frontline politics.

The former health secretary was the star turn at a centre-right think tank event in a London pub last night, where he gave his advice on want the party needs to do to attract new, younger, liberal voters.

His advice: Be more like me and lose the ties.

In a video posted online of Bright Blue's 'Drink Tank' event, a suited and booted Mr Hancock, holding a pint of beer, told the audience: 'Im a normal person now, Im not a Conservative MP.

'Its like being normal like the people we represent. That is what we need to do, that is a really good starting point.'

In comments reported by the BBC he also warned the Tories had to 'embody the socially liberal, positive values that people under 50 overwhelmingly support', adding: 'If we don't do that, then the Conservative Party will die.'

The former health secretary was the star turn at a centre-right think tank event in a London pub last night, where he gave his advice on want the party needs to do to attract new, younger, liberal voters.

Mr Hancock was stripped of the Tory whip earlier this year when he took time off from his role as West Suffolk MP to take part in I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, for which he was paid 400,000.

He later announced he would quit Parliament at the next election.

Before last night's event he claimed the Tories will be 'finished' if they succumb to a 'Trumpian takeover' of the party.

He hit out following this week's National Conservatism conference in Westminster, which was attended by senior Cabinet ministers.

Mr Hancock admitted he was 'troubled' by the event and suggested it was an 'attempt to claim the soul' of the Conservatives by the party's right-wing.

He branded some of those who attended the conference 'Conservative Corbynistas' and warned they will be 'as destructive' to the Tories as left-wing activists were to Labour under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.

The West Suffolk MP, who now sits as an independent in the House of Commons, also condemned a speech by ex-No10 aide Danny Kruger about 'normative families' as 'offensive' and 'so wrong'.

Mr Hancock revealed his concerns at the National Conservatism conference - which was addressed by Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove among others - in an interview with the The News Agents podcast.

'I saw a lot of the news that came out of it, and I thought that if these voices, if these arguments, win a debate within the Conservative Party, then I think the Conservative Party is finished,' he said.

'And what I really dislike is this sort of sense of an attempt at a Trumpian takeover.'

Mr Hancock claimed 'much more extreme voices' and 'more shrill debate' had 'come to the fore' in recent years.

He added: 'In my time in Parliament in my own 12 years, and in my time in politics, just under 20 years, there's been a big shift in how politics has happened.

'I think it's bad for political discourse. I think it's bad for the country.

'But specifically, this National Conservative Conference and some of the arguments that were being put, which was clearly a sort of attempt to claim the soul of the Conservative Party, it mustn't go unopposed.

'Because the views put forward were wrong and deeply unattractive and if the party decides that's what it's going to stand for, it will be a massive mistake.'
Lucy Letby told police she couldn't recall the details of a baby's fatal collapse even though at the time she had messaged a colleague about the infant's father 'screaming' in distress, a jury heard today.

The 33-year-old nurse is accused of murdering five boys and two girls and trying to kill ten others at the Countess of Chester Hospital from June 2015 to June 2016.

Prosecutors say she injected the infants with air, poisoned them with insulin, overfed them with milk and physically assaulted them. She denies the charges.

Manchester Crown Court today heard how the alleged killer broke the news of Baby D's death in a WhatsApp to an off-duty friend on the neonatal unit of the hospital, telling her: 'We lost D.'

The friend commiserated with her, saying: 'I can't believe you were on again. You're having such a tough time.'

Court sketch of Nicholas Johnson KC cross-examining nurse Lucy Letby in the dock at Manchester Crown Court where she is charged with the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of ten others

Alleged killer Lucy Letby broke the news of Baby D's death in a WhatsApp to an off-duty friend on the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital, telling her: 'We lost D,' the court heard

Letby responded with a term that nurses on the unit used to describe a baby's collapse. 'Messed about a couple of times,' she wrote. 'She came out in this weird rash looking like overwhelming sepsis'.

She went on to explain that doctors and nurses trying to save Baby D's life on June 22, 2015, had moved to a state of full resuscitation, adding: 'So upsetting for everyone. Parents absolutely distraught, dad screaming.'

Nick Johnson KC, prosecuting at Manchester Crown Court, reminded Letby that when interviewed by police three years later she had told detectives she could not remember much about Baby D or the circumstances of her collapse.

He put it to her: 'This was a dramatic and shocking incident, wasn't it? In reality, you remembered it very well when you spoke to the police, didn't you?'

'No,' replied Letby, whose parents John and Susan were watching from the public gallery.

The barrister then asked: 'You were enjoying all of this, weren't you Lucy Letby?'

'No,' the defendant again insisted.

Letby disputed that she was the nurse who had rung an on-call consultant and then held the phone to a doctor's ear while he made desperate attempts to resuscitate Baby D.

'I agree it happened, but I can't say it was me that made the phone call.'

Later, the 33-year-old told jurors that mistakes by hospital colleagues led to the death of one of her alleged victims.

She said a delay in giving antibiotics to a newborn girl's mother after her waters broke early 'may have had an impact'.

John and Susan Letby, parents of the defendant, arrive at Manchester Crown Court today to watch their daughter giving evidence

Letby told jurors that mistakes by hospital colleagues led to the death of one of her alleged victims

The former nurse allegedly administered air to the infant via an intravenous line while she worked a night shift on the neonatal unit.

Baby D, a full-term baby, died in the early hours of June 22 2015, two days after her birth.

The prosecution say the baby was stable and progressing well when Letby went on duty to care for two other babies in the same nursery.

Giving her seventh day of evidence today, Letby told the court she did not think staffing levels contributed to Baby D's death.

Mr Johnson said: 'Is it your case that medical competency contributed?'

Letby said: 'Yes. I believe she didn't have appropriate treatment at the start of her life.'

The prosecutor asked: 'The delay with antibiotics?'

Letby said: 'Yes. It may have had an impact.'

The jury of eight women and four men previously heard from Baby D's designated nurse that she was on a break when the infant first collapsed.

Mr Johnson said: 'Did you take the opportunity because she was absent to sabotage (Baby D)?'

'No,' Letby said.

Two further deteriorations followed as medics were unable to resuscitate Baby D. Mr Johnson continued: '[Baby D] died because you injected her with air?'

'No, I didn't,' Letby said.

The 33-year-old previously claimed that consultants at the Countess of Chester tried to pin the blame on her for a number of baby deaths

The barrister asked: 'They [antibiotics] don't guard against air embolus do they?' She agreed they did not.

Letby said she 'didn't know' whether she had been standing over Baby D's cot when the alarms went off.

Mr Johnson then suggested to her that Baby D had died at a time she was 'babysitting' her 'because you injected her with airjust like Baby A and Baby C'.

Letby replied: 'I did not give her air.'

She denied having decided at her first police interview 'just to say "I don't remember"'.

She told Mr Johnson: 'I tried to be as cooperative as I could be.'

As the barrister prepared to question her about Baby E, Letby asked: 'Can I have a break please?'

The trial judge, Mr Justice Goss, agreed and adjourned the court for lunch. When the jury returned the judge told them the case would not now resume until Wednesday. The adjournment was for reasons that should not concern them, he said.

The defendant, from Hereford, denies murdering seven babies and trying to murder ten others between June 2015 and June 2016.
Despite pleading with staff to land the plane, she claims the pilot refused

A Delta passenger claims she had to inject herself with two EpiPens after crew members handed out nuts despite being aware of her life-threatening allergy.

Sara Metzger has since vowed to never fly again with Delta Air Lines - saying 'I don't want to die on a Delta flight' - after the airline failed to accommodate her disability and did not respond when she suffered an anaphylactic reaction on board.

Metzger had been travelling from Sarasota, Florida, back home to Portland, Oregon, in April after visiting family.

Speaking to Business Insider, Metzger said she informed cabin crew of her nut allergy when she changed flights in Atlanta, Georgia.

Despite this, she claims passengers onboard the flight were told that snacks which included almonds would be handed out.

Pictured: Sara Metzger who despite telling staff of her allergy to nuts, suffered Anaphylaxis on board

Metzger has now vowed to never use the airline again after they failed to help her

Metzger said she reminded staff of her allergy and was asked if she'd like a buffer zone around her for the crew to not serve the nuts - and chose the latter option.

But soon after snacks were distributed on the flight, Metzger said her throat began to swell and she started itching, both common signs of anaphylaxis.

Metzger then noticed that other passengers on board the flight in her vicinity had been handed almonds.

Rushing to the bathroom, Metzger administered an EpiPen and urged crew members to make an emergency landing.

She said another passenger, who was a cardiologist, examined her and advised her to wait and see if her symptoms improved.

Metzger then administered a second injection after her symptoms persisted, she told Business Insider: 'At this point, none of the staff is really talking to me. They're all talking through this doctor.

'I'm just sitting there having the residual effects of this anaphylactic reaction, hoping that it doesn't come back again and that I don't die on this airplane.

'It was just a really terrifying situation to be in.'

Pictured: A Delta Air Lines plane at John F. Kennedy International

Metzger had to administer two EpiPens on board the plane after her condition worsened

Despite pleading for an emergency landing, the pilot refused to do so and landed as planned in Portland.

Metzger said a medical crew had to wait until other passengers disembarked the aircraft to reach her.

In a complaint seen by Business Insider, the Department of Transportation said: 'Despite Ms. Metzger's medical peril and the directive of medical services on the ground, the pilot followed the preferences of the cardiologist/passenger rather than the obvious medical needs of Ms. Metzger.

'The pilot refused to land.'

A Delta spokesperson told DailyMail.com: 'While we unfortunately cannot respond to this specific event, passenger safety is Delta's top priority and our crew are trained and prepared to respond to onboard events as they occur.'
Prosecutors are now investigating if the gun had been intentionally modified

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the film set in which Alec Baldwin shot dead a cinematographer, has asked a judge to dismiss her manslaughter charge.

Lawyer's for the 'Rust' weapons supervisor filed the motion in Santa Fe County claiming that prosecutors did not have the authority to file the involuntary manslaughter charge in the first place, that the investigation was 'sloppy' and improper, and that Gutierrez-Reed's due process rights were violated.

The tragedy occurred when actor Alec Baldwin, 65, pointed a gun during a rehearsal on the Western film set in October 2021, it fired, killing Halyna Hutchins, 42, and wounding the film's director Joel Souza.

Baldwin claims he never pulled the trigger and believed the gun to be 'cold' and therefore not to contain live ammunition. Baldwin has since sued Gutierrez-Reed and others for handing him the loaded firearm.

Gutierrez-Reed's motion to dismiss her involuntary manslaughter charges claims that the prosecution was 'tainted by improper political motives' and says that Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and the initial special prosecutor she appointed, Andrea Reeb, 'both used the tragic film set accident that resulted in the death of Halyna Hutchins as an opportunity to advance their personal interests.'

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is filing to dismiss her involuntary manslaughter charges

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was the weapons supervisor on the film set in which a young cinematographer was shot and killed

The motion asserts that the two did not have the authority to bring the charges because New Mexico law prohibits a district attorney from remaining on a case after a special prosecutor is assigned.

It also says the appointment of Reeb, a state legislator, was a violation of separation of powers law.

Both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were initially charged with involuntary manslaughter in January this year, with both pleading not guilty.

The charges against Baldwin were dropped in April after 'new facts were revealed that demand further investigation and forensic analysis' in the case against the actor' prosecutors said in a statement.

'Consequently, we cannot proceed under the current time constraints and on the facts and evidence turned over by law enforcement in its existing form,' they added.

The defense lawyers also contend that the permanent damage done to the gun by FBI testing before the defense could examine it amounted to destruction of evidence and a violation of the court's rules of discovery.

'They directed a sloppy investigation in which key evidence was destroyed,' the motion says, and 'made overly aggressive charging decisions.'

Prosecutors are now investigating whether the gun may have been intentionally modified.

Alec Baldwin , 65, pointed a gun during a rehearsal on the Western film set in October 2021, it fired, killing Halyna Hutchins , 42

Baldwin claims he never pulled the trigger and believed the gun to be 'cold' and therefore not to contain live ammunition

'Rust' filming resumed in April, the same day prosecutors said charges against Baldwin would be dropped

Three former crew members are also suing Baldwin and the film's producers for damages as a result of the 'blast injuries'

'The modification appears to be related to the notches on the internal portion of the hammer for full cock, half cock and quarter cock positions,' prosecutors wrote in court documents filed this week.

The prosecutors are asking the judge to allow the transfer of the .45 Long Colt revolver, the ammunition and other evidence collected from the film set to a ballistics expert for forensic testing.

'It appears that these notches may have been partially removed or ground down so that they are less prominent' they write.

There are several other legal cases surrounding the film and the tragic events.

Hutchins' family in Ukraine have filed a lawsuit against Baldwin for battery and negligence among other accusations.

Three former crew members are also suing Baldwin and the film's producers for damages as a result of the 'blast injuries' they claim to have suffered when the gun fired.

In October Baldwin filed a counterclaim against Gutierrez-Reed and others for giving him the loaded gun.

'Rust' filming resumed in April, the same day prosecutors said charges against Baldwin would be dropped.

Production moved from its original location in New Mexico to a ranch in Montana.
Russian tourists were greeted with a particularly frosty reception when their plane touched down in Tbilisi earlier today.

A horde of furious protesters surrounded the Georgian capital's airport at 13:20pm local time (09:20 BST) to meet Azimuth Airlines flight A4851 - the first tourist plane from Moscow in four years.

Georgia's government has welcomed the return of direct flights from Russia, which were unilaterally suspended by Putin following anti-Kremlin protests in Georgia in 2019 but suddenly reinstated on May 15.

The civil aviation authority recently green-lit daily flights to and from Moscow despite widespread outcry, with Georgia's government claiming ethnic Georgians living across the border only stand to benefit.

Many of the protesters held placards on which the words 'Russian airship - go f*** yourself!' had been emblazoned.

Others held loudspeakers which chanted the same slogan on repeat - a tribute to the now legendary Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island who resisted the demands of Putin's warship on the second day of the war with a defiant soundbite.

A picture taken on May 19, 2023 shows demonstrators protesting against the resumption of air links with Russia outside the Tbilisi Airport as the first direct flight from Moscow arrives in Tbilisi

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted a flight ban with Georgia, against which Russia fought a brief war in 2008

Two girls hold signs, one of which says 'Russian airship, go f*** yourself' in tribute to the Ukrainian defenders of Snake Island

A sea of protesters arrived at Tbilisi airport today to demonstrate against the resumption of Russian flights to and from Georgia

A picture taken on May 19, 2023 shows police officers detaining a demonstrator during a protest against the resumption of air links with Russia outside the Tbilisi Airport as the first direct flight from Moscow arrives in Tbilisi

A passenger plane of Russian airline Azimuth, which arrived from Moscow following Georgian authorities' decision to issue a permit to operate direct flights between Russia and Georgia, is seen through a barbed wire fence at an airport in Tbilisi, Georgia, May 19, 2023

Irakli Kobakhidze, the chairman of the governing Georgian Dream party, claims that the return of regular tourist flights to and from Russia will greatly reduce costs for those wanting to travel for work, holidays or to see their families living abroad.

Kobakhidze claims he is employing a 'cautious and pragmatic' approach to Russia, but he has been widely criticised for refusing to condemn Russian atrocities in Ukraine and many Georgians claim the ruling party is committing 'direct sabotage' of their country's aspiration to join the EU.

Opposition politicians also fear the renewed flights could offer Russian officials and businesspeople a way to skirt Western sanctions, and defiantly declared the people of Georgia 'choose Europe, not Russia'.

Though the protests at the airport remained largely peaceful, the atmosphere was particularly hostile and six people were detained by security.

A rally against the resumption of flights also took place on Tbilisi's main First Republic Square.

From the loudspeakers boomed the phrase: 'Russian airship - go f*** yourself!'

Georgian journalists meanwhile descended on the Russian tourists who exited the plane.

In the airport's arrivals concourse, one journalist asked one female passenger: 'Do you know that Russia is an occupier?'

'I won't comment on it,' she replied, but the journalist kept pressing.

'I came to have a holiday,' the woman said sheepishly.

Irakli Kobakhidze, the chairman of the governing Georgian Dream party, claims that the return of regular tourist flights to and from Russia will greatly reduce costs for those wanting to travel for work, but opposition politicians are highly suspicious

Hundreds of thousands of Russians, many of them military-age men, have fled their homes and crossed into Georgia amid Putin's war in Ukraine

Protesters hold Ukrainian flags and banners reading 'Russia is a terrorist state'

Russia's war of occupation in Ukraine is not a foreign concept to Georgians.

The makings of Putin's invasion of Ukraine were evident as early as 2008, when Russia effectively baited the Georgian military into a skirmish with separatist forces in the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

This gave Moscow an incentive to respond with swift military force, eliminating the Georgian troops and declaring both territories as independent states.

Georgia and most of the international community still regard Abkhazia and South Ossetia - roughly 20 per cent of Georgia's landmass, as part of Georgia and under Russian military occupation.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Russians, many of them military-age men, have fled their homes and crossed into Georgia amid Putin's war in Ukraine to avoid being conscripted into Russia's armed forces.
One of the strangest Russian tanks to show up in Ukraine was the amphibious 18-ton 2S25M tank destroyer. Designed for the airborne forces, development began in the 1980s but production did not start until 2001. By 2009 only 24 were in service. After the Ukraine invasion began, orders for more of these tank destroyers were placed. Since the end of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the reduction of military personnel by 80 percent, the 45,000 paratroopers became the most frequently used infantry force. The paratroopers were elite and eager for any challenge. Then came the 2022 war in Ukraine, where the airborne forces were the most reliable and effective infantry Russia had available. The Ukrainians were the most formidable opposition the airborne troops had ever faced and they suffered nearly 5,000 casualties (dead, wounded, missing) during the first year of the war.

In addition, the airborne force lost most of the special armored vehicles they were issued. Most of these were the BMD airborne armored vehicles. Most of these were IFV (Infantry fighting vehicles) that were amphibious and easy to move around using military cargo aircraft, and could be delivered by parachute.

There are several variants of the basic BMD design and one of them was the 2S25M, which was a modified tracked vehicle with a turret added to a BMD that now carried a crew of three. Instead of six infantry passengers and a small turret with an autocannon, the tank destroyer carried 40 rounds of 125mm ammunition for use by the same 125mm gun found on most Russian tanks. The 2S25M used an autoloader which had 22 shells or missiles ready for use. The missile was an ATGM (anti-tank guided missile) launched from the smoothbore 125mm gun and could hit targets 4,000 meters distant. This is twice the range that anti-tank or high-explosive shells could reach with accuracy. What the 2S25M doesnt have is any protection against anti-tank weapons, including RPGs. The 2S25M armor will protect the crew from machine-gun fire and shell fragments but not any anti-tank rockets or shells.

Tank destroyers were developed during World War II and while some turretless models had armor equal to what tanks used, most did not. Russia still uses the turretless and heavily armored tank destroyers. The only exception is the 2S25M, where light weight and amphibious capability was more important. The 2S25M is fast for a tank-like vehicle, able to move at 70 kilometers an hour on roads, 45 kilometers off-road and 10 kilometers in the water. Road range on internal fuel is 500 kilometers.

In Ukraine the airborne troops tried to be stealthy with their tank destroyers but the Ukrainians used lots of scouts and UAVs to find Russian armored vehicles and usually quickly destroyed them using a large variety of weapons. That pattern led to loss of most of the Russian tanks and other armored vehicles during the first months of fighting. Now all the Russians have available are older tanks like the T-55 and T-62 as well as specialized ones like the 2S25M. Because of the Ukraine experience the airborne forces are getting more tank destroyers but not for use in Ukraine. Instead the additional tank destroyers will be for supporting airborne troops in less hostile (to armored vehicles) combat zones. Even with the new production, Russia does not plan to build more than a hundred tank destroyers, including those delivered before the Ukraine War.
A teenage boy has been arrested after young Scottish mother has died following a 'disturbance' in an Edinburgh street yesterday evening.

Police have said a 16-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the death of the woman, aged 33, who has been named locally as Danielle Davidson.

Emergency services were called to the scene on Constitution Street after officers from Police Scotland received reports of disturbance at around 7.50pm on Thursday.

Ms Davidson, from Edinburgh, was rushed to hospital with 'serious injuries' and then died a short time later.

Friends and relatives have paid tribute after the tragedy, with one person saying he was 'broken' by the death of the 'beautiful' Ms Davidson, calling her an 'amazing mummy' and a 'huge heart'.

A teenage boy has been arrested after Scottish mother, named locally as Danielle Davidson (pictured), 33, has died following a 'disturbance' in an Edinburgh street yesterday evening

Emergency services were called to the scene on Constitution Street after officers from Police Scotland received reports of disturbance at around 7.50pm on Thursday (police pictured at the scene today)

He said: 'Life's so cruel; you were a fighter; you don't deserve this; not everyone understood you and that made you unique - but those in your life did - now you're gone.'

Another person affected by the tragedy said on social media this morning after hearing of Ms Davidson's death: 'No words for the tragedy unfolding in this life if I'm honest! My heart has shattered this morning!'

She said her friend had a 'huge heart and great banter' and that she was 'always the most uplifting and supportive friend to me through my highs and lows'.

One heartbroken friend wrote that Ms Davidson was an 'amazing mummy and beautiful lassie'.

After the incident eyewitnesses saw forensic officers at scene dressed in white crime scene suits outside a British Heart Foundation charity shop and a Wetherspoon pub, the Daily Record reports.

A photo taken at the scene today shows a blue forensics tent, surrounded by police tape, has been put up the scene over the tramlines on the Leith thoroughfare.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'Around 7.50 pm on Thursday, 18 May, 2023 we received a report of a disturbance at Constitution Street, Edinburgh.

'A 33-year-old woman was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh with serious injuries and died a short time later.

'A 16-year-old male youth has been arrested in connection with the death. Enquiries are ongoing.'
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched a probe into transgender 'science experiments' at America's biggest children's hospital, after a whistleblower claimed doctors were carrying out clandestine procedures there.

Paxton, a Republican, said he was probing claims that Texas Children's Hospital (TCH) doctors defied state guidelines by continuing to prescribe puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children as young as 11.

TCH told DailyMail.com that it works to help trans-identified minors within the law. Providing children with gender-affirming care, as it is known, has become a frontline issue between conservatives and liberals.

'I've been clear that any gender transitioning procedures that hurt our children constitute child abuse under Texas law,' Paxton said in a statement.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says 'unhinged activists' are behind a medical system that's too eager to get confused kids onto puberty blockers

Texas Children's Hospital (pictured) has been providing transgender treatments to children despite promising to stop the practice, it is alleged

'Though many unhinged activists compromising the healthcare field think otherwise, children are not to be treated as science experiments.'

Paxton referred to whistleblower allegations published this week by the Manhattan Institute think tank that TCH continued to provide trans care to kids despite stating they had stopped doing so in March last year.

The Houston-based hospital may still 'be unlawfully performing such procedures, and my office it is working to uncover the truth,' he said.

'Doctors and hospitals should not be pushing mutilative and irreversible gender transitioning procedures that will negatively impact innocent children for the rest of their lives.'

Poll Should 'gender-affirming care' be banned for children in your state? Yes No Not sure Should 'gender-affirming care' be banned for children in your state? Yes 9010 votes

No 462 votes

Not sure 182 votes Now share your opinion





The Manhattan Institute, a New York-based think tank that published the original whistleblower claims, said the state's top lawyer could use his subpoena powers to reveal whether TCH had broken state rules.

The unnamed whistleblower said they would uncover a 'house of horrors,' the think tank said in a statement.

TCH told DailyMail.com that it operated within the law.

'Throughout the policy debate surrounding gender medicine, our healthcare professionals have always and will continue to prioritize the care of our patients within the bounds of the law,' a spokeswoman said.

The hospital did not immediately respond to our request for comment on the investigation.

The case underscores how sex-reassignment treatments for children have become a frontline in America's culture wars, and how hospitals providing such care in red states increasingly operate in a gray area.

Whistleblower documents released by the Manhattan Institute (pictured) purportedly show that Texas Children's Hospital has continued to provide so-called 'gender-affirming care' for young gender-dysphoric patients, including the administration of implantable puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy (HRT)

Advocates of gender-affirming care, as it is known, say it is necessary treatment for suicide-prone minors. Critics say kids are too young to opt for irreversible sex change treatments, and often just need mental health counselling instead.

TCH, the nation's largest pediatric hospital, last March said it had stopped gender-affirming therapies after Gov. Gregg Abbott, a Republican, ordered the state's child welfare agency to investigate reports of gender-confirming care for kids as 'child abuse'.

Christopher Rufo, the right-wing intellectual who led the Manhattan Institute's investigation, says TCH 'secretly restarted its child sex-change program three days later  and has continued it en masse ever since.'

He published documents from an unnamed whistleblower showing TCH doctors provided gender treatments to kids within days of the hospital's decision, and continued to do so throughout 2022 and into 2023.

They appear to be photos of a hospital computer screen showing TCH medical records. The images have been redacted to remove the names of the young patients, as medical records are confidential.

According to the files, one doctor at the Texas hospital preformed transgender medical procedures on minors whose ages ranged from 12 to 17, with 'visit types' listed as 'gender dysphoria' and 'gender identity.'

Another visit was listed for 'HRT [hormone replacement therapy].'

Another doctor has also been involved in trans treatments on children, the documents suggest. These included the removal of 'non-biodegradable drug delivery implant[s]' for 'gender dysphoria in pediatric patient[s]'.

Pictured: Records purportedly from the hospital show appointments with minors as young as 13 who are booked in for appointments relating to transgender treatments

These are understood to be pellets placed under the skin of the upper arm that slowly release cross-sex hormones or puberty blockers to trans-identifying minors, without the need for regular jabs or pills.

One procedure listed in the documents suggests one appointment was with an 11-year-old 'female-to-male transgender person'  three days after the hospital announced it was halting such treatments.

The documents also describe a 19-year-old who was interested in breast removal surgery.

A 15-year-old is listed in the files as having 'questions about surgery.'

The documents also include image grabs of a slide deck that was presented in January 2023 titled 'Medical and Psychological Care of Gender-Diverse Youth', in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine.

The institute says that the presentation urged doctors to begin sex-change treatments for minors before puberty and consider sex-change options later.

The probe comes as the Texas state legislature is considering a total ban on sex-change treatments for minors.

Were the bill to pass, doctors found to be administering such treatments would risk having their medical licenses removed.

Paxton is also investigating similar allegations at Dell Children's Medical Center in Austin.
An eight-year-old migrant girl who died in US custody has been pictured for the first time as her heartbroken parents said they had been planning a new life in New York.

Anadith Reyes, who as born in Panama, passed away after she fell ill at a U.S. Border Patrol station in Harlingen, Texas, on Wednesday.

She is the third child migrant to die under Joe Biden's presidency and the first minor to die in US custody since the repeal of the Trump-era Title 42 policy last week. The law allowed for migrants to be refused entry at the Southern border on the grounds of preventing Covid-19.

Reyes' parents, Honduran nationals, have come forward and accused immigration agents of failing to provide immediate care after the child complained that she couldn't breathe.

'They killed my daughter,' a distraught Rossel Reyes told Univision on Thursday. '(It was) medical negligence. They didn't want to tend to her until she was fainting and they said they could call an ambulance.'

Anadith Reyes, an eight-year-old Panamanian national, died Wednesday after she fell ill at a U.S. Border Patrol facility in Harlingen, Texas. She is the third child to die in U.S. custody since President Joe Biden took office. In comparison, six children died in U.S. custody during former President Donald Trump's tenure

Honduran nationals Mabel Alvarez (left) and Rossel Reyes (right) are blaming U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents for the death of their eight-year-old child, who they said never received medical attention at the holding facility after complaining they couldn't breathe well

Her parents alleged that their child spent several days complaining of breathing difficulties, and the agents didn't do anything to prevent her sudden death.

Lorna Santos told Telemundo that her niece, Anadith Reyez, had been diagnosed with the flu after border agents took the family into custody May 9.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a statement that the young girl was pronounced dead in the ambulance that was rushing her to a local hospital and that its internal affairs division will be leading the investigation.

However, Mabel Alvarez dismissed the federal agency's version of the events and claimed that she was carrying her daughter when she died.

'I told her, "Baby, your father is there." She turned around to see and she died in my arms,' the teary-eyed mother told the network.

Rossel Reyes recalled watching his daughter struggling to breath as his wife held on to her.

'She was agonizing in her arms,' he said.

Santos the family was planning on starting a new life in New York with Anadith Reyes and their sons, aged 12 and 14.

The parents were also seeking to get better care for the girl, who suffered from a congenital heart and sickle cell disease.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that eight-year-old Anadith Reyes, from Panama, died in an ambulance that was rushing her from the Border Patrol station in Harlingen, Texas, to a local hospital

Anadith Reyes is the first child to die in custody of the U.S. government following the removal of Title 42

Angel Maradiaga died a Florida migrant shelter on May 10 after he suffered what authorities say was an epileptic seizure

Anadith Reyes was born with a heart ailment and underwent surgery three years ago in Panama.

She is the second migrant minor in a week who died in U.S. custody after 17-year-old Honduran Angel Maradiaga, was found dead at a migrant shelter in Safety Harbor, Florida.

The 17-year-old, who crossed the United States-Mexico border without his parents and was in care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, is said to have suffered an epileptic seizure in his sleep at the Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Service migrant shelter on May 10.

On March 17, a four-year-old girl, who also came to the United States unaccompanied, died at a Michigan hospital three days after she went into cardiac arrest.

Six migrant minors died in U.S. custody during former President Donald Trump's tenure at the White House.

What was Title 42? Title 42 was a pandemic-era regulation that allowed migrants to be sent straight back to Mexico without even applying for asylum. For more than three years, Title 42 had allowed the government to quickly expel millions of migrants who illegally crossed the border before they could apply for asylum during the pandemic. But now that Biden's administration are lifting all Covid-19 protocols, they are also lifting restricted migration in favor of a controlled alternative - a move that has seen tens of thousands of migrants massing on the southern border in a panic to get onto US soil. Advertisement

The Biden administration struggled with the large influx of migrants crossing the southern border ahead of the end of Title 42 although the arrivals have significantly decreased from 10,000 to 4,000 per day following the termination of the controversial policy.

Immigration advocates have visited the Mexico side of the border, where thousands of migrants remain in hopes of entering the United States, and cautioned of the growing health crisis that they face.

Amy Fischer, who oversees the Refugee and Migrant Rights at Amnesty International USA, said 'almost everyone' they saw on the Mexico side of the border 'had some type of health condition that they were dealing with.' She said that was 'almost universal' that migrants were 'lifting up their shirt and showing a rash or saying that my kid had X kind of sickness.'

U.S. Border Patrol began releasing migrants in the U.S. without notices to appear in immigration court, instead directing them to report to an immigration office within 60 days. The move spares Border Patrol agents time-consuming processing duties, allowing them to open space in holding facilities. A federal judge in Florida ordered an end to the quick releases.

The Border Patrol had 28,717 people in custody on May 10, the day before pandemic-related asylum restrictions expired, which was double from two weeks earlier, according to a court filing. By Sunday, the number had dropped 23 percent to 22,259, still unusually high.
A vile man who murdered his on-again on-off again TAFE worker girlfriend has been jailed for 24 years.

James Hachem, 37, killed Samah Baker, 30, in a fit of jealous rage in January 2019 after she refused to spend New Year's Eve with him.

'Her murder has caused a great loss, the extent and impact of which cannot be conveyed in words,' Justice Robertson Wright said in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday.

'Ms Baker's death was a great human tragedy, she was a captivating person who made those around her feel whole.

'The qualities of a particular victim may serve as a powerful reminder of the quality of human life itself, and all that is involved in taking it away.'

Samah Baker (pictured) was reported missing in 2019 and her body has still not been found

James Hachem, 37, has been jailed for up to 24 years after he was found guilty of murdering his off-and-on again lover Samah Baker

Hachem sat silently in court, more than four years after he killed Ms Baker near her Parramatta apartment.

Ms Baker was in a tumultuous and sometimes violent relationship with Hachem since they had first met at work in 2015.

She ended the relationship with Hachem on multiple occasions, eventually finding a new partner in December 2018.

The court was told Hachem waited outside her apartment in his car and spied on Ms Baker while she was on a date, becoming enraged when he witnessed the pair kissing in the early hours of January 4.

The court was told the 37-year-old, from Hurstville Grove, killed Ms Baker inside her apartment at Parramatta, in Sydney's west, at about 7am on January 4, 2019.

Hachem was able to gain entry to her flat after calling her from a nearby building and claiming his parents had been in a car accident.

He then went to Bunnings and bought various items including a double sheet, gloves, cleaning products and a digging trowel, before driving to isolated areas in rural NSW.

Ms Baker's body has never been found.

Police searched the rural areas Hachem had visited (pictured) in the days after he killed his ex, with a judge Ms Baker's murder a 'great human tragedy' during sentencing on Friday

Despite maintaining his innocence and proffering a theory that Ms Baker had killed herself, the jury ultimately believed that Hachem was overcome with jealousy after seeing Ms Baker kissing another man.

He told a litany of lies to police and also sent text messages to his dead partner's phone in a bid to throw detectives off, including one reading: 'You must be with your boyfriend and you can't text. All good...'.

Another read: 'Last night was so good, slept like a baby.'

In sentencing on Friday, Hachem was handed a sentence of 24 years' imprisonment and a non-parole period of 18 years, backdated to his arrest in 2019.

'The offending involves fatal violence towards a female partner, arising out of his jealousy and anger because of her being with another man,' Justice Wright said.

Despite hearing evidence of childhood trauma and abuse suffered by Hachem during sentencing hearings, Justice Wright said they were 'not significant enough to justify the conclusion that his moral culpability (is) reduced'.

He will be eligible for parole in March 2037.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

Lifeline 13 11 14
Joe Biden has approved plans to train Ukrainian pilots on US-made F-16 jets, in a move that could tilt the balance in the war with Russia.

The G7 is meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, where president Volodymyr Zelensky will address leaders in person on Sunday, in his furthest trip from his country since the war began in February last year.

The F-16 training will be conducted using European-owned but US-made F-16s and will probably begin in the coming weeks.

So far, Ukraine has been relying on much older MiG fighters, 27 of which have been given to them by Poland and Slovakia. Only a few European countries have a supply of F-16s, including the Netherlands which has 40 and Denmark which has 30, in addition to Poland and Norway.

The White House has come under increasing pressure to help Ukraine procure the US-made F-16, which are in the arsenals of a number of European countries.

Joe Biden (C) has approved plans to train Ukrainian pilots on US-made F-16 jets, in a move that could tilt the balance in the war with Russia

The Biden administration will sign off the delivery of 'game changing' fighter jets to Ukraine from some of its European allies to use against Vladimir Putin's forces

However, any country would require the United States to sign off the transfer of F-16s to Ukraine on account sensitive US technology being on-board the jets.

President Biden told G7 leaders that decisions on when, how many, and who will provide the fourth-generation fighter jets to use in battle will be made in the months ahead, rather than imminently.

Mr Biden is opposed to sending US jets directly to Ukraine amid concern it could trigger retaliatory action from Russia.

It follows White House officials signalling to its European allies in recent weeks that it is willing to allow them to export the jets to Ukraine, which is currently gearing up for a counteroffensive against Russia's invading forces.

F-16s have been at the top of Ukraine's weapons wishlist since it was handed main battle tanks from the likes of the US, United Kingdom and Germany.

Kyiv, having already bolstered its air defences with a host of Western-supplied anti-aircraft systems, now believes the jets could be vital in the war and essential to the country's long-term security.

Ukraine's air force currently relies on Soviet-era jets that would struggle in a dog fight against the Kremlin's more modern jet, or against its air defences.

Despite this, Russia has not been able to win controls of the skies over Ukraine either, with Kyiv's own air defences keeping Moscow's air force largely grounded.

Ukraine says the F-16s are 'four or five times' more effective than Soviet-era jets it currently has, and is urging its allies to send some to Kyiv.

Mr Zelensky, who today addressed the Arab League in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, before heading to Japan, has consistently called for the supply of the cutting edge fighter jets to bolster his country's defences against Russia's invasion, but faced scepticism from the US.

However, as with Kyiv's requests for heavy weapons and tanks, initial hesitation from allies has been overcome thanks to the president's diplomatic skills, and the impressive performance of his armed forces.

G7 leaders also set out new sanctions on Moscow today. 'Our support for Ukraine will not waver,' they said in a statement released after closed-door meetings. They vowed 'to stand together against Russia's illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine'.

The White House is coming under increasing pressure to help Ukraine procure the US-made F-16, which are in the arsenals of a number of European countries. Pictured: President Joe Biden arrives for a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in Hiroshima, Japan, Thursday, May 18, 2023, ahead of the start of the G7 Summit

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives in Saudi Arabia earlier today to address the Arab League

'Russia started this war and can end this war,' they added.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Vladimir Putin needed to understand that the Western allies were 'steadfast' in supporting president Zelensky's resistance against the invasion.

'My message to Putin is straightforward. We're not going away,' Mr Sunak said during a round of interviews at Hiroshima's Seifukan tea house shortly before the summit kicked off.

Britain is also set to ban Russian diamonds in a new wave of sanctions to pressure Moscow. It will also prohibit imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel.

Emphasising Britain's resolve to support Ukraine, Mr Sunak said: 'One of the common topics of conversation with my fellow leaders is about the longer-term security agreements that we put in place in Ukraine, to deter future Russian aggression.'

The diamond export industry was worth more than 3billion to Russia in 2021.

Mr Sunak said he was 'hopeful and confident' that allies would also squeeze the lucrative trade. But the EU, which has concerns about the impact on the diamond hub of Antwerp in Belgium, said only that it would 'restrict' Russian diamonds at a later stage.

On Sunday, Mr Sunak will meet his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, who is attending the summit as a guest.

Mr Modi, who has been close to the Russian president, has remained neutral on Moscow's invasion, calling for peaceful dialogue to end the war.

According to Justin Crump, CEO of strategic advisory firm Sibylline, the key benefit of the F-16 for Ukraine is its ability to engage in air combat at longer ranges, while deploying weapons that are widely available from Kyiv's allies in the west.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Vladimir Putin needed to understand that the Western allies were 'steadfast' in supporting president Zelensky's resistance against the invasion

Speaking to DailyMail.com from a NATO conference in Bucharest, he said that the Russian air forces have not been effective so far in Putin's war in Ukraine due to fears of losses to its air defences.

'Ukraine being able to extend the threat to Russian strike aircraft will help drive back the threat from the glide bombs, which is a key focus,' Mr Crump said. 'These aircraft may also be effective against Russian drones, although these remain a challenging target, and other solutions are being developed in this fast moving space.'

He added that Ukraine will be looking to win air superiority, and to also use F-16s against Russian ground targets.

They will almost certainly do this anyway, but at greater risk until they can at least match the Russian threat and capabilities,' he said.

'In the meantime, F-16s can at least counter Russian fighters to help SU-24Ms (a Soviet-era bomber) carrying (UK-supplied) storm shadow missiles, as well as helping other strike aircraft have a better chance of reaching targets,' he added.

While Russia has been reluctant to deploy its air force, Mr Crump says it remains a formidable threat to Ukraine. Kyiv having 'more aircraft with better capabilities will help Ukraine swing back the balance,' he said.

Speaking to CNN, Retired US Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton said the fourth-generation fighters could be a 'game changer' for Ukraine.

'Its really versatile and can be used in many different ways,' he told the network.

'And it's also an aircraft that can potentially use its electronic jamming capability to go after some of the Russian radars.

Ukrainian soldiers fire a cannon near Bakhmut, an eastern city where fierce battles against Russian forces have been taking place, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, May 15

'It's a very important aircraft, it's probably the best aircraft for all the different capabilities the Ukrainians could want, and its probably the only aircraft that has all those in one package.'

Earlier this week, Zelensky said he is making progress in persuading the West to supply Ukraine with F-16s, which are flown by several NATO nations and their air forces.

On a tour of European capitals this week he received pledges from British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Dutch PM Mark Rutte to help build a 'jets coalition', although both leaders have stopped short of saying they will send planes.

'We want to create this jets coalition and I'm very positive with it... I see that in the closest time you will hear some, I think, very important decisions, but we have to work a little bit more on it,' Zelensky said in London on Monday.

Western governments have been wary of leaving their own countries undefended by giving away too much equipment.

They have also avoided sending anything that could strike deep into Russian territory and give Moscow a reason to escalate the war.

No Western-designed jets have yet been donated. Poland and Slovakia have handed over 27 MiG-29s to supplement Ukraine's current fleet.

Poland has given Ukraine 14 MiG-29s and has said it will give more. However, Polish President Andrzej Duda reiterated on Tuesday that Poland has too few F-16 jets to be able to give any to Ukraine.

Slovakia has donated 13 Mig-29s in various states of airworthiness to Ukraine.

In contrast to these numbers, the F-16s - also known as the Fighting Falcon or Viper and made by Lockheed Martin - are the most popular fighter jet in the world.

Nearly 4,500 are deployed in various countries around the world.

Rutte said on May 4 that the Netherlands was working with allies including Britain, Belgium and Denmark to reach a conclusion on whether to send jets to Ukraine.

The Netherlands has 24 F-16s operational until mid-2024, when they will be replaced by F-35s. It has also 18 F-16s non-operational, of which 12 have been sold.

Britain will not send jets to Ukraine, a spokesperson for Sunak has said, since Britain does not have the F-16s that Ukraine wants.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured in London speaking to Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak) said he is making progress in persuading the West to supply Ukraine with F-16s, which are flown by several NATO nations and their air forces

Britain had previously said that the time required to train pilots and the substantial support crews needed to send its Eurofighter Typhoon jets meant they would be of little immediate use, but Sunak has said Britain stands willing to support any country willing to send jets.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Wednesday the country has neither the training capacity nor the right equipment to actively contribute to the initiative to help Ukraine source fighter jets.

Denmark said in February it was 'open' to the idea of sending fighter jets to Ukraine. Denmark currently has around 30 F-16s in operation.

One alternative to the F-16 could be the JAS Gripen fighter jet produced by Swedish defence manufacturer SAAB, which is seen as a more cost-effective alternative to the F-16. The aircraft is operated by Sweden and a handful of other countries such as South Africa and Brazil.

Sweden has repeatedly said there are no plans to send Gripens to Ukraine and that the Nordic country, which has applied to join NATO, needs its existing inventory.

The Czech Republic uses rented Gripens while Slovakia is waiting to receive F-16s and currently relies on allies to cover its airspace.

Czech President Petr Pavel has mentioned that the Czech Republic could give some of its light, sub-sonic L-159s, but this is theoretical at this point.

Meanwhile, US officials have estimated the most expeditious time needed for training and delivery of F-16s at 18 months.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that France is open to training Ukrainian pilots in France right away. France does not have F-16s, only French-made Rafale warplanes and the previous generation Mirage 2000 jets.

London has agreed to start training pilots in the spring and said it will look at shortening the sessions for experienced Ukrainian pilots.

'This is not about gifting weapon systems. This is about gifting a platform. If anyone follows Formula One, you don't just gift a car, you have to gift a pit team,' UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Wednesday.

Some fighter jet models are likely to prove more suitable than others.

Justin Bronk from the RUSI think tank said Typhoons and F-16s would need to operate from smooth runways and centralised bases, while Sweden's Gripen planes could fly at lower altitudes and be serviced on shorter, rougher airstrips.
A first-grade teacher faces being fired after complaining about administration's decision to ban the Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus song 'Rainbowland' from a school spring concert.

Melissa Tempel, a teacher at Heyer Elementary school in Waukesha, Wisconsin, was placed on leave last month after criticizing the move on social media.

Tempel now claims she was informed Monday that the district's superintendent, James Sebert, had recommended she be officially terminated.

She told Dailymail.com 'I shouldnt be fired for speaking up about something that is obviously a matter of public interest. Also, as a citizen and not an employee I would like to say that the Waukesha administration should be ashamed of themselves for not doing everything possible to make sure my students were cared for after they put me on leave.'

Melissa Tempel, a Wisconsin school teacher, faces being fired for speaking out against the ban of the song 'Rainbowland'

Tempel was placed on leave last month, when she complained about the song ban on Twitter

Tempel wrote on Twitter Wednesday: 'Some first graders in Waukesha have been without their teacher for 31 days, they haven't been told anything about where she is or why she's gone. Tomorrow they will go to school and find out she is never coming back. Another dark day in Waukesha.'

The school district had argued that the song 'could be perceived as controversial' for first-graders due to its lyrics.

Tempel was told by a district administrator to refrain from speaking with other staff, students, parents or the public about her leave of absence, but since finding out about the push to terminate her, she has changed her mind.

She released a statement through the Alliance for Education in Waukesha on Monday, a group of parents who are seeking a state Department of Justice investigation into Sebert, accusing him of discrimination of LGBTQ+ students and staff following a series policy changes and actions, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Some attorneys are suggesting she files a federal civil rights lawsuit against the administration, claiming the district's policies violate the First Amendment.

Tempel said she will be pursuing a 'First Amendment claim.' She told DailyMail.com she could not comment on whether she would be taking legal action against the school district.

In the statement, Tempel says her removal has been most 'harmful and traumatic' to her students.

'Rainbowland' is a duet by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton from the 2017 album 'Younger Now'

The school district said the song 'could be perceived as controversial' for first-graders.

'Rainbowland' is a duet by Miley Cyrus and her godmother Dolly Parton from Cyrus 2017 album 'Younger Now'.

The song includes the lyrics: 'Living in a Rainbowland/ Where everything goes as planned/ And I smile/ Cause I know if we try, we could really make a difference in this world/ I won't give up, I'll sleep a wink/ It's the only thought I think, you know where I stand.'

And: 'Living in a Rainbowland/ The skies are blue and things are grand/ Wouldn't it be nice to live in paradise/ Where we're free to be exactly who we are/ Let's all dig down deep inside/ Brush the judgment and fear aside/ Make wrong things right/ And end the fight/ Cause I promise ain't nobody gonna win'

Since it's release five years ago, the song has not generated public controversy.

And Tempel said that when she played the song to her students before the concert, they asked to hear it 'over and over again,' she said.

When she found out it was off-limits, her students were disappointed, she claims.

After the school made its decision, Tempel wrote on Twitter: 'My first graders were so excited to sing Rainbowland for our spring concert but it has been vetoed by our administration. When will it end?'

Tempel has continued to be very vocal on social media, speaking out against the school district's decision to ban the song.

Tempel has been actively speaking out on Twitter since being placed on leave

One tweet was shared by Cyrus' Happy Hippie Foundation, which encouraged the students at Heyer Elementary School to "keep being YOU."

Tempel has been gaining support online as more and more people become aware of the controversy.

A GoFundMe has been organized in support of her by one supporter. She is now being followed on Twitter by former President Barack Obama and is hoping for the pop-stars themselves to comment on her story.

Tempel tweeted: 'The most common thing people ask me is "Have Miley and Dolly reached out to you yet?" The answer is no, but maybe if I tweet this and go to bed I'll wake up to good news for a change. @MileyCyrus @DollyParton'

Tempel also thanked the non-profit organization Foundation for a Better Life who showed support for the teacher by placing an ad at a bus stop:

'The families from my district have been showing up for me tonight and I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Their messages are all I need to keep on keepin on.'

A GoFundMe has been organized in support of Tempel by one supporter

Tempel also thanked the non-profit organization Foundation for a Better Life who showed support for the teacher by placing an ad at a bus stop

Melissa Tempel was a first-grade teacher at Heyer Elementary school in Wisconsin

The controversy is gaining attention online as Tempel continues to fight back against the school district

Tempel, a teacher for over two decades, said her students are the ones who have suffered the most, according to the Messenger.

She has been speaking out for her students on Twitter since her departure: 'Whatever they believe in, I think that all students need to feel accepted and welcome in school. And right now, there is one specific group that's not being welcomed or accepted. And so that's why I'm speaking out on behalf of them.'

Tempel said 'this is not normal procedure during a teacher's absence and doesn't prioritize the emotional or academic well being of my students. ... It will take me a long time to process how cruel the District's actions were to those families and the chilling effect my termination will have on any other educators in the Waukesha Community.'
Labour said it was planning even more law changes to help flexible working today as peers passed a new law giving workers more rights to stay at home.

The House of Lords today supported moves to give employees the right to request flexible working from their first day in a job.

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill is also supported by the Government, with a minister saying the change was 'timely, sensible and proportionate'.

It is due to come into effect within weeks.

Speaking for Labour in the Lords, business spokeswoman Baroness Blake of Leeds said flexible working should not be considered a 'job perk' but an unemployment right.

She said: 'We see this Bill as a very welcome starting point and not an end point.'

The Bill seeks to amend existing legislation to allow employees to make two requests to WFH per 12 months, no longer have to explain the impact on their employer, and require consultation before an application is refused.

Speaking for Labour in the Lords, business spokeswoman Baroness Blake of Leeds said flexible working should not be considered a 'job perk' but an unemployment right.

The Earl of Minto, a business minister, said: 'These changes represent a timely, sensible and proportionate update to the right to request flexible working and reflect what many employers already do.'

The measures received an unopposed second reading in the House of Lords.

Under the current rules, a person who has 26 weeks of continuous service with their employer can request a change to their working hours, times or location.

They are also required to explain the effect of the change on their employer and can only make one request in a 12-month period.

The Bill seeks to amend existing legislation to allow employees to make two requests per 12 months, no longer have to explain the impact on their employer and require consultation before an application is refused.

Both the Conservatives and Labour committed to make flexible working the default in their 2019 election manifestos.

The Bill, originally introduced by Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi (Bolton South East), has already cleared the House of Commons.

The Bill will undergo further scrutiny at a later date and is on course to become law in the coming weeks.

The Earl of Minto, a business minister, said: 'We will be removing the 26-week qualifying period and making the right to request flexible working available to all employees from the very first day of their employment.'

He added: 'These changes represent a timely, sensible and proportionate update to the right to request flexible working and reflect what many employers already do.

'The changes will particularly support those who need to balance their work and personal life who may find it hard to participate in the labour market.'
House Republicans are blasting out letters to Biden Administration agency heads to try to get information on precisely how many federal employees continue to work from home three years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letters, which total 150 pages combined, coincides with Biden's end to the declaration of a national emergency with respect to the pandemic, the end of Title 42 authority at the border, and the scrapping of some testing procedures for people who go to the White House.

The push, by House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer and subcommittee on the workforce chairman Rep. Pete Sessions, comes long after many private sector companies have brought people back to work  but amid agency struggles to retain workers.

The letters ask agency heads from the NASA Administrator to the Interior Department secretary and Housing chief to answer nine detailed questions about leave, telework, and average days that employees who do telework are away from the office each week.

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer has written federal agencies demanding information on how many employees they have teleworking

They also seek occupancy rates on their Washington, DC. area offices  and in a hint at maintaining resources, ask if they have made plans to adjust their 'real estate footprint' based on current plans.

The letter references D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's demand in her inauguration address this year for 'decisive action' from the White House to 'get most federal workers back to the office most of the time' or take a look at the government's array of real estate in the city.

'The Biden Administration has allowed agencies to continue levels of telework and remote work that are significantly higher than before the pandemic,' according to the letter. 'The Administration, however, has not provided current data about the specific amount of telework occurring within federal agencies or across the entire federal workforce. Furthermore, it has provided no objective evidence concerning the impact of elevated telework on agency performance  including any deleterious impacts.'

The House in February passed the SHOWUP Act, which seeks to restore pre-pandemic telework levels.

Republicans grilled Office Personnel Management Director Kiran Ahuja at a March hearing on federal telework policies  at a time when agencies are facing retirements and retention issues.

The letters targeted agencies from NASA to the Interior Department

Ground control: The letters went to the heads of NASA, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, and other agencies

Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce Chairman United States Representative Pete Sessions joined in the letter, which also asks about the occupancy rate of agency D.C. offices

'While COVID is no longer driving our workforce decisions, employers have updated tools and knowledge about managing employees in hybrid work environments and the benefits to their customers,' she said.

Ahuja said the policies have had a 'positive impact workplace flexibilities have on areas such as productivity, engagement and diversifying the talent pool.'

Comer cited reports that just a third of federal employees are back in the office since the start of the pandemic.

'This is occurring in an apparently indiscriminate, unaccountable manner, without oversight from the White House or the Office of Personnel Management  whose Director could not tell members what portion of federal employees are teleworking when she appeared before the Committee in March,' Comer said in a statement reported by Fox News.

'This is unacceptable and U.S. taxpayers deserve better,' he said.

Without explicitly saying workers are slacking off, the letter asks agency heads to 'describe the management protocols your agency has implemented to ensure workers are either adhering to the provisions of a telework agreement or are otherwise fulfilling their official duties.'

The effort to force out more information about the arrangements is not new. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) sent out similar letters in 2021.
West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola and his wife have hailed the fearless fan who defended the families of the Premier League team's players from a mob of Dutch hooligans last night.

Chris Knoll, dubbed the 'Angel of Alkmaar', is a 58-year-old father-of-four recovering from hip replacement surgery, MailOnline can reveal.

He has been widely praised for putting himself in harm's way as hooded thugs tried to storm the seating area where the players' partners and children were seated.

He refused to allow the 'ultras' to reach the terrified group  as concerned West Ham players, including striker Michail Antonio, rushed from the pitch after their victory over AK Alkmaar.

On Friday afternoon, West Ham and France goalkeeper Areola called Knoll a 'legend' while his wife Marrion Areola Valette added he was the 'biggest hero' on a historic night for the Hammers.

Sporting a swollen left eye and red scrapes on his face, Chris told MailOnline: 'I'm not a hero. I just did what I had to do. There was another guy who was fending them off. I don't like bullies and just had to try and stop them.

The hero West Ham fan who defended the families of West Ham players from a mob of Dutch hooligans last night is 58-year-old father-of-four Chris Knoll, who is recovering from hip replacement surgery, MailOnline can reveal

The Briton, known as 'Knollsy', can be seen holding off the Dutch hooligans at the top of a set of stairs as they attempt to flood into the seating of the family stand

'I just thought the best form of defence was to attack. You could see they were intent of causing trouble and I did not want them to get to those behind us.'

Chris, known to his friends as 'Knollsy', stood atop a stairwell to prevent the Dutch hooligans from reaching other fans.

Footage of Chris fighting off at least half a dozen AK Alkmaar ultras has gone worldwide. He was pictured afterwards with his shirt torn, but still smiling.

He has been widely praised on social media for his heroic stand, being likened to heroic figures in history and characters from 'Games of Thrones'.

Chris, who has supported the East London club since he was a teenager, said he had travelled to the semi-final match with his son-in-law and a close friend.

The match had passed off without trouble until West Ham sealed victory to secure a place in the Europa Conference Final in the closing minutes  leading to the AK Alkmaar thugs dressed all in black to burst through stewards and attempt to climb up into the stands where the families of players were seated.

Chris said: 'We were in our seats and we just scored and I saw all the flares go off. It was getting a little bit rowdy.

'I saw them all congregated on the side of the pitch and then they broke down the barriers and headed to the first group of West Ham fans. I know what they were intent on doing and was not going to let it happen.

'It was fairly obvious what was going to happen because they were intent on coming to us. They were the ultras, you could see that from what they were wearing. I just decided I wasn't going to let them come up.

'I just thought the best form of defence would be to get to the top of the stairs where they were coming up and just stood there and tried to stop them. I know they were swinging punches and I just did my best to stand there and take it.'

West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola called Knoll a 'legend' before his wife added he was the 'biggest hero' on a historic night for the Hammers

Areola and wife Marrion Areola Valette took to social media to share their thanks with Knoll

Chris was praised on social media for springing to the defence of West Ham defender Thilo Kerher's girlfriend

A fan holds off the mob of AZ Alkmaar supporters as they tried to make their way up the steps to clash with West Ham fans after the Dutch side lost the Europa Conference League semi-final

Knollsy is seen after the confrontation still smiling and in fine fettle despite his torn shirt

Footage captured Chris and another fan trading blows as they were swarmed by the Ultras.

Chris said he was able to fend off at least four of the thugs but two could behind him and landed several blows on his face.

His left eye is badly bruised and red scrape marks are clearly visible on the side of his face.

He said: 'If you've seen the pictures, there's about five or six guys in front of me and I'm sort of trying to fend them off.

'Somehow, I don't know how, two got behind me, right. And as I'm dealing with the other guys, there's one guy who's just constantly bagging me in the side of the head. That's what caused the bruised eye. Its not too bad, but I might go to hospital to get it checked out.'

Chris's actions have been praised by other fans on social media for his heroism despite being outnumbered.

Others have said the club  or players who were so concerned they tried to reach their family  should give him tickets for the final in the Czech capital Prague as a way of thanks for his heroism.

Speaking at his home in West London he said some of the comments on social media suggesting he is an 'old school' hooligan who was part of the notorious ICF (Inter City Firm) gang are wide of the mark.

'I'm not involved in any trouble, just an ordinary season ticket holder who goes to every home game,' he said.

West Ham fans fended off the hooded attackers

Pulling down his green West Ham club short to reveal a 10-inch-long scar on his right hip from his recent operation he joked: 'Not really a hooligan am I. I'm in my late 50s and just had a hip replacement surgery.'

Chris, an electrician, stayed overnight in an Amsterdam hotel before flying back to his home to his wife Karen in West London.

He said she was not surprised that he had stood up to protect women and children.

'She knows what I am like, and I don't like bullies. My kids are the same, they will always stand up and be counted,' he said.

'I've been a season ticket holder for about five years and always go to the home games. I can't go to the away games as it takes over your life, and I'm not sure the wife would be too happy as I've got work as well.

'Apart from what happened at the end it was a fantastic night, and so pleased we are in the final.'

Chris said he has not been able to get tickets for the final in two weeks time.

He said: 'If I can get a ticket and a couple for the two who were with me in Amsterdam I will be there to cheer on the Hammers.

'I'd love to be at the final. Hopefully it will be trouble free and we can just enjoy and fantastic match.'
The true number of Americans who fled Democrat-led, crime-ridden cities has been revealed in official census figures, with New York seeing the biggest exodus.

Violence, homelessness, coronavirus restrictions and high taxes sparked an unprecedented shift in populations across the country over the last two years.

NYC saw the largest population drop with an incredible 404,750 people fleeing the Big Apple between 2020 and 2022, the US Census Bureau revealed on Thursday. More than 75,000 Chicagoans left the Windy City, while 74,000 citizens ditched LA.

The data revealed that most people are fleeing to the South and to smaller cities in Red States like San Antonio in Texas, Phoenix, Arizona and Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Among the thousands making the move from major cities are billionaires Elon Musk, Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper and hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones.

The introduction of working from home due to coronavirus, high taxes and the rapid rise in the cost of living has led to huge population changes across the country

New York City saw the greatest population decrease with an incredible 404,750 fall down to 8,335,897 between 2020 and 2022

A total of 73,598 citizens left Los Angeles where 3,822,238 people live

Boston suffered an exodus of 20,864 people as it saw its population shrink to 650,706 between 2020 and 2022 while 18,227 left Portland which now has 635,067 residents.

Detroit saw 16,966 move out of city and it now has a population of 620,376 and 13,208 departed from Baltimore which has 569,931.

Memphis and Louisville are the only southern cities in the top 10 outbound places with 10,112 and 7,997 people fleeing, leaving them with a population of 621,056 and 624,444 respectively.

Four out of the top 10 cities which had an influx of residents between 2020 and 2022 are in Texas with two in Arizona, two in Florida and one in Idaho and Nevada.

A total of 33,684 flocked to San Antonio to boost its population to 1,472,909, 33,133 people moved to Fort Worth, which now has 956,709 residents and Phoenix added 32,072 new inhabitants to its population of 1,612,337.

Other popular cities among Americans were in Florida with Port St. Lucie gaining 24,982 new residents, expanding its population to 231,790, and Cape Cora securing 21,584 extra people to boost its number of residents to 216,992.

Florida gained more than 655,200 people between 2020 and 2022, according to the data.

While Georgetown in Texas enjoyed the largest population increase with 14.4 per cent more people, equivalent to 18,214, moving to the city which now has 86,507 inhabitants.

Henderson in Nevada saw 12,376 move to the city, taking its population to 331,415, and Buckeye in Arizona had an influx of 11,813 residents and its population now sits at 105,567.

And the population in Meridian, just outside Boise, Idaho, increased by 10,331 to 129,736 and McKinney, Texas, enjoyed a rise of 10,033 and has a total of 207,507 residents.

The new data suggests that the trend of people looking to leave the hustle and bustle of major cities- along with high taxes and living costs- is continuing.

It was brought about by the shift of flexible working which came as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the need for more home space.

While experts have suggested that Americans are 'voting with their feet' and waving goodbye to eye-watering taxes, high living costs and bad job prospects in Democrat-leaning areas for better deals in red states.

Mark Perry, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank, said the overall population drift was from Democrat-run states to mostly Republican-administered boomtowns in the South and West of the country.

Chicago saw 75,037 leave and now has 2,665,039 residents

Data revealed that most people are fleeing to the South and to smaller cities like San Antonio (pictured) in Texas which saw 33,684 people flock there to boost its population to 1,472,909

Phoenix, Arizona added 32,072 new inhabitants to its population of 1,612,337

'Americans are moving from blue states that are more economically stagnant, fiscally unhealthy states with higher tax burdens and unfriendly business climates with higher energy and housing costs and fewer economic and job opportunities,' Perry said.

They're opting for 'fiscally sound Red States that are more economically vibrant, dynamic and business-friendly, with lower tax and regulatory burdens, lower energy, and housing costs and more economic and job opportunities.'

The counties which lost the most residents are all located in high-tax states, namely California, Illinois, and New York. They have also been wracked by homelessness, drug taking and high rents and living costs.

California is the epicenter of America's homelessness crisis. About a third of the entire US homeless population  171,521 people  is in California, and Los Angeles hosts around 65,000 of them.

By contrast, counties experiencing the largest influx of people were in Arizona, Texas, and Florida, where taxes are significantly lower. The destination areas typically have more affordable housing and fewer problems like crime and vagrancy.

According to the Tax Foundation, a nonprofit policy group, Florida, Texas, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Nevada, are especially attractive to arrivals because they do not levy taxes on workers' wages.

At the other end, California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and Oregon, are losing people because of their double-digit income tax rates, which wage earners have to pay on top of their federal and local taxes.

People also move around to overcome rising living costs  and the biggest expense for most people is rent.

Other popular cities among Americans were in Florida with Port St. Lucie gaining 24,982 new residents, expanding its population to 231,790

The ultra-wealthy have also decided to flee major cities with billionaire Elon Musk (pictured) moving Tesla headquarters from California to Austin, Texas in 2021 to take advantage of the states lack of personal income tax

According to RentCafe, an apartment listing service, the most affordable states in the US are Oklahoma, where the average renter spends $957 per month, Arkansas ($987 per month) and North Dakota ($1,011 per month).

America's most expensive states to rent an apartment are Massachusetts ($2,632 per month), New York ($2,552 per month) and California ($2,506 per month)  states that are seeing population declines.

The ultra-wealthy have also decided to flee major cities with billionaire Musk moving Tesla headquarters from California to Austin, Texas in 2021 to take advantage of the states lack of personal income tax.

Carolina Panthers owner Tepper, who has a net worth of $18.5billion, and hedge fund manager Jones, whose net worth is $7.5billion, both left New York behind in recent years for the Palm Beach area citing tax reasons.

And podcaster Joe Rogan left his longtime home in Los Angeles to Texas for 'a little bit more freedom'.

Figures from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance shows that the millionaire exodus from the Empire State that began during the Covid-19 pandemic did not let up in 2021.

The number of those earning more than $25million that fled the state in 2021 is 1,453, just 520 less than the amount that left at the height of lockdowns and intense social distancing.

A total of eight per cent of New York's uber-wealthy left in 2021.
Russia continues to ignore American requests for comment on why the Russian Kosmos 2558 has spent eight months locked in the same orbit as USA-326, an otherwise secret American spy satellite. The Russian satellite has remained 60 kilometers from the American satellite, which is close enough to visually and electronically monitor what USA-326 was doing.

Last year the United States accused Russia of deliberately launching their Kosmos 2558 satellite on August 1st 2022 and placing it in the same orbit as a new American spy satellite launched earlier (February). Within 24 hours of launch Kosmos 2558 locked into the same orbit as the new American surveillance satellite, but 60 kilometers away and clearly capable of getting closer. This is what is known as an inspector satellite that closely examines other satellites to determine their capabilities and weaknesses.

Kosmos 2558 is not the first Russian inspector satellite. Since mid-2017 Russia has been putting into orbit maneuverable satellites that have been practicing, and obviously improving, their ability to get close to the most recently launched American espionage satellites. Kosmos 2542 was launched in November 2019 and was soon maneuvering very close to the new KH-11 photo satellite (also called USA 245). By late January 2019, Kosmos 2542 was within 298 kilometers (186 miles) of USA 245 and still closing in.

Back in 2017, Russia said its inspection satellites were for checking up on Russian satellites to closely examine damage or equipment failure with the intention of using such data to improve satellite design, or eventually enable repair or refueling satellites to restore crippled satellites to working order or just refuel satellites that use a lot of fuel to change orbits. This was one of the functions the American Space Shuttle program provided, using trained astronauts to make repairs. The Space Shuttle program was far more expensive than originally planned and it was not worth the cost. The last shuttle mission was in 2011. It was cheaper just to send new satellites up although the U.S. Air Force has had its X-37B unmanned mini-space shuttle launched and returned by itself several times since 2011. The X-37B stays in orbit for up to two years before returning. The air force wont say exactly what it is doing up there and no one has complained of X-37B staking out one of their satellites.

At the moment the Russian inspection satellites are useful for getting close enough Not just for taking high-resolution photos of American spy satellites as well as monitoring their electronic signals but also collecting data on how to eavesdrop or jam those signals. Another use is to destroy the few (usually four) KH-11 satellites in orbit. That is no longer as effective a tactic as it once was. There are now dozens of photo satellites in orbit, most of them commercial models that sell the photos to anyone. A large number of amateur ground observers now have the telescopes and skills to detect and track new satellites, especially the unpublicized military ones, very quickly. These skilled amateurs are also in touch with each other via the Internet and share information and often cooperate in gathering more data on interesting orbital activity.

The current Russian inspection satellite efforts were first noticed in mid-2017 after the June 23 launch of Kosmos-2519. Like most new satellites it was tracked from the earth and engaged in some unexpected behavior. This attracted more monitoring by amateur and professional satellite observers. Initially, Kosmos-2519 demonstrated that it was maneuverable as it changed orbit twice. Most modern satellites have some maneuvering ability so this was not strange. Then on August 23, 2017, Kosmos-2519 deployed another satellite (Kosmos-2521) which Russia announced was a satellite inspector. These are not unusual, but they are usually sent up by themselves, not as part of a larger satellite. Kosmos-2521 spent the next two months maneuvering around Kosmos-2519 as if testing its ability to get close to other satellites. Then at the end of October 2017 Kosmos-2521 also deployed a smaller satellite (Kosmos-2523) which did not maneuver. After that and into early 2018 the original Kosmos-2519 did all the maneuvering, using the smaller Kosmos-2521 as the test subject. In February 2018 Kosmos-2521 began maneuvering again, using Kosmos-2519 to maneuver around. In June and July Kosmos-2519 again began maneuvering, changing orbit several times but not moving since July 19. The next day Kosmos-2521 also changed its orbit and has not moved since then.

At this point, the Russians were not talking about what this agile trio was up to but foreign observers, especially those who specialize in satellite security noted that this trio had exhibited the mission profile of a sophisticated killsat (satellite killer). Worse, the Russian satellites exhibited the profile of an advanced killsat that did not just destroy other satellites but that could sabotage them or attach devices that would monitor, or even modify, what the satellite did. Until now such an advanced killsat had been theoretical but this appeared to be the first time someone built and tested a prototype. One advantage of such an advanced killsat is that it does not blast (by explosives or collision) other satellites into hundreds (or thousands) of pieces that then become an unstable debris swarm that is a danger to everyones satellites. This new kind of killsat can sabotage or take control of other satellites. Much better. In response to repeated queries, all Russia would say was that the nimble trio were tests of new technology.

Then came Kosmos 2542 which was used to closely examine American, not Russian satellites. There is an international treaty that bans weaponizing space but that Cold War era agreement was mainly about keeping nuclear weapons for being placed in orbit. Killsats can be interpreted as a violation of no weapons in orbit agreement but like so many Cold War disarmament treaties the one that applied to orbital space has been largely ignored since the Cold War ended. China has openly tested Killsat technology and apparently so is Russia, just in a less blatant way.

The goal now is not so much putting nukes in orbit as it is blinding enemy information gathering that depends on satellites. This became an issue because of the growing presence of very capable spy satellites. Current American photo satellites have a resolution of about 2 cm (less than an inch). Currently, the U.S. has four improved KH-11 (sometimes called KH-12s) satellites in orbit, the last of these launched in 2013. The first of new KH-11s (sometimes called KH-13s) was launched in January 2019 as NROL-71 and two more were in orbit by 2022. Like the current KH-12s, the new ones will cost over $4 billion each and apparently use more non-photographic tech like new radar systems.

The availability of high-resolution satellite photos with military usefulness began in the 1960s with the first appearance of the KH (Key Hole) series of photo satellites. The first film camera satellite, KH 1, went up in 1959 but the first successful one was in 1960. These film-using satellites supplied coverage of hostile nations through the 1980s. The KH 1 through 9 series satellites sent the film back in canisters so these high-resolution pictures could be developed. The Keyhole 9, the first of which went up in 1971, was not only the last of the film satellites but the largest and most capable. Its basic design was used by the subsequent digital camera birds. The KH 9 could cover large areas at high (for the time) resolution of .6 meters (24 inches). This was more than adequate to spot and count tanks, aircraft, and small warships. The 19th, and last, KH 9 went up in 1984. The KH-9 was a 13-ton satellite with multiple cameras and 4 or 5 reentry vehicles for returning the film for developing and analysis. The KH-9s were nicknamed Big Bird.

The age of film began to fade when the first digital satellite, the KH 11, was launched in 1976. These birds were large, nearly 15 tons, and the digital cameras could obtain a better resolution and broadcast the photos back to earth. The resolution was such that objects 70mm (a few inches) in size could be identified from 200 kilometers. Digital cameras were more flexible than film and eventually surpassed film in all categories. The KH-11 telescopic cameras operated like a high-resolution TV camera. Images were captured continuously and transmitted to earth stations. Computers were used to finish the process and produce photos identical to those taken by a conventional film camera. You could even have motion pictures, as well as indications of heat and the nature of the various items. KH-11 could often tell what kind of metal an object on the ground was made of.

All this did not come cheap. These birds cost over $400 million each and lasted three or four years, depending on fuel consumption to change orbit. Moreover, you needed two of them up at the same time in order to guarantee coverage and save the birds from having to change orbit too frequently. The most recent KH-11, the 18th, was launched in 2022. There have been at least four models of the KH-11 since the first of five "Block 1s" was launched in 1976. Since the 1960s over a hundred KH series satellites have been launched. The Big Bird film using KH-9s didnt last long because once their film supply was gone, they were useless.

Russia kept using film satellites until 2015, when the last 6.7-ton Kobalt-M went into orbit with three returnable film capsules. Russia had developed a digital camera for satellites in the 1980s but the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 delayed progress on working Russian digital photo satellites. Even when work resumed in the late 1990s, it took nearly two more decades to get the tech working reliably. That finally happened by 2015. That made it possible to stop using film satellites.

The next generation of digital satellites, the KH-12 (officially improved KH-11), was supposed to have been launched in 1987. But because of problems with the space shuttle (one had exploded during launch), only a belated KH-11 was launched in October 1987. The KH-12 was delayed, even though it had several advantages over the KH-11. Along with improvements in ground data processing equipment, the KH-12 could send back data in real-time. You could watch events on a large, high-resolution screen as they were happening. This would also allow military headquarters and other users to get their satellite information directly, without going through a CIA or NRO (National Reconnaissance Office) processing center. Data from the more esoteric sensors would still have to be studied by the specialists elsewhere. The KH-12 was expected to make users even more enthusiastic about satellite reconnaissance. It did, in the form of a much-upgraded KH-11. Actually, these birds were called KH-12s but are still officially known as KH-11 and still are. That is something of a tribute to the capability and flexibility of the original KH-11 design, the first of which went into orbit during 1976.

The flood of photographic and electronic data was growing far larger than the force of analysts available to make something of it. In addition to the KH series birds, there were radar and SIGINT (Signal Intelligence) satellites constantly broadcasting data. Then there are the Defense Support Program satellites, which use heat sensors to locate the hot plumes of missile launches. Although no new KH-11s were launched between 2013 and 2018, there have been plenty of new spy satellites put into orbit, especially radar satellites for monitoring the earth's surface in any kind of weather.

It has long been suggested that the government just rely on commercial photo satellites for their low resolution (able to detect vehicles and buildings) photo satellite needs. But the military and intelligence agencies often need more photo satellite time than the commercial companies can provide. The government also wants to ensure secrets are kept by having complete control over at least a pair of commercial-grade satellites.

The two new government-owned commercial birds took over the task of tracking troop movements, bases, and military operations in general. The two new high resolution, military-grade, spy satellites were improved versions of existing ones. These are used to get detailed (able to detect something smaller than an inch) photos of something the commercial-grade images (able to detect something 30-45 cm/12-18 inches in size) found interesting.

The troops and military planners are also big users of Google Earth, which annoys the people running the military satellite program. But for many military satellite needs, Google Earth does the job. The two military, commercial-grade, photo satellites eliminated the potential for information leaks (about what the military is buying images of) and provide much more capacity to do low-resolution jobs.
Bunnings is set to become the first Australian retailer to trial a four-day work week with its 40,000-strong staff to receive a 10.5 per cent pay rise by 2025 and five weeks of holiday per year under a new 'breakthrough' deal.

The agreement with Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) will see the four-day working week become a reality for thousands of retail workers.

Full-time Bunnings staff will be given the option to work their 38-hour weeks over four days instead of five, or a nine day fortnight.

A 10.5 per cent pay rise will roll out over the next three years with employees to receive 4.5 per cent this year and 3 per cent in 2024 and 2025, the Australian Financial Review reports.

SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer said the deal, which was announced on Friday, was a 'significant breakthrough for work-life balance'.

Bunnings is set to become the first Aussie retailer to trial the four-day work week with its 40,000-strong staff soon to benefit from a deal dubbed a

The new agreement announced on Friday will give full-time Bunnings employees the option to work 38 hours over a four-day work week, or a nine day fortnight

'This package is good for workers and for this major retailer alike, setting Bunnings up as a preferred employer in a tight retail market,' Mr Dwyer told the AFR.

The new enterprise agreement has been welcomed by the SDA after Bunnings initially scrapped their prior proposal in 2020.

Withdrawing the agreement was meant to provide workers with security and increase the certainty of jobs during the pandemic, according to Bunnings' managing director Mike Schneider.

The agreement had been delayed by the Fair Work Commission for almost 12 months, prompting Mr Schneider to label it a 'never-ending cycle of review'.

The agreement follows Bunnings' long record of worker benefits, says chief people officer, Damian Zahra.

Other major Australian employers are expected to resume bargaining with unions post-pandemic, including Coles and ANZ bank.
Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, were initially told by authorities that the Norfolk Southern chemical train that derailed and exploded was only carrying malt liquor, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Newly emerged audio recordings of frantic 911 calls following the February 3 disaster show emergency dispatchers had at first reassured callers that there was no need to evacuate after being advised the train cars contained 'some type of drinking alcohol.'

But they would later learn five of the 38 cars were actually also carrying toxic substances including vinyl chloride, a gas used to make plastic, whose burning fumes have since left residents with respiratory problems and skin irritation.

East Palestine mayor Trent Conaway and Fire Department Chief Keith Drabick are seen addressing the public alongside members of the Ohio EPA and FEMA two weeks after the derailment

The February 3 disaster has had long-lasting environmental and health effects on the community after several Norfolk Southern train cars exploded and released toxic chemicals into the air

A man takes photos as a black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed trains on February 6

The 911 calls, obtained by DailyMail.com, lay bare the chaotic moments following the crash that resulted in miscommunication among emergency services, dispatchers, the railway company, and concerned citizens.

Such was the confusion that residents living within a mile of the derailment site were evacuated hours before the order was rescinded.

When one desperate grandmother called the fire department saying: 'If it's chemicals I want to go and get my granddaughter,' a dispatcher told her: 'They're not evacuating anymore, you're good'.

But according to officials, the erroneous reports and conflicting advice can be traced back to the Atlanta-based rail company's initial response to local authorities in the minutes after the crash.

East Palestine Fire Chief Brian Drabick told DailyMail.com that the dispatchers were working off information provided by Norfolk Southern at the time.

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw is now facing a federal probe over the company's safety practices

Emails and text messages published by DailyMail.com last week revealed Drabick himself had to bear the brunt of the poor communication among local and federal agencies as he desperately tried to lead his community through the disaster.

The 911 recordings also raise fresh questions over already embattled Norfolk Southern Railway's safety practices and its response to the crash.

The derailment led to a horrific fire and a 'controlled burn' of the train cars containing vinyl chloride which sent a cloud of toxic gas over the city.

Dozens of fish were killed, half of the town's 5,000 residents were evacuated and some have never returned for fear the drinking water is contaminated.

Norfolk Southern is still being investigated by the NTSB, the accident regulator, which is also looking into the company's safety culture.

While malt liquor was indeed on the train that derailed, there was also the vinyl chloride which, according to a lawsuit filed by residents, released a chemical that was banned after WWI when it was set alight.

The 911 recordings show that within two hours of the derailment, a firefighter on the scene called dispatch to give an assessment of what they were dealing with.

The firefighter says: 'We have been advised the tankers are all malt liquor. We have been advised the tankers are malt liquor'.

A male voice on the dispatch line says: 'It's very, very chaotic, there were 30 cars of liquor that caught on fire.'

A few hours later a male resident called in asking what was in the train cars.

A female dispatcher turned to another person in the office and asked: 'What was in the front cars? Some type of alcohol? Was there hazmat on that train? Is there hazmat in the cars? What did they say was in the front of the train?'

After getting some answers, the dispatcher returns to the call and says: 'There was some type of drinking alcohol in the front. I'm not sure what was in the back'.

The 911 calls show that fire officials did reach out to Norfolk Southern within 10 minutes of the incident.

The company's operator had trouble understanding when she was told about the explosion at a Leake Oil gas station in East Palestine.

Fire Chief Brian Drabick told DailyMail.com that emergency dispatchers had gone off information provided by now embattled Norfolk Southern at the time

Photos and firsthand accounts previously shared with DailyMail.com lay bare the devastating impact of the East Palestine train derailment disaster that saw a toxic soup of carcinogenic and corrosive chemicals light up the night sky

The train cars were also carrying vinyl chloride which is known to migrate through soil and has been linked with various forms of liver cancer, lymphoma, leukemia as well as brain and lung cancer

She said: 'I don't know what that means, I'm in Atlanta, Georgia. Do you have an address?'

In an email to DailyMail.com, Chief Drabick said: 'All information as to what was contained in the train was provided to the officer in charge of the scene initially by a representative from Norfolk Southern.

'This information was given to the officer in charge approximately 30-45 minutes into the incident to the best of my knowledge'.

Norfolk Southern declined to comment due to the ongoing NTSB investigation.

The dispatch traffic show that the first mention of an evacuation came 36 minutes after the derailment when a firefighter said people needed to be moved out of the area.

A firefighter at the crash site asked dispatch to have the police department clear nearby homes as cars were on fire.

An hour after the crash, an anxious woman dialed 911 and asked if her street was being evacuated and mentioned an 80-year-old she was concerned about.

A male caller living half a mile from the crash rang up and asked if he should leave his home.

The dispatcher said: 'Not as of yet'.

But ten minutes after that, a woman called asking: 'I have a three year old at home and I'm wondering do I need to evacuate'

Dispatch replied: 'Yeah you need to evacuate'.

As the minutes ticked by, residents were told to leave their homes if they were within a mile of the crash site: police were going door to door asking residents to move.

For anyone living outside that area it was 'entirely up to you' if they wanted to evacuate, as a dispatcher told one caller.

For weeks after the crash, a massive testing and cleaning effort was carried out in the creek that runs through East Palestine City Park

Fish and other aquatic wildlife that inhabited the creek have been wiped out due to the environmental disaster

One concerned mother rang up saying she had a newborn who was 'not even two months old'  she was told to leave if she was within a mile of the crash.

But by the early hours of February 4, the next day, the situation had changed.

A woman called up asking to see if the evacuation was still going on.

The dispatcher said: 'No, we're not doing any evacuations. They checked the air quality, it's all good so they're not evacuating anybody'.

A grandmother living nearby called asking: 'If it's chemicals I want to go and get my granddaughter'.

Dispatch told her: 'They're not evacuating anymore, you're good'.

Others who called up were told: 'You don't have to evacuate any more'.

Some people were given contradictory advice: the dispatcher was told by a male voice in the office that they were letting people back home.

But one caller was told that if people had evacuated they were 'not letting you back in your home'.

The 911 calls also capture the horror from residents in the seconds after the crash and the chaos in the dispatch room with multiple lines ringing off the hook.

There was frequent static and crosstalk which made the dispatchers have to pause while it subsided.

The first caller to report the incident said: 'I was outside and the train was making a really bad noise and there was a huge burst of flame. It would have been on Taggert Street'.

Another caller said there was a 'huge fireball' and reported an 'explosion'.

Moments later a man called to say a 'gas station just blew up' and another caller said there was a 'train on fire'.

Residents resorted to wearing oxygen masks to protect themselves after the disaster sparked environmental and health concerns

Shaw, testified before a US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing on the environmental and public health on March 20

One man who phoned in said:: 'Something has exploded'.

As the hours tick by, the dispatcher called fire crews in neighboring counties and implored them to send fire trucks and vans with foam for putting out the blaze.

At one point a firefighter on the scene asked how they could get 300 fire trucks to battle the blaze

A shocked dispatcher replied: '300 tankers?'

Another firefighter screamed: 'Everybody back up! Everybody back up!'

A female voice could be heard saying: 'Oh my god'.

DailyMail.com previously revealed emails and messages sent by Drabick in the days after the derailment which showed he felt 'defeated, useless and so angry'.

Drabick became furious after being told one of his firefighters had developed asthma due to exposure to toxic chemicals, writing: 'Why does this have to be so hard?'

He admitted having to take a moment because he was going to get 'overwhelmed' and complained about a leaflet campaign being a 'ginormous s*** show'.

The chief said that he felt abandoned by Ohio governor Mike DeWine and was left to 'sit by and watch s*** fall apart'.

Drabick even said he had 'lost faith' in the East Palestine health department after it told him to treat the crash like a normal house fire.
British women are turning to Denmark hoping for 'Viking babies' as the UK suffers a nationwide shortage of sperm donors.

In Denmark sperm banks are booming and many students can earn more than 400 a month from donating regularly.

In the more open-minded Danish society there is less taboo attached to sperm donation than in the UK and many donors are similarly relaxed about the prospect of their offspring making contact once they become adults.

The European Sperm Bank in Copenhagen is just one of the companies sending sperm to the UK, or to Danish clinics which British women attend for fertility treatment.

In 2020 over half of all donated sperm used in Britain came from overseas  27 per cent from America and 21 per cent from Denmark.

It means an increasing number of sperm-donor babies born in the UK can boast Viking blood.

Single mother Holly Ryan, from Brighton, with her children Johan, eight, and Silke, four, who were conceived using sperm donations from Denmark

Holly's children, Johan and Silke. Holly had always loved Denmark, so it seemed natural for her to head to Copenhagen when she decided it was time to have a child

Sperm donor Peder Thomsen, 30, who was donating three times a week while a student, says he has 'no idea' how many children he has fathered. He is not the father of Holly's children

Containers holding donor sperm at the European Sperm Bank, ready to be transported

A chair in a private room next to a TV where pornography can be viewed by sperm donors

The HQ of the European Sperm Bank is housed in a bright converted warehouse in central Copenhagen. Every working day, samples frozen in liquid nitrogen are brought there from donation points across the city on a 'sperm bike'  an eye-catching vehicle which, like its precious cargo, has a long tail.

The donors, many of whom attend three times a week, walk past a full-size stuffed polar bear, symbolically 'guarding' the frozen sperm, and are welcomed at the reception with a plastic sample cup and a virtual reality (VR) headset. They then make their way to one of five 'donor rooms'.

Locking the door turns a green light in the foyer to red, signalling that the room is occupied. On his TV screen the donor can choose from a selection of pornography channels before getting down to business.

The VR headsets were pioneered by rival sperm bank Cryos International, which claims that research has shown that the better the donor's 'experience', the higher the quality of the sperm.

Customers, whether single women or couples, can log in to the website and choose their donor at leisure. They are provided with a photograph of the donor as a child, often an audio file of his voice talking about himself, and a run-down of his physical qualities such as eye and hair colour, height, weight and educational level.

About 70 per cent of donors are 'ID released' which means that their offspring will be allowed to make contact with them after reaching the age of 18. In Denmark donors can choose to remain anonymous, but under UK law, that is not possible.

In recent years a global proliferation of DNA registries has meant that even anonymous donors may eventually be contacted, which has been cited as one reason why British men are reluctant to come forward and donate, but their Danish counterparts seem less worried about that.

Peder Thomsen, 30, admits he has 'no idea' how many children he has fathered in his years of donating sperm.

He began as a student in Denmark's second city, Aarhus, visiting Cryos International, the world's biggest sperm bank, three times a week while studying marketing.

'I had a very close relative who couldn't conceive. But she finally did, and I saw that awesome bond between her and her kid. I thought if I can help in any way with that, which, of course I could through donations, that's going to be an easy win, right?

Holly's son Johan and his sister Silke

Holly, a lesbian, first travelled to Denmark aged 19 and said: 'I'd always wanted children as far back as I can remember'

Holly's children Johan and Silke were conceived from the same sperm donor

Bettina Hannibal Agershov is who is the head lab technician at the European Sperm Bank

A VR headset on a chair in one of the private rooms where sperm donations are carried out

Sperm doners are given a plastic sample cup and a virtual reality (VR) headset upon arrival

'It's a win-win. So that's what got me into in the first place.

'The money was handy too as a student, but that wasn't my main motivator.'

He's quite relaxed about the prospect of one of his biological children knocking on his door one day  and even welcomes it.

'Actually, it's probably going to happen someday with all these DNA registries. I feel pretty calm about it. I'd even say I'm looking forward to it in a sense.

'It's something you kind of forget about, then I wonder what these kids look like? So they're out there somewhere and if they suddenly show up it's just going to be an interesting addition to my life.'

Julie Paulli Budtz, director of brand and communications at the European Sperm Bank

European Sperm Bank chief executive Annemette Arndal-Lauritzen at the London clinic

Pornography is provided in private rooms at the centre where men can donate their sperm

Peder, who works for one of Denmark's biggest banks in Copenhagen, is in a relationship with a woman who has two children from a previous relationship, and doesn't plan to have any children of his own.

'In my current situation it's not something we're likely to do, but I feel good about having helped other people, wherever they are. When I first started donating, I'd say there was a bit of a taboo about it, but after a year or so, I didn't feel that so much, and I'm always happy to discuss it.'

In Brighton, single mother Holly Ryan, 45, has always had a love affair with Denmark, so it seemed natural for her to head to Copenhagen when she decided it was time to have a child.

'I'd always wanted children as far back as I can remember,' she said. Her own background was unusual  her father brought her and her brother up after her mother left home.

Holly, a lesbian, first travelled to Denmark aged 19.

'I remember saying to my friends, "I'm going to Copenhagen", they would say, "where's that?" It wasn't until series like The Killing and Borgen came along that it was placed more firmly on the map.

The donors walk past a full-size stuffed polar bear, symbolically 'guarding' the frozen sperm

European Sperm Bank head lab technician Bettina Hannibal Agershov with the donations

Sperm donors make their way to one of five 'donor rooms' at the centre in Copenhagen

A room where tests take place at the European Sperm Bank in Copenhagen, Denmark

'I adore everything about Denmark and their quality of life feels superior to ours  there's an openness and fresh thinking about the Danes which I really value.'

In her early 30s, she travelled to Copenhagen and decided to choose a donor from the European Sperm Bank and have the fertility treatment at the Stork Klinik in the city.

'It can be a daunting and surreal process, so you interrogate the descriptions of the donors, hear their voice file talking about their attitude to life or whatever and see a photo of them as a child.

'The clinic and ESB have a strong vetting procedure with donors and obviously want to maximise positive results; they felt cheerleading in every regard.'

She tried five times with one donor's sperm, but failed to conceive and the Stork Klinik suggested she try a different donor because sometimes, despite a high sperm count on the part of a man and a very fertile woman, it can be a simple DNA compatibility issue.

She admitted becoming 'obsessive' about getting pregnant, saying: 'You enter it with a heart-soaring optimism that this is definitely going to happen. In my case I hoped the universe would have my back as I'd lost both my parents from cancer in close succession and felt I had the smarts and strength to do parenthood solo.'

Containers holding sperm are kept cool to be transported from the European Sperm Bank

Students can earn more than 400 a month from donating regularly to sperm banks

The European Sperm Bank in Copenhagen, Denmark

On her sixth trip, she tried the new donor, who sounded on his voice file like 'her kind of person'.

She added: 'It's a bit like viewing a house for the first time or your first date, you look for the nuances that you can relate to or which just instinctively feel right in your bones.

'It was his approach to living that I felt most enthused and comforted by: he was very much like my Dad, putting across the idea that we're here for a very limited time and you should honour every day for what it brings and don't fixate on what others are doing  find your own path.'

The sixth attempt with the new donor proved to be successful. That was eight years ago and Holly's son Johan, who she calls a 'strident little Viking', was then joined four years later by his sister Silke, who was also conceived from the same sperm donor  though it did take six more attempts for a second pregnancy to develop.

Holly, who is company director of a TV and film agency, estimates that each trip to Denmark cost her around 1,000 to 1,200, but points out that fertility treatment there costs around a third of the price in the UK. 'I've gathered from friends that the clinics in Denmark are more serene and nurturing spaces than their UK counterparts. Stork Klinik evokes a sophisticated calm from the moment you walk in, and that psychological element is important in conceiving.

'It just feels like everything's delicately designed to make you feel more relaxed.'

Holly has been completely open with her children about their origins and says there have been no issues with awkward questions from classmates.

'Both Johan and Silke know they were conceived from a Danish sperm donor. We regularly salute their heritage, holiday there repeatedly and when they're older I would of course encourage them to get in contact with their biological father.

In the more open-minded Danish society there is less taboo attached to sperm donation than in the UK

Nicki Bille, head of cryologistics at the European Sperm Bank in Copenhagen

European Sperm Bank staff show how donations are tested and prepared before being sent

'I'd also love to meet him because he's been the bridge to me becoming the version of me that I always wanted and he's gifted me the happiest moments of my life, of which there have been many. The constellation of my family is a beautiful shape in my mind.'

Julie Paulli Budtz, director of brand and communications at the European Sperm Bank, told MailOnline: 'In the past, the recipients and later the children didn't get any information about the donor, but now we give a full description of him, his interests and his family.

'We believe a lot of that information will actually give them so much comfort that perhaps they won't need to reach out to the donor because they have a good picture of who they are, and what he is like as a person.'

Denmark has been a leading player in the fertility industry for more than 20 years, which created a need for more donors.

Julie added: 'It became part of the culture and I think Denmark is a bit more open-minded and liberal than some other countries. Young people here have been seeing ads for donors to come forward and there are a lot of children who were from donated sperm or eggs, so it all becomes seen as normal. '

Potential donors are rigorously checked for any medical problems or genetic abnormalities and advised about the possible implications for themselves, she said.

'DNA registers have presented an entirely new situation for the donors and we make them aware of that and the implications.

'It's a natural part of our screening process, which takes between three and six months, depending on the donor.

Guidance on using the VR headsets to watch pornography at the European Sperm Bank

Private rooms where sperm donors donate their sperm at the European Sperm Bank

A sign in the private rooms for sperm donation at the European Sperm Bank in Copenhagen

'We need to make sure that they understand the implication of what it takes to be a sperm donor, it's not something that the donor can reverse - if his donations have already been sent out, we can't do anything about it. So it's a commitment for life.'

All around the sperm bank, their slogan, 'Give Life' is repeated on literature and notices.

European Sperm Bank's instructions for using VR goggles at centre The European Sperm Bank issues these instructions for sperm donors using VR goggles to watch pornography at its facility: How to use VR goggles Just like reality use around 15 min Follow these steps one by one to get the best experience 1) Put on the glasses 2) Hold the 'turn on' button until the screen starts lighting up (button placed on top) 3) Take the controller in your hand 4) Use the button at your index finger (trigger) to select the video of your perference 5) To rearrange your view, hold the Oculus button until your view has changed to your preferred view 6) Once you have selected a video, you can skip through the video swiping left (back) or right (forward) 7) When you are ready, lift the goggles and aim for the cup 8) When you are done, leave cup and your headset in the reception Please inform the reception staff if the controller has run out of power To navigate between straight and gay porn sites, press 'websites' Advertisement

In 2018 the company opened a branch in London to encourage British donors to come forward - though recently someone stole the London 'sperm bike' and is presumably peddling the distinctive two-wheeler around the capital's streets. The sperm bank would like it back.

European Sperm Bank follows the national pregnancy limits and on average a donor helps 25 families across different countries.

'In total, the company has helped conceive more than 50,000 children over 20 years, and it makes us proud, added Julie. The company has about 700 donors on its books.

Some of the latest new arrivals are shown on a pin board. One mother was so pleased she named her daughter after a member of the staff.

Once the sperm has been handed over to the lab, the sperm cells are separated from the seminal fluid in a centrifuge, as only the sperm cells are needed.

Placed on an electro-microscope, millions of sperm cells can be seen furiously swimming around on the screen under the watchful eye of Bettina Hannibal Agershov, head lab technician.

'Sperm cells start dying from the minute they leave the man's body, why it is important to get the sample frozen as fast as possible' she said.

Sperm 'straws' are then packaged in liquid nitrogen tanks at minus 196C before being sent out to fertility clinics all around the world.

In Aarhus, a university city three hours' drive from Copenhagen, the world's biggest sperm bank, Cryos International, has brought more than 70,000 babies into the world since it was founded 35 years ago by pioneer Ole Schou. It has outposts in the US as well as Europe.

Chief communications officer Martin Lassen told MailOnline: 'It's important for a sperm bank to have a diversified base of donors and we're proud of that.

'The reason Denmark is so popular is that it was the founder of Cryos who started all this, and many other firms have followed. It's also something we're very used to as a nation. Many Danes are also giving blood and maybe there's something in the culture - there are places where sperm donation would not be something that's seen positively.

'It's just a way of helping others that people like to do and the legislation makes it possible.'
A doctor has been ordered to pay child support to a couple until their baby turns 18 after botching a vasectomy on the father.

The couple in Medellin, Colombia - who have not been named - were stunned to discover that the man had got the woman pregnant after he underwent a vasectomy at a health clinic.

The dad had decided to have the procedure in 2012 to avoid having more children with his wife because they did not have enough income.

He even underwent an examination at the clinic to ensure that the vasectomy had been effective, with the clinic confirming that it had.

But after discovering that his wife was pregnant, the couple, who already had two children, took the doctor and the health clinic to court in 2017.

The couple in Medellin, Colombia (pictured), were stunned to discover that the man had got the woman pregnant after he underwent a vasectomy at a health clinic

And now after a lengthy legal battle during which the parents argued that they had unwillingly become parents again on October 1, 2013 due to an incorrect medical procedure, the judge has ruled that the doctor and the health authority in charge of the clinic must pay court fees and child support

These will total COP 295 million (GBP 52,680) until the baby turns 18.

Now, the couple's daughter is almost ten years old, according to reports. As a result, the doctor will has to pay eight more years of financial support.

The Superior Court of Medellin also ruled that the health clinic and the doctor must pay 80 instalments of the Colombian minimum wage.

This totals approximately COP 92 million (GBP 16,430) and COP 143 million (GBP 25,535) for maintenance, as well as COP 60 million (10,715) for the lawsuit costs.

'As a result of this unexpected conclusion, the patient was not recommended to continue using contraceptive methods to avoid the risk of pregnancy,' the court ruling read, according to the court ruling.

'When it was proven that the parents did not want to procreate more children, it was concluded that there was an impact on their life projects that had repercussions in the immaterial field, especially considering the precarious economic situation of the father, who currently cannot work due to their health problems.'

And now after a lengthy legal battle during which the parents argued that they had unwillingly become parents again on October 1 2013 due to an incorrect medical procedure, the judge in Medellin (pictured, file photo) has ruled that the doctor and the health authority in charge of the clinic must pay court fees and child support

In December, in his first ruling, the Judge said that the botched vasectomy not only caused 'harm in the exercise of sexuality and reproductive freedom' of the couple, but 'considerably affected the economy of the family nucleus and it has generated worries and afflictions for the plaintiffs, since they have no way to meet the basic needs of the minor.'

According to Infobae, a Spanish-language news site based in the US, the father suffers from a debilitating condition called severe bilateral hearing loss.

This makes it extremely difficult for him to work, the report says.

He experiences frequent doziness and vomiting and must wear a hearing aid.
The once-scorching heat and arid conditions that characterised Spain's driest-ever start to the year have abruptly given way to brutal hailstorms, snow showers and bitter winds.

Terrifying footage from Los Palacios y Villafranca, nestled in the Seville province, captured the fury of Mother Nature firsthand.

Cars were mercilessly lashed with giant hailstones while powerful winds tore leaves from their branches, turning the town into a scene of wintry chaos.

In one video, a group of pharmacists was seen standing inside their store, utterly dumbfounded at the power of the hail in May after weeks of temperatures as high as 38 degrees C.

Other shocking clips posted to social media highlighted the stark reality of how the sun-baked streets were turned into streams by the deluge.

Meanwhile in Asturias, a region known for its lush green landscapes, residents woke up to a surprising sight as heavy snowfall blanketed the mountains.

Terrifying footage from Los Palacios y Villafranca, nestled in the Seville province, showed hail beating down and thumping into cars

Cars were mercilessly lashed with giant hailstones while powerful winds tore leaves from their branches, turning the town into a scene of wintry chaos

Terrifying footage from Los Palacios y Villafranca showed the severity of the hailstorm

The streets were carpeted white following the bizarre weather at Los Palacios y Villafranca

Hailstones bounce off the pavement in Los Palacios y Villafranca as locals remained safe inside

Shocking clips posted to social media highlighted the stark reality of how the sun-baked streets were turned into streams by the deluge.

This unprecedented string of weather events marks a stark contrast to the soaring temperatures experienced across the country just weeks ago.

On April 27, Spain recorded its hottest-ever April temperatures - a whopping 38.7C - with the country on high alert for wildfires amid what was described as the worst dry spell 'in a thousand years'.

The country was enveloped by warm, dry air from North Africa that drove temperatures to 'levels normally seen in summer', according to meteorologists.

But such conditions were not localised to April - this year Spain witnessed less than half of the average rainfall in the first four months of the year, which led to near drought-like conditions.

Now, farmers previously burdened by water shortages are facing the prospect of flooding and damage to their crops by hailstones.

The erratic weather patterns have left scientists and meteorologists puzzled, struggling to make sense of the dramatic shifts.

It comes just days after the Italian region of Emilia Romagna was devastated by widespread flooding that left at least 13 dead.

Rescue crews are still working desperately across several towns and villages battered by heavy rains and flooding as authorities begin mapping out clean-up and reconstruction plans.

The extreme weather behind this week's disaster - a prolonged drought punctuated by 36 hours of intense rainfall, two weeks after another downpour - led to two dozen rivers and tributaries bursting their banks.

The force of water sent torrents of mud tearing through entire towns in Emilia-Romagna, flooding storefronts and basements.

Local mayors warned that some remote villages were still completely cut off because landslides had made roads impassable and phone service remained severed.

The sky high temperatures were even too warm for sunseekers. Tourists in Seville tried to cool down at a fountain

An aerial view shows partially submerged cars at a flooded area following the overflowing of a river, in the center of Lugo, near Ravenna, Italy on Thursday

An aerial view shows partially submerged cars at a flooded area following the overflowing of a river, in the center of Lugo, near Ravenna, Italy on Thursday

The landslides have prevented rescue teams from reaching residents and authorities from understanding the full scope of their needs, said Mercato Seraceno mayor Monica Rossim (Pictured: Volunteers at work on Thursday)

Military officers assist a person on a dinghy after heavy rains hit Italy's Emilia Romagna region, in Faenza, Italy, May 18, 2023

A woman holds a pet carrier as she walks in a flooded street in the town of Lugo on May 18, 2023

The landslides have prevented rescue teams from reaching residents and authorities from understanding the full scope of their needs, said Mercato Seraceno mayor Monica Rossi.

'If it rains any more, the situation will be tragic,' Ms Rossi warned on Sky TG24, standing on a road with a chunk missing from a landslide.

The death toll rose to 13 after more bodies were discovered on Thursday in the hard-hit province of Ravenna, state-run RAI television reported, citing the Ravenna prefecture.

Among them were a couple in their 70s found dead in their flooded apartment in Russi after their son sounded the alarm that he had lost contact with them.

The horrendous flooding saw Sunday's Formula One Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix called off on Wednesday, with officials, drivers and teams united in recognition that all available services should be committed to rescue efforts.

More than 10,000 people have fled their homes, some plucked from rooftops or balconies by rescue helicopters and others ferried out on dinghies. One family with a 20-day-old baby was rescued on Thursday morning, said Cesena mayor Enzo Lattuca.

Another packed their belongings into an inflatable pool which they floated down the thigh-high river of mud that was previously a street.

Italy was not alone in coping with heavy rainfall, as parts of Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia also reported flooding and landslides that required evacuations.
Jade has been fined 1,215 for resisting arrest and wounding after row in Ibiza

Jade Jagger appeared grim faced as she left court with her boyfriend this afternoon after she was fined 1,215 over a bust-up in Ibiza.

Jade, the daughter of Rolling Stones rocker Sir Mick Jagger, and her lover Anthony Hinkson, 31, left court from a side entrance after spending two nights in police cells.

The 51-year-old was convicted of resisting arrest and a minor offence of wounding a woman police officer following a row at the La Oliva restaurant in Ibiza's Old Town on Wednesday night.

Jade was ordered to pay 695 (800 euros) to the police officer, who injured her wrist in the incident.

Hinkson was handed a four-month prison sentence for assault - but is not expected to do any jail time because sentences of less than two years are normally automatically suspended in Spain for first-time offenders.

The couple were freed at around 3.30pm after appearing before a judge in a secret hearing at the new Juzgado de Instruction 1 court in Ibiza Town.

Jade Jagger (pictured leaving court today) has been fined 1,215 after being convicted of resisting arrest and wounding over an incident in Ibiza on Wednesday following a plea bargain deal

Jade Jagger and her boyfriend Anthony Hinkson are seen leaving court today after they were convicted over bust-up in Ibiza

Jade Jagger, daughter of Mick Jagger, leaves court after she was fined 1,215 for resisting arrest and wounding a police officer

Shocking video shows how Jade Jagger's new boyfriend Anthony Hinkson was pinned to the ground by police before officers arrested the couple in Ibiza on Wednesday

Jade and Hinkson were arrested on Wednesday night following a row with staff at the La Oliva restaurant.

Witnesses told MailOnline that Hinkson was drinking whisky in the restaurant when he began behaving erratically and aggressively, threatening and swearing at staff and customers.

At one point he is said to have gone into the up-market Annie's clothes shop opposite the restaurant and bought a designer dress for more than 2,000 euros as an impromptu gift for a waitress at La Oliva.

Police were called by restaurant staff at around 9pm after he allegedly refused to leave, but he failed to quieten down and was seen being dragged to the ground by officers before being carried away in handcuffs.

Jewellery designer Jagger was also held by police after she allegedly pushed an officer while furiously protesting about her boyfriend's arrest.

The couple left court together with Jagger in sunglasses and dressed in a black jump suit with short sleeves and Hinkson in white trousers and a blue top.

Jagger immediately turned down a side road with one of her lawyers Cristina Samaan, saying nothing and ignoring questions from journalists.

She walked around 100 yards to a waiting black Mercedes people carrier van with blacked out windows.

Jagger jumped into the back of the van which then waited for around five minutes at the roadside before leaving.

Hinkson who was carrying a white bag had sprinted away from Jagger outside the court and ran off down a different road in an apparent attempt to confuse journalists.

He is not expected to do any jail time because sentences of less than two years are normally automatically suspended in Spain for first-time offenders.

A court official said: 'Court of Instruction Number One in Ibiza has held a speedy trial following a plea bargain deal against A.W and J.J who were arrested on Wednesday in Ibiza.

'The judge has convicted A.W of a crime of atentado contra la autoridad (assault) and handed him a four-month prison sentence.

'The same judge has fined JJ for a crime of serious resistance and a minor offence of wounding.

'The fine for the first offence is ten euros daily over four months and for the second it is a 20-day fine at 10 euros a day. JJ must also compensate her victim with 800 euros.'

Jade Jagger and her boyfriend are believed to have arrived at a court in Ibiza in a police van this morning (pictured) where they will face a judge after they allegedly assaulted police officers outside a restaurant. A Spanish police Union today said they will launch private legal action against the couple

MailOnline was told that the bust-up happened after Jade and her boyfriend went to the La Oliva restaurant (pictured today) in the heart of the old town area near Ibiza Castle

Jade Jagger has been fined 1,215 after being convicted of resisting arrest and wounding over an incident in Ibiza on Wednesday following a plea bargain deal. Her boyfriend Anthony Hinkson (pictured together in London last month) has been handed a four-month prison sentence for assault - but is not expected to do any jail time

The couple were represented in court by Ms Samaan and solicitor Ascension Joaniquet who is known as one of Ibiza's top criminal lawyers.

Ms Joaniquet refused to say what had happened at the hearing as she left the building a few minutes before Jagger was released.

But Ms Samaan said: 'They are being released of course, but at this moment we don't have any authorisation to make any kind of statement. But I can say that we are finished in court.'

The couple are thought to have been brought to court at around 8.30am in a police van with blacked-out windows and blue lights flashing.

The van was pictured pulling up outside court and reversing down an internal ramp into a basement car park.

A metal door slammed shut preventing photographers from seeing who was getting out of the van in the basement.

The couple are believed to have been held at Ibiza's National Police HQ, only a short distance from the court.

Jade, the daughter of Rolling Stone star Sir Mick Jagger (pictured together in 2019) and his first wife Bianca, was arrested over the alleged assault

They were formally questioned by detectives yesterday and are understood to have spent a second night in police custody ahead of their court transfer.

Now, Jade has been fined 1,215 for resisting arrest and wounding while Hinkson was handed a four-month suspended prison sentence.

The court ruling came after Spanish cops today announced they will take private legal action against Jade and Hinkson after their arrest outside La Oliva restaurant in Ibiza's Old Town.

The Spanish police union SUP said it has instructed a lawyer to pursue a private prosecution against Jade and Hinkson - in addition to the official charges they were handed today.

The union, which has more than 20,000 affiliated members, says it wants to 'bring the full force of the law' down on the couple over the assault and wounding of police officers following a row with staff at the La Oliva restaurant.

'We are tired of seeing how assaults on police go virtually unpunished,' the union said in a statement today. 'SUP will present a private legal action against Mick Jagger's daughter for allegedly assaulting a National Police officer in Ibiza.'

Under Spanish law affected parties can prosecute as well as the state in an action which runs parallel but separately to the state case

The couple were arrested for the Spanish offence of atentado contra la autoridad, which would cover everything from violently resisting arrest to attacking a police officer.

People found guilty of such an offence can face prison sentences of one to four years in Spain as well as fines.

Jail sentences of two years or less are normally suspended in Spain for first-time offenders.

Jagger and her boyfriend were not immediately charged with any crime under Spanish law, as is normal in Spain where formal charges are only laid shortly before trial.

Jade and Hinkson are believed to have been held at Ibiza's National Police HQ following their arrest on Wednesday night, only a short distance from the court.

They were formally questioned by detectives on Thursday following a night in a police cell and are understood to have spent a second night in police custody ahead of their court hearing today.

Police have not formally named them or released an official statement about the incident, which saw Hinkson being pinned to the ground and arrested after he allegedly assaulted a police officer at around 9pm on Wednesday.

Police sources have confirmed a man and a woman were arrested after an alleged assault on officers who responded to calls of an English-speaking male acting aggressively towards restaurant staff who refused to serve him any more drinks and asked him to leave.

At one point Hinkson is said to have gone into an up-market clothes shop (pictured) and bought a designer dress for more than 2,000 euros as an impromptu gift for a waitress in a nearby restaurant

Jade (pictured in December in London) who split two years ago from her ex-husband allegedly accused police of being racist and is said to have pushed one officer before being arrested herself

A witness said: 'Jade's boyfriend was behaving very oddly. I don't know what made him be like that.

'At one stage he came outside and went into Annie's clothes shop on the other side of the road where he bought a dress.

'He was bothering girls who were in the shop and making comments to a girl who was working there. He was not really making much sense. He was saying, 'Give me the f***ing dress. He was really rude.

'Then he took the dress back to the restaurant and tried to give it to the waitress. His behaviour was so erratic that the restaurant manager decided to call police.

'Seven police officers came and it looked like they tried to calm him down, but he was resisting them and saying really horrible stuff.

'He did not have his T shirt on and he was bare chested. The police managed to pull him down and they put handcuffs on him, but he was still resisting.

'I recognised Jade and she looked really upset about what is happening. She was demanding that police officers identify themselves, saying: 'I don't want to mess with anyone. Give me your names.'

'The cops kept telling her to stay out of it, but she was saying, 'You are just arresting him because he is black'. The police were telling her to stay at home, but she said, 'No, I am coming with you.'

'An officer told her, 'If you keep going, I will arrest you'. Then she was arrested as well.

I didn't actually see her pushing or anything like that.

'But I saw an ambulance arrive, and there were loads of police.'

The witness said that Hinkson left the restaurant about half an hour before his arrest and splashed out on a sleeveless gold dress by New York designer LaQuan Smith , priced at 2,102 euros on the shop's website.

They added: 'He was buying the dress for a waitress. He was saying, 'Try something on. I will buy it for you.' He was bothering everyone and screaming.

'It was just really weird behaviour. I heard that they had been staying in a house nearby. It also looks like that the waitress got to keep the dress.'

La Oliva restaurant in Ibiza town, where Jade Jagger's boyfriend was arrested

A well-placed source said: 'Police arrested two people last night, a man and a woman, in Ibiza.

'Around 9pm there was a police intervention as a result of a call from a restaurant about a man. The man had gone by the time police arrived.

'People at the restaurant including staff and a manager and a couple of customers told officers he had been aggressive towards them, and they had refused to serve him any more drinks and he left.

'A man in the street then approached the police patrol cars outside.

'When officers approached him he began to insult them in English, refusing to identify himself and being very hostile.

'They tried to calm him down several times. That's when a woman appeared.

'Police managed to calm her down and then call an ambulance for the man who was in a bad way.

'At that moment the woman enters the scene again, squaring up to an officer. She was then also arrested.'

Lisa Salle, the owner of La Oliva restaurant, refused to comment, saying: 'We are not talking about this.'

But a waitress called Maria who works at nearby La Toretta restaurant, said: 'This man was super, super drunk. He was super, super crazy.

'He was drinking whisky in La Oliva. Then he became aggressive and the staff told him to leave. They said: 'You are disturbing customers. Please go.'

'Lisa Salle was very polite to him, but he had a bad attitude. He came in to our restaurant and we told him to leave because we were waiting on customers.

'He went into the shop and the girl in there was very scared of him. Then he went back to La Oliva and the police were called.

'The police told him, 'Please calm down. You are disturbing people.' He was saying things like 'F**k off', 'F**k the police' and 'F**k everything'.

'When the police were arresting him, he was kicking out with his legs. They first restrained him by the arms and then they restrained his legs.

'They had to carry him some distance to the police car. I am not clear whether Jade Jagger was in the restaurant at the time. I think she may have been staying in a house above a shop.

'But she came out when he was arrested. She was following the officers down the road as they were taking the man away.

'They warned her to calm down, but she kept on and she ended up being put against a wall and put in handcuffs.'

Jade who is Sir Mick's daughter from his marriage to first wife Bianca lasted posted an Instagram picture of herself a week ago when she was at Hotel Nobu in Ibiza.

She accompanied the snap with a message saying: 'Spring back to ibiza a (sic) with a little glamour @ibizabay #nobu.'

Jade who has had a home on Ibiza for many years was pictured hand-in-hand with Barbadian Hinkson in London last month.

Jade Jagger (pictured in Ibiza last week) has reportedly been arrested in Ibiza for allegedly assaulting a police officer when they were trying to mediate an altercation in a restaurant

Hinkson was offering bespoke sunset dining experiences at a beach bar in Barbados last year, with Instagram videos showing him manning the BBQ for customers.

It was revealed last month that she had liked a string of images on his account, writing 'beautiful life on the beach living the dream' on one picture of an oil drum BBQ.

He has also liked images on Jade's account, including one of her in a low-cut swimming costume while at sea.

Jade launched her 'paradisica' jewellery collection in January last year which she said was 'inspired by my Caribbean life'.

The businesswoman split from her DJ husband in 2021, nine years after their star-studded Cotswolds wedding.

She was said to be 'devastated' by the breakdown of their relationship, with a source at the time telling the Mail on Sunday: 'This is all very sad. They thought they would be together for ever but it didn't work out quite like that.'

Jade revealed in March that she had stopped making jewellery when she wrote on Instagram: 'Today is the first day I decided to stop working well at jewellery. I think it will bring new light new love and new opportunities thank u to all that supported me. Thanks for the sweet messages change is good.'
A woman believed to be the mother of a newborn baby dumped in a backyard in Sydney's west has revealed why she felt compelled to abandon the child.

The naked baby girl - barely an hour old - was discovered alone on a wicker chair next to a children's play-set at a Blacktown residence on Friday, April 21.

She was covered in birth fluids, with the umbilical cord still attached, as she lay on a cushion - her mother nowhere to be seen.

But following a segment on A Current Affair featuring an impassioned plea from teenager Jessica Boatright, who was also abandoned as a baby, it's understood the woman felt she needed to come forward.

'Just even knowing a name or a photo would help this little child move through life,' Ms Boatright said.

Jessica Boatright (pictured) was also abandoned as a baby and her heartfelt plea was what made the mother speak up

A woman claiming to be the baby's mother has been found but police are still waiting on DNA tests to confirm the pair are related.

ACA Reporter Dimity Clancy said she was told by sources close to the woman that she had felt the need to speak up after seeing Ms Boatright's plea.

The mother, aged in her 30s, also revealed she left the hours-old baby in a stranger's backyard because she was new to the country and feared she would be unable to properly care for the child.

She said she had thought about her constantly since and just wanted to hug her.

The infant has spent the last two weeks recovering in Blacktown hospital after becoming unwell - but is set to go into foster care soon.

It is unknown if the mother will now want to take care of the baby with the help of support services.

The naked baby girl - barely an hour old - was discovered alone on a wicker chair next to a children's playset at a Blacktown residence on Friday, April 21 (pictured, the play-set with the wicker chair in the background)

Detective Inspector Jason Pietruszka said police did not have any leads on who the mum of the baby is before she contacted them herself (stock image)

Speaking two weeks ago, Detective Inspector Jason Pietruszka said police were still trying to work out what happened.

'We want to know what has occurred, what's the back story behind it,' he told The Saturday Telegraph.

'It's sure to be quite sad, tragic, but that's why we are police officers, to find the truth so we can help.

'We don't have the answers at the moment and that is frustrating, but we are appealing at a grassroots level for people in this proud community to come forward.'

He urged residents in the area to report anything unusual - like someone looking like they were in trouble or acting out of the ordinary.

Inspector Pietruszka previously said if the mother does not come forward the baby will be available for adoption - adding the infant was 'doing well' despite the state it was found in.

The infant was covered in birth fluids with the umbilical cord still attached to her as she lay on a cushion near a child's playset (pictured)

Ann Carlos who lives at the residence where the infant was found said her sister Lara discovered the baby when she went out to hang washing on the clothesline.

The family wrapped the chilly newborn in a towel before ringing triple-0 as paramedics instructed them over the phone how to clamp the umbilical cord.

'I couldn't find anything in the kitchen, so I grabbed a shoelace and used thatthen [paramedics] talked me through how to do it,' Ms Carlos told The Daily Telegraph.

'We knew she had been born very recently, like only hours earlier, because she still had the white stuff [vernix] on her head.'

She said she thinks the newborn was cleaned up before being dumped in their backyard as there 'wasn't much blood' on her.

A police statement at the time said: 'Investigations into identifying the parents of a baby abandoned in Sydney's west last month are ongoing.

'Detectives from Blacktown Police Area Command have conducted extensive inquiries since the newborn baby girl was found in the backyard of a home on Girra Road at Blacktown on Friday 21 April 2023.

'As those inquiries are ongoing, we are unable to provide further information about the investigation, including the various lines of inquiry being conducted.'
A New Mexico teenager has admitted to giving birth to a baby boy and placing him in a trashcan where he died, newly released police bodycam footage shows.

Alexee Trevizo, 19, is heard telling her mother, 'It came out of me, I put it in the bag. In the trash bag. I'm sorry mom.'

Trevizo attended the Artesia General Hospital on January 27 with back pain, but tests revealed she was pregnant and in labor. She then locked herself in a hospital bathroom for an extended period of time. After she returned, a cleaner found the bathroom covered in blood and then called nurses after lifting the heavy trash bag.

In the bodycam footage, a doctor wearing a white lab coat explains to Trevizo and her mother: 'We discovered a dead baby in the bathroom.'

Trevizo tells the doctor: 'I'm sorry, it came out of me and I didn't know what to do ... I was just scared, it was not crying or nothing.'

Trevizo's distraught mother holds her head in her hands as she pleads with her daughter, saying: 'What did you do?'

Alexee Trevizo, 19, has admitted to giving birth to a baby boy and placing him in a trashcan

'What did you do to it' the mother demands and holds her head in her hands in desperation, before the doctor tells her to 'stop right there'.

'The number one priority guys' the doctor goes on 'is she just had a baby, I don't know whether she has delivered the placenta. She's bleeding significantly' she says, before explaining that the teenager must be moved to the obstetrician.

'I'm sorry about this, but in terms of delivering a baby and it looked like you tried to hide it, we do have to have the police involved.

'The baby is going to have to be taken for autopsy and there will be an investigator and everything' the doctor continues in a calm voice.

'I'm so sorry, but we need to do this correctly and I want to be transparent with you about what our steps are going to be.'

'Nothing was crying, it came out with nothing' Trevizo repeats.

A male medic in the room then asks the mother and daughter if they have any questions, to which Trevizo's mother asks how big the baby is.

'It's full term' the masked medic responds.

'It came out of me, I put it in the bag. In the trash bag. I'm sorry mom' the traumatized teen whispers

Trevizo's mother appears not to have known her daughter was nine months pregnant

Newly released bodycam footage shows the heartbreaking admission

'What!' she exclaims, suggesting she did not know that her daughter was nine months pregnant prior to the birth.

'Lexi, have you watched the news, about what the girls do to their babies and they go to jail' the mother asks in frustration.

A traumatized Trevizo bursts into tears and is then told that there are detectives on the way to talk to her and that she is now detained in the hospital under police custody.

In a statement shared with DailyMail.com Artesia Police Department said: 'Our officers and crime scene processor, along with the hospital staff, experienced a heartbreaking situation on that January morning and have been coping with what they encountered.

'One of the worst calls any first responder or public service person has to respond to, is the severe injury or death of a child.

'We are expected to be tough in those types of incidents because of our job titles, but in all actuality, we are quite the opposite.

'Our routine calls of service or emergency responses are usually carried out easily with commitment and dedication for our city, but a call like this can be a breaking point for some or all of those involved.

'Its important that we provide the very best resources, counseling, and stress management tools to help our staff cope with this traumatic event, so that they may continue their dedicated service.

Adding: 'As far as Trevizo is concerned, she refused to speak to our investigators on the incident.'

At the beginning of the released body cam footage, a nurse told responding officers that Trevizo had a positive pregnancy test but denied having sex.

Trevizo locked herself in the hospital bathroom on January 27 gave birth to the baby boy before placing him in the trash can, investigators said.

By the time the baby was found, the baby had died, investigators said.

An autopsy listed the cause of death as a homicide in March.

On May 10 Police charged Trevizo with first-degree murder, 'or alternatively' intentional abuse of a child resulting in death, plus a count for tampering with evidence.

Trevizo has since been released from jail and will be able to finish the school year without an ankle monitor or house arrest, while she waits to stand trial.

Gary C. Mitchell, an attorney for Trevizo, previously told the Associated Press that his client has no criminal record and should not be facing a murder charge.

He said there are 'major discrepancies about what happened' in the hospital and 'this isn't a classic child abuse case.'

Artesia General Hospital and representatives for Alexee Trevizo were contacted for comment.

This is the second high-profile case of a mother and newborn baby in New Mexico in recent years.

Jurors convicted Alexis Avila, 19, of throwing her newborn into an outdoor trash receptacle in January 2020 in Hobbs, New Mexico.
The emotional funeral of one of Britain's last surviving D-Day veterans has taken place after he died last month aged 100.

Joe Cattini, from Southampton, took part in one of the first waves of the Normandy landings in June 1944, an operation which turned the tide of the Second World War.

Aged 21, Mr Cattini drove up Gold Beach in a three-ton ammunition truck that was loaded with 25lb shells and dozens of cans of petrol.

The great-grandfather was believed to have been one of only around half a dozen surviving British veterans from the Normandy campaign.

At his funeral today in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, Mr Cattini's coffin, draped in the flag of his Royal Artillery regiment, was pictured being carried into St Edmund's Church.

The emotional funeral of one of Britain's last surviving D-Day veterans has taken place after he died last month aged 100. Above: Pallbearers carry the coffin of Joe Cattini into St Edmund's Church in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, today

Joe Cattini, from Southampton, took part in one of the first waves of the Normandy landings in June 1944, an operation which turned the tide of the Second World War

His daughter Fran Bradshaw, 71, said: 'He told the story of coming off the ship with his truck loaded with petrol and ammunition and being quite scared in case he got a direct hit which would have meant he would be blown sky-high.'

Mr Cattini, who landed on Gold Beach on D-Day as a bombardier in the 86th Field Regiment of the Hertfordshire Yeomanry, spent his final months at a care home in Stowmarket, Suffolk.

The electrician had previously lived in Eastleigh, Hampshire, before moving to be closer to family.

His funeral was attended by several generations of his family, members of the Royal Regiment Artillery and representatives from veterans groups.

His coffin was carried past standard bearers to the top of the steps at the front of the church, followed by his children.

Members of his family then took over to carry the coffin inside the church for the service.

The arrival music was I'll Walk With God by the tenor Mario Lanza, and prayers were read by Mr Cattini's great-grandchildren.

Tributes were read by his daughter Marian Stevens-Farrow, and by representatives of the veterans groups D-Day Revisited, 18 September Foundation, Spirit of Normandy Trust and The British Normandy Memorial, with the latter represented by BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell, a founding trustee.

The departure music, after the Last Post was played, was Highland Cathedral by piper Tosh MacDonald, as the coffin was carried out to the hearse.

The order of service requested that any donations be made to the Normandy Memorial Trust.

His daughter Mrs Bradshaw, of Lavenham, Suffolk, said Mr Cattini did not speak much about what he experienced on D-Day until after the 70th anniversary.

'I think it was the fact of meeting other veterans that prompted him, and all the daughters and sons of the veterans all said it was their mechanism to get through it basically,' she said.

'They just parcelled it up, put it away, and once they started talking it was incredible, the tears came and we heard such amazing stories.

Mr Cattini became a centenarian on January 17, 2023 and he received a birthday card from The King

At his funeral today in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, Mr Cattini's coffin, draped in the flag of his Royal Artillery regiment, was pictured being carried into St Edmund's Church

'It was a real privilege to be part of that.'

She described her father as a 'complete and utter charmer'.

'He was perhaps one of the most positive men you've ever met,' said Mrs Bradshaw.

'My sister and I would often say to him 'how come you can wake up every morning like that?' and his answer to that was having survived the war he wanted to make every day count.

'The fact he was here for 100 years was fantastic but I think it was down to his positivity.'

She said that the 'two great loves in his life' were 'the church and his family'.

In the last 10 years of his life he joined veterans groups, went to memorial events and he 'just transformed', Mrs Bradshaw said.

The great-grandfather was believed to have been one of only around half a dozen surviving British veterans from the Normandy campaign. Above: His coffin is carried into St Edmund's Church in Bury St Edmunds

The order of service for Mr Caattini's funeral shows how he was awarded France's highest honour, the Legion d'honneur

The order of service for the funeral showed how the Last Post was played

'He was respected and he was honoured in a way that he hadn't been before,' she said.

'A friend of mine put it, she said 'normally they're just old men taking up time in a queue, then suddenly when they put a uniform on and they go to these events they're suddenly given so much respect'.

'I think it floored my dad when he first started going.

'He was shocked by people in Normandy clapping when they went down the road.

'It was amazing.'

He moved to Suffolk in his final months and 'loved' Bury St Edmunds which is 'full of restaurants'.

'His joy, being Italian, his absolute joy was having lunches out with a glass of red wine,' said Mrs Bradshaw.

'That was the promise he made me make to him when we brought him up to Suffolk, that I would take him out for his lunches.'

Mr Cattini's family are seen outside St Edmund's Church in Bury St Edmunds ahead of his funeral

Born Alberto Giuseppe Antonio Cattini, 'Joe' was the eldest of four boys and grew up in Hampstead, north London

She said her father, who grew up in Hampstead, north-west London, 'had an incredible life' and 'would have been incredibly humbled' by tributes to him.

'Dad always said they weren't the heroes, they were the lucky ones that survived,' she said.

'The heroes were the ones whose names appeared on the Normandy memorial, the ones that lost their lives.

'I think while he was thrilled with the attention he got in the last 10 years he was also humbled by the fact he felt he was so privileged to still be here.'

Around 10,000 servicemen, including 2,700 British soldiers, 946 Canadians and 6,600 US soldiers died in the Allied landings.

The invasion force led to the liberation of France from Nazi occupation.

Mr Cattini spent five days in hospital with coronavirus in August 2021.

After learning why he was feeling ill, he told his daughter Fran Bradshaw: 'Thank goodness I'm not getting old  it's only Covid.'

Mr Cattini was among the veterans who visited the British Normandy Memorial in October 2021, after it was opened on June 6 that year - 77 years to the day after D-Day.

Their visit was delayed because of travel restrictions imposed as a result of the Covid pandemic.

Mr Cattini said at the time: 'I'm very excited to see the memorial. I felt very sorry for the young infantry who landed on the beaches on D-Day.

'I think of the ones that didn't come back  they are the heroes, the ones that gave their lives. I don't class myself as a hero  I was lucky, I had a good guardian angel who saw me through the war.'

Speaking to the BBC in June 2019 to celebrate the 70th anniversary, Mr Cattini described the horrific scene he witnessed.

'I landed here on D-Day at 10am and the beach was littered with dead, wounded, prisoners of war and also destroyed vehicles and craft,' he said.

'There were things floating in the water that you don't want to remember. Now it's so peaceful and tranquil that you feel more at ease.'

BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell was at the funeral, representing The British Normandy Memorial. He is a founding trustee

Mr Cattini became a centenarian on January 17, 2023 and he received a birthday card from The King.

Born Alberto Giuseppe Antonio Cattini, 'Joe' was the eldest of four boys and grew up in Hampstead, north London.

The British Normandy Memorial wrote about his upbringing and noted that he served for five years from 1941 onwards.

He was a Bombardier in the 86th Field Regiment RA of the Hertfordshire Yeomanry when he landed on Gold Beach on D-Day.
People across the South Pacific have been told to avoid coastal areas after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake south-east of the Loyalty Islands in New Caledonia.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre has said that tsunami waves ranging from 0.3 to 1 metre above the tide level were possible for some coastal zones of Vanuatu.

But when actually was the earthquake in New Caledonia? Was there a tsunami in the area?

Read on below for everything you need to know about the latest tsunami warnings in the Pacific islands.

After police had evacuated the coast and tsunami sirens were activated in New Caledonia, the alert for a tsunami in the area was later lifted. Pictured: people look out to the seafront from the Vierge du Pacifique in Noumea after the earthquake struck

When was the earthquake in New Caledonia?

According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake struck at a depth of about 38km (24 miles) on Friday 19 May.

READ MORE: Australia on tsunami watch after massive earthquake in the Pacific with an urgent warning issued The NSW SES has urged everyone to avoid beaches, rock platforms and low-lying coastal address of Lord Howe Island. The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre is monitoring the situation closely and will advise immediately if there's cause for further concern. Advertisement

Waves below that level were set for 25 island groups including Tonga and Tuvalu, per the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.

Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office had earlier released an information bulletin which advised people to evacuate from coastal areas and find higher ground.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said there was no tsunami threat to mainland Australia.

However, a threat warning was put in place for Lord Howe Island, which is located in the Tasman Sea, 780km (421 nautical miles) northeast of Sydney

Warnings are also in place for many areas along the west coast of New Zealand.

The country's civil defence agency issued a communication that warned people in the area to 'move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, marinas, rivers or estuaries'.

Tsunami alert lifted in New Caledonia

A 22cm tsunami was observed near New Caledonia, according to an earlier threat alert.

However, after police had evacuated the coast and tsunami sirens were activated in New Caledonia, the alert for a tsunami in the area was later lifted.

The 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck near the Loyalty Islands

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a statement: 'Based on all available data the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now passed.'

It has also said small waves could affect other Pacific islands, including Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and Guam.

The area is part of the renowned Pacific 'Ring of Fire,' - a group of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where the majority of the world's earthquakes occur.
NHLANGANO  The time has come for religious leaders to get their house in order and put in place guidelines that will regulate their sector.

As such, Bishop Samson Hlatjwako has announced that there will be a meeting meant for pastors to share their views as the Ministry of Home Affairs prepares to make laws that will govern the religions of the country. Speaking during the Ascension Day service at Mbangweni Royal Residence on Wednesday, Hlatjwako said they received an invitation from the ministry, wherein the three umbrella bodies would make contributions towards the regulations, together with leaders from other religions.

He stated that part of the need for the laws was because of the ever surfacing prophets and pastors as well as churches which were unregulated and posed a threat to the congregants. He said the laws governing religions would look into all the practices in this sector. Kufuna kubukwe lokutsi labantfu bavumbuka nje bachamukaphi, he said in vernacular. Hlatjwako said the meeting would be held after the national elections, to allow the national exercise to proceed smoothly.

He further encouraged congregants present on Wednesday and yesterday to register for the national elections if they want to have a voice in the development of the country. During the event, the bishop shared that during the Good Friday Service, there was an incident that resulted in the death of one congregant. He said they were grateful for the donations that came from different organisations and government vehicles that assisted in the burial process of the congregant. He added that money that was collected amounted to E13 000. He further shared that there was a Vilakati man who volunteered to buy a casket and paid for the funeral fees as he had a funeral parlour business.
An investment banker accused of raping a woman at his 1million flat after meeting her on Bumble admitted he does push boundaries, a court heard.

Varun Venaik, 31, kissed and touched the woman intimately with her consent before forcing himself on her, it is claimed.

She later messaged him saying: I tried to make it clear that no meant no, and In future please respect when someone says no.

Australian Venaik denies raping the woman at his basement apartment in Marylebone, central London and insisted her messages did not raise 'alarm bells'.

Venaik told Southwark Crown Court he had an amazing time with his alleged victim and when she messaged him saying she had not wanted to have sex, he did not think she was accusing him of rape, but later replied: 'I do push boundaries.'

Varun Venaik, 31, kissed and touched the woman intimately with her consent before forcing himself on her in his 1million apartment, it is alleged

Giving evidence at Southwark Crown Court today, the alleged victim told how she had tried to push Venaik (pictured) away during his 'forceful' attack

Cross-examining Venaik, prosecutor James Dick said he had claimed the woman had performed a sex act on the accused before he penetrated her.

Those two important things are omitted from your statement, said Mr Dick.

I was shocked after having been arrested and essentially spent the night in a cold cell, Venaik explained.

'I was still coming to grips with what had happened. Having not slept well at all, I had two cups of coffee.

I had nothing to eat. My brain was not thinking rationally. It was a whirlwind.

Venaik claimed the woman let out a moan and had her arms around his neck while he penetrated her.

Mr Dick suggested that this is not true. Venaik replied: I can remember those parts like it was yesterday.'

What was going through your head about the date when she left? asked Mr Dick.

It was positive. I was tired. I thought we could catch up later in the week.

Venaik then messaged the woman, and she did not reply. He was asked if this worried him at the time.

No, people take different times to respond,' he told the court.

The alleged attack took place at Venaik's 1million home, Southwark Crow Court (pictured) heard

He then contacted her again. She messaged him the next day saying: We ended up having sex when I didnt want to.

But Venaik said he did not think at this point that she was accusing him of rape.

I remembered the events clearly. I knew what had happened. I thought she was upset. I thought she was upset about me being forward but thats it.

None of those messages sent alarm bells ringing. Not at all.

The woman texted him again, saying: I tried to make it clear that no meant no, and In future please respect when someone says no.

Venaik messaged her back admitting: I do push the boundaries.

He said: I was trying to side with her as much as possible.

I was trying to empathise with her, trying to accept her version so that we could move on.

My only thoughts were for her. We had an amazing time together.

We gelled, we had amazing chemistry. I found out so much about her.

He said that when he was texting her she was behaving almost like a different person to the one he had spent the previous night with.

Giving evidence, the alleged victim said that she had repeatedly told Venaik that she does not have sex on a first date and that she pushed him away.

She said she kissed him when she left his flat after the alleged incident because she did not want him to see that she was scared and anxious.

Vanaik denies rape. The trial continues.
Most US voters say Joe Biden has likely committed 'high crimes and misdemeanors' since becoming president that would justify the Democrat being impeached, a survey says.

The poll comes as Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican congresswoman, introduced articles of impeachment against the president over the migrant crisis at the southern border.

Some 53 percent of survey respondents said they thought Biden had committed impeachable offenses while in office, including 38 percent who called it 'very likely.'

That's up four points since November, according to Rasmussen Reports.

'Negative opinions about Biden scandals have definitely been gathering steam,' said Rasmussen's top pollster Mark Mitchell.

No president has ever been removed as a direct result of impeachment. Richard Nixon, resigned before he could be removed. Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, were impeached by the House but not convicted by the Senate. Donald Trump was impeached twice  and acquitted twice by senators

The results were partisan  Republicans see presidential wrongdoing as more likely than do Democrats.

Still, there was better news for the president.

Two thirds of voters said they did not think Congress would take any action toward impeaching Biden, and only 28 percent said they thought proceedings were likely.

Poll Should Biden be impeached? Yes No Not sure Should Biden be impeached? Yes 440 votes

No 72 votes

Not sure 4 votes Now share your opinion





'Basically, nobody thinks that the 118th Republican Congress is going to pursue impeachment,' added Mitchell.

House Republicans are investigating Biden, his son Hunter, and other family members, alleging that they engaged in a cash for access bribery scheme with foreign nationals.

Those allegations relate to Biden's time as vice president in the Obama administration.

Survey respondents were asked about wrongdoing since Biden was sworn in to office more than two years ago.

The pollsters did not specify which misconduct Biden was accused of  but the survey comes as Georgia firebrand Greene introduced articles of impeachment against the president over the border crisis.

Announcing her move on Thursday, Greene said the 'head of this America-last executive branch that has been working since January 20, 2021, to systematically destroy this country.'

She accused the president of 'refusing to enforce' the southern frontier and let 6 million undocumented migrants from 160 countries 'invade our country.'

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican congresswoman, wants President Joe Biden, a Democrat, kicked out of the White House

Greene accuses Biden of failing to secure the border and allowing a migrant invasion. Pictured: a barbed-wire barrier and the border fence on the US-Mexico border, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Biden has failed to properly supply the guards working the frontier, and of letting traffickers smuggle fentanyl and other deadly drugs into the country, added Greene.

Immigration to the US has for decades been a divisive issue between Republicans and Democrats.

But bigger flows of undocumented migrants in recent years and the lapsing of pandemic-era border restrictions this month have raised tensions further.

Greene's allegations do not look likely to gain enough traction even among her fellow House Republicans to seriously threaten the president.

Once rare, impeachment proceedings have become more common in recent years.

The constitutional procedure, created by America's founders to stop a president from abusing their powers, says top officials can be removed for 'Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.'

No president has ever been removed as a direct result of impeachment.

Richard Nixon, resigned before he could be removed. Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, were impeached by the House but not convicted by the Senate.

Donald Trump was impeached twice  and acquitted twice by senators.
Organisers of the world famous Cheese Rolling contest held annually on a Cotswold hillside are being asked to use vegan cheese instead of the traditional Double Gloucester at this year's event.

The animal welfare charity PETA has written to the organisers calling for an end to the use of 9lb wheels of dairy cheese for the races because they are 'made by expelling fluid from the underside of an unwilling Gloucester cow'.

Contestants from around the world are expected at Cooper's Hill, Brockworth, near Gloucester on the Spring Bank Holiday, 29 May, to see if they can be the first to run or tumble down the bumpy 1:2 gradient incline to win cheese in the four downhill races.

The letter from PETA has so far received no response from the busy event organisers.

Signed by Dawn Carr, Vice President of Vegan Corporate Projects, the letter read: 'Dear Cheese-Rollers: I'm writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to urge Cooper's Hill to embrace a new tradition: instead of the annual rolling of a dairy cheese - made by expelling fluid from the underside of an unwilling Gloucester cow - switch to a vegan cheese, a move that would be better for cows and the planet and that would make the event more inclusive.

Animal welfare charity PETA is asking organisers of the Cheese Rolling event held annually on a Cotswold hillside to use vegan cheese instead of the traditional Double Gloucester this year (pictured: last year's winner of the women's title, Abby Lampe)

The annual Cheese Rolling event is world-famous and has taken place on Cooper's Hill, near Gloucester, since the 1800s

'Leave behind tired old traditions, and roll out a new one! Far from suggesting anyone stop chasing a cheesy dream, we're simply encouraging you to update the nature of the cheese for everyone's benefit.

'Cows are gentle, intelligent animals who, when given the chance, will nurture their young and form lifelong friendships with one another - pleasures denied them on dairy farms.

'Cows confined by the dairy industry are repeatedly forcibly impregnated and separated from their bellowing calves so humans can loot their mammary secretions.

'And cow's milk is meant for baby cows, not humans, which is why people who consume dairy are at greater risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and many other ailments.

'Add to all that the well-documented environmental destruction caused by raising animals for their milk - including methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide emissions as well as water pollution from slurry run-off - and it's clear to see that dairy harms us all.'

The letter continues: 'In contrast, vegan cheeses can be made from plants like cashews, oats, and soya and contain healthy fats but no cholesterol.

'We're confident a kinder, nutritious, delicious, and pus-free vegan cheese would roll just as fast but wouldn't leave the trail of destruction caused by dairy.

'PETA would be happy to work with Smart's Farm to produce a magnificent round of plant-based cheese for use at the event - perhaps with technical assistance from a major producer such as Babybel, Applewood, or Cathedral City, all mainstream dairy businesses that are helping to meet the booming demand for vegan cheese and certainly have the know-how.

Last year's victor Abby Lampe, then 21 years old, from North Carolina, had travelled more than 4,000 miles to compete in the event

'We hope you'll agree it's time to cheese the day with a new, cruelty-free cheese wheel, ensuring the only ones who may be hurt are the willing participants who take a tumble while chasing that delicious, alluring vegan cheese down Cooper's Hill.'

The annual Cheese Rolling event is world-famous and has taken place on Cooper's Hill since the 1800s.

Last year's victor was Abby Lampe, then 21 years old, from North Carolina, who had travelled more than 4,000 miles to compete in the event.

After completing the tumble in just 15 seconds, she said: 'I heard through YouTube and word-of-mouth about this cheese-rolling thing.

'Its very obscure and random but its really interesting.

'My friends and I were joking about me doing it because I was going to Europe this summer anyway.

'I booked my tickets and made sure Id be in the UK for the race. Then I started practicing.'
A Tampa man has demanded the city hands out $3million in reparations to each Black resident  just days after Squad members pushed for a federal payment of $14trillion.

The unidentified man said that black people 'don't care about nonsense like police violence and homelessness' during a Tampa City Council meeting on Thursday.

He said: 'No Black person cares about them speed bumps or parks and recreation - what black people care about is our reparations.

'This city owes us each and every black person in the city of Tampa at least three million in reparations and that's what's important.'

His comments come just two days after Democrat Congresswoman Cori Bush introduced a resolution to reignite a push for federal reparations that would amount to over half the US GDP.

The unidentified man said that black people 'don't care about nonsense like police violence and homelessness' during a Tampa City Council meeting on Thursday

Currently, Tampa does not have a reparations committee, unlike the California taskforce set up by Gavin Newsom and a similar movement in Chicago.

The City Hall officials thanked the man at the end of his speech after he branded their discussions as 'nonsense'.

He said: 'All this nonsense, homelessness, all this other garbage. Police violence and all that - nobody cares about that.

'Don't nobody real care about that. We care about our reparations. And we have to put white people on notice that we want our reparations.

'That our fore parents and us, we didn't work for free and underpaid and all this nonsense and the white folks get away with it.

'No, we want our reparations $3million dollars per person right here in this city that's the only thing black people got to care about.'

Reparations in Florida have been discussed, with former GOP candidate Nikki Fried, supporting reparations legislation during her 2022 campaign.

In January, Republican governor and 2024 hopeful Ron DeSantis blocked a proposal for a course focused on African American Studies because it included reparations on the list of topics.

His comments come just two days after Democrat Congresswoman Cori Bush introduced a resolution to reignite a push for federal reparations

Newsom said he felt there were better ways of addressing systemic inequality than cash handouts

When rejecting the course, his officer argued that the study of reparations had 'no critical perspective or balancing opinion in this lesson.'

On Wednesday Rep Bush, a Democrat, held a press conference to unveil her Reparations Now resolution.

She said the US has a 'moral and legal obligation to provide reparations for the enslavement of Africans and its massive harm on the lives of millions.'

The suggestion is that the total amount would be at least $14trillion in reparations, which she claims is the gap in wealth between white and black people.

America's entire GDP was $25 trillion in 2022, and is currently $31.4 trillion in debt.

Lawmakers are currently engaged in tedious negotiations over where to cut the budget so they can raise the debt limit.

She spoke alongside fellow Squad members Jamaal Bowman, Rashida Tlaib, Summer Lee, and Senate candidate Rep. Barbara Lee.

Bush said: 'Black people in our country cannot wait any longer for our government to begin addressing all of the harm it has caused since the founding, that it continues to perpetuate each and every day all across our communities, all across this country.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman also spoke at the event, saying 'Trauma lives in the black body'

A final report outlining the proposed remuneration is set to be released by the task force on July 1 in California

'Let us speak this truth, uncomfortable as it may be: Our country was not founded on the principle that all people are created equal.

'It was founded at the expense of the lives, freedom and well-being of Black people, African folks who they stole.'

Bowman added: 'Trauma lives in the black body. Research has shown this from generation to generation trauma lives in the body and lives in the blood vessels and lives in the DNA and the cells and the mind.'

A leading member of San Francisco's reparations task force has suggested taxing billionaires to fund payments of $5million for every black resident.

The Rev. Amos Brown, who has led Third Baptist Church in the Fillmore district since 1976, said he was 'very, very cautiously optimistic' that officials will enact some form of reparations.

Reverend Amos Brown (pictured outside City Hall in San Francisco in March) is the vice chair of Gov Gavin Newsom's nine-person reparation committee  and is also a member of the San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee (AARAC)

'Of all these billionaires in San Francisco, you could establish a reparations fund,' he told The New York Times.

Brown is a member of both the San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee (AARAC) and a California committee set up by Gavin Newsom.

San Francisco supervisors in March backed the idea of reparations for black people in principle but the specifics - including the $5million lump sum - are yet to be approved.

In 2020, California became the first state to form a reparations task force- and has suggested that the scheme would sot the state around $800billion  more than their annual budget of $300billion.

The task force has a July 1 deadline to submit a final report of its reparations recommendations, which would then be drafted into legislation for lawmakers to consider.
The mother of an 11-year-old boy who was tasered by police at a Scottish holiday park has demanded an apology after they left him 'traumatised' and allegedly called him a 'little maggot'.

The youngster was taken down by the 50,000 volt stun gun after being surrounded by officers at Craig Tara caravan park in Ayr.

The boy, who has learning difficulties and cannot be identified, was holding a butter knife after complaining of not getting a Burger King when the incident unfolded, according to his mother.

She has now branded his treatment 'disgusting' and claims her son has been left scarred.

She has spoken out after the shocking footage was shared online, saying: 'I wasn't having him portrayed as a little thug.

The mother and the 11-year-old boy who was Tasered by police at a holiday park in Scotland

The mother-of-one's son (pictured) was vulnerable and suffers from global developmental delay

'They have just treated him like a criminal and he's never been in trouble with police or at school. He's a good boy who just got overwhelmed.

'He says one of them called him a "little maggot". It's just disgusting.'

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline yesterday, his mother slammed the actions of the police and said: 'He was terrified and was no danger to them at all. Why on earth did they Taser him? You can see in our video how frightened he was.'

She also revealed that her son was vulnerable and suffers from global developmental delay, a condition which causes children to take longer to reach certain developmental milestones.

Footage emerged this week of the incident in March, showing several officers asking the boy to put down his weapon.

In another video filmed by the boy, he begs officers 'stop coming at me' before the taser is discharged.

At least four uniformed officers are in the footage and one can be heard asking the boy to put down the knife and 'do the right thing' - but the boy keeps backing away.

One officer can be heard asking him: 'What do you want do with the knife?'

The schoolboy's mother said she called officers to the park because he ran off and couldn't be found when he couldn't get a Burger King because it had closed for the evening.

A police officer points a Taser at the boy in footage of the incident obtained by MailOnline

Footage released this week showed the same incident from another angle

Police Scotland said the 11.15pm incident was 'resolved with no serious injuries' but the boy's mother says he has been left 'traumatised' and has a scar on his leg.

She said she believes the family deserve an apology from the force and has contacted a solicitor.

She said: 'There shouldn't have been so many people around him. They should have been telling him it was ok.

'He was cornered and they were holding up these big tasers. He was terrified and they could have done it a completely different way.

'I've had to give several statements to different people. They aren't sorry, they're saying they had to do it. But I don't think they did.

'He would have dropped (the butter knife) if they had approached him more calmly.'

The boy was taken to hospital following the incident and has been unable to return to school full time.

His mother said: 'When he came home he was silent. All he did was sit in his room. He was just traumatised by it. Anybody would be.

The incident happened at the Craig Tara caravan park near Ayr in Scotland

'The more I spoke to people about this the more I realised I have a right and I can do something about this.

'Some people have been horrible, calling him a little thug. Now the story is out there I hope people will see it differently.'

On the mother's claims, Police Scotland told MailOnline: 'As there is an ongoing PIRC investigation we are unable to comment.'

The office of the Children's and Young People's Commissioner in Scotland has expressed concern over the incident on March 22.

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of a Child has previously called for a ban of their use on youngsters.

Police Scotland said the incident was 'contained' and there was 'no risk to the wider public'.

A force spokesperson said: 'The incident was resolved with no serious injuries.

'A Taser was discharged during this incident. As part of standard procedure, the circumstances of the incident were referred to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.'

Responding to media reports at the time, the force said the incident would be referred to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) 'as part of standard procedure'.

A PIRC spokeswoman said: 'Police Scotland referred the use of Taser to PIRC as is required.

'We are investigating the circumstances, and once our investigations are complete a report will be issued to the chief constable.'
A hospital patient sent out for a McDonald's after being served up a 'shocking' plate of food on the ward.

Kevin Nicholson, 47, from Prestwick, Scotland, was left stunned after his partner Hazel-Ann McDonald, 55, was given the plate in Ayr Hospital, west Scotland.



The horrible dish consisted of turkey, beans and half a tomato, with watery gravy poured over the top.

Hazel-Ann was left so disappointed that her daughter brought her a McDonald's to hospital instead.

Hazel-Ann was receiving treatment in the Combined Assessment Unit on Wednesday night for an infection when she was given the plate and offered no other options, with sandwiches off the menu.

The horrible dish (pictured) consisted of turkey, beans and half a tomato, with watery gravy poured over the top

Kevin Nicholson, 47, from Prestwick, Scotland, was left stunned after his partner Hazel-Ann McDonald, 55, was given the plate in Ayr Hospital, west Scotland. Hazel-Ann was left so disappointed that her daughter brought her a McDonald's to hospital instead (File image)

Health chiefs admitted the plate was 'not up to our usual standard.'

Mr Nicholson said: 'The state of the food my partner received is absolutely shocking. We are disgusted.

'They never gave her any choice, they just dumped it on her.

'I'm just struggling to see that someone thought it was a good choice of a meal. Someone in the kitchen has actually thought that was acceptable.

'It's a complete mess. Beans and gravy just don't go and why have they just given her half a tomato?'

His partner has been in and out of hospital to deal with a recurring problem and Mr Nicholson said the food standards are usually higher with a menu to choose from.

He added: 'Usually in the wards you get a menu choice, there is plenty to choose from but this was just inedible.

'My partner refused to eat it and my daughter had to bring her a McDonald's instead.'

NHS Ayrshire and Arran said their Combined Assessment Units are served at meal times including breakfasts.

Options regularly include soup and sandwiches.

Health chiefs said food served with breakfast, lunch and dinner can be from a limited selection, especially if units are busy.

Nicola Graham, Director of Infrastructure and Support Services, said: 'We sincerely apologise to any patient who has been provided with food which is not up to our usual standard and would ask that they contact us directly so that we can investigate and provide feedback.'
This is the heartwarming moment a man met his brother who he never knew existed for 27 years - after an ancestry search for his biological dad revealed he had a sibling.

Rhys Williams, 27, was nine-years-old when his mother died and he discovered the man raising him was not his biological father.

After being told by his cousins, Rhys continued to be raised by his stepfather, and tried to find out more about his long-lost family at age 18 but had no luck.

He used a DNA test for fun in January 2022 and uploaded his results to MyHeritage.com but heartbreakingly discovered that his birth father had passed away six years prior.

However the results turned up something amazing - unbeknown to him, Mr Williams had a sibling, Chris Jones, 53.

Brothers Chris Jones, left, and Rhys Williams finally met up earlier this month

Rhys Williams used a DNA test to find his father - and discovered he had a brother

Gwilym is pictured with his own father

After connecting and speaking on Zoom, Chris drove two-and-a-half hours to surprise his brother Rhys this month.

Rhys thought that his brother had arranged for a videographer to arrive at his home to interview him about his story.

But to Rhys surprise, Chris turned up in his living room.

Chris Jones surprised his brother after turning up on his doorstep in Stoke-on-Trent

Gwilym (pictured), Rhys and Chris' father, had died six years before Rhys did a DNA test

Chris said: I drove up there and had to send the cameraman a secret message to tell him I was there.

I sent him a text saying I am delivering your camera batteries and then he came to the door and I went in the house to surprise Rhys.

It was a lovely moment.

Rhys, a university lecturer, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, said: 'It was a very different experience for me.

Rhys Williams and Chris Jones joked they had the 'same nose' and plenty of common interests

'I had no idea Chris was going to surprise me but now I look back there were so many clues.'

He continued: 'I went from finding out 'here is your biological dad' to find out he has passed away and realising that nobody else will look like me.

'For me it was crazy to then meet Chris who is my blood and is older. I know I will have a very good hairline in 20 or so years.

Brothers Chris and Rhys say they are looking forward to meeting up again next month

Chris and Rhys' dad, Gwilym - who died six years prior to when Rhys did an ancestry DNA test

'It feels like another piece of the puzzle is filled in. The puzzle started as a big question mark but it is getting filled in now.

'It feels like this is the time it was meant to be and now it has happened.'

Chris, a global logistics buyer, from Longcot, Oxfordshire, said: 'I had always known I was adopted.

'I grew up as an only child. I had very nice adopted parents and a good upbringing.

'But it would have been nice to do all this around 20 years ago.

'It is lovely how it has all happened now. I have never had a younger brother. It is a different experience.

'We get on really well. We went out for dinner after we met and had a lovely meal.'

The brothers plan to build on their relationship and meet up again next month.
China's rapidly growing nuclear arsenal is a threat to global stability, Group of Seven leaders warned on Friday.

The SIPRI think tank estimates that China has a stockpile of around 350 nuclear warheads - a small sum when compared with the United States and Russia.

But it is growing fast, and the country could have 1,500 warheads by 2035, according to a Pentagon estimate published in November.

Concerns about the build-up have been growing in the West, and the G7 leaders warned the expansion 'without transparency nor meaningful dialogue poses a concern to global and regional stability'.

Since its first nuclear test in 1964, China has been content to maintain a comparatively modest arsenal and has maintained that it will never be the first to use nuclear weapons in a conflict.

China's rapidly growing nuclear arsenal is a 'concern to global and regional stability', Group of Seven leaders said Friday. Pictured: China's DF-41 nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles during a military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing (file photo, 2019)

Estimates suggest China could have a stockpile of up to 350 nuclear weapons (others suggest 320) - much lower than the arsenals of Russia and the US, with have a combined total of more than 8,200. But the Pentagon estimates China could have more than 1,500 by 2035

But in recent years, under President Xi Jinping, it has begun a massive military modernisation drive that includes upgrading its nuclear weapons to not only deter foes but also be able to counter-attack if deterrence fails.

In April, foreign ministers from G7 wealthy democracies also warned over the expansion of China's nuclear capacity, urging 'strategic risk reduction discussions' with Washington and greater transparency from Beijing.

The warning from the leaders came after talks on nuclear disarmament in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

G7 leaders, who earlier Friday laid wreaths at a memorial to the estimated 140,000 people killed in the 1945 nuclear bombing of the city, also took aim at Russia.

They condemned its 'irresponsible nuclear rhetoric' and called a plan to station nuclear weapons in Belarus 'dangerous and unacceptable'.

They also slammed proliferation, warning North Korea against 'provocative actions' and urging Iran to 'cease nuclear escalations'.

The document is the first time a G7 summit has produced a leaders' statement focused on nuclear disarmament, a reflection of efforts by Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is from Hiroshima.

He has sought to push the issue up the agenda at the three-day talks, and earlier led the leaders around the Hiroshima peace museum, where they confronted evidence of the suffering inflicted by the August 6, 1945 US nuclear attack.

The leaders reiterated their commitment to achieving a world without nuclear weapons 'with undiminished security for all', a caveat that nods to the difficulty of achieving nuclear disarmament progress in the current global security climate.

'Achieving the world we hope to see requires a global effort to take us from the harsh reality to the ideal, no matter how narrow the path may be,' the leaders said, without offering concrete commitments of their own.

Three G7 members - the United States, Britain and France - have nuclear weapons, and the rest are protected by the US 'nuclear umbrella'.

G7 leaders and invited guests from several other counties on Saturday are scheduled to discuss how to deal with China's growing assertiveness and military buildup as concerns rise that it could could try to seize Taiwan by force.

This, many fear, could spark a wider conflict.

G7 leaders, who earlier Friday laid wreaths at a memorial to the estimated 140,000 people killed in the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, warned over China's nuclear arms expansion

In a bit of duelling diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping (pictured May 19) is hosting the leaders of the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for a two-day summit in the Chinese city of Xi'a

China claims the self-governing island as its own and its ships and warplanes regularly patrol near it.

In a bit of duelling diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting the leaders of the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for a two-day summit in the Chinese city of Xi'an.

The leaders are due to discuss efforts to strengthen the global economy and address rising prices that are squeezing families and government budgets around the world, particularly in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

A U.S. official said the leaders on Saturday would issue a joint communique highlighting a common approach toward dealing with China, as well as outline new projects in the G7's global infrastructure development initiative, which is meant to offer countries an alternative to China's investment dollars.
The rapid rise of artificial intelligence has put lots of jobs at risk and now fast food giant Wendy's has announced it will use chatbots to take customer orders and use robots to deliver them.

It is working with hyperlogistics company Pipedream to test an underground autonomous robot system and the company has boasted users won't know they are interacting with AI.

The pilot will deliver digital food orders from the kitchen to designated parking spots within seconds and is part of plans for faster and more convenient pick-up experiences.

Wendy's plans to launch the new system in an existing restaurant later this year and it will use Google Cloud's AI technology to speak with customers and take their orders.

Autonomous robots will carry the food through the underground delivery system to the car-side pickup portals where people have ordered from so there will be no human interaction.

Wendy's has announced it will use chatbots to take customer orders and use robots to deliver them

The pilot will deliver digital food orders from the kitchen to designated parking spots within seconds and is part of plans for faster pick-up experiences

Texas-based Pipedream was founded in 2021 and it uses a fully electric underground system to help companies meet their delivery needs.

It also uses this system to serve customers and eliminate congestion while improving safety and easing the burden on employees.

The company will connect the Wendy's kitchen to the portal outside of the restaurant where the robots will travel through to deliver the orders.

Customers will not have to leave their cars because each designated spot will have a pick up portal.

The chatbot will able to engage in conversation with customers, answer commonly asked questions and understand how to take modified or special orders.

When delivery drivers and others picking up their orders arrive, they can pull up into the parking spaces next to the new system and speak to an employee via a speaker to verify their identity.

The food will then be delivered to the portal and they can grab it through the car window.

The system is designed to support employees by 'streamlining digital order pick-up points.'

Earlier this month Wendys CEO Todd Penegor told Yahoo Finance Live: 'You wont even know that its AI taking your order, but youll be talking to the voice of Wendys.'

'We know that serving orders quickly and accurately leads to increased customer satisfaction,' said Deepak Ajmani, the company's chief operations officer.

'Pipedream's Instant Pickup system has the potential to unlock greater mobile order speed of service and accuracy, enabling us to consistently deliver hot and fresh Wendy's products to our fans.'

Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, praised the partnership and said it 'will set a new standard for great drive-thru experiences for the quick-service industry'.

Wendy's is still deciding where the first location will be and is looking at chains along the East Coast where there are the highest amount of digital orders.

Installation of the new technology will not take any longer than two weeks, according to a spokesman.

The system is designed to support employees by 'streamlining digital order pick-up points'

Wendy's is still deciding where the first location will be and is looking at chains along the East Coast where there are the highest amount of digital orders

The use of AI has already benefitted customer service employees, outside the fast food industry, according to a study released last month.

The technology is said to have boosted productivity and had a positive impact on the way customers treat workers.

The National Bureau of Economic Research looked at 'the impact of generative AI when deployed at scale in the workplace.'

More than 5,000 customer support agents at a Fortune 500 software firm were examined and the productivity of employees rose by 13.8% when using AI.

Workers were able to respond to customers faster, more successfully resolve problems and answer more queries with the technology.

The Wendy's pilot comes after Hardees and Carls Jr. introduced their own AI drive-thru system called 'Tori'.

It was implemented to speed up the ordering process for customers and could end up boosting the companies.

While Panera and Popeyes announced last year they were partnering with OpenCity, who were behind the Tori system, to test AI-powered technology for drive-thru orders.

And McDonald's unveiled a fully-automated restaurant in Texas last year where robots take orders and deliver them.
Officials at a hospital in western Germany have expressed regret after it emerged that one of their surgeons got a cleaner to assist in a toe amputation.

Public broadcaster SWR reported Friday that the incident at the Mainz University Hospital, which happened in 2020, didn't result in any complications to the patient but the doctor has since been fired.

The hospital's chief executive, Norbert Pfeiffer, said the surgeon wrongly decided to go ahead with the routine procedure even though no qualified assistant was available, SWR reported.

When the patient, who had received a local anesthetic, became restless the doctor asked a nearby cleaner to hold the man's leg and pass surgical instruments, according to local daily Mainzer Allgemeine Zeitung. The paper reported that the cleaner had no medical experience.

The incident came to light after a hospital manager spotted the cleaner - bloody gauze pads in hand - in the operating theater, it reported.

Officials at a hospital in western Germany have expressed regret after it emerged that one of their surgeons got a cleaner to assist in a toe amputation

'This should never have happened,' German news agency dpa quoted Pfeiffer as saying.

In January, a German doctor was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for illegally issuing more than 4,000 people with exemptions from wearing masks during the coronavirus pandemic.

SWR reported that a regional court in the south-western town of Weinheim convicted the doctor for issuing certificates to people from across Germany, most of whom she had never met or examined.

During the trial she had argued that wearing masks was harmful to people's health.

She was also handed a three-year work ban and ordered to pay 28,000 euros (25,000), the sum she had received for issuing the medical certificates.

Her office assistant was fined 2,700 euros (2,400).
MANZINI  There are gangs reportedly using death and arson threats to instil fear in the electorate in two communities in the Manzini Region.

The two communities are Timbutini, which is under Mafutseni Constituency and KaKhoza, under Manzini South Inkhundla. The former is a peri-urban community located about 20 kilometres south-east of Manzini, while KaKhoza is aperi-urban township located about five kilometres from the central business district (CBD) of Manzini. According to sources at Timbutini, where an arson attack was launched in the past at the homestead of a witness in a political case and also another on the house of a service woman, there is a clique which purportedly induces fear to members of the public when they are headed to register at the various voter registration stations.

Sources within the community claimed that the group of individuals who were instilling fear in the community members at Timbutini informed those who were partaking in meetings and or seeking to register that they would beat them up, set their places of abode on fire and or kill them. Community members further claimed that they had reported the issue to the police several times. They claimed that the purported perpetrators of the violence were known within the community.

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the youth of Timbutini forcefully took a herd of 40 cattle from their indvuna as a chieftaincy dispute raged on.

The herd of cattle was reportedly taken when the Indvuna, Skuta Nkambule, returned with them from the dip tank. This was said to have been after several attempts by the youth seeking to repossess the cattle from the royal kraal headman. The youth is reportedly contesting the existence of Enkhokhokhweni umphakatsi and are said to be demanding that it should cease to exist. When the youth, according to sources took the herd of 40 cattle, the indvuna was said to have fled to Mafutseni Police Station to seek refuge as he allegedly feared for his life.

Subsequent to this, Nkambule reportedly opened a case with the police, who in turn issued summons to some members of the youth so that the issue could be heard at the Manzini Magistrates Court. The feud between the royal kraal headman and the youth is said to have been ongoing for a lengthy period, as it was gathered that at several instances, the former would constantly visit the latter to demand that the royal kraal duties should be engaged at Ekhwapheni and not at Enkokhokhweni. Meanwhile, at KaKhoza, community police member Phillip Sithole said he was aware of a report that some residents of Mhobodleni were threatened and told not to participate in the elections.

He said these were people who were plainly spreading false rumours and had the intention of instilling fear in the residents. Sithole reminded those who had motives of disrupting elections that there was a two-year sentence for committing such an offence. He warned people against committing such crimes, adding that they would not be successful in accomplishing them as the community police, as well as national security forces, were working tirelessly to fight against such crimes. He attested to that more residents were warming up and were seen to be registering at KaKhoza.

On the other hand, the Times SUNDAY recently reported that there were legal provisions that penalised threats and sabotaging of the elections.

Compel

It was reported that Section 78 (1) (c) of the Elections Act, 2013, stated that a person shall not directly or indirectly, by oneself or by any other person, do or threaten to do anything to the disadvantage of any person in order to induce or compel any person to do the following -

(i) to register or not to register as a voter;

(iii) to vote or not to vote;

(iv) to vote or not to vote for any candidate;

(v) to support or not to support any candidate; or

(vi) to attend and participate in, or not to attend and participate in any election meeting, march, demonstration or other election event.



Furthermore, it was reported that Section 78 (1) (a) stipulated that a person shall not directly or indirectly, by oneself or by any other person make use of or threaten to make use of any force, violence or restraint upon any other person. It is also a criminal offence in terms of Section 78 (1) (b) to inflict or threaten to inflict by oneself or by any other person or by any supernatural or non-natural means or pretended supernatural or non-natural means any physical, psychological, mental or spiritual injury, damage, harm or loss upon or against any person.

According to the provisions of the Act, no person shall prevent anyone from exercising a right conferred by this legislation. It is then stated in Subsection 5 that a person who contravenes any of the provisions of Subsections 1-4 (provisions stated above) commits an offence of undue influence.

The publication also quoted the Elections Act, wherein it provides that a person who, by abduction, duress or any fraudulent device or contrivance, impedes or prevents the free exercise of the vote of any voter, commits an offence of undue influence.

Imprisonment

Therefore, this person shall on conviction be liable to pay a fine not exceeding E10 000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or both.

This person also faces the fine or imprisonment if he or she compels, induces or prevails upon any voter either to give or to refrain from giving the persons vote at any election. Under the Voters Registration Act, 2013, undue influence, in terms of Section 36, carries a fine not exceeding 10 years or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both. However, Section 33 of the Voters Registration Act provides that a person who uses force or threats to prevent another one from exercising his or her right to register as a voter is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding E20 000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.

Withdrawals

Another legal provision that people should be made aware of is Section 79, which provides that publishing a false statement of the illness, death or withdrawal from election of a candidate is an illegal practice. A person who, before or during an election, publishes a false statement of the illness, death or withdrawal from election of a candidate at that election for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of another candidate, knowing that statement to be false or not believing it to be true, commits an illegal practice, reads Section 79 (1). Publishing false statement carries a fine not exceeding E20 000 or imprisonment not exceeding three years or both.

The publication reported that people who were calling for the boycott of the elections to an extent that they are determined to sabotage the voting process should be wary of Section 85 of the Act. Section 85 provides that a person who without lawful authority destroys, mutilates, or removes a notice which is exhibited under the authority of this Act, or a document which is made available for inspection in accordance with this Act, commits an offence. It is provided that he or she is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding E2 000 or, in default of payment of the fine, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year.

Dispute

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said there was an ongoing land dispute at Timbutini, which the police were aware of. She said nothing related to the elections had been reported; however, if the public observed and or was intimidated, they should contact the police on their tollfree number 999 or 112. On the reported gang at KaKhoza, Vilakati said nothing had been reported to them but should there be cases of same, the public should make use of the tollfree number.
Google has succeeded in a bid to throw out a High Court claim brought on behalf of around 1.6 million people whose medical records were handed over by an NHS trust.

The software giant and its artificial intelligence arm DeepMind had been facing legal action over the transfer of patient data by the Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust, which runs three London hospitals.

Records were transferred by the trust for use in the development of an app called Streams, used to analyse patient data and alert doctors if they were at risk of an acute kidney injury, with Google claiming in 2016 it could save 10,000 lives a year.

Andrew Prismall, who was treated at the Royal Free, sued for damages on behalf of the patients who had data transferred, arguing it was a misuse of private information.

Lawyers for Google and DeepMind said the claim was 'bound to fail' and should be struck out, and a judge ruled in their favour.

Google has succeeded in a bid to throw out a High Court claim brought on behalf of around 1.6 million people whose medical records were handed over by an NHS trust

Mrs Justice Heather Williams announced her decision today after considering legal arguments at a High Court hearing in London in March.

She said in a written ruling: 'The claim form and the particulars of claim should be struck out at this stage and summary judgment entered for the defendants.'

A barrister representing Mr Prismall had told the judge that records transferred were not anonymised and data was shared without patients' knowledge or consent.

Timothy Pitt-Payne KC said that, according to a witness for Google and DeepMind, only 200 to 300 patients were being treated by the Royal Free's renal team during the time of the app's testing.

He said despite that 'small number', the Streams system had 'already been loaded' with about '1.6 million or more' patients' medical records 'regardless of whether they were of any relevance at all to nephrology'.

Antony White KC, for Google and DeepMind, said there was 'no real prospect' of Mr Prismall's claim on behalf of the large group succeeding.

Google's DeepMind business was transferred the data to help develop the Streams app (pictured) for doctors, nurses and other staff

Mr White said clinicians did not access any patient data which they would not in any event have 'accessed in their normal practice'.

READ MORE: NHS agrees to hand over 1.6MILLION patient records to Google in controversial five year data deal Advertisement

He said everyone represented in the group must have 'the same interest' in the claim.

But he said there was a big variation in the nature and quantity of the data sent to the system.

Mrs Justice Williams said: 'This is not a situation in which every member of the claimant class, or indeed any given member of the class, has a realistic prospect of establishing a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of their relevant medical records...'

She added: 'There is no realistic prospect of the court concluding at trial that the members of the class across the board experienced a wrongful interference with their data.

'It therefore follows that the current claim is bound to fail.'

The decision comes after a 2017 finding by Britain's data protection watchdog, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), that the Royal Free misused patient data when it provided the information to DeepMind.

In 2021, Google decided to shut down the Streams app.
An 18-year-old man and two others aged 19 were arrested on Friday after police received a tip-off that they were planning a flash mob event in Birmingham city centre.

The three men were arrested on suspicion of plotting to cause a public nuisance.

West Midlands Police said a dispersal order had also been put in place across Birmingham city centre after the force received information about an event similar to one which resulted in criminal damage to shops in August last year.

A police statement issued on Friday said: 'We received information that a flash mob event organised through social media, was due to take place in the city centre at some point today.

'We've acted to prevent it going ahead, after a similar event, that took place in August 2022 resulted in disorder.

West Midlands Police said a dispersal order had also been put in place across Birmingham city centre after the force received information about an event similar to one which resulted in criminal damage to shops in August last year (Stock image)

'Damage was caused to stores in the Bullring and six people were arrested after 500 people gathered at last year's flash event.'

The 18-year-old man and the two 19-year-olds were detained early on Friday from addresses in Birmingham.

They are currently being held in custody on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance.

Extra officers have been deployed to patrol the city centre to make sure that the event does not go ahead and to ensure the safety of businesses and visitors.

Detective Superintendent Jim Munro, who is leading the operation, said: 'We've taken action today to prevent the chance of disorder and anti-social behaviour.

'Acting on intelligence that we've gathered, we've made arrests and we hope this sends a strong message to people who feel they can use our city to cause disruption.

'We know how disruptive large gatherings can be and we work with partners to ensure organised events meet licensing standards, minimise disruption and are safe.

'However, when the event does not meet these standards and is aimed at causing maximum disruption, we will take action to ensure the safety of our visitors, workers and businesses to the city.'

On August 9 last year, a crowd of people taking part in a flash mob event were filmed walking through Stephenson Place and the surrounding streets in Birmingham city centre.

A force spokesman said: 'A large number of people gathered in Birmingham city centre for an event organised via social media. We received a number of reports of anti-social behaviour, so a dispersal order was in place giving us the power to move on groups of people.

'We had officers in the area to speak to those who gathered at different places around the city centre, and three people were arrested. Two were held for causing a public nuisance and assaulting an officer who suffered minor injuries.

'By 6pm, the vast majority of those who had gathered had dispersed but we kept a high-visibility presence in the city centre.'
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is talking up the manliness of the Florida man, as he prepares to launch a presidential campaign to take on the pugnacious former President Donald Trump.

DeSantis made the comments in a speech in New Hampshire, days ahead of his expected campaign launch  after preparing the campaign battlefield with a series of attacks on 'woke' politics, Disney, and COVID restrictions.

'Florida's got moxie,' he said, riffing on a magazine piece about his state as he prepares to champion his home state with a launch in Miami.

'Basically they said, you know, it's the free state of Florida where woke is broke, where men are men and where business is booming,' he said. 'And I'm like, you know what? That's not a bad slogan.'

His comments came in a speech where he tore into 'woke' culture on campus, after the latest blowup in his battle with Disney  where the company announced it was pulling the plug on a plan to build a $1 billion campus in Orlando amid the clash with the governor over its special tax and governmental status.

'It's the free state of Florida where woke is broke, where men are men and where business is booming,' Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in remarks in New Hampshire Friday

Disney's decision cuts against the narrative that DeSantis wants to pitch  that his state has experienced growth, and that he scored a strong reelection win and then used his authority to slay political enemies. He said he had brought 'pride' back to the state.

He also spoke at length about diversity and inclusion in his remarks and his efforts to ban woke practices.

'If they're trying to use the university to foment things like social activism or political activism, that's not a good use of our tax dollars,' DeSantis said.

He touted a bill meant to keep D.E.I. out of state schools.

'We signed the bill. It is gone as of Monday. And it stands for diversity, equity and inclusion but in reality that's a veneer to impose orthodoxy on the university. If you object to that watch out.'

Still has a soft spot: DeSantis kisses State Rep. Leah Cushman's daughter, Savannah, after talking up his state's manly qualities

DeSantis spoke at a roundtable in Bedford, N.H. days before he is set to launch his presidential campaign

He continued: 'Different parts of the country they have faculty take a D.E.I. oath just to get hired. These are folks if they say I believe everyone should be treated equal regardless of their race or ethnicity they will mark you down for saying color blindness and equal treatment. So this has become a cottage industry and become a major grifting opportunity,' he said.

'So our view is that D.E.I. really the way it's practiced stands for Discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination. It is gone in Florida. We also signed legislation knee capping this idea of ESG [Environmental, social, and governance investing] in our state. No ESG in our pension fund. We have 180 billion pension fund. No ESG in contracting local, state government,' he said.

His comments about manliness in his home state and going after woke culture comes after a Donald Trump advisor mocked video of DeSantis roaring with laughter while campaigning in Iowa.

Trump has regularly mocked DeSantis as 'deSanctimonious,' and opinion polls show another Florida man  Trump  dominating the polls nationally.

Trump leads DeSantis by 56 to 19.9 in the latest RealClearPolitics average. That lead has only grown since Trump was found liable for sexual abuse in the E. Jean Carroll trial while still facing a federal January 6 and federal documents probe, a New York trial related to his business, and a Georgia probe of his election overturn effort there.

Trump ripped him again on his Truth Social site.

'Sorry, but Ron DeSanctimonious is UNELECTABLE, and everyone knows why. Im leading Biden by 11 Points. RAN TWICE, WON TWICE, AND DID MUCH BETTER THE SECOND TIME (ELECTION WAS RIGGED!). MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!' he wrote.

DeSantis has been engaging in tough talk about his chances despite the polls.

'You have basically three people at this point that are credible in this whole thing,' he told backers on a call, according to the New York Times. 'Biden, Trump and me. And I think of those three, two have a chance to get elected president  Biden and me.'
'Nancy Corinne and Senator Feinstein have been friends for decades. Nancy Corinne has been supporting her in her shingles recovery,' Bennett explained

Asked if the arrangement was to aid Schiff's campaign, Pelosi spokesperson Aaron Bennett gave a curt 'no'

Feinstein spent 10 weeks absent from the Senate recovering from Shingles and public demands for her resignation swelled

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi's office denied that her daughter has been traipsing around alongside Sen. Dianne Feinstein at the Capitol to ensure the 89-year-old remains in office to help Adam Schiff's Senate campaign.

Feinstein spent 10 weeks absent from the Senate recovering from Shingles and public demands for her resignation swelled, but one avid defender - Pelosi - insisted such calls were sexist.

This week it came to light that Nancy Corinne Prowda, the speaker-emerita's eldest daughter, has been acting as a caretaker of sorts to Feinstein, the Senate's oldest member.

Asked if the arrangement was to aid Schiff's campaign, Pelosi spokesperson Aaron Bennett gave a curt 'no.'

Sources suggested to Politico that the arrangement was to ensure Feinstein, whose state of confusion and misremembering has been plainly on display in the Senate, remained in office to the end of her term.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, in the wheelchair, departs a Senate Judiciary business meeting with Nancy Corrine Prowda, right

Feinstein spent 10 weeks absent from the Senate recovering from Shingles and public demands for her resignation swelled - but one avid defender - Pelosi insisted such calls were sexist

The 58-year-old marketing executive has appeared with the retiring senator after the departure of several trusted aides, amid questions about her fitness for office.

Meanwhile, Rep. Adam Schiff is locked in a three-way primary with Reps. Barbara Lee and Katie Porter. Pelosi has endorsed Schiff in the primary, and sources told Politico they believed the arrangement could be to prevent Gov. Gavin Newsom from appointing Lee to fill the seat.

Newsom has pledged to appoint a black woman to the Senate and Lee fits the bill.

A spokesman for Feinstein said Prowda was not drawing a salary for her role.

'Nancy Corinne and Senator Feinstein have been friends for decades. Nancy Corinne has been supporting her in her shingles recovery,' Bennett explained in a statement to DailyMail.com.

'Speaker Emerita Pelosi and Senator Feinstein have been friends since long before their service in Congress  and their friendship is personal, not political. Anyone who knows Senator Feinstein knows that her service in the Senate is entirely her own decision, and Speaker Emerita Pelosi would never suggest otherwise.'

A source familiar told DailyMail.com that the Pelosi children grew up across the street from Feinstein in San Francisco and denied that Prowda's assistance was in any way related to her mother's political kingmaking efforts.

Schiff, who as chair of the House Intelligence committee probed the now-debunked conspiracy theory that Donald Trump colluded with Russia, has already raised $15 million for a possible election race.

California has a jungle primary, meaning the top two winners, regardless of party, move forward to the general election.

That would see the heavily-Democratic state with two Democrats running in the November 2024 election.

Feinstein, a long-time ally of the former speaker of the House of Representatives, has been a senator for the Golden State since 1992 and is the oldest senator in the chamber.

She has gradually stepped back from several senior positions in recent years.

In 2020, she said she would not serve as the top Democrat on the judiciary panel after criticism from liberals about her handling of Justice Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation.

Fiercely independent, she also famously clashed with the Obama administration over her refusal to keep intelligence reports secret about the use of torture by the U.S. military.

Meanwhile, Feinstein's office has admitted the 89-year-old did suffer a brain infection, despite her own insistence that she'd just been battling the flu.

The New York Times reported on Thursday that Dianne Feinstein, 89, has been diagnosed with vision and balance impairments as well as facial paralysis known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome in addition to encephalitis, a brain infection.

'It was a really bad flu. I'm doing better thank you,' Feinstein said initially about her condition.

The senator's own office went against her and confirmed it to CNN later Thursday. It's unclear if Feinstein meant to mislead reporters she spoke to about having the flu - or if she's just too old and infirm to remember what happened.

After confirming that her diagnosis included Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis, a spokesperson said: 'While the encephalitis resolved itself shortly after she was released from the hospital in March, she continues to have complications from Ramsay Hunt syndrome.'

That statement could signal an escalation of efforts to try and force Feinstein out of her Senate seat, with sources claiming she's resisting pleas to go.

Ailing Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein's office has admitted the 89-year-old did suffer a brain infection, despite her own insistence that she'd just been battling the flu

Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a known complication from shingles, which Feinstein had been recovering from, leaving the Democrats one vote short in the Senate.

It causes facial paralysis, the effects of which appear to be visible in recent photos of a very frail-looking Feinstein.

The virus also brought on a previously unreported case of encephalitis that leaves patients with lasting memory or language problems, sleep disorders, bouts of confusion, mood disorders, headaches and difficulty walking.

Feinstein, a Democrat representing California since 1992, had been set to stand down when her sixth and final term ends next year.

The lawmaker is also known to be suffering from vision and balance problems, and aides often take her around the Senate building in a wheelchair.

She had faced growing calls to resign during her months-long absence, notably from fellow California Democrats and the New York Times editorial board.

But her cognitive abilities and health have been under question for months after she missed a series of key Senate votes.

She has also appeared confused in public, sometimes shouting at aides as she struggles to keep up with votes in the upper chamber.

Her return to work earlier this month also restored the Democrats' 51-49 majority in the Senate, boosting the chances of Dem-backed bills to get rubber stamped.

Feinstein, a Democrat representing California since 1992, had been set to stand down when her sixth and final term ends next year. She's pictured in the year she joined the Senate

A far frailer Feinstein is pictured in the Senate on May 18

Feinstein, pictured May 18, is said to be resisting attempts to remove her from office over fears for her health and mental wellbeing

'My doctors have advised me to work a lighter schedule as I return to the Senate,' Feinstein said last month. 'I'm hopeful those issues will subside as I continue to recover.'

She sparked confusion during her first appearance in the Senate in close to three months by claiming she has been there the whole time.

'No, I've been here. I've been voting,' the 89-year-old told reporters when they asked how she was feeling and what her colleagues thought of her return. 'Please. You either know or don't know,' she bizarrely added.

She then made her return to the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday, arriving nearly 90 minutes late and after some judicial nominees had already been voted on.

She received a standing ovation from Republicans and Democrats alike on the panel when she joined them after being gone due to health issues.

Feinstein, seen earlier on Thursday, has been flanked by Nancy Pelosi's daughter in recent weeks. She is already set to retire next year

When asked last week what it felt like to be back in the Senate after her three-month battle with shingles, Feinstein bizarrely said that she has been there the entire time





Pelosi, seen here at a protest for more affordable child care, is backing Adam Schiff to take over from Dianne Feinstein in the Senate
Russia has issued an arrest warrant for the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor in a tit-for-tat move after the court called for President Vladimir Putin's arrest on war crimes charges in March.

British prosecutor Karim Khan, 53, was added to the Interior Ministry's wanted list, Russian media reported on Friday, citing the ministry's database.

Moscow opened cases against Khan and three ICC judges on March 20.

The ICC warrant, issued on March 17, orders the arrest of Putin and Russia's ombudsman for children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, 38, for war crimes charges relating to the abduction of Ukrainian children.

Russia and Putin deny any war crimes during the invasion of Ukraine, saying they are victims of Western aggression and lies.

Pictured: Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan (centre) speaking during the Justice Ministers' conference at Lancaster House, London, in support of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the investigation into the situation in Ukraine on March 20, 2023

Khan's picture could be seen on the Russian interior ministry's database on Friday.

The notice described him as a man born on March 30, 1970 in Edinburgh, Scotland, but did not specify his offence.

Russia's Investigative Committee, which looks into major crimes, said in March that Khan was being probed for the 'criminal prosecution of a person known to be innocent'.

He was also being investigated for allegedly preparing 'an attack on a representative of a foreign state enjoying international protection,' investigators said.

Kyiv says more than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the beginning of Moscow's offensive in February last year, with many allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes.

Russia, which is not a member of the ICC, has disputed the credibility of the warrant.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed the court's move as a 'historic decision from which historic responsibility will begin'.

US President Joe Biden said the arrest warrant for Putin was 'justified'.

Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 9, 2022

The ICC called for Putin's arrest on March 17 and accused the despot of committing war crimes by abducting Ukrainian children from their homes and deporting them to Russia to be given to Russian families.

It also issued a warrant that day for the arrest of Lvova-Belova on the same charges.

Lvova-Belova had claimed to be the 'saviour' of children from Ukraine caught up in Russia's 'special military operation'.

In a video from February, Putin was seen approving Lvova-Belova's personal adoption of a child from Mariupol, a city that has seen some of the most brutal fighting of the war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin immediately slammed the court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin, arguing that it was 'outrageous and unacceptable'.

It insisted that any decisions of the ICC were 'null and void' with respect to Russia as Moscow does not recognise the court's jurisdiction.

In contrast, Ukraine hailed the decision and said 'the wheels of justice are turning'.

Sir Geoffrey Nice, who was the lead prosecutor at former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's trial, said it was 'extremely important' that the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin.

He suggested that Putin being 'labelled and treated as a criminal' could inspire a change in regime or 'encourage the process of replacement'.

Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting of the Council on Interethnic Relations in Pyatigorsk, Stavropol Krai region, Russia, on May 19, 2023

'There's enough information seeping out to indicate that there are some unhappy with his leadership,' Sir Geoffrey told Sky News on March 17.

'It's important because this man is now - as many would say he should have been a few weeks after the war started - labelled as a criminal.'

Sir Geoffrey added that the war in Ukraine is now a 'right, just war' that is being 'criminally led'.

Alexander Bastrykin, the head of Russia's Investigative Committee, reacted to the ICC's decision by proposing to create an 'international court' for 'Ukrainian war criminals' - following similar comments from Putin's cronies on state television.

On March 17, Khan said hundreds of Ukrainian children have been taken from orphanages and children's homes to Russia.

He said: 'Many of these children, we allege, have since been given up for adoption in the Russian Federation.'

Khan said a Russian law change has made it easier for the children to be adopted by Russian families, while at the time of the deportations, Ukrainian children were protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

In his statement, he called the arrest warrants 'a first concrete step' while other Ukraine investigations are ongoing.

Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers fire a cannon near Bakhmut, an eastern city where fierce battles against Russian forces have been taking place, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on May 12, 2023

Pictured: Ukrainian servicemen look on after fighting near the front line city of Bakhmut, in Donetsk region, Ukraine on May 11, 2023

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also welcomed the ICC's decision, adding that investigations into alleged atrocities in Ukraine must continue.

'We welcome the step taken by the independent ICC to hold those at the top of the Russian regime, including Vladimir Putin, to account,' Cleverly tweeted, adding 'those responsible for horrific war crimes in Ukraine must be brought to justice'.

But the ICC's President, Piotr Hofmanski, admitted that while the court's judges have issued the warrants, it will be up to the international community to enforce them. The court has no police force of its own to enforce warrants.

'The ICC is doing its part of work as a court of law. The judges issued arrest warrants. The execution depends on international cooperation,' Hofmanski said.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev compared the arrest warrant for Putin to toilet paper.

'The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin. No need to explain WHERE this paper should be used,' Medvedev said on Twitter, adding a toilet paper emoji.

In contrast, Ukrainian officials were jubilant at the decision.

A satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a demolished school and smouldering apartment buildings in Bakhmut, Ukraine, on May 15, 2023

'The world changed,' said presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba added that 'international criminals will be held accountable for stealing children and other international crimes'.

Ukraine is also not a member of the court, but it has granted the ICC jurisdiction over its territory and Khan has visited four times since opening an investigation a year ago.

The ICC said in a statement that Putin is allegedly 'responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation'.

The court added that its pre-trial chamber found there were 'reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population and that of unlawful transfer of population from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in prejudice of Ukrainian children'.

Putin was allegedly responsible both directly by committing the acts and for 'failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission', the court said.

The ICC said the crimes dated from February 24 last year, when Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine.

Since Putin launched the invasion, Russians have been accused of deporting Ukrainian children to Russia or Russian-held territories to raise them as their own.

Pictured: Ukrainian servicemen from the 24th Mechanized Brigade 'King Danylo' fire a BM-21 'Grad' multiple rocket launcher system (MLRS) in the direction of the frontline city of Bakhmut, at an undisclosed location, in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, on May 19, 2023

At least 1,000 children were seized from schools and orphanages in the Kherson region during Russia's eight-month occupation of the area, local authorities say. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

On Friday, Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of the Kremlin's Security Council, said that more than 100,000 people have enlisted in the Russian army this year, as Moscow seeks to recruit volunteers for its offensive in Ukraine.

Moscow has conducted an aggressive military recruitment campaign in recent months as Kyiv gears up for an offensive after a protracted stalemate in eastern Ukraine.

'Between January 1 and May 19, 117,400 people have been accepted into the ranks of the armed forces on a contractual basis and as part of our voluntary formations,' Medvedev said.

Mededev said Russian officials were continuing to recruit soldiers on contract.

In September, Putin announced a 'partial' military mobilisation - Russia's first since World War II - sending shock waves across the country and prompting tens of thousands to flee.

Officials said on Friday that Zelensky will attend the G7 summit in Japan on Sunday in person, as Rishi Sunak and allies seek to turn up the pressure on Russia.

It will potentially bring Zelensky into contact with India's Narendra Modi and Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who have not opposed the invasion like their western allies.

Zelensky has met many western politicians recently, including Sunak at Chequers on Monday.
A student who went on the run after stabbing a grandmother in the neck has admitted murdering her.

Alexander Carr, 33, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court via a videolink from prison to admit murdering Michelle Hanson in late November or early December.

The 47-year-old was a much-loved grandmother was found dead at her home in Brady Street, Sunderland, having suffered suspected stab wounds.

An nationwide manhunt with a 10,000 reward was offered to find Carr and he was arrested 18 days later living in a tent on a railway embankment in Islington, North London, armed with a knife.

He was a student at the University of Sunderland, is from Wearside, and had links to London and several parts of the North East.

Alexander Carr, 33, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court via a videolink from prison to admit murdering Michelle Hanson in late November or early December

Michelle Hanson, 47, was found dead in her flat on Brady Street, Sunderland, on December 3

Shannon Brown, daughter of Michelle, promoted the public appeal to find Carr in December

During the search for him, police said he was thought to have some survival skills and could have been hiding outdoors.

At the brief plea hearing at court, it was said that Carr suffered personality disorders at the time of the murder.

Judge Paul Sloan KC told Carr only a life sentence was possible, but he will set the minimum term the defendant must serve behind bars at a hearing on June 16.

While Carr was on the run, Ms Hanson's daughter Shannon Brown paid tribute to her mother and appealed for the public's help in tracing him.

She said: 'As a family, we are all devastated by what has happened.

'My mam was a caring, kind and loving person.

'She would never hurt anyone, even if someone did something to hurt her, she would forgive them because she always saw the good in people.

'She always got on with things and never gave up.

'It's heartbreaking for us as a family to know we will never see her again.'

Officers were called to the Brady Street home after concerns were raised about a Michelle's welfare. Pictured: Police and forensics outside

Tributes to Mrs Hanson (pictured) flooded social media since her death. One wrote: 'I still can't get my head around it. She was harmless, didn't deserve this. My heart is with Michelle and her family'

Outside court, senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Barr said: 'Firstly I would like to praise the bravery and strength shown by Michelle's family throughout these proceedings.

'Not only have they had to come to terms with the tragic loss of their mam and grandmother, but they also played a role in helping us to locate Carr, who was desperately trying to evade arrest.

'His despicable actions speak volumes.

'Carr murdered Michelle and then fled down south and went into hiding so he could not be held accountable.

'That arrogance and lack of remorse has been difficult for Michelle's family to come to terms with, and we are thankful he is now behind bars, facing a life sentence for his actions.

'We know nothing can bring Michelle back but we hope today can serve as the first step towards the closure her family deserve.

'No one should have to lose a loved one in such horrific circumstances and as a Force, we are committed to tackling all types of violence, and ensuring perpetrators are brought to justice.'
The prosecutor for the state of Oaxaca said there is an investigation to identify the people Masson had argued with to see if they were involved in his killing

A Canadian banker has been shot dead while on vacation with his girlfriend after getting into an argument over his bar tab at a popular beach resort, police say.

Victor Masson, of Quebec, had spent all of Sunday at the beach with Elva Castillo and remained in their hotel while she dined with her family in Puerto Escondido on the Pacific coast.

The mortgage advisor decided to go out by himself and wound up at the Michelada El Aldoquin bar where he allegedly argued over an unpaid bill.

He was found shot in the back inside a car around two miles from the bar on Monday morning.

Victor Masson, of Quebec, Canada, was killed while vacationing in Mexico on Monday. The 27-year-old had messaged his girlfriend, Mexican national Elva Castillo, to warn her that a group of people he met at a local bar in the Pacific town of Puerto Escondido didn't want him to leave. No arrests had been made as of Friday

Victor Masson (left) had traveled to Mexico to spend two weeks with his girlfriend, Elva Castillo (right)

Authorities block of the street in the Mexican Pacific coast town of Puerto Escondido where Canadian tourist, Victor Masson, was found shot dead in a car early Monday

Jose Rodriguez, attorney general for the state of Oaxaca, said: 'After the fight, he makes some calls stating that he had been robbed and at dawn he turned up dead.

'The main line (of investigation) of this case is what occurred that night.'

In an interview with news outlet Noticiero Televisa, the banker's girlfriend Castillo said that Masson had become worried over the the two men and women that he had met at the bar.

He told her: 'I have no idea what's going on. If I text you the word "danger," find my location and call the police, okay?'

Masson would then send her an additional message after the group intercepted him as he tried to leave the bar and return to the hotel.

'It's very like  I'm stuck with them,' he said. 'I tried to leave and they were like, "No, no, stay," so it's weird.'

Castillo said she filed a missing person's report after he failed to show up at the hotel and then learned of his murder several hours later.

A spokesman for Masson's family said he was vacationing for two weeks and visited Castillo's relatives, and that they were having a difficult time getting information from the police.

Victor Masson (left) with his girlfriend, Elva Castillo (right)

Benjamin Gammond, of Argentina, died Monday from injuries sustained after he was hacked on the head at a beachside restaurant in Oaxaca, Mexico, on May 10

They said the alleged killers stole the mortgage advisor's wallet but left his phone and passport behind.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Masson worked at Laurentian Bank and had studied at Bishop's University in Quebec.

Masson's death came days after 23-year-old Argentine national, Benjamin Gammond, died from injuries sustained following a machete attack.

The 23-year-old, who spent the last two years living and working in the restaurant industry in Mexico, was having a meal with two friends, Santiago Lastra, 22, and his girlfriend, Macarena Gonzalez, 29, at a beachside restaurant in the town of Laguna de Chacahua when they were hacked by Cruz Martinez, 21, on May 12.

Gammond suffered three head wounds and was flown to a hospital in Mexico City where he died Monday.

Lastra, who suffered a fractured shoulder, and Gonzalez, who was treated for a wounded and fractured, were released from a local medical facility and are recovering.
Moneteau is an enchantingly timeless village in rural Burgundy. There is a 13th-century church, an imposing town hall, and an iron bridge designed in a style pioneered by the architectural genius who created the Eiffel Tower.

The cafe-tabac sells vapes these days, and the once wild banks of the River Yonne have been neatly landscaped  but otherwise it looks just as it did on the awful day that unfolded here, 33 years ago this week.

Around 9am, on the morning of May 17, 1990, a local fisherman, Monsieur Bardot, was casting for trout when he saw something disquieting floating in the dark waters.

He soon realised he was looking at the body of a young woman, naked but for her wristwatch and jewellery.

Though the subsequent investigation was appallingly mishandled ('Clouseau-esque' was her mother's damning summation) police were at least quick to establish that this was Joanna Parrish, a 20-year-old French language student at Leeds University, who had spent her gap year teaching English at a school in nearby Auxerre.

Joanna Parrish (pictured) was a 20-year-old French language student at Leeds University, who had spent her gap year teaching English at a school in nearby Auxerre

The unsolved murder of Ms Parrish (pictured) has become a stain on France's national conscience

Having arranged to meet someone who had answered her newspaper advert offering her services as a private English tutor and babysitter, she had been spirited into a van. She was then bound and brutally raped before being strangled and flung into the river.

So began a case that would come to stain France's national conscience and continues to do so, more than three decades later.

It is a case that has highlighted many flaws in the country's Napoleonic justice system and the ineptitude of its top prosecutors and detectives, while exacerbating the agony of Joanna's Gloucestershire-based parents, Roger Parrish and Pauline Murrell, by denying them the consolation of seeing anyone brought to account.

In recent days, however, they have been given renewed hope of finding closure.

Shamed into re-examining Joanna's murder more rigorously, a new cold-case unit in Paris claims to have identified a convincing suspect and amassed sufficient new evidence to bring charges.

Investigating magistrate Sabine Kheris tells me she is now examining their file and will decide next month whether there are sufficient grounds for a trial.

If, as expected, she gives the go-ahead, the case could begin this autumn.

And into the dock will step one of the least likely-looking sexual murderesses imaginable  a stooped, frumpy, white-haired woman who more resembles a retired school teacher.

Now 74, Monique Olivier is already serving a life sentence, with a minimum term of 28 years, for assisting her husband, Michel Fourniret, to rape and murder a string of girls and women.

Notorious as the 'Ogre of the Ardennes', after the scenic swathe of forests and mountains on the French-Belgian border that served as his prime stalking ground, Fourniret is France's most prolific modern-day serial killer.

Now 74, Monique Olivier (pictured) is already serving a life sentence, with a minimum term of 28 years, for assisting her husband, Michel Fourniret, to rape and murder a string of girls and women

He was the Gallic equivalent of Fred West  or perhaps Ian Brady, given his risible pretentions to a superior intellect and meticulously planned expeditions to hunt down vulnerable young victims in his white Citroen van.

Much in the manner of Myra Hindley or Rose West, Olivier was  at the very least  his dispassionate and dutiful foil.

However, a former warden at Rennes women's prison who guarded her for eight years and penetrated her implacable facade tells me she is every bit as culpable as her husband.

Some prosecutors and psychologists who spent hours interviewing her agree.

Down the years, Olivier has admitted helping Fourniret to procure the girls, guarding them, and even holding them down while he violated them, unmoved by their screams.

Breathtakingly, she even used a dummy to demonstrate how she physically examined the helpless girls to find out whether they were virgins before her husband set about them  for the Ogre was possessed by a macabre compulsion to defile their chastity.

In 2008, Fourniret was given a whole life sentence for at least seven murders. Olivier was convicted of assisting him in several of them.

Though Joanna was not among the victims named at the trial, Olivier has twice confessed that they killed her  statements she now claims to have been made under duress.

In 2008, Fourniret was given a whole life sentence for at least seven murders. Olivier was convicted of assisting him in several of them

In 2018, Fourniret also admitted to murdering Joanna, an understated English rose who dressed conservatively and wore little make-up, thereby conforming to his lust for demure young women.

This small, bearded, bespectacled psychopath described the virgins he hunted down as 'membranes on legs'. After raping them, he would make them thank him, before eliminating them with ever-more inventive sadism.

Indeed, it may be significant that two pinpricks were found inside one of Joanna's elbows during her post-mortem examination, for he is known to have injected air into the bloodstream of some of the victims to inflict a protractedly slow, painful death.

Had the rickety wheels of French justice turned faster, Mr Parrish and Mrs Murrell, who separated soon after Joanna's murder and are now in their late 70s, might have heard this vile character reveal precisely how their daughter was taken from them.

Following his 2018 confession, he was expected to be tried for Joanna's murder. But nothing happened for three years, and in 2021, Fourniret died of respiratory failure at the age of 79 (in the same Parisian hospital where Princess Diana was taken after her fatal car crash).

Joanna's parents had seen justice denied once again.

Mr Parrish is now so disillusioned with the process that, as he recently told Le Parisien newspaper, if Olivier is tried, he will not deign to attend the court hearing.

On this 33rd anniversary week of Joanna's murder, described by a friend as 'a particularly difficult time for him', he was unavailable for comment as was Mrs Murrell.

Yet they have long suspected that Olivier played a crucial part in the abduction. At one time, Joanna's mother wrote to her in prison, urging her to 're-examine her conscience' and tell her what happened. She received no reply.

Mr Parrish says their daughter was a sensible, safety-conscious young woman and would not have got into a van with a strange man had he been alone.

But the presence of Fourniret's wife  and perhaps, also their baby son, who was sometimes used as 'bait' on their virgin-hunting expeditions, when they would tell the young women they stalked that he was ill and needed a doctor  would have reassured her.

Mr Parrish is now so disillusioned with the process that, as he recently told Le Parisien newspaper, if Olivier (pictured) is tried, he will not deign to attend the court hearing.

A former warden at Rennes women's prison who guarded Olivier (pictured in a car at the gendarmerie of Charleville-Mezieres in 2020) for eight years and penetrated her implacable facade tells me she is every bit as culpable as her husband. Some prosecutors and psychologists who spent hours interviewing her agree.

'There has always been a puzzle about how somebody could have gained Jo's confidence,' Mr Parrish has said. 'But the fact that he was with a woman could explain everything.

'Jo found herself in a dark world which was so alien to her own. For a moment, good and evil collided, and there was only ever going to be one outcome, because that evil was so powerful.'

Joanna Parrish was, indeed, a fine young woman. That much became clear this week when I spoke to her former flatmate in Auxerre, who was teaching German at the same grammar school.

Thrown together far from home in a quiet, provincial town, the two young women forged a close bond. Joanna's friend, now a 53-year-old mother, asked not to be identified but said:

'Jo loved France and was very interested in its culture and history. We would go on many excursions, exploring Burgundy and taking the train to Paris. We also went running and cooked together.

'She introduced me to PG Tips tea and Cadbury's chocolate, I introduced her to pumpkin seed oil, which we put on salads. We always spoke in English. It's because I met Jo that I am now an English teacher.

'I feel so sad when I think how we'd have stayed friends, and how our families would have visited each other. Jo was a little bit reserved but great company. It is such a waste of a wonderful person and a wonderful life.'

The friend confirms Joanna was cautious, organised, structured  certainly not the type to take chances.

She had placed the newspaper ad to make some extra money, intending to visit her boyfriend, also a student, in Czechoslovakia where he was also on his gap year. She then hoped to go travelling with him before pursuing a teaching career.

Picture taken in 1990 of Joanna Parrish (L) and her brother Barney in Paris before her body was found in the River Yonne

Meanwhile, Joanna's parents were planning to drive to Auxerre to collect her belongings  duvet, clothes, the teddy bear that went everywhere with her  and return with them to Newnham-on-Severn, the Gloucestershire village where they and her 17-year-old brother Barnaby lived.

Mr Parrish, then 46, was working at the Land Registry in Gloucester when he was told Jo's body had been found in the river. It took several seconds before the word 'body' registered and he realised she wasn't coming home.

Three weeks passed before she could be flown home and buried in the village cemetery.

Her grave is inscribed with a poignant tribute written in French. Perhaps sent by the students she taught in Auxerre, who had come to adore her, it says simply: 'A look. A smile. Her pupils.'

What sort of woman could have helped her husband commit such depraved crimes? If we believe Olivier, she was subjugated by Fourniret after a lifetime of abuse.

Raised by an alcoholic mother and a remote father, and mocked for her childhood stammer, she failed her final school exams and found work as a typist before marrying a driving instructor and would-be artist, Andre Michaut.

At her trial, she claimed he was controlling and violent, accusing her of affairs, and once tried to drown her in the bath. She also claims he pimped her to other men.

Michaut strenuously denied her allegations and we might think it significant that, when they divorced, he was granted custody of their two sons.

Psychologists who assessed her also ranked her IQ in the top 2 per cent of the French population.

Friends confirm Joanna (pictured) was cautious, organised, structured  certainly not the type to take chances

She was in her late 30s when, as she would have it, she fell under the Ogre's spell. While serving a prison sentence for serious sexual assaults, he placed a magazine ad for pen pals and Olivier answered.

If the authorities had monitored the dozens of letters they exchanged, their perverse partnership might have been curtailed and many lives spared.

Adopting the roles of a rampant brute and his obedient disciple, Fourniret and Olivier struck up a spine-chilling pact, to be carried out after his release: she would help him hunt down and satisfy his craving for virgins and in return he would help her kill her ex-husband.

In some letters, she addressed him as 'Mr Dear Shere Khan', after the tiger in 'Jungle Book'. In others, she called him 'My Beast'. When he emerged through the prison gates, in October 1987, she was waiting to pick him up in her green Peugeot.

Fourniret never kept his side of the bargain. Just two months later, however, Olivier, began to fulfil hers.

They set up home in a small village near Auxerre (just 12 miles from where Joanna's body was found three years later) and began combing the streets for girls of a suitably 'pure' appearance.

Walking home from school, 17-year-old Isabelle Laville was the first girl to catch their eye. With her willowy frame and long dark hair, she supposedly resembled Olivier in her chaste youth.

In a carbon copy of the ruse Myra Hindley used to deliver Pauline Reade into the clutches of Ian Brady, Olivier drove up beside her and asked for directions, inviting her to climb in and show her the way.

Further along the road, they saw a seemingly stranded motorist standing with an oil can and Olivier kindly pulled over to give him a lift to the garage.

From the back-seat he threw a rope round Isabelle's neck, drugged her, and they took her to their house.

Serial killer Michel Fourniret (pictured in 2004) died at the age of 79 in May 2021, but his wife is still alive

Olivier later recalled how she gave her husband oral sex to stimulate him before he raped Isabelle, who was then murdered and thrown down a well, where her remains lay undiscovered for 19 years.

By the time they claimed their next victim, in August 1998, Olivier was pregnant with their son, Selim.

Feigning pre-natal sickness, she approached Fabienne Leroy, 20, in a supermarket car park and asked for directions to a doctor's surgery. The young woman obligingly agreed to take her there.

After she got into the van, Fourniret pushed her into the back and tied her hands and feet. She was driven to a disused military base where Olivier says he instructed her to check the girl's hymen was intact.

On that occasion, she claims she refused but he raped Fabienne anyway, before shooting her.

At least four more girls were dispatched before they claimed the girl believed to have been their final victim, 13-year old Mananya Thumpong, in May, 2001.

After befriending her at a local library, Fourniret invited her home to play with baby Selim, by then aged two.

There were to be no games. Having violated the adolescent girl, Fourniret strangled her and dumped her body in the countryside to be devoured by wild animals.

When Selim Fourniret grew up and learned how his parents had used him as their dupe, he was deeply traumatised and disowned them. 'Was I just their rabbit?' he asked rhetorically in a rare interview.

All this emerged after Fourniret's arrest, in the Belgian Ardennes, in 2003.

Intending to rape and kill yet again, he had picked up a 13-year-old girl, but she managed to untie herself, escape his van and flag down a passing car whose driver noted his registration plate.

When police swooped on the couple's hideout, a stone-built cottage in the affluent Belgian village of Sart-Custinne, they found a grisly kidnapping kit: chloroform masks, condoms, guns, knives, rolls of tape and coiled ropes. The killing spree was over.

This week, I found the property derelict. However, neighbours say it has been sold to a local man who plans to turn it into a 'house of horrors' guesthouse for ghoulish tourists.

By the time of the arrest, the pair also owned a 19th-century chateau, 35 miles away over the French border. How they acquired this impressive pile, having eked out a living by taking various menial jobs, is another chapter in their story.

In brief, Fourniret persuaded a career criminal he met in prison to tell him the whereabouts of the fortune he had stashed away, promising to take care of it until the man was freed.

The crook's wife duly led Fourniret and Olivier to the hidden gold, jewels and banknotes, whereupon they murdered her  probably with a bayonet  and stole the cache, using it to buy the chateau.

Fourniret later led police to the bodies of two female victims which he had buried in the grounds.

Perhaps the only remaining question in this protractedly dreadful saga is whether Olivier delivered Joanna into the Ogre's clutches.

Joanna's parents, Roger Parrish and Pauline Murrell, have been denied the consolation of seeing anyone brought to account for their daughter's murder

If the opportunity to gather vital strands of evidence hadn't been squandered during the initial investigation, we might know the truth.

Police failed to seal off the stretch of river where her body was found, allowing it to be trampled on. Slides containing semen found on Joanna, and scrapings from her fingernails, which could have been tested for DNA, were lost.

As there was no reconstruction of the crime, nor even an appeal for information, no witnesses came forward.

Yet even today, 33 years later, I only need to walk around Moneteau and start asking questions to find possibly useful clues.

One man told me his father felt sure he had seen a white van, resembling the one the couple used, heading along the lane down to the river, just hours before the fisherman spotted Joanna.

So, was it the French Ian Brady who replied to Joanna's ad, on the pretence of being keen to improve his English?

Was Fourniret the mystery man who met her outside a busy bank in the centre of Auxerre  at the height of rush-hour to avoid suspicion?

And did the kindly looking wife sitting beside him convince this level-headed young Englishwoman to abandon her customary cautiousness and agree to a lift in their van?

To bring Joanna's ageing parents belated comfort  and restore the reputation of French justice  we must hope, come the autumn, that these crucial questions will finally be answered.

Additional reporting by Rory Mulholland
'There are real differences between the parties on budget issues and talks will be difficult,' White House said

He called talks 'not productive' and said the Biden administration was making 'unreasonable' requests

Rep. Garrett Graves followed White House negotiators out of a meeting in the speaker's office and told reporters they had pressed pause on negotiations

Debt ceiling talks are now on 'pause,' according to House Republicans, after all sides expressed hope earlier this week that there could be a deal on the horizon.

Rep. Garret Graves followed White House negotiators out of a meeting in the speaker's office and told reporters they had pressed pause on negotiations.

He called talks 'not productive' and said the Biden administration was making 'unreasonable' requests.

'Yeah we got a pause,' Speaker Kevin McCarthy confirmed to reporters, only one day after he expressed hope there could be a deal on the floor by next week.

'We've got to get movement by the White House and we don't have any movement yet,' McCarthy said.

'Yesterday I really felt we were at the location where I could see the path - the White House is just - look, we can't be spending more money next year.'

The news broke while President Biden was snoozing away in Japan for the G7 Summit - at around 1:30 a.m. local time. The White House said they would brief him on updates in the morning.

Rep. Garrett Graves followed White House negotiators out of a meeting in the speaker's office and told reporters they had pressed pause on negotiations

Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, left, and Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president, the top negotiators for President Joe Biden on the debt limit crisis, head for the exit after talks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's emissaries came to an abrupt halt

The White House confirmed talks 'will be difficult' after news of the pause.

'There are real differences between the parties on budget issues and talks will be difficult. The President's team is working hard towards a reasonable bipartisan solution that can pass the House and the Senate,' a White House spokesperson said.

There are now less than two weeks before the Treasury could run out of funds to pay the nation's bills on June 1.

On Thursday, McCarthy had said he wanted a floor vote next week on the deal and said he had spoken to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on timing for a vote.

The Senate adjourned Thursday and will be out next week, but Schumer instructed senators to be in a position to return to Washington on 24 hours' notice if necessary.

'The negotiations are currently making progress, as Speaker McCarthy has said he expects the House will vote next week if an agreement is reached, and the Senate would begin consideration after that,' Schumer said.

However, members of the House Freedom Caucus are digging in to the right, adopting a new position that calls for 'no further discussion' until the Senate passes the House GOP's Limit Save Grow Act.

'The House Freedom Caucus calls on Speaker McCarthy and Senate Republicans to use every leverage and tool at their disposal to ensure the Limit, Save, Grow Act is signed into law.

There should be no further discussion until the Senate passes the legislation.'

It remains to be seen whether hardline Republicans will accept a negotiated deal that is less conservative than the party-line bill the House passed.

A Freedom Caucus source said the new demand was meant to signal to leadership: 'Stop talking about watering down the [House GOP] bill.'

'Keep negotiating by all means, just start adding not removing policies.'

President Trump issued his own similar warning to Republicans on Truth Social.

'REPUBLICANS SHOULD NOT MAKE A DEAL ON THE DEBT CEILING UNLESS THEY GET EVERYTHING THEY WANT (Including the kitchen sink). THATS THE WAY THE DEMOCRATS HAVE ALWAYS DEALT WITH US. DO NOT FOLD!!!'

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats led by Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., rolled out a letter Thursday demanding President Biden invoke the 14th Amendment to bypass Congress and unilaterally raise the debt limit.

'It is unfortunate that Republicans in the House and Senate are not acting in good faith,' the letter read. 'We write to urgently request that you prepare to exercise your authority under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.'

But the message in the letter is markedly different from that coming out of leadership on both sides, with Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer saying there could be a deal to vote on in the House next week and the Senate the week after.

Section 4 of the 14th Amendment states: 'The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.'

The Amendment - which granted citizenship to former slaves and extended 'equal protection under the law' among other provisions - essentially states that the nation's debts must be paid by the federal government in full.

Experts have interpreted that to mean Biden may have some authority to go above Congress and lift the debt borrowing cap - although there would be expected legal challenges if he bypassed the legislative branch in this manner.

Senate Democrats led by Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., rolled out a letter Thursday demanding President Biden invoke the 14th Amendment to bypass Congress and unilaterally raise the debt limit

'This is the whole reason why the 14th Amendment exists,'Sen. John Fetterman, making a rare appearance in a news conference, said, laying out the demand

Fetterman wore his signature hoodie, shorts and sneakers while the other male senators wore suits

The other signers onto Sanders' letter are: Elizabeth Warren, Mass., John Fetterman, Pa., Richard Blumenthal, Conn., Tina Smith, Minn., Ed Markey, Mass., Jeff Merkley, Ore., Sheldon Whitehouse, R.I., Peter Welch, Vt., and Mazie Hirono, Hawaii.

'This is the whole reason why the 14th Amendment exists,' Fetterman, making a rare appearance in a news conference, said, laying out the demand.

The Democrats say McCarthy's unwillingness to raise taxes on the wealthy or big corporations makes it 'seemingly impossible to enact a bipartisan budget deal at this time.'

But taking the 14th Amendment route would almost certainly prompt swift legal action.

'An unelected Supreme Court justice will try to blow up our economy that's on them, if they have to judge on that,' Fetterman said, noting the nearly-guaranteed legal challenges to the maneuver.

'I'll be very blunt with you, when we get by this, I'm thinking about taking a look at, months down the road, as to see whether what the court would say about whether or not it does work,' Biden said last week after meeting with congressional leaders.

Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen, who has been clear about the need for Congress to act as soon as possible, also shot down the idea of using the 14th Amendment.
Celebrity chef Jose Andres is to be allowed to use gas stoves in his new restaurant despite California's ban, because he would otherwise have to remake its menu.

The change to the California Building Code, enforced from January, has meant that all new buildings are required to be all electric in order to cut the state's nitrogen oxide emissions.

Lawyers for the property group that will house the restaurant threatened legal action if Andres' project Zaytina could not have a gas cooker.

Anna Shimko, an attorney for The Simon Property Group wrote in a letter threatening a lawsuit that Zaytinya relies on 'traditional cooking methods that require gas appliances to achieve its signature, complex flavors.'

'Without a gas connection and appliances, Zaytinya would be forced to alter its signature five-star menu, which it is unwilling to do' she wrote to the city in April.

Celebrity chef Jose Andres will be allowed to use gas stoves in his new restaurant

Lawyers for the property group that will house the restaurant threatened legal action if Jose Andres' project Zaytina could not have a gas cooker

Arguing for the exemption she claimed that the Stanford Shopping Center, where Zaytinya will be located, applied for the project in 2019 and received approvals from the city's Architectural Review Board including for a gas line, which was installed in 2021.

'SPG is confident that the enforcement of the new Reach Code in this context is legally defective and unconstitutional, and SPG is thus prepared to take all actions necessary to enforce its legal rights to employ gas facilities within Building EE.'

'The restaurant would likely move its location out of the city if it were forced to compromise the caliber of its cuisine and reputation' the attorney said.

'This would be an unfortunate loss for the residents of Palo Alto, as well as a compensable loss for which SPG would be forced to seek redress.'

Faced with the legal dispute Palo Alto administrators capitulated and have granted the restaurant permission to use natural gas.

The building is 'in a unique situation, where parts of the project were built or under construction when the City's all-electric new construction rule went into effect' therefore 'the city and the mall have agreed that this one project should be able to proceed with gas service consistent with the long-established project plans,' city staff said in a statement on May 16.

It comes after the US has recently considered banning all gas stoves over health and safety concerns.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced earlier this month that it plans to take action to address the pollution emitted by gas stoves, which have been linked to higher cases of asthma.

Andres threatened to remove his restaurant from the city if he could not keep a gas stove

Zaytinya relies on 'traditional cooking methods that require gas appliances to achieve its signature, complex flavors'

In a statement to Bloomberg News, Richard Trumka Jr., an agency commissioner called gas stoves a 'hidden hazard.'

California is set to phase out new natural gas furnaces and heaters by 2030 after a proposal from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) was passed, making it the first US state to take such action.

The proposal, included in the 2022 State Implementation Plan (SIP) Strategy, is to combat nitrogen oxide pollution in the state - homes and buildings generate four times more ozone than all of California's gas power plants combined.

The plan, however, will cost about $96.2 billion to enforce and new homeowners will have to pay for expensive electrical options moving forward.

The report comes just a month after California announced a ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars.

CARB Chair Liane Randolph said in a statement: 'While this strategy will clean the air for all Californians, it will also lead to reduced emissions in the many low-income and disadvantaged communities that experience greater levels of persistent air pollution.

'But to truly meet the ozone standard, California needs more federal action to clean up harmful diesel pollution from primarily federally controlled sources, from locomotives and ocean-going vessels to aircraft, which are all concentrated in communities that continue to bear the brunt of poor air quality.

'We simply cannot provide clean air to Californians without the federal government doing its part.'

The new ban is part of California Govern Gavin Newson's climate push and aims to abide by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulations to limit ozone in the atmosphere to 70 parts per billion - 21 million people living in the state exceed this standard.
MBABANE- A 28-year-old paramedic has been arrested in connection with a series of robberies committed at gunpoint along the Ezulwini and Mbabane corridor.

The health practitioner, who is believed to be member of a syndicate which had been robbing unsuspecting businesspeople and their families of their valuable items and money in cash, was arrested while at his homestead around Mbabane. When arrested, it is alleged that the paramedic, who was based at Malagwane, was found in possession of 40 EUR stolen from one of the robbed businesspeople, a gun and 10 live rounds of ammunition.

It is said that his arrest came after police officers received information that he was linked to a gun that was allegedly used in the commission of the offences. It has also been gathered that the health practitioner had fired a shot while at a popular hangout spot and shisanyama in Mbabane, before he disappeared with the gun.

Robberies

Worth noting is that Eswatini continues to experience armed robberies, where people are robbed of their properties at gunpoint. The armed robberies were more prevalent on motorists since the beginning of the unrest before it extended to businesspeople. It should be noted that the robberies are committed at a time when the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) had called upon people to surrender illegal firearms. The arrest of the paramedic comes a few weeks after high profile businesspeople, including a bank manager and their families, were robbed of their assets amounting to over E5 million in the early evening or anytime of the day.

The assets included motor vehicles, which were then used as getaways cars, cellphones, laptops and money in cash. One of the incidents happened near Medisun Clinic in Ezulwini, where unknown gunmen reportedly walked into a businessmans house and robbed everyone at gunpoint. It was reported that the businessman and his family were seated with the doors unlocked when the robbers entered the house unexpectedly in the early evening.

Injured

It was gathered that the gunmen injured a dog, which eventually died, before proceeding to the house where the businessman and his family were relaxing. The gunmen reportedly went away with cellphones, money in cash and a motor vehicle, which was later found abandoned a few metres from the homestead. Another almost similar incident happened at Pine Valley in Mbabane, where a well-known businessman and his family was robbed of property valued to over E100 000. It was reported that the gunmen held the family hostage before forcing him to travel to one of the automated teller machines (ATMs) to withdraw money under duress.

It is suspected that the paramedic was working hand-in-hand with some people from South Africa. The robbed businesspeople raised the alarm and further warned their neighbours to keep doors closed and locked, in order to avoid any possible attack. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the arrest of a 28-year-old man, who was found with a gun and 10 live rounds of ammunition. Vilakati said the police were still looking for the other suspects. She appealed to anyone who might have information that could lead to the arrest of the suspects to contact the police on 999.
Tarrio was being investigated over claims that he had destroyed a Black Lives Matter banner in December 2020

He was responsible for monitoring extremist groups - including the Proud Boys - when they came to Washington for protests

Lt Shane Lamond, 47, is charged with obstructing an investigation while working as an intelligence officer

A senior police officer has been charged after he tipped off Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio about his arrest in the weeks before the January 6 Capitol riots.

Metropolitan Police Lt. Shane Lamond exchanged several messages before the attack in 2021, even telling him that he 'personally supports' the extremist group

Lamond was responsible for monitoring groups like the Proud Boys when they came to Washington for protests, and had been serving as an intelligence officer for the city's police department.

He is charged with obstructing an investigation into the destruction of a Black Lives Matter banner by Tarrio in December 2020.

The top officer is accused of making false and misleading statements to federal law enforcement regarding the investigation.

Metropolitan Police Lt. Shane Lamond (pictured) exchanged several messages with Tarrio before the attack in 2021, even telling him that he 'personally supports' the extremist group

He is charged with obstructing an investigation into the destruction of a Black Lives Matter banner by Tarrio (pictured) in December 2020

Lamond was indicted by a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements.

He worked as the supervisor of the Intelligence Branch of MPD's Homeland Security Bureau and was in regular contact with Tarrio from July 2019 to January 2021.

The indictment claims that Lamond started using Telegram in July 2020 to leak information to Tarrio about police activity surrounding the Proud Boys.

Messages released in the indictment show Lamond and Tarrio discussing January 6 riots, with the Lt saying: 'Of course, I can't say it officially, but personally I support you all and don't want to see you group's name or reputation dragged through the mud.'

On the day of his arrest, Tarrio posted a message to other Proud Boys leaders that said: 'The warrant was just signed' after being informed by Lamond.

Lamond went on to confirm that those who were at the riot would be charged with a felony and told several law enforcement officers that it was common for Tarrio to 'fish' for information.

He claimed that it was 'more one-sided' with Tarrio informing Lamond about the plans and movements of the Proud Boys.

When being interviewed by the FBI, Lamond claimed that he 'didn't inform him that he had an arrest warrant'.

Two days after the siege Lamond messages Tarrio to say: 'Looks like the feds are locking people up for rioting at the Capitol. I hope none of your guys were among them.'

Authorities say Lamond tipped Tarrio off after he stole a banner that read #BLACKLIVESMATTER from the Asbury United Methodist Church and then set it ablaze

Tarrio was arrested on January 4 on the warrant for vandalizing the sign, and officers found two unloaded magazines emblazoned with the Proud Boys logo in his bag

Earlier this month, Tarrio and three other leaders were convicted of seditious conspiracy charges for what prosecutors said was a plot to keep then-President Donald Trump in the White House after he lost the 2020 election.

Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Tarrio were all found guilty of the charges after they broke into the Capitol following the 2020 election.

The jury in Washington D.C. could not reach a verdict against a fifth man, Dominic Pezzola, with the others facing a maximum of 20 years in prison.

All four men face a range of charges, including three separate conspiracy charges, obstructing the Electoral College vote and tampering with evidence.

The case is one of the most serious brought in the unprecedented attack, which unfolded on January 6, 2021.

Tarrio, from Miami, was a top target of the Justice Department, which has now secured seditious conspiracy convictions against the leaders of two major extremist groups.

He was also convicted of obstructing Congress' certification of President Joe Biden's electoral victory and obstructing law enforcement as well as two other conspiracy charges.

The Proud Boys leader was cleared of an assault charge stemming from a co-defendant who stole an officer's riot shield.

Tarrio has been behind bars since his arrest in March 2022, and led the neo-fascist group  known for street fights with left-wing activists  when Trump infamously told the Proud Boys to 'stand back and stand by' during his first debate with Biden.

He was jailed to 155 days in prison for burning the BLM banner torn down from a historic black church in DC and bringing two high-capacity firearm magazines to the nation's capital shortly before the January 6 riot.

Lamond is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Friday. He was placed on administrative leave by the police force in February 2022.

His lawyer Mark Schamel told The Associated Press in December that Lamond is a 'decorated veteran' of the police department and 'doesn't share any of the indefensible positions' of extremist groups.

In a statement the MPD said: 'Lieutenant Shane Lamond, a twenty-four year veteran of MPD, was indicted on one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements.

'Details related to his improper conduct will be made available during the court proceedings.

'We understand this matter sparks a range of emotions, and believe the allegations of this members actions are not consistent of our values and our commitment to the community.

'This is only part of the process, and upon conclusion of the criminal proceedings, our agency will complete an internal investigation into this incident. Our intentions are to remain transparent while affording a fair process to the involved member.'
Actor Stephen Tompkinson's partner wrote 'I hope there's a heaven, I really need there to be one' in an emotional tribute to her mother and stepfather who were killed in a crash by a sexting lorry driver.

DCI Banks star Tompkinson, 57, only revealed the family tragedy today during his first interview since being accused of punching a drunk man outside his home in the early hours of May 30, 2021.

Speaking on ITV's Lorraine this morning, Tompkinson described his partner Jessica Johnson as a 'shining light' who looked after him when he was accused of punching Karl Poole in the head after finding him and a friend drinking at the bottom of his driveway in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear.

Tompkinson, who was cleared as cleared of causing grievous bodily harm at Newcastle Crown Court last week, said his trial was put into perspective by Jess's family tragedy, which took place just six weeks after his altercation.

'Jess was amazing,' he said. 'And frankly, my problems went into a top hat six weeks later when Jess's parents were sitting in stationary traffic in Durham.'

Actor Stephen Tompkinson (pictured with partner) revealed today that his partner Jess

David Daglish and Elaine Sullivan, Ms Johnson's stepfather and mother, were killed in July 2021 when Ion Onut ploughed into stationary traffic

Lorry driver Ion Onut was jailed for more than eight years at Durham Crown Court in January 2022 after he ploughed into stationary traffic on the A1(M) and instantly killed three people  David Daglish, Elaine Sullivan and Paul Mullen  in July 2021.

Mr Daglish was Johnson's stepfather and Ms Sullivan was Johnson's mother.

The crash, which saw his lorry burst into flames and career a further 320ft along the road, came moments after he was looking at the adult dating site 'S**g Today'.

Onut later agreed to be interviewed in prison as part of a BBC documentary titled Deadly Browsing: The Lorry Driver which aired in July 2022  and he apologised to the bereaved families.

Fellow actress Jess, Tompkinson's co-star in a successful stage adaptation of Educating Rita, spoke of the family's struggle in social media posts and set up a fundraising page in the couple's memory.

In an Instagram post days after the accident she wrote: 'Mam and Dave I'm sorry I never got to say goodbye. I hope there's a heaven. I really need there to be one.'

Jess, who trained at the National Youth Theatre before starring across TV, film and predominantly theatre, has raised 3,015 to date for the Seaham Eastlea and District Community Association.

In her GoFundMe appeal, Jess wrote: 'Our Mam, Elaine Sullivan and Step Dad, Dave Daglish died suddenly and tragically a couple of weeks ago. It's been, and continues to be a struggle as we try to come to terms with the loss but we need to find some light, something positive to focus on. We'd love your help!

Onut (pictured) was jailed for eight years and 10 months at Durham Crown Court in January 2022 after admitting three counts of causing death by dangerous driving

Jess Johnson (pictured with Stephen Tompkinson for Educating Rita) wrote 'I hope there's a heaven, I really need there to be one' in an emotional tribute to her mother and stepfather after they were killed

Tompkinson thanked his partner Jess (pictured) for supporting him during his trial while she was dealing with the death of her mother and stepfather

'Our parents, they were pillars of the community, from running local CREE and Women's groups, supporting people in the community going through mental health issues, to making and delivering food parcels to those in need throughout COVID-19.

'We don't want their hard work, and the work of the centres to diminish in their absence, so we have set up this fundraiser 'Our House' - Raising money to assure that Eastlea Community Centre and the groups they volunteered for continue long into the future and allow them to keep up the amazing work!

'If you are in a position to donate, you may fund a day out for the men's or women's group in their name. You may contribute to the making and delivery of food parcels for those in need. What I can guarantee is that you'll make a difference, in the name of two wonderful people who's legacy will live on.

'We want to give back to the community that we know my Mam and Dave loved so much. Giving so much more than just their free time!'

During the lorry driver's trial, the judge told the 41-year-old that it would have been bad enough if he had fallen asleep, but Onut had been trawling the internet for sexual partners.

Onut had been looking sites S**g Today and Mystic Match and had spent almost 50 to buy credits to engage with users, and was looking at profiles and editing his own over a period of 40 minutes leading up to the smash.

His last interaction on his phone was in the seconds before the collision and he was 'utterly oblivious' to the stationary vehicles ahead, the court was told at the time.

Onut, 41, did not brake before driving into the line of traffic at 58mph.

DCI Banks star Stephen Tompkinson spoke about his trial on ITV's Lorraine this morning

Stephen Tompkinson leaves Newcastle Crown Court on May 11 after he was found not guilty

Karl Poole leaves Newcastle Crown Court on May 11, after Tompkinson was found not guilty

Tompkinson has had a number of major television roles, including playing DCI Alan Banks

He later apologised to the bereaved families. From jail, he wept and acknowledged he could have travelled several hundred yards while looking at his phone. Onut said: 'The phone was a distraction, it was a really bad choice.'

Asked if he had a message for the bereaved families, he sighed and replied: 'There's a million things I could tell people. I want to apologise. I want to say I'm really sorry, because I feel really bad for what happened.'

Tompkinson credited Jess with inspiring him to get through the ordeal with her 'incredible' attitude after the crash.

He explained that the pair were performing Educating Rita at the time and because it had been 'stopped a couple of times' during Covid, Ms Johnson decided to continue performing.

'She went into this incredible mode, I don't know how she did it and a few weeks later attended the double funeral of her mum, stepdad and was then back on stage that night in Kingston-upon-Thames,' he added.

'So if you ever needed an example of strength and a shining light, she has been that throughout and looked after me through this.

'I'll never be able to thank her enough.'
Kia and Hyundai have agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit worth around $200million over rampant car thefts of the Korean automakers' vehicles.

The lawsuit was launched by owners of Hyundai or Kia vehicles who said their cars were easy to steal after a spur of thefts were inspired by a Tik Tok trend.

Videos went viral showing how you could start the Kia and Hyundai without push-button ignitions and immobilizing anti-theft devices using just a USB cable.

The settlement covers around nine million US owners and includes up to $145million for out-of-pocket losses for those who had their cars stolen.

It includes payments for total loss of vehicles up to $6,125, damage to vehicle and personal property up to $3,375 and insurance-related expenses.

Kia and Hyundai have agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit worth around $200million over rampant car thefts of the Korean automakers' vehicles which were inspired by a Tik Tok trend

The lawsuit was launched by owners of Hyundai or Kia vehicles who said their cars were easy to steal after a spur of thefts

The settlement covers around nine million US owners and includes up to $145million for out-of-pocket losses for those who had their cars stolen

Hyundai and Kia said they will compensate owners 'who incurred theft-related vehicle losses or damage in addition to reimbursement for insurance deductibles, increased insurance premiums, and other theft related losses.'

For customers whose vehicles cannot accommodate security software upgrades, the Korean automakers will provide up to $300 for the purchase of steering wheel locks and other theft deterrent or prevention devices.

'The settlement will provide benefits as soon as possible to those who have suffered out-of-pocket losses,' said Steve Berman, a lawyer representing owners.

'Our goal in finalizing this settlement was to leave no one in the dark.

'The owners of these cars have experienced enough upset, and we worked to achieve a settlement that covers many types of losses  from those who were lucky enough to have never had their theft-prone car stolen, to those whose stolen cars were totaled completely due to Hyundai and Kias negligence.'

Other related expenses including car rental, taxi or other transportation costs not covered by insurance are also included by the settlement.

And anti-theft software will be added to vehicles automatically at any dealership service appointment.

A TikTok video posted in the US shows how to start a Kia using only a USB cable

The car thefts were sparked by a Tik Tok trend in which users showed off how to steal Kia and Hyundai vehicles that lack basic security features

Owners can get reimbursed for towing costs and for stolen vehicles that suffered crashes or were never recovered, as well as payments for tickets or other penalties or fines incurred arising from a stolen vehicle.

The car thefts were sparked by a Tik Tok trend in which users showed off how to steal Kia and Hyundai vehicles that lack basic security features.

Although the original challenge video was removed, copycats emerged to the point that TikTok has asked users to report any copies that have been made.

Authorities revealed these thefts led to at least 14 reported crashes and eight fatalities.

Kia and Hyundai said in February that they would provide free software fixes for 8.3 million vehicles to stop a rash of thefts inspired by the TikTok videos.

Chicago saw thefts of the two car brands rise by a shocking 767 percent between July and August last year compared to the same period in 2021, according to Chicago police.

The troubling trend was seen in cities all across America and in Portland, Oregon, thefts of Hyundais were up 153 per cent while Kias were up 269 per cent, according to city police.

Authorities revealed these car thefts led to at least 14 reported crashes and eight fatalities

In Columbus, Ohio, the two brands made up 38 per cent of all cars stolen in 2022, the New York Post reported.

Out in Los Angeles, Kias and Hyundais were 20 per cent of all car thefts last August, up from 13 per cent at the same point the year before.

Police in Charlotte, North Carolina, reported last year that car thefts were 30 per cent higher than was typically the case, with the majority of vehicles being Kias and Hyundais.

Many major cities have sued the automakers over the thefts including St. Louis, Missouri, Cleveland, Ohio; San Diego, California; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Columbus, Ohio; Baltimore and Seattle.
FBI officials misused key surveillance tool when searching for Americans involved in the January 6 Capitol insurrection and the George Floyd protests of 2020, according to an explosive new court document which outlines the latest in a string of black marks against the agency.

The violations were first outlined in a secret court order from April 2022 by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The Office of the Director of the National Intelligence (ODNI) released a redacted version of the report Friday, which found the FBI did not follow its own standards when using Section 702 to conduct warrantless searches.

Section 702 under Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows U.S. federal intelligence agencies to conduct targeted searches of foreigners, but sometimes Americans are improperly searched in the process.

The report details how the FBI used Section 702 to 'query' - or search - names of individuals who were suspected of being on the Capitol grounds during the January 6, 2021 riot, Black Lives Matters protestors, victims of crime and their families and donors to one congressional campaign.

The report states 13 people connected to January 6 were queried in order to determine if they had 'foreign ties'

Due to clear violations of standard procedures on FIA, FBI agents then obtained information on Americans despite it not having any 'analytical, investigative or evidentiary purpose.'

The explosive report follows damning conclusions in Special Counsel John Durham's final report published on Monday - including the dismantling of the Steele dossier and 'salacious' claims against Donald Trump. He concluded the FBI did not have any 'factual evidence' to investigate Trump-Russia collusion.

The report states 13 people connected to January 6 were inappropriately queried in order to determine if they had 'foreign ties.'

In addition, over 130 individuals were searched in the database who were linked to the social unrest and riots conducted by Black Lives Matter activists in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

The FISA search was conducted to gain information on whether they were connected to any counterterrorism plots - which DOJ wrote in the report was 'reasonable,' but the high level of redactions don't allow for a fuller explanation.

There was also a 'batched inquiry' of over 19,000 donors to a congressional campaign, which was unnamed.

The FBI analyst who conducted the search said the campaign was a possible target of foreign influence.

However, the Department of Justice said there were only 'eight identifiers' used in the search in total that 'had sufficient ties to foreign influence activities to comply with the querying standard.'

Additionally, FBI FISA searches were conducted on crime victims, including 'individuals listed in police homicide reports, including victims, next-of-kin, witnesses, and suspects.'

DOJ said these queries were inappropriate because there was 'no reasonable basis' to expect the individuals would be linked to foreign intelligence through those searches.

In total, the FBI misused Section 702 over 278,000 times - according to the document.

The Section 702 provision is set to expire by the end of the year, so Congress is taking action and especially working to ensure abuses are not repeated.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan previously called Section 702 renewal 'the most important thing we are going to do this Congress.'

Jordan told DailyMail.com in a statement Friday: '[FBI Director] Chris Wray told us we can sleep well at night because of the FBIs so-called FISA reforms. But it just keeps getting worse.'

In December, ODNI declassified a 2021 report that includes instances of numerous FISA abuses.

It also revealed that the FBI searched the data for an 'unnamed' congressman and local political organizations when conducting an investigation into whether they had any ties to foreign intelligence.

The FBI said in a statement that since the ODNI report, the agency has made 'extensive changes' on Section 702 searches.

Over 100 individuals were searched in the database who were linked to the social unrest and riots in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and BLM protests

'Although we cannot comment on specific queries, the FBI has made extensive changes over the past few years  changes that post-date the period covered in the reports raised in the hearing today  to address 702 compliance issues, including standing up a whole new Office of Internal Audit currently focused on FISA compliance and instituting new policies requiring enhanced pre-approval requirements before certain 'sensitive' U.S. person queries can be run,' said an FBI spokesperson at the time.

'For example, 'sensitive' queries involving elected officials now require Deputy Director approval. We look forward to sharing the impact of our reforms. The FBI takes seriously its role as stewards of our 702 authorities, which are indispensable to fulfilling our mission of protecting Americans from foreign threats from countries like China, Russia, and Iran,' the statement continued.

In March, Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., revealed that his name was improperly searched by the FBI conducting a Section 702 query.

'I want to make clear the FBI's inappropriate querying of a duly elected member of Congress is egregious and a violation not only that degrades the trust in FISA, but is viewed as a threat to the separation of powers,' LaHood said during a House Intelligence Committee hearing.

Officials told the Associated Press that the 'unnamed congressional campaign' in the new court document is not connected to LaHood.
He confirmed that he is 'drawing up lawsuits' following the reaction his client faced after the video went viral

A pregnant physician's assistant is in hiding after a video showing the woman arguing with a man over a Citibike in New York went viral.

Sarah Comrie, 36, has reportedly received 'death threats' after footage was posted of her tussling with a man outside of Bellevue Hospital at the end of her shift.

Justin Marino, who is representing Comrie, says she was fearful she would lose her job over the incident  with the hospital putting her on administrative leave pending a review.

He said that he is 'preparing lawsuits', adding that there is 'no question' that outlets and individuals defamed the pregnant nurse.

Speaking to Fox News he said: 'She's received death threats. She's in hiding.

'What's at play is what social media did to this woman who's literally a hero, and has done nothing but help people and within one minute effectively tries to ruin her life.'

Sarah Comrie, 36, has reportedly received 'death threats' after footage showing her tussling with a man outside of Bellevue Hospital after finishing her shift

'She's been called a racist, she's been called a thief We plan to purse that.'

His comments come after DailyMail.com obtained the nurse's Citibike Receipt  which Marino claims proves the bike she was clutching in the footage was booked by her.

Marino said the documents show she booked the Citibike outside of Bellevue Hospital after finishing her 12-hour shift  because the number on the handlebars match the receipt.

They show the ride was ultimately canceled, and she wasn't charged, before booking another bike minutes after the incident.

Speaking to DailyMail.com about the incident, Marino said: 'The receipts show unequivocally that she got the bike first.

'But there is no animosity towards the men in the video. We frankly wish them the best in the future.

'The focus is clearing her name and going after the publications and high-profile names that defamed her.'

He added that their complaints are against anyone who suggested she was a racist, after she was branded a 'Karen'.

Justin Marino, who is representing Comrie, says she was fearful that she would lose her job over the incident  with the hospital putting her on administrative leave pending a review

DailyMail.com revealed the nurse's Citibike receipts - which her lawyer claims proves the number on the handlebars of bike she was clutching in the footage matches her document

The documents show that the ride was ultimately canceled, and she wasn't charged, before booking another bike minutes after the incident

A GoFundMe set up by her uncle has raised $51,109 of their goal, and will go towards paying her legal bills.

It read: 'She became embroiled in a much-publicized incident with a Citibike that unfairly painted her as a racist 'Karen.'

'The facts have since proven this is a lie, but the damage has been done. In fact, Sarah is a dedicated healthcare worker who is six months pregnant.

'She holds racial justice and equity dear, and has dedicated her life to serving NYC's most challenged individuals.'

Comrie, who had on blue scrubs emblazoned with 'NYC Health + Hospitals, could be seen screaming for help and tearing up as a crowd gathered around them when the video first emerged.

In the clip a friend of the man can be heard defending him, saying the woman - branded a 'Karen' after the video - was in fact trying to steal from him.

Marino has vehemently denied these allegations on behalf of his client in a statement which refers to the receipts.

At one point Comrie accuses the man of assault saying he's 'hurting my unborn baby,' though the man says she put his hand on her stomach

Comrie could even be seen crying in the video as she hopped onto the disputed bike

A roughly 90 second video of the incident was posted on TikTok and Twitter shows Comrie arguing with a man outside of New York City's Bellevue Hospital (pictured)

The first receipt shows the bike seen in the video was paid for and taken out before it was re-locked one minute later  identified by the number on the handle.

A second receipt he says is proof of a second bike being taken from the same docking station, which Comrie used to ride home.

Marino said his client was forced to get a second Citi Bike after being 'heckled and pressured' to do so  after initially taking the bike when 'no individuals were on our touching' it.

In a statement he said: 'One or more individuals in that group physically pushed her bike (with her on it) back into the docking station, causing it to re-lock.

'In blocking the QR code, this individual's arm was touching my client's pregnant stomach, a condition of which she had made them aware.

'Throughout this time and for the remainder of the video, roughly five individuals were telling her to get off the bike and heckling her.

'The fact anyone would treat another person like this is tragic, especially a visibly pregnant woman.'

DailyMail.com has contacted Bellevue Hospital for comment but has not received a response.

A roughly 90-second video of the incident was posted on TikTok and Twitter and shows Comrie arguing with the man outside of Bellevue over the weekend.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took his war on Disney to a New Hampshire diner, blasting the company for taking 'corporate welfare' after it announced it was pulling the plug on a $1 billion campus in is state.

The attack came just days before DeSantis is set to launch his official presidential campaign, on a day when he once again went after 'woke' culture and said 'men are men' in his home state.

'They want to have their own government at Disney, theyve had their own government for 50 years. Its massive corporate welfare, and were not going to do that,' DeSantis said Friday.

He made his comment at the famed Red Arrow Diner, a venue that hosted rival former President Donald Trump weeks ago as the two men circle each other in a state where Trump holds a substantial polling lead, but where DeSantis announced a raft of local political supporters.

Retail: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited the Red Arrow Diner in Manchester and met voters as he prepares to launch a presidential campaign. He took more shots at Disney after the company announced it was pulling the plug on a $1 billion campus in his home state

His pushback came a day after his battle with Disney and its powerful CEO Bob Iger experienced a major escalation, after the company announced it will scrap a new $1billion planned Orlando campus that would have brought 2,000 jobs to the state.

Development officials said the average salary there would be $120,000 in a complex totaling $1 billion  the type of home-state development politicians might tout at a ribbon cutting or brandish as proof of their political juice.

DeSantis is already trying to run on Florida's record following the end of the legislative session, touting its low unemployment rate and comparing it favorably Friday to New York's.

Standing behind the counter before a screen flashing 'famous visitors,' DeSantis said of Disney: 'They're going to live under the same laws as everybody else. They're going to pay their fair share of taxes and they're not going to govern themselves. We the people are going to govern, and to put one corporation on a pedestal and let them be exempt from the laws is not good policy,' he said.

DeSantis spoke with customers, at an event where media members also filled the establishment

Hie trip to the early primary state came days before an expected campaign launch

The Walt Disney Co. and its powerful CEO took its war with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to a new level Thursday, announcing it will scrap a new $1billion planned Orlando campus that would have brought 2,000 jobs to the state

Trump, who holds a 20-point lead in New Hampshire according to an April poll, blasted DeSantis again on his Truth Social platform

'It's not free market economics. And it's not something that our state is going to be involved in. And so we will not change from that. They can do whatever they want. I know people try to chirp and say this or that. The chance of us backing down on that is zero.'

The company's stunning decision follows a year of attacks from Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida legislature, with Disney filing a First Amendment lawsuit against him and other officials last month.

The company cited 'changing business conditions' in its statement Thursday.

In other comments Friday, DeSantis tore into 'woke' culture on campus, and said his Florida has 'got moxie,' riffing on a magazine piece about his state as he prepares to champion his home state with a launch in Miami.

'Basically they said, you know, it's the free state of Florida where woke is broke, where men are men and where business is booming,' he said. 'And I'm like, you know what? That's not a bad slogan.'

DeSantis' chief rival, former President Donald Trump, tore into him again on Friday.

'Sorry, but Ron DeSanctimonious is UNELECTABLE, and everyone knows why,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social website.

'Im leading Biden by 11 Points. RAN TWICE, WON TWICE, AND DID MUCH BETTER THE SECOND TIME (ELECTION WAS RIGGED!). MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!' he wrote, describing an election where he trailed Biden by 7 million votes and beat him 306-232 in the Electoral College.

Trump leads DeSantis by 56 to 19.9 in the latest RealClearPolitics average. That lead has only grown since Trump was found liable for sexual abuse in the E. Jean Carroll trial while still facing a federal January 6 and federal documents probe, a New York trial related to his business, and a Georgia probe of his election overturn effort there.

Trump led DeSantis 42-22 in New Hampshire in a UNH poll released last month.

Trump visited the same Manchester diner three weeks ago, where a crowd developed both outside and inside. Back in 2016, when he made an appearance there, an exiting patron yelled 'Enjoy your burger, racist!' while he was dining.
A 'repugnant' memorial to a slave owner which praises him for quelling a rebellion has been removed from a church to a museum in the first relocation of its kind.

The plaque in St Peter's Church, Dorchester, Dorset, commemorates John Gordon who managed plantations in Jamaica for absentee British owners, and also owned some plantations himself.

Originally from Scotland, Mr Gordon died in 1774 in Dorchester as he was travelling to Falmouth to catch a ship to return to Jamaica but had no known Dorset connections.

The Church of England took the action to move the plaque to the nearby Dorset Museum where it will be viewable on request after churchgoers questioned its presence in the church.

A spokeswoman for the Diocese of Salisbury said: 'The memorial is highly unusual in recording an actual instance of rebellion by enslaved people - Tacky's revolt of 1760 - and is considered to be of historical importance for this reason.

A 250-year-old church memorial stone honouring Dr John Gordon, the former owner of a Jamaican slave plantation, has now be removed

Gordon, who died in 1774, was memorialised on a wall close to the entrance of the 15th century Grade 1 listed town centre church of St Peter, Holy Trinity and All Saints in Dorchester

'However the wording on the monuments explicitly refers to Gordon's actions in quelling the rebellion, praising him and using offensive language.

'Many worshippers at St Peter's and visitors had long felt the monument had no place in a church which sought to be open and welcoming to everybody.

Max Hebditch, a historian who attends St Peter's, carried out research into Gordon and the church applied through the Church of England's planning system for the monument to be removed from the wall and put in Dorset Museum next door.

Ruth Arlow, diocese chancellor, said: 'The monument celebrated in language of acclamation the violent quelling of a rebellion by enslaved people against a status that is now universally acknowledged as morally repugnant and contrary to Christian doctrine.

'Its continued presence in the building seemed to imply the continued support, or at least toleration and acceptance, of discrimination and oppression and was inconsistent with the message of the universality of God's love which the community of St Peter's sought to share.'

Harvard University Professor Vincent Brown, author of Tacky's Revolt, The Story Of An Atlantic Slave War, supported research into the monument undertaken by the church.

He said: 'The Diocese of Salisbury's decision represents a model for taking history seriously by honouring the values of the present without erasing or forgetting the past.

'To remember enslavers is not to celebrate them rather it is to acknowledge the dark legacy of their influence on our world.'

Church authorities had voted to remove the memorial in 2020, but the decision had to go through the formal legal process. The parochial church council instead placed a temporary cover over the stone to censor the controversial text

The Archdeacon of Sherborne, Penny Sayer, said: 'Local people were asking if it was appropriate to have such a monument in a church, or is it more appropriate to have it somewhere else.

'It is really important that the story is told, particularly because it mentions Tacky's revolt which represents hidden voices, people whose stories are not often told.

'There were very careful steps taken by the church to ensure the monument was researched and the right process followed.'

The memorial is to be replaced with a simple plaque noting details of the life and death of Gordon whose descendants have been consulted on the replacement.

The plaque originally sparked complaints from anti-racism campaigners in 2020, during the height of the worldwide BLM protests. Stand Up To Racism Dorset had written a letter to church authorities requesting that action be taken.

'This plaque is morally wrong. Commemorating and approving of slavery, racism and murder is morally wrong,' David Rhodes, member of the activist group, told BBC three years ago.

'We cannot change the past or the history but we can change the future,' Mona Elkotory, of South West Dorset Multicultural Network, echoed at the time.

Church authorities later voted to remove the memorial, but the decision had to go through the formal legal process.

The parochial church council instead placed a temporary cover over the stone to censor the controversial text.

Officials rejected the option to let the memorial remain permanently with the text covered. The council later agreed to apply for removal and voted for it to be moved to a museum.
A Metropolitan Police officer has been sacked without notice after being convicted of sexually assaulting a child at a party.

In another shocking case involving a serving police officer, the Met said a misconduct hearing found PC Farhan Ghadiali had breached the standards of professional behaviour in relation to discreditable conduct.

Ghadiali, attached to the Central West Command Unit, was found guilty of sexual assault on Friday March 24 at Chelmsford Crown Court following an investigation by Essex Police.

According to the Met, the jury found that Ghadiali, whilst off duty, had sexually assaulted a child in September 2019 at a party held in Buckhurst Hill, Essex.

Ghadiali, who had been suspended from duty since December 2020, is due to be sentenced on Wednesday May 24.

PC Farhan Ghadiali has been sacked without notice after being convicted of sexually assaulting a child at a party. (file image)

It was alleged at a misconduct hearing on Friday that Ghadiali's actions amounted to a breach of the professional standards of behaviour in respect of discreditable conduct.

The Met said the panel found the allegations proven as gross misconduct and he was dismissed without notice.

Chief Superintendent Louise Puddefoot, Central West Command Unit, said: 'Pc Ghadiali was found guilty of an extremely serious offence.

'If the Met is to secure both the confidence and trust of the public we need to better protect our integrity by rooting out those that are not fit to serve, such as this individual who today has been dismissed.

'We are putting more resources into investigating allegations of such misconduct.'

It comes in the same week as another serving Met Police officer, PC Callum Utley, attached to the West Area Command Unit, was charged with rape.

He is alleged to have assaulted the victim while off-duty in Buckinghamshire in 2019 and will appear at High Wycombe Magistrates' Court on May 25.

Meanwhile earlier this month, two more off-duty Met officers were arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, beating and raping a woman after meeting her at a nightclub.

According to the Met, the jury found that Ghadiali, whilst off duty, had sexually assaulted a child in September 2019 at a party held in Buckhurst Hill, Essex

Swathes of cases continue to crop up in the Met following Baroness Casey's damning review into Scotland Yard. She described the force as broken' and its 'rotten' ranks are riven with racism, misogyny and homophobia.

Her March report also said the Met cannot be trusted to police itself and may harbour many more predatory officers like Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens and serial rapist David Carrick.

In the most damning report in its near 200-year history, the force was described as institutionally racist and corrupt as well as misogynistic and homophobic.
A Maryland man has been wielding an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle next to a school bus stop, terrifying parents and children alike, for weeks.

A video recorded by one of the children's parents, Jamie sparrow, shows the man standing across the street from the bus stop, holding the firearm pointed downward. The man has been there for weeks, Sparrow told WBAL-TV.

The man in question has been self-identified as J'den McAdory. He admitted to protesting against Maryland's gun laws by standing near the elementary school bus stop in Severn with his AR-15 rifle.

Parents have expressed concerns over potential dangers, claiming the bus driver has occasionally refused to drop children off at the bus stop due to the man's presence.

McAdory claimed that his aim was not to frighten children or parents, but rather to highlight the legality of his actions.

A Maryland man has been wielding an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle next to a school bus stop, terrifying parents and children for weeks

A video recorded by one of the children's parents shows the man standing across the street from the bus stop holding the firearm

The man in question has been self-identified as J'den McAdory

McAdory admitted to protesting against Maryland's gun laws by standing near the elementary school bus stop in Severn with his AR-15 rifle

McAdory claimed that his aim was not to frighten children or parents but to highlight the legality of his actions

'I really wasn't coming out here for the kids, I was coming out here to show people that this is legal,' he stated, emphasizing that responsible gun ownership was the key.

'Guns can be safe if they're controlled by the right person,' he said.

According to Sparrow, McAdory told him and his family as they were walking by: You guys are looking at me like a bunch of scared bowling pins. Wow. Bowling pins.'

'You know what I mean? I guess youre the bowling ball if were the bowling pins,' Sparrow said.

Anne Arundel County police confirmed that McAdory's carrying of the firearm was permitted under Maryland law, but due to mounting worries, officers said they were upping their presence in the area to address concerns and ease tensions.

Another parent, Michael Haley, expressed anxiety over the situation

'Theyre trained to hide if this thing (a gun) enters their school, and its right there,' said Michael Haley, another parent. 'How can they not be a little nervous about that? How can that not give them anxiety?'

On May 16, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat, signed the Gun Safety Act of 2023 along with other gun safety measures.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signs one of several gun-control measures May 16, 2023

The governor explained that these laws aimed to enhance community safety and reduce gun-related crimes.

One provision of the Gun Safety Act, effective October 1, prohibits carrying firearms in areas frequented by children or vulnerable adults, such as schools or healthcare facilities.

However, not everyone supported the governor's actions. The Maryland State Rifle & Pistol Association, the state affiliate of the National Rifle Association (NRA), filed a lawsuit against Governor Moore, asserting that the legislation violated the First, Second, and 14th Amendments.

The lawsuit argued that the new law further limited the places where law-abiding citizens with carry permits could exercise their right to bear arms for self-defense outside their homes.

This legal battle echoes a recent Supreme Court case involving the National Association for Gun Rights, which accused the city of Naperville and the state of Illinois of infringing upon the Second Amendment by prohibiting semi-automatic assault weapons.

The introduction of these gun safety measures in Maryland responds to the alarming rise in mass shootings throughout the United States, aiming to protect communities and ensure a safer future for Maryland residents.

One in twenty Americans own an AR-15 automatic rifle

There has been more than 13,900 people killed in gun violence so far in 2023

This comes after multiple recent mass shootings. In April, a Texas man massacred five neighbors including an eight-year-old boy after they asked him to stop shooting his gun at 11:30pm because they were trying to get a baby to sleep.

And just this Monday, an 18-year-old New Mexico gunman murdered three in AR-15 rampage.

Tolly Taylor, the WBAL-TV reporter who first covered the story, teased the segment on Twitter before it aired, suggestion there were 'two sides'. Taylor's tweet did not sit well for many and has been gaining criticism online.

'A man with an AR-15 has been showing up for weeks to a school bus drop off for local elementary school students. Parents say their kids are afraid, the man says hes protesting @GovWesMoores new gun control law. Youll hear from both sides at 5+6pm,' he tweeted.

In his interview with McAdory, Taylor asked: 'For parents who might ask, just because you can do this, does that mean that you should do this?'

'No, it does not mean that,' he replied. 'But I think that if I do this enough, that it will create enough deterrence from crime in the area.'

But McAdory told Taylor that he came to an agreement with school district officials claiming he will no longer protest during school pickup or drop off times.
On April 1, 1983  appropriately, All Fools' Day  the distinguished British historian Hugh Trevor-Roper was telephoned at his country home in Scotland by Colin Webb, assistant editor of The Times newspaper.

Seventy-year-old Trevor-Roper was an independent national director of the Rupert Murdoch-owned Times Newspapers and this call concerned a discovery of great historical significance.

In strict confidence, Webb told him the German current affairs magazine Stern had discovered the private diaries of Adolf Hitler. A former Regius Professor of History at Oxford and now Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, Trevor-Roper was immediately sceptical.

Many fakes circulated in this grey area  forged documents about Martin Bormann (Hitler's deputy), forged diaries of Eva Braun (Hitler's wife), falsified interviews with Hitler.

Besides, it was well known that Hitler disliked putting pen to paper and had virtually given up writing in his own hand after 1933. There had never been any suggestion he had kept a diary  but if he had, and if it had now been discovered, it would certainly rank as one of the greatest historical finds of modern times.

Some 40 years ago, the Hitler Diaries were exposed as fakes after a petty thief fooled a hop historian and titans of the publishing industry. Pictured: Hitler at his desk in 1932

Distinguished British historian Hugh Trevor-Roper (pictured) flew out to Zurich, where the diaries were being kept in a bank vault, and examined them

Webb explained that Stern was offering to sell the foreign serial rights, and Murdoch wanted an expert's opinion before making an offer. Would Trevor-Roper, as an authority on the period and a director of the company, fly out to Zurich, where the diaries were being kept in a bank vault, and examine them? Trevor-Roper said he would.

Here was a crucial moment in what would turn out to be the most famous and fantastical publishing fraud of all time. Forty years on, it remains a cautionary tale about what happens when people so desperately want something to be true that they suspend their disbelief.

At the time, the appetite for reading about Hitler seemed insatiable, with over 70 biographies of him in existence  from which we knew that the Fuhrer liked cream cakes, dumb blondes, fast cars, mountain scenery; that he disliked lipstick, modern art, opinionated women and the screech of an owl.

The detail was immense and yet the portrait it added up to remained oddly unconvincing and elusive. To see his life in his own words, a first-hand account, day by day, would be irresistible.

The man who claimed to possess the diaries was Gerd Heidemann, a veteran reporter and photographer on Stern with an obsessive interest in the Third Reich.

He collected memorabilia (including, bizarrely, Hermann Goering's private yacht) and sought the company of anyone who had been close to Hitler, particularly in his final days in the bunker in Berlin.

It was from a former SS officer that Heidemann first heard the rumour that Hitler had kept diaries, which, incredibly, had survived him. Following up this lead, he discovered a fellow Nazi obsessive, wealthy businessman Fritz Stiefel, who not only had one of the diaries but opened up his safe to show him.

A slim, A4-sized book with hard black covers, it had gothic initials in the bottom right-hand corner which appeared to be 'AH'. There were a hundred or more lined pages; some were half full, some blank; some written in pencil, others in ink.

Many of the pages bore Hitler's signature. The writing itself was virtually indecipherable. It covered the period January to June 1935.

Where had the book come from? Heidemann asked. Stiefel said it was salvaged by local peasants from a plane crash at the end of the war in what was now communist East Germany.

Forger Konrad Kujau holds up one of the diaries that he forged and sold to gullible journalists

The fake Hitler diaries published by Stern in 1983 can be seen in Hamburg's editorial building as part of the 'Journalism Day'

Who gave it to him? A man in Stuttgart who had relatives in senior positions in East Germany. No, he wouldn't reveal his name.

Were there more diaries? Stiefel thought there might be another 26, each covering a six-month period.

Heidemann checked out aspects of the story and established that a transport plane carrying documents of great value to Hitler had undoubtedly taken off from Berlin not long before his suicide. The Junkers 352 had crashed outside a village near Dresden. There was also evidence of Hitler's distress at the loss of valuable documents in a mysterious air crash.

The story seemed simple and credible, and it checked out further when Heidemann identified the man from Stuttgart as Konrad Fischer.

On being approached, Fischer explained that his brother was a general in the East German army and, from peasants in the area, had acquired a hoard of material they had salvaged from the burning aircraft and hidden locally for more than 30 years. He wanted to smuggle it to the West and sell it.

And it wasn't just diaries, he revealed, but other Hitler writings as well, including, astonishingly, an opera Hitler apparently co-wrote in his youth, entitled Wieland The Blacksmith. There were also numerous original paintings by Hitler.

Heidemann offered him 2 million marks (equivalent to 532,000) for the diaries and a guarantee of absolute secrecy. A deal was agreed.

But in Konrad Kujau, alias Konrad Fischer, alias Peter Fischer, alias Heinz Fischer, alias Dr Fischer, alias Dr Kujau, alias 'The Professor', alias 'The General', known to his many friends as Conny, Heidemann had met someone whose talent for inventing stories was equal to his own capacity for believing them.

Trevor-Roper was preparing to leave for Heathrow to fly to Zurich, where the diaries were lodged in a bank vault, when the telephone rang.

It was Charles Douglas-Home, the editor of The Times, with the news that Murdoch was taking a personal interest in the project and could not afford to sit around while transcripts were studied; if he did, he would lose the deal.

Douglas-Home asked Trevor-Roper to ring London from Zurich that same afternoon with a preliminary assessment of the diaries' authenticity.

The fastidious Trevor-Roper was 'very irritated' by the request. It was ridiculous to expect him to reach a conclusion so quickly. But, 'under the pressure of events' and with assurances from Douglas-Home that this would only be an interim opinion, he agreed.

By the time the plane landed in Zurich, Trevor-Roper was finding it difficult to keep an open mind about the diaries. He was almost certain it was a wasted journey, but having come so far he thought he might as well at least see them.

In Konrad Kujau (pictured), alias Konrad Fischer, alias Peter Fischer, alias Heinz Fischer, alias Dr Fischer, alias Dr Kujau, alias 'The Professor', alias 'The General', known to his many friends as Conny, Heidemann had met someone whose talent for inventing stories was equal to his own capacity for believing them

At 3pm that same day, he was bent over a table in the bank on which were carefully arranged 58 volumes in a stack more than 2ft high, along with other Hitler documents, paintings, drawings and memorabilia, including a World War I helmet, supposedly authenticated as Hitler's. Seen in its entirety, the archive looked stunning in its scope and variety.

But Trevor-Roper's specialist field  his book The Last Days Of Hitler notwithstanding  was the 16th and 17th centuries. He was not a German scholar. He was not fluent in the language and had admitted as much in a review of Mein Kampf published a decade earlier.

Written in an archaic script impenetrable even to most Germans, the diaries might as well have been composed of Egyptian hieroglyphics for all the sense he could make of them.

For translation, he had to rely on representatives from Stern, who were there beside him giving him their sales patter, arguing for authenticity.

They showed him photographs of graves linked to the crashed plane in which the diaries had been found and reports of independent handwriting experts who confirmed the writing was Hitler's. As Trevor-Roper leafed through the books, his doubts 'gradually dissolved'.

On at least one point he was deliberately misled. He was told the age of the paper had been chemically tested and found to come from the right period. This was not true.

Trevor-Roper, a top-level intelligence officer in the war and an academic with a formidably penetrating mind, was never renowned as a trusting and simple soul. Nevertheless, it does not seem to have occurred to him that his hosts might lie to him.

Stern stood to gain a fortune if the syndication negotiations proved successful: for that reason alone, their statements should have been treated with scepticism. But he trusted them. He could see no reason why Stern should choose to sell forgeries.

A page of the Hitler Diaries which Konrad Kujau, once a petty thief who used to forge 7 luncheon vouchers, wrote

'I was also impressed,' he said, 'by the sheer bulk of the diaries. Who, I asked myself, would forge 60 volumes when six would have served his purpose?'

By the time he left the bank, he was convinced the diaries were genuine. He rang Times editor Charles Douglas Home to tell him so  and Murdoch flew out to see them for himself and seal the deal.

Konrad Kujau was a short, round-faced man with a bald head and drooping moustache. Now 45, he'd had a chequered background as a factory worker, a labourer and a painter as well as a small-time thief who'd been in and out of jail. In 1963, his police record shows a conviction for forgery after he counterfeited luncheon vouchers to the value of 27 marks (7).

To call him a compulsive liar would not do justice to the sheer exuberant scale of his deceptions. He changed his surname, his date and place of birth, his back history, everything. He gave various complex explanations for how he'd escaped from East Germany to the West. There was no particular reason for most of these lies: he simply liked telling stories.

With his common law wife, Edith, he ran a very successful cleaning company in Stuttgart. But after the couple returned to East Germany for a visit, he had a new idea for making money, one which was more in tune with his private interests than cleaning windows.

Since childhood he had been obsessed with guns, medals and uniforms from the Nazi era. There was a flourishing demand for such objects in the West, and in the attics and junk shops of communist Germany, there was a ready and cheap supply. He advertised in newspapers for 'relics' and smuggled them back across the border.

He cut a curious figure, simultaneously comic and sinister. Guns and swords decorated the walls of his house. He frequently wore a pistol which, after an evening's consumption of vodka, he would fire into the air.

Eventually, he moved his growing collection to a shop, where he would meet dealers and sell and buy anything with a military connection.

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch (pictured in 1981) flew out to see the Hitler Diaries for himself and seal the deal

Using this flourishing business as a cover, he was now able to exploit to the full what he had discovered to be his greatest and most lucrative skill: forgery.

He could execute a passable imitation of the handwriting of all the Nazi notables  Goering, Goebbels, Himmler. The forgeries were crude. He used modern paper, created headed stationery by using Letraset and aged documents by pouring tea over them.

He guessed, rightly, that his customers would never take them to experts to check. Public display of Nazi memorabilia was illegal in West Germany and any collections were generally kept, a guilty secret, behind locked doors.

When it came to Hitler, not only could he copy Hitler's handwriting, he could also forge his paintings, for which there was a flourishing market. (The Marquess of Bath had 60 in his 'Hitler Room' at Longleat.)

Such forgeries earned Kujau tens of thousands of marks  and he did not even have to go looking for customers. Furtive, wealthy and eager to believe, they came looking for him.

His best customer was Fritz Stiefel, spending 250,000 marks on 60 drawings, oil paintings and watercolours supposedly by Hitler, along with 80 handwritten poems, speech notes, letters and manuscripts.

He was amazed by Kujau's ability to produce these. 'I assumed he must have really good connections in East Germany.' Kujau could scarcely believe his client's gullibility. 'If I'd told him I'd got Hitler's underpants he'd have got equally worked up,' he said.

When it came to Hitler (pictured), not only could Kujau copy Hitler's handwriting, he could also forge his paintings, for which there was a flourishing market

He also sold Stiefel a silk-lined leather box, which he had bought at Stuttgart railway station, containing 233 handwritten pages of the 'original manuscript' of Mein Kampf. Kujau had simply copied it, verbatim, from the published book. On the title page he wrote in Hitler's hand: 'The Struggle of the Times, or The Struggle or My Struggle. Which title impresses more? Adolf Hitler.'

Kujau subsequently claimed that he copied out the Mein Kampf manuscript as a means of practising Hitler's handwriting and there can be no question but that he became extraordinarily proficient at it.

In the cellar at home were some school notebooks, bought for a few marks in a shop in East Berlin. Kujau had originally intended using them to catalogue his collection. Now he took one out, dipped his pen in a pot of black ink, and started to write. When the ink ran out, he switched to pencil. 'It was easy,' he said later. As a finishing touch, he stuck some imitation metal initials in gothic script on the cover.

The initials, bought by Kujau in a department store, were made of plastic in Hong Kong, and were in fact 'FH', not 'AH' as Kujau had thought. It was, like all his forgeries, slipshod and home-made. It would not have withstood an hour's expert examination.

During one of Stiefel's regular visits to the shop, Kujau brought out the book and laid it on the table in front of him. 'That,' he told him, 'is a Hitler diary.' Stiefel examined it carefully. 'He was not so much fascinated by the contents,' said Kujau, 'as by the initials I'd stuck on the front of it.'

He asked if he could borrow it and Kujau agreed. 'I took it home with me and read through it,' recalled Stiefel. He then locked the book away in his safe with the rest of his faked Hitler manuscripts.

The front page of the Daily Mail newspaper on May 7, 1983: THE TIMES WANTS ITS MONEY BACK!

At around the same time that he received the diary, Stiefel decided the time had come to seek an expert's opinion on his remarkable Hitler archive. He was given the name of 76-year-old 'Professor' August Priesack, who had been employed by the Nazi Party between 1935 and 1939 to track down Hitler's paintings.

For Kujau, this was a decisive moment. So far he'd had to fool only amateur enthusiasts. Now his work was to be judged by a supposed expert. A lot hung on this. He had signed an agreement with Stiefel guaranteeing that everything he sold him was 'original' and 'contemporary'. If anything turned out to be fake, Kujau had to give Stiefel a complete refund.

He need not have worried. Priesack took one look at Stiefel's collection and declared it to be of 'great historical significance'. He pointed to a watercolour. 'I last held that in my hands in 1936,' he declared.

'It was then,' said Kujau later, 'that I knew what kind of an expert he was. I had only finished that painting ten days before.'

Stiefel then showed Priesack his Hitler diary. The so-called expert was hugely impressed by the existence of such a book and spent an hour reading through it, although he had to confess to a certain disappointment in its contents.

Kujau had filled it almost entirely with lists of appointments and proclamations lifted out of the Nazi yearbook. One more personal entry ran: 'E [Eva Braun] now has two little puppies so time does not lie too heavily on her hands. Must have a word with E about Goering, too. His attitude towards her just isn't correct. All quiet on the health front.'

Despite the triviality of the content, Priesack had no doubts the book was genuine. He told Kujau: 'You must find more documents. History will thank you.' Kujau said he understood from his sources in East Germany that the diaries spanned 13 years, from 1932 to 1945.

Kujau was by now leading a life of bewildering complexity. He was running the shop in Stuttgart. He was organising the illegal export of memorabilia from East Germany. He was forging documents and paintings. He was still nominally in charge of his wife's cleaning company. He was answering to at least two different names. And as if this was not enough, he had now begun deceiving Edith by taking a full-time mistress.

At a party not long after at Stiefel's house, a drunken Kujau boasted to another guest, former SS man Jakob Tiefenthaeler, that he could bring to the West diaries which had been on board one of the Fuhrer's planes which had crashed in East Germany at the end of the war. He said he could only bring them out one at a time to avoid suspicion.

The following day Stiefel showed Tiefenthaeler the diary in his possession. A few weeks later, Tiefenthaeler told Gerd Heidemann what he had seen and, at the beginning of 1980, Heidemann himself visited Stiefel, also saw the 1935 diary and heard the story of the crashed Junkers 352.

What gives Kujau's fraud from this point onwards a touch of real genius is that, having made the connection between the wrecked transport plane and the diaries, he left it to others to research the background.

Never did the victim of a hoax work more assiduously towards his own entrapment than Stern's reporter, Heidemann, putting in long hours and even risking dismissal from Stern to make the story of the diaries credible. It is not surprising that by the end he wanted to believe in their existence so desperately: by then he had put more work into them than Kujau did.

After agreeing a 2 million mark price for the diaries, Kujau set to work to produce the goods. To sustain him through his labours over the next two years, he, like any conscientious professional writer, established a regular routine.

He would get up at 6am, cook himself a heavy breakfast of fried potatoes and two fried eggs and, thus fortified, retire to his studio where he would work right through the day, without even stopping for lunch.

When the police raided his premises in 1983 they carried out ten cartons full of books and articles he had accumulated to help him establish Hitler's daily activities. There were 515 books and newspapers in his workroom, 106 additional periodicals in his cellar.

Stuffed into them were thousands of bookmarks  playing cards, blotting paper, even toilet paper  marking passages required for the concoction of the diaries. He would write out a rough draft in pencil and then transfer it in ink into one of the school notebooks kept in his cellar.

He finished the first three volumes in ten days and dressed up each cover with a red wax seal in the shape of a German eagle, together with a label, signed by Rudolf Hess, declaring them to be Hitler's property.

When the police raided Kujau's premises in 1983 they carried out ten cartons full of books and articles he had accumulated to help him establish Hitler's daily activities

He bashed them about for a while to age them, and sprinkled some tea over the pages. He then rang Heidemann to tell him the news the reporter had been desperate to hear  the first of Hitler's diaries were on their way to him.

Heidemann took them to Stern headquarters and laid them out in front of Manfred Fischer, managing director of Gruner and Jahr, the magazine's parent company and paymaster.

It was a moment of almost religious solemnity as Heidemann picked up one of the diaries and held it with great care. It was 'bound in black', he recalled, '1.5 centimetres thick'. He could not read the old Germanic script in which it was written, but it felt genuine.

Fischer was impressed by the slightly battered appearance of the books. 'They were a little bit damaged. The tops of the pages were bent. But it was a very special experience to hold such a thing in your hand, with the certainty that this diary was written by him  and now I have it in my grasp . . .'

The presence of Hitler as contained in this unknown record of his intimate thoughts cast a spell even over a cool, modern-minded German businessmen like him. He authorised their acquisition for 85,000 marks per volume  and all without consulting a handwriting expert, a forensic scientist or a historian.

It was, rather, a case of blind faith, 'a kind of blackout,' as Fischer later described his actions.

Working against the clock to satisfy Heidemann's demand for diaries, Kujau resorted to wholesale plagiarism, copying out page after page from a two-volume edition of Hitler's Speeches and Proclamations.

Whenever he had forged a new batch he would telephone Heidemann and tell him a lorryload of pianos containing a fresh consignment of the books had arrived from East Germany.

Heidemann would pick up the packages from Kujau's shop, leaving behind the payment. Though Kujau didn't know it, the packets of cash he was given held considerably less than they had when Heidemann took them from the safe at Gruner and Jahr. The likelihood is that Heidemann stole almost half of it for himself.

Kujau turned out the diaries so quickly he soon exhausted his stock of school notebooks. He flew to West Berlin, crossed into the East, and in a taxi travelled from shop to shop, buying up 22 old-fashioned, black-bound volumes. The whole lot cost him 77 marks.

Shortly afterwards Kujau passed on to Heidemann some wonderful news from his brother in East Germany. The haul of Hitler writings salvaged from the plane crash was much larger than first thought. It now appeared there were 60 diaries.

Adapted from Selling Hitler: The Story Of The Hitler Diaries by Robert Harris, published by Cornerstone at 10.99.  Robert Harris 2023. To order a copy for 9.89 (offer valid to 03/06/23; UK P&P free on orders over 25), visit www.mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937.
SITEKI  A head-on collision involving two trucks on Wednesday night claimed the lives of a father and his son at Etibayeni, an area under Nduma community.

According to an eyewitness, the accident happened just a few minutes before 8pm, when the Toyota Hino horse and trailer truck collided with a Nissan mini-truck. The eyewitness said the horse and trailer truck was coming from the Lomahasha direction, from Mozambique, destined to Durban in South Africa, supposedly from delivering cars while the mini-truck was travelling towards Lomahasha. The deceased duo, Timothy Sifundza and his son Gcina, together with the driver of the Toyota Hino horse and trailer truck, were rushed to the Good Shepherd Catholic Hospital.

Certified

The two were certified dead upon arrival, while the driver of the horse and trailer truck was treated and discharged after he sustained a minor injury on his left leg. Both trucks were extensively damaged. The eyewitness said upon examining the scene of the accident, it appeared that the horse and trailer truck overtook a bus while there was an oncoming motor vehicle, which resulted in the accident. He stated that the two were both working at Tambankulu Estate.

Adding, the eyewitness stated that the occupants of the mini-truck were trapped for almost two hours, while onlookers made attempts to call police officers from the Simunye Police Station, who in turn further contacted the Siteki Fire, Rescue and and Emergency Services station. The eyewitness confirmed that the occupants were from a Sifundza family and they were certified dead on the spot when the Siteki Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services personnel retrieved them from the mini-truck.

It was a nasty accident considering that people tried to assist the occupants of the mini-truck but failed as the doors were not opening. The fire and emergency personnel used the jaws of life to assist. The driver was aged 50 while the passenger was aged 30, said the eyewitness. A Shewula resident, Bheki Sifundza also confirmed that the deceased duo worked at Tambankulu Estate.

Overtaking

The resident said the driver of the horse and trailer truck was overtaking a bus when an oncoming motor vehicle disturbed the drivers decision, resulting in both the mini-truck driver and that of the horse and trailers attempts to avoid each other failing. Bheki said the horse and trailer truck dragged the mini-truck to the reserve side of the road. He said attempts to assist the occupants of the mini-truck failed as they remained trapped inside their vehicle until the arrival of the police, together with the Siteki Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services personnel, who retrieved the lifeless bodies.

It was a shocking accident which left everyone traumatised by the fact that it claimed the life of a father and his son. We are still reeling from shock, he said.

Lomahasha Inkhundla Indvuna Nkosingiphile Mphaphu said he was yet to get more details about the accident. I heard about the accident but I am still yet to get finer details about it, he said. Make Mkhabela, wife to the late Timothy, said they were still shocked. We are still traumatised as a family about the accident, she briefly said. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said the driver of the horse and trailer truck was aged 43 and was from Mbokojweni. he said the Toyota Hino truck collided head-on with the Nissan mini-truck driven by a 50-year-old man of Nduma.

The driver of the Nissan mini-truck, together with his passenger, a 30-year-old of Nduma, sustained serious injuries and they were rushed to Good Shephered Hospital where they were certified dead upon arrival. The driver of the Toyota Hino truck was slightly injured on his left leg and was treated and discharged at same hospital. Both motor vehicles were extensively damaged, she said.
Hawaii's governor used his experience as a physician to help a man trapped in an overturned vehicle in a lava field while on his way to a speaking event Thursday.

Josh Green, 53, was photographed on his hands and knees taking part in the impromptu rescue off Waikoloa Road in Hawaiis South Kohala District.

The area where the crash occurred - a winding stretch between Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Waikoloa Village - has already sparked concern in the past over high number of traffic accidents.

Recounting the ordeal to local news outlets, Green described how he selflessly sprang into action within minutes of his bodyguards spotting the wreck - which he said occurred after the car was 'launched about 50 to 60 feet' in midair.

Revealing the man was still trapped in the vehicle at the time, Green - who spent years working in emergency rooms before becoming Hawaii's ninth governor this past August - recalled how he and others removed 'a lot' of rock before they were able to free the man, and eventually walk him to an ambulance shortly after.

Scroll down for video:

Josh Green, seen bending down in the middle of the frame, got on his hands and knees taking part in the impromptu rescue - which transpired in the middle of a lava field off Waikoloa Road

Green, who before becoming the state's ninth governor worked as an emergency room doctor on Hawaii's Big Island, is seen walking the unidentified victim - who he said only sustained cuts and bruises despite being launch '50 to 60 feet in the air' to an ambulance after freeing him

'He was upside down in a totally smashed up van,' Green told Hawaii News Now of the driver, who has yet to be identified.

'It appears he launched about 50 to 60 feet into the air and into the gulch, so his car was destroyed,' the former physician added of how the crash occurred, and how he and others were on the scene well before any first-responders.

He recalled of the rescue that would ensue: 'We were able to get him out through the front windshield, removed a lot of rock, and seven or eight citizens with me, we just pulled this guy out.'

The Democrat, who worked as emergency room doctor in rural parts of the state's Big Island for more than four years, further remarked how the driver fortunately had been wearing a seatbelt - likely saving his life during the near-death experience.

'Thank goodness he was seat belted in,' the first-year governor commented.

He added that aside from a few cuts and bruises, in another stroke of good fortune, the driver miraculously appeared all right - and was able to walk with only a little help to an ambulance once first-responders arrived on the scene shortly thereafter.

A dramatic photo snapped at the scene shows that Green was one of two people to escort the victim to the emergency vehicle, making sure he was OK and responsive.

The area where the crash occurred - a winding stretch between Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Waikoloa Village on Hawaii's Big Island - has already sparked concern in the past over high number of traffic accidents

The man was then transported to a nearby hospital for treatment, though his condition has yet to be confirmed.

DailyMail.com has reached out to his office for comment on the crash and subsequent rescue.

That said, the traumatic experience did little to deter the veteran doctor for appearing at a blessing ceremony a few miles away at Waikoloa Solar and Storage Facility, as part of a pledge to move the state toward the eventual goal of running on 100% renewable energy.

His speech went on without a hitch, as news of his heroics at the time were still unknown.

'We will continue to build on this work to accelerate the transition, create jobs and support a sustainable economy,' he said of Hawaii's push to be more green, shortly before his office shared photos of the rescue.

'The positive impact the project will have on the environment and the community extends far beyond the next 25 years and we look forward to co-creating more transformative projects like this in the future.'

hTe traumatic experience did little to deter the veteran doctor for appearing at a blessing ceremony a few miles away at Waikoloa Solar + Storage Facility, where he spoke about his plans to move the state toward the goal of running on 100% renewable energy
The suspected Pentagon leaker has been ordered to remain in jail as he awaits trial on charges he violated the Espionage Act.

Jack Texeira, 21, is accused of releasing hundreds of thousands of secret dossiers about the Ukraine war on a gaming chat server in one of gravest intelligence breaches in US history.

The disgraced Air National Guardsman appeared in federal court in Worcester, Massachusetts on Friday where Magistrate Judge David Hennessy granted prosecutors' motion to detain him.

Texeira's lawyers asked for him to be released on house arrest pending the trial but Hennessy said he was a flight risk and could further obstruct justice.

The judge said the number of Americans he put at risk was as 'long as a phone book'.

Jack Texeira, 21, the suspected Pentagon leaker, has been ordered to remain in jail as he awaits trial on charges he violated the Espionage Act

Texeira, who was arrested on April 13, is the primary suspect in the disclosure of U.S. documents related to the Ukraine war and numerous other topics

These are two of the leaked documents which have been shared by the New York Times

This document appears to show the state of Ukraine's air defenses in February and in May, when it is anticipated they'll be badly depleted

Teixeira, who was arrested on April 13, is the primary suspect in the disclosure of U.S. documents related to the Ukraine war and numerous other topics.

He allegedly posted secret memos in an internet chat room that touched upon the war in Ukraine, but also U.S. ties with key allies such as Israel.

The incident is an embarrassing leak that has caused U.S. government soul-searching about its failure to protect vital national security secrets.

Teixeira appeared at the hearing in an orange jumpsuit and a new buzz haircut.

His lawyers argued he would not flee and pointed to how he did not when news of his alleged leaks became national news.

He allegedly leaked classified documents to a group of gamers on the messaging app Discord, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors claimed Teixeira kept notes about top-secret details shared during meetings, which he later shared.

He was scolded in September and October for taking notes during meetings and was instructed not to conduct any deep dives into classified intelligence information, according to prosecutors.

They added that he was caught in February viewing content that was not related to his duties

The classified documents were allegedly shared to a 150-member Discord group which discussed guns and gaming.

Teixeira is said to have bragged about the level of access he had and told his friends he would share a f*** ton of information on US intelligence in countries such as Syria, China, Iran, Palestine and Israel, among others.

Prosecutors said he wrote: Idgaf (I don't give a f***) what they say I can or cant share  [a]ll of the st Ive told you guys Im not supposed to.

The National Guardsman allegedly posted secret memos in an Internet chat room that touched upon the war in Ukraine, but also U.S. ties with key allies such as Israel

Jack Michael Teixeira arrives for the detention hearing for his son Teixeira on Friday

'Who did he put at risk?' said Hennessy. 'You could make a list as long as a phone book.'

The leak is considered the most serious U.S. national security breach since more than 700,000 documents, videos and diplomatic cables appeared on the WikiLeaks website in 2010.

Teixeira is charged with one count of violating the Espionage Act, related to the unlawful copying and transmitting of sensitive defense material, and a second charge related to the unlawful removal of defense material to an unauthorized location.

The leaked classified documents held highly classified information on allies and adversaries, with details ranging from Ukraine's air defenses to Israel's Mossad spy agency.

U.S. President Joe Biden has ordered an investigation into why the alleged leaker had access to the sensitive information.

Teixeira is being held in Plymouth County jail south of Boston.

According to the charge sheet, he received top security clearance in 2021 as a member of the National Guard.

FBI investigators arrested him without incident in Dighton, Massachusetts earlier this month in a raid on his mother's house.

Agents found that he kept his gun locker within reach of his bed and in it were handguns, bolt-action rifles, shotguns, and a gas mask.

Teixeira posted the treasure trove of top secret files under his online user name 'Jack the Dripper' for months before the leak was uncovered.

He worked as a junior cyber security specialist in the intelligence unit based at the Otis Air National Guard Base in western Cape Cod.

Photo evidence collected during the investigation into U.S. Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, who is accused of leaking classified documents online

The criminal complaint against Jack Teixeira filed April 14, 2023

It is believed to have started on popular social media platform Discord.

Teixeira posted about guns, games and top secret US government information but some of his fellow chatroom members reported his activities to investigators.

It alleged that the 21-year-old used his government computer to search classified intelligence reporting for the word 'leak' on April 6.

That was the day when the first stories broke about the huge security breach.

Prosecutors claim he searched the term to establish whether US intelligence had information on the identity of the person behind the leaks.

This document appears to show the state of Ukraine's air defenses in February and in May, when it is anticipated they'll be badly depleted

He was identified as the ringleader of a chatroom, known as Thug Shaker Central, on Discord.

He then allegedly posted images of folded-up papers because he felt his writings weren't being taken seriously, the Associated Press reported.

Officials at the US Justice Department have opened a probe into the 21-year-old, whose actions embarrassed US allies around the world.

Long-standing friends of Washington from Britain to South Korea and Israel slammed much of the information as bogus.

It outlined possible arms deliveries to Ukraine, as well as details of Western-led training for the Ukrainian armed forces.

The 21-year-old's actions have been roundly criticized by lawmakers from all political parties.
Labour has admitted it wants to bring more foreign workers into the UK.

The partys chairman said yesterday that migration would rise in the short term under a government led by Sir Keir Starmer.

Anneliese Dodds said numbers would eventually fall as home-grown workers became better trained  but refused to set a target.

Her admission raises fresh fears over what Labour will do if it wins power, coming just days after it emerged Sir Keir wants to give millions of EU migrants the vote and reopen Brexit.

The Tories were also embroiled in a furious row over immigration last night after Rishi Sunak refused to set a tough new limit, even though figures to be published next week are expected to hit a record high.

Labour party chair Anneliese Dodds (pictured in 2021) said yesterday that migration would rise in the short term under a government led by Sir Keir Starmer

Asked by Sky News if Labour wanted net migration  the number of new arrivals minus those leaving Britain  to go up or down, Ms Dodds replied: Actually Labour believes that setting a net migration target isnt sensible and it appears even Rishi Sunak knows that.

Pressed twice more on the issue, she said: What we would see if we had an immigration system that was working properly would be potentially in some areas where theres a short-term need for skills, you could see in the short-term actually people who are coming in, increasing in number.

'But in the medium and long-term, a reduction, because we would be training people up in our own country.

Conservative Party deputy chairman Lee Anderson said: This is more concrete evidence of Labours undeniable plans to open the borders.

'Not only would he drag us back into the EU, now its clear Sir Keir would happily allow uncontrolled migration.

Only the Conservatives can be trusted to deliver the peoples priorities and stop the boats.

Senior Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg said of Labours plan to rely on cheap foreign labour: Its the wrong structure for the economy and a reminder of the economic illiteracy of the Labour Party.

Backbencher Michael Fabricant added: The fear many people have, myself included, is that they will be non-discriminatory about whom they allow into the country. That number of people cannot be sustained by our education and health systems.

In Japan for the G7 summit, Mr Sunak admitted immigration was too high but declined to put a precise number on what he thought was an acceptable number of people settling legally in the UK each year

The debate is set to dominate Westminster for the next week as the Office for National Statistics prepares to reveal the level of net migration in 2022. The figure is expected to top 700,000, with some analysts saying it could reach a million.

Despite previous Tory pledges to bring net migration down to the tens of thousands, the Prime Minister yesterday appeared to set a much less ambitious target of half a million.

In Japan for the G7 summit, Mr Sunak admitted immigration was too high but declined to put a precise number on what he thought was an acceptable number of people settling legally in the UK each year.

He suggested he would only try to keep it below the level he inherited  which is roughly 500,000.

Mr Sunak insisted the publics top priority on immigration was dealing with the Channel crisis. He is set to raise the issue again today with French leader Emmanuel Macron.

Cabinet tensions over the level of legal immigration are rising ahead of next weeks figures.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman  who wants to revive the net migration target of below 100,000  said this week there was no good reason why British workers could not be trained to do the jobs currently being filled by migrants.

Former minister Mr Rees-Mogg warned: The Conservatives should deliver on their manifesto commitments. People who voted for us to leave the European Union expected migration of all kinds to be brought under control and the Government should therefore set a limit.

Tory backbencher Adam Holloway said the Prime Ministers approach to net migration was completely insane.

Who would think that a Conservative Government was presiding over effectively uncontrolled immigration? he asked on GB News.

Mr Holloway said a group of MPs were demanding to see the Home Secretary because its not just about the Tory partys electoral prospects that are shattered by this.

Its actually about the shape and the feel of our country going forward. Its about public services and every single MP, not just Conservative, should be looking at this.

One former Tory minister said last night: This is going to win or lose us the election.

We need to get a grip and work flat out on it.
Serial killer Rose West is still maintaining her 'total innocence' after spending 30 years behind bars for torturing and murdering at least nine young women with her husband Fred.

Now her own lawyer is urging the sadistic killer to finally confess, believing 'there is an awful lot' that she knows but she hasnt revealed.

Leo Goatley, 67, who represented West for 12 years after she was first arrested in 1994 alongside her husband, has told her to 'find redemption' by confessing, The Mirror reported.

West is serving ten life sentences in jail in HM Prison New Hall, in Flocton, West Yorkshire, and will turn 70 in November.

Mr Goatley used to visit West regularly in prison but lost touch in recent years, he says she is now overweight, reclusive and in poor health.

Rose West, pictured here in 1995, is still maintaining her 'total innocence' after spending 30 years behind bars but her former lawyer is urging her to confess

Rose, with husband Fred, killed at least 10 women and girls including their eldest daughter Heather, 16

However, the lawyer still hopes she will provide the families of victims closure with new information, particularly about the disappearance of Mary Bastholm, 15, in 1968.

Speaking to The Mirror, he said: 'There isn't much that Fred did that she wasn't aware of. If her inner journey has really gone anywhere since she has been in prison there are things she should say that would help the families of her victims.

'This blanket pleading of total ignorance of everything that happened is just daft at this point.

'Also she could very simply clear up if there are other victims we don't even know about.'

He is 'certain; West is still hiding detail and believes Fred West used her to get Mary into his car before killing her.

The killer is currently one of very few female prisoners in the UK serving a life tariff.

West and husband Fred, abducted, tortured and raped innocent women over a 20 year period at their house in Cromwell Street, Gloucestershire, where they resided from 1972 until their arrests in 1994.

The lawyer still hopes she will provide the families of victims closure with new information, particularly about the disappearance of Mary Bastholm (pictured), 15, in 1968

The pair even killed their eldest daughter Heather in June 1987.

Fred, who confessed the killings, committed suicide in his cell while on remand at HMP Birmingham on New Year's Day, 1995.

Other victims included Alison Chambers, 16, Shirley Robinson, 18, Juanita Mott, 18, Shirley Hubbard, 15, Theresa Siegnethaler, 21, Lucy Partington, 21, Carol Ann Cooper, 15, Lynda Gough, 19, Rena Costello (Fred's ex-wife), 27, Charmaine West (Fred's daughter), 8, and Anne McFall, 18.

It has long been suspected that they were connected to more killings such as Mary Bastholm.

Mr Goatley added: 'The way I feel is whatever process she has gone through in prison, while trying to project this image of a mellowed old lady, means if she really has become like that she would want to find some kind of redemption.'
An American photo agency has dismissed a demand by Harry and Meghan to hand over pictures from what they claimed was a 'near catastrophic' car chase with paparazzi in New York this week.

Backgrid USA reportedly said the prince's 'English rules of royal prerogative to demand that the citizenry hand over their property to the Crown were rejected by this country long ago'.

The agency has confirmed it received photos and footage from four freelance photographers  three of whom were in cars and one riding a bicycle  taken on Tuesday night.

But it has rejected claims by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex of a 'near catastrophic' car chase through Manhattan's Upper East Side after the couple appeared at an awards ceremony.

The US gossip website TMZ on Thursday published details of the legal tit-for-tat, including part of a letter sent to Backgrid by the Sussexes' lawyers.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex attend the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards

It reportedly read: 'We hereby demand that Backgrid immediately provide us with copies of all photos, videos, and/or films taken last night by the freelance photographers after the couple left their event and over the next several hours.'

They are also pushing the New York Police Department to investigate, according to reports. The Mail has sought comment from the Sussexes' legal team in the UK.

Backgrid firmly rejected the request to hand over footage. TMZ carried an excerpt from the agency's legal response, which said: 'In America, as I'm sure you know, property belongs to the owner of it. Third parties cannot just demand it be given to them.

'Perhaps you should sit down with your client and advise them that his English rules of royal prerogative to demand that the citizenry hand over their property to the Crown were rejected by this country long ago.'

Backgrid added: 'We stand by our founding fathers.'

The agency said it had launched its own investigation as it did not 'condone any form of harassment or illegal activity'. But it has also said the photographers on Tuesday night 'had no intention of causing any distress or harm, as their only tool was their cameras'.

Doria Ragland, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York on Tuesday

Security officers working for the couple have said they feared for the safety of members of the public who were caught up in what they maintain was a frightening incident.

In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Sussexes said: 'While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone's safety.'

The incident happened after the couple attended the Women of Vision awards ceremony.

Yesterday an unnamed friend of Harry said he would use what happened in New York to strengthen his legal claim against the Home Office over using Metropolitan Police protection when in the UK.

The friend told the i newspaper it was a 'clear demonstration' of why the duke and his family are in a 'different category' from other celebrity couples.

However a senior Home Office source said: 'This was an incident in New York, not London,' adding: 'The duke and duchess would not face car chases with the paparazzi in the UK.'
After the pomp and ceremony of his Coronation, it's little wonder King Charles yearns for the simple life.

He intends to slip off in a few weeks to his home deep in rural Transylvania, the Daily Mail can reveal.

But Camilla will not accompany him, preferring to remain in her more modern Wiltshire home. Although she is very happy for her hard-working, 74-year-old husband to enjoy some uniquely traditional 'r and r'.

The King will sleep in a simple wooden bed, drink hand-pressed apple juice  and maybe even judge the local lawn-mowing competition, as he has done on previous visits.

It may come as a surprise that the British sovereign, who is actually distantly related to Vlad the Impaler, is incredibly passionate about Romania.

He loves the country so much that he secretly bought a run-down former farmhouse in Zalanpatak, close to the Carpathian Mountains, several years ago with the help of local landowner Count Kalnoky, his great friend (and another distant relative of Vlad, said to be the inspiration for Dracula).

King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, taking a walk in Szeklerland, Transylvania last year

The King loves Transylvania so much that he secretly bought a run-down former farmhouse in Zalanpatak, close to the Carpathian Mountains, several years ago

The pair  who share a passion for preserving the rich heritage of the region  now co-own three properties in the area, which are rented out to tourists.

Nestled among the hills and meadows of the Zalan Valley, Charles's simple Romanian hideaway is surrounded by some of the most beautiful and biodiverse wildflower meadows in the region.

The hills above the property are roamed by wolves and bears, and in the forests flourish one of Europe's rarest and most spectacular orchids, the lady's slipper.

Farmers still use horses and carts and cultivate their land with hoes and scythes, as if the industrial revolution has yet to reach their boundaries.

In the early years of his visits, Charles and his security team slept in pull-out wooden truckle beds and used outside toilets.

Bursting with antiques: The house has been restored with traditional furniture and textiles

The property has now been restored with authentic textiles and antiques from the region as well as indoor toilets.

But it still retains a simple, Transylvanian authenticity, with heating provided by wood-burning ceramic tile stoves and tap water sourced from springs.

Guests are greeted with local brandy and pastries but there is no wifi, TV or radio  although the drawing room now boasts a 'small hifi player with CDs'. But there are plenty of books, nature guides and binoculars to borrow  and even a wood-fired hot-tub. The King, it is understood, likes to spend his days hiking in the hills, making the most of the pure, fresh air, before sitting down to enjoy a good book on his own in the evenings.

There was some doubt as to whether he would be able to make his annual visit now that he is King, but the Mail understands he is due to arrive early next month and will stay for up to a week.

It is understood that he is likely to have a meeting with the country's president, Klaus Iohannis, while he is there.

Charm: Wooden truckle bed at the King's property. The King will sleep in a simple wooden bed during his stay

One source described the village as 'the land that time forgot'.

'There are no private secretaries accompanying him and very little in the way of staff generally, in fact,' they explained. 'There's certainly no valet or chef that travel over with him. The local produce and cooks are too wonderful.'

The property  now billed as The King's Residence  is rented out at a reasonable 143 per person per night for an all-inclusive stay including activities and tours... which is far from a king's ransom.

n Six in ten of us watched the Coronation on TV and 11 per cent went to a street party, pollsters have found.

There was an age split among viewers, with 82 per cent of over-70s tuning in but only 39 per cent of those aged 16 to 29.

And despite a host of dishes created for the occasion, including Coronation quiche and Coronation aubergine, only one in 25 of us made one, Office for National Statistics data showed.
Two workers at a Christian university in upstate New York have lost their jobs after including their pronouns in their work email signatures and then ignoring the university's request to remove them.

Raegan Zelaya, 27, and Shua Wilmot, 29, were both fired from their positions as residence hall directors at Houghton University in upstate New York after they refused to remove their pronouns, in accordance with a newly-introduced university policy.

The university, which is affiliated with a conservative branch of the Methodist Church, asked for their pronouns to be removed but Zelaya and Wilmot refused to comply. The pair were subsequently fired just before the end of the semester.

The firings have now sparked protests on campus with debates over gender and sexuality taking place in other faith-based organizations, including Yeshiva University.

Houghton University made changes that were in line with conservative Christian peers, such as closing a multicultural student center and an environmental sustainability program and revoking recognition of an on-campus LGBTQ club.

Raegan Zelaya, 27, left, and Shua Wilmot, 29, right, were residence hall directors; Zelaya chose to include 'she/her' in her email signature, while Wilmot opted for 'he/him. Both were fired

Zelaya and Wilmot were employees at a Houghton University, a Christian university in upstate New York. They were fired for including preferred pronouns at the end of their work emails

Zelaya and Wilmot, neither of whom are transgender have both experienced misgendering due to their unique names.

The pair both say they had professional, pastoral, and inclusive motivations for including their pronouns but the university saw things differently and moved to terminate the pair.

'I think it boils down to: They want to be trans-exclusive and they want to communicate that to potential students and the parents of potential students,' Wilmot said to the New York Times following his firing.

'There's the professional piece to it, and the practical piece, and there's also an inclusive piece, and I think that's the piece this institution doesn't want.'

Zelaya said that she was sacked 'as a result of your refusal to remove pronouns in your email signature' together with criticizing an administration decision to the student newspaper.

Raegan Zelaya posted a photo of the letter she received telling her she had been 'relieved of her duties effective immediately'

Zelaya wrote a message on thanks on her Facebook page and explained why she would not be removing the pronouns from her email signoff

Zelaya received a message of support from a student after she was fired. There have been protests following their sacking by 600 students on campus

Shua Wilmot in a photo from Raegan Zelaya's Facebook page in which he was told he was not allowed to eat in the cafeteria with other students and faculty members

'At the end of the day, it has no bearing on what I actually believe or what I think is a sin or not a sin,' Zelaya said. 'It all comes down to: Am I loving people in a way that reflects Christ?'

'We live in a very divided world right now where everything is this or that, right or left, conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat. As Christians, I think we've gotten so caught up in these ideas of, "This is what I should be advocating for or upset about," that we forget to actually care for people,' Zelaya added.

Alumni signing a letter of protest voiced their concerns over the lack of respect for diverse theological and ethical views within the institution.

Houghton's president responded by emphasizing the university's commitment to the teachings of the Wesleyan Church.

University spokesperson Michale Blakenship said in a statement that Houghton 'has never terminated an employment relationship based solely on the use of pronouns in staff email signatures.'

There were a range of reactions to Zelaya's firing online

Houghton University is a private Christian liberal arts college in Houghton, New York and is affiliated with the Wesleyan Church

'Over the past years, we've required anything extraneous be removed from email signatures, including Scripture quotes,' he said.

The controversy has caused frustration among students with different political and religious beliefs, highlighting the division over gender, sexuality, and identity politics.

Although some alumni have called for a more open environment to discuss their time at Houghton, the decisions by the current administration have curtailed such chatter.

Zelaya and Wilmot believe the disagreement stems from differing perspectives on living a Christian life, with the university opting to align itself with conservative political beliefs prevalent in evangelical Christian circles.

They argue that their inclusion of pronouns reflects their desire to emulate Christ's love and care for marginalized individuals.
A criminal gang which imported 135million worth of drugs into the UK through the disguise of a furniture removal company has been convicted.

Ringleader Jonathan Arnold, of Sutton Coldfield, boasted of his wealth online by posting photos of holidays to Dubai and road trips in a Ferrari.

He gave the impression that he was a legitimate businessman with a small furniture moving firm that had a turnover of 50,000 a month.

However he actually funded his lavish lifestyle by smuggling nearly two tonnes of cocaine, heroin and ketamine into the UK.

The gang would use dummy loads of furniture to hide packages of drugs in lorries and vans, some of which had hidden compartments to conceal the shipments.

Arnold admitted four charges of conspiracy to import and supply drugs.

Jonathan Arnold was arrested and found guilty of running a gang that imported 135million worth of drugs into the UK through the disguise of a furniture removal company

He would boast of his wealth online by posting photos of holidays to Dubai and road trips in a Ferrari

The gang would use dummy loads of furniture to hide packages of drugs in lorries and vans, some of which had hidden compartments to conceal the shipments

The gang's downfall began in January 2022, when one of their couriers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, made a drug run to Europe in a Real Estate Removals van.

But his van was searched by French Customs' officers who found 63 blocks of cocaine weighing 71kg along with 99 bags of ketamine weighing 101kg. The drugs had a UK wholesale value of 2,561,900.

The biggest single seizure came in April last year, when the gang tried to bring 1,477kg of cocaine with a street value of around 118m into Portsmouth.

The drugs, hidden among bananas, were seized by Dutch police officers on a ship which had travelled from Colombia to Vlissingen in the Netherlands.

The ship was allowed to continue its journey into Portsmouth, after the drugs had been removed.

In June last year, another of the gang's drivers  Connor Fletcher  travelled to a town near Amsterdam for an overnight trip and returned with 60kg of cocaine hidden in two secret compartments built into the floor of the lorry.

By this point, a police investigation had linked him to the gang and so Border Force were asked to intercept him on his return and he was arrested.

The drugs, hidden among bananas, were seized by Dutch police officers on a ship which had travelled from Colombia to Vlissingen in the Netherlands

Four men have been found guilty of drug charges. Top left: Arnold, right: Fletcher. Bottom left: Jenkins, right: Sadiq

The gang's downfall began in January 2022, when one of their couriers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, made a drug run to Europe in a Real Estate Removals van

Det Ch Supt Jenny Skyrme, head of the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: 'We can't underestimate the scale and significance of this criminal organisation.

'This is the biggest drugs case that we have ever dealt with as an organisation.

'The gang was operating at the highest levels of criminality, bringing in industrial quantities of drugs to sell on the streets of the West Midlands and beyond.

'As the head of the crime group, Jonathan Arnold enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, driving luxury cars and enjoying trips to Dubai.

'He gave the impression that he was a legitimate businessman with a small firm which moved furniture and had a turnover of 50,000 a month.

'The reality was that he was arranging tens of millions of pounds worth of drugs to be imported into the UK from Europe and South America, which would have gone on to cause untold misery and significant harm to communities.'

James Jenkins, 25; Humayan Sadiq, 43; and Connor Fletcher, 25, all from the West Midlands, were found guilty for their roles in the drugs ring following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

Jenkins assisted Arnold in helping to arrange drivers and acted as a supervisor for the operation, while Fletcher was employed as a driver, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
Top Republicans remind FBI Director Chris Wray he must comply with a subpoena for a document allegedly linking Joe Biden to a cash-for-access 'criminal scheme' or else face 'consequences.'

'The FBI's delay in producing a single, unclassified record is unacceptable,' said House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer to Wray in a Friday evening letter marking nine days since the deadline passed.

'The FBIs credibility is on the line, and their continued failure to cooperate will have long lasting consequences,' added Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

The FBI missed a noon deadline on Wednesday, May 10 to provide the document, angering Republicans.

The Republican accusations marks a significant update in the Republican 'influence-peddling' probe into the Biden family and Hunter Biden's overseas business deals

Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Comer recently revealed that a whistleblower had come forward with stunning claims about the document, which they alleged outlined the scheme involving Biden, when he was vice president, and an unnamed foreign national.

The internal FD-1023 form apparently details an 'arrangement' for an exchange of money for policy decisions, the Republicans said.

The Republicans issued a subpoena to FBI Director Christopher Wray demanding the document be handed over with a May 10 noon deadline - which did not occur.

Grassley said that although the FBI failed to provide the document, they offered an 'accommodation process' that indicates that the 'document is real.'

He said the response letter last week to the top Republicans only raises additional questions, including 'whether the FBI has an open investigation based on these allegations.'

The House Oversight Committee released a new memo Wednesday specifically outlining the Biden family's ties to Romanian 'influence peddling' and a web of LLCs created while Biden was vice president

The lawmakers say that it 'remains unclear what steps, if any, were taken to investigate the matter,' which is concerning due to the 'significant public interest' in the FBI's response.

The FBI confirmed to DailyMail.com that it provided a response to the Republicans last week, but disputed Grassley's claim that it proves the existence of the specific document alleged by the whistleblower.

'An FD-1023 form is used by FBI agents to record unverified reporting by a confidential human source. Documenting the information does not validate it, establish its credibility, or weigh it against other information verified by the FBI,' a spokesperson said.

'Revealing unverified or possibly incomplete information could harm investigations, prejudice prosecutions or judicial proceedings, unfairly violate privacy or reputations, create misimpressions in the public, or potentially identify individuals who provide information to law enforcement, placing their physical safety at risk.

'Information from confidential human sources and members of the public is critical to the work of the FBI and we are also committed to protecting the confidentiality of anyone who comes forward.'

The subpoena for the document marked a significant update in the Republican 'influence-peddling' probe into the Biden family and came just hours after a report said prosecutors were close to deciding whether to criminally charge Hunter Biden in his tax and gun probes.

Iam Sams, White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations has called the GOP subpoena for the document 'unfounded' and 'politically motivated.'

'For going on 5 years now, Republicans in Congress have been lobbing unfounded politically-motivated attacks against [President Biden] without offering evidence for their claims. Or evidence of decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. interests,' he claimed.

Sams added that Biden has been 'unprecedented' with his level of transparency, by releasing a total of 25 years of tax returns to the American public

The House Oversight Committee has accused 10 members of the Biden family - including Hunter and Hallie - of being involved in 'shady' business deals where they profited off of the family name

'The information provided by a whistleblower raises concerns that then-Vice President Biden allegedly engaged in a bribery scheme with a foreign national,' Comer said Wednesday

The House Oversight Committee has accused 10 members of the Biden family - including Hunter and Hallie - of being involved in 'shady' business deals where they profited off of the family name.

Earlier Wednesday, the committee released a new memo specifically outlining the Biden family's ties to Romanian 'influence peddling' and a web of LLCs created while Biden was vice president.

It also accuses President Biden for a 'lack of transparency' regarding his family's receipt of funds from China, which he has said are 'not true.'

It details the efforts by the family to hide, conceal and confuse sources of money - including more China money, according to a committee aide.

'The White House refuses to correct the president's statement. The president is now using the federal government to run interference for his family and his own role in these schemes,' said Comer during a press conference announcing the memo Wednesday.
The term 'revolutionary' is overused, but new Government proposals for tenants and landlords are exactly that  and they promise to change the housing market for ever.

With some 11 million renters and two million landlords in the UK, any upheaval is big news. But measures in the Renters (Reform) Bill launched this week, are the biggest changes unveiled for 25 years.

The plans have provoked a major row with landlords and some Conservative MPs say they risk forcing landlords to sell because buy-to-let will no longer be profitable.

Tenant groups and other MPs, meanwhile, say the Bill  first pledged four years ago  is long overdue for those paying ever higher rent.

Here we look at what it all means.

Shake-up: Measures in the Renters (Reform) Bill launched this week, are the biggest changes unveiled for 25 years

1: Halt 'no fault' evictions

Tenants can be evicted now for no obvious reason and some accuse landlords of using this power against renters who complain or want repairs done.

'No fault' evictions are to be banned but, in return, landlords will have stronger powers to remove tenants who are anti-social or fall behind with rent.

It could mean renters being given a two-week notice period for anti-social behaviour evictions, while behaviour 'capable' of 'causing nuisance or annoyance' could also trigger eviction.

Campaigning charity Shelter claims nearly 230,000 private renters have been served with a no-fault eviction notice since April 2019.

2: More pets in lets

Landlords must consider all requests by tenants to keep pets, and won't be allowed to unreasonably refuse. If they do so, the tenant can challenge the decision.

If a pet is allowed, the renter may be asked to take out the appropriate insurance against damage to the home.

'It could dramatically reduce the number of dogs and cats needlessly separated from their owners due to widespread restrictive pet policies,' says Michael Webb, of Battersea, the animal rescue charity.

3: Watchdog with bite

A new ombudsman will be able to arbitrate on disputes between tenants and landlords over rent rises, pets or other issues.

Consumer champion Martin Lewis, founder of Money Saving Expert, says: 'We have long needed a statutory single private rental Ombudsman.

Crucially it won't be voluntary: all private landlords will be required to join and it will have legal authority to compel apologies, take remedial action and pay compensation.'

Dog day: Landlords must soon consider all requests by tenants to keep pets, and won't be allowed to unreasonably refuse. If they do so, the tenant can challenge the decision

4: Landlords' register

This will be run by local councils, which can take action to ensure properties conform with appropriate standards of repair, are not over-crowded and have the right licences.

Landlords will be listed on a new property portal, which tenants can use for checks before they rent.

5: Improved standards

A strict Decent Homes Standard, currently applying to council and housing association properties, will be extended to the private rental sector, too.

Last year, the Government warned that the conditions of more than 500,000 private rented homes posed 'an imminent risk to tenants' health and safety'.

6: End to blanket bans

If the Bill becomes law, it will be illegal for landlords or letting agents to have blanket bans on renting to families with children or those in receipt of benefits.

The Government says households with dependent children make up 30 per cent of the private rented sector, and those receiving housing benefit to help with rent payments form 26 per cent.

7: Strong enforcement

Local councils will be forced by law to report how many landlords they take action against and how successful they have been.

The Government is pledging a reformed courts process with cases against rogue landlords or anti-social tenants to be digitised to reduce delays.
Moscow, May 19 (UNI) US tech giant Apple has restricted the use of ChatGPT and a number of other artificial intelligence (AI) tools for its employees in order to prevent data leaks, as the company is currently working on its own technology of this kind, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing a document and people familiar with the matter.

Apple, known for its stringent secrecy measures, has prohibited its employees from using, instead of humans, newly popular programs for automatically writing emails and software code such as ChatGPT and Microsoft-owned GitHub's Copilot, which can result in the inadvertent sharing of company information with the bots' developers, the report said.

Apple has been wary of AI-powered software entering its App Store lately. In early March, the company blocked the BlueMail email app after it was updated with ChatGPT, citing concerns that it could display inappropriate content to underage users.
Residents say they are 'absolutely distraught' at the new valuations

Residents who purchased London flats for up to 900,000 have been left 'absolutely distraught' after being told their properties are now worth 0.

The flats, which are located in Camden, north London, have been deemed 'unmortgageable' due to the number of defects.

Residents said they purchased the flats for between 700,000 and 900,000.

Within months of the first leaseholder moving in four years ago, the roof began leaking into the communal stairwell and terraces started letting in water, causing water damage to flats.

Interior and exterior walls have since started to crack while some windows and doors no longer open and close properly.

Agar Grove: The block of flats which are now valued at 0 due to the massive defects

The properties have been deemed 'unmortgageable', leaving the leaseholders 'distraught'

Some windows and doors no longer open and close properly

Despite years of reports about the building cracking, bending and leaking, the insurance company that provided the ten-year warranty has failed to pay out for the damages, which are making the lives of leaseholders a misery.

A government minister has called on Camden Council to consider whether it has grounds to prosecute the construction firm for 'recklessly' signing off on the block of flats that has been judged 'not fit for purpose'.

The building has been deemed potentially unstable by an expert surveyor who has said demolition of the block should be considered.

Leaseholders said they have forked out more than 300,000 in legal fees over their damaged homes and live in 'constant fear' of total financial ruin.

Camden Council said it is urgently exploring enforcement options after the government asked it to consider legal action.

Software engineer Daniel Bruce, 38, sold his successful tech start-up to a bank and put down a 75 per cent deposit on an 850,000 apartment in the building in Agar Grove.

He said: 'For years we've been trying but the help isn't there. We are the victims. We were sold catastrophically damaged homes. But nobody has got our back.

'I feel physically repulsed by my computer - because that's the tool I have to use to fight. I've had to become an activist. Fighting this has become a full-time job.

'I don't consider myself an emotional person but I'm absolutely distraught.

There are calls for the block to be demolished by surveyors

Despite years of reports about the building cracking, bending and leaking, the insurance company that provided the ten-year warranty has failed to pay out for the damages

Gaps between the walls are as wide as a centimetre in some places

Exposed flooring on the roof terrace which has been covered up to prevent further damage

Cracks appear throughout Mr Bruce's property

'Somebody should have done something by now. Newbuild buyers need to know that their sign-off certificate doesn't mean anything and their warranty might be impossible to claim against.'

Mr Bruce's bedroom has now been closed off due to a horrible smell in the ensuite which is believed to be rot caused by a leak in the bathroom.

Parts of his ceiling have fallen down and cracks have appeared throughout his property, while some windows no longer open fully.

He added: 'I don't remember the last time I slept for more than two hours. It's frozen our lives.'

Jewellery designer Alexandra Druzhinin, 49, who paid 900,000 for her apartment is also facing problems.

She said: 'We constantly live in fear. We are completely trapped. We can't get away from this.

'I'm just absolutely drained. Not only have we lost the money we spent buying and renovating the flat, and the legal fees - but now we stand a chance of losing everything we own because we can't get insurance.'

Daniel Bruce, 38, sold his successful tech start-up to a bank and put down a 75 per cent deposit on an 850,000 apartment in the building in Agar Grove.

Homes no longer have to be signed off by local authorities, and developers can choose private firms to carry out the work

Significant cracks have appeared in Adam Helal's 705,000 flat

Mould has ravaged the properties and a major leak was discovered in the communal stairwell in 2020

Downstairs neighbour Adam Helal, 58, paid 705,000 for his flat which has significant cracking in the terrace wall.

A bathroom leak has damaged his walls and parts of his ceiling have also come down.

Mr Helal said: 'All the windows are faulty. I work in sound and there's no sound-proofing at all.

'It's supposed to be triple-glazed but there's actually not much difference if you have them open or shut.'

Issues with the properties became apparent less than a year after the first leaseholders moved in, with a major leak discovered in the communal stairwell in 2020.

As a result, developer Prime Metro commissioned an expert survey, which found evidence of movement in the building.

The building was found to be unfit for purpose two years later, after a survey questioned the suitability of the foundations and suggested demolition.

Prime Metro Properties, based in Islington, north London, said it was limited in what it could say about the block, not wanting to 'prejudice any future proceedings'.

A spokesman said the firm has retained three of the block's seven flats, as it 'continues to suffer the consequences of the problems which have manifested themselves'.

Mr Bruce tweeted: 'Not a single continuous joist in sight. Every day I'm terrified of collapse, and fire among other things'

Insurance firm, Acasta has said that it takes 'these concerns very seriously and are committed to fulfilling any obligations under the relevant insurance policies'

He added: 'Since the building began to display problems we have spent a considerable amount of our own money and time investigating, trying to get to the root of these problems, and have taken matters up with various insurers and the warranty providers, at no expense to the other lessees, and continue to do so.

'We remain committed to having this matter resolved and have kept all the lessees appraised of the issues, as well as our efforts.'

Salus Approved Inspectors was appointed by Prime Metro to carry out the work on the flats in Camden.

The firm - whose head office is in Hinckley, Leicestershire - employs more than 70 people and boasts a diamond certificate for customer satisfaction.

According to data from Companies House, its six directors shared a total of 620,636 in 2022, in pay and dividends.

Michael Gove, Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), has offered the leaseholders a meeting.

His department has now released a letter, sent to Camden Council leader Georgia Gould on May 3 by Mr Gove's under-secretary Lee Rowley.

Mr Rowley wrote: 'Departmental officials have asked your building control team to consider whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute Salus under Section 57 of the Building Act 1984, for knowingly or recklessly signing off the building.'

A conviction under Section 57 carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison or an unlimited fine.

The leaseholders are now warning others who buy newbuild properties that they have 'no meaningful protection' legally or from insurance companies.

Acasta European Insurance Company Ltd said it was 'the insurer for certain warranty and latent defect policies' at the block.

A spokesman added: 'Acasta is fully engaged with and is discussing concerns raised regarding the property with all interested parties.

'We take these concerns very seriously and are committed to fulfilling any obligations under the relevant insurance policies.'

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said: 'The situation faced by the innocent residents of Agar Grove is deplorable and we are applying pressure to those involved to reach a just solution.

'The minister for building safety has written to Acasta to make it clear to them we consider their behaviour unreasonable and we expect them to produce a plan to resolve the issue promptly.'

Jewellery designer Alexandra Druzhinin, 49, paid 900,000 for her apartment in the block

Mr Bruce's flat (pictured) where the ceiling has left an opening, exposing the property to the potential for mould and mildew

Mr Helal said: 'All the windows are faulty. I work in sound and there's no sound-proofing at all

The building was found to be unfit for purpose in 2022 after a survey

Cracking has appeared all round the North London block

Homes no longer have to be signed off by local authorities after Margaret Thatcher privatised building control in 1985, instead developers can choose private firms to do conduct the work.

Salus said it had not seen the surveyor reports, 'despite requests from various parties that we are sent a copy to allow us to investigate'.

Director Stuart Power said: 'Whilst we have heard second-hand that there are some issues, we are not privy to the specifics of the issues to allow us to comment fairly.

'However, we have been and are willing to review the reports, visit the site, engage with the owners or their representatives and investigate and make comments accordingly, once we have the relevant information to allow meaningful discussion and comment.

Mr Bruce praised the authorities, saying he was 'grateful for how far they are looking into it'.

'But even if Salus are proven to have acted recklessly, there's no accountability to us.

'That's a real problem. Everywhere we've turned, there's been nothing available to make us whole.

'The law makes it our responsibility to try to make things whole, at great financial and emotional cost to ourselves - and all we did was buy homes.

'In my opinion, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities should extricate us from the situation and then make it the developer and warranty provider's problem, rather than our problem, as it has been for the last four years.

'In the long-term, they need to enforce a law that forces those responsible to make buyers whole.'

Camden Council said it was exploring what legal action could be taken to help the leaseholders.

A spokesman for the authority added: 'Following changes made by central government, private building inspectors can sign off on new developments without approval from local authority building control.

'This unfortunately creates situations like this as we have no powers over the decisions made by private inspectors.

'We want to do all we can to support the leaseholders at Agar Grove and we are urgently exploring what enforcement options are available to us.'
Since launching on the iPhone X back in 2017, facial recognition has become a staple feature in most smartphones.

But while the technology is undeniably handy, it could land you in hot water if you have a smartphone from Honor, Motorola, Nokia, Oppo, Samsung, Vivo, or Xiaomi.

Experts from Which? have warned that 19 phones from these popular brands have facial recognition systems that can easily be fooled by 2D photos.

Lisa Barber, Tech Editor at Which?, said: 'It's unacceptable that brands are selling phones that can easily be duped using a 2D photo, particularly if they are not making their customers aware of this vulnerability.

'Our findings have really worrying implications for people's security and susceptibility to scams.'

Since launching on the iPhone X back in 2017, facial recognition has become a staple feature in most smartphones. But while the technology is undeniably handy, it could land you in hot water if you have a smartphone from Honor, Motorola, Nokia, Oppo, Samsung, Vivo, or Xiaomi (stock image)

Which phones are affected? Honor 70

Motorola Razr 2022, Motorola Moto E13, Motorola Moto G13, Motorola Moto G23

Nokia G60 5G, Nokia X30 5G

Oppo A57, Oppo A57s

Samsung Galaxy A23 5G, Samsung Galaxy M53 5G

Vivo Y76 5G

Xiaomi POCO M5, Xiaomi POCO M5s, Xiaomi POCO X5 Pro, Xiaomi 12T, Xiaomi 12T Pro, Xiaomi 12 Lite, Xiaomi 13 Advertisement

For their study, Which? sent 48 smartphones to the lab for testing.

Worryingly, 40 per cent (19) of the devices tested were easily spoofed with a 2D photo that was 'not even particularly high resolution' and had been printed on a standard office printer.

Chinese phone brand, Xiaomi, was found to have seven phones that could be exploited, while Motorola had four, Nokia, Oppo and Samsung had two each and Honor and Vivo had one each.

Most of the faulty phones were at the cheaper end of the market, including the Motorola Moto E13, which retails for 89.99, and the Nokia G60 5G, which costs 249.99.

However, the issue also affected several expensive handsets, including the Motorola Razr 2022, which costs 949.99, and the Xiaomi 13, which is priced at 849.

iPhone users can rest easy for now though, as all the Apple phones tested by Which? passed the spoofing tests with flying colours.

The findings raise concerns about the huge amount of sensitive information scammers could access with just a 2D photo.

The issue affects several expensive handsets, including the Motorola Razr 2022 (pictured), which costs 949.99, and the Xiaomi 13, which is priced at 849.

Chinese phone brand, Xiaomi, was found to have seven phones that could be exploited, while Motorola had four, Nokia, Oppo and Samsung had two each and Honor and Vivo had one each

Which? highlights that the Google Wallet app is available on all the affected phones and provides access to bank cards registered on the device.

In the UK, users can make contactless payments with Google Wallet up to 45 without needing to unlock the phone, while beyond that, more secure biometrics are required.

If you have one of the affected phones, Which? recommends using a different biometric to secure your device.

'We would strongly advise anyone using these phones to turn off face recognition and use the fingerprint sensor, a strong password or long PIN instead,' Ms Barber advised.

Based on the findings, Which? is calling on manufacturers to improve the security of their facial recognition systems.

'This needs to be a wake up call for manufacturers - they need to step up and improve the security of their biometric systems against spoofing,' Ms Barber added.

In response to the study, Nokia highlighted that it tells customers that the phone can be unlocked by someone who looks a lot like them, while Samsung said that its fingerprint reader is its highest level of authentication.

Meanwhile Vivo said that it tells customers during the phone's set-up that facial recognition is less secure than other locks they offer.

An Honor spokesperson said: 'HONOR 70 and [all] other smartphones in our portfolio that offer this solution are usually complemented with Fingerprint technology that is typically far more secure. Ultimately, we leave the choice to the consumer to use the secure option they prefer.'

Motorola, Oppo and Xiaomi did not respond to Which?'s request for comment.
But a clear link is yet to be established by scientists

Those with golden coats were perceived as being particularly boisterous

Scientists found that English cocker spaniels were the most aggressive breed

Whether it be a chihuahua or a German shepherd, dogs in all shapes and sizes have been man's best friend for centuries.

But experts from the Royal Veterinary College in London warn that one particular breed is not so friendly after all, with aggression almost twice as prevalent across these dogs as any others in the UK.

Surprisingly, this turned out to be the English cocker spaniel - a beloved pet of numerous famous owners including the Prince and Princess of Wales.

While 2.2 per cent of other dogs in the UK were rated as aggressive, this figure rose to 4 per cent for cocker spaniels.

Those with a golden coat were found to be even more boisterous, with aggression prevalent across 12 per cent of those studied.

Cocker spaniels with a golden coat were found to be even more boisterous, with aggression prevalent across 12 per cent of those studied

English cocker spaniels have been a beloved pet of numerous famous faces including the Prince and Princess of Wales. Pictured with son Prince George and Lupo who died in 2020

TOP 10 MOST COMMON CONDITIONS AMONG ENGLISH COCKER SPANIELS CONDITION PREVALENCE (%) Periodontal disease 20.97 Otitis externa 10.09 Obesity 9.88 Anal sac impaction 8.07 Diarrhoea 4.87 Aggression 4.01 Cutaneous mass lesion 3.15 Lameness 2.93 Conjunctivitis 2.8 Post-operation wound complications 2.8

'The English cocker spaniel is a popular family dog in the UK, but there is limited information regarding common disorders affecting the breed,' the study read.

'The goal of this study was to describe demography (age, sex, neuter, and bodyweight), disease occurrence, lifespan, and reasons for death.'

Scientists looked at a pool of 2,318 English cocker spaniels for this study, drawing from veterinary records from all over the country.

Aggression ranked sixth in a list of disorders most commonly experienced by the breed, coming after others such as anal sac impaction and diarrhoea.

Almost 230 dogs experienced obesity which ranked third on the list, while the top disorder was periodontal disease, with a prevalence of 20 per cent.

This condition - commonly known as gum disease - usually comes about when bacteria and leftover food particles build up in a dog's mouth.

The Prince and Princess of Wales with their new pup Orla in Windsor

Actor George Clooney and his wife Amal both own two cocker spaniels

David Beckham, 46, gave fans an insight into his home life as he shared a snap of himself with his beloved dogs on Instagram

AGGRESSION AMONG DIFFERENT COLOURED ENGLISH COCKER SPANIELS COLOUR PREVALENCE (%) Golden 12.1 Red 6.5 Black 6.3 Brown 4.3

Yet the pups were most likely to die from neoplasia - a condition that causes the uncontrolled, abnormal growth of cells, which often come in the form of a tumour.

Experts also looked at the coat colour of more than 64 per cent of studied dogs to understand potential links between appearances and disorders.

While golden dogs were the most aggressive, brown ones were the least, with scientists finding that just 4.3 per cent were on the feisty side.

Meanwhile 6.5 per cent of red pups and 6.3 per cent of black dogs were seen to be aggressive.

Scientists claim these figures back previous research highlighting that solid-coloured dogs are far more likely to show signs of anger than bi-coloured and tri-coloured pooches.

Actress Elizbeth Hurley poses in the sun with her English cocker spaniel pup

Oprah Winfrey owns a cocker spaniel called Sadie and two springer spaniels named Lauren and Sunny, while Elton John's dog is named Arthur

Despite this, any cause for this association remains unclear, with some believing there is no true link at all.

Pet expert, Zita Wells, of pet care service Pet Patrol 365 said: 'From my understanding coat colour is primarily determined by genetics and has no direct correlation with a dog's temperament or behaviour.

'Temperament in dogs is influenced by a combination of genetic factors, early socialisation experiences, training, and individual personality traits.

'While certain breeds may exhibit certain general temperaments or tendencies, such as being more energetic, calm, or sociable, these traits are not solely determined by coat colour.'

The Prince and Princess of Wales have owned two cocker spaniels: Lupo, who died in 2020, and their current pup Orla.

Other celebrities with cocker spaniels include George and Amal Clooney, David and Brooklyn Beckham and Elizabeth Hurley.

Oprah Winfrey also owns a cocker spaniel called Sadie while Elton John's dog Arthur was the best man at his civil union.
If you think of big dinosaurs, T.Rex, Triceratops or Stegosaurus might spring to mind.

But these famous beasts paled in comparison to an enormous dinosaur that roamed Patagonia 100 million years ago.

The dinosaur weighed in at 50 tonnes and measured 98.4ft (30 metres) in length - almost twice the size of a London bus.

Its bones were uncovered in the Pueblo Blanco Nature Reseve by scientists in 2018, and were so big they caused the van carrying them to tip over.

The team named the dinosaur 'Chucarosaurus Diripienda', which means 'hard-boiled and scrambled', because thankfully the van rolled around and survived the accident.

An enormous dinosaur roamed Patagonia 100 million years ago. It weighed in at 50 tonnes and measured 98.4ft (30 metres) in length - almost twice the size of a London bus

Its bones were uncovered in the Pueblo Blanco Nature Reseve by scientists in 2018, and were so big they caused the van carrying them to tip over

T.Rex did NOT have permanently exposed teeth - READ MORE Scientists have discovered T.Rex would have had scaly, lizard-like lips covering and sealing their mouths Advertisement

Paleontologist Nicolas Chimento says the beast ranks as one of the largest ever discovered.

Chucarosaurus Diripienda would have lived in the Late Cretaceous period from 100.5 million years ago to 66 million years ago, alongside predators, fish and sea turtles.

Its femur bone, which spanned 6.2ft (1.9 metres), was split into three parts, each weighing over 220lbs (100kg) and requiring at least three people to lift it up, scientists said.

Patagonia was home to the world's largest plant-eating dinosaurs such as the colossal Patagotitan mayorum, the biggest dinosaur ever discovered.

However, scientists still do not know why species there grew so fast and in some cases never stopped growing throughout their lives.

Paleontologist Matias Motta said that while the Chucarosaurus, a sauropod, rivaled other Patagonian giants in size and weight, characteristics in its hips, forelimbs and hindlimbs suggested it was more slender and graceful.

Some 140 dinosaur species have been discovered in Argentina, which ranks among the world's top three countries for research and discoveries alongside China and the United States.

The studies were carried out by researchers from the Bernardino Rivadavia Museum of Natural Sciences, the Azara Foundation and national research council Conicet with support from the National Geographic Society.

Its femur bone, which spanned 6.2ft (1.9 metres), was split into three parts, each weighing over 220lbs (100kg) and requiring at least three people to lift it up, scientists said

Patagonia was home to the world's largest plant-eating dinosaurs such as the colossal Patagotitan mayorum, the biggest dinosaur ever discovered
Humans shouldn't worry about a dinosaur-style asteroid for the next millennium

Planet killing asteroids have been a nerve-wracking prospect ever since we learned of the dinosaurs' demise.

But scientists claims we can rest easy for now, as giant asteroid collisions pose no real threat to Earth for at least 1,000 years.

Reassuring research on circulating asteroids suggests that a dinosaur-style smash event is probably unlikely for the time being.

While a 3,600ft-wide space rock known as '1994 PC1' poses the largest risk, this was still miniscule, with reportedly just a 0.00151 per cent chance of passing within the Moon's orbit.

'It's good news,' Oscar Fuentes-Munoz from the University of Colorado told the MIT Technology Review. 'As far as we know, there's no impact in the next 1,000 years.'

Asteroid '1994 PC1' posed the biggest risk with reportedly just a 0.00151 per cent chance of passing within the moon's orbit within the next 1,000 years (file image)

READ MORE: The six asteroids that are on course to crash into Earth Asteroid Bennu has a one in 2,700 chance of hitting Earth Advertisement

Around 66 million years ago, non-avian dinosaurs were wiped out along with more than half the world's species following an asteroid collision which carved out the Chicxulub crater in what is now the Gulf of Mexico.

As of today, there are currently 1,283,023 known asteroids, according to NASA.

These come in all shapes and sizes, with the largest being around 329 miles (530 kilometers) in diameter.

For this study, scientists at the University of Colorado and the California Institute of Technology analysed a catalogue of 'km-sized near Earth objects' (0.6mile-wide).

While these are much smaller than the 6.2-mile-wide dinosaur-killing asteroid, they are by no means harmless.

A rock this size could throw Earth into a mini Ice Age, with the world also becoming much darker due to soot and dust in the atmosphere.

Researchers then analysed the distance between each asteroid and Earth before looking into their potential risks in the next millennium.

Albeit miniscule, the chance of the 3,600ft-wide asteroid 1994 PC1 smashing into Earth was found to be 10 times higher than any other asteroid listed.

This was followed by the 6,138ft-wide 314082 Dryope and 16,404ft-wide 4179 Toutatis, with the latter known as the 'potato-shaped' asteroid that caused mass fear in 2004.

Humans shouldn't worry about a dinosaur-style asteroid event for the next millennium (file image)

4179 Toutatis: The huge asteroid sparked fear in 2004, but won't be back for quite a while

Pictured: a piece of the Chelyabinsk meteorite that exploded over Russia, injuring over 1,000 people

Professor Peter Wheatley, Department of Physics, University of Warwick told MailOnline: 'The authors identify 28 asteroids that pose a non-zero threat to Earth over the next 1,000 years, although thankfully none within the next century. Collisions with these 28 asteroids remain unlikely, but these results will allow future studies to target their attention on the most dangerous objects.

'This kind of work aims to give humanity an early warming of a catastrophic collision, so that we can develop spacecraft that could nudge an asteroid just enough to miss the Earth.

'Plans for these spacecraft are already being made, and NASA carried out a test mission 2022, called DART, which successfully altered the orbit of a small moon of a known asteroid by crashing into it at high speed.'

Despite these comforting results, smaller asteroids do still pose risk to Earth during the next 100 and 1,000 years.

The European Space Agency found that 878 smaller asteroids are at risk of hitting Earth in the next century.

These can still lead to 'serious devastation', as shown ten years ago when a 20-metre-wide meteor injured more than 1,000 people in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

Professor Peter Wheatley added: 'More work is needed, especially in assessing the risk of asteroids smaller than 1km that still have the potential to destroy an entire city. While a collision in our lifetimes is unlikely, the majority of these smaller asteroids are still to be found.'
Shocking photos show sea creatures making homes out of litter - including a lobster living in a traffic cone and sea anemones growing on a can of Irn Bru.

Chemistry teacher Ross McLaren, 31, started documenting litter while diving around sea lochs in Scotland.

He reckons Scotland is one of the best places in the world for diving, but said littering has skyrocketed since lockdown.

Ross began diving in September 2016 and was stunned by starfish, anemones, lobsters, and bog tail squid.

But on one occasion he spotted a magnificent jellyfish - only to realise it was a Bag For Life.

Shocking photos show sea creatures making homes out of litter - including a lobster living in a traffic cone and sea anemones growing on a can of Irn Bru

A lobster was found hiding in a traffic cone as he was diving near Fairlie Quay, Largs, North Ayrshire, earlier this month

Mussels, oysters and crustaceans are found to be living and reproducing on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - READ MORE The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is located in the North Pacific Gyre (between Hawaii and California) Advertisement

He said the hobby can sometimes be depressing due to the quantity of rubbish, and needs to weigh up the benefits of removing litter if it has a sea-creature living in it.

Dad-of-one Ross, from Kilwinning, Ayrshire, said: 'Most of the rubbish in my car is from doing dives, every six months I empty it out.

'Some of the stuff I've seen under the water is decades old - a Nintendo controller, and cans of Tennent's' with the pin-up girls on them.

'I accidentally fell in love with diving, and it's good to show people what is happening.

'Sea-creatures are making their homes in litter. People won't care if they can't see it.

'One day in Greenock I saw what I thought was a huge jellyfish but it was actually a Bag For Life.

'You can understand why a whale or a porpoise thinks a plastic bag is a jellyfish. I was totally oblivious as well. It's really quite disheartening.

'The Irn Bru can shocked a lot of people. There is a bottle which looks like Budweiser or Buckfast, and a wheel rim, and marine life have made homes there.'

Other discoveries include an old-fashioned kettle in Ballachulish, Highlands, and a bottle with a glove on it.

Dad-of-one Ross, from Kilwinning, Ayrshire, said: 'Most of the rubbish in my car is from doing dives, every six months I empty it out'

Other discoveries include an old-fashioned kettle in Ballachulish, Highlands, and a bottle with a glove on it

Ross added: 'I think it has got worse since lockdown. There's a general increase in the amount of litter in water. 'People don't realise what an impact it is having. I tend to do a lot of diving around the sea lochs, near Loch Lomond and Loch Fyne'

'I'm not a marine biologist or an eco-warrior,' Ross said, adding: 'It's easy to stop litter'

Ross added: 'I think it has got worse since lockdown. There's a general increase in the amount of litter in water.

'People don't realise what an impact it is having. I tend to do a lot of diving around the sea lochs, near Loch Lomond and Loch Fyne.'

One distressing image taken in 2019 showed a lobster with plastic tied around its claws, suggesting it had been caught and lobbed back into the water.

A lobster was also found hiding in a traffic cone as he was diving near Fairlie Quay, Largs, North Ayrshire, earlier this month.

Ross added: 'I was really quite surprised to see it - the visibility is sometimes not the best and it wasn't the easiest shot to get.

'The marine life do use litter as habitat. On this occasion I thought it best to leave it as it looked like the lobster has set up its home in there.

'In some of my dives, I have seen the likes of a can of Irn Bru and it has grown with bits and pieces and that is where it becomes an ethical issue.

'The incredible arrange of colours you can see is amazing - most people think that Scottish marine life is dull and grey on the surface but underneath it is full of colour.

'I'm not a marine biologist or an eco-warrior,' he said, adding: 'It's easy to stop litter.'
It's a bucket-list attraction for aviation geeks.

In the heart of British Airways' Heathrow headquarters is a fascinating secret museum, a treasure trove of pictures, aircraft models, uniforms and rare memorabilia that tells the story of the airline and its predecessors.

The Speedbird Heritage Centre is run by a small group of retired BA workers, including Mr Jim Davies, an affable aviation guru who kindly gave me a tour.

What the centre lacks in square footage, it more than makes up for with the sheer quantity of historical nuggets on display, some of which are one-of-a-kind.

Contrasting old with new by the entrance is an original wooden engine blade from a Handley Page HP42 and a titanium Rolls-Royce engine blade from an Airbus A380.

The Speedbird Heritage Centre is a fascinating secret museum, a treasure trove of pictures, aircraft models, uniforms and rare memorabilia that tells the story of the airline and its predecessors

Above right is a 'paper dress' worn by stewardesses with BA predecessor BOAC in 1967 on routes between New York and the Caribbean

BA has preserved over 130 uniforms from the 1930s to the present day

The four-engined Handley Page, introduced by Imperial Airways, had a cruise speed of 100mph, a maximum speed of 120mph, a range of 500 miles and made its first commercial flight from Croydon to Paris in 1931.

The Airbus A380 entered into service for British Airways in the summer of 2013 and has a top speed of just over 630mph, a cruising speed of 560mph and a range of 9,320 miles (15,000km).

What a difference a few decades makes.

The Handley, though, was the starship Enterprise in comparison to the plane that launched the world's first international scheduled air service - a single-engined de Havilland DH4A. On August 25, 1919, this converted military aircraft, a museum talker reveals, carried one passenger (an Evening Standard journalist, Jim noted) and a consignment of newspapers and luxury food items to Paris Le Bourget from Hounslow Heath airfield.

The Speedbird Heritage Centre is run by a small group of retired BA workers

A BOAC kimono worn by BOAC's Japanese stewardesses from 1955 to 1974

The museum explains that British Airways traces its ancestry back to this trailblazing service.

It continues: 'The flight took two and a half hours... and proved the technical viability and the speed advantage of air travel over rail and sea. It led the way to the development of today's vast and complex worldwide network of air services carrying millions of passengers and tonnes of cargo each year.

'During the remainder of 1919 and 1920 other UK foreign airlines were formed and competed fiercely for the few routes in operation between London and continental Europe. Using aircraft that were fragile and often unreliable, a remarkable record of regular air services was established in these early years of civil aviation.'

The museum also highlights the startling development of Heathrow Airport.

I stared at a photograph labelled '" Tent City" London Airport 1946', which shows some large tents and a row of cars, with a few houses in the background.

This was 'Heathrow Airport' - built on the site of the village of Heath Row - just after the war, when tents served as terminals.

Vintage in-flight menus are on display  one could enjoy chilled Iranian caviar and clear turtle soup with sherry between London and Bermuda on the flights of yesteryear

Above are pages from the royal visitor book, signed by members of the royal family when flying with BA. On the left, the signatures of Charles and Diana, on the right that of the Queen Mother, who was treated to a Concorde flight around the UK in 1985

The signature of Elizabeth II in the BA royal guestbook

Moving on, Jim drew my attention to a model of an Avro Lancastrian plane  a modified version of the bomber - which in 1946 flew a service from London to Sydney with a journey time of 63 hours.

One can only imagine the noise and discomfort. 'It must have been horrific,' said Jim.

Vintage in-flight menus are on display, too  one could enjoy chilled Iranian caviar and clear turtle soup with sherry between London and Bermuda on the flights of yesteryear, I learned.

BA has preserved over 130 uniforms from the 1930s to the present day, with a handful on view at the Heritage Centre, including a 'paper dress' worn by stewardesses with BA predecessor BOAC in 1967 on routes between New York and the Caribbean, and a BOAC kimono worn by BOAC's Japanese stewardesses from 1955 to 1974 on Japan-UK services.

Ted is pictured here at the British Airways HQ at Waterside, the location of the Speedbird Heritage Centre

Jim pointed out a good luck charm of the patron saint of travel, St Christopher, that Prince Philip insisted was placed somewhere on every plane he boarded, before guiding us to the royal visitor book, signed by members of the royal family when flying with BA.

Jim reverently leafed through the pages, adorned with the signatures of Diana, Charles, the Queen Mother  who was treated to a Concorde flight around the UK in 1985 - and the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Elizabeth II visited the Heritage Centre in person  a moment Jim is understandably proud of.

I heartily recommend following in those royal footsteps.

Visits to the Speedbird Heritage Centre are by appointment only. Visit www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/about-ba/history-and-heritage/heritage-collection or call 020 8562 5777 or 020 8562 5737. Requests can also be made by post to British Airways Heritage Collection; Waterside (HDGA); PO Box 365; Harmondsworth, Middlesex; UB7 0GB; United Kingdom.
They stunned onlookers at the star-studded premiere just hours earlier.

And Harrison Ford continued to cosy up to his stunning wife Calista Flockhart as they headed to the Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny after party at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Star Wars star, 80, cut a dapper figure as he joined the Ally McBeal star, 58, at the post-premiere bash, after attending the first screening of his final appearance as Indiana Jones.

After arriving for the premiere in a smart black tuxedo, Harrison changed into a black suit and a matching grey shirt, while Calista donned an elegant floral midi dress.

Harrison's co-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge also headed to the bash, though she opted to keep her elegant black satin dress, with her fishtail skirt noticeably removed.

Sweet: Harrison Ford, 80, cosied up to his stunning wife Calista Flockhart, 58, as they headed to the Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny after party at the Cannes Film Festival

Sweet: The Star Wars star cut a dapper figure as he joined the Ally McBeal star at the post-premiere bash, after attending the first screening of his final appearance as Indiana Jones

Pretty: Calista donned an elegant floral midi dress with a stylish halterneck, teamed with chunky platform heels

It was a rare public appearance for Harrison and Calista, but it was marred by an awkward seating gaffe inside the Palais des Festivals, where his fifth and final offering as Indy was being screened.

As they made their way inside, Flockhart immediately noticed she had been seated behind her husband, prompting a weak smile as she mentioned the error to a stoney-faced Ford - who could be heard murmuring 'Oh!'

Ford has reprised his role as Indiana Jones for the final time, after first taking on the iconic character in 1984 in Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

Dial of Destiny, set for release on June 30, also stars Mads Mikkelsen and Antonio Banderas, and has been directed by James Mangold.

Making a rare red carpet appearance with his spouse, Harrison cut a dapper figure as he arrived for the premiere of the newest Indiana Jones film, the first since 2008.

His wife Calista cut a glamorous figure in a plunging black tulle gown as she arrived hand-in-hand with the actor.

As the couple stopped to pose for snaps together, Calista beamed at her husband, as they lead a slew of stars in attendance for the premiere.

Harrison attended the film's premiere, as he prepares to accept an honorary Palme d'Or as a tribute to his performance as Indiana.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is set in the year 1969, following Ford's Indiana Jones set against the backdrop of the American 'space race.'

Oops! It was a rare public appearance for Harrison and Calista, but it was marred by an awkward seating gaffe inside the Palais des Festivals

Quick change! Harrison's co-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge also headed to the bash, though she opted to keep her elegant black satin dress

Stunner! Her elegant dress was teamed with matching gloves as she posed at the post-premiere party

Mr and Mrs: Mads Mikkelson, who stars as the villain in the film, was joined by his wife Hanne Jacobsen at the party

Loving it! Young Ethann Isidore, who stars in an unnamed role in the film, was clearly delighted to be attending the party

Riding high! James Mangold, who has taken over directing duties from Steven Spielberg, cut a suave figure at the party

Suited and booted! Andrew Scott was also in attendance for the premiere

Gorgeous! Gemma Chan stunned in an elegant red satin gown as she headed to the party after attending the premiere

One last hurrah! Harrison is set to reprise his role as the titular hero for the final time in the fifth Indiana Jones film, after first taking on the iconic character in 1981 in Raiders Of The Lost Ark

Jones is said to be, 'uneasy' about the American government enlisting former Nazis in their race to beat the Russians to the moon.

Franchise newcomer Phoebe Waller-Bridge joins the sequel as Helena Shaw, Indy's goddaughter, along with Mads Mikkelsen as Jurgen Voller, an ex-Nazi who now works for NASA.

Other newcomers include Antonio Banderas as Renaldo, a friend of Indy, Thomas Kretschmann as Colonel Weber, Toby Jones as Basil Shaw and Boyd Holbrook as Klaber.

Phoebe portrays Indiana Jones' goddaughter Helena Shaw in the movie, with filmmakers describing the character as 'slippery' and 'charming'.

'She's a mystery and a wonder,' Phoebe, who also stars alongside Antonio Banderas in the film told Empire, about her character.

'Making the film was everything I could have hoped for, with a chance to work on my own stunts and action sequences,' she added.

'If the script said throw yourself on to the back of a vehicle, I threw myself on to the back of a vehicle!'
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny (Cannes Film Festival)

Rating:

At the age of 80, Harrison Ford is once again cracking the whip as the worlds most famous and fearless archaeologist, prompting one question above all: might this film, which had its world premiere last night at the Cannes Film Festival, be better titled Corporal Jones and the Dial of Destiny?

Dont panic. The bumbling pensioners of Dads Army hardly ever come to mind as Ford, 42 years after his first outing as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, rises doughtily, and only a little arthritically, to the occasion.

And what an occasion. He was received on the French Riviera last night like a beloved potentate, and, visibly moved, returned the compliment by telling an adoring audience that they have given him purpose in life.

In Fords fifth and final outing as Indiana Jones, our intrepid heros purpose is to locate the missing half of an ancient dial designed by Archimedes to find fissures in the time continuum, enabling mighty leaps through history.

Its hard to think of a dafter narrative even in the Indiana Jones collection of silly plots, but director James Mangold just about pulls it off in what at times feels like a cinematic version of a greatest hits album.

The bumbling pensioners of Dads Army hardly ever come to mind as Ford, 42 years after his first outing as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, rises to the occasion

This is the only Indiana Jones picture not directed by Steven Spielberg, or co-written by his fellow Hollywood giant George Lucas, so that maybe explains why Mangold (and British screenwriters Jez and John-Henry Butterworth) pay conspicuous homage to the others.

There are caves filled with dusty artefacts, and crumbling skulls, and snakes, and Nazis, and of course frantic chases through crowded streets in which its sometimes hard to work out whos escaping whom, and why.

The problem with all that is that it makes comparisons unavoidable, and Dial of Destiny doesnt entirely stand up to the stare of scrutiny.

This is the only Indiana Jones picture not directed by Steven Spielberg, or co-written by his fellow Hollywood giant George Lucas (Harrison Ford at the premiere on May 18)

When will filmmakers learn that were more likely to feel short-changed by too much length, than too little? (Phoebe Waller-Bridge at the premiere on May 18)

It lacks quite a few of the virtues of its predecessors, notably brevity. At over two and a half hours its the longest of the five movies by a street.

When will filmmakers learn that were more likely to feel short-changed by too much length, than too little?

Still, there are compensations. Indys companion on this adventure is his plummy British god-daughter Helena, nicely played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge almost counter-intuitively, as a sly, rapacious charmer only in it for the money.

Not that its clear how she became such a rascal. Her father Basil (Toby Jones) was an academic colleague of Indys, and the clever chap who first recognised the extraordinary properties of the dial.

The story opens with a digitally de-aged Ford fighting Nazis at the end of the Second World War, and then skips to New York City in 1969

But then it was a nonsense anyway, albeit in a moderately entertaining way. And wide-brimmed Fedora hats off to old Harrison Ford

The story opens with a digitally de-aged Ford fighting Nazis at the end of the Second World War, and then skips to New York City in 1969, where our hero gamely appears with his shirt off to show that saggy midriffs come to us all in the end.

Hes a jaded college lecturer dealing with a personal calamity when Helena reappears in his life after 18 years.

Soon, the pair of them are criss-crossing the Mediterranean while trying to stay one step ahead of a gang led by a Nazi scientist called Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), who has been helping the Americans with their space programme, and is also desperate to find the dial. What is Vollers motive for wanting to leap through time?

We dont find out until the films nuttily convoluted ending, which makes a nonsense of much of what has come before.

But then it was a nonsense anyway, albeit in a moderately entertaining way. And wide-brimmed Fedora hats off to old Harrison Ford, for having one last go.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge attended the Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny after-party on Thursday night during the 76th Cannes Film Festival.

The actress, 37, looked elegant in a black silk gown which she wore with matching opera gloves while elevating her height with strappy heels.

Phoebe, who plays Indiana's goddaughter Helena Shaw in the upcoming blockbuster, had attended the premiere earlier in the night.

She wore her brunette tresses in a chic bob and had flawlessly applied a full face of make-up to enhance her natural beauty.

The premiere proved to be the most popular ticket for this year's festival, with a slew of glamorous beauties, including Karlie Kloss and Gemma Chan, also in attendance.

Gorgeous: Phoebe Waller-Bridge attended the Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny after-party on Thursday night during the 76th Cannes Film Festival

Chic: The actress, 37, looked elegant in a black silk gown which she wore with matching opera gloves while elevating her height with strappy heels

Harrison Ford is set to reprise his role as the titular hero for the final time in the fifth Indiana Jones film, after first taking on the iconic character in 1984 in Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

The film, set for release on June 30, also stars Mads Mikkelsen as Jurgen Voller, an ex-Nazi who now works for NASA, and has been directed by James Mangold.

Harrison has already moved on from the franchise, taking over the Thunderbolt Ross role from the late William Hurt in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is set in the year 1969, following Ford's Indiana Jones set against the backdrop of the American 'space race.'

The protagonist is said to be, 'uneasy' about the American government enlisting former Nazis in their race to beat the Russians to the moon.

Other newcomers include Antonio Banderas as Renaldo, a friend of Indy, Thomas Kretschmann as Colonel Weber, Toby Jones as Basil Shaw and Boyd Holbrook as Klaber.

Phoebe portrays Indiana Jones' goddaughter Helena Shaw in the movie, with filmmakers describing the character as 'slippery' and 'charming'.

'She's a mystery and a wonder,' Phoebe, who also stars alongside Antonio Banderas in the film told Empire, about her character.

Wow! Phoebe, who plays Indiana's goddaughter Helena Shaw in the upcoming blockbuster, had attended the premiere earlier in the night

OMG: Phoebe caused onlookers to gawk and point while posing up a storm

Glam: She wore her brunette tresses in a chic bob and had flawlessly applied a full face of make-up to enhance her natural beauty

Different look: She ditched her fishtail train while posing for photographs, showing off her heels

'Making the film was everything I could have hoped for, with a chance to work on my own stunts and action sequences,' she added.

'If the script said throw yourself on to the back of a vehicle, I threw myself on to the back of a vehicle!'

The upcoming action film will be released June 30, and will be the final Indiana Jones movie.

'This is the final film in the series, and this is the last time I'll play the character. I anticipate that it will be the last time that he appears in a film,' Harrison recently confirmed himself in an interview with Total Film.

It was reported in November that Disney Plus was in early stages of developing an Indiana Jones TV series, though Harrison insisted he was not involved with that either.

He said he will, 'not be involved in that, if it does come to fruition,' adding he's quite excited for fans to see the final Indy adventure.

'I had been ambitious to do this film for 10 years, and there finally came a time when we all committed to that,' the actor admitted.

'It was a joyous moment for me. I think it's a rare situation that I find myself in.'

'I've been able to deliver amazing films developed by Steven [Spielberg] and George [Lucas] over a 40-year period, and to end it not with a whimper, but a bang, has been my greatest ambition for this excursion,' he continued.
New Delhi, May 19 (UNI) India has donated 25 tonnes of medical aid to the people of violence-hit Sudan.

A tweet from the Indian Embassy in Khartoum said that the aid was delivered at the Port of Sudan via a special C17 flight, and handed over to Sudanese authorities by Indian Ambassador BS Mubarak.

Government of India donated 25 tons of Medical aid to the people of Sudan. A special Indian Airforce C-17 flight arrived at Port Sudan airport on 18 May 2023 at 3.50 p.m carrying the medical aid. The medical aid was handed over by Ambassador of India Mr. B.S Mubarak.

India evacuated over 3,000 of its nationals from Sudan after war broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 15 April.

According to the UN, since the fighting began, nearly a million people have been displaced, with the number of those internally displaced rising to 730,000 while 220,000 have fled to neighboring countries.

Today 25 million people, more than half the population of Sudan, need humanitarian aid and protection, said Ramesh Rajasingham, Head and Representative of OCHA in Geneva.

UNI RN
Advertisement

Emily Ratajkowski looked glamorous while attending the 2023 PEN America Spring Literary Gala held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York on Thursday.

The 31-year-old model  who's the author of My Body, a collection of personal essays  slipped her formidable figure into a floor-length black gown, which she paired with black sandal heels.

The Vogue cover girl wore her lustrous dark tresses parted in the middle and cascading down her shoulders in a straight style, with bangs framing her face.

The mother-of-one wore dewy glam for the evening, featuring a touch of pink blush, nude lipstick on her pout, and light eyeshadow.

The annual PEN America Literary Gala celebrates writers who 'champion and defend freedom of expression.' Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels, 78, is among this year's honorees, and will be awarded the Audible Literary Service Award. Many of his SNL stars came out to support him at the event, including Colin Jost, 40, who served as the night's host.

Glamorous: Emily Ratajkowski looked glamorous while attending the 2023 PEN America Spring Literary Gala held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York on Thursday

The black tie event features a cocktail reception, dinner and awards, followed by dessert and an afterparty.

The proceeds go to support PEN Americas cultural programming and advocacy work.

Also in attendance was actor Alec Baldwin, 65, and his wife Hilaria Baldwin, 39, who made a stylish duo on the red carpet.

The Glengarry Glen Ross star  who recently became a grandfather, after his eldest daughter Ireland, 27, gave birth to daughter Holland  looked sharp in a black suit and bowtie.

The father-of-seven wore his salt and pepper hair slicked back with gel.

Meanwhile his wife was the epitome of chic in a black gown with a tiered feather fringe.

The yoga instructor wore her brunette tresses pinned back in a stylish bun. She accessorized with sparkling earrings, a gold bangle, and a number of rings.

Hilaria opted for delicate glam, wearing nude matte lipstick and a hint of blush.

Classy: The 31-year-old model slipped her formidable figure into a floor-length black gown, which she paired with black sandal heels

Stunner: The Vogue cover girl wore her lustrous dark tresses parted in the middle and cascading down her shoulders in a straight style, with bangs framing her face

Author: Emily is the author of My Body, a collection of personal essays published in 2021

So chic: The mother-of-one wore dewy glam for the evening, featuring a touch of pink blush, nude lipstick on her pout, and light eyeshadow

At one point Hilaria and Alec were pictured holding signs in support of Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who is serving an eight-year sentence for alleged national security offenses.

Hilaria's sign read, 'Free Narges and all Iranian political prisoners.' Meanwhile Alec's read, 'Narges stands for peace.'

Baldwin also shared an Instagram image with Narges' husband, Tahgi Rahmani, who accepted the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award on her behalf.

'Unbelievable courage on both of their parts,' the actor wrote in the caption of the image.

Candace Bushnell, 64, looked incredible as ever in an off-shoulder black gown with a feather trim.

The author  who is known for writing the Sex and the City newspaper column that spawned the famous HBO show and movies  added height to the look with a pair of silver heels.

The 'original Carrie Bradshaw' wore her blonde hair in bouncy locks

She was joined by novelist Jay McInerney, 68, on the red carpet.

Lorne Michaels looked dashing in a black suit and bowtie. He was joined by CEO of PEN America Suzanne Nossel, 53, who wowed in a strapless green dress.

Dynamic duo: Also in attendance was actor Alec Baldwin, 65, and his wife Hilaria Baldwin, 39, who made a stylish duo on the red carpet

PDA: Alec gave his wife a sweet kiss on the side of her head as they posed for the shutterbugs

Elegant: The yoga instructor was the epitome of chic in a black gown with a tiered feather fringe

Looking sharp: The Glengarry Glen Ross star looked sharp in a black suit and bowtie

New grandpa: Baldwin recently became a grandfather, after his eldest daughter Ireland, 27, gave birth to daughter Holland

Dapper: The father-of-seven wore his salt and pepper hair slicked back with gel

Accessories: She accessorized with sparkling earrings, a gold bangle, and a number of rings

Delicate: Hilaria opted for delicate glam, wearing nude matte lipstick and a hint of blush

In support: At one point Hilaria and Alec were pictured holding signs in support of Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who is serving an eight-year sentence for alleged national security offenses

Original Carrie Bradshaw: Candace Bushnell, 64  who is known for writing the Sex and the City newspaper column that spawned the famous HBO show and movies  looked incredible as ever in an off-shoulder black gown with a feather trim

Stylish duo: She was joined by novelist Jay McInerney, 68, on the red carpet

Edgy: Musician Michelle Zauner, 34, showed off her edgy sense of style in a white shirt dress adorned in white feathers

Effortlessly chic: Actress Candice Bergen, 77, donned a feathered black jacket over a white top

Lovely pair: Belgian fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, 76, stunned in a floral print jacket and pants. Diane was joined by her husband Barry Diller, 81, who looked sharp in a black suit and yellow-tinted sunglasses

The host: SNL star Colin Jost, 40, will host the event. Scarlett Johansson's husband looked sharp in a black tuxedo

With the boss: Jost was pictured posing with his boss, Saturday Night Live honcho Lorne Michaels, 78

Man of the hour: The executive producer looked dashing in a black suit and bowtie. He was joined by CEO of PEN America Suzanne Nossel, 53, who wowed in a strapless green dress

Honoree: Michaels is among this year's honorees, and will be awarded the Audible Literary Service Award

Successful: The award will be one of many for the producer. Michaels has received 21 Primetime Emmy Awards from 98 nominations, and holds the record as the most nominated individual in the award show's history

Comedy hour: Also in attendance were SNL comedians Fred Armisen, 56, who sported a black suit and tie and John Mulaney, 40, who rocked a black blazer, well-fitted grey pants and a red tie

Menn's fashion: Mulaney accessorized with a silver watch

Proud: Mulaney posed with Michaels who proudly held his award

Advocates: Armisen also posed with Suzanne Nossel, and like Alec and Hilaria the duo held up a sign in support of Narges, reading, 'Let Narges return to her family'

All together: Alec, Hilaria, and Suzanne posed with Diane Sawyer and Bergen

Dapper trio: Jost, Michaels and Mulaney posed on the red carpet

Laughing it up: Mulaney was pictured laughing it up with the legendary Canadian-American television producer

Chic duo: Novelist Salman Rushdie, 75, was joined by his poet wife Rachel Eliza Griffiths, 45, who wowed in a form-fitting black dress

Staying strong: Rushdie wore a black suit and glasses with the right-hand lens blacked out, after losing sight in the eye following a brutal stabbing onstage at a literary event last year

Courageous: Rushdie proudly held his award during his first public appearance since the brutal attack last August

Also in attendance were SNL comedians Fred Armisen, 56, who sported a black suit and tie and John Mulaney, 40, who rocked a black blazer, well-fitted grey pants and a red tie.

Mulaney accessorized his outfit with a silver watch.

Armisen also posed with Suzanne Nossel, and like Alec and Hilaria the duo held up a sign in support of Narges, reading, 'Let Narges return to her family.'

Novelist Salman Rushdie, 75, was joined by his poet wife Rachel Eliza Griffiths, 45, who wowed in a form-fitting black dress.

Rushdie wore a black suit and glasses with the right-hand lens blacked out, after losing sight in the eye following a brutal stabbing onstage at a literary event last year.

Rushdie received a standing ovation and proudly held his award during his first public appearance since the brutal attack last August.

Musician Michelle Zauner, 34, showed off her edgy sense of style in a white shirt dress adorned in white feathers.

She paired the outfit with a black tie and thigh-high black boots.

The songstress accessorized with a unique purse in the shape of a pearl. She wore her hair in Princess Leia-style buns.

With Diane: Baldwin shook hands with Diane Sawyer

Having a good time: The actor was pictured sharing a laugh with Mulaney

Paying attention: Ratajkowski listened intently while smiling inside of the event

Celebrating Lorne: SNL comedian Michael Che, 40, was seen supporting Lorne inside the event wearing a classy black suit

Inside: Jost was pictured speaking onstage

Entertaining: Mulaney also entertained the crowd

Speech: Lorne was seen giving a speech upon receiving the Audible Literary Service Award

Standing ovation: Rushdie received a standing ovation from the crowd as he accepted an award from the literary organization

Party: St. Vincent and Michelle Zauner posed up inside the event

Dinner: Guests were later treated to dinner

SNL stars: Che and Jost chatted it up over plates of food at the after party

Brave: Baldwin also shared an Instagram image with Narges Mohammadi's husband, Tahgi Rahmani, who accepted the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award on her behalf

Belgian fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, 76, stunned in a floral print jacket and pants.

She accessorized with a black crossbody bag and wore her brunette tresses in voluminous curls. Diane was joined by her husband Barry Diller, 81, who looked sharp in a black suit and yellow-tinted sunglasses.

Actress Candice Bergen, 77, donned a feathered black jacket over a white top. She paired her stylish look with wide-leg pants and shimmering black heels.

SNL comedian Michael Che, 40, was pictured supporting Lorne inside the event wearing a black suit.

The award will be one of many Michaels has received throughout his career. The legendary Canadian-American television producer has received 21 Primetime Emmy Awards from 98 nominations, and holds the record as the most nominated individual in the award show's history.
Married At First Sight star Ella Ding has stirred up controversy by openly supporting Balenciaga after the fashion label sparked outrage over its bondage-themed campaign featuring children.

Last year, Balenciaga copped severe backlash when they released their 2022 Holiday advertising campaign, which depicted children holding teddy bears dressed in bondage attire, and its Spring/Summer 2023 campaign featuring pages from a US Supreme Court decision on child pornography laws.

In a TikTok video shared to her best friend Domenica Calarco account earlier this week, the two MAFS star showed off their outfits to fans which featured local brands and several designer pieces.

When it was Ella's turn to display her look, the ex-reality star flaunted a pair of black Misha Urban pants, a STAX T-shirt, a Zara blazer and a Louis Vuitton handbag.

Ella also pointed out her white sneakers by Balenciaga.

'Yep, still rocking Balenci,' Dom said in the clip.

'Don't give a f**k. Love the sneakers, I'm still gonna wear them,' Ella answered.

Shortly after the video was uploaded, influencer watchdog account @influencertea_aus shared the moment to their own Instagram page, urging Dom and Ella to 'do better'.

Fans also expressed their shock and disappointment in the comments.

Married At First Sight star Ella Ding has stirred up controversy by openly supporting Balenciaga after the fashion label sparked outrage over its bondage-themed campaign featuring children

In a TikTok video shared to her best friend Domenica Calarco account earlier this week, the two MAFS star showed off their outfits to fans which featured local brands and several designer pieces, including the Balenciaga sneakers

'They always show their spots in the end,' one user wrote.

'Nooooo I thought Ella was better than this,' added another.

Meanwhile others defended Dom and Ella, pointing out the double standard with other big name fashion labels.

'Yep, still rocking Balenci,' Dom said in the clip. 'Don't give a f**k. Love the sneakers, I'm still gonna wear them,' Ella answered

'But I think if she already bought them before the fallout, what's the issue? Maybe gloating about it isn't the right move but throwing them away just to prove a point seems dumb?' someone commented.

'I bet loads of influencers who jumped on wagon to cancel Balenciaga still own and wear their stuff, they just don't say they do.'

The scandal surrounding Balenciaga erupted when the label released its 2022 Holiday ad campaign that featured children posing with its Plush Toy Bag. The bags look like teddy bears and are dressed in BDSM gear.

In the photos, the children also appeared surrounded by empty wine and champagne glasses.

Shortly after the video was uploaded, influencer watchdog account @influencertea_aus shared the moment to their own Instagram page, urging Dom and Ella to 'do better'

The distinctly adult themes immediately troubled many who asked why children had ever been used.

Kim Kardashian, the brand's biggest ambassador, said she'd be 're-evaluating' her relationship with the fashion house in light of the scandal, but fell short of distancing herself from the brand for good.

Balenciaga initially ignored the scandal around the teddy bear photos and seemingly allowed the photographer who was involved, Gabriele Galimberti, to take the heat.

Balenciaga triggered outrage with its 2022 Holiday advertising campaign, which depicted children holding teddy bears that were dressed in bondage attire (pictured)

He released a statement saying he had no control over the content of the shoot and eventually Balenciaga released its own statement agreeing with him and taking responsibility for the campaign.

After the BDSM bears fiasco, eagle-eyed critics started examining the rest of Balenciaga's campaigns closely.

They soon discovered that in the background of an image from the Spring '23 campaign was a printout of a Supreme Court ruling on whether or not internet child porn can be legally considered free speech.

Balenciaga, which is popular with A-list celebrities including the likes of Kim Kardashian - deleted two shocking images showing two young girls holding a teddy bear in bondage style gear on the gift shop section of its website

After the BDSM bears fiasco, eagle-eyed critics started examining the rest of Balenciaga's campaigns closely. They soon discovered that in the background of an image from the Spring '23 campaign was a printout of a Supreme Court ruling on whether or not internet child porn can be legally considered free speech (pictured)

On the back of the bears scandal, many critics said it pointed to a troubling pattern within Balenciaga.

Balenciaga was quick to blame North Six, a production company that helped arrange the shoot, for the inclusion of those documents.

They claimed that they entrusted all of the props from the photoshoot to North Six, and that their team was assured everything that was included was fake.

This is the July ad campaign which featured the printout of the US Supreme Court child porn ruling
Alexander Armstrong In Sri Lanka (Ch5)

Rating:

Bangers & Cash: Restoring Classics (Yesterday)

Rating:

So that's where all the civil servants have gone. In a beachfront bar with superfast wifi, on the island paradise of Sri Lanka, everyone was busy on their laptops, 'working from home'.

Alexander Armstrong chatted to one sun-tanned Millennial who claimed to be writing a novel, though why he'd need a broadband connection for that wasn't clear. Perhaps this debutante Dickens has to check his Facebook every five minutes for inspiration.

Others in the cafe were financiers and coders, said the writer. My guess is they're civic officials from South Cambridgeshire District Council where, the Mail revealed this week, just six per cent of staff were at their office desks in 2022.

You won't catch Xander working from home. Alexander Armstrong In Sri Lanka (Ch5) gives him the chance to explore some of the stranger sights, such as a Buddhist temple with a chamber of horrors, and a factory making paper from elephant dung.

Alexander Armstrong visits a factory making paper from elephant dung in Sri Lanka

He enjoyed clowning around on a surfboard and taking part in an exorcism ceremony to rid him of his 'demons'  though he's such an urbane, genteel fellow that I'm sure his demons would be willing to leave without protest if asked to do so politely.

Most of all, his travelogues allow him to indulge his foodie yearnings. All his amused detachment vanished at the first sniff of fried rice with peppers at a street stall.

Driving a baker's tuk-tuk through the streets of Galle, he was drooling at the thought of his wares  'wholegrain, sourdough, pain au chocolat . . .'

Zig-zag dates of the week If you were frustrated by the way BBC1's Steeltown Murders flipped between 2003 and 1973, steer clear of Last King Of The Cross (Sky Max). It dips into 1993, 1978, 1995 and 1987, with giant captions to tell us the characters' names. Messy and irritating. Advertisement

He was so excited by a fish-head curry served outdoors that he barely noticed when the tropical rains began. And he went into raptures over a pungent durian fruit with seeds that he compared to soft, smelly cheese. 'You've got to be careful,' warned his guide, as he wolfed another one. 'All these fruits can be an aphrodisiac.'

His love of new dishes and tastes is an unfeigned enthusiasm. I'd like to see him make a travel show concentrating solely on the gastronomy. He could call it Alexander Armstrong Eats His Way Around The World.

A similar hankering for spin-offs lies behind Bangers & Cash: Restoring Classics (Yesterday). Based on the car auction show that has become a firm favourite with UKTV viewers since 2019, it sees the camera crew buying rusty old motors to repair and sell.

Since the TV techies lack the expertise to restore the vehicles themselves, they have to pay mechanics  wiping out any hope of a profit.

But the money isn't the point. This is a makeover show for petrolheads: instead of somebody's mum getting a much deserved new hairdo, we're seeing well-loved family runarounds from the past given a tune-up and a lick of paint.

Alexander Armstrong in Sri Lanka, Episode 1 of the Channel 5 show

The headliner this week was a Vauxhall Nova with a 1.2 litre engine. Ten years ago, the auction wizards reckoned, you could pick one up for 50 quid. Now, one in mint condition will fetch up to eight grand.

DJ Stephanie Hirst from Hits Radio, a Nova devotee, brought her mate Tim to inspect it. 'Stick your head in there,' he said, admiring the interior. 'Smell the 1990s.'

The real star, though, was a 1978 Czech trail bike, known as a 'yellow tank'. Practically indestructible, it was running as soon as motorbike mechanics Brian and Rob gave the spark plugs a clean.

According to auctioneer Dave, bikes from the punk era now sell better than 1950s mopeds, once beloved by Mods. 'It's an age thing,' he explained. 'Guys that are interested in a Velocette scooter can't get their legs over the saddle any more . . .'
Nathan Buckley is completely smitten with his new girlfriend Brodie Ryan.

The AFL legend, 50, started dating the business manager last year, and he hasn't been shy about expressing his affection on social media.

Buckley is a frequent commenter on the 34-year-old's Instagram page, often offering up words of praise or flame and heart emojis.

On one post, the footy star wrote: 'Brodes, you have nothing to prove to anyone.'

He continued: 'You don't need validation or approval. Because the people who matter, don't care for that.

Nathan Buckley is completely smitten with his new girlfriend Brodie Ryan and has been leaving flirty comments all over her Instagram page in recent months

He has a type! With her long brown hair and love of fitness, Brodie (left) shares a resemblance to Buckley's ex, 45-year-old cosmetic nurse Alex Pike (right)

'Keep living your life as you see fit; as the kind, intelligent, empathic woman you are.'

In another post, Buckley suggested that Brodie wear an aqua coloured dress instead of the lilac number she had on in the photo.

The private couple also appeared to take a swipe at social media influencers in a post from January, in which Brodie gushed about spending time in celeb hotspot Bondi.

'Do any fluencing (sic) up there at all?' Buckley snarkily commented.

'Hehehe you know Im not cut out for fluencing' she responded.

Buckley is a frequent commenter on the 34-year-old's Instagram page, often offering up words of praise or flame and heart emojis

Despite keeping a low profile, the 34-year-old business manager has enjoyed attending swanky A-list events in Melbourne since meeting Buckley

Buckley's ex-girlfriend, cosmetic nurse Alex Pike, is a budding influencer with over 37,000 followers and a podcast focused on the plastic and cosmetic surgery industry.

She's also become a favourite at red carpet events in the past two years, attending fashion shows and F1's Glamour on the Grid.

Not to be outdone, Brodie has also started to make herself known on the Melbourne social scene.

The business manager attended Glamour on the Grid in March and was at the opening of swanky South Yarra restaurant The Beverly last month.

'Brodes, you have nothing to prove to anyone,' Buckley gushed on one of his girlfriend's Instagram posts

The footy legend split with registered nurse and entrepreneur Alex Pike last year. Pictured together

She and Nathan also narrowly missed an awkward run-in with the glamorous Pike at the Justin Cassin X Redken fashion show in October.

While the couple are more than happy to flaunt their romance on social media, mum-of-three Pike has been making moves to grow her beauty brand.

The brunette has been studying to get accredited as a registered nurse in America so that she can expand her cosmetic clinic, Face by Alex Pike, and is launching a podcast.

Alex has started to become a budding influencer in the past year and recently shot photos for GLOW Beverages. This was after Buckley and Brodie seemed to take a swipe at 'fluencers' in a post on Instagram

The brunette has been studying to get accredited as a registered nurse in America so that she can expand her cosmetic clinic, Face by Alex Pike, and is launching a plastic surgery podcast

She also has her own eight-week beauty bootcamp program called Inside Out to help people change their lives and get in shape.

'I'm definitely not seeing anyone, I'm keeping to myself,' she told the Herald Sun in December.

'I have been studying for my exams to be a registered nurse in the states so it's just when I visit,' she continued.

'I've travelled a lot and it's been really wonderful. I'm really lucky I've got a great network in America.'
Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria Baldwin made a stylish pair at the 2023 PEN America Spring Literary Gala held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York on Thursday.

The 65-year-old actor was pictured sweetly kissing the yoga instructor, 39, who was the epitome of chic in a black gown with a tiered feather fringe.

The first-time grandfather  whose eldest daughter Ireland, 27, recently gave birth to her first child  looked sharp in a black suit and bowtie.

The annual PEN America Literary Gala celebrates writers who 'champion and defend freedom of expression.'

The black tie event was the first red carpet the couple attended since all charges were dropped against Alec for accidentally shooting and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust.

Stylish: Alec Baldwin, 65, and his wife Hilaria, 39, made a stylish pair at the 2023 PEN America Spring Literary Gala held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York

PDA: Alec gave his wife a sweet kiss on the side of her head as they posed for the shutterbugs

The Glengarry Glen Ross star wore his salt and pepper hair slicked back with gel.

Hilaria wore her brunette tresses pinned back in a stylish bun. She accessorized with sparkling earrings, a gold bangle, and a number of rings.

The mother-of-six opted for delicate glam, wearing nude matte lipstick and a hint of blush.

At one point Hilaria and Alec were pictured holding signs in support of Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who is serving an eight-year sentence for alleged national security offenses

Hilaria's sign read, 'Free Narges and all Iranian political prisoners.' Meanwhile Alec's read, 'Narges stands for peace.'

Baldwin also shared an Instagram image with Narges' husband, Tahgi Rahmani, who accepted the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award on her behalf.

'Unbelievable courage on both of their parts,' the actor wrote in the caption of the image.

Alec and Hilaria also mingled with CEO of PEN America Suzanne Nossel, 53, who wowed in a strapless green dress, and actress Candice Bergen, 77.

First: It was the first red carpet the couple attended since all charges were dropped against Alec for accidentally shooting and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust

Elegant: The yoga instructor was the epitome of chic in a black gown with a tiered feather fringe

Delicate: Hilaria opted for delicate glam, wearing nude matte lipstick and a hint of blush

Accessories: She accessorized with sparkling earrings, a gold bangle, and a number of rings

New grandpa: Baldwin recently became a grandfather, after his eldest daughter Ireland, 27, gave birth to daughter Holland

Dapper: The father-of-seven wore his salt and pepper hair slicked back with gel

In support: At one point Hilaria and Alec were pictured holding signs in support of Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who is serving an eight-year sentence for alleged national security offenses

All together: Alec and Hilaria also mingled with CEO of PEN America Suzanne Nossel, 53, who wowed in a strapless green dress, and actress Candice Bergen, 77 (R)

Courage: Baldwin also shared an Instagram image with Narges' husband, Tahgi Rahmani, who accepted the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award on her behalf

Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels, 78, was among this year's honorees, and received the Audible Literary Service Award.

Many of his SNL stars came out to support him at the event, including Colin Jost, 40, who served as the night's host.

The event featured a cocktail reception, dinner and awards, followed by dessert and an afterparty.

The proceeds go to support PEN Americas cultural programming and advocacy work.

On Monday Alec finally ditched his beard while celebrating his last day of filming Rust  three weeks after all charges were dropped against him in the fatal shooting of Hutchins.

Baldwin shared a snap taken with Rust co-star Patrick Scott McDermott, writing: 'Last day on the set of RUST with this guy. A very talented actor and lovely young man with a bright future ahead. My love to you, @patrickscottmcdermott.'

McDermott returned the love by commenting 'Love you Alec' before posting a snap of the two embracing on set with the caption: 'Alec's last day [heart emoji] I'll miss you.'

Production stopped abruptly in October 2021 when Baldwin shot a live round from a prop gun killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on Rust's New Mexico set.

Devastating: Production on Rust stopped abruptly in October 2021 when Baldwin shot a live round from a prop gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins; Pictured on his last day on set

The Beetlejuice star was charged in January with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Hutchins' death and the injury of 'Rust' director Joel Souza, who was struck by the same bullet that passed through Hutchins.

The case against Baldwin quickly unraveled. A weapons charge that would have meant a much longer sentence was dismissed, and the first special prosecutor appointed in the case resigned.

This despite a damning FBI report that concluded that Baldwin did pull the trigger of the gun that killed Hutchins  despite him repeatedly stating that he did not.

The report could still lead to criminal charges against the actor and others involved in the accidental shooting, with Santa Fe cops still investigating Hutchins' death.

After the charges against him were dropped, Baldwin took to Instagram to thank his wife Hilaria for helping him through the controversy.
Adrian Portelli has promised 'no more dummy bidding' as he made a surprise visit to The Block set in Melbourne on Thursday.

The 34-year-old, who was dubbed 'Mr Lambo' in the building show's last season after arriving on auction day in a yellow Lamborghini, made a special appearance on set for the upcoming season that is currently being filmed on Charming Street in Hamptons East.

Portelli arrived in a sleek black Bentley instead of his signature Lambo and was given a designated parking space on site.

The millionaire property investor gave away no details about his TV appearance but is set to take part in a 'top-secret challenge' that will involve 'prospective buyers of properties', according to the Herald Sun.

Sharing a few behind the scenes moments to his Instagram, Portelli said he was keen to 'shake things up'.

Adrian Portelli has promised 'no more dummy bidding' as he made a surprise visit to The Block set in Melbourne on Thursday

'I got an invite this year, think they know Ive got the money to buy a house now so no more dummy bidding,' he said in a video.

'Let's buy a house.'

Portelli's appearance on the street is just the latest in a series of scandals to rock Channel Nine's hit franchise.

Residents living around 'The Block' were recently upset after a makeshift McCafe erected across the street suddenly stopped serving them free coffees.

The McDonald's McCafe has been built on the verandah of a home directly across the street from the homes being renovated for the series.

The stall had been in place for seven weeks, dishing out free beverages to both tradies and residents - up until last week when the Macca's goodwill to neighbours suddenly ended.

The controversy came hot on the heels of reports neighbours are still angry about access being blocked to their homes by those working on the show.

The 34-year-old, who was dubbed 'Mr Lambo' in the building show's last season, made a special appearance on set for the upcoming season that is currently being filmed on Charming Street in Hamptons East

The millionaire property investor gave away no details about his TV appearance but is set to take part in a 'top-secret challenge' that will involve 'prospective buyers of properties

Portelli meanwhile first made headlines last year after an appearance on Channel Nine's The Block when he placed a record-breaking bid on the home renovated by contestants Omar and Oz, which led to accusations it was a 'dummy bid' to drive the price up.

He denies the allegations.

He was back in the news last week after posting pictures of himself posing next to the racecar he had just hoisted up to his high-rise apartment.

'A first look at the McLaren Senna GTR 57 floors up. A huge thank you to everyone involved for making this absolutely surreal moment happen,' he wrote.

But the community backlash over the stunt was instant, with Portelli defending his appearance on The Block and attacking Greens leader Adam Bandt who criticised him on Twitter for the crane stunt.

'Labor's giving this guy a $9,000 tax cut while people starve on $52 a day' Mr Bandt wrote.

Portelli made headlines after an appearance on Channel Nine's The Block (pictured) last year when he placed a record-breaking bid on the home renovated by contestants Omar and Oz but which led to accusations it was a 'dummy bid' to drive the price up. Portelli denies the allegations

He was back in the news last week after posting pictures of himself posing next to the racecar he had just hoisted up to his high-rise apartment

Portelli did not hold back in his response.

'Who the fook is this guy trying to use me as a political tool to sympathise,' he wrote with a red circle around a picture of Mr Bandt.

Portelli lashed out over those claims and criticism his audacious crane stunt had attracted.

'First my name was trashed publicly suggesting I was a dummy bidder who couldn't afford The Block house,' he wrote.

Melbourne property developer Adrian Portelli's audacious stunt of crane lifing a $2million race car into his 57th floor luxury apartment created a storm of outrage

'Even suggesting I was friends with the contestants because of my ethnicity.

'Now there (sic) people are crying because I've got too much money. MAKE UP YOUR MIND PEOPLE.'

He bought the luxury penthouse last month in a sale that broke the record for the city's most expensive apartment as he handed over a whopping $39million.

However, Portelli stated that he only intends to use it as a 'weekender'.
Love Island Australia star-turned-influencer Margarita Smith shocked her followers when she revealed the racy outfit she wore to lunch at a rooftop venue in Melbourne recently.

The 27-year-old left little to the imagination in a tiny bandeau top as she enjoyed a meal at the Beverly restaurant in South Yarra.

The busty brunette went braless in the top, which barely covered her breasts, and teamed the look with a cream blazer and figure-hugging skirt and heels.

Margarita, who recently joined a foot fetish website, shared a racy video of herself strutting her stuff in the venue before tucking into a meal.

'YUMMMM!! Had the most delicious lunch with a stunning city view at the lovely @beverlyrooftop,' she captioned her post, adding the hashtag 'food porn'.

Love Island Australia star-turned-influencer Margarita Smith shocked her followers when she revealed the racy outfit she wore to lunch at a rooftop venue in Melbourne recently

Margarita's followers went wild in the comments, with one writing: 'How does that stay on???' along with some love heart eye emojis.

'Sexy,' another remarked while others posted flame emojis.

It comes after Margarita announced she'd joined a fetish website where users can buy and sell images of feet.

The 27-year-old left little to the imagination in a tiny bandeau top as she enjoyed a meal at the Beverly restaurant in South Yarra

Margarita's followers went wild in the comments, with one writing: 'How does that stay on???' along with some love heart eye emojis

She recently tweeted a short clip of herself dressed in black bondage attire, complete with a whip, studded red-bottom heels and rabbit-inspired mask.

In the accompanying caption, Margarita said she was looking for 'obedient new subs' a term used in the BDSM community that refers to subservient sexual partners.

She also encouraged fans to contact her for 'custom requests', before adding hashtags including #feetworship and #DominantWoman.

Margarita is no wallflower when it comes to her cosmetically enhanced physique, and regularly gives her online followers updates on her procedures.

She recently tweeted a short clip of herself dressed in black bondage attire, complete with a whip, studded red-bottom heels and rabbit-inspired mask

The brunette, who has had a breast enlargement, nose job and fillers among various other procedures, previously said she has never had an issue with body confidence.

In an interview with Daily Mail Australia, she spoke candidly about being happy with her appearance both pre-and post-surgery.

'I've always been a really confident person, my whole life. I've never actually sat there and thought, "Oh, I don't like this,"' she explained.

'I liked my boobs before. I thought they were fantastic! But to be honest, I've always liked that dolled-up, fake look.'

'Initially I thought, "Do I want it? Do I not?" and then I thought, "S**t, yeah, I want it!" I love it. It's just how I want to portray myself, but I'm confident in who I am, 100 per cent.'

Margarita shot to fame after appearing on Channel Nine's Love Island Australia in 2019.
The Weeknd - who's now officially going by his birth name Abel Tesfaye - shared a few snaps of himself settling into his lavish digs in the South of France as he prepares to attend The Idol premiere at the 76th Annual Cannes Film Festival next Monday.

The 33-year-old Canadian son of Ethiopian immigrants - who boasts 136.8M social media followers - tweeted an emoji of the French flag on Thursday captioned: 'I missed you.'

And Abel is not alone either as he Instastoried a snap of a long-haired woman descending the cement staircase of what appeared to be his rental home.

The lady in the backless green dress was Tesfaye's girlfriend Simi Khadra, whom he was first pictured canoodling at West Hollywood hotspot Sunset Tower Hotel on February 2, 2022.

On Wednesday, the Palestinian 30-year-old Instastoried a snap of her buttery croissant and two beverages while seated at a local cafe.

Nice view! The Weeknd - who's now officially going by his birth name Abel Tesfaye - shared a few snaps of himself settling into his lavish digs in the South of France as he prepares to attend The Idol premiere at the 76th Annual Cannes Film Festival next Monday

The 33-year-old Canadian son of Ethiopian immigrants - who boasts 136.8M social media followers - tweeted an emoji of the French flag on Thursday captioned: 'I missed you'

Simi (born Sama) rarely shares snaps of the four-time Grammy winner but, on May 7, she posted a picture from March 31 of his beloved Doberman Pinscher Caesar inside what appeared to be his $70M Bel-Air mansion.

Before Khadra, Abel enjoyed high-profile romances with her former friend - IMG Model Bella Hadid - from 2015-2019 as well as two-time Grammy nominee Selena Gomez in 2017.

And the Saudi-born socialite previously dated Grown-ish actor Luka Sabbat in 2021.

Knowing how private Tesfaye is, it's doubtful he'll go red carpet official with Simi at Monday's premiere of the first episode of his six-episode debauched drama, which starts streaming June 4 on HBO.

The Double Fantasy hitmaker co-created and wrote The Idol with Sam Levinson and Reza Fahim as well as taking on his biggest acting role yet as nightclub impresario/self-help guru/cult leader Tedros opposite Lily-Rose Depp as pop star Jocelyn.

The high-stakes series is technically premiering out of competition, but an independently-sponsored jury lead by Tony winner John Cameron Mitchell are considering it for The Queer Palm, a prize for selected LGBTQAI+ relevant films entered into Cannes.

The Hollywood-set show also stars Troye Sivan, Rachel Sennott, Ramsey, Suzanna Son, Hank Azaria, Dan Levy, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Eli Roth, Hari Nef, Jane Adams, Jennie Ruby Jane, Mike Dean, and Moses Sumney.

Abel will then kick off the European leg of his 64-date After Hours til Dawn Tour on June 6 at Portugal's Passeio Maritimo de Alges in Lisbon.

Cryptic: And Abel is not alone either as he Instastoried a snap of a long-haired woman descending the cement staircase of what appeared to be his rental home

Still going strong! The lady in the backless green dress was Tesfaye's girlfriend Simi Khadra, whom he was first pictured canoodling at West Hollywood hotspot Sunset Tower Hotel on February 2, 2022

Bonjour! On Wednesday, the Palestinian 30-year-old Instastoried a snap of her buttery croissant and two beverages while seated at a local cafe

'Happy birthday Simi!' Simi (born Sama) rarely shares snaps of the four-time Grammy winner but, on May 7, she posted a picture from March 31 of his beloved Doberman Pinscher Caesar inside what appeared to be his $70M Bel-Air mansion

Starts streaming June 4 on HBO! Knowing how private Abel is, it's doubtful he'll go red carpet official with Simi at Monday's premiere of the first episode of his six-episode debauched drama

Up for The Queer Palm! Tesfaye co-created and wrote The Idol with Sam Levinson and Reza Fahim as well as taking on his biggest acting role yet as nightclub impresario/self-help guru/cult leader Tedros opposite Lily-Rose Depp (L) as pop star Jocelyn

'I'm getting ready to close The Weeknd chapter': The Double Fantasy hitmaker will then kick off the European leg of his 64-date After Hours til Dawn Tour on June 6 at Portugal's Passeio Maritimo de Alges in Lisbon (pictured April 21)

Simi & Haze: As for the Saudi-born socialite, she keeps busy running cosmetics company SimiHaze Beauty with her identical twin sister Haya aka Haze (L, pictured May 10)

And starting this summer, Blue Bottle Coffee will release a line inspired by Tesfaye's Ethopian heritage called Samra Origins.

'I'm going through a cathartic path right now,' the Oscar-nominated songwriter explained to W Magazine on May 8.

'It's getting to a place and a time where I'm getting ready to close The Weeknd chapter. I'll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd. And I will. Eventually. I'm definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn.'

Abel said his sixth studio album 'is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd. This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I've said everything I can say.'

As for Khadra, she keeps busy running cosmetics company SimiHaze Beauty with her identical twin sister Haya aka Haze.

The USC grads' big brother Fai Khadra frequently appeared on E! reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians due to his friendships with Kourtney Kardashian and Kendall Jenner.
Media personality Mel Greig is facing another debilitating health battle.

The 40-year-old, who already suffers from endometriosis, recently revealed that she's been sick for the past 12 months from both Covid and adverse reactions to Covid vaccines.

'The past 12 months I have been sick on and off more times than ever before,' she shared on Instagram last month.

'From getting sick from the vaccines to getting Covid three times, my immune system is so weak. I'm going to try a gut reboot as the gut is where it all stems from apparently.'

She added: 'So sick of being sick. Hopefully a gut reboot will help rebuild my immune system, I am catching every single germ going around.'

Media personality Mel Greig recently revealed that she's been sick for the past 12 months from both Covid and the Covid vaccines

WHY VACCINES ARE IMPORTANT Immunisation is a simple, safe and effective way of protecting people against harmful diseases before they come into contact with them. Immunisation not only protects individuals, but also others in the community, by reducing the spread of preventable diseases. Research and testing is an essential part of developing safe and effective vaccines. In Australia, vaccines must pass strict safety testing before the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) will register them for use. Approval of vaccines can take up to 10 years. Before vaccines become available to the public, large clinical trials test them on thousands of people. High-quality studies over many years have compared the health of large numbers of vaccinated and unvaccinated children. Medical information from nearly 1.5 million children around the world have confirmed that vaccination does not cause autism. People first became concerned about autism and immunisation after the medical journal The Lancet published a paper in 1998. This paper claimed there was a link between the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. Since then, scientists have completely discredited this paper. The Lancet withdrew it in 2010 and printed an apology. The UK's General Medical Council struck the author off the medical register for misconduct and dishonesty. Source: Australian Department of Health Advertisement

In the weeks since, the former Celebrity Apprentice star said that she's been feeling better following her gut cleanse.

Many people have reported side effects from Covid shots, including headaches, a temperature, fatigue and injection site soreness, but in most cases the symptoms only last a few days and are rare.

The TGAs latest health safety report, published on 20 April, reveals that adverse risks are extremely low.

There were 138,307 total adverse event reports from nearly 66 million vaccine doses administered - a rate of just 0.2 per cent.

'The protective benefits of vaccination far outweigh the potential risks,' the report states.

'From getting sick from the vaccines to getting Covid three times, my immune system is so weak,' the 40-year-old told her followers

Greig has already been battling endometriosis for years and is an ambassador for Endometriosis Australia.

Endometriosis is a condition that affects a woman's reproductive organs, whereby tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside of the uterus, resulting in debilitating pain.

In a heartbreaking post on social media, Greig said that the condition 'feels like someone is stabbing you in the abdomen with a knife'.

'Nausea is a new symptom for me. I now can't physically sit in a car for two hours because the pain is too unbearable and the pain medication that I once used has now been taken off pharmacy shelves,' she wrote.

Greig has already been battling endometriosis for years and is an official ambassador for Endometriosis Australia

'Within a few hours I predict I'll be in the emergency room begging for pain medication.'

'We can't ever feel ashamed to say "I have Endometriosis" we don't want a stigma we just want a god damn cure,' she finished.

Mel has stepped away from her career in television and radio in recent years.

These days, she works as a public relations and media manager on the Gold Coast and lives alone with her pet pooch, Mia.

'Ten years ago, I was living my dream life living in a penthouse hanging out with celebrities and private booths in nightclubs, interviewing the world's biggest stars,' she told Mamamia last year.

'And now my favourite thing that I get to do each day is walk my moodle on the beach in peace.'

The former 2Day FM announcer made headlines in 2012 when she and co-host Michael Christian impersonated the Queen and Prince Charles to gain information about the Duchess of Cambridge during a hospital stay.

Days later, Indian-born Jacintha Saldanha, 46, the nurse who took the call, killed herself, and Michael and Mel were named in her suicide note.

Mel has stepped away from her career in television and radio in recent years for a quiet life on the Gold Coast with her pet pooch Mia. Pictured together

Lifeline: 13 11 14
The fifth and likely final installment in the Indiana Jones film franchise made its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.

The leading man behind Indy since 1981's Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Harrison Ford, was on hand to walk the red carpet and attend the screening of Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny, along with director James Mangold, and some the main cast including Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Ethann Isidore and Boyd Holbrook.

Also in attendance for the much-anticipated premiere at the Palais des Festivals were varying film critics, who are now sharing the first reviews of Indy's last adventure with Ford wearing the iconic fedora-style hat and carrying his trusty whip.

Set in 1969 amid the backdrop of the Space Race, Dr.Jones, renowned archaeologist and adventurer, finds himself uneasy over the U.S. government's recruitment of former Nazis to help beat the Soviet Union in the competition to make it to space.

For this go-around, Indy's goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Waller-Bridge), accompanies him on his new journey, while Jurgen Voller (Mikkelsen), a NASA member and ex-Nazi involved with the moon-landing program, wishes to make the world into a better place as he sees fit.

Reviews: Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny made its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France on Thursday, and now critics are sharing their first reviews of the fifth and likely final installment in the franchise

Ahead of the screening, a reel of Ford's greatest hits, including Star Wars, Indiana Jones and The Fugitive, played on the screen.

Moments afterwards, the crowd gave him a standing ovation that lasted several minutes following a role call of the cast members and director in attendance.

Ford then made his way on to the stage, where he was given a surprise Palme dOr, which is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival.

After giving thanks to the audience and his wife for supporting him so he could follow his dreams and passions, he set up the world premiere of Dial Of Destiny.

After the screening of the film, Ford would again get close to tears when he received a five-minute standing ovation, which began when the credits began to roll.

As for the critics in attendance: the reviews appear to be mixed at best, with some sharing how they thought Ford and director James Mangold delivered a proper finale for the franchise, while just as many others seemed to pan the film or describe it as safe storytelling.

Clayton Davis, a senior awards editor at Variety and host of the podcast Variety Awards Circuit, was crystal clear in giving it a thumbs up.

'Redemption! James Mangold redeems #IndianaJones with #DialOfDestiny,' he began in a Twitter post. 'A farewell to one of the greatest movie characters in cinema history. Action, laughs, charm...just everything that makes him great. Thanks Harrison Ford (and Phoebe Waller Bridge) for the ride. #Cannes2023.'

Davis would followup by sharing high praise for the performance from 16-year-old French actor Ethann Isidore, who plays Teddy, Helena's sidekick.

'Also... Ethann Isidore is a star, and I can't wait for this kid to win an Oscar for best supporting actor in the next 30 years. Dude is the GOAT!'

Positive review: While the reviews were mixed at best, Clayton Davis, a senior awards editor at Variety and host of the podcast Variety Awards Circuit, was crystal clear in giving it a thumbs up

Shout out: Davis would followup by sharing high praise for the performance from 16-year-old French actor Ethann Isidore, who plays Teddy, Helena's sidekick.

Positive review: In a similar review, Kenny @Disney+ also gave it a positive review, writing, 'Dial of Destiny was Good, fun and really a indiana Jones Movie. Fans will love it'

In a similar review, Kenny @Disney+ also gave it a positive review, writing, 'Short time to post.'#IndianaJones: and the Dial of Destiny was Good, fun and really a indiana Jones Movie. Fans will love it. Rules are rules, I'm not allowed to post more about it. Next Premiere it is then.'

Then there were also those who were so enthusiastic about the final results of popular film franchise.

Eric Kohn, the chief film critic and a senior editor for IndieWire and the manager of the Criticwire Network, shared how he thought the film basically went through the motions.

'INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF FATE has big THE FORCE AWAKENS energy in that we promise we wont f**k this up fan service way that hits a lot of agreeable beats on its own terms. One big 'nuke the fridge' moment most people will forgive, but this is pretty safe stuff.'

Robbie Collin, the chief film critic at The Daily Telegraph since 2011, was a bit more blunt in his review, writing, 'Oh God, sorry everyone, it's just a bit lifeless and crap.'

Collin would add to his review in a Rotten Tomatoes editorial.

'It ultimately feels like a counterfeit of priceless treasure: the shape and the gleam of it might be superficially convincing for a bit, but the shabbier craftsmanship gets all the more glaring the longer you look,' he later shared.

Negative review: Then there were also those who were so enthusiastic about the final results of popular film franchise, including Eric Kohn, the chief film critic and a senior editor for IndieWire and the manager of the Criticwire Network

Negative review: Robbie Collin, the chief film critic at The Daily Telegraph since 2011, was a bit more blunt in his review, calling it 'a bit lifeless and crap'

Mixed results: A post attributed to Variety would also describe Indiana Jones 5 as playing it safe in its storytelling

A post attributed to Variety would also describe Indiana Jones 5 as playing it safe in its storytelling.

'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Review: Harrison Ford Plays the Aging Indy in a Sequel That Serves Up Nostalgic Hokum Minus the Thrill.'

In other short reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes editorial, Stephanie Bunbury, at Deadline Hollywood Daily, wrote: 'Its fun; it's wacky; it works.'

Peter Bradshaw, writer with Guardian, agreed for the most part, writing, 'Indiana Jones still has a certain old-school class.'

Irish Times journalist Donald Clarke joined those in giving it a negative review, sharing, 'Nobody with a brain in their heads will compare favorably to the first three films.'

Favorable: In other short reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes editorial, Stephanie Bunbury, at Deadline Hollywood Daily, wrote: 'Its fun; it's wacky; it works'

Peter Bradshaw, writer with Guardian, agreed for the most part, writing, 'Indiana Jones still has a certain old-school class'

Negative review: Irish Times journalist Donald Clarke joined those in giving it a negative review, sharing, 'Nobody with a brain in their heads will compare favorably to the first three films'

But there were more journalists who would disagree with that harsh assessment

'Harrison Ford is the hero of the hour. He never loses either his scowl or his doggedness. He plays even the flimsiest scenes with conviction and dry humour. His performance carries the movie,' Geoffrey Macnab of Independent (UK) said of the film.

And Empire Magazine's John Nugent would also agree this was a fitting farewell for Dr.Jones and his fans: 'If you join him for the ride, it feels like a fitting goodbye to cinemas favourite grave-robber.'

Indiana Jones And The Dial of Destiny, with a budget of $300 million, is scheduled to hit theaters across the U.S on June 30.
Ankara, May 19 (UNI) Turkey is not ready for Sweden to join NATO at the moment, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

Sweden, together with Finland, submitted applications for NATO membership in May 2022. On March 31, 2023, Finland's application was ratified by all 30 members of the alliance. Sweden's bid is still pending approval by Hungary and Turkey.

"We are not ready for Sweden right now... Because a NATO country should have a strong stance when it comes to fighting terrorism," Erdogan told CNN, commenting on the situation with Stockholm's application for NATO membership.

Turkey will not agree to Sweden becoming a member of the alliance "as long as Sweden continues to allow the offshoots of terror groups in Turkey to roam free," Erdogan explained.

UNI/SPUTNK AKS SY
On Thursday, two-time Grammy nominee Jimmy Buffett revealed he was hospitalized 'to address some issues that needed immediate attention' after undergoing a routine check-up in Boston on Tuesday.

'Growing old is not for sissies, I promise you,' the 76-year-old billionaire - who boasts 2.1M social media followers - tweeted of his unexpected health setback.

'These few words from Mark Twain about life changes seemed perfect to pass on at this time. "Challenges," he said. "Make life interesting, however overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." I had a sudden change of plans this week that affected us all.'

The Jimmy Buffett & the Coral Reefer Band were forced to cancel their Second Wind Tour stop scheduled for this Saturday at the Credit One Stadium in Charleston, SC.

'When I am well enough to perform, that is what I'll be doing in the land of She-Crab soup,' Buffett wrote in the statement on his website.

'Growing old is not for sissies, I promise you': On Thursday, two-time Grammy nominee Jimmy Buffett revealed he was hospitalized 'to address some issues that needed immediate attention' after undergoing a routine check-up in Boston on Tuesday (pictured March 7)

'You all make my life more meaningful and fulfilled than I would have ever imagined as a toe headed little boy sitting on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts, your amazing years of loyalty, and just remember, "NOT YET!" Love to all!'

The Margaritaville hitmaker - last pictured on April 18 - was also briefly hospitalized in September, when he was forced to cancel his five remaining concerts of 2022: 'On doctor's orders, he must take this time to recuperate and heal.'

Buffett - whose parents died in their 80s - has reportedly been hard at work recording his 30th studio album titled Equal Strain on All Parts.

He has three children - daughter Savannah, nearly 44; daughter Delaney, 31; and adopted son Cameron - from his 45-year marriage to second wife Jane Slagsvol.

The Mississippi-born musician is also famed for being an avid pilot, a prolific restaurateur, and a generous Democratic donor.

The 76-year-old billionaire tweeted: 'These few words from Mark Twain about life changes seemed perfect to pass on at this time. "Challenges," he said. "Make life interesting, however overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." I had a sudden change of plans this week that affected us all'

Sorry parrotheads! The Jimmy Buffett & the Coral Reefer Band were forced to cancel their Second Wind Tour stop scheduled this Saturday at the Credit One Stadium in Charleston, SC

Buffett (R, pictured in 2022) wrote in the statement on his website: 'When I am well enough to perform, that is what I'll be doing in the land of She-Crab soup...and just remember, "NOT YET!" Love to all!'

He turned his classic 1977 song 'Margaritaville' into the Margaritaville Holdings empire, which he holds a 28 percent stake in - worth an estimated $180 million.

Founded by Buffett in 1985, Margaritaville grew from selling trinkets and t-shirts to offering resorts, restaurants, housing and more.

He opened a Margaritaville Store in Key West after licensing the Margaritaville name, which proved popular with his followers, known as Parrot Heads, and their children.

The Margaritaville theme restaurant and bar expanded to a location in New Orleans' French quarter. A Margaritaville Cafe at Universal CityWalk opened in Orlando in 1999.

In 1998, Buffett launched Radio Margaritaville online and it was added to Sirius's satellite.

Margaritaville had become an industrial complex, a vast network of merchandise, chain restaurants, resorts, lifestyle products.

'Thank you for your prayers and thoughts!' The Margaritaville hitmaker - last pictured on April 18 - was also briefly hospitalized in September, when he was forced to cancel his five remaining concerts of 2022: 'On doctor's orders, he must take this time to recuperate and heal'

More music to come! Jimmy - whose parents died in their 80s - has reportedly been hard at work recording his 30th studio album titled Equal Strain on All Parts (pictured in 2022)

Alongside this, Buffett's assets include an estimated $570 million from touring and recording, a music catalog worth $50 million and $140 million tied up in planes, homes and shared in Berkshire Hathaway, according to Forbes.

In 2004, Buffett became a country music sensation after partnering with Alan Jackson for the song 'It's Five O'Clock Somewhere' and was awarded a Country Music Association Award.

The song was a number-one hit in the country charts and it was Buffett's first award in his thirty years of recording music.

With over 30 albums in his discography, eight of them are gold albums and a further nine are either platinum or multiplatinum selling records.
Nadia Bartel made a glamorous appearance at Fashion Week just days ago but she was back to her casually chic self on Friday.

The designer popped out to buy some snacks at a local convenience store in Melbourne in a more dressed down look.

The 38-year-old appeared in good spirts as she chatted to the storekeeper while carrying a plastic bag of goods, which included a large bag of Doritos.

Nadia chose an activewear ensemble including a pair of black leggings and jogging shoes.

She kept warm in a brown fleece zip up jumper and had on a natural makeup look, while wearing her caramel locks down and slightly undone.

Nadia Bartel (pictured) made a glamorous appearance at Fashion Week just days ago but she was back to her casually chic self on Friday

The designer popped out to buy some snacks at a local convenience store in Melbourne in a more dressed down look

Nadia chose an activewear ensemble including a pair of black leggings and jogging shoes. She kept warm in a brown fleece zip up jumper and had on a natural makeup look

It comes after Nadia gave her followers a glimpse at her day on a plate.

The model posted to Instagram on Tuesday to share her very healthy breakfast before hitting the Fashion Week shows.

Nadia enjoyed two perfectly poached eggs, spinach, and sliced avocado on on her plate, sharing it along with the caption: 'Fueling up.'

The star proved health was her main priority with plenty of greens and protein ahead of her big day.

Earlier in the week, Nadia suffered a wardrobe malfunction on day one of Australian Fashion Week (pictured)

Earlier in the week, Nadia suffered a wardrobe malfunction on day one of Australian Fashion Week.

The designer wore a long, sleek black frock but had trouble controlling the maxi dress as she strutted into Carriageworks for the Michael Lo Sordo show.

The length of the gown made walking comfortably hazardous, with Nadia repeatedly trying not to trip over the fabric.

She leaned down to adjust the dress multiple times, freeing it from her towering stilettos, before finding her footing.

Nadia looked stunning in the high fashion look which featured cut-outs at the hips flaunting a hint of skin.
Jason Donovan has stepped into the high heels of Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The former Neighbours star was in character on Friday, promoting the new season of the production which is set to launch in Melbourne at the Athenaeum Theatre.

The 54-year-old looked edgy in a red corset and fishnet suspenders, along with a pair of stacked red high hells.

He added a leather jacket over the top and for bottoms, he opted for a leather pair of underwear.

Jason finished his eye-catching look with a bold pearl necklace and wore his hair in bouncy curls, as well as a full face of makeup.

Jason Donovan (pictured) has stepped into the high heels of Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The former Neighbours star was in character on Friday, promoting the new season of the production which is set to launch in Melbourne at the Athenaeum Theatre

The 54-year-old looked edgy in a red corset and fishnet suspenders, along with a pair of stacked red high hells

In further pictures of the actor in character, he added a feathered headpiece and a boa to his corset and stockings while taking the mic.

Earlier this year, Jason stepped into the role of Dr Frank-N-Furter, taking the place of his former Neighbours co-star Craig McLachlan.

The show marked its 50th anniversary at the Theatre Royal Sydney in February.

Director Chris Luscombe said: 'As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rocky Horror, it's a treat to watch these exceptional young actors respond so enthusiastically to the material, putting their own stamp on such legendary roles.

He added a leather jacket over the top and for bottoms, he opted for a leather pair of underwear

Jason finished his eye-catching look with a bold pearl necklace and wore his hair in bouncy curls

In further pictures of the actor in character, he added a feathered headpiece and a boa to his corset and stockings while taking the mic. Jason had on a full face of makeup

'With Jason Donovan at the helm, with his wealth of experience, and Myf Warhurst as a deliciously witty Narrator, audiences really are going to enjoy a fabulous party every night.'

Speaking last year ahead his return to the stage Jason said: 'I am thrilled to be coming home next year to be part of the legendary Rocky Horror Show and in its 50th Anniversary production no less!'

'From the very first performance in London those years ago, Richard O'Brien created a show from the wilds of his imagination with incredible music that has now stood the test of time, and an awesome energy that befits its accolades and its endurance.'

'Quite simply, it's a rock n roll show appealing to the cheeky side of us all so I cannot wait to be on stage at Theatre Royal Sydney to party in 2023!'.

Earlier this year, Jason stepped into the role of Dr Frank-N-Furter, taking the place of his former Neighbours co-star Craig McLachlan. Pictured with the cast
Amber Heard was seen going about life as usual in her new home of Madrid while her ex-husband Johnny Depp took to the world's stage in Cannes on Thursday.

The actress, 37, was seen in the Spanish capital, where she now lives with her daughter Oonagh Paige, two, chatting to pals and looking happy and relaxed.

Her outing comes after her ex Johnny, 59, was pictured at the 76th annual film festival in Cannes to mark the debut of his new movie Jeanne du Barry, during which he was given a hero's welcome and even a lengthy standing ovation.

Following the couple's legal dramas last year, Amber appears keen to move on as she took to the streets of Madrid for her day out.

As well as nabbing some books and a wall sign, the blonde beauty was also seen snapping selfies with delighted fans and chatting warmly.

Out and about: Amber Heard was seen going about life as usual in her new home of Madrid while her ex-husband Johnny Depp took to the world's stage in Cannes on Thursday

Meet and greet: She was chatting to friends and looked to have settled into Spanish life

Here's Johnny! Her outing comes after her ex Johnny, 59, was pictured at the 76th annual film festival in Cannes to mark the debut of his new movie Jeanne du Barry, during which he was given a hero's welcome and even a lengthy standing ovation

In Cannes meanwhile, Amber's ex-husband Johnny, who plays the role of King Louis XV in biographical drama Jeanne du Barry, was seen making his entrance to the movie's premiere at the French film festival.

He was seen with the movie's director Maiwenn in his entrance, and pictured taking selfies with fans and signing autographs.

Amber was seen shortly after DailyMail.com reported earlier this month that she has retreated from the bustle of Hollywood - in the wake of her ex-husband's mostly successful defamation trial against her in Virginia last year.

Browsing: She was shopping for books outside a local store

Snap happy! It seems Amber had met some local fans as they cosied up for a selfie

Happy days: She was looking at pure ease

Happier times: Johnny and Amber are pictured in 2015

Now, she has set up camp in a home just outside Madrid with her daughter. But it's unclear if or when she attempt to make her wake back to Hollywood and to restart her acting career.

Amber announced that she had welcomed Oonagh into her life via surrogacy through a post that was shared on her Instagram account in July of 2021.

The actress wrote a lengthy message in her post's caption where she revealed that her daughter, whose father has not been publicly revealed, had arrived that April.

Having a giggle: She was dishing out hugs like never before to friends and fans

Out and about: Following her very public dramas last year

Stepping out: She was wearing a comfy ensemble for her pared-back outing

Happy days: She was chilled out as she enjoyed the warm climes

Happy days: She wore her hair in pretty plaits

She also also expressed her thoughts about parenthood in the statement, which partially read: 'I hope we arrive at a point in which it's normalized to not want a ring in order to have a crib.'

Heard's daughter was born a year before the much-publicized legal case which centered on allegations of defamation that were made by both the actress and her former husband.

The pair were married from 2015 until 2017, and the Pineapple Express actress alleged that the Pirates Of The Caribbean star had been physically abusive over the course of their marriage, which he denied.

Heard also had an op-ed published by The Washington Post in 2018, in which she outlined how she felt as if speaking out about the alleged abuse she suffered during her marriage negatively affected her career.

The performer went on to file suit against News Group Newspapers for printing various allegations about his marriage through The Sun in 2020, although he ultimately lost his case.

Chatting away: She looked joyous as she emerged

Stepping out: Amber announced that she had welcomed Oonagh into her life via surrogacy through a post that was shared on her Instagram account in July of 2021
Claire Foy cut a casual figure as she indulged in some retail therapy at Liberty London during an outing on Friday.

The Crown star, 39, opted for a laid back look for the trip, donning a white vest top and black cropped trousers.

The actress cinched her waist with a matching belt and wrapped up in a lavender cardigan.

Also sporting a pair of black trainers, Claire added to her look with a pair of eye-catching gold necklaces.

Wearing her brunette locks in a loose bob, the Women Talking star completed her outfit with a pair of sunglasses.

Out and about: Claire Foy cut a casual figure as she indulged in some retail therapy at Liberty London during an outing on Friday

Fashion: The actress cinched her waist with a matching belt and wrapped up in a lavender cardigan

It comes after Claire revealed that she found the fact Matt Smith was paid more than her on The Crown 'really heartbreaking'.

The actress played the lead role of Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of the Netflix show while Matt, 40, starred as her husband Prince Philip.

An executive from Left Bank Pictures, the production company that makes The Crown, previously revealed Claire was paid less than Matt for her work on the show.

Speaking to The Guardian, the star insisted she was unaware Matt made more than her until the executive made the news public.

She said: 'I wasn't shocked. I was upset. Not like, boohoo, crying upset. I was very upset. I don't think I allowed myself to [express anger]'.

'Sometimes, you see something, you hear something, you notice something, or something happens to you, and you just go, "Oh God, what am I doing? Why am I doing it? Should I be part of this?" I found it really heartbreaking.'

Claire said she found it 'odd' to be at the centre of the story when it first emerged and didn't want to be made into a spokesperson for the gender pay gap issue.

The actress added that she still went back on the show for another season after the salary gap became known.

Ensemble: Also sporting a pair of black trainers, Claire added to her look with a pair of eye-catching gold necklaces

Co-stars: That same day. Vanessa Kirby, who played Princess Margaret in The Crown was pictured out and about

Candid: It comes after Claire revealed that she found the fact Matt Smith was paid more than her on The Crown 'really heartbreaking'

Her majesty: Claire starred as the Queen in the first two series of Netflix's smash hit royal drama The Crown

She explained: 'We're still talking about this, however many years down the line. I know the extent of it. I still went back on the show. If anything, I just didn't want my experience of the show and what we all did on it to be overshadowed.'

Claire said the pay gap row has had a positive impact overall as people can no longer lie about what actors are being paid.

Left Bank Pictures apologised to Claire and Matt at the time and claimed sole responsibility in the difference between their salaries.

Claire joked her agent probably enjoyed going back to the company later to discuss what she would be paid for the second season.
Cate Blanchett put on a stunning display as she attended the photocall for her new movie The New Boy at the 76th Annual Cannes Film Festival on Friday.

The Australian actress, 54, was the epitome of elegance in a crisp poplin two-piece with beading all over and a waist belt as she posed for the world's press alongside her co-stars and colleagues, including up and comer Aswan Reid.

Bringing her glowing Hollywood glamour to proceedings, Cate was a vision in her chic ensemble paired with a fresh-faced beauty look and neat hair.

She and Aswan were joined at the photocall for the period piece by Wayne Blair, director Warwick Thornton and Deborah Mailman.

The movie, which is due for release next month, is set in the 1940s, where viewers see a nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan boy, depicted by rising star Aswan, arrive at a remote monastery run by renegade nun Sister Eileen, played by Cate.

Earning her stripes: Cate Blanchett put on a stunning display as she attended the photocall for her new movie The New Boy at the 76th Annual Cannes Film Festival on Friday

A vision: The Australian actress, 54, was the epitome of elegance in a crisp poplin two-piece with beading all over and a waist belt as she posed for the world's press

Starring role: She was joined at the photocall for the period piece by Wayne Blair, director Warwick Thornton, Aswan Reid (pictured) and Deborah Mailman

Cate was looking every inch the movie star at the premiere, with her crisp striped shirt dress layered over wide-leg trousers for a chic finish.

The beaded details added sparkle to the ensemble while her waist belt added definition to her shape. She paired the look with sky-high black heels.

Warwick said of the movie: ''The film is about the extinction of a completely beautiful, sustainable, caring religion by a big bully. A religion that can co-exist with other spiritualities, but Christianity refuses to co-exist with it...

Stunner: Cate was looking every inch the movie star at the premiere, with her crisp striped shirt dress layered over wide-leg trousers for a chic finish

Stunner: She was radiant as she posed with her co-star

'It's a small movement in the film, but it's as big as the collision of planets in the universe  the death of a star, the birth of a black hole. If you don't pay attention, you will miss it, which is the sadness of humanity in this day and age.'

Ahead of the Cannes premiere, Cate spoke about the power of Warwick's work and what The New Boy means to her, saying: 'My worldview has been shifted in ways beyond articulation by the films Warwick has made.

'He's a singular, mercurial filmmaker, yet there is a beguiling universality to the stories he chooses to tell. He is, quite simply, one of Australia's greats.'

Happy days: In a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Cate was asked what attracted her to the project and how Sister Eileen drew her in as a character

Alluring: In a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Cate was asked what attracted her to the project and how Sister Eileen drew her in as a character

In a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Cate was asked what attracted her to the project and how Sister Eileen drew her in as a character.

She said: 'Well, it's usually a conversation that starts things for me. As an actor, whether it's onstage or onscreen, I'm very director driven. And what I mean by that is that the work comes out of those early conversations...

'When you're dealing with someone like Warwick who writes, directs and does all the cinematography of his films, the script is just kind of like a template for the idea, right?...

Glowing: She looked sensational in the dazzling look

'Warwick is someone I've admired for a while, so we just started talking during the pandemic and the character was actually quite secondary to the conversations...

'We were exploring themes together and there was this growing desire to work together. Warwick had been brewing on this world for a long time, and the archetypes, internal struggle and framework were all there once he pulled the script out of his sock drawer and showed it to me.

'But once I stumbled into this thing, it meant that the original character of the priest would be changed to a nun, which had interesting ramifications.'

Starring roles: Pictured L-R Wayne Blair, Director Warwick Thornton, Aswan Reid, Cate Blanchett and Deborah Mailman
Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Harrison Ford put on animated display as they sheltered from the rain at the Indiana Jones photocall at Cannes Film Festival on Friday.

Phoebe, 37, carried a white umbrella to protect her glamorous ensemble while Harrison, 80, was surrounded by people who held umbrellas up around him.

Their cast members were also seen sheltering from the elements as they celebrated Thursday's premiere of Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny - the final instalment in the franchise.

Despite the weather taking a turn for the worse, Phoebe still looked as elegant as ever as she sported a figure-hugging black gown with a collared lace neckline.

The Fleabag star gave herself a few extra inches in a pair of pointed black heels with bow detailing and let her all-black outfit do all the talking.

Rain! Why did it have to be rain? Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Harrison Ford sheltered from the rain at the Indiana Jones photocall at Cannes Film Festival on Friday

The rain-dial of destiny! Harrison, 80, was surrounded by people who carried up umbrellas for him as the heavens opened

Phoebe, who is starring alongside Harrison in the film, styled her brunette locks in a blunt bob and showed off her striking features with a glamorous make-up palette.

Meanwhile, Harrison appeared to be having the time of his life as he struck an array of amusing poses after being given his Palme D'Or.

As he returns as Indiana Jones one last time, Harrison was given a surprise Palme dOr on Thursday, which is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival.

He appeared delighted as he flashed a huge smile and playfully posed with the award at the star-studded photocall.

Harrison cut a dapper figure in a grey suit and a light blue shirt, which he styled with a navy tie and smart black shoes.

The fifth and final installment in the Indiana Jones franchise made its much-anticipated premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, after which the star of the movie was greeted by adoring fans.

On Thursday, the Indiana Jones premiere proved to be the most popular ticket for the festival, with a slew of beauties, including Karlie Kloss and Gemma Chan, in attendance.

A host of critics rushed to rate the movie following the release, however some less than flattering views have been published, including The Time branding the movie: 'A meandering, frequently enervating yawn'.

Raining: Their cast members (Mads Mikkelsen and Shaunette Renee Wilson pictured) were also seen sheltering from the elements at the Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny photocall

All smiles: At the photocall, Phoebe looked as elegant as ever as she sported a figure-hugging black gown with a collared lace neckline

Joking: And Harrison cut a suave figure as he playfully posed with his honorary Palme D'Or award

Gorgeous: Fleabag star Phoebe looked as elegant as ever as she sported a figure-hugging black gown with a collared lace neckline and a keyhole cutout across the chest

Stylish: She gave herself a few extra inches in a pair of pointed black heels with bow detailing and let her all-black outfit do all the talking

Beauty: Phoebe, who is starring alongside Harrison in the film, styled her brunette locks in a blunt bob

Laughing: She showed off her striking features with a glamorous make-up palette for the occasion

Good spirits: Phoebe laughed and smiled as she posed for jovial snaps during the photocall

Greeting: Phoebe flashed a wave at the cameras as she posed up a storm at the event

Smart: Harrison cut a dapper figure in a grey suit and a light blue shirt, which he styled with a navy tie and smart black shoes

Having fun: Harrison appeared to be having the time of his life as he struck an array of amusing poses after being given his Palme D'Or

Harrison has reprised his role as the titular hero for the final time in the fifth Indiana Jones film, after first taking on the iconic character in 1984 in Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

'This is the final film in the series, and this is the last time I'll play the character. I anticipate that it will be the last time that he appears in a film,' Harrison recently confirmed in an interview with Total Film.

Harrison is joined on-screen by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who also co-wrote the movie, while the rest of cast includes the likes of Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore and Mads Mikkelsen.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is set in the year 1969, following Ford's Indiana Jones set against the backdrop of the American 'space race'.

The protagonist is said to be, 'uneasy' about the American government enlisting former Nazis in their race to beat the Russians to the moon.

Phoebe portrays Indiana Jones' goddaughter Helena Shaw in the movie, with filmmakers describing the character as 'slippery' and 'charming'.

Phoebe said of the film: 'Making the film was everything I could have hoped for, with a chance to work on my own stunts and action sequences.

'If the script said throw yourself on to the back of a vehicle, I threw myself on to the back of a vehicle!'

Indiana Jones And The Dial of Destiny, with a budget of $300 million, is scheduled to hit theaters across the US on June 30, yet does not seem to be thrilling many.

Some of the more cutting reviews include The Telegraph's two-star stance on the film, reading: 'It ultimately feels like a counterfeit of priceless treasure: the shape and the gleam of it might be superficially convincing for a bit, but the shabbier craftsmanship gets all the more glaring the longer you look.'

With another two star rating, The Times' reviewer wrote: 'A meandering, frequently enervating yawn, this fifth and most expensive Indy outing yet (about $300 million) is a curious demonstration of how a Hollywood studio can fire nearly a third of a billion bucks at late 20th century nostalgia and get it so wrong.'

Impressive! As he returns as Indiana Jones one last time, Harrison was given a surprise Palme dOr on Thursday, which is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival

He's back! Harrison has reprised his role as the titular hero for the final time in the fifth Indiana Jones film, after first taking on the iconic character in 1984 in Raiders Of The Lost Ark

Over-the-moon: Harrison celebrated his incredible achievement at the photocall

Pals: Harrison and Phoebe laughed together as they posed for photographers at the event

Animated: The co-stars smiled and chatted at the outdoor photocall, with Phoebe looking as glamorous as ever

Proud: Harrison looked very impressed with his achievement as he posed with the stunning Palme D'Or

Playful: Harrison did not shy away from having fun at the photocall as he struck playful poses

Honoured: Harrison had been honoured following the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Close: Phoebe, who co-wrote Indiana Jones, put on a close display with Harrison as the friends and co-stars smiled together

Stars: They were joined by their fellow cast and filmmaker James Mangold as they celebrated Thursday's premiere of Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny

Smart: Mads Mikkelsen cut a suave figure in a white shirt and a brown jacket for the event

Group shot! (L-R) Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, Ethann Isidore, Phoebe, director James Mangold, Harrison, Mads, Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renee Wilson and Simon Emanuel

It was reported in November that Disney Plus was in early stages of developing an Indiana Jones TV series, though Harrison insisted he was not involved with that either.

He said he will, 'not be involved in that, if it does come to fruition,' adding he's quite excited for fans to see the final Indy adventure.

'I had been ambitious to do this film for 10 years, and there finally came a time when we all committed to that,' the actor admitted.

'It was a joyous moment for me. I think it's a rare situation that I find myself in.'

'I've been able to deliver amazing films developed by Steven [Spielberg] and George [Lucas] over a 40-year period, and to end it not with a whimper, but a bang, has been my greatest ambition for this excursion,' he continued.
Myleene Klass radiated summer vibes as she made her way to Smooth Radio studios in Manchester on Friday.

The businesswoman, 45, wore a floral and leopard midi dress from her Next collection, which she paired with a pair of chunky Chanel sandals.

She chose to wear her ombre waves loose as she slid on some big sunglasses to complete her look.

For her jewellery, the former I'm A Celeb contestant added a stack of necklaces, which complemented the watch she wore on her wrist.

She wore minimal make-up and added a slick of nude lipstick.

Ready for summer: Myleene Klass radiated summer vibes in a chic floral and leopard print dress as she made her way to Smooth Radio studios in Manchester on Friday

Keeping it chic: The businesswoman, 45, looked in good spirits as she opted for a floral and leopard midi dress, which she paired with some Chanel sandals

Myleene recently proved that she could play the piano backwards, just as she had confessed while appearing on I'm A Celebrity... South Africa.

She posted a hilarious video on Instagram this week, where she stood on the stage of an empty theatre, she looked in her element while putting her bendy arms in good use.

In her caption, the musician wrote: 'When the @skyarts team ask you to prove it [laughing emoji].

'Just got to Cardiff to film for my new show on Classical musicand theres a piano here. Unsurprisingly, Ive put the crew off their lunch. [laughing emoji] #piano #MyleenesMusicKlass.'

Before winning the ITV reality show, Myleene performed some backwards pushups, which shocked her fellow campmates.

Jordan Banjo and Phil Tufnell couldn't believe their eyes as she unveiled her hidden talent before them. .

It comes after Myleene announced she had donated her I'm A Celeb South Africa prize money to the charity Save The Children, as she was crowned the first ever 'legend' of the show.

She wrote: 'I am proud to donate my @imacelebrity Prize money of 100,000 to @savechildrenuk'.

Minimal is beautiful: She added a stack of necklaces, which complemented the watch she wore on her wrist

Gorgeous: She wore minimal make-up for her outing, letting her natural beauty shine through

Talented: Myleene recently proved that she could play the piano backwards, just as she had confessed while appearing on I'm A Celebrity... South Africa

Queen of the Jungle: Before winning the ITV reality show, Myleene performed some backwards pushups, which shocked her fellow campmates

Winner: It comes after Myleene announced she had donated her I'm A Celeb South Africa prize money to the charity Save The Children, as she was crowned the first ever 'legend' of the show

'Ive been an ambassador for 11 years in which time Ive travelled the globe helping STC'.

'The things I have seen will stay with me forever. Children in the Philippines playing by the ships that have run aground from the Tsunami so they can be next to their parents that lay crushed beneath them.

'Dancing with children in refugee camps in Jordan as their parents weave me a chopping board made of plastic bags to say thank you for being there'.

She continued: '(I still have it).Teaching rescued child brides in Tanzania the Solfa, Astronomy and Science as they study through the day, striving to become engineers and doctors to help their communities and at night iron clothes'.

The former model also discussed her time on I'm A Celeb on Smooth Radio and said how she tried to be a good example for her children who were watching at home

'People just under estimate what you have to hold down every single day and I think there are so many people going through this yourself included,' Myleene told her friend Kate Garraway.

She admitted to fixing her mind on the show knowing her children would be watching her.

'She said: 'You do have to have a word with yourself and just fix your mind to a certain place and say, right, I've got little eyes watching me.'

'You want them to know that when they're scared of when they're thinking where am I going to get the courage from, these are the things that the jungle does bring to the forefront.

'The trials bring a person their grit and determination and their true metal because you have to deliver either for the campmates, or in the real world, for your family,' she said.
Jackie 'O' Henderson has slimmed down almost 20 kilos in recent months and she was showcasing her slim new physique on Friday.

The radio star looked fantastic in a little black dress as she attended Afterpay Australian Fashion Week alongside her daughter Kitty.

The 48-year-old worked her angles in the mini dress, which was sleeveless and featured a feathered bodice.

She paired the gown with glittering strappy heels and black hoop statement earrings.

For makeup, the star chose a clean look with a peachy blush and pink lipstick, while wearing her blonde locks down and straightened.

Jackie 'O' Henderson (pictured) has slimmed down almost 20 kilos in recent months and she was showcasing her slim new physique on Friday

The radio star looked fantastic in a little black dress as she attended Afterpay Australian Fashion Week alongside her daughter Kitty

Jackie matched her daughter, who chose a long slip dress worn under a blazer and paired with white sandals.

The KIIS FM star recently shed an impressive 18kg in just a few months as part of a radical body transformation.

She revealed on The Kyle and Jackie O Show she regularly skips breakfast, a practice known as intermittent fasting.

She also avoids carbohydrates, and satiates her hunger throughout the day by snacking on pre-cut pieces of steak.

Jackie matched her daughter (left), who chose a long slip dress worn under a blazer and paired with white sandals

For makeup, Jackie chose a clean look with a peachy blush and pink lipstick, while wearing her blonde locks down and straightened

'I cook steak and slice it, and then I'll just have a little sliver of steak if I'm hungry,' she told her co-host Kyle Sandilands.

Jackie, who is an ambassador for weight loss program WW, resists splurging on high-calorie foods for lunch, opting to eat just 'three little slivers of steak' and a few Vietnamese rice paper rolls containing fish and cabbage.

Kyle was shocked by her small portion size, telling her: 'A dog would eat more!'

For dinner, Jackie usually eats vegetables and a protein such as chicken or red meat.

In between meals, Jackie treats herself to smoothies and Starbucks Frappuccinos, a type of blended ice coffee drink.
Harry Styles has reportedly grown close to Victoria's Secret model Candice Swanepoel following his split from Olivia Wilde.

It is not the first time Harry, 29, has been linked to a supermodel from Victoria's Secret as he has previously dated another six Angels.

But who is South African model Candice Swanepoel? Who is she dating? Is Harry Styles still single?

Read on below for everything you need to know about Candice Swanepoel.

Harry and Candice originally met in Shanghai when he performed at the Victoria's Secret show in 2017

Candice Swanepoel is best known for her work as a model for Victoria's Secret. She is pictured here at the 2022 GQ Men of the Year Awards

Swanepoel can be seen here on the catwalk at the 2017 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai

Swanepoel has modeled for a number of the world's biggest brands and labels, such as Fendi, Chanel, Versace and Ralph Lauren

Candice has been publicly single since her split from Hermann Nicoli in 2018, who she shares her two children with

In May 2019, the model was announced as a patron and global ambassador for the charity mothers2mothers, which seeks to achieve an 'HIV-free generation' of children and mothers in Africa

Who is Candice Swanepoel?

Born and raised in South Africa, Candice Swanepoel is best known for her work as a model for Victoria's Secret, having worked with the fashion brand as a Victoria's Secret Angel since 2010.

She has also modeled for a number of the world's biggest brands and labels, such as Fendi, Chanel, Versace and Ralph Lauren.

At the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2013, Swanepoel was chosen to wear the Royal Fantasy Bra.

Designed by Mouawad, the bra featured over 4,200 precious gems, including rubies, diamonds and yellow sapphires set in 18-carat gold, with a 52-carat ruby at the center.

The outfit was complete with a matching belt, with an estimated worth of $10million.

In May 2019, the model was announced as a patron and global ambassador for the charity mothers2mothers, which seeks to achieve an 'HIV-free generation' of children and mothers in Africa.

Who is Candice Swanepoel dating?

Meanwhile, Candice has been publicly single since her split from Hermann Nicoli in 2018, who she shares her two children with.

The pair began dating when Swanepoel was 17, with Nicoli aged 23 at the time, but would go on to separate in 2018.

It was through her relationship with Nicoli that Swanepoel learnt Portuguese, which she can now speak fluently.

However, rumours have been swirling about Candice's relationship status, with speculation abound that she may be dating Harry Styles.

After ending his relationship with Olivia Wilde, Styles enjoyed a brief fling with Emily Ratajkowski. Pictured: Styles at the 2023 BRIT Awards

Is Harry Styles single?

Between January 2021 and November 2022, Styles was in a relationship with the actress Olivia Wilde.

Now, there is speculation that Styles could begin dating Swanepoel, after a fling with Emily Ratajkowski.

Harry and Candice originally met in Shanghai when he performed at the Victoria's Secret show in 2017.

MailOnline have contacted Harry and Candice's representatives for comment.

At the 2023 BRIT Awards, Styles took home four awards, finishing top in the Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Artist of the Year and Pop/R&B categories.
London, May 19 (UNI) UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced an embargo on imports of diamonds, copper, aluminium, and nickel from Russia, UK broadcaster Sky News reported on Thursday.

The sanctions also include a $4 billion freeze on the diamond export market, the report said.

The United Kingdom has also sanctioned 86 individuals and entities involved in Russia's military industrial sector, the broadcaster reported.

Sunak is currently in Japan's Hiroshima to attend the summit of the Group of Seven (G7).

European Council President Charles Michel said on Friday that the European Union was planning to restrict trade in Russian diamonds.

"We will restrict trade in Russian diamonds," Michel said as G7 leaders gathered for the summit in Japan's Hiroshima, as quoted by AFP.

The G7 Summit is being held in Hiroshima from May 19-21 and will focus on the Ukraine conflict, economic security, green investments, and developments in the Indo-Pacific region.

The leaders of India, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Comoros, and the Cook Islands have been invited to participate in the G7 Summit as well as the heads of seven international organizations, including the United Nations, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization.

UNI/SPUTNIK GNK
He has had a string of rotten luck with his vehicles after previously having five cars stolen over the course of a year.

And Dominic Cooper appeared to be having trouble with his classic Fiat 4x4 Sisley cabriolet as he was seen checking the bonnet on Thursday.

A classic car enthusiast, the actor proceeded to check out the vehicle - which costs around 10K - with the help of a friend, before taking out his Go Cycle from the boot of his car.

The Mama Mia! hunk looked unbothered by his car problems as he chilled with a pair of aviator sunglasses shielding his eyes from the sunshine.

Dressed in a low-key pair of black trousers, the star teamed them with a plain white T-shirt while sporting white-and-red Nike trainers.

Car troubles: Dominic Cooper, 44, cut a causal figure in a vintage style cardigan as he fixed his classic Fiat 4x4 Sisley cabriolet in London, on Thursday

Hobby time: A classic car enthusiast, Dominic proceeded to check out beneath the bonnet with the help of a friend, before taking out his Go Cycle from the boot of his car

Back in 2021, Dominic appealed for help on social media after having his fifth car - a Jaguar XF - stolen in 12 months.

The theft came just four months after his rare 83,000 Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 was stolen from outside his home.

And his run of bad luck with cars stretches back into July 2020 when he had his 1950s era Austin Healy car, with around 65,000, swiped and its replacement - a red Jaguar F-Type coupe p 300 - was taken shortly afterwards.

The following month, a Range Rover which he had been using to deliver meals to NHS staff, was also stolen, sparking a plea a social media for his return.

Dominic felt he was being targeted and wanted residents in his local neighbourhood in Primrose Hill to be vigilant over car gangs.

It was previously reported that Dominic's latest series The Gold has been renewed for a second series.

The crime series is based on the infamous 26 million Brink's-Mat heist in 1983 and stars Jack Lowden and Hugh Bonneville.

Jack plays Kenneth Noye, the ambitious crook who arranged for most of the 26million in gold bars to be melted down and sold.

Stylish: Dressed in a low-key pair of black trousers, the star teamed them with a plain white T-shirt while sporting white-and-red Nike trainers

Now, according to The Sun, the next season is now set to explore in further detail the stories of other figures in the crime like Charlie Wilson, the Great Train Robber who attempted to launder money via Pablo Escobar's drug ring.

A TV insider told the publication: 'This will be music to the ears of fans, some of whom have already seen all the episodes on iPlayer.

'Although every channel and streamer likes to revisit true crime stories, The Gold is one which seems to have captured people's imagination.

'Not only is it a nostalgia trip filled with Eighties cars, clothes and music, it provides a more in-depth look at the background of the criminals involved.

Taken: Back in 2021, Dominic appealed for help on social media after having his fifth car - a Jaguar XF - stolen in 12 months

'Now they're going to explore even more characters involved in the original crime.'

The true-crime adaptation sees the Paddington star, 59, play Detective Superintendent Brian Boyce and the Slow Horses star, 32, take on the real-life crook Kenneth Noye.

Building on its success, the BBC has also commissioned a one-off hour-long documentary exploring the investigation, The Gold: The Inside Story.
He's been a playboy and a Pope, and now Jude Law is going to play an eccentric German doctor: a nudist with steel teeth and a penchant for Nietzsche.

The actor, 50, has been cast in Origin Of Species, the next film by director Ron Howard.

It tells the stranger-than-fiction true story of lust and murder in a community of oddbods living on The Galapagos Islands in the 1930s . . . think Darwin meets Hitchcock.

Bond and Knives Out star Ana de Armas will play Law's girlfriend, and Alicia Vikander will play a German Baroness who turns up on the remote archipelago with two boyfriends.

In real life, Dr Friedrich Ritter (Law) and his lover Dore Strauch arrived on the southern island of Floreana, a former penal colony, in 1929. They were determined to live according to Nietzsche's philosophy  embracing vegetarianism and physical labour  despite the unforgiving environment, where fresh water was scarce.

Role: Jude Law is going to play an eccentric German doctor: a nudist with steel teeth and a penchant for Nietzsche

They sent letters about their life as castaways back to a German newspaper, which caused a sensation. This led to the arrival of more Germans, including the self-styled Baroness Wagner de Bosquet. Not interested in Nietzsche, she planned to build a five-star hotel in paradise.

After making numerous enemies, the Baroness vanished amid rumours of foul play. In another twist, Ritter then died, cursing his lover with his last breath. It is understood the script is based on the memories of two of the remaining settlers.

The project is being sold in Cannes by AGC, the super-indie run by Brit Stuart Ford (Moonfall). He will be toasted by Variety magazine as a 'billion dollar producer' at a cocktail event tonight. Shooting starts in Australia at the end of this year.

Elsewhere, Jude recently explained why he stayed in character as Captain Hook while filming Peter Pan & Wendy on an episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

The actor said he decided it would be better to remain as Hook the whole time around the child actors he worked with on the Disney+ movie.

'A lot of the reactions that you see are their reactions to me for the first time,' Jude said.

Jimmy, 48, asked if the children ever got to meet Jude.

'They met Jude at the end and I did what every adult should do to bribe children, I hired an ice cream van,' Jude said. 'I drove it onsite.'

New project: The actor, 50, has been cast in Origin Of Species, the next film by director Ron Howard (pictured this month)

Co-star: Bond and Knives Out star Ana de Armas (pictured)will play Law's girlfriend, and Alicia Vikander will play a German Baroness who turns up on the remote archipelago with two boyfriends

Jude said the script for the live-action reimagining of Peter Pan included more of Hook's backstory.

'You understand a little more about why Hook is the way he is,' Jude said. 'How he came to Neverland, the relationship between him and Peter and how it really started. And so you really get into a little bit of the damage that was done to him, and why he's quite as awful as he is.'

Jude said he had to learn how to sword fight for the film with his left hand. He also kept the hook on all day and milked it.
Victoria Beckham once again pulled out all the stops as she rocked another stylish ensemble while heading out for dinner in New York on Friday.

The fashion designer, 49, put on an elegant display in a brown suit, made up of wide-leg trousers and a boxy jacket, as she departed The Mark hotel.

She completed her glamorous look with a plunging black top and concealed her heels beneath her draping trousers.

The wife of David Beckham kept her essentials in a stylish tan clutch bag and shielded her eyes with oversized black sunglasses.

She wore her glossy brunette locks loosely across her shoulders in natural waves and let her outfit do all the talking as she kept her accessories simple.

Glam: Victoria Beckham once again pulled out all the stops as she rocked another stylish ensemble while heading out for dinner in New York on Friday

Elegant: The fashion designer, 49, put on an elegant display in a brown suit, made up of wide-leg trousers and a boxy jacket, as she departed The Mark hotel

Victoria showed off her natural good looks with a touch of bronzer and a slick of orange lipstick for the occasion.

The Spice Girl has been enjoying a trip stateside and has been spotted out-and-about in recent days sporting an array of chic outfits.

Victoria recently spoke about body confidence and insisted wanting to be thin is an 'old-fashioned attitude,' after spending her youth maintaining a famously slender physique.

Last year, while discussing new VB body range and fitness regimes with Grazia magazine, she raised the notion that modern women want to 'look healthy, and curvy' - with the slimmer frame becoming a thing of the past.

She said: 'It's an old-fashioned attitude, wanting to be really thin. I think women today want to look healthy, and curvy.

'They want to have some boobs - and a bum. The curvier you are, the better my VB Body dresses look...

'Every woman wants a nice, round, curvy bottom, right? For that, you need a really tight knit that nips you in at the waist and holds you in all the right places'.

Stylish: She completed her glamorous look with a plunging black top and concealed her black heels beneath her draping trousers

Stunning: She wore her glossy brunette locks loosely across her shoulders in natural waves and let her outfit do all the talking as she kept her accessories simple

Speaking about body shapes in the US, she went on: 'There are a lot of really curvy women in Miami, and they really own it, you know?

'They walk along Miami beach with not a lot of clothes on, and they look fantastic.

'They show their bodies off with such confidence. I found both their attitude and their style really liberating.

'And as a mother, I loved the fact that Harper was around women who were really celebrating their curves and enjoying how they look.'
Kirsten Dunst looked as chic as ever on Friday as she touched down at Nice Airport ahead of the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival.

The actress, 41, was joined by husband Jesse Plemons as they made their way through the airport ahead of the glitzy film event.

Kirsten nailed her travel style, opting for a black Louis Vuitton shawl worn over a grey sweater, jeaned with stylish white trousers.

The Bring It On star added chunky black loafers to her look while shielding her eyes with dark sunglasses.

Her blonde locks were swept in a simple ponytail for the flight, while she opted for a minimal make-up palette.

Travel chic: Kirsten Dunst looked as chic as ever on Friday as she touched down at Nice Airport ahead of the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival

Companion: The actress, 41, was joined by husband Jesse Plemons as they made their way through the airport ahead of the glitzy film event

Jesse meanwhile kept things casual in a green T-shirt, beige trousers and lace-up navy trainers.

The actress was seen surrounded by security guards as she was mobbed by fans while making her way through the terminal.

It comes after the couple, who have been together for six years in total, tied the knot in Jamaica back in July.

Kirsten and Jesse started dating back in 2016 after meeting on the set of Fargo, and they became engaged the following year.

The couple starred opposite one another in the 2021 Netflix drama Power Of The Dog, which saw them play husband and wife.

They were both nominated for Oscars for their roles, but did not win this time around.

'We kind of fell in love creatively first and fell in love as actors,' Kirsten previously said on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, adding her partner was her 'favorite actor.'

Speaking of Jesse, Kirsten told the New York Times: 'My first impression was, "Oh, hes like me." We were two people who worked very similarly, and it felt like a soulmate.'

Style: Kirsten nailed her travel style, opting for a black Louis Vuitton shawl worn over a grey sweater, jeaned with stylish white trousers

Looking good: The Bring It On star added chunky black loafers to her look while shielding her eyes with dark sunglasses

Dressed down: Jesse meanwhile kept things casual in a green T-shirt, beige trousers and lace-up navy trainers

Guiding her way: The actress was seen surrounded by security guards as she was mobbed by fans while making her way through the terminal

Popular: Kirsten was surrounded by autograph hunters as she made her way through the airport

Say cheese: One fan took the opportunity to snap a selfie with the Hollywood star

'I knew he would be in my life forever,' she said. 'It was one of those connections where you just know. But were also very respectful people and were mindful of the fact that we were working together intensely.'

Jesse also had the same feeling. Speaking with the NY Times, he said: 'I knew that she would be in my life for a long time.'

Jesse also spoke glowingly about Kirsten at at her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2019.

'I don't often remember every detail about meeting someone  Immediately, without too many words being exchanged, I looked into her eyes and saw the beautiful, sweet, unguarded, welcoming human being that she is,' he said.
Florence Pugh risked alarming onlookers as she filmed scenes for her latest film with Andrew Garfield in Orpington, Kent on Thursday.

The actress, 27, appeared to be going into labour - but as her, as yet unknown, character in the flick.

She and co-star Andrew, 39, have been filming scenes for rom-com We Live In Time in and around London in recent weeks.

This week Florence was seen doubled over in the street as she wore a brown coat and some blue tracksuit bottoms which were teamed with a pair of grey shoes, with what appeared to be a medical equipment hanging down to her front.

Alongside her, Andrew looked stressed while acting in character for the scene, with an ambulance sitting in a nearby petrol station, perhaps on hand to whisk Florence's character off to give birth at a nearby hospital.

High drama: Florence Pugh risked alarming onlookers as she filmed scenes for her latest film with Andrew Garfield in Orpington, Kent on Thursday

Acting out: The actress, 27, appeared to be going into labour - but as her, as yet unknown, character in the flick, with an ambulance as if ready to whisk her off to hospital to give birth

Film set: She and co-star Andrew, 39, have been filming scenes for rom-com We Live In Time in and around London in recent weeks

Moments earlier, Florence could be seen with her mouth open wide as she held Andrews hand before turning to lean on the wooden fence as she acted out breathing through a contraction.

Members of the crew could be seen surrounding the pair as they filmed, wearing high visibility jackets.

Traffic cones had been placed along the road and a man in a high-vis jacket was seen directing drivers as they passed by the filming area.

A sign stood on the street to warn pedestrians they were entering a filming location and could expect to appear in the movie.

The film's plot has been closely guarded but is being described as a 'funny, deeply moving and immersive love story'.

Last month, it was reported that Florence and Andrew were set to co-star in a new romantic film together.

The Don't Worry Darling actress and Andrew - who presented together at the Oscars - were in negotiations on the project.

After they got to work on the film in April, Andrew was dogged by claims that he launched into a furious rant at a group of onlookers who were watching him perform a scene in the street.

Play acting: This week Florence was seen walking hand-in-hand with Andrew as she wore a brown coat and some blue tracksuit bottoms which were teamed with a pair of grey shoes

Doctor needed? There appeared to be a medical equipment hanging down to her front as she walked

Going into labour: Alongside her, Andrew looked stressed while acting in character for the scene, with an ambulance sitting in a nearby petrol station

Labour pain: Florence could be seen with her mouth open wide before turning to lean on the wooden fence

Movie set: Members of the crew could be seen surrounding the pair as they filmed, wearing high visibility jackets

Baby on the way: Florence could be seen doubled over as she breathed through a contraction with Andrew on hand to comfort her

The star was said to have had a cross word or two with onlookers who were 'distracting' his film shoot.

Andrew was spotted shooting one scene outside of a row of flats, when residents noticed what was going on outside and came to the window to watch.

The onlookers have claimed that Andrew 'motioned at them to open the window' before yelling at them for 'distracting' him while he worked.

A source wrote into gossip site Deux Moi, saying: 'Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh currently filming a new movie in London.

'On Monday AG was filming in a scene right outside his flat (S London). My bf and flatmates were looking through their second story and AG saw them watching.

'Then AG cut the scene, motioned for them to open the window and started yelling a them, saying how disrespectful it was for them to be distracting him by looking out of their own living room window??'

A video with no sound was also included in the post, which showed Andrew approaching the flat window mentioned in the message.

The same day [Monday April 3] Andrew was spotted by the Deux Moi source, he was pictured on set in London with Florence, 27.

Telling the tale: The film's plot has been closely guarded but is being described as a 'funny, deeply moving and immersive love story'

In the works: Last month, it was reported that Florence and Andrew were set to co-star in a new romantic film together

Sealing the deal: The Don't Worry Darling actress and Andrew - who presented together at the Oscars - were in negotiations on the project.

Crew: A man could be seen holding the clapper board as the pair prepared to film a scene for the movie

Movie magic: A sign stood on the street to warn pedestrians they were entering a filming location and could expect to appear in the movie

Trouble afoot? After they got to work on the film, Andrew was dogged by claims he launched into a furious rant at a group of onlookers who were watching him perform a scene

Miffed: The star was said to have had a cross word or two with onlookers who were 'distracting' his film shoot

Hard at work: The onlookers have claimed that Andrew 'motioned at them to open the window' before yelling at them for 'distracting' him while he worked

In the photographs, the pair were seen enjoying a coffee before heading to a small farmer's market where they picked out some fruit and veg.

Florence recently spoke out about working on the project with Andrew, saying on the Jimmy Fallon Show: 'We are doing a movie together don't worry that's not a lie. We are doing a movie together.

'I met him the day before in rehearsals and we instantly got along and I was taking the p*ss out of him and he loved it and he was taking the p*ss out of me and I loved it. It was great!'

John Crowley will direct the film from a script by Nick Payne, according to Deadline.
Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield sparked traffic chaos in Orpington in Kent last night as they shot scenes for their new film.

The pair are currently filming a rom-com called We Live In Time and fans gathered in the early hours of the morning to see the behind-the-scenes action.

But traffic seemed to be stacking up while Florence Pugh, 27, and Andrew Garfield, 39, filmed a scene where Florence appeared to be going into labour.

Traffic cones had been placed along the road and a man in a high-vis jacket was seen directing drivers as they passed by the filming area.

A sign stood on the street to warn pedestrians they were entering a filming location and could expect to appear in the movie.

Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield sparked traffic chaos in Orpington in Kent last night as they shot scenes for their new film

Cars seemed to stack up as the pair filmed scenes for their film We Live In Time, with traffic cones being placed along the route

The filming risked alarming onlookers as Florence appeared to be going into labour during the scene

The traffic pile-up comes weeks after Spider-Man star Andrew apparently had a cross word with onlookers who were 'distracting' his film shoot in south-west London.

Andrew was spotted shooting one scene outside of a row of flats, when residents noticed what was going on outside and came to the window to watch.

The onlookers have claimed that Andrew 'motioned at them to open the window' before yelling at them for 'distracting' him while he worked.

A source wrote into gossip site Deux Moi, saying: 'Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh currently filming a new movie in London.

'On Monday AG was filming in a scene right outside his flat (S London). My bf and flatmates were looking through their second story and AG saw them watching.

'Then AG cut the scene, motioned for them to open the window and started yelling a them, saying how disrespectful it was for them to be distracting him by looking out of their own living room window??'

A video with no sound was also included in the post, which showed Andrew approaching the flat window mentioned in the message.

The filming in Kent last night risked alarming onlookers as Florence appeared to be going into labour during the scene.

A man in a high-vis jacket was seen directing drivers as they passed by the filming area in Orpington, Kent

Fans also gathered in the early hours of the morning to see the celebrity pair in the behind-the-scenes action

A group of onlookers stood behind a barrier to watch Florence and Andrew shoot their new film

A sign stood on the street to warn pedestrians they were entering a filming location and could expect to appear in the movie

One member of the crew was spotted holding a clapperboard as he stood among rows of traffic

Florence wore a brown coat and some blue tracksuit bottoms teamed with a pair of grey shoes for the filming

She appeared to have a shocked expression on her face as she appeared to film a scene where she was going in to labour

With Andrew standing close by, Florence leaned on a wooden fence as she acted out breathing through a contraction

Florence was seen doubled over in the street as she wore a brown coat and some blue tracksuit bottoms, teamed with a pair of grey shoes, with what appeared to be a medical equipment hanging down to her front.

Alongside her, Andrew looked stressed while acting in character for the scene, with an ambulance sitting in a nearby petrol station, perhaps on hand to whisk Florence's character off to give birth at a nearby hospital.

Moments earlier, Florence could be seen with her mouth open wide as she held Andrews hand before turning to lean on the wooden fence as she acted out breathing through a contraction.

The film's plot has been closely guarded but is being described as a 'funny, deeply moving and immersive love story'.

It was reported last month that Florence and Andrew were set to co-star in a new romantic film together.

The Don't Worry Darling actress and Andrew - who presented together at the Oscars - were in negotiations on the project.

Florence recently confirmed on the Jimmy Fallon Show: 'We are doing a movie together don't worry that's not a lie. We are doing a movie together.

'I met him the day before in rehearsals and we instantly got along and I was taking the p*ss out of him and he loved it and he was taking the p*ss out of me and I loved it. It was great!'

John Crowley will direct the film from a script by Nick Payne, according to Deadline.
Jamie Lynn Spears took to Instagram on Thursday to share a new teaser for the upcoming movie Zoey 102.

The 32-year-old former Nickelodeon star uploaded a seconds-long clip showing two wedding bands on a sandy beach.

The star, who is the younger sister of Britney Spears, wrote in the caption: 'Giving you 102 reasons to be excited for summer.'

The show is set to be featured on Paramount+ and Jamie will serve as an executive producer.

It came as the official Nickelodeon Instagram also shared a post announcing that the sequel to the hit show Zoey 101 would be arriving later this year.

Getting fans excited: Jamie Lynn Spears took to Instagram on Thursday to share a new teaser for the upcoming movie Zoey 102

Teaser: The 32-year-old former Nickelodeon star uploaded a seconds-long clip showing two weddings bands on a sandy beach

Zoey 101 ran from 2005 to 2008 for a total of four seasons, and fans have long-awaited a reunion.

The film's log line reads: 'Over a decade after the iconic series ended, Zoey Brooks is still trying to figure out life and love, this time in her 20s.

'The Pacific Coast Academy (PCA) gang returns to Malibu for an over-the-top wedding turned high school reunion for the books.'

Jamie Lynn will return as Zoey Brooks, Erin Sanders as Zoey's BFF Quinn Pensky, and Sean Flynn will reprise his role as Chase Matthews, Zoey's love interest.

A press release also named original cast members Matthew Underwood, Christopher Massey, Abby Wilde, and Jack Salvatore as returning characters.

Newcomers will be Thomas Lennon, Owen Thiele, and Dean Guyer.

In Nickelodeon's post, the caption read, 'the PCA crew, all grown up,' with a pink heart emoji.

It continued, 'coming to @paramountplus this summer,' and was liked more than 31,000 times.

Coming soon: The show is set to be featured on Paramount+ and Jamie will serve as an executive producer

Announcement: It came as the official Nickelodeon Instagram also shared a post announcing that the sequel to the hit show Zoey 101 would be arriving later this year

Long time coming: Zoey 101 ran from 2005 to 2008 for a total of four seasons, and fans have long-awaited a reunion

Spears first announced a sequel was in the works back in January and shortly thereafter production got underway in North Carolina.

She said in a statement shared by Variety at the time, 'I'm beyond thrilled to be back alongside my PCA family and continue the story of Zoey and all the characters fans know and love.

'As an executive producer, it's been an exciting opportunity to work with such incredible talent as well as Paramount+ and Nickelodeon.'

And announcing the project on Instagram, Jamie Lynn posted a photo of her director's chair emblazoned with her name in pink cursive along with a copy of the script sitting atop her belongings.

In a subsequent snap, chairs belonging to her co-stars were also included.

'IT'S OFFICIAL! Are you ready...' she gushed in the caption, adding shout-outs to Paramount+ and Nickelodeon.

The original series followed the adventures of Zoey, a student attending the former all-boys school Pacific Coast Academy after it opened up enrollment to girls.

The show was a hit on Nickelodeon but was suddenly cancelled in 2008 after four seasons and three years on air.

Since appearing on the series, Spears has continued her acting career with roles in Sweet Magnolias and various other projects.

Statement: Zoey said in a statement to Variety, 'I'm beyond thrilled to be back alongside my PCA family and continue the story of Zoey and all the characters fans know and love'

The film's log line reads: 'Over a decade after the iconic series ended, Zoey Brooks is still trying to figure out life and love, this time in her 20s'

Origin: The original series followed the adventures of Zoey, a student attending the former all-boys school Pacific Coast Academy after it opened up enrollment to girls

In February Jamie said she's been having a 'magical experience' making the spin-off film.

She took to Instagram with a carousel of 10 shots from the set of the forthcoming film for her 2.1 million followers to see.

'Bittersweet feels,' she captioned the shot, adding of the cast and crew, 'I truly love all of these humans.'

Spears said that 'the NEW ERA of ZOEY would not exist without each and every person doing their part to create this magical experience, including our amazing fans.'
Khloe Kardashian had some fun teasing her older sister Kim Kardashian on Friday.

The 38-year-old Good American designer was wearing a T-shirt that showed Kim, 42, with her raven hair worn down in two photos shared to Instagram.

Beneath the image was a quote that the SKIMS founder regrets ever saying: 'Get your f***ing a** up and work.'

Kim has since said the comment was taken out of context and she did not mean to sound that harsh.

Reality TV dynamo Khloe was holding her second child, her son while in her Hidden Hills, California home.

Her best friend Malika Haqq appeared to slip his name in the comments, writing 'Go Tate!'

In early May, The Sun reported his name was Tatum; it is unclear it Tate is a nickname for Tatum.

She also has a daughter named True, age five.

Tee hee on Kimmy: Khloe Kardashian had some fun teasing her older sister Kim Kardashian on Friday. The 38-year-old Good American designer was wearing a T-shirt that showed Kim, 42, with her raven hair worn down in two photos shared to Instagram

Wow: Her best friend Malika Haqq appeared to slip his name in the comments, writing 'Go Tate'

Khloe wrote in her caption: 'In my best Kim K voice!'

Khloe looked chic with her honey blonde hair worn styled and down. She added a pair of ripped and faded jeans. She wore a watch and bracelet.

Her little boy, whose father is Tristan Thompson, was in a casual onesie but his face was not shown.

She appeared to be in her kitchen as there were cutting boards behind her. And there were vases of pink roses.

Kim made the statement about work a year ago. Soon after she got backlash.

The ex of Kanye West wanted to offer advice for women in business.

She told Variety, 'Get your f***ing a** up and work,,' she said in a rude tone. 'It seems like nobody wants to work these days.'

Naughty: Beneath the image was a quote that the SKIMS founder regrets ever saying: 'Get your f***ing a** up and work.' Kim has since said the comment was taken out of context and she did not mean to sound that harsh. Khloe was holding her second child, her son who reportedly is named Tatum

Cute: Khloe showed off a photo with her daughter True on the back of her cell phone

Heading out? Koko was also seen holding onto a Hermes Birkin bag

Hola: The beauty took several Instagram snaps in a home with white walls

Meanwhile, Kim shared a photo on Friday where she was sleeping with full makeup on

Speaking with Robin Roberts during a Good Morning America, Kardashian expressed some regret over the remark.

She also said it was 'taken out of context.'

'Well, that statement that I said was without questions and conversation around it,' she argued.

'It became a sound bite really with no context. And that sound bite came off the notion and the question right before, which was after 20 years of being in the business youre famous for being famous.

'And I ... my whole tone and attitude changed with the previous question that went into that question about what advice would you give to women.'
Toni Garrn looked sensational as she attended the Red Sea International Film Festival's Women's Stories Gala in Cannes on Thursday.

The German model, 30, showed off her incredible figure in a shimmering pink gown at the event which was in partnership with Vanity Fair Europe.

She elevated her height in a pair of gold strappy heels as she posed for snaps at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc.

Toni opted for a bronzed makeup palette which accentuated her natural features, with a swipe of nude lipstick.

Her blonde locks were styled in loose curls as she posed with pal Jon Kortajarena.

Glowing: Toni Garrn looked sensational as she attended the Red Sea International Film Festival's Women's Stories Gala in Cannes on Thursday

Glam: The German model, 30, showed off her incredible figure in a shimmering pink gown at the event which was in partnership with Vanity Fair Europe

It comes after Toni announced she has split from her husband Alex Pettyfer.

The model took to social media on Saturday to share the news, admitting it was a 'very difficult' decision for the couple of five years.

Since tying the knot in 2020 and meeting two years prior, the couple have also become parents to daughter Luca Malaika, who is set to turn two in June.

While they also decided to marry for a second time in 2022, saying I Do in front of their little one.

Revealing the news, Toni shared to her 4.6M Instagram followers: 'Alex and I have made the difficult decision to divorce.'

Adding: 'We will continue our relationship as friends and co-parents to our angel, Luca. Please respect our privacy during this sensitive time.'

While Alex did not comment publicly, he shared a picture of the couple's daughter Luca on his Instagram Stories as they enjoyed some time together at the park.

He captioned the photo: 'Happiness.'

Mail Online has contacted representatives for Toni and Alex for further comment.

Toni and Alex were first linked in 2019 when they attended Elton John's Oscar party together, but did not confirm their romance until later in the year.

The couple later worked together on the film Warning, alongside Alex's father Richard Pettyfer, Rupert Everett, Thomas Jane, Alice Eve and Annabelle Wallis.

It comes after Toni and Magic Mike star Alex married again in 2022 at a second ceremony on the Greek island of Paros.

They had been holidaying with their daughter Luca and Toni revealed in July that she and Alex said 'I do' once again at a beach-front ceremony.

Sharing a short clip of the pair on Instagram, Toni wrote: 'Yesterday felt like the most beautiful dream. Collecting all pictures.. stay tuned.'

Toni wore an elegant backless white wedding dress with a floor-length veil pinned on to her blonde hair.

The pair first said I do in an intimate ceremony in Toni's hometown of Hamburg in November 2020.

They tied the knot in her hometown of Hamburg in Germany 10 months after their Christmas engagement.

Following the ceremony, the couple took to Instagram to share their first social media post as newlyweds.

Alongside a snap of the pair kissing, Toni penned 'Now you really get to call me wifey ', whilst Alex wrote 'Mr & Mrs Pettyfer.'

Alex asked for the beauty's hand in marriage after just 10 months of dating, marking the third time he has proposed to one of his girlfriends.

Stunning: She elevated her height in a pair of gold strappy heels as she posed for snaps at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc

Strike a pose: Her blonde locks were styled in loose curls as she posed with pal Jon Kortajarena

Gorgeous: Toni opted for a bronzed makeup palette which accentuated her natural features, with a swipe of nude lipstick

While he popped the question on Christmas Eve, the lovebirds waited to announce the news on New Year's Eve.

The couple shared a photo taken just after the proposal, with Toni exclaiming 'I still can't believe it', while Alex added 'Ok now for real the last throwback to 2019. Onto 2020 as wifey.'

Days later, she shared a closer snap of her dazzling diamond ring.

Alongside the snap she penned: 'Christmas Eve the love of my life surprised me on his knees asking me to be his forever.

'He changed my life the day we met and showed me what love really is - so yes I cannot wait to spend every day (well almost) of my life with you @alexpettyfer.'

Toni rose to prominence in the fashion industry after signing an exclusive contract with Calvin Klein in 2008, having made her debut for the designer in their Spring/Summer 2008 runway show in New York at the age of 15.

She went on to feature in their advertising campaign before walking again exclusively for the brand the following year.

In the 2009 seasons she walked in more than 60 shows for other well known fashion houses including Stella McCartney, Dior, Chanel, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana and Micheal Kors among others.

While she is also known for strutting down the runway as a Victoria's Secret Angel, walking her first catwalk for the underwear brand in 2011.

She ranked in 20th place in the Top 50 Models Women list on international modelling site models.com in 2012.

The fashionista released her own line of jeans after collaborating with German denim label Closed in 2014.

She has appeared in a variety of Vogue magazines published around the world, as well as Muse, Glamour and Harper's Bazaar in America, Italy's Marie-Claire, i-D and many more.

Toni also turned her hand to acting, playing the role of Reeva Steenkamp in the 2017 LifeTime movie Oscar Pistorius: Blade Runner Killer.

Meanwhile, British-born Alex made his professional acting debut in Tom Brown's Schooldays as lead character Tom Brown.

He was then cast in June that year as teenage MI6 spy Alex Ryder in the film Stormbreaker.

He next appeared in 2008 flick Wild Child, starring alongside Emma Roberts.

It's over! Toni has split from her actor husband Alex Pettyfer after 5 years together - months after tying the knot for a second time

Tough: Revealing the news, Toni shared to her 4.6M Instagram followers: 'Alex and I have made the difficult decision to divorce'

Alex went on to work on a number of other film projects, including 2011's Beastly and I Am Number Four.

Before also taking to screens in 2012's Magic Mike, portraying Adam, a 19-year-old who enters the world of male stripping.

In 2018 he appeared as journalist Stephen Underwood who learned of the horrendous murder of 22,000 Poles under Stalin's instructions in postWorld War II thriller The Last Witness.

The next year, in 2019, he was cast in the main role of Brody in the Netflix science fiction miniseries The I-Land.
A old prices softened by Rs 480 to Rs 60,070 per 10 grams in the national capital on Thursday amid a decline in international precious metal prices, according to HDFC Securities.

A division bench of Delhi High Court has granted rights to use the brand name Sugarlite to a Delhi-based Make in India dairy products firm called Delhi Marketing.

As a consequence of this order in a trademark dispute, Zydus Wellness Limited, which sells a stevia-based sugar sweetener called SugarLite, will not be able to do so.

Delhi Marketing, which sells products such as curd under the brand name Sugarlite initiated a suit filed in Patiala House Court against Zydus Wellness Ltd, alleging that Zydus is using a deceptively similar mark to confuse the customers.

However, Patiala House Court held that the visual appearance of the two marks was different and they also related to different class of

products.

The court further held that considering the manner in which the parties were trading, there would be no likelihood of confusion.

The court furthermore held that Delhi Marketing never gave any sales or expenditure figures qua promotion of the trademark Sugarlite and that the trademark Sugarlite was not a well-known trademark as per the act.
New Delhi, May 19 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday left for Japan, to attend the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, on the first leg of his three-nation tour.

A Quad Summit is also likely to be held in Hiroshima on the sidelines of the G7.

In tweets, he said:

Leaving for Japan, where I will be joining the @G7

Summit in Hiroshima. Looking forward to a healthy exchange of views on diverse global subjects

After the Japan visit, will be in Papua New Guinea to take part in the FIPIC Summit, a vital forum to boost multilateral cooperation. There will be productive deliberations on subjects such as sustainable development, climate change, healthcare and more.

I will be in Australia, where I will be holding talks with my friend, PM @AlboMP. This visit will further cement the India- Australia friendship. I also look forward to interacting with the vibrant Indian community and meeting top Australian CEOs.

In a departure statement, the PM said it will be a pleasure to meet Japanese PM Fumio Kishida again after the latter's recent visit to India for the IndiaJapan Summit.

My presence in this G7 Summit is particularly meaningful as India holds the G20 Presidency this year. I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them. I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 Summit.

From Japan, I will be visiting Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. This will be my first visit, as also the first ever visit by any Indian Prime Minister, to Papua New Guinea. I will host on May 22 the 3rd Summit of the Forum for IndiaPacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit) jointly with H.E. Mr. James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. I am grateful that all 14 Pacific Island Countries (PIC) have accepted the invitation to attend this important Summit. FIPIC had been launched during my visit to Fiji in 2014, and I look forward to engaging with the PIC Leaders on issues that bring us together, such as climate change and sustainable development, capacity building and training, health and well-being, infrastructure and economic development.

Apart from the FIPIC engagements, I look forward to my bilateral interactions with Papua New Guinea Governor General Sir Bob Dadae, Prime Minister Marape and some of the other PIC Leaders participating in the Summit.

Thereafter, I will be travelling to Sydney, Australia at the invitation of Prime Minister Albanese. I look forward to our bilateral meeting, which will be an opportunity to take stock of our bilateral ties and follow up on our first India-Australia Annual Summit held in New Delhi in March this year. I will also interact with Australian CEOs and business leaders, and meet the Indian community in Sydney at a special event.

UNI RN
TThe Reserve Bank has given its approval to SBI Funds Management (SBIFML) to acquire up to 9.99 per cent stake in HDFC Bank, the private sector lender said on Wednesday. The approval has been granted with reference to the application made by SBIFML to RBI, HDFC Bank said in an exchange filing.

...We would like to inform you that the RBI vide its letter dated May 16, 2023 addressed to SBIFML, has accorded its approval to SBIFML for acquiring up to 9.99 per cent of the paid-up share capital or voting rights of HDFC Bank Limited, the bank said.

It further said SBIFML has been advised by RBI to acquire the major shareholding in the bank within a period of six months (by November 15, 2023). SBIFML has to ensure that the aggregate holding in the bank remains below 10 per cent of the paid-up share capital or voting rights of the HDFC Bank at all times.
G7 Summit in Hiroshima will have to deal with a number of pressing issues many of which do not have simple solutions

The leaders of the G7 countriesFrance, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada will gather for the annual summit at the historic city of Hiroshima in Japan from 19-21 May. While they discuss issues concerning global security including a nuclear weapon-free world amidst the Russia-Ukraine War, global economic growth, international trade, and climate change, Japanas the current chair of the G7will be playing a crucial role in facilitating dialogue between G7 countries and the Global Southon various issues including global health, China, and Ukraine among others.

G7 & ChinaIn addition to the economic cooperation and policy coordination among the G7 countries, discussions on Chinas economic and strategic coercion are likely to take centre stage. Going by the discussions surrounding the Summit, the G7 is likely to issue a separate statement on economic security stressing the counter-measures to Chinese economic coercion by ensuring supply chain resilience, fair trade, and avoiding reliance on China for semiconductors, rare earth minerals, etc.Amidst these speculations, Beijing has issued its counter saying No one is more qualified than the US to be called out for economic coercion. Japan surely knows this best from its experience with the Plaza Accord of the 1980s (and)if G7 members truly care about economic security, they should ask the US to stop bludgeoning and curbing other countries in the name of national security, stop bullying others, and coercing allies to form exclusive blocs. China is all up in arms and closely watching how G7 unfolds.

The Ukraine War

Other than China, the Russian aggression against Ukraine will see some serious debate. The G7 countries have been clear on the Ukraine issuethat is to resolve through peaceful means and following the Minsk agreements, which seek to secure a ceasefire, the removal of heavy weaponry, the restoration of Ukraine's authority over its borders, and the execution of political reforms. Leaders of all G7 countries have visited Ukraine and shown solidarity and supported sanctions against Russia. At the same time, it is crucial to remember that the G7 nations' attitudes and strategies regarding Ukraine may differ from one another as their relations with Russia warry in proximity.A peaceful resolution to the Ukraine Crisis may be an idle plan for the G7but considering President Putins no back-tracking and a potentially nuclear war-like situation, what can the worlds best economies and military powers offer to the situation, will be an important outcome to look for. It is also crucial for G7 countries to be on the same page to deal with the Russia-China bonhomie that presents a two-front challenge in the Eurasian region. Apart from G7 countries, Japan has invited non-member states including India, South Korea, Brazil, and Australia. For Japan, the G7 summit is an important opportunity to solidify its relations with the member and non-member countries and discuss common issues like global health and bridging the gap between the Global North and Global South.

The Korean Peninsula

Among the non-member invitees include the President of South KoreaYoonSuk Yeol. The historical thaw between the two countries dates back to Japanese colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945. While history continues to remind the Koreans of the brutalities of the Japanese colonial rule, events of this century too have dented the ties. In 2018, the relationship was strained due to matters of trade and naval engagement. However, during a recent visit to South Korea, Prime Minister Kishida conveyed that his heart hurts thinking of the suffering of Koreans during its 25 years long colonization of Korea. Acceptance of Kishidas sincere apology by Korea holds strategic importance as they along with the US face threats from North Korea. To build effective countermeasures to North Korean missiles, Kishida will be holding a trilateral dialogue with the US and South Korea on the sidelines of the summit. The outcomes of the trilateral dialogue will be critical in addressing a predominant threat from North Korea which doubles with the Chinese advance-military aggressions in the South and the East China Sea targeting Taiwan. In the current scenario, regional threats in Korean Peninsula need global solutions.

Global South

At the G7 where China will be a major focus, Indias presence as a guest will be interesting to watch. Prime Minister Kishida invited his Indian counterpartNarendra Modi to participate in the G7 Summit during his visit to India for the annual India-Japan Summit in March this year. Japan shares a special strategic and global partnership with India and both find common ground on the Indo-Pacific Strategy and are members of the Quadrilateral dialogue. What is more interesting is the shared intent between Japan and India on addressing the issues faced by the Global South, thanks to the Covid-19 and Ukraine war that has acutely affected the Global South and mandated the need for global cooperation on the same. With India as the current chair of the G20 countries, Prime Minister Kishida and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have an exceptional opportunity to discuss the issues faced by the Global South including global health and digitalisation.

There is an acute economic disparity between the two worlds' Global North and Global South which has clearly been visible during Covid-19. Also, while the Western world managed to survive the food crisis amidst the war in Ukraine, countries in the Global South faced a shortage of food and fuel. While the Global South expects G7 to acknowledge their challenges and help them, G7 would want support from 100 plus countries falling in the Global South category on Ukraine and China. Despite the acute implications of the Ukraine crisis on the Global South, the vast majority of the Global South's nations have not sided with the West in imposing sanctions on Russia. Because they cherish their independence, many countries including India, have abstained from taking sides in the developing dispute between the United States and China.How effectively G7 countries address the concerns of the Global South including shortage of food and soaring fuel prices will also determine the latters approach towards leading a collective defence against China and Russia.

Way Forward

Overall, the G7 Annual Summit in Hiroshima will be a historic event where it will not just be the developed rich industrial economies discussing economic security, the presence of Quad member countries will help define the next steps for the forum seeking to counter China in the Indo-Pacific.

(The write works with Asia Society Policy Institute, New Delhi)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official state visit to the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden is a great opportunity for the two leaders to underscore deep ties between the two largest democracies of the world, a senior State Department official has said.

Modi will embark on his state visit to the US next month on an invitation by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. The US President and the First Lady will also host PM Modi at a state dinner on June 22.

"We are really excited to host Prime Minister Modi in June here in Washington. This is going to be a great opportunity for our two leaders to underscore the deep ties between our two countries and between our peoples," said Nancy Izzo Jackson, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for India at the Bureau of South and Central Asia Affairs.

"They will review our growing trade, investment and defence partnership. We also expect that they are going to discuss new areas of cooperation as we work together to face global challenges like health, climate change, clean energy technology and food security," she said in response to a question.

Jackson added, "Underpinning all of these issues, however, is our shared investment in our people-to-people ties, whether that is promoting educational exchanges or investing in our workforce development. Certainly, visas are a part of that conversation."

She asserted that this was one of the most consequential global relationships.

"Our bilateral partnership cuts across our most crucial global strategic priorities -- defence, economic and trade security, health, emerging technology and the ever-growing people-to-people ties," Jackson said.
A third-year student of Shiv Nadar University in Greater Noida shot dead a female classmate, after which he returned to his room at the boys hostel and allegedly shot himself around 1.30 pm on the university campus in Dadri police station area of Greater Noida, a police spokesperson said.

The police said the youth, identified as Anuj, died on the spot and the girl was declared brought dead at Yatharth hospital. Both were pursuing Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and were aged around 21 years and knew each other well. But the cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained, police said.

The youth was a resident of Uttar Pradeshs Amroha district, while the girl, identified as Neha Chaurasiya, was from Kanpur.

Eyewitnesses said Anuj and Neha were seen together near the dining hall. They said the duo were engaged in a conversation and even hugged each other. Suddenly, Anuj pulled out a pistol and shot Neha, they said, adding that he then rushed to his hostel room and shot himself death.

Neha was rushed to hospital but was declared brought dead. DCP (Greater Noida) Saad Miya Khan said, We got to know that an incident took place at Shiv Nadar University where a male student shot a female student.

Both the students were good friends but had some disputes of late, Khan said. The relatives of the duo have been informed and police teams have secured the incident spot, police said.

A country-made pistol was recovered from the spot. The student had died on spot. During preliminary inquiry, it has been found that the students were in a relationship for a long time but recently their relations had turned sour, police said.

The Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence said, The matter is currently under investigation by the authorities and we are closely monitoring the situation. All other residents of the campus are safe. Our utmost priority is the safety and well-being of our students, employees, and the entire community. We are fully cooperating with the authorities in their investigation. Our deep and heartfelt condolences go out to the affected families and we are supporting them in every way possible at this difficult time, it added.

The university had gone on summer break from May 17, but both the students had stayed back in their hostels as their convocation was due. The students sessions had come to a close and they were going to graduate from the university, said an official part of the investigation.

He said the incident was captured in the CCTV cameras of the dining hall.
US-based neo-Khalistan terror group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has given a call for the assassination of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Home Minister of that State Anil Vij through a pre-recorded video clip.

The SFJ is a banned terror group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The video was recorded on April 5 and released on Thursday. Through a separate Press statement issued on Thursday from New York, the outfit has opposed G20 summits in Jammu & Kashmir.

Besides being sheltered in the US, the SFJ is also backed by Pakistans ISI and the latest exhortations could be a bid to revive so-called Khalistan movement here in India following the dismantling of the secessionist network with the arrest of a host of alleged Khalistani leaders like Amritpal Singh and his cohorts, counter-terrorism experts said.

The outfit also gave a call to the Kashmiris to block the Srinagar airport to sensitise the delegates through holding of G20 meeting in Srinagar.

The SFJ is a rootless entity in terms of popular support and its leaders are spearheading the so-called Khalistan movement for earning their livelihood from their masters in the Pakistan Army and the notorious spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), analysts said.

The Centre is hosting the G20 tourism working group meeting under Indias presidency between May 22 and 24.

The SFJ is headed by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun who is facing several cases on terrorism charges but is living freely in the US without any action from the law enforcement agencies there despite the American Government claiming to fight terrorism worldwide.

The US preaches Pakistan and other countries to rein in terror groups but is itself harbouring such groups. American server service provider Cloudflare Inc is known to host the websites of several UN-banned terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Jaish-e-Mohammad on the one hand and the ISI on the other, the analysts said.

The SFJ has also launched a dedicated email site for the Kashmiris to send emails urging the G20 ambassadors to Boycott Kashmir Summit and Save Kashmiri Pundits.

The Save Kashmiri Pundits could be a ploy to target them through the Pakistani terror cohorts during the G20 summit and run a propaganda overdrive against the Government, the analysts said.

In its bid to scare the member countries of the grouping, the SFJ has also written a letter to G20 countries with the dubious claim that the agencies here can orchestrate violent incidents in Jammu and Kashmir.

In its letter to the G20 countries, the SJF dubbed the abrogation of Article 370 as annexation by the Modi Government. The Pakistan Government has also opposed the abrogation of the special provision to justify its low intensity conflict in Jammu and Kashmir.
As Opposition BJP is celebrating the Supreme Court order setting aside the ban imposed by the West Bengal Government on the screening of The Kerala Story, the TMC said if any issue arises due to the showing of the film, the Opposition should not blame the States ruling party.

The TMC also asserted that the State Governments decision not to allow screening of the controversial film was based on intelligence inputs and the party has nothing to do with it.

The Opposition BJP and the Congress welcomed the Supreme Courts order. The saffron party claimed the verdict exposed the TMCs communal politics. On the other hand the Congress asserted that the State Government could have handled the matter differently. The CPI(M) claimed the the Mamata Government did it to gain political mileage.

The films distributor in the State said they will wait to see the theatre owners readiness to screen the movie again.

The Kerala Story was released in theatre halls on May 5. Directed by Sudipto Sen, the film claims that women from Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and recruited by the terror group Islamic State (ISIS). The State Government had taken the decision as it apprehended that there could be tension if the film was screened. Now the Supreme Court has passed an order. The State Government would abide by the courts order. The Opposition should not try to project it as a victory or a defeat of the State Government, senior TMC leader and Minister Shashi Panja said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on May 8 ordered an immediate ban on the screening of The Kerala Story. Senior TMC leader and party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, As the Supreme Court passed an order, the film will be screened again. Now if there are issues due to the film screening, the Opposition should not blame us. TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, considered the number two in the party, said the top court was notified that the decision to ban the film was based on intelligence reports. The movie was banned as it could have jeopardised communal harmony. If the court has decided to stay the ban, the verdict is final, he said.

The BJP, expectedly, welcomed the apex courts order claiming that the court has exposed the TMCs communal politics. The TMC Government banned the film to send out a message to a particular community. The TMC is trying to create tensions among communities through such a decision, senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha said.

Actor turned BJP leader Rudranil Ghosh said it is high time that the TMC learned a lesson from the apex court verdict. Such a decision wont help the TMC consolidate minority votes ahead of the panchayat or Lok Sabha polls. No other state has banned the film, and the TMC Government wants us to believe that there will be problems if the movie is screened here, Ghosh said.

Banning films at theatres is next to impossible in the modern digital age, West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said. The subject it portrays can be handled in better ways than restricting the film, said Chowdhury, also the partys leader in the Lok Sabha. I have seen the movie and found a lot of exaggeration in it. But that does not mean that I will put a ban on it. I will have to be prudent and pragmatic in dealing with it, he said. Senior CPI (M) leader Tanmoy Bhattacharya accused the TMC Government of giving free publicity to the film by banning it.

I will not say whether Mamata was right or wrong in banning the film in West Bengal, but I believe she restricted it to gain political mileage, veteran CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said. Satadeep Saha, the distributor of The Kerala Story in the state, told PTI that they are yet to get any fresh notification from the state after the development. We will wait to see the hall owners readiness to screen the movie. In how many halls the film will be screened will be clear by tomorrow, he said.

The owner of a theatre which was showing the film before the ban said he will wait for the response of the distributor and other halls before deciding on screening The Kerala Story again. Putting a stay on the ban, the Supreme Court said it is the duty of the state government to maintain law and order as the film has been granted certification by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
The Congress on Thursday finally announced the name of K Siddaramaiah as the next Chief Minister of Karnataka and State party president DK Shivakumar as his only deputy, who along with a few Cabinet members would take oath on Saturday which again is to be orchestrated to exhibit a show of Opposition solidarity.

Siddaramaiah met Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to stake claim to form a government shortly after the eight-time MLA was formally elected the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in Karnataka at a meeting of the newly elected party MLAs at Indira Gandhi Bhavan in Bengaluru on Thursday night.

Announcing the decision taken by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge after hectic parleys ever since the party emerged victorious last Saturday, AICC general secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal said the party has chosen Siddaramiah as the Chief Minister of Karnataka and DK Shivakumar will be the only Deputy Chief Minister. Shivakumar will also continue as the partys Karnataka State president till parliamentary elections are over, he said.

Sources said around 20 Ministers will also be sworn-in along with the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister, including some from the State legislative council.

Vast experience in running the Government and mass appeal across the State have favoured Siddaramaiah in the tightly contested race for Karnataka Chief Minister.

The Congress leadership threw its weight behind the 75-year-old Siddaramaiah keeping in view the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where his clout among the OBCs, SCs and Muslims would play a key role.

Siddaramaiah also brings to the table the experience of managing the Government and competing interests of a caste and class-dominated Karnataka, having served as Chief Minister from 2013 to 2018.

He also enjoys the support of a majority of Congress MLAs, who had voted for him and pitched him as the Chief Ministerial candidate during the secret ballot after the first Congress Legislature Party meet in the State.

Asked about the much-talked-about power-sharing formula between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, Venugopal said the only formula is to share the power with the people of Karnataka.

Siddaramaih and Shivakumar later left for Bengaluru to participate in the meeting of the legislature party where the party was to formally announce the names of Siddaramaih and Shivakumar as the CM and Deputy CM.

Asked about his relenting to play second fiddle to Siddaramaih after a spirited fight for the top post, Shivakumar said, In the larger interest of the party, I have agreed. He said all the new MLAs have accepted whatever the high command decided. He said he is not upset and has a long way to go and will concentrate on strengthening the party for the Lok Sabha polls by delivering the promises made to people.

JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, JMM leader and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, DMK chief and Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav is understood to have acknowledged to attend the oath ceremony as invited by Congress president Kharge.

While National Conference Chief Farooq Abdullah is yet to confirm, CPI general secretary D Raja too confirmed his participation at the swearing in.

TMC supremo West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who too has been invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony is likely to skip the event however she has confirmed to send a representative. SP leader Akhilesh Yadav too and Delhi CM and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal too have been extended the invitation but their confirmation was not sure.

We are inviting the like-minded party leaders to be the part of swearing in ceremony, AICC general secretary organisation K C Venugopal said,

Former Congress presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu too would attend the oath ceremony.

Several top Congress leaders from Kharge to Sonia and Rahul were involved in hectic parleys with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar which finally helped to break the logjam over the top post in Karnataka.

Ever since the Karnataka Assembly results were declared on May 13, both the leaders started garnering support of MLAs close to them while mustering support for themselves.

With Siddaramaiah emerging as the frontrunner in the race and after the report of observers, the party leadership asked him and Shivakumar to arrive in Delhi for further consultations. While Siddaramaih arrived on Monday evening, Shivakumar cancelled the meeting citing health issues. This complicated the situation for the party as it hardened its stand against Shivakumar, who arrived the next day.

The final round of talks started on Wednesday when both the leaders met Rahul at his residence. In the meantime, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah also spoke to Sonia, who was away in Shimla on a vacation. Sonia also asked Shivakumar to speak to Kharge and Rahul to sort out the matter, sources said.

The hectic parleys continued from Monday and went on till the wee hours of Thursday to break the deadlock in deciding on the Congress chief ministerial pick. The leadership issue in Karnataka lingered as Shivakumar had dug his heels in and asserted that he be made the chief minister as the party staged a stunning victory in the southern state under his presidency.

Sources said after Rahul told both the leaders to sit together and work out a solution with Kharge, it was the party chief who told Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to hold talks with Venugopal and Surjewala, and sort out the differences and agree to Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister, whose leadership abilities and mass support helped him clinch the top post.
In a major breakthrough for India to bring perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks to justice, a US court in California has approved the extradition of Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana to India. He is sought for his involvement in the terrorist incident, in which 166 people, including six Americans, were killed.

Reacting to the development, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said here on Thursday, We are in very regular touch with the US authorities to ensure that there is speedy and early extradition of Tahawwur Rana. We have all seen the judgment that was given by the local US court there. That conversation of ours with the US side is continuing.

India had filed a complaint on June 10, 2020, seeking the provisional arrest of Rana with a view towards extradition. The Biden administration had supported and approved the extradition of Rana to India. Nine Pakistani terrorists who were involved in the attack on November 26, 2008 were killed by the Indian security forces. Ajmal Kasab was the only terrorist who was captured alive.

He was hanged four years later on November 21, 2012 after a trial.

Seen a significant legal victory for India, the ruling comes just over a month before Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels to the US on his first State visit at the invitation of President Joe Biden. He will be hosted by President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for a State dinner at the White House on June 22.

US Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian of the District Court of the Central District of California issued a 48-page order dated May 16, which was released Wednesday. It said 62-year-old Rana should be extradited to India under the extradition treaty between India and the United States.

The court has reviewed and considered all of the documents submitted in support of and in opposition to the request and has considered the arguments presented at the hearing.

Based on such review and consideration and for the reasons discussed herein, the court makes the findings set forth below, and certifies to the Secretary of State of the United States the extraditability of Rana on the charged offences that are the subject of the request, the court order said.

Rana, who is currently in the federal lockup in downtown Los Angeles, can appeal in the Circuit Court, which will likely affirm the district court order. Under US law, Secretary of State is the authority who decides whether to surrender the fugitive.

The order noted that the court cannot certify Ranas extradition unless there is probable cause to believe he committed the offences for which extradition is sought.

Citing its reasoning in detail, the order states Accordingly, the court finds there is probable cause to believe Rana committed the charged offences as to which extradition has been sought and should be extradited to India under the extradition treaty between the United States and India.

In response to a question, a State Department spokesperson told PTI that we refer you to the Department of Justice for specifics on this case.

However, we can say that we are committed to confronting terrorism across the world and we deeply value our counterterrorism relationship with India. We continue to call for those involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks to be brought to justice, the spokesperson said.

Commenting on Ranas extradition order, Ravi Batra, a prominent Indian-American attorney said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will feel compelled to approve the extradition of Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman to India as Washington is joined at the hip with every nation that suffers from foreign terrorism.

He said the order is transparent about our legal protocol - given our bilateral extradition treaty - that is needed to pass constitutional muster in our lofty American federal courts.

Batra noted that the decision now legally goes from a court of law to the Executive Branchs Secretary of State Blinken who will feel compelled to approve the extradition request as 9/11 was worse than Pearl Harbor and we, the United States are joined at the hip with every nation that suffers from foreign terror.

He noted that Rana has received significant judicial consideration over almost two years since the hearing, and can still seek, as a right, a direct appeal to the Circuit Court.

Batra said he fully expects the Circuit Court will affirm the certification and extradition order. Any further plea for leave to be heard by our Supreme Court, I expect will be denied, unless a legal principle gets identified along the way making it worthy for the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to hear and determine Ranas transfer to India, where he will be extradited, and receive yet more due process under Indias Constitution, he said.

During court hearings, US Government attorneys argued that Rana was aware that his childhood friend David Coleman Headley was involved with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and that by assisting Headley and affording him cover for his activities, he was supporting the terrorist organisation and its associates.

Rana knew of Headleys meetings, what was discussed, and the planning of the attacks, including some of the targets. The US Government asserted that Rana was part of the conspiracy and there is probable cause that he committed the substantive crime of commission of a terrorist act. Ranas attorney on the other hand opposed the extradition.

As many as 166 people, including six Americans, were killed during the attacks by the LeT terrorists. Because members of the conspiracy committed acts resulting in death with the intention of causing death, or at a minimum committed those acts knowing its imminent dangers, there is sufficient evidence that the elements for murder would be satisfied, federal prosecutors said.

There is an extradition treaty in place between India and the United States. The judge ruled that Ranas extradition to India is fully under the jurisdiction of the treaty.

India has issued an arrest warrant and charged Rana with the offences on which the United States is proceeding, the judge said.

These include conspiracy to wage war, to commit murder, to commit forgery for the purpose of cheating, to use as genuine a forged document or electronic record, and to commit a terrorist act, waging war, murder, committing a terrorist act and conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.

The foregoing charged offences constitute extraditable offences within the meaning and scope of the treaty and over which India has jurisdiction, the judge ruled.

The order states that for the court to certify Rana as extraditable, the government must establish that (1) the extradition judge has jurisdiction to conduct proceedings, (2) the extradition court has jurisdiction over the fugitive, (3) the extradition treaty is in full force and effect, (4) the crime falls within the terms of the treaty and (5) there is competent legal evidence to support a finding of extraditability.

The judge said sufficient competent evidence has been presented to establish probable cause that Rana is the individual who has been charged in India and whose extradition has been sought by India in this action, and that Rana committed the aforementioned offences for which extradition has been sought.

Based on the foregoing, the court concludes that Rana is extraditable for the offences for which extradition has been requested and on which the United States is proceeding and hereby certifies this finding to the United States Secretary of State, the order said.

It is therefore ordered that Tahawwur Hussain Rana be and remain committed to the custody of the United States Marshal pending a final decision on extradition and surrender by the Secretary of State to India for a trial of the offences as to which extradition has been granted pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, section 3186 and the treaty, the judge ruled.

Last month, official sources in New Delhi said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was keeping itself in readiness to initiate proceedings in view of the possible extradition of Rana to India.

Sources said if the extradition request is ruled in Indias favour, the NIA will initiate proceedings to bring him to India through diplomatic channels.
Dwarka Expressway, Indias first elevated 8-lane access-controled urban expressway, being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 9,000 crore, as part of the Delhi decongestion plan, will be completed by April 2024. Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari announced this after inspecting the ongoing project.

The construction work of the Haryana section (18.9 km) of the 29-km-long Dwarka Expressway from Shivmurti near IGI Airport through Dwarka near the Kherki Daula toll in Gurugram has reached the final stage. Gadkari was accompanied by Union Minister of State General VK Singh, Union Minister of State Rao Inderjit Singh, MPs Pravesh Singh Verma, Ramesh Bidhuri and Delhi Lieutenant- Governor VK Saxena.

Dwarka Expressway starts near Shiv Murti on NH-48 and terminates near Kherki Daula Toll Plaza on the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway. This will be the countrys first elevated urban expressway.

Interacting with the media i Gadkari said the road network of this expressway is of four levels. He said flyover is being constructed over tunnel, underpass, grade road, elevated road and flyover. A 3-lane service road is being constructed on both sides of the expressway. The Minister said the countrys widest 8-lane tunnel of 3.6 km length is being built on this expressway in Delhi. This will improve the connectivity of the people of Haryana and West Delhi to the Indira Gandhi International Airport, he added.

Gadkari said in Haryana, this expressway will intersect Pataudi Road (SH-26) near Harsaru and Farukhnagar (SH-15A) near Basai, apart from this, it will also cross the Delhi-Rewari rail line near Gurgaon Sector-88 (B) and UER-II at Bharthal. He said the expressway will connect Sector-21 of Gurgaon with Sector-88, 83, 84, 99, 113 and Dwarka to Global City. This entire expressway will have Intelligent Transport System (ITS) facility ,he added. The expressway has been constructed by dividing it into four parts, in which 10.01 km area has been kept in two areas in the Delhi region and 18.9 km area in Haryana region has also been kept in two areas.

The construction work in the Haryana region has been completed by up to 99 per cent. The expressway is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 10,000 crore as part of Delhis decongestion plan. Dwarka Expressway will have a fully-automated toll system and the entire project will be equipped with an intelligent transportation system (ITS). It will provide connectivity to Indira Gandhi International Airport from the Dwarka side through Dwarka Expressway. On removal of Kherki Dhaula toll plaza, Gadkari said the proposed toll collection system using GPS technology will end congestion and ensure commuters pay till only for the km travelled.
Tribals from Bastar region have returned to Chhattisgarh after studying agricultural practices in Indonesia.

An official communication on Thursday said that Ghotul Raksha Samiti of tribal-dominated Antagarh region in Kanker district got a remarkable opportunity to visit Indonesia at the initiative of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

On their return, the committee members led by MLA Anoop Nag met the Chief Minister and shared their experiences.

They thanked Baghel for giving them an opportunity that enabled them to showcase the unique culture, traditions and farm practices of Chhattisgarh on a foreign land.

Additionally, they gained valuable insights into innovative practices in agriculture and forestry adopted abroad.

The 13-member study team to Indonesia from May 8 to 18 studied indigenous culture, traditional agricultural practices and minor forest produce collection, the statement said.

The trip was funded by the Chhattisgarh government.
Sachin Pilot meets protesting wrestlers'

New Delhi, May 19 (UNI) Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Friday met the wrestlers protesting against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh here.

Several wrestlers including Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik are protesting at Jantar Mantar accusing Singh of sexual harassment.

"Since long time, they (wrestlers) have been protesting at Jantar Mantar. They brought laurels for the country by winning medals. The government and authorities must listen to their ordeals and look into their demands without any delay," Pilot told reporters after meeting the wrestlers.
Delhi BJP on Thursday held a one-day state executive meeting in which senior party functionaries discussed range of issues pertaining to the national Capital politics and simultaneously the achievements of the BJP-led Government at the Centre which is preparing to celebrate its ninth anniversary.

In the inaugural address, BJP national organisation general secretary BL Santosh attacked Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal saying that a leader has created a common man image with the help of illusions and lies.

Adding to this, the recent political issues  expense on the beautification of CMs residence and the recent Supreme Court decision regarding the rights of the Delhi Government  were discussed in the meeting.

Speaking on the recent SCs decision, Delhi BJP president Virender Sachdeva said,  We do not want to comment on the order of the Honorable Court, but the way the Kejriwal Government is trying to suppress its various corruption cases by threatening administrative officials under the guise of this order is condemnable.

Santosh also applauded the Modi government last nine years achievements and called upon the members of the Executive Committee to hold a door-to-door campaign between May 30 and June 30 to publicize them.

Detailing about the Jan Sampark Abhiyan, BJP MP Saroj Pandey said that this campaign is a beneficiary public relations programme in which lakhs of workers will be engaged.

They shared campaign will unfold in three phases  the first phase will be held on May 25 during which appointments will be made, while the second phase will run from May 29 to June 20 and the final phase from June 20 to 30.

Senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri moved a political Resolution appreciating Central leadership contribution to the capital and the failures of the AAP led Delhi government which was seconded by Delhi BJP MPs Dr Harsh Vardhan and Manoj Tiwari which was passed unanimously.
Soon you will not be able to pluck the ripe jamuns for free or by throwing stones at those majestic jamun trees that lined the road from India Gate to Raisina Hill, now known as Kartvya Path.

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has issued a notice inviting bids from agencies to collect the tropical fruit that also goes by the name of Java plum or Malabar plum and a complicated botanical name, Syzygium cumini.

An official said the move aims to boost revenues and stop the practice of throwing stones at the fruits, preventing injuries to visitors. The CPWD has invited bids for an open auction that will see the successful bidder collect the fruits from the site till August 31.

The auction will begin with a reserve price of Rs 1.30 lakh. In its auction notice, the CPWD has stated that jamun should be collected safely without any harm to tree trunks. No rope, jhula or swing etc will be allowed to collect the fruits, the notice read. The materials will be disposed of after fruiting till the end of August, 2023, and the same is not subject to any dispute regarding its quality and quantity, it added.

The trees are located at both sides of Kartavya Path and C Hexagon Road. The Kartavya Path, which extends from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to the India Gate, is one of the most visited tourist places in the national capital. There are several jamun trees on both sides of Kartavya Path, with some being nearly 100 years old. The variety here is a smaller and tangier variant of the common jamun, which is large and bland. The tradition of auctioning berries is about two decades old .

The Central Vista Avenue, stretching from the Vijay Chowk to the India Gate, was recently revamped under the governments ambitious Central Vista redevelopment plan. The jamun trees of Central Vista are an entire ecosystem on their own, both culturally and ecologically.

Every year the NDMC auctions the fruit off its 500 Black berry trees in the Central Vista area, during the monsoons. Once sold as a humble fruit tossed with salt, it is now being used for sherbets, jams, syrups and as a well-liked flavouring for sorbets. Many chefs are exploring its citrusy taste in salads. Another supportive myth for the jamun, which is now known as the diabetic fruit because of its healing power in defeating rising sugar levels, is that Lord Krishna is also believed to have four symbols of the Jamun on his right foot.
As per the instructions of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a hooligan-mafia campaign was launched in Ujjain today.

During the proceedings, the police monitored the entire area with drones and high rise system and illegal constructions of 6 criminals involved in criminal activities were demolished. Also, the illegal encroachment of 3 miscreants was measured with the help of the Municipal Corporation.

After briefing all the teams of police, administration and municipal corporation in the police control room, action was taken to remove the encroachment.

One of these miscreants is also accused of raping a 9-year-old girl, whose illegal construction was removed. During the action, strict action was also taken against the criminals. Today, about 150 officers-employees of the police force and the team of Municipal Corporation, Revenue Department were involved in the action.
Under a special package to entrepreneurs to encourage the establishment of food processing industries, 737 new units have been set up in Chhattisgarh in the last over four years with an investment of Rs 1,397.24 crores.

The people employed in these units total 6,896.

Under the mission, maximum of Rs 50 lakh is given for technical upgradation as well as establishment and modernization programme of food processing units, an official communication said.

For cold chains, 35 percent (maximum Rs. 5 crore) of the project cost and grants up to Rs. 2 crore is given for a period of five years by banks or financial institutions.

To establish a Primary Processing Centre and a Collection Centre in rural areas, grant up to 50 percent (maximum Rs. 2.50 crore) of the project cost is being given.

A new Chhattisgarh State Food Processing Mission is being implemented under the Agriculture and Food Processing Policy.
The Chhattisgarh government has advised people how to protect themselves from heat stroke and how to battle rising temperature.

An official advisory lists the symptoms of heat stroke: heaviness and pain in the head, dry mouth with high fever, dizziness and vomiting, body aches with weakness, no sweating despite high body temperature and increased thirst.

There could also be loss of appetite and fainting.

To prevent heatstroke, people should avoid going out in the sun. When moving out, the head and ears must be covered with a cloth. Water should be consumed in plenty. If feeling dizzy, one must rest in a shady place.

If the symptoms persist, medical assistance must be sought.

People should wear light colour loose cotton clothes and remain hydrated. Special care should be taken of children and elders.
In a startling development, the city has clinched the unenviable title of the hottest city in the Kolhan region, with temperatures soaring to a scorching 43.3 degrees Celsius. The residents are grappling with the relentless heatwave, which has taken a toll on daily life and triggered concerns about the adverse effects of the rising mercury levels.



The city, renowned for its industrial prowess and lush greenery, is currently battling the sweltering conditions as the mercury continues to climb. With each passing day, the residents are experiencing the brunt of the unforgiving summer, prompting authorities to issue advisories and take necessary measures to mitigate the impact.



The scorching temperatures have had severe consequences on the daily routines of Jamshedpur's inhabitants. Office-goers are also finding it challenging to cope with the intense heat, seeking respite in air-conditioned environments or opting for alternate work schedules.



Moreover, the health sector has witnessed a surge in cases related to heatstroke, dehydration, and other heat-related illnesses. Hospitals and medical facilities are working round the clock to handle the influx of patients seeking relief from the scorching weather. Medical experts emphasize the importance of staying hydrated and taking precautionary measures to avoid heat-related ailments.



"Jharkhand is in the grip of a heat wave due to the dominating westerly winds. We don't see any signs of rain in the next 72-hours. The maximum temperature will continue to rise. Keeping this in view we have extended the heat wave conditions," said an official of the local Meteorological Office.



Significantly, the Meteorological Office which monitors weather conditions had first issued a heat wave alert in Jharkhand as the maximum temperature had crossed 44 degree Celsius mark at several places including Bokaro, Jamshedpur and Daltonganj.



The severe heat conditions are due to westerly to northwesterly winds which are prevailing at lower levels over the region. Heat wave conditions would continue to prevail in parts of Chottanagpur region during the next two days," said the officials.



Meteorologists predict that the heatwave is likely to persist in the region for the next few days. They urge residents to take necessary precautions, such as staying indoors during peak heat hours, wearing lightweight and breathable clothing, and regularly hydrating themselves.



As the blistering temperatures continue to challenge Jamshedpur, the city remains resilient in its efforts to cope with the scorching conditions. The local authorities, along with the cooperation of residents, are striving to ensure the well-being of the community while anticipating relief from the relentless heatwave.



Met department issues Squall alert



Jamshedpur: In a weather forecast that has left residents on edge, the Meteorological department has issued a squall alert for Jharkhand, indicating the likelihood of severe weather conditions within the next 48 hours. The impending squalls, accompanied by strong winds, have prompted authorities to advise citizens to brace themselves and take necessary precautions to ensure their safety.

The forecast indicates that the squalls, characterized by strong gusts of wind reaching up to 80 kilometers per hour, are expected to sweep across various districts of Jharkhand, bringing with them the risk of property damage and disruption to daily life.



Authorities have emphasised the need for residents to stay informed and prepared during this period of heightened weather activity. Citizens are urged to stay updated with the latest weather bulletins and warnings issued by the Meteorological department through official channels. Additionally, precautionary measures such as securing loose objects, avoiding outdoor activities during the squalls, and staying indoors whenever possible have been advised.
Close on the heels of a girl being burnt alive for resisting molestation in Mainpuri, a jilted lover set ablaze a girl in Kasganj after pouring petrol on her allegedly because her marriage was fixed with someone else.

The victims relatives filed a complaint against the accused and admitted the girl to a hospital where she is still battling for her life.

The police said search was on for the accused.

The victims father named the accused as Neeraj, who lives in the neighbourhood and drives an e-rickshaw. He alleged that Neeraj was exerting pressure on his minor daughter to marry him and so he had fixed her marriage elsewhere.

Neeraj became angry when he learnt that my daughters marriage has been fixed. He poured petrol on my daughter and set her on fire on Wednesday evening. He escaped before we could realise what had happened, the victims father said.

The girls father said that he ran to the spot after hearing the cries of his daughter and somehow managed to douse the fire but by then she had received serious burns.

The family members rushed the girl to the district hospital in Kasganj from where she was referred to Aligarh medical college hospital. The girls condition was critical, sources in the hospital said.

Kasganjs Additional Superintendent of Police Jitendra Dubey said that the girls father had accused Neeraj of setting his daughter on fire and prima facie it seemed to be a love affair case.

An FIR has been registered on the basis of the complaint of the girls father and investigations are on. Police said the accused would be arrested very soon.

Earlier in Mainpuri, a minor girl was allegedly burnt to death by a youth living in her neighborhood for resisting molestation in the Kotwali police station area on Tuesday.

The accused is absconding and the police have launched a manhunt to nab him.
Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi has ordered the removal of MCDs Chief Assessor and Collector Kunal Kashyap facing corruption charges and sought a probe into the allegations. Seeking a vigilance inquiry against him, Oberoi directed the MCD Commissioner to relieve the officer, Kunal Kashyap, of all responsibilities and appoint an officer of impeccable integrity in his place, her office said in the statement. According to the complaint, Kashyap, a chief assessor and collector, purportedly provided undue favours to influential people to the tune of Rs four crore in a case of house tax evasion.

Expressing deep concern over the gravity of the situation, the Mayor issued a note to the Commissioner directing prompt action against the officer. . This instance has also raised suspicion on the quantum of loss faced by MCD due to such cases.

Through the note, the Mayor also emphasised on the challenging financial situation faced by the MCD and denounced the actions of officers who prioritise personal gain over the greater good. MCD is struggling to keep afloat financially and has no funds to do public welfare work. On the other hand, such officers are foregoing huge amounts of house tax by taking bribes. Such officers should know that now the regime has changed in MCD, she noted.

Alarmed at the scale of evasion in just one case to the tune of Rs 4 crores, the Mayor remarked that MCD must have suffered a huge dent running into thousands of crores due to other such cases, and perhaps would have been in profit had they been dealt honestly under the past governments. Kashyap is now under investigation for allegedly deliberately delaying the handling of the tax evasion case, fueled by allegations of bribery. Allegations and complaints have been received against him in many other cases.

Kashyap had deliberately delayed the handling of a case of tax evasion to protect an influential entity. This investigation aims to shed light on any potential misconduct or irregularities that may have occurred during his tenure, she said.

Giving more details about the development, the Mayor stated that the AAP Government of MCD is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accountability in the corporation. The allegations of house tax evasion and bribery against the Chief Assessor & Collector are deeply troubling, she added.
Special Secretary (Vigilance) Y Rajasekhar on Thursday alleged that a legal notice sent by an NGO against him was fabricated and was circulated with various vested interests. He has written to Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, the chairperson of the Press Council of India (PCI), and the Union Home Secretary over the matter.

It has been claimed that NGO Abhinav Samaj had sent the legal notice to the Delhi Government demanding action against Rajasekhar over charges of corruption, forgery and harassment. However, the NGOs chairman, GK Gupta, said he has written to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the fake legal notice.

The fake notice sent on behalf of our organisation is fictitious and made with malafide intention. No such notice was issued by Abhinav Samaj. If there is any notice/complaint in name of Abhinav Samaj, kindly investigate the matter as to how our letterpad and name of Abhinav Samaj is used for false complaint with malafide intention, he said.

Rajasekhar also urged the Union Home Ministry to refer the matter for either a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

It is requested that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), GoI (Government of India) may kindly consider for entrusting this matter to CBI/ED and other investigating agencies as the vested interests stakes are unfathomable and requires wider investigation by the specialised agencies that has jurisdiction to deal with intrastate and inter-state conspiracies, Rajasekhar said in his letter to the MHA and Justice Desai.

The 2012-batch IAS officer, who was overseeing various sensitive cases related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, renovation of the chief ministers official residence and razing of a heritage structure for construction of the DJB chief executive officer house, was divested of his duties on the direction of Delhi Services Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on May 13.
In a first, as many as 14 Undergraduate students of the Prestige Institute of Management and Research, Indore, have cleared Company Secretary Eligibility Entrance Examination 2023. The students who have cleared this one of the toughest examinations include Ankuran Sengar, Tanya Shrivastava, Harshita Kabra, Pratham Patel, Nitya Jain, Hussain Noorkhanji, Naina Singhai, Nupur Kedia, Khusal Bhatia, Kshitiz Sharma, Suryansh Kurmi, Harsha Lalwani, Anamika and Mansi Parwal respectively. Out of these students, Anukaran Sengar from B.Com  ACCA has achieved All India Ranking, scoring 176 marks out of 200.

Prestige Education Foundation Chairman and Chancellor, Prestige University, Dr Davish Jain has congratulated all those students who have cleared this prestigious examination in their first attempt and also applauded the initiative of PIMR UG Director and other senior faculties for providing mentoring to these students for this prestigious test.

Informing about glorious achievements of students, PIMR Director-UG Dr. S Raman Iyer said that it was for the first time, the PIMR took the initiative to provide mentoring to its undergraduate students for the preparation of CS Foundation course through its expert faculties under the mentorship of CS Ravishankar Singh. He said that the success of these students in the Company Secretary Eligibility Entrance test points to excellent academic guidance being provided to undergraduate students of the institute seeking admission in various value added and certification courses.
UK imposes sanctions on 86 entities, individuals linked to Russia

Moscow/London, May 19 (UNI) The United Kingdom has announced new sanctions, targeting 86 entities and individuals connected to Russia's energy, metals, defense, transport, and financial sectors, the UK Foreign Office said on Friday.

"The UK has today (Friday 19 May) announced a new wave of sanctions against Russia, targeting businesses and individuals connected to Russias capacity to fund and wage the war. The 86 designations target individuals and organisations connected to Russias energy, metals, defence, transport, and financial sectors - ramping up pressure on Putins remaining revenue and attempts to use these sectors to support the military machine," the ministry said in a statement.

The sanctions list now includes companies Russian state nuclear agency Rosatom, producing advanced materials and technology, including lasers, eight more companies associated with the production of metals in Russia and five financial institutions.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi for two more Vande Bharat Express trains for Odisha.

Joining the flagging off programme of the Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express on virtual mode, Patnaik praised Modi for launching several railway projects in Odisha and requested him for running two more such semi-high-speed trains in the State.

Patnaik wanted introduction of a Vande Bharat Express between Puri and Rourkela connecting Sambalpur and another one connecting Bhubaneswar and Hyderabad which would facilitate faster movement of passengers between these important cities.

Further, the CM requested for sanctioning of a new Puri-Konark railway line to connect the two iconic marvels of Odisha. For this, the State Government offered 50% of the construction cost and the entire land cost, making the project more profitable for Railways.

Patnaik also pleaded with the PM for expediting the proposed Shree Jagannath International Airport project at Puri. He said the State Government would incorporate all the suggestions made by the PM for making the proposed airport a world-class sea-side airport.

With the cooperation and support of PM, the airport will be ready within 3-4 years and the PM will visit Puri to dedicate the airport, Patnaik said.

The CM said, The State Government is developing Puri as an international heritage centre. Puri is the first city in India to have 100% drinking water facility from tap.

Patnaik also requested for early introduction of railway passenger services in both Angul-Sukinda line and Haridaspur-Paradeep line.

With the introduction of Vande Bharat Express train, he hoped that the dream for bullet train would be a reality soon. The introduction of Vande Bharat train is one step closer towards our aspiration of bullet trains in India. I am sure with your (Modis) leadership, we should soon have our own bullet trains, he added.

The much-awaited Vande Bharat Express train connecting Odisha and West Bengal was flagged off by PM Modi virtually. The train with improved facilities and comfort commenced its maiden run from the Puri railway station in the afternoon.
The Supreme Court on Thursday sought response of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the bail plea of former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case being probed by the agency. A Bench of Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli issued notice to the ED and granted liberty to Jain to move before the vacation Bench for relief.

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Jain, said the former Minister has lost 35 kg and virtually became a skeleton. He is also suffering from various ailments. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED, said they are on caveat and opposing the plea. The Bench, which did not give any specific date, said Jain can approach the vacation Bench of the top court for relief.

On April 6, the Delhi High Court had dismissed the bail plea of Jain in a money laundering case noting the witnesses claim that he was the conceptualiser, initiator and fund provider in the alleged crime.
The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) recently issued a warning to a private school to follow guidelines, concerning the weight of the school bag of young students after it observed violations during its recent inspection at a private school in Rishikesh. The commission members found that the weight of the bag of class III students was 6.75 kilogrammes whereas the bag of class XI students weighed seven kilogrammes, which was much higher than permissible limits. Concerning this SCPCR issued a guideline and issued a final warning to the school.

Talking to The Pioneer, SCPCR member Vinod Kaprwan said, On Wednesday we conducted a surprise inspection at the school in Rishikesh to check any possible irregularities and fee hike. However, we noticed that the weight of the school bag is much higher than the weight mentioned in the new education policy.

He further said that in the new education policy a class III student is allowed to carry a school bag weighing only two to three kilogrammes. Heavy school bags are detrimental to both the physical and mental health of the children. Concerning this we have issued a guideline and issued a final warning to the school. If they dont follow the prescribed guidelines, the commission will take action against them, he added.

Commenting on the heavy weight of school bags, clinical psychologist Pratibha Sharma said, Every school must implement the standards in the new education policy. The weight of the school bag should be less than 10 percent of the body weight. Heavy school bags affect the child physically and mentally. The government is also responsible as the authorities at times do not check if the guidelines are being implemented. She further opined that the government must appeal to the schools to follow the guidelines and perform a regular inspection of the schools.

A parent Sapna Negi said that carrying a heavy school bag puts the children under stress. Both the school and parents are responsible to ensure the bags are not heavier than permissible. Parents must check whether their kids are carrying books according to the timetables. All schools must follow guidelines in the education policy, she opined.
The Teacher Eligibility Association 2018 protested on Thursday demanding early recruitment of more than 13,000 vacant Class-I and II posts in government schools of Madhya Pradesh.

The started protest at Polytechnic square and later reached School Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar's bungalow at Shyamala Hills.

On Thursday, the selected candidates association in the Teacher Eligibility Association 2018 protested for the demand of increasing the number of in the post of teacher recruitment-2018. For this they gathered in Bhopal from all over the state. They also handed over the memorandum to Minister Parmar.

Earlier, all the candidates protested near Ravindra Bhawan located at Polytechnic. Shyamlal Ravidas, convenor of the association said that they have come up with the demand for increase in the posts of classes one, two and three. Apart from this, there is also a demand to expedite permanent teacher recruitment.

Recruitment in these posts is happening after about 11 years. There is a demand that these posts should be increased. In class-1 and 2, 13000 and total of 51000 teachers should be recruited. We are crossing the age limit, now we are not eligible for new vacancies.

The protesting teachers demanded posts should be increased in the neglected subjects of secondary teacher recruitment like Hindi, Urdu, Science, Social Science and Sanskrit etc.

Higher Secondary Teacher Recruitment Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit, History, Geography, Agriculture, Sociology, Chemistry, Biology and Commerce

etc. posts should be increased.

Selection lists should be issued for the total remaining 2237 posts of all classes under secondary teacher recruitment and for the total remaining 6530 posts of all classes under higher secondary teacher recruitment.

Before the upcoming selection recruitment process, the teacher recruitment of 2018 should be completed by doing the third counseling along with the increase in the post.

Appointment letters should be provided to the remaining eligible candidates on the vacant posts of department change, category change and promotion.
A Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), has directed the National Insurance Company Limited to pay a compensation of over Rs 1.54 crore to the mother of a doctor who died in a road accident in 2017.

The Presiding Officer of the MACT, Ekta Gauba Mann, was hearing a petition filed by the parents of Dr Ghufran Alam, who succumbed to injuries suffered in the accident on September 14, 2017.

According to the prosecution, the 31-year-old doctor was riding pillion on a two-wheeler, and near Bengali Chowk in the Bawana Industrial area, a truck being driven in a rash and negligent manner suddenly braked, because of which the two-wheeler collided with the vehicle.

The doctor and his friend, who was driving the two-wheeler, died because of injuries suffered in the accident, the prosecution said. ...It stands proved that accident in question occurred due to rash and negligent driving of offending vehicle by the respondent no 1 (truck driver Balmiki Yadav) and the victim suffered fatal injuries in the said accident, the judge said.

The respondent no 3 (National Insurance Company) is directed to pay Rs 1,54,09,000 to petitioner no 2 (the doctors mother) as compensation in this case, within 30 days, Mann said. The judge said only the deceased doctors mother was entitled to the compensation as she was dependent on her sons income.

Underlining that the victim was appointed as a junior resident on an adhoc basis with the Maharishi Valmiki Hospital here six days prior to the accident, the judge said, No doubt that deceased was not a permanent employee, but it is admitted fact that deceased was a qualified MBBS doctor and the fact that deceased was a having vast career ahead and would have definitely earned more than the present salary, cannot be negated.

Noting the evidence before the court, the judge rejected the contention of the insurance company that Yadav did not having a valid licence for driving a heavy goods vehicle (HGV). The insurance company has failed to prove any statutory defence in its favour on recordHence, it is liable to indemnify the owner or insured and to pay compensation to the petitioners, the judge said. The Bawana police station had registered an FIR in the case.
The wife of the deputy chief medical officer of Siddharth Nagar committed suicide by shooting herself with a licensed revolver in the residence in Sant Kabir Nagar on Thursday morning.

Reports said that Dr Abdul Salam, a resident of Tetriya locality of Ambedkar Nagar, had built a hospital (without any name) on Meetmandi Road in Kotwali Khalilabad area of Sant Kabir Nagar district. He was presently posted as deputy chief medical officer in Siddharthnagar. His wife was living a portion above the nursing home in Sant Kabir Nagar. His two sons are pursuing MBBS from a private medical college in Lucknow. His wife also mostly lived in Lucknow with her sons.

Two days ago, Dr Abdul Salam had come to Khalilabad residence with his wife, 47-year-old Gudiya. They both stayed in Sant Kabir Nagar. On Thursday morning, at around 8 o'clock, Gudiya allegedly committed suicide by shooting herself with the licensed revolver of the doctor.

On getting information about the incident, Circle Officer Deepanshi Rathore and Kotwali Khalilabad in-charge Sarvesh Rai reached the spot and carried out investigation.

Superintendent of Police Satyajit Gupta said preliminary investigation indicated it to be a case of suicide. The body was sent for post-mortem.

Meanwhile, two youths drowned while taking a bath in the Gomti river in Kudwar area of Sultanpur district, police said on Thursday.

Rishabh Kumar Tiwari and Anoop Kumar Pandey, both aged 23, were taking a bath in the river when they slipped into the deep water and drowned on Wednesday, police said.

Both were taken to a hospital after the locals pulled them out of the water but the doctors pronounced them dead.

The bodies were sent for autopsy.
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, has been called by the CBI to appear at its Kolkata office on Saturday as part of the probe it is conducting into the school jobs scam.

Officials said Banerjee had been sent a missive asking him to join the probe at its offices at Nizam Palace here. Earlier, on Thursday, Calcutta High Court had dismissed a petition filed by Banerjee seeking recall of a previous order of the court which said that investigative agencies such as CBI and ED could interrogate him in the teacher recruitment scam.

The TMC leader's name cropped up in a complaint filed by Kuntal Ghosh, an accused in the scam, who alleged that he was being pressured by central investigating agencies to name Abhishek Banerjee in the recruitment case.
Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, in a letter from Tihar Jail, has emphasised the transformative power of education and the need to uplift the underprivileged sections of society.

The letter was shared on Twitter by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

In his letter, Sisodia highlighted the urgent necessity to provide equal opportunities and access to education for every child, regardless of their socio-economic background.

The former Delhi education minister has also urged society to reflect on the consequences of neglecting the education of the less fortunate. He emphasised that denying education to the impoverished not only perpetuates inequality but also the cycle of hatred and violence.

"If every poor person gets a book, then who will spread hatred? If everyone has work in their hands, then who will wield swords on the streets?" he said in the letter written in Hindi.

Emphasising the need for a strong educational foundation and its potential to dismantle barriers, Sisodia asserted that an educated society, built on knowledge and wisdom, is the key to combating divisive ideologies.

"If everyone receives a good education, 'WhatsApp University' will shut down. If society stands on the foundation of education and wisdom, then how will anyone be trapped in the illusion of hatred?" he asked.

The senior AAP leader also highlighted the empowerment that education brings, particularly to the marginalised.

Underlining the importance of providing tools such as a pen to express thoughts and aspirations, he said, "If every child in society becomes educated, your cunningness and tricks will be questioned. If the power of the pen reaches the poor, then they will express their inner thoughts in the open."

He added, "The sound of conch shells is resonating in schools of Delhi and Punjab, awakening the desire for good education across India."

Sisodia asserted that providing education to every child, especially the underprivileged, will shake the very foundations of inequality and injustice.

"Whether you send us to jail or hang us, this journey will not stop. If every poor child becomes educated, your palace will be left hollow," he added.

Sisodia was arrested by the CBI in connection with the alleged excise policy scam. He is currently in judicial custody.
Senior diplomats of India and Ukraine are exploring the possibility of a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

If the meeting takes place, then it will be the first one between the two leaders after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

Modi left for the Japanese city this morning to attend three sessions at the G7 summit as part of his three-nation tour that will also take him to Papua New Guinea and Australia.

Besides attending the summit, Modi will also hold a serious of bilateral meetings with a number of global leaders including Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio.

The people cited above said there is a possibility of a meeting between Modi and Zelenskyy on Saturday but there is no finality on it yet.

"Both sides are engaged in discussions to finalise the proposal," said one of the people.

The Ukrainian president is attending the summit following an invitation by Japan, the current chair of the powerful grouping.

Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova visited India last month, in first high-level trip to India from Ukraine after the conflict began in the eastern European country.

During her visit, Dzhaparova handed over a letter to Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi. The letter was written to Modi by Zelenskyy.

Since the Ukraine conflict began, Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as Zelenskyy a number of times.

In a phone conversation with Zelenskyy on October 4 last year, Modi said there can be "no military solution" and that India is ready to contribute to any peace efforts.

India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.
Karnataka chief minister-designate Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar arrived here on Friday to discuss with the party's high command the names of ministers to be inducted into the new cabinet and the allocation of portfolios.

They will also invite the party's top brass for the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday.

A meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Thursday formally elected Siddaramaiah as its leader, following which he staked claim with the Governor, who invited him to form the government.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar would take oath as the chief minister and deputy chief minister respectively along with a few ministers at 12.30 pm on Saturday at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.

"We want to invite our leaders, we want to invite Rahul ji, Sonia ji, Kharge ji and Priyanka ji for the ceremony. They gave their sweat, direction (to the campaign), so I wanted to invite them personally. Later, we are discussing the cabinet formation," Shivakumar told reporters after arriving here.

Asked how many Opposition leaders would attend the swearing-in, Shivakumar said, "That we have requested our AICC president to take care of, for us, first is the Congress president and the Gandhi family, we are here to invite them personally."

He asserted that the promises made by leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi to the people of Karnataka will be fulfilled in the first Cabinet meeting.

The two leaders had arrived to a grand welcome in Bengaluru after the Congress announced on Thursday morning that Siddaramaiah would be the chief minister and Shivakumar his deputy following hectic parleys over three days.

Earlier, before leaving for Delhi, Shivakumar said fulfilling the promises made to the people is the first priority.

"Cabinet, people, all those things we will let you know later, we will not do anything leaving you (media), there is no need for any speculation. We will work unitedly," he said.

The first challenge that Siddaramaiah is expected to face is putting in place a Cabinet with the right combinations that will strike a balance in having representatives from all communities, regions, factions and also from among the old and new generation of legislators.

With the sanctioned strength of the Karnataka Cabinet being 34, there are too many aspirants for ministerial berths.

Stating that the voice of the people will be the voice of the government of Karnataka, Shivakumar said, "All our national leaders are coming (for the swearing-in ceremony). On the first day, in the first cabinet, we will implement all our 'guarantees', we will keep up our promise."

Several national leaders have been invited for the swearing-in ceremony and most of them are coming, he said.

Shivakumar also invited leaders of the BJP and JD(S) for the event, stating that as public representatives, they too are part of the government machinery.

Earlier, the deputy CM-designate also visited Kanteerava Stadium, the venue of the ceremony and inspected the preparations there.

The Congress has promised to implement "guarantees" like 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), Rs 3,000 every month for graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years (YuvaNidhi), and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti), on the first day of assuming power in the state.


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.
China on Thursday said Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Maldives and the Philippines have extended emergency help to it in the search and rescue of a Chinese fishing vessel with 39 crew members onboard that sank in the Indian Ocean.

A spokesperson for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) told the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency on Thursday that based on drift modelling, a remote 12,000 square km zone has been identified to search for the vessel.

A Chinese deep-sea fishing vessel Lupeng Yuanyu 028 capsized on Tuesday in the central Indian Ocean, which has so far left 39 people on board missing, including 17 Chinese mariners, 17 Indonesian mariners and five Philippine mariners. None of the crew has yet been found.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told the media here on Thursday that as we speak, the search and rescue operation is still underway. He said the rescue operation has drawn close attention from across the region.

Countries such as Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Maldives and the Philippines have extended emergency assistance and sent sympathies for the Chinese boat and crew, he said, providing an update about the search operations.

The operation has been commended from various quarters in China and abroad.

The Chinese government sincerely appreciates the help from those countries, he said.

In New Delhi, the Indian Navy said it deployed a P-8I maritime patrol aircraft to help in the search and rescue of a Chinese fishing vessel.

In a display of Indias obligations as a credible and responsible partner for ensuring safety at sea, the Indian Navy units also coordinated search and rescue efforts with other units in the area and guided the PLA Navy warships transiting to the scene of the incident, the Indian Navy said.
F&C Investment Trust PLC (LON:FCIT  Get Rating) insider Beatrice Hollond purchased 15 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 904 ($11.32) per share, for a total transaction of 135.60 ($169.86).

F&C Investment Trust Price Performance

Shares of FCIT opened at GBX 905 ($11.34) on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.51, a quick ratio of 3.92 and a current ratio of 43.72. F&C Investment Trust PLC has a fifty-two week low of GBX 769 ($9.63) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 992 ($12.43). The company has a market capitalization of 4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -952.63 and a beta of 0.66. The businesss 50-day moving average is GBX 902.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 920.76.

Get F&C Investment Trust alerts:

F&C Investment Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 6th were issued a GBX 3.90 ($0.05) dividend. This represents a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from F&C Investment Trusts previous dividend of $3.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 6th. F&C Investment Trusts payout ratio is presently -1,473.68%.

F&C Investment Trust Company Profile

F&C Investment Trust PLC operates as an investment company. Its objective is to secure long term growth in capital and income from an international investment portfolio. F&C Management Limited manages the investment portfolio of the company. The company is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Read More

Receive News & Ratings for F&C Investment Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for F&C Investment Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
OceanaGold Co. (OTCMKTS:OCANF  Get Rating)s stock price crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.35 and traded as low as $2.23. OceanaGold shares last traded at $2.25, with a volume of 36,672 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on OCANF. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of OceanaGold from C$3.75 to C$4.25 in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. National Bank Financial boosted their price target on shares of OceanaGold from C$3.75 to C$4.25 in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of OceanaGold from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th.

Get OceanaGold alerts:

OceanaGold Stock Performance

The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $2.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.07.

OceanaGold Announces Dividend

OceanaGold Company Profile

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 8th.

(Get Rating)

OceanaGold Corp. engages in the business of exploration, development, and operation of gold and other mineral mining activities. It operates through the following geographical segments: New Zealand, Philippines, the United States, and All Other. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in South Brisbane, Australia.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for OceanaGold Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for OceanaGold and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
CSFB upgraded shares of TransAlta Renewables (TSE:RNW  Get Rating) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on RNW. CIBC cut their price target on TransAlta Renewables from C$13.50 to C$13.00 in a research report on Friday, February 24th. National Bankshares cut their price target on TransAlta Renewables from C$13.25 to C$13.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 8th. TD Securities raised their target price on TransAlta Renewables from C$12.00 to C$12.50 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Monday, May 8th. ATB Capital cut TransAlta Renewables from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and dropped their target price for the company from C$15.50 to C$14.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their target price on TransAlta Renewables from C$16.50 to C$15.50 in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of C$15.05.

Get TransAlta Renewables alerts:

TransAlta Renewables Trading Down 0.2 %

RNW opened at C$12.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of C$3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.76. The stocks 50 day moving average price is C$12.32 and its 200-day moving average price is C$12.52. TransAlta Renewables has a one year low of C$10.63 and a one year high of C$18.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 43.77, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.78.

TransAlta Renewables Announces Dividend

TransAlta Renewables ( TSE:RNW Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 23rd. The company reported C$0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.20 by C($0.05). The company had revenue of C$154.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$139.60 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that TransAlta Renewables will post 0.753818 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 31st will be issued a $0.0783 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.40%. TransAlta Renewabless dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 313.33%.

About TransAlta Renewables

(Get Rating)

TransAlta Renewables Inc develops, owns, and operates renewable power generation facilities. The company operates through Canadian Wind, Canadian Hydro, Canadian Gas, US Wind and Solar, US Gas, and Australian Gas segments. As of February 24, 2022, it owned and operated 26 wind facilities, 13 hydroelectric facilities, 8 natural gas generation facilities, 2 solar facilities, 1 natural gas pipeline, and 1 battery storage project comprising 2,968 megawatts of net generating capacity located in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, the States of Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Washington, North Carolina, and the State of Western Australia.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for TransAlta Renewables Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TransAlta Renewables and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Blue Barn Wealth LLC bought a new position in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 666 shares of the information technology services providers stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Gartner by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,198,161 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $2,736,085,000 after purchasing an additional 102,709 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gartner by 2.5% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,075,891 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $1,681,139,000 after acquiring an additional 148,010 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Gartner by 145.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,227,844 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $616,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318,892 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Gartner by 20.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,029,738 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $603,766,000 after acquiring an additional 342,228 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Gartner by 7.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,313,140 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $390,606,000 after acquiring an additional 89,707 shares during the period. 91.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Get Gartner alerts:

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Valentin Sribar sold 348 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.61, for a total transaction of $112,268.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,932,293.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Valentin Sribar sold 348 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.61, for a total transaction of $112,268.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,932,293.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Craig Safian sold 4,510 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.53, for a total value of $1,540,300.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 64,282 shares of the companys stock, valued at $21,954,231.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,266 shares of company stock worth $3,354,965 over the last three months. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gartner Price Performance

Shares of IT stock opened at $331.31 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $311.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $328.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.19. The firm has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 1.28. Gartner, Inc. has a 12 month low of $221.39 and a 12 month high of $358.25.

Gartner (NYSE:IT  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 2nd. The information technology services provider reported $2.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Gartner had a return on equity of 772.55% and a net margin of 16.56%. The companys revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Gartner, Inc. will post 10.05 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on IT. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Gartner from $387.00 to $380.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. StockNews.com began coverage on Gartner in a report on Thursday. They set a buy rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Gartner from $358.00 to $366.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Gartner from $357.00 to $337.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $357.86.

About Gartner

(Get Rating)

Gartner, Inc is a research and advisory company, which equips business leaders with insights, advice, and tools that help build organizations. It operates through the following segments: Research, Consulting, and Conferences. The Research segment provides executives with objective insights and advice through reports, briefings, proprietary tools, access to the firm?s research experts, peer networking services, and membership programs.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Gartner Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Gartner and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Aegis Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 525,182 shares of the coal producers stock, valued at approximately $13,875,000. Peabody Energy comprises approximately 12.2% of Aegis Financial Corps holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Aegis Financial Corp owned approximately 0.36% of Peabody Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,873,533 shares of the coal producers stock valued at $193,137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595,279 shares during the last quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 2,249.0% during the 1st quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,104,738 shares of the coal producers stock valued at $51,629,000 after acquiring an additional 2,015,138 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,899,000. PointState Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,379,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 289.1% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,158,121 shares of the coal producers stock valued at $28,743,000 after acquiring an additional 860,517 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.87% of the companys stock.

Get Peabody Energy alerts:

Peabody Energy Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE BTU traded down $0.27 on Friday, reaching $20.51. The company had a trading volume of 2,236,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,016,680. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.02. Peabody Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $17.42 and a 1 year high of $32.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.12 and a 200-day moving average of $26.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Peabody Energy Cuts Dividend

Peabody Energy ( NYSE:BTU Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The coal producer reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.23 billion. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 48.04% and a net margin of 29.80%. Peabody Energys quarterly revenue was up 97.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Co. will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 10th. Peabody Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.87%.

Peabody Energy announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, April 17th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the coal producer to purchase up to 26.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the companys management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BTU shares. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. B. Riley decreased their target price on Peabody Energy from $39.00 to $29.00 in a report on Monday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $32.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 257,296 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.40, for a total transaction of $7,307,206.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,109,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $599,518,518.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 21,070 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.88, for a total transaction of $545,291.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,108 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,736,755.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 257,296 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.40, for a total value of $7,307,206.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,109,807 shares in the company, valued at $599,518,518.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 289,939 shares of company stock worth $8,152,007. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Peabody Energy Corp. engages in the business of coal mining. It operates through the following business segments: Powder River Basin, Midwestern U.S., Western U.S., Seaborne Metallurgical, Seaborne Thermal Mining and Corporate and Other. The Powder River Basin Mining segment consists of its mines in Wyoming.

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BTU? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Peabody Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Peabody Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO  Get Rating) insider Joshua Harris sold 141,630 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.75, for a total value of $9,028,912.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,845,567 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,221,404,896.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Joshua Harris also recently made the following trade(s):

Get Apollo Global Management alerts:

On Friday, May 19th, Joshua Harris sold 5,487 shares of Apollo Global Management stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.04, for a total value of $351,387.48.

On Monday, May 15th, Joshua Harris sold 14,744 shares of Apollo Global Management stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total value of $937,718.40.

On Thursday, May 11th, Joshua Harris sold 43,431 shares of Apollo Global Management stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.91, for a total value of $2,775,675.21.

On Tuesday, May 9th, Joshua Harris sold 187,734 shares of Apollo Global Management stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.85, for a total value of $11,799,081.90.

On Wednesday, May 3rd, Joshua Harris sold 1,200 shares of Apollo Global Management stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.51, for a total value of $75,012.00.

On Monday, May 1st, Joshua Harris sold 208,924 shares of Apollo Global Management stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total value of $13,316,815.76.

On Thursday, April 27th, Joshua Harris sold 79,150 shares of Apollo Global Management stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.64, for a total value of $4,957,956.00.

On Monday, April 24th, Joshua Harris sold 63,988 shares of Apollo Global Management stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.36, for a total value of $4,054,279.68.

On Wednesday, April 19th, Joshua Harris sold 193,537 shares of Apollo Global Management stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $12,705,704.05.

On Monday, April 17th, Joshua Harris sold 286,157 shares of Apollo Global Management stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total value of $18,625,959.13.

Apollo Global Management Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of APO stock traded up $0.54 on Friday, hitting $63.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,730,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,747,404. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.68. Apollo Global Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.62 and a 1 year high of $74.63. The companys 50 day moving average price is $61.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.92.

Apollo Global Management Increases Dividend

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apollo Global Management

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 19th. This is an increase from Apollo Global Managements previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Apollo Global Managements payout ratio is currently -66.12%.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 7,183.3% during the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 437 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.98% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Apollo Global Management from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Apollo Global Management from $74.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised Apollo Global Management from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Apollo Global Management in a research note on Thursday. They issued a buy rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Apollo Global Management from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $74.25.

About Apollo Global Management

(Get Rating)

Apollo Global Management, Inc provides asset management services. It offers its clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade to private equity with a focus on three business strategies: yield, hybrid, and equity. The company was founded by Marc Rowan in 1990 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Apollo Global Management Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Apollo Global Management and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Canada Goose (TSE:GOOS  Get Rating) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Bank of America from C$23.00 to C$20.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. Bank of Americas price target suggests a potential downside of 13.64% from the companys previous close.

GOOS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Cowen dropped their price target on Canada Goose from C$35.00 to C$30.00 in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. CIBC cut their target price on Canada Goose from C$30.00 to C$27.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Canada Goose from C$29.00 to C$27.00 in a research note on Friday. CSFB lifted their target price on Canada Goose from C$30.00 to C$36.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Canada Goose from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of C$29.91.

Get Canada Goose alerts:

Canada Goose Stock Down 6.2 %

Shares of TSE:GOOS traded down C$1.52 during trading on Friday, hitting C$23.16. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,032,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 452,883. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 153.12, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 2.20. Canada Goose has a fifty-two week low of C$20.01 and a fifty-two week high of C$32.81. The stocks 50-day moving average price is C$25.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$25.68. The company has a market capitalization of C$1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 36.16, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.60.

About Canada Goose

Canada Goose Holdings Inc designs, manufactures, and sells performance luxury apparel for men, women, youth, children, and babies in Canada, the United States, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. The company operates through three segments: Direct-to-Consumer, Wholesale, and Other.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Canada Goose Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Canada Goose and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Bank of Georgia Group PLC (LON:BGEO  Get Rating) insider Alasdair (Al) Breach sold 81,640 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 3,366 ($42.16), for a total transaction of 2,748,002.40 ($3,442,317.93).

Bank of Georgia Group Trading Down 1.4 %

BGEO stock traded down GBX 47.33 ($0.59) on Friday, hitting GBX 3,272.67 ($41.00). The companys stock had a trading volume of 133,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 114,483. The firm has a 50 day moving average of GBX 2,830.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 2,691.31. Bank of Georgia Group PLC has a 1 year low of GBX 1,272 ($15.93) and a 1 year high of GBX 3,550 ($44.47). The stock has a market cap of 1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 356.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18.

Get Bank of Georgia Group alerts:

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Numis Securities upped their target price on shares of Bank of Georgia Group from GBX 4,777 ($59.84) to GBX 5,752 ($72.05) and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th.

About Bank of Georgia Group

Bank of Georgia Group PLC, through its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services primarily in Georgia. It operates through three segments: Retail Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and BNB. The Retail Banking segment offers consumer loans, mortgage loans, overdrafts, credit cards, and other credit facilities; funds transfer and settlement services; and customers' deposits for individuals and legal entities under the Express, Bank of Georgia, MSME, and SOLO brands.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Bank of Georgia Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bank of Georgia Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Bellecapital International Ltd. lowered its stake in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:IVV  Get Rating) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,364 shares of the companys stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd.s holdings in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF were worth $908,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 322,732 shares of the companys stock worth $123,997,000 after purchasing an additional 35,650 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 362,752 shares of the companys stock worth $139,373,000 after purchasing an additional 51,658 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the companys stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Commerce Bank boosted its stake in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 234,340 shares of the companys stock worth $90,036,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134 shares during the period. Finally, Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE boosted its stake in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 57.2% in the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 111,406 shares of the companys stock worth $42,803,000 after purchasing an additional 40,554 shares during the period.

Get iShares Core S&P 500 ETF alerts:

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF Stock Performance

NYSEARCA IVV traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $420.70. The company had a trading volume of 2,098,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,055,948. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has a 52 week low of $349.53 and a 52 week high of $434.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $408.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $401.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $313.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43 and a beta of 1.00.

About iShares Core S&P 500 ETF

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Standard & Poors 500 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization sector of the United States equity market.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for iShares Core S&P 500 ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Core S&P 500 ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Rating) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,174,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 29,126 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Bristol-Myers Squibb worth $372,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Boston Financial Mangement LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 15,468 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.9% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 15,461 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp raised its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.4% in the third quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 36,282 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $2,579,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.4% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 10,053 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.0% during the third quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,686 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $973,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. 75.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Get Bristol-Myers Squibb alerts:

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on BMY shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, May 1st. Atlantic Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 21st. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Thursday. They issued a strong-buy rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $79.43.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:BMY traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $65.75. The company had a trading volume of 4,937,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,014,554. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $68.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.25. The company has a market capitalization of $138.13 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52 week low of $65.18 and a 52 week high of $81.43.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $11.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $11.50 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a net margin of 15.95% and a return on equity of 51.75%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 10th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 6th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Bristol-Myers Squibbs payout ratio is currently 66.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Rupert Vessey sold 50,385 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $3,378,818.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,751 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,202,182.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Bristol-Myers Squibb

(Get Rating)

Bristol Myers Squibb Co engages in the discovery, development, licensing, manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of biopharmaceutical products. It offers chemically-synthesized drugs or small molecules and products produced from biological processes called biologics. The company was founded in August 1933 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Featured Articles

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BMY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Bristol-Myers Squibb Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bristol-Myers Squibb and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
China Minsheng Banking Corp., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:CMAKY  Get Rating) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $4.12 and last traded at $4.12, with a volume of 11 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $4.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of China Minsheng Banking from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Get China Minsheng Banking alerts:

China Minsheng Banking Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $18.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.41.

China Minsheng Banking Company Profile

China Minsheng Banking Corp., Ltd. provides various financial products and services to individuals, small and micro-enterprises, corporate customers, government agencies, and financial institutions in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through Corporate Banking, Retail Banking, and Others segments.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for China Minsheng Banking Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for China Minsheng Banking and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Extra Space Storage Inc. (NYSE:EXR  Get Rating)  Zacks Research boosted their Q2 2023 earnings per share estimates for Extra Space Storage in a research report issued on Tuesday, May 16th. Zacks Research analyst M. Chattopadhyay now forecasts that the real estate investment trust will post earnings per share of $2.09 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.06. The consensus estimate for Extra Space Storages current full-year earnings is $8.51 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Extra Space Storages Q3 2023 earnings at $2.16 EPS, Q4 2023 earnings at $2.12 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $8.40 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $2.18 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $2.20 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $2.15 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $8.68 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.28 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $9.26 EPS.

Get Extra Space Storage alerts:

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp cut their target price on Extra Space Storage from $190.00 to $172.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. Bank of America began coverage on Extra Space Storage in a research report on Monday, May 8th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Extra Space Storage from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, March 8th. StockNews.com began coverage on Extra Space Storage in a report on Thursday. They set a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Extra Space Storage from an outperform rating to a strong-buy rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Extra Space Storage has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $170.56.

Extra Space Storage Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:EXR opened at $149.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. Extra Space Storage has a 12-month low of $139.97 and a 12-month high of $216.52. The businesss 50 day moving average is $155.20 and its 200 day moving average is $155.84.

Extra Space Storage (NYSE:EXR  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.56). Extra Space Storage had a net margin of 43.79% and a return on equity of 21.62%. The firm had revenue of $506.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.39 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. The companys revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Samrat Sondhi sold 6,290 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.88, for a total transaction of $1,018,225.20. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 82,653 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $13,379,867.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Joseph D. Margolis sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.07, for a total transaction of $800,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,144 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,424,100.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Samrat Sondhi sold 6,290 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.88, for a total value of $1,018,225.20. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 82,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,379,867.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,440 shares of company stock valued at $2,172,313 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.55% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Extra Space Storage

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Extra Space Storage by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,397,883 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,531,197,000 after purchasing an additional 533,145 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Extra Space Storage by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,160,449 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $840,779,000 after purchasing an additional 474,396 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Extra Space Storage by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,648,605 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $630,149,000 after purchasing an additional 10,610 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Extra Space Storage by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,183,153 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $517,605,000 after purchasing an additional 47,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Extra Space Storage in the 4th quarter worth about $380,823,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.32% of the companys stock.

About Extra Space Storage

(Get Rating)

Extra Space Storage, Inc is a real estate investment trust. It operates through the following segments: Self-Storage Operations and Tenant Reinsurance. The Self-Storage Operations segment includes rental operations of wholly-owned stores. The Tenant Reinsurance segment includes reinsurance of risks relating to the loss of goods stored by tenants in stores.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for Extra Space Storage Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Extra Space Storage and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Farmers and Merchants Bancshares, Inc. (OTCMKTS:FMFG  Get Rating)s stock price traded down 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $20.53 and last traded at $20.53. 583 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 1,221 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.75.

Farmers and Merchants Bancshares Stock Performance

The companys 50-day moving average price is $22.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.71.

Farmers and Merchants Bancshares Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Farmers & Merchants Bancshares, Inc (Maryland) is a holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial and retail banking services. It offers checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts for local consumers. The firm also provides credit and deposit services for small to medium size businesses and the agricultural community.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for Farmers and Merchants Bancshares Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Farmers and Merchants Bancshares and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Waddell & Associates LLC trimmed its stake in shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN  Get Rating) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,722 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 2,902 shares during the period. Waddell & Associates LLCs holdings in First Horizon were worth $900,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Horizon by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,975,376 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,213,136,000 after acquiring an additional 784,435 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in First Horizon by 7.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,554,395 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $427,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302,014 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in First Horizon by 6.5% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,205,275 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $187,901,000 after purchasing an additional 497,777 shares during the period. Westchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in First Horizon by 7.9% in the third quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 5,846,741 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $133,890,000 after purchasing an additional 429,056 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Horizon by 62.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,302,681 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $101,070,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657,018 shares during the period. 77.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Get First Horizon alerts:

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO D Bryan Jordan sold 93,157 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.80, for a total transaction of $2,310,293.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,396,259 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $34,627,223.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO D Bryan Jordan sold 93,157 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.80, for a total transaction of $2,310,293.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,396,259 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $34,627,223.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William H. Fenstermaker acquired 2,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.56 per share, with a total value of $28,202.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 246,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,354,742.72. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 30,036 shares of company stock valued at $298,485 in the last three months. 1.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Horizon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FHN traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.89. The stock had a trading volume of 4,603,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,896,853. The company has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 6.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.36. First Horizon Co. has a 1 year low of $8.99 and a 1 year high of $24.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). First Horizon had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 24.76%. The company had revenue of $863.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $871.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Horizon Co. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.51%. First Horizons payout ratio is 37.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FHN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised First Horizon from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $25.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 24th. Bank of America initiated coverage on First Horizon in a report on Tuesday. They issued a buy rating on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded First Horizon from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Saturday, May 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of First Horizon in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th.

First Horizon Company Profile

(Get Rating)

First Horizon Corp. (Tennessee) operates as a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of checking accounts, savings products, mortgage banking, lending, and financing to individuals and businesses. It operates the business through three segments: Regional Banking, Specialty Banking, and Corporate.

Featured Articles

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FHN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for First Horizon Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for First Horizon and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Clean Energy Transition LLP increased its holdings in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE  Get Rating) by 1,592.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,307,467 shares of the conglomerates stock after purchasing an additional 1,230,210 shares during the period. General Electric accounts for about 17.5% of Clean Energy Transition LLPs investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Clean Energy Transition LLPs holdings in General Electric were worth $109,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TFO TDC LLC acquired a new position in General Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Addenda Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 808.1% in the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 336 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 70.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Get General Electric alerts:

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Electric news, VP Thomas S. Timko sold 7,254 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.82, for a total transaction of $731,348.28. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,953 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,112,481.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Thomas S. Timko sold 7,254 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.82, for a total value of $731,348.28. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,953 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,112,481.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Scott Strazik sold 173,873 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $17,310,795.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,049 shares in the company, valued at $5,580,238.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Electric Price Performance

NYSE GE traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $103.88. The companys stock had a trading volume of 3,369,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,310,641. The stock has a market cap of $113.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 7.29 and a beta of 1.27. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $46.55 and a fifty-two week high of $105.78. The companys 50-day moving average is $96.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.25.

General Electric (NYSE:GE  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The conglomerate reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.14. General Electric had a net margin of 11.85% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $14.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $13.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that General Electric will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of General Electric from a c rating to a b- rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $96.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of General Electric from $95.00 to $109.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $103.20.

General Electric Profile

(Get Rating)

General Electric Co engages in the provision of commercial and military aircraft engines and systems, wind, and other renewable energy generation equipment and grid solutions, and gas, steam, nuclear, and other power generation equipment. It operates through the following segments: Aviation, Healthcare, Renewable Energy, and Power.

Recommended Stories

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for General Electric (NYSE:GE  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for General Electric Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for General Electric and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
StockNews.com began coverage on shares of International Seaways (NYSE:INSW  Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday. The firm issued a buy rating on the transportation companys stock.

INSW has been the topic of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on International Seaways from $58.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on International Seaways from $60.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of International Seaways in a research report on Tuesday, March 21st. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target on International Seaways from $60.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Seaways presently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $60.60.

Get International Seaways alerts:

International Seaways Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of INSW traded up $1.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $39.11. 246,482 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 650,272. International Seaways has a 1 year low of $17.89 and a 1 year high of $53.25. The firms fifty day moving average is $40.45 and its 200-day moving average is $41.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.02.

International Seaways Cuts Dividend

International Seaways ( NYSE:INSW Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 28th. The transportation company reported $4.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.84 by $0.37. International Seaways had a return on equity of 39.81% and a net margin of 54.60%. The firm had revenue of $338.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.42 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Seaways will post 9.87 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 14th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 13th. International Seawayss dividend payout ratio is presently 4.16%.

Insider Activity at International Seaways

In related news, Director Douglas D. Wheat sold 17,400 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total value of $905,844.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,104 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,348,114.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other International Seaways news, SVP Derek G. Solon sold 1,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.36, for a total value of $74,040.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,648 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,512,785.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas D. Wheat sold 17,400 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.06, for a total transaction of $905,844.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,348,114.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,021,494. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Seaways

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of International Seaways during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of International Seaways during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of International Seaways during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of International Seaways by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,392 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of International Seaways during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.39% of the companys stock.

International Seaways Company Profile

(Get Rating)

International Seaways, Inc engages in the transportation of crude oil and petroleum products. It operates through the following segments: Crude Tankers and Product Carriers. The Crude Tankers segment consists of a fleet of vessels that transport unrefined petroleum. The Product Carriers segment focuses on crude and refined petroleum products.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for International Seaways Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for International Seaways and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
JELD-WEN Holding, Inc. (NYSE:JELD  Get Rating) EVP Timothy Craven sold 3,852 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.52, for a total value of $55,931.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,038 shares in the company, valued at $639,431.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Timothy Craven also recently made the following trade(s):

Get JELD-WEN alerts:

On Friday, May 12th, Timothy Craven sold 35,099 shares of JELD-WEN stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.05, for a total value of $493,140.95.

JELD-WEN Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE JELD traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $14.70. The company had a trading volume of 426,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 525,236. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11 and a beta of 2.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. JELD-WEN Holding, Inc. has a one year low of $8.38 and a one year high of $19.51.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JELD-WEN

JELD-WEN ( NYSE:JELD Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 8th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.10 billion. JELD-WEN had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 1.18%. JELD-WENs revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that JELD-WEN Holding, Inc. will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in JELD-WEN by 14.7% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 93,948 shares of the companys stock worth $1,905,000 after purchasing an additional 12,065 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in JELD-WEN by 19.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 43,286 shares of the companys stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 7,059 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of JELD-WEN by 4.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 416,738 shares of the companys stock worth $8,451,000 after acquiring an additional 18,879 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of JELD-WEN by 21.3% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,499 shares of the companys stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 3,778 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of JELD-WEN during the first quarter worth approximately $320,000. Institutional investors own 94.97% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JELD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on JELD-WEN from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 10th. StockNews.com upgraded JELD-WEN from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, May 13th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on JELD-WEN from $12.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on JELD-WEN from $11.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on JELD-WEN from $14.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $13.04.

JELD-WEN Company Profile

(Get Rating)

JELD-WEN Holding, Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of doors, windows, and related products. It designs, produces, and distributes interior and exterior doors, wood, vinyl, aluminum windows, and related products for construction, repair, and remodeling of residential homes and non-residential buildings.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for JELD-WEN Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for JELD-WEN and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
StockNews.com started coverage on shares of M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB  Get Rating) in a report published on Thursday. The firm issued a sell rating on the financial services providers stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on MTB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $160.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $155.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Argus upgraded shares of M&T Bank from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of M&T Bank from a neutral rating to a buy rating and reduced their price target for the company from $178.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Monday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $190.00 to $183.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $165.10.

Get M&T Bank alerts:

M&T Bank Stock Performance

M&T Bank stock traded down $0.94 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $121.61. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,506,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,841,001. M&T Bank has a 12-month low of $109.36 and a 12-month high of $193.42. The company has a market capitalization of $20.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.49, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firms fifty day moving average price is $120.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.44.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

M&T Bank ( NYSE:MTB Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.03. M&T Bank had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 11.97%. The business had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.73 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that M&T Bank will post 17.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.28%. M&T Banks dividend payout ratio is currently 40.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at M&T Bank

In related news, Director Rudina Seseri sold 700 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.40, for a total transaction of $82,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,736 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $205,542.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On M&T Bank

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in M&T Bank by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,388 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $597,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Robinson Value Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Robinson Value Management Ltd. now owns 13,655 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 930 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 9,492 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,672,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 84.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About M&T Bank

(Get Rating)

M&T Bank Corp. operates as a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking, trust, wealth management and investment services. It operates through the following segments: Business Banking, Commercial Banking, Commercial Real Estate, Discretionary Portfolio, Residential Mortgage Banking, and Retail Banking.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for M&T Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for M&T Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
New Hampshire Trust purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,109 shares of the medical research companys stock, valued at approximately $486,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,156,902 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $1,736,910,000 after buying an additional 90,362 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,242,821 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $505,275,000 after buying an additional 19,303 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,692,947 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $207,783,000 after buying an additional 567,417 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,514,577 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $207,286,000 after buying an additional 8,406 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 1,202,164 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $147,494,000 after buying an additional 48,392 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.79% of the companys stock.

Get Quest Diagnostics alerts:

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $131.01 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52-week low of $120.40 and a 52-week high of $158.34. The companys 50 day moving average is $138.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.42. The firm has a market cap of $14.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

Quest Diagnostics ( NYSE:DGX Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The medical research company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 16.51%. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.22 EPS. The companys revenue was down 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 11th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 10th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Quest Diagnosticss payout ratio is 41.89%.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the companys board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $148.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, January 23rd. They issued an inline rating and a $159.00 price objective on the stock. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Mizuho restated a buy rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Friday, March 17th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $151.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,415 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $200,109.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,577,604.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.70% of the companys stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Quest Diagnostics, Inc engages in the provision of diagnostic testing, information and services. It operates through the Diagnostic Information Services (DIS) and All Other segments. The DIS segment offers diagnostic information services to patients, clinicians, hospitals, health plans, and employers.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for Quest Diagnostics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Quest Diagnostics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Fort Polk, LA (71446)

Today

A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 63F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 63F. Winds light and variable.
Nexus Industrial REIT (TSE:NXR.UN  Get Rating) had its price objective decreased by Raymond James from C$12.50 to C$12.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. Raymond James price objective would suggest a potential upside of 32.01% from the stocks current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on NXR.UN. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Nexus Industrial REIT from C$12.00 to C$11.50 in a research note on Friday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Nexus Industrial REIT from C$11.50 to C$11.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 16th. National Bankshares increased their price target on shares of Nexus Industrial REIT from C$11.00 to C$11.25 in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Nexus Industrial REIT from C$11.50 to C$11.00 in a report on Monday, March 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nexus Industrial REIT presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$11.94.

Get Nexus Industrial REIT alerts:

Nexus Industrial REIT Price Performance

Shares of TSE:NXR.UN traded up C$0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching C$9.09. 34,417 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 133,246. The businesss fifty day moving average is C$9.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$10.03. Nexus Industrial REIT has a one year low of C$8.15 and a one year high of C$11.96. The stock has a market cap of C$617.30 million, a PE ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 117.24.

About Nexus Industrial REIT

Nexus is a growth oriented real estate investment trust focused on increasing unitholder value through the acquisition, ownership and management of industrial, office and retail properties located in primary and secondary markets in North America. The REIT currently owns a portfolio of 73 properties comprising approximately 4.1 million square feet of rentable area.

Read More

Receive News & Ratings for Nexus Industrial REIT Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nexus Industrial REIT and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR  Get Rating)s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $12.41 and last traded at $11.76, with a volume of 67494320 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Palantir Technologies from $6.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Palantir Technologies from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an underperform rating and issued a $5.00 target price on shares of Palantir Technologies in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. DA Davidson began coverage on Palantir Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. They set a neutral rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Finally, William Blair restated an underperform rating on shares of Palantir Technologies in a research note on Monday, March 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $8.54.

Get Palantir Technologies alerts:

Palantir Technologies Stock Up 2.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $25.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -90.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 2.85. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $8.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.81.

Insider Transactions at Palantir Technologies

Palantir Technologies ( NYSE:PLTR Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 13th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.01. Palantir Technologies had a negative net margin of 12.88% and a negative return on equity of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $508.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $504.84 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.02 earnings per share. Palantir Technologiess revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Palantir Technologies Inc. will post 0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other news, insider Jeffrey Buckley sold 4,636 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.55, for a total transaction of $39,637.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 334,051 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,856,136.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jeffrey Buckley sold 4,636 shares of Palantir Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.55, for a total value of $39,637.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 334,051 shares in the company, valued at $2,856,136.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lauren Elaina Friedman Stat sold 7,000 shares of Palantir Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.85, for a total transaction of $54,950.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 206,830 shares in the company, valued at $1,623,615.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 94,513 shares of company stock worth $801,494. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Palantir Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $206,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Palantir Technologies by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,579 shares of the companys stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Palantir Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $1,475,000. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in Palantir Technologies by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 226,834 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 62,814 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Palantir Technologies by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,153,018 shares of the companys stock valued at $15,832,000 after acquiring an additional 482,171 shares in the last quarter. 31.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Palantir Technologies

(Get Rating)

Palantir Technologies Inc builds and deploys software platforms for the intelligence community in the United States to assist in counterterrorism investigations and operations. The company provides palantir gotham, a software platform which enables users to identify patterns hidden deep within datasets, ranging from signals intelligence sources to reports from confidential informants, as well as facilitates the handoff between analysts and operational users, helping operators plan and execute real-world responses to threats that have been identified within the platform.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Palantir Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Palantir Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Sandy Spring Bank boosted its stake in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO  Get Rating) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,897 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 2,322 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Banks holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $5,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salem Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Salem Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,359 shares of the companys stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Kessler Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC now owns 2,679 shares of the companys stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 16,604 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Bellwether Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 698 shares of the companys stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,494 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,597,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.74% of the companys stock.

Get Coca-Cola alerts:

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on KO shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $71.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Monday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $67.00 price target on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Tuesday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $61.00 to $63.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $67.80.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola Stock Down 0.2 %

In related news, insider Henrique Braun sold 16,950 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $1,085,308.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,272 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,682,196.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink . In related news, insider Henrique Braun sold 16,950 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $1,085,308.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,272 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,682,196.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink . Also, CEO James Quincey sold 46,421 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.50, for a total transaction of $2,808,470.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 592,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,849,033. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 540,473 shares of company stock valued at $33,992,699. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Shares of KO traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $62.69. 9,075,530 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,746,518. The company has a market cap of $271.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.54. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $54.01 and a fifty-two week high of $65.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stocks 50-day moving average is $62.54 and its 200-day moving average is $61.78.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.69% and a return on equity of 42.96%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 15th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Coca-Colas dividend payout ratio is presently 80.70%.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

(Get Rating)

The Coca-Cola Co engages in the manufacturing and marketing of non-alcoholic beverages. It operates through the following segments: Europe, Middle East and Africa, Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific, Global Ventures, and Bottling Investments. The company was founded by Asa Griggs Candler on May 8, 1886 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

Recommended Stories

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Coca-Cola Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Coca-Cola and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Wayfinding Financial LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Rating) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,001 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after selling 509 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLCs holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,523 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $2,083,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,141 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. Oak Family Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Oak Family Advisors LLC now owns 12,735 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $1,398,000 after buying an additional 1,703 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 2,859 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential PLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 136,388 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $14,974,000 after buying an additional 22,858 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.93% of the companys stock.

Get Abbott Laboratories alerts:

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $108.69. The company had a trading volume of 2,458,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,070,442. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.13. The stock has a market cap of $189.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.97, a PEG ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.67. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $93.25 and a 52-week high of $118.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Abbott Laboratories ( NYSE:ABT Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.05. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 22.36%. The firm had revenue of $9.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.73 EPS. The companys revenue was down 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.02, for a total transaction of $5,551,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,825,316 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $757,746,582.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.02, for a total transaction of $5,551,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,825,316 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $757,746,582.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Julie L. Tyler sold 260 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.24, for a total transaction of $26,842.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,896 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,222,103.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 60,197 shares of company stock valued at $6,659,607. Insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, March 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $122.37.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

(Get Rating)

Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a broad and diversified line of health care products. It operates through the following business segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment refers to the international sales of a line of branded generic pharmaceutical products.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ABT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Abbott Laboratories Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Abbott Laboratories and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
XML Financial LLC raised its position in Brookfield Renewable Co. (NYSE:BEPC  Get Rating) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 129,240 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 21,940 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Brookfield Renewable worth $3,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Brookfield Renewable by 2.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,433,864 shares of the companys stock valued at $144,899,000 after purchasing an additional 116,408 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable by 4.6% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,830,035 shares of the companys stock worth $167,754,000 after acquiring an additional 168,284 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable by 26.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,571,727 shares of the companys stock worth $84,044,000 after acquiring an additional 533,008 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable by 5.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,795,460 shares of the companys stock worth $78,640,000 after acquiring an additional 88,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable by 50.2% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,331,298 shares of the companys stock worth $47,407,000 after acquiring an additional 444,713 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.12% of the companys stock.

Get Brookfield Renewable alerts:

Brookfield Renewable Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of BEPC stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $35.04. 264,257 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 627,105. The business has a 50 day moving average of $33.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Brookfield Renewable Co. has a 52 week low of $27.19 and a 52 week high of $42.97.

Brookfield Renewable Dividend Announcement

Brookfield Renewable Company Profile

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.338 per share. This represents a $1.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 30th. Brookfield Renewables dividend payout ratio is -254.72%.

(Get Rating)

Brookfield Renewable Corporation owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy power generating facilities primarily in the United States, Europe, Colombia, and Brazil. It operates hydroelectric, wind, and solar power plants with an installed capacity of approximately 12,723 megawatts. The company was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BEPC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Brookfield Renewable Co. (NYSE:BEPC  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Brookfield Renewable Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Brookfield Renewable and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
CHONGQING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- A total of 88 major projects, with a contracted investment amounting to 290.7 billion yuan (about 41.55 billion U.S. dollars), were signed at the fifth Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade, which kicked off Thursday in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. This year's contract amount sets a new record high. Out of these projects, 84 will be located in Chongqing, with a contracted investment of 285.42 billion yuan, and among them, 56 exceeded 1 billion yuan each, accounting for 66.7 percent of the total contracted projects in Chongqing. The projects cover a wide range of fields such as intelligent connected new energy vehicles, advanced materials, smart equipment, energy, and the processing of food and agricultural products. Themed "Joining Hands with the West for a Brighter Future," the four-day fair has attracted more than 900 enterprises from 38 countries and regions, and 26 provincial-level regions across China. Malaysia is the guest country of honor this year and the provinces of Sichuan and Gansu are the guest of honor provinces. Exhibitions and forums covering diverse topics and promotional activities will be held during the event. Statistics released by the municipal commerce commission showed that a total of 945 projects were signed during the previous four fairs, with a total investment of 1.66 trillion yuan. 3WINS ASSOC., a German association dedicated to promoting city cooperation and development, and a Chinese green industry foundation jointly signed a 100-million-yuan project on Thursday. It will be located in Chongqing's Liangjiang New Area. Chongqing's rapid development of high-tech industry, automobile manufacturing, and vocational education attract the organization, said Hans J. Fornoff, vice president of the association. The project will build a China-Germany innovation center, focusing on various sectors including the digital economy, new energy smart cars, green innovation, and intelligent manufacturing. It is expected to serve as a platform to foster digital economic innovation and supply chain business cooperation between China and Germany. He said he was impressed by the fascinating cities in China's western region such as Chongqing and Guiyang, and the enthusiasm of the local governments and friendly residents, which are very attractive for foreign companies to invest here. "Chongqing is striving to become a financial center in China's western region, and our company is highly optimistic about the megacity. Our confidence in expanding our presence in Chongqing, and even the broader southwestern Chinese region, has strengthened," said Victor Rubtsov, the China sales director of the London Stock Exchange Group, who attended an investment promotion event at the fair. Guo Tingting, vice minister of commerce, highlighted the vast market, abundant talents, rich resources, and tremendous development potential in China's western region. She expressed her hope that the event can help more transnational companies gain a deeper understanding of the western region, as well as support the western region in improving its services and business environment. An official from the China Construction Fifth Engineering Division Corp. Ltd., which signed a 1-billion-yuan contract to build an investment and operation base, emphasized Chongqing's significant advantages in attracting investments. "As the only municipality in the central and western region of China, Chongqing plays a crucial role in the large-scale development in the western region. Meanwhile, it sits at the intersection of the Belt and Road and the Yangtze Economic Belt, which enhances its appeal."
Donald Rayfield at Literary Review:

When in 1960 I first came across Osip Mandelstams poetry, nobody in the USSR had enjoyed access to his work since the early 1930s and few even knew of his existence, let alone of his death, as he had predicted, in Stalins Gulag. His books had been removed from libraries and bookshops. Only braver readers kept them, sometimes hidden in saucepans at their dachas. From 1958, supported by the CIA, emigre scholars collected what they could from Russian publications of the writings of banned Russian authors; the works were so in demand that students like myself copied them out by hand. Impressionable readers were stunned by the hypnotic musicality of Mandelstams early poems, by the penetrating appreciation of the disaster that unfolded  the ship of time going to the bottom  during the First World War and the Russian Revolution, by the fine love poems and by the use of biology to elucidate his times.

For a student of Russian literature, Mandelstam is a godsend. Every poem has memorable lines that could be quoted in many imaginable situations.

more here.
IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao, who is currently on the US tour, met NRI CEOs of IT companies in Washington DC, USA. (Photo: By Arrangement)

Washington: Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao, who is currently on the US tour attending business meetings and round tables, has met CEOs of more than 30 companies in Washington DC, USA to pitch for IT companies to be set up in Tier-II cities of Telangana. Highlighting the growth of IT in Telanganas Tier-II cities and explaining the measures taken by the state government, the Minister encouraged the IT companies to start their operations in Tier-II cities.

KTR apprised them that after the state formation, IT Towers were inaugurated in Warangal, Karimnagar, Khammam and Mahabubnagar. While the IT Tower in Siddipet will be inaugurated soon, towers in Nizamabad and Nalgonda are in various stages of construction. Also, the government sanctioned an IT Tower in Adilabad a few months ago, the minister added.

Stating that the government is marching ahead with the 3D mantra, that is to Decongest, Decarbonize and Decentralize and provide ample opportunities to the youth in cities other than Hyderabad, Minister KTR invited the NRIs to come and set up the offices in their hometowns and create rural employment. He spoke in detail how IT is booming in cities like Warangal, Karimnagar, Khammam due to the establishment of IT Towers and the commitment of the state government to expand IT across all the cities and towns of Telangana.

The Minister had a fruitful meeting with the CEOs and many of them signed MOUs with the government to set up their offices in cities such as Nizamabad, Siddipet and Nalgonda. Very soon, Tier-II cities in the state will get more than 2,500 IT jobs which will in turn create indirect employment for 10,000 people. Interestingly, many non-Telugu and non-Telangana entrepreneurs too showed their interest in opening offices in Tier-2 cities.

Citing an example of his recent visit to Bellampalli, the minister said he was surprised to see two IT companies working out of a town like Bellampalli. "When it can be done in Bellampalli, it can be done anywhere," KTR said. The minister added that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a paradigm shift in the functioning of IT companies and proved that employees can efficiently work from anywhere with low cost management. KTR observed that improved connectivity and internet facilities in Tier-II towns will create a conducive environment for the firms to operate

This meeting is coordinated by Lax Chepuri, CEO of Technogen Inc (Washington DC) and Mahesh Bigala of Nizamabad with the help and support of IT Serve Alliance organization. KTR appreciated NRIs Lax Chepuri, Vamsi Reddy and Karthik Polasani for their continued support, commitment and the cooperation in Khammam, Warangal and Karimnagar IT-Hubs which have been running successfully.

The attendees of the meeting include Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of IT and Industries Departments, E Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, Special Secretary, Investment Promotion & NRI Affairs, Amarnath Reddy Atmakuri, Chief Relations Officer.
Sameer Wankhede arrives at the NCB office in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)

The former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede allegedly tried to extort Rs 25 crore from Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khans family to let off his son Aryan Khan in connection with the Cordelia Cruise Drugs Case, according to the Special Enquiry Team (SET) report.

The CBI also filed an FIR against Wankhede and his two former juniors of NCB Mumbai zone.

According to the report, Wankhede and his juniors violated the rules while dealing with the drug bust case. There is information that the names of Shah Rukh Khans son Aryan Khan and his friend Arbaaz Merchant were added to the list of accused in the last minute, while dropping the names of some other suspects were dropped from the case.

Several witnesses interrogated by the SET informed the sleuths that their valuables as well as those of other suspects were taken away by NCB officers without documentation.

The report also mentioned that after examining the panchnama and other documents, it found that neither were the phones of the suspects seized, nor was there a separate seizure memo. There were no formal documents made for seizure of the phones. In the absence of a seizure memo, the seized phones from the suspects cannot be the vital evidence.

It was also found that despite one of the accused Arbaaz Merchant revealing the name of one Siddarth Shah as the supplier of charas to him, the NCB officer let him walk free and this can make things complicated for Wankhede.

The investigation agency examined Shah and he was allowed to walk free, even when the SET found that his phone chats on both WhatsApp and Telegram clearly indicated that he was consuming drugs.

The SET report also raised doubts about Wankhedes foreign trips and expenditure on his luxury watches.

In five years, from 2017 to 2021, Wankhede made six private foreign visits with his family to countries like UK, Ireland, Portugal, South Africa and Maldives. His foreign trips spanned over 55 days of foreign stay with a declared amount of only Rs 8.75 lakh, which is barely enough to cover the cost of air travel.

Also, the report mentioned that Wankhede and his friend Viral Jamaluddin stayed in Taj Exotica Maldives Beach suits with their families and maid in July 2021 on credit basis/cash payment (about Rs 7.5 lakh for Wankhedes family). They paid the amount to the hotel only on December 18, 2021 through Jamaluddins credit card when the SET began the enquiry.

The SET has also questioned Wankhedes purchase of a luxurious Rolex Gold watch worth Rs 22,05,000 for only Rs 17,40,000 on credit from Jamaluddin.

The investigation team has also raised several questions on Wankhedes Mumbai and Washim properties and also analysed the IT return documents of the ex-NCB zonal director and his wife.

Based on this report, the CBI had filed an FIR against Wankhede and he was summoned for questioning but he approached the Delhi High Court obtained interim relief from any coercive action by the agency.

However, the CBI raised a preliminary objection regarding jurisdiction before the Delhi High Court and said that even though it had registered the case in Delhi, everything has been forwarded to Mumbai and, therefore, Wankhede should have approached the appropriate forum in Mumbai.

Wankhede has also sought the Bombay High Court to direct for quashing the CBI FIR against him.
Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao address the BRS Maharashtra cadre meeting at Nanded. Photo: By Arrangement

Hyderabad: BRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Friday promised to implement the Telangana model of welfare schemes and development programmes in Maharashtra if elected to power in that state in the elections scheduled for October 2024.

Rao announced a one-month action plan to expand the BRS and spread its ideology in Maharashtra from the village level upwards by forming nine committees in every village for the farmers, SCs, STs, OBCs, women, youth and students.

He was speaking at a two-day workshop of the BRS Maharashtra unit in Nanded that is intended to train the party functionaries drawn from all 288 Assembly constituencies in Maharashtra. He distributed tablet computer for party functionaries for undertaking online membership drives in Maharashtra and distributed the party's publicity material.

"The BRS is expanding its activities in Maharashtra. We have held three public meetings, which received overwhelming response. We are soon going to start BRS permanent offices in Nanded, Aurangabad, Pune and Mumbai," Rao said.

"The BRS was formed to bring about a qualitative change. The people of Maharashtra have an opportunity to bring about this change by taking the lead," Rao said.

He asked party functionaries to cover five villages every day for the next 30 days, meet people, explain the Telangana model, seek their support for BRS and undertake a membership drive.

He instructed them to form village committees apart from ward and division committees in towns and cities. Based on population, these members can be increased to 11, 15 and a maximum of 24. Each village, ward and division should have nine committees each for women, farmers, youth, OBCS, SCs, STs, youth and students, he stated.

Rao said that Telangana was the only state to extend Rs. 10,000 per acre per year to every farmer, irrespective of the extent of land reach owns under Rythu Bandhu scheme, providing Rs. 5 lakh free insurance coverage to every farmer, purchasing food grains for MSP in both kharif and rabi seasons and the amount credited in bank accounts of farmers directly within five days.

"When all these are possible in Telangana, why not in Maharashtra? If BRS comes to power here, all these schemes will become a reality," Rao said.
Telugu Desam founder and former AP chief minister N.T. Rama Rao. (File image)

HYDERABAD: The vacation court of Telangana High Court, headed by Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili, on Thursday directed the state government not to install the statute of the late N.T. Rama Rao at Lakkaram lake in Khammam town till further orders.

The judge was dealing with a lunch motion writ petition filed by Bharata Yadava Samithi, All India Yadava Samithi, Adibatla Srikala Peetham, Hyderabad and others challenging the decision of the state government in giving permission to the N.T. Rama Rao Vigraha Erpatu committee to install the statue which is shown depicting Lord Krishna.

Transport minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar is the coordinator of the committee, which was given the go-ahead by the district collector and the municipal commissioner.

During the course of arguments, the judge said "the state cannot erect or install statues of late NTR in Lakkaram lake (which is a tourism spot)."

Apart from the lunch motion, another writ petition was also listed before Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili with a similar plea.

This statue was supposed to be unveiled on May 28, marking the birth centenary of the former chief minister.

Counsel for the petitioners contended that the permission to install the NTR statue depicting Lord Krishna in Khammam is against the Supreme Court orders and the circular dated 18-12-2016 issued by the Telangana government, which prohibits installation of statues at public places.

The petitioners have no objections to erecting statues of NTR but not ones where he is depicted as Lord Krishna as it hurts religious sentiments of Hindus, particularly the Yadava community, contended the petitioners.
Rana was convicted in Chicago in 2011 of providing material support to the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which planned the Mumbai terror attack and for supporting a never-carried-out plot to attack a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed in 2005. Twitter

Washington: A US court has approved the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian businessman of Pakistani descent, to India where he is sought for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Rana was arrested in the US on an extradition request by India for his role in these attacks in which 10 Pakistani terrorists laid a more than 60-hour siege, attacking and killing over 160 people, including six Americans, at iconic and vital locations of Mumbai.

The US court consented to the Indian request, through the US Government for his extradition.

"The Court has reviewed and considered all of the documents submitted in support of and in opposition to the Request and has considered the arguments presented at the hearing," US Magistrate Judge of the US District Court of California, Judge Jacqueline Chooljian, said in a 48-page court order dated May 16, which was released Wednesday.

"Based on such review and consideration and for the reasons discussed herein, the Court makes the findings set forth below and certifies to the Secretary of State of the United States the extraditability of Rana on the charged offenses that are the subject of the Request," the Judge wrote in the order.

Tahawwur Rana has been accused by the Indian government of participating in the planning and execution of the Lashkar terrorist attacks in Mumbai by collaborating with his childhood buddy David Coleman Headley, also known as "Daood Gilani," and others.

According to the judge, India has accused Rana of the following offences and issued an arrest warrant, on which, now, the US is also proceeding: (a) conspiracy to wage war, to commit murder, to commit forgery for the purpose of cheating, to use as genuine a forged document or electronic record, and to commit a terrorist act (b) waging war, (d) murder, (e) committing a terrorist act and (f) conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.

Rana was convicted in Chicago in 2011 of providing material support to the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which planned the Mumbai terror attack and for supporting a never-carried-out plot to attack a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed in 2005.

He was accused of allowing David Coleman Headley to open a branch of his Chicago-based immigration law business in Mumbai as a cover story and travel as a representative of the company in Denmark.

On the other hand, the extradition was contested by Rana's lawyer. India and the United States have an extradition agreement in effect. The judge determined that Tahawwur Rana's extradition takes place under the treaty's jurisdiction.

The judge ruled that there is sufficient competent evidence to establish reasonable cause that Rana is the person accused in India. The Court concluded that Rana is extraditable for the offenses for which extradition has been requested and on which the United States is proceeding.

"It is therefore ordered that Tahawwur Hussain Rana be and remain committed to the custody of the United States Marshal pending a final decision on extradition and surrender by the Secretary of State to India for trial of the offences as to which extradition has been granted pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, section 3186 and the Treaty," the Judge ruled.

Mumbai had come to a standstill on November 26, 2008, when 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists who entered the city via sea route from Pakistan carried out a series of coordinated shootings and bombings that injured over 300 and claimed the lives of 166 people in India's financial capital.

The attacks took place at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station, Cama Hospital, Nariman House business and residential complex, Leopold Cafe, Taj Hotel and Tower and the Oberoi-Trident Hotel.
By Rachel Metz

OpenAI Inc. is bringing its ChatGPT generative AI tool to smartphones for the first time, releasing an iPhone version on Thursday and promising a service for Android devices in the future.

The software, which is free, is now available in the US for iOS devices through Apple Inc.s App Store. With it, users can type questions and receive responses from the chatbot.

It also includes voice recognition so users will be able to speak their queries, according to a Thursday blog post from the Palo Alto, California-based startup.

The bot will only respond in writing, however. The app also syncs text-based conversations across various devices.

Alsdo Read: Apple restricts use of OpenAI's ChatGPT for employees

Users who pay for OpenAIs ChatGPT Plus subscription can also use its most powerful large language model, GPT-4, via the app, the company said. OpenAI plans to offer its app in more countries in the coming weeks and expects to roll out the Android version soon.

Since its release on the web late last year, millions of people have experimented with ChatGPT and other bots  such as Bard, created by Alphabet Inc.s Google.

This new wave of chatbots are built atop LLMs, the AI models trained on huge swaths of internet data so that they can predict and generate humanlike responses to user prompts.

ChatGPT and its ilk are already being harnessed for everything from writing birthday greetings to coding, but they are also prone to exhibiting biases and fabricating believable fiction.

In an ironic twist, Apple is restricting internal use of ChatGPT and other AI tools just as the new app comes out. The company is concerned that the software could be used to release confidential data, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a document.

Apple joins Samsung Electronics Co. and other corporate giants in banning employee use of the tools.

For consumers, the release of an iOS app may put ChatGPT at many more peoples fingertips than the web-based version of the chatbot. It could also subject OpenAI more directly to consumer scrutiny via reviews that users can post in the App Store for others to see.

Were eager to see how you use the app, the company said in its blog post. As we gather user feedback, were committed to continuous feature and safety improvements for ChatGPT.

Users will need the premium version to get faster response times, as well as previews of new features.
An anti-terrorism court here on Friday approved pre-arrest bail for Imran Khan in three cases filed against Pakistan's former prime minister after his arrest on May 9.

While granting him bail till June 2, the Lahore anti-terrorism court (ATC) court also directed the 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief to become a part of the investigation.

One of the cases registered against Khan pertains to the attack on Corps Commander House in Lahore.

Also Read  Punjab police to send delegation to search Imrans home in Lahore: Minister

Addressing reporters at the ATC courtroom, Khan said he has never seen such a crackdown in the last 35 years.

It seems as if all civil liberties and all fundamental rights are finished [] only the courts are protecting human rights now, he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

Khan, however, asserted that he would fight till the last ball.

Also Read  Imran Khan accuses govt of trying to score 'technical knockout' against him and eliminate his party

The PTI chief appeared in court on Friday after receiving permission for his vehicle to enter the ATC premises.

The arrest of Khan on May 9 by the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers at the IHC premises triggered unrest in Pakistan. For the first time in Pakistan's history, the protesters stormed the army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and also torched a corps commander's house in Lahore.

Police put the death toll in violent clashes to 10 while Khan's party claims 40 of its workers lost their lives in the firing by security personnel.

On Monday the top military brass vowed to bring the arsonists, who attacked the civil and military installations, to justice through trial under relevant laws of the country, including the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secrets Act.

Khan was ousted from power in April last year after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China and Afghanistan.
Leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies are generally united in voicing concern about China. The question is how to translate that worry into action.

Over the past two years, President Joe Biden's administration has sought to reframe the relationship with Beijing and build support among like-minded nations for a strong response to what officials in Washington and some other Western democracies say is "economic coercion".

But the G7 also needs to cooperate with China on broader global issues such as climate change, North Korea, the war in Ukraine and the debt problems of a growing number of developing economies. And all the G-7 countries have a big stake in strong ties with the world's second-largest economy.

At a summit this week in Hiroshima, US officials say they expect leaders of the G-7 to jointly endorse a unified strategy on "economic coercion", which they define as economic retaliation for policies deemed contrary to another country's interests, in this case, China's.

Advisers to Biden have been pushing for this approach since he took office in early 2021. His administration has taken clear actions against China in restricting trade and investment in the name of national security, despite the economic spillovers.

Also Read | New US sanctions at G7 target Russian 'war machine'

The issue is retaliation against "countries that take actions that China's not happy with from a geopolitical perspective. That's a matter that should be of concern to all of us," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said last week at G-7 finance meetings in Niigata, Japan.

"We would like to work jointly with our partners and are continuing our conversations about that," Yellen said. Efforts to safeguard economic security would be most effective, she said, with coordinated action, though the US has no interest in breaking up economically with China.

Meanwhile, the European Union also has moved to enact its own platform for dealing with "economic coercion", an effort spurred by actions taken by President Donald Trump's "America First" moves against fellow G-7 members.

"While we all have our independent relationships with China, I'm confident that the G-7 leaders will convene on a set of very core shared principles," EU President Ursula von der Leyen said in a news conference Monday.

Echoing similar comments by Yellen and other US officials, she said the EU's strategy is aimed at "derisking, not decoupling."

Yellen says US limits on trade with and investment in China, which are still being worked out, would be "narrowly scoped" and targeted to protect technologies with national security implications.

In October, the Commerce Department banned exports of advanced computer chips and equipment to China out of concern that Chinese companies and the government were using the technology for military purposes. It also got the Netherlands and Japan to agree with its export controls, undermining one of President Xi Jinping's goals of making the Chinese economy dominant in key technologies.

The Treasury Department can impose sanctions on threats tied to cybersecurity and China's military. The US government also reviews Chinese investments into the US and is considering restrictions to US investments in China.

But the US imported nearly $537 billion worth of goods last year from China and ran a $383 billion goods deficit, according to the US Census Bureau. That creates a codependence  with Chinese companies reliant on US customers and America in need of products from China.

US businesses have a cumulative investment in China of nearly $120 billion. European nations  especially Germany, the United Kingdom, Netherlands and France  have put more than $140 billion into China businesses over the past 20 years, according to EU figures.

During the pandemic, disruptions to supplies of all sorts of products, from computer chips and window frames to baby formula to work boots, drove home the extent to which the world depends on trade with China to stock shelves and keep the world clothed, fed and housed.

Adding to the perceived risks, Chinese police recently raided the offices of consulting companies Bain and Co. and the Mintz Group. Beijing also launched a national security review of the US chip maker Micron.

"We're watching China employ policy tools and practices like military-civil fusion, economic coercion, and extreme forms of digital protectionism," said Suzanne Clark, CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce. "These policies and practices in pursuit of China's absolute security  together with massive state subsidies, unfair commercial practices, and human rights abuses  have made the world less secure."

The differences with China range well beyond trade and technology.

China's leaders have challenged the Western-dominated "international order" and "rule of law" with threats to take the island democracy of Taiwan by force and expanding the Chinese military presence in the South China Sea.

Beijing demands that businesses and governments alike avoid violating its stance in areas that it deems vital to its own security interests, while the US and other G-7 nations must answer to international norms on human rights and rule of law.

The question is how far Washington and other G-7 nations might go and what measures might tip the balance beyond what China will accept.

Beijing's outraged response to accusations of economic coercion suggests it will be difficult to separate G-7 financial and trade interests from military and diplomatic ties.

During the G-7's finance-related talks, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, slammed the US and said it was the chief culprit. On Tuesday, Wang took aim at Japan, saying that as host of the G-7 summit, Japan was "addicted to provoking and creating camp confrontations, which harms regional interests."

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the US and its allies sought to weave the global economy more tightly, expecting that shared financial interests could limit the risk of conflict.

Yet greater trade with China hollowed out manufacturing communities in the US  a factor helping to destabilize American politics. And China has evolved in ways US leaders had not anticipated. Xi, the country's most powerful leader since the 1960s, has vastly expanded the ruling Communist Party's powers to include social controls and suppression of dissent or criticism, leveraging the latest technology to create the first truly modern surveillance state.

"Economic integration didn't stop China from expanding its military ambitions in the region, or stop Russia from invading its democratic neighbours," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a recent speech. "Neither country had become more responsible or cooperative."

Biden's election as president and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have given the G-7 a renewed impetus. At the same time, The biggest question for the G7 leaders gathering in Hiroshima is what vision of leadership they want to project, said a recent analysis by the International Crisis Group.
Karnataka Politics highlights: BJP should think why they lost the election, says Congress leader Priyank Kharge
HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF (NYSEARCA:EWL  Get Rating) by 1,325.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 149,733 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after purchasing an additional 139,230 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.53% of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF worth $6,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,814 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF by 66.6% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,016 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 8,306 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 11,880 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 17,827 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $875,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period.

Get iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF alerts:

iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF Stock Performance

iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF stock opened at $47.87 on Friday. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $46.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.26. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.73. iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF has a 1 year low of $36.01 and a 1 year high of $48.94.

iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF Profile

iShares MSCI Switzerland Capped ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI Switzerland Capped Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI Switzerland 25/50 Index (the Index).

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY  Get Rating) by 35.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 279,957 shares of the financial services providers stock after acquiring an additional 73,917 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.s holdings in KeyCorp were worth $4,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Glassman Wealth Services raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 2,103 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 88,765 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,422,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund now owns 132,557 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,309,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 60,300 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pflug Koory LLC raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 24,050 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.11% of the companys stock.

Get KeyCorp alerts:

Insider Activity at KeyCorp

In related news, insider Victor B. Alexander acquired 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.83 per share, for a total transaction of $100,555.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 117,196 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,386,428.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Victor B. Alexander acquired 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.83 per share, for a total transaction of $100,555.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 117,196 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,386,428.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Ann M. Gillis acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.95 per share, with a total value of $25,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 42,961 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $556,344.95. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 87,700 shares of company stock worth $883,407 over the last ninety days. 0.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KeyCorp Price Performance

Shares of KEY stock opened at $10.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.24. KeyCorp has a fifty-two week low of $8.53 and a fifty-two week high of $20.30. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $11.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.44. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 15.63% and a net margin of 19.09%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that KeyCorp will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 26th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.16%. KeyCorps dividend payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KEY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on KeyCorp from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on KeyCorp from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 21st. TheStreet cut KeyCorp from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Monday, May 1st. Piper Sandler raised KeyCorp from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $18.50 to $16.50 in a report on Friday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on KeyCorp from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KeyCorp currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $16.55.

KeyCorp Company Profile

(Get Rating)

KeyCorp is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. It provides a range of retail and commercial banking, commercial leasing, investment management, consumer finance, student loan refinancing, commercial mortgage servicing and special servicing, and investment banking products and services to individual, corporate, and institutional clients.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for KeyCorp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for KeyCorp and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
What has been described as "racist and fascist" graffiti has been removed from walls in Derry's Bogside.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Republican group, Saoradh, said it had removed the "hate filled messages".

They added: "While we have seen a sharp increase in right wing propaganda spewed across the country, Derry has somewhat been void of it, until now. Upon becoming aware of the vile graffiti Saoradh immediately set about removing it.

"As Saoradh members arrived to cover the racist slogans, we were joined by other antifascist activists including members of Lasair Dhearg.

"Racism and Fascism will not be tolerated in Derry, or any part of Ireland, and will be opposed by Republicans.

"Saoradh are now aware of the identity of the individual involved, and will seek to put an end to this type of racist behaviour. As Republicans and followers of the teachings of Connolly, Saoradh are proud to be Anti-Fascist. The Republic of 1916 guaranteed civil liberties, equal rights and equal opportunities to all of its citizens. The ideology being spouted by the various fascist individuals and groupings across Ireland is the antithesis of the Republic that so many of our people died for."
Hundreds of people have lost their lives since deadly clashes erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.

Khalid  who asked only to be identified by his first name for security reasons - has lived in Derry for the past 20 months. Originally from Darfur in Sudan, he is seeking asylum in Northern Ireland after fleeing his home due to safety concerns.

His wife and daughter recently managed to get out of the capital Khartoum where gun battles and air strikes have left nearly 700,000 civilians displaced. They are now safely in Egypt but many of Khalids relatives, including his elderly parents, remain at risk.

In his old life Khalid worked as a lecturer in Sudan where things were good and pleasant. But the North West Migrants Forum member said he now wakes up every morning terrified that something awful may have happened to his loved ones.

Khartoum is a very nice city and I had a good job there. Sudan itself is a beautiful country and the Sudanese people are a very distinctive people, a very kind people, he said.

The clashes that erupted in April are between the two main factions of Sudans military regime. The Sudanese armed forces are broadly loyal to Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the countrys de facto ruler, while the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) follow Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.

Caught in the middle of the increasingly bloody conflict are ordinary families like Khalids.

A house moments after it was struck by air artillery.

It is a street war, it is horrible. My wife told me that there are dead bodies in the street, awful scenes.

The situation in the whole of Sudan is terrible but in Khartoum particularly it is so dangerous. There is no guarantee for safety or life because there are literally stray bullets coming through windows and doors. There is also bombardment from the air and so many people have been killed because of that.

On Wednesday evening Khalid received the news he had been longing for  that his wife and daughter had reached Cairo. But with no one there to look after them, their immediate future remains deeply uncertain. Ultimately he would like to find them passage to the UK and to Derry.

They are now safe because they are away from the battle. They have no one in Egypt waiting to receive them but at least they are in another country, a safe country.

My daughter is literally on the phone crying to me, asking when can we come to you. I tell her to be patient and one day it will happen. I have no idea when but I hope it is as soon as possible.

Khalid is kept up to date on the situation in his home country via the internet and through the many WhatsApp messages he receives from friends.

Seeing Sudan being torn apart is heartbreaking, he added.

I worry so much and every day I die inside so many times thinking about what is happening in my country. I think of my family all the time and I pray that they can come here.

In such a short space of time Khartoum has been destroyed because they are using such heavy artillery. They are using these weapons in residential areas so there is only ever going to be one outcome.

It is just despair and I really dont know we can do, it is a very scary time.

Khalid recently spent time in Belfast with Sudanese friends who are also feeling the strain as the situation back home continues to deteriorate.

I knew that if I stayed here in Derry, I would collapse. That is how bad it is. I am constantly thinking of my family, my mum and dad, all my relatives.

As to what happens next, he is pleading with the UK Government for help.

Locals grapple with bricks and concrete following another devastating blast in Khartoum.

I would be very grateful if the Government could find a safe pathway for my small family, to bring them here as soon as possible. I would be so grateful.

There is nothing left in Khartoum, you cant imagine it. There are no hospitals, the schools are gone, the streets, the bridges, they have destroyed everything. It is a terrible war and I dont think it will end soon.

You have two generals and each wants to conquer the other. It is the innocent citizens who are paying the price and it breaks my heart to see what is happening.
Connected Healths youngest director Rebecca Vogel is a double finalist in the 2023 NI Women in Tech awards in recognition of her drive to revolutionise home care.

The 29 year-old Director of Technology and Special Projects from Limavady is blazing a trail in bringing innovation to the homecare sector.

She leads Connected Healths Technology Enabled Care division, which covers everything from medication dispensing robots, to virtual care calling and activity monitoring wearables. The Co Derry woman also leads the companys IT/Telecoms team, which provides tech support to almost 2,000 staff across Connected Healths all-Ireland operations.

Rebecca is continuously moving the needle in terms of looking at the key pain points in the sector and exploring technological solutions, through Connected Healths in-house Living Lab which rigorously assesses emerging techs suitability for the sector. Under her leadership, the Living Lab has brought several key innovations to home care in recent years, including the Pacsana smartwatch movement monitor; Yourmeds, a smart medication management system; and Feebris, home health assessment kit.

Rebecca has also played a leading role in creating Europes first Care Configurator as part of Connected Health 2.0, a premium private care service. Launched in May 2022, this innovative solution allows clients and their families to create bespoke care packages from an online menu of physical, virtual and digital care to facilitate clients remaining healthy, happy and safe in their homes.

In recognition of her efforts, Women in Business has selected Rebecca as finalist in the Digital Transformation Leader of the Year while her team has been shortlisted in the Tech Team of the Year as part of the NI Women in Tech Awards 2023.

Connected Health CEO, Douglas Adams, said: Rebecca is truly at the forefront of innovation, testing cutting-edge solutions for the fast-paced social care scene and is very deserving of this recognition. She brings her passion for technology to life by advocating for technology and digital solutions that can support those receiving care at home in ways theyd never thought possible.

Her work is also relieving capacity in a pressurised and overwhelmed healthcare sector with an ageing population, where people are both able to and want to remain living independently at home, rather than in a hospital setting.

He added: Rebecca is incredibly inspiring to all who work at Connected Health, being a highly innovative woman in tech and the youngest director in the company. Rebecca promotes a supportive culture within the business through career development, including mentorship.
Ulster Universitys Derry campus hosted a conference exploring physical activity in schools with over 60 delegates, including teachers, researchers, physical activity co-ordinators as well as commissioners, from north and south of the border.

The event included an opening address from the Chief Executive of the Western Health and Social Care Trust, Neil Guckian, and an engaging panel discussion, chaired by Ulster Universitys Professor Marie Murphy, with representatives from the Public Health Agency, Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), local schools and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust.

Delegates also had an opportunity to gain insight into the soon-to-be-published findings of the latest phase of the Ulster University-led, cross-border Walking in Schools (WISH) study.

This study, involving 18 schools and 589 girls, evaluated the effectiveness of a school-based walking intervention aimed at improving levels of physical activity among adolescent girls.

The WISH Study is a partnership between Ulster University, Atlantic Technological University (ATU), University of Bristol and University of Wolverhampton, and has been funded by the Cross-border Healthcare Intervention Trials in Ireland Network (CHITIN).

Other research presented at the conference included Sport Ireland and Northern Irelands Childrens Sport Participation and Physical Activity Study (CSPPA) 2018, Ulster Universitys Walk Buds Study, and EUMOVE, an Erasmus+ study aiming to design and implement a comprehensive set of strategies and resources to enable the educational community to promote healthy lifestyles among children and adolescents.

Two ongoing intervention studies that have been successful in other regions and have been adapted for the Northern Ireland context, Y-PATH and C-SLAMM, were also presented.

Dr Maria OKane, Research Fellow and WISH Trial Manager at Ulster University said: We were delighted to bring together academics, educators, physical activity practitioners and research commissioners from both sides of the border to the Walled City to discuss physical activity in schools and how we can influence change as both researchers and educators.

As we look to publish the findings of the Ulster University-led WISH study this summer, this event was a great way to bring together physical activity experts to build and strengthen existing collaborations and explore ways that together we can improve physical activity levels among our young people.

Panel members from the Physical activity in schools, how can we influence change as researchers and educators? Event at the Derry Campus. Left to right: Clare Drummy, Physical Activity Lead, Southern Health and Social Care Trust; Colette Brolly, Health and Social Wellbeing Improvement Manager, Public Health Agency; Prof Marie Murphy, Professor of Exercise and Health at Ulster University and Co-Principal. Investigator of the WISH Study; Rosie Campbell, Head of PE Department, Dominican College, Fortwilliam; Peter Davidson, Education Manager for Physical Education, CCEA.

Professor Marie Murphy, Professor of Exercise and Health at Ulster University, and Co-Principal Investigator of the WISH Study, said: This event was an excellent opportunity to showcase ongoing school-based physical activity research at Ulster University, particularly as many of the physical activity habits we create during our school years are carried through to adulthood.

"It is estimated that only 10% of post-primary school pupils meet physical activity guidelines so it is important that we create innovative physical activity interventions for our young people, especially as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our Derry campus proved to be the perfect setting for the event, and we were able to close the event with an enjoyable walk across the Peace Bridge for delegates. Our thanks to the Research Impact Fund (UU), CHITIN Programme and Erasmus+ who provided funding to help us host the event.
Two men have been remanded in custody at Derry Magistrate's Court today charged in connection with drugs offences a police officer said were part of an investigation 'linked to the INLA in the Derry area.'

Steven Mooney (38) of Forest Park in Derry appeared charged with possessing cannabis with intent to supply, possessing cannabis, two counts of possessing criminal property and one charge of transferring criminal property on May 17.

Yin Deng Wu (36) from London is charged with possessing cannabis with intent to supply and possessing the drugs on May 17 as well as one charge of possessing criminal property.

A police officer connected the accused to the charges and opposed bail.

He told the court that police were involved in 'a proactive investigation linked to the INLA'.

The court heard that police observed what they believed to be a drugs handover by two males.

They stopped Mooney and the officer said he had 4 kgs of cannabis on him.

Wu was found to have a carrier bag with more than 17,000 in cash.

The officer said that there was video footage of the incident.

The court heard that Mooney was stopped in March driving a car and more than 28,000 was found in the vehicle.

He told police that the money was 'legitimate' but the officer said police believed it to be criminal proceeds.

The court heard that police seized a mobile phone from a vehicle linked to Mooney and were able to access the phone and claim there was evidence of drug activity.

The officer said there was a 'serious risk' of re-offending and said he believed this was the work of 'an organised crime gang linked to drug supply for the INLA.'

Defence counsel Eoghan Devlin for Mooney asked had there been any allegation put to his client regarding the INLA.

The police officer said he was not saying this man was a member of that organisation but there were' significant links to the INLA. '

Defence solicitor Seamus Quigley for Wu said there would be no bail application for his client as there was no suitable address.

He asked was his client here illegally and was told he was.

District Judge Barney McElholm said that it appeared both men were caught 'red-handed'.

He refused bail for Mooney and remanded both in custody to appear again on June 8.
The budget for Northern Ireland has enough money to provide all statutory services, and more, the Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris has said.

Several departments have said they do not have the remit to make the level of cuts required as some changes would require alterations to legislation.

The Department of Health said it is facing a shortfall of 470 million while the Department of Infrastructure said its budget pressures may result in streetlights being turned off and roads not being gritted in winter.

The Department for Communities also said it is facing a 111.2 million resource funding gap, while the Education Authority anticipates a funding gap of over 200 million.

In the absence of a Stormont Executive, the budget for Northern Ireland was set by Mr Heaton-Harris and cuts will be decided by permanent secretaries.

The Executive has not been operational for more than a year due to the DUPs ongoing boycott in protest against post-Brexit trading agreements.

Mr Heaton-Harris said the budget was adequate to cover services in Northern Ireland.

Theres enough money for all the statutory services, and a lot more to be provided, he told PA news agency.

Mr Heaton-Harris was speaking at Crewe United FC in Lisburn, one of the clubs that has received a share of 600,000 from the Governments grassroots facilities investment fund.

The UK government has also given the best part of 42.2 billion to Northern Ireland in its block grant, so theres a big sum of money thats invested in Northern Ireland services, he said.

What Northern Ireland actually needs is its executive up and running, the Assembly sitting, so decisions about the things you mentioned, get taken by locally elected politicians, elected by the people of Northern Ireland taking decisions on their behalf.

Mr Heaton-Harris reiterated that the Government did not want civil servants to be making decisions about where cuts should be made.

I have plenty of concerns about the budget itself and how money is being spent, he said.

I absolutely do not want the civil servants to be making decisions about how money is spent in Northern Ireland, which is why everything the UK government is doing is to try and make sure we get an executive back up and running so local people make decisions for local people.

UUP leader Doug Beattie said the budget was unworkable.

It is an unworkable budget, people are not going to be able to adhere to it, he said.

Civil servants will not be able to make the decisions which need to be made, to make the savings.

It is a budget that will not work.

I disagree that we couldnt do more. I sat with the other party leaders and the Secretary of State and we talked about the transformation of our services.

The Secretary of State said to us, come back to me with a plan and I will look at resourcing.

But if we dont have an executive we cant do the planning.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said that the idea that the budget could not be changed was a bluff.

I think its a bluff, I think if the assembly gets back up and running, therell be more money, he said.

This is a tactic by the British government. Its a very cruel tactic because its actually harming the most vulnerable in our society and I think its a very strange way of trying to encourage people back into government.

But the reality is, the DUP, if they want to deal with these issues, should be back in government next week and allow us to try and sort some of this out, were slashing services to the most vulnerable right across our society,

Thats absolutely morally wrong, but those of us who are elected here should be getting into government and doing something about it.
Forget Apple AR glasses, Sightful, a new Israeli company has launched Spacetop, the worlds first augmented reality laptop. It is in an early access program and the company considers this as a first step towards reinventing the laptop experience. But, it is packing a 3+ years old chipset meant for Android smartphones. So, the question is whether its powerful enough to be the future of computing. Lets check out its full specs and features to get an idea about the same.

Spacetop specifications

Spacetop comes with a 13-16 display (1080p resolution per eye) and a 100-inch canvas. Canvas is what the brand calls its virtual work environment for AR projection. You get to see the AR elements through a pair of AR glasses.

Above the panel, there is a 5MP webcam with an FHD+ resolution.

Beneath the display, there is a full-size keyboard and touchpad combo.

The software onboard is called Spacetop OS. This is laid on top of Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, and a battery rated to run for 5+ hours.

You get 2x USB-C (PD and DisplayPort-supported) ports which can be used for charging. The laptop is 5G compatible and you also get Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 for wireless connectivity.

The machine weighs 1.5 kg and its dimensions are 1.57x10.47x9.8.

Thats about it with the available spec details of the device.

Now, from the looks of it, we are a bit sceptical about whether this assortment of specs is powerful enough to run cutting-edge tech like an AR laptop. But, we can only know for sure when we use it.

For now, lets see how it works.

How Spacetop works

You boot the laptop and wear AR glasses. The AR goggles also support prescription lenses. So, you can get custom AR glasses made for you from the brand.

Next up, the Spacetop OS appears as a projection in the air.

You interact and control the AR elements on the virtual screen (pinned on the air) with a keyboard and touchpad. The virtual screen doesnt move with you but thanks to the camera tracking your head movements, you get to see different parts of this Canvas with slight movements of your head. Likewise, the AR environment can zoom in and out based on your head movements.

The goggles also project sound for immersion and this will be audible to the wearer only.

Thats the basic lowdown of how the thing works.
Have you been looking for an opportunity to switch from your Android smartphone to the iOS? Then this is probably the best time to do so. The price of the iPhone 12 significantly decreased following the conclusion of online store sales.

On Amazon and Flipkart, the iPhone 12 smartphone, which supports 5G and has practically all of the updated features, is available for up to 24,000 less. Apart from iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini too is on sale.

If you have been waiting to upgrade in order to purchase an Apple smartphone, learn more information about the current promotion to avail the best price for yourself. The 64 GB version of the iPhone 12 is currently available on Flipkart for 54,999, an 8 percent discount from its original selling price of 59,900. In order to make the purchase attractive, you can club card discounts and exchange offers.

Also read: From iPhone to MacBook Air: Croma Apple Days has the best deals on Apple products

Buyers can receive up to a 20,000 discount, for instance, when they trade in their old cell phones for an iPhone 12. The model and state of the smartphone will determine the precise amount of the discount.

Additionally, consumers who use the Flipkart Axis Bank Card to purchase an iPhone 12 can receive an extra 5% cashback. Additionally, customers can receive a 10% immediate discount on HDFC Credit Card Non-EMI transactions up to 2000.

At the moment, the 64GB model of the iPhone 12 is available on Amazon for  56,900, which is a 10% discount from the original selling price. To make the purchase more appealing you can merge the bank offers with the exchange offer for your cell phone.

Also read: This tiny AirPods Pro 2 leather case costs 77,000, as much as iPad Pro!

The exchange of old devices for the iPhone 12 will result in the buyers receiving a discount of up to 18,500. But of course this completely depends on the condition of the smartphone, accordingly the discount will vary. Amazon does not, however, have a card offer. When the discounts are combined, it will only cost 35,850 to get an iPhone 12.
OnePlus 10R could be bought at its lowest price ever with a 10% deal discount, a 4000 coupon discount, bank discounts, and more. Even if you dont consider the bank discount, you can grab it for 30,999. This is still close to 9000 flat off of its original price. So if you use select bank cards, the price could go even lower, and you could grab it for about 29,499. Lets break down the calculation.

OnePlus 10R sale price, offers and the whole breakup

OnePlus 10Rs original price is 38,999 for the base 8+128GB model on Amazon India. However, currently, it is available at 34,999 after a 10% deal discount.

What makes this more exciting is the 4000 coupon discount. You will see the checkbox to apply the coupon below the main price graphic. Whence you check the box, youll see this text in green colour: 4000 voucher applied to one item per order at checkout.

So, now the OnePlus 10R price is 30,999. This is still a greatly discounted pricing. However, if you want to pay even less, read on.

If you buy the OnePlus 10R using the HDFC Bank Credit/Debit Card EMI option, you can get up to 1500. Say you get the whole bank discount amount, the 10Rs price drops to 29,499. This is the lowest ever price for this phone. Before this, back in March, its price had fallen to 29,660.

As for what you are getting with the device, check out its repertoire below:

OnePlus 10R specs and features

OnePlus 10R packs a 6.7-inch 120Hz FHD+ AMOLED display, a 16MP selfie camera, a 50MP+8MP+2MP triplet on the back, a MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max chipset, a 5000mAh battery with 80W fast charging, and support for Android 13 with OxygenOS skin on top.

Check out the OnePlus 10R deal on Amazon.
Save my User ID and Password

Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site.

Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site.
Applied Materials reports revenue growth amid memory market challenges and surging demand outside China

Applied Materials has reported its financial results for the second quarter ended April 30, 2023. The company achieved solid revenue growth, with a 6% increase year over year, reaching US$6.63 billion.

On a GAAP basis, Applied Materials recorded a gross margin of 46.7%, generating US$1.91 billion in operating income, equivalent to 28.8% of net sales, down 1.5 points year over year. Earnings per share (EPS) on a GAAP basis stood at US$1.86, up 7% year over year.

Furthermore, Applied Materials demonstrated strong cash flow performance, generating US$2.29 billion in cash from operations during the second quarter. The company returned US$1.02 billion to shareholders through share repurchases totaling US$800 million and dividend payments amounting to US$219 million.

Due to the sluggish memory market and excessive inventory levels, however, chip manufacturers have reduced their equipment upgrades and new plant investments. As a result, the semiconductor material provider expects a 6% decline in revenue in the third quarter of fiscal 2023, with only US$6.15 billion remaining. This will mark the first negative growth in several quarters.

Applied Materials has observed that customer spending levels in the memory industry are the lowest in over 10 years. CEO Gary Dickerson stated that while there are indeed some challenges in the macroeconomic conditions, the demand for chips in automotive and industrial applications remains very strong. He emphasized that this demand is particularly helpful in offsetting the slowdown in spending on memory manufacturing equipment.

In addition, as Chinese manufacturers are restricted from acquiring the most advanced manufacturing equipment due to US export regulations. Dickerson observed that, encouraged by government policies, the demand for cutting-edge equipment is gaining momentum in the US, Europe, and Japan markets. He believes that in the future, the growth rate in these markets will surpass that of China.

Dickerson also estimated that global government support for the semiconductor industry amounts to around US$400 billion. He mentioned that as countries seek to establish highly flexible local production capacities to support the development of the industry's upstream and downstream sectors, it is evident that the supply chain is moving towards regionalization.
Inland Fisheries Ireland is urging anglers, and the general public in Louth, to report sightings of Pacific pink salmon in Irish rivers over the coming months.

In 2017, 2019 and 2021 this non-native fish species unexpectedly appeared in unprecedented numbers in multiple river systems in the southwest, west and northwest of Ireland.

As Pacific pink salmon predominantly have a two-year lifecycle, there is potential for the species to reappear in Irish rivers again this year and every second, so called odd, year thereafter.

Pacific pink salmon are blue-green to steel blue on the back, with silver sides and a white underbelly. It can be distinguished by several unique characteristics which are different to Atlantic salmon, notably:

Upper jaw typically extending beyond the eye

Males develop a pronounced humpback on entering freshwater

Large black oval spots on the tail

11-19 rays on the anal fin

Very small scales much smaller than a similarly-sized Atlantic Salmon

No dark spots on the gill cover.

Also known as humpback salmon, pink salmon are a migratory species, native to river systems in the northern Pacific Ocean and nearby regions of the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean.

There are also established populations in rivers in northern Norway and in the adjacent far northwest of Russia, originating from stocking programmes undertaken in this part of Russia since the 1950s until 2001.

Commenting on the issue Dr Michael Millane, Senior Research Officer at Inland Fisheries Ireland(IFI) said: The presence of large numbers of this non-native species potentially pose a competitive threat to the survival of our native species such as Atlantic salmon and sea trout, as well as estuarine and coastal marine fish species - and their associated ecosystems.

There is potential for the reappearance of pink salmon in Irish rivers again in 2023, and we are asking anglers and other water users to quickly contact us regarding any sightings. As these fish die after spawning, some dead specimens could also be encountered along Irish rivers.

Anglers, or the public, can report encounters with pink salmon to IFIs 24/7 phone number, 0818 34 74 24, or via info@fisheriesireland.ie. They are also asked to carry out the following actions:

Photograph the fish

Retain the salmon and dont put it back into the water (even in rivers only open for catch-and-release angling).

Record the date and location of capture, and the length/weight of the fish.

Tag the fish and present it to IFI staff, and a new tag will be issued to replace the tag used.

The nearest local IFI staff will arrange collection of the fish for further examination.
Eason says it is delighted to announce the winner of the Louth Spelling Bee competition is 12 year old Taidhg Malone from St Peters NS Dromiskin. He will now be going onto the Leinster final on 23 May.

Celebrating its tenth year, the Eason Spelling Bee provides a fun, educational outlet for school kids, encouraging them to expand their vocabulary and develop their confidence.

Group Head of Marketing at Eason, Brendan Corbett, said; At Eason, we cant quite believe that we are celebrating the 10th year of the Eason Spelling Bee. Its a tremendous achievement and a testament to the bright-sparks of the nation.

"Were incredibly proud to have created something that allows children to engage in an educational activity that develops their literacy, spelling, confidence and gives them so much enjoyment.

Above: Louth winner Taidhg Malone from St Peters NS Dromiskin

As well as the prestigious title of Eason Spelling Bee 2023 Champion, the top Bee will also take home a collection of books for their school library, worth 7,500 as well as a personal collection of books worth 500.

This year, over 500 schools nationwide will compete against each other in a bid to win the coveted prize. The Eason Spelling Bee team will be travelling around the country to host County Final Bees, and then progressing to a Provincial Bee contest.

The champions from these will then go head-to-head in the All-Ireland Final Bee, taking place in June 2023, with the lucky winner being crowned King or Queen Bee.

Keep up-to-date with all the 2023 Spelling Bee buzz on www.easons.com/spellingbee and @easons #EasonSpellingBee
Mark's Pharmacy, an independent pharmacy based in Co Louth, has been nominated in five categories at the 11th annual Irish Pharmacy Awards 2023, "dubbed the Oscars of Irish Pharmacy."

Shortlisted from a possible 2000 retail pharmacies across Ireland, it is the only pharmacy in the Ardee area to be nominated and one of few in County Louth and Meath. This is the second year in a row that Mark's Pharmacy has been nominated.

Marks Pharmacy is in the running for the Business Development (Independent) Award, Community Pharmacist of the Year, Point of Care Testing Pharmacy of the Year, Community Pharmacy Team of the Year, and Independent Community Pharmacy of the Year Awards.

The Irish Pharmacy Awards honours the extraordinary work done within the pharmaceutical community and the individuals who drive it. It acknowledges accomplishments in pharmacy practice, innovation, community service, education, and leadership.

The Awards represent a unique and high-profile opportunity to celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of Irelands pharmacy professionals.

The grand reveal of the winners will take place on Saturday, 27th May 2023, at the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road, Dublin.

Owner and Superintendent pharmacist, Mr Mark McPhillips, expressed his delight at the nominations:

"These nominations aren't just about Mark's Pharmacy; they're about our community. Each day we open our doors, we strive to make a difference, whether through a conversation, advice, or prescription. It's heartening to see that commitment recognised on a national level."

Mark says the pharmacy prides itself on delivering superior customer service and has been an integral part of the Ardee community for over 11 years.

He also says the pharmacy's nomination in five categories is a testament to its unwavering dedication to excellence and its commitment to the health and wellbeing of the community it serves.

Reflecting on the nominations he continued:

"Being nominated for one award would have been an honour, but five nominations are truly overwhelming. It affirms that our commitment to providing the best possible care and service to our community is making a real difference. This moment is a shared victory for our dedicated staff and loyal customers."

Through these nominations, he says the pharmacy has proven that independent pharmacies can compete with larger chains while maintaining a personalised, community-focused approach and that their goal remains to provide unrivalled service grounded in genuine care for the health and wellbeing of every customer that walks through their doors.

For more information about Mark's Pharmacy, visit www.ardeepharmacy.ie or call 0416856955.
Louth's Senator, Erin McGreehan, has called on the Government to consider a review of a compensation package for local farmers who had to cull their livestock as a result of the Foot and Mouth Disease in Louth in 2001.

Speaking in the Seanad, Senator McGreehan said she found the issue upsetting to speak about 22 years on and spoke of the unimaginable upset and trauma it caused for affected farmers on the Cooley Peninsula.

Senator McGreehan said, "farmers knew the cull had to happen. There was great cooperation given by farmers in the Cooley Peninsula at the time of the cull. There was a compensation package, but from very early on the Department will be very aware that the farmers affected were not satisfied with valuation.''

The Cooley senator explained that some farmers decided to take a legal challenge against the Department of Agriculture and financial packages have "been rightly paid out to those farmers". The local Fianna Fail senator spoke of a "most unsatisfactory two-tier compensation package, one for the farmers who took a legal challenge and another for those who didn't".

"The crux of the matter here is that each farming family made the same sacrifice, same losses, same trauma and they all cooperated with the cull. But some are now being treated differently.''

Senator McGreehan concluded by saying that those who lost everything, a way of life, livestock that took years, generations of hard work to create, must be adequately compensated for the losses they suffered.
Three Louth beaches have retained their Blue Flag status in this years judging.

Clogherhead, Port Lurganboy and Templetown beach secured blue flags while Seapoint Beach in Termonfeckin was awarded a Green Cost Award.

Nationally, a total of 159 awards, an increase of two awards compared to 2022, were presented by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Mr. Darragh OBrien, TD, at an awards ceremony held on the Shoreline Hotel, overlooking Donabate's Balcarrick Blue Flag beach in Co. Dublin. The event was organised in collaboration with Fingal County Council.

Speaking at the awards ceremony Minister OBrien said:

"This year celebrates the 20th anniversary of Clean Coasts and the Green Coast Awards and I am delighted to present a record-breaking 65 Green Coast Awards today. It also marks 36 years of the Blue Flag as an international programme and I am pleased to present 94 Blue Flags for the 2023 season.

"During its 36 years, the Blue Flag has become an internationally recognised symbol of high standards in water quality, environmental management, environmental education and safety. Todays high number of awards is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the local authorities, An Taisce, local coastal communities and other volunteers around the country.

For the 2023 season, 159 awards were conferred, marking a notable milestone as two additional sites received the prestigious award this year. During the ceremony, 84 beaches and ten marinas in Ireland received the Blue Flag, while 65 beaches were awarded the Green Coast Award.

In the 36th edition of the award in Ireland, 84 beaches and 10 marinas were awarded the prestigious Blue Flag this year. Talking about the event, Ms. Cathy Baxter, Director of the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce, said:

We were delighted to have been present on the beautiful sandy beach of Donabate, as we gathered to celebrate another remarkable year of recognition for all the sites that have been honoured with the Blue Flag and Green Coast Awards for the 2023 season.

"It takes immense dedication and effort to manage a beach or marina to meet the rigorous standards set by these prestigious award programmes, and we extend our warmest congratulations to all the deserving sites that have achieved this remarkable reward.

For 2023, 81 of the 85 beaches and all 10 marinas awarded last year have retained Blue Flag status for the season 2023. Three additional sites from Mayo are included this year, Bertra, Clare Island (Louisburgh) and Old Head, which it was awarded for the first time since 2012.

The Green Coast Award has achieved a noteworthy milestone by granting 65 awards for the 2023 bathing season. This is an increase of 3 awards compared to last year, and the highest number of awards given since its establishment. These achievements coincide with the celebration of Clean Coasts's 20-year anniversary.

The 3 extra sites awarded are Carrowniskey Beach, County Mayo, awarded for the last time in 2019, Bettystown in County Meath, awarded for the first time, and Rosslare Harbour Beach in County Wexford, last awarded in 2021.

The Green Coast Awards were first presented back in 2003 to four beaches in County Wexford, it was rolled out nationally in 2008 and has gone from strength to strength ever since.

An important aspect of the Green Coast Awards is the involvement of Clean Coasts groups, of which they are currently over 1,800 comprised of tens of thousands of volunteers nationwide. These volunteers participate in community clean-ups and in cooperation with Local Authorities help manage their local beaches throughout the year.
TELL us a little bit about yourself and your work?

I grew up in California and Ive been spending my time between the West Coast of US and Ireland for the past several years. Cinder Well is mostly original songs, but I also sing some traditional songs and play traditional Irish fiddle tunes. I write, record and perform music, and I teach guitar, fiddle and songwriting lessons.

What is your ideal way to spend a Friday night?

When Im in Ireland I love to go out and play tunes in sessions.

Lie ins or up with the lark.. which is it for you?

Definitely lie ins. I love sleeping.

Does work creep into your weekend at all?

Being a musician and self-employed person youre kind of always working and not working at the same time.

Theres always stuff to respond to over the weekend, and gigs are usually on the weekends too.

But then theres a lot of time spent that isnt really considered work but probably should be, like writing and reflecting and practicing.

Amelia Baker, aka Cinder Well. Picture: Georgia Zeavin

Closer to home, is there some place you like to head to recharge the batteries?

Ive been spending lots of time at Lahinch beach, walking, swimming, and surfing.

Do you like to catch up with family/friends at the weekend?

When Im home in California there always seems to be a family gathering on the weekend, but over in Ireland where I have no family its more about the friends and the tunes.

Do you get to indulge any hobbies? Even as a spectator?

Ive gotten really into surfing in the past year, its something I did as a teenager but then put aside when I got into music.

Entertain or be entertained? If its the latter do you have a signature dish?

Im into both. Love to be fed. I think soups, stews, and salads are my specialty lately.

We have so many places to eat out in Cork - where are your go to spots for coffee/lunch/special meal?

I havent had the opportunity to try many places in Cork yet, but I remember a good sushi spot near the church, when I played a small house concert with Anna Mieke.

Sunday night comes around too fast.. how do you normally spend it?

I like doing home-y things on Sunday  cleaning, cooking, relaxing. But sometimes some of the best sessions happen on Sundays, which kind of throws that all off!

What time does your alarm clock go off on Monday morning?

Im a musician, it doesnt happen often to be honest.

Anything else you are up to right now...

I recently released my new album Cadence on April 21, on Free Dirt Records, and looking forward to touring it around Ireland with one of my best friends.

As part of her album launch tour, Cinder Well plays Coughlans on May 26.

Amelia Baker, aka Cinder Well. Picture: Georgia Zeavin

More about the album

Oceans flow through the center of Cinder Wells music.

Cadence, the new album from Amelia Bakers experimental folk project, drifts between two far-flung seas: the hazy California coast where she grew up, and the wind-torn swells of western Ireland that shes come to love.

Released on Free Dirt Records, the albums name refers to the cycles of our turbulent lives, to the uncertain tides that push us forward and back. Recorded at Hen House Studios, just blocks from the famed Venice Beach Boardwalk in Los Angeles, the songs of Cadence search for a sense of grounding and a feeling of home.

Though Californias beaches are the backdrop of this album, Irish influences emerge as well. The folklore of the old ways still looms in her mind, now tinged with the kind of growth that comes from returning to your roots. With Cadence, Baker expands Cinder Wells sound to include percussion as well as trance electric guitar and expansive string parts courtesy of Cormac MacDiarmada of Lankum.

While there are still hints of the doom folk that Cinder Well is known for, Cadence balances heavy lyrics with a more expansive sound that nods to LAs mythical Laurel Canyon years.

So much of my music has been made far from home, Baker says. There was something about recording in California that felt cathartic.

Caught between two worlds, Cadence is about recapturing the rhythms of life after a time of deep isolation, about finding balance amongst uncertainty.
Taxi drivers must feel safe in their work and sentences for assaults on drivers need to have a deterrent effect, a Circuit Court judge declared.

Judge Catherine Staines made this comment during sentencing in respect of a case where a taxi driver was robbed by two passengers in Cork who struck him in the head  one with a glass rum bottle while the other hit him in the head with a hammer.

There has to be a strong deterrent against assaults on taxi drivers, the judge stated.

We all depend on them and them must feel safe when they pick up passengers.

Judge Staines made these comments as she imposed a two-and-a-half-year sentence on 24-year-old Evan Crean for his part in the robbery.

Detective Garda John Barry said Crean was the man who struck the driver with the Captain Morgan bottle.

The detective said that when the taxi arrived at Lotamore in Mayfield, Evan Crean took cash from a cup holder and then opened the armrest where he took a sum estimated at being between 350 and 500.

Crean damaged the dashcam and then took it with him when he left the car.

He was charged with robbery, production of a glass bottle and causing criminal damage. He signed a plea of guilty to all charges.

Crean of St Colmcilles Road, Gurranabraher, Cork, was sentenced by Judge Staines at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to four and a half years with the last two years suspended.

The victim said he feared for his safety and for his life during the unprovoked attack and robbery.

Brendan Kelly, defence barrister, said the defendant was undertaking educational courses in prison and was doing very well. He said that what the 24-year-old man needed was structure in his life.

He wishes to apologise. He realises the incident was very terrifying for (the taxi driver), Mr Kelly said.

Mr Kelly said that while it was no defence, the accused was out of it on drugs and alcohol at the time of the offence.

Detective Garda Barry said the accused had 56 previous convictions, including five for theft, two for causing criminal damage, two for obstruction.
The Port of Cork Company (PoCC) has published its new masterplan, which charts a course to a new sustainable and secure future for the port.

Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan made the comments as he officially launched the Port of Cork Masterplan 2050 today at the Port of Cork's container terminal in Ringaskiddy.

The masterplan outlines PoCCs plans and ambitions over the next three decades and provides an integrated framework for the port to strategically plan and adapt to meet the needs of Irelands future social, economic and environmental development.

A key component of the plan is supporting the accelerated growth of the fixed offshore renewable energy (ORE) sector.

It also includes a roadmap outlining the ports River to Sea journey, consolidating all activities in the lower harbour by 2050.

The Port of Cork Masterplan offers a strategic blueprint towards the future, with the facilitation of fixed offshore renewable energy as a central part of the plan, with full planning permission already in place to provide essential onshore infrastructure resources, Minister Ryan said.

I also welcome the port's ambitions to achieve a 51% reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, reaching NetZero emissions by 2050, in accordance with the government's Climate Action Plan 2023.

This new plan is definitely charting a course to a new sustainable and secure future for the port.

Chief Executive Officer at PoCC, Eoin McGettigan said the port will continue to play a key role in facilitating Irelands energy needs.

Historically, the Port of Cork has been an energy hub for the region by facilitating the import of fuels such as coal, oil, timber, and land-based wind turbines.

As we make the necessary move away from fossil fuel consumption, the Port of Cork will continue to play a key role in facilitating the future energy needs of the country as a hub for renewable fuels, transition fuels and offshore energy streams, he said.

The Port of Cork is a commercial port and to ensure its ongoing competitiveness, we must adapt to the rapidly changing customer expectations which are pressuring the shipping industry to deliver goods in a faster, more flexible, and sustainable manner at low delivery cost.

To do this, we must provide our customers with reliable, safe, high-performing facilities and services, and be an efficient link in the logistics chain.

Despite this commercial ambition, we are extremely aware of our heritage and the role we play in our local community.

As we endeavour to meet changing demands, the well-being of the people of Cork and its environment will continue to be embedded in our values, and be reflected in every decision we make, he continued.

Find out more about the Port of Cork and read the Port of Cork Masterplan 2050 Executive Summary here.
CONCERNS regarding a contentious student accommodation complex on Bandon Rd have been put to rest for some, but others will never accept the development.

Ashlin House  a five-block development overlooking the Lough  officially opened in the third quarter of 2022.

In 2019, developers Lyonshall had sought permissions for the development of 57 student apartments containing 419 bed spaces, but later sought to increase this to 77 student apartments with 554 bed spaces, after the company acquired 74 Bandon Rd and numbers 1 and 2 Ardnacarrig, which enlarged the site area.

The revised scheme was granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanala despite some local concerns, including the scale of the proposed development.

However, speaking to The Echo, Kieran Coughlan of Lyonshall said that a number of residents have said their fears have been allayed after seeing the completed development.

There were people marching around the Lough [during the planning process], [saying] no high rise on the Lough  its not a high rise on the Lough, it blends into the background, he contended.

Both Mr Coughlan and Des Riordan, associate director at Clancy Construction, who acted as project manager, said the complex is well managed.

Clancy Construction met with residents to hear their concerns back in May 2020, which included fears around a potential increase in anti-social behaviour.

However, residents were assured that the complex would be run by an experienced management company.

Speaking in relation to the passing of the development, Mr Riordan acknowledged that there are mixed opinions.

Some people think its great and it has transformed the area.

Some people think no and they cant see past we didnt want it there, it shouldnt be there, and well never accept it. Other people say I was a doubter and now Im converted.

Independent councillor Mick Finn, who had previously expressed concerns around the development, said that he continues to have a problem with what he described as the visual intrusion on the landscape and, in particular, the impacts on overlooking houses in the vicinity.

That it is well-run is great, but thats the least that could be expected, he said.

Mr Finn said he would have preferred, given the pressures on housing, if it could have been for families.
THE organisation of national ex-personnel (ONE), was formed at the Mansion House in Dublin on March 10, 1951.

The new organisation brought together the National Federation of Irish Ex-Servicemen and the Association of Regular Ex-Servicemen, which had emerged following demobilisation after the Emergency.

ONE was strictly non-political and non-sectarian and has remained so to this day.

A registered charity for veterans of the Irish Defence Forces, its primary objective is to support the needs of Irish veterans by the provision of accommodation to homeless veterans in its veterans homes and the provision of other advice and support to veterans through its nationwide network of branches and veterans support centres.

ONEs services are available to all veterans of the Defence Forces and the organisation also facilitates homeless veterans from other countries living in Ireland from time to time.

ONE currently provides accommodation for approximately 51 veterans who otherwise would be homeless, in its four residential homes in Cobh, Athlone, Dublin, and Letterkenny.

In Cork, the veterans support centre in Cobh provides veterans with information, advice, someone to listen, and somewhere to meet with former comrades.

Described as a cross between advice centres and mens/womens sheds, it is hoped that through early intervention at these centres, social stresses and homelessness among veterans will be significantly reduced.

Speaking to The Echo, Audra Larkin, ONEs new veteran support officer for the Cork and Kerry region, highlighted the importance of the charity to those who need its support.

Whats important to highlight is that 99.9% of people transition from the Defence Forces into civilian life and are very happy and go on and do very productive things.

It is that small percentage that we work with that finds the transition and the living hard.

EARLY INTERVENTION

So, to sum up in a sentence what the ONE does, it provides an early intervention system to veterans who are struggling, to alleviate homelessness and the associated issues so thats about building social capital in the community.

Speaking about what her role entails, Ms Larkin said: A veteran support officer essentially is case working, supporting mental health, supporting homelessness, supporting the transition into stable accommodation, and the ONE also provides counselling services, mental health support services, and really everything that affects the veteran, a VSO will pick that up.

The ONE framework is what we call SCAR and this really sums up what a VSO does. Thats support, comradeship, advocacy, and remembrance, and that underpins the work that a VSO does.

Its a person-to-person role and its also about that advocacy piece as well and ensuring that they move on to stable accommodation and have stable services around them.

Ms Larkin, who has many years of experience within the Defence Forces, said the wealth of knowledge she has gathered from the various roles will serve her well in her new role, and in turn, will help those who seek the charitys support through her understanding of veterans needs.

Ive been in the Defence Forces my whole life. I was born into the Defence Forces. I grew up in the Defence Forces.

All my uncles, my husband, and myself have all served in the Defence Forces under varying banners, she said.

'TWO FAMILIES'

Its a family affair and I always say that in my life I have two families. I have my family family and I have my Defence Forces family.

Ive worked in the frontline for 20 years, Ive worked in addiction services, so that coupled with my own experiences. Ive been the daughter, Ive been the wife, Ive been all those things.

Ive had loved ones serve overseas and come home and so I have experienced all that and that absolutely means that I can bring that into this role.

Whats critically important is that I have that shared language with veterans.

To build those relationships, to have someone coming out of the Defence Forces and to be supported by somebody who understands the Defence Forces, who understands the same and speaks the same language.

Speaking about being the first female veterans support officer for the ONE, she said: For me, the ONE is a very progressive organisation, and their current strategic plan talks specifically about diversity, inclusion and equality and they are very aware of the importance of having female contact as well for female veterans.

There are only three VSOs and its a relatively new role with the first VSOs coming into post only two years ago, so for me, I dont see the female part, I see myself as part of a team of VSOs.

Yes, we all have our expertise and our knowledge and by having a diverse workforce, it can only benefit the veterans.

Its about being able to see things as a VSO team from different angles or different viewpoints. Its about being a service for the future, she said.

Touching on ONEs next venture, Ms Larkin said the charity is currently in the process of developing a facility in Cork City which is due to open later this year.

Currently there are 38 branches to the charity all around the country and 25 veteran support centres and we currently have four homes housing 52 and a fifth to open in Cork city in the latter of 2023, so that will bring us up to 57 living spaces.

Ms Larkin urged anyone who wants to talk or wants to seek further support from the ONE to visit one-veterans.org or to contact Ms Larkin via email at cork-kerryvso@ oneconnect.ie.

I would like to encourage veterans to reach out. I know it can be very hard to reach out and ask for help but I want to assure them that it is a confidential, non-judgemental service and that they can reach out if they need anything, she said.
SHELTER for International protection applicants may soon be extended to floatels and cruise ships in Cork city.

The Port of Cork Company confirmed it has engaged in exploratory talks with the International Protection Procurement Service in relation to the provision of facilities to accommodate asylum seekers.

A spokesperson stressed that discussions are at a very early stage and no definite location has been identified.

Government officials are believed to be assessing the approach of the UK government in Dorset, where a three-storey barge was used to accommodate hundreds of asylum seekers.

It comes amid tensions across the country in response to the arrival of international protection applicants.

The Irish Examiner this week reported that Department of Integration officials had been exploring the option of sheltering refugees on floatels and cruise ships in a bid to alleviate the accommodation shortage.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Simon Harris recently told Cabinet colleagues he felt that gardai should be informed about accommodation plans for asylum seekers going forward subsequent to an intense backlash.

Mr Harris also confirmed Integration Minister Roderic OGormans plans to open 350 additional beds this week, and made reference to financial assistance which will be offered to communities housing asylum seekers.

Mr Harris said the Government will announce a 50m fund which will see every county benefit.
A thirteen-year-old boy who carried out a vicious attack with a sexual element on a final year college student walking home in Cork had been viewing pornography from the age of eleven.

Now the sentencing judge has called for restrictions on online platforms making vast sums of money from pornography being shown to vulnerable children.

The attacker who is now aged 15 was sentenced by Judge Catherine Staines to 18 months in Oberstown centre.

Judge Staines said, One disturbing element is that you (the accused) have been watching pornography from the age of eleven. I think it is truly shocking that this is available to vulnerable, impressionable young people. Clearly these companies are making vast sums of money from selling pornographic material.

More rigorous restrictions should be imposed on them to prevent this harmful material being available to young children.

Siobhan Lankford, defence senior counsel, asked for a suspended or deferred sentence in the case, stating that there was no denying the seriousness of the attack but submitting that because the accused was a child at the time of the offence and is still a child in the eyes of the law, a sentence of detention should only be a matter of last resort.

She said he was never in trouble before or since this attack.

He cried in the dock when sentence was passed as did his parents who were present. The victim also wiped away tears during the case.

He admitted the violent attack but denied sexual assault during it. A jury found him guilty of the sexual assault.

The victim was so badly beaten that on the night of the attack she was at first unable to unlock her phone to ring her parents because the facial recognition software on her phone did not recognise her.

He had repeatedly kicked her face and dragged her along the ground by her hair when she lay face down on the footpath. A woman driving by saw that the young womans long dress was above her waist and her panties were down, exposing her genital area. It happened on Evergreen Street, Cork, on January 29 2022 as she walked home from a friends birthday in town.

'I WAS IN COMPLETE SHOCK'

The victim said today (May 19), When I look back to that time, just over a year ago, my life was going well. I was enjoying my final year of college, spending my time between my friends and work. I could not have imagined how much my life was going to change.

I dont remember much of the attack, but I do remember the aftermath. I remember being in the hospital and really seeing my face close-up. I was in complete shock. I didnt look or feel like myself. It was maybe a few months later before the reality of what was done to me set in.

At first, I felt really stressed and uncomfortable, but I was determined not to let what had happened to me control my life.

I continue to walk places by myself but still find it hard to relax, even walking during the day if I hear or think I hear footsteps. I find it hard to breathe and start panicking, it feels like Im back in the moment I was being assaulted.

"I usually wait for the person to pass me in order to try to calm down. If I have earphones in, I need to check over my shoulder every other minute to make that theres nobody behind me.

I would say I have a good relationship with my family and they have helped me hugely over the last year. I have noticed the impact that this has had on them. No matter where I go my parents wont fall asleep until Im home and they feel they need to check in on me, day and night. I know they worry about how deeply this has affected me.

This assault has affected my personal relationships. I find it hard to hug or be close to my male friends or family members whereas I used to be the opposite.

"The idea of having a romantic relationship in the near future makes me feel physically uncomfortable. I now feel extremely anxious when passing teenage or young boys  for a minute, my heart starts to race and my chest feels tight.

Every now and again, I feel extremely angry. I feel angry that this was done to me while I was doing something so basic that everyone has a right to do. I feel angry that my sense of safety has been taken away from me.

"Simple things like watching a movie can throw me completely off for days because something mildly violent happened. It angers me that it has made me second-guess everyone I walk past and myself for how I react. Im also angry about the domino effect that this has had on the people around me, how it has affected them and how it has changed how they are around me.

There hasnt been one day that has passed that I havent thought about what happened: it has changed me and Im still dealing with it but I know that I wont let it control me forever.

The injured party thanked the Sexual Violence Centre and gardai at Anglesea Street garda station especially Garda Pat Russell, Garda Brian Maher and Detective Sergeant Katrine Tansley.
High insurance premiums and a lack of funding have been cited as the main reasons the Shandon Street Festival does not look likely to go ahead for the foreseeable future.

In a Facebook post, the festival committee announced that it has decided to take an extended break.

The post reads: It is with great sadness that after 16 years of great memories, we have decided to take an extended break from running Shandon Street Festival.

There are many reasons for this tough decision, including high insurance costs, as well as lack of funding.

Thank you for all your support over the past number of years. We hope we made a difference to your lives.

James Nolan of Frank Nolan Butchers on Shandon Street, a member of the festival committee, told The Echo the decision had come from an accumulation of factors.

The insurance and funding is tough to get every year anyway, he said.

Basically, we got to a stage where you get tired, and I felt its time has gone. It is sad to give it up but how long can you keep something going? We tried a couple of times to hand the baton over, so to speak, but there were no volunteers.

Mr Nolan said the festival committee had to raise between 8,000 and 10,000 each year to cover the cost of the event, with preparation work usually starting in January to organise road closures and adequate licences.

We were lucky. Cathedral Credit Union sponsored us every year, as did Anthony Coughlan Heating and Plumbing. But trying to raise the rest was the hardest part, he said.

Hopefully someone might pick up the baton sometime to make a return."

Cork city councillor John Maher said it was very disappointing news.

Its a pity that insurance levies are preventing this event from happening, and it puts a question on other community events throughout the city, Mr Maher said.

Central Government must grab the insurance issue for communities head-on, and advice to shop around wont be tolerated.
Former 96FM newsreader and radio presenter Pearse McCarthy was described today as operating as a mid-ranking member of a drug distribution organisation in 2017 and was jailed for eight years for having 270,000 worth of drugs in Kinsale at that time.

Judge Helen Boyle said to the accused at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, Your level of culpability is relatively high  you were actively engaged in this, you had people reporting in to you and you reported to the bosses.

The 52-year-old who lived at Red Abbey Court, off Margaret Street in Cork, was given a nine-year sentence with the last year suspended.

You held a mid-ranking role in the organised criminal enterprise for the sale and distribution of drugs. You were actively involved Gardai discovered evidence of active distribution of drugs including accounts, electronic devices that would indicate the distribution of drugs.

"It is clear you were involved over a number of years.

Detective Garda Colin OMahony charged the defendant on a count which stated that on October 27 2017 at an address in Kinsale, County Cork, he had cannabis, cocaine and MDMA (ecstasy) for sale or supply at a time when the aggregate market value of the drugs exceeded 13,000. That threshold figure put the accused at risk of a mandatory minimum jail term of ten years.

Det. Garda OMahony said that when the accused was arrested and questioned he admitted being in possession of the drugs at Kinsale and that he and three others were involved in the collection and distribution of drugs.

He communicated with his bosses to make sure stock was balanced, he would forward names, drop-offs and locations (for drug distribution) to drivers on behalf of his bosses.

"He said he was mid-ranking in the operation but he said he was a patsy.

He had authority to instruct and coordinate and that he was the sole point of contact with the bosses.

He said at interview (in respect of the seizure of drugs in Kinsale), the drugs would have been gone by the weekend if guards had not raided the place, Det. Garda OMahony said.

The defendant admitted buying burner phones every week or fortnight to facilitate contacts with drivers and that over the course of two and a half to three years in this drug-dealing operation he had handled what the detective put at 90 to 100 kilos of drugs with an approximate street value of up to 2 million.

Defence comments

Jane Hyland defence senior counsel emphasised that the amount of drugs for which the accused was being sentenced was a total of 270,000. She also said that he first began to use drugs as a result of an early traumatic event and that despite successful rehabilitation he relapsed following the sudden death of his partner in 2001. She said that he became involved with the drug organisation referred to in this case because of a death that he accrued through drug use.

Ms Hyland said the lengthy investigation only saw the accused being arrested and questioned around 2021 in relation to the events dating back to 2017 and that Pearse McCarthy was not responsible for this delay.
Businesses in Cork city are hoping for another summer of lively streets thanks to outdoor dining, with Cork already stealing a march on Government policy.

The waiving of licence fees for outdoor dining is to be extended in 2023, Housing Minister Darragh OBrien announced.

The scrapping of outdoor dining fees nationwide will allow businesses to save hundreds of euro in the coming summer months, according to Mr OBrien.

The extension will continue to see fees for tables and chairs outside hotels, restaurants, and pubs scrapped. The fee is usually priced at 125 per table.

Similar to previous years, there will also be no fee for awnings, canopies, and heaters used in conjunction with the tables and chairs.

However, one Cork restaurant owner has praised Cork City Council for being steps ahead, having already planned to waive fees for outdoor dining.

Cork City Council stole the march on this, like they did at the start, Claire Nash, owner of Nash 19 on Princes Street, said. The fees have already been waived for us ... that is going to be hugely beneficial.

"For those of us that have invested a lot of money  particularly on Princes Street  it is going to be another very busy season.

This is of huge benefit. The cost of everything else has risen and this is another license fee that we would have had to pay.

Princes Street restaurateurs came together with other street traders to engage in talks with Cork City Council during the pandemic to set up seating outdoors to comply with social distancing when covid-19 regulations were relaxed.

The eat-on-the street plan saw the street adjacent to Oliver Plunkett Street closed off to vehicles and instead transformed into an oasis for outdoor dining, which has since remained in place.

It has been a huge success, Ms Nash said, and that looks set to continue.

We are very busy on the street again already, he said. From now until the end of September, Nash 19 will have its eight tables flying outside.

She said plans are in the pipeline to further enhance the outdoor experience on Princes Street, come rain or shine.

We were questioned why we didnt have much outdoor dining in January, February, March, and April, even though March was the wettest month in the past 20 years.

"We are now working on facilities that will weatherproof the street and we are really looking forward to that being a proposition for us.

Cork Chamber CEO Conor Healy said: Outdoor dining has brought great benefits to Cork City and the waiving of fees encourages businesses to continue to invest and upgrade their outdoor dining offering particularly now as we move into summer period.

This would be a great boost for businesses across the city as Cork has been transformed by outdoor dining, making it an even more attractive and vibrant city and transforming the citys streetscape.
Mayfield Community School have teamed up with John Sisk & Son to offer students the opportunity to pursue apprentice careers.

School principal Kieran Golden revealed that an agreement has been reached between Mayfield Community School and John Sisk & Son to provide two students with a defined career pathway with a proven construction company on an annual basis.

John Sisk & Son has agreed to take on two new apprentices from Mayfield Community School and provide them with a direct entry path to John Sisk. They have also committed to providing ten Transition Year students with Safe Pass training and will take on up to to six TY students as part of their student placement programme.

Mr Golden said the deal is a great incentive for the students at Mayfield Community School. John Sisk & Son have agreed to sponsor apprenticeships and provide them with employment with their company. It is a huge agreement and a great incentive for our students. It will start after this years Leaving Certificate. They will take on two apprentices every year. The only criteria are that they must be students in our school. There is no time limit on it. If we work it and both parties are mutually happy it will continue, he said.

We are very grateful, said the secondary school principal. One of the directors John Sisk & Son was at our recent annual awards ceremony and he is after giving us a phenomenal deal.

"In addition, if the students have to go to Waterford, Dublin or Limerick as part of their placement they will cover their accommodation costs. It is a great gesture.

They are also offering ten safe pass courses for our TY students which is a huge deal. They will pay for them every year. This would be a great start for the kids, and they would have it forever, he added.

Mr Golden said Mayfield Community School and John Sisk & Son have a strong relationship which stretches back to 1973.

They built our school building in 1973. We have several past pupils who are working with Sisk. Marcus Carne who is a director with John Sisk & Son just likes what we are doing as a school with our students. He requested a chat over a coffee, and we reached agreement.

Marcus Carne said John Sisk & Son are always keen to establish close relationships with schools. As a company with corporate and social responsibilities we are keen to establish close relationships with schools in the communities where we work. As such we are keen to propose a formalisation of the relationship between John Sisk & Son and Mayfield Community School.
MOVING back to Ireland in 2010 from Liberia, I was excited to return to my fathers home, my home.

Being both Irish and Liberian, a person of mixed ethnicity, I made a promise to myself that I was not going to be defined as half Irish/half Liberian or half black/half white. Bodies cannot be split into fractions; I am lucky enough to have two homes.

During my formative years in the midlands and later in Cork, my Irish identity was frequently called into question. I faced derogatory comments and insults, including being told to go back to where I came from and having my skin colour compared to excrement. My rich Liberian heritage was reduced to stereotypes of poverty and pity.

In my current work at Cork Migrant Centre in Nano Nagle Place, I encounter young people whose families have migrated to Ireland with the hope of finding a new home.

Sadly, these youths continue to experience rejection and exclusion in their schools and among their peers. Home should be a sanctuary of safety, welcome, and belonging.

The Irish Network Against Racisms iReport of 2022 reveals a total of 600 reports of racism. This data demonstrates the ongoing prevalence of racist incidents in Ireland, underscoring the daily reality of discrimination experienced by individuals from marginalized groups.

The Power of Young Voices

At Cork Migrant Centre, young people have taken the lead in making Cork an inclusive anti-racist county by hosting an Anti-Racist Youth Led Summit, they are joined by a network of organisations and groups including Traveller Visibility Group (TVG) and Children and Young People Services Committee Cork (CYPSC).

The younger generations initiative in combating racism and promoting diversity brings hope to the struggle against discrimination. However, their efforts require support from attentive and proactive individuals who are willing to listen to and act upon their voices.

It is essential that young peoples voices are heard in the fight against racism. They are the future leaders of Ireland, and their attitude toward diversity and inclusivity will shape the countrys future. By promoting education on multiculturalism for teachers in training, racial bullying policies in school, and creating a safe space for conversation on race, Ireland can become a more welcoming and inclusive society. The value of young peoples contributions in creating a more equitable and just society cannot be overstated.

What can you do?

Solidarity involves standing in support of those who are experiencing oppression and committing to taking action to address the issues they face. It is important to recognise that racism is not just a problem for the individuals who experience it, but for society as a whole. By denying others their humanity, we risk losing our own in the process. By showing solidarity, we acknowledge that racism affects all of us and commit to working together to create a more equitable and just society.

To be effective allies and show solidarity, it is important to listen to the experiences of those who are affected by racism. It is not enough to simply say that we are against racism; we must actively work to dismantle the systems that perpetuate it, systems that we benefit from. This involves educating ourselves, speaking out against racist attitudes and behaviours, and advocating for policy changes that promote equality and justice. It is about recognising the humanity in each other.

Written by Fionnuala OConnell, Youth Coordinator of Cork Migrant Centre.

Fionnuala is a board member of INAR, Artist and graduate honors degree in International Development and Food Policy.

She is a founding member of the CMC Youth Initiative Against Racism, working to support young people through coordinating activities, capacity building, mentoring, etc.
Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

The Big Apple is sinking under its own weight, posing a worsening flood risk to the city, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography.

Already faced with intensifying extreme weather and an increasing threat of flooding due to sea level rise, New York City is gradually sinking at an average of about one to two millimeters annually, with some areas subsiding twice that fast, the study said.

A deeply concentrated population of 8.4 million people faces varying degrees of hazard from inundation in New York City, the scientists wrote in the study.

Since 1950, New York City has seen its surrounding water levels rise by almost nine inches, according to Sea level rise.org.

As global heating causes Earths glaciers to melt and seawater to expand, sea level rise speeds up, making the sinking of the City That Never Sleeps even more daunting.

The NOAA Climate Program Office said major flood events could happen three to four times as often from 2054 to 2079, according to a new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Research-funded study, which means residents of Gotham might face more intense flooding in the future.

Its not something to panic about immediately but theres this ongoing process that increases the risk of inundation from flooding, said Tom Parsons, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey and the studys lead author, as The Guardian reported. The softer the soil, the more compression there is from the buildings. It wasnt a mistake to build such large buildings in New York but weve just got to keep in mind every time you build something there you push down the ground a little bit more.

The researchers point out that New York isnt the only city that will be facing increasing risks, as coastal cities all over the planet face more intense hurricanes, subsidence and sea level rise that are the result of human activities that led to the climate crisis.

The study, The Weight of New York City: Possible Contributions to Subsidence From Anthropogenic Sources, was published in the journal Earths Future.

In the study, the scientists calculated the magnitude of the citys structures  including the iconic emblems of the famous skyline, the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building  and found that they weigh a total of 1.68 trillion pounds, the mass of around 140 million elephants.

Many of the citys largest buildings sit on schist and other types of solid bedrock, but others have been built upon softer mixtures of clays and sands, which contributes to the sinking effect, reported The Guardian.

Major cities around the world are expected to grow disproportionately relative to rural areas, with a projected 70% of the worlds population living in cities by 2050. Major cities on every continent except Antarctica are observed to be subsiding, and the issue may be worsened as populations grow. Increasing urbanization will likely exacerbate subsidence by groundwater extraction and/or construction density, which combined with accelerating sea level rise implies a growing flood hazard in coastal cities. As these trends continue it will be important to be mindful of accompanying mitigation strategies against inundation in growing coastal cities, the authors of the study wrote.
Crescent Innovation & Incubation Council (CIIC) received the ESG Rising Star Award from UBI Global, Sweden at the World Incubation Summit 2023 (WIS23) on May 16, 2023.

CIIC is the first private business incubator from India ever to receive this UBI Global Award. M Parvez Alam, CEO and Director represented CIIC to accept this prestigious award. CIIC has been chosen as the Rising Star based on its performance in supporting start-ups that are sustainable, women-led, livelihood, social impact, CleanTech and circular economy and governance mechanisms.

This years flagship apex global event was inaugurated by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and was attended by more than 100+ country representatives.

CIIC is a not-for-profit innovation arm of BS Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology (BSACIST), Deemed-to-be University. BSACIST has a long history of 38 years of nurturing entrepreneurs and industrialists.

The goal of CIIC is to encourage deep tech entrepreneurs in the verticals of Life Sciences, Industry 4.0 and smart and clean mobility. In the last four years, 150+ start-ups have been being incubated with a cumulative valuation of Rs 782 crore. CIIC start-ups have raised over Rs 110 crore from both government and private entities and provided around 930 jobs. CIIC is recognised and was funded with Rs 38.99 crore by six Union Ministries of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu.




Japfa sends 23,000 live chickens to Singapore

Japfa has delivered 23,000 live chickens to Singapore through its subsidiary in Bintan, Indonesia.

This marks the first time live chickens have been imported from Indonesia via sea.

"This shipment is a notable achievement and will serve to test a new important option to supply fresh chicken to Singapore, with the birds transported live via sea and slaughtered in the destination country," said Japfa in its May 14 announcement.

Singapore has been trying to diversify its sources of food imports with the pandemic. The city-state imports the bulk of its chicken from Malaysia and Brazil. The former, in a bid to control rising domestic prices, had imposed a temporary ban on export of chickens between May and October last year.

Japfa said it supplies around 20% of the chickens consumed in Indonesia.

"As a leading industrialised agri-food player, with more than 50 years of experience in producing staple protein foods in Asia, we can meet Singapore's demand and standards based on our attention to quality and our vertically integrated business model from poultry feed production and breeding to farming and food processing," said Japfa chief executive officer Tan Yong Nang. "This shipment is the result of the combined efforts of Japfa, Singapore and Indonesia's authorities, and we look forward to expanding further our contribution to feed Singapore consumers with nutritious proteins."

"Today's export to Singapore is a proof that Indonesian livestock products are of good quality and are able to meet food safety requirements in accordance with international standards," said Director General of Livestock and Animal Health at Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture, Ir Nasrullah.



- The Edge Singapore
BlackBerry has everything Apple's Tetris film lacked: human drama grounded in actual history, without the need to spice things up with car chases and fantastical storytelling. On the face of it, the rise and fall of Research in Motion's keyboard-equipped smartphone may not seem inherently compelling. But the brilliance of the film  directed by Matt Johnson, who also co-wrote it with Matthew Miller  is that it makes the BlackBerry's journey feel like a genuine tragedy.

It's driven by two dramatically different people: RIMs co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis, a nebbishy genius of an engineer, and Jim Balsillie, a ruthless and perpetually angry businessman. They struggled on their own, but together were able to rule the mobile industry for more than a decade. And then came the iPhone, which instantly reversed their fortunes.

Like many former titans, RIM fell victim to the innovator's dilemma. As described by Harvard professor Clayton Christensen, it's what happens when large and successful companies are entirely focused on iterating on existing products and appeasing customers. That leaves room for a more nimble newcomer to come along and develop something revolutionary that the incumbents could never have imagined.

In this case, it's Apple's iPhone, which lands like a nuclear bomb in the technology world. The film shows Lazaridis and his engineering team watching Steve Jobs' iconic iPhone keynote in disbelief. Lazaridis is the genius protagonist we've seen come up with the idea of a handheld, keyboard-equipped pocket computer that's efficient enough to run on unused, low-bandwidth wireless signals. Even after BlackBerry takes off, we see him have another stroke of inspiration with BlackBerry Messenger, a service that delivered free messaging to RIM's customers at a time when carriers charged 10 cents per SMS text. It was a brilliant maneuver that made BlackBerry users even more loyal, since BBM wasn't accessible on any other device.

IFC Films

Even though he was no stranger to game-changing innovation himself, Lazaridis didn't think the iPhone would work. It was too expensive. It didn't have a physical keyboard. And it was built to gobble up mobile data (something RIM took pains to avoid). Who would want that? Turns out everyone did. While the iPhone was indeed pricey at launch, carrier subsidies made it easier to stomach. Its large screen, (eventual) App Store and revolutionary OS made up for its touch-based keyboard. And it arrived just as 3G networks were rolling out, which gave carriers more of an incentive to charge customers for data instead of cellular minutes. Just as the BlackBerry gave us a glimpse of an always-connected world in 1999, the iPhone promised to put the full power of the internet in your pocket.

Spoilers for real life, I guess: BlackBerry dropped from having 20 percent of the global smartphone market share in 2010 to 0 percent in 2017, according to Statista. For people who weren't around for the company's heyday, the film serves as a valuable history lesson.
NASA has picked the company that will handle the third crewed Artemis Moon landing. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin will build the landing system for Artemis V, which is currently set to launch in September 2029. While they didn't mention the choice of vehicle, the company is already working on a Blue Moon lander. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Draper are among those involved in the NASA project. The NASA award is worth $3.4 billion, and Blue Origin said in the announcement event that it's contributing "well north" of that figure on its own.

An Orion capsule flight will take four astronauts to the Moon, where two of the crew members will use a Blue Origin lander docked to the Gateway space station to touch down at the lunar south pole. They'll spend a week conducting moonwalks, rover operations and science experiments while the other astronauts expand and take care of the Gateway.

NASA has already chosen SpaceX's Starship for the first (Artemis III) and second (Artemis IV) human landings. The agency said it would accept proposals for a second lander last year to both provide a backup and foster competition. Blue Origin made its bid for another lunar contract last December. The company objected to SpaceX's win and sued NASA for allegedly ignoring safety concerns when awarding the contract, but a federal court dismissed the claims.

The decision is a coup for Blue Origin. While it already has a NASA contract for a Mars science mission and financial support for its Orbital Reef space station, it hasn't had success scoring a crewed trip to the Moon. This also highlights NASA's increasing reliance on privately developed technology for its missions beyond Earth orbit, such as Axiom Space's Artemis suits. Like it or not, public-private alliances like these will define American space exploration for a while.
Amid nationwide efforts to step up the momentum of economic recovery, some major listed contractors saw a surge in order value and numbers in the first quarter, buoyed by the expanding effective investment in infrastructure during the same period. According to China State Railway Group Co Ltd, the national railway operator, the fixed asset investment in railways nationwide increased 6.3 percent year-on-year to 167.4 billion yuan ($23.9 billion) in the first four months  a record-high figure for the period  exceeding the pre-COVID-19 level of 162.3 billion yuan in the same period of 2019. Against such backdrop, China's major transportation infrastructure developers China Railway Group Ltd (CREC) and China Railway Construction Corp Ltd (CRCC)  both listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange  reported double-digit growth in new orders and order value in the first three months of this year. According to reports recently unveiled by the two companies, the new contract value of CREC and CRCC in the first quarter reached 667.38 billion yuan and 539.63 billion yuan, up 10.2 percent and 15.82 percent year-on-year, respectively. In particular, CRCC said in the report that, of the total new contract value, the value of new projects reached 397.69 billion yuan, soaring 41.66 percent year-on-year, which the company attributed to the surge in orders for projects including railways, highways, municipal engineering, and water transport and conservancy during the reporting period. "As the support from the policy side remains relatively strong, the scale of government investment will be no less than that in 2022, and the effective investment is expected to stay on a growth track this year, with the main focus on major infrastructure projects due to its driving role in industrial chains," said Zhang Yiqun, deputy director of the China Special Committee on Budget Performance. Enterprises in fields such as water conservancy and transportation will step up pace in promoting existing projects and launching new projects with better funding, as the robust growth seen in the sector will bring bigger social capital inflow, Zhang said. According to a report last week by China Securities Co Ltd, the country's recovery still relies heavily on efforts to expand domestic demand, in which infrastructure investment plays a significant role. The sector will remain a major focus of macroeconomic policies this year. The report also expects the annual growth of the sector to remain at a relatively high level of around 10 percent this year, with most spending seen in projects such as urban buildings, transportation and green infrastructure. Shares of CREC rose 0.64 percent to 7.88 yuan on Thursday, while those of CRCC edged down 0.19 percent to 10.58 yuan. Recently, many provinces nationwide reported stronger infrastructure investment in their first-quarter economic results. For example, in East China's Fujian province, road and waterway transportation investment reached 28.9 billion yuan in the first quarter, accounting for 28.9 percent of the annual target. As of the end of March, 21 projects commenced construction, exceeding the planned number, the provincial transportation department said. Zhejiang province, which neighbors Fujian, also posted a higher fixed-asset investment during the same period, rising 9.1 percent year-on-year, with infrastructure investment up 4.4 percent. China Railway 24th Bureau Group Corp Ltd (CR24), a CRCC unit, said its projects nationwide have witnessed faster progress recently. The State contractor said its construction workers in Cixi, a county-level city in Zhejiang, successfully completed the pouring of a basement slab on a school project. Covering 46,227 square meters, the school project will shoulder the nine-year education of more than 2,400 students after completion and is listed as a key infrastructure project in Cixi's five-year development plan. Considering its significance to local livelihoods, CR24 said its builders were trained to "hold firmly to principles of safety and quality" during construction to ensure the scheduled completion. The project team routinely held on-site observation and exchange meetings to ensure smooth construction and promote strict management, said the CR24 project manager, who declined to be named. "With adequate labor supply and smoother logistics since the beginning of this year, we are confident in accomplishing the project on time," he said. Chinese stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.21 percent to 3284.23. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.07 percent lower at 11091.08.
Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products

Solo Stove fire pits are up to 45 percent off, plus the rest of this week's best tech deals We found deals on Apple, Samsung, Ring and Google Nest products.

We're still a couple of weeks away from the unofficial start to summer, but some Memorial Day sales are already popping up, including one on mostly smokeless fire pits from Solo Stoves. Discounts there range up to 45 percent. BioLite's sale takes up to 25 percent off of outdoor power gadgets and Ring security devices are discounted up 30 percent so you can keep tabs on your home for less. Outside of site-wide sales, Apple's second-gen AirPods Pro are back down to $200 and the Apple Watch Ultra is the cheapest we've seen it, but only with a yellow strap. For anyone thinking ahead to back to school, we found deals on three different laptops, a smart monitor and a Mac mini. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.

Solo Stove Bonfire

Solo Stove Bonfire + Stand 2.0 Solo Stove takes up to 45 percent off site-wide during this Memorial Day sale. $270 at Solo Stove

Late summer nights outdoors are better with fire pits. Solo Stove is currently hosting a site-wide sale that runs through June 4th and includes discounts of up to 45 percent. The Bonfire is the brand's most popular pit and falls between the portable Ranger and extra large Yukon in size. Usually $400, the sale brings the Bonfire down to $250. Plenty of bundles are on sale too, including an ultimate bundle that pairs up the Bonfire with a stand, lid, shield and tools for $555 which is $530 off the regular price.

Use the code FREEMESA at checkout and you can get a free Mesa tabletop fire pit. Those normally sell for $120. Whichever unit you choose, you'll get less smoke thanks to the double-walled chamber that burns wood more efficiently. Solo Stove improved upon their original design on all 2.0 models, adding a removable base plate and ash pan that makes clean up much easier.

Apple AirPods Pro

Photo by Billy Steele / Engadget Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) The second-gen AirPods Pro are the best iOS earbuds on the market. $200 at Amazon

Apple's latest AirPods Pro are among the best buds an iPhone user can stick in their ears and once again, they're down to $200, which is a tidy savings over their $249 list price and within a dollar of their all-time low. Our resident audio expert, Billy Steele, gave the buds an 88 in his review, pointing out that this generation's sound is massively superior to the previous one.

The clarity is excellent at low volume an has a more immersive and detailed sound overall. Thanks to the H2 chip, the buds are capable of impressively fast on-device processing to deliver good active noise cancellation and one of the best transparency modes available. The buds switch seamlessly between Apple devices and the battery will give you six hours of play on a charge with noise cancellation turned on.

If it's pure sound quality you're looking for, Billy also recommends Sennheiser's Momentum 3 buds. They're also down to $200, after an $80 discount.

BaseCharge 600

Photo by Amy Skorheim / Engadget BioLite BaseCharge 600 The portable power station can power your devices and more when you're camping and it's on sale for 20 percent off -- for the first time ever. $559 at BioLite

Power stations let you bring multiple hours of power for lights, devices and even small appliances when you're camping or otherwise away from an outlet. BioLite's 622 watt-hour portable battery, the BaseCharge 600 is getting its first discount today as part of a larger, site-wide sale. Usually $700, the sale dips it down to a more palatable $560. The sale runs through May 29th with discounts on other power-related devices, including 20 percent off the larger BaseCharge 1500 and the 100-watt solar panels that can recharge either battery.

I spent a few weeks with the BaseCharge 600 and used it to run my work-from-home setup (laptop, monitor, gateway, lights) for a full day with plenty of charge left over. It also ran a power drill outdoors for a small project. There are eight ports up front, including multiple USB-Cs and regular old three-pronged plug outlets. The display offers a lot of useful info, like how long the battery has left, considering your current power consumption, or the amount of time the battery will take to return to full when it's plugged into the wall or a solar panel.

Our favorite low-capacity power bank, the Charge 40 PD is also part of the sale, and down to $45 instead of $60. It's got a tough case and will revive your phone from the dead a couple of times.

Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2

Ring Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 The Video Doorbell Pro 2 gives you 3D motion detection and a head-to-toe view of whoever's at your door. Right now, its 30 percent off as part of a larger sale on Ring devices. $175 at Amazon

Many Ring security products are currently cheaper right now, both at Amazon and at Ring. Discounts include $75 off the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2, which brings it down to $175 and the cheapest its gone for outside of Black Friday sales last November. The Pro 2 is a wired unit that gives you a head-to-toe view of your entryway along with two-way audio and 3D motion sensing that more accurately differentiates between people simply passing by and those actually approaching your door.

If you don't have a wire available for your doorbell (or wanted something a little cheaper), you can go for the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus. It's down to $140 after a 22 percent discount. It also gives you head-to-toe HD video and two-way audio. The quick-release battery pack is rechargeable and should last a few months between charges.

Apple Watch Ultra with Yellow Ocean Band

Apple Apple Watch Ultra with Yellow Ocean Band The Apple Watch Ultra (yellow band) is on sale at Amazon for just $702, the lowest price we've seen yet. $702 at Amazon

We're not in Patek Philippe territory, but a $799 timepiece is still pretty spendy. This week gave us the lowest price we've seen yet on the top-end Apple Watch Ultra, bringing it down to $702  but only if you get it with the yellow band. If you're down with the sunny hue, or were already planning to swap out the strap, you can save nearly $100 on a watch that's best suited to athletes and outdoor enthusiasts. Our deputy editor Cherlynn Low gave the smartwatch an 85 in her review, citing it's excellent battery life, durable build and the bright display. Its GPS, Backtrack and Waypoint features also performed admirably during a hike in New Jersey's South Mountain reservation.

For those who want a capable smartwatch that's much more affordable, the current generation 40mm Apple Watch SE with the starlight case is also on sale at Amazon and at Best Buy. It's back down to $219, which is the lowest it's gone since its debut last September. Cherlynn called this one "the best smartwatch $250 can buy" in her review. The 44mm models in all three case colorways are also on sale at Amazon.

Google Nest Learning thermostat

Google Google Nest Learning Thermometer (3rd-gen) The Nest Learning Thermometer can help you to manage the temperature of your home while cutting down energy usage. $144 at Wellbots

Right now, Wellbots is offering a total of $105 off Google's Nest Learning Thermostat when you enter the code 55ENGDT at checkout. The smart thermometer is already on sale for $199, but the code takes an additional $55 off, making it just $144. Over time, the Nest will learn your habits and adjust accordingly. By detecting when you're home and away, the device could help save energy too.

Another discount code will save you a total of $124 on the Google Nest Camera with Floodlight. It's on sale for $220, but the code 65ENGDT will bring it down to $155. The camera pairs up bright lights and a camera to alert you when events are detected outside your home, sending HD video to your phone or smart display so you can keep tabs on your perimeter at all times.

And finally, we've got a code for the Google Nest Indoor/Outdoor Wireless Camera too. Enter 45ENGDT at checkout for an additional $45 savings over the $140 sale price.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (256GB) The S23 Ultra with 256GB of storage is currently $150 off. It's not the lowest price we've seen yet, but still a decent discount for anyone looking to get Samsung's newest flagship. $1,050 at Amazon

A sale at Amazon is lowering the price on many configurations of Samsung's latest Galaxy phones. The S23 Ultra, the S23+ and the base model S23 are all seeing discounts of between $50 and $150. The sale brings the S23 Ultra with 256GB of storage down to $1,050.

These aren't the largest discounts we've seen on Samsung's latest smartphones, but it's a decent discount on what are still pretty new phones. The discounts apply to all storage configurations and all colorways are included.

We gave the Galaxy S23 Ultra an 89 in our review, praising the powerful performance, "dazzling" display and larger, 200MP rear camera that produces great-looking images. The S23+ earned an 86 review score from us thanks to its bright display and excellent battery life, which went longer than two days before needing a charge.

Samsung M70B Series Smart Monitor

Samsung Samsung M70B Series Smart Monitor (43-inch) Samsung's Smart Monitors are designed for both work and play, while offering a way to control your smart home products -- and right now you can save $120 on a 43-inch model. $380 at Amazon $380 at Samsung

Multiple models of Samsung monitors are currently on sale at both Amazon and directly from Samsung's site, including the 43-inch M70B smart monitor. It's currently $380, which is $120 off the list price and the lowest its gone for since the shopping holidays late last year. It's got 4K resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate and thanks to the built-in smart TV capabilities, you can stream, video conference and control your smart home without connecting to a PC. The sale also includes the 32-inch Odyssey Neo G8, which is $1,200 instead of $1,500. The curved 4K monitor has a 240Hz refresh rate with a latency as low as 1ms.

Hulu

Hulu Hulu (ad-supported) Get three months of Hulu for $2 per month, totaling $6. $2 at Hulu

If you cancelled Hulu and want to come back, you can get the next three months for just $2 per month. The deal is valid through May 27th and is available to new and returning subscribers  as long as it's been at least a month since you cancelled. This is the ad-supported version of the service, which usually goes for $8 per month. If you don't want your episodes of Abbot Elementary interrupted by ads, you can go for the ad-free plan for $15 per month. Either way, we think Hulu is one of the better streaming services out there and it will be the only place to catch new (yes) episodes of Futurama.

Apple 2023 Mac mini M2

Apple Apple 2023 Mac Mini M2 with 256GB SSD Storage Pick up the latest Mac Mini while it's $100 off and down to a record low. $500 at Amazon

Apple's latest system-on-a-chip is the M2 processor, which you'll find in the newest MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros and the Mac mini. The diminutive computer is the cheapest way to get the speed of the M2 and right now you can grab a mini for just $500, which is $100 off the list price and matches the lowest price so far. This is the model with 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage, which is the same capacity offered by the base model MacBook Air  but the mini delivers it for about half the price.

Of course, you'll need to add a monitor, but if you've already got on on hand, you can save a significant amount. We gave the Mac mini an 86 in our review, praising the performance, solid design and generous amount of ports for accessories and monitors.

Eero Pro mesh WiFi router

eero Eero Pro The WiFi 5-based Eero mesh router is down to a very low price. $80 at Amazon

Amazon is selling many of it's previous-generation Eero routers for 24 to 50 percent off right now. The sale includes the Eero Pro mesh WiFi router which is half price and down to $80. It's a tri-band router that simultaneously supports 2.4GHz, 5.2 GHz and 5.8 GHz signals. A single unit will cover up to 1,750 square feet and if you add more routers, you can expand that coverage easily. Once you install an Eero router, you can even use current-model Echo speakers as WiFi extenders too. Note that the Eero Pro is a previous generation model that supports WiFi 5  the newer, WiFi 6E model is currently $250 and not on sale.

Razer BlackWidow V3 Mini HyperSpeed

Razer Razer BlackWidow V3 Mini HyperSpeed This 65 percent keyboard still has arrow keys and a column of miscellaneous keys on the right side that can double as macro buttons. Right now it's cheaper than it's been since last year's holiday sales. $110 at Amazon $110 at Best Buy

If you're dealing with limited desk real estate, a 60 percent keyboard might help. Right now, Razer's BlackWidow V3 is on sale for $180 or 39 percent off at Amazon and Best Buy. Though it's technically a 65 percent keyboard, it's still our top pick for the best 60 percent keyboard with arrow keys. It offers both 2.4G and Bluetooth connectivity A switch lets you pick between a clicky typing experience or a much quieter (though not completely silent) mode.

KitchenAid Cordless Variable Speed Hand Blender

Best cordless KitchenAid KitchenAid Cordless Variable Speed Hand Blender In addition to being wire-free, KitchenAid's machine lets you adjust the blenders motor simply by squeezing down on the trigger. $85 at Amazon

We named the KitchenAid immersion blender the best cordless option in our in our guide to immersion blenders. Our reviewer, Sam Rutherford, says it easy to use and liked that instead of discrete speed settings, you can adjust the speed by applying more or less pressure on the trigger. Kitchen Aid claims it can blend 25 bowls of soup on a charge. Sam didn't have that much soup on hand, but still found the battery to last a long time. Just keep in mind that you can't charge it while you use it, so plug it in before you plan on cooking.

Apple MacBook Pro M2, 14-inch

Our senior editor Devindra Hardawar called the new MacBook Pro a "blessing for creatives" when the new laptop came out earlier this year, awarding it a 92 in his review. Right now the base-level configuration, with the M2 Pro chip, 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage is back down to an all-time low of $1,749 at B&H Photo. That only goes for the space gray colorway  you'll pay $50 more for the silver version.

We named the it the best MacBook for creatives in our guide thanks to the laptop's powerful processing power that easily handles 4K video editing and complex musical arrangements. It has plenty of ports, including a 3.5mm, one HDMI, three Thunderbolt 4 ports and an SD card slot. You can get the same deal on Amazon.

Samsung S95B OLED

SAMSUNG Samsung 55-Inch OLED 4K S95B Series Smart TV The Samsung S95B displays the deep blacks of a good OLED TV without sacrificing peak brightness or color saturation and right now it's down to its lowest price yet. $1,298 at Amazon $1,298 at Samsung

Samsung's S95B OLED 55-inch TV is on sale for $1,298, which is a steep, 41 percent discount over the $2,198 price tag it had when it first came out. You can grab the same deal at Samsung too. The S95B smart TV made our list for one of the best TVs for gaming you can buy. The QD-OLED display combines an OLED panel with a layer of quantum dots so it can offer the deep blacks that you get with quality OLED screens, but also gives enough brightness to play in a daylight-lit room. You'll be able to play 4K games with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate and there are four full HDMI ports.

The 2023 version, the S95C, is now available, but you'll pay about $2,400 right now, after a $100 discount from Samsung. If you want our top pick for a gaming set, check out the LG C2, which is on sale for $200 off at both B&H Photo and at Amazon. That's not the lowest price ever, but a good way to save a few dollars on a great gaming TV.

Apple MacBook Air M1

Best budget option Photo by Devindra Hardawar / Engadget Apple 2020 MacBook Air M1 Apple's 2020 MacBook Air with the M1 chip is a relatively affordable way for students or those with tight budgets to snag a fast and capable machine -- and right now it's $200 off the list price. $800 at Amazon $849 at B&H Photo

The previous generation MacBook Air with the M1 chip is our top pick for a budget Apple laptop, and right now, it's an even better deal at just $800, which is $200 off the list price. It doesn't have the latest system-on-a-chip that Apple makes, but it's still a powerful ultraportable that earned a score of 94 when Devindra reviewed it. He appreciated the display, performance and lack of fan noise from the passive heat sink. It weighs just 2.8 pounds, making it ideal for students taking it to class or for digital nomads who move around a lot.

If you want the latest model, B&H Photo is offering the 2022 MacBook Air M2 for $150 off, bringing it down to $1,049. That's about $50 more than the lowest price we've seen, but still a nice discount for anyone who wants the laptop that Devindra called a "near-perfect Mac."

Dell XPS 13 Plus Laptop

Best Windows Engadget Dell XPS 13 Plus The best Windows laptop has long been Dells well-rounded XPS 13 series and we still recommend it to anyone that doesnt want a Mac. $1,400 at Dell

If you don't want a Mac, consider this laptop instead. We named the Dell XPS 13 Plus the best Windows laptop for college students and it's currently $500 off on clearance at the manufacturer's site. It offers an ample keyboard and an OLED screen with thin bezels that Devindra says looks fantastic. This model packs a 12th-gen Intel Core i5 chip with 8GB of memory and 512GB of storage. It runs on Windows 11 and has a touch screen and capacitative buttons at the top of the keyboard. The glass haptic touchpad blends into the palm rest lending to the overall minimalist design. Unfortunately, that minimalism means Dell ditched the headphone jack, so your personal listening options are limited to Bluetooth.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
The British Pound (GBP) and Euro (EUR) advanced by around 0.20 percent ahead of the weekend, after markets adjusted their US rate hike expectations following dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The US Dollar also fell over the course of the day, after profit-taking and a correction struck the US Dollar (USD) ahead of the weekend.

At the time of writing, the Pound to Dollar exchange rate (GBP/USD) traded at around US$1.24386, a rise of 0.22% from Fridays opening rates.

The Pound to Euro exchange rate (GBP/EUR), however, only held firm at 1.15206 as EUR/USD advances took the single currency higher.

US Dollar (USD) Exchange Rates Defensive amid Profit Taking

The US Dollar (USD) started Fridays European session on the back foot, as investors appeared to engage in profit-taking following Thursdays dramatic rally to multi-month highs against other peers.

Renewed concerns over the US debt ceiling may have also weighed on the Greenback during the early moments of Fridays trade.

While markets remain hopeful that a resolution between US President Joe Biden and House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy would be reached soon, some Republicans had indicated a desire to block a deal which doesnt include a robust package of spending cuts.

Francesco Pesole, FX Strategist at ING, commented: Republicans are demanding stricter work requirements for social safety net programmes, a point the most liberal branches of the Democratic parties have firmly opposed. It seems, however, that President Biden may ultimately budge on this point, and House Speaker McCarthy said yesterday that an agreement in principle may be ready by this weekend.

Elsewhere, optimistic and bullish trade amongst traders during Fridays European session may have brought further winds to the US Dollar. As a safe haven currency, investors looked to riskier investments during the cheery mood.

Pound (GBP) Exchange Rates Struggle amid Bereft Data Calendar

Above: GBP/EUR fluctuates but ultimately trades around the daily open.

The Pound (GBP) struggled for support early on Friday, as a lack of impactful data releases prevented Sterling from gaining much ground against many of its peers.

Because of this, the gains Sterling made against the US Dollar were not particularly impactful, and GBP struggled to consolidate the ground made.

However, modest support may have arrived through GBP investors focusing on an improvement in UK consumer sentiment. While the GfK release rarely makes a drop in the ocean at the best of times, the lack of data elsewhere may have brought it into focus and provided some cushioning.

The index printed at -27, an increase of three points in May over Aprils measurement. While not much of a muchness, this reflected the fourth consecutive monthly rise.

Joe Staton, Client Strategy Director at GfK, stated: This measure most keenly reflects our hopes and fears for the coming year, and it underpins our ability to spend on goods and services that drive our economy. Of course, the headline score of -27 means were still deep in negative territory and a long way from any sunny uplands.

Pound Sterling staged a rally against the US Dollar into the afternoon, as a USD correction/profit-taking saw EUR/USD and GBP/USD exchange rates advance.

Remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell have led to a shift in market predictions regarding additional rate increases by the US central bank.

Powell suggested that current unease within the US banking industry has resulted in stricter credit conditions, potentially diminishing the need for higher interest rates.

Consequently, the likelihood of a rate hike in June, as anticipated by the markets, has been scaled back.

Pound US Dollar (GBP/USD) Exchange Rate Forecast: PMI Flashes in Focus

Above: GBP/USD advances on US Dollar into the weekend on profit-taking.

Looking ahead to early next week for the Pound (GBP), the core catalyst of movement is likely to arrive on Tuesday. Then, the latest private sector PMI flashes are due to print, reflecting Mays activity.

Previous releases have trended upward over the past few months, and if Mays readings continue this trend the Pound could strengthen on fledgling economic optimism for the UK. Furthermore, if they indicate an economy resilient to the Bank of England (BoE)s tightening, rate hike bets could increase.

For the US Dollar, Tuesday brings the release of the latest set of American private sector PMI flashes. Mays indexes are forecast by economists to remain close to previous readings, which could bring cheer to USD investors by indicating a resilient economy.

With the Federal Reserve currently indicating a slow down on further tightening, signs of a resilient US economy may prompt investors to price in a final hike, or even open the door for holding the terminal rate for longer.

Elsewhere, continued negotiations around the US debt ceiling may continue to weigh on GBP/USD. With optimism over a solution increasing, any further signs of a deal may serve to weaken the exchange rate, by bringing strength to the Greenback.
Introducing "The Imaginary Librarian": A Captivating Flash Fiction Unveiling the Intricacies of Memory Maintenance

NY, May 19, 2023  CafeLit, one of the UK's most renowned literary platforms, is delighted to announce the upcoming publication of "The Imaginary Librarian," a remarkable flash fiction piece that delves into the captivating realms of memory and its preservation. Authored by P. A. Farrell, this intriguing story is set to be released on May 25, 2023, captivating readers with its whimsical narrative and thought-provoking themes.

"The Imaginary Librarian" takes readers on a mesmerizing journey, where the mildly imaginable becomes a portal to explore the intricate nature of memory and how it is maintained. Within the enchanting confines of the story, readers will encounter a librarian who resides within the recesses of the mind, diligently cataloging and preserving memories. As the narrative unfolds, the reader is invited to question the reliability of our recollections and the significance of these mental archives.

Through evocative prose and clever storytelling, P. A. Farrell artfully guides readers into the world of the imaginary librarian, capturing their imagination and leaving them pondering the mysteries of memory long after the final words have been read. This flash fiction piece promises to engage readers with its unique blend of fantasy and introspection, making it a captivating addition to the CafeLit literary landscape.

CafeLit is known for its commitment to showcasing exceptional storytelling and promoting emerging voices in the literary realm. With "The Imaginary Librarian," they continue their tradition of presenting innovative and thought-provoking narratives to a diverse and enthusiastic readership.

Don't miss the opportunity to embark on this unforgettable literary adventure. "The Imaginary Librarian" by P. A. Farrell will be available for publication on May 25, 2023. Stay tuned for its release on CafeLit's website and immerse yourself in a world where memories are both meticulously preserved and curiously explored.

About CafeLit: CafeLit is a distinguished literary platform dedicated to providing readers with exceptional short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. With a commitment to nurturing emerging talent and showcasing imaginative narratives, CafeLit has become a cherished destination for literary enthusiasts across the United Kingdom and beyond.
The Great Basin Smokejumpers based at Boise's National Interagency Fire Center parachute in to remote places to reach wildfires quickly. (Courtesy of National Interagency Fire Center Bureau of Land Management

When dispatch calls in a new wildfire, Cole Siemion and the other Great Basin Smokejumpers are trained to suit up and be ready to board a plane in two minutes.

Smokejumpers are highly trained wildland firefighters who parachute from airplanes 3,000 feet off the ground to reach the fires.

Their goals are safety and speed, and the work is difficult and dangerous.

What makes smokejumpers unique and specialized is the way they reach fires. Parachuting to wildfires allows them to reach some of the most remote and rugged terrain that may be located miles from any road or trail.

Our primary mission is an aggressive, initial attack, Siemion told the Idaho Capital Sun in an interview. The vast majority of the time, the expectation is that we will be suppressing the fire until it is out. That might mean working all night. It might mean working until four in the morning, getting a few hours of sleep and starting again the next day.

There are 65 members of the Great Basin Smokejumpers  or Boise Smokejumpers  based at the National Interagency Fire Center located near the Boise Airport who are training and preparing to spend the late spring, summer and fall fighting wildfires across the West and up into Alaska.

Due to a snowy spring, meteorologists said the fire season isnt especially active right now in Idaho and the West, but officials are expecting wildfire risks to increase as temperatures rise. When that happens, Siemion and smokejumpers will often be the first responders to many fires they jump into.

The Boise Smokejumpers are part of the Bureau of Land Management, and their base is located at the National Interagency Fire Center, or NIFC. Between the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, there are nine smokejumper base locations across the United States. Three of the smokejumper bases are in Idaho (one in Boise, one in McCall and another in Grangeville), while the other bases are in Montana, California, Washington, Oregon and Alaska.

What is a smokejumper?

Smokejumping is not an entry-level firefighting position, and smokejumper candidates must have previous fire experience, experience using chainsaws and hand tools and be able to pass a rigorous physical training test, according to the McCall Smokejumpers website.

Smokejumper candidates must also pass a multi-week training program where they spend time in the field and in classrooms. The training includes mock airplane exits and jumps, leadership skills, parachute landing techniques, tree climbing, navigation exercises, work with tools and chainsaws and practice parachute jumps.

Like many smokejumpers, Siemion gained experience as a member of a hotshot crew. According to the Department of Interiors wildland fire jobs website, a hotshot crew is a mobile, specialized firefighting crew that works on the ground in rugged terrain on active and difficult areas of wildfires.

Siemion has worked as a smokejumper since 2015, when he started as a rookie with the McCall Smokejumpers.

Before that, he had never jumped out of an airplane before.

Of course I was nervous standing in the door of an aircraft, but Im still nervous even today having jumped for seven years, Siemion said.

The training is designed in such a way to ingrain safe habits, and I think our track record shows that the training works. Of course, jumping is thrilling. Its fun. Its exciting. But its also based on good, safe habits, and I always fall back on that.

To date, Siemion has parachuted into wildfires 55 times and made 191 jumps altogether, including practice jumps.

Even as an experienced smokejumper, Siemion said the training is extensive and continuous. Each year, returning smokejumpers complete refresher training that includes suiting up, equipment checks, jump spot selection, landing procedures and malfunction procedures.

Great Basin Smokejumpers rig their own parachutes, and must demonstrate their skills packing chutes over and over again before jumping for real. They also track and document who rigged each chute, including the date and location. As of Thursday, Siemion has rigged 184 parachutes.

The expectation is once we rig a chute, we have to have a system of accountability for who rigged that chute and maintain the documentation, Siemion said.

Along with learning to pack parachutes and jump out of airplanes, Great Basin Smokejumpers also learn to sew so they can make, modify, repair and customize their gear. Outside of the active fire season, smokejumpers may be found in the loft at their base working with a sewing machine to make their own jump jackets, pants and gear bags. They also customize their own parachute helmets by combining a ski helmet with a wire cage face mask. Smokejumpers who obtain a Federal Aviation Administration qualification also learn to repair and patch their own parachutes, in case one is damaged out in the field.

Some fire personnel specialize in manufacturing gear and obtaining a FAA senior rigger qualification, which Siemion is working to obtain now. He said all Great Basin Smokejumpers develop some level of skill at sewing and repairing gear.

We know best what our needs are, and we are always trying to make improvements, Siemion said. We might not be the fastest sewers in the world. But if we want to make adjustments, maybe that is finding a more comfortable jump jacket with better padding or lighter materials. With some proficiency at sewing, we are able to adjust much more quickly and nimbly than if we only relied on contracts with outside vendors.

What happens when smokejumpers are called out for a fire?

When the Great Basin Smokejumpers are called out for a fire from Boises National Interagency Fire Center, they could be heading anywhere in the West or up to Alaska.

Eight smokejumpers load into a plane and assess the fire from the air once they get close. If the fire is small, a minimum of two smokejumpers will parachute in. If the fire is larger, they might send all eight.

Working with a spotter, the smokejumpers select a landing zone and jump from the plane wearing the jump jacket and pants they may have sewn themselves and the helmet they customized. They carry a pack with personal gear, including water, food, a radio and a fire shelter.

Once the smokejumpers land safely, the crew on the plane will drop them cargo, which may include fire packs designed to sustain two firefighters for 48 hours, hand tools, sleeping bags, more water or chainsaws.

After working all day and night to fight a fire, the work isnt done when a fire is out or smokejumpers hand off a larger spreading fire to a larger team.

Smokejumpers then must pack out up to 130 pounds of gear and hike out to a road, trail or helicopter landing spot to get picked up. Sometimes, that means a one mile hike. Other times, packing out could entail an eight mile hike off trail through rugged mountains to reach the closest suitable spot to land a helicopter.

For Siemion, its becoming a career.

He enjoys the different experiences that each fire offers, and he enjoys working with the other smokejumpers.

Being a public servant working to protect peoples property and our shared natural resources is something I get satisfaction with, Siemien said. Most of all, its a pleasure working with a group of such highly motivated, hardworking, smart problem solvers. That is what it comes down to and it is what the Boise Smokejumpers is all about, as is the larger wildland fire community as well.

What is the outlook for this years fire season?

Due to a snowy spring and record snowpack across parts of Idaho and the West, there isnt a lot of large fire activity in the United States now, said Nick Nauslar, a predictive services meteorologist at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise.

Right now we are expecting a slower or even a delayed start to the fire season in parts of the Southwest, the mountains, Utah and Nevada and throughout a good part of California, Nauslar said in a telephone interview. However, a heat wave or two can quickly change things, as weve seen before.

While the snowpack and melting snow provide moisture on the ground that may lead to a delayed start to the fire season, that moisture is also helping fuels such as grasses and shrubs grow, which will increase the risk for rangeland wildfires, particularly at middle elevations, as those fuels dry out Nauslar said. As a result, Nauslar said Idaho and parts of the West could start seeing grass fires in the next month or so.

Nauslar and other meteorologists and officials will continue to monitor fire risk and activity as temperatures increase and the risk levels change.

One thing to caution people on is that just because we could have a delayed start to the fire season doesnt mean there wont be any fires, Nauslar said. If those big fires happen in your backyard or near you, it can have big effects on you even though on a broader scale it may not be a bigger fire season. No matter the year, we always get fires and almost always get big fires across the West at some point.

Could you pass the minimum physical requirements to be a smokejumper?

According to the McCall Smokejumpers website, the minimum physical requirements a smoke jumper candidate must meet on the first day of training are:

Seven pullups

Twenty-five push-ups

Forty-five sit-ups

A 1.5 mile run in under 11 minutes (thats a 7:20 per mile pace)

In smokejumper training, smokejumper candidates are also required to demonstrate packing out 110 pounds of gear over a distance of three miles in 90 minutes or less, according to the McCall Smokejumpers.

SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST. DONATE

The post Boises elite smokejumpers serve as a first line of wildfire response appeared first on Idaho Capital Sun.
Cascade County Courthouse photographed on March 31, 2023. (Photo by Nicole Girten/Daily Montanan)

A district court judge sided with the Great Falls Public Library Board in appointing an elections monitor for the upcoming mill levy election June 6.

Judge Brenda Gilbert appointed the boards choice for monitor, Lynn DeRoche, who worked in the Elections Office for more than 16 years under former Clerk and Recorder Rina Moore and under current Clerk Sandra Merchant for about the first month of her term.

DeRoche told the Daily Montanan that Merchant did not consult her on how to run elections and barely spoke to her at all after Merchant took the job, and DeRoche found a new county job in February.

Gilbert said she chose DeRoche in the interest of time, as the respondents proposed monitor candidates had not been consulted prior. These suggested persons included Clerks and Recorders from Ravalli County, Regina Plettenberg, and Flathead County, Debbie Pierson, among others.

This will require Ms. DeRoche and Ms. Merchant to put any past differences aside and put their efforts toward  the fair and efficient election moving forward, Gilbert said.

Merchant said previously in both a letter and in court filings that she opposed the appointment of a monitor and the appointment of DeRoche, specifically. Merchants attorney, Elizabeth Worth Lund, contested DeRoches appointment claiming she is biased and unqualified. Lund said the appointment proposal was political and unprecedented and an excuse to spy on Miss Merchant.

Raph Graybill, a lawyer for the library board, pushed back against the accusations. He said in an interview DeRoche is an existing county employee in a nonpartisan position.

The allegation that theres something political about this is totally baseless. Theres no one more qualified to do this. Shes available. Shes ready to go. And shes not a former political official in any way, Graybill said.

Gilbert did not issue an order during the hearing Thursday, which had been moved up due to scheduling conflicts, but asked counsel to submit a proposed order that encompassed the directive she gave from the bench.

Merchant did not respond to an emailed request for comment Thursday afternoon in time for publication.

The decision comes in the wake of problems with Merchants handling of the May 2 local school board and flood district elections. For example, some voters received two absentee ballots, ballots would not fit properly in the return envelope and the polling location opened an hour late, with voters not able to submit ballots before going to work in the morning.

This was Merchants first test as an Elections Administrator, as she beat out Moore by less than 40 votes in November. In early March, Merchant sent emails to districts holding upcoming elections saying mail-in ballots would not be administratively feasible, and suggested the library election be postponed. Merchant later said the election would be possible to hold June 6, but would be a hybrid poll and absentee ballot election.

An attorney representing residents of the West Great Falls Flood and Drainage Control District as well as separate clients in the Fort Shaw Irrigation District sent a letter Thursday to Cascade County Commissioners urging them not to certify their elections due to irregularities and requested another election be conducted.

The service provided to the public in this election may be described using words such as abhorrent, atrocious, contemptible and despicable. Maybe it is better simply to describe this election as a complete failure, the letter on the Fort Shaw election read. Your duties as county commissioners require you to supervise the official conduct of all county officers and to see that the officers faithfully perform their duties  There was nothing faithful here.

I would ask that you send this election back to the District and the Elections Office, but I have no confidence that either of them is able to conduct an appropriate election.

Graybill said in court Thursday that the library mill levy election already has seen issues, one of which came to his attention just prior to the hearing. He said voters Everett Hall and Carroll Hall both received absentee ballots for the election, however, they both contained secrecy envelopes for other voters with different names who lived miles away.

The consequences of the librarys election being invalidated, like service and staffing shortages along with losing access to state aid, were underscored in Graybills argument, one Judge Gilbert ultimately agreed with.

He said voters in a delayed result could ultimately decide to vote in favor of the mill levy, but due to the timing of the fiscal year, the library would still suffer as they couldnt access the additional funds for another year.

Gilbert said the role of the monitor would be akin to other eyes of the court positions, like a guardian ad litem in child protective cases. She said the monitor can give advice and can report back to the court if there are irregularities.

The monitor will not supplant the courts role in ensuring that the election is properly administered, but will rather assist the court with obtaining information and providing it to the court, she said. The monitor shall have direct and unfettered access to the elections office and all of its operations. If there are operations occurring at the elections office, outside of the normal business hours, then the respondent will have the obligation to notify the monitor of that in order that the monitor would have the right to be there.

Graybill also highlighted issues that came up prior to the hearing, like incorrect information in ballot instructions that the library intervened and corrected before it went out to voters.

Lund cited the librarys oversight in this instance as a reason why a monitor was unnecessary.

Montana statutes provide that elections are to be public already and anybody can observe, she said.

She responded to a claim Graybill made that visitors to the Elections Office were asked to leave after 5 p.m., saying she wasnt aware of that, but they would work with the library to be able to observe the mill levy election.

Lund was especially in opposition to DeRoches appointment, saying there was too much history there, and adding that voters chose Merchant over Moore in the last election.

DeRoche said in an interview Thursday that she tuned into the hearing and said she didnt want to respond to the comments made about her. She said she agreed to be a monitor because it was the right thing to do and she said she hopes Merchant will be open to her advice and what she has to offer.

Everybody deserves to have a fair election and everybody deserves their votes to be counted correctly, DeRoche said.

Attorneys for both parties will have until 10 a.m. Monday to send the court their proposed order.

The post District court judge sides with library in appointing monitor for mill levy election appeared first on Daily Montanan.
LIVINGSTON, MT- On Thursday Governor Greg Gianforte joined Lee Rhodes, owner and founder of glassybaby in a ribbon cutting welcoming the company to Montana. The expansion of their operation from washington to Livingston creating as many as 140 good paying-jobs in Park County.

This was a huge leap of faith, coming from Washington State. We've already hired 34 people from the community, which means 34 people will have a great wage and benefits and be able to live in town. The governor's office and Scott Osterman have helped me so much, in terms of thinking things through and finding opportunities and I just can't say thanks enough, Rhodes said.

During an event at their new glass blowing facility, glassybaby officials shared they are one of the largest glass blowing hot-shops in the nation, and produce a variety of hand-blown glass votives.

Since their expansion, glassybaby has donated $375,000 to 45 Montana-based nonprofits. Since I took office, weve been focused on making Montana a better place for innovators to do business and create Montana jobs, Gov. Gianforte said.

Were thrilled to officially welcome glassybaby to the Treasure State.

glassybaby is one in a growing list of businesses which have expanded or relocated to Montana.

In the governors January 2023 State of the State address, he announced the relocation or expansion of 15 businesses to Montana since January 2021 that project to create 900 new Montana jobs.

Since the governor took office, 36,000 new jobs have been created across Montana.

Businesses like glassybaby see Montanas clear value. From Montanans unparalleled work ethic to our pro-business, pro-jobs policies, theres no doubt about it. Montana is open for business, Gov. Gianforte concluded.

Creating a better climate for business development and job creation, including cutting taxes, overhauling regulations, and encouraging entrepreneurship, is a central element of Governor Gianfortes Montana Comeback Plan.
Logo of the Montana Public Defenders (Photo via State of Montana).

An attorney for the Office of the Public Defender is being sued for filing invalid construction liens against a house after trying to force its foreclosure in a separate proceeding, according to a complaint filed this month in Missoula County District Court.

The complaint alleges Scotti Ramberg set up a couple of limited liability companies and used one of them to illegally record construction liens worth $109,000 against a vacant home  either knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth, the lawsuit said.

Ms. Ramberg recorded the liens against the property with the knowledge and intent that the action would result in harm to the plaintiffs, the lawsuit said. Alternatively, (Ramberg) either recognized or should have recognized that the recording of the liens without legal justification would result in harm to the plaintiffs.

Ramberg declined to answer questions in a brief phone call Tuesday. She said she had only received the complaint Monday afternoon and had not fully reviewed it.

Reed Mandelko, managing attorney for the Office of the Public Defender in Missoula, declined to comment in a brief phone call Wednesday. The states employee data website listed Ramberg as having an hourly rate of $34.41 in 2021, which would translate to an annual salary of $71,573.

In the lawsuit, Joseph Bruno and Laura Knight, who own the property, are suing Ramberg, SLR Investments, LLC, and John Does 1-10.

Filed May 3, the complaint involves Ramberg, who works in Missoula for the public defenders office, a vacant home, a couple of shell companies, a homeowners association, and a lawyer who represents the homeowners association and shares an address with Ramberg at least on paper.

The plaintiffs allege the defendants are guilty of fraud and acted with malice, and they are asking the court to quash, or invalidate, the construction liens and award damages and attorneys fees.

Filed by Gregory McDonnell of Orr McDonnell Law in Missoula, the lawsuit outlines the way the allegations unfolded.

In late 2005, Joseph Bruno bought the house, at 13137 Bunchgrass Lane, the complaint said. He and his brother lived there for many years until his brother died, and Bruno moved to California, leaving the house vacant.

In 2007, the Hawthorn Springs Property Owners Association, the homeowners association, filed a lien against the house with the Missoula County Clerk and Recorder for unpaid water usage in the amount of $1,337.90, the complaint said. A decade later, in 2017, that bill was unpaid and the HOA filed a notice of non-compliance.

On Nov. 27, 2020, the HOA filed a second lien that superseded the first, claiming the amount owed with interest to be $15,256,31, the complaint said. It said the lien was filed on behalf of the HOA by its attorney Rufus Peace.

Mr. Peace is a Montana attorney, admitted to the Montana bar on the same day as Ms. Ramberg, the complaint said.

The next month, on Dec. 31, Ramberg registered two entities with the Montana Secretary of State, the complaint said. One is Bruno Holdings, and the other is SLR (Rambergs initials are reflected in the name of the entity, the lawsuit said); she listed herself as the registered agent for both and Brunos address is listed as the LLCs business address, according to the lawsuit and exhibits.

The address she used identifying herself as the registered agent is the same address as a property owned by Peace, the lawsuit said.

Peace did not return a voicemail requesting comment to a number a previous employer said was his cellphone.

In the brief call, Ramberg declined to state her relationship to Peace: Im not going to answer that at this time.

In January 2021, roughly one week after Ramberg registered the two entities with the Secretary of States Office, the HOA assigned all the interest in the second lien to Bruno Holdings, the lawsuit said.

Then in November 2021, SLR filed a construction lien with the county claiming it was owed $73,123.13.

But neither Bruno nor Knight ever requested any services or materials, and they hadnt ever even spoken with SLR or Ramberg, the lawsuit said. They hadnt entered into any contracts with SLR or Ramberg either.

The same day the construction lien was filed, Ramberg filed another document in court, the complaint said.

On November 10, 2021, Ms. Ramberg, acting as counsel for Bruno Holdings, filed a complaint for judicial foreclosure in the Montana Fourth Judicial District Court  requesting that the house be sold at public auction to satisfy the second property owners association lien assigned to Bruno Holdings, the lawsuit said.

An order vacating the foreclosure in August 2022 said Bruno paid the amount owed. But the Sheriffs sale went down to the wire, according to a notice from the Sheriffs Office.

In her request for foreclosure, Ramberg said the property owners had not communicated with the plaintiff or HOA despite multiple notices. But the current lawsuit states Ramberg has sworn before this Honorable Court that she has not had any communication with Mr. Bruno.

Additionally, a report to the court from the foreclosure case noted Bruno and Knight tried to contact Ramberg to prevent the Sheriffs sale, but she refused to speak with them or articulate an amount that would satisfy the judgment.

Upon information and belief, Ms. Ramberg through her solely owned entities, SLR Investments, LLC, and Bruno Holdings, LLC, was attempting to retain ownership of the house at 13137 Bunchgrass Lane using invalid liens and other questionable methods, said the August 2022 report to the court.

Court documents note Bruno and Knight hired attorneys to determine the actual amount owed, and the order vacating the foreclosure last August said a check of $23,194.05 more than fully satisfies the amount due to Bruno Holdings.

Meanwhile in July 2022, SLR filed a second construction lien against the property, this one for $36,200.44, but without any descriptions of services or materials provided, as required by law, the lawsuit said.

Again, it said neither Bruno nor Knight had requested any work from SLR, and neither was there record of any contract or communication between them and SLR or Ramberg.

As a result of defendants claim of invalid and unenforceable liens on the real property, plaintiffs have been forced to expend time and funds securing counsel to bring this action, the lawsuit said.

Because of Rambergs slander of title, the plaintiffs cant refinance the house, acquire a line of credit, or conduct other transactions related to the property, and theyll continue to be damaged until the illegal liens are removed, according to the complaint.

In a phone call with the Daily Montanan, Ramberg declined to address whether shed had any work history in construction or contracting and declined to make additional statements.

The lawsuit notes John Does 1-10 may be added to the case in the future, after the court determines whether others were involved in the case.

The post Montana Office of the Public Defender lawyer sued for fraud, invalid liens appeared first on Daily Montanan.
Canoes arrive at Shipyard Cove on San Juan Island, Washington, on May 22, 2022 during the Gathering of the Eagles Canoe Encampment. (Photo by Richard Arlin Walker)

ANACORTES, Washington  Coast Salish and First Nation canoes have been ceremonially reawakened in the Pacific Northwest in preparation for a return to the ancestral marine highways and celebratory cultural gatherings.

And for Indigenous peoples of the region, there is much to celebrate.

The Intertribal Canoe Journey  the annual Pacific Northwest gathering of canoe cultures  returns in July after a three-year break forced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A smaller event influenced by the Canoe Journey helped carry people through those years of cultural drought. Called the Gathering of the Eagles Canoe Encampment, it also returns this year.

The Gathering of the Eagles is scheduled for May 21-26 in the San Juan Islands, an archipelago located in the middle of the Salish Sea and bounded by British Columbia, Canada, to the west and north, and by Washington State to the east and south.

An unknown number of canoes will participate. Last years participants included Carvers Camp, a cultural education program for Indigenous youth; Chief Leschi School, located on the Puyallup Reservation; Hawaiian Voyaging Canoe Society, whose members have relatives at the Lummi Nation; and the Stillaguamish Tribe.

The Intertribal Canoe Journey is scheduled for July 31 to Aug. 6 at the Muckleshoot Tribes homelands in the Seattle suburb of Auburn, Washington. This will be the 29th Canoe Journey; Muckleshoot last hosted in 2006.

We are expecting around 120 canoes to come to Muckleshoot, said Autumn MaGee, Canoe Family Program manager for the Muckleshoot Tribe. We are planning for 8,000 people  between traveling canoe families, spectators and our community  to attend the hosting throughout the week.

The Gathering of the Eagles is much smaller than the Intertribal Canoe Journey, but the fact that coordinator Freddie Sul ka dub Lane was able to pull it off during the pandemic  and recruit a team of volunteers to make it happen  speaks perhaps to the importance of such gatherings.

Bring your own chairs, umbrellas and camping gear, Sul ka dub said. All events are free and open to all the communities we visit.

Ancestral marine highways

The first Intertribal Canoe Journey dates back to 1989 and the Paddle to Seattle, which took place as part of Washingtons centennial celebration.

In the time of the grandparents and great-grandparents, Indigenous people were not allowed to live within the Seattle city limits, children were taken from their families and sent to boarding schools, and potlatches were illegal.

Now, Coast Salish canoes were landing once again on Seattles shores. A cultural renaissance was born.

The Canoe Journey brought our canoes back to the water, Cathy Ballew of the Lummi Nation said in a 2019 interview. Its also brought back the regalia and the songs. A majority of young people are learning about our way of life, practicing the lifestyle, learning the language, wearing regalia. Its bringing back the old way of life.

And so when the Intertribal Canoe Journey took a pandemic-induced hiatus, Lummi Nation cultural director James Smitty Hillaire resisted. The Canoe Journey had revived the practice of traveling to various territories in nearshore and ocean-going canoes  returning to traveling the way of the ancestors on their ancestral marine highways.

If they failed to continue to do so, Hillaire said, they risked losing the right.

Hillaire reached out to Sul ka dub  a journalist, veteran event organizer and former Lummi Nation council member  and made it clear that traveling the way of the ancestors must continue.

Im not asking you to organize [this gathering]. Youre going to do it, Sul ka dub said Hillaire told him. And so he did.

Hillaire died on July 29, 2021, at the age of 86. The following summer, the Gathering of the Eagles Canoe Encampment took place. Canoes traveled from the seaside town of Anacortes to San Juan Islands Shipyard Cove, where the group camped before traveling to the Lummi Nation.

The event was significant on several levels.

One, it was believed to be the first landing of Coast Salish canoes in San Juan Islands Shipyard Cove since the 1855 treaty made the islands available to non-Native settlers, Sul ka dub said.

Two, participants included a Native Hawaiian contingent who learned that Indigenous Hawaiians were brought to San Juan Island to work on British-owned sheep farms in the mid-1800s when the U.S. and Great Britain both claimed the archipelago. Through those Native Hawaiian herders, numerous Coast Salish people have Hawaiian ties and vice versa.

Three, the event was a fulfillment of Hillaires last directive.

My grandfather played a role in bringing [canoe travel] back to our people, so that our young ones would have that identity of knowing who they are, Raymond Hillaire, Lummi, said at the time. It had been lost for many generations because of colonization. This was one of the last things he worked on before he went home to our ancestors.

The same, but different

Hosting the Intertribal Canoe Journey is a logistical feat that can cost as much as $1 million to pull off  thats for gifting, meals, camping sites, accommodations such as restrooms and showers, and any necessary site improvements.

Canoes travel from their home territories to the final host nation, visiting tribal nations along the way. At each stop, canoe skippers stand and ask in their languages for permission to land  a protocol that is also followed in the Gathering of the Eagles.

The hosts will invite them ashore to camp, rest and eat. At night, there is honoring, gifting and cultural exchanges in community buildings or traditional longhouses, often featuring intricately carved welcome figures and house posts. Drummers and dancers from various tribal nations take to the floor.

The number of canoes grows as the journey gets closer to the final destination and participants from north, south, east and west converge on the host site.

The Intertribal Canoe Journey has grown so large that multiple Canoe Journeys have more than once taken place concomitantly.

On the other hand, the Gathering of the Eagles Canoe Encampment is a smaller, intimate event, taking place in Lummi Nation  or Lhaqtemish  territory and visiting shores that the larger Canoe Journey could not.

Local community members help with logistics and contribute dishes for the evenings dinners. At night, participants gather around a large fire for cultural exchanges, storytelling, traditional songs and friendship dances.

The Gathering of the Eagles will depart Anacortes, in Samish Nation territory, on May 21 for Lopez Island, then head to San Juan Island on May 22, Orcas Island on May 24, and the Stommish Grounds at the Lummi Nation on May 26. At the Stommish Grounds, there will be protocol, a coastal jam and presentations about sovereignty and treaty rights.

The ancestors are following you

The Gathering of the Eagles is part of the Coast Salish restoration in the San Juan Islands.

A series of events contributed to the displacement of the Indigenous population beginning in 1859. Great Britain and the United States claimed the area and neighboring islands and stationed military troops there for 13 years. The territory dispute was settled in 1872 and the international border was drawn, the result being some Coast Salish groups with ties to the islands were considered British subjects and others were considered Americans.

Traveling these waters restores Coast Salish youth to Ground Zero of their ancestral territory.

San Juan Island is the place of origin for several Coast Salish peoples; the first man, sweh-tuhn, is the common ancestor of the Lhaqtemish, Saanich, Samish and Songhees peoples. It was here that the Creator gave sweh-tuhns descendants reef netting, a form of salmon fishing that involves nets designed to resemble reefs, suspended between two canoes, that lead salmon into a large scoop net for harvesting.

Lutie Hillaire, a Lummi culture bearer and widow of the late James Hillaire, watched from the beach in 2022 as young people traveling the way of the ancestors arrived on her ancestral shores.

This is getting us back with our culture again, she said. This is not a sport for us. Its very sacred.

Sul ka dub emphasized the sacredness of the journey as canoes departed Shipyard Cove for Lummis shores during the 2022 gathering.

Know that the ancestors are following you, he said, and they are guiding you in a good way.

The Intertribal Canoe Journey has influenced other events in addition to the Gathering of the Eagles.

There were two canoe journeys in 2000: one to the homelands of the Songhees First Nation on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and another to Pendleton, Oregon, the homelands of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Several canoe journeys took place in 2015 in the Salish Sea.

And, inspired by the cultural renaissance spurred by the Intertribal Canoe Journey, the Wadopana Nakoda of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana hosted a canoe journey on the Missouri River in 2018.

It was a reawakening of sorts: the Wadopana Nakoda were originally canoe people from the Great Lakes, and their name, Wadopana (pronounced Wa-DOH-pa-nah), means canoe paddler.

The post Traditional canoes return to the waters of the Pacific Northwest appeared first on Source New Mexico.
In April, as soon as their fields were fit, the Settlemyre family started spreading fertilizer on the land they farm in Warren, Highland and Clinton counties. Then they found out the phosphorus they had ordered wasnt available.

We were blessed with an early, dry window from about April the 12th to April the 20th, so we were going at it hard and heavy, John Settlemyre said.

They expected the job to take about 12 days, but five days into that application window, their supplier called to say they were out of MAP, or 11-52-0 monoammonium phosphate. The Settlemyres were not the only ones affected by a disruption in phosphate supplies this spring, said Tadd Nicholson, executive director for the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association.

Shortage

The phosphate market in the U.S. is dominated by one supplier, which gives farmers, co-ops and other retailers few options for purchasing phosphate products. In 2021, when the International Trade Commission first imposed tariffs on phosphate fertilizers from Morocco, Ohio farm leaders were concerned about the price increases farmers would bear.

Fertilizer prices were already increasing and the tariff would only add to the increases. But higher prices arent the only problem farmers are seeing, Nicholson said.

Its also a supply issue, he said.

More than 80% of the phosphate used on U.S. farms comes from one supplier, the Mosaic Co.

When you have 80% of the market and you successfully block the largest importer from sending it in, youre basically protecting yourself to say were going to be the only game in town, Nicholson said.

Having so much of the supply provided by one company gives co-ops and other retailers limited options when supplies get tight, Nicholson said. They have very few phone numbers to call when they want to order phosphate.

Widespread

This spring, phosphate supplies were tight throughout the state and shortages were reported across southwest Ohio between Cincinnati and South Charleston, Nicholson said. That area gets shipments from Mosaic into a few terminals along the Ohio River.

Flooding also contributed to the shortage in southwest Ohio because barge traffic was slowed. Then, good farming weather and a rush of field work in April depleted supplies before additional shipments were due.

Having more phosphorus suppliers in the market would help mitigate such problems, Nicholson said. We dont have another phosphorus supplier to help out those locations when there are disruptions like this.

An appeal challenging the Moroccan phosphate tariff is pending with the ITC, and the ag industry is waiting for a decision, Nicholson said, adding that the decision was supposed to be handed down in August 2022.

Making do

As it is, farmers are left to make do. To keep running, the Settlemyres ended up shifting to another product that has a lower phosphorus content and 10% sulfur.

So, its a lower concentration of phosphate and the cost per unit is about 25% higher than MAP, Settlemyre said. It basically added about $35,000 to our fertilizer cost for this spring from that shift.

Like many farmers, the Settlemyres prefer to apply fertilizer in the spring rather than the fall. Putting nutrients out close to planting time makes them available when the crops need them and helps protect water quality, Settlemyre said. Supply shortages make it more difficult, however, to complete field work during the short windows available in the spring.

Hed like to see a broader supply chain so that when one supplier has a shortage, there would be several other suppliers to keep products available during peak seasons.
Sixteen agricultural universities across the UK have joined forces to address farming industry challenges and further the impact of their research.

A new joint strategy outlines how the group of universities are working together to address the challenges that are currently faced within UK agriculture.

It was launched by the Agricultural Universities Council (AUC), which includes the likes of Scotland's Rural College, the Royal Agricultural University, and Hartpury, among 13 others.

It follows a year-long investigation by the AUC into the farming industry's priorities, current research activities and its strengths and weaknesses.

The collection of land-based universities will now take a number of steps to address the challenges faced by the agriculture industry.

These include to open research reporting between universities, better sector representation within UK universities, and increased co-ordination and knowledge exchange.

Universities will also assess the current state of research farms and identify where strategic investment is needed, as well as to bring together researchers at a new sector-wide conference.

Following the launch, NFU President Minette Batters said that science and research played 'a vital role' in improving the farming industry.

Im pleased that the leading universities also recognise their responsibilities and the opportunities to increase their value to farming through a coordinated research strategy.

An independent advisory group chaired by Prof Charles Godfray provided guidance that shaped the AUC's new strategy.

This included NFU chief adviser of science, Dr Helen Ferrier, who said that the new strategy had the potential to be "more impactful".

There are complex issues in the research that many of us have been grappling with for decades, and that have shifted over time, but I think this collaborative AUC strategy signals a significant step forward.

I urge research funders to work with the AUC and the whole community to support the delivery of the strategy, and to incentivise and drive the actions needed to sustain long term impact.
A new government body has been established to monitor food security in Scotland and to prepare for any potential future disruptions.

The new Food Security Unit, created by the Scottish government, was a key recommendation of a consultation launched after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The body will monitor food system resilience so that the government and industry are able to react as quickly as possible to any future shocks.

According to the Scottish government, it will enable better long-term insight into global supply chain performance, helping improve responsiveness to potential crises.

Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said the Scottish government wanted to "anticipate and adapt to shocks as much as possible".

"Weve seen several significant events impacting our food and drink sector, including Covid, the war in Ukraine and, crucially - the UK governments choice to pursue a hard Brexit, which took us out of the single market.

"On top of this there has been further disruption to supply chains resulting from climate volatility, something that we are likely to see more of in the future.

I want to ensure we are able to anticipate and adapt to shocks as much as possible, while we develop policies to try to mitigate them and reduce their likelihood."

She added: Our farmers and crofters are essential to Scotlands food security and I am committed to supporting our nation's producers."
Pilgrims UK has announced the proposed closure of its Ashton-under-Lyne pork processing site, with the pig sector calling the move "disappointing".

Pilgrim's UK, a pork processor and producer, said the plan would leave more than 500 members of staff potentially facing redundancy.

It said the proposal was part of an ongoing "footprint review", as well as for mitigating "the current unfavourable market conditions in the UK".

Responding, the National Pig Association (NPA) said the processor's plan was "disappointing, but not surprising".

Pilgrim's UK, one of the UK's largest food businesses, had shut down its Bury St Edmunds and Coalville sites last year.

The UK pork sector continues to face the most significant challenges in its history, with the UK sow herd having contracted by around 15%.

Loss-making farmers have quit the industry due to a sustained period of high production costs and lower pig prices.

At the same time, a reliance in the UK on cheaper, lower welfare imports from the EU and post-pandemic recovery challenges within certain markets has negatively impacted UK production.

NPA chief executive Lizzie Wilson said: With the breeding herd down 25% in two years and slaughter numbers dropping 20% year on year, this news is disappointing for everyone involved although not a surprise.

We need to ensure that the UK maintains sufficient slaughter capacity so that as the sector recovers, it is able to expand and thrive into the future.

Pilgrims UK will now enter into a period of collective consultation with site union and employee representatives.

Rachel Baldwin, vice president of human resources at Pilgrims UK, said the decision to propose the closure of the Ashton site had "not been taken lightly".

"A key part of our work to return to growth includes ensuring we fully optimise our operational footprint," she explained.

"The age and location of Ashton within a densely populated area means that there is no feasible opportunity to modernise or grow the site.

"As a result, these proposals are unfortunately essential to ensure a sustainable future for our team members across the UK."
A Welsh sheep farmer, author, and campaigner has been recognised for his "unwavering work" to promote and protect Britains native sheep breeds.

Bob Kennard, from mid-Wales, has been presented with the National Sheep Association (NSA) Bob Payne Unsung Hero Award for 2022.

He was recognised for his work on several key projects that have helped to promote artisan sheep meat products, as well as ensuring the continued consumption of mutton.

The Welsh sheep producer helped spearhead the Make More of Mutton initiative, a scheme supported by King Charles.

As well as this, Bob has been "relentless" in his campaign to ensure the future of small, independent abattoirs, the NSA's judges said.

NSA chief executive, Phil Stocker said: There couldnt be a more worthy winner of the NSAs 2022 Bob Payne Memorial Award for our unsung hero than Bob Kennard.

"Bob has worked tirelessly and well beyond expectations on our work to create opportunities for, and to ensure a future for Britains native sheep breeds through NSAs work on the British Heritage Sheep project.

"We still have a long way to go with this initiative, but it holds huge potential in my opinion, and when it starts really bearing fruit it will be down to Bobs tenacity, commitment, and determination.

Bobs career has seen him working in the meat industry for years, including the development of one of the first organic meat businesses in the UK.

With his business entirely dependent on small local abattoirs, he was soon alerted to the difficulties they faced as an increasing number closed due to spiralling costs.

This led Bob to write a report highlighting their dramatic decline for the Soil Association and a subsequent follow up report with the Sustainable Food Trust.

His work in this area continues as small abattoir numbers are still declining.

Bob also worked in the promotion of mutton and is now involved in the British Heritage Sheep project, promoting the UKs diversity of sheep meat, particularly the native breeds.

On receiving the award, he said: I feel very honoured to have been given the NSA Bob Payne award. I am proud to have been involved with NSA through my work.

"NSA supports so many sheep farmers, and helps the industry in so many ways, often unseen."
Welsh farm leaders have expressed disappointment at "missed opportunities" in the country's Agricultural Bill, as it progressed through the scrutiny stage.

Industry figures were in the gallery to watch Senedd members debate amendments tabled on economic viability, support for new entrants and energy efficiency on 16 May.

The landmark legislation will provide the framework for future agriculture support in Wales and is the first time Wales will have legislated in this way.

Many industry leaders have maintained since the introduction of the bill that the absence of economic viability of family farms from the Sustainable Land Management objectives is a significant concern.

The Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) said that while there were some welcome developments in the bill's amendments, ministers "should have gone further".

FUW President Glyn Roberts, who was at the Senedd as amendments were discussed, said: "We have been consistent in our calls for the inclusion of an economic objective.

"Without viable farm businesses, we will not see the wider environmental, social and cultural gains that we all want to achieve.

The Senedd also voted to include a multi-annual support plan which would provide information about how Welsh ministers intend to provide financial support.

This has been a key demand of the FUW and is a provision which exists within the UK Agriculture Act.

The inclusion of this amendment places farmers in Wales on an equal footing to those in England and gives some clarity to farmers when planning for their business future.

However, union officials were left disappointed that amendments tabled to explicitly include support for new and young entrants were unsuccessful.

Mr Roberts added: In order to have a sustainable, thriving industry we must open doors to those wishing to enter the industry.

"There was an opportunity if some amendments had been supported to ensure that there is support available to those new entrants who all too often struggle to get their foot on the ladder.

"Since this opportunity has been missed, it is more important than ever that the Sustainable Farming Scheme is accessible for all farmers, including young farmers and new entrants.

The Bill will now move to Stage 4 of scrutiny in the Senedd and if passed will receive Royal Assent.
Humans were kissing 4,500 years ago.

Kissing dates back 4,500 years

Scientists say that clay tablets, used in parts of modern Iraq and Syria, provide evidence that locking lips was practised by the human race 1,000 years earlier than previously thought.

The team from the University of Copenhagen suggest kissing happened in the earliest Mesopotamian societies and believe it was common across many different cultures.

It contradicts a previous theory that the earliest evidence of human kissing came in a specific part of Asia 3,500 years ago.

Dr. Troels Pank Arboll, an expert on the history of medicine in Mesopotamia, said: "Many thousands of these clay tablets have survived to this day, and they contain clear examples that kissing was considered a part of romantic intimacy in ancient times, just as kissing could be part of friendships and family members' relations.

"Therefore, kissing should not be regarded as a custom that originated exclusively in any single region and spread from there but rather appears to have been practiced in multiple ancient cultures over several millennia."
Rishi Sunak wants to make sure "Russia pays a price" for starting the war in Ukraine.

Rishi Sunak is determined to make Russia pay for the conflict in Ukraine

The UK Prime Minister is in attendance at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, and says that Britain is leading the way against Vladimir Putin as he announced fresh sanctions targeting Russian exports.

Russian diamond imports to the UK are among the items that will be banned by the government as the industry was worth $4 billion to Moscow in exports in 2021.

Russian-origin copper, aluminum and nickel imports are also set to be blocked and Sunak hopes that other leaders follow Britain's stance.

The Prime Minister told the BBC: "We believe in democracy, freedom, the rule of law - and it's right that we stand up for these things.

"I'm hopeful and confident that our partner countries will follow as they have done when we've done this previously.

"That will make the sanctions more effective, ensure that Russia pays a price for its illegal activity."

The UK government is planning to target 86 more people and companies connected to Putin, including those who are "actively undermining the impact of existing sanctions".

Since Russia launched its invasion last year, Britain has targeted over 1,500 individuals and entities and frozen more than 18 billion in assets under the sanctions regime.

Downing Street has confirmed that more than 60 per cent of Putin's war chest - worth about 275 billion - has been "immobilised".
Jamie Lynn Spears has given fans "102 reasons to be excited" as she teases the 'Zoey 101' reunion movie.

Jamie Lynn Spears shares update on Zoey 102

The 32-year-old actress is the younger sister of pop legend Britney Spears, 41, but began to carve out a career in her own right when she took on the title role of the mid-2000s comedy-drama series 'Zoey 101' - which followed the ups and downs of a group of friends at a Californian boarding school - and took to social media on Tuesday (18.05.23) to share an update on the upcoming Paramount+ movie.

She wrote on Instagram: "Giving you 102 reasons to be excited for summer!"

The former Nickelodeon star will be joined by her co-stars from the classic series, including the likes of Matthew Underwood and Erin Sanders, who starred as unlikely couple Logan Reese and Quinn Pensky, and Sean Flynn will return as Zoey's best-friend-turned-boyfriend Chase Matthews.

A synopsis read: "Over a decade after the iconic series ended, Zoey Brooks is still trying to figure out life and love, this time in her 20s. The Pacific Coast Academy (PCA) gang returns to Malibu for an over-the-top wedding turned high school reunion for the books."

Alongside a series of snaps, she wrote on Instagram: "Bittersweet feels. I truly love all of these humans. The NEW ERA of ZOEY would not exist without each and every person doing their part to create this magical experience, including our amazing fans. gonna need wayyyy more then 10 photos to include all of these wonderful people tho."

Jamie Lynn  who is married to businessman Jamie Watson, 39, and has four-year-old daughter Ivey with him as well as Maddie, 14, with ex-boyfriend Casey Aldridge  was seen in her photos walking down the steps of the set with her youngest daughter accompanied by her mother Lynne whilst the other snaps depicting the set and backstage selfies.

At the time, she said in a statement: "I'm beyond thrilled to be back alongside my PCA family and continue the story of Zoey and all the characters fans know and love."

'Zoey 102' will stream later this year.
Jade Jagger has reportedly been arrested in Ibiza.

Jade Jagger has reportedly been arrested in Ibiza

The 51-year-old jewellery designer - the daughter of Rolling Stones frontman Sir Mick Jagger and his ex-wife Bianca Jagger - is said to have been arrested on Wednesday (17.05.23).

According to Spain's El Pais newspaper, Jade and another man, 31, were detained following an altercation at a restaurant in Ibiza's old town.

Jade is expected to appear in court on Friday (19.05.23).

Spanish publication El Mundo reports that Jade's pal was allegedly shouting at restaurant staff, and the National Police arrived at the eatery to try to diffuse the situation.

What's more, a source told MailOnline: "Police arrested two people last night, a man and a woman, in Ibiza."

Last week, Jade posted a picture of herself on a sun lounger at the five-star Nobu Hotel in Ibiza Bay.

She wrote in the Instagram caption: "Spring back to ibiza a with a little glamour @ibizabay #nobu (sic)"

Jade has three children, daughters Assisi, 30, and Amba, 26, with her ex-partner Piers Jackson, and eight-year-old son Ray, who she has with her ex-husband Adrian Fillary.

She and Adrian split in 2021 after nine years.

Jade gave birth to Ray a month after delivering her first grandchild, Ezra, when her daughter Assisi went into labour.

Speaking to British Vogue magazine in 2018, she said: "People are often amazed to hear that, I delivered my first granddaughter, Ezra, myself.

"All of this might have been slightly easier to handle if I hadn't been almost nine months pregnant myself.

"But I suppose that's the sort of thing that happens when your family doesn't worry too much about convention."
Vietnam's textile and garment exports experienced a decline of 18.1 per cent, reaching $9.720 billion, during the period of January to April 2023, as per preliminary data from the customs IT and statistics department of the general department of customs under Vietnam's ministry of finance. In April 2023, exports dropped by 3.3 per cent to $2.540 billion compared to the previous month.

During the period of January to April 2023, Vietnam's yarn exports decreased by 32.9 per cent to $1,297.751 million in comparison to the same period of the previous year. In terms of volume, Vietnam exported 518,035 tons of yarn, representing an 11.7 per cent decline compared to the exports during the same period last year. In April 2023, yarn exports fell by 5.2 per cent to $356.713 million, and the quantity of yarn exports decreased by 4.7 per cent to 144,166 tons during the review period.

Vietnam's textile exports fell 18.1 per cent to $9.7 billion in Jan-Apr 2023, with yarn exports declining by 32.9 per cent. The US accounted for 42.89 per cent of exports, followed by Japan and South Korea. China received 47.03 per cent of yarn exports, while India was a major market. In 2022, exports grew by 14.7 per cent, but fell short of the target.

The US accounted for a significant share of 42.89 per cent in Vietnam's textile and garment exports, amounting to $4.159 billion during the first four months of this year. Japan and South Korea were also major destinations, with exports of $1,129.441 million and $990.407 million, respectively.

In terms of yarn exports, China alone received 47.03 per cent of Vietnam's exports, totalling $610.604 million. India was also a major market for Vietnamese yarn exports, with shipments amounting to $12.400 million during the first four months of 2023.

In 2022, Vietnam's textile and garment exports grew by 14.7 per cent year-on-year, reaching $37.5 billion, falling short of the target of $43 billion. In 2021, Vietnam's textile and garment exports amounted to $32.750 billion, a growth of 9.9 per cent compared to the previous year's exports of $29.809 billion. Yarn exports in 2022 increased by 50.1 per cent to $5.609 billion from $3.736 billion in 2020.

According to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), in the case of a positive market scenario, Vietnam has set an export target of $48 billion for textiles, garments, and yarn in 2023.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
Cannes is all people can talk about right now as a lot of Indian stars are currently at the French Riviera attending the most prestigious film festival. Stars such as Esha Gupta, Sara Ali Khan, Mrunal Thakur have made their big debut at Cannes this year.

As fashion is one of the key aspects witnessed on the Cannes red carpet, Esha Gupta sure isn't disappointing with her pics. Her second look saw her sporting a classic black bodycon dress.

She kept it classy with a messy bun and subtle makeup essentials.
Urvashi's return to Cannes: Bollywood star Urvashi Rautela returned to the Cannes red carpet after making her debut to the festival last year. On the third day of the star-studded event, she appeared with a big gown and made heads turn with her blue lipstick. She walked the red carpet at the screening of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on Thursday. She walked down the red carpet in an exaggerated off-shoulder gown with a corseted top. Though her attire attracted attention, her lipstick is the talk of the town.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's iconic Cannes look: The former beauty queen matched her dress with a teal blue lipstick which reminded everyone of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's purple lipstick when she walked the red carpet of the festival back in 2016. Back then, the photos of OG Aishwarya Rai Bachchan were all over the internet and gave netizens a lifetime supply for memes.

Urvashi mistaken for Aishwarya: This look of Urvashi comes a day after she was mistaken for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan by French papps. As she posed for photos, some of them called "Aishwarya" mistaking her for the Cannes veteran, who also walked the red carpet later that evening.

Recommended Video

Cannes 2023: Urvashi Rautela Blue Lipstick   Aishwarya Rai  Copy, Netizens   Troll!

When she was mistaken for Aishwarya, Urvashi walked the red carpet at the screening of the film Kaibutsu (Monster). Urvashi shared a couple of news clipping of the incident and she wrote in her Instagram story, "Come on guys! So basically you want me to scowl at French media and paparazzi."

On Day 1 at the film festival, she wore a pink strapless dress and matched it with an alligator neckpiece. The photos of her Day 1 look also got the attention and memes on social media, and now, this appearance in blue lipstick is provind more material to memes as almost eveone is getting a deja vu after seeing her photos in blue lipstick.
Recreated Pony Coupe Concept makes debut in Lake Como nearly 50 years after its original debut at 1974 Turin Motor Show

Rebuilt by original designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Pony Coupe Concept has been faithfully recreated to exacting specifications and original materials

Original Pony Coupe Concept inspired current flagship concept, N Vision 74 which makes its Italian debut at 'Hyundai Reunion' event and then at the Concorso d'Eleganza on May 20 th

Pony Coupe Concept is now widely considered a retro-futuristic classic that has served as design inspiration for more recent Hyundai Motor models and represents a significant part of the brand's proud heritage

Like the original, the origami-like exterior design features geometric lines and pure unadorned surfaces while the minimalist interior is distinguished by its driver-focused floating architecture

COMO, Italy and SEOUL, South Korea, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor Company's recreated Pony Coupe Concept has made its world premiere - nearly 50 years after its original debut - in Lake Como, Italy. Originally unveiled at the 1974 Turin Motor Show, the Pony Coupe Concept is an important vehicle in the company's history and design heritage.





Hyundai Motor unveiled the rebuilt Pony Coupe Concept at the inaugural Hyundai Reunion, a heritage brand platform that reflects on Hyundai Motor's past and its future direction.

Under the Pony Coupe Concept restoration project, Hyundai Motor Company has brought the original Pony Coupe Concept shown at the 1974 Turin Motor Show back to life. This restoration project is a testament to the spirit, daring passion and ambition that Hyundai employees and executives had to create a global brand with the Pony Coupe Concept at its forefront.

"Despite the poor industrial environment in the 1970s, my grandfather and Hyundai's Founding Chairman Ju-young Chung poured his heart and soul into rebuilding Korea's economy and improving the lives of its people after the devastating Korean War. He finally realized his vision of making Korea a country capable of developing its own vehicles with perfection," said Euisun Chung, Executive Chair of Hyundai Motor Group. "I express my sincere gratitude to everyone from both Italy and Korea who played a critical role in the success of Pony."

"In the age of electrification, a key condition for Hyundai Motor Company to become a leader in future mobility will be our ability to remain faithful to the unshakable values we inherited," said Jaehoon Chang, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company. "Moving forward, through Hyundai Reunion and other heritage communication initiatives, we will continue to leverage our past as a unique vector for our future innovation."

When asked about his first interaction with Hyundai on the development of the 1973 Pony Coupe Concept more than fifty years prior to the reunion, Giugiaro revealed: "Hyundai approached us to start a complete redesign of a model, without much experience. I was skeptical at first because I didn't know Hyundai Motor at that time. We were all impressed by the passion and commitment of the Hyundai engineers. They were sharp, curious, open and extremely eager to learn. They immediately embraced the working methods that were new to them. They sacrificed themselves to make a good impression - for company and their partners. I'm proud and honored to witness how this company has evolved since we first met."

Luc Donckerwolke, President and Chief Creative Officer of Hyundai Motor Group, added, "The restoration of this unique vehicle is a milestone in Hyundai's history. It represents our beginnings and our commitment to the future. It serves as a legacy for generations to come. It virtually symbolizes the mobile relay baton we are passing from the past to the future of the company."

"The Pony Coupe Concept reflects the company's gratitude and dedication to the challenging spirits that people at Hyundai Motor had back in 1974," said SangYup Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Hyundai Design Center. "The rebirth of the Pony Coupe Concept is a meaningful milestone in the history of Hyundai Motor because it signifies not only our beginnings but also our commitment to the future with our new dreams."

"It is very special to have significant people from the company's early days meet those who are leading the company into the future," said Sungwon Jee, Senior Vice President and Global Chief Marketing Officer at Hyundai Motor Company. "It also marks the launch of Hyundai Reunion, our platform for showcasing the brand's heritage. This is where one can see how our past success still serves as a basis for our daring attitude today. This spirit of innovation can be seen in these two models as well as the people who made them possible."

More information about Hyundai Motor can be found at: http://worldwide.hyundai.com or http://globalpr.hyundai.com.





Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2080878/USO_3937.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2079025/Pony_Coupe_Concept.jpg

Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2080091/HD.mp4

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/hyundai-pony-coupe-concept-restored---after-50-years-unveiled-at-its-birthplace-italy-301829164.html


NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - The Food and Drug Administration's Advisory Committee voted in support of approval for Pfizer's Inc. (PFE) vaccine candidate to help prevent RSV in infants through maternal immunization. The Committee voted 14 to 0 on effectiveness and 10 to 4 on safety.



RSV is a contagious virus and a common cause of respiratory illness. The virus can affect the lungs and breathing passages of an infected individual and can potentially cause severe illness in young infants, older adults, and individuals with certain chronic medical conditions.



The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) voted that the available data support the efficacy and safety of its unadjuvanted bivalent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) prefusion F vaccine candidate RSVpreF or PF-06928316.



The vaccine candidate is currently under FDA review for the prevention of medically attended lower respiratory tract disease (MA-LRTD) and severe MA-LRTD caused by RSV in infants from birth up to six months of age by active immunization of pregnant individuals.



The role of the Committee is to provide recommendations to the FDA; however, the recommendations are not binding. The FDA's decision on the potential approval of RSVpreF for the prevention of MA-LRTD and severe MA-LRTD caused by RSV in infants by active immunization of pregnant individuals is expected by the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date in August 2023.



Pfizer is currently the only company pursuing regulatory applications for an RSV investigational vaccine candidate for both an older adult indication, as well as a maternal indication to help protect infants through maternal immunization.



For More Such Health News, visit rttnews.com



Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Report: +40% Gewinn nur mit Aktien! +39,93% Rendite seit Januar  so lautet die Erfolgsbilanz der Aktie der Woche. Damit wurden sowohl der DAX als auch der S&P 500 deutlich outperformt. Wie das genau funktioniert, erklart Chefradakteur Lars Wiler in seiner Zwischenbilanz. Hier klicken
+39,93% Rendite seit Januar  so lautet die Erfolgsbilanz der Aktie der Woche. Damit wurden sowohl der DAX als auch der S&P 500 deutlich outperformt. Wie das genau funktioniert, erklart Chefradakteur Lars Wiler in seiner Zwischenbilanz.

DALLAS (dpa-AFX) - At the annual meeting of stockholders, each of the 10 nominees to the company's board of directors were re-elected to a one-year term, AT&T Inc. (T) said in a statement. The stockholders also voted to approve the appointment of Ernst & Young as the company's independent auditors (95.2% of votes cast in favor). In advisory votes, stockholders approved the compensation of AT&T's executive officers (92.3% of votes cast in favor), and the frequency with which stockholders vote on executive compensation (95.7% cast in favor of an annual vote). Additionally, two proposals submitted by stockholders were defeated: The request to adopt an independent board chairman policy with 65.6% of votes cast against. The request to commission a third-party, independent racial equity audit with 78.5% of votes cast against. 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.
Floreat, Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 18, 2023) - Approved Financial Planners, a financial planning specialist, is delighted to announce the launch of their exclusive service, 'Retirement by Design.' This comprehensive retirement planning and investment solution is specifically crafted to empower pre-retirees in Subiaco to shape their ideal retirement. By collaborating closely with clients, Approved Financial Planners assist them in creating and implementing a personalized strategic plan that aligns with their desired lifestyle, current assets, and risk tolerance.

Discover more about the expanded retirement planning service by visiting: https://www.approvedfp.com.au/services/retirement-planning/





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/166734_e3bfd7aa6479fbf1_001full.jpg

The enhanced investment strategy and retirement investment planning service provided by Approved Financial Planners cater to individuals aged 50 and above, enabling them to design the retirement of their dreams. As part of this service, Approved Financial Planners offers clients a complimentary 30-minute discovery consultation with a qualified financial advisor. During this session, clients can assess the suitability of the 'Retirement By Design' service for their unique financial goals and objectives.

Emphasizing their philosophy, Approved Financial Planners states, "Before delving into investments, it is imperative to comprehend the values, goals, objectives, and current financial situation of each client.

'Financial freedom, a lifetime in the making' means adopting a holistic perspective and evaluating various aspects of your financial life."

With over 40 years of expertise in assisting clients with retirement planning, Approved Financial Planners is a trusted financial planning firm. Their specialization lies in providing investment strategy advice that empowers pre-retirees to achieve a comfortable retirement. Each financial consultant at Approved Financial Planners tailors investment strategies to suit clients' unique values, objectives, and current financial positions. Once the design is developed and agreed upon, the firm implements the plan by leveraging investment products from some of the world's leading investment managers.

One of the top concerns for pre-retirees is maximizing their Centrelink entitlements. The advisors at Approved Financial Planners are well-versed in all the latest Federal Government regulations in this area, aiming to ensure clients can maximize their Centrelink entitlements.

Another key focus for Approved Financial Planners is exploring suitable superannuation concessions. Superannuation plays a crucial role in retirement planning in Australia, and a deep understanding of available concessions can assist pre-retirees in optimizing their investment strategy.

Additionally, the advisors at Approved Financial Planners offer guidance on lifestyle factors such as budgeting, estate planning, and other aspects that can impact clients' financial well-being during retirement. By addressing these critical areas, Approved Financial Planners aims to instill greater confidence in pre-retirees about their financial future.

The firm's advisors excel in designing strategies to maximize tax concessions and government benefits, aiming to ensure clients have ample funds to support their retirement. They also provide advice to pre-retirees on strategies that increase available funds for retirement planning.

Daniel Stevens, the Managing Director and Senior Financial Advisor of Approved Financial Planners stresses the importance of taking control of investment and financial planning decisions, stating, "It is common to postpone these decisions, but it is crucial to seize control of your financial future." Daniel Stevens adds, "At Approved, we challenge traditional norms by providing an efficient, professional, and, most importantly, simplified approach to financial planning. We aim to deliver a superior financial planning solution."

For additional details, please visit: https://www.approvedfp.com.au

Contact Info:

Name: Daniel Stevens

Email: daniel.stevens@approvedfp.com.au

Address: 7/437 Cambridge St" Floreat, WA 6014, Australia

Website: https://approvedfp.com.au

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/166734
LONDON, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tariq Hamoodi, one of the largest shareholders of Nanoco Group plc ("Nanoco"), has today released a presentation which sets out details of his significant concerns regarding corporate governance at Nanoco.

The full presentation is available to shareholders of Nanoco and can be accessed here: www.transformingnanoco.com

On 10 March 2023, Hamoodi wrote to Nanoco to set out his concerns as to the competence and independence of the current board. With the right corporate governance changes, Hamoodi believes that significant value can be realized both from the Company's assets and by augmenting the Company's own licensing business with capabilities to monetize intellectual property for third parties.

Hamoodi has sought cooperation from Nanoco to effect these changes in the best interests of all shareholders, but Mr Hamoodi believes Nanoco has failed to adequately engage with many of his concerns and the board has refused to voluntarily stand down.

As a result, and with the support of other shareholders, Hamoodi intends to requisition an EGM to replace Nanoco's current board with a more experienced group of independent directors with a strong track record of success and experience in intellectual property licensing and quantum dots.

These directors propose acting swiftly to introduce strong governance and oversee a 90-day business transformation strategy that is informed by robust dialogue with shareholders.

The presentation sets out full details of a coherent go-forward plan to restructure the business, explore new opportunities and vastly improve governance and transparency.

Contact

Media

Jennifer Renwick, Elfie Kent, Camarco: 0203 757 4994, goldenbridge@camarco.co.uk

Shareholders

Jonathan Harker, Alison Owers, Morrow Sodali: 0203 148 9770, Transforming.Nanoco@investor.morrowsodali.com

About Tariq Hamoodi

Tariq Hamoodi is a London-based private investor and corporate finance advisor and previously an investment professional with Bybrook Capital LLP and Morgan Stanley. He is focused on special situations and litigation related opportunities in public and private markets.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/proposed-transformation-plan-to-replace-board-and-unlock-value-at-nancoco-group-plc-301828964.html




Atlas Global Brands signs definitive agreement to acquire an additional Israeli pharmacy

The additional medical cannabis pharmacy enhances Atlas' premium positioning in the Israeli market with its modern design, located in central Israel

The completion of this acquisition will add another Israel-based pharmacy, licensed to sell medical cannabis, strengthening Atlas' geographical coverage in Israel

Inclusive of the previously announced signed letters of intent and definitive agreements, upon closing of these transactions, Atlas will own a majority interest in six pharmacies along with a trading house distribution centre in Israel

CHATHAM, ONTARIO and TEL-AVIV, ISRAEL, May 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atlas Global Brands Inc. ("Atlas Global", "Atlas" or the "Company") (CSE: ATL), a cannabis company with expertise across the value chain, announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement ("Proposed Transaction"), signed May 17, 2023, for the acquisition of 51% of the outstanding securities of an Israeli private limited liability company operating a medical cannabis pharmacy (the "Pharmacy"). The Proposed Transaction is one of two proposed acquisitions previously announced on March 7, 2023 upon the Company entering into binding letters of intent for the acquisition of a 51% and 70% interest in two medical cannabis pharmacies in Israel.

The Pharmacy was granted a license to sell medical cannabis in October 2022 and annualized sales have since grown to approximately NIS 6.0 million (approximately CAD $2.2 million).

"The signing of the definitive agreement strengthens Atlas Global's strategy to improve patient access to high-quality cannabis products, through new distribution points in primary locations in Israel," said Bernie Yeung, CEO of Atlas Global. "Atlas intends to continue leveraging our value chain expertise to offer a greater assortment and variety of quality offerings, while enhancing the patient experience. We believe that this acquisition will benefit both patients and our shareholders, while continuing to expand our footprint in the international cannabis market."

Terms of the Proposed Acquisitions

Under the Proposed Transaction, Atlas will acquire a 51% interest in the Pharmacy for 1,132,000 common shares of Atlas Global (the "Consideration Shares") and NIS 650,000 (the "Cash Consideration") (equivalent to approximately CAD $239,743) payable at closing. The Cash Consideration may be increased by up to NIS 2,050,000 upon the Pharmacy's revenue and profitability exceeding certain prescribed amounts for the financial years completed December 31, 2023 to 2025 (the "Additional Cash Consideration").

The Proposed Transaction includes a call option whereby Atlas Global can acquire, and the vendor has a put option to sell, the remaining 49% interest in the Pharmacy at a price equal to the revenue of the twelve-month period ended September 30, 2026, multiplied by 0.7. The put option is subject to satisfaction of conditions of profitability and good corporate standing.

The Consideration Shares will be subject to a lock-up period of 36 months during which 15% shall be released every six months, commencing on the six-month anniversary of the Closing.

The final structure of the Proposed Transaction shall be determined by the parties subsequent to the receipt of tax, corporate, and securities law advice.

The Proposed Transaction is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals and other customary conditions precedent.

The Proposed Transaction was negotiated at an arms' length 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 finder's fees are payable in connection with the Proposed Transaction.

The Proposed Transaction is expected to close in calendar Q4 2023.

Update on Previously Announced Acquisitions

In addition, as previously announced on February 7, 2023, the Company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire one trading house and majority interests in two additional purpose-built cannabis pharmacies in Israel ("Previously Announced Acquisition 1") and as announced on March 7, 2023, entered into two binding letters of intent to acquire 51% and 70% of the outstanding securities of two additional cannabis pharmacies in Israel (the "Previously Announced Transaction 2" and with Previously Announced Transaction 1, together the "Previously Announced Transactions").

The Company is awaiting regulatory approval for Previously Announced Acquisition 1 and expects the Previously Announced Transaction 1 will complete in calendar Q3 2023. The Company and the other party to Previously Announced Acquisition 2, continue to settle the terms of the definitive agreement for the acquisition of a 70% interest in the remaining pharmacy.

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, with three medical pharmacies in Israel and has entered into binding agreements for the acquisition of a majority interest in a trading house and three additional medical cannabis pharmacies in Israel.

Learn more by visiting: www.atlasglobalbrands.com.

Contacts

Bernie Yeung

Chief Executive Officer

1-844-415-6961

invest@atlasglobalbrands.com

Alyssa Barry

Media and Investor Relations

1-833-947-5227

invest@atlasglobalbrands.com

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.

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, including that the conditions to completion of the transaction contemplated by the Proposed Transaction and the Previously Announced Transactions will not be satisfied or that the Proposed Transaction and the Previously Announced Transactions will be terminated.

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 Company's management to predict all risk factors, nor can the Company assess the impact of all factors on Company's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking information.

The forward-looking 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 forward-looking 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.
Executing on Growth and Increasing Guidance

First quarter revenues of $472.4 million, up 17.7% year-over-year

IFRS Diluted EPS of $0.84 for the first quarter

Non-IFRS Diluted EPS of $1.28 for the first quarter

LUXEMBOURG, May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Globant (NYSE: GLOB), a digitally native technology services company, today announced results for the three months ended March 31, 2023 .

Please see highlights below, including certain Non-IFRS measures. Note that reconciliations between Non-IFRS financial measures and IFRS operating results are disclosed at the end of this press release.

First Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights

Revenues rose to $472.4 million, representing 17.7% year-over-year growth.

IFRS Gross Profit Margin was 35.6% compared to 38.0% in the first quarter of 2022.

Non-IFRS Adjusted Gross Profit Margin was 38.2% compared to 39.5% in the first quarter of 2022.

IFRS Profit from Operations Margin was 9.4% compared to 12.6% in the first quarter of 2022.

Non-IFRS Adjusted Profit from Operations Margin was 15.1% compared to 16.8% in the first quarter of 2022.

IFRS Diluted EPS was $0.84 compared to $0.86 in the first quarter of 2022.

Non-IFRS Adjusted Diluted EPS was $1.28 compared to $1.19 in the first quarter of 2022.

Other Metrics as of and for the quarter ended March 31, 2023



Cash and cash equivalents and Short-term investments were $284.8 million as of March 31, 2023, a decrease of $56.1 million from $340.9 million as of December 31, 2022, driven mainly by payments of bonuses, investments in our platform business and inorganic expansion initiatives. As of March 31, 2023, our credit facility was fully undrawn.

Globant completed the first quarter of 2023 with 26,288 Globers, 24,496 of whom were technology, design and innovation professionals.

The geographic revenue breakdown for the first quarter of 2023 was as follows: 61.4% from North America (top country: US), 21.8% from Latin America (top country: Argentina ), 13.4% from EMEA (top country: Spain ) and 3.4% from Asia and Oceania (top country: India ).

Globant's top customer, top five customers and top ten customers for the first quarter of 2023 represented 9.4%, 24.5% and 34.8% of revenues, respectively.

During the twelve months ended March 31, 2023, Globant served a total of 1,342 customers (with revenues over $10,000 in the last twelve months) and continued to increase its wallet share, with 276 accounts generating more than $1 million of annual revenues, compared to 206 for the same period one year ago.

In terms of currencies, 74.8% of Globant's revenues for the first quarter of 2023 were denominated in US dollars.

"As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we delivered a robust Q1 2023 performance, executing on all of our strategic growth pillars. We continue to thrive at supporting organizations in every stage, whether they are looking to enhance their user experience, or if they are seeking greater efficiency and productivity. Our recently launched studios keep expanding on this approach: our Create Studio will be key to deliver a full funnel digital marketing strategy to reach audiences, while our Commerce Studio will help our clients create the best commerce-enabled experiences," said Martin Migoya, Globant's CEO and Co-founder. "Also, AI continues to be a strong pillar for our company and our Globers. We've consolidated our AI-focused offering into our MINDS program to better service clients, and we are applying generative AI in our signature platforms MagnifAI and Augoor, to increase time-to-value and shorter production cycles for our clients, helping them unleash their full technology potential. Our unique positioning will enable us to continue delivering leading value for our clients over the long term."

"Globant achieved industry-leading growth in the first quarter of 2023, with a 17.7% year-over-year revenue increase while meeting adjusted operating profit margin guidance. The company has also successfully executed M&A initiatives to expand its presence in the U.S. and Europe . Early-year trends indicate confidence in sequential growth for the second quarter of 2023, as well as a positive outlook for the rest of the year. Globant remains dedicated to revolutionizing businesses with digital transformation and cutting-edge AI advancements. Q1 results reveal strong growth and healthy profitability. The company's strong balance sheet management and undrawn credit facility ensure sufficient funding for short-term growth plans," explained Juan Urthiague, Globant's CFO.

2023 Second Quarter and Full Year Outlook

Based on current market conditions, Globant is providing the following estimates for the second quarter and the full year of 2023:

Second quarter 2023 Revenues are estimated to be at least $496.0 million, or 15.5% year-over-year growth.

Second quarter 2023 Non-IFRS Adjusted Profit from Operations Margin is estimated to be in the range of 15-16%.

Second quarter 2023 Non-IFRS Adjusted Diluted EPS is estimated to be at least $1.33 (assuming an average of 43.4 million diluted shares outstanding during the second quarter).

Fiscal year 2023 Revenues are estimated to be at least $2,074.0 million, implying at least 16.5% year-over-year revenue growth. This expected growth includes a neutral FX outlook.

Fiscal year 2023 Non-IFRS Adjusted Profit from Operations Margin is estimated to be in the range of 15%-17%.

Fiscal year 2023 Non-IFRS Adjusted Diluted EPS is estimated to be at least $5.71 (assuming an average of 43.4 million diluted shares outstanding during 2023).

Conference Call and Webcast

Martin Migoya, Globant's CEO & co-founder, Juan Urthiague - CFO, Patricia Pomies - COO, and Diego Tartara - CTO, will discuss the first quarter 2023 results in a video conference call today beginning at 4:30pm ET .

Video conference call access information is:

https://more.globant.com/F1Q23EarningsCall

Webcast http://investors.globant.com/

About Globant (NYSE:GLOB)

We are a digitally native company that helps organizations reinvent themselves to create a way forward and unleash their potential. We are the place where innovation, design and engineering meet scale.

We have more than 26,000 employees and we are present in more than 25 countries in 5 continents working for companies like Google, Electronic Arts and Santander, among others.

We were named a Worldwide Leader in CX Improvement by IDC MarketScape report. We were also featured as a business case study at Harvard, MIT and Stanford . We are a member of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord.

For more information, please visit www.globant.com

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

While the financial figures included in this press release have been computed in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB"), this announcement does not contain sufficient information to constitute an interim financial report as defined in International Accounting Standards 34, "Interim Financial Reporting" nor a financial statement as defined by International Accounting Standards 1 "Presentation of Financial Statements". The financial information in this press release has not been audited.

Globant provides non-IFRS financial measures in addition to reported IFRS results prepared in accordance with IFRS. Management believes these measures help illustrate underlying trends in the company's business and uses the non-IFRS financial measures to establish budgets and operational goals, communicated internally and externally, for managing the company's business and evaluating its performance. The company anticipates that it will continue to report both IFRS and certain non-IFRS financial measures in its financial results, including non-IFRS measures that exclude share-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization, impairment of non-financial assets, acquisition-related charges, and the related effect on income taxes of the pre-tax adjustments. Because the company's non-IFRS financial measures are not calculated according to IFRS, these measures are not comparable to IFRS and may not necessarily be comparable to similarly described non-IFRS measures reported by other companies within the company's industry. Consequently, Globant's non-IFRS financial measures should not be evaluated in isolation or supplant comparable IFRS measures, but, rather, should be considered together with its condensed interim consolidated statements of financial position as of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 and its condensed interim consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard ("IAS") 34, "Interim Financial Reporting".

Globant is not providing a quantitative reconciliation of forward-looking Non-IFRS Adjusted Profit from Operations Margin or Non-IFRS Adjusted Diluted EPS to the most directly comparable IFRS measure because it is unable to predict with reasonable certainty the ultimate outcome of certain significant items without unreasonable effort. These items include, but are not limited to, share-based compensation expense, impairment of assets, acquisition-related charges, and the tax effect of non-IFRS adjustments. These items are uncertain, depend on various factors, and could have a material impact on IFRS reported results for the guidance period.

Forward Looking Statements

In addition to historical information, this release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "plan," "expect," "predict," "potential," or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our future financial and operating performance, including our outlook and guidance, and our strategies, priorities and business plans. Our expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results in future periods are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Factors that could impact our actual results include: our ability to maintain current resource utilization rates and productivity levels; our ability to manage attrition and attract and retain highly-skilled IT professionals; our ability to accurately price our client contracts; our ability to achieve our anticipated growth; our ability to effectively manage our rapid growth; our ability to retain our senior management team and other key employees; our ability to continue to innovate and remain at the forefront of emerging technologies and related market trends; our ability to retain our business relationships and client contracts; our ability to manage the impact of global adverse economic conditions; our ability to manage uncertainty concerning the instability in the current economic, political and social environment in Latin America ; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in our most recent Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and any other risk factors we include in subsequent reports on Form 6-K.

Because of these uncertainties, you should not make any investment decisions based on our estimates and forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Globant S.A.

Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income

(In thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share amounts, unaudited)



Three Months Ended

March 31, 2023

March 31, 2022







Revenues 472,421

401,378 Cost of revenues (304,124)

(248,967) Gross profit 168,297

152,411







Selling, general and administrative expenses (119,357)

(101,638) Net impairment losses on financial assets (4,717)

(37) Profit from operations 44,223

50,736







Finance income 1,235

290 Finance expense (4,172)

(4,029) Other financial results, net 3,762

438 Financial results, net 825

(3,301)







Share of results of investment in associates 56

- Other income and expenses, net 1,487

874 Profit before income tax 46,591

48,309







Income tax (10,206)

(11,502) Net income for the period 36,385

36,807







Other comprehensive income, net of income tax effects





Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit and loss:





- Exchange differences on translating foreign operations 2,741

(2,435) - Net change in fair value on financial assets measured at FVOCI 25

(1) - Gains and losses on cash flow hedges 4,206

133 Total comprehensive income for the period 43,357

34,504







Net income attributable to:





Owners of the Company 36,419

36,623 Non-controlling interest (34)

184 Net income for the period 36,385

36,807







Total comprehensive income for the period attributable to:





Owners of the Company 42,129

34,320 Non-controlling interest 1,228

184 Total comprehensive income for the period 43,357

34,504 Earnings per share





Basic 0.86

0.88 Diluted 0.84

0.86 Weighted average of outstanding shares (in thousands)





Basic 42,297

41,748 Diluted 43,237

42,741

Globant S.A.

Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Financial Position as of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022

(In thousands of U.S. dollars, unaudited)





March 31, 2023

December 31, 2022 ASSETS







Current assets







Cash and cash equivalents

254,025

292,457 Investments

30,819

48,408 Trade receivables

451,635

425,422 Other assets

14,660

15,197 Other receivables

74,487

70,212 Other financial assets

11,838

6,529 Total current assets

837,464

858,225









Non-current assets







Investments

1,513

1,513 Other assets

6,093

10,657 Other receivables

16,628

16,316 Deferred tax assets

53,088

46,574 Investment in associates

1,393

1,337 Other financial assets

34,632

34,978 Property and equipment

162,393

161,733 Intangible assets

187,866

181,612 Right-of-use assets

139,893

147,311 Goodwill

745,268

739,204 Total non-current assets

1,348,767

1,341,235 TOTAL ASSETS

2,186,231

2,199,460









LIABILITIES







Current liabilities







Trade payables

76,060

88,648 Payroll and social security taxes payable

200,580

203,819 Borrowings

754

2,838 Other financial liabilities

32,644

59,316 Lease liabilities

37,638

37,681 Tax liabilities

21,507

23,454 Income tax payable

11,048

11,276 Other liabilities

1,532

808 Total current liabilities

381,763

427,840









Non-current liabilities







Trade payables

3,234

5,445 Borrowings

54

861 Other financial liabilities

54,328

82,222 Lease liabilities

92,438

97,457 Deferred tax liabilities

5,353

11,291 Income tax payable

10,993

- Payroll and social security taxes payable

3,145

4,316 Provisions for contingencies

12,184

13,615 Total non-current liabilities

181,729

215,207 TOTAL LIABILITIES

563,492

643,047









Capital and reserves







Issued capital

50,797

50,724 Additional paid-in capital

974,690

950,520 Other reserves

(25,270)

(32,242) Retained earnings

574,970

538,551 Total equity attributable to owners of the Company

1,575,187

1,507,553 Non-controlling interests

47,552

48,860 Total equity

1,622,739

1,556,413 TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES

2,186,231

2,199,460

Globant S.A.

Selected Cash Flow Data

(In thousands of U.S. dollars, unaudited)





Three months ended



March 31, 2023

March 31, 2022 Net Income for the period

36,385

36,807 Non-cash adjustments, taxes and others

46,218

39,806 Changes in working capital

(48,776)

(99,276) Cash flows from operating activities

33,827

(22,663) Capital expenditures

(35,610)

(22,673) Cash flows from investing activities

(46,880)

(51,148) Cash flows from financing activities

(25,960)

(13,492) Net decrease in cash & cash equivalents

(39,013)

(87,303)

Globant S.A.

Supplemental Non-IFRS Financial Information

(In thousands of U.S. dollars, unaudited)



Three Months Ended

March 31, 2023

March 31, 2022







Reconciliation of adjusted gross profit





Gross Profit 168,297

152,411 Depreciation and amortization expense 6,432

5,218 Share-based compensation expense - Equity settled 5,590

800 Adjusted gross profit 180,319

158,429 Adjusted gross profit margin 38.2 %

39.5 %







Reconciliation of selling, general and administrative expenses





Selling, general and administrative expenses (119,357)

(101,638) Depreciation and amortization expense 19,779

14,155 Share-based compensation expense - Equity settled 11,130

10,361 Acquisition-related charges (a) 4,548

2,477 Adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses (83,900)

(74,645) Adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses as % of revenues (17.8) %

(18.6) %







Reconciliation of Adjusted Profit from Operations





Profit from Operations 44,223

50,736 Share-based compensation expense - Equity settled 16,720

11,161 Acquisition-related charges (a) 10,415

5,640 Adjusted Profit from Operations 71,358

67,537 Adjusted Profit from Operations margin 15.1 %

16.8 %







Reconciliation of Net income for the period





Net income for the period 36,419

36,623 Share-based compensation expense - Equity settled 16,720

11,161 Acquisition-related charges (a) 9,872

6,309 Tax effect of non-IFRS adjustments (7,607)

(3,293) Adjusted Net income 55,404

50,800 Adjusted Net income margin 11.7 %

12.7 %







Calculation of Adjusted Diluted EPS





Adjusted Net income 55,404

50,800 Diluted shares 43,237

42,741 Adjusted Diluted EPS 1.28

1.19

(a) Acquisition-related charges include, when applicable, amortization of purchased intangible assets included in depreciation and amortization expense line on our consolidated statements of comprehensive income, external deal costs, acquisition-related retention bonuses, integration costs, changes in the fair value of contingent consideration liabilities, charges for impairment of acquired intangible assets and other acquisition-related costs. We cannot provide acquisition-related charges on a forward-looking basis without unreasonable effort as such charges may fluctuate based on the timing, size, and complexity of future acquisitions as well as other uncertainty inherent in mergers and acquisitions.

Globant S.A.

Schedule of Supplemental Information (unaudited)

Metrics Q1 2022 Q2 2022 Q3 2022 Q4 2022 Q1 2023











Total Employees 24,504 25,924 26,541 27,122 26,288 IT Professionals 23,158 24,410 24,922 25,331 24,496











North America Revenues % 64.1 64.5 64.9 61.7 61.4 Latin America Revenues % 23.5 23.8 21.9 22.7 21.8 EMEA Revenues % 10.1 9.7 10.0 11.9 13.4 Asia and Oceania Revenues % 2.3 2.0 3.2 3.7 3.4











USD Revenues % 80.6 79.0 81.2 77.5 74.8 Other Currencies Revenues % 19.4 21.0 18.8 22.5 25.2











Top Customer % 11.0 10.5 10.7 10.8 9.4 Top 5 Customers % 28.0 25.7 24.7 25.1 24.5 Top 10 Customers % 38.6 36.7 34.5 34.3 34.8











Customers Served (Last Twelve Months)* 982 1,043 1,114 1,249 1,342 Customers with>$1M in Revenues (Last Twelve Months) 206 233 255 259 276













(*) Represents customers with more than $10,000 in revenues in the last twelve months.

Investor Relations Contact:

Arturo Langa, Globant

[email protected]

+1 (877) 215-5230

Media Contact:

Wanda Weigert, Globant

[email protected]

+1 (877) 215-5230

SOURCE Globant
Novel CoFI device found to be safe and highly effective in detecting coronary microvascular obstruction (MVO) in the cathlab immediately after primary PCI

CorFlow Therapeutics AG, a clinical-stage company that has developed the world's first combined system for diagnostic assessment and therapy delivery to address coronary microvascular obstruction (MVO), has announced the interim positive results of its MOCA I (Microvascular Obstruction with CoFI System Assessment) study at EuroPCR in Paris, France. The first-in-human study aims to evaluate the safety and feasibility of a novel real-time catheter-based system to detect MVO immediately after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) and deliver timely therapeutic intracoronary agents. The data set presented in a EuroPCR Late Breaking Trial session included 30 patients with an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the most severe type of heart attack.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005005/en/

CorFlow has developed a next-generation fully-integrated CoFI system, which will be utilized in the upcoming pivotal trial prior to be commercially available. It is an investigational device limited by federal law to investigational use and is not available for commercial distribution yet. (Photo: Business Wire)

The system outputs a novel pressure parameter (PCoFI) for detection of MVO, which was evaluated for correlation with cardiac MRI measured MVO, considered the reference standard. For the patients who had the CoFI diagnostic sequence, the essential results of the study showed that the system provided a sensitivity of 95%, specificity of 91%, and AUC of 0.94 for the ability to detect MVO measured by cardiac MRI. The CoFI device and procedure were deemed safe with no device-related deaths, flow-limiting dissections, or thrombotic events at 30 days, as adjudicated by an independent Clinical Events Committee.

The MOCA I study, presented by Professor Dr. Marco Valgimigli, Deputy Chief of Cardiology at the Cardiocentro Ticino Institute in Lugano, Switzerland, suggests that it may now be possible to have accurate, early detection which can lead to targeted treatment for these high-risk patients. Finally, we may be able to detect MVO with confidence, directly at the end of a primary PCI. This is significant. These are important findings that call for further research with this technology."

Current interventional cardiology technologies, addressing the larger coronary arteries, have been instrumental in saving patients from death and complications after a heart attack, reducing short term mortality over the last several decades. Yet for many patients, longer term outcomes are still poor despite current standard of care treatment. MVO, which is found to be in more than 50% of heart attack patients, has been shown to be the single most powerful prognostic indicator for negative outcomes for these patients, including heart failure and death. Heart disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, with more than 85% of these due to heart attacks and strokes. Multiple peer-reviewed studies suggest that addressing these blockages in the coronary microcirculation could reduce this global burden.

"The data presented from the MOCA I study with the CorFlow system is very encouraging for our community of cardiologists, who are increasingly recognizing MVO and microvascular disease as a next frontier to improve outcomes in our field," stated Dr. Azeem Latib of Montefiore Medical Center, New York City, USA. "This emerging area is in its early days, but we can agree that a significant step forward is made by being able to diagnose these patients in the cath lab. With such a technology, we can imagine that many concomitant therapy options can soon be evaluated, since it is now clear that treating only the larger vessels is not enough."

"Real-time catheter-based MVO detection can provide healthcare professionals with valuable information about the extent and severity of the heart attack, which can inform immediate treatment decisions to impact patient outcomes," stated Paul Mead, CEO of CorFlow. "The CoFI System can be a game-changer as it is the first of its kind and can potentially revolutionize the field, which is ripe for innovation that makes a difference. The 'next big thing' in interventional cardiology should be driven by where the largest positive impact in outcomes can be made, and it is hard to imagine a clearer target in this regard than STEMI patients with MVO, the first indication we pursued. MOCA I shows that we can, and will, do better for these patients."

About the CorFlow CoFI System

The Controlled Flow Infusion (CoFI) System is designed for diagnostic assessment of the coronary microcirculation in the cath lab, and to be a platform for controlled infusion of physician-specified diagnostic and therapeutic agents into the microcirculation. The CoFI System uses proprietary software algorithms to detect microvascular obstruction (MVO) and potentially other conditions related to microvascular function. The system the company plans to bring to the market is comprised of a next generation console, an advanced proprietary catheter with a pressure sensor wire, and single use infusion cassette. In addition to the primary clinical target addressing heart attack patients, the company intends to pursue other indications in both coronary and broader vascular use cases with the technology which are covered by broad patent families.

About CorFlow

CorFlow Therapeutics AG, a venture-backed company headquartered in Switzerland, is advancing medical technology and cardiology in an area many are calling "the next frontier" to improve clinical outcomes for people with heart attacks and coronary artery disease. Two of the founders of the company are renowned interventional cardiologists, Dr. Rob Schwartz and Dr. Martin Rothman, who discovered acute unmet needs over decades of clinical practive. The company is currently raising its Series B round of funding to pursue its mission to save lives and achieve future milestones. The company is continuing to enroll patients in the ongoing European "MOCA I" clinical trial of the CoFI System and is working toward US study submissions for clinical trials and commercialization of its technology. www.corflowinc.com

The CoFI-System is not approved in the United States of America. It is an investigational device limited by federal law to investigational use and is not available for commercial distribution.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005005/en/

Contacts:

Judy Gonzalez, +1.919.345.2212, jgonzalez@corflow.ch
Humanetics Biomed's precision laser micromachining and optical fiber processing services from Optek Systems will be represented by David Schnur Associates across three continents.

Humanetics Biomed is a Contract Development Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) that combines the best biomedical technologies from Humanetics; with the technical engineering expertise for research and development of precision lasered components and subcomponents for medical devices.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005032/en/

(Graphic: Business Wire)

Humanetics Biomed, part of the global industrial technology group Humanetics, is built on 50 years of delivering strain gauge sensors, material processing, laser micromachining, optical fiber processing and fiber optics for its customers from R&D to full scale production volumes. Its customers range from niche start-ups to over 60% of the largest medical companies in the world.

Headquartered in Michigan, Humanetics Biomed operates six manufacturing facilities across the US, Europe (UK), Asia (Sri Lanka and China) with 140,000 sq. ft of facilities and a workforce of 300 people.

Humanetics Biomed's solutions and applications include:

Specialty optical fibers, probes, sensors and laser power delivery

Custom force, load and infusion pump sensors

Torque transducers used in advanced surgical and orthopaedic tools

Precision laser machining for stents, hypotubes, ceramics, polymers and rare metals

Optical fiber processing, stripping, cleaving and lensing

Turnkey packaging and closed container integrity testing (CCIT)

Machine automation for scalable and quality controlled process

OpTek, a part of Humanetics Biomed, has agreed to a multi-year strategic agreement with David Schnur Associates (DSA), a global supplier of outsourced technical sales and marketing services for the medical industry. The partnership offers customers a seamless pathway from process validation to full scale production by leveraging OpTek's 20 years experience in contract manufacturing and precision laser micromachining. OpTek utilises a diverse range of laser wavelengths to provide capabilities including precision micro hole drilling in polymer applications such as microtubing and balloons for filtration and precise drug dosing control.

"To put it in context, laser processing has been at the heart of several of the largest transactions in the medical device OEM space in recent years," DSA CEO Barry Schnur said. "As medical devices have continued to scale down, there's been a greater need for precise, tight-tolerance features for complex components in less space, and laser processing is a key technology that has evolved to meet that need."

"Given DSA's extensive customer base and biomedical expertise, our partnership will enable OpTek to deliver value to new customers in high-growth markets and regions. We look forward to working on complex challenges that can benefit from our applied micromachining and optical fiber processing expertise," said Bruce Valentine, OpTek's Global Managing Director.

About Humanetics

Humanetics is an Industrial technology company, and a leading provider of safety systems, crash test dummies (ATDs), simulation software, CAE models, precision sensors, fiber optics and cutting-edge laser material engineering solutions. The group has over 950 employees across 26 facilities strategically located around the world with the global corporate headquarters located in Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA.

www.humaneticsgroup.com

About OpTek Systems

OpTek has built a reputation as one of the most highly respected providers of laser processing solutions, combining its core expertise in lasers, optics and laser/material interactions with a high degree of automation. OpTek is headquartered in Oxford, U.K., and also operates from facilities in Dongguan, China; Boston, Massachusetts; and Greenville, South Carolina.

www.opteksystems.com.

About DSA

David Schnur Associates (DSA) is a medical device technical sales organization with 45 years of experience consulting on the design and development of medical components and devices. With consultancy services and a global network of materials partners, DSA acts as an extension of its customers' design, engineering and manufacturing teams.

www.dschnur.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005032/en/

Contacts:

Barney Loehnis, Humanetics, CMO,

bloehnis@humaneticsgroup.com +1 203 2461397
TOKYO, May 19, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - Hitachi Astemo, Ltd. ("Hitachi Astemo") deeply apologizes for the inconvenience and concern caused to our customers and related parties due to our inappropriate conduct. Hitachi Astemo has been conducting our own independent investigation concurrent with investigations by a special investigation committee focused on a fact-finding and cause analysis relating to the inappropriate conduct in the regular tests of brake components and suspension components manufactured at our Yamanashi Plant (Minami-Alps City, Yamanashi Prefecture) and Fukushima Plant (Koori Town, Date District, Fukushima Prefecture) announced on December 22, 2021*.* News Release dated December 22, 2021: "Notice of Inappropriate Conduct for Certain Products, including Unperformed Periodic Tests": www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/month/2021/12/211222.pdfThe investigation in respect of the inappropriate conduct and some of its similar incidents at our Yamanashi Plant and Fukushima Plant was conducted by a special investigation committee. In addition, Hitachi Astemo conducted an internal investigation at all plants on a world-wide basis and a screening survey in relation to the above-mentioned special committee investigation was conducted by the special investigation committee. As a result of identifying the issues, we recognized that our compliance culture and management supervision system were inadequate for the duration of the conduct. In response, we have decided to implement improvement measures throughout the organization, including related education, review of processes, and investment in human resources and facilities, with the aim of preventing the recurrence of inappropriate actions, and to continuously improve these measures.Concurrent with the investigations, we carried out a detailed safety analysis, determining that all products encompassed by the inappropriate conduct functioned properly within the required performance margin, with no evidence of reduced safety. In addition, we have disclosed all known issues to our customers and have not identified any safety concerns or legal violations.We sincerely accept the results of this investigation and deeply apologize to our customers and other stakeholders in society for failing in these instances to uphold the highest standards of trust and compliance at all times. We are continuing to reflect deeply on the inappropriate conduct and inadequate oversight made apparent by these events, and we are committed to further developing and embedding a strong compliance culture throughout our operations to prevent recurrence.Disciplinary actions will be announced after decisions are made considering the degree of involvement in the inappropriate conduct, the role played at the time and other factors.1. Key findingsA survey was conducted on all domestic and foreign manufacturing bases, and the causes were thoroughly investigated, including the background, of cases that fall under inappropriate behavior to implement appropriate recurrence prevention measures. As a result, it was confirmed that there were inappropriate actions involving 22 products at 15 bases.Key findings of the investigative process were:- Inappropriate conduct in addition to that announced on December 22, 2021, was found in the testing, specifications, and reporting of some additional automotive components at the Yamanashi and Fukushima plants.- In addition to production plants in Japan (11 plants), incorrect procedures for testing, reporting and other activities were also conducted at overseas production plants in the United States, Mexico, Thailand and China (one at each plant).- The inappropriate conduct continued in some cases for about 40 years, and the duration and number of associated customers were greater than reported on December 22, 2021.- Although compliance reporting systems were in place and in some cases were used, remedial actions were not always taken promptly and with sufficient rigor, and internal reporting procedures did not function properly.2. Root causesThe external and internal investigations determined that multiple factors had contributed to the compliance failure. Key factors were:- In certain cases, inadequate awareness of compliance regarding quality assurance due to management's misguided stance in site operations and its oversight, a lack of thorough compliance monitoring, and the absence of a self-improvement function led to the continuation of inappropriate behavior.- In certain cases, the prevalent corporate culture permitted making unrealistic commitments to customers, such as the sales department agreeing to testing, inspection, and manufacturing schedules that could not be met with available onsite resources.- In certain cases, in addition to the chronic shortage of personnel to conduct tests, and the lack of necessary equipment, there were inconsistent work procedures, leading to use of employees' own interpretations and procedures.3. Measures to prevent recurrenceWe have horizontally deployed wide-ranging measures to address issues at every level of the organization, including management and on-site plant personnel. These measures include:- Formalizing a zero-tolerance management policy with respect to product quality and compliance and engaging in company-wide communication on quality and compliance, including directly from the CEO at least twice a month.- Strengthening the authority of the quality assurance department, establishing an independent quality assurance reporting line that does not pass through the business line, and increasing investment in human and material resources related to quality assurance.- Providing additional quality-related training and education for officers and front-line sales and plant employees.- Changing work processes to enhance collaboration and information sharing between divisions.- Standardizing procedures and strictly implementing protocols.- Strengthening internal audit systems and improving internal reporting mechanisms.- Promoting digitization and automation of equipment that cannot be tampered with data.- Build and strengthen 3-line defense.Corrective measures and preventative initiatives above are either completed or underway, and measures will be added, expanded, and revised as necessary to ensure their ongoing effectiveness. Any further items or concerns will be validated with our customers and relevant stakeholders as a normal operational best practice.We continue to work collaboratively and transparently with our customers to address their requirements and revise engineering documentation, when required, to reflect full conformity to product specifications.We intend to sustain these initiatives and embed them throughout our organization, working diligently to restore trust in our relationships with customers and society as an organization.Information contained in this news release is current as of the date of the press announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice.For more information, visit www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/month/2023/05/230519a.pdf.Source: Hitachi, Ltd.Copyright 2023 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Dongying, Shandong province, which is located where the Yellow River flows into the Bohai sea, has been promoting cooperation with estuarine cities around the world.

The Yellow River Estuary International Friendly Cities Conference for Dialogue and Exchange, which was held in the city on May 15, provided a platform for international estuarine cities to deepen mutual understanding and seek cooperation in high-quality development.

Representatives from estuarine cities such as Gabon's Libreville, Italy's Livorno, Japan's Niigata, and China's Yingkou, showcased economic, cultural and ecological resources and discussed expectations for mutual cooperation at the conference. The event also saw Dongying authorities signing a memorandum with Libreville and inking a letter of intent with Livorno to establish cooperative ties.

"Dongying is an open highland full of development vitality," said Chen Bichang, mayor of Dongying. "The city has established economic and trade relations with 214 countries and regions around the world and is ranked the 31st among China's top 100 foreign trade cities."

The city has in recent years focused on expanding opening-up. It established friendly relations with more than 40 cities around the world and carried out extensive exchanges and cooperation in economy, trade, culture, education and sports.

Chen hopes that Dongying will strengthen cooperation in industrial and economic fields with estuarine cities at home and abroad, promote wetland ecological protection, and seek to deepen cultural exchange after the conference.

Dongying and Libreville are expected to continue to strengthen communication, deepen friendly exchanges and expand practical cooperation to jointly achieve mutual benefits and win-win results, said Christine Mba Ndutume, mayor of Libreville.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005149/en/

Contacts:

Dongying Municipal Publicity Department

Alina Liu

szfwz@shandong.cn
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that it has closed its franchise acquisition agreement with PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill ("PIRHO"), a gourmet bowls, wraps, and pitas fast casual Greek restaurant with the fresh wholesome tastes of Greece and its delicious traditional foods.



"Closing this transaction is another step forward for Happy Belly and Pirho Fresh Greek Grill. Our attention and focus now turns to accelerating the brands growth through our franchise model across Canada with 60 stores already committed through Area Development agreements recently signed in Ontario and Alberta. The plan is in motion to establish PIRHO as a category leader for fast casual Greek food in Canada just like Cava Grill in the United States", said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly. "By using our existing team and road map for accelerated growth, we are building a first mover advantage for Pirho just like we did Mucho Burrito which was the first national fast casual Mexican brand in Canada when we owned it. We look forward to working with George Plagakis, founder of PIRHO as we focus on getting restaurants open as well as significantly growing our franchise pipeline beyond the initial 60 stores already signed."



"My team is already hard at work cultivating new franchisee's for PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill as we build this brand into what I believe is going to be a category leader in the Greek fast casual QSR space. Both family and friends repeatedly tell me when eating at PIRHO that the food is excellent, the service is friendly, and from a customer perspective they would love to see this chain nationwide. Working shoulder to shoulder with the experienced management team at Happy Belly in fast casual, I look forward to accelerating this brands growth with 60 additional franchise locations in Ontario and Alberta very soon", said Scott Grandin, Area Developer.

Acquisition Details

On May 18th, 2023, Happy Belly & PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill closed on their Franchise Acquisition Agreement ("FAA").

As part of the transaction a Joint Venture Company ("JVCo") was incorporated for the purposes of corporate franchise expansion and growth acceleration of PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill Restaurants.

For 50% ownership of the JVCo, George Plagakis has vended in PIRHO Grill Franchising Inc., where all franchisee activities (such as collection of franchisee royalties and franchising fees) operate from, as well as all global franchising rights, brand assets, intellectual property and brand trademarks.

For 50% ownership of the JVCo, Happy Belly has issued to the JVCo $250,000 worth of common stock based on the last 10-day VWAP leading up to yesterday's closing date for a total of 1,562,500 shares. Happy Belly's shares will be insider reported and controlled.

Happy Belly has also obtained the rights to acquire the remaining 50% of the business at its optionality.



PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill is the fourth accretive transaction that has closed in the last 14 months within the Happy Belly Portfolio. For franchising inquiries please see www.happybellyfg.com/franchise-with-us/ or contact us at hello@happybellyfg.com.





PIRHO FRESH GREEK GRILL

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6625/166747_729bf0e2c498e96f_001full.jpg





About PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill

We strongly believe that food can bring people together and inspire colorful conversations. PIRHO culture is rooted in old-world Greek traditions with an emphasis on family and community. The wholesome ingredients, the careful preparation, the irresistible aromas, the delicious food and of course the human interaction all make for a warm and inviting atmosphere. During our visits to Greece, this nurturing environment left a deep and lasting impression with us. So much so that it led to the creation of PIRHO True Food Grill. The best of Greece right here in Ottawa! In our fast-paced world, taking the time to connect with friends and family has never been more important. You deserve to enjoy those precious moments and connect with your loved ones, in real life, with True Food. Join us for lunch or dinner at PIRHO Grill and fuel your soul.

About Happy Belly Food Group

Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company") is a leading consolidator of emerging food brands.

Happy Belly Food Group

Shawn Moniz

Chief Executive Officer

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT:

www: www.happybellyfg.com or email hello@happybellyfg.com

If you wish to contact us please call: (604) 737-2303



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, which has been prepared by management.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur, and include the future performance of LumberHeads Food Co. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. There are no assurances that the business plans for Happy Belly described in this news release will come into effect on the terms or time frame described herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis and other disclosure filings with Canadian securities regulators, which are posted on www.sedar.com.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/166747
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2023) - Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. (TSX: AVL) (OTCQB: AVLNF) ("Avalon" or the "Company"), a lithium-focused mineral development company advancing critical mineral projects to support the North American battery supply chain, today announces the retirement of its long-standing CEO, Don Bubar. Don will continue to serve on Avalon's Board of Directors. Scott Monteith, who was appointed to Avalon's Board of Directors in May 2023, will assume the role of Interim CEO.

Mr. Monteith is an experienced clean tech executive, entrepreneur and business owner with a successful track record of moving inventions from concept to commercial success. Currently, he holds the position of Chair of Monteco Ltd., Cable House Capital Ltd. and Imtex Membranes Corporation. Mr. Monteith has extensive experience in the areas of chemical manufacturing, international businesses, M&A, government affairs and strategic planning.

Don Bubar has been leading Avalon for more than 25 years, initially steering the Company towards its focus on critical minerals, and subsequently pioneering ESG and sustainability reporting within the junior mining sector. During his time at Avalon, Don grew the Company's flagship Separation Rapids Lithium Project from exploration to development stage, positioning the project for the upcoming demand in lithium, driven by the shift to electrification.

Alan Ferry, Chair of Avalon's Board of Directors, commented, "On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Don for his unwavering commitment to Avalon for over a quarter century. With Don's invaluable contributions, Avalon built a broad portfolio of assets and is well-positioned to advance Separation Rapids and unlock future lithium growth through new discoveries."

"On behalf of the executive team, I would like to extend our gratitude and best wishes to Don on his retirement," commented Zeeshan Syed, President of Avalon. "Don has been a passionate and tireless advocate for the development of Canada's resource sector. Avalon has been built on his vision, and we are now poised for growth and focused on executing our new strategic plan in 2023 and beyond. I look forward to working with Scott, as we continue to advance our lithium assets in 2023."

About Avalon Advanced Materials Inc.

Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. is a Canadian mineral development company specializing in sustainably-produced materials for North America's battery supply chain. Avalon is currently focusing on developing its Separation Rapids Lithium Project near Kenora, Ontario while continuing to advance other projects, including its 100%-owned Lilypad Spodumene-Cesium-Tantalum Project located near Fort Hope, Ontario. Social responsibility and environmental stewardship are corporate cornerstones.

For questions and feedback, please e-mail the Company at ir@AvalonAM.com, or phone Zeeshan Syed, President, directly at (647) 300-4706.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/166716
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / Aton Resources Inc. (TSXV:AAN) ("Aton" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has now commenced a 10,000m programme of reverse circulation percussion ("RC") exploration drilling at its 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession ("Abu Marawat" or the "Concession"), in the Eastern Desert of Egypt (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Geology and prospect plan of the Abu Marawat Concession

"I am very pleased to be able to announce that Geodrill have now started on our highly anticipated regional RC exploration drilling programme" said Tonno Vahk, Interim CEO. "We are delighted to finally be in a position to get out and drill some of our regional targets for the first time at Abu Marawat. We have no doubt that we have one of, if not the most prospective package of gold exploration projects in Egypt. The team on the ground has worked hard to get this programme together, and are very excited to be finally starting drilling at some of these great targets. We are absolutely confident that the results of the drilling will speak for themselves in the coming months."

2023 Abu Marawat RC drilling programme

Aton signed a contract with Geodrill's Egyptian branch, Geodrill for Leasing and Specialized Services Freezone LLC, for 10,000m of RC drilling at the Abu Marawat Concession in April 2023 (see news release dated April 20, 2023). Geodrill's X900 multi-purpose drill rig arrived at the West Garida prospect on May 18, 2023, and commenced drilling on the first hole of the programme, WGP-006 (Figure 2). The powerful X900 multi-purpose rig carries a 1200cfm/430psi onboard compressor, and an additional service unit equipped with a 1200cfm/430psi auxiliary compressor and 1800cfm/900psi booster pack. The X900 rig has a rated RC depth capacity of 400m.

Drilling has commenced at the West Garida prospect (Figure 1), which is only 3 km away from the Company's Hamama West deposit. A short programme of 19 holes has been planned at West Garida, for a total of 1,370 metres to follow up on a previous drill intersection of 41.7 g/t Au, 263 g/t Ag and 2.08% Pb over a 1m interval (see news release dated September 1, 2022). Mineralisation at West Garida is associated with narrow high grade quartz veins.

Figure 2: Collaring off the first hole WGP-006 at West Garida, 18 May, 2023

After the completion of the West Garida programme the rig will then be mobilised to the Abu Gaharish prospect (Figure 1), where a temporary exploration camp has been erected to service the drilling. Drill pad construction is almost finished at the prospect, and is expected to be completed in the coming days. Abu Gaharish is located approximately 16km east northeast of the Company's main exploration camp at Rodruin, and is accessed by rough desert tracks. A provisional programme of 28 holes has been planned for a total of 4,040 metres at Abu Gaharish. The Company believes that Abu Gaharish is an analogue of the world-class Sukari deposit, approximately 200 km south of Abu Marawat, and where artisanal miners have recently exploited a highly prospective structural system consisting of numerous mineralised veins and structures along a c. 3 km strike length on the southeastern margin of the Gaharish granite pluton. Aton has carried out extensive surface sampling at Abu Gaharish with samples grading up to 157 g/t Au (see news release dated October 28, 2021).

A further programme of 17 holes for a total of 3,600m has been designed at the Semna prospect, which will be drilled after Abu Gaharish, and where drill access road and pad construction is also well advanced. Semna is located approximately 10 km northwest of Abu Gaharish (Figure 1). The Semna area has a long history of gold mining, during both ancient and modern times, dating back as far as the Old Kingdom period, over 4,500 years ago. Semna was exploited by 2 British companies between 1904 and 1906, who reported that Semna had the widest vein mined during the British phase of mining in Egypt in the early 20th century, reaching up to 6m in width in places. The British reported mining grades of over 2 ounces per ton. Reports from the British Mining Journal from 1905 indicated that some pillars from the ancient Pharaonic era stopes assayed up to 5.5 ounces per ton gold. Mineralisation is associated with at least 4 sub-parallel structures at Semna, and Aton has returned channel sampling intercepts including 5.17 g/t Au over an interval of 9.7m at surface, and individual channel samples grading up to 18.05 g/t Au (see news release November 22, 2017).

Further drilling programmes are being developed to also test the Zeno, Sir Bakis and Bohlog areas (Figure 1) in the current RC programme.

About Aton Resources Inc.

Aton Resources Inc. (AAN:TSXV) is focused on its 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession ("Abu Marawat"), located in Egypt's Arabian-Nubian Shield, approximately 200 km north of Centamin's world-class Sukari gold mine. Aton has identified numerous gold and base metal exploration targets at Abu Marawat, including the Hamama deposit in the west, the Abu Marawat deposit in the northeast, and the advanced Rodruin exploration prospect in the south of the Concession. Two historic British gold mines are also located on the Concession at Sir Bakis and Semna. Aton has identified several distinct geological trends within Abu Marawat, which display potential for the development of a variety of styles of precious and base metal mineralisation. Abu Marawat is 447.7 km2 in size and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure; a four-lane highway, a 220kV power line, and a water pipeline are in close proximity, as are the international airports at Hurghada and Luxor.

Qualified person

The technical information contained in this News Release was prepared by Javier Orduna BSc (hons), MSc, MCSM, DIC, MAIG, SEG(M), Exploration Manager of Aton Resources Inc. Mr. Orduna is a qualified person (QP) under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

For further information regarding Aton Resources Inc., please visit us at www.atonresources.com or contact:

TONNO VAHK

Interim CEO

Tel: +1 604 318 0390

Email: info@atonresources.com

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions; by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Aton Resources, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/755975/Aton-Announces-the-Start-of-a-10000m-RC-Exploration-Drilling-Programme-at-Abu-Marawat
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / Arbor Day Foundation

By Dan Lambe

There's a need for forests everywhere around the world.

Alongside our worldwide network of partners, the Arbor Day Foundation has been involved in some incredible work on the global forestry stage. That reach continues to expand as more attention and understanding of the impact reforestation work can have on international forests of greatest need.

While the Arbor Day Foundation has built a 50-year legacy of impact through tree planting, we continue to have more and more "firsts" for the organization. We have another first on the horizon as we prepare to plant in Laos for the first time with the help of the World Wildlife Fund and Global EverGreening Alliance. The unique ecosystems in this Southeast Asia country are essential to the survival of many plant and animal species-many of which can't be found anywhere else in the world.

Like so many other "firsts" for the Foundation, this one wouldn't be possible without a partnership of like-minded organizations committed to positive impact through trees. This collaboration between three international players in conservation leverages the strength needed to dial up the magnitude of impact in this critical landscape. We are proud to be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with World Wildlife Fund and Global EverGreening Alliance, pushing forward on exactly the kind of projects that are needed to advance biodiversity and climate resiliency.

But the environmental benefits of a thriving ecosystem are not all we hope to achieve in Laos. At the heart of this mission, is a deep desire to help our fellow humans.

These forest lands support the livelihoods of people living in Laos. Some of these marginalized communities have poor access to basic resources and are dependent on forest lands to provide them with food, medicine and housing. Trees help keep these local communities going and we want them to be part of the effort to plant 30,000 more. We're seeking to engage the people of Laos to take ownership over their own forest lands and empower community leaders to be actively involved in this project. They understand how their communities can benefit from these important forests.

In Laos, Southeast Asia and communities all over the world, trees can be a catalyst for change. They can represent the end of a seemingly insurmountable struggle and the beginning of a healthier, more joyous reality.

At the Arbor Day Foundation, we want to spur that transformation in the areas that need it most. By combining efforts with some of the world's most respected environmental organizations on the planet - the World Wildlife Fund and Global EverGreening Alliance -we expect to see the people and wildlife of Laos reap the rewards of a vital investment in their community.

Dan Lambe is CEO of the Arbor Day Foundation, the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. He can be reached at dlambe@arborday.org.

Arbor Day Foundation

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Arbor Day Foundation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Arbor Day Foundation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/arbor-day-foundation

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Arbor Day Foundation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/756039/The-Ripple-Effect-of-Planting-Trees-and-Its-Staggering-Potential-in-International-Forests-of-Need
HONG KONG / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / SouthGobi Resources Ltd. (Hong Kong Stock Exchange ("HKEX"): 1878, TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V"): SGQ) (TSX-V:SGQ)(HK:1878) (the "Company" or "SouthGobi") today announces its financial and operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2023. All figures are in U.S. dollars ("USD") unless otherwise stated.

Significant Events and Highlights

The Company's significant events and highlights for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and the subsequent period to May 19, 2023 are as follows:

Operating Results - In late 2022, the Company resumed its major mining operations, including coal mining, and the volume of coal production has gradually increased since then. The Company also resumed coal washing operations in April 2023. In response to the market demand, the Company has been mixing some higher ash content product with its semi-soft coking coal product and selling this mixed product to the market as processed coal.

The Company recorded sales volume of 0.6 million tonnes for the first quarter of 2023. The Company also recorded an average realised selling price of $104.1 per tonne in the first quarter as a result of an improved market conditions in China, expansion of its sales network and diversification of its customer base.

Financial Results - The Company recorded a $27.9 million profit from operations in the first quarter of 2023 compared to a $0.2 million loss from operations in the first quarter of 2022. The financial results were impacted by increased sales volume experienced by the Company and improvement of average realised selling price during the quarter.

- The Company recorded a $27.9 million profit from operations in the first quarter of 2023 compared to a $0.2 million loss from operations in the first quarter of 2022. The financial results were impacted by increased sales volume experienced by the Company and improvement of average realised selling price during the quarter. Convertible Debenture - On March 24, 2023, the Company and JD Zhixing Fund L.P. (the "JDZF") entered into an agreement (the "2023 March Deferral Agreement") pursuant to which JDZF agreed to grant the Company a deferral of (i) the cash interest payment of approximately $7.9 million (the "2023 May Cash Interest") which will be due and payable on May 19, 2023 under the Convertible Debenture; (ii) the cash interest, management fees, and related deferral fees of approximately $8.7 million (the "2022 May Deferred Amounts") which are due and payable to JDZF on or before August 31, 2023 under the deferral agreement dated May 13, 2022; (iii) the cash and payment-in-kind interest ("PIK Interest"), and related deferral fees of approximately $13.5 million (the "2021 July Deferred Amounts") which are due and payable to JDZF on or before August 31, 2023 under the deferral agreement dated July 30, 2021; and (iv) the cash and PIK Interest, management fees, and related deferral fees of approximately $110.4 million (the "2020 November Deferred Amounts", and together with the 2023 May Cash Interest, the 2022 May Deferred Amounts and the 2021 July Deferred Amounts, the "2023 March Deferred Amounts") which are due and payable to JDZF on or before August 31, 2023 under the deferral agreement dated November 19, 2020.

The effectiveness of the 2023 March Deferral Agreement and the respective covenants, agreements and obligations of each party under the 2023 March Deferral Agreement are subject to the approvals from the TSX and the disinterested shareholders of the Company in accordance with the requirements of Section 501(c) of the TSX Company Manual and the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on the HKEX (the "Listing Rules").

The principal terms of the 2023 March Deferral Agreement are as follows:

Payment of the 2023 March Deferred Amounts will be deferred until August 31, 2024 (the "Deferral Date").

As consideration for the deferral of the 2023 March Deferred Amounts which relate to the payment obligations arising from the Convertible Debenture, the Company agreed to pay JDZF a deferral fee equal to 6.4% per annum on the outstanding balance of such 2023 March Deferred Amounts, commencing on the date on which each such 2023 March Deferred Amounts would otherwise have been due and payable under the Convertible Debenture.

As consideration for the deferral of the 2023 March Deferred Amounts which relate to payment obligations arising from Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement, the Company agreed to pay JDZF a deferral fee equal to 1.5% per annum on the outstanding balance of such 2023 March Deferred Amounts commencing on the date on which each such 2023 March Deferred Amounts would otherwise have been due and payable under the Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement.

The 2023 March Deferral Agreement does not contemplate a fixed repayment schedule for the 2023 March Deferred Amounts or related deferral fees. Instead, the 2023 March Deferral Agreement requires the Company to use its best efforts to pay the 2023 March Deferred Amounts and related deferral fees due and payable under the 2023 March Deferral Agreement to JDZF. During the period beginning as of the effective date of the 2023 March Deferral Agreement and ending as of the Deferral Date, the Company will provide JDZF with monthly updates of its financial status and business operations, and the Company and JDZF will on a monthly basis discuss and assess in good faith the amount (if any) of the 2023 March Deferred Amounts and related deferral fees that the Company may be able to repay to JDZF, having regard to the working capital requirements of the Company's operations and business at such time and with the view of ensuring that the Company's operations and business would not be materially prejudiced as a result of any repayment.

If at any time before the 2023 March Deferred Amounts and related deferral fees are fully repaid, the Company proposes to appoint, replace or terminate one or more of its chief executive officer, its chief financial officer or any other senior executive(s) in charge of its principal business function or its principal subsidiary, the Company will first consult with, and obtain written consent (such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld) from JDZF prior to effecting such appointment, replacement or termination.

The Company expects to convene a special meeting of shareholders in the third quarter of 2023, to seek disinterested shareholder approval of the 2023 March Deferral Agreement.

New Listing on the TSX Venture Exchange and Primary Listing on the HKEX - On April 17, 2023, the Company announced (i) the change of its secondary listing status to primary listing on the Main Board of the HKEX became effective; and (ii) the listing of the Company's common shares for trading on the TSX-V was effective as of the opening of trade on April 17, 2023 in Canada. The Company's trading symbol on the HKEX and the TSX-V will remain as "1878" and "SGQ", respectively.

On April 17, 2023, the Company announced (i) the change of its secondary listing status to primary listing on the Main Board of the HKEX became effective; and (ii) the listing of the Company's common shares for trading on the TSX-V was effective as of the opening of trade on April 17, 2023 in Canada. The Company's trading symbol on the HKEX and the TSX-V will remain as "1878" and "SGQ", respectively. Revolving Credit Facility- On March 2, 2023, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (the "Borrower") entered into an unsecured revolving credit facility (the "Credit Facility") with a related party of JDZF (the "Lender"), which makes available to the Company up to a maximum principal sum of RMB90 million with a maturity date of three months after the agreement was signed. The Company has obtained the requisite acceptance from the TSX for the Credit Facility in accordance with the requirements of the TSX Company Manual, subject to certain standard conditions.

The principal terms of the Credit Facility are as follows:

All obligations under the Credit Facility are due and payable on the maturity date.

The Credit Facility is a revolving facility, pursuant to which the Borrower will be entitled, but not obligated, to request advances ("Advances") under the Credit Facility from time to time, provided that the aggregate amount of the outstanding Advances under the Credit Facility does not exceed the maximum loan amount at any time. The Borrower is entitled to repay all or any portion of the outstanding Advances under the Credit Facility from time to time without bonus or penalty.

Advances under the Credit Facility will not accrue interest if the Borrower repays any Advance in full within fifteen (15) days following the date of drawdown (the "Interest-Free Period"). If the Borrower fails to repay in full the amount of the Advance prior to the end of the Interest-Free Period, then the Borrower will pay to the Lender interest on the outstanding amount of such Advance, beginning on the day immediately following the last day of the Interest-Free Period (the "Interest Trigger Date") and ending on but excluding the day on which such Advance is repaid or satisfied in full. Interest on the outstanding amount of each Advance from the Interest Trigger Date is calculated at a rate per annum equal to 5%, determined daily and calculated and payable on the date on which the relevant Advance is repaid in full.

The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Credit Facility for general corporate purposes.

As at March 31, 2023, the Company did not draw down any principal under the Credit Facility.

Changes in Management

Mr. Gang Li: Mr. Li resigned as a non-executive director on May 8, 2023.

Mr. Dong Wang: Mr. Wang was removed as Chief Executive Officer and redesignated from an executive Director to a non-executive Director on May 15, 2023.

Mr. Ruibin Xu: Mr. Xu was appointed as Chief Executive Officer on May 15, 2023.

Mr. Zaixiang Wen: Mr. Wen was appointed as a non-executive Director on May 17, 2023.

Going Concern - Several adverse conditions and material uncertainties relating to the Company cast significant doubt upon the going concern assumption which includes the deficiencies in assets and working capital.

See section "Liquidity and Capital Resources" of this press release for details.

OVERVIEW OF OPERATIONAL DATA AND FINANCIAL RESULTS

Summary of Operational Data

A Non-International Financial Reporting Standards ("non-IFRS") financial measure. Refer to "Non-IFRS Financial Measures" section. Cash costs of product sold exclude idled mine asset cash costs. Per 200,000 man hours and calculated based on a rolling 12 month average. Not presented as nil sales was noted for the quarter.

Overview of Operational Data

The Company ended the first quarter of 2023 without a lost time injury.

The Company recorded an average realised selling price of $104.1 per tonne in the first quarter of 2023as a result of improved market conditions in China, expansion of its sales network and diversification of its customer base. The product mix for the first quarter of 2023 consisted of approximately 55% of premium semi-soft coking coal, 2% of standard semi-soft coking coal/premium thermal coal and 43% of processed coal.

The Company's unit cost of sales of product sold was $51.6 per tonne for the first quarter of 2023.

Summary of Financial Results

Revenue and cost of sales related to the Company's Ovoot Tolgoi Mine within the Coal Division operating segment. Refer to note 3 of the condensed consolidated interim financial statements for further analysis regarding the Company's reportable operating segments. A non-IFRS financial measure, idled mine asset costs represents the depreciation expense relates to the Company's idled plant and equipment.

Overview of Financial Results

The Company recorded a $27.9 million profit from operations in the first quarter of 2023 compared to a $0.2 million loss from operations in the first quarter of 2022. The financial results were impacted by increased sales volume experienced by the Company, improvement of the product mix and improvement of average realised selling price during the quarter.

Revenue was $61.8 million in the first quarter of 2023. The Company's effective royalty rate based on the Company's average realised selling price of $104.1 per tonne, was 18.6% or $19.4 per tonne.

Cost of sales was $31.0 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared to $1.0 million in the first quarter of 2022. The increase in cost of sales was mainly due to the increased sales during the quarter. Cost of sales consists of operating expenses, share-based compensation expense/recovery, equipment depreciation, depletion of mineral properties, royalties and idled mine asset costs. Operating expenses in cost of sales reflect the total cash costs of product sold (a non-IFRS financial measure, refer to section "Non-IFRS Financial Measures" of this press release for further analysis) during the quarter.

Operating expenses in cost of sales were $18.3 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared to $0.5 million in the first quarter of 2022. The overall increase in operating expenses was primarily due to the increased sales volume experienced in the first quarter of 2023.

Cost of sales related to idled mine assets in the first quarter of 2023 included $0.1 million related to depreciation expenses for idled equipment (first quarter of 2022: $0.4 million).

Other operating expenses were $0.8 million in the first quarter of 2023 (first quarter of 2022: other operating income of $2.1 million). The change was mainly due to increased management fee and penalty on late settlement of trade payables of $0.5m in the first quarter of 2023, while a written off of other payables of $1.2 million was recorded in the first quarter of 2022.

Administration expenses were $2.1 million in the first quarter of 2023 as compared to $1.2 million in the first quarter of 2022, as follows:

The Company continued to minimise evaluation and exploration expenditures in the first quarter of 2023 in order to preserve the Company's financial resources. Evaluation and exploration activities and expenditures in the first quarter of 2023 were limited to ensuring that the Company met the Mongolian Minerals Law requirements in respect of its mining licenses.

Finance costs were $11.9 million and $10.0 million in the first quarter of 2023 and 2022 respectively, which primarily consisted of interest expense on the $250.0 million Convertible Debenture.

Summary of Quarterly Operational Data

A non-IFRS financial measure. Refer to section "Non-IFRS Financial Measures". Cash costs of product sold exclude idled mine asset cash costs. Per 200,000 man hours and calculated based on a rolling 12 month average. Not presented as nil sales was noted for the quarter.

Summary of Quarterly Financial Results

The Company's consolidated financial statements are reported under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. The following table provides highlights, extracted from the Company's annual and interim consolidated financial statements, of quarterly results for the past eight quarters.

Revenue and cost of sales relate to the Company's Ovoot Tolgoi Mine within the Coal Division operating segment. Refer to note 3 of the condensed consolidated interim financial statements for further analysis regarding the Company's reportable operating segments.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Liquidity and Capital Management

The Company has in place a planning, budgeting and forecasting process to help determine the funds required to support the Company's normal operations on an ongoing basis and the Company's expansionary plans.

Costs reimbursable to Turquoise Hill Resources Limited ("Turquoise Hill")

Prior to the completion of a private placement with Novel Sunrise Investments Limited on April 23, 2015, Rio Tinto plc ("Rio Tinto") was the Company's ultimate parent company. In the past, Rio Tinto sought reimbursement from the Company for the salaries and benefits of certain Rio Tinto employees who were assigned by Rio Tinto to work for the Company, as well as certain legal and professional fees incurred by Rio Tinto in relation to the Company's prior internal investigation and Rio Tinto's participation in the tripartite committee. Subsequently Rio Tinto transferred and assigned to Turquoise Hill its right to seek reimbursement for these costs and fees from the Company.

On January 20, 2021, the Company and Turquoise Hill entered into a settlement agreement, whereby Turquoise Hill agreed to a repayment schedule in settlement of certain secondment costs in the amount of $2.8 million (representing a portion of the TRQ Reimbursable Amount) pursuant to which the Company agreed to make monthly payments to Turquoise Hill in the amount of $0.1 million per month from January 2021 to June 2022. The Company is contesting the validity of the remaining balance of the TRQ Reimbursable Amount claimed by Turquoise Hill.

As at March 31, 2023, the amount of reimbursable costs and fees claimed by Turquoise Hill (the "TRQ Reimbursable Amount") amounted to $6.3 million (such amount is included in the trade and other payables).

Revolving Credit Facility

On March 2, 2023, the Borrower entered into a Credit Facility with the Lender, which makes available to the Company to borrow up to a maximum principal sum of RMB 90 million with a maturity date of three months after the agreement was signed. The Company has obtained the requisite acceptance from the TSX for the Credit Facility in accordance with the requirements of the TSX Company Manual, subject to certain standard conditions.

The principal terms of the Credit Facility are as follows:

All obligations under the Credit Facility are due and payable on the maturity date.

The Credit Facility is a revolving facility, pursuant to which the Borrower will be entitled, but not obligated, to request Advances under the Credit Facility from time to time, provided that the aggregate amount of the outstanding Advances under the Credit Facility does not exceed the maximum loan amount at any time. The Borrower is entitled to repay all or any portion of the outstanding Advances under the Credit Facility from time to time without bonus or penalty.

Advances under the Credit Facility will not accrue interest if the Borrower repays any Advance in full within the Interest-Free Period. If the Borrower fails to repay in full the amount of the Advance prior to the end of the Interest-Free Period, then the Borrower will pay to the Lender interest on the outstanding amount of such Advance, beginning on the day immediately following the Interest Trigger Date and ending on but excluding the day on which such Advance is repaid or satisfied in full. Interest on the outstanding amount of each Advance from the Interest Trigger Date is calculated at a rate per annum equal to 5%, determined daily and calculated and payable on the date on which the relevant Advance is repaid in full.

The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Credit Facility for general corporate purposes.

As at March 31, 2023, the Company did not draw down any principal under the Credit Facility.

Going concern considerations

The Company's condensed consolidated interim financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis which assumes that the Company will continue to operate until at least March 31, 2024 and will be able to realise its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of operations as they come due. However, in order to continue as a going concern, the Company must generate sufficient operating cash flows, secure additional capital or otherwise pursue a strategic restructuring, refinancing or other transactions to provide it with sufficient liquidity.

Several adverse conditions and material uncertainties cast significant doubt upon the Company's ability to continue as a going concern and the going concern assumption used in the preparation of the Company's consolidated financial statements. The Company had a deficiency in assets of $137.3 million as at March 31, 2023 as compared to a deficiency in assets of $142.5 million as at December 31, 2022 while the working capital deficiency (excess current liabilities over current assets) reached $186.7 million as at March 31, 2023 compared to a working capital deficiency of $184.7 million as at December 31, 2022.

Included in the working capital deficiency as at March 31, 2023 are significant obligations, represented by trade and other payables of $67.3 million, which includes $24.1 million in unpaid taxes that are repayable on demand to the Mongolian Tax Authority ("MTA").

The Company may not be able to settle all trade and other payables on a timely basis, and as a result any continuing postponement in settling of certain trade and other payables owed to suppliers and creditors may impact the ability of the Company to resume its mining operations and may result in potential lawsuits and/or bankruptcy proceedings being filed against the Company. Except as disclosed elsewhere in this press release, no such lawsuits or proceedings were pending as at May 19, 2023. However, there can be no assurance that no such lawsuits or proceedings will be filed by the Company's creditors in the future and the Company's suppliers and contractors will continue to supply and provide services to the Company uninterrupted.

There are significant uncertainties as to the outcomes of the above events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the Company's ability to continue as a going concern and, therefore, the Company may be unable to realise its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business. Should the use of the going concern basis in preparation of the consolidated financial statements be determined to be not appropriate, adjustments would have to be made to write down the carrying amounts of the Company's assets to their realisable values, to provide for any further liabilities which might arise and to reclassify non-current assets and non-current liabilities as current assets and current liabilities, respectively. The effects of these adjustments have not been reflected in the consolidated financial statements. If the Company is unable to continue as a going concern, it may be forced to seek relief under applicable bankruptcy and insolvency legislation.

For the purpose of assessing the appropriateness of the use of the going concern basis to prepare the financial statements, management of the Company has prepared a cash flow projection covering a period of 12 months from March 31, 2023. The cash flow projection has considered the anticipated cash flows to be generated from the Company's business during the period under projection including cost saving measures. In particular, the Company has taken into account the following measures for improvement of the Company's liquidity and financial position, which include: (a) entering into the 2023 March Deferral Agreement with JDZF on March 24, 2023 for a deferral of (i) the 2023 May Cash Interest which will be due and payable on May 19, 2023 under the Convertible Debenture; (ii) the 2022 May Deferred Amounts which are due and payable to JDZF on or before August 31, 2023 under the deferral agreement dated May 13, 2022; (iii) the 2021 July Deferred Amounts which are due and payable to JDZF on or before August 31, 2023 under the deferral agreement dated July 30, 2021; and (iv) the 2020 November Deferred Amounts which are due and payable to JDZF on or before August 31, 2023 under the deferral agreement dated November 19, 2020, in each case until August 31, 2024. The Company expects to convene a special meeting in the third quarter of 2023 to seek disinterested shareholder approval of the 2023 March Deferral Agreement; (b) communicating with vendors in agreeing repayment plans of the outstanding payable; (c) continuously assessing through communication with MTA its acceptability to a prolonged settlement schedule of the outstanding tax payable and making settlement based on that assessment and the liquidity position of the Company; and (d) obtaining an avenue of financial support from an affiliate of the Company's major shareholder for a maximum amount of $73.0 million during the period covered in the cash flow projection. Regarding these plans and measures, there is no guarantee that the suppliers and MTA would agree the settlement plan as communicated by the Company. Nevertheless, after considering the above, the directors of the Company believe that there will be sufficient financial resources to continue its operations and to meet its financial obligations as and when they fall due in the next 12 months from March 31, 2023 and therefore are satisfied that it is appropriate to prepare the consolidated financial statements on a going concern basis.

Factors that impact the Company's liquidity are being closely monitored and include, but are not limited to, restrictions on the Company's ability to import its coal products for sale in China, Chinese economic growth, market prices of coal, production levels, operating cash costs, capital costs, exchange rates of currencies of countries where the Company operates and exploration and discretionary expenditures.

As at March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company was not subject to any externally imposed capital requirements.

Convertible Debenture

In November 2009, the Company entered into a financing agreement with China Investment Corporation (together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries and affiliates, "CIC") for $500 million in the form of a secured, convertible debenture bearing interest at 8.0% (6.4% payable semi-annually in cash and 1.6% payable annually in the Company's Common Shares) with a maximum term of 30 years. The Convertible Debenture is secured by a first ranking charge over the Company's assets, including shares of its material subsidiaries. The financing was used primarily to support the accelerated investment program in Mongolia and for working capital, repayment of debts, general and administrative expenses and other general corporate purposes.

On March 29, 2010, the Company exercised its right to call for the conversion of up to $250.0 million of the Convertible Debenture into approximately 21.5 million shares at a conversion price of $11.64 (CA$11.88).

Deferral Agreements

On May 13, 2022, the Company and CIC entered into the 2022 May Deferral Agreement, pursuant to which CIC agreed to grant the Company a deferral of (i) semi-annual cash interest payments of $7.9 million payable to CIC on May 19, 2022 (the "Deferred Amounts"); and (ii) the management fee which payable to CIC on February 14, 2022 and August 14, 2022 (the "Deferred Management Fee") under the Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement (collectively, the "2022 Deferred Amounts") under the Convertible Debenture.

The principal terms of the 2022 May Deferral Agreement are as follows:

Payment of the 2022 Deferred Amounts will be deferred until August 31, 2023.

As consideration for the deferral of the 2022 Deferred Amounts, the Company agreed to pay CIC a deferral fee equal to 6.4% per annum on the Deferred Amounts payable under the Convertible Debenture, commencing on May 19, 2022.

As consideration for the deferral of the Deferred Management Fees, the Company agreed to pay CIC a deferral fee equal to 2.5% per annum on the outstanding balance of the Deferred Management Fees payable under the Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement, commencing on the date on which each such Deferred Management Fee would otherwise have been due and payable under the Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement.

The Company agreed to provide CIC with monthly updates regarding its operational and financial affairs.

If at any time before the 2022 Deferred Amounts and related deferral fee are fully repaid, the Company proposes to appoint, replace or terminate one or more of its chief executive officer, its chief financial officer or any other senior executive(s) in charge of its principal business function or its principal subsidiary, the Company will first consult with, and obtain written consent (such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld) from CIC prior to effecting such appointment, replacement or termination.

The Company and CIC agreed that nothing in the 2022 May Deferral Agreement prejudices CIC's rights to pursue any of its remedies at any time pursuant to the prior deferral agreements.

Following the completion of the CIC sale transaction on August 30, 2022, the respective rights and obligations of CIC under (i) the Convertible Debenture and related security documents; (ii) the Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement and related documents; (iii) the deferral agreements between CIC, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries in connection with the deferral of interest payments and other outstanding fees under the Convertible Debenture and the Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement; and (iv) the security holders agreement between the Company, CIC and a former shareholder of the Company, were assigned to JDZF.

On November 11, 2022, the Company and JDZF entered into the 2022 November Deferral Agreement pursuant to which JDZF agreed to grant the Company a deferral of: (i) semi-annual cash interest payments of $7.1 million payable to JDZF on November 19, 2022; (ii) $1.1 million in PIK Interest shares issuable to JDZF on November 19, 2022 under the Convertible Debenture; and (iii) the management fees payable to JDZF on November 15, 2022, February 15, 2023, May 16, 2023 and August 15, 2023 under the Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement.

The principal terms of the 2022 November Deferral Agreement are as follows:

Payment of the 2022 November Deferred Interest and the 2022 November Deferred Management Fees will be deferred until November 19, 2023.

As consideration for the deferral of the 2022 November Deferred Interest, the Company agreed to pay JDZF a deferral fee equal to 6.4% per annum on the 2022 November Deferred Interest payable under the Convertible Debenture, commencing on November 19, 2022.

As consideration for the deferral of the 2022 November Deferred Management Fees, the Company agreed to pay JDZF a deferral fee equal to 1.5% per annum on the outstanding balance of the 2022 Deferred Management Fees payable under the Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement, commencing on the date on which each such 2022 November Deferred Management Fees would otherwise have been due and payable under the Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement.

If at any time before the 2022 November Deferred Interest and the 2022 November Deferred Management Fees and related deferral fees are fully repaid, the Company proposes to appoint, replace or terminate one or more of its chief executive officer, its chief financial officer or any other senior executive(s) in charge of its principal business function or its principal subsidiary, the Company will first consult with, and obtain written consent (such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld) from JDZF prior to effecting such appointment, replacement or termination.

The Company agreed to comply with all of its obligations under the prior deferral agreements assigned to JDZF.

The Companyand JDZF agreed that nothingin the 2022 NovemberDeferral Agreementprejudices JDZF's rights to pursue any of its remedies at any time pursuant to the prior deferral agreements.

On March 24, 2023, the Company and JDZF entered into the 2023 March Deferral Agreement pursuant to which JDZF agreed to grant the Company a deferral of 2023 March Deferred Amounts which are due and payable to JDZF on or before August 31, 2023 under the deferral agreement dated November 19, 2020.

The effectiveness of the 2023 March Deferral Agreement and the respective covenants, agreements and obligations of each party under the 2023 March Deferral Agreement are subject to the approvals from the TSX and the disinterested shareholders of the Company in accordance with the requirements of Section 501(c) of the TSX Company Manual and the HKEX Listing Rules.

The principal terms of the 2023 March Deferral Agreement are as follows:

Payment of the 2023 March Deferred Amounts will be deferred until August 31, 2024.

As consideration for the deferral of the 2023 March Deferred Amounts which relate to the payment obligations arising from the Convertible Debenture, the Company agreed to pay JDZF a deferral fee equal to 6.4% per annum on the outstanding balance of such 2023 March Deferred Amounts, commencing on the date on which each such 2023 March Deferred Amounts would otherwise have been due and payable under the Convertible Debenture.

As consideration for the deferral of the 2023 March Deferred Amounts which relate to payment obligations arising from Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement, the Company agreed to pay JDZF a deferral fee equal to 1.5% per annum on the outstanding balance of such 2023 March Deferred Amounts commencing on the date on which each such 2023 March Deferred Amounts would otherwise have been due and payable under the Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement.

The 2023 March Deferral Agreement does not contemplate a fixed repayment schedule for the 2023 March Deferred Amounts or related deferral fees. Instead, the 2023 March Deferral Agreement requires the Company to use its best efforts to pay the 2023 March Deferred Amounts and related deferral fees due and payable under the 2023 March Deferral Agreement to JDZF. During the period beginning as of the effective date of the 2023 March Deferral Agreement and ending as of the Deferral Date, the Company will provide JDZF with monthly updates of its financial status and business operations, and the Company and JDZF will on a monthly basis discuss and assess in good faith the amount (if any) of the 2023 March Deferred Amounts and related deferral fees that the Company may be able to repay to JDZF, having regard to the working capital requirements of the Company's operations and business at such time and with the view of ensuring that the Company's operations and business would not be materially prejudiced as a result of any repayment.

If at any time before the 2023 March Deferred Amounts and related deferral fees are fully repaid, the Company proposes to appoint, replace or terminate one or more of its chief executive officer, its chief financial officer or any other senior executive(s) in charge of its principal business function or its principal subsidiary, the Company will first consult with, and obtain written consent (such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld) from JDZF prior to effecting such appointment, replacement or termination.

The Company expects to convene a special meeting of shareholders on in the third quarter of 2023 to seek disinterested shareholder approval of the 2023 March Deferral Agreement.

Ovoot Tolgoi Mine Impairment Analysis

The Company determined that an indicator of impairment existed for its Ovoot Tolgoi Mine cash generating unit as at March 31, 2023. The impairment indicator was the potential closure of border crossings in the future. Since the recoverable amount was higher than carrying value of the Ovoot Tolgoi Mine cash generating unit, there was no impairment of non-financial asset recognised during the three months ended March 31, 2023.

REGULATORY ISSUES AND CONTINGENCIES

Class Action Lawsuit

In January 2014, Siskinds LLP, a Canadian law firm, filed a class action (the "Class Action") against the Company, certain of its former senior officers and directors, and its former auditors (the "Former Auditors"), in the Ontario Court in relation to the Company's restatement of certain financial statements previously disclosed in the Company's public fillings (the "Restatement").

To commence and proceed with the Class Action, the plaintiff was required to seek leave of the Court under the Ontario Securities Act ("Leave Motion") and certify the action as a class proceeding under the Ontario Class Proceedings Act. The Ontario Court rendered its decision on the Leave Motion on November 5, 2015, dismissing the action against the former senior officers and directors and allowing the action to proceed against the Company in respect of alleged misrepresentation affecting trades in the secondary market for the Company's securities arising from the Restatement. The action against the Former Auditors was settled by the plaintiff on the eve of the Leave Motion.

Both the plaintiff and the Company appealed the Leave Motion decision to the Ontario Court of Appeal. On September 18, 2017, the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the Company's appeal of the Leave Motion to permit the plaintiff to commence and proceed with the Class Action. Concurrently, the Ontario Court of Appeal granted leave for the plaintiff to proceed with their action against the former senior officers and directors in relation to the Restatement.

The Company filed an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada in November 2017, but the leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was dismissed in June 2018.

In December 2018, the parties agreed to a consent Certification Order, whereby the action against the former senior officers and directors was withdrawn and the Class Action would only proceed against the Company.

To date, the counsel for the plaintiff and defendant have completed: (i) all document production; (ii) oral examinations for discovery; and (iii) counsel for the plaintiff has served their expert reports on liability and damages. Counsel for the plaintiff and defendant have agreed on the case management judge, who has ordered an undertaking motion to commence on October 23, 2023. Following the determination of the motion and any subsequent order to re-attend examinations, counsel for the defendant will serve responding expert reports on liability and damages approximately one month following any re-examinations/further examinations are completed. Counsel for the plaintiff and defendant have requested a further case conference to set a new trial date following the undertakings motion and serving of expert reports. The Company has urged a trial as early as possible.

The Company firmly believes that it has a strong defense on the merits and will continue to vigorously defend itself against the Class Action through independent Canadian litigation counsel retained by the Company for this purpose. Due to the inherent uncertainties of litigation, it is not possible to predict the final outcome of the Class Action or determine the amount of potential losses, if any. However, the Company has determined that a provision for this matter as at March 31, 2023 was not required.

Toll Wash Plant Agreement with Ejin Jinda

In 2011, the Company entered into an agreement with Ejin Jinda, a subsidiary of China Mongolia Coal Co. Ltd., to toll-wash coal from the Ovoot Tolgoi Mine. The agreement had a duration of five years from the commencement of the contract and provided for an annual washing capacity of approximately 3.5 million tonnes of input coal.

Under the agreement with Ejin Jinda, which required the commercial operation of the wet washing facility to commence on October 1, 2011, the additional fees payable by the Company under the wet washing contract would have been $18.5 million. At each reporting date, the Company assesses the agreement with Ejin Jinda and has determined it is not probable that this $18.5 million will be required to be paid. Accordingly, the Company has determined that a provision for this matter as at March 31, 2023 was not required.

Special Needs Territory in Umnugobi

On February 13, 2015, the Soumber mining licenses (MV-016869, MV-020436 and MV-020451) (the "License Areas") were included into a special protected area (to be further referred as Special Needs Territory, the "SNT") newly set up by the Umnugobi Aimag's Civil Representatives Khural (the "CRKh") to establish a strict regime on the protection of natural environment and prohibit mining activities in the territory of the SNT.

On July 8, 2015, SouthGobi Sands LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company ("SGS"), and the chairman of the CRKh, in his capacity as the respondent's representative, reached an agreement (the "Amicable Resolution Agreement") to exclude the License Areas from the territory of the SNT in full, subject to confirmation of the Amicable Resolution Agreement by the session of the CRKh. The parties formally submitted the Amicable Resolution Agreement to the appointed judge of the Administrative Court for her approval and requested a dismissal of the case in accordance with the Law of Mongolia on Administrative Court Procedure. On July 10, 2015, the judge issued her order approving the Amicable Resolution Agreement and dismissing the case, while reaffirming the obligation of CRKh to take necessary actions at its next session to exclude the License Areas from the SNT and register the new map of the SNT with the relevant authorities. Mining activities at the Soumber property cannot proceed unless and until the Company obtains a court order restoring the Soumber mining licenses and until the License Areas are removed from the SNT. On July 24, 2021, SGS was notified by the Implementing Agency of Mongolian Government that the license area covered by two mining licenses (MV-016869 and MV-020451) are no longer overlapping with the SNT. The Company will continue to work with the Mongolian authorities regarding the license area covered by the mining license (MV-020436).

Importing F-Grade Coal into China

As a result of import coal quality standards established by Chinese authorities, the Company has not been able to export its F-grade coal products into China since December 15, 2018 because the F-grade coal products do not meet the quality requirement.

OUTLOOK

In late 2022, the Company resumed its major mining operations, including coal mining, and the volume of coal production has gradually increased which lead to a subsequent increase of coal export volume into China, and resulted in significant improvements in the Company's cash flow for the first quarter of 2023. The Company expects that planned investments from multiple coal mining companies in 2023 to enhance the infrastructure and technologies which support cross-border exports at the Chinese-Mongolian border, will result in export volume continuing to increase in 2023.

With assistance and support from JDZF, the Company will focus on expanding its market reach and customer base in China to improve the profit margin earned on its coal products.

In 2023, the Company expects to continue to ramp up its mining operations and capacity to capitalise on the anticipated increase in sales volume. The Company will revisit the possibility of resuming coal processing at a later date.

The Company remains cautiously optimistic regarding the Chinese coal market, as coal is still considered to be the primary energy source which China will continue to rely on in the foreseeable future. Coal supply and coal import in China are expected to be limited due to increasingly stringent requirements relating to environmental protection and safety production, which may result in volatile coal prices in China. The Company will continue to monitor and react proactively to the dynamic market.

In the medium term, the Company will continue to adopt various strategies to enhance its product mix in order to maximise revenue, expand its customer base and sales network, improve logistics, optimise its operational cost structure and, most importantly, operate in a safe and socially responsible manner.

The Company's objectives for the medium term are as follows:

Enhance product mix - The Company will focus on improving the product mix by: (i) improving mining operations; (ii) utilising the Company's wet coal processing plant; (iii) exploring the possibility of a dry coal processing operation; and (iv) trading and blending different types of coal to produce blended coal products that are economical to the Company.

- The Company will focus on improving the product mix by: (i) improving mining operations; (ii) utilising the Company's wet coal processing plant; (iii) exploring the possibility of a dry coal processing operation; and (iv) trading and blending different types of coal to produce blended coal products that are economical to the Company. Expand market reach and customer base - The Company will endeavor to increase sales volume and sales price by: (i) expanding its sales network and diversifying its customer base; (ii) increasing its coal logistics capacity to resolve the bottleneck in the distribution channel; and (iii) setting and adjusting the sales price based on a more market-oriented approach in order to maximise profit while maintaining sustainable long-term business relationships with customers.

The Company will endeavor to increase sales volume and sales price by: (i) expanding its sales network and diversifying its customer base; (ii) increasing its coal logistics capacity to resolve the bottleneck in the distribution channel; and (iii) setting and adjusting the sales price based on a more market-oriented approach in order to maximise profit while maintaining sustainable long-term business relationships with customers. Increase production and optimise cost structure - The Company will aim to increase coal production volume to take advantage of economies of scale. The Company will also focus to reduce its production costs and optimise its cost structure through engaging sizable third-party contract mining companies to enhance its operation efficiency, strengthening procurement management, ongoing training and productivity enhancement.

The Company will aim to increase coal production volume to take advantage of economies of scale. The Company will also focus to reduce its production costs and optimise its cost structure through engaging sizable third-party contract mining companies to enhance its operation efficiency, strengthening procurement management, ongoing training and productivity enhancement. Operate in a safe and socially responsible manner - The Company will continue to maintain the highest standards in health, safety and environmental performance and operate in a corporate socially responsible manner.

In the long term, the Company will continue to focus on creating and maximising shareholders value by leveraging its key competitive strengths, including:

Strategic location - The Ovoot Tolgoi Mine is located approximately 40km from China, which represents the Company's main coal market. The Company has an infrastructure advantage, being approximately 50km from a major Chinese coal distribution terminal with rail connections to key coal markets in China.

- The Ovoot Tolgoi Mine is located approximately 40km from China, which represents the Company's main coal market. The Company has an infrastructure advantage, being approximately 50km from a major Chinese coal distribution terminal with rail connections to key coal markets in China. A large reserves base - The Ovoot Tolgoi Deposit has mineral reserves of more than 90 million tonnes.

The Ovoot Tolgoi Deposit has mineral reserves of more than 90 million tonnes. Several growth options - The Company has several growth options including the Soumber Deposit and Zag Suuj Deposit, located approximately 20km east and approximately 150km east of the Ovoot Tolgoi Mine, respectively

- The Company has several growth options including the Soumber Deposit and Zag Suuj Deposit, located approximately 20km east and approximately 150km east of the Ovoot Tolgoi Mine, respectively Bridge between Mongolia and China - The Company is well-positioned to capture the resulting business opportunities between China and Mongolia. The Company will seek assistance and support from its two largest shareholders, which are both experienced coal mining enterprises in China, and have a strong operational record for the past decade in Mongolia.

NON-IFRS FINANCIAL MEASURES

Cash Costs

The Company uses cash costs to describe its cash production and associated cash costs incurred in bringing the inventories to their present locations and conditions. Cash costs incorporate all production costs, which include direct and indirect costs of production, with the exception of idled mine asset costs and non-cash expenses which are excluded. Non-cash expenses include share-based compensation expense, impairment of coal stockpile inventories, depreciation and depletion of property, plant and equipment and mineral properties. The Company uses this performance measure to monitor its operating cash costs internally and believes this measure provides investors and analysts with useful information about the Company's underlying cash costs of operations. The Company believes that conventional measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS do not fully illustrate the ability of its mining operations to generate cash flows. The Company reports cash costs on a sales basis. This performance measure is commonly utilised in the mining industry.

Summarised Comprehensive Income Information

(Expressed in thousands of USD, except for share and per share amounts)

Summarised Financial Position Information

(Expressed in thousands of USD)

REVIEW OF INTERIM RESULTS

The condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the Company for the three months ended March 31, 2023, which are unaudited and have not been reviewed by the Company's independent auditor, but have been reviewed by the audit committee of the Company.

The Company's results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, are contained in the unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements and MD&A, available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com and the Company's website at www.southgobi.com .

ABOUT SOUTHGOBI

SouthGobi, listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange and TSX Venture Exchange, owns and operates its ?agship Ovoot Tolgoi coal mine in Mongolia. It also holds the mining licenses of its other metallurgical and thermal coal deposits in South Gobi Region of Mongolia. SouthGobi produces and sells coal to customers in China.

Contact:

Investor Relations

Email: info@southgobi.com

Mr. Ruibin Xu

Chief Executive Officer

Office: +1 604 762 6783 (Canada)

+852 2156 1438 (Hong Kong)

Website: www.southgobi.com

Except for statements of fact relating to the Company, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterised by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "could", "should", "seek", "likely", "estimate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements relate to management's future outlook and anticipated events or results and are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the time the statements are made. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding:

the Company continuing as a going concern and its ability to realise its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of operations as they become due;

adjustments to the amounts and classifications of assets and liabilities in the Company's consolidated financial statements and the impact thereof;

the Company's expectations of sufficient liquidity and capital resources to meet its ongoing obligations and future contractual commitments, including the Company's ability to settle its trade payables, to secure additional funding and to meet its obligations under each of the JDZF Convertible Debenture, the 2020 November Deferral Agreement, the Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement, the 2021 July Deferral Agreement, the 2022 May Deferral Agreement, the 2022 November Deferral Agreement, the 2023 March Deferral Agreement and the Credit Facility, as the same become due;

the Company's anticipated financing needs, operational and development plans and future production levels, including ramp up of the Company's mining operations and capacity in 2023;

enhancements to the infrastructure and technologies which support cross-border exports at the Ceke Port of Entry in 2023;

the results and impact of the Ontario class action (as described under section Regulatory Issues and Contingencies of this press release under the heading entitled "Class Action Lawsuit ");

"); the estimates and assumptions included in the Company's impairment analysis and the possible impact of changes thereof;

the agreement with Ejin Jinda and the payments thereunder (as described under section Regulatory Issues and Contingencies of this press release under the heading entitled "Toll Wash Plant Agreement with Ejin Jinda");

the ability of the Company to enhance the operational efficiency and output throughput of the washing facilities at Ovoot Tolgoi;

the ability of the Company to enhance the product value by conducting coal processing and coal washing;

the impact of the Company's activities on the environment and actions taken for the purpose of mitigation of potential environmental impacts and planned focus on health, safety and environmental performance;

the future demand for coal in China;

future trends in the Chinese coal industry;

the Company's outlook and objectives for 2023 and beyond (as more particularly described under Outlook of this press release); and

other statements that are not historical facts.

Forward-looking information is based on certain factors and assumptions described below and elsewhere in this press release, including, among other things: the current mine plan for the Ovoot Tolgoi mine; mining, production, construction and exploration activities at the Company's mineral properties; the costs relating to anticipated capital expenditures; the capacity and future toll rate of the paved highway; plans for the progress of mining license application processes; mining methods; the Company's anticipated business activities, planned expenditures and corporate strategies; management's business outlook, including the outlook for 2023 and beyond; currency exchange rates; operating, labour and fuel costs; the ability of the Company to raise additional financing; the anticipated royalties payable under Mongolia's royalty regime; the future coal market conditions in China and the related impact on the Company's margins and liquidity; the anticipated demand for the Company's coal products; future coal prices, and the level of worldwide coal production. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on the information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: the uncertain nature of mining activities, actual capital and operating costs exceeding management's estimates; variations in mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the possible impacts of changes in mine life, useful life or depreciation rates on depreciation expenses; risks associated with, or changes to regulatory requirements (including environmental regulations) and the ability to obtain all necessary regulatory approvals; the potential expansion of the list of licenses published by the Government of Mongolia covering areas in which exploration and mining are purportedly prohibited on certain of the Company's mining licenses; the Government of Mongolia designating any one or more of the Company's mineral projects in Mongolia as a Mineral Deposit of Strategic Importance; the risk that the import coal quality standards established by Chinese authorities will negatively impact the Company's operations; the risk that Mongolia's southern borders with China will be subject for further closure; the risk that the Company's existing coal inventories are unable to sufficiently satisfy expected sales demand; the possible impact of changes to the inputs to the valuation model used to value the embedded derivatives in the Convertible Debenture; the risk of the Company or its subsidiaries default under its existing debt obligations, including the Convertible Debenture, the 2020 November Deferral Agreement, the Amended and Restated Cooperation Agreement, the 2021 July Deferral Agreement, the 2022 May Deferral Agreement, the 2022 November Deferral Agreement and the 2023 March Deferral Agreement and the Credit Facility; the impact of amendments to, or the application of, the laws of Mongolia, China and other countries in which the Company carries on business; modifications to existing practices so as to comply with any future permit conditions that may be imposed by regulators; delays in obtaining approvals and lease renewals; the risk of fluctuations in coal prices and changes in China and world economic conditions; the outcome of the Class Action (as described under section Regulatory Issues and Contingencies of this press release under the heading entitled "Class Action Lawsuit") and any damages payable by the Company as a result; the risk that the calculated sales price determined by the Company for the purposes of determining the amount of royalties payable to the Mongolian government is deemed as being "non-market" under Mongolian tax law; customer credit risk; cash flow and liquidity risks; risks relating to the Company's decision to suspend activities relating to the development of the Ceke Logistics Park project, including the risk that its investment partner may initiate legal action against the Company for failing to comply with the underlying agreements governing project development; risks relating to the ability of the Company to enhance the operational efficiency and the output throughput of the washing facilities at Ovoot Tolgoi; the risk that the Company is unable to successfully negotiate an extension of the agreement with the third party contractor relating to the operation of the wash plant at the Ovoot Tolgoi mine site and risks relating to the Company's ability to raise additional financing and to continue as a going concern. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements.

Due to assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the assumptions, risks and uncertainties identified above and elsewhere in this press release, actual events may differ materially from current expectations. The Company uses forward-looking statements because it believes such statements provide useful information with respect to the currently expected future operations and financial performance of the Company, and cautions readers that the information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release; they should not rely upon this information as of any other date.

The English text of this press release shall prevail over the Chinese text in case of inconsistencies.

SOURCE: SouthGobi Resources Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/756035/SouthGobi-Announces-Unaudited-First-Quarter-2023-Financial-and-Operating-Results
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2023) - American Aires Inc. (CSE: WIFI) (OTC Pink: AAIRF) ("Aires" or the "Company"), a leader in scientifically-proven EMF modulation technology, is pleased to announce the filing of its unaudited Financial Statements and the MD&A for the first quarter of 2023, covering the period January 1 to March 31, 2023. Consistent with the key financial metrics disclosed on April 21, 2023, the Company's adjusted sales for Q1 2023 grew by a remarkable 138% year-over-year (YoY) to $1.64 million, or $0.95 million higher than the $0.69 million reported in Q1 2022.

The Company reported Q1/2023 sales were $1.49 million, including an IFRS-required adjustment for warranty returns and deferred revenue for undelivered orders totaling $0.15 million. This represents a 116% or $0.8 million increase compared to the same period a year ago. The Company's strong Q1 2023 performance is further highlighted by its Gross Profit, which improved by 164% YoY to $0.89 million. As a result, the reported gross margin reached a strong 60%, up from 49% in Q1 2022. This notable improvement demonstrates American Aires' operational efficiency and effective pricing strategy.

The Company's targeted marketing and advertising efforts have been instrumental in driving customer acquisition and retention. Advertising and Promotion expenses increased by $0.26 million, or 65% YoY, to $0.66 million, while Marketing expenses saw a modest increase of 8% YoY to $0.44 million. The company's calculated marketing initiatives and controlled spending highlights Aires' ability to effectively manage costs while achieving substantial growth. Despite the higher Advertising and Promotion as well as Marketing expenses, total expenses for the quarter declined to $1.75 million, $0.3 million or 14% lower YoY. Net Loss for quarter narrowed to $0.94 million, which an improvement of $0.75 million or 45% when compared to the first quarter a year ago.

About American Aires Inc.

American Aires Inc. is a Canadian-based nanotechnology company committed to enhancing well-being and environmental safety through science-led innovation, education, and advocacy. The company has developed proprietary silicon-based microprocessors that reduce the harmful effects of electromagnetic radiation (EMR). Aires' Lifetune products target EMR emitted by consumer electronic devices such as cellphones, computers, baby monitors, and Wi-Fi, including the more powerful and rapidly expanding high-speed 5G networks. Aires is listed on the CSE under the ticker 'WIFI' and on the OTC Pink under the symbol 'AAIRF'. Learn more at www.airestech.com.

On behalf of the board of directors

Company Contact:



Josh Bruni, CEO

Website: www.airestech.com

Email: wifi@airestech.com

Telephone: (415) 707-0102

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 future financial position, business strategy, use of proceeds, corporate vision, proposed acquisitions, partnerships, joint ventures and strategic alliances and co-operations, budgets, cost and plans 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 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 Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/166730
The UK Cyber Security Council has announced that Niel Harper, a cybersecurity executive and member of the ISACA Board of Directors, has secured a role in its Professional Standards Working Group. This appointment is an important recognition of Harper's expertise and contributions to the field of cybersecurity.

The UK Cyber Security Council, an independent body of the UK's cybersecurity profession, has been established to self-regulate the sector. Its core mission is to advance nationally recognized standards in cybersecurity to help achieve the UK Government's National Cyber Security Strategy, which aims to make the country the safest place to live and work online. The Professional Standards Committee is a critical component of the council, tasked with creating and upholding professional standards that strengthen the cybersecurity workforce in the UK and enhance the nation's cyber resilience.

Harper is a cybersecurity expert with extensive experience in the field, having worked with various organizations across the public and private sectors, providing expert advice and support on a range of cybersecurity issues. He is deeply committed to digital trust and to ensuring that individuals and organizations consistently benefit from safety, privacy, security, reliability, and data ethics when using online platforms. Throughout his career, he has held leadership and advisory roles with leading organizations across the globe, including AT&T Wireless, Bemol, Canonical, CARICOM Secretariat, CIBC, Deloitte, Doodle, European Commission, Internet Society, and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), among others.

Commenting on his appointment, Harper said: "I feel honored to have been chosen to join the Professional Standards Working Group of the UK Cyber Security Council. Collaborating with top experts in the field to shape the future of cybersecurity standards in the UK is an exciting opportunity. By working together, we aim to ensure that cybersecurity professionals have the necessary skills and expertise to safeguard critical infrastructure and assets from cyber threats. I am eager to contribute to the development of standards that will benefit both the industry and the country."

"The importance of cybersecurity cannot be overstated. As technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, it has become an integral part of our daily lives. Cybersecurity professionals play a crucial role in keeping our personal and professional data safe from cyber threats," said Chris Dimitriadis, ISACA's Chief Global Strategy Officer.

"We wish Niel Harper all the best in his new role and are confident that his expertise and experience will make a significant contribution to the work of the UK Cyber Security Council's Professional Standards Working Group," adds Dimitriadis.

About ISACA

ISACA (www.isaca.org) is a global community advancing individuals and organizations in their pursuit of digital trust. For more than 50 years, ISACA has equipped individuals and enterprises with the knowledge, credentials, education, training and community to progress their careers, transform their organizations, and build a more trusted and ethical digital world. ISACA is a global professional association and learning organization that leverages the expertise of its more than 170,000 members who work in digital trust fields such as information security, governance, assurance, risk, privacy and quality. It has a presence in 188 countries, including 225 chapters worldwide. Through its foundation One In Tech, ISACA supports IT education and career pathways for underresourced and underrepresented populations.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/ISACANews

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/isaca

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005204/en/

Contacts:

UK Cyber Security Council helen.clarke@ukcybersecuritycouncil.org.uk

ISACA Esther Almendros, +34 692 669 722, ealmendros@isaca.org


SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - South Korean automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp. have agreed to pay about $200 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over their vehicles' vulnerability to theft due to a design flaw in vehicles manufactured without an engine immobilizer, an anti-theft mechanism.



The settlement agreement is expected to benefit owners of about nine million vehicles.



In the lawsuit, which awaits a judge's approval, lawyers for the car owners accused the companies of producing vehicles that are vulnerable to being stolen due to potential security defects.



The anti-theft immobilizers have been a standard equipment on vehicles sold by other major manufacturers in the U.S.



The lawyers stated that the European Union has required immobilizers as a standard feature for all new vehicles since 1998. Yet, Hyundai and Kia have chosen to omit immobilizers in millions of vehicles in the U.S., despite deploying them in vehicles sold in countries with immobilizer requirements.



Unlike most vehicles, the Hyundai and Kia models do not offer an immobilizer, allowing thieves to steal vehicles by simply opening the steering column and using a common USB charging cord or similar metal object to start the engine. These security defects often leave owners with repair bills in excess of $10,000.



The country is facing increasing thefts after TikTok and other social media channels popularized a method, dubbed the 'Kia Challenge,' showing how to steal cars without push-button ignitions and immobilizing anti-theft devices. Majority of the most commonly stolen car brands in the United States were said to be manufactured by Hyundai and Kia.



'We believe consumers who purchased affected Hyundai and Kia cars deserve better, and the automakers responsible failed to adequately protect against basic theft in order to cut costs,' the lawyers said.



In mid March, a group of 23 U.S. states attorneys general had asked Hyundai and Kia to take action more quickly to solve problems with millions of U.S. vehicles facing theft.



In a joined letter from 22 states and the District of Columbia, the attorneys general led by Wisconsin's Josh Kaul called on Kia and Hyundai to take swift and comprehensive action to help remedy the crisis of car thefts.



The companies in February had said they would offer software upgrades to 8.3 million U.S. vehicles they manufactured without an engine immobilizer with a view to help customers from thefts.



Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Report: +40% Gewinn nur mit Aktien! +39,93% Rendite seit Januar  so lautet die Erfolgsbilanz der Aktie der Woche. Damit wurden sowohl der DAX als auch der S&P 500 deutlich outperformt. Wie das genau funktioniert, erklart Chefradakteur Lars Wiler in seiner Zwischenbilanz. Hier klicken
COLLEGE STATION, TX / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / Enzolytics, Inc. (OTC PINK:ENZC) (https://enzolytics.com/) Enzolytics wants to inform its shareholders that the ownership of the Company's patented technology is held exclusively in the name of The Zhabilov Trust, with Diana Zhabilov serving as the trustee of the trust. This ownership is verified by a review of the records filed with the USPTO and shown on the USPTO web site www.uspto.gov. Virogentics, a subsidiary of Enzolytics, is the exclusive licensee for ITV-1 and the exclusive licensee in the U.S. and most world countries of IPF Immune. Claims made by any other company or individual is false.

Ownership of the Zhabilov Patents may be verified by a search of the Patent Assignment records in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office at: https://assignments.uspto.gov/assignments/?db=pat

These records verify ownership of the subject patent is held in the name of The Zhabilov Trust.

For U.S. Patent No. 7479538

https://assignments.uspto.gov/assignments/q?db=pat&qt=pat&reel=&frame=&pat=7479538&pub=&intn=&asnr=&asnri=&asne=&asnei=&asns=

For U.S. Patent No. 8066982

https://assignments.uspto.gov/assignments/q?db=pat&qt=pat&reel=&frame=&pat=8066982&pub=&intn=&asnr=&asnri=&asne=&asnei=&asns=

For U.S. Patent No. 8309072

https://assignments.uspto.gov/assignments/q?db=pat&qt=pat&reel=&frame=&pat=8309072&pub=&intn=&asnr=&asnri=&asne=&asnei=&asns=

To further address the misinformation, Enzolytics and Virogentic want to inform their shareholders that all the licenses between Immunotech USA and Immunotech BG were canceled because of lack of performance by Immunotech BG, tortious interference by Mr. Savov the CEO of IMMB BG and by virtue of time limitations embodied directly in the licenses.

In addition, the Company strongly believes that, in consort with the individuals posting lies and misinformation on Twitter with the handle "Stocks and Stones" and on other social media, Nika Pharmaceuticals is making false claims on its website and in SEC filings.

The Company would also like to disclose that it is being featured in Life Science Review Magazine June issue as the most innovative monoclonal antibody company with a special mention of its AI platform and Monoclonal Antibody methodology.

Harry Zhabilov, CSO of Virogentics stated, "It is a shame that the individuals and entities are making false claims and these misinformation statements are allowed to continue to spread such disinformation. We are investigating what actions we can take in the courts and through regulatory agencies. ENZC and Virogentics has made tremendous progress in its goal of bringing ITV-1 to market. Human clinical trials are slated to begin this summer in Africa."

Enzolytics, Inc. Overview

Enzolytics, Inc. is a drug development company committed to commercializing its proprietary proteins and monoclonal antibodies to treat debilitating infectious diseases. The Company is advancing multiple therapeutics targeting numerous infectious diseases. One patented and clinically tested compound, ITV-1 (Immune Therapeutic Vaccine-1), is a suspension of Inactivated Pepsin Fraction (IPF), covered by U.S. Patent Nos. 8,066,982 and 7,479,538. Studies have shown it to be effective in treating HIV/AIDS. ITV-1 has also been shown to modulate the immune system.

The Company has proprietary technology for producing fully human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against infectious diseases which is currently being employed to produce monoclonal antibody therapeutics for treating the CoronaVirus (SARS-CoV-2), HIV-1 and the Feline Leukemia virus. The Company has also identified conserved epitopes on and has plans to produce mAbs targeting many other viruses, including HIV-2, Influenza A and B, H1N1 influenza, Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), Small-Pox, Ebola Virus, Tetanus, Diphtheria, HTLV-1/2, Rabies, Herpes zoster, Varicella zoster, Anthrax, Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (MPMV) and Visna virus (VISNA). The Company has also analyzed epitopes of animal viruses and plans to produce mAbs for treating these animal viruses.

Safe Harbor Statement : This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties associated with financial projections, budgets, milestone timelines, clinical development, regulatory approvals, and other risks described by Enzolytics, Inc. from time to time in its periodic reports filed with the SEC. ITV-1 is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or by any comparable regulatory agencies elsewhere in the world.

While Enzolytics, Inc. believes that the forward-looking statements and underlying assumptions contained therein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, including, but not limited to, the ability of Enzolytics to establish the efficacy of its therapeutics in the treatment of any disease or health condition, the development of studies and strategies leading to commercialization of its therapeutics in the United States, the obtaining of funding required to carry out the development plan, the completion of studies and tests on time or at all, and the successful outcome of such studies or tests. Therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this release will prove to be accurate.

Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations. They involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including factors that could delay, divert or change any of the statements made, and cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from current expectations. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update the forward-looking statements or update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

Company Contact:

Enzolytics, Inc.

1101 Raintree Circle

Allen, Texas 75013

www.enzolytics.com

SOURCE: Enzolytics, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/756044/Virogentics-and-Enzolytics-Refute-Misleading-Information-Being-Circulated-on-Social-Media-and-Other-Internet-Outlets-Biogenesis-to-be-Featured-in-June-Issue-of-Life-Science-Review
JACKSONVILLE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / AirDeed Homes is excited to announce that it is expanding its real estate search access to support both primary and secondary home buyers in the United States. AirDeed Homes is an investment property platform that now uses custom-developed algorithms to help customers find Airbnb properties for sale. Customers can use this platform to find tenant occupied cash flowing rental properties and even fixer upper homes that are for sale.

The platform is now expanding its property listings to provide better services to primary and secondary home buyers. As one of the first ever real estate search engines for Airbnb income estimates, AirDeed Homes is expanding its services to ensure that investors can get all they need in one place. Whether investors need Airbnb income estimates or even long-term rental estimates, they'll find what they need on Airdeed Homes.

About Airdeed Homes

AirDeed Homes is an excellent platform for real estate investors to access short term and long term rental data in the best areas of the United States and to evaluate potential property investments. AirDeed is one of the fastest growing online marketplace that specializes in short term rental buying and selling. The platform is 100% free and stands out from the competition for its wide range of properties that are free to access. The number of Airbnb listings and short term rentals for sale is immense and continuously growing on a daily basis. Investors looking to invest in Airbnb properties for the first time can find helpful information and resources on the AirDeed website that explain how to purchase, maintain, and manage these kinds of properties.

Investors can learn about:

The best smart locks for Airbnb hosts Real estate housing market Best Airbnb books for owners and hosts Passive real estate investing Top Airbnb streaming devices Airbnb calculators San Diego real estate market Housing market trends

All this information is available on the AirDeed website to guide investors as they start their real estate investing journey and manage their own Airbnbs. These resources are immensely helpful for those who want to learn more about the housing market and the best practices for Airbnb owners to get the best return on their investment possible.

Investors looking to purchase short term rentals can also find a wide range of options on the AirDeed platform. Investors can buy beachfront homes, condos, cheap vacation homes, and even cabins depending on their personal preferences. AirDeed also shows investors the top states to buy short term rental properties.

The top states for short term rentals are:

Washington state Utah Arizona California Texas Tennessee Florida Michigan North Carolina New York

Depending on which state you'd like to invest in, you can check out the top short term rental listings that are specific to each state. Even property owners who want to sell their short term rentals can do so on AirDeed. The platform is excellent for both buyers and sellers of short term rentals and Airbnbs.

AirDeed has a $25,000 minimum investment requirement to make it easier for anyone to start reaping the many benefits of owning short term rental homes. Their professional management team can help investors maintain the properties at an affordable price. On top of that, AirDeed can help investors find profitable properties to make it easier for them to get a higher return on their investment. If you'd like to know more about how AirDeed can help you in your property investment journey, please visit their website.

Source: https://thenewsfront.com/airdeed-homes-a-leading-property-investing-platform-expands-real-estate-search-access-to-support-primary-and-secondary-home-buyers/

Media Contact:

Airdeed Homes

https://airdeed.media/

support@airdeed.com

SOURCE: Airdeed Homes

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/756049/Airdeed-Homes-A-Leading-Property-Investing-Platform-Expands-Real-Estate-Search-Access-To-Support-Primary-and-Secondary-Home-Buyers
WEST VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / The global potash industry is facing a significant challenge due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Russia and Belarus, which together account for 35% of global potash production, are heavily impacted by the conflict . The sanctions imposed on Belarus and Russia have already impacted potash flows to international markets, and the extent of the disruption means that potash supply worldwide is highly uncertain.

The Southern Hemisphere is particularly vulnerable to these challenges, as the region heavily relies on potash imports from Russia and Belarus. Brazil, China, India and Indonesia are some of the largest importers of potash from these countries, and the heavy reliance on a small number of suppliers creates significant risks to food security and price stability. Due to the conflict, Brazil faced a potash deficit in 2022. Brazil is the fourth largest agriculture producer in the world and the country exports $160 billion in food products annually .

A more regionally conducive supplier could provide significant benefits to these countries, with reduced transport costs and more stable supply chains. The current challenges faced by the potash industry highlight the need for greater diversification of supply chains. While Canada could compensate for some supply disruption in the short term, developing regional suppliers could provide a more stable and secure supply of potash, reducing the risks and costs associated with reliance on a few key suppliers.

A company called Millennial Potash (OTCMKTS:MLPNF) has recently acquired the Banio Potash Project in Gabon, which could be big news for the potash industry. The Gabon coastline is rich in potash deposits, presenting a possibly unique opportunity for the global potash supply chain.

Gabon is estimated to have over 2 billion tons of potassium salts, making it one of the largest potash basins in the world . The Banio Project covers 1,238 km2 and is located in the southwest corner of Gabon. Due to its strategic location on the Atlantic coast of Africa, Gabon has a significant cost advantage due to its proximity to major potash markets in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Banio Potash Project is strategically located in the well-known potash-bearing basin with an exploration camp, drill rigs and a drill core on site. Millennial Potash reports that its management team and board of directors are well-experienced in potash and other large-scale mining projects - with the Millennial team having built and sold multiple mining companies, including Potash One, Allana Potash, and Millennial Lithium.

The Banio Potash Project could become a key supplier for countries in the Southern Hemisphere. With no end in sight for the Russian-Ukraine war and an overall need for suppliers that can reduce transportation costs and time, the Gabon project is ideal for Brazil and countries in Asia.

Featured photo by Kevin Schmid on Unsplash .

Contact:

Michael Harris

ir@millennialpotash.com

SOURCE: Millennial Potash Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/756040/The-Russia-Ukraine-War-Is-Putting-Significant-Constraints-On-Global-Potash-Exports-Millennial-Potashs-OTCMKTSMLPNF-New-Project-Helps-Diversify-The-Supply-Chain
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2023) - Tenet Fintech Group Inc. (CSE: PKK) (OTC Pink: PKKFF) ("Tenet" or the "Company"), an innovative fintech technology services provider and operator of the Cubeler Business Hub, announces today that the Company's focus continues to be the development of the Business Hub, completing a full review of technology development and viability in the Canadian operations, in addition to streamlining operations, senior management and costs to better reflect the venture the Canadian business represents.

Ms. Penhale, Interim CEO and Chair of the Tenet Board of Directors, stated that "Since April 28, 2023, the Company has reduced monthly expenses initially by approximately 25% with a goal of reaching over a 40% to 50% reduction in the near term. As of today, the Company has further reduced expenses by approximately 10%."

As part of the Company's management transition, Jean Landreville has left the Company as Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. A search for a new CFO is underway.

Penhale concluded: "As we continue to refine the Leadership Team, we expect to be well-prepared to fine-tune Tenet's strategy and direction going forward. During this recalibration the Board remains committed to establishing better transparency and operational prudence to better position the Company for success."

About Tenet Fintech Group Inc.:

Tenet Fintech Group Inc. is the parent company of a group of innovative financial technology (Fintech) and artificial intelligence (AI) companies. All references to Tenet in this news release, unless explicitly specified, includes Tenet and all its subsidiaries. Tenet's subsidiaries provide various analytics and AI-based services to businesses and financial institutions through the Business Hub, a global ecosystem where analytics and AI are used to create opportunities and facilitate B2B transactions among its members. Please visit our website at: http://www.tenetfintech.com

For more information, please contact:

Tenet Fintech Group Inc.

Christina Boyd, Director, Investor Relations

416-428-9954

cboyd@tenetfintech.com

Follow Tenet Fintech Group Inc. on social media:

Twitter: @Tenet_Fintech

Facebook: @Tenet

LinkedIn: Tenet

YouTube: Tenet Fintech

Forward looking information

Certain statements included in this presentation constitute "forward-looking statements" under Canadian securities law, including statements based on management's assessment and assumptions and publicly available information with respect to the Company. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Company cautions that its assumptions may not materialize and that current economic conditions render such assumptions, although reasonable at the time they were made, subject to greater uncertainty. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of terminology such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "assumes," "outlook," "plans," "targets", or other similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from the outlook or any future results, performance or achievements implied by such statements. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Important risk factors that could affect the forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, holding company with significant operations in China; general economic and business conditions, including factors impacting the Company's business in China such as pandemics (ex.: COVID-19); legislative and/or regulatory developments; Global Financial conditions, repatriation of profits or transfer of funds from China to Canada, operations in foreign jurisdictions and possible exposure to corruption, bribery or civil unrest; actions by regulators; uncertainties of investigations, proceedings or other types of claims and litigation; timing and completion of capital programs; liquidity and capital resources, negative operating cash flow and additional funding, dilution from further financing; financial performance and timing of capital; and other risks detailed from time to time in reports filed by the Company with securities regulators in Canada, the United States or other jurisdictions. We refer potential investors to the "Risks and Uncertainties" section of the Company's MD&A. The reader is cautioned to consider these and other risks and uncertainties carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Forward-looking statements reflect information as of the date on which they are made. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect future events, changes in circumstances, or changes in beliefs, unless required by applicable securities laws. In the event the Company does update any forward-looking statement, no inference should be made that the Company will make additional updates with respect to that statement, related matters, or any other forward-looking statement.

All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/166745
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2023) - Vash Media Inc., a digital media management company, has completed 10 years of branding services to a wide range of local, national, and international businesses in various industry sectors. The company was founded by Aanchal Vash while pursuing her undergraduate degree and has been helping different companies in solidifying their digital brand and online presence since then.





Aanchal Vash





So far, the company has offered its service to several businesses including, but not limited to, EQFootprints, Office Pub & Grill, Veere, GloProNet, American Alumni Association, University of Toronto and many more.

On reaching the 10th year of a successful journey, the founder of Vash Media Inc. congratulated the team members behind the milestone and said that their goals and values remain the same as they were back in 2012.

"Seeing our clients smile as they see their digital presence grow brings us so much joy. We at Vash Media love to add value and see people succeed. I dedicate these 10 years of success to my team and clients, who both are a manifestation of our values and utmost dedication," said a message from the founder.

An internet-based business, Vash Media Inc. offers all kinds of branding services. The branding agency has categorized services for existing businesses to newly-starting ones. From creating the business's logo to establishing a full-fledged brand, Vash Media Inc. has attempted to make itself count as a one-stop solution for thought leaders and industry experts.

About Vash Media Inc.

Vash Media Inc. is a full-service, impact-driven branding agency that provides services from setting up, rebranding, and growing digital presence. The company has recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and remains committed to its goals and values for the future. Working under the motto of "Helping You Be Seen," the branding agency has garnered significant success over a decade and has helped numerous clients achieve their marketing targets.

For more information, please visit:

Website: https://www.vashmediainc.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vash-media-inc/about/

Aanchal Vash:

Email: info@aanchalvash.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aanchalvash/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aanchalvash/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aanchalvash

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/166513
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / U.S. Bank



Photo: For 32 years, Katrina Barber has been there for Eddie Davis and his family as they've opened up accounts ranging from personal checking to mortgages and loans.

Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog

Not far from where a new station is being built for Chicago's Red Line expansion, in the heart of the city's Roseland-Pullman neighborhood, is one of the few Black-owned, independent furniture stores in the Midwest. For 81 years, 30 of those under the ownership of Eddie Davis, Bass Furniture's Michigan Ave. location has stood the test of time.

"There's been a lot of stores that have gone out of business, but Bass Furniture is still there," said Davis, who bought Bass Furniture from Gil Levy, the original owner's son-in-law, in the 1990s. "I don't profess to be such a smart businessperson. I do what I do and thank God that I'm allowed to do it."

Davis, who worked at the store for years before taking steps to buy the store, faced difficulties with financial institutions to secure financing to buy the business. For instance, one bank okayed financing over the phone but declined in person. Davis was eventually financed by Levy himself, who later sent Davis a note saying the $125,000 he owed was paid in full.

It was around this time that he first met Katrina Barber, a young teller working at Pullman Bank. Pullman Bank was later acquired by U.S. Bank, where Barber is now a branch manager. For 32 years, she's been there for Davis and his family as they've opened up accounts ranging from personal checking to mortgages and loans.

"I first worked with Mr. Davis as a teller when he was making his deposit," said Barber. "I then moved over to the business side of banking and learned more and more about his business. Our relationship was fostered throughout the years around the trust and belief that we were going to take care of him and his business."

It's that trust that anchors Barber, the Pullman Branch team and U.S. Bank to the community. Since 2009, U.S. Bank has invested more than $100 million in the Pullman community. Among that support is the U.S. Bank Pullman Community Center , which opened in 2018. Chicago is also home to one of the bank's new Business Access Advisors (BAA). Serving as a trusted resource, BAAs aim to expand networking and business development opportunities for Black business owners as well as provide business and consumer products that help strengthen both the financial profile of the business and its owner.

"Historically and in this moment, minority-owned businesses face hurdles with access to capital, connections and information," said Micae Brown, Chicago's BAA, who visited Bass Furniture with business bankers during a city-wide tour of Black-owned businesses. "However, at U.S. Bank, myself, the BAAs, business bankers and others are working with business owners and the community to assist in addressing gaps that make it difficult to grow their business."

For Davis, it all comes back to community and the knowledge he won't ever walk alone.

"Before the pandemic, we would have this annual fundraiser for the Roseland Business Development Council, which Bass Furniture is a member of," said Davis. "The bank would support us in our efforts. That's why, whenever Katrina is doing something, we're there. No man is an island. You can't do things by yourself."

To see the recent usbankroadtrip visit to the Pullman branch featuring Barber and Davis, watch the video above.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from U.S. Bank on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: U.S. Bank

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/us-bank

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: U.S. Bank

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/756054/Through-Community-and-Trust-Bass-Furniture-and-US-Bank-Invest-in-Chicago
WARSAW, Poland, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 8 million posters sold, officially licensed designs from the world's most popular brands, and more than 3 million customers from USA to Japan. In just 10 years, Displate has won the hearts and walls of collectors around the globe with their unique, magnet-mounted metal posters. But it wasn't an easy road.





Displate was founded in 2013 by three friends who wanted to revolutionize the art market with their innovative prints on metal. They offered both a new print technique and a unique way to hang art with a tool-free magnet mounting system. "Shortly before the official launch, we sent out a pitch to some of the major tech websites. We got zero replies," says Karol Banaszkiewicz, one of the founders. "The beginnings were not easy. Initially, Displates were printed in a small tin shed and our very first office could barely hold five people," Banaszkiewicz adds.

Over the years, their idea for walls has evolved. Displate has grown its artist base, refined the production of metal posters, and added licensed artworks. Displate's first brand shops launched in 2017 with the official Star Wars and Marvel collections, after the company entered a licensing partnership with Disney. Today, the metal poster catalog holds more than 230 licensed collections - from brands such as NASA, CD Projekt RED, Netflix, or FC Barcelona.

Displate has also grown its global art marketplace which now lets over 40,000 painters, illustrators, and designers sell their own works on Displate's slick metal canvas. The company regularly joins forces with creators for its limited edition series, with special, uniquely enhanced posters finished with hand-picked varnishes and print embellishments. Many of those limited print runs turn into collectors' gems, with second market Displate prices reaching up to $2,000!

In April 2023, Displate surprised the fans with a brand new product, shining a new light on their collections. LUMINO, a futuristically designed illuminated poster that's equipped with ultra-thin OLEDs, is Displate's most technologically advanced canvas to date. The first print run featuring the official Cyberpunk 2077 artwork sold out in just 96 hours.

"Displate owes its success to the commitment of the community and the passion of the team. They all believed in our unique product and our global success from the very beginning," says Mateusz Godala, Displate CEO. "Here at Displate, we're all dreamers and inventors at heart, always ready to set new technological paths. Our latest product, LUMINO is a perfect proof of that. I believe that in the future, Displate will bring even more innovative solutions to the table, so I'm very much looking forward to another decade of metal posters," adds Godala.

Cramped offices are a melody of the past now that Displate employs more than 400 people. The metal posters are produced in two factories in Lodz and in Marki near Warsaw, where they ship to 53 countries. After 10 years on the market, Displate has become the biggest global marketplace for metal posters and the leader in its category.

Displate's recipe for success? Technology, passion, good market research - and a vision to reinvent posters as we know them.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2080535/Displate.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/10-years-of-displate--conquering-the-world-one-metal-poster-at-a-time-301829577.html
+39,93% Rendite seit Januar  so lautet die Erfolgsbilanz der Aktie der Woche. Damit wurden sowohl der DAX als auch der S&P 500 deutlich outperformt. Wie das genau funktioniert, erklart Chefradakteur Lars Wiler in seiner Zwischenbilanz.

Toyota City, Japan, May 19, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - It has been discovered that Toyota RAIZE HEV vehicles supplied by Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. (Daihatsu) on an OEM basis have been improperly certified in the UN-R135 test, in which a pole resembling a utility pole or similar object is impacted against the side of the vehicle. As a result, the sale of Toyota RAIZE HEV vehicles has been suspended as of today.We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and concern this may cause to all relevant parties, including customers who are currently using the said vehicle and dealers.According to Daihatsu, this matter was discovered during an internal inspection of Daihatsu's certification operations in response to Daihatsu's announcement on April 28, 2023, that it had committed wrongdoing in conducting side impact collision tests of vehicles destined for overseas markets.On May 12, the top management of the Toyota Group companies gathered to renew their understanding of the Toyota Group's commitment to manufacturing with integrity.All Group companies, including Toyota Motor Corporation, have begun a company-wide reexamination and thorough review of the governance system until now.We will work with Daihatsu to carefully address this matter while listening to the voices of those on the front lines. We will also continue to report on the details as soon as they become available.For Daihatsu's news release, please click here: www.daihatsu.com/jp/news/2023/20230519-5.htmlSource: Toyota Motor CorporationCopyright 2023 JCN 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.
PHILADELPHIA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / Comcast Corporation announced a total award of more than $25 million to hundreds of community organizations to help provide the resources and support needed for building a stronger, more equitable workforce.

Furthering a deep and longstanding commitment to advancing equity and opportunity, Comcast's funding will help provide skills building, job training and other career development offerings for the full spectrum of learners, from high school students to adults. Today's announcement is part of Project UP, Comcast's $1 billion commitment to help advance digital equity and build a future of Unlimited Possibilities.

"When more people across our country are given the full set of tools and opportunity to secure good jobs, we change much more than just one person's life. We create a butterfly effect that reaches across communities - and our entire economy," said Dalila Wilson-Scott, EVP & Chief Diversity Officer for Comcast Corporation and President of the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation.

By investing in workforce training, skills building and job placement today, our work is helping to build lasting, generational wealth and achieve large-scale economic growth for all.

DALILA WILSON-SCOTT

EVP & Chief Diversity Officer for Comcast Corporation and President of the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation

Currently, 92 percent of all jobs require digital skills but nearly one-third of U.S. workers lack basic digital skills, and overwhelmingly, communities of color and Americans earning lower incomes are most often those lacking the skillsets required to qualify for jobs and to grow careers. Through targeted workforce development, significant strides can be made toward closing the skills gap - and digital divide - while spurring critical job placement and increasing diversity and equity in the workforce.

"We can only successfully change the face of tech - and strengthen the future of our economy - if we successfully find ways to help every worker unlock his or her potential," said Plinio Ayala, President & CEO of Per Scholas. "Comcast recognizes how critical this mission is, and by working together, we can create the opportunities that empower job seekers to become what they envision, to realize their every possibility, and succeed in the workforce of today - and tomorrow."

Comcast's grant to frontline, partner organizations will help increase college and career readiness, especially among underserved youth; connect workers to opportunities; provide upskilling for adult learners and those already in the workforce; and close the skills - particularly digital skills - gap. This funding will support programs and partnerships driving impact nationwide in 2023.

"To excel in the tech industry, it is not enough to simply have a degree," noted Michel Ellison, CEO and Co-Founder of CodePath. "Graduates must navigate a complex, competitive industry, build a background of career-specific experience, and establish tech excellence. As leaders, it is incumbent on us to help guide our future tech talent through all of this and more. With partners like Comcast, we will successfully establish the connections and tools necessary for our future creators, problem solvers and innovators."

Through intentional investment in organizations deeply rooted in local communities across the country, Comcast's investment will drive change needed to achieve lasting, generational impact. Specifically, funding will go toward the following focus areas and more than 200 organizations, including:

Increasing College and Career-Readiness

American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) - Comcast is supporting the Next Generation of Indigenous Coders program, which prepares students for computer science degrees and careers across all industries.

Genesys Works - Funding will help enable the expansion of a program connecting underserved high school students to paid internships with major companies, reaching 1,900 students and more than 2,100 alumni.

The Hidden Genius Project - With support from Comcast, Hidden Genius will engage 1,200 youth of color in programming and 200 high school students in an intensive immersion program, 98 percent of whom will graduate high school and 90 percent of whom will enroll in post-secondary education.

Building College to Career Opportunities

CodePath - Comcast is helping provide the tools and connections college computer science students need to unlock their greatest career potential, enabling CodePath to scale its work to serve 10,000 students per year - 70% of whom identify as Black, Latino/a, Indigenous, first generation, and/or low-income - at approximately 70 institutions of higher education.

Reboot Representation Tech Coalition - Together with other companies, Comcast has set out to double the number of Black, Latina and Native American women receiving computing degrees by 2025 and increase their representation in the tech workforce.

Providing Training and Upskilling to Close the Skills Gap

Hispanic Federation - Through a dedicated partnership program, Comcast is supporting a network of 20 Digital Equity Centers at Latino-led and serving nonprofits across the country, which will provide 5,000+ participants with digital skills training and job placement assistance.

National Urban League - Comcast's support of the NUL's Urban Tech Jobs program will provide unemployed and under-employed individuals with training for in-demand jobs in the tech sector, with a particular focus on middle-skills jobs in the IT sector.

NPower - Comcast's support will enable enrollment of 650 trainees in Regional Tech Fundamentals, a tech training and job placement program helping military veterans and underserved young adults move from unemployment to middle income careers.

Per Scholas - Providing tuition-free training and hands-on professional experience to adult learners, Comcast's funding will enable more than 10,000 adult learners to launch tech careers over the next three years.

Reboot Representation Tech Coalition

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Comcast Corporation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Comcast Corporation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/comcast-corporation

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Comcast Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/756068/Comcast-Awards-Over-25M-to-Digital-Skills-Organizations-Creating-a-More-Inclusive-Workforce-and-Economy
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / Legendary music entrepreneur, Chairman Emeritus of AEG Presents and Former President and CEO of AEG Presents Rocky Mountains, Chuck Morris, was presented with the inaugural Leader of the Year Award at Education Through Music - Colorado's second annual All Together Now Music Festival and Awards ceremony on Thursday, May 11, 2023, at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts in Denver, CO. The event raises awareness about the importance of music education in Colorado public schools.

Morris was recognized for his outstanding contribution to promoting diversity and inclusivity in the music industry in Colorado and for blending the artistic and passionate side of music with productive, entrepreneurial, and educational programs.

"Chuck's heroic career in the music industry began in 1968 and, for over 50 years, his entrepreneurial and visionary genius have marked the biggest music events in Colorado," said a spokesperson for Education Through Music - Colorado. "We owe him some of the most unforgettable performances by national and international artists, as well as the creation, renovation and management of the most prestigious venues in our state."

Celebrating the creativity and talent of students in the Denver area, more than one hundred students from Education Through Music - Colorado's partner schools joined together for a full day of workshops and a final performance with professional musicians Old Man Saxon and the Pink Hawks.

Education Through Music-Colorado is a non-profit organization launched in 2019 with a mission to ensure every student, including those with special needs, has access to music education during the school day. The organization focuses its efforts on Title I schools in low-income neighborhoods, where the free and reduced lunch student program population is greater than 82%. The non-profit's 2022-2023 school year currently serves 2,000 ECE-8 students at eight Denver schools. To learn more about Education Through Music - Colorado, click here.

Legendary music entrepreneur, Chairman Emeritus of AEG Presents and Former President and CEO of AEG Presents Rocky Mountains, Chuck Morris was presented with the inaugural Leader of the Year Award at Education Through Music - Colorado's second annual All Together Now Music Festival and Awards.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from AEG on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: AEG

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/aeg

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: AEG

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/756070/Chairman-Emeritus-of-AEG-Presents-and-Former-President-and-CEO-of-AEG-Presents-Rocky-Mountains-Chuck-Morris-Receives-Inaugural-Leader-of-the-Year-Award-From-Education-Through-Music-Colorado
MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / MicroBT, one of the leading Bitcoin Asic miner manufacturers, released its three new models of WhatsMiner M50 series and solar power mining solution at the Bitcoin2023 event in Miami, Florida, on May 18.









Zuoxing Yang (Dr. Yang), the founder and CEO of MicroBT, delivered a speech at the Bitcoin2023 event: "What matters more, mining or surviving?" Faced with the energy crisis and global warming, Dr. Yang believes that the power source for bitcoin mining needs to be upgraded by finding better solutions like green energy. Compared with the advantages and disadvantages of hydro, wind and nuclear power, he brought out the thought of the WhatsMiner solar power mining solution for the first time. In Dr. Yang's opinion, solar power is not only a better power source but also is as decentralized as Bitcoin. Though there might still be limitations, he stated that MicroBT is working on adjusting voltage and frequency of WhatsMiner to make its power adapt to the change of solar power. When it comes to night times, battery can be used as a power solution, benefiting from its decreasing cost. The power of the battery is now a quarter of the peak power of solar power and it will gradually increase in the future.

Besides, MicroBT released three new models of the WhatsMiner M50 series, which are WhatsMiner air-cooling M50S++, hydro-cooling M53S++ and immersion cooling M56S++. The new WhatsMiner air-cooling M50S++ boosts to 150 terahash/second (TH/s) of computing power at 22 joules per terahash (J/TH) of power efficiency; the new WhatsMiner hydro-cooling M53S++ boosts to 320 terahash/second (TH/s) of computing power at 22 joules per terahash (J/TH) of power efficiency; and the new WhatsMiner immersion-cooling M56S++ boosts to 230 terahash/second (TH/s) of computing power at 22 joules per terahash (J/TH) of power efficiency.

Dr. Yang pointed out that heat can be collected by water or oil, which can be used for manufacturing and living. The utilization can be over 90%, which means almost zero carbon emission. There are some heating utilization scenarios like space heating, steam for industry, fish hatchery and so on. "For WhatsMiner hydro-cooling Bitcoin mining rigs, the outlet water temperature can be over 70? (158?) and 2.4MW can be realized for a 40-feet container. And for WhatsMiner immersion-cooling solution, every miner only requires as low as 10L oil with WhatsMiner specified tank," Dr. Yang declared in the speech. He believes that WhatsMiner hydro-cooling and immersion cooling mining rigs can not only have stable operation, high density, low noise, low failure rate, and low maintenance cost, but can also bring Bitcoin mining to a new era defined by it being environmentally friendly and its social responsibility. "What matters more?" Dr. Yang's answer is "both."

MicroBT is sticking to perfection since 2016 till now and will continue to offer higher-efficiency Bitcoin mining rigs to help every miner adhere to the decentralization of Bitcoin and maintain network stability. MicroBT will also work with partners and provides not only for the sustainable mining business but also for zero-carbon-emission and social responsibility.

About MicroBT

Founded in 2016, MicroBT is a technology company based on blockchain, focusing on the R&D, production and sales of integrated circuit chips and products, and provides high-performance computing system solutions and technical service.

About WhatsMiner

WhatsMiner is a leading brand of mining hardware and chip design developed by MicroBT. As one of the most efficient and cost-effective mining brands on the market, WhatsMiner is widely used in retail and institutional mining by customers around the world.

Contact Information

Marketing Contact

marketing@microbt.com

SOURCE: MicroBT

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/755991/Mining-a-Good-Future-With-WhatsMiner-MicroBT-Released-Three-New-Models-of-WhatsMiner-M50-Series
2023 Colorado Manufacturer of the Year dpiX Announces New Name: InnovaFlex Foundry

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / dpiX, a Colorado-based local semiconductor manufacturer and 2023 Colorado Manufacturer of the Year in the technology sector, today unveiled a major corporate rebranding to become InnovaFlex Foundry. The rebranding represents a strategic move in a new, innovative direction. Chief Executive Officer Lindsay Pack unveiled the new corporate identity alongside Mayor John Suthers, state representatives from Senator Michael Bennet and from Congressman Doug Lamborn, Commissioner Stan VanderWerf, and members of the Colorado Springs City Council at InnovaFlex headquarters.

InnovaFlex Foundry

New name and logo to kick off the rebranding

The new corporate identity reflects InnovaFlex's expanded commitment to innovation and growth in even more markets, building upon the company's 20-year history of delivering high-quality digital imaging solutions to a range of industries including military, medical, industrial, and security imaging.

"InnovaFlex's new corporate identity represents a significant and strategic step forward for our company," said Lindsay Pack, CEO. "As the only company in the U.S. to do what we do, we are excited to find new ways to push the boundaries of what's possible in semiconductors, and we believe this new identity reflects our vision for the future of the industry."

The unveiling event included a presentation by Pack, showcasing the new corporate identity and its significance for the company's future. Attendees were also able to view the new logo and branding, with a celebratory social following the announcement.

About InnovaFlex Foundry

InnovaFlex Foundry is a nontraditional semiconductor, design and manufacturer that has capabilities to create a variety of electronics on both glass and flexible substrates. InnovaFlex provides the foundation for some of today's most innovative solutions in the military, medical, industrial, and security imaging businesses. At InnovaFlex, what we are doing is making a positive impact through collaboration, innovation, and technology. We believe the HOW we do things is as important as WHAT we do. To learn more, visit https://www.innovaflexusa.com.

Contact Information

Celeste Burke

Marketing Communications Manager

celeste.burke@innovaflexusa.com

719-332-0570

SOURCE: InnovaFlex Foundry

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/756102/dpiX-is-Now-InnovaFlex-Foundry
The Caribbean, focus of attention at the annual summit that gathered more than thirty international tourism leaders with the central axis pointed towards the development of sustainable destinations.

This 118th meeting of the World Tourism Organization held in Punta Canabetween May 16th and 18th, congregated 19 tourism ministers from 38 nations, including the 35 member countries and 3 observers, as well as about 200 delegates.

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- During this conclave, led by the Dominican Republic Minister of Tourism, David Collado and the UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, all the leading players in the tourism industry worldwide discussed progress, experiences, strategies and challenges for the future, and as a primary theme, sustainability in tourism, in the search for the development of more sustainable tourist destinations.

The Minister of Tourism of the Dominican Republic, David Collado, showed his appreciation to UNWTO for choosing the Caribbean country for the first time in its history to hold its 118th session of the Executive Council.

At the beginning of the summit, UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, highlighted the achievements made by the Dominican Republic in tourism, especially its rapid recovery, stating that the Dominican Republic has become a world reference for tourism.

"Minister David Collado, without you and your team it would have been impossible to organize this summit, the most important for our organization and most important for tourism," Pololikashvili said.

Dominican Republic, promoter of sustainable tourism in the region

Of great importance for the Dominican Republic has been the celebration of the inter-institutional forum of Sustainable Tourism of the Dominican Republic, as well as "Tourism for the Sustainable Development Goals", the project "Transforming tourism value chains in countries and small island developing States".

The priority in the current administration of the Minister of Tourism, David Collado is "to promote the development of responsible, sustainable and environmentally friendly tourism aligned with the sustainable development goals of the UN".

In this context, Collado called on UNWTO tourism ministers to seek a joint solution to common issues such as sargassum, the macroalgae that affects much of the Caribbean.

In his speech, the minister said that individual actions will not solve the problem affecting the region and believes that "organizations like this should help small countries find solutions when we do not have them" betting on unity in the face of common causes in favour of the development of sustainable tourist destinations.

Collado highlighted the fact that the annual summit of the Executive Council meeting has been held in the country for the first time, understanding it as recognition of the success story that the tourism industry has had in recent years, which has made the country a leader in the region.

The Dominican Republic Ambassador to UNWTO, Anibal de Castro and the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Carlos Peguero, among other officials, have been accompanying Minister Collado during the celebration of the Council.

In addition, Collado stated that tourism is not a luxury for the Dominican Republic, but something essential because of the impact it has on the economy, which represents more than 25 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

For his part, Roberto Alvarez Gil, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic, also remarked the importance of the UNWTO Executive Committee meeting:

"We hope that this forum will be especially conducive to promoting responsible, local, sustainable and universally accessible tourism," said the Dominican Foreign Minister.

Quisqueya (Dominican Republic in ancient Taino language) joined the UNWTO Executive Committee, after more than a decade, thanks to the work of the government and the results in the recovery of tourism.

https://www.mitur.gob.do/

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2081403/MITUR.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2081402/MITUR_Logo.jpg

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/dominican-republic-hosts-unwto-annual-executive-summit-for-the-first-time-301829747.html
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / In light of World Day for Cultural Diversity, Gildan shares how operating in 12 countries comes to life through its diverse workforce of close to 50,000 employees and strong local hiring practices.

"At Gildan, the phrase 'thinking globally, acting locally,' truly resonates with us," says Karine Doucet, Vice-President, Global Talent Management and Culture at Gildan. "We know that each region in which we operate has its own cultural identity and seeking counsel from local experts is the best way to ensure that the practices and processes we need to implement on a global scale also resonate with our reality on the ground."

Gildan's footprint of operating in 12 countries naturally brings great cultural variety within the organization. Hiring local leaders allows for the diversity of thoughts, opinions, and perspectives from people of each region to come to light and work together, while ensuring that actions are rooted within local realities. These leaders provide the guidance and support needed to translate important measures, such as health and safety, employee engagement, building an inclusive workplace, and more, in ways that are locally meaningful. Gildan also often brings in seasoned experts to assist local teams with adapting global measures to suit local needs.

A great example of how Gildan thinks globally but acts locally is through the action plans implemented following the organization's Employee Engagement and Inclusion survey. Through the feedback received, Gildan established three areas of focus at a global level - manager relationships, work-life balance, and inclusion. However, how these three areas are addressed varies from one region to another. Local leaders take ownership in planning, leading, and implementing relevant initiatives that advance Gildan's efforts on the three fronts, and do so in ways that resonate with the people in their regions.

In Honduras and Nicaragua, for instance, Gildan's health fairs are a great way to support work-life balance. These fairs provide free consultations and increase access to healthcare for employees and their families. In other locations, social events, such as the SocaRukshun in Barbados, and Family Fun Days in Charleston and Eden help achieve these same global goals.

On the manager relationship front, Gildan's Leading the Gildan Way program aims to train first-line managers to lead teams while upholding the Company's core values. Part of the program specifically focuses on diverse and inclusive leadership, which aims to equip participants with the tools to promote a sense of belonging for all employees. Available globally, the program is implemented at scale but with unique renditions in each location to cater to local needs.

Finally, in terms of inclusion, the Company has committed to reaching gender parity globally, and each geographical location addresses this through various initiatives. For example, in Canada, the Company is certified at the silver level by the Women in Governance Parity Certification in recognition for its commitment and work on parity, diversity, and inclusion for employees located in that country. In the Dominican Republic, Gildan has signed The Gender Equality Seal Commitment, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to drive gender equality and women empowerment. Additionally, in this region, 60% of Gildan's management positions are already held by women.

"We believe in a global approach that needs to be localized, and are committed to Making Apparel Better by respecting the cultural, social, and economic realities of the people in the regions where we operate," finishes Karine.

Find out more about Gildan here.

Thinking Globally, Acting Locally: Engaging a Diverse Workforce

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Gildan Activewear on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Gildan Activewear

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/gildan-activewear

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Gildan Activewear

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/756123/Thinking-Globally-Acting-Locally-Engaging-a-Diverse-Workforce
New housing in Ellis County, Texas offers comfort and convenience for an affordable price

ENNIS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / Located at 200 Valek Road just south of Dallas, Bluebonnet Ridge offers spacious one- and two-bedroom apartments now available with appliances including refrigerators, ranges, dishwashers, and in-unit washer and dryer connections. Units also feature granite countertops, ceiling fans in all bedrooms, and covered patios and balconies.

Bluebonnet Ridge Apartments

Bluebonnet offers spacious interiors and a multitude of amenities at an affordable price.

The Bluebonnet Ridge community comprises 264 newly-constructed apartment homes throughout nine, three-story apartment buildings on approximately 15 acres of land. Residents can also look forward to community amenities such as a fully-functional community room, leasing office, business center, sparkling pool, fitness center, and dog park.

Bluebonnet Ridge is located in close proximity to several Ennis Independent School District public schools including Ennis High School, Ennis Junior High School, and Sam Houston Elementary School.

The community is also located near several commercial retail destinations including a Walmart Supercenter and the Ennis Crossroads Shopping Center and is down the block from Buc-ee's and Walgreens Pharmacy. Also easily accessible from Bluebonnet are multiple restaurants and dining options including Ennis Family Restaurant, Bubba's BBQ and Steakhouse, and Bluebonnet City Grill.

Managed by The Michaels organization, Bluebonnet gives residents the flexibility of using an online resident portal to conveniently pay rent and submit work orders online.

Bluebonnet Ridge offers LIHTC affordable apartments. Families or individuals interested in applying must have a minimum income to qualify but must not go over the maximum income limits. These limits are based on the number of people within the household.

For more information on rental requirements and to apply, visit us online or at the Bluebonnet Ridge rental office.

About The Michaels Organization: Michaels is a national leader in residential real estate, with full-service capability in development, property and asset management, construction, acquisitions, and investment. With a national footprint that stretches across 39 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Michaels offers comprehensive solutions that jumpstart housing, education, civic engagement, and neighborhood prosperity and is committed to creating Communities that Lift Lives.

Contact Information

Laura Zaner

Vice President, Michaels Corporate Marketing

lzaner@tmo.com

856-988-5983; 856-630-1540

SOURCE: The Michaels Organization

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/756114/Bluebonnet-Ridge-a-New-Community-by-The-Michaels-Organization-Offering-Affordable-Luxury-Apartments-Begins-Leasing
Under the directive of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, signed today a $39 million multiyear contribution agreement with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The grant will support the fight to end global pandemics and strengthen health and community systems.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005339/en/

SFD signs a $39 million multiyear contribution agreement with Global Fund (Photo: AETOSWire)

The agreement was signed by H.E. Mr. Sultan Al-Marshad, CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development, and Mr. Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund, in the presence of H.E. Ambassador Abdulmohsen bin Khothaila, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations in Geneva.

Announced during the Global Fund's 7th replenishment, which observed a substantial 30% increase from the previous conference, this agreement bolsters Saudi Arabia's standing as the 19th largest donor to the Global Fund. Having already pledged US$ 162 million and contributed US$ 123 million since 2003, the Kingdom continues to secure critical funding for resources and tools to combat these infectious diseases.

Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund, stated: "We are grateful for the generous support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over the past 20 years. The signing of this agreement will ensure that the Global Fund can continue to finance and support programs that aim to prevent, treat, and care for people affected by HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria in more than 100 countries worldwide. This agreement demonstrates the critical importance of our partnership with the Saudi Fund for Development and sets the stage for even greater collaboration in the years to come."

Sultan Al-Marshad, CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development, stated: "Our purpose today is one that is both timely and critical, given the health challenges the world is currently facing, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. These circumstances underline the necessity for a strong and resilient global health system. It is in response to these challenges that the Kingdom and its leadership is committing to support global health initiatives and drive long-term equitable development while safeguarding people's health. By targeting diseases such as AIDS and Malaria, we aim to help improve the lives of countless individuals, and communities."

*Source: AETOSWire

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005339/en/

Contacts:

Nawaf Alajroush

SFD

00966506110244
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2023) - Desert Mountain Energy Corp. (TSXV: DME) announced today that it will be presenting at the 13th Annual LD Micro Invitational at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel, California on June 6th-8th, 2023. The event is expected to feature 150+ companies, presenting in half-hour increments, as well as private 1:1 meetings.

Desert Mountain Energy Corp. is scheduled to present on June 6th at 1:00 PM PT. Don Mosher, President and Director, will be leading the presentation.

We invite interested parties to register for the event here: https://ldinv13.sequireevents.com/

About Desert Mountain Energy Corp.

Desert Mountain Energy Corp. is a forward-looking resource company actively engaged in the exploration and development of Helium and Noble Gas properties in the U.S. Southwest, with its executive offices in Vancouver, Canada. Currently, the company holds +100,000 acres of land in Arizona, the world's best address for Helium.

About LD Micro

LD Micro, a wholly owned subsidiary of Freedom US Markets, was founded in 2006 with the sole purpose of being an independent resource in the micro-cap space. Whether it is the Index, comprehensive data, or hosting the most significant events annually, LD's sole mission is to serve as an invaluable asset for all those interested in finding the next generation of great companies. For more information on LD Micro, visit www.ldmicro.com.

To present or register, please get in touch with Dean@ldmicro.com

To learn more about Freedom US Markets, visit www.freedomusmkts.com

For further information on Desert Mountain Energy Corp.:

Don Mosher

President

6046175448

don@desertmountainenergy.com

desertmountainenergy.com
DESOTO, TX / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / Syntyche Green, ELA 4th grade teacher at Uplift Gradus Preparatory, a free, public, college-preparatory charter school that serves PreK -5th grade located in DeSoto, has been chosen as the DeSoto Teacher of the Year. Green was nominated by her peers at one of the most highly regarded schools in the Uplift Education network.

"When we choose the instructional and non-instruction staff members of the year they are completely nominated by the staff. Internally, Ms. Green was nominated because she brings a ray of sunshine to our campus. She leads with love and positivity and that shines bright with the staff as well as the kids," said Chermanda Frazier, Academic Director. She was contacted by the DeSoto Mayor's office to present Green with the recognition at a recent City Council meeting.

Frazier continued, "We have an excellent relationship with the City of DeSoto, and they reach out to us pretty frequently throughout the year. Our student ambassador attended a council meeting to help support the city and represent the student population. Being honored in a public way is a big deal,we wanted Ms. Green to know the impact she made within our school and students'lives, and the team at the City of DeSoto helped facilitate that! I am proud of Ms. Green and the work she has done academically for our scholars."

Green joined the charter school network in the spring of 2018 as a 3rd-grade teacher at Uplift Heights in West Dallas and moved into her current position as a 4th-grade ELA teacher at Uplift Gradus beginning in the 2022 school year.

When asked about the highlights of her role at Uplift Gradus, she said, "I like planning with my team because it gives us good collaboration. I really like talking with my 3rd and 5th-grade teams because it gives us a vertical alignment piece without getting bogged down simply with the students' academics. We get to talk about the struggles they are having or things that worked well so that in my area I can support them and my students."

As a resident of DeSoto, Green has prioritized the opportunity to build a good relationship within the city and Uplift Gradus community with scholars and parents. "We have hosted events on the weekend where we have fun and go skating with parents and scholars. I even had a birthday party at the skating rink to build that family feeling. I would like to let them know that we are connected inside the classroom. My kids also attend Uplift Gradus, it is a whole family community experience."

"It is such a privilege and pleasure to be here at Uplift Gradus. I knew when I Interviewed that I was going to be joining something great.I feel honored to be recognized by the city I love and being able to serve the community's rising students," she concluded. This is the first teacher to be recognized by the City of Desoto for Uplift Gradus Preparatory.

ABOUT UPLIFT EDUCATION:

Uplift Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the lives of teachers, families, and, most importantly, students. With a network of 45 college-preparatory, public charter schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Uplift offers students of any background the powerful chance to study within a multidisciplinary curriculum and prepare for the college career they deserve. Uplift offers the International Baccalaureate learning through extracurricular and educational programs. The incredible educators in the Uplift network guide and teach over 23,000 students in Pre-K- 12th?grades, with the majority being low-income and minority students who will be the first in their family to attend college. For more information Uplift's mission and their blind lottery selection system, visit?uplifteducation.org?or?facebook.com/uplifteducation.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Kimberly Esparza

Uplift Education

kesparza@uplifteducation.com

Cell: 469.358.6924

SOURCE: Uplift Education

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/756099/Uplift-Gradus-Preparatory-Teacher-Syntyche-Green-Recognized-by-the-City-of-DeSoto-for-Excellence-in-Teaching
TeamSystem, a leading provider of business software solutions to companies and accountants in Italy and Spain, announced today that Silver Lake, a global leader in technology investing, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 600 million minority stake in the company from Hellman Friedman (H&F). H&F will remain the majority shareholder in TeamSystem following close of the transaction.

This strategic investment from Silver Lake marks a significant milestone for the Company as it continues to drive the digital transformation of businesses and their accountants in Italy and Spain. TeamSystem's innovative software platform with solutions ranging from core business applications to financial technology and AI tools has revolutionized business processes, empowering clients to streamline operations, drive efficiency and accelerate growth. Since the time of H&F's initial investment in TeamSystem in 2016, the number of customers served by the company has grown from 200 thousand to approximately 1.8 million today.

Commenting on the investment, Federico Leproux, CEO of TeamSystem, said: "We are pleased to welcome Silver Lake as a strategic partner. We believe this partnership will unlock even greater potential for TeamSystem as the company continues to expand its product offering to help digitise the Italian and Spanish economies and beyond. We are also delighted to continue our partnership with Hellman Friedman, which has been our trusted partner for over seven years."

Christian Lucas, Co-Head of EMEA at Silver Lake, said: "We are excited to partner with TeamSystem as it continues to transform the Italian software industry. Management's strong commitment to technological leadership, customer-centric approach, and drive for best-in-class innovation are qualities we value highly and have invested behind consistently in support of cloud software leaders across Europe, making TeamSystem an ideal fit for Silver Lake. We look forward to working closely with Federico and the full team in partnership with Hellman Friedman to drive further growth and deliver exceptional value to its customers."

Blake Kleinman, Partner at Hellman Friedman, added: "We are thrilled to welcome Silver Lake as an investor in TeamSystem as we set our sights on the next phase of growth for the business. We have been impressed by TeamSystem's performance since our initial investment in 2016. Federico Leproux and his team have done an outstanding job to strengthen TeamSystem's offering and more than triple the company's revenues. Our investment in TeamSystem which started over seven years ago is a great example of H&F's approach to long-term value creation. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Federico and his outstanding management team."

The transaction is expected to close around end of the year, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Evercore acted as financial adviser to H&F and TeamSystem.

About TeamSystem

TeamSystem is an Italian technology company with market-leading digital solutions enabling companies and professionals to run their businesses. The Group which has a 40-year track record reported a turnover of approximately 700 million in 2022. TeamSystem serves 1.8 million customers through proprietary Cloud platforms. For more information, visit www.teamsystem.com.

About Silver Lake

Silver Lake is a global technology investment firm, with more than $95 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital and a team of professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia. Silver Lake's portfolio companies collectively generate more than $282 billion of revenue annually and employ approximately 713,000 people globally.

About Hellman Friedman

Hellman Friedman is a preeminent global private equity firm with a distinctive investment approach focused on a limited number of large-scale equity investments in high quality growth businesses. H&F seeks to partner with world-class management teams where its deep sector expertise, long-term orientation and collaborative partnership approach enable companies to flourish. H&F targets outstanding businesses in select sectors including software technology, financial services, healthcare, consumer retail, and other business services.

Since its founding in 1984, H&F has invested in over 100 companies. The firm is currently investing its tenth fund, with $24.4 billion of committed capital, and has over $85 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2022. Learn more about H&F's defining investment philosophy and approach to sustainable outcomes at www.hf.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005386/en/

Contacts:

Media contacts

For TeamSystem:

Barabino Partners

Luciano Majelli

E-Mail: l.majelli@barabino.it

Tel.: +39 02/72.02.35.35

Mob.: +39 335.74.91.684

Pietro Cavallera

E-Mail: p.cavallera@barabino.it

Tel.: +39 02/72.02.35.35

Mob.: +39 338.93.50.534

For Hellman Friedman:

Hellman Friedman

FGS Global

Email: H&F-US@fgsglobal.com

For Silver Lake:

Jess Gill

Edelman Smithfield

Email: Jess.gill@edelmansmithfield.com

Tel.: +44 (0)203 047 4091

Mob.: +44 (0)7980 684 247
10,000 Attendees in More Than 100 Cities

PHILADELPHIA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / PizzaDAO, a global pizza co-op and pizza party planner, is excited to announce its third annual Global Pizza Party on Monday, May 22, 2023, expecting more than 10,000 attendees at pizza parties in over 100 major cities.





PizzaDAO's 3rd Annual Global Pizza Party

PizzaDAO's 3rd Annual Global Pizza Party is Monday, May 22 at a location near you.

"So why are we throwing a Global Pizza Party on a Monday? Because on May 22, 2010, Lazlo Hanyecz made the first exchange of Bitcoin for a real-world asset, purchasing two pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoin. We think that's a big deal! Also, today that's worth nearly $300 million" said PizzaDAO founder Snax. "Everyone on earth has the internet, the blockchain, and pizza, so we're using the opportunity to bring the whole world together."

Since it began in 2021, PizzaDAO has given away over $600,000 of pizza at its events in over 75 countries. This Monday, May 22, PizzaDAO is hosting pizza parties on the same day in over 100 major cities worldwide, including New York City, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Mexico City, Montreal, Hong Kong, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, New Delhi, Cape Town, and somewhere near you.

Join a pizza party in your neighborhood and be part of the worldwide Bitcoin Pizza Day celebration. Come eat pizza, make friends, and have a good time. For more information on PizzaDAO, its mission, and to find local locations for the upcoming global pizza party, see globalpizzaparty.xyz. Global sponsors include NounsDAO, OwnTheDoge, TIMEPieces, Collab.Land, WGMI, and the World Pizza Champions.

###

PizzaDAO is a global pizza co-op that brings together artists, developers, and pizza lovers to celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day each year. Founded in 2021, PizzaDAO is dedicated to connecting people through a shared love of pizza and fostering web3 collaborations. Through its innovative NFT offerings, PizzaDAO empowers its community members with governance rights and access to exclusive perks. Learn more at globalpizzaparty.xyz

Contact Information:

Dread Pizza Roberts

hello@rarepizzas.com

SOURCE: PizzaDAO

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/756177/PizzaDAO-Celebrates-Third-Annual-Global-Pizza-Party
Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2023) - The Stock Day Podcast welcomed PSYC Corporation (OTC Pink: PSYC) ("the Company"), a company that owns and operates Psychedelic Spotlight which, according to the Company, has emerged as a recognized industry-leading multimedia platform dedicated to covering the growing movement across society involving psychedelic-assisted healing. CEO of the Company, David Flores, joined Stock Day host Kevin Davis.

"Could you give us an update on your latest projects?", asked Davis to begin the interview. "With the launch of Bonfire, which we relaunched on May 1st, we have about 800 participants involved in our Psychedelics for Beginners course," shared Flores, adding that the program is a community-based platform. "PSYC Taboo is a new video series that we recently launched that aims to explore topics related to the psychedelic space that are considered taboo that many other psychedelic media outlets are simply not covering."

"What plans do you have to accelerate growth for the company?" asked Davis. "The last three years has really been about building a foundation to work off of here," said Flores. "We built Psychedelic Spotlight from scratch and we developed it into what is now a top three media platform focused on covering the psychedelic space," he said. "Our goal and objective remains to develop it into the number one media authority for psychedelics."

"We understand how important it is to raise capital at the right time," continued Flores. "For us, we have been fortunate enough to have been funded primarily through RB Capital Partners, who have been our partners in this process over the last three years and continue to believe in the long-term vision in terms of what we are building, and we have nothing but gratitude for what they have done."

"We understand that if we want to accelerate the growth of both Psychedelic Spotlight and Bonfire, we may have to go out there and raise capital from other sources," said Flores. "We are also being approached by groups and individuals in the investment community that are taking notice of what we are doing, so being able to have these conversations and explore these opportunities is great, but this is something we want to approach with extreme prudence."

Davis then asked about the possibility of a reverse split or OTCQB up listing. "It is still our ambition and objective to uplist from the Pink Market to the OTCQB, and ultimately we believe that if we're going to have the opportunity to deliver the value that our shareholders deserve, PSYC Corporation is going to have to be an OTCQB fully-reporting company," said Flores, adding that the company is being mindful of the timing of the uplist. "We have 2020 and 2021 fully audited, and we are currently working on finishing up 2022 auditing," he added. "Creating a viable revenue for the company has also been critical," said Flores, adding that the option of a reverse split and recapitalization would only be used as a last resort.

To close the interview, Flores encouraged listeners and shareholders to keep up-to-date with the Company's current and upcoming projects, as they continue to grow and diversify their platform in the the emerging psychedelic sector.

To hear the entire interview with David Flores, follow the link to the podcast here: https://audioboom.com/posts/8303978-psyc-corporation-discusses-growth-strategy-and-future-otcqb-uplist-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 Spotlight Media Corporation

Spotlight Media Corporation ("SMC") (www.spotlightmediacorp.com) is a Nevada Corporation and is a privately held wholly owned subsidiary of PSYC that was incorporated on February 8, 2022.

SMC currently owns and operates Psychedelic Spotlight which, according to the Company, has emerged as a recognized industry-leading multimedia platform dedicated to covering the growing movement across society involving psychedelic-assisted healing. Additionally, SMC also operates Bonfire, a community-focused, consumer-facing platform being developed to effectively meet the demands linked to the expanding interest and curiosity across society related to the healing and therapeutic wonders of psychedelics and other plant based and holistic modalities.

SMC's service-focused media platforms include Technical 420, On the Bids, and Mushroom Stocks which each serve publicly traded companies operating in the sectors of cannabis, mining and precious metals, and medicinal psychedelics and have become valuable informational resources for individuals following each of these respective market sectors.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "ongoing," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time the statements are made and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainty and other factors, including the effect of COVID-19 and the success of the current vaccine distribution, the adverse effect of the Omicron variant, that may cause our results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release. This press release should be considered in light of all filings of the Company that are disclosed on the OTC Markets.com website and is not incorporated by reference into such reports.

Disclaimer: PSYC Corporation does not in any way encourage or condone the use, purchase, sale or transfer of any illegal substances, nor do we encourage or condone partaking in any unlawful activities. We support a harm reduction approach for the purpose of education and promoting individual and public safety. If you are choosing to use psychedelic substances, please do so responsibly.

Corporate Contact:

PSYC Corporation (PSYC)

www.psyccorporation.com

www.spotlightmediacorp.com

(702) 239-1919

info@psyccorporation.com

(OTC Pink: PSYC)

About The "Stock Day" Podcast

Founded in 2013, Stock Day is the fastest growing media outlet for Nano-Cap and Micro-Cap companies. It educates investors while simultaneously working with penny stock and OTC companies, providing transparency and clarification of under-valued, under-sold Micro-Cap stocks of the market. Stock Day provides companies with customized solutions to their news distribution in both national and international media outlets. The Stock Day Podcast is the number one radio show of its kind in America.

SOURCE:

Stock Day Media

StockDayMedia.Com

(602) 821-1102

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/166863
Bloom Finance Company Ltd., a Toronto, Canada-based provider of home equity release solutions, closed a $7M Series A financing.

The round was led by SixThirty Ventures.

Bloom will use the new funding to accelerate its investments in product and process innovation, and continue its geographic expansion.

Led by Ben McCabe, CEO, Bloom offers home equity release solutions to 55+ homeowners, enabling them to tap into the wealth theyve built in their homes to help finance their costs of living in retirement. Leveraging technology and innovation in product delivery, the company has been growing since its launch of operations in late 2021, extending nearly $100 million to homeowners in Ontario and British Columbia to date.

FinSMEs

19/05/2023
JobGet, a Boston, MA-based mobile-first job platform, acquired Heroes Jobs, a San Francisco, CA-based social networking job platform targeted towards Gen Zs looking for retail and hospitality roles.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

The acquisition broadens JobGets portfolio of employers, and enhances the social community experience.

Founded in 2019 by Tristan Petit, Cyriac Lefort, and Adrien Dewulf, Heroes Jobs provides a social app that helps GenZ job seekers build their professional footprint, get career advice, and engage with their future employers. Nearly one million users nationwide use the app, which has serviced a variety of employers, including notable brands such as Panda Express, H&M, Inspire Brands, Chipotle, and Wendys. The company has raised $9M in funding since inception.

Led by Tony Liu, CEO, JobGet provides a marketplace that currently powers over 100,000 employers including Whole Foods, Public Storage, Taco Bell, Lovesac, and Kelly Services, to access an active community of job seekers with a reach of 65 million. JobGet connects large and small brands with high-intent and top-quality candidates instantly. Most employers who post a job with JobGet receive their first applicant within 6 minutes. JobGet has raised over $60M in funding and powers more than 100,000 employers across the United States.

FinSMEs

19/05/2023
Odyssey, a Boulder, CO-based provider of a business-in-a-box software platform for distributed energy in emerging markets, raised $15M in Series A funding.

The round was led by Union Square Ventures, with participation from Equal Ventures, Twelve Below, Transition, Equator, MCJ Collective, Abstract Ventures, Founder Collective and Climate Capital.

The company intends to use the funds to continue expansion of its key product offerings and expand into new markets, including Latin America and Asia.

Led by CEO Emily McAteer, Odyssey provides renewable energy companies and financiers with a tool suite to scale project development across the project lifecycle: planning, financing, procurement and operations. The company is facilitating more than $1.3B of capital for the distributed energy sector, with more than 2,000 companies on the platform, with financing available from development finance institutions, donors, international and regional banks, infrastructure funds, and other types of capital providers.

Earlier this year, Odyssey launched their procurement marketplace, Odyssey Procure, across Nigeria, South Africa and East Africa. Odyssey Procure offers a digital, streamlined procurement solution for renewable energy companies to unlock better pricing, equipment finance, and faster lead times.

FinSMEs

19/05/2023
TDK Corporation (TSE: 6762) announced that its subsidiary TDK Ventures will launch its third fund, Fund EX1, totaling $150m in new capital.

Amperex Technology Limited (ATL), TDKs Hong Kong-based lithium-ion rechargeable batteries specialist, will be a limited partner to Fund EX1.

The new fund will target early-stage investments in energy transition, electrification, and decarbonization within the U.S. and Europe.

Established in 2019 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of TDK Corporation and led by Nicolas Sauvage, President, TDK Ventures invests in startups to bolster innovation in materials science, energy/power and related areas typically underrepresented in venture capital portfolios. Its vision is to propel the digital and energy transformations of segments such as health and wellness, next-generation transportation, robotics and industrial, mixed reality and the wider IoT/IIoT markets.

The arm will co-invest and support promising portfolio companies by providing technical expertise and access to global markets where TDK operates.

With team members in San Jose, CA; Boston, MA; Tokyo, Japan; and Bengaluru, India, TDK Ventures will soon add a team in Europe.

FinSMEs

19/05/2023
Actor Ashleigh Cummings is completely in awe of Bollywoods export to Hollywood, Priyanka Chopra. In an exclusive interview with Firtsposts Lachmi Deb Roy, Ashleigh Cummings says that she simply loves Priyankas capacity for creativity, spontaneity, professionalism. Ashleigh says that Priyanka is always highly prepared on the sets, very ambitious and an incredible leader; both on film sets and in her businesses and humanitarian aspects.

Edited excerpts from the interview

On the preparation for the role in Citadel

It was pretty intense, it started with a lot of physicality, walking around, switching between each character. What was most interesting was that with all the kind of work I had done around the three characters, it felt like Brielle was the truest even though she was undercover.

What was your experience like playing such a layered character in Citadel?

Definitely it was a very healthy and exciting challenge. Even now I feel Im uncovering more aspects about my character, who this person is, and the questions keep erupting. But I guess what youre talking about- light and dark, a certain sense of duality, because thats the central aspect of the show. In this spy world there are a lot of shackles around women like other worlds. It was very brave on the part of the team to explore such characters who are not perfect, but layered and vulnerable. I simply enjoyed the entire process of playing this role.

Tell us about your experience of working with Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka is so much fun, it was lovely to have a partner-in-crime, shes also such an inspiration at so many levels. Personally, I am totally in awe of her, especially the way she interacts with her crew, and how generous shes towards everyone.

Professionally, Priyanka has an incredible capacity for creativity and spontaneity, highly professional, highly prepared, very ambitious and an incredible leader; both on film sets and in her businesses, and humanitarian aspects. She is a complete package that I simply look up to.

Tell us about your experience of working with the Russo Brothers

It was a great learning experience. I was fortunate enough to sit in one of the writing rooms during the making of the project to understand the process of what the audiences require and need to keep them engaged; the architecture of the entire show and what is going to keep it alive. That was one of the greatest gifts on the whole. Their capacity for intellect is astonishing and they are also very collaborative, and they really trust you, trust you to play.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Driver Sukhcharan Singh who drove the couple around in the exaggerated catastrophic car chase, told Sky News that he instantly recognized the couple the moment they boarded the cab. On how the couple got into his cab, Singh told the news outlet that he was on the 67th street when the security guard hailed him. It must have been quite a surprise for Singh to see the Duke and Duchess themselves sitting down in his cab as he instantly recognized the couple.

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle were uninjured in the incident Tuesday night that came almost 26 years after the Paris car crash that killed Harrys mother, Princess Diana, which Harry blames on paparazzi. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle were involved in a near catastrophic car chase with paparazzi in New York, a spokesperson for the couple said Wednesday.

Taxi driver Sukhcharan Singh, who was in near catastrophic car chase with Prince Harry & Meghan, says dangers were exaggerated But police and even the mayor of New York City, as well as Sukhcharan Singh who briefly transported the couple, played down the danger and duration of the reported pursuit. The pair were uninjured in the incident Tuesday night that came almost 26 years after the Paris car crash that killed Harrys mother, Princess Diana, which Harry blames on paparazzi.

How did the car chase start?

The episode occurred after Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, attended an awards ceremony in Americas financial capital with Meghans mother Doria Ragland. On Wednesday, the NYPD released a statement to PEOPLE confirming that authorities assisted Prince Harry and Meghans security team, saying their travel was made challenging by paparazzi.

The NYPD assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging, the statement said. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard.

In a Wednesday interview with The Washington Post, taxi driver Sukhcharn Singh also shed new light on the 10 approximate minutes he spent with Harry, Meghan and Doria in his vehicle. The cab driver told the outlet that he picked up the Duke and Duchess of Sussex with an older Black woman and one security guard around 11 p.m. on Tuesday outside of the NYPD 19th precinct on East 67th Street, a little more than a mile from the Ziegfeld Ballroom.

According to Singh, the security guard waved down his car, and he drove the four to Park Avenue before moving south, and they were followed by two cars. They kept following us and were coming next to the car, the 37-year-old told the Washington Post. They took pictures as we stopped and were filming us.

The taxi driver said that after a few minutes, the security guard asked him to drive back to the police station, concerned that they were too exposed to photographers. Singh said he then headed north up Madison Avenue to take the group back to where he picked them up.

I dont think I would call it a chase. I never felt like I was in danger. It wasnt like a car chase in a movie. They were quiet and seemed scared but its New York  its safe, he said.

Singh added during an appearance on Piers Morgans show that after he picked the trio and a security guard up, they seemed very nervous. He continued, As we went a block, we were blocked by a trash truck, and then all of a sudden, paparazzi just came out of nowhere and flashes just went off. The driver added that compared to other celebrities hed had in the cab, the photographers surrounded the car and went crazy with the camera.

A photographer on the scene tells PEOPLE that it is sensational to describe the pursuit as near catastrophic. Nobody got a ticket or arrestedI dont see how it was near catastrophic other than crazy hyperbole, they say. A second source adds, At any point, they could have gone to a police station or pulled into a garage.

PEOPLE has viewed video footage of part of the incident, showing an NYPD cop talking to the driver of an SUV, which is stationary in the middle of the street. It is not possible to see who is in the vehicle, but the source alleges that, before the footage was taken, Prince Harry and Meghan Markles driver gets pulled over after he was observed by NYPD swerving and almost hitting pedestrians while trying to evade the paparazzi. In addition to those allegations, the source says the driver was wearing a suit and driving an SUV and the Sussexes were not in a yellow taxi cab at this point.

What the New York Mayor had to say?

New York Mayor Eric Adams said that it is reckless and irresponsible for anyone to chase people in vehicles in the densely populated city following Prince Harry and Meghan Markles statement on being involved in a near catastrophic pursuit by paparazzi.

Saying that he did receive a full briefing about the incident but was concerned about reports, the mayor said, Its clear that the press, the paparazzi, they want to get the right shot. But public safety must always be at the forefront.

Mayor Adams said two of our officers could have been injured while he found it hard to believe that there was a two-hour high-speed chase. Even an incident lasting 10 minutes could have been extremely dangerous, he said.

New York City is different from a small town somewhere. You shouldnt be speeding anywhere but this is a densely populated city, he added, saying, It would be horrific to lose an innocent bystander during a chase like this and for something to have happened to them as well.

Why it was irresponsible on the part of Harry and Meghan too?

According to a report by PEOPLE, a photographer on the scene has shared their opinion calling out the description of the incident. They said that it is sensational to term the car chase as near catastrophic. They said, Nobody got a ticket or arrested I dont see how it was near catastrophic other than crazy hyperbole. The source also reports, Prince Harry and Meghan Markles driver gets pulled over after he was observed by NYPD swerving and almost hitting pedestrians while trying to evade the paparazzi.

(With inputs from agencies)

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The National Administration of Financial Regulation (NAFR) was officially set up on Thursday as China's new financial regulator, marking an important step in the country's institutional reform on financial supervision. The NAFR, directly under the State Council, has been formed on the basis of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. The new administration is in charge of regulating the financial industry, with the exception of the securities sector. It will take over certain functions of the People's Bank of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Vice Premier He Lifeng attended the opening ceremony of the NAFR in Beijing on Thursday. The establishment of the new regulator is seen as an important move to deepen structural reform in the financial regulatory sector, strengthen and improve the country's modern financial regulation, and promote full coverage of financial regulation in the sector. The administration plans to dispatch 2,000 teams to inspect about 2,500 banking institutions, and nearly 800 teams to supervise about 800 non-banking institutions this year, according to an official budget document posted on its official website. The plan to set up the NAFR was adopted by the national legislature in March. "Even if new financial institutions and new financial forms emerge in the future, they will be within the regulatory framework," said Zeng Gang, director of the Shanghai Institution for Finance & Development. Zeng said that setting up a new regulatory administration of this sort means placing all types of financial activity under regulation, in accordance with the law. "The People's Bank of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission have transferred their responsibilities regarding protecting financial consumers and investors to the NAFR," said Yin Zhentao, a researcher with the Institute of Finance & Banking, affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "Such a move aims to strengthen the standardization of financial behaviors and improve regulatory efficiency, and to substantially reduce the compliance costs and risks caused by different standards," said Yin. Experts have also stressed the importance and urgency of reforms in order to ensure finance plays a bigger role in serving economic and social development.
Trouble continues to brew for former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede. The cop, who rose to prominence in 2021 for arresting superstar Shah Rukh Khans son, Aryan Khan, in the Cordelia Cruises drug case, has come under the scanner for his lavish lifestyle, which has been revealed by the Special Enquiry Team (SET)s report.

After being accused of allegedly demanding a bribe worth Rs 25 crore from Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case, it now seems that Wankhede lives way beyond his means  enjoying holidays in beautiful and exotic locales, buying exorbitant luxury items and owning multiple properties.

Heres a closer look at what the report reveals about Wankhedes lifestyle.

Wankhedes riches

The SET report shows that Wankhedes average annual income as per his income tax filings was about Rs 15.75 lakh (salary and rent), his wife Krantis about Rs 7 lakh (business) and fathers (pension and rent) about Rs 3.45 lakh.

The report reveals that in the years between 2017 and 2021 he made six private foreign trips with his family. The destinations were far and wide  the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, South Africa, and Maldives. These travels spanned across 55 days and cost Wankhede Rs 8.75 lakh  an amount that the SET notes doesnt even cover air travel.

The report states that Wankhede enjoyed a 19-day visit in London but put down only Rs 1 lakh as the cost of the holiday. When asked about the low expenditure, 43-year-old Wankhede was quoted as saying, I have relatives staying in Europe, and I did not stay at five-star hotels during these trips so, there were no major expenses.

The report also tagged his Maldives visit in July 2021. Wankhede, his family, friend Viral Jamaluddin and maid stayed at the Taj Exotica with a bill that amounted to around Rs 7.5 lakh.

The SET report, according to Indian Express, said: Expenses for these declared private visits abroad have apparently been under-reported by Sameer Wankhede. In all these visits, the expenditure incurred towards travelling, lodging, boarding, visa, and miscellaneous expenditure declared by him was in between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh, which is clearly wrong declaration or under-reporting.

The SET also has questioned Wankhede on his purchase of a Rolex watch. He bought the exorbitant gold watch worth Rs 22 lakh from his friend Viral Jamaluddin for Rs 17.4 lakh on credit.

Theres also the matter of Wankhedes properties. He owns four flats in Mumbai and a plot of land in Washim, Maharashtra. He has issued a clarification on his land owning, saying he has not four but six properties in Mumbai but all of them are inherited.

Its important to note here that this isnt the first time that there has been speculation about his lifestyle or clothes. In 2021, former Maharashtra minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik alleged that the cop wore a pair of trousers worth Rs 1 lakh and a shirt costing over Rs 70,000. How can an honest and upright officer claim to afford such expensive clothes, Malik had said, adding. He (Wankhede) extorted crores by wrongly framing people.

At the time, Wankhede had dismissed the claims while his sister Yasmeen had said that Malik should get his mental health checked.

Wankhedes troubles

Sameer Wankhede, the 2008-batch IRS officer with stints in the National Investigative Agency (NIA) and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), before being loaned as Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau, has had a chequered past.

His latest trouble is the CBI case alleging corruption. Last Friday (12 May), the CBI registered an FIR against Wankhede and the then Zonal Director of NCB (Mumbai Zone Unit); Vishwa Vijay Singh, then Superintendent (NCB); Ashish Ranjan, then Intelligence Officer of Mumbai Zonal Unit (NCB); K P Gosavi and Sanvile DSouza (alleged witness).

Their crime, as per the central agency, is demanding a bribe worth Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan to settle Aryan Khans arrest in the drug case. This amount was later negotiated to Rs 18 crore by Gosavi and DSouza and they had even taken a token amount of Rs 50 lakh in the matter.

The SET report also reveals that Aryan Khan and his friend Arbaaz Merchant were a last-minute addition while the names of some other suspects were dropped from the original information note. The report also states that there were a series of lapses in the investigation  the CCTV footage of the NCB office had gone corrupt. Also, the DVR and hardcopy of the night when Aryan was brought to the NCB office is different from what was submitted to the SET.

Since the Aryan Khan matter, Wankhede has been under investigation  either for his methods or for other controversies. Lets just say, Wankhede is controversys favourite child.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
As the Group of Seven (G7) leaders meet in Japan, China is holding its own summit. Chinese president Xi Jinping is hosting the first-ever in-person meeting of five Central Asian nations in Xian, the capital of the northwestern province of Shaanxi.

The summit comes as China is making efforts to bolster ties and economic cooperation with its Central Asian neighbours.

Who all are attending, what was discussed at the meeting and why is the summit significant? We explain.

China-Central Asia Summit

The two-day summit, which will end on Friday (19 May), is being attended by leaders of five Central Asian countries  Turkmenistan president Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Tajikistans Emomali Rahmon, Uzbekistans Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Kyrgyzstans Sadyr Japarov and Kazakhstan president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

On the sidelines of the summit, Xi also held bilateral talks with the leaders.

Boosting trade and ties

From the proposals for building more infrastructure to increasing trade, Xi laid out plans for Central Asias development at the summit.

We need to expand economic and trade ties, Xi said in a speech to Central Asian leaders, reported Associated Press (AP).

He also mentioned that China and Central Asian countries should enhance trust and offer clear and strong support on core interests such as sovereignty, independence, national dignity and long-term development, reported Reuters.

China is ready to help Central Asian countries improve their law enforcement, security, and defence capability construction, the premier added.

As per the report, Xi announced that Beijing will enhance bilateral investment agreements and ramp up cross-border freight volume with the region.

To bolster our cooperation and Central Asian development, China will provide Central Asian countries with a total of 26 billion yuan ($3.8 billion) of financing support and grants, he was quoted as saying by Reuters.

He vowed to boost two-way trade by encouraging Chinese trading companies to establish warehouses in Central Asia and build a special train service to promote tourism, as per reports.

Last year, the trade between China and the Central Asian countries reached a record-high of $70 billion.

He also pledged Chinas assistance to the five countries to build up security and defense and to fight terrorism. The Chinese leader promised to jointly promote peace in Afghanistan.

Xi proposed to jointly develop oil and gas sources with the region, noted AP.

He spoke about advancing the construction of Line D of the China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline, as well as called on the Central Asian leaders to develop energy cooperation across industrial chains, and boost cooperation on new energy and the peaceful use of nuclear energy, according to the Reuters report.

This summit has added new impetus to the development and revitalisation of the six counties, and injected strong positive energy into regional peace and stability, the Chinese leader later said, addressing a press conference along with his Central Asian counterparts.

We will jointly foster a new paradigm of deeply complementary and high-level win-win cooperation, Reuters quoted him as saying.

ALSO READ: A Tragic Past: 1945 bombing of Hiroshima looms large as G7 leaders meet in Japan

Significance amid Russia-Ukraine war

With these Central Asian countries being former Soviet republics, the region has been considered, as CNN put it, Russias sphere of influence.

Xi is seeking to expand Chinas sway in the resource-rich region as these nations are crucial to its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and curb Americas dominance on the global stage.

The summit being held in Xian also assumes importance as it once marked the eastern starting point of the Silk Road  the ancient trade route linking China with Central Asia and the Mediterranean, noted Foreign Policy.

As Russia remains preoccupied with the war it started in Ukraine, China is wooing these nations with the promise of improving trade and investment.

On the other hand, China relies on Central Asia for energy products such as coal, crude oil and natural gas.

The most important context of this summit is the Ukraine war and the regions uncertainty with Russias future commitment, influence and role in the region, Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington, told CNN.

Central Asia is always seen as Russias backyard, and China has been expanding its influence in the region  and there are new aspirations and directions for China-Central Asia relations  opportunities that were not present or available in the past, she added.

China, which is aiming for the role of peacemaker between Moscow and Kyiv amid Western concerns, may also use the summit to bring Central Asian leaders on its side, experts say.

The summit is a good opportunity for China (to try to) win support from these countries on Chinas approach in terms of mediating the war between Russia and Ukraine, Li Mingjiang, an associate professor of international relations at Singapores Nanyang Technological University, was quoted as saying CNN.

Their support of Chinas initiative would be quite significant, Li added.

But analysts believe these nations are unlikely to promote any specific proposals by China on the war. Besides Beijings increasing threat, the Ukraine war will also be on the agenda of the G7 leaders.

Meanwhile, as there are growing fears in Central Asia about Russias intentions in the region in the wake of the Ukraine conflict, China has made attempts to reassure them over their sovereignty, Bradley Jardine, the managing director of the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs in Washington, DC told Al Jazeera.

China knows that Russia is no longer in a position to provide anything that Central Asia desires: be that international prestige, economic cooperation or security cooperation, Niva Yau, nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Councils Global China Hub, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. Working with China is still a preference.

However, some analysts point out that Chinas increasing influence does not mean that Russia is falling behind.

Li Yongquan, director of Eurasian research at Chinas Development Research Center of the State Council, told the state-run Global Times that for 30 years, Central Asia has been situated in a complicated geopolitical atmosphere. One of the reasons why regional countries can thrive despite the multiple unstable factors is because China and Russia have cooperated on maintaining safety and stability in the region. China and Russia have a shared interest in this issue.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
In a stunning breakthrough, scientists at Stanford have invented electronic skin.

A research team led by Zhenan Bao, who published their study in the journal Science, has tested the e-skin on a rat.

Lets take a closer look:

What is it?

According to New Scientist, the device known as e-skin is made of a thin and stretchy rubbery material with electronic circuits and sensors that measure pressure and temperature.

Soft and flexible, it can be wrapped around a human finger.

Bao, who led the study, told the newspaper, Weve been working on a monolithic e-skin for some time.

The hurdle was not so much finding mechanisms to mimic the remarkable sensory abilities of human touch, but bringing them together using only skin-like materials.

The prototype is about as thick as a piece of paper, as per The Independent.

Weichen Wang, who has a PhD in engineering and is the first author of the study, added, Much of that challenge came down to advancing the skin-like electronic materials so that they can be incorporated into integrated circuits with sufficient complexity to generate nerve-like pulse trains and low enough operating voltage to be used safely on the human body.

How does it work?

By mimicking human skin.

In the human body, our nerves detect sensations and then transmit these signals to our brain.

The research team tested the e-skin on a rat.

According to New Scientist, the team connected the e-skin to the animals nervous system.

They then attached electrodes to a patch of the rats brain that regulates touch and temperature.

When they put pressure on the device, the rats brain sent signals to the region that controls movement.

When the researchers sent signals to the rats leg through an insertable artificial synapse device, the leg moved.

This is a clear demonstration: based on sensation, there were movements. And this is not a small thing, its quite challenging work to get the electronics to work well enough for this, Ravinder Dahiya at Northeastern University, told New Scientists.

What does this mean?

This could one day offer hope to those that have suffered skin damage, paralysis, or even lost their limbs.

Wang told New Scientist the e-skin needed just a fraction of the power of older artificial devices.

He added that this would make it more comfortable to use as it doesnt heat up quite so much,

Experts are excited but cautious.

You can validate proof of concept into animal models, but that doesnt mean its going to be implemented very quickly in humans, Stephanie Lacour, a neuroengineer working on stretchable biomaterials at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, told StatNews.

Tsuyoshi Sekitani, an engineer at Osaka University, told StatNews it is extremely difficult to construct a sensory feedback loop with stretchable electronics.

Sekitani said this points us to a future where the boundary between living organisms and machines is disappearing.

Sekitani added that the question of how the e-skin would fare when it is combined with the human body.

The defence and rejection reactions of living tissues are extremely delicate, and as yet, the long-term stability of the interface between engineered materials and living tissues is far from satisfactory, Sekitani told the website in an email.

Further development of biocompatible materials is essential.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
All eyes are on Japans Hiroshima, where the G7 (Group of Seven) leaders are holding their annual meeting. But apart from the member nations, this years host has invited eight more guests to the summit that begins on Friday.

The G7 is a gathering of the worlds wealthiest democracies  Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, and Italy. The representatives of the European Union, which is not an official G7 member, are invited. And then there are the host countries, which are carefully picked.

The G7 countries are not as economically influential as they were once. In 1990, the group accounted for over half of the worlds GDP, according to the International Monetary Fund. Now that figure has plummeted to 30 per cent, according to a report in the BBC.

The G7 nations are well aware of the rising might of other newly advanced economies like Australia and South Korea and emerging markets like India. They want to keep them close. India has been a regular at the summit and has snagged an invite yet again this year. Japan prime minister Fumio Kishida has also invited South Korea, Australia, Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Comoros and the Cook Islands.

What will be Indias role at the summit? And why have the other nations been picked? We take a look.

Also read: A Tragic Past: 1945 bombing of Hiroshima looms large as G7 leaders meet in Japan

India at G7 summit

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Japan to join the G7 summit in Hiroshima. This is the fourth time the Indian leader will be attending the meeting  he was invited to Germany in 2022, the UK in 2021 and France in 2019.

In 2020, the United States, which was hosting the summit invited India but it was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The practice of inviting a select number of nations picked by the G7 host became in 2003. Then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee participated in the summit in France. This is Indias tenth participation.

Also read: What is G7? What can we expect from the meet in Japans Hiroshima?

Kishida invited Modi earlier this year. His guest list is seen as an attempt to woo the Global South, a term used for developing nations in Asia, Africa and South America. India is among the influential countries in this unofficial group, which also has complex ties with Russia and China at the focus of the summit.

As PM Modi left for Japan, he said that he was looking forward to a healthy exchange of views on diverse global subjects.

My presence in this G7 Summit is particularly meaningful as India holds the G20 Presidency this year. I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them. I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 Summit, he added.

Leaving for Japan, where I will be joining the @G7 Summit in Hiroshima. Looking forward to a healthy exchange of views on diverse global subjects. https://t.co/TYYOLeHAFH  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2023

The Russia question

One of the key discussions at the G7 summit with be Russia and imposing more sanctions and export controls on the nation over the war in Ukraine. But India has maintained neutrality in the conflict and will have to tread carefully because of its longstanding ties with Moscow and the fact that it continues to import Russian oil and its dependence on the country for arms.

India could express its concern that the US and its allies are exacerbating the global economic crisis by imposing more sanctions on Moscow. And it is not alone. The rising costs because of the Ukraine war have hit emerging and developing economies.

Vietnam has a historically close relationship with Russia, which supplies at least 60 per cent of their arms and 11 per cent of their fertiliser, Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow at the Institute of South East Asian Studies in Singapore, told the BBC. Indonesia, although not heavily dependent on Russia, is a significant importer of Russian weapons and maintains good relations with Moscow.

Also read: Losing its Shine: Why has the UK banned Russias diamonds? Will G7 countries follow suit?



Taking on China

Chinas rising aggression will dominate the agenda at the G7 summit. Japan being the only Asian G7 member sees this as a chance to respond to Beijings show of strength around Taiwan.

As the pillar of the G-7 in Asia, Japan is particularly focussed on updating the international order to cope with the rise of China, Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul told The Associated Press. The Kishida governments agenda and special invitations for the Hiroshima summit reflect an effort not to contain China but to expand the international coalition defending standards for state behaviour.

However, this could be challenging as agreeing on a common approach to take on the worlds second-largest economy will not be easy. China is an important trade partner of the G7 nations and each of them has a complicated relationship with it; their concerns also vary.

New Delhis ties with Bejing have hit a low as border tensions continue. As Japan pushes back on China, Kishida hopes India will also stand up to Chinas assertiveness.

India is part of the Quad group of four Indo-Pacific nations, including the US, Japan and Australia, which China has called the Asian Nato. With the Quad summit in Sydney cancelled, the four leaders are likely to have an informal dialogue in Hiroshima which will be seen as a move to counter Chinas growing threats in the region. Biden will be meeting Modi of Anthony Albanese of Australia on the sidelines of the summit in Japan.

India will also participate in three formal sessions  two on 20 May and one on 21 May. Of the 20 May sessions, the first will focus on food, health, development and gender equality and the second on climate and energy. The third session to be held the next day is titled Towards Peaceful, Stable, and Prosperous World.

India is this years president of the G-20, which is seen as a crucial bridge between G7 economies and the Global South. Japan has traditionally had close ties with India and Kishida visited in March for a summit with Modi.

The other guest nations

Leaders of Australia, Brazil, Comoros, Cook Islands, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam are invited to Hiroshima, as Kishida stresses the importance of reaching out to developing countries.

Australia, a key US ally, has already been closely cooperating with Japan, including in efforts to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific, according to the Japanese foreign ministry, which called Australia a special strategic partner, reports AP.

Japan is courting Vietnam because it also has territorial disputes with China, according to Kim Yeol Soo, an expert at South Koreas Korea Institute for Military Affairs. And the invite to South Korea reflects the role of the two neighbours as staunch US allies with a shared security threat from North Koreas advancing nuclear arsenal.

Some of the guest nations lead regional and other bodies. Brazil takes over next year for India as president of the G-20 and Indonesia is chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Comoros leads the African Union, and the Cook Islands chairs the Pacific Islands Forum.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Amid rising tension in Israel and Palestine, tens of thousands of Israelis thronged told the Old City of Jerusalem, waving the Star of David flags, on Thursday. They marched through the Muslim quarter of the walled city with some nationalists hurling racist insults at journalists and others chanting anti-Palestine slogans. The Flag March is an annual event that is condemned by Palestinians.

The parade is the mainstay of Jerusalem Day, which marks Israels capture of the east of the city in the 1967 Middle East War. While the march has become a show of force for Jewish nationalists, Palestinians look at it as nothing but a blatant provocation meant to undermine their ties to the city.

We take a look at the history of the march.

What is Jerusalem Day?

Israel fought several Arab armies in the 1967 war, during which it captured territories including East Jerusalem. The country has since annexed East Jerusalem, in a move that has not won international recognition, and regards the entire city as its eternal and undivided capital. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

Every year, Israel marks Jerusalem Day, which the government refers to as the reunification of Jerusalem. The annual commemoration draws crowds in the tens of thousands.

The march was designed to recreate the path that Israeli soldiers took to capture the Old City on 7 June 1967. The route has changed over the years and now the flag-waving march cuts through downtown Jerusalem before entering the walled Old City, home to sites holy to Christians, Jews and Muslims

Men and women take separate routes on the march, with men entering the Old City via Damascus Gate in the north, women entering through Jaffa Gate on the east side of the city, and the two groups meeting at the Western Wall, according to a CNN report.

Why does the march irk Palestinians?

The heavily policed procession passes through the Old Citys narrow streets, including areas that are popular among Palestinians such as Damascus Gate and the Muslim Quarter, forcing Arab shopkeepers to often shut shop. The march has been marred by violence and some acts of racist incitement on several occasions.

Another source of tension has been visits by large groups of Jewish pilgrims, including members of parliament, to the al-Aqsa mosque compound. It is the third holiest site in Islam and Jews revere it as the Temple Mount, a vestige of two ancient temples.

Palestinians say the visits and police enforcement around them are an Israeli attempt to encroach on one of the few places in the city where they sense a degree of sovereignty.

Muslims say Jewish visitors are also increasingly violating a decades-old ban on non-Muslim worship on the compound. Israel says it prevents such prayer and maintains the status quo.

Also read: Israel-Palestine tensions rise: Is third intifada in offing?

How has the event led to violence in recent years?

During the 2021 march, the Islamist Hamas group fired rockets into Israel, helping spark an 11-day war that killed at least 250 Palestinians in Gaza and 13 people in Israel.

Hamas, which governs blockaded Gaza, has cast itself in recent years as a defender of Jerusalems Palestinians and Muslim holy sites. Ahead of Thursdays march, it warned of an explosion if right-wing marchers violate the status quo at the al-Aqsa mosque compound or attack Palestinians.

This year, Palestinians also organised their own flag marches in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza, with some processions set to take place only a few hundred metres away from the Israel-Gaza separation fence.

What happened at this years march?

This years march threatened to disrupt the ceasefire reached between Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Israel on Saturday after at least 33 Palestinians were killed in a four-day Israeli bombardment. One Israeli was also killed by Palestinian rocket fire.

On Thursday, 2,500 officers were deployed to maintain law and order. The march ended has led to no escalation so far but journalists covering the event were reportedly attacked. A group of marchers threw stones, sticks and bottles at Palestinian and foreign journalists at the Damascus Gate entrance, reports the BBC.

Crowds of rowdy Jewish youth danced and chanted Death to Arabs and other slogans. The procession was joined by far-right Israeli Cabinet ministers with the National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, declaring, Jerusalem is ours forever.

Many Palestinian shopkeepers shuttered their businesses in the Old City, where march organisers hung Israeli flags along the narrow alleyways.

As the march ended in a mass gathering in front of the Western Wall, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, Jerusalem will stay united forever.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
They say diamonds are a girls best friend. But in the United Kingdom that wont fly anymore, at least not for Russian diamonds. British prime minister Rishi Sunak will announce a ban on the import of the precious gems from Russia as countries step up sanctions against the Vladimir Putin-led country for its war in Ukraine.

The diamond ban is part of a wider package of sanctions as the prime minister and allies use the annual G7 summit in Hiroshima to redouble support for Ukraine. Sanctions will also extend to imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel.

Rishi Sunak said the UK must show violence and coercion do not reap rewards ahead of the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

We take a closer look at the Russian diamond trade and whether such a ban on Russian diamonds would be effective.

From Russia with love?

Diamonds were first unearthed in the frozen tundra region of the Russian republic Yakutia in the 1950s. This discovery transformed what was the erstwhile Soviet Union into an important diamond country. Today, Russia is not only exceptionally rich in diamonds, but is also an important centre for trading, manufacturing, researching and consuming diamonds.

According to data provided by the Observatory of Economic Complexity, Russia earned a whopping $4.7 billion from diamond exports in 2021  even as the country continued its war in Ukraine.

Another set of data from the year 2022 showed that the European Union imported around $1.5 billion worth of Russian diamonds  down from $1.9 the previous year.

One of the largest importers of Russian diamonds is Belgium and the country has been hesitant about the European Unions plan of banning Russias priceless commodity. This is because it would hurt the city of Antwerp, a global hub for the precious stones, and eventually their economy. In January 2023, Belgium imported 132 million worth of Russian rough diamonds, which was higher than the 97 million in January 2022, although the weight of imports was lower in 2023.

Russian diamonds are blood diamonds?

Since Russias invasion began in Ukraine, Kyiv has been asking for a ban on Russias diamond trade, citing they are blood diamonds. For the unaware, blood diamonds, also known as conflict diamonds, are diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading armys war efforts, terrorism, or a warlords activity.

Almost all Russian diamonds come from Alrosa, which says it accounts for 99 per cent of all rough diamonds produced in the Russian federation. Interestingly, Alrosa has close links to the Kremlin; a third of Alrosas shareholding is directly owned by the Russian state.

The Guardian reports that Alrosas corporate leadership is also closely linked with the Kremlin, and Sergei Ivanov, its chief executive, was specifically targeted by US sanctions. Ivanovs father is Sergei Borisovich Ivanov, reportedly one of Vladimir Putins closest allies and formerly a Russian minister of defence, KGB colonel general and Putin chief of staff.

Alrosas rough diamonds are exported throughout the world  mainly to Belgiums Antwerp, Indias Surat and Dubai. Even though they have deleted their list of customers from their website, investigations reveal that some of their customers in the past have been Signet Jewellers, the worlds largest retailer of diamond jewellery, New York firm Leo Schachter, and iconic luxury brand Tiffany & Co.

Is the ban worldwide?

Currently, only the UK has announced a ban on Russian diamonds. The G7 countries as well as others are still to decide, as EU Council President Charles Michel said, Russian diamonds are not forever. We will restrict trade in Russian diamonds.

Belgium has been long been sceptical of an outright ban, saying they want a global approach to Russian exports, as opposed to an European Union-specific measure, to ensure the sanctions do not disproportionately hurt them.

The Belgian government has argued that such sanctions would only divert Russias diamond exports to other countries without actually causing Moscow economic pain. Belgian diplomats also pointed out that Russian imports were going down even without sanctions, because of public pressure and consumer awareness.

The debate has been going on for some time because there is a clear risk that Russia could simply divert its exports to non-participating countries, Edward Gardner, a commodities economist at Capital Economics, was quoted as telling CNBC via email.

Tom Neys of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre also said that sanctions werent the answer. An international framework of complete transparency, with the same standards of compliance as Antwerp, can be that solution, he said to Politico.

However, those calling for a ban on Russian diamonds say that even though it wont inflict the same damage on Putins economy, it will send a message that the West is now pushing their national interests behind those of Ukraines.

Also read: How Russia-Ukraine war has taken the sheen off for many in Gujarat

Will an outright ban work though?

The answer to this question is complicated. Some experts opine that even if the G7 countries ban Russian diamonds, it wouldnt be meaningful because the vast majority of Russian stones are exported rough.

From there, most will go to be cut and polished in India, which processes about 90 per cent of the worlds rough diamonds. Under US customs rulings, this is considered a significant transformation  so polished diamonds can be imported as an Indian product, not a Russian one.

Also read: Rich as Rockefeller: How Russias rich retained their wealth despite Western sanctions over Ukraine war

Martin Rapaport, a high-profile figure in the diamond industry and founder of RapNet, the worlds largest online diamond trading network, had told The Guardian earlier, The sanctions  unless they deepen  are not going to affect the normal business.

The flow of diamonds from Russia to India to America will continue unabated. The sanctions are essentially very ineffective. They dont do anything. This is not going to stop Russian diamonds.

To make this ban on diamonds be effective, technology would have to be deployed which would be able to track the origins of the gem.

And though there is such a technology called Spacecode, it wont be an easy task. Spacecodes devices will not be sold for the first time until the end of this year or even the first quarter of 2024.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Food is possibly not the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear Hiroshima. However, the meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) leaders of the worlds wealthiest nations in the Japanese city has put the spotlight on Hiroshimas soul food  okonomiyaki.

According to The Guardian, this signature dish of Hiroshima is expected to make it to the plates of the G7 leaders who will be served a version prepared with oysters at a social occasion on Saturday (20 May).

What is this dish and why it is so popular in Hiroshima? How is the city promoting it during the three-day G7 summit? Lets take a closer look.

What is okonomiyaki?

It is a flour-based Japanese pancake, which roughly translates to cooked as you like.

Okonomiyaki is popular across the country, especially in Hiroshima and in the Kansai region  Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, reported BBC.

According to a Japan Experience article, the base mixture of okonomiyaki is made of wheat flour, egg, fish broth, and white cabbage.

There are two popular styles to cook Okonomiyaki  Kansai or Osaka style and Hiroshima style.

Osakans prefer to add seafood and nagaimo, a type of yam, to their base mixture. They then include anything from pork, egg, cheese, squid and bonito to seaweed, shrimp, and spring onion on top. This mixture is then grilled on a hot plate and the final dish is served with mayonnaise or okonomi sauce, according to the article.

The main difference between the two styles is that while in the Kansai style, all the ingredients are mixed together, Hiroshima prefers to make the dish in layers.

Hiroshima style also includes grilled soba noodles. As per National Geographic, Hiroshimans start with a crepe-like thin flour dough base, top it with a mountain of cabbage, grill it down, flip and top it with a cake of grilled soba noodles, also dripped with the signature sauce.

While the dish has been called the Japanese pizza, Japan Experience noted that it is a wrong comparison as the two have nothing in common apart from the round shape.

History of Okonomiyaki

While tracing back the exact point of origin is tough, the concept of a grilled pancake goes back to Buddhist ceremonies during the Edo period (1683- 1868), reported National Geographic.

During the Meiji Era (1868-1912), this sweet version of pancake spread beyond monasteries, as per the Japan Experience article.

After the Kanto earthquake in 1923, a savoury variation of the dish became famous.

As per The Guardian report, an earlier version of the dish was called issen yoshoku, or one-penny western food, which was made with a batter of flour and water cooked on an iron plate and garnished with chopped spring onion and bonito flakes.

After the US atomic bombing on 6 August 1945, the survivors turned to the pre-war dish due to food shortage, the report added.

Okonomiyaki evolved along with Hiroshima as its people rebuild the city from the ruins.

They used the little ingredients available to make the pancake such as cabbage and onions mixed with the huge quantity of flour provided by the US as part of post-war rations and any other food item that they could find, as per National Geographic.

As the city healed and recovered, other ingredients like pork, cabbage, eggs and yakisoba noodles made it to the dish, reported The Guardian.

Hiroshima developed side-by-side with okonomiyaki; it took root in the citizens and became their favourite food since then. Its literally soul food for Hiroshima people, Shizuka Kobara, public relations officer at Otafuku, the prime Hiroshima-based maker of okonomiyaki sauce, told BBC in 2020.

Okonomiyaki and the G7 connection

As per the BBC report, Hiroshima has more okonomiyaki restaurants per capita than any other region in Japan.

With Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hosting G7 leaders in the city, okonomiyaki has taken centrestage.

Okonomiyaki has gone from a food for survival to a speciality of Hiroshima, the Oconomiyaki Academys director, Shigeki Sasaki, told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. Given current global events, we want to incorporate a message into the dishes that they symbolise the peace and reconstruction of Hiroshima.

The Oconomiyaki Academy, a local restaurant trade group, has decided to alter the dish to showcase the food culture of the G7 countries. These G7-inspired versions could be seen at restaurants during the summit: burger meat for the US, maple syrup sauce for Canada, sausage and sauerkraut for Germany, fish and chips for Britain.

We thought a lot of customers from various countries overseas would come here. So we wanted to offer various flavours of okonomiyaki to match their tastes, Atsuki Kitaura, the city-wide manager of the Chinchikurin chain, told Reuters.

With okonomiyaki on the table, Hiroshima is hoping to put its culinary culture on the global map.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The dangerous lengths to which paparazzi go in pursuit of their work have once again come to light. Following the tragic car accident that claimed Princess Dianas life in 1997, a recent car chase involving Harry and Meghan has alarmed both Britain and the world, raising concerns about the safety of public figures.

Britains Prince Harry and his wife Meghan were pursued by photographers in New York on Tuesday in what the princes spokesperson described as a near catastrophic car chase, highlighting the often-tense relationship between celebrities and photographers.

Police in New York, however, described the encounter as relatively brief and said there had been no injuries, collisions or arrests.

While the details remain murky, the incident made international headlines and immediately evoked memories of how Harrys mother, Princess Diana, died in a car crash in 1997 after being pursued by so-called paparazzi photographers, who typically specialise in taking pictures of celebrities.

Harry, the younger son of King Charles, and Meghan cited media intrusion as one of the reasons for stepping back from royal duties and moving to California in 2020.

They filed a US lawsuit in July 2020, alleging that unnamed paparazzi used drones and helicopters to take illegal photos of their son, Archie, at their private residence in California when he was 14-months-old. They reached a settlement with celebrity photo agency X17 in October 2020.

Rules on how the paps can operate vary from country to country and from state to state in the US.

Below is a summary of the different restrictions.

Britain

Photographers may take pictures in all public places, including photos of people, as long as they do not harass members of the public. The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 allows for prosecution if a photographer threatens, stalks, intimidates or causes distress.

Shortly after Dianas death, a voluntary body for British publishers  now called the Independent Press Standards Organisation  agreed that journalists should not engage in intimidation, harassment, or persistent pursuit and should desist if asked to do so by their target.

There has also been an unwritten understanding between Buckingham Palace and the press not to publish unsolicited pictures of royal children since Dianas death.

US

Photographers may take pictures in all public places. New York does not have specific laws addressing paparazzi, and the First Amendment of the US Constitution explicitly protects the free press from government intrusion.

California, where paparazzi are a constant presence thanks to Hollywood, has enacted several laws intended to protect celebrities from harm since Dianas death.

A 2013 law made it a crime to attempt to photograph a child in a harassing manner if it is done so because the childs parent is famous. Another law created a misdemeanour for anyone who engages in reckless driving specifically in pursuit of images.

The state has also passed a civil statute barring the use of unmanned drones to take photos of people on private property, which led Harry and Meghan to file their 2020 lawsuit.

News photographers typically operate under ethical standards apart from legal considerations. The New York Press Photographers Association issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the reported behaviour as a violation of the basic principle that news photographers should act as documentarians and observers.

Bruce Cotler, the groups president, noted in an interview that there were multiple and conflicting accounts about the incident. But, he said, photographers are expected to behave in a manner that is not dangerous to others.

The major rule in journalism is: cover the news, dont be the news, he said.

With inputs from Reuters

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair the second Chintan Shivir of senior officials at the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi on Friday to discuss the implementation of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Vision 2047.

Shah will interact with senior officials of the ministry in the meeting to evolve an action plan for implementation of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Vision 2047, sources said.

What is Vision 2047?

Vision 2047 is the central governments blueprint for making India a developed nation by 2047. The announcement was made on the occasion of Indias 75th Independence Day.

In March, the Knowledge Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised THE India@2047 Networking Summit in New Delhi to focus on sectors like New Age Agriculture and Food Processing, Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality, and Information Communication Technology.

In order to achieve this ambitious goal, the government has also launched several initiatives and policies aiming to boost economic growth, promote social development, and address environmental challenges.

About the first Chintan Shivir

Last month, Shah held the first Chitin Shivir meeting where he emphasised the development of an ecosystem for cybercrime management, modernization of police forces, increased use of IT in the criminal justice system, land border management and coastal security issues.

During the meeting, Shah also stressed the need to develop the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deploy it in the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) database for critical analysis of crimes, thus, making cities safer for women, children and vulnerable sections.

The first Chintan Shivir consisted objective of reviewing the work of the Ministry. Shah also focussed on the need to fast-track the recruitment process and said that anticipating future vacancies recruitment should be initiated well in advance.

Held in two sessions, the first Chintan Shivir engaged in an in-depth review of of the status of compliance with the instructions given by the Home Minister during an earlier discussion held with the officers of the Ministry.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
A disruptive incident occurred onboard an Air India flight from the US to Mumbai on Wednesday, 17 May. The business class passenger, described as a man in his 70s, experienced a panic attack approximately three hours into the flight. Subsequently, he began screaming, yelling, and using offensive language.

The passengers behavior alternated between moments of calm and violent outbursts, causing discomfort among both the crew and fellow passengers. Despite attempts to calm him down, the situation persisted for over seven hours until a doctor intervened and sedated him, leading to a resolution.

The man verbally abused the crew, demanded the aircraft door to be opened for his disembarkation, and even attempted to strangle his wife, reported Times of India.

An eyewitness named Pravin Tonsekar, who was also traveling in business class told TOI that the man made three separate attempts to strangle his wife and had to be physically restrained by others. Tonsekar described the passenger as a physically fit man in his seventies, around six feet tall.

He added that the crew and passengers intervened when the man tried to strangle his wife, who eventually sought refuge in the economy class due to fear, reported TOI.

The disruptive behavior continued for an extended period, prompting additional crew members who were not on duty to engage with the passenger in an attempt to pacify him.

Eventually, the Air India crew sought assistance from doctors among the passengers to handle the unruly passenger. Two doctors came forward, restrained the individual, and administered a sedative. The passengers wife informed the doctors that he had neglected to take his prescribed anxiety medication after take-off.

After the passenger was sedated, the flight proceeded without any further incidents and safely landed in Mumbai.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Bihar government to produce complete original records with regard to the remission granted to former MP Anand Mohan, who was serving life term in the 1994 murder case of then Gopalganj District Magistrate G Krishnaiah.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala told advocate Manish Kumar, appearing for the Bihar government, that no further adjournment will be granted in the case and directed him to place the complete records for perusal of the court.

It listed the plea filed by the wife of the slain officer challenging the release of Mohan on August 8.

At the outset, Kumar sought some time to file a reply to the plea.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Uma Krishnaiah, the wife of the slain officer, said the state government has changed the policy retrospectively and released him in the case.

He urged the bench to direct the state to place entire records of criminal antecedents of Mohan and sought the matter to be listed in August.

The bench recorded that counsel for state government and Mohan have appeared before it and said no further adjournments will be granted.

Original records with regard to remission to respondent-4 (Anand Mohan) by order dated April 10, 2023, be placed before the court, the bench said, adding that records with regard to criminal antecedents be also placed before it.

Advocate Shoeb Alam appeared for an intervenor, and sought permission to assist the court in the matter.

The bench said, Dont politicise the matter. We are on pure legal issue and would not allow any intervention. If we feel there is necessity, we will allow all the concerned at the bar to assist in the matter.

On May 8, the top court had sought response from the Bihar government on a plea challenging the state governments decision to prematurely release Mohan.

Mohan was released from the Saharsa jail on April 24 after serving 14 years of imprisonment following an amendment made in Bihars prison rules by the state government.

The petitioner has contended that life imprisonment awarded to the gangster-turned-politician meant incarceration for his entire natural course of life and it cannot be mechanically interpreted to last just 14 years.

Life imprisonment, when awarded as a substitute for death penalty, has to be carried out strictly as directed by the court and would be beyond application of remission, she said in her petition before the Supreme Court.

Mohans name figured in a list of more than 20 prisoners who were ordered to be set free by a notification issued by the states law department as they had spent more than 14 years behind the bars.

The remission of his sentence followed an April 10 amendment to the Bihar Prison Manual by the Nitish Kumar government whereby the restriction on early release of those involved in killing of a public servant on duty was done away with.

This, the critics of the state governments decision claim, was done to facilitate the release of Mohan, a Rajput strongman, who could add heft to the grand alliance led by Nitish Kumar in its fight against the BJP. Several others, including politicians, benefited from the amendment to the state prison rules.

Krishnaiah, who hailed from Telangana, was beaten to death by a mob in 1994 when his vehicle tried to overtake the funeral procession of gangster Chhotan Shukla in Muzaffarpur district.

Mohan, then an MLA, was leading the procession.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
A 59-year-old Indian mountaineer, aiming to create a new world record of becoming Asias first woman on a pacemaker to scale Mt Everest, died on Thursday after falling ill at the base camp of the worlds highest peak in Nepal.

Suzanne Leopoldina Jesus was admitted to a hospital in the Lukla town of Solukhumbu district after she complained of difficulties during the acclimatization exercises at the Mt Everest base camp. She died on Thursday, Yuvaraj Khatiwada, Director at the Tourism Department of Nepal, said.

Suzanne, fitted with a pacemaker, was asked to abandon the attempt to summit Mt Everest after failing to maintain a normal speed during the acclimatization exercise on the base camp and showing difficulty climbing, Khatiwada said.

The climber adamantly refused the advice, asserting that she had to climb the 8,848.86 metres-high peak as she had already paid the fee for acquiring permission to climb the mountain.

Suzanne, who had climbed up to 5,800 metres, a little above the Mt Everest base camp, was forcibly airlifted on Wednesday evening to Lukla town and was admitted to a hospital for treatment, said Dendi Sherpa, Chairman of Glacier Himalayan Trek, the expedition organiser.

We had to take her back to Lukla forcibly, Sherpa said, adding that they hired a helicopter to evacuate her. We had told her to abandon the climb five days ago, but she was committed to ascending Everest, he said, adding that it was found during the acclimatization that Suzanne was not qualified for further ascending the mountain.

Sherpa also wrote a letter to the Department of Tourism mentioning that Suzanne was not in a position to climb Mt. Everest as it took her more than 5 hours to reach Crompton Point, above the base camp, which is just 250 metres long.

Climbers can usually cross the distance in 15 to 20 minutes, but it took Suzanne five hours on the first attempt, six hours on the second attempt and 12 hours on the third attempt to reach the point during the acclimatization exercise, Sherpa said.

However, she wanted to set a new world record by becoming the first Asian woman to summit Everest with a pacemaker, he said, adding that she was having difficulties in her throat and could not even swallow food easily.

Suzannes body was flown to Kathmandu on Thursday afternoon and taken to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital at Maharajgunj municipality for postmortem, Sherpa said. Her family was informed and were expected to arrive in Kathmandu by Friday evening.

A Chinese climber also died while ascending Mt Everest Thursday morning, taking the death count on the Everest this season to eight.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, Sundar Pichai has an inspiring success story attached to his name, as he went on to become the CEO of Google. Pichai spent his entire childhood in Chennai with his parents and completed his schooling there, before joining IIT-Kharagpur. Now that he has come a long way, a latest report suggests that his childhood family home in Chennai has been sold by his parents. According to a report by The Hindu, the property located in Chennais Ashok Nagar neighborhood was demolished and then sold off by his parents to Tamil actor-producer C Manikandan.

Talking about the same, the actor who is now the new owner of Pichais childhood home shared how his father got overwhelmed and was in tears during the property deal. Talking about the property deal, the actor said that he got emotional while handing over the documents, mentioning that it was their first property sale. He also praised the humility of Pichais parents, mentioning that they did not use their sons name to expedite the paperwork process.

C Manikandan on buying Sundar Pichais childhood home

Recalling their meeting, Manikandan mentioned that while Sundars mother personally prepared filter coffee for him, the father presented the documents during their first meeting. He further elaborated that Sundars father patiently waited for hours at the registration office, paid all the necessary taxes, and even covered the cost of demolishing the house before handing over the land for future development.

Noting that the entire process took around four months as Pichais father was in the US at the time, the actor recalled how he was eager to buy the property after coming to know that it belonged to the Google CEOs parents. Calling it a significant achievement of his life, he expressed pride in Sundar Pichais achievements.

Talking about Sundar Pichai, the CEO of both Alphabet and Google, he is counted among the most successful and influential leaders in the tech industry today. His journey from a small town in India to launching Google Chrome back in 2008 is inspiring for the younger generation. Known for his humility and decision-making skills, Pichai has proved his potential in business acumen.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Supreme Court has deferred the scientific survey, including carbon dating, of an alleged Shivling which was reportedly found at the Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi during a videographic survey last year.

The Supreme Court said that since the implications of the Allahabad High Court order that allowed carbon dating of the alleged Shivling merit closer scrutiny, the implementation of the directions concerned in the order shall stand deferred till the next date.

The carbon dating of the Shivling was suspended by a bench consisting of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices PS Narasimha, and KV Viswanathan. The bench stated that the execution of the Allahabad High Courts orders directives will be postponed till the next hearing date.

Since the implications of the impugned order merit closet scrutiny, the implementation of the directions concerned in the order shall stand deferred till the next date, the Supreme Court said in its order.

The Gyanvapi mosque management committee had appealed against the Allahabad High Courts recent ruling directing ASI to conduct a scientific inquiry to establish the age of the Shivling, and the Supreme Court also served notice on the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government in this regard.

On May 12, the Allahabad High Court had ordered the authorities to determine the age of the structure claimed to be a Shivling in the Gyanvapi complex in Varanasi using modern technology.

It set aside an October 14 order of the Varanasi District Court that rejected a plea for scientific investigation, including carbon dating, of the structure found in May 2022 during a court-mandated survey of the Gyanvapi complex located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

The high court ordered authorities to ensure no harm is done to the structure, the Hindu petitioners claim is a Shivling. The mosque authorities say it is part of a fountain in the wazu khana, where ablutions are performed before namaz.

Justice Arvind Kumar Mishra passed the order on a revision petition filed by Laxmi Devi and three others challenging the Varanasi court order.

The court had obtained a report from various institutions, including the IITs in Kanpur and Roorkee and Birbal Sahni Institute of Lucknow, before ordering the authorities to determine the age of the structure.

The report says direct dating of the structure is not possible and the age can be ascertained with proxy dating of materials, which can correlate with the establishment of the lingam if there is any.

This needs a thorough study of the materials surrounding the lingam, it adds.

The report also suggests the dating of some organic materials below the surface can ascertain the age but it needs to be established that they are related to the structure.

The court considered the suggestions of Prof Javed N Malik of the Department of Earth Sciences, IIT Kanpur.

Prof Malik suggested that to understand the buried material and structure it would be essential to undertake a detailed subsurface survey through Ground Penetrating Radar (GRP). This will be helpful in identifying the remains of the ancient structures buried if any at the site, he added.

The high court directed the Varanasi district judge to proceed, in accordance with the law, on the application by the Hindu worshippers for conducting a scientific probe of the Shivling, paving the way for determining the age of the structure.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in its 52-page report had given the opinion that the age of the structure can be determined through scientific method without causing any harm to the structure. Its opinion was based on studies conducted by IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, Birbal Sahni Institute, Lucknow, and one more educational institute.

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain appearing for the revisionists argued that the district judge had passed the impugned order without any basis as it should have called for expert opinion from the ASI on whether carbon dating could be done without causing any harm.

Additional Advocate General MC Chaturvedi, assisted by Chief Standing Counsel Bipin Bihari Pandey, had appeared for the state government.

On November 4, 2022, the high court had sought the response of ASI in the matter and directed the ASI Director General to submit his opinion whether investigation of the said structure, if examined through carbon-dating, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), excavation and other methods adopted to determine its age, nature and other relevant information, is likely to damage it or a safe evaluation about its age can be done.

A suit was filed in the Varanasi District Court asserting rights to worship Maa Shringar Gauri and other deities which the petitioners said are situated inside the Gyanvapi complex.

On April 8, 2021, a Varanasi court was directed to conduct a comprehensive survey of Gyanvapi complex and during the survey the purported Shivling was found on 16 May 2022.

Demand for survey of entire Gyanvapi complex

A petition was also filed on May 16, seeking an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey of the entire premises of the Gyanvapi complex, and not only the alleged Shivling as ordered by the Allahabad High Court.

The court has fixed May 22 for the next hearing in the case.

The court has also given time till May 19 to the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee to file objections to the fresh petition filed by the Hindu side.

(With agency inputs)

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a busy global schedule over the next few days. First, the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on 20 May where he will meet US President Joe Biden on the sidelines. Then, in between a stopover in Papua New Guinea (PNG), the island strategically located north of Australia in Chinas Indo-Pacific backyard, a series of engagements in Sydney, including a bilateral with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Next month Biden will host Modi for a four-day state visit in Washington, beginning 22 June, with a black-tie banquet dinner at the White House thrown in. Its only the third state visit Biden has hosted for a foreign leader since he took office in January 2021.

What lies behind the US charm offensive? India has to be careful not to be swept off its feet. Washington needs India for three reasons: China, China and China.

The Wests break with China is existential. Economic ties are being loosened. Alternative supply chains are being set up. China will remain the worlds factory for some time to come. But the unravelling has begun.

Beijings deepening support of Russias invasion of Ukraine has added to the Wests conviction of the economic and security threat China poses to Western world order. That threat is serious enough for Washington to forgive India for shipping Russian crude to Europe as refined fuel, including diesel, thus evading sanctions.

Europe is less forgiving. This week in Brussels the European Unions foreign policy chief Joseph Borel said that India should be penalised for avoiding sanctions in this roundabout manner.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal looking on at a press conference in Brussels soon after Borels comment, minced no words in calling out Europes double standards: Look at EU Council regulations. Russian crude is substantially transformed in a third country and not treated as Russian anymore. I would urge you to look at Councils Regulation 833/2014.

Jaishankar had called out Europes hypocrisy earlier as well: Our trade with Russia is at a very small level  $12-13 billion, in comparison with European countries. I dont think people should read more into it other than the legitimate expectations of any country to increase its trade. I would urge you to look at these figures. There is a website called Russia Fossil Fuel Tracker that gives you country-by-country data of who is really importing what and I suspect that might be very, very helpful.

Washington has prosecuted the war against Russia with the same uncompromising ruthlessness that enabled it to colonise the new world, push indigenous Americans into impoverished Reservations, and use African slaves shipped across the Atlantic by European slave traders to create the worlds most powerful country.

The US has wielded its hegemonic power on behalf of the West for over a century. Americas foreign and military policy from 1950 onwards was tailored to defeat the Soviet communist threat. That mission was accomplished in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. But the West missed seeing in plain sight the rise of China.

By the time it woke up to Beijings economic, technological and military threat, the rules had changed. Russias invasion of Ukraine gave America the pretext to use Ukraine and Western weaponry to weaken Russia terminally.

The tactic has worked, at least partially. Russia has been terminally weakened. But it has given rise to an unintended consequence: an even greater threat to the West  a China-Russia axis.

One of the reasons Biden is wooing India is to persuade it to keep the Global South on the Wests side. The Wests recurring nightmare is large countries like South Africa and Brazil moving from neutrality towards closer economic ties with the China-Russia alliance.

As a leader of the Global South, the West recognises that keeping India on its side is critical. With a GDP approaching $4 trillion, its a matter of time before India overtakes Germany ($4.1 trillion) and Japan ($4.3 trillion) to emerge as the worlds third-largest economy.

Outside China, India is also the worlds biggest consumer and internet market. It has an established legal system, a vibrant democracy, and English as the primary language of business. There are few US and European companies who want to miss being part of the India story.

But Indian policymakers must be under no illusion. The West is interested in India for its utility value. When India wasnt seen as useful in the 1950s-1990s, the US treated New Delhi with indifference.

India today finds itself in a sweet spot: a pivot in the emerging triad of axes: the US-led West, China-Russia, and the Global South.

Just as the West uses India for the economic and security advantages it offers in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, so must India strategically use the West for the advantages it offers. What are these?

First, defence linkages through multilateral alliances. The I2U2 alliance between India, Israel, the UAE and the US is one example. The Quad, despite its waffling agenda, is another. The trilateral initiative with France and the UAE too holds promise.

Second, technology. China stole US technology for 30 years and reverse-engineered it. India has developed indigenous technology  from space to digitisation. It must use its relationship with the US to leverage the sharing of critical technologies. The high-level dialogue held in Washington earlier this year between India and the US on the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET) is a move in the right direction.

Third, trade. The West habitually uses international institutions like the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), apart from various tentacles of the United Nations (UN), to set global rules in its favour. In return for cooperating with the West on geopolitical pressure points, India must ensure rules governing, for example, action on climate change and free trade agreements are fairer than they have historically been.

When you deal with the West, keep your aces up your sleeve. But never hesitate to play them when needed.

The writer is an editor, author and publisher. Views expressed are personal.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
US President Joe Biden was all set to visit Australia after the G7 summit in Japan but at the last moment his trip was postponed as he needs to be in Washington this week. This was no ordinary visit. President Biden was scheduled to meet Indias PM Narendra Modi, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida and Australian PM Antony Albanese for the third Quad in-person summit. But ultimately Australia, the host of this summit, had to cancel it because Biden was rushing back home to attend to an urgent business.

The US is facing an unprecedented risk of a default crisis due to a political impasse preventing raising of the federal governments debt ceiling. If the impasse doesnt get broken and an agreement isnt reached then the US may start defaulting on its debt obligations starting June 2023.

While the issue that the US is facing definitely needed Bidens immediate attention but the geopolitics watchers are calling the cancellation of Australia visit as a sign of the USs disenchantment with Quad. But is it really so? Answer is no. This is not the first time when a Quad leader has given more importance to domestic politics over his foreign policy commitments. Remember the wild bush fires in Australia in 2020 that led Australian PM Scott Morrison to cancel his visit to not one but two Quad nations i.e. India and Japan? Even at that time, many had announced that Quad was no-more a priority for its members and it was a setback for the grouping. Fast forward to 2023 and Quad is still up and running and causing an equal amount of heartburn to the country that it aimed to contain- China.

The truth is that as long as Chinas rise and its increasingly aggressive posture will continue to poke India, the US, Australia and Japan, the Quad will stay relevant to each of their foreign policies. But does that mean Quad is only going from strength to strength? Well hardly so. Frankly speaking, Quad is indeed weakening. But the reason isnt Joe Biden cancelling his Australia visit. The reason is the USs preoccupation with the Russia-Ukraine war at the cost of its commitments in the Indo-Pacific theatre.

Since the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine last year, the United States has emerged as the largest contributor to Ukraine for fighting the war. As of January 2023, its military aid at $46.6 billion far exceeded the second biggest contribution of just $5.1 billion provided by the United Kingdom. Its overall aid had touched $112 billion in 2022 alone. The commitment shown by the US to the war has led to a perception that it is compromising on its commitment in the Indo-Pacific region. There were early attempts to bust this perception such as in the form of a piece on the US Department of Defense website. But as the war is stretching on and has assumed the shape of a war of attrition, there is nothing much the US can do about this perception. With each passing day, this belief is only getting stronger.

As much as we would like to debate over it, the truth is that perception plays an important role in International Politics. Despite the brute material reality of the world, perceptions also guide the behaviour of nations as led by their leaders because human beings operate on the basis of identity and emotions.

President Joe Bidens surprise visit to Ukraine did play a huge role in signalling to the world where the US priority actually lies. Similarly, his vow to back Ukraine no matter how long the war lasted in February 2023 also sent a message of his unwavering commitment to the theatre of Europe. In the last one year, it almost appears that Russia with an economy of just around $1.7 trillion is the principal challenger to USs hegemony and China with an economy of $17 trillion isnt even a threat. If we judge by optics, every key statement and positioning of narrative has been done to declare Russia as the ultimate bad guy. This has seriously dented the consensus that Bidens predecessor Donald Trump had built over the Indo-Pacific. After the Rebalance to Asia strategy of Obama that was pretty much still-born, Trumps Indo-Pacific strategy and revival of Quad filled a very pertinent gap. Bidens policies over the Russia-Ukraine war has undone so much of that hard work. Not to mention, they have also been able to alienate a key partner in the Indo-Pacific. India has faced a lot of criticism for not partaking in the European problem as if it was being put to some kind of a friendship test.

India has junked many old shibboleths of its own to be a part of the emerging security architecture in the Indo-Pacific. Its position in Quad is most vulnerable because it faces China directly on its long and unsettled boundary at the LAC. It needs as many friends as possible and that includes Indias time-tested friend Russia. After all, cooperating with Russia isnt a choice but a matter of compulsion for India  not to forget the dependence because of arms trade. What Bidens war has done is that it has pushed Russia even closer to Chinas embrace.

If the West historically erred in co-opting China to become a part of their liberal consensus, then this Russia-Ukraine war has proved to be another folly of not choosing which battle to fight. Europe is already paying a heavy price for that. But maybe better sense can prevail in the US and it can come back to the white-board to redraw the map of its global priorities.

The author is a PhD in International Relations from the Department of International Relations, South Asian University. Her research focuses on political economy of South Asia and regional integration. Views expressed are personal.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
ASEAN held its 42nd Summit, under the chairmanship of Indonesia last week. It was held in the quaint town of Labuan Bajo off the Sea of Flores. The island is known for tourism to visit the home of the rare Komodo dragon. Nobody wants ASEAN to become a diminishing breed like the famous dragon.

Eyes were on Indonesia as ASEAN chair within the theme ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth. Its turn comes every decade. The last was in 2011, when it switched turns with Brunei. Each time Indonesia assumes the ASEAN chair it undertakes consolidation and new initiatives. Expectations are attached to Indonesia this time too. This was Jokowis only term as Chair of ASEAN and came in his last year as President, so legacy making is anticipated.

What are the significant achievements of this summit? First, it was actually held. For the last few years ASEANs two annual summits were combined in one; this time there will be two summits, the first now and the second in September rather than November to accommodate world leaders coming to the EAS, alongside the second ASEAN summit and then proceeding to the G20 Summit in India.

Secondly Timor Leste participated as an observer in the runup to their full membership of ASEAN.

The three major problems afflicting ASEAN are Myanmar, the attitude of China to the South China Sea and the need to revive the economy in a post-pandemic phase.

On Myanmar, Indonesia undertook quiet yet innovative steps. It engaged with parties involved in Myanmar including the opposition and the ruling junta. A Thailand-led initiative at track 1.5 level, which brought together Myanmars neighbours, including India and China, held two meetings in Bangkok and New Delhi. Indonesia did not shirk from them, but participated. Indonesia is taking the practical approach to Myanmar. It emphasizes that the ASEAN 5PC is the core position and not discarded. It ensures that Myanmar is not invited to meetings chaired by Indonesia this year. However, its quiet diplomacy with Myanmar, ASEAN and other countries of the region engaged with Myanmar is welcome.

Indonesia seems clear that Myanmar is not a problem which can be wished away. Myanmar is a part of ASEAN and therefore their responsibility. Indonesia is aware that Myanmars neighbours like India, China and Bangladesh have different expectations compared to other partners of ASEAN who have a more determined expectation of what ASEAN should be doing.

With regard to China, ASEANs largest trading partner, the usual statements about the South China Sea, UNCLOS, maintaining the rules-based order and an early conclusion of the Code of Conduct emerged. There was nothing in the chairmans statement to say that something new had happened. However, ASEAN is engaging with other partners including India to increase their strategic diversity and autonomy. The ASEAN Leaders Declaration on Upholding Multilateralism remains valid but awaits action,

The ASEAN economy is expected to achieve a growth of 4.7% in 2023 and 5.0% in 2024, propelled by strong domestic consumption, net exports, and accelerated recovery in services. Indonesia came to the meeting with a positive result of a growth rate of over 5% though, other major economies in the region had more disappointing results. The Chairs statement emphasizes that ASEAN needs to have greater unity, cohesion and integration to bring the full benefits of economy to the fore.

It wants to bring forth new technologies and ideas and thus there were several parts to the Chairs statement, which refer to initiatives that ASEAN intends to take to improve their economy and competitiveness. We are determined to make Southeast Asia the centre of regional economic growth and an engine for global growth through robust cooperation, including in the food, energy, health, and finance sectors. the statement avers.

Regional Electric Vehicle Ecosystem, Regional Payment Connectivity and Promoting Local Currency Transaction, Sustainable Urbanisation and supply chains are specifically mentioned. Interestingly, there is the Jokowi stamp on the statement. There is now a fast-track rural transformation effort through ASEAN Villages Network. This is Jokowis strength in Indonesia because he comes from that background and has brought this forth as a fruitful idea.

While there is a mention of ASEANs partners it mainly focuses on renewing trade agreements with Australia, New Zealand, Canada and China. There is no mention of the review of the AITIGA with India, which is overdue and should start this year. Saudi Arabia, Spain, Panama, and Mexico are welcomed as new adherents to ASEANs foundational Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.

Indonesia is conscious that ASEAN is at a low ebb while it tries to deal with the changing international dynamics, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. Though it has an AOIP, in order to humour China, it still keeps talking about the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean separately in paragraph 29 of the statement. Indonesia proposes to hold the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum to enhance economic interaction later this year.

The Chairs statement does not avoid the fact that ASEAN needs to enhance its unity and credibility to maintain its centrality, cognizant of the need to balance pragmatism and ambition so that ASEAN remains stable and progressive while staying true to its identity in a rapidly changing world.

There is also the question of greater efficacy of ASEAN institutions and the role of the Secretary General. There is an effort to provide a more institutionalised role for the Secretary General in humanitarian assistance programs of the ASEAN. On the working methods, there is a lot of words in the statement without really saying what they are doing about it. There is a review committee, High-Level Task Force on the ASEAN Community Post-2025 Vision which is supposed to present the follow up to the vision statement for 2025 for the next two decades. It would include a review of the working methods, but other than talking about engaging with the committee satisfactorily and things like that there is no direction exposed.

The Jakarta Post in an editorial said Inertia prevails at ASEAN Summit implying the expected push from the Indonesian leadership was not forthcoming. Without institutional reform, ASEAN centrality will not be credible in the new dynamics of the Indo-Pacific.

Indonesia is putting its political heft behind ASEAN. It could achieve more provided its close friends like China, US and Australia heed its views and give it space to act with more discretion rather than march to the beat of their drummers.

The author is a former ambassador to Germany, Indonesia, Ethiopia ASEAN and the African Union. He tweets @AmbGurjitSingh. Views expressed are personal.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The trajectory of India-US ties is a little baffling. Viewed from an angle, the relationship is in the pink of health. Both the White House and 7, Lok Kalyan Marg appear determined to accentuate shared interests, intensify strategic alignment, and circumnavigate differences.

The diplomatic calendar is frightfully busy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting US President Joe Biden in Hiroshima on the sidelines of G7 summit for the rescheduled Quad leaders meeting, before heading to Washington in June. National security advisers Ajit Doval and Jake Sullivan have met multiple times over the last few days, Quad navies are participating in Malabar naval exercises in August, Quad commanders are meeting in California, the first-ever strategic trade dialogue between the two countries is taking place in the US next month. From Apple to Walmart to Cisco, top American companies are investing in India, while Indian FDI in the US has exceeded $40 billion, according to latest data.

And yet, a 360-degree view paints a different story.

Even though both nations are steadfast democracies with independent institutions in place to maintain checks and balances on political power, and a shared interest in preserving the democratic world order, the synergies in the fields of geopolitics, geoeconomics, policy, strategy, defence or commerce are not replicated in the domains of value, idea, culture, or tradition.

Here, crucial differences remain in motivations, objectives and perception of values, and these differences are increasingly becoming stark, and the prognosis worse. The core issue remains Washingtons missionary commitment to promote its brand of cultural liberalism. Along with it, the unstated agenda of maintaining the post-Cold War liberal international order and its geopolitical and ideological hegemony through tools and mechanisms such as human rights and universal religious freedom that sublimate decision-making authority from sovereign nation-states to international institutions controlled and designed by it.

Though Washington claims otherwise, this framework functions against fellow travellers, ideological adversaries, or peer competitors alike. A rising India finds that despite shared commitment over values, interests, and a similar political system, its self-determination, expression of national identity, and even sovereign authority are at risk of being undermined by Americas well-intentioned, friendly, actions that include threat of economic sanctions and championing of institutions and civil society groups within Indian shores that relentlessly hammer at the countrys religious and other faultlines.

This is backed by an intricate and multidimensional information warfare against India through mechanisms such as advocacy groups and mass media institutions that blur the line between truth, untruth, propaganda and lies. Unless Washington treads carefully, it may end up jeopardising a bilateral relationship that, according to Kurt Campbell, a key official in the Joe Biden administration, is the most important partnership in the 21st century.

The US Department of State, for instance, has just released a scathing report on the status of religious freedom and minority rights in India in language that is unusually harsh for a country that Washington considers as one of its closest strategic partners. The harsh language isnt a problem. Sanctimonious preaching is Americas moral right as the worlds top dog.

Trouble is, the 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom, an annual exercise by the IRF (International Religious Freedom), a wing of the US State Department, is mostly based on discredited data, sloppy research, dubious statistics, citation loops and fake news.

Fact-checking data journalist handles Disinfo Lab has pointed out that the report, that has been released less than a month before Modi travels to Washington for his first state visit, is based on disinformation from discredited sources that include notorious radical Islamist groups such as Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC).

The IAMC, according to reports, is headed by Rasheed Ahmed, who was executive director (2008-17) of Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA) that was accused of looting COVID funds. IMANAs director of operations Zahid Mahmood is an ex-Pakistan navy official. The IAMC has been accused in the past of maintaining links with terror outfits such as SIMI and Pakistan-based LeT.

The IRF report also sources data from Christian evangelist outfits like the Federation of Indian Christian Organization in North America (FIACONA), United Christian Forum, Open Doors USA, Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) and International Christian Concern. Disinfo Lab has done a great job of debunking the report on Twitter so I need not go into details.

These reports, that are mandated and backed by American lawmakers, are so blatantly false and utterly ridiculous that they dont even need thorough debunking. Americas top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, last year while releasing the 2021 edition had called India a country where religious freedom and the rights of religious minorities are under threat.

Comically, PEW Research Center released a major survey in 2021 involving 30000 adult Indians on issues such as religious freedom, nationalism and tolerance.

The survey found that 84 per cent of Indians say, it is very important to respect all religions and people in all six major religious groups overwhelmingly say they are very free to practice their faiths, and most say that people of other faiths also are very free to practice their own religion. In figures, 91 per cent Hindus and 89 per cent Muslims in India say, They are very free to practice their religion. Incidentally, PEW is a Washington-based, nonpartisan, American think tank.

A report that says chances of mass killings are extremely high in India, a slur that a US State Department official repeated, cannot be taken seriously. India typically reacts to these by issuing total rejection. The Ministry of External Affairs has several times in the past called these reports flawed, biased, motivated, based on misinformation and flawed understanding. That could have been the end of it. A dubious annual ritual followed by routine rejection. Yet it isnt. The repercussions go much beyond rhetorical pinpricking.

It is not the reports per se, but the implicit threats that these hegemonic exercises carry that require closer scrutiny. The US openly declares that its core foreign policy objective involves tracking religious discrimination worldwide and it reserves for itself the right and role to function as a supra-sovereign authority that may punish countries with economic sanctions if it believes that they are guilty.

The thing to note here is not that the Biden administration is unlikely to take any action against India despite these adverse reports due to unprecedented strategic convergences, shared concerns, and interests. The issue is the implicit threat that these twisted reports and dubious narratives carry, and the justification that these may provide for eventual action against India  that has been designated four times as country of particular concern  in the future when convergences may fade, and differences become greater due to a shift in Indias development curve.

If a rising India concerns the US enough for it to issue such dubious, discredited reports based on sources that have clear conflict of interests, it stands to reason that a more powerful, strategically autonomous India, the worlds most populous nation and the largest democracy, may make the US even more insecure.

Separately, the activist impulse that is woven into Americas pursuit of liberal hegemony, leads it to believe that championing the cause of inalienable rights of humans is its god given duty, and it must remain committed to this cause even if it means undermining sovereign authorities abroad. This creates the basis for Americas social engineering and interventionist policies as a legitimate instrument of statecraft.

For instance, the US state department official while discussing the 2022 IRF report on India, said, well continue to work very closely with our civil society colleagues on the ground, with courageous journalists that are working every day to document some of these abuses

This attitude is further reinforced by the choices the Biden administration has made with regards to India. Former LA mayor Eric Garcetti, the controversial figure who has been chosen by Biden as the US ambassador to India, has said multiple times in the past that he will keep human rights activism at the front and centre of his job in India.

During one of his confirmation hearings, Garcetti said on human rights situation in India he will engage directly with civil society. There are groups that are actively fighting for human rightsThey will get direct engagement from me.

True to his word, as soon as Garcetti landed in New Delhi, US embassy of India initiated a programme in partnership with IREX, an organisation supported by George Soross Open Society Foundations and Ford Foundation, among others, for teaching Indian youths to think critically.

Well may Garcetti partake bun maska in a Mumbai cafe or meet Shah Rukh Khan, his nefarious agenda is clear. While it remains to be seen how South Block tackles Garcettis activism  it has so far been guarded and cautious  the portends are worrying. America should be more careful in nurturing his critical partnership.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The recent budget by the Government of India emphasises developing a complete package for a tourist destination, and at least 50 such tourist destinations are proposed to be developed through an innovative and integrated approach immediately. This seems to be a great step in the right direction.

In this endeavour, our key focus should be to develop the respective Indian tourist centre into an up-market tourist destination and to attract tourists to stay longer and spend more, making use of tourism for social-economic development in a sustainable manner. Further, focus may also be on increasing tourism income of that particular region as well as bringing more development opportunities by incorporating the best practices across the World. Thus, the key objective is to devise a package for sustainable Tourism development in the short run with action plans and timelines.

As evidenced from various studies, the root causes of sustainable Tourism constraints generally identified in Indian tourist centres could be summarised basically under three broad areas; (a) lack of Tourism branding and marketing (b) limited infrastructure capacity, (c) lack of qualified human resources. The other issues such as inadequate public financial resources for upgrading tourism facilities, hygiene issues, weak coordination between public and private sectors, and among different departments within the public sector are either structural issues or are subsidiary to the three basic issues highlighted above.

Though India has a broad national tourism image, Indian local tourism at present lacks a unique city image, branding and slogan. This ultimately leads to lack of proper knowledge about the tourist destination resulting in slow growth of tourists. This necessitates implementation of finding target cities for propagation and promotion activities. The other inevitable component is for infrastructure investment especially in road and airport and on developing Indian tourist centres as a new transit city like Singapore where more emphasis is given on improving Mobility and Accessibility. Thankfully, the infrastructure development is very much happening in India, however, the tourist centres may need more emphasis. Tourism Human Resource Development and Management components need to focus on improving the quality of teachers in tourism higher education, developing the curriculum based on regional common standards as well as integrated with Indian standards, strengthening the relationship between higher education system and tourism industry etc.

As three key problems are identified as above with policy alternatives, we need to choose one alternative from a set of alternatives mentioned above with more focus on a key tourism issue. The objective to be focussed is on more net benefits and more output with a given level of input with effective cost assessment. In this scenario, from the three policy alternatives, we need to select the alternative which brings the most benefit to the tourism industry with a given level of amount invested.

From implementation point of view to get quick results, the policy alternative Tourism Promotion is more efficient, with less cost, high effectiveness and high administrative operability whereas the other alternatives such as Infrastructure investment and Tourism Human Resource Development and Management are either ranking comparatively inferior in all or either of the criterion. The infrastructure investment involves activities to be undertaken in the long run with long run results with high investment. Similarly, focusing uniquely on tourism human resource development and management may not provide best results in the short run.

Through implementation of the best policy alternative tourism promotion, respective state /city tourism departments could attract more tourists thereby solving the key as well as subsidiary tourism issues, which hamper the sustainable development of tourism in the region. With successful tourism promotion, the number of international tourists as also the tourism income of the region will increase. This tourism revenue generated by the local administrative state/city units could be productively used for infrastructure investment in the region, especially the development of transit cities, as also upgrading the basic road and airport infrastructure.

Further, when there is a sustainable increase of tourists in the region, it generates demand for tourism related courses, resulting in an increase in the number of practitioners in tourism-related industries. Considering the profitability of the tourism related industries, it will attract more practitioners to join the tourism industry. The practitioners will have strong motivation to learn foreign languages and update their services to earn more profits, thus the hygiene and language problems will get indirectly solved. Thus, by sustained increase in the number of tourists, the overall quality of the tourism industry could be improved. The improvement of the quality of tourism shall further promote the growth of the sector, attract more tourists, increase the length of tourists stay, as also the money spent by Tourists, thus forming a vicious circle. Thus, Tourism promotion activities could help solve to a great extent the problems we have identified in Indian local Tourism, in the short run.

Thus, the proposed 50 centres to be identified as announced in the Budget may need to integrate online and offline promotions and fully utilise an integrated strategy of going out and bringing in simultaneously, tailoring promotion schemes and apply different intermediaries for different targeted groups for comprehensive and intensive Promotion. What is the unique scenery in a particular tourist region, or what can tourists only experience in that region, is the most important selling point that the tourism department of these centres needs to look for. Lastly, establishing city branding with unique features, targeting major tourist sources for accurate promotion, and adopting comprehensive and intensive promotion are the keys to the growth of tourism as a livelihood.

The author serves as Civil Servant at Indian Ministry of Finance. Views are personal.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
A day before the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan and the UK upgraded bilateral ties to an enhanced global strategic partnership after agreeing on a landmark deal to step up defence, trade and technology cooperation.

According to The Japan Times, the so-called Hiroshima Accord will see the two sides launching new partnerships in the areas of industrial science, innovation and technology and semiconductors, including expanded cooperation in research and development and skills exchanges.

London and Tokyo are working to increase domestic chip production and strengthen supply chains, especially in light of worries that a conflict over Taiwan could disrupt the supply of semiconductors.

Taiwan currently produces more than 60 per cent of the worlds semiconductors, including over 90 per cent of the most sophisticated ones.

As global leaders in science, technology, and innovation, we will work together to maintain strategic advantage, including in emerging technologies such as AI and quantum, The Japan Times quoted Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak, as saying in the accord, noting the importance of semiconductors to critical sectors and world-changing digital technologies.

According to the report, Sunak is also said to be preparing a 1 billion ($1.25 billion) investment for Britains semiconductor industry.

Japan-UK joint drills

In terms of defence, the agreement will see London double the quantity of its military personnel participating in upcoming joint drills and confirm the arrival of a carrier strike group in the Indo-Pacific in 2025 after a maiden visit in 2021.

This comes as the two countries prepare to launch in Japan the fourth iteration of their joint Vigilant Isles military exercise series later this year. Those drills will be the biggest yet, involving around 170 British personnel.

Kishida and Sunak also expanded cybersecurity cooperation, with Fujitsu joining the UKs National Cyber Security Centers Industry 100, and the two countries piloting a new Japan Cyber Security Fellowship to develop future leaders in the sector, according to a British statement released ahead of the official signing of the deal.

Britain and Japan, which are already working together with Italy to develop a next-generation fighter aircraft under the Global Combat Air Program, also agreed to consult each other on important regional and global security issues and consider response measures.

We commit to closer consultation on security issues, to carry out an ambitious program of larger and more complex joint exercises and planning, and resolve to bring our defense and security industries closer together, the two countries noted in the accord.

London said the increased defence cooperation with Japan is designed to uphold stability in the Indo-Pacific, arguing that the security and prosperity of the region is inseparable from that of the Euro-Atlantic.

Progress on security front

Progress was also made on the security front, with the two sides committing to deepening their economic relationship to increase trade and investment, including through the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) free-trade agreement and a closer partnership to strengthen economic security.

Under the Hiroshima Accord, the two partners will also launch a set of science and technology programs, including a new strategic relationship between Imperial College London and the University of Tokyo to develop a Cleantech Innovation Hub and scale up the rapid development of green technologies.

Other agreements included a new renewable energy partnership, aimed at accelerating the deployment of clean energy in Britain, Japan and third countries, and stronger cooperation on tackling global issues such as climate change.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

With inputs from agencies
In a new wave of sanctions, the United Kingdom has placed a ban on Russian diamonds, as well as the military-industrial complex and metals, in the midst of the current Ukraine crisis.

The diamond export restriction coincides with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and would affect a sector with $4 billion in exports in 2021. The UK government declared a ban on Russian-origin copper, aluminium, and nickel imports in a statement on Thursday. In addition to these trade restrictions, the UK is planning to target an additional 86 members of Putins military-industrial complex, as well as individuals involved in crucial areas including energy, metals, and shipping, according to the statement.

The UK is continuing to work with G7 allies to target all sorts of sanctions evasion, including those who deliberately assist the Kremlin in its efforts to undercut the impact of present sanctions, it added.

While meeting with G7 leaders in Hiroshima, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will give a warning against complacency in defending our ideals and against despotic governments, according to the UK government.

The UK has imposed the strongest set of sanctions ever imposed on a substantial economy to thwart Russias war effort, it claimed.

To date we have sanctioned over 1,500 individuals and entities, freezing more than 18 billion of assets in the UK, and sanctioned over 20 billion of UK-Russia goods trade, the official statement of the UK government read.

Along with other G7 leaders, the prime minister is set to visit the A-Bomb dome site at the Hiroshima Peace Park before participating in discussions on global collaboration, the G7 reaction to the Ukraine, Indo-Pacific security policy, and nuclear non-proliferation.

He will urge the international community to stay the course on Ukraine, ensuring it has the diplomatic, military and economic support it needs, in the interests of international peace and security, the government statement said.

In his meeting with President Zelenskyy on Monday, the Prime Minister confirmed increased military assistance and emphasised the significance of long-term international support for Ukraine, particularly for the countrys future in NATO. This announcement comes after that meeting. The leaders talked about Ukraines road to a stronger political alliance and greater cooperation with G7 and NATO members.

Recently, Russia has considerably increased the number of missile attacks against Ukraine, but it also seems that Ukraine is shooting down more of Russias missiles.

Meanwhile, the United States will also unveil new sanctions to extensively restrict Russias access to goods that matter for its battlefield capabilities, a US official said on Friday ahead of a G7 summit in Japan.

The United States apparently plans to blacklist about 70 companies and organizations for selling restricted US products to Russia.

We will continue to expand export controls to make it even harder for Russia to sustain its war machine. Among other things, this involves extensively restricting categories of goods key to the battlefield, and also cutting off roughly 70 entities from Russia and third countries from receiving US exports by adding them to the Commerce blacklist, the official stated.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Officials of India and the US have intensified their discussions on co-producing jet engines, long-range artillery and infantry vehicles under the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis official state visit to the USA.

At a meeting with Indian Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane at the Pentagon, US Deputy Defence Secretary Kathleen Hicks termed the proposals to co-produce jet engines, long-range artillery and infantry vehicles under iCET unprecedented opportunities to strengthen ties between the defence sectors of the two nations.

The two officials discussed priorities for strengthening the US-India defence partnership, including increasing defence industrial cooperation and operational collaboration, Pentagon spokesperson Eric Pahon said.

Hicks underscored the importance of the US-India relationship as critical for promoting peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. She also reiterated the importance of deepening military-to-military relations between the two nations as the technology partnership grows, Pahon added.

Reiterating the USs support for Indias defence modernisation objectives, including increasing investments in Indian domestic manufacturing, Hicks and Aramane welcomed the upcoming launch of INDUS-X ahead of PM Modis visit to the United States in June.

They also highlighted its value as an opportunity to promote partnerships between the two countries defence innovation ecosystems.

Indias National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and US NSA Jake Sullivan launched iCET earlier this year.

It was done at the direction of US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who after their Tokyo meeting in May 2022 had announced to elevate and expand the strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses and academic institutions of the two countries.

A day earlier, the two officials co-chaired the 17th US-India Defence Policy Group meeting.

The dialogue advanced an ambitious agenda  including industrial cooperation, information-sharing, maritime security, and technological collaboration  that reflects the robust and comprehensive defence ties between the United States and India, told US Department of Defence spokesperson Lt Col David Herndon.

The officials exchanged views about shared priorities in the Indian Ocean Region and aligning the US-India partnership with other like-minded partnerships to sustain a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The leaders reinforced their commitment to strengthening cooperation and interoperability between the US and Indian militaries to work together in all domains and across all services, the spokesperson added.

With inputs from agencies.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Air raid sirens were heard across Ukraine early Friday, with some localities later reporting explosions and officials stating anti-aircraft forces were active in numerous districts.

From 2 a.m. (2300 GMT), the alerts were expanded to all parts of the country for nearly an hour.

However, there were no reports of strikes on infrastructure or civilian targets, nor were there any reports of injuries as the alerts were lifted in Kyiv and the central and southern areas.

Air attack warnings were in effect until early morning in western Ukraine, but only in two areas in the east and in Russian-annexed Crimea in the south.

The head of Kyivs military administration said Russian forces had sent successive waves of drones towards the capital, the 10th attack this month and the second in less than 24 hours.

This Kremlin tactic is an attempt to overwhelm our anti-aircraft forces and put psychological pressure on civilians. It wont happen! Serhiy Popko wrote on Telegram.

All air targets sent toward Kyiv were destroyed by our anti-aircraft defences.

Several regions reported anti-aircraft units in operation.

Explosions were reported in widely separated regions, including Kriviy Rih in central Ukraine and Rivne and Lutsk in the west.

Ukraines military had said on Telegram that Russian aircraft were in the air and there was a threat of strikes from hypersonic Kinzhal missiles. An earlier military statement said some airborne targets had been downed, but gave no details.

The military had warned that central regions and Kyiv were at risk from drones.

Russias Tass news agency, quoting Russian-installed officials in the Moscow-controlled area of Donetsk region, said Ukrainian forces had fired eight grad missiles into the Russian-held city of Donetsk after midnight.

There were no details of damage or casualties.

Reuters was unable to verify details of any of the reported military activity.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
In the departure statement ahead of his six-day three-nation tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that his presence at the G7 Summit in Japan is particularly meaningful as India currently holds the G20 presidency.

PM Modi said he is looking forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on the challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address those.

I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 Summit, he said, adding that it will be a pleasure to meet his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.

As he left for Japan, Modi said in a tweet, Looking forward to a healthy exchange of views on diverse global subjects. From Japan, Modi noted that he will be travelling to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea  the first ever visit by an Indian prime minister to the Pacific Island nation.

Leaving for Japan, where I will be joining the @G7 Summit in Hiroshima. Looking forward to a healthy exchange of views on diverse global subjects. https://t.co/TYYOLeHAFH  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2023

He will host on May 22 the third Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Island Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit) jointly with his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape.

I am grateful that all 14 Pacific Island Countries (PIC) have accepted the invitation to attend this important summit. FIPIC had been launched during my visit to Fiji in 2014, and I look forward to engaging with the PIC leaders on issues that bring us together, such as climate change and sustainable development, capacity building and training, health and well-being, infrastructure and economic development, he said.

Modi will also hold several bilateral meetings before travelling to Sydney in Australia.

The prime minister will have a bilateral meeting with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese and this, he said, will be an opportunity to take stock of our bilateral ties and follow up on our first India-Australia Annual Summit held in New Delhi in March.

I will also interact with Australian CEOs and business leaders and meet the Indian community in Sydney at a special event, he said.

I will be in Australia, where I will be holding talks with my friend, PM @AlboMP. This visit will further cement the India- Australia friendship. I also look forward to interacting with the vibrant Indian community and meeting top Australian CEOs.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2023

He said in a tweet, This visit will further cement the India-Australia friendship.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
In a big win for social media giants Twitter and Google, US Supreme Court on Thursday sidestepped claims that internet companies can be held accountable for the content posted on their sites, The Hill reported.

The judges debated two cases in which the families of terrorist attack victims claimed that Google and Twitter should be held accountable for aiding and abetting ISIS, which resulted in the death of their loved ones.

After the legal accusations, Google claimed that it was shielded from all of it by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, passed in 1996 to stop internet service providers from being held accountable for third-party information uploaded on their websites.

However, the court decided on Thursday that neither company had any underlying obligation to require the protections, avoiding becoming involved in the contentious Section 230 argument, according to The Hill.

In the Twitter case, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for a unanimous jury that the plaintiffs claims came far short of plausibly alleging that defendants aided and abetted the Reina attack.

The incident dates back to the time when an ISIS-linked attacker opened fire at the Reina nightclub in the Ortakoy neighbourhood of Istanbul, Turkey, on January 1, 2017, killing at least 38 people, along with Nawras Alassaf.

Hundreds of people had been enjoying New Years Day there when the incident took place. The family of Alassaf filed a lawsuit against Twitter and other tech companies, claiming they did not do enough to combat the terrorist organisation.

The incident dates back to the time when an ISIS-linked attacker opened fire at the Reina nightclub in the Ortakoy neighbourhood of Istanbul, Turkey, on January 1, 2017, killing at least 38 people, along with Nawras Alassaf. Hundreds of people had been enjoying New Years Day there when the incident took place.

The family of Alassaf filed a lawsuit against Twitter and other tech companies, claiming they did not do enough to combat the terrorist organisation.

With inputs from agencies.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Chinese President Xi Jinping outlined an ambitious plan on Friday to advance Central Asias economic ties with China to the next level while avoiding external interference at the same time. The plan includes constructing infrastructure networks and promoting trade relations.

Xi Jinping said during a speech at the China-Central Asia Summit in northwest China that China is ready to coordinate development strategies with the five Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan and make joint efforts to promote the modernization of all six countries.

The world needs a Central Asia that is stable, prosperous, harmonious, and well-connected, Xi said.

China is ready to help Central Asian countries improve their law enforcement, security, and defense capability construction, Xi said.

Chinese state media has portrayed the two-day summit in the historic Silk Road city of Xian as a success of Chinas regional diplomacy, with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan earlier promising support for Beijing and deeper bilateral cooperation.

The outpouring of support from Chinas Central Asian neighbours is anticipated to stand in stark contrast to the negative portrayal of Beijing that will be made at the weekend Group of Seven leaders summit in Hiroshima.

The public display of trust from Chinas neighbours will aid to refute American allegations that Beijing uses coercive diplomacy. While Moscows attention is still firmly fixed on the conflict in Ukraine, Xis convening of five heads of state on Chinese soil without Russian President Vladimir Putin also theoretically draws Central Asia closer to the Chinese sphere of influence.

Without mentioning war-torn Ukraine, which like the Central Asian countries was a former Soviet state, Xi said that China and Central Asian countries should strengthen their strategic mutual trust and always offer clear and strong support for one another on issues involving core interests like those involving sovereignty, independence, national dignity, and long-term development.

(With agency inputs)

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
A restaurant in China recently compelled a customer to pay 45,000 yuan (Rs 5.28 lakh) in compensation after she consumed excessive amounts of food at a buffet and packed leftovers into takeaway bags. The incident occurred at a restaurant in Guizhou province, Southwest China.

CCTV footage from the eatery revealed that the woman made five visits within a two-week period in August of the previous year, as confirmed by the restaurant manager, according to the South China Morning Post.

He stated that the customer consistently ordered more food than she could consume, secretly packing the leftovers into plastic bags under the table and placing them into her handbag. Since March of the previous year, the woman has visited the restaurant over a dozen times, reported SCMP.

During each visit, she ordered around 10,000 yuan (Rs 1.17 lakh) worth of food, which is ten times more than the average customer. The buffet was priced at 218 yuan (Rs 2,561) per person.

The restaurant owner noted that the woman ordered expensive items like sweet shrimp, salmon, and goose liver. One bill showed that she once ordered 45 servings of three sweet shrimps, 20 servings of three salmon sashimi, and an additional 140 servings of meat and dessert.

Initially, the owner suspected that the woman might be a competitive eater, similar to those seen on the internet, but was shocked to discover that she took most of the food away.

The restaurant owner claimed that they had the right to demand payment based on a displayed sign stating, Waste over 100g or takeaway needs to be paid according to the menu pricing, which was placed at the cashier desk and on every table, reported SCMP.

After facing legal threats and additional legal costs amounting to 8,000 yuan (Rs 94,017), the customer ultimately paid the compensation.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For G7 leaders meeting in Japan this week, a plethora of local delicacies are on offer. A savoury pancake that became the signature dish of Hiroshima after the city was destroyed by an US-launched atom bomb will be the centre of attraction for global leaders.

The G7 is an influential grouping of the worlds seven leading economies  Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. World leaders of the Group of Seven countries are meeting in the Japanese city of Hiroshima between May 19 to 21 for a crucial G7 Summit.

This year, the presidency of the G7 is held by Japan. The Asian giant is hosting the summit beginning with meetings in Hiroshima on Friday and participants can expect the countrys signature and famously expensive Wagyu Beef on the menu, apart from lesser-known regional delicacies.

A copy of the provisional menu, accessed by The Guardian, showed that G7 leaders will be served four official meals over two days. A working lunch on Saturday will include marinated salmon, Japanese rockfish and chicken ballotine. A lemon semifreddo served with citrus cream and sake lees will also be on the menu for world leaders.

The menu for the G7 Summit will also include delicacies that might not be suitable for everyones palate  like grilled taro root and sea urchin stuffed with natto  traditional Japanese fermented soyabeans known for their slimy texture and pungent smell. But, some of the more popular Japanese flavours like miso and edamame will also be included in the two-day menu.

Saturdays working dinner will take place at a traditional ryokan inn on the island of Miyajima and will feature several seafood dishes. A clear sea bream soup will be followed by Hiroshima beef and eel sushi, while dessert will include traditional Hiroshima sweets.

Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida, the host of the summit, has reportedly been actively involved in deciding what the menu that will be served to world leaders will include. Besides highlighting local ingredients and products, the food will also reflect Kishidas personal choices.

Okonomiyaki is expected to feature heavily on the menu as Kishida is known to be partial to the savoury pancake that became extremely popular in Hiroshima after the bombing of 1945, during the Second World War.

Initially after the bombing, the savoury pancake was made using flour that the US provided in huge quantities. As the city recovered, more and more ingredients were included in the pancake. Now, okonomiyaki is generally made with flour, cabbage, fried noodles and pork, drizzled with a sweet sauce on top.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Frances President Emmanuel Macron on Friday said that they want to further deepen bilateral cooperation following this months agreement on accelerating discussions for a joint military exercise framework with Paris hoping to push for reciprocal access agreements.

Speaking ahead of the G7 Summit to be held in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, Kishida said that the meeting can be utilised as an opportunity for both countries to develop an exceptional partnership.

A statement by the Japanese Foreign Affairs Ministry said, In light of the Japan-France Foreign and Defense Ministers Meeting (2+2) held this month, the two leaders shared the view to advance concrete cooperation in areas such as cyber and space, as well as the implementation of joint training. As for the economic field, the two leaders shared the view to strengthen cooperation in the start-up sectors, including sending 100 Japanese entrepreneurs to France over a five-year period, and on civil nuclear energy.

Both Japan and France agreed to instruct their respective militaries to make a permanent framework that would improve the administrative, legal, and political procedures to conduct joint military exercises.

The move comes after Japan announced in December its biggest military build-up since World War Two in a step away from its traditional pacifism. Japan has signed reciprocal access agreements (RAA) with Australia and the United Kingdom.

RAAs facilitate the entry of foreign personnel and equipment easier for the visiting force. Paris hopes to secure RAAs with Japan.

Macron said, I also hope that we will be able to pursue the bilateral roadmap defined together, which has now been finalised, which will allow us to make our bilateral cooperation even stronger for the years to come.

Both countries have held joint military exercises over the past few years bilaterally and even as part of a wider group.

The two leaders exchanged views on the situation in East Asia and affirmed to continue to coordinate closely in addressing issues related to China, and in dealing with North Korea, including on the nuclear and missile issues as well as the abductions issue.

With regard to addressing Russias aggression against Ukraine, the two leaders affirmed to continue severe sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine. The two leaders also concurred that they would send robustly to the world the determination of the G7 to uphold the free and open international order based on the rule of law, and demonstrate the unwavering solidarity with Ukraine at the G7 Hiroshima Summit, the Japanese Foreign Ministry added.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday left for Japan to attend the G7 Summit in Hiroshima where India has been invited as a guest country.

As part of his three-nation tour, PM Modi will also visit Papua New Guinea and Australia after attending the G7 summit.

During his visit, PM Modi is likely to have a series of bilateral meetings including with Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to unveil a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Hiroshima.

Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said on Friday that there is a plan for Quad leaders meeting in Hiroshima. The Quad meeting, which was scheduled to be held in Australia, was cancelled after US President Joe Biden deferred his visit due to the crucial debt-ceiling talks in Washington.

In his departure statement, PM Modi said his presence at the G7 Summit is particularly meaningful as India this year holds the G20 Presidency. G7 Summit will be held in Japans Hiroshima from 19-21 May.

I will leave for Hiroshima, Japan to attend the G7 Summit under the Japanese Presidency at the invitation of Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan. It will be a pleasure to meet Prime Minister Kishida again after his recent visit to India for the India  Japan Summit. My presence in this G7 Summit is particularly meaningful as India holds the G20 Presidency this year, the statement said.

I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them. I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 Summit, he added.

After concluding his visit to Japan, PM Modi will travel to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

It will be PM Modis first visit, as also the first-ever visit by any Indian Prime Minister, to Papua New Guinea.

PM Modi will jointly host the 3rd Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit) with his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape on 22 May.

FIPIC had been launched during PM Modis visit to Fiji in 2014.

Apart from the FIPIC engagements, PM Modi will also have bilateral interactions with Papua New Guinea Governor General Sir Bob Dadae, Prime Minister Marape and some of the other PIC Leaders participating in the Summit.

After his visit to Papua New Guinea, PM Modi will travel to Sydney at the invitation of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. During his visit, he will interact with Australian CEOs and business leaders. PM Modi will also interact with the Indian community at a special event in Sydney.

PM Modi said in a series of tweets that he is looking forward to productive deliberations during his visit to three countries.

Leaving for Japan, where I will be joining the @G7 Summit in Hiroshima. Looking forward to a healthy exchange of views on diverse global subjects.

After the Japan visit, will be in Papua New Guinea to take part in the FIPIC Summit, a vital forum to boost multilateral cooperation. There will be productive deliberations on subjects such as sustainable development, climate change, healthcare and more, he said.

I will be in Australia, where I will be holding talks with my friend, PM @AlboMP. This visit will further cement the India- Australia friendship. I also look forward to interacting with the vibrant Indian community and meeting top Australian CEOs, he added.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that PM Modis visit is an opportunity to engage with important partners in multilateral and bilateral formats.

PM @narendramodi embarks on a visit to Japan, Papua New Guinea & Australia. First leg of the visit takes him to Japan for the @G7 Summit. An opportunity to engage with important partners in multilateral and bilateral formats, he said in a tweet.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky at the G7 Summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

The two leaders will meet for the first time since Russia launched a war on Ukraine last year in February.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi left for Japan to attend the Group of Seven Leaders summit where he has been invited as a guest country.

Meanwhile, Zelenskys office confirmed on Friday that the President will attend the G7 Summit in person, making it his first visit to an Asian country since the war.

According to Bloomberg, Zelenskyy will fly on a US military plane to Japan after an expected stop in Saudi Arabia to attend the Arab League summit.

The two leaders are expected to hold discussions on the current situation in Ukraine and also look at ways of furthering bilateral relations.

Zelensky will arrive in Hiroshima on Saturday.

Zelenskyys letter to Modi

Last month, Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote a letter to Modi seeking humanitarian support for Ukraine. The letter was sent by Ukraines Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzapharova to Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi.

In the letter, Ukraine also sought President Zelenskyys participation in the upcoming G20 Summit under Indias Presidency in September.

Dzapharova assured that Indian students willing to study in Ukrainian medical colleges will be allowed to take the Unified State Qualification Exam in their country of domicile.

The war-torn country also suggested that helping Ukraine in its efforts to reconstruct infrastructure would act as an opportunity for Indian companies looking to invest in Ukraine.

Describing India as a global leader and a Vishwaguru, Dzapharova said, I think India is a global player. It is really a Vishwaguru of the world. We are feeling the pain by actually fighting for the values. This is about justice Rusia is questioning the very existence of my country. In our history of 1,500 years, Ukraine never attacked any country.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met in Hiroshima with the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, on the occasion of the G7 Summit scheduled for 19 to 21 May.

Both the leaders agreed to further expand industrial ties  already boosted through the GCAP  in key areas such as semiconductors. They also confirmed their commitment to promote concrete cooperation as strategic partners in the meeting.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, wants nuclear disarmament to be a major focus of discussions, and he formally started the summit at Hiroshimas Peace Memorial Park.

The visit by world leaders to a park dedicated to preserving reminders of Aug. 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, provided a striking backdrop to the start of the summit.

An estimated 140,000 people were killed in the attack, and a fast-dwindling number of now-elderly survivors have ensured that Hiroshima has become synonymous with anti-nuclear peace efforts.

G7 leaders and invited guests from several other counties are also expected to discuss how to deal with Chinas growing assertiveness and military build-up as concerns rise that it could try to seize Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict. China claims the self-governing island as its own and its ships and warplanes regularly patrol near it.

Security was tight in Hiroshima, with thousands of police deployed throughout the city. A small group of protesters was considerably outnumbered by police as they gathered Wednesday evening beside the ruins of the Atomic Peace Dome memorial, holding signs including one which read No G7 Imperialist Summit!

In a bit of duelling diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting the leaders of the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for a two-day summit in the Chinese city of Xian.

The leaders are due to discuss efforts to strengthen the global economy and address rising prices that are squeezing families and government budgets around the world, particularly in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The G7 includes Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union.

A host of other countries have been invited to the summit in hopes of strengthening ties to non-G7 countries while shoring up support for efforts like isolating Russia.

Leaders from Australia, Brazil, India, Indonesia and South Korea are among the guests. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to join by video link.

With inputs from agencies.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
A Hong Kong court dismissed a legal appeal by imprisoned pro-democracy media billionaire Jimmy Lai on Friday, admitting it had no jurisdiction over Beijings national security apparatus in the city.

Lai, the founder of the now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily, is awaiting trial for collusion with foreign forces  a violation under a security statute Beijing enacted in 2020 to crush dissent.

Despite the governments persistent protests, three tiers of Hong Kongs courts previously permitted Lai to be defended by veteran British human rights attorney Tim Owen.

However, Beijing stepped in, in December, stating that municipal leader John Lee would have the authority to prevent foreign attorneys from participating in national security proceedings.

The National Security Committee  a top-level government body answering directly to Beijing  then advised immigration authorities to withhold Owens working visa.

High Court judge Jeremy Poon  the same justice who backed Lais lawyer choice in a ruling last year  on Friday ruled the media tycoon could not contest the committee.

(Hong Kongs) courts have no jurisdiction over the work of the National Security Committee, he wrote in a decision.

The supervisory power over the (committee) is hence reserved to the Central Peoples Government exclusively.

Poons Fridays ruling underscores Beijings ability to trump Hong Kong courts, despite the citys guarantee of judicial independence separate from the mainland legal system.

Hong Kongs common law tradition, left over from British colonial rule and distinct from the mainland system, had been key to its appeal as an international legal and business hub.

But under the security law  imposed by Beijing to stamp out opposition after massive pro-democracy protests in 2019  critics say Hong Kong has seen its autonomous status and freedoms steadily eroded.

Last week, in an echo of Beijings December intervention, the citys opposition-free legislature imposed a blanket ban on foreign lawyers in national security trials.

Lais trial, originally scheduled for December, was postponed to September due to the lawyer dispute.

More than 100 media leaders globally signed a Reporters Without Borders petition this week calling for the 75-year-olds release.

The Hong Kong government condemned the petition as a wrongful attempt to interfere with the judicial proceedings.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
According to the World Health Organisation, about 337 million life years were lost in the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, when millions of people died prematurely.

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes pose an increasing danger, according to the UN health agencys annual global statistics report.

According to WHO, the most striking conclusion, based on data up to 2022, was the estimate of how many years of life Covid had taken.

The pandemic wrecked worldwide devastation and killed roughly seven million people, with the total death toll estimated to be closer to 20 million.

The WHO report lays bare how the virus itself and the broader impact of the crisis abruptly cut short the lives of millions of people.

While the WHO officially registered 5.4 million Covid deaths in 2020 and 2021, its excess mortality data shows around 14.9 million people actually likely died due to the crisis over that period.

Even more striking, perhaps, it said the statistics show that during those two years alone, Covid resulted in a loss globally of 336.8 million years that otherwise would have been lived.

Its like losing 22 years of life for every excess death, Samira Asma, WHOs assistant chief for data and analytics, told reporters ahead of the launch.

Off-track

Significant inequities underpin the distribution of Covid-19 cases and deaths, as well as access to vaccinations, the report said.

The WHO warned that the pandemic had helped throw off-track many health-related indicators that had been improving for years.

During the first two decades of the century, the world saw significant improvements in maternal and child health, with deaths falling by one-third and one-half respectively.

The incidence of infectious diseases like HIV, tuberculosis and malaria also declined significantly, as did the risk of premature death from NCDs.

Global life expectancy rose from 67 years in 2000 to 73 in 2019.

But after the pandemic hit, existing inequalities in access to high-quality health care, routine immunisations and financial protection deepened, among other things sending the long-improving trends on malaria and TB in the opposite direction.

Stark message

And while the world still enjoys health progress overall, the share of deaths caused each year by NCDs has grown, the study showed.

In 2000, around 61 per cent of global deaths annually were linked to NCDs. By 2019, almost 74 per cent were.

If this trend continues, NCDs are projected to account for about 86 per cent of the 90 million annual deaths by mid-century, WHO said in a statement.

The report sends a stark message on the threat of noncommunicable diseases, which take an immense and increasing toll, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The findings, he said, show the need for a substantial increase in investments in health and health systems to get back on track towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

NCD deaths were increasing despite a reduction in exposure to many health risks, including tobacco use, alcohol consumption and unsafe water and sanitation, WHO said.

Exposure to other risks like air pollution however remained high, it said.

The report warned in particular that the prevalence of obesity was growing with no sign of reversal.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Hyundai and Kia have reached a settlement of $200 million in relation to a class-action lawsuit connected to a series of car thefts that were inspired by a viral social media challenge on TikTok.

The social media trend known as the Kia Challenge has resulted in numerous car thefts across the country, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reporting at least 14 documented crashes and eight fatalities.

The exploits of the Kia Boyz

The thefts were carried out by a group called the Kia Boyz, who shared instructional videos on YouTube and TikTok, detailing how to bypass the security systems of Hyundai and Kia vehicles using basic tools like a USB cable.

The ease of these thefts is attributed to the lack of electronic immobilizers in many Hyundai and Kia vehicles manufactured between 2015 and 2019. This absence allows potential thieves to break into the vehicles and override the ignition system without difficulty.

In contrast, most other manufacturers included electronic immobilizers as standard features in their vehicles produced during the same period. The $200 million settlement specifically applies to approximately 9 million vehicles that lack push-button ignitions and anti-theft immobilizers.

Kia and Hyundai respond but, to no avail

In February, Hyundai and Kia took additional measures by offering free software updates. These updates aimed to extend the duration of the alarm sound from 30 seconds to one minute and require the presence of a key in the ignition switch to start the vehicle.

As part of the settlement, up to $145 million will be allocated for compensating consumers who suffered out-of-pocket losses due to stolen cars.

Jason Erb, the Chief Legal Officer at Hyundai Motor North America, expressed appreciation for the opportunity to provide support to affected owners, emphasizing that customer security remains a top priority.

While there is no nationwide data on the total number of Hyundai and Kia vehicles stolen, statistics from individual cities offer some insight into the widespread nature of the viral trend. For instance, in Milwaukee, 469 Kias and 426 Hyundais were reported stolen in 2020. These figures sharply rose the following year to 3,557 Kias and 3,406 Hyundais, as reported by NPR.

Half-hearted attempts to solve the issue

The attempts made by Hyundai and Kia to address the issue have been inconsistent. Initially, the automakers planned to charge owners a minimum of $170 for security kits to rectify the problem.

However, installation and labour costs could inflate this amount to $500. Eventually, the companies increased the reimbursement amount to individual customers to $300.

Additionally, Hyundai and Kia have been distributing wheel locks to some owners as a preventive measure against thefts. Since November 2022, the companies have provided 26,000 wheel locks, as reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Pakistan President Arif Alvi has asked former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to publicly condemn the violence that took place on 9 May and called for strict action against the miscreants responsible for attacking government buildings and military sites following the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chiefs arrest.

In an interview on Geo News Capital Talk programme, the president advocated for prosecuting miscreants responsible for the 9 May violence.

He also said that the PTI chief did not oppose General Asim Munir, the COAS of the Army.

Following Imran Khans arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case, violent protests broke out across Pakistan in which thousands of workers from the former prime ministers party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were detained.

Pakistans army said that the day will be remembered as a dark chapter in history as PTI chief supporters stormed army installations. Earlier, Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir said that planned and orchestrated tragic incidents of May 9 will never be allowed again at any cost.

No one will be allowed to disrespect our martyrs and their monuments. They are a source of inspiration and pride for the rank and file of the Armed Forces, Law Enforcement Agencies, Government officials and the people of Pakistan, Asim Munir said.

Earlier, on Wednesday, Punjab interim government gave a 24-hour ultimatum to PTI to hand over terrorists, who attacked Army installations after the arrest of Khan.

Punjab Caretaker Information Minister Aamir Mir while addressing a press conference, said: 30 to 40 terrorists who attacked Army installations including Jinnah House are present in Zaman Park.

The Punjab minister said that the agencies were able to confirm the presence of the terrorists in Zaman Park through geo-fencing.

The Islamabad High Court has granted bail to Imran Khan till 8 June in cases registered against him.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Iranian authorities hanged three individuals accused of violence against the Islamic Republics security forces amid protests sparked by Mahsa Aminis death in jail last year, according to the judiciary.

According to the judiciarys Mizan Online news website, Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi, and Saeed Yaghoubi were convicted of moharebeh, or war against God, for pulling a pistol during a rally in the central city of Isfahan, resulting in the deaths of three members of the security forces.

Protests erupted in Iran following the murder of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who had been imprisoned for allegedly violating strict womens clothing codes, on 16 September.

During the protests, which Tehran generally labelled as foreign-instigated riots, thousands of Iranians were arrested and hundreds killed including dozens of security forces.

Kazemi, Mirhashemi and Yaghoubi were arrested in November and sentenced to death in January.

They were also charged with membership of illegal groups with the intention of disrupting national security and collusion leading to crimes against internal security, Mizan said.

It noted evidence and documents in the case and the clear statements made by the accused show that the shootings carried out by these three people led to the martyrdom of three security forces.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Israeli forces reportedly opened fire against Palestinians who joined a demonstration on the besieged Gaza Strips eastern border with Israel.

Tens of thousands of Israeli nationalists marched through the Muslim quarter of Jerusalems walled Old City under heavy security on Thursday in an annual event that drew condemnation from Palestinians.

However, dozens of Palestinian protesters gathered along the perimeter fence separating Gaza and Israel, raising Palestinian flags, burning tires and Israeli flags, and throwing stones toward the heavily guarded frontier.

Israeli troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets toward protesters, hurting three people, according to local media reports. There was no immediate comment from Gazas health authorities.

The protest ended without further violence that could have threatened a flare-up. It comes days after an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire ended five days of fighting between Israel and the smaller, more radical Islamic Jihad militant group in Gaza.

The parade is the main celebration on Jerusalem Day when Israel marks its capture of Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. The event has become a show of force for Jewish nationalists and, for Palestinians, a blatant provocation meant to undermine their ties to the city.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for the Palestinian president in the occupied West Bank, said allowing the march to snake through Palestinian areas of the Old City will only lead to a rise in tension and could lead to an explosion.

In a test ahead of the parade, nearly 1,300 Jews visited Jerusalems most sensitive holy site earlier Thursday, about half the number of last year, according to Beyadenu, an activist group that promotes Jewish visits to the site. Police were seen escorting groups of Jewish visitors walking through the compound and five members of the far-right coalition government also arrived at the site, the group said.

Jordan, Israels neighbour which acts as a custodian of the Jerusalem shrine, condemned the Jewish visits there and the trajectory of the march. Egypt, the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, and the United Arab Emirates, which established ties with Israel as part of the 2020 Abraham Accords, also condemned the visits to the site.

The hilltop compound is known to Jews as the Temple Mount, home to the ancient Jewish Temples, and is the holiest site in Judaism. Palestinians revere it as the Noble Sanctuary, and it is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.

Under longstanding agreements, Jews are permitted to visit the site but not pray there. But an increase in such visits, along with scenes of some Jews quietly praying, has raised concerns among Palestinians that Israel is trying to alter the status quo  a charge Israel denies.

The competing claims to the site lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and often spill over into violence, including a 2021 war between Israel and Hamas.

FLAG MARCHES

Palestinians view the heavily policed Jerusalem Day procession as part of a broader campaign to bolster Jewish presence across the city to their detriment.

Israel, which decades ago annexed East Jerusalem in a move that has not won international recognition, regards the entire city as its capital. Palestinians want East Jerusalem, the part captured by Israel in 1967, as the capital of a future state that would include the West Bank and Gaza.

Jerusalem, with its Islamic and Christian sanctities, is the eternal capital of the State of Palestine, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement.

Palestinians organised their own flag marches across the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Palestinian Islamist-ruled Gaza on Thursday, with some processions only a few hundred metres away from the Israel-Gaza separation fence.

In Gaza, senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said the group was not interested in an escalation of conflict with Israel.

During the 2021 march, Hamas, the Islamist group that governs the blockaded coastal enclave, fired rockets into Israel that triggered an 11-day war which killed at least 250 Palestinians in Gaza and 13 people in Israel.

Last month, an Israeli police raid in the Al-Aqsa compound drew rocket fire from groups in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.

Hamas has cast itself as a defender of Jerusalems Palestinians and Muslim holy sites in recent years. But with another round of fighting between Israel and Gaza militants ending only last week, in which 34 Palestinians and an Israeli were killed, the appetite for more hostilities appeared low.

Egypt, which mediated Saturdays truce, spoke to Israeli and Palestinian factions ahead of the march in effort to reduce tensions.

With inputs from agencies.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held bilateral talks on Thursday ahead of G7 Summit in Japan. The two leaders discussed ways to work closely in addressing the increasing threat posed by China while also stressing the importance of cooperating with Beijing on shared challenges.

The Japan-US alliance is the very foundation of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific. Japan and the United States have a strong relationship not only in the area of security, we have close and strong cooperation in all areas. We very much welcome that the cooperation has evolved by leaps and bounds, Kishida said.

The world is safer and stronger when the United States and Japan stand together. pic.twitter.com/2EgZAg0KI0  President Biden (@POTUS) May 19, 2023

A statement released by the Japanese Foreign Ministry said that the two leaders also exchanged views on regional issues. They also emphasised that any attempt to thwart the status quo of the Indo-Pacific region must not be tolerated.

Kishida added, Today, Joe and I will go over what we intend to discuss at the G7 Hiroshima Summit and engage in last-minute coordination. And at the summit, I am confident that the G7 will demonstrate our unwavering will to uphold free and open international order based on the rule of law  a concept that we both share.

Recalling Kishidas trip to the US in January, President Biden said, As you said back in January when you were at the White House, I think the quote is: We face the most  one of the most complex environments in recent history  security environments. And I couldnt agree with you more.

But Im proud that the United States and Japan are facing it together. And, you know, we stand up for the shared values, including supporting the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereign territory and holding Russia accountable for its brutal aggression, he added.

The two leaders also vowed to work together toward the complete denuclearisation of North Korea as per the UN Security Council resolutions.

Japans Foreign Ministry said, The two leaders agreed to continue imposing sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine in close coordination with the G7 and other like-minded nations.

Biden and Kishida shared the recognition that US engagement in the economic order of the region is becoming increasingly important and had a discussion on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). Kishida conveyed Japans views and efforts on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The two leaders shared the importance of promoting and protecting critical technologies.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
A lawsuit against Google over medical information given to the US tech giant by a British hospital trust was dismissed on Friday. The claim was launched on behalf of 1.6 million patients.

In 2015, the Royal Free London NHS Trust handed patient data to Googles artificial intelligence business DeepMind Technologies in order to build a smartphone app that would evaluate medical records and detect acute kidney damage.

The Information Commissioners Office, Britains data protection authority, stated in 2017 that the Royal Free Hospital, which is part of the public National Health Service (NHS), mishandled patient data when it transferred it to DeepMind.

Alphabet Inc unit Google and DeepMind were sued last year by Royal Free patient Andrew Prismall on behalf of 1.6 million people for alleged misuse of private information.

The companies argued in March that the case is bound to fail as there was no prospect of establishing that all 1.6 million claimants private information was misused, or that they had any expectation of privacy in relation to the information.

Judge Heather Williams ruled on Friday that the case should not proceed, agreeing the case is bound to fail.

I conclude that each member of the claimant class does not have a realistic prospect of establishing a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of their relevant medical records, she said in a written ruling.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Meta (formerly Facebook) is preparing for another round of layoffs, as communicated by the companys President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, during a company-wide meeting, reveals a report, written using documents and other details obtained by Vox.

Also read: Tech layoffs  What does the Indian law say about severance package and notice period?

This announcement aligns with the recent statement made by Metas CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, regarding upcoming layoffs in May 2023. The leaked information reveals further details about the layoffs before the official announcement.

Third round of layoffs

As per the report, the source who leaked the documents indicates that approximately 6,000 employees will be terminated from Meta, starting from the following week. In November, the company already laid off 11,000 employees, and in March this year, Meta announced 10,000 job cuts again. With the elimination of 4,000 positions so far, there are still 6,000 employees remaining on the list who will be asked to leave in May this year.

Also read: Meta planning another round of layoffs after firing 11,000 people last year, may fire thousands again

Clegg expressed during the meeting that the third wave of layoffs will impact everyone in the business teams, including his own organizations. He acknowledged the anxiety and uncertainty surrounding the situation and praised employees for displaying resilience and professionalism.

Major layoffs scheduled for next week

The third wave is going to happen next week. That affects everybody in the biz teams, including in my organisations, Clegg said. Its just a time of great anxiety and uncertainty.  I wish I could have some easy way of providing solace or comfort. It is uncertain. And actually, its really increased my admiration for the way that everyone  notwithstanding that uncertainty  youre just displaying such resilience and professionalism, he added.

It is reported that Metas senior executives will send a note to employees soon, providing information about the start of the layoff process and which teams will be affected. Affected employees will then receive corresponding emails.

During the meeting, employees had the opportunity to ask questions and one of the most common concerns was whether future layoffs are planned.

More layoffs to come?

Metas CTO, Andrew Bosworth, stated that the company currently has no such plans and intends to continue building and growing.Bosworth acknowledged that unforeseen circumstances such as a decline in revenue or an economic downturn could impact the future.

Also read: Why Amazons 18,000 employees being laid off is just the tip of the iceberg for 2023

Details regarding severance pay for the affected employees are currently unavailable. However, Meta has compensated previously laid-off employees, and it is expected that the same will be done for the newly affected individuals.

The reasons behind the extensive layoffs include an economic downturn, slow growth, and lower revenue growth experienced by Meta. The company had over-hired in previous years to meet business needs but is now cutting jobs due to its challenges in terms of growth and revenue.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Authorities in Myanmar reported Friday that the death toll from Cyclone Mocha has risen to 145, with the bulk of the victims being Rohingya refugees, following the regions most violent cyclone in more than a decade.

On Sunday, Mocha dumped torrential rain and gusts of 195 kilometres per hour (120 miles per hour) on Myanmar and adjacent Bangladesh, destroying houses and turning streets into rivers.

The storm ripped communities apart, uprooted trees, and knocked down communications across parts of Myanmars Rakhine state.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees reside in displacement camps in the region as a result of decades of ethnic violence.

Altogether 145 local people were killed during the cyclone, a statement from Myanmars junta authorities said.

The number included four soldiers, 24 locals and 117 Bengalis, it added, using a pejorative term for the Rohingya.

Widely viewed as interlopers from Bangladesh, Rohingya are denied citizenship and access to health care in Myanmar, and require permission to travel outside of their townships.

A Rohingya village leader previously told AFP that more than 100 people were missing from his village alone following the storm.

Another leader based near the Rakhine state capital of Sittwe told AFP that at least 105 Rohingya had died around the city, with counting still ongoing.

Flights resumed

Media reports that 400 Rohingya had died were not true, the juntas statement said, adding that action would be taken against the outlets that published the figure.

The junta has arrested scores of journalists and closed outlets deemed critical of its rule since the military staged a coup that ousted an elected government more than two years ago.

Junta-backed media reported Friday that naval ships and the air force had brought in thousands of bags of rice, while thousands of electricians, firefighters and rescue workers had been deployed across Rakhine.

Normal flight service resumed at Sittwe airport on Thursday, according to the newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar.

Some international aid groups, including the United Nations World Food Programme, were working on the ground in Sittwe this week, AFP correspondents said.

A junta spokesman did not respond to questions on whether UN agencies would be granted access to displacement camps outside Sittwe that house Rohingya.

A military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017 sent hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing into neighbouring Bangladesh, with harrowing stories emerging of murder, rape and arson.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing  who was head of the army during the crackdown  has dismissed the term Rohingya as imaginary.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, officials told AFP that no one had died in the cyclone, which passed close to sprawling refugee camps that now house almost one million Rohingya.

Cyclones  the equivalent of hurricanes in the North Atlantic or typhoons in the Northwest Pacific  are a regular and deadly menace on the coast of the northern Indian Ocean where tens of millions of people live.

Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmars Irrawaddy Delta in 2008, killing at least 138,000 people.

A previous junta regime faced international criticism for its response to that disaster. It was accused of blocking emergency aid and initially refusing to grant access to humanitarian workers and supplies.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Accusing the US and South Korea of nuclear blackmail, North Korea has pledged to take action against the two countries in the wake of joint military drills.

Lately, US and South Korean forces have been staging intensified series of annual springtime exercises. These include air and sea drills involving a US aircraft carrier and heavy bombers.

Calling the exercises warmongers madness, North Korea has constantly criticised the two countries for trying to invade its territory.

A report by state media KCNA said, Their plot to crush us militarily is another clear indication that the enemy warmongers madness has reached a point where it cannot be overlooked.

The frantic nuclear war fuss among US and puppet warlike bellwethers is bound to trigger corresponding responses, it added.

Pyongyang would continue to develop its weapons programmes, KCNA said, calling it a legitimate right of a sovereign state to have more powerful means of self-defence to fend off serious situations and prospective threats.

Meanwhile, North Korea has been ramping up its defence by unveiling designs for new, smaller nuclear warheads, firing an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the US and testing what it called a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone.

This week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a military satellite station, saying successfully launching a spy satellite is an urgent requirement of the prevailing security environment.

Kim has said he prioritised a spy satellite programme as part of efforts to advance surveillance technology to improve the countrys ability to strike targets in a crisis.

The reclusive country in December conducted what it called an important final phase test for a spy satellite and said it would complete preparations for the launch by April.\

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Punjab Police on Friday secured a warrant to search Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khans Zaman Park residence, reported Geo News.

This comes after Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Bilal Saddique Kamyana claimed to have arrested six more terrorists attempting to flee from Imran Khans Zaman Park residence.

According to CCPO Kamyana four of the alleged terrorists were involved in the attack on Askari Tower while two of them were among those who ransacked the Corps Commander House Lahore, reported Geo News.

Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Bilal Saddique Kamyana said that six more terrorists were arrested fleeing ex-PM Imran Khans Zaman Park residence, taking the total arrests to 14.

According to CCPO four of the alleged terrorists were involved in the attack on Askari Tower while two of them were among those who ransacked the Corps Commander House Lahore (Jinnah House), reported ARY News.

The Punjab government on Wednesday had claimed that 30-40 terrorists were hiding inside Imran Khans residence and gave 24 hours to PTI to hand over these miscreants or face action.

On Thursday, Punjab Caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir shared that eight terrorists had been arrested while they were escaping from Lahores Zaman Park area.

The detained terrorists were already identified and are allegedly involved in the attack on the Lahore Corps Commander House on May 9, he had said.

The Punjab government decided to send a team to hold talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership before conducting the search operation at Zaman Park, reported Geo News.

Meanwhile, the negotiation team headed by Lahore Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa is expected to reach Zaman Park today after the Friday prayers for search of Imran Khans residence.

According to Punjab Interim Information Minister Amir Mir, the delegation, he said, would be led by the commissioner of Lahore. Mir elaborated that the team will set a time with Imran and then search his house in the presence of cameras.

The minister further stated that police contingents, of nearly 400 cops, would also accompany the delegation to arrest terrorists holed up there.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan raised concerned over unprecedented crackdown and current reign of terror that PTI and its supporters are being subjected to.

The mindset behind this unprecedented crackdown and current reign of terror that PTI and its supporters are being subjected to (that was not even witnessed during Zia and Musharraf martial laws) is that we Pakistanis are like a herd of sheep who can be terrorised enough to meekly bow down to this naked show of power, tweeted Imran Khan.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Pentagon on Thursday revealed that it has overcounted the value of the military aid the United States sent to Ukraine by at least $3 billion, according to a report.

According to The Hill report, citing a defense official, the Pentagon is still determining the total over-valuation but assesses it to be at least $3 billion, which effectively means that another $3 billion worth of weapons is now available to be given to Ukraine

The Wall Street Journal had first reported that the Defence Department overestimated the value of the missiles, vehicles, ammunition and other equipment it sent from US stocks to Ukraine due to an accounting error.

In a statement to The Hill, Deputy Defence press secretary Sabrina Singh confirmed the overestimation.

During our regular oversight process of presidential drawdown packages, the Department discovered inconsistencies in equipment valuation for Ukraine, The Hill quoted Singh as saying in a statement, referring to the authority that allows the administration to pull directly from its military inventory.

Singh said that, in some cases, the Pentagon used replacement costs to calculate the aid, rather than the weapons value when it was purchased.

That drove up the cost of each package  because new weaponry costs more than old weaponry  and resulted in the false assumption that more of the funding had been used.

This over-valuation has not constrained our support to Ukraine nor impacted our ability to flow capabilities to the battlefield, she added.

According to the report, the admission also means that the Biden administrations wont have to ask Congress to authorise more aid for Ukraine in the near future  an ask that some on Capitol Hill believe could strain US weapons stocks beyond what is safe for national security.

Republican lawmakers express frustration

Still, some Republican lawmakers expressed frustration Thursday at the error, including House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.).

The revelation of a three-billion-dollar accounting error discovered two months ago and only today shared with Congress is extremely problematic, to say the least, The Hill quoted the the two saying in a joint statement.

These funds could have been used for extra supplies and weapons for the upcoming counteroffensive, instead of rationing funds to last for the remainder of the fiscal year, they added.

Before this new information came to light the Pentagon had said that there was just over $2.3 billion remaining available for Presidential Drawdown Authority for Ukraine.

Now, due to this revelation, there is about $5.3 billion still available, far more than even the largest single package provided to Ukraine.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
A court will determine on Friday whether a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard suspected of leaking highly sensitive military data will be detained while awaiting trial.

Jack Teixeira is scheduled to return to federal court in Worcester, Massachusetts, where a magistrate judge will hear arguments on prosecutors plea to keep the 21-year-old locked up before giving a judgement.

Teixeira is accused of releasing sensitive military papers regarding Russias war in Ukraine and other major national security matters in a chat room on Discord, a social media network that began as a gaming hangout.

Prosecutors said in court papers filed this week that Teixeira was caught by superiors months before his April arrest taking notes on classified information or viewing intelligence not related to his job.

He was twice admonished by superiors in September and October and again observed in February viewing information that was not related to his primary duty and was related to the intelligence field, according to internal Air National Guard memos filed in court.

The revelations have raised questions about why Teixeira continued to have access to military secrets after what prosecutors described as concerning actions related to his handling of classified information.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh was questioned Thursday about why Teixeiras leaders did not take action after the concerns were raised. Singh referred to the Justice Department and Air Force investigations, and said those concerns and potential lack of response to them were areas the inquiries would examine.

Teixeira has been in jail since his arrest last month on charges stemming from the most consequential intelligence leak in years.

Magistrate Judge David Hennessy heard arguments on detention from lawyers late last month but put off an immediate decision and scheduled a second hearing for Friday. The judge has said he expects to rule Friday.

The high-profile case is being prosecuted by the Massachusetts US Attorneys office, whose leader  US Attorney Rachael Rollins  is expected to resign by the end of the day Friday after two federal watchdog agencies found she committed a slew of ethical and legal violations.

Teixeira has not yet entered a plea. His lawyers are urging the judge to release Teixeira to his fathers home, noting he didnt flee when media outlets began publishing his name shortly before his April 13 arrest. His lawyer told the judge last month that Teixeira will answer the charges and will be judged by his fellow citizens.

Teixeiras lawyers noted in court papers this week there have been many Espionage Act cases in which courts have approved release or the government did not seek to keep the person behind bars pretrial.

During last months hearing, prosecutors told the judge that Teixeira kept an arsenal of weapons before his arrest and had a history of violent and disturbing remarks.

Teixeira frequently had online discussions about violence, saying in one November message that he would kill a (expletive) ton of people if he had his way because it would be culling the weak-minded, according to prosecutors. Years earlier in high school, he was suspended when a classmate overheard him discussing Molotov cocktails and other weapons as well as racial threats, prosecutors said.

The Justice Department said Teixeira used his government computer in July to look up mass shootings and government standoffs, including the terms Ruby Ridge, Las Vegas shooting, Mandalay Bay shooting, Uvalde and Buffalo tops shooting  an apparent reference to the 2022 racist mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket.

Investigators believe Teixeira was the leader of an online private chat group on Discord called Thug Shaker Central, which drew roughly two dozen enthusiasts who talked about their favourite types of guns and shared memes and jokes. The group also held a running discussion on wars that included talk of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The leaked documents appear to detail US and NATO aid to Ukraine and US intelligence assessments regarding US allies that could strain ties with those nations. Some show real-time details from February and March of Ukraines and Russias battlefield positions and precise numbers of battlefield gear lost and newly flowing into Ukraine from its allies.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Prime Minister Modi has landed in Hiroshima ahead of the G7 Summit in Japan where he has been invited as a guest.

As part of his three-nation tour, PM Modi will also visit Papua New Guinea and Australia after attending the G7 summit.

During his visit, PM Modi is likely to have a series of bilateral meetings with various world leaders including Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

He will also unveil a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Hiroshima. Before leaving for Japan he tweeted, I will leave for Hiroshima, Japan to attend the G7 Summit under the Japanese Presidency at the invitation of Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan. It will be a pleasure to meet Prime Minister Kishida again after his recent visit to India for the India  Japan Summit. My presence in this G7 Summit is particularly meaningful as India holds the G20 Presidency this year.

During his trip, he will also meet Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who is also attending the G7 meeting.

The two leaders will meet for the first time since Russia launched a war on Ukraine last year in February.

According to Bloomberg, Zelenskyy will fly on a US military plane to Japan after an expected stop in Saudi Arabia to attend the Arab League summit.

The two leaders are expected to hold discussions on the current situation in Ukraine and also look at ways of furthering bilateral relations.

Zelensky will arrive in Hiroshima on Saturday.

I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them. I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 Summit, Modi added.

After concluding his visit to Japan, PM Modi will travel to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is expected to visit China from May 23 to 24, Beijings foreign ministry and Kremlin confirmed on Friday.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a statement, At the invitation of Premier Li Qiang of the State Council, Russian Federation Prime Minister Mishustin will pay an official visit to China from May 23 to 24.

Russian-Chinese cooperation in trade and economic spheres will be discussed, the Kremlin confirmed.

It added, Particular attention will be given to the industry, energy, transport infrastructure and agriculture.

The Kremlin also said that a number of bilateral agreements would be signed during the PMs visit.

Mishustin will also go to Beijing to address the Russian-Chinese business forum.

Russia and China have close relations, with President Xi Jinping visiting Moscow in March and saying ties were entering a new era.

And while China says it is a neutral party in the Ukraine war, it has been criticised for refusing to condemn Moscow for the invasion.

Chinese envoy Li Hui visited Kyiv this week, where he told Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and other officials that there is no panacea to resolve the crisis.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Its official, well sort of  gamers make the best UAV warriors. According to an instructor serving in Russias Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR), volunteers and mobilized soldiers who have experience playing computer games have shown exceptional aptitude in learning to operate complex drones.

The instructor, known only by his call sign, Cross, stated that gamers demonstrated remarkable progress in mastering First Person View (FPV) drones, which allow operators to control the device using a real-time video feed displayed on a monitor or video helmet.

Also read: Who is to blame for the drone attack on the Kremlin?

Rookies outsmarting veterans in a single day

Cross highlighted the fact that gamers tend to excel in flying drones, stating that while it took him about two weeks to grasp the concepts of operating an FPV drone, gamers could grasp it within a single day. Gamers fly better, its a fact, Cross was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti. He further explained that within two weeks, gamers were already flying the drones proficiently, comparing their skill level to that of experienced individuals.

Also read: Russian drones, ballistic missiles target Kyiv in fresh attack as Europe renews weapons pledges

When questioning untrained individuals who displayed exceptional flying skills, Cross would ask if they had any prior experience, to which they often responded that they had only played computer games using a joystick.

Also read: Russian drones, ballistic missiles target Kyiv in fresh attack as Europe renews weapons pledges

In two weeks they were already flying like adults, the instructor said. When an untrained person immediately starts flying very well, I always ask Have you flown somewhere before? They respond No, I just played computer games using a joystick.

Need to capitalize on the abilities of gamers

The instructor expressed his belief that recruiting gamers through social media advertising could be beneficial for military service, attracting a larger number of volunteers with a gaming background who could contribute effectively.

The instructor proposed that similar banners and videos be utilized to encourage gamers to enlist for contract service, as the military could benefit from their skills. The idea is to capitalize on the abilities of gamers who have played various simulator video games.

Also read: The US is developing drones with facial recognition software: How this could be lethal

According to former DPR security minister Andrey Pinchuk, these individuals possess a strong sense of balance and are considered highly effective in operating modern FPV kamikaze drones.

Specialists rendered useless says former DPR security minister

Former DPR security minister Andrey Pinchuk recently stated that the Ukrainian military was also actively seeking out young people who have experience and have had prolonged exposure to video games.

Pinchuk pointed out that traditional specialists struggle to comprehend how to utilize these devices effectively, rendering them useless as they remain idle in warehouses. He emphasized the need for specialized training facilities to properly train drone operators. However, Ukraine currently lacks the necessary capacity and professionals to rapidly train a significant number of UAV pilots.

According to Pinchuk, the scarcity of specialists in this field is due to the fact that it represents a new frontier in both science and military affairs.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Arab leaders will welcome Syrian President Bashar al-Assad back into the fold on Friday at a meeting in Saudi Arabia that is also scheduled to address problems in Sudan and Yemen.

Assad landed in the Red Sea beachfront city of Jeddah on Thursday for the Arab League meeting, his first since the league suspended Syria in 2011 for a savage assault on pro-democracy protesters that triggered the civil conflict.

He visited Tunisian President Kais Saied on Friday, according to Syrias official SANA news agency, starting off a series of bilateral discussions before the summit formally begins at 2:00 p.m. (1100 GMT).

This summit is very important, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said after reaching Jeddah earlier this week, adding the Syrian delegation was here to make this summit a success.

The conference in Saudi Arabia comes at a time when the worlds largest oil exporter is stretching its diplomatic muscles across the Middle East and beyond.

As Al-Riyadh newspaper proclaimed on Friday that it would be the summit of all summits, main roadways in Jeddah were lined with flags of Arab League member nations, including Syria.

The meeting comes after a frantic period of high-stakes diplomacy spurred by the kingdoms sudden reconciliation with Iran announced in March through a Chinese-brokered pact.

Saudi Arabia has now restored bilateral ties with Syria and increased its peace efforts in Yemen, where it leads a military coalition fighting the Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

Riyadh also played a leading role in evacuating civilians from Sudan when fighting erupted there last month, and it is currently hosting representatives of Sudans warring parties in a bid to hammer out a ceasefire.

Global challenges

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become, in the eyes of all observers, the peacemaker and the icon of harmony, calling for an end to differences and the elimination of conflicts, Kuwaiti writer Jawad Ahmed Bukhamseen gushed in an op-ed this week in the private Saudi newspaper Okaz.

But not every country in the region has been eager to mend ties with Assad.

Qatar said this month it would not normalise relations with Assads government but noted this would not be an obstacle to Arab League reintegration.

On Thursday, the emir of Qatar, a fierce critic of the Syrian leader, announced he would lead his countrys delegation to Jeddah.

Doha has called for accountability for war crimes in Syria, but the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, made no comment on Qatars expectations for the summit.

While Qatar and some other countries will be represented by their leaders, the president of another Gulf state, the United Arab Emirates, will be absent.

The UAEs Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has sent his brother and vice president, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, to Jeddah instead, official news agency WAM said.

Low bar

Beyond challenges facing the Middle East, the Arab League summit should also take on issues like the war in Ukraine and the global economic crisis, Khaled Manzlawiy, the blocs assistant secretary general for political affairs, wrote on Wednesday in the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

Indeed, the entire world is undergoing a perilous stage in history as the maps of international relations are redrawn, he wrote, adding that Arab unity can give the region a voice that is heard not only in the region but also across the globe.

That jibes with Saudi Arabias recent moves to diversify its global ties, deepening relations with China and coordinating with Russia on oil policy even as it maintains a close bond with the United States, its longtime security partner.

Global preoccupation with the war in Ukraine could amount to a kiss of life for the League to play its role as a coordinating station for efforts to resolve conflicts in the region, Egyptian analyst Rabha Seif Allam told AFP.

From Riyadhs perspective, a successful summit would involve concrete commitments from Syria on issues including war refugees and the captagon trade, said Torbjorn Soltvedt of the risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft.

Yet Arab League summits have more often than not been characterised by internal disagreement and indecisiveness, he added.

The bar for success will therefore be low.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
President Joe Bidens administration is considering freezing the Ukraine war for the foreseeable future instead of pushing for the countrys victory, effectively making it join the ranks of similar lengthy face-offs in the Korean peninsula, South Asia and beyond, according to a report.

According to a Politico report, three serving and one former US official said that a long-term low-intensity stand-off was currently being discussed in the White House.

Some US officials and analysts say one rough model could be the Korean War. Active fighting in that conflict ended with an armistice in 1953, but, even 70 years later, the war has not been formally declared over.

A Korea-style stoppage is certainly something thats been discussed by experts and analysts in and out of government, the Politico report quoted officials as saying.

Its plausible, because neither side would need to recognise any new borders and the only thing that would have to be agreed is to stop shooting along a set line, they added.

A frozen conflict  in which fighting pauses but neither side is declared the victor nor do they agree that the war is officially over  also could be a politically palatable long-term result for the United States and other countries backing Ukraine.

The benefits for the US would be that a frozen conflict would be less costly for Western nations and draw less public attention, and consequently less pressure to assist Kyiv.

Ukraine would still be allied with Washington and continue switching its military to NATO standards, as it seeks to join the bloc someday.

In January, the Korean scenario for Ukraine gained media attention after Aleksey Danilov, the secretary of the nations national security council, asserted in an interview that Moscow had dispatched a senior official to push it in Europe.

However, the Kremlin dismissed these reports saying that Danilov may have mistaken a Ukrainian politician surnamed Kazak for his namesake in the Russian government, whom he identified as the messenger.

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, argued that Danilovs words were meant for domestic consumption, so that the Ukrainian government could measure the public reaction to it.

The Russian official mused that being split is the best-case scenario, for Kiev, under the circumstances.

We are planning for the long term, whether it looks frozen or thawed, said a US official familiar with the Biden administrations discussions on Ukraine.

The official said such planning is a growing focus of the administration, whereas in past months it was all about the urgent and short-term.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The US administration has signalled that it will allow European allies to export of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, sources familiar with the matter told CNN, as the White House comes under increasing pressure from members of Congress and allies to help Ukraine procure the planes amid intensifying Russian aerial attacks.

The US has been reluctant to send any of its own fleet of F-16s to Ukraine. However, CNN reported on Thursday evening that the White House has indicated to allies that it will not block any moves they may have to send their own aircraft to Ukraine.

National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby declined to comment specifically on the possibility of the US sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine but said broadly that the US has been forward-looking about future capabilities and needs. F-16s are not on the agenda at the G7, he said, though the aircraft could certainly come up on the sidelines of the summit.

A fresh push by Britain and the Netherlands to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter planes has exposed the latest fault line among Western allies who have wrangled repeatedly over sending powerful weapons of war, once again pitting the reluctant United States against some of its closest European partners, New York Times reported.

Leaders of the UK and Germany on Wednesday also came in support of Ukraines demand, saying that the U.S. needs to make a decision on warplanes for Ukraine as the war with Russia drags on.

Replying to the question asked by reports about why top NATO allies have not sent Ukraine F-16s, instead opting to allow allies like Poland to send Soviet era-MiG-29 fighter jets, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said ultimately the decision is up to the White House.

Earlier this week, Frances President Emmanuel Macron said that his country had opened the door to training Ukrainian fighter pilots, even if he excluded sending any warplanes to Kyiv.

Macron spoke a day after Ukraines leader Volodymyr Zelensky visited Paris on the second such trip since Russia invaded its pro-Western neighbour in February last year.

We have opened the door to training pilots, and this with several other European countries who are also ready. I think discussions are underway with the Americans, he said in a televised interview with the TF1 broadcaster.

With inputs from agencies.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel in person to Japan for the Group of Seven (G7) summit, according to a CNN report, citing an official familiar with the planning.

Zelenskyys scheduled trip to Asia will be his first since Moscow began its all-out assault on Ukraine in February.

According to Bloomberg, Zelenskyy will fly on a US military plane to Japan after an expected stop in Saudi Arabia to attend the Arab League summit, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.

Japans Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday had said Zelenskyy would participate virtually in a Sunday session of the G7, after being invited by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida earlier this year.

G7 member countries  Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States  include Ukraines largest backers.

Kyiv is still looking to its Western allies for military support as it prepares for a highly anticipated counteroffensive.

The war in Ukraine is at the top of agenda for the three-day summit, where leaders are expected to make a strong statement of unity in support of Ukraine and unveil new measures to choke off Russias ability to fund and supply its war.

Zelenskyys expected travel to Asia follows a four-country European tour, where he welcomed additional pledges of military support for Kyivs defense.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
To extensively restrict Russias access to goods that matter for its battlefield capabilities, the US and the rest of the Group of Seven major economies will unveil new sanctions and export controls targeting Russia over its war against Ukraine, a US official said ahead of a G7 summit in Japan.

Although the US has a number of G7-related priorities this year, the major one will continue to be demonstrating a united front in support of Ukraine, the official said.

We have taken an array of actions to hold Russia accountable. In coordination with our G7 partners, weve put in place the largest set of sanctions and export control actions ever imposed on a major economy, ANI quoted the US administration official as saying.

G7 leaders are gathering in Hiroshima on Friday with the invasion of Ukraine, now in its second year, high on the agenda.

The United States apparently plans to blacklist about 70 companies and organisations for selling restricted US products to Russia.

We will continue to expand export controls to make it even harder for Russia to sustain its war machine. Among other things, this involves extensively restricting categories of goods key to the battlefield, and also cutting off roughly 70 entities from Russia and third countries from receiving US exports by adding them to the Commerce blacklist, the official stated.

More than 300 fresh sanctions will also be revealed against individuals, entities, vessels, and aircraft by the US.

These will go after financial facilitators, as well as future energy and extractive capabilities of Russia and other actors helping to support the war. This will include designations across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, the US official added.

Additionally, the US will extend the scope of its restrictions to those Russian economic sectors that are crucial to the countrys military-industrial complex and enact new sanctions to bar Russia from using its services.

As part of all of these efforts, you will see us take significant steps to align our actions even more closely with the ones imposed by the EU and the UK to ensure that, as the G7, we remain as coordinated as possible in our response to their bru-  to Russias brutal actions, the official said.

Id also remind folks that it was just a little less than a year ago, at the G7 Summit in Elmau last June, that leaders agreed to pursue a policy to cap the price on Russian oil and petroleum products. And over the last six months, since that policy was implemented under the guidance the leaders provided in Elmau, we successfully implemented this policy, the US official said.

The official further added by saying that the G7 members are preparing to implement new sanctions and export controls.

I wont get into the specifics of what partners are doing, but the United States will be rolling out a substantial package of our own, said the official.

The United States and its allies, including the European Union and Britain, have continued to ratchet up sanctions and export-control pressure on Russia since the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Thousands of targets hit with sanctions by Washington so far have included Russian President Vladimir Putin, the financial sector and oligarchs.

The Russia-Ukraine war that started on 24 February has taken numerous lives and the war continues to escalate between the two nations even now.

President Biden and the other leaders are here in Hiroshima to participate in the G7.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is the host of this years G7 Summit, will be welcoming world leaders to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (Genbaku Dome)- the only structure left standing in the area, depicting the aftermath where the worlds first atomic bomb was dropped on the city on 6 August, 1945.

The leaders of the Group of seven countries and leaders of the eight other invited countries, including India, are too expected to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

Hiroshima was the first military target of a nuclear weapon in human history. This occurred on 6 August, 1945, in the Pacific theatre during World War II, when the United States Army Air Forces dropped the atomic bomb Little Boy on the city. Most of Hiroshima was destroyed, and by the end of the year between 90,000 and 166,000 had died as a result of the blast, radiation exposure and its effects. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) serves as a memorial of the bombing.

The G7 Summit is an annual international forum for the leaders of the G7 member states of France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada (in order of rotating presidency), and the European Union (EU).

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The United States has reached a modest trade agreement with Taiwan, signalling Washingtons support for the democratic island in the face of unrelenting intimidation from China.

The first agreement under the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade is expected to set the stage for a bigger deal later  a robust and high-standard trade agreement,

Talking about the development, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that the initiative announced Thursday will, among other things, cut red tape at customs and reduce waiting times for U.S. businesses bringing products to Taiwan.

It also commits the U.S. and Taiwan to adopt measures to combat bribery and other forms of corruption and to encourage more trade involving small- and medium-sized businesses, he said.

The agreement does not require approval from the U.S. Congress. But there is broad bipartisan support in Washington for Taiwan, an island of 23 million that split from China when the communists took over the mainland in 1949 and has since developed into a prosperous democracy. Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade Chinese province and has long demanded that it reunify.

Relations between the United States and China  the worlds two biggest economies  have deteriorated in recent years. The United States accuses China of predatory economic practices and has criticized Beijings crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong and the Muslim region of Xinjiang and its bullying of neighbours, including Taiwan, over territorial claims.

Beijing is likely to complain about this announcement, but its words will fall on deaf ears in Washington as negotiations continue with Taiwan, said Wendy Cutler, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former U.S. trade negotiator.

Taiwan is the worlds leading producer of computer chips. The United States last year bought $105 billion worth of goods and services from Taiwan, making it the 10th-biggest source of U.S. imports. American exports to Taiwan came to nearly $55 billion, making it Americas 15th-biggest foreign market.

With inputs from agencies.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
A US military expert has suggested building artificial reefs to thwart a Chinese amphibious landing on Taiwanese beaches and complicate its naval surface and underwater operations near its shores.

The low-cost, long-lasting buildings have also been shown to offer other economic and ecological advantages, including the promotion of tourism and the attraction and preservation of marine life.

The idea depicts a terrible scenario in which Chinese ships capsize in the midst of fierce naval combat, requiring the release of Chinese resources. As a result, its actions are slowed considerably, giving the Taiwanese defenders multiple opportunities to annoy the attackers.

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Washington will provide significant military aid to Taiwan aimed at deterring China.

Austin said he was pleased that the United States will soon provide significant additional security assistance to Taiwan through (the) presidential drawdown authority (PDA) that Congress authorized last year.

Washington could use the PDA to arm Taiwan just like it has been arming Ukraine.

According to Scott Savitz, a senior engineer at the RAND Corporation, artificial reefs would impede Chinas primary tool to rapidly move vast quantities of personnel and equipment across a 100 mile Strait and onto the island with seaborne forces. Aerial transport cannot lift military hardware and infrastructures incredibly heavy mass and volume.

Taiwan has only a few potential landing sites, like beaches and the required water depth to support an amphibious assault and landing craft. Thus non-explosive physical barriers can be as effective as naval mines, explosive aerial and maritime drones, and gun and rocket artillery in stalling an incoming naval armada.

The USS Guardian had to be decommissioned in 2013 after it became stranded on a coral in the Philippines. Then, in 2015, a US Military Sealift Command warship became caught on a reef close to Okinawa for more than a week.

Large cargo ships have hit reefs twice in the past year, first in Jordanian seas in September 2022 and once east of Belize in March 2023.

Furthermore, if China tries to blast the reefs, pieces of the structure may fall off and present risks in other areas. Not to mention using extra ammo and resources that could be put to better use elsewhere, particularly in the early stages of a fight.

Artificial reefs will make it extremely difficult and time-consuming for Chinese amphibious or naval operations to get close to Taiwanese coastlines. However, the proposal only solves a portion of Taiwans military defensive problems because an amphibious landing would not be Chinas only option.

During a Taiwan operation, it would be carried out in simultaneously to weaken the Republic of China Navy (RoCN) and RoC Air Force by using aerial, land-based, and naval missilery and attacking ground-based targets such ammunition dumps, command and control centres, and air defence radars.

Given their enormous advantage in numbers, technology, logistics, and training, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to claim that the PLA would accomplish these responsibilities basically without any difficulty.

Along with land-based fighter-bombers like the J-11, J-16, J-10, J-20, Su-30 MKK, Su-35, and H-6K missile-carrying strategic bombers and jets like the J-15 from aircraft carriers like the Liaoning and Shandong, Taiwan would be surrounded by hundreds of ships, both civilian maritime and naval warships.

Reconnaissance-strike and ISR drones like the TB-001, BZK-005, and CH-7 will support them by continuously providing targeting information on Taiwanese ground and naval targets. If no political agreement is achieved and the battle continues, the island will eventually lose its military equipment since it lacks any strategic depth to retire into.

Therefore, an amphibious landing is only one part of a Chinese attack on Taiwan, and even if it is stopped, the loss of the rest of the Chinese troops will be enough to give the islands government and populace a fait accompli.

Furthermore, the reefs would only protect Unmanned Underwater Vessels (UUV) nest beaches and bigger amphibious landing boats, not small squads of marine special operation frogmen from reaching the island from one of Taiwans many rocky shores.

These special forces are capable of carrying out a variety of tasks, such as taking down important command centres and air defence radars or covertly giving Chinese bombers and cruisers precise targeting information.

In other words, it wouldnt make sense for Taiwans military defence to be successful in only one area (preventing a Chinese amphibious landing) while the rest of its military system fails.

Taiwan will need to completely dismantle its air and naval forces in order to save its ground forces for the arrival of American or Japanese military help if it wants to resist and defeat any Chinese military incursion.

Instead, later arrival of external military assistance would speed the Taiwanese militarys eventual overthrow. Having warships and aircraft carriers in the Taiwan Strait alongside the RoC military is the only way to have a realistic chance of repelling a Chinese invasion.

However, maintaining a permanent presence in the Straits carries its own set of political concerns because doing so could incite the Chinese to attack because they might regard it as a direct threat to their desire for reunification.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
In a strong message to Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that India wants normal and neighbourly relations but put the onus on the administration in Islamabad to create a conducive environment free from terrorism and to take necessary steps.

In an interview with Nikkei Asia, PM Modi said India wants normal bilateral ties with Pakistan, adding that it is incumbent upon them to create a conducive environment free from terrorism and hostilities.

The onus is on Pakistan to take necessary steps in this regard, he said.

India has repeatedly raised its concern over Pakistans support to cross-border terrorism and has asserted that terror and talks cannot go together, he added.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto had attended the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting in Goa earlier this month but there were no bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

PM Modis interview to Nikkei Asia, which is part of Nikkei, one of Asias largest independent business media groups, has come ahead of G7 Summit in Japan, happening at a time of increasing global challenges.

During the interview, the Prime Minister also answered queries related to ties with China and spoke about Indias efforts to amplify the voices and concerns of the Global South.

India is fully prepared and committed to protect its sovereignty and dignity, PM Modi said.

A standoff erupted with China in Eastern Ladakh in the summer of 2020 following actions of the Chinese army and while talks have led to disengagement from some areas, some friction points remain.

Peace and tranquillity in the border areas are essential for normal bilateral ties with China. The future development of India-China relationship can only be based on mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests, PM Modi said, noting that normalizing the ties would benefit the wider region and the world.

PM Modi on Friday reached Hiroshima in Japan to attend the G7 Summit. India has been invited as a guest country for the Summit. India has been participating in the G7 Summit since 2003.

Asked whether India can play a mediator role in Russia-Ukraine conflict, PM Modi said his countrys position on the Ukraine conflict is clear and unwavering.

India stands on the side of peace and will remain firmly there. We are committed to supporting those who face challenges in meeting their basic needs, especially in the face of rising costs of food, fuel, and fertilizers. We maintain communication with both Russia and Ukraine, PM Modi said, adding that cooperation and collaboration should define our times, not conflict.

PM Modi said that Japan and Indias shared values of democracy, freedom and the rule of law have naturally brought them closer.

We now see a growing convergence in our political, strategic, security, and economic interests, he said in the interview, which was conducted partly in writing and partly in person.

PM Modi also vowed to amplify the voices and concerns of the Global South nations at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, as he strives to foster synergy with the broader Group of 20. India holds G20 presidency and will host the summit later this year.

PM Modi told Nikkei Asia that he was looking forward to discussing global changes and challenges in areas such as energy, digital technology and supply chains.

I will emphasize Indias role as a reliable partner in addressing these challenges, he said, adding that Indias experience would resonate strongly at the meeting.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Prime Minister Modi has arrived in Japan to attend the G7 Summit in Hiroshima where he has been invited as a guest.

In an exclusive interview with Nikkei Asia, PM Modi said that he will amplify the voices and concerns of the Global South at the Group of Seven Summit.

Modi said that at the G7 Summit, he will discuss global changes and challenges in areas like energy and digital technology.

I will emphasize Indias role as a reliable partner in addressing these challenges, the prime minister said.

He added that Indias role on the global stage will resonate strongly at the meeting.

India is not a member of the Group of Seven but has been invited by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida who has time and again expressed his own conviction in strengthening ties with the Global South.

We now see a growing convergence in our political, strategic, security, and economic interests, Modi said.

Although India has maintained a nuclear stance on Russias invasion of Ukraine, it has repeatedly called for peace and told Russias Putin that todays era is not an era of war.

When asked if India will act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, he said, India stands on the side of peace, and will remain firmly there. We are committed to supporting those who face challenges in meeting their basic needs, especially in the face of rising costs of food, fuel, and fertilizers. We maintain communication with both Russia and Ukraine.

Cooperation and collaboration should define our times, not conflict, he added.

The Group of Seven Nations has tried to ally with India. However, the country has always rejected easy geopolitical categorisation.

Modi said, As a member of the Global South, our interest in any plurilateral setting is to serve as a bridge between diverse voices and contribute to a constructive and positive agenda.

As India pushes its bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council (UNSC), Prime Minister Modi says that there are limitations on the part of global institutions that are confined to outdated mindsets.

He said, These deficiencies have become evident in addressing contemporary challenges such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, terrorism, and financial crises.

The credibility of the UN Security Council and its decision-making process will always be questioned if it continues to deny representation on a permanent basis to the worlds largest democracy, as well as entire continents like Africa and Latin America, he added.

Lastly, he also touched upon Indias relationship with its neighbours, China and Pakistan. India is fully prepared and committed to protect its sovereignty and dignity, Modi said.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,

India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
OpenAI has introduced its official iOS app, enabling users to conveniently access their popular AI chatbot on iPhone. The app is free to download and use, and it synchronizes chat history with the web version. Notably, the iOS app also supports voice input, powered by OpenAIs open-source speech recognition model called Whisper.

ChatGPT on iOS live in the US and rolling out to other countries soon!https://t.co/iBvLTC2RNO  Sam Altman (@sama) May 18, 2023

The ChatGPT app allows users to synchronize their chat history across different devices. It also includes the integration of Whisper, an open-source speech recognition system, which enables voice input.

ChatGPT Plus subscribers on iOS gain exclusive privileges, including access to the enhanced capabilities of GPT-4, early access to the latest features, and quicker response times. The ChatGPT app provides instant solutions, customized advice, artistic inspiration, professional feedback, and educational opportunities.

You can access reliable information, seek support, discover inspiration, enhance productivity, and learn new topics, all in one app.

Availability

The ChatGPT app for iOS is ready to download in the App store in the United States, and more countries will have it soon, said the company. Furthermore, the company has confirmed that an Android version of the ChatGPT app will be released soon.

Announcing the iOS app, OpenAI said:
ISLAMABAD, May 18 (Xinhua) --The China-Central Asia Summit is held on Thursday and Friday in northwest China's Xi'an, the ancient Silk Road's starting point.

A Pakistani expert believes that China will embrace the summit as an opportunity and work with the five Central Asian countries to push for more cooperation.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
Motorola Edge 40 India Price Revealed: Android Phone With 144Hz 6.55-inch OLED Screen And Dimensity 8020 SoC News oi -Alap Naik Desai

Motorola will soon launch the Motorola Edge 40 in India. The smartphone features a 144Hz OLED display and packs 5G-enabled MediaTek Dimensity 8020 SoC, 8GB RAM, and a lot more.

The Motorola Edge series is about to welcome the Motorola Edge 40. It will be the first smartphone in the company's latest flagship series to debut in India. The upcoming Motorola smartphone's sale date and price have been leaked, presumably by accident.

Motorola Edge 40 India Launch Date And Price Leaks Via Flipkart Banner

According to a screenshot of the Flipkart banner shared by a Twitter user, the Moto Edge 40 will have an effective price of 27,999. The price is inclusive of all offers and valid only for pre-order customers.

Simply put, the Motorola Edge 40 will be available for 27,999 for a limited number of customers who pre-order the smartphone via Flipkart. The price should increase substantially on the actual launch date or when the phone will be available via open sale.

Speaking of availability, the Motorola Edge 40 will be available for pre-order starting from May 23, 2023. The advertisement banner on Flipkart indicated that customers who buy the Motorola smartphone will get 2,000 off as an Exchange bonus.

There is also an option to bundle a screen replacement package for 9,500. It is not clear if pre-orders will include this package for free or at a discounted price.

Motorola Edge 40 India Specifications, Features

The Motorola Edge 40 will sell primarily on Flipkart in India. Motorola could offer the smartphone via its Indian e-shop as well.

The microsite for the Motorola Edge 40 and the promo banner on Flipkart confirm the India variant will launch with 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Motorola has highlighted the key specifications and features of the India variant of the smartphone on Flipkart.

The Motorola Edge 40 features a 6.55-inch Full HD+ OLED display with curved edges. The 1080p display has a refresh rate of up to 144Hz and a peak brightness of 1200 nits.

Motorola has embedded the MediaTek Dimensity 8020 SoC inside the Motorola Edge 40, which is a capable, 5G-enabled chipset. As mentioned above, the smartphone will have 8GB RAM and 256GB of internal storage.

The Motorola Edge 40 has a dual-camera setup on the back, comprising a 50MP primary camera with support for Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and an f/1.4 aperture. There's a 13MP ultra-wide-angle camera on the back that can also shoot macro images. The Motorola smartphone features a 32MP front-facing camera for selfies, video calls, and face unlock. It also has an in-display fingerprint scanner.

The promotional banner claims the Motorola Edge 40 is the slimmest 5G smartphone worldwide. Its international variant that launched this month packs a 4400mAh battery with support for 68W TurboPower wired fast charging and 15W wireless charging.

Motorola has secured an IP68 rating for the Motorola Edge 40, which makes it resistant to water splashes and dust. The smartphone boots Android 13-based MyUX 5.

The Motorola Edge 40 will arrive in India in three color options and two finishes. The model with a vegan leather back will be available in Nebula Green and Eclipse Black. The Lunar Blue color option will be available in a PMMA Acrylic finish.

Best Mobiles in India
TikTok Banned In Montana: May Set A National Precedent Over Social And Security Impact Of Popular Video App News oi -Alap Naik Desai

TikTok has now been banned in the US state of Montana. The bill has been signed into law and it may set the precedent for the expulsion of the popular video app from America.

Montana became the first US state to blanket ban TikTok. The law is set to take effect next year and could become the launchpad for the legislature to do away with the Chinese-owned platform owing to its social and security impact on the country.

TikTok To Challenge Ban In Montana

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill that effectively prohibits the use of TikTok in the state of Montana. "TikTok may not operate within the territorial jurisdiction of Montana," said a copy of the law on the state's official website.

The ban makes it a violation each time "a user accesses TikTok, is offered the ability to access TikTok, or is offered the ability to download TikTok." Each violation is punishable by a $10,000 fine every day it takes place.

Simply put, not just TikTok users but even the platforms that ensure the availability of the app as well as its services, are liable for a penalty. Specifically speaking, Apple and Google will have to remove TikTok from their app stores, or else these companies will face possible daily fines.

TikTok has already voiced its concern and claimed the ban infringes on the fundamental rights of the citizens of Montana. "Governor Gianforte has signed a bill that infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana by unlawfully banning TikTok," said a spokeswoman for the company.

TikTok has categorically said saying that the ban's constitutionality will be decided by the courts. In other words, the company that owns and operates TikTok will challenge the law using legal recourse.

TikTok Increasingly Facing Scrutiny In America And Europe, Already Banned In India

The ban on TikTok has not been welcomed by quite a few users as well as some organizations in the state of Montana. However, the law has once again highlighted the growing concerns about TikTok.

Many governments in the Western world have already banned the app's use on government devices. United States, Canada, and several countries in Europe may not have completely banned the app in their countries but have prohibited its officials and employees from using the app.

TikTok has faced a lot of scrutiny in the recent past. It has been accused of spying for the Chinese government. Needless to say, TikTok has strongly denied these allegations.

Incidentally, the governor of Montana has said that he signed the ban in order to "protect Montanans' personal and private data from the Chinese Communist Party."

Best Mobiles in India

Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications
Italian destroyer will strengthen the security of the Polish coast

Republic of Poland - Ministry of National Defence

17.05.2023

"I am greatly pleased with the Italian ministry's decision to have an Italian missile destroyer with powerful anti-aircraft and anti-missile weaponry arrive in Poland soon, which will strengthen the air defense of the Polish coast. In just a few days it will be in Poland" - Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said after the conclusion of talks with Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto.

On Wednesday, May 17, Deputy Prime Minister M. Blaszczak paid a visit to Italy, where he met with Guido Crosetto, Minister of Defense of the Italian Republic.

"We are in fact working very closely with the Italian partner. Italian soldiers in Latvia are serving side by side with Polish soldiers as part of NATO's eFP. Polish soldiers within the EU program are serving on Sicily, so this cooperation is excellent. Last year, Italian F-35s were in Poland, and this year we can expect that as well. This is the dimension of our cooperation,"

- Mariusz Blaszczak, Minister of National Defense, said after a meeting with the head of the Italian Defense Ministry.

The issues of the ministers' bilateral talks included military relations, including matter of the Polish Armed Forces' modernization, and the current security situation in the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and assistance to that country. The defense ministry heads also discussed the agenda for the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius.

"We also talked of the fact that the AW-149s coming from Swidnik will already be on the equipment of the Polish Armed Forces as early as this year. This is also the result of our joint talks"

- the head of the Polish Defense Ministry stated

During his visit to the Vatican, the head of the Ministry of Defense laid flowers at the tomb of St. John Paul II. The Polish delegation took part in a Holy Mass for peace in the world, which was celebrated in the Polish Chapel in St. Peter's Basilica. The head of the Ministry of Defense also met with Polish scouts.

***

Poland and Italy have been cooperating on many levels and in military areas for many years. Both countries mutually deploy their soldiers to serve in NATO structures deployed in Poland and Italy. Polish and Italian soldiers interact within the framework of the NATO battalion battle group in Latvia, as well as on the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon.

The Polish Armed Forces are deploying a military contingent operating in the Mediterranean Sea, located on Sicily, as part of the EUNAVFOR MED IRINI military crisis management operation. The mission involves the prevention of illegal arms and human trafficking, which is one of the elements of EU border protection.

Polish-Italian cooperation is also developing in the area of arms industries and in the framework of PESCO projects.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






May 18, 2023

Transcript

Sabrina Singh, Deputy Press Secretary, Holds a Press Briefing

Sabrina Singh, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary

DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SABRINA SINGH: OK. Hi, everyone. good afternoon. I have a few items to pass along at the top, and then I'd be happy to take your questions.

So first, on Sunday, Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen Hicks departs on travel to Alaska to visit Eielson Air Force Base, Fort Wainwright and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. At each installation, the deputy secretary will hold round-tables with servicemembers to discuss quality-of-life issues, access to mental healthcare and suicide prevention efforts. She will also meet with senior leaders and tour housing, barracks, childcare, commissaries, healthcare and recreational facilities to see firsthand how the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force are working to improve quality of life and making sure that we are taking care of our people serving in the Arctic.

The deputy secretary will also visit two Army cold-weather research facilities in Fairbanks and the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies in Anchorage to learn more about the effects of climate change on military readiness and research programs focused on improving resilience in the Arctic.

Another item: On May 26th, Secretary Austin will deliver the commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy's 2023 Commencement Ceremony in Annapolis. If you would like to attend this event, please contact the Naval Academy Public Affairs. This event will also be live-streamed on defense.gov.

And switching gears, last item here: Marine Corps Exercise Burmese Chase '23 is ongoing now in North Carolina. Burmese Chase is a long-standing annual exercise conducted between the Marine Corps and allied partners to increase readiness and interoperability, while employing indirect fire and air strikes. This year's exercise is being held at Camp Lejeune and includes participants from the Marine Corp Second Air-Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, also known as ANGLICO and forces from France, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, the U.K. and Sweden. There will be a media day on May 24th, so if you're interested, please contact Marine Corps Public Affairs for additional details.

And with that, I'd be happy to take your questions. I don't see we have A.P. here today, so yeah, go ahead.

Q: Thank you.

MS. SINGH: Yeah.

Q: The first on -- on the Teixeira case. So there's a -- there's a paper trail showing that Jack Teixeira received multiple warnings about abusing his access to classified info. While there is an investigation into this ongoing, more generally, is it reasonable, in the opinion of DOD, for anyone to maintain access to their clearance under those circumstances?

MS. SINGH: I'm sorry, repeat your question from the top...

Q: So...

MS. SINGH: ... that he still maintains access?

Q: Well, he maintained his access, despite multiple warnings.

MS. SINGH: OK, because he doesn't maintain his access currently right now.

Q: Right, yeah, sure.

MS. SINGH: So again, as you mentioned right at the top, this is an ongoing investigation not just by the Department of Justice, but the Air Force has also launched their own internal investigation, so that is what we're waiting for. That's exactly what this investigation will uncover as you mentioned, there were reports filed by others in his unit citing some of these violations. And so what didn't happen when -- that's part of what the report will uncover.

Q: And then second, on the -- on the Patriot system in Ukraine...

MS. SINGH: Yeah.

Q: Is there any update as to the type of projectile that hit the battery and -- or the state of the system at this point?

MS. SINGH: So for more specifics on the Patriot itself, I would refer you to the Ukrainians. What I can confirm is that one Patriot system was damaged, but it has now been fixed and is fully back and operational. But for anything additional, I'd refer you to the Ukrainians. Thanks, Phil.

Yeah, Nadia?

Q: Hi, Sabrina. Nadia Bilbassy, Al-Arabiya. Can you give us a current assessment of Iran supplying the Houthis with weapons? In other words, has it decreased or increased after signing the agreement with Saudi Arabia? And also, can you elaborate on the drugs are being confiscated in the Arabian Gulf? Thank you.

MS. SINGH: Sure, so in terms of anything from the agreement, I just have nothing new to announce regarding U.S. policy towards Yemen or support to the Saudi-led coalition. What we've said before not just from this podium, but across this administration is that Iran's transfers of weapons to the Houthis violate U.N. Security Council resolutions, and the support for armed groups throughout the region continues to undermine international and regional security, and you know, hurts our allies and partners in the region, and I'll just leave it at that.

I'm going to go ahead with Carla.

Q: Thanks.

MS. SINGH: Yeah.

Q: What -- what's the Pentagon's latest position on F-16s to Ukraine? There are reports out there. They're saying the -- the U.S. is opposed to even the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s right now.

MS. SINGH: I have nothing new to announce on F-16s at this time.

Q: So -- so does the Pentagon -- does the Pentagon agree that the Ukrainian pilots should be trained on F-16s? Are -- are you actively saying no to Western nations? Because we know that the Pentagon has to approve before they can be sold and transferred, but what about the training?

MS. SINGH: So again, I mean, you've seen that we've rolled out multiple presidential drawdown authorities and including USAI assistance. Our priority remains on supporting Ukraine with what it needs and for whatever it takes and forever how long it takes.

Our priority has been giving Ukraine the air defense systems that they need, and also their other priorities include armor and artillery. That's what we've been focused on with our packages but it -- when it comes to F-16s, I just have nothing new to announce today.

Q: OK. And what about the transfer authority? Anything to update on us there? Politico is reporting that the administration is not opposed to transferring -- a -- a third party transferring its F-16s to Ukraine.

MS. SINGH: I've seen those reports but I have nothing to add at this time.

Q: All right.

MS. SINGH: Thanks.

Oren? Yeah?

Q: Where do the department's efforts related to extremism stand? A new DOD instruction was released back in December of 2021, along with some immediate actions, but there were medium and long term efforts, yet we've heard little, if anything, about where the implementation of those longer term efforts stand. Is DOD still following through on those recommended actions? And -- when will we get an update on -- to the implementation of those?

MS. SINGH: So one piece that has been -- or has already started to be implemented is the training piece but the countering extremist activity working group developed -- I believe it was six recommendations and actions across four lines of effort, which include military justice and policy, support an oversight of insider threat program, investigative processes and screenings capability, and education and training.

And so one portion of that, the training piece, has been implemented and it continues to be implemented across the department. Again, all recommendations have been assigned are with the appropriate principal staff, but at this time, I just have nothing more to announce.

Yeah, Kasim in the back? And then I'll come up to the front.

Q: Sabrina, I was wondering about the Patriot system. How -- do you -- do you have any insight how the Patriot system failed to intercept the incoming missile?

MS. SINGH: I'm sorry, could you repeat your last part?

Q: Yeah, the -- do you have any insight how the Patriot system in -- in Ukraine failed to capture or to intercept the incoming missile...

MS. SINGH: I would refer you to the Ukrainians to speak more on how they're operating the Patriot. All I can tell you is - if you're referring to the Patriot that was damaged, you know, it was -- it was temporarily or there was minor damage to the Patriot. It has been repaired, it is fully back online and operational, but for any more specifics on that, I would refer you to the Ukrainians to speak to that.

Q: Do you (know ?) if -- if the Patriot system was the target of that missile or somehow it was a part of the collateral damage of the missile? Do you -- do you know?

MS. SINGH: I wouldn't be able to speak to that. That would be a question for the Ukrainians to speak to.

Yeah, Ryo?

Q: Thank you very much. Two questions.

First, the President canceled a trip to Papua New Guinea. How much are you concerned that his cancellation might affect the ongoing defense cooperation with Pacific Island nations, including the signing of the defense cooperation agreement with Papua New Guinea?

MS. SINGH: Well, you probably heard from the White House on this, but the U.S. is a Pacific nation and we have deep, historical ties to the Pacific Islands. Now, while the President canceled his trip, we know that the Secretary Blinken is continuing on and will continue the trip, and we look forward to the results of that meeting.

But we know, we understand that this is an important relationship and we will continue to work closely with our international partners and allies in the region when it comes to sustaining the security and stability within the Indo-Pacific.

Q: OK. Secondly, the Chinese military aircraft and Chinese ships are operating actively around Japan over the last one week. Do you assess the Chinese are demonstrating their opposition to the G7 defense -- G7 leaders meeting in Hiroshima?

MS. SINGH: Well, I wouldn't be able to get into the mind of the PRC. You'd have to ask them for their intention. The President and other leaders are there for the G7 and they're there to discuss an open and free Indo-Pacific but I would refer you to the PRC for comment on their actions specifically.

Yeah, I'll come right here in the front.

Q: Thanks, Sabrina. (Constantine) with Military.com.

MS. SINGH: Yeah, nice to see you.

Q: Thank you. Just to follow up on Oren's question, are you able to talk a little bit more about the extremism training that you say has now been implemented across the department?

MS. SINGH: I would have to get back to you a little bit more on the specifics of that training. So I'm happy to take that question and get back to you.

Q: Thank you.

MS. SINGH: No problem.

What about right here in the front? Yeah.

Q: Thank you. Have any contracts been awarded yet for the commercial satellite imagery services that were a part of this latest USAI package for Ukraine?

MS. SINGH: The USAI that was rolled out just a few -- two weeks ago?

Q: Yeah, (inaudible).

MS. SINGH: Yes, I believe -- no, I'm sorry. I don't know that any contracts have been awarded, only that we've announced that we plan to contract, but in terms of actual contracts that have been awarded, we'll keep you updated on that but I don't have an announcement on that.

Q: OK. You don't have any timeline for when you expect that?

MS. SINGH: I don't, not at this time. Yeah.

Over there in the back, green shirt?

Q: Thanks for taking my question -- thanks for taking my question. Are there any DOD policy...

MS. SINGH: Do you mind speaking up a little bit? I'm sorry.

Q: Are there any DOD policy changes that have been made regarding the handling of or access to classified information in the wake of the leaks?

MS. SINGH: Well, pretty immediately, we did -- and I think a few of us have spoken to this. When the leaks first came to light, one of the things that we did was immediately cull down our e-mail distro lists and updated those to make sure that there were active participants on that list and -- but also to make sure that the people who needed access to that information had that it was the right person part of those lists.

We've also taken steps to limit printing capabilities. We've started to re-educate people on what it means to work in a classified space and handle classified information. For example, every time I open my computer right now, I get a notice that says you are in a classified space and therefore you should, you know, abide by handling this information in the way that you've been trained to. So yes, there have been immediate steps.

One of the benefits that we have is that there is an ongoing investigation with the DOJ and also the Air Force. So as the investigation continues and we get those results, of course we could make more adjustments, and that's sort of what leads to better practices in the future. Great.

Yeah, in the hat?

Q: I thank you. What is the status of the Army's investigation into last month's Apache collision in Alaska? And will the Deputy Secretary's visit to Alaska involve any discussion or inspection on the issue?

MS. SINGH: I'd have to refer you to the Army on more specifics on that. I just don't have any update on the collision itself or where the investigation stands.

And then in terms of what the Deputy Secretary will be seeing, I'll let her team speak to that. I'm sure that will be part of the conversation, among many other things that she'll be going up there to discuss.

Q: Just to follow up on that...

MS. SINGH: Sure.

Q: ... Senator Gillibrand has requested that the DOD commit to a review of fatal rotary wing aircraft training incidents in the last -- at least over the last year, of which there's been at least three in the last five months. Is -- do -- the department considering doing that...

MS. SINGH: I just don't have an update for you at this time on that.

Yeah -- yeah, right here?

Q: Secretary Austin, in his testimony earlier this week, said that there was a presidential drawdown that would be announced, I guess, relatively soon for Taiwan. Without getting into the specifics of that, could you elaborate on the -- on the detail -- on -- on the types of weapons that could be in that or the -- or a timeline?

MS. SINGH: I just don't have right now more specifics to add than what the secretary laid out at his testimony. As he mentioned, that a package will be coming soon, and this is part of our long-standing obligations that we have to Taiwan. But in terms of what's going to be included in the package, I just don't have anything to preview right now.

Q: OK. And just secondly, could you update us on the status of the investigation into the drone strike that targeted a U.S. convoy in Iraq, I guess it was a little over a month ago now?

MS. SINGH: Yes, I know, sorry. I don't have any further update at this time. I'd refer you to CENTCOM for more details.

Yeah, right here.

Q: Thank you, Sabrina.

MS. SINGH: Yeah.

Q: Regarding to F-16, to my colleague's question, do we understand that the DOD still believe that the F-16 are not what Ukraine needs for the stage of the conflict?

MS. SINGH: We believe what Ukraine needs is what Ukraine has asked us for and has prioritized, which are air defense systems which we continue to give, which we continue to provide either through present -- presidential drawdown authorities or through USAI packages. But air defense systems is something that we've prioritized and -- something that the Ukrainians you see employing on the battlefield every day. And then it's also artillery and armor. Those are their -- not necessarily in that order, but their top three requests. Those are some things that we continue to honor with each package and we continue to prioritize.

The Ukrainians are being incredibly creative on the battlefield using different systems provided by countries all across the world, and what you're seeing is a layered air defense system, not just using the Patriots. Patriot is one aspect, but they're using NASAMS and other capabilities to combat against Russian aggression. So we feel confident in -- in what we've provided. Yeah.

I'll go to Tom. Yeah.

Q: Thanks, Sabrina.

MS. SINGH: Yeah.

Q: Good afternoon.

MS. SINGH: Afternoon.

Q: I have a couple very quick follow-ups to questions already asked during this briefing. One, in the repair of the Patriot system, to the best of your knowledge, did U.S. help remotely? You know how we've talked about sometimes the U.S. would provide maintenance and stuff, suggestions? And do you know if they -- if the U.S. was able to provide assistance to repair the Patriot remotely?

MS. SINGH: We have been able to provide assistance in the past with different capabilities. That's something that we've offered in training, and I believe the United States did provide some assistance when it came to the repair of the Patriot.

Q: And on the follow-up on the extremists questions that have been asked, two subset questions quickly. One is that in the ensuing investigation, if there is one, of possible superiors who may have known of the alleged actions by Teixeira, it wouldn't be a DOJ investigation, right? That would be either Air Force or DOD?

MS. SINGH: I'm sorry, can you repeat the question exactly?

Q: Certainly. The investigation of Teixeira is a DOJ and Air Force. We know that. But in subsequent investigations to find those adjustments that you referred to earlier in the briefing, would that be a DOD investigation as to why those in the Air Force did not properly respond to comments by Teixeira's coworkers that this was happening? Would that be purely a DOD or Air Force investigation, or would that be also DOJ?

MS. SINGH: I think you might be parsing it a bit too much in trying to...

Q: I'm looking -- I'm looking at...

MS. SINGH: OK, well then maybe I'm not understanding the question properly, but I'll try.

Q: OK.

MS. SINGH: So both investigations are running in tandem with each other, but they're separate. Each investigation will have its own findings that we -- that the department will be able to use to inform better practices going forward. So for instance...

Q: Oh, you answered it. You just did. Thank you.

MS. SINGH: OK.

Q: So they're in tandem. In other words, the Air Force investigation is...

MS. SINGH: Correct.

Q: ... by itself. It's not working with the DOJ.

MS. SINGH: That's correct.

Q: OK. That -- thank you. And then the final one is, in -- in the adjustments that are going on in regards to classified information, there are three active-duty Marines who were charged in regards to January 6th activities on Capitol Hill, one of which had a hearing yesterday, Wednesday. All three of those are involved in intelligence collections, and is still on active duty doing intelligence collections. Would this be some area -- take -- stepping aside from these three Marines, on a -- broadly speaking, would this be one of the adjustment areas that would be looked upon, that people who were charged with incidents like January 6th or still have access to intelligence who are linked to the extremism?

MS. SINGH: It certainly could be something that we look into, but again, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. This is a case that's going through the court.

Q: But guilt -- yesterday (inaudible)...

MS. SINGH: I'm going to just finish right here. So again, this is a case that's going through the courts. I'm not going to comment on an ongoing litigation. But we will take any piece from the investigation both either the Air Force or what is happening at DOJ to inform our best practices moving forward, when it comes to handling classified documents or accessing classified systems. Great.

Yeah, Mike?

Q: Yeah, when you said (inaudible)...

MS. SINGH: One sec -- hold on, Mike. Yeah.

Q: When you said the U.S. provided, quote, "some assistance to Ukraine" regarding the Patriot repair work, is that on the ground there in Ukraine? Because that's where the repairs were done. Or was it done remotely or -- can -- could you be sort of -- specify a little bit about how -- what the level of assistance you guys provided?

MS. SINGH: I'm not going to get into more specifics on the assistance that was provided, only that we did offer our support and provide assistance. But this is not just, you know, one case. We have done this before with other U.S.-provided systems. And again, we have offered training to the Ukrainians that you are aware of both at Fort Sill and in Grafenwoehr that helps them maintain these weapon capabilities on the battlefield.

Great. Yeah, Oren?

Q: Is the Defense Department aware of any other cases in which a servicemember has been reprimanded one or more times for inappropriate handling of classified info, and yet has retained access to that information? Would that be common?

MS. SINGH: I'm not aware of that. I would have to check -- I mean, that would be a question for each service, and I just don't know the answer off the top of my head on that one. OK? Great.

Anyone else? All right, we can call it a day. Thanks.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3400498/

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






May 18, 2023

Release

Readout of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Dr. John Plumb Meeting With Poland Ministry of National Defense Deputy Minister Mr. Marcin Ociepa

Department of Defense Spokesperson Lisa Lawrence provided the following readout:

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space John Plumb met with Poland Ministry of National Defense Deputy Minister Marcin Ociepa yesterday at the Pentagon to discuss opportunities for cooperation to further the U.S.-Poland defense relationship.

The two leaders exchanged views on key defense capabilities of space, cyber, and missile defense, including the value of and commitment to Aegis Ashore in Poland.

Ociepa and Plumb expressed their commitment to deepening the U.S.-Poland defense relationship.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3400161/

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Statement from Bjrn Arild Gram meeting Ben Wallace in Northwood

Government of Norway

Speech/statement | Date: 18/05/2023

*Check against delivery*

Let me start by thanking my very good colleague Ben for the invitation to Northwood. Norway and the United Kingdom have a long history of friendship and partnership and the UK is Norway's most important European ally.

Russia's war against Ukraine has brought us even closer together.

Russia's use of military force have direct implications also for Norway and the situation in the High North.

It's important that democracies stand together when the rules based international order is under pressure. Therefore there is also an increased need for close military co-operation between allies, especially at sea.

Today's meetings have clearly shown a common understanding and a common desire to further enhance our bilateral defence co-operation.

The sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines last year, is a clear reminder of what is at stake here.

Our signing today is therefore very important.

By working together, we can improve our abilities to detect submarines, counter mine threats and to protect critical infrastructure on the seabed.

Let me take the opportunity to congratulate you, Ben, on the UKs new Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Vessel. Such a capacity will be of great use in protecting critical infrastructure.

Today, we have also agreed to continue and to strengthen our support to Ukraine.

The UK has a long and proud history of international leadership in crisis. The UK have taken a strong stance to support the Ukrainians in their just fight for freedom and sovereignty. The role UK plays is vital.The UK acts as a catalyst for donations from partners and allies. For this, UK and Ben deserves credit and our gratitude.

We are working closely together in this support, both financially, through the International Fund for Ukraine, and military, through Operation Interflex.

Norway is a substantial contributor to the Fund, and we contribute to the training of Ukrainian soldiers both here in the UK, and in Norway. From this summer on, Norway will double our number of instructors in operation Interflex.

We have also worked together to maximize our efforts concerning donation of weapons and ammunition.

Today we are confirming the delivery of long-range artillery and radars. Norway provides three Arthur artillery location radars and up to eight long-range rocket artillery of the MLRS type. The donations are made in close collaboration with the UK.

These are significant contributions to the Ukrainian defence, and show the determination of our governments to stand together in our support for the Ukrainian people.

Thank you!

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Secretary General thanks Portugal for its contributions to NATO and support for Ukraine

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

18 May. 2023

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met Prime Minister Antonio Costa of Portugal, as well as foreign minister Joao Cravinho and defence minister Helena Carreiras in Lisbon on Thursday (18 May 2023) to discuss preparations for the NATO Summit in Vilnius in July.

The Secretary General thanked Portugal for its contribution to NATO, including the Air Policing mission and to the multinational battlegroup in Romania, as well as hosting the NATO Cyber Academy, the Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre, as well as the Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO).

During a press conference with Prime Minister Costa, Mr Stoltenberg also hailed the support provided by Portugal to Ukraine, including the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks and the contribution through NATO's Comprehensive Assistance Package. Reiterating that "NATO will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes", the Secretary General stressed that he was confident that "Ukrainian forces have the capabilities they need to retake occupied land."

He recalled that support from NATO Allies has evolved through the different phases of the conflict, and welcomed recent announcements by Allies on providing cruise missiles and training Ukrainian pilots to use western fighter jets. Previewing the NATO summit in Vilnius, Mr. Stoltenberg said that Allies "will send a strong signal of support for Ukraine" through a strategic multi-year assistance programme enabling Ukraine to transition from Soviet-era to NATO doctrines, equipment and training and achieve interoperability with the Alliance.

The Secretary General mentioned that the Summit would be an opportunity for Allies to address "the continued threat of terrorism and instability in the South", including "Russia's destabilising actions in Africa, and now Russia and China are making in-roads in the region." He stressed that "we must do more to build defence capacity with key partners in the South, such as Tunisia, Mauritania and Jordan."

Mr. Stoltenberg also emphasized the need to further enhance the resilience of critical undersea and energy infrastructure, recalling that NATO recently created an undersea infrastructure cell to coordinate efforts between NATO Allies, partners, and the private sector, as well as the joint efforts with the European Union.

Welcoming the recent increases in Portugal's defence spending, the Secretary General called for all Allies to step up. "We face many challenges which no country or continent can tackle alone. So we must take bold decisions. And demonstrate our commitment to the transatlantic bond", the Secretary General concluded.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Statement by the Philippine Government on the Conclusion of Bilateral Talks with Kuwait

Republic of the Philippines - Department of Foreign Affairs

18 May 2023

In affirmation of the friendly and historic relations between the Republic of the Philippines and the State of Kuwait, both countries engaged in bilateral talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in Kuwait from 16-17 May 2023.

Representing the Philippines were senior officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) as well as its attached agency, the Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration (OWWA).

During the formal talks, the Philippine delegation expressed its full respect for Kuwaiti laws and profound appreciation for the hospitality of its government and people to more than 200,000 Filipino workers who consider Kuwait as their second home.

On issues related to services being rendered to our migrant workers, the delegation explained that all actions taken by the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Government are solely to ensure the safety and welfare of our own nationals. Providing protection to a country's citizens abroad is a well-established duty of consular offices under international law and conventions.

We thank the Kuwait government for its hospitality throughout the delegation's two-day visit. The Philippines remains open to constructive dialogue on how to address current concerns.

Meanwhile, the DFA and DMW wish to assure our migrant workers in Kuwait as well as their families of the government's full support and assistance. END

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Airstrikes by Sudanese army rock Khartoum as fighting between rival forces continues

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 18 May 2023 5:00 PM

The Sudanese army has launched new airstrikes against the positions of paramilitary forces in Khartoum, as fighting between the rival forces shows no signs of abating across the capital.

Media outlets quoting witnesses reported that aerial attacks by the army targeting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were heard across several residential neighborhoods in southern Khartoum, including near the Taiba camp, on Thursday.

The army has mainly used air power and heavy artillery as it tries to drive back the RSF. This is while a police reserve force aligned with the army battled the RSF on the ground.

"The bombardment and the clashes don't stop and there's no way to flee from our homes. All our money is gone," said Salah el-Din Othman, a 35-year-old resident of Khartoum.

"Even if we leave our houses again we're afraid that gangs will loot everything in the house... we are living a nightmare of fear and poverty," Othman added.

The Sudanese capital has been turned into a desolate war zone after more than a month of fierce fighting between the army and the RSF.

The fighting has now spread out across large areas of Khartoum and its adjoining cities of Bahri and Omdurman across the Nile over the past few weeks.

Violence has also flared in Darfur in western Sudan and in North Kordofan State, and other parts of the country, but the power struggle has been focused on the capital.

Both army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, are thought to have remained in Khartoum throughout the fighting.

On Wednesday, the army released a video showing Burhan dressed in army fatigues greeting troops at the army headquarters in central Khartoum.

Neither the army nor the RSF has been able to gain decisive victories in the capital Khartoum.

About 1,000 people have been killed, mainly in and around Khartoum as well as the ravaged state of West Darfur, according to medics.

Nearly a million have been displaced as civilians bear the brunt of the war that erupted last month.

According to the latest estimates, more than 840,000 people have been displaced within Sudan and over 220,000 have fled to neighboring countries such as Chad, Egypt and South Sudan.

Sudan's conflict inflicts a heavy toll on children. The UN children's agency said 368,000 children have been forced from their homes in Sudan, and a further 82,000 have fled to neighboring states. It estimates 190 children were killed in the first 10 days of the war, and 1,700 injured.

International organizations have, however, warned that millions of Sudanese are unable to flee and are trying to survive acute shortages of water, food, medicines, and fuel as well as power and internet blackouts.

The aid effort has been hampered by the deaths of some humanitarian workers early in the conflict and repeated cases of looting.

The UN World Food Programme said it was ramping up its operations across at least six states in Sudan to assist 4.9 million vulnerable people, as well as assisting those fleeing to the neighboring countries.

The UN said on Wednesday that more than half of Sudan's 46 million population needed humanitarian assistance and protection. It also said it had received reports of "horrific gender-based violence" in Sudan.

Burhan and Hemedti took the top positions on Sudan's ruling council following the 2019 overthrow of strongman Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising. They staged a coup two years later as a deadline to hand power to civilians approached.

The latest conflict broke out on April 15 after disputes over plans for the RSF to join the army and over the future chain of command under a deal for a political transition towards civilian rule.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Vietnam stews over Chinese hotpot restaurant on disputed South China Sea island

The 120-seat eatery will serve a growing Chinese civilian population on Woody Island.

By RFA Vietnamese 2023.05.18 -- China has opened a huge hotpot restaurant on the main island it controls in the disputed South China Sea, a Hong Kong newspaper reported, drawing poor reviews from Hanoi for Beijing's latest move to bolster claims over islands and waters seized from Vietnam nearly 50 years ago.

The South China Morning Post said the Kuanzhai Xiangzi hotpot restaurant opened late April on Woody Island, the largest natural land feature that China occupies in the South China Sea. The popular dish features raw ingredients such as meat, seafood and vegetables, cooked in a simmering broth and consumed in groups.

The opening of the 120-seat restaurant "marks the latest soft push from Beijing to consolidate its claims in the busy, strategically important waterway, most of which it claims under what it calls its historical 'nine-dash line,'" the English-language daily said. The hard push was Chinese militarization of the islands, it added.

Woody Island, one of the Paracel Islands, serves as the headquarters for Sansha City, which China established in 2012 to administer all the islands it claims in the South China Sea and their surrounding waters.

The Paracel Islands, or Xisha Islands in Chinese, are claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan but occupied entirely by Beijing since 1974 after the Chinese Navy defeated the then South Vietnamese Navy in a brief sea battle that killed more than 50 South Vietnamese sailors.

China also occupies some of the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands in Chinese) that are claimed by some other neighboring countries such as Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

"Vietnam has sufficient legal basis and historical evidence to assert our sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos in accordance with international law," said Pham Thu Hang, Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy spokesperson.

"Vietnam has and is taking appropriate measures, which comply with international law, to ensure our legitimate rights and interests," she told a news conference in Hanoi on Thursday.

The Post report quoted a Sansha executive named Wang Panpan as telling local broadcaster Hainan TV that the restaurant would "enrich the material and cultural life of the military, police and people on the island."

The civilian population of Woody Island rose to about 2,300 in 2020, from 1,000 when the city of Sansha was set up in 2012, the newspaper said.

In major ongoing upgrades, China opened a civil-military airport in 2014, a kindergarten and primary school in 2015, and has since built a courthouse, a cinema, banks, hospitals, post offices, a stadium, it added.

Radio Free Asia reported in January that satellite imagery showed a Chinese air defense facility on Woody Island, with silos for permanent surface-to-air missiles.

Translated by Anna Vu. Written by Paul Eckert. Edited by Malcolm Foster.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content May not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Asia's heatwaves 30 times more likely due to climate change, scientists say

Another group says the next 5 years will almost certainly be the warmest on record.

By Subel Rai Bhandari for RFA 2023.05.18 -- The record-breaking humid heat wave that hit India, Bangladesh, Laos, and Thailand in April was made at least 30 times more likely as a result of human-induced climate change, while the next five years are expected to be the warmest period on record globally, according to two reports by scientists.

Parts of South and Southeast Asia saw record temperatures, over 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) last month. The temperatures were at least 2 degrees Celsius hotter due to climate change, which has seen average global temperatures rise 1.2 degrees since 1900, a study by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) said Wednesday evening.

Temperatures reached 45.4 C (113.7 F) in Thailand's western Tak province, the highest ever reported anywhere in the country, while Xayaburi province in Laos hit 42.9 C (109.2 F), an all-time national high that was broken a few weeks later in May in Luang Prabang province.

In Bangladesh, Dhaka observed the highest maximum temperature recorded in five decades at 40.6 C (105 F), while several northern and eastern Indian cities recorded temperatures above 44 C (111.2 F).

The heat wave in Southeast Asia would have been "virtually impossible" without climate change, the scientists said. While they used to take place in South Asia once a century the scientists expect them to occur every five years now.

"The heatwaves were not natural ... Unless we take drastic measures to reduce carbon emissions, heatwave events like this will continue to become more common," said Chaya Vaddhanaphuti, a member of the WWA team and a geography lecturer at Thailand's Chiang Mai University.

Several casualties were reported during the April heat wave, especially in India, but the full effect will only be known months later, WWA said.

Heat is more dangerous in humid conditions because the body cannot properly regulate its temperature through various activities, like sweating.

The heat index - "feels like" temperatures that factor in humidity - exceeded "dangerous" (41 C) over large parts of South and Southeast Asia, according to WWA.

In some areas of Laos, the heat index was close to the hazardous level of 54 C, under which the body temperature is difficult to maintain, the report said.

The scientists warned that these heat waves "will continue with further warming," with such events in Thailand and Laos" about ten times more likely" to occur if the earth warms by 2 C and expected every one to two years in India and Bangladesh.

"Until overall greenhouse gas emissions are halted, global temperatures will continue to increase, and events like this will become more frequent and severe," they added.

WMO: 98% chance of hottest five years

WWA's report coincided with another study from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), saying that there is a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years will be the warmest on record.

The next five-year period would also almost certainly be the warmest on record, WMO said, with a 66% likelihood that the annual average global temperature will be more than 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels for at least one year.

The record surge is primarily due to climate change and naturally occurring El Nino events, said WMO, a specialized United Nations agency that looks into weather and atmospheric science.

El Nino is a climate pattern characterized by hot ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, which can significantly affect weather patterns worldwide.

In Southeast Asia, that would mean warmer, drier weather conditions. The last two years have seen the cooling influence of La Nina conditions, which ended in March.

Earlier this month, WMO had said there is an 80% chance El Nino will appear by October. It typically increases global temperatures by the following year.

"A warming El Nino is expected to develop in the coming months, and this will combine with human-induced climate change to push global temperatures into uncharted territory," said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.

"This will have far-reaching repercussions for health, food security, water management, and the environment. We need to be prepared."

According to scientists, the past eight years have been the eight warmest on record globally, with 2016 being the hottest on record. WMO says that is primarily due to the "double whammy" of "an exceptionally strong El Nino" event and human-induced warming from greenhouse gasses.

A climate expert said the report proves once again that climate change is changing global temperatures "to levels never experienced previously by humanity."

"We are moving further into uncharted territory, in which previous adaptation and coping strategies may not apply," said Professor Janette Lindesay from the Australian National University.

"Global heating is accelerating. The chance of exceeding 1.5 C was nearly zero in 2015, and 10% up to 2021. It is now 66%."

Last year, the average global temperature, which has not crossed the 1.5 C threshold set by Paris climate agreement, was about 1.15 C above the 1850-1900 average.

Kimberley Reid, an atmospheric scientist from the Monash University in Melbourne, said her "biggest fear is that we become desensitized to the ever-falling records and forget what these numbers actually mean."

"1.5 degrees warming means the Great Barrier Reef probably won't survive this century. That's tragic," she said.

Edited by Mike Firn.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content May not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Moldova Is Distancing Itself From The CIS, But Leaving Might Not Be So Easy

By Cristina Popusoi May 18, 2023

CHISINAU -- In a move likely to increase tensions with the Kremlin, Moldova has distanced itself further from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) this week by revoking key agreements with the Russian-led intergovernmental organization.

On May 15, the speaker of the Moldovan parliament, Igor Grosu, announced that Moldova will initiate its withdrawal from the CIS's Interparliamentary Assembly, which facilitates cooperation among member parliaments and, according to the organization's website, "serves as a guide in the development and convergence of legislation of the countries of the community."

This, Grosu said, was "a first step" for Moldova's withdrawal from the CIS. "We can no longer sit at a negotiating table with an aggressor state," he said, alluding to Russia's war on Ukraine. Two days later, on May 17, Moldova's pro-Western government approved the termination of two agreements, one regarding the delivery of goods between member states and another concerning border protection.

Chisinau has been distancing itself from the CIS for a while, with Grosu's ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) believing that cutting ties with the organization would enable Moldova to work toward aligning its policies with the European Union, before eventually joining the bloc. But with Russian interference in Moldovan politics said to be intensifying in recent months and a pro-Kremlin domestic opposition, attempting to leave the CIS will be far from straightforward and instead presents another geopolitical tightrope Moldova must walk.

After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, members of the Moldovan government spoke about the possibility of leaving the CIS, although in May 2022, the country's pro-Western president, Maia Sandu -- who has not attended any meetings of CIS heads of state since she became president in 2020 -- affirmed that the country would not leave the organization.

At the start of 2023, the PAS announced that the country would revoke some of the 300 or so agreements between Moldova and the CIS. Then, in February, Chisinau recalled its representative to the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, saying that the delegate wasn't needed, as Moldova wasn't very active in the CIS.

Another snub came in April, when the Moldovan government revoked the CIS agreement regarding the activities of Mir, a Moscow-led TV and radio company that broadcasts in Russian across the CIS. Speaking at the time, government spokesman Daniel Voda said that Moldova "will no longer finance propaganda and disinformation," a reference to the channels' coverage of the Ukraine war.

More agreements between Moldova and the CIS are likely to be revoked. The Foreign Ministry told RFE/RL's Moldovan Service on March 20 that the process of rescinding the agreements was complex but that the government had identified a number of cooperation deals that it deemed "unnecessary and inappropriate to be kept in force for the Republic of Moldova...in accordance with the norms of international law and the provisions of national legislation."

'A Body For Russian Influence'

Founded in 1991 after the break-up of the Soviet Union, many participating states initially saw the CIS as a useful forum for economic and political cooperation and the facilitation of trade. The CIS also coordinates election monitoring in its members states, along with combating security challenges and threats. But the organization has been waning for years, with reduced participation and some of its members wary of Russian dominance.

Under the pretext of harmonizing the legislation of its member states, the former Moldovan ambassador to Russia, Anatol Taranu, told RFE/RL's Moldovan Service that the CIS's Interparliamentary Assembly "is nothing but a body through which the Russian Federation tries to influence the legislative activity in the CIS area."

There are currently nine full member states: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan and Ukraine are so-called founding states but not full members, and Kyiv stopped participating after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 before withdrawing all its representatives in 2018. Georgia left the organization after its 2008 war with Russia.

For some of Moldova's 20 delegates to the CIS's Interparliamentary Assembly, especially those from the pro-EU ruling party, the organization has been anemic for years, and their participation has diminished. Natalia Davidovici, a deputy from the PAS and also a delegate to the Interparliamentary Assembly, said that since she was elected to the Moldovan parliament in 2021, she had not participated in any meeting or session of the assembly.

"There was no collaboration in this forum. This procedure [of leaving the Interparliamentary Assembly] is a formal one, because we are not working in this structure. Now we are just noting a fact, because we have not collaborated with this structure for two years," Davidovici told RFE/RL.

Vasile Bolea, a deputy for the opposition, pro-Russian Moldovan Socialist Party (PSRM) and another delegate to the CIS assembly, said that he did not participate in last year's assembly because of "logistical problems." There were no more flights to Russia, he said, adding that the Chisinau parliament refused to pay for his travel.

The aim of Moldova's current leaders to distance themselves from the CIS and move closer to the West is a precarious endeavor, and one that could only exacerbate strains between Moscow and Chisinau.

With President Sandu attempting to move Moldova westward out of Russia's orbit, in June 2002, Moldova was granted EU candidate status. And while Moldova is not aiming to join the NATO military alliance, as neutrality is enshrined in its constitution, Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu said in November 2022 that that didn't have to translate into self-isolation, demilitarization, or indifference toward world affairs.

'Russophobic' Moldova

None of this has pleased Moscow. Earlier this year, a member of Russian President Vladimir Putin's Human Rights Council, Aleksandr Brod, said that Moldova "continues to adopt the worst Russophobic characteristics of the West." In a January interview with TASS, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Second CIS Department, Aleksei Polishchuk, said that Moscow expected that Moldova will remain a member of the CIS and continue to participate in its bodies.

"The CIS is often associated by Moscow with the so-called Russian world," former Ambassador Taranu said. "If the Republic of Moldova were to leave the CIS, it would indirectly declare that it does not belong to the Russian world and has no intention of being in the geopolitical space influenced by the Russian Federation."

Tensions between Chisinau and Moscow have ramped up since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, with fears that Russia could expand the war to Moldova, where up to 1,500 Russian troops are based in the breakaway pro-Moscow Transdniester region. The Moldovan government has been critical of Russian aggression in Ukraine, with Sandu saying in May 2022 that Crimea, the Donbas, and Kyiv are all part of Ukraine.

On February 13, Sandu announced that the Kremlin was planning a coup in her country, claiming that Ukrainian intelligence had flagged details of an alleged plot, accusations that the Kremlin denied. More recently, according to leaked U.S. military documents seen by RFE/RL's Russian Service, the Wagner mercenary group that operates alongside Russian troops in Ukraine was involved in alleged Kremlin-led efforts to whip up civil unrest in Moldova.

Political Divide

Whether or not Moldova will leave the CIS is unclear, especially with domestic political parties split over the issue.

The pro-Russian Socialists have said that Moldova will not survive if it loses its status as a full member of the CIS, as it will be unable to strengthen political, economic, social, and spiritual ties with countries in Eurasia. The other main opposition parties, the Moldovan Communist Party and the Shor Party, are both supportive of Russia and want to stay in the CIS.

Asked by RFE/RL about the benefits that participation in the Interparliamentary Assembly brings to Moldova, Socialist deputy Bolea said: "I don't know what advantages we will gain by leaving the assembly, but it will certainly bring more negative consequences than positive ones. We will not be looked on favorably by the representatives of the other countries that are part of the CIS."

The Socialists argue that the decision to leave the CIS can only be made by calling a referendum. The party has also announced a national campaign "to preserve the membership of the Republic of Moldova within the CIS." Those in favor of Moldova staying in the CIS say that leaving the organization could mean dire economic consequences for Moldova and a disruption of trade with countries of the former Soviet Union.

The Moldovan public also seems split on the benefits of CIS membership, although there is a paucity of polling data on the issue. An April poll from the Moldovan-based polling company iDATA shows that 40.6 percent of Moldovans would want to quit the CIS, while 41.2 percent would want to stay.

Taranu says that revoking the agreement to participate in the Interparliamentary Assembly is a first step in the process of Moldova leaving the CIS, a demonstration of the government's seriousness of intent. But don't expect anything to happen any time soon.

In a recent interview, Prime Minister Dorin Recean, who has previously called the CIS an "inefficient organization," said that Moldova's exit from the CIS "could take years" and that the authorities would make sure that revoking agreements with the CIS didn't adversely affect Moldova's citizens. And if Moldova did attempt to move even closer to the West, he warned, Moscow was unlikely to let Chisinau leave the CIS quietly.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/moldova-leaving- cis-russia/32417644.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Uzbekistan 'Opening Up To The World,' But Politically Shuttered

By Chris Rickleton May 18, 2023

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan -- May has been a month for messages in Uzbekistan.

On the one hand, President Shavkat Mirziyoev's announcement of a snap presidential election and his participation in the vote alongside three friendly candidates confirmed the status of Central Asia's most populous country as a closed shop in the political sense.

On the other hand, the return of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) annual meeting after a two-decade absence showcased an investment and credit-hungry government keen to expand its global economic ties -- which wasn't always the case under Mirziyoev's predecessor, the late Islam Karimov.

The July 9 date for the presidential election was announced just a week after the country passed constitutional changes that included extending the presidential term from five to seven years.

One of the most important changes pushed through in the opposition-free referendum was the measure to allow Mirziyoev to reset his term count, bypassing the basic law's enduring -- but seemingly meaningless -- limit on how many times a president can run for office.

That means the 65-year-old Mirziyoev can rule at least until 2037, by which time he would have clocked up nearly 21 years in office, or just short of the quarter-century reign of the authoritarian Karimov, the man he served as prime minister for 13 years.

But for many foreign businesses eying a market of 35 million people where opportunities have expanded greatly in recent years, the fact the vote is a fait accompli will not be a major concern, argues Alex Melikishvili, principal research analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

In fact, a win for Mirziyoev "safeguards political stability and policy continuity in Uzbekistan, which is what foreign investors typically look at when weighing market entry," he told RFE/RL.

Meetings With History

The city of Samarkand, where the EBRD's three-day annual meeting began on May 16, was once a powerful hub along the historic Silk Road trade route linking East and West, and is now the center of an Uzbek tourism industry that has been thrown wide open by Mirziyoev's reforms.

But it is also the birthplace of Karimov, whose statue in the historical district is a short walk from the grandeur of the Registan Square's trio of bedazzling, intricately patterned madrasahs.

Cast in a benevolent, statesman-like pose, the strongman renowned for his brutality has become a cherished photo opportunity for couples and families from all over Uzbekistan, his pate an occasional stopping point for birds.

Next to the Hazrat Khizr Mosque -- another example of Samarkand's rich Islamic civilization -- is the domed mausoleum where Karimov was laid to rest, still drawing large crowds more than six years after his death.

The last time Uzbekistan hosted an EBRD annual summit -- in the capital, Tashkent, in 2003 -- it was a fiasco.

The Human Rights Watch account from the time described how then-EBRD President Jean Lemierre and British Development Minister Clare Short used keynote speeches to call for improvements in Tashkent's dismal human rights record, particularly on torture.

Karimov, who had reportedly resisted pressure to use his own speech to condemn torture, "removed his headphones and demonstratively covered his ears" during the speeches, HRW wrote.

After that, the bank gradually wound down its projects in the country, as Uzbekistan began a long journey into isolation that grew deeper following a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests in Andijon in 2005.

As the statue, mausoleum, and the name of Uzbekistan's main airport in Tashkent all testify, Mirziyoev has honored Karimov's legacy. But he has also looked to create distance from his rule by championing what he calls the New Uzbekistan -- a country where economic reforms have taken precedence over the political type.

Addressing the EBRD's board of governors in a May 17 speech, Mirziyoev referenced the 2003 meeting directly, though he did not mention Karimov.

"In this context, I would like to emphasize one point: Today's Uzbekistan is not yesterday's Uzbekistan. The fundamental reforms that we began six years ago have completely changed the image of our country.... [We] welcome you, dear friends, in a completely new environment of the New Uzbekistan, which is opening up to the world and is committed to cooperation in all areas," he said, according to the presidential website.

Debt Accrual

Uzbekistan is certainly open to the EBRD. The bank spent $900 million on projects alone in 2022, far more than anywhere else in Central Asia.

Of the $4 billion the bank has invested since the country gained independence, $3 billion has come during Mirziyoev's six years in office, targeting a bare-bones but largely debt-free economy left behind by Karimov.

Melikishvili, the S&P analyst, said the rapid foreign-debt accrual from the EBRD and other creditors under Mirziyoev's rule was mitigated by "healthy and robust levels of foreign currency and gold reserves" and "should not be a matter of concern given [Mirziyoev's] ambitious plans for the development of Uzbekistan's economy."

"However, obviously much will depend on the successful implementation of the said plans," he added.

As to Mirziyoev's claims of a wholly changed Uzbekistan, observers with a critical eye offer a more nuanced picture.

While his arrival in power precipitated the end of systematic forced labor in the national cotton harvest, the release of political prisoners and the easing of draconian restrictions on freedom of speech, civil activists complain that those gains have been rolled back in the last three or so years.

A lethal crackdown last year on protests in the environmentally devastated autonomous region of Karakalpakstan, meanwhile, has left many questioning the gap between presidents current and former.

"After they allowed space for some criticism, bloggers, journalists, and activists used these opportunities to raise problems, like corruption and other issues," explained Gulnoz Mamarasulova, a Sweden-based Uzbek rights activist, who attended the conference. "This perhaps caused some real concerns for officials, and now we are seeing new challenges in the enabling environment."

Some of those challenges were even on display at the meeting in Samarkand, as seemingly exasperated EBRD staff were more than once called upon to moderate their co-hosts' sometimes officious policing of the event.

On one of these occasions, a security staffer physically prevented a journalist from RFE/RL's Uzbek Service from filming Sardor Umurzakov -- Mirziyoev's powerful chief of staff and a former EBRD staffer -- as the official passed through the venue's lavish conference hall.

On another, security guards briefly appeared set to prevent an activist registered at the event from entering it on account of his rainbow-colored bag -- an apparent affront to a government that has retained its Soviet-style ban on homosexuality. The activist, Nezir Sinani of the Recourse CSO, was subsequently able to enter.

And although several repressive trends have been reversed, it is notable that 20 years ago, on the eve of Karimov's harsh, extended crackdown, there were more than 60 Uzbek NGOs present at the EBRD's annual meeting, many of them critical of the government.

This year there were less than half that amount, a total that Mamarasulova and other activists attribute to persistent barriers to registration.

'The Repression Is Coming'

Among the businesses that were present at the 2023 EBRD event, there seemed to be little appetite for turning back the clock.

The venue was the lavish Silk Road Samarkand development, opened last year and boasting an eternal city with replicas of Uzbekistan's most famous heritage sites, as well as five-star hotels and glittering conference facilities.

A representative of a major private Middle Eastern energy company told RFE/RL that Uzbekistan was the company's second-largest market after their domestic market, with most of the company's projects there focused on clean energy.

"Central Asia is an important marketplace, right next to China, and there is a huge demand here -- by 2030 the government wants 30 percent of its energy to come from renewables," the representative said. "We partner with local companies, we have a business plan, and we are winning tenders because we offer the most competitive tariff."

"Gas development, or trying to," a smiling North American businessman said when asked why he came to the conference. He said he had been coming to Uzbekistan for "the last few years now."

"They are still learning, and we are trying to help them in terms of learning about how contracts tend to be structured in the industry. But the opportunities are definitely there," the businessman said, also requesting anonymity.

At a table nearby, a representative of one of Uzbekistan's top commercial banks, Asia Alliance Bank, expressed excitement about his forthcoming trip to Prague for a conference on green finance. "This is very much a new direction for us," he told RFE/RL.

Immediately after his address to the EBRD, Mirziyoev was bound for Xian, China, and the May 18-19 China-Central Asia summit, the first-ever, in-person meeting between Beijing and the region's five countries after the 5+1 debuted in an online format last year.

That follows a trip to Germany at the beginning of this month and prefaces a visit to Italy slated for June.

He need not worry too much about missing days on the campaign trail.

On July 9, the incumbent will face three vetted opponents that have no track record of opposition to the government and have instead served in positions as his subordinate, including, in one case, as education minister.

Mirziyoev's own nomination came from the same party that used to nominate Karimov back in his day, the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, a jarring indicator of continuity rather than change.

Top officials, for their part, continue to talk up a desire for further progress, with Mirziyoev's deputy chief of staff, Komil Allamjonov, giving Uzbekistan's freedom of speech a "5.5 out of 10" rating in comments earlier this week, acknowledging there is "still much to be done."

Uzbekistan this month fell to 137th place out of 180 countries in the annual press-freedom rankings published by Reporters Without Borders, four places below its standing last year.

But Dilmurad Yusupov, a Tashkent-based activist for disability rights and one of several civic voices to emerge in the early years of the Mirziyoev opening, says that Uzbeks do not need to look at rankings to get a sense of receding freedoms.

"You can see it with your own eyes. People are self-censoring because they are afraid," he told RFE/RL. "In 2017 you could feel the freedom in the air. But now it feels like the repression is coming."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-opening-up- business-not-politics/32417715.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Bulgaria Angry At Supposed Macedonian Entry 'Blacklist'

By Dilyana Teoharova, Marija Tumanovska, Andy Heil May 18, 2023

SOFIA/SKOPJE -- A cold shoulder for a Bulgarian member of the European Parliament (MEP) traveling to North Macedonia is just the tip of the iceberg.

On May 6, which is St. George's Day and Armed Forces Day in Bulgaria, North Macedonia's border guards turned back five Bulgarians, including a conservative MEP who has repeatedly waded into the nationalist debate between the two countries.

MEP Andrey Kovachev called the snub "quite sad," and it elicited condemnations from Sofia and from the EU's commissioner for neighborhood and enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi.

It was the latest affront in what Bulgaria alleges is an erratic, monthslong effort by Skopje to suppress pro-Bulgarian sentiment on both sides of the border, including through a "blacklist" whose existence the Macedonian side refuses to acknowledge.

But it's also part of a lingering dispute that has put relations on ice along the EU's southern border, reminded 2 million Macedonians of their second-tier status in Europe, and even erupted into occasional violence.

And veteran political observers warn that the tensions are unlikely to ease anytime soon, with posturing and symbolism amplified ahead of elections and historical rivalries still bedeviling bilateral relations and, by extension, Skopje's recently reinvigorated EU integration.

"Politicians on both sides of the border seem more interested in raising their ratings than de-escalating the situation," Petar Arsovski, a Macedonian political analyst, told RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service.

He and other analysts in the region used words like "predatory" and "reckless" to describe the Kovachev incident.

Both countries are members of NATO and of the Council of Europe, and while a politically sensitive deal struck last year ended Bulgaria's two-year veto on the start of North Macedonia's EU accession negotiations, a key pledge by Skopje to add "Bulgarians" to the preamble of the constitution remains unmet.

Bulgaria and North Macedonia have closely intertwined cultures and overlapping histories that continue to fuel accusations of dangerous Bulgarian irredentism and counterclaims of disregard for Bulgarian national identity by the Macedonian authorities.

'Reckless Act'

Kovachev was planning to attend a ceremony at Novo Selo, in eastern North Macedonia, on St. George's Day to honor Bulgarians who died in the Balkan Wars of 1912-13. It's an event he said he's attended regularly for more than a decade.

Stefan Tafrov, a veteran Bulgarian diplomat and permanent representative to the United Nations in 2001-06 and again in 2012-16, called the Kovachev rebuff a "reckless act" that doesn't contribute to North Macedonia's EU candidacy or to bilateral relations with Sofia.

"They may be dissatisfied with the positions of Mr. Kovachev and the others," he said, and the Macedonians "do not even claim" that they are guilty of criminal wrongdoing. Instead, he said, "They are concerned about some symbolic actions that Mr. Kovachev and the others, whom they don't like, might perform."

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry immediately called it a "provocation" and vowed to take the matter up with the Macedonian government.

Two days later, EU Commissioner Varhelyi tweeted a condemnation of the Macedonian authorities' denial of entry to Kovachev, adding that it was "a very serious decision."

Another two days later, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivan Kondov delivered an unmistakable warning by repeating Sofia's grievances at the center of its long-running veto on North Macedonia's EU negotiations, which was ostensibly lifted based on a French proposal from July 2022.

Kondov cited Skopje's alleged failure to implement a 2017 Good Neighbor Agreement and "the problems of people with Bulgarian self-awareness" in North Macedonia, an allusion to the Macedonian government's promise last year to recognize a Bulgarian minority in its constitution.

"We expect a country that is a candidate for membership in the European Union to effectively protect all its citizens," Kondov said. "Instead, we're witnessing attempts to silence the voice of the Macedonian Bulgarians by raising unfounded accusations against them, by pressuring them with lawsuits, by demonizing them in the media and especially on social networks."

Rumors Of A Blacklist

The Macedonian government has repeatedly dismissed accusations that it has abandoned its commitment to protect all its citizens, including those who identify as Bulgarian.

Kovachev reportedly had been threatened with refusal if he tried to travel to North Macedonia with a European Parliamentary delegation ahead of an annual event in February to mark the death of a Balkan revolutionary claimed by Bulgarians and Macedonians named Gotse Delchev.

That warning followed months of tensions that included intimidation, vandalism, and violence following the launch last year in both countries of "cultural clubs" asserting nationalist narratives and myths.

After the Kovachev incident this month, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said it had "only partial information" on the cases but that instances had become more frequent this year and 50 of its citizens have now been similarly rejected. It said that "until last year, these were episodic cases and the information about them was not systematized."

Sofia acknowledged that Macedonian border authorities are under no obligation to inform it when they turn back visitors, but it also said that "however well-founded these arguments are," some of those Bulgarian nationals "literally the next day crossed the border without any problems."

Backtracking by the Macedonian government and conflicting reports of a purported blacklist have complicated matters.

The Macedonian Interior Ministry initially said Kovachev and his companions were denied entry because they were "potential violators of public order." Three days later, however, the Foreign Ministry said the group included individuals who posed a risk to peace and security, but Kovachev was not among them.

The party, in two vehicles, included the chairman of the Bulgarian Memory Foundation, Milen Vrabevski, a physician and wealthy entrepreneur who is said to be among the supporters of the controversial Bulgarian cultural clubs in North Macedonia.

Kondov told journalists that Kovachev and the others who'd been turned away had received "notices...[that] explicitly stated that they are on a prohibited list in the border system of our neighboring country."

Kovachev said that Varhelyi told him that he was blocked entry because others in his group are on a list of individuals who recognize neither Macedonian identity nor the Macedonian language.

Neither the Macedonian Interior Ministry nor the Foreign Ministry responded specifically to inquiries by RFE/RL's Balkan Service, other than to say the decision was the responsibility of the Interior Ministry, which repeated a broad citation of the country's law on foreigners.

'Short-Sighted, Unnecessary'

Nationalism has surged in Bulgarian politics amid governmental and institutional instability that has already resulted in five elections in a span of two years. Current coalition talks could easily give way to another election in the coming months, according to experts.

Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski's government took a significant risk of nationalist backlash in agreeing last year to the compromise with Bulgaria to unstick Skopje's accession framework. The passage of the amendment to identify "Bulgarians" as a constitutive people in the preamble of the Macedonian Constitution has so far been blocked and some observers warn that such a move could spark a vote of no confidence in the government well before scheduled elections in 2024.

Arsovski drew a line between electoral considerations that include opposition attacks based on the defense of Macedonian identity and Skopje's decision to refuse entry to Kovachev to attend an event that stirs nationalist sentiment in both countries.

He accused politicians of a "short-sighted and unnecessary" strategy in which they are "behaving in a predatory way and using every excuse to be a little populist."

Written by Andy Heil based on reporting by Dilyana Teoharova of RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service in Sofia and Marija Tumanovska of RFE/RL's Balkan Service in Skopje

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/macedonia-bulgaria- nationalist-dispute/32417584.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Moldova Sees EU Membership As Shield Against Russian Aggression, Says President Sandu

By RFE/RL May 18, 2023

Moldovan President Maia Sandu says membership in the European Union is the tiny country's best way to protect itself against potential Russian aggression and its current status of neutrality can always be revisited at some point.

Moldova on June 1 is to host the first summit of the 44-member European Political Community -- the brainchild of French President Emmanuel Macron created last year and meant to improve cooperation between the EU and nonmembers, including aspiring countries in the Western Balkans and the Caucasus region.

Moldova was invited together with its eastern neighbor, Ukraine, to open accession negotiations with the 27-member bloc in June last year, just months after Russia's unprovoked invasion of its neighbor.

Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries, received hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees in the aftermath of the invasion and became increasingly concerned about a possible spillover of the war.

Russia continues to station more than 1,000 troops in Transdniester, a sliver of land between Moldova proper and Ukraine, ostensibly for peacekeeping operations and guarding a huge Soviet-era munitions depot.

"Of course, nothing compares to what is happening in Ukraine, but we see the risks and we do believe that we can save our democracy only as part of the EU," Sandu told the AFP news agency on May 17 while attending a Council of Europe of summit in Iceland.

"We do believe that Russia will continue to be a big source of instability for years to come and we need to protect ourselves," she said.

Like Ukraine, Moldova was part of the former Soviet Union until 1991, when it declared independence.

It fought a short but bloody war in 1992 with its Russian-backed Transdniester region, which had broken away over perceived fears that Chisinau would seek reunification with its western neighbor, Romania.

Moldova shares a common history and language with NATO and EU member Romania, of which it was part until World War II.

Pro-Western Sandu, a former World Bank official educated in the United States, came to power in November 2020 on a pro-reform ticket, replacing Moscow-backed Socialist president Igor Dodon, whose term had been marred by economic doldrums and corruption scandals.

Ahead of the European Political Community summit to be hosted at a castle near Chisinau, Sandu has called on all Moldovans to attend a pro-EU rally in the capital on May 20 to reaffirm their overwhelming support for membership.

"We do believe that this [EU membership] is a realistic project for us, and we are looking forward to see this happening as soon as possible," Sandu said.

Since gaining independence, Moldova, where Moscow has been continuously holding considerable sway, has remained neutral.

Sandu said revisiting Chisinau's neutrality status has become an increasingly talked-about topic for the Moldovan public.

"There are discussions in our society about whether neutrality protects us and if at some point people will change their view, of course we will reconsider this decision.

"In the meantime, we are trying to consolidate the defense sector of Moldova and we are counting on our friends," she said in a clear reference to the West.

With reporting by AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/moldova-eu-membership- shield-russian-aggression/32417413.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Former Bosnian Prison Camp Supervisor Arrested In U.S.

By RFE/RL's Balkan Service May 18, 2023

Kemal Mrndzic, the former supervisor of the notorious Celebici Bosnian prison camp where Serbs were held and tortured during the bloody breakup of the former Yugoslavia, has been arrested in Boston for allegedly using false claims of persecution to obtain refugee status and citizenship in the United States.

The UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) established that the guards at the Celebici camp were guilty of the murder, rape, and torture of Serbian prisoners held there.

U.S. prosecutors said on May 17 that Mrndzic was interviewed by ICTY investigators in Sarajevo after the 1992-1995 Bosnian War and accused him of being involved in crimes committed at Celebici.

According to the lawsuit, a number of survivors have identified Mrndzic as being involved in the beatings and other abuses against those forced into the camp.

Three other Celebici guards were convicted by The Hague tribunal where survivors testified about their treatment in the camp.

According to court documents, after the end of the war, ICTY investigators spoke with Mrndzic in Sarajevo and allegedly accused him of being involved in abuses at Celebici.

U.S. prosecutors said Mrndzic escaped Bosnia through Croatia and obtained refugee status in the United States in 1999 and then U.S. citizenship, falsely claiming he was taken prisoner and tortured by Serb forces and was fearing revenge upon return.

At the time of his arrest, he was living in the town of Swampscott, just outside of Boston, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

He has now been charged with falsifying, concealing, and covering up a material fact from the U.S. government and other crimes.

Mrndzic was released on bail after his first appearance in federal court on May 17.

Using a fraudulently obtained passport and falsely obtained certificate of naturalization in the United States is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The ICTY has established that up to 240 ethnic Serbs from the southern Bosnian town of Konjic and the surrounding villages were imprisoned at Celebici.

They were tortured and abused, and some of them were killed from May 1992 to May 1993 as part of a wide and systematic attack on the Serbian civilian population in the area by Bosnian Muslim and Croat forces.

With reporting by AP and NBC

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/bosnia-celebici-camp- mrndzic-arrested-boston/32417038.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






UK and Norway to increase cooperation on undersea capabilities

The UK and Norway agree to develop a strategic partnership to counter shared threats in the undersea domain, including threats to our undersea infrastructure.

18 May 2023

UK Defence Secretary and Norwegian Defence Minister sign security partnership to counter undersea threats

Statement of Intent (SOI) to collaborate on protecting critical energy infrastructure, anti-submarine warfare and subsea protection

Partnership to strengthen defence cooperation between Allied nations

The UK and Norway have today agreed to develop a strategic partnership to counter shared threats in the undersea domain, including threats to our undersea infrastructure.

Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, and Norwegian Defence Minister, Bjrn Arild Gram, signed a Statement of Intent (SOI) during a visit to the Maritime Operations Centre in Northwood today, agreeing to collaborate further on undersea capabilities to enhance North Atlantic Security.

The growing use of the seabed for energy and communications purposes has resulted in increased opportunities for adversaries to threaten Western subsea critical national infrastructure, as seen through the damaging of the Nordstream pipeline, where the UK and Norway have jointly increased security patrols in the region.

Building on this ongoing collaboration, this partnership will enhance the two nations' ability to exercise and operate together and develop capabilities that will protect our shared interests in the North Sea, while simplifying the process for Allies and partners to join or complement UK and Norwegian activity.

Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace said:

Cooperating through the JEF and the Northern Group with our long-standing defence partner and NATO ally Norway, we are heightening our joint capabilities to protect Western critical national infrastructure on the seabed. The attack on the Nord Stream pipeline has determined even closer collaboration across our collective assets to detect and defend against subsea threats and ensure continued North Atlantic security.

With shared interests in the North Sea, the North Atlantic and the High North, regional security is central to the national security of both nations. This strategic partnership will continue to deepen defence ties between the two nations as they work together to protect and deter against subsea threats.

This announcement builds on the excellent bilateral defence relationship between Norway and the UK, including by cooperating closely in the JEF and the Northern Group, as well as on key shared capabilities such as P-8A maritime patrol aircraft and F-35s. Training and exercises provide the bedrock to our bilateral defence relationship, and have done for over 50 years.

Defence Minister, Bjrn Arild Gram said:

It is important that democracies like the UK and Norway stand together when the rules based international order is under pressure. The sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines last year, is a concrete reminder of what is at stake here. By working together, we can improve our ability to detect submarines, to counter mine threats and to protect critical infrastructure on the seabed.

Earlier this year, the UK also announced the arrival of a new sub-sea protection vessel into Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, where it has been undergoing a period of refit. Last month, that vessel - supporting the UK's protection of critical national infrastructure - was formally named as RFA Proteus by Baroness Goldie on a visit to Faslane, Scotland.

The 98-metre-long, adaptable offshore patrol vessel - the length of Big Ben - will act as a 'mother ship', operating remote and autonomous offboard systems for underwater surveillance and seabed warfare, vital to our national security.

The UK continues to work closely with Norway to help Ukraine defend its sovereignty against Putin's illegal invasion, and we welcome Norway's extensive direct and indirect support for Ukraine.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

Department of Public Information . News and Media Division . New York

18 May 2023

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon, everyone.

** Noon Briefing Guest

Today, after you've heard from me, we will be joined by Fran Equiza, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Afghanistan Representative, who will brief us on the situation in Afghanistan.

** Group of Seven Summit

As a reminder, the Secretary-General departs today for the Group of Seven Summit in Hiroshima, Japan. On Saturday, he will take part in two working sessions with partners  one on "Working Together to Address Multiple Crises" and one on the "Common Endeavour for a Resilient and Sustainable Planet". During his visit to Hiroshima, the Secretary-General will also meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and with other leaders present at the Summit.

** Black Sea Initiative

For the first time since 4 May, the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) agreed to authorize new vessels to participate in the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The JCC today authorized three new inbound vessels, heading to Odesa and Chornomorsk ports. There are three other ships on their outbound journey  two of which are preparing for inspection in Istanbul and one that has been stranded in the Ukrainian ports since March 2022 and is now departing Ukraine under the terms of the Initiative. While we welcome this partial resumption of inbound movement activity, we call on the parties to ensure that the authorization of new vessels is done for all three ports to make use of capacity and meet industry demands.

** Iraq

This morning, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, told the Security Council that Iraq has a full "to-do list" and narrow or partisan actions will not help in checking it off. Resources, she said, needed to turn certain Government goals into realities, such as adequate public service delivery, should be unlocked with the passage of a federal budget, and this has yet to happen. Also, she underscored the importance of the timely organization of the long-awaited Provincial Council Elections, announced for no later than 20 December this year. Her full remarks were shared with you.

** Democratic Republic of the Congo

We have an update from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Over the last few days, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) responded to alerts of the presence of CODECO members in several villages of Djugu Territory in Ituri Province. UN peacekeepers immediately deployed to the areas, prompting the assailants to flee the scene. In the meantime, peacekeepers are engaging with communities around Djugu, notably internally displaced persons and youth leaders, as part of efforts to strengthen protection and early warning mechanisms. On a separate development, MONUSCO launched a Joint Assessment and Engagement Mission to Bweremana, close to the town of Sake, in North Kivu Province, in the context of population displacement caused by 23 March Movement (M23) activities in Masisi territory. Peacekeepers met with civilians and local leaders to better understand their needs and protection concerns. Meanwhile, yesterday, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Bintou Keita, travelled to Kalehe Territory in South Kivu Province to see first-hand the damage caused by recent torrential rain and heavy flooding. She expressed her condolences and solidarity with the Government and the affected populations. More than 450 people died in the floods and many more are missing, according to official estimates.

** Sudan

In Sudan, we continue to scale up deliveries of life-saving assistance to those in need. The World Food Programme (WFP) says it has now reached more than 300,000 people since restarting emergency distributions in Sudan two weeks ago. The agency has provided more than 6,500 tons of food to people in several states, including Gedaref, Kassala, White Nile, North Darfur, East Darfur and Al Jazirah. In North Darfur, more than 130,000 internally displaced people have received emergency food rations. A WFP vessel carrying more than 30,000 tons of food assistance today docked in Port Sudan. So far, two cargo planes from the UN Humanitarian Air Service have arrived in Port Sudan, carrying critical supplies for UN agencies and other partners. For its part, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) says reproductive health supplies will be distributed to hospitals and health facilities across Sudan, including in the capital Khartoum and the states of Al Jazirah, Red Sea, White Nile, South Darfur, West Darfur, Central Darfur and South Kordofan. The supplies are sufficient to support more than 11,000 safe births, more than 2,000 caesarean sections and the treatment of more than 5,800 reproductive health emergencies.

** Somalia

On Somalia, we have an update from our humanitarian colleagues who have stepped up assistance after massive flooding left a trail of destruction across the country. WFP is distributing 90 tons of high energy biscuits in isolated flood affected areas and cash assistance to more than 62,000 people in Belet Weyne, one of the most impacted districts. Partners are assessing needs, and at the same time, have started providing clean water to 60,000 people for a month. Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that the water levels are still high, so it is difficult to reach all the impacted men, women and children. WFP is planning to airdrop food to people who are still stranded in isolated villages. We need to reach more people and we will need more funding and capacities in the coming days.

** Myanmar

And we have an update on the response to Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar, where a massive clean-up effort is under way. In many parts of Rakhine State and the north-west, electricity and telecommunications services are still down. Critical supplies  including fuel and clean water  are urgently needed. Negotiations for humanitarian access are ongoing with all relevant stakeholders. Meanwhile, our partners continue their field observations across Rakhine State and are ready to start coordinated field missions once approval is granted. In parts of Rakhine State where there were pre-existing approvals and operations, humanitarian workers have provided some initial support to all affected communities, including both the Rakhine and Rohingya populations. Meanwhile, we urgently need additional funding to support relief efforts. Our Humanitarian Response Plan for 2023  which was launched before the cyclone  is just 10 per cent funded. That's it from me. Any questions before we go to our guest? Yeah, Edie?

** Questions and Answers

Question : A couple of questions, Farhan. First, on the deal that was reached yesterday on the Block Sea Grain Initiative. Can you tell us what follow-up consultations are being held?

Deputy Spokesman : Well, as you're aware, there's some discussion towards having a meeting of the Quad  of the four parties that are involved. At this stage, nothing is scheduled for today, but it's possible that there will be a meeting either tomorrow or early next week of those four parties, and we'll give you more details once that's finalized.

Question : And on the Secretary-General's agenda at the G7, are you expecting any specific talks on Ukraine and support and movement towards possible discussions on an end to the war?

Deputy Spokesman : The sessions that the Secretary-General will be attending are not ones that concern Ukraine. These are about a resilient and sustainable planet and how countries can best work together to deal with multiple crises. So, he will be dealing with a broader agenda that's not specific to some particular national crises that we've been dealing with. I would, however, expect that Ukraine will come up in his various discussions, and we will provide you details of his travel and his meetings as they take place. Evelyn?

Question : Thank you, Farhan. Do you have any more details on Darfur? Is it the so-called Janjaweed that is causing the havoc, or are they all too busy under the general in Khartoum?

Deputy Spokesman : There's been, of course, fighting over the past month from the various factions, including the Government forces and the RSF [Rapid Support Forces]. We're trying to do what we can to make sure that calm is restored. As you know, there was an agreement to allow for a greater humanitarian access, but what we need is ultimately a cessation of fighting on the ground. Pam?

Question : Yes, Farhan. Any comment from the Secretary-General on the South Africa peace proposal that both President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and [Vladimir V.] Putin have agreed to... talking, at least? They haven't agreed to the peace proposal.

Deputy Spokesman : We encourage all efforts to improve the climate between the parties and work our way towards a peace agreement between them. So, any discussions that will involve both countries are to be welcomed and we're hopeful that that will help steer us along the right path.

Question : Well, just a follow-up on that. Has anyone approached the Secretary-General to be part of these discussions or the UN?

Deputy Spokesman : Well, the Secretary-General was contacted by President [Cyril] Ramaphosa to be informed of the discussions. So, he's aware of them. But, it's not one in which the Secretary-General himself has a direct role.

Question : And I'm sorry. One follow-up to Edie's. Are there any known modifications to the Black Sea [Grain] Initiative that precede the agreement to renew?

Deputy Spokesman : No. Any modifications to the agreement would have to be agreed by the four parties. That hasn't happened so far. Yes?

Question : Thank you. 18 May is a day of remembrance of the victims of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people. Russia, as you know, continues to persecute Crimean Tatars in the occupied Crimea, throws them into prison, uses torture and kills them. Do you have any encouraging words for these people on this day? After all, they should sign [inaudible] from the Ukrainian army, but also from the UN.

Deputy Spokesman : The only thing I would really have to say is, of course, we stand with all of the communities in Ukraine and hope that the rights of all people, including all of the various groups in the country, will be respected. Yes, Alan?

Question : Thank you, Farhan. Another two questions, please. The first one is the follow-up on Edie's question. You've said that tomorrow or the next week, the meeting on the grain deal should be held. So, what's the level of this meeting?

Deputy Spokesman : That's still to be determined. It's possible it will be at a senior level, but we're working on the various arrangements.

Question : I see. And the second question is, looks like the Ukrainian high-ranking officials continue to pose physical threats to Russian representatives; Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the President's Office, said the following stuff: "Yes, the representatives of the Russian Federation, a State of serial killers, will undoubtedly pay all their debts. Yes, Ukraine will get each and every one of you, whether legally or physically." My question is why the UN is not reacting to those direct threats to Russian civilians?

Deputy Spokesman : Obviously, in not just this situation, but in all wartime situations, there's rhetoric from the various parties. We don't respond to it. However, we do encourage, again, across all these situations, we do encourage all parties to avoid unhelpful rhetoric. And then back to you, I imagine.

Question : Yeah, it comes back to me. Today, Russia launched 30 missiles at Ukrainian cities, mostly at my hometown of Kyiv. Fortunately, they were shot down, thanks to our Western partners. Today, Russia is going to lament at the UN Security Council about supplying weapons to Ukraine, saying that it shouldn't defend itself. What is your comment on that?

Deputy Spokesman : I'm not going to get in between the discussions that are happening in the Security Council. What I will say is, of course, we have spoken out against attacks on population centres, including in Kyiv, and we will continue to do so. Dezhi?

Question : Farhan, just a follow-up. Do you know the briefer from the UN Secretariat for today's Security Council meeting on the weapon zone in Ukraine? Do you have a briefer there?

Deputy Spokesman : At this stage, I believe that this is a meeting that's going to happen for the afternoon. We'll let you know in the afternoon.

Question : So, you will have a briefer?

Deputy Spokesman : I do not know whether there is actually a briefer out from our side. You know, again, if there is one, we'll let you know.

Question : Okay. And... sorry. Sorry. My second question, the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, just arrived in Saudi Arabia to attend the Arab League summit. Do you think he's travelled to Saudi Arabia and being received by those Arabian countries could bring stability in that region?

Deputy Spokesman : Our hope is that the participants at the Summit of the League of Arab States will use this forum to encourage again the parties in Syria, and in particular the Government of Syria, to move ahead with peace efforts in line with Security Council resolution 2254 (2015).

Question : Sorry. I have a question here. If the Syrian parties in Syria, they decided to reconciliate themselves, but not in line with the Security Council resolution, what would happen?

Deputy Spokesman : Well, that's a hypothetical circumstance. Let's see what happens. Obviously, the Security Council resolution is in line with what the parties themselves have been discussing. And what we want is for them to be implemented, so that we can move ahead on the path of peace. First, we'll go to Abdelhamid, and then to Linda.

Question : Thank you, Farhan. There were two major developments in the last 24 hours in Palestine. And I've been following Tor Wennesland to see if he made any comment. First, yesterday, a building in Silwan was demolished leaving 50 Palestinians homeless. And he said nothing. And today, which is more dangerous, the flag march of Israeli settlers is going through the Muslim headquarter in Jerusalem, and it includes the cabinet member, [Itamar] Ben-Gvir, [Bezazel] Smotrich and others, or those most extremist in the Israeli cabinet. And there were many appeals to change the route of the flag march. Yet, the only person who needs to say something didn't say anything, which was Tor Wennesland. Why is that?

Deputy Spokesman : Well, what I can say is this: Tor Wennesland and the UN Office of the Special Coordinator is continuing to engage with all relevant actors to urge restraint and avoid provocations and maintain calm. And we will continue to monitor the situation. Now, regarding the question I was asked about, who is going to brief at this afternoon Security Council meeting: Yes, there will be a briefing. And it will be by Adedeji Ebo, the Director of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs and Deputy to the High Representative. And so, he's expected to brief this afternoon. Linda?

Question : What about my first question, Farhan? My first question about the demolishing of the building in Silwan.

Deputy Spokesman : I will just reiterate the concerns that we can continue to express about demolition of buildings and we will continue to follow this up with the authorities on the ground. Yeah, Linda?

Question : Thank you, Farhan. This is going back to peace negotiations, if you might call them that, potential ones. You mentioned the SG had been contacted by Ramaphosa and his colleagues. And of course, there's the Chinese proposal for trying to make some progress. I was just wondering, the SG has said in recent weeks that prospects for any kind of political solution seem very slim. My question is this: Does the SG believe that any resolution to this conflict must include the return of Crimea to Russia? It didn't seem that in the beginning that that was really necessarily and a pivotal part of any negotiation. I was just wondering if you had any information.

Deputy Spokesman : What we've said and repeatedly said is that there needs to be a peace in line with the UN Charter and with the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly. And so, we continue to abide by that. And with that, let me turn to our guest.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Afghanistan - A Children's Crisis: UNICEF Afghanistan Representative Fran Equiza's remarks at the Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

UNICEF

As delivered

18 May 2023

NEW YORK, 18 May 2023 - "A few weeks ago, I visited a health clinic outside Kabul, replete with female health workers, and lines of mothers waiting patiently for nurses to vaccinate their babies. One mother trusted me to give polio drops to her baby girl. And when the nurse confirmed that her baby was now safe from polio, she smiled.

"I don't speak Dari or Pashtu. But as a parent, I understand the unspoken language of relief.

"Across Afghanistan, there are nearly 16 million boys and girls, like my son and my daughters, like your sons and daughters, for whom that relief is out of reach.

"They wake up hungry. They go to bed hungry. They don't have clean water to quench their thirst. Or soft blankets in which to sleep. They have become all too used to labouring at home, on the streets, in fields, in mines, and in shops. Too many live in fear of violence or early marriage. Too many are burdened by the weight of adult responsibility. Too many have been robbed of an education - their one hope of a better life.

"Because in what is a deeply troubled country, grappling with humanitarian catastrophe, climate-related disasters, and egregious human rights abuses, too many people have forgotten that Afghanistan is a children's crisis.

"It's a crisis that's getting worse. Today, an estimated 90 per cent of Afghans are on the brink of poverty.

"Children bear the brunt of it.

"2.3 million children are expected to face acute malnutrition in 2023. 875,000 of them need treatment for severe acute malnutrition - a life-threatening condition.

"Also, this year, around 840,000 pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers are likely to experience acute malnutrition, jeopardising their ability to give their babies the best start in life.

"And although the fighting has, for the most part, stopped, decades of conflict mean that every day, children's rights are violated in the most appalling ways. Afghanistan is one of the most weapons-contaminated countries in the world. Most of the casualties are children.

"Preliminary data suggests that between January and March this year, 134 children were either killed or maimed by explosive devices. This is the reality of the escalating danger faced by Afghan children as they explore areas that were previously inaccessible due to fighting.

"Many of those killed and maimed are children collecting scrap metal to sell.

"Because that's what poverty does. It compels you to send your children to work -- not because you want to, but because you have to.

"Approximately 1.6 million children are trapped in child labour in Afghanistan.[1] Children as young as six work in dangerous conditions to help their parents put a little food on the table. Bread. Beans. Potatoes.

"And where education used to be a symbol of hope, children's right to learn is under attack. Girls across Afghanistan have been denied their right to learn for over three years now - first, due to COVID-19 and then, since September 2021, because of the ban on attending secondary school. I don't need to tell you of the impact of these absences on their mental health.

"Despite the consequential challenges, including the recent unacceptable bans and directives targeting Afghan women, UNICEF is there for every child. We're committed to staying and delivering for the women and children of Afghanistan, just as we have for nearly 75 years. We're adapting to the fast-changing realities on the ground, finding solutions to reach the children that need us the most, while ensuring that Afghan women employed by UNICEF can continue their invaluable contribution to our work for children.

"In the first three months of this year, for example, thanks to our courageous staff, especially our national female staff, the NGOs without whom we couldn't reach communities, our donors and partners:

7.5 million people benefitted from UNICEF-supported health facilities.

600,000 boys and girls learned in community-based education classes - 55 per cent of whom are girls.

More than 140,000 children under five received treatment for severe acute malnutrition.

And 86,000 households received humanitarian cash transfers.

"But the needs grow every day.

"And UNICEF's Humanitarian Action for Children appeal is only 22 per cent funded.[2] It's May. Halfway through the year. Practically, that means we cannot support all the children we need to support.

"So, we're urging the international community to rally together and help us alleviate the suffering of children, women and families in Afghanistan. This plight is not of their making.

"Together, we can - and so we must -- make their lives healthier and more hopeful. But we need urgent help now.

#####

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Children bearing the brunt of Afghanistan crisis: UNICEF

18 May 2023 - Roughly 90 per cent of the population in Afghanistan is on the brink of poverty "and children bear the brunt of it," the Representative of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in the country, Fran Equiza, told journalists in New York on Thursday.

"Because, in what is a deeply troubled country - grappling with humanitarian catastrophe, climate related disasters, and egregious human rights abuses - too many people have forgotten that Afghanistan is a children's rights crisis," he said, warning that the situation is getting worse.

Young lives at risk

This year, some 2.3 million Afghan boys and girls are expected to face acute malnutrition. Of this number, 875,000 will need treatment for severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition.

Furthermore, around 840,000 pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers are likely to experience acute malnutrition, jeopardising their ability to give their babies the best start in life.

Mr. Equiza added that although fighting has mostly stopped, decades of conflict mean that every day, children's rights are violated "in the most appalling ways".

Escalating danger

He said Afghanistan is among the most "weapons-contaminated countries" in the world, and most of the casualties are children.

He cited preliminary data which suggests that 134 children were killed or maimed by explosive devices between January and March of this year.

"This is the reality of the escalating danger faced by Afghan children as they explore areas that were previously inaccessible due to fighting," he said.

"Many of those killed and maimed are children collecting scrap metal to sell. Because that's what poverty does. It compels you to send your children to work - not because you want to, but because you have to."

Trapped in child labour

Meanwhile, roughly 1.6 million Afghan children - some as young as six - are trapped in child labour, working in dangerous conditions just to help their parents put food on the table.

"And where education used to be a symbol of hope, children's right to learn is under attack," Mr. Equiza added.

"Girls across Afghanistan have been denied their right to learn for over three years now - first, due to COVID-19 and then, since September 2021, because of the ban on attending secondary school. I don't need to tell you of the impact of these absences on their mental health."

Staying and adapting

He underlined UNICEF's commitment to stay and deliver for the women and children in Afghanistan, where it has had a presence for nearly 75 years.

"We're adapting to the fast-changing realities on the ground, finding solutions to reach the children that need us the most, while ensuring that Afghan women employed by UNICEF can continue their invaluable contribution to our work for children," he said.

With needs growing every day, he called for greater support from the international community, noting that UNICEF's Humanitarian Action for Children Appeal is only 22 percent funded.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Operation Neptune's Storm unites military, local maritime law enforcement units in Tampa Bay

Published May 18, 2023

By Senior Airman Lauren Cobin

TAMPA, Fla. (AFNS) -- Tampa Bay witnessed a display of maritime power as Operation Neptune's Storm, a large-scale joint maritime demonstration led by the 6th Security Forces Squadron Marine Patrol Unit, took place in Hillsborough Bay, May 17.

As one of the few Air Force installations with a marine patrol unit dedicated to securing its shores, MacDill Air Force Base has the unique challenge of protecting its own coastline to carry out its mission of generating global air refueling support.

Seventeen vessels launched into the bay as a collaborative effort between Tampa's community, state, local and federal partners. The mission of the operation was to strengthen coordination, response capabilities and mutual understanding between the agencies.

Col. Jason Parker, 6th Mission Support Group commander, emphasized the significance of Operation Neptune's Storm in enhancing regional security.

"This operation demonstrated the collective strength and preparedness of our partners in safeguarding our coastlines," Parker said. "Operation Neptune's Storm highlights the seamless coordination between military, state, and local agencies to protect our national interests and ensure the safety of our communities."

The maritime exercise involved several military assets, including boats, jet skis, helicopters and personnel from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard. However, it was not just the military involved in this display of readiness. Several law enforcement agencies joined forces to ensure the success of the operation.

Agencies such as the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Manatee County Sheriff's Office and the Tampa Police Department played integral roles in the demonstration.

The involvement of these agencies highlighted the commitment and importance of cooperation in maintaining regional security. Each agency brought their unique expertise and resources to the table, contributing to the overall success of the event.

Capt. Toyre Hudson from 6th MSG emphasized the significance of collaboration among agencies.

"Operation Neptune's Storm provided us with an opportunity to work hand-in-hand with other law enforcement agencies," Hudson said. "By pooling our resources and expertise, we enhance our ability to protect and serve our communities effectively."

Operation Neptune's Storm served as a testament to the commitment and readiness of Tampa's community, state, local, and federal partners to overcome any challenges and emerge victorious in the face of potential threats.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






USS Canberra Will Join the U.S. Fleet in Australia to Honor Namesake

US Navy

18 May 2023

From Chief Petty Officer Julio Rivera

SAN DIEGO -- The future USS Canberra (LCS 30) will join the U.S. Navy active fleet on July 22 with the U.S. Navy's first international commissioning ceremony at the Royal Australian Navy Fleet Base East in Sydney, Australia.

The future USS Canberra (LCS 30) will join the U.S. Navy active fleet on July 22 with the U.S. Navy's first international commissioning ceremony at the Royal Australian Navy Fleet Base East in Sydney, Australia.

Canberra is the first U.S. Navy warship to be commissioned in an allied country. It is the second U.S. Navy ship to bear the namesake of Canberra.

"I can think of no better way to signify our enduring partnership with Australia than celebrating the newest U.S. Navy warship named for Australia's capital city, and commissioning her in Royal Australian Navy Fleet Base East surrounded by many of the Australian ships we have worked alongside for years," said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. "I look forward to this momentous day for the ship, crew, sponsor, and all our partners in government and industry who worked tirelessly to give the future USS Canberra the celebration it deserves."

Australian Chief of Navy, Vice Adm. Mark Hammond said this historic event encapsulates both the depth of the historical ties, and modern day partnership between the Royal Australian Navy and the U.S. Navy.

"This is a unique demonstration of respect by the U.S. for the Officers and Sailors of the Royal Australian Navy," said Hammond. "It is an opportunity to reflect on our shared history, and on a friendship forged while fighting side-by-side. On August 9, 1942 the RAN heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra was severely damaged off Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands) while protecting the U.S. Marines fighting ashore. In a surprise attack by a powerful Japanese naval force, Canberra was hit 24 times in less than two minutes and 84 of her crew were killed including Captain Frank Getting"

"I look forward to welcoming the U.S. Navy, and the crew of USS Canberra to Australia and we are honored to host the U.S. Navy's first international commissioning. It will be a historical event to see the USS Canberra and HMAS Canberra alongside each other in Sydney. As we look to the future, the strength of our partnership remains a cornerstone of a secure, stable, free and open Indo-Pacific Region."

The first USS Canberra (CA-70/CAG-2) was named at the direction of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in honor of the Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra for the ship's courageous actions during the Battle of Savo Island that took place Aug. 7-9, 1942. The new Baltimore-class heavy cruiser was renamed Canberra from Pittsburgh on Oct. 16, 1942, and was commissioned on Oct. 14, 1943.



Canberra will soon begin the transit for the Navy's first international ship commissioning making stops along the transit in Indo-Pacific nations prior to its arrival in Sydney for commissioning.

A visit to the Australian capital city of Canberra is planned the day after commissioning, continuing the U.S. Navy tradition of building a strong relationship with namesake communities.

The ship's sponsor is Australian Senator, the Honourable Marise Payne, the former Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs who attended the ship's keel laying ceremony in Mobile, Ala. in 2020. The ship was christened June 5, 2021, by Alison Petchell, the Australian Government's Defence Assistant Secretary for Industrial Capability Planning in the Nuclear Submarines Taskforce and former Minister Counsellor for Defense Materiel, on behalf of Senator Payne. The ship arrived for the first time at its homeport of San Diego last year.

The first U.S. Navy ship named after a foreign capital, Canberra (CA-70) was sponsored by Lady Alice C. Dixon, the wife of Sir Owen Dixon, then Australian Minister to the United States. Following World War II, Canberra was placed out of commission and in reserve on March 7, 1947. Five years later, the ship was selected to be the U.S. Navy's second guided missile cruiser. The ship was re-commissioned on June 15, 1956, as guided missile heavy cruiser CAG-2.

With its new designation, Canberra transported President Dwight D. Eisenhower and later was the ceremonial flagship for the selection of the Unknown Serviceman of both World War II and Korea interned at Arlington National Cemetery, was the Commander of the Atlantic Fleet Cruiser Force flagship, conducted an around the globe goodwill cruise, provided medical assistance to the crew of the Turkish merchantman Mehmet Ipar, was the Commander Task Group 136.1 flagship that was charged with maintaining a blockade during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and served in Korea and Vietnam. To highlight the ship's role in naval gunfire support following operations in Vietnam, Canberra was re-designated to original classification and identification number CA-70 on May 1, 1968.

Canberra received seven battle stars for her service in World War II. The ship was decommissioned on Feb. 2, 1970, and was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on July 31, 1978.

The present day USS Canberra is the 16th Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy. LCS are designed to be fast, optimally-manned, mission-tailored, surface combatants that operate in both littoral and open-ocean environments. LCS integrate with joint, combined, crewed, and unmanned systems to support forward-presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence missions around the globe. The future USS Canberra was built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Readout of U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday's Meeting with Chief of the Royal Norwegian Navy Rear Adm. Rune Andersen

US Navy - Press Release

18 May 2023

Chief of Naval Operations Spokesperson Cmdr. Courtney Hillson provided the following readout:

Today, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday met with Chief of the Royal Norwegian Navy Rear Adm. Rune Andersen in Cork, Ireland, at the Chiefs of European Navies Conference.

The two discussed the vital role of the maritime domain, as well as regional security and stability, and the importance of the arctic.

Gilday thanked Andersen for Norway's commitment to international security and their significant contributions. He expressed that Norway is the alliance's eyes and ears in the High North.

The two reaffirmed their shared commitment to NATO, as well as continuing their efforts to increase interchangeability.

The U.S. Navy and Norway have built significant levels of interoperability and continue to operate together around the globe. In addition to integrated deployments and real-world operations, the navies regularly participate in regional exercises such as Baltic Operations and Joint Warrior. Their work together highlights NATO's ability to integrate high-end maritime warfare capabilities to defend the alliance.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Readout of U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday's Meeting with Chief of Italian Navy Adm. Enrico Credendino

US Navy - Press Release

18 May 2023

Chief of Naval Operations Spokesperson Cmdr. Courtney Hillson provided the following readout:

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday met with Chief of Italian Navy Adm. Enrico Credendino in London, at the First Sea Lord's Sea Power Conference, May 16.

The two heads of navy spoke about regional security and stability, the importance of the NATO alliance, and the successful maritime partnership between Italy and the United States. Both chiefs expressed interest in expanding future operations and exercises with each other to promote additional training opportunities and increase interoperability.

The U.S. Navy and Marina Militare routinely operate together around the globe. In addition to integrated deployments and real-world operations, the navies regularly participate in regional exercises such as Obangame Express and African Lion. Their work together highlights NATO's ability to integrate high-end maritime warfare capabilities to defend the alliance.

Gilday and Credendino last met in October 2022, when Credendino hosted Gilday at the Trans-Regional Seapower Symposium.

##

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Biden in Japan for G7 Talks

By Patsy Widakuswara May 18, 2023

U.S. President Joe Biden arrived Thursday evening in Japan for a summit of leaders of the Group of Seven richest democracies, that will focus on countering what they have billed as China's "economic coercion," growing assertiveness and military buildup, as well as supporting Ukraine in its battle against a Russian invasion.

Shortly after landing at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Biden greeted a group of about 400 U.S. and Japanese troops before heading to Hiroshima, the site of the G-7 talks, for a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Biden told Kishida that the United States and Japan "stand up for shared values," including supporting Ukraine and holding Russia accountable for its war of aggression.

"The bottom line, Mr. Prime Minister, is that when our countries stand together, we stand stronger. And I believe the whole world is safer when we do," Biden said.

The summit kicks off Friday. Prior to their meetings, Biden and Kishida will visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, with other G-7 leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the European Union. A group of nonmembers have also been invited as part of Kishida's effort to engage with the Global South. Those nations include Australia, Brazil, Comoros, Cook Islands, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Ukraine and Vietnam.

White House officials said Biden will not be apologizing for the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that killed at least 130,000 and 60,000 people respectively.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Japan, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said there will be "discussions about the battlefield" in Ukraine and on the "state of play on sanctions and the steps that the G-7 will collectively commit to on enforcement."

Biden's trip has been truncated to accommodate his negotiations with Congressional leaders over raising the U.S. debt ceiling to prevent the country from defaulting on its obligations. On Sunday, instead of continuing to Sydney for the Quad summit with a brief stop in Papua New Guinea to meet Pacific Island leaders, Biden will return to Washington.

Nuclear nonproliferation

Hiroshima, a major city on the southern end of Japan's main island Honshu, is also Kishida's hometown. The city was destroyed by the atomic bomb during World War II, making it a symbolic choice for the summit. The setting is also intended to underscore the Japanese leader's focus on nuclear nonproliferation amid geopolitical rivalries over Ukraine between nuclear powers U.S. and Russia, and the threat of nuclear weapons from North Korea and Iran.

Biden reaffirmed to Kishida, "U.S. extended deterrence commitments using the full range of U.S. capabilities"  similar language to the recently signed Washington Declaration between the U.S. and South Korea that reinforces Washington's nuclear umbrella to deter attacks from Pyongyang.

Observers will be watching whether at least some elements of the Washington Declaration will be extended to Japan. A trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit has been scheduled but not yet confirmed, amid warming ties between the two U.S. allies whose relations have been marked by animosity stemming from centuries of acrimonious history culminating in the brutal 1910-1945 Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula.

The Biden administration's 2022 Nuclear Posture Review includes a statement that a nuclear attack against the United States or its allies and partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of the perpetrator.

Chris Hannas contributed to this report.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Analysts: US Pivot From Middle East Is Myth

By Dale Gavlak May 18, 2023

Some analysts in the Middle East argue that concerns over China's rapid military modernization and technology competition are pulling Washington's attention away from the Mideast region. While the United States may not be the only global player in the region, others say its retreat from the Middle East is a myth.

Analysts see security and energy issues, Israel, and Iran's nuclear threat as key issues for U.S. policy in the Middle East. As James Phillips of the Washington-based Heritage Foundation and others see it, Washington is pressing regional allies to assume more responsibility for their own defense. "Nervous Arab Gulf states are hedging and cultivating closer ties to China and Russia; Iran and Turkey are absorbing parts of Iraq and Syria, two [practically] failed states," he told GIS reports.

Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says that while U.S. security presence is lower than it was at the height of the Iraq war, there are some "30,000 to 40,000 U.S. troops in the region, dozens of bases, including several large military facilities, pre-positioned stocks, and security force assistance is extensive in the region." She told a Carnegie seminar that "about 54% of arms sales to Middle East come from the U.S."

"The U.S. hasn't pulled back entirely from its more diplomatic role. There are new security alignments," said Kavanagh. One of the biggest changes is that Russia and China are playing a bigger role. It's less about a withdrawal of the United States and more about a shift in relative power. The U.S. is currently putting more force in the region. In some dimensions, they are actually doing more."

Kavanagh says China's conventional military presence in the Middle East is very small, while its economic activities are huge. Russia has a historic military presence in Syria, but it can't deliver on weapons deals given its war in Ukraine.

Frederic Wehrey, also a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the seminar that although China has a "reach and influence in the region, it shouldn't be blown out of proportion."

"China and Russia do offer something to the region's states. This is supplementing, not supplanting the U.S. role," Wehrey said. "Can these outside powers really offer the sorts of security guarantees for their partners' defense that the U.S. has provided? The answer is no. They don't have the capability or the will. China's agreements are non-binding. The U.S. is still fulfilling that primary security role."

Other observers like F. Gregory Gause, chair of international relations at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, has argued that the "debate on U.S. policy in the Middle East needs to move away from abstractions like "commitment" versus "withdrawal" and engage with the real questions of just what interests in the Middle East justify the presence of U.S. military force and what threats justify its use.

That notion becomes more relevant as Gulf Arab states work out their rapprochement with arch-foe Iran in a newly brokered Chinese deal.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Thai PM Candidate Faces Disqualification Bid

By Zsombor Peter May 18, 2023

Thailand's Election Commission is weighing a last-minute legal challenge to the pro-democracy front-runner in the country's race for prime minister in a case that could derail the political career of one of the military-backed government's fiercest critics.

The complaint against Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat bears strong echoes of the case that brought down another rising star of Thailand's gaining pro-democracy movement four years ago and set the stage for a wave of anti-government protests.

In both cases "it's the same legal provision," said Jade Donavanik, president of the law faculty at Thailand's College of Asian Scholars.

That provision bars candidates for public office from holding shares in a mass media company. Days before Sunday's vote to fill Thailand's House of Representatives, a candidate for the ruling, pro-military Palang Pracharath party filed a case with the commission accusing Pita of holding shares in the inactive broadcaster iTV and of failing to disclose them among his assets.

Pita's party had been surging in opinion polls heading into Sunday's vote on a wave of mounting frustration with the government of Prayut Chan-o-cha, an ex-army chief who seized power in a 2014 coup. Move Forward vowed to end military conscription, slash the defense budget and curb royal defamation laws that were landing hundreds of government critics in court or jail. Come election day, it won 152 of the 500 House seats up for grabs, the most of any party.

Joint vote

And while Pita himself has topped opinion polls of whom the public wants for prime minister, the post will be filled, per Thai law, by an upcoming joint vote of the House and military-appointed Senate, which holds another 250 seats. Negotiations are ongoing among the parties that won seats in the House for a coalition that could win that vote.

A decision by the Election Commission against Pita, and a subsequent conviction by the Constitutional Court, would force him out of parliament and out of the running.

Move Forward declined VOA's request for comment on the complaint, though Pita has previously denied wrongdoing. According to local media reports, he says he inherited the shares when his father died in 2006 and had tried but failed to find a buyer. He also denied failing to declare the shares.

Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang, a legal scholar at Thailand's Chulalongkorn University, says the case seems to have little legal merit.

He says the fact that iTV has been off the air for years renders moot the law's intended aim of denying candidates undue influence over public opinion, and that Pita's holdings, less than 1% of the company's total shares, fall well short of a controlling stake. Transferring inherited shares in a company going through a legal dispute, he added, as iTV still is, was also "almost impossible" in practice.

Still, Khemthong says the case does hold risk for Pita.

"In a normal circumstance I would say it's low, but given Thailand's context I would say moderate," he said.

"Unfortunately, the [Constitutional] Court and the Election Commission have already lost their credibility so much in Thai society," he added. "People [have] suspected for years, maybe over a decade, that the court has been compromised, has been politicized and become just a tool for the establishment faction to suppress the masses. And unfortunately, both the Election Commission and the Constitutional Court played into that narrative."

Khemthong pointed to the case of former lawmaker and Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit as a prime example.

Future Forward had come out of virtually nowhere to score a surprise third-place finish in Thailand's 2019 elections. Like its successor, Move Forward, it was the loudest and sharpest voice in parliament demanding checks on the political sway of the country's powerful military and monarchy. As the party's charismatic young leader, Thanathorn was the beacon of a new generation of voters tired of the status quo.

That November, following a probe by the Election Commission, the Constitutional Court convicted Thanathorn of holding shares in a media company, V-Luck. Though Thanathorn claimed to have transferred the shares to his mother before registering as a candidate, the court said he had failed to offload them in time and stripped him of his seat in the House.

Protests grew

Public protests soon followed, and they swelled the next year as the court prosecuted, and ultimately dissolved, Future Forward itself over an illegal campaign loan, banning Thanathorn and other party leaders from politics for the next decade. It was the third pro-democracy party the court had dissolved in the past 12 years.

The complaint against Pita could potentially ensnare Move Forward as well. It asks the Election Commission to consider whether all the party's candidates for Sunday's poll were even eligible to run, given that Pita was the one who, as party leader, legally certified them.

Jade, of the College of Asian Scholars, said the broader case against Move Forward seems weak, and would hinge on whether Pita knew he was unqualified to endorse the candidates, which he added, seemed a stretch.

But he believes the case against Pita himself is more complicated. Pita does seem to be holding the shares in some capacity, Jade said, but whether he was holding them all nominally for his father's heirs or some for himself could make a difference.

"No one can raise this issue if there is no fact and there is no reality that they really hold on to the shares. If someone raised this issue and the EC said, 'I don't care about it,' then the EC would be under [suspicion] themselves, so they have to do it," he said, meaning investigate the claims.

That the timing of the case could work in the government's favor by knocking Pita out of the race for prime minister, Jade added, does not mean it has no merit.

"When the time comes, and when it's an advantageous step for them, then they can do it. Yes, of course I would also say that it's quite political, but it's also legal. They use the legal provision at a time that is politically advantageous for them," he said.

The Election Commission did not reply to VOA's request for comment. According to local media, commission Chair Ittiporn Boonpracong told reporters Monday that the claims against Pita had been investigated. He did not say whether the commission had reached a decision, or whether the case would be sent on to the Constitutional Court.

Khemthong believes Move Forward's election success actually could work in its favor.

If prosecuting Thanathorn and Future Forward while in opposition could set off more than a year of unrest that drew tens of thousands of angry protesters to the streets, he said, any ruling to block Pita or Move Forward while on the cusp of seizing power could do even more.

"The clash, the tension would be much worse. I think that factors ... in the court's calculation," he said. "After this election it becomes very clear that the party is hugely popular and to do anything to tamper with the party or its leader has consequence."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page..
Army shows flexibility during exercise

18 May 2023

The Australian Army deployed a range of capabilities on Exercise Croix du Sud, the French Armed Forces-led humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training activity in New Caledonia.

Functioning as Charlie Company within the land component command, the Army detachment demonstrated its flexibility, delivering a range of supporting effects, including evacuee processing, humanitarian stores distribution, security and patrols.

Major Sean Caughey commanded Charlie Company, which brought together elements of 7th Brigade's infantry, combat engineers and cavalry, as well as military police from the 6th Brigade.

"The different skill sets within our company enable us to be highly flexible. We can receive a range of tasks and ensure that we successfully complete our mission," Major Caughey said.

"Whether that be as simple as distributing stores, providing security to convoys, or being a friendly face to interact with locals to reassure them that we are here to support.

"When we are responding to a natural disaster there are often hungry and thirsty people isolated in remote locations. It's our responsibility to make sure those stores get to where they're needed most."

The 6th Brigade soldiers had the opportunity to work alongside a Royal Gurkha Regiment Rifle Platoon and elements of the French Foreign Legion.

"The relationships our team has been developing with our partners has been excellent, both before the exercise, conducting lead-up training with our French partners, and during the exercise with the attached Gurkha element," Major Caughey said.

"We've seen how other countries do business, how we can best interact with them and how we can operate with them in the future.

"I'm sure many of the relationships built on the exercise will be carried on after we return to Australia."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Joint Statement on the official visit to the Philippines of Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong

Minister for Foreign Affairs

Joint statement with:

The Hon Enrique Manalo, Philippine Secretary for Foreign Affairs

Pasay City

18 May 2023

At the invitation of Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo, Senator the Honorable Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, undertook an official visit to the Philippines on 16-18 May 2023.

At their bilateral meeting, Secretary Manalo and Minister Wong positively assessed the state of the Comprehensive Partnership between the Philippines and Australia, shaped by 77 years of close engagement and cooperation and guided by the Philippines-Australia Plan of Action 2021-2022. They discussed the progress and renewed the commitment between the two countries in elevating the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership.

Secretary Manalo and Minister Wong noted the positive outcomes of recent high-level exchanges between the Philippines and Australia, in particular the meeting between President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on 19 November 2022, and the successful visits to the Philippines this year of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles, Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell, and Special Envoy for Southeast Asia Nicholas Moore.

The Secretary and the Minister recognised the two countries' multifaceted and long-standing partnership, including ongoing cooperation in the areas of defence, maritime, counter-terrorism, peace-building, law and justice, health, science and innovation, disaster risk reduction, education and training cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges, among others.

Secretary Manalo and Minister Wong agreed to enhance trade and investment cooperation, including exploring possible cooperation on critical minerals, and to continue exploring opportunities to improve two-way tourism. Both looked forward to further strengthening people-to-people connections through the Work and Holiday Visa Arrangement being negotiated between the two countries. The Secretary and the Minister looked forward to the convening of the 6th Philippines-Australia Ministerial Meeting (PAMM) by their Foreign Affairs and Trade Departments to be held in Australia in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Building on the already deep and wide-ranging maritime security cooperation between Australia and the Philippines, Minister Wong announced a package of maritime cooperation initiatives, including technical assistance and capacity building for the Philippine Coast Guard; equipment, skills and technology to improve maritime domain awareness and marine protection; assistance to mitigate the environmental impacts of the recent oil spill in Mindoro; and support for women's leadership in maritime security.

Minister Wong announced that Australia's Official Development Assistance to the Philippines would increase to an estimated AUD89.9 million in 2023-2024 to support programs including cooperation on shared priorities including inclusive economic growth, education, training and scholarships, disaster and climate resilience, and peace and stability in Mindanao.

This is in addition to an AUD10.95 million commitment to support the Philippines to establish a new immunisation information system and a strengthened laboratory network and surveillance system, addressing disruptions to routine immunisation during the pandemic.

Both sides reaffirmed mutual commitment to supporting the Philippines' 2027-2028 candidature and Australia's 2029-2030 candidature for the United Nations Security Council.

The Secretary and Minister exchanged views on the region, including the South China Sea, and agreed on the importance of securing a region that is open, stable and prosperous, where sovereignty is respected and where States operate in accordance with agreed rules and norms. The Secretary and Minister reiterated the importance of all states adhering to international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Secretary acknowledged Australia's strong support for the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal Award.

Minister Wong reaffirmed Australia's steadfast commitment to ASEAN centrality and ASEAN-led architecture. The two Ministers welcomed the Quad's commitment to support a peaceful and stable, rules-based region with ASEAN at the centre, through its efforts to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific as well as support for the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. The two Ministers look forward to continued transparent discussion on AUKUS particularly on its objective to promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Analysts Say Biden Australia Trip Cancellation Damages US Credibility

By Phil Mercer May 18, 2023

Analysts say U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to postpone a trip to Australia is a major blow to Canberra. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will still make the trip to Australia next week, even though the Quad leaders' summit at the Sydney Opera House has been canceled.

The White House says U.S. President Joe Biden has postponed his planned trip to Australia because of domestic debt ceiling negotiations.

Biden will, however, travel to Japan for a meeting of the Group of Seven major industrialized nations, which Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will also attend, along with Japan's Fumio Kishida and India's Narendra Modi.

Albanese told reporters Wednesday that the leaders of the Quad security dialogue, including the United States, Australia, Japan and India, will meet for talks on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

"President Biden, though, indicated that he was very much looking forward to coming down at a future date when it can be arranged and I will visit the United States for a state visit later this year. All four leaders; President Biden, Prime Minister Kishida, Prime Minister Modi and myself will be at the G-7 head in Hiroshima," he said.

The Quad summit in Sydney was to have been the first to be held in Australia.

It has now been postponed indefinitely. Analysts say the cancellation harms the grouping's ambitions to be an influential alternative to China. They also insist it damages the reputation of the United States as a reliable ally at a time when strategic competition with China in the Indo-Pacific region is intensifying.

Ian Hall is a professor of International Relations at the Griffith Asia Institute at Griffith University. He told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. cancellation of the summit will harm the Quad's reputation.

"The Quad's work is going on. Officials are beavering away on Quad business all the time. But these kinds of focal points, these sorts of summits are important. They are good for, kind of, articulating what the Quad is all about, what the Quad is going to do, what its intentions are. In that sense, not having this summit I think is problematic, or at least postponing this summit is problematic," he said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains committed to traveling to Australia next week for his first trip since 2014, but his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida is reportedly unlikely to travel.

Biden has also abandoned plans for a historic visit to Papua New Guinea, where he would have signed a security accord with Prime Minister James Marape.

Beijing has been critical of the Quad grouping, describing it as an "exclusive clique."

However, despite Australia's enthusiasm for the four-nation alliance, there are signs its recent trade and diplomatic tensions with China are continuing to ease.

Also, China's ambassador to Canberra, Xiao Qian, said Thursday that Beijing will resume imports of Australian timber.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Xi's footprints in Central Asian countries consolidate ties, vitalize Silk Road

Global Times

Crafting a New Blueprint

By Zhao Yusha in Xi'an Published: May 18, 2023 11:46 PM

Xi'an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, is about to witness the ancient route shine with new vitality as the high-level China-Central Asia Summit is being held from Thursday to Friday. The national flags of China and five Central Asian countries are being flown alongside the airport highway in intervals, and banners saying "build a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future" in both Chinese and Russian, can be seen at overpasses in the city.

The summit is the first major diplomatic event to be hosted by China this year, and also the first summit to be held offline by the heads of state of China and the five Central Asian countries in attendance since the establishment of diplomatic ties 31 years ago.

The presidents of five Central Asian countries have all arrived in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, to attend the summit.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov arrived on Wednesday. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov arrived on Thursday.

At the summit, President Xi Jinping is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech, expounding on China's stance on how to construct a China-Central Asia community of shared future, while eyeing long-term development for cooperation between the six countries, putting forward a series of propositions, and announcing multiple pragmatic measures and actions, Chinese officials revealed at a Tuesday conference.

Over the last decade, President Xi has maintained close interactions with leaders from Central Asian countries, and such frequent connections has enhanced mutual trust between China and the five countries, upgraded cooperation, and led to a deeper, more pragmatic cooperation between China and said countries, said experts.

They hailed that the summit will not only witness China and Central Asian cooperation making new breakthroughs, and ushering in a new chapter of bilateral ties among the six countries, but will also demonstrate the closeness of relations between China and those Central Asian countries, which pivot around win-win results, mutual respect, and trust, and set a model for international relations amid a complicated international atmosphere.

New cooperation opportunities

China shares a special bond with Central Asian countries. For his first foreign trip since the COVID-19 pandemic, President Xi paid a state visit to Uzbekistan in September 2022 and attended the 22nd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Moreover, this year also marks the 10th anniversary of the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative proposed by Xi during his visit to Kazakhstan in 2013.

In September 2013, during President Xi's visit to Kazakhstan, he delivered a speech of far-reaching significance at Nazarbayev University. In his address, Xi took his audience back to over 2,100 years ago when a Chinese envoy was sent to Central Asia on a mission of peace and friendship and opened a Silk Road that would then take Chinese silk, tea, and porcelain to other parts of the world and brought back spices, glassware, furs, fruits, and precious stones.

Xi's speech drew inspiration from the successful trade routes of the ancient Silk Road and proposed the idea of building an "economic belt along the Silk Road."

A month later, in Indonesia, Xi proposed the building of a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which, combined with the economic belt proposal, eventually became the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

As part of the BRI, several transnational roads, railways, and oil and gas pipelines have been constructed. During meetings with his Central Asian counterparts, Xi frequently highlighted the progress and future plans for BRI projects.

During Xi's visit to Central Asia in September 2022, a cooperation agreement was signed on the Kyrgyz section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, bringing this much-anticipated infrastructure project closer to fruition.

More than 20 bilateral and multilateral activities will be held during the two-day summit. At the summit, leaders will exchange their views on the establishment of mechanisms, cooperation, and international and regional issues of respective concern. The leaders of the six countries are expected to sign a slew of important political documents in areas such as the economy, trade, and connectivity, Yu Jun, deputy director-general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of European-Central Asian Affairs, said at a Tuesday press briefing.

"Central Asia's strategic importance has become more prominent as China has upped the construction of the BRI, and these countries are playing an increasingly important role in China's diplomatic strategy. Moreover, Central Asian countries are eager to cooperate with China to boost their long-term development," Li Yongquan, director of the Eurasian Social Development Research at the Development Research Center of the State Council, told the Global Times, noting that this summit will witness cooperation between China and Central Asian countries make new breakthroughs.

Shavkat Alimbekov, leading researcher at the International Institute for Central Asia - an organization established in Uzbekistan, told the Global Times that the China-Central Asia Summit will give new impetus to the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road. "One of the key aspects of this cooperation is the development of the 'Green Silk Road,' that is, the use of green development technologies, innovative solutions, and advanced technologies to achieve environmental efficiency and sustainability," said Alimbekov.

China has been the largest or main trading partner of Central Asian countries for many years. In 2022, the trade volume between China and Central Asian countries stood at over $70 billion, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Good-neighborly friendship

Speaking at the virtual summit to commentate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relation between China and Central Asian countries, Xi said that we have established strategic partnerships, and deepened political trust and mutually beneficial cooperation, blazing a new trail of good-neighborly friendship and win-win cooperation, and setting a good example of fostering a new type of international relations.

During the speech in Kazakhstan in 2012, Xi said China respects the development path as well as the domestic and foreign policies Central Asian people have independently chosen for themselves. China will never intervene in the internal affairs of Central Asian countries, seek leadership in regional affairs, or operate a sphere of influence.

As China's ties with Central Asian countries tighten, so too are efforts by the US to engage with the region increasing.

Earlier this year, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Central Asia and met with his counterparts in all five Central Asian countries. US officials have said that the Biden administration is seeking to step up engagement with the region, especially with countries facing a potential economic fallout from the conflict.

Observers debunked the US' sudden interest in the region, saying it wants to sow discord among China, Russia, and the five Central Asian countries, as well as to secure its own interests since Washington's influence in the region has waned after the US' hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Compared with the US, whose diplomatic policy is centered around serving its own interests first, and is always keen to foment dissension, China's relationship with Central Asian countries is the paragon of healthy international relations, Li Yongquan, director of the Eurasian Social Development Research at the Development Research Center of the State Council, told the Global Times.

China's cooperation with Central Asia does not target any third party and the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism does not aim to compete with other mechanisms, said Yu. China supports anything that is truly beneficial for the region's development, and helps the common prosperity of the region, Yu noted.

When meeting with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Xi'an in April, Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu said that the strategic partnership with China remains one of the priorities of Kazakhstan's foreign policy. Nurtleu highlighted the need for joint efforts to implement the agreements reached at the highest level to expand multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, particularly in trade and investment, the Astana Times reported.

Yang Jin, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European, and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that previous cooperation between China and Central Asian countries was either bilateral; or under multilateral frameworks, such as the SCO. "Those forms of cooperation are based on win-win results and mutual trust, and are highly recognized by Central Asian countries. Thus this summit has come at a key juncture when China's ties with those countries are set to be elevated to a new high," said Yang.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Japan-circling PLA Navy flotilla completes 'routine drills,' shows capabilities of national defense

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun Published: May 18, 2023 10:59 PM

Far sea exercises by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy are routine and display its capabilities, experts said on Thursday, after Japan hyped it spotted a PLA Navy flotilla led by a 10,000 ton-class large destroyer as the latter completed a full circumnavigation around the country.

Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force spotted a PLA Navy flotilla consisting of the Type 055 large destroyer Lhasa, two Type 052D destroyers, a Type 054A frigate and a Type 903A comprehensive replenishment ship when the vessels sailed from the West Pacific through the Miyako Strait and waters between the Okinawa islands to the east of the island of Taiwan into the East China Sea on Tuesday, Japan's Ministry of Defense Joint Staff said in a press release late on Wednesday.

The move showed that the flotilla had sailed in a full circle around Japan clockwise during a voyage of more than half a month, according to a map with recorded tracks of the flotilla attached to the Japanese press release. The map showed that the Chinese flotilla started the voyage from the East China Sea on April 30, when it sailed through the Tsushima Strait into the Sea of Japan, made a transit through the Soya Strait into the West Pacific from May 5 to 6, then navigated in waters between some southern Japanese islands from May 11 to 13, before returning to the East China Sea on Tuesday.

With the PLA Navy's increasing comprehensive combat capabilities thanks to the commissioning of advanced warships like the Type 055 large destroyer, China has made far sea exercises routine, said Chinese military expert and TV commentator Song Zhongping.

Song told the Global Times that it is legitimate for Chinese vessels to sail through straits used for international navigation and open waters near Japan, and such moves are also normal because Japan is right on China's doorstep.

Japan's hyping of PLA Navy activities is based on a guilty conscience, as Japan is conspiring to break the post-WWII world order, resume the status of a "normal country" that has a military, and then return to a path of militarism, analysts said.

At the upcoming G7 Summit to be held in Hiroshima this weekend, host Japan is seeking unity against China, media reported, while the Taiwan question looms large at the event.

Japan has been acting as a pawn of the US plan to militarily contain China, and has been claiming "a Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency," although the Taiwan question is an internal affair of China, observers said.

Song said that while the PLA Navy's far sea exercises are routine, they serve to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.

If Japan interferes in China's internal affairs and provokes China over its core interests, China has what it takes to counter such acts, Song said.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Chinese president: Summit with Central Asia leaders ushering in 'new era' of ties

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 18 May 2023 6:57 PM

Chinese President Xi Jinping has hailed a two-day summit with leaders of the Central Asian countries as ushering in a "new era" of relations.

The Chinese leader made the comments on Thursday while addressing a welcome banquet for Central Asian leaders attending the China-Central Asia Summit, as Beijing strives to expand its reach into a strategically vital region that has long been perceived as Russia's sphere of influence.

As Moscow's influence seems to have been weakened in Central Asia following the war in Ukraine, Beijing hopes to deepen relations with the region through the summit, which runs from Thursday to Friday in the northwestern ancient Chinese city of Xi'an.

Xi'an is the historic eastern end of the Silk Road, a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century, that linked China to Europe through Central Asia.

"I am confident that with our joint efforts, tomorrow's summit will be a full success and will herald a new era of China-Central Asia relations," Xi said, adding that strengthening ties was a "strategic choice."

"Join us in opening up a bright future of China-Central Asia cooperation," he further said, adding that he believes that the summit, which is of "milestone significance", will be "a complete success."

Visiting leaders include Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyzstan's President Sadyr Japarov, Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmenistan's President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan.

The two-day event brings together leaders of these countries for the first in-person meeting with a Chinese president since they established diplomatic relations after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Beijing says trade with the five Central Asian countries reached US$70 billion in 2022 and expanded 22 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023.

China to Japan: Get balanced grasp of China-related issues at G7

Separately on Thursday, China's embassy in Japan urged Tokyo in a statement to avoid "negative" China-related moves at the G7 Summit, hosted by Japan, and not to turn it into a "political show" against or to curb China.

Yang Yu, interim charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in Tokyo, further said that Tokyo should push for a balanced grasp of China-related issues at the summit to prevent greater obstacles and shocks to Sino-Japanese relations.

The G7 is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Ignoring Beijing, Korean rights group recognizes jailed Hong Kong barrister

Seoul-based foundation honors activist despite visit from Chinese diplomats

By Cheryl Tung and Fong Tak Ho for RFA Cantonese 2023.05.18 -- Despite pressure from Beijing, South Korea's biggest human rights group went ahead on Thursday with an award to jailed Hong Kong barrister and rights activist Chow Hang-tung.

The Seoul-based 5.18 Memorial Foundation presented its 2023 Gwangju Human Rights Award to a friend of Chow's at a ceremony several days after a visit from three Chinese consular officials, who wanted the award withdrawn.

Her friend and fellow activist Na Hyun-Phil received the award on her behalf in a ceremony that took place in pouring rain in Seoul.

Choking up during his speech, Na said he expects not to be allowed to enter China or Hong Kong as a result of receiving the award for her.

"This Human Rights Award represents that we stand with the people of Hong Kong," said Na, who heads the non-profit Korean House for International Solidarity.

Chow is currently serving a 15-month sentence for "inciting" people to hold a vigil for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.

She also stands accused of "incitement to subvert state power," with the prosecution claiming that she and the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China used the now-banned vigils to incite the overthrow of the Chinese government.

Na vowed to light a candle outside the Chinese Embassy in Seoul every year on June 4, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, until her release.

Growing risks

After the ceremony, he told Radio Free Asia that Chow's friends and supporters from Hong Kong didn't dare to turn out at the ceremony for fear of political reprisals.

"The main reason [I accepted the award for her] is because it would be ... very risky for Hong Kongers to attend the award ceremony for the Gwangju Human Rights Award," Na said.

"The award ceremony was a public event, and all of the information [on those who take part] will be publicly available," he said. "This means that the Chinese government will know who accepted the award on her behalf."

"They thought that I, as a Korean, would be a better choice, so as to protect her family and friends," Na said, adding that it would be risky for him to travel to Hong Kong following the event.

"I would very much like to go to Hong Kong, but can't be sure that it would be safe either for me or other friends there, so I ... won't be going to Hong Kong or mainland China now," he said.

Na said of Chow that she "shines out like a candle, as the hope of Hong Kong's democracy movement, so it was fitting for the Gwangju Human Rights Award to go to her."

"Although I am in South Korea, I want to light a candle for her," he said. "I will be doing that outside the Chinese Embassy every June 4 until she is released."

Na said he first lit a candle outside the Chinese Embassy a year after Chow's arrest following a banned candlelight vigil for the Tiananmen massacre victims on June 4, 2021.

'Very principled'

Na said he first met Chow in 2011 at a human rights conference in Taiwan, where they discussed labor rights -- an early focus of Chow's -- with rights groups from across the region.

"She is a very sincere person, and really cares about workers," Na said. "She insists on doing the right thing, and is very principled."

"She was so passionate about holding candlelight vigils for Tiananmen, and very proud of being able to do it in Hong Kong, which made a big impression on me," he said.

Na, who also has a background in the labor rights movement, said he visited Hong Kong during the 2014 Occupy Central pro-democracy movement.

He said the city had fallen "silent" since the national security law was imposed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party in 2020, criminalizing public dissent and peaceful political opposition.

"Hong Kong is a silent society, and we can't find a way to fight for democracy there right now," he said.

Chow's award came as the Weiquanwang rights group reported that former 2019 protester Tan Qiyuan, widely known by her nickname Nicole, was jailed for six years for "incitement to subvert state power" for taking part in the movement.

Tan, a permanent resident of Hong Kong, was detained by police in Guangxi's Liuzhou city in April 2021 when she took a trip to her parental home after many years of living in Hong Kong.

She had been incommunicado since April 2, 2021, after tweeting prolifically from the front line of the protests.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content May not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






China showcases weapons during Lao war games

Vietnam watches warily as ally Laos edges closer to China, analysts say.

By RFA Staff 2023.05.18 -- Lao troops got firsthand experience using modern Chinese weapons during joint China-Laos military exercises, which analysts say neighboring Vietnam is watching warily.

The three weeks of drills - Friendship Shield 2023 - are taking place through May 28 in an army training ground near the Lao capital Vientiane. They began May 9, with some 200 Chinese troops and 700 Lao troops taking part.

The exercise is aimed at "exchanging experiences between the two militaries, as well as a concrete measure to deepen friendship and boost cooperation between the two countries," the Chinese Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

"Such events will definitely keep the Vietnamese military busy," said Wendell Minnick, an independent military analyst based in Taipei, pointing to the proximity between Laos and Vietnam.

"Vietnam is Laos' biggest traditional ally but Vientiane in recent years have been edging towards China," Minnick told RFA.

Furthermore, "China's military has been in Laos since the Vietnam War," he added.

China has been eyeing Laos as a potential market for its exports, including military equipment, but so far the land-locked country has not bought much because of lack of money.

Most of the weapons and military equipment used by the Lao army date from the Soviet era, and after that, Russia.

In April 2017, Beijing gifted the Lao Defense Ministry "office equipment," according to a report by Xinhua, which observers suspected could in fact be defense equipment. That November, Vientiane announced a multi-million-dollar contract to buy weapons and equipment from China's state-owned China North Industries Corp.

There were no details of the deal nor whether any progress has been made in implementing it.

'High level of mutual trust'

The Chinese state-run TV network CCTV on Wednesday ran a brief news item on the Friendship Shield 2023, in which Lao personnel were seen practicing live-fire target shooting with Chinese guns and rifles under the guidance of Chinese instructors.

"The Lao forces for the first time got ... first-hand experience using the next-generation service rifle of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA)," said the Chinese newspaper Global Times.

The paper quoted Chinese experts as saying that the weapons exchanges "display a high level of mutual trust and military cooperation."

The Chinese light arms used in the exercise included fast pistols, multi-stance rifles and long-range sniper rifles.

The troops also practiced live-fire shooting of vehicle-mounted weapons, man-portable rocket launchers, grenade launching snipers and mortars, CCTV reported.

New rifle

The Chinese military brought to the joint drills a new type of assault rifle - the Type 191 - said to be much lighter and having almost double the service life compared with the PLA's previous service rifle, the Type 95.

The Type 191 was first seen at China's 70th Anniversary Military Parade in 2019 and is believed to have been recently issued to the troops at the Xinjiang Military Region.

"I don't think the new rifle is that superior," said Jyh-Shyang Sheu, a senior researcher who specializes in the PLA ground weapons and equipment at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research.

"Perhaps the new model of ammunition is improved though of the same caliber, but the Type 191 is still just another Chinese-made assault rifle not too dissimilar from their previous model QBZ-95," Sheu told RFA.

It is unclear whether the rifle will be offered to Laos.

While small arms such as the rifles are inexpensive and could be within reach for the Laos army, they are "not a game changer," said military analyst Minnick.

But the PLA "knows what Laos can handle, and small arms are low cost and low maintenance."

"If Laos needs higher technology for its defense China will simply place Laos under its defense umbrella," said the military analyst, "Missiles and radars can simply be moved to Laos in a debt forgiven leasing agreement and operated by Chinese technicians under a Laos flag."

Vietnam watching

The Lao-China drills have gone unreported in Vietnamese state media, but military analysts in Vietnam have been closely watching developments there.

Vietnam is officially Laos' only military ally as the two countries signed a defense treaty in September 1977. Their communist regimes have strong ties that pre-date their rise to power in 1975 after the Vietnam War.

But as China's economic clout has grown, its partnership with Laos has deepened. While Vietnam and China also have fraternal relations, there are some tensions between them. They fought a border war in 1979 and have competing claims in the South China Sea.

An observer in Hanoi who didn't want to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject said while "there's a large number of Chinese military equipment in Laos, they are in general not of great quality."

Another analyst, Khang Vu, from Boston College, told RFA's Vietnamese Service that the ongoing joint drills may help draw Laos deeper into China's sphere of influence.

"The increased defense cooperation between China and Laos will weaken the Vietnam-Laos defense ties," Khang said.

RFA Vietnamese contributed to this report.

Edited by Mike Firn and Malcolm Foster.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content May not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Foreign Consultancies in China Wary of Expanded Counterespionage Law

By Joyce Huang May 18, 2023

International business consultancies operating in China that provide economic data to potential investors appear to be headed into a period of greater scrutiny as of July 1, when a revised espionage law expands the list of activities Beijing considers spying.

The consultancies assist companies and individuals seeking profit from the world's second-largest economy by doing deep background reports before money flows into China. And while China's economic policymakers advocated in March for more foreign investment to restore an economy stalled by Beijing's draconian COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, that position runs counter to President Xi Jinping's national security concerns.

Capvision, with headquarters in Shanghai and New York, is the latest company to run afoul of the current law and Beijing's contradictory messages, when officers from the Ministry of State Security raided its offices in Shanghai, Beijing and other Chinese cities on May 8. The incursion was part of an ongoing crackdown on foreign businesses such as Bain & Company, raided in April, and the Mintz Group, closed in March.

Capvision, which has more than 1,000 clients worldwide, "became an accomplice of foreign intelligence agencies," according to China Central TV, the country's largest official TV channel, by gathering information in key industries including military defense, finance and monetary policy, high technology, energy resources, medicine and health.

A day later, the company said in a statement, "The punishment and rectification requirements of the national security authorities are ... a wake-up call for the standardized development of the business consulting industry."

A source from a global corporate advisory firm in Shanghai, who asked for anonymity to avoid attracting official attention, told VOA Mandarin, "There is currently a sense of unease across the consulting industry. ... But the situation is still evolving and it's not clear how deep the crackdown will be. ... Some companies may choose to over-comply with the law, so as to minimize the chance of their work being construed as espionage or endangering national interests."

Road-use data

Dennis Kwok, a former pro-democratic lawmaker expelled from Hong Kong, is now a partner with New York law firm Elliott Kwok Levine & Jaroslaw representing international businesses and advising on cross-border commercial transactions involving the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong.

Kwok told VOA Mandarin on Monday that Beijing began scrutinizing what it considered sensitive information headed overseas in June 2021 when China's leading online ride-sharing company, Didi Global, listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Days later, Chinese regulators launched an investigation of Didi's handling of customer data, amid official concern that sensitive information on topics such as road use would flow into the hands of the U.S. government or regulators, according to Kwok.

In December, Didi announced it would withdraw from the NYSE to pursue a Hong Kong listing. Reuters reported that Chinese regulators had pressed Didi's top executives to delist from the NYSE because of concerns about data security.

'Obsessed' with security

Kwok told VOA Mandarin that totalitarian states like China are "obsessed" with national security and regard anything to do with national interests as national security.

In December 2017, Xi made it clear during a speech at the signing of training regulations for the People's Liberation Army that China's information was a national security issue and he wanted to win the information war with the outside world. At the time, China's national security law, implemented in July 2015, already included at least 15 topics within the scope of state secrets and national security control. These included national defense, economy, finance, space, information and food security.

In April, China updated its law, and the expanded version takes effect July 1 in ways that appear likely to further restrict the information consultants can collect.

"This is China's attempt to set a red line that people won't dare to cross, but the problem is that this new law is so tough, detailed and broad that you can't possibly follow it," Kwok said. "The authorities know that, but they don't care if you can comply with the law. They only care that there are legal mechanisms to prosecute those who break the law."

Kwok believes that Beijing's crackdown will expand to target U.S. auditors and law firms operating in China. In February, The Guardian, citing Bloomberg, reported that the Chinese government wanted state-owned companies to protect their data by using local or Hong Kong auditors.

Dancing a dance

CY Huang, a veteran Taipei-based investment banker and president of FCC Partners, told VOA Mandarin that Beijing's expansion of its counterespionage law is little more than another step in the geopolitical dance of the U.S. and China.

He said Washington and Beijing have similar patterns when they accuse businesses of threatening national security.

Huang told VOA Mandarin by phone on May 12 that China is countering "the U.S. with counterespionage laws and by overhauling consulting firms" following Washington's imposition of controls on exports of advanced semiconductor chips and equipment to China.

He said Beijing is not worried that foreign investors will be scared off when the counterespionage law takes effect in July.

"China's market is huge and still has tremendous business opportunities to attract foreign investment," he said.

Huang said the Chinese authorities are relatively tolerant of foreign companies and will not force them to rectify perceived violations as strictly as they did Chinese companies such as internet giants Ant Group in 2020 and Tencent Corp. in 2021.

He added, "The very strong message is: Pay attention, everyone. It's fine you do proper commercial due diligence, but you cannot do too much; there is a red line, you cannot touch national security. What exactly is national security? This is for everyone to judge by themselves."

Bo Gu contributed to this report.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






China Holds Central Asia Summit; Ex-US Official Urges Pragmatism

By Navbahor Imamova May 18, 2023

China is hosting its first in-person summit with Central Asian leaders starting one day before the Group of Seven nations convenes for its annual summit in Japan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to promote economic engagement and increased security ties with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan during talks Thursday and Friday in China's western city Xian.

Beijing's first summit with those nations last year, held virtually, came as China continued to build out its Belt and Road Initiative, a massive investment in infrastructure aimed at boosting international trade and energy links.

Regional countries are interested in greater access to Chinese markets, and Beijing is seeking to boost its security and political ties.

US interests in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan

In Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which have been America's strategic partners for two decades, Washington also has strong interests in building ties.

Earlier this year U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to the capitals of both nations to promote investment and urge political reforms.

Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, 65, and Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, 69, have pledged to transform their countries through substantial reforms, which Washington has encouraged.

In Astana on Feb. 28, Blinken said, "We look forward to seeing the additional concrete steps Kazakhstan will take to realize that agenda a expanding public participation in the political process, increasing government accountability, curbing corruption ... and protecting human rights."

He noted that American businesses have injected more than $50 billion into the Kazakh economy since 1991 when, like Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan became independent with the breakup of the Soviet Union.

On March 1 in Tashkent, Blinken said the U.S. wants to see full implementation of Mirziyoyev's programs, stressing fundamental rights and assistance. He reiterated that America was making investments in the region that empower people "to shape their own future."

Veteran U.S. diplomat George Krol, who served as ambassador to both countries, argues that the U.S. should not demand what he calls "textbook democracy" from these or other nations, given the difficulties some parts of the region have gone through.

"I don't think they want to give political power to turn it over for unknown consequences," Krol told VOA in an interview.

With neighbors such as China and Russia and the perception that democratic systems are not secure, "they look at Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan or Pakistan ... [and] they don't want to follow."

Krol, who is with Harvard University's Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and an adjunct professor at the U.S. Naval War College, says Uzbek and Kazakh leaders have demonstrated they want to grant as much freedom as feasible without losing control.

"It wouldn't pass the test of democracy in the eyes of political scientists or organizations in Europe and the United States. But in the context of Central Asia, it is different," he said.

Neither regime tolerates opposition or political pluralism. All registered parties support the presidents without questioning their policies. Striving for some diversity of opinion may be a significant success, Krol suggests, asserting that the establishments in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan still question the idea of opposition.

They fear that nationalist and extremist groups may rise along with those promoting hostilities toward Russia and China among others.

Following constitutional reforms last year, Tokayev was reelected for a new term of seven years. Mirziyoyev is following the same path, gearing up for snap elections on July 9, as allowed by the country's constitution approved in an April 30 referendum.

Krol is not surprised these leaders, byproducts of the Soviet mentality, cling to power. As a diplomat in Belarus in 1994, he observed the election of Alexander Lukashenko, who is still running the country.

"It's very hard to see that changing because these systems don't produce leaders where they come out of a political milieu," Krol said. "They are not selected by [free and fair] election."

Central Asia suffers from concentrated nepotism. During Nursultan Nazarbayev's three-decade rule in Kazakhstan, his offspring controlled the oil-rich country. In Uzbekistan, former strongman Islam Karimov's eldest daughter Gulnara Karimova has been in prison on charges of organized crime and extortion since 2014.

Krol, who watched Nazarbayev's and Karimov's scandals up close, points out that Mirziyoyev's eldest daughter Saida Mirziyoyeva is emerging as a key political figure, working in her father's administration and representing him internationally. Senior U.S. diplomats have met Mirziyoyeva in Washington and Tashkent, acknowledging her relevance and influence. While Tokayev's family is out of sight for now, the Uzbek leader's family members, including his sons-in-law, surround him in various roles.

Krol doubts the U.S. is "truly optimistic that things would change" in these countries but sees the Biden administration "doing lip service ... making all the sounds you would expect."

Meanwhile, the Uzbek president says fighting corruption is a priority, renewing promises regarding the rule of law and judicial independence.

At the annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in that Uzbekistan hosted in Samarkand on May 17, Mirziyoyev claimed that "the fundamental reforms that we began six years ago have completely changed the image of our country."

Listing the successes of this government, such as eradicating forced labor and child labor, and integrating with neighbors to enhance stability and regional connectivity, he declared that international support has been key in implementing reforms and achieving results.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Macao updates national security law

Global Times

Move will prevent, curb foreign interference to ensure continuous prosperity of SAR

By GT staff reporters Published: May 19, 2023 01:00 AM

China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) on Thursday deliberated on and passed an amendment to the Law on Safeguarding National Security, which is believed to prevent and curb foreign interference in order to safeguard Chinese national security and ensure the continuous prosperity of the SAR.

The overall security of the country is facing more severe challenges. Amending the Law on Safeguarding National Security is a necessary move for the SAR, which will play an important role in timely and effectively responding to overall security risks and threats, and further improving the One Country, Two Systems so as to better coordinate and safeguard the security and development of the country and Macao society, the Macao SAR government said on Thursday in a statement.

Experts said that the amendment greatly enhances the law's scope, status and role in the entire Macao legal system under the One Country, Two Systems principle, pointing out that Macao's experience can also be a lesson for Hong Kong, especially in completing the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law.

The amended national security law will be elevated to the foundation, backbone and core law of Macao's legal system for safeguarding national security, thus allowing the SAR government to enhance its ability to manage and maintain national security affairs in a comprehensive manner, the SAR said.

The law is expected to effectively prevent and curb foreign interference, effectively safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and ensure the continued prosperity and stability of Macao society.

The practices in Hong Kong and Macao since their return to the motherland fully prove that the unremitting construction of institutional mechanisms is a must to safeguard national security in the SARs, said the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council in a statement on Thursday night.

As the international environment is becoming increasingly complex, the Hong Kong and Macao SARs face new challenges in safeguarding national security, said the office in the statement. Only through enhancing the hardship mentality, adhering to the bottom line thinking, and keeping building a solid institutional defense can the practice of One Country, Two Systems be stable and far-reaching.

"As this amendment has made an expanded construction of the legal system, it gives Macao's national security law the formal characteristics of a general law," Tian Feilong, a Hong Kong-Macao-Taiwan affairs expert at Beihang University in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"Compared with its previous status as a special enactment, its scope, status and role in the whole Macao legal system have been greatly enhanced under One Country, Two Systems," he said.

Tian pointed out that the national security law in Macao, enacted in 2009, has lagged behind in the new era, and the amendment of the law has made corresponding updates, as Hong Kong has improved its national security law under One Country, Two Systems.

"On the one hand, the experience of Hong Kong's legislation and the legal means to maintain national security served as a reference and inspiration to Macao," Tian said.

"On the other hand, Macao is doing this based on its own legal system and characteristics, in order to meet the needs of law enforcement and justice in Macao to maintain national security."

According to local media reports, the amendment involves several major improvements to the law, including expanding the scope of criminal means on endangering national security, making abetting and supporting insurrection separate crimes, and making preparatory crimes punishable across the board.

"By making abetting and preparatory crimes a separate crime, the city can prevent acts and activities that endanger national security in advance," he said, noting that this will improve the level and standard of the legal system of national security in Macao.

The amendment will help prevent the infiltration of Taiwan secessionist forces into Macao and acts of espionage that endanger national security, observers noted.

Macao's Legislative Assembly passed an amendment to the national security law in December 2022. Although the two amendments were close in timing, they had completely different priorities, according to the expert.

He also pointed out that Macao's experience in amending the national security law can provide a lesson to Hong Kong, especially in the process of completing the much-anticipated legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






U.S.-led Hostile Forces' Ceaseless War Provocations under Fire

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, May 19 (KCNA) -- The situation on the Korean Peninsula is closing in on the brink of explosion.

After staging the longest-ever joint military exercises Freedom Shield and the largest-ever Ssangyong combined landing drills, the U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet warmongers continue to stage anti-DPRK war exercises under different codenames, seriously disturbing peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and the region.

On April 3, when the Ssangyong drill was going on, the nuclear carrier Nimitz and the Aegis destroyers Decatur and Wayne E. Meyer of the U.S. navy, the destroyer Umigiri of the Japan maritime "Self-Defense Force" and warships on different missions of the south Korean puppet navy were deployed in the East Sea of Korea to stage joint naval drill for getting familiar with sonar tracking, pursuit and destroying procedures under the simulated conditions of an "attack on a north Korea's submarine".

On April 5, they magnified their war drumbeats to the tune of "actualization of strengthened extended deterrence" by flying nuclear strategic bomber B-52H stationed in Guam and F-35A and F-35B stealth fighters into the sky above puppet south Korea. On April 14, nuclear strategic bomber B-52H was again involved in a joint air drill.

The war exercises simultaneously staged in the sky and seas from April 17 to April 28 with the involvement of large strategic assets were the largest-ever ones in the first half of this year, which further aggravated the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the region.

By deploying all types of air strike means huge enough to fight a war, the U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet forces staged so-called "combined joint formation drill." During the period, a combined naval drill was conducted on the East Sea of Korea with the involvement of the U.S. navy, Aegis destroyers Benfold and Athogo of the Japan maritime "Self-Defense Force" and Aegis destroyers of the south Korean puppet navy.

It was followed by a special high-altitude paratroopers drill involving the U.S. special operations command and the special warfare command of south Korean puppet army, a combined ground combat drill and mobile and live-shell firing drill of the puppet army. Such ceaseless war exercises pushed the situation on the Korean Peninsula to a more critical phase.

The U.S. imperialists and south Korean puppet forces' military racket to pressurize the DPRK have assumed more undisguised and dangerous nature under the signboard of "strengthening extended deterrence", occasioned by the publication of the "Washington Declaration".

Amid the frequent joint drills under the simulated conditions of surprise "infiltration" into the DPRK and "occupation" of it such as "emergency operation drill", "maritime counter special operations exercise" and "joint high-altitude airborne infiltration drill", strategic bombers being loaded with long-range air-to-ground missiles were unprecedentedly given media coverage to escalate nuclear threat and blackmail against the DPRK.

Traitor Yoon Suk Yeol and the south Korean puppet military gangsters are bluffing under the war scenario worked out by the U.S. imperialists.

On May 11 traitor Yoon, gripped by war fever, impudently clamored for "reinforcing proactive deterrence and response capability", "possessing overwhelming power for deterring the north in advance" and "securing the capabilities for spying on the whole area of the north and ultra-precision high-power strike", talking about "nuclear and missile threats from the north" to turn black into white.

The south Korean puppet chairman of the joint chiefs of staff gadded around frontline units of the puppet army like a dog to whip up extreme confrontation hysteria, calling for "annihilating the enemy and victoriously concluding operation" and "securing the capability and posture decisively contributing to battle victory."

What should not be overlooked is that the U.S. and the south Korean puppet warmongers have announced that they will stage five rounds of the largest-ever "combined joint fire annihilation drill" in Phochon of Kyonggi Province from May 25 to June 15.

The so-called "combined joint fire annihilation drill", a typical north-targeted war rehearsal to be conducted under the war scenario, in which the combined forces of the U.S. army and the south Korean puppet army take "punitive action" against the DPRK by using the latest weaponry in case a war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, is a serial and extension of the anti-DPRK war exercises kicked off by the forces hostile toward the DPRK at the outset of this year.

What on earth is "fire drill"? "Exercise for annihilating" a nuclear power is just sheer bullshit, isn't it?

We cannot but take a more serious note of the fact that they are going to make gunfire in such dangerous war exercises which will last for more than 20 days frantically in an area only a few kilometers away from our front.

We are closely watching every military move of the hostile forces utterly destroying and imperiling the security environment of the Korean Peninsula and the region.

The hostile forces' farce of amending the "war guidelines", a sinister design to stifle the DPRK by force of arms, is another clear proof that their hysteria for provoking a war has reached the phase that can no longer be overlooked.

Choe Ju Hyon, an international security analyst of the DPRK, in an article titled "Expansion of the U.S.-led war drills of aggression is a trigger for driving the situation on the Korean peninsula to the point of explosion" commented that each country conducts military drills exercising its right to self-defence but there is no such military drill as the U.S. and its vassal forces' anti-DPRK war drills which continue all the year round, day after day and month after month, with the involvement of huge war hardware specifically targeted on a country. Witnessing such dreary situation prevailing on the Korean Peninsula, anyone with common sense and reason can easily notice who the arch criminal escalating tensions is and what the malignant factor of bringing the fiery clouds is, the article stressed.

World situation analysts also comment that the U.S. systematically escalates its various provocative moves against the DPRK, and Washington doggedly resorting to pressure and coercive methods is the root cause of the danger of a nuclear war brought by the escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The situation clearly shows who seriously disturbs peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and the region.

The U.S. and the south Korean puppet warmongers are bound to face corresponding responses for their madcap nuclear war racket.

It is a legitimate right of a sovereign country to equip itself with more powerful self-defensive means in order to cope with the prevailing grave situation and prospective threats. -0-

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






May 18, 2023

Release

Readout of Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen Hicks' Meeting With Indian Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane

Pentagon Spokesman Eric Pahon provided the following readout:

Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen Hicks met with Indian Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane today at the Pentagon to discuss priorities for strengthening the U.S-India defense partnership, including increasing defense industrial cooperation and operational collaboration.

The Deputy Secretary underscored the importance of the U.S.-India relationship as critical for promoting peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

She also reiterated U.S. support for India's defense modernization objectives, including increasing U.S. investments in Indian domestic manufacturing.

During the meeting, Deputy Secretary Hicks described the proposals to co-produce jet engines, long-range artillery, and infantry vehicles under the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) as unprecedented opportunities to strengthen ties between the U.S. and Indian defense sectors. She also reiterated the importance of deepening military-to-military relations between the United States and India as the technology partnership grows.

The two leaders welcomed the upcoming launch of INDUS-X in advance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States in June, and highlighted its value as an opportunity to promote partnerships between the two countries' defense innovation ecosystems.

They also discussed the key issues and outcomes of the annual Defense Policy Group dialogue chaired this week by Defence Secretary Aramane and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Dr. Colin Kahl.

Deputy Secretary Hicks and Defence Secretary Aramane pledged to continue progress toward strengthening the U.S.-India strategic partnership, and they look forward to other high-level engagements between the two countries later this year.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3399988/

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Transcript of Special Briefing by Foreign Secretary on Prime Minister's visit to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia

India - Ministry of External Affairs

May 18, 2023

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: A very good afternoon to all of you. Thank you for joining us for this special media briefing on the eve of the departure of Honourable Prime Minister to Japan, Papua New Guinea, and Australia for a series of bilateral and multilateral engagements. To give us a sense of what lies ahead, we have the privilege of having with us Foreign Secretary sir, Shri Vinay Mohan Kwatra. Also joining us on the dais Shri Saurabh Kumar, Secretary (East), Dammu Ravi, Secretary (ER).

Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Thank you very much. And good afternoon to all of you for presence here this afternoon for this special briefing on Honourable Prime Minister's upcoming visit to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia. At the invitation of the Japanese Prime Minister, Prime Minister Kishida, Honourable Prime Minister will be traveling to Hiroshima, Japan, tomorrow morning 19th of May to participate in the G7 summit, where India has been invited as a guest country. This would be the first leg of Prime Minister's three country visit. The G7 summit itself, this time around has chosen several key priorities for the current presidency. The broad terms of the G7 summit preferences, in particular, regarding their outreach with the invited guest countries, is one - nuclear disarmament; two - on economic resilience and economic security; three - regional issues; four - climate and energy; five - food and health and development. There are other priorities also such as digitization and science and technology, which would get highlighted in the various sessions during the G7 summit. India's participation at the G7 summit in Tokyo would be structured around three formal sessions. Two of them would be held on 20th of May, and the third one on the 21st. The two structural sessions on the 20th are, first one that relates to food health, development, and gender equality, the second session is on climate, energy and environment and the third session on 21st of May is titled, 'Towards peaceful, stable and prosperous world'.

India's regular participation at the G7 summits clearly points to increasing recognition that India should be a part of any serious effort to resolve global challenges, including those of peace, security, development, and environment preservation. This is even more salient in the context of our ongoing presidency of the G20 and our particular efforts to prioritize the interest and concerns of our fellow country members of the global South. Ahead of Prime Minister's participation in the G7 summit, India has also participated in several ministerial level meetings of the G7 including in particular, of one - relating to climate, energy and environment; two - relating to digital and technology; and third - relating to health and finance.

On the sidelines of the G7 summit, besides his interaction with the G7 countries and other guests countries in the three structural sessions that I mentioned, the Prime Minister will also hold bilateral discussions with several leaders of the G7 as also with the guest countries and the international organizations. Just to mention that, besides India, Japan as the G7 presidency, has also invited Australia, Brazil, Comoros, Cook Islands, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, and Vietnam and some of the international organizations including the United Nations.

Honourable Prime Minister will also hold bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan. This is still being scheduled. So we will give you more details of this as we go along. He is also scheduled to unveil a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Hiroshima. As you are all aware, the two Prime Ministers last met during the Japan-India Summit held in New Delhi earlier in March this year. We are also planning a Quad leaders meeting in Hiroshima, with Prime Minister Kishida, President of the US, Prime Minister of Australia, and of course our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

After Japan for the second leg of his three country visit, Honourable Prime Minister will visit Papua New Guinea, which will include, one - the organization and the co-chairing of the third Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation, FIPIC Summit on 22 May, and also some of the bilateral meetings. Prime Minister would be reaching Port Moresby from Hiroshima in the evening of 21st of May, and will begin his bilateral engagements the next day, with a call on the Governor General of Papua New Guinea, which will be followed by a meeting with the Prime Minister of PNG, Honourable James Marape. This will be Honourable Prime minister's first visit to that country. During his stay in Port Moresby, Prime Minister will also be holding bilateral engagement with the Prime Minister of Fiji, Honourable Sitiveni Rabuka. This would be their first introduction after Mr. Rabuka came to power in December 2022. As you're all aware, a major highlight of Prime Minister's visit to Papua New Guinea is the third summit of the Forum for Indo-Pacific Islands Cooperation, FIPIC as I just mentioned earlier, which will be jointly hosted with the PNG's Prime Minister James Marape. Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, just to recall, launched this forum during his historic visit to Fiji in November 2014 when he hosted the first FIPIC Summit. The second FIPIC Summit was held in Jaipur in August 2015. And both the summits have thus far seen participation of all 14 FIPIC countries.

Just to list out the 14 PIC countries, these include, Cook Islands, Fiji, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Niue, Republic of Nauru, Republic of Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Prime Minister will also be meeting the Prime Minister of New Zealand during his stay in Papua New Guinea. This would also be Prime Minister's first introduction with the Prime Minister of New Zealand, who was sworn in as Prime Minister earlier in January this year.

For the last leg of his three country visit, at the invitation of Prime Minister of Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will travel to Sydney on 22 to 24 of May. Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to have bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Albanese in Sydney. This will be their fifth meeting within this year. The first was held exactly a year back on the same date in Tokyo on the sidelines of Quad Leaders Summit. Prime Minister is also expected to call on the Governor General, Honourable David Hurley. Also planned during the visit is a business event where Prime Minister would be meeting the leading CEOs from Australia. Prime Minister will also be addressing the diaspora at a community event in Sydney on 23rd of May. We are expecting Honourable Prime Minister Albanese to also join Prime Minister Modi in this community event. The visit of Honourable Prime Minister of Australia comes, as you all know, within just two months of the state visit of Prime Minister Albanese to India in March this year. The first India-Australia Annual Summit was held during the visit in Delhi on 10th of March and Prime Minister Modi's last visit to Australia was in November 2014. We expect and it's also our objective that the visit to Australia will reinforce a strong priority attached by India and Australia to our bilateral relationship. I would like to end here and if there are any questions, I would be very happy to take them. Thank you very much.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Thank you, sir. For the ground rules, please introduce yourself, and the organization that you represent. I'll open the floor. Yes, please go ahead.

Kavita Joshi: Sir, mein Kavita Joshi hoon Haribhoomi Newspaper se. Sir, mera saval ye hai ke jo abhi aapne kaha ke Hiroshima me Quad Leader Summit hoga, to ye mana jaye ke ab Sydney me jo Quad ki meeting hone wali thi vo cancel ho gayi thi, uski jagah badal ke ab Hiroshima ho gai hai. Aur sir ispe jo bilateral meetings hai, PM ki G7 ki sidelines pe jo hone wali hai, usme se aapne Japanese Prime Minister ka to bataya hai, lekin uske alava kin countries ke nation heads ke sath Prime Minister ki bilateral meetings hongi, unke bar me bhi bataye.

(Questioned in Hindi: Approximate translation) Sir, I am Kavita Joshi from Hari Bhoomi Newspaper. Sir, my question is in regards to what you just mentioned that Hiroshima will now be hosting Quad Leaders Summit. So we should take it that the Quad Leader Summit which was supposed to be held in Sydney has now been cancelled, and will now take place in Hiroshima? And Sir, the bilateral meetings of PM, which are to be held on sidelines of G7, in that you mentioned one of them is to be with Japanese Prime Minister. Apart from that, if you can elaborate on which other countries' heads our Prime Minister is expected to have bilateral meetings with?

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Japan ke alawa? (Questioned in Hindi: Approximate translation) Aside from Japan?

Kavita Joshi: Yes.

Sridhar: Sir, Sridhar here from The Asian Age. Somewhat related to the previous question, what are the... how different will this Hiroshima Quad Meeting be from a regular Quad Summit at Sydney? How will it be distinguished?

Raghvendra Verma: Sir, this is Raghvendra Verma from the German Television ZDF. Sir, the question is from the editor. Sir, in the western countries, they're concerned about India's being abstaining from the resolution of criticizing Russia and Ukraine War. So the question, what is India willing to do to end the war in Russia and Ukraine.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: So the question was the last part. The first is just a comment.

Yeshi Seli: This is Yeshi Seli from The New Indian Express. Sir, during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Australia, what are the chances of upgrading the existing trade agreement to a comprehensive economic partnership agreement?

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: With?

Yeshi Seli: With Australia, during his visit to Sydney.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Upgrading the trade to CECA?

Yeshi Seli: Yes.

Srinjoy: Sir, Srinjoy, Times Now. Sir, you began your statement with a reference to nuclear disarmament. The PM is visiting importantly enough considering what happened in 1945, Hiroshima. Now there have been recent reports and important meetings even within the government about... since you've mentioned disarmament, nuclear disarmament, about the increasing number of nuclear warheads that are being built by the People's Republic of China from their current figure of 380 to a larger figure. They're also modernizing. There are some reports, unconfirmed, that they may even change their nuclear use policy. That's not confirmed, but the modernization and the increase in the number is well known and it's issue of concern clearly here. Is this something that will be shared with other countries in a place like Hiroshima of all places?

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: I am sorry. I don't think I am going to allow that question. I see very limited link with that. I understand it's a security related issue, but this is not a nuclear security disarmament conference. Rest of it sir, I'll pass it onto you.

Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Thank you. Kavita Ji, jaise appka jo pehla prashna tha Quad ki Shikhar Varta jo Sydney me nirdharit thi aur jo, jin karano se, aur vo karan aap sab logo ko gyat hai ke vo nahi ho rahi hai, aur ab ye parayas Quad ke charo desh kar rahe hai ke Hiroshima me charo netaon ki, shirsh netaon ki upasthiti ka fayda uthate hue, Quad ki jo Shikhar Varta hai vo Hiroshima me ki jaye. Dekhiye Quad ke jo sahyog or sahkarya, aur jo unke sahyog, sahkarya ki prakriyaen hai unki sanrachna is parka se hai, unka swaroop is prakar se hai ke, Quad ki Shikhar Varta jab Hiroshima me hogi to jo agenda pichli Quad ki Shikhar Vartao me netaon ke bich me jiske prati sehmati bani hai us sehmati ke aadhar pe Quad kis prakar se aage sahyog kare, aage sahkarya kare vibhinn kshetron me, aarthik kshetra hai, maritime domain awareness ke kshetra hai, development cooperation ke kshetra hai, Indo-Pacific me kis prakar se Quad desh apna sahyog aur aage badhaye, usse sambandhit jo mudde hai, vo sare ke sare mudde ab jo hai Hiroshima me, yadi is Quad Shikhar Varta ka samaye se aayojan ho pata hai, to usme vo puri tarah se discuss kiye jayenge.

Sydney me Shikhar Varta ka na ho pana aur uska ab Hiroshima me hona vo ek prakar se venue me to change hai, lekin jo sahyog ki jo mukhya bhumika hai, uski jo prashthabhumi hai, uske jo specific aspects hai, usme kisi bhi prakar ka koi bhi parivartan jo hai vo nahi aayega. Jaha tak bilateral dwipakshiya meetings ka prashna hai, Hiroshima me, Japan aur kai anya desho ke sath bilateral meetings abhi is samay planning ki phase me hai, apkeshit hai anya netaon ke sath bhi. Jaise, jaise ye meetings ki sanrachna aur inka time slots spasht roop se nirdharit hota jayega, ham aapko jo hai uski vistrit jankiri samay, samay par dete rahenge.

(Answered in Hindi: Approximate translation) Thank you Kavita ji. Regarding your first question that the Quad Summit, which was set to take place in Sydney, and now, for the reasons known to all of you, has been cancelled. And now all four Quad nations are putting efforts to take advantage of presence of Heads of all four Nations in Hiroshima and organize Quad Leaders' Meeting there. Look, the structure and nature of Quad is such that when Quad Leaders' Meeting will take place in Hiroshima, then the agenda of previous Quad Leaders' Meeting on which all nations heads agreed upon will determine Quad's cooperation in different sectors, such as economy, maritime domain awareness, development cooperation, taking forward Quad cooperation in Indo-Pacific and matters relating to that. All these matters will be discussed in Hiroshima if the Quad Leaders' Meeting could be timely organized there.

While the Quad Leaders' Meeting not taking placing in Sydney and now taking place in Hiroshima is a change in venue, there has not been any change in the specific aspects of cooperation in Quad. Insofar as PM's bilateral meetings are concerned, in Hiroshima, bilateral meetings with Japan and many other countries are in planning stage. As the structure and time slots of these meetings are confirmed, we will provide detailed information to you.

Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Sridhar, just to continue to what I said, I think the elements of our engagement among the Quad countries across various domains, there would be absolutely no change in our collective objective to, one - strengthen them; two - build further layers of partnership and cooperation on them. When the four leaders meet in Hiroshima, they would naturally take a stock, good assessment of what has been the current status of engagement among the Quad countries and then also build further on that. A lot of preparation has gone on for this Quad meeting. There are several deliverables which we are expecting to come out of it. And I think all that would be showcased when the four leaders meet in Hiroshima.

Sridhar: (inaudible)

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Sorry, you're not you're not audible without the mic. If you've ever supplementary we'll come back to it.

Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: On the question from you with regard to... look our position on Russia-Ukraine conflict has been, you know, spoken, reiterated n number of times, both in our press briefings here, and also outside this forum. Prime Minister has also spoken about what he himself believes should be the path forward for the resolution of this conflict. You would have all heard when, during his meeting with the Russian president in Samarkand, he clearly said that this is not an era of war. And as this is not an era of war, the resolution of this conflict has to be through dialogue and diplomacy. That is the fundamental anchor on which our political positioning and the pursuit of our economic interests and other interest is based insofar as this conflict is concerned. This, as I said, has been enunciated and repeated several times.

With regard to the question on upgradation of the current framework agreement that we have with Australia into the next one, look the discussions on broad basing, trade investment and other elements of economic partnership between India and Australia is an ongoing discussion. Naturally, end objective is that we try to upscale and upgrade our current framework of partnership into Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, but those conversations are still going on. At this stage, I don't think it would be correct for me to conclusively say whether we would be able to achieve that objective prior to this visit, but it is something which is very substantive and a lot of work needs to go into it before you conclude that.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: One second. You have a clarification question.

Sridhar: Sir just small clarification. So this is a regular Quad summit in Hiroshima. Am I right in understanding that? This is not just a meeting or informal. This is a regular Quad summit in Hiroshima the venue has changed from Sydney. Am I right in saying that?

Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: When the four Quad leaders meet, it is a Quad summit.

Madhurendra: Sir Madhurendra from News Nation se. Mera sawal ye hain ki Pradhan Mantri Modi aur PM Kishida ke bich baat chit hogi usme kya bullet train ke project ko discuss kiya jayega kyunki deadline ko le kar aur finance ko le kar kai tarha se sawal hain jo dono taraf se report kiye gaye hain time to time. Aur dusara sawal Australia ke dauran kya PM Modi kisi Gurudware ko jayenge aur kya waha PM Anthony Albanese ke saath baat chit hogi uske dauran jo Khalistan ka mudda hain aur khas tar jo radical elements hai unpar bhi baatchit hogi?

(Questions in Hindi: Approximate translation) Hello, Madhurendra from News Nation. My question is, during the conversation between Prime Minister Modi and PM Kishida, will the bullet train project be discussed, considering the various concerns raised by both sides regarding the deadline and financing, as reported from time to time? And my second question is, during the visit to Australia, will PM Modi visit any Gurudwara and will there be a discussion with PM Anthony Albanese regarding the Khalistan issue and specifically about radical elements?

Smita: Smita Sharma here. Has there been any discussion on formal expansion of the G7 perhaps including a membership for India too and there is supposed to be an event where leaders including the Prime Minister will meet with the families of the atomic bombings victims. Do you think in that context, India's status as a non-NPT signatory could also come up for discussions.

Tawqeer: Tawqeer from the Yomiuri Shimbun. there is one of the programs in the G7...

Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Sorry which?

Tawqeer: Tawqeer from the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan. So there is one of the program in G7, where the invited leaders are going to visit the Peace Museum. So I just want to understand that what is the significance of it in India, for India? And since Smita mentioned about our nuclear policy.

Akshay Dongare: Hi sir it's an unrelated question. Akshay Dongare from India Today. Sir a bit unrelated question, but this question is on a baby Ariha. It's been 20 months since...

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: It is unrelated. Can we move on to something else?

Manas: This is Manas from PTI, Press Trust of India. I just wanted to ask you, India is holding the presidency of G20 and Prime Minister Modi is going for G7 summit. And there have been so many areas of convergence so is he going to seek convergence between the two groupings in dealing with pressing challenges like food, energy security, etc. Thank you.

Sidant Mishra: Hello sir, I am Sidant from CNN News 18. Sir my question in that regards to U.S. Annual Religious Freedom Report. And why I'm asking this question is because there is a possibility that Prime Minister will hold bilateral with the President Biden on the sidelines of G7 in Japan. So will this issue be raised? Because with each passing year, this report comes up? And India condemns it, India calls it false. So is there going to be any end of...?

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: I didn't get your question, who will raise it?

Sidhant Mishra: The Prime Minister, India side.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: We should raise their report.

Sidhant Mishra: The report because each year we condemn it.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: We have said what we have to say. But I will leave it to Foreign Secretary to add anything.

Shashank Mattoo: Sir the G7, of course, is also expected to talk about debt relief. It's also expected to talk about food security. These are of course priorities that India has also pushed through its presidency, the G20. Are you optimistic about certain specific deliverables in terms of policies? For example, (inaudible) debt relief for developing countries, that's a major economic priority right now.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: This is from, I'm not clear. Is this from the G7 or the G7 Partners meeting?

Shashank Mattoo: Yes. But during the meeting, is India likely to push that at table, debt relief and...

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Debt relief and all, okay. Yes.

Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: I think I'll just pick up the last one first. You see, the way the G7 summit is organized, there are two parts to it. The first part is discussions among the G7 countries. The agenda for those discussions does not include the guest country participation. The second part of it is where G7 countries interface with the invited guest countries on a set of global priorities, which are naturally of interest to the world in general, but also in particular to the developing countries. Along with Prime Minister I mentioned to you the other countries, which have been invited. In this outreach of G7 summit members with the invited countries, the discussion will revolve around three sessions which I mentioned to you. And if you look at the areas of focus, which I mentioned, they include food security, health security, development cooperation, gender equality, climate, energy and environment and the stability and prosperity of world in general. All these are essentially areas which are very crucial not just for global growth, but also particularly for the developing world. What specific deliverables come out of these discussions between the G7 Summit members and the invited countries I think once those sessions are over, we will be sharing them with you. Many of them are still under discussions and over the next 48 to 72 hours, they will take a concrete shape and in that sense, we will be able to then share them with you.

Dekhiye Japan ke Pradhan Mantri ji ke saath kin kin muddon pe batchit hogi wo to is samay mera kehna uchit nahi hoga, lekin ye apekshit hain ke jab dono neta milenge toh arthik sahyog ke sabhi vishayon pe aur jo hamare samrik sahyog aur sehkarya ke keshtra hain un sabhi vishayon pe bhi dono netagan avashya charcha karenge. Magar jaise ki maine kaha ki dwipakshiy vartayain abhi Japan aur baki deshon ke saath abhi unki scheduling chal rahi hai, jab ek bar unka spastikaran ho jata hain to uske baad wo jaankari hum aapke saath share kar sakenge.

Australia ki yatra ke dauran bhi ye hum apeksha kar sakte hain ki jab dono neta aapas mai varta karenge toh dwipakshiy sahyog ke sabhi muddon pe vistar se batchit ki jayegi, ye swabhawik hain ke sahyog ke kshetron mai wo kshetra bhi shamil hain jo ki dono samajon ki suraksha ke hiton se jude hue hain aur un muddon par avashya hi jo hain batchit hogi. Khalistan ka jahan tak mudda hain us mudde ki sehenshilta, uski samvedanshilta ko lete hue hamne ye mudda kai baar Australia ke samksh rakha hain aur is vishay pe hamari aur Australia ke bich mai lagatar varta jo hain jari rehti hain.

(Answered in Hindi: Approximate translation) See it would not be appropriate for me to speculate on the specific issues that will be discussed with Japan's Prime Minister at this time. However, it is expected that when the two leaders meet, they will definitely discuss all matters related to economic cooperation and strategic partnership. As I mentioned earlier, bilateral talks with Japan and other countries are currently being scheduled, and once their details are finalized, we will be able to share that information to you.

During the visit to Australia, we can also expect that when the two leaders will engage in dialogue, there will be extensive discussions on issues related to bilateral cooperation. It is natural that areas of bilateral cooperation, linked to the security interests of both societies, will be included in these discussions. Regarding the issue of Khalistan, taking into account its sensitivity, we have raised this issue on several occasions with Australia, and discussions between our two countries continue on this matter.

I think there was a question with regard to the meeting between the leaders participating there and a meeting with the family members or the visit to different memorials or monuments in Hiroshima. There are several parts of our own Prime Minister's program in Hiroshima as also with the G7 leaders which are still developing, which still have to take shape. And as I said, once those program elements are finalized, and those activities do take place, we would be very happy to share with you, not just the significance of that particular thing that finalizes, but also the context in which those elements of the visit and events and activities in Hiroshima have been finalized. So that is, I think, in the post...

Speaker: Could that be a, you know, a subject of discussion given the focus on nuclear disarmament, India is not a signatory to the nuclear non proliferation? So would that be a subject of discussion and any... the formal expansion of the G7 membership, is that something...?

Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Look, India is not a G7 member. So, it would be very incorrect for a non G7 member to even talk about G7 member expansion, I think, that's a question which probably needs to be addressed to the G7 itself. As I have already highlighted to you in my remarks, the sessions structural subjects, which are going to be the focus of discussions between the G7 summit leaders and the invited countries, and I just answered a little while earlier with regard to this would be focused on food security, health security, development, cooperation, climate, energy, environment and peaceful, stable and prosperous world. Now, naturally, the visit is set in Hiroshima, which has a certain context, and I think the world is fully aware of what our positions have been on the nuclear disarmament and I think those positions have been articulated several times. And there is absolutely nobody in any doubt in terms of where India stands, when it comes to the peace and stability and the nuclear disarmament in the rest of the world. But specific elements of the program which you mentioned, the Peace Museum, meeting with the families, I think those are something which as and when they get finalized, we'd be very happy to share them with you.

Rishikesh: Sir Rishikesh from PTI. So as to what extent the topic of counter terrorism, expected to be discussed during the bilateral of PM Modi with Biden and will India request President Biden's assistance in expediting the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, Pakistan terrorist.

Abhishek Kapoor: Sir I am Abhishek Kapoor from Republic TV. There have been some specific and open threats by some Khalistani elements to disrupt Prime Minister's Sydney events. Has it been taken up insofar as providing additional layer of security is concerned (Inaudible) And second..

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Taking two questions? Quick fast.

Abhishek Kapoor: Just about half an hour back, we reported about, about half an hour back we reported of Indian naval assets assisting Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy in search and rescue operations...

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Sorry not relevant. I'm happy to discuss separately, no, sorry, not relevant, please. Huma.

Huma Siddiqui: I am Huma Siddiqui from Financial Express. Just wanted to know what would be the focus of the third forum meeting in Papua New Guinea. And there's also news that there are several agreements which are going to be in during that visit. So can you just talk about that, please?

Akhilesh Suman: Sir I am Akhilesh Suman from Sansad TV. We had organized a meeting of global South. And when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to participate in the outreach of G7 what is the message that we want to communicate to the members of G7 at this moment?

Suman Sharma: Sir I am Suman Sharma. Sir you mentioned the last FIPIC Summit was held in Jaipur in 2015. So and it's happening now. So why did it take so long? Why didn't it happen in these years?

Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: I think we'll just if you all allow, I think, Huma Siddiqui's question on the third FIPIC Summit and what the priorities are, I would request my colleague, Secretary East Mr. Saurabh Kumar, to first answer that, please. Yeah.

Saurabh Kumar: So let me take your question first. The thrust of our cooperation with the Pacific Island countries has been to a very large extent around the areas which are of importance to these countries. And these include things like sustainable development, sustainability, quick impact projects, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, etc and we have undertaken certain projects out there also, including in the area of IT sector. We have an MOU in the area of sustainability, you know, which was an announcement, which was made last time and subsequently it was signed. What the exact outcomes of this particular summit would be, we would have to wait and see what outcomes are there. I think as far as your question, madam, is concerned about why there was a delay. We had, the forum summit had been scheduled some time ago for 2020. But because of, you know, COVID and other scheduling difficulties, it could not be held at that point of time, and we are having it now. Thank you.

Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: I think the first question, was whether the question of counter-terrorism and speedy extradition of Tahawwur Rana whether that could be taken up with President Biden's discussion so I think that was your first question. Look, as I've already mentioned to you, the bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the G7 summit at Hiroshima are still being firmed up. So I am not going to make any assumptions about which meetings would happen, which meetings would not happen but whatever bilateral meetings that Prime Minister holds on the sidelines of the G7 summit, with whichever leader, the entire gamut of the bilateral relationship with that particular country would fall under the scope of discussions between the Prime Minister and that leader, but very specifically, not connected to the question of which bilateral meeting will take place or not. Insofar as the question of Tahawwur Rana is concerned we are in a very regular touch with the U.S. authorities to ensure that there is speedy and early extradition of Tahawwur Rana. We've all seen the judgment which was given by the local U.S. court there. That conversation of ours with the US side is continuing.

Abhishek, this question on security etc, for the visit of the Prime Minister. Look, whenever Honourable Prime Minister travels to any destination, all elements relating to logistical and security arrangements of his visit are duly taken care of. But those are the questions that we don't comment on but the relevant people are, who are charged with that responsibility, do take full care of that.

On the question relating to what will be our message from the global South to the G7 leader. Along with of course, what are also the focus areas of India's G20 presidency. Look when we did the briefing on the voice of Global South Summit here in this room, we had mentioned that one very clear sense that came across during the voice of Global South Summit was that the countries of the global south clearly felt that their priorities of development; a debt free development or development which doesn't burden them with debt; the problems which they faced particularly during the pandemic and thereafter of food security, health security; the way the societies of the Global South suffer because of the challenges of climate change; the way they think the Global South needs to be looked at when you look at liberalized global trade regime. It was clear since that came out of the meeting of the voice of the Global South, that these priorities are not adequately or deeply or properly addressed by the countries of the West. When even in the past meetings, whenever Honourable Prime Minister has spoken at such multilateral forum, he has always been in the forefront, championing the cause and the priorities of the Global South countries. And naturally, that would also be one of his priorities when he engages and interfaces with the leaders of the G7 summit during his visit to Hiroshima.

Shri Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson: Thank you very much, sir. My thanks also to other Secretaries, particularly Secretary (East), Saurabh Kumar and Secretary (ER) Shri Dammu Ravi for joining us on this briefing. Thank you all for joining. Please stay tuned to our updates on our social media and otherwise, on the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister to these three nations. Thank you.

Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Thank you very much.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






India's Modi to Visit Papua New Guinea in Outreach to Pacific Island Countries

By Anjana Pasricha May 18, 2023

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Papua New Guinea later this week for a visit aimed at shoring up India's outreach to Pacific Island countries, with an eye on countering China's growing footprint in the Pacific.

The first visit by an Indian prime minister to the largest of the Pacific Island nations comes as New Delhi's hostilities with Beijing have prompted it to work more closely with countries such as the United States, Japan and Australia in the Indo-Pacific region.

Modi will stop in Papua New Guinea capital Port Moresby on the second leg of a three-nation tour during which he will first attend the Group of Seven summit in Japan and then go on to Australia.

On May 22, Modi and Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape will host the third summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation, a grouping of India and 14 Pacific Island countries.

The summit, which is being held eight years after India hosted the last one in 2015, could give fresh momentum to New Delhi's bid to establish a presence in the Pacific Island countries. India began its outreach in 2014, but it has been slow to get off the ground.

"Those places are very strategic if you want to make a naval base or a friendly port or friendly airstrip and they also have vast ocean resources," retired navy chief Arun Prakash told VOA Tuesday.

"The main worry for Western countries and India is that several of these countries are a void and China tends to walk into voids and fill them up."

The 14 countries set to participate in the Port Moresby summit range from such large islands as Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands to smaller ones such as Tonga and Tuvalu. The other countries will be Kiribati, Samoa, Vanuatu, Niue, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Cook Islands, Palau and Nauru.

Papua New Guinea is especially significant. The island of 9.5 million is the largest of the Pacific Island countries and one of the few with which India has longstanding ties and a trade relationship. It is also home to a small Indian population of about 3,000.

Modi and Marape will meet Monday and the two sides are expected to sign pacts that include cooperation in micro- and small to medium enterprises to agreements between their state broadcasters and reciprocal arrangements for issuing visas on arrival.

"One of the important challenges that Papua New Guinea faces is climate change and adaptation. These are areas where India can play an important role by offering affordable partnerships in areas like solar energy," Swati Prabhu, an associate fellow at the Center for New Economic Diplomacy in New Delhi told VOA.

Papua New Guinea also wants to shift its economy from export of primary materials such as natural gas and minerals to finished products.

The country is being courted by the U.S. and its allies amid concerns about China's growing military and economic influence in the region. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited in 2018.

U.S. President Joe Biden was to visit Papua New Guinea on May 22 but has canceled the visit to focus on debt limit talks in Washington.

China has begun making inroads in the Pacific Island countries with its Belt and Road initiative - last year Beijing signed a security deal with the Solomon Islands and in March it won a contract to redevelop the port in its capital city, Honiara.

Analysts say India hopes to partner with the Pacific Island countries with development initiatives in areas such as clean energy, technology and community development projects such as solar electrification and supply of agricultural equipment.

Affordable clean energy initiatives are especially important in a region whose leaders say climate change is their greatest security threat amid worsening cyclones and rising sea levels.

Some see India's outreach to the Pacific Island countries as part of its ambitions to be viewed as an emerging global power.

Analysts however say that while India's bid to build influence in the Pacific Island countries marks an ambitious beginning, it has its limitations as it cannot match China's resources and New Delhi's primary focus will have to remain on its immediate neighborhood in South Asia and the Indian Ocean.

"If you call yourself an Indo-Pacific power and are part of the Quad grouping, you must make some outreach to the Pacific also. But whether it is within our capabilities to sustain ourselves that far out in the Pacific is a question mark. We don't have such deep pockets and our navy is also relatively small," Prakash said. "But perhaps in coordination with Japan, Australia and United States, we can render assistance there," he said.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iran, Russia ink contracts, MoUs on oil and gas projects

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

May 17, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- Iranian and Russian companies have signed two conytacts and eight memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to expand cooperation on oil and gas projects.

The deals were signed on Wednesday after business-to-business (B2B) meetings between Iranian and Russian delegations in Tehran.

The contracts and MoUs were signed in a ceremony in the presence of Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

They covered different areas of industry, technology transfer and oil excavation, as well as customs issues, authorities said.

One of the contracts included a roadmap for scientific and technological cooperation between the Department for Engineering, Research and Technological Affairs of the Iranian Oil Ministry with Russia's Ministry of Energy.

Another contract was signed between Iran Customs Administration and the Federal Customs Service of Russia.

An MoU was also signed between Iran's Research Institute of Petroleum Industry and Kazan Federal University on pilot cooperation in oil excavation activities.

9341**2050**4261

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Spox dismisses US concern over Iran's expansion of ties with neighbors

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

May 18, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has rejected as unjustified and invalid certain concerns voiced by the Biden administration over Tehran's expansion of trade cooperation with other states.

Kanaani's remarks came after the US State Department's principal deputy spokesperson voiced concern over the recent agreement between Iran and Russia on the construction of the Rasht-Astara railroad - a vital section of the North-South Corridor that connects South Asia to North Europe.

"Any steps or any project being undertaken to go around sanctions is something that we of course would find deeply concerning," Vedant Patel said at a press briefing on May 17.

The signing of an agreement on the completion of the Rasht-Astara railroad in the presence of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin via videoconference, as well as the inauguration of joint border projects in the presence of Raisi and Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif are all part of Iran's "neighbor-oriented" policy.

He highlighted that such a strategy is based upon "cooperation for common security, development and welfare".

The agreement signed on Wednesday would facilitate the completion of a strategic part of the corridor, which stretches for 162 kilometers and connects the northern Iranian city of Rasht to Astara that lies on the border with the Republic of Azerbaijan.

According to the Iranian president's website, Russia will make an investment of 1.6 billion euros in the railroad project, which is expected to come into operation within 48 months.

Moreover, the Iranian president and the Pakistani prime minister inaugurated the Pishin-Mand retail market at a border crossing between the two neighbors on Thursday.

The retail market was opened up at the border crossing that connects Iran's southeastern city of Pishin to Pakistan's southwestern city of Mand.

The two heads of state also launched an electricity exchange station that connects the power lines between Iran's Pollan and Pakistan's Jiwani.

2050

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Opening border projects, Iran, Pakistan vow to boost ties

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 18 May 2023 5:47 PM

Heads of states of Iran and Pakistan have said in a meeting held at the border of the two countries that they would seek to expand economic and trade ties to levels not seen before.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif were at the zero border point in Iran's southeast to open a first of six border marketplaces that they said would lead to a significant rise in cross-border trade between the two neighbors.

The sustenance market on the border between Iran's Pishin and Pakistan's Mand regions would allow individuals living within 50 kilometers of the border to buy and sell up to $400 worth of goods per week without paying customs duties.

Raeisi and Sharif also opened an electricity transmission line between Polan in Iran and Gabd in Pakistan. The line will enable Pakistan to import 100 megawatts of electricity from Iran for meeting household and business demand in its Gwadar region.

Both Raeisi and Sharif said they were happy with the state of "brotherly and friendly" relations between Iran and Pakistan although they insisted cooperation between the two should expand.

"Today, the determination of Iran and Pakistan is that the level of their relations should be elevated from what they have now," said Raeisi in a joint press conference with Sharif.

Sharif was quoted as saying in the Pakistani media that he had agreed in his meeting with Raeisi that Iran and Pakistan should enhance bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, information technology, agriculture, power, energy, and other sectors.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iran dismisses US concern over expansion of cooperation with neighbors

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 18 May 2023 4:09 PM

The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry has rejected as "unjustified and invalid" concerns voiced by the Joe Biden administration over Tehran's expansion of trade cooperation with other states, saying the latest agreements with Russia and Pakistan are in line with Iran's emphasis on the policy of good neighborliness.

Nasser Kan'ani wrote in a post published on his Twitter page on Thursday that the signing of an agreement on the completion of the Rasht-Astara railroad, with Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin attending the ceremony via videoconference, as well as the inauguration of joint border projects in the presence of Raeisi and Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif are all part of Iran's "neighbor-oriented" policy.

He highlighted that such a strategy is based upon "cooperation for common security, development and welfare."

Kan'ani's remarks came after the US State Department's principal deputy spokesperson voiced concern over the recent agreement between Iran and Russia on the construction of the Rasht-Astara railroad - a vital section of the North-South Corridor that connects South Asia to North Europe.

"Any steps or any project being undertaken to go around sanctions is something that we of course would find deeply concerning," Vedant Patel said at a press briefing on May 17.

The agreement signed on Wednesday would facilitate the completion of a strategic part of the corridor, which stretches for 162 kilometers and connects the northern Iranian city of Rasht to Astara that lies on the border with the Republic of Azerbaijan.

According to the Iranian president's website, Russia will make an investment of 1.6 billion euros in the railroad project, which is expected to come into operation within 48 months.

Moreover, the Iranian president and the Pakistani prime minister inaugurated the Pishin-Mand retail market at a border crossing between the two neighbors on Thursday.

The retail market was opened up at the border crossing that connects Iran's southeastern city of Pishin to Pakistan's southwestern city of Mand.

The two heads of state also launched an electricity exchange station that connects the power lines between Iran's Pollan and Pakistan's Jiwani.

Iran rejects any connection with people arrested in neighboring Azerbaijan

Separately on Thursday, Kan'ani dismissed any link between Tehran and a number of Azerbaijani nationals recently detained on charges of affiliation to Iranian institutions.

The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry roundly dismissed a series of accusations that the Republic of Azerbaijan has lately leveled against the Islamic Republic.

"Unfortunately, the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan has been arresting and putting its citizens behind bars for some time on false allegations and charges of links with Iranian organizations," he tweeted, refuting any sort of link whatsoever between Iran and those arrested in the former Soviet republic.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, Azerbaijan's Interior Ministry, security service and the office of prosecutor general said at least nine Azeri nationals had been arrested, suspected of being "linked to Iranian secret services and of plotting a coup and assassinations."

Kan'ani stressed that the relationships between the citizens of the two countries are heartfelt, emotional, historical, religious and even family-oriented.

"The government of the Republic of Azerbaijan should not attribute such deep-rooted and historical bonds of its nationals to security issues or associate them with neighbors," he stressed.

The senior Iranian diplomat also highlighted that every government reserves the very right to take measures against its law-breaking citizens, but underlined that Baku's arrest and imprisonment of many Azerbaijani nationals under the false pretext of connection with Iran is unacceptable.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iran, Pakistan explore ways to enhance bilateral ties

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 18 May 2023 10:50 AM

Iran's President Ebrahim Raeisi and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have exchanged views on ways to strengthen cooperation between the two neighboring countries, especially in commercial, economic and border fields.

During a meeting in the Mand-Pishin border crossing on Thursday, the two sides stressed the need to keep up the exchange of high-level delegations between Tehran and Islamabad as well as mutual efforts to increase the volume of bilateral trade.

The meeting came after Raeisi and Sharif jointly inaugurated a major border sustenance marketplace and an electricity transmission line.

Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs hailed the joint inauguration as "a manifestation of the strong commitment of Pakistan and Iran to uplift welfare of residents of the neighboring provinces of Balochistan and Sistan and Baluchestan, respectively."

In a statement released on Wednesday, it said that the Mand-Pishin marketplace would be one of the six border markets to be constructed along its border with Iran, and will provide a thriving platform for cross-border trade and new avenues of opportunity for local businesses.

The ministry also noted that the Polan-Gabd Electricity Transmission Line will play a pivotal role in meeting the energy needs of the region by bringing in additional 100 MW electricity from Iran.

Tehran and Islamabad have been working to enhance economic ties in recent years. Iran's non-oil export to Pakistan increased by 18 percent in the previous Iranian calendar year (which ended on March 20), according to the spokesperson of the Iranian House of Industry, Mining, and Trade's Trade Development Committee.

Pakistan was Iran's fifth largest export market in the previous calendar year, importing non-oil products worth $1.488 billion from Iran, Rouhollah Latifi said in early May.

He also said that Iran imported non-oil goods worth $842 million from Pakistan last year, up 170 percent from the previous year.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iranian President Warns Afghanistan To Abide By Treaty On Water Flows

By RFE/RL's Radio Farda May 18, 2023

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has warned the de facto Taliban regime in Afghanistan that its noncompliance with joint agreements on water rights in regions along their shared border is escalating tensions between Tehran and Kabul.

Raisi warned during a visit to the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchistan on May 18 that the "rulers of Afghanistan" should "take the issue of...Iran's water rights seriously."

The warning follows a phone conversation between Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister of the Taliban administration, and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian over several issues, including the transfer of water from the Helmand River.

Amir-Abdollahian requested the Taliban open the gates of the Kajaki Dam "so both the people of Afghanistan and Iran can be hydrated."

Taliban officials recently claimed that due to low water levels, even if they opened the dam, nothing would reach Iran. But Amir-Abdollahian said that can only be determined by a joint technical team, as per a 1973 treaty over water rights. Iran has proposed such a team inspect the Kajaki Dam to assess the situation, the minister said.

Raisi said that if the experts confirm the water shortage, Iran would drop its concerns, though he added that Iran would not allow the rights of its people to be "compromised."

According to the 1973 agreement, Afghanistan is obligated to provide Iran with 850 million cubic meters of water annually from the Helmand River. Afghanistan's noncompliance with the accord over several decades has become a significant point of contention between the two countries.

Water from the 1,150-kilometer (690-mile) Helmand River, Afghanistan's longest, feeds the Hamun Lake in Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan province. The region relies heavily on the lake, and officials say it has suffered major issues because of a persistent lack of water.

Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran's special representative to Afghanistan, stated that despite the Taliban-led government's repeated commitment to the Helmand water treaty, Iran has only received about 4 percent of the water to which it has a right.

The situation in Iran is becoming acute, with many cities facing water shortages. In turn, protests over the issue are becoming more commonplace.

Afghans widely celebrated the completion of the Kamal Khan Dam last March. Former President Ashraf Ghani said Afghanistan would no longer "give away free water" and suggested Iran should provide oil to Kabul in exchange for water.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-president-warns- afghanistan-treaty-water-/32417519.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iran, Pakistan Open Border Marketplace, Power Transmission Line

By Ayaz Gul May 18, 2023

Leaders of Iran and Pakistan jointly inaugurated a marketplace and a power transmission line along their shared border Thursday in a significant move aimed at boosting regional trade and energy cooperation.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed a ceremony in a live broadcast from the Iranian side of the more than the 900-kilometer border between the two countries.

Raisi said the project had set the stage for Tehran and Islamabad to expand their economic and energy exchanges.

The transmission line would export 100 megawatts of Iranian electricity to Pakistan's border province of Baluchistan. The impoverished, natural resources-rich region already imports 100 megawatts of low-cost power from Iran.

"We are fully prepared to further deepen our relations with our neighboring country Pakistan in the energy sector," the Iranian president said.

Islamabad's foreign exchange reserves have rapidly declined as the country faces a dire economic crisis. The cash-strapped South Asian nation of about 230 million people depends on energy imports to meet domestic needs.

The marketplace opened by the two countries Thursday links Iran's southeastern city of Pishin to Pakistan's southwestern city of Mand. It is one of the six border markets the two counties are jointly constructing.

Raisi said the facilities would help create jobs and boost bilateral "retail trade" to help thousands of households on both sides of the remote, poverty-stricken regions.

Border security

"The message of this project is one of security. ... Today, both countries see the border as an opportunity and not a threat," the Iranian leader stressed, speaking through an official interpreter.

Sharif said that he had held a formal meeting with Raisi on the sidelines of the inauguration and the two discussed ways to strengthen border security cooperation.

"We have exchanged proposals to make our joint border security mechanism more coherent and robust," the Pakistani prime minister said.

"I will convene an urgent meeting as soon as I return to Pakistan and we will take appropriate, effective steps in the light of your proposals," Sharif told Raisi without elaborating.

Insurgent attacks in sparsely populated Baluchistan and deadly violence carried out by Sunni militants in the adjacent Sistan-Baluchistan province of Shi'ite Iran have long been a source of bilateral tensions.

Both countries have blamed the other for not doing enough to prevent cross-border militant attacks.

Gas pipeline

Iran and Pakistan signed an agreement in 1990 to construct a nearly 2,700-kilometer gas pipeline to export Iranian gas to the energy-deficient South Asian neighboring country. But U.S. sanctions on Tehran blocked any progress of the project.

Iranian officials maintain they have finished construction of the pipeline on their side of the border and are waiting for Pakistan to complete its part, saying a lack of progress by next year would entitle Tehran to demand financial penalties.

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch reiterated Thursday her country remains committed to the pipeline project.

"Pakistan considers the Iran-Pakistan pipeline as an important project that symbolizes the friendship between Pakistan and our neighbor, Iran," Baloch told a news conference in Islamabad when asked to comment on the reported multibillion-dollar penalty facing her country.

She said talks with Iranian officials on "some issues" about the pipeline's completion continued, adding that "it is premature for me to comment on anything that could happen several months from now."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






UK reaffirms commitment to the stability and security of Iraq: UK statement at the Security Council

Statement by UK Political Coordinator Fergus Eckersley at the UN Security Council meeting on Iraq.

18 May 2023

Thank you, Madam President I'd like to thank the Special Representative for her very clear briefing and Ms Latif for her words about protecting the rights of women and girls. At the outset, Madam President, I would like to commend the continued work of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq. Over the past twenty years the Mission has played a vital role in supporting Iraq and the Iraqi people. We strongly support the renewal of the mandate of the Mission and welcome the opportunity for an independent strategic review to ensure the Mission is aligned to the current peace and security threats facing Iraq.

The UK remains committed to supporting the Iraqi Government and the implementation of its ambitious reform agenda. In particular, passing a budget will be a crucial step in delivering the Government's priorities including on economic reform and energy diversification. We welcome the steps already taken to tackle corruption, to strengthen economic infrastructure and to begin the green energy transition.

We also commend the steps taken by the Iraqi Government to find durable solutions to address the displacement crisis in Iraq; to provide essential services and to support survivors of conflict, including those from minority communities. We continue to encourage further implementation of the Yazidi Survivors Law including through the timely distribution of reparations to survivors. And the UK will continue to work with the Iraqi Government to support accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) including so that the horrific crimes perpetrated by Da'esh are addressed and prosecuted effectively.

We thank the Special Representative for her update on the Kurdistan region and we urge the Kurdistan Regional Parliament and the Kurdistan Regional Government to take all necessary steps to ensure that the planned elections are able to take place in November without further postponement. It is incumbent on all parties to ensure an electoral process which adheres to international standards and upholds the rights of all citizens, including women and minorities, to participate in the democratic process.

We welcome the Special Representative's update on missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals and missing Kuwaiti property.

We commend Iraq's focus on its regional relations and welcome the SRSG's role in supporting regional dialogue. As we continue to see the adverse impacts of climate change, the Special Representative's engagement on transboundary environmental issues is particularly valuable.

Once again, I'd like to renew the UK's commitment to the stability and security of Iraq and to the essential role the Mission plays in support. We look forward to participating in further discussions on the renewal of the mandate in the coming days.

Thank you.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Japan, South Korea Aim to Strengthen Ties at G7

By William Gallo May 18, 2023

The top leaders of Japan and South Korea will try to maintain momentum toward improved relations when they meet on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit that begins Friday in Hiroshima.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday, the final day of the three-day gathering, according to South Korean officials.

South Korea is not a member of the G-7 group of advanced democracies but was invited by Kishida as an observer, along with the leaders of several other non-G-7 states.

It will be the third recent meeting between Yoon and Kishida, who are charging ahead with expanded security and economic cooperation despite domestic pushback in each country.

Japan-South Korea ties have long been strained by disagreements related to Japan's brutal 1910-45 occupation of Korea.

The stakes are high. Strong ties between Japan and South Korea, both key U.S. allies, could reshape the security landscape in Northeast Asia at a time of rising concern over China's more assertive behavior and North Korea's expanding nuclear arsenal.

Creating momentum

Yoon and Kishida have chosen to focus on shared challenges first, rather than wait for contentious historical disputes to be resolved.

A senior official in the Japanese Prime Minister's Office defended the approach, saying cooperation on defense and economic issues will ideally "create a more positive atmosphere" in both countries that could eventually allow for progress in other more sensitive areas.

Tokyo is optimistic, in part because Yoon is only one year through his five-year presidential term, said the Japanese official, who spoke to a small group of reporters on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Yoon has pushed ahead with his Japan outreach, despite it being broadly unpopular with South Koreans.

South Korean critics say the relationship cannot be mended without more steps by Japan to address past abuses. But many Japanese conservatives oppose any further conciliatory measures, saying Tokyo should not be forced to continue apologizing for its history.

Ups and downs

Ties plummeted in 2018 after South Korea's Supreme Court ordered Japanese companies to pay reparations to South Koreans forced to work as slave laborers during the colonial era.

Japan rejected the ruling, insisting all compensation issues were resolved when the two countries established relations in 1965.

Each country then imposed a series of retaliatory measures that affected trade and military cooperation, ultimately driving Japan-South Korea relations to their lowest level in decades.

Ties were stagnant until March, when Yoon unveiled a plan to compensate forced labor victims via a private foundation funded by South Korean - not Japanese - companies.

Almost immediately, both sides began lifting trade and other restrictions. Yoon and Kishida restored the practice of making regular visits to each other's countries.

Trilateral cooperation among Japan, South Korea, and the United States has also expanded - especially on issues related to North Korea.

According to multiple reports, Japan and South Korea are nearing an agreement to connect their radars via a U.S. system to more effectively share information during North Korean missile launches.

But how long can it last?

Much depends on Yoon's political troubles at home. Opinion polls suggest about 60% of South Koreans oppose the Japan outreach. That means added pressure for Yoon, whose approval rating is hovering in the low 30% range.

A key test for Yoon will come next April, when South Korea holds a legislative election widely expected to serve as a referendum on his presidency. Though South Korean presidents cannot run for reelection, some analysts think Yoon may have less foreign policy flexibility if he cannot deliver a victory for his ruling conservative party.

Many South Korean commentators say public opinion could change if Kishida showed more contrition about the past.

During a visit to Seoul earlier this month, Kishida said his "heart hurts" when he thinks of the suffering and pain experienced by Koreans during Japanese colonial rule, but stopped short of issuing a fresh apology.

Yoon and Kishida will have an opportunity to address historical issues when they visit a Hiroshima memorial that honors Korean victims of the 1945 U.S. atomic bomb attack. More than 30,000 Koreans - many of them forced laborers - are estimated to have died in the attack.

This will be the first time South Korean and Japanese leaders have jointly visited the memorial, lending the move symbolic significance.

"I think it represents a sincere gesture related to the suffering of the Hiroshima atomic bomb victims, as well as the forced labor victims," said a South Korean foreign ministry official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

However, all public evidence suggests Kishida will move cautiously on historical issues. That approach could partly be explained by his past experience with attempts to improve relations with Seoul.

As foreign minister in 2015, Kishida played a major role in negotiating a settlement related to Japan's wartime sexual slavery of women - a deal that was effectively nullified by South Korea when a liberal president later took office.

But despite proceeding slowly on history, Yoon and Kishida may be able to sustain diplomatic momentum based on the "imperatives of geopolitics," said Daniel Sneider, a lecturer at Stanford University and specialist in Korea-Japan relations.

But, he said: "That leaves historical issues like buried landmines, not far from the surface and ready to be set off."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Readout of President Biden's Meeting with Prime Minister Kishida of Japan

May 18, 2023

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan in Hiroshima today to advance cooperation on a range of security, economic, and regional issues. He underscored that the U.S.-Japan Alliance is the cornerstone of regional peace and prosperity, and reaffirmed the U.S. extended deterrence commitment using the full range of U.S. capabilities. Both leaders discussed ways to further strengthen defense cooperation, building on Japan's revised strategy documents and increased defense investments.

They also addressed efforts to bolster economic cooperation, including through negotiations on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the promotion of clean and secure energy, and the establishment of diverse and resilient critical minerals supply chains. The leaders highlighted their deepening cooperation on emerging technology, including the finalization of a memorandum of cooperation on education and technology and the launching of new partnerships between U.S. and Japanese companies and universities, including the University of Chicago and Purdue University, in areas like quantum computing and semiconductors. The President thanked the Prime Minister for Japan's commitment to increase investment in these areas.

Both leaders affirmed their resolve to continue supporting Ukraine as it defends itself from Russia's brutal and unlawful invasion, and committed to work closely together to address regional security challenges, including the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) nuclear and ballistic missile programs and coercive behavior by the People's Republic of China that runs counter to international law. The President reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the immediate resolution of the abductions issue. The two leaders underscored their opposition to any attempts to change the status quo by force, and reiterated their resolve to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. They also reaffirmed their support for ASEAN centrality, and emphasized the importance of increasing multilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly with the Republic of Korea (ROK), the Quad nations including Australia and India, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. The President commended Prime Minister Kishida on his courageous efforts to improve bilateral ties with the ROK, which will contribute to greater regional stability and prosperity.

The two leaders committed to continue deepening the bilateral relationship to advance their shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific. The President said he looked forward to a productive G7 Summit under Japan's leadership.

###

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Kazakh Activists Jailed, Fined For Rally Plans Amid China-Central Asia Summit

By RFE/RL's Kazakh Service May 18, 2023

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- A number of Kazakh activists who planned to hold protest rallies against the government's plan to introduce visa-free travel for Chinese citizens coming to Kazakhstan have been jailed or fined ahead of the China-Central Asian summit in the ancient city of Xi'an.

Kazakh officials have said an agreement on visa-free visits for visiting Chinese citizens for up to 30 days will be signed during the summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping and attended by the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan on May 19, the second day of the meeting.

Ahead of bilateral meetings held between the countries and Beijing, a court in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, sentenced Bekzatqan Maqsutuly, the leader of the unregistered Atazhurt (Fatherland) party, to 15 days in jail.

Maqsutuly's lawyer, Shynquat Baizhanov, told RFE/RL on May 18 that his client was found guilty of violating regulations for holding public gatherings. The charge was related to a previous unsanctioned public event. On May 16, Maqsutuly announced online his party's plan to organize a rally against the agreement on visa-free travel for Chinese nationals entering Kazakhstan.

A court in the northwestern city of Aqtobe sentenced activist Akhmet Sarsenghaliev to four days in jail on the same charge.

Three other activists in Aqtobe -- Almira Quatova, Ainagul Tobetova, and Bauyrzhan Maratuly -- were also convicted of violating regulations for holding public gatherings and ordered to pay fines between $380 and $535. All four activists planned to organize a rally in Aqtobe on May 18 to protest via-free travel for Chinese citizens entering Kazakhstan.

Activists in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic's northern city of Pavlodar said on Facebook that they had faced police pressure over their plan to organize a rally against the visa-free travel agreement in the city.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakh-activists-jailed- rally-china-summit/32417571.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Myanmar enacts Weapons Law aimed at keeping guns away from resistance

Junta threatens prison and death penalty for those who bear, sell and distribute weapons.

By RFA Burmese 2023.05.18 -- Myanmar's junta is threatening stiff prison terms and even the death penalty under a law regulating weapons ownership that analysts say aims to instill fear in supporters of the armed resistance.

The new Weapons Law, enacted on May 11, comes at a time when armed resistance to the military government, which took over in a 2021 coup, is spreading throughout the country.

"It appears to have been released with the intention of targeting urban guerrillas," said Saya Kyaung, a spokesman for the Yangon UG Association, a rebel group. "This is simply an attempt to try to weaken the revolution."

The law details restrictions on the right to bear, transfer and hold weapons, including the selling, production, distribution, import and export of firearms.

It states that a person who has purchased or is in possession of a weapon with an intent to commit treason - meaning fighting junta forces - can be sentenced to five to 10 years in prison.

It also states that stealing, destroying, selling or transferring state-owned weapons or the ammunition of government personnel is punishable by 10 years to life imprisonment, or a maximum penalty of a death sentence.

These two provisions are designed to prevent members of the junta's armed forces from joining the anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement or handing them weapons and ammunition, CDM officer Kaung Thu Win told Radio Free Asia.

Thein Tun Oo, executive director of the Thayninga Institute of Strategic Studies, which is made up of former Burmese military officers, said the law is aimed at curbing the illegal use of firearms - but it's also aimed at retrieving weapons from People's Defense Force fighters, he said.

"By enacting this new law, those who want to bear arms will be able to do it with the boundaries of the law," he said. "This is the benefit. It will have controlled illegal weapons spread across the country, too."

Facing the threat of the PDFs

Armed conflicts have taken place in 255 out of 330 townships in Myanmar, the annual report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights published on March 3 stated that in the two years since the military took power.

Earlier this month, the junta announced that people with illegal firearms can apply for licenses - including PDF members who could receive cash in exchange for their weapons.

The junta is trying to arm those who support it and keep weapons out of the hands of the PDFs, said Than Soe Naing, a political analyst.

"The junta has been faced with two problems: One is that it needs to manufacture and equip weapons to its forces in order to reinforce them. But it is also facing the threat of those weapons getting in the possession of the revolutionary PDF forces," he said.

That's why the law is a threat to the people of Myanmar, said Kyaw Zaw, spokesman for the president's office of the shadow National Unity Government.

"The military council itself is an illegal entity. Therefore, they have no right to enact any law in Myanmar," he said. "Since they are a bunch of criminals, they have absolutely no legal authority to declare a law or enact it. That's why I first want to say that the law they have created is entirely illegal which is just mainly designed to scare the people."

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content May not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Weapons from China and Russia fuel Myanmar's bloody civil war

A new report pinpoints the origins of the arms the junta relies on to retain power.

By Jim Snyder for RFA 2023.05.18 -- Chinese and Russian entities have sent more than US$660 million in weaponry and other arms-related equipment to Myanmar's military since its coup two years ago, enabling the junta to wage its brutal campaign to retain power.

The sales are part of US$1 billion in total in arms-related trade to the country since the Feb. 1, 2021, coup, "despite overwhelming evidence of the Myanmar military's atrocity crimes against the people of Myanmar," United Nations Special Rapporteur for Myanmar Tom Andrews said in a statement Wednesday.

The support comes in a variety of ways, including advanced weapons systems, spare parts for fighter jets, raw materials and manufacturing equipment for domestic weapons production. Perhaps most critical to the military's insurgency suppression efforts is the supply of aircraft that it has used to strike combatants and terrorize citizens who live in areas of resistance.

The report identified US$406 million in arms sales from 28 Russian entities and US$267 million from 41 state-owned and private companies in China.

"Given the widespread reporting of the Myanmar military's war crimes, China has arguably made these transfers with actual knowledge that the Myanmar military will use the fighter jets transferred by its state-owned arms manufacturers in attacks on civilians in violation of international humanitarian law," the report states.

Sanctions ineffective

Sanctions imposed by the United States, members of the European Union and other countries have been ineffective in stopping the flow of weaponry into Myanmar, Andrews said.

"Those providing these weapons are able to avoid sanctions by using front companies and creating new ones while counting on lax enforcement," Andrews said.

The report urges new efforts, including sanctions on one of the military's main sources of revenue, the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise. So far, the European Union is the only entity to sanction the company.

Declaration of friendship

After earlier indicating some impatience with the Myanmar military regime led by Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, Chinese officials appeared to reaffirm support earlier this month.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gan hailed the "friendship" between the two countries during a meeting with the junta leader on May 3, according to official reports.

An email to the Chinese Embassy in Washington was not returned.

Myanmar military's relationship with its more powerful neighbor has been among the keys in its ability to hold onto some semblance of power despite widespread opposition among an array of armed groups, including ethnic-armed organizations and militia forces.

"The Myanmar military's relationships to Russian and Chinese arms suppliers are the backbone of the junta's combat capabilities, without which its ability to hold on to the country's center and urban areas would likely suffer substantially," said Lucas Myers, a senior associate for Southeast Asia at the Wilson Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

The report says that Chinese K-8 fighters had been the most frequently spotted ground attack jet of the Myanmar Air Force before April 2022, when the Russian Yak-130 began to be deployed more often.

In December, China shipped six FTC-2000G fighters, which combine training and attack capabilities, to Myanmar. The delivery is "concerning," Myers said.

Support from Singapore, Thailand

The arms have been used in a number of documented atrocities committed by Myanmar's military, including a Sept. 16, 2022, hour-long attack on a school and monastery in Let Yet Kone Village led by Russian Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters. At least six children were killed in the attack.

Andrews' report also notes the not-insignificant amount of sales from Singapore, India and Thailand, which collectively come to US$333 million in arms trade.

"Arms dealers operating out of Singapore are critical to the continued operation of the Myanmar military's deadly weapons factories (commonly referred to as KaPaSa)," the report states.

Andrews noted the Singapore government's declaration to block any arms transfers to Myanmar.

Zachary Abuza, a professor at National War College in Washington and an expert on Southeast Asia, said that Thailand's and Singapore's sales to Myanmar, though smaller than either Russia's or China's, are important because the goods they ship allow the military to continue to produce its own munitions.

With a floundering post-coup economy, the junta doesn't "have a lot of money for imports," making its domestic manufacturing capability "critically important" to its efforts to hold onto power, Abuza said.

Singapore and Thailand may also be more responsive to U.S. pressure to stem the flow of imports into Myanmar, compared with either Russia or China, he said.

Since the coup, the military has killed at least 3,500 civilians, detained at least 22,000 political prisoners and forcibly displaced over 1.5 million people, the report states, citing figures from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a human rights group based in Thailand.

Edited by Malcolm Foster.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content May not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Myanmar's junta shuts down 3 Mandalay hospitals

It claims the institutions used members of the civil disobedience movement.

By RFA Burmese 2023.05.18 -- The junta has revoked the business licenses of three private hospitals in Myanmar's central Mandalay region, it announced this week.

Palace, City and Kant Kaw hospitals had already been told to stop accepting patients because they were using staff belonging to the civil disobedience movement.

An order signed Monday by Dr. Myat Wunna Soe, secretary of the junta-led Private Health Industry Central Group said the licenses were revoked because the hospitals failed to comply with the licensing rules in Section 19 (a) of the Law Relating to Private Health Care Services.

This vague clause stipulates only that "a person who obtains a license for any private health care services shall ... comply with the terms and conditions of the license."

Radio Free Asia's calls to the junta spokesman for Mandalay region, Thein Htay, seeking comment on the decision to revoke the licenses, went unanswered.

The junta has cracked down on doctors who voice opposition to the military, sacking 557 and revoking their medical licenses for one year.

NUG: Junta still bombing hospitals, clinics

The move against the private hospitals comes as the Ministry of Health of the shadow National Unity Government reported that the junta is continuing to target and attack hospitals.

Junta troops targeted hospitals and clinics at least seven times through land and air attacks in Kachin, Kayah and Shan states and in Sagaing and Magway regions in April and so far in May, NUG said in a statement.

Hospitals, clinics, ambulances, medicine and medical supplies were destroyed. Five civilians, including health workers, were killed and 11 were injured by the junta's attack during that time period, according to the NUG.

The attacks in Sagaing and Magway took place in regions where anti-junta armed conflict has been near constant in recent months.

"These are acts of war crimes and crimes against humanity," said NUG's Health Minister, Dr. Zaw Wai Soe. "These places are the medical refuge of the sick and injured. Attacking these places proves that the military junta is completely inhumane and lacks human sympathy."

On Wednesday, two rural medical facilities, a monastery and six civilian homes were destroyed by an aerial attack on Saw Lon village in Kayah state's Bawlake township. A 17-year-old girl was killed and four men were injured.

On April 25, a junta airstrike hit a hospital in Hsaung Phway village in southern Shan State where a woman was giving birth. She was killed and four people, including a nurse, were injured.

A local resident told RFA that a fighter jet bombed the hospital at least five times.

'Attacked indiscriminately'

RFA called General Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for the military junta, regarding the attacks on hospitals, but he did not pick up the phone. When asked by RFA on previous occasions, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun denied that the military targets civilians.

Zaw Win, a human rights expert at London-based rights group Fortify Rights, said the international community, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, needs to find a way to prevent such attacks from happening again.

"From a human rights standpoint, it is absolutely unacceptable," he said. "Even the patients in the hospital were attacked indiscriminately by the junta."

The National Unity Government said in a statement last month that 71 health workers had been killed and 836 arrested in the time period between the February 2021 coup and the end of February 2023.

It said the junta attacked and seized equipment from 188 clinics and hospitals, damaged 59 ambulances and seized 49 more during that two-year period.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn and Matt Reed.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content May not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Transcript of the Media Briefing by the Spokesperson on Thursday 18 May 2023

Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

[This is a rush transcript. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated]

Assalam-o-Alaikum,

Thanks for joining us for the Weekly Briefing.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif is at the Pakistan-Iran border today where he will meet President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ebrahim Raisi. In their meeting, the two leaders will discuss all aspects of bilateral relations and explore new areas of cooperation to further strengthen Pakistan-Iran ties. They will jointly inaugurate Mand-Pishin Border Sustenance Marketplace and Polan-Gabd Electricity Transmission Line at Mand-Pishin border crossing point.

The Mand-Pishin Border Sustenance Marketplace is one of the six border markets to be constructed along the Pakistan-Iran border as agreed under the MoU signed on 21st April 2021. The border markets are envisaged along the Pakistan-Iran border to facilitate the people on both sides of the border with enhanced cross-border trade, fostering economic growth and opening up of new avenues of opportunity for local businesses.

The Polan-Gabd Electricity Transmission Line has been developed in implementation of the agreement signed between the two governments during the visit of Federal Minister for Energy to Iran in July last year. This transmission line will supplement the electricity being purchased from Iran for the border Makran region via the 132 KV Makran Division electricity transmission line. The additional 100 MW electricity via Polan-Gabd will help offset the energy needs of households and businesses in the Balochistan province.

Deputy Minister of Interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Dr. Nasir bin Abdulaziz Al-Dawood visited Pakistan on 16 - 17 May 2023. He called on the Prime Minister, Minister of Interior, and the Minister of Narcotics Control. During the visit two sides also signed the Agreement on Road to Makkah Project. Road to Makkah project is a mechanism for shifting immigration and customs clearance process from Saudi Arabia to Islamabad aimed to relieve Hujjaj from the ordeal of immigration and customs clearance on landing at Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The two sides will remain engaged to expand the number of airports in Pakistan to benefit from this facility.

Pakistan has joined the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE) as its 107th Member. GFCE is an international, multi-stakeholder platform established in 2015 to promote collaboration and capacity building in cybersecurity. Pakistan's decision to join the Forum is in line with its longstanding commitment to promoting safe, secure and stable cyberspace for all.

GFCE membership opens doors for international collaboration and partnerships. The Forum will provide a platform for meaningful exchanges with international stakeholders, fostering relationships, and expanding networks in the field of cybersecurity. We hope that such collaboration would lead to joint initiatives, research projects, and knowledge-sharing opportunities, ultimately boosting Pakistan's expertise in cyber defense and policy-making.

We categorically reject the baseless assertions made about Pakistan in the International Religious Freedom Report released by the U.S. Department of State. Such ill-informed reporting exercises about internal affairs of sovereign states are pointless, irresponsible and counterproductive.

We are proud of our religious diversity and pluralistic social fabric. Pakistan's Constitution, sets a robust framework for wide-ranging legal, policy and affirmative measures to safeguard and advance the rights and freedoms of all Pakistanis irrespective of their faith. These rights and constitutional guarantees are protected, upheld and reinforced by an independent judiciary.

We strongly believe that each State itself has the primary responsibility to promote and protect religious rights and freedoms of its nationals. With this understanding, Pakistan has always engaged constructively with the international community in promoting mutual understanding on the important question of religious freedom and minority rights. In our interactions, including with the United States, we have raised serious concerns about the steady surge in anti-Muslim hatred, racism and Islamophobia. We hope to work with international partners to counter these pernicious forms of religious intolerance, discrimination and Islamophobia.

Pakistan has been closely following the developments in Gaza and other Occupied Palestinian Territories and is concerned about the impact of violence on the civilian population. We strongly condemn the loss of precious lives of more than 33 Palestinians including women and children over the last several days and pray for the recovery of those injured. We call on Israel to adhere to its international obligations and respect the recent ceasefire agreement, ending days of bloodshed and indiscriminate use of force in Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces.

Pakistan reaffirms its unstinted support for the Palestinian cause and renews its call for a viable, independent and contiguous Palestinian State, with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital as the only just, comprehensive and lasting solution of the Palestinian question, in accordance with the relevant United Nations and OIC resolutions.

Pakistan welcomes the important statement made by the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Affairs, Dr. Fernand de Varennes, on the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). In this statement, the Special Rapporteur has warned against Indian plans to hold the G-20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar. He has rightly said that India is providing a "veneer of support to a faAade of normalcy" at a time when massive human rights violations, illegal and arbitrary arrests, political persecution, restrictions and even suppression of free media and human rights defenders continue to escalate. We agree with the Special Rapporteur that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir should be "decried and condemned, not pushed under the rug and ignored" with the holding of the G-20 meeting. Members of G20 should pay due attention to these observations and sage advice.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari shared similar sentiments in a meeting with a delegation of the Azad Jammu & Kashmir chapter of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) on 11th May. He reaffirmed Pakistan's continued moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people's just struggle for their inherent right to self-determination. He also stressed that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute should be resolved in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and aspirations of the Kashmiri people. The meeting with APHC's AJK chapter took place at a time when the entire pro-freedom political leadership in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) remains incarcerated.

Now on to upcoming events announcements.

The fourth Round of Bilateral Political Consultations between Pakistan and Ireland will be held in Islamabad on 18 May 2023. The consultations will be co-chaired by Ambassador Muhammad Saleem, Additional Foreign Secretary (Europe) and Ms. Sonja Hyland, Deputy Secretary General, Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland.

The two sides will review the state of bilateral relations and discuss cooperation in political, economic and trade, education, tourism, science and technology, climate change domains. Political Consultations with Ireland provides a forum for better understanding of each other's perspective on regional and global affairs, and deepening of partnership between Pakistan and Ireland.

I thank you !

***

Question: In the light of present political situation in Pakistan, the U.S. Congressmen have written a letter to US Secretary of State. How does Pakistan view this? Earlier, Zalmay Khalilzad also gave some statements on this matter. What are your comments? (Khawaja Nayyar Iqbal, Media Today)

Answer: We have commented on such statements in the past, and I reiterate that Pakistan has the full ability to deal with all domestic challenges in accordance with our laws and constitution.

Question: Prime Minister will shortly meet the Iranian President in a border town and we saw your detailed Press Release issued regarding this yesterday. Since this meeting is taking place after recent rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran. How Pakistan feels encouraged for today's meeting, and any specific proposals or ideas that Prime Minister of Pakistan will be sharing with the Iranian President for further future cooperation between the two countries? (Shaukat Piracha, AAJ News)

Answer: As I said in my opening remarks, and as explained in our statement yesterday, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will meet President of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the border between Pakistan and Iran, at the Mand-Pishin Border point. The main purpose of this meeting is the inauguration of the "Mand-Pishin Border Sustenance Marketplace", and "Polan-Gabd Electricity Transmission Line". When they meet, the leaders will also discuss bilateral relations and explore new areas of cooperation to further strengthen Pakistan-Iran ties. The main purpose of today's event, however, remains to be the inauguration of these two important projects.

Question: It's not only that the Chinese Foreign Minister stood here and he talked about reconciliation, it's not only the 60 odd Congressmen from the United States who have written a letter to the Secretary of State but EU as a group of countries have also spoken earlier this week. When the world is speaking, is it enough to say that we have the capacity to overcome the domestic challenges? How shall we respond to the world? (Shaukat Piracha, AAJ News)

Answer: First, Pakistan has several channels of communication with friendly governments and through these channels of communications all matters of mutual concern are discussed at length. Second, on all such public statements, I reiterate that Pakistan has the capacity to deal with its domestic matters and to resolve our domestic issues in accordance with our laws and constitution.

Question: Pakistan has always raised Kashmir Cause at every forum. Even, a few days ago Army Chief also gave a clear statement on Kashmir issue. But still there is no response or any strong reaction from the international community. Now, India is planning to hold an international conference in IIOJK. Is Pakistan looking forward to hold any special meeting for the Human Rights Violations in IIOJK to share with the world that whatever is India is doing in IIOJK is against the charter of United Nations? (Asghar Ali Mubarak, The Daily Mail International)

Answer: For the last seven decades, Pakistan has been a consistent and passionate supporter of the Kashmir cause and the rights of the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir including their right to self-determination as envisioned under the UN Security Council resolutions and promised by the international community several decades ago. We believe that the stunts and gimmicks by India in IIOJK cannot hide the reality that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized dispute, which remains on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council. These activities cannot divert the attention of the international human rights community from the suppression of the people of IIOJK by the Indian occupation forces. Pakistan has been raising our concerns for the Kashmiris and their rights at every possible forum and we will continue to do so.

Question: Actually, this is follow up of what you said just now about Jammu and Kashmir. Would you like to enlighten us that what is Pakistan's policy on IIOJK, keeping in view certain past interviews of Pakistan's former army chief and certain other leaders that Pakistan compromised its principled position on IIOJK and you said Pakistan will keep on raising this issue at different international fora? So, what is the factual position? Did Pakistan compromise on its principled position on IIOJK? (Mateen Haider, G News)

Answer: I think there should be absolutely no confusion on Pakistan's position on the Kashmir dispute and our views on the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. I have spoken about it at almost every briefing. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also articulated our position very recently. Pakistan has consistently made its position clear on the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and our principled stance on the Kashmir dispute. Our principled stance is rooted in the UN Security Council Resolutions which call for a resolution of the Kashmir dispute on the basis of the aspirations of the Kashmiri people as determined under a free and fair UN supervised plebiscite and this position has not changed.

Question: Firstly, nearly 60 US Senators wrote a letter and expressed their concerns regarding trials of political workers under the Army Act in Pakistan and have expressed serious concerns on this. Isn't it an open interference in the internal matters of Pakistan? What is the view of Foreign Office on this?

Secondly, a few days ago President of Pakistan held a meeting with the Ambassador of Qatar and now it is being reported that he held this meeting without taking Foreign Office in the loop. Is it true? Isn't it against the diplomatic norms? (Aijaz Ahmed, GNN)

Answer: Regarding your second question, when our leadership - President or the Prime Minister meets with foreign diplomats, this Ministry is informed and consulted. We have also been informed of recent meetings of our leadership with foreign ambassadors. On your first question, Pakistan is a vibrant democracy and we have mechanisms in place to deal with all issues that arise domestically. It thus has the ability and the will to deal with its domestic matters under our laws and under our Constitution.

Question: My question is related to the recent United States Federal Court order to extradite the Tahawar Rana, a Canadian businessman of Pakistani origin to India. Rana is reportedly sought by India for his alleged involvement in 2008 Mumbai attacks. The court approved his extradition under the India - United States extradition treaty and this order is given at a time when just after a month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting United States at the invitation of President Joe Biden. What are your comments, please? (Jaleel Akhtar, VOA)

Answer: I have to get more details of this case and the court order you have referred to before making any comments.

Question: Last week, when we spoke you said that you will get back on the details with regards to the alleged attack on the Chinese national? Can you enlighten on that?

Secondly, while you have rejected from the podium the US Religious Freedom Index report. The recommendations of the report are quite damning and I just quote; "re-designate Pakistan as a country of particular concern, release blasphemy prisoners and other individuals imprisoned for their religion and beliefs and repeal blasphemy and anti ahmadia laws. Would you not think that this is a gross interference in Pakistan's internal matters by the US Congress, while preparing these reports?

Third question is with regards to another extradition that took place from London to U.S. of Asif Hafiz, a Pakistani national who was allegedly involved in drug trafficking. What are your comments? (Anas Mallick, Capital TV)

Answer: I don't have information on your third question. If you have specific questions like that, I would appreciate if you could share them in advance so that I have some facts of the case.

Your first question is a follow up from last time. According to our information, the local security personnel foiled an attempt to gain unauthorized entry to a project site in Karachi where some foreign experts were also present and investigation is underway. The Government of Pakistan remains firmly committed to maintaining safety and security of our friends and partners from China and elsewhere.

Now coming to your second question. I think I made our position very clear in our opening remarks and I like to reiterate that we categorically reject the baseless assertions made about Pakistan in the International Religious Freedom Report released by the US Department of State. Such ill-informed reporting exercises about internal affairs of sovereign states are pointless, irresponsible and counterproductive.

Question: Don't you think as a diplomat, whatever is happening on the political front and inside Pakistan is hampering Pakistan's diplomacy in some way in the world. Our friend has already mentioned, then there was a statement by the EU, we are also reading about the letter written by the Congressmen. So, don't you think that in some way it's hampering the diplomacy in the world capitals?

The second question is about a Norwegian Pakistani Atif Qadeer, who's been arrested a few months back in Gujarat. He has been presented before a local Additional District Magistrate here in Islamabad. So, have we agreed to send him abroad to extradite him back to Norway, as he was allegedly connected to a terrorist attack in Norway? (Azaz Syed, Geo News)

Answer: On your second question, I am not aware about the specifics of this case. Regarding your first question, I can only say that, as Pakistani citizens, we all understand our country is passing through a difficult situation. At the same time we are a confident and optimistic people. We believe that Pakistan has the capacity to persevere in adversity. We have in the past overcome many challenges and we will InshaAllah come out of the current challenging situation with national consensus, will of the people and on the basis of our laws and Constitution.

Question: I have a couple of questions. One is related to the unfortunate incidents of 9th May. During these recent violent attacks on sensitive security and military installations, Afghans were also involved in violence, arson and sabotage, whether there will be any consideration by Pakistan to repatriate or to deport all those Afghans involved in such attacks. Also, there are ample reports that Afghan refugees, either they are involved in some terrorist activities or attacks in Pakistan or having involved in protests. So, what would be the ultimate future of those Afghan refugees as recently, Afghan Interim Foreign Minister has categorically said that the situation in Afghanistan is improved and Afghanistan is also economically getting vibrant, how do you see it?

Secondly, on 15th of March 2023 Indian Government gave a land in Kupwara in IIOJK, to an Israeli company, Arava Mines limited to carryout mining of lignite, right at the line of control. So how do you see that perspective? The investments by Israelis those were already involved in intelligence sharing and some of the security assistance within IIOJK and also it has implications on Azad Kashmir and on defense and strategic perspective on Pakistan as well. So how do you see these aspects? (Faisal Raza Khan, 92 News)

Answer: Regarding the report that you have mentioned in your first question, we would invite you to contact the Ministry of Interior for information about any Afghans, who could be involved in such incidents. We have yet to receive these reports in this Ministry. When we receive such reports from our concerned authorities and if we are asked to take up the matter with the Afghan authorities, we will fulfill our responsibility. Regarding the Afghan refugees, we have remained in contact with our Afghan friends and brothers for the return of Afghan refugees in dignity and in safety to their homeland. We hope that the situation in Afghanistan improves and they are able to return home very soon.

On your second question without going into specifics, we have voice our concerns about the exploitative measures that India has taken in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir creating difficulties for the people in the occupied territory. India has been attaching and confiscating properties that belong to the Kashmiri people and giving it to outsiders and changing the demographic structure in IIOJK so that Kashmiris become a disempowered minority in their own land. We condemn these measures and urge India to reverse all such exploitative actions and to ensure that the people of Kashmir have a voice and the right to decide about their future including in the economic domain.

Question: In a statement Foreign Minister said that Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif and the President of Iran Syed Ibrahim Raisi will inaugurate Mand-Pishin Border Sustenance Marketplace and Polan-Gabd Electricity Transmission Line which will benefit us in long terms. Is Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline project also being considered with these projects or in near future? (Changez Khan Jadoon, Daily Payam-e-Khyber)

Supplementary Question: Pakistan Iran Gas Pipeline issue has also been discussed in Public Accounts Committee and a concerned has been expressed that if Pakistan will not go ahead with the execution of the project, Pakistan may face an $18 billion penalty, and the Chairman Public Account Committee has expressed concern that maybe U.S. should pay this penalty reportedly and Pakistan should take this issue with the United States. Could you comment that whether Pakistan is going to take up this issue with America, because the sanctions on Iran are hindering this project? (Jaleel Akhtar, VOA)

Answer: First of all, Pakistan considers the Iran-Pakistan pipeline project as an important project that symbolizes friendship between Pakistan and our neighbor, Iran. We remain committed to this project. Secondly, there are some issues regarding its completion for which both countries are engaged in talks. We will continue to discuss with Iran all aspects of the completion of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline. Lastly, I would not preempt anything that would take place in future because our consultations and conversations are ongoing and it is premature for me to comment on anything that could happen several months from now.

Question: People who travel to the Gulf regions to get jobs in different companies, they are sent back to Pakistan if any accident happens there with them. Is there any mechanism that they could claim their belongings? Recently my family is also facing the same issue. These type cases are mostly being reported in Saudi Arabia. Is there any kind of mechanism to deal with this? (Syed Faisal Ali, NEO TV/Din News)

Answer: The Government of Pakistan and our Missions abroad including our Missions in the Middle East are fully committed to facilitating Pakistanis in distress, Pakistanis who may be involved in accidents or who may have other challenges when they are abroad. Our embassies work with the concerned departments of the host governments to ensure that the interests of Pakistanis overseas are protected. At the same time, we respect the laws and regulations of the country concerned and we encourage Pakistani nationals there to respect those laws as well. With respect to specific cases, I would advise you to send a separate inquiry to us so that we can consult our concerned Missions.

Question: As you mentioned in your early remarks that whenever our leadership meets foreign diplomats, Foreign Office, this Ministry is always on board. Recently, Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir visited Doha in which bilateral and regional relations were also discussed. So, for this visit, Foreign Office was on board or it was an independent initiative of that specific department? (Abdullah, Dawn TV)

Answer: I would reiterate what I have said. Yes, under the Government Rules, whenever Government officials travel abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is consulted and that includes the foreign visits of senior defence officials. Same is the case when senior government officials and our leadership meet with foreign diplomats and leaders. In this context, the visit of the Army Chief to Doha was in pursuance of furthering Pakistan's defence relations with Qatar and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs fully supports defence engagements with Qatar.

Question: After the recent incidents of 9th May, a campaign was launched from outside the country on social media regarding a specific department of Pakistan. Is there any action being taken or any policy being made by the Government or Foreign Office in cooperation with its missions abroad against those people who were involved? Because, whenever incidents like 9th May happen, Pakistan is targeted from abroad particularly on social media. (Mohsin Ul Mulk, 24 News)

Answer: On social media platforms and activities on social media including the false news that is propagated through social media platforms, PTA is the concerned department. I would, therefore, advise you to contact them. They would be in a better position to brief you how they are responding to the trend that you have referred to.

Question: Yesterday, Share Pakistan Portal was inaugurated. As there is a long queue of people outside the Consular Hall on daily basis and people wait there for their turn until next day. How will this portal benefit those people? Similarly, Overseas Pakistanis also facing problems related to the legalization of documents and passports. How will this portal benefit them? (Mudassar Chaudhary, The Destination)

Answer: There are different portals that this Ministry is working on and developing. The Share Pakistan Portal, which was inaugurated yesterday by the Foreign Minister, focusses on Pakistan's public diplomacy and cultural outreach activities and it is not related to consular services. For consular services, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is developing a separate project which will be unveiled on completion.

Question: Can you please comment on ethnic cleansing in an Indian state, Manipur as many people have been killed there. (Khawaja Nayyar Iqbal, Media Today)

Answer: As a principle, we do not comment on the internal affairs of other countries. In the past, however, Pakistan has expressed concerns about the treatment of minorities by India and we hope that India will make efforts to protect its minorities.

Thank you.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Prosecutor Asks Russian Court To Fine Kremlin Critic Roizman, But Doesn't Seek Jail Time

By RFE/RL's Russian Service May 18, 2023

YEKATERINBURG, Russia -- The prosecution has asked a court in Russia's Ural city of Yekaterinburg to fine the city's former mayor and outspoken Kremlin critic Yevgeny Roizman, for "repetitively discrediting the armed forces" involved in the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.

The prosecutor on May 18 asked the Oktyabr (October) district court, to convict Roizman and order him to pay a fine of 260,000 rubles ($3,230), which means the politician will most likely avoid imprisonment on a charge that carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison.

Roizman, 60, who went on trial on April 26, has pleaded not guilty.

He was arrested in August last year and charged over statements he made on YouTube about Russia's war against Ukraine, launched in February 2022.

Since his arrest, Roizman has been barred from communicating with anyone without permission, using the Internet, telephones, mail, and attending public events. His communications were limited to family members and his lawyers.

In mid-March, while awaiting trial, Roizman was sentenced to 14 days in jail on a separate charge about the alleged distribution of extremist symbols.

Since leaving the post of mayor of the country's fourth-largest city in 2018, Roizman has gained a popular following for his campaigns to raise money for sick children. He is known for his regular jogs around the city, which attract supporters and journalists alike, while his penchant for crude language to mock authorities has bolstered his standing even further.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Roizman has been outspoken in his criticism of the conflict. He has been fined three times on misdemeanor charges of "discrediting" the Russian Army.

Shortly after the invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law criminalizing any criticism regarding the armed forces or the conduct of the Ukraine war, which the Kremlin calls a "special military operation."

Authorities have used the law to throttle any dissent. In April a Moscow court sentenced opposition politician and Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison on treason and other charges for criticizing the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-roizman-yekaterinburg- fine-ukraine-war/32417374.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the Czech authorities' unfriendly decision regarding Russian property

18 May 2023 13:41

958-18-05-2023

We have taken note of the May 17, 2023, decision by the Government of the Czech Republic to cancel several government resolutions adopted in the 1970s and 1980s that granted Russian foreign representative offices free and permanent use of their land plots. We are waiting for an official notification. A retroactive demand for rent payments looks like a ransom demand at the state level, and runs contrary to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

We proposed several times to hold expert consultations on property issues. In the past, such consultations helped settle arising problems, but the Czech party has chosen to forget about this method. A civilised dialogue is out of favour in Prague now.

Property has long been a two-edged issue in our relations. We believe that its use for political purposes would not be in Prague's interests, but the current Czech authorities, blinded by Russophobia, seem unaware of this. We will take measures to protect our interests, including through the use of legal mechanisms.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's video message to the participants in the 7th Young Diplomats Forum of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries, Moscow, May 18, 2023

18 May 2023 10:15

954-18-05-2023

Colleagues, friends,

It is a great privilege for me to greet the participants in the 7th Young Diplomats Forum of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries. This year, it is being held as part of Russia a Islamic World: Kazanforum 2023.

Your meetings have always stood out for their meaningful agenda, facilitating interested and informal exchanges of views on topical international matters. The fact that the forum brings together a solid line-up of participants, including young members of OIC foreign ministries, as well as researchers, experts and political observers is a major factor of success.

Russia's Foreign Ministry is ready to support you in all your undertakings. In fact, Russia has a tradition of promoting friendly ties with the majority of Muslim countries. We share a commitment to seeking guidance in our interstate cooperation from the principles of equality, mutually respecting our interests and seeking to balance them. At all times, we have been consistent in championing cultural and civilisational diversity around the world and the right of the people to take ownership of their development models and paths. We share close or converging positions on most topical issues in today's world and have been quite effective in working together in the UN as well as at other international platforms.

Russian diplomacy prioritises the promotion of interfaith and intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding, as well as the consolidation of our efforts to stand up for the traditional spiritual and moral values shared by all world religions, and also combatting Islamophobia, including within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the OSCE. This principled approach has been set forth in the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation as approved by President Vladimir Putin in late March 2023.

Friends,

Today's discussion is titled "Diplomacy for a new multipolar world." It is rather topical. I have said many times that strengthening the new polycentric world order to make it more resilient, just and democratic has become a major trend. New global centres in Eurasia, the Asia-Pacific Region, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America have achieved impressive results in various areas by focusing on their independence, state sovereignty, and their unique cultural and civilisational identities, all while acting based on their core national interests and conducting an independent foreign policy.

Russia has been consistent in its belief that confrontation leads international relations into a dead-end. We need to avoid confrontation, unreasonable and extremely dangerous as it is, between the global centres of power. People aspire to reach a new, well-considered balance of interests. It is essential that instead of rule by force, we equip the emerging world order with legal norms and regulations based on the UN Charter, primarily its provision on unconditional respect for the sovereign equality of states. We need to resolve the urgent challenges the world is facing today by working together and coming up with effective solutions. Diplomats can play a pivotal role in this regard.

No matter how daunting, we have all it takes to deliver on this mission as long as we have the political will. And we do have it. We stand ready to work closely with our friends in the Muslim world and all other partners who share our commitment to strengthening the legal and democratic foundations governing international affairs.

I wish you all the best, as well as interesting meetings and meaningful discussions.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






New sanctions demonstrate G7 resolve on Russia

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will warn against complacency in defending our values and standing up to autocratic regimes, as he meets G7 leaders in Hiroshima.

18 May 2023

Prime Minister will focus on redoubling support for Ukraine's defence on the first day of the G7 Summit

UK announces new sanctions on Russian diamonds, metals and military-industrial complex

G7 leaders will visit Hiroshima Peace Park before holding talks on Ukraine, Indo-Pacific security and nuclear disarmament

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will warn against complacency in defending our values and standing up to autocratic regimes, as he meets G7 leaders for the first day of the Summit in Hiroshima today [Friday 19th May].

The UK is today announcing a ban on Russian diamonds, an industry worth $4 billion in exports in 2021, as well as imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel.

Alongside these trade measures, the Government is also preparing new individual designations - targeting an additional 86 people and companies from Putin's military industrial complex, and those involved in key revenue streams such as energy, metals, and shipping.

They include those supporting the Kremlin to actively undermine the impact of existing sanctions, as the UK continues to work with G7 partners to tackle all forms of sanctions circumvention.

This announcement follows the Prime Minister's meeting with President Zelenskyy on Monday where he confirmed new military aid and stressed the importance of long-term international support for Ukraine, including for the country's future in NATO. The leaders discussed Ukraine's path to deeper political partnership and increased interoperability with the G7 and NATO allies.

The Prime Minister will visit the site of the A-Bomb dome at the Hiroshima Peace Park later today with fellow G7 leaders, before attending sessions on international cooperation, the G7 response to Ukraine, Indo-Pacific security policy and nuclear non-proliferation. He will urge the international community to stay the course on Ukraine, ensuring it has the diplomatic, military and economic support it needs, in the interests of international peace and security.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

"For the sake of global peace and security, we must show that brutal violence and coercion does not reap rewards.

"As today's sanctions announcements demonstrate, the G7 remains unified in the face of the threat from Russia and steadfast in our support for Ukraine.

"We are meeting today in Hiroshima, a city that exemplifies both the horrors of war and the dividends of peace. We must redouble our efforts to defend the values of freedom, democracy and tolerance, both in Ukraine and here in the Indo-Pacific."

The UK has implemented the most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on a major economy to undermine Russia's war effort. To date we have sanctioned over 1,500 individuals and entities, freezing more than A18 billion of assets in the UK, and sanctioned over A20 billion of UK-Russia goods trade.

In April, the latest step was to introduce a ban on all items that Russia has been found using on the battlefield to date. We will continue to work alongside the G7 to deny Russia access to any of our goods or technologies that it could use in its war machine.

The UK has already taken a lead on action on Russian diamonds, sanctioning the state-owned company Alrosa and hiking tariffs by an additional 35 percent.

Today's announcement goes further. We will legislate later this year to ban imports of Russian diamonds, and end all imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel, building on existing bans of Russian iron and steel.

Sanctions imposed on Russia by the UK and our G7 partners are having a clear and progressive impact in degrading Putin's war effort. Moscow is cut off from Western financial markets and there is a sustained reduction in the country's oil revenues. More than 60% of Putin's 'war chest' of foreign reserves has been immobilised - worth A275 billion.

G7 action is starving Russia's military of key Western components and technology, restricting its ability to fight a 21stcentury war against the Ukrainian people.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






G7 to Increase Financial Pressure on Russia

By Patsy Widakuswara, Anita Powell May 18, 2023

Members of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies will act at this year's G-7 summit to pile more sanctions on Russia and crack down on those helping it evade them a a move aimed at hampering Moscow's ability to fund its war in Ukraine.

Briefing reporters, a Biden administration official, who was not identified by name as is customary, said the group will announce hundreds more sanctions and export controls at this year's meeting in Hiroshima, Japan.

Just the sanctions from the United States would blacklist about 70 Russian and third-country entities involved in Moscow's defense production, the official said, in addition to sanctioning more than 300 individuals, entities, aircraft and vessels. Other G-7 nations are set to announce their actions this week.

The official listed these steps: moves to further disrupt Russia's ability to obtain equipment and supplies for the war effort; work to close sanctions-evasion loopholes; and steps to reduce Europe's reliance on Russian energy. The group will also make more efforts to limit Russian access to the international financial system and commit to keeping Russia's sovereign assets frozen.

"Bottom line is: We're upping the economic pressure on Russia," the official said.

The official added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would engage with G-7 leaders in "one way, shape or form" in the summit.

G-7 members are the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

No comprehensive export ban

The group will not announce a comprehensive export ban to Russia, national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed to VOA in a press gaggle aboard Air Force One en route to Hiroshima.

"The main focus of sanctions implementation at the summit will be about enforcement and evasion," Sullivan said.

G-7 members, mainly those in Europe, still export around $4.7 billion a month to Russia, about 43% of what they did prior to the invasion of Ukraine, according to research by the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center.

The steps taken by the Biden administration will address some of the four ways the U.S. Treasury says targeted Russians are evading sanctions: by going through family members and close associates, by using real estate to park assets, by using complex structures to mask ownership and by transferring assets to countries that have not sanctioned Russia.

Multilateral sanctions already target more than 4,800 Russian individuals and entities, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, his former wife, the head of the Wagner mercenary group that is sending fighters to Ukraine, the Kremlin spokesman and his family members, and others.

In just over a year since the war began, said Seth Bridge, coordinator of the Treasury's Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs task force, the group has blocked or frozen more than $58 billion worth of sanctioned Russians' assets.

"Really, an unthinkable amount," he said Thursday in a briefing with reporters.

Kimberly Donovan, director of the Economic Statecraft Initiative at the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center, told VOA that greater enforcement can make a big difference.

"While last year was maybe the year of sanctions, I think this year is the year of enforcement of those sanctions a as well as looking at what additional export controls can be put in place to ensure that Russia is not able to get the military capability and technology it needs to conduct its war," she told VOA.

The majority of sanctions are imposed by the U.S a not by other G-7 members.

The summit starts Friday in Hiroshima.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Expected Return of Syria's President to Highlight Arab League Summit

By Edward Yeranian May 18, 2023

Arab heads of state are slated to attend Friday's Arab League summit in the Saudi Red Sea resort town of Jeddah, including the president of Syria for the first time in over a dozen years. The crises in Syria and Sudan are expected to be major topics of discussion at the meeting.

Arab leaders began arriving in Jeddah Thursday in the lead-up to Friday's 32nd annual Arab summit, due to be hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

Among those expected to be present is Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has not attended an Arab League summit since 2010, the year before the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.

Arab League foreign ministers restored Syria's membership in the body at a meeting in Cairo earlier this month.

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad told journalists in Jeddah Wednesday that Syria is a key player in the Arab League.

He said that Syria welcomes any Arab efforts to resolve the conflict in his country and that Damascus must not be absent from any Arab summit meeting.

Arab League Deputy Head Hossam Zaki told Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV that Friday's summit would discuss the return of Syrian refugees to their country and the rebuilding of Syria, But he said the latter question was not "an easy issue to resolve, given the sanctions that Western countries have placed on Damascus."

Zaki also noted that the Arab peace initiative with Israel, which dates back to 2002, "remains unchanged from its original formulation."

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan welcomed Syria's return to the Arab League in remarks Wednesday, saying that Syria's participation in Arab decision-making will be a key factor in resolving many thorny issues going forward.

He said that the world today is facing serious problems and threats, and that it is important that Arab states unite to address those challenges together in unison and do more to join ranks to make the region safe and secure.

Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches political science at the University of Paris, told VOA that the summit will showcase both the Saudi crown prince and the Syrian president.

He said that this year's summit is meant to confirm Mohammed Bin Salman's leadership position in the Arab world and to show that he is able to bring Arab leaders together in a symbolic or colorful way, while Syria's Assad is more of a divisive figure.

Abou Diab also noted that, according to Jordan's foreign minister, the summit will conclude with a call for Syria to take back political refugees and get a handle on drug smuggling from its territory to other Arab states, in exchange for Arab financial support.

Arab League head Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the conflict in Sudan is also on the agenda of Friday's summit, adding that bringing some semblance of peace back to the country is a top goal of Arab leaders.

He said that Sudan is a strategic Arab country and that the igniting of a military conflict in the cities and streets of Sudan in such a sad way has pained the hearts of most Arabs and that the summit will try to restore calm to the country to allow the pursuit of political dialogue.

Saudi-sponsored peace talks between Sudan's warring sides have taken place in Jeddah in recent days, so far without any reported progress.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






U.S., Japan leaders determined to maintain peace in Taiwan Strait

ROC Central News Agency

05/18/2023 11:22 PM

Washington, May 18 (CNA) United States President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio reiterated their "resolve to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait" after the two leaders met in Hiroshima, Japan on Thursday ahead of the start of the G7 Summit.

The U.S. president and the Japanese prime minister "committed to work closely together to address regional security challenges," with Biden calling the U.S.-Japan Alliance "the cornerstone of regional peace and prosperity," according to a readout of the meeting released by the White House that day.

The regional challenges both leaders seek to address together include "the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) nuclear and ballistic missile programs and coercive behavior by the People's Republic of China that runs counter to international law," according to the readout.

The two leaders also "underscored their opposition to any attempts to change the status quo by force, and reiterated their resolve to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," according to the readout of the meeting held ahead of the Group of Seven (G7) nations' three-day gathering that starts Friday.

In addition, they reaffirmed in the readout their support for "ASEAN centrality," and emphasized the importance of increasing multilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

The U.S and Japan will also continue supporting Ukraine "as it defends itself from Russia's brutal and unlawful invasion," the two leaders were cited as saying in the readout.

Apart from regional security issues, Biden and Kishida also addressed efforts to bolster economic cooperation, including through negotiations on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the promotion of clean and secure energy, and the establishment of diverse and resilient critical minerals supply chains, according to the readout.

(By Stacy Hsu and Kay Liu) Ednitem/AW

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






12 allies appeal for Taiwan's inclusion in WHA

ROC Central News Agency

05/18/2023 06:42 PM

Taipei, May 18 (CNA) Twelve of Taiwan's diplomatic allies have written to the World Health Organization (WHO), calling for Taiwan to be included in its decision-making body, which has excluded Taiwan for the seventh consecutive year, as it prepares to hold its annual meeting next week.

In letters to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the 12 countries have requested a motion to place the issue of Taiwan's inclusion on the agenda of the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA) in Switzerland, according to Taiwan's foreign ministry .

At a press event in Taipei on Thursday, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu () said all except one of Taiwan's 13 diplomatic allies have written to Tedros, urging the WHO to discuss Taiwan's participation as a WHA observer.

The one exception was the Holy See, Taiwan's sole diplomatic ally in Europe, which is not a WHO member but rather is an observer and rarely speaks on political issues at the WHA, Wu said.

Over the past seven years, Taiwan's allies have been appealing to the WHA for its inclusion, but each time the proposal has been rejected, amid China's objections, and has not made it onto the official agenda.

This year, support for Taiwan's WHA participation has been "stronger than ever," as senior officials from all of the G7 countries have openly expressed support for such a move, Wu said, referring to the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Italy.

It is highly unlikely, however, that Taiwan will receive an invitation to join this year's WHA, given China's objections, he said, calling on the WHO to maintain a professional and neutral stance, reject China's political interference, and allow Taiwan to join WHA meetings.

Meanwhile, at the same press event, Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan () said that while Taiwan has not been invited to the May 21-20 assembly in Geneva, he will go there later this week for private meetings with the delegations from Taiwan's diplomatic allies and like-minded countries, to highlight the disadvantages of Taiwan's exclusion.

For example, Hsueh said, Taiwan's absence from the WHA means that the country has no direct access to information pertaining to the latest international health emergencies, which can create a loophole in the global pandemic prevention network.

The flaws in China's promise that it would pass on such information to Taiwan, which it claims as part of its territory, became evident to the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, as that type of communication did not happen, Hsueh said.

Also on Thursday, the representative offices of eight countries in Taiwan -- the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Japan and Lithuania -- issued a joint statement reaffirming support for Taiwan's participation in the WHA.

"Inviting Taiwan as an observer would best exemplify the WHO's commitment to an inclusive, "health for all" approach to international health cooperation," according to the statement.

"Taiwan's isolation from the WHA, the preeminent global health forum, is unjustified and undermines inclusive global public health cooperation and security, which the world demands," the statement said.

This year, the WHA's annual meeting is scheduled to discuss global public health priorities.

Taiwan, formally called the Republic of China, was expelled from the WHO in 1972, after losing its United Nations seat to the People's Republic of China due to the issue of "China's representation."

Since then, Taiwan has not been able to attend the WHA amid objections by China, except from 2009 to 2016, when cross-Taiwan Strait relations were warmer under the then Kuomintang government.

(By Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/pc

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Analysts: Taiwan's Opposition Party Pick for President Aims to Win Back China-Wary Voters

By Cindy Sui May 18, 2023

Analysts say the decision by Taiwan's biggest opposition party, the Kuomintang or KMT to pick a popular home-grown politician as its candidate in the island's upcoming presidential election is a departure from its past practice but something the party sees as its best hope to return to power after eight years and improve relations with China.

The former head of Taiwan's National Police Agency, and well-liked mayor of Taiwan's New Taipei City, 65-year-old Hou Yu-ih is considered a novice in China or international affairs. But he is also seen as someone, analysts say, who can appeal to a broader range of voters at a time when Taiwan faces increasingly hostile threats from China and international concern that the island could become the next Ukraine.

"Especially at this stage, the international situation is fierce and dangerous for our country, the domestic political situation is conflicting and confrontational, and a lot of things are waiting to be done, young people cannot see the future," Hou said, speaking at a news conference after his party confirmed his candidacy.

"We must make a big overhaul and return to power. ... Only by changing the political parties can we save the country and save Taiwan!" he said.

Popular politician

To do that, the KMT is counting on ways that Hou is different from many of its previous candidates for president, analysts say.

In the past, many of the party's candidates had ties to China and were part of family's that fled to Taiwan after the KMT lost a civil war there, fighting against the communists.

Hou's family roots on the island stretch back for centuries. His father sold pork and Hou worked for years as a police officer to rise to become head of the National Police Agency, helping solve some of Taiwan's biggest crime cases, including murders and kidnappings.

He eventually became deputy and later mayor of New Taipei City, Taiwan's most populous metropolis, winning reelection by a landslide last year.

"The uniqueness of Hou is mainly that he's a benshengren (native Taiwanese). He doesn't give people the feeling he's close to China," said Simon Chen, an associate political science professor at National Taiwan University.

That background was different from Hou's main competitor for the candidacy, Terry Gou. Gou, the founder and retired chairman of iPhone assembler Foxconn, has 80% of his assets in China where most of his factories are located. His family also came from China with the KMT.

"Hou doesn't have this problem. His past statements or actions are moderate, not like the ones from the pro-unification camp. He can fight for the middle-of-the-road voters who voted for President Tsai (Ing-wen), who see what the DPP has done in the past eight years, don't think it's done well, fear a war will happen, and don't want it to govern anymore," said Chen.

Balancing Beijing

Managing the perception of not being seen as too close to China - which has ratcheted up military pressure toward Taiwan over the past year - while easing tensions as well is what the KMT hopes Hou can do.

For now, it is too early to say how that will go.

Hou has voiced opposition to Taiwan independence, something Beijing demands. But he has also spoken out against One Country, Two Systems, China's proposed model for unification with Taiwan.

Instead, Hou has advocated using "peace to protect (Taiwan's) democracy."

How Hou Compares to DPP's Candidate

In the elections, Hou will face off against the DPP's candidate William Lai, who currently serves as Taiwan's vice president and has also been mayor of southern city of Tainan. His other contender is former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People's Party, the island's third largest party.

So far, Lai has been leading in the polls by about five to 10 percentage points, according to polls in Taiwan. Although analysts say it's too soon to tell given Hou has only just been named a candidate.

Analysts note that unlike Lai and Ko, Hou rarely travels overseas and doesn't speak English.

Now that he's been nominated, he's expected to soon travel to the U.S. and meet with think tank scholars and others.

Lin Chin-chieh, a New Taipei City councilor who knows both Hou and Gou well, said many KMT voters hope Hou will pick Gou as his vice-presidential running mate. Gou built up a major multinational company from scratch, employing around 1 million workers in China alone and can help Hou on the economy as well as relations with Beijing and other foreign countries.

But regardless of who Hou picks, Lin said, the party has learned from its mistakes of being divided in the past. Even Gou, who immediately quit the KMT after he lost in the party primary in 2020, has vowed to give his full support to Hou.

"The whole party will definitely unite behind him to help him win the election," said Lin. "Taiwan's main problem is cross-strait relations. If we don't handle cross-strait relations well, we might even have war. ... Hou will definitely have no problems handling cross-strait relations."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






UK Carrier Strike Group Will Return to Indo-Pacific in 2025

Sputnik News

20230518

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The carrier strike group of the United Kingdom will return to the Indo-Pacific in 2025 - four years after it first sailed in the region, the UK government said on Wednesday.

"The UK will confirm today [May 18] that its Carrier Strike Group will return to the Indo-Pacific in 2025, following its maiden voyage to the region in 2021," the UK government said in a statement on the website.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, during the meeting in Hiroshima on Thursday, will sign a new global strategic partnership dubbed the Hiroshima Accord, including new agreements in defense, trade, investment, science, technology, tackling global issues and climate change, the statement read.

Under the accord, Sunak is also expected to agree on a new Cyber Partnership with Tokyo.

Sunak, during his visit to a naval base in Tokyo on Thursday, will announce doubling UK troop numbers to some 170 service members in the upcoming fourth UK-Japan joint 'Vigilant Isles' military exercises, the government said.

In May 2021, the UK carrier strike group led by the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier was on a 28-week voyage, during which it first called at ports of India, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. During the voyage, the group participated in joint military exercises with the armed forces of Japan, the United States, South Korea, and India. In July 2021, the aircraft carrier sailed through the South China Sea.

A Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






PM meets with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan: 18 May 2023

The Prime Minister met Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida this evening in Hiroshima, ahead of the G7 Summit.

18 May 2023

The Prime Minister met Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida this evening in Hiroshima, ahead of the G7 Summit.

The leaders welcomed the agreement of The Hiroshima Accord: An Enhanced UK-Japan Global Strategic Partnership as a landmark moment in our thriving diplomatic, defence and economic relationship.

They agreed that the UK and Japan would continue to work together closely to protect a free and open international order, building on the Global Combat Air Programme and recent Reciprocal Access Agreement.

The Prime Minister confirmed that the UK Carrier Strike Group will deploy to the region again in 2025, working alongside the Japanese Maritime Defence Forces. They also discussed further potential cooperation on training and exercising.

The Prime Minister described the UK and Japan as 'islands of innovation', as the leaders discussed the huge opportunities to grow bilateral trade and investment, as well as UK-Japan cooperation on semiconductors and clean energy technology like floating offshore wind.

The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Kishida agreed on the importance of the G7 having a unified approach on China, recognising the systemic challenge China poses to our collective economic security and regional stability.

They also discussed the situation in Ukraine, including continued military support to counter Russia's unprovoked invasion and longer-term assistance to help Ukraine recover and defend against future threats.

They agreed that the G7 should continue to lead international work on holding Russia to account for its actions and supporting Ukraine to achieve a just and lasting peace.

The Prime Minister said he was honoured to be the first British leader to visit Prime Minister Kishida's hometown of Hiroshima and looked forward to a very successful and historic G7 Summit there.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Ukraine welcomes China's role in restoring peace as special envoy meets Zelensky

Global Times

Special envoy's trip to 'inspire more efforts' toward solution to end conflict

By GT staff reporters Published: May 18, 2023 11:42 PM

Ukraine said China is welcome to play a positive role in ending hostilities and restoring peace as Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui visited the country. As part of China's efforts in promoting a peaceful solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Li's trip will be a new start to inspire more countries to work in such a direction despite the current stalemate and thorny problems, analysts said.

On Thursday, China's Foreign Ministry released information about Li's trip and said Li met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior officials, including Head of the Office of the President Andrii Yermak, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba.

The two sides agreed that the telephone call between President Xi Jinping and President Zelensky charted the course for the development of bilateral relations. The two countries need to work together to carry on the tradition of mutual respect and sincerity and advance mutually beneficial cooperation, according to the release from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The Ukraine side noted that it was a pleasure to welcome Special Representative Li to Ukraine shortly after the telephone communication between the presidents of the two countries. Ukraine attaches importance to China's important role in international affairs as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. China is welcome to play a positive role in ending hostilities and restoring peace, according to the release.

Li's trip, which has attracted wide attention, highlights China's efforts in promoting peace and talks amid the increasingly intensified situation of the conflict, analysts said.

The conflict has dragged on for more than a year, with more countries around the world eager to find a peaceful solution to the crisis. Li's visit, which represents the Chinese government's efforts to promote peace, will be a new start to inspire more countries to work in the same direction, Zhang Yao, a research fellow from the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told the Global Times.

Ukraine is the first stop of Li's trip. He is also scheduled to visit Poland, France, Germany and Russia.

According to a report from the South China Morning Post on Thursday, Brussels will be added to Li's itinerary before he heads to Moscow, and the Chinese envoy is expected to meet Gunnar Wiegand, the EU's top official for the Asia Pacific. As of press time, China has not confirmed the information.

If the information on the trip to Brussels is confirmed valid, the special envoy will likely have further communication with more EU countries apart from France and Germany. As the stance of Europe is also vital in the conflict, such talks are also very necessary, Cui Heng, an assistant research fellow from the Center for Russian Studies of East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Although the EU is not optimistic about peace talks under the current situation, the bloc is willing to see efforts to promote a peaceful solution, unlike the US, which sees China as the least qualified party to promote the talks, nor does it want to see a proposal for peace talks, said Cui.

But the mission to promote peace talks has proven difficult due to the disparity between Ukraine and Russia - neither wants to concede as neither side has gained absolute advantage on the battlefield, said the expert.

The military conflict in Ukraine is continuing with both sides on the battlefield stuck in a stalemate. Early on Thursday, media reported explosions and the sounds of air defense missiles being launched in Kiev. Analysts also noted that the current hopes for peace talks are dim and the end of the crisis may only be determined by the result on the battlefield.

"China understands the difficulties of promoting peace talks, but is not sparing any efforts to achieve this goal. Better to do something than nothing," said Cui, noting that the process of communication is more significant than the result. Under the current situation, it is more important and necessary to have someone to help communicate with all related parties.

China's efforts to promote peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict are positive and should not be distorted. Analysts noted that the US and some politicians are paying close attention to Li's trip while casting doubts over China's neutrality and denying China's efforts, which fully expose their own bias and selfishness.

China is not the creator of the crisis, nor a party directly concerned with the conflict. Unlike a few countries that have continued to pour weapons into Ukraine and fanning the flames, China has always worked for peace talks. Li's trip also highlights China's role as a responsible major country, said Zhang.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Ukrainian President Zelensky meets with China's special envoy, exchanging views on political settlement of Ukraine crisis

Global Times

By Global Times Published: May 18, 2023 02:22 PM

China's special envoy for Eurasian affairs Li Hui visited Ukraine from Tuesday to Wednesday and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and during Li's visit, the two sides exchanged views on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis and China-Ukraine relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Ukraine is the first stop of Li's visit to promote the political solution to the Ukraine crisis starting on May 15 and he is also scheduled to visit Poland, France, Germany and Russia as well.

China's Foreign Ministry said in the release on Thursday that aside from Ukrainian President Zelensky, Li also met respectively with the head of the Ukrainian President's Office Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and heads of relevant departments such as the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Defense.

The two sides agreed that the phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Zelensky not long ago pointed out the direction for the development of China-Ukraine relations. The two countries should work together to continue the tradition of mutual respect and sincerity between the two sides, and continue to move forward the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries, according to the release.

During the meetings, Li expounded China's position on the political solution to the Ukrainian crisis, saying that President Xi has put forward four principles, called for joint efforts in four areas and shared three observations on Ukraine, which outline China's fundamental approach to the issue. On this basis, China released its Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis, which reflects the above core ideas of China's stance and takes into account the legitimate concerns of all parties, and has thus received extensive understanding and recognition from the international community.

There is no panacea to resolve the crisis, said Li, noting that all parties need to accumulate mutual trust and create conditions for ending the war and peace talks.

On the basis of the document of China's position on the political solution to the Ukrainian crisis", China is willing to promote the international community to form the greatest common denominator for resolving the Ukraine crisis, and make its own efforts to stop the war, promote ceasefire and restore peace as soon as possible, said Li.

China has been playing a constructive role in easing the humanitarian situation in Ukraine in its own way, and will continue to provide Ukraine with assistance within its capacity, Li said.

The Ukrainian side expressed its pleasure to receive Special Representative Li shortly after the two heads of state had a phone call. Ukraine attaches great importance to China's important role in international affairs as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. It welcomes China to play an active role in ending the war and restoring peace, according to the release.

The Ukrainian side also noted that it always adheres to the one-China principle and is willing to work together with China to promote Ukraine-China relations for new and greater development.

During a phone conversation on April 26, President Xi told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that China will send a special representative for Eurasian affairs to visit Ukraine and other countries to push for a political settlement to the crisis.

Li is a veteran diplomat and has been China's special envoy for Eurasian Affairs since 2019. He was previously Chinese ambassador to Kazakhstan from 1997 to 1999, and from 2009 to 2019 he served as China's ambassador to Russia, according to publicly available information.

Analysts said that Li's visit reflects China's commitment to promoting peace talks, showing China's objective and fair stance as a responsible power.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Russia says Western-supplied weapons destroyed in missile strikes

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 18 May 2023 3:29 PM

Moscow says Russian forces have managed to destroy large caches of Western-supplied weapons and military equipment in Ukraine with high-precision missiles in overnight strikes.

Russia's Defense Ministry spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov said Thursday Russian forces managed to hit all assigned targets in a series of strikes on Ukraine overnight with high-precision missiles, despite Kiev claiming that it had downed all but one of 30 missiles.

"Last night, Russian forces delivered multiple strikes by seaborne and air-launched long-range high-precision weapons against large foreign armament and equipment depots and enemy reserves," Konashenkov said.

"The goal of the strikes was achieved. All the designated targets were hit. The strikes destroyed considerable stockpiles of the Ukrainian army's armaments and ammunition and thwarted the advance of reserves to the areas of combat operations," the general added, according to Russia's news agency TASS.

However, he did not specify which targets had been targeted, only said that seaborne and air-launched precision weapons aimed at "large depots of foreign weapons and equipment as well as enemy reserves."

In the end, Konashenkov said that since the onset of war, the Russian army has destroyed 428 Ukrainian combat aircraft, 234 helicopters, 4,208 drones, 423 surface-to-air missile systems, 9,218 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,100 multiple rocket launchers, 4,843 field artillery guns and mortars and 10,284 special military motor vehicles.

Russia began what it described as a "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, as part of a national security measure against the persisting eastern advance of the US-led NATO military alliance as well as protecting eastern Ukraine's Russian-speaking population against hostile efforts by Kiev.

Since then, the United States and most European Union member countries have supplied Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons, including rocket systems, drones, armored vehicles, tanks, and communication systems despite Russia's repeated warnings that the Western military assistance will only prolong the war.

Russia slams as 'illegal' a move by Czech govt. against its embassy

Separately on Thursday, Moscow denounced as "illegal" a move by Prague to revoke Soviet-era decrees that granted the Russian embassy free use of land in the Czech capital and other cities, vowing to take measures to defend Russia's interests.

The Czech government on Wednesday canceled orders granting Russia the use of dozens of plots of lands in the 1970s and 1980s by Moscow's then-Communist leaders, stressing that the Kremlin would now have to rent lands.

"The Czech authorities' demand for rent, even for backdated rent, resembles extortion at a state level and violates the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

She also accused Prague of abandoning "a civilized dialog" and of being in thrall to anti-Russian sentiment.

"We will take defensive measures, including legal ones," Zakharova pledged.

The Czech Republic has firmly supported Ukraine's efforts to drive Russian troops from its territory, providing Kiev with military assistance.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Germany says not capable of being part of coalition to provide Ukraine with warplanes

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 18 May 2023 11:51 AM

Germany has insisted that it lacks military capabilities to contribute to a British-backed initiative to supply Ukraine with warplanes in efforts to satisfy Kiev's desperate pleas to access air power in its war against Russia.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius admitted on Wednesday that his country has neither the training capacity nor the right military equipment to be part of a Western effort spearheaded by the United Kingdom to secure advanced warplanes for Ukraine.

"We cannot play an active role in such an alliance, in such a coalition, because we have neither the training capacities, the competencies or the planes," he said in capital Berlin during a joint press conference with his British counterpart Ben Wallace.

Pistorius's remarks came just a few days after Britain announced during a summit of European leaders in Reykjavik, Iceland, that it was working with the Netherlands to build a so-called international "jet coalition" to help Ukraine obtain F-16 fighter jets from its mostly Western allies.

Ukrainian officials have placed the US-made warplane at the top of their wish-list in an attempt to gain access to advanced jet fighters.

This is while Britain, Germany and the US have so far refused to supply Kiev with their own combat aircraft.

Ukraine is reportedly eager to also secure a deal to obtain Sweden's Gripen fighters.

"It's up to the White House to decide if it wants to release that technology," Wallace said, for his part, but added that London would support in whatever ways it could any nation wishing to supply Ukraine, which largely operates aged Soviet-era warplanes.

"What's really important here is to signal to Russia that we as nations have no philosophical principle objection to supplying Ukraine capabilities that it needs depending on what is going on, on the battlefield," the British defense minister claimed.

Pistorius tried to follow a similar line to Wallace, insisting that it "depends on the White House... to decide whether the F-16 fighter planes can be delivered."

France and Belgium has also offered to help train Ukrainian pilots on the modern fighter aircraft.

Washington has so far ruled out supplying Kiev with F-16 jets, arguing that the move would be impractical due to training requirements and the potential for the jets to be shot down by Russian air-defense systems.

No Western-designed jets have yet been supplied to Kiev despite its repeated pleas.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Pistorius further underlined that Germany would continue to support Ukraine's war effort by focusing on its areas of expertise, such as tanks and air defense.

On Saturday, Berlin announced plans to ship a massive package of weaponry for Ukraine worth 2.7 billion euros in its latest bid to further fuel the US-led war effort against Russia.

Berlin's arms package for Kiev includes 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 30 Leopard 1 tanks, 15 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, 200 reconnaissance drones, four additional Iris-T anti-aircraft systems including ammunition, additional artillery ammunition and more than 200 armored combat and logistics vehicles.

Earlier this month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that Germany is increasingly getting involved in the Ukraine war due to the huge amount of armaments Berlin has offered to Kiev.

Russia began what it described as a "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 as part of a national security measure against the persisting eastern advance of the US-led NATO military alliance as well as protecting the eastern Ukraine's Russian-speaking population against hostile efforts by Kiev.

Since then, the US and most European Union member countries have supplied Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons, including rocket systems, drones, armored vehicles, tanks, and communication systems despite Russia's repeated warnings that the Western military assistance will only prolong the war.

Germany, along with the US, has served as one of the biggest suppliers of weaponry to Ukrainian military.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Russia Keeps Up Wave Of Missile Strikes Raising Threat Throughout Ukraine

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service May 18, 2023

The Ukrainian military said Russia launched dozens of missiles and air strikes during the day on May 18 after a barrage of missile and drone strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities overnight.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces reported in its evening briefing that Russian troops carried out 36 missile and 23 air strikes during the day, as well as about 30 attacks from rocket systems on positions of Ukrainian troops and populated areas.

The General Staff warned that the probability missile and air strikes throughout Ukraine remains high, but the main fighting is still taking place in the eastern region of Donetsk.

"The adversary will continue to focus its main efforts on the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, and Maryinka areas. During the day, 17 combat clashes took place on those sections of the front, the hottest battles are being fought for Bakhmut and Maryinka," the General Staff reported.

Russia attacked Bakhmut all day after strengthening its grouping there by bringing most of its reserves, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said.

"All the attacks were repelled by our defenders," she said on Telegram.

Ukraine's forces advanced 500 meters in the north and in some areas in the south by 1 kilometer, she added.

"The defense of Bakhmut and its outskirts is meeting its military objectives," she said. "As of now, we control the southwestern part of Bakhmut."

Yevgeny Prigozhin says his forces inside Bakhmut had advanced up to 400 meters. "We're pushing Bakhmut all the way to the end," he said on Telegram.

Prigozhin said his forces' flanks remained under pressure and speculated that holding Bakhmut is part of Ukraine's counteroffensive plan.

Bakhmut has been the epicenter of hostilities for months. Russian forces are trying to push the Ukrainian military out of the city, while Ukrainian military commanders say the resistance of the Ukrainian forces there has prevented the Russian forces from intensifying their actions elsewhere.

Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for Ukraine's Eastern Group of Forces, said Ukrainian troops continue to advance on the flanks of the city of Bakhmut.

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Ukraine has already used British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles on the battlefield. Wallace said the missiles allow the Ukrainians to hit Russian command centers that were moved back when Ukraine began deploying U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).

The Pentagon said on May 18 that a Patriot missile battery damaged by a Russian missile barrage against Kyiv has been fixed.

"One Patriot system was damaged, but it has now been fixed and is fully back and operational," said Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the Patriot system was hit overnight on May 16 by a Kinzhal hypersonic missile.

The daylong attacks by Russian forces came after multiple missile and drone strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities overnight. Officials said that the air defenses of the capital managed to shoot down all incoming projectiles. It was the ninth air attack on Kyiv since the start of the month.

In the southern Black Sea port city of Odesa, one person was killed and two others were wounded in a missile attack late on May 17, on an industrial facility.

"A powerful missile attack on Odesa took place in our area in the evening. Most of the missiles were shot down over the sea. But, unfortunately, there are victims," Natalia Humenyuk, the head of the United Coordination Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces, said on Ukrainian television on May 18.

In Kyiv, Russia carried out a fresh attack overnight using drones and missiles, but all of them were destroyed, Ukrainian officials said May 18.

Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said Russian strategic bombers flying in from the Caspian Sea region launched cruise missiles on Ukraine.

"According to preliminary information, all enemy targets in Kyiv's airspace were detected and destroyed," Popko said.

Reconnaissance drones were also launched over Kyiv. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said no victims were reported. A three-hour air raid alert was declared in Kyiv overnight, and more than 7,000 people, including almost 1,000 children, sought shelter in subway stations during the alert, Kyiv Metro reported.

In Ukraine's Crimea region, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, rail traffic was halted between Simferopol and Sevastopol, a Moscow-installed official said on May 18. Earlier, an explosion on a local railway line was reported by the Baza Telegram channel.

Zelenskiy on May 18 signed a decree on the deoccupation and reintegration of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol covering the specifics of the return of Crimea to Ukrainian control at the level of states institutions.

Zelenskiy noted that Ukraine continues to work for the liberation of Crimea from the Russian occupiers and its full return to the state system.

He said more and more leaders and states realize that without the return of Crimea, "there will be no return of peace to international relations and the full force of international law."

The latest Russian attacks came shortly after a deal was reached to extend an agreement to allow for the export of Ukrainian grain through the country's Black Sea ports.

The two-month extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative was announced on May 17 by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan one day before the deal was due to expire.

"With the efforts of our country, the support of our Russian friends, the contribution of our Ukrainian friends, it was decided to prolong the Black Sea grain deal for two more months," Erdogan said.

Russia agreed not to block ships from leaving two Ukrainian harbors, Erdogan said, expressing his hope that the deal would be "beneficial for all the parties."

Erdogan's announcement came amid threats from Russia to quit the pact over obstacles to its grain and fertilizer exports.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-kyiv-missile- drone-strikes-overnight/32416751.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Europe Approves Plan To Tally Cost Of Moscow's War In Ukraine With Eye Toward Future Reparations

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service May 18, 2023

More than 40 nations have agreed to set up a system to tally the damage Russia has inflicted on Ukraine in the hope of getting reparations, adding to the international legal challenges the Kremlin is facing.

The register of damages, which will allow Ukrainian victims of war to catalog the harm they have suffered, found a plethora of support among the 46-nation Council of Europe summit in Iceland. In total, 40 member states of the council agreed to join on May 17 or will do so in the future. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Hungary, and Turkey will not join, at least not initially.

The European Union, Canada, Japan, and the United States also agreed to participate in the register, the Council of Europe announced at its summit in Reykjavik.

The secretary-general of the council, Marija Pejcinovic Buric, described the decision to create the register as "historic." It is one of the first legally binding instruments to hold Russia accountable for its actions.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal's press office said the declaration adopted by the Council of Europe during a two-day summit also included support for the Ukrainian peace formula and declared readiness among council members to participate in further initiatives to develop the register of damages, including the creation of a compensation commission and a compensation fund.

The declaration also said the Council of Europe members welcomed progress on creating a special tribunal for the leadership of Russia and called on Russia to release Ukrainian civilians, including deported Ukrainian children.

"I want to thank all friends of Ukraine for the effective display of solidarity," Shmyhal said.

Shmyhal said earlier that the "creation of an international register of damage caused to Ukraine by the Russian invaders is the first step towards bringing the aggressor to justice."

It was the first summit of the Council of Europe in 18 years and was intended to show solidarity with Ukraine and to send a signal of unity toward Russia. More than 30 heads of state and government took part.

Russia was excluded from the Council of Europe after it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. Belarus is suspended and attended the summit only as an observer.

With reporting by AP and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-council-europe- reykjavik-reparations-register-damages/32416742.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Ukraine Marks 79th Anniversary Of Stalin-Era Deportations Of Crimean Tatars

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, RFE/RL's Crimea.Realities May 18, 2023

KYIV -- Ukraine on May 18 marked the 79th anniversary of Stalin-era deportations of Crimean Tatars to Central Asia.

The date known in Ukraine as the Day of Commemoration of the Victims of the Genocide of the Crimean Tatars coincided this year with the Day of Vyshyvanka -- the Ukrainian tunic adorned with traditional embroidery that has become a symbol of patriotism and resistance to Russia's aggression. The Day of Vyshyvanka is marked on the third Thursday of May each year.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a statement that the day commemorating the Crimean Tatars shows that they "survived the deportation and will live free" after Russian-occupied Crimea returns to Ukrainian control.

"Today, I am wearing a vyshyvanka embroidered with ornaments symbolizing the unity of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar peoples. Those are symbols of our power and our will to live in our homeland," Zelenskiy said.

Refat Chubarov, chairman of Crimean Tatars' self-governing body Mejlis, told RFE/RL that after the Soviet government deported Crimean Tatars to Central Asia in 1944, Crimea lost its legal status as an autonomous republic and was turned into an oblast, a regular region similar to any other within the Soviet Union, because the indigenous people of the peninsula were forced out.

After the death of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in 1953, during the so-called Nikita Khrushchev's thaw, unlike other ethnic groups deported by the Soviet government to Central Asian and Siberia, Crimean Tatars, Meskhetian Turks, Germans, and Koreans were not allowed to return to their native lands.

Only in the wake of Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms in the late 1980s did Crimean Tatars started returning to Crimea in large numbers in a migration that occurred without the permission of authorities.

Chubarov expressed hope that after the defeat of Russia's ongoing unprovoked invasion, Kyiv will find a solution regarding Crimea's legal status, which should be an autonomous region within Ukraine.

"I am sure the Ukrainian nation that consolidated around itself all indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities residing in Ukraine, turning them into a single political nation, will always be capable to find solutions now that fully correspond to the international laws and contribute to the democratic development of the independent Ukraine," Chubarov said.

Moscow's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 was vocally opposed by the majority of Crimean Tatars, who are now a sizable minority in the region.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-anniversary-stalin- era-deportation-crimea-tatars/32417734.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






In Talks With Ukraine, Chinese Envoy Urged All Sides To 'Create Conditions' For Peace Talks

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service May 18, 2023

China's special envoy, who visited Ukraine this week, has warned that there is "no panacea" to the war in Ukraine and urged "all parties" to work toward creating conditions to end the conflict.

Special envoy Li Hui held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and other senior officials on May 16-17 on ways to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict through a political settlement, China's Foreign Ministry said on May 18.

During his meeting with Zelenskiy, Li "explained China's position on the political solution to the Ukrainian crisis," the statement said, adding that Beijing was "willing to make its own efforts to stop the war, declare a cease-fire, and restore peace as soon as possible."

The Chinese statement touted Beijing's humanitarian assistance for Kyiv.

"China has always played a constructive role in alleviating the humanitarian situation in Ukraine in its own way and will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine within its capacity," the statement said.

Kuleba told Li that Kyiv would not accept any proposals to end the war that involved losing territory or freezing the conflict, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

The Ukrainian presidency has not yet commented on the meeting.

Beijing, which has not condemned Russia's aggression against its neighbor, has said Li's trip, the highest by a Chinese official to Ukraine since the start of Moscow's unprovoked invasion last year, is aimed at discussing a "political settlement" to the conflict.

Western countries earlier this year dismissed a 12-point Chinese proposal calling for a de-escalation and eventual cease-fire in Ukraine -- mainly because it echoed Russia's main talking points.

Li, a former ambassador to Russia, is also visiting Poland, France, and Germany on his trip.

With reporting by Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-china-envoy-kyiv-peace- talks/32416804.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Kremlin Confirms Grain Deal Extension, Cites Some Results, Hopes

Sputnik News

20230518

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The grain deal will be prolonged for two months, and there is a relative result in the negotiations, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative for another two months.

"We can confirm that a decision was made by the Russian side to continue this Black Sea deal ... for a period of two months. There is a relative result in the negotiations with the participation of representatives from Turkiye, Ukraine and the UN," Peskov told reporters.

Kremlin Spokesman added that Moscow is working on options equivalent to unblocking the Russian Agricultural Bank from the SWIFT system.

"As for the guarantees for the Russian Agricultural Bank - various options are being worked out, which will be equivalent to unblocking SWIFT, there are certain hopes for negotiations on the basis of the talks that have already taken place. In this regard, it was decided to extend [the deal] for two months," Peskov told reporters.

He added that it was important to understand that the fate of the deal was still in the hands of those with whom the United Nations had to negotiate the Russian part of the agreement.

"A certain part of the road has been traveled, but not to the end. We will try to resolve this issue within the next 60 days," he said.

A Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






UK calls on other States not to provide Russia with military assistance: UK statement at the Security Council

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine.

18 May 2023

Thank you, President and I also thank Mr Ebo for his briefing.

449 days into the Russian Federation's illegal and full-scale war. Russia continues to attack Ukrainian cities, hospitals and schools - its civilian infrastructure - killing and injuring innocent families in their homes or forcing them to flee. Eight million people are now displaced as a result of Russia's attacks. Last night, for the ninth time this month, Russia rained down another barrage of missiles on Ukrainian cities with a blatant disregard for human life. Russia is deploying more and more powerful weapons.

Russia sources weapons for Putin's illegal war from states such as Iran and DPRK in blatant violation of relevant Security Council resolutions. The UK calls on other states not to provide Russia with military assistance.

President, we have repeatedly urged Russia to end the war, withdraw and respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, to cease attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, and withdraw its troops from Ukraine. Ukraine did not want or provoke this war.

The Ukrainian people want peace, but they face a choice between taking up arms in self-defence or annihilation. They have done so in accordance with the UN Charter. We, therefore, support Ukraine to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in line with the UN Charter. We share Ukraine's goal of securing peace in line with the UN Charter.

As my Prime Minister has made clear, we will continue to respond to Ukraine's requests for the means to defend itself against Russian aggression.

Last week we announced the provision of storm shadow missiles to Ukraine.

We've also provided a range of air defence systems, including AMRAAM anti-aircraft missiles. These defensive weapons can defeat Russian cruise missiles to help Ukraine defend its skies and its people from Russia's indiscriminate attacks.

The Russian delegate also mentioned use of depleted uranium. The British army has used depleted uranium in its armour-piercing shells for decades. It is a standard component and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or capabilities. Russia knows this, but is deliberately trying to disinform. So I want to be in no doubt that we provide all our military support to Ukraine in accordance with international law and with robust measures in place to prevent its illicit transfer.

President, the cost of this war is felt around the world. Its impact on food and commodity prices is severe. We welcome the continuation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and call on Russia not to hold up the movement of ships under the deal as a pressure tactic.

As UN Member States, we want to focus on other priorities that the world desperately needs us to work together on, such as delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals. Instead, Russia's war has made those goals harder to reach.

In conclusion, Madam President, I listened carefully to the Russian delegation. They are trying to persuade the world not to provide defensive support to Ukraine. The reason for this is blindingly obvious.

They want to overrun the Ukrainian military as they have tried and failed to do since February 2022. Why? Because they want to conquer a sovereign country and annex its territory. That is why the missiles are still falling on Kyiv.

Russia can end this war at any time by withdrawing its troops. Until then, we will help Ukraine defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity and uphold the principles of the UN Charter.

Thank you.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Russia's repressive campaign against Crimean Tatars must end: UK statement to the OSCE

Ambassador Neil Holland says following Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Crimean Tatars have endured ruthless persecution at the hands of the Russian regime.

18 May 2023

Thank you, Mr Chair. The United Kingdom strongly condemns the latest wave of attacks on Kyiv, Odesa, and across Ukraine overnight. We commend the bravery and skill of those defending the cities of Ukraine, and our thoughts are with the civilians who yet again suffer due to Russia's brutal attacks.

The United Kingdom welcomes the news that the Black Sea Grain initiative will be renewed. It is vital that this continues. We applaud TArkiye and the UN Secretary General for their continued efforts to keep the initiative going. But let us not forget that the illegal and unprovoked war on Ukraine has held the world's food hostage. So once again, we call on Russia to end its use of food as a weapon.

Mr Chair, last weekend, while Europe came together at the Eurovision Song Contest, Russia launched cruise missiles at Ternopil, the home city of Ukraine's Eurovision contestants. Two people were injured, and several warehouses destroyed. Russia then shelled residential buildings in Kostyantynivka killing two people, including a 15-year-old girl, and injuring ten others. Despite Russia's attempts to silence Ukraine, the voices of those fighting for freedom are still being heard. Today, we mark the anniversary of Stalin's mass deportation of Crimean Tatars from their homeland. So today, I will amplify the voices of Crimean Tatars, drawing on the testimonies from a recent event held at the British Embassy in Kyiv.

Since Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, the Crimean Tatars have endured a ruthless campaign of persecution for simply existing in their homeland. Russia has imposed a repressive regime of arbitrary arrests, torture and enforced disappearances. One victim of this brutal, discriminatory oppression is Leniye Umerova, a 25-year-old Crimean Tatar. She was arrested in December 2022 whilst returning to Crimea to take care of her seriously ill father. Russian guards interrogated Leniye for having a Ukrainian passport, looked through her phone and discovered her support for Ukraine. This was enough to see her transferred to a detention centre in Moscow. When Leniye was eventually released, four men were waiting for her, they grabbed her, put a bag over her head, and left her in an unfamiliar district of Vladikavkaz. Almost immediately, she was detained by police and to this day has not been released. Leniye now faces the additional charge of espionage; if found guilty, she could face up to 20 years in prison.

As part of its repression, Russia is intent on preventing human rights activists from carrying out their crucial work. These include Abdureshit Dzhepparov who is also a Crimean Tatar. On 25 April 2023, armed and masked members of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) broke into Abdureshit's home, seized his phone, laptop, and Ukrainian passport, and arrested him. Abdureshit was held in solitary confinement - his whereabouts unknown to his family - for 12 days of horrific psychological distress.

Moreover, Russia brands Crimean Tatars who are legitimately politically active as 'extremists' and 'terrorists'. People like Nariman Dzhelyal, who in 2021 was arrested by the FSB for allegedly bombing a pipeline in Crimea, despite being in Kyiv on the day of the alleged events. Nariman was imprisoned for 24 hours in a basement, without access to food, water, or a lawyer, and was tortured by electrocution. He faces 17 years in a high security prison, based on the supposed testimony of three so-called "anonymous" witnesses. Nariman has no access to medical care, inadequate food, and his health is deteriorating. Several other Crimean Tatars have died from such prison conditions.

Mr Chair, we cannot, and we will not let terror prevail. We call on Russia to release its political prisoners and cease its torture and persecution of Crimean Tatars. Once more, we emphasise that Crimea is Ukraine. The UK remains absolutely committed to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders. Peace can only be achieved after Russia ceases hostilities against Ukraine. And after Russia withdraws all of its forces from all of Ukraine - fully, immediately and unconditionally. As my Prime Minister said during President Zelenksyy's visit earlier this week: "it is in all our interests to ensure Ukraine succeeds and Putin's barbarism is not rewarded". We must not let Ukraine down.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






The Arab world should know the truth about Russia's war against Ukraine - Andriy Yermak in an interview with AlHadath TV channel

President of Ukraine

18 May 2023 - 20:27

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak said that our country would welcome the participation of Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries in the upcoming peace summit. He said this in an interview with AlHadath TV channel (Saudi Arabia).

"It is important for Ukraine that the Arab world knows the truth about what is happening in Ukraine today, how Ukrainians have been fighting for over a year against the Russian invasion. We are fighting for our freedom, independence, our land and our people. We did not start this war. An act of aggression was committed against us," emphasized Andriy Yermak.

According to him, Ukraine seeks to convey to the countries of the Arab world its view of the end of this war and the way to protect the world's states from similar aggressions. In particular, Ukraine seeks to convey the Peace Formula proposed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"This formula is fully based on the principles of international law and the UN Charter. And we will strongly welcome the participation of Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries in the upcoming peace summit, where leaders from around the world will be able to find a solution to end this war in the center of Europe based on President Zelenskyy's Peace Formula," Andriy Yermak said.

The Head of the President's Office emphasized that the ten points of the Peace Formula refer to the resolution of problematic issues that are important for all of humanity. For example, nuclear or environmental safety issues.

Andriy Yermak emphasized that even in difficult circumstances, Ukraine is concerned with global issues, including the issue of global food security, which is being addressed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Grain Form Ukraine initiative.

He also noted that Ukraine is grateful for the humanitarian assistance received from the Arab world, particularly from Saudi Arabia, especially when the Russian Federation has been trying for several months to destroy Ukraine's energy infrastructure with missiles and Iranian drones, and to leave millions of our citizens without electricity, heating and water supply during the cold season.

The Head of the President's Office also noted the role of the Kingdom in the important exchange of prisoners, which helped to release a large number of Ukrainian and foreign citizens.

Andriy Yermak emphasized that the Ukrainian side is ready to communicate with states and leaders who put forward certain proposals for a peaceful settlement and ending the war, but does not accept any negotiations with any compromises concerning our territory and our people.

"All Ukrainians want this war to end. We want the return of all our territories and the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity. We want to return all our people from Russian prisons, to return illegally deported Ukrainian children. We want compensation for everything that Russia has destroyed on our land. We want to ensure that the people who started this terrible war and violated international law are punished and held accountable at the international level," he said.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Ihor Zhovkva met with Director General of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce Vincent Subilia

President of Ukraine

18 May 2023 - 19:34

Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva met with Director General of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce Vincent Subilia, who is on a visit to Ukraine.

Ihor Zhovkva emphasized the important role of Swiss business in supporting Ukraine and, in particular, the efforts of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, which unites about 2,500 companies. He thanked Vincent Subilia for his personal efforts in helping our country, including his involvement in organizing a number of business events in Geneva and initiatives to support Ukrainian citizens temporarily staying in Switzerland. The Geneva Chamber of Commerce also contributed to the International Ukraine Recovery Conference, which took place in Lugano in 2022.

"Switzerland, thanks to its international authority and experience, can play an even greater role in supporting Ukraine both politically and economically," the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office emphasized.

The main topic of the meeting was the involvement of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce and its members in the economic recovery of Ukraine, in particular in the context of the Fast Recovery Plan and preparations for the International Conference on Ukraine's Reconstruction in London in June 2023.

Vincent Subilia spoke about the preparations for the 13th World Congress of Chambers of Commerce to be held in Geneva on June 21-23 this year. The Geneva Chamber of Commerce will involve the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ukrainian companies and create conditions for the topic of support for our country to be loudly voiced at this important international event.

"We don't need to wait for our victory to rebuild Ukraine - we need to start implementing specific projects right now," said Ihor Zhovkva.

He emphasized that Ukraine expects to attract Swiss investment in innovative projects in our country, and one of the sources of reconstruction should be frozen Russian assets, the mechanism for using which should be developed as soon as possible.

"Swiss business should declare its interest in rebuilding Ukraine and attracting investments more loudly," the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office summarized.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Without an international tribunal, without bringing to justice all Russian war criminals, evil will return very soon - Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the participants of the second PISM Strategic Ark conference

President of Ukraine

18 May 2023 - 19:15

Ladies and Gentlemen!

At any moment, the recording of this address could be interrupted by an air raid siren. This one sentence concisely and aptly describes the state of global security and the level of threats it faces today.

I welcome all participants of the second Strategic Ark and the important dialogue on world security. The decisive battle for its future has been ongoing for 449 days. Today is a special day. This forum is taking place on a significant date - May 18. A day on which history has left us with many clues and lessons. Warnings and mistakes that we have no right to repeat on the path to our global security.

It is May 18, 1792, when a Russian army of a hundred thousand troops crossed the borders of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and invaded its land. The Russian-Polish war began, the consequences of which we all remember.

Today, it is the same enemy. The same goal. The same price of defeat. We have no right to lose. We have no right to weaken our resistance and opposition for a moment, we have no right not to finish off the evil, to lose the unity of our allies, to lay down our arms prematurely, not to fight to the ultimate victory.

We have no right to be misled when Russia starts actively talking about peace and diplomacy. Russia is concerned not about the end of bloodshed, but about the end of money and resources to continue it.

Russia needs time, not peace. For new missiles, a new plan, a new attack. This is the formula of Russian politics. It has been unchanged for centuries. The twenty-first century should be its last. The Ukrainian Peace Formula contains the mechanisms to realize this. Security guarantees to ensure that this never happens again.

So that May 18, 1944 does not happen again. The genocide of the Crimean Tatar people. The forced deportation and loss of their home for decades. All that modern Russia, calling itself the successors and followers of the totalitarian regime, repeated in Crimea in 2014. And repeated eight years later in Donbas, in Mariupol, in Kherson.

Unpunished evil always returns. Without an international tribunal and bringing all Russian war criminals to justice, it will return very soon.

We have often heard the words "destruction of the international security architecture". On February 24, they turned into clear visual forms. Destroyed houses in Bucha, Borodyanka, Uman, Hostomel, and Mariupol - this is what security architecture looks like today.

Kinzhal missiles are hitting it every day. We need a protected sky. We thank everyone who is involved in this process and in the formation of the air coalition. We will definitely see Fighting Falcons in the Ukrainian skies.

For our ancestors, the falcon has long been a heaven-blessed synthesis of intelligence, courage, youth, and strength. Light. And victory. A hundred years ago, "Hej, Sokoly!" song led Ukrainians and Poles into a joint battle. For our freedom and yours.

Today our ranks are much larger. And just like a hundred years ago, we will see the parade on Khreshchatyk again. To our victory and yours! Of Ukraine. Europe. The world. Humanity.

Finally, I want to mention another May 18. Last year. The day when NATO received applications for accession of two new members. The speed with which Finland has come this way and the high prospects of Sweden give Ukraine confidence and faith in the NATO Summit in Vilnius. In the Alliance's determination and will to reaffirm its choice in favor of the values of freedom and indivisible security. In the fact that in July we will see a new important stage on Ukraine's path to NATO membership. On the path to a common and secure future. Of Ukraine. Europe. The world. Humanity.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






The Office of the President held a briefing on the current security situation in Ukraine for the Chinese delegation headed by the Special Representative of the Chinese Government

President of Ukraine

18 May 2023 - 11:04

Pursuant to the President's instruction, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held a briefing on the current security situation in the country for the Chinese government delegation headed by Li Hui, Special Representative of the Chinese Government for Eurasian Affairs.

Andriy Yermak expressed gratitude for China's support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. He emphasized that our country respects the inviolability of the borders of other countries, as provided for by the UN Charter.

The Head of the President's Office emphasized that Ukraine, defending itself against the aggressor who carried out an unprovoked invasion of our territory, acts exclusively in the framework of international law and the UN Charter.

According to him, our country seeks to establish a sustainable and just peace, restore its territorial integrity, as envisaged by the Ukrainian Peace Formula.

Andriy Yermak and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba spoke in detail about the ten points of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Peace Formula. According to the Head of the President's Office, since the aggression is taking place on the territory of our country, the Ukrainian peace plan contains comprehensive answers to all the challenges posed by this war.

"We are interested in China being involved in the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula," emphasized Andriy Yermak.

Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov and Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Roman Mashovets briefed the Chinese government delegation on the situation at the front, enemy losses and recent massive Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and the civilian casualties they caused.

Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets spoke about Ukrainian prisoners of war, both civilian and military, held by Russia. He informed about violations of rights of civilians and servicemen, as well as war crimes committed by the Russian Federation.

Advisor - President's Commissioner for Children's Rights and Children's Rehabilitation Daria Herasymchuk spoke specifically about the illegal removal of Ukrainian children by the Russian invaders and their forced adoption in Russia. She called for joining international efforts to return little Ukrainians home to their families, as children are the future of every nation.

Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine, Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development Oleksandr Kubrakov informed the Chinese government delegation about the efforts of Ukraine and its partners, TArkiye and the United Nations, to continue the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which Russia has tried to disrupt. He emphasized the importance of ensuring unimpeded movement of ships along the grain corridor, as this maintains stability in the global food market and reduces the risk of food crises in the most vulnerable countries in Asia and Africa.

Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to China Pavlo Riabikin told the Chinese representatives about the dangers of Russia's capture of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. They noted that the presence of Russian military equipment and soldiers at the plant, who have effectively taken the NPP staff hostage, increases nuclear risks for the entire continent, and stressed that the Zaporizhzhia NPP should be demilitarized, as envisaged by the Ukrainian Peace Formula.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Latest in Ukraine: Air Raid Alerts Extended Throughout Ukraine

By VOA News May 18, 2023

New developments:

Air raid alerts were declared throughout Ukraine early Friday, with some areas reporting explosions.

The U.S. overcounted the total of U.S. military aid provided to Ukraine by about $3 billion, a senior defense official and a military official said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba discussed "ways to stop Russian aggression" in talks with Chinese envoy Li Hui, Ukraine said.

Air raid alerts were declared across Ukraine early on Friday, local time, with some areas reporting explosions.

Ukraine's military said on Telegram that Russian aircraft were in the air and there was a threat of strikes from hypersonic Kinzhal missiles to all regions.

Ukraine's military added that central regions were at risk from drone attacks. Explosions were reported in other cities, including in the central city of Krivyi Rih.

Ukraine's far western regions were left out of the warnings at first, but officials later extended them to the entire country.

Earlier Friday, the country's military warned of possible missile strikes in the southern regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv.

Amount of aid overcounted

Meanwhile, the U.S. has overcounted the total amount of U.S. military aid provided to Ukraine by about $3 billion, a senior defense official and a military official told VOA, an accounting error that could soon eliminate concerns the administration would need to ask Congress for more money to keep Kyiv in the fight this spring.

The Department of Defense was counting the cost incurred to replace the weapons given to Ukraine when calculating its aid package estimates, while it should have been totaling the cost of the systems actually sent, the officials said.

For example, if the U.S. provided an M777 Howitzer to Ukraine and replaced that loss to U.S. stocks with a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, the Pentagon had been using the cost of the replacement HIMARS when calculating the total amount of aid given to Ukraine. According to officials, the Pentagon should have been using the cost of the M777, not the cost of its replacement, when calculating aid package costs.

The Pentagon is now reevaluating the estimates for all 37 Ukrainian military aid packages and expects the cost difference to provide the Department of Defense with "a little more than $3 billion" in congressional-approved funds for additional military support. This could potentially raise the amount of remaining funds that the Pentagon has available to aid Ukraine through September 30, 2023, from more than $6 billion to more than $9 billion.

Missile attacks

Earlier Thursday, Ukraine said that Russia launched another 30 cruise missiles across the country overnight, with one of them getting through its air defenses, killing one person and wounding two others in an industrial building in the southern city of Odesa.

Ukrainian officials said its forces shot down 29 of the missiles, as well as two exploding drones and two reconnaissance drones.

Some of the missiles targeted Kyiv, making it the ninth attack against the capital since the beginning of May. Even as the head of Kyiv's military administration, Serhiy Popko, said Ukrainian forces shot down the Russian missiles directed at the region, falling debris sparked fires in several areas.

The missile attacks have been a clear Russian escalation ahead of what Ukraine has said will be a counteroffensive aimed at retaking territory held by Russia in the eastern regions of Ukraine.

Train derailment

A pro-Russian transport minister on Thursday reported the derailment of eight train cars carrying grain in occupied Crimea, prompting renewed suspicions about possible Ukrainian saboteur activity behind Russian lines. Crimea Railway said the derailment was caused by "the interference of unauthorized persons" but that there were no casualties. Ukraine officials refuse to comment on possible acts of sabotage.

As the attacks continue, China said its special envoy met earlier this week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss Beijing's peace proposal, although there has been no apparent breakthrough to end the war. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Thursday that the warring parties needed to "accumulate mutual trust" for progress to be made.

China, while claiming neutrality in the conflict, has made no demand on Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine. Zelenskyy has called for the restoration of his country's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian forces, and holding Russian President Vladimir Putin legally accountable for the February 2022 invasion.

Global diplomacy

Group of Seven leaders convening in Hiroshima, Japan, for meetings that start Friday are set to engage with Zelenskyy, the White House said.

"We are anticipating some kind of engagement between G-7 leaders and President Zelenskyy," national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to Anchorage, Alaska, en route to Japan. "The parameters of that are still being worked through."

More than a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, the G-7 meeting will focus on supporting Kyiv's defense and ratcheting up economic pressure on Russia. Sullivan said the summit will focus on sanctions implementation and enforcement, shutting down evasion networks and closing loopholes.

"The U.S. will have a package of sanctions associated with a G-7 statement that will center on this enforcement issue," he said.

VOA's Carla Babb contributed to this report from the Pentagon. VOA's Patsy Widakuswara and Mykhailo Komadovsky contributed from Hiroshima. Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Latest in Ukraine: US Overcounted Cost of Military Aid to Ukraine

By VOA News May 18, 2023

New developments:

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba discussed "ways to stop Russian aggression" in talks with Chinese envoy Li Hui, Ukraine says.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian shelling killed 5-year-old boy in Kherson.

White House says Group of Seven leaders convening in Hiroshima, Japan, later this week are set to engage with Zelenskyy.

The U.S. overcounted the total of U.S. military aid provided to Ukraine by about $3 billion, a senior defense official and a military official told VOA, an accounting error that could soon eliminate concerns the administration would need to ask Congress for more money to keep Kyiv in the fight this spring.

The Department of Defense was counting the cost incurred to replace the weapons given to Ukraine when calculating its aid package estimates, while it should have been totaling the cost of the systems actually sent, the officials said.

For example, if the U.S. provided an M777 Howitzer to Ukraine and replaced that loss to U.S. stocks with a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, the Pentagon had been using the cost of the replacement HIMARS when calculating the total amount of aid given to Ukraine. According to officials, the Pentagon should have been using the cost of the M777, not the cost of its replacement, when calculating aid package costs.

The Pentagon is now reevaluating the estimates for all 37 Ukrainian military aid packages and expects the cost difference to provide the Department of Defense with "a little more than $3 billion" in congressional-approved funds for additional military support. This could potentially raise the amount of remaining funds that the Pentagon has available to aid Ukraine through September 30, 2023, from more than $6 billion to more than $9 billion.

Missile attacks

Earlier Thursday, Ukraine said that Russia launched another 30 cruise missiles across the country overnight, with one of them getting through and killing one person and wounding two others in an industrial building in the southern city of Odesa.

Ukrainian officials said its forces shot down 29 of the missiles, as well as two exploding drones and two reconnaissance drones.

Some of the missiles targeted Kyiv, the ninth attack against the capital city since the beginning of May. Even as the head of Kyiv's military administration, Serhiy Popko, said Ukrainian forces shot down the Russian missiles directed at the region, falling debris set off fires in several areas.

The missile attacks have been a clear Russian escalation ahead of what Ukraine has said will be a counteroffensive aimed at retaking territory held by Russia in the eastern regions of Ukraine.

Train derailment

A pro-Russian transport minister on Thursday reported the derailment of eight train cars carrying grain in occupied Crimea, prompting renewed suspicions about possible Ukrainian saboteur activity behind Russian lines. The Crimean Railway company said the derailment was caused by "the interference of unauthorized persons" but that there were no casualties. Ukraine officials refuse to comment on possible acts of sabotage.

As the attacks continue, China said its special envoy met earlier this week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss Beijing's peace proposal, although there has been no apparent breakthrough to end the war. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Thursday that the warring parties needed to "accumulate mutual trust" for progress to be made.

China, while claiming neutrality in the conflict, has made no demand on Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine. Zelenskyy has called for the restoration of his country's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian forces, and holding Russian President Vladimir Putin legally accountable for the February 2022 invasion.

Global diplomacy

Group of Seven leaders convening in Hiroshima, Japan, for meetings that start Friday are set to engage with Zelenskyy, the White House said.

"We are anticipating some kind of engagement between G-7 leaders and President Zelenskyy," national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to Anchorage, Alaska, en route to Japan. "The parameters of that are still being worked through."

More than a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, the G-7 meeting will focus on supporting Kyiv's defense and ratcheting up economic pressure on Russia. Sullivan said the summit will focus on sanctions implementation and enforcement, shutting down evasion networks and closing loopholes.

"The U.S. will have a package of sanctions associated with a G-7 statement that will center on this enforcement issue," he said.

VOA's Patsy Widakuswara and Mykhailo Komadovsky contributed to this report from Hiroshima. Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






U.S. Is Hastening "Final Ruin" of Ukraine

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, May 19 (KCNA) -- Kim Myong Chol, an international affairs analyst, released the following article under the title "The U.S. is hastening the 'final ruin' of Ukraine" on May 19:

One year ago, we made a judgment that the Ukrainian crisis precisely means the U.S. crisis and the final loser will be the U.S.

At present, 450 days after the start of the Ukrainian crisis, a direct product of the U.S. strategy for pressing Russia, we witness the U.S. and the Western group crossing the red-line bereft of reason.

The U.S. was "cautious" about the support of military hardware to Ukraine, talking about the "support of weapons for defence" at the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis. But when the situation in Ukraine has been confirmed to be prolonged, it is revealing its true nature and inciting massive arms support.

The portable anti-armour and anti-aircraft missiles such as Javelin and Stinger were largely supplied in the past, but today the HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and Patriot anti-missile systems, which are known as self-styled "high-tech weapons", are being used in the Ukrainian battlefield, and Abrams American MBTs are expected to reveal their ugly figures sooner or later.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainian mercenaries are armed with American weapons and trained in American style, and are driven into the bloody battle field again. And instructors dispatched by the U.S. are directly in command of the Ukrainian mercenaries.

The present U.S. administration, which will soon go into the state default on debt as the world's biggest debtor, has made a decision to render emergency security support to Ukraine worth 45 billion U.S. dollars and is encouraging its followers to render unsparing aid to Ukraine.

Up to now, the U.S.-led NATO member states have provided Ukraine with lethal weapons and equipment worth 71 billion U.S. dollars, including over 230 MBTs such as Leopard-2 and Challenger 2, 1 550 armored vehicles, drones, helicopters, large caliber guns and ammunition of various calibers.

The recent offer of Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles with hundreds of kilometers of range by Britain shows that Western forces are trying to expand the bloody Ukrainian battlefield to the deep areas of Russia.

It is a matter of time that the U.S. adds new precision strike means including ATACMS missiles to be mounted on HIMARS.

The U.S. and its allies' transfer of precision strike means to Ukraine is the most obvious declaration of war against Russia and a direct military action threatening the sovereignty of Russia and its territorial security.

It is as clear as noonday that the Ukrainian military gangsters, who flew drones over the Kremlin of Moscow, an inviolable territory of Russia, will commit dangerous hooliganism with missiles from the U.S. and the West.

Therefore, the U.S. has crossed the most dangerous red line.

The gravity of the situation is not limited to the European continent.

South Korea has so far handed over 800 000 large-caliber artillery shells to Ukraine in a round-about way, deceiving others like an alley cat. Now it openly reveals its will to supply lethal weapons, volunteering to become one of the belligerent countries against Russia.

The anxious fact that one million large-caliber artillery shells to be supplied to Ukraine by the U.S. are being produced in south Korea proves that the war clouds of the European continent are finally hanging over the Asia-Pacific region and the Ukrainian crisis is, in fact, turning into a new world war.

The U.S. and its followers are making desperate efforts to reduce Ukraine into a test site of their lethal weapons and a theatre of a proxy war and defeat Russia at any cost while rendering military aid running at an astronomical figure. This is nothing but the last-ditch efforts of those nearing their last moments.

It is the tradition of victory and disposition peculiar to the Russian nation that it has repelled the invasion of foreign aggressors and totally destroyed their den.

The U.S. and Western forces are most afraid that Russia's victory will not end only in a defeat of Ukraine but lead to the collapse and ruin of the U.S.-led Western world.

That's why they are seeking to prolong the crisis with their absurd weapon supports to Ukraine while loudly calling for a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian issue.

The collective arms support being made under the manipulation of the present U.S. administration to put the whole of Europe under the U.S. security umbrella, far from the interests of European countries, does not accelerate the end of the dispute but delays the end of the war, endangering regional peace and destroying human civilization.

The crimes of the U.S. and other Western countries, which have systematically encroached upon the legal security interests of a sovereign state for decades in a bid to maintain their supremacy, have been described as "just" acts, and sovereign state's legitimate countermeasures for self-defence have been branded as acts of "aggression" and "provocations". Such unfair behavior should never be allowed.

The U.S. and its vassal forces are embellishing their lethal weapon assistance to Ukraine as an act for "defence of peace" and "legal defence" while describing the international community's just support to Russia as "conspiracy" with the "aggressor", so as to turn black into white. But they can never cover up the truth.

A loud voice never makes falsehood truth, and many conspirators never turn injustice into justice.

The U.S. and its vassal forces would be well-advised to always remember that they are contending against the courageous and heroic Russian army and people by whom the righteous and powerful friendly states aspiring to peace and truth are always standing.

It is high time for the just international community to turn out in high spirits for Russia's victory.

Many weapons and ammunitions provided by Ukraine's "allies" have made it a big explosive warehouse, and a Russia's single blow will wipe out everything in Ukraine, creating a great mushroom cloud.

Zelenskiy and his clique, stooges most faithful to the U.S., who put the destiny of the Ukrainian people in the bloody hands of foreign forces, have already been defeated and sentenced to a miserable doom.

The U.S. and its vassal forces will be next. -0-

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Tokyo, Japan, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a comprehensive research report by Market Research Future (MRFR),  3D Scanner Market Research Report: By Type, Vertical, Range, Product, Application, Region - Forecast Till 2030, the market is anticipated to acquire a valuation of approximately USD 1,805.6 Million by the end of 2030. The reports further predict the market to flourish at a robust CAGR of over 7.2% during the assessment timeframe.

3D Scanner Market Key Players

Eminent industry players profiled in the global 3D scanner market report include

Carl Zeiss Optotechnik GmbH (Germany)

Hexagon AB (Sweden)

Topcon Corporation (Japan)

Autodesk Inc. (U.S.)

Trimble Navigation Ltd. (U.S.)

Nikon Metrology (Belgium)

Creaform Inc. (Ametek Inc.) (U.S.)

Faro Technologies Inc. (U.S.)

KEYENCE Corp. (Japan)

Renishaw (UK)

Trimble, Inc (US)

Automated Precision Inc. (US)

Metrologic Group (France)

CyberOptics Corp. (US)

Mitutoyo Corp. (Japan)

Get Free Sample PDF Brochure:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2546

Report Scope:

Report Metric Details Revenue forecast in 2030 USD 1,805.6 million Growth Rate CAGR of 7.2% from 2022 to 2030 Base Year 2021 Study Period 2022-2030 Key Market Opportunities The industry 4.0 concept provides 3D Scanner Market opportunities. Key Market Drivers The 3D scanners are more suitable in professional places due to their accuracy and speed.



The automotive mining and other manufacturing industries raise the demand for 3D scanners.

Buy Premium Research Report Now:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=2546

3D Scanner Market Drivers

Increasing Adoption in Construction Industry to Boost Market Growth

3D scanners are employed in the construction sector to produce a scaled-down 3D model of a building. These tools aid in the preservation and archiving of historical monuments from the museums in the architectural field. Manufacturers rely on the measurement precision and speed while producing cutting-edge military and defense equipment, employing a 3D scanner to create weaponry and vehicles like frigates, due to the technology's adaptability and scalability.

3D Scanner Market Opportunities

Adoption of 5G to offer Robust Opportunities

The development of 3D scanners or smart scanners that are continually linked, is anticipated to be made possible by the invention and continuing use of 5G. Scanners are beginning to demonstrate the possibilities of connection, and 5G would make connectivity stronger than ever. Smart 3D scanners can rapidly transfer data to databases, ensuring a smooth workflow whether in office or on the job site. As a result, it makes worldwide data exchange and faster information and research cooperation possible. Future 5G developments might speed up this process even more. Global enterprises might pool their efforts across all of their locations to use 3D scan data as a tool for product design and engineering challenges inside the company.

Market Restraints and Challenges

High Installation Cost to act as Market Restraint

The high installation cost, the high maintenance and operational costs of 3D scanning techniques, data security breaches, and the availability of alternative technological solutions may act as market restraints over the forecast period.

Browse In-depth Market Research Report (100 Pages) on 3D Scanner Market:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/3d-scanner-market-2546

3D Scanner Market Segmentation

The global 3D scanner market is bifurcated based on application, product, offering, range, vertical, and type.

By type, laser scanner will lead the market over the forecast period.

By vertical, healthcare will domineer the market over the forecast period.

By range, short range will spearhead the market over the forecast period.

By offering, hardware will have the lions share in the market over the forecast period.

By product, fixed CMM based will have the largest share in the market in the forecast period.

By application, quality inspection will sway the market over the forecast period.

COVID-19 Analysis of 3D Scanner Market

Lockdowns, travel bans, and a shortage of labor during the pandemic's early stages caused interruptions in the 3D scanner market's production and supply chain activities. This caused delays in 3D scanner production, shipping, and delivery, which had an impact on the market's overall growth. On the demand side, a number of sectors that heavily rely on 3D printer scanner, including the automotive, aerospace, building, and healthcare sectors, have seen substantial disruptions. Many companies cut back on their operations or temporarily ceased them, which resulted in a decline in investments in cutting-edge technology like 3D scanning.

The COVID-19 epidemic, however, also emphasized how critical remote working, digitalization, and virtual solutions are. Thus, there was a rise in interest in 3D scanning and other technologies that allow for remote data collection and virtual product creation. Healthcare for telemedicine & virtual consultations, as well as other sectors that could accommodate remote work and needed 3D scanning, continued to invest in these technologies. Furthermore, as companies looked to lessen reliance on human labor and facilitate remote operations, the industrial industry saw a trend towards automation & digital processes. In industries like reverse engineering, quality control, and inspection, this increased the need for 3D scanners.

Check for Discount:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/2546

Regional Analysis

APAC to Head 3D Scanner Market

During the projected period, it is predicted that the automotive & architectural industries would present Asia Pacific with significant development prospects. In the fields of automotive, architecture, urban topography, civil surveying, reverse engineering, mining, quality archaeology, dentistry, and mechanical dimensional inspection, for instance, 3D scanner camera is utilized extensively. In response to the increasing number of model & equipment variants in the car design & development processes, 3D scanning technology is being employed more and more in the production of automotive components. For example, car manufacturers might employ 3D scanning to transfer archived equipment coordinate data into the real vehicle design models that enable component assessments. Therefore, it would cut down on the time and money needed for product development. Furthermore, the Asia-Pacific area would exhibit a large CAGR rate throughout the anticipated period due to the growing infrastructure expansions and factory automation. The adoption of new technologies in nations like China and India is giving the worldwide 3D Scanner market the boost it needs to expand. Numerous infrastructure development projects are now underway or will be finished in APAC by the estimated date.

Industry Updates

April 2023- In the FreeScan UE series of 3D scanner Metrology, SHINING 3D, a leading global producer of technology for 3D digitization and 3D inspection, presents the FreeScan Combo. It is a 3D multipurpose, portable scanner with a hybrid light source that combines an infrared VCSEL with a blue laser.

Related Reports:

Speech Recognition Market Research Report Information By Technology, By Delivery Methods, And By Region  Market Forecast Till 2030.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Market , By Process, By Operations, By Type, By Industry - Forecast 2030

Industry 4.0 Market Research Report Information By Application, By End User, And By Region  Market Forecast Till 2030.

About Market Research Future:

Market Research Future (MRFR) is a global market research company that takes pride in its services, offering a complete and accurate analysis regarding diverse markets and consumers worldwide. Market Research Future has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.

Contact Us:
CALGARY, Alberta, May 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sylogist Ltd. (TSX:SYZ) Sylogist Ltd. (TSX: SYZ) ("Sylogist" or the "Company"), a leading public sector SaaS company, will host an Investor Day, for institutional investors and analysts, on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, at the St. Regis Hotel in Toronto, Ontario. Presentations will begin at 9:15 a.m. Eastern Time.



During the event, Sylogist executive leadership will provide attendees with an update on the Companys growth opportunities, in-flight initiatives, and business in general. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet management and participate in a live question-and-answer session. In-person attendees can RSVP for the event by emailing the Companys investor relations team at ir@sylogist.com. The event will also be available for replay on Sylogists website.

Sylogist also announced today that it has engaged LodeRock Advisors Inc. ("LodeRock"), a leading capital markets communication firm, to strengthen its outreach and investor communication strategy. LodeRock provides transparent, consistent, accessible and compelling communications for companies, allowing them to communicate with impact and provide meaningful connection with the investment community.

About Sylogist

Sylogist provides mission-critical SaaS solutions to over 2,000 public sector customers globally across the government, nonprofit, and education verticals. The Company's stock is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol SYZ. Information about Sylogist, inclusive of full financial statements together with Managements Discussion and Analysis, can be found at www.sylogist.com.

For further information contact:

Sujeet Kini, Chief Financial Officer

or

Rudy Shirra, Director of Business Development and Operations Strategy

Sylogist Ltd.

(403) 266-4808

ir@sylogist.com
NEWARK, Del, May 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global portable battery pack market is forecast to expand at 12.6% CAGR over the estimated time, as per FMIs analysis. The industrys size is predicted to reach a market value of US$ 16.89 Billion in 2023 and US$ 55.34 Billion by 2033.

The market is positively influenced by the ongoing investments in portable battery packs by governments across the globe. For instance, the Government of India is investing in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries in Gujarat. This, along with the surging demand for electronic gadgets in India owing to the availability of discretionary income is fueling market growth.

The market is also powered by the growing awareness among the masses about healthcare, in addition to the increasing use of portable medical equipment. Robust urbanization in developing economies is further fueling product demand. Significant growth opportunities in the Asia Pacific are propelling the market growth. Owing to high sales of electronic equipment, especially smartphones, the region is expected to witness a high adoption rate of portable battery packs.

Emerging regulations by the government to dispose of e-waste caused by electronics might confine the growth prospects for portable battery packs. The adoption of technologies that might render the portable battery pack obsolete is also a key threat to the market.

Get an overview of the market from industry experts to evaluate and develop growth strategies. Get your sample report here @

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-17231

Top Highlights from the FMIs Analysis:

The United States portable battery pack industry is projected to be valued at US$ 8.57 Billion by 2033. During the forecast period, the market is expected to assume a growth rate of 3% CAGR.

The United Kingdom market is assessed to achieve US$ 1.44 Billion by 2033 end. From 2023 to 2033, the market is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 9%.

The China portable battery pack industry is slated to achieve US$ 14.03 Billion by 2033. During the forecast time frame, the market is projected to perceive a significant CAGR of 14.1%.

The Japan market is estimated to attain US$ 8.57 Billion by 2033. In the next 10 years, the market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 8%.

In South Korea, the market is forecast to reach US$ 3.39 Billion by the end of the estimated period. During the projection period, the market is assessed to expand at a CAGR of 13%.

Based on product type, smartphones are emerging as the top segment. During the coming years, the market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 4%.

Based on the capacity range, 2,510 MAH to 5,000 MAH is expected to surface as the leading segment in the upcoming years. The estimated CAGR for this segment is 5%.





Stay Updated with Recent Developments:

In the forecast period, it is projected that the advent of new charging technologies and batteries is expected to entirely change the charging scenario of electronics.

In August 2022, Lenovo introduced a portable USB-C battery to power a laptop. The product has been launched under the category of the new Lenovo Go brand to bridge the gap between WFH and WFO. More accessories are on their way, as per the companys statement.

Oppo offered its line of magnetic wireless chargers in August 2021. These chargers are projected to operate the same as Apples MagSafe. The line contains a 20W charging output and a 4500 mAh battery.

Speak to Our Research Expert @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-17231

Market by Categorization:

By Capacity Range:

1,000 MAH to 2,500 MAH

2,510 MAH to 5,000 MAH

5,010 MAH to 7,500 MAH

7,510 MAH to 10,000 MAH

Above 10,000 MAH



By Product Type:

Smartphones

Tablets

Portable Media Players

Others

By Technology:

Lithium-ion Battery

Lithium-polymer Battery

Nickel Cadmium Battery



By Region:

North America

Latin America

Europe

Asia Pacific

The Middle East and Africa



Expand operations in the future  ask for a custom report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/customization-available/rep-gb-17231

Table of Content (ToC):

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. Product Life Cycle Analysis

3.5. Supply Chain Analysis

3.6. Investment Feasibility Matrix

3.7. Value Chain Analysis

3.8. PESTLE and Porters 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 2021 and Forecast, 2022 to 2032

4.1. Historical Market Size Value (US$ Million) & Volume (Units) Analysis, 2017 to 2021

4.2. Current and Future Market Size Value (US$ Million) & Volume (Units) Projections, 2022 to 2032

5. Global Market Analysis 2017 to 2021 and Forecast 2022 to 2032, By Capacity Range

5.1. Introduction / Key Findings

5.2. Historical Market Size Value (US$ Million) & Volume (Units) Analysis By Capacity Range, 2017 to 2021

5.3. Current and Future Market Size Value (US$ Million) & Volume (Units) Analysis and Forecast By Capacity Range, 2022 to 2032

5.4. Y-o-Y Growth Trend Analysis By Capacity Range, 2017 to 2021

5.5. Absolute $ Opportunity Analysis By Capacity Range, 2022 to 2032

6. Global Market Analysis 2017 to 2021 and Forecast 2022 to 2032, By Product Type

6.1. Introduction / Key Findings

6.2. Historical Market Size Value (US$ Million) & Volume (Units) Analysis By Product Type, 2017 to 2021

6.3. Current and Future Market Size Value (US$ Million) & Volume (Units) Analysis and Forecast By Product Type, 2022 to 2032

Top Reports Related To Technology Market:

Battery Management System Market Size: The global battery management system market size is valued at US$ 7,329.28 Million in 2022 and is forecasted to be valued at US$ 37,715.01 Million by 2032.

Crypto Trading Platform Market Share: The global demand for the crypto trading platforms is expected to rise 14% per year to US$ 36.5 Billion by 2022.

Optical transport network equipment Market Trends: The global demand for optical transport network equipment is expected to rise with a CAGR of 14% per year to US$ 17.5 Million in 2022.

Molded Case Circuit Breaker (MCCB) Market Growth: The molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) market is estimated to rise to US$ 9.7 Million in 2022 and suppose to reach US$ 16.2 Million by 2032 with a CAGR of 5.2% during the forecast period from 2022 to 2032.

Multi-tenant Data Centers Market Demand: The global multi-tenant data centers market is forecasted to be valuated at US$ 130716.6 Million by 2032, up from US$ 38968.9 Million in 2022, advancing at a CAGR of 12.9% from 2022 to 2032.

Reverse Logistics Market Analysis: Global reverse logistics market worth is expected to rise at a CAGR of 12% to US$ 2.9 Trillion by 2032.

Narcotics Scanner Market Type - The narcotics scanner market is projected to be worth US$7,410.8 Million in 2022. The market is expected to reach US$ 13,070.3 Million in value by 2032 and expand at a steady CAGR of 5.8%.

Navigation Switches Market Outlook - The global navigation switches market holds a forecasted share of US$ 560 Million in 2022 and is likely to surpass US$ 1250 Million by 2032, moving ahead with a CAGR of 8.4% during the forecast period (2022 to 2032).

Optical Transport Network Market Overview: The optical transport network market is anticipated to rise to a value of US$ 20 Billion in 2022 and likely to reach US$ 51.4 Billion by 2032 with a CAGR of 9.9% during the forecast period from 2022 to 2032.

Cellular Repeater Market Forecast - Global cellular repeater market demand is anticipated to be valued at US$ 1,150.0 Million in 2022, forecast to grow at a CAGR of 25.2% to be valued at US$ 10,874.0 Million from 2022 to 2032.

About Future Market Insights (FMI):

Future Market Insights, Inc. (ESOMAR certified, Stevie Award  recipient market research organization, and a member of Greater New York Chamber of Commerce) provides in-depth insights into governing factors elevating the demand in the market. It discloses opportunities that will favor the market growth in various segments on the basis of Source, Application, Sales Channel, and End Use over the next 10 years.

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
NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Halper Sadeh LLC, an investor rights law firm, is investigating the following companies for potential violations of the federal securities laws and/or breaches of fiduciary duties to shareholders relating to:



Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. (NYSE: UBA and UBP)s sale to Regency Centers Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, Urstadt Biddles Class A Common (UBA) and Common (UBP) stockholders will receive 0.347 of a newly-issued Regency share for each UBA or UBP share they own. Upon closing, Urstadt Biddle shareholders will own approximately 7% of the combined company. If you are an Urstadt Biddle shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options.

Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM)s merger with Newcrest Mining Limited. Per the terms of the proposed merger, Newcrest shareholders would receive 0.400 Newmont shares for each Newcrest share held. Upon completion of the proposed transaction, Newmont shareholders will own approximately 69% of the combined entity. If you are a Newmont shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options.

eMagin Corporation (NYSE: EMAN)s sale to Samsung Display Co., Ltd. for $2.08 per share in cash. If you are a eMagin shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options.

Shareholders are encouraged to contact the firm free of charge to discuss their legal rights and options. Please call Daniel Sadeh or Zachary Halper at (212) 763-0060 or email sadeh@halpersadeh.com or zhalper@halpersadeh.com.

Halper Sadeh LLC represents investors all over the world who have fallen victim to securities fraud and corporate misconduct. Our attorneys have been instrumental in implementing corporate reforms and recovering millions of dollars on behalf of defrauded investors.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

Halper Sadeh LLC

Daniel Sadeh, Esq.

Zachary Halper, Esq.

(212) 763-0060

sadeh@halpersadeh.com

zhalper@halpersadeh.com

https://www.halpersadeh.com
ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands (19 May 2023)  IMCD N.V. ("IMCD" or "Company"), a leading distributor, formulator, and solutions provider of speciality chemicals and ingredients, today announces that IMCD has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of the speciality distribution company, Euro Chemo-Pharma Sdn Bhd ("Euro Chemo-Pharma") and its wholly owned subsidiary, Biofresh Green Sdn Bhd ("Biofresh").

Euro Chemo-Pharma was founded in Malaysia in 1975, offering a wide range of products, mainly food, pharmaceutical and personal care applications. Headquartered in Penang, with offices and warehouses also in Kuala Lumpur and Johor, it ensures the full coverage of the Malaysian market. The company also represents leading global suppliers providing its customers with an extensive portfolio backed by in-depth formulation expertise. With a generated revenue of approximately MYR 270 million (ca. EUR 55 million) in the financial year that ended on June 30, 2022, Euro Chemo-Pharma adds approximately 124 employees to the IMCD Malaysia team and an application laboratory in Penang.

Additionally, Euro Chemo-Pharmas subsidiary, Biofresh, includes blending, mixing, and compounding of food and flavour ingredients and holds the Halal certification.

"Euro Chemo-Pharma's strategic positioning is fully aligned with IMCD, providing us the complementary portfolio to accelerate growth in the Malaysian market," remarked Andreas Igerl, President at IMCD APAC. "In addition, we aim to leverage the suppliers synergies we gain from them to develop further our life science business in the Asia Pacific markets," concluded Igerl.

"We have managed to grow the company to be the largest and most efficient speciality ingredients distributor in Malaysia," commented Jeryl Tan, Executive Director at Euro Chemo-Pharma. "With the mindset that if you dont step forward, you are always in the same place, we believe that IMCD would be our best partner in the journey to drive growth and provide an exciting new home for our people," concluded Tan.

The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to take place in the last quarter of 2023.

Attached, the press release in pdf format, the main visual, and the photo caption.

Attachments
New York (US), May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sandwich Panels Market Overview

According to a Comprehensive Research Report by Market Research Future (MRFR),  Sandwich Panels Marke t Information by Type, Application, and Region - Forecast till 2030, Sandwich Panels Market could thrive at a rate of 8.85% between 2023 and 2030. The market size will be reaching around USD 4.20 Billion by the end of the year 2030

Market Synopsis

Sandwich panels are prefabricated construction materials consisting of three layers, namely two outer layers and a core. The outer layers, also known as facings, are made of metal, concrete, or other materials, while the core is made of insulating material such as polystyrene, polyurethane, or rock wool. Sandwich panels are commonly used in the construction industry due to their lightweight, high strength, and insulation properties. They can be used for walls, roofs, and floors in various building types, including industrial, commercial, and residential buildings.

The use of sandwich panels in the construction industry is widespread due to their numerous benefits. Sandwich panels offer excellent thermal insulation, which helps to reduce energy consumption and costs. They are also fire-resistant, durable, and easy to install, which makes them an ideal construction material for various applications. Additionally, sandwich panels can be customized to suit specific building requirements, including size, thickness, and color, making them a popular choice among architects and builders.



Get Free Sample PDF Brochure:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1563







Market Competitive Landscape:

The affluent companies in the Sandwich Panels Logistics industry include

DANA Group of Companies

INVESPANEL SL

Kingspan Group

Nucor Corporation

Assan Panel A.S.

Hoesch Siegerlandwerke GmbH

ArcelorMittal S.A.

MANNI Group

Zhong Jie Group

Romakowski GmbH & Co. KG

Tata Steel Limited

NCI Building Systems Inc.

Multicolor Steels India Pvt Ltd.

Sintex

Among others.

Report Scope:

Report Attribute Details Market Size 2030: USD 4.20 billion CAGR 8.85% CAGR (2022 to 2030) Base Year 2021 Forecast Period 2022-2030 Historical Data 2019 & 2020 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered by Technology, by Application, by Material Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW) Key Market Drivers Rising eco-awareness, Need for green buildings





Browse In-depth Market Research Report (123 Pages) on Sandwich Panels:



https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/sandwich-panel-market-1563



October 2021

Kingspan Group, one of the top players in the sandwich panels market, launched a new range of insulated panels called QuadCore Evolution. The product is designed to provide superior insulation performance and fire protection while reducing the carbon footprint of buildings. The new panels feature Kingspan's QuadCore technology, which is a hybrid insulation core that combines advanced polyurethane materials with aerogel to provide improved thermal insulation and fire resistance.

Market USP Covered:

Market Drivers:

The increasing demand for energy-efficient buildings, the growth of the construction industry in emerging economies, and the rising need for sustainable construction materials. The demand for energy-efficient buildings is driven by rising energy costs and increasing environmental concerns, which are driving building owners and developers to seek energy-efficient building solutions. The growth of the construction industry in emerging economies such as China, India, and Brazil is driven by rapid urbanization, rising disposable incomes, and increasing infrastructure investments. Additionally, the need for sustainable construction materials is driven by increasing environmental regulations and the growing awareness of the environmental impact of construction activities.

Market Restraints:

One major market restraint for sandwich panels is the high cost of raw materials. The cost of raw materials such as steel, aluminum, and foam has been increasing in recent years, which is affecting the cost of sandwich panels. Additionally, the high cost of transportation and logistics can make it challenging for suppliers to offer competitive pricing, especially in remote regions.



Buy Now:



https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=1563



COVID 19 Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic had a mixed impact on the sandwich panels market. On one hand, the pandemic led to supply chain disruptions, reduced construction activities, and a decline in demand for construction materials, which affected the sandwich panels market. On the other hand, the pandemic has increased the demand for building materials that can improve indoor air quality and support hygiene, which is expected to drive demand for sandwich panels in the post-pandemic period. Moreover, the need for energy-efficient and sustainable construction materials is expected to further drive the demand for sandwich panels in the post-COVID-19 scenario.

Market Segmentation

By Type

The Type in the market includes Glass Wool, Rock Wool

By Application

The Application in the market includes Commercial Buildings, Agricultural Buildings



Share Your Queries:



https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/1563



Regional Insights

Asia-Pacific is the largest market for sandwich panels due to the rapid growth of the construction industry in emerging economies such as China, India, and Indonesia. Europe is the second-largest market due to the stringent environmental regulations and increasing demand for energy-efficient buildings in the region. North America is expected to witness significant growth due to the increasing demand for sustainable construction materials and the growing emphasis on reducing carbon emissions in the region.

Discover more research Reports on Construction Industry , by Market Research Future:

Rain-screen Cladding Market Research Report Information By Type (Cement, Composite, Metal, Laminates, Terracotta, and Others), By End-Use (Residential, Commercial, and Industrial), And By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, And Rest Of The World)  Market Forecast Till 2030.

Precast Concrete Market Research Report Information, By Product Type (Floors & Roofs, Columns and Beams, Stairs and Landing, And Walls), By Application (Structural Components, Architectural Components, And Bridge Components), By End-Use (Residential, Non-Residential, And Agriculture), And By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, And Rest Of The World)  Market Forecast Till 2030.

Silicone Structural Glazing Market Research Report Information By Type (Four-Sided Structural, Two-Sided Structural, Slope, Stepped Glass, U-Shaped, Total Vision Systems, Others), By Material (Aluminum Structural Framing, Glass Panels, Silicone Sealants, EPDM), By End-Use (Commercial, Public & Residential), And By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest Of The World) Market Forecast Till 2032

About Market Research Future:

Market Research Future (MRFR) is a global market research company that takes pride in its services, offering a complete and accurate analysis with regard to diverse markets and consumers worldwide. Market Research Future has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.
Pune, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global CRM Lead Management Market Report 2023-2029 is a comprehensive analysis of the market, providing detailed insights into the industry's growth opportunities, challenges, and trends across all geographical regions. The report covers the latest technological advancements, SWOT and PESTLE analysis, and insightful analysis related to market size, share, growth factors, and key players profiling.

It also provides a detailed supply-demand scope and a holistic overview of industry revenue, demand status, competitive landscape, and regional segments of the global industry by Type (On-Premise, Cloud), and Applications (Food & Beverages, Government Relations, Health, Wellness, And Fitness, Hospitality, Insurance, Logistics And Supply Chain, Marketing And Advertising, Pharmaceuticals, Renewables & Environment, Retail & Manufacturers). The report serves as a valuable addition to a company's future strategies and path forward by providing a clear understanding of the CRM Lead Management market and its potential growth opportunities.

Get a sample PDF of the report at - https://www.absolutereports.com/enquiry/request-sample/20456809

Major Key Players Covered in the Global CRM Lead Management Market Are:

Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories

Nice Systems

Adobe Systems

SAP

Microsoft

Salesforce

Oracle

Verint Systems

IMS Health

What is the Scope of CRM Lead Management Market?

The market study provides a detailed analysis of the global and regional market, including an in-depth evaluation of growth prospects. It also presents a comprehensive competitive landscape of the global market, highlighting the leading companies and their successful marketing strategies. The report offers a dashboard overview of these companies, including their market contribution and recent developments, both in historic and present contexts. This information is valuable for businesses and organizations looking to make informed decisions regarding their marketing and growth strategies, as it provides insight into the competitive landscape of the market and the strategies employed by leading companies to achieve success.

CRM Lead Management Market Dynamics: 

Drivers: (Developing regions and growing markets)

Limitations: (Regional, Key Player facing Issues, Future Barriers for growth)

Opportunities: (Regional, Growth Rate, Competitive, Consumption)

Get a sample PDF of the CRM Lead Management Market Report

CRM Lead Management Market Segment by Types:

On-Premise

Cloud

CRM Lead Management Market Segment by Applications:

Food & Beverages

Government Relations

Health, Wellness, And Fitness

Hospitality

Insurance

Logistics And Supply Chain

Marketing And Advertising

Pharmaceuticals

Renewables & Environment

Retail & Manufacturers

Global CRM Lead Management market report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market. The CRM Lead Management industry trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed and overall research conclusions offered.

Geographically, the report includes the research on production, consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate, and forecast (2017 -2029) of the following regions:

United States

Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Poland)

China

Japan

India

Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam)

Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Colombia)

Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria)

Other Regions

To Understand How Covid-19 Impact Is Covered in This Report - https://absolutereports.com/enquiry/request-covid19/20456809

CRM Lead Management Market Report Highlights:

Comprehensive pricing analysis on the basis of product, application, and regional segments

The detailed assessment of the vendor landscape and leading companies to help understand the level of competition in the CRM Lead Management market

Deep insights about regulatory and investment scenarios of the CRM Lead Management market

Analysis of market effect factors and their impact on the forecast and outlook of the CRM Lead Management market

A roadmap of growth opportunities available in the CRM Lead Management market with the identification of key factors

The exhaustive analysis of various trends of the CRM Lead Management market to help identify market developments

Some of the key questions answered in this report:

What will the CRM Lead Management market size and the growth rate be in 2029?

What are the key factors driving the global CRM Lead Management market forecast?

What are the CRM Lead Management market trends impacting the growth of the global CRM Lead Management market?

What are the challenges to market growth?

Who are the key vendors in the global CRM Lead Management market?

What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the global CRM Lead Management market?

Trending factors influencing the CRM Lead Management market shares of the relevant regions.

What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the global CRM Lead Management market?

Inquire or Share Your Questions If Any Before the Purchasing This Report - https://www.absolutereports.com/enquiry/pre-order-enquiry/20456809

Following Chapter Covered in the CRM Lead Management Market Research:

Chapter 1 provides an overview of CRM Lead Management market, containing global revenue and CAGR. The forecast and analysis of CRM Lead Management market by type, application, and region are also presented in this chapter.

Chapter 2 is about the market landscape and major players. It provides competitive situation and market concentration status along with the basic information of these players.

Chapter 3 introduces the industrial chain of CRM Lead Management. Industrial chain analysis, raw material (suppliers, price, supply and demand, market concentration rate) and downstream buyers are analyzed in this chapter.

Chapter 4 concentrates on manufacturing analysis, including cost structure analysis and process analysis, making up a comprehensive analysis of manufacturing cost.

Chapter 5 provides clear insights into market dynamics, the influence of COVID-19 in CRM Lead Management industry, consumer behavior analysis.

Chapter 6 provides a full-scale analysis of major players in CRM Lead Management industry. The basic information, as well as the profiles, applications and specifications of products market performance along with Business Overview are offered.

Chapter 7 pays attention to the sales, revenue, price and gross margin of CRM Lead Management in markets of different regions. The analysis on sales, revenue, price and gross margin of the global market is covered in this part.

Chapter 8 gives a worldwide view of CRM Lead Management market. It includes sales, revenue, price, market share and the growth rate by type.

Chapter 9 focuses on the application of CRM Lead Management, by analyzing the consumption and its growth rate of each application.

Chapter 10 prospects the whole CRM Lead Management market, including the global sales and revenue forecast, regional forecast. It also foresees the CRM Lead Management market by type and application.

Purchase this Report (Price 2980 USD for a Single-User License) - https://absolutereports.com/purchase/20456809

Detailed TOC of CRM Lead Management Market Forecast Report 2022-2029:

1 CRM Lead Management Market Overview

1.1 Product Overview and Scope of CRM Lead Management

1.2 Segment by Type

1.3 Global Segment by Application

1.4 Global Market, Region Wise (2017-2022)

1.5 Global Market Size of CRM Lead Management (2017-2029)

2 Global CRM Lead Management Market Landscape by Player

2.1 Global CRM Lead Management Sales and Share by Player (2017-2022)

2.2 Global Revenue and Market Share by Player (2017-2022)

2.3 Global Average Price by Player (2017-2022)

2.4 Global Gross Margin by Player (2017-2022)

2.5 Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type by Player

2.6 Market Competitive Situation and Trends

3 CRM Lead Management Upstream and Downstream Analysis

3.1 Industrial Chain Analysis

3.2 Key Raw Materials Suppliers and Price Analysis

3.3 Key Raw Materials Supply and Demand Analysis

3.4 Manufacturing Process Analysis

3.5 Market Concentration Rate of Raw Materials

3.6 Downstream Buyers

3.7 Value Chain Status Under COVID-19

4 CRM Lead Management Manufacturing Cost Analysis

4.1 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis

4.2 CRM Lead Management Key Raw Materials Cost Analysis

4.3 Labor Cost Analysis

4.4 Energy Costs Analysis

4.5 R&D Costs Analysis

5 Market Dynamics

5.1 Drivers

5.2 Restraints and Challenges

5.3 Opportunities

5.3.1 Advances in Innovation and Technology for CRM Lead Management

5.3.2 Increased Demand in Emerging Markets

5.4 CRM Lead Management Industry Development Trends under COVID-19 Outbreak

5.4.1 Global COVID-19 Status Overview

5.4.2 Influence of COVID-19 Outbreak on CRM Lead Management Industry Development

5.5 Consumer Behavior Analysis

6 Players Profiles

6.1 Company A

6.1.1 Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Competitors

6.1.2 CRM Lead Management Product Profiles, Application and Specification

6.1.3 CRM Lead Management Market Performance (2017-2022)

6.1.4 Business Overview

6.2 Company B

6.2.1 Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Competitors

6.2.2 CRM Lead Management Product Profiles, Application and Specification

6.2.3 CRM Lead Management Market Performance (2017-2022)

6.2.4 Business Overview

7 Global CRM Lead Management Sales and Revenue Region Wise (2017-2022)

7.1 Global Sales and Market Share, Region Wise (2017-2022)

7.2 Global Revenue (Revenue) and Market Share, Region Wise (2017-2022)

7.3 Global Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2017-2022)

8 Global CRM Lead Management Sales, Revenue (Revenue), Price Trend by Type

8.1 Global Sales and Market Share by Type (2017-2022)

8.2 Global Revenue and Market Share by Type (2017-2022)

8.3 Global Price by Type (2017-2022)

8.4 Global Sales Growth Rate by Type (2017-2022)

9 Global CRM Lead Management Market Analysis by Application

9.1 Global Consumption and Market Share by Application (2017-2022)

9.2 Global Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2017-2022)

10 Global CRM Lead Management Market Forecast (2022-2029)

10.1 Global Sales, Revenue Forecast (2022-2029)

10.2 Global Sales and Revenue Forecast, Region Wise (2022-2029)

10.3 Global Sales, Revenue and Price Forecast by Type (2022-2029)

10.4 Global Consumption Forecast by Application (2022-2029)

10.5 CRM Lead Management Market Forecast Under COVID-19

11 Research Findings and Conclusion

12 Appendix

12.1 Methodology

12.2 Research Data Source

For Detailed TOC - https://absolutereports.com/TOC/20456809#TOC




New York, US, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a Comprehensive Research Report by Market Research Future (MRFR),  Automotive Diagnostic Tool Market Information by Type, Vehicle Type, Equipment Type, and Region - Forecast till 2032, Automotive Diagnostic Tool Market could thrive at a rate of 5 % between 2022 and 2032. The market size will be reaching around USD 46.3 Billion by the end of the year 2032

Automotive Diagnostic Tool Market Overview

The automotive diagnostic tool market refers to the tools and software used to diagnose and repair vehicles. These tools include handheld devices, software, and other equipment that can be used to perform diagnostic tests on various systems and components in a vehicle. The market is driven by several factors, including the increasing complexity of modern vehicles, the need for faster and more accurate diagnostic tools, and the growing demand for aftermarket repair and maintenance services. Automotive diagnostic tools provide technicians with a fast and accurate way to diagnose problems in a vehicle's systems and components. This can help to reduce repair times, minimize downtime for fleet vehicles, and improve the overall efficiency of repair and maintenance operations. Additionally, as more vehicles incorporate advanced safety features and connected technology, there is likely to be an increasing demand for diagnostic tools that can interface with these systems and provide real-time data and feedback.

Market Competitive Landscape:

The affluent companies in the Automotive Diagnostic Tool industry include

Robert Bosch Gmbh

Denso Corporation

AVL List Gmbh

Continental AG

Among others.





Get Sample PDF Brochure:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/5245



January 2022

Robert Bosch Gmbh signed a memorandum of understanding with Volkswagen Group to establish a battery equipment manufacturing unit in Europe

December 2021

Softing AG launched an updated version of its Softing TDX repair shop tester kit in December 2021, which enables users to define required updates for programs and content and handle VCI configurations more easily.

Automotive Diagnostic Tool Market COVID 19 Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the automotive industry market. Due to the lockdowns and restrictions on movement, there has been a decrease in the production and sale of vehicles, leading to a reduction in the demand for diagnostic tools.

However, the pandemic has also led to an increase in demand for online sales and remote diagnostic services. Automotive diagnostic tool manufacturers have started offering cloud-based solutions and remote diagnostic services, allowing customers to diagnose and troubleshoot their vehicles from home. This has helped to offset the decline in sales of traditional diagnostic tools.

Report Scope:

Report Metrics Details Market Size 2032 2032: USD 46.3 Billion

CAGR during 2023-2032 5.0% CAGR Base Year 2021 Forecast 2023-2032 Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Type, Vehicle Type, and Equipment Type Key Market Opportunities Growing Demand of Consumers for High-End Cars Key Market Dynamics Increasing Production and Usage of Vehicles across the Globe



Browse In-depth Market Research Report (100 Pages) on Automotive Diagnostic Tool Market:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/automotive-diagnostic-tool-market-5245



Automotive Diagnostic Tool Market USP Covered:

Market Drivers:

One driver of the automotive diagnostic tool market is the increasing complexity of modern vehicles. With advancements in technology, vehicles are now equipped with sophisticated electronic systems that require specialized diagnostic tools to detect and fix any issues. As these systems become more complex, traditional diagnostic tools become less effective, driving the need for more advanced and specialized diagnostic tools.

Market Restraints:

One of the major restraints of the automotive diagnostic tool market is the high cost associated with these tools. These tools require advanced technology and specialized features, which make them expensive. Additionally, the maintenance and repair costs of these tools are also high, which further increases the overall cost for end-users. As a result, the high cost of automotive diagnostic tools can be a major barrier to market growth, particularly in emerging economies where cost is a major factor in purchasing decisions.

Automotive Diagnostic Tool Market Segmentation

By Type

The types in the market include Diagnostic equipment (hardware), Diagnostic software, Automotive Diagnostic Scan Tool Technology, Repair & Diagnostic Data.



Ask for Customization:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/ask_for_customize/5245



By Vehicle Type

By vehicle type, the segment includes Passenger Cars, Commercial Vehicle

By equipment type

By equipment type, the segment includes Wheel Alignment Tester, Digital battery tester, Vehicle Emission Test System, Others

Automotive Diagnostic Tool Market Regional Insights

In North America, the presence of well-established automotive industry players and the increasing adoption of advanced technologies to improve vehicle performance and safety are driving the growth of the market. In the United States, the increasing demand for electric and hybrid vehicles is also contributing to the growth of the market, as these vehicles require advanced diagnostic tools to monitor their complex systems.

In Europe, the market is driven by the increasing demand for technologically advanced diagnostic tools to meet the stringent emission standards set by the European Union. Moreover, the growing trend of connected vehicles and the need for advanced diagnostic tools to monitor and diagnose these vehicles is also contributing to the growth of the market.



Buy Premium Research Report Now:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=5245



In the Asia Pacific region, the market is driven by the increasing production and sales of vehicles in countries such as China, India, and Japan. The rising disposable income of the middle-class population in these countries is leading to an increase in vehicle ownership, which is further driving the demand for automotive diagnostic tools.

Related Reports:

Automotive Remote Diagnostics Market Research Report: Information by Product Type, Connectivity, Vehicle Type, Application - Forecast till 2030

Automotive Diagnostic Scan Tools Market Research Report Information Equipment Type, By Product Type, And By Region Market Forecast Till 2032

Automotive Sensors Market Research Report Information By Sensors Type, By Technology, By Vehicle Type, And By Region  Market Forecast Till 2030

About Market Research Future:

Market Research Future (MRFR) is a global market research company that takes pride in its services, offering a complete and accurate analysis regarding diverse markets and consumers worldwide. Market Research Future has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.
Dublin, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Electronic Lab Notebook Market (2023-2028) by Function, End User, and Geography, Competitive Analysis, Impact of Economic Slowdown & Impending Recession with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Global Electronic Lab Notebook Market is estimated to be USD 633.76 Mn in 2023 and is expected to reach USD 786.39 Mn by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 4.41%.



Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the stakeholders. These forces create pricing signals which result from the changes in the supply and demand curves for a given product or service. Forces of Market Dynamics may be related to macro-economic and micro-economic factors. There are dynamic market forces other than price, demand, and supply. Human emotions can also drive decisions, influence the market, and create price signals.



As the market dynamics impact the supply and demand curves, decision-makers aim to determine the best way to use various financial tools to stem various strategies for speeding the growth and reducing the risks.

Competitive Quadrant

The report includes a Competitive Quadrant, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc.



Ansoff Analysis



The report presents a detailed Ansoff matrix analysis for the Global Electronic Lab Notebook Market. Ansoff Matrix, also known as Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a strategic tool used to design strategies for the growth of the company. The matrix can be used to evaluate approaches in four strategies viz. Market Development, Market Penetration, Product Development and Diversification. The matrix is also used for risk analysis to understand the risk involved with each approach.



The analyst analyses the Global Electronic Lab Notebook Market using the Ansoff Matrix to provide the best approaches a company can take to improve its market position.



Based on the SWOT analysis conducted on the industry and industry players, the analyst has devised suitable strategies for market growth.



Why buy this report?

The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Electronic Lab Notebook Market. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies.

The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry.

The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model and the Ansoff Matrix. In addition, the impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report.

The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies.

The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's competitive positioning tool.

Market Dynamics

Drivers

Rising Demand for Automation in The Laboratories

Increasing Need for Time-Efficient And Accurate Output by The Experimental Laboratories

Restraints

High Cost Compared to Regular Notebook

Opportunities

Merging Cloud Based Technology

Rising Government Focus on Digital Laboratory Infrastructure

Increasing Number of Developments of Integrated Lab Informatics Solutions

Challenges

Rising Data Security and Privacy Concerns

Companies Mentioned

Abbott Laboratories

Agilent Technologies Inc.

Arxspan LLC

Benchling Inc.

BioData Ltd.

Dassault Systemes SE

Eppendorf Ag

ID Business Solutions (IDBS) Ltd.

KineMatik Inc.

Lab-Ally LLC

LabArchives LLC.

Labforward GmbH

Labii Inc.

LabLynx Inc.

LABTrack LLC.

LabWare Inc.

Mestrelab Research S.L.

PerkinElmer Inc.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Waters Corp.

Market Segmentation



The Global Electronic Lab Notebook Market is segmented based on Function, End User, and Geography.

By Function, the market is classified into Claims Adjudication & Billing Management, Clinical Data Exchange & Interoperability, Supply Chain Management.

By End User, the market is classified into Healthcare Patients, Healthcare Payers, Healthcare Providers, Pharmaceutical Companies.

By Geography, the market is classified into Americas, Europe, Middle-East & Africa and Asia-Pacific.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/bwh6us

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.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vortex Energy Corp. (CSE: VRTX | OTC: VTECF | FRA: AA3) ("Vortex or the "Company") congratulates World Energy GH2 (GH2), for receiving an initial $50 million dollar USD investment in its $4.2 billion dollar wind-green hydrogen project from SK Ecoplant (SK) for a 20% stake in the GH2 Project which also includes 164 wind turbines that will power hydrogen and ammonia plants in Stephenville, NL. Recently, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met this week and signed a memorandum of understanding on critical minerals, clean energy transition and energy security.



Vortex Energys Robinson River Salt Project is in close proximity to the GH2 project, which the Company sees as a great opportunity for potential collaboration. Vortex Energy holds innovative technology which may have the potential to be implemented in the supply chain of ammonia transportation and hydrogen fuel at the point of use.

The investment comes on the back of the Hydrogen Alliance announcement between Canada and Germany, which aims to export hydrogen to Germany by 2025. The announcement was made in Stephenville where Prime Minister Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a transatlantic supply corridor for clean energy through the transportation of ammonia/hydrogen.

This investment in the province serves as major validation that Vortex is in the right place at the right time, said Paul Sparkes, Chief Executive Officer of Vortex. Newfoundland and Labrador is quickly becoming a global hub for green hydrogen and green energy production, storage, and transportation through these major investments. Vortexs ammonia to high-purity hydrogen technology serves as a key piece in hydrogen transportation by using ammonia as a safe and cost-effective carrier. Additionally, Vortexs potential salt caverns can provide hydrogen storage as needed. The Vortex team welcomes additional investment and partners to the province as it becomes the go-to global hub for green energy production.





Figure 1  Stephenville Regional Map

About Vortex Energy Corp.

Vortex Energy Corp. is an exploration stage company engaged principally in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in North America. The Company is currently advancing its Robinson River Salt Project in Stephenville in the Province of Newfoundland & Labrador covering over 17,000 hectares. Leveraging the Robinson River Salt project, the Company is also exploring the development of technologies to efficiently store green Hydrogen in Salt Caverns. Vortex also holds the Fire Eye Project, which is located in the Wollaston Domain of northern Saskatchewan, Canada.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Paul Sparkes

Chief Executive Officer, Director

+1 (778) 819-0164

info@vortexenergycorp.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including with respect to the Company's business and plans. The Company provides forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections, or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct, and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited those identified and reported in the Companys public filings under the Companys SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. 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. 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. 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 unless required by law.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed, approved, or disapproved the contents of this press release.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7ec1bb43-209d-44e1-8c2e-7bf63ea06972
Basseterre, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programmes are often evaluated based on security, protection of property and human rights as well as general stability. The rule of law is a principle that is typically used to test the strength of a countrys system of laws. For countries like St Kitts and Nevis which offer CBI programmes, having favourable laws that are applied fairly is important because it enhances their capacity to attract more investors while upholding the integrity of their CBI initiatives.

Rule of law refers to the mechanisms, processes and institutional practices that support the equality of all persons before a countrys laws. This implies that the creation and enforcement of laws must be legally regulated so that no one is above the law. In countries where the rule of law is strong, the application and adjudication of the law by governing officials are impartial. On the other hand, a weak rule of law is characterised by the consideration of class, economic or political status and relative power in the application of the law.

St Kitts and Nevis ranked 40 out of 139 countries in the 2021 Rule of Law Index. In the year 2022, the country ranked 39 out of 140 countries, indicating a slight increase. At a regional level, consisting of 32 countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region; St Kitts and Nevis was ranked 7th and 5th in 2021 and 2022 respectively. The rule of law index measures how the rule of law is perceived and experienced globally. Rankings in the index are based on the following pillars:

Constraints on government powers;

Absence of corruption;

Open government;

Fundamental rights;

Order and security;

Regulatory enforcement;

Civil justice; and

Criminal justice.

The first pillar measures the extent to which those who are in governing positions are bound by the law. Various checks such as the existence of a free and independent press, the limitation of government powers by the legislature or the judiciary as well as the independent auditing of government activities determine government powers. In 2022, St Kitts and Nevis had a global ranking of 45 out of 140 and a regional ranking of 7 out of 32 on the constraints of government powers.

With regards to the absence of corruption, St Kitts and Nevis scored a global ranking of 41 out of 140 and a regional ranking of 7 out of 32 in the year 2022. These ratings indicate that the prevalence of bribery, informal payments and embezzlement of public funds is significantly low in the judicial, military and law enforcement spheres.

The third pillar which is open government, measures the openness of a government. This is principally indicated by the extent to which a government shares information, encourages citizen participation in policy-making and is held accountable. Globally, St Kitts and Nevis was ranked 86 out of 140 whereas regionally, it was ranked 23 out of 32.

In St Kitts and Nevis, individuals are free from discrimination based on socio-economic status, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religion. In addition to this, the right to life of a person and fundamental labour rights are effectively guaranteed. These observations are supported by St Kitts and Neviss global ranking of 35 out of 140 and a regional ranking of 7 out of 32 on the fundamental rights factor.

When it comes to order and security, St Kitts and Nevis was ranked 49 out of 140 globally, and an impressive 4 out of 32 regionally. This indicator is particularly important for investors who want to settle in the country without having to worry much about their security. Rating highly in this pillar means that in St Kitts and Nevis, the prevalence of common crimes such as homicide, kidnapping, armed robbery and theft is low. It also means that people in the country are considerably protected from civil conflict and terrorism.

The enforcement of labour, environmental, consumer and public health regulations has an implication on a countrys rule of law. In the regulatory enforcement pillar, St Kitts and Nevis had a global and regional rating of 34 out of 140 and 2 out of 32 respectively. The ratings indicate that in St Kitts and Nevis, government regulations are applied and enforced without improper influence.

St Kitts and Nevis ranked high in the civil and criminal justice pillars of the rule of law index. For the year 2022, the country ranked 24 out of 140 in civil justice, and 36 out of 140 in criminal justice. Regionally, St Kitts and Nevis occupied the 2nd position out of 32 in civil justice and 5th position out of 32 in criminal justice. People living in the country can access and afford civil as well as criminal justice compared to other countries in the world. This also means that these two systems are relatively free of discrimination, improper political influence, corruption and unreasonable delays among other hindrances.

The rule of law is particularly important for investors because it has a bearing on property rights. St Kitts and Nevis have the rule of law embedded in their CBI programmes. This gives investors a guarantee that their property rights are upheld at all times. The comparatively high rule of law index ranking, along with a strict due diligence process make St Kitts and Nevis a great choice for investments through CBI programmes.

Earlier this year, the St Kitts and Nevis government formally established the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) Board of Governors. This body advises the Prime Minister on the management, operation, reviewing and monitoring of the development of CBI policies. A technical committee that is in charge of ensuring due diligence checks are completed on all CBI applications was also established by the government. St Kitts and Nevis, which has the worlds longest-standing CBI programme in the world has been setting the standard in the CBI industry for decades. The dual island was ranked top in terms of its meticulous commitment to due diligence according to the 2022 CBI Index.
Dublin, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Agricultural Tires Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2018-2028F Segmented By Application Type (Tractors, Combine Harvester, Sprayers, Trailers, Loaders, Others), By Sales Channel (OEM, Aftermarket), By Tire Type, and By Region" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



Global agricultural tires market has shown decent growth in the past few years, and it is expected to increase at a high rate during the forecasted period, 2023-2028.



The agricultural tire market has witnessed growth in the past years owing to the increasing sales of agricultural vehicles. Governments in many countries have plans to invest in the agricultural sector to boost the production of goods to meet the demand of the public. In the US, any agricultural R&D conducted at universities receives funding sources that are supported by federal-state partnerships.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has invested around USD 4 billion in the agricultural sector, and this has strengthened the food system. Owing to this investment, the food and supply chain system will also improve, and the sales of agricultural vehicles will increase to strengthen the supply system.

On account of such government initiatives, demand for off-the-road (OTR) vehicles is expected to register significant growth over the coming years, as well as the demand for OTR tires is also expected to increase.



Development of an Agrarian Economy



Several Asia-Pacific countries, including China, India, and Indonesia, rely mainly on agriculture. Furthermore, agriculture contributes significantly to the GDP of African countries such as Benin, Cameroon, Burundi, Comoros, Congo, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Ethiopia.

The agriculture sector in emerging economies is expanding as a result of constant modernization and increased use of cutting-edge agricultural techniques. In such developing countries, advanced OTR vehicles such as 4WD and scrapers, track tractors, corn heads, drawn planters, balers, disc harrows, and vertical tillage are being introduced to assist in solving the issues related to manual workers and accomplishing greater productivity.

End hunger, agricultural development is one of the most powerful sectors as it provides food to everyone. The growth in the agriculture sector has been seen in the past few years, and it is expected to grow further during the forecast period.



Increasing Penetration of Chinese Tire Brands



As the sales of agricultural vehicles have increased in various countries across the globe, the demand for OTR tires has also increased. To fulfill the demand for tires, many Chinese players have entered the market as they offer tires at very genuine prices compared to the other market players.

Owing to the easy availability of Chinese tires at genuine prices, the demand for Chinese agricultural tires has increased in various countries worldwide, wherein there are many Chinese companies that have been able to maximize their profits by catering to this increasing tire demand. There are many countries that have increased the import of Chinese OTR tires as they are easily available at a lower price and are of better quality.

As the demand for Chinese OTR tires has increased, many Chinese companies have started to expand their manufacturing capacity and distribution network in various geographies worldwide. This is one of the primary factors attributable to the growing demand for Chinese OTR tires in the global agricultural tire market.



Growing Retread Tire Market



The high cost of brand-new OTR tires is a significant limitation that is driving global retread tire sales. Furthermore, when compared to new tire production, tire retreading uses only one-third of the number of petrochemicals and silica.

As a result, retread tires are less expensive than brand-new tires, and tire retreading is emerging as a cost-effective solution for OTR vehicle owners nationally and internationally. Retread OTR tires are commonly found in construction, agricultural machinery, mining, and industrial.



Furthermore, tire wear and tear is high because of extreme climatic conditions and increased use of OTR tires, which adds to the servicing expenses involved by OTR vehicle owners.

The demand for retreaded tires is primarily driven by the different OTR segments to reduce the cost, OTR owners demand retreated tires for their OTR vehicles, and this trend is expected to increase in the coming years. Owing to increasing demand for retreating OTR tiers, new OTR manufacturers many enter the market.

Competitive Landscape



Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the global agricultural tires market.

Michelin Group

Balkrishna Industries Limited (BKT)

Apollo Tyres ltd

Bridgestone Corporation

Continental AG

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company

Madras Rubber Factory Ltd

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.

Toyo Tire Corporation

Zhongce Rubber Group Co., Ltd.

Report Scope:



Global Agricultural Tires Market, By Application Type:

Tractors

Combine Harvester

Sprayers

Trailers

Loaders

Other

Global Agricultural Tires Market, By Sales Channel:

OEM

Aftermarket

Global Agricultural Tires Market, By Tire Type:

Bias Tires

Radial Tires

Global Agricultural Tires Market, By Region:

Asia-Pacific

China

India

Japan

South Korea

Indonesia

Thailand

Malaysia

Vietnam

North America

The United States

Canada

Mexico

Europe & CIS

Germany

Spain

Russia

France

United Kingdom

Slovakia

Italy

Middle East & Africa

Saudi Arabia

Turkey

South Africa

Egypt

South America

Brazil

Argentina

Colombia

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/qeyfuz

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.
Dublin, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Canada Air Source Heat Pump Market, By Process (Air to Air (Ducts, Ductless), Air to Water (Split, Integrated)), By End Use (Residential, Hotels & Resorts, Gym & Spas, Education, and Others), By Sales Channel, By Region, By Company, Forecast & Opportunities, 2018-2028F" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Canada air source heat pump market is expected to be driven by increased demand for energy-efficient and cost-effective space heating and cooling applications in residential and commercial sectors. This scenario has increased heat pump sales, which is expected to lead to an increase in market demand during the forecast period.



Heat pumps are a high-efficiency technology that extracts heat from a low-temperature place and transports it to a higher-temperature location. In Canada, more than 700,000 heat pumps are installed nationwide. Furthermore, air-source heat pumps are the most common type in the Canadian market.



Heat pumps use less energy than natural gas furnaces or electric heating. Heat pumps are generally more expensive than electric or gas heating systems but have lower energy costs. Heat pump systems can cost between USD3746.37 and USD11988.40. While using a heat pump, energy costs can be reduced by up to 60% compared to electric baseboard heating, and total energy consumption can be reduced by 50% compared to a natural gas furnace.



However, the Canadian government is continuing to invest in making life more affordable for Canadian families by assisting homeowners in switching from expensive home heating oil to energy-efficient cold-climate heat pumps. Additionally, the average annual savings on home electricity bills for homeowners who move oil to cold-climate heat pumps to heat their house is between USD 1123.91 and USD 3521.59.



The Minister of Natural Resources announced a USD187.32 million investment for the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability (OHPA) Grant, a new stream to the Canada Greener Homes Initiative. This program will assist thousands of households in switching from expensive home heating oil to more affordable, dependable electric heat pumps. The OHPA Grant builds on the $250 million announced by Minister Guilbeault in September 2022 to make home heating more affordable and reduce pollution by assisting households in switching to electric heat pumps.



Companies are offering new innovative products to attract customers and increase their market presence. Manufacturers are focusing on developing new products to fulfill the customers' demands. For example, in 2021, PHNIX launched a new inverter all-in-one air source heat pump water heater using propane (R290) refrigerant, which reduces the carbon footprint in homes and accounts for a significant portion of greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, it will increase the market demand during the forecast period.



Increasing Demand for Energy Efficient Products Fuels the Market Growth



The main benefit of using an air-source heat pump is its high efficiency in heating, which includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering costs for a household. For instance, Canadians spend 80% of their energy sources on heating and cooling. Heat pumps can provide annual savings of 50% to 70%.

Similarly, gas furnaces that are the most advanced are 98% efficient. This indicates that for every USD 0.75 of natural gas fuel used, it produces USD.73 worth of heat, and heat pumps boast an efficiency of up to 400%. The heat pump can generate USD 3.0 worth of heat for USD 0.75 cost of electricity, indicating an increase in market demand during the forecast period.



Low Gas Emission to Boost the Market Demand



The economy is aiming to reduce its dependency on non-renewable energy sources and is gradually inclining toward renewable energy sources to restrict the emission of greenhouse gases. Hence, heat pump technology is a promising solution for lowering greenhouse heat emissions.

For instance, in 2022, Saanich initiated a heating oil to heat pump financing program. The District of Saanich is offering up to USD 8991.30 in interest-free financing to help to upgrade the existing oil furnace or boiler to an efficient electric heat pump through this innovative program. Hence, this program is part of our community's climate commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and eliminate carbon-intensive oil heating. As a result, it will increase the market demand for air-source heat pumps.

Market Dynamics



Drivers

Increasing government initiatives

Increasing demand for energy efficient products

Challenge

Availability of substitute products

High Installation Cost

Market Trends & Developments

Maintain the room temperate

Rising environmental awareness

Increasing e-commerce sector

Increasing demand for advance space heating technologies

Growing demand for cost effective products.

Competitive Landscape



Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Canada Air Source Heat Pump market.

GREE Electric Appliances Inc.

Senvilla.Ca

Mitsubishi Electric Sales Canada Inc

Trane Technologies Company, LLC

Wolf Steel Ltd

Hometown Heating Inc.

Johnson Controls

Panasonic Canada Inc

Rheem Manufacturing Company

Mr Cool Canada





Report Scope:



Canada Air Source Heat Pump Market, By Process:

Air to Air

Air to Water

Canada Air Source Heat Pump Market, By End Use:

Residential

Hotels & Resorts

Gym & Spas

Education

Food Service

Others

Canada Air Source Heat Pump Market, By Sales Channel:

Plumbers

Dealers & Contractors

Retail

Direct Sales

Online

Others

Canada Air Source Heat Pump Market, By Region:

Alberta

Quebec

Ontario

British Columbia

Saskatchewan and Manitoba

Rest of Canada

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ggq8m

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.
Dublin, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Database of Jewellery Luggage and Leather Goods Retailers in Asia" database has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Database of Jewellery Luggage and Leather Goods Retailers in Asia is an Excel spreadsheet containing a list of the largest 7000 Jewellery Luggage and Leather Goods Retailers in Asia.

Each of our company lists displays the leading companies ranked by revenue in $USm.



Each Excel file contains the following:

company name

address fields (address, zip / postcode, country)

website address

revenue ($USm)

name and job title of one management contact

Reasons to buy this list:

To understand the leading companies in a particular industry

To track your competitors and to understand their size

You have a product or service you wish to sell to companies in this sector

You are looking for comparable companies for mergers and acquisitions activity

You are researching the market and need to understand market shares

You need names of key management within the leading companies in a sector

Once ordered the file will be prepared (1-2 working days) and delivered straight to your email address

For more information about this database visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/58hvx7

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.
WILMINGTON, Mass., May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LEDVANCE LLC, the maker of LEDVANCE and SYLVANIA General Lighting in the US and Canada, is launching the Light Warrior Campaign at the biennial LightFair Conference, to offer the lighting community the chance to learn from industry professionals and connect with leading practitioners. The LightFair Conference is a commercial lighting trade show that provides attendees with an opportunity to get their hands on the latest technology and products. This year, LightFair will be staged at the Javits Center in New York.

LEDVANCE is taking LightFair to the next level this year with the Light Warrior campaign. When you buy a LEDVANCE or SYLVANIA product through your local distributor, a portion of the proceeds helps bring light, hope & support to veteran warriors. This makes you a LIGHT WARRIOR with LEDVANCE! The Light Warrior incentive is another way to give back to our community. All donations will be supporting Dawsons Peak, Gray Sinise Foundation and Hope For The Warriors. Were lucky to be able to work with these foundations, as they play a critical role in ensuring that military veterans receive the care and support they need, said Pedro Sega, Head of Marketing US.

The LightFair Conference features certified courses over a span of five days, with two days of Pre-Conference courses prior to the trade show, and three days of conference courses that occur during the trade show. Those who register for the course conferences will be granted free entrance to the LightFair Exhibit Hall.

For the latest on LEDVANCE and SYLVANIA lighting innovations for commercial and residential applications, visit www.ledvanceUS.com or follow the company on social media on LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest.

ABOUT LEDVANCE LLC

With offices in more than 50 countries and business activities in more than 140 countries, LEDVANCE is one of the world's leading general lighting providers for professional users and end consumers. In North America, LEDVANCE LLC offers a wide range of LEDVANCE and SYLVANIA LED luminaires for various applications, intelligent lighting products for Smart Homes and Buildings, one of the largest LED lamps portfolios in the industry, and traditional light sources. The SYLVANIA brand leadership is a result of over 100 years of lighting experience and paves the way for future success. Further information can be found at www.ledvanceUS.com.

Attachment
CORAL GABLES, Fla., May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- William R. Middelthon III credits his grandmothers for cultivating his love for the environmenta passion that eventually led him to establish a plant nursery, South Florida Flower Tree. In the same breath, he explains that his Hurricane Andrew experience inspired him to establish an endowed chair in earth sciences after the Category 5 stormwhich wasnt predicted to hit South Florida until two days before landfalldestroyed his business some 30 years ago.

Earlier this month, the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science at the University of Miami awarded the inaugural William R. Middelthon III Endowed Chair in Earth Sciences to Benjamin Kirtman, a professor in the schools Department of Atmospheric Sciences.

I am honored to have the opportunity to establish this endowed chair," said Middelthon, a longtime supporter of the schools research and education initiatives. I believe that the school is doing important work in weather forecasting and natural disaster preparedness. I am proud to support its efforts.

Endowed chairs leave a lasting legacy by serving as magnets for talent, which foster discovery, President Julio Frenk said during the ceremony. They enable the greatest institutions to have access to the finest mindsleading researchers, engaged educators, and eager studentswho impact thousands of lives through their teaching, guidance, and innovation.

Middelthons support of the University began in 2010 when he met the late professor Robert Ginsburg, founder of the Rosenstiel Schools Comparative Sedimentology Laboratory, who stressed that funding was essential to advance research.

Over the years, he developed a strong friendship with Roni Avissar, dean of the Rosenstiel School, and a deep appreciation for its ongoing researchparticularly as it relates to forecasting of natural disasterswhich led him to establish the endowed chair. He also offered Broad Key, with its dock and ocean-to-bay access, for use as the Rosenstiel Schools primary field station and has supported various initiatives at the school, including the Aircraft Center for Earth Studies and the Helicopter Observation Platform Fund.

Kirtman, who also serves as director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies and deputy director of the Universitys Institute for Data Science and Computing, has dedicated his career to studying the variability and predictability of the Earths climate system by using atmosphere-ocean general circulation models.

I am deeply honored to be the first recipient of the William R. Middelthon III Endowed Chair in Earth Sciences, said Kirtman. This endowment will allow me to continue my research and teaching in the field of earth sciences and to make a positive impact through my work.

A fellow of the American Meteorological Society, Kirtmans research spans a wide range of time scales, from the study of daily weather patterns to long-term trends. One of his most important contributions has been his work on improving the accuracy of climate predictions. By developing more sophisticated models, he has helped create a more accurate picture of the Earths climate system, which can help policymakers make better-informed decisions.

Kirtmans research also has shed light on how climate change is likely to impact different regions of the world, identifying potential risks from rising sea levels and changes in precipitation patterns to more frequent extreme weather events.

The William R. Middelthon III Endowed Chair in Earth Sciences is part of the Universitys Centennial Talents initiative, a bold plan to significantly increase the number of endowed positions by 2025 in celebration of the Universitys centennial. To date, the University has secured 97 new talents.

Avissar explained that the Middelthon Endowed Chair will further enhance the Rosenstiel Schools ability to conduct groundbreaking research in earth sciences, significantly facilitating advancements in weather forecasting, which will help businesses, communities, emergency planners, and resource allocators better prepare for potentially catastrophic weather.

Billys gift to endow a chair in earth sciences at the Rosenstiel School will ensure our schools commitment to maintain a leadership role in furthering our understanding of our complex planet, Avissar said. Im very grateful for Billys friendship and support of our school.

Can I help people avoid that risk of loss of life? Can I give them an early warning? Kirtman asked. Thats something that you can get pretty excited about. This is an opportunity to do high-risk, high payoff science that has a direct local relevance.

Attachment
TAMPA. Fla., May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- People might know that immunotherapy can fight allergies, but it can help asthma sufferers too, says Dr. Nallamshetty, who specializes in pediatric and adult allergy and immunology at Florida Medical Clinic . Asthma and allergies are closely connected.



"About two-thirds or more of those with asthma also have an allergy," she says, "and people who have allergies often also have asthma. Immunotherapy can reduce sensitivity to the allergens that trigger asthma attacks and significantly reduce the severity of the disease. It might even prevent the development of asthma in some children with seasonal allergies.

"Immunotherapy, also known as allergy shots, desensitize you to your allergens," Dr. Nallamshetty explains. The process can desensitized patients to a number of allergens including pollen, dust, mold, cats and dogs, as well as certain stinging insects such as bees, wasps, hornets, and fire ants. After completing treatment, a patient remarked, This is the 1st time in 12 years I am able to do yard work in the spring!

Before starting allergen immunotherapy, a patient is tested to identify the specific allergens causing the reactions. Based on these test results, the doctor prepares a mixture of allergens customized to the patients sensitivities. Both traditional and cluster immunotherapy (an accelerated version of allergy shots) are then administered in the office. Results have been very positive.

Immunotherapy is typically administered in two phases:

The build-up phase. Allergy shots are given once or twice a week. The dose increases until the target dose is reached. This allows your body to get used to, or desensitize itself to, the allergens. With cluster immunotherapy, multiple sets of allergy shots are given during each visit. This helps you to complete the build-up phase much faster and greatly reduces the total number of office visits.

Allergy shots are given once or twice a week. The dose increases until the target dose is reached. This allows your body to get used to, or desensitize itself to, the allergens. With cluster immunotherapy, multiple sets of allergy shots are given during each visit. This helps you to complete the build-up phase much faster and greatly reduces the total number of office visits. The maintenance phase. The target dose is reached. Your immune system has built a tolerance for that substance. Your allergy symptoms diminish. Now, an allergy shot is needed only every two to four weeks to maintain significant improvement.

This is the time of year when asthma and allergy sufferers are hit especially hard, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. The AAFA has been working since 1984 to raise awareness of these chronic conditions that affect more than 100 million people in the United States.

The value of, and need for, immunotherapy is greater than ever. New research from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture shows that, compared to 1990, pollen seasons start 20 days earlier, are 10 days longer, and feature 21% more pollen.

Dr. Nallamshetty says, "As allergists, were watching our patients sneezing, wheezing and dripping more. But we have the tools to help. Allergy shots are over 90% effective when administered properly. Clinical studies have shown they decrease symptoms, medication use and can even prevent new allergies and asthma in children. "I am down from 5 allergy medications to 1 medication to treat my allergies! proclaimed one of Dr. Nallamshettys patients.

"From both my own personal experience and those of my patients, I have seen a tremendous improvement in allergy symptoms with allergen immunotherapy. It has also helped my patients with asthma, recurrent sinus infections, and eczema due to environmental allergies." One patient said, Thank you Dr. Nallamshetty! I feel amazing! I had no issues this spring! I am bringing my son in to get evaluated and started on allergy shots.

At Florida Medical Clinic , Dr. Sami Nallamshetty specializes in pediatric and adult allergy, asthma and immunology. She has performed a number of scientific studies on allergies and asthma and her work was published in top scientific journals.

Dr. Nallamshetty calls on her extensive education, her Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Womens Hospital fellowships, and her professional experience to treat her patients. As a local in Tampa Bay since 2008, she has seen many seasons of allergy sufferers. Her passion for patient care has helped many patients overcome and alleviate their illnesses and allergies.

Request an appointment in Brandon, Carrollwood or Wiregrass with Dr. Nallamshetty online or contact her office at (813) 388-6855.

In 1993, Florida Medical Clinic founders set their sights on one idea: to provide a better way to organize and deliver high quality and cost-effective health care to the community. Florida Medical Clinic is proud to include over 380 providers and nearly 2,000 employees in more than 50 locations across Floridas East Pasco and Hillsborough counties. Facilities include two urgent care clinics and three ambulatory surgery centers. Florida Medical Clinic doctors offer care in more than 40 different medical specialties.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/62efd5b0-1fa6-4218-80b0-bcf6b3751f87

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4e3f521c-ddc3-469a-934a-4d2e914e38df
NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Stem, Inc. f/k/a Star Peak Energy Transition Corp. (NYSE: STEM) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.



This lawsuit is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired Stem securities: (a) pursuant and/or traceable to certain documents issued in connection with the merger consummated on April 28, 2021, by and among the Company, STPK Merger Sub Corp., and Stem, Inc., a private Delaware corporation; and/or (b) between March 4, 2021, and February 16, 2023, both dates inclusive.

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: July 11, 2023

No obligation or cost to you.

Learn more about your recoverable losses in STEM:

https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/stem-lawsuit-loss-submission-form?id=39630&from=3

Stem, Inc. f/k/a Star Peak Energy Transition Corp. NEWS - STEM NEWS

CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Stem, Inc. f/k/a Star Peak Energy Transition Corp. made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Legacy Stem suffered from material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting related to accounting for the deferred cost of goods sold and inventory, certain revenue recognition calculations, and internal-use capitalized software calculations; (ii) the Company had overstated Legacy Stem's and its own post-Merger business and financial prospects; (iii) Stem's software revenue did not makeup 100% of the Company's services revenue; (iv) Stem had overstated the benefits expected to flow from its AP partnership; and (v) as a result, the offering documents and defendants public statements throughout the class period were materially false and/or misleading and failed to state information required to be stated therein.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Stem you have until July 11, 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 Stem 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 STEM lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/stem-lawsuit-loss-submission-form?id=39630&from=3.

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

jk@kleinstocklaw.com

Telephone: (212) 616-4899

www.kleinstocklaw.com
NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IndexBox, a leading market research firm, has released its comprehensive report on the global mining machinery market . The report provides in-depth analysis and valuable insights into the current state and future prospects of the industry. Trial access to market data is now available on the IndexBox platform, empowering businesses with crucial information for informed decision-making.



The report, titled "World Mining Machinery - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends, and Insights up to 2030," offers a thorough assessment of the market dynamics and growth opportunities. It presents a forecast for the mining machinery market until 2030, accompanied by a detailed examination of the factors contributing to this projected growth.

Key growth drivers identified in the report include the rising demand for minerals and metals, driven by industrialization and urbanization in emerging economies. Additionally, the increased adoption of automation and digitization technologies in mining operations is expected to fuel market expansion.

However, the mining machinery industry faces several challenges, including stringent environmental regulations and concerns over sustainability. The need for substantial capital investments and the cyclic nature of the mining industry also present obstacles to market growth.

The report identifies various factors influencing the demand for mining machinery, such as the growth of the construction, manufacturing, and energy sectors. These industries heavily rely on mining machinery for the extraction and processing of raw materials, thereby influencing market demand.

Here is an overview of the industry based on these key factors:

Segment Analysis:

The mining machinery market can be segmented based on the type of equipment used for mining operations. Some of the major segments include:

a) Surface Mining Machinery: This segment includes equipment such as excavators , loaders, dozers , and trucks , primarily used in open-pit mining operations.

b) Underground Mining Machinery: Equipment like continuous miners, longwall shearers, shuttle cars, and mining trucks fall under this segment, catering to underground mining activities.

c) Crushing, Pulverizing, and Screening Equipment: Crushers, pulverizers, and screeners are essential for processing mined materials, including rocks, ores, and minerals.

d) Drills and Breakers: Drilling rigs and breakers are crucial for exploration, extraction, and fragmentation of rocks in mining operations.

e) Others: This category includes miscellaneous machinery used for specialized mining tasks, such as mineral processing equipment, conveyor systems , and bulk material handling machinery.

End-User Analysis:

The mining machinery market serves various end-users across different industries, including:

a) Coal Mining: The coal mining sector is a significant consumer of mining machinery, particularly in regions where coal remains a vital source of energy.

b) Metal Mining: The metal mining industry, encompassing minerals such as iron ore, copper, gold, and silver, heavily relies on advanced mining machinery for efficient extraction and processing.

c) Mineral Mining: The mining of non-metallic minerals, such as limestone, gypsum, and salt, requires specialized equipment to meet the unique challenges of these operations.

d) Quarrying and Construction: Quarrying activities, including stone quarrying for construction purposes, utilize mining machinery for extracting aggregates and building materials.

Regional Analysis:

The mining machinery market exhibits regional variations in terms of demand, growth potential, and market dynamics. Key regions influencing the industry include:

a) Asia-Pacific: The Asia-Pacific region, led by China, India, and Australia, dominates the global mining machinery market due to extensive mining activities and infrastructure development projects.

b) North America: The mining machinery market in North America is driven by the presence of large mining companies and the demand for advanced equipment to enhance productivity and safety.

c) Europe: European countries like Germany, Sweden, and Russia have significant mining operations, contributing to the demand for mining machinery.

d) Latin America: Rich in mineral resources, countries like Brazil, Chile, and Peru drive the mining machinery market in the Latin American region.

e) Middle East and Africa: The Middle East and Africa region witness mining machinery demand primarily from the mining of minerals like gold, diamonds, and other precious metals.

f) Other Regions: Emerging economies in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Vietnam, are experiencing a surge in mining activities, fueling the demand for mining machinery.

Key statistics presented in the report include market size, growth rates, production volumes, and trade dynamics. These figures offer valuable insights into the current market scenario and its future trajectory.

Additionally, the report identifies the top manufacturers in the global mining machinery industry, showcasing their market presence and influence. These manufacturers include

Caterpillar Inc. Komatsu Ltd. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. Volvo Construction Equipment Sandvik AB Liebherr Group Joy Global Inc. (Now part of Komatsu Mining Corp.) Doosan Infracore Co., Ltd. Metso Outotec Corporation Epiroc AB

For more information or to access the full report, visit the IndexBox market intelligence platform https://www.indexbox.io

Keywords: Mining Machinery, Market Analysis, Forecast, Growth Drivers, Challenges, Consuming Industries

About IndexBox:

IndexBox is a leading market research firm providing comprehensive data and analysis across various industries. With a vast array of reports and trial access to market data on the IndexBox platform, businesses can make informed decisions and stay ahead of the competition.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ameriwest Lithium Inc. (Ameriwest or the Company) (CSE: AWLI) (OTC: AWLIF) (FSE: 5HV0), a North American lithium exploration and development company, is pleased to announce that it has filed a Technical Report (the Report) on its Thompson Valley Lithium Property (the Property) located in west-central Arizona. The report, prepared under the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) and standards of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum (CIM) summarizes geological test work completed by the Company in 2022 including geologic mapping, surface sampling, and geophysics. It identifies six lithium exploration targets with potential to host 200-400 million tonnes (220-440 million tons) of deposits, with expected average grade of these deposits ranging from 114 to 842 ppm Li. It recommends the Company proceed with two phases of exploration as the next steps for the Property. Phase 1 would consist of additional geophysics and permitting. Phase 2 would consist of drilling and sample analysis to begin the process of defining the deposit and its potential tonnage and grade. No mineral resources or reserves have yet been delineated on the Property.



Ameriwest CEO, Mr. David Watkinson, commented Our team was greatly encouraged by the outcome of our soil sampling conducted in 2022 at the Thompson Valley project. It is not exactly everyday occurrence to retrieve samples of over 1,000 ppm of lithium and as such we are excited to further our exploration plans. Producing a Technical Report is an essential milestone, enabling us to precisely document our findings and establish exploration targets for future programs.

About Thompson Valley Project and Technical Report Highlights

The Property located in a rural area in west-central Arizona, U.S.A. in Yavapai County along the Kirkland Creek drainage between the towns of Kirkland to the southeast and Hillside to the southwest along County Road 15. Mineral rights consist of a combination of State of Arizona (State) and U.S. Federal mineral rights totaling 6,881 ac (2,785 ha). Part of the land, 91% or 6,263 ac (2,534.46 ha), are State Trust Lands where the surface and minerals are owned by the State. Mineral rights for the balance of the property, 9% or 618.47 ac (250.29 ha), are owned by the U.S Government under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior and managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Although the mineral rights on these Federal lands are controlled by the U.S. Government, they are of split estate, meaning the surface is private and held separately from the minerals. Development of the mineral rights has priority over the surface grazing rights.

A deposit of white clay was first discovered in Thompson Valley by Joseph Lyles in the mid-1950s. The State of Arizona identified the deposit as the White Hills Lithium Prospect in 1957. Shallow sampling of the area was conducted by the USGS in 1960 and it was determined that the clay is a lithium-bearing bentonite clay known as hectorite. Lithium contents of the samples were reported by the USGS 1965 which included two locations on the mineral rights area.

Thompson Valley hosts Quaternary-Tertiary sediments covering the valley floor, with large basalt flows of the same age to the north and south. Precambrian granites and schists are exposed to the west and east. The valley floor sediments are volcanic ashes, tuffs and decomposed basalt and granitic sediments which have been hydrothermally altered in part. There is evidence that the Thompson Valley deposit might have been a highly mineralized lake. The lake might have been fed by a mineralized hot spring and, as it cooled, various minerals like lithium precipitated out as carbonates. The lake deposits also included ash and tuff, which were altered to clay. There appears to be two forms of lithium in the Thompson Valley area: 1) the hectorite-like white, waxy, translucent clay with an elevated lithium content, and 2) the multicolored clay-like sediment that is typically not white, waxy, nor translucent, and has a high carbonate content and little actual clay content.

Exploration conducted by Ameriwest on the Property began in 2022 and consisted of description of surface features and mapping the property, analyzing surface samples acquired from the area and commissioning a satellite geophysical survey. A total of 205 samples were acquired and analyzed. Surface samples analyzed across the project area have lithium contents ranging from 2 to 1,295 ppm Li. Of these, 36% had lithium contents greater than 200 ppm, 14% were greater than 500 ppm, and 3% were greater than 1,000 ppm, with a mean of 227 ppm Li and standard deviation of 269 ppm Li. Most of the lithium-bearing samples are high in carbonate and reactive to acid (see press release dated December 13, 2022, for details and information on QA/QC procedures).

From these samples, six main exploration target areas have been defined for follow up exploration, covering an area of approximately 1,108 acres. Potential tonnage of these targets has been estimated to be 207 to 414 million tonnes, based on estimated depths ranging from 75 to 150 ft (23 m to 46 m). Surface sample analyses within the six exploration targets range from 12 to 1,295 ppm Li. From the 123 samples within the combined target areas, 47% had lithium contents greater than 200 ppm, 19% had lithium contents greater than 500 ppm, and 4% were greater than 1,000 ppm, with a mean of 286 ppm Li and standard deviation of 287 ppm Li. Note that surface sampling does not necessarily correlate to grades that might be found in drilling but shows the potential for lithium to be found at depth through drilling below the surface sampling anomalies.

From the above analysis, detailed in the Report, Ameriwest believes selected exploration targets at Thompson Valley show the potential for the Property to host a deposit (or series of deposits) in the range of 200-400 million tonnes (220-440 million tons) in size with expected average grade ranging from 114 to 842 ppm Li. This will have to be confirmed with drilling, assaying, and modelling.

The Report recommends a Phase 1 exploration program consisting of geophysics and permitting. Geophysics would consist of an REG Satellite Magnetic Resonance Survey. Permitting would consist of obtaining a Right of Way (ROW) to access the property, development of a drill plan (location of roads and drill pads), an archeological study of areas to be disturbed, a native plant survey of areas to be disturbed, and completion of a Geological Field Operations (GFOP) with the State of Arizona.

The Report further recommends that after obtaining the necessary approvals, the Company proceed with a Phase 2 exploration program with an initial core drilling and sampling program. This would include approximately 11 drill holes totaling 3,300 ft (1,005 m) of drilling, project supervision, core logging, and laboratory analysis. Mineralogical studies would also be completed, as well as an updated Technical Report. Note that Phase 2 work is subject to permitting and other factors and the scope of work may be adjusted as required.

The Report, entitled, Qualified Persons Technical Report on the Thompson Valley Lithium Project Exploration Target, Yavapai County, Arizona was prepared on behalf of Ameriwest Lithium Inc. by Gregory J. Bell, M.S., P.E. of Senergy Engineering and Brian A. Beck., M.S. P. Geo. CPG of Brian Beck Consulting LLC and has a report date of January 31, 2023, and effective date of January 17, 2023. Both authors are consultants working for Ameriwest and are considered non-independent qualified persons under National Instrument NI 43-101. The Report can be found under the Companys corporate filings at www.sedar.com

David Watkinson, P.Eng., a non-independent qualified person under the NI 43-101 Instrument, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this release. Mr. Watkinson is President and CEO of Ameriwest.

About Ameriwest Lithium Inc.

Ameriwest Lithium Inc. is a Canadian-based exploration company with a focus on identifying strategic lithium mineral resource projects for exploration and development. The Company is currently focused on exploring its Thompson Valley lithium property located in Yavapai County, Arizona. Ameriwest owns 100 percent of the property which covers 6,881 acres. As stated in the Companys news release dated January 31, 2023, the Company entered into an option agreement with Nova Lithium Corp (Nova) whereby Nova can earn a 51 percent interest in the Edwards Creek Valley project encompassing 22,210-acres. Ameriwest Lithium also owns 100 percent of 5,640-acre Little Smoky Valley property, 13,580-acre Railroad Valley property and its 7,600-acre Deer Musk East property in Nevada.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Glenn Collick

Chief Operating Officer and director

For further information, please contact:

Glenn Collick

Chief Operating Officer and a director

(778) 868-2226

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not in any way passed upon the merits of the matters referenced herein and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forwardlooking information. Forwardlooking 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. Forwardlooking 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 forwardlooking information. The Companys actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in this forwardlooking information as a result of regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Company operates, prevailing economic conditions, changes to the Companys strategic growth plans, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forwardlooking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forwardlooking information should not be unduly relied upon. Any forwardlooking information contained in this news release represents the Companys 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 forwardlooking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation.
BURNABY, British Columbia, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- INTERFOR CORPORATION (Interfor or the Company) (TSX: IFP) is pleased to announce the appointment of Nicolle Butcher of Toronto, Ontario as an independent director of the Company, effective May 19, 2023. Ms. Butcher is the Chief Operating Officer of Ontario Power Generation (OPG), where she has held a wide range of roles with increasing responsibility over the past 22 years. She has served as Chair of the Board of both Eagle Creek Renewable Energy (OPGs US hydro subsidiary) and Atura Power (OPGs fleet of combined cycle gas plants) and as a member of the MaRS-Advanced Energy Centre Advisory Board of Directors. In 2021, Ms. Butcher was named one of Canadas Top 100 Most Powerful Women and named Women of the Year by WIRE (Women in Renewable Energy) and APPRO (Association of Power Producers of Ontario). She holds an MBA from McGill University, is a Chartered Business Valuator, and has earned an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.



Ms. Butchers appointment is a successful outcome of the Boards ongoing director succession process. Her appointment increases the number of Interfor directors to 11 and the percentage of women directors to 27%. The Company is well on track to achieve its target of at least 30% women on its Board by its next annual general meeting of shareholders in 2024.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release contains forward-looking information about the Companys director succession process. A statement contains forward-looking information when the Company uses what it knows and expects today, to make a statement about the future. Readers are cautioned that actual results may vary from the forward-looking information in this release, and undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking information. Risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information in this release are described in Interfors annual Managements Discussion & Analysis under the heading Risks and Uncertainties, which is available on www.interfor.com and under Interfors profile on www.sedar.com. Unless otherwise indicated, the forward-looking statements in this release are based on the Companys expectations at the date of this release. Interfor undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking information or statements, except as required by law.

ABOUT INTERFOR

Interfor is a growth-oriented forest products company with operations in Canada and the United States. The Company has annual lumber production capacity of approximately 5.2 billion board feet and offers a diverse line of lumber products to customers around the world. For more information about Interfor, visit our website at www.interfor.com.

Investor Contacts:

Rick Pozzebon, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

(604) 689-6804

Mike Mackay, Vice President, Corporate Development & Treasury

(604) 689-6846

Media Contact:

Svetlana Kayumova, Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs & Communications

(604) 422-7329

svetlana.kayumova@interfor.com
VANCOUVER, May 18, 2023 -

TSX VENTURE COMPANIES

ARGO OPPORTUNITY CORP. ("AROC.P")

BULLETIN TYPE: Resume Trading

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 2 Company

Further to TSX Venture Exchange bulletin dated May 16, 2023, effective at the open of market, May 23, 2023 shares of the Company will resume trading.

________________________________________

WAROONA Energy Inc. ("WHE")

[formerly Metallum Resources Inc. ("MZN")]

BULLETIN TYPE: Reverse Takeover-Completed, Private Placement-Non-Brokered, Name Change, Symbol Change, Resume Trading

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 2 Company

TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") has accepted for filing Metallum Resources Inc.'s (now Waroona Energy Inc., the "Company") reverse takeover (the "RTO") as principally described in the Company's information circular dated April 12, 2023 (the "Circular").

The RTO includes the following matters, all of which have been accepted by the Exchange.

Reverse Takeover-Completed:

Pursuant to a share exchange agreement dated December 6, 2022, the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of Waroona Energy Pty Ltd., an Australian incorporated entity.

The Exchange has been advised that disinterested shareholders of the Company have approved the RTO.

For additional information please refer to the Company's Circular dated April 12, 2023 available under the Company's profile on SEDAR, as well as the Company's news releases dated October 19, 2022, December 6, 2022, February 8, 2023, February 17, 2023, March 2, 2023, April 17, 2023 and May 16, 2023.

Private Placement-Non-Brokered:

In connection with the above, the Exchange has accepted for filing documentation with respect to a Non Brokered Private Placement announced February 8, 2023.

Number of Subscription Receipts: 150,000,000 subscription receipts. Each subscription receipt

entitles the holder to receive one common share of the Company without payment of any additional consideration or any further action, upon the fulfilment of certain release conditions, including but not limited to the receipt of all necessary shareholder and/or regulatory approvals (the "Escrow Release Conditions") of the proposed RTO. In the event the Escrow Release Conditions are not met, all proceeds raised will be returned to the subscribers and the subscription receipts will be cancelled.

Purchase Price: $0.06 per subscription receipt

Number of Placees: 105 placees

Insider / Pro Group Participation: Name # of Placee(s) Aggregate # of Shares Aggregate Existing Insider Involvement 5 32,630,269 Aggregate Pro Group Involvement 1 2,060,437 Finder's Fee: Aggregate cash amount of $307,959.



Name Change and Symbol Change:

The name of the Company has been changed as detailed below.

Effective at the market opening on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, the common shares of Waroona Energy Inc. will commence trading on TSX Venture Exchange, and the common shares of Metallum Resources Inc. will be delisted. The Company is classified as a 'Technology' company.

Capitalization: Unlimited common shares with no par value of which

737,979,415 common shares are issued and outstanding Escrow: 304,500,000 common shares are subject to Tier 2 Value Escrow

71,670,500 common shares are subject to Tier 2 Surplus Escrow

5,416,667 common shares are subject to Tier 1 Value Escrow Transfer Agent: Computershare Trust Company of Canada Trading Symbol: WHE (new) CUSIP Number: 934633108 (new)









Company Contact: Tony Wonnacott Company Address: Suite 400 - 1681 Chestnut Street

Vancouver, British Columbia V6J

4M6 Company Phone Number: (416) 953-5879 Company Email Address: contact@waroonaenergy.com



Resume Trading:

Effective at the market opening on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, the shares of the Company will resume trading.

________________________________________

MORIEN RESOURCES CORP. ("MOX")

BULLETIN TYPE: Declaration of Dividend

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 2 Company

The Issuer has declared the following dividend:

Dividend Amount per Common Share: $0.0025

Payable Date: June 28, 2023

Record Date: June 14, 2023

Ex-dividend Date: June 13, 2023

________________________________________

ORCA ENERGY GROUP INC. ("ORC.A") ("ORC.B")

BULLETIN TYPE: Declaration of Dividend

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 2 Company

The Issuer has declared the following dividend:

Dividend per Class A: $0.10

Dividend per Class B SV: $0.10

Payable Date: July 14, 2023

Record Date: June 30, 2023

Ex-dividend Date: June 29, 2023

________________________________________

PASCAL BIOSCIENCES INC. ("PAS")

BULLETIN TYPE: Delist

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 2 Company

Further to the Company's news releases dated February 15, 2023, and May 18, 2023, the common shares of Pascal Biosciences Inc. will be delisted at close of market on Tuesday May 23, 2023, from TSX Venture Exchange at the request of the Company.

________________________________________

SHELLRON CAPITAL LTD. ("SHLL.P")

BULLETIN TYPE: Resume Trading

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 2 Company

Effective at the opening, Tuesday, May 23, 2023, the securities of Shellron Capital Ltd. (the "Company") will resume trading. Further to the Exchange Bulletin dated August 3, 2022, a news release was issued on March 24, 2023, announcing that the Company will not be proceeding with its proposed transaction. The transaction contemplated would have constituted a Qualifying Transaction as defined under Exchange Policy 2.4.

________________________________________

23/05/18 - TSX Venture Exchange Bulletins

TSX VENTURE COMPANIES

ARGO OPPORTUNITY CORP. ("AROC.P")

BULLETIN TYPE: Halt

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 2 Company

Effective at 5:00 a.m. PST, May 18, 2023, trading in the shares of the Company was halted, pending closing; this regulatory halt is imposed by Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, the Market Regulator of the Exchange pursuant to the provisions of Section 10.9(1) of the Universal Market Integrity Rules.

________________________________________

IBC ADVANCED ALLOYS CORP. ("IB") ("IB.DB")

BULLETIN TYPE: Halt

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 2 Company

Effective at 5:26 a.m. PST, May 18, 2023, trading in the shares of the Company was halted, pending news; this regulatory halt is imposed by Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, the Market Regulator of the Exchange pursuant to the provisions of Section 10.9(1) of the Universal Market Integrity Rules.

________________________________________

IBC ADVANCED ALLOYS CORP. ("IB") ("IB.DB")

BULLETIN TYPE: Resume Trading

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 2 Company

Effective at 6:30 a.m. PST, May 18, 2023, shares of the Company resumed trading, an announcement having been made.

________________________________________

MARVEL DISCOVERY CORP. ("MARV")

BULLETIN TYPE: Warrant Term Extension & Warrant Price Amendment

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 2 Company

TSX Venture Exchange has consented to the extension of the expiry date and repricing of the following warrants:

# of Warrants: 1,200,000 Original Expiry Date of Warrants: May 31, 2023 New Expiry Date of Warrants: May 31, 2025 Original Exercise Price of Warrants: $0.25 New Exercise Price of Warrants: $0.20



These warrants were issued pursuant to a private placement of 2,400,000 Units. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company and a one-half common share purchase warrant attached, which was accepted for filing by the Exchange effective May 31, 2021.

________________________________________

North Arrow Minerals Inc. ("NAR")

BULLETIN TYPE: Private Placement-Non-Brokered

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 2 Company

TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing documentation with respect to a Non-Brokered Private Placement announced on April 24, 2023:

Number of Shares: 13,066,500 Flow-through shares Purchase Price: $0.08 per share Warrants: 6,533,250 share purchase warrants to purchase 6,533,250 shares Warrant Exercise Price: $0.12 for a two year period Number of Shares: 22,976,999 shares Purchase Price: $0.06 per share Warrants: 22,976,999 share purchase warrants to purchase 22,976,999 shares Warrant Exercise Price: $0.10 for a two year period Number of Placees: 51 placees

Insider / Pro Group Participation:









Placees # of Placee (s) Aggregate # of Shares





Aggregate Existing Insider Involvement: 2 933,000 Aggregate Pro Group Involvement: 5 1,685,750



Aggregate Cash Amount Aggregate # of Shares Aggregate # of Warrants Finder's Fee: $77,254.88 N/A 676,620



Finder's Warrants Terms: Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share at the price of $0.10 for period of 2 years from the date of issuance.

The Company issued a news release on May 18, 2023, confirming closing of the private placement. [Note that in certain circumstances the Exchange may later extend the expiry date of the warrants, if they are less than the maximum permitted term.]

________________________________________

NOVA ROYALTY CORP. ("NOVR")

BULLETIN TYPE: Property-Asset or Share Purchase Agreement

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 1 Company

TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing documentation pertaining to an existing royalty purchase agreement dated February 9, 2021 (the "Agreement"), between Nova Royalty Corp. (the "Company") and arm's length vendor (the "Vendor"). The Company issued 1,361,936 common shares of Nova Royalty to Vendor. The common shares represent a milestone payment in the amount of US$1,500,000 and were priced based on a 30-day volume-weighted average trading price.

For further details, please refer to the Company's news release dated February 10, 2021, June 10, 2021 and May 04, 2023.

________________________________________

RIWI CORP. ("RIWI")

BULLETIN TYPE: Resume Trading

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 1 Company

Effective at 6:30 a.m. PST, May 18, 2023, shares of the Company resumed trading, an announcement having been made.

________________________________________

SIMPLY BETTER BRANDS CORP. ("SBBC")

BULLETIN TYPE: Shares for Services

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 1 Company

TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing the Company's proposal to issue 90,236 shares at a deemed price of $0.38937 for a total consideration of $35,135 (US$26,000.00) for certain services provided to the Company pursuant to an agreement dated September 1, 2022.

Number of Service Providers: 1

Non-Arm's Length Party / Pro Group Participation: N/A

For more information, please refer to the Company's news release on April 21, 2023.

The Company shall issue a news release when the shares are issued.

________________________________________

SOLAR ALLIANCE ENERGY INC. ("SOLR")

BULLETIN TYPE: Resume Trading

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 2 Company

Effective at 6:30 a.m. PST, May 18, 2023, shares of the Company resumed trading, an announcement having been made.

________________________________________

ULTRA LITHIUM INC. ("ULT")

BULLETIN TYPE: Resume Trading

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 2 Company

Effective at 5:00 a.m. PST, May 18, 2023, shares of the Company resumed trading, an announcement having been made.

________________________________________

VISIONSTATE CORP. ("VIS")

BULLETIN TYPE: Private Placement-Non-Brokered

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 2 Company

TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing documentation with respect to a Non-Brokered Private Placement announced on March 13, 2023 and April 4, 2023:

Number of Shares: 22,975,000 units. Each unit consists of one common share and one share purchase warrant. Purchase Price: $0.02 per unit Warrants: 22,975,000 share purchase warrants to purchase 22,975,000 shares Warrant Exercise Price: $0.05 for a two year period Warrant Acceleration Provision: If the closing price of the common shares is equal to or exceeds $0.07 per common share for greater than twenty (20) consecutive trading days, then the warrant term shall automatically accelerate to a date that is thirty (30) calendar days following the date a press release is issued by the Company announcing the reduced warrant terms, without further notification made by the Company. Number of Placees: 11 placees

Insider / Pro Group Participation:









Placees # of Placee (s) Aggregate # of Units





Aggregate Existing Insider Involvement: 4 13,125,000 Aggregate Pro Group Involvement: N/A N/A



Aggregate Cash Amount Aggregate # of Shares Aggregate # of Warrants Finder's Fee: N/A N/A N/A



The Company issued a news release on May 17, 2023 confirming closing of the private placement. Note that in certain circumstances the Exchange may later extend the expiry date of the warrants, if they are less than the maximum permitted term.

________________________________________

Western Alaska Minerals Corp. ("WAM")

BULLETIN TYPE: Private Placement - Brokered

BULLETIN DATE: May 18, 2023

TSX Venture Tier 1 Company

TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing documentation with respect to a Brokered Private Placement announced April 11, 2023:

Number of Shares: 2,982,049 common share units ("Units"), each Unit consisting of one common share in the capital of the Company ("Share") and one-half of one Share purchase warrant ("Warrant"). Purchase Price: $2.35 per Unit. Warrants: 1,491,022 whole Warrants to purchase 1,491,022 Shares. Warrant Price: $3.15 exercisable for a period of 36 months from the date of issuance. Number of Placees: 65 placees.

Insider / Pro Group Participation:

Insider= Y /

Name ProGroup= P Number of Units Aggregate Existing Insider Involvement: [4 Existing Insiders] Y 167,873 Aggregate Pro Group Involvement: N/A N/A

Agents' Fees: Aggregate Cash Amount Aggregate # of Shares Aggregate # of Finder Warrants Agentis Capital Markets LP $155,092 N/A 64,702 Canaccord Genuity Corp. $155,092 N/A 64,702 Stifel Nicolaus Canada Inc. $49,548 N/A 22,430 Roth Canada Inc. $38,114 N/A 17,254 Independent Trading Group Inc. $7,623 N/A 3,451

Finder Warrants are exercisable into Units at $2.35 per Unit for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance.

The Company issued a news release on May 4, 2023, confirming the closing of the Private Placement. Note that in certain circumstances the Exchange may later extend the expiry date of the Warrants, if they are less than the maximum permitted term.

__________________________________

SOURCE TSX Venture Exchange
CanaGold Resources Ltd. (TSX: CCM, OTC-QB: CRCUF, Frankfurt: CANA) ("Canagold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce an in-person open house for the entire Taku River Tlingit First Nation citizenship being held at the Atlin Community Centre, 217 Sinclair Ave, Atlin, B.C , to discuss the major components of the New Polaris project, where they will be located, and anticipated interactions with the surrounding environment and existing human activities.

Wednesday May 24, 2023- Open House hosted by Canagold and TRTFN representatives from 9.00am to 1.00pm and from 4.00pm to 8.00pm with online presentations scheduled at 11.00am and 6.00pm for attendance by TRT citizens and TRTFN staff.

At the open house local participants will have the opportunity to:

Meet the Canagold Team - Canagold CEO Catalin Kilofliski will be joined by members of the company's senior technical team, to make presentations and field questions.

Understand Canagold's commitment to establishing a solid working partnership with TRFTFN - Attendees will have a better understanding of the thorough and complex process of commitment and collaboration between Canagold and the TRTFN.

Understand the project permitting process - On March 29, 2023 Canagold filed the Initial Project Description (IPD) and Engagement Plan submission to the B.C. EAO on behalf of the New Polaris Project.

Understand the project's rich history - New Polaris is a past producing gold mine, formally known as the Polaris Taku mine that operated intermittently between 1937 and 1951. Canagold itself has a 35-year history on the project leading up to the current Feasibility Study stage and permitting efforts.

Review the proposed site infrastructure and components including barge transportation logistics - Building and operating an underground gold mine requires a comprehensive and sophisticated infrastructure that respects social and environmental impacts. Attendees will have a clear view of what is proposed for New Polaris on TRTFN lands.

Discover future job opportunities - The development, construction, operation and reclamation New Polaris will involve 100s of job opportunities, both technical and non-technical. The Open House, as per the previous job fairs held, provides an opportunity and resources for individuals to prepare themselves with the necessary training to qualify for these jobs.

About Canagold

CanaGold Resources Ltd. is a growth-oriented gold exploration company focused on advancing the New Polaris Project through feasibility and permitting. Canagold is also seeking to grow its assets base through future acquisitions of additional advanced projects. The Company has access to a team of technical experts that can help unlock significant value for all Canagold shareholders.

"Catalin Kilofliski"

Catalin Kilofliski

Chief Executive Officer

Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States private securities litigation reform act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking information that involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the future performance of Canagold, and the Company's plans and exploration programs for its mineral properties, including the timing of such plans and programs. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "has proven", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "potential", "appears", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "at least", "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", "should", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved".

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 the forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others risks related to the uncertainties inherent in the estimation of mineral resources; commodity prices; changes in general economic conditions; market sentiment; currency exchange rates; the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; the Company's ability to raise funds through equity financings; risks inherent in mineral exploration; risks related to operations in foreign countries; future prices of metals; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals; government regulation of mining operations; environmental risks; title disputes or claims; limitations on insurance coverage and the timing and possible outcome of litigation. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could affect the Company and may cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, do not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All statements are made as of the date of this news release and the Company is under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005060/en/

Contact

For further information:

Knox Henderson, VP Corporate Development

Tel: (604) 604-416-0337; Cell: (604) 551-2360

Toll Free: 1-877-684-9700

Email: knox@canagoldresources.com

Website: www.canagoldresources.com
Vancouver, May 19, 2023 - Aben Minerals Ltd. (TSX-V: ABM) (OTCQB: ABNAF) (Frankfurt: R26) ("Aben" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its news release issued April 18, 2023 it has received TSX Venture Exchange conditional approval for a non-brokered private placement financing for total gross proceeds of $500,000.00 (the "Private Placement"). The Company is proposing to issue 5,000,000 units (the "Units") at a price of CAD $0.10 per Unit.



Each Unit is comprised of one common share and one transferable warrant, entitling the holder to purchase one additional common share for a period of four (4) years at a price of CAD $0.15 per share. The Company expects to close the financing shortly as the financing has been fully subscribed for.

In addition, the Company will pay finder's fees of $1,050.00 and issue 10,500 finder's warrants to an arm's-length party, with each finder's warrant entitling the holder to purchase one common share for a period of four (4) years at a price of CAD $0.15.

The Company intends to use the proceeds from this private placement towards exploration expenditures and general working capital purposes.

The private placement is subject to final TSX Venture Exchange approval, and all securities will be subject to a four-month-and-one-day hold period from closing. The Company also reported that insiders of the Company had subscribed for a total of 750,000 units of the offering.

About Aben Minerals Projects:

Justin Gold Project

The 7,400-hectare Justin Gold property is 100% owned by Aben Minerals Ltd. and has had 27 diamond and 20 Rotary Air Blast (RAB) drill holes completed since 2011. Drilling has shown that precious metal mineralization at Justin is part of an Intrusion Related Gold System (IRGS) featuring multiple mineralization styles including sheeted vein arrays, vein breccias, stockwork veining, fault-controlled mineralization and skarn-hosted gold horizons. Drilling in 2011 and 2012 at the POW Zone successfully discovered intrusion-related gold mineralization with intercepts reported ranging from trace values to highs of 1.19 g/t Au over 60.0m (including 2.47 g/t Au over 21.0m) and 1.49 g/t Au over 46.4m. Additionally, in 2018, trenching at the Lost Ace Zone returned values ranging from trace to 20.8 g/t gold over 4.4m including 88.2 g/t gold (Au) over 1.0m.

The Justin Project is located in the southeastern portion of the prolific Tombstone Gold Belt, part of the Tintina Gold Province, host to world class Reduced Intrusion Related Gold deposits and recent gold discovery by Snowline Gold Corp. The Company will be using some proceeds of the financing to apply for a new multi year exploration permit to allow for further exploration of the Justin Project.

Forrest Kerr Gold Project

The Forrest Kerr property is 100% owned by Aben Minerals Ltd. and consists of 56 contiguous mineral claims covering 23,397 hectares in the center of the Golden Triangle of British Columbia, an area that hosts significant Au-CuMo porphyry deposits, intrusion-related AuAg vein deposits and high-grade Au-Ag volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits. Forrest Kerr boasts a database comprised of 190 drill holes, 2,500 rock and 20,000 soil and silt samples. Highlight drill results include hole FK18-10 which intersected multiple high grade gold horizons including 38.7 g/t Au over 10.0m, 3.9 g/t Au over 13.0m, 22.0 g/t Au over 4.0m, and 8.2 g/t Au over 14.0m.

The property hosts 40 polymetallic mineral occurrences with mineralization styles ranging from discrete intrusion related Au + Cu +/- Ag veins to breccia, shear and stockwork zones in addition to areas with massive sulfide potential. The Company has a MX Permit for exploration in good standing and will entertain third party involvement to move the project forward.

Pringle North Property Gold Project

Aben Minerals Ltd. has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Pringle North Gold Property in Red Lad Ontario. The Pringle North Property straddles the interpreted northern extension of the deep-seated geologic structures that host several gold deposits within the Red Lake Gold Camp, located approximately 55 km to the south. The property consists of 5 contiguous mining claims covering approximately 1,881 hectares and is host to multiple surface samples that tested at or above the 95th percentile in an overburden sampling program conducted by Agnico Eagle in 2009. Pringle North hosts a substantial belt of mafic to ultramafic rocks that parallel the Nungesser Deformation Zond (NDZ) and a full spectrum of structural controls that may provide fluid pathways and traps for economic gold mineralization.

Slocan Graphite Project

Aben Minerals Ltd. has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the road accessible 2,868-hectare Slocan Graphite Property consists of 13 contiguous mineral claims and hosts several large flake graphite-bearing outcrops (high values of 3.36 and 4.43 % organic Carbon) at the Tedesco Zone, which is coincident with a strong conductive anomaly identified in 2010 that is interpreted to extend up to 2.0km from the known surficial occurrences. The Slocan Graphite Project benefits from excellent infrastructure including a high-voltage transmission line within 1.2 km of the property boundaries, an extensive network of forestry roads on and around the property, and an existing graphite processing plant and facilities located 1.5 km west of the property.

Aben Minerals:

Aben Minerals is a diversified Canadian gold and graphite exploration company with exploration projects in British Columbia, Ontario, and the Yukon Territory. Cornell McDowell, P.Geo., V.P. of Exploration for Aben Resources, has reviewed and approved the technical aspects of this news release and is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

For further information on Aben Minerals Ltd. (TSX-V: ABM), visit our Company's web site at www.abenminerals.com.

Aben Minerals Ltd.

"Jim Pettit"

______________________

JAMES G. PETTIT

President & CEO

For further information contact:

Aben Minerals Ltd.

Riley Trimble, Corporate Communications

Telephone: 604-416-2978

Toll Free: 800-567-8181

Facsimile: 604-687-3119

Email: info@abenminerals.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.

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. 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, 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.
Departing Alpha Tauri boss Franz Tost would have preferred to sign Mick Schumacher for the 2023 season, according to the German driver's uncle Ralf.

Rumours are now swirling around the future of 28-year-old rookie Nyck de Vries, with Red Bull top official Dr Helmut Marko giving him just three more races to prove he deserves the cockpit.

But according to 6-time GP winner Ralf Schumacher, it was always clear that Dutchman de Vries would have needed time to get up to speed in Formula 1.

"He was doing well and had already won a lot, but he also needed a lot of time for that," said the 47-year-old former Williams and Toyota driver.

"When you know that drivers need a little longer, especially in a category where there is very little testing, then you have to say that it was surprising when Marko appointed that boy as a driver," Schumacher told formel1.de.

Schumacher is historically very close to Austrian Tost, the team boss at Alpha Tauri who will be replaced by two-man team Laurent Mekies and Peter Bayer for 2024.

In the 90s, Tost worked for Willi Weber - Schumacher's then manager - who asked Tost to accompany Ralf to race in Japan prior to his F1 debut.

Tost then worked as BMW's track operations manager when Schumacher raced for Williams.

Schumacher now reveals that Tost, 67, actually wanted to sign Ralf's nephew Mick for the 2023 season after the 24-year-old lost his Haas seat after two years on the grid.

"Franz had a completely different driver on mind than de Vries," Ralf revealed.

"He knows that drivers take two or three years to grow and the driver that was available was Mick. But then came Helmut Marko who, for personal reasons or whatever, didn't want to sign Mick.

"Marko seems to have a problem with the Schumacher name or personally with Mick," Ralf continued. "Otherwise I don't understand at all why there weren't any talks, because you have to bear in mind that Red Bull doesn't have a very strong market in Germany.

"Having a Schumacher in your Formula 1 team would have had a lot of positive influence," he added.

(GMM)
While Ferrari has delayed the much-awaited debut of new rear suspension for its 2023 car, Mercedes is pushing ahead with its major upgrades.

Both teams had intended to unveil their key developments at the now-cancelled Imola GP, with Ferrari concluding that Monaco is too risky a venue for that debut now.

But while the new Ferrari parts will now only debut at the Circuit de Catalunya, Mercedes' upgrade - including new sidepods for the 'no sidepods' concept - will be seen for the first time on the streets of Monte Carlo.

A team spokesperson confirmed the news.

Boss Toto Wolff is playing down expectations for the upgrade, however, while Lewis Hamilton is most looking forward to a tweak to his seating position.

"We sit closer to the front wheels than other drivers," the seven time world champion said recently.

"When I drive, it feels like I'm sitting on the front wheels, and that's one of the worst feelings in a racing car for me. I have to admit that I have a lot of trouble with it."

Major changes to the basic car infrastructure is not possible for Mercedes under the limitations of the budget cap, but Wolff said there is some leeway for Hamilton's desired tweak.

"We have a leeway of up to 15 centres in the position of the cockpit," he is quoted by Speed Week.

"It's true that our cockpit is a little further forward than some of the others and that irritates Lewis. That was already the case in 2022," Wolff added.

"From a technical point of view, we don't think it's a problem. But we are looking at the drivers' position because it's not just about rational things like weight distribution or aerodynamics, it's about the feeling for the driver.

"Lewis has been very clear about what he wants from us and we will listen to that."

(GMM)
Organisers of next weekend's Monaco GP are not worried the situation in flood-affected Imola will impact the event on the fabled streets of Monte Carlo.

It is just a 500 kilometre road trip for the Formula 1 teams from Imola, where this weekend's event was cancelled, to Monaco.

However, only a limited number of team personnel were allowed to enter the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on Thursday to begin the pack-up and assess any water damage.

The F1 television compound was under water, but Formula One Management is believed to have confirmed that critical electric gear that would have affected Monaco if damaged survived the flooding.

"We were supposed to leave Imola on Sunday evening, which gives us a margin now," Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur is quoted by France's Auto Hebdo.

Bild newspaper reported from Imola on Thursday: "Nothing is flooded in the paddock but the traces of the floods from the previous days are clearly visible."

Alpha Tauri driver Nyck de Vries, however, reported that on his way to the team's nearby Faenza factory he was unable to reach his hotel due to flooding.

"Returning to the highway is no option either," said the Dutchman, who explained that members of the McLaren team were also stranded in a "little village with one fully booked hotel".

There were fears that the F1 transporters would face similar problems getting from the disaster-struck Emilia-Romagna region to Monaco.

But a spokesperson for the Automobile Club de Monaco said they are expecting the teams to arrive shortly.

"The trucks arrive tomorrow," the spokesperson said late on Thursday.

"Our logistics teams are ready to welcome them."

As for the cancelled Imola GP, promoters confirmed in a statement that tickets can either be transferred to the 2024 edition or refunded in full.

And Bild newspaper explained: "A natural disaster such as a flood is considered force majeure, so the organiser does not have to pay the race fee that otherwise would have been due to Formula 1.

"In Imola's case, it is about 20 million euros."

(GMM)
Kofi Kinaaata says Samini didnt discover him

3News.com Showbiz News May - 19 - 2023 , 20:33

Martin King Arthur popularly known as Kofi Kinaata has applauded his former boss, Samini for the role he played in his music career while disclosing that he wasnt discovered as a music talent by the award-winning MOBO Artiste.

In a recent interview on #UrbanBlend with Blakk Rasta on 3FM, Kofi Kinaata once again expressed his deep appreciation for the immense impact Samini had on his journey to stardom.

Reflecting on his early days in the industry, Kofi Kinaata who hails from Takoradi in the Western Region highlighted the pivotal moment when he was signed onto the High-Grade Family, an influential music group, at a time when he was relatively unknown.

It was during this period that Kinaata had the privilege of tagging along with Samini, an established figure in the Ghanaian music scene.

The discovery term, I dont get it, but Samini has been really helpful to my career, Kinaata shared.

With Saminis existing fanbase, the association allowed Kinaata to swiftly gain recognition and support. As Saminis fans embraced him, Kinaatas own fanbase began to grow exponentially.

I got signed unto the High-grade family when no one knew me. It was Samini that they knew so me tagging along with Samini, his fans became automatically my fans, he explained

Moreover, Samini played a crucial role in introducing Kofi Kinaata to larger platforms and audiences.

The EffiaKuma love cronner recounted a memorable instance when he had the opportunity to perform on stage for a notable event featuring international artist Chris Brown. Thanks to Saminis endorsement, Kinaatas talent was showcased to a broader audience, further propelling his career forward.

What Samini did for me was give me a lot of exposure, Kinaata explained. The acclaimed artist went above and beyond to secure performance slots for Kinaata, even for shows where he wasnt originally scheduled to perform.

Saminis generosity and support opened doors for Kinaata, enabling him to reach new heights in the music industry.

When Chris Brown came to Ghana, I was now in Accra, Samini brought me to the stage to perform 4 or 5 minutes. Shows I wasnt billed to perform even though he got me to perform. Samini gave me a lot of exposure, he disclosed

While acknowledging the pivotal role Samini played in his journey, Kofi Kinaata made it clear that he had been actively involved in rap and music since 2008.

But he didnt really discover me. I was doing rap and music way back in 2008 but he pushed me from one stage to the other, he concluded.

However, Saminis unwavering support and guidance propelled him from one stage to another, amplifying his presence and setting the stage for his subsequent success.

Recommended articles I am building a legacy Kofi Kinaata

Music promotion is big problem Kofi Kinaata

Paulina Oduro: Kofi Kinaata is unique because he doesnt follow trends
Early Grade Students Association inaugurated at Presby Women's College of Education

Daniel Kenu Education May - 18 - 2023 , 13:26

An Early Grade Students Association with the aim of building the capacities of student teachers and empowering them to contribute to the transformation of early childhood education has been inaugurated at the Presbyterian Women's College of Education.

It is the aim of the association to provide a foundation for students, nurture their talents and foster their overall development.

Additionally, it is to create an environment to support the students' innate abilities, promote their social and emotional growth, and cultivated a love for learning.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Principal of the Presbyterian Women's College of Education, Rev. Dr. Mrs. Grace Sintim Adasi, said that education is not solely about acquiring knowledge but also the key that unlocks a brighter future.

"We will organise workshops, competitions, and interactive sessions designed to enhance their creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities," she stated.

Rev. Dr. Mrs. Adasi emphasised the importance of collaboration between the faculty, organisations involved in early childhood education, parents, and the wider community to address challenges associated with early childhood education.

A representative from the SDA College of Education in Asokore, Stella Akosua Kayi highlighted the responsibility of educators to adapt to the changing educational landscape and nurture students' curiosity, empowering them to become lifelong learners.

"In the quest for educational transformation, we must not overlook the significance of early grade education. The foundation we lay during these formative years serves as a bedrock for future learning, growth, and success," she emphasised.

She stressed that student-teachers play a unique role as facilitators of knowledge, role models, and mentors.

To effectively mould young minds, she encouraged them to embrace innovative technological methodologies, incorporating technology and interactive tools in their teaching to engage and captivate their students.

Dr. Davis Mawuena Aweso, the Head of the Education Department at Presby Women's College of Education, expressed the belief that the association will demonstrate the institution's commitment to nurturing and empowering its young learners.
Debt restructuring: Nation seeks $10.5 billion in savings.

Emmanuel Bruce May - 19 - 2023 , 09:00

The government is targeting an external debt relief of $10.5 billion between this year and 2026 as it engages its external creditors for debt restructuring, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reported.

The external creditors include bilateral and commercial creditors.

The government announced a suspension of debt service on external commercial obligations on December 19, last year and has since been engaging with them on a debt restructuring.

The government is seeking to restructure external commercial debts of $14 billion, out of which $13 billion are in bonds.

Following the formation of the Creditor Committee of the Paris Club backed by China, the government is also expected to begin debt restructuring negotiations with its bilateral creditors in the coming days in a bid to restructure debts of about $5.4 billion.

At a press conference yesterday by the IMF in the United States capital, Washington DC, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, said the government was looking forward to a fruitful engagement with its bilateral and private creditors in the days ahead, as the country worked towards achieving debt sustainability that would anchor economic stability.

Under the IMF programme, the country is expected to reduce its debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP)-ratio from the current 93.5 per cent to 55 per cent.

Path to recovery

Mr Ofori-Atta said the approval of Ghanas IMF programme would set the country on the path of economic recovery.

He said although the IMF boards approval was far from a magic wand, it was a crucial first step on a necessary journey of strong reforms, inclusive growth and relentless pursuit of a growth agenda geared towards restoring the economy to a place of strength, resilience and prosperity.

Undoubtedly the economic toll on our people from the effects of the global crisis cannot be understated and we are grateful for the forbearance of all Ghanaians in the wake of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme which is a difficult but necessary exercise, the Finance Minister stated.

Context

Last Wednesday, the Executive Board of the IMF approved a $3-billion bailout to support Ghanas economic recovery, triggering an immediate disbursement of about $600 million.

The loan will help replenish Ghana's foreign-exchange reserves, which have dropped almost 50 per cent from a peak in August 2021, as the Bank of Ghana used them to support the Ghana cedi.

The three-year Extended Credit Facility programme with the fund marked the 17th time the country was running to the Bretton Woods institution for support.

Financial sector

Mr Ofori-Atta added that the DDEP had hugely impacted banks in the country and the government was looking forward to working together with them to achieve the required financial stability.

He said the Ghana Financial Stability Fund, which had been established to support banks affected by the DDEP, would be capitalised to the tune of $1.5 billion.

$250 Million is coming from the World Bank, government will contribute $500 million, as we still speak to other development partners to participate in that, he stated.

Mr Ofori-Atta said the government was hopeful that World Banks support would come within the third quarter of the year.

Return to capital market

The Finance Minister also noted that the government was not in a rush to return to the international capital market to raise additional financing.

Mr Ofori-Atta indicated that working towards a return to the capital market was, however, important as it would help improve the countrys credit ratings and make it more attractive to foreign investors.

The Finance Minister said the revenue measures outlined in the 2023 budget would give the government the resources needed going forward.

We will also curtail our expenditures so there is no rush to go back to the international capital market and our expectation is that in managing our expenditure and increasing our revenue, we will have the needed resources, he stated.

Development partners

Also at the press conference via Zoom, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison, said the approval of Ghanas programme would serve as a basis for further engagements between Ghana and its development partners.

He said the IMF programme should not be looked at only from the budget support point of view as it also came with benefits that far exceeded that.

While the budget support helps with the current reserves of the central bank, what matters most is the fact that the programme sets out policies and structural reforms that should help Ghana reset our economic policy fundamentals, the Governor said.

These reforms should re-anchor policy and embed irreversibility in our policy outcomes to make sure our economy is more resilient, Dr Addison stated.

Time for work

The Governor also pointed out that it was now the time to work towards the countrys economic recovery.

This programme approval is just the beginning of the real work of building Ghana better, he stated.

Dr Addison said the IMF Executive Boards approval of the programme in such a short timeframe was an indication of a strong government political will and commitment to the reform agenda.

We have now reached a point where our key stakeholders must come through quickly with their support to give meaning to the catalytic role of the IMF and help build Ghana better, the Governor appealed.
Ghana showcases instant and interoperable payment system to Africa

Kester Aburam Korankye May - 18 - 2023 , 16:15

The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) has partnered with AfricaNenda to showcase Ghanas interoperability ecosystem to some selected African countries that are still in the process of developing a similar system.

Ghanas Instant Payment solution, is considered one of the most advanced in Africa based on AfricaNenda's State of Instant and Inclusive Payment Systems (SIIPS) in Africa report 2022.

GhIPSS has since 2022 processed a monthly average of 17.9 million Instant Payment transactions through the interoperability ecosystem which includes 55 financial institutions working together to facilitate the movement of funds across different payment platforms in the country.

AfricaNenda is an African-led team of experts committed to unlocking the potential of digital financial services for the financially excluded across the continent by accelerating the scale-up of instant and inclusive payment systems.

Ghana's progress in developing an Instant Payment solution has reached different stages, which can be a source of inspiration for other African countries.

As a result, AfricaNenda has partnered with GhIPSS to organise a peer learning visit for some selected African countries to help improve on their payment systems.

The visit, which commenced Tuesday, is expected to enhance the understanding and knowledge of central banks and switch operators in specific thematic areas.

During the learning visit, central bank representatives from Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and switches such as Rwanda Rswitch, Zambia Electronic Clearing House Limited (ZECHL) and Central Africa GIMAC will participate in technical learning sessions, networking sessions and field visits.

The participants will gain valuable insights into GhIPSS's scheme rules, business model and use cases.

The learning visit will also help participating countries establish relevant networks and contacts to foster further sharing of expertise.

The Chief Executive Officer of GhIPSS, Archie Hesse said GhIPSS was excited about the partnership as it gives an opportunity to share the experiences and lessons learnt on Ghanas journey to achieving inclusive payments.

I am optimistic this knowledge sharing experience will provide the needed guidance to the various participating countries as they embark on the development and deployment of their instant payment solutions," he said.

He added that GhIPSS instant Pay is ranked under progressed inclusivity as it not only meets the fundamental IIPS criteria but also provides inclusive functionality that supports the most widely used channels and essential use-cases, including P2P and P2B transactions.

The CEO of AfricaNenda, Dr Robert Ochola said Ghana's experience offers critical lessons and good practices for regulators and policymakers in other countries, which was aligned with the organisations agenda to accelerate knowledge sharing and enhance the capacity of African institutions.

GhIPSS

The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited (GhIPSS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana. It was incorporated in May 2007 with a mandate to implement and manage interoperable payment system infrastructures for banks and non-bank -financial institutions in Ghana.

In line with its mandate, GhIPSS has implemented and currently manages the National Biometric Smart Card Banking and Retail System- e-zwich, Cheque Codeline Clearing (CCC) System, Automated Clearing House (ACH) Systems, National Switching and Processing System <\a> gh-link and the GhIPSS Instant Pay - (GIP).

The GhIPSS payment infrastructure is used by all banks in Ghana including the ARB Apex Bank and its affiliates, (The Apex body for Rural and Community banks) Savings and Loans Companies and Third-Party Payment Services Providers (International Card Schemes, Mobile Money Companies and Fintechs.
High demand for skilled labour in Germany "Embassy supports TVET institutions to train personnel"

Maclean Kwofi May - 19 - 2023 , 07:46

The German government has pledged to continue investing in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Ghana to develop more skilled labour for the job market.

The German government is hopeful that helping to improve the quality and quantity of a skilled workforce in Ghana will significantly raise more trained workers who can take advantage of the acute labour shortage in Germany, as the country looks to admit 400,000 new foreign workers per year for the labour market.

The German Ambassador to Ghana, Daniel Krull, who made this known at a special business forum by Ghanaian-German Economic Association (GGEA) in Accra last week Wednesday, stated that the unavailability of a skilled workforce had become a nightmare for industries in Germany.

There is a clear understanding now that Germany has to do a lot to attract more qualified people who will be willing or interested to consider living and working in Germany.

The German government is working on that and so do we here in the German Embassy in Ghana in the next couple of months, he added.

He said German industries needed qualified labour to fill the estimated 400,000 gap of skilled foreign workers per year.

And so, there is a huge lack of qualified personnel across industries in all sectors of the German economy, Mr Krull said.

Migration policy

Towards that, Mr Krull said the German government was taking keen steps to revise its migration policy to attract more foreigners who would take advantage of the gap in its labour market.

He said that the primary way Germany could solve the problem was by bringing in skilled immigrants into the country to fill essential vacant positions.

Given that 100 Ghanaians received visas for taking up skilled jobs in Germany each year, Mr Krull said there was a huge potential for qualified skilled Ghanaian labour to live and work in Germany.

The ambassador noted that the German government believed that professionally managed migration could boost the development of various economies, including Ghana.

He explained that Germany was one of the biggest donors of the TVET programme in Ghana and was more committed to continue supporting in that regard.

We will further increase our engagement with TVET institutions and technical universities in Ghana, to raise more qualified people to fill in the gap in Germany.

We do not believe that this is about risk of brain drain, given that we do a lot to train more qualified Ghanaian skilled labour, he added.

The President of the GGEA, Stephen Antwi, asked for stronger collaboration between the government and businesses to help create an enabling environment that would propel growth.

He said businesses with links to Germany operating in the country had gone through a number of challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

Mr Antwi indicated that the government must be able to take steps that would help alleviate the current plight of businesses.

No matter how you look at it, the state of businesses today is nothing to write home about, we have issues and challenges which we believe are not unsurmountable.

Although the environment in which we operate is challenging, we look to a future with a lot of hope, expectation and with the belief that businesses and the government can chart a better path that would lead to prosperity, the GGEA president said.

The forum

The forum, which is an initiative of the association, is a series of dialogues that feature selected topics and is aimed at influencing government policies in favour of businesses.

Dubbed, CEOs time with the ambassador and the minister, the interactive forum brought together chief executive officers (CEOs) and captains of industry from German and Ghanaian companies, as well as other private sector entities, to discuss issues confronting them, and more importantly, explore opportunities to proffer solutions.
Neuce Paints inspects progress of work on the renovation of KATH

Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor May - 19 - 2023 , 16:16

Neuce Paints Company Limited has promised to assist the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) to paint all its residential accommodations and also beautify the walls of the facility.

The company said it would continue to support good causes in the country and lend its support in building a very conducive environment for its business to thrive.

It said the work would be done in phases and over a period of time.

The West Africa Manager of the Company, Jonathan Costa, said this when he together with the Chief Executive Officer of KATH, Prof Otchere Addai-Mensah inspected the progress of work on the renovation of the doctors flats at KATH.

He said Kumasi has been very receptive to the company and that it was right that it also supported some of the institutions within the city.

According to him, it was a result of the good patronage the company was enjoying in Kumasi that it decided to respond to the appeal by the CEO of KATH for support to renovate the buildings at the facility.

Neuce Paints Company Limited has donated over GHC200, 000.00 worth of paints to KATH for the renovation of the doctors flats at Bantama.

Aside from the provision of the paints, the company also provided free consultancy service to the facility as well.

According to Mr Costa, Neuce does not only sell paints, we provide a service.

Products

Admittedly, he said the products of the company appeared a bit expensive as compared to the other products on the markets but was quick to add Neuce paint is a premium product and covers a wider area than the other products on the market.

He said the products were also long lasting and as such people tend to save more on the long run.

Company

Neuce Paints Company Limited is a Portuguese company with a large presence in Africa. It has been operating in Africa for almost two decades and moved to Ghana some nine years ago. Ghana currently serves as its West Africa Regional Office.
Rice importation will cease  Jospong

Dickson Worlanyo Dotse May - 19 - 2023 , 07:10

The Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, has vowed that with the advent of the Jospong Group Rice Project, the importation of rice into the country will be minimised if not stopped.

That, he said, was because wherever the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) detected a problem, it was always ready to confront and solve it.

Where we see a problem we confront and solve it and with this project that we have begun, the importation of rice must stop," he said.

Dr Agyepong said this at a two-day Food Security Conference 2023 held at Gomoa Fetteh in the Central Region and organised by the JGC, in collaboration with the Asian African Consortium (AAC) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

It was on the theme: Enhancing Food Security: The role of Ghanaian scientists," and brought together scientists, researchers, government officials and other stakeholders in the rice and agricultural industry.

The conference was aimed, among other things, at establishing inter-institutional technical teams with clear roles and responsibilities to drive the production of selected commodities such as rice, jute, maize, soya beans, tomatoes and onions, and establish timelines for deliverables.

Policy

Dr Agyepong encouraged the stakeholders, particularly the rice farmers and scientists, not to despair in the absence of adequate policies to support the initiative.

He rather urged them to be hopeful that when "fruits begin to yield," policies will change to favour them, adding; "Whether policy is supporting or not, never be discouraged.

He also challenged the government not to fear banning the importation of rice for fear that the ordinary Ghanaian would go hungry.

Dr Agyepong urged the government to rather be hopeful that the Ghanaian farmer in the face of a ban would be challenged and empowered to produce quality rice for the populace.

Green revolution

The Director-General of CSIR, Paul P. Bosu, said Africa and Ghana, in particular, for varied reasons, had not fully realised the benefits of the Green Revolution in spite of its widely acclaimed success in Asian and Latin American countries.

He, however, noted that it was never too late to leverage modern technologies to introduce high-yielding varieties of rice, wheat and other food crops, to greatly increase production and consequently make the country and the continent as a whole food secure.

In addition to the high-yielding variety increases in the area under cultivation, multiple cropping per year; increased fertilisation of crops, irrigation technologies and general improvement of agricultural machinery led to increased food crop production, he added.

He, therefore, urged scientists, researchers and ordinary Ghanaians to support the government to achieve its objective of feeding the population and earn more foreign exchange.

The CEO of the AAC, Adelaide Siaw Agyepong, who is leading the project, noted that science, research and development had traditionally been the drivers of innovation and productivity and as such were central to everything done in the world.

She stated that if immediate measures to enhance food production were not taken, the cost of Africa's yearly food import might rise from $50 billion to $110 billion 2030.

"When there is food crisis, the poor suffer the most since they are unable to obtain food due to price hikes.

So in this regard, the JGC and AAC, in partnership with the CSIR, perceive the need to bridge Ghanas food security concerns, she stated.

SDG

The outgoing General Secretary of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, who spoke on behalf of the Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, noted that the initiative had come at the right time to help Ghana achieve the Sustainable Development Goal Two, which is: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

The church commended the CSIR, whose key mandate is to drive national development and global competitiveness in industry through scientific and technological research, for partnering the Jospong Group.

Beyond this conference I want to challenge this gathering to take steps to help us produce enough food to feed ourselves as Ghanaians and even export some, Apostle Kumi-Larbi said.
Vice-President inspects Agenda 111 project in Bolgatanga East

Gilbert Mawuli Agbey May - 19 - 2023 , 07:17

The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has inspected construction works on the Agenda 111 Hospital project in Bolgatanga East district of the Upper East Region.

The region is a beneficiary of eight of the hospital projects which are under construction in Garu, Tempane, Pusiga, Binduri and Kassena Nankana West districts.

The rest are Nabdam, Bolgatanga East and Builsa South.

He was accompanied by the Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu; the District Chief Executive for the area, David Akolgo Amoah, and other dignitaries.

Rationale

In an interview after the inspection last Wednesday, Dr Bawumia said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, came up with the Agenda 111 hospital project to make sure that there was no district without a hospital to provide quality health care to the people.

He noted that as part of the project, new regional hospitals in all the six new regions, as well as psychiatric hospitals for the middle, coastal and northern zones, would be built, saying currently, there is work going on at all the project sites across the country to construct state-of-the-art hospitalS for Ghanaians.

We are here to look at the progress of the work which, when completed, will provide first-class health services to thousands of residents living in the district, Dr Bawumia said.

Pleased with work

I must tell you that I am very pleased with the progress of work done so far, as all the buildings that make up the hospital project are currently at the roofing level, the Vice-President stated.

He said officials of the company executing the project assured him that in the next few months, the roofing would be done to fast-track the completion of the project.

I am very happy to report to the President that the project is very much on course when I return to Accra, Vice-President Bawumia said.

He commended the contractor for the good work done so far on the project, saying, I have been to a number of the hospital project sites but this is the one that is progressing fast.

So, I must congratulate the contractor and other workers working on the project as they have done a good job, stressing, I am convinced that by my next visit, the project would be nearing completion.

As a government, the goal we have set for ourselves is that the project will be officially opened later this year or early next year, Dr Bawumia mentioned.

Background

President Akufo-Addo launched the Agenda 111 project on Tuesday, August 17, 2021.

The project covers the construction of 101 district hospitals and six regional hospitals in the newly created regions.

It includes the construction of a regional hospital in the Western Region, two psychiatric hospitals in Kumasi and Tamale and a redeveloped Accra Psychiatric Hospital.

Facilities in the hospital will include surgical theatres for maternity, obstetrics and gynaecology; female, male and paediatric wards, among others.

The project is to ensure that Ghanaians have access to quality health services irrespective of their geographical location.
Govt-IMF deal: Our advice was ignored - Minority

Daily Graphic Politics May - 19 - 2023 , 07:37

The Minority in Parliament has said it advised the government to seek an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout in 2021 but the government ignored its advice.

According to the Minority, if the government had listened to wise counsel things would not have deteriorated to the current state.

We wish to state for the records that when the government finally decided on July 4, 2022 (11 months ago) to seek an IMF bailout, we in the Minority were clear in our minds that this government had long missed every golden opportunity it was presented with to salvage the economy which it has so grossly mismanaged since coming into office in 2017, it said.

This was contained in a statement issued and signed by the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, in response to the IMF Executive Board approval of Ghanas request for an extended credit facility of $3 billion.

Having secured a Board approval, the Ghanaian people look forward to the Board document on the true state of Ghana's economy in the coming days. This report will outline the full details of the bargain between the Fund and the government, in terms of our Debt Sustainability Analysis, Performance Criteria, Structural Benchmarks and the gamut of other conditionalities that have been agreed upon, it said.

The Minority in Parliament will, in the coming days ,address Ghanaians on the contents of this report and what this IMF deal portends for all of us going forward, the statement added.

The Minority in Parliament commended the tolerance of the Ghanaian bondholders who had taken haircuts on their investment and returns, the pensioners who have so far been denied payment of maturing coupons on their investments and Ghanaians, both young and old, who have so far endured various painful sacrifices such as a turbulent economy, rising cost of living and anxiety over how to afford the basic needs of life.

Suffice it to say, that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, as part of their proposal to the IMF to secure this deal, has agreed to increase utility tariffs every three months from last year. So far, since September 2022, electricity tariff has gone up by a cumulative figure of 75.32 per cent (27 per cent in September 2022, 29.96 per cent in the last quarter of 2022 and 18.36 per cent a few days ago, the statement said.

Let us brace ourselves for the full consequences of this IMF deal, which will without doubt bite hard on Ghanaians, especially the youth. This is not a counsel of despair but a reality that will soon dawn on all of us, it stated.
Joe Ghartey urges NPP to choose experienced and trustworthy candidate for election 2024 Victory

GraphicOnline Politics May - 19 - 2023 , 08:23

Presidential candidate aspirant, Joe Ghartey, is calling on delegates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to elect a presidential candidate who possesses both experience and trustworthiness in order to secure victory in the 2024 general elections.

During an interview on FOX FM as part of his Ashanti Region tour, the former Minister of Railways Development emphasized the importance of loyalty and compassion in a leader.

Mr. Ghartey urged the delegates to vote for him if they desired to break the "eight years myth" and lead the party to success.

Having been a member of the NPP since its formation in 1992, Mr. Ghartey has consistently advocated for the party's ideals and campaigned to propel the country forward.

He highlighted that his priority lies in railway transport and expressed his intention to focus on developing transportation infrastructure to advance Ghana. Mr Ghartey emphasized the need for progress, stating, "we must always strive to go forward and not backwards."

Speaking to Angel FM, another Kumasi-based radio station, Mr. Ghartey credited the Justice for All program, which he initiated, for successfully reducing congestion in Ghana's prisons. This program, which brought the court system into prisons to address unjust incarcerations, has significantly decreased the percentage of remand prisoners from 33% to 9%.

Mr. Ghartey's motivation to launch the life-changing program stemmed from a visit to the overcrowded Kumasi Central Prison, where he encountered a young lady who had been unjustly imprisoned. He highlighted that other African countries, like Kenya, have adopted similar programs to reduce the number of remand prisoners in their respective prisons.

The lawmaker expressed his satisfaction with these initiatives, emphasizing his commitment to making a positive difference in the lives of the people he serves.

The NPP has scheduled its presidential primary for November 4, 2023, to select a flagbearer for the upcoming 2024 elections. Mr, Joe Ghartey will compete against other prominent figures within the party, including Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Mr. Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, Mr. Boakye Agyako, Mr. Kennedy Agyapong, Mr. Kwabena Agyapong, Mr. Francis Addai-Nimoh, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who have all declared their intentions to seek the party's mandate for the 2024 polls.
Monetisation of politics preventing African women from engaging in politics - Ayisha Osori

Zadok Kwame Gyesi Politics May - 19 - 2023 , 14:01

A Director at the office of the Executive Vice President of Open Society Foundations, Ayisha Osori, has expressed the concern that the monitisation of politics in many African countries remains a major obstacle preventing many women from actively engaging in politics on the continent.

She said many African women were at the bottom of the economic pyramid, hence making it difficult for them to compete for political positions with their male counterparts who are financially stable.

Speaking at the opening-day of a two-day conference organised by the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) in collaboration with the University of Ghanas Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, Ms. Osori, said as long as politics is about money, women will continue to be in a disadvantaged position.

For her, women are needed in politics to ensure that womens needs are fully represented.

MIASA conference

The conference, which was held at the Auditorium of the Centre for Biodiversity Conservation Research, University of Ghana, was on the theme: Increasing womens political presence in West Africa.

MIASA is an Institute under the College of Humanities at the University of Ghana and is jointly funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the University of Ghana.

MIASA serves as a hub for exchange, networking, and collaboration among leading researchers from Germany, Ghana, and other scholars from around the globe.

An important focus of MIASA is to encourage intellectual exchange across disciplines and between junior and senior researchers through its Interdisciplinary Fellow Groups (IFGs).

Womens representation

Ms. Osori, who was delivering a keynote address on the theme: Womens political power in West Africa and the global context of democracy and its discontent: The case of Nigeria, said "We need women in politics because the society is made up of women and men with different life experiences."

For her, a combination of women and men in politics will deliver better governance system for the betterment of society, explaining that since men and women have different needs, it is important to have both of them in politics so that they can bring to bear their different needs.

Ms. Osori also urged women to belong to political parties and be recognised and seen so that they can contest for political offices in their parties.

She said women stand to benefit a lot when they join political parties and become active members, noting that it will be difficult for women who do not belong to political parties to be allowed to contest for positions in party-politics.

She said political parties only recognise card-bearing members and that without becoming a card bearing member of a political party, it will be difficult for women to contest on the tickets of such parties for any political office.

"We need to be in the parties to fund the parties so that the politicians can stop using the state money to fund the parties," Ms. Osori said, adding "Parties need us; they need the people that is why joining political parties is the way to participate in political activities.

Understanding womens role

The MIASA Director, Germany, Dr Susann Baller, said the issue of increasing womens political presence, particularly in Africa, was key to MIASA.

She said the conference offers insightful examples of how we can understand political presence, power and representation in different contexts.

As a result, we insist on gender balance in our fellow selection and we organise a female Academic Careers in Africa workshop in collaboration with the Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy, university of Ghana, she said.

For Dr Baller, MIASA was devoted to promoting female scholarship on the African continent and beyond, adding that an important focus of MIASA is to encourage intellectual exchange across disciplines and between junior and senior researchers through its Interdisciplinary Fellow Groups (IFGs).

The Director of MIASA, Ghana, Dr. Grace Diabah, who read a speech on behalf of the Provost of the College of Humanities, University of Ghana, Professor Daniel Ofori, commended MIASA for its continued interest in the development of women.
Nadowli-Kaleo: A mix of agric, gold

Emmanuel Modey Politics May - 19 - 2023 , 07:54

From the far corner of the largely peri-urban setting in the Upper West Region, the Nadowli-Kaleo Constituency was brought into prominence by Alban Sumani Kingsford Bagbin, the seven-time Member of Parliament (MP) for the area.

As his time as a legislator was brought to a close in January 2021, when Mr Bagbin declined to contest the seat for the eighth time, it coincided with his elevation  albeit in dramatic fashion  to the Speakership of Parliament.

In more ways than one, Mr Bagbin became the ambassador of the constituency on account of his ever-present character in Ghanas politics across the entire span of the Fourth Republic.

The constituency is one of 11 parliamentary territories in the region. It was created from the original Nadowli Constituency which was split into two in 2012 with Nadowli-West as the other constituency. Cited in the middle of the region, the constituency is also the district capital of the Nadowli-Kaleo District and is bordered on its West by Burkina Faso. It is bordered to the South by the Wa Municipality, on the North by Jirapa and Lambussie-Karni, and to the East by Daffiama/Bussie/Issa districts.

The Nadowli-Kaleo Constituency has a total area of 2,594 square kilometres and a population of 77,057 out of which 40,064 are females and 36,993 are males. The distance between the district and the regional capital, Wa, covers about 40 kilometres and its location promotes international trade between the district and neighbouring Burkina Faso.

Going by the national standard for the definition of an urban settlement, none of the settlements in the Nadowli District has attained an urban status. Only 15 out of the 144 communities have populations above 2,000.

Some notable towns in the Constituency are Sankana, Sombo and Serekpere. Others are Charikpong, Umbo, Goli, Kalsegra and Tangasie. The rest are Takpo, Dapuori, Duong, Nanville, Yiziere and Kaniyi.

Local economy

The district is typically a rural economy with approximately 85 per cent of the population engaged in agriculture which is the dominant industry in the area. The remaining percentage is engaged in micro-business enterprises, agro-processing, welding, fabrication, handicraft, among others.

Over 50 per cent of the population is self-employed and over 86 per cent of the people are resident in rural areas. Micro and small enterprises are considered the backbone of the districts economy, and those operating in the area are engaged in farm-based business such as mushroom cultivation. Others are pre and post-harvest activities such as animal traction and crop drying, agro-processing, including processing of cereals, vegetables, seeds.

The rest are industrial activities such as soap making, baking, confectionery, traditional craft such as textiles, leatherworks and handicraft.

Investment opportunities

The area has vast arable land along the Black Volta River which can be cultivated on a large scale. However, farmers along the river undertake dry season crop production and have great interest and experience in managing dry season farming. Given the available land and water resources, there is great potential for large-scale irrigation by both small scale and commercial farmers.

Tourism has contributed in a major way to the development of most regions in the country. The Central, Greater Accra, Eastern and Volta regions, to mention but a few, have all benefited greatly from the industry. The contribution of tourism to the development of the Nadowli-Kaleo Constituency may dwindle if frantic effort is not made to revamp the various tourist attraction sites.

The main tourist attractions in the constituency include historical heritage and eco-tourism products. These include the Sankana caves, Ombo Wura rocky hills and Duong bone-setting clinic. The others are Falantan Anthills and Zukpiri Community Resource Management Area. The rest are the Royal Mausoleums, Crocodile Pond and Sombo footprints.

Despite the enormous potential of the contribution of tourism to national development, the sector in this constituency has not enjoyed much government investment. As a result the area has lost out to most constituencies as tourist attraction centres. The tourism potentials are rare but their preservation and development should be taken much more seriously. Tourism is no doubt important to the communities in the constituency that seek development. Tourism in the region has not enjoyed much attention as it should, and as such the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture should work closely to assist the traditional authorities and district assembly to revamp the sector.

MPs interventions

According to the MP for Nadowli-Kaleo Constituency who succeeded Speaker Bagbin, Anthony Mwinkaara Sumah, he came to meet a herculean task since the Speaker occupied the seat for so many years. Mr Sumah said he had to hit the ground at a fast pace by setting up various committees to assist him to meet the aspirations of the people.

For the past two years, he has been able to lobby and execute a lot of projects and programmes in the various sectors to the value of over billion cedis to move the constituency forward.

In education, apart from the initial seed capital of GH100,000 towards their tertiary education scholarship fund in 2021, the MP said he had so far spent GH230,000 as scholarship for 169 tertiary students. Besides this, he has also supported some basic schools with furniture, books, extra tuition, cement, iron rods, roofing sheets and other logistics to the tune of about GH89,000 towards the construction of a classroom block for Tendaama Junior High School to upgrade infrastructure in the sector.

On health, Mr Sumah said in collaboration with the Nadowli District Hospital he organised and funded eye screening for teachers and students, provided the 123 teachers with spectacles, free cataract surgeries to the tune of GH5,750. Apart from this, he has equipped four Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) with palpation beds, supported some individuals with the payment of medical bills to the tune of GH5,000 as well as renewal for over 1,000 people under the National Health Insurance Scheme. The MP said he supported the Penetobo, Tangasie and Takyirpie delivery units with over GH41,500 towards the completion of the clinics in the constituency.

Residents appeal

A trader and a resident, Eva Taafaale, appealed to the government to connect all the communities in the constituency to the national grid. Aside from that, more streetlights should be installed in the communities.

Ms Taafaale was of the view that the connection of communities to the national grid would pave the way for many developmental projects such as skills training as well as improving academic performance in the area.

This, she said was part of the government's obligation to give opportunities to the citizens, especially women, to develop their potential to earn or increase their income in the deprived areas.

A farmer and a resident, Cynthia Gamur, appealed to the government to rehabilitate their road network to ease their plight, especially pregnant women and patients.

She said that due to the deplorable nature of the roads it made travelling expensive and tiresome.

Ms Gamur explained that except for the Wa- Hamile highway that passed through the constituency, only one of the roads had been tarred, and as such most of the communities did not have roads leading to them. She explained that during the dry season, dust engulfed the whole town making it difficult for them to be in both their shops and homes. Apart from that during the rainy season, heavy rains made the area muddy and sometimes impassable.

The Jang Naa (Chief of Doung), Naa Alhassan Musah, appealed to the government, benevolent organisations and individuals to come to the aid of the people of Doung to rehabilitate part of the dam which was washed off during the floods in 2021.

DCE response

The Nadowli-Kaleo District Chief Executive (DCE), Katherine Lankono Tieyirr, said the assembly had been able to complete several projects which had touched the lives of the people in the constituency.

She mentioned the establishment of an all-girls model Junior High School (JHS) at Sankana in November 2017.

Ms Tieyirr explained that by sending a girl to school, she is far more likely to ensure that her children also received education. As many claimed, investing in a girls education is investing in a nation. On the average, she said for every year a girl stayed at school, her marriage was delayed. She further said, as a beneficiary of an exclusive all-female secondary education, she felt it was her responsibility to establish one.

The DCE also mentioned the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit she established at the Nadowli District Hospital in 2018. As a mother herself, she pitied women who had to watch their premature babies die due to no proper system to cater for them. So this has been a project and from these women will no longer see their babies die after several months of pregnancy.

She said on realising the rich agricultural potential in the area, she lobbied for the construction of the Doung multi-purpose irrigation dam project to enable them to do an all-year farming and promote livestock farming. Now her only worry was that part of the multi-purpose irrigation dam was washed away during the floods caused by the spillage of the Bagri dam and torrential rainfall that occurred in August 2021.

She explained that investment in commercial production would provide jobs for the youth while other unemployed youth may undertake dry season crop production as a business venture if irrigation was developed.

She said land user agreements had already been signed between the Department of Agriculture and land owners along the banks for large scale agricultural production. Apart from that the Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP) has conducted an assessment of the area and consequently recommended it suitable for large scale crop production. This, therefore, required an initial investment of about GH1.5million to be expended for the development of irrigation infrastructure in the area, adding that once developed, it was expected that many more farmers would engage in dry season production of vegetables, cereals and legumes to increase production and enhance their livelihood.

Challenges

Ms Tieyirr mentioned finance as the biggest challenge affecting the development of the district. She named for instance the need to resource women to enable them to enter viable ventures to improve their sources of income to cater for themselves and their children. On this score, she noted that with financial assistance, the women could have gone into the rearing of livestock to ensure the sustainability of the livestock market at Tangasie.

She also mentioned that tiger nuts and other legumes, including potatoes, thrived in the district, contributing to the largest share of the overall agricultural production in the region. However, they lacked a good market, she said.

Ms Tieyirr prayed for the implementation of the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regional Social Cohesion Project (SOCO) which will bring a lot of development to the area. It is funded by the World Bank. She appealed for the expansion of the rural electrification project that was yet to reach 60 out of the 144 communities in the constituency.
US orbital logistics and space mining company TransAstra Corporation announced that the US Space Force has awarded it a Phase One Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to explore new applications for the companys patented, propellant-agnostic Omnivore thruster.

The Omnivore propulsion technology provides thrust typically six times faster and eight times cheaper than electric systems, and enables vehicles to carry payloads several times larger than those using chemical rocket thrusters. This capability opens up the opportunity for greater access to space and to accelerate space business ecosystem development.

The contract will fund exploration of the propulsion systems product-market fit for a range of government and commercial customers. This is the companys first SBIR award specifically for Omnivore and follows several million dollars of prior funding, including SBIR/STTR awards from the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The Omnivore thruster uses solar reflectors to focus highly concentrated sunlight onto a solar absorber located inside the thruster. Propellant, typically water vapor, is injected into the solar absorber system. The absorber in-turn superheats the propellant, so that it can expand and accelerate in the rockets nozzle providing the safest and most efficient thrust available on the market.

The Omnivore thruster is designed to propel the companys Worker Bee space tugs. Because of the thrusters capabilities, Worker Bee tugs can deploy full satellite constellations in days instead of the months required by other systems.

Partly because Omnivore is less massive at launch than chemical systems, it provides more affordable access to final destinations such as geostationary and cislunar orbits. This contract opens the doors to understanding how the system can be used and optimized across the space ecosystem. It offers reduced reliance on large-rocket rideshares and unleashes the opportunity for our private and government customers to facilitate their own launches faster and more economically, which translates into accelerated revenue generation. Dr. Joel Sercel, TransAstra CEO

TransAstra conducts research on Omnivore at its laboratory in Los Angeles which houses two large vacuum chambers for solar-powered rocket testing. The company has completed successful tests on the propulsion system at the facility using a variety of propellants.

TransAstra calculates that when Omnivore operates using liquid hydrogen propellant it will perform similarly to nuclear rockets, but without nuclear materials, costs, or risk. TransAstra performed Omnivores early development under NASA NIAC funding and is now readying the technology for flight demonstration and mission applications.
The National Weather Service Guam Weather Forecast Office continues to monitor Invest 97W, which was upgraded to a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center to a rating of high, which means tropical cyclone development is likely within the next 24 hours.

As of 7:30 a.m. today, the system was located about 200 miles south-southeast of Satawal and about 610 miles south-southeast of Guam, near 5 degrees north latitude and 149 degrees east longitude, according to a press release from the NWS.

It is tracking westward around 6 mph.

Current forecast has 97W favoring a track toward the Marianas, with a passage very near or over some parts of Guam or the CNMI early next week. Through the weekend, clear weather is expected for the Marianas before inclement weather arrives as early as Monday and continuing through Wednesday, with heavy rainfalls possible.

High uncertainty remains for the exact forecast track and intensity of the system as it approaches the Marianas. For Guam, it is expected to approach between Monday and Wednesday with a potential for tropical storm to low-end typhoon force impacts.

There is a possibility for damaging to destructive winds and heavy rains, with increasing potential for hazardous sea conditions.

The community is advised to take the following preparedness actions between now and the upcoming weekend:

Those living in flood-prone areas should take action - clear drainage areas and unblock storm drains to minimize flooding;

Clear loose debris around your yard and store any items such as tents and canopies that may become airborne with heavy winds, before inclement weather arrives;

Stay up to date with the latest information. The system track or intensity may change, and advisories may be issued;

Locate or prepare your emergency preparedness kits for your household;

Secure important documents such as birth certificates, tax papers, and insurance documents, and keep copies in a water-proof bag;

Gas vehicles and get fuel for generators;

Be prepared to take action if shutters are recommended in the coming days.

Visit the following links for the latest advisory information:

NWS website: https://www.weather.gov/gum/

NWS Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NWSGuam/

GHS/OCD website: https://ghs.guam.gov/

GHS/OCD Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GHSOCD/

For more information, contact GHS/OCD Public Information Officer Jenna G. Blas at (671) 489-2540 or via email at jenna.g.blas@ghs.guam.gov.




Haiti - Diaspora : 220th of the flag, Message from the Consulate of Haiti in Montreal





As part of the celebration of the 220th anniversary of the creation of the Haitian flag, the Consulate of Haiti in Montreal (QC, Canada) delivered a message to all compatriots that we invite you to read and share.



Message from the Consulate of Haiti in Montreal :

"Dear compatriots, ladies and gentlemen,



This May 18, 2023, bringing back the commemoration of the 220th anniversary of the creation of the national bicolor in Arcahaie by the founding fathers of the Fatherland, Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Alexandre Petion, symbolizes a crucial stage in the struggle of this fraction of the 'Damned of earth' with a view to their emancipation as free men, respect for their dignity and the conquest of national independence.



Our hearts are filled with joy when we think of the fact that we were the first black nation to raise the standard of freedom in the world at a time when colonialism and slavery were at their height.



Despite the avatars of our life as a people, our bicolor remains, even today, the soul of the nation. Its creation was a major event that galvanized the barefooters to Independence. Indeed, it announced the Battle of Vertieres from November 18, 1803 to the Proclamation of National Independence, January 1, 1804.



We can also rejoice in the fact that many Latin American countries display the national colors in their flags in recognition of our contribution to their liberation struggle.



Our two-tone identifies and defines us. It nourishes the sense of belonging in all of us to the beloved homeland. Our soul is so imbued with it that each of us, deep down and sometimes unwittingly, becomes its embodiment and is convinced that he bears the heavy responsibility of proudly and worthily representing the national colors in the outside.



If the mystique of the flag is so strong among us Haitians, it is because it represents the union of an entire people. She had the magic of burying antagonisms, rivalries and fratricidal wars to make way for understanding, collaboration and living together. The first Head of State of the young nation, Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines was so aware of the need to remain welded to each other under pain of falling back into our faults that he made the unity of the Haitian family one of the main points of his government program.



Dear compatriots,



It is high time to wake up from our torpor in order to avoid this corner of earth that we all cherish. more suffering, more setbacks and humiliation. Let's learn to cultivate peace, love, while working for advancement and for individual and collective well-being



The Consulate General of Haiti in Montreal will continue to support the entire population following the instructions of the government, through multiple actions in all areas of its competence in order to promote the interests of the country and bilateral cooperation in the direction of a national revival and an economic take-off likely to bring solutions to the social problems which feed our recurrent political crises.





Long live the Haitian Community in Quebec,

Long live the Haitian-Quebec Cooperation,

Long live the Haitian flag

Long live HAITI"



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





Minister Odney cummoned by justice

Investigating judge Jean Wilner Morin, victim of an attempted attack Wednesday, May 17, 2023 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39560-haiti-flash-judge-jean-wilner-morin-under-a-deluge-of-bullets.html summoned for Monday, May 22, as a witness Pierre Ricot Odney, current Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, in the corruption case involving Pierre Richard Vales, Chief Accountant of the Social Insurance Fund (CAS) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39343-haiti-news-zapping.html , Hector Dominique Bernardin, Mrs. Edwine Tonton, Director of the CAS https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39396-haiti-news-zapping.html and Yverose Alcide, member of his cabinet.



4 SOGEBANK employees wanted

The financial affairs office of the central direction of the judicial police (DCPJ), has launched 4 wanted notices against SOGEBANK employees. They are Anne Ketia Georges, Jean Ralph Antoine, Jean Juniot Memnon, Lifete Leevens Dejoie accused of theft, complicity in theft, breach of trust, forgery and use of forgery and association of criminals. See also : https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-39470-icihaiti-pnh-arrest-of-2-sogebank-employees.html



The flag of Haiti on Parliament Hill in Canada

The flag of the Republic of Haiti on the occasion of the 220th anniversary of its creation, was hoisted on the Hill of the Parliament of Canada, in the presence of ministers, parliamentarians and members of the Haitian community.



In addition, members of the Haitian community of Ottawa and Gatineau celebrated Flag Day on May 18, 2023. With the kind collaboration of the municipal authorities of the City of Gatineau, they hoisted, along with Minister-Counsellor Osse Aristild, the two-tone at the Ville de Gatineau Maison du Citoyen. The audience took advantage of this opportunity to observe a moment of contemplation in front of the bust of Jean-Jacques Dessalines exhibited in the Hall of Nations, in Gatineau.



220th of Flag : Messages

Jocelerme Privert, former President a.i. :

"It has been 220 years since our ancestors sacrificed themselves to bequeath to us, at the end of the Congress of Arcahaie, our flag, a symbol of union, fraternity and the nation State. I urge my dear compatriots to take inspiration from this historic date to reflect on the symbolism of the national bicolor, so that together we commit to transforming our dear Haiti into a democratic, united, stable, prosperous and competitive country."



Laurent Lamothe, former Prime Ministe r:

"The Haitian flag is much more than a symbol, it is a reflection of our history, our courage and our resilience. On this special day, let us unite our hearts and minds, because together we are stronger. Long live the union, long live Haiti !"



Wilson Jeudy Mayor of Delmas

"May 18 marks 220 years since the creation of the Haitian flag. A flag which has a whole avalanche of history and which symbolizes the struggle for the quest for the independence of the country. This magnificent flag represents the pride of a slave people who became free by giving themselves freedom. Freedom or death resounds in the soul of all Haitians. Today, on May 18, 2023, it is time to relive the Haitian of yesteryear to resurrect Haiti from these ashes. Upright ! To celebrate our flag with pride, head high! On this unforgettable occasion, the Mayor of Delmas, Wilson Jeudy wishes a happy celebration to every Haitian, especially to Delmassiens and Delmassiennes ! Courage ! Vision ! Action !"



Our two-tone celebrated in Spain

Yesterday, May 18, 2023, Haitian Flag Day was celebrated in Spain with the Haitian community, the Cercle Culturel d'Amitie Hispanique Haitienne, the diplomatic corps and friends of Haiti in the courtyard of the Nunciature after the mass celebrated by the Nuncio Apostolic in Madrid, Msgr. Bernadito Auza.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2023/05/18 | Source

Actor Song Seung-heon expressed his feelings about challenging the villain role.

Advertisement

On the 18th, Song Seung-heon met with Celeb Media at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and talked about the Netflix original series "Black Knight" (director Cho Eui-seok).

"Black Knight" depicts what happens on the Korean Peninsula of the future, where people cannot live without oxygen respirators due to extreme air pollution, and the legendary courier '5-8' and refugee Sa-wol against a group of thousand who dominate the new world.

Song Seung-heon transformed into villain Ryoo Seok in the drama. Ryoo Seok is the only successor of the Cheonmyeong Group, which rules the world with oxygen as a weapon in a chaotic world where he cannot live without an oxygen respirator.

Regarding the villain challenge, Song Seung-heon said, "I'm not used to it either", adding, "If we have to divide the dichotomy between good and evil, Ryoo Seok is a person close to evil. I wasn't worried about how I would look as the villain named Ryoo Seok", he said.

"I was thirsty for such a character. If I had concerns about how to watch it, I wouldn't have done the movie "Obsessed" in the past. There was and still is a desire for a new character. Fortunately, there were many people who liked it. It was fun for me, too", he added.

A total of six episodes of "Black Knight" were released on the 12th.
Published on 2023/05/18 | Source

Kim Go-eun gave off a dreamy atmosphere through the pictorial.

Advertisement

Actress Kim Go-eun released a pictorial with W Magazine Korea on the 17th.

In the released pictorial, Kim Go-eun is looking fatal with her long hair hanging down.

Above all, while Kim Go-eun exudes elegance and kitschy-ness at the same time with an all-black look, even her shadow.

Meanwhile, Kim Go-eun made a comeback to the screen with the movie "Hero" last year. "Hero" depicts the unforgettable last year of Ahn Jung-geun, who died in October 1909 after killing Ito Hirobumi in Harbin and was sentenced to death by a Japanese court. She also chose the movie "Exhuma" as her next film.
Published on 2023/05/18 | Source

Kim Woo-bin and Shin Min-a's trip to Bali was captured.

Advertisement

A video of Shin Min-a and Kim Woo-bin moving to the airport was uploaded on Twitter, making headlines.

According to the report, the couple traveled to Bali last month and enjoyed a great deal.

In addition, Shin Min-a recently posted a photo taken at a local grocery store in Bali on her personal account. Kim Woo-bin also completed Lovestagram with photos taken at the resort.

Shin Min-a, who has natural fashion, looks so happy. Kim Woo-bin also boasted a unique visual, even though he only wore a T-shirt.

In addition, Kim Woo-bin drew attention in the airport video by pushing the luggage cart himself.

In response, netizens supported the two's strong affection.

Meanwhile, they drew keen attention last year as proof shots of enjoying dating in Paris spread through Weibo.

In the recently released Netflix original series "Black Knight", Kim Woo-bin has become a popular hero in the dark future era.

Shin Min-a is choosing her next film following last year's drama "Our Blues".
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
On Saturday, 15 April 2023, members of the High Country Chapter Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), in conjunction with members of the Appalachian State University ROTC Scabbard and Blade Club, met at Mount Lawn Cemetery in order to place marking decals on the tombstones of local military veterans. The purpose of the placement of the decals on the gravesites was to identify who the veterans are and where specifically they are buried. This is part of a new MOAA program initiative called, Flags Over Our High Country Veterans.

This activity was accomplished in anticipation of further honoring High Country Veterans on the upcoming Memorial Day of Remembrance, by placing American flags at the gravesites on Saturday, May 27, 2023. What we are doing here today is to prepare for a chapter and community event for Memorial Day, stated High Country Chapter President Frankie Groff. Today, we are identifying where the veterans are buried at Mount Lawn Cemetery as their final resting place. In another month, on May 27th, our chapter members, along with local volunteers, will place the Amercian Flag on each site, to honor their service and to keep their memory alive.

The High Country Chapter Military Officers Association of America is composed of local active duty, retired, and former military officers and surviving spouses, who seek to serve all veterans, and their families, regardless of rank and service affiliation. The High Country Chapter was responsible for initiating and erecting the Watauga County Veterans Memorial on King Street in downtown Boone. Additionally, the Chapter continues to serve as host of the Memorial Day of Remembrance and Veterans Day Celebration at the Boone Mall. These two events have been held for the last 15 years with the support and partnership of the Boone Mall, Watauga Community Band, local businesses and our community.

The Chapter is honored to be able to initiate this new project to remember and recognize those who have served our country.

As a reminder, all are welcome to attend the upcoming Memorial Day of Rememberance at Boone Mall on Monday, 29 May 2023 at 11:00.

Courtesy of Military Officers Association of America

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

Reddit

Pocket


The Watauga County commissioners meet on May 16th. Photo by Zack Hill.

By Zack Hill

Watauga County residents got a chance to sound off on the need for minimum housing standards and the proposed county budget at commissioners meeting Tuesday, May 16th.

County officials are proposing a $94 million budget that maintains a 3.18 cent property tax rate for 2023-2024.

But before speakers addressed the budget, others decried the fact that the county has no minimum housing code. People are living in substandard conditions, they said, and there is currently nothing they can do about it.

Many members of Down Home North Carolina, an organization that advocates for adequate housing, solutions to social problems and other issues for small-town and rural, working class people, spoke about the need for minimum housing standards in Watauga County.

Im here to ask the board to implement minimum housing standards, Alana Baird said. Research shows improvements in health and poverty indicators when people are out of suboptimal and dangerous housing situations. The benefits to our community go beyond humanitarian aspects.

My niece lived in an apartment that had mold and she just had a baby. When she contacted her landlord they didnt do anything about it. But because our county doesnt have minimum housing standards, they [property owners] didnt have to do anything. So shes having to focus on basics family safety needs and its making it hard for her to work towards other goals.

Many spoke of their experiences with Bradford Park, a site on Bamboo Road with several dozen mobile homes.

Theres a lack of trash services, unsafe stairs, doors that dont seal or lock securely, siding with holes and rot, loose electrical outlets and porches collapsing only to be inadequately repaired, J.B. Brych said. The water is shut off there multiple times a year. The people living in these conditions are our neighbors, the elderly, people working in the community and their children who didnt get to decide where they live.

They may lose water without notice or contract illnesses from black mold, all from places theyre paying hundreds of dollars to rent. Without minimum housing codes, its lawless.

Maegan Furman works with Brych on housing issues said that many tenants at Bradford Park and other places often have no recourse when it comes to their situations.

State standards are not doing it, Furman said. When I pushed for changes to be made [at Bradford Park] I received a cease and desist letter. I couldnt provide food or continue to raise their [residents] concerns. I receive calls from people who are still struggling to have their needs met. They just need a healthy and safe standard of living and leaving it up to property owners or other agencies is just not working.

Commissioner Ray Russell said he believed that the lack of available housing created in part by yearly increases in Appalachian States enrollment is at the core of the issue.

I look at housing issues a lot, Ive read a lot, Russell said. No community can address this problem without addressing the cost of housing and the cost of building.

I would encourage all of us to think of the big picture, not just one aspect, because it is a complex problem. At the root of the problem is availability. I want us to think about that along with the issues youve raised. The number of people being put into town by App State is at the root of the availability issue.

Commissioner Todd Castle agreed.

Along with commissioner Russell, I know this doesnt solve all the issues, but we have a growth problem here, Castle said. Its like the Wild West. I dont know what it is but we have to do something to stop unchecked growth. We have a lot of people coming here and rent is out of control. I had a neighbor who passed away from unsafe housing molds.

Commissioner Charlie Wallin was concerned that minimum housing standards would cause rent to increase.

I know theres a trade-off, Wallin said. If we do this it will raise rent and will get some people thrown out. I look forward to this dialogue. We can do so much better for a lot of people and we have to figure out a way to do that.

Those at the meeting also had a chance to comment on the proposed 2023-2024 fiscal year county budget.

The budget, which is yet to receive final approval, has been available to the public since early May. Much of the audience was there to tell commissioners their thoughts and ask for additional funding.

President and CEO of the Boone Chamber of Commerce David Jackson spoke on behalf of the Economic Development Authority. He thanked the commissioners for their support of the EDA and asked for childcare funding to ensure parents can maintain steady employment.

I know not all funding opportunities can be completed like wed like to see them, Jackson said. Our primary goals at our recent meeting were housing and childcare. 87 percent of North Carolinians surveyed say taking action to make sure working families have access to affordable child care is important. Childcare continues to be a workforce issue.

Alicia Childers, executive director of the Childrens Council of Watauga County, also focused on helping working parents.

I appeal to you to increase the allocation to the Childrens Council from $50,000 to the $200,000 we requested, Childers said. It will help address our current staffing crisis. Our community providers cannot service all the children they are licensed to because they cant afford the staff to do that. Together we are making a difference but its time to move this project to another level.

Early education director for the Childrens Council Hunter Veripapa expounded on Childers message while focusing in particular on teachers.

Watauga is considered a childcare desert. Our economies suffer when workers cant find places for childcare, Veripapa said. We need to take care of the people who take care of our children. Im here to ask for more support from county commissioners to protect our most vulnerable citizens  children who cant speak for themselves. Children are our future so please make more funding available for our most valuable asset.

Ive worked in this field for over two decades and seen the struggles of families and children to find care and afford it. Within a short amount of time theyre disheartened by wages they cannot survive on. Teachers are paid low wages and have an extremely important job to educate our local population and our nation. Our teachers and educators need more to survive.

Chair of the Digital Watauga Project Eric Plaag asked the commissioners to consider additional funding for Watauga County Public Library.

Im here to speak to the proposed expansion of Watauga Library, Plaag said. Im intimately familiar with the space constraints of the library. It was built to one-third of the original proposed size. Friends of the Library and Digital Watauga currently have a ten-by-twenty foot room and have to rent space off-site. Its like playing Tetris. These conditions are deeply demoralizing to staff and residents of this county and the budgets proposed contribution of only $50,000 to library expansion is not enough.

County librarian Monica Caruso saw library funding as inadequate as well.

Im disappointed to see only $50,000 committed to library expansion, Caruso said. We are under the minimum tier [of library size for population] by N.C. library system standards.

Director of development for WAMY Community Action Allison Jennings spoke on behalf of the organization.

I want to share with you my concern with the budget proposal and lack of funds dedicated to WAMY, which addresses an all important issue: housing, Jennings said. WAMY is the oldest human service non-profit in the High Country.

She mentioned WAMYs role in bringing senior centers and public transportation to the area as well as the Head Start program to public schools.

We fast forward to 2023 and the needs and challenges of this community are different. One recurring need is housing. The number one need we face today is affordable, available, safe housing.

Emily Bish, chair of the Watauga County Democratic party, asked for the board of elections budget request to be fully funded. The board of elections discussed that only $90,000 of their requested $150,000 from the county was set to be funded at their last meeting.

Please fully fund the board of elections, Bish said. The new voter ID law the state is putting down will cause extra funding to be needed for extra expenses. We dont know quite yet whats going to have to happen. Im here to ask you to please consider it.

Commissioner Braxton Eggers comments reflected the sentiments of all the commissioners.

I wish we had the money to do all the things we need to get done, Eggers said. But we have to make sure we have our priorities in order and we just arent able to find the full funding for everything, even the things we know we really want to get done.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

Reddit

Pocket


The grocery shops that closed their doors earlier this month were located in Forum and on Iso Roobertinkatu. Alepa Eliel at Helsinki Central Station, meanwhile, is set to cease operations next month.

THREE Alepa grocery shops have recently closed or are about to close their doors in downtown Helsinki, Helsingin Sanomat reported on Wednesday.

Mika Heikkinen, the director in charge of the chain at HOK Elanto, said the retail co-operative decided not to renew the shops lease agreements because the coronavirus pandemic has lead to a drop in the number of people visiting the city centre and a change in how people move from one place to another.

There have been big changes downtown, he said to Helsingin Sanomat.

News of the closures came as a surprise to Marja-Leena Rinkineva, the director of economic development at the City of Helsinki.

Shops are living in constant change, looking for their optimal location and opening hours, she commented to Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday. But it does sound very unfortunate  theres no denying that. The closures are unfortunate if theyre related to a decline in customer volumes.

Rinkineva said she was surprised by the news particularly because she had detected some signs of rejuvenation in downtown areas earlier this year, despite the continuing increase in the number of vacant commercial properties. Although there is no exact data on the number of vacancies, last year it was estimated that 15.5 per cent of commercial properties in the centremost blocks were without a tenant.

One possible factor complicating the revitalisation is the road repair projects that are underway at the city centre, including the large projects on Esplanade and Mannerheimintie, according to Rinkineva.

They affect how people move, she said.

The departure of the small grocery shops has re-kindled discussion about the declining vitality of central Helsinki. Local policy makers explained the phenomenon with the recent increase in remote and hybrid forms of work, as well as with the popularity of shopping centres built on the edges of the city centre, such as Redi and Mall of Tripla.

Elisa Gebhard (SDP), a member of both the city council and board of Helsinki, told Helsingin Sanomat that the nearby shopping centres have reduced the need for people to visit the city centre. The core question is: what brings people to the centre, she said.

She agreed that changes in the mobility habits of people explains the closure of the centrally located grocery shops. Unfortunately, this reflects where people move. Shops are located wherever people are.

Gebhard identified residential construction as a key means to preserving the appeal and vitality of the city centre. Its generally important that we build apartments here determinedly. [] Thats one way to bring customers to grocery shops.

Councillor Otto Meri (NCP) identified the increase in remote work as the root cause of the withering of downtown Helsinki. He viewed that it is important to attract both new residents and tourists to the area by creating additional pull factors because tourists, in particular, add to the potential purchasing power in the city centre.

Vitality doesnt stem from locals buying milk or meat cuts, but from people looking for unique experiences, services and come here to enjoy themselves, he argued.

Gebhard agreed, estimating that a city centre that offers experiences and allows people to enjoy themselves is attractive also to those without any actual errands.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
"Income has also had a significant impact on voting in previous elections.

High-income individuals voted significantly more frequently in the 2023 parliamentary elections than low-income individuals, according to an election analysis conducted by Statistics Finland. The analysis revealed that over 85% of the highest-income voters cast their ballots, while slightly over 58% of the lowest-income voters participated.

It has been evident before that low-income individuals are more likely to abstain from voting," says Sami Fredriksson, Chief Actuary at Statistics Finland.

Education also showed a clear correlation with voter turnout, as highly educated individuals voted more frequently in the parliamentary elections than the average population.

"The voter turnout among individuals with an advanced higher education degree or postgraduate education was nearly 36 percentage points higher than those who had only completed basic education," Fredriksson explains.

Women voted more actively than men in nearly all age groups, except among individuals aged 70 or above, where men surpassed women in voter turnout. However, the largest difference in voter turnout between genders was observed among younger age groups.

"Young men are less active voters compared to women. The voter turnout among young women was approximately 10 percentage points higher than among men of the same age."

Employed individuals were the most active voters in the parliamentary elections, while those outside the labor force exhibited the lowest voter turnout.

Among voters with a foreign language background, voter turnout was significantly lower compared to those who spoke domestic languages. Less than 40% of eligible voters with a foreign language background cast their ballots, while over 71% of Finnish or Sami speakers and as much as 76.5% of Swedish speakers participated in the elections.

The analysis was based on the voters who participated in the 2023 parliamentary elections, using data from the Ministry of Justice's voter register and information on voter turnout. It should be noted that the information on voter turnout in practice may slightly differ from the overall voting data based on ballot papers at the national level.

HT
YLE on Tuesday reported that Haavisto was the choice of 28 per cent of poll respondents when they were asked to choose only one name from a list of 38 potential candidates.

OUTGOING Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto (Greens) is the public favourite to become president with roughly eight months to go until the presidential elections held in January 2024, indicates a poll commissioned by YLE.

With President Sauli Niinisto set to complete is second six-year term in office, Finland will elect a new president early next year, on 28 January.

Fifteen per cent of respondents stated their preference for Olli Rehn (Centre), the Governor of the Bank of Finland, and 13 per cent for Mika Aaltola, the director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. Each of the three most popular choices saw his popularity increase from the previous presidential poll, Haavisto by three points, Rehn by one and Aaltola by two.

Jussi Halla-aho, a former chairperson of the Finns Party, ex-Prime Minister Alexander Stubb (NCP) and caretaker Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) all contrastively saw their popularity drop by a percentage point, the first to six per cent and the latter two to five per cent.

Right now its looking like itll be a three-horse race, Jari Pajunen, the research director of Taloustutkimus, stated to YLE. Others will of course also stand a chance as we get more information on the candidate nominations.

Taloustutkimus interviewed 1,656 people for the poll between 4 and 9 May.

Pajunen estimated that anyone who wants to have a significant impact on the race should be polling at around five per cent at this stage.

Some of the notable potential candidates below the threshold are ex-Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre), outgoing Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen (Centre), European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen (SDP) and outgoing Minister of Education Li Andersson (LA).

Public preferences appear to differ based on variable such as age, gender and place of residence, according to YLE. Whereas Haavisto draws support particularly from people living in larger cities, the highly educated and women, Rehn is popular especially among 6579-year-old men and people living in smaller cities. Aaltola, meanwhile, is popular among over 50-year-olds and people with vocational qualifications.

The supporter profile for the three most popular choices differs quite a bit in this sense, summed up Pajunen.

Young respondents were supportive also of Andersson and Halla-aho. Andersson is the favourite for young people. Even though her overall popularity is low, she gets a lot of support from under 35-year-olds. Also Halla-aho has a lot of young backers, he said.

Halla-aho drew his support predominantly from male respondents, with 83 per cent of his support coming from men and 17 per cent from women. Both Haavisto and Andersson contrastively drew over 60 per cent of their support from women.

The results reflect the fact that parties have yet to announce their candidates for the presidential elections, with the sole exception of Movement Nows Harry Harkimo. Pajunen told YLE that the situation is likely to even out as the elections draw closer, with voters flocking behind the nominations of their favourite party.

When respondents were asked to name their five top choices, Haavisto received support from 53 per cent, Rehn from 44 per cent and Aaltola from 42 per cent of respondents. The top three were followed by Stubb (26%), Marin (25%), Vanhanen (22%), Halla-aho (17%) and Kaikkonen (17%).

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
LIGHTNING PHOTOS: Service pays tribute to fallen officers

Henderson County Sheriffs deputies, police officers and other first responders gathered at the Historic Courthouse Plaza on Thursday to pay tribute to law enforcement officers who gave their lives in the line of duty during National Police Week.



In 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15 falls, as National Police Week.

This week also has a tremendous impact here locally as we take a moment to honor two of the finest men to ever wear the bag and serve this community, Sheriff Lowell Griffin told the crowd standing under umbrellas in a light rain. Cpl. Shane Thomas and Deputy Ryan Hendrix both gave all and made that ultimate sacrifice. We will always cherish the time God allowed us to spend with them and appreciate the lasting impact that they had on us individually and throughout the Henderson County Sheriffs Office.

Hendersonville Police Chief Blair Myhand paid tribute to Officer Dennie Quay Enevold, a Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam who was shot in the line of duty on Nov. 22, 1981, and died the next day.

Married only nine months, Denny gave the ultimate sacrifice when he was shot and killed on Ashe street just a block away from where our new police department stands today, Myhand said.

The ceremony, which included the Henderson County Sheriffs Office Honor Guard, ended with then playing of Taps by sheriffs Cpl. Jason Morrow.
Service set to remember Uvalde victims

An interfaith service at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, at First United Methodist Church will mark the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting of students and teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

In one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, 19 children and two teachers were killed, and 17 wounded.

We dont want the world to forget our kids and their beautiful souls, said Gloria Cazares, the mother of 9-year-old Jacklyn.

The Remember Uvalde service was organized by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense-Hendersonville, True Ridge, an advocate for the Hispanic community of Henderson County, and First United Methodist Church. Speakers will include Karen Easter Payne, lead pastor of First Methodist; the Rev. Dr. Alfredo M Oviedo, assistant to the Bishop, North Carolina Lutheran Synod; Melisa Soto-Escobar, executive director of True Ridge; the Rev. Claudia Jimenez, minister of faith development, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville; and John Owens, local leader of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense. Parking for the event will be available in the Methodist Church lot on Buncombe Avenue between Fifth and Sixth avenues.



Since the tragic event at Robb Elementary School a year ago, there have been more than 40 school shootings, including the recent tragedy at the Covenant Presbyterian School in Nashville, Tennessee, in March. The Gun Violence Archive reports that there have been more than 200 mass shootings (four or more people killed or injured) and nearly 7,000 gun violence deaths in 2023. One of the most recent mass shootings took place in an outlet mall outside of Dallas where eight people were killed and seven injured by an assailant carrying an AR-15 style weapon.
Town hall focuses on human trafficking

Awake and Bold, a North Carolina nonprofit formed to combat human trafficking, is hosting a town hall 1-4 p.m. Sunday, May 21, at the Doubletree Hotel, Biltmore Village, 115 Hendersonville Road, in Asheville.

Human trafficking is the world's fastest-growing and second-largest criminal empire, second only to drugs. Predators abduct or recruit (under pretenses) 24.9 million people a year worldwide, Awake and Bold said in a news release.

Leigh Dundas is the keynote speaker. A human rights attorney, Dundas is devoted to combatting global injustices, especially child slavery. Her career spans three decades, beginning with her representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-dollar courtroom battles in the early 1990s to the last decade when her focus became human rights.

Dundas's experiences include cooperating with foreign governments to allow undercover surveillance of child brothels by former U.S. law enforcement officers and working closely with nonprofits on a plan to have on-ground investigators amass evidence of money laundering by human traffickers.

Joining Dundas is Henderson County School Board member Shelia Dale, who says is alarmed by the education system and has expressed concern about a decline in children's learning skills and about school safety.

Linda Cherry will speak at the Town Hall about online and offline safety. Her early childhood was marred by being kidnapped. She was stalked and assaulted. Ultimately, she assisted the police in identifying the man, who was convicted and sent to prison. Bryan Prather, of Veterans for Child Rescue (Vets4ChildRescue.org), and Awake and Bold co-founder Hara Taicher will also speak. A panel discussion will follow.
Train Tales talk focuses on return of passenger rail service to WNC

SALUDA  Ray Rapp, a former four-term state House member from Mars Hill, will discuss Back On Track: The Return of Passenger Trains to Western North Carolina during Saluda Train Tales at 7 p.m. Friday at the Saluda Historic Depot.

Rapp, a former Mars Hill University administrator who is co-chair of the Western North Carolina Rail Corridor Committee, will talk about the N.C. Department of Transportation feasibility study completed April 1 for the resumption of passenger rail service between Salisbury and Asheville. AMTRAK has included Asheville in its future planning and has targeted 2035 for the launching of this service.

The new study by NCDOT Rail Division proposes three roundtrips per day along the 139-mile line with stops in Statesville, Hickory, Morganton and Marion and a running time of 3 hours and 25 minutes. The study projects 100,000 local trips and more than 150,000 offline connections annually.

The initial capital cost is $665 million and 80 percent of the funding would be covered under an $80 billion Biden administration appropriation to expand AMTRAK services. At the end of March 2023, NCDOTs Rail Division submitted its application to the FRAs Corridor Identification Program for 13 such lines in the state. The Asheville-Salisbury corridor was among the highest ranked recommendations. Rapp will share the pathway and possible hurdles to bringing back passenger service to the mountains after a nearly 50-year hiatus.
Maj. Johnson (ret.) will speak about Wall of Honor ahead of Memorial Day

Bob Johnson, a retired U.S. Army major and member of Hedrick-Rhodes VFW Post 5206, will provide an informational talk about the Henderson County Wall of Honor program at 2 p.m. Friday, May 26, in Kaplan Auditorium at the public library, 301 N. Washington St.

The Wall of Honor is a program in which all Henderson County veterans who participate will have their ribbons and badges placed in 8X10-inch shadow boxes and permanently displayed at the VFW post at Five Points. The Wall of Honor program is for all honorably discharged veterans who served in war and peace time. Family members can sponsor deceased veterans. A veteran of the war in Afghanistan, Johnson will also talk about the history of Memorial Day and his connection to four service men and women he served with who were killed in action. For more information, email Post5206@vfwnc.com.
A WOMAN whose dog died after eating poisoning compost has issued a warning to other dog owners.

Kate Tooley, of New Street, Henley, was walking her three standard poodles on land behind Leander Club in Remenham when seven-year-old Poppy ate some composted grass cuttings.

The dog later became unwell and died the following night.

Now Ms Tooley has warned other dog owners to be mindful of compost, which can harbour poisonous fungi and bacteria.

The land, called Butlers Field, is owned by Henley Royal Regatta.

She said: We were walking in the field where theres a big man-made mound built up to hide whats behind it, which is like a big trench.

They put all their grass cuttings and everything there and it rots down and becomes toxic. Poppy ate some. Dogs are always in there and Ive seen other dogs eating it. Ive also seen kids playing on this grassy mound.

Poppy ate it on the Thursday afternoon and was sick overnight. When we came down in the morning, she had sickness and some diarrhoea. I took her to the vets, told them what had happened and they agreed that compost poisoning was the most likely cause.

They were 99 per cent sure thats what did it but thought it would be okay because she had thrown up. They were going to give her an anti-sickness injection but she wasnt being sick anymore so I didnt know why she would need that. They gave me pain relief tablets for her tummy.

She had a bit of a temperature and then got worse later in the day and come evening she started bleeding from her bottom.

I called the vets at 9.30pm to tell them she was bleeding and they asked what colour it was but told me it was quite normal and thats what happened because her intestines were inflamed, saying: We see it quite regularly.

They did say that I could go in then but because they put my mind at rest and said it was normal, I thought it would be fine.

Poppy just died in the night. I came down and found her in the morning, lying on the carpet in the front room. She was wrecked, it had poisoned her insides. Its not the vets fault  if they see this all the time, what are you going to do? Poppy had just eaten something that was more toxic than normal. The dogs go behind there a lot and I shoo them out but if they run from one side of the field to the other to get in there, they will have eaten something by the time I get there.

Ms Tooley wants Henley Royal Regatta to either block access to the compost or put a warning sign up for dog walkers.

She said: Workers reverse their tractor round the back of this mound and dump their stuff in. I think they should at the very least have a sign up or some screening to stop the dogs going in.

Its not just domestic animals but also wildlife  rabbits, deer and foxes probably go behind there and eat it. The grass rots down and it festers; all sorts of bacteria and spores start to grow in it. It varies from fresh cuttings to not so fresh cuttings to sludge at the bottom.

I went to see the groundsmen to make them aware and they said that in 22 years, theyd never known this to happen. He just said he was really sorry and there wasnt much he could do but that he would talk to someone and maybe they could put a sign up.

After Ms Tooley posted about the incident online, the Henley Vets posted a warning about compost ingestion.

It said: Compost and food waste can be very dangerous to dogs as poisonous fungi can grow in the decomposing material. Our deepest sympathies go to this poor dogs owners and we hope that by sharing this information we can help them to prevent further cases.

A Henley Royal Regatta spokesman said: We are saddened to learn of the unfortunate loss of a dogs life and extend our heartfelt sympathies to the owner during this distressing time.

Butlers Field has for many years housed a composting area for grass clippings, set behind a large earth mound adjacent to the public footpath.

It is our priority to ensure all walkers, including our four-legged friends, are able to safely enjoy the public footpaths and while this physical barrier was designed to indicate the boundary between the footpath and an operational area, we are reviewing our signage in light of this sad incident.
Recorded history, the kind that has increasingly become unpopular these days, states the city that we know today as Delhi is actually not one but seven cities in one. Seasoned historians widely acknowledge the number could be even higher. The reason is pretty simple. Delhi has been the seat of power and the preferred capital of several famous and infamous emperors, kings, queens and despots since time immemorial. Due to its strategic location, it has, over the centuries, acquired many avatars and monikers  from Indraprastha to Qila Rai Pithora, Lal Kot, Firozabad, Tughlaqabad, Shahjanabad, Dilli, Dehli and finally, Delhi. Interestingly, a significant corpus of this phenomenal citys history was written down in Urdu, the language that dominated the discourse in northern India before the Partition of the subcontinent in 1947. View of Old Delhi and Chandni Chowk from Jama Masjid (Ajay Aggarwal)

In independent India after Partition, this language was targeted by those sections of society that sought to divide the populace along religious, linguistic and ethnic lines and destroy the countrys composite culture and secular ethos. These divisive forces privileged linguistic chauvinism and pegged Urdu as the language of one community alone. In Pakistan, Urdu was adopted as the national language, but at the cost of other regional and ethnic modes of expression. In both cases, Urdu was weaponized for the narrow political gains of a select few.

The result was the rich and informative records and works of history transcribed in Urdu and Persian came under threat of being lost. This happened because Urdu was no longer taught in the state-sanctioned or private school system, and synchronously, its importance declined, and official patronage was withdrawn. Government sanction and official patronage are the only ways to ensure archives and records survive the ravages of time.

To understand this, a similar parallel can be drawn in the case of Turkey. On 1 November 1928, when Ataturk Mustafa Kamal Pasha, as part of his reforms and in keeping with the Kemalist ideology, enforced the new Latin-based alphabet replacing the erstwhile Ottoman-Turkish script, he closed a significant chapter of Turkeys long and rich linguistic history. Previously, the Turkish language was also an integral part of Islamic history, with the Turkish Caliphate serving as the symbolic leader of the Islamic world. With this move, that history was unceremoniously severed.

Urdu Adab: Special Issue on Shahjahanabad; 322pp, Rs1,000; Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu (Hind)

Urdu has survived despite official neglect and the concerted efforts of groups with vested interests. Excellent English translations of some Urdu and Farsi books, especially historical texts, have ensured their survival. There are certain voluntary organizations doing yeomans service for the cause of Urdu. Primary among them is the Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu (Hind), or ATUH, which is the most respected Urdu organization in independent India. ATUH enjoys the same status in Urdu as Academie Francaise (French Academy) does in terms of the canonization of French. ATUH, established in 1882 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, was, until 1990, the sole advisor to GOI on all matters related to Urdu. It has been primarily responsible for all constructive movements in Urdu post-Independence, including setting up state Urdu Academies and departments of Urdu in various universities and granting official-language status to Urdu in various states, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. ATUH has maintained a dignified distance from political parties and changing governments to ensure the non-interference of the establishment in its independent functioning. It is the only grassroots-level Urdu organization with 650 branches across India  one in almost every city in the country with a substantial Urdu-speaking populace. Since Liberalization though, the Urdu-speaking population has fallen victim to the same fallacy as the speakers of other Indian languages and has moved towards English for better employability and upward social mobility. As a result, ATUHs mass base has weakened, but its survival is not under threat, unlike other voluntary Urdu organizations, such as the state Urdu academies, who survive solely on the government dole. Such officially-sanctioned funds and the resultant complacency have decisively harmed Urdu cultures long and distinguished tradition of voluntary efforts. Nevertheless, the rich tradition of Urdu literature has survived owing to the academic rigour and independent zeal of scholars and the painstaking efforts of voluntary organizations such as ATUH, and not due to the role played by the state.

The organization has ensured the beacon of Urdu continues to shine by publishing a quarterly journal for the past 100 years that has successfully maintained high scholarly standards. Urdu Adabs special issue called Shahjahanabad is essential reading for those interested in the history of Delhi for academic, cultural and linguistic reasons. Notably, most articles in this special issue were in Urdu. The article by Irfan Habib, a rare work of history written originally in Urdu, is an updated version of his keynote address at a literary festival organized by ATUH in March 2022.

152pp, 650; Tulika Books (Amazon)

This special issue is a collectors item and a must-read for Delhi aficionados. Among other noteworthy academic writings on Urdu, the issue also includes articles on the three most important historical books on Delhi from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries  Aasar us-Sanadeed, Sair ul-Manazil and Waqiaat-i Dar ul-Hukumat Delhi.

Aasar us-Sanadeed shot to fame primarily due to the author Sir Syeds status at the time of the books publication. Sir Syed founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College and was a colossal figure in the Muslim imagination. He could best be described as the epitome of the Muslim Renaissance man. The college he founded was upgraded in 1920, 22 years after his death, to the present-day Aligarh Muslim University, which boasts a very distinguished department of history. Aasar us-Sanadeed is an excellent text but the fame and reach it enjoyed were indebted to the authors importance rather than to its merits as a book.

Sair ul-Manazil, originally written in Farsi and considered a definitive nineteenth-century account of Delhis sociology, geography and architecture, was simultaneously translated by two eminent historians  Swapna Liddle and Shama Mitra Chenoy. An early draft of Liddles translation was prepared by Nausheen Jaffrey, a promising young research scholar at Jamia Millia Islamia who suffered a premature and tragic death. Post her demise, Liddle had to finalize the manuscript, almost writing it afresh. Interestingly, both translations were based on the 1982 Urdu translation by Sharif Husain Qasemi, who, after a gap of many decades, has translated the text afresh with copious footnoting and annotations. This revised text was published by ATUH. Although the aforementioned books are outstanding translations, it could be useful if both translators updated their works in view of Professor Qasemis revised text. Nonetheless, this text received way less attention than Aasar us-Sanadeed.

Waqiaat-i Dar ul-Hukumat Delhi too, although no less important than Aasar us-Sanadeed, has received far less attention. Incidentally, Ather Farouqui, the General Secretary of the Anjuman and editor of the special Urdu Adab issue, is currently translating the massive three-volume Waqiaat-i Dar ul-Hukumat. If his translation of The Last Gathering is any indication, historians interested in Delhi will benefit from a treasure trove of information in this new work that contains lesser-known and fascinating facets of the citys rich history.

126pp, 5,999; Manohar Publishers and Distributors (Amazon)

Farouquis Urdu translation from English of the title Mansions at Dusk: The Havelis of Old Delhi by Pavan K Varma  a labour of love no longer in print  is another gem featured in Shahjahanabad, the special Urdu Adab issue. Incidentally, the cover photo of the special issue is courtesy Sondeep Shankar, a fellow Stephanian. The iconic photograph symbolized the gradual downfall of the Delhi of havelis. However, every sunset is inevitably followed by sunrise, and so Delhi lived to rise again.

Hopefully, the articles in this issue will soon be translated into English. They will reach a wider audience while making a valuable academic contribution to the corpus of works on Delhi. Alas, this subject is in danger now of being hijacked by social-media enthusiasts with limited knowledge of the city but with a reach in the thousands and millions. Delhi is inextricably linked to Urdu, and their development has been synchronous. Urdu is vital to understanding the Indian cultural milieu.

Ather Farouqui, editor of the Urdu Adabs special issue on Shahjahanabad (Courtesy Roli Books)

Very few people know it was the first Indian language to serve as a medium of higher education, even for medical sciences and engineering, which were first taught in India in Jamia Osmania. Established in 1918 in Hyderabad, this great institution was destroyed in the aftermath of the Partition, which is why we know very little about it nowadays. So there is a long and rich history of Urdu, and Shahjahanabad, the special Urdu Adab issue, is an excellent illustration of the fact that Urdu is not the language of poetry alone, nor should it be exoticized or made the subject of caricature by those with limited knowledge and no academic credentials. I am certain this special issue will be translated soon into English and included in the discourse on the history of Delhi across academic fora in the Indian subcontinent and beyond.

This special issue had been edited by the General Secretary of ATUH, Ather Farouqui, a scholar with varied interests, who is one of the most reasonable voices working relentlessly to recognise Indian languages. He is opposed to the hegemony of any language, including Urdu. An alumnus of JNU, Farouquis most important works are Redefining Urdu Politics in India (OUP 2006) and Muslims and Media Images (OUP 2009). He brought the 1964 original work on Bahadur Shah Zafar by Aslam Parvez into sharp focus by translating it into English. Farouqui also translated a first-hand account of the Red Fort before 1857 called The Last Gathering and recently published the translation of a rare book by Mirza Ahmad Akhtar Gorgani, the grandson of Bahadur Shah Zafar, as Sawaneh Delhi, The Biography of Delhi (Roli Books 2023). The Last Gathering is a gold mine of information about the food cooked in the royal kitchens in the nineteenth century. An interesting factoid that the book has highlighted, alongside other valuable information, is that Mughlai food is an anachronistic and incorrect moniker. None of the emperors from Babur to Zafar hailed themselves as Mughals.

To conclude, there is much more than meets the eye when it comes to understanding the rich and variegated history of Delhi and the equally layered but fraught history of the Urdu language. Rather than looking at these categories superficially, readers and enthusiasts of history would greatly benefit from a deeper scrutiny of the texts and literary pieces that have exhaustively explored these subjects. Shahjahanabad, the special issue of Urdu Adab on Delhi, is definitely a superb point from which to begin this incredible journey of exploration.

A former lecturer of Law and Jurisprudence at Trinity College, Oxford, Salman Khurshid was an Indian minister of external affairs. The author of many books, his play Sons of Babur on the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, has been translated into many languages.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Aakriti Art Gallery began its journey in the first decade of the new millennium and geared up an evolution in the modern and contemporary art in India. For nearly 2 decades, Aakriti has showcased some of the unique and finest exhibitions of modern and contemporary art in India building up a gateway of Indian art in the world market. It has constantly hosted workshops, art camps, talk shows and seminar and made a landmark success in promoting Indian contemporary art at the global level.

Check out Website for latest Art Gallery: https://www.aakritiartgallery.com/

Contact or Whatsapp Number  +91-9830411116

Any Questions, WhatsApp Now Click here: https://wa.me/+919830411116

Reach out to social media for latest update: https://www.instagram.com/aakritiartgallery/

Aakriti Art Gallery presently operates from Kolkata and takes shows around the country. Keeping with the latest trends of the art market, Aakriti has come up with best solutions for a wider audience of fine arts from paintings, sculptures, printmaking, and graphics to new media like conceptual art, installations and experimental art and started an online art gallery where a buyer can opt to select and buy a piece of modern and contemporary art of his or her choice from a variety of collections.

Aakriti Art Gallery since its inception has been instrumental in promoting the upcoming artists and newer generation art works. The whole idea of GenNext exhibitions profusely dealing with contemporary art of India as well reaching out to young artists from different corners of the globe happens to be exclusively Aakriti Art Gallerys brainchild, which has revolutionized the concept of looking at contemporary art in the new millennium and given birth to a new generation of ground breaking contemporary artists who are doing extremely well in the art world.

Authentic and original art by the Indian modern masters like Jogen Chowdhury, Satish Gujral, Kartick Pyne, Ramkumar and many others are available with the gallery and can be directly collected from different exhibitions the gallery hosts from time to time or can be purchased from home through online. In the list of ground breaking contemporary artists, Aakriti Art Gallery has largely showcased the works of Samindranath Majumdar, Akhil Chandra Das, Sunil De, Amitava Dhar and from the new generation artists - the names are Sagar Bhowmik, Priyanka Lahiri, Chaitali Chanda, Subrata Biswas, Tapas Biswas and many others. One can always come across their works and experience their aesthetic beauty whenever they visit the gallery Aakriti at Kolkata. And if someone happens to miss it in the exhibition/s, then just browse it online and make the best deal just sitting at home.

The concept of Affordable Art is very much an in-thing and Aakriti Art Gallery once again vouches on providing the best of contemporary and modern art works to its audience and collectors/buyers at the most convenient and affordable price. To make them readily available to the collectors, Aakriti has concentrated and devised easier ways to make the sale through online portal. Buying art online is the simplest trading mechanism, Aakriti is providing to its collectors and viewers where you can make the best of your deals with full faith and conviction with every transparency of authenticity in each deal made.

Their Masterpieces section consists of rare works of eminent artists chosen after a thorough research and critical examination of the provenance have been made. The collection revisits a historical moment in art history with the works of acclaimed Masters  Abanindranath Tagore, Achuthan Kuddalur, Akhilesh, Amitava Dhar, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Ganesh Pyne, Hemen Mazumdar, Jamini Roy, K.G. Subramanyan, Lalu Prasad Shaw, M.F. Husain, P.R. Narvekar, Paresh Maity, Paritosh Sen, Rabin Mondal, S.H.Raza, Shyamal Dutta Ray and Sunil De.

Q. What is the biggest online art website?

A. Aakriti Art Gallery -The Largest Online inventory of over 2000 artworks and Community.

Q. Can I buy artworks online?

A. Yes, please visit their website https://www.aakritiartgallery.com/

Q. Where can I buy Affordable Artworks?

A. At Aakriti Art Gallery

Q. Where can I buy Master artworks?

A. At Aakriti Art Gallery

Q. Where can I buy Sculptures?

A. At Aakriti Art Gallery

Q. Where can I find art websites?

A. The 7 Best Sites to Find Unique Art for Your Home like Aakriti Art Gallery, Etsy. Minte, Jungalow., Artsy, Saatchi Art, Drool.

Q. How do you buy art for the first time?

A. Tips on Buying Your First Piece of Art

Figure out what you like. The better education you have, the better collection you'll have

Determine what you're buying: Are you buying something that you love and you want purely because you think it's great?

Set a budget.

Do your research.

Understand that size does matter.

You can also visit https://www.aakritiartgallery.com/ website to place an order.

Q. Is it safe to buy art online?

A. Yes, if you are paying via trusted service like Aakriti Art Gallery, Etsy. Minte, Jungalow, Artsy, Saatchi Art, Drool. Make sure you are choosing an artwork on a serious platform like Aakriti Art.

Top Art Gallery in India visit now: https://www.aakritiartgallery.com/

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same.
New Delhi, Delhi, India  Business Wire India

Indian Dispute Resolution Centres (IDRC) 2nd Arbitrate in India Conclave 2023 was organized in collaboration with the Bar Council of Indias India International University of Legal Research and Education, Goa (IIULER) recently at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, Janpath, New Delhi. The event marked the 3rd Anniversary of IDRC.



Justice M R Shah, Judge, Supreme Court of India, who was the Chief Guest at the event, delivered the Presidential Address.



Honble Mr. Justice M R Shah, Judge, Supreme Court of India stated that, We have to repose the confidence in the mind of the foreign investors that in India there shall be speedy and timely resolution of the disputes. Minimal interference by the Courts against the Arbitral Awards would strengthen the speedy and timely disposal. I am sure that the credible and technology driven establishments like IDRC shall cater the need in achieving the goal of Arbitrate in India'."



The Presidential Address was followed by the panel discussion on Making India a hub of International Commercial Arbitration: Current Trends & Challenges in Arbitration in Lieu of allowing Foreign Law Firms in India.



The panelists for the discussion were:



1. Honble Ms. Justice Indu Malhotra, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India [Chair]

2. Sh. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India

3. Sh. Manan Kumar Mishra, Senior Advocate and Chairman, Bar Council of India

4. Sh. Tejas Karia, Head Arbitration, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas

5. Sh. Ratan K. Singh, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

6. Sh. Shashank Garg, Advocate, High Court of Delhi [Moderator]



Justice Shah, in his presidential address, stated that, Growth of global trade increases the importance of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as a mechanism of resolving disputes. A stable dispute resolution is necessary to attract foreign investment in India. Unless there is timely and cost-effective resolution of disputes, India cannot become the hub for international Arbitration. There is a need to understand the reasons due to which India is not being able to perform well in this domain and then work on these areas. Honble Mr. Justice Shah concluded by saying that minimum court interference is imperative to achieve the goal of making India the hub of international arbitration.



Justice M.R Shah further added that, Timely resolution of the disputes more particularly the commercial disputes in a cost-effective manner is the need of the day. Various arbitration centers like the IDRC are catering the need of cost effective and speedy resolution of the disputes.



Within short time, the IDRC has earned the name and reputation in the field of dispute resolution. I am happy to note that IDRC has accomplished more than one thousand one hundred plus arbitration proceedings and thus have contributed in achieving the goal Lets make Resolution in India a reality. Shri Divyansh H. Rathi, Founder Director, IDRC is a very enthusiastic and young. I wish all the success to the IDRC in helping the people to resolve the disputes, more particularly in the field of commercial disputes, Justice Shah added.



Justice M.R Shah addressed, When we talk about the arbitration in India, first of all we have to prepare ourselves to provide a platform in India. A time has how come to seriously think why in the case of international arbitration/disputes, the people go out of the country. What are the negative points and why India is not able to compete in the field of arbitration is a serious thing which is required to be considered. It is true that now so many arbitration centers have been established but still much is to be done.



Honble Ms. Justice Indu Malhotra, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India while chairing the panel discussion listed the key criteria that a party in an international arbitration looks into to decide the seat of Arbitration, which included  neutral place of arbitration, good arbitration regime of the place of arbitration, the pool of arbitrators available, and the infrastructure available to meet the requirements of international arbitration.



Honble Ms. Justice Malhotra also stated that the issue of Section 34 of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 needs to be addressed in India, which can be tackled by creating specialized benches dealing expeditiously with Section 34 and Section 37 applications. Honble Ms. Justice Malhotra also mentioned that enforcement of the awards is the place where India is lacking and that requires serious consideration.



Sh. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India stated that, "Though it is true that the process of enforcement of the arbitral awards is slow, the first delay is in completing the arbitration process itself. He added that India needs specialized benches. However, he suggested that we shall have separate arbitration courts with specialized judges dealing specifically with S.34 and S.37. Even enforcement of the awards should be assigned to specialized arbitration courts rather than specialized benches in the regular Civil Courts. Sh. Mehta further added that when we talk of India being the hub of arbitration, we should focus on having an arbitration city in India that shall be the hub for international arbitration. This would help in speedy redressal of the disputes and go a long way in making India as the hub of International Commercial Arbitration."



Sh. Manan Kumar Mishra, Senior Advocate and Chairman, Bar Council of India talked about, "the context in which BCI passed the decision of allowing the foreign firms to start their practices in India. This was done to help our Country in attracting foreign clients. He mentioned that one of the reasons why India has not become the hub of arbitration is that we are not allowing it to become the hub. There was no entry of foreign firms in this domain which prevented India from being the hub of arbitration. Sh. Mishra concluded by saying that unless the young lawyers are involved with foreign lawyers and law firms, we cannot become a hub of International Arbitration."



Sh. Manan Kumar Mishra further added that, Under continuous Legal education like in foreign countries, Rules are being framed by Bar Council of India wherein in course of 5 years, every lawyer will have to undergo 40 days compulsory training, only then their Bar Licenses will be renewed. These rules will be enforced by the end of 2023. I Know the Bar Council of India and other State Bar Councils will have to face protests, but it is for the betterment of the lawyers, so under the able guidance of the Solicitor General of India, these rules will be implemented by the end of 2023.



Sh. Tejas Karia, Partner and Head Arbitrations, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas mentioned that, "Arbitration has always been ad-hoc and slowly we are moving towards institutional arbitration. But the problem is that we do not have one prominent institution which can be termed as the premier institute of international arbitration of India. There is difficulty in creating and maintaining consistency across all the centers of international arbitration. Sh. Karia firmly put forth the point that taking all the institutions together and making a diverse panel of arbitrators, increasing transparency, and relying on institutions such as the IDRC would help us in achieving the dream. He concluded by saying that the 2019 Amendment which included Section 11(6A) was a positive step as the enforcement of the same would lead to promoting institutional arbitration in India."



Lastly, to address the issue of delays in the enforcement of arbitral awards, Sh. Ratan K Singh, Senior Advocate and International Member, Keating Chambers, London suggested that only training of the judges can solve this problem. Training of judges is required at all levels. This also includes a mandatory continuing learning program for lawyers which will enhance the ability of practicing lawyers thereby leading to better judges which would eventually lead to better arbitrators.



While talking about the factors that are important to choose the seat of arbitration, Sh. Ratan Singh stated that, "Thinking from the perspective of a foreign party, we do not have any credible international arbitration center. Though we have good quality of arbitrators, the problem lies in the selection of the arbitrators by the institutes. Sh. Singh argued that due consideration shall be given to the expertise of the arbitrators chosen and presently we are far away from reaching that stage where the local institutions of arbitration are credible enough for the foreign parties."



Ms. Sumedha Sindhu Rathi, Member-Secretary, Advisory Board, IDRC delivered the Vote of thanks.



The event was organized by Divyansh H Rathi, Hony. Secretary of IDRC along with Members of Advisory Board Sumedha Sindhu Rathi, Riya Rathi, Satish Dahiya, Chitragupt Dagar, Priyanshi Aggarwal and other Team Members of IDRC.



Apart from Former judges of Supreme Court, High Courts and Senior Advocates, the IDRC panel arbitrators, leading law firms, the PSUs, members of the Bar association and Law Students attended the conclave.



IDRC is an institutional dispute resolution Center established by not-for-profit organization International Dispute Resolution Council. IDRC is registered with Niti Aayog and empaneled with the Ministry of Law and Justice.



IDRC which is headquartered in Delhi provides state-of-the-art institutional environment for the online and offline resolution of dispute through arbitration, mediation and conciliation as well as expert determination and early neutral evaluation from its cloud-based in-house digital platform and through its affiliates in all major cities in India.



In a short span of time, IDRC has accomplished more than 1000 arbitration proceedings and assisted in numerous International and National Arbitrations presided by retired judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts despite pandemic conditions.



Media Partner
India, May 19, 2023: Property Management India (PMI) made its mark in the real estate industry by establishing a new branch in Bangalore on February 23, 2022. Founded by Karabi D. and A. K. Ghosh, PMI is committed to transforming the market by providing cost-effective services for property rentals and sales. The company operates as a dynamic platform that enables property owners and sellers to showcase their properties and establish connections with potential tenants and buyers.

Since its inception, PMI has strived to achieve success by becoming India's Property Directory and generating job opportunities within the industry. The company is currently performing well and has attained profitability with a sustainable growth trajectory. The platform already boasts over 40,000 active properties. With a team of over 500 employees, PMI is committed to transforming the real estate industry and serving the needs of property owners, sellers, tenants, and buyers across India.

The inspiration behind PMI's business idea stemmed from the growing dissatisfaction of owners and sellers with existing online real estate platforms. These platforms often prioritise sales and revenue over customer service. PMI recognised the need for an alternative option that focused on customer acquisition, reliability, and trust. As a bootstrapped property portal, PMI's primary goal is to provide a seamless experience for owners, sellers, tenants, and buyers while also being an anti-broker platform.

As the founders of PMI, Karabi D. and A. K. Ghosh expresses great pride in making a difference in the lives of tenants, buyers, owners, and sellers. Each day brings new challenges and opportunities, motivating them to work towards a brighter future.

PMI is currently prioritising steady and consistent growth, and therefore, it does not have any immediate intentions of seeking external funding. The path taken by the company has been filled with challenges, and one of the major hurdles was establishing the IT infrastructure, which proved to be quite daunting. However, the company's unwavering determination and continuous improvements have enabled them to overcome these obstacles successfully. Another significant challenge has been finding and hiring the right individuals to support PMI's ambitious growth objectives. For PMI, growth entails optimising the number of property listings available and facilitating interactions among various stakeholders on their platform to cater to diverse requirements. What sets the company apart from its competitors is its unwavering dedication to delivering exceptional service.

In its future aspirations, Property Management India (PMI) envisions establishing itself as the premier platform for real estate transactions in major cities throughout India. By uniting property owners, sellers, tenants, and buyers, PMI aims to streamline the property search and transaction process. The support received from owners, sellers, and employees is integral to PMI's success. Feedback from property owners and sellers is valuable in enhancing PMI's services, while dedicated employees contribute to the optimisation of the platform's backend operations. The shared mission unites everyone in their collective endeavours to fulfil PMI's vision. PMI's business model centres around providing a platform for owners and sellers to list their properties, while tenants and buyers can access these listings for a minimal fee. Unlike other platforms, PMI doesn't rely on extravagant plans but rather focuses on delivering reliable and efficient service.

PMI's services currently span multiple cities, including Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Jaipur, Kolkata, and Guwahati. The company plans to expand into additional cities as it continues to grow.

For more information, please visit: https://www.propertymanagementindia.in/

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same.
DogeMiyagi (MIYAGI), Ripple (XRP), and Stellar (XLM) are all blockchain-based digital currencies that have unique network structures. These have gained significant attention due to their distinctive designs.

Ripples recent acquisition of Metaco, a Swiss tech company, for $250 million will help us understand the potential growth the company hopes to realize as we delve into how the network structures of each of the projects differ.

Network Navigators: Comparing Ripple, DogeMiyagi And Stellar

DogeMiyagi is an ERC-20 token that operates on a basic blockchain structure and offers the Killer Swap Machine and DogeMiyagi NFTs as part of its services. The Killer Swap Machine is a decentralized exchange tool that allows for instantaneous transfers between multiple ERC-20 tokens and Ethereum. Furthermore, The DogeMiyagi team is also developing a private NFT club that will provide members access to exclusive benefits and an immersive experience.

Ripple, on the other hand, uses a unique network structure that differs from the traditional blockchain structure. The Ripple network is a distributed consensus network that uses a proprietary technology called the XRP Ledger. The XRP Ledger uses a unique consensus algorithm called the Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm (RPCA), which allows for faster transaction processing and lower transaction fees. Ripple is designed to facilitate real-time global payments and settlements, making it popular among financial institutions.

Stellar, like Ripple, uses a unique network structure that differs from traditional blockchain designs. The Stellar network uses a federated Byzantine agreement (FBA) consensus algorithm, which allows for faster transaction processing and greater scalability. Stellar is designed to facilitate cross-border payments and micropayments, making it popular among individuals and small businesses.

The Ripple network is a distributed consensus network that uses a proprietary technology called the XRP Ledger.

Whats New For The Coins

An interesting development from the DogeMiyagi team is its newly announced 'DogeMiyagi Token Referral Program.' This program rewards users who spread the word about the community to their friends and family. Upon joining the DogeMiyagi clan, users will receive a unique code to distribute. If people use this code to purchase MIYAGI, the referrer will receive a nice 10% commission.

Ripple is aiming high as it targets a $10 Trillion Market with its new acquisition.

The project has agreed to buy Metaco, a Swiss company that offers technologies for digital asset custody and tokenization. This is a significant step in the blockchain and cryptocurrency solutions provider's business and product strategy, and diversifying into custody solutions will give the company new income potential.

According to Monica Long, president of Ripple, the company is in a unique position to meet the expanding institutional crypto custody market as the go-to supplier for traditional finance companies wishing to incorporate cryptocurrency and blockchain solutions. The market size is anticipated to be close to $10 trillion by 2030.

An interesting development from the DogeMiyagi team is its newly announced 'DogeMiyagi Token Referral Program.'

Final Thoughts

While DogeMiyagi's network structure may be more traditional than Ripple and Stellar, its unique features make it a promising digital currency in the crypto space. The Killer Swap Machine and the development of a private NFT club show that DogeMiyagi is focused on building a strong community and providing innovative solutions to its users.

With the ongoing evolution of the crypto industry, it will be interesting to see how these three digital currencies continue to develop and compete in the market.

Find Out More About DogeMiyagi:

Website: https://dogemiyagi.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/_Dogemiyagi_

Telegram: https://t.me/dogemiyagi

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/ editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/ subscribe to the contents of the article/advertisement and/or views expressed herein.

The reader is further advised that Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions.

Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the views, opinions, announcements, declarations, affirmations etc., stated/featured in same. The decision to read hereinafter is purely a matter of choice and shall be construed as an express undertaking/guarantee in favour of Hindustan Times of being absolved from any/ all potential legal action, or enforceable claims. The content may be for information and awareness purposes and does not constitute a financial advice.
Surendra Bagri, a Dubai-based Indian entrepreneur and businessman who not only excels in his professional endeavors but also possesses a passion for global exploration and an enduring fondness for hospitality. Mr. Bagri, along with his partners Jaideep Halwasiya and Hari Tibrewala, is one of the founding members of Three Musketeers Hospitality (TMH), a subsidiary of Plus Holding Limited (PHL) based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Mr Bagri added: Al Marjan Island has always been a favorite of mine, and when we learned about the upcoming Wynn Casino, our company made the decision to construct a 5-star hotel in close proximity to it. This strategic move aims to provide a high-end accommodation option for guests who wish to enjoy both the casino and the attractions of Al Marjan Island.

In order to elevate their premium hospitality offerings in Ras Al Khaimah, TMH has partnered with Marriott International. They recently signed an agreement to introduce Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts to the region. This collaboration aims to enhance the hospitality experience and bring the renowned Le Meridien brand to Ras Al Khaimah.

The resort will be situated on a prime beachfront location and will be the newest addition to Al Marjan Island's expanding collection of hospitality destinations. These destinations play a crucial role in attracting increasing numbers of visitors from around the world to the northern Emirate. Le Meridien Al Marjan Island Resort & Spa is expected to offer 350 modern guest rooms with unobstructed ocean views.

The plans for this new hospitality destination encompass seven food and beverage venues, as well as a variety of recreational facilities such as a fitness center, swimming pool, spa, and kids club. The property will embody the essence of Le Meridien's philosophy of embracing the good life, and it will showcase signature brand programs and spaces like Le Meridien Hub, which reimagines the traditional hotel lobby with a modern touch.

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same.
Introduction Choosing the right legal representative can make a significant difference in the outcome of your case. In Faridabad, there are many skilled and reputable lawyers to choose from. This guide aims to help you narrow down your options by showcasing seven of the best lawyers in the city. Although each lawyer featured in this guide has their strengths, Advocate Subhash Ahlawat stands out for his exceptional expertise, reliability, and dedication to his clients.

How to Choose a Good Lawyer

Before we dive into our list, let's quickly go over some factors to consider when choosing a lawyer:

Specialization: Different lawyers specialize in different areas of law, such as criminal law, civil law, family law, and corporate law. It's essential to select a lawyer who specializes in the legal area relevant to your case.

Experience: A lawyer's experience can significantly impact the outcome of your case. Lawyers with many years of experience in their specialized field are often more equipped to handle complex cases.

Reputation: A lawyer's reputation can tell you a lot about their competence and reliability. You can look at reviews and testimonials from previous clients to gauge a lawyer's reputation.

Communication Skills: Your lawyer should be able to clearly explain legal terms and processes to you and keep you informed about your case's progress.

Fees: Before hiring a lawyer, it's important to understand their fee structure and ensure that it fits within your budget.

The Best 7 Lawyers in Faridabad

Let's now delve into our list of the best lawyers in Faridabad:

Advocate Subhash Ahlawat

Overview

With a distinguished career spanning several decades, Advocate Subhash Ahlawat is widely regarded as one of the top lawyers in Faridabad. He is renowned for his exceptional legal acumen, strong ethical standards, and unwavering commitment to securing the best possible outcomes for his clients. Clients laud him for his attentive and personalized approach, his impeccable professional conduct, and his ability to navigate complex legal challenges with ease.

Specialization

He specializes in civil law, handling cases involving property disputes, divorce and family issues, and contract law. His vast experience and profound understanding of civil law enable him to provide his clients with reliable advice and robust representation.

Experience

Over the years, Advocate Ahlawat has handled a wide range of civil cases, from property disputes to intricate divorce cases. His impressive track record and depth of experience make him a trusted choice for clients facing civil legal issues.

Contact Information

He operates out of his office in Faridabad. You can reach out to him for an initial consultation to discuss your case.



Office: Chamber No. 274, Lawyer's Chambers Building, District Court Faridabad, 121004

Phone: +91 9953482307

Website: https://subhashahlawat.com/

Advocate Anjali Khosla

Overview

Advocate Anjali Khosla is a respected lawyer known for her expertise in family law. She is praised for her compassionate approach, attention to detail, and dedication to securing justice for her clients.

Specialization

Her specialization lies in family law, particularly in handling cases involving divorce, child custody, and alimony.

Experience

Advocate Khosla has several years of experience handling family law cases, earning a reputation for her thoroughness and tactfulness.

Advocate Alok Sharma

Overview

Advocate Alok Sharma is a seasoned lawyer specializing in corporate law. His in-depth knowledge of commercial legislation and business-friendly approach make him a popular choice among local businesses and corporations.

Specialization

His primary area of specialization is corporate law, including matters related to contracts, compliance, and corporate governance.

Experience

Advocate Sharma has a wealth of experience in corporate law, having represented various businesses and corporations over the years.

Advocate Karuna Sagar

Overview

Known for her meticulousness and analytical skills, Advocate Karuna Sagar is a skilled lawyer with a focus on criminal law.

Specialization

Advocate Sagar specializes in criminal law, providing robust defense for her clients in a range of criminal cases.

Experience

With several years of experience in the field, Advocate Sagar has successfully defended numerous clients in criminal cases, earning her a strong reputation.

Advocate Shikha Jain

Overview

Advocate Shikha Jain is a well-regarded lawyer specializing in civil and family law. Her empathetic approach and strong negotiation skills make her a go-to choice for clients dealing with family and civil disputes.

Specialization

Her areas of specialization include civil law and family law, with a focus on divorce cases, child custody cases, and property disputes.

Experience

Advocate Jain has several years of experience handling complex civil and family law cases, consistently demonstrating her legal prowess and dedication to her clients.

Advocate Amit Verma

Overview

Advocate Amit Verma is a highly respected lawyer known for his expertise in corporate law. Clients appreciate his proactive approach and his ability to provide practical legal solutions.

Specialization

Advocate Verma specializes in corporate law, assisting businesses with contract law, compliance issues, and corporate governance.

Experience

With numerous years of experience under his belt, Advocate Verma has proven his expertise in corporate law by providing valuable counsel to numerous businesses in Faridabad.

Advocate Rakesh Kumar

Overview

Advocate Rakesh Kumar is a prominent lawyer known for his strong command over criminal law. He is lauded for his strategic approach, sharp analytical skills, and commitment to upholding justice.

Specialization

Advocate Kumar specializes in criminal law, providing a robust defense for individuals facing criminal charges.

Experience

Over his years of practice, Advocate Kumar has successfully defended many clients in criminal cases, showcasing his proficiency and dedication.

Conclusion

While all seven lawyers listed in this guide are highly competent, Advocate Subhash Ahlawat stands out for his unmatched legal expertise and dedication to his clients. Whether you're facing a civil dispute or need advice on a complex legal issue, you can trust Advocate Ahlawat to provide you with reliable counsel and robust representation.

FAQs about Lawyers in Faridabad

1. How can I contact Advocate Subhash Ahlawat?

You can contact Advocate Subhash Ahlawat at his office in Faridabad for an initial consultation.

2. What types of cases does Advocate Subhash Ahlawat handle?

He specializes in civil law, handling cases involving property disputes, divorce and family issues, and contract law.

3. What sets Advocate Subhash Ahlawat apart from other lawyers in Faridabad?

He is renowned for his exceptional legal acumen, strong ethical standards, and unwavering commitment to his clients.

4. How many years of experience does Advocate Subhash Ahlawat have?

He has several decades of experience in his field, making him one of the most seasoned lawyers in Faridabad.

5. Is Advocate Subhash Ahlawat reliable?

Yes, he is highly reliable. He is known for his attentiveness, impeccable professional conduct, and ability to handle complex legal challenges with ease.

6. What are Advocate Subhash Ahlawat's strengths?

Some of his strengths include his in-depth knowledge of civil law, his personalized approach to each case, and his ability to secure the best possible outcomes for his clients.

7. Does Advocate Subhash Ahlawat handle cases outside Faridabad?

While he primarily operates in Faridabad, you would need to contact his office directly to inquire about cases outside this area.

8. How much does Advocate Subhash Ahlawat charge for a consultation?

The consultation fee for him may vary. You can contact his office directly to inquire about his fees.

9. Can Advocate Subhash Ahlawat help me understand the legal process?

Yes, he is known for his excellent communication skills. He can clearly explain legal terms and processes to you and keep you informed about the progress of your case.

10. Can I trust Advocate Subhash Ahlawat to handle my case effectively?

Absolutely. His track record and testimonials from previous clients attest to his ability to handle cases effectively and secure favourable outcomes.

11. What are the general considerations when choosing a lawyer?

Some key factors to consider when choosing a lawyer include their area of specialization, experience, reputation, communication skills, and their fee structure.

12. Is it possible to change lawyers during the course of a case?

Yes, you can switch lawyers at any point during a case. However, it's essential to ensure that there is no conflict of interest with the new lawyer, and the transition doesn't affect your case negatively.

13. Do all lawyers in Faridabad have the same rates?

No, the rates can vary significantly from one lawyer to another depending on their experience, reputation, and the complexity of the case. It's essential to discuss the fee structure before engaging their services.

14. Do lawyers in Faridabad offer free consultations?

Some lawyers may offer free initial consultations, while others might charge a fee. It's important to inquire about this before scheduling a consultation.

15. What essential items should I bring when attending my initial consultation with a lawyer?

For your initial consultation, bring any documents or evidence related to your case. This can help the lawyer understand your situation better and provide more accurate advice. Additionally, compile a set of inquiries that you wish to pose.

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same.
Lenders accused one of Indias hottest tech companies, Byjus Alpha, of hiding $500 million as part of a fight between creditors and the self-proclaimed biggest education technology company in the world. The dispute is the latest setback for the high-flying startup founded by Byju Raveendran. (File )

Read here: IAS aspirant alleges Byju's of fraudulent behaviour, court orders refund

The allegation came out at a court hearing on Thursday in Delaware, where Byjus Alpha faces a lawsuit over who should control the company. Lenders claim that because of a default earlier this year, they have the right to put their representative, Timothy R. Pohl, in charge.

The dispute is the latest setback for the high-flying startup founded by Byju Raveendran. Byjus had already been working to appease creditors trying to restructure a $1.2 billion term loan when government investigators searched company offices in April. The Bengaluru-based company has been working toward an initial public offering of its tutoring unit for several years.

Earlier this year, as the two sides were in a standoff, a top manager at Byjus Alpha admitted to transferring half a billion dollars out of the company, Brock Czeschin, one of Pohls lawyers, said during the hearing, which was held by telephone.

Byjus Alpha was trying to protect the money from predatory lenders, Joe Cicero, a lawyer for Byjus Alpha, said during the hearing. The company had a right to transfer the money under the loan agreement, he said.

The company is current on all debt payments and any defaults should be considered technical breaches of the loan agreement, Byjus Alpha attorney Sheron Korpus said in an interview.

Future Trial

Delaware Chancery Court Judge Morgan Zurn did not make any ruling about whether moving the money was appropriate. Zurn did side with lenders by ordering Byjus Alpha managers not to make any substantive changes at the company. The judge scheduled a trial to decide who controls Byjus Alpha later this year.

The lawsuit was filed by Glas Trust Company against Byjus Alpha, its director, Riju Ravindran, and Tangible Play Inc. The two companies being sued are units of Think and Learn Private, the edtech empire founded by Byju Raveendran. Ravindran is also a director of Think and Learn, according to a regulatory filing.

Byjus Alpha is just a holding company that the lenders need to control in order to protect their rights, Czeschin said during the hearing. The lenders are not trying to take over the entire edtech company, he said.

The lenders are distressed debt investors who are wrongly trying to make a profit on the companys debt, Byjus Alpha claimed during the court hearing. The company will get a large capital infusion in about two weeks that will allow Byjus Alpha to pay down the $1.2 billion it owes creditors, Cicero said in court.

Read here: BYJU's CEO Raveendran's offices searched by ED over FEMA violations

The lenders have engaged in a campaign to harm this business and they dont want to run the company, Cicero told Zurn.

The case is Glas Trust Company vs Riju Ravindran, 2023-0488, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington).

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Japan is seriously considering joining Indias Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system to enable cross-border transactions between people in both countries, according to a report by Wion news. Japan and India aim to boost digital collaboration by creating interoperability through the real-time funds transfer system to ease digital payments. Japan digital minister Kono Taro.(MINT_PRINT)

Japan and India are trying to promote digital cooperation. We are now seriously thinking about joining the Indian UPI payment system," Japan's minister for digital affairs Kono Taro told Wion news on Thursday.

Taro had earlier spoken to LiveMint in March where he suggested that Japan would be sending a team to India to properly analyse the UPI system. If Japan were to adopt the digital payments platform, discussions would be held on the potential linking of the two countries' systems. The Japanese minister also touched upon bilateral cooperation with respect to telecommunication systems security.

While speaking to Wion, Taro lauded the convenience of the UPI system as it can be utilised for transferring money across countries once it is incorporated by Singapore, Thailand or the UAE that have also expressed interest in adopting it as a standard. So it could be another standard of tele-payment cross border tele-payment system," he added.

In reference to Indias digital identity program, expected to form the foundation for interoperability, he said that the East Asian country was looking at options to mutually recognise the same.

Following the G7 Digital Ministers Meeting held last week, in which Indias telecom and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was also a participant, the group decided to bring in a new international framework which is a permanent secretariat on cross-border data flow.

Responding to Taros statements, Vaishnaw thanked the Japanese digital minister for accepting PM Modis deep and extensive vision for Digital India'.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR HT News Desk Follow the latest breaking news and developments from India and around the world with Hindustan Times' newsdesk. From politics and policies to the economy and the environment, from local issues to national events and global affairs, we've got you covered. ...view detail
A team from the district town planner (DTP) office demolished four illegal double-storey showrooms in Sultanpur, Barwala, on Thursday. DTP Jaideep appealed to citizens not to construct within 30 metres and 60 metres on the sides of scheduled and national highways, respectively, as these are illegal constructions and will be demolished. (HT File Photo)

DTP Jaideep said notices were served to these building owners to demolish these illegal constructions, but they failed, so the demolition drive was carried out.

He appealed to citizens not to construct within 30 metres and 60 metres on the sides of scheduled and national highways, respectively, as these are illegal constructions and will be demolished.

He said if any colony was constructed without permission from the director, town and country planning department, Haryana, the DTP office will take action and FIR will also be registered. He urged residents not to purchase shops or houses without CLU/licence so that their money was not wasted.

He said recently the state government had extended the date of relaxation for regularisation of colonies till July 14, 2023, and the development charges had been reduced. He said the minimum area for colony was now two acres.

Under the policy, colonisers, property dealers and RWAs should deposit the documents in DTP office for regularisation.
Following reports of delay in submitting challans against people caught for illegal sand mining, deputy commissioner Aashika Jain has warned SHOs of action if there is any delay in submission of challans by their teams. Deputy commissioner Aashika Jain was speaking during a meeting with officials of the district administration. (HT File Photo)

Jain was speaking during a meeting with officials of the district administration. At the meeting, mining officials shared that teams had been formed to prevent illegal mining and transportation of minor minerals.

In this regard, 23 FIRs have been registered, under which 11 tippers, four tractor-trolleys, four Poclain machines and one JCB machine have been impounded by different police stations in the past one month.

Mining executive engineer Sarbjit Singh said 27.50 lakh had been collected as fine from tippers/tractors/trolleys carrying illegally mined sand. FIRs have also been registered against people found digging deeper than permissible limits.

He also informed that stone crushers/screening plants operating in the district and illegal material coming from other districts were being monitored regularly. Three check posts had been created at interstate borders and around 4 crore had been collected at these posts.

Apart from this, 74 dealer-supplier stock yards had been registered in the district to curb illegal transportation of sand and gravel, he said.

Additional deputy commissioner (G) Amaninder Kaur Brar, Mohali SDM Sarbjit Kaur, Kharar SDM Ravinder Singh, Dera Bassi SDM Himanshu Gupta, district revenue officer and other officials of the revenue department were also present in the meeting.
Members of the district Bar association staged a day-long protest near New Court Complex by blocking the parking from 9 am to 5 pm here on Friday, prohibiting court staff and litigants from parking their vehicles. District Bar association members staging a protest at advocates parking place near Court Complex in Ludhiana on Friday. (HT Photo)

The members staged the protest to draw attention towards the acute shortage of parking space for advocates at the district court premises.

Chetan Verma, the president of the district Bar association, expressed deep concern over the persisting issue of insufficient parking facilities adding that currently, there are only 800 chambers available for 5,000 advocates, leading to an overwhelming shortage of space.

The parking problem worsened because of recent incidents. On Thursday, someone damaged the car of advocate Anmol Girish, who supports the cause. The association strongly criticised this act. Verma emphasised that such incidents will not be tolerated and urged for quick measures to keep advocates, and their belongings safe, he added.

Furthermore, Verma highlighted another distressing incident that took place a day ago. Advocate AK Kalsis client suffered a fatal heart attack inside the court complex, prompting the advocate to rush the patient to the hospital.

Tragically, the blocked parking delayed their timely departure by approximately 10 minutes, which may have played a significant role in the unfortunate outcome.

Verma said such delays can have life-threatening consequences. In the afternoon, during the protest, advocates presented their long pending demands to session judge Munish Singal and commissioner of police Mandeep Singh Sidhu, and urged them to come out with a possible solution.
Looking to pull the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) out from financial losses, the state government is set to bring in reforms, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said late on Wednesday. HRTC will get more electric buses and look to fill vacancies for better functioning. (HT File)

The comments at a meeting of the transport department, with the CM asserting that such reforms will make HRTC self-reliant and generate more revenue and ensure timely payment of salaries and pensions to its employees and pensioners.

As part of the reforms, the state government will initiate a recruitment drive to fill up vacant posts of drivers and conductors in HRTC. He said the same was aimed at enhancing efficiency and providing better services to the people of the state.

75 new e-busses in the offing

HRTC is, in a phased manner, transitioning from diesel buses to electric buses. The current fleet already includes 95 e-buses and this number would be further increased in the near future, the CM said, adding that plans are underway to purchase 75 Type-1 e-buses, with tenders already having been issued and the letter of award (LOA) expected by next month.

The routes for these 75 e-buses have been identified, and efforts are being made to develop the necessary infrastructure, including charging stations.

Besides, HRTC has also identified routes to replace 225 diesel buses with Type-2 e-buses, he added.

Sukhu said the state government had presented a green budget and was committed to transforming Himachal Pradesh into a green energy state by March 31, 2026. The state aims to become a model for e-vehicles and six green corridors were being established. Encouraging the use of e-vehicles was part of the governments strategy to reduce carbon emissions, he added.

During the meeting, the construction of the proposed bus port in Hamirpur was also reviewed. The CM announced that it would be constructed by the Himachal Pradesh Bus Stand Management and Development Authority (HPBSMDA) within the next two years. Land has been identified for the construction of an e-bus depot at Nadaun in Hamirpur district, he said.

Deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri, meanwhile, expressed his support for the efforts towards reform and emphasised commitment of HRTC to fulfilling its social responsibilities.
Launched 10 days ago, the countrys first Indian Airforce Heritage Centre in Sector 18 has seen a footfall of over 2,600 people, bringing in a revenue of 2.7 lakh for the UT tourism department. Visitors taking pictures next to exhibits at the Indian Air Force Heritage Centre in Sector 18, Chandigarh. (Ravi Kumar/HT)

Union defence minister Rajnath Singh had inaugurated the centre, which has come up at the Government Press building in Sector 18, on May 8.

The centre is maintained by the UT administration, while the weapons and other equipment have been set up by the air force.

Chandigarh tourism director Rohit Gupta said, The response has been tremendous and as schools close for summer vacations next month, we expect the footfall to rise even higher. The experience of simulators remains a hit among visitors. In the past 10 days, around 600 people have experienced simulators.

While the entry tickets for adults have been priced at 50, children below 18 years can enter for free. For the immersive experience with simulators, there are three slots of 25 people each at 10 am, 12 pm and 3 pm, subject to prior booking, said officials.

The simulator experience costs 295 for both children and adults. Tickets are available on the Chandigarh tourism app and at the counters. The centre is open from 10 am to 6 pm, said an official.

The heritage centre has eight attractions in total, including aircraft models and weapon displays. The biggest attraction, however, is its very own flight simulator. In addition, informative exhibits, including aero engines, aircraft, kiosks and other air force artefacts, machines/fixtures, films on achievements and personalities, and guides have also been set up. A souvenir shop is also part of the museum.

The centre has also on exhibition five vintage aircraft, along with cockpit exposure. A GNAT aircraft, famously flown by Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon for the air defence of the Kashmir valley against Pakistani air attacks in 1971, has been installed outside the centre near the light point.

A MiG-21 fighter, which entered IAF service in 1963, and the Air Force Kanpur -1 aircraft, the first aircraft built by India in 1951 have also found space at the heritage centre, which has guides to help visitors.

A theme-based cafe is also operational for the public. A one-foot wall with pictures of 58 vintage and retired aircraft has also been set up.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police have denied that restrictions would be imposed in Srinagar during the Group of 20 (G20) tourism working group meeting that begins in the Valley from Monday. Officials said that there will be three-tier security handled by J&K Police, BSF, CRPF and the SSB around the venue. (AFP Photo)

The meeting will be held at Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) from May 22 to 24. The venue has already been secured and officials of the convention centre are giving final touches to the arrangements and are ready to welcome international delegates. Everything is in place. We are just waiting for delegates to come, said a senior officer at SKICC.

Also read: China, Turkey likely to skip G20 meet in Kashmir

Officials said that there will be three-tier security handled by J&K Police, BSF, CRPF and the SSB around the venue while marine commandos (MARCOS) will patrol the Dal Lake.

National Security Guard (NSG) commandos will be present in the city for any exigency. Even the anti-drone system will be placed around the venue as a precautionary measure. There will be three-tier security around the venue comprising police, CRPF and SSB, additional director general of police, Vijay Kumar told media persons.

Kumar also clarified that there wont be any restrictions in place in the city during the conference. Its a public event and no restrictions will be in place.

Also read: G20 meet will help shape future climate talks: Experts

Meanwhile, CRPF on Friday deployed drones in the Dal Lake to keep an eye on the waterbody and its adjacent localities. SKICC, the venue of conference is located on the banks of Dal Lake. Even highways have been secured and armys Rashtriya Rifles have been asked for night domination in sensitive areas.

From past couple of days marine commandos have been patrolling the lake. Some of the schools in the city have announced holidays from Monday on pretext of examinations.
Police have arrested a Tarn Taran-based man involved in drug smuggling from Pakistan using drones. The arrested man has been identified as Jobanjeet Singh of Naushehra village, notorious for drug smuggling, falling under Sara-E-Amanat Khan police station of Tarn Taran district.

The arrested man has been identified as Jobanjeet Singh of Naushehra village, notorious for drug smuggling, falling under Sara-E-Amanat Khan police station of Tarn Taran district.

With the arrest of the accused, the police have also recovered 2.6 kg of heroin smuggled from Pakistan with the use of drones, 2 kg of intoxicating powder, 7.40 lakh drug money and a .32 bore pistol.

Addressing a press conference, additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP) Abhimanyu Rana said the accused was arrested during patrolling, and 100 gm of heroin was recovered from him on May 16.

Based on suspicion, a team of crime investigation agency (CIA) wing led by its in-charge Amandeep Singh thoroughly questioned the accused during his three-day police remand. During the remand, the team recovered 2.5 kg of heroin, 2 kg of intoxicating powder, 7.40 lakh drug money and a .32 bore pistol at the accuseds instance in Cheema village of Tarn Taran, Rana said.

He further said their investigation has found that the accused had been in contact with some Pakistani smugglers for the smuggling of drugs. He said as per the questioning of the accused, the recovered heroin was dropped by drones from across the border in Bharopal village and near Gharinda in Amritsar.

A senior police official, who is part of the investigation, said the accused came in contact with the Pakistani smugglers through Facebook.

The accused had been in the smuggling business for the last around four years, the ADCP added.

Rana said their investigation to ascertain the backward and forward linkages of the accused was still on.
The National Testing Agency on Friday cancelled Common University Entrance Test (CUET) (UG) examination in Jammu and Kashmir starting May 21 after demands for additional centres in the Union territory escalated. It has been decided that CUET (UG)  2023 will now be conducted from May 26 onwards in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir. (Representational Photo (Getty Images/iStockphoto) )

The agency, in a statement, said that it has decided that the CUET (UG)  2023 examination scheduled for 21 to 25 May, 2023 is cancelled in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir.

A total of 87,309 unique candidates have been registered from the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. This is a phenomenal increase in the number of registered candidates as per the last year,  it said.

Being sensitive to the needs of candidates and to facilitate the students of Jammu and Kashmir, the NTA is exploring the possibility of creating temporary centres in Kashmir. In view of the above, it has been decided that the CUET (UG)  2023 will now be conducted from May 26 onwards in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir,  it said.

Earlier in the day, NTA said it was exploring the possibility of another test centre in Jammu and Kashmirs capital Srinagar while lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha raised the issue with union education minister and sought more centres in the union territory for the upcoming Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate students.

There has been an outcry in J&K over the NTA allotting CUET centres for undergraduate students outside the union territory (UT). Students have protested the decision, saying they had opted for centres in Srinagar or Jammu and nearby districts, but have been allotted far off centres in states like Punjab, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh as the exams are starting from May 21.

Discussed the matter relating to exam centres for the scheduled Common University Entrance Test (CUET) with Honble Union Minister of Education Shri Dharmendra Pradhan Ji and requested him for CUET centres in J&K UT. He has assured the issue will be addressed on priority, said LG Sinha in a tweet.

The NTA issued a clarification on Friday saying that a total of 87,309 unique candidates have been registered from the UT of Jammu and Kashmir out of the total 14.99 lakh from across the country.

Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Friday said that there was a sense of despair among students.

NTAs decision to designate CUET exam centres outside J&K has compounded sense of despair amongst students - already reeling under a massive unemployment crisis. Most cant afford the intra state travel. Request @manojsinha_ ji to intervene immediately.
Awaiting their salaries after being regularised seven months ago, sewage and sanitation workers working under the municipal corporation (MC) staged a protest outside MCs office at Zone A on Thursday seeking a transfer of salaries into their account at the earliest. Members of the sewerman sanitation employees sangharsh committee staging a protest in Ludhiana. (HT Photo)

The protest was staged by members of the sewerman sanitation employees sangharsh committee stating that over 4,000 employees who had been regularised by the MC are not getting their revised salary.

The protesters also opposed the MCs move to hire a private firm for door-to-door collection of garbage.

They added that authorities have maintained that the process for police verification and medical examination of the new employees is still due, the union members said that the same should be expedited. Among the protesters, Vijay Danav said the union will also write to the police department to complete the process as soon as possible, He said that workers are undergoing a lot of financial difficulties due to delays in their salaries.

The workers also demanded that around 800 workers over 42 years of age who were not regularised should be regularised. The protesters said another protest will be staged on May 26, if their demands are not fulfilled.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Punjab government has set a target of vacating 6,292 acres of illegally possessed panchayat land by June 10. A recent survey by the rural development and panchayats department Punjab revealed that the government owns 140,441 (1.4 lakh) acres more village common (panchayat) land than what was on their records. The value of the said land runs into thousands of crore of rupees. (HT File)

Out of this, we have already taken possession of 469 acres, said a joint director level officer of the state panchayats department, adding that the drive was initially to start from May 1 but was delayed due to Jalandhar parliament byelection.

We couldnt have proceeded when the model code of conduct for the election was imposed, said a department officer justifying the delay. The government started phase 2 of the campaign on May 15.

In the first phase last year, 9,030 acres of land was repossessed by the department. Last year, the department identified 30,133 acres of cultivable land under illegal possession.

Nearly 7,750 acres of land kabza warrant (warrants for taking possession) have been issued of which 989 warrants have stayed. We have already taken possession of 469 acres. In total, 6,292 acres of land will be repossessed in the second phase, said an officer in the shamlaat cell of the state rural development and panchayats department on the condition of anonymity.

There are 16 chunks of land in different districts that are more than 100 acres. One each in Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana, Mohali, Nawanshahr, two each in Patiala, Kapurthala and Gurdaspur and three each in Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur, he said.

Addressing the media on Friday, the rural development and panchayat minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that if an incumbent, who has illegally encroached on the government panchayat land, vacates the possession by May 31, no legal action will be taken against them. Also, the said tiller can take back the land on lease, he added, informing that 3,396 acres were vacated by the farmers in the first phase.

In the second phase, 189 acres of land has been vacated by the encroachers themselves, the minister added. According to the minister, the agricultural land (9,030 acres) freed in the first phase has a market value of 2,709 crore.

A recent survey by the rural development and panchayats department Punjab revealed that the government owns 140,441 (1.4 lakh) acres more village common (panchayat) land than what was on their records. The value of the said land runs into thousands of crore of rupees.

The revelation took the total land ownership of the department to 725,571 acres. This land is referred to as village common land - further categorised into mushtarka malkan (common land, contributed by the land owners in all the villages for the common good during the consolidation of the 1960s) and shamlat deh (common land, which was set aside for common purpose when villages came into existence in the early 1900s and even before).

GFX

Land under illegal possession

30133 acres

Agricultural land identified last year

9030 acres

Freed last year in the first phase

6,292 acres

Target in 2nd phase

469 acres

Already freed in the second phase

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Launched amid much pomp and show, the School of Eminence (SoE) scheme has met with a dull response in the district, as the first session for Class 9 began at only half of the total schools selected under the scheme. The students of selected schools were also taken on a study trip at Guru Nanak Engineering College, Punjab Agricultural University and Central Tool Room at Jamalpur to get the required field exposure. (HT Photo)

The batches of Class 9 students commenced at only nine out of the total 16 schools from May 15 onwards, as the number of students who qualified for the entrance test at these schools was less than 20.

The entrance test for as many as 576 seats at 16 schools in the district was conducted on March 26 in which a total of 3,638 students had appeared. The minimum marks to qualify for admission were set at 50 percent.

The students had appeared for the entrance test at their nearby selected schools, as many as 150 questions from different subjects, including maths, social studies, Hindi, Punjabi and logical reasoning were asked in the entrance test.

The fresh list issued by the education department features only nine schools - GSSS Sekhewal, GSSS Miller Ganj, GSSS Doraha, GSSS Sahnewal, GSSS Dadahaur, GSSS Jagraon, GSSS Mundian Kalan, GSSS Samrala, GSSS Kishori Lal in Khanna.

The students of these schools were also taken on an educational trip recently at Guru Nanak Engineering College, Punjab Agricultural University and Central Tool Room at Jamalpur to get the required field exposure.

A government school principal said, At my school around 350 students had appeared for the test out of which around 35 had qualified, only 30 took admission. He said as students live in far-flung areas, their parents cited a lack of transportation facilities, as the reason behind not getting enrolled at the school.

He said there are schools where the number of students who qualified for the test is as high as 100 but as the students live in distant areas they opted out.

He added that among the schools dropped from the list is GSSS Indrapuri where 18 students had qualified. The students from schools which have more than 20 students enrolled here could be shifted to this school, but due to a lack of transportation facilities, it is not possible.

Confirming the development, district education officer (secondary) Harjit Singh said the minimum number of students at the schools has been fixed at 20 by the department while the maximum number of students who can be enrolled is 36.

He said that the session will not start at the schools which have less than 20 students.

Meanwhile, the department is yet to announce the result of the entrance test for students seeking to get admission at the selected schools in Class 11.

Under the scheme, the existing infrastructure at the schools will be upgraded with a special focus on Class 9 to 12. The schools will be provided with teachers to provide education in all four streams to Class 11 and 12.

As per the proposed plan, the schools will have special trainers for several art forms including dance and singing.

The students at such schools will also have the opportunity to learn different foreign languages.
A day after a speeding Volkswagen Beetle claimed the life of a roadside corn seller and left six more injured in Dhanas on Wednesday evening, two more victims succumbed to their injuries on Thursday. DSP Gurmukh Singh pacifying Dhanas residents who staged a protest over police inaction. (HT Photo)

Police said Mustafa Ansari, 23, of Dhanas died at PGIMER around 3.30 am on Thursday. After battling for life for nearly 24 hours, another victim, Bimlesh, 50, also breathed her last at PGIMER. On Wednesday, Rajwanti was crushed by the car. Four other victims remain hospitalised.

Even as the accident toll rose to three, police were still groping in the dark about the identity of the hatchbacks driver till late Thursday. Having a Punjab registration number (PB23-J-0001), the vehicle is registered in the name of Kamaljit Singh, a resident of Prabhat Road, Zirakpur, and one of the directors of a Zirakpur mall.

The FIR, meanwhile, lodged under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code has nominated no accused. If proven, the charge is punishable with imprisonment for life or imprisonment up to 10 years.

Sources in the police said a family member of the car owner was behind the wheel.

Speaking to HT, Kamaljits brother said while his relative was present in the car, it was being driven by a driver who fled the spot after the accident.

On other hand, people present at the spot claimed that there were only two people in the car, including a woman. Amid victims cries for help, a woman wearing blue and black clothes was seen rushing towards the car, taking out a bag from the navigator side of the car and running away.

Police sources said though the red Beetle is registered at a Zirakpur address, the family is currently residing in Panchkula.

Sources said a police team visited the house of the suspect driver on Wednesday late evening but couldnt find him. His phone is also switched off. He also got injured in the accident and fled the spot. We have got vital leads but have not nominated anyone in the FIR, as the investigation is on, a police officer on the condition of anonymity said.

FIR was registered against unidentified car driver since there was no one on the spot except the car. Our teams are on the job to arrest the accused, said Chandigarh SSP Kanwardeep Kaur.

A senior police officer said police will also check the Internet Protocol Detail Record (IPDR) of the suspect to know the exact route he followed and if he was at the accident spot.

Locals stage protest

Meanwhile, Dhanas residents staged a sit-in against absence of CCTV cameras and defunct traffic lights at the EWS Chowk in Dhanas where the accident took place. The protesters also sought the arrest of the accused and warned cops against arresting the wrong person. DSP Gurmukh Singh assured the protesters of fair action.

Police said a team of engineering and traffic experts also visited the spot on Thursday morning. A few protesters also claimed that they saw the man who was behind the wheel.

Among them, Mohammad Jia Ul claimed that he heard the driver requesting a cop to drop him to PGIMER, but the cop asked him to go in a private vehicle. He managed to flee as everyone was busy rescuing the victims, Mohammad added.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nikhil Sharma Nikhil Sharma is a staff reporter who covers Faridkot district in the Mansa region of Punjab. ...view detail
MOHALI: Even twelve years after he retired from active politics in Canada after serving as the first Indian immigrant  and the only so far  premier of British Columbia province, Ujjal Dosanjh,76, remains an influential voice of the Punjabi diaspora, well-regarded for his steadfast view against the Khalistani elements. In India to release his latest fiction book  The Past is Never Dead on caste dynamics in India, Dosanjh interacted with HT staffers on Friday, answering a range of questions. Edited excerpts. Even twelve years after he retired from active politics in Canada after serving as the first Indian immigrant  and the only so far  premier of British Columbia province, Ujjal Dosanjh,76, remains an influential voice of the Punjabi diaspora, well-regarded for his steadfast view against the Khalistani elements

Q: What is your latest book all about?

It is the life story of a young untouchable child whose father leaves India in 1942 for England, and then returns in 1952 to take his son, the only child, and his wife with him. It is about how caste is inseparable from an Indian life in many cases. It does not matter what faith you are, what region you come from, it (caste) follows.

Q: There has been acceleration in migration in recent years, not just of students but also families. What is new in this migration story?

What is new is the scale of migration. One of the reasons is that there is absolute dearth of real jobs. Everyone who does a BA, MA or some other course wants a government job. In most countries, it is not the government that gives the jobs. At the most, only 5 to 6% of the population works for the government and others work in private sector. Politicians here also never tell people that it is not their job to give you a job other than a few civil service jobs. Their job is to create environment conducive for creating jobs.

Is this exodus good for Punjab?

Absolutely not! You spend your money on IITs and IIMs and India is not a rich country. It is not just brain drain. There is a money drain happening from India. Several hundred million dollars go to Canada every year with the students. There was a time when immigrants, back in the 50s and 60s, used to send money and it was positive trade for India. Now, it is net negative. You are losing both talent and money.

Q: Is there any possibility of reverse migration at some stage?

No chance until may be 200 years from now when the world becomes one. Most of children born and raised in Canada are not going to come back. I dont think most of us who have gone there as first generation will uproot themselves and return. There might be a few, but I doubt it very much.

Q: What are your views on caste-based reservation in India?

As a principle, I have absolutely no problem and whether you have reservation or other incentives is a debate that is going on. Reservation grew out of the need. I know there is a lot of resentment. In Canada where people do not have to deal with it, they make lots of comments and that tells you caste hatred exists.

Q: What do you think is the reason behind the increase in hate crimes against Indians in Canada?

Racism has been an integral part of Canadian society. It is less racist today than it was 50 years ago. As for more incidents, there is a lot more population. We are now 1.5 million Indians across the country. Every time there is an incident between a white, or non-Indian person and an Indian person doesnt mean it is racist.

Q: You are known for speaking out against Khalistanis. Did you get any support from the Sikh diaspora when there was blowback from separatist forces?

A vast majority of Sikh temples do not support Khalistan. You only hear in the news about those that do. Everyone knows about Dixie gurdwara. There are two major temples in Vancouver, and they do not support Khalistan. I had support from the larger community. They have known me for a long time as I was an activist on farm workers, domestic workers among others long before the Khalistan issue came. When I spoke my mind on Khalistan, a lot of people from the larger community recognised and thanked me for what I was doing. A vast majority of the Sikhs did the same thing, several of them in hiding and others openly. There are not many Khalistani elements in Canada, and there have never been. There was a large angry element in 1984 though because the army went into the temple. The anger disappeared over time. In 1989-90, I ran for the nomination again and there was a feeling that the Sikhs would not vote for me or the party. Khalistans from all over British Columbia started signing people to defeat me and a public meeting had to be cancelled due to disruption. I had about 300 votes and resoundingly defeated three other candidates who had 50 votes amongst them. And 80% of those who signed up were Indians.

What about reports that pro-Khalistan activities are being supported and funded by people in Canada and some other western countries?

I do not see a Khalistan movement in India. You see Khalistan invading from abroad, but I do not see that either. I see that there is a body of people who are generally alienated from the larger society and are seeking relevance in their lives. The Government of India needs to ignore them. You should not worry about it. The Government of Canada cannot do anything about it if someone raises a slogan (in favour of Khalistan).

But this issue has been a sticking point between India and Canada.

It is because India misunderstands how things happen in a real democracy where people can speak their minds. One of the problems that Canadian politics suffered from is that some Khalistanis have sanitised themselves and crept into political parties. But even there they cant openly say that they are for Khalistan. The GoI itself is not absolutely clean because they would give visa to somebody like Ripudaman Malik just because he was acquitted, and then expect ordinary Indians who have gone there, to defend India against the Khalistanis. Lots of people in India are demanding Hindu Rashtra. If somebody in Canada demands Khalistan in India, how can anyone ban or jail them. If they create an organisation, send money or smuggle weapons into the country to create chaos or promote violence, law should do something about it. India-Canada relations need to mature a bit. It is in our interest for both countries to have better relations. This whole Khalistani thing is overblown.

Punjabi diaspora was rooting for change in Punjab. Since the third alternative has come to power, how do you look at political change that has happened?

Change is always good. I do not know AAP, but I know there was enthusiasm for it abroad. There was also enthusiasm for Manpreet Badal earlier, but then he fizzled.

What will you counsel to the new government in Punjab?

You need new political ethics and culture in India, not just in Punjab. You need the culture of Nehru and Gandhi. There is no regulation on political funding. You got to make elections less expensive and less corrupt. The AAP should work on all of this.

What will be your advice to Punjabi youths who are desperate to go to Canada?

My advice will be to stop looking to government for jobs and hold them accountable for producing the conditions that others can grow the jobs. The real productive jobs like factories, foundries, manufacturing plants happen in private sector. Nobody is talking about these things.
The UT administration on Friday repatriated a Haryana doctor posted at Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, for prescribing branded medicines to patients on unsigned slips. The health secretary added that appropriate disciplinary proceedings will also be taken against the doctor . (HT)

The doctor was on deputation in the UT health department for the last nine years and presently posted in the ENT department of GMSH.

In his order, UT health secretary Yashpal Garg said, It was observed that despite repeated instructions to prescribe generic medicines to patients, a GMSH doctor continued prescribing branded medicines. However, when a senior hospital doctor objected to the move and advised the doctor not to prescribe branded medicines, the doctor admitted the mistake and assured in writing that branded medicines will not be prescribed in future.

One week after the written assurance, it was observed that the doctor started prescribing generic medicines on OPD cards of the patients but also started issuing unsigned small slips to patients with the name of branded medicines. The idea of issuing small slips indicating branded medicines was invented to derail the efforts of the Chandigarh administration of encouraging prescription of generic medicines and also for other reasons not yet known. This shows that repeated instructions to prescribe generic medicines were deliberately violated by the doctor, and that the issuance of unsigned slips with prescription of branded medicine was against the basic norms and ethics of the medical profession, Garg added.

The health secretary added that appropriate disciplinary proceedings will also be taken against the doctor whose name was not being revealed, as it was not a personal attack but a message to all doctors to follow the administrations guidelines.

Aiming to bring down healthcare costs and improve access to quality care, Garg in January this year had asked doctors of government health facilities to prescribe generic medicines to patients.

In a notice to doctors, Garg had said, As a regulatory measure, the National Medical Commission has circulated the Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations, 2022. These regulations include Generic medicine and prescription guidelines to reduce out-of-pocket spending on medications, which accounts for a major proportion of public spending on health care, as generic medicines are 30% to 80% cheaper than branded drugs.

The order had said that all doctors must prescribe drugs with generic, non-proprietary, pharmacological names only. However, in the case of drugs with a narrow therapeutic index, biosimilars and other exceptional cases, this practice can be relaxed.
Hundreds of residents at Saidpura village and GBP Housing Society in Dera Bassi had a sleepless night on Thursday after accidental leak of xylene residue at a pharmaceutical companys factory led to eye irritation and teary eyes. Officials from health and industries departments, along with the Punjab Pollution Control Board, conducting an inquiry. (HT Photo)

The leak took place at Saurav Chemical Limited when the lid of one of the containers carrying xylene residue blew off due to gas accumulation, causing xylene, an organic chemical compound, used as a solvent in printing, rubber and leather industries, to spill into the air.

Dera Bassi SDM Himanshu Gupta said the company owner informed the authorities quickly, allowing preventive measures to be taken timely.

Dera Bassi ASP Darpan Ahluwalia said minutes after the leak occurred around 10.30 pm, residents of Saidpur and GBP Housing Society were alerted to close their doors and windows, and shut down air-conditioners, adding that the situation brought under control by 1 am. No medical emergency was reported.

She said, Fortunately, it was a non-hazardous gas and only caused eye irritation and teary eyes. The fumes leaked from spent residue that is transported for treatment to Gujarat every month. It happened to decompose and due to pressure of gases, the lid of a drum containing 200 litres of chemical blew off, leaking it into the atmosphere.

With memories of the recent gas leak tragedy in Ludhiana still fresh, area residents frantically called the police and fire department after experiencing pungent smell, and eye and throat irritation.

Dera Bassi SHO Jaskanwal Singh said police reached the area promptly and factory workers were asked to vacate the unit. Kuldeep Gujjar, president of GBP Rosewood Society, said Saidpura village and GBP Colony had a population of over 10,000.

Health dept examines residents

On Friday, officials from the health and industries departments, along with the Punjab Pollution Control Board, reached the spot for a preliminary inquiry and found no emission of dangerous gases from the boiler or chimney.

The pollution board conducted an air audit of the area and found nothing dangerous or alarming. The health department examined people living near the chemical unit and no one was found to be affected by gas.

SDM Gupta said the situation was under control and there was no cause to panic.

Following the xylene leak, the factory workers tried to plug it with an ammonia pack that also burst, causing more pungent smell in the vicinity, the SDM added.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked on Friday whether the Centre was scheming to overturn the Supreme Court ruling that empowered the elected government with legislative and executive powers in administrative services. Kejriwal questioned Delhi lieutenant governor V K Saxenas inaction in the matter of transfer of services secretary Ashish More, ordered by the government hours after the SC verdict on May 11. The Aam Aadmi Party chief wondered whether Saxena had put Mores file on hold until the Centres ordinance reverting the SC order expected to be implemented next week. Delhi LG VK Saxena and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal attend a function in New Delhi. (File)(PTI)

Why is LG Sahib not obeying the SC order? Why hasn't the Services Secretary signed the file for two days? It is being said that the Center is going to reverse the SC order by bringing an ordinance next week? Is the central government plotting to overturn the SC order? Is LG Sahib waiting for the ordinance, that's why not signing the file? he wrote in a tweet in Hindi.

Delhi services minister Saurabh Bharadwaj reiterated Kejriwals allegations and urged Saxena to clear the first order taken by the government following the SC ruling as the delay had paused other administrative changes . "Despite the apex court's order it is taking 9 days for a file to be approved. Why L-G is sitting on the file, we don't know when he is going to return the file", he said. In a letter to the LG, Bharadwaj said the Delhi government had sent the file two days ago.

Bhardwaj had earlier alleged that More went absconding despite the order and accused the L-G office of threatening the officers.

On Friday evening, a delegation of Delhi cabinet ministers, including Bhardwaj, finance minister Kailash Gahlot, Atishi and others, arrived at Raj Niwas to press the LG to follow the apex courts order. Kejriwal later tweeted that he had requested for an appointment with LG Sahib even as his ministers held a sit-in protest outside the latter's residence.

The Delhi government was given executive power in services matters, including transfer and posting of officers, in an important verdict by the Supreme Court last week.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
An ordinance brought by the Centre to regain control over Delhis officers is a violation of a recent Supreme Court order that gave the elected government the power to power to appoint bureaucrats in all but a select few departments, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said on Friday even as the BJP welcomed the move. Delhi ministers wait outside the LG Secretariat on Friday. (Sanjeev Verma/ HT Photo)

The move came hours after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said there were rumours that the Union government will bring an ordinance to overturn the May 11 verdict.

Also read: Centre moves ordinance to negate SC verdict on Delhi services

Education minister Atishi later said the ordinance was a contempt of the Supreme Court. The Centres ordinance is clearly contempt of the Supreme Court Constitution bench which clearly ruled that the elected government should have the power to take decisions (regarding services matters). The ordinance has been brought by the central government out of fear that the power will go into the hands of CM Arvind Kejriwals government, said Atishi in a statement.

It is clear that the central government is afraid of Arvind Kejriwal and the judgment of the Supreme Court, that is why they have brought this ordinance which is a contempt of the SC, she added.

The top courts Constitution bench, on May 11 said that officers working in all departments except those relating to public order, land and police fell within the administrative and legislative control of the Delhi government, capping a dispute that began with a notification issued eight years ago by the Union government, and led to a protracted court battle with split verdicts.

But the ordinance on Friday negated the ruling.

The central government has snatched the powers on services matters given to the elected government of Delhi by the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court. The people of Delhi elected Arvind Kejriwal for the third time, but the Centre is saying that the imposed lieutenant governor will have the rights of transfer and posting, and through it he will have authority over every work. This is contempt and insult to the Supreme Court, Delhi services minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said.

Senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi, who represented the Delhi government before the top court, criticised the ordinance. Clearly, it is the act of a bad, poor and graceless loser. Doubtful if constitutional principles can be diluted by ordinances/acts. Greater doubt whether Parliament as a whole will at all approve it, he added.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachcdeva said his party welcomes the Centres decision.

Delhi is the capital of the country, the whole of India has the right over it and for a long time the administrative dignity of Delhi has been hurt by the Arvind Kejriwal government. The corruption of this government has also embarrassed Delhi a lot and now in the last one week, the way the Arvind Kejriwal government has tried to defame Delhis administration and do arbitrariness, the BJP welcomes the ordinance, said Sachdeva.

Earlier, Kejriwal had expressed concern that an ordinance may be promulgated.

I hope that these rumours are false. If this is true it will be big betrayal for the people of Delhi and the country. The judgment was given by the constitution bench of the SC and it should be respected by everyone. The people of Delhi have got justice after many years and they are happy that the government they elected will be able to work for them, Kejriwal said.

Also read: Centre plotting to reverse SC order: Arvind Kejriwal amid Delhi govt official's transfer row

He was speaking after meeting the LG, who the AAP alleged was dragging his feet in signing a file removing services secretary Ashish More.

The standoff, which began hours after the court verdict on May 11 as the Delhi governments ordered Mores removal, dragged on for nine days.

On Friday evening, ministers protested at the LGs office. Later, led by Kejriwal, they met the LG in a video-recorded event.

I asked the LG when he is clearing the file to transfer the services secretary. The LG said he is sending itI hope that the LG will send the file soon because the services secretary (position) is critical for the administrative reshuffle that we want to do. So the change of the services secretary is needed, Kejriwal said after the meeting.

On Friday evening, the LG signed the order to replace More with AK Singh.

And then the ordinance added another twist to the saga.
The Supreme Court on Friday said that the Delhis Lieutenant Governor is not supposed to act on his own discretion while appointing chairperson of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC), and added that the process should be completed within two weeks. A bench headed by CJI Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said that the lieutenant governor cannot stultify an elected government like this. (ANI)

The appointment has been pending since January due to a stalemate between the office of LG and the Delhi government. The Delhi government had cleared the appointment of justice Rajeev Kumar Srivastava as the head of the power regulator in January, and had consulted the chief justice of the Madhya Pradesh high court. However, the LG had been insisting that the chief justice of Delhi high court should also be consulted for the appointment.

Also read: Centre moves ordinance to negate SC verdict on Delhi services

Resolving the impasse by interpreting Section 84(2) of the Electricity Act that governs the appointment of chairperson and members of DERC, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said that under this provision, it is the chief justice of that high court from which the judge is drawn who is to be consulted.

The bench, also comprising justices PS Narasimha and KV Viswanathan said, The lieutenant governor cannot stultify an elected government like this.

Testing the logic behind L-Gs suggestion, the bench said, Suppose a judge of the Madras high court is to be appointed as DERC chairperson, how can consultation be done with the chief justice of the Delhi high court.

The bench explained that if a sitting judge is to be appointed, it will be the chief justice of the high court where the judge is serving and in case of a former judge, it will be the chief justice of the high court where he last served.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi who represented the LG in court had argued that Article 239AA(4) of the Constitution allows LG to refer a matter to President in case there is a difference of opinion between him and the council of ministers.

Also read: Ordinance adds latetwist to day of drama in Delhi

The bench, however, said that the court had dealt with the provision in its 2018 judgment which said that LG cannot refer every matter to the President. The L-G is not to act in his discretion here, the bench said.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi along with advocate Shadan Farasat appearing for the Delhi government told the court that the process of consultation with chief justice of Madhya Pradesh high court is already over, and justice Srivastava has given his consent.

Farasat said, The LG has violated the tradition that was followed in the past with regard to DERC chairpersons appointment.
Prime accused in the illegal firecracker factory blast case in West Bengal, Krishnapada Bag, died in a hospital in Odishas Cuttack on Friday, police said. At least nine were killed in a blast at firecracker factory in West Bengals East Midnapore on Tuesday (File Photo)

Bag alias Bhanu was traced to a hospital in Cuttack by the police on Thursday, where he was undergoing treatment.

He was admitted with 80% burn injuries. He died on Friday due to multiple organ failure, a doctor at Rudra Hospital in Cuttack told media persons.

According to police, Bag was the owner of the illegal firecracker factory at Egra in the East Midnapore district, where an explosion on Tuesday killed at least nine people and injured seven others.

According to the people familiar with the matter, Bag was also present at the time of the blast and received burn injuries. He had escaped to Odisha after the blast and was admitted to a hospital in Cuttack where the Bengal police traced him on Thursday and were awaiting to make an arrest.

The hospital was told that he was a resident of Balasore and had sustained injuries due to an LPG cylinder blast, a police officer said.

Villagers, including those who lost their family members in the explosion, had alleged that crude bombs were made at the factory in the garb of fireworks.

Meanwhile, another illegal fireworks factory close to the blast site in Kamardigha village in East Midnapore was traced and cordoned off by the locals who later informed the police.

It is not just Kamardigha. Raids are going on and such illegal factories have been traced in a few other places, said Amarnath K, superintendent of police (SP), East Midnapore.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has directed the state police to crack down on such illegal factories manufacturing fireworks.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Friday upheld a Lakhimpur Kheri trial courts 19-year-old order acquitting Union minister of state for home Ajay Mishra Teni and three others in the murder of Prabhat Gupta, a student leader, in July 2000. Ajay Mishra Teni was acquitted by a Lakhimpur Kheri court in 2004. (FILE PHOTO)

A division bench of Justice AR Masoodi and Justice Om Prakash Shukla on Friday dismissed the state governments appeal against the acquittal. The high court had completed the hearing in the matter on February 21 and had reserved the order.

The Lakhimpur Kheri trial court had acquitted Ajay Mishra Teni, Subash Mama, Rakesh alias Dalu and Shashibhushan alias Pinky on March 29, 2004 of murder charges.

The state government had filed the appeal against the acquittal on June 9, 2004 in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court. Santosh Gupta, the father of the deceased, had filed a separate revision petition challenging the judgment, also in the Lucknow bench.

Prabhat Gupta, 24, was shot dead in the Tikunia area of Lakhimpur Kheri district on July 8, 2000. His father Santosh Gupta lodged an FIR at Tikunia police station of the district, naming Ajay Mishra and three others.

This court finds that all the aforesaid aspects have been considered threadbare by the trial court. The evidence recorded in the present case has been appreciated in its correct perspective and the trial court has at no point of time missed the woods for the trees, the high court observed.

Thus, we do not find any perversity in the order of acquittal passed by the trial court and in any case, the law presumes double presumption in favour of the accused after a due adjudication by the trial court, the high court added.

Further, on recording of the findings as aforesaid, we find that the prosecution has utterly failed to establish the chain of events which can exclusively lead to the one and only conclusion, i.e., the guilt of the accused persons, the high court said.

In that view of the matter, we find that the judgment and order of the learned sessions judge to be a plausible and sustainable view, especially when the trial court had the advantage of seeing and assessing the demeanour of witnesses, the high court added.

This court has also recorded its independent finding and holds that the theory put forth by prosecution that the four accused persons were liable for causing the death of the deceased is unconvincing and shorn of evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt, the high court observed.

As a sequel to above, the appeal as well as the revision are therefore dismissed, the high court said.

The judgment and order of acquittal dated 29.03.2004 in Sessions Trial No. 518/2001, under section 302/34 IPC, acquitting all the accused/respondents is upheld and all the accused/respondents are acquitted of the charges levelled against them, the high court ordered.

Ajay Mishra is also the Member of Parliament from Kheri Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
NAVI MUMBAI: A phone call recording is the latest twist in the BJP MLA Ganesh Naik rape case, in which a 48-year-old woman accuser had recently claimed that BJP MLA Manda Mhatre and Navi Mumbai Shiv Sena chief Vijay Chougule had instigated her to file false cases of rape and threat against Naik. Shiv Sena Navi Mumbai chief Vijay Chougule. (HT PHOTO)

On Friday, Chougule held a press conference wherein he played a call recording, which he claimed was that of the woman accuser. He claimed the recording confirmed that the woman had made the allegations against him as she had been paid money and given assurances of financial security to her and her son.

The woman in the centre of the controversy, following Chougules presser, told media that she is being used as a political pawn. She later complained of high blood pressure and was admitted to a private hospital in Nerul.

In the call recording, a woman tells Choulgule that a person offered her 50 lakh if she accuses Mhatre and Chougule of instigating her. She says that there were assurances of more financial support and acceptance of her son, once the person referred to in the conversation becomes a minister. She said she was now not sure if the promises would materialise.

Chougule said, I couldnt have kept quiet for long. This is a sensitive issue. Allegations have been made against elected representatives. I have never denied meeting her. She met me with her advocate, on some occasions, asking for help. I helped her with a licence issue.

We want to prove that there is pressure on the woman by someone, who is forcing her to make these false accusations. The audio clip I have played is to reveal this truth, he said.

Chougule said, The relations between Shiv Sena and the BJP are cordial now and we want them to remain so. However, if someone wants to disturb it then we will go all out and take recourse legally.

I will be meeting the police on the issue with the audio clip and other details and ask for an inquiry. The woman should be given police protection so that there is no untoward incident to further malign us, added Chougule.

He added, Based on the response we get from the police, we shall approach the court. We will ask for narco test of the woman for the truth to be revealed.

Manda Mhatre said that Chougules revelations prove what she has been stating. She said,I had said that the inquiry will reveal that the allegations are a bid to malign my name in my party. My party workers here know the truth.

The accuser in the case said, I approached the government, chief minister and others for help in the past one year. I did go to Manda Mhatre and Vijay Chougule for help. No one can instigate anyone. However, no one helped me. I am being used for political gains and have become a pawn in the entire game.

In April last year, the woman had claimed to be Naiks live-in partner of 27 years and said that they had a 14-year-old son. In a case filed at Nerul police station, she alleged that Naik had sexually and mentally exploited her between 2010 and 2017.

In another complaint at CBD-Belapur police station, she alleged that Naik had threatened to kill her and her son when she insisted that he accept the latter publicly and give him his rights. Naik was subsequently booked under IPC sections pertaining to rape, threat and cheating as well as under the Arms Act. The police have filed closure reports in the cases against Naik citing lack of evidence
Mumbai: As the government has decided to redevelop the coveted sea-facing Savitribai Phule girls hostel at Charni Road, it will be closed and its occupants  450 students  will be relocated to a Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) tower in Bandra. This 16-storeyed building in Bandra has 128 rooms and can accommodate around 512 girls. The report on this relocation was prepared by Varsha Andhare, hostel warden, and was submitted on Friday. As per the sources, the final meeting of the officials will be held on Saturday at Sahyadri Atithi Gruh. HT Image

On March 31, HT reported on the poor condition of the hostel building, which had structural damage, and the governments plan to relocate the students to enable the redevelopment of the building.

Following the report, officials started scouting for an alternative location on May 19. Keshav Tupe, joint director of higher education, Mumbai division, Andhare, and other officials submitted the report on the SRA tower.

As per the report, Four students will share a single room of 321 sq. ft. of carpet area. One floor, out of 16, will be used to house the hostel office, wardens residence, gym, and a computer room.

The report said, This tower is located near Bandra railway station, BEST buses, auto services are also available, a hospital is nearby, and shops of essential commodities are also available near the tower. So, this location is suitable for the students, who have to commute for their education.

As far as the safety of the students is concerned, the proposal suggests installation of CCTV cameras on each floor.

Amar Ekad, a student activist from Pune, was on a hunger strike for 11 days at Azad Maidan to raise his voice for these students. Ekad welcomed this report and said he hoped for positive feedback from the government on it.

Ekad said, In 2018, students asked for the hostel building to be repaired, following which the state government did so. In 2022, the then MVA-led government sanctioned funds again to repair the hostel. But the decision was deferred. Now the education ministry says the hostel will be redeveloped.

He said, The minister for higher and technical education should hold a meeting with the collector of Mumbai city and provide a one-acre plot to build a new girls hostel with a capacity for 1,000 students.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on Friday between central and Assam government organisations to connect seven religious sites in and around Guwahati along the Brahmaputra through waterways. The ferry service is expected to reduce the overall travel time to less than two hours. (Himanta Biswa Sarma | Twitter)

The MoU for development of Riverine Based Religious Tourism Circuit was signed by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Sagarmala Development Company Limited (SDCL), Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) and Department of Inland Waterways Transport (DIWT) of Assam government.

The MoU will facilitate modern ferry service on a Hop On Hop Off among seven historic religious sites namely Kamakhya, Pandunath, Ashwaklanta, Doul Govinda, Umananda, Chakreshwar and Auniati Satra around Guwahati.

Also Read: Assam-Meghalaya second round of border talks likely on May 24

Todays signing ceremony is going to usher in a new chapter of tourism in the state. Religious tourism will get a boost as the tourists will enjoy the rich spiritual heritage of Guwahati via this wonderful riverine circuit, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said at the event.

The project, executed via a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), is likely to be completed with an investment of 45 crore and will be completed within 12 months.

The ferry service is expected to reduce the overall travel time to less than two hours for completing one complete circuit.

SDCL and IWAI will jointly contribute 55% of the project cost while the remainder will be provided by ATDC.

The union minister for ports, shipping, waterways and AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal said, The development of riverine based tourism circuit is a huge shot in the arm for the tourism sector in Assam. Today, the inland waterways have exemplified how transformation can be achieved via transportation. From ODC and OWC cargo movement via Brahmaputra to the worlds longest river cruise Ganga Vilas, the huge potential of inland waterways is being unlocked.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Utpal Parashar Utpal is a Senior Assistant Editor based in Guwahati. He covers seven states of North-East India and heads the editorial team for the region. He was previously based in Kathmandu, Dehradun and Delhi with Hindustan Times. ...view detail
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has sent a notice to the Bihar government, asking it to explain the conditions under which remission of sentence was granted to former MP Anand Mohan who was serving a jail term for the 1994 murder of the then Gopalganj district magistrate G Krishnaiah. NCSC chairman Vijay Sampla addresses a press conference in Patna on Friday. (Santosh Kumar/HT Photo)

NCSC chairman Vijay Sampla, who is on a visit to Bihar, said on Friday that notices have been served on the state chief secretary (CS) and the director general of police (DGP), asking them to furnish all related details to the commission at the earliest. Additionally, commission member Anju Bala will undertake a ground visit and make necessary recommendations, said Sampla.

Mohan, who was serving a life sentence in the case, was released from Saharsa jail after the remission of his sentence by the state government on April 27.

The commission also came down heavily against the state government for its alleged failure to protect the lives and interest of SCs. Bihar ranks second in the dreaded list of states where murders of persons from SCs & STs were reported, Sampla said, while refusing to name the state topping the list.

Expressing his concern over 80% school drop-out rate among students belonging to the SC community, the NCSC chairman alleged that a large number of students are being denied Centrally aided post-matric scholarship for SC students due to procedural lapses on part of the Bihar government.

The NCSC chairman pulled up the Bihar government for adding two castes, Tanti and Tantava, among the list of the SCs without completing the mandatory formalities. The states have limited roles in tampering with the list of SCs or the scheduled tribes. They can sent the recommendations even for minor changes to the commission and the Central government decides on it. Any change in the list is done only after the Parliament ratifies it, said Sampla.

Talking about liquor prohibition in Bihar, Sampla said offenders must be punished but economic rehabilitation of those into the nexus is critical, failing which no effort can bear fruit.

Chief secretary Amir Subhani and DGP RS Bhatti could not be reached for comment despite repeated efforts.

Building construction minister Ashok Chaudhary, who hails from the scheduled caste and is a close aide of chief minister Nitish Kumar, said the rights panel is unnecessary politicising Anand Mohans remission issue, which has been settled as per the law. Chief secretary Amir Subhani had held a press conference sharing details about the legal provisions under which Anand Mohans sentence was remitted, said Chaudhary, also a former education minister.

On the charges for denial of the post-matric scholarship to a majority of SC students, Chaudhary said the state government had been offering scholarships to SCs/STs even up to under graduation (UG) courses to pursue technical degrees anywhere in the country. Bihar has increased the scholarship amount to SCs, even though the Central assistance to the state remained most erratic and insufficient, said Chaudhary.

Disputing the NCSCs chairmans claim regarding crime against SCs, the minister said that the commission must get its facts correct.

Agriculture minister Kumar Sarvajeet said if there was any injustice to the SCs, as observed by the NCSC, the commission should blame the BJP, as it ruled the state in alliance for the past 15 years or so. Chief minister Nitish Kumar is undoing the injustice being meted out to the SCs and the extremely backward classes (EBCs) by ensuring the benefit of the governments schemes to them, he said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A 15-year-old girl was killed, and four others were injured after a car collided with a stationary truck near the Urse Toll plaza on PuneMumbai expressway at around 3 am on Friday. An FIR was lodged at Shirgaon Parandwadi Police Station. (HT PHOTO)

The deceased has been identified as Sara Qureshi, while the four injured are yet to be recognised. Upon receiving the information, the highway patrol team along with the Pimpri-Chinchwad police and IRB road patrol team rushed to the spot and took the victims to the hospital for treatment.

According to police, the collision took place when the speeding car crashed into a stationary tempo wherein the impact was so severe that it caused extensive damage to the front portion of the car.

An FIR was lodged at Shirgaon Parandwadi Police Station.

Highway Police Superintendent of Police (SP) Lata Phad, said, The car came from Pune and was headed towards Mumbai when it crashed into a stationary truck parked in the service lane on the expressway near Urse toll plaza. A 15-year-old girl died on the spot, and four other commuters were injured.
Kerala SSLC 10th Result 2023 Live Updates: Kerala Class 10 results have been declared. The result link is now on results.kite.kerala.gov.in, pareekshabhavan.kerala.gov.in.

Kerala SSLC 10th result direct link( Available now)

Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty announced the Class 10 results at a press conference. In the result press conference, information regarding pass percentage, grade-wise result, re-evaluation schedule will be shared.

To check marks online, students have to use board exam registration number and date of birth.

The Kerala SSLC exam was held from March 9 to 29 for over 4.5 lakh students. Follow this blog for Kerala Class 10 result 2023 direct link, pass percentage and other updates.
West Bengal Board of Secondary Education has released WB 10th Madhyamik Result 2023. The WBBSE Class 10 results can be checked by all appeared candidates on HT Portal Education page. The result link will be available on Hindustan Times website as well apart from the official website of WBBSE. WBBSE Madhyamik 10th Result 2023 Live Updates WB 10th Madhyamik Result 2023

WB 10th Madhyamik Result 2023: How to check WBBSE Class 10 results on HT Portal

To check the results on HT Portal, candidates can follow the steps given below.

 Visit the official site of Hindustan Times at hindustantimes.com.

 Click on Education link available on the left hand side of the portal.

 A new page will open where you will get the Board exam tag on the top of the page.

 Click on it and a new page will open having names of all the boards.

 Click on West Bengal board page link and then go to WB Class 10 results.

 Enter the required login credentials.

 Click on submit and your result will be displayed on the screen.

 Check the result and download the page.

 Keep a hard copy of the same for further need.

More than 10 lakh candidates have appeared for the examination this year. The examination in the state was conducted in March 2023.
Opening up on the controversy surrounding The Kerala Story, actor Sonia Balani, who plays a negative character in the film, insists that hurting sentiments wasnt what the film intended. When we made the film, it was purely because its a true story of those girls, says Balani, who plays Asifa, a Muslim girl manipulating her roommates to converting to Islam. Sonia Balani on The Kerala Story controversy

The actor adds that years worth of research and true accounts added urgency to the need to depict the story on screen. Sudipto sir (director Sudipto Sen) has been researching this topic for seven years now. He showed us some pictures and videos and I instantly felt like doing it because its such a sad story and it affected me when I read the script, she recounts, adding that no one from the films team expected this kind of response.

Balani recalls experiencing a sense of shock as she tried to process how, for some, going to study far away from home could mean ending up being a part of a dangerous terrorist outfit. I was numb when I heard the script. When I read it, I thought that its a true story of those girls and for a bigger cause. Even if one girl is saved from getting brainwashed, that serves the purpose, she explains.

The film -- which follows three young women who are radicalised and forced to join ISIS -- has met with polarising reactions and allegations of hateful rhetoric.

It is nowhere against any community or religion. That was never the intention. If people perceive it as just a true story about what those girls went through, then their sentiments might not get hurt. There are no comments on any religion, but only ISIS and terrorism, shares Balani, adding that amid all appreciation, she has also received some nasty reactions.

I have been receiving abusive messages because I have said many strong lines in the movie about all the Gods. I know there is a section which is not happy, but if they realise that its a true story and the motive is only to create awareness of those terrorist groups, then I hope that they can feel positive about it. I am trying to focus on the positive side, instead of the trolling and bans. From the tea seller to every vendor, everyone is supporting the film so much, the actor elaborates.

Along with the audience, Balani got a mixed response from her whole family as well. She shares, When it comes to my own family, they are very happy of course. They saw it as a character and were happy that I had done a great job in the film. They told me that they could realise that Ive grown as an actor, even if its a negative character. They said that we realise its just a character, and you gave our best shot. But, when it comes to my extended family, because of a few lines in the film, they also felt the audience should not perceive it in a different way.

Lastly, addressing the call for bans on The Kerala Story, the actor feels everyone should have freedom of speech. Everything has its own pros and cons, but putting a ban on something is not a solution. As the movie is doing well, it shows that content driven films are being liked by the audience, even if there are no huge superstars in it, she concludes.
After making her Cannes debut in a lehenga, Sara Ali Khan headed to the Red Sea International Film Festival. She has now shared pictures of herself in a shimmery gown as she posed as an honouree at the Red Sea Women in Cinema Gala in association with Vanity Fair. She looked stunning in the Rachel Gilbert gown with her hair tied in a loose bun and little jewellery. Also read: Sara Ali Khan reacts to people comparing her to grandma Sharmila Tagore after saree look at Cannes Film Festival 2023 Sara Ali Khan posing at a gala on the sidelines of the Red Sea International Film Festival.

Sharing her pictures, she wrote on Instagram, Sorry for the spam. Feeling too Glam. Seeing this clear water- Sara nearly swam. But then decided against it- only for my gram fam.

One of the pictures also shows her posing at the gala with other influential women from the Arab, Africa and Asia including Razane Jammal, Fatima AlBanawi, Mohammed Al Turki, Simone Marchetti, Tara Emad, Mila Al Zahrani and Jade Osiberu .

The Red Sea International Film Festival hosted the first 'Celebration of Women in Cinema' Gala this week to celebrate visionary female talent both on and behind the camera from around the world. Sara represented India at the gathering that plays an important role in ensuring women's stories are showcased to as many people as possible while empowering a new generation of talent.

On being among the women at the event, she said, "I feel very very privileged. I'm a very proud Indian and I'm a very proud girl so I think that it's lovely that I can come here to this international forum and celebrate my Indianess and my Womanhood. While that's definitely a huge part of my identity, I think that in cinema gender doesn't matter, nationality doesn't matter. We all come together to tell stories honestly and I'm happy to be here with these lovely ladies that are here to celebrate that."

This week, Sara made her Cannes debut in a white Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla lehenga. Her second appearance was in a white saree with black details. Her makeup and hair were compared to her actor grandmother, Sharmila Tagore.

Before flying to France, Sara unveiled the trailer of her upcoming romantic-comedy, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke. She stars opposite Vicky Kaushal in the film. She also has Ae Watan Mere Watan and two more Hindi films in her kitty.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
After astrologer Acharya P Khurana died on Friday, Bollywood paid their respects to his family and shared their condolences with his sons, actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Aparshakti Khurana. The Khurana family patriarch passed away on Friday morning in Mohali. He had been admitted to a hospital in Punjab a few days ago and was undergoing treatment for heart ailments. The family also released an official statement on his passing. (Also read: Ayushmann Khurrana's father, astrologer P Khurana dies in Mohali) Ayushmann Khurrana in a photo with his father.

Several members of the Hindi film fraternity took to Twitter to post their condolences for the grieving family. Ajay Devgn wrote, "My thoughts and prayers to @ayushmannk and family. Wishing strength and solace during this difficult time. (Om emoji) Shanti."

His wife Kajol shared on Twitter, "Deepest condolences to @ayushmannk for his loss. (folded hands emoji) Parents are parents and their loss is always felt on the deepest level." Suniel Shetty added, "May God give you the strength to overcome this huge loss. Heartfelt condolences from all of us at home. @ayushmannk @Aparshakti."

Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh wrote, "My deepest condolences to you my dear brothers @ayushmannk @Aparshakti and the entire family. Extremely upset on hearing the sad news. May God give you all the strength (folded hands emojis) OM SHANTI."

Actor Sonia Aggarwal, who is also from the family's hometown Chandigarh, shared, "Rest in peace my dearest uncle @PKhurrana_ deeply saddened and shocked ..my heartfelt condolences @ayushmannk @Aparshakti and aunty ..stay strong #OmShanti."

The family's statement earlier today had read, "Its with our deep sadness to inform that Ayushmann and Aparshakti Khuranas father, Astrologer P Khurana passed away this morning at 10:30am in Mohali, owing to a prolonged incurable ailment. We are indebted for all your prayers and support during this time of personal loss."

Acharya P Khurana was well-known in the field of astrology, especially in north India. He wrote over 30 books related to astrology and was well established as a celebrity astrologer.

Ayushmann joined films with Shoojit Sircar's Vicky Donor in 2012 and his younger brother Aparshakti joined the industry with the Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal in 2016.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Alia Bhatt was recently in Seoul for Guccis resort 2024 runway show, her first fashion show as the label's brand ambassador. For the event, Alia wore a 1960s-feel black dress with a modern makeup look. In a new 'get ready with me' video, Alia spoke about her first time sitting in front row at a Gucci show, or any fashion show for that matter, and also shared a glimpse of her first ever trip to 'electrifying' Seoul. Also read: Alia Bhatt eats pizza after first Gucci fashion show in Seoul, says 'the bag was empty' Alia Bhatt was in Seoul for Gucci's fashion show.

The behind-the-scenes video opened with Alia dressed in a white robe inside her hotel room, and speaking with someone. She said, "How do you say hello (in Korean)?" Next, the actor folded her hands and said 'annyeonghaseyo (hello)'. She also said 'annyeong (bye)' as she practiced Korean.

Alia then greeted fans in the video shared by Vogue magazine on Instagram, saying, "Annyeonghaseyo Vogue, please come in." Before the actor began getting her hair and makeup done for the Gucci show, she said, So we are in Seoul, Korea. I have never been to Korea before. Just look at this view, I have just been staring at the electrifying energy of the city since I have gotten here. It is quite adventurous. Let's go get ready.

Speaking about her look for the fashion show, Alia said, "Today's dress is very fun. But it is also classic. It is a '60s-ish shift feel. So we are trying to have some fun with hair and makeup as well. For makeup, I want to try something new for the first time in my life  strong eyes. I don't usually do liner but she (her Korean makeup artist) has guaranteed me that my eyes will look big. This is my first time appearing for Gucci, it is my first time attending a fashion show, it will be spectacular, I can just feel it... my hair has been the longest it has ever been, and I have always wanted to do a long ponytail and with this dress and the structure, it all just balances out very well."

After she got ready, and as she was making her way to the fashion show venue  the historic Gyeongbokgung Palace  Alia said her 'anxiety level is peak during traffic'. At the event, she was seen greeting a host of people, including Hollywood actor Dakota Johnson, who said to Alia, "Pleased to meet you. How are you doing?" Next, Alia was seen posing for photographers at the venue.

On May 17, Alia had shared a bunch of pictures on Instagram from the Gucci show in Seoul. She had also posted a picture of herself eating pizza after the event ended.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Aparshakti Khurana performed the last rites of their father, astrologer, P Khurana. P Khurana died on Friday morning in Mohali, Punjab. His last rites took place at Manimajra cremation ground in Chandigarh. Also read: Ajay Devgn, Kajol, Suniel Shetty offer condolences to Ayushmann Khurrana and family after father's death Ayushmann Khurrana and Aparshakti Khurana's father died on Friday.

A photo from the funeral has surfaced online. It features Ayushmann and Aparshakti giving a shoulder to their fathers bier. They looked emotional and were seen wearing black sunglasses.

P Khurana was popularly known in North India for his knowledge in the field of astrology. Hailing from Chandigarh, Punjab, he also wrote books on the subject. Confirming the news of his death, actor Aparshakti's spokesperson shared a family statement earlier in the day.

It read, "Its with our deep sadness to inform that Ayushmann and Aparshakti Khuranas father, Astrologer P Khurana passed away this morning at 10:30am in Mohali, owing to a prolonged incurable ailment. We are indebted for all your prayers and support during this time of personal loss."

According to reports in PTC, the actor's father was battling heart problems for some time. However, the cause of his death is still unknown.

Meanwhile, several celebrities from Bollywood paid their respects to the late astrologer. Many also extended condolences to the actors and their family. Ajay Devgn wrote on Twitter, "My thoughts and prayers to @ayushmannk and family. Wishing strength and solace during this difficult time. (Om emoji) Shanti."

Kajol added on the micro-blogging site, "Deepest condolences to @ayushmannk for his loss. (folded hands emoji) Parents are parents and their loss is always felt on the deepest level." Suniel Shetty added, "May God give you the strength to overcome this huge loss. Heartfelt condolences from all of us at home. @ayushmannk @Aparshakti."

Neil Nitin Mukesh tweeted, "My deepest condolences to you my dear brothers @ayushmannk @Aparshakti and the entire family. Extremely upset on hearing the sad news. May God give you all the strength (folded hands emojis) OM SHANTI." May God give you the strength to overcome this huge loss. Heartfelt condolences from all of us at home, said Suniel Shetty on the social media platform.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla have been friends, co-stars and co Kolkata Knight Riders owners since decades. Not only this, they are also fond of each other's kids. On Friday, Shah Rukh Khan cheered for Juhi's daughter Jahnavi Mehta who recently graduated from Columbia University in New York recently. Janhvi shared a picture of Jahnavi on Twitter in her convocation robe and simply wrote, #columbiaclass2023 in caption. Also read: Gauri Khan poses with Shah Rukh Khan in romantic photos, says 'thank you for being part of my journey'. See post Shah Rukh Khan has shared a tweet for Jahnavi Mehta.

Reacting to Juhi's tweet, Shah Rukh wrote, This is so awesome. Cant wait for her to get back and celebrate with her. And a feeling of extreme pride. Love you Jaanz.

Shah Rukh Khan reacted to Juhi Chawla's tweet.

Jahnavi had earlier excelled during her schooling at Charterhouse in Surrey, UK. Her father and Juhi's husband Jay Mehta had also graduated from the same university. Juhi, who had been busy with the IPL, has flown to the UK for Jahnavi's graduation. She shared a glimpse of herself from the convocation on her Instagram Stories.

Jahnavi has always kept away from the spotlight. She was spotted at the IPL auction last year along with Shah Rukh's son Aryan Khan.

Later in the year, Juhi came to the rescue of Aryan when he was arrested in the cruise ship drugs case. She had signed a 1 lakh bond for Aryan when he was released after nearly a month. Juhi was the surety for Aryan at the time of his release. His lawyer Satish Maneshinde had said, "She knows him from birth as they are professionally associated."

In a new interview last month, Juhi was asked about signing the bond for Aryan. She told News18, "We didnt know it was coming. But when all came down to that moment when I could help, I thought it was the right thing for me to do  to be there for him.

Shah Rukh and Juhi are usually seen at Kolkata Knight Riders' IPL matches. They have featured in several films together including Darr, Duplicate, Ram Jaane, Yes Boss, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Paheli and One 2 Ka 4.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Veteran theatre personality and actor Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha, 70, is fine with playing a character that shows him as a godman convicted of sexual misconduct. The role that he plays, in the upcoming film Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai, also received a notice from the followers of self-styled godman Asaram Bapu. Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha

The story is totally based on advocate PC Solanki (played by Manoj Bajpayee), after acquiring rights from the lawyer. As an actor, I am just playing this character of Baba and have done my job with full honesty as its an important role and the film is based on him, says the actor who was last seen in Mira Nairs TV series A Suitable Boy (2020) that was shot in Lucknow-Kanpur. He was seen essaying the role of godman in that series too.

Kulshreshtha stays unfazed by negativity such roles bring along. When I play (or write) a role for theatre or film, whether its in positive or negative light, that doesnt make any difference to me. I even featured in a rape scene in the film but then thats character sketch. Even if its annoying to watch, the message this film gives is surely positive. I feel darker the roles, greater the positivity.

To get into the skin of the character he had to research at length. I did a lot of study to understand how with the magic of words, body language and conversations these godmen make huge following, and people start believing them blindly. I have tried not to copy anyone and tried to create a unique character.

Kulshreshtha has been director of Bhartendu Natya Academy (BNA), Lucknow, from 2006-09 and has been the student of its founding batch in 1976 under Padma Shri Raj Bisaria. He has acted in films like Yeh Woh Manzil Toh Nahi (1986), Monsoon Shootout (2013) and Daas Dev (2018).

Theatre keeps me very busy. I do very few films and my favourite remains a short film called The Bypass (2003) with Irfaan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui which won many international awards, he adds.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Veteran actor Zeenat Aman, who debuted on Instagram a few months ago and has since garnered everyone's attention with her heartfelt posts, has now called out a report that has put her on a list of Bollywood celebrities with mixed ethnicities. Zeenat took to her Instagram Stories and requested to "double check the facts" before posting such information in the public. (Also read: Zeenat Aman says she's tired of fashion being associated with sexiness; calls her new look scarecrow chic) Zeenat Aman pointed out an article that claimed her ethnicity incorrectly.

Zeenat posted a screenshot of the article on her Instagram Stories that clubbed her with several other Bollywood actors. It was titled, "From Zeenat Aman to Nargis Fakhri, Bollywood Stars with Mixed Ethnicities". In response, Zeenat pointed out how the facts which were shared in the article were inaccurate.

Zeenat Aman wrote about the article on her Instagram Stories.

The veteran star wrote after naming the portal, "I'm happy to be in the company of these beautiful actors, but a sincere request to double check the facts before posting such articles. My mother was not 'German Christian'. She was an Indian Hindu, whose second marriage was to a German man. My father was an Indian Muslim. This is publicly available information, including on my Instagram. I am also NOT fluent in German, at most I can understand a smattering. Danke (Thanks in German)!"

Zeenat then shared the post about her mother in her next Instagram Story. She had posted a heartfelt note for her mother on Instagram a few months ago with a black and white picture. The photo featured Zeenat holding her mother who wore a saree at an event. Sharing the photo, the senior actor had praised her mother and said, If I have lived an extraordinary life its because I was brought up by an extraordinary woman. My mother Vardhini Scharwachter was what youd call a pataka. Elegant, intelligent, feisty and my pillar of support.

In the post she had detailed about the ethnicity of her parents as well. She wrote, She was a practicing Hindu and she epitomised the ideas of tolerance, love and empowerment. Her faith did not stop her from marrying my father Amanullah Khan. Later, after they had separated, she fell in love with and married a wonderful German man, whom I called Uncle Heinz. She taught me to stand on my own two feet and to live life on my own terms. She was truly the wind beneath my wings, she said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Miley Cyrus has spoken on her relationship with ex-husband Liam Hemsworth. Cyrus and Hemsworth had parted ways in August 2019, after just eight months of marriage. Hemsworth had filed for divorce over irreconcilable differences between them. Miley Cryus and Liam Hemsworth(Getty Images)

Cyrus has been chosen as the cover star of British Vogue magazine's June 2023 edition. She gave an interview to the magazine highlighting how her past relationships have influenced her songs, including her recent one "Flowers".

ALSO READ| If it was possible in New York: Whoopi Goldberg questions car chase' claims involving Prince Harry and Meghan

Talking about her marriage to Hemsworth and subsequent breakup, Cyrus said I wouldnt erase my story or want it to be erased.

Having an interesting life makes for interesting storytelling, she added.

Interestingly, some fans of the songstress had speculated that the lyrics- I can love me better than you can in her song "Flowers", were in reference to Hemsworth. Notably, the song "Flowers" was released on January 13, which is Hemsworth's birthday.

On the matter of fans' speculating on the Flowers' lyrics, Cyrus said : I never need to be a master at the craft of tricking an audience. It will set itself on fire all by itself.

Cyrus and Hemsworth met during the filming of their romantic comedy The Last Song" in 2009. Both got involved in an on-again-off-again relationship which lasted for the next 10 years. They called off their engagement in September 2013. Years later, they got together in 2016 and eventually got married in 2018 at their Tennessee home.

In 2020, Cyrus had talked about her split from Hemsworth, on Joe Rogans podcast.

What really sucked about it wasnt the fact that me and someone that I loved realized that we dont love each other the way that we used to anymore. Thats OK, I can accept that. I cant accept the villainizing and just all those stories, said Cyrus in 2020.
While the world focuses on cutting carbon dioxide emissions in its battle against rising global temperatures, CO2s evil twin, Methane (CH4), has largely remained under the radar. PREMIUM Landfills emit methane when organic wastes decompose(HT PHOTO)

Research and analyses over the last year suggest that methane emissions from oil, gas and coal are nearly 70% higher than officially reported by countries. This is not accounting for the emissions from other sources. Additionally, methane is four times more sensitive to global warming than previously thought, the research suggested. Why does it matter? Methane, a primary component of natural gas and a byproduct of fossil fuel emissions, has a much shorter atmospheric lifetime than carbon dioxide  about a decade compared with the centuries it takes CO2 to dissipate  but is over 25 times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO2. Since the industrial revolution, methane has been responsible for nearly 45% of the current net warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)s Sixth Assessment shows. Separately, the IPCC synthesis report released on March 20 showed that the atmospheric concentrations of methane were higher in 2019 than at any other time in at least 800,000 years. And, its sources are plenty. According to different estimates, nearly 50-65% of methane emissions have anthropogenic (human-influenced) sources. Natural sources of methane emissions include natural wetlands, reservoirs and ponds, that produce methane through microbial breakdown of organic matter. About 40% of these emissions come from leaks at oil and gas exploration sites, production and transport; another 40% from agricultural activities, including storage of animal manure, burping cattle and rice paddies in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Argentina; and another 20% from rotting waste at landfills and other such sites.

Rice paddies in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Argentina are a significant contributor to methane emissions(AFP)

The biggest emitters include China, the US, Russia, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria and Mexico.

Is the energy sector alone to blame? According to the International Energy Agencys Global Methane Tracker, the energy sector added about 135 million tonnes of methane in the atmosphere in 2022. A majority of these emissions are from leaks at oil and gas sites; some deliberate as to vent unwanted gas released while drilling to prevent blasts, and others accidental from poorly maintained equipment.

As per the IEA's Global Methane Tracker, the energy sector added about 135 million tonnes of methane in the atmosphere in 2022.(AP)

Over 500 super-emitter  large facilities, equipment, and other infrastructure accounting for approximately 10% of energy-related emissions  were identified in 2022 in an analysis of satellite data by Kayrros. An additional 105 were from coal mines.

At 184, Turkmenistan had the highest number of super-emitting events, attributable to ageing Soviet-era equipment, as per a Guardian report. According to an analysis by the UN environment programme, emissions from oil and gas will increase over the next decade to 10 million tonnes per year by 2030, while those associated with coal will stay roughly constant or decrease slightly. But these emissions may also be the easiest to cut Methane is generally a secondary byproduct in industrial processes, and thus not viewed as an energy resource. With existing technology, a reduction of 75% is possible in the oil and gas industry alone, the IEA said in its Global Methane Tracker report released on February 21, 2023. Less than 3% of the annual income of oil and gas companies would be required to make the $100 billion investment in technologies needed to achieve this reduction. Separately, Kayrros, in its Global Methane Pledge Scorecard, issued ahead of COP27, said that eliminating all super emitters was possible by 2025. A lot of the leaked methane, nearly three quarters according to IEA, can be retained and brought to market with existing technologies. The captured methane would amount to more than the European Unions total annual gas imports from Russia prior to the invasion of Ukraine, the IEA said, adding that the numbers only highlight a lack of industry action.

Farming practices may be a different ballgame

Cows emit methane both through their burps and their manure, and rice cultivation emits methane when fields are flooded. While there are ways to tackle both, changes in cultivation patterns and reduction in meat consumption, unless a majority of the over eight billion people on the planet switch to veganism, which is not only a long way ahead but also an unreasonable expectation, a major cut in the agriculture sector anytime soon is unlikely.

Cows emit methane both through their burps and their manure, and rice cultivation emits methane when fields are flooded(AP)

Methane released at landfills can be captured and used, which will also reduce local air pollution. Mitigating methane emissions could also reduce tropospheric ozone concentrations.

A research paper titled 'Global health benefits of mitigating ozone pollution with methane emission controls, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences as far back as 2006, explained that tropospheric O3 is formed from photochemical reactions involving nitrous oxide and volatile organic compounds, such as methane. Thus, reducing methane emissions, could reduce concentrations of O3, and result in reducing global premature deaths by nearly 370,000 between 2010 and 2030, the study said. What about natural removal? The natural system of the planet is such that the CH4 produced by natural systems like wetlands can be removed in an oxidation reaction involving hydroxyl radicals. This reaction would produce water and remove CH4 from the atmosphere. However, the same radical also reacts with carbon monoxide, now being generated in abundance across the globe because of the surge in wildfires.

Wildfires come as another significant contributor to the menace of methane emissions(Reuters)

Thus, the rising temperatures not only amplify CH4 production by speeding up microbe activity in wetlands, they also slow down CH4 removal because of forest fires.

According to a separate research reported by the Guardian, experts indicated emissions equivalent to 729 gigatonne (Gt) CO2 from leaks at gas fields. This number is almost double the planets remaining 1.5-degree carbon budget. The Global Carbon Project pegs the remaining carbon budget  the amount of CO2 that can still be emitted for a 50% chance of staying below 1.5C of warming  at 380 billion tonnes of CO2 (GtCO2). This is where satellites come into play Over the last decade, as technology to capture and store carbon dioxide (CCS) was developed across the globe, several companies also worked on satellites that use infrared signals to detect plumes of methane. Several new satellites with far higher resolutions are set for launch over the next few years, including MethaneSat, scheduled for launch by the US nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) this year, and the first two satellites from Carbon Mapper in late 2023; the latter plans to have a whole constellation of them in orbit by 2025. Till then, a Methane Pledge. Over 100 countries at COP26 in 2021, agreed to sign the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to cut anthropogenic methane emissions by 30% by 2030. So far, 150 countries have signed the pledge, but major emitters, including Russia, China, Iran, India and Turkmenistan are yet to sign. The science is clear, as COP28 President Designate Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said on May 10. Lets scale up best practices and aim to reach net-zero methane emissions by 2030.

Enjoy unlimited digital access with HT Premium Subscribe Now to continue reading Start 14 Days Free Trial Already Subscribed? Sign In
A baffling aspect of international treaties and negotiations on the climate crisis relates to complete silence on the water woes of the globe. There is little appreciation for the fact that freshwater on the earth is as scarce as some of the most precious metals. Less than 3% of the earths water comprises fresh water and of this over 2% is locked in glaciers and less than 1% makes up for all the ground water, soil and atmosphere moisture, lakes and rivers. Given these natural constraints on water availability, international forums on environment, development and climate have shown no concern to bring water to the negotiating table. As more and more water bodies dry up globally, international interlocutors have opted to be the proverbial ostriches hiding their heads in the sand which is raising its head literally across geographies. If lack of collective action to tackle the climate crisis was the first sin of the global leadership, ignoring the global water problem is the clear second sin. This needs to change and change immediately. Climate change(Representational photo / Creative Commons)

Asia-Pacific is the most populous region in the world in which approximately 4.3 billion people (60% of the worlds population) live across 40 nations. The region is also one of the most water-stressed regions of the world. More than 95% of Asias human population faces water stress (annual water availability less than 1,700 cubic meter per capita) and 75% of Asia is water scarce with annual water availability less than 1,000 cubic metres per capita. Estimates of the Asian Development Bank suggest that the shortfall between water availability and its demand is likely to increase to 40% by the year 2030. Higher demand from agricultural sector, the development of urban infrastructure and general water mismanagement have all contributed to the water crisis in the region. The ongoing climate warming constrains water availability on supply side and higher demand for various reasons are a potent mix for disaster, a double whammy. We may be reaping the harvest of free electricity and the penchant for free lunches among the electable and the electorate does not seem to ebb at all. Mankind has perhaps collectively expressed a death wish.

The demand-supply gap in water availability in the Asia-Pacific region is likely to worsen more with impending climate crisis. During the last ten years, India has experienced five warmest years on record. In 2019, the water level in Mekong reached its lowest point in 100 years. Projections of the World Resource Institute suggest that by 2040 most parts of the world would experience high to extremely high water stress conditions with large swathes of the Asia-Pacific region (China, India, Australia and many Southeast Asian Island nations) likely witnessing high (40-80%) water stress. Most of the major rivers of Asia-Pacific including the Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Salween, Chao Phraya, Mekong, Red River, Pearl River, Yangtze, and Yellow rivers depend on the Himalayan glaciers and/or South Asia monsoons for their perennial water availability. Scientific studies suggest that the Himalayan region is warming at much higher rates than the global average. This is likely to result in increased river discharges in the short term but significantly depleted water flows in the long-run.

The South Asian monsoon is likely to turn more erratic in near future as a result of climate change with higher net rainfall spread over fewer number of days. This scenario is a perfect mix for increased flood risk in the downstream areas. The rapid rate of climate warming is known to result in the formation of more glacial lakes which are often dammed by lose rubble and are vulnerable to breaching due to higher water volumes. Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) from such events is on the rise. The Kedarnath tragedy of June 2013, which left a trail of death, destruction and misery in its wake was the result of such a lake burst event. During the last couple of decades, China has experienced the highest number of flood-related economic losses in the world. Have we learnt any lessons from these tragedies and economic losses?

The additional problem that makes water deserving of a seat at the international high tables is transboundary conflicts within and between nation-states. Conflicts relating to water take many different forms and the various elements of water security act as threat multipliers. These multipliers include political processes, development activities, water-related disasters, etc. The international water conflicts such as Mekong, Indus, Brahmaputra, etc. and intra-state water disputes in India, such as of Cauvery, Krishna, Narmada, Yamuna, etc. are prime examples of these conflicts. The climate change will only escalate the water insecurities among the parties, therefore, the geopolitical tensions. The Indus Water Treaty (IWT), for example, is already under pressure as the water demand in upstream India rises. The downstream Pakistan region under the impact of ongoing climate warming will be averse to any changes in the treaty India has recently proposed, threatening to further deteriorate a delicately held peace between the two neighbors. India may well be justified in amending the IWT under the changed circumstances. India was close to restrict water flow in Indus in 2016 and 2019 in response to the Pakistan-backed terrorist strikes in its upper basin areas of Jammu & Kashmir.

Addressing the water crisis requires a mix of measures that must begin at home  judicious use of a scarce commodity such as water must be the central paradigm of water policy. A wider perspective to ensure a just water-sharing regime in which each state or a nation has access to equitable water resources in order to prevent conflicts. Worryingly, the serious water woes and its potential to snowball into conflict is yet to dawn on the international climate negotiators. We have argued elsewhere that The Mekong River Commission, which jointly manages the water resources of the Mekong River between Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam can serve as a model for addressing water disputes among other Asia-Pacific Nations. Given the vulnerability of Himalayan glaciers to warming and their ensuing recession, nations like Pakistan will do well to judiciously manage the Indus waters, for the critical dependence of its major water resources on the receding glaciers. Likewise, Bangladesh depends on 90% or more for its surface water resources on the trans-boundary imports which adds to its vulnerability under the impacts of climate change. Judicious and responsible management of water resources is equally crucial for India. Nearly 40% of piped water in urban India is reportedly lost due to leakages, water pricing and inadequate maintenance of the water supply infrastructure. This situation cannot continue. Modernisation of water supply infrastructure using the latest technologies such as leak sensors, etc. need to go hand in hand. Water harvesting for the nations in Asia-Pacific region is no more a matter of choice. We need to double our efforts to integrate actions of various stakeholders including scientists and civil society with the national water management policies. Localised small-scale actions that use indigenous knowledge and are rooted in nature have the best success rates in the fight against water scarcity and groundwater depletion. These need more support and encouragement.

This article is authored by Kumar Manish, assistant professor and Maharaj K Pandit, professor & dean, OP Jindal Global University.
The ministry of culture, through the International Museum Expo, is providing a framework for discussions and deliberations to provide a world-class feel to our museums and unleash the societal, cultural, tourism and economic opportunities in this sector. PREMIUM India is home to over 1,200 museums representing a rich and diverse blend of the cultural, religious and scientific achievements that our civilisation has witnessed over the years(AP)

On May 18, marking the 47th International Museum Day, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi made an insightful observation on the preservation of the holy relics of Lord Buddha. While inaugurating the Expo, the PM said that the relics were conserved over generations and today they bring together the followers of Lord Buddha from all over the world.

This observation is germane to the discussions taking place around the role of museums in India. Given Indias unique history, our challenges are slightly more nuanced. We are one of the few uninterrupted civilisational States that have continuously flourished. As a result, our art, culture and heritage is visible in our day-to-day activities.

Our festivals, the deities we worship, the food we eat, the dance and music performances we appreciate, are all testimony to this civilisational ethos. Keeping this in mind, our approach has been to balance the manner in which our antiquities and artefacts are managed  between integrating them into our daily lives and positioning them in our museums.

This occasion gives us an opportunity to look back at the progress that we have made in reimagining our museums and cultural spaces. The last nine years have seen a transformational shift in our perspectives of our heritage, and this can be seen in our approach towards preserving and promoting it.

First, there has been a focus on repatriating antiquities to the original locations, thereby striking a balance between museums and cultural spaces. Second, we are integrating technology into our museums to provide a wholesome experience. Finally, there is an economic case for museums in terms of gross value added apart from the societal, cultural and tourism benefits that accrue from preserving our heritage.

Over the last nine years, we have been able to bring back a significant amount of our stolen heritage back to India. Of the total 244 invaluable antiquities of Indian origin that have been brought back, 231 came after 2014. Further, over 70 antiquities are in the process of being repatriated from various countries including the United States (US), United Kingdom, Singapore and Australia.

Bringing Our Gods Home is one such initiative that is rooted in preserving, promoting and propagating our heritage and adheres to the governments vision of Vikas bhi Virasat bhi (development and heritage together). As these antiquities are repatriated, there is also an attempt to restore them to the place they were taken from rather than have them languish in the warehouses of museums. It is with this underlying philosophy of history belongs to its geography that retrieved idols and antiquities, wherever possible, are being returned to their place of origin. The return of the idol of Goddess Annapurna to Varanasi and several idols to Tamil Nadu is a step in making this the norm, rather than the exception.

India is home to over 1,200 museums representing a rich and diverse blend of the cultural, religious and scientific achievements that our civilisation has witnessed over the years. These museums are the only ones under the ministry of culture. Other ministries manage museums that revolve around specific themes such as railways, crafts, textiles, defence, food and mint. Therefore, the government is taking a whole-of-government approach, using technology, preservation techniques and ancillary attractions such as sound and light shows to provide a wholesome experience to all stakeholders in these museums.

The use of digital technology to enhance user experience aims to widen public access through modernisation and digitisation of collections and exhibitions. The development of virtual museums such as the first-ever Shanghai Cooperation Organisation online exhibition on shared Buddhist heritage brought together Buddhist philosophy and the art of central Asia from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan along with Russia, Pakistan, China and India.

Digitisation is now a constant work in progress and is visible in the museums that have been recently inaugurated such as the Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya.

A specialised domain such as museums requires new skills and perspectives that take time to develop. The new Indian Institute of Heritage, which is being set up as a world-class university, is addressing these very challenges. With this renewed mandate of modernisation, upgradation, and establishment of new museums, we are bringing our institutions closer to international standards of museology in the 21st century.

The government realises that these efforts require financial commitments, and the necessary budgetary support is being extended wherever required. A study by the American Alliance of Museums in the US revealed that the museum industry has a job multiplier effect of 2.0  for every direct job in the industry, an additional job is supported elsewhere in the economy.

The industrys employment impact transcends sectors such as leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, trade, transportation and utilities, education and training and financial services.

The ministry of culture through the International Museum Expo is providing a framework for discussions and deliberations to provide a world-class feel to our museums and unleash the societal, cultural, tourism and economic opportunities in this sector. While there are many tangible achievements over the last nine years, and tremendous progress to show for, the road ahead is full of opportunities that we will continue to leverage.

G Kishan Reddy is the Union minister of culture, tourism and development of northeastern region. The views expressed are personal
The Newark-Mumbai Air India flight landed safely as per schedule in Mumbai on Thursday even as Air India did not respond to repeated attempts for comments The passenger demanded the pilots land the flight around three hours after the take-off. (Twitter)

A business class passenger on a Newark-Mumbai Air India flight screamed and tried to strangle his wife while insisting on disembarking before the crew engaged and managed to sedate him after seeking the help of doctors on board. He demanded the pilots land the flight around three hours after the take-off from the Newark airport in New Jersey.

Pravin Tonsekar, a Mumbai businessman who was on the flight, said the passengers wife told them that her husband suffered an anxiety attack as had skipped his medication.

Tonsekar said the situation went out of control before the crew sought help from the doctors on board. The mans hands had to be held while giving him the injection. It was only after seven to eight hours later that we passengers could take rest, he tweeted.

He was screaming, hurling abuses, violent, and at multiple times tried to strangle his own wife who was short and frail. The crew engaged him and called a doctor and finally managed to sedate him keeping their cool throughout the 10-hour ordeal.

He said the situation was brought under control thanks to the patience of the crew. Tonsekar said the crew bore the brunt and ensured no diversion and yet gave timely service without taking rest. Air India must felicitate them and appreciate their handling!

Air India responded to Tonsekars tweets and thanked him. We are glad that our team assisted the passenger with keen dedication and care. Our crew team undergoes extensive training. We appreciate you recognizing the efforts.

The flight landed safely as per schedule in Mumbai on Thursday. Air India did not respond to repeated attempts for comments.
New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday asked his ministry to enhance the ability to use and prevent misuse of modern technology, including drones and artificial intelligence, as he presided over a Chintan Shivir (brainstorming session) of senior officials in the ministry of home affairs (MHA). Union Minister for Home Affairs and Cooperation Amit Shah chairs the 2nd Chintan Shivir', in New Delhi on Friday. (PTI)

This was the second such shivir chaired by Shah since April, where he reviewed the work of all the divisions and departments under him.

The home minister said every effort must be made to visualise the challenges of the future and find their solutions in advance. He emphasised on further enhancing the ability to use and prevent misuse of modern technology, including drones and artificial intelligence, said an officer, who didnt want to be named.

He appreciated the work of the ministry and called upon the officials to work more diligently to achieve the goals set in Vision 2047. The HM stressed that in order to reduce the consumption of electricity, provision of more and more solar energy should be made for all the office buildings of MHA, the officer added.

Overall, Shah reviewed performance of various issues pertaining to counterterrorism and radicalisation, internal security, cyber and information security, narcotics, disaster management and foreigners.

He also reviewed the progress on Aatmanirbhar Bharat, various budget announcements and important pending issues of the MHA, said a second officer, adding that the departments concerned shared their suggestions on various issues.

In his concluding address at the Chintan Shivir, the HM said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indias place in the world is growing rapidly and nothing can stop it from becoming the first in every field in the world. The HM said that the MHA should prepare a road map and follow it to achieve the goals of Vision 2047 and this 25-year road map will certainly be successful in making India the first in the world, said a second officer.

The MHA is responsible for internal security, border management, Centre-state relations, administration of Union territories, management of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), disaster management, etc.
In a bid to tackle the drug menace, a Kabristan Committee in central Assam's Morigaon district has decided not to allow and to participate in the funeral of people who died due to the consumption of drugs or have been involved in the illegal drugs trade. A graveyard (Representative image)(ANI)

The Moirabari Town Kabristan Committee of Morigaon district has taken the decision to fight against the drug menace.

According to the reports, the decision was made during a meeting of the Kabristan Committee recently.

Mehboob Muktar, president of Moirabari Town Kabristan Committee said that the decision had been taken to make the public aware of the drug menace.

"The Moirabari Town Kabristan Committee of Morigaon district has taken a bold decision that, we will not allow the body of those people who die due to consumption of drugs or have been involved in illegal drugs trade to be buried in the Kabristan. We have taken the decision to fight against the drug menace in our area," said Mehboob Muktar.

He further said that many youths in his locality are involved in the illegal drug trade and many children have become addicted to drugs.

Reacting to the decision of the Kabristan Committee, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that in the last two years, the state government has waged the most influential war against drugs, and a total of 9,309 people have been arrested and narcotics worth 1,430 crore have been seized.

The chief minister tweeted, "In the last two years, we have waged the most influential war against drugs, inflicting severe damage on consumption and supply networks."

"Narcotics worth 1,430 crores has been seized, 9,309 people arrested, 420 acres of cannabis and opium cultivation destroyed," he added.
Karnataka CM-designate Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar held meetings with leaders of the Congress high command to finalise names of ministers to be inducted into the cabinet, people familiar with the developments said on Friday. Karnataka CM-designate Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM-designate D.K. Shivakumar meet Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi, Friday. (PTI)

The two leaders held meetings with senior leader Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary KC Venugopal on Friday. The leaders who staked claim to form the government on Thursday left for Bengaluru to formally invite the Congress high command for the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday. According to Congress leaders, up to 30 ministers could be inducted on Saturday.

Also read: Factors that caused, resolved the tussle for Karnataka CM post

The visit came a day after the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Thursday formally elected Siddaramaiah as its leader, after which he went to the Governors office which invited him to form the next government of Karnataka.

Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar are scheduled to take oath as the chief minister and deputy chief minister respectively along with a few ministers at 12.30pm on Saturday at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.

We want to invite our leaders, we want to invite Rahul ji, Sonia ji, Kharge ji, and Priyanka ji for the ceremony. They gave their sweat, and direction (to the campaign), so I wanted to invite them personally. Later, we are discussing the cabinet formation, Shivakumar told reporters in Delhi.

Before departing for Delhi, DK Shivakumar emphasised that ensuring the fulfilment of the pledges made to the public is of utmost importance and remains the top priority. Cabinet... people... all those things we will let you know later, we will not do anything leaving you (media), there is no need for any speculation. We will work unitedly, he said.

Ahead of the Siddaramaiah governments oath-taking ceremony, at least 22 ministerial aspirants from Karnataka have flown to Delhi on Friday to lobby for their candidatures. I have worked as the KPCC general secretary for more than five years. I have travelled across the state and worked to strengthen the party. I will effectively carry whatever post the party gives, said KPCC general secretary Eshwar Kandre, who was among the ministers who reached Delhi for lobbying.

MLA and former RV Deshpande said to be a candidate for the post of speaker expressed his unwillingness to the media in New Delhi. It (speaker) is a very responsible post I dont think I can take so much responsibility, said the 76-year-old, eight-time MLA.

KH Muniyappa, another leader who arrived in the capital city said that the government was not formed with the support of just one community and positions should be given to everyone. Everyone has joined hands to ensure Congress victory. As a dalit leader, I feel an important post should come to the community, said the former union minister.

Also read: BJP will bounce back in Karnataka, says Basavaraj Bommai

KJ George, G Parameshwara and Ramalinga Reddy have already held the Home Minister portfolio and are said to be the front runners for the post. MLC BK Hariprasad is also said to be a contender for an portfolio.

The posts of Bengaluru development, irrigation, power and revenue are said to be the most sought-after posts. There is no clarity as of now since it is unclear what pots will DKS will retain. We have been told that he will retain at least two prominent portfolios along with the deputy chief minister post, said a senior legislator from north Karnataka.

People familiar with the development said that the prominent leader who came from the BJP  Laxman Savadi and Jagadish Shetter  will also be given the cabinet berths.
Welcome to hindustantimes.com updates platform where you can find breaking news from India and across the world. Find fast updates about the latest news as it breaks.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a charge sheet against a 35-year-old person from Tamil Nadu who was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting eight children aged between 5 and 18, officials said. The CBI had uncovered his crimes when it found Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) images and videos. (Representative file image)

In its charge sheet filed recently before a POCSO (Protection of Children From Sexual Offences) court in Tamil Nadus Thanjavur, the CBI alleged that the accused was sexually abusing a child for the last four years.

It was further alleged that the accused forced victims to perform penetrative sexual acts on them as well as on other minor children, including a minor victim girl; clicked photographs and recorded videos; forced them to watch sexual acts with other adult person; threatened them with publishing the pictures and video on social media and for bringing more minor girls, a CBI spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.

Also Read: Patna: POCSO court awards 25 yrs of jail term to man accused of raping minor girl

The CBI had uncovered his crimes when it found Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) images and videos from the Interpols International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database.

The forensic analysis using specialised tools led the CBI to Thanjavur district.

Searches were conducted at the premises of the accused which led to recovery of incriminating electronic gadgets. The accused was arrested and is in judicial custody, the statement said.

During the investigation, the CBI found that Raja had sexually assaulted eight children, both boys and girls, between the age of 5 and 18 for a couple of years.

It was alleged that in most cases, he targeted children aged below 12, forcing them to perform sexual acts with other children and using them for pornography, the CBI said.

With inputs from PTI
The Centre on Friday promulgated an ordinance to create a National Capital Civil Service Authority for transfer of and disciplinary proceedings against Group-A officers from the DANICS cadre. Delhi LG VK Saxena and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (PTI file)

The ordinance comes a week after the Supreme Court handed over the control of services in the national capital to the Delhi government.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the Centre was planning to bring an ordinance to overturn the apex court verdict.

The ordinance states that "there shall be an authority to be known as the National Capital Civil Service Authority to exercise the powers conferred on, and discharge the functions assigned to it".

The authority shall comprise the chief minister of the government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi as its chairperson, along with the chief secretary and the principal home secretary, who shall be the member secretary to the authority.

"All matters required to be decided by the authority shall be decided by majority of votes of the members present and voting. All recommendations of the authority shall be authenticated by the member secretary," it said.

The National Capital Civil Service Authority shall meet at such time and place as the member secretary may decide with approval of the chairperson of the authority, as and when required, the ordinance said.

"The central government, in consultation with the authority, shall determine the nature and the categories of officers and other employees required to assist the authority in the discharge of its functions and provide the authority with such officers and employees, as it may deem fit....

"Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, the National Capital Civil Service Authority shall have the responsibility to recommend the transfers and postings of all the Group 'A' officers and officers of DANICS serving in the affairs of the government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi but not officers serving in connection with any subject matter," it read.

A Supreme Court order on May 11 put the control of bureaucrats working with the Delhi government, excluding those related to police, public order and land, under the elected government.
Bhubaneswar: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik praised each other during the flagging off of the Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express train, the Congress in Odisha alleged that the Biju Janata Dal (BJP) had junked its policy of equidistance. Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik (File photo)

During his speech over video conferencing, Patnaik invited Modi to inaugurate the Puri International Airport when it is completed in the next 3-4 years.

Also read: After Modi meet, Naveen Patnaik says no to joining 'third front' for 2024 poll

Within 3-4 years, this airport will be ready and the honourable Prime Minister will come to Srikshetra to dedicate the Sri Jagannath Puri International Airport to the public. Recently I had a meeting with the honourable Prime Minister and had a detailed discussion on the proposed Sri Jagannath Puri International Airport at Puri. We will incorporate all the suggestions given by the Prime Minister for making it a world-class seaside airport, Patnaik said.

Modi, on his part, referred to Patnaik as a friend.

Senior Congress leader Panchanan Kanungo said the Vande Bharat Express event showed that Patnaiks policy of equidistance of equidistance from both the Congress and the BJP was mere lip service.

Also read: Odisha expands special development councils for tribals to 14 more districts

Though he never believed in it, this is the first time he has gone public inferring that BJP would again win 2024 polls and Modi become PM for third time in a row. This month, he rushed to meet Modi in New Delhi soon after meeting Nitish Kumar where he clarified that BJD would not be joining the Third Front that is now shaping up. We in Congress believe both Modi and Naveen Patnaik belong to the same political culture and ideology for whom power remains the only goal. Ever since Modi became PM, Patnaik has supported the Centre starting from demonetisation, CAA, revocation of Article 370, and the Triple Talaq bill, said Kanungo.

BJD leaders, however, said not much should be read into Patnaiks speech as grace has always been the hallmark of CM. Unlike other politicians, Naveen Patnaik had always believed in basic courtesy. His praise of Modi is respect for the PM. Our CM has always maintained that BJD would always do whatever serves the interest of Odisha, said Acharya.
The Congress party on Friday renewed its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani Group after an expert panel appointed by Supreme Court in its interim report found no signs of any regulatory failure around the conglomerate's stock rallies in recent years as well as the rout since January when it faced a short seller attack. Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.(Reuters / File)

In its report submitted to the Supreme Court, the six-member panel said that the Indian markets watchdog Securities and Exchange Board of India, or Sebi, has "drawn a blank" in its probe into alleged violations in money flows from offshore entities into the conglomerate.

The panel also said that based on data provided by Sebi it saw no evident pattern of manipulation in the steep stock price rise in Gautam Adanis companies that can be attributed to any single entity or group of connected entities.

The initial findings not only came as a relief for Adanis empire as well as Sebi, but also gave ammunition to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party which has been struggling to dodge the attack from opposition leaders, particularly Rahul Gandhi, who has been trying to link the allegations against the billionaire with Prime Minister Narendra Modi due to their perceived proximity.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, however, said his party has all along been saying that the court-appointed panel has extremely limited terms of reference and will simply be unable (and perhaps unwilling too) to unravel the alleged scam in all its complexity.

Ramesh highlighted five key observations, questioning the opacity of regulations and the committee's inability to reach definitive conclusions regarding SEBI law violations by the Adani Group. He also emphasized the need for a JPC investigation based on excerpts from the report that he believes strengthen the case.

Contrary to the boasts of the Modi Govt, the Committee has found that regulations have moved in direction of opacity that facilitates the disguise of ultimate beneficial ownership, Ramesh said in a tweet, adding that the committee could not arrive at any definitive conclusion regarding violation of Sebi laws by the Adani Group.

He also cautioned against misconstruing the committee's report as providing a clean chit to the Adani Group, asserting that such interpretations were baseless.

We wish to say nothing more on the Committees report given the eminence of its members, except to say its conclusions were predictable and with all its limitations to spin the Committee's report as having given a clean chit to the Adani Group is wholly bogus, he wrote.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
IMPHAL: Congress leader Mukul Wasnik, who is leading the partys fact-finding team on the ethnic violence in Manipur, on Friday faulted the central and state government, saying that the Congress expected both governments to make extraordinary efforts to resolve the abnormal and critical situation in Manipur but this wasnt happening. Former union minister and Congress general secretary Mukul Wasnik addressed a media briefing in Manipur capital Imphal. He is leading Congress fact-finding team into the Manipur violence (HT Photo)

Action should be taken on a war footing Unfortunately, that is not happening at the moment, Wasnik said on Friday. The Congress general secretary reached state capital Imphal on Thursday, leading a three-member team comprising former Jharkhand MP Ajoy Kumar and Tripura MLA Sudip Roy Barman set up by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday. The panel has been mandated to ascertain the cause and extent of the widespread violence that erupted in Manipur on May 3.

The clashes between Meiteis and tribals started in Churachandpur district of Manipur on May 3 after a group of tribals took out a march to protest against the high court order and the Meitei communitys demand to be included into the ST category.

Wasnik also took a swipe at the central government for its hands-off approach to Manipur after the violence erupted, underlining that not one union minister had come to Manipur after the violence.

Earlier one union minister after another used to visit Manipur every week, the senior Congress leader said. But since May 3 when this unfortunate situation happened, not a single minister has come to Manipur.

Like it is said that when Rome was burning, the emperor was playing with the fiddle. So were extremely concerned, he said, referring to Roman Emperor Nero, remembered in popular legend as playing his lyre while Rome burned.

Also Read: The violence in Manipur is a by-product of three interlocking processes

Wasnik said they did not want to politicise the situation and have spoken to people overseeing the relief camps to get a sense. He added that they have also spoken with all block presidents and district congress committee presidents. Tomorrow also, even after going (back) to Delhi well be interacting with some of the people. Therefore that will become the basis (of making a report) and submit it within two days time, he added.

On their meeting with governor Anusuiya Uikey shortly after their arrival in Imphal on Thursday evening, Wasnik said she heard their views very patiently and was also very concerned with the situation in Manipur.

She also shared her views that normalcy should come back to Manipur as soon as possible, he observed.

Manipur Congress president K Meghachandra, former chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, AICC in-charge of Manipur Bhakta Charan Das and former MP Dr T Meinya were also present at the media interaction.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
PATNA: Deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav on Friday said there was nothing surprising about the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioning his mother and former chief minister Rabri Devi, saying it only reflected how the (Bharatiya Janata Party) BJP was scared about Bihar after facing defeat in Karnataka assembly polls. RJD leader and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav speaks to the media in Patna on Friday. (ANI)

After the Karnataka poll debacle, the BJP is scared about Bihar. So, all these things are going on with an eye on 2024 parliamentary polls, Yadav said, linking Rabri Devis questioning by ED on Thursday to the BJPs political setback in Karnataka. The Congress won 135 of Karnatakas 224 seats; party veteran Siddaramaiah will take oath as chief minister on Saturday.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader continued. They might put my name in the case in the future. This is happening for a long time. I feel the investigating agencies have lost count of how many times they have raided our premises and re-opened closed cases. These things are going on for a long time. People are watching everything, he said.

The case being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED relates to allegations that substitutes were appointed in Group D jobs in Central Railways during 2004-09 in violation of norms and procedures of the Indian Railways for recruitment. The candidates, directly or through their immediate family members, allegedly sold land to Lalus family at discounted rates of up to one-fourth to one-fifth of prevailing market rates.

Most of the properties were allegedly sold by candidates either to Rabri Devi, wife of Lalu Prasad, or Misa Bharti, while a four-storey house in New Friends Colony in Delhi, where Tejashwi Yadav resides, was given to a company linked to the Yadav family at throwaway prices, the probe agencies have claimed.

The Yadav family denies the allegation, insisting that they were being framed by central agencies because the BJP wants to get back at them.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Expert panel report on Adani gives ammo to BJP: Rahul Gandhis speech writers After a court-appointed panel said it cannot conclude any regulatory failure around Adani Group's stock rallies, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for aggressively raising the issue to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said his speech writers will have to come up with something more outlandish, for him to sustain his lie machine. Read Here. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addresses supporters during a public rally.(Congress Twitter/File)

Ayushmann Khurrana's father, astrologer P Khurana dies in Mohali

Popular astrologer Acharya P Khurana died on Friday. He was the father of actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Aparshakti Khurana. The family has shared an official statement confirming the same. Read Here.

National Rescue Dog Day: How to help a rescue dog adjust into their new home

Bringing a rescue dog into your home is an incredibly rewarding experience. Giving a new home and a loving owner to these victims of neglect and abandonment can be lifechanging experience for them. A rescue dog is the one that has been saved from abuse or abandonment by rescue organisations. Considering they have gone so much in their life, they surely need patience, understanding, and a nurturing environment to heal their emotional wounds and regain trust. Read Here.

Virat Kohli said 'I'm back at my absolute best': Ponting warns Australia ahead of WTC final

Virat Kohli made it quite clear that he won't change his technique to become a slam-bang batter in the IPL as he has a WTC final coming up next month and moreover, he has to play different formats throughout 12 months. This was some statement coming from a man who has been criticised, sometimes wrongly, for his strike-rate in T20s more often than ever. But that's Kohli for you. Always confident and ready to fight fire with fire. Of course, the sublime century he scored against Sunrisers Hyderabad to help his side Royal Challengers Bangalore take a giant stride towards ensuring a playoff berth helped. Read Here.

Jackal, cobra form unexpected alliance to survive as they get stuck in dry well

A video of a jackal and a cobra stuck inside a dry well is gaining traction online. The video shared on YouTube by Wildlife SOS shows how the animals formed an unexpected alliance and didnt attack each other to survive their ordeal. The clip further shows the wildlife rescue organisation helping the two creatures to get out of the sticky situation. Read Here.

Top five teams in IPL 2023 Points Table

IPL 2023 has entered its 50th match and here are the top five teams in the IPL points table. See Here.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
After a court-appointed panel said it cannot conclude any regulatory failure around Adani Group's stock rallies, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for aggressively raising the issue to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said his speech writers will have to come up with something more outlandish, for him to sustain his lie machine. Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi gestures as he addresses the media at the party headquarters, in New Delhi, India, May 13, 2023.(Reuters)

An expert committee appointed by the Supreme Court said in its interim report that markets watchdog Sebi has "drawn a blank" in its probe into alleged violations in money flows from offshore entities into the conglomerate. The panel, however, said there was evidence of a build-up in short positions on Adani Group stocks ahead of the report of US-based short seller Hindenburg Research, and profiting from squaring off positions after prices crashed post-publication of the damning allegations.

The conglomerate controlled by Gautam Adani lost more than $100 billion in market value earlier this year after Hindenburg Research raised several governance concerns.

During the budget session, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tried to corner the ruling BJP by highlighting the perceived proximity of Prime Minister Modi with billionaire Gautam Adani. The issue became a rallying point for the Opposition parties as they mounted pressure for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the matter.

While the government ignored the demands, the apex court set up a committee on March 2 to look into any regulatory failures and suggest reforms for investor protection.

At this stage, taking into account the explanations provided by SEBI, supported by empirical data, prima facie, it would not be possible for the committee to conclude that there has been a regulatory failure around the allegation of price manipulation, the six-member panel said.

Reacting to the panel's report, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya tweeted, After people of India put Rahul Gandhi and the Congress in the doghouse for Chowkidar Chor Hai jibe and running a vicious campaign against Rafale, which threatened to jeopardise Indias air defence modernisation program, the Supreme Court appointed Expert Committee, looking into the Adani -Hindenburg report, informs the Court, that at this stage, taking into account the explanations provided by SEBI and supported by empirical data, it is not possible for the Committee to conclude that there has been a regulatory failure around the allegation of price manipulation.

Rahul Gandhis speech writers will now have to come up with something more outlandish, for him to sustain his lie machine, he added.

(With inputs from agencies)

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Dehradun police on Thursday registered a case against Arkesh Narayan Singh Deo and his family members, the erstwhile royal family of Bolangir in Odisha, acting on the complaint from Adrija Manjari Singh, granddaughter of former prime minister VP Singh. Uttarakhands Director General of Police Ashok Kumar (HT Photo)

On Tuesday, Adrija got a complaint lodged with Dehradun police alleging domestic violence and dowry torture against her husband and in-laws, following which Uttarakhand director general of police (DGP) Ashok Kumar ordered Dehradun senior superintendent of police (SSP) to probe the allegations.

A case was filed under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code at Rajpur police station. The first information report was registered under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 352 (Assault or Criminal Force otherwise than on Grave Provocation), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 506 (criminal intimidation) against complainants husband Arkesh, father-in-law Ananga Udaya Singh Deo, Hari Singh, Kalikesh Narayan, and Ravita.

Also Read: CBI files charge sheet against TN man arrested for sexually assaulting children

Rajpur police station in-charge Jitendra Chauhan was not available for comments.

Adrija, in her complaint, a copy of which HT has seen, alleged, On May 13, when I went out of my in-laws house on Rajpur Road, the guard on the instructions of Arkesh didnt allow me to enter. After 40-45 minutes, I somehow entered the house. On the instructions of my in-laws, the staff members abused, pushed, and attacked me with the intention to kill. The police reached the spot but didnt take action. I got my medical test conducted on May 13 and May 14. I got frightened due to the incident due to which I couldnt give a complaint on May 13.

She alleged that after some time of their marriage, her husband and in-laws started mentally harassing her for dowry. My husband and in-laws pressurised me to sell my fathers properties to give them money so that it can be used in elections. When denied, they harassed me in different ways, read the complaint.

Meanwhile, speaking to HT, Arkesh has said the allegations are false.

Adrija lodged the complaint against me 6-8 months back. Since the filing of the complaint, I am not living in that house. Three days ago, her father came and put forth demands which are beyond our capacity. The matter is currently sub-judice in Dehradun Court. I have complete faith in the judiciary. The truth will come to the fore soon, Arkesh said.
Here are todays top news, analysis, and opinion from Hindustan Times newspaper. Delhi tourism minister Atishi inaugurates the Partition Museum on Thursday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

DK Shivakumar: The master strategist behind Congresss revival

For five days, DK Shivakumar held his ground, refusing to back down. In front of an opponent with considerable heft and a pan-Karnataka appeal, he argued his case passionately, both in Bengaluru and Delhi. Read more

Factors that caused, resolved the tussle for Karnataka CM post

Siddaramaiahs elevation was a done deal for anyone who read right the sociopolitical import of the May 13 poll outcome in Karnataka. The state was delivered to the Congress by the Ahinda caste alliance, the architect of which was the Kuruba strongman who will hold the chief ministers office for the second time after his 2013-18 stint. Read more

Stories of love and loss: Delhis Partition museum opens

Photos, sculptures, newspaper clippings and memorabilia related to the events during the 1947 Partition will be on display at the Partition Museum that was inaugurated by Delhis art, culture and language minister Atishi on Thursday. Read more

PM unveils plan for new national museum, inaugurates intl expo

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated the international museum expo-2023 and unveiled the plan for what is set to be the worlds largest museum, Yuge Yugeen Bharat, which will capture 5,000 years of Indias history. Read more

Amid Gyanvapi dispute, how carbon dating works, and when it doesnt

Radiocarbon dating has revolutionised the science of estimating the age of objects, but it has some limitations. It works only on organic samples from the past, or something that was once alive and is now dead. That puts certain materials  such as rock  beyond its scope. Read more

Extradition cleared: US court details evidence linking Rana, Headley

If the US secretary of state so chooses, the administration can extradite 26/11 accused and David Headley accomplice, Tahawwur Rana, to India, a US has court ruled this week. Read more

Siddaramaiah: An old-world socialist who reshaped political contours

The term Ahinda may have been coined by the late Devaraj Urs, Karnatakas first chief minister, in the 1970s, but Siddaramaiah, who will be sworn in as the states new chief minister later this week has given his own spin to the term derived from the Kannada acronym for Alpasankhyataru or minorities, Hindulidavaru or backward classes, and Dalitaru or Dalits. Read more

Number Theory: Clues for 2024 from state elections held since 2019

If one were to count the recent Karnataka elections, 400 out of Indias 543 parliamentary constituencies (PCs) have voted in state elections after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Read more

Law of land must be followed: SC to Nagaland on 33% women quota

The Supreme Court on Thursday told the Nagaland government that if there is any customary law in the state that prevents women from getting reservation in urban local bodies, they wont hesitate to declare it unconstitutional. Read more

Delhiwale: Hauz Khas's white pinnacle

This afternoon, Sree Jagannath Mandir is looking like an edifice of ice. The only notable interruption to its serene whiteness is the flag atop its shikhar, sporting the playful colour of summertime Amaltas. Read more

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Group of Seven (G7) nations on Friday unveiled new sanctions against Russia, including measures to starve Moscow of technology and industrial equipment  a move that can impact Indias efforts to forge consensus within the G20 over the divisive issue of the invasion of Ukraine. Leaders of the seven largest economies meeting in the Japanese city of Hiroshima again denounced Moscows aggression (AFP)

Leaders of the seven largest economies meeting in the Japanese city of Hiroshima again denounced Moscows aggression and called on Russia to immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukraine. They said Russias irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, undermining of arms control regimes, and stated intent to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus is dangerous and unacceptable.

The leaders of Japan, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU) said in a joint statement after their meeting that they were imposing further sanctions and measures to increase the costs to Russia and those who are supporting its war effort.

An American official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US will blacklist 70 Russian and third-country entities involved in Russias defence production and sanction more than 300 individuals, entities, aircraft and vessels. These will go after circumvention. These will go out for financial facilitators, as well as future energy and extractive capabilities of Russia and other actors helping to support the war, the official said.

The UK will ban all imports of Russian diamonds, copper, aluminium and nickel, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Twitter, while European Council President Charles Michel told reporters the 27-member bloc is closing loopholes and wants to restrict trade in Russian diamonds.

Michel also said the G7 will try to convince leaders of guest countries at the summit  which includes Australia, Brazil, Indonesia and India - of the importance of enforcing sanctions.

The G7 imposed a price cap of $60 a barrel on Russian oil last year, and the US has sanctioned thousands of Russian firms, officials and individuals, frozen Russian Central Bank funds and cut off access to SWIFT, the main system for global financial transactions.

The G7 joint statement said the sanctions were working and Russias revenues were down. Global oil and gas prices have fallen significantly, benefiting countries around the world, it said. These actions will be broadened to restrict exports of all items critical to Russias aggression, including industrial machinery, tools and other technology.

We will starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine, the joint statement said.

Since it assumed the G20 presidency, India has struggled to forge consensus on the issue of Russias invasion of Ukraine. Both Russia and China have backed away from text used to refer to the Ukraine crisis in the joint communique issued at last years G20 Summit in Indonesia. Meetings of G20 foreign and finance ministers hosted by India have ended without consensus outcome documents because of differences on the text to refer to the Ukraine war.

With Japan making a push for nuclear disarmament at the G7 Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putins nuclear threats too figured in deliberations on Friday. G7 leaders visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, dedicated to the tens of thousands who died in the first atomic bomb detonation in World War 2.

With the Russian aggression into Ukraine, Putin keeps threatening the use of nuclear weapons. Having experienced the horrors of atomic bombs 77 years ago, Prime Minister [Fumio] Kishida wants to spearhead international efforts towards our ultimate goal to realise a world without nuclear weapons, Japanese envoy Hiroshi Suzuki said in an interview before the summit.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel on Friday responded to questions about BJP's criticisms over the delay in deciding the chief minister of Karnataka. He said that the BJP has changed its ministers multiple times. Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel(HT File)

"In Uttarakhand, CM was changed thrice, In UP, one (Manoj Sinha) was made L-G of Kashmir and it took 8 days for them to decide on the Chief Minister, how many times Gujarat's CM was changed?..." Baghel said.

Earlier, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also hit out at BJP on the matter. He said, Just to refresh memories of PM's drum-beaters especially. 2017 UP Vidhan Sabha election results out on March 11th. Yogi appointed CM 8 days later on March 19th. 2021 Assam Vidhan Sabha election results out on May 3rd. Himanta Biswa Sarma became CM 7 days later on May 10th.

BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya had criticized the Congress party over its delay in choosing the Karnataka CM. Malviya mocked, Want to watch circus? Watch the Congress select their CM in Karnataka.

The BJP also holds discussions and deliberations to elect its CMs and has often ensured smooth transition of power, even between CMs. Despite elaborate consultations, you will never find BJP aspirants falling over each other, rallying supporters and issuing veiled threats to the Party through the media, he said.

Maliya added, On the contrary, last evening, Lutyens journalists, who DK Shivkumar hosted at the Claridges, almost appointed Siddaramaiah as the Karnataka CM. Sorry state of affairs in the Congress, where President Kharge sees himself more as a postman, let alone being a decision maker or even part of the decision making team He keeps referring to some High Command.

The Congress on Thursday announced Siddaramaiah as the next chief minister of Karnataka. This was done after several deliberations. DK Shivakumar has been chosen as his sole deputy in the government and will continue as the Karnataka Congress chief. The chief minister-designate Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar are in the national capital to discuss the modalities of the cabinet formation with the party's high command.
India is not waiting for the world to rescue it from disasters, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav said on Thursday at the HT G20 Agenda on green development; climate finance and LiFE (lifestyle for environment). He was referring to Indias efforts to domestically finance climate actions and adaptation measures. PREMIUM Union minister Bhupender Yadav at the HT G20 Agenda, in New Delhi on Thursday. (Raj K Raj/HT photo)

India, under PM Modi, is a confident nation with a Can Do approach. We are not waiting for the world to rescue us. We are, in fact, working to pull ourselves out of this crisis through domestic efforts and also helping the global South by leading alliances such as the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and Infrastructure for Resilient Island States to ensure no one is left behind, Yadav said in his keynote address.

An investment of at least $4-6 trillion per year will be needed for a global transformation to a low-carbon economy, Yadav said while highlighting that developed countries who agreed (at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) of the UNFCCC in Copenhagen in 2009) to mobilise $100 billion funds for mitigation efforts in developing countries are yet to fulfil the promise.

Climate action will also find it difficult to move ahead without adequate climate finance. For now, the international community is divided over the definition of climate finance. This has created an ambiguity in both the funding of climate projects and determining the amount required for it. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has operationalised only a working definition so far, Yadav said. HT has reported in the past that one of Indias main demands on behalf of developing countries at the UN Climate negotiations is to finalise a multilaterally agreed definition of climate finance. Due to a lack of common understanding, several different estimates of what has flown as climate finance are available.

Climate finance is generally known as a financial flow mobilised by industrialised country governments and private entities that support climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. This means that funds allocated by national governments for energy/climate transition activities would not count as climate finance, Yadav pointed out, while referring to Indias domestic efforts.

Working on a consensus-driven approach, India wants to ensure the world emerges from the crisis together and stronger, the minister said. Under Indias Presidency, the G20 member countries have reaffirmed their commitment towards combating the environment and climate crisis, with a renewed sense of urgency. On the domestic front, Indias climate actions have so far been largely financed from domestic resources. However, providing new and additional financial resources as well as transfer of technology to address the global climate challenge are among the commitments and responsibilities of the developed countries under UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, Yadav said while emphasising that India will also require its due share from such international financial resources and technological support.

An August, 2022 analysis of Indias adaptation funding found that 94% of it came from domestic public finance, which included Central and State government budgets according to Yadav. But globally, mitigation finance has accounted for a larger share of climate finance as compared to adaptation finance. In 2020, mitigation finance was 1.69 times of adaptation finance, as compared to 2016, when mitigation finance was 4.1 times of adaptation finance. The United Nations Environment Programmes Adaptation Gap Report 2021 suggests that the annual adaptation costs in developing countries could reach somewhere between $ 155 billion and $ 330 billion by 2030.

The vagaries of climate change today are impacting the developing world more. This has raised the risk of many nations being pushed into acute poverty and major food and water crises. While the world acknowledges that poverty anywhere is a threat to peace and security everywhere, the required action to prevent this poverty is missing, Yadav said.

Apart from the G20, there is also a financing summit that president (Emmanuel) Macron (of France) is hosting next month. India is co-chairing the steering committee and one of the things we are exploring is how we can explore innovative financing mechanisms that can raise a lot more capital particularly to address the vulnerability issue. While mitigation financing gets a lot more investment from the private sector, adaptation and particularly resilience will require a lot more innovative thinking...We also have to design an insurance cushion. Loss and damage suggests that once you are lost or damaged then someone will pay up. You need an insurance cushion that gives you a bulwark to fall back onto, when the compounding climate shocks emerge and thats what we dont have right now. We have some catastrophic bonds etc, but those are limited in scale and to geographic scope, said Arunabha Ghosh, founder and CEO of Council on Energy, Environment and Water during a panel discussion that followed.

India considers the creation of the dedicated fund a remarkably important development, Yadav said.  India, as the voice of the global south, had been a vocal supporter of the loss and damage fundbut India is also concerned over the future of this fund given its past experience and urges the global community to act on it. At COP27 itself, while the loss and damage funding arrangement was agreed upon, serious concern was expressed that the goal of developed country Parties to mobilize jointly $100 billion by 2020 has not yet been met, Yadav noted.

For more than a decade the ambiguous language in developed countrys climate finance commitments for adaptation and mitigation has been called out, Yadav said, including debates on what counts as climate finance, the fair share of climate finance from diverse provider countries. The developed world has fallen short of honouring its commitment to climate finance, he said.

HT reported on November 20 from the UN Climate Conference (COP27) in Egypts Sharm El-Sheikh that the negotiations which saw polarised debates on responsibility and accountability among the global North and South, made history with a decision to create a Loss and Damage fund which will provide support to developing countries in efforts to avert, minimise and address loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change in the light of continued global warming.

One of the main contentions on the Loss and Damage funding issue was that developed countries were pushing to expand the donor base to include high income countries and emerging economies such as China and India and wanted to narrow the beneficiaries to only the most vulnerable (island nations and least developed countries). EU also sought to link the formation of the Loss and Damage facility to mitigation efforts such as peaking global emissions before 2025; reaffirming the call to reduce by 2030 non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions; pushing all parties to urgently increase their efforts to closing the remaining mitigation gap to pathways consistent with 1.5 degrees; accelerating the phase down of unabated coal power as soon as possible and submit roadmaps towards this aim, HT reported on November 18, 2022.

Loss and Damage refers to compensation for impacts of extreme climate change events and slow onset events like sea level rise or glacial retreat or immediate disasters such as inundation, extreme heat stress, severe floods, loss of infrastructure due severe cyclones etc. Economic loss and damage are negative impacts that we can assign a monetary value to.

The good news is that we in India have continued to make efforts to combat climate change at our own level. Environment conservation is the front and centre of all policy formulations today in India. PM Modi has outlined that in India, environment conservation and development are not at cross-purposes but work together. If you look at Budget 2023-24, the Saptarishi, or seven priority areas including Green Growththe aggressive policies of India towards rapid deployment of renewables and robust framework for energy efficiency programs have shown considerable impact. India has been ranked among the top five countries in the world, and the best among the G20 countries, based on its Climate Action performance. I am tempted to say we have come so far without the promised climate finance, the minister concluded.
The Indian Navy deployed its P-8I long-range maritime surveillance aircraft to the southern Indian Ocean to scan the remote waters for survivors after a Chinese fishing vessel with 39 people on board sank on Tuesday. The aircraft also dropped search and rescue (SAR) kits in the area at the request of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), Indian Navy officials aware of the matter said. P-8I long-range maritime surveillance aircraft. (Sourced)

The Indian Navy also guided Chinese warships to the area where the vessel sank, the officials said.

The US-origin P-8I, inducted into the Indian Navy a decade ago, carried out sorties over the SAR zone on Wednesday and Thursday after the vessel, Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028, capsized in the stormy seas south of the Maldives, said one of the officials cited above, who asked not to be named.

The crew consisted of 17 people from China, 17 from Indonesia, and five from the Philippines. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is coordinating the operation. SAR teams on Thursday recovered two bodies, media reports said.

P-8I aircraft have carried out multiple and extensive searches despite adverse weather and located multiple objects possibly belonging to the sunken vessel. As an immediate response, search, and rescue equipment was deployed at the scene by the Indian aircraft on the request of PLAN warships in the area, said a second official, who also asked not to be named.

The P-8I aircraft flew from INS Rajali near Arakkonam in Tamil and carried out the search in an area almost 900 nautical miles away, the officials said. The navy has a fleet of 12 Boeing-made P-8I planes, split into two squadrons operating from Arakkonam and Goa.

The aircraft were bought from the US for more than $ 3 billion to sharpen the navys anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capabilities. The P-8I is a military derivative of Boeings 737-800 commercial aircraft.

In a display of Indias obligations as a credible and responsible partner for ensuring safety at sea, the Indian Navy units also coordinated SAR efforts with other units in the area and guided PLAN warships to the scene of [the] incident, said the second official.

The navy remains deployed to provide all possible assistance to the ongoing SAR efforts, the officials added.

Maritime affairs expert Commodore Srikant Kesnur (retd) said notwithstanding any jousting that is perceived to exist between India and China in the Indo- Pacific region, this response by the Indian Navy clearly illustrates that when it comes to crisis situations at sea, the humanitarian aspect is foremost as befits a highly professional maritime force.

The development comes at a time when India and China are locked in a long drawn-out border row in eastern Ladakh, and PLAN is taking steps to increase its footprint in the Indian Ocean region.

It also comes weeks after Chinese surveillance vessel Xiang Yang Hong 10 and at least eight maritime militia ships, a front for PLAN, sailed towards the area where the inaugural Asean-India naval drill was held in the South China Sea. Two Indian warships and a P-8I aircraft participated in the drill.

India is keeping tabs on Chinas moves in the South China Sea and taking steps to ensure that the Chinese navy does not muscle its way into the Indian Ocean where combat-ready Indian warships are carrying out round-the-clock surveillance for any unusual activity.
The Indian Navy on Friday rolled out the red carpet for champion sailor Commander Abhilash Tomy (retd), who finished second in the enormously challenging solo and non-stop circumnavigation race, 2022 Golden Globe Race (GGR); with top admirals attending a reception hosted in his honour at Kota House, the imposing naval officers mess, and applauding him for accomplishing the rare feat that pushed the limits of his endurance. Tomy with Air Vice Marshal MS Sridhar, the military doctor who fixed his back after he suffered a serious spinal injury. (HT Photo)

The 44-year-old completed the gruelling 30,000-mile race, the longest sporting event in the world, on April 29 after sailing for 236 days in his boat named Bayanat.

Tomy returned to India on Thursday.

Those who attended the reception included navy vice chief Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh, chief of personnel Vice Admiral Suraj Berry, controller of personnel services Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, director general naval operations Vice Admiral Atul Anand, deputy chief Vice Admiral Sanjay Mahindru and director general medical services (navy) Vice Admiral Arti Sarin.

Also Read: Was lying immobile on boat for 3 days: Abhilash Tomy recalls 2018 tragic accident

Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar could not attend as he was not in town.

In a hall packed with top navy officials in their crisp white uniforms, one man stood out in his blue dress, Air Vice Marshal MS Sridhar.

The Indian Air Force doctor has been a part of Tomys remarkable journey from a hospital bed to the podium at Les Sables-dOlonne in France from where the race began and ended.

This was Tomys second GGR.

The first attempt almost proved fatal for him five years ago.

He suffered a spinal injury on September 21, 2018, after rough seas and powerful winds in the southern Indian Ocean, one of the remotest spots on Earth, crippled his yacht, SV Thuriya.

Sridhar was the man who fixed his back at the Army Hospital (Research and Referral), New Delhi.

Titanium rods were inserted in his spine and five vertebrae fused into one.

Tomy, who is also a naval aviator, was under Sridhars care for eight months before he learnt to walk again and later got back to flying and sailing.

The two men, excelling in their own fields, hugged.

The entire credit for this accomplishment goes to Tomy. The first thing he told me after the surgery was that he wanted to take part in GGR again. He stands out for his perseverance, dedication and sense of purpose, said Sridhar, one of the militarys top neurosurgeons.

At the reception, Tomy spoke mostly about the 2018 GGR experience --- the accident, the harrowing moments, and the rescue 70 hours later. Before that accident, he was in the third place among 11 international participants and had sailed more than 10,500 miles.

After the dramatic rescue, he was taken to Ile Amsterdam, a 55-sq km island that is part of French territory, and initially treated at a small medical facility.

I returned to the race to prove that I could do it. There were two other things too. I wanted to wave the Indian flag from the podium in the 75th year of the countrys independence and inspire the younger generation to look at sea for training, leisure and adventure. My job is done even if I have inspired a few, said Tomy.

Rounding Cape Horn, known for its rough waters and powerful winds, at the southern tip of Chiles Tierra del Fuego archipelago was one of the biggest challenges that he faced during the race.

I had two knockdowns before navigating around Cape Horn. The self-steering gear also broke down. I fixed the autopilot using a piece of the anchor and then sailed 10,000 miles, he said.

An old sea custom dictates sailors who have rounded Cape Horn are entitled to wear a gold earring in the landward ear.

Tomy hasnt got his ear pierced yet.

He had had set off from Les Sables-dOlonne on September 4, 2022.

He is the first Asian skipper to finish on the podium in any round the world race, and in any format. The race bars the use of modern technology and participants are required to operate as if they were in the 1960s, navigating using charts and the stars.

Tomys accomplishment and his phoenix-like rise will go down in the annals of maritime history. He is one of Indias finest sailors and his feat will hopefully inspire a new generation of Indians to take up sailing, said maritime affairs expert Captain DK Sharma (retd), who has tracked Tomys journey closely.

Tomys boat, the United Arab Emirates-flagged Bayanat, is also a part of history now.

A museum in Abu Dhabi will be its new home.
New Delhi The Indian Navy on Friday rolled out the red carpet for champion sailor Commander Abhilash Tomy (retd), who finished second in the enormously challenging solo and non-stop circumnavigation race, 2022 Golden Globe Race (GGR); with top admirals attending a reception hosted in his honour at Kota House, and applauding him for accomplishing the rare feat that pushed the limits of his endurance. Abhilash Tomy (HT Photo)

The 44-year-old completed the gruelling 30,000-mile race, the longest sporting event in the world, on April 29 after sailing for 236 days in his boat named Bayanat. Tomy returned to India on Thursday.

Those who attended the reception included navy vice chief Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh, chief of personnel Vice Admiral Suraj Berry, controller of personnel services Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, director general naval operations Vice Admiral Atul Anand, deputy chief Vice Admiral Sanjay Mahindru, and director general medical services (navy) Vice Admiral Arti Sarin.

Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar could not attend as he was not in town.

In a hall packed with top navy officials in their crisp white uniforms, one man stood out in his blue dress -- Air Vice Marshal MS Sridhar. The Indian Air Force doctor has been a part of Tomys remarkable journey from a hospital bed to the podium at Les Sables-dOlonne in France from where the race began and ended.

This was Tomys second GGR.

The first attempt almost proved fatal for him five years ago. He suffered a spinal injury on September 21, 2018, after rough seas and powerful winds in the southern Indian Ocean, one of the remotest spots on Earth, crippled his yacht, SV Thuriya.

Sridhar was the man who fixed his back at the Army Hospital (Research and Referral), New Delhi. Titanium rods were inserted in his spine and five vertebrae fused into one. Tomy, who is also a naval aviator, was under Sridhars care for eight months before he learnt to walk again and later got back to flying and sailing.

The two men, excelling in their own fields, hugged.

The entire credit for this accomplishment goes to Tomy. The first thing he told me after the surgery was that he wanted to take part in GGR again. He stands out for his perseverance, dedication and sense of purpose, said Sridhar, one of the militarys top neurosurgeons.

At the reception, Tomy spoke mostly about the 2018 GGR experience -- the accident, the harrowing moments, and the rescue 70 hours later. Before that accident, he was in the third place among 11 international participants and had sailed more than 10,500 miles. After the dramatic rescue, he was taken to Ile Amsterdam, a 55-sq km island that is part of French territory, and initially treated at a small medical facility.

I returned to the race to prove that I could do it. There were two other things too. I wanted to wave the Indian flag from the podium in the 75th year of the countrys independence and inspire the younger generation to look at sea for training, leisure and adventure. My job is done even if I have inspired a few, said Tomy.

Rounding Cape Horn, known for its rough waters and powerful winds, at the southern tip of Chiles Tierra del Fuego archipelago was one of the biggest challenges that he faced during the race. I had two knockdowns before navigating around Cape Horn. The self-steering gear also broke down. I fixed the autopilot using a piece of the anchor and then sailed 10,000 miles, he said.

An old sea custom dictates sailors who have rounded Cape Horn are entitled to wear a gold earring in the landward ear.

Tomy hasnt got his ear pierced yet.

He had set off from Les Sables-dOlonne on September 4, 2022. He is the first Asian skipper to finish on the podium in any round the world race, and in any format. The race bars the use of modern technology and participants are required to operate as if they were in the 1960s, navigating using charts and the stars.

Tomys accomplishment and his phoenix-like rise will go down in the annals of maritime history. He is one of Indias finest sailors and his feat will hopefully inspire a new generation of Indians to take up sailing, said maritime affairs expert Captain DK Sharma (retd), who has tracked Tomys journey closely.

Tomys boat, the United Arab Emirates-flagged Bayanat, is also a part of history now.

A museum in Abu Dhabi will be its new home.
NEW DELHI: The Indian Navys newest helicopter, the MH-60R, on Friday carried out its maiden landing and take-off from a warship in the Arabian Sea, in a boost for the navys anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and surveillance capabilities, officials aware of the matter said. The MH60R helicopter undertook maiden landings on the indigenously designed and constructed destroyer INS Kolkata (Twitter/indiannavy)

The navy has thus far received three Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky MH-60R multi-role helicopters from the United States as part of a 24 chopper deal signed three years ago to modernise the countrys ageing naval helicopter fleet.

Also read: Navy begins sea trials of sixth Kalvari class submarine Vaghsheer

The chopper, also known as the Romeo, landed and took off from INS Kolkata, an indigenously designed and constructed destroyer, the officials said.

Its integration with Indian Navy warships will further strengthen the navys capability to counter underwater threats, monitor maritime activities and conduct surveillance operations, the navy said in a statement. This achievement provides a significant boost to the navys anti-submarine warfare capability, it added.

Two more MH-60Rs have been handed over to the navy crews in the US.

All the choppers are expected to be delivered to the navy in two years, the officials said. The navy received its first two MH-60R choppers at Kochi last year.

Also read: Navy deploys aircraft to scan ocean for survivors after Chinese vessel sinks

The helicopters are expected to be the mainstay of the navys anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship warfare and airborne early-warning capabilities in the coming decades.

Armed with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, MK 54 torpedoes and advanced precision weapons, the twin-engine helicopters can operate from frigates, destroyers and aircraft carriers.

The navy first moved a case to buy multi-role helicopters, a critical operational necessity, more than 17 years ago.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate on Saturday in a Quad Leaders Summit on the margins of a G7 meet in Japan and is slated to hold a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, their first since the start of the Russian invasion, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. Modi being welcomed by the Indian diaspora in Hiroshima. (PTI)

On Friday, Modi flew into Hiroshima, the venue of the G7 Summit and the first stop on his three-nation tour that will also take him to Papua New Guinea and Australia. Modi and leaders of seven other guest countries will join outreach sessions at the G7 Summit and he will hold several bilateral meetings.

Also read: PM Modi to have over 40 engagements during 3-nation visit

There was no official word from the Indian side about the meeting between Modi and Zelensky, though the people cited above said this will be one of five bilateral meetings the Indian premier will hold on Saturday, the others being with the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and France. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, confirmed Zelensky will attend the G7 Summit in-person.

The situation in Ukraine and efforts to find a negotiated end to the hostilities that began in February 2022 are expected to figure in the meeting on Saturday evening, the people said. Indian and Ukrainian officials began exploring the possibility of a meeting once it became clear that Zelensky would be present in-person in Hiroshima.

Modi has spoken to Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin several times since the start of the conflict, pushing Indias position that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states must be respected and that there should be a return to diplomacy and dialogue. At a meeting with Putin on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Uzbekistan last September, Modi nudged the Russian leader to end the conflict by telling him this is not the era of war  a call that found mention in the joint communique issued after the G20 Summit in Indonesia.

In April, Zelensky sent Ukrainian first deputy foreign minister Emine Dzhaparova to New Delhi with a message for Modi, seeking a greater role for India in efforts to end the war and inviting the Indian premier to visit Kyiv.

India has not publicly criticised Russias actions despite considerable pressure from the US and European countries. It has also ramped up its purchase of discounted Russian crude, a move criticised by some Ukrainian leaders.

Zelensky addressed the Arab League Summit hosted by Saudi Arabia in Jeddah on Friday as part of a fresh push for his 10-point peace plan, seeking to get the support of more countries for the formula he first outlined at last years G20 Summit. We will not submit to any foreign country or colonisers... What is happening in our country is a war, not just a conflict. Ukraine is forced to continue fighting, he said.

The G7 leaders strongly denounced Moscows actions at a meeting on Friday and announced new sanctions to starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine. A joint statement issued after the meeting urged Russia to stop its aggression and immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukraine. They described Russias irresponsible nuclear rhetoric... and stated intent to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus as dangerous and unacceptable.

With the Quad Leaders Summit originally scheduled for May 24 in Sydney being cancelled because of US President Joe Bidens decision not to go ahead with a visit to Australia due to a domestic debt ceiling crisis, the leaders of the grouping will meet in Hiroshima on Saturday evening.

The Indian side is expecting several deliverables to emerge from the Quad Summit, which will also push the groupings agenda for an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific governed by rules and norms. The Quad leaders are also expected to focus on the regions most pressing challenges, including Chinas assertive actions across the region.

Also read: PM Modi to inaugurate new Parliament building on May 28

In an interview with Nikkei Asia ahead of his arrival in Japan, Modi pledged to amplify the voices and concerns of the Global South at the G7 Summit and foster synergy with the G20 that India is hosting. He said he looks forward to discussing global challenges in areas such as energy, digital technology and supply chains. I will emphasise Indias role as a reliable partner in addressing these challenges, he said.

Asked if India can act as a mediator in the Ukraine crisis, he said: India stands on the side of peace, and will remain firmly there... We maintain communication with both Russia and Ukraine. Cooperation and collaboration should define our times, not conflict.

Besides the bilateral engagements, Modi will speak at three outreach sessions of the G7 Summit. The first of these will focus on food, health, development and gender equality, and the second on climate, energy and environment. The third session has the theme of Peaceful, stable and prosperous world. He will also unveil a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Hiroshima on Saturday.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
India on Friday announced that the value of defence production in the country crossed 1 lakh crore for the first time on the back of key reforms to spur growth in the sector that holds vast potential. Defence production beats  1 lakh crore mark on back of crucial reforms.(Representative Image)(HT_PRINT)

The value of defence production by state-run companies and the private sector has almost doubled over the past five years that saw the government take a raft of measures to cut the countrys dependence on military imports and strengthen its position as an exporter of weapons and systems, officials aware of the matter said, asking not to be named.

Also read: Rajnath Singh to hold meeting on cantonment merger with PMC

The figure stood at 1,06,800 crore in financial year 2022-23 compared to 95,000 crore in FY 2021-22 and 54,951 crore five years ago, the officials said.

The value of defence production in FY 2022-23 has crossed 1 lakh crore for the first time due to the defence ministrys consistent efforts, and it is expected to climb further after private defence firms submit their data, the ministry said in statement. The value of defence production has grown by 12% compared to last year.

India produces a raft of weapons and systems, including the Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA), different types of helicopters, warships, tanks, artillery guns, warships, missiles, rockets and a variety of military vehicles. A category-wise break-up of defence production was not immediately available.

India has sharpened its focus on the defence manufacturing sector during the last five years and taken several measures to achieve self-reliance. These include banning the import of a range of weapons, systems and parts, creating a separate budget for buying locally made military hardware, increasing foreign direct investment from 49% to 74% and improving ease of doing business.

The results are beginning to show, experts said.

The value of defence production was 54,951 crore in 2017-18, 50,499 crore in 2018-19, 63,722 crore in 2019-20, 88,631 crore in 2020-21 and 95,000 crore in 2021-22, according to defence ministry data.

The government is working with the defence industry and its associations to remove hurdles and promote defence production, and several policy reforms have improved ease of doing business, including the integration of micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups into the supply chain, the statement said.

Due to these policies, the industries, including MSMEs and start-ups, are forthcoming in defence design, development and manufacturing and there is almost a 200% increase in the number of defence licenses issued in the last 7 to 8 years, the statement said. These measures have given a boost to the defence industrial manufacturing ecosystem and generated employment opportunities, it added.

The increase in defence production also follows the corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), Indias main producer of weapons and military equipment, in 2021 to boost its efficiency and competitiveness in a long-awaited reform.

India is eyeing a turnover of 1,75,000 lakh crore in defence manufacturing by 2024-25. Steps taken for Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in defence are beginning to show results, and if we continue to pursue indigenisation at the current pace, we are on course to achieve the target of 1,75,000 lakh crore in two years, said Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd), director general, Centre for Air Power Studies.

The ministry has given out the value of defence production for 2022-23 days after it announced a new list of 928 defence items, including replacement units, sub-systems, components and spares, that will come under a phased import ban between December 2023 and December 2029. The list includes items used in fighter planes, trainer aircraft, warships and different types of ammunition.

It came after three similar positive indigenisation lists were published by the defence ministry in December 2021, March 2022 and August 2022. The four lists consist of 4,666 items of which 2,736 items, with an import substitution value of 2,570 crore, have thus far been indigenised.

The components and sub-systems in the previous lists include several items for fighter jets, Dornier-228 planes, multiple systems for submarines, equipment for T-90 and Arjun tanks, BMP-II infantry combat vehicles, warships and submarines, and anti-tank missiles. These lists seek to indigenise the defence items over the next five to six years.

India has employed a two-pronged approach to achieve indigenisation through import bans.

One approach relates to banning the import of weapons and systems such as fighter jets, warships, helicopters and artillery guns, while the other covers sub-systems, spares and components that are part of bigger weapon platforms.

As part of the former, India has published four other lists that have imposed a phased import ban on 411 different types of weapons and platforms including light weight tanks, naval utility helicopters, artillery guns, missiles, destroyers, ship-borne cruise missiles, light combat aircraft, light transport aircraft, long-range land-attack cruise missiles, basic trainer aircraft, airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) systems, and multi-barrel rocket launchers.

These lists were announced during the last three years --- in August 2020, May 2021, April 2022 and October 2022. Import substitution of ammunition, which is a recurring requirement, has been given special emphasis in these lists.

Setting aside budget for India-made weapons and systems is one of the key measures to boost self-reliance. Around 1 lakh crore was set aside for domestic procurement in this years defence budget, compared to 84,598 crore, 70,221 crore and 51,000 crore in the three previous years.

The corporatisation of OFB, which earlier controlled 41 ordnance factories, has spurred defence production. In 2021, it was split into seven government-owned entities that now produce ammunition and explosives, vehicles, weapons and equipment, troop comfort items, opto-electronics gear, parachutes and ancillary products. These new companies are Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited, Troop Comforts Limited, India Optel Limited, Munitions India Limited, Avani Armoured Vehicles, Gliders India Limited and Yantra India Limited.

Indias arms imports fell 11% between 2013-17 and 2018-22, but the country is still the worlds top importer of military hardware, said a report published by Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in March.

Also read: MoD says 2,736 defence items indigenised in self-reliance quest

The countrys focus is not only on cutting dependence on imports, but also on boosting exports. India exported military hardware worth 15,920 crore in FY 2022-23, the highest ever and a notable tenfold increase since 2016-17 when the figure stood at a mere 1,521 crore.

India is currently exporting military hardware to around 85 countries, with around 100 firms involved in the exports. It includes missiles, artillery guns, rockets, armoured vehicles, offshore patrol vessels, personal protective gear, a variety of radars, surveillance systems and ammunition. Weapons and systems that hold export potential include the LCA, different types of helicopters, Astra beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile and tanks.

India is exporting bullet-proof jackets to 34 countries including Australia, Japan, Israel and Brazil, ammunition (ranging from 5.56mm to 155mm) to around 10 countries including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Indonesia and Thailand, fast interceptor boats to Mauritius, Seychelles and the Maldives, and defence electronics to countries like the US, the UK and France, the officials said. A category-wise break-up was not immediately available.

The exports stood at 4,682 crore in 2017-18, 10,745 crore in 2018-19, 9,115 crore in 2019-20, 8,434 crore in 2020-21, and 12,814 crore in 2021-22, according to defence ministry data.

India is in talks with Egypt and Argentina for the possible sale of LCA to their air forces. Egypt has projected a requirement for 20 aircraft while the South American country needs 15 new fighters. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is also looking at exporting the Dhruv advanced light helicopter to the Philippines.

Last year, BrahMos Aerospace and the Philippines signed a deal worth almost $375 million for the Philippine Marines to buy three batteries of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, and Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited won an export order worth $155.5 million for supplying 155mm artillery guns, the first such order for an Indian firm.

India has set a defence export target of 35,000 crore by 2024-25.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Today the nation remembers the "father of Indian Industry" and the founder of the Tata conglomerate, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, popularly known as JN Tata on his 119th death anniversary. Jamsetji Tata, who is regarded as the Father of Indian Industry, donated $102.4 billion, emerging as the top philanthropist of the century.(Twitter / @TataCompanies)

Leaders like Union minister Nitin Gadkari, BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Satish Upadhyaya poured in their tributes to the great philanthropist on Twitter. "Remembering Indian pioneer industrialist Jamsetji Tata on his death anniversary", Gadkari tweeted.

About JN Tata

Jamsetji Tata, one of the biggest Indian businessmen of his time, was born to the scion of a family of Parsee priests, Nusserwanji Tata on March 3, 1839, in the Navsari town of Gujarat. At the age of 14, he started helping his father's business.

Tata completed his graduation from the Elphinstone College, Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1858. Later he joined his fathers trading company and worked there for about nine years.

Formation of TATA group

In 1868, he established a new trading firm, with a capital of 21,000, which later became the TATA group. He further went to England where he learnt about the textile business. He purchased a bankrupt oil mill in Chinchpokli and converted it into a textile mill. In 1877, he established another cotton mill at Nagpur and named it "Empress Mill" after Queen Victoria. Later he established some other cotton mills at Coorla (Kurla) and Mumbai.

Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai

Once Jamsetji Tata was refused entry at one of the grand hotels of the UK, the Watson's Hotel, which was restricted to 'whites only'. Agitated by this insult to whole Indians, he got inspired to build a big hotel where not only Indians but also foreigners could stay without any restrictions. Finally, India's first super-luxury hotel, Taj Mahal Hotel, came into being in Mumbai. By the time it was completed in 1903, it became the first-ever hotel in the country to have German elevators, Turkish baths and American fans.

The pioneer industrialist, who established the city of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, breathed his last on May 19, 1904 in Bad Nauheim, Germany.

Jamsetji Tata was known as a great philanthropist. He generously donated to education and healthcare. EdelGive Foundation and Hurun Research India named him the greatest philanthrope of the last century. He also topped the list of the world's top philanthropists of the 20th century.
Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday has opened up on the domestic airline Go First insolvency matter and said that it is "not a great thing for aviation" and the ministry is committed to help the bankrupt airline. Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia. (PTI)

Read here: Pilots seek government's help to quit Go First, sidestepping notice periods

"It is certainly something that is not a great thing for civil aviation. However, each company has to manage its own issues. As far as the Ministry is concerned, we are quite steadfast in our resolve in terms of helping airlines with whatever fundamental issues there are facing", he told news agency ANI.

The minister also urged the resumption of flights as soon as possible, adding that the airlines have to submit their plan to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after which it will decide on the matter. "We have very clearly said that we would want a resumption of flights as soon as possible. They have to submit their plan to DGCA which will cover the number of planes, the number of routes. Basis that plan, DGCA will then decide how to take it forward", he added.

On Wednesday, the crisis-hit airline extended the suspension of flight operations till May 26, citing operational reasons and hoped to resume the operations soon. Go First, which is undergoing insolvency resolution proceedings, was gounded from May 3.

"We regret to inform that due to operational reasons, Go First flights scheduled till 26th May, 2023, have been cancelled. We apologise for the inconvenience caused by flight cancellations," Go First in a statement said.

The airline also added that a full refund would be issued to the original mode of payment shortly. "We acknowledge the flight cancellations might have disrupted your travel plans and we are committed to providing all the assistance we can," it added.

Read here: Claims without merit: Pratt & Whitney to take legal action against Go First

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted the airline's voluntary plea insolvency resolution proceedings on May 10 and has granted a protection under a moratorium from recovery by lenders.

However, some lessors have moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against the NCLT's decision. NCLAT has reserved its verdict on lessors' appeal for May 22.

Meanwhile, a claim management portal 'gofirstclaims.in/claims' has been launched for the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of Go First.

(With inputs from ANI)
Karnataka Congress leader G Parameshwara - speaking a day after Siddaramaiah was named chief minister and DK Shivakumar his deputy - declared himself pleased that 'the entire exercise has been settled amicably' and called on his party colleagues to work together to implement the five pre-poll promises made to the people of the state. G Parameshwara had earlier declared that he was ready to 'take up the responsibility' if the party asked him to do so. (File)

"I am happy the entire exercise has been settled amicably... Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar have been assigned CM and deputy CM positions. I am sure they will take everyone together so our manifesto will be implemented in total," he told reporters.

Asked about his ambitions, he said: "Mine is not an individual question. Mine is not so important compared to the party position. The party is supreme they have settled the matter. Everything is nice... it was a good settlement. In the future, we all work together."

Earlier this week Parameshwara, a former deputy chief minister, emerged an unlikely alternative as the Congress negotiated a stand-off between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar - each of whom wanted to be chief minister - following the big win in the Karnataka election.

On Tuesday he said senior Congress leaders were 'aware of (my) record and services' and that he did not feel the need to 'campaign'. "If the high command decides and asks me to run the government, I am ready to take up the responsibility. I have faith..." he said.

Parameshwara followed that with a swipe at the front-runners for the top job in the state, declaring he had 'certain principles' when asked about newly-elected Karnataka Congress MLAs arriving in Delhi to campaign for their respective faction leader's CM chances. "I can also take 50 legislators and do the shouting but, for me, the discipline of the party is important"

With neither side willing to budge, discussions over naming outgoing CM Basavaraj Bommai's successor dragged on five days, inviting criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party. Shivakumar rejected at least two offers - including one that gave him the deputy's post and six portfolios of his choice - before talks late Wednesday with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi persuaded him to relent, accept a No 2 post and let the Congress to name Siddaramaiah chief minister.

The Congress was expected to also announce a power-sharing deal but instead only said: Power sharing means sharing power with the people of Karnataka that is all."

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar will be sworn in as chief minister and deputy chief minister in Bengaluru on Saturday with an unspecified number of ministers. The Congress romped to a big win in last week's election, claiming 135 of the state's 224 Assembly seats.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Kiren Rijiju on Friday assumed charge as Earth Sciences Minister and said his shift from the law ministry to a new department is not a punishment but a plan of the government. Rijiju, who was removed from the position of Law Minister on Thursday, refused to answer questions about his previous ministry stating that they were no longer relevant. Union minister Kiren Rijiju(Twitter)

However, speaking about the opposition, he said, Opposition will definitely criticise me...opposition speaking against me is not a new thing...this shifting is not a punishment, this is the plan of the govt, this is the vision of PM Modi...

Reacting to Rijiju's removal from the position of law minister, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, What went wrong? Did the loudmouth put executive and judiciary at warpath? Given his habitual lying and penchant for distorting history, heading the Rs2 troll ministry would have been a good option as well!

Congress leader and advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi also criticised the government after Rijiju's removal from the position. He said, The party that claims to be the largest party on the planet is even unable to fine a full time law minister. This does not only reflect the lack of talent in the treasury bench, but also sheer inefficiency of the govt.

Rijiju has been at the centre of disagreement with the judges. He has made several controversial statements against them like saying that some among them were also part of the 'anti-India' gang.

Meanwhile, Arjun Ram Meghwal has replaced Rijiju as the new law minister. Meghwal has been appointed as the minister of state but with independent charge.
In a show of opposition unity, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and a host of leaders will reach Karnataka for the swearing-in ceremony of Congress leader Siddaramaiah as the states CM, a coming together of a non-BJP bloc ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Preparations underway for the swearing-in ceremony of new Karnataka Chief Minister, at Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, Friday. (PTI)

While West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee will not be attending the swearing-in ceremony she has designated party leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar for the programme, Trinamool Congress MP Derek OBrien tweeted on Friday.

Also read: Factors that caused, resolved the tussle for Karnataka CM post

Besides Kumar, those who have confirmed their presence include Stalin, Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, Congress leaders said.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has also invited leaders of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Shiv Sena (UBT), Samajwadi Party, Peoples Democratic Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Revolutionary Socialist Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Rashtriya Lok Dal, Kerala Congress and Indian Union Muslim League for the ceremony, said people in the party aware of the matter.

However, the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala criticised the Congress for not inviting the state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan to the swearing-in ceremony. Congresss move has proved that it cannot carry out the mission of bringing together the secular democratic forces of the country against the BJPs fascist politics, LDF Convenor EP Jayarajan said in Kannur in Kerala.

Congress leads the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala.

Nitish Kumar, who has also been stressing on opposition unity to take on the BJP next year said he has been invited by the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for the swearing-in ceremony. It (Karnataka assembly poll) was an important election. Also, I have an old friendship with him (Siddaramaiah). I will be going tomorrow, he told reporters in Bihars Darbhanga on Friday.

Kumar did not answer reporters questions on the meeting of opposition leaders, which is expected to be held in Bihar. Let me come back from the function tomorrow. We will take a call in due course, said the JD(U) supremo, who had hinted that the meeting could be held after the election in the southern state.

Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister M Veerappa Moily told news agency PTI, It (the swearing-in ceremony) could also be launchpad for the opposition unity and demonstration of strength and solidarity.

Also read: BJP will bounce back in Karnataka, says Basavaraj Bommai

Political analyst Ramakrishna Upadhya said the Assembly elections win in Karnataka is a shot in the arm for the Congress after losing so many elections. The victory is indeed a morale booster for Congress and assert itself ahead of the 2024 elections.

Senior journalist and political observer Vishweshwar Bhat told PTI, It (invitation to opposition leaders to attend the ceremony) is a brilliant move by the Congress in its efforts to restore its nationwide presence. The Congress is also sending signals from Karnataka for opposition unity.
The opposition is mounting pressure on the Tamil Nadu government to remove minister for electricity, prohibition and excise Senthil Balaji with the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday announcing that they would appeal to the Governor to remove him from the ministry and their ally AIADMK deciding to go on a statewide protest against him. Tamil Nadu Senthil Balaji has been facing the heat after the toll in the twin hooch tragedies increased to 22 and the Supreme Court allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to continue its probe against him in the cash-for-jobs scam. (ANI)

Balaji has been facing the heat after the toll in the twin hooch tragedies increased to 22 and the Supreme Court allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to continue its probe against him in the cash-for-jobs scam in which he is accused of taking bribes to provide jobs when he was the transport minister (2011-2015) in the previous AIADMK government.

On Saturday BJPs womens wing will protest across Tamil Nadu against illicit liquor, BJP state president K Annamalai told reporters in Coimbatore after a party meeting held to discuss celebrations for Prime Minister Narendra Modi completing nine years in office. This protest is a warning bell for the government, said Annamalai who will join the protest in Chenani.

He alleged that the government through its Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) has got people addicted to alcohol. On the one had, alcohol is free flowing like water through TASMAC and those who have become addicts are going for illicit liquor. Our protest is against both these factors.

On May 21, at 10am, the BJP will meet Governor RN Ravi in the Raj Bhavan to submit two memoranda. The Governor has to directly involve himself and put a full stop to TASMAC and illegal liquor -- both are connected. If TASMAC is brought under control, illicit liquor can be brought under control. The BJPs position is that TASMAC needs to be closed, but we are asking the Govenror to regulate it, said Annamalai. The second memorandum from us seeks that he dismiss Senthil Balaji from the council of ministers. After the Supreme Courts order, he cannot continue as a minister. The Governor has to impress this upon the chief minister.

AIADMK general secretary and leader of opposition Edappadi Palanisami, who met the hooch victims undergoing treatment in Villupuram, will be leading a statewide protest on May 22. In Chennai, they will march towards the Raj Bhavan to submit a petition to the Governor against the DMK government on various issues, including alleged deteriorating law and order, the party said in a statement.

Balaji had on Wednesday said that hes being targeted for political reasons but he would cooperate with the ED probe. He has not been found guilty and investigations are going on for which he is cooperating so why should he be removed? asked a senior DMK leader without wishing to be named.

As many as 16 people in Villupuram district and six in Chengalpattu district died after they drank spurious liquor on Saturday night, and 50 others are still undergoing treatment in various hospitals. The government has said methanol was used in both instances.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Divya Chandrababu Divya Chandrababu is an award-winning political and human rights journalist based in Chennai, India. Divya is presently Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times where she covers Tamil Nadu & Puducherry. She started her career as a broadcast journalist at NDTV-Hindu where she anchored and wrote prime time news bulletins. Later, she covered politics, development, mental health, child and disability rights for The Times of India. Divya has been a journalism fellow for several programs including the Asia Journalism Fellowship at Singapore and the KAS Media Asia- The Caravan for narrative journalism. Divya has a master's in politics and international studies from the University of Warwick, UK. As an independent journalist Divya has written for Indian and foreign publications on domestic and international affairs. ...view detail
A war of words broke out between the Congress and the BJP spokespersons on social media after Kiren Rijiju was removed from the law ministry on Thursday as the Congress questioned the silence over the issue at a time when BJP showed more interest in Congress naming its Karnataka CM. "What went wrong? Did the loudmouth put executive and judiciary at warpath? Given his habitual lying and penchant for distorting history, heading the Rs2 troll ministry would have been a good option as well!" Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate tweeted. Kiren Rijiju has been removed as the law minister in a sudden move on Thursday.

Kiren Rijiju has been at the centre of disagreement with the judges as he made several controversial statements like some retired judges are part of 'anti-India' gang etc. Rijiju has been given earth sciences ministry while Arjun Ram Meghwal is the new law minister. Meghwal has been appointed as the minister of state but with independent charge.

Congress leader and advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said getting an MoS for the ministry and not a full-time law minister shows sheer inefficiency of the government. "The party that claims to be the largest party on the planet is even unable to fine a full time law minister. This does not only reflect the lack of talent in the treasury bench, but also sheer inefficiency of the govt," Singhvi commented.

BJP's Amit Malviya hit back saying this is "rich" coming from someone who works under Rahul Gandhi. "This is rich, coming from someone who has chosen to work under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, who the Congress has tried launching and relaunching, without any success, for the last 20 years It is a different matter, that he now stands disqualified, thanks to some great legal counselIt is obvious that lack of leadership has scared the collective conscience of Congress," Malviya tweeted.

"Not law, now Minister for Earth Sciences. It is not easy to understand the science behind the laws. Now (he) will try to grapple with the laws of science. Good luck my friend!" senior advocate Kapil Sibal tweeted.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Congress on Friday alleged that hype was being created around Prime Minister Narendra Modi's participation in the G7 summit in Japan through "fake narratives", and said this "drum-beating" serves the purpose of erasing the continuity of governance and contribution of previous governments. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh (ANI)

Prime Minister Modi on Friday embarked on a tour of Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia to attend three key multilateral summits including that of the G7 grouping and Quad.

In the first leg of his trip, Modi is visiting the Japanese city of Hiroshima from May 19 to 21 primarily for the annual summit of the G7 advanced economies in which he is expected to speak on challenges facing the globe, including food, fertiliser and energy security.

Taking a swipe at the prime minister, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, The hype factory around the self-styled Vishwaguru attending the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in Japan has started manufacturing fake narratives.

"Here's the reality: Summits of developed countries started way back in 1976. India was invited along with few other countries for the first time in 2003. Dr. Manmohan Singh attended such G7 Summits regularly," he said.

"So all this drum-beating serves the purpose of not only self-glorification of The Great Leader, but also erasing the continuity of governance and contribution of previous governments," Ramesh said.

From Japan, Modi will travel to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea where he will host the third summit of the Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) on May 22 jointly with Prime Minister James Marape.

In the third and final leg of the trip, Modi will visit Australia from May 22 to 24.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put the onus on Pakistan to create a conducive environment free from terrorism and hostilities for normal and neighbourly relations with India. In an interview with Nikkei Asia, Modi addressed India's complex relationships with its closest neighbours, China and Pakistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi.(ANI)

Regarding the ongoing border standoff with China, Modi affirmed India's firm commitment to safeguarding its sovereignty and dignity. He emphasized that New Delhi upholds the principles of sovereignty, the rule of law, and peaceful dispute resolution.

The border tensions between the two nations have strained bilateral ties, particularly following a violent clash in 2020, which resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers, the first fatal conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in decades.

Modi stressed the significance of peace and tranquillity in the border regions as prerequisites for normal bilateral relations with China. He stated that the future development of the India-China relationship should be based on mutual respect, mutual sensitivity, and mutual interests. Normalizing ties, he added, would bring benefits not only to the wider region but also to the world at large.

Turning his attention to Pakistan, India's archrival since the partition in 1947, Modi expressed his desire for normal and neighbourly relations between the two countries. However, he emphasized that it is incumbent upon Pakistan to create a conducive environment free from terrorism and hostilities. Modi placed the responsibility on Pakistan to take necessary steps in this regard.

"It is incumbent upon them to create a conducive environment free from terrorism and hostilities. The onus is on Pakistan to take necessary steps in this regard," Nikkei Asia quoted him as saying.

Modi's comments underline India's steadfast approach in dealing with its neighbouring countries. As he prepares to attend the G7 summit in Japan, the prime minister's words carry weight and reflect India's stance on maintaining peace, stability, and constructive regional relationships.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hold bilateral talks with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Saturday evening, people familiar with the matter said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Glasgow (Twitter/@narendramodi)

It will be the first in-person meeting between the two leaders after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year and is taking place over a month after Ukrainian First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova visited India.

Modi is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks on Saturday with his Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio, French President Emmanuel Macron and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh among others.

The meeting between Modi and Zelenskyy has been scheduled following a series of discussions between senior diplomats of India and Ukraine.

The prime minister arrived in Hiroshima on Friday to attend the annual summit of the G7 grouping in the first leg of his three-nation tour that will also take him to Papua New Guinea and Australia.

The Ukrainian president is also attending the G7 summit following an invitation by Japan, the current chair of the powerful grouping.

Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council Oleksiy Danilov said that Zelenskyy would attend the summit.

"We were sure that our president would be where Ukraine needed him, in any part of the world, to solve the issue of stability of our country," he said on national television Friday.

"There will be very important matters decided there, so physical presence is a crucial thing to defend our interests," Danilov said.

Dzhaparova visited India last month, in first high-level trip to India from Ukraine after the conflict began in the eastern European country.

During her visit, Dzhaparova handed over a letter to Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi. The letter was written to Modi by Zelenskyy.

Since the Ukraine conflict began, Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as Zelenskyy a number of times.

In a phone conversation with Zelenskyy on October 4 last year, Modi said there can be "no military solution" and that India is ready to contribute to any peace efforts.

In a bilateral meeting with Putin on September 16 last year in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, Modi said, "Today's era is not of war" and nudged the Russian leader to end the conflict.

India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.

In New Delhi, Dzhaparova had said that India is a global leader and can help in addressing key global challenges and promoting peace including in her country.

Dzhaparova said Zelenskyy will be happy to address the upcoming G20 summit, which is being hosted by India in September in its capacity as the chair of the grouping.

The Ukranian President had addressed the Bali summit of G20 last year through video conference.
A sub-inspector and a constable have been suspended for allegedly torturing nine men for displaying a banner taunting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)s Karnataka chief Nalin Kumar Kateel and former chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda at Puttur in the Dakshina Kannada district. Nine people were arrested over the banner. (ANI/Representative)

The two, Srinath Reddy and Harshith, were posted at the Puttur (Rural) Police Station.

The action against them was taken on the complaint of Avinash Narimogaru, who was among those allegedly tortured. The nine allegedly put up the banner offering shraddhanjali (homage) to Kateel and Gowda with a garland of slippers after the BJPs loss in the Karnataka assembly polls. Heartfelt tributes to you for being the reason for BJPs disgraceful loss. From hurt Hindu workers, the banner read.

The banner was removed and the nine were arrested. On Wednesday, pictures and videos of some of them with multiple injuries were circulated on social media, prompting the police to order a probe.

The nine are believed to be supporters of Arun Kumar Puthila, who unsuccessfully contested as an independent from Puttur after being denied a BJP ticket.

Mangaluru police commissioner Kuldeep Kumar R Jain later warned people against sharing inflammatory posts on social media.

Additional director general of police (law and order) Alok Kumar promised zero tolerance for highhandedness. Appropriate action is being taken against the erring police officers & men in [the] Puttur incident. Zero tolerance for such illegal and unwarranted actions, Kumar tweeted on Thursday.

Disciplinary action has also been recommended against Putturs deputy police superintendent Veeraiah Hiremath for inaction.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday he will exchange views with heads of G7 states and other partners invited to the G7 Summit in Japan on the need to collectively address challenges facing the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of departure for Japan. (PTI)

In a statement issued ahead of his departure for a three-nation tour that will begin in Japan, Modi said he is attending the G7 Summit under the Japanese presidency at the invitation of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Modi will also hold a bilateral meeting with Kishida, who visited India in March.

My presence in this G7 Summit is particularly meaningful as India holds the G20 presidency this year. I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them, he said.

Modi will hold bilateral meetings with some leaders attending the G7 Summit. India is among eight countries invited by Japan for three outreach sessions at the summit being held in Hiroshima during May 19-21.

Modi is expected to speak at these sessions, the first of which will focus on food, health, development, and gender equality, and the second on climate, energy, and environment. The third session has the theme of a Peaceful, stable, and prosperous world.

From Japan, Modi will travel to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, where he will co-host the third Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation with Prime Minister James Marape. This will be the first visit by any Indian prime minister to Papua New Guinea.

I am grateful that all 14 Pacific Island Countries (PIC) have accepted the invitation to attend this important Summit. FIPIC had been launched during my visit to Fiji in 2014, and I look forward to engaging with the PIC Leaders on issues that bring us together, such as climate change and sustainable development, capacity building and training, health and well-being, infrastructure and economic development, Modi said.

Modi will also have bilateral interactions with Papua New Guinea Governor-General Bob Dadae, Marape, and some PIC leaders participating in the summit.

He will then travel to Sydney, Australia, at the invitation of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for a bilateral meeting that will be an opportunity to take stock of bilateral ties and follow up on the first India-Australia annual summit held in New Delhi in March. Modi will also interact with Australian CEOs and business leaders and meet the Indian community in Sydney.

The Australia leg of the tour was originally meant to include a Quad Leaders Summit, which was cancelled after US President Joe Biden called off his visit to Sydney to address a domestic debt ceiling crisis. People familiar with the matter said the Quad leaders are now expected to hold a meeting on the margins of the G7 Summit in Japan.

India is expecting several deliverables to come out of the Quad Summit in Hiroshima which will be attended by Modi, Biden, Kishida, and Albanese. Modis tour will be hectic since more than 40 engagements have been lined up and he is set to interact with more than two dozen leaders.

There are several deliverables which we are expecting to come out of [the Quad meeting] and I think all that would be showcased when the four leaders meet in Hiroshima, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra told a media briefing on Thursday.

Asked if this will be a regular summit of the Quad or just a meeting of the four leaders, Kwatra said that when the four Quad leaders meet, it is a Quad summit. Kwatra added that Indias participation at G7 Summits reflects the increasing recognition that the country should be part of serious efforts to resolve global challenges linked to peace, security, and development.

This is salient in the context of our ongoing presidency of the G20 and our particular efforts to prioritise the interests and concerns of our fellow members of the Global South, he said.

With the Ukraine crisis expected to figure prominently at the G7 Summit, Kwatra referred to Modis message last year to Russian President Vladimir Putin that this is not an era of war. Modi made it clear this is not an era of war and the resolution of the conflict has to be found through dialogue and diplomacy, he said.

That is the fundamental anchor on which our political positioning and the pursuit of our economic interests and other interests is based, insofar as this conflict is concerned, he said.

Kwatra said Modi will inaugurate a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Hiroshima and hold bilateral meetings with several leaders, the details of which are being worked out.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the third in-person Quad meeting with US President Joe Biden, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese and Japan's Fumio Kishida on Saturday in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, which is also hosting the G7 summit. On Wednesday, Hindustan Times had reported about the Quad summit taking place in Hiroshima after Biden had postponed his visit to Australia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Japan's Fumio Kishida.

The White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement said after President Biden had to postpone his visit to Australia, the Quad leaders agreed they would hold their summit in Hiroshima to ensure that the four leaders could come together to mark the Quads progress over the past year.

Along with sharing strategic assessments, the leaders will welcome new forms of Quad cooperation on secure digital technology, submarine cables, infrastructure capacity building, and maritime domain awareness. President Biden thanks Prime Minister Albanese, as well as the Prime Ministers of Japan and India, for their flexibility, and he looks forward to rescheduling his trip, the White House statement added.



According to top officials, the Quad preparations are complete and all the four partners will enhance the security of the group by close economic and technological cooperation aimed at building global supply chains and capacity building across the board.

The officials have said that Quad is not a gang up of democratic powers against Beijing, but it is about mutual economic, technological and security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. However, the belligerence of China in the Indo-Pacific is one of the foundation pillars of the Quad.

Biden is also expected to meet PM Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit. Both India and US along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will announce a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on regional integration of the Middle East with road and rail infrastructure as an alternative to Chinas Belt Road Initiative (BRI).

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Friday hailed the Reserve Bank of India's decision to withdraw 2,000 denomination notes from circulation, calling it a second surgical strike on black money. BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said the decision to withdraw  2,000 notes will not affect common people.(Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

This is the second surgical strike on black money. During demonetisation, the government started printing 2000 notes to give immediate relief to the people. This will not trouble the common man as they do not have 2000 notes, he said.



On Friday, the central bank ordered the withdrawal of 2,000 denomination notes as part of its Clean Note Policy. The RBI has given the people time till September 30 to deposit these notes into their accounts or exchange them at the nearest bank.



In a statement, the Reserve Bank of India said the printing of 2,000 notes was stopped in 2018-19. About 89% of the 2000 denomination banknotes were issued prior to March 2017 and are at the end of their estimated life-span of 4-5 years, the RBI added.

The people can exchange the 2,000 bank notes or deposit them into their accounts till September 30, absolutely free of cost. There is an exchange limit of bank notes of up to 20,000. The Reserve Bank of India has advised banks to stop issuing 2000 denomination banknotes with immediate effect.

The 2,000 denomination bank note was introduced in November 2016, primarily to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of legal tender status of all 500 and 1,000 bank notes in circulation at that time.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR HT News Desk Follow the latest breaking news and developments from India and around the world with Hindustan Times' newsdesk. From politics and policies to the economy and the environment, from local issues to national events and global affairs, we've got you covered. ...view detail
After the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the scrapping of the seven-year-old 2000 notes, the official website of the central bank crashed as people rushed to know more details about the announcement. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das.(AP)

Earlier, the website had faced a similar fate following heavy traffic after PM Narendra Modi's surprise demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 notes in November 2016. The announcement had also caused long queues at ATMs and petrol pumps.

Notably, the 2,000 denomination bank note was introduced in November the same year to meet the economys requirements notes following the withdrawal of 500 and 1,000 notes. However, since banknotes in other denominations became readily available, the objective of introducing the 2000 banknotes has been fulfilled, leading to the discontinuation of their printing in 2018-19.

Approximately 89% of the 2000 banknotes were issued before March 2017 and are nearing the end of their estimated lifespan of 4-5 years.

The decision to withdraw the 2000 banknotes from circulation is part of its Clean Note Policy.

The 2,000 notes will continue to be legal tender till September 30 as RBI has asked banks to provide deposit and exchange facilities for 2,000 notes until the end of September.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ritu Maria Johny Multimedia journalist with Hindustan Times. Covers India, world, business and tech news with a keen eye for human-interest stories rooted in gender and culture. ...view detail
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Friday hit out at the Narendra Modi-led government over the central bank's decision to withdraw its highest-value currency notes from circulation, saying no civilised nation puts its people in constant fear of cash turning to toilet paper. TMC MP Mahua Moitra addresses a press conference, in Kolkata.(PTI / File)

Why should we stress about our wallets vaporising every few years? Mahua Moitra wrote on Twitter, alluding that the RBI's move was a distraction created by the ruling BJP and Prime Minister Modi.

BJP & Modijis distractions cut no ice, she said. You lost Karnataka. You will lose more states. Also you cannot save Adani.

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday announced the withdrawal of 2,000 currency notes from circulation but gave the public time till September 30 to either deposit such notes in accounts or exchange them at banks. The central bank, however, clarified that the 2000 banknote will continue to be the legal tender.

While the RBI did not specify a limit for depositing the 2,000 currency notes in bank accounts, the exchange of a maximum of 20,000 (10 notes of 2,000) for other currency notes will be allowed at a time.

The Trinamool Congress lambasted the union government, asserting that this "arbitrary" decision will harm the country's economy as the demonetisation of 2016 had done.

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, "We have seen how the country's people faced hardships during the demonetisation in 2016. It has destroyed the country's economy and claimed several lives. The BJP again wants to thrust similar hardships on the people through its decision to withdraw 2,000 notes."

The TMC leader said the BJP had turned the country's economy into a "child's play".

"High-value notes were demonetised (in 2016) with a claim that that it would curb black money. But in reality, it helped some people convert black money into white. Demonetisation destroyed the country's economy and small businesses and a lot of people lost their jobs," he said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The vigilance report of the Narcotics Control Bureau has made several revelations about Sameer Wankhede who was the former Mumbai zone chief of the NCB and headed several high-profile cases including that of Rhea Chakraborty and Aryan Khan. The vigilance report comes amid the CBI probe against Wankhede for allegedly demanding 25 crore bribe from Shah Rukh Khan to not frame Aryan Khan in the drugs case. Read | How a selfie to force Shah Rukh Khan to pay up in Aryan Khan drug case backfired Sameer Wankhede is under fire as several irregularities by the IRS officer have now come to the fore.

What the vigilance report said about Sameer Wankhede

1. As reported, Sameer Wankhede made six private foreign trips between 2017 and 2021. The destinations included the UK, Ireland, Portugal, South Africa and the Maldives.

2. For these foreign trips, Sameer Wankhede sowed an expenditure of 8.75 lakh, which according to the vigilance report is way below the actual expenditure.

3. For a 19-day trip to London, Wankhede showed 1 lakh expense and said he stayed with relatives there, the Indian Express reported.

4. Wankhede reportedly bought a Rolex Gold watch at 17,40,000 (actual price 22,05,000) and there was more than one invoice for the same watch.

5. The vigilance report claimed Wankhede has four flats in Mumbai. To this, Sameer Wankhede said he actually has six properties in Mumbai, not four and all are inherited.

'Pooja Dadlani gave statement against Sameer Wankhede'

The CBI FIR against Sameer Wankhede accusing the former NCB officer of demanding 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan was based on Shah Rukh Khan's manager Pooja Dadlani's statement, reports said. Dadlani reportedly handed over a bag containing 50 lakh hours after Cordelia was raided and Aryan Khan was arrested.

The CBI FIR said that Sameer Wankhede gave a freehand to KP Gosavi, an independent witness, in the Aryan Khan case and Aryan Khan was brought to the NCB office in Gosavi's car. Siddarth Shah allegedly supplied charas to Arbaaz Merchant, an old friend of Aryan Khan, but Siddarth was allowed to walk free, the CBI claimed.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
An affidavit filed by former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede in the Bombay high court on Friday appended a string of purported chat transcripts between the officer and actor Shah Rukh Khan. While Wankhede told the court that there was nothing amiss in his investigation into the Cordelia drugs bust case and that the alleged chats  which HT could not independently verify -- support his stand, the exchanges gave a glimpse of the turmoil and anguish of the superstar over the arrest and imprisonment of his teenage son who was later found innocent. Aryan Khan was arrested in the Cordelia drugs case. (AFP)

Also read: 10 emotional pleas made by Shah Rukh Khan to Sameer Wankhede in his chats: Get your guys to go slow for Gods sake'

Transcripts of the alleged conversation furnished by Wankhede  who is accused of demanding a bribe from Shah Rukh Khan to drop his son Aryans name from the case linked to a drugs raid on a cruise ship  to the court ranged from October 3, 2021 to October 15, 2021. To be sure, it was unclear if the chats (if correct), were a complete transcript of their conversations or an edited version put forward by the defence team.

The affidavit said that Shah Rukh Khan sent the first message to Wankhede at 10.55am on October 3, 2021 -- the day his son was arrested -- requesting an audience with the officer. Wankhede responded to the purported message at 5:34pm asking for a call. Subsequently, Shah Rukh Khan allegedly thanked him for his thoughts and personal insights.

I will make sure that he turns out to be someone that you and I are both proud of. This incident will prove to be a turning point in his life I promise, in a good way, Shah Rukh Khan allegedly added.

In successive messages over the next few days, the actor allegedly displayed his highest regard for Wankhedes uprightness to which the officer purportedly responded, saying Aryan has been a good kid all the while and hope that he will for sure now be reformed.

On October 13, the affidavit said Shah Rukh Khan allegedly begged for kindness as a father, to which Wankhede ostensibly expressed: I wish I could talk to you as a friend and explain (to) you about the current situation and not as a zonal director, all the murk and unscrupulous elements are vitiating the entire atmosphere.

Shah Rukh Khan allegedly insisted that his son was not a part of that world. You also know that. You know his part is minuscule in it, he said, stressing on the need for a corrective course and that Aryan has had his quota.

Please man I beg you there is nothing from my side that is participant in the vested interests (sic). I went out of my way and without even knowing them called and begged them not to involve my child in their politicsI beg you man please, the actor allegedly added.

Touching upon his own middle-class upbringing, Shah Rukh Khan allegedly emphasised that they were a simple set of people and my son has been a bit wayward but he doesnt deserve being in a jail like a hardened criminal. Please have heart man.

The affidavit said that the actor added that as a father and a family man, he was trying to do his best within the bounds of law. Its a father to father request. I love my children, as you do yours, and exterior forces cannot be allowed to cloud a father to father feeling, the affidavit quoted Shah Rukh Khan as saying.

Also read: Sameer Wankhede owns 4 flats in Mumbai, made 6 foreign trips in 5 years: Reports

On October 14, Wankhede allegedly expressed unhappiness with reference to recent developments in the case. He said that there are certain technical ties in the law, and asked the actor to just have patience as this is going to be over soon.

This will break him as a human being. His spirit will be destroyed, responded Shah Rukh Khan, according to the transcripts.

Wankhede was shunted out of NCB last year and the government ordered a probe against him after a vigilance enquiry found major discrepancies in the Cordelia raid. Aryan was among 20 people who were arrested after the dramatic raid on the cruise ship on October 2 that year. While the NCB team alleged that Aryan was a part of a larger international drugs conspiracy, a secondary probe by a special investigation team in May 2022 said the actors son was innocent and was not carrying any drugs on the ship.
A third-year student of Shiv Nadar University in Greater Noida allegedly shot and killed his woman classmate on campus before shooting himself dead at the boys hostel, police said. Both were aged 21 years and were third-year students of BA Sociology and were residing on campus in the girls and boys hostel, the police informed. The spot at where the incident took place in Shiv Nadar University in Greater Noida. (HT Photo)

What deputy commissioner of police Greater Noida said?

Around 1.30pm on Thursday, the administrative officials of Shiv Nadar University alerted the police that a woman student was shot dead by her classmate outside the dining hall on the university campus. The woman student, identified as Sneha Chaurasia, who hailed from Kanpur, was immediately rushed to Yatharth Hospital in Greater Noida where she was declared brought dead, SM Khan, deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida said.

A countrymade pistol was recovered from the spot. The male student died on spot. A preliminary inquiry has found that both students were in a relationship since long but their relations soured recently, deputy commissioner added.

What CCTV footage showed?

The investigator said the incident was captured by the CCTV cameras. The hall was locked but had glass doors. Both students met right outside around 1pm. The girls and boys hostels are located on either side of the hall. In the CCTV footage, the students could be seen hugging and exchanging words. The male student had brought along something to give to the woman, presumably a gift. She could be seen refusing the parcel, following which she was shot in the abdomen by the male student. She tried to fight the man on being shot but he shot her again and she collapsed. The man was then seen running towards the boys hostel, the investigator told Hindustan Times.

Were there any eyewitnesses?

Although there were no eyewitnesses to the shooting as the university is on a summer break since May 17.

What has Shiv Nadar University said?

A spokesperson from Shiv Nadar University said, We are deeply saddened and pained at the unfortunate loss of lives of two students of the university today. The matter is currently under investigation by the authorities, and we are closely monitoring the situation. All other residents of the campus are safe. Our utmost priority is the safety and well-being of our students, employees, and the entire community. We are fully cooperating with the authorities in their investigation. Our deep and heartfelt condolences go out to the affected families and we are supporting them in every way possible at this difficult time.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A student of Uttar Pradesh's Shiv Nadar University allegedly shot and killed his woman classmate on campus before shooting himself dead, police said. The 21-year-old later killed himself at the boy's hostel. Both were third-year students of BA Sociology, the police informed. The spot at where the incident took place in Shiv Nadar University in Greater Noida. (HT Photo)

Around 1.30pm on Thursday, the administrative officials of Shiv Nadar University alerted the police that a woman student was shot dead by her classmate outside the dining hall on the university campus. The woman student, identified as Sneha Chaurasia, who hailed from Kanpur, was immediately rushed to Yatharth Hospital in Greater Noida where she was declared brought dead, SM Khan, deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida said.

A spokesperson from Shiv Nadar University said, Our utmost priority is the safety and well-being of our students, employees, and the entire community. We are fully cooperating with the authorities in their investigation."

The incident was captured on the CCTV cameras.

Here's what the footage revealed:

The footage available is from the hall. The girls and boys hostels are located on either side of the hall. The hall was locked but had glass doors. Both students met right outside around 1pm. The students were then seen hugging and talking to each other. The male student had brought along with him something to give to the woman. Investigator presumes it to be a gift. The woman was then seen refusing the parcel. The man shot her in the abdomen as she shunted the gift. She could be then seen fighting the man but he shot her again and she collapsed. The man was then seen running towards the boys hostel. There were no eyewitnesses to the shooting as the university is on a summer break since May 17.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Karnataka chief minister designate Siddaramaiah on Friday assured the students appearing for the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET) on Saturday will not be affected due to his swearing-in ceremony at Bengaluru's Kanteerava Stadium.



Measures have been taken to ensure no student attending the CET exam, in the centres around Kanteerava stadium, is affected due to oath taking ceremony. I request all the candidates to reach the examination centre before 9:30 AM, and reach out to Police for any help, he tweeted.



@BlrCityPolice & @blrcitytraffic should make sure students writing CET around Kanteerava stadium, are not affected by the oath taking ceremony. All those attending the oath taking ceremony should co-operate with the Police for smooth traffic movement, the Congress leader added. Siddaramaiah will take oath as the Karnataka chief minister on Saturday.

Earlier, the Karnataka Examination Authority had asked the students appearing for CET in the city to reach their centres two hours ahead of the scheduled time.

Appropriate measures have been taken to ensure that students reached the exam centres without delay. Steps have been taken anticipating traffic congestion owing to the oath-taking ceremony on May 20. Candidates who have their centres in the city limits need to be present there by 8.30 am, KEA executive director S Ramya said in a statement.



Siddaramaiah will take oath as the chief minister of Karnataka for the second time at the Kanteerava Stadium. DK Shivakumar will also be sworn-in as the deputy chief minister. The chief ministers of Congress and opposition ruled states will attend the swearing-in ceremony.



On Thursday, the Congress had named 75-year-old Siddaramaiah as the next chief minister, ending days of leadership deadlock following the grand old party's spectacular victory in the assembly election. DK Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga leader who led the party's campaign in the polls as the KPCC chief, has been named as the only deputy CM.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Aryan Prakash Multimedia journalist with over nine years of experience in print, television and digital media. Books, politics and cinema are an inseparable part of life. ...view detail
The allegations of stock price manipulations or violation of Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) norms by Adani group companies cannot be proved at this stage, the Supreme Court-appointed expert committee to look into regulatory failure by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and alleged breach of laws by the Adani Group, has informed the Supreme Court in its report. Sebi is investigating Adani companies following the US short-seller Hindenburg Reseachs report released on 24 January. (REUTERS)

The panel, which also found no regulatory failure on the part of Sebi made a distinction between proved, disproved and not proved. Even the fundamental rules of evidence would require a conclusion of whether an allegation is proved, disproved or not proved. At this stage, the factual matrix appears to place the matter in the realm of not proved  the regulator has not been able to prove that its suspicion can be translated into a firm case of prosecuting an allegation of violation, stated its report, reviewed by HT.

The panels finding is at odds with social media hashtags suggesting that it has given a clean chit to Adani.

To be sure, the 173-page report carefully added a caveat that its conclusions are based on the prima facie position of Sebi, which is investigating Adani companies following the US short-seller Hindenburg Reseachs report released on 24 January.

On May 17, the apex court gave Sebi time till August 14 to complete its probe into the allegations thrown up by the Hindenburg report, alleging brazen accounting fraud and stock manipulation by the Gautam Adani-led group. Though the conglomerate rejected the report as unresearched and maliciously mischievous, it triggered a massive rout of Adani Group stocks, which lost over $140 billion in days and forced the cancellation of a 20,000 crore share sale in the groups flagship.

The six-member panel, led by retired Supreme Court judge AM Sapre, was set up by the court on March 2. The panel submitted its report to the CJI-led bench last week. While granting more time to Sebi for the probe, the court on Wednesday directed that the report be shared with Sebi and the PIL petitioners to enable them assist it in further deliberation on July 11 when the matter will be heard next.

The panel submitted its conclusions regarding the Adani-Hindenburg row under three major heads  alleged violation of MPS norms, disclosure of transactions with related parties in accordance with law and alleged stock price manipulation.

Indian stock market laws require a listed company to have a minimum public shareholding of 25% with the objective to keep a free float available for price discovery of stocks.

The Sebi investigation initiated in October 2020 to look into possible violation of the MPS norms by Adani companies using 13 overseas entities that the regulator suspected could be fronts for the promoters of some Adani companies has drawn a blank so far and has not reported any offence under the Sebi Act or for alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the panels report said. But Sebis attempts to seek information from some foreign regulators about the suspicious FPIs have been unfavourably treated since they sought adequate justification for entertaining such a request, that the panel called a chicken and egg situation.

In the instant case, it appears that Sebi is not able to make out a case, and such a position of the case not being made out is presented as a prima facie position, which cannot be confirmed unless more investigation is done. In any prosecution of proceedings, whether civil or criminal, the presentation of a prima facie case is the responsibility of the plaintiff or the prosecutor. Once a prima facie case is made out, the burden shifts to the accused, held the panel, adding the FPIs in question and the Adani group, on their part, have made proper disclosures under the relevant laws.

On May 17, the top court directed Sebi to also submit a status report on its investigation into the alleged violation of MPS norms of some Adani companies after Sebi filed affidavits to say that it first approached overseas regulators on October 6, 2020, in the context of investigation into MPS norms of some Adani companies. The affidavits, however, did not apprise the top court of the status or the outcome of this investigation.

On the aspect of 13 instances highlighted by the Hindenburg report as suspicious related party transactions (RPT), the panel noted that the regulator has already sought more time from the court to look into it. Sebi is actively engaged in collecting data on these transactions. The committee would therefore be unable to comment without further input, except to say the investigations must be completed in a time-bound manner in accordance with law, it said.

The panel highlighted that the foundation of Sebis suspicion that led to investigations into the overseas entities ownership is that they have opaque structures because the ultimate chain of ownership is not known. However, it added that Sebi, in its legislative capacity, itself did away with the prohibition against any FPI having an opaque structure in 2018.

At the same time, both on MPS and RPT probes, the panel questioned Sebis approach, lamenting that the enforcement policy seems to be moving opposite to the legislative policy.

While laws were amended in 2018 and 2019 to align the MPS norms with the declaration to be made by FPIs under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the panel pointed out, Sebi has still decided to broaden the scope of its probe to know the ultimate beneficial owner of every single owner of the FPI in Adani companies though FPIs and Adani have complied with the regulations in vogue.

Similarly, about the RPT norms, the panel underlined that Sebi itself amended the definition of the terms related party and related party transaction in November 2021 and with a deferred prospective effect, with some changes taking effect on April 1, 2022, and others on April 1, 2023. The panel said that in view of the legislative amendments, it would not be legally tenable for Sebi to assail transactions, alleged to be suspected, since they were evidently carried out when the new law on expanding the scope of RTP did not exist.

On the aspect of alleged price manipulations of Adani stocks, Sebi informed the panel that it has kept a watch on Adani stocks for a few years now; 849 alerts were generated by the system, resulting in four reports -- two prior to the Hindenburg report and two after it, but no violations were found.

No pattern of artificial trading or wash trades among the same parties multiple times was found. In one of the patches where the price rose, the FPIs under investigation were net sellers. One investing entity that had purchased across the patches had purchased far more of other securities. In a nutshell, there was no coherent pattern of abusive trading that has come to light, it said.

But ED and Sebi found that suspicious trading by six entities, including 4 FPIs (not among the 12 being looked into by Sebi for MPS norms compliance), one body corporate and an individual, proximate to the release of the Hindenburg report

Sebi has also found that some entities have taken short positions prior to the publication of the Hindenburg Report and have profited from squaring off their positions after the price crashed upon publication of the report. All of these are still under investigation and the committee therefore does not express any opinion on merits, said the panel, adding it would not be possible to return a finding of regulatory failure on this count since SEBI has an active and working surveillance framework.

On the issue of volatility of the Indian stock market, the panel took note of Sebis statement that the markets remained largely stable and resilient though shares of the Adani group saw significant decline in prices on account of selling pressure following the Hindenburg report.

The intense adverse impact on Adani stock prices stood mitigated with measures such as the Adani group promoters paring down the debt raised, secured by encumbrances on their shareholding, and infusion of fresh investment into Adani stocks by way of purchase of shares worth nearly USD 2 billion by a private equity investor from the promoters of the Adani Group. The market has repriced and reassessed the Adani stocks and while they may not have returned to the pre-January 24, 2023 levels, they are stable at the newly repriced level, noted the panel.

It also recommended a slew of structural reforms in Sebi, which included initiation of prosecution only in a few large and complex cases, a firm timeline for completion of investigations, robust settlement mechanism, separation of power between its quasi-judicial arm and the enforcement arm, creation of financial redress agency to handle investor grievances across sectors, mechanism for recovery of unclaimed properties and observance of judicial discipline by its adjudicating officers.

There is an urgent need to introspect and take a hard close look at whether there is a surfeit of disclosures that loads the investors with so much data and noise that the real content necessary to make an informed decision may be lost...The committee believes that financial literary must be introduced as a matter of pedagogy right from school curriculum. Financial security of a society is as vital as national security for a society to be robust, recommended the panel.

In a five-point reply, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, Given the reputation of the members of the Committee, we do not want to say anything more on its report except that its conclusion was already anticipated. Also, to give a clean chit to the Adani group, to distort the report of this committee bound by all kinds of limitations is complete nonsense. The Congress has maintained that the Supreme Court-appointed committee is limited in ts scope and will be unable (and perhaps unwilling) to uncover all aspects of the Modani scam, he said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The latest judgement by the Supreme Court refusing to grant stay on the distribution of housing plots to the poor in Amaravati, the capital region of Andhra Pradesh, is expected to reap huge political mileage to ruling YSR Congress party led by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. Farmers of Amaravati had filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court challenging the creation of a separate residential zone within the capital region for distribution of housing sites for the poor. (HT Archive)

On Wednesday, a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice K M Joseph, which heard arguments over a special leave petition filed by the farmers of Amaravati challenging the creation of a separate Residential Zone (R-5) within the capital region for distribution of housing sites for the poor, said it could not stop the government from allotment of plots to the poor.

The bench, however, made certain modifications in the state high court judgement of May 5, which refused to stop the land allotments. Justice Joseph said the patta issued for the economically weaker sections in the R-5 Zone is subject to the final judgement on the state capital issue.

The Supreme Court bench directed the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) that it should not take up any constructions in the pattas distributed among the poor, till the court dismisses the case of the state capital.

The judge said the patta holders would not be entitled to special equities and they would not create any third-party rights, which means they cannot sell the assigned house sites.

According to Section 41(3), (4) of the APCRDA Act, the state government has created R-5 zone (residential zone) by amending the Amaravati master plan and brought various lands under its jurisdiction through a gazette notification, after entertaining objections and suggestions and interacting with the public in October, an official note from the chief ministers office said.

On April 3, the APCRDA, which has been looking after the developmental works in Amaravati capital region, ratified a governments order (GO No. 45 dated March 31) allotting 1134.59 acres of land located in 20 different layouts in Amaravati for the construction of 48,218 houses for the poor people belonging to Krishna and Guntur districts.

The 20 layouts are located at Inavolu, Mandadam, Krishnayapalem, Navuluru, Kuragallu and Nidamanur villages in the capital region. An official from the chief ministers office (CMO) said the eligible beneficiaries of the housing plots have already been identified and title deeds were prepared.

The levelling of the land in the R-5 zone has been completed and the plots are demarcated for being given in possession to the beneficiaries, a CMO statement, quoting the APCRDA officials, said.

Political mileage

The allotment of plots in Amaravati capital region would benefit more than 51,392 poor families, accounting for more than 250,000 people. This will definitely fetch huge political mileage to Jagan Mohan Reddy and his party. A piece of land, that too, in the core capital region closer to commercial cities like Vijayawada and Guntur, is a huge asset for any person and naturally, he will have a gratitude towards the government, said, political analyst, Bhandaru Srinivasa Rao.

For now, the plots in the R-5 zone of Amaravati are being given to the poor people from Guntur and Krishna districts. In the coming days, the Jagan government might allot housing plots to people from other parts of the state as well, as the Supreme Court has cleared the hurdle for the same.

After all, there is a huge land bank of 30,000 acres created by former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, and it is now coming in handy for Jagan to distribute plots. This is expected to bring massive support to the ruling party in the next elections, Rao said.

Though the Supreme Court has given the direction that no constructions should be taken up in the plots distributed among the poor till the case with regard to the capital is disposed off, the chief minister has decided to go ahead with the construction of weaker sections housing colonies in these plots.

Jagan, who conducted a review on housing at his Tadepalli office on Thursday, directed the officials to prepare an action plan to construct houses and hand them over to the beneficiaries after distributing the house site pattas to the poor in the R-5 zone in the Amaravati capital region.

On Friday, the Jagan government sent proposals to the Centre for construction of over 47,000 houses for the weaker section, out of the total number of 51,392 houses proposed in the R-5 zone of Amaravati. According to the officials, the government decided to construct the houses with shear-wall technology.

The government has sanctioned 50 crore for the development of layouts for weaker sections housing colonies in Amaravati and already spent nearly 20 crore for the same, a CRDA official said.

Jagan told them to pay special attention on expediting the construction so that the poor would get the houses at the earliest. The sooner the houses are constructed and handed over to the poor, the better would it be for their lives, he said.

However, the farmers, who had given their lands for the development of Amaravati, are disappointed over the Supreme Court judgement. We have given our precious fertile lands to the then state government under land pooling, not for weaker sections housing colonies, but for the construction of a world class capital city. Now, our hopes are shattered, K Anil Kumar, a farmer of Krishnayapalem said.

The farmers of Amaravati have no option but to intensify their agitation, while continuing to wage the legal battle, to protect the capital city, Kumar added.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The independence of the district judiciary is also a part of the basic structure of the Constitution, the Supreme Court declared on Friday, underlining that the access to justice would remain illusory without impartial and independent judges at the grassroots level. The top court said the district judiciary performs a key role in upholding the rule of law. (PTI)

A bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justices V Ramasubramanian and PS Narasimha, held that the declaration is imperative since all previous pronouncements by the apex court have been only in the context of the high court and the Supreme Court. The historic 1973 judgment in the Kesavananda Bharati case had ruled that independence of judiciary is a part of basic structure of the Constitution.

The district judiciary performs an important role in upholding the rule of law. The independence of the district judiciary must also be equally a part of the basic structure of the Constitution. Without impartial and independent judges in the district judiciary, Justice, a preambular goal, would remain illusory, said the judgment, authored by justice Narasimha.

It highlighted that the district judiciary is, in most cases, also the court which is most accessible to the litigant and handles 1.13 million cases every day. It was seen that during the period of the pandemic as well that the district judiciary was efficient and undertook its functions to ensure that justice is delivered in a timely manner. It is thus important to recognise that the district judiciary is a vital part of the independent judicial system, which is, in turn, part of the basic structure of the Constitution, it emphasised.

For most litigants in this country, the court added, the only physically accessible institution for accessing justice is the district judiciary, and therefore, the independence of district judiciary assumes even greater significance.

The district judiciary is the backbone of the judicial system. Vital to the judicial system is the independence of the judicial officers serving in the district judiciary. To secure their impartiality, it is important to ensure their financial security and economic independence, said the bench, as it issued slew of directions on implementation of the recommendations made by the Second National Judicial Pay Commission in its 2020 report.

As it accepted several recommendations of the committee and ordered enhanced salary and pension for the judicial officers, the bench underlined that the independence of the judiciary requires that pay of judicial officers must be stand-alone and not compared to that of staff of the political executive or the legislature.

Efficient functioning necessarily requires judges of calibre and capacity to be provided with the right incentives and promotion opportunities to maintain the high level of functioning of the judiciary...The right of fair trial and access to justice, as contemplated by this court, is not limited to the physical access to a Court. The right must also include all the necessary prerequisites of a court, i.e., the infrastructure, and an unbiased, impartial, and independent judge, it added.

The court pointed out that judicial officers have been working without a pay revision for nearly 15 years and hence, the submissions of the Union government and states regarding the paucity of funds must be rejected.

Judicial officers cannot be left in the lurch for prolonged periods of time without a revision of pay on an alleged paucity of financial resources...One may go to the extent to state that the rights of access to justice and fair trial cannot be exercised by an individual without an independent judiciary. Further, without fair and speedy trial, the remaining rights, including fundamental and constitutional rights will not be enforced in a manner known to law. If these instrumental rights themselves are hindered, then all other rights within the Constitution would not be enforceable, highlighted the court.

The judgment further maintained that no longer should the district judiciary be referred to as subordinate judiciary. Not only is this a misnomer because the district judge is not per se subordinate to any other person in the exercise of her jurisdiction but also is disrespectful to the constitutional position of a district judge. Our Constitution recognises and protects a district judge as a vital cog in the judicial system. Respect ought to be accorded to this institution and its contribution to the country, it said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Bihar government to produce the files relating to the controversial April 24 decision granting remission to former Bihar member of Parliament Anand Mohan, serving a life term for murder, and cautioned against politicising the matter or making it a caste issue. Former Bihar MP Anand Mohan Singh. (ANI)

Also read: Nitish Kumar defends release of ex-MP Anand Mohan

Mohan was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of former Gopalganj district magistrate G Krishnaiah in December 1994. Krishnaiahs wife Umadevi approached the top court challenging an April 10 decision of the state government amending the Bihar Prison Manual by which convicts such as Mohan suffering life imprisonment for killing of public servant became eligible for premature release after 14 years imprisonment.

A bench of justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala said, The counsel for the state government is directed to produce the original records which led to grant of remission to respondent (Anand Mohan) by order dated April 24.

The Court also refused to entertain an application filed by a Patna-based lawyer seeking to intervene in the proceedings. On noting that the applicant is a Dalit rights activist, the bench said, Do not politicise this case and do not bring caste issues here. G Krishnaiah was a Dalit.

The application sought to question the remission granted to Mohan by saying. The government has acted in haste and has not applied its independent mind to the recommendation of the State Remission Board, it said. It added that it is not clear whether the opinion of the presiding judge (of the court where the trial was held) which is considered mandatory for deciding remission under Section 433 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was taken.

The court posted the matter on August 8 after the state government, represented by advocate Manish Kumar and advocate Gopal Singh appearing for the former MP sought time to file responses.

Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra who appeared for the petitioner told the court that summoning the files was essential before the next date of hearing.

On May 8, the court issued notice on the petition which claimed that the decision of April 10 was taken with the sole aim to benefit Mohan. He was sentenced to death by a trial court in 2007. HIs sentence was commuted to life by the Patna high court in 2008, a decision which the Supreme Court upheld in July 2012.

The amendment of April 10 introduced a crucial change which allowed a convict punished for murder of public servant to be eligible for premature release after undergoing 14 years of incarceration. The earlier rule on remission prevailing in the state said such convicts were to be considered for premature release only on completion of 20 years imprisonment.

Also read: NCSC issues notice to Bihar govt on remission of Anand Mohans sentence

The petition termed the April 10 notification ex-facie illegal and contrary to judgments of the Supreme Court that clearly lay down that the remission policy prevailing at the time of conviction will govern remission granted to life convicts.

The petition also pointed out that a 2000 judgment of the Supreme Court in Laxman Naskar case highlighted the need to consider past criminal antecedents, social status and the potentiality of the accused to commit crime in future as guiding principles for a convicts early release.

The petition added that Mohan, who belongs to an influential family, has 32 criminal cases pending against him and enjoys political support. Even at the time when Krishnaiah was killed, Mohan was a member of Bihar Assembly.

During the last hearing, the top court also heard an application moved by ex-IAS officer and former Union Minister KJ Alphons who sought to intervene in the proceedings. The Court allowed Alphons to render assistance in the matter.
The Union of India cannot demand an immunity from the operation of pertinent legal provisions just because a contract is in the name of the President of India, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday. The judgment came on an application filed for the appointment of a sole arbitrator by Glock Asia-Pacific Ltd which had a contract with the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) for the supply of glock pistols. (Sanjay Sharma)

A bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, interpreted Article 299 of the Constitution to hold that the central government, as a party to a contract, cannot wriggle out of statutory bars by arguing that the contract is in the name of the President of India.

Article 299 provides that all contracts in the exercise of the executive power of the union or of a State shall be expressed to be made by the President or by the Governor of the State, and all such contracts will be executed by a person duly authorized in that behalf.

Having considered the purpose and object of Article 299, we are of the clear opinion that a contract entered into in the name of the President of India, cannot and will not create an immunity against the application of any statutory prescription imposing conditions on parties to an agreement, when the Government chooses to enter into a contract, held the judgment, authored by justice Narasimha.

The judgment came on an application filed for the appointment of a sole arbitrator by Glock Asia-Pacific Ltd which had a contract with the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) for the supply of Glock Pistols. Invocation of performance bank guarantee by the MHA caused a rift between the two and the company issued a notice invoking arbitration in July 2022. It nominated a retired judge of the Delhi high court as the sole arbitrator and asked the MHA to accept the nomination. Instead, the MHA replied that a condition of the tender mandated that the dispute had to be referred to sole arbitration of an officer in the Union law ministry, who will be appointed by the secretary in MHA.

Senior counsel R Viraraghavan, assisted by advocates Siddharth Bambha and Shyam D Nandan, argued that appointment of the sole arbitrator as per the MHAs terms would be contrary to Section 12(5) of the Arbitration Act, which protect against conflict of interest of a party to a contract. The lawyers contended that the Union of India, being a party to the agreement, appointing its own employee in the law ministry as the sole arbitrator is a clear case of conflict of interest.

Defending the Centre, additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati argued that the contract in the present case stands on a different footing as it is entered into in the name of the President of India.

The bench, however, rejected the ASGs arguments, noting that Article 299 only lays down the formality that is necessary to bind the government with contractual liability and does not extend to the substantial law relating to the contractual liability of the government which is to be found in the general laws of the land.

It is for this reason that, even though a contract may be formally valid under Article 299, it may nevertheless fail to bind the Government if it is void or unenforceable under the general provisions of law, said the bench, lamenting that the arbitration clause in the present case enables a serving employee of the Union of India, a party to the contract, to nominate a serving employee of the Union of India as the sole arbitrator.

We have no hesitation in rejecting the submission of the learned ASG that the contracts entered into by the Union of India in the name of the President of India are immune from provisions that protect against conflict of interest of a party to a contract, under Section 12(5) of the Act, said the court, as it appointed its former judge Indu Malhotra as the sole arbitrator to decide the dispute.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Tina Dabi, a 2016 IAS officer, who is now the district collector of Jaisalmer has triggered a controversy after the district administration demolished encroachments of temporary settlements in the Amarsagar gram panchayat area. Hindus displaced from Pakistan have been residing at the temporary settlements. While the bulldozer action drew flak, Tina Dabi told ANI that the migrants will be moved to a shelter house till they get a proper allotment of land. However, Rajasthan minister Pratap Khachariyawas said the officials will have to answer for the eviction drive. "What the officials did is wrong, they will have to answer. We will take action against them. No one can evict them without giving them rehabilitation. This is a serious issue. It's a conspiracy to malign the government. There's no reason for this," the minister said, as quoted by ANI. Tina Dabi explained that the encroachers stopped their protest after they were assured of rehabilitation.

What is the row over Tina Dabi?

The demolition took place on Tuesday triggering protests from the temporary settlers. Tina Dabi addressed a press conference on Wednesday and said she spoke to the migrants and explained to them why the eviction was necessary. "We issued a circular on April 5 too. We have been trying to make them understand but many didn't get convinced. The place they were residing, had already been allotted to others. We had a talk with them today. They will be moved to shelter houses till they get a proper allotment of land," said Tina Dabi.

In a week, the Urban Improvement Trust will mark the evicted people and allot them a proper place. "The land on which the encroachment was removed yesterday was either allotted by UIT earlier or is in the water catchment area. That's why we have explained to those people that if you sit at this place then you will face problems in future also," Tina Dabi said.

The bulldozed encroachments came up in the last 10 days and were fresh, Tina Dabi said. "Land will be allotted to those who have got citizenship and those who have not got it will be identified and settled after getting citizenship they will also be allotted land," Tina Dabi said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Poulomi Ghosh Poulomi Ghosh is a journalist with Hindustan Times, New Delhi. ...view detail
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Monday said that people should not rush to the banks to exchange 2,000 currency notes as the deadline of the same four months away. A woman holds  2000 notes as she exchanges demonetised notes at a bank in Chennai.(AFP File Photo)

The central bank on Friday had earlier issued comprehensive guidelines to all banks regarding the withdrawal of 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation. The guidelines outline the plan of action that banks should follow and provide clarity on the continued legal tender status of these banknotes.

The 2000 banknotes were introduced in November 2016 to meet the immediate currency requirement of the economy after the withdrawal of 500 and 1000 banknotes. However, with the objective of their introduction fulfilled and the availability of other denominations in sufficient quantities, the printing of 2000 banknotes ceased in 2018-19. Furthermore, most of the 2000 denomination notes issued before March 2017 have reached the end of their estimated lifespan and are no longer commonly used for transactions, according to RBI.

In line with the central bank's "Clean Note Policy," it has been decided to withdraw the 2000 banknotes from circulation while maintaining their legal tender status. The RBI has outlined a plan of action for banks to ensure a smooth transition:

Handling of existing stock and receipts:

Banks must discontinue the issuance of  2000 banknotes immediately.

2000 banknotes immediately. ATMs and Cash Recyclers should be reconfigured accordingly.

Banks holding Currency Chests (CCs) must not allow withdrawals of  2000 banknotes from CCs. All balances held in CCs should be classified as unfit and prepared for dispatch to the respective RBI offices.

2000 banknotes from CCs. All balances held in CCs should be classified as unfit and prepared for dispatch to the respective RBI offices. All  2000 banknotes received by the banks should be sorted through Note Sorting Machines (NSMs) for accuracy and genuineness. They should then be deposited in the currency chests under the Linkage Scheme or made ready for dispatch to the nearest Issue Office of RBI.

Facility for Deposit and Exchange:

The facility for deposit and/or exchange of  2000 banknotes will be available to the public until September 30, 2023.

2000 banknotes will be available to the public until September 30, 2023. Deposits into bank accounts can be made without restrictions, subject to compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC) norms and other statutory requirements.

Banks must comply with Cash Transaction Reporting (CTR) and Suspicious Transaction Reporting (STR) requirements, where applicable.

Exchange of  2000 banknotes can be done through all bank branches, with a limit of  20,000 at a time to minimize inconvenience.

2000 banknotes can be done through all bank branches, with a limit of 20,000 at a time to minimize inconvenience. Business Correspondents (BCs) may also exchange  2000 banknotes up to a limit of  4000 per day for account holders. Banks may enhance the cash holding limits of BCs at their discretion.

2000 banknotes up to a limit of 4000 per day for account holders. Banks may enhance the cash holding limits of BCs at their discretion. Banks are requested to make special arrangements to reduce inconvenience for senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and women seeking to exchange/deposit  2000 banknotes.

2000 banknotes. Mobile vans may be considered for providing deposit/exchange facilities in remote or unbanked areas.

Replenishment of Stock of Other Denominations for Exchange:

Branches and CCs should estimate their cash requirements and obtain banknotes of other denominations from linked or nearby currency chests or the RBI well in advance.

CC holding branches should support linked or non-linked branches in accepting  2000 banknotes and distributing banknotes of other denominations. In case of difficulties in obtaining cash, banks may contact the concerned Issue Office of RBI.

Dissemination of Information:

The  2000 banknotes will continue to be legal tender.

2000 banknotes will continue to be legal tender. A document containing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) has been prepared and should be provided to staff manning the exchange counters and displayed in banking halls, ATM kiosks, etc.

A separate press release informing the public about the exercise and soliciting their cooperation will be issued. Banks are requested to display a copy of the press release in banking halls, ATM kiosks, etc.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Clarifying the possible confusion regarding the status of the 2000 banknotes, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has confirmed that the high-denomination notes will maintain their legal tender status even after September 30, 2023. According to the RBI's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), the public can continue to use 2000 banknotes for normal transactions. Individuals can accept them as payment or utilize them for their own transactions without any restrictions. In January 2014, the RBI announced withdrawal from circulation all bank notes issued prior to 2005.(Reuters / File)

However, the RBI encourages the public to deposit and/or exchange their 2000 banknotes on or before September 30, 2023.

 2000 currency note will remain legal tender after 30th September too. RBI expects that 4 month time is enough for people to exchange notes with the banks. Most of the 2000 notes that are in circulation will return to banks within the given time frame of 30th September. This is a routine exercise of RBI and people need not panic, ANI quoted people familiar with the matter.

To facilitate the process, the central bank has advised the public to approach their respective bank branches after May 23, 2023, for depositing and/or exchanging the 2000 denomination banknotes they hold. The facility for depositing into accounts and exchanging for 2000 banknotes will be available at all banks until September 30, 2023.

Additionally, the exchange facility will be extended to the 19 Regional Offices (ROs) of the RBI having Issue Departments until the same deadline.

While the RBI did not specify a limit for depositing the 2,000 currency notes in bank accounts, exchange of a maximum of 20,000 (10 notes of 2,000) for other currency notes will be allowed at a time.

The move comes amid concerns about the highest denomination notes being used to hoard black money.

The 2,000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016, primarily to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of the legal tender status of all 500 and 1,000 banknotes in circulation at that time. The RBI had stopped printing 2,000 notes in 2018-19 and the notes were rarely in circulation.

The RBI said it has also been observed that the 2,000 denomination note is not commonly used for transactions. Further, the stock of banknotes in other denominations continues to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public, it added.

"In view of the above, and in pursuance of the 'Clean Note Policy' of the Reserve Bank of India, it has been decided to withdraw the 2,000 denomination bank notes from circulation," the RBI said.

(With PTI inputs)

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday announced its decision to withdraw the 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation as part of its Clean Note Policy. The 2000 banknotes were introduced in November 2016 to meet the urgent currency requirements of the economy after the withdrawal of the legal tender status of 500 and 1000 banknotes. However, since banknotes in other denominations became readily available, the objective of introducing the 2000 banknotes has been fulfilled, leading to the discontinuation of their printing in 2018-19, according to the RBI. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das.(Reuters/ File)

Approximately 89% of the 2000 banknotes were issued before March 2017 and are nearing the end of their estimated lifespan of 4-5 years. The total value of these banknotes in circulation has significantly declined from its peak of 6.73 lakh crore as of March 31, 2018 (37.3% of Notes in Circulation) to 3.62 lakh crore, constituting only 10.8% of Notes in Circulation as of March 31, 2023. Additionally, it has been observed that this denomination is not commonly used for transactions, while the stock of banknotes in other denominations remains sufficient to meet the currency requirements of the public.

Given these factors, the RBI has decided to withdraw the 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation while reiterating that they will continue to be legal tender.

This withdrawal follows a similar measure undertaken by the RBI in 2013-2014.

 2000 currency note will remain legal tender after 30th September too. RBI expects that 4 month time is enough for people to exchange notes with the banks. Most of the 2000 notes that are in circulation will return to banks within the given time frame of 30th September. This is a routine exercise of RBI and people need not panic, ANI quoted people familiar with the matter.

How to exchange or deposit your  2000 notes

Individuals can deposit 2000 banknotes into their bank accounts or exchange them for banknotes of other denominations at any bank branch. Deposits can be made without restrictions and subject to existing instructions and applicable statutory provisions. Furthermore, individuals will have the option to exchange 2000 banknotes for other denominations up to a limit of 20,000 at a time at any bank, starting from May 23, 2023.

The facility for exchanging 2000 banknotes into other denominations will be available until September 30, 2023, at all banks. Additionally, from May 23, 2023, individuals can also avail themselves of the exchange facility at the 19 Regional Offices of the RBI having Issue Departments.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Karnataka chief minister-designate Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar arrived in the national capital on Friday to discuss the modalities of the cabinet formation with the party's high command. The duo is also expected to formally invite the top brass for the swearing-in ceremony. Senior Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar at the residence of party leader KC Venugopal for a meeting, in New Delhi, Thursday, May 18, 2023. (PTI)

The Congress on Thursday confirmed Siddaramaiah's name as the next chief minister of Karnataka and declared DK Shivakumar as his sole deputy in the government. During the official announcement in New Delhi, when pushed on a possible power-sharing formula, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said: Power sharing means sharing power with the people of Karnataka that is all.

Even as there was no clarity on the power-sharing formula devised for the two leaders, intense lobbying started for the council of ministers as soon as they returned to Bengaluru.

The reason for the intense lobbying was the announcement by Congress general secretary KC Venugopal that some ministers will also take oath on May 20.

Pointing at the support given by Lingayat, BJP's traditional vote bank, Dalits and Muslims in the Congress victory, a senior party leader told HT that the focus would be on providing adequate representation to all regions and taking special care of the communities which have supported the party in a big way.

Leaders of several like-minded opposition parties are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday in Bengaluru. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has extended the invitation to several chief ministers and party leaders for what is seen as an opportunity to showcase the opposition's unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Kharge has invited Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

According to a PTI report, the conspicuous omissions include Telangana chief minister and BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao, Odisha CM and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik, Andhra Pradesh CM and YSRCP leader Y S Jagan Mohan and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. BSP chief Mayawati has also not received the invitation.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
For the second consecutive time in the last four days, YSR Congress party MP Y S Avinash Reddy skipped the CBI interrogation in connection with the murder of his uncle and former Andhra Pradesh minister Y S Vivekananda Reddy. YSR Congress party MP Avinash Reddy, who evaded questioning by the CBI on Tuesday, refused to turn up before the \agency on Friday on the pretext that his mother had suddenly fallen sick in his home town of Pulivendula. (PTI)

Avinash Reddy, who evaded questioning by the CBI in Hyderabad on Tuesday on the grounds that he had prior engagements in his constituency, refused to turn up before the investigation agency on Friday on the pretext that his mother had suddenly fallen sick in his home town of Pulivendula.

A high drama prevailed at the residence of Avinash Reddy in Hyderabad when he left his residence at around 10.45. Instead of heading towards the CBI office in Koti, his vehicle hit the national highway 44 and proceeded towards Kadapa.

The MPs supporters, who followed his vehicle, beat up media persons who tried to track his movements. A vernacular television channel reporter sustained injuries and his vehicle was damaged in the attack.

His lawyers gave the information to the CBI and sought some more time for him to appear before the investigating officer. But the CBI authorities did not oblige the request and started following the vehicle of Avinash.

However, after reaching Kurnool on the national highway, the CBI authorities returned to Hyderabad, after coming to know that the MPs mother was admitted to a local hospital. They are expected to issue fresh summons to Avinash on Saturday.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain the MPs plea for an urgent hearing on his petition seeking a direction to the Telangana high court to grant him anticipatory bail.

The high court on April 28 refused to grant him immediate bail and adjourned the hearing to June 5. It also refused to pass an order restraining CBI from taking any harsh measure against him in the case.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
How does one find the hidden treasures, whether in travel, literature or art? That remains a key question. PREMIUM The story series Local Attractions presents little-known man-made marvels from across India, such as the rock-carved Nagdo Vetaal, guardian spirit of the village of Loliem in South Goa; and the 16th-century Badshahi Ashoorkhana house of mourning in Hyderabad. (Paper Planes)

There are publications that make this kind of discovery their mission. They exist to say Look at this, Read this, Go here instead. But they are, by their very nature, niche. Even the best of them (The Paris Review, The New York Review of Books, Atlas Obscura), are oft-cited, talked-about, but not widely read. This is where Paper Planes steps in. The website was launched in 2014, as a source of niche, independent magazines from around the world. Founder Nupur Joshi Thanks, 41, a former lawyer, sourced magazines such as The Paris Review (a quarterly literary magazine published in the US), Cabana (a bi-annual interiors and decorative arts magazine published in Italy) and Monocle (a global affairs and lifestyle magazine from New York), for subscribers. The company initially offered curation, sending subscribers surprise magazines based on their stated interests. Eventually, it turned into an e-store where readers could purchase individual issues or annual subscriptions to titles. Amid her curating, meanwhile, Joshi Thanks became intrigued by the idea of building a magazine of her own, that would focus on how design informs everyday life. Her target reader would be the non-designer and non-architect; anyone, like her, with an interest in the subject.

Winning has validated the direction we took with the publication, says Nupur Joshi Thanks, founder of Paper Planes. (Courtesy Paper Planes)

Earlier this month, Paper Planes the magazine won a Webby Peoples Voice Award, Indias first Webby in the Magazine category. The Webbys were launched in 1996 by the New York-based International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences to honour excellence on the internet, under scores of categories. Publications such as The New York Times, Washington Post and National Public Radio have won Webbys over the years.

Winning has validated the direction we took with the publication, Joshi Thanks says. We waited so long for the right opportunities to come our way. Now the publication is getting the recognition that we think it deserves. Paper Planes is free. It is sustained partly by revenue from the companys creative agency, which was launched in 2021. In its current form (the digital magazine was launched in 2018 and redesigned in December 2021), Paper Planes offers one hyper-focussed story a week, and one web-comic strip each month. The story series, Local Attractions, presents architectural wonders from across India, explained in articles that explore their history and cultural context, alongside photographs. Here, one may find stories on the origins of the terracotta horses strewn across the sacred groves of Bankura in West Bengal, the 19th-century blue-and-white azulejos (or hand-painted, glazed ceramic tiles) at the Central Library in Goa, or the colonial influence at temples in Mumbais Kamathipura (some have Indo-Saracenic arches reminiscent of the erstwhile Victoria Terminus). The comic series, Thinking Aloud, was envisioned as a way for us to introduce our readers to the work of visual artists from across India, by offering them a chance to tell a story, says editorial director Fabiola Monteiro, 29. It now features slice-of-life web comics on family life, the difficulties of adulting, and more serious issues such as post-partum body-shaming, by independent artists such as Dinesh Pasupathyrajan, Sabari Venu and Samidha Gunjal.

A panel from the Paper Planes web comic Thinking Aloud, this one by artist Lungshai Leisan. (Courtesy Paper Planes)

Many of these stories are incredibly personal, like the one about talking to a parent about being queer, or what it was like to graduate online during the pandemic, says Joshi Thanks. And since the idea is to introduce readers to new artists, weve tried to work with a new artist each time.

Writers are drawn from a wide and diversely qualified pool too, and include local municipal officials, students of architecture and design, conservation architects, type designers, photographers and filmmakers. The idea is for Local Attractions to double as a travel resource. Its when people are travelling that they notice design and architecture the most, says Joshi Thanks. Whether they are travelling to discover their own cities, or different cities, for business or pleasure, thats when people roll down their windows and look around. Whats next? Perhaps reviving the offline events held under the banner Oddly Enough. Every quarter we would get people from across different disciplines to talk about how design informs their world, says Joshi Thanks. All in all, I think we found a sweet spot to really create opportunities. While it will always be a challenge for media to survive, right now things are looking good.

Enjoy unlimited digital access with HT Premium Subscribe Now to continue reading Start 14 Days Free Trial Already Subscribed? Sign In

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Devouring a saas-bahu saga.For once the dynamic is full of realistic detail. Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo (Disney+ Hotstar) has a fiery league of bahus and widows, led by Dimple Kapadia. Varun Mitra and Ashish Verma are perfect as the hapless sons. Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo (Disney+ Hotstar) has a fiery league of bahus and widows, led by Dimple Kapadia.

Laughing at the warning signs. After a hot McNugget fell out of a bag and singed a toddler, a McDonalds in Florida was found liable for failing to provide reasonable instructions for its products. We need to tell diners that food is hot? After already mentioning that peanut packets contain nuts? Or reminding adults to Remove child before folding their stroller?

After a hot McNugget fell out of a bag and singed a toddler, a McDonalds in Florida was found liable for failing to provide reasonable instructions for its products.

Spotting towels in cool places. Towel Day is May 25. Douglas Adams fans worldwide will openly carry one to honour the author of The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. A towel, Adams says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. In sweaty May, we concur.

Douglas Adams fans worldwide will openly carry a towel to honour the author of The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy.

Following Succession live. Bernard Arnault, the worlds richest man, has been auditioning each of his four sons and one daughter over 90-minute lunches to decide who will succeed him as head of his luxury empire LVMH. Some $200 billion is at stake. Who said nepo babies had it easy?

Bernard Arnault, the worlds richest man, has been auditioning each of his four sons and one daughter to decide who will succeed him as head of his luxury empire LVMH.

Cancelling cancellations? Singapore is thinking about it. The country wants to straight-up ban cancel culture, because they say it is being misused and misdirected. If you think about it, cancelling cancel culture is akin to cutting off someones right to free speech. Cancel that.

From HT Brunch, May 20, 2023

Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch

Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch
Mental Health Awareness Month, observed from May 1 to May 31, serves as a vital platform to acknowledge and prioritize the fundamental significance of mental health and well-being in our daily lives. As we commemorate this month-long observance, it is essential to shine a spotlight on the unique mental health challenges faced by individuals, particularly the younger generation. In today's fast-paced digital era, the mental health landscape has significantly impacted Generation Z, or Gen Z, often referred to as the Digital Natives. Gen Z, born into a rapidly changing world of technology and social media, grapples with unprecedented pressures and complexities. (Unsplash)

Amidst the rapidly evolving landscape of technology and social media, Generation Z, born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s, finds themselves navigating a world filled with unique pressures and complexities. From increased academic stress to social media comparison, Gen Z faces a range of issues that takes a toll on their mental health and well-being. (Also read: Parenting tips: Navigating the link between mental health and behaviour in your teen )

According to a recent study by Ogilvy, 70% of Gen Z individuals believe their mental health requires significant attention and improvement. Additionally, the American Psychological Association highlights that Gen Z is more likely than any other demographic to report mental health concerns. This comes as no surprise, considering the traumatic events this generation has faced, from the COVID-19 pandemic to mass shootings.

Based on the Deloitte Indian GenZ Survey Report for 2022, approximately 35-40% of the corporate workforce in India belongs to the Gen Z demographic. Within this group, 49% of Indian Gen Z individuals and 43% of Indian Millennials experience consistent feelings of anxiety or stress. Furthermore, mental health disorders affect 14% of the population in India, with the country accounting for 15% of global mental health disorders. Disturbingly, these statistics reveal that 56 million individuals in India suffer from depression, while 38 million experience anxiety disorders.

Mental health issues faces by Gen Z and tips to help them:

"To aid Gen Z on their journey to mental health and healing, a comprehensive approach is necessary. This approach acknowledges their unique challenges and equips them with the necessary tools to cultivate resilience. It involves creating a safe and supportive environment that fosters open communication. Additionally, raising awareness and understanding of mental health through educational initiatives is essential. Providing access to resources like counselling services and helplines is crucial. Encouraging self-care practices and emphasizing the significance of seeking help when needed are also vital components of supporting Gen Z's mental health journey," says Nidhi Tiwari, clinical psychologist.

Diksha Singh, counselling psychologist at Lissun, shared with HT Lifestyle, some common mental health challenges faced by this generation and valuable tips to support them on their path to healing and resilience.

1. Anxiety and depression: Gen Z experiences high rates of anxiety and depression due to academic pressures, social media comparisons, economic uncertainty, and other stressors.

Encourage open conversations: Create a safe and non-judgmental space for Gen Z individuals to express their feelings and concerns.

Promote self-care: Encourage activities such as exercise, mindfulness, journaling, or engaging in hobbies to help manage anxiety and depression symptoms.

Seek professional help: Encourage them to reach out to mental health professionals who can provide therapy, counselling, or medication if needed.

2. Social media impact: Gen Z has grown up with social media, which can contribute to low self-esteem, cyberbullying, and constant comparison. Some tips to navigate social media in a healthier way are as follows:

Encourage digital detox: Encourage Gen Z individuals to take breaks from social media to reduce the negative impact on their mental health.

Promote positive use of social media: Encourage them to follow accounts that promote body positivity, mental health awareness, and personal growth.

Teach critical thinking: Help them develop a critical mindset to question the authenticity and accuracy of the content on social media platforms.

3. Loneliness and isolation: Despite being digitally connected; Gen Z often experiences feelings of loneliness and isolation. Here's how you can support them:

Encourage offline connections: Encourage them to participate in group activities, clubs, or events where they can meet like-minded peers and form meaningful relationships.

Foster supportive communities: Help them find online or offline communities centred around shared interests, hobbies, or support groups.

Teach empathy and kindness: Promote acts of kindness, inclusion, and empathy, both online and offline, to help combat feelings of loneliness.

4. Academic and career pressure: Gen Z faces immense pressure to excel academically and succeed in a competitive job market.

Set realistic expectations: Encourage them to set realistic goals and remind them that their worth is not solely defined by their academic or career achievements.

Promote work-life balance: Encourage them to prioritize self-care, leisure activities, and maintaining healthy boundaries between work or study and personal life.

Provide guidance: Offer guidance in exploring various career paths, internship opportunities, and options for further education to reduce stress and uncertainty.

"Remember, while these tips can be helpful, it's important to recognize that everyone's healing journey is unique. If mental health issues persist or worsen, it's crucial to seek professional help from a licensed mental health professional who can provide personalized guidance and support," concludes Diksha.
The Walt Disney Co. announced Thursday that it was scrapping plans to build a new campus in central Florida and relocate 2,000 employees from Southern California to work in digital technology, finance and product development. Disney scraps plans to build new campus in Florida from the giant Walt Disney World theme park resort (REUTERS/Octavio Jones/File Photo)

The decision follows a year of attacks from Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature because the company opposed a state law that bans classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades. Disney filed a First Amendment lawsuit against DeSantis and other officials last month.

Disney had planned to build the campus about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the giant Walt Disney World theme park resort, but Josh DAmaro, chairman of the parks, experiences and products division, said in a memo to employees that new leadership and changing business conditions prompted the company to abandon those plans.

I remain optimistic about the direction of our Walt Disney World business, DAmaro said. We have plans to invest $17 billion and create 13,000 jobs over the next ten years. I hope were able to do so.

Disney and DeSantis have been engaged in a tug-of-war for more than a year that has engulfed the GOP governor in criticism as he prepares to launch an expected presidential bid in the coming weeks.

DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern said the state had been unsure whether the new Disney campus would come to fruition since it was announced nearly two years ago.

Given the companys financial straits, falling market cap and declining stock price, it is unsurprising that they would restructure their business operations and cancel unsuccessful ventures, Redfern said.

Florida Sen. Joe Gruters, a former chairman of the state Republican Party, called Disney's decision a huge loss.

I hope we can put this conflict behind us and get back to a more normal working relationship with a company thats been one of our best business and tourism partners that weve had over the last 50 years, Gruters said. "Two thousand jobs and a billion dollars worth of investments into our state, I would say thats a serious blow. The market is much better at dealing with companies rather than heavy-handed government.

Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani, who represents the Orlando area in the Florida House, released a statement blaming the governor for the lost jobs.

Governor Ron DeSantis is a job killing moron who cares more about his own political ambitions and culture wars than Florida and our future," Eskamani said. "According to him, woke makes you go broke but this is another example of how its actually the complete opposite. DeSantis is not who you want for President  ever.

The feud started after Disney, in the face of significant pressure, publicly opposed the state concerning lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades that critics called Dont Say Gay.

As punishment, DeSantis took over Disney Worlds self-governing district through legislation passed by lawmakers and appointed a new board of supervisors. Before the new board came in, the company signed agreements with the old board stripping the new supervisors of design and construction authority.

In response, the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature passed legislation allowing the DeSantis-appointed board to repeal those agreements and made the theme park resorts monorail system subject to state inspection, when it previously had been done in-house.

Disney's suit against DeSantis alleges the governor waged a targeted campaign of government retaliation." It asks a federal judge to void the takeover of the theme park district, as well as the DeSantis oversight boards actions, on the grounds that they were violations of the companys free speech rights.

The creation of Disneys self-governing district by the Florida Legislature was instrumental in the companys decision in the 1960s to build near Orlando. Disney told the state at the time that it planned to build a futuristic city that would include a transit system and urban planning innovations, so the company needed autonomy. The futuristic city never materialised, however, and instead morphed into a second theme park that opened in 1982.
Anantara The Palm Dubai, a luxurious resort on one of the citys famous artificial tree-shaped islands, is close to being sold for 1.1 billion dirhams ($280 million), according to people familiar with the matter. The hotels owner, United Arab Emirates-based developer Seven Tides, is working with Grant Thornton LLP on the potential sale, the people said, asking not to be identified as the talks are private. (Also read: Disney scraps plans to build new campus in Florida from the giant Walt Disney World theme park resort) The Anantara resort boasts 400 meters (1,312 feet) of private beach overlooking the Arabian Sea and a series of waterways in between almost 300 rooms and villas.(Pixabay)

The Anantara resort boasts 400 meters (1,312 feet) of private beach overlooking the Arabian Sea and a series of waterways in between almost 300 rooms and villas. Discussions are ongoing and theres no certainty a deal will go ahead, the people said, who didnt identify the potential buyer.

Representatives for Seven Tides said no one was available to comment, while Grant Thornton declined to comment.

The talks come amid a tourism boom in Dubai that started as the city emerged as a safe haven during the pandemic and has since lured in scores of wealthy expatriates and tourists. Hotel occupancy rates in the emirate averaged about 83% in the year through March, while the average daily rate during the first quarter reached 783.8 dirhams ($213.45), according to real estate adviser CBRE Group Inc.

Beach properties performance improved very rapidly after the pandemic and thats driving considerable interest in the few hotels available to investors, Taimur Khan, CBREs head of research, said in an interview. This is an opportune time for asset owners to exit as valuations look attractive with the strongest market weve had in years.

Investors expect that Dubais visitor numbers could rise even further as they still havent returned to 2019 levels, he said.

There is very little supply coming into the market within the top segment, Khan said. Also few sites remain where a developer is able to build a beach front five-star hotel.
Tourists are coming in droves to Gulmarg in Baramulla district ahead of the G-20 summit in the valley, with the famous ski-resort witnessing more than 2.5 lakh visitors in the last two months alone. In the first four months of the year, Gulmarg has received 4,43,847 visitors - 4,218 foreigners, 72,426 locals, and 3,67,203 domestic. Tourist influx to Gulmarg surges ahead of G-20 meet in the Kashmir valley. (Pexels)

The town has gone under an elaborate sprucing up ahead of a three-day Tourism Working Group meeting of the G-20 countries scheduled to take place in the valley from May 22.

In March, 1,19,350 visitors - 1,04,121 domestic, 14,032 local, and 1,197 foreigners  visited Gulmarg. The numbers swelled up in April to 1,36,096, out of which 1,20,009 were domestic, 14,617 local, and 1,470 foreigners.

The April numbers are up from 95,989 in January.

The main attraction for the visitors is the Gulmarg Gondola  Asia's largest and highest, and the world's second-largest and second highest cable car project.

The cable car alone has witnessed almost four lakh visitors since the beginning of this year.

The official figures suggest 3,99,998 visitors have taken the Gondola ride from January 1, 2023 to May 17.

We had a huge rush of tourists last year and received unprecedented numbers. The Gulmarg Gondola touched 100 crore sales last year. This is good for the tourism industry, and the overall image of J-K, chief executive officer (CEO), Gulmarg Development Authority, Ghulam Jeelani Zargar, told PTI Video.

He said this year also, there is a huge rush of visitors.

Due to the G-20 event, a huge number of domestic tourists are arriving in Gulmarg. In fact, we will also be receiving foreign tourists because of the G-20 because a message will go across the world that Kashmir is very beautiful, and is not less in any way than any top or prestigious international destination, he said.

Gulmarg, famed for its breathtaking snow-capped mountains and glassy lakes, is a far cry from the dusty bustle of the plains, and finds a place on the holiday checklist of most Indians.

Gulmarg is a wonderful place. The road to the tourist resort is the best. We faced some problems at some other places, but not here. We want facilities to be at par everywhere, Prakash, a tourist from Maharashtra, said.

Another tourist, Jignesh Shah, said the resort was a great place and they faced no problems.

Feel very happy, I am enjoying it. Gulmarg is a great place, you can be here for 3-4 days. There is no problem, everyone should come here. Security personnel and local guides are helpful and you will face no problems, he said.

We feel very good here. The place and the weather is very good. This is a mini-Switzerland and people should keep it clean. We are proud of J-K, M S Chanal, a tourist from Karnataka, said.

Kashmir is the best place and the atmosphere at the resort is absolutely wonderful.

We are on a family trip and have been here for the last 3-4 days. The atmosphere is absolutely wonderful. We are enjoying ourselves. There is a tourist rush here. I think Kashmir is the best place for summer. Tourists should come here with their families. The people here are very good, the scenery is amazing. You will enjoy it here, Sunil Yadav, from Delhi, said.

While the main event will take place in Srinagar, the G-20 delegates are likely to visit the north Kashmir resort.
Karnataka is the second state after Himachal Pradesh, where the Congress has formed a government. The Himachal Pradesh playbook was also re-purposed in Karnataka where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was struggling with a strong anti-incumbency against its corrupt government. Karnatakas results should not be naively seen as a verdict in favour of the Congress but, more importantly, an anti-incumbency mandate against the BJP. Going into the elections in Karnataka, the Congress did not have an attractive and credible offering for the voters amid an ongoing crisis of leadership. (PTI)

Going into the elections in Karnataka, the Congress did not have an attractive and credible offering for the voters amid an ongoing crisis of leadership. From the voters perspective, it is not unusual for voters, including party loyalists, to vote against an unpopular and corrupt government, as happened in Karnataka. In such scenarios, the prime challenger, in this case, the Congress, benefits from such a situation of anti-incumbency. But just the anti-incumbency was not enough for the Congress to convince the voters to vote in its favour. This additional support came in the form of a Guarantee Card played by the Congress, which gave them the edge in the state. The manifesto made by the Congress makes for an impressive read at first glance. But it appears that the Congress, which is more than a century-old party ruling in several states, had to copy ideas from a decade-old party like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The five guarantees made by the Congress that resonated with Karnataka are 200 units of free electricity for every household, a promise of 2,000 a month to women, 10 kilos of food grain to BPL families, an unemployment allowance of Rs. 3,000 a month to graduates and free travel for women in state buses. If one were to track the journey of these promises, a simple online search would reveal that the Guarantee card politics that the Congress used in Karnataka and previously in Himachal Pradesh is taken from the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP playbook. However, while the Congress has reaped political benefits from copying public welfare ideas, it has not yet proved the mettle of its governance in any other state ruled by it.

For the Guarantee card to convert into reality, it takes an honest governance model, which cuts down corruption to save money for public welfare schemes. This is the crucial test that Congress fails to clear in every state it rules. On the other hand, the AAP has not only created a model of welfare-centric politics but, going against the tradition of false promises made by political parties, has delivered on the promises in record time while also improving on the revenue front of state budgets. Electoral promises must also come with a guarantee to deliver, which the Congress, unlike the AAP, is incapable of.

Unfortunately for the people of Karnataka, the Congress does not have an excellent record regarding corruption-free governance. Before the AAP, the Congress ruled Punjab and left a legacy of institutionalised corruption. In Rajasthan, a senior Congress leader is out on the streets, protesting against the partys allegedly soft stand on corruption. Also, people have not yet forgotten the horrors of UPA-era corruption scandals. Since corruption is at the core of the legacy that Congress brings, it would be safe to assume that, like other Congress-ruled states, the promises made to the people of Karnataka wont be fulfilled anytime soon.

Electing the Congress also comes with the risk of Congress MLAs defecting to join the BJP, as in Karnataka in 2019. Falling short of a majority in the last assembly elections in 2018, the BJP could only form its government in 2019 with the support of rebel MLAs.

The Congress, which less than a decade ago would ridicule the idea of providing free electricity as a basic need, is now being opportunistic for the sake of power. Still, it must remember that Indian voters are becoming unforgiving. Borrowing from manifestos of other parties, combined with an anti-incumbency wave might help win a few elections, but this dishonest path will end sooner than later.

In conclusion, the Karnataka results should be analysed in a new light. The welfare-centric model of AAP now has more demand across India, which only reflects the aspirations of the people of India. Voters are now demanding more accountability from their governments. Voters across India have acknowledged Kejriwals ingenuity on the governance front as they raise the demand for policies matching Delhi and Punjab. It would be well-advised for traditional parties to change their course of politics of corruption and dishonesty as the Indian voters evolve to choose a credible alternative with a successful track record of implementation of welfare policies.

Reena Gupta is national spokesperson of the Aam Aadmi Party

The views expressed are personal
As the big question on Karnataka's next chief minister was resolved on Thursday -- Siddaramaiah will head the state, DK Shivakumar will be his deputy and remain state party chief till the Lok Sabha polls next year it now remains to be seen what the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will do. PREMIUM The Congress with 135 MLAs in a house of 224 is on a stronger footing than the BJP, which only won 66 seats. (File)

The BJP, after sending congratulatory messages, fell silent. A senior leader hinted about 'Plan B', which many interpreted as using disenchanted MLAs to destabilise the government. Former Karnataka revenue minister R Ashoka had told the press much before counting day that the BJP had a "Plan B" in case the party failed to secure a majority.

It would be difficult to achieve this, and a vertical split in the party alone (along the lines of what happened in Maharashtra) can pave the way for the formation of any alternative government. The Congress with 135 MLAs in a house of 224 is on a stronger footing than the BJP, which only won 66 seats. Even the Janata Dal (Secular), which hoped to play kingmaker, only won 19 seats.

Shivakumar, who did not relinquish his claim to the CM's chair till late Wednesday, had already made a public statement days earlier, in which he spoke about his sacrifice for the party and the fact that he would never backstab his leaders --- a comment that ruled out any possibility of a rebellion. On Thursday, Siddaramaiah then tweeted about the party being "united" in guaranteeing people's welfare.

The Congress high command has confronted this challenge in other states with strong local leadership: The ongoing tussle for supremacy in Rajasthan is one example. The Congress has powerful leaders, Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan. Often, people describe it as a generational crisis in the grand old party.

Gone are the days when the party high command replaced chief ministers at the drop of a hat and no leader worth his salt had the guts to rebel.

There are dozens of such instances but the one I have been a witness to happened in 1988. The Congress had won the 1985 assembly election under the leadership of Narayan Dutt Tiwari. He became chief minister on March 11, 1985 and, after a few months, in September 1985, the party high command decided to replace him with Vir Bahadur Singh. The musical chairs ended in June 1988, when the party high command decided to replace Vir Bahadur Singh with N D Tiwari. The MLAs met late night in the Vidhan Bhavan and elected Tiwari in absentia as he was travelling abroad.

Till 1989, Uttar Pradesh (UP) had strong leaders, though the state was remote controlled by Delhi. Today, there is a complete vacuum of state-level leadership .The established ones have either grown old or have been sidelined, while the new ones were never groomed. As a result, the Congress has been out of power for over three decades in UP. In the last assembly election, the party won barely 2% votes.

This is an important learning for the Congress especially in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar that cumulatively account for 120 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats in the country. The story of another big state Maharashtra with 48 Lok Sabha seats in western India is no different.

The recent Karnataka elections has shown that a strong local leadership with mass appeal and organisational skills is the need of the hour in the three states.

What's more, the BJP has built a strong organisation from the block to district level with a galaxy of leaders of different statures. Thus, while the cadre develops the base, the local leadership solidifies it and the party high command converts it into vaults.

Unfortunately, the crisis that the Congress faces in states like UP and Bihar is that their cadres have deserted the party and moved to greener pastures and there was no local leadership to hold them back.

Till the late 1980s, when the decline of the Congress started in Uttar Pradesh, the party had some popular leaders, if not mass leaders  Kamlapati Tripathi, Narayan Dutt Tiwari, Vir Bahadur Singh and Vishwanath Pratap Singh, who later turned into a famous rebel and formed the government at the Centre.

Today, barring Pramod Tiwari and his daughter Aradhana Mishra, there are hardly any names in the Congress that one can easily recall. One of the main reasons is that the majority of them are inactive or feel dumped.

The present party president Brij Lal Khabri (62) is adopted from the Bahujan Samaj Party and is labelled as an organisation man. He was the BSP MP from Jalaun in 1999 and, thereafter, the Rajya Sabha member from 2008-2014. He is also Dalit, a caste that was loyal to the Congress party before shifting allegiance to the BSP in the 1990s. Khabri is not a mass leader and perhaps few even know him as state Congress president. There is a big question mark over whether he can win his own seat.

Khabri succeeded the energetic but little-known Ajay Kumar Lallu, who won the assembly elections in 2012 and 2017. He was from an Other Backward Class (OBC) community, and during his stint as state chief from 2019-22, he was sent to jail several times for staging dharnas (sit-ins) and demonstrations. Still, he could never emerge as a leader to reckon with.

The scenario is no better in Bihar. The present state Congress president Akhilesh Singh is known more for his skills of manipulation  he was a member of G23 (a group in the Congress that raised the banner of revolt against the leadership) but is still close to the Gandhi family. He was preceded by Madan Mohan Jha, who according to at least one analyst, was also inept at winning.

As for Akhilesh Singh, the expert who wished to remain unnamed, said, He is still a known name, if not a mass leader, and can end second on his seat in the Lok Sabha elections.

The Gandhi family has been largely dependent on the Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituencies from where it has contested several elections.

Politics has also changed from a time when it was not polarising. That the family charisma failed to cut through the communal polarisation is clear from the fact that even Rahul Gandhi lost from the familys stronghold of Amethi in 2019. He has literally relinquished the state, leaving it to his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the general secretary of the All India Congress Committee in charge of Uttar Pradesh, to lead. She did launch spirited campaigns like Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti Hoon but failed to enhance the vote share, which dipped to about 2% in the 2022 assembly polls.

And this explains the price that the party has to pay for the absence of a local leadership. After every successful rally of the Gandhis in the state, people sceptically question the partys ability to convert crowds into votes. The Gandhi siblings don't possess the same aura as their grandmother, Indira Gandhi, to win states across India.

In Karnataka, the Gandhis extensively campaigned against the BJPs mascot Narendra Modi and won the state only because they had an active cadre and a capable local leadership.

Though the Congress decision to include a ban on the Bajrang Dal after coming to power raised some eyebrows, the BJP high command also blundered by equating Bajrang Dalis with Bajrang Bali, who is worshipped in Indian homes.

Bajrang Dal, a youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad was formed in 1980. Besides its commitment to building Ram, Shiva and Krishna temples in Ayodhya , Kashi and Mathura respectively, the Bajrang Dal was also opposed to religious conversions and cow slaughter.

Having played its role in the Ayodhya temple movement, the Bajrang Dal has been active in Karnataka, allegedly spearheading attacks on churches and prayer halls.

The Karnataka win has created an unprecedented hype in the Congress party even in Uttar Pradesh. It has also raised the hopes of the party leaders. The state elections will be due in 2027 only. Experts say its time to develop a mass leader in the state as Gandhis trips will remain sporadic.

From her perch in Lucknow, HTs resident editor Sunita Aron highlights important issues related to the elections in Uttar Pradesh

The views expressed are personal
Naatu Naatu craze is yet to die down, and the different videos related to the song that are regularly posted online perfectly prove that. One such video was shared a few days ago and it has impressed people. The video shows members of K-Pop boy band Blitzers learning the dancing routine of the song. The image shows members of K-Pop band Blitzers dancing to Naatu Naatu.(Instagram/@hello82official)

The video was posted on the official Instagram page of hello82, a K-pop related platform. "K-Pop boy group does the 'Naatu Naatu' dance," they wrote as they posted the video. The clip opens to show two members of the band practising the hooksteps that Ram Charan and Jr NTR originally performed. As the clip progresses, the K-Pop band members are seen dancing to the Oscar-winning song Naatu Naatu.

Take a look at the video:

The video was posted five days ago. Since being shared, the clip has accumulated more than seven lakh views and the numbers are only increasing. Additionally, the share has gathered close to one lakh likes. The post has received several comments from people. Many Indians took to the comments section to share their happiness about the video.

Here's how Instagram users reacted:

"As an Indian we obviously feel proud and damnnn happyyy," commented an Instagram user. "First they came to Pakistan to film a music video and are now dancing to Indian songs, Blitzers are officially our desi boys, I'm claiming them for us south Asians the rest of y'all can back off," joined another. "The end is so cute," added a third. "OMG, as an Indian K-Pop stan, I love this," wrote a fourth.
Even by the violent standards of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the night of February 26th was unprecedented. Hundreds of Israeli settlers rampaged through Hawara, a Palestinian town of 7,000 south of Nablus in the West Bank. They were enraged by the shooting dead of two brothers in Hawara earlier that day. For hours they set fire to houses and cars. One Palestinian was killed by gunfire (whose is unclear). For the most part the Israeli army stood by and watched. They did fire tear-gas at Palestinians who were trying to come and help, said one Palestinian, surveying the blackened front of his home. PREMIUM The Israelis and Palestinians are finding the group hard to handle because of its disparate and dynamic nature. (AFP/Representative Image)

The gunman, so far unidentified, who killed the settlers is thought to have links to Lions Den, a new armed Palestinian group based in Nablus. It emerged in the aftermath of Israeli raids around the city last year, notably one in which Israeli forces killed Ibrahim Nabulsi, an 18-year-old who had led a then-unnamed group in a series of drive-by shootings at Israeli targets. Lions Den has since claimed dozens of attacks in the West Bank, including the killing of an Israeli soldier in October. Support for it is growing. Posters of members killed by Israel plaster the market in Nablus. West Bank shops sell pendants adorned with Nabulsis face. The group stands for a new kind of Palestinian militancy.

Unlike other militias, the group claims no link to any Palestinian party. It has emerged amid dissatisfaction with the Palestinian Authority (pa), which calls for non-violent resistance in the face of increasingly deadly Israeli raids, and infighting between Palestinian factions. The group resists the elaborate agendas of Hamas and Fatah, says Mazen Dunbuq, an ex-leader of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a nationalist radical group attached to Fatah. Their only aim is to resist the occupation.

The Israelis and Palestinians are finding the group hard to handle because of its disparate and dynamic nature. There is no leadership to negotiate with; deals cut with some members may not work for others. Its unlikely the Palestinian Authority will conduct any operations against them, argues Mr Dunbuq. They are the voice of the Palestinian street and the voice of the people. You cant go against this stream.

Lions Den is feeding off the leadership vacuum in the pa, says Tahani Mustafa, an analyst in the West Bank for the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think-tank. Fatah has become so inclusive it stands for everything and nothing. Established groups with little local support have lost control, she says. But when Lions Den calls for action, people respond.

Outsiders are increasingly worried by the rising violence. During the attacks in Hawara, Israeli and Palestinian security delegations were meeting in Jordan, together with American and Egyptian officials, to try to lower tension before Ramadan, which begins later this month.

Under pressure from Israel and America, the pa is trying to tame Lions Den. It has offered it salaries in exchange for surrendering its weapons. Members wanted by Israel would be offered protective custody in Palestinian jails. A few have agreed. But others have continued to fight.

More Israeli raids on the group look inevitable. But this will stoke radical sentiment, argues Ms Mustafa, not dampen it. And the new government of Binyamin Netanyahu, which relies on far-right and ultrareligious voters, is adding fuel to the fire. Mr Netanyahu did not condemn the settlers violence; he simply told them not to take the law into their own hands.

Besides, Mr Netanyahus coalition includes those who openly side with the arsonists. A parliamentary member of Jewish Power, the party led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national-security minister, was on the scene at Hawara. Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, said the town should be wiped out. The next day the party boycotted a session in the Knesset, Israels parliament, instead going to an illegal settler outpost that the army was trying to evacuate, and called for tougher measures against the Palestinians. Mr Netanyahu must get serious, said one party member, if he doesnt want to see more events like Hawara. If and how the prime minister will manage such threats is unclear.

 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
This weekend's Group of Seven leading industrial nations summit in Hiroshima provides a rare  and possibly final  chance for survivors of the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to push for nuclear disarmament before a global audience. Sueichi Kido, survivor of A-bombing in Nagasaki, and Secretary General of Nihon Hidankyo (Japan Confederation of A-and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations) speaks during an online interview in Hiroshima, western Japan.(AP)

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has roots in Hiroshima, chose the city in part to highlight their nuclear nonproliferation efforts, which have been shaken by Russia's nuclear threats against Ukraine and rising aggression from nuclear-armed China and North Korea.

He greeted leaders from the G7 on Friday at the city's Peace Memorial Park and escorted them to pay respects to those who died from the attack after seeing exhibits at a museum dedicated to them, and met with a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing.

On Sunday, Kishida will also do the same for leaders from guest nations.

Kishida has pledged to act as a bridge between nuclear and non-nuclear states, but some critics say his disarmament goals are hollow.

Japan relies on the United States nuclear umbrella for protection and has been rapidly expanding its military.

(Clockwise L to R) US President Joe Biden, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, France's President Emmanuel Macron and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend a working lunch meeting at the start of the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima on May 19, 2023. (Photo by JAPAN POOL / JIJI PRESS / AFP) / Japan OUT(AFP)

Sueichi Kido, a 83-year-old hibakusha or survivor of the Nagasaki explosion, says he is skeptical about whether the prime minister can convince G7 leaders  including nuclear states the US, the United Kingdom and France  to make real disarmament progress.

But because they are meeting in Hiroshima I do have a sliver of hope that they will have positive talks and make a tiny step toward nuclear disarmament, Kido said.

The United States dropped the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people.

It dropped a second bomb three days later on Nagasaki, killing another 70,000. Japan surrendered on August 15, ending World War II.

Kido hoped the leaders would spend more time than former US President Barack Obama in his rushed 2016 visit through the museum exhibits that include the mangled buildings and bodies in the aftermath of the attack.

Obama's trip to Hiroshima was the first by a serving US leader.

I earnestly want the leaders to have a firm understanding of what the atomic bombs did to human beings, Kido said.

Many people think of the mushroom clouds, but they often don't know what happened to the people under them."

Kishida has been criticised by survivors for his plans to double Japan's defense budget in the next five years.

He is looking to fund a military buildup that will strengthen strike capabilities meant to deter China's rising threat.

Japan wants to deepen three-way ties with the United States and South Korea to step up nuclear deterrence. But it also refuses to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, despite atomic bomb survivors' repeated requests to do so.

Kishida says the nuclear weapons ban treaty, which took effect in 2021, is unworkable because it lacks nuclear state membership.

Instead, he said, Japan needs to take a realistic approach to bridging the gap between nuclear and non-nuclear states in a challenging world.

As a child, Kishida heard about the horrors of the atomic bombing from his grandmother.

She was from Hiroshima and her stories left an indelible mark, inspiring him to work toward a world without nuclear weapons, said Noriyuki Shikata, Cabinet secretary for public affairs.

He said Kishida becoming a politician representing the people of Hiroshima has reinforced that determination.

A path to a world without nuclear weapons has become even more difficult," Kishida told selected foreign media, including The Associated Press, in April.

(L-R) European Council President Charles Michel, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pose for a group photo after laying flower wreaths at the Cenotaph for Atomic Bomb Victims in the Peace Memorial Park as part of the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima on May 19, 2023.(AFP)

"But that's why we need to keep raising the flag of our ideal and regain a new momentum.

An estimated 12,705 nuclear warheads are in inventory as of 2022, most of them held by the United States and Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

During the G7 summit, Kishida will seek support from nuclear states for his Hiroshima Action Plan, which calls for the continuation of the non-use of nuclear weapons, transparency and a nuclear stockpile reduction.

Kido, the Nagasaki survivor, was 5 when he saw a flash in the sky and was buffeted by the blast on the morning of August 9, 1945.

He had burns on his cheek, but was reunited with his family at a shelter. When he went outside the next day, charred bodies were everywhere and people were walking about and begging for water with their flesh dangling.

Everything turned black, he said. The town was entirely wiped out.

Kido is among a shrinking population who can tell firsthand stories about the bombings.

We won't be around much longer. Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will be gone, he said. We all share a strong determination that we should never let anyone else become hibakusha and feel this pain.

And the surest way to do it is to make a world without nuclear weapons, to abolish atomic weapons, and not wage war, because nuclear weapons won't be used if there is no war.

Many survivors have lived for decades with lingering sadness, anger, fear and shame in Japan, where hibakusha and their children were discriminated against because people believed radiation sickness was infectious or hereditary.

After decades of silence, some survivors began to speak out with desperate hope that younger generations will carry on their unfinished work.

It took Kido more than 40 years to join the anti-nuclear weapons movement in Gifu, where he taught history at a local university and learned that there was no organization to help survivors in the prefecture.

Support from young people was the main driving force behind getting the nuclear weapons ban treaty that led to the International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017, said Setsuko Thurlow, a Hiroshima atomic bombing survivor and activist based in Canada.

For many years, atomic bombing survivors have raised the torch of achieving peace by denuclearisation. We need younger and stronger hands who can succeed the torch and raise it even higher so its light can be seen from around the world, said Thurlow, who was exposed to the atomic bombing only 1.8 kilometres (1.1 miles) from ground zero in Hiroshima.
In RECENT YEARS Britain has been hit by one health crisis after another. First came the covid-19 pandemicthen backlogs in health and social care that the coronavirus exacerbated, and a long winter of strikes and overwhelmed emergency departments. But in the background, long before the pandemic hit, an even more disturbing story has been unfolding. Britain has endured a grim decade during which perhaps a quarter of a million people died younger than expected . PREMIUM Britain has endured a grim decade during which perhaps a quarter of a million people died younger than expected. (Reuters/Representative Image)

By our calculations, that is the number of extra deaths Britain has suffered, compared with similar countries such as France and Denmark. The reason is that, in the early 2010s, life expectancy stalled in Britain compared with long-run trends and other countries. This slowdown in life expectancy struck all age groups, not just the elderly. And it disproportionately affected the poor. If you travel just 10km (six miles) from the poshest part of Kensington in London to New Cross Gate, life expectancy for men falls by a staggering 18 years, from 92 to 74. The burden these deaths place on the living is not just weighed in grief. When more people are dying and life expectancy is stagnating, a greater number of people are also living in ill health.

Life expectancy in Britain, as in almost all other rich countries, had been rising for nearly two centuries. But something went wrong in the early 2010s. Life expectancy at birth today, at 81, is just eight weeks longer than it was in 2011. In a best-case scenario, in which the pace of improvement between 1980 and 2011 had been sustained, life expectancy today would have been over 83. By The Economists calculations, that is no minor difference: it implies that between 2012 and 2022 approximately 700,000 Britons died sooner than they might have.

Two features make this figure even more worrying. Death comes mostly when people are old. But the slowdown in life expectancy has occurred across all age groups. Mortality rates have stalled for infants, and risen among young adults and the middle-aged. Death rates for 30- to 49-year-olds have steadily increased in Britain since around 2012, in sharp contrast with neighbouring countries.

Although the deaths have been spread across generations, they have not been spread across the income spectrum. Life expectancy has fallen among the poorest in society but risen for the richest. A poor English girl could on average expect to live 6.8 years less than a rich girl in 2011, but 7.7 less in 2017. For boys, the gap increased from 9.1 to 9.5 years over the same period.

The combined effect of the pandemic and global demographic trends can explain only some of Britains missing multitude. Though other rich countries have also experienced slowdowns, Britain has done the worst out of a cohort of its European peers. After stripping out the effects attributable to covid and the broad European slowdown from the toll of 700,000, you are still left with those 250,000 unexplained deaths.

Working out what has gone wrong is not easy. In America, where life expectancy has fallen even more sharply in recent years, deaths of despair from drugs, alcohol and suicide have done the most harm. The same is true for Scotland, where drug deaths have more than doubled in a decade; Dundee is now the drug-death capital of Europe. Yet although a similar problem may be brewing in England and Wales, the rate of drug deaths is nearly four times higher in Scotland.

The recent struggles of the National Health Service (NHS) have played their part. Hospital waits of record lengths and a crisis in primary care jeopardise timely treatment. But delays in medical care cannot explain all the extra deaths, especially before the pandemic. Besides, the greatest improvements in life expectancy come not from treatment but from better diagnosis and prevention, and wider prosperity. This is where Britain appears to have fallen short. It could do much better in all three.

First, diagnosis. Poorer Britons are 20% more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at a later stage, when the disease is more complex and expensive to treat. Having more NHS diagnostic centres would help, as well as cutting the pandemic-related backlog. Prescribing more statins for those at risk of heart attack or stroke would be good, too. Both treatments are cheap and cost-effective, and are recommended. But with around one in 11 NHS posts vacant, it will be tricky to find enough radiologists and general practitioners to make a difference.

Next, prevention. Individuals bear responsibility for their own decisions but public-health interventions, from vaccines to anti-smoking and weight-loss programmes, can improve things. They also provide good value for money. One study found that it cost nearly four times as much to gain an extra year of good health via clinical interventions than through public-health programmes. Yet funding for the public-health grant, which is allocated to local authorities by central government and amounts to a mere 2% of the NHS budget, has been cut in real terms in recent years.

Ultimately the greatest improvements will come from raising the living standards of the poor. Their lower life expectancy has many causes, from less money to spend on home insulation or nutritious food, to the stress of financial insecurity. One useful long-term thing the government can do is help improve the countrys dreadful record on productivity by liberalising planning and devolving fiscal powers to local authorities.

Life after life

The government should also recognise the role that deprivation plays in health. Reweighting funding formulas to benefit general practitioners in the poorest areas would be a good idea. They care for 10% more patients than practices in the richest areas, but receive 7% less cash. And as Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor of the exchequer, prepares his budget for March 15th, he should recognise how spending cuts show up in other areas. The data show that life expectancy was worst affected in the places with the largest relative declines in housing services and adult social-care spending between 2009 and 2019.

In its covid response, Britain went to extraordinary lengths to prevent its citizens from suffering an early death. The pandemic may be over, but that job is nowhere near complete.

For subscribers only: to see how we design each weeks cover, sign up to our weekly Cover Story newsletter.

 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
A devastating car crash in western Oregon, United States has claimed the lives of seven individuals and caused injuries to several others, according to local authorities. Oregon State Police troopers and firefighters assist in recovering a crash site on Thursday, May 18, 2023, along Interstate 5 in Albany, Ore. (Alex Powers/Albany Democrat-Herald via AP)

The Oregon State Police received reports of the collision of two semi-trucks and a passenger vehicle on Interstate 5 at approximately 2:05 p.m.

The tragic incident occurred in the northbound lanes of the highway.

While the OSP have confirmed the unfortunate loss of seven adults, they have not provided specific details regarding the number of injured involved in the crash.

The crash took place approximately 7 miles north of Albany, near the Santiam rest area. Albany is located around 70 miles south of Portland and 30 miles south of Salem, the capital of Oregon.

Eyewitnesses elaborated on a harrowing scene at the crash site. According to reports from the Albany Democrat-Herald, bodies covered in plastic were visible in a nearby field as the Marion County medical examiner worked diligently to process the scene. Emergency responders, including a Life Flight helicopter, were also present to assist in the recovery efforts.

To ensure privacy and preserve the dignity of the victims, authorities placed a blue tarp over the wrecked van and erected barriers to prevent onlookers from observing the scene.

Adrian Gonzalez, an eyewitness at the crash site, shared his account with the Statesman Journal.

Gonzalez stated that the passenger van appeared to have been severely crushed between the two semi-trucks. "Judging by the damage, it looked like the van was sandwiched," he said. Gonzalez also mentioned that two Life Flight helicopters were deployed to transport victims from the scene.

Emergency medical personnel immediately rushed to the scene to take care of the injured individuals at the crash site, according to eyewitness statements to the newspaper.

As a result of the severe crash and subsequent investigation, the Northbound lanes of Interstate 5 were temporarily closed, and traffic was redirected to alternative routes.

ALSO READ| | Untimely deaths of two Indian students non-criminal in nature: Canada police

OSP continues to work diligently to determine the cause of the crash, conducting a thorough investigation into the tragic incident.

The car crash in western Oregon has left the community devastated, with the loss of seven lives and multiple individuals affected by injuries. The ongoing police investigation will hopefully provide answers and insights into what led to this tragic event.
A sweet moment between Britain's monarch King Charles and former Manchester United star was seen as the latter offered him a jar of his own harvested honey at the British Fashion Council Foundation Impact Day 2023. The former England captain- whose honey is called 'DBee'z Sticky Stuff' - held out the jar to the monarch. The newly crowned monarch appeared delighted with the gesture. The David Beckham meets King Charles.

King Charles' interaction with David Beckham comes just a few weeks after the 48-year-old was trolled on social media of "begging for knighthood" as he shared a post following the monarch's coronation.

David Beckham's post, included some royal pictures, with the caption, Today our country comes together to celebrate the coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla. David and his wife Victoria Beckham missed the coronation event.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A U.S. court found that the FBI improperly searched for information in a U.S. database of foreign intelligence 278,000 times over several years, including on Americans suspected of crimes, according to a ruling released on Friday. An FBI agent(AFP)

The decision by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court was released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

The searches occurred in the course of U.S. crime investigations including the Jan. 6 Capitol riots and protests after the 2020 killing of George Floyd, the court said.

The intelligence database stores digital and other information on individuals. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows the FBI to search without a warrant communications of foreigners abroad including their conversations with Americans.

The court ruling found the FBI violated rules around the use of the database, created under Section 702 of the FISA Act with its searches.

Specifically, the court found that searches as part of probes into crimes between 2016 and 2020 violated the rules because there was "no reasonable basis to expect they would return foreign intelligence or evidence of crime", although the FBI believed this was "reasonably likely," the decision said.

The revelations came as U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is trying to garner congressional support to keep surveillance powers under Section 702, which is set to expire later this year.

The ODNI said the FBI tightened its procedures in mid-2021 and 2022. "As a result, these compliance incidents do not reflect FBIs querying practices subsequent to the full deployment of the remedial measures," the office said.

An FBI spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Georgia received the first commercial airline from Russia in four years after President Vladimir Putin ordered the restoration of direct flights with the aspiring European Union member state. An Azimuth Airline plane from Moscow reached Tbilisi International Airport on Friday.(Azimuth website)

An Azimuth Airline plane from Moscow touched down at Tbilisi International Airport on Friday.

Georgias government welcomed Putins decision this month to lift the ban and ease visa requirements for its citizens, though critics lambasted the move and President Salome Zourabichvili called it a provocation. The US and the EU urged Georgia to observe sanctions imposed over Russias war on Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Georgian Airways received permission from the nations civil aviation service to start flights to Russia from May 20. Peter Stano, the EUs lead spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, said the same day that the bloc regretted Tbilisis decision to resume flights, which raised concerns about Georgias EU path and the countrys commitment to aligning with its foreign policy declarations.

Georgia Hails Putin Ending Flight Ban as US, EU Warn on Ties

Small groups of protesters gathered outside the airport after an opposition leader called for a demonstration against the resumption of flights, saying it dented the countrys chances of joining the European bloc.

We will not end up in the EU with Russian planes, Helen Khoshtaria, leader of the Droa party, said earlier in the week.

Ministers have sought to cultivate links with the Kremlin even as tensions remain over two separatist regions that Russia has occupied since a brief war in 2008. Georgia has also been confronted with an influx of Russians fleeing the war since Putin ordered the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The thaw in relations between the governments in Tbilisi and Moscow has stoked divisions within the nation of 3.7 million, where anti-Russian protesters accuse the authorities of jeopardizing the countrys longstanding efforts to join the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Although Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has condemned Russias unjustified aggression against Ukraine, his government hasnt imposed sanctions on Russia and has refused to provide military aid to Kyiv.
Leaders of the world richest democracies agreed on Friday to stiffen sanctions against Russia and pledged financial support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion. US President Joe Biden and other G7 leaders visit the Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island in Hatsukaichi, Japan, Friday, May 19, 2023.(REUTERS)

Below are key extracts from the Group of Seven leaders' statement.

NEW SANCTIONS

"We will broaden our actions to ensure that exports of all items critical to Russia's aggression including those used by Russia on the battlefield are restricted across all our jurisdictions, including exports of industrial machinery, tools, and other technology that Russia uses to rebuild its war machine."

"We will further target those operating in these key sectors, such as manufacturing, construction, and transportation as well as business services."

PREVENTING CIRCUMVENTION

"We will further prevent the evasion and circumvention of our measures against Russia, including targeting entities transporting material to the front."

"We will reinforce our coordination to prevent and respond to third parties supplying weapons to Russia and continue to take actions against third-country actors who materially support Russias war."

"We are taking steps to further reduce avenues for Russia to circumvent our financial measures including by preventing third-country branches of Russian banks from being used to avoid sanctions."

ENERGY AND OTHER MATERIALS

"We will continue to reduce Russia's revenue to finance its illegal aggression by taking appropriate steps to limit Russias energy revenue and future extractive capabilities, building on the measures we have taken so far, including export bans and the price cap for sea-borne Russian-origin crude oil and refined oil products."

"We will further reduce reliance on civil nuclear and related goods from Russia, including working to assist countries seeking to diversify their supplies."

"We will also continue efforts to reduce Russias revenue from metals."
Leaders from the Group of Seven nations agreed to new sanctions on Friday that they said would "starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine". (Clockwise L to R) France's President Emmanuel Macron, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, US President Joe Biden, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attend a working lunch meeting at the start of the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima on May 19, 2023.(AFP)

The move comes after the United States, Britain and the European Union all announced fresh efforts to turn the screws on Moscow, 15 months into Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The bloc, meeting in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, said that they would move to further restrict Russia's access to G7 economies.

"We will broaden our actions to ensure that exports of all items critical to Russia's aggression... are restricted across all our jurisdictions," they said in a statement.

"We will starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine," added the bloc, which includes Britain, the United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and the European Union.

The grouping said they would step up efforts to prevent circumvention of their existing sanctions regime, "including targeting entities transporting material to the front".

Earlier Friday, the United States and other members announced their own new measures, with a senior US administration official saying another 70 entities from Russia and "other countries" would be placed on a US blacklist.

London, meanwhile, took aim at Russia's $4-5 billion annual trade in diamonds, announcing a ban on the import of the gems, along with copper, aluminium and nickel.

The G7 statement also pledged to "restrict trade in and use of diamonds mined, processed or produced in Russia", including with the use of tracing technologies.

EU member Belgium is among the largest wholesale buyers of Russian diamonds, along with the United Arab Emirates and India, whose prime minister Narendra Modi will join the G7 talks this weekend.
The long wait for green cards for people from India, China and other countries is mainly due to the country-based quota system, a senior official said as per news agency PTI. Its allocation can be changed only by the US Congress, the official added. A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US.(Reuters)

A Green Card- Permanent Resident Card- is issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that they have been granted the permission of residing permanently in the country. Every country has limits on the issuance of green cards to individuals. US immigration law provides for approximately 140,000 employment-based green cards to be issued each year- of which only seven per can go to individuals from a single country.

Douglas Rand, the senior advisor to the director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said that the annual limit is established by the US Congress on family-sponsored preference green cards. It is 2,26,000 for the whole world while the annual limit on employment-based green cards is 1,40,000, he said. Beyond this, there is a per-country limit as well.

"That means 25,620. That is why individuals from India, China, Mexico and the Philippines typically face such long wait times than people from other countries," Douglas Rand said.

"There is demand for so many more than 25,620 green cards for both family and employment-based every year. Unfortunately, only Congress can change these annual limits. So our job is to do everything we can within these constraints to ensure that when those Green Card numbers are available, we make sure that they're utilised each and every year," he added.

"Suffice to say for now that it is about supply and demand. Congress has constrained supply. Demand continues to go up. Not just from India, but all over the world. When the demand for a particular Green Card category or a country within a category exceeds the supply of numbers available then that category and country are considered oversubscribed," the official explained.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
After the supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan Niazi targeted Pakistan Army and its spearhead institutions in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on May 9, the Shehbaz Sharif government is likely to pass a resolution on the Cabinet to try the rioters and their leaders under the Army Act and the Official Secret Act. Pakistan Army Chief Gen Asim Munir and PTI Chief Imran Niazi are daggers drawn at each other.

With Pakistan President and apex judiciary overtly revealing their soft corner towards Niazi and tying the hands of Sharif government, the Pakistan Army under General Asim Munir has started the process of dismantling the PTI and isolating their mercurial leader in the past days. Feeling the heat from the Army and the ISI, described once by former PM Benazir Bhutto as a state within the state, several powerful party office-bearers close to Niazi have either left the party or are in the process of doing so in the coming days.

At present it is Niazi versus the Pakistan Army as PTI chiefs Zaman Park residence in Lahore is under Punjab Police siege since May 18 and the supporters, who were thronging in the area since May 16, have long gone away. Barring the menacing Punjab police, Zaman Park bears a deserted look according to media reports from Pakistan.

While Niazi is now making conciliatory gestures towards the Army, the Rawalpindi GHQ has decided to take on the PTI and plans are afoot to divide the party into various factions minus Niazi. According to Pakistan watchers, former member of National Assembly of Pakistan and business magnate Jahangir Tareen has been activated to form a strong faction comprising majority of Members National Assembly and Members of Pakistan Assembly for playing a major political role in the post-Niazi set-up. It is understood that PTI leaders like Pervez Khattak and Asad Qaiser will play the lead role in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhary and Pervez Elahi will be the points person in Punjab. Faisal Wavda, who left the PTI many months ago, will be considered for a future role in Sindh.

Clearly the battle-lines have been drawn between Niazi and the Pakistan Army with support from the Sharif government and it is a fight to the finish. If General Asim Munir cannot hold Niazi and his supporters accountable for the May 9 chaos, then Rawalpindi GHQ is losing both its power and credibility before the people and its allies in the Middle-East.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Pakistan President Arif Alvi said that Imran Khan should publicly condemn the violence that ensued in the country on May 9 during which attacks on the government buildings and military sites were witnessed following his arrest. In an interview to Geo News, Arif Alvi said that the misceants responsible for the violence should be prosecuted. Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan(AP)

Following Imran Khan's arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case, violent protests broke out across Pakistan in which thousands of workers from the former prime minister's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were detained.

Pakistan's army said that the day will be remembered as a "dark chapter" in history as PTI chief supporters stormed army installations. Earlier, Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir said that "planned and orchestrated tragic incidents" of May 9 will never be allowed again at any cost.

No one will be allowed to disrespect our martyrs and their monuments. They are a source of inspiration and pride for the rank and file of the Armed Forces, Law Enforcement Agencies, Government officials and the people of Pakistan, Asim Munir said.

This comes as Punjab interim government gave a 24-hour ultimatum to PTI to hand over terrorists who attacked army installations. Punjab Caretaker Information Minister Aamir Mir said, 30 to 40 terrorists who attacked Army installations including Jinnah House are present in Zaman Park, adding that the agencies were able to confirm the presence of the "terrorists" in Zaman Park through geo-fencing.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Authorities in Iran executed three men convicted of violence against the country's security forces during protests triggered after the custodial death of Mahsa Amini's death last year, the judiciary said. Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi were convicted of "moharebeh", or "war against God", for killing three members of the security forces, the judiciary's Mizan Online news website noted. Iran Anti-Hijab Protests: A woman holds a placard with a picture of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini during a protest against her death.(AP)

Unprecedented protests were witnessed in Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. She had been arrested for an alleged breach of strict dress rules for women- not wearing her hijab properly. The protests were slammed by Iran's regime and labelled foreign-instigated riots during which thousands of Iranians were arrested and hundreds killed.

Kazemi, Mirhashemi and Yaghoubi were arrested in November and sentenced to death in January, news agency AFP reported. They were also charged with membership of illegal groups with the intention of disrupting national security and collusion leading to crimes against internal security.

The judiciary noted "evidence and documents in the case and the clear statements made by the accused" which show that "the shootings carried out by these three people led to the martyrdom of three security forces".

With this, Iran has executed a total of seven people in connection with the protests. The prosecution relied on forced confessions, and the indictment was riddled with irregularities that reveal this was a politically motivated case, Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mallika Soni When not reading, this ex-literature student can be found searching for an answer to the question, "What is the purpose of journalism in society?" ...view detail
King Charles still has not reached out to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after they said that they were in a "near catastrophic" car chase with paparazzi in New York City, according to the couple's biographer. The Sussexes were at the Women of Vision awards after which they said they were chased by photographers. Britain's Prince Harry. (AP)

Royal author Omid Scobie said, "Spokespersons for both King Charles and Queen Camilla, and Prince William and Princess Kate have declined to comment. I understand that no member of the Royal Family has reached out to the Sussexes since today's news broke four hours ago."

Harry and Meghan's press secretary told Sky News that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were "incredibly scared and shaken up" and claimed that New York police officers had to confront photographers and ask for space but said "that wish was not respected".

When you read the statement you assume it's some sort of Fast and the Furious situation in the middle of New York City, which we know crawls at a snail's pace. It was sort of a game of cat and mouse, sometimes their car sat in traffic surrounded by photographers on bikes and cars behind them, and then there were moments when the road was clear and the car went up to 80 mph trying to lose some of the people that were following them, Omid Scobie said.

Prince Harry and Meghan's security officer Chris Sanchez said that the alleged papparazzi chase was "very chaotic" and claimed the couple were followed by "about a dozen vehicles: cars, scooters and bicycles."

I have never seen, experienced anything like this. What we were dealing with was very chaotic, he said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Tabitha Bartoe, a recent United States college graduate, thought she had found the perfect fit when she landed a job as the weekend morning weather anchor at WATE, a TV station in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tabitha Bartoe's journey to embrace natural hair. (Image Credit: Tabitha Bartoe/Instagram)

However, her excitement quickly turned to disappointment when she faced criticism from her supervisors about her appearance, specifically her naturally curly hair. Despite the best efforts possible, Bartoe was ultimately let go on May 9 due to her hairstyle not aligning with the company's policy.

"It doesn't even sound real," Bartoe expressed to the Knox News Sentinel, the USA TODAY Network. "The whole thing just sounds like a joke. And I wish it was."

The issue of women on television facing seniors scrutiny and discrimination based on a narrow beauty standard is not new. Last year, renowned Canadian television journalist Lisa LaFlamme was fired after she chose to embrace her natural gray hair instead of dyeing it.

Back in 2019, Brittany Noble-Jones, a news anchor from Mississippi, was let go after a senior complained about her natural hair. As a Black woman, Noble-Jones chose not to straighten her hair or wear extensions, which led to unjust treatment. She was even instructed to use a closet to pump milk for breastfeeding after she returned to work following the birth of her child.

It is worth noting that Noble-Jones' former station is owned by Nexstar Media, the same company that owns WATE, further highlighting the connected threads of these incidents.

Had no say

The college grads ordeal did not end with the initial hair appointment. Months later, she found herself facing yet another request from the stationto visit another stylist with the vague intention of softening her curls.

"At first, I didn't see it as a problem because I assumed they were genuinely trying to help me improve my professional image," Bartoe explained. "I was open to taking advantage of the opportunity. However, it was when they asked if I would consider getting my hair relaxed or straightened, with the notion that my natural curls would eventually fall out over time, that I realized it wasn't aligned with what I wanted. I wanted to embrace my natural hair."

Wate TV anchor Tabitha Bartoe. (Image Credit: Tabitha Barote/ Instagram)

The meteorologist, who had experienced bullying due to her curly hair since childhood, had since learned to embrace and love her natural look. She felt she had no control over how her hair was supposed to be styled during these appointments. The situation left her feeling uncomfortable and unheard.

She expressed her lack of knowledge regarding her supervisor's approval of the new looks, only being asked to smile for a photo to be sent to the station's general manager.

"I had no say in how my hair was supposed to be done for both appointments," Bartoe shared. "It was solely based on what they wanted. I did not feel comfortable in either of those situations."

One size doesnt fit all

The controversial situation has generated significant public outcry and an outpouring of support for Bartoe, which she experienced firsthand when she shared her story through a social media post, explaining her absence from television.

The response to the weather anchors post was overwhelming, with various media outlets such as the New York Post, USA Today, and Daily Mail reporting on her termination.

Some of the reports focused on a specific part of her message that emphasized the importance of embracing one's beauty and professionalism, regardless of any physical attributes.

Tabitha Bartoe sticks with his media career

During the course of her employment, Bartoe found herself facing a pivotal moment when the station's general manager reminded her that she was still within the initial 90 days of her contract. She recalls being presented with a clear ultimatum, either bowing down to the station's demands or facing termination.

"The message was essentially, comply with our expectations, or it's time for you to leave," she recounts.

Ultimately, the rebel college grad was let go due to her style not aligning with the company's policies. She vividly remembers being informed, "Your style isn't in line with our company and its policy, so it's time for you to move on."

As she was escorted out of the building, staff members retrieved her belongings on her behalf. Bartoe expresses her deep sense of shock and disbelief, recounting how she wasn't even granted permission to reenter the newsroom to collect her personal items.

Despite the distressing and hurtful experience, Bartoe remains determined to forge ahead with her career in the media industry.
Toronto: Amid concerns within the Indo-Canadian community over the traffic situation and untimely deaths of two students from India in Toronto, police have said these incidents were non-criminal in nature. A police car blocks the entrance to the Brady Road Resource Management Facility, where the body of Linda Mary Beardy of Lake St. Martin First Nation was discovered, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (Picture for representational purpose only). (REUTERS)

The body of 23-year-old Ayush Dankhara was discovered near a bridge in Toronto on May 7, while that of 26-year-old Harsh Patel was found on April 16.

These two incidents have left the community shaken and connections were made between them as both were from Gujarat and studied at York University.

A spokesperson for Toronto Police said both the deaths were non-criminal in nature. The National Alliance for Indo-Canadians (NAIC) tweeted that they were concerned at suspicious death of students that require thorough investigations to determine the cause.

Toronto Police said they will not comment further on the matter out of respect for the families of the deceased youth.

While Patel, who was from Ahmedabad, was studying at the Etobicoke campus of York University, Dankhara, from Bhavnagar, was not currently a student at the university. Yanni Dagonas, deputy spokesperson for York University, said they were able to confirm that Dankhara has not been enrolled at York University since the 2019/20 academic year.

When an incident occurs involving a York student at our university or in the community, the University works with local law enforcement and community support groups to ensure the safety of those involved and of the greater community. To be clear, no safety risk has been identified by local authorities with respect to these circumstances, he added.

He pointed out the university offers dedicated support specifically tailored for international students, due to the challenges they face. It also offers mental health support in various languages.

These deaths are among the many reported in recent months of international students from India due to various causes, from suicides to accidents and in at least three instances, murders.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anirudh Bhattacharyya Anirudh Bhattacharya is a Toronto-based commentator on North American issues, and an author. He has also worked as a journalist in New Delhi and New York spanning print, television and digital media. He tweets as @anirudhb. ...view detail
North Korea accused the US and South Korea of ramping up "nuclear blackmail" with joint military drills, pledging to take corresponding action against what it called "warmongers' madness," state media KCNA said on Friday. North Korea has reacted angrily to the exercises, calling them a rehearsal for invasion.(AP)

Read here: North Korea is about to launch its 1st spy satellite as Kim Jong Un seen on site

US and South Korean forces have been staging an intensified series of annual springtime exercises since March, including air and sea drills involving a US aircraft carrier and heavy bombers.

North Korea has reacted angrily to the exercises, calling them a rehearsal for invasion.

"Their plot to crush us militarily is another clear indication that the enemy warmongers' madness has reached a point where it cannot be overlooked," KCNA said. "The frantic nuclear war fuss among US and puppet warlike bellwethers is bound to trigger corresponding responses".

Pyongyang would continue to develop its weapons programmes, KCNA said, calling it a "legitimate right of a sovereign state to have more powerful means of self-defence" to fend off "serious situations and prospective threats".

North Korea has been stepping up military activity in recent months, unveiling designs for new, smaller nuclear warheads, firing an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the US and testing what it called a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone.

This week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a military satellite station, saying successfully launching a spy satellite is an "urgent requirement of the prevailing security environment".

Kim has said he prioritised a spy satellite programme as part of efforts to advance surveillance technology to improve the country's ability to strike targets in a crisis.

Read here: North Korea criticizes South Koreas excessive pro-US policy: Will be nightmare if

The reclusive country in December conducted what it called an important "final phase" test for a spy satellite and said it would complete preparations for the launch by April.
An anti-terrorism court here on Friday approved pre-arrest bail till June 2 to Imran Khan in three terrorism cases filed against Pakistan's former prime minister in the wake of violence that erupted after his arrest on May 9. Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan(AFP)

Khan, 70, appeared at the Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) amid tight security after he received permission for his vehicle to enter the court premises.

According to a court official, the ATC granted pre-arrest bail to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief till June 2 in three terrorism cases, including the high-profile Jinnah House attack, and directed him to join the police investigation.

Khan assured the court that he would join the investigation, the official said.

Earlier, Khan said everyone is condemning the attack on army installations and demanded a probe into it.

When asked why he had not yet issued a statement condemning the attack on the top military officer's house in Lahore, he replied: I have already done so...who is not condemning the attack on the Jinnah House Lahore? Tell me one person in Pakistan who is not doing it.

He said the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led coalition government wants to eliminate his PTI party from mainstream politics by pitting it against the Pakistan Army.

In a video-link address from his Zaman Park residence here on Wednesday, Khan said Pakistan is heading towards an imminent disaster and it may face disintegration.

The arrest of Khan on May 9 by the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers at the Islamabad High Court premises triggered unrest in Pakistan. For the first time in Pakistan's history, the protesters stormed the army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and also torched a corps commander's house in Lahore.

Police put the death toll in violent clashes to 10 while Khan's party claims 40 of its workers lost their lives in the firing by security personnel.

On Monday the top military brass vowed to bring the arsonists, who attacked the civil and military installations, to justice through trial under relevant laws of the country, including the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secrets Act.

Law enforcement agencies have arrested over 7,000 PTI workers across Pakistan, 4,000 of them from Punjab.

Meanwhile, Lahore police claim to have arrested 14 "terrorists" who were trying to flee from Khan's Zaman Park residence.

"Police have arrested 14 terrorists on Thursday and Friday who were wanted in attack on Jinnah House and Askari Tower," Punjab caretaker information minister Amir Mir said on Friday.

He said some 400 policemen may go into Khan's Zaman Park home to search for more terrorists.

On Wednesday the provincial government had given Khan 24 hours deadline to hand over 30 to 40 terrorists allegedly holed up at his house.

Police have surrounded his home and blocked all roads leading to it.

Khan was ousted from power in April last year after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China and Afghanistan.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were not in immediate danger at any point during the alleged two-hour paparazzi car chase that the couple believed could have been fatal, it has been claimed. The Sussexes claimed that they were subjected to a near catastrophic pursuit by photographers after leaving a gala in New York with Meghans mother, Doria Ragland. Prince Harry-Meghan Markle: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex are seen.(AP)

Backgrid USA Inc, the agency that hired four freelance photographers to cover the event, insisted that one of the four cars escorting the couple was driving in a manner that could be perceived as reckless.

Disputing the couples claims, the agency said it was taking Prince Harrys allegations seriously.

The vehicle was seen blocking off streets, and in one video, it is shown being pulled over by the police," it said, adding that it does not condone any form of harassment or illegal activity and will conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.

The royals, on the other hand, claimed that they were subjected to a chase after leaving the Ms. Foundation gala at which Meghan Markle was honoured with a Women of Vision award. Upon departing the venue, they were immediately followed by photographers, Ashley Hansen, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's press secretary said.

I have never experienced their vulnerability as much as I did last night. They were incredibly scared and shaken up. There were several times where the car stopped and security got out. There were instances where the police confronted the paparazzi and had asked them to stop or give them space, to do this safely. Unfortunately that wish was not respected, she said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Washington With US President Joe Biden postponing the Australia leg of his visit and the subsequent cancellation of the Quad summit in Sydney, Quad leaders will now meet in Hiroshima on Saturday on the sidelines of the G7 summit, the White House announced on Friday. (From left) Australian PM Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Biden and Indian PM Narendra Modi are greeted by Japanese PM Fumio Kishida (right), during their arrival to the Quad leaders summit at Kantei Palace in Tokyo, Japan, on May 24, 2022. (AP)

HT had reported right after the summits cancellation that Quad leaders  Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, PM Anthony Albanese of Australia and PM Kishida Fumio of Japan  were planning to meet in Hiroshima instead.

In a statement, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that after Bidens postponement, Quad leaders agreed to hold the summit in Hiroshima to ensure that the four leaders could come together to mark the Quads progress over the past year.

Along with sharing strategic assessments, the leaders will welcome new forms of Quad cooperation on secure digital technology, submarine cables, infrastructure capacity building, and maritime domain awareness, the statement said.

Biden, according to the statement, also thanked the other three leaders for their flexibility.

In a tweet announcing PM Modis arrival in Hiroshima, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, too, said that besides attending the G7 summit and his other bilateral engagements, the PM will attend the Quad summit.

The Quad foreign ministers  S Jaishankar, Anthony Blinken, Penny Wong and Yoshimasa Hayashi  had met in Delhi in early March to take stock of the groupings activities and pushed forward cooperation in more domains, including in multilateral organisations.

They had also participated in a panel at the Raisina Dialogue in a sign of the increasing comfort levels among members and greater public ownership of Quad. Quad working groups on a range of issues have also been working at the bureaucratic level over the past year. The leaders level summit will provide an opportunity to the four countries to review the work that has been done so far, advance their agenda of cooperation and discuss the geopolitical challenges of the times, including Chinas activities in the region.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Queen Elizabeth's funeral cost the UK government 162million, the treasury revealed. The state funeral was held on September 19, 2022, following a period of national mourning during which hundreds of thousands visited Westminster Abbey where the monarch was lying in state. The Queen died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle after 70 years on the throne. Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history.(AFP)

The biggest costs were covered by the Home Office who paid 74million towards the event, the treasury noted. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport spent 57million, it added. The Scottish government spent 18.756 million on the Queens lying in rest.

World leaders descended on London to pay their respects as part of the memorial as millions of people tuned in worldwide to see the funeral.

Chief secretary to the treasury John Glen said that the state funeral was a moment of huge national significance.

During this period, many hundreds of thousands of people came in person to pay their respects, at the lying at rest in Edinburgh, the lying-in-state in Westminster, as well as in London and Windsor for the state funeral on 19 September. Many more people also came out to support his majesty the king and other members of the royal family as they travelled around the UK during this time," he said.

The governments priorities were that these events ran smoothly and with the appropriate level of dignity, while at all times ensuring the safety and security of the public. As departments finalise their accounts ahead of publication in the coming months, the government is now able to publish an estimate of the costs associated with delivery of these events by the main government departments and devolved administrations involved," he added.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Western nations, including the United States, have sent millions of dollars of military aid to Ukraine amid Russian invasion which started on February 24 last year. But the Pentagon overestimated the value of the ammunition, missiles and other equipment that the US sent to Ukraine, news agency Reuters reported citing a Senate aide and a defence official. The Pentagon is seen from the air in Washington.(Reuters)

The report stated that the Pentagon and US State Department officials told congressional staff members that the revised accounting frees up $3 billion worth of weapons. This means more weapons could be given to Ukraine.

One of the senior defence officials said as per Reuters that "we've discovered inconsistencies in how we value the equipment that we've given" to Ukraine. US Congress is being notified of the accounting adjustment, the official said, adding that the amount of overestimated weaponry might exceed $3 billion.

US senator Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, The Department of Defense's change in evaluating the costs of arms sent to Ukraine is a major mistake. Its effect would be to underestimate future needs for our European allies. Our priority should be a Ukrainian victory over Putin. Unilaterally altering military aid calculations is an attempt at deception and undermines this goal.

The US has so far sent precision weapons to Ukraine along with assistant packages to boost Kyiv's defences and provide it with additional artillery ammunition by committing critical near-term capabilities, such as air defense systems and munitions, while also building the capacity of Ukraine's armed forces to defend its territory and deter Russian aggression over the long term.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Air raid alerts sounded throughout Ukraine early on Friday, with some areas later reporting explosions and officials saying anti-aircraft units were in action in several regions. Russia-Ukraine war: Air raid alerts remained in force into the early morning hours of Friday. (Reuters)

Read here: G7 countries to unveil new sanctions targeting Russia over Ukraine war

The alerts extended to all regions of the country for about an hour from 2 am. (2300GMT).

But there were no reports of strikes on infrastructure or civilian targets and no indications of casualties as the alerts were withdrawn in Kyiv and in central and southern regions.

Air raid alerts remained in force into the early morning hours of Friday in some eastern regions and throughout western Ukraine.

Ukraine's military had said on Telegram that Russian aircraft were in the air and there was a threat of strikes from hypersonic Kinzhal missiles. An earlier military statement said some airborne targets had been downed, but gave no details.

The military also said central regions were at risk from drone attacks. Explosions were reported in several regions, including Kriviy Rih in central Ukraine and Rivne and Lutsk in the west.

Officials in Kyiv said anti-aircraft units were in operation around the capital. Other cities reported similar anti-aircraft activity.

Russia's Tass news agency, quoting Russian-installed officials in the Moscow-controlled area of Donetsk region, said Ukrainian forces had fired eight grad missiles into the Russian-held city of Donetsk after midnight.

Read here: Ukraine deputy defence minister says Russia on offensive in Bakhmut

There were no details of damage or casualties.

Reuters was unable to verify details of any of the reported military activity.
A team of around 30 South Korean experts will visit Japan during May 22-25 to inspect facilities related to water release from the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, Japan's foreign ministry said on Friday. The visit was agreed during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to Seoul earlier this month. (AP)

The visit was agreed during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to Seoul earlier this month as his counterpart, South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol, is seeking to improve relations with Japan after years of tensions.

Japan plans to release the water from Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima plant, which was destroyed during the 2011 nuclear disaster, into the sea sometime "around this spring or summer, raising concerns in neighbouring countries.
Spain will soon launch an app designed to monitor the sharing of chores between members of a household as part of a drive to improve gender equality. The app, which should be available by summer, will be useful not only for couples, but for households comprising parents and children or housemates.(Getty Images)

The country's top official in the ministry of equality, Angela Rodriguez, made the announcement at a meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in Geneva on Tuesday, reported CNN.

What surveys tell us is that women spend a lot more time on household chores than men do, said Rodriguez, adding that the app will allow each member of the household to input the time they spend on chores.

Its a very simple thing, she said, explaining that the app will work in a similar way to apps like Splitwise, which allow groups to share the cost of meals or other spending.

According to a survey from Spains national statistics institute, published in December, 45.9% of female respondents said they carried out the majority of household chores, compared to just 14.9% of men, the outlet reported.

Rodriguez stressed that all sorts of different tasks should be considered household chores. For example, washing the dishes is an obvious task to put into the app, but before that someone has to shop for ingredients, plan what needs to be eaten on that particular day and then cook the meal, she said.

All of these tasks, this mental load, fall almost always on women, thats what the surveys say, said Rodriguez.

The app, which should be available by summer, will be useful not only for couples, but for households comprising parents and children or housemates, she added.

Rodriguez also made her remark on the upcoming app on Twitter. All of those who are offended by the household chores app are really offended by the possibility that they will have to start doing their bit at home, she wrote.
Britain on Friday unveiled new sanctions against Russia's minerals sector, targeting imports of aluminium, diamonds, copper, and nickel in an effort to choke Moscow's ability to fund the war in Ukraine. Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (AP)

"As today's sanctions announcements demonstrate, the G7 remains unified in the face of the threat from Russia and steadfast in our support for Ukraine," said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the margins of a G7 summit in Japan.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel to Hiroshima, Japan, to join the Group of Seven leaders in person, according to people familiar with the plans. Over the past week, Zelenskyy toured European capitals to make the case for more weapons deliveries. (File)

Zelenskyy will fly on a US military plane to Japan after an expected stop in Saudi Arabia to attend the Arab League summit, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.

A spokesman for the US National Security Council declined to comment.

Japanese officials had previously said Zelenskyy would join the others virtually, even while they added an extra session on Ukraine on Sunday to accommodate the Ukrainian leaders schedule. A spokesperson for Japans Foreign Ministry declined to comment further on Friday.

The visit to Hiroshima, ground zero for the first nuclear attack 78 years ago, is particularly symbolic given Russian President Vladimir Putins periodic threats to use atomic weapons in Ukraine.

G-7 leaders will hold talks on further responses to Russias invasion of Ukraine during meetings that began Friday. Bloomberg reported that the nations will agree to work together to track Russian diamonds, but stop short of slapping Moscow with an outright ban on the lucrative gem trade.

Barrages of sanctions have crimped growth but failed to deter Putins military assault on Ukraine, and Russias economy has been underpinned by commodity and energy exports to countries outside the G-7.

Over the past week, Zelenskyy toured European capitals to make the case for more weapons deliveries. His trip to Berlin coincided with Germany announcing its largest aid package yet, and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged support for a coalition to help provide Ukraine with Western-made fighter jets, though no concrete plans were set.

Its still not clear whether US President Joe Biden would sign off on sending American jets as well. Although Ukraine has sought more advanced fighter jets since the first days of Russias invasion last year, Western governments have resisted the requests over concerns about the risk of escalating tensions with Moscow.
In a bizarre incident, a project manager at UK's IT firm sued her head for sexual harassment after mistaking symbols like "xx", "yy", "???" in an email as codes for asking for sexual relations. Gasparova took the organisation to the employment tribunal, claiming sexual harassment, discrimination, and unfair dismissal. (Representative image/ Istock)

Read here: Will the UK parliament building collapse? Lawmakers trigger big warning

According to BBC (article beyond paywall), Karina Gasparova, project manager at London office of essDOCS, claimed that her boss, Alexander Goulandris, wrote offensive emails using terms like, xx, yy, ???? and renamed a work file with his initials 'ajg', depicting an abbreviation of "A Jumbo Genital".

Gasparova took the organisation to the employment tribunal, claiming sexual harassment, discrimination, and unfair dismissal. But to her dismay, the tribunal at the London Central Court rejected her claims by saying that her perception of events was skewed, the report added.

While presenting herself before the jury, Gasparova said that Goulandris, was trying to chat her up while discussing work on calls. She also claimed that email correspondence from her boss insinuated a desire to "engage in sexual acts".

Presented as evidence, the email from Goulandris read:

"Can you please complete the following:

The solution us currently used by xx Agris companies and yy Barge lines in corn cargoes in south-north flows in the ???? waterways.

Also, can you remind me of what the balance of the rollout will be and the approx. timing.

Thanks"

When describing the content of the email, Gasparova claimed that "xx" stood for kisses, "yy" for sexual contact, and "????" was a question requesting "when she would be ready" to get intimate with him, the report added.

But the tribunal said it was a genuine request for information and did not imply any sexual nature.

Read here: Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral cost UK taxpayers this whooping amount

Employment Judge Emma Burns told Independent (article beyond paywall), "She demonstrated a tendency to make extraordinary allegations without evidence and she contradicted herself in a way that could not be attributable to a fallible memory. Gasparova interpreted entirely innocent work-related conduct, some of it accidental, by Goulandris as having a sinister intent."

The panel finally threw out her claims and ordered her to pay a compensation of 5,000 costs to essDOCS.
Over 65 Members of the United States Congress expressed concerns about the current situation in Pakistan and urged State Secretary Anthony Blinken to pressurize the Pakistani government to improve the human rights situation in the country. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (AP)

Read here: Condemn violence publicly: Pakistan president's advice to Imran Khan

The US Congressmen sent a letter to the State Secretary where it stated, "As proponents of a strong US-Pakistan relationship, we write to express our concerns about the current situation in Pakistan and urge you to use all diplomatic tools at your disposal to pressure the Government of Pakistan towards a greater commitment to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law."

"This should include a commitment to investigate any infringement upon freedom of speech and freedom of assembly in Pakistan," the letter further read.

Imran Khan, who was deposed as prime minister through a no-confidence move in April last year, was arrested on May 9, the day when the country witnessed deadly protests. He was detained in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, but a court later declared his arrest against the law and granted him bail, The News International reported.

The deadly protests took the lives of at least 10 people and injured several others, with the authorities not only arresting the party leaders but thousands of PTI workers as well, according to The News International.

The letter, coauthored by Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, was signed by 65 other lawmakers. It stated that over the past few months, the situation in Pakistan has become increasingly concerning with the blanket bans on demonstrations and deaths of several prominent critics of the government.

"We ask for your help pressuring the Government of Pakistan to ensure protestors can assert their demands in a peaceful and non-violent way, free from harassment, intimidation, and arbitrary detention. As both Democrats and Republicans who care about the bilateral relationship, we are concerned that violence and increased political tension could spiral into a deteriorating security situation in Pakistan," the letter read.

The letter further stated that as the supporters of a strong bilateral relationship between the two countries, the US Congressmen wished to commend the sustained focus on Pakistan and your efforts to provide humanitarian assistance following historic, devastating floods.

The US Congressmen urged to use all the diplomatic tools--including visits, and public statements--to demonstrate countries' interest and prevent the erosion of democratic institutions in Pakistan.

Read here: Imran Khan says for him reprimanding Pakistan army 'is like criticising my kids'

"Supporting democracy in Pakistan is in the national interest of the United States. In this critical moment, US diplomatic leadership is necessary to prevent further erosion of democratic protections. We thank you for your work and again urge you to do all you can to address this situation. We look forward to supporting you in this effort," the letter read.
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake in the far Pacific created small tsunami waves in Vanuatu, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said as waves less than 1.5 feet were measured off Lenakel- a port town in the island nation. Smaller waves were measured elsewhere, it added. The earthquake was detected at a depth of 37 kilometres (23 miles). (iStock)

Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office advised people to evacuate from coastal areas to higher grounds saying that people should listen to their radios for updates and take other precautionary measures. New Zealands National Emergency Management Agency also said that it expected coastal areas would experience strong and unusual currents.

Small waves were possible for Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Guam and other Pacific islands, it has been warned.

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake's epicenter was near the Loyalty Islands, southwest of Fiji, north of New Zealand and east of Australia. It was 37 kilometers (23 miles) deep in an area which is part of the Ring of Fire- an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean. Most of the world's earthquakes occur in the region.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
British lawmakers on Wednesday issued a "real and rising risk" that a catastrophic event will destroy the 147-year-old palace of Westminster, which houses the UK's parliament. Palace of Westminster in London, UK. (iStock)

A report by UK's House of Commons Public Accounts Committee said that the seat of British democracy is "leaking, dropping masonry and at constant risk of fire", and pocked with asbestos in up to 2,500 locations.

The committee slammed "years of procrastination" over the future of the parliamentary complex and said that the renewal work had been extremely slow and mostly amounted to "patching up" the building, at a cost of about 2 million pounds ($2.5 million) a week.

It demanded politicians and parliamentary authorities set out "a clear indication of the cost and timeline for getting this massive job done before it becomes too late to do so." The Committee says that, to date, the focus has been on MPs rather than the thousands of staff and visitors who use the building.

In 2018, after years of dithering, the MPs voted to move out by the mid-2020s to allow several years of major repairs. The complex suffers major architectural damages like the roof leaks, century-old steam pipes burst, and chunks of masonry occasionally come crashing down. Mechanical and electrical systems were last renovated in the 1940s.

Officials said they are "planning for the large and complex restoration of the Palace of Westminster to preserve it for future generations," and members of the House of Commons and House of Lords are expected to vote on the way forward later this year.

The Clerks and newly created programme structures "need to build confidence in their ability to deliver a programme of this magnitude and complexity". Timely transparency and compliance with health and safety protocols, particularly around asbestos, urgently needs to improve before more significant works and potentially more serious incidents occur, the report added.

The palace of Westminster is an architectural masterpiece, a UNESCO World Heritage Site visited by 1 million people a year. It was designed by architect Charles Barry in a neo-Gothic style, after the fire destroyed the previous parliament complex in 1834.
Located on the upper floors of TOKYU KABUKICHO TOWER, Shinjuku's latest landmark skyscraper, the luxury BELLUSTAR TOKYO, A Pan Pacific Hotel features 97-rooms ranging between 41sqm and 277sqm, with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the bustling city skyline. Renowned for its graceful luxury and sincere hospitality, the Pan Pacific brand prides itself on delivering personalised and thoughtful experiences with service from the heart.

Designed by award-winning Norm Architects and renowned interior designer Keiji Ashizawa, the hotel boasts five ultra-luxurious one-bedroom penthouse suites, ranging from 113sqm to 277sqm on the 45th to 47th floor. The largest Sky Villa penthouse on the 47th floor features a spa treatment room, kitchen and jacuzzi that overlook the panoramic views of the skyline while the other penthouse suites feature a spacious living room, kitchen, and bar. A 24/7 personal butler service is available on request and for an in-room fine dining experience, a private chef is also available to create a curated menu for penthouse guests. Exclusive for penthouse guests, the Penthouse Lounge located on the 46th floor is perfect for private meetings, gatherings, and afternoon teas.

For a bespoke culinary experience, the modern French Restaurant Bellustar offers the finest French cuisine made with the freshest ingredients sourced from all over Japan while Bar Bellustar features a wide range of liqueur, wine, sake, mocktails, and cocktails, perfect for an evening wine-down. Guest looking to relish the finest Wagyu beef can check out Teppan Ten-yu, a Teppanyaki restaurant located on the 45th floor, or simply indulge in the authentic Edomae-style sushi made freshly with seasonal ingredients at Sushi JIN-E restaurant that overlooks the picturesque view of Mt. Fuji and Tokyo city.

To refresh and rejuvenate, the hotel's SPA sunya, also known as "sky" in Sanskrit, is the perfect sanctuary retreat offering a range of pampering spa and facial treatments to calm the body and mind with renewed energy.

Hotel website
Jimenez brings a refined lens and global expertise to Makeready's innovative culinary concepts.

Makeready, the hospitality group that concepts, manages, and operates an independent and diverse collection of hotel, restaurant and retail brands, announces the appointment of Andres Jimenez as senior vice president of restaurant & bars. In his new role, Jimenez will work closely with the Makeready restaurant and bar concept and operations teams and will oversee the company's vision rooted in placemaking and future-forward ideation.

Jimenez brings more than 29 years of experience leading high performing multicultural hospitality teams across all continents to his new role. Prior to joining the Makeready team, he held various positions at high-profile brands such including The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Marriott International, and Pure Grey.

During his tenure at Pure Grey, the team developed multiple globally licensed venues imagined by Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, including J&G Steakhouse in Cairo and Spice Market in San Miguel de Allende. Jimenez oversaw the development of both concepts, provided technical and operational training, and managed owner relations all while opening both venues to international praise. Jimenez's other projects include Market Kitchen and Spice Market in Doha, Qatar, both of which have been recognized as some of Doha's best restaurants, Laurel, in Salt Lake City, Paros, in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, Huma Rooftop Bar & Lounge in Punta Del Este, Uruguay, and Broadway Lounge and Revel & Rye Bar, both located in Times Square, New York City.

A native to Costa Rica, Jimenez travels extensively, taking him to over 75 countries, from China to Egypt to Denmark. His travels, including his studies at The Cordon Bleu in Paris, provided Jimenez with a remote classroom to further develop his approach to leadership, training him to be adaptable and seek first to understand.
Click here for state-by-state economy-wide hotel guest spending Click here for state-by-state hotel wages and salaries Click here for state-by-state hotel federal, state, and local taxes

WASHINGTON - American hotels support 8.3 million American jobs, which is equivalent to nearly one in 25 U.S. jobs, according to an economic analysis released today by the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Oxford Economics.

The study, which includes a breakdown of the hotel industrys economic impact in every state and congressional district, provides a comprehensive look at how hotels are contributing to communities across the nation. It finds that in 2022 alone:

Hotel guests spent a total of more than $691 billion on lodging, transportation, food and beverage, retail and other expenses.

For each $100 of spending on lodging, hotel guests spent another $220 during their trip.

Hotels paid employees more than $104 billion in wages, salaries, and other compensation, and supported $463 billion in total wages, salaries, and other compensation.

Hotels directly generated $72.4 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue and supported nearly $211.2 billion in total federal, state, and local tax revenue.

The top five states in 2022 for hotel guest spending were:

The top five states in 2022 for hotel wages, salaries, and compensation were:

The top five states in 2022 for hotel-generated federal, state, and local tax revenue were:

This hotel-related economic activity is resulting in unprecedented career opportunities for current and prospective hotel employees. As of March, national average hotel wages were among the highest ever at more than $23 per hour. Since the pandemic, average hotel wages have increased faster than average wages throughout the general economy. And hotel benefits and flexibility are better than ever.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of April, hotel employment is down by more than 250,000 jobs compared to February 2020. Hotels are looking to fill many of the jobs lost during the pandemic, including more than 100,000 hotel jobs currently open across the nation.

To help hotels fill open jobs and raise awareness of the hotel industrys 200+ career pathways, the AHLA Foundations A Place to Stay multi-channel advertising campaign is now active in 20 cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, San Diego, Tampa, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Detroit, Washington, Seattle, and Boston. For more info on the campaign, visit thehotelindustry.com.

Hotels are investing in our workforce to create good jobs that power local economies, and this analysis is proof of that. To continue supporting millions of good-paying jobs and generating billions in tax revenue in communities across the nation, hotels need to hire more people. The good news is that theres never been a better time to build a lifelong hotel career, with average hotel wages at near-record levels, better benefits than ever before, and unprecedented opportunity to move up the ranks. AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers

View the full report here.

About the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA)

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) is the sole national association representing all segments of the U.S. lodging industry. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AHLA focuses on strategic advocacy, communications support and workforce development programs to move the industry forward. Learn more at www.ahla.com.
Toronto, Canada  Business travel in Canada is poised for a strong, evolving future, according to the takeaways from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Canada Conference 2023 held in Toronto from May 15-17.

GBTA, the premier association and voice of the global business travel industry, welcomed Canadian business travel professionals and companies to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for its annual regional event. Over 685 registered business travel buyers, suppliers and other attendees and 58 exhibiting companies came together for main stage presentations, panel discussions, and education sessions along with Canada volunteer recognition and the conferences signature Big Night Out networking event.

Bringing together GBTAs business travel community for insights, learning, and face-to-face connection time are all key to navigating and growing the sector in Canada. This event engages industry professionals and organizations in better understanding and preparing for the future of business travel while also enabling them to engage and learn in an incredible peer-to-peer environment. Nancy Tudorache, Regional Vice President-Americas, GBTA

Conference topics focused on critical priorities and opportunities in the Canadian business travel sector including: travel manager needs of the future; traveler evolution and the passenger journey; insights on the roll-out of New Distribution Capability (NDC); sustainability in business travel; and rebuilding the industry workforce. The event also included numerous buyer and supplier sessions, networking opportunities, and a special welcome event for new and returning industry professionals.

Strong forecast and outlook for business travel In Canada

Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA, presented Canada-specific forecasts from GBTAs Business Travel Index (BTI) Outlook report as well as overall insights and trends ahead for the industry.

With most global business travel on the rebound post-pandemic, based on the last GBTA BTI, in 2022 Canada was projected to have year-on-year growth of 47%.

At that pace, Canada is among the top 15 markets worldwide for business travel spending with $15.2 billion USD for 2022.

In 2023, the forecast for spending growth is 32%, or a total of $20.1 billion USD.

Based on current forecasts, Canada is expected to be back at pre-pandemic levels in 2025 with an annual business travel spend of $26.1 billion USD, or over $35 billion CAD.

A panel of experts took the stage from the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC), National Airline Council of Canada (NACC), Association of Canadian Travel Associates (ACTA), and Meetings Mean Business Canada (MMBC) to discuss the current state of the Canadian travel business industry from each associations perspective.

Jeffery Latimer, CEO, Canadas Walk of Fame, presented the session keynote, Proudly Canadian, No Apology Necessary, highlighting some of the greatest Canadians and their achievements with video and stories.

Renato Grandmont, Chief Investment Officer, Link Capital Advisors, LLC, outlined on the main stage the issues and trends impacting Canadian businesses from the view of a global economic lens.

Richard Bartrem, President, 13 Stories Marketing, Inc., delivered the closing keynote about the importance of trust when it comes to companies, their brands, and the customer experience.

The association also announced Shelly Lewchuk as this years winner of the GBTA Volunteer Inspiration Award, and also recognized Jodi Francks and Marayka Wilson as the Business Travel Service Award (BTSA) winners for Canada.

GBTA Canada Regional Direct Board member steps down, joins GBTA as new Regional Director for Canada

GBTA also announced today at the event that Sharlene Ketwaroo-Nanoo has stepped down from the GBTA Board of Directors and will now join the association as its Regional Director for Canada. Ketwaroo-Nanoos new role is effective immediately. The Canada Regional Direct Board member position will remain vacant until the 2023 GBTA Elections in August. This is aligned with GBTA bylaws as this position ran uncontested in the previous election.

Sharlene has been an active and valued GBTA Board member. We are excited that she has now joined the association to execute on an excellent strategy. With her deep knowledge and involvement in Canada, the region is in a strong position to continue to grow and thrive under her association leadership. And with heartfelt appreciation, on behalf of the GBTA leadership and team, wed like to recognize and thank John Pease for his contributions and expertise serving as our interim leader for the region over the past months. Denise Truso, GBTA Board President

To view photos from the GBTA Canada Conference-Toronto, visit the event gallery here.

About the Global Business Travel Association

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world's premier business travel and meetings trade organization headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with operations on six continents. GBTA's members manage more than $345 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually. GBTA delivers world-class education, events, research, advocacy, and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 125,000 active contacts. Visit www.gbta.org and follow us on LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

About the GBTA Foundation

The mission of the GBTA Foundation, the US 501c3 charitable arm of GBTA, is to help the global business travel industry create a positive impact and a better future for people and the planet. The GBTA Foundation focuses on the strategy and execution of GBTA's global sustainability programs, supporting initiatives related to climate action; diversity, equity and inclusion; and other talent-related topics via education, research and advocacy.

Debbie Iannaci

GBTA Global Communications, PR & Research

+1 305 301 7057

GBTA
I believe that, before we delve into the potential applications of generative AI in our industry, we should take a step back and consider the bigger picture by defining artificial intelligence.

It can be a complex task, as experts often have different interpretations. In a nutshell, AI involves machines replicating cognitive functions that were once considered unique to humans, animals, and even plants. While the question of whether machines can truly think remains a topic of debate among philosophers, linguists, and entrepreneurs, the field has seen rapid advancements that hold great promise.

The term "artificial intelligence" emerged in 1956, but the cultural origins of AI can be traced back to the Aristotelian syllogism, which laid the groundwork for machines capable of logical operations. However, it was only in the 1990s that AI experienced exponential growth. In 1997, IBM's Deep(er) Blue defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov, marking a significant milestone for AI and chess enthusiasts. More recently, Google's AI system triumphed over the extremely complex game of GO. IBM's Watson won two episodes of Jeopardy!, claiming a million-dollar prize donated to charity, etc.

The applications of AI extend far and wide and go beyond games, reaching sectors such as the military, security, self-driving cars, and even the stock market. The versatility of AI knows no bounds, finding applications in diverse fields like healthcare, finance, transportation, and, of course, video games. This expanded scope is largely due to the scalability of cloud computing, the explosion of Big Data, advancements in machine learning and neural networks, improved global internet coverage, and overall technological progress.

Despite AI's significant role in our lives, concerns persist within the scientific community regarding its inherent risks. Eminent theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, for example, has issued grave warnings, suggesting that AI could potentially lead to the demise of humanity. Other influential figures, such as Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom and visionary entrepreneur Elon Musk, share these apprehensions, emphasizing the need for careful consideration and ethical development of AI technologies. On the other hand, machines, free from the prejudices and biases ingrained in humans, have the potential to make fairer and more impartial decisions, and it may become desirable for humans to step back from certain judgment domains. Estonia, for example, has recently embarked on an experiment employing robot judges to resolve minor civil disputes, effectively addressing a significant backlog. However, this vision of utopia can quickly transform into a dystopia.

ChatGPT has played a significant role in bringing AI to the attention of the masses. We could say that, just as the web became synonymous with the Internet, ChatGPT is now synonymous with AI. While discussions about the Internet began in the 1970s, its accessibility was initially limited to the military and academic circles, and it truly took off in 1993 with the introduction of Mosaic. ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, made its debut in November 2022, propelling OpenAI's valuation to approximately US$29 billion. ChatGPT is a versatile chatbot capable of performing various tasks such as coding, composing music and essays, answering test questions, translating text, and simulating chat rooms and games. Additionally, OpenAI has recently introduced plugins to further expand its capabilities, including web browsing, code interpretation, and external plugins developed by companies like Expedia, OpenTable, Zapier, Shopify, Slack, and Wolfram.

Opinions about ChatGPT have been mixed, to say the least. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has expressed both optimism about AI's benefits and concerns about its dangers. In one of his podcast episodes, Joe Rogan likened ChatGPT to revolutionary inventions like Gutenberg's printing press, recognizing its profound impact. Whether viewed as good or bad, ChatGPT's cultural impact is undeniable. Competitors have emerged in response to its success. For example, Google introduced the experimental service Bard, based on its LaMDA large language model, and Meta released LLaMA for research community use. Other companies, including Baidu, Naver, and Yandex, have also announced plans to launch their own ChatGPT-style services. In an effort to promote transparency and inclusivity, Hugging Face has launched HuggingChat as an open-source alternative.

Whether we envision a utopian or dystopian future, it seems that AI is our destiny. So, before we dive into the details, the main question we should ask ourselves is: where does our industry stand? Who do we want to be in this AI-driven landscape? Will we be the innovators, the early adopters, the early majority, the late majority, or the laggards?

Ultimately, the decision lies in our hands. By understanding the broader context of artificial intelligence, the advancements made, and the concerns raised, we can make informed choices that align with our goals and values. Embracing AI responsibly and ethically, while staying attuned to the potential risks and benefits, will be crucial as we navigate the future of our industry.
Wait!

Before you go

Please sign up for our Evening Digest and Breaking Newsletters

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request.

* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Click here for a Print Subscription with Online Digital included.

Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition.

If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. Below you will see test that reads Print Subscribe Access. Click this to then Get Started attaching your account number and zip code to you online user account.

Click on the banner above if you would like to become a print subscriber with digital access.

If you simply want online access without print click get started below.
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.


remaining of

Thank you for using HudsonValley360! On your next view you will be asked to log in or create an account to continue reading.
Data reveals the real power of remixes fromDespacito to Die For You

Chartmetric analyzed popular remixes released since 2020 to examine their popularity and test their power in boosting a tracks performance, sometimes leading up to a No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

by Jubran Haddad from Chartmetric Blog

Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankees Despacito was already a huge hit in the Latin world before Justin Bieber collaborated on its remixed version. The Canadian artist was in Bogota, Colombia, for a show when he heard the song at a nightclub. So, when his manager Scooter Braun told him about doing a remix, Bieber jumped right in. With a team quickly flying down to the capital to record, it only took four days from when he first heard the song to release its hit counterpart.

He added an extra layer to the song. Sometimes you hear remixes and its different or you go to the original. He was very smart in that it started with his voice. Because your regular listener doesnt know who Daddy Yankee and Luis Fonsi are. And that was very smart, Luis Fonsi said about Justin Biebers verse on Despacito in the book Decoding Despacito by Leila Cobo.

Biebers Spanish singing boosted the tracks popularity, resulting in multiple number-one positions in various countries and increasing the visibility of Spanish-language pop music worldwide. Several remixes besides Despacito have reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart since the 1990s, with some holding the position for weeks.

As we witness a surge in music manipulation, including the use of AI and sped-up and slowed-reverb versions of old and new tracks, it remains to be seen whether traditional remixes (which feature a guest artist or a remix producer) will maintain their cultural impact and longevity in the evolving musical landscape.

This article will test the trend of releasing traditional remixes as a post-release strategy in the current music industry. We will examine the present status of remixes, understand their implementation, and how they can benefit artists and even help land the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Defining a Remix

A remix is a modified version of a music recording that can be created by reorganizing its audio components and removing or adding certain elements. For most, remixes incorporate contributions from another artist or producer and are labeled as Remix, Part II, or using featuring, or with.

The Global Popularity of Remixes

We conducted a study by reviewing Spotifys Top 50 Weekly Global Chart from the past three years and identifying remixes that made it to the chart for at least one week. Some popular tracks we discovered were Doja Cats Say So featuring Nicki Minaj, which gained popularity during the quarantine, and Ariana Grandes recent guest feature on The Weeknds 2016 hit Die For You. In total, we found 68 tracks that fit the above-mentioned definition of a remix.

We discovered that, on average, remixes are released 155 days, or five months, after the original track. The year 2020 saw a significant number of remixes, with 30 appearing on the global chart for at least a week. However, this number decreased to 23 in 2021; only ten remixes made it to the global chart in 2022. However, with five tracks already making it to the global charts five months into 2023, this year may differ from the previous ones.

To understand the overall performance of remixes versus the original versions, we utilized the Chartmetric track score. This exclusive algorithm considers all related track performance metrics across seven popular platforms: Spotify, YouTube, TikTok, Airplay, Soundcloud, Pandora, and Shazam (with recent tracks receiving additional weighting). We restricted our analysis to remixes released up to 2022 and ended up with 63 tracks. Our findings revealed that remixes released between 2020-2022 had a lower track score than original tracks: on average, original tracks scored 434 while remixes scored 288.

There are a few potential reasons for this. First, listeners may have a stronger connection to the original version of a track that initially caught their attention. Additionally, marketing and promotion for remixes might not be as extensive as for the original, which could lead to lower popularity and engagement. Moreover, listeners may lose interest if remixes are frequently released or lack variation. Interested to see how your favorite tracks stand comparatively to their remix? You can explore tracks within our dataset and see how they stack across different metrics by selecting the track in the filter.

We also wanted to see the top remixes that have surpassed their original counterpart in the number of streams and rank them based on the streams gap sizes. We found out that Latin music is leading by example. Through collaboration with local artists, Latin music stars are gaining national and global recognition, blending audiences across various regions. For instance, Bad Bunnys remix of Volando, Anuel AA, and Myke Towers collaboration on Mon Amour are breathing new life into lesser-known artists tracks. Latin artists do not have to sing in English or feature an English-speaking artist to attain global success. Viva!

How Remixes Boost Indie Artists

On February 25, 2022, Benita, a Toronto-based artist, released the single Dopamine as part of her EP SCARLET, which was released on March 10, 2022. The song was included in Spotify editorial playlists such as Fresh Finds R&B and Mood Ring, but it didnt receive as much attention as the other tracks on the EP. However, after NBDY added a verse to a remix of the song, Dopamine experienced a resurgence.

Within ten days of its release on September 26, 2022, the remix had more streams than the original version. It was featured on Spotifys R&B Weekly, and Fresh Finds playlists, and as of today, it stands as Benitas third most streamed song. This collaboration between Benita and NBDY exemplifies a successful remix that gave the track a second chance to shine.

But what happens when a track is already popular? Is it worth it to release a remix? It seems like releasing a remix can help break chart records. SZAs Kill Bill managed to claim the top spot on the Hot 100 chart after spending eight nonconsecutive weeks at No. 2, all thanks to featuring Doja Cat on the remix. To provide a better understanding of that, lets take a look at three popular songs by famous artists: Creepin' by Metro Boomin featuring The Weeknd and 21 Savage, Die For You by The Weeknd, and Kill Bill by SZA. These songs have competed with each other and other hits such as Flowers and Boys a Liar Pt.2. for the last few months. Additionally, remixed versions of these tracks have been released.

Lets dive into each track and its remixes and see how they do on the charts using the Chartmetric track Score. Its always exciting to see how music is performing in real-time.https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/13562953/embed

Two remix versions of hit songs, Creepin' and Kill Bill, were released on March 17 and April 14, respectively. Neither of the remixes significantly impacted the original tracks popularity score; both original versions had the typical volatility of big hits, and are almost identical. While the Kill Bill remix performs better than the Creepin' remix, it still falls short of the original track.

In contrast, the remix version of Die For You is breaking records. On its opening day, it had the highest number of streams for a remix in Spotifys history, with 8.9 million streams. While the original track maintained a consistent score, the remix peaked at 2608 on March 13 and has settled down to a score of 248 in the last two weeks. This impressive success is a testament to the strong friendship, previous collaborations, and mega-stardom of both The Weeknd and Grande.

How does that translate in the Billboard Hot 100? Billboard uses a complex equation to calculate a songs rank on the Hot 100 chart. This equation takes into account all-genre U.S. streaming (including official audio and video), radio airplay, and sales data from all versions of the song. On the Hot 100, one version of the song (original or remix version) is listed, which is chosen based on the performance of the remix compared to the overall song consumption during the tracking week.



All three tracks received a boost on the chart. Creepin' climbed from No. 6 to No. 3, while both Kill Bill and Die for You reached No. 1. Although the Kill Bill remix did not perform as the Die for You remix, it contributed to SZAs first Hot 100 No. 1, much like Creepin' jumping three spots after its remix. Despite minor musical differences, the remixes drove more traffic back to the original tracks and highlighted them. The remix of Die for You did so well that it replaced the original on the charts since it accounted for over half of the original tracks performance.

With that being said, releasing a remix can be the last effort to capitalize on a tracks potential when its already doing well and close to scoring No. 1. Lil Nas Xs Old Town Road crowned the chart for 19 weeks, thanks to the release of four remixes; the songs original version remained on the charts, while the remixes worked behind the scenes to maintain popularity. But what sets tracks like Old Town Road and Cheerleader apart from others like Kill Bill and Creepin is that they were originally introduced to the world as remixes. In contrast, the latter were released only after their original versions had global success.

Traditional remixes are still in

It seems that listeners may have a stronger connection to the original versions of a track. Yet, remixes are still capable of reviving a track, introducing artists to new audiences, and, scoring a No. 1. Even if, in the long run, remixes are less popular than the original, the popularity of a remix is not as important as its contribution to the original tracks ongoing legacy. Only time will tell which version listeners will prefer in the long run.

Share on:
.HipHop: An exclusive domain for the Hip Hop community

Hip Hop artists, managers, musicians, and more can now create a unique and readily identifiable online presence with the internet (dot) HipHop domain.

Indie Spotlight via A2iM

If youre into Hip Hop, then you know how important it is to have a digital identity that reflects your passion. Thats where .HipHop comes in  a domain name extension specifically designed for the Hip Hop community. Well explore what .HipHop is, who could benefit from having a .HipHop domain, its mission statement, and company values. Additionally, well look at how a .HipHop domain name has practical applications, including unique website naming, personalized email, and emerging Web 3 technologies.

What is a .HipHop Domain Name?

A .HipHop domain name is a top-level domain (TLD) extension that allows individuals and businesses in the Hip Hop community to create a unique and easily identifiable online presence. It was created for the purpose of providing a platform for the Hip Hop community to showcase their identity and connect with their audience.

Who Could Benefit from Having a .HipHop Domain?

.HipHop domain names can be beneficial to a wide range of people and businesses in the Hip Hop community and culture, including musicians, artists, writers, DJs, event planners, promoters, producers, record labels, bloggers, and more. With a .HipHop domain name, individuals and businesses can create a brandable online presence that reflects their passion for Hip Hop and sets them apart from the competition.

.HipHop Mission Statement and Company Values

The mission of .HipHop is to empower the Hip Hop community through a brandable online presence that enables them to receive the rewards provided by the technology and identity that a .HipHop domain delivers. By providing a dedicated domain name extension for the Hip Hop community, .HipHop aims to create a space where individuals and businesses can showcase their creativity and connect with their audience on a deeper level. At .HipHop, creativity, authenticity, respect, equality, and self-expression are core values that guide everything we do. We believe that the Hip Hop community is defined by these values and that a .HipHop domain name should reflect that. Our goal is to provide a platform where the Hip Hop community and culture can express themselves freely and connect with their audience in a meaningful way.

Practical Applications of .HipHop Domain Names

One of the primary benefits of having a .HipHop domain name is that it allows you to create a unique and easily identifiable website name that stands out in the crowded online space. For example, instead of using a generic domain name like .com or .net, a musician or producer in the Hip Hop community could use a .HipHop domain name like myname.hiphop or mycompany.hiphop to create a more memorable and brandable online presence.



In addition to unique website naming, a .HipHop domain name can also be used for personalized email addresses. This means that instead of using a generic email address like myname@gmail.com, a Hip Hop artist or business owner could use a personalized email address like myname@mycompany.hiphop to create a more professional and consistent online identity.

Finally, with the emergence of Web 3 technologies like blockchain and decentralized web platforms, having a .HipHop domain name can provide even more opportunities for the Hip Hop community to create a unique and valuable online presence. For example, by using a .HipHop domain name on a decentralized web platform, a musician or producer could create a more secure online presence that allows them to connect with their audience in a more direct and authentic way. It also opens up the possibility creating a crypto wallet using your unique .HipHop domain on the ENS (Ethereum Name Service) allowing you to create smart contracts, drop NFTs and collect royalties through your domain name.

Conclusion

In conclusion, .HipHop is a domain name extension that provides a unique and valuable platform for the Hip Hop community to showcase their identity and connect with their audience. With a commitment to creativity, authenticity, respect, equality, and self-expression, .HipHop is more than just a domain name extension  its a movement that empowers the Hip Hop community to take control of their online presence and connect with their audience in a more meaningful way.

Whether youre a Hip Hop musician, producer, blogger, or business owner, having a .HipHop domain name can provide you with a brandable online presence that sets you apart from the competition. From unique website naming to personalized email addresses to emerging Web 3 technologies, the practical applications of a .HipHop domain name are endless.

At .HipHop, were committed to providing the Hip Hop community and culture with a platform that reflects their values and empowers them to express themselves freely. With a .HipHop domain name, you can create a digital identity that truly reflects your passion for Hip Hop and connects you with your audience in a more authentic way. So why wait? Register your .HipHop domain name today and join the movement.

Share on:
Mass MoCA Commission Welcomes Architecture Firm, Silkscreen Printer

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  Two new tenants will open on the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art campus: Gary Lichtenstein Editions LLC and JZJN architecture.

Lichtenstein Editions is a publisher and printer of fine art silkscreen editions and will be located in Building 13, in the gallery formerly occupied by Eckert Fine Art. Gary Lichtenstein, with managing partner Melissa Marr, said he expects to open the second week of June.

"We've been in discussions with the director there, Kristy Edmunds, for over a year," Lichtenstein told the Mass MoCA Commission on Monday, adding he had worked with her before.

The studio is currently operating in Jersey City, New Jersey, and prior to that in Connecticut and California.

"In addition to custom screen printing services, GLE, as we like to call them, frequently curates exhibitions, produces events and cultivates site-specific projects and educational programs," said Kimma Stark, project manager at Mass MoCA.

The studio has been involved with its communities, Lichtenstein said, and has offered education through internships that have turned into jobs that have lead back to more education. He said they were looking forward to moving to North Adams "and be a part of a new community with the kind of leadership that we feel is there to begin with, that we could just blend in."

Commissioners hoped that the new business would make connections with the local high school art teachers. Lichtenstein said they'd brought in classes to see how they operate and sometimes inspires that one student to come back and talk to them.

The print facility expects to be open weekdays from 10 to 6 and weekends by appointment, but will likely shift to match the museum's hours.

JZJN offers architectural design, project management, strategic planning, exhibition design and custom fabrication and will be located directly above Lichtenstein in Building 13.

Principals Mandy Johnson and James Jarzyniecki both hold master's of architecture degrees from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston and moved their practice from New York City to North Adams in 2016. They opened the nonprofit gallery Outside at 10 Ashland St. and had a studio in the Beaver Mill for a few years before moving here permenantly.

"We still have that space now and that's really transitioned into a fabrication space, so woodshop and there's a fiber studio in there, as well as lots of material research that we do for our projects," said Jarzyniecki. "It's sort of like high and low tech. So we've got both going on -- the tablesaw my grandfather had from the '50s and then the 3D printers ... it's sort of nice to be able to marry those two things."

The gallery, he said, "was really our exhibition space as well as our meeting space with clients. So when we hadn't needed a big table to work out with clients, we would meet with them at the end of Main Street, it really functioned really well for that."

When the gallery closed during the pandemic, they began looking for a new location and began talks with Stark.

"Everyone knows where Mass MoCA is," he said. "I will not have to explain it when people are coming to our office to meet with us. So we're excited to move in."

The firm's projects are mainly residential and cultural, and its worked with a number of museums including MoCA, the Clark Art Institute and Williams College Museum of Art.

Both ventures were approved with Commissioner Eric Kerns abstaining from the JZJN vote because he is currently a client.
Clark Art Research and Academic Program Fellowships

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The Clark Art Institute's Research and Academic Program (RAP) announces the appointment of its 20232024 class of Fellows for summer 2023 and the upcoming academic year.

The Clark is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Through RAP, the Clark hosts a residential fellowship program that welcomes top international scholars for periods ranging from two to nine months. To date, the community of Clark Fellows numbers more than 400 individuals hailing from thirty countries, forming a global network of scholars united through the shared experience of academic pursuits undertaken on the Clark's Williamstown campus.

"The 20232024 Clark Fellows represent an exceptional group of scholars," said Caroline Fowler, Starr Director of the Research and Academic Program. "They bring many perspectives, as well as great vitality and creativity to the Clark. The scope of these projects is thrillingfrom the question of Edgar Degas's material and technical experimentation, to an innovative study of the Indo-Hungarian artist Amrita Sher-Gil, and an examination of paintings completed by British and French military officers in the Caribbean in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuriesamong many other extraordinary art historical interventions. We're excited to introduce our Fellows, and their ground-breaking work, to our community."

While in residency at the Clark, Fellows pursue independent research projects that span a wide variety of topics and pursuits, including writing, conceptualizing exhibitions, and studying emerging trends and issues in art history. The Clark's library collectionrecognized as one of the leading art history libraries in the United Statesserves as a central resource for researchers. Scholars live in apartments in a house close to the Clark's campus, providing a collegial environment that fosters collaboration, ongoing dialogue, and exchange of ideas.

"Clark Fellows bring a unique worldview, a dynamic presence, and a profound commitment to scholarship that inspires us all," said Olivier Meslay, Hardymon Director of the Clark. In 2001, I had the good fortune to be in one of the first cohorts of Clark Fellows, and I know firsthand how meaningful the program is to those who participate. The Clark's library, its collections, the camaraderie, and the inspiration of the museum's beautiful setting all combine to make the Clark Fellowship a remarkable experience."

Fellowships for summer 2023 and the 2023-2024 academic year are awarded to:

Michael Ann Holly Fellow: Rakhee Balaram, University at Albany, State University of New York (Fall 2023)

Rakhee Balaram specializes in modern and contemporary art. She is the author of Counterpractice: Psychoanalysis, Politics and the Art of French Feminism, an alternative history of art in France after May 1968 (Manchester University Press, 2021) and co-editor of a comprehensive survey of modern and contemporary Indian art, 20th Century Indian Art (Thames & Hudson, 2022). Her current research addresses issues of global art history, theory, art criticism, and the philosophies of digital media, technology, and machine learning.

Clark Fellow: Sandra Benites, National Arts Foundation (Funarte), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Summer 2023)

Sandra Benites is an anthropologist and Guarani Nhandeva Indigenous curator whose curatorial proposals have emphasized Indigenous "cosmovisions" and centered Indigenous women as protagonists. In spring 2023, she was appointed audiovisual director of the National Arts Foundation (Funarte). Along with Clark Fellow Anita Ekman, Benites organized the exhibition Ka'a Body: Cosmovision of the Rainforest at Paradise Row in London and Radicantes in Paris in winter 2021-2022. At the Clark, Benites and Ekman will collaborate on a book project examining how women in contemporary Indigenous and Brazilian art are transforming the global imagination of forests and their human and non-human inhabitants.

Beinecke Fellow: Cynthea J. Bogel, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan (Spring 2024)

Cynthea J. Bogel's work addresses Japanese art history and the Buddhist visual cultures of Asia. Since 2015, she has served as the editor of the peer-reviewed Journal of Asian Humanities at Kyushu University. Her books include Hiroshige: Birds and Flowers (Braziller, 1988) and With a Single Glance: Buddhist Icon and Early Mikky? Vision (University of Washington Press, 2009). Other publications focus primarily on Buddhist icons and temples in Japan, imported Chinese icons, Edo prints, art historiography, and aesthetics.

Clark Fellow: Brigid Doherty, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey (Fall 2023)

Brigid Doherty holds a joint appointment in the Departments of German and Art and Archaeology at Princeton University and is an associated faculty member in the School of Architecture. She is the co-editor of The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility and Other Writings on Media (Harvard University Press, 2008) and has participated in Manifesta 7, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, for which she created the exhibition project Learning Things. Her current research investigates twentieth-century German modernism, and the work of early-twentieth-century poet Rainer Maria Rilke and the late twentieth-century conceptual artist Hanne Darboven.

Clark Fellow: Anita Ekman, Researcher and Artist, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Summer 2023)

Anita Ekman is a Brazilian visual and performance artist and researcher of pre-colonial art and rainforest history. Her collaborative performances at archaeological sites and in museum collections analyze the Atlantic world and the role of women in the Amazon and Atlantic rainforests. She has lectured widely in the United States, including at Indiana University, Tufts University, and Harvard University. Her artwork has been featured in museums including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Harvard University's Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as in publications such as Od Review and Select. At the Clark, Ekman joins Clark Fellow Sandra Benites to collaborate on a book project examining how women in contemporary Indigenous and Brazilian art are transforming the global imagination of forests and their human and non-human inhabitants.

Center for Spain in America Fellow: Jesus Escobar, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois (Fall 2023)

Jesus Escobar's research focuses on the art, architecture, and urbanism of early modern Spain, Italy, and the larger Spanish Habsburg world. Recent and ongoing publication projects consider the monastery-palace of El Escorial, a spectacular seventeenth-century map of Madrid, transatlantic Renaissance and Baroque religious architecture in the Spanish Empire, and the historiography of seventeenth-century architecture in Spain. He is the author of The Plaza Mayor and the Shaping of Baroque Madrid (Cambridge University Press, 2003) and Habsburg Madrid: Architecture and the Spanish Monarchy (Penn State University Press, 2002). Escobar is editor of the scholarly book series, Buildings, Landscapes, and Societies, published by Penn State University Press, as well as an editor for the Grove Encyclopedia of Latin American Art and Architecture.

Florence Gould Foundation Fellow: Michelle Foa, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana (Fall 2023Spring 2024)

Michelle Foa studies European art of the eighteenth through the early twentieth centuries with a particular focus on nineteenth-century French art, visual and material culture, and criticism. She is at work on a book on Edgar Degas titled The Matter of Degas: Art and Materiality in Later Nineteenth-Century Paris, in which she analyzes the conceptual significance of the artist's sustained experimentation with diverse media and techniques in the context of his investigation into the physical and material qualities of the world around him. She is the author of Georges Seurat: The Art of Vision (Yale University Press, 2015). Other research and teaching interests include the materials of art, the relationships between art, science, and technology, the intersections of art history and environmental studies, and art historiography and criticism.

Critical Race Theory and Visual Culture Fellow: Sora Han, University of California, Irvine (Fall 2023)

Sora Han is the director of the Culture and Theory PhD program at the University of California, Irvine, and an associate professor of Criminology, Law, and Society with courtesy appointments in the African American Studies Department and the School of Law. She is the author of Letters of the Law (Stanford University Press, 2015), as well as the co-author of the law casebook, Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law, Third Edition (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2020). She is currently at work on two books: Slavery as Contract: A Study in the Case of Blackness, which brings together poetics, contract law, and afro-pessimist theory to think beyond the property metaphor of slavery; and Mu, the First Letter of an Anti-Colonial Alphabet, an experimental text on the "anagrammatic scramble" of the unconscious materiality of abolitionism.

Beinecke Short-Term Fellow: Suzanne Hudson, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (Summer 2023)

Suzanne Hudson is an art historian and critic whose research spans the nineteenth through the twenty-first centuries, with special emphasis on the history, theory, and conventions of painting within art schools and alternative pedagogical institutions, which include spaces of care work and medical and psychological services. Her books include Contemporary Painting (Thames & Hudson, World of Art Series, 2021); Mary Weatherford (Lund Humphries, 2019); Agnes Martin: Night Sea (Afterall Books/MIT Press, 2017); and Robert Ryman: Used Paint (MIT Press, 2009). Hudson is currently at work on Better for the Making: Art, Therapy, Process, a study of the therapeutic origins of artmaking within American modernism.

Clark/Oakley Humanities Fellow: Erica Moiah James, University of Miami, Florida (Fall 2023Spring 2024)

Erica Moiah James is an art historian and curator whose research centers on modern and contemporary art of the Caribbean, African, and African American diasporas. Her forthcoming book is entitled After Caliban: Caribbean Art in the Global Imaginary. Other publications include Charles White's J'Accuse!' and the Limits of Universal Blackness (Archives of American Art Journal, 2016), and Decolonizing Time: Nineteenth Century Haitian Portraiture and the Critique of Anachronism in Caribbean Art (Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art, 2019). She was the founding director and chief curator of the National Gallery of The Bahamas from 2003 to 2011.

Clark Fellow: Hallie G. Meredith, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington (Summer 2023)

Hallie G. Meredith specializes in late antique work, craft production, Eurasian exchange, and ancient technologies with a glass emphasis. In addition to editing and co-editing publications on late-Roman visual culture, she is the author of Word Becomes Image: Openwork Vessels as a Reflection of Late Antique Transformation (Archaeopress, 2015). She is currently at work on a book titled The Unknown Maker: Anonymous Roman Glass Artisans and their Legacy on Contemporary Craft.

Clark Fellow: Keisha Oliver, University of The Bahamas, Nassau (Summer 2023)

Keisha Oliver is assistant professor of art and design and the inaugural head of the Visual Arts and Design Department at the University of The Bahamas. She is currently pursuing a dual-title PhD in Art Education and African American and Diaspora Studies at Pennsylvania State University, where she is also leading an African art project for the Palmer Museum of Art. Her research and curatorial practices investigate Indigenous identity and cultural preservation across the African diaspora, with a focus on the intersection of cultural formations and nation building in the post-colonial Caribbean. Oliver contributed to the first co-authored text dedicated to contemporary Caribbean Art, A to Z Caribbean Art (Robert and Christopher Publishers, 2019).

The Kaleta A. Doolin Foundation Fellow: Kirstin Ringelberg, Elon University, Elon, North Carolina (Spring 2024)

Kirstin Ringelberg is an associate professor of art history, and an affiliate faculty member of the Women's and Gender Studies, American Studies, and Asian Studies programs at Elon University. Ringelberg is the author of the Redefining Gender in American Impressionist Studio Painting: Work Place/Domestic Space (Routledge, 2017), and numerous essays on topics ranging from the artistic representation of pain to the influence of contemporary art in popular culture, and the tension between beauty and criticality. Ringelberg served as the first art history professor at Elon, where they were instrumental in establishing its art history department.

Clark Class of 1974 Fellow: Marta Ruiz del Arbol, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain (Summer 2023)

Marta Ruiz del Arbol is the curator of modern painting and temporary exhibitions at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, where she also manages the twentieth-century permanent collection. Her curatorial activity focuses on the vindication and reinterpretation of the women artists present in the Thyssen's collection. Her curatorial projects include the 2021 exhibition Georgia O'Keeffea joint project with the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Beyeler Foundation in Basel, Switzerlandand the 2017 exhibition Sonia Delaunay: Art, Fashion and Design. Ruiz del Arbol is at work on a 2024 retrospective of Gabriele Munter.

Clark Fellow: Igor Simoes, Universidate Estadual do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil (Spring 2024)

Igor Simoes's work focuses on the intersections of histories of art and racialization in Brazilian art. Recent and current curatorial projects include Presenca Negra no Museu de Arte do Rio Grande do Sul, Empowerment (Volfsburg, Germany); Social Fabric (Houston and Dallas, Texas); and Dos Brasis: Arte e Pensamento negro (Sao Paulo, Brazil). In 2019 he served as educational curator of the Bienal 12Bienal do Mercosul, and he is the invited curator of the Instituto Inhotim in Minas Gerais, Brazil for the 2023 season. Simoes is an advisory board member for the Archives of Women Artists, Research, and Exhibitions (AWARE), including advising the initiative "Rewriting Art History in the Americas: BIPOC Women Artists from the 19th Century to Today," which will culminate in the exhibition Art and Feminisms at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg in Germany.

Clark Fellow: Elena Shtromberg, University of Utah, Salt Lake City (Fall 2023)

Elena Shtromberg specializes in modern and contemporary Latin American visual culture, with a specific focus on Brazil and the United StatesMexico border region. Her book, Art Systems: Brazil and the 1970s (University of Texas Press, 2016) explores visual forms of critique and subversion during the height of Brazilian dictatorship by tracing how the encounter of artistic practice with information and systems theories redefined the role of art in society. Her research interests extend to gender and media studies, cultural studies, and communications, geography, and postcolonial theory. She has also curated a number of exhibitions, the latest among them a co-curated screening of Contemporary Video Art from Latin America at the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, and In Motion  Borders and Migrations, encompassing a range of artistic manifestations along the U.S.Mexico border, co-curated for the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art in Salt Lake City.

Support from the Center for Spain in America, Florence Gould Foundation, Samuel H. Kress Foundation, The Manton Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Prospect Hill Foundation, The Kaleta A. Doolin Foundation, and the Sperry Fund help to underwrite fellowships in RAP. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/rap.
Hong Kong: Liu Chun-san meets Zhuhai mayor

Acting Secretary for Transport & Logistics Liu Chun-san today met Zhuhai Mayor Huang Zhihao to exchange views on deepening co-operation between Hong Kong and Zhuhai on logistics and aviation.

Mr Liu welcomed Mr Huangs visit to the Transport & Logistics Bureau with his delegation.

They discussed the development of a new trade corridor for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) and the promotion of the logistics industrys development through intermodal transport by sea, land and air.

The discussions also covered the topics of tapping further synergy from Hong Kong International Airport and Zhuhai Airport.

Traffic flow via the HZMB has rebounded significantly since the full resumption of normal travel between the Mainland and Hong Kong since February this year.

Cross-boundary transport and passenger flows will be more frequent and busy as approved Hong Kong private cars under the Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles scheme will be allowed to travel between the city and Guangdong via the HZMB starting July 1.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will continue to strengthen communication with the Zhuhai Municipal Government, striving to better leverage the HZMB and explore new investment and market opportunities.

Such co-operation will be conducive to generating substantial economic benefits in the Greater Bay Area.

This story has been published on: 2023-05-19. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations are meeting in Hiroshima and discussing further shipping-related sanctions on Russia.

New measures announced by the leaders during the May 19-21 meetings will target sanctions evasion involving third countries, and seek to undermine Russias future energy production and curb trade that supports Russias military. An official announcement on the shipping-related sanctions from the group is expected on Sunday.

The G7 includes Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union. Also due to touch down in Japan for talks is Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

US sanctions due to be announced this weekend would cut off roughly 70 entities from Russia, and other countries, from receiving US exports by adding them to the commerce blacklist. And there will be upwards of 300 new sanctions against individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft.

In the lead up to the summit, Britains prime minister, Rishi Sunak, announced a UK ban on imports of Russian-origin copper, nickel and aluminium, with other G7 members expected to follow suit.

The UK has today announced a new wave of sanctions against Russia, targeting businesses and individuals connected to Russias capacity to fund and wage the war.

The 86 designations target individuals and organisations connected to Russias energy, metals, defence, transport, and financial sectors.

This includes a crackdown on what an official British government release described as the shady individuals and entities connected to the theft and resale of Ukrainian grain, as well as targeting Russias major energy and arms shipping companies.

Companies connected to Rosatom, which are producing advanced materials and technology, including lasers, have also been sanctioned.

A total of 24 individuals and entities connected to Russias transport services, have also been sanctioned by the UK today. This includes Pawell Shipping, the State Grain Corporation (GZO) and its director Nikita Busel who are connected to what the UK government described as the systematic theft of Ukrainian grain.

Six major Russian shipping companies which have enabled and supported Putins wartime economy have also been sanctioned by the UK. This includes Sun Ship Management, an entity connected to Sovcomflot, Russias largest state-owned shipping company.

The European Union, meanwhile, has proposed prohibiting access to its ports for vessels that attempt to circumvent sanctions on Russian oil as it seeks to deter transport of its crude and products below the price caps set by the G7.

With price caps on Russian crude and petroleum products already in place, the focus by the EU is now on closing loopholes and more effective enforcement of the restrictions.

The EU has cited a sharp increase in deceptive practices, and related environmental risks by vessels trying to circumvent the G7 price cap and a ban on imports of Russian oil to the bloc. Vessels that are suspected or found in breach of the sanctions by engaging in ship-to-ship transfers should be banned from European ports and locks, it has said.

The breakdown of laden tanker Canis Power earlier this week in the Danish straits, a ship belonging to the so-called dark fleet, has added to impetus among European countries keen to clamp down on the growth of the vintage, often poorly maintained fleet hauling Russian cargoes through the continents waters.

As part of the planned next round of EU sanctions, the bloc has also proposed targeting vessels that switch off navigation systems.

Earlier this week, the US Department of the Treasurys Office of Terrorist Financing & Financial Crimes and Office Economic Policy released a progress report that claimed to underscore the price cap on Russian oils success in achieving its dual goals: reducing Russias revenue and keeping the global energy market stable.

According to the Russian Ministry of Finance, federal government oil revenues from January to March of 2023 were over 40% lower than a year prior. This is Russias single most important source of federal revenue. Before the war, oil revenues constituted 3035% of the total Russian budget. In 2023, oil revenues have fallen to just 23% of the Russian budget, the American report stated.

This decline in revenue has occurred despite Russias exporting roughly 5 to 10% more crude oil in April 2023 compared to March 2022.

In response to the price cap, Russia has been forced to alter the way it taxes oil such that it institutionalises the discounted value of Russian crudeessentially writing into law the steep discount the price cap has helped cement.

Despite widespread initial market skepticism around the price cap, market participants and geopolitical analysts have now acknowledged that the price cap is accomplishing both of its goals, the US Treasury stated.

Splash will be bringing readers updates from the G7 summit on Monday.

(splash247.com, May 19, 2023)
realme Philippines, the two-year consecutive champion according to Canalys and IDC sell-in reports published 2021 & 2022, stays committed to reaching as many Filipinos as possible. The smartphone brand continues its expansion and growth in the local market with over 5,000 offline stores all over Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

realme recently opened a new concept store located at the first SM Prime Holdings mall in Bataan Province, SM City Bataan on May 19. This also marks the brands 11th concept store in the Central Luzon region. As part of the grand opening scheme, the Squad who are visiting the SM Bataan realme concept store on the first day of opening can join the PICK-A-PRIZE promo, for a chance to win freebies such as a realme Mobile Game Trigger, realme Mobile Game Finger Sleeves, TechLife Power Bank or a realme Pocket Bluetooth Speaker. Promo runs until May 21 only!

Moreover, realme fans in Mindanao should watch out for the opening of realmes 25th kiosk in the region at the Gaisano Mall Puerto, Cagayan De Oro City this month of May. The kiosk will be catering a variety of realme products from smartphones, audio, wearables, and AIoT that can be ones instant day-to-day tech companion.

narzo expands kiosks to Bulacan and Bataan

As for the nartizens, the newest narzo kiosks opened at Waltermart Sta. Maria last May 18 and at SM City Bataan on May 19.

Lucky customers at the Waltermart Sta. Maria narzo kiosk won a free realme Mobile Game Trigger as part of the giveaway promo. Meanwhile, those who will visit the narzo kiosk in SM City Bataan can join the PICK-A-PRIZE promo where they can win either a narzo t-shirt or a realme Mobile Game Trigger. The promo will run until May 21 as well.

Visit any narzo kiosk and win freebie giveaway

The fun continues as narzo has an exciting treat to all its fans as the narzo Freebie Giveaway officially rolls out until May 31, 2023. Within the time period, all customers who will be purchasing at any narzo kiosks will be getting a free realme Cooling Back Clip or a realme Motion Activated Night Light.

On top of this, there will be seven (7) lucky nartizens nationwide to be taking home their very own realme TechLife Handheld Vacuum. See below for the complete mechanics on how to join:

Customers who purchased any realme OR narzo smartphone from any narzo kiosk from May 11, 2023 to May 31, 2023 will be given a free realme Cooling Back Clip or realme Motion Night Light and a chance to win a realme TechLife Handheld Vacuum! Freebies will be given outright. After getting the freebie, the promoter must assist the customer in answering the Gforms. Freebies shall only be given once the realme or narzo Smartphone was already given to the customer.

For more information on upcoming events, check out realmes official channels on Facebook and Instagram or follow narzos official Facebook page.
Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Maiwenn has spoken out about the reports that she spat at a journalist, hinting that she will explain her reasons for doing so at a later time.

The director and actor has been in the headlines in recent days due to her film, Jeanne du Barry, opening the Cannes Film Festival.

A biographical drama about the life of Louis XV and his mistress, Jeanne, the film is notable for being Johnny Depps first since winning his defamation trial against his ex-wife, Amber Heard.

Ahead of the films premiere on Tuesday (16 May), Variety published a feature with Edwy Plenel, a journalist who the director spat at in a restaurant in March.

Maiwenn has admitted to the offensive act on multiple occasions.

In a new interview with The Times on Friday (19 May), Maiwenn once again attested to spitting at the Mediapart magazine editor-in-chief but did not give further insight into the interaction.

This is true, she replied when writer Kevin Maher asked, in a manner described as casual as anything.

This is true. But nobody knows why I did it. Its not the right moment to talk about why I did it. I will maybe talk about it later. But I know why I did it.

Maiwenn (Getty Images for Red Sea IFF)

In the Variety piece, Plenel said he believes the filmmakers actions were due to his publications reporting on the rape and sexual assault allegations against Luc Besson, her ex-husband, with whom she had a child at age 16 when he was 33.

Jeanne du Barry has been praised by critics, despite Depps controversial casting. He sued Heard for defamation after claiming that she had falsely implied he was abusive towards her in a 2018 Washington Post opinion article.

The jury also ruled in favour of Heards countersuit, in which she claimed that Depps lawyer had defamed her by describing her abuse allegations as a hoax. Heard later settled the defamation case with Depp.

Elsewhere at Cannes, Brie Larson was taken aback when a journalist asked her opinion about Jeanne du Barry opening the festival.
Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Netflixs latest No 1 film, The Mother, has arrived at a disappointing milestone on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes.

Despite this, The Mother  which stars Jennifer Lopez as a retired assassin who comes out of hiding to save her estranged daughter (Lucy Paez)  has enjoyed the biggest opening weekend of 2023 so far for any Netflix film.

While Lopez has received praise for her performance in the film, The Mother has been middlingly received by critics and audiences alike, securing a critical score of just 45 per cent positive on Rotten Tomatoes.

The audience score, voted for by members of the public, is higher, sitting at a fresh 71 per cent.

However, the films rotten critical score represents an all-time low for The Mothers director, acclaimed Kiwi filmmaker Niki Caro.

Caros previous films include the celebrated 2002 drama Whale Rider, 2015s McFarland, USA, and the 2020 live-action adaptation of Mulan.

Other than two films which have not been given critical scores on Rotten Tomatoes (1998s Memory & Desire and 2009s The Vintners Luck), all seven of her other feature films had received fresh ratings.

Jennifer Lopez as The Mother in 'The Mother (Eric Milner/Netflix)

Earlier this week, it was announced that The Mother had chalked up a cumulative 83.71 million hours viewed in the first three days of its release, ranking as No 1 in 82 countries. The figure constituted the biggest opening weekend for any Netflix original film so far this year, beating releases such as Murder Mystery 2.

The Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston-starring sequel wasnt the only film to be outperformed by The Mother when it came to one key metric.

The Mother is available to stream on Netflix now.
Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Billy McFarland claims he has secured funding to pay off his debts, launch the second edition of the Fyre Festival, and produce a Broadway musical about the first edition of the doomed event.

In 2017, the 31-year-old convicted felon was at the centre of a scandal in which ticket holders were lured to a luxury music festival held on Pablo Escobars former private island in the Bahamas, with Migos and Blink-182 booked to perform.

However, the event was a disaster after festivalgoers faced issues with food, security and accommodation.

The entire scandal around the festival was the subject of two documentaries, including one by Netflix that aired in 2019.

In 2018, McFarland pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and sentenced to six years in prison, but was released early in March 2022 and ordered to pay back 23m to festival investors.

In a new TikTok video, McFarland announced that he has secured enough funding to clear his debts and launch the new Fyre Festival 1.5 and Broadway show.

Instead of like traditional Broadway actors, its going to be current music artists, combined with the Broadway format of the play  making fun of me, but also I think sharing some of the good sides as well, McFarland told journalist Adam Glyn.

Speaking of his debts, McFarland said: [Previous investors are] getting paid back and getting paid back, like right now.

McFarland didnt reveal many details about Fyre Festival 1.5. He, however, mentioned the reaction to getting artists has been so extreme.

Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up

Half of them are like, F*** off, how dare you call us. And theres half [who have been] been texting, emailing, saying, Hey, like what can we do to come? he said.

Last year, in his first interview since being released from prison, McFarland admitted that he was wrong to go ahead with the Fyre Festival.

I was wrong, McFarland said during an appearance on Good Morning America. I messed up. I was so driven by this desperate desire to prove people right. I had these early investors, backers, employees, and I think I was just so insecure that I thought the only way to prove myself to them was to succeed and that led me down this terrible path of bad decisions.

I need to apologise and that is the first and last thing that needs to be done. I let people down, he said.
Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Foo Fighters will dedicate their new album But Here We Are to the late band member Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohls mother Virginia.

The album, which is set to be released on 2 June, will be the bands first album ever since Hawkinss death in March 2022.

Hawkins was declared dead at a hotel in Colombia after paramedics battled to revive him. Prior to his death, he was suffering from chest pain.

Grohl, the bands frontman, lost his mother in the summer of 2022.

The band has described the new album to be a brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything theyve experienced in the last year.

But Here We Are is the sound of brothers finding refuge in the music that brought them together in the first place 28 years ago, a process that was as therapeutic as it was about a continuation of life, the press release states.

The new album is produced by Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters.

Earlier this week, a Brooklyn-based graphic arts studio called Morning Breath Inc revealed the design of the albums physical packaging which says: For Virginia and Taylor.

In the caption of the post, the art studio wrote: Its always an honour to work with [Foo Fighters]. This is the design for their latest album But Here We Are. Definitely a new turn for us as we explored minimalism and new techniques printing white on white.

Earlier this week, Foo Fighters also released a new single called Under You.

The groups 10-song album also includes records Hearing Voices, But Here We Are, The Glass, Nothing At All, Show Me How, Beyond Me, The Teacher and Rest.

In September, the band performed a tribute concert in Hawkins honour. You can read The Independents five-star review here.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

A court in Hong Kong dismissed an attempt by jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai to challenge a decision by security officials to effectively bar his British lawyer from representing him.

The 75-year-old founder of the now-shut Apple Daily newspaper is behind bars in a high-profile case filed by Hong Kongs authorities after a crackdown on the pro-democracy movement.

He was accused of colluding with foreign forces and charged with sedition under the contentious national security law.

He has pledged to plead not guilty. His trial is scheduled to begin in September.

A judicial review had been filed by Mr Lai after Hong Kongs National Security Committee (NSC), ruled that the admission of senior British lawyer Timothy Owen could harm national security and advised Hong Kong authorities to reject his visa.

The committee is headed by senior Hong Kong and Chinese officials.

The move to effectively stop Mr Owen from representing Mr Lai came even as the use of foreign lawyers by both prosecutors and defence has long been allowed in the former British colony as part of its rule of law traditions.

On Friday, chief High Court judge Jeremy Poon dismissed Mr Lais challenge and said Hong Kong courts essentially had no authority over the National Security Committee.

Under Hong Kongs national security law, imposed by China in 2020, the judge wrote in a judgement, the law has not vested the ... courts with any jurisdiction over the work of the NSC.

The duties and functions of the NSC... are matters well beyond the ... courts institutional capacity, the judge said.

Robert Pang, one of Mr Lais counsels had earlier argued that if the court could not step in when the NSC overstepped its power, Hong Kong was saying goodbye to a huge chunk of our rule of law.

You cannot have a body which can simply say magic words (on) national security, and be able to be free from any challenge, Mr Pang said.

Earlier on 10 May the Hong Kong legislature passed a bill giving the citys leader the discretionary power to bar foreign lawyers from national security cases, after a similar ruling by Chinas top legislative body in December.

Last week Mr Lai's British-origin son Sebastien Lai called the UK government incredibly weak after it failed to condemn and act against the crackdown on dissent in mainland China.

He also criticised the Rishi Sunak administration for not calling on authorities in Hong Kong to release his father, who is a British national.

In January, a spokesperson for Mr Sunak said a junior Foreign Office minister had met Mr Lais legal team and that the ministry had provided him with support for some time.

(Additional reporting by agencies)
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

The Supreme Court of India asked the Narendra Modi government to keep political differences aside and shift the translocated cheetahs to the western state of Rajasthan following the deaths of three animals in less than two months.

Over a dozen cheetahs from South Africa and Namibia were translocated to the Kuno National Park (KNP) of Madhya Pradesh in 2022 under the 'Project Cheetah', more than 70 years after the animals were declared extinct.

The efforts to reintroduce extinct cheetahs in India have been praised, but some wildlife activists and experts raised fears of risk to animals from predators and a lack of adequate prey.

A female cheetah from Namibia named Sasha died due to a kidney ailment on 27 March.

Uday, a South African cheetah, died in April due to cardio-pulmonary failure. Uday was part of the batch of 12 cheetahs flown to India on 18 February after eight Namibian cheetahs arrived in September last year.

Another South African female cheetah named Daksha, died on 9 March following a violent interaction with a male during a mating attempt.

India's top court said the three deaths in a short span of time were a "matter of serious concern".

Citing reports, a bench of justices BR Gavai and Sanjay Karol told the federal government that the Kuno National Park seems insufficient for such large numbers of cheetahs.

"There is too much concentration of cheetahs at one place," the bench said, according to news agency PTI.

"Why don't you look for suitable place in Rajasthan," the bench asked the government, adding: "Merely because Rajasthan is ruled by an opposition party does not mean, you will not consider it."

Rajasthan is ruled by the opposition Indian National Congress, whereas Madhya Pradesh is under Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Aishwarya Bhati, the additional solicitor general appearing for the federal government, said the task force is seized of the deaths and is investigating all possible aspects.

Ms Bhati added that the autopsies of all the deaths were completed while the task force was continuing the investigation.

The bench questioned how Sasha was cleared to be brought to India when the feline was already suffering from an ailment.

"You are bringing the cheetahs from abroad, it's a good thing. But they need to be protected. They need to be given suitable habitat, why don't you explore for a more suitable habitat than Kuno," the bench said.

Justice Gavai told Ms Bhati: "Don't bring party-politics into this issue. Consider all the available habitats, whatever is suitable for them. I will be glad if cheetahs are brought to Maharashtra."

Ms Bhati responded saying that the Mukundara National Park in Rajasthan state is ready and the task force is also considering relocating some cheetahs to other national parks in Madhya Pradesh.

"There are no cheetah experts in India as cheetahs went extinct from the country in 1947-48. Since then our officials have been to South Africa, Namibia and undergone specialised training on Cheetah management," Ms Bhati added.

The bench has directed the top court-constituted expert committee to give its suggestion to the national task force on cheetahs in 15 days to be considered.

Meanwhile, India in March celebrated the birth of four cheetah cubs from one of the females brought from Namibia in September last year. This was the first such cub birth on Indian soil in more than seven decades, as the countrys cheetah population had gone extinct in 1952.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Narendra Modi will be on a three-day visit to Hiroshima for the G7 leaders summit beginning Friday, making him the first Indian prime minister in over six decades to visit the Japanese city targeted by a nuclear weapon alongside Nagasaki during the World War II in 1945.

The last Indian leader to have visited the city was Indias first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1957.

With nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation listed among the issues to be addressed at the summit alongside Russias aggression against Ukraine, creation of resilient supply chains, and ensuring energy security, Mr Modis presence is significant because India is among the few countries that have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The international treaty, meant to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and arms technologies, opened for signature in 1968 and came into force in 1970. Among the 189 signatories were five nuclear-weapon states  China, France, Russia, UK, and the US  who are also permanent members of the UN Security Council.

India, however, refused to sign the treaty, calling it discriminatory as it defined nuclear-weapons states as those that tested nuclear devices before 1967. Since then, India has conducted two nuclear tests  in 1974 and 1998.

But while it was an issue of contention between India and Japan for a long time, experts believe, that it is unlikely to be a topic of discussion at the G7 meet despite Hiroshima being chosen as a symbolically powerful choice as the venue for the summit.

This, in parts, has been attributed to the evolution of relationship between the two countries due to strategic convergence.

They are both resident Indo-pacific power that wants to see stability and peace in the region, explained Harsh V Pant, a professor of international relations with Kings India Institute at Kings College London and vice president of studies and foreign policy at the New Delhi-based thinktank, Observer Research Foundation. They are wary of Chinese intentions.

India, which shares its borders with hostile neighbours Pakistan and China, perceived nuclear weapons through the lens of its strategic requirements, said Professor Pant.

The South Asian nation, which saw border clashes in December last year with China, also entered into a war with it in 1962. It also fought four wars with Pakistan in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999.

With China and Pakistan becoming nuclear powers in 1964 and 1976 respectively, India faces a significant challenge in the nuclear realm, Mr Pant said.

And for Japan, it was a big issue because [it is] the only country that had experienced the weapon used on its soil, he said.

The significance of Hiroshima being used as a venue for the G7 summit becomes much greater because of what is going on in Europe between Ukraine and Russia, said Sushant Singh, a senior fellow at the Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research.

There has always been a fear expressed that Russia could at some point in time, if it suffers massive losses, resort to threatening the use of nuclear weapons.

But the strategic ties and realities evolved for Japan as the US and India signed the Civil Nuclear Cooperation deal in 2008.

The deal allowed for a peaceful nuclear cooperation between American and Indian companies to partner together in ways that will foster growth in Indias civil nuclear sector, create a clean energy source which will benefit the environment, and will offer India greater energy security with stable sources of energy for its large and growing economy, according to US Department of State.

As a part of the deal, India agreed to expand international safeguards, adhere to international nuclear and missile export guidelines, continue its voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing, and ensure that all civil nuclear trade will be used only for peaceful purposes.

Because India will place a greater number of its reactors under safeguards, it reduces the nuclear infrastructure available for its weapons programme. These commitments constitute significant gains for global nonproliferation efforts, said a State Department statement.

That India has been a fairly responsible nuclear power  it hasnt shared nuclear secrets, for example  helps its cause as well, explained Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center.

Certainly, India does run into problems as a non-NPT state  in particular, this has contributed to its inability to gain membership in prestigious nuclear clubs, like the Nuclear Suppliers Group. But its not going to face a lot of heat on the whole.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries have kicked off this years three-day summit in Japans Hiroshima and a host of issues will put the gathering in a critical spotlight.

The G7 has vowed to provide Ukraine with financial support for the year and punish Russia for its ongoing invasion of the country.

The leaders will also face the prospect of announcing concrete climate-related actions amid a plethora of dire warnings pertaining to the climate crisis that have been made just this year.

What is the Group of 7?

The G7 is an informal grouping of wealthy Western nations. It has no permanent secretariat or legal status.

The grouping includes the US, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada.

Each year, a different member country assumes the presidency of the group, sets priorities and organises summits.

This year, Japan has taken over the presidency from its predecessor Germany.

Representatives from the European Union also attend the groupings meetings.

The group was founded following the 1973 Opec oil embargo as a forum for the richest nations to discuss crises affecting the world economy.

G7 countries together have a combined annual gross domestic product (GDP) of $40 trillion  just under half of the global economy.

With Russias ongoing war in Ukraine, a host of other countries have been invited to the summit this year with the hope of strengthening ties with non-G7 countries, while shoring up support for efforts like isolating Russia.

Leaders from Australia, Brazil, India, Indonesia and South Korea are among the guests.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected to join in person on Sunday.

Whats on the agenda?

G7 leaders said in a statement on Friday that they had ensured Ukraine had the budget support it needed for this year and early 2024 in its fight against Russia.

Today we are taking new steps to ensure that Russias illegal aggression against the sovereign state of Ukraine fails and to support the Ukrainian people in their quest for a just peace rooted in respect for international law, they said in a joint statement in Hiroshima.

The members also said they are engaging with other nations to avoid the flow of their goods and technology into Russia through third countries in an effort to crack down on any circumvention of sanctions that would give Russia a revenue boost.

According to a US official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to the Associated Press, the US component of the actions would blacklist about 70 Russian and third-country entities involved in the countrys defense production and sanction more than 300 individuals, entities, aircraft and vessels.

In addition, G7 leaders and invited guests from several other counties are also expected to discuss how to deal with Chinas growing military buildup, reported the Associated Press.

The move comes amid concerns that Beijing could try to seize the self governing island of Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict.

China claims Taiwan as a part of its own territory in line with its One China policy.

Why is Hiroshima important?

Japans prime minister Fumio Kishida kickstarted the summit from his constituency Hiroshima on Friday.

Mr Kishida wants nuclear disarmament to be a major focus of discussions at the summit.

G7 leaders formally started the summit at Hiroshimas Peace Memorial Park which is dedicated to preserving reminders of 6 August 1945, when a US B-29 dropped an atomic bomb over the city killing an estimated 140,000 people.

On Thursday night, Mr Kishida held talks with US president Joe Biden and British prime minister Rishi Sunak.

In his opening remarks to Mr Biden, the Japanese leader said the Japan-US alliance is the very foundation of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region.

Japan, facing threats from China, Russia and North Korea, has been expanding its military.

It has 50,000 US troops stationed in the country along with the aid from the USs military might.

Mr Sunaks office said that, during his meeting with Mr Kishida, the two leaders announced a series of agreements on issues including defense, trade and investment, technology and the climate crisis.

Russias nuclear threats against Ukraine, along with North Koreas ongoing missile tests and Chinas rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal, have resonated with Japans push to make nuclear disarmament a major part of the summit.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

A 15-year-old girl who was detained for allegedly insulting the monarchy in Thailand has been finally released after 50 days.

Thanalop Yok Phalanchai was arrested on 28 March for allegedly violating Thailands lese-majeste law when she criticised the monarchy during an October 2022 rally in Bangkok.

She walked out of the Ban Pranee juvenile vocational training centre for Girls in Nakhon Pathom city in central Thailand on Thursday, the Bangkok Post reported.

The central juvenile and family court rejected the police's request to extend Thanalop's detention in order to further investigate the case. The court reportedly said the police had enough material to support their investigation.

Protesters at the October rally in front of the Bangkok City Hall had called for the release of political detainees and for the abolition of royal defamation prosecutions.

Thanalop was detained for allegedly violating Article 112 of Thailands criminal code, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

By arresting a 15-year-old girl, the Thai government is sending the spine-chilling message that even children arent safe from being harshly punished for expressing their opinions," Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, had earlier said, calling for Thanalop's release.

Thanalop's detention has been one of the most high-profile among the 19 cases that involve people under age 18 charged with lese-majeste (insulting the monarchy). The youngest detainee was a 14-year-old girl from Phitsanulok city, north of Bangkok, who was released on bail this week.

The central juvenile and family court in a statement alleged that Thanalop's mother had failed to appear for her bail.

The Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) took issue with the courts contention that the accused had rejected justice when she refused to take part in proceedings, Bangkok Post reported.

Because Yok rejected only the justice system, she did not reject justice, it said.

Critics have accused Thailand of increasingly enforcing the lese-majeste law to throttle dissent since the Thai military took power in a 2014 coup.

After almost a three-year hiatus, in November 2020 prime minister Prayut Chan-ocha ordered the authorities to restore lese-majeste prosecutions, ostensibly because of growing criticisms of the monarchy.

At least 242 government critics have been charged for violating the lese majeste law during political protests since 2020, according to TLHR.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Formula 1 is donating 1million (868,000) to the relief operations in Emilia Romagna following the cancellation of the race at Imola this weekend.

F1 was forced to call off round six of the 2023 season due to the adverse weather and flooding which has affected the region in the past few weeks.

While missing out on the hosting fee of approximately 20m as a result of the Emilia Romagna GP not taking place, F1 has now announced a donation to the Emilia-Romagna Regions Agency for Territorial Safety and Civil Protection.

Food and water from the circuit, teams and hospitality on-site has also been donated to a group whore organising food banks and distribution for those who have been affected by the floods.

The death toll from this weeks floods has risen to 13, with rescue crews attempting to reach towns and villages in northern Italy and local mayor Monica Rossi warning the situation will be tragic if rainfall continues.

More than 13,000 people have been forced to leave their homes.

F1 president Stefano Domenicali, who is from the region, said in a press release on Friday: I was born and grew up in the marvelous lands of Emilia Romagna, a place that is living through some of the saddest moments in its history.

The situation facing the communities in the region is terrible, but I know that the resilience and passion of the people in the region, like so many across Italy, will prevail through this crisis.

F1 is donating 1million to flood relief operations in Emilia Romagna (AFP via Getty Images)

We must do everything we can to support them at this difficult time and that is why we are donating to help support the relief efforts on the ground.

My thoughts, on behalf of the entire Formula 1 community, are with everyone affected and we want to thank the emergency services for their incredible work.

The Independent understands the race is unlikely to be rescheduled this year due to the already congested 2023 calendar.

As a result, Imola may now stage a race in 2026 despite their original contract running out in 2025.

For anyone wanting to donate, please click HERE for the link.
At the end of production on Bill Forsyths Local Hero  re-released this week to mark its 40th anniversary  there was a wrap party in a local hotel in the north of Scotland. The cast and crew chipped in together to get the films star, the Hollywood legend Burt Lancaster, his very own full-dress Highland costume, in the Knox tartan. Lancaster, who loved all things Scottish, reacted with delight. He dropped his pants! his co-star Denis Lawson tells me with mock horror.

The films associate producer, Iain Smith, who later executive produced Mad Max: Fury Road, adds: He charmingly put it [the kilt] on there and then, revealing his fine physique. Lancaster was around 70 at the time but was a former acrobat and still very buff. He looked very well in it as I remember, recalls Smith.

Lancasters mini striptease is the kind of incident that could easily have been included in the film itself. One reason audiences still cherish Local Hero, and why Top Gun mogul Jerry Bruckheimer numbers it among his favourite movies, is that it is full of whimsical and endearing moments like this.
The powerful House of Commons public accounts committee (PAC) warns that there is a risk parliament could be destroyed by a catastrophic incident before repair works are carried out. It says there is a critical need to restore the building. Not only is it an internationally celebrated emblem of Britain  and democracy  but there is a growing list of health and safety incidents, some involving asbestos.

The clerks of both houses of parliament finally seem to acknowledge publicly the enormity of this task, for which they are now personally accountable, the PAC says in its report. But the process has suffered from years of procrastination, it adds, and from the focus having been on the convenience of sentimental MPs rather than the thousands of staff and visitors who use the building.

Is it a problem if parliament falls down?
Quite how it took me so long to discover Shirley Hazzards The Transit of Venus irritates me. I bought a copy in New York on a business trip after someone looked at me open-mouthed when I said I hadnt read it. Once I began reading, I was ensnared, like having been bitten by a puppy or kitten that wouldnt let go until it tasted blood.

The book tells the story of two sisters in Australia in the 1950s, ending in the late 1970s, moving from Sydney to London then to New York and finally Stockholm. Thinking about it now, its one of the first novels that understood the post-war era but took in what we think of as globalisation, a novel where all the strings are tied tight and yet everything remains loose. Hazzard has a brilliance for setting a sweepingly historical moment (In America, a white man had been shot dead in a car, and a black man on a veranda) as well as the most intimate (Pain rose up from her thorax, and descended like sleet behind her eyes) with the most astute eye.

She has a devastating ability to capture character: Major Ingot is thickly built, though in no martial way, having a citified paunch and a large pinkish jowl. His eyes, a hurt blue, were the eyes of a drunken child. He has recently married, and a wedding ring was already tight on his finger, like a knot tied there to remind, or the circlet fixed on a homing pigeon. Hazzard lets us see he has a desk-bound corpulence that might have done for a general then damns himself producing staccato information before ordering crab salad. Hazzard never judges Ingot: everyone is allowed their own humanity. The book is also, technically, illuminating.
Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Anne Hathaway fans have defended the Devil Wears Prada star after a viral video purported to show her skipping over Priyanka Chopra Jonas to greet Zendaya at Bulgaris fashion event in Italy.

Hathway, Zendaya, and Chopra Jonas all arrived at the Palazzo Ducale in Venice, Italy, on 16 May to celebrate the launch of Bulgaris new jewellery collection. The three stars  who are also Bulgari ambassadors  posed for photos together, each wearing dazzling Bulgari necklaces.

In a TikTok video shared by Harpers Bazaar France, the Princess Diaries star is seen walking in front of photographers to greet the Euphoria actor. Chopra Jonas, who is standing beside Zendaya, watches and smiles as the two exchange cheek kisses. The three brand ambassadors appear to compliment each others stunning gowns before snapping pictures with Bulgari CEO, Jean-Christophe Babin.

Despite the pleasantries, many viewers assumed Hathaway had snubbed Chopra Jonas in favour of Zendaya at the fashion event. As some people claimed Hathaway ignored the Citadel star, others chimed in to defend the Oceans 8 actor.

Why didnt she greet Priyanka lol, commented one TikTok user.

She totally ignored her, another said.

Priyanka waited for her hug, a third person wrote.

However, many users in the comments explained that Zendaya arrived late to the fashion event and Hathaway had already said hello to Chopra Jonas.

She didnt ignore her. Zendaya arrived later than they did, said one person.

Theres another post of the three of them. They all look fine, wrote someone else.

Guys. Priyanka Chopra and Anne Hathaway already greeted each other earlier, another TikToker said. Please dont throw hate towards Anne Hathaway.

Hathaway attended the launch of Bulgaris Mediterranea High Jewellery collection wearing a gold and silver ombre high-slit gown from Atelier Versace. The sparkling gown, which she paired with a pink bejeweled joker from Bulgaris collection, featured an attached hood.

Zendaya arrived wearing a black custom Richard Quinn gown with off-the-shoulder sleeves. She styled her hair in a slicked-back bun and accessorised the look with a silver snake necklace from Bulgari.

Meanwhile, Chopra Jonas opted for a pink cropped long-sleeve bodice and floor-length skirt, along with a matching pink necklace.

This isnt the first time fans have defended Anne Hathaway after she was accused of being rude on the red carpet. Earlier this month, a resurfaced interview showed the Ella Enchanted star declining a journalists inquiry about a conversation she had with Vogues editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.

The interview, which took place at ELLE magazines Women in Hollywood event last October, came after Hathaway sat next to Wintour at the Michael Kors New York Fashion Week show.

When asked whether she and Wintour had ever spoken about the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada  in which Meryl Streep plays Miranda Priestly, a character modelled after Wintour  Hathaway confirmed they had.

However, when the reporter pushed for information about what the legendary Vogue editor has shared, Hathaway replied: Why would I tell you? before laughing loudly.

The interviewer said: Because Im a fan and I need to know.

No, but you werent there, Hathaway said, shaking her head slightly. The interviewer said they respected Hathaways decision not to divulge her and Wintours interaction, and the actor thanked her.
Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Boris Johnson will father another child, it has been announced today.

Carrie Johnson revealed she is pregnant with her third child on social media.

Posting to her Instagram, she said: New team member arriving in just a few weeks. Ive felt pretty exhausted for much of the last eight months but we cant wait to meet this little one.

Johnson was previosuly leader of the Conservative Party since July 2019, and won the general election as leader in December 2019.

While he dealt with Brexit and the pandemic during his tenure, there were several developments in her personal life too - including marrying Carrie Johnson (nee Symonds ) and having two children together.

In December 2021, Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie welcomed their second child.

They announced the birth of a healthy baby girl at a London hospital on 9 December and later revealed that they named her Romy Iris Charlotte Johnson.

A spokesperson for the couple said at the time: Both mother and daughter are doing very well. The couple would like to thank the brilliant NHS maternity team for all their care and support.

In July 2021, following the pregnancy announcement, Ms Johnson revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage earlier in the year, and felt incredibly blessed to be pregnant again.

At the beginning of the year, I had a miscarriage which left me heartbroken, she wrote. I feel incredibly blessed to be pregnant again but Ive also felt like a bag of nerves.

Opening up about her miscarriage, Ms Johnson said she had found comfort in speaking to others who had also experienced a similar loss.

Fertility issues can be really hard for many people, particularly when on platforms like Instagram it can look like everything is only ever going well.

I found it a real comfort to hear from people who had also experienced loss so I hope that in some very small way sharing this might help others too, she said.

Boris Johnson and wife Carrie on their wedding day (PA Media)

The timing of her announcement suggests she was pregnant at the time of their wedding.

The couple were engaged in late 2019 and welcomed their first child, a son named Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, in April 2020. They married in an intimate wedding ceremony at Westminster Cathedral in May 2021.

While the baby girl was Ms Johnsons second child, Mr Johnson is more familiar with the experience of parenthood. During his resignation speech, Boris thanked Carrie and all of my children, however the exact number of offspring the prime minister has remains unclear.

Here is everything you need to know about Mr Johnsons children.

When was the prime ministers youngest baby born?

The youngest of Mr Johnsons children is his daughter, Romy Iris Charlotte Johnson, who was born on 9 December 2021.

The baby girl is his second child with Carrie Johnson (nee Symonds) and is the younger sister to the pairs son, Wilfred, who was born on 29 April, 2020.

The couple first announced that they were expecting a child in February 2020 and told the public that the child would be born in the early summer.

(Getty)

How many other children does Boris Johnson have?

It is believed that the prime minister has eight children and another on the way, however, he has not officially confirmed the exact number.

What is known is that the prime minister and his second wife, Marina Wheeler, who separated in 2018, have four children together: Lara Lettice, 27, Milo Arthur, 25, Cassia Peaches, 23, and Theodore Apollo, 21.

Boris Johnson pictured with his daughter Lara Johnson at a polling station after casting their votes in the election for the next Mayor of London in 2012 (G

Mr Johnson also has a fifth child, Stephanie Macintyre, who was fathered as a result of an affair with art consultant Helen Macintyre.

The Appeal Court ruled in 2013 that the public had a right to know that he had fathered a daughter during an adulterous liaison while Mayor of London in 2009.

The core information in this story, namely that the father had an adulterous affair with the mother, deceiving both his wife and the mothers partner and that the claimant, born about nine months later, was likely to be the fathers child, was a public interest matter which the electorate was entitled to know when considering his fitness for high public office, the court said.

Why is the number of children Mr Johnson has vague?

During the court proceedings, it was alleged that Stephanie Macintyre was one of two children the prime minister fathered as a result of an affair.

The three appeal court judges said: It was not material to the judge's conclusion whether contraceptive precautions were taken.

What was material was that the father's infidelities resulted in the conception of children on two occasions.

Has the prime minister ever spoken publicly about his children?

Boris Johnson has famously diverted questions about his family and personal life, especially during the election campaign in 2019.

During a radio interview with LBC, presenter Nick Ferrari asked the prime minister how many children he had and if he was fully involved in their lives.

The prime minister responded: I love my children very much but they are not standing at this election.

I'm not therefore going to comment on them.

He added: I am not going to put them onto the pitch in their election campaign when I think what people want to hear is what my plans are for the country, what this government is determined to do and how we are going to take this country forward.

That is the way all parties should be judged.
Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Jeff Bezos and his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez have been spotted relaxing on the Amazon founders new superyacht, which is reportedly worth almost $500m.

The 59-year-old billionaire was photographed aboard the 417-foot-long vessel as it set sail along the coast of Spain on Monday, 15 May.

The couples maiden voyage comes nearly five years after the vessel was first commissioned in 2018 for half a billion dollars. The yacht  named the Koru after the Maori word for new beginnings  comes complete with three decks and a pool.

In photos obtained by the Daily Mail, Bezos was seen shirtless on the megayachts sundeck, while Sanchez was dressed in a pink bikini and white cover-up as the pair enjoyed the sunshine.

Bezos reportedly arrived to his yacht via helicopter, making use of the vessels helipad, after being flown to Mallorca on a private jet.

The 250-foot tall boat even came equipped with a figurehead that bore a striking resemblance to Bezos 53-year-old girlfriend. The polished wooden sculpture, which sits at the prow of the yacht, depicts a woman carved in the style of a Roman goddess, complete with long hair and a flowing gown.

Koru, previously known as Y721, is the tallest sailing yacht in the world with three masts measuring more than 230 feet, according to Boat International. It reportedly cost Bezos $485m.

The boats exterior has a classic design of a black hull with a white superstructure. Although the brand-new vessel doesnt come with a helipad, the Amazon founder reportedly purchased a support yacht, worth $75m specifically to land his helicopter.

The yacht is one of the longest in the world. (EPA)

The Koru was constructed by Dutch yacht maker Oceano near Rotterdam in the Netherlands. It caused quite a scandal in February 2022 when the vessel nearly required the historic Koningshaven Bridge to be dismantled because its masts were too tall to pass under the bridge.

Indeed, the vessel is officially the tallest yacht in the world, standing at more than 230ft (70m), and is the length of four blue whales at 416ft (127m) - one of just four yachst in the world to boast a length of greater than 100m.

When Oceanco requested the city of Rotterdam dismantle the 100-year-old bridge  known to locals as De Hef  outraged citizens planned to throw rotten eggs at the superyacht. The yacht maker rescinded its request and ultimately hauled the 417-foot vessel to a separate shipyard to install the masts.

The clever design of the three masts, which see the yacht powered by kinetic energy, mean Bezos does not need an entire crew to staff the vessel - instead the Koru can be manned by one person (although no doubt the billionaire will have staff on hand for more of his voyages).

(AFP via Getty Images)

Guests visiting Bezos aboard his new superyacht are able to arrive via helicopter thanks to the vessels helipad, while other transport on board includes a fleet of cars, jetskis and smaller speedboats.

The yacht reportedly costs $25m a year to maintain, according to Page Six, but Bezos has more than enough money to cover the maintenance  his net worth is an estimated $141bn.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Israel is deploying over 2,000 police on Thursday for a march by flag-waving Jewish nationalists through the main Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalems Old City. Authorities say it's a determined effort to ensure the contentious event passes without violence.

Police have decided to allow the thousands of marchers to take the traditional route through the Old Citys Damascus Gate  despite an uptick in Israeli-Palestinian violence over the past year and heavy fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza last week.

While Israeli officials describe the parade as a festive event, it has been marred by anti-Arab racist chants and violence toward local Palestinians by some of the marchers. Two years ago, it helped spark an 11-day war between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, and the Hamas militant group has urged Palestinians to confront the parade this year.

Chief Supt. Yoram Segal, a senior Jerusalem police official, told reporters Wednesday that authorities were determined to prevent violence this time around.

He said some 2,500 officers were being deployed throughout the area, both to ensure safety and to react quickly toward any potential violence.

We are going to deal harshly with anyone who tries to disturb the peace, he said, adding that past troubles were caused by a tiny minority of people, but said there there would be no tolerance for incitement or violence that could endanger the people that are along the route or living along the route.

Segal said police have been working hand in hand with Jewish and Palestinian community leaders to keep things peaceful. He also confirmed that there had been a number of pre-emptive arrests of people who were believed to be planning violent disruptions. He declined to elaborate.

The march marks Jerusalem Day, which celebrates Israels capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its eternal capital, but its annexation of the eastern sector, home to the citys most important holy sites, is not internationally recognized. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as capital of their future state.

Each year, thousands of Israeli nationalists participate in the march, waving blue and white Israeli flags and singing songs. But in some cases, protesters chant anti-Arab slogans as they pass by Palestinian onlookers and businesses.

Israel's national security minister, far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, has joined the march in past years. It was not known whether he would join this year, his first as a Cabinet minister.

On Wednesday, Gazas ruling Hamas militant group called on Palestinians to oppose the parade.

We ask the people of Jerusalem to mobilize the masses to confront the march of the flags in Jerusalem tomorrow, said Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas official in Gaza.

Hamas urged Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and inside Israel to clash with the occupation. It also said it would hold a demonstration, with people waving Palestinian flags along Gazas heavily fortified frontier with Israel.

In a test ahead of the parade, large numbers of Jews are expected to visit Jerusalems most sensitive holy site early Thursday.

The hilltop compound is known to Jews as the Temple Mount, home to the ancient Jewish Temples, and is the holiest site in Judaism. Palestinians revere it as the Noble Sanctuary, and today it is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.

Under longstanding agreements, Jews are permitted to visit the site but not pray there. But an increase in such visits, along with scenes of some Jews quietly praying, have raised concerns among Palestinians that Israel is trying to alter the status quo  a charge Israel denies.

The competing claims to the site lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and often spill over into violence, including the 2021 war between Israel and Hamas.

The parade comes as fighting in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem is at its highest level in two decades. It also comes just days after a cease-fire took effect ending five days of heavy fighting between Israel and the Islamic Jihad militant group in Gaza.

Hamas stayed on the sidelines during the fighting, and Israel avoided attacking the group in an effort by both sides to contain the violence.

But if unrest erupts in Jerusalem, Hamas could enter the fray. Two years ago, weeks of unrest in Jerusalem erupted into an 11-day war during the parade.

The resistance is ready to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque and prevent the Judaization of Jerusalem, al-Masri said.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Video recordings released by police Thursday of this weeks deadly rampage in New Mexico show someone saying kill me on a home's doorbell camera and officers rushing toward the 18-year-old gunman before fatally shooting him outside a church.

Police have been probing for motivations behind the deadly attack by Beau Wilson on Monday, the day before he was due to graduate from high school, amid some indications from relatives of prior mental health issues.

Slain by the shooter were longtime Farmington residents Gwendolyn Schofield, 97, her 73-year-old daughter, Melody Ivie, and 79-year-old Shirley Voita.

At least six other people were wounded, including two police officers who have been released from medical care as they recover.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

A Tennessee commission that enforces standards for police recommended Thursday that proceedings to bar an officer charged in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols from serving in state law enforcement be suspended until his legal case is resolved.

A panel of the Tennessee Police Officer Standards and Training Commission in Nashville agreed to a request by a lawyer for former Memphis officer Tadarrius Bean to hold off on any recommendation to strip Bean of his state police certification.

Bean, 24, is one of five officers charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault and other offenses in Nichols' death. He has pleaded not guilty, as have the other four officers, and their case is being handled in Shelby County Criminal Court.

Lawyer Timothy Taylor asked the commission to place Bean's certification on inactive status as his criminal case proceeds. Should the case's result be favorable for Bean, he could apply for reinstatement to the Memphis Police Department with his certification in place, Taylor said.

If Bean fails to successfully defend himself against the charges, then he would be subject to official decertification by the commission, Taylor said.

The full commission is set to vote Friday on the recommendation.

Nichols was pulled out of his car during a Jan. 7 traffic stop and tried to run away from officers before he was punched, kicked and hit with a baton just feet from his Memphis home, according to police video released by the city. The officers said Nichols was stopped for reckless driving, but no proof of that accusation has emerged in video or police documents.

Nichols, 29, died three days later in a hospital. An autopsy report showed he died from blows to the head.

Nichols was Black. All five officers charged also are Black. They have been fired by the Memphis Police Department.

The department asked the commission to bar all five officers from working as police in the state. The commission already has decertified Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin and Justin Smith and approved the decision by Desmond Mills to surrender his certification. Haley, Martin and Smith have appealed, said Kevin Walters, a spokesperson for the commission.

Two former officers who were not charged are awaiting a decision on whether they will be barred from working in law enforcement in Tennessee: Preston Hemphill, who was terminated after firing a stun gun at Nichols during the traffic stop; and Dewayne Smith, the supervising lieutenant who arrived on scene after the beating, and who retired instead of being fired.

A seventh police employee who was fired has not been publicly named.

The Nichols case prompted nationwide protests and renewed an intense public discussion about police brutality.

After the officers' first court hearing Feb. 17, Beans attorney in criminal court, John Keith Perry, said Bean was doing his job and asserting multiple times that the officer never struck Nichols.

However, Bean admitted to police investigators he punched Nichols two or three times in the face because officers werent able to handcuff Nichols. The admission was noted in a filing by the police department to the Tennessee commission.

___

Sainz reported from Memphis, Tennessee.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

The life of one of Britains last D-Day veterans was celebrated at his funeral, following his death aged 100.

Joe Cattini, who died on April 18, was just 21 years old when he drove a truck loaded with petrol and ammunition off a ship in one of the first waves of the Normandy landings on June 6 1944.

His daughter Fran Bradshaw, 71, said: He told the story of coming off the ship with his truck loaded with petrol and ammunition and being quite scared in case he got a direct hit which would have meant he would be blown sky-high.

Mr Cattini, who landed on Gold Beach on D-Day as a bombardier in the 86th Field Regiment of the Hertfordshire Yeomanry, spent his final months at a care home in Stowmarket, Suffolk.

The electrician had previously lived in Eastleigh, Hampshire, before moving to be closer to family.

His funeral was held on Friday at St Edmunds Catholic Church in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, where his first wife Mary Cattinis funeral took place following her death in 1998, aged 73.

His funeral was attended by several generations of his family, members of the Royal Regiment Artillery and representatives from veterans groups.

His coffin, draped in a Royal Artillery Regiment standard, was carried past standard bearers to the top of the steps at the front of the church, followed by his children.

Members of his family then took over to carry the coffin inside the church for the service.

The arrival music was Ill Walk With God by the tenor Mario Lanza, and prayers were read by Mr Cattinis great-grandchildren.

Tributes were read by his daughter Marian Stevens-Farrow, and by representatives of the veterans groups D-Day Revisited, 18 September Foundation, Spirit of Normandy Trust and The British Normandy Memorial, with the latter represented by BBC reporter Nicholas Witchell, a founding trustee of The British Normandy Memorial.

The departure music, after the Last Post was played, was Highland Cathedral by piper Tosh MacDonald, as the coffin was carried out to the hearse. The order of service requested that any donations be made to the Normandy Memorial Trust.

His daughter Mrs Bradshaw, of Lavenham, Suffolk, said Mr Cattini did not speak much about what he experienced on D-Day until after the 70th anniversary.

I think it was the fact of meeting other veterans that prompted him, and all the daughters and sons of the veterans all said it was their mechanism to get through it basically, she said.

They just parcelled it up, put it away, and once they started talking it was incredible, the tears came and we heard such amazing stories.

It was a real privilege to be part of that.

She described her father as a complete and utter charmer.

He was perhaps one of the most positive men youve ever met, said Mrs Bradshaw.

My sister and I would often say to him how come you can wake up every morning like that? and his answer to that was having survived the war he wanted to make every day count.

The fact he was here for 100 years was fantastic but I think it was down to his positivity.

She said that the two great loves in his life were the church and his family.

In the last 10 years of his life he joined veterans groups, went to memorial events and he just transformed, Mrs Bradshaw said.

He was respected and he was honoured in a way that he hadnt been before, she said.

A friend of mine put it, she said normally theyre just old men taking up time in a queue, then suddenly when they put a uniform on and they go to these events theyre suddenly given so much respect.

I think it floored my dad when he first started going.

He was shocked by people in Normandy clapping when they went down the road.

It was amazing.

He moved to Suffolk in his final months, and loved Bury St Edmunds which is full of restaurants.

His joy, being Italian, his absolute joy was having lunches out with a glass of red wine, said Mrs Bradshaw.

That was the promise he made me make to him when we brought him up to Suffolk, that I would take him out for his lunches.

She said her father, who grew up in Hampstead, north-west London, had an incredible life and would have been incredibly humbled by tributes to him.

Dad always said they werent the heroes, they were the lucky ones that survived, she said.

The heroes were the ones whose names appeared on the Normandy memorial, the ones that lost their lives.

I think while he was thrilled with the attention he got in the last 10 years he was also humbled by the fact he felt he was so privileged to still be here.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Environmental campaigners are taking the Scottish Government to court over its authorisation of fishing practices they insist are trashing the seabed.

Open Seas, which works to protect the marine environment, claims the licensing of scallop dredging by the Scottish Government is causing significant harm  with the charity accusing ministers of regulatory negligence by allowing it.

It is mounting a legal challenge to the Government on the issue, with a petition for judicial review to be heard at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Monday.

That will see lawyers for the charity argue that a general licence decision to allow scallop dredging and bottom-trawling  fishing methods which involve either metal rakes or weighted nets being dragged across the seabed  is unlawful where this causes damage to marine habitats.

The marine campaigners have used underwater remote operated vehicle (ROV) technology to record what they believe to be damage to marine habitats around Scotlands coast.

Open Seas has previously raised its concerns with Scottish ministers, with correspondence on the issue going back over several years.

It now says the Governments ongoing sanctioning of such practices means it has no choice but to take legal action.

Open Seas director Phil Taylor said the challenge is taking place as ministers are required by law to make decisions in accordance with the National Marine Plan, which states any activities in Scotlands seas must not result in significant impact on the national status of priority marine features  the habitats and species that are a priority for conservation in Scotlands seas.

Speaking ahead of the start of the two-day hearing next week, Mr Taylor said: The seabed is a public asset, but tragically it is being degraded to the detriment of both the environment and the many inshore fishermen who depend on it.

Not all fishing is the same  some methods like scallop dredging cause profound damage to the seabed and need much better regulation.

Until 1984, bottom-trawling was banned in all waters within three miles of shoreline, but the practice is now legal in this area, known as the inshore zone.

Open Seas is campaigning for an updated version of the inshore limit to be introduced, with Mr Taylor saying: Amazingly, scallop dredging still has open access to over 90% of Scotlands inshore waters.

Ministers are required by law to make decisions in accordance with the National Marine Plan and that plan requires that activities in Scotlands seas must not result in significant impact on the national status of priority marine features.

However, the Government is continuing to issue fishing licences which allow bottom-trawling and dredging to damage these habitats.

This regulatory negligence is both trashing our seabed and undermining the future viability of inshore fisheries.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: As these matters are the subject of live litigation, it is not appropriate for us to comment.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

A 21-year-old terrorist has admitted plotting a gun attack in Londons Hyde Park.

Edward Little planned to buy a gun to kill a Christian preacher and her camera crew at Speakers Corner as well as any police or soldiers in the area at the time, it was alleged.

He was on his way into London in a taxi with thousands of pounds in cash when he was stopped and arrested last September 23.

Earlier this year, he denied preparing to commit acts of terrorism but changed his plea and admitted the charge on Friday at the Old Bailey.

Little, from Pelham Street, Brighton, entered his guilty plea by video link from Belmarsh jail.

The prosecution has asserted Little researched targets including Christian preacher Hatun Tash, military figures and members of the Metropolitan Police.

But defence lawyer Tom Godfrey said Little only accepted targeting the preacher.

As part of his preparations Little had looked up different guns and their capabilities and arranged to buy one for 5,000.

As he set off on September 23 last year, Little agreed to pay the taxi driver 300 to take him to Lewisham, south London, saying money was no problem.

He asked to stop at a mosque to pray but said he would do it in the cab after being told there was none on route.

When arrested, he was carrying a rucksack with 5,000 in cash, a passport and two mobile phones.

Police later found an encrypted chat on one phone, setting out his attack plan and the gun purchase.

Going by the online name of Abdullah, Little was also said to have exchanged chat about religion, Iraq and kuffar.

Little declined to answer questions in police interviews but his mood changed when he was shown a YouTube view of the preacher.

He launched himself from his chair across the table at an officer, swinging repeatedly with his fists before being restrained.

He went on to admit assaulting the officer at Newbury Police Station last September 28 and was sentenced to 40 weeks in prison.

The sentence was reduced on appeal for eight months in prison.

At a previous hearing at the Old Bailey, Judge Richard Marks said Little has an absolutely shocking previous record.

The defendant had been convicted of 14 offences on seven separate occasions, including for robbery, having a knife and drug dealing, dating back to 2017.

Little was due to stand trial on July 10 for the terrorism offence before pleading guilty at the hearing before Mr Justice Baker.

Prosecutor Duncan Penny KC asked for time to consider the defendants basis of plea in relation to his targets.

Mr Justice Baker adjourned sentencing until July 21 and remanded Little into custody.

Detective Chief Superintendent Olly Wright, head of Counter Terrorism Policing South East, said: This was a fast-moving investigation which our team responded to quickly.

This enabled us to stop Little in his tracks, before he could carry out his plans.

Littles guilty plea is a reflection of the strength of evidence our team was able to build and is a real example of why the Counter Terrorism Policing network exists.

Sussex Police Chief Superintendent Justin Burtenshaw, who is divisional commander for Brighton and Hove, said: We understand incidents such as this occurring locally can be concerning, but please be assured that a full investigation has taken place and there is no wider risk to the public.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who supported this investigation and helped to achieve this conviction.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Phillip Schofields paedophile brother has been jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of multiple child sex offences spanning a four-year period.

Schofield, who has been disowned by his This Morning host sibling, was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child.

The victim, who alleged the offending started when he was 13, told the jury he felt emotionally blackmailed by Schofield, 54, and forced to participate in sexual activity.

Schofield, wearing a grey prison tracksuit, appeared in the dock at Bristol Crown Court on Friday morning for sentencing.

Jailing Schofield, Mrs Justice Johannah Cutts told him he had exploited his victims innocence for your own sexual gratification and that what he did was wrong on every level.

In a statement read to the court by Robin Shellard, prosecuting, the victim said he felt "numb to life" following the abuse.

It was only after Schofield, a civilian police worker from Bath, Somerset was arrested that he was able to feel free and safe, he added.

Speaking outside court following the sentence Keith Smith, detective inspector of Avon and Somerset Police, described the offending by Schofield as sickening.

Schofield was dismissed without notice from the force following a misconduct hearing held on 25 April. He will be placed on a national barred list preventing him from working in law enforcement again.

Mr Smith also said the boy abused by Schofield showed remarkable bravery and he hoped this would encourage other victims of sexual offences to come forward.

Timothy Schofield was found guilty of 11 sex offences involving a child (PA Wire)

TV star Phillip Schofield earlier said I no longer have a brother after his sibling was found guilty in April following a trial at Exeter Crown Court.

Schofield admitted masturbating to pornography while sitting next to a boy who he claimed was over the age of 16 at the time.

He denied performing sexual acts on the teenager but was found guilty on all counts with a majority of 10-2 after more than five-and-a-half hours of deliberation.

During the trial, jurors heard how Schofield told his elder brother in September 2021 that he and the complainant had watched pornography together.

In a written statement read out in court, Phillip said that his brother had phoned him in an agitated and upset state, so he had invited him to drive to his home in London.

The court heard they spent several hours talking, including eating a meal, before he went to do the washing up.

He told how his brother said: You are going to hate me for what I am about to say, with him assuring him there was nothing he could say that would do that.

Phillip said in the statement: Then he said that he and (the boy) had time together and that last year they had watched porn ... and (masturbated).

I turned and said, What did you just say? He said it was last year and we were alone together. Tim said it was just this once. I told him it should never happen again. He then started to tell me about (the boys) body.

I said, F***, stop. I shouted at Tim that he had to stop. I didnt want to know any of the details but he made it sound like a one-off.

I said, I dont want you to tell me any more. I said, Youve got to stop, just never do it again. Regardless how that happened, it must never happen again.

On his return to This Morning on 17 April Phillip thanked viewers for their kind messages and support following his brothers trial. Phillip had been off air from 27 March for two weeks due to a scheduled break for the Easter holidays.

Phillip Schofield has said I no longer have a brother (Getty Images)

In a statement released by his lawyer after the guilty verdict, the This Morning host said: My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family. I hope that their privacy will now be respected.

If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my brother, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family.

These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother.

Schofield was convicted of three counts of causing a child to watch sexual activity, three of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, three of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and two of sexual activity with a child.

Childrens charity NSPCC said the victim had shown real courage in coming forward and urged anyone who has experience abuse to contact them.

In her sentencing remarks, the judge added: "You took away his ability to be the teenager he should have been - carefree, relaxed, happy. It is clear to me that you became utterly obsessed with him.

Your actions and behaviour have had a devastating impact on the boy. In doing what you did, you thought only of yourself. I have not heard a single word of remorse from you, only self-pity.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

An exotic bird breeder has been sentenced for poisoning multiple birds of prey in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in Scotland.

Barry Nicolle, 67, of near Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway, will have to complete 216 hours of unpaid work after he admitted lacing duck meat with banned pesticides and leaving it out on his land for scavengers in a bid to protect his own collection of prized waterfowl.

His actions, branded shockingly irresponsible by prosecutors, led to the deaths of five red kites and 10 rooks, whose bodies were discovered at various locations around the local authority area, including at Springholm Primary School.

Nicolle also left poisoned hunks of bread on fence posts around his land, which lies just 150 metres from the school.

Nicolle has shown an utter disregard for the wildlife laws which serve to protect these species Fiona Caldwell, COPFS

The Crown Office said Nicolle, of Wickerty Snook, Springholm, pled guilty to 13 wildlife crime charges involving the indiscriminate use of banned poisons and possession of a number of highly toxic pesticides.

He also admitted using a crow trap illegally and a further air weapon charge.

It was said Nicolle laid the poisoned bait for birds between May 2019 and February 2020.

Fiona Caldwell, who leads on wildlife and environmental crime at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said after Nicolles sentencing: The laying of bait laced with poisons was shockingly irresponsible and Nicolle has shown an utter disregard for the wildlife laws which serve to protect these species.

I would like to thank Police Scotland, RSPB Scotland, the Scottish SPCA, the SRUC (Scotlands Rural College) Veterinary Investigation Centre and Sasa (Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture) for their part in investigating and gathering evidence of these repugnant offences.

The law protects wild birds and those who seek to poison them or possess stocks of illegal poison can be assured that the procurator fiscal will continue to prosecute such cases and ensure that offenders face the consequences of their actions.

Nicolle was given a community payback order and told to carry out 216 hours of unpaid work when he was sentenced at Dumfries Sheriff Court on Friday.

Prosecutors said numerous reports of suspicious deaths of red kites in the Kirkpatrick Durham and Springholm areas were made to Police Scotland, RSPB and Scottish SPCA inspectors by members of the public.

Several red kites were found lying motionless on the ground in a distressed state and had to be euthanised.

Springholm is at the heart of the breeding red kite populations range in south-west Scotland, making it a key area of the country for the birds and their future conservation.

Subsequent post-mortem examinations by the SRUC Veterinary Investigation Centre and toxicology analysis by the Sasas chemistry branch established a pattern and cause of death linked to a banned Carbofuran-based pesticide called Aldicarb.

All the deaths centred around Nicolles property and as a result, police were granted a warrant to search Wickerty Snook.

During the search of the property in February 2020, the poisons Aldicarb, Bendiocarb and Phostoxin, which contains aluminium phosphide, were found, as were poisoned bait and traps, including an illegal Larsen trap.

A video showing the placement and nature of these items was taken prior to them being seized.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

A repugnant memorial to a slave owner which praises him for quelling a rebellion has been removed from a church to a museum in the first relocation of its kind.

The plaque in St Peters Church, Dorchester, Dorset, commemorates John Gordon who managed plantations in Jamaica for absentee British owners, and also owned some plantations himself.

Originally from Scotland, Mr Gordon died in 1774 in Dorchester as he was travelling to Falmouth to catch a ship to return to Jamaica but had no known Dorset connections.

The Church of England took the action to move the plaque to the nearby Dorset Museum where it will be viewable on request after churchgoers questioned its presence in the church.

A spokeswoman for the Diocese of Salisbury said: The memorial is highly unusual in recording an actual instance of rebellion by enslaved people  Tackys revolt of 1760  and is considered to be of historical importance for this reason.

However the wording on the monuments explicitly refers to Gordons actions in quelling the rebellion, praising him and using offensive language.

Many worshippers at St Peters and visitors had long felt the monument had no place in a church which sought to be open and welcoming to everybody.

Max Hebditch, a historian who attends St Peters, carried out research into Gordon and the church applied through the Church of Englands planning system for the monument to be removed from the wall and put in Dorset Museum next door.

Ruth Arlow, diocese chancellor, said: The monument celebrated in language of acclamation the violent quelling of a rebellion by enslaved people against a status that is now universally acknowledged as morally repugnant and contrary to Christian doctrine.

Its continued presence in the building seemed to imply the continued support, or at least toleration and acceptance, of discrimination and oppression and was inconsistent with the message of the universality of Gods love which the community of St Peters sought to share.

Harvard University Professor Vincent Brown, author of Tackys Revolt, The Story Of An Atlantic Slave War, supported research into the monument undertaken by the church.

He said: The Diocese of Salisburys decision represents a model for taking history seriously by honouring the values of the present without erasing or forgetting the past.

To remember enslavers is not to celebrate them rather it is to acknowledge the dark legacy of their influence on our world.

The Archdeacon of Sherborne, Penny Sayer, said: Local people were asking if it was appropriate to have such a monument in a church, or is it more appropriate to have it somewhere else.

It is really important that the story is told, particularly because it mentions Tackys revolt which represents hidden voices, people whose stories are not often told.

There were very careful steps taken by the church to ensure the monument was researched and the right process followed.

The memorial is to be replaced with a simple plaque noting details of the life and death of Gordon whose descendants have been consulted on the replacement.
Hundreds of soldiers and sailors are being drafted in to plug the gaps of striking Border Force staff, reports suggest amid fears of a second summer marred in travel chaos.

Training will begin on Monday, giving members of the armed forces less than a week to get up to speed before checking passports at Heathrow, Gatwick and Dover, according to The Guardian.

The newspaper also reports that members of the armed forces stationed at passport booths will not have the training required to detain people suspected of crimes such as carrying a false passport, drug smuggling or people trafficking, so long as they hold valid travel documents.
Cambridge University is now offering Lego building sessions as well as adult colouring books for students dealing with stress.

The top university is offering a range of activities at its libraries as part of its wellbeing support to students during the exam period.

Theres even a DIY nail bar, yoga and embroidery at one library, the Times reports.
The funeral and lying-in-state of Queen Elizabeth II cost taxpayers an estimated 161.7m, official figures show.

In tribute to her 70 years on the throne, the monarchs coffin was paraded through Scotland from Balmoral to Edinburgh before it lay in Westminster Hall for four days prior to her funeral on 19 September.

More than 250,000 people filed through the ancient hall in the Palace of Westminster to pay their respects, before the late Queens coffin was taken to its final resting place in the King George VI Memorial Chapel in Windsor.
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

A Just Stop Oil protestor has been thrown to the ground by a member of the public during a protest in central London, footage shared to social media shows.

A video shows a man approaching the group of campaigners, marching slowly with banners on Mansell Street  close to the Tower of London - on Friday morning.

He snatches two banners from two separate members, scrunching them up in his hand before approaching one who appears to be filming. He then grabs their smartphone and throws it to the ground.

The man then moves to remove more banners from the group, discarding them onto the pavement. He shoves one protestor to the ground, attempting to push others off and away from the road as a black car and a red bus can be seen driving slowly behind the scene.

Meanwhile, the woman picks herself up and goes to sit on the pavement.

He then returns to the campaigner who has continued filming, grabbing their phone out of their hand for a second time and throwing it out onto the road.

The sound of a car horn can be heard in the background throughout.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police urged the public not to intervene if protestors do block the road, asking that they wait for police officers to arrive.

The Met and City of London Police are aware of an incident shown on social media in which a member of the public appears to have an altercation with Just Stop Oil protesters on Mansell Street E1 this morning, Friday, 19 May, shortly before the arrival of police, a Met police spokesperson told The Independent.

At this stage, we are not aware that any allegations have been made in regard to this matter, however, at this stage we are in contact with the organisers of the demonstration.

We completely understand the frustration and anger of Londons communities when protesters walk slowly in the roads. We urge people not to intervene and to wait for the arrival of police, who will attend the scene promptly. We thank people for their patience.
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

A British man has been found dead in Lanzarote, days after vanishing on his first-ever foreign holiday.

Robert Campbell, 44, had been due to return to his native Scotland last Thursday after jetting off with a friend to the Canary Island.

But Mr Campbell, from Uddingston, in South Lanarkshire, became unwell as he prepared to board his flight home, and despite being given the all clear to fly, was later separated from his friend Paddy and disappeared.

A body has now been found in the search for the missing 44-year-old. Police Scotland said authorities in Lanzarote found a body on Wednesday, and while it has not been formally identified, Mr Campbells family have been informed.

His family has since launched an appeal to try and raise thousands of pounds to pay for his funeral and other fees.

Writing on the GoFundMe appeal, his sister Margueritte Devine said: Sadly our brother died in Lanzarote yesterday and were left with a bill of 6 and 10 thousand pounds in funeral fees. We are desperate to get him home ASAP so I am writing this to reach out from my heart to help us bring him home.

Friends of Mr Campbell had earlier described Mr Campbell as vulnerable on social media and said that they were worried sick.

At least two people who knew him travelled to the Spanish island to try and find him after he disappeared from the airport in the islands capital of Las Palmas.

The Daily Record reported that one said: "Robert is vulnerable and potentially lost in a foreign country. This is his first time abroad so he maybe unsure of what he needs to do to get home."

As news of his death emerged, people flocked to social media to pay tribute to him, with friends and family calling him one of the best.

One user, sharing the GoFundMe page, wrote: Could everyone please share this and help us get our uncle Rab (Robert) home ASAP where he belongs.

She added: One of our family members and friends (sic) flew over to Lanzarote to find him and bring him home but unfortunately they were sadly too late so we are all heartbroken and devastated and shocked.

Sharing photos of Mr Campbell, another wrote: Gutted to hear the passing of our uncle who was reported missing in Lanzarote has been found dead. First time going on holiday and not returning. R.I.P.

A third said: R.I.P cuz. You are one of the best. Sending lots love to my cousins thinking about you all, love you.

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: The body of a man was found in Lanzarote by Spanish police around 12.50pm on Wednesday, 17 May, 2023.

He is still to be formally identified but the family of Robert Campbell, 44, who had been reported missing from Uddingston on Thursday, 11 May, have been made aware.

The Independent has contacted the Foreign Office for comment.
British jails are being plunged into crisis as they face record levels of overcrowding, new figures reveal.

Shocking statistics released by the Ministry of Justice show more than 85,000 inmates are now locked up in England and Wales, with just hundreds of spaces remaining in prisons across the two countries.

Prison unions say the situation is a powder keg waiting to blow, while a watchdog told The Independent he had warned ministers of the stark dangers of overcrowding.
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Tescos chairman of eight years will step down at the companys shareholder meeting next month.

The supermarket said it made no findings of wrongdoing against John Allan, whose tenure was coming to an end anyway. But it said allegations over his personal conduct risk becoming a distraction.

On Friday, Mr Allan said the claims against him were utterly baseless, although he had previously apologised for one allegation that he had commented on a womans figure.

Last week, The Guardian said it had been approached by four women claiming Mr Allans behaviour had been inappropriate or unprofessional.

The newspaper said that Mr Allan allegedly touched a senior staff members bottom at last years shareholder meeting.

He was also accused of touching the bottom of a member of staff at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in May 2019.

Mr Allan, 74, was previously president of the CBI, which has been rocked by multiple sexual misconduct allegations in recent months.

The CBIs director general and staff members at the trade body have been fired after more than a dozen women came forward alleging they had been the victims of bad behaviour.

Mr Allan denied three of the allegations against him and apologised for the fourth.

One claim was to do with last years annual general meeting (AGM).

Tesco, which investigated the allegation, said on Friday: This review has not identified any evidence or complaints in relation to John at the Tesco 2022 AGM or at all in his tenure as Tesco chair.

Board member Byron Grote said: John has made a valuable contribution to Tesco during his eight years as chair.

He has successfully led the board through the turnaround and Covid whilst helping to rebuild the business.

While we have received no complaints about Johns conduct and made no findings of wrongdoing, these allegations risk becoming a distraction to Tesco.

Mr Grote will serve as interim chairman until someone can be found to do the job full time.

In a statement issued separately to Tesco, Mr Allan said: It is with regret that I am having to prematurely stand down from my position as chair of Tesco Plc following the anonymous and unsubstantiated allegations made against me, as reported by The Guardian.

These allegations are utterly baseless, as the internal procedures undertaken by Tesco prove.

Tesco undertook an extensive internal review which included inviting Tesco employees and ex-employees to come forward on an anonymous basis if they had concerns about my conduct.

He added: There is no evidence of any wrongdoing at that time or at any stage of my chairmanship at Tesco, and I remain determined to prove my innocence.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

New estimates of net migration to the UK are due to be published on May 25, but the latest available figures show levels are already at a record high.

Total net migration in the 12 months to June 2022  the difference between the number of people moving to the UK and the number leaving the country  stood at an estimated 504,000, up sharply from 173,000 in the year to June 2021.

The rise was driven by a series of unprecedented world events, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which compiled the estimates.

These include the war in Ukraine, the end of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, the resettlement of Afghan refugees, the new visa route for British nationals from Hong Kong, and students arriving from outside the European Union.

The ONS described this collection of factors as unique.

The figures to be released on May 25 will cover the 12 months to December 2022 and are likely to reflect the ongoing impact of these factors.

A total of 1.1 million people were estimated to have migrated to the UK in the year to June 2022, the majority  704,000  from outside the EU.

By contrast, 560,000 people were estimated to have migrated from the UK in the same period, almost half of them  275,000  going back to the EU.

The imbalance meant that, while far more non-EU nationals were likely to have arrived in the UK than left during these 12 months, the reverse was true for EU nationals, with more leaving than arriving.

Recent levels of migration cannot be compared directly with figures from before 2020, as the ONS has changed and improved the methods it uses to produce its estimates.

The latest figures also do not include the estimated 35,000 people who arrived in the UK by small boats in the 12 months to June 2022, the majority of who applied for asylum.

This is because further work needs to be done by the ONS to ensure these arrivals are correctly reflected in the long-term migration data.

People arriving on study visas accounted for the largest proportion (39%) of long-term immigration of non-EU nationals in the year to June 2022, at 277,000 people.

This is up from 143,000 in the previous 12 months.

This may reflect built-up demand from international students who wanted to travel to the UK but studied remotely in the early stages of the pandemic, the ONS said.

The increase might also be influenced by the new graduate visa route, where students can apply to work in the UK for up to three years after completing their studies.

The second-largest proportion of non-EU immigration in the year to June 2022 was by people on other visas, at 276,000, up from 91,000 in the year to June 2021.

This includes all those who arrived in the UK on visas classified as family, protection, settlement or visit  and those who have come for humanitarian reasons, such as from Ukraine.

The number of non-EU nationals arriving for work reasons in the 12 months to June 2022 was estimated at 151,000, up year-on-year from 92,000.

Separate figures released by the Home Office in February 2023 showed that nearly one-and-a-half million visas were issued in the year to December 2022 to people coming to the UK for work, study or family reasons, or through one of the Governments settlement schemes.

Some 423,013 work visas were granted, along with 626,551 study visas and 48,107 family visas, plus 5,055 visas for dependants joining or accompanying others.

In addition, 210,906 were issued under the Ukraine visa schemes, 53,836 were granted to British National (Overseas) status holders from Hong Kong, 34,338 were under the EU Settlement Scheme, and 3,903 were under other settlement schemes.

The combined total of 1,405,709 visas in 2022 is up 64% from 858,869 in 2021 and is the sixth successive record high for a 12-month period since current figures began in 2005.
Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

When Suella Braverman delivered a half-hour-long speech railing against identity politics and radical gender ideology on Monday, it was the first time most people had heard of the National Conservatism Conference.

But for three days it filled a large Westminster venue directly across the road from the Home Office, attracting an array of ministers, Conservative MPs and high-profile political figures.

The conference was run by an American group that professes to be concerned for Western civilization in the face of supposed enemies, including radical forms of sexual licence and the loss of traditional family, where relationships should be between men and women.

It is the project of a think tank called the Edmund Burke Foundation, which declares its aim to be strengthening the principles of national conservatism in Western countries. It also has links to an Israel-based Zionist research organisation.

The foundations website states that it was founded in 2019, but it was registered as a private limited company in the UK through Companies House in March, by Cambridge University theology professor Dr James Orr.

Dr Orr served as chair of this weeks conference, and proclaimed the values of faith, family, flag to the crowd before claiming that the cargo cult of transgenderism is triggering a social contagion that is inflicting irreversible physical harms on the young and the vulnerable.

In a series of other speeches this week, communities secretary Michael Gove held forth on biological reality, Conservative MP Miriam Cates claimed birth rates were the one overarching threat to the whole of Western society, fellow Tory MP Danny Kruger praised the normative family, and Jacob Rees-Mogg was interrupted by a demonstrator warning of the characteristics of fascism.

Conservative Party deputy chair Lee Anderson brought the curtain down on the three-day event on Wednesday afternoon, undeterred by the outrage generated by a previous speaker who had described the Holocaust as the Germans mucking up.

Joe Mulhall, director of research at the counterextremism group Hope Not Hate, said the topics discussed at the conference dripped with far-right and populist conspiracy theories.

The Conservative Party has always had a fringe in it that has flirted with far-right politics, but what is worrying here is that in 2023, when much of society has become more socially liberal, this rhetoric is coming from senior figures, he told The Independent.

Some speakers went beyond patriotism and embraced nationalism, while talk of demographic change, anti-immigration rhetoric and [discussion of] the incompatibility of migrants with British society, the notion of Western civilisation being in decline, the rejection of non-typical family units, referencing the cultural Marxism conspiracy theory, and open transphobia are all beliefs typical of the contemporary radical and far right.

Protester storms stage during Jacob Rees-Moggs National Conservatism Conference speech

Downing Street confirmed that ministers had attended the National Conservatism Conference in a government capacity, but said the prime minister was not endorsing the organisers values or the content of all of the speeches.

It was a far cry from the official response when Conservative MP Daniel Kawczynski attended an earlier conference held in Rome in 2020.

Following calls for him to be booted out of his party for appearing at the event, which was also attended by Hungarys nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban, he was forced to apologise.

In a statement issued at the time, a spokesperson for the Conservative Party said: Daniel Kawczynski has been formally warned that his attendance at this event was not acceptable, particularly in light of the views of some of those in attendance, which we utterly condemn, and that he is expected to hold himself to higher standards.

Three years and two prime ministers later, no such censure has been applied to the ministers who saw fit to attend, and the themes of the National Conservatism Conference remain unchanged.

The groups website proclaims: We are citizens of Western nations who have watched with alarm as the traditional beliefs, institutions, and liberties underpinning life in the countries we love have been progressively undermined and overthrown.

It calls for the restoration of a proper public orientation toward patriotism and courage, honour and loyalty, religion and wisdom, congregation and family, man and woman, while decrying what it calls universalist ideologies.

The National Conservatism groups published statement of principles is heavily focused on Christianity, along with ideas of Western identity and heritage and traditional family.

The traditional family, built around a lifelong bond between a man and a woman, and on a lifelong bond between parents and children, is the foundation of all other achievements of our civilization, one passage reads.

Conservative MP and former minister Jacob Rees-Mogg was also among the speakers (Getty)

The disintegration of the family, including a marked decline in marriage and childbirth, gravely threatens the wellbeing and sustainability of democratic nations. Among the causes are an unconstrained individualism that regards children as a burden, while encouraging ever more radical forms of sexual licence and experimentation as an alternative to the responsibilities of family and congregational life.

Hailing the Bible as the surest guide ... to the political traditions of the nation, the statement calls for public life in the UK and the US to be rooted in Christianity.

Signed by leading members of the National Conservatism group, it claims that unassimilated immigration is a source of weakness and instability and demands restrictions that could amount to an unspecified moratorium on immigration.

But the statement insists that nationalism can offer a sound basis for conciliation and unity between people of different races, and respects the unique needs of particular minority communities.

The Independent understands that no MPs were paid to appear at the conference, although several spokespeople did not answer questions on how the MPs concerned had come to be invited to speak  or why they had agreed to do so.

When asked why the Conservative Partys position on the conference had changed since Mr Kawczynski was censured in 2020, a spokesperson at the partys headquarters only pointed to previous comments from Downing Street.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Rishi Sunaks official spokesperson told reporters that, despite the content of MPs speeches and the conference organisers stance on gay marriage, there was no change to government policy.

He said the prime minister did not agree with Mr Krugers statement that the normative family with a mother and a father is the only basis for a functioning society, and was not personally endorsing the gathering.
Nadine Dorries has called for a rule change over the peerage system amid concern Boris Johnsons honours list could stir up a wave of by-elections.

The former culture secretary, who stood by the ex-PM during the cabinet mutiny that toppled his premiership last year, has already confirmed she will relinquish her Mid Bedfordshire seat come the next general election.

But an appointment to the House of Lords could mean an early departure from the Commons for Ms Dorries  triggering one of three possible by-elections Rishi Sunak faces if MPs nominated for peerages by Mr Johnson stand down.
Rishi Sunak believes immigration into the UK is too high and has said he wants to bring it down to below the level he inherited.

The prime minister insisted he would not put a number on it but suggested he may cut immigration to below the level it had reached when he entered No 10  around 500,000 net arrivals a year.

But Downing Street dismissed speculation the half-a-million figure would be set in stone and said the PM was not committed to a specific target. Mr Sunak also declined to commit to cutting numbers by the general election, which is expected next year.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Rishi Sunak has categorically ruled out entering a coalition with the DUP if he fails to win a majority at the next general election.

The Prime Minister insisted he is confident he will remain in No 10 after the UK goes to the polls, despite the Tories poor performance in the local elections.

Labour and the Lib Dems both benefited from voters turning away from the Conservative Party, which lost nearly 1,000 councillors.

I am not interested in any chat about coalitions and all the rest of it. I will spend my time focusing on delivering for the British people Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

But questions have been raised about possible coalitions as Labours vote share in the elections did not definitively show the partys leader Sir Keir Starmer on his way to winning a Westminster majority.

The Labour leader ruled out entering a pact with the SNP but left the door open to the Liberal Democrats.

Labour threw back questions to the Tories after officials initially refused to rule out entering any pacts, with the Opposition demanding Mr Sunak rules out a grubby, desperate deal for power.

We are interested in delivering a Conservative majority at the next election Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

But speaking to reporters travelling with him in Japan, the Prime Minister said: I am not interested in any chat about coalitions and all the rest of it. I will spend my time focusing on delivering for the British people.

Theresa May entered into a deal with the DUP in 2017 to remain in power after she lost her majority in the election.

Pressed on whether he was ruling out a coalition with the DUP, Mr Sunak insisted: I am.

We are interested in delivering a Conservative majority at the next election.

The Tories lost 957 councillors and control of 48 authorities under Mr Sunaks leadership.

Labour gained 643 seats in the May 4 local elections, the Lib Dems 415 and the Greens 200.

Asked if he is confident he will remain Prime Minister after the next general election, Mr Sunak replied: Yes. Im working really hard to deliver for the British people. That is my priority.

That is what Im spending most of my time thinking about. Not thinking actually about my job I spend most of my time thinking about everyone else, and their jobs.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Britain is banning Russian diamonds in a new wave of sanctions to pressure Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine as Rishi Sunak warns allies against complacency at the G7 summit in Japan.

The Prime Minister announced the new measures against Russia, also including a prohibition on imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel on the eve of the meeting in Hiroshima on Thursday.

Having signed a new defence and security pact with Tokyo, Mr Sunak will visit the A-bomb dome ruin with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, to reflect on the atomic devastation in the Second World War.

Talks between G7 allies including the USs Joe Biden and Frances Emmanuel Macron will centre on military and economic support for Ukraine as they seek to show a united front.

For the sake of global peace and security, we must show that brutal violence and coercion does not reap rewards Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister

The UK is also preparing new individual sanctions against 86 people and companies to apply further pressure on the Russian president and his supporters.

Downing Street expects other G7 allies, which also include Germany, Italy and Canada, as well as the EU, to impose similar sanctions.

The diamond export industry was worth more than 3 billion to Russia in 2021, but No 10 conceded direct imports have been low since the UK sanctioned state-owned miners Alrosa last year.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said discussions will include future security guarantees and long-term deterrence to prevent Ukraine ever facing a similar situation.

On the Chinese threat to Taiwan, the official said: Guarding against economic coercion is something that the Prime Minister is pushing for.

Becoming the first Prime Minister to visit Hiroshima, Mr Sunak signed a new pact with Mr Kishida to bolster strength in the Indo-Pacific region amid concerns over Chinese aggression.

For the sake of global peace and security, we must show that brutal violence and coercion does not reap rewards, he said.

As todays sanctions announcements demonstrate, the G7 remains unified in the face of the threat from Russia and steadfast in our support for Ukraine.

On Sunday, Mr Sunak will meet his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, who is attending the summit as a guest.

Mr Modi has remained neutral on the Russian invasion, calling for peaceful dialogue to end the war.

The Prime Minister told reporters travelling with him in Japan that he has seen positive steps from India in its stance.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Sinn Fein appears to have made a strong start as the first results of Northern Ireland local government elections emerge.

By 3pm on Friday, the party was leading the way with 29 councillors elected ahead of the DUP with 18 seats, the Alliance Party with eight seats, UUP with four and the SDLP with one seat.

The elections use the single transferable vote system where voters rank candidates in order of preference.

This means how voters transfer their vote can lead to tight races for the final seats in each of the 11 council areas.

The general pattern around voter turn out appeared to be up slightly in areas which would be regarded as predominantly nationalist/republican and down slightly in areas viewed as unionist majority.

Opinion polls ahead of the election suggested that Sinn Fein would emerge as the largest party in local government in Northern Ireland, as they became the largest party at Stormont following last years Assembly election.

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle ONeill said results so far are a clear signal from the people that it is time to get the Assembly up and running.

People are determined to see the positive transformation of our politics.

Sinn Fein went into this campaign with a commitment to work for all, and our councillors across the North will take forward that commitment, she said.

I want to again thank every one who placed your trust in Sinn Fein to deliver a better future for all.

Counting began at centres across Northern Ireland at 8am on Friday morning after voters cast their ballots on Thursday.

Sinn Feins Gary McCleave was the first to be elected at Lisburn and Castlereagh Council, securing a seat in the Killultagh district electoral area (DEA).

His election was swiftly followed by the DUPs Thomas Beckett and Claire Kemp of the Alliance Party in the same DEA.

In Belfast, sitting Lord Mayor Tina Black was among the first elected.

Her Sinn Fein colleague Geraldine McAteer was the first councillor to be elected to the capitals council in the Balmoral district electoral area (DEA).

A short time later, Ms Black, along with DUP candidates Frank McCoubrey and Nicola Verner, were elected in the Court DEA.

Visiting the Lisburn and Castlereagh count centre on Friday morning, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson appeared upbeat at the early stage of counting.

He indicated his party was polling well in the area, and would hold its seats in four district electoral areas (DEA) that are being counted so far, and hoped to potentially gain a seat in two DEAs.

The Alliance Party is polling well in some of areas too, Sinn Fein have done well where you might expect them, so I think the pattern so far in Lisburn and Castlereagh is DUP holding its ground, Alliance perhaps making some gains, perhaps at the expense of the Ulster Unionist Party, and Sinn Fein perhaps making one or two gains at the expense of the SDLP, he told the Belfast Telegraph.

Our vote has gone up in some areas in Lisburn and Castlereagh but its too early to tell if we will make a gain.

I think we were targeting a gain in a couple of areas but we havent seen the results yet for those two areas.

Alliance leader Naomi Long visited the count at Belfast City Hall on Friday morning but did not make any comment to media.

At the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council UUP leader Doug Beattie referred to the possibility of unionism as a whole losing seats.

The question is will unionism as a whole lose seats in this election, if they do that its a unionism-wide issue that has to be dealt with  as far as my party is concerned, weve set our path, Im not going to change that path, he said.

We believe that we need to get Northern Ireland working. We are confident unionists, we want to put out a positive, optimistic message and we will continue to do that, nothing will change.

Counting is under way at all 11 count centres.

Some 462 council seats are being contested at this years election.

Northern Irelands councils are responsible for setting rates, planning and waste collection as well as leisure services and parks.

It is the first electoral test for the parties since last years Assembly elections and takes place against the backdrop of the Stormont stalemate, with the powersharing institutions not operating as part of a DUP protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Sinn Fein leader Michelle ONeill said the election was an opportunity for voters to re-affirm last years assembly election, while DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson asked unionist voters to unite behind the party to get back to winning ways.

The Stormont assembly has not been operational for more than a year due to the DUPs boycott of the powersharing institutions in protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Sinn Fein currently has 105 councillors and put forward 162 candidates in this election.

The DUP is currently the largest party in local government with 122 councillors, and ran 152 candidates.

Sir Jeffrey has pledged that his party will stand firm over any return to Stormont until political and trading concerns around the Windsor Framework are addressed.

The Alliance party, who became the third biggest party at the last Assembly election, will hope to build on the 53 councillors they secured at the last local election in 2019.

The cross-community party fielded 110 candidates in 78 out of the 80 district electoral areas.

The Ulster Unionist Party ran 101 candidates, and will be hoping to secure numbers after losses in previous Assembly and local government elections.

The UUP currently has 75 councillors.

A party also hoping to maintain numbers is the SDLP, who have seen losses in previous elections.

The party currently has 59 councillors and ran 86 candidates in this election.

Council elections present an opportunity for smaller parties who have little or no representation in the Assembly to secure a voice in local government.

The TUV ran 46 candidates, the Green Party 37, Aontu 19 and People Before Profit fielded 16.

Belfast City Council is the largest local government area in Northern Ireland with 60 councillors to be elected.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Green Party Northern Ireland leader Mal OHara has lost his seat on Belfast City Council.

He remained in contention until the final stage of the count in the Castle District Electoral Area (DEA), but lost in the end to Carl Whyte of the SDLP.

By 9.30pm on Friday, almost half of the 60 seats on the capitals council had been filled.

Sinn Fein appeared to be on course to hold their strength on the council.

Alliance leader Naomi Long said she believes her party had performed well in Belfast.

Ms Long said she expected any gains for her party to come in the later stages of the count as the transfers in the single transferrable vote system are distributed.

Alliance gained a seat from the DUP in the Balmoral DEA.

On Friday evening, Sinn Fein were leading the way with nine councillors, the DUP had seven while Alliance had five seats, the SDLP had three seats and the Green Party had one.

In 2019, Sinn Fein was the largest party in Belfast with 18 councillors, however, this total was a drop from the 19 seats it won at the 2014 and 2011 local government elections.

Four years ago, the DUP had 15 councillors, a gain from the 13 seats it won in 2014, but still down on the 17 seats it won in 2011.

Meanwhile, the Alliance Party had 10 councillors in 2019, ahead of the SDLP who had six, the Green Party had four, People Before Profit had three, the UUP had two and the PUP had two.

Sitting Lord Mayor Tina Black was among the earliest elections on the first day of the count on Friday.

Her Sinn Fein colleague Geraldine McAteer was the first elected to the capitals council in the Balmoral DEA.

A short time later, Ms Black, along with DUP candidates Frank McCoubrey and Nicola Verner, were elected in the Court DEA.

Five DEAs were counted on Friday: Black Mountain, Castle, Court, Balmoral and Lisnasharragh, with the Balmoral, Castle and Lisnasharragh counts having completed by 9.30pm.

Counting in the remaining DEAs of Botanic, Oldpark, Ormiston, Collin and Titanic, are due to start on Saturday.

If the counting has not completed on Saturday, it will resume on Monday.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said her partys success in Northern Irelands local government elections is a message from the people that Stormont must return.

However, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has insisted his partys vote is holding up as counting continues to fill 462 seats across 11 council areas.

At 9.30pm, Sinn Fein led the way with 71 councillors elected. The DUP was next on 59, the cross-community Alliance Party had 31, the Ulster Unionists 24, the SDLP 12, with eight others.

In terms of the share of the first preference votes, Sinn Fein had 31.1% of first preferences of votes counted so far.

It means the republican party appears to be on course to repeat its success from last years Assembly elections when it emerged as the largest party for the first time.

The DUP secured 24% of first preference votes counted so far, with Alliance on 12.9%, the UUP on 11.7% and the SDLP on 8.7%.

The votes are being counted through the single transferable vote system and the process will continue well into Saturday.

The general pattern around voter turnout appeared to be up slightly in areas which would be regarded as predominantly nationalist/republican and down slightly in areas viewed as unionist majority.

The Stormont assembly has not been operational for more than a year due to the DUPs boycott of the powersharing institutions in protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Speaking at Belfast City Hall, Mrs McDonald said the election results showed a very strong showing for Sinn Fein right across the north.

She added: We are very pleased with that. We ran a very positive campaign and we are very pleased that the response to that has just been so positive by way of returns.

In the course of the election a lot of things were discussed, all the local issues but, in truth, the big issue was that of a return of the executive, the need to have government, the need to have leadership, the need to work together, to make politics work for everybody.

The need for Michelle ONeill to come into post as the first minister for all.

So, for us, that is the significance of this result, it is undoubtedly a vote for progress, for change, for positivity and, above all else, for working together.

Party vice president Michelle ONeill said the British and Irish Governments now needed to come up with a plan to bring Stormont back.

She said: We ran a very positive campaign.

But on the doors the conversation was very much centred around the need to have a restored Assembly and executive up and running.

That needs to be done now without delay. We would call on both governments to get engaged and actually make that happen.

There needs to be a plan now for a way back to a restored executive.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey said if Sinn Fein emerges as the largest party in local government, unionism will have to look at where its going.

Speaking at the Lisburn and Castlereagh council count, he said: Lets see when the final votes are all counted who is the largest party but, if Sinn Fein do emerge as the largest party in the council elections, I think yet again, as Ive been saying, consistently, there are lessons that unionism needs to learn here.

We cant go on with a situation where turnout in unionist areas is significantly lower than in nationalist areas, you cant go on with a situation where the unionist vote is continually splitting and splintering.

The result of that is that seats are gifted to Sinn Fein and to others when the unionist vote is split, and when that unionist vote doesnt transfer sufficiently.

So, I think, we really do need to learn the lessons behind all of this, the DUP without a shadow of a doubt is by far the largest unionist party and I think that unionism needs to look at where its going and regroup around a strong voice for unionism, and see more co-operation between unionist parties.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said she believes it has been a positive election for her party.

Speaking to the PA news agency at Belfast City Hall, Ms Long said: Its been very positive so far but its very early.

Its still too early to predict, any of the gains that we hope to make will come much later but it looks good, its been a strong turnout for Alliance and from our perspective its been a good day.

Undoubtedly Sinn Fein has had a fantastic election, I think everyone can see that, but with the exception of Sinn Fein I think Alliance is the only party to have made significant gains at this point.

Sinn Feins Gary McCleave was the first councillor to be elected on Friday at Lisburn and Castlereagh Council, securing a seat in the Killultagh district electoral area (DEA).

His election was swiftly followed by the DUPs Thomas Beckett and Claire Kemp of the Alliance Party in the same DEA.

In Belfast, sitting Lord Mayor Tina Black was among the first elected.

Her Sinn Fein colleague, Geraldine McAteer, was the first councillor to be elected to the capitals council in the Balmoral DEA.

A short time later, Ms Black, along with DUP candidates Frank McCoubrey and Nicola Verner, was elected in the Court DEA.

At the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council, UUP leader Doug Beattie referred to the possibility of unionism as a whole losing seats.

The question is will unionism as a whole lose seats in this election, if they do that, its a unionism-wide issue that has to be dealt with  as far as my party is concerned, weve set our path, Im not going to change that path, he said.

We believe that we need to get Northern Ireland working. We are confident unionists, we want to put out a positive, optimistic message and we will continue to do that, nothing will change.

Northern Irelands councils are responsible for setting rates, planning and waste collection as well as leisure services and parks.
Britain said it will target companies connected to the theft of Ukrainian grain and the shipment of Russian energy in a new wave of sanctions against the Kremlin.

The UK said it will continue increasing the economic pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin until peace in Ukraine is restored.

The Government will sanction 86 individuals and entities, freezing the assets of those involved in key streams of revenue.
Rishi Sunak has issued a warning to Vladimir Putin that he and other Western leaders are not going away, at the start of the G7 summit in Japan.

The prime minister said Russias president must understand that Western allies of Ukraine are steadfast in their support for the countrys resistance against his invasion.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the summit in Japan on Sunday, as Mr Sunak and other leaders dial up the pressure on Russia. The prime minister said Russia will pay a price, as he launched a new wave of sanctions targeting the country, which include a ban on importing Russian diamonds, copper, aluminium and nickel.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to join the G7 summit in Hiroshima in person as Rishi Sunak and allies seek to turn up the pressure on Russia.

The Ukrainian president will attend the summit in Japan on Sunday, it is understood, as the Prime Minister warned Vladimir Putin were not going away.

It will potentially bring Mr Zelensky into contact with Indias Narendra Modi and Brazils Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who have not opposed the invasion like their western allies.

Mr Zelensky has met many western politicians recently, including Mr Sunak in Chequers on Monday.

But it would be an opportunity for him to build stronger links with the Indian prime minister, who has remained neutral, and the Brazilian president, who the US has accused of parroting Russia propaganda.

Attending G7  the group that Russia was expelled from over its 2014 annexation of Crimea  would also be a new display of solidarity.

Earlier, Mr Sunak announced Britain is banning Russian diamonds in a new wave of sanctions to pressure Russia that will also prohibit imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel.

There has been uncertainty whether the EU will go as far as Britain on diamonds, with the trade particularly lucrative for Belgium, but Mr Sunak said he is hopeful and confident allies will follow.

Having signed a new defence and security pact with Tokyo, Mr Sunak visited the A-bomb dome ruin with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, to reflect on the atomic devastation in the Second World War.

Talks between G7 allies, including US President Joe Biden and Frances Emmanuel Macron, will centre on military and economic support for Ukraine as they seek to show a united front.

Mr Sunak told Sky: Russia needs to know that we and other countries remain steadfast in our resolve to support Ukraine, not just in the here and now with the resources it needs to protect itself, but for the long term as well.

He added to ITV News: They cant just outlast us in this conflict.

One of the common topics of conversation Ill be having and have been having with my fellow leaders is about the longer-term security agreements that we put in place in Ukraine, to deter future Russian aggression.

The UK is also preparing new individual sanctions against 86 people and companies to apply further pressure on the Russian president and his supporters.

The diamond export industry was worth more than 3 billion to Russia in 2021 but No 10 conceded direct imports have been low since the UK sanctioned state-owned miners Alrosa last year.

Britains move will add pressure on any hesitant allies to follow suit.

Mr Sunak told the BBC: Im hopeful and confident that our partner countries will follow as they have done when weve done this previously, that will make the sanctions more effective, ensure that Russia pays a price for its illegal activity.

The three-day summit  also including Germany, Italy and Canada  will include talks on economic stability and the security of Taiwan in the face of Chinese aggression.

Mr Sunaks official spokesman said: Guarding against economic coercion is something that the Prime Minister is pushing for.

On Sunday, Mr Sunak told reporters travelling with him in Japan that he has seen positive steps from India but that they needed to keep the dialogue open with Mr Modi and Mr da Silva.

One thing we have to keep doing is talking to countries like India and also Brazil, that is going to be in that second part of the summit which is a good thing, the Prime Minister said.

India is being represented at the G7 summit because it is the current G20 chair, while Brazil has been invited as a guest.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

In a region beset with violent strife, Islamist insurgency, Russias Wagner mercenaries and unstable military regimes, the Sahel state of Niger has become a focus of Western interest as a security and economic partner.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has visited recently, and the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, is due to follow. The countrys president, Mohamed Bazoum, has met Emmanuel Macron in Paris, and was one of the few notable non-Commonwealth African heads of state in London for King Charless coronation.

Mr Bazoum spoke to The Independent about the issues facing his country, including the threat of Wagner, a jihadist surge being fuelled by the climate crisis, the need to attract foreign investment to help drive education and employment, and efforts to foster relations with the West and Britain.

Niger, which is five times the size of the United Kingdom and has a population of 27 million, is rich in mineral wealth and produces 7 per cent of the worlds supply of uranium. The US and the UK claimed, memorably and falsely, in the run-up to the Iraq invasion, that Saddam Hussein was seeking to obtain uranium yellowcake from Niger for his WMD programme.

The Wagner Group, owned by Vladimir Putins ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, is heavily involved in lucrative commercial ventures in Africa, as well as having a widespread military presence. Some of the proceeds go towards funding its current military operations in Ukraine, which cost an estimated $100m (80m) a month.

Wagner has established itself in Nigers neighbouring states  in Libya, where it has secured oil assets, and in Mali, where its arrival at the invitation of the military regime led to the withdrawal of French, British and other Western forces.

There are reports that the company is also operating in Burkina Faso, another country French forces have recently left. The president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, has claimed that Burkina Fasos army rulers are paying the mercenaries with rights to a gold mine.

Wagner is certainly a very real presence in our region, Mr Bazoum said during a visit to London. They are in Libya, which continues to be volatile and from where we have had weapons going to the Islamists in other countries ever since the fall of [Muammar] Gaddafi.

They are in Mali: has Wagners presence in Mali led to any benefit for Mali? I would say not at all. We have certainly no intention of inviting them into our country. They create problems, [they] dont solve them. We know they have been engaged in disinformation campaigns against us.

A fake social media post claimed that Mr Bazoum had faced a coup while visiting Mr Macron in Paris; another that the French had armed a group of jihadists who killed 17 members of Nigers armed forces at around the same time. Both of these posts have been traced to the Lakhta project, a troll farm financed by Mr Prigozhin, which has been sanctioned by the US since 2018.

Mr Blinken, during his visit to Niger, warned of the malign influence of Wagner. We have already seen it end badly in a number of places where Wagner has been present; bad things have been inevitable, he said.

Many African states point out that Russia has taken advantage of a lack of Western commitment on the continent. The US secretary of state presented a range of initiatives, including $233m in humanitarian assistance for the Sahel over the year. There would be a comprehensive security deal, which would also focus on good governance, on development, on creating opportunity, on being responsive to the needs of the people, he said.

Mr Bazoum, who was elected in April 2021, said: Terrorism destroys society. But we know that military action is just part of the solution in countering extremism. Education and jobs are vital to ensure young people do not turn towards violence.

Our whole area is facing this Islamist threat. But joint operations with Mali and Burkina Faso are proving difficult because they are run by miliary regimes. We need to protect our democratic system.

Niger is one of the countries hardest hit by the climate crisis in west Africa. The temperatures in the Sahel are rising 1.5 times faster than anywhere else in the world. A cycle of erratic rainfall and droughts has eroded 15 per cent of its arable land.

What is happening to the environment is a big, big problem. The nomadic people are seeing the food for themselves and their livestock disappearing. They are vulnerable, and the Islamists can then come along and exploit the situation, try and recruit the men. And, of course, there is the terrible hardship families face in their lives with the changing climate, said Mr Bazoum.

Economic aid to help his country face these challenges is welcome. But Nigers president also wanted to stress the great need for Western investment. We are told to be careful about Chinese investment. But why do we not see more from countries like France and Britain? They have historical links with Africa, the Chinese dont. Yet they are there, and we dont see enough from the West, he said.

Niger is embarking on building stronger ties with the UK, said Mr Bazoum. We are described as a Francophone country, but these are old terms, he said. The world is changing, and what happens in one continent affects others. We need to build strong relationships to protect our future.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

China on Friday warned against the introduction of geopolitical games in the South Pacific following the announcement that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Papua New Guinea next week.

The U.S. opted to send Blinken after President Joe Biden canceled what was to have been a historic stop in Papua New Guinea as well as a visit to Australia for a meeting of leaders of the so-called Quad partnership so he can focus on debt limit talks in Washington.

The administration has made putting a greater focus on the Pacific region central to its global outreach, largely to counter Chinas growing influence there.

China has no objection to normal exchanges and cooperation between relevant parties and Pacific Island countries, and has always advocated that the international community should pay more attention to and support the development and revitalization of the island countries, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily briefing.

However, Wang added, We also oppose any introduction of any geopolitical games into the Pacific Island country region."

Biden's planned Papua New Guinea visit would have been the first by a sitting U.S. president to the island country of more than 9 million people.

The area has received diminished attention from the U.S. in the aftermath of the Cold War, and China has increasingly filled the vacuum through increased aid, development and security cooperation. The U.S. and regional partners New Zealand and Australia were particularly concerned when China signed a security pact last year with the Solomon Islands that could allow the presence of Chinese naval ships and security forces.

The Solomon Islands later agreed to sign an accord between the United States and more than a dozen Pacific nations after indirect references to China were removed, with its foreign minister saying he didn't want his country to be forced to take sides.

Last September, Biden also hosted leaders from more than a dozen Pacific Island countries at the White House, announcing a new strategy to help the region with climate change and maritime security. A second summit is planned later this year.

His administration also recently opened embassies in the Solomon Islands and Tonga and has plans to open one in Kiribati.

During his visit on Sunday and Monday to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea's capital, Blinken will meet with leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum on Biden's behalf, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Thursday.

The sides will discuss shared priorities such as tackling the climate crisis, advancing inclusive economic growth for the people of the Pacific Islands, and highlighting the U.S. commitment to realize a prosperous, resilient, and secure Pacific Islands region, Miller said, without mentioning China.

Blinken will also meet with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape and sign bilateral defense cooperation and maritime security agreements, Miller said.
Sign up to our free US news bulletin sent straight to your inbox each weekday morning Sign up to our free morning US email news bulletin Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

US Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

An Iowa woman is raising awareness about a very rare type of melanoma after she suffered a symptom often overlooked by medical professionals.

Eight years ago, Amy Jardon noticed a sore patch between the toes of her left foot.

It was the first sign that she was suffering from acral melanoma, a disease with a survival rate lower than other forms of skin cancer.

She showed it to her physician, who wisely sent her for a biopsy out of an abundance of caution but told her that it was probably nothing to worry about.

I thought thats interesting. Ive never noticed that before, Ms Jardon, 48, told TODAY.com.

I had an appointment the following week with my primary doctor for something else. I talked to her about this. She said: Thats nothing. Dont worry about it.

So when results from the Mayo Clinic came back positive for melanoma, it was something of a surprise.

Ms Jardon, an avid runner, was concerned that her life would be eclipsed by the condition.

Following the diagnosis, Ms Jardon underwent surgery in which all the skin on a one-centimetre radius from the lesion was removed.

But, before undergoing the procedure, Ms Jardon asked her doctor if she could delay the date in order to run a race that she had been preparing for.

In hindsight, Ms Jorday told TODAY.com she thinks she should have made her well-being the top priority.

Looking back, I would not recommend that people do that, Ms Jardon said.

Amy Jardon is speaking out to try to warn others of the rare form of melanoma (Amy Jardon)

I think he thought this was an early stage and he was going to ruin my world by telling me I couldnt run anymore. He was letting me have one last hurrah.

After a complex recovery  where her passion had to go on pause  Ms Jardon got the green light from her doctor to start running again. She is now five years free of cancer.

Having survived the ordeal, she now wants to help educate others on acral melanoma, noting that knowledge about the often easily-missed symptoms can mean the difference between life and death.

Acral melanoma only appears on the hands and feet, as opposed to exposed areas in the skin. The American Academy of Dermatology Association advises patients to look out for asymmetrical and scalloped borders, different hues of colours, a diameter greater than a pencil eraser and spot changes in their skin lesions.

The majority of patients with acral melanoma survive at least five years, according to the Cancer Treatments of America. Individuals with darker skin colours are at greater risk because they might miss the early pigmentation changes and also because of misinformation that people of colour are less likely to develop melanoma.

I like to stress that melanoma can occur anywhere, Ms Jardon told TODAY.com.

Ive learned that there are other rare subtypes, including ocular and mucosal.
Sign up to our free US news bulletin sent straight to your inbox each weekday morning Sign up to our free morning US email news bulletin Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

US Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

The murder of four college students in the quiet town of Moscow, Idaho, last November unravelled a months-long investigation that is now headed to trial.

The victims, all students at the University of Idaho, were ambushed in their rooms and stabbed to death with a military-style knife that has yet to be found. Police were called to the gruesome scene at the off-campus residence almost eight hours after the vicious attack.

For weeks, only scant details about the carnage were revealed as the community reeled from the tragedy and grappled with fears of a murderer on the loose. That changed with the December arrest of Washington State University student Bryan Kohberger, whose apartment, office and family home were raided and searched for evidence.

While more information has become public through the release of search warrants and arrest records in recent months, a gag order in the case remains in place and most aspects of the probe and its findings are still a mystery.

In a bombshell move on Tuesday (15 May), a long-expected preliminary hearing was rerouted when a grand jury secretly convened and indicted the suspect on one charge of burglary and four charges of murder.

As Mr Kohberger is expected to enter his plea on Monday, The Independent takes a deep dive into the developments in the complex case in the last six months:

How did the stabbings unfold?

Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were stabbed to death in the young womens rental home on King Road in Moscow on 13 November. Chapin, Kernodles boyfriend, was staying at the residence, which is just a few minutes walk from campus, on the night of the murders.

According to an affidavit for Mr Kohbergers arrest, the killings are believed to have taken place around 4am.

Among the revelations in the 18-page document is that Mr Kohbergers DNA was found on a knife sheath that the killer left behind at the crime scene. The tan leather Kabar sheath, which featured the United States Marine Corps symbol, was discovered on Mogens bed next to her butchered body.

At the time of the quadruple homicide, the two other roommates, Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortenson, were inside the home, but were left unharmed by the killer. The police report reveals that Ms Mortenson came face to face with the masked killer.

Ethan Chapin, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21 (Instagram)

According to Ms Mortensons terrifying account, she had gone to sleep in her bedroom on the second floor of the three-floor home and was woken by what sounded like Goncalves playing with her dog in one of the third-floor bedrooms.

She told investigators she was in her bedroom on the second floor of the home  the same floor where Kernodle and Chapin were killed  and was standing in the doorway as the killer walked right past her. A short time later, Ms Mortenson said that she heard someone believed to be either Goncalves or Kernodle saying, Theres someone here.

Minutes later, Ms Morterson. said that she looked out of her bedroom for the first time but did not see anything. She then opened her door for a second time when she heard what she thought was crying coming from Kernodles room, the documents state.

At that point, she said she heard a mans voice saying, Its ok, Im going to help you.

When she opened her door for a third time minutes later, she said she saw a figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the persons mouth and nose walking towards her. As she stood in a frozen shock phase, she said the man  who she did not recognise  walked past her and headed toward the back sliding glass door of the home. She then locked herself in her room.

A private security officer sits in a vehicle on Jan. 3, 2023, in front of the house in Moscow, Idaho where four University of Idaho were murdered (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Despite the close encounter, a 911 call wasnt made until 11.58am  eight hours later. The call, made from one of the surviving roommates cellphones  reported an unconscious individual. It is unclear if the killer saw her or whether she simply had a lucky escape because he didnt notice her inside the dark home.

This raises the question around whether or not he planned to kill all four victims or whether some of the victims were treated as collateral damage in the horrific attack. Goncalves and Mogens bodies were found in a bedroom on the third floor, while Kernodle and Chapin were found on the second floor of the home.

The affidavit reveals no details about what connection  if any  Mr Kohberger had to his alleged victims.

Mr Kohberger, a criminal justice PhD student at Washington State University, lived just 15 minutes from the victims over the Idaho-Washington border in Pullman, having moved there to begin the academic programme in August 2022.

Who are the victims?

Goncalves and Mogen, both 21, were seniors at the University of Idaho and were expected to graduate this year.

At a vigil weeks after the murders, Goncalves father Mr Goncalves told how the two absolutely beautiful young women first met in sixth grade and became inseparable.

They just found each other and every day they did homework together, they came to our house together, they shared everything, he said at the time. Then they started looking at colleges, they came here together. They eventually get into the same apartment together.

And in the end, they died together, in the same room, in the same bed.

Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves pictured together before their murders (Instagram)

Kernodle and Chapin were juniors at the college and had begun dating months before their deaths. The couple of 20-year-olds is believed to have been awake at the time the stabbings were carried out.

Six months after the stabbings, the families of the slain students accepted posthumous awards for their achievements.

Mogen and Goncalves relatives walked across the stage for their degrees in an emotional ceremony on 13 May. Kernodles family also accepted her certificate in marketing at a separate ceremony while Chapins award in sports, recreation and management was mailed to his parents.

Kernodles family accepted her certificate in marketing at a private ceremony last week while Chapins award in sports, recreation and management will be mailed to his parents this week.

Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle (Jazzmin Kernodle)

Who is Bryan Kohberger?

At the time of the murders, Mr Kohberger was studying for his PhD and working as a teaching assistant in criminal justice at WSU.

Prior to this, Mr Kohberger studied criminology at DeSales University first as an undergraduate and then finishing his graduate studies in June 2022.

According to online school records, Mr Kohberger received an associate arts degree in 2018 from Northampton Community College in Albrightsville and received a masters degree in criminal justice this year from DeSales University.

Bryan Kohberger is seen in court

While studying at DeSales, he studied under renowned forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland who interviewed the BTK serial killer and co-wrote the book Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer with him.

He was working part-time as a security guard until August 2021 at Pleasant Valley School District, where his mother was listed as a paraprofessional.

The alleged murderer carried out a research project to understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime.

Mr Kohberger reached out to potential participants on Reddit, with the chilling survey resurfacing after his arrest.

In particular, this study seeks to understand the story behind your most recent criminal offense, with an emphasis on your thoughts and feelings throughout your experience, the post said.

His fascination appears to have continued around the time of the murders when he applied for an internship with the local police department.

The affidavit revealed that he applied for an internship in the fall of 2022 with the Pullman Police Department and wrote in an essay how he had an interest in assisting rural law enforcement agencies with how to better collect and analyze technological data in public safety operations.

What the unsealed records reveal

After weeks of no updates on the investigation, law enforcement in Idaho and Pennsylvania announced Mr Kohbergers arrest on 30 December. A search warrant was executed at Mr Kohbergers apartment in Pullman, Washington, the same day he was arrested at his parents home in Pennsylvania.

A record of evidence recovered during the apartment search revealed the seizure of 15 items including hairs, receipts, a computer tower, a disposable glove and items with peculiar stains.

In the search warrant record, investigators list several items with stains, including cuttings of a mattress cover, a reddish/brown stain on an uncovered pillow and a collection of dark red spot. Dr Monte Miller, a former crime scene investigator and forensic expert, and former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer told The Independent back in January that investigators most likely believed those items had blood stains.

List of items seized adt authorities served a search warrat at Bryan Kohbergers home (Pennsylvania Courts )

A reddish or brown stain is a euphemism for, We found something that looks like blood, Dr Miller said at the time. It might be blood from the victims, might be his blood. They dont know until they test it, but theyll be able to get DNA if it is blood. We dont know what the stains in the cover sheets look like, but again theyre looking for any kind of DNA, evidence that might have come from the crime scene.

Ms Coffindaffer added: They dont call it blood, but its definitely inferred that it was blood.

Court documents, released by Washington authorities on 4 May showed that multiple items taken from Mr Kohbergers apartment in Pullman had been tested for the presence of blood. While most items came back negative, two unspecified items were positive.

Bryan Kohberger is seen in his mugshot (Monroe County Correctional Facility)

Another item included on the list of seizures was a possible animal hair strand. While Mr Kohberger is not believed to have a pet, one of the victims he is accused of killing, Goncalves, had a dog that was at home at the time of the murders and was later found by police responding to the scene.

The possible animal hair theyll try to connect that to the dog left at the scene, according to Dr Miller. If theres a root on that, if there is any skin on that hair, they could do a DNA test with that dog. If its just a hair thats been shed and there is no skin, they would still be able to do a microscopical comparison and exclude most dogs but they wouldnt be able to connect it necessarily to that dog.

Mr Kohberger was also linked to the crime through cellphone records and his white Hyundai Elantra, a similar model of the car seen near the murder home around the time of the murders. Mr Kohberger changed the license plates on his Hyundai Elantra just days after the murders.

The suspects car had Pennsylvania plates when it was pulled over by police in Moscow, in August 2022, according to a citation from the Latah County Sheriffs Office. A review of documents on CarFax by Newsweek showed that Mr Kohberger changed the registration from Pennsylvania to Washington on 18 November, five days after four students were found stabbed to death in a Moscow home.

What we dont know

No murder weapon has been found, police said before the gag order was issued following Mr Kohbergers arrest.

It is not known if the killer personally knew one or more of the victims and whether the attack was carried out in a fit of jealousy or rage. No motive is known.

Authorities have refused to reveal who made the 911 call and will not release the audio. It is unclear what the roommates and other friends discussed in the call and what led them to describe a victim as merely unconscious.

Investigators have not revealed whether they believed the killer entered the house before the victims arrived home and hid before striking in their sleep or whether he entered the house after the students returned.

Kohberger indicted by grand jury

A preliminary hearing, where prosecutors had to show a judge that there is enough evidence to justify moving forward with charges of burglary and four counts of murder, was previously scheduled for 26 June.

However, on 16 May, a grand jury indicted Mr Kohberger on the same charges, effectively rerouting the case directly to the states felony court level and allowing prosecutors to skip the preliminary hearing process, the Associated Press reported.

The former Washington State University PhD student is now expected to appear for his arraignment at the Latah County District Court at 9am on Monday to enter a plea. According to the indictment, Mr Kohberger is charged with four counts of murder in the first degree and one count of burglary.

Each murder count states that he did wilfully, unlawfully, deliberately, with premeditation and with malice aforethought, kill and murder each of the victims by stabbing.

The list of witnesses who testified before the grand jury is sealed. Mr Kohbergers indictment means that the jurors empanelled on the grand jury believed there was enough evidence against him for the case to proceed to trial.

Mr Kohberger said through a public defender earlier this year that he was eager to be exonerated.

He is being represented by Ann Taylor, one of thirteen public defence attorneys in the state who can work in cases where the prosecution requests capital punishment. Prosecutors in the Idaho murders case have not publicly addressed whether they plan to make that request

Kohbergers parents asked to testify in Pennsylvania death case

It has emerged that Mr Kohbergers parents have been ordered to testify before a grand jury in the familys home state of Pennsylvania in the case of a woman found dead almost a year after her sudden disappearance.

CNN first reported the news on Wednesday (24 May), citing a source who said that the accused killers mother has already given evidence to the grand jury while his father will appear to testify on Thursday (25 May). The information can then be shared with Idaho prosecutors.

The investigation is said to be about the disappearance and death of a 45-year-old woman Dana Smithers, reported Eyewitness News.

Smithers vanished without a trace in May 2022 from Monroe County, Pennsylvania  where Mr Kohberger was living at the time. Her remains were found last month in a wooded area.

What comes next?

On Monday (22 May), Mr Kohberger refused to enter a plea in Latah County District Court, with his attorney saying that he was standing silent on the charges.

The unusual response prompted the judge to enter a not guilty plea on Mr Kohbergers behalf, setting the stage for a trial in which he could potentially face the death penalty.

The judge has set Mr Kohbergers trial date for 2 October 2023 following requests by Kohbergers attorney and the state. The trial is expected to take around six weeks.
Sign up to our free US news bulletin sent straight to your inbox each weekday morning Sign up to our free morning US email news bulletin Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

US Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

An Illinois man who lured a 17-year-old girl into his home with the promise of Disney cups before strangling her to death and instantly confessing to her murder will now likely die behind bars.

Arthur Jensen, 53, was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Monday over the heinous 2019 slaying of teenager Adara Bunn in Sheldon, Illinois.

On the afternoon of 5 August 2019, the Iroquois County Sheriffs Department said that deputies were called to a report of a disturbance at a trailer home on West Main Street.

A neighbour had called 911 telling a dispatcher that they heard screaming coming from Jensens home.

Officers arrived on the scene and were met by Jensen who immediately gave a chilling confession.

Theres a girl inside, and I strangled her, he told law enforcement.

Bunns lifeless body was found inside the home.

Investigators said that Jensen had held a garage sale outside his property one day earlier and the teenager had gone to it with her mother.

Bunn was a keen collector of Disney memorabilia and the killer told her to come back the next day and he would sell her some Pocahontas cups.

Arthur Jensen pictured in mugshot (Iroquois County Sheriffs Department)

At the time, Jensens wife was out of town at a high school reunion.

Over the next four years, the case made its way through the courts where Jensen sought to have his chilling confession thrown out of the case.

In March, Jensen was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder.

The horror murder shocked the local community which had not seen a murder since 2016.

Local resident Ray Huff told WAND at the time that Jensen had always seemed like just a nice easygoing fellow.

Assistant States Attorney Michael Quinlan told People that this is one of the worst murder cases I have ever seen.

Adara Bunn, 17, was killed when she went to look at some Disney cups (Obituary)

Bunn, who was nicknamed Sissy, was remembered in an online obituary as a joy to everyone around her.

Sissy enjoyed reading, fishing, school amongst other things. She was an all around joy to everyone around her, it reads.

Survivors include her mother Cassandra Lawrence, Step-father, Gary Lawrence, father Glenn Heffron, brothers, Clayton Heffron, and John Koch, Lafayette, IN, as well as grandparent, many uncles, aunts, cousins and friends.

She will be missed by so many that loved her dearly. She was a member of the Goodland Community Church, Goodland, IN.
Sign up to our free US news bulletin sent straight to your inbox each weekday morning Sign up to our free morning US email news bulletin Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

US Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Six years ago, Kayla Unbehaun vanished from her Illinois hometown in an apparent abduction by her mother, who did not have custody.

Six months ago, the nine-year-olds photo appeared on an episode of the Netflix show Unsolved Mysteries about parental abductions, an age-progression image flashing on screen to depict what she would look like now.

This month, someone at a North Carolina store recognised Kayla as a missing child  setting off a chain of events that led to her mothers arrest and Kaylas reunification with her father in the Midwest.

Heres everything we know about Kaylas abduction and safe recovery  and the questions that remain unanswered in the case.

Kayla Unbehaun is pictured with her father, Ryan Iskerka, before she vanished in 2017 in the company of her noncustodial mother, Heather Unbehaun (NCMEC)

A child and mother vanished on July 4th

Kayla was born on 5 July 2008 to Ryan Iskerka and Heather Unbehaun in the western suburbs of Chicago. After the couple split, a judge awarded the childs father permanent custody. Kayla was spending July 4th with her mother in 2017, however, and was scheduled to be returned to her father the next day, on her ninth birthday.

According to police interviews, Heather was last seen packing her belongings up to the roof of her car, Mr Iskerka wrote in a GoFundMe established just days later. Her closest family members indicated she went on a camping trip to an unknown location in Wisconsin and was expected to return on Wednesday July 5th at 7pm for a parenting time exchange with me.

Heather and Kayla did not show up for the court ordered exchange and the police were immediately contacted and an investigation was launched. It was discovered that all of Heathers social media had been canceled and her phone turned off. As far as we know, no one has been able to reach her or has talked to her since the 4th of July.

Because of this, the following day I had filed a missing persons report for both Kayla and Heather. Heather also did not show up for a court date motioned by her on Friday June 7th. Her lawyer had not talked to her for days, was unaware of what happened and was very concerned.

Mother charged with abduction as father pleads for help

After Mr Iskerka filed the missing persons reports, Ms Unbehaun was charged in 2017 with child abduction, a Class 4 felony, the Kane County States Attorney said Tuesday in a statement. A judge set her bail at $10,000 and, since then, South Elgin police pursued numerous leads and tips, working with police agencies from around the country in an attempt to locate the child and Unbehaun.

Heather Unbehaun pictured in mugshot (Buncombe County Jail)

Mr Iskerka, meanwhile, was appealing for donations and information, writing on the GoFundMe that he planned to use the assistance to hire a private investigator and any additional cost concerning the search for them and their health and safety for when they are found. The safety and return of Kayla is the top priority of all of my family and I and any help we receive through this funding is greatly appreciated, he wrote.

Between July 2017 and May 2023, the page raised just over $2,500 toward its $10,000 goal, the last donation recorded on the site coming in nearly four years ago.

In November, however, Kaylas picture featured on an episode of Netflixs Unsolved Mysteries. At the end of Abducted by a Parent, the final instalment of the programs third Netflix season, missing posters and age progression images are shown from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Heather Unbehaun pictured in an alert promoted by MCNEC during the search for her daughter (MCNEC)

For just under five seconds, a photo of Kayla at nine appears onscreen alongside a picture of what she might look like as a teenager.

A Bring Kayla Home Facebook page, meanwhile, was also promoting the age progression image  sharing it as recently as 21 April. Created the same day as the GoFundMe  five days after Kayla was last seen in Wheaton with her mother  the page has more than 7,000 followers.

Search meets unlikely ending

Kayla and her mother were at Westgate Regional Shopping Center on Saturday evening (13 May) in Asheville, North Carolina, when they caught the notice of a person at upmarket consignment shop Platos Closet, according to authorities.

That person recognized Unbehaun and recalled that the child was missing, Kane County States Attorneys Office posted Tuesday on social media. A store employee immediately contacted Asheville police, who contacted South Elgin police.

South Elgin police confirmed the identity of the two individuals as Heather Unbehaun and the missing child.

Ms Unbehauen, 40, was subsequently taken into custody, and Kayla has since been reunited with her father.

Kaylas father had included this video of his missing daughter on a GoFundMe page

Mr Iskerka, in a statement issued through the NCMEC, that he was overjoyed that Kayla is home safe.

I want to thank the South Elgin Police Department, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and all of the law enforcement agencies who assisted with her case, Mr Iskerka continued. I also want to thank all of the followers on the Bring Kayla Home Facebook page, who helped keep her story alive and were instrumental in spreading awareness. We ask for privacy as we get to know each other again and navigate this new beginning.

South Elgin Chief of Police Jerry Krawczyk also thanked citizens across the country and other law enforcement agencies who worked so dedicatedly to help bring Kayla home.

We are overjoyed to report that the child is in good condition and in good spirits since being reunited with her father, he said Tuesday in a release.

Law enforcement agencies  and well-wishers  were celebrating across several states as the case offered hope to investigators and families looking for people whove been missing for years.

I certainly think this is a unique case, Asheville Police Lt. Jonathan Brown told WLOS. It is unusual, its not a case that we see routinely or often.

Ryan Iskerka, pictured with his daughter before her abduction, says he is overjoyed at her return (NCMEC)

He marveled at how Kaylas mother had managed to go undetected for years.

Whats most unusual is the ability to stay off the grid, if you will, for that period of time, he said. Typically we leave a technological bread crumb and those are usually very easy and quick to be tracked down. This was not.

What happens next

Following Ms Unbehauns arrest in Buncombe County, she was charged with the felony offence of extradition, which she declined to waive. She posted $25,000 bond on Tuesday and was released from custody, then turned herself in the following day in Kane County, Illinois, where she was booked on the abduction charge.

The 40-year-old appeared before Judge Julia Yetter on Thursday (18 May) and has been released on bond with an electronic monitoring device. Kaylas father obtained an order of protection against Ms Unbehaun, who is barred from being within 1,000 feet of his residence and cannot leave Illinois without court permission, a Kane County States Attorneys Office spokesman told The Independent.

The 40-year-olds next scheduled court date is 14 June. A Class 4 Felony in Illinois can carry a sentence of one to three years, often probationary.

The Independent has reached out to lawyers for Mr Iskerka and Ms Unbehaun.
Sign up to our free US news bulletin sent straight to your inbox each weekday morning Sign up to our free morning US email news bulletin Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

US Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

A man accused of being a Bosnian war criminal who faked his way into the US was arrested in Boston, according to court records.

Kemal Mrndzic, who authorities took into custody on Wednesday, allegedly oversaw a prison camp in Bosnia & Herzegovina where prisoners were murdered, raped, and tortured in the 1990s.

Federal prosecutors allege that Mr Mrndzic, 50, lied about being a refugee and claimed he had US citizenship, according to Boston.com.

They claim he worked as a supervisor at the Celebici prison camp in the country during the Bosnian War. Survivors accused him of being involved in the war crimes committed against prisoners at the camp.

He has been charged with falsifying, concealing, and covering up a material fact from the US government by trick, scheme, or device, for using a fraudulently obtained US passport, and for possessing and using a fraudulently obtained naturalisation certificate and fraudulently obtained Social Security card.

Three former guards who allegedly worked with Mr Mrndzic have already been convicted by the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Prosecutors said he was interviewed by the UN's tribunal after the Bosnian War and was then accused of participating in the war crimes carried out in the camp.

Mr Mrndzic allegedly fled the region to Croatia, where prosecutors say he took on a fake identity and presented himself as a refugee to gain entry to the US. He gained access in 1999 and was later granted citizenship, according to Radio Free Europe.

Prosecutors said Mr Mrndzic claimed he had been taken prisoner by Serb fighters and was afraid they would seek revenge on him if he was not granted refugee status.

It is alleged that in his refugee application and interview, he falsely claimed that he fled his home after he was captured, interrogated and abused by Serb forces, and could not return home for fear of future persecution, the Department of Justice said in a statement. He was admitted to the U.S. as a refugee in 1999, and ultimately became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2009.

Mr Mrndzic made his first court appearance on Wednesday morning and was released on a $30,000 bond.

He faces up to 20 years in prison for the fraudulent passport and naturalisation charges  10 years each  and up to five years in prison for the remaining charges, with three years of supervised release afterwards as well as a $250,000 fine.

Approximately 240 ethnic Serbs were imprisoned at Celebici as part of the systemic ethnic cleansing of Serbian civilians by Bosnian Muslim and Croat forces.
Sign up to our free US news bulletin sent straight to your inbox each weekday morning Sign up to our free morning US email news bulletin Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

US Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

The Utah mother-of-three charged with poisoning her husband took out four insurance policies on his life without his knowledge  with benefits totaling nearly $2m, prosecutors alleged in documents updated Thursday.

A detention hearing for jailed Kouri Richins, 33  who is being held at Summit County Jail after her arrest earlier this month  was scheduled for Friday but postponed until 12 June. In the 14 months since her husbands death, Kouri wrote a childrens book about grief and loss that she promoted on local television.

According to the updated documents, Kouri took out the policies between 2015 and 2017, and her husband, Eric, discovered other surreptitious financial activity in 2020, AP reported. The Utah father, who grew up in a well-known ranching family and co-owned a stone masonry business, found that his wife had taken out a $250,000 home equity line of credit and spent it, withdrawn $100,000 from his bank accounts, and spent more than $30,000 on his credit cards, according to the documents.

Kouri Richins also stole about $134,000 from her husbands business meant for tax payments, the documents state, AP reported, adding that the filings claimed Kouri agreed to repay Eric when he confronted her.

Hed also met with a divorce attorney and estate planner in 2020, according to the documents  less than 18 months before prosecutors allege Kouri fatally poisoned him.

Kouri Richins is accused of murdering her husband Eric in March 2022 (Facebook)

It was a nefarious and untimely end that Eric had, tragically, seen coming. He suspected his wife had tried to poison him before and had removed Kouri as a beneficiary from his wife and estate.

She, however, did not know, according to documents  and the alleged poisoning for profit brought not an immediate financial windfall but a nightmare of legal wrangling and, ultimately, murder charges.

Its been a bit of a whirlwind, because Eric died over a year ago, and [his family] had obviously been involved in taking care of his estate, trying to maintain some relationship with the children, and working with the police and prosecutors who were investigating his wife, lawyer and Richins family spokesman Greg Skordas told The Independent on Wednesday.

And so everything sort of happened all of a sudden, and she was charged, and it wasnt necessarily unexpected, but it certainly brought on a flurry of attention to the case that hadnt happened for over a year.

He says: It was right up until the end that she was carrying on as though nothing had happened, and that she was a victim, and she was a martyr and promoting her book. And I dont know to what extent she knew this was coming or suspected it, but we certainly did.

Court records mention a private investigator, presumably retained by the family, though Mr Skordas declined to comment.

He said the family had intended to attend the Friday hearing to show that they were watching the case closely.

This photo provided by KPCW.org shows Kouri Richins at the KPCW studio in Park City, Utah, April 12, 2023 (AP)

In this day and age, when a person dies of an opioid overdose, its not necessarily immediately seen as a problem, because it happens far too often -- and so it took a while to show the police and have the police confirm that this wasnt an accidental drug overdose and, in fact, it was something that was caused by someone else, Mr Skordas tells The Independent. And once they did their investigation, and they did a great investigation, they were able to confirm what the family already knew.

According to previously filed court documents, Kouri and Eric celebrated Valentines Day 2022 with a dinner at home after which Eric again became very ill.

Eric believed that he had been poisoned, the documents state. Eric told a friend that he thought his wife was trying to poison him.

Within weeks, prosecutors allege, she did exactly that.

At some point between December 2021 and January 2022, according to court documents, Kouri had contacted an acquaintance with drug convictions and asked them to procure some pain medication for an investor who had a back injury.

The acquaintance bought hydrocodone pills from a dealer and left them at a house Kouri was flipping; she left cash in return, the documents state. But Kouri reached out again about two weeks later, claiming the investor wanted something stronger and asking for some of the MichaelJackson stuff ... specifically for fentanyl. Three days before Valentines Day, Kouri paid $900 for 15-30 fentanyl pills, the documents state.

But two weeks after that, she again went back to the acquaintance and asked for another $900 worth of the same drugs; the pills were left a the outdoor fire pit of the Midway house, where Kouri had left cash, according to the documents.

Eric died six days later of a fentanyl overdose  and Kouri almost immediately closed on the Midway house, which theyd allegedly been arguing about; relatives believed Eric was going to tell his wife he didnt want to buy the home. She held a party at her home the day after his death to celebrate the property deal; according to court documents, Eric had never informed her hed taken her out of his will  and it was only at the party that she discovered that fact.

Two weeks after his death, Kouri put the 20,000-square-foot home back on the market, KPCW reported after her arrest. Realtor Mike Malmrose told the outlet that the mansion was under contract with an asking price of $3.75m.

The Richins family has petitioned to invoke Utahs slayer statute, which prevents killers from profiting from their crimes.

Kouris arrest, which happened just days before the weekend combination of Mothers Day and Erics birthday, was all hard because it all just resurfaced again, Richins spokesman Skordas told The Independent.  And youve got to think about the boys too, because theyve lost their father. And, for most purposes, theyve now lost their mother.

Kouris lawyer has not responded to requests for comment from The Independent.
Sign up to our free US news bulletin sent straight to your inbox each weekday morning Sign up to our free morning US email news bulletin Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

US Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

The first confirmed victim of Americas most prolific serial killer Samuel Little has finally been identified after almost five decades.

Little confessed to the murders of 93 women across multiple states between the years of 1970 and 2005, before he died in prison in 2020.

His first confirmed victim was a young woman whose remains were discovered off Arkwright Road, Macon, in his home state of Georgia in 1977.

But, for 46 years, investigators were unable to determine her identity and she was known only as Macon Jane Doe.

Now, she has finally been given her name back thanks to the use of genetic genealogy.

The Bibb County Sheriffs Office announced on Thursday that the woman had been identified as Yvonne Pless, who was around 20 years old when she was last seen alive.

The sheriffs office said that it had teamed up with the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) back in 2018 when Little confessed to killing two women in Macon.

Bibb County Captain Shermaine Jones and CJCCs Sexual Assault, Child Abuse and Human Trafficking Unit program director Amy Hutsell visited Little in prison in Texas the following year to interview him about his claims.

There, they found that his confessions matched two unsolved cold case murders.

The identity of Littles second Macon victim was already known. Fredonia Smith was murdered in Washington Park in 1982.

While Smiths surviving family was notified that her case had been solved, Plesss identity was still unclear.

Then, using forensic genetic genealogy on a sexual assault kit, investigators were able to identify Pless and track down her family members.

Samuel Little in multiple booking photos from 1966 to 1995 (FBI via Getty Images)

Plesss family did not even know she was dead, according to a heartfelt statement they shared with Channel 2 Action News.

We appreciate the interest in our family members story. When Captain Jones and Ms Hutsell notified us that Yvonne had been identified, we were unaware she was deceased, the statement read.

We are mourning the loss of our loved one and have no comments at this time. We ask that our privacy be respected.

The FBI has so far confirmed that Little committed at least 60 murders during his four-decade reign of horror, making him the most prolific serial killer in US history.

His other 33 confessions are also deemed to be credible and the bureau continues to work on verifying them.

Little claimed he committed his first murder on New Years Eve 1970 in Miami.

He said that it felt like drugs so he continued to kill, until his last victim in Mississipppi in 2005.

Born in Georgia but spending his childhood in Ohio, Little had dozens of brushes with the law but managed to get away with dozens and dozens of murders until he confessed to a Texas ranger in 2018.

Despite his countless arrests for attempted rape and assault across multiple states, he was arrested and acquitted of murder twice in Florida and Mississippi in 1982.

Some of Samuel Little's drawings of his victims released by the FBI (AFP/Getty Images)

In 2014, he was finally convicted of murder for the killings of Linda Alford, Guadalupe Duarte Apodaca and Audrey Nelson Everett in California.

While behind bars in 2018, he began spilling his secrets to Texas Ranger James Holland when he was interviewed about a murder that he actually hadnt carried out.

He continued to confess to dozens more murders, giving details about each one and painting pictures of what the victims looked like.

Most of his victims were women, many of them drug addicts or sex workers, who he would meet by chance and then strangle them.

He died in December 2020 in prison.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

The Walt Disney Company has pulled the plug on a $1bn office complex in Orlando, following a warning from Disney leadership that billions of dollars in projects were on the line after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis escalated his feud with the company.

The development scheduled for construction in the Orlando area was set to bring 2,000 jobs to the region, with 1,000 employees expected to be relocated from southern California.

In an email to employees on 18 May, Disneys theme park and consumer products chair Josh DAmaro pointed to changing business conditions for the cancellation of the 60-acre Lake Nona project, according to The New York Times, which first reported the move.

I remain optimistic about the direction of our Walt Disney World business, he added, noting that the company has still planned $17bn in projects over the next decade at its Disney World campus. I hope were able to, he said.

For years, Florida legislators and the governors office enjoyed a close relationship with the states largest taxpayers, among the states largest employers, which has wielded enormous political influence while bringing in billions of dollars to the state each year.

Now, the company and DeSantis allies are suing one another, following a year-long feud over opposition to what opponents have called Floridas Dont Say Gay law that boiled over into political and legal battles that could shape the companys business in the state.

Moments after a board appointed by Mr DeSantis voted to strip the companys control of its Florida park, Disney filed a federal lawsuit against the governor and state officials alleging a targeted campaign of government retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint.

The lawsuit follows the governors state takeover of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, now the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, made up of conservative activists and DeSantis loyalists, a move that followed Florida Republicans punitive measures against the company after its public opposition to the Dont Say Gay law.

Days later, the board voted to sue Disney in state court.

In March, Disney slammed the governors anti-business approach to the company, which Mr DeSantis has accused of advancing a woke agenda while his administration targets LGBT+ people and their families with sweeping laws to control public school education, healthcare access and speech.

The governor dissolved a decades-old municipal district that allowed Disney to control its own land use, zoning rules and public services, without putting a tax burden on Florida residents. In effect, Disney taxed itself to foot the districts bill for its municipal needs.

Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not? Disney CEO Bob Iger said on a conference call with analysts last week.

A statement from Disney said the company has decided to pull out of the new campus construction given the considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions.

The Parental Rights in Education Act  what opponents have called Dont Say Gay  prohibits instruction of sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through the third grade and any such discussion that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in other grades. The governor recently expanded the law to explicitly extend such restrictions to all grades.

Critics have warned that the broadly written law threatens to freeze classroom speech involving LGBT+ people and issues, from civil rights history lessons to discussion of LGBT+ students, school staff and their families.

Following passage of the Florida law, lawmakers across the US and in Congress have introduced similar legislation, including more than two dozen measures in current legislative sessions.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

A local news station has come under fire after airing a segment featuring a man protesting recent gun restrictions by carrying an AR-15 near a school bus stop.

The man, identified as JDen McAdory, was standing near an elementary school bus stop in Severn, Maryland, according to videos taken by parents and reported by WBAL-TV.

He was reportedly protesting against a recently-enacted gun control law in Maryland by openly carrying an AR-15. The law requires people to demonstrate a particular need to get a license to carry a concealed gun in public.

The report, covered by Tolly Taylor of WBAL-TV, sparked controversy due to its perceived sympathetic approach to the mans actions.

Prior to the segments broadcast, Taylor took to Twitter to tease the story, where he wrote: Tonight on [WBAL-TV]: A man with an AR-15 has been showing up for weeks to a school bus drop off for local elementary school students.

Parents say their kids are afraid, the man says hes protesting [Governor Wes Moore]s new gun control law, he wrote. Youll hear from both sides at 5+6pm.

The framing of the story as one that would present both sides did not sit well with many commentators as the US continues to be ravaged by frequent mass shootings.

Several Twitter users argued that giving a platform to a person carrying a weapon near a school bus stop sends the wrong message and undermines concerns about gun safety.

Nope... there are not two sides of bringing an assault weapon to an elementary school bus stop, said former White House press secretary and political adviser Jen Psaki.

Both sides? Seriously? I feel like I am losing my mind, tweeted senior journalist Mehdi Hasan.

Both sides? Side one: The kids are scared by a man with a gun. Side two: A man with a gun is scaring the kids. There you have it, wrote author Craig Rozniecki.

In the report, Taylor talked the impact of the mans presence on the school community.

Because of the man with the AR-15, the elementary school decided to delay dismissal on Monday, he said.

The segment included cellphone footage captured by Jamie Sparrow, a concerned parent, showing children getting off the school bus while the armed man stood across the street.

Mr Sparrow expressed fear for the safety of the children and emphasised the need for action.

I feel like if we dont do something about it now, then well be talking again, Mr Sparrow said. And itll be too late at that point.

The parent also recounted a disturbing comment made by the protester to him and his children, where he referred to them as scared bowling pins.

Mr McAdory, the man with the AR-15, told Taylor: I really wasnt coming out here for the kids.

I was coming out here to show people that this is legal.

When asked about the appropriateness of his actions, Mr McAdory conceded that just because he is legally allowed to perform certain actions, does not necessarily imply ethical behaviour.

He, however, doubled down on his actions and claimed his consistent presence would deter crime in the area.

Taylor also tweeted a partial statement by Marylands governor about the incident.

Scaring our kids and threatening our communities wont help make Maryland safe. The governor wont allow these tactics to stop his administration from taking common-sense steps to protect our communities, said the statement cited by Taylor.

In response to growing concerns among parents and children, local police had increased their presence in the area.

Mr McAdory recently reached an agreement with school district officials, assuring them that he would no longer protest during school pickup or drop-off times, according to WBAL-TV.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

A court in Slovakia has acquitted for a second time a businessman accused of masterminding the 2018 slaying of an investigative journalist and his fiancee.

The Specialized Criminal Court in Pezinok, near the capital, Bratislava, which handles Slovakias most serious cases, ruled Friday that Marian Kocner was not guilty of murdering Jan Kuciak, who had written about him in the past, and Martina Kusnirova, both aged 27.

The crime shocked the country and caused the government to fall.

The court said it was not proven that Kocner was the mastermind.

However, Kocners associate, Alena Zsuzsova, was convicted over her role in the killings and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The case is not over yet as both the prosecution and the defendants can appeal.

Prosecutors had requested life imprisonment for both defendants.

The parents of Kuciak and Kusnirova left the courtroom before the reading of the sentence was completed.

There's no logic in it," the journalists father, Jozef Kuciak, told reporters. I don't get it at all.

Of course, we'll appeal, Zlata Kusnirova, the mother of Martina said. It's impossible what happened, she said. It's a shame for justice.

Kuciak was shot in the chest and Kusnirova was shot in the head at their home in the town of Velka Maca, east of Bratislava, on Feb. 21, 2018.

Kocner allegedly threatened the journalist following publication of a story about his business dealings, prosecutors said. Overall, Kuciak published nine stories about Kocner.

The killings prompted major street protests unseen since the 1989 anti-communist Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia. The ensuing political crisis led to the collapse of a coalition government headed by populist Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Kuciak had been investigating possible government corruption when he was killed.

It was the second time the Pezinok court ruled in the case.

Originally, it acquitted Kocner in September 2020, saying there was not enough evidence for the convictions. The prosecutors appealed.

Slovakias Supreme Court dismissed the acquittal in June 2021, saying the lower court did not properly assess available evidence when it cleared Kocner and Zsuzsova and ordering a retrial.

Three other defendants were previously convicted and sentenced to stiff prison terms.

One of them, former soldier Miroslav Marcek, pleaded guilty to shooting Kuciak and Kusnirova and was sentenced to 23 years in prison in April 2020. Prosecutors said Kocner paid Marcek to carry out the killings.

In the meantime, Kocner was sentenced to 19 years in prison in a separate forgery case while Zsuzsova received 21 years in prison for her role in the killing of a mayor.

Those verdicts are final.

In December 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Kocner and six of his businesses for threatening Kuciak.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Smiles, a handshake and what Tunisian President Kais Saied called a historic meeting with the long-ostracized Syrian leader Bashar Assad.

The talks between the two presidents, held before the start on Friday of the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia, buried memories, and perhaps the legacy, of the Arab Spring which started in Tunisia 12 years ago. That series of uprising gave the North African country its first taste of democracy as protests rolled across the region, including in Syria.

Today, I am absolutely convinced of Tunisian support for Syria, a statement from Saieds office said after what it called the historic meeting.

Tunisia, reborn after its 2011 revolution which toppled autocratic ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was among the fiercest critics of Assad. But Saied has largely trampled the gains of Tunisia's revolution since his 2019 election, notably by assuming near full powers after suspending the legislature in 2021 then dissolving it in his crackdown on corruption and dissent.

Tunisia resumed diplomatic relations with Syria in April, and Assads presence at the Arab League summit sealed Syrias return to the club of Arab nations.

The official TAP news agency showed photos of him and Assad greeting each other with smiles, a warm hand shake and a sit-down for serious talks. Assad was invited to the residence where the Tunisian president was staying in Jeddah, the Saudi Arabian city hosting the summit.

Syria was kicked out of the club of Arab nations in 2011 at the start of its brutal civil war. That was months after Tunisias revolution.

We stand together against the movement of darkness, Assad said, apparently referring to extremist groups that came to dominate the Syrian opposition as his countrys war ground on, and militants groups there drew a large number of recruits from Tunisia.

In an interview with Tunisian television, Assad said that the North African country used to be a platform to propagate the (Islamist) mindset.

After my meeting with Kais Saied, I am now convinced that the Arab people hasnt changed and Tunisia is the same, he was quoted as saying by the Radio Mosaique.

Among numerous figures jailed in Saieds crackdown is Rached Ghannouchi, head of the moderate Islamist party that triumphed in Tunisias first free elections in October 2011. Ghannouchi was also speaker of the parliament that Saied dissolved.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Arab leaders, joined by Syrian President Bashar Assad for the first time in more than a decade, were holding an annual summit Friday in Saudi Arabia, with a focus on Sudan and other conflicts.

The meeting comes as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pursues regional diplomacy with the same vigor he previously brought to the oil-rich kingdom's confrontation with its archrival Iran and regional proxies.

In recent months, Saudi Arabia has restored diplomatic ties with Iran, is ending the kingdoms yearslong war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen and has led the push for Syrias return to the Arab League, 12 years after its membership was suspended over Assad's bloody crackdown against Arab Spring protests.

The Saudis have even offered to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, following a prisoner exchange deal they brokered last year.

As leaders from the 22-member league meet in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, attention is expected to shift to Sudan. The East African country's top generals  both of whom have been backed by Saudi Arabia and other Arab states  have been battling each other across the country for over a month, killing hundreds and sparking an exodus from the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere.

Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, leader of the armed forces, and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, agreed to a pact in Jeddah last week that promised safe passage for civilians fleeing the fighting and protection for aid groups. Saudi Arabia and the United States have meanwhile been leading international efforts to broker a lasting truce.

The fighting has killed over 600 people and caused tens of thousands to flee their homes.

The Arab League is also expected to reiterate its perennial criticism of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians at a time of soaring tensions.

In recent years, Assad's forces have recaptured much of Syria's territory from insurgents with help from Russia and Iran. Saudi Arabia had been a leading sponsor of the opposition at the height of the war but pulled back as the insurgents were eventually cornered in a small pocket of northwestern Syria.

Saudi Arabias push to bring Syria back into the fold is part of a broader shift in the kingdoms approach to regional politics, says Torbjorn Soltvedt, a leading Mideast analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

The previously adventurist foreign policy defined by the Yemen intervention and efforts to confront Iran are now being abandoned in favor of a more cautious approach, he said.

There are some Arab holdouts to Damascus' rehabilitation, including gas-rich Qatar, which still supports Syria's opposition. Qatar has said it won't stand in the way of the Arab consensus on readmitting Syria but would also not normalize bilateral relations without a political solution to the conflict.

Western countries, which still view Assad as a pariah over his forces aerial bombardment and gas attacks against civilians during the 12-year civil war, have criticized his return to the Arab fold and vowed to maintain crippling sanctions.

That will likely continue to hamper any reconstruction. Years of heavy fighting involving Assad's forces, the opposition and jihadi groups like the Islamic State group left entire villages and neighborhoods in ruins.

U.S. lawmakers are rallying to block the Arab effort to bring Assad back into the international community. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, declared the U.S. must use all of our leverage to stop normalization" with Assad.

Democrats and Republicans on McCauls committee advanced legislation this week that would bar any U.S. federal agency from recognizing or carrying out normal relations with Syrias government as long as its led by Assad, who came to power in 2000, following the death of his father.

The legislation would also plug holes in existing U.S. sanctions targeting Assad, and mandate the U.S. create a formal strategy to counter efforts by countries that do normalize relations with his government.

Lawmakers are taking a somewhat harder line than the U.S. administration has so far.

We do not believe that Syria merits readmission to the Arab League," the State Departments deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington on Wednesday. He added that U.S. officials have raised this point with our regional partners and with our partners in the Arab world.

Our position is clear. We are not going to normalize relations with the Assad regime and we certainly dont support others doing that, Patel said.

Patel said the administration is still committed to a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted in 2015 that endorsed a roadmap to peace drafted three years earlier. But several rounds of talks held over the years between Assad's government and the opposition went nowhere, and he has had little incentive to compromise with the beleaguered insurgents since Russia entered the war on his side eight years ago.

___

Associated Press writers Ellen Knickmeyer and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

President Joe Biden has told G7 leaders that the United States would support providing fighter jets, including American-made F-16 jets, senior administration officials said.

Mr Biden is currently in Japan for a G7 summit, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calling the decision one that would greatly enhance our army in the sky.

Ukrainian officials had said they needed up to 200 jets to push back against Russias aggression, which is thought to be five to six times the size of Ukraines.

The Biden administrations decision means that other countries can now export their F-16 jets since the United States must legally approve if its allies want to re-export equipment they purchased.

The administration official said that the United States would support a joint effort with our allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s, to further strengthen and improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force.

As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them, the official said.

The United States has previously hesitated to provide Ukraine with fighter jets after Russia invaded the nation early last year.

The UK will work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs, United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted. He added that the UK would set up a flight school to train Ukrainian pilots.

Mr Zelensky has stressed the need for F-16 jets, which can travel at twice the speed of sound and can engage with targets both in the air and on the ground.

But some allies have worried that sending jets to Ukraine would be seen as escalating the war and risking direct conflict with Russia.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies are generally united in voicing concern about China. The question is how to translate that worry into action.

Over the past two years, President Joe Bidens administration has sought to reframe the relationship with Beijing and build support among like-minded nations for a strong response to what officials in Washington and some other Western democracies say is economic coercion.

But the G7 also needs to cooperate with China on broader global issues such as climate change, North Korea, the war in Ukraine and the debt problems of a growing number of developing economies. And all the G-7 countries have a big stake in strong ties with the worlds second-largest economy.

At a summit this week in Hiroshima, U.S. officials say they expect leaders of the G-7 to jointly endorse a unified strategy on economic coercion, which they define as economic retaliation for policies deemed contrary to another countrys interests, in this case, Chinas.

Advisers to Biden have been pushing for this approach since he took office in early 2021. His administration has taken clear actions against China in restricting trade and investment in the name of national security, despite the economic spillovers.

The issue is retaliation against countries that take actions that Chinas not happy with from a geopolitical perspective. Thats a matter that should be of concern to all of us, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said last week at G-7 finance meetings in Niigata, Japan.

We would like to work jointly with our partners and are continuing our conversations about that, Yellen said. Efforts to safeguard economic security would be most effective, she said, with coordinated action, though the U.S. has no interest in breaking up economically with China.

Meanwhile, the European Union also has moved to enact its own platform for dealing with economic coercion, an effort spurred by actions taken by President Donald Trumps America First moves against fellow G-7 members.

While we all have our independent relationships with China, Im confident that the G-7 leaders will convene on a set of very core shared principles, EU President Ursula von der Leyen said in a news conference Monday.

Echoing similar comments by Yellen and other U.S. officials, she said the EU's strategy is aimed at derisking, not decoupling.

Yellen says U.S. limits on trade with and investment in China, which are still being worked out, would be narrowly scoped and targeted to protect technologies with national security implications.

In October, the Commerce Department banned exports of advanced computer chips and equipment to China out of concern that Chinese companies and the government were using the technology for military purposes. It also got the Netherlands and Japan to agree with its export controls, undermining one of President Xi Jinpings goals of making the Chinese economy dominant in key technologies.

The Treasury Department can impose sanctions on threats tied to cybersecurity and Chinas military. The U.S. government also reviews Chinese investments into the U.S. and is considering restrictions to U.S. investments in China.

But the U.S. imported nearly $537 billion worth of goods last year from China and ran a $383 billion goods deficit, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That creates a codependence  with Chinese companies reliant on U.S. customers and America in need of products from China.

U.S. businesses have a cumulative investment in China of nearly $120 billion. European nations  especially Germany, the United Kingdom, Netherlands and France  have put more than $140 billion into China businesses over the past 20 years, according to EU figures.

During the pandemic, disruptions to supplies of all sorts of products, from computer chips and window frames to baby formula to work boots, drove home the extent to which the world depends on trade with China to stock shelves and keep the world clothed, fed and housed.

Adding to the perceived risks, Chinese police recently raided the offices of consulting companies Bain & Co. and the Mintz Group. Beijing also launched a national security review of the U.S. chip maker Micron.

Were watching China employ policy tools and practices like military-civil fusion, economic coercion, and extreme forms of digital protectionism, said Suzanne Clark, CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. These policies and practices in pursuit of Chinas absolute security  together with massive state subsidies, unfair commercial practices, and human rights abuses  have made the world less secure.

The differences with China range well beyond trade and technology.

Chinas leaders have challenged the Western-dominated international order and rule of law with threats to take the island democracy of Taiwan by force and expanding the Chinese military presence in the South China Sea.

Beijing demands that businesses and governments alike avoid violating its stance in areas that it deems vital to its own security interests, while the U.S. and other G-7 nations must answer to international norms on human rights and rule of law.

The question is how far Washington and other G-7 nations might go and what measures might tip the balance beyond what China will accept.

Beijings outraged response to accusations of economic coercion suggests it will be difficult to separate G-7 financial and trade interests from military and diplomatic ties.

During the G-7's finance-related talks, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, slammed the U.S. and said it was the chief culprit. On Tuesday, Wang took aim at Japan, saying that as host of the G-7 summit, Japan was addicted to provoking and creating camp confrontations, which harms regional interests."

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the U.S. and its allies sought to weave the global economy more tightly, expecting that shared financial interests could limit the risk of conflict.

Yet greater trade with China hollowed out manufacturing communities in the U.S.  a factor helping to destabilize American politics. And China has evolved in ways U.S. leaders had not anticipated. Xi, the countrys most powerful leader since the 1960s, has vastly expanded the ruling Communist Partys powers to include social controls and suppression of dissent or criticism, leveraging the latest technology to create the first truly modern surveillance state.

Economic integration didnt stop China from expanding its military ambitions in the region, or stop Russia from invading its democratic neighbors, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a recent speech. Neither country had become more responsible or cooperative."

Bidens election as president and Russias invasion of Ukraine have given the G-7 a renewed impetus. At the same time, The biggest question for the G7 leaders gathering in Hiroshima is what vision of leadership they want to project, said a recent analysis by the International Crisis Group.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

The office of US Senator Dianne Feinstein has confirmed that the California Democrat was suffering worse health complications from a recent shingles case than she had previously claimed.

A spokesperson for Sen Feinstein, 89, told CNN Ms Feinstein, the Senates oldest lawmaker, experienced Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis as part of the diagnosis.

While the encephalitis resolved itself shortly after she was released from the hospital in March, she continues to have complications from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, the spokesperson said on Thursday.

Ramsay Hunt syndrome can occur when a case of shingles affects the facial nerve close to the eye, sometimes causing facial paralysis and hearing loss, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Earlier in the day, Sen Feinstein claimed to CNN she didnt have encephalitis, saying, It was really a bad flu.

The California senators health and mental fitness have long been subjects of scrutiny. Some of her colleagues have called on her to resign.

She returned to the Senate last week after being absent for 10 weeks as she recovered from shingles. Upon returning to the Senate, Sen Feinstein told reporters that she had never left.

No, I havent been gone, she said to LA Timess Ben Oreskes when asked how her Senate colleagues have responded to her return, reported Slate.

Mr Oreskes then asked her whether she had been working from home.

No, Ive been here. Ive been voting, she said. Please, you either know or dont know.

The absence of Sen Feinstein halted the work of the Senate judiciary committee, where Republicans demanded the California Democrat either return to work or resign from the Senate, rather than allow a temporary replacement.

The infighting halted the confirmation of federal judges, one of the main ways Democrats can cement their influence in a divided Congress.

As The Independent has reported, Sen Feinstein is part of a generation of elderly leaders at the top of the US political system, leading critics to argue more should be done to make elected office accessible to young people.

The present Congress contains the second-oldest Senate and third-oldest House in US history. Generationally, the US population fits roughly into four, equal-sized blocks of about 20 to 25 per cent: ages 0 to 18, 19 to 34, 35 to 54, and 55-plus.

The composition of Congress, meanwhile, is drastically tipped toward the elder part of that range, with the median House member aged 57.9 and the median senator aged 65.3.

According to Professor Munger, Kevin Munger, assistant professor of political science and social data analytics at Pennsylvania State University, author of Generation Gap: Why the Baby Boomers Still Dominate American Politics and Culture, the age of Americas most senior politicians  Sen Chuck Schumer is 71, Sen Mitch McConnell is 81  often means that issues that matter to other generations dont get top billing, leading both to disaffection and to bigger-picture existential issues, like a lack of serious climate legislation or the impending funding crisis of social security.

Its been clear that because of the size of the boomer generation, at a certain point, we were either going to have to raise taxes on the workforce or cut the benefits, he said.

We didnt do either of those things. Sometime in the 2030s, its going to run out. Theyre not going to cut benefits to boomers. Instead, younger generations are going to have to fully fund this obvious 30-year shortfall.

In the case of social security in particular, many of the leaders deciding on the issue are current recipients, while those younger generations who will likely pay more or get less in the future arent represented in office. A similar problem arises with climate change: the leaders holding up urgent action on the climate likely will not be alive to see the very worst impacts of their inaction.

The issues that matter to younger generations dont get on the agenda at all, Prof Munger added.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

A Wisconsin judge on Monday refused to break up a lawsuit filed against 10 fake electors for former President Donald Trump and two of his attorneys, saying the case could proceed in the county where it was filed.

The lawsuit seeks $2.4 million from the fake electors and their attorneys, alleging they were part of a conspiracy by Trump and his allies to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential race. It also seeks to disqualify the Republicans from ever serving as electors again.

Fake electors met in Wisconsin and other battleground states where Trump was defeated in 2020, attempting to cast ballots for the former president even though he lost. Republicans who participated in Wisconsin said they were trying to preserve Trumps legal standing in case courts overturned his defeat.

Nine of the 10 fake electors in Wisconsin, and one of Trump's attorneys, argued that the lawsuit against them was wrongly filed in Dane County Circuit Court. Since none of them lived in that county, they argued, the lawsuit should be refiled against each of them in their respective home counties.

But Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington disagreed on Monday, saying the lawsuit was properly filed because, in part, at least one of the defendants appears to live in Dane County or does not present evidence to the contrary.

One of Trump's attorneys, James Troupis, and fake elector Scott Grabins, the former Dane County Republican Party chair, both live in Dane County. Neither of them provided any evidence of where they lived, the judge said. Neither did Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who practices law in the Boston area.

Attorneys for the fake electors who don't live in Dane County argued that a 2007 state law allows for venue changes to courts in the defendant's home county in cases that relate to elections or election law. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants broke several criminal and civil laws when they met at the Wisconsin state Capitol on Dec. 14, 2020, in an attempt to cast the states electoral votes for Trump.

Remington said the law requires that the case be heard in Dane County where it was filed.

Wisconsin law does not allow the problematic consequences of ten judges simultaneously litigating the same claims in ten different courts, or ten juries  some 120 jurors  hearing the same claims and rendering ten different verdicts, Remington wrote.

The lawsuit was filed a year ago this month by two Democratic electors and a voter. They are represented by the Madison-based Law Forward law firm and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at the Georgetown University Law Center.

Although likely not the last, this was just the latest effort to delay any type of accountability, said Law Forward attorney Scott Thompson. We are pleased this matter will be resolved in the Dane County Courthouse, just one block from where the fake electors scheme was carried out.

Attorneys for the fake electors did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Remington last week also revived a complaint brought by Law Forward against the fake electors filed with the Wisconsin Elections Commission. That complaint sought sanctions against the fake electors.

Remington ruled last week that the complaint must be heard again because a commissioner who considered the complaint last time should have recused himself. That commissioner, Robert Spindell, also served as a fake elector and is one of the defendants in the lawsuit seeking damages.

President Joe Biden won Wisconsin by nearly 21,000 votes, a result that has withstood recounts, partisan-led investigations, a nonpartisan audit and multiple lawsuits.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

In recent days, social media has been flooded with videos of truck drivers claiming they are boycotting Florida after the states governor, Ron DeSantis, signed into law a strict immigration enforcement bill.

According to the social media posts, truckers across the United States had decided en masse to cease deliveries to the Sunshine State, citing the tough immigration policies. One TikToker who made a video about his own concerns about the law, sanchezmanuel33, told The Independent that he thought thousands of truckers were participating.

However, it does not appear that such a mass demonstration has been taking place as of yet.

The Florida Trucking Association, which lobbies on behalf of the states trucking industry at the Florida statehouse, was able to shed some light on the situation. The groups president told The Independent that she was aware of the TikTok videos but as of yet was not noticing any impacts on trucking businesses operating in the state.

Im aware of the reports, but have not heard of any issues, Alix Miller said.

Other news reports indicate that there were no shortages reported at grocery stores in the state as of yet. One immigrants rights advocate who spoke to a local Florida news outlet said that she had spoken to several local organisations about pulling together a possible boycott, but those plans had not materialised so far.

A series of TikTok videos quickly spread across left-leaning accounts on Twitter, boasting of a looming boycott. One TikTok video of a man recording a line of empty store shelves at a grocery store was viewed hundreds of thousands of times as evidence of shortages supposedly cropping up in the state.

Aiding the growing story was a series of TikToks from individual truckers making bold claims about how they themselves would participate in a boycott, circulated on Twitter by an independent journalist focused on the immigration beat. His thread has been viewed more than 3 million times.

Do not enter Florida. Lets support immigrants. What theyre doing in Florida is not okay. Im going to say it again, I wont enter Florida and neither will my truck. Lets not pretend like were not all immigrants here, one driver said in Spanish on TikTok.

Look at all the truck drivers here, there are long long lines. If we stand together and say F*** it, we are not going to Florida. Lets see who is going to bring (goods) to Florida? ... Theres more being imported to Florida than being exported. If we dont bring anything to Floridians, what are they going to do? Whats the governor going to do? another driver added.

Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also appeared to voice support for a trucker boycott.

Anti-immigrant policies reap what they sow. DeSantis Florida is about to find that out, she said on Twitter, adding, No mas. Time to stop biting the hands that feed.

The issue has even received media coverage: A local newspaper, the Tallahassee Democrat, covered the TikToks and explained the basics of the immigration law, adding that we dont know for sure that (drivers) are boycotting the state.

A review of various Publix locations  Floridas largest supermarket chain  across the state indicated no service disruptions or shortages, and there was no evidence on social media of any stores with empty shelves beyond the one TikTok filmed by a user named PJs Journey.

The Independent has contacted a number of grocery chains in the state and made multiple attempts to reach Publix for comment.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Embattled lawmaker George Santos has been accused of allegedly defrauding fellow Republican candidates running for office, a report says.

Mr Santos, a Republican first-term congressman from New York has been accused of a string of lies and falsehoods about numerous parts of his background.

He was indicted in federal court last week for, among other things, having an associate tell a donor that a contribution to a firm Mr Santos owned would go to support his campaign. Much of the money allegedly went to Mr Santoss personal accounts instead.

But deep-pocketed donors are reportedly not the only people Mr Santos allegedly conned into donating to his firm.

According to The Daily Beast, Mr Santos also allegedly took money from his fellow Republican candidates.

The firm in question, identified only as Company #1 in the indictment, is believed to be Redstone Strategies  a limited liability company founded in Florida in 2021 that listed Mr Santos Devolder Organization as one of its managers.

Mr Santos has denied that Redstone Strategies is the company in question in the indictment but said he was unsure what that company could be.

Other people seem to recall more details. Redstone reportedly served as a vendor for multiple New York Republican candidates during the 2022 election cycle and was given a substantial amount of money by Rise NY PAC, a political action committee run by Mr Santoss sister.

George didnt only lie to his voters, but also to fellow candidates around him for his own alleged financial gain, Stefano Forte, a Queens Republican who ran unsuccessfully for the New York state Senate last year, told The Daily Beast.

Mr Forte told the publication that Mr Santos approached him personally and pitched him on hiring Redstone, which he did  parting ways with the firm only after hed paid it $14,000.

Mr Forte said he never knew that Mr Santos had a stake in the company, meaning Mr Santos did not disclose that information when he pitched him on hiring the firm.

Mr Santos confirmed to The Daily Beast that he had pitched fellow candidates on hiring Redstone, but said he never personally profited from the resulting transactions and dismissed Mr Fortes criticism as a political attack.

Mr Santos is facing a bevvy of legal issues that have made his position in Congress tenuous.

Following his indictment, House Democrats introduced a resolution to have him expelled from the chamber. The House voted along party lines on Thursday to refer the resolution to the House Ethics Committee, with Mr Santos himself voting against his explosion.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Republican Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene accused California Governor Gavin Newsom of mansplaining after he tweeted about her dangerous rhetoric on Democratic colleague Rep Jamaal Bowman.

Mr Newsom became the latest Democrat to rally around his colleague Mr Bowman, suggesting that Ms Greenes recent characterisation of him was racist and adding: This is the kind of dangerous rhetoric that led to Emmett Tills death.

His comments came after the Georgia representative addressed the media about a confrontation on the Hill in which Mr Bowman referred to her as a white supremacist.

Jamaal Bowman shouting at the top of his lungs, cursing, calling me a horrible  calling me a white supremacist which I take great offense to that, she said on Thursday.

Its like calling a person of color the n-word which should never happen. Calling me a white supremacist is equal to that. That is wrong.

His physical mannerisms are aggressve, she added. I think theres a lot of concern about Jamaal Bowman, and I am concerned, I feel threatened by him.

Mr Bowman and Ms Greene went toe-to-toe outside the Capitol on Wednesday, with the pair shouting at one another after Republicans managed to successfully avoid a vote forcing them to expel Rep George Santos from Congress over allegations of embezzlement.

Ms Greene and Mr Bowman became involved in the altercation after Mr Bowman yelled to Mr Santos that he should resign, prompting Ms Greene to engage.

Her comments were slammed as racism by Mr Bowman himself, and have prompted a huge outpouring of support for Mr Bowman from his colleagues, but Ms Greene hit out at Mr Newsom over his support, retweeting a message that suggested the governor was mansplaining.

Shame on you, @GavinNewsom. When women say they feel threatened you should not be mansplaining to them, wrote Richard Grenell, who was retweeted by the congresswoman.

Mr Bowman had accused Ms Greene of using a racial bullhorn when she characterised him as threatening.

Unfortunately, this country has a history of characterising Black men who are outspoken, who stand their ground and who push back as being threatening or intimidating, he told reporters on Capitol Hill. So shes not even using a dog whistle. Shes using a bullhorn to put a target on my back to the people she refers to as MAGA people out there who might want to cause harm.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said theres something delicious about far-right members of Congress positioning themselves against corporations that promote diversity or progressive ideas as he believes it unites most Americans who are on the other side of the fence.

Despite what seems like an increasingly polarised political environment, Mr Buttigieg expressed hope about common ground in America, in part thanks to the GOP, while speaking with Wired.

Over the last few years, several notable right-wing members of Congress have blasted companies like Bud Light, Disney, Coca-Cola and American Express for promoting inclusivity.

Speaking specifically to the Coca-Cola Company being called woke for protesting voter suppression laws in Georgia, Mr Buttigieg said, Theres something delicious about the way that [Senator Ted Cruz] and the rest of them have positioned themselves on one side of the fence.

And Netflix, Coca-Cola, Disney and Bud Light are on the other side. Along with most of America, Mr Buttigieg added.

Recently, anti-transgender people called for a boycott against Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light, after they included a transgender woman in their advertising.

Over the last year, Disney has been targeted by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for openly criticising his legislation suppressing LGBTQ+ rights in the state.

But many have publicly mocked Mr DeSantis for going after the massive corporation due to their conflicting beliefs.

Mr Buttigieg seemingly pointed to the backlash, similar to the kind Mr DeSantis is facing, as an example of many Americans advocating for progressive ideas.

There may in fact be a center of gravity in this country that includes both a Democratic majority of the American people, and even something of a consensus, at least among mainstream business leaders, Mr Buttigieg said.

We have certain commitments around democracy and inclusion that are really elemental to the whole system, he added.

In the interview, Mr Buttigieg said that while the two goals of the mainstream right were to prevent legal access to abortion and to sustain lower taxes for the wealthy they had to make a lot of distasteful bargains to get there.

He cited coming after the US military as an example.

Sometimes the militarythe military, of all institutionscomes under attack from the far right. On ideological grounds. Yet another front in the culture war, Mr Buttigieg said.

You can only put yourself on the wrong side of so many red, white, and blue American institutions, and the question becomes, Is this about you?
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Floridas Republican governor Ron DeSantis is believed to be on the verge of announcing his bid to become the partys 2024 presidential nominee, placing him in direct competition with Donald Trump.

Many American conservatives see Mr DeSantis as a natural successor to Mr Trumps brash brand of populist politics, with the younger man staking out territory for himself as an anti-woke cultural warrior in recent years, pushing back against social restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic, clamping down on LGBT+ rights in schools and even battling the mighty Walt Disney Company in Orlando.

No one has followed Mr DeSantiss ascent over the last three years more closely than Mr Trump, who now resides in the same state.

The deposed president has increasingly ramped up his attacks on the Sunshine States governor in recent months, betraying jealousy and nicknaming him Ron DeSanctimonious in public and, allegedly, Meatball Ron and Tiny D in private.

He recently gloated on Truth Social that Rons magic is GONE! after two of his adversarys endorsements for political office in Kentucky and Jacksonville fell short.

More seriously, Mr Trump has not shied from amplifying nastier, unfounded claims about Mr DeSantis on the same platform, including in relation to his short-lived career as a high school teacher in Georgia as a younger man.

Back in February, another user posted a grainy picture on the site showing a man with a passing resemblance to Mr DeSantis posing with a group of young women with blurred out faces, one of whom is holding what appears to be a bottle of beer.

Here is Ron DeSanctimonious grooming high school girls with alcohol as a teacher, the caption alleged.

Mr Trump, gleefully reshared the image and unfounded claims several times, responding, No way?, and, Thats not Ron, is it? He would never do such a thing!

The photograph, posted by a user who described themselves as a soldier for Trump ready to go on a battlefield and shed blood, suggesting they were highly partisan, linked back to a hostile post on a blog known as Hill Reporter.

The article quoted an anonymous whistleblower with close knowledge of the matter who alleged that the future governor had a reputation for partying with seniors while teaching history at Darlington School in Rome during the 2001/02 academic year.

The image has not been verified, it is not even clear whether the man depicted is Mr DeSantis or whether the women featured are either underage or consuming alcohol.

Mr DeSantis has not addressed the matter publicly and his office did not respond when contacted by The Independent for comment when Mr Trumps posts were first reported.

The current Republican governor arrived at the Darlington School aged 23 after graduating from Yale University.

He had been born in Jacksonville in September 1978 to working class Italian-American parents, his father a TV engineer and his mother a nurse, going on to study at Yale and then Harvard Law School, after which he joined the US Navy in 2004, where he served as a legal advisor to SEAL Team One and was stationed at Guantanamo Bay and in Iraq before being discharged, thereafter working as a special assistant US attorney in Florida and then seeking election to Congress in 2012.

His year as an educator was chronicled by The New York Times last year in a report that investigated the allegation that he had partied with students.

One former student told the newspaper they remembered seeing him at one such event: As an 18-year-old, I remember thinking, What are you doing here, dude?

Asked how his presence at such events was received, another was dismissive: It was his first job out of Yale, he was cute. We didnt really think too much about it.

Another student, Danielle Pompey, claimed Mr DeSantis had treated her unkindly as a student, alleging this was because she was Black.

Mr Ron, Mr DeSantis, was mean to me and hostile toward me, she told The NYT.

Not aggressively, but passively, because I was Black.

She also claimed that, during a history class on the American Civil War, he had made arguments for the justification of slavery, saying: He was trying to play devils advocate that the South had good reason to fight the war, to kill other people, over owning people  Black people.

He was trying to say Its not OK to own people, but they had property, businesses.

Another former student, who asked not be named, said Mr DeSantiss views on the Civil War were so well known that they were made the subject of a parody video for the schools video yearbook.

The NYT reports that the video contains a snippet of a student imitating Mr DeSantis and saying, The Civil War was not about slavery! It was about two competing economic systems. One was in the North, before the clip cuts to a student dozing off at their desk.

Gates Minis, another graduate, remembered him as a total jock and said: He was definitely proud that he graduated Ivy and thought he was very special.

Speaking more fondly, Trip Barnes told The NYT: He was definitely one of the cooler guys. There were other young teachers who tried to be everybodys friend who didnt have nearly his mystique.

He said Mr DeSantis was charismatic, very smart and that people liked him.

The Independent reached out to Mr DeSantis and to Darlington School for comment on The New York Timess story.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

The Department of Justice has arrested a former Washington DC police lieutenant for allegedly leaking confidential information to Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio.

Sean Lamond, 47, was indicted by a grand jury in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements, according to a Friday statement from the DoJ.

According to the indictment, Mr Lamond, who worked as a supervisor of the Metropolitan Police Departments (MPD)s Homeland Security Bureau, was allegedly in regular contact with Mr Tarrio about Proud Boys activities in DC beginning in July 2019.

The Proud Boys are a far-right neo-fascist organisation that promotes and engages in political violence.

Using Telegram, Mr Lamond allegedly leaked information about law enforcements investigations into the Proud Boys as well other police activity in Washington DC.

This allegedly included revealing details about an investigation into the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner in December 2020, such as updates on the probe.

However, when questioned by federal law enforcement officers in June 2021, Mr Lamond told officers he only communicated with Mr Tarrio to find out information without tipping him off to the MPD investigation.

Several messages provided in the indictment show that Mr Lamond sent Mr Tarrio screenshots of messages he received from MPD detectives about the case and notified Mr Tarrio when police identified him.

When law enforcement issued an arrest warrant for Mr Tarrio in connection with the burning of the banner, Mr Lamond reached out to warn about the warrant as well.

Mr Tarrio later pled guilty to one count of destruction of property in connection to the banner burning.

According to the indictment, Mr Lamond and Mr Tarrio also exchanged messages about the January 6 attack on the Capitol in the weeks before and days after.

The indictment alleges that Mr Lamond did not disclose to federal law enforcement officers that Mr Tarrio revealed his plans to attend the event in Washington DC on January 6.

Earlier this month, Mr Tarrio and three other members of the Proud Boys were found guilty of treason-related charges in connection to the violent riot.

Mr Lamonds case is being investigated by the FBIs Washington Field Office as well as the US Attorneys Office Criminal Investigations Unit.

Assistant US Attorney Joshua Rothstein is prosecuting the case.

The obstruction of justice charge carried a maximum of 30 years in prison while each false statement charge carried a maximum of five years in prison. Sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Donald Trumps former attorney has boldly predicted that the former president is going to jail as the criminal investigation into the trove of classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago continues to heat up.

Ty Cobb, who worked as a White House attorney for the Trump administration from July 2017 to May 2018, told CNN that he believes the evidence against Mr Trump will lead to a conviction and prison time.

I wouldnt necessarily expand the case to try to prove the Espionage Act piece of it because there is so much evidence of guilty knowledge on the espionage piece that all they really have to do is show that Trump moved these documents at various times when DOJ was either demanding them or actually present, that he filed falsely with the Justice Department, had his lawyers file falsely with the Justice Department and affidavit to the effect that none existed, which was shattered by the documents they discovered after the search and the many other misrepresentations that he and others have made on his behalf with regard to his possession of classified documents, he said.

Yes, I do think he will go to jail on it.

Mr Cobbs comments came as it was revealed that the National Archives had found a trove of records allegedly proving the former president knew he shouldnt have taken classified documents to Mar-a-Lago.

This week, the National Archives sent a letter, obtained by CNN, to Mr Trump revealing that it had found 16 presidential records showing he and his top advisers were aware of the correct declassification process when he was in the White House.

The 16 records in question all reflect communications involving close presidential advisers, some of them directed to you personally, concerning whether, why, and how you should declassify certain classified records, wrote archivist Debra Steidel Wall.

This trove of presidential records appears to pour cold water on Mr Trumps claims that he doesnt think he did anything wrong by taking the documents  instead suggesting that he was fully aware of the protocol but chose to disregard it.

Since Mar-a-Lago was raided by the FBI last August, Mr Trump has repeatedly falsely claimed that he was allowed to take classified documents with him when he left the Oval Office.

He has also falsely claimed that the documents automatically became declassified when he took them with him from the White House.

Ty Cobb predicts that Trump will end up in jail over his handling of classified documents (CNN)

I had every right to under the Presidential Records Act, he said just last week, during the disastrous CNN town hall.

You have the Presidential Records Act. I was there and I took what I took and it gets declassified.

He later added: And, by the way, they become automatically declassified when I took them.

In reality, under the Presidential Records Act, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has legal control of all presidential records as soon as a president leaves office.

Following the report of the National Archives records, Mr Trumps attorney Jim Trusty insisted that he had the constitutional authority to take the documents.

At the end of his presidency, he relied on the constitutional authority as commander-in-chief, which is to take documents and take them to Mar-a-Lago while still president as he was at the time, and to effectively declassify and personalise them, he told CNN.

He talked about declassifying them, but he didnt need to.

Meanwhile, the letter also revealed that Mr Trumps legal team had tried to block NARA from handing over the records to Special Counsel Jack Smiths office, citing constitutionally based privilege.

Mr Smith had issued NARA with a subpoena in January for records relevant to the grand jury investigation.

Notwithstanding any legal action to stop the handover, the special counsel will receive the records in question by 24 May as part of the ongoing criminal investigation.

As the probe into the documents heats up, one of Mr Trumps attorneys has suddenly resigned from his legal team.

Tim Parlatore stood down on Wednesday  but insisted that his decision was personal and was not to do with Mr Trump or the strength of the case.

Trump in the White House (Getty Images)

Its been an incredible honor to serve and work through interesting legal issues. My departure was a personal choice and does not reflect upon the case, as I believe strongly the (Justice Department) team is engaging in misconduct to pursue an investigation of conduct that is not criminal, Mr Palatore told CNN in a statement.

The National Archives had first contacted Mr Trump in 2021 not long after he left office asking for documents that they had found to be missing from its records.

His team handed over boxes of documents  some including classified papers  but held onto troves more.

On learning, the FBI executed a raid on Mar-a-Lago in August 2022, seizing 27 boxes including 11 containing classified information.

Some of the information was of the highest possible top secret classification, meaning it should never have left the custody of the government.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Donald Trumps legal troubles could be hotting up after the National Archives found a trove of records proving the former president knew he shouldnt have taken classified documents to Mar-a-Lago, according to a report.

The National Archives sent a letter, obtained by CNN, to Mr Trump this week revealing that it had found 16 presidential records showing he and his top advisers were aware of the correct declassification process when he was in the White House.

The 16 records in question all reflect communications involving close presidential advisers, some of them directed to you personally, concerning whether, why, and how you should declassify certain classified records, wrote archivist Debra Steidel Wall.

These records will now be turned over to Special Counsel Jack Smith by 24 May as part of the ongoing criminal investigation into Mr Trumps handling of classified documents.

Mr Trump has repeatedly falsely claimed that he was allowed to take classified documents with him when he left the Oval Office.

He has also falsely claimed that the documents automatically became declassified when he took them with him from the White House.

I had every right to under the Presidential Records Act, he said just last week, during the disastrous CNN town hall.

You have the Presidential Records Act. I was there and I took what I took and it gets declassified.

He later added: And, by the way, they become automatically declassified when I took them.

In reality, under the Presidential Records Act, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has legal control of all presidential records as soon as a president leaves office.

Now, this trove of presidential records appears to pour cold water on Mr Trumps claims that he doesnt think he did anything wrong by taking the documents  instead suggesting that he was fully aware of the protocol but chose to disregard it.

Trump has repeatedly falsely claimed that he was allowed to take classified documents with him when he left the Oval Office (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Mr Trumps attorney Jim Trusty insisted that he had the constitutional authority to take the documents.

At the end of his presidency, he relied on the constitutional authority as commander-in-chief, which is to take documents and take them to Mar-a-Lago while still president as he was at the time, and to effectively declassify and personalise them, he told CNN.

He talked about declassifying them, but he didnt need to.

Meanwhile, the letter also revealed that Mr Trumps legal team had tried to block NARA from handing over the records to Mr Smiths office, citing constitutionally based privilege.

Mr Smith had issued NARA with a subpoena in January for records relevant to the grand jury investigation.

Notwithstanding any legal action to stop the handover, the special counsel will likely receive the records in question next week.

News of the damning evidence comes just days after one of Mr Trumps attorneys representing him in the classified documents probe resigned from his legal team.

Tim Parlatore stood down on Wednesday  but insisted that his decision was personal and was not to do with Mr Trump or the strength of the case.

Its been an incredible honor to serve and work through interesting legal issues. My departure was a personal choice and does not reflect upon the case, as I believe strongly the (Justice Department) team is engaging in misconduct to pursue an investigation of conduct that is not criminal, Mr Palatore told CNN in a statement.

The National Archives had first contacted Mr Trump in 2021 not long after he left office asking for documents that they had found to be missing from its records.

His team handed over boxes of documents  some including classified papers  but held onto troves more.

On learning, the FBI executed a raid on Mar-a-Lago in August 2022, seizing 27 boxes including 11 containing classified information.

Some of the information was of the highest possible top secret classification, meaning it should never have left the custody of the government.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

A super PAC supporting former president Donald Trumps campaign used the entrance of Sen Tim Scott (R - South Carolina) into the 2024 Republican presidential race to hit his main rival, Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

Mr Scott, the Senates sole Black Republican, filed paperwork to run for president. He is largely expected to announce his candidacy on Monday.

But Make America Great Again Inc, a super PAC that supports Mr Trump, used Mr Scotts planned announcement to repeat Mr Trumps attacks on Mr DeSantis.

Ron DeSantis failed shadow campaign has opened the flood gates for career politicians looking to seize an opportunity to raise their profile ahead of the 2028 race, spokesman Taylor Budowich said.

The statement noted how many other Republicans either declared or are considering declaring their candidacy, including North Dakota Gov Doug Burgum, Virginia Gov Glenn Youngkin, Chris Sununu of New Hamphsire and former New Jersey Gov Chris Christie. MAGA Inc said that the other candidates joining shows they know the number two spot in the campaign is open.

They smell Ron DeSantis' blood in the water and no longer seem [sic] him as an obstacle, Mr Budowich said.

The two have a long history. In 2016, Mr Scott endorsed Sen Marco Rubio (R - Florida) in the Republican presidential primary, alongside then-governor Nikki Haley, now a candidate for president herself.

Later, Mr Scott voted for most of Mr Trumps policies, including the Republican legislation to repeal Obamacare and included provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that Mr Trump signed. He also voted for all three of Mr Trumps Supreme Court nominees. But he also voted to sink one of Mr Trumps judicial nominees confirmation after some raised questions about his record on voting rights.

MAGA Inc also listed four areas where Mr Scott differed from Mr Trump, including supporting spending for Ukraine and saying President Joe Biden provided too little support. The super PAC also criticised him for opposing Mr Trumps plan to remove troops from Syria.

It also dinged him for not mentioning immigration when he delivered the rebuttal to Mr Bidens 2021 joint address to Congress and voting to confirm Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in the Biden administration.

Correction: A previous version of the story misstated that the Trump campaign put out a statement. The statement was made by a pro-Trump super PAC.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Donald Trump has again complained that he is the victim of what Republicans baselessly claim is the weaponisation of the federal government.

The one-term president made the remark in response to the Jim Jordan-led House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government hearing on Thursday.

The committee descended into chaos with lawmakers shouting at each other as two suspended FBI agents and one fired agent spoke about how the agency had retaliated against them for claims they had made about it.

During the hearing, Democrats slammed Mr Jordan for violating House rules by withholding evidence and questioning the actual whistleblower status of the witnesses.

But that did not stop Mr Trump from inserting himself into the drama.

Very sad watching what took place today in Congress regarding Whistleblowers and the FBI. There has never been a time like this in our Country, the complete weaponization of Justice, Mr Trump said on his Truth Social account.

I am a victim also, but the real victim is the United States of America. Congress must use its purse strings to straighten it out, before it is too late!

The hearing also came following the release of Trump-era Justice Department special counsel John Durhams report which was critical of the FBIs investigation into Trumps 2016 campaign.

Mr Durhams report failed to uncover any deep state conspiracy, failed to charge any high-ranking official with any crimes, and acknowledged that Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign did nothing that could be prosecuted.

The Durham Report spells out in great detail the Democrat Hoax that was perpetrated upon me and the American people, Mr Trump stated on Truth Social.

This is 2020 Presidential Election Fraud, just like stuffing the ballot boxes, only more so. This totally illegal act had a huge impact on the Election. With an honest Media, we are looking at the Crime of the Century!
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

US president Joe Biden has formally announced his intention to seek a second term in the White House, shrugging off concerns about his advanced age.

In a video posted to social media on 25 April, Mr Biden, 80, reaffirmed his commitment to fighting for freedom and democracy.

The short film opened with footage of the deadly Capitol riot of 6 January 2021 and warned against the threat posed by MAGA extremists, whom he cautioned are hell-bent on cutting social security while offering tax breaks to the wealthy and assaulting abortion rights, oppressing LGBT+ values, limiting voting access and banning books.

The campaign clip also offered a defiant vision of a more tolerant, multicultural America, clearly establishing a positive alternative narrative for the nation at odds with the apocalyptic forecasts of Donald Trump and his supporters.

While current polling might indicate that a majority of the American public has little appetite for a rematch between the ageing Mr Biden and Mr Trump in 2024, that is beginning to look like the most likely outcome.

However, the former celebrity real estate tycoon is facing mounting legal problems and is the subject of a number of criminal and civil investigations any one of which has the potential to derail his bid for a belated second term.

That said, his indictment in New York on 34 charges related to the falsification of business records and his being found liable for the sexual assault of magazine columnist E Jean Carroll in the 1990s has so far had no obvious impact on his popularity among MAGA conservatives.

Challengers are also beginning to emerge from within the GOP, with former state governors Nikki Haley and Asa Hutchinson recently joined by entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and radio personality Larry Elder in a growing field.

Other hotly-tipped entrants like Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence and Tim Scott have yet to declare but are expected to do so.

America will next go to the polls, for the 60th quadrennial presidential election in the countrys history, on Tuesday 5 November 2024 and an awful lot could happen between now and then.

Primary season for the candidates begins in late January, running through February until Super Tuesday on 5 March, after which the Republican National Convention will take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 15 to 18 July, followed by its Democratic counterpart in Chicago, Illinois, from 19 to 22 August.

After Novembers vote, Congress will formally certify the results on 6 January 2025 and the new president will be inaugurated two weeks later on 20 January.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Australian authorities have launched a high-profile investigation after a 95-year-old woman great-grandmother with dementia was allegedly tasered at a retirement home by police.

The woman, identified by media as Clare Nowland, was tasered on Wednesday after she was found holding a steak knife at the aged care home in Cooma, about 300km (186 miles) southwest of Sydney.

She is in a critical condition in hospital, fading in and out of consciousness, sparking a public uproar over the incident.

The police were called to the care home after staff found Ms Nowland wandering the facility for several hours and taking the knife from the kitchen.

Two officers spoke with Ms Nowland for several minutes but when she failed to drop the knife and approached them, one fired a taser, knocking her to the ground, according to the police.

"At the time she was tasered, she was approaching police but it is fair to say at a slow pace," New South Wales Police assistant commissioner Peter Cotter said on Friday.

"She had a walking frame, but she had a knife."

The officer, who fired the taser, was taken off duty pending a "level 1 critical incident investigation", a category police reserve for exceptional cases where injuries lead to death or imminent death.

The homicide squad is involved.

"If a threshold is met where it changes from being a departmental issue to being a criminal issue, we are certainly mature and transparent enough as an organisation to do what has to be done," he said.

The incident was recorded on body cameras but it was not in public interest to release the footage because of the ongoing investigation, Mr Cotter added.

Ms Nowland, a mother of eight, celebrated her 80th birthday in 2008 by skydiving in Canberra.

She reportedly lived at the nursing home for more than five years. Her relatives were at her bedside in hospital and had declined to comment, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Mr Cotter refused to comment on whether the officer would face charges.

I understand your question and I thank you for it, but equally thank you for your question about criminal charges, they know where you are going, but in absolute fairness to everyone involved here, Im not going to talk about this specific officer and any criminal charges, he said.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

A magnitude-7.7 earthquake has hit the South Pacific east of Australia, leading to brief tsunami warnings for Vanuatu, Fiji, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Kiribati.

The earthquake struck near the Loyalty Islands at a depth of about 38 km (24 miles), according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

A warning of tsunami waves of up to 1m (3ft) was issued for Vanuatu. This was revised down much lower than an initial forecast, from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which had said 3m waves could hit the island nation.

It said hazardous tsunami waves were possible on all coasts within 1,000km of the epicentre, with the potential for small waves hitting Fiji, New Caledonia, Kiribati and New Zealand.

About three hours after the earthquake struck, the US Tsunami Warning Center announced there was no longer a threat.

Based on all available data, the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now passed, the centre said.

The initial tsunami warning prompted authorities in New Caledonia to order the evacuation of coastal areas on Friday, a government official said, according to AFP, with at least one beach evacuated.

The seismic activity triggered warning sirens and people were ordered to immediately leave areas near the islands coastline, Colonel Marchi Leccia, a security official, told a local radio station.

A handout shakemap made available by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows the location of a 7.7-magnitude earthquake (EPA)

Small tsunami waves were observed in Vanuatu shortly after the warnings were issued, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

Tsunami waves less than 0.5m (1.5ft) were measured off Lenakel, a port town in the island nation, while smaller waves were measured elsewhere off Vanuatu and off New Caledonia.

New Zealands National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said it was still assessing the potential for a tsunami.

Its civil defence agency issued an advisory stating that New Zealands coastal communities could experience strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore.

The NEMA said the first tsunami activity could reach New Zealands shores by 5pm local time in the areas around North Cape. It warned people against wandering in the water, off beaches and shores.

People on boats, liveboards and at marinas should leave their boats/vessels and move onto shore. Do not return to boats unless instructed by officials, NEMA said.

The epicentre of the powerful earthquake was southwest of Fiji, north of New Zealand and east of Australia where the Coral Sea meets the Pacific.

Australias Bureau of Metrology has issued a marine tsunami warning for Lord Howe Island, which lies between New Zealand and Australia and is part of the Australian state of New South Wales.

For the marine environment of Lord Howe Island, there is the possibility of dangerous rips, waves, and strong ocean currents, as well as some localised overflow onto the immediate foreshore, the Bureau of Metrology said.

These conditions are expected to commence after 4.15 pm (local time) on Friday and persist for several hours. It is important to exercise caution and be aware of these potential hazards if you plan to engage in any activities in the marine environment during that time.

Hawaiis Emergency Management Agency said no tsunami threat to Hawaii is expected from the quake yet.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Russian president Vladimir Putin has a secret network of underground tunnels that run beneath his palace hideaway by the Black Sea, unearthed plans suggest.

Mr Putin had a huge underground bunker built beneath Gelendzhik Palace, according to plans posted online by the engineering firm in charge of the project, with a network of tunnels lying around 50 metres under the surface.

The complex, first reported by Business Insider, is thought to have been constructed for protection in the event of a revolution or war and was built before Russia took over Crimea in 2014.

The 1bn palace is located on a verge overlooking the sea and takes up a 190,000 square-foot area. It even has its own church, ice rink, casino and hookah lounge.

(Alexei Navalny)

The labyrinth of hidden tunnels was revealed by jailed Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation, after the defunct Russian construction firm Metro Style posted the diagrams on its website in the early 2010s to show off their work.

The bunkers appear to have a ventilation system, sewerage and a fresh water supply, while the walls are 15-inch concrete shells, as shown in the diagrams.

There is also an elevator shaft that connects the complex to the two tunnels, as revealed in one diagram - and the lower one has a walkway to the beach, as well as cable racks that could be used to bring electricity, lighting and fibre-optic cables to a command post.

Meanwhile, exits from both tunnels can be seen on the cliff face rising up from the sea to the palace.

Exits from both tunnels can be seen on the cliff face (Alexei Navalny/YouTube)

This tunnel set-up has all kinds of safety and security, said Thaddeus Gabryszewski, who is a structural engineer familiar with defensive structures and reviewed the diagrams for Business Insider. Theres a fire system. Theres water, theres a sewer. This is intended for someone to survive or escape.

The engineering company described the project as an underground complex for a resort in Gelendzhik, the town closest to the Russian presidents palace, and it stretches across 6,500 square feet.

Speaking to Business Insider, Michael C Kimmage, who is a former State Department official and worked on Russia and Ukraine policy, said: "Putin has a lot of anxiety about being the not-entirely-legitimate leader of Russia.

So knowing that his legitimacy is not entirely secured by-elections, he is going to seek to maximise his personal safety through a complex of well-defended personal residences."

There is also an elevator shaft that connects the complex to the two tunnels, as revealed in one diagram - and the lower one has a walkway to the beach (Wayback Machine / Metro Style)

The diagrams were taken down from Metro Styles website in 2016, but they were still visible on the Wayback Machine, which is an archive of online content.

Then they were circulated in a community of so-called diggers, which are a group of Russian citizens who visit and document forbidden sites.

An anonymous digger who said he was part of a group called Sect Z told Business Insider that he was sharing the images because we are tired of Putins stupid face and want to show his paranoid underground transport.

The bunkers have a ventilation system, sewerage and a fresh water supply, while the walls are 15-inch concrete shells, as shown in the diagrams (Wayback Machine / Metro Style)

The diagrams were taken down from Metro Styles website in 2016, but they were still visible on the Wayback Machine, which is an archive of online content (Wayback Machine / Metro Style)

Last month, a protection officer for Mr Putin defected and called the Russian president a paranoid war criminal.

Gleb Karakulov, 35, who served as an engineer in the Federal Guard Service (FSO) presidential communications unit, claimed last month that Mr Putin opts to stay in his bunker rather than make trips because he is so paranoid about an assassination attempt.

The Russian president also allegedly travels with a 2.5 metre high box to prevent his secret talks from leaking and Western bugging.

Mr Karakulov claimed that the Russian president is isolating for a fourth year in a row, out of fear of becoming infected with Covid-19, and staff can only work in the same room as him once they have been in isolation for two weeks.

Mr Putin does not use a mobile phone or the internet, meaning his knowledge of events is filtered via the secret services - and what he watches on state-controlled Russian TV, according to Mr Karakulov.

The diagrams were circulated in a community of so-called diggers , which are a group of Russian citizens who visit and document forbidden sites (Wayback Machine / Metro Style)

Speaking about the war in Ukraine, Mr Karakulov issued an appeal to officers to come forward with evidence about Mr Putin as a war criminal, saying the war is beyond the pale and defies reason.

When the organisation of opposition leader Mr Navalny initially published an expose of the Russian presidents Black Sea palace in 2021, thousands of Russians protested, holding up gold-painted toilet brushes in reference to a 700 utensil allegedly found in the residence.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny published an expose of the Russian presidents Black Sea palace in 2021 (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Mr Putin has denied owning the palace. Meanwhile, his billionaire childhood friend claimed that the property belonged to him not the president, who he said had nothing to do with it.

But the palace, which is surrounded by 17,000 acres of woods, is constantly protected by Mr Putins security team and protected by a no-fly zone  and the Kremlin failed to explain why this was the case if the president does not live there.
Anti-war protestors branded Russia a terrorist state as they clashed with police in Georgia after flights resumed today.

The protestors descended en masse to Tbilisi Airport at around 13.20pm local time to meet Azimuth Airlines flight A4851 after it arrived from Moscow.

The flight is the first tourist plane to touch down in Georgia from Russia in four years.
 Close G7 summit: Zelensky and Fumio Kishida lay wreaths at Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Russia is plotting a large-scale provocation at a nuclear power station it occupies in the south-east of Ukraine to disrupt a looming counteroffensive, Kyivs military intelligence has said.

A statement from the intelligence directorate of Ukraines Defence Ministry claimed Russian forces will strike the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe, and report a radioactive leak in order to trigger an international probe that would pause the hostilities and give them the respite they need to regroup.

In order to make that happen, Russia disrupted the rotation of personnel of the permanent monitoring mission of the UNs International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that was scheduled for Saturday, the statement said.

It did not offer evidence to back up any of the claims, while the IAEA said it did not have any immediate comment on the allegations, and Russian officials did not immediately comment.

This comes after Dmitry Medvedev, who is Russias security council deputy chairman, alleged the West was not fully realising the threat of nuclear war.

Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky said at least one person was killed and 15 were injured in a Russian missile strike on a clinic in Dnipro on Friday.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Volodymyr Zelensky has accused some Arab leaders of turning a blind eye to Russias invasion of his country.

The Ukrainian president on Friday attended an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia in an effort to seek support in the region for his war effort.

Appearing to evoke the Arab worlds own history of occupation, he said the leaders in the hall would understand that Ukraine will never submit to any foreigners or colonisers, adding: Thats why we fight.

But Mr Zelensky added: Unfortunately, there are some in the world, and here among you, who turn a blind eye to those [prisoner of war] cages and illegal annexations.

Im here so that everyone can take an honest look: no matter how hard the Russians try to influence, there must still be independence.

Syria, whose president Bashar al-Assad attended the meeting, has backed Russias invasion, while other states in the group have sought to maintain good relations with Moscow.

Saudi Arabia, which hosted the summit, has supported a UN resolution calling for Russia to withdraw its troops, and pledged $400m (321m) in humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

But it has resisted imposing sanctions on Russia, and has presented itself as taking a neutral position on the conflict.

Russia enjoys some economic links with most Gulf states, as a fellow member of the oil producers alliance OPEC+.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 / 50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 20 May 2023 People attend the Brussels Pride - The Belgian & European Pride 2023 parade, organised by the LGBTQIA+ community in Brussels, Belgium EPA World news in pictures 19 May 2023 Harrison Ford attends the photocall for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival in France EPA World news in pictures 18 May 2023 The Popocatepetl volcano spews ash and smoke as seen from Puebal in Mexico AFP via Getty Images World news in pictures 17 May 2023 Performers during the closing ceremony of Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Reuters World news in pictures 16 May 2023 Cattle graze on the meadow in front of Germanys parliament building, the Reichstag, in a Greenpeace protest for species-appropriate animal husbandry, in Berlin AP World news in pictures 15 May 2023 Supporters of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and AK Party (AKP) gather on election night, in Istanbul, Turkey REUTERS World news in pictures 14 May 2023 A member of Bembe do Mercado, an Afro-Brazilian religious group which practices Candomble, takes part in a ceremony to honour Yemanja, the goddess of the sea, in Santo Amaro, Bahia, Brazil AFP/Getty World news in pictures 13 May 2023 A worker prepares to unload from a semi-truck a part of a wall with the work of graffiti artist Banksy which was dismounted from a residential building heavily damaged during Russias attack in the town of Irpin, outside of Kyiv REUTERS World news in pictures 12 May 2023 Nurses take part in a candlelight vigil to mark the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale in Chennai, India. EPA World news in pictures 11 May 2023 Ed Sheeran poses for a photo with Maxine the Fluffy Corgi during a visit to SiriusXMs The Howard Stern Show at SiriusXM Studios in New York City Getty/SiriusXM World news in pictures 10 May 2023 US magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll departs the Manhattan Federal Court in New York City AFP/Getty World news in pictures 9 May 2023 Novice monks react after getting their heads shaved during an event to celebrate the upcoming Vesak Day, birthday of Buddha, at Jogye temple in Seoul, South Korea, Reuters World news in pictures 8 May 2023 Nepalese women pull a giant chariot with a statue depicting Rato machhindranath The rain god as they take part in the Red Chariot festival in Lalitpur EPA World news in pictures 6 May 2023 Villagers from Iaohnanen and Yakel on Vanuatu's Tanna island pose with a portrait Britain's King Charles III AFP/Getty World news in pictures 5 May 2023 A man uses a boat as he picks lotus flowers in front of the Morodok Techo National Stadium, ahead of the opening ceremony of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games AFP via Getty Images World news in pictures 3 May 2023 A boy holds hand of his father as they watch the sun set at a beach in Goa, India AP World news in pictures 2 May 2023 Principal of an elementary school runs away as a black bear jumps out from the dumpster, in Summersville, West Virginia, US Nicholas County Board Of Education/Reuters World news in pictures 1 May 2023 Hawkers sell balloons along a street in Rawalpindi AFP/Getty World news in pictures 30 April 2023 A surfer rides a wave as a big swell hits Teahupoo, on the French Polynesia island of Tahiti AFP/Getty World news in pictures 29 April 2023 Labourers work at an iron factory in Lahore AFP/Getty World news in pictures 28 April 2023 Rescuers search for survivors in the rubble of a damaged residential buildings in Uman, souhtern Kyiv AFP/Getty World news in pictures 27 April 2023 Mainland Chinese tourists look at sunset from a hill in Hong Kong AP World news in pictures 26 April 2023 A hydrogen train approaches the station in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany AP World news in pictures 25 April 2023 US President Joe Biden announces he is running for re-election in 2024 Biden Harris Presidential Campaign/AFP/Getty World news in pictures 24 April 2023 A photographer takes pictures of the Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, as it glows on the horizon over waters of Lake Ellesmere on the outskirts of Christchurch AFP/Getty World news in pictures 23 April 2023 A participant marches during the Tokyo Rainbow Pride parade Reuters World news in pictures 22 April 2023 People hold an umbrella while crossing the street as temperatures hit a record 45.4 degrees Celsius (113.7 Fahrenheit) in Bangkok, Thailand Reuters World news in pictures 21 April 2023 Muslim worshippers pose after the prayer on the first day of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Bujumbura AFP/Getty World news in pictures 20 April 2023 A supplied image of a total solar eclipse, Exmouth, Western Australia AAP Image/Centre for Radio Astronomy Research/Michael Goh/Reuters World news in pictures 19 April 2023 French President Emmanuel Macron, left, talks to France National Union of Autonomous Trade Unions general secretary for the Grand Est region, Chloe Bourguignon, re her opposition to the pension reform, in Selestat AFP/Getty World news in pictures 18 April 2023 Muslims perform an evening prayer known as Tarawih in Kuwaits Grand Mosque on Laylat al-Qadr AFP/Getty World news in pictures 17 April 2023 Attendees watch a presentation of Volkswagen's latest vehicles on the eve of the Auto Shanghai 2023 show in Shanghai AP World news in pictures 16 April 2023 Smoke billows above residential buildings in Khartoum as fighting in Sudan raged for a second day in battles between rival generals AFP/Getty World news in pictures 15 April 2023 A reveller smeared in vermilion powder celebrates the Bisket Jatra Festival in Thimi in the Bhaktapur District on the outskirts of Kathmandu AFP/Getty World news in pictures 14 April 2023 Belgium's Lisa Vaelen performs on the uneven bars during the women's all-around event final of the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics European Championships in Antalya AFP/Getty World news in pictures 13 April 2023 Flames rise from a Mercedes car set on fire during a demonstration on the 12th day of action after the government pushed a pensions reform through parliament without a vote, using the article 49.3 of the constitution, in Rennes, northwestern France AFP/Getty World news in pictures 12 April 2023 Mohammed El-Dahshan, 38-year-old Mesaharati, or dawn caller, accompanies his donkey wrapped with colored LED lights to wake Muslims up for a meal before sunrise, during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in the Delta city of Dikernis, about 93 miles (150 km) North of Cairo, Egypt AP World news in pictures 11 April 2023 A view shows a house and a car covered in volcanic dust following the eruption of Shiveluch volcano in Kamchatka region, Russia Reuters World news in pictures 10 April 2023 A woman plucks cucumbers along the banks of river Yamuna behind the Taj Mahal in Agra AFP/Getty World news in pictures 9 April 2023 Revellers partcipate in a water fight during Songkran Festival celebrations, in Hong Kong Reuters World news in pictures 8 April 2023 Yoga enthusiasts perform a yoga exercise in a Sunrise Wine Yoga class on the Mahanakhon Skywalk rooftop at the King Power Mahanakhon building in Bangkok, Thailand Reuters World news in pictures 7 April 2023 The International Space Station (ISS) transits the sun as seen from the al-Leyah desert, on the outskirts of Kuwait City AFP/Getty World news in pictures 6 April 2023 Chinese honour guard attend the welcoming ceremony for French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinas President Xi Jinping in Beijing AFP/Getty World news in pictures 5 April 2023 Outgoing New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern gives a speech in parliament in Wellington AFP/Getty World news in pictures 4 April 2023 Former US president Donald Trump appears in court at the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York POOL/AFP/Getty World news in pictures 3 April 2023 Security forces gather outside Manhattan Criminal Court, Monday, in New York. Former President Donald Trump is expected to travel to New York to face charges related to hush money payments. Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, in the indictment handed up by a Manhattan grand jury. AP World news in pictures 2 April 2023 Supporters march to defend the memory of late former Polish-born Pope John Paul II with a large banner showing the former pope on the 18th anniversary of his death, in Warsaw, Poland AFP/Getty World news in pictures 1 April 2023 Spectators watch as Austria's Stefan Kraft competes during the first round of the Men Flying Hill Team competition, part of the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in Planic AFP/Getty World news in pictures 31 March 2023 Actor Gwyneth Paltrow speaks with retired optometrist Terry Sanderson after the verdict was read in his $300,000 suit against her over a skiing accident in Park City, Utah Getty World news in pictures 30 March 2023 King Charles III addresses members of the German Bundestag at the Reichstag Building in Berlin Getty

Shortly after arriving in Jeddah, the Ukrainian leader wrote on Twitter: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plays a significant role and we are ready to take our cooperation to a new level.

Mr Zelensky will travel to Japan on Sunday to meet with G7 leaders, while British PM Rishi Sunak is due to give a press conference at the summit.

On Friday, Mr Sunak warned Vladimir Putin that the UK and other allies of Ukraine were not going away.
Vladimir Putin has said the West is trying to drive a wedge between different ethnic and national groups in Russia.

The Russian President said on Friday the West wants to break the country into lots of different states, according to Reuters.

He added that the more sanctions the West hits Russia with, the greater the level of cohesion within Russian society.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

OpenAI has launched a ChatGPT app for iPhone users amid a surge in fake versions of its hugely popular AI chatbot.

The free app is the first official OpenAI product to appear in app stores, though dozens of imitation versions seeking to mislead or scam users are currently available for iOS and Android users.

The new ChatGPT app is available immediately in the US and will roll out to other countries in the coming weeks, OpenAI said, with an Android version of the ChatGPT app also under development.

With the ChatGPT app for iOS, were taking another step towards our mission by transforming state-of-the-art research into useful tools that empower people, while continuously making them more accessible, OpenAI wrote in a blog post detailing the new app.

Were eager to see how you use the app. As we gather user feedback, were committed to continuous feature and safety improvements for ChatGPT.

Users who download the app will have access to their ChatGPT account history from the web, as well as access to OpenAIs open-source speech-recognition system Whisper. This will allow people to speak to the artificial intelligence tool for the first time.

Subscribers to ChatGPT Plus will also get access to the more advanced GPT-4 tool, as well as faster response times compared to free users.

Last month, researchers noted an alarming number of scam apps had appeared within the MacOS App Store, while Googles Play Store is still inundated with unofficial ChatGPT apps.

Most of these apps are nothing but cheap imitations or outright scams that fail to deliver on their promises, privacy researcher Alex Kleber wrote in a report published in April.

These scams not only deceive users but also tarnish the reputation of legitimate developers and hinder the growth of the app ecosystem on the MacOS platform.

OpenAI has applied to patent the GPT acronym in an effort to crackdown on the concerning trend, however the US Patent and Trademark Office refused to fast-track the request last month.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Google has announced a major update that will see thousands  potentially even millions  of accounts permanently deleted if they have not been used since 2021.

The purge will include Gmail, Drive and Photos accounts that have not been used or signed into for at least two years.

In a blog post announcing the update, Google said the new policy was primarily for security reasons, as older accounts are typically more vulnerable to threats like spam, phishing scams and hijacking.

Our internal analysis shows abandoned accounts are at least 10x less likely than active accounts to have 2-step verification set up, the post stated.

Meaning, these accounts are often vulnerable, and once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector for unwanted or even malicious content, like spam.

The policy will only apply to personal accounts, with those associated with organisations like schools and businesses safe from being deleted.

The tech giant said the update will be in effect from this week, however no accounts will be deleted until December 2023.

We will take a phased approach, starting with accounts that were created and never used again, Google wrote.

Before deleting an account, we will send multiple notifications over the months leading up to deletion, to both the account email address and the recovery email (if one has been provided).

Users can avoid being caught up in the purge by doing as little as reading an email sent to the account, or watching a YouTube video while logged in.

Google hosts billions of user accounts, though it did not make public how many of them are inactive.

It follows similar announcements from Twitter, with chief executive and owner Elon Musk recently rolling out a similar policy that will see usernames recycled if they are associated with accounts that have not been used for several years.
Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

With property prices in the UK out of reach for many first time buyers, and homeowners dreaming of a second pad in the sun, the idea of snapping up an Italian casa for 86p is intoxicating.

Several small Italian towns have hit the headlines for selling off vacant houses for 1 a pop in the past couple of years.

But how does the scheme work, and who is eligible to snap up one of these bargain villas in the sun?

Why is Italy selling houses for 1?

As young Italians increasingly migrate to the city and choose cosmopolitan jobs over rural and community vocations, many of Italys prettiest remote villages are becoming abandoned, with tiny, ageing populations that are beginning to die off.

Some elderly Italians have found themselves with no one to leave their house to, bequeathing it instead to the local authorities, who have to decide what to do with it, while some younger citizens have inherited properties in areas they have no intention of moving to.

Read more: Whats it really like to buy a house through Italys one euro homes scheme?

Having a second home in Italy means paying taxes, so selling these unused houses off cheaply can be more lucrative than keeping them.

Thats why around 25 Italian municipalities are making prospective homeowners an offer they cant refuse - a house for the symbolic price of 1.

The idea is, having these homes improved and occupied in the next few years is worth more to the towns than selling them off at full price.

We do not need new constructions and new overbuilding. The strategy to improve the housing environment and reclaim our cultural identity is to revive the small abandoned centres or to redevelop buildings in a state of abandonment, with a story that is our history, reads a statement by the team at 1eurohouses.com.

Local authorities in areas such as Emilia-Romagna, Abruzzo and Campania also hope an influx of new homeowners will stimulate the economy, as they buy local produce, employ local construction workers, pour money into local venues and attractions, and even boost tourism by creating boutique hotels or B&Bs.

Whats the catch?

Youre not buying a shiny new villa - houses selected for the scheme are often dilapidated and require major structural improvements. Youre investing in a fixer-upper, not acquiring a ready-to-move-in home.

However, the cost of renovations is still relatively low compared to other countries - in the region of 20,000-50,000 depending on the size of the property.

While most houses are humble village homes or cottages, some stately homes are also on sale, with a much higher price tag attached. The sellers of this former monastery outside Bologna estimate essential renovations could cost 1.5m.

Legal fees for buying a house abroad can add up to 3,000 on top of this, and some municipalities also ask for a guarantee fee (from 1,000 to 10,000 depending on the town and the cost of the renovation project) to prove youre committed to improving the property.

On the upside, Italy does provide a superbonus tax exemption for buyers that covers 110 per cent of qualifying building expenditures.

You wont be able to make vague promises about refurbishing your new pad sometime in the future, either - new owners are required to submit details of a renovation project within two to 12 months of purchase (depending on the location), start work within one year, and complete it within the next three.

Its also worth noting that not every property ends up being sold for just a euro. Popular houses have become the subject of a bidding war, with several going for 5,000 or even 20,000.

So this is a scheme for people who have some savings stored up beyond the initial euro.

Who can buy a one euro house?

Is it true or is it a joke? reads a section of the website case1euro.it, which lists 1 properties currently for sale in Mussomeli, 60 miles south of Palermo, Sicily.

It is not a joke. Rules differ from town to town, but in the case of Mussomeli, buyers must have the financial and practical wherewithal to:

Support all expenses for the drafting of the deeds of sale (notary, registration, transfer)

Prepare a project for the renovation of the property within one year of purchase, acquiring any permissions needed

Start work within two months of the date of issue of the building permit

Conclude work within three years

Put down a guarantee policy deposit of 5,000 (4,314), which they will lose in the event that the work doesnt go ahead within three years

In Mussomeli, you can do whatever you like with the interior of the property, but must keep the facade looking as it did originally.

Small print goes on to say that you are entitled to renovate the property yourself, or with your choice of workers.

This is the route that French buyer Morgane Guihot and her husband took, telling CNN in 2019: As were both artisans and renovators we did most of the work ourselves, which was minimal, and it was great seeing our two-room house come to life again.

Most towns who have set up a 1 house scheme have similar financial requirements - youll have to check the specific requirements of the town you want to buy in. Some require you to live in the house after renovations, while others allow you to buy it with a view to using it as a holiday home or as a small business such as a B&B.

Buyers who dont have Italian residency or dont speak Italian may run into more hurdles when it comes to organising work and being able to make use of their property.

Has Brexit affected Brits being able to buy the houses?

People living outside of the EU can still buy properties in Italy, but only as non residents. This means you pay higher taxes than locals, and can spend up to 180 days per year at your Italian house, but not more than 90 out of every 180 days.

To visit more regularly, you would have to apply for Italian residency, which includes proving you have sufficient funds to support yourself without employment in Italy.

Im still interested. How do I get started?

Youll find 1 houses for sale on websites such as 1eurohouses.com, case1euro.it and property-in-sicily.estate as well as on individual local government websites such as the Comune of Sambucas or Citta de Troinas in Sicily.

Auctions2Italy also lists some 2 properties in the country, and youll find case studies and How we did it guides on Europe.properties.

American buyer Rubia Daniels, who purchased and renovated a 1 home in Sicily, told Travel + Leisure earlier this year that going and viewing potential houses in person is a must; as is examining the foundations and state of the walls.

Definitely dont try to do it online  you need to be there to see it and experience the process to make sure youre making a mindful decision, said Daniels. I wouldnt do anything through the internet.

You dont want to get anything where the walls are buckled because that indicates a foundation issue, she advises.

Areas running 1 house schemes

Emilia-Romagna

The slice of northern Italy around Bologna has houses for sale in towns such as verdant, ancient-ruin-speckled Modigliana (where you can buy the aforementioned dilapidated monastery).

Abruzzo

The region hugging the coast to the east of Rome. Towns raffling off their vacant homes include Casoli, Santo Stefano di Sessanio and Pratola Peligna.

Campania

The dramatic, volcanic slice of coastline around Naples, close to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast has some 1 properties for sale in places like near-abandoned Pietramelara, which recently has been home to just 15 families.

Sicily

Sicily is a hotbed of 1 house schemes. As well as sleepy Mussomeli, the towns of Calatafimi Segesta, Augusta, Sambuca and Caltagirone are all selling off unwanted or unclaimed houses.

Piedmont

This northern region near Switzerland is offering homes in towns like Borgomezzavalle and Albugnano, close to renowned wine producing regions and the outdoorsy, wooded Antrona Valley.

Le Marche

The medieval town of Cantiano - a 40-minute drive from the seaside - has 1 homes for sale near white-pebble Adriatic beaches and truffle-hunting spots.

Liguria

Triora and Pignone are two of the areas in this region, famous for the colourful fishing villages of Cinque Terre as well as pesto and foccacia.

Puglia

With 195,024 inhabitants, Puglias provincial capital of Tarento is one of the first bigger-scale towns to start up a 1 Euro Case scheme - putting buyers in touch with its maritime history and great seafood.

Sardinia

The towns of Romana and Nulvi sit in the islands Sassari province outside of Alghero, and have both joined the scheme to sell off 1 homes.

Tuscany

Montieri, Grosseto, Lucca and Vergemoli are some of the participating towns in Italys hallowed wine and villa haven.
Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

A Delta passenger has claimed that her flight did not make an emergency landing even after she was forced to inject herself with two different EpiPens while onboard.

Sara Metzger filed a complaint with the United States Department of Transportations Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, arguing that Delta Air Lines failed to accommodate her disability and didnt respond when she experienced life-threatening symptoms.

Ms Metzger was flying from Sarasota in Florida, back home to Portland, Oregon, in April, with the incident happening after she had changed flight in Atlanta, Georgia.

She told Business Insider that she had informed cabin crew of a potentially life-threatening nut allergy when she boarded the plane, and asked for the crew to not serve almonds for the duration of the flight.

However, Ms Metzger said that she noticed that some passengers were eating almonds after her throat begin to swell and she started itching  both of which are common signs of anaphylaxis.

Another passenger, who said he was a cardiologist, reportedly told Ms Metzger to wait and see if her symptoms improved at all after she had injected herself with an EpiPen in a bathroom and told the crew that the plane needed to make an emergency landing.

The passenger said staff didnt listen to her. (Facebook/SaraMetzger.33)

The report read that despite Ms. Metzgers medical peril and the directive of medical services on the ground, the pilot followed the preferences of the cardiologist/passenger rather than the obvious medical needs of Ms. Metzger or the directive from medical services on the ground.

After her symptoms persisted, Ms Metzger was forced to administer herself a second injection.

She told Insider that at this point, none of the staff is really talking to me. Theyre all talking through this doctor.

Im just sitting there having the residual effects of this anaphylactic reaction, hoping that it doesnt come back again and that I dont die on this airplane. It was just a really terrifying situation to be in, she added.

Ms Metzger says that she was repeatedly told that the pilots were trying to find another airport for an emergency landing, but the flight landed as planned in Portland.

Upon landing, a medical team reportedlyhad to wait until other passengers had disembarked before seeing Ms Metzger, who has vowed to never fly Delta again.

It is totally up to the whim of the airline staff whether or not theyre going to put my life at risk and take my disability for what it is, she said.

I dont want to die on a Delta flight. So thats not a risk that Im going to take again.

Speaking to Insider, A Delta spokesperson said: While we unfortunately cannot respond to this specific event, passenger safety is Deltas top priority and our crew are trained and prepared to respond to onboard events as they occur.

The Independent has contacted Delta for comment.
Firefighters delivered food to patients at a hospital surrounded by water as heavy floods continued to impact Italys Emilia Romagna region on Thursday (18 May).

At least 13 people have died in the floods, which have caused billions of euros worth of damage and hit agriculture particularly hard.

Torrential rains have caused up to 300 landslides, 23 overflowing rivers, some 400 roads damaged or destroyed, and 42 flooded municipalities in the eastern side of the region.

Click here to sign up for our newsletters.
Joe Biden appeared to lose his footing on some steps as he arrived at Miyajima Shrine on Friday, 19 May, as the G7 summit took place in Japan.

The US president visited and toured the Itsukushima Shrine with other G7 leaders.

Afterwards, Mr Biden and the other global politicians participated in a working dinner on Miyajima Island.

Mr Bidens visit came as his administration added 71 companies to a trade blacklist for supporting Russia on Friday, as the Group of Seven nations announced new sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.

Click here to sign up for our newsletters.
Newly-released video shows the moment a police officer clung to the roof of a car during a chase in Carroll, Iowa, back in 2021.

Footage shows officer Patrick McCarty informing a passenger in the vehicle, Dennis Guider Jr., that there was a warrant for his arrest.

McCarty pulls out his weapon after Guider moves to the drivers seat and starts the engine, driving off with the officer on the hood.

The officer later fell and broke his back when the vehicle hit a ditch

Guider was sentenced to up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to serious injury by vehicle.

Sign up for our newsletters.
Dramatic footage shows the arrest of fraudster Tejay Fletcher, 35, the mastermind behind an online fraud shop used to con victims out of more than 100 million.

Fletcher was jailed for more than 13 years after making an estimated 2 million from the iSpoof.cc website.

Users could disguise phone calls so they appeared to be from a trusted organisation, such as a bank, so they could target bank accounts.

He was the founder of the site, which was brought down last year in the UKs biggest fraud sting.

Click here to sign up for our newsletters.
Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

On Wednesday, the House voted to refer the expulsion of Rep George Santos (R - New York) to the House Ethics Committee, effectively tabling Democratic efforts to shelve Mr Santos.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said this would be the proper course of action to ensure that Mr Santos, who last week was arrested on 13 charges. This came despite the fact that traditionally, the Ethics Committee defers to the Justice Department when it begins a criminal investigation of a member of Congress.

But our friends over at Punchbowl News reported that the House Ethics Committee told the Justice Department to pound sand. (It should be noted that the House Ethics Committee, unlike other committees, is comprised of an equal number of Democrats and metes out punishments and probes to both parties in equal measure).

The effort to expel Mr Santos was always going to be a heavy lift. For one, progressive members like Reps Robert Garcia (D - California), Daniel Goldman (D - New York) and Ritchie Torres (D - New York) led the effort. Teaming up with left-wing Democrats, especially when Republicans are in the majority and they forced the vote, does not appeal to many Republicans.

Second, Mr McCarthys speakership is perpetually on thin ice and he needs every vote to maintain his gavel, especially as he engages in tense negotiations with the White House on the debt limit. Many conservative Republicans will likely scoff at any final agreement Mr McCarthy makes with the Biden administration, so he will need every other Republican (and some Democrats) to pass a final debt limit deal.

But the very reasons that Mr McCarthy and House Republican leadership have refrained from punishing Mr Santos might be the same reasons they might come to regret not expelling him immediately.

Mr Santoss New York 3rd district voted for Mr Biden in 2020. Republicans mostly swept congressional seats on Long Island last year on the back of a massive underperformance from Governor Kathy Hochul and concerns about escalating crime. Four of the 18 Biden district Republicans are located in New York. That puts a major target on all of their backs come 2024 and Democrats will desperately want to flip them as they seek to win back the House of Representatives, since they would only need to flip five more seats to win back the majority in 2024.

Mr McCarthy knows that were Mr Santos to resign now, that would trigger a special election that would likely hand the seat over to a Democrat in a time when he cannot afford to lose a single member. At the same time, many of the Republicans in New York have delivered the most forceful calls for Mr Santos to resign.

I believe this individual is a stain on the institution, a stain on the state of New York and a stain on Long Island and a stain on the beloved Nassau County, fellow Rep Anthony DEsposito (R - New York), one of the freshman Republicans who flipped a Long Island seat, said in a floor speech. Mr DEsposito knows that if he does not create distance between himself and Mr Santos, he risks losing his seat come 2024.

At the same time, he voted to refer Mr Santoss expulsion to the Ethics Committee, saying I am in the understanding that we do not have the two-thirds support from members of this House to expel that individual.

But this is too clever by half. Most voters will not see this as letting the process play out but rather delaying the inevitable. And it will ultimately be a bridge too far.
State is in line to receive 915m with Cork commuter rail system among projects earmarked for support

Ireland has yet to apply for the first tranche of nearly 1bn in grants from the EUs main pandemic support scheme despite getting approval from Brussels for its plan.
KBC Bank is one of two banks leaving the Irish market. Photograph: Aidan Crawley

MORE than one million bank accounts were closed since the start of last year in departing banks Ulster Bank and KBC.

New figures show AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB have been the big gainers. They have gained 1.2m new current and deposit accounts since the beginning of last year.

Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland are both winding down their operations in this country and customers have been closing and moving their accounts to the remaining banks here since then.

Central Bank figures show that 92pc of the current accounts in the two departing banks were either closed or inactive by the end of last month.

A total of 104,758 current and deposit accounts were closed in the two exiting banks in the four weeks to the end of April.

This is an increase of 21pc compared with the corresponding four week period to the end of March, the Central Bank said.

In April a total of 44,172 accounts were opened remaining banks, down 11pc on the previous month.

AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB have seen a flood of people opening new accounts with them in the last year or more.

In total, 1,200,810 current and deposit accounts were opened across the three remaining retail banks since the beginning 2022, the Central Bank said in its latest update on account openings and closings.

At the end of April some 33,095 current accounts in Ulster Bank and KBC Bank were deemed by banks as the customers primary account.

But the Central Bank warned that the true figure is likely to be even lower as the definition of a primary account is backward looking based on the customers past activity.

Accounts will continue to be designated as primary until the necessary amount of time has passed since their previous transactions, the Central Bank said.

In April Ulster Bank closed its last remaining 63 branches.

The closure of its remaining branches takes Ulster Bank a step closer to completing its exit from the Republic.

It will continue to operate here for a time that work, but it will be focused almost entirely on winding down its business now that it has effectively ended its public-facing business.

In January, 25 Ulster Bank branches closed as part of the sale of loans and some branches to Permanent TSB, and are reopening as Permanent TSB branches.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the Bank of England is planning to reject neobank Revoluts ongoing application for a banking licence in the UK

Five top employees, including the chief financial officer, have left this year.
The actor and foodie on a third visit to Dublin speaks about writing a new book, as well as his upcoming television projects

Actor and foodie, Stanley Tucci had good news to share in Dublin today when he confirmed that a new series of his Emmy winning culinary show, Searching for Italy, is back on the cards again.

The travel and food show was a major international hit on CNN during the pandemic and it followed the The Devil Wears Prada, The Hunger Games and Big Night star as he travelled around Italy visiting each region and exploring their cultures, cuisine and history.

The show Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy won two Emmy awards - the equivalent of the Oscars for television - for 'Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series' for the CNN programme in 2021 and 2022.

However, despite its critical success, the show was cancelled after two seasons leaving the disappointed the actor and presenter looking for new network.

In Dublin today, Mr Tucci confirmed "yes, we are negotiating now with another network so the hope is, within the next couple of weeks to a month, well know where its going to end up and Im excited about it. Well do it again. Mr Tucci explained its a little complicated because the writers strike is throwing a wrench into everybodys schedules, but its something we could possibly do in the fall. Its something we most likely will end up doing next year. Were trying to figure it out. There are a few more territories to go to, a few more regions to go to so I think we are going to do that and then we are going to see how we can do a few more episodes, either revisiting some places and maybe new stories in those places or revisiting some of the people that we met already.

An actor and film maker, Mr Tucci is of Calabrian descent and during the pandemic, he became a mixology sensation on social media after posting a video of how he made the perfect Negroni cocktail at his London home and the video went viral.

After starting in Naples and the Amalfi Coast in Spring 2021, the show finished last Autumn with a final episode in shot in Liguria.

Mr Tucci was in Dublin today to host a Tanqueray no.TEN evening in his capacity as global brand partner with the gin which is part of the Diageo family of brands.

This is his third visit to Dublin and he will be attending the International Literature Festival in Merrion Square on Saturday.

His dining plans included having dinner cooked for him by Irish chef Mark Moriarty and with his Italian roots, there could be a visit to an Italian-Irish chipper.

Mr Tucci said he had plans to meet a friend tomorrow and his wife, Felicity would be joining him in Ireland.

He and his wife Felicity have two children. They met after he worked with her sister, actress Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada, and Stanley attended Emilys marriage to fellow actor, John Krasinski.

So whats next for the actor?

I was supposed to go do the second season of Citadel which is this television show that came out on Amazon a few weeks ago but were just not sure when that is going to happen due to the writer's strike, so everything's kind of up in the air right now so well see.

Stanley Tucci has enjoyed literary success with his book Taste: My Life Through Food, a memoir about life in and out of the kitchen which also chronicled his treatment for a tumour at the base of his tongue, during which he could not eat.

In Dublin he explained how he is back writing again.

Im writing another book and Ive written a play so the hope is that during this downtime, Ill be able to play around with those things. The play is about people not being able to connect properly."
Angus Woods: How cheap supermarket food is damaging the environment

Global food waste causes 10pc of the worlds greenhouse emissions  and big retailers discount offers encourage us to buy more than we can eat

Thrown out: The EPA estimate that in 2020, Ireland wasted 800,000t of food - 160kg per person. Photos: Getty   Getty Images

Angus Woods Fri 19 May 2023 at 08:20
Pictured at a flag raising on Donabate's Balcarrick Blue Flag beach with Minister Darragh O'Brien are from left Mayor of Fingal Cllr Howard Mahony, Mariana Colman, Blue Flag; Cathy Baxter, An Taisce and Yvonne Jackson, Failte Ireland. Photo: Dylan Vaughan   Dylan Vaughan

Blue flags will be flying on 94 beaches and marinas around Ireland this summer after they secured the coveted award for 2023.

A blue flag declares the beach has passed a series of quality assessments in the An Taisce-run scheme and that sand, sea and public facilities are clean and safe for enjoyment.

A further 65 green flags will be on display at beaches in areas of natural beauty where there may be fewer public facilities but there is a high standard of environmental management.

Green flags are awarded by Failte Ireland and the Department of Housing and 65 is the highest number since the scheme began 20 years ago.

Recipients of awards in each scheme, and a few high fliers that received both, were announced today at a ceremony beside Donabates Blue Flag Balcarrick beach in north County Dublin.

In total 159 flags were handed out, with eight sites receiving both the Blue Flag and Green Coast awards.

They are Fountainstown and Inchydoney East Beach in Co Cork); Balcarrick, Donabate, Co Fingal; Salthill Beach and Silverstrand Beach, Galway city; Tra Inis Oirr, Co Galway; Baile an Sceilg, Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry and Rosses Point Beach, Co Sligo.

A total of 81 of the 85 beaches and all ten marinas that received a Blue Flag last year have retained it this year.

Three new awardees, all from Co Mayo, have made the list. They are Bertra, Old Head and Clare Islands Louisburgh Beach.

Two Co Waterford beaches lost their Blue Flag this year. Counsellors Strand and Dunmore Strand both failed to make the grade along with Cappagh Pier, Kilrush, Co Clare and Garretstown in Co Cork.

Three new Green Coast sites received flags this year: Carrowniskey Beach, Co Mayo; Bettystown, Co Meath and Rosslare Harbour Beach in Co Wexford which has regained its flag after a losing it for last year.

Two of last years green flag holders, Waterville in Co Kerry and Portacloy in Co Mayo, failed to retain their award after a dip in water quality was recorded.

Co Cork led the way with the most awarded sites, taking ten blue flags for beaches and two for marinas, and 15 green flags.

Cathy Baxter of An Taisce paid tribute to the local authorities, community and voluntary groups working to keep the beaches in good shape.

Some 1,800 local Clean Coast volunteer groups are involved in working towards the Green Coasts awards alone.

It takes immense dedication and effort to manage a beach or marina to meet the rigorous standards set by these prestigious award programmes, Ms Baxter said.

We extend our warmest congratulations to all the deserving sites that have achieved this remarkable reward.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh OBrien said the flag allowed the world to know how good Irish beaches were.

During its 36 years, the Blue Flag has become an internationally recognised symbol of high standards in water quality, environmental management, environmental education and safety, he said.
Woman (36) pulled teen girls hair and tried to steal her phone at OConnell Street bus stop, court told
A drug gangs sophisticated trafficking network into Ireland was revealed after investigators uncovered their encrypted messages.

The crime group used drivers to move cash, as well as cocaine and cannabis, which was smuggled to counties including Leitrim, Wicklow and Limerick.

The scale of the operation was discovered after the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) compromised the gangs Encrochat communications, a platform which was taken down in 2020.

The three Wolverhampton criminals and a Birmingham man are to be sentenced in the UK at a later date.

Their kingpin Anthony Terry (49) was caught with 1.6million (1.8m) worth of cocaine in Belfast on February 22, 2021.

The drugs had been brought over from the UK on a ferry and were hidden within fuel tanks inside a van.

A major investigation subsequently discovered how he directed two drivers to smuggle drugs in concealed vehicles from mainland Europe into Ireland.

Drugs seized in Belfast

Michael Collis (62) was enlisted to travel to the Netherlands and pick up drugs, which he returned to the UK by hiding them in his van.

In April 2020, Collis collected an estimated 1.2m worth of cocaine before he travelled to Wicklow to hand over 5.5kg of the drug, with a street value of just under 400,000.

Another driver recruited to bring drugs into Ireland was Joshpal Singh Kothiria (33).

Around the same time, Kothiria was dispatched to Leitrim with 10kg of cannabis, with an estimated street value of 200,000.

Weeks later, over 1.2m worth of cocaine was picked up in the Netherlands. The Encrochats uncovered that Collis delivered around 8kg of the drug, with an estimated street value of 560,000, to dealers at an unknown location in Ireland.

Between May 26 and June 3, there were further encrypted messages relating to a cannabis delivery which Kothiria delivered from Leicestershire to Ireland.

That June, the Encrochat service was taken down and disbanded, but the drug enterprise into Ireland continued.

NCA investigations discovered that Collis travelled to the Hook of Holland between July and September 2020 to collect a drugs shipment.

Investigators then tracked his movements back to England and through Belfast before he distributed the drug shipment to a Limerick-based crime gang.

The drug enterprise came to an end when Collis and Kothiria were arrested in March 2021.

Following a two-week trial, Kothiria was today found guilty of conspiracy to commit crime abroad.

A co-accused who delivered drugs around the UK, Birmingham man Mohammed Omar Khan (40), was convicted of conspiring to supply Class A drugs.

Mohammed Omar Khan

The other driver who trafficked cocaine and cannabis into Ireland, Michael Collis, has admitted to cocaine importation and conspiring to commit crime abroad.

The leader of the crime network, Anthony Terry, previously admitted to importing cocaine, conspiring to supply class A drugs, and three counts of conspiracy to commit crime abroad.

He is also serving an 18-year jail term over the Belfast drugs bust.

Mick Pope, NCA Branch Commander, said: This was a sophisticated operation to smuggle drugs into the UK and Ireland to make significant profit.

Terry was the kingpin of this group, offering a service to criminals who needed to obtain drugs or move money.

These convictions have taken a harmful crime group out of action, and demonstrate the NCAs commitment to protecting the public from serious and organised crime.
Niamh Gilchrist with her mother Lily Gilchrist, who is living with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) at their home in Longford. Photo: Steve Humphreys

Lily Gilchrist thrived on being busy and working hard, running a Montessori school for 20 years and being ladies captain in the local golf club.

However, dementia has changed all that for the Longford native who sometimes struggles for words.

Ms Gilchrist (81) suffers from primary progressive aphasia which can damage parts of the brain that control language and personality.

She gets the best of care from her four children but the highlight of her week is her outing to the St Josephs day centre, run by the Alzheimer Society of Ireland (ASI).

She goes every Saturday but starts talking about and looking forward to it from Thursday, said her daughter Niamh.

My mother was only diagnosed by fluke in 2016. She had no idea

The outlet is designed as a social gathering for people with dementia where they do a range of activities, from arts and crafts to music therapy.

My mother was only diagnosed by fluke in 2016. She had no idea. She was diagnosed with lymphoma and had to have a full-body scan. It was then the proteins showed up in the brain.

Her condition has deteriorated over the years but it has progressed at a slow and steady pace and she still lives at home with her family who operate a roster to look after her with three carers.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin is to officially open the day centre in Multyfarnham, Co Westmeath. Photo: PA

She will be among people with dementia who will gather in Multyfarnham, Co Westmeath, where a new day centre will be opened by Tanaiste Micheal Martin. The centre will offer various activities and programmes to promote cognitive stimulation, social engagement and physical activity.

When it was suggested Ms Gilchrist attend the Longford day-care centre, her family were sceptical that she would agree but they are delighted she enjoys it so much.

On This Day In History - 19th May

There are an estimated 1,154 people living with dementia in Westmeath, and an estimated 578 in Longford, while the number of people living with dementia is expected to double by 2050.

There are 64,000 people suffering dementia in Ireland, and the number of people with the condition in Ireland will double to more than 150,000 by 2045. There are an estimated 11,000 new cases of dementia in Ireland each year  at least 30 people a day, and anyone can get dementia, even people in their 30s, 40s and 50s.

Words are a huge issue for my mother. She recently asked me what that was around the wrist, which tells the time

The day-care service also allows relatives caring for loved ones some respite.

Niamh said she is also grateful for the carer from the Alzheimer Society, Bernie, who visits her mother weekly  giving her a chance to do shopping or other essentials without worry.

Words are a huge issue for my mother. She recently asked me what that was around the wrist, which tells the time. She could not remember the word watch.

Visits outside to meet relatives and friends must also be carefully planned and managed.

Speaking in advance of the opening, the Tanaiste said: I am pleased to support the Alzheimer Society of Ireland in opening its new centre in Multyfarnham today.

The development of dementia services and supports is a priority for Minister for Mental Health and Older People Mary Butler. Over the past three years, 38.3m has been invested by [the] Government to improve dementia services around the country.

This centre will allow the ASI to provide crucial supports and services to people living with dementia, as well as their families and their carers, in Westmeath and Longford.
Joanne McNally has said she is at her happiest and truly embracing life after turning 40 last week.

Speaking on the Late Late Show alongside her podcast co-host Vogue Williams, the Dubliner said the duo have struck a perfect balance.

The pair host My Therapist Ghosted Me, a hit podcast not for the faint hearted, where they speak candidly about their daily lives.

They have sold out a number of shows across Ireland and the UK including the 3Arena in Dublin, the SSE Arena Belfast, the Gleneagle Arena in Kerry and the London Palladium.

Its constant battle whos in charge. All jokes aside, Vogue is very much in charge. Vogue is like the money woman, the businesswoman, Joanne said.

Were like the female chuckle brothers. Vogue is now a full-blown comedian.

But she added: I think we both bring something different.

Vogue said the pair wanted their audience to enjoy the night out and have fun. She said: Were very lucky with our audiences, theyre great craic.

Meanwhile, McNally, who has sold out a record 69-night Prosecco Express tour at Vicar Street, has welcomed her latest milestone of turning 40 with open arms.

I turned 40 last week, Im leaning in. There was a fretting in my early thirties, but as the time began to come around, I think everyone has one identity crisis in their life, she said.

Forty is the new 20, freeze your face, freeze your eggs, get on with your life. Age doesnt matter anymore but I had my identity crisis in my early thirties.

So, Ive done it all, so by the time I hit 40 I was almost like come on, I want the next decade.

I feel the happiest Ive ever felt. Im in a relationship, theres no denying adulthood in your 40s. You can kind of hide from it in your thirties. I had a bit of an arrested development situation.

Not hugely domestic, lived at home for a very long time, bounced around different relationships, but then I was ready for 40.
The Irish dancing body at the centre of an alleged cheating scandal has lifted the suspensions of teachers accused of feis fixing, because it cant afford to fight them in court.

An Coimisiun Le Rinci Gaelacha (CLRG) announced on Friday that effective immediately, all of the teachers who were accused of gross misconduct after screenshots surfaced last year will be allowed to officiate Irish dancing competitions again.

Last October,Independent.ie revealed that the CLRG was handed a dossier which appeared to show at least a dozen teachers fixing the results of dance competitions before they were held. In the wake of the global controversy, all 12 were suspended and in the months since dozens more dance teachers have also been embroiled in the scandal.

But earlier this year, one of the original 12 accused of cheating secured an injunction against her suspension. While the High Court did not stop the CLRG from carrying out disciplinary proceedings against Amanda Hennigan, a dance teacher and adjudicator who runs a school in the UK, it said that Ms Hennigan had made a strong case that she was not afforded natural justice in relation to her suspension.

It is understood that after Ms Hennigans case, Niall Colgan, the solicitor acting for her, wrote to the CLRG claiming that all of the original 12 dance teachers and judges who were accused of cheating should also have their suspensions lifted. Correspondence from Mr Colgan to Ms Hennigan, which was copied to a number of dance judges who are currently suspended, said that the solicitor would tell the CLRG that the position of other suspended teachers was analogous to Ms Hennigans.

Last weekend, the CLRG held an AGM at which it passed a motion that agreed to lift the suspensions of anyone accused of cheating, if the alleged offence happened before 2021. It did so by agreeing to scrap article 3.2.2(b) of its disciplinary code for cases before February 2021. Article 3.2.2(b) says that anyone facing disciplinary procedures for gross misconduct may not officiate at, or act in any official capacity at, any CLRG registered competition or event until formal Disciplinary Procedures have concluded. Some teachers had complained that their suspensions had resulted in a loss of earnings.

It is understood that this is likely to mean the majority of the 44 people currently facing disciplinary proceedings as part of the alleged cheating scandal will be able to judge competitions again.

The CLRG blamed the costs it would face for fighting all of the suspensions in court for the decision.

CLRG has faced a number of legal challenges concerning the application of article 3.2.2(b). In one recent legal challenge, the High Court determined 3.2.2(b) could not be applied retroactively. The decision to rescind its application was taken as continuing to contest legal challenges will place CLRG is severe financial difficulty, a spokesperson said.

Despite the suspensions being lifted, disciplinary proceedings against all of those accused of cheating will still go ahead.

The CLRG said that it has started serving books of evidence to many individuals facing a disciplinary hearing.

The cases will be heard by an independent external disciplinary panel in the coming weeks, the spokesperson said.
Irish military specialists have just returned from Cyprus after training Ukrainian forces in the disposal techniques of unexploded hazardous material.

Six specialist instructors from the Engineer and Ordnance Corps of the Irish Defence Forces were working alongside Cypriot military engineers delivering the training.

Training included removing land mines from certain areas in order to clear pathways.

A spokesperson from the Defence Forces said the personnel brought practical experience in military search and clearance procedures in addition to the capability to identify and neutralise mines and UXOs.

UXO (unexploded ordnance) is ammunition which has been fired but has not exploded as designed.

The Government of Cyprus announced in early April that it would offer courses in the detection and clearance of mines.

This non-lethal military capability enables Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) personnel to safely and efficiently conduct battlefield area clearance in areas of Ukraine that were contaminated during fighting but are now behind the frontline, the statement said.

The techniques and procedures being taught will provide UAF personnel with the ability to systematically clear the land of mines and UXOs, thereby facilitating the freedom of movement of the Ukrainian military and its people.

Irish Defence Forces members help train Ukrainian soldiers in land mine clearance. Photo: IDF

The spokesperson said the aim of this mission is to allow for the restoration of essential services and the resumption of normality in areas that were affected by the conflict.

This is the first Mobile Training Team that has been pledged by the Irish Government. It is expected that up to 30 Irish personnel will provide this much needed training to some of the estimated five thousand UAF soldiers required to demine Ukraine, the statement added.

Irish Defence Forces members help train Ukrainian soldiers in land mine clearance. Photo: IDF

Other training teams are in the planning stages and pending approval. Currently the Defence Forces also contributes four headquarters staff to the mission based in Brussels and Germany.
A campaign has begun for the reintroduction of another of Ireland's lost wildlife species - this time a fish that has remained virtually unchanged since Jurassic times.

The mighty sturgeon, known as a dinosaur fish because of its 200 million year lineage, has not been officially declared extinct but the last recorded sighting was in 1987.

Before independence, it was designated a 'royal fish', by law each one caught automatically belonging to the British monarch.

The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) and the Blue Marine Foundation say it deserves regal treatment in its own right and should be part of a planned reintroduction programme.

Sturgeon live mainly in the sea and and enjoyed Irish coastal waters but were also found in rivers where they came to spawn.

The conservation groups cite research from Atlantic Technical University that shows suitable habitats in Ireland for it, particularly in the Shannon and Suir rivers.

They also commissioned a legal review that concludes the Government is obliged under the EU Habitats Directive to, at a minimum, examine the feasibility of reintroducing it.

We need to see a more concerted effort to reintroduce species to Ireland that have been driven to extinction, said Padraic Fogarty, IWT campaigns officer.

The sturgeon should be a priority as many of the measures to restore its habitat, such as improving the status of rivers and the creation of marine protected areas, are already government commitments.

Its also a magnificent animal that deserves to be brought back to Ireland in its own right.

The campaign is shared by UK group, Blue Marine Foundation, which is backing a similar initiative in Britain.

Sturgeon once moved freely through the seas and rivers of Britain, Ireland and continental Europe, said Blue Marines Adrian Gahan.

It is great to see conservation groups from across Europe come together to restore these ancient animals.

Nature does not recognise national borders so nor should our conservation efforts.

Ireland has already reintroduced the gold eagle, white-tailed eagle and red kite and will welcome the first osprey in 200 years this summer.

Calls have also been made to bring back the wolf and lynx but it is hoped the sturgeon would be a less controversial candidate.

The campaign is calling for an expert forum to be established to examine all the species that have gone extinct in Ireland and develop an action plan for further reintroductions.
Tens of thousands more could be paid social welfare on returning home

Granting residency could put further strain on the States already creaking system for accommodating refugees. Photo: Getty   Getty Images

MORE than 30,000 Ukrainians could be granted permanent residency in Ireland if they are in secure jobs or education, while tens of thousands more could be paid welfare in order to return home, under plans being explored by the Government.

Ministers have been warned, however, that granting residency to some Ukrainians who are employed in Ireland may result in them being joined by family members  potentially putting further strain on the States already creaking system for accommodating refugees.

Draft proposals for the future of the estimated 75,000 Ukrainians in Ireland were discussed at a cabinet committee meeting earlier this month.

Ministers were given survey data from Ukrainian Action in Ireland, showing that 41pc  or just over 30,000 of refugees currently benefiting from the temporary protection  have decided to stay.

On This Day In History - 19th May

Around 24pc, or some 18,000, intend to return home, while nearly a third, or about 24,000, are unsure of their plans.

The granting of residency to Ukrainians who are in durable employment or education while encouraging voluntary returns, including through the potential continued provision of supports for a certain time-bound period to provide security to those returning were outlined as options to be explored further in a briefing paper.

However, any decisions will hinge on whether the EU decides to extend the temporary protection directive. Extending the directive, which affords Ukrainians the right to accommodation, employment, welfare and education in Ireland and across the EU, until March 2025 is considered a real possibility, according to the briefing document for ministers seen by the Irish Independent.

Ministers were told of a desire at an EU level for a coherent and harmonised approach to exiting the directive in order to avoid unintended consequences.

The paper outlines policy options to be examined and explored in more detail  including whether residency permission could be granted to certain cohorts of refugees such as those in durable employment or education and the conditions of same.

Another option to be explored is how to incentivise voluntary returns, including through the potential continued provision of support for a certain time-bound period to provide security to those returning.

Consideration would also have to be given to what conditions should be satisfied in order for residency to be granted to those who cannot return to Ukraine for health or humanitarian reasons or for families with schoolchildren. An approach to how the State would deal with unaccompanied minors who have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine would also have to be explored.

Ministers were told policies in this area may have potentially substantial resource and cost implications, and will require significant collaboration across government.

The paper says that it would be necessary to consider how this may impact on the international protection (IP) system in cases where Ukrainians do not avail of voluntary returns, are not in employment or do not qualify to remain here.

Amid unprecedented pressure on the IP system, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said Ireland could soon be aligned with the rest of the EU so thatthere is no pull factor to attract migrants seeking international protection to this country.

What were trying to do when it comes to the kind of support and offering that we have [in Ireland] is to align them with other European countries so that theyre roughly the same, Mr Varadkar said on Wednesday.

Separately, the Government and gardai have agreed to prioritise sourcing of accommodation for asylum-seekers who are being forced to sleep on the streets. Justice Minister Simon Harris and Equality Minister Roderic OGorman met with Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, Deputy Commissioner Anne Marie McMahon, and Angela Willis, Assistant Commissioner for the Dublin Metropolitan Region yesterday.

A spokesperson for Mr Harris said after the meeting: The ministers and Commissioner agreed that finding accommodation for currently unaccommodated international protection applicants is an absolute priority for the safety of the individuals involved.
Housing Minister Darragh OBrien denies Cabinet tensions over housing of asylum seekers

SOMETIMES the public dont understand why Gardai dont intervene in a protest, the Taoiseach has said.

Responding to Antoinette Cunningham of the AGSI, representing Garda sergeants and inspectors, who said her members needed proper training to deal with asylum protests, Leo Varadkar said he had received assurances from the Garda Commissioner.

I spoke to Minister [Simon] Harris last night. And my understanding is they had a very good meeting with the Garda Commissioner who gave them the assurance that the resources they already have are adequate  and the training is in place, he said.

Mr Varadkar acknowledged that the AGSI has written to the Commissioner on the issue. I think it is important that an engagement happens, he added.

We as a Government are determined to make sure that the Gardai are properly resourced and properly trained. And I know that policing these protests is very difficult.

Ive seen the kind of abuse of the Gardai get, and we stand fully with the Gardai and I also think sometimes the public don't understand why Gardai don't intervene in a protest  but there's a way of managing protests.

There has been criticism in recent days that gardai did not intervene to prevent violent protests against asylum seeker encampments in Dublin.

There has also been criticism that the force has allowed the blockade of roads in and out of the Magowna Hotel in Inch, Co Clare, by protesters to continue for several days.

Mr Varadkar said: I think it wouldn't be right for me to speak on behalf of the Garda Commissioner. A concern has been raised by the head of the AGSI. I think it will be important that there is an engagement now between them.

Certainly the assurance that we have from the Gardai and Commissioner Harris is that the guards have operational integrity, that they have the resources that they need, that training has been provided, Mr Varadkar said.

But I want to be very clear from the Government's point of view. We wont found wanting in support for the Gardai, who have their biggest budget ever in staff investments and IT equipment as well. Mr Varadkar reiterated that the blockade of an asylum centre at Inch in Co Clare should end, and the protest should end.

Integration junior minister Joe O'Brien was in Clare yesterday and met with the asylum seekers as well as the local community, he said.

He explained what was going on and gave the assurance that at least until the hotel itself is fit for occupancy, there won't be any extra people brought to Inch, Mr Varadkar said.

And I think that should be enough for the protest to end. As I've always said, communities have a right to information and they have a right to consultation. They have a right to have their views heard.

But no community can veto other people from living in their area and nobody should be able to prevent people from having free movement across the public road. And I really think that blockade should now end.

Meanwhile, Housing Minister Darragh OBrien has denied there is any tension between coalition parties about how to house asylum seekers and where that responsibility lies.

This follows reports that there were differences of opinion at a Cabinet meeting this week between Minister OBrien and Minister Roderic OGorman who has responsibility for integration.

It was reported that Minister OGorman said all departments must do more when it comes to finding accommodation for refugees.

We meet on a regular basis. I work very closely with Roderic, and he's very clear we as a government together have worked first on the Ukraine response, and if someone looked back 14 months ago and thought that we will be accommodating over 80,000 additional people from Ukraine, and be able to do it, I think by any fair assessment that has been done well, said Minister OBrien.

He conceded that it is not without its challenges, and not everything was done perfectly, and he wants to move on with pod type accommodation and see it scaled up.

Its quicker accommodation, and I've appointed Con Murray, the former chief executive of Limerick city and county council who has been working with us for a number of weeks now, to pull all that together.

Theres a real opportunity with the pods to get that moving quicker. Three sites have been identified, with Columb Barracks in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, being one of them. That construction is underway. Theyd be used as kind of exemplar sites and example sites. And I think there's vast potential there.

That's about scaling up accommodation for our friends from Ukraine for international protection which does fall under the Department of Children, and Roderick, and will we support them in that space.

To be honest, our department has gone above and beyond and we're working every single day right the way through weekends as a government, as a collective. And we're pulling out every stop. Between IPAS (International Protection Accommodation Services), and our friends from Ukraine here as well, we're talking upwards of about 100,000 people additional in 12 months and that is always going to be challenging, he added.

There have been challenges. No one wants to see people in tents either, and we're working through that. And Dublin City Council in particular, who are under my own remit, have been working hammer and tongs and they have to try to provide additional facilities which they've done sourcing additional facilities so IPAS and the Department of Children can stand up those facilities for people to make sure that they're safe.

Any opposition political party who tries to make the claim that this was going to be easy, and that every effort is not going in from government, its not true. It's just simply not true.

I don't like the politicisation of it either. I think that's dangerous. And it's dangerous because it feeds into some of the awful events that we've seen too. We have obviously a number of challenges in housing, with our own homeless community in Ireland as well, many of whom have come in from other countries too. And we're working very hard to ensure that they have access into permanent safe, secure housing, and that's why increased housing supply is so important. And that's why the increase in supply last year, particularly in social housing, was crucially important, Minister OBrien said as he cut the ribbon on 28 new homes launched by the Iveagh Trust in Swords, north Dublin.
Catherine and John McWade with their children Molly and Leo, who died in 2013

Catherine and John McWades son Leo was just a year and a half when he died in 2013  but through their enormous grief, the whole family was supported by LauraLynn.

For many families, a childs illness can be all encompassing. According to the Irish Hospice Foundation there are almost 4,000 children in Ireland with life-limiting illnesses, about half of whom need active palliative care.

This week is Childrens Hospice Week and LauraLynn hopes to raise awareness for the support it provides as Irelands only childrens hospice.

We had great support from LauraLynn, says Catherine. John and I received counselling and bereavement support following Leos passing  while Molly, Leos twin sister, attended Music Therapy.

The LauraLynn Memorial days are really special as well and helped us build a support network of other families who have had similar journeys.

xx

Last year, almost 39,000 hours of hospice care was provided for children in need and there are currently over 500 children availing of the care and support which LauraLynn provides.

The hospice has seen a 139pc increase in referrals in comparison to last year. And while in 2022 it received statutory state funding of 2.3m, or 35pc of the overall operational costs of the hospice, it relies primarily on fundraised income.

Established in 2011 by Jane and Brendan McKenna after the tragic loss of their two daughters Laura and Lynn, the hospice has cared for over 680 children since it opened.

It continues to offer much-needed counselling, play therapy, music therapy and targeted therapeutic therapy to sick children, their parents and their siblings.

Music therapy at LauraLynn is a way for families to come together, connect and make memories in a way which is inclusive of everyones abilities, said Helen Artur, senior music therapist at LauraLynn.

It gives all family members  including parents, grandparents, siblings and the child themselves  a peaceful space to be creative, playful and find their voice whether they are verbal or non-verbal.

Michelle Hartnett, senior play therapist, agrees and says that, along with music, play can be very therapeutic for sick children.

On This Day In History - 19th May

Rather than a child or teen having to explain what may be troubling them, as one may expect in therapy, we can use play to communicate at their level, in their own way and at their own time, she said.

LauraLynn also gives siblings a space to live in the moment, spend precious time together with the whole family and take part in supports such as play therapy, music therapy and bereavement support. And family camps help develop a support network with others who are on a similar journey to them.

CEO Kerry McLaverty urges people to support the facility.

At LauraLynn when a child is referred to our service, we dont just accept them, but their whole family as a unit, she said.

Looking after a child with a life-limiting condition is one of the most challenging things a family can face as beyond the physical challenges and medical needs of their child, the family and extended family often are dealing with the emotional impact that the childs condition can have on them.

So LauraLynns approach is all-inclusive, ensuring that while we care for the child with the life-limiting condition, we are also there to fully support all family members through their journey. We give them a safe space to receive much-needed supports.

During this Childrens Hospice Week we are asking you to help these families to spend precious time together by donating to the cause.

For further information please lauralynn.ie


SOME sleeping political dogs are best left unkicked  many may feel the issue of our neutrality is one of them.

But the first all-out war in Europe since 1945 brought a very rude awakening to that particular slumbering canine.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin has raised the question of whether the triple-lock mechanism remains fit for purpose. It ordains that in order to deploy Irish troops abroad for peacekeeping or European Union missions, approval of the Government, and the Dail and the backing of a UN resolution must be secured. This all comes in a context of the new consultative forum on international security policy which is examining our neutrality.

Mr Martin was anxious to dispel ideas that Europes Common Foreign and Security Policy is a stepping stone to a European army.

No country in Europe would want or was considering such an option, he said.

He added that the Government had no hidden agenda nor was the forum to be prejudged.

Nonetheless, some may take a view that putting the triple lock up for discussion as to whether it is fit for purpose in the current global security environment, is a loaded question.

Both Sinn Fein and Labour have concerns about the matter. Sinn Fein believes neutrality should be enshrined in the Constitution via a referendum.

Meanwhile Labours Brendan Howlin said any report of the forum must come back to the Dail for discussion and not go directly to the Government.

There is nothing unhealthy about examining the issue. At the same time, it is equally important to recall there is a tradition of Irish neutrality that goes back to Wolfe Tone and Daniel OConnell.

Neutrality was aligned with independence.

During World War II it was central to defence policy. In truth, many saw it as the only realistic option to preserve the Irish State.

But it was never easily defined, as Defence Minister Frank Aiken explained in 1940: Neutrality is not like a simple mathematical formula which has only to be announced and demonstrated in order to be believed and respected. It has in fact always been one of the difficult problems ... Instead of earning the respect and goodwill of both belligerents, it is regarded by both with hatred and contempt.

It was our neutrality and the legacy of Irish UN resolutions in the late 1950s and 1960s from which the Non-Proliferation Treaty of Nuclear Weapons originated. By then Minister for External Affairs, Frank Aiken highlighted the widespread fears about the threat posed by such weapons.

Ours is an ever-more interdependent world. But it is also more militarised than ever.

The war in Ukraine and Chinese aggression towards Taiwan will dominate discussions.

It is both symbolic and significant that today the G7 meets in Hiroshima  the first place where an atomic bomb was dropped. The war in Ukraine will dominate discussions. If peace comes dropping slow, war is shockingly sudden.

Any shifting in neutrality must be measured and considered with maximum public consultation.
Cork man Karl Humphries was jailed for eight years in 2021

A Cork man, who claimed he was out scouting fields for rabbit hunting when he was caught with almost 10kg of cannabis after a Garda sting operation, has failed in a bid to overturn his conviction.

Karl Humphries, 40, last of Curraheen Drive, Bishopstown, Co Cork, was convicted of three counts of possession of cannabis worth around 58,000 for sale or supply by a Cork Circuit Criminal Court jury in July 2021.

Humphries had told gardai that he was hunting rabbits, which included dazzling or lamping rabbits in the vicinity of Watergrasshill, Co Cork, on the night of July 25, 2012  nine years before his trial  when gardai had placed a large bag of cannabis found earlier in the day under surveillance.

The bag was found to contain 9.74kg of cannabis resin and gardai had concealed themselves by a nearby hedge. A car later pulled up and Humphries got out and began to search for the bag, which he found.

Detective Garda Michael OHalloran said gardai discovered and returned the black bag of drugs to the concealed position under an old tyre and that he was keeping it under surveillance when Humphries arrived.

I had him (Humphries) by the arm. He had a black bag in his possession.

He dropped it at his feet. I called for assistance on the radio. He froze.

He was in shock, shaking, said the detective.

Humphries denied being involved in the drugs trade at any level and had pleaded not guilty to the three charges and maintained he never touched the bag.

Humphries gave evidence that he saw Det Gda OHalloran lying in the ditch before the detective ever approached him and had said hello to him before the detective pounced on the accused.

Judge Sean O Donnabhain asked: Where was Fido (dog)? to which Humphries said he would scout the field first and then go home to bring out his dogs.

Humphries was convicted by a 10-2 majority verdict and the jury in the case was told the delay in prosecution was due to the accused moving to Australia for work.

After the jury found Humphries guilty Judge O Donnabhain told his barrister: Your fella is facing 10 years. You can be blinding the jury with Fido, but I dont know where the defendant was going It is really throwing pepper in my eyes. Someone would want to pull themselves together.

The judge sentenced Humphries to 10 years' imprisonment with the final two years suspended.

In dismissing Humphries' appeal on Monday at the three-judge court, Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly outlined the appellant's grounds of appeal.

Ms Justice Donnelly said there were three grounds undertaken by Humphries arising from the trial judge's refusal to recharge the jury on the basis of requisitions made by his counsel.

The first was to the effect that the trial judge inadequately explained the concept of drawing inferences from evidence, said Ms Justice Donnelly.

The second was that the trial judge incorrectly charged the jury as to the standard of proof in criminal trials and the final requisition was that the judge failed to adequately explain the ingredients of the offences, namely the element of possession with intent to sell or supply, said the judge.

Regarding the burden of proof argument, Ms Justice Donnelly said the trial judge had not erred in telling the jury that the stand of proof was a step above probabilities and a step below absolute certainty.

She said the judge's remarks were preceded by and succeeded by several clear explanations of the concept of proof beyond a reasonable doubt which was described as a high standard and was compared with the lower civil standard at the trial.

Ms Justice Donnelly said the three-judge court could not find anything wrong with how the judge dealt with inferences in the case. It had been claimed by Humphries' lawyers that the judge did not go into sufficient detail when explaining inferences beyond a theoretical level.

Ms Justice Donnelly said the judge had directed the jury sufficiently that they were entitled to draw inferences and gave common sense instructions on the difference between inference and speculation.

Humphries' lawyers argued that the jury should also have been given an express charge in relation to the required elements of sale or supply as opposed to simple possession.

Ms Justice Donnelly said the appellant's concerns in this matter bear no relation to the running of the trial and the central issue that the jury had to decide; whether the appellant was in possession of the drugs.

Any issue about this being a case of 'simple possession' for personal use was simply fanciful in the circumstances present here, she said.

There was simply nothing in the case that could have satisfied a jury to the contrary that possession was only for the immediate personal use of the appellant, said Ms Justice Donnelly.

Ms Justice Donnelly said the court was satisfied that all three grounds relied on by the appellant were to be rejected and then dismissed the appeal.
D8 Food Bank volunteer Fran Dempsey (centre, on microphone) receiving an award for his community work

A Dublin food bank that feeds the elderly, single mothers and Ukrainians, was shut down this week by Dublin City Council.

The D8 Food Bank have been operating at the end of Meath Street since February. The group was ordered to stop providing their service by DCC on May 16 due to bye laws.

Fran Dempsey, a food bank volunteer from the Liberties, told Independent.ie: On Tuesday, Dublin City Council came along and said we have to cease what were doing.

I said to them to have a look at what were doing. Were feeding people, were not doing anything wrong, were not making money, its all charity.

Were all voluntary and we get our supply from Food Clouds. We give the likes of bread, milk, butter, teabags and dinners out.

About 50pc of our clientele are from Ukraine. Theres a lot of elderly people which is really sad, and we get young mothers, theres a whole range of people really, he added.

The D8 Food Bank provides the basics for those in need

Dublin City Council has requested a meeting with the D8 Food Bank group next week in an effort to resolve the matter.

The Southwest Inner City Local Area Office intends to engage with this group and has reached out via a number of channels in an effort to bring matters to a resolution, a spokesperson from DCC said.

We have no further comment to make at this time.
A 5m upgrade is planned but what the area really needs is more gardai patrolling its streets

So why are there growing concerns over the state of Dublins most important tourist and cultural area?

Because according to many Temple Bar business owners, it is rapidly turning into a dangerous and unwelcoming place.

In recent weeks there have been widespread complaints about gangs of youths invading the districts streets to deal drugs, start fights, steal from shops and generally intimidate people.

Dublin City Council has just embarked on a regeneration scheme designed to make Temple Bar more pedestrian-friendly, but traders argue that whats really needed is a much tougher policing response.

Temple Bar is supposedly the jewel in the crown of Dublins social scene, so its decline could have a terrible impact on the whole city centre.

Its like a Third World country, Im sorry to say, Ciaran Hogan, who runs the Temple Bar events space The Clockwork Door, told Newstalk radio last week.

I fear for my staff when theyre going home at night I have a lot of tourists come into my business and I say, Guys, get out of the city. Thats my only advice to them.

How has Temple Bar gone downhill so fast?

Business owners believe that the pandemic had a lot to do with it. When gardai cracked down on troublemakers who were flouting Covid rules around Grafton Street, they gravitated closer to the Liffey.

Temple Bars warren-like network of narrow streets provides an easier environment for them to hang around or run away from the authorities if necessary.

Since Covid, Temple Bar has just become overrun with gangs of kids and drug addicts, says Niall Sabongi, who recently shared photos on Instagram showing smashed windows at his restaurant The Seafood Cafe.

Im a big fan of Temple Bar its always been a great, lively multicultural area. [But] its become quite a scary place.

Why cant An Garda Siochana do more to tackle the problem?

Quite simply, there arent enough of them. Temple Bar traders tell similar stories of having to ring Pearse Street station several times a day, with officers only showing up hours later when the damage has been done.

Following last Fridays burning of asylum seekers tents on Sandwith Street, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar admitted Dublin city centre needs more gardai patrolling its streets.

Last Octobers budget provided funding to recruit an extra 1,000 officers in 2023, but the Garda Representative Association (GRA) already says that target wont be met.

Only 288 trainees have entered Templemore since January, well short of the 425 scheduled.

Were struggling to get members into the job, the GRAs deputy general secretary Ronan Slevin warned on RTE radio last Wednesday.

That thin blue line is getting [more] threadbare day by day.

How does DCCs Temple Bar project hope to improve the situation?

By encouraging more law-abiding citizens into the area.

Started last week, the upgrade scheme has a budget of 5m and will take 18 months to complete.

It includes new seating, planting and lighting, with footpaths being widened and granite pavements constructed alongside Temple Bars historic cobblestones.

Most importantly, Temple Bar Square will have its steps removed and converted into a single-level surface of almost 1,000 square metres.

I think [the Temple Bar plan] will help because the area will feel more inclusive, Lord Mayor of Dublin Caroline Conroy told The Irish Times.

It will increase the number of pedestrians coming in at all times of the day and that passive surveillance does reduce antisocial behaviour.

Why is a thriving Temple Bar so important to Dublin as a whole?

Because its meant to be the equivalent of Pariss Left Bank or New Yorks Greenwich Village  a neighbourhood where stylish, dynamic, creative people gather to create an exciting atmosphere.

Roughly 30 acres, Temple Bar has gone through a series of identity changes ever since being named after Trinity College Provost Sir William Temple in the 17th century.

Temple Bar was once home to many wealthy English families, but they left after the 1800 Act of Union and it became a popular spot for Dublin sex workers.

By the 1970s, CIE was proposing to knock most of Temple Bar down and turn it into a huge bus station with a shopping centre and underground car park.

The man who deserves most credit for stopping this is Charles Haughey.

I wouldnt let CIE near the place, the then Taoiseach declared in 1991 when he created the State agency Temple Bar Properties, tasked with making it a buzzing cultural quarter instead.

How much has the revamped Temple Bar lived up to that early promise?

On one level, its been a success. Temple Bar is now the location for many cultural venues, including the Irish Film Institute, Photo Museum Ireland, the Project Arts Centre, the New Theatre and the Button Factory. Art galleries and specialist shops add to the bohemian vibe.

Temple Bar really comes into its own during summer, with open-air food markets, cinema screenings and other outdoors events.

On Sunday, May 28, for example, a free family show called Urban Circus will take place in Meeting House Square featuring aerial dancing, face painting and refreshments.

So why has modern-day Temple Bar always had a much more mixed reputation than its developers hoped?

Because its associated with pub culture as well as the more high-minded sort. Temple Bars lively boozers recently helped Dublin to be crowned the stag and hen party capital of Europe by British trip organisers Last Night of Freedom.

They also, however, persuaded international holiday company Casago to put Temple Bar on its list of the worlds biggest tourist traps (along with the Guinness Storehouse).

Thats because a pint in some of these watering holes can leave you with precious little change from a tenner.

I genuinely thought the barman was joking, South African native Robbie Mullins told Dublin Live last February. The prices here are absolutely crazy, I cant believe it.

Finally, does the current upsurge in thuggery mean that Temple Bars future looks as uncertain as ever?

Yes. Temple Bar has long been a strange mixture of party animals and culture vultures, but now criminals are threatening to drive both tribes away.

Come on down, out on the town, cause this is where a good time can be found, the country music star Nathan Carter enthuses on his song Temple Bar.

The Dublin folk musician Billy Treacy, however, has written a track of the same name that takes a less misty-eyed view.

Therell be drink and songs aplenty, but your pockets will be empty, cause round here your money wont go far keep a good eye on your handbag, your man there is a toerag, make sure you hold on to your phone.

It remains to be seen which version of Temple Bar will win out.
Lifeguards will remain in place on Balbriggan Beach this summer despite the no-swim advisory. Pic: Steve Humphreys

Swimmers at Front Strand Beach in Balbriggan have been advised against bathing after the beach was hit with another all-season restriction for the upcoming summer.

The water quality at Front Strand Beach is one of three in the country to have poor bathing water quality, where swimmers are advised not to swim for the entire season.

Inspections by the EPA, published last week, revealed the beach was polluted with sewage discharge, faeces from dogs, birds and other animals and contaminated surface streams flowing through the town.

Front Strand Beach was also rated poor by the EPA in 2021. An All-Season Restriction has been placed on the beach advising of a potential risk of illness.

However, it is not a ban on swimming or a closure of the beach. The assessment was based on the last four years of bathing water quality data.

While the advisory is in place, the council said lifeguards will remain on the beach and a red flag will not be raised unless there is a need to advise bathers of a specific water safety issue.

Officials from Fingal County Council met with swimmers this week to outline the steps it has taken to tackle the recurring issue.

Last year, a number of Prohibition Do Not Swim Notices were issued on the beach. The council has said it tested the bathing water on nine different dates last year with the majority of samples tested found to be of excellent (55pc) or good (11pc) water quality.

However, bathing water quality at the beach was found to be of poor quality on three occasions (33pc). This was due to a foul sewer misconnection and a stormwater overflow after heavy rainfall.

Balbriggan Beach will remain open, but with a no-swim advisory in place

These incidents resulted in Do Not Swim notices being erected following consultation with the HSE.

To ensure progress was made to address misconnections and other waste water issues, the council, in conjunction with Irish Water, undertook extensive monitoring and conducted investigations across the year to find any visible source of pollution along the River Bracken which flows into the area, said Fingal County Council.

This included in-channel river walks and dye testing which did find an issue. On the back of this, further investigations of a complicated pipe network connecting several buildings were undertaken and led to the discovery of a misconnected pipe which was subsequently rectified.

David Storey, Director of Environment Climate Action and Active Travel, said: It was a good meeting and we are happy to continue working with these groups to achieve a solution to the water quality issues in Balbriggan.

It was important that we took the time to explain how the EU Bathing Water classification of designated bathing areas works and how the placement of the swim notices is done as part of that process.

Unfortunately, this isnt a one year scenario as the EU classifies bathing waters according to water quality monitoring results attained over a four-year period.

The designated bathing season in Ireland runs from June 1 to September 15.
Lord Mayor of Dublin Caroline Conroy today unveiled a Dublin City Council commemorative plaque at the spot on Westmoreland Street where two firefighters died more than 130 years ago. Pic: Fennell Photography   Fennell Photography

A commemorative plaque has been unveiled in memory of two firefighters who died while fighting a fire on Westmoreland Street more than 130 years ago.

Inspector Christopher Doherty and Fireman Peter Bourke paid the ultimate price in their role as firefighters while saving the lives of two women on May 20, 1891.

Mr Doherty had 25 years of service in Dublin Fire Brigade and was the holder of three chevrons for bravery for saving life on previous occasions, while Mr Bourke had three months service in Dublin Fire Brigade.

The two men died on active duty while responding to a fire at Grahams chemists and Lafayettes photographers, now part of CCT College on Westmoreland Street.

Grahams chemist occupied the first two floors, with Lafayettes photographers on the next two. There was living accommodation on the fifth floor.

The fire broke out at about 2am on the third floor while four people were in the living accommodation above on the fifth floor.

On discovery of the fire, two people managed to escape to the street and raise the alarm. However, two women were still trapped on the fifth floor.

As the plaque was unveiled today, Chief Fire Officer Dennis Keeley paid tribute to the sacrifice of those who went before us.

The commemorative plaque at the spot where two firefighters died while fighting a large fire on Westmoreland Street more than 130 years ago   Fennell Photography

The Dublin Fire Brigade is a well-respected, progressive, forward-looking fire, ambulance and rescue service which trains and prepares for the needs of todays city and plans for the future, he said.

In doing so, however, we are also very aware that expertise is born from experience.

We are very much aware of the heritage we inherit, a heritage born from the history, work and sacrifice of past members - of lessons learned in the heat of fires and emergencies gone by - and sometimes in the sacrifice of those who went before us.

This, the first in a planned series of four Dublin Fire Brigade related plaques marking places where Dublin firefighters lost their lives while on duty, is being erected to mark the site of the death of these two Dublin Fire Brigade members on May 20, 1891.

Speaking at the unveiling, Lord Mayor of Dublin Caroline Conroy said: In unveiling this plaque today we remember the sacrifices made by two brave firemen in the service of their city and its citizens.

In doing so we are also acknowledging the great service that their successors in todays Dublin Fire Brigade give to our city, day in and day out.
Dubliners in certain areas of the city could wait months for a dental appointment. Pic: Stock image (Alamy/PA)   Alamy Stock Photo

Dubliners could be waiting up to four months for a basic dental check-up in certain parts of the city.

A survey of dental clinics across the city and county this week revealed that wait times vary hugely depending on where you live, as does cost  anything between 40 and 100.

It comes as Dublin West TD, Roisin Shortall, said the Government is continuing to sleepwalk through a crisis in dental healthcare.

I rang 26 dental clinics in various locations on Thursday of this week to see if I could get an appointment for a check-up.

One offered me an appointment within hours, while another didnt have availability until the start of September.

Clinics could come under further pressure over the coming months as one receptionist said many dentists were heading on holidays within the next few weeks.

Out of the 26 calls I made, 18 were answered. The other eight clinics failed to answer on three separate occasions, with the only clinic in Phibsboro not answering five separate calls.

Most appointments for a standard check-up were around the 50 mark, with the lowest being 40 and the highest 100, including a scale and polish.

Five clinics had a wait time of roughly two weeks, another two had no availability for a month, while two others had nothing until the end of the summer.

Molloy Dental, Whitehall. Two-week wait (50).

The Lion Medical Dental and Health Clinic, Tallaght. Earliest appointment, June 2 (50).

Crumlin Road Dental. Nothing until early June (59).

Dental Care, Skerries, June 7 (100, including a scale and polish).

Clear Dental Care, the Liberties. June 7 (59).

Dr Elizabeth Melvin, Sandymount. End of June (60).

Garvey's Tower Dental, Clondalkin. End of June (40).

Dalkey Dental. Nothing until mid-August, but could go on cancellation list. (90, but 15 if you have PRSI).

O'Connors Dental Practice, Raheny Shopping Centre. No availability until the start of September (50).

Dental check-ups can cost anything between 40 and 100, including a scale and polish   Getty Images

Six clinics were able to offer appointments within days, while three other had wait times of roughly a week.

Castleknock Dental Surgery. Appointment available two hours after making the call (75, with cleaning).

Touchstone Dentistry, Mulhuddart. Next day appointment (46).

Drumcondra Dental Clinic. Next day appointment (60).

Charlestown Dental Centre. Next day appointment (55).

Dundrum Dental Surgery. Cancellation slot available next day (50).

Peregrine Dental Clinic, Templeogue. May 22 (50).

Smithfield Plaza Dental. May 23 (50).

Howth Dental House, May 24 (50).

Donnybrook Dental Practice, May 24 (95, including a scale and polish).

Roisin Shortall, health spokesperson for the Social Democrats, said: Oral health has been completely neglected by the Minister for Health since he took office.

At a time when the Minister should be trying to strike up a better relationship with the Irish Dental Association (IDA), we have learned that he isnt even attending their annual conference this week.

Ms Shortall also claimed the public Dental Treatment Service Scheme (DTSS) is at risk of collapsing.

The public Dental Treatment Service Scheme (DTSS) is haemorrhaging dentists and is in need of immediate reform to stop it collapsing.

Of the IDA members operating the scheme, 80pc say they can no longer take on new medical card patients. The funding provided in Budget 2023 didnt even scratch the surface.

This week, I tabled an amendment to the Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Bill 2022 to provide for mandatory continuous professional development for dentists  something the industry has been calling on the Minister to do for years.

However, the Government voted it down. This simple amendment would have raised standards and enhanced patient safety at no cost to the State.

This is just another example of the Ministers utter neglect of dentists and their patients.

A spokesperson from the Department of Health said: The Government recognises that fundamental reform of oral healthcare services is required, as set out in the National Oral Health Policy, Smile agus Slainte.

The Department is currently working with the HSE to prioritise implementation structures for the policy. These will include new clinical leadership and reform leadership posts in the HSE for which resources will be provided.

Additional funding of 15m has been provided in Budget 2023 to improve oral healthcare services this year. This is on top of the 200m the State spends on oral healthcare services.

Regarding the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) which provides oral healthcare services to medical card holders, the Minister for Health approved measures from May 2022 providing for increased preventative care and increasing the fees paid to dentists for most treatment items by 40-60pc across most treatment items.

Both the numbers of patients and treatments have been increasing since introduction of new measures.

The rate of DTSS contractors leaving the scheme has also slowed and the number of contractors on the DTSS has increased each month for the past 4 months.

The Minister for Health met the Irish Dental Association on April 24, 2023. In addition, more frequent meetings take place between the Irish Dental Association and Department of Health officials.
Barry Sheridan CEO Down Syndrome Ireland visited Deenagh Lodge Down Syndrome Tea Room, Killarney on Friday last. Pictured are Barry Sheridan CEO (1st from the right) pictured with Thomas O'Connor, Catherine Doyle, Maire Breathnach, Kathleen Murphy, Norma Doherty, Ann Ladden, Claudette O'Carroll, Bernie Cronin; front l-r: Annmarie Ladden, Anthony Jones, Siobhan Looney, Dale O'Carroll. Photo by Tatyana McGough

There is good work being done at Down Syndrome Ireland branches nationwide, and Kerry is certainly no exception in that regard.

It was a welcome opportunity for aspects of the Kerry branch to meet Down Syndrome Ireland CEO Barry Sheridan on his visit to the Kingdom in recent days  and, who knows, maybe some of what works in Kerry could be replicated elsewhere as all branches have something to teach each other.

Down Syndrome provides a wide range of services, including but far from limited to therapies and courses for those living with Down Syndrome or, indeed, their family members.

It also has many projects running at any one time, and one of these is the Deenagh Lodge Tea Rooms at the Port Road entrance to Killarney National Park, which formed part of Mr Sheridans itinerary on his Kerry trip.

The tea rooms, from Easter to early autumn, provide valuable training and employment opportunities to those living with Down Syndrome. One person behind the project, Denis Cronin of Down Syndrome Kerry, said it was great for Deenagh Lodge and the branch more widely to showcase itself during Mr Sheridans visit, but he was quick to place the emphasis on voluntary and fund-raising efforts as key to the branchs success.

We were obviously delighted to welcome him down and to showcase what we are doing successfully in Kerry, he told The Kerryman.

We can thank all our local fund-raisers, from Church gate to flag days to Ring of Kerry Cycle and the Tour de Munster. Voluntary funding is the reason why we can progress in the way we have.
'Who'd you fancy in the next?' David with granddaughter Saoirse on a bench dedicated to his father, Paud, at Listowel Racecourse.

David Fitzmaurice is back at the helm as Chairman of Listowel Race Company for a second time having recently taken over the role from Pat Healy.

Davids first task is to pay tribute to his colleague, who is the first person in the history of Listowel Race Company to hold office for three consecutive years.

Pat Healys tenure coincided with a difficult era when the pandemic forced racing behind closed doors and restricted crowd capacity.

David explains that Pat did an incredible job in promoting and ensuring that the reputation of Listowel Races remained strong during those challenging times.

I must complement Pat and thank him for all his work during what was a difficult time. It wasnt easy but Pat was the right man at the right time, David said.

Davids involvement in Listowel Races has generational links extending back to his grandfather, David, in the 1930s, and his father, Paud, who was involved in Listowel Races for over 50-years.

Davids daughter, Niamh, is today the fourth generation to be involved, while David assures me his granddaughter, Saoirse, will make it a fifth generation of Fitzmaurice participation at the famous North Kerry racecourse.

Its my swansong, and its an absolute honour to be chairman a second time. Ive been involved in the finance of the turnstiles and race cards for years, which my grandfather started in the 1930s. Its a nice feeling to have this family tradition going back that far. Listowel Races is about community, he said.

Davids vision for his second term is to secure additional fixtures, and to switch the Saturday meeting in June to an evening fixture by 2024. Continuing to improve the track facilities is another priority.

In 2022, a landmark High Court decision granted Listowel Race Company tax free status as a sporting organisation. Racecourses had previously been excluded from this entitlement.

Thanks to the courage of Listowel Race Company directors, it means all profits from gate receipts can now be ploughed back into improving the racecourse. This has given David and his colleagues enormous satisfaction.

From the money were now saving, we are currently resurfacing the car park which we hope to have completed for our June meeting, said David.

It should be noted that we are a voluntary organisation, and it was a brave move for us to take this case. We had lost the case twice before. So, to appeal it a third time and be successful, it took great courage, David said.

Other racecourses in Ireland didnt believe we could win the case. Our High Court win has left a legacy for them also, he added.

Lastly, David explains that an effort to broaden the use of the racecourse for additional events is in the pipeline. This would see music concerts and public gatherings take place at the track.

We need to explore all these avenues with the view to creating extra revenue, David said.

"Its about opening up the racecourse rather than just confining it to a set number of race fixtures in the year. Listowel Race Company is run by volunteers. Its about promoting ways we can benefit all of the community. There is a great team involved.
Historic Netterville Manor and Dowth Hall plus 223 hectares (552 acres) included in sale

The level of period detail has to be seen to be believed.

An aerial view of the splendid Netterville Manor, with its magnificent gardens and lake and 15th century tower.

The majestic River Boyne meanders through the UNESCO World Heritage site, which comes with fishing rights.

The impressive vestibule of Dowth Hall, which has superb architecture and impressive plasterwork, is in need of further restoration.

Imagine having the choice of a splendid Georgian mansion or a magnificent Victorian manor? Well for someone with vision, ambition and 10m to invest, as well as that dilemma, there are 23 hectares (552 acres) of lush Boyne Valley countryside, with incredible views that take in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Newgrange.

Indeed, Dowth Hall itself is home to a recently discovered burial chamber to rival that of its neighbour.

The 5,500-year-old passage tomb uncovered at Dowth Hall in 2018 has been described by archaeologists as "the most significant megalithic find in Ireland in the last 50 years".

The neighbouring Netterville Manor is also home to a wealth of Irish history and heritage, John Boyle O'Reilly, one of Ireland's most prominent writers and activists, was born there on June 18th, 1844 and it still hosts the annual school conference in his honour.

In recent years, Dowth Hall was home to food research company Devenish, where Owen Brennan is executive chairman of Devenish, and his wife Prof Alice Stanton of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, is director of human health at Devenish Nutrition.

A fantastic estate on the river Boyne ... doesnt come to the market often, says selling agent Roseanne de Vere Hunt of Sherry Fitzgerald Country Homes. The current owners have done so much of the hard work through their historical investigations, and now Dowth has the benefit of full planning permission for another four years for its full renovation.

Dowth Hall sits regally on the highest point on the estate, looking out over the spectacular Boyne Valley, a rich and royal landscape. Built in 1745, this 18th century country pile is the perfect example of a Georgian Country house. Whilst the historic finds around the house have been the centre of attention at Dowth, this period residence tells a story in itself and the owners have lovingly preserved and readied the structure for a full restoration.

There are seven bedrooms and five reception rooms extending to approx. 970 sq.m (10,440 sq.ft)

The first floor with the higher elevation offering magnificent vantage points of the surrounding royal countryside in all its wonder. There are three principal bedrooms on the first floor, one of which is to the front of the house and two are to the rear. The layout could lend itself to allow for a larger master bedroom suite with living area, bathroom and a guest bedroom suite with bathrooms. The remaining four bedrooms are on the second floor. The basement features high ceilings, not a common occurrence in Georgian style abodes. Thus, the basement is bright in areas and provides an opportunity for additional living space on this floor.

Netterville Manor which spans 7,000 sq ft, has been largely lovingly restored to its former glory,

The tiled entrance hall has double doors to an inner hall and the original sweeping wooden staircase. The sitting room features a marble fireplace with tiled inset and a pitch pine floor.

It is listed separately at 2.85m and there is also an 84-acre farm across the road for 1.25m.

Dowth Hall, extending to 970sq m (10,440sq ft) on 368 acres, is listed at 6m.

The lands are located just outside the historic town of Drogheda and village of Slane, approx. 47km from Dublin International Airport. There is however, a private grass airstrip on land directly adjacent to estate.
A County Wexford man who grew cannabis for himself and his wife is now clear of the drug, Wexford Circuit Court was assured.

Willie Doran (53) from Dungeer, Taghmon, admitted that he cultivated the illicit crop in his polytunnel.

Investigating gardai arrived at Dungeer on October 20 in 2021. They estimated that the 22 plants they found growing in the tunnel had a potential value of 17,000.

Also seized was 6,200 worth of cannabis which had already been harvested. Once arrested Doran told investigators that he was growing for himself and for his wife.

It emerged that the wife, a US citizen, had a cannabis card which allowed her to have the drug for her own use in her home country. The card confers no such concession in Ireland, however.

The prosecution in the case pointed out that scales and a tick list were found during the garda search. This suggested that the defendant was dealing in drugs.

Dorans barrister Jordan Fletcher accepted that his client was supplying two men in their 50s and one in his 60s, all friends of the accused.

Counsel told the court that he began growing cannabis during the Covid lockdown. The operation was low tech, suggested Mr Fletcher, with no use of hydroponics or sophisticated lighting.

Willie Doran, a former fisherman, was described as a self employed businessman with an enterprise preparing gravestones.

Judge James McCourt accepted that the man in the dock had ceased production and that he had no previous convictions. The amount of cannabis was significant, the court noted as a two-and-a-half year sentence was recorded.

As no purpose would be served by sending Doran to prison, this was suspended in full. The judge ordered destruction, not only of the impounded plants, but also of the scales.
The RNLI lifeboat Killarney which went to the aid of the injured fisherman.

Kilmore Quay lifeboat went to the aid of an injured fisherman on board a fishing vessel about 30 nautical miles south of the County Wexford port on Thursday night.

The RNLI was alerted by the Irish Coast Guard at 10.23 pm and immediately launched the all-weather Tamar class lifeboat Killarney to go to the mans assistance.

The fisherman was working on a 24-metre fishing trawler south of Kilmore Quay when he suffered a serious injury to his hand.

The lifeboat with six crew members on board under coxswain Eugene Kehoe made its way to the scene, arriving at 11.45pm. The injured mans condition was assessed and he was taken on board where he received first aid on the return journey to port.

At 1.17 am, the lifeboat arrived back in the harbour where an ambulance was waiting to take the casualty to hospital.

"This was a good outcome and thankfully conditions were calm and favourable, said the coxswain Mr Kehoe, wishing the injured man a speedy recovery.

He commended the volunteer crew who, despite the late call and darkness of night, did not hesitate to respond.

Along with Mr Kehoe, the Kilmore Quay RNLI lifeboat crew involved in the call out were Philip Walsh, Aidan Bates, Nigel Kehoe, Trevor Devereux, Sean Furlong, Robbie Connolly and deputy launching authority Eddie Byrne.
The people of Rosslare have much to celebrate following the announcements of this years Blue Flag and Green Coast awards which recognise Irelands best beaches and marinas. In addition to Rosslare Harbour regaining the Green Coast award it last held in 2021, Rosslare Strand has also retained its Blue Flag beach status for 2023.

A total of six Wexford beaches received the prestigious Blue Flag award for high standards in water quality, environmental management, environmental education and safety with Ballinesker, Ballymoney North Beach, Carne, Curracloe, and Morriscastle joining Rosslare Strand as the countys best. In the Green Coast category, which pays particular attention to the work of local clean coasts groups, there were ten Wexford recipients with Baginbun, Ballyhealy, Booley Bay, Cahore Point, Cullenstown Strand, Culleton's Gap, Grange, Old Bawn Beach, and St. Helen's Bay commended along with Rosslare Harbour.

The Green Coast award holds particular significance for Wexford having originated here in 2003 when special awards were presented to four of the countys beach. It was subsequently rolled out nationally in 2008.

Finally, there was further success for Wexford in the Blue Flag Marinas section with both Kilmore Quay Marina and New Ross Marina among the ten national winners.

A total of 159 awards were presented by the Minister of State for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh OBrien TD., at an awards ceremony held on the Shoreline Hotel, Dublin.

"This year celebrates the 20th anniversary of Clean Coasts and the Green Coast Awards and I am delighted to present a record-breaking 65 Green Coast Awards today, said Minister OBrien. It also marks 36 years of the Blue Flag as an international programme and I am pleased to present 94 Blue Flags for the 2023 season. During its 36 years, the Blue Flag has become an internationally recognised symbol of high standards in water quality, environmental management, environmental education and safety.

During the ceremony, 84 beaches and ten marinas in Ireland received the Blue Flag, while 65 beaches were awarded the Green Coast Award.

Talking about the event, Ms. Cathy Baxter, Director of the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce, said, It takes immense dedication and effort to manage a beach or marina to meet the rigorous standards set by these prestigious award programmes, and we extend our warmest congratulations to all the deserving sites that have achieved this remarkable reward.

The Green Coast Award has achieved a noteworthy milestone by granting 65 awards for the 2023 bathing season. This is an increase of three awards compared to last year, and the highest number of awards given since its establishment. These achievements coincide with the celebration of Clean Coasts' 20-year anniversary. An important aspect of the Green Coast Awards is the involvement of Clean Coasts groups, of which they are currently over 1,800 comprised of tens of thousands of volunteers nationwide. These volunteers participate in community clean-ups and in cooperation with Local Authorities help manage their local beaches throughout the year.
The fishing industry in Co Wexford has received the backing of MEP Grace OSullivan in its fight to gain higher quotas and cope with the planned influx of wind turbines in Irish waters. The Member of the European Parliament led a delegation of officials from Strasbourg which included fellow Irish MEPs Luke Ming Flanagan, Billy Kelleher, and Colm Markey as they travelled to the Stella Maris Centre in Kilmore Quay to meet with members of the local fishing community.

All members of the European Parliaments Fisheries Committee, the group also visited Dunmore East in Co Waterford as they looked into the continued impact of Brexit on trade and fisheries. This was on foot of a report on the implementation of the EUUK Trade and Cooperation Agreement which sets out preferential arrangements in areas such as trade in goods and in services between EU countries and the United Kingdom. This report has a unique impact on the fishing industry given its shared waters with the UK.

The meeting in the Stella Maris saw fisheries organisations, small-scale fishers, local businesses and civil society groups turn out in large numbers to discuss their concerns with the MEPS, with quota loss continuing to be the most significant issue for fishing communities in the wake of a 15 per cent cut when the UK left the EU and the Common Fisheries Policy.

The Common Fisheries Policy is supposed to be based on fairness and sustainability, said MEP OSullivan. It is failing at both the way it is implemented. The EU so far has provided some funding to stem the bleeding caused by Brexit, but a one-off cheque wont save fishing communities. We need a rebalancing of quota in the aftermath of Brexit. I will be bringing this message both to Commissioner for Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevicius as well as Minister (for the fisheries) Charlie McConalogue.

Those in attendance raised the need for better coordination and consultation with the fishing industry regarding future offshore wind development and Marine Protected Area legislation currently passing through the Oireachtas. They also noted the lack of recognised qualifications and apprenticeships available to encourage young people to join the industry.

A constant theme we heard is that young people are not getting into fishing as a way of life anymore, continued the MEP. We desperately need apprenticeships and qualifications for young fishers. Currently, there is essentially no recognition of the time and experience fishers gain on the boats so there is no concept of career progression or transferable skills.

The following day the delegation continued to Rosslare Europort where they met with Port Director Glenn Carr who is leading one of the largest port development projects in the history of the State. Rosslare, which has seen weekly sailings to the continent increase from six to 36 since Brexit, is preparing for the construction of a massive offshore wind hub as well as improved sail-rail links.

The growth of Rosslare as a European success story has been perhaps the one silver lining of the Brexit experience, said MEP OSullivan. When supply chains were severed overnight after Brexit, Rosslare kept us moving. Im looking forward to plans to develop rail connections and I fully support calls from the South East on Track group for Irish Ferries to offer Sail and Rail tickets from Rosslare the same way they do from Dublin.

The delegation will present its findings to the Parliament and Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius later on its return to Brussels.
My gift of life is a gift that keeps giving. Not a day goes by that I dont think of my donor

Just three months into her pregnancy, Leeann Clarkson, from Kilcoole in County Wicklow, suddenly found herself very ill.

At just 19 years old, her blood pressure was high and protein was discovered in her urine. She was immediately sent to Holles Street, where she found out she had kidney disease and was in renal failure.

I had a very high-risk pregnancy and doctors hoped to get me to 34 weeks, Leeann recalls.

I was given steroid injections for my babys lungs. I developed pre-eclampsia and my son was delivered at 30 weeks by emergency C-section, weighing 2lbs 13oz.

Leeann says that she is the only family member to have kidney disease and that it came out of nowhere.

She was eventually diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome, which doctors believe was caused by a really bad throat infection, despite having had her tonsils removed when she was 13.

After giving birth to her son, Leeann became very sick and eventually she had to be put on dialysis  that was in 2008, almost nine years later. In the intervening years, she says, she was just really, really sick and it just deteriorated. Then I needed the dialysis to keep going. Rather than having to endure daily trips to the hospital, she chose to do peritoneal dialysis at home. Leeann was on her own at the time, so there were still the daily tasks to do that go with being a parent.

Its every night, she said. You hook up and youre on it for eight hours. I was very tired, even walking up the stairs Id be getting out of breath.

It was chronic fatigue. Youve a horrible metal taste in your mouth and youve nausea all the time.

The good news finally arrived later that year, when a phone call came in, at 1.25 in the morning she says, the time stamped on her memory, that a donor had been found.

I was so lucky, she says. I was only six weeks on dialysis, and I was told at the start I could be waiting two to four years.

But I was extremely blessed. It was like a new lease of life. I didnt realise how sick I was before until I got the new kidney.

She describes the moment as bittersweet, as she knows that someone had lost their life in order for me to receive this kidney.

My new kidney took straight away and is still going strong 14 years later, she says. I could feel the difference before leaving Beaumont Hospital. My energy levels and how I felt inside was amazing.

While Leeann was warned not to have anymore children, she met a new partner and in 2013 gave birth to her daughter.

Because of the transplant, I could go on to have my daughter, she says. Without my kidney donor this would never have happened. Not a day goes by without my donor being in my thoughts.

My gift of life is a gift that keeps giving, she says. Not a day goes by that I dont think of my donor and the life my new kidney has given me. I would urge all families to have a chat about it.

Leeann said she sends a card every year to the hospital to express her gratitude and the hospital forwards it to the family.

I just write from donor recipient, just to let the family know that they are always on my mind and that I wouldnt be here without them.

The message during Organ Donor Awareness week is for people to sign up to become donors.

There were 250 transplants performed last year and 81 transplants performed in the first quarter of 2023.

The Government has taken a number of measures over the past few years to improve organ donation and transplantation services in Ireland, including the introduction of the Human Tissue Bill, as well as the provision of 2.25 million in additional funding to support the ongoing development of transplant services.

The Bill will introduce an opt-out system of organ donation and will help increase the amount of organs available for donation to patients in need. Consent will be central to this system, and those who object to donating their organs, for whatever reason, will be able to opt out.

Organ Donor Awareness Week 2023 runs until May 27 and is organised by the Irish Kidney Association (IKA) in association with the HSEs Organ Donation Transplant Ireland (ODTI).

This years Organ Donor Awareness Week campaign is built around the theme Dont Leave Your Loved Ones in Doubt!

To sign up for an Organ Donor Card, go to: ika.ie/donorweek/
Work is underway on the new Rathdrum Cancer Support building, located at the old Rathdrum Library.

Refurbishment and renovation work has begun on a new permanent premises for the Rathdrum Cancer Support Group at the old Rathdrum Library.

Rathdrum Cancer Support completed the purchase of the property  at 11 Gilberts Row  in April 2022 and applied to Pobal for a Community Centre Investment Fund (CCIF) grant to refurbish the premises.

In December 2022, Rathdrum Cancer Support was granted 100,000 under the CCIF, which will be used exclusively for the refurbishment and development of the new building.

Established in 2008 by Bill Porter, Andrea Leonard and Ann OLoughlin, Rathdrum Cancer Support provide a vital service for their community, connecting cancer patients and their families with counselling support services and providing transport for patients receiving treatment in Dublin.

We have been so blessed with people who are so generous and so giving, we really wouldnt be here if it wasnt for the community, volunteer Anne Savage said.

We were delighted to get a grant aid to fund the renovations, but we still have to put diesel into the cars every week to go to Dublin, so we really appreciate the communitys continued support.

Were all very excited that the refurbishment is underway. We had a rented premises before, but this will be a permanent base for us, so its a really exciting time for all involved. Its quite a small space, but well be providing extensive support services, including our transportation, which is one of our primary functions as a group.

Some people are more independent and able to manage their cancer themselves, but for many of those people who need transport to and from their treatment appointments in Dublin, were here. We have a great bunch of volunteer drivers who are very sympathetic and understanding of peoples needs and help put them at ease.

We have a significant amount of people going out every day, who we pick people up and take to wherever they need to go. Wed like to think that people appreciate the service and the fact that its totally confidential.

Transport can be one of the most important things for people when it comes to treatment, especially if youre an elderly person living in the country, it can be exhausting. In rural areas, transport is particularly critical, as we have a huge rural hinterland in the area.

We had someone us our transport recently who was living locally, in a rural area, who had to go to St James Hospital in Dublin for treatment.

He was driving down to Ashford getting a bus as far as Bray and then to Dublin. He was exhausted by all of it. Someone convinced him to get in touch with us and, he was so appreciative of the service because it gave him his day back.

Its those people that you love to reach, people who perhaps dont know that Rathdrum Cancer Support is here, and who could hugely benefit from our support services.

We also have access to people who are qualified in the areas of counselling and support, small space, but will have the ability for one-to-one sessions, which will be developed over time. Its small steps for us at the moment.

Rathdrum Cancer Support is a service based in the community, for the community, and it is open to everyone. Were here to serve the people, so please dont hesitate to contact us.

For more information about Rathdrum Cancer Support and its services visit www.rathdrumcancersupport.com
Actor Stanley Tucci launched the new Tanqueray No. TEN signature serve, the Tiny Ten, in Dublin

If theres one thing Dublin and Stanley Tucci have in common, its an appreciation for good food and delicious drinks.

Its unsurprising, then, that the actor found himself visiting four Dublin hotspots on his first day in the city.

Tucci, who has starred in the likes of The Devil Wears Prada, The Hunger Games and Spotlight,started creating mixology videos during pandemic lockdowns.

These quickly went viral and, in 2021, he became a global ambassador for Tanqueray gin.

Its so nice to be back in Dublin, Tucci said. Its been a few years since I was last here, and I have just loved the famed Irish hospitality, enjoying the very best in cocktails and food.

To sample some of that hospitality, he visited four favoured restaurants and bars in the city.

Stanley Tucci and chef Mark Moriarty. Photo: Andres Poveda

He started off at Pichet on Trinity Street for a sit down lunch with Diageo chef-in-residence, Mark Moriarty, who prepared a bespoke seasonal menu featuring Irish lamb.

The meal was washed down with a martini dubbed the Tucci Tini, created by Pichets head mixologist, Marian.

Moriarty said he relished the opportunity to cook for Tucci, as someone familiar with both his cookbooks and television series (Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy).

It was great to sit down for an hour over lunch where we chatted about food, ingredients, chefs and the behind the scenes of the show, he said.

Next on the list was Capel Streets BAR 1661, which took home the top prize at the 2022 Bar of the Year Awards.

There, general manager Will Lynch served a signature cocktail featuring locally sourced mead, vermouth and marmalade.

Stanley Tucci pictured with Will Lynch at BAR 1661. Pic: Andres Poveda

Speaking about what he called a career highlight Lynch said: You could tell that he [Tucci] is so invested in people and their stories... it was like hanging out with a friend.

That wasnt the end of Tuccis bar crawl though, as he moved on to Lennons Yard on Dawson Street, before rounding things off with a cocktail party at House on Leeson Street, officially launching a new summer drink.

At House, Tucci told Independent.ie that his wife, Felicity Blunt, would be joining him for part of his trip, with more restaurants booked in the coming days. He also confirmed that he had, indeed, already had a Guinness.

The actor is spending the rest of the weekend in Dublin, appearing at the International Literature Festival in Merrion Square Park tomorrow, as the author of his memoir, Taste: My Life Through Food as well as two cookbooks.
A freight train that was derailed in the Simferopol district of Crimea. Photo: Reuters   REUTERS

Russia has banned its own top officials from resigning to avoid any impression of defeatism, according to British intelligence.
Police officers patrol around the the home of Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan, in Lahore, Pakistan, yesterday. Photo: K.M. Chaudary/AP   AP

Pakistani police kept up their siege around Imran Khans home as a 24-hour deadline given to the ex-premier  to give up suspects allegedly sheltered inside  expired.
New Delhi: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) will hear a plea made by Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC), the successor to Jet Airways management, on May 22. JKC is seeking directions to prevent the State Bank of India (SBI) from invoking its bank guarantee of Rs 175 crore, media reports said.

During the NCLAT hearing on May 19, senior advocate Ravi Shankar Prasad, representing the consortium, requested an interim injunction to halt SBI from invoking the bank guarantee, Moneycontrol reported.

Gopal Jain, senior advocate representing SBI, informed the court that the consortium was required to make certain dues payments to the bank by May 15, but the payment has not been received, the report said.

Prasad argued that the consortium is diligently working towards fulfilling its commitments. However, due to time constraints, the tribunal decided to adjourn the case until May 22.

As per the order issued by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on January 13, the Consortium was expected to make the first installment of payments to Jet's lenders before May 15.

However, the consortium has not yet made the payments, which has led to concerns that SBI may invoke the bank guarantee of Rs 175 crore as compensation for the outstanding dues.

If the outstanding payments are not cleared, the ownership of the airline will not be transferred to the consortium. It is worth noting that the air operator's certificate of Jet Airways is set to expire on May 19.

In January, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) granted permission for the transfer of Jet Airways' ownership to the Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC) after concluding that the conditions had been met.

The NCLT set November 16, 2022, as the effective date for the resolution plan.

However, the lenders of the airline opposed the ownership transfer to the consortium and approached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).

They claimed that the consortium had not fulfilled its obligations and argued against the transfer of ownership.

Jet Airways was grounded in April 2019 due to piling losses and a debt burden of approximately Rs 8,000 crore.

In October 2020, the airline's Committee of Creditors (CoC) approved the revival plan submitted by the Jalan-Kalrock consortium.
New Delhi: The executives of US-based electric car maker Tesla engaged in discussions with Indian officials regarding potential domestic incentives for car and battery manufacturers, indicating that the company is reconsidering its entry into the Indian market, Reuters reported citing a source familiar with the matter.

According to Reuters, the Elon Musk-led company has put forward a proposal to establish a manufacturing facility in India for producing electric vehicles (EVs). There are also discussions regarding the local manufacturing of EV batteries.

Senior executives from Tesla are, reportedly, in India and held meetings on Wednesday with officials from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and Ministry of Heavy Industries in New Delhi. They were also scheduled to meet Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Tesla is still testing the waters and trying to understand the local policies, said the person, who declined to be named as the talks were private, the report stated.

Tesla, which currently has manufacturing facilities in the US, China, and Germany, is exploring the option of establishing an additional manufacturing plant.

India is among the potential locations being considered for this expansion, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The company is evaluating one or two countries as potential options for the new facility.

According to a source cited by Reuters, Tesla has reportedly submitted a proposal to establish a factory in India for manufacturing electric vehicles intended for both domestic sales and exports. However, an official confirmation regarding this proposal is still awaited.

In the past, Tesla had requested a reduction in the import duty imposed by the Indian government on electric vehicles.

Currently, Tesla's vehicles, priced above $40,000, are subject to a 100 percent import duty in India, while the more affordable models face a 40 percent duty.

Initially, India declined to lower the duties but expressed interest in the possibility if Tesla were to establish a manufacturing unit and generating employment opportunities within the country.
Mental Health: Representational Image / Unsplash

The concept of telemedicine is not new. But a raging Covid-19 pandemic is a game changer. Technology is boosting mental health care in the US and India as practitioners move their services online while India's finance minister in her budget speech announced that its national telemental health program is on the anvil. Maya Morris, Alexis Simmerman, Whitney Hon, Hannah Owens from the US and Roshni Veronika Mallick from India report

Mukund Viswanadha was in high school, just finding his way as a young adult, when he received news that changed everything.

I lost a classmate of mine to suicide, said Viswanadha, who is now studying biological sciences at the University of Missouri. His mom, who was a doctor, gave a presentation about how mental health in the Asian American community in St. Louis was lacking, and how there's a lack of resources devoted to addressing these concerns.

Kenzie McAllister listens as Mukund Viswanadha teaches a yoga lesson on April 15, 2023, at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. (Maya Morris/Missouri Business Alert)

Viswanadha said telemental health  or the use of technology to provide mental health services remotely  could really help increase resources and accessibility to needed care in his community.

Mukund Viswanadha teaches a yoga lesson to the Pan-Asian Mental Health Advocacy Coalition on April 15, 2023, at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. (Maya Morris/Missouri Business Alert)

This approach has been on the rise in India, where Viswanadhas family comes from, as well as in the U.S., where he was born. Why? Proponents say it makes talking with therapists more convenient, eliminating things like traveling and waiting rooms, and reduces the stigma that still sometimes surrounds getting care for mental health. Such benefits are boosting services such as BetterHelp  which is based in the U.S. but can serve patients anywhere.

Lu Huang speaks with friends during a Pan-Asian Mental Health Advocacy Coalition meeting on April 15, 2023, at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. (Maya Morris/Missouri Business Alert)

The concept of telemedicine was first introduced in the 1950s as a way to provide medical care to remote and underserved areas. It became more prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic, as practitioners were advised to move their services online.

In recent years, more and more people have turned to telehealth for mental health care. A 2021 national public opinion poll of U.S. adults by the American Psychiatric Association found that 38% of Americans have used telehealth to meet with a medical or mental health professional, up from 31% in the fall of 2020. Nearly six in 10 survey respondents said they would use telehealth for mental health care.

In India, the national government recently launched a telemental health program that will provide free consultations and involve the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience and 23 telemental health centers of excellence.

A University of Missouri student poses during a Multicultural Meditation event on April 15, 2023, at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. (Maya Morris/Missouri Business Alert)

Some Asian immigrants to the U.S. say telemental health could be a boon for them because it provides an easier way to find therapists who understand them. It could be a way students and experts in the Pan-Asian community can achieve their goals of addressing mental health stigma and bolstering culturally-informed care.

But while telemental health can remove barriers to help, some people worry that remote therapy visits limit interpersonal connections. And access to online health services may be hindered in low-income communities, where some people lack reliable internet or expensive new technology.

Still, the trend shows no sign of slowing.

Kenzie McAllister poses during a yoga lesson on April 15, 2023, at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. (Maya Morris/ Missouri Business Alert)

Rise of Telemental Health in India

When it comes to mental health care, India for years has faced a huge treatment gap, said Dr. Debanjan Banerjee, a consultant psychiatrist at Apollo Hospital in Kolkata.

Banerjee, who is associated with the Bangalore-based National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences Hospital (NIMHANS), is hopeful about recent legislation that provides more funding for mental health. But he sees a lot of room for improvement.

Dr. Debanjan Banerjee, a consultant psychiatrist at Apollo Hospital in Kolkata, says only one in six people in India diagnosed with mental disorders seek professional help

In spite of these monumental steps, there still remains an 88% treatment gap in India, Banerjee said. Only one in six people diagnosed with mental disorders seek professional help.

Lack of accessibility, along with the stigma attached to mental health, is largely responsible for this gap. In February, India's finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, announced that the government would be launching its national telemental health program.

It wasn't until the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020 that telemental health truly began to take off in India. With social distancing measures in place and many mental health clinics and offices closed, telehealth became the primary way for people to get necessary mental health services. At the same time, the need for such services went up.

The pandemic has accentuated mental health problems in people of all ages, Sitharaman said in her speech at Parliament. To improve the access to quality mental health counseling and care services, a national mental telehealth program will be launched.

But as telemental health services become more widely accessible, experts said some questionable sites and services popped up online.

Dr. Jhelum Podder, a practicing psychoanalyst in India's Kolkata, says shes sceptical about anonymous chat rooms and support groups that claim to provide free therapy.

Dr. Jhelum Podder, a practicing psychoanalyst and assistant professor of psychology at Loreto College in Kolkata, said shes skeptical about anonymous chat rooms and support groups that claim to provide free therapy.

It sounds incredibly unethical, irresponsible and dangerous to me. There has to be some accountability, but when this is anonymous, there is no accountability, Podder said. You never know how the information you put across will be used.

"You never know how the information you put across will be used. Same is the case for those therapists who practice without having the required educational degree. And this is where, I believe, that the Government should exercise control, and Im not sure if its doing this."

"The 2017 Mental Health Act, for example, does not recognize counsellors, psychoanalyst as mental health professionals. Only clinical psychologists with RCI registration are recognised as such. So technically, Im not a recognised mental health practitioner in my own country because I have an international degree. So, there are glitches like this," she said.

Audrey Garoutte laughs during a yoga class on April 15, 2023, at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. (Maya Morris/Missouri Business Alert)

Culturally-Informed Telehealth

As telemental health expands in the U.S., experts and many potential patients want to ensure it is inclusive and that therapists know how to provide the best treatment to people from various cultures.

Viswanadha, a junior who serves as vice president of the Pan-Asian Mental Health Advocacy Coalition, said he wants to expand mental health services for his community on campusand telehealth could be one avenue.

Hed love to eventually see telemental health available to students.

Immigrant students said they face some particular challenges that can affect mental health.

Viswanadhas family moved from India before he was born, and he often helps his immigrant parents navigate life in the U.S. He described how this role can be very stressful, in addition to developing his own identity as a second generation immigrant.

Sometimes theres been a bit of a clash between those cultures, and I have to learn how both identities affect me, Viswanadha said.

A fellow leader in the coalition, its president Ma May Si, said the organizations racial diversity lends itself to cultivating a nuanced understanding of one anothers mental health struggles.

I'm originally from Myanmar, Si said. My experience as a Southeast Asian versus that of Mukund, who is a South Asian, and other members who are East Asians, are totally different.

Sis family moved to the United States as refugees in 2009. As a third grader, she had to take on the responsibility of assimilating to a new language and culture.

Ma May Si speaks to a member of the Pan-Asian Mental Health Advocacy Coalition on April 15, 2023, at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. (Maya Morris/Missouri Business Alert)

My parents didn't really speak English, Si said. So growing up, I had to be the one translating for them. So my experiences growing up having to learn the culture here, versus my brothers who were born here, it's not the same.

Despite the mental health challenges that may come with cultural differences, Si has noticed a positive shift in how her community thinks about mental wellness after COVID-19. She believes that telehealth has opened up opportunities for Asian-Americans to access culturally informed resources such as therapists with similar backgrounds. Some services allow people to search for therapists who would be a good match, and people can choose professionals with whom they feel comfortable.

Having an Asian-American therapist that you can go to rather than someone else who might not be able to relate to your experience, I think that's super important, Si said.

Meanwhile Becky Beck, a licensed clinical social worker who works with the Columbia nonprofit DeafLEAD, has some reservations about using technology for mental health.

Beck, whose employer offers services to people with hearing loss, has long strived to make mental health support more accessible. To her, this doesnt just mean having it available in-person and online; it also means ensuring her clients and anyone else can use the technology.

Sam Kwon smiles during a multicultural meditation event on April 15, 2023, at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. (Maya Morris/Missouri Business Alert)

Its always super important to include people with different abilities in the room when youre discussing technology and whats available, Beck said.

Also, remote appointments are not a good option for everyone. She said some people who use therapy services benefit from getting out of their home and into a more neutral space. Telehealth doesnt allow this.

But despite what some see as drawbacks, experts say telemental health continues to become more popular every year and has the potential to significantly widen access to therapy.

Viswanadha said that would be good for people across the globe. Already, he said, it did make some people more likely to actually address their mental health concerns, or go to a provider, or just go to a professional and seek help.

(This report is a cross-country collaboration between the students from the Business Journalism department of the University of Missouri, USA headed by Prof. Randy Smith, and young journalists from India. The project is overseen by Laura Ungar, reporter on the global health and science team at The Associated Press, and journalist Sujoy Dhar, founder of the Indian news agency India Blooms News Service.)
Image: Wallpaper Cave

Moscow: US tech giant Apple has restricted the use of ChatGPT and a number of other artificial intelligence (AI) tools for its employees in order to prevent data leaks, as the company is currently working on its own technology of this kind, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing a document and people familiar with the matter.

Apple, known for its stringent secrecy measures, has prohibited its employees from using, instead of humans, newly popular programs for automatically writing emails and software code such as ChatGPT and Microsoft-owned GitHub's Copilot, which can result in the inadvertent sharing of company information with the bots' developers, the report said.

Apple has been wary of AI-powered software entering its App Store lately. In early March, the company blocked the BlueMail email app after it was updated with ChatGPT, citing concerns that it could display inappropriate content to underage users.

Apple is not the only company concerned about the chatbot's privacy. In April, South Korea's Samsung banned its employees from using ChatGPT after discovering a source code leak caused by its workers' use of the tool.

OpenAI's ChatGPT language model, launched in late November, has received mixed reviews for its ability to mimic human conversation and generate unique text based on user input. Some have praised the model for its professional applications, such as code development, while others have criticized its potential for abuse, such as students using the model to write essays.

(With UNI inputs)
Image Credit: UNI

New Delhi/UNI: India has donated 25 tonnes of medical aid to the people of violence-hit Sudan.

A tweet from the Indian Embassy in Khartoum said that the aid was delivered at the Port of Sudan via a special C17 flight, and handed over to Sudanese authorities by Indian Ambassador BS Mubarak.

Government of India donated 25 tons of Medical aid to the people of Sudan. A special Indian Airforce C-17 flight arrived at Port Sudan airport on 18 May 2023 at 3.50 p.m carrying the medical aid. The medical aid was handed over by Ambassador of India Mr. B.S Mubarak.

India evacuated over 3,000 of its nationals from Sudan after war broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 15 April.

According to the UN, since the fighting began, nearly a million people have been displaced, with the number of those internally displaced rising to 730,000 while 220,000 have fled to neighboring countries.

Today 25 million people, more than half the population of Sudan, need humanitarian aid and protection, said Ramesh Rajasingham, Head and Representative of OCHA in Geneva.
Image Credit: UNI

Hiroshima/UNI: The G7 summit will be hosted by Japan in the city of Hiroshima from May 19-21.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will attend the summit on all three days, while Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, intends to arrive on May 19 and leave the next day.

The parties will discuss nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, given the site of the summit.

Other topics on the agenda include the conflict in Ukraine, engagement with international partners, economic resilience and security, as well as climate, energy and environment.

Apart from G7 members, Japan, as this year's chair, extended invitations to India, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Cook Islands, and the Comoro Islands.
Wikipedia Commons

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday put on hold the Allahabad HC order for carbon-dating and scientific examination of 'Shivling', which was found during a court-ordered survey inside the wuzu khana (a place where ablutions are performed before namaz) of Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, last year.

The implications of the HC order merit closer scrutiny, the Apex Court said after the Solicitor General agreed to deferment in the case.

The SG Tushar Mehta said the government will also examine, in consultation with ASI, whether there is a better alternative method to ascertain the age of the 'Shivling', or what the Muslim side calls a fountain.

The Supreme Court bench, headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chadrachud deferred the examination, saying these required careful treading.

Gyanvapi mosque management committee, Anjuman Islamia Masjid Committee, had moved the Supreme Court on Thursday, challenging an Allahabad HC order allowing carbon dating of purported Shivling discovered in wuzu area during a survey last year.

Hindu parties had also filed a caveat in the Supreme Court, saying that, if there would be any appeal filed by parties, in the case against the Allahabad High Court order directing scientific investigation to ascertain whether the object found during the survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque premises is a Shiva linga or a fountain, then it must be heard.

A caveat is a legal document filed by a party to ensue that without hearing its side, the court cannot pass any order.

The Allahabad High Court last week in its order held that a scientific survey can be done of the oval-shaped object found in Varanasis Gyanvapi mosque that Hindu plaintiffs claim to be a shivling.

On May 12, the High Court set aside a Varanasi district court order refusing to allow carbon dating to determine the age of the object.

The matter is related to a plea filed by five Hindu women who claim that an image of deity Shringar Gauri exists at the mosque and have sought permission to offer daily prayers there.

(With UNI inputs)
Narendra Modi Twitter page

New Delhi/Hiroshima: Indian PM Narendra Modi on Friday arrived in Japan's Hiroshima city where he will attend the G-7 Summit.

After reaching Japan, Modi tweeted: "Landed in Hiroshima to join the G7 Summit proceedings. Will also be having bilateral meetings with various world leaders."

He is visiting the nation at the invitation of Japanese PM Kishida Fumio.

"During the Summit, Prime Minister will speak at G-7 sessions with partner countries, on subjects such as peace, stability & prosperity of a sustainable planet; food, fertiliser and energy security; health; gender equality; climate change and environment; resilient infrastructure; and development cooperation," read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

A Quad Summit is also likely to be held in Hiroshima on the sidelines of the G7.

Apart from Japan, Modi will also visit Papua New Guinea and Australia.

Landed in Hiroshima to join the G7 Summit proceedings. Will also be having bilateral meetings with various world leaders. pic.twitter.com/zQtSZUpd45  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2023

In a departure statement, the PM said it will be a pleasure to meet Japanese PM Fumio Kishida again after the latter's recent visit to India for the IndiaJapan Summit.

My presence in this G7 Summit is particularly meaningful as India holds the G20 Presidency this year. I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them. I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 Summit.

From Japan, I will be visiting Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. This will be my first visit, as also the first ever visit by any Indian Prime Minister, to Papua New Guinea. I will host on May 22 the 3rd Summit of the Forum for IndiaPacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit) jointly with H.E. Mr. James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea.

"I am grateful that all 14 Pacific Island Countries (PIC) have accepted the invitation to attend this important Summit. FIPIC had been launched during my visit to Fiji in 2014, and I look forward to engaging with the PIC Leaders on issues that bring us together, such as climate change and sustainable development, capacity building and training, health and well-being, infrastructure and economic development.

Apart from the FIPIC engagements, I look forward to my bilateral interactions with Papua New Guinea Governor General Sir Bob Dadae, Prime Minister Marape and some of the other PIC Leaders participating in the Summit.

Thereafter, I will be travelling to Sydney, Australia at the invitation of Prime Minister Albanese. I look forward to our bilateral meeting, which will be an opportunity to take stock of our bilateral ties and follow up on our first India-Australia Annual Summit held in New Delhi in March this year. I will also interact with Australian CEOs and business leaders, and meet the Indian community in Sydney at a special event.
Image: UNI

New Delhi/IBNS: The Congress on Friday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Reserve Bank of India's decision to withdraw Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation.

"Typical of our self-styled Vishwaguru. First Act, Second Think (FAST). Rs 2,000 notes introduced with such fanfare after that singularly disastrous 'Tughlaqi' firman of November 8, 2016 are now being withdrawn," said Congress general secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet, in a veiled attack on the PM.

Typical of our self-styled Vishwaguru. First Act, Second Think (FAST).



2000 rupee notes introduced with such fanfare after that singularly disastrous Tughlaqi firman of Nov 8 2016 are now being withdrawn.https://t.co/gPjY07iKID  Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) May 19, 2023

The RBI in a statement on Friday announced that it has decided to withdraw Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation in line with its "Clean Note Policy".

The central bank's 19 regional offices and other banks will start taking Rs. 2,000 notes for exchange with lower denomination ones from May 23.

However, the notes will still remain legal tender, the RBI said.

In a circular, the RBI has directed all banks to stop issuing Rs. 2,000 notes immediately.

The RBI started printing the Rs. 2,000 note in November 2016 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi scrapped high-value Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 notes overnight.

"The objective of introducing  2,000 banknotes was met once banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities. Therefore, printing of  2000 banknotes was stopped in 2018- 19," the RBI said in a statement.

"In order to ensure operational convenience and to avoid disruption of regular activities of bank branches, exchange of  2,000 banknotes into banknotes of other denominations can be made up to a limit of  20,000 at a time at any bank starting from May 23, 2023," the RBI said.

The upper limit to deposit or exchange Rs. 2000 notes till Sept 30 is Rs. 20,000 at a time.

The RBI, however, said, "To complete the exercise in a time-bound manner and to provide adequate time to the members of public, all banks shall provide deposit and/or exchange facility for Rs 2000 banknotes until September 30, 2023."
Image; UNHCR/Charlotte Hallqvist

New York: Amid a massive increase in the number of people in Sudan impacted by more than a month of heavy fighting, the UN on Wednesday said that it needed a record near $3 billion to deliver life-saving aid to them.

In addition to a revised request from the UN aid coordination office OCHA for $2.56 billion to fund its Humanitarian Response Plan - targeting some 18 million people in Sudan - the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said that it required $472 million to assist those forced to flee across the countrys borders.

The revised joint humanitarian response plan updates the response strategy launched for Sudan in December 2022 and reflects the fundamental and widespread needs within the country, according to OCHA.

Tweet URL

Kickstarting aid

Today 25 million people, more than half the population of Sudan, need humanitarian aid and protection, said Ramesh Rajasingham, Head and Representative of OCHA in Geneva.

This is the highest number we have ever seen in the country (and) the response plan we are launching today reflects that new reality; the funding requirement of nearly $2.6 billion is also the highest for any humanitarian appeal for Sudan.

The fighting that started on 15 April between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has caused tremendous human suffering and death, exacerbating significant pre-existing humanitarian needs in Sudan.

Regional threat

There is also every sign that the crisis could evolve into a regional emergency, OCHAs Mr. Rajasingham warned, before listing a number of urgent needs, including protection from fighting, medical support, food and water, sanitation, shelter and trauma care.

Since fighting began, nearly a million people have been displaced, the number of those internally displaced has risen to 730,000 and 220,000 have fled to neighboring countries.

We are also receiving worrying reports of increased sexual violence while the victims have little access to help. Children are especially vulnerable in this chaos that is unfolding, OCHA also reported.

Also in Geneva for the revised funding appeal, UNHCRs Raouf Mazou, UNHCRs Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, said that the conflict had caused massive outflows into neighboring countries, including Chad, where around 60,000 people have now crossed the border in search of safety.

To date, 220,000 refugees and returnees have fled to Chad, Sudan, Egypt, Central African Republic and Ethiopia, the UNHCR official said, adding that 150,000 of them were Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers.

Displaced South Sudanese form the largest number of non-Sudanese people in need. Overall, we have to keep in mind that there were 1.1 million refugees living in Sudan prior to this crisis, Mr. Mazou said, before noting that the UN agencys appeal for $472 million would provide assistance to more than one million people for six months.

Famine fears

A few months ago, humanitarian needs were almost half todays requirement, said OCHAs Mr. Rajasingham.

But needs throughout the country have expanded drastically since the conflict erupted, leaving an increasing number of people dangerously hungry. When you have a crisis like this and you don't have access to basic services, you don't have access to health and water, there's an enormous risk that there will be an increased risk of famine as well, he said.
Image:  WFP/Mohammed Awadh

New York: Warring parties continue to make progress in efforts towards ending the nearly decade-long conflict in Yemen, though outstanding issues remain, the UN Security Council heard on Wednesday.

Ambassadors were briefed by UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg, who reported on his ongoing engagement with representatives from the internationally-recognized Government, which is backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and opposing Houthi rebels, as well as regional and international actors.

Mr. Grundberg said he was encouraged by the positive and detailed discussions, noting that all interlocutors displayed willingness to constructively engage on the way forward.

Hopes for an agreement

There is clear determination on all sides to make progress towards a deal on humanitarian and economic measures, a permanent ceasefire and the resumption of a Yemeni-led political process under UN auspices, he said.

While progress is being made, there are still issues that require further discussion. With sustained determination from the Yemeni parties, supported by a coherent and coordinated regional and international community, I believe that the outstanding issues can be resolved and that the parties will be able to commit themselves to an agreement, he added.

Expired truce still delivers

Meanwhile, the landmark April 2022 truce that expired seven months ago continues to deliver benefits for Yemens people, as evidenced by commercial flights to and from the capital, Sanaa, and the entry of fuel and other commercial ships via the Hudaydah port.

Mr. Grundberg said although sporadic military incidents continue to occur, hostility levels are significantly lower than before the truce.

But the fragility of the military situation, the dire state of the economy and the daily challenges facing the Yemeni people, provide us with constant reminders of why a more comprehensive agreement between the parties is so vital, he stressed.

Violence and economic woes

He said there are continuing reports of violence across frontlines, particularly in Al Jawf, Taiz, Marib and Saada governorates, which highlight the fragility, and underscore the need for a formal ceasefire.

The envoy also expressed concern over the deteriorating economic situation in Yemen and restrictions on freedom of movement.

He said the Government is straining to meet its obligations to its own citizens, due to an inability to export oil, which accounted for more than half of all revenues last year. Additionally, inconsistent financial and economic policies in different areas of the country have hit both citizens and businesses hard.

He warned that lack of cooperation between the parties on critical monetary and financial issues means these challenges will worsen and potentially become more entrenched.

Cautious optimism

Despite these profound challenges, there is room for cautious optimism, Mr. Grundberg told the Council. He pointed to recent positive steps by the parties, such as the release of hundreds of conflicted-related detainees and urged the sides to continue these efforts.

The Special Envoy was adamant that Yemens myriad challenges cannot be addressed through partial or temporary solutions, underlining the importance of an inclusive Yemeni-led political process under UN auspices.

Only an inclusive and comprehensive political process can sustainably forge a new political partnership and bring the promise of a secure and economically stable future, in which State institutions function effectively and Yemen returns to peaceful relations with its neighbours, he said.

Hopes for peace

The Council also received an update on the humanitarian situation in the country, where millions lack access to basic services.

There are many hopes hinging on what is happening in Yemen. Hope that, at long last, there could be an end to this terrible war, and for a sustainable peace agreement, said Edem Wosornu, Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division at the UNs humanitarian affairs office, OCHA.

So far this year, aid workers have reached more than 11 people each month with food and other lifesaving assistance, she said. However, they continue to be hampered by access constraints and a lack of funding.

Women humanitarians affected

Ms. Wosornu reported that chronic access impediments primarily occur in areas controlled by the Houthi de facto authorities.

In particular, the ongoing restrictions on the movement of Yemeni female aid workers have severely disrupted the ability of agencies to operate and to reach those in need, particularly women and girls, she said.

Regarding funding, she warned that the shortfall is increasingly threatening the ability to provide lifesaving and livelihoods assistance.

Humanitarians are seeking $4.3 billion this year to reach more than 17 million in Yemen. Despite the generosity of many donors, around 80 per cent of the appeal remains unfunded.

Economic times are hard, but we must once again urge donors to do what they can to fund the Yemen appeal, she insisted.
Image:  UNICEF

New York: More than six million boys and girls in Turkiye and Syria are still struggling to cope 100 days after the deadly earthquakes that hit both countries, the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) reported on Wednesday.

In total, 2.5 million children in Turkiye, and another 3.7 million in neighbouring Syria, need continued humanitarian assistance, the UN agency said, appealing for greater support for affected families.

The earthquakes which struck on 6 February, followed by thousands of aftershocks, have pushed families to the brink and left children homeless and without access to water, education, medical care, and other essential services.

Lives turned upside down

In the aftermath of the earthquakes, children in both countries have experienced unimaginable loss and grief, said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, who visited both countries just weeks after the double disaster.

The earthquakes struck areas where many families were already incredibly vulnerable. Children have lost family and loved ones, and seen their homes, schools and communities devastated and their entire lives turned upside down, she added.

Even before the earthquakes, many families in affected areas were struggling, according to the UN agency.

Young lives in danger

In the regions of Turkiye impacted, approximately 40 per cent of households were already living below the poverty line, compared to around 32 per cent nationwide, and estimates indicate the figure could rise to more than 50 per cent.

Vulnerable children in hard-hit areas are exposed to threats including violence, forced marriage, forced labour, and dropping out of school. The education of nearly four million children, who were enrolled in school, was also disrupted. This number includes more than 350,000 young refugees and migrants.

UNICEF warned that although Turkiye has made strides in reducing these risks in recent years, the impact of the earthquakes could reverse that progress.

Syrian war impact

Meanwhile, children in Syria were already struggling after 12 years of war, which has had an impact on all infrastructure and public services  a situation that was exacerbated by the earthquakes.

The severe damage to water and sewage infrastructure has put 6.5 million people at an elevated risk of waterborne diseases, including cholera.

UNICEF estimated that 51,000 children under the age of five are likely to suffer from moderate and severe acute malnutrition, and 76,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women need treatment for acute malnutrition.

Additionally, it is estimated that nearly two million children have had their education disrupted, with many schools still being used as shelters.

Exploitation and abuse risks

Many of these boys and girls are still living in incredibly difficult situations. They also face heightened stress due to the additional uncertainty of not knowing when they need to move from one shelter to another.

The long-term impacts of the disaster, including soaring food and energy prices combined with loss of livelihoods and access to services will push hundreds of thousands of children deeper into poverty, Ms. Russell said, underscoring the need for continued support to families.

Unless financial assistance and essential services are prioritized for these children and families as part of the immediate and long-term recovery plan, then children will remain at greater risk of exploitation and abuse.

Focus on children

UNICEF urged the international community to prioritize what it called a child-focused early recovery, while also highlighting the need to build back better.

The agency also called for continued investment in key areas, including financial assistance for families, access to quality education, and access to psychosocial support.

Furthermore, continued funding is needed for health, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene programmes, including to reduce the risks of disease outbreaks.

UNICEF is appealing for $172.7 million to meet the lifesaving needs of nearly three million earthquake-affected children in Syria. Some $78.1 million has been received to date, with the areas of nutrition, health and education remaining significantly underfunded.

Across the border, UNICEF still requires more than $85 million of a $196 million appeal to provide required services to children in Turkiye.
Image:  UNICEF/Arlette Bashizi

New York: The UN Childrens Fund is calling for an urgent increase in funding to help tackle an escalating number of cases of sexual violence against children and women in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congos (DRC) North Kivu province, where armed groups proliferate amidst heavy fighting in recent months.

Reports of gender-based violence (GBV) against girls and women there have increased by 37 per cent during the first three months of the year, compared to the same period a year ago, according to the GBV coordination group for North Kivu.

More than 38,000 cases of GBV were reported for all of 2022 in North Kivu alone. In most cases, survivors reported being attacked by armed men and displaced men in and around the camps.

Attacked where they should be safe

Deeply vulnerable children and women, seeking refuge at camps are instead finding themselves facing more abuse and pain, said UNICEFs Representative in DRC, Grant Leaity.

The surge in sexual violence against children is horrifying, with reports of some as young as three years old having been sexually exploited. This wake-up call should shock, sicken, and jolt us all into action.

Since the beginning of March 2022, over 1.16 million people have been displaced by clashes between parties to the conflict in North Kivu.

Almost 60 per cent of those displaced are living in overcrowded sites and collective shelters just outside of Goma, the provincial capital, where risks of sexual violence are extremely high.

Exploitation at hundreds of sites

UNICEF is also aware of the very high levels of sexual exploitation of children at more than 1,000 sites in and around displacement camps.

The impact on the physical and mental health of girls and women is immeasurable and long-lasting, said the agency. Approximately one in four survivors of sexual violence need specialized medical and psychological support, according to the GBV coordination group.

UNICEF and partners boost support

UNICEF has stepped up its activities to prevent and respond, the agency said, providing essential medical and psychosocial services to affected girls and women at the four largest displacement camps near Goma.

In collaboration with the Provincial Division of Social Affairs and in partnership with Heal Africa, the agency has also established safe spaces for girls and women within displacement camps, where psychologists, professional social workers and trained community-based para-social workers identify and care for children and women in need, referring them for additional services as required.

To protect girls and women, UNICEF is urgently calling for a significant scale-up of services to prevent and respond to sexual violence in and around displacement camps; a halt to the large-scale sexual exploitation of girls and women; and the dismantling of the identified sites in and around camps where sexual exploitation occurs.

UNICEF is also appealing to donors so that more direct aid can be given to those stranded in displacement camps.

We call on the government, local authorities, partners and donors to take all necessary actions to end this situation immediately, to shut down known sites of sexual exploitation, and to protect women and girls who have already been victims of displacement, added Mr. Leaity.
Image: Pixabay

The three were convicted over their alleged involvement in a shooting attack that killed three security personnel in Isfahan in November, reports BBC.

Responding to fears over the imminent execution in Iran of three protesters  Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi  from Esfahan after state media broadcast their forced confessions and the Supreme Court upheld their unjust conviction and death sentence despite torture and fair trial concerns, Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty Internationals Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said: The shocking manner in which the trial and sentencing of these protesters was fast-tracked through Irans judicial system amid the use of torture-tainted confessions, serious procedural flaws and a lack of evidence is another example of the Iranian authorities brazen disregard for the rights to life and fair trial. Majid Kazemi said in an audio recording from prison that he was forced to make false self-incriminating statements after interrogators beat him, gave him electric shocks, subjected him to mock executions, and threatened to rape him, execute his brothers and harass his parents."

The use of the death penalty against these men is a blatant act of vengeance against a courageous generation of protesters for steadfastly demanding the rights of Iranian people during the past seven months. It is further evidence that the authorities are taking increasingly violent and extreme measures to torment and terrorize people in Iran to end the protests at any cost and impose silence and subservience through brute force," Diana Eltahawy said.

Amid the authorities horrific execution spree of scores of people since the end of April 2023, the international community must take urgent and bold action to stop the execution of these protesters before it is too late. Prison authorities told their families that today was their final visit. The international community must also press the Iranian authorities to immediately establish an official moratorium on executions. We urge all states to exercise universal jurisdiction over all Iranian officials reasonably suspected of criminal responsibility for crimes under international law," Diana Eltahawy said.
Luke Jernejcic/Unsplash

Peshawar: A blast rocked a motorcycle workshop near the Ring Road in Pakistan's Peshawar city on Thursday which left at least one person dead and three others injured, media reports said.

Peshawar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Harood Rashid confirmed the injuries and fatalities to Dawn News.

He told the Pakistani newspaper that the blast occurred at the jurisdiction of the Peshatakara police station.

The injured people were shifted to Hayatabad Medical Complex for treatment.

He said 200 grammes of explosives were used in the blast.

Investigation into the incident is currently underway.
Unsplash

At least one Frontier Corps soldier was killed during an exchange of fire with terrorists in Loesam area of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, media reports said on Thursday.

One terrorist was also killed in the incident.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the troops effectively engaged at the location of terrorists, and one terrorist was sent to hell, reports Dawn News.

The deceased soldier was identified as Sepoy Shafiq Ur Rehman.

Sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area, the ISPR said. Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and these sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve.
Pixabay

Washington: The United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Thursday announced that the United States and Taiwan, under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO), have concluded negotiations on the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade.

This accomplishment represents an important step forward in strengthening the U.S.-Taiwan economic relationship, said Ambassador Katherine Tai. It demonstrates how we can work together and advance mutual trade priorities on behalf of our people. We look forward to continuing these negotiations and finalizing a robust and high-standard trade agreement that tackles pressing 21st century economic challenges.



The first agreement under the initiative covers the areas of customs administration and trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, services domestic regulation, anticorruption, and small and medium-sized enterprises, read the United States Trade Representative website.

Through these provisions, U.S. businesses will be able to bring more products to Taiwan and Taiwanese customers, while creating more transparent and streamlined regulatory procedures that can facilitate investment and economic opportunities in both markets, particularly for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

"Once signed, this agreement will deepen the trading partnership and enhance U.S.-Taiwan trade flows in order to promote innovation and inclusive economic growth for workers and businesses," read the statement.

The agreement will be signed by AIT and TECRO in the coming weeks, in both English and Chinese.



Following the signing of the agreement, the United States and Taiwan, under the auspices of AIT and TECRO, will commence negotiations on additional trade areas set forth in the initiatives negotiating mandate.
Image: @regionofpeel

Ottawa/IBNS: Ontario government's recently introduced Hazel McCallion Act, which, if passed, would begin the process of dissolving the Regional Municipality of Peel and make the municipalities of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon independent, a news release has said.

Tabled at Queens Park Thursday afternoon, the legislation kicked off the process by creating a transition board to help ensure the process is fair and balanced.

The legacy of Peel Regions longest-serving mayor, the late Hazel McCallion  central to the regions remarkable growth during her 36 years as Mayor of Mississauga and a long-time advocate for greater autonomy for her city  is honored by the proposed legislation.

To be established sometime this year, this board appointed by the minister of municipal affairs and housing, would consist of up to five members, with expertise in labour, governance and finance.

It would make recommendations to the province to help Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon in summer or fall of 2024 to prepare to become single-tier municipalities on January 1, 2025, when the proposed changes, if passed, would come into effect

Names of the members of the board will be released in the coming weeks.

A large portion of their tax revenue is contributed by all three municipalities in Peel towards the region as a whole with Brampton providing nearly 40 percent of its tax revenue to the region, and Mississauga contributing 45 percent.

It is reportedly unclear how Caledon, making up about 56 percent of the land area of Peel Region, will be impacted financially.

While ensuring the continuation of high-quality services for taxpayers, and improving the efficiency of local governments, the provinces plan would also prepare for future growth, including their municipal housing pledges.

Subject to these cities becoming independent, these services will most likely rest solely on the municipalities, and during the transition, officials stressed Thursday that they expect local services to continue uninterrupted .

It is reportedly possible that some services such as police and utility rates for water services could remain regional.

The Bill was announced at a news conference by Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing alongside Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown.

Speaking at Queens Park Thursday, Clark said Peel region, which is already home to 1.5 million people, will grow by half a million people in the next two decades and that those people will need homes to live in.

The Region of Peel includes some of the largest and fastest-growing municipalities in Canada and is poised for significant growth over the next decade. Our government is supporting this growth by cutting red tape and improving efficiency while maintaining and improving the high level of local services Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon residents rightly expect, said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing in a news release.

Where there are shared assets and services, the dissolution process would help ensure an equitable outcome for all residents that preserves their access to municipal services regardless of location.

Regional facilitators would be named by the province in the coming weeks to assess the upper-tier municipalities of Durham, Halton, Niagara, Simcoe, Waterloo and York.

These facilitators will be reviewing the relevancy of the upper-tier government to the needs of its communities or if the lower-tier municipalities are mature enough to pursue dissolution.

Subject to the requirement of a two-tier government, the facilitators would make recommendations on how to effectively respond to the issues facing Ontarios fast-growing municipalities today, particularly in meeting municipal housing pledges and tackling the housing supply crisis.

Boosting housing supply as a primary justification for splitting up Peel, the Doug Ford government noted that housing starts in 2022 increased by nearly nine percent.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
Giorgos Katrougalos withdrew from the elections after his statement about the insurance contributions which caused a barrage of reactions and an attack by Maximou for a hidden agenda.
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, has said that the governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the North will not go against the President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his speakership choice of the 10th National Assembly.

According to him, the Northern leaders are loyal Party members who would want Tinubus administration to succeed, adding that going against the choice of the President-elect and the APC could create problem for the administration.

The governor disclosed this on Thursday when the APC nominated candidates for Speaker and Deputy Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen and Benjamin Kalu respectively, visited him at the Nasarawa Governors Lodge in Abuja.

READ ALSO: 10th Speaker: I Dont Think Tinubu Is Aware Of APCs Zoning Formula, He Is Principled  Yusuf Gagdi

Sule also revealed that he has preferred candidates for the leadership of his Assembly and nobody would disagree with him on such decision.

He said, If people hear that were disagreeing with the president-elect, they will laugh at us. We wont disagree with him.

I sincerely thank you for finding me worthy to be among the people to be visited for this project. We cannot in any way fight the choice of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We cannot in any way fight the choice of our party.

Well sit down with him and ask him what is there for us in the North Central. Im a Governor, and when I indicate interest in who becomes the Speaker in my state, nobody argues with me.
The Federal Government has reportedly invited about 65 world leaders, including Heads of State, to grace the inauguration of the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the 16th President of Nigeria on May 29.

A director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to The Punch on Thursday that several African leaders had indicated interest in attending the inauguration ceremony which would take place at Eagle Square, Abuja.

READ ALSO: 10th Speaker: If People Hear Were Disagreeing With Tinubu Theyll Laugh At Us  Gov. Sule

The director confirmed that 65 world leaders from Africa, Europe, and America are expected at the swearing-in ceremony.

He also stated that past presidents, diplomats, heads of international organisations and prominent Nigerians, and representatives of foreign governments and agencies are expected at Tinbus inauguration.

The official said the inauguration programmes will begin on Thursday with the investiture of Tinubu with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR) and the Vice-President-elect, Kashim Shettima, as the Grand Commander of Order of the Niger (GCON).

He stated that representatives of Nigerias traditional allies such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, China, Germany, Finland, Jamaica, Japan, Israel, Turkey, and several others are expected at the high-profile event.

He said: We have 54 countries in Africa and most of them have been invited to the inauguration; so, we dont expect less than 65 world leaders from Africa, Europe, and America at the event.
The Representative of District 139 in the Texas House of Representatives, Jarvis Johnson, has, in a letter, appealed to US Members of Congress to urgently intervene and urge the Nigeria government to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

According to Johnson, in a letter to the US Congress, appealed to his colleagues to intervene urgently and urge the Nigerian government to release the detained leader of the pro-Biafra group.

It was gathered that Johnsons letter, which was dated May 10, 2023, and marked, Re: Appeal for Your Urgent Intervention in Urging the Government of Nigeria to Release Nnamdi Kanu from his Extraordinary Rendition, was made available on Thursday by the special counsel to IPOB leader, Aloy Ejimakor.

The US congressman said the IPOB leader had traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, on May 12, 2021, as a British citizen and was legally admitted. And that on June 19, 2021, agents of the Nigerian government abducted him and tortured him for eight days before his illegal rendition to Nigeria.

READ MORE: Nnamdi Kanu Might Die In Detention  Ozekhome Raises Concern Over IPOB Leaders Health

Johnson said: There is now growing fear/concern that the Muhammadu Buhari administration intends to assassinate or cause Kanus disappearance before May 29, when it plans to hand him over to the incoming administration.

For months now, it is public knowledge that Kanus health condition has deteriorated. He suffers from a serious heart condition and other ailments for which he is not getting enough medical attention.

Appeal to the Nigeria Government to release the IPOB leader dated back to June 27, 2021.

He said Kanus persecution by the Nigerian government intensified in 2015 when he (Kanu) visited Nigeria from London, the United Kingdom.

First, few days after his arrival, on October 14, 2015, he was arrested in Lagos by agents of the Nigerian government.

He was held in solitary confinement by the Department of State Security (DSS). Ultimately, he was granted bail by the Nigerian courts.

After his release, he resided primarily in his ancestral home in Abia State, Nigeria, with his parents, siblings, and other extended family members.

On October 10, 2017, to October 14, 2017, the Nigerian military attacked and invaded his home. In the process, dozens of people were killed, many were injured and maimed, while many others were captured alive and have disappeared.

Fortunately, Kanu escaped the invasion and returned to his London residence to reunite with his nuclear family.

On May 12, 2021, he traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, as a British citizen and was legally admitted into the country.

On June 19, 2021, he was abducted by agents of the Nigerian government. He disappeared in Nairobi and was tortured for eight days, Johnson said.
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday, in Abuja, granted automatic employment in the Federal Civil Service to 65 former members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). 

In addition to the employment, Buhari also awarded them scholarships to pursue their education up to the Doctorate Degree level at any university of their choice within the country.

Speaking at the NYSC 50th Anniversary Honours Award held at the State House Conference Centre, the President said out of the 65 recipients, 52 individuals received the Presidential Honours Awards, while the remaining 13 were physically challenged ex-Corps Members recognised under the NYSC Hope Alive programme.

READ ALSO: NYSC, One Of The Best Schemes Implemented By Military  Jega

He also announced a cash prize of N250,000 for each of the top award winners and N200,000 for other award recipients, including the physically challenged ex-Corps members under the NYSC Hope Alive Programme.

Consequently, the President issued a directive to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Federal Civil Service Commission and the Minister of Education to ensure adherence to the employment offer and the granting of scholarships.

Buharis Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, announced the development in a statement he signed on Thursday titled President Buhari grants 65 ex-corps members automatic employment, lists achievements of NYSC at 50. 

The President also sympathized with the ex-corps members that sustained varying degrees of disability during the service year, acknowledging their significant sacrifices for the progress of the country and assuring them that the nation stands in solidarity with them.

Your labour shall not be in vain, he said.

President Buhari praised all Nigerians who had answered the call for National Service in the past fifty years for their patriotic zeal and commitment to the NYSC mandate.

He stressed that it had justified its establishment as an interventionist agency, with a core mandate to foster national unity across the country, thereby breaking down ethnic suspicions and divisions.

The multiplicity of marriages contracted over the years by Corps Members, cutting across the boundaries of ethnicity and religion in no small measure, justifies my assertion, he said.

President Buhari also expressed his deep appreciation to General (Dr.) Yakubu Gowon, the founding father of the Scheme, who conceived the idea of the Corps and brought it to fruition on May 22, 1973.

The President commended the NYSC management for its efforts in revenue generation and encouraged them to sustain their commitment.

He also appreciated the Health Initiative for Rural Dwellers implemented by the NYSC and recognized the support of the First Lady, Dr. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, who donated a well-equipped ambulance for the operation of the NYSC Mobile Clinic.

President Buhari called on individuals and corporate bodies to emulate this gesture to enhance access to quality healthcare, especially in rural communities.

Regarding ongoing discussions on the need to reinvent the NYSC through the establishment of a Trust Fund, President Buhari said he has been briefed adequately on the matter and commended the management for the initiative.

He pledged his support for any genuine effort aimed at assisting the Scheme in achieving its time-tested objectives.
Suspended Labour Partys suspended National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Abayomi Arabambi, has questioned why the partys presidential candidate, Peter Obi, was unable to pay the N1.5 million fee demanded by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to release the necessary paperwork for the pre-hearing at the presidential election tribunal.

Araambabi claimed that Obi and the Labour Partys refusal to pay the fees raises suspicion about the partys will to hear the case against the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.

He claimed that the information disclosed by Professor Livy Uzuokwu, the lead attorney for Obi, was misleading and an attempt to downplay Nigerians support for the party during the presidential election tribunal hearing.

He also said that the development which was revealed by the lead counsel to Obi, Professor Livy Uzuokwu, was deceptive and a ploy to deny Nigerians the mandate of the party in the presidential election tribunal hearing.

Recall that INFORMATION NIGERIA earlier reported that Uzuokwu prayed the court to compel INEC to release the information the legal team needs for the hearing of the case.

The INEC legal team had as well accused Obis team of refusing to pay N1.5 million, which was the fees required to release the needed information for hearing.

Arabambi noted that if the Labour Party under the leadership of Julius Abure failed to comply with the court directive on pre-hearing, it may impact negatively on the case of its Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi.

READ MORE: Peter Obi More Corrupt Than Tinubu  Reno Omokri Tells Obidients

He said Something happened at the election Tribunal yesterday, it is unfortunate that the lead lawyer will write letter to INEC that they do not have N1,500,000 to pay, knowing fully well that the pre hearing session will terminate on Sunday.

That means if we fail to do the needful, our petition would be dismissed.

Now what will 13 SAN be doing till April 17 when they were asked to meet INEC, collect all necessary documents only for their lead counsel to say oh, I have just been able to get 30 percent of the documents requested for.

The INEC led counsel said they invited him on Friday, he said he was at a party. A learned silk, Professor Ananaba went on behalf of them. They asked him to come on Monday, they did not show up, Tuesday, they did not show up, only for them to come to court on Wednesday, where Prof. Livy was asking the court for extension.

Which the court ruled yesterday, that they will not extend it, in line with the Electoral Act, that it will only take 14 days. And they told them the court will not sit on Saturday and Sunday, today is Thursday. We have Friday and Saturday.

So how do we now work together, how do we get all these documents and so that we can now go to the hearing session because once we fail to cross the hurdle of the hearing session our petition will be dismissed.
Founder of Household of God Church and former presidential candidate, Chris Okotie, has appealed to the Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba, for clemency in the matter involving afrobeat star, Seun Kuti, over his case with the police.

Recall that Kuti was apprehended by the police after assaulting an officer on the Third Mainland Bridge.

However, Magistrate Adeola Olatunbosun remanded the defendant for 48 hours in police custody. Meanwhile, the magistrate granted an application for an extension of remand of Kuti for additional four days.

Olatubosun extended Kutis remand until May 22. Mr Simon Lough (SAN), who led a police legal team to the court, had moved the application.

READ MORE: Sowore Raises Alarm Over Police Secret Trial Of Seun Kuti Over Assault On Officer

According to him, the extension is to allow further investigation into the case.

Speaking via a statement issued in Lagos by his media aide, Ladi Ayodeji, the clergyman noted that Kutis attitude was a result of the pressure from the youths in the country to create a better Nigeria.

Okotie said: I would like to urge the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to demonstrate a paternal clemency towards Seun Kuti in his transgression against an authorized myrmidon of the law. Anti-establishment is not acceptable under any guise, however, a humane superintendence is a mark of a great leadership.

The youths have been under tremendous pressure to establish a new Nigerian social order and Seuns abrasive conduct is a tangent from that trajectory.

I plead earnestly with the IGP to temper justice with mercy and exculpate Seun of all charges. Femi and Seun Kuti are artistic souvenirs bestowed upon us by the legendary Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and we truly appreciate the creative artistry demonstrated in their musical genre.

Please find sufficient grace in your heart to anesthesize the gravity of this provocation.

May the blessing of the God of heaven be vouchsafed to you in the plenitude of His Grace.
The United Kingdom (UK) has cautioned its citizens against travelling to specific states in Nigeria following the attack of the United States (U.S.) embassy convoy in Anambra.

Information Nigeria had reports that warning comes two days after an attack on the convoy of U.S. consulate workers in Ogbaru Local Government Area by yet-to-be-identified gunmen on Tuesday.

Recall that the convoy carried nine Nigerian nationals: five employees of the U.S. Mission to Nigeria and four members of the Nigeria Police Force, who were travelling in advance of a planned visit by U.S. Mission personnel to a U.S.-funded flood response project in Anambra.

Sadly, nothing less than four members of the convoy were killed.

The UK issuing the warning through the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), a department of the government of the United Kingdom on Thursday, cautioned the nationals against traveling to Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Cross River.

READ ALSO: Embassy Convoy: No Citizen Was Murdered In Nigeria  U.S. Confirms

The advice read, The FCDO advise against all travel to the riverine areas (ie the river and swamp locations accessible by boat, but not by road) of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States.

The FCDO advise against all but essential travel to Abia State and non-riverine areas of Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers States and now also to Anambra State in the Ogbaru area, close to Delta state.

This follows an attack on a US diplomatic convoy on 16 May 2023. The incident is under investigation.

Secessionist groups are active in the South East and attacks and violent clashes often occur with the military and other security forces.

Although foreign nationals are not normally targeted, there is a risk you could be caught in an attack. You should be alert to local government announcements and media reporting, it added.
Founder of new generation bank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Otunba Michael Olasubomi Balogun, is dead.

According to reports, Otunba Balogun reportedly died in London Friday morning at the age of 89.

He was Otunba Tunwase of Ijebuland before his death. As a ranking Ijebu Chief, his death will, however, only be officially announced in line with tradition.

READ ALSO: Nigeria Not Seeking New $800m World Bank Loan  Finance Minister, Ahmed Clarifies

Born on March 9, 1934 in Ijebu Ode, Otunba Balogun graduated from Igbobi College and studied Law at the London School of Economics. After he bagged his law degree, he returned to Nigeria and joined the Ministry of Justice of the Western Region as a Crown Counsel. He later became a Parliamentary Counsel in the Federal Ministry of Justice.

With the fall of the First Republic, Balogun joined the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB), where he advocated for the establishment of merchant bank. He joined ICON Securities, a merchant banking outfit established in 1973 as a subsidiary of NIDB, and became a director of operations at ICON Ltd.

Otunba Balogun later founded City Securities, a stock broking and issuing house, which handled Mobil, Texaco and Total petroleum marketing companies equity offerings. Balogun secured a merchant banking licence to establish First City Merchant Bank. The operations of the bank began in 1983.
Festus Keyamo, the Minister of State For Labour and Employment, has berated the February 25 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, over his comments on the phone conversation between the United States (U.S.) Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, and President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Information Nigeria had reported that Bliken told Tinubu on Tuesday on the phone that the Joe Biden administration is committed to strengthening ties with Nigeria.

The US Secretary stated that the U.S. Nigeria partnership is built on shared interests and strong people-to-people ties and that those links should continue strengthening under Tinubus tenure.

However, reacting via a statement on Twitter, Peter Obi said the US responses to Nigerias affairs should be based on mutual respect, shared ideals, aspirations, and interests which ought to transcend the considerations of any individual.

According to the former governor of Anambra State, the United States is meant to wait for the full resolution of the ongoing judicial processes before tacitly conferring legitimacy on any of the contending parties.

Keyamo, in response to Obis statement via Twitter on Friday, said there is clarity to the basis of the phone conversation between Tinubu and Blinken and their pledge for support and cooperation.

He added that, the United States is aware that in a complex society like Nigeria, Peter Obi could not have won the 2023 election, especially with his message of religious war.

According to Keyamo, the U.S. also knows that INECs declaration of a winner has the force of law and Obis petition in court is the only acceptable legal framework upon which to proceed and it is yet to be decided.

READ ALSO: Peter Obi Slams US Secretary Of State For Calling Tinubu

Keyamo further questioned the former governor of Anambra State if he wants the country to be on hold over his court case.

He tweeted: Your Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi, Its obvious that you and your supporters have overrated your noise and tantrums after the election as having any real effect internationally. No, they have not had any such massive effect as you would wish.

Unfortunately for you, the US have dealt with so many opposition figures around the world and they know exactly how to separate facts from fictions. They know you lost, fair and square. They know that in a complex society like Nigeria you could not have won with your message of religious war. They know youre just a splinter of the main opposition, the PDP, so it amounts to delusions of grandeur to think that you won when you actually came third.

Recall, sir, that when you won your second term in office as Governor of Anambra State, your opponents were in the Tribunal when you were sworn in and you got congratulatory messages from across Nigeria and the world. Did you reject those congratulatory messages because your opponents were in court? Why are you now misleading these largely hapless mob trooping blindly after you? Why?

As you are going about with this pretentious holier-than-thou attitude, a court of law just nullified the nomination of a number of your Partys candidates at the last election. Are you not more worried about this development, even as it affects your own nomination as the Labour Partys Presidential candidate? Keyamo queried.
Police operatives at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, Lagos State, have arrested Mosediq Toheeb, a 24-year old Islamic teacher, for allegedly defiling a six-year old pupil by inserting his finger into her private part inside at a Quranic school.

Information Nigeria reports that the incident happened on 7th May, 2023, at the University of Lagos Central Mosque but the Islamic teacher, was on Wednesday remanded by a Yaba Chief Magistrates Court.

The court presided over by Magistrate Patrick Nwaka, remanded the defendant on two counts of sexual violation preferred against him by the State police command.

Thomas Nurudeen, the police prosecutor, told the court that the it was the second time that the teacher would defile the child.

At the court, the victims mother said on the day of the incident, the child returned home from school with blood stains on her clothes and when asked what happened, she told her that her class teacher took her to a separate classroom, tied her mouth and hands and defiled her with a stern warning that she should not tell anybody.

Nurudeen however stated that the offences committed are punishable under Sections 261 and 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015.

READ ALSO: Its Illegal To Assault Police Officer On Uniform, Even If They Misbehave  Nigeria Police

The charge read in part, That you, Mosediq Toheeb, on May 7, 2023, around 4pm at UNILAG Central Mosque, in the Yaba Magisterial District, did sexually assault one six-year-old female (name withheld), who lives at No. 26, Femi Adebule Street, Fola Agoro, in the Somolu area of Lagos, by inserting your finger into her vagina and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 261 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.

The prosecutor further prayed the court to remand the defendant for 30 days pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution.

Meanwhile, Patrick Onochie, Toheebs lawyer, pleaded with the court to consider the defendant who he claimed was a final year student of the University of Lagos and would be starting his final examinations in two weeks.

Nwaka who did not take the plea of the defendant, ordered that he be remanded.

According to him, was no document before the court to show that the defendant was a student and in his final year or about to begin an examination.

He ordered that the case file be duplicated and sent to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice and copies of his school documents attached to the case file.

The Magistrate adjourned the case till June 19, 2023.
Julius Abure, National Chairman of Labour Party, has said there is no faction in the Party, just as he alongside three other national executive members announced their return to the Party.

The development is coming a month after they were barred by Justice Hamza Muazu of Federal High Court in Abuja from parading themselves as national officers of the Party.

Information Nigeria had on Thursday reported that Abure, National Secretary, Farouk Ibrahim; National Organising Secretary, Clement Ojukwu and one other, stormed the Partys national secretariat in Abuja to resume duties, where he stated that the High Court no longer has jurisdiction over the matter.

READ ALSO: Julius Abure Storms Labour Party Secretariat, Resumes As National Chairman

Addressing newsmen at a press conference in Abuja he dismissed reports that the Labour Party has been factionalised, despite the fact that Lamidi Apapa had taken over as acting National Chairman with Abures suspension.

Recall that the Abure and Lamidi Apapa factions clashed on Wednesday at the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja where the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, are challenging the emergence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.

Abure said, It has become imperative for me to address this press conference to properly put the legal issues surrounding the leadership of the party in proper perspectives. It is pertinent to state categorically that Labour Party has no faction. It has only one leadership and that leadership is the National Working Committee led by myself, Barrister Julius Abure.
Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State, has accused the head of Nigerias Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, of corruption shortly after Bawa accused him of embezzlement.

Information Nigeria reports that the exchange stemmed from EFCCs statement alleging that the governor is under investigation for purportedly misappropriating over N70 billion.

Responding, Matawalle, in an interview with British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), questioned Bawas integrity and urged him to resign for a fair investigation into the corruption charges levelled against him.

Investigations are not forbidden, but they should be conducted fairly. I am not the only one with a bank account, the governor said.

Matawalle equally challenged Bawa to reveal all documentation he holds concerning his colleagues, and even himself, as he faces numerous allegations as well.

While insisting on Bawas stepping down, Matawalle mentioned potential witnesses ready to testify against the EFCC chief, alluding to certain unknown matters between himself and Bawa, that can lead to potential consequences.

READ ALSO: EFCC Arraigns Eight Internet Fraudsters In Abuja For Impersonation Tom Cruise

However, Bawa responded to the claims by encouraging Matawalle to take any evidence of corruption or fraudulent activities against him to the police.

When contacted by the BBC on Thursday, the EFCC boss claimed that as human beings no one is entirely without faults.

According to him, they have their peculiar ways of investigating corrupt leaders, thus, the alleged crime of one person shouldnt be linked to another innocent person.

If he [Governor Matawalle] sees that I have done something wrong, there are police and places where he can file a complaint, Bawa said.

Recall, the governor had recently asked the anti-graft body to spread their dragnet to the Presidential Villa, not only to the State governors after May 29 inauguration.

The Zamfara governor had also alleged that the EFCC boss also had corrupt cases revolving around him and should therefore resign to allow for proper investigation.
Kasaragod Police have arrested a Nigerian woman suspected to be the kingpin of a major racket supplying drugs in Kerala, India.

Kasaragod ASP P.K. Raju, who supervised the case, and Bekal DySP C.K. Sunil Kumar, who arrested the suspect in Bengaluru, on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, identified her as Hafsa Rihanath Usman, alias Blessing Joy.

A Kasaragod court remanded her in judicial custody on Wednesday May 17.

The arrest of the accused comes as part of intensified efforts by law enforcement agencies to tackle the rising drug menace in Kerala.

The investigating officers said she was arrested based on information from Abu Bakar (35), his wife Ameena Azara (23) residing in the Melaparamba police station limits, A.K. Wasim (32) of Kalyana Nagar in Karnataka, and Suraj (32), a resident of Bengaluru, all of whom were arrested on April 22 at Uduma Pallath in Kasaragod.

READ ALSO: NDLEA Arrests 25 Drug Suspects In Abuja IDP Camp, Others

The police said that Abu Bakar, during interrogation, revealed that drugs were delivered to them from Bengaluru after they had contacted the dealer on a WhatsApp number.

Subsequent investigation revealed that the number belonged to the Nigerian woman. The investigation team said the Nigerian Embassy has been informed about the arrest of the woman.

When arrested, she did not have any passport, visa or other documents. The woman reached Bengaluru on a student visa a year-and-a-half ago. It is suspected that her main aim was drug trade under the guise of studies, said the police.

The suspect was arrested on the basis of instructions from District Police Chief Vaibhav Saxena, who is leading Operation Clean Kasaragod, to find the source of the drug.

Mr. Raju and Mr. Sunil Kumar said it is suspected that there is a large group behind the woman as part of the racket, adding that further investigation was on.

Over the past two years and a half, Kasaragod police seized commercial quantities of MDMA 35 times. We suspect the contraband came from Hafsa in most of these cases, said District Police Chief Vaibhav Saxena.

She is a big fish. You can say she is the chief executive of her racket, he said.

Hafsat reportedly told police that she is 22 and had lost her passport after arriving in Bengaluru on a student visa in January 2022.

We neither believe her age nor her date of arrival, Saxena said, adding that if she had lost her passport, she did not report it.

Kasaragod police had pulled out the statement of a bank account allegedly linked to the accused.

We checked the transactions for three months and found Rs 68-70 lakh was being credited to the account every month, the officer revealed.

The district police chief added that his team had conclusive evidence to put Hafsa behind bars for at least 10 years.

Inspectors P.K. Pradeep, K.M. John, senior civil police officers Sudhir Babu, Sreejith, Seema and Deepak, and civil police officers Nikesh, Harish, Sarish and Reshma Patoli were part of the police team that nabbed the accused.

See photos below:
Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) at the just-concluded 2023 polls, Peter Obi, has kicked against the United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken call to President-elect Bola Tinubu.

Recall that Bliken called Tinubu on Tuesday after announcing the imposition of visa restrictions on specific individuals who undermined the democratic process during the 2023 elections.

According to a statement released by the the Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, Matthew Miller, Blinken told Tinubu that the Joe Biden administration is committed to strengthening ties with Nigeria.

The US Secretary stated that the U.S.-Nigeria partnership is built on shared interests and strong people-to-people ties and that those links should continue strengthening under Tinubus tenure.

READ MORE: Atiku Slams US Secretary Of State For Calling Tinubu

Miller added that Bliken and Tinubu discussed the importance of inclusive leadership that represents all Nigerians and reforms to support the economic growth of Nigeria.

Reacting in a statement via his Twitter handle on Friday, Peter Obi said Blinkens call to Tinubu lacks clarity, adding that the United States shouldve awaited full resolution of the ongoing judicial processes before tacitly conferring legitimacy on any of the contending parties.

The statement reads: There is still a lack of clarity on the basis of the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinkens call to APCs presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu on 16th May 2023. The most fundamental tenet and core value of democracy is the rule of law.

Nigerias democracy is founded on these principles which the American people hold dear. Without the risk of interfering in Nigerias domestic affairs, the U.S.-Nigeria relationship should be guided by the core values of democracy.

Above all, Nigerians expect that the U.S. responses to our affairs should be based on mutual respect, shared ideals, aspirations and interests which ought to transcend the considerations of any individual.

It is thus of overarching importance that a beacon of democracy like the United States should not respond to political developments in Nigeria in a manner that faintly suggests taking sides.

There is an evolving political and judicial process around the last presidential election in Nigeria. We expect thde United States to await the full resolution of the ongoing judicial processes before tacitly conferring legitimacy on any of the contending parties.

The final determination of the true winner of the election can only be made by the relevant courts of law. More so, the issues in judicial contention imply far-reaching violations of both the Nigerian Electoral Law and the Nigerian Constitution.
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has been attacked by alleged members of opposition party over his comments on the phone conversation between the United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, and President-elect Bola Tinubu.

Recall that INFORMATION NIGERIA earlier reported that Bliken called Tinubu on Tuesday on the phone that the Joe Biden administration is committed to strengthening ties with Nigeria.

The US Secretary stated that the U.S.-Nigeria partnership is built on shared interests and strong people-to-people ties and that those links should continue strengthening under Tinubus tenure.

However, Bliken and Tinubu also discussed the importance of inclusive leadership that represents all Nigerians and reforms to support the economic growth of Nigeria.

Reacting in a statement via his official Twitter handle on Friday, Obi said there is a lack of clarity on the basis of the U.S. Secretary of States call to Tinubu.

READ MORE: US Secretary Of State Calls Tinubu On Phone, Makes Crucial Demands

He stated that the United States should have awaited full resolution of the ongoing judicial processes before tacitly conferring legitimacy on Tinubus victory.

Following the development, some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Tinubus supporters took the comment section to slammed the former Governor of Anambra State for his statement.

The comments reads;

@BashirAhmaad wrote: Are you people still crying over the phone call when the person is even getting ready to come to Abuja to attend BATs inauguration ceremony?

@phantom_Dviperr wrote: Dude chill. You lost because you are too stingy

@Mario9jaa wrote: Ekwute, Rest In Jesus Name!!!

@yanjumoney wrote: You will never be President of Nigeria.

@TundeJamiu5 wrote: Imagine 3rd position. Na loud voice una get. With retweet. We no send May 29 is here come to eagle square as a spectator.

@abdulkarerm_m wrote: Why is Obi not respecting the peoples choice are you more of a Nigerian than the people who vote APC?

@MolaDhikr wrote: You have zero moral authority to talk about the rule of law when you are walking around with someone who was sacked by a competent court. You are a hypocrite, a liar, and a disgrace to well-meaning Nigerians.

@LegendaryJoe wrote: You are too GarulousFrothing endlessly like a cursed parrotRest, you wont be the 1st to come distant 3rd in an election. Rest.

@Africanoidspace wrote: Peter Obi cannot even read his tweet. Everything about him is fake.
The two members of staff of the United States Consulate in Nigeria who were kidnapped during the attack on their convoy at Ogbaru Local Government Area in Anambra State on Tuesday have been rescued by security operatives.

The State Police Spokesman, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a press release to journalists in Awka, on Friday.

READ ALSO: Four US Embassy Officials Shot Dead In Anambra

Although their names and identities were not disclosed, Ikenga said they were rescued unhurt by the joint security forces in the early hours of Friday.

In the early hours of Friday, May 19, 2023, the joint security forces rescued unhurt the two remaining victims abducted during the attack on a US convoy attack along Atani/Osamela road in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.

Operations are still ongoing and further details shall be communicated, please, Ikenga added.
The Federal Government has maintained that the May 29 inauguration of President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima remains inviolable.

Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), stated this when he addressed a World News Conference to kick-start the inauguration activities on Thursday in Abuja.

The SGF who is also the chairman of Presidential Transition Council (PTC), revealed that the ongoing litigation at the Presidential Election Petition Court would not affect the swearing-in come May 29.

Without any fear of contradiction, there will be inauguration on May 29.

This is not the first time, during the election of former President Shehu Shagari there was litigation but the country went ahead with the inauguration.

Also, during the election of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, there was litigation but we continued with the swearing-in.

READ ALSO: May 29: Over 120 Heads Of States Are Coming, Stop Wasting Your Time  Adamu Garba Tells Opposition

It was only former President Goodluck Jonathan that did not take the route of litigation.

So, as long as the Lord tarries there will be inauguration, Mustapha said.

According to the PTC chairman, the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act made adequate provision on how to go about litigations arising from elections.

Speaking on attendance of Heads of Government, Mustapha said a good number of them had indicated interest in attending the inauguration.

Mustapha, however, did not mention those who had been confirmed to attend, citing security reasons.

Diplomatic privileges will not allow us to announce the number of presidents or who is coming because of the precarious times we are in today.

However, there is enthusiasm and eagerness to come and support Nigeria to sustain its democracy.

So we have a responsibility to get it right, he added.

Information Nigeria reports that the inauguration day will usher in the 16th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and will be the 7th consecutive democratic transition of power in Nigeria.
Human right activist and the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), during the recently concluded presidential election, Omoyele Sowore has accused the Nigerian police of holding a secret trial for Seun Kuti.

Sowore who made this known in a tweet on Thursday morning, noted that: @policeng secretly took Seun Kuti before the Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Adeola Olatunbosun today without informing his lawyers. The Magistrate reportedly granted police request to extend their investigation time for four more days.

READ MORE: Seun Kuti Suffering From PTSD  Reno Omokri Pleads For Clemency

The reason was to ensure @RealSeunKuti is prevented from resuming his #GETTHESAX Summer Tour which was billed to start on May 20, 2023 in Calvia, Spain. This was never about getting justice but to exact maximum revenge. #Revolutionnow. Sowore said.

Meanwhile, counsel to Kuti, Olumide Adeyinka-Fusika (SAN), has revealed that he is unaware of the seizure of his clients gun license by the police.

It was gathered that Adeyinka-Fusika told The newsmen that the seizure of Kutis gun license has no connection or relation with assaulting a police officer.

Recall that the musician had over the weekend attacked a police officer because he allegedly threaten to kill him and his family members.

Kuti on Monday turned himself into the police for investigation, after which he was detained.

However, on Tuesday, a Lagos State MagistratesCourt in Yaba granted an order for him to remain in police custody for 48, after which his bail will take effect.
The National Population Commission (NPC) has revealed that it has spent about N200 billion for the preparation of the 2023 Population and Housing Census.

The Executive Chairman of the Commission, Nasir Kwarra, made this known while speaking at a breakfast meeting on Thursday.

The NPC boss also said the money spent was part of the N800 billion expected from the Federal Government as the total budget for the conduct of the population census.

Nasir said the money included the cost of more than five years of preparing for the exercise, adding that about one million personnel have been recruited to conduct a credible and acceptable digital census.

READ MORE: Buhari Bows To Pressures, Postpones Census

The NPC boss also asserted that the cost of conducting a digital census was high as the commission would be procuring equipment and data needed for the exercise.

It is important to sustain the tempo of the preparation for the census. The focus of the commission is to lay a foundation for future censuses, Kwarra said.

He, then, assured Nigerians that the NPC is committed to ensuring a credible census.

Also speaking at the event, Census Manager, Inuwa Jalingo said the commission worked hard to conduct a digital census.

Jalingo added that the commission was prepared to ensure a robust quality dashboard and data for the exercise.

Recall that in April, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the postponement of the census, which was earlier slated to take place across the country between May 3 and 5.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed who announced the postponement in a statement, said the new date for the census would be determined by the incoming administration.
Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State, Abdulmajid Kwamanda, has said president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu, must not give an appointment to Rabiu Kwankwaso, candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the February 25 presidential election.

Information Nigeria had reported that Tinubu and Kwankwaso met in France over the possibility of the latter joining the formers cabinet after he takes office later this month.

Speaking with reporters in Kano on Thursday, Kwamanda said the party in the entire north-west zone would not welcome Kwankwaso, who won only Kano in the presidential polls.

Kwamanda further cautioned that the Party in the zone would withdraw its support if the NNPP candidate is considered for a portfolio by the president-elect.

READ ALSO: Kwankwaso Meets Tinubu In France, Set To Join Cabinet

We in the north-west do not welcome Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to our party APC. We do not accept the idea of Bola Tinubu giving him any appointment even as low as a messenger in our dear party, Kwamanda said.

Should Tinubu ignore our outcry and appoint Kwankwaso, we are going to disrupt the entire APC in the north and withdraw our support for him.

If we set the party on fire, not even Tinubu as a president can put out that fire. We are north and the people are our people.

We have invested all our efforts, integrity and dignity in the North to mobilize the people to vote for Tinubu, they refused to vote for a fellow northerner just for him to win in the region and now come and embrace our major opposition. We will not accept that.

We assure Tinubu that we will turn our backs on him if he decides to ignore our call. We dont welcome Kwankwaso to our party and dont give him any appointments.
According to the surveys of enterprise cloud spending trends, 2022 was the year of shockingly high cloud bills. As a result, enterprises are implementing finops programs to control and manage cloud spending. They are also turning to the cloud providers and asking for discounts.

Providers are happy to offer discounts, but they want something in returnnamely, a multiyear commitment that looks like a cell phone contract. Do these longer-term cloud commitments make sense for enterprises looking for cheaper cloud services? Or will they play out like many of our cell phone contracts that left us with an out-of-date phone and service that didnt meet expectations?

Lets look at the pros and cons of these contracts.

The pros of multiyear agreements

Cost savings and predictability. These are the major advantages. Multiyear agreements often come with significant cost savings and discounts compared to pay-as-you-go pricing models. This allows for better budgeting and financial planning, especially for businesses with stable workloads and long-term cloud usage requirements.

Better service-level agreements (SLAs). Organizations can negotiate higher service levels with a longer-term contract, ensuring consistent performance and responsiveness. Multiyear agreements typically offer enhanced SLAs that include more substantial uptime, availability, and support. This means more value for mission-critical applications and workloads that demand stringent SLA requirements. At least, thats what is promised.

The cons of multiyear agreements

More vendor lock-in. This limits an organizations ability to switch providers or adapt to changing business needs. Technological advancements, evolving market dynamics, or shifts in business strategies may render the chosen cloud provider less suitable over time. Lock-in and loss of flexibility become the worst effects of these types of agreements. Organizations must carefully assess their long-term requirements and evaluate the trade-offs before committing to a multiyear agreement. In other words, youll be stuck, but at least your cloud bill will be cheaper.

Market volatility and innovation. The cloud market is highly dynamic, with new technologies and services continually emerging. Multiyear agreements may restrict an organizations ability to capitalize on these innovations or switch to more cutting-edge solutions. Committing to a long-term contract may impede the adoption of newer and potentially more promising technologies.

What to do?

Unfortunately, theres a reason most consultants say, It depends. In this case, it mostly depends on the industry youre in. The faster change and innovation occur in your industry, the more likely multiyear agreements will hurt you at some point. On the other hand, they will be a relatively safe bet if youre in an industry or a business that does not change much over time.

However, both types of businesses may find that a technology comes along that they need to leverage, and its not provided by the cloud with the multiyear agreement. They may end up spending more money to get out of their agreements or just suffer with technology they no longer need but still must pay for. If youve ever read these agreements, they are of course written in favor of the cloud provider and not the enterprise.

My default is not to use these types of agreements but to understand that in some cases there are reasons to do so. I would think long and hard about committing to any technology provider, even cloud providers. Ive heard too many stories where long-term contracts didnt end well for the enterprise, especially if they made the decision based solely on short-term cost savings.

Ultimately, the suitability of multiyear agreements will vary based on individual organizational needs and circumstances. Before you sign on the dotted line, work closely with cloud providers, seek legal counsel, and evaluate potential exit strategies. By carefully weighing the pros and cons, organizations can make informed decisions that more closely align with their cloud strategies, business objectives, and risk profiles. However, there are no guarantees that todays great contract will fit the same in two or three years. In other words, be careful.
Biochemist Mildred Cohn, in her University of Pennsylvania lab circa 1980, fought for better representation of women and people of color in academia. She is featured in a new exhibit at the American Philosophical Society. Read more

Mildred Cohn was such a star in school that she enrolled in college at age 15, only to have a professor tell her it was unladylike for women to go into her chosen field, chemistry.

She did it anyway  going on to become the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry from Columbia University, in 1937.

Yet she continued to encounter discrimination throughout the 1940s and 1950s when looking for work. Industry positions often specified that only male, Christian applicants were welcome. Cohn, who was Jewish, instead worked in lower-ranking academic jobs that were beneath her qualifications.

In 1960, Cohn finally landed a tenure-track position at the University of Pennsylvanias medical school, where she won renown for deciphering the structures of chemical compounds. But along with the science, she devoted her career to a personal mission: working to make sure others would not face the same obstacles she did.

Advertisement

Her story, and those of eight other female pioneers in the sciences, are featured in Pursuit & Persistence: 300 Years of Women in Science, a new exhibit at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia.

The exhibit features dozens of historical documents and artifacts from the societys collection, most of them never before on public display. Among them is a strongly worded memo from Cohn to her white male colleagues at Penn in the 1970s, advising her peers on how to interact with women and people of color, who were joining the faculty in increasing numbers.

These new colleagues are sensitive, feeling, perceptive people, not curiosities to be examined, paraded around, ogled, and denigrated, she warned.

The exhibit, which runs through the end of the year, is housed in the red-brick building just to the left of Independence Hall  one of several buildings owned by the learned society that Ben Franklin founded in 1743.

The letters, photos, and other items illustrate how female scientists have encountered similar obstacles across the centuries. They were often discouraged from pursuing their passions and when they found employment, worked for lower pay and lesser recognition.

Some, such as 18th-century French mathematician and physicist Emilie du Chatelet, had financial resources that helped them to overcome these hurdles. The daughter of aristocrats and a longtime companion of French philosopher Voltaire, she won acclaim for her translation of Isaac Newtons writings (a sample of which is in the exhibit) and her own research on the nature of fire.

Others, such as Cohn, forged a path by working with other women. The exhibit includes a diagram of social networks established by her and other female scientists, with dozens of lines drawn between each pair of women who corresponded about mentorship, research collaboration, and other science topics. (An interactive version of that diagram is available on the museums website, created by researchers who spent years sifting through archives.)

In 1970, Cohn also chaired a committee on the status of women at Penn. Excerpts from the groups findings are included in the exhibit: Women accounted for just 2.5% of full professors, 7% of associate professors, and 12.7% of assistant professors at the time.

In the fall of 2022, women accounted for 38.6% of faculty with tenure or on a tenure track, according to a table on the school website.

In addition to the large displays about Cohn and the eight other featured scientists, the exhibit includes smaller selections about several others  among them Beatrice Mintz, who worked for six decades at Fox Chase Cancer Center before her death in 2022, at age 100. Visitors can see images of cells she worked with at the research center in Northeast Philadelphia, along with her white lab coat, still adorned with her I.D. badge and an assortment of pens in the front pocket.

The exhibit also includes a small display about the first computer programmers  six women who operated ENIAC, a room-sized, electronic contraption unveiled in 1946 at the University of Pennsylvania. Museumgoers can see a facsimile of a blueprint of ENIAC, showing some of the switches and connections that the six programmers used.

In between the historical items, the exhibition also includes a series of sculptures by artist Rebecca Kamen, who drew her inspiration from the scientists accomplishments.

Even when they reached the pinnacle of achievement, the women never forgot the obstacles they had to overcome. For example, the exhibit includes the handwritten draft of a speech by geneticist Barbara McClintock, in which she described how her work was not taken seriously by her peers for much of the 20th century.

Her findings would prove to be correct, but because they ran counter to the prevailing thinking at the time, she was rarely invited to speak at conferences and was treated as an outcast, she wrote.

McClintock wrote those remarks on a piece of stationery from the Grand Hotel in Stockholm, in 1983. She was in Sweden to receive the Nobel Prize in medicine.
One of the current civil service jobs hiring in Philadelphia is in highway maintenance. Read more

As a significant chunk of Philadelphias municipal jobs sit vacant, some city leaders are hoping a new form of extra credit for certain public high school graduates will get local young people interested in civil service.

Starting this month, recent graduates of Philadelphia public schools career and technical education programs get an extra five points on most Philadelphia civil service exams, which are a step in the hiring process for some city jobs.

The new advantage took effect May 1, after voters approved it in a ballot question last year. Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson  who won a Democratic nomination for City Council at-large this week, making her likely to keep her seat in Novembers general election  championed the legislation, arguing that it would help the city recruit workers.

Any applicant who has graduated from a Philadelphia CTE program within the last three years will get the points added to their score on the civil service exam relevant to a position theyre seeking. When a civil service position has more applicants than openings, those scores are used to rank the candidates.

Advertisement

If youre number one on the list, then obviously youre going to be called for an interview, and if youre number 10, you may not be called, Gilmore Richardson said.

Theres precedent in Philadelphia for giving preference to certain civil service applicants. Veterans get a 10-point boost on their scores, as do children of Philadelphia firefighters or police officers who died in the line of duty. (Some opponents of the new rule were concerned that it would dilute the advantage for those groups.)

The direct impact of the CTE advantage on Philadelphias workforce may be slim  the majority of city jobs dont require a civil service exam, though there may be other kinds of assessments used, and many civil service jobs require post-high school education. But supporters of the new rule say it will help raise awareness of the opportunities in city government and how to apply for them.

Students know that there are jobs available, the city has jobs. But they have never really been informed of how you get those jobs, said Michelle Armstrong, executive director of CTE for the School District of Philadelphia.

Armstrong said the five-point preference is a way for the school district to support its graduates, so they have an advantage in the job hunt. And it will make them more likely to consider the city as an employer, whether the job they ultimately get is a civil service position or not.

When Gilmore Richardson was growing up, she recalled in an interview, if you had a city job, it was a big deal. They promised a pension, other great benefits and opportunities to move up, she said.

But I think the perception has changed over the years, Gilmore Richardson said, noting that roughly one in five city jobs are vacant. And I think its tools like this that will help us to encourage more young people to apply for civil service jobs.

Many of the open jobs in Philadelphia government right now dont require a civil service exam. While these positions may involve some form of written assessment during the hiring process, civil service hiring has increased formality and structure, said Michael Zaccagni, the citys human resources director.

As of May 18, Philadelphias jobs portal had 145 positions listed, and 20 were civil service jobs. Whether a job is designated as civil service depends on the nature of the position, specific job requirements and the department, Zaccagni said.

Civil service jobs available now range from window washer and crossing guard, to positions like accountant, engineer or analyst that require a bachelors degree or even a masters degree in some instances.

These job listings explain, in addition to the basic qualifications, how the applicants civil service exam score is awarded  some involve a multiple-choice exam, oral exam or performance of the job duties, while others simply give each applicant a score based on their prior training and years of experience.

A little less than half of the current civil service listings have a written exam, and those typically get 70 or fewer candidates, according to Zaccagni. Some positions with written tests get hundreds of applicants, he said, such as library assistant.

Gilmore Richardson and several other Council members are also on a Special Committee on Retention and Recruitment of Municipal Workers, formed by a City Council resolution last year. The committee recently made further recommendations to address the citys worker shortage, including a pay study, expanding parental leave, and bringing in a marketing firm to help promote the city as an employer.

We have so many employees who are eligible for retirement over the next five years, Gilmore Richardson said. We really need something to help us encourage young people and those who may want to reskill and upskill to get into civil service.
Nancy Patterson with the Maurice River Historical Society on the beach in front of the East Point Lighthouse in Heislerville, N.J. Behind here are geotextile tubes use to help against beach erosion. Read more

The quaint, 174-year-old East Point Lighthouse commands a dazzling view of the confluence of the Delaware Bay and Maurice River  the same forces that could soon swallow it.

Severe erosion has reduced the beach in front of the lighthouse by three-quarters since the 1940s. The lighthouse basement floods after storms.

Nancy Patterson, volunteer president of the Maurice River Historical Society, which operates the lighthouse, says the worry keeps her up at night. But her most recent insomnia stems from battles with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to not only prevent the lighthouse from being engulfed by the bay, but also for the society to retain management of the historical structure.

The fully restored 19th-century lighthouse is perched on the state-owned Heislerville Wildlife Management Area in Cumberland County, which the DEP oversees.

Advertisement

The historical society currently holds a state license to operate the lighthouse, but the DEP opened a new leasing arrangement to public bidding May 1. Though the society hopes to win the bid, it could be bittersweet even if it does, Patterson said, because the new financial terms are onerous. At the same time, shes pressing for the DEP to come up with a long-term solution to erosion.

I never know which fire to put out first, Patterson said while walking up the beach one day last week. Oh, my gosh, I lost so much sleep over the lease application that its crazy. Im still losing sleep because after 50 years, I do not want to be the one that loses this lighthouse.

Second oldest lighthouse in N.J.

The historic brick lighthouse, second oldest in New Jersey after the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, was built in 1849 and has survived decades of storms, vandalism and a disastrous 1971 fire. After the fire, the Maurice River Historical Society led an $850,000 restoration effort along with the Cumberland County Improvement Authority and the New Jersey Historic Trust.

The historical society began managing the lighthouse in 1993 under a lease with the state. It took decades for the society to raise the money and complete the restoration of the lighthouse, which reopened in 2017 with a functional blinking red beacon that pulses over the dark waters each night as a navigational aid serviced by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The societys lease expired in 2017, and the state instead issued the organization an operating license in 2021 that expires Aug. 11.

About 6,000 people annually tour the two-story, Cape Cod-style lighthouse with its white walls and red roof, museum and gift shop. They file through rooms filled with antiques and photos placed to re-create the feel of when lighthouse keepers and their families lived there. Tourists climb the equivalent of four stories to the tower room for an unbroken view of the bay, river and surrounding wetlands. They can even turn on the beacon. Tours are limited to weekends because they are staffed by local volunteers.

Erosion is eating away the bayshore

East Point Lighthouse is tucked at the end of a dirt road on a remote stretch near the end of the state where horseshoe crabs and birds outnumber people. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The bayshore faces natural erosion quickened by sea level rise and land thats naturally sinking due to geological forces. This shoreline has no regular federal or state replenishment efforts, as there are along the economically lucrative Atlantic Coast.

Larry Hajna, a DEP spokesman, called the lighthouse an icon of the Delaware Bay region. He said that, in 2019, the DEP installed a geotextile system that includes an 8-foot-diameter tube made of a durable synthetic membrane filled with sand. The 570-foot-long system runs parallel to the shoreline between the water and the lighthouse, Hajna said, and is working as designed to protect the lighthouse.

Patterson said the system helps break waves but calls the design underscaled, with a life span expected to last a few more years, at the most. She said water escapes during storms and floods around the lighthouse. She believes a permanent bulkhead is needed.

State Sen. Michael Testa, a Republican who represents the area, recently issued a statement asking the DEP to work with Maurice River Township and the historical society on a plan to protect the lighthouse beyond the life of the current system.

Im concerned that the DEP hasnt shown much urgency in developing a long-term plan to protect the historic East Point Lighthouse from future beach erosion, Testa said in the statement, adding, With the current protective Geotube nearing its end of life, there isnt much time to waste.

Terms of the new lease

The nonprofit Maurice River Historical Society initially raised money over decades for the restoration through bake sales, yard sales, and other fund-raisers. Grants came later.

In March, the society learned it would have to bid for the new lease. The lease requires bidders to submit the highest amount they are willing to pay for each year, above a minimum 5% of their total gross revenue from things such as tours or gift shop sales.

What an unbelievable slap in the face, Patterson said. The lease is horrible. Right off the top they are going to take 5%, and they can raise that at any point for no reason. Theyre going to take money from any T-shirt we sell, any tours, tickets, donations or grant funding. I think its going to cost us an additional $10,000 a year. I have no idea where Im going to come up with that. Its going to kill the gift shop.

Patterson, who grew up in Philadelphia, moved with her family to the area 20 years ago. She left teaching and became an artist. Her work, along with that of local artisans, is sold in the lighthouse gift shop.

The society has an annual budget of about $43,000 for the lighthouse.

Patterson said she does not know whether others submitted bids. She said the lease would start in June.

The DEP declined to comment on the lease.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Republican whose district includes Cumberland County, said he has tried to mediate between the Maurice River Historical Society and DEP since 2021.

I remain committed to ensuring that a long-term lease agreement comes to fruition between NJDEP and the Maurice River Historical Society, Van Drew said in an email.

A perpetually flooded basement

Patterson said water from storms flows through gaps of the geotextile system and gets funneled next to the lighthouse. Two sump pumps remove water from the basement to the outside. But the discharged water has no place to go because Hurricane Sandy in 2012 filled in a drainage ditch. Patterson said shes worked with Maurice River Township, Cumberland County, and the DEP on a plan to regrade the area and build dunes. But the plan has stalled.

Meanwhile, the society also has come up with a $30,000 plan to install a basement drying system.

The lighthouse is really an incredible success story of the community to have a place like this thats bringing in tourism, Patterson said. its a big deal.
Former Temple University president Jason Wingard earned more than $730,000 for the first six months of his tenure, according to 2021 tax data the university recently published on its website, as it is required by law to do.

Does that mean his annual salary for his first year, from July 2021 through June 2022, was $1.46 million? Until next years tax forms come out, that wont be clear.

Thats because the amount listed from July to December may have included items such as access to a company car, a gym membership, a housing allowance  which are not itemized on the Form 990 that reports compensation for Temples highest-paid employees.

 READ MORE: After a tumultuous tenure, Jason Wingard has resigned as Temple University president

Advertisement

Its probably safe to say, though, that his annual compensation was quite a bit more than that of his predecessor, Richard M. Englert, who had earned $791,798 for all of 2020.

Wingard, who was facing a no-confidence vote by Temples faculty union and had been criticized for the universitys handling of a 42-day graduate student worker strike, safety issues, and an enrollment decline, resigned in March.

The university, which serves 33,600 students, repeatedly had declined to provide Wingards salary to The Inquirer and said it would be disclosed only when the university was required to post its latest 990 under state law. The university posted its 990 for 2021-22, which only includes salary information for the 2021 calendar year, on its website this week.

Per university policy, Temple does not comment on individual compensation, the university said in a statement. Temple publishes the compensation for its officers and 25 highest-compensated employees in compliance with Pennsylvanias Right to Know Law.  The 2022-23 Form 990, which will include the full annual salary for former President Wingard during the calendar year of 2022, will be posted in May 2024, as required by applicable law.

By comparison, Pennsylvania State University, which also is a state-related institution, with more than 88,000 students on 24 campuses, released president Neeli Bendapudis compensation package when she was hired last summer.

Bendapudi, the university said then, would earn a base salary of $950,000 with $350,000 deferred compensation, under a contract that extends to 2027. Other terms included a $100,000 payment when she started and another on her one-year anniversary. Shell also be eligible to receive a $1.25 million payment if she completes the five years of her contract.

Its not clear what additional compensation Wingard would have been eligible for had he stayed as president. The university also has declined to answer whether Wingard received a payout when he left the job.

That, too, will eventually become clear in a 990 form  in two years.
The Grease Pole contest went on despite the stifling heat last year at the South 9th Street Italian Market Festival. Read more

It was so sizzling hot at last years Italian Market Festival that the prized plump provolone balls dangling atop the Grease Pole melted. The imported cheese plopped down in gooey strands. Festival organizers scraped it off the broiling blacktop with forks.

Do you know what the temperature had to be for the provolone to melt? asked Cookie Ciliberti, gazing up the pole, still amazed.

Its no joke. Market lifers like Ciliberti, 57, who manages the iconic streets visitor center, say temps in the high 90s kept some away from the markets first post-pandemic festival. But with much more pleasant temps forecast for this weekend, and with only some possible drizzle Saturday morning, festival planners are confident crowds will be out for the food and fun.

Were setting the table for a really great weekend, said Tommy Amorim, of Di Bruno Bros. On Thursday, he readied the Montrose Piazza, where festivalgoers can sip wine and snack on Mortadella and pistachio focaccia sandwiches while watching teams of climbers ascend the lard-lathered pole, likely without cheese raining down.

 READ MORE: What to expect at the 2023 Italian Market Festival

Advertisement

Festival producer Michele Gambino is hopeful attendance numbers will return to their pre-pandemic highs, which peaked in 2019. That year, police estimated 75,000 people packed the market.

Festivities will kick off with the annual John Marzano Half Ball Tournament at the Christopher Columbus Charter School. But theres also a new Cheesesteak Competition, whose field of entrants is determined by public nomination. Plus, a double elimination Cornhole Tournament, open to all.

At the heart of this years event is the tribute to a market fixture lost this year, one whose larger-than-life personality seemed to fuel the festival itself: Jerry Blavat, The Geator with the Heater, who died in January at age 82.

For years, the fast-talking DJ and impresario had held his doo-wop dance parties on center stage on Washington Avenue, his endless playlist a soulful soundtrack for the festival.

Its gonna be a big hole for us, said Ciliberti. Its going to be emotional.

The Tribute to Jerry Blavat show will feature live performances and a Geator Gold Dance Party with DJ Eric Bartello.

A tribute to the man and the music, said Gambino.

But along with the heavy hearts is an excitement for the festivals growing diversity. This year, the streets Mexican vendors will represent more than a quarter of the 100 merchants at the festival. Thats more than double than 2019, said Gambino, who said she sought the help of a translator from the Welcoming Center to strengthen communication between the merchants.

I needed everyone to understand this is an open festival, she said.

At Alma Del Mar on Thursday, owners Alma Romero and her husband, Marcos Tiacopilco, were preparing 1,600 pieces of grilled corn and their signature grilled mango, which Tiacopilco cooks while wearing a cowboy hat the color of the Mexican flag.

Every year, I am so excited to make something new, Romero said.

Vendors admitted that their excitement was tinged with a touch of anxiety.

David Brown, owner of Tallutos Pasta, and the festivals treasurer, said he hasnt slept all week. With the heat and the extra staffing and rising food costs, a lot of vendors took a loss last year, he said. Much of the cappelletti with vodka sauce and meatball sandwiches he was selling last year went home with his staff.

My employees probably ate pasta for an entire week, he said.

Ciliberti said this year felt special.

We want people to come down and realize our market is still here, and look at all we have, she said.

Events at the 2023 Italian Market Festival

The Italian Market Festival will be held on Ninth Street  from Wharton to Fitzwater Streets  on May 20 and 21 between 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The festival is family-friendly, and most activities are free.

Procession of Saints: The procession take places May 21, starting at 11 a.m., at the historic St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi Church. It will pause for the Blessing of the Market at Ninth Street and Washington Avenue, then continue along Ninth to Christian Street, ending at St. Paul Catholic Church around noon.

John Marzano Half Ball Tournament: The tournament takes place May 20 at 10 a.m. in the schoolyard of Christopher Columbus Charter School, on Christian Street between Ninth and 10th Streets. You can register your team on-site. There is a $150 fee, and all profits support the John Marzano Wood Bat Scout League.

Greased Pole Climbing Competition: You can watch the competition  or try the climb yourself  on both days (or until someone gets to the prizes) from 1 to 5 p.m.

Vendors: Expect to find discontinued fabric accessories, handmade cutting boards, hand-lettering art, jewelry, paintings, crafts, and more.

Philly Cheesesteak Contest: You can nominate a restaurant until 11 a.m. May 20. The winner gets a trophy and $5,000 donated to a charity of their choice.

Tribute to Jerry Blavat: The tribute takes place 12:30 p.m. May 20, with music from Carlucci (Billy and the Essentials), ChiChi (Memory Lane), and DJ Eric Bartello.

Street closures and parking

Ninth Street from Wharton to Fitzwater will be closed for the festival. This includes sections of adjacent streets such as Wharton, Federal, Ellsworth, Washington, Carpenter, Christian, and Catharine.

The Italian Market has two main parking lots. For a $20 daily fee, you can leave your car parked during festival hours at Carpenter Street, between Ninth and 10th Streets, or Washington Avenue, between Ninth and 10th Streets.
ATLANTA  The Atlanta prosecutor investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and others broke the law while trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia seems to be suggesting that any grand jury indictments in the case would likely come in August.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis sent a letter Thursday sent a letter to county Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville indicating that she plans to have much of her staff work remotely for most days during the first three weeks of August and asking that judges not schedule trials and in-person hearings during part of that time. Copied in on the letter are 20 other county officials, including Sheriff Pat Labat, the court clerk and top leaders.

Thank you for your consideration and assistance in keeping the Fulton County Judicial Complex safe during this time, Willis wrote in the letter, first reported by The New York Times.

Willis last month wrote local law enforcement leaders advising them that she intended to announce charging decisions in the case between July 11 and Sept. 1. Thursdays letter seems to narrow that window. In the earlier letters she advised law enforcement to prepare for heightened security, noting that the announcement of charges may provoke a significant public reaction.

Advertisement

For more than two years, Willis and her team have been scrutinizing actions Trump and others took as they tried to overturn his narrow loss in Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden.

She wrote in the letter to Glanville that she plans to reduce the staffing in her office by about 70% on most Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays  the days when grand juries meet in Fulton County  between July 31 and Aug. 18. But she said her leadership team, all armed investigators and some other staff would continue to be on site during the remote work days.

Willis noted that most judges will be attending an annual state judicial conference from July 31 to Aug. 4, and she asked that they not schedule trials or in-person hearings the weeks of Aug. 7 and Aug. 14. But she said her office will be present and ready to go for any in-person proceedings during that time. If in-person hearings are scheduled when most of her staff is working remotely, she wrote, they would be handled by senior leadership.

The Georgia investigation is one of several that threatens the former president as he campaigns to regain the White House in 2024.

A Manhattan grand jury in March indicted him on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush-money payments to a porn actor during the 2016 presidential election. Federal grand juries in Washington are investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election and the potential mishandling of classified documents by Trump at his Florida estate.

A federal jury in New York recently found Trump liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million.
President Joe Biden (fourth from right) and other G7 leaders pose for a photo during a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan, on Friday. Read more

HIROSHIMA, Japan  President Joe Biden told allies Friday that he was approving plans to train Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, according to two people familiar with the matter, as leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies worked to toughen punishments on Russia for its 15-month invasion of Ukraine.

The Group of Seven leaders are meeting in Hiroshima, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky set to take part in their summit on Sunday.

The green light on F-16 training is the latest shift by the Biden administration as it moves to arm Ukraine with more advanced and lethal weaponry, following earlier decisions to send rocket launcher systems and Abrams tanks. The United States has insisted that it is sending weapons to Ukraine only to defend itself and has discouraged attacks by Ukraine into Russian territory.

The G7 leaders also used their summit to roll out a new wave of global sanctions on Moscow as well as plans to enhance the effectiveness of existing financial penalties meant to constrain President Vladimir Putins war effort.

Advertisement

Our support for Ukraine will not waver, the G7 leaders said in a statement released after closed-door meetings. They vowed to stand together against Russias illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.

Russia started this war and can end this war, they said.

The G7 is the U.S., Japan, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, plus the European Union as a whole.

Zelensky has consistently called for the supply of Western fighter jets to bolster his countrys defenses against Russias invasion but has until now faced skepticism from the U.S. that they would turn the tide in the war.

Now, as Ukraine has improved its air defenses with a host of Western-supplied antiaircraft systems and prepares to launch a counteroffensive against Russia, officials believe the jets could become useful in the battle and essential to the countrys long-term security.

Bidens backing of training Ukrainian pilots on advanced fighter jets serves as a precursor to sending the jets to Ukraine for the first time. But decisions on when, how many, and who will provide the fourth-generation fighter jets will be made in the months ahead while the training is underway, Biden told leaders.

The F-16 training is to be conducted in Europe and will likely begin in the coming weeks. Thats according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Bidens private conversations with allies.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, said on national television that Zelensky would attend the summit.

There will be very important matters decided there, so physical presence is a crucial thing to defend our interests, Danilov said Friday.

The Council later walked back those remarks, saying in a statement that Zelensky would be joining the G7 summit in Hiroshima via video link. The presidents office would not confirm either way for security reasons, and his exact travel plans were not clear.

Zelensky on Friday made a surprise visit to the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia.

European allies in recent weeks have warmed to the notion of sending fighter jets to Ukraine, as have elements of Bidens Cabinet, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has emerged as a staunch advocate within the administration. Under export licensing rules, the U.S. needed to sign off on any allied effort to train Ukrainian pilots or to provide them with the jets.

The latest sanctions aimed at Russia include tighter restrictions on already-sanctioned people and firms involved in the war effort. More than 125 individuals and organizations across 20 countries have been hit with U.S. sanctions.

The financial penalties have been primarily focused on sanctions evaders connected to technology procurement for the Kremlin. The Commerce Department also added 71 firms to its own list.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Friday sanctions will further tighten the vise on Putins ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions.

In addition, new reporting requirements were issued for people and firms that have any interest in Russian Central Bank assets. The purpose is to fully map holdings of Russias sovereign assets that will remain immobilized in G7 jurisdictions until Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine, the U.S. Treasury Department said.
Students from Hartford Upper Middle School in Mount Laurel and Kellman Brown Academy in Voorhees were escorted out of a field trip matinee of "School of Rock" at the Ritz Theatre Company mid-performance, citing profane language. Read more

Haddon Townships Ritz Theatre Company says faculty from two South Jersey schools disrupted a matinee performance of School of Rock when they escorted students out over content concerns.

Ritz spokesperson Robert Repici said teachers and parent chaperones from Hartford Upper Elementary School in Mount Laurel and Kellman Brown Academy in Voorhees cornered Ritz staff in the lobby and shared their grievances about language during an intermission Wednesday morning.

Soon after, Kellman Brown staff escorted their group of third-grade students from the theater. Then, minutes into the second act  right after a character uttered the word B onstage  the contingent of fifth graders from Hartford Upper Elementary were led from the front row by their teachers and chaperones.

The audience exodus disrupted the matinee performance, said Repici, which was a special one for director Ernie Jewell: He was performing the lead role of Dewey Finn  a rollicking, rocking substitute teacher  for the first time.

Advertisement

Two Burlington County schools, which Repici declined to name, stayed for the remainder of the show.

The musical is a stage adaption of the 2003 feel-good family comedy School of Rock, in which Finn, played by Jack Black, transforms a class of middle school students into a bona-fide rock band ahead of a music competition. Twenty years later, the movie is considered a new classic, spawning a television show, talks of a sequel, and a musical from Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Like the movie, which is rated PG-13, the music adaption the Ritz Theatre Company put on contains cuss words. School of Rock is recommended for ages eight and older and contains occasional strong language, reads licensing materials for the show, which schools and youth groups are encouraged to perform.

Repici said he provided this content warning to both schools before the Wednesday performance and had conversations with faculty from both schools leading up to the field trips. He said he gave a Hartford Upper Elementary teacher specific examples of the language students could expect, such as ass and douchebag.

Information was imparted upon them, and they ran with it, said Repici.

Rachel Zivic, head of school at Kellman Brown Academy, confirmed that she spoke with Repici prior to the show.

We fully respect the Ritz Company and the production, said Zivic via email. We simply felt that the language used in the production was not age appropriate for our third grade students. We did not perceive our decision to leave the show as controversial.

Hartford Upper Elementary School did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Ritz Theatre company issued a statement on Facebook on Thursday that condemned the schools decisions to leave.

To disrupt a live performance in that fashion is a disservice to the cast and crew who all took the time to perform the show yesterday morning, to the front-of-house staff who volunteered to help out at The Ritz yesterday morning, and to the other school groups who were present (and stayed throughout) to enjoy the show yesterday morning, said the statement.

To the Hartford Team Courage and Kellman Brown Academy students who were required to leave the show, were immensely sorry, it went on. To the many parents who have already expressed their displeasure over their children being removed from the show, we hear you and thank you wholeheartedly for your support.

Repici said Ritz Theatre Company would not be offering either school refunds, but has invited the students families back for a remaining School of Rock performance, free of charge.

At the end of the day, the most important element is getting those children back to see the show if they want to, said Repici.

The Facebook post has accumulated hundreds of likes and shares. Comments have been overwhelmingly positive, with one user who identified herself as a parent of an impacted student saying she would take them up on the offer.

Inviting these kids back with their families is so cool, read another comment. You never know which of these kids are going to fall in love with live theatre because of a show like this.

Zivic, however, found the Ritzs statement disingenuous, saying Kellman Browns students and teachers made every effort to cause the least possible interruption.

Repici said Ritz Theatre Company may consider putting more specific content warnings on their website.
TaMora Jackson, who has a child at C.W. Henry Elementary school, speaks outside of the Philadelphia School District headquarters on Thursday. Parents and teachers from schools that were closed by asbestos this year gathered to demand better communication and more action from officials. Read more

The immediate crisis is past, and TaMora Jacksons daughter is back at C.W. Henry Elementary after damaged asbestos closed the school to in-person learning for two weeks.

But Jackson stood on the steps of the Philadelphia School Districts headquarters at 440 N. Broad St. on Thursday to demand that the school system operate with more clarity and coordination as it confronts future environmental crises  of which there will likely be many.

As a school community, we should have access to more transparent information, said Jackson, the president of the Mount Airy elementary schools PTA. We needed a better, more comprehensive plan about how asbestos was going to be remediated.

Jacksons message was echoed by the dozen parents and teachers who delivered petitions to school district officials Thursday  first rebuffed by security, and then received by Oz Hill, the districts chief operating officer, and district spokesperson Monique Braxton. The group hailed from Henry and Mitchell elementary schools, and Building 21 and Frankford High  four schools closed by asbestos problems this year.

Seventeen days for our families in Southwest Philadelphia to have a face-to-face meeting with anybody from 440. To us thats not acceptable, Sara Nissley, a teacher at Mitchell Elementary, told district officials.

The school system is dealing with a city full of aging buildings, most of which are more than 70 years old. Officials estimate it would cost more than $5 billion to fix or replace everything thats wrong with the districts facilities.

Advertisement

Hill said he heard the concerns and would address the groups questions in a reasonable amount of time, though he didnt say how long that might take.

This is a challenge that is decades in the making, beyond any one administration, Hill said. He said the district was doing everything humanly possible with the resources that we have.

While petitioners acknowledged the issues arent the fault of the current school board or superintendent, its incumbent on those leaders to handle them, the petitioners said.

Among their demands is more information about the specific location of asbestos in their buildings, more details and transparency about remediation plans, relocation options, and safe working and learning conditions.

David Gavigan, an English teacher at Frankford, said he worries every day about what he was exposed to. Was asbestos in his classroom? He doesnt know.

It feels like we are not being given information that you would think people put in harms way with dangerous materials in our classrooms deserve, Gavigan said.

Frankford remains closed, and Gavigan and other staff there have not heard anything definitive about a plan for the rest of this school year. Officials originally said they had hoped to relocate all of its 900 students, but with Memorial Day looming, only the schools students with special needs have been moved to an alternate location, at Olney High.

Teaching is Gavigans second career, and he chose to be a teacher in Philadelphia deliberately.

I dont want to go teach in New Jersey, Gavigan said. I dont want to teach in the suburbs. I live in Philadelphia, and part of the reason I wanted to be a teacher was to make an impact here. But Im thinking about my family, and the future.

Communities are wary of the district, said Maeve Rooney, the art teacher at Mitchell, in Southwest Philadelphia, which was shut in April and will remain closed for the rest of the year. Students and staff have been relocated to McMichael Elementary, in West Philadelphia.

Asbestos abatement was performed at Mitchell in 2019.

We were told everything was OK, and now all of this, said Rooney. They wont tell us specifically where in Mitchell the asbestos was. The school was built in 1915, its probably everywhere. There hasnt been clear communication around what theyre going to do to fix the problem, and next steps.

Atiya Davis, whose daughter is in sixth grade at Mitchell, said parents hadnt been given enough information.

Its just also about safety, she said, whether worrying about kids getting into fights outside the building  or being inside and inhaling chemicals for years.

Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. has acknowledged that situations such as Mitchells  where asbestos-containing material was erroneously labeled safe  are likely to crop up elsewhere in the district.

The district said in a statement Thursday evening that the majority of the more than 270 district buildings already inspected in the current three-year cycle have remained open and operating. In the meantime, the ones with safety issues had to be closed.

We are working on a comprehensive plan to identify and prepare more alternative spaces for in-person learning..., the statement read. These swing spaces must also meet environmental standards, as well as be capable of accommodating the needs of our students and staff.

Officials have said Mitchell should be able to return to its building at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year.

But a lot of us are scared there going to blindside us with a decision late in the summer, before the school year, Rooney said. The unknown is always scary. Even with the district, if they dont know, they should communicate, Were working on something. It would put us at ease, parents at ease.

Sheila Johnson lived with uncertainty for months. Her daughter attends Building 21, a high school in West Oak Lane, which was closed for two months, then open for one day before it was shut down again for damage from a rainstorm. It is now open again, but Johnson said the district has not handled the process well.

We need accountability. They need to have a plan and bring the parents to the table  that has been my speech from the beginning, said Johnson. If something happens to our schools again, whats the plan? Do I drop my daughter off at your house? We need a contingency plan.
A Center City real estate investor, who was previously convicted of bribing a Sheriffs Office employee, was sentenced Thursday to more than two years in federal prison for threatening a witness in the case against him.

Behzad Sabagh, 41, admitted to sending menacing messages to fellow investor-turned-witness Gregory Guzman after both men pleaded guilty to offering payoffs to a deputy of former Sheriff Jewell Williams to gain an edge in competitive sheriffs sale auctions of seized and foreclosed properties across the city.

The texts  which included vows to rape Guzmans wife while he was in prison and anonymously sent photos of his children  constituted threats not just to Guzmans family but the ability of the government to secure cooperation in significant public corruption cases, prosecutors said.

But as Sabagh stood Thursday before U.S. District Judge John R. Padova, he wavered between apologizing and insisting that he hadnt done anything worthy of prison time.

Advertisement

Were talking about the city of Philadelphia, where people get away with murder, he said. Just Google my name, Im like the Bernie Madoff of Philadelphia now.

Padova disagreed. He sentenced Sabagh to 33 months in prison, ordered him to pay a $10,000 fine, and found him in violation of his probation from the earlier 28-day stint he served behind bars in the bribery case.

Dont kid yourself anymore  that it wasnt serious, the judge said. It was dramatically serious.

Prosecutors charged Sabagh, president of Northeastern Real Estate Services, in 2018, and Guzman, a partner in the firm Enterprise Properties LLC, in 2015 as part of a long-running investigation into corruption in the sheriffs sale process.

Investigators alleged that they and others plied Michael Riverso, the Sheriffs Office employee at the heart of the scheme, with cash-stuffed envelopes, pricey dinners at Le Bec-Fin, and free rent to gain an inside track in the potentially lucrative sheriffs sale market.

In exchange, Riverso  who was sentenced to one year in prison in 2019  provided them early access to the list of properties to be sold at each auction and granted them more time than normally permitted to make payments on properties theyd bought at the auctions.

Guzman, who cooperated with the authorities in the investigation, is still awaiting sentencing in the case  a fact that Sabagh said left him feeling humiliated and disrespected.

After he was released from serving his own 28-day sentence in the case, Sabagh told the judge, he just wanted to wipe the smile off [Guzmans] face and began texting him from anonymous numbers.

Still, Sabaghs lawyer  Peter J. Scuderi  maintained Thursday that prosecutors had overreacted to the messages his client sent. He shrugged off the description of them as threats as an expansive interpretation.

All these texts can be interpreted two ways, Scuderi said. They can be interpreted as Im going to rape your wife or I am worried about your wife and your kids while youre in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Diviny scoffed, calling Scuderis attempts to minimize Sabaghs conduct as nothing less than absurd.

Between December 2019 and March 2020, Sabagh sent him dozens of anonymous texts, including photos of men behind bars, messages indicating he was outside Guzmans house, and photos of Guzmans children.

Maybe you should suicide before the sentencing, one December 2019 message read. Maybe the judge will give you a break then!!!!

As for the messages that Scuderi suggested were Sabagh expressing concern for the well-being of Guzmans wife, prosecutors quoted them in court filings.

I am gonna [expletive] your wife, Sabagh wrote Guzman in February 2020.

Four days later he followed up with another text.

I know you think I am kidding but Ill promise Ill [expletive] your wife while youre away, it read.

The next day he sent another: Every second I get [one] step closer to [expletive] your wife. What a good day.

Sabagh maintained Thursday he wasnt serious and that hed lashed out only because he thought that Guzman  whom Scuderi described as the ringleader of the bribery scheme  had been allowed to cut a deal with the government and inform on less culpable participants.

I just wanted to humiliate him  to shut him up and thats it, he said. I had no intention of threatening anybody.

Diviny, the prosecutor, insisted that Guzmans role in the scheme didnt matter.

Nobody is entitled to inflict such terror on a family, he said in court filings leading up to the sentencing. Witnesses must be secure to give their evidence or the hope for the justice system to find truth is lost.
A SEPTA bus on North 17th Street at Sedgley Avenue in March, with the Philadelphia skyline in the background. Read more

Nineteen of the 20 most populous American cities reversed or slowed pandemic-era population declines  Philadelphia being the notable exception  data released by the U.S. Census Bureau Thursday showed.

Does this spell a period of gloom for the city? Hard to say. Experts have consistently cautioned against reading too much into year-to-year population changes.

One year of data is not a trend, said Katie Martin, project director at Pew Charitable Trusts Philadelphia research and policy initiative.

Whats more, the census numbers only tell us the number of people arriving or leaving; they dont tell us whats driving the changes or if theyre permanent.

Advertisement

 READ MORE: Phillys population dropped for a second year in a row, census data show

The start of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted Americans to spend a lot more time at home and reevaluate their priorities, mulling whether it was better to live in cities or the suburbs. Trend stories emerged of Brooklynites moving to nearby cities like Philadelphia because of the bang for-your-buck housing prices. At the same time, other stories told of families retreating to the suburbs out of fear that packed city living brought about more risk of contagion and concerns over rising gun violence in major cities, including Philadelphia.

In addition to people leaving the city, the pandemic limited international immigration, which helped boost Phillys population in the decade before COVID-19.

Altogether, it appeared as though cities were losing the population fight after the first year of the pandemic.

Philadelphia lost 11,000 residents between July 2020 and July 2021, a 0.7% drop, according to census data. An additional 12 of the 20 most populous cities saw declines. The question looming over cities was whether residents would come back once vaccines became widely available and people had to return to offices. In Philadelphias case, July 2022 bookended another year of declines with an additional loss of 22,000 residents, a drop of 1.4% that left the citys population at 1.57 million.

Southern and Southwestern cities like Phoenix; San Antonio; and Jacksonville, Fla., continued to experience population growth, which those regions were experiencing long before the pandemic.

Meanwhile, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago saw smaller population declines than the first pandemic year.

Still, theres room for some optimism.

It really remains to be seen what impact the [international immigration] patterns are going to have in the coming years as immigration reaches pre-pandemic levels, said Martin.

Ben Gruswitz, who uses these types of data for socioeconomic and land-use analytics at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, added these population estimates are just that and subject to tweaks.

For example, the census initially estimated Philly lost close to 25,000 residents in the year ending July 2021. A year later, that number was adjusted to just over 11,000 residents. He wondered if the 2022 estimates could see a similar correction.

But even as we wait for trends to play out, population heads may be disheartened by some projections in the data.

Already knocked to the sixth most populous city as Phoenix (boo, hiss!) enjoys our former perch as fifth, San Antonio is inching closer to bumping us in the rankings further still, having experienced population increases during both years of the pandemic.

In terms of metro areas  which include an urban center as well as the surrounding communities  Atlanta is slowly catching up as well, likely to overtake the Philadelphia area as seventh-largest when the 2023 population figures are released next year.
PHILADELPHIA  JULY 30: Beyonce performs on the 'On The Run II' tour at Lincoln Financial Field on July 30, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Raven Varona/Parkwood/PictureGroup) Read more

Happy Friday! Its a good day to take your lunch break outside. Enjoy the warm temps that will reach the low 70s.

Summer is my favorite season. If you need plans, the options are limitless and Philly is in for a treat all season long.

On top of street festivals and outdoor movie screenings, were getting amazing concerts. The lineup is so packed that we needed our music critic Dan DeLuca to pick the 26 biggest and best ones. 

Whats the best concert youve been to in the city? Email us. 

Advertisement

If you see this  in todays newsletter, that means were highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.

 Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

I dont know about you, but Im ready for concert season.

Our in-house pop critic Dan DeLuca has you covered.

Some of his picks:

Beyonce: This one is shamelessly my personal favorite. If you scored tickets, Im jealous and please let me live vicariously through you. The Renaissance tour kicked off in Sweden this month and shell make her way to Lincoln Financial Field in July. Root Picnic: The annual festival is taking over the Mann Center campus for two days, June 2-4. This years headliners include Lauryn Hill, Diddy, Eve, and Lil Uzi Vert. Pink: Doylestowns own Alecia Moore has her traveling festival, Summer Carnival, coming to Citizens Bank Park. Shell be here Sept. 18-19.

Honorable mentions: Alicia Keys, Sam Smith, and the Cure are all coming to Wells Fargo Center. Theres also the Made in America lineup that hasnt been announced yet.

Click here for the complete list. 

Two stained-glass rose windows from a historic West Philly church were sold at auction for $100,000 each.

Reminder: Emmanuel Christian Center bought the building from Hickman Temple A.M.E. Church in the summer. The new pastor, William Brownlee Sr., sold the windows to Paul Brown, an architectural salvager, for $6,000 while renovating. Brownlee didnt know the windows were by Tiffany.

Construction at the church is now suspended because the congregation ran out of money.

A day before the auction, Brownlee and Brown told The Inquirer they were in discussions that would result in Emmanuel Christian Center getting a cut of the net profits from the sale.

Continue reading to learn the full twisting journey of the rare windows that are more than a century old.

What you should know today

 Trivia time 

We told you earlier this week that Sasha Velour, the RuPauls Drag Race winner and visual artist, had a show at the Kimmel Cultural Campus last night.

Which season did she win?

A) 10

B) 9

C) 7

D) 12

Think you know? Check your answer.

What were...

 Watching: Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata, and Lane Johnson were back in the recording studio. Im hoping it means another Eagles Christmas album.

 Sharing: Hybrid work is here to stay and these Philly business leaders explained their tips on how to thrive in a partially virtual work environment. 

 Unscramble the anagram 

Hint: Your (likely) next mayor is from this neighborhood

AWAK ENS DOLT

Well select a reader at random to shout out here. Send us your own original anagram to unscramble if youd like. Cheers to Tamara Akbar, who correctly guessed Thursdays answer: John Legend. Email us if you know the answer.

Photo of the day

The weekend is so close! Im off for vacation for a few days but my amazing colleagues will step in and share the news youll need next week. Ill be back soon. 
Brothers of Italy party leader Giorgia Meloni, now prime minister, gestures as she delivers a speech on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022. Read more

Sure, book bans might be all the rage  literally. But you know whats even hotter than a book burning? Word banning.

Its happening right now  and not just by the usual suspects.

Impulses to police language from the top down are surfacing from both the left and the right  and both are wrongheaded for the same reasons.

Some of the banners are exactly the folks youd expect: the fascists. No, not the fascism-curious American state governments currently flexing their Mussolinis  er, I mean muscles  from Florida to Tennessee to Montana. Rather, these are the people who first mastered fascism: the Italians.

Advertisement

Just a few weeks ago, a lawmaker from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Melonis far-right Brothers of Italy party introduced a bill that would outlaw the use of non-Italian words  mostly English  from official government communications. It is not just a matter of fashion, as fashions pass, but Anglomania [has] repercussions for society as a whole, read draft text of the legislation. (But not in English, obviously.)

Its happening elsewhere, too. Last year, Quebec passed a law requiring new immigrants to use only French  not English  in their interactions with the government within six months of arrival.

The Italian bill includes some laudable goals; for example, it requires officeholders to have written and oral knowledge and mastery of the Italian language, a mandate whose English-language counterpart would disqualify any number of American politicians and living former presidents.

But such a law is also silly, not least because every language inherits and adapts words from other languages. In fact, more so than any other language, English owes its existence to words borrowed from others.

Or at least it would be silly if the nativist, xenophobic impulses driving it werent so dangerous. Look at Quebec, where some advocates have worried about immigrants losing access to health care, education, and other government services if they are unable to learn French in time.

As Ive admonished American politicians before, language doesnt exist from the top down, and any attempts to impose artificial rules upon it from above (say, by the government) are doomed to fail. This is nothing more than Italian-branded performative anti-wokeism. And even if it might sound better in Italian, it certainly doesnt look any better.

 READ MORE: Sarah Huckabee Sanders Latinx ban is performative anti-wokeness | The Grammarian

Speaking of performative, measures seemingly coming from the opposite end of the political spectrum can be just as faulty. Earlier this year, the University of Southern Californias School of Social Work removed the word field from its curriculum  as in, fieldwork or going into the field  due to its slavery connotations. This change supports anti-racist social work practice by replacing language that could be considered anti-Black or anti-immigrant in favor of inclusive language, the school wrote.

What it doesnt support, however, is actual evidence of how language evolves.

Language doesnt exist from the top down.

The term fieldwork, when used in reference to people working in fields, dates back to at least 1441, 51 years before Europeans set foot in the Americas, and almost 180 years before the first enslaved Africans arrived. Moreover, the academic definition of fieldwork  Practical work, esp. as conducted by a researcher in the natural environment, rather than in a laboratory or office, according to the Oxford English Dictionary  didnt emerge till the late 1880s, after slavery and Reconstruction were already through. Yoking fieldwork to anti-Blackness ignores history and the diverse roads that our words travel.

Usage of the term fieldwork gradually increased after World War II and shows no sign of abating. For an academic institution to decide unilaterally that the term is problematic? That kind of mandate from above isnt how language works, either. It doesnt create real change, like diversifying USCs student body or providing reparations to the Gabrielino-Tongva people on whose historic land USCs School of Social Work currently sits. Instead, its just  like the word banning by the Brothers of Italy  performative.

What if the USC social workers and the Italian Parliament could come together and agree to understand language rather than legislate it?

Now that would be hot.

The Grammarian, otherwise known as Jeffrey Barg, looks at how language, grammar, and punctuation shape our world, and appears biweekly. Send comments, questions, and virgole to jeff@theangrygrammarian.com.
Axzaviyon Clark-Bolden (left) at an anti-violence demonstration at City Hall in May 2022. Students from nine city schools held a rally demanding more support for young people affected by gun violence. Read more

The gun violence that has ravaged Black communities in Philadelphia is a reflection of Americas racism.

In order to deal with that uncomfortable truth, we must first grapple with the racial disparities that exist in every aspect of American life. Its no accident that African Americans lag behind our white counterparts in educational attainment, employment rates, and household wealth. Centuries of racist policies have created those gaps, and in our poorest Black communities, the fight for resources and respect plays out in the form of gun violence.

For those who seek to address the resultant carnage, the struggle is difficult, the fight is long, and the solutions are anything but instant. Thats why my organization, ManUpPHL, chose to address gun violence by mentoring the very men and boys who are most likely to be victims or perpetrators.

Many of the men we serve have been traumatized by mass incarceration or the violent interactions they experience every day in a city where at least 500 homicides a year have become the norm. They live in communities where they must be wary of both their peers and the police. And because racism doesnt often afford second chances to Black men, its hard for them to find living wage jobs after contact with the criminal justice system. For these men, and the people who serve them, success cant always be measured by statistics. It must be measured in lives.

Advertisement

 READ MORE: Its time to support the Black men in Philadelphia being destroyed by gun violence | Solomon Jones

I understood that truth when ManUpPHL received a $242,000 Community Expansion Grant from the city in 2021, but that didnt stop us from setting lofty goals. We set out to serve 240 men through a mentoring program that pays participants $15 an hour. Through that program, which we call Listening to the Streets, ManUpPHL connects men with mental health services through our partners at New View Institute, jobs through our work with ShopRite and other employers, lessons on gun violence with trained facilitators, and other individualized resources.

We were careful with the CEG funding, working with our board of directors and our fiscal sponsor, the Urban Affairs Coalition, to account for every dime. As executive director, I chose not to accept a salary, and we hired consultants to handle community outreach, volunteer and program coordination, and marketing. Still, we fell short of our numerical goal, serving just 55 men during the 2022 grant year, largely because many of the men who went through our intake process did not show up to participate.

If the story ended there, one might assume that wed failed. In fact, ManUpPHL was mentioned in a recent Inquirer story on anti-violence groups that received CEG grants. Specifically, the story highlighted the fact that ManUpPHL did not serve as many men as we intended. Thats true, but it doesnt tell the whole story.

The men who did show up received our very best. We assisted them with mental health treatment, mentoring, stipends, and resources. We got jobs for men who society said were unemployable. We wrote letters of recommendation to foster second chances. We affected their ability to live productive lives.

Its hard to run a nonprofit  especially when youre dealing with an issue that has been hundreds of years in the making.

However, we knew that wasnt enough, so we requested an extension on the CEG grant. Thanks to that extension, weve now served a total of 81 adults. Weve formed a partnership with the School District of Philadelphia, and we are currently working with 30 teens in three schools. Counselors and administrators have recommended us to other schools. Two more are set to come on board in September.

We did not fail to serve a certain number. We learned to help men and boys change their lives.

As shooting victims get younger, we are working with those who need us most. The CEG grant helped us to begin that work in schools, and we have won other funding to continue those efforts, including a grant from the Greenfield Foundation. And as we recognize that racism and injustice are underlying factors in the fight against gun violence, we have sought and received a grant for our social justice efforts from the Philadelphia Foundation at the recommendation of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Its hard to run a nonprofit  especially when youre dealing with an issue that has been hundreds of years in the making. In a country where contempt for Black life plays out in the choking death of a homeless man on the New York City subway, or the shooting death of an 8-year-old girl by police officers who get probation, or the murder of a Black teen by another child from his community, there are no instant solutions.

However, when communities come together with the funding and the flexibility to address our issues for ourselves, we can have impact beyond the numbers, by saving one life at a time.
Delaware is the 22nd state to legalize adult-use cannabis, and like many others that legalized weed, it will take a while before consumers can line up for the first day of sales.

In New Jersey, it took a little over a year before the first recreational cannabis dispensaries opened their doors for sale. New York was able to do it in a little over eight months. Now with Delaware legalizing adult-use cannabis, many will wonder when their states legal weed sales will begin.

According to experts, probably a lot longer than New Jersey and New York. Heres what we know about Delawares marijuana legalization and when to expect legal sales to begin.

When will legal weed sales begin in Delaware?

While it may have taken around a year for some states, Delaware consumers may have to wait up to two years before they can buy legal weed, according to the executive director of the Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network, Zoe Patchell, who has been working for this moment for the last 10 years.

Barring no delays or issues, we are hoping Delaware will see its first legal cannabis sale sometime between late November 2024 and early 2025, said Patchell. There are quite a few factors involved with why it will take Delaware so long.

Advertisement

The first step is for Delaware Gov. John Carney to appoint a commissioner for the adult-use cannabis industry who will implement regulations for the market and set up the application process for potential operators, Patchell said. Then potential operators will need to apply for licensing, which wont happen until next May at the earliest, according to Delawares Department of Safety and Homeland Security.

Once licenses are issued, cannabis will need to be grown, processed/packaged and then have dispensaries available to sell products. According to Patchell, this will be a long process.

HB1 and HB2, the two bills passed into law in April that made weed legal and allowed for the creation of an adult-use industry, set up deadlines for when the commissioner has to issue licenses for cultivators, manufacturers and retailers to be able to operate.

The deadlines for when the commissioner has to issue cannabis licenses in Delaware are:

Advertisement

Cultivation: 15 months (July 2024) Manufacturing: 16 months (August 2024) Retail and laboratory testing: 19 months (November 2024)

This means that by the latest, Delwarareans should see at least one legal weed dispensary open by next November, according to state law.

Why will it take so long to roll out legal weed in Delaware?

Delaware has a history of slow marijuana rollouts. The state legalized medical marijuana in 2011, but sales didnt begin until four years later in 2015. While sales began in 2015, there was only one medical dispensary (forcing some patients to make 180-mile round trips to the lone dispensary) for the entire state until 2017.

Additionally, while the State outlined deadlines for the adult-use industry, Patchell says they still havent fully implemented the medical marijuana industry as the state was supposed to have six separate medical operators since 2014. As of publishing, there are still only five separate entities with dispensaries available to patients in the state.

Advertisement

Were in the middle of 2023 and we still havent seen full implementation of the medical cannabis program, Patchell said. So its definitely something that were concerned about, and that were going to have to stay heavily involved in to ensure that the deadlines are met.

When it comes to passing adult-use legalization, this isnt Delawares first rodeo either, as legislators tried to pass legalization last year but Gov. Carney vetoed the proposal  despite more than 60% of voters approving it. This time around both chambers of Delawares legislature agreed to legalization and it was again up to Carney to veto or pass into law, who reluctantly did not sign or veto legislation legalizing marijuana in the state, resulting in the bills passing by default.

As residents of Delaware slowly await the rollout of legal weed in the state, they can in the meantime let out a sigh of relief as no one will get in legal trouble for having a personal stash of marijuana  even if bought illegally  moving forward.

Until [legal sales begin], legal possession did go into effect for adults, so adults are now able to legally possess up to an ounce of cannabis in Delaware, and of course, there are two neighboring states with legal access. So I wouldnt be surprised if folks are already going there.
Bruce Castor is shown here during a press conference in Media, Thursday, November 10, 2022. Read more

Bruce Castor, the former Montgomery County district attorney and county commissioner who represented former President Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial, filed an eight-page motion in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court on Tuesday, asking to no longer represent former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in a civil suit.

Castor summed up his gripe about Giuliani to Clout more succinctly: Hes not cooperating, and hes not paying me.

James Savage, a Delaware County voting-machine supervisor, sued Trump, his 2020 presidential campaign, Giuliani, and two local Republican poll watchers in November 2021, saying their unsubstantiated claims about the 2020 election made him a target of hatred, ridicule, and physical threats.

Castor initially agreed to serve as Giulianis local lawyer but a lawyer from Texas was supposed to take over from there. That didnt happen, and Castor, according to his motion, reluctantly tried to defend Giuliani.

Advertisement

The motion, which meticulously recounts Castors four decades in law and politics, dabbles in a bit of intrigue in two sections.

First, Castor says one of Trumps other defense lawyers from the 2021 impeachment  who is not identified in the motion  suggested Trump would consider it a favor if he represented Giuliani in the case. Second, Castor wrote that a lawyer he knows  also unidentified in the motion  claimed to be coordinating funding to pay for Giulianis representation.

The money never came, and Giuliani did not cooperate in producing documents and scheduling depositions, even after Castor set a deadline and unequivocally threatened to quit the case, according to the motion.

Giuliani, whose license to practice law was suspended in New York in June 2021 for lies he told in Pennsylvania about the 2020 election, said through a spokesperson that Castor was fully paid for his work. .

The spokesperson, Ted Goodman, also accused Castor of having zero respect for the concept of attorney-client privilege.

We understand he lacks the courage to stick with what he perceives as an unpopular cause among the cocktail party crowd, but its very disappointing to see him take these cheap shots at the mayor simply because he thinks the mayor is an easy target and because he wants to suck up to the anti-Trump legal community, Goodman said in a statement.

Giuliani also faces the prospect of having his law license revoked in Washington, D.C., where the Office of Disciplinary Counsel accused him in December of violating rules governing attorney conduct by using his law license to undermine the legitimacy of a presidential election.

That case, which Giuliani called an outrage at the time, is still under review.

Giuliani was also sued this week by a former employee who alleged that he coerced her into sexual acts and owes her $2 million in unpaid wages. A lawyer for Giuliani told The Associated Press that he vehemently denied those claims.

A version of this article was included in this weeks Clout, a weekly roundup providing often irreverent news and analysis about people, power, and politics.
Cherelle Parker, left, stopped to greet former District Attorney Lynne Abraham during the traditional election day lunch held at the Famous 4th Street Deli. Read more

In the spring of 2020, as the coronavirus took hold and society came to a standstill, Cherelle Parkers history-making campaign for mayor started making its first moves.

Parker, who had recently been elected City Council majority leader, held weekly Zoom meetings on Sundays that spring with three trusted political hands: Tonyelle Cook-Artis, her former chief of staff and one of her best friends; Obra Kernodle IV, who had been deputy chief of staff to Gov. Tom Wolf; and Aren Platt, a top aide to the CEO of La Colombe and former political consultant.

She was very confident, and she laid out the plan, Cook-Artis said. She laid out what her vision would be, and thats her platform  safer, greener, cleaner  and she ran on that. ... Her message has been that same message from the very beginning.

 READ MORE: Cherelle Parker is proud of her West Oak Lane roots. As mayor, could she save Phillys middle neighborhoods?

Advertisement

Parker prides herself on her meticulous planning. She insists on extensive preparation for everything from a brief interview for a daily news story to a major policy push, and the most important campaign of her career was no exception.

Platt began crunching numbers and introducing Parker to wealthy donors. Kernodle worked his connections with blue-chip political consultants. And Cook-Artis guided the big picture.

Later that year, Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris made her first in-person stop of the general election with a panel on women in politics in Parkers literal backyard, at her home in Mount Airy, during a swing through Philly aimed at activating Black and Latino voters.

At the time, Sincere Harris, who is unrelated, was the executive director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and a senior adviser for Pennsylvania on Joe Bidens presidential campaign. She knew Kernodle well and Parker in passing. They worked together closely for the first time while organizing the campaign stop.

Two years later, in late 2022, Sincere Harris left a White House job to become Parkers campaign manager, and the team that would effectively elect Philadelphias 100th and first female mayor was in place.

From that moment on, Parkers campaign became an Uptown affair. Many of her key advisers, including Harris and Platt, are from the belt of neighborhoods just south of the city line in North and Northwest Philadelphia  Parkers base.

For Harris, it mattered that Parker was a lifelong Philadelphian while all of her top rivals came from elsewhere and lived in Center City.

Im from Philly, born and raised here, product of Philadelphia public schools, Temple grad, and I will say that knowing Cherelle is the only one who lives in the community, I just felt like Cherelle was the right person, Harris said. I was doing something I really loved in [the White House] at a pinnacle of my career. ... I just couldnt sit in D.C. for this race and this moment.

Trades fuel super PAC

Parker knew getting her message in front of Philly voters would require money. And in recent Philadelphia elections, that often means money from organized labor and a super PAC.

In 2022, Kernodle, who never held an official role with Parkers campaign, encouraged Jeff Sheridan, who managed Wolfs 2017 reelection campaign, to take the lead on setting up an independent expenditure committee to boost Parkers candidacy. The result was Philadelphians for Our Future, a super PAC that would go on to raise $2.6 million, topping the $2.2 million raised by her campaign.

About $2 million of the PACs funds came from unions in the Building and Construction Trades Council, which are led by longtime Parker ally Ryan Boyer and which endorsed her campaign in February. Sheridan said Boyer, who also leads the Laborers District Council, went all out to push the other trades to cut checks for the PAC.

It truly was a turning point when the building trades announced their endorsement, and Ryan Boyer was awesome to work with, Sheridan said. He was a huge advocate for us and understood that if Cherelle was going to win, it was going to be because of the program we put together.

Boyer said it was easy to convince other union leaders to back Parker because of her long history supporting their causes, such as a tough vote she took as a state representative in favor of a major transportation bill. It didnt hurt that Parkers ex-husband, Ben Mullins, with whom she amicably co-parents their 10-year-old son, Langston, is on the board of the operating engineers union.

We had a relationship, and we had a trust, he said. Her ex-husband was a tradesman. He was an operating engineer. She understood the dirty boots at the door.

Boyer put an immense amount of political capital on the line. He already wielded considerable clout, but Parkers win cements his status as the worthy heir to John J. Dougherty, the electricians union leader known as Johnny Doc who transformed the building trades into a political powerhouse before being convicted on federal corruption charges in 2021.

Boyer did for Parker what Dougherty did for Mayor Jim Kenney in 2015, and the trades now appear to be in the middle of a 16-year run with a firm grip on the mayors office.

Boyer said Parker prevailed because her long track record in government resonated more than flashy campaign promises from her opponents, almost all of whom were relatively new to politics. She began serving in the state House in 2005.

Her record did the talking, he said. Are we going to go with the shiny new car or the reliable car that we had thats been running really well?

A risky TV strategy

Parkers campaign launched TV ads in early March, making her the third candidate on the air after the super-wealthy Allan Domb and Jeff Brown.

Campaigns typically wait to begin buying TV ads until they are confident they have enough money to stay on air through the election. That wasnt the case for Parkers campaign at the time, but Harris said they made the jump because they couldnt afford to let the race unfold without voters knowing Parker was an option.

We knew it was a gamble because the conventional wisdom was to save it, she said. We knew that if people knew that Cherelle was in the race, that that would change the dynamic.

The first ad was a mix of biography and messaging on public safety, with Parker saying, in part, Im running for mayor to end this sense of lawlessness and bring order back to our city.

Parker was often criticized on the campaign trail for tough-on-crime policies such as her embrace of the controversial policing tactic known as stop and frisk. But for Parker and her campaign team, those critics misunderstood where voters stood on police and public safety issues. She dominated in Black and brown neighborhoods, including the areas that are the most affected by gun violence.

In certain progressive circles, everything is a binary thing, said Platt, a senior adviser to the campaign. It is either you are for police reform or you want Frank Rizzo to come back to life and run the Police Department. And they tried to paint Cherelle with that brush.

Harris added: It is enraging and infuriating that people who live nowhere near these neighborhoods feel that they can speak for a lot of the folks who do live here. ... We were much more in touch with the average person being able to walk and chew gum at the same time.

In the final week of the campaign, Parkers campaign doubled down on ad featuring her son, in which she says, As mayor and the mother of a black boy, Ill hold bad cops accountable, but I refuse to allow crime and violence to take over our city.

That strategy was championed internally by Will Dunbar, an informal adviser to Parker during the campaign who wanted to emphasize Parkers role as a mother and the idea that she had a vested interest in preventing police misconduct while cracking down on crime.

Sheridan said the super PAC crafted its messaging to highlight the tangible impact of Parkers signature community policing plan by mentioning planks such as fixing street lights, not just the 300 new foot patrol cops she hopes to hire.

The No. 1 concern was always gun violence and crime, but it was a nuanced way that voters cared about it, he said. It wasnt just, Hire more cops. Voters needed to know that any candidate was thinking about crime in a smart way and a realistic way, and there were actual things they could get done as mayor right away.

In the final weeks of the campaign, the super PAC also unleashed the most significant negative advertising blitz of the race. One ad contrasted Browns and Dombs wealth with that of Parker, the only real choice for mayor. Another criticized candidate Rebecca Rhynhart for working on Wall Street before joining city government.

Campaigns and super PACs are legally prohibited from coordinating their strategies, and Harris said she was initially skeptical of the wisdom of the Rhynhart ad. Attacking Brown and Domb made sense, she said, because polling showed their supporters could be persuaded to back Parker. That was less likely for Rhynhart, meaning that attacking her could benefit Helen Gym.

Sheridan said it was simply a matter of taking Rhynhart down a notch because she appeared to be on the rise.

Our decisions were not made without risk. The Rhynhart one in particular  it was questioned by a lot of people, he said. We had to stop her momentum.

Rhynharts second-place finish  ahead of Gym, who was viewed by many as the favorite in the final days  appears to vindicate Sheridans calculus.

Both Parkers campaign and the super PAC used Black-owned polling firms that tout their expertise in accurately surveying voters in Black communities. They projected that about half of the electorate would be Black, while the public polls released during the campaign assumed it would be closer to 40% and never showed Parker in the lead.

Its not possible to determine the exact demographics of the electorate, but ballots from majority-Black precincts made up about 45% of the total, according to an Inquirer analysis.

Endorsements and luck

A number of factors big and small broke Parkers way during the campaign.

Derek Green, the only other Black candidate seen as a viable contender, dropped out in April and endorsed Parker. Meanwhile, Brown, who appeared to be making major inroads with Black voters, saw his campaign implode amid a series of controversies and a Board of Ethics investigation.

In addition, the two unions that represent non-uniformed city workers  District Councils 33 and 47 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees  passed on Parker, but each endorsed a different candidate. AFSCMEs national office stays neutral when its locals split on an election, which kept its money out of the race, Harris said.

But one crucial factor in Parkers win was no accident: the unending stream of endorsements she secured from local elected officials and Democratic ward leaders, a vast majority of whom backed her.

U.S. Reps. Dwight Evans and Brendan Boyle; State Sens. Sharif Street, Vincent Hughes, Art Haywood, and Tina Tartaglione; City Council President Darrell L. Clarke and five other Council members; and at least nine state representatives all backed her. Toward the end of the campaign, Democratic City Committee Chairman Bob Brady promoted her candidacy without officially endorsing her, and Kenney said he voted for her by mail.

For critics, those endorsements were a sign that Parker, who is the 50th Ward leader, was merely a cog in the Democratic machine and that her administration would be a continuance of the status quo. Harris said that narrative has it backward: Parker wasnt hand-picked to run by the machine; she cajoled the machine into backing her run.

Its a little lazy to say she was the establishment. I get it. Were not going to say shes not. But we built it, Harris said. This actually was building a coalition.

By election day, everything seemed to have lined up. Parker won the labor endorsements she needed to compete financially. She performed well in debates. She was the only major Black candidate on the ballot. Party leaders were breaking for her. The carpenters union had funded a major door-knocking program through the super PAC. And she was the only contender never subjected to attack ads.

But polls released late in the race showed her rivals leading, and Platt arrived at the campaigns election night party at the laborers union hall thinking they had lost.

I was 100% convinced we lost, and Im telling myself like, Put on a brave face, he said. It was like this crushing anxiety.

Parker spent election night in the hospital due to a dental emergency while her supporters gathered. In her first interview since winning the mayors race, she told The Inquirer that although she wasnt where she wanted to be on election night, she was confident in her chances.

I have a team of people running my campaign who are as meticulous and methodical, data-driven, and research-based as I am, Parker said. Those polls did not deter our strategy and plan. They were laser-focused.

So once youre waiting for results, youre just saying, Were about to see the fruits of our labor.

Staff writers Anna Orso and Aseem Shukla contributed to this article.
Cherelle Parker and her son, Langston Mullins, 10, after she cast her vote in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Read more

Cherelle Parker is still recovering from a dental emergency three days after she won the Democratic nomination for Philadelphia mayor and missed her own victory party, her campaign said Friday.

Parker is feeling better every day, her campaign said in a statement. She made a surprise appearance Friday afternoon at an awards program hosted by the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, where she spoke briefly and said: I cant wait to keep my foot on the gas, and its on. Thats why I got out the bed today when they told me not to, to get down here to see you.

The former City Council member was hospitalized Tuesday for a dental emergency when she found out that she won the nomination. She was released later that night. Parker has conducted two interviews by phone  one with The Inquirer on Wednesday and one on WURD 96.1 FM/900 AM Thursday morning.

During the radio interview, she apologized to everyone and explained that she had put off getting a fractured root canal fixed since February because she didnt want to be pulled off the campaign trail. She ended up requiring an emergency procedure Friday, and severe tooth pain as a result landed her in the hospital Tuesday.

Advertisement

She said her key goal now is to unify.

I dont care who you voted for in this election, she said. We go through a Democratic primary because that is the democratic structure that we work within. Thats democracy in action. We did, and now its over, and we have to unify around solving the problems that were front and center during this election.

In November, shell take on Republican David Oh in the general election. Given Philadelphias heavily Democratic electorate, Parker is well-positioned to prevail and become the first female mayor in city history. The winner of the general election will take office in January.

While the race for the nomination was hotly contested and polls showed a neck-and-neck race among five top contenders in the final weeks, Parker ended up winning with 33% of the vote and a commanding 10-point lead over the second-place finisher, former City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart.

Parker also came out on top of progressive Helen Gym, who was supported by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and a long list of left-leaning groups, as well as Allan Domb and Jeff Brown, two independently wealthy businessmen who each poured millions into their own campaigns.

Organized labor and a bevy of Democratic elected officials backed Parker, undoubtedly giving her a boost in election-day turnout efforts. And through a moderate ideology and a compelling personal story, Parker appealed to working-class voters across the city and was strongly favored by Black and Latino voters. Democrats in more affluent, whiter neighborhoods split their votes among Parkers opponents.

 READ MORE: The voters who propelled Cherelle Parker to victory

Only about 30% of registered Democrats voted in the primary, so Parker was nominated by fewer than 85,000 people in a city of 1.6 million residents. Thats the lowest winning primary total dating to at least the 1970s, no surprise given the nature of the divided field.

Parker has acknowledged she has work to do to unify a deeply divided city thats in the throes of any number of crises, most notably persistent gun violence thats left a large swath of residents feeling unsafe.

If she wins and takes office in January, Parker said her first priority will be implementing her community policing plan, which calls for hiring 300 new cops and making sure more officers are walking the beat and interacting with community members in then neighborhoods they police.

Weve got to work on implementing our comprehensive neighborhood safety and community policing plan, she said in a Wednesday interview with The Inquirer. We are going to get our community-based officers walking on our streets and riding bikes. Were gonna get smarter with technology and forensics [and] support for those anti-violence organizations.

Inquirer staff writer Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article.
Philadelphias Board of Elections knew one set of results before polls closed: All three of them won their primaries.

Democrats Lisa Deeley and Omar Sabir ran unopposed for reelection as city commissioners, the office that runs Philadelphia elections. Seth Bluestein, a Republican, also ran without an opponent.

But now the real race begins  at least for Bluestein.

He faces a challenge in November from Working Families Party candidate Jarrett Smith, and observers said the race is expected to be highly competitive. Bluestein spent more than a decade as former Commissioner Al Schmidts deputy before replacing Schmidt, who is now the acting secretary of state, in February. Smith, a longtime organizer and an SEIU lobbyist in Harrisburg, is running as part of a broader Working Families Party attempt to oust Republicans from Philly government.

Advertisement

Deeley and Sabir are all but guaranteed to win reelection in November because they are Democrats in a heavily blue city. Both vowed to continue their efforts to improve elections as the city heads into next years presidential race.

The commissioners run elections, and that job has gotten harder in recent years

Each of the three Philadelphia city commissioners has a small independent office; together, they manage the elections department and run elections.

Election administration has gotten more complex as Pennsylvania has replaced and upgraded voting equipment and dramatically expanded mail voting. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2020 election was the most difficult election to administer in modern history.

Since then, elections officials across the state have worked to keep up with continued challenges. What was once a little-seen operation has more than doubled in budget, significantly expanded its staff, and become much more prominent in the public eye.

I thought it was just going to be me going to a few schools, to senior homes, telling people how to vote. But it transformed itself, Sabir said.

At the same time, the job has also become more difficult because of the sharp rise of election mis- and disinformation, fueled by former President Donald Trumps lies about voter fraud and stolen elections. Election denialism and skepticism have been a challenge for elections officials across the country, and Philadelphia has often been a target for baseless attacks on Pennsylvania elections.

The commissioners have struggled to combat those efforts. And theyve faced abuse, threats, and harassment. The hallway entrance to their offices in City Hall used to be open to the public; now its locked. The citys new election warehouse has metal detectors and bulletproof glass.

Who would have ever thought back in 2015 that I would be talking to you now about your life getting threatened for doing your job? Deeley said. Its kind of hard to talk about.

The real commissioners fight this year: Republicans vs. the Working Families Party

Bluestein ran uncontested in Tuesdays primary, but he faces a potentially significant challenge in Smith.

While Democrats hold a voter registration edge in Philadelphia, one of the three commissioner positions  as well as two seats on City Council  are reserved for candidates from minority parties. Typically, theyve been held by Republicans.

The progressive Working Families Party claimed a historic victory when Kendra Brooks won a City Council seat in 2019, and the party is seeking to take more city offices this year.

 READ MORE: The progressive Working Families Party is gearing up to try to oust the few Republicans left in Philadelphia government

That means Smith is running as part of a broader Working Families ticket that is aiming to remove Republicans from Philly government.

Unfortunately, if youre electing to be a Republican in 2023, post-Jan. 6, post the attacks on our democracy, youre actively choosing to be in the same party that has largely adopted a message of hate, Smith said.

Its too early to know how competitive the race will be. Republicans have seen waning influence in Philadelphia politics in recent years, and Brooks victory sent shockwaves through both Democratic and Republican political establishments. If the Working Families Party gains momentum, led by Brooks run for a second term, Smith could pose a real threat to Bluestein.

Bluestein has worked in elections for more than a decade but hasnt ever run for office. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with bachelors and masters degrees, Bluestein joined the office as a deputy to Al Schmidt in 2012.

He eventually became the top aide to Schmidt, who became nationally known in 2020 as the Philadelphia Republican who consistently refuted the lies of former President Donald Trump and helped defend the election.

Bluestein was at Schmidts side throughout it all, drawing threats and antisemitic abuse after being publicly identified by Trumps team. Bluestein touts his behind-the-scenes experience as part of his campaign message.

It is extremely important for the voters of Philadelphia that we have the most prepared, experienced, and trusted board of elections possible going into the next presidential election, Bluestein said. Having a true bipartisan board of elections, with commissioners who have years of experience  is going to be very important to how we run the election going forward in the next term.

Last year, Mayor Jim Kenney nominated Bluestein to replace Schmidt, who left the office and, after a stint heading the Committee of Seventy, is now Pennsylvanias acting secretary of state.

Smith said he has nothing against Bluestein personally, but believes Republicans have no place running elections. Given the rise of election denialism in the party and attacks on elections from the right, Smith said, no Republican  even a moderate who has sought to defend Philly elections  should be in power.

And as a queer biracial person, he said, his perspective is shaped by the historically marginalized groups he sees continuing to be left out: For anyone who comes from marginalized communities, theres too much at stake to leave anything at risk to a party that is trying to literally end our freedoms, and in some cases our lives.

Smith said hell focus on community engagement, and wants to use the office to improve Phillys stagnant and falling voter turnout, especially among communities of color.

The two Democrats are almost certain to win reelection

Deeley first won in 2015; this upcoming term will be her third. Sabir was first elected in 2019.

Deeley is chair of the commissioners, meaning her office handles much of the administrative work of the elections department that doesnt require a board vote. She has at times sought to draw attention to issues and advocate for changes.

For example, she helped sound the alarm in 2020 about the risks of disenfranchisement from a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that so-called naked ballots that are missing inner secrecy envelopes must be rejected. And she votes each election in favor of counting some ballots she knows must be rejected under law, calling them votes of conscience.

I would like to be the place where other counties come  to see how voting is done, Deeley said. I want to be the standard-bearer, and were doing everything we can to get there.

Sabir, the lone Black commissioner, spends significant time on voter outreach and community engagement in historically underserved areas, especially Black communities and poor and low-income neighborhoods. He regularly appears at neighborhood events and in Black-owned media to encourage voter registration and turnout.

His goal, Sabir said: just fighting voter apathy and particularly in communities of color who dont feel as though theyre connected to the government.
Sharee Booker's 18-year-old son, Na'Jay Williams-White, was fatally shot in North Philadelphia in 2018. Booker voted for Cherelle Parker for mayor in hopes that Parker can reduce the city's gun violence. Read more

Every time Sharee Booker watches the news and sees that another Philadelphia family has lost a child to gun violence, she feels as if shes transported back to Nov. 5, 2018  the day her son NaJay Williams-White, 18 and just about to apply for college, was fatally shot.

The trauma and grief of losing her eldest son has changed her life, she said. She constantly worries for her two younger children, especially her 10-year-old son.

I hold them real tight, said Booker, 37. They dont go too many places without me at all times.

This is the reality, she said, of many women  especially Black mothers  in Philadelphia. And for too long, she said, Philadelphias leadership has not fully understood that experience.

Advertisement

Its why on Tuesday, Booker cast a vote for Cherelle Parker for mayor.

Cherelle Parker, as a woman, as a mother, being in the community, she can feel how these mothers feel, said Booker, of Germantown.

 READ MORE: The voters who propelled Cherelle Parker to victory

Parker ultimately secured the Democratic nomination for mayor, making it likely in deep-blue Philadelphia that she will prevail in the November general election and becomes the citys 100th mayor. She would be the first woman to hold the title and would take office in January.

Parkers path to victory was never guaranteed, but it was powered by Black and Latino voters  particularly residents of the poor and low-income neighborhoods hardest hit by the citys gun violence crisis. Areas with the highest concentrations of shootings, particularly parts of North and West Philadelphia, handed Parker roughly half their votes in a field with five top contenders, an Inquirer analysis showed.

For many voters affected by violence, it wasnt necessarily Parkers specific policies or plans to address crime that secured their votes, they said, it was her tone and identity  a feeling that as a Black woman and mother to a young boy, she understood the urgency to address a crisis overwhelmingly impacting Black families and claiming the lives of young Black men.

It would be more of a concern for her because she has a child walking the streets, said Charles Davis, a father of three who lives in Mantua.

Davis, 49, said crime was his top concern as a voter. He recalled how, about a month ago, a shoot-out erupted on his block as he and his brother sat on the porch.

We had to duck bullets and hit the floor, he said.

He was originally torn between Parker and grocer Jeff Brown, he said, but Parkers persona won him over.

It was her tone and approach, said Davis, a cook. Even though most candidates were saying similar things in how theyd address violence, he said, Parker seemed stronger and more convincing.

She didnt say anything that blew me away  it was just the way she came across, he said.

Low-income communities of color have long borne the brunt of gun violence in the city. And while the recent spike in shootings has affected nearly every section of the city, neighborhoods in parts of North, West, and Southwest Philadelphia have had a far higher concentration.

On Tuesday, precincts that had seen more than 175 shooting victims within 2,000 feet of their boundaries since 2015 gave Parker half of their votes. By contrast, neighborhoods with the fewest shooting victims gave a disproportionately high share of their votes to other candidates.

In wards 7 and 33, which include Kensington, and Harrowgate  areas with some of the highest rates of violence fueled largely by open-air drug markets  about 40% of voters chose Parker.

Parkers campaign believes she pulled support in neighborhoods most affected by crime because she struck a more balanced tone on the issue.

The only Black candidate among the top contenders, Parker leaned on her personal experience growing up in a working-class neighborhood and now as a single mother of a young boy. A television advertisement that her campaign ran late in the race showed Parker with her 10-year-old, Langston, saying: As a mom, I cant imagine losing my child. As mayor, Im determined to put a stop to gun violence.

She vowed to save a generation of Philly kids.

Lorraine Nesmith, 51, from North Philadelphia, said Parkers television advertisements drew her in.

She got your attention compared to the others, said Nesmith, a block captain near 23rd and Sedgley.

Shes a single mother raising a child, so she knows how it is to be out here, she said. Its dangerous out here. She wants to see change happen.

Parkers public safety plan did focus on policing more than some of her opponents. Over a year ago  before launching her campaign for mayor  she unveiled her signature community policing plan, which calls for hiring 300 new officers to patrol neighborhoods on foot and bike.

Booker said this was a big point for her. Shes eager to see more police walking around and interacting with the community, instead of sitting in their cars on the corner. The detectives assigned to investigate her sons murder dropped the ball, she said, and the crime remains unsolved. She said she feels like they didnt do enough street-level work on the case.

These detectives, all police, need to be held accountable, she said.

Last summer, Parker also appeared alongside Council President Darrell L. Clarke to call on city officials to take another look at the controversial police tactic known as stop-and-frisk. She has called it a necessary tool to get illegal guns off the street.

But on the campaign trail, Parker stressed that her positions are nuanced. She said she would have no tolerance for misuse or abuse by police, and said she supports constitutional stop-and-frisk, a legally authorized tactic that is currently used by Philadelphia police (but far less frequently than in years past).

 READ MORE: Progressive mayors have won elections in Boston, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Heres why Philadelphias race was different.

Still, critics  especially from the Democratic partys left wing  said Parkers tough-on-crime proposals leaned too heavily into law enforcement. By contrast, progressive Helen Gym, who came in third, often said her plan led with investments outside policing, and she emphasized her guaranteed jobs program for young people.

Sincere Harris, Parkers campaign manager, said in an interview that some mayoral candidates  four of whom live in Center City  seemed out of touch. She said it was infuriating that people who live nowhere near these neighborhoods feel that they can speak for a lot of the folks who do live here.

We dont think we speak for everyone, Harris said, but I think we were much more in touch with the average person being able to walk and chew gum at the same time.

In an interview Wednesday, Parker said implementing her safety plan is her top priority: We are going to get our community-based officers walking on our streets and riding bikes.

Bookers mother, Theresa Williams, also voted for Parker, and persuaded her boyfriend to do the same, she said.

I already lost a grandson, said Williams, 57, of West Philadelphia. I would like to see the violence stop ... and I think she can do it.

Staff writers Aseem Shukla, Sean Collins Walsh and Lynette Hazelton contributed to this article.
We have made strong progress in becoming a customer-focused and purpose-led organisation, and this historical matter is not reflective of the AMP we are today, said Cullen. We have made significant changes to our systems and processes in recent years designed to prevent this from recurring.
Dr Renko Dirksen, ARAG SEs speaker of the board of management, said in an emailed release: We are meeting the needs of our customers. This is not only achieved selectively but applies to the entire enterprise with all segments. ARAG is growing dynamically while at the same time improving its earnings and using the profits to invest in personnel, technology, and to strengthen its solvency.
For instance, if weve got a workload that needs to be proximal to a SaaS service that sits on top of Azure, we may choose to deploy that to Azure, said Pizzato. But there may be somewhere it doesnt actually matter where they sit and then weve got that ability to move them or deploy them to whichever cloud provider offers us the best terms at that point in time.
Customers should be able to trust that their insurer will pay the benefits promised to them and keep them properly informed if there are changes to their policies, said Court.
We wish Nick and Olivia the best of luck in the national awards, and we congratulate all the finalists who demonstrated a commitment to professionalism and ongoing improvement, Kewin said. We have outstanding talent in the broking profession, and these awards are a fantastic opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of these outstanding individuals.
Thats not really for BlackBerry to say but it is one of the recommendations that was put forward, he said. This one concerned creating a mechanism for boards to be able to define what cyber initiatives they have implemented as part of overall cyber hygiene and cyber resilience.
We must react faster on behalf of our customers. There just needs to be more collaboration and more digitalization. We need turn the tides to become less reactive and more preventative as we look to be a trusted adviser to our clients, in partnership with our brokers, said McGrath.
New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles!

A Virginia man who was denied workers compensation benefits for his workplace injury because he apparently used two different names is entitled to have his name on the record corrected and his claim reconsidered, the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission (WCC) has ruled.

In March 2023, the claimant filed a claim for medical and wage loss benefits alleging that he sustained a compensable injury by accident to his right shoulder. At the time, he advised that his name was Oscar A. Rodriguez a/k/a Jose Munoz Morales.

The employer and insurer maintained that the claim was in the name of the employee, Jose Munoz Morales. They presented a medical record reflecting treatment rendered for Jose Munoz Morales, an identification card with the name Jose D Munoz Morales, and a social security card containing the name Jose Daniel Munoz Morales.

The insurer also said it had received two different permanent resident cards for the claimant. The cards had the same picture, but not the same country of origin, residence, or expiration date. One of the cards was from medical records received and copied by the healthcare provider, while the other card was from the employer.

Also, the employer noted that while the claimants lawyer at first gave his clients name as Oscar A. Rodriguez a/k/a Jose Munoz Morales, during discovery the lawyer used only Jose Munoz Morales.

The insurer determined that while the claimant may possibly be Oscar A. Rodriquez, as he alleges, he is clearly not Jose Munoz-Morales, the name under which he filed the claim. Thus the insurer denied the claim.

The claimant requested that the WCC modify the case record to reflect his actual name and identity to be Oscar A. Rodriguez. He argued that his actual name did not negate the fact that he was injured while working as an employee of the employer.

The insurer opposed amending the record as an inappropriate response to a false and misleading filing.

A WCC deputy commissioner considered the case and dismissed the pending claim with prejudice. The deputy commissioner found significant that the claimants response to the defendants motion confirms that the claimants name is not Munoz-Morales' and held that an award of benefits should not be awarded to an incorrectly identified individual.

The worker appealed to a WCC panel of three commissioners. These commissioners reversed and vacated the deputys ruling, disagreeing with the dismissal with prejudice at this preliminary stage.

The WCC panel agreed that benefits should not be awarded to an incorrectly identified claimant but noted that the claimant clarified his correct identity prior to a hearing. The WCC appeals panel also found it important that the claimant is in the preliminary process of pursuing his claim.

We find dismissing with finality the claimants claim at this preliminary stage is too harsh of a sanction based upon the underlying facts of this particular case, the opinion concludes. A dismissal with prejudice barring the refiling of a claim should enter only in cases where there has been an abuse of process or deliberate disregard for the Commissions authority.

The panel ordered that the record of the case be modified to show that injured employees name is Oscar A. Rodriquez. It added that this reversal does not prevent the employer from raising any defenses in correlation to the claimants identity.

Topics Workers' Compensation Talent
New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles!

The National Rifle Associations lobbying arm sued to block Maryland from enforcing new gun-control measures that enhance requirements for obtaining concealed-carry permits and restrict firearms in sensitive areas including school grounds and hospitals.

The suit was filed in federal court in Baltimore on Tuesday, hours after Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed the bills into law. Its the latest clash between a gun-rights group and a Democratic-led state following the June 2022 US Supreme Court ruling that called many such statutes into question.

The Maryland measures were intended to update the states gun-control laws following the decision by the Supreme Court, but the NRA said the law has gone from bad to worse.

Through these bills, Maryland replaced one blatantly unconstitutional licensing regime with another blatantly unconstitutional licensing regime, the NRA said in the complaint. The bills contain unconstitutional restrictions on where and how ordinary, law-abiding Maryland citizens with a carry permit may exercise their right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home.

There are nearly 400 million guns in private ownership in the US, which suffers a disproportionately high rate of firearms deaths, including a plague of mass shootings. Moore has accused the NRA of ignoring the violence that results from having more guns in public.

The NRA thinks more guns on the street is the solution when that is actually the problem, the governor said in a statement. Everyone believes these common sense bills will protect Marylanders, and protect the rights of legal gun owners. Were saving lives while they are politically posturing.

Everytown for Gun Safety, which advocates gun-safety measures, is backed by Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP.

The case is Kipke v. Moore, 23-cv-01293, US District Court, District of Maryland.

 2023 Bloomberg L.P.

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.

Topics Lawsuits Gun Liability Maryland
New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles!

An employees first day of work at a southern New Jersey manufacturing facility ended tragically when he suffered the amputation of three fingers while operating a press brake without required safety guards, similar to violations cited by federal safety investigators at the facility in 2010 and 2015.

After the incident at United Hospital Supply Corp. in Burlington prompted a complaint to the U.S. Department of Labor, investigators with the departments Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigators began two investigations in November 2022.

Following the November inspections, OSHA cited United Hospital Supply for three willful violations, 17 serious violations and one other-than-serious violation and proposed $498,464 in penalties.

For what OSHA determined was the companys intentional disregard and willful violations, the agency has placed United Hospital Supply in OSHAs Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

United Hospital Supply manufactures steel cabinets, lockers, laboratory hoods and other metal products for hospitals, laboratories and schools. Founded in 1976, the company employs about 100 employees represented by Local 19 of the Sheet Metal Workers Union in Philadelphia.

OSHA cited the company for a willful violation because supervisors and employees deliberately bypassed the press brakes light curtain, which led to the amputation.

The agency also cited United Hospital Supply for willfully failing to remove and repair an inoperable forklift and to provide hazard communication training for chemicals used in the facility. OSHA has cited the company for the forklift and chemical training violations in its inspections dating back to 2010.

The agency also found the company exposed workers to welding fumes above the permissible exposure levels, did not provide respirators when needed, failed to develop a lockout/tagout program to prevent accidental machine startup and did not provide lockout/tagout training.

Despite previous citations and penalties, United Hospital Supply Corp. has ignored its responsibility for protecting the safety and health of its employees, said OSHA Area Director Paula Dixon-Roderick in Marlton, New Jersey. Machine guarding is a basic safety measure for reducing dangerous hazards for machine operators which, in this case, could have prevented a new employee from suffering a traumatic life-changing injury. said OSHAs Paula Dixon-Roderick in Marlton, New Jersey.

OSHAs severe violator cases are subject to mandatory follow-up inspections and, where appropriate, increased awareness of the enforcement actions at the corporate level, corporate-wide agreements, enhanced settlement provisions, and federal court enforcement.

The company has 15 business days to comply, request a conference with OSHAs area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Source: OSHA

Topics New Jersey
New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles!

A limousine service manager was convicted of manslaughter Wednesday in a crash that killed 20 people in rural New York, one of the deadliest U.S. road wrecks in two decades.

Jurors reached their verdict during their second day of deliberations in the trial of Nauman Hussain, who ran Prestige Limousine. He faces the possibility of up to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced May 31.

The guilty verdict brought a torrent of emotions from relatives who waited years for someone to be held accountable. Shouts and cries could be heard as the verdict was read.

Its exhilarating, Kevin Cushing, who lost his son Patrick Cushing in the crash, told WNYT-TV outside the courthouse. We had relatively low expectations because this four-and-a-half years has been filled with disappointment.

Packed with birthday revelers, the stretch-style SUV went off the road in 2018 after the vehicles brakes failed. The limo hit a parked car and trees before coming to rest in a streambed in Schoharie, a village west of Albany. Seventeen passengers, the driver and two bystanders were killed.

Prosecutors said Hussain intentionally failed to conduct required, routine state inspections on the 2001 Ford Excursion, and that the checks would have revealed brake defects and prevented the wreck.

Defense lawyer Lee Kindlon said his client was misled by a repair shop. The shop wasnt criminally charged and denied it was at fault.

Hussain was taken into custody immediately after the verdict was read. Kindlon told reporters outside the courthouse he was heartbroken by the outcome.

Im a little disappointed the judge decided to lock him up today, but not surprised, he said.

Wednesdays verdict marked a turning point on an emotional rollercoaster for the victims families. After pandemic-related delays in the criminal case, the relatives were exasperated by the 2021 announcement of a plea deal that would have spared Hussain prison time.

In a surprising twist last fall, a judge rejected the deal, leading to the trial a few miles from the accident site.

During the trial, jurors heard from witnesses including a former manager of the repair shop, people who saw the wreck, and a state Department of Transportation inspector who flagged the SUV-style limousine for violations long before the crash. The defense called no witnesses.

No one likes to see someones life destroyed, and I dont want to feel that way,  Cushing said of Hussain. Im certainly glad hes convicted and I believe hes getting a punishment that he deserves, but I take no joy in that.

Congressman Paul D. Tonko chimed in after Hussain was found guilty.

Todays verdict marks the beginnings of justice being served, said Tonko, who comes from Amsterdam, New York, the hometown of many of the victims. While nothing can replace these precious lives lost, I hope this decision brings a measure of peace to all their loved ones.

Associated Press Writer Michael Hill from Albany, New York, contributed to this report. Maysoon Khan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Maysoon Khan on Twitter.

Photo: Emergency personnel respond to the scene of a deadly crash in Schoharie, N.Y., Oct. 6, 2018. Nearly five years after catastrophic brake failure sent a stretch limousine packed with birthday revelers careening down a hill and into a shallow ravine in rural New York, killing 20 people, the operator of the company that rented out the vehicle went on trial.in Schoharie County Court. (WTEN via AP, File)

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics New York
The mastermind behind a global spoofing shop that scammed victims out of as much as 100 million ($124 million) has been sentenced to over 13 years in a UK prison.

Tejay Fletcher, 35, pleaded guilty over his role as the lead administrator of the website ISpoof.cc, an online shop where criminals bought a subscription to buy scamming tools. He was charged with fraud and criminal property offenses between 2020 and 2022.

ISpoof provided software that allowed fraudsters, who paid in Bitcoin, to disguise their phone numbers so it appeared they were calling from major banks including Barclays Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc. The software made it easier to trick people into giving them personal details to drain their bank accounts.

Fletcher created a sophisticated article for fraud that generated significant profits, said Judge Sally Cahill at Southwark Crown Court Friday. For all the victims, it has been a harrowing period.

Prosecution lawyers said Fletcher facilitated the fraud on an industrial scale and total losses were as high as 100 million globally, with 43 million coming from the UK alone. Criminals paid hundreds, if not thousands of pounds a month to use the technology and Fletcher received the majority of the profit, lawyers said.

The probe was the UKs largest fraud investigation led by Londons Metropolitan Police Service, who worked in connection with the FBI, Europol and Dutch authorities.

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.

Topics Fraud
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  The families of two teenagers shot to death in a Des Moines alternative high school have filed a lawsuit alleging the program and its founder were negligent in not keeping the premises safe.

The families of Rashad Carr, 16, and Gionni Dameron, 18, filed the lawsuit Monday against the program Starts Right Here and its founder Will Keeps.

Both teens were killed Jan. 23 in a shooting in the school, an educational program designed to keep at-risk youth out of trouble. Keeps, an activist and rapper whose given name is Will Holmes, also was shot and seriously injured but survived.

Student Preston Walls, 18, has been accused of the shooting, and police allege Bravon Tukes, 19, drove a getaway car. Both Walls and Tukes faces charges including two counts of first-degree murder.

Prosecutors have said in court filings that the shootings revolved around a dispute between rival gangs.

In the lawsuit, the families of Carr and Dameron argue that Keeps and the school knew of potential dangers but didnt take needed steps to protect the two teens. At the time, Starts Right Here did not have security guards, but after the shootings the program reopened with guards and metal detectors.

The program has a contract with Des Moines schools to work with students who have struggled in their traditional high schools. The school is located at an office park on the edge of downtown Des Moines.

In a text message sent to Des Moines media outlets, Keeps said he was surprised and deeply hurt that the families would sue him.

I am crushed that after being thanked for helping to save and change the lives of their sons that I am now their target, Keeps said. My focus is on our students  being shot did not distract me and neither will this lawsuit.

A trial for Walls is scheduled for Aug. 28, and Tukes trial is scheduled for Oct. 2.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits K-12 Iowa
New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles!

Consistency within cyber insurance policies is something the industry has been grappling with for nearly a decade, according to speakers at the annual RIMS Riskworld conference, held this year in Atlanta, but the industry is beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

I cant underscore enough how much better the cyber marketplace has gotten in that regard, said William Bennett, partner at Saxe Doernberger & Vita. There are still policies with two insuring agreements and policies with 25 agreements and 400 definitions, but at least now they largely get to the same place.

Bennett was speaking during a session about cyber coverage responses to the current global risk climate on the second day of the conference. Thomas Francavilla, director of insurance programs at Stratus Risk Associates, was speaking alongside Bennett. He pointed to an example of an exercise the Stratus team recently did with a broker client that is 51 percent owned by a banking group. The company was transitioning away from having standalone cyber policies in place for each broker in favor of one parent-owned cyber policy.

Every single one of them  the brokers  had their opinions about why the cyber form that they had already was the best one and why thats the one the parent should use, he said.

Francavilla said his team worked on putting together a side-by-side comparison of all nine standalone forms in order to find the best solution.

It really did range from literally policies with one first-party insuring agreement, one third-party insuring agreement and then excluding stuff out, and two policies with 25 insuring agreements and definitions within definitions that only exist with the purpose of defining other definitions, he said.

At the end of the exercise, however, Francavilla said his team found it difficult to make a recommendation to the client about the best form to use.

Almost all of them were missing something the other forms had, but they were all also almost entirely overlapping, he said. If we had done that exercise 10 years ago, it just simply wouldnt have been true, not at all. So, from the risk managers perspective, now were in a much better place in terms of what youre getting. There are still things here and there that you can do to improve the policy, but its a lot more consistent.

This consistency is serving the industry well, particularly when it comes to silent cyber, both panelists agreed. Bennett defined silent cyber as the idea that theres still some cyber coverage lurking out there in other policies that arent cyber policies.

He pointed to Merck & Co.s NotPetya case as an example of the need for clarity in terms of exclusionary language and definitions within policies. This comes as Insurance Journal reported in May that the appellate division of New Jersey Superior Court upheld a state trial court opinion that the war exclusion in drugmaker Merck & Co.s all-risk property insurance policies does not apply in the case of the cyber attack the company suffered in 2017. The appeals court affirmed that insurers could not use the policy exclusion to avoid covering about $1.4 billion in damages Merck said it suffered from a spring 2017 cyber attack known as NotPetya.

Again, clarity is great, Bennett said. Those situations involve ambiguous exclusions, and that one was great to the lawyers, right? Billions and millions of dollars were spent litigating those property claims.

In addition to clear exclusionary language, Bennett emphasized the importance of ensuring different lines of coverage fit together.

You want to make sure that when youre losing [coverage] in one place, you do still have it in that other place, he said.

Francavilla agreed.

Our approach to all of our clients is generally to make sure that your policies are working together, you know, to make sureyou have coverage in the appropriate place, he said.

The conversation about silent cyber points to another challenge for organizations: gaining access to the right cyber coverage in the first place. As cyber policies adapt to the evolving risk landscape, insureds will need to evolve as well, both speakers agreed.

To get coverage, you have to be a cyber secure organization, generally speaking, Francavilla said. Cybersecurity is continuously evolving, and the bad actors are moving quickly. Theyre very innovative in finding new ways to breach systems, whether its through something as simple as a phishing attack or whether its something as complex as a state-sponsored situation.

Think Like a Tech Company

He said this means that every company needs to fundamentally be thinking like a technology company.

Whether thats your internal systems, whether thats an internal network, whether that is a client-facing system that gathers data, or even just how you internally handle your files, he said, theres an email address, theres a computer server, theres a client-facing application that is at risk.

He said this means its important for companies to have a chief information security officer and retain consultants to perform 24-hour monitoring of systems, as well as establish backups in case systems are disconnected from the network, ensure multi-factor authentication is in place, and offer robust training for employees.

Make sure that if you have a company with lots of employees that access your systems, that theyre being tested, and its not always the younger or less experienced employees that youre worrying about in a situation like that, he said. Some of our clients actually have noticed that the more senior executives tend to fall for the phishing attacks far more frequently than the younger employees. Younger employees tend to have the benefit of growing up with the technology and being a little bit more naturally suspicious.

He said at Stratus, his team was recently put to the test when they received a fake phishing email from Francavilla.

Our security folks found ways to integrate with the Microsoft Active directory and to send out those test emails using my name  very official. And all of [my team members] called [me], which I thought was a very positive response, he said. Thats something that carriers are going to be looking at, you knowwhat is your testing and training regimen?

Becoming a Better Risk

In addition to training regimens, Francavilla said its important for companies to establish a business continuity policy that is also being tested. This can help companies understand how to respond if an attack does occur.

Becoming a better risk for an insurance company will make you are a more secure company, he said.

Despite any changes that have occurred within cyber insurance policies, more changes are likely on the horizon, the speakers said. Artificial intelligence is just one way the industry could be kept on its toes, Bennett said.

Its just the next of many, many ways that the market will have had to react and adapt, he said. Certainly at the moment, it seems like itll be one of the most significant.

He said that although he expects insurance policies to address AI in the future, its still too early to make predictions with any certainty as to how policies will need to change.

Anything thats been written so far would be nothing but speculation, he said. I would have to believe that within the next year of renewals, there will be something in that policy somewhere that addresses [AI], but its really hard to say at this point.

Francavilla added that while he has seen questions on applications that are starting to touch on AI, nothing significant has come across his radar just yet.

I think, you know, the fundamentals dont change, right? he said. The fundamental [questions] of: How is it being implemented? Where is the technology actually being housed? How is the access to that technology being monitored? I think some of the fundamentals around that dont change. Its the nuance of whats coming out of that AI and how its being utilized in the business.

That said, RIMS attendees could see more AI topics on the agenda next year, Bennett said.

Ill try to find another catchy presentation title, he joked. Ask us about it again next year.

Topics Cyber
New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles!

The US Supreme Court handed social media companies a new line of defense as they face an increasing number of lawsuits alleging their algorithms have harmed users  whether by addicting children or selling suicide kits.

In a unanimous ruling, the justices knocked down a case alleging Alphabet Inc.s Google, Twitter Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. should be held liable for aiding and abetting terrorism by hosting and recommending Islamic State videos and posts to their users.

The court said that under a federal antiterrorism law, social media companies cant be held responsible simply for deploying algorithms that in some cases recommend harmful content. Thats an argument that the tech giants will likely point to as they face cases across the country on other issues.

The courts decision is pretty clear that generally providing a platform, even if that platform has recommendation algorithms, is not enough to find liability just because some people used that platform to do criminal things, said Evelyn Douek, a professor at Stanford Law School who studies online speech. So platforms will be able to point to that general principle in other cases in the future.

The social media companies notched a significant win on Thursday when the Supreme Court declined to weigh in at all on the issue of Section 230, a statute that prevents the online platforms from facing most lawsuits over posts by their users. That means the high court likely wont try to pare back the tech industrys prized legal shield anytime soon.

Agnostic Algorithms

But social medias headaches go beyond just the fate of Section 230. Meta and other social media companies will soon face consolidated litigation in California over claims that Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms cause addiction and self-destructive behavior in adolescents. That case was on hold as the Supreme Court considered its social media cases. Meanwhile, Amazon.com Inc. is facing a lawsuit accusing the platform of selling suicide kits to teenagers.

Tucked into the courts opinion is an assertion about the nature of social media algorithms that the companies may be able to point to in battling lawsuits over these other topics.

As presented here, the algorithms appear agnostic as to the nature of the content, matching any content (including ISIS content) with any user who is more likely to view that content, wrote Justice Clarence Thomas on behalf of the court. The fact that these algorithms matched some ISIS content with some users thus does not convert defendants passive assistance into active abetting.

There are significant portions of Thursdays decision that the big tech companies will likely use to their advantage, experts said. Thomas in his opinion also wrote that social media platforms do not have a duty to remove customers using their platforms for illicit activity.

The court categorically states these internet services do not owe a duty of care to their users with regards to the Anti-Terrorism Act, said Jess Miers, legal advocacy counsel with tech-funded group Chamber of Progress. Miers previously worked for Google.

Plaintiffs in the past have tried to claim internet services have a duty to their users, but they dont actually have that legal relationship with users, Miers said.

Punting to Congress

The debate over social medias culpability in enabling the spread of harassment, violence, hate speech, misinformation and more is only set to intensify. Some lawmakers on Thursday said the Supreme Court missed an opportunity by failing to weigh in on Section 230 and said its time for Congress to step in.

Companies turn a blind eye to child sexual abuse material, drug sales, and border smuggling on their platforms while rushing to censor free speech, said Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn. Congress must reform the law.

But efforts to reform Section 230 have failed amid partisan fighting for years. For now, the Supreme Courts opinions on Thursday will likely boost the social media companies arguments. The high court this summer will decide whether to weigh in on laws in Texas and Florida that bar internet platforms from removing political speech. Those cases would tee up a novel set of questions about social medias relationship with the First Amendment, and legal experts are divided over whether the initial social media cases provide any glimpses into what will happen next year.

The court seemed to understand the content moderation difficulty of online services, said Miers. They seem to appreciate the technology.

Photo: Temporary security fences align along a path to the plaza of the U.S. Supreme Court Building on April 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.

Topics Google
New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles!

Even though they have been suspended from the practice of law, attorneys with McClenny Moseley & Associates continue to rack up penalties as federal judges clean up a mess created by the law firms mass filing of hundreds of hurricane-damage lawsuits.

During an April 26 hearing, Magistrate Judge Kathleen Kay with the US District Court for Western Louisiana in Lake Charles recommended an order that MMAs former New Orleans managing partner, William R. Huye III, pay $14,000 in sanctions and reimburse an insurance defense law firm about $3,000 in fees. Huye admitted that he had filed lawsuits on behalf of property owners he did not represent, sometimes against the wrong insurance company.

On April 14, Huyes former boss John Zachary Moseley was suspended from practicing law for 90 days in the Eastern District of Texas, which is where the law firms Houston headquarters is located. The disciplinary order was imposed to match an identical order by a Western District of Louisiana judge after MMAs mass filings came to light last October.

Comments by Judge Kay during last months hearing in Lake Charles demonstrates how far out of favor the McClenny Moseley law firm has fallen in the federal court system. Kay asked attorney Gwyneth A. ONeill, who was representing both Huye and MMA at the hearing, in what capacity her law firm was representing the law firm. ONeill said, in a roundabout way, that she doesnt have personal knowledge of the relationship.

You went to the same school of obfuscation as every attorney at MMA, Kay said. Anytime we ask a simple question, we get an answer that has many, many words in it that really gives me no answer at all.

After the hearing involving Huye ended, Kay brought Moseley before her because of reports that MMA was continuing to communicate with claimants despite its attorneys being suspended from the practice of law.

After hearing from Moseley, Kay issued instructions that one might expect from a school teacher to a school boy: She ordered Moseley to read the transcript of an Oct. 20 hearing before Judge James D. Cain Jr., where the law firms mass filings were first discussed, and then submit a certification verifying that he had read it.

Moseley filed the certification as directed. On May 4, Kay ordered Moseley and his law firm to cease communicating with former clients or face further sanctions.

Personal injury attorney Austin Marks, with the Morris Bart law firm in New Orleans, told Kay that he personally witnessed a courier for MMA going door to door in an attempt to persuade former clients to sign paperwork giving the law firm permission to deposit settlement checks from insurers.

In a telephone interview with the Claims Journal, Marks said he is aware of the solicitation because a courier company called one of his clients seeking a signature. He advised the client to make an appointment at her house so he could be there in person when the courier showed up.

Marks said the courier, who worked for a company called Legal Wings, wanted his client to sign a document that would allow MMA to take its 33% fee out a settlement check of approximately $25,000. He said the courier showed him a list of 35 client names from whom he was to obtain signatures on similar permission forms.

Marks is not a disinterested party. His law firm filed a lawsuit against MMA seeking an order that it surrender any claim to fees from its former clients. The firm has run advertisements on New Orleans television stations in an effort to persuade MMAs former clients to sign on with Morris Bart.

Marks said the Legal Wings solicitations show that MMA is continuing to attempt to settle hurricane claims even though all of its attorneys have been suspended from practicing law.

They have lied, cheated and stolen and they think they are entitled to a fee? Marks said. Not a chance.

Kay had called Huye into her courtroom to determine whether he should be sanctioned for filing lawsuits against the wrong insurers. A 219-page transcript of that hearing revealed new details that show how MMA, over the course of several days, was able to file 1,641 lawsuits against insurers in the Western District of Louisiana alone.

MMAs records showed an electronic signature on a May 6, 2022 client retention agreement with homeowner Michael Thomas. Five days later, MMA sent State Farm notice that it was representing Thomas for a potential claim.

MMAs case notes show that Thomas informed the law firm that he was not insured by State Farm. But MMA filed a lawsuit against the insurer anyway without getting Thomas permission. In fact, Thomas told MMA in September 2022 that he no longer wanted the firm to represent him.

Huye told Kay that he had informed Thomas in August that he would file a lawsuit against State Farm unless he was instructed otherwise and never heard a response.

Silence is not permission, Kay said. Failure to respond is not permission.

Later during the hearing, Kay said she has come across similar stories multiple times.

You think thats appropriate? she said. If I dont hear from you within a certain period of time, Im going to go ahead and sue on your behalf whether you want me to or not? You think thats the right way to handle that?

The judge clearly did not think so. She recommended that Huye be sanctioned $1,000 each for filing 12 lawsuits against the wrong insurer. In one other case, Kay recommended a $2,000 sanction because MMA filed the suit after the client said they did not want to take legal action.

A District Court judge must approve the sanctions.

New Orleans insurance defense attorney Matthew Monson, whose personal investigation instigated the judicial inquiry into MMAs mass filings, said more sanctions may be coming.

I think this is a step to support further discipline against William Huye, possibly including full disbarment from the Western District, he said.

Topics Louisiana
The second application period for the Insure Louisiana Incentive Program was canceled this week as the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) waits on lawmakers to appropriate more funding for the program.

The 30-year day application period, which began May 1, offered insurers the opportunity to apply for $3.15 million in available grants. The program grants capital funds to qualified insurers who commit to writing new property premium in the state.

LDI said it anticipates approximately $10 million in additional funding will be appropriated to the program during the legislative session and will restart the second application period once that funding is appropriated. Louisiana lawmakers are in session through June 8. Lawmakers previously passed $45 million in funding for the program in a special legislative session this spring.

The first round of applications saw eight insurers receive $42 million in grant funds:

SureChoice Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (SURE) ($10M)

SafePoint Insurance Company ($8.5M)

Allied Trust Insurance Company ($6.5M)

Constitution Insurance Company ($4.5M)

Elevate Reciprocal Exchange ($3.75M)

Gulf States Insurance Company ($3.6M)

Cajun Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (CURE) ($3M)

SafePort Insurance Company ($2M)

Grantees awarded funds must write property insurance with net written premiums of at least a ratio of $2 of premium for each $1 of the total of newly allocated property insurer capital combined with $1 of the grant, according to the LDI.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Louisiana
New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles!

Alabama legislation that would give victims of childhood sex abuse more time to sue their abusers has stalled in a committee amid opposition from insurance companies, the bills sponsor said.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has not scheduled a vote on the bill that would extend the statute of limitations for civil actions from six years to 36 years.

How low do you have to be to victimize a child? How low do we have to be as the body not to take the issue up? Sen. Merika Coleman, the bills sponsor, said Tuesday at the Senate microphone as she expressed frustration over the bills delay.

Coleman said she met with insurance industry representatives Wednesday morning. She said they expressed concerns about possible liability for entities, such as a church, that might not have had knowledge about the abuse. She said they are working to craft language that targets the perpetrator but does not hit folks that had no knowledge.

My major concern, of course, is finding some type of justice for these folks that have been victimized, Coleman said.

Alabama law currently gives a six-year window into adulthood, ending at age 25, for a person to file a civil lawsuit over sexual abuse they suffered as a child. That timeframe is too short for victims, who often dont publicly disclose what happened to them until adulthood, proponents of the bill said. The bill would raise the timeframe to 36 years, or age 55.

Victims of childhood abuse are working to change the law in Alabama and elsewhere. Fifteen states have lifted statutes of limitations for child sexual abuse, according to Child USAdvocacy, a nonprofit that advocates for better laws to protect children.

Jeff Helms, director of public relations for the Alabama Farmers Federation and Alfa Insurance, said the legislation could impact all insurers. He said the Alabama Insurance Coalition is working with Coleman regarding their concerns.

Stuart Vance, one of three men who said they were abused by a private school teacher in the 1970s and 1980s told the Judiciary Committee last week that he would love to debate insurance industry representatives about the bill.

They insured the Boy Scouts, churches and other organizations that knowingly hid predators in their midst. If the insurance industry has a problem with our law, they really should take it up with the organizations they insured and not the survivors whose lives were damaged and destroyed, he said.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Alabama
New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles!

Driven by a personal vendetta against a toll bridge company, Alabamas transportation director planned to build an unnecessary bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway at a cost of more than $100 million to the state, according to a judge who ordered construction to stop Wednesday.

Montgomery Circuit Judge Jimmy Pool, siding with the toll bridge company, issued a preliminary injunction ordering a halt to construction of the project. Pool said trial evidence showed that Transportation Director John Cooper pushed for the new bridge without traffic studies and had only one discussion about it with the governor.

Director Coopers outrageous conduct in embarking on spending more than $120 million of State funds, on a bridge that ALDOT does not need, for the purpose of putting a private company out of business shocks the conscience of the Court, Pool wrote.

Baldwin County Bridge Company, which operates the existing toll bridge to get to Gulf beaches, filed a lawsuit seeking to block construction of the new bridge that would be located just over 1 mile away from its existing toll bridge. The company argued that Cooper acted in bad faith during negotiations to lower toll amounts and other operational changes, then pursued the new bridge project to financially damage the company.

Transportation Department spokesperson Tony Harris said the state will appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court.

We are disappointed in the decision because its clear that a new, free bridge is needed to help alleviate traffic congestion and offer a new evacuation option to residents and visitors to Alabamas Gulf Coast, Harris wrote in an emailed statement. Years of negotiations with the private toll bridge company failed to deliver a solution. The public benefit of a new, free bridge should outweigh the interests of the private toll bridge company.

During trial testimony, Cooper defended the decision to proceed with the project last year. Cooper said an alternative route is needed to alleviate traffic congestion on the highway leading to state beaches. He said the decision was made based on traffic data and support from local and state officials.

The Transportation Department last year signed a $52 million contract for bridge construction. An attorney for the toll bridge company said the expense of related roadways will bring the total cost to $120 million.

People in positions of authority representing the government cannot do or say anything they want. When government officials attempt to target businesses through bad faith, the courts of Alabama will hold them accountable, said Joe Espy, a lawyer for the toll bridge company.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Legislation Alabama
New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles!

A construction worker was killed and another was missing Friday morning after a massive fire broke out in an upscale business and residential area of Charlotte, North Carolina.

News outlets reported that the five-alarm fire began early Thursday in or near a construction trailer and quickly engulfed a parking garage, which partially collapsed. Two people were trapped in the garage as huge flames spread around them in the SouthPark Mall neighborhood, the Charlotte Observer reported.

More than 90 firefighters worked to rescue some 15 other workers, but Demonte Sherrill, 30, a father of four, was found dead, WRAL news reported. Another worker was rescued after he was trapped atop a construction crane at the site.

Construction crews had been installing foam insulation, and a machine used to pump the foam may have caught fire and started the blaze, WSOC TV and the Associated Press said.

Topics North Carolina
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries filed proposed permanent wildfire smoke rules and launched a formal process for public input designed to protect people who work outdoor jobs like construction, agriculture, roofing, roadwork and other industries.

When these workers breathe in the tiny particles carried by the smoke, it increases the risk of reduced lung function, aggravated asthma, heart failure and early death, according to the L&I.

The air quality index for small particles of dangerous material, known as PM 2.5, is 69 or higher. As air quality gets worse, employers must provide increasing protections to keep workers safe and healthy, according to the L&I.

Proposed requirements include:

For 69 or higher:

Wildfire smoke response plan

Wildfire smoke safety training

Emergency response measures for workers experiencing wildfire smoke symptoms

For 101 or higher:

Respiratory protection required to be provided; use of respirators is voluntary

Feasible wildfire smoke exposure controls

For 301 or higher:

Respiratory protection required to be distributed to individual workers; use of respirators is voluntary

If workers experience wildfire smoke symptoms requiring medical attention, relocate them to a space with clean air

For 500 or higher:

Respirators (N95 at a minimum) required to be worn by affected workers

Full workplace respiratory protection program required

Beyond the air quality index:

N95 is not sufficiently protective at this level; more protective respirators are required

The proposed rules would require employers to monitor the air quality and alert workers when it exceeds certain exposure thresholds. When workers show signs of injury or illness related to smoke, employers must monitor them to determine if medical care is needed. Employers are prohibited from preventing workers from seeking medical treatment.

L&I plans to conduct six public hearings in Spokane, Kennewick, Bellingham, Vancouver, Tukwila, and Yakima, and one virtual public hearing to take comments. Details on how to attend the hearings or submit comments are on L&Is rulemaking activity page. Public comments will be accepted through 5 p.m. on Aug. 4.

L&I says it will review and consider submitted comments before making any adjustments and adopting permanent rules.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire Washington
John Philip Ryan, 64, of Yucca Valley, California, was sentenced and ordered to pay more than $220,000 in restitution to victims after pleading guilty to two felony counts of financial elder abuse and grand theft of insurance premiums.

An investigation by the California Department of Insurance found Ryan stole money from his clients, some of which was intended to pay insurance premiums. The CDI revoked Ryans insurance licenses and licensing rights and banned him from participating in the business of insurance.

The CDI opened an investigation in 2017 after a complaint from Ryans former employee that Ryan retained premiums instead of remitting them to insurers.

One of the victims, Gregg Juarez, was a former art dealer and philanthropist who died in May at age of 94. Ryan reportedly used his position as Juarezs insurance agent to gain trust and access financial documents and information to commit the crimes. Search warrants executed on Ryans bank accounts revealed that Ryan misappropriated $87,000 over at least two years from Juarez.

During the investigation the CDI found Ryan transacted insurance under the names of Calinsured, Greater Palm Springs Insurance and PS Independent Insurance. The investigation revealed 11 more victims, including another client in his 80s. The combined total stolen by Ryan from all his victims was over $220,000.

The CDI is asking any of Ryans current and former clients to review their policies and contact the listed insurer to verify its validity and confirm receipt of any funds they may have given to Ryan.

Topics California Agencies Fraud
Calgary, Alberta - May 19, 2023 (Newsfile Corp.) (Investorideas.com Newswire) Baytex Energy Corp. (TSX: BTE) (NYSE: BTE) ("Baytex") provides an update with respect to closing of the previously announced acquisition of Ranger Oil Corporation ("Ranger") by Baytex (the "Merger").

Baytex has filed its Registration Statement on Form F-4 which has been declared effective by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Baytex's Registration Statement on Form F-4 registers, under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, the Baytex shares being issued to Ranger's shareholders.

Ranger has scheduled its shareholder meeting for June 16, 2023. Subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of requisite regulatory approvals and Ranger shareholder approval, the Merger is expected to close on or within three business days of the Ranger shareholder meeting.

Forward-Looking Statements

In the interest of providing Baytex's shareholders and potential investors with information regarding Baytex, including management's assessment of Baytex's future plans and operations, certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "could", "estimate", "expect", "forecast", "intend", "may", "objective", "ongoing", "outlook", "potential", "project", "plan", "should", "target", "would", "will" or similar words suggesting future outcomes, events or performance. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements relating to: the Merger and its expected timing and closing.

Although Baytex believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because Baytex can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the ability to obtain shareholder, and regulatory approvals of the Merger; the ability to complete the Merger on the anticipated terms and timetable and the risk factors discussed in our Registration Statement on Form F-4, filed with the SEC on May 18, 2023 (Registration No. 333-271191), and our management information circular and proxy statement dated April 3, 2023 (the "Information Circular") filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.There may be additional risks that Baytex presently does not know, or that Baytex currently believes are immaterial, that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the assumptions below prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on certain key assumptions regarding, among other things, the ability of Baytex and Ranger to satisfy all conditions to closing of the Merger; and the completion of the Merger on the timing anticipated. Readers are cautioned that such assumptions, although considered reasonable by Baytex at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect.

The above summary of assumptions and risks related to forward-looking statements has been provided in order to provide shareholders and potential investors with a more complete perspective on Baytex's current and future operations and such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. There is no representation by Baytex that actual results achieved will be the same in whole or in part as those referenced in such forward-looking statements and Baytex does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

No Offer or Solicitation

This communication relates to the proposed Merger between Baytex and Ranger. This communication is not intended to and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to subscribe for or buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval with respect to the Merger or otherwise, 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 in the United States shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933.

Baytex has filed a copy of the merger agreement on its profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Further, Baytex has filed the Information Circular, which contains important information about the Merger and related matters. Shareholders of Baytex are advised to read the Information Circulars in connection with Baytex's solicitation of proxies for the meeting of Baytex shareholders to approve the Merger. Baytex shareholders may obtain copies of the Information Circular on Baytex's SEDAR profile (www.sedar.com).

Important Additional Information and Where to Find it

In connection with the proposed Merger, Baytex has filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form F-4 (the "Registration Statement") to register the Baytex securities to be issued in connection with the proposed Merger (including a prospectus therefor). Baytex and Ranger also plan to file other documents with the SEC regarding the proposed Merger. This communication is not a substitute for the Registration Statement or the prospectus or for any other document that Baytex or Ranger may file with the SEC in connection with the Merger. U.S. INVESTORS AND U.S. HOLDERS OF BAYTEX AND RANGER SECURITIES ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE PROPOSED MERGER (INCLUDING ALL AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS) BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BAYTEX, RANGER AND THE PROPOSED MERGER. Shareholders will be able to obtain free copies of the Registration Statement, proxy statement/prospectus and other documents containing important information about Baytex and Ranger through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of such documents may also be obtained from Baytex and Ranger without charge.

Participants in the Solicitation

Baytex, Ranger and certain of their respective directors, executive officers and other members of management and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Baytex's shareholders and the solicitation of proxies from Ranger's shareholders, in each case with respect to the Merger. Information about Baytex's directors and executive officers is available in the Annual Information Form published February 23, 2023, in the Information Circular and in the Registration Statement. Other information regarding the participants in the solicitations and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is contained in the Registration Statement, the proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials that have been and will be filed with the SEC regarding the Merger. Shareholders, potential investors and other readers should read the proxy statement/prospectus carefully before making any voting or investment decisions.

Baytex Energy Corp.

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 contact:

Brian Ector, Vice President, Capital Markets

Toll Free Number: 1-800-524-5521

Email: investor@baytexenergy.com

More Info:

This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire - a global digital news source for investors and business leaders

Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/

Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp
Calgary, Alberta - May 19, 2023 (Newsfile Corp.) (Investorideas.com Newswire) OBSIDIAN ENERGY LTD. (TSX: OBE) (NYSE American: OBE) ("Obsidian Energy", the "Company", "we", "us" or "our") is pleased to provide an update on the status of temporarily shut-in operations due to the impact of recent Alberta wildfires.

The wildfire activity has largely decreased in the Pembina area at this time. As a result, the majority of our Pembina fields that remained shut-in due to evacuation orders or for precautionary measures were restarted on the morning of Wednesday, March 17th, restoring an additional 6,600 boe/d of production on top of the 2,500 boe/d previously brought online. Combined, Pembina now has approximately 9,100 boe/d of light oil-weighted production restored.

With changing weather conditions, the Harmon Valley South field in Peace River was once again taken offline as a precautionary measure. Approximately 5,500 boe/d of heavy oil in Peace River and approximately 1,900 boe/d of light oil weighted production in Pembina is shut-in for a total of 7,400 boe/d curtailed across the two areas due to wildfires. To our knowledge, there has been no damage to the Company's key assets or infrastructure.

The Company will continue to closely monitor the situation as it evolves and provide an update when appropriate as the protection and safety of our people, local communities, and the environment are of the highest priority. With changing winds and weather conditions, we will continue to adjust our plans accordingly to protect our people and the communities and maintain as much business continuity as possible. We are relieved that most of our employees and their families that were affected by evacuation orders have been able to return safely to their homes, and thank our staff, industry partners and emergency responders for their ongoing and tireless work to protect our communities.

ADDITIONAL READER ADVISORIES

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained in this document constitute forward-looking statements or information (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the "safe harbour" provisions of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "forecast", "budget", "may", "will", "project", "could", "plan", "intend", "should", "believe", "outlook", "objective", "aim", "potential", "target" and similar words suggesting future events or future performance. In particular, this document contains forward-looking statements pertaining to, without limitation, the following: that we will continue to monitor the situation and provide an update when appropriate; and that we will continue to adjust our plans accordingly to protect our people and the communities and maintain as much business continuity as possible.

With respect to forward-looking statements contained in this document, the Company has made assumptions regarding, among other things: our ability to restart production; that there has been no damage to key assets and infrastructure; that we are able to monitor the situation by getting accurate and timely information; our ability to execute our plans as described herein and in our other disclosure documents and the impact that the successful execution of such plans will have on our Company and our stakeholders; our ability to execute our capital programs as planned without significant adverse impacts from various factors beyond our control, including extreme weather events, such as wildfires and flooding, infrastructure access and delays in obtaining regulatory approvals and third party consents; our ability to conduct an investigation to better understand the situation; and our ability to obtain equipment and staffing in a timely manner to carry out plans and the costs thereof.

Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this document, and the assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are made, are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements included in this document, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that the forward-looking statements contained herein will not be correct, which may cause our actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any estimates or projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: whether the Company will receive timely and accurate information regarding the wildfires; that there is damage to the Company's key assets and infrastructure; that production will be shut-in longer than expected or have to be shut-in again as wildfires return; whether the Company is in compliance with all regulatory requirements; the possibility that we change our 2023 capital plans in response to internal and external factors, including those described herein; the possibility that the Company will not be able to continue to successfully execute our business plans and strategies in part or in full, and the possibility that some or all of the benefits that the Company anticipates will accrue to our Company and our stakeholders as a result of the successful execution of such plans and strategies do not materialize; and unanticipated operating events or environmental events outside these wildfires that can reduce production or cause production to be shut-in or delayed (including extreme cold during winter months, wildfires and flooding in other areas). Additional information on these and other factors that could affect Obsidian Energy, or its operations or financial results, are included in the Company's Annual Information Form (See "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" therein) which may be accessed through the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com), EDGAR website (www.sec.gov) or Obsidian Energy's website. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive.

Unless otherwise specified, the forward-looking statements contained in this document speak only as of the date of this document. Except as expressly required by applicable securities laws, we do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this document are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Obsidian Energy shares are listed on both the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada and the NYSE American in the United States under the symbol "OBE".

All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.

CONTACT

OBSIDIAN ENERGY

Suite 200, 207 - 9th Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P 1K3

Phone: 403-777-2500

Toll Free: 1-866-693-2707

Website: www.obsidianenergy.com;

Investor Relations:

Toll Free: 1-888-770-2633

E-mail: investor.relations@obsidianenergy.com

More Info:

This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire - a global digital news source for investors and business leaders

Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/

Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp
May 19, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Nuclear gets a bad rap but it is bar none the safest form of power generation. The accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima were all due to human error - poor design, poor site placement and poor training. The technology itself is extremely safe.

Where I live in British Columbia, we get most of our electricity from hydroelectric power. Some time ago, I investigated the possibility

of replacing the Site C dam, a $16-billion disaster, with small modular nuclear reactors, which Natural Resources Canada calls the "future of its nuclear industry." (BC has prohibited nuclear plants and uranium mining, but not provinces like Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.)

Ontario currently gets 60% of its power from nuclear.

Get this: Site C is slated to provide 1,100 megawatts of capacity - enough to power half a million homes. The same goal could be reached by using one large nuclear reactor capable of delivering 1,200 MW (1.2 GW) - at less than half the cost of Site C, or four SMRs, each generating 300 MW, for a quarter of the cost, $4 billion (@ a billion apiece).

Choose thorium-fueled reactors instead of Site C

As I predicted, Germany and Europe were the proving ground for renewable energy, and they have failed.

Inside Germany's renewable energy boondoggle

Isn't it about time we stopped seeing solar and wind as the be all end all, and start talking about what is a realistic mix of fossil fuels, nuclear and renewable energy, needed to make the transition to a green economy, one that helps to reduce carbon emissions at a reasonable cost to taxpayers?

The challenge facing nuclear

In a previous article we showed that replacing fossil fuel-generated power - coal, oil and natural gas - 100% with solar and wind is an untenable proposition. Our research showed it would mean building over 60,000 500-megawatt solar plants, or greater than 120,000 wind farms of the same power capacity.

Nor can we bank on natural gas to see us through to a carbon-free future.

Natural gas is mostly methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says is 86 times more damaging than CO2 over a 20-year period.

According to a study by Wood Mackenzie, LNG will be the biggest source of carbon emission growth by 2025 - due to strong demand from Asian buyers.

Regrettably for nuclear proponents, however, conventional nuclear technology is not being pointed to as a way out of the global warming dilemma. Despite continued growth in global carbon emissions and the safe operation of hundreds of nuclear power plants worldwide, the number of reactors is decreasing, not increasing. As a result of the Fukushima disaster, in March, 2011, Germany promised to close all nuclear plants by 2022. The last three nuclear facilities in Germany were shuttered this past April, meaning the country no longer produces any electricity from nuclear.

In a nutshell, this is the challenge nuclear power faces: it is a necessary component of future energy needs, but without a groundswell of public opinion behind it, and billions of dollars in new investment to replace decrepit conventional nuclear facilities, its impact will be limited.

Having said that, there is a concerted effort happening to build new nuclear reactors and replace existing ones. Under the World Nuclear Association's Harmony Programme, a framework of action for the nuclear industry, 1,000 GWe (gigawatts electrical) of new nuclear capacity is planned by 2050, providing 25% of the world's electricity from the current 10%.

To put that into perspective, there are currently 437 operable nuclear reactors, with a combined capacity of 391.6 GWe. According to the World Nuclear Association, 13 countries in 2021 produced at least one-quarter of their electricity from nuclear. France gets up to around 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy, while Ukraine, Slovakia, Belgium and Hungary get about half. Japan relied on nuclear power for more than one-quarter of its electricity, prior to Fukushima, and is expected to return to somewhere near that level.



Source: World Nuclear Association



Nuclear generation by country, 2021, in terawatt-hours. 1 TWh = 1,000 GWh. Source: World Nuclear Association, IAEA PRIS

The United States has 93 operable nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of 95.8 GWe, which in 2021 produced 19.6% of the country's electricity. This is down from a peak of 104 reactors in 2012.

There had been four AP1000 nuclear reactors (see below) under construction, but two were canceled. The WNA says one of the reasons for the hiatus in new nuclear builds in the United States, is due to successful maintenance strategies:

Over the last 15 years, improved operational performance has increased utilisation of US nuclear power plants, with the increased output equivalent to 19 new 1000 MWe plants being built.

2016 saw the first new nuclear power reactor enter operation in the country for 20 years.

The United States in 2022 got 35% of its uranium, the material needed to fuel the nuclear reaction, from Kazakhstan, 15% from Canada and 14% from Russia, according to the US Energy Information Administration. However a plan is afoot to ban Russian uranium, for the same reason the US halted imports of Russian oil last year, and imposed a price with other Western countries on sea-borne exports of Russia's crude and oil products: the war in Ukraine.

Reuters reported the bill passed 18-12 in the House subcommittee on energy, climate and grid security. To become law, it would have to pass both chambers of Congress and be signed by the president.

Canada has 19 reactors, in 2021 generating 14.3% of its power, with all but one located in Ontario. Ten units are due for refurbishment - six at Bruce and four at Darlington - extending their lives by 30-35 years. Similar refurbishment enabled Ontario to phase out coal in 2014.



Nuclear energy production. Source: World Nuclear Association, IAEA PRIS



World energy production by source, 2020. Source: World Nuclear Association International Energy Agency

SMRs

Facing stiff emissions reduction requirements, several countries are starting to re-assess nuclear power and are looking at building plants that are not as expensive, risky, or politically unpalatable as conventional nuclear. Two of these technologies are small modular reactors (SMR) and molten salt reactors (MSR), the latter powered by thorium, instead of uranium.

Generally defined as less than 300 MWe, SMRs cost much less and can be built more quickly than large nuclear reactors, which are typically 1,000 MW and occupy large tracts of land. Interest in small reactors is driven by a desire to reduce high capital costs and to provide power away from large grid systems. They provide enough electricity to power about 200,000 homes, which is about the same as 120 wind turbines or 60,000 solar panels.

SMRs are constructed with prefabricated modules and can be transported by truck or by rail - making them ideal for remote locations where a conventional reactor would not be feasible. Another important advantage is they are less likely to overheat, because their small cores produce less heat than those of large reactors. They also have fewer moving parts, including coolant pumps, which reduces the likelihood of failures that could cause an accident. The fuel, steam and generator are all in one vessel.

In 2022, the Canadian government announced it would put CAD$970 million in debt financing towards building a commercial small modular reactor - the first such unit in Canada and among the first to be built worldwide.

The reactor would be constructed at Ontario Power Generation's Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Clarington, and is expected to begin supplying power to Ontario's grid by 2028.

According to The Globe and Mail, Ottawa has been providing millions to support Canadian SMR developers, but billions are required to deliver a mature reactor design.

In December 2021, OPG announced it had selected GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy as a partner to build a BWRX-300 small nuclear reactor, capable of providing 300 MW of electricity. By comparison, Darlington's four reactors each provide 935 MW.

While OPG as of March, 2023, had not made a final decision to build the reactor, it expects to do so by the end of 2024. OPG spokesman Neal Kelly in March reiterated a previously announced schedule in which the reactor would be completed by 2028, and generating power the following year.

In addition to OPG, other utilities including Saskatchewan's SaskPower and the Tennessee Valley Authority have expressed interest in building BWRX-300s, as have companies in Poland and Estonia, The Globe and Mail reports.

Meanwhile Westinghouse, which built the world's first commercial pressurized water reactor in Shippingport, PA, recently announced the launch of a smaller version of its flagship AP1000 nuclear reactor. The unit is, like the BWRX-300, able to generate 300 MW of electricity, enough to power 300,000 homes, versus 1,200 MW for the AP1000. It is expected to be available in 2027, at a cost of USD$1 billion per unit - significantly less than the $6.8B estimated to bring an AP1000 online.



Artist's rendering of the new Westinghouse AP300 small nuclear reactor. Source: Westinghouse

Their small size and lower cost compared to large nuclear reactors, makes small modular reactors more versatile, meaning significantly more utilities will be able to use them.

It's also easier to connect them to the power grid. An AP300 produces roughly the same amount of electricity as a typical coal plant, making the switch-out relatively straight-forward.

In Canada, SMRs are considered ideal for deployment to off-grid, remote locations such as mine sites or the oil sands, as well as communities in northern Canada reliant on diesel-fueled generators for electricity.

Small nuclear reactors are also being eyed by industrial producers as carbon-free sources of heat.

"One aspect of many of the advanced reactor technologies, including high-temperature gas, molten-salt and sodium fast reactors, is they can produce industrial grade heat for non-power purposes or combined heat and power applications for industries such as steel making, chemical production, cement production, and milling and mining among many others," Jeffrey Merrifield, a nuclear energy lawyer and a former commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, told CNBC.

Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Ontario have all signed MOUs with the federal government to explore SMR technologies. Some of the most advanced research is being conducted in New Brunswick.

NB Power is currently working with two private-sector partners, ARC Clean Technology and Moltex Energy, to advance Generation IV Plus Grid-sized SMR technology for use in New Brunswick.

The New Brunswick Energy Solutions Corporation, a provincial Crown corporation, committed CAD$10 million in 2018 towards the establishment of an advanced SMR Research Cluster in the Maritime province. Moltex and ARC also each invested $5 million to progress research and development of their technologies.

Last month, the New Brunswick government signed an agreement with the government of Saskatchewan, to further enhance collaboration on the development and deployment of SMRs.



Further afield, France this year announced USD$1.1 billion to develop an SMR design. While no SMRs have yet been built in the United States, the Department of Energy has announced up to $5.5B in funding.

As interest in SMRs picks up, the demand for large nuclear reactors like the AP1000, remains strong.

According to CNBC, the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia is adding two AP1000s at a current cost estimate of over $30 billion.

Westinghouse reportedly has an agreement to build nine AP1000s in Ukraine, has been selected to build three in Poland, and is in the running for another 11 AP1000s throughout Europe.

Merrifield noted that Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are among countries in Africa and Asian showing interest in larger units.

The main advantage of large nuclear reactors compared to small ones is their ability to produce electricity more cheaply.

Fusion

For decades, the holy grail of nuclear scientists has been a commercially viable nuclear fusion power plant, that would replicate the same process that takes place naturally in the Sun.

Unlike fission, the way we produce nuclear energy now, fusion merges atoms together instead of splitting them. It would create many times more energy than fission, without the use of radioactive materials, meaning no nuclear waste is produced (although neutron bombardment would cause a nuclear fusion plant to become slightly radioactive, these radioactive products are short-lived).

However, because nuclear fusion requires more energy than it produces, it has thus far eluded scientists as a viable energy solution.

Recent nuclear fusion news is more about hydrogen bombs than energy-related

In December, the U.S. Department of Energy made what media outlets called "a historic announcement," regarding scientists achieving a net energy gain in a nuclear fusion reaction, meaning that more energy was generated than the amount of energy needed to power the reaction. (CNBC, Dec. 13, 2022)

The reaction took place at the DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, which houses the National Ignition Facility (NIF). There, a laser system consisting of 192 lasers bombarded a pea-sized capsule of deuterium-tritium, which are isotopes of hydrogen that have, respectively, one and two neutrons in their nuclei in addition to the single proton that is hydrogen's nuclear characteristic. The capsule was heated to over 3 million degrees Celsius, causing an ignition that briefly simulated the conditions of a star. Light from the ignition can theoretically be picked up by a fluid and used to generate steam that powers a turbine.

It took 2.05 megajoules of energy input for the experiment, which generated 3.15MJ of fusion energy output. The caveat is that it took more than 30 times that amount of energy to run the laser.



Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Since then, five attempts to repeat the experiment have failed. Indeed the challenge of moving fusion from the R&D stage to something further along, has proved daunting.

In July 2021, ground was broken on assembling the million-component International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), coming shortly after its seven-member nuclear nations successfully installed and assembled the reactor base.

Plugging the fossil fuel energy gap with nuclear

Located in southern France, the 23,000-ton ITER Tokamak is one of a handful of "miniature suns" under development worldwide. Thirty-five years in the making, it will eventually form the planet's largest "tokamak", or plasma reactor. In 2025, when the giant assembly project is expected to be completed, with all its core parts installed, fully integrated and ready to produce plasma, the reactor will begin a month-long process of heating up to 150 million degrees Celsius, with a trio of heating elements pulling a combined 50MW of power, enough for about 10,000 homes. That will bring the plasma to a temperature 10 times greater than the sun's in the doughnut-shaped reactor to generate as much as 500MW of energy for brief bursts, explains Popular Mechanics.

It will take another five years for full plasma generation, expected in 2030.



ITER as seen under construction in 2021. Source: Handout

Dr. Dennis Whyte, a Canadian scientist and engineer who directs fusion research at MIT, is among those who sees a different path forward. As The Globe and Mail's science reporter Ivan Semeniuk explains, Whyte prodded his students to consider whether the advent of stronger magnets than those used by ITER could make a tokamak that could reach net energy but that was smaller and therefore cheaper to build.



According to the Fusion Industry Association, 33 companies have to date raised roughly $5 billion, and a high percentage of surveyed companies believe that commercial fusion will be a reality by the next decade.

One of the leading lights is Commonwealth Fusion, set up in 2018 as a spinoff from the work being done by Whyte and his students at MIT. At a site an hour's drive from Boston, Commonwealth is vying to become the first private company with a fusion reactor that achieves "net energy", like the Livermore lab briefly did in December. So far the company has raised over $5 billion from backers including Bill Gates.



Commonwealth Fusion's new headquarters is near Devens, Mass. Source: Commonwealth Fusion Systems

Another company is Vancouver-based General Fusion, which has raised more than $300 million from investors such as Jeff Bezos and Tamasek Holdings, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund. General Fusion is developing an approach called targeted magnetic fusion, first explored by the US Naval Research Laboratory in the 1970s, wherein hot magnetized plasma is confined inside a spinning vortex of liquid metal. Its demonstration reactor is located in Oxfordshire, England.



Source: General Fusion

The Globe reports that General Fusion has signed a memorandum of understanding with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories in Chalk River, Ont. The research facility is equipped to work with, and test, technologies related to tritium handling that will be needed in a future pilot power plant. First Light Fusion has announced a similar arrangement.

The latter, based in Britain, is seeking to trigger fusion through the rapid compression of specially-designed fuel targets - a similar idea to the one employed by the above-mentioned National Ignition Facility, except that it replaces a laser with a gun that fires projectiles at targets with velocities approaching the speed of sound.

California-based TAE Technologies is developing a system that involves firing plasma into a cylindrical chamber where it forms a smoke-ring-like structure that generates its own self-confining magnetic field. The principle, known as field-reversed configuration, is also favoured by Helion Energy Inc., based in Everett, Wash.

Helion made headlines when it signed a deal last week with Microsoft to sell electricity from a fusion reactor, starting in five years.

The energy-purchase agreement commits Helion to supply the tech giant with 50 MW from 2028. According to Singularity Hub,

The company has already built six prototype plants and says its latest test reactor, which will come online next year, will demonstrate the ability to generate electricity. And by 2028 it plans to have a 50-megawatt commercial plant up and running...

Helion is also relying on a somewhat unconventional approach to nuclear fusion. The result achieved at LLNL worked by firing high-energy lasers at a tiny piece of fuel. Most other fusion experiments over the years have used tokamaks-doughnut-shaped vessels that use powerful magnets to contain plasma, which is then heated up to fusion temperatures.

The approach Helion is taking is called a "pulsed non-ignition fusion system," according to MIT Tech Review. It also relies on magnets to contain a super-heated plasma, but rather than heating it further to fusion temperatures, the magnets are used to smash two rings of plasma together at a million miles an hour to trigger a fusion reaction.

Helion has attracted some of the biggest backers in tech, including a $375-million investment from Sam Altman, the CEO of Open AI. Microsoft has reportedly invested $10-billion in OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.

Finally in Japan, a consortium of public- and private-sector groups is investing in a startup working to commercialize fusion power. Nikkei Asia reports that the 16 companies, including Mitsubishi Corp, Kansai Electric Power, and a government-affiliated fund, will plow around 10 billion yen (USD$72.2 million) into the startup, created at Kyoto University and called Kyoto Fusioneering.

The company uses advanced plasma-heating equipment to develop gyrotons, which are key components in creating nuclear fusion reactions. The technology won Kyoto Fusioneering an award from the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority.



Source: Kyoto Fusioneering

According to Nikkei Asia, In 2024, a small-scale experimental fusion reactor plant will be built in Japan to determine whether gyrotrons and other devices can perform over extended periods...

The technology is moving toward commercialization, possibly in the 2030s.

Conclusion

Will nuclear fusion be the solution to the world's energy dilemma? The no-carbon answer to the need to transition away from fossil fuel sources?

The work done so far is encouraging. There are over 30 companies racing to develop a workable fusion reactor, with billions of dollars being spent on R&D from both the public and the private sector. Some of the tech sector's richest people, including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Sam Altman, have placed big-dollar bets on fusion.

Yet as exciting as it will be if the commercial players reach their goals, it is unlikely that fusion reactors will have significant presence on power grids before 2040, let alone deliver the world from carbon by 2050, states science reporter Ivan Semeniuk, who has done a lot of research on the topic for The Globe and Mail.

The International Energy Agency doesn't expect electricity from fusion to be produced until the second half of the century, and as difficult as it is to control sun-hot plasma, it's been equally hard to control the cost of making it. (CNN, May 12, 2023)

Indeed, even if fusion is commercialized, bringing the cost per kilowatt hour down to a level that can compete with natural gas and renewables, is likely to be a huge challenge.

In the meantime, we have traditional fission-based nuclear reactors, both large and small, that despite opposition from some anti-nuclear groups, are in high demand, particular in Africa and Asia.

Remember, 1,000 GWe of new nuclear capacity is planned by 2050, providing 25% of the world's electricity from the current 10%.

The development of small, modular nuclear reactors is an interesting development, especially given the potential for SMRs to be used in industrial applications. The units can produce industrial-grade heat for non-power purposes or combined heat and power applications for industries such as steel making, chemical production, cement production, and milling and mining.

The Site C dam is slated to provide 1,100 megawatts of capacity - enough to power half a million homes. The same goal could be reached using four small nuclear reactors, each capable of delivering 300 MW, at a fraction of the cost ($4 billion versus $16 billion).

Imagine employing an SMR in the Canadian oil sands, or at big US oilfields like Midway-Sunset and Belridge. The "waste heat" used in thermal oil recovery - where steam is injected into an oil formation to recover the oil and pump it to surface - could be worth billions.

Richard (Rick) Mills

aheadoftheherd.com

subscribe to my free newsletter

Legal Notice / Disclaimer

Ahead of the Herd newsletter, aheadoftheherd.com, hereafter known as AOTH.

Please read the entire Disclaimer carefully before you use this website or read the newsletter. If you do not agree to all the AOTH/Richard Mills Disclaimer, do not access/read this website/newsletter/article, or any of its pages. By reading/using this AOTH/Richard Mills website/newsletter/article, and whether you actually read this Disclaimer, you are deemed to have accepted it.

Any AOTH/Richard Mills document is not, and should not be, construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for any investment.

AOTH/Richard Mills has based this document on information obtained from sources he believes to be reliable, but which has not been independently verified.

AOTH/Richard Mills makes no guarantee, representation or warranty and accepts no responsibility or liability as to its accuracy or completeness.

Expressions of opinion are those of AOTH/Richard Mills only and are subject to change without notice.

AOTH/Richard Mills assumes no warranty, liability or guarantee for the current relevance, correctness or completeness of any information provided within this Report and will not be held liable for the consequence of reliance upon any opinion or statement contained herein or any omission.

Furthermore, AOTH/Richard Mills assumes no liability for any direct or indirect loss or damage for lost profit, which you may incur as a result of the use and existence of the information provided within this AOTH/Richard Mills Report.

You agree that by reading AOTH/Richard Mills articles, you are acting at your OWN RISK. In no event should AOTH/Richard Mills liable for any direct or indirect trading losses caused by any information contained in AOTH/Richard Mills articles. Information in AOTH/Richard Mills articles is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. AOTH/Richard Mills is not suggesting the transacting of any financial instruments.

Our publications are not a recommendation to buy or sell a security - no information posted on this site is to be considered investment advice or a recommendation to do anything involving finance or money aside from performing your own due diligence and consulting with your personal registered broker/financial advisor. AOTH/Richard Mills recommends that before investing in any securities, you consult with a professional financial planner or advisor, and that you should conduct a complete and independent investigation before investing in any security after prudent consideration of all pertinent risks. Ahead of the Herd is not a registered broker, dealer, analyst, or advisor. We hold no investment licenses and may not sell, offer to sell, or offer to buy any security.

More Info:

This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire - a global digital news source for investors and business leaders

Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/

Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp
Sometimes it seems that trying to figure out the intricacies of climate change will fry our brains faster that all that nasty carbon dioxide will fry our planet.

Finding the relevant information isnt the problem. It overwhelms us from every communications channel known to mankind, seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, everything, everywhere, all at once. The problem is that there is just so much of it that it loses almost all semblance of clarity, like the pre-flight safety announcement on a budget airline.

But as a wise man was once reported to have said; if you must eat an elephant, then do it in small bites. Ireland is a small bite in the global context of climate change but this doesnt mean that we shouldnt search for opportunities that may lie in a threat, even an existential one like this.

It's only little more than a century since our national catch cry was that Englands difficulty is Irelands opportunity and as we are all being urged to recycle, so why not a slogan?

The puzzle for the futurists is to feed forward to that joyful day when all the current global behavioural changes have worked, the planet is back in balance and the climate is unchanging. So why not take a bite of that piece of the elephant marked with a green shamrock.

Some numbers to start. They are unavoidable in this context, so put down your earphones, lock your tray table in the upright position and pay attention, even if you have heard all this before.

In the Irish Governments most recent climate action plan (CAP 23), we are legally bound to reduce carbon emissions by 51% by 2030 (Baseline 2018). In specific, sectoral targets for this will mean reducing electricity production emissions by 75%, building emissions by 45% and agriculture by 25%.

Recent investments in the Irish renewable sector

April 2021 : rsted a Nordic company with a majority of shares owned by the Danish government acquired 100% of Brookfield Renewable Ireland (BRI) for 571. BRI, headquartered in Cork, was a developer, owner, and operator of onshore wind farms. The investment represented Orsteds first venture into on shore wind farms.

: rsted a Nordic company with a majority of shares owned by the Danish government acquired 100% of Brookfield Renewable Ireland (BRI) for 571. BRI, headquartered in Cork, was a developer, owner, and operator of onshore wind farms. The investment represented Orsteds first venture into on shore wind farms. February 2022 : GLIL Infrastructure (GLIL) a Manchester-based 3 billion pension fund that invests in core infrastructure projects acquired a majority interest in Invis Energys portfolio of 11 operational onshore wind farms that provide around 11% of the Republic of Irelands installed wind capacity. The farms are based in Cork, Kerry, Clare, Galway and Mayo. It was GLILs first investment outside the UK.

: GLIL Infrastructure (GLIL) a Manchester-based 3 billion pension fund that invests in core infrastructure projects acquired a majority interest in Invis Energys portfolio of 11 operational onshore wind farms that provide around 11% of the Republic of Irelands installed wind capacity. The farms are based in Cork, Kerry, Clare, Galway and Mayo. It was GLILs first investment outside the UK. September 2022 : Corio, a portfolio company of the Edinburgh-based Green Investment Group joins with Gaeltacht-based Fuinneamh Sceirde Teoranta to develop the first commercial-scale offshore wind project on Irelands west coast.

Every aspect and action in our society that causes harm, no matter how remote or insignificant has a call-to-action plan under CAP23.

Clarity number one: achievement of CAP 23 targets will cause structural, economic political and societal disruption on a scale rarely seen since the foundation of the state.

Russell Smyth, head of sustainable futures at KPMG, Ireland has run the numbers, carefully.

The estimated investment requirement to deliver the Irish Climate Action Plan is in excess of 125 billion, Russell reckons. Investment in electric vehicles represents the largest single capital component, followed by 37 billion in renewable energy and grid investment and 35 billion in decarbonising Irelands house and building stock.

Clarity number two: There is going to chunks of money sloshing around in our economy over the next ten years or, as Smyth describes it, a wall of capital".

Most of this money will find its way to ESG investment vehicles. Simply put, ESG investing is placing funding where environmental, social and governance issues have been considered in the decision-making process. Conscientious capital. Profit with a purpose.

Each of the three ESG pillars has a number of identified areas indicating where capital is best employed and there are few surprises. Build renewable energy sources. Dont employ children in your factories. Stop bribing corrupt buyers etc.

Clarity number three: This would be a good time for to channel Irish ESG investment into assets that the world will need into the long term, assets we can sell for centuries. With forensic and granular precision Every year, Ernst and Young undertakes a global survey to measure Irelands attractiveness as a location for foreign direct investment.

The good news is that we are still a desirable location for international mobile capital. The more challenging news is that the criteria in the decision chains are changing and investment in the decarbonisation of Irelands energy system to accelerate progress towards a net-zero economy was highlighted as a necessary area of policy focus.

Any policy missteps now, or worse still, state complacency could be regressive to the dependable flow of this investment in future years.

A significant potential misstep was identified in a recent Government policy announcement regarding offshore wind farms, which effectively redirected about 20% of commercial output to green hydrogen production.

Another mandate in the document was that all future offshore wind farms are built in designated marine areas which have yet to be identified and may not be for at least another year. Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, greeted the announcement as a radical change in policy from Government and one that would cause massive levels of uncertainty among those considering buying into our tendency for windy weather.

Russell Smyth puts it this way: Ireland is increasingly having to compete against other global nations going on the same decarbonisation journey and it must provide consistent, long-term and predictable government policy to remain internationally competitive and attractive.

Clarity number four: The planets difficulty is Irelands opportunity. Our brand as a sustainable economy is positive in the international investment community and its not immoral to make some profit if it has a purpose.

But careful now. The wind can alter direction with suddenly and unexpectedly.
The possibilities around so-called green hydrogen and Corks enviable position to take advantage of the burgeoning industry have been talked out for years  but the progress is frustratingly slow as Irelands long-mooted hydrogen strategy remains unpublished.

A national hydrogen strategy has long been mooted by Government and after a number delays, is due to be published by the end of June.

Cork has been earmarked by Government and business leaders as a potentially leading region for green hydrogen production, with Environment Minister Eamon Ryan extolling the region as suited to lead the way because of existing and natural infrastructure.

Yet further delays to the publication of the national strategy would not be a surprise, however maddening for industry figures.

After all, it was January 2022 when the Government said it would kickstart the national strategy before July of that year, after a major report said Ireland was lagging behind other countries, despite enormous potential.

As other countries in Europe push on with it, Ireland has yet to get out of the blocks.

Head of strategy at Cork and Limerick-based offshore survey service company Green Rebel, Catherine Sheridan, said: We have a huge opportunity within our reach for Cork to become the hydrogen capital of Ireland, producing and storing vast amounts of energy without emitting carbon dioxide. However, ambitious policy decisions and significant investment will be needed if were to reach our full potential and claim our place as global leaders in this sector.

Catherine Sheridan, of Green Rebel, says Cork has already attracted interest from international companies looking to invest in green hydrogen projects.

British firm Aurora Energy Research, which is among the biggest power market analytics companies in Europe, said Ireland could become a continental leader in the space, but warned more policy support was needed to realise its potential.

Ireland is currently well behind the curve compared to other European countries when it comes to green hydrogen, which produces energy through the electrolysis of water, while eliminating emissions by using renewable energy.

Its supporters say it could completely revolutionise clean energy, while its detractors say it is too cumbersome and costly to achieve on a mass scale  however, it has turned even the heads of skeptics in recent years as costs come down.

The new analysis from Aurora suggests "production under optimal conditions" would lead to the lowest costs in Europe by 2030, 8% lower than optimal production costs in Spain and 35% lower than in Germany.

Irelands competitive advantage stems from its high wind speeds, particularly in the west, compared to other European countries, and rising congestion within the electricity transmission system, the firm said.

Ms Sheridan said Cork is an ideal location for a green hydrogen hub because of its strong renewable energy resources, particularly in the form of wind and solar energy.

The harbour is the second largest natural harbour in the world with deep-water channels and deep-water berths capable of supporting a thriving green hydrogen sector.

Corks well-established industrial base in chemicals, pharmaceuticals and food processing can benefit from the use of green hydrogen as an energy source or feedstock. The large port and shipping industry could use green hydrogen as a fuel for their vessels, reducing their carbon footprint significantly," she said.

International firms are aware of Corks potential, backing up what Auroras research has found.

The Irish government has also demonstrated its commitment to the development of green hydrogen, with a target of producing 2 GW of electrolysis capacity by 2030. Cork has already attracted interest from international companies looking to invest in green hydrogen projects, which will help to drive the development of this industry in the region, Ms Sheridan said.

Companies like Green Rebel will be key in such projects, she added.

By engaging local supply chains, offshore wind companies can achieve social licence for such infrastructure which is aligned to the GenComm ideals. The GenComm project has shown that community-owned green hydrogen production and storage systems can be successful in Cork, and with the right investment and support, the region has the potential to become a global leader in the green hydrogen economy.

GenComm is one of many projects set up by Interreg that is funded by the European Commission, with the intention of turning the northwest of Europe into a major world economic player as well as an attractive place to work and live, according to industry body Hydrogen Ireland.

Auroras insights suggest that Irelands role would be pivotal  but that we need to get moving.

The Government aims to install 2GW of offshore wind generation connected to electrolysers by 2030, which could produce up to 138 kilotons of green hydrogen annually," it added.

"Developers could also produce green hydrogen from surplus renewable power that would otherwise be curtailed."

For context, proponents of green hydrogen calculate that one kiloton of hydrogen can be used to fuel 240 buses for one year, produce 20 kilotons of steel, or generate 22.5 gigawatt hours of electricity.

The firm cautioned that for the plans to come to fruition, there would need to be favourable policy changes such as incentives for producers and relief on infrastructure costs.

Aurora head of research for the UK and Ireland, Marlon Dey, said: "Ireland has the potential to become a green hydrogen powerhouse. Its abundance of high wind speeds presents a key competitive advantage, but significant financial support will be critical to kickstarting the industry, either by bringing hydrogen costs in line with natural gas prices, or by paying the cost difference to consumers directly.

Despite favourable production economics, Ireland is not yet an attractive option for hydrogen developers, the analysis found.

The firm's research product manager for Ireland, Nick Byrne, said: Auroras latest Hydrogen Market Attractiveness Report ranks the Republic of Ireland 14th of the 15 EU countries considered, primarily because it lacks a national hydrogen strategy.

"This is due to change in the spring, potentially propelling Ireland to the other end of the rankings, but only if the strategy addresses all aspects of the market  policy support for supply, demand, and infrastructure is crucial."

Kevin O' Donoghue, ESB, Conor Mowlds, Port of Cork Company, and Ciaran McManus, ESB, at the official signing of a memorandum of understanding which aims to support the development of Ireland's renewable energy sector.

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said that hydrogen, including hydrogen-based fuels and derivatives, provides us with an incredible opportunity in Ireland.

It provides the potential for long-duration energy storage, dispatchable renewable electricity, the opportunity to decarbonise some parts of high-temperature processing and a potential export market opportunity, given Ireland's offshore renewable energy potential. The Government has committed to targeting an initial 2GW of floating offshore wind, which will include projects available for green hydrogen production and other non-grid uses.

A hydrogen strategy for Ireland is being developed, with an anticipated completion timeline of the second quarter of this year, he added.

This strategy will set out the need for a robust safety and regulatory framework to be in place, as well as the need to ensure licensing and permitting procedures are in place to enable sustainable indigenously produced green hydrogen supply chains to develop, he said.

Given such timelines have come and gone before, it would not be a surprise if the second quarter deadline is not met. However, it has to happen soon, lest the incredible opportunity be squandered before it even has a chance to get going.
In 2022, greenhouse gas emissions from Irish power generation and industrial companies, covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, decreased by 4%.

Emissions decreased by 2% from the electricity generation sector. The decrease in industrial emissions is over 7%, with the cement industry emissions decreasing by almost 9%.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as the Competent Authority in Ireland for the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), released its preliminary analysis of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 from the ETS sector. Emissions from Irish power generation and industrial companies decreased by 4% (more than 600.000 tonnes) in 2022.

This compares with a decrease of approximately 1.2% across Europe, according to preliminary analysis by carbon analysts of the data released today by the EU Commission.

Irelands ETS sector delivered a decrease in emissions in 2022 due to a combination of factors, including increased use of renewable electricity and renewable fuels as well as a decrease in cement production.

In the electricity sector, there was less use of coal and peat-fired generation compared to the previous year, as conventional gas generation was available along with renewable energy. Fossil-fired power stations continued to play a strong role in meeting a high electricity demand.

Laura Burke, Director General, Environmental Protection Agency.

While the decrease we are seeing for 2022 from the emissions trading sector is welcome, 2022 emissions are in fact slightly above the pre-pandemic levels in 2019, said Laura Burke, EPA Director General. Much more needs to be done if the sectoral targets under the 2023 Climate Action Plan are to be reached. The challenges faced in the power generation sector are in sharp focus at the moment. Decisions taken now must recognise the urgency of the climate change challenge and support the delivery of reductions in emissions through the development and roll out of a range of low carbon and renewable solutions.

Energy Industries show a decrease in emissions of 9.4% over the period 1990 to 2021. Over the time series, emissions from electricity generation have decreased by 10.5% whereas total electricity consumption has increased by 150.5%.

Emissions from electricity generation increased from 1990 to 2001 by 54.3% and have decreased by 42.1% between 2001 and 2021. This decrease reflects the improvement in efficiency of modern gas-fired power plants replacing older peat and oil-fired plants and the increased share of renewables, primarily, wind power along with increased interconnectivity.

This year was the lowest year in the 32-year time series for peat-fired electricity generation, 68% less than in 2020. These reductions reflect the gradual ending of peat-fired electricity generation for market and climate policy reasons.

Emissions from electricity generation had decreased year-on-year from 2016 to 2020, but 2021 has seen an increase of 18.8% compared to 2020. In 2021, there was a tripling of coal and oil used for electricity generation due to the unavailability of enough gas-fired generation and lower renewables.

Emerging business heroes of Irish Renewables

As Ireland continues it ongoing objective to reduce emissions, a wide cross-section of companies are heeding the call with innovative ideas and initiatives designed to tackle the challenge of climate change head-on.

Some are large corporations with a variety of divisions, while others are nimble and focused start-ups  and all are committed to investing in Ireland's huge renewable energy potential. The following companies represent a broad cross-section of this important and growing sector  some are already household names, others are the stars of tomorrow.

NOVOGRID

NovoGrid is a pioneer in Grid Edge Intelligence software with a suite of patented software products which benefit electricity generators and utilities.

Prof Andrew Keane of UCD and co-founder and chief technology officer of Novogrid, with Paul Manning, co-founder and chief commerical officer.

The company has developed a number of novel control technologies for distributed generators and system operators allowing them to maximise the efficiency of their energy delivery without the need for extensive communications infrastructure. GridBoost is a patented grid edge intelligence software technology that automates and removes inefficiencies in renewable generators and electrical grid operations and was developed by Professor Andrew Keane and his team at University College Dublin. NovoGrid, a UCD spin-out company supported by NovaUCD, was established to commercialise the technology. Using Already installed in a number of wind farms in the UK, GridBoost could save 33 million kWh of renewable energy wasted annually, reducing carbon emissions by 16,200 tonnes and saving the Irish consumer 2.2 million.

NVP ENERGY

NVP Energy delivers efficient and sustainable wastewater treatment solution, providing a professional, end-to-end service covering all aspects of the project, from calculating the feasibility of the installation, to ensuring a detailed handover and training as well as providing an aftercare service tailored to specific needs. Its technology treats wastewater and produces energy in one efficient package, helping slash wastewater charges by up to 60%, has negligible sludge management costs and qualifies for renewable energy incentives. The combined effect results in an average return on investment of three years.

TERRA SOLAR

Terra Solar is at the forefront of solar energy development in Ireland, helping lead the way in developing renewable energy sources and increasing energy independence. The business exclusively develops, finances, constructs and operates solar farms on the island of Ireland, partnering with commercial enterprises and private landowners to identify suitable sites for solar development and subsequently bring those sites from planning and grid approval stage through to fully operational solar farms. Irelands temperate climate is perfectly suited to the development of solar energy. While we do not benefit from the same level of sunshine as southern regions, our lower temperatures significantly improve the performance and lifetime of solar cells. Solar energy generation is as economically viable as wind energy generation in Ireland without suffering the same drawbacks from a construction and planning standpoint.

NTR

For two decades, NTR has invested in renewable energy and during that period has, through its associated companies, constructed and operated c.2GW of wind projects and 630MW of solar projects across Europe and the US. Since 2015, NTR has acquired and managed renewable energy investments on behalf of third party investors through its renewable energy funds. It recently announced the successful deployment of two Battery Storage Systems in Co Wexford. Gorey battery storage 9MW and Avonbeg battery storage 16 MW are contracted to provide DS3 services to EirGrid. The batteries are critical in enabling the transmission system operator to increase the levels of renewable energy on the Irish grid system. Both the Gorey and Avonbeg facilities have also achieved capacity market contracts, highlighting the increasing demand for energy storage solutions as renewable energy sources become more prevalent.

SEABASED

Seabaseds proprietary technology generates stable and predictable power that enables grid operators to increase the amount of renewables they can incorporate into the energy mix, either through stand-alone wave parks or in combination with other renewables such as offshore wind. The company has committed itself to solving the challenges standing between wave powers tremendous potential and cost-effective implementation. Its scientists and engineers have amassed more than 300 patents and 20 PhD theses; developing and ocean testing full-scale generators in four countries, including two multi-generator grid-connected demonstration wave power park. It is currently planning a 10-MW wave power park in Tongatapu in the South Pacific island country of Tonga, designed to tackle high energy costs. An initial 2-MW phase is expected to save Tonga 1.87m, replace two million litres of fuel and provide enough power for 2,800 homes. The second phase will add a further 8 MW. It is projected to meet half Tongas energy needs and reduce emissions by 20%.

GAZELLE WIND POWER

Gazelle Wind Power Limited is unlocking the massive deep-water offshore wind market to achieve global decarbonisation. The companys durable, disruptive hybrid floating platform with a high stability attenuated pitch surmounts the current barriers of buoyancy and geographic limitations while reducing costs and preserving fragile marine environments.

Gazelle Wind Powers innovative, stable, hybrid attenuated mooring platform allows for a 70% reduction in the weight of steel, while delivering significant cost savings.

The company is based in Dublin and has a presence in Dubai, London, Madrid, Paris, and Texas. Offshore wind projects have traditionally lagged behind onshore and other renewable energy projects, with costs of construction, installation, and maintenance hindering their widespread adoption. Gazelle Wind Powers innovative, stable, hybrid attenuated mooring platform is designed and engineered by leading naval engineers to enable floating offshore wind production in deeper waters farther out at sea. The patented design allows for a 70% reduction in the weight of steel, while delivering a highly stable platform together with a 30% cost reduction compared to other floating wind platforms.

OBELISK

Obelisk is an internationally competitive professional engineering services business providing infrastructure solutions for the telecoms and power sectors in Ireland, UK and Africa. Founded in 1996, it employs over 300 people across office locations in Dublin, Cavan and Cape Town. The companys core activity is in providing solutions and resources to telecoms, power transmission and distribution, renewable energy and tower infrastructure industries. At present, Obelisk are testing out a fleet of electric vehicles, as part of the EV Commercial Fleet Trial  a pilot scheme run by SEAI on behalf of Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland - providing businesses with the opportunity to trial battery electric vehicles as part of their day-to-day jobs, to showcase the cost and emissions savings that an EV fleet can offer. Obelick plans the electrification of its commercial fleet, with the goal of eradicating 98% of Scope 1 emissions.

BORD NA MONA

Bord na Mona is a semi-state climate solutions company helping lead Ireland towards a climate-neutral future. It provides employment for approximately 1500 people and manages a land holding of over 80,000 hectares. Its ambition is to create the right conditions to store carbon and protect biodiversity, while helping to deliver ongoing sustainable energy security for Ireland. The company works across wind, solar, biomass and biogas to power the national grid with clean energy. Many of Irelands wind turbines are installed on cutaway bogs - lands that were once harvested for peat but are now being rehabilitated for renewable energy infrastructure, biodiversity and public enjoyment. Returning 8,000 hectares of raised bogs to their natural state will help absorb carbon from the atmosphere - this stops further release of carbon dioxide and, in time, enables the bog to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

SOLAR ELECTRIC

Solar Electric, as one of the leading companies offering Solar panels in Ireland, recently joined Pinergy, giving access to a strategic partnership with the most innovative and sustainable electricity providers in Ireland. The market for solar photovoltaic systems is growing rapidly. A greater understanding of the need to invest in renewables is coupled with the energy crisis, which has heightened financial drivers for cheaper energy. The removal of barriers to installing solar PV systems will kick-start even more rapid growth, following the 2022 government removal of the need for planning permission to put solar panels on roofs. A second impactful change was the introduction of the option to sell excess power back to a provider  a revenue stream that means the cost of installing a system can be retrieved far more quickly.

WIND ENERGY IRELAND

Wind Energy Ireland (WEI) is the representative body for the Irish wind industry, working to promote wind energy as an essential, economical and environmentally friendly part of the countrys low-carbon energy future. As Irelands largest renewable energy organisation, it encompasses more than 150 members who have come together to plan, build, operate and support the development of the countrys chief renewable energy resource. It is an all-Ireland body, working in Northern Ireland through a partnership with RenewableUK. More than a third of Irelands power came from wind farms in March, with the countrys main renewable energy source meeting 40 per cent of electricity demand over the first three months of 2023. Prices on the wholesale electricity market continued their gradual fall, helped by Irish wind farms, for the third consecutive month.

DUBLIN OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY

Dublin Offshore Technology was founded on the belief that sustainable development of the blue economy can change peoples lives for the better. Its mission is to engineer technology solutions for the worlds oceans, work which is particularly focused on the fixed and floating offshore wind sector. The ESB recently announced that it will invest in the company, allow it expand its business in the growing market for floating offshore wind energy. The companys innovative technology solution for floating offshore wind mooring systems provides significant design improvements for the wind farm, with an optimised mooring system delivering these benefits using locally-sourced materials tried and tested in the offshore environment with no degradation over the full lifetime of the wind farm. The investment will allow Dublin Offshore Technology position itself as a global leader in this rapidly growing market.

NINES PHOTOVOLTAICS

Nines Photovoltaics was established in 2010, with a dedicated team that is focused on bringing new innovative process technology, machinery and equipment to the international Photovoltaic (PV) solar cell manufacturing industry.

Nines Photovoltaics brings new innovative process technology, machinery and equipment to the international Photovoltaic (PV) solar cell manufacturing industry.

The company is based in Dublin, with its areas of expertise including technical project management; production focused process engineering; and turnkey process equipment with integrated control systems. Nines Photovoltaic is a sister company of Nines Engineering, set up in 2007, and built up based on the founders experience, knowledge and contacts within the Semiconductor manufacturing industry. In 2009 the management team identified opportunities in the Photovoltaic (PV) space in which they could bring their extensive Semiconductor industry knowledge, and add value to the sector by developing novel processing technologies.

ENERPOWER

Enerpower are Irelands leading provider of renewable energy solutions for commercial and industrial sectors. The company was established in 2005 to meet the demands of the changing business landscape whereby businesses were looking towards the environmental and economic benefits of choosing renewable energy. Enerpower are committed to using biomass fuel, solar panel technology, heat pump technology and wind energy to ensure businesses will save money on heating and energy and reduce their impact on the environment. In 2021 Enerpower opened what it claims to be the single largest solar farm in the country. Developed in a joint venture with pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, the 16-acre facility will help power a significant proportion of the Lilly plant at its Dunderrow site with sustainable energy.

BNRG

Headquartered in Dublin with operations in the US, the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia, BNRG is a pioneering developer and operator of solar projects. Since 2007 the company has worked alongside its development, technology and investment partners to finance, build, manage and own solar farms that today produce more than 150,000 MWh of clean electricity, with more than 1.5 GW of active projects in the development pipeline. In 2022, AIB has invested 8.5 million in BNRG, convertible into equity if the business goes about raising funding, which it is expected to do this year. The company currently has a solar development pipeline of 2.7 gigawatts across Ireland, the US, UK and Australia, equivalent to about half of peak electricity demand in the Republic, in addition to 23 megawatts of operating assets in the US.

SOLAR AD TEK

Providing solar powered LED lighting systems to illuminate outdoor advertising displays such as bus shelters and billboards. The system combines a proprietary Solar Control Unit and customized LED lighting modules with efficient solar panels and batteries to deliver autonomous, reliable and cost effective solar lighting solutions. Replacing existing fluorescent tubes with its bespoke LED lighting will provide an energy saving of up to 80%. Solar AdTeks optional mobile communications module allows for Real Time Passenger Information signs, remote system diagnostics, advertisement viewers, traffic counters and environmental sensors. Solar AdTek were delighted to work with the sustainability and marketing teams at IKEA Ireland to develop a bespoke LED lighting solution for the advertising billboards at their Dublin store. The project involved evaluating the lighting on car park billboards and offering an improved, more cost-effective solution.

ENVERIAN

Enverian was established in 2011 to provide software solutions for the renewable-energy sector, and received seed capital funding from Enterprise Ireland and the AIB Seed Capital Fund, led by Enterprise Equity. The company recently announced a landmark partnership agreement with renewable energy developer, Mainstream Renewable Power, which will see all of Mainstreams onshore wind and solar energy portfolio being tracked, ranked, and valued using Enverians cloud-based Renewable Portfolio Manager application. The system has already been deployed and will be developed further for Mainstream with the aim of bringing greater value and efficiencies to the organisation. Enverian provides the answer to many of the biggest management challenges facing renewable energy development companies, with a product that enables fully informed investment decisions to be made and demonstrates where the company is creating most value.

WATTICS

Wattics, an EnergyCAP solution, is a market-leading provider of enterprise energy management analytics software. Wattics is used by growing teams of energy service companies, green building professionals, energy consultants and analysts to manage bulk utility/IoTs/sub-meter data to spot business energy inefficiencies, increase sustainability, improve indoor air quality, and reduce CO2 emissions in industrial and commercial buildings. Through its customer network, Wattics has a global presence spread across more than 55 countries around the world. Its mission is to enable energy and sustainability professionals around the world to develop and maintain resource-efficient, cost-effective, net-zero buildings and facilities, based on actionable data-driven insights. In August 2022, EnergyCAP, a pioneer in energy and sustainability enterprise resource planning software, acquired Wattics.

ENERGY SERV

Rising electricity costs and good roof space provided by commercial properties make solar a sensible investment. Whether the business is looking to save money, reduce its carbon footprint or secure its future energy supply, Energy Serv provides expert commercial solar installations with proven high-yielding solar panels across Ireland.

Energy Serv provides expert commercial solar installations with proven high-yielding solar panels across Ireland.

An energy service providing design and installation of Solar PV systems, electric vehicle charging points, smart heating controls and real time energy monitoring. Working with a number of partners from the major energy providers in Ireland to single domestic dwellings supplying sales and services for a wide range of energy saving products and services. Energy Serv works with clients to keep their costs as low as possible with the maximum quality systems available, achieved by working with the client to avail of the SEAI grants available.

GLOWPOWER

An energy supplier that has recently entered the Irish market, Glowpower is led by energy industry experts with over 30 years of combined experience across the globe. Was formed to breathe new innovative thinking into the stale energy market, and is opposed to out-dated thinking, old practices and excessive charging. Our promise is to be accountable for our actions. We are committed to listening and helping you understand and benefit from energy usage education. Glowpower exists to deliver electricity in the most cost-effective, best electricity deals, seamless and transparent experience possible. We want to empower you to manage your own and your community energy needs with smart technology plus the best-combined energy services, innovative designs and savings.

CIRCLE K

Circle K is Irelands leading forecourt and convenience retailer with 410 sites across the island of Ireland. We have revolutionised the forecourt and convenience retail space through our next-generation fuel, our gourmet coffee and a wide range of quality food options. With 2,210 employees in Ireland, it also operate a large commercial fuels business with over 20 depots and two owned terminals across the country.\Circle K recently announced that its fleet of delivery vehicles will be fuelled by Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil renewable diesel in its fleet of delivery vehicles, which is the equivalent of over 2,000 cars removed from the road once the rollout is complete.

MAINSTREAM RENEWABLE POWER

Mainstream Renewable Power is a leading pure-play renewable energy company, with wind and solar assets across global markets, including in Latin America, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

Mainstream Renewable Power works with wind and solar assets across markets including in Latin America, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

Mainstream is one of the most successful developers of gigawatt-scale renewables platforms, across onshore wind, offshore wind, and solar power generation. It has successfully delivered 6.5 GW of wind and solar generation assets to financial close-ready and has a global project portfolio of 27 GW. In May 2021, Aker Horizons acquired a majority stake in Mainstream, and in April 2022, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. joined Aker Horizons as a long-term strategic investor. In August 2022, a transaction to integrate Aker Offshore Wind into the Mainstream Group was completed. Mainstream has raised more than 3 billion in project finance to date. Since January 2021, Mainstream has grown its team from 335 to over 650 today across five continents.

SIMPLY BLUE GROUP

Simply Blue works with the ocean to develop deliver blue growth strategies globally and to fight climate change. It is part of a global movement focused on replacing fossil fuels with clean ocean energy, removing CO2 from the atmosphere and developing sustainable sources of protein, while developing coastal economies with new projects and investment bringing new projects and investment to coastal communities, working in happy co-existence. The 100 MW Salamander floating offshore wind project, located 35km off Peterhead, is a joint venture between rsted, Simply Blue Group and Subsea7 and is designed to provide Scotland and its supply chain with an early opportunity to deliver floating offshore wind ahead of the larger-scale ScotWind build-out. In addition, a leading local developer in Australia, Spark Renewables, together with Simply Blue Group and Subsea7, have formed a consortium to pursue floating offshore wind development off the coast of New South Wales, Australia, in the Hunter and Illawarra regions.

SKYSPECS

SkySpecs entered the market providing a solution for renewable energy companies struggling to understand the health of their assets. By providing wind farms with valuable data on the health of their wind turbine blades through autonomous drone inspections, customers were finally able to access high quality data on assets in near real-time, and then analyze and synthesize it so they can make smarter decisions about their fleets from first day-of-operation to end-of-life. But SkySpecs didnt just stop at providing blade data; they continued to expand their solutions offerings when they realized that the simplest path to industry-leading efficiency and returns was access to high quality data on all of the components that make up the wind asset. SkySpecs builds its hardware and software in house, and already monitors the health of almost half of all turbine blades in North America. Since it launched in 2012, its drones have inspected more than 300,000 blades across dozens of countries.

ENERGIA

Energia provides 100% green electricity to over 250,000 homes and businesses across Ireland. Energia has been operating in Ireland since 1999 for business customers, and launched into the domestic market in 2014. Since then it has been continually expanding to become a leading Irish energy provider and infrastructure investor across Renewables, Flexible Generation and Customer Solutions. Energia supplies approximately 18% of the island of Irelands total electricity requirements and 23% of the islands total wind power, meeting the energy needs of over 58,000 business customers and over 200,000 homes with competitive electricity and gas services. Energia operate 40 wind farms in locations across the country, and to date we have invested over 1 billion in the energy market across the island of Ireland.

EIRECOMPOSITES

EireComposites was established in 1998 and has over 60 employees. The company operates an accredited composites manufacturing and testing facility in Inverin, Galway. It is an innovative design, manufacturing and testing company involved in lightweight, high-performance, fibre-reinforced composite materials, with an international customer base in space, aerospace, renewable energy and industrial composites. The companys goal is to create products and services that improve society by commercialising cutting-edge research on composite materials. It aims to achieve this objective by creating meaningful, stimulating jobs for the community and delivering high-quality, novel products and services for customers, at competitive prices. By achieving these aims, the company will enhance Irelands reputation as a prime location for modern manufacturing. We pride ourselves in meeting our customers delivery times. Its extensive experience combined with state-of-the-art facilities and advanced design capabilities make the firm a one stop shop for composites process and product development. With experience in both thermoset and thermoplastic parts, it has parts flying on commercial aircraft for over a decade. The company has also developed patented composite manufacturing technologies which take advantage of the quick cycle times possible with thermoplastic composites.

GREENCOAT RENEWABLES

Greencoat Renewable's portfolio generated 2,487GWh of electricity during the year, up from 1,522GWh the previous year. During the year the company bought nine wind farms, including its first offshore wind farm, and expanded into Germany, Finland and Spain. Earlier this year

the Dublin-listed wind and solar energy group announced an agreement to acquire 22.5% of an offshore wind farm in Germany.\The wind farm is located in Germanys exclusive economic zone in the North Sea and consists of 80 Siemens Gamesa 3.6MW turbines that have been operational since 2015. The company now has a portfolio of 35 assets. It saw successful capital-raising activity in the 12-month period with gross proceeds of 281.5m raised in an oversubscribed placing. 2022 was another very successful year for the company, having built a portfolio of diversified technology across both onshore and offshore wind, solar, and battery, providing a robust platform from which to capitalise on the opportunities ahead.

TRIFOL RESOURCES

Trifol is a Clean Technology company that has developed proprietary technologies to convert plastic waste into wax. Plastic waste is a global environmental issue causing significant negative environmental impact. The Trifol technology processes low-grade plastic waste into waxes for multiple applications (industrial, packaging, cosmetics, candles) and into ingredients for high-specification synthetic automotive engine oils in an environmentally friendly manner.

.

Trifol Resources produces synthetic lubricants with superior mechanical and chemical properties, thus lesser engine wear and tear, superior fuel efficiency and environmental performance.

Based in Ireland, Trifol's objective is to install production facilities in all major markets globally. Trifol is helping to tackle a major global environmental issue. Every year the world produces 350 million tonnes of plastic, but only 9% is ever recycled. Trifol wax is unique because with every tonne of Trifol wax, 1.5 tonnes of plastic waste is prevented from polluting the environment.

EPISENSOR

EpiSensor was founded in 2007 at the intersection of three new technology waves  wireless sensor networks, cloud computing, and mobile. The company, led by an experienced management team who have grown multiple high-tech companies in the past. set out to apply this new technology stack to the worlds energy and efficiency problems. All EpiSensor products are designed in Ireland, a result of having developed the full chain of technology from sensor to server, so enabling a quick response to customer needs. EpiSensor provides a powerful Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platform that makes it easier than ever to collect data from the real world. The platform is suitable for a wide variety of applications and industries, from refrigeration monitoring to energy management, and can be deployed in the most harsh, secure and mission critical environments.

DARE TECH

Dare Tech are a team of engineers who specialise in renewable and hybrid solutions. "We use our engineering expertise combined with cutting edge technology to create sustainable solutions to power everyday activities and to help create better outcomes for our environment. We believe that innovation is at the heart of a sustainable blue economy." Dare Tech design and build products that are robust and suitable for the environment in which they operate. All systems use state of the art certified components ensuring the highest of quality system that produces maximum performance for the long term. "We utilise the best renewable resources available at a project location. Wind and / or solar energy generating devices can easily be integrated into the system allowing maximum renewable energy generation, further reducing the requirement for diesel generation."

BRIGHTWIND

BrightWind provides a boutique resource and energy assessment service led by leading analysts with over 90+ years experience working for developers in the wind and solar industries. Its extensive experience, fast turn-around times and high quality services ensure that clients make the most accurate, confident and informed development decisions. BrightWind has committed 1% of its annual revenue to nature based solutions for biodiversity loss, native tree deforestation and climate change. "Climate change is now a reality. And its not just climate change that is a reality. We are acidifying the oceans, losing sea ice, losing arable land and deforesting the planet at an alarming rate. Not just that, we are going through the 6th biggest mass extinction event the planet has ever faced. Renewable Energy as vital and key to our future as it is, is not enough to solve these problems."

OPTINERGY

Optinergy is an Irish owned company, specialising in the provision of Operations & Maintenance services to the wind industry in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK.

Optinergy offers a full suite of wind turbine operations and maintenance services ranging from regular preventative maintenance to total asset management services.

Optinergy offers a full suite of Operations & Maintenance services ranging from regular preventative maintenance to total asset management services, to providing its customers with specific tailored solutions to once off or recurring problems. It provides a range of services to its customers from time and materials up to full- service contracts including site management and preventative maintenance, including major component management. The company services and maintains a large number of wind farms with a diversity of WTGs including Vestas, Gamesa, GE, Nordex, Zond and Enercon. Apart from the scheduled maintenance, Optinergy also offers a fault find and repair service on turbines when breakdowns occur, normally responding within 24hrs. It carries out all major component changeouts on the turbines within its fleet including Generator, Gearbox and Blade bearings.

SCHWUNGRAD ENERGIE

Schwungrad Energie Ltd specialises in the installation and operation of high energy battery/flywheel storage plant which can support stable, reliable and efficient electricity grid operation. Schwungrad is a consortium of energy specialists and financial investors and is based in Offaly. Schwungrad develop the capability of providing system services in an effective and economical way by adapting proven flywheel and integrating battery technology to produce an innovative hybrid system. There is a growing need for electrical grid stabilisation solutions which will enable greater penetration of intermittent renewable energy generation. This need is global; the market for this service is being established in Ireland and across the EU and is expected to develop worldwide.

ELECTROROUTE

Irish energy trading and services giant Electroroute reports strong 2021 results with revenues up to 203.3m from 46.2m. Business expansion in Europe and Japan is the main reason for the favourable performance, but the recording of mark-to-market valuation gains related to future deliveries is also a background factor. With the acquisition of a majority stake by Mitsubishi Corporation in 2016 and a wholly-owned subsidiary in 2022, Electroroute has expanded its business into the Japanese market. Through this partnership, Electroroute receives a capital contribution of 300 million from Mitsubishi Corporation.

ElectroRoute is providing trading solutions to the 200MW battery portfolio being developed by Korean firm Hanwha Energy and Lumcloon Energy at two energy storage sites at Lumcloon and Shannonbridge in Co Offaly; once operational, the units will represent the largest operating batteries on the island of Ireland and one of the largest portfolios in Europe.

Founded in 2011, Electroroute has expanded rapidly and now employs over 90 energy professionals across Ireland, the UK, Europe and Japan. ElectroRoute's trading team leverages its trading platform, ElectroRoute CORE, to operate 24/7, including wind farms, solar farms and battery storage facilities in 14 energy markets. We provide essential trading services for renewable energy assets. In 2021, Electroroute won its first major contract in the Japanese market - a milestone power purchase agreement signed between MC Retail Energy, an affiliate of Electroroute, and the corporate buyer. The capacity of the battery facility managed by Electroroute has also been increased to 275MW, the largest independent battery portfolio on the island of Ireland. Electroroute's portfolio accounts for over 40% of the market share on the island of Ireland. Electroroute announced that it will hire 50 new specialist staff by 2025.

FUINNEAMH SCEIRDE TEORANTA

The Sceirde Rocks Windfarm is being developed by leading offshore wind business Corio Generation through the Irish and Gaeltacht based company Fuinneamh Sceirde Teoranta (FST). FST is a joint venture owned by Corio Generation, a portfolio company of Macquaries Green Investment Group, and global infrastructure investor Ontario Teachers Pension Plan. The project development team is working to help Ireland achieve its climate goals for 2030, engaging with the local community by creating local economic development and job opportunities, and providing clean, renewable energy for all. The Sceirde Rocks Windfarm is a proposed offshore wind project, located off the Connemara coast, that aims to power communities using clean and renewable energy. Once completed, it will provide enough reliable and affordable electricity to more than 350,000 homes. The project will help Ireland to achieve its goal of generating 80% of energy through renewable sources by 2030.

BALCAS

Balcas is a business focused on the future. "We believe that sustainably managed forests are our future. So we innovate with timber, taking care to use it as efficiently as possible, planting four trees for every one we harvest."

Balcas has energy-efficient and self-sufficient sawmills in Enniskillen and combined CHP plants in Enniskillen and Invergordon.

The companys sawmills in Enniskillen and combined CHP plants in Enniskillen and Invergordon are energy-efficient and self-sufficient. Its 370-plus people are experts in timber products and wood pellet production, delivery and supply. "Our focus is on growing for tomorrow and keeping our position as one of Britain and Irelands largest wood product suppliers. All of these things make Balcas the natural leader."

EQTEC

In the beginning, EQTEC Iberia started operations from Spain in 1997. The company has since developed a research and development program in biomass and waste thermochemical gasification based on a bubbling fluidized bed gasifier. In Ireland in 2008, under the name Kedco plc and later React Energy plc, a business started operating as a developer of renewable energy projects and listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. A number of years later, React Energy plc saw the opportunity to marry its project development experience with the technology expertise of EQTEC Iberia. Earlier this month, EQTEC signed a collaboration agreement with Poseidon LNG Hub to develop and deploy waste-to-hydrogen and waste-to-RNG projects in northern Italy. Under the agreement, the companies, within a consortium, will jointly target and pursue market opportunities for the development and deployment of EQTECs waste-to-hydrogen and waste-to-RNG technology in four potential plants under development in Italy.

POWER CAPITAL RENEWABLE ENERGY

Power Capital Renewable Energy is the largest independent solar power producer in Ireland, with a solar PV pipeline of 1.2GW, growing rapidly with multimillion acquisitions of Irish solar farms. With a target pipeline of 5GW by 2030, the company is constantly looking to expand its portfolio both nationally and internationally. Earlier this year announced the closing of an up to 240,000,000 construction equity facility with a consortium of lenders managed by Eiffel Investment Group, including Belgian insurance company Ethias and the European Investment Bank. The facility will support the IPPs plans to bring 1.2GW of solar projects to operation by 2025. The facility has an initial tranche of 100,000,000. Part of this initial tranche will be used to build assets benefitting from signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Microsoft and another undisclosed technology company, with the remainder for assets having been awarded tariffs in the Irish RESS2 auction.

MACRO WORKS

Established in 1999, Macro Works provides a full suite of LVIA-related tools and skills for a broad spectrum of energy, infrastructure and commercial developments. Its clients emanate from both the public and private sectors, in Ireland and abroad. Macro Works expertise primarily covers the stages of development, from initial feasibility studies through to the completion of the planning process. Not content to simply follow best practice, Macro Works constantly endeavour to establish it through constant R&D and innovation that takes advantage of the latest technologies. This push for constant advancement has ensured that Macro Works has remained at the forefront of LVIA services in Ireland for the past 20 years and will continue to do so into the future. "We excel at challenging projects where our combination of experience and innovation can be brought to bear to give any development its greatest chance of success."

SUPERNODE

SuperNode is a cutting-edge global technology company based in Dublin, that designs superconducting transmission systems to integrate renewable energy and connect electricity markets.

SuperNode designs superconducting transmission systems to integrate renewable energy and connect electricity markets using fewer and more efficient and environmentally friendly materials and, importantly, at a lower cost than any other viable alternative.

Superconducting technology requires less materials, is more efficient and environmentally friendly and, importantly, costs less than any other viable alternative. SuperNode is co-owned by its founder Dr. Eddie OConnor and Aker Horizons, a Norway-based developer of green energy and green industry. SuperNode was founded in 2018 and was originally named after the network concept, the supernode, before shifting its focus to develop superconducting technology. Its superconducting transmission products will be the key enabling network technology for the huge growth in renewable energy over the next 30 years.

EPS

For over five decades, EPS has been providing innovative and progressive products and solutions to the water sector. Through two generations of leadership, EPS has remained a progressive, innovative, reliable and client-focused company. "We have achieved many milestones over the last 50 years, growing in numbers, strength and diversity of markets. We are constantly evolving and changing and so it is imperative that we have a clear mission and vision to drive us, a set of inherent company values to adhere to and a defined structure." Heading into its 54th year of operations, Mallow-headquartered EPS has been named Family Business of the Year at the 2022 Deloitte Best Managed Company Awards. Rising from humble beginnings in Kanturk to become one of the biggest water and wastewater infrastructure businesses of its kind, today EPS employs more than 570 people across its Irish and international operations.\The company still proudly has its original customer base and product focus, dealing with treatment and pumping of water and wastewater for private residential homes & farms, expanding to encompass commercial and industrial businesses and utility companies across Ireland and Europe.

ISLAND RENEWABLE ENERGY

Founded in 2009 by an experienced group of renewable energy executives, its aim was to focus on exploiting renewable energy opportunities in selected European markets. "We believe that renewable energy generation makes a positive contribution to the environment and the local communities we operate in, while at the same time meeting the necessary energy demands of local and national economies." The company objective is to create value for shareholders and other stakeholders through the realisation of renewable energy projects from all stages of development, to construction and operation. "Our focus is on utility scale wind and solar projects where we can leverage our skills and where we believe we can generate real returns for investors. We work very closely with the local community, landowners, and all the relevant statutory bodies to obtain a successful outcome for our renewable energy projects." The group operates in Northern Ireland, Wales, Canary Islands and Portugal - markets where there are strong fundamentals over the long term. Island understands what is required to bring a renewable energy project from initiation to operation and is comfortable with the nature of the challenges involved. This capability combined with our financing and commercial expertise mean we are the natural bridge for infrastructure funds and long term asset management. The business currently has a pipeline of over 400MW of renewable energy across its markets.
Poultry farmers have expressed concern that animal welfare proposals coming from Europe "have the potential to quadruple the cost of production", the Irish Farmers' Association has said.

The European Commission intends to put forward a legislative proposal by the end of 2023 to phase out and eventually prohibit the use of cages for farm animals.

As part of this, it has mandated the European Food Safety Authority to produce a report, which recommends a reduction in the capacity of poultry sheds for layers and broilers; changes in transport; and the limiting of growth rates.

IFA poultry chairman Nigel Sweetnam has said the recommendations for broilers and laying hens are on welfare alone, and that "full impact assessments must be completed on the environmental and financial sustainability of these recommendations".

"The proposals would mean the quadrupling of the energy requirements and the doubling of feed. This could result in a 2kg chicken costing 25 to the consumer," Mr Sweetnam estimates.

Poultry has risen in price, reflecting the huge increases in the cost of production.

"However, this follows a 20-year period where chicken and eggs declined in price."

Cost implications

Mr Sweetnam said there "has to be consideration of the cost implications of proposed measures".

"This has the potential to decimate our poultry industry in Ireland, but also in the EU," according to Mr Sweetnam.

"It will open us up to more imported chicken from outside the EU, where we have no control over how the birds are farmed.

"If retailers or the EU want to drive this initiative, they must be made aware that the sectors survival is hanging on a knife edge if these recommendations were to be implemented. Farm families and livelihoods are at risk and so too is the future of our food security."
As we speak, a few miles up the road from where I live, the UKs National Conservatism conference (NatCon23) has come to an end.

It was a strange, sad, and alarming affair, in which a grisly clown car of right-wing heels tumbled on stage to advocate for British nationalism.

There, they barked tired broadsides against wokeness and made urgent calls for a resurgent, patriotic conservatism they think the national psyche is lacking.

Speakers railed against cultural Marxism  a term synonymous with antisemitic tropes about Jewish influence on public consciousness  and claimed that the Left has destroyed Britain at every political level (despite the Conservative party being in power for the last 13 years, and for 31 of the last 44).

Just in case such statements seemed a bit fascist, others were on hand to put you at ease.

Take reactionary author and commentator Douglas Murray  perhaps the epitome of Hannah Arendts formulation of the banality of evil  who argued that nationalism should not be thrown away as a political force, just because the Germans mucked it up twice in a century.

FIERY AND GARBLED

If this all sounds quite extreme, then rest assured youre sane.

The conference is so extreme that, just three years ago, the Conservative party reprimanded MP Daniel Kawczynski for attending, stating that his attendance at this event was not acceptable, particularly in light of the views of some of those in attendance.

This year, at least seven Tory MPs spoke at the event, which included a fiery and garbled keynote address from the sitting home secretary Suella Braverman.

Ive lived here for a while so perhaps I shouldnt be surprised, but I reserve the right to be a little shocked, just as a treat.

For all my blackhearted cynicism, I was genuinely alarmed to see Jacob Rees-Mogg breezily admitting that the Conservatives had engaged in gerrymandering at the recent local elections, a practice he then decried solely because it inadvertently hampered their own voters.

But, at root, this conference was merely the most prominent example of a political project that has been going on for much of the past decade, and the century which went before: the attempt to make authoritarian nationalism not just respectable and mainstream, but the dominant plank of British politics.

In fairness, if your party has been in charge of the country for over a decade and delivered complete ruin to its economy, institutions, and quality of life, while becoming mired in innumerable scandals, incompetence, avarice and cruelty, you cant exactly run on policy.

Trapped in electoral freefall, we are witnessing their attempt to retain relevance by digging in.

In words even those attending NatCon23 might agree with, Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci once wrote: The old world is dying, the new age is struggling to be born.

Anti-Left nationalism has, then, clearly been anointed midwife for this difficult birth, enabling its adherents to ignore policy, and instead make emotional appeals to whichever culture war hatreds are within reach.

Allowing you to ascribe blame to all those minorities, university lecturers, and woke lawyers who are actually responsible for your failures in government, because the Left simply dont love your country as much as you do.

Seamas O'Reilly. Picture: Orfhlaith Whelan

SCRAWLED IN CRAYON

The reason I fear it might work, is that Britain is very, very weird when it comes to the topic of, well, itself.

Last summer, while launching a Tory leadership campaign that would last longer than her eventual premiership, Liz Truss released a poster bearing the natty slogan: I love Britain. We are a great country.

I was initially struck by the uncanny sense that it had been scrawled in crayon by an oxygen-deprived toddler and, later, by the fact she emerged victorious shortly afterwards.

Or consider a more recent question asked on a New Statesman podcast: Does King Charles actually like Britain?

Couched within it was the implicit  even chilling  premise that the king doesnt actually like Britain, and this is something every Briton should prepare their bodies for the shock of dealing with.

On the one hand, its a question so broad it makes almost no sense, like asking if someone likes food.

We could even, if we so desired, grapple with how the question pertains to nationalisms most popular advocates: in what sense could they possibly love Britain if they hate its every constituent part, from large swathes of its population to its art, laws, values, and institutions?

IMPLICIT FEAR - AND FASCISM

All of that is mere window dressing for the questions central weirdness.

Namely, why would anyone possibly give a shit? Its hard to imagine any local formulation of it that makes sense at all.

Does Leo Varadkar actually like Ireland? is something only an insane person would either ask, or have any interest in hearing an answer to.

Does Michael D Higgins actually like Ireland?, Does Bono actually like Ireland?, Does the Tayto Man actually like Ireland?

Its not just that liking Ireland is a meaninglessly abstract concept, its that the implicit fear that someone might not like Ireland, carries zero resonance for us.

This would almost be worth congratulation, if Ireland was not herself seeing fascist thugs burning refugees out of their encampments, and a resurgent far-right presence creeping more steadily into the nations headlines, week by week.

For now, I will limit myself to Britains woes, and my fear that its wounded sense of its own past glory, its paranoid cultural memory of once being a more useful player on the world stage, renders the English breed of authoritarian nationalism more potent than our own.

Claiming to love Britain while spreading undiluted hate about everything its modern society stands for, has long formed a large bulk of the countrys press and, since Brexit especially, a major plank of its political mainstream.

Whether it will turn the tide electorally remains to be seen, but the worst people in British public life are ready to give it a go, and that should frighten us.

That Gramsci quote may be worth revisiting in full. The old world is dying, he wrote in 1930s Italy, the new age is struggling to be born: now is the time of monsters.
It may not be the most carbon-neutral of film franchises, but theres no denying that the Fast & Furious folks have delivered plenty thrills and spills since they debuted in 2001, in the process plundering hundreds of millions of dollars and at least one nuclear submarine.

The tenth in the series, Fast X (12A), opens with a trip down memory lane, as Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) loots a bank vault  as in, steals the physical vault from a Brazilian drug kingpin.

The kingpins flamboyant son Dante (Jason Momoa) vows to take revenge, and while its been a decade in the making, he finally makes good on his threat when Dominic allows Roman (Tyrese Gibson) to lead a mission to Rome to prevent the heist of a quantum computing chip.

Carnage ensues, in the wake of which Dominic and his extended family and friends including Tej (Ludacris), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), and Jakob (John Cena)  find themselves running for their lives.

Or driving for their lives, rather, in a variety of souped-up cars that are pushed to their mechanical limits in a series of chases and escapes that scoff at the laws of physics.

The poster for Fast X

Theres no faulting the technical virtuosity and the scale of the ambition, and while a little less might have resulted in considerably more, and especially when talent like Brie Larson and Charlize Theron spend too much time hanging about in the wings, thats wishful thinking when set against the real appeal of the Fast movies.

Louis Leterrier directs in the only way he knows how  tyres screeching, pedal to the metal  and keeps the four-wheeled stars centre stage, delivering a super-charged action flick that roars along for the entirety of its 160 minutes.

(cinema release)
Doreen Cunningham was at one of her lowest points when she decided to embark on what would become a life-changing trip. She was a single mother living in a hostel with her toddler son, doing freelance writing work at night as he slept, when she began to read about the extraordinary journey of female grey whales and their offspring all the way from their birthing grounds in the lagoons of Baja California in Mexico to Alaska and the Arctic.

Cunningham, who trained in engineering and previously worked in climate research before forging a career with the BBC World Service, had found herself unmoored after a difficult break-up with her partner and father of her son. She returned to her childhood home of Jersey, where the high cost of living meant she ended up living in a hostel. The grey whales reminded her of her own situation as a mother bonding with her son in challenging circumstances.

I have always been fascinated by whales but I didnt really know anything about grey whales. Theyre not seen as charismatic, they sort of swim under the radar  the name says it all. When I started reading about their endurance and the incredible migration that the mothers and calves do all on their own, that was quite a parallel for me.

Cunningham had previously spent a period living in Alaska on a climate change-related assignment, where she lived among the indigenous Inupiat whaling community. As she struggled to find community and connection in Jersey, she felt a longing to return to a place where she had felt so much at home and where she had also fallen in love.

I had found an incredible sense of belonging there. I didnt realise I was craving that and as soon as I learned that the whales ended up there, it was set in stone.

After securing a 10,000 loan, Cunningham and her son Max headed off to follow the whales up the west coast of the US. Their journey became the foundation of her award-winning book Soundings, which has now been released in paperback. I tell Cunningham I admire her for undertaking such an epic trip with a toddler in tow, although I wonder if people thought she was mad.

Yes, she laughs. It wasnt until I was writing the book that I started to agree with them. I suppose the fact that I was so on my own in the hostel, I didnt have people policing me so I was left to my own devices. And in a way that was freeing, I got to make my own lunatic decisions.

I didnt think it through, Im quite an impulsive person anyway. And having a background in journalism, working for the BBC for all those years, I was very used to planning trips, to being on the move, that was second nature.

Soundings: Journeys in the Company of Whales Author: Doreen Cunningham

As she recounts in the book, Cunningham and her son Max encountered fellow travellers who were less than enamoured by his presence, but ultimately, it was the kindness of strangers that she remembers most.

It was a bit sad to see some of the hostility but for everyone who was awful, there were 10 people who were just so generous. We had a great time and we made a lot of friends, she says.

Cunninghams book is much more than a travelogue, as she explores her formative years in Wales and Jersey, where her love of the sea was formed, as well as her strained relationship with her Irish mother. Cunningham says her Irish roots were reinforced when she spent time among the indigenous community in Alaska.

That post-colonial element was a really important part of the book for me to talk about I was overcoming the trauma in the matrilineal line in my Irish family, that was the bedrock of the book. I was told by the people in the Inupiaq community that I had an unusual understanding of the colonial violence [they had experienced] for a white person and that was because Im Irish. It gave me more of a reason to write about a culture that wasnt my own that had been colonised.

Excavating her past and present relationships with such raw honesty took an emotional toll but Cunningham, who is now a mother of three, says she felt compelled to write the book, especially in terms of raising awareness of the climate crisis.

The book was almost an activist act. When I found myself with three young children understanding that things are unravelling in my lifetime, I knew that the time to gain peoples attention is now. I felt tremendous grief and helplessness.

Looking at my life through a certain lens, its all about climate  the opportunities I had, that close relationship with the natural world that was developed as a child, then my scientific background, the climate-related research, working in climate journalism and that opportunity to go to the Arctic to research attitudes towards climate change among the indigenous communities living there.

I thought if I give this book my all, I could use it to carry the story of what has happened with climate during my lifetime.

Facing up to the reality of climate change is a scary prospect for many people  how can we be hopeful rather than despairing?

I think it is important that people realise they are not on their own and that they are accompanied through those very difficult emotions of realisation, says Cunningham. Another really important thing to remember is that this was done without our consent. The book deals with the narrative of climate denial which was born in oil company boardrooms when I was a child and was very deliberately propagated.

Even reputable journalists were misled and people are still being misled. Even if you dont feel like you can do much, you can talk about it. The answer for me lies in community somehow. I still struggle with it.

Author Doreen Cunningham

Ultimately, Cunningham finds inspiration in the resilience of the grey whales, who in the face of diminishing food sources due to climate change, are forced to find new ways to survive.

In the waters of Northern Puget Sound, there are some grey whales, a group called the Sounders, which I write about in the book. One of their founders is a female grey whale which has been nicknamed Earhart by the researchers there, after Amelia Earhart.

The world-renowned whale biologist John Calambokidis has observed Earhart leading other whales to a new food source, ghost shrimp in the inter-tidal zone. It is very risky for the whales to access, because if they misjudge timing or direction, they could become stranded.

The innovation and community, the adaptation being shown by these whales is very inspiring to me... if Im having a bad day or an existential crisis, I tend to think about those grey whale mothers moving breath by breath through the ocean with their calves. And I think about Earhart, she is just one whale.

You have the oil companies, and capitalism and this one whale that is making a difference to her community. I hang on to that. I dont have the answers but I think the non-human world will provide the answers for us if we are able to listen.
Grief is coming in from the cold, helped by newly-published memoirs, podcasts and self-help guides.

January 2023 saw the publication of Cariad Lloyds You Are Not Alone, a book inspired by Griefcast, her award-winning podcast.

The book is described as a road map for anybody whos ever felt lost in grief or whod like to help someone ... through theirs.

Released just a few months before that, A Heart That Works is written by Rob Delaney, star of Amazon Prime series Catastrophe, and is a very personal memoir about the death of Delaneys young son.

And then we had Schitts Creek star Dan Levy talking about how directing the movie, Good Grief, helped him work through [his] own grief.

Soon to arrive on Netflix, the film sees its central character seek healing in Paris after two devastating losses.

Why grief is getting more airtime now and why people are more inclined to talk about it may well be down to the interruption of our traditional ceremonial grieving processes - wakes, removals, funerals - during the pandemic. The absence of support may have paved the way for deeper discussions around bereavement.

The Covid years saw a plethora of books published on the subject, such as Good Grief: A Journey from Lost to Love, by Valerie Swinton and Fred Kirby, which starts with the personal accounts of the two authors losing their mates to death after long illnesses.

Its good that grief is getting an airing  it will affect all of us at some stage  and its impacts are multi-dimensional, with some of them catching many by surprise, says Orla Keegan, head of bereavement and education at Irish Hospice Foundation. There are layers of response to grief  spiritual, social, mental, physical, emotional, effects across employment and finances.

One grief effect that can stun people is just how physical it all is. They often worry somethings physically wrong with them. Breathing can be impacted  it becomes fast or shallow. People can get digestive symptoms. They talk about not sleeping, feeling anxious, their heart racing, some get panic attacks, says Keegan.

Yet grief is a stress, she points out. So why wouldnt grief affect our bodies? After all, we live in our bodies.

A review of broken heart syndrome, published in 2020, explained how a stressful emotional or physical event causes the left ventricle of the heart to dilate, leading to acute heart failure. The syndrome was first described in Japan in 1990. In a retrospective study of 1,750 patients from Western countries, almost 28% of cases had an emotional trigger and a further near 8% had a physical and emotional trigger. The most common emotional triggers were found to be the death of a loved one, relationship conflicts, fear, anger, and anxiety.

Physiological impact of grief

Joanne Cacciatore, a professor at Arizona State University, works with people who have experienced all kinds of traumatic bereavement. She agrees that people are taken by surprise at how potent griefs physiological impact can be. Cacciatore lost her daughter in childbirth in the 1990s and soon after wrote about how every cell in [her] body aches.

Describing her firsthand experience of just how physical griefs assault can be, she told the Irish Examiner: My daughter would be 29 now. I 100% experienced that physical effect. Sleep was elusive. Food was hard to get past the grapefruit in my throat.

When working with the bereaved, Cacciatore says there isnt much on the physical impact front she hasnt seen.

One of the most common is gastrointestinal distress. Peoples digestive systems dont work as usual. I commonly see global pain  the body hurts all over, back, legs, bones, headache. People just have pain. It can be non-specific.

The next most common symptom would be around immune function  people get sick more often.

But Cacciatore mentions a caveat: Some of the symptoms can have their roots in behaviour changes, so it can be a little hard to tease out whats grief versus whats the behaviour.

When a loss happens, we dont sleep as well, so our sleep cycle is impacted. We may consume more alcohol, and may not eat as healthily as normal. So some of those behaviours will impact physical health.

The crossover between emotional and physical distress Cacciatore refers to is backed up by research. A 2003 neuroimaging study found that the brain responds in the same way to physical pain as it does to emotional pain, with the anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex being activated in both instances.

Joanne Cacciatore, American professor

So little understanding of grief

Rachel Warren, senior policy and research manager for carers, relationships and bereavement at British end-of-life charity, Marie Curie, says theres very little understanding of grief in general among the public. As part of the UK Commission on Bereavement  whose report, Bereavement is Everyones Business, was published in 2022  more than 1,000 bereaved adults and 100-plus bereaved children described a lack of understanding and acknowledgement of the impact of grief from family, friends, employers, and in educational settings.

We heard from more than 1,000 bereaved adults and 100-plus bereaved children, who described a lack of understanding and acknowledgement of the impact of grief from family, friends, employers, and in educational settings.

Whats poorly understood too is that everybody experiences grief differently  and that every time an individual experiences a different bereavement, they experience grief differently.

The UK Commission also highlighted peoples surprise at the physiological effects of grief. They were unprepared for how overwhelming these could be, says Warren, adding that Marie Curie counsellors frequently speak to bereaved people who complain of headache, chest pain, sleeplessness, appetite change and gastrointestinal problems.

Grief models can seem to suggest everybody follows a linear progression of grief, which isnt the case at all, says Warren.

People can experience waves of grief at different times. And they can experience the physical effects for a long time.

The UK Commission report pointed out that the emotional impact of bereavement had significant physical manifestations too.

Respondents described experiencing tiredness and lethargy, an inability to focus, and headaches. Feelings of low energy were sometimes exacerbated by insomnia and changes in appetite.

The report included feedback from the bereaved. One woman said she had mind overload and [she] couldnt sleep, while some primary school-aged children reported feeling so tired all the time, [they] cant focus on things like [they] used to, and it makes [them] sad and gives [them] a headache all the time.

Grief hits body as well as mind

At the Irish Hospice Foundation, Keegan says one of the big messages to the public is that our body is part of our full grief response.

Grief is a challenge to the way the body works, she says.

This is why Cacciatore, early in the process of working with a bereaved client, works out a self-care plan with them.

We look at how do I take care of my physical body because, if I dont, I cant care for my emotional body either.

She believes some losses are so catastrophic, the grief doesnt go away. Those losses stay with us through the rest of life, and we have to build the emotional muscle to carry them.

Taking care of our physical body helps us to build that emotional muscle. For example, if my child has just died, and Im not sleeping or eating well or not getting out into nature, if Im not drinking enough water, Im going to get weaker as time passes. And as I weaken physically, Im not going to be able to strengthen emotionally.

Warren says around one in three people will benefit from peer/group support in a non-professional setting to help heal from grief.

It gives them a chance to speak about their grief and to process it in a more structured way. One in 10 will need a higher level of support, which would be counselling.

But most, she says, will move through their grief, helped by a combination of their inner resources and the support of loved ones.

Cacciatore sees a tendency in society to put responsibility for the integration of loss on the grieving person. This, she says, is misguided and dangerous.

The responsibility is not on the grieving person but on the community around them. The community has a moral responsibility to provide support thats compassionate, tender and nurturing. Without that, its much harder for the [bereaved individual] to take care of themselves.

We have a moral obligation as a society to help someone at their most vulnerable, and there are few times were more vulnerable than when a loved one dies. We should show up for people because its going to happen to all of us.

Visit https://hospicefoundation.ie/i-need-help/i-am-bereaved/; IHF bereavement support line on 1800-807077
Stanley Tucci is in dapper form when he arrives suited and booted at House on Dublin's Leeson Street.

The Hollywood actor, author and foodie is on Irish shores this week to discuss his memoir Taste with Marian Keyes at this year's International Literature Festival in Dublin. But, he's also here in his capacity as global brand partner for Tanqueray No Ten gin.

On Thursday, that role involved mixing drinks with journalists and invited guests (Dancing with the Stars' Jennifer Zamparelli and Cork podcaster and professional dancer PJ Kirby among those who scored an invite), and doing the rounds like a groom on his wedding day.

When I get my allotted time with the Academy Award-nominated actor, he shakes my hand and enquires about the Irish Examiner. It's a Cork paper, I say, have you ever been?

"I haven't," he admits, "but I hear it's a beautiful part of the country".

His friend Aidan Quinn, an actor of Irish descent who starred in Michael Collins, has raved about it he tells me, and he is "looking forward" to visiting someday.

On the topic of his eating itinerary for the weekend, his wife Felicity Blunt (sister to actress Emily) is flying in Friday and they have three restaurant bookings for the weekend (he's already done Michelin Guide recommended Pichet). I enquire as to whether he might consider a Searching for Ireland a la his Emmy award-winning food travel show, Searching for Italy. The answer is yes  he'd love to do a UK and Ireland version.

Before I get to offer some recommendations for where he might eat in Cork, I am standing in for a photograph (professional photographs only) and whisked away  but not before I get to offer a compliment on his truly gorgeous food-focused autobiography, which he accepts graciously.

My brush with Hollywood royalty has been short, but I leave fizzing  though that might be from a few too many Tanqueray Tiny Tens.
Protestors in Co Clare who have been blockading a hotel which is to be used to house refugees have called on the Taoiseach to apologise for remarks he made, which they say have shown them in a bad light.

As tensions between the protestors and the Government escalated yesterday, the junior minister for integration Joe O'Brien travelled to the Magowna House Hotel in Inch, Co Clare, to meet with the locals who have protested the use of the facility to house refugees.

When Mr O'Brien departed, the blockade was to remain in place, but he committed to returning in a few weeks' time to speak to locals again, and noted that "no additional people" will arrive at the facility in the interim period.

The residents had voiced concerns after remarks made by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Justice Minister Simon Harris.

They say they do not just object to the number of refugees  currently 28 but due to rise to 62 in weeks  being housed at the hotel complex.

They are also upset about the way they were not told or consulted in advance, and they insist they would feel the same if it was 28 Irish males.

The Taoiseach was asked by RTE yesterday morning to expand on a remark he made recently about local communities, in general, that object to certain types of people.

He was asked on RTEs Today with Claire Byrne to explain what he meant during a section of the interview about the protests in Inch, near Ennis.

Patrick OMalley, one of the protesters who listened to the Taoiseachs interview with Ms Byrne, said he felt Mr Varadkar had portrayed protestors as racists, and called on him to apologise for his remarks.

Asylum seekers leaving the grounds of the Magowna House hotel in Inch, Co Clare. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Mr Varadkar insisted at the beginning of the interview that he was not in any way suggesting the protesters were racists.

But when asked to explain what he meant by certain types of people that some communities might object to being housed near them, he said they could be single males or people from outside Europe.

He also suggested some people in local communities near asylum accommodation might also believe that brown men [are] a threat to women, and nothing could be further from the truth.

Mr OMalley said Mr Varadkars comments appear to imply that he and his fellow protesters hold the views Mr Varadkar was referring to.

He may not have said it in so many words, but he implied that we are those types of people, a resident said.

No local representatives have made such remarks as Leo has about us in all their dealings with us since this started.

He should apologise for making those remarks.

He is completely missing the entire point of our protest.

We are not anti-immigration, but we do object to the sheer scale of what is going on here, in an area that is already lacking in amenities and services.

We are also very annoyed that nobody bothered to talk to us before the refugees were moved in.

We are a community of just 14 houses and around 50 people, and by the time all the refugees will have moved in, our population will have more than doubled.

Mr OMalley also called on Justice Minister Simon Harris to apologise for his remarks in relation to Inch.

Mr Harris was asked on RTEs News at One if he would be willing to meet the protestors in Inch.

He said he would, but added: Quite frankly, theres been 125 anti-immigration protests in Dublin alone, let alone the rest of the country.

Mr OMalley said: We have repeatedly made it clear we are not anti-immigration.

Minister Harris needs to apologise for what he implied.

Asked about whether this came up in his meeting with residents in Ennis last night, minister of State Joe OBrien said: Some of the people werent happy with how they have been portrayed.
An anti-bullying expert has urged adults to examine how they use social media, as the video of an unprovoked assault on a teenager in Navan has received over 5m views.

The majority of views are due to the video being shared by adults on social media, according to Unesco chair on bullying and cyber-bullying, and director of Dublin City Universitys anti-bullying centre, Professor James OHiggins Norman.

The 14-year-old was walking home from school on Monday when he was attacked by several boys, and a stomach-churning video of the incident was circulated online. The assault is currently under investigation by gardai, who said the boy suffered serious facial injuries.

Calls are increasing for the Government to step up its efforts to crack down on the sharing of such content online, and there are also demands on social media companies to take action.

The majority of people who shared the video were adults, and so we need to look at ourselves as adults and how we use social media and be a bit more conscious about what we share, and should we be sharing it," said Prof OHiggins Norman.

The bottom line is that everyone should be thinking that the person at the centre of that is a child, who has a right to their privacy.

Are we becoming de-sensitised to situations that in the past would have horrified us?

Echoing Prof O'Higgins Norman remarks, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCCC) said that it was disappointing that the video of an attack is still circulating.

"Currently we're just not set up in terms of being able to compel social media companies to remove such content in a timely manner, and [when] we do have the online safety commissioner in place, they will have powers to do that, so that's really positive," said Head of policy and public affairs manager with the ISPCC, Fiona Jennings.

Ms Jennings said people often people come across something online which shocks them "and in order perhaps to share their empathy or to empathise with those particular things they share them.

"But in fact, that's actually feeding the algorithm that promotes and amplifies this content, which in turn actually brings it to a wider audience," she told RTE's Morning Ireland.

'Sick individuals'

Speaking on RTE, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar condemned the Navan attack and hit out at sick individuals who film videos of such incidents.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar hit out at 'sick individuals' who film videos of such incidents. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

He said he will reach out to the family involved, and called for the parents of the perpetrators to take responsibility for their actions.

The young man who was in that video. I really feel for him. He shouldnt have been subjected to that violence. He shouldnt have been humiliated by having that video posted online.

Mr Varadkar added that he has some insight into how the child at the centre of the video must be feeling.

I grew up in 1980s, 1990s Ireland," he said. "I had a great childhood but, ultimately, I was the brown guy with the funny name, who a lot of people suspected was gay.

It is a very sick kind of individual that posts pictures or videos with the purpose of humiliating other people.

Education Minister Norma Foley strongly condemned the attack, and said her department will provide support such as access to the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) for the student.

I think its nothing short of shocking and appalling. This should never have happened, Ms Foley said.

BelongTo, the national organisation supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI+) young people, is calling on the Government to urgently introduce hate crime and hate speech legislation to send a clear message that homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia, is not acceptable.

The organisation also wants a clear roadmap from Government on how to tackle the rise in discrimination and hate targeting minority communities.

The rise in anti-LGBTQ+ violence we have witnessed across Ireland over the past 18 months is deeply distressing," it said.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin described the video as stomach-churning.

The country is sickened and very disturbed by this shocking attack on a young boy," he said.

There has been increased violence against our LGBTI community in the country, which is quite disturbing.

Speaking in the Dail, the Tanaiste said progress has been made on the online safety commissioner, however he did not have a timeline for when it would be up and running.

It will have very, very important work to do to prevent online violence, online bullying that has become a phenomenon, he said.

Mr Martin said there must be a more rapid response from social media companies in removing such videos.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin said there must be a more rapid response from social media companies in removing videos. Picture: Dan Linehan

Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty said he was utterly disgusted and sickened to the core to see the video of the attack in Navan.

Claiming that there is a disturbing rise in these attacks for online circulation, Mr Doherty said: Many have warned that this is leading to a rise in violence on our streets and indeed in our communities.

"It is clear that social media companies are not doing enough to root out this violent content from their platforms.

If I was the parent of that young child I dont know how Id be able to deal with not being able to go on social media without seeing your son being attacked in that vicious way.
Counting global fish stocks could be the latest use for the burgeoning world of artificial intelligence (AI), potentially saving millions of euro a year in research and assisting fishers in developing nations.

Check out our Sustainability and Climate Change Hub where you will find the latest news, features, opinions and analysis on this topic from across the various Irish Examiner topic desks and their team of specialist writers and columnists.

Researchers led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have developed an algorithm that was able to accurately count 85% of fish stocks  the number of fish living in a certain catchment  in a pilot region of the Western Indian Ocean.

They did so using satellite data and machine learning, which is where AI evolves with minimal human interference. The researchers said the new AI tool was inexpensive and could quickly be used by national governments and local authorities to get a handle on the amount of fish in their waters.

Director of Marine Science at WCS, Tim McClanahan, said: "This tool can tell us how fish stocks are doing, and how long it will take for them to recover to healthy levels using various management options. It can also tell you how much money youre losing or can recoup every year by managing your fishery  and in the Western Indian Ocean region where we piloted this tool, its no less than $50m to $150m each year.

Wealthy countries spend millions every year in calculating fish stocks, with people physically having to go out in boats and estimate from there. In countries that are not as wealthy, such as some in Africa and Asia, the cost of calculating fish stocks has been prohibitive, despite having the most amount of people who rely on fish for food as well as income.

This new algorithm could change that if implemented, the WCS said.

"Our goal is to give people the information required to know the status of their fish resources and whether their fisheries need time to recover or not. The long-term goal is that they, their children, and their neighbors can find a balance between peoples needs and ocean health, Mr McClanahan said.

Using the AI would mean that simply entering data point such as water temperature, shore distance, existing fisheries management, and water depth would allow a quick calculation with high accuracy.

Executive director of Marine Conservation at WCS, Simon Cripps, said: "We know that during times of crisis and hardship, from climate change-induced weather events to the covid-19 pandemic, people living on the coast increasingly rely on fishing to feed themselves and their families.

The value of this model is that it tells managers, scientists, and importantly, local communities how healthy a fishery is and how well it can support the communities that depend on it, especially during times of crisis.

"Once a fisherys status is known, it gives communities and managers the information to move forward to design solutions to improve fish stocks and improve the resilience of local communities, the fishing industry, and local and national economies.

WCS is now looking for funding and partnerships to develop the AI at scale.

In the EU, it is estimated that at least 38% of fish stocks in the North East Atlantic and Baltic Sea, and 87% in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, are being overfished, according to more than 300 scientists, including 50 Irish experts, who asked EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevicius, to take action on overfishing in 2020.
Sinn Fein appears to have made a strong start as the first results of Northern Ireland local government elections emerge.

By 3pm on Friday, the party was leading the way with 29 councillors elected ahead of the DUP with 18 seats, the Alliance Party with eight seats, UUP with four and the SDLP with one seat.

The elections use the single transferable vote system where voters rank candidates in order of preference.

This means how voters transfer their vote can lead to tight races for the final seats in each of the 11 council areas.

The general pattern around voter turn out appeared to be up slightly in areas which would be regarded as predominantly nationalist/republican and down slightly in areas viewed as unionist majority.

Opinion polls ahead of the election suggested that Sinn Fein would emerge as the largest party in local government in Northern Ireland, as they became the largest party at Stormont following last years Assembly election.

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle ONeill said results so far are a clear signal from the people that it is time to get the Assembly up and running.

People are determined to see the positive transformation of our politics.

Sinn Fein went into this campaign with a commitment to work for all, and our councillors across the North will take forward that commitment, she said.

(PA Graphics)

I want to again thank every one who placed your trust in Sinn Fein to deliver a better future for all.

Counting began at centres across Northern Ireland at 8am on Friday morning after voters cast their ballots on Thursday.

Sinn Feins Gary McCleave was the first to be elected at Lisburn and Castlereagh Council, securing a seat in the Killultagh district electoral area (DEA).

His election was swiftly followed by the DUPs Thomas Beckett and Claire Kemp of the Alliance Party in the same DEA.

In Belfast, sitting Mayor Tina Black was among the first elected.

Her Sinn Fein colleague Geraldine McAteer was the first councillor to be elected to the capitals council in the Balmoral district electoral area (DEA).

A short time later, Ms Black, along with DUP candidates Frank McCoubrey and Nicola Verner, were elected in the Court DEA.

Visiting the Lisburn and Castlereagh count centre on Friday morning, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson appeared upbeat at the early stage of counting.

He indicated his party was polling well in the area, and would hold its seats in four district electoral areas (DEA) that are being counted so far, and hoped to potentially gain a seat in two DEAs.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson (Liam McBurney/PA)

The Alliance Party is polling well in some of areas too, Sinn Fein have done well where you might expect them, so I think the pattern so far in Lisburn and Castlereagh is DUP holding its ground, Alliance perhaps making some gains, perhaps at the expense of the Ulster Unionist Party, and Sinn Fein perhaps making one or two gains at the expense of the SDLP, he told the Belfast Telegraph.

Our vote has gone up in some areas in Lisburn and Castlereagh but its too early to tell if we will make a gain.

I think we were targeting a gain in a couple of areas but we havent seen the results yet for those two areas.

Alliance leader Naomi Long visited the count at Belfast City Hall on Friday morning but did not make any comment to media.

Counting is under way at all 11 count centres.

Some 462 council seats are being contested at this years election.

Northern Irelands councils are responsible for setting rates, planning and waste collection as well as leisure services and parks.

It is the first electoral test for the parties since last years Assembly elections and takes place against the backdrop of the Stormont stalemate, with the powersharing institutions not operating as part of a DUP protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Sinn Fein leader Michelle ONeill said the election was an opportunity for voters to re-affirm last years assembly election, while DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson asked unionist voters to unite behind the party to get back to winning ways.

The Stormont assembly has not been operational for more than a year due to the DUPs boycott of the powersharing institutions in protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Sinn Fein currently has 105 councillors and put forward 162 candidates in this election.

The DUP is currently the largest party in local government with 122 councillors, and ran 152 candidates.

Mr Donaldson has pledged that his party will stand firm over any return to Stormont until political and trading concerns around the Windsor Framework are addressed.

The Alliance party, who became the third biggest party at the last Assembly election, will hope to build on the 53 councillors they secured at the last local election in 2019.

The cross-community party fielded 110 candidates in 78 out of the 80 district electoral areas.

The Ulster Unionist Party ran 101 candidates, and will be hoping to secure numbers after losses in previous Assembly and local government elections.

The UUP currently has 75 councillors.

A party also hoping to maintain numbers is the SDLP, who have seen losses in previous elections.

The party currently has 59 councillors and ran 86 candidates in this election.

Council elections present an opportunity for smaller parties who have little or no representation in the Assembly to secure a voice in local government.

The TUV ran 46 candidates, the Green Party 37, Aontu 19 and People Before Profit fielded 16.

Belfast City Council is the largest local government area in Northern Ireland with 60 councillors to be elected.
Warning: graphic details below

A man who attacked an 86-year-old woman by putting her inside a wheelie bin after the victim had got lost en route to her home late at night has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.

The court heard that Alex Bailey (30) was experiencing induced psychosis due to his level of intoxication and was under the delusional belief that the victim was a predatory paedophile.

Bailey met Marie MacGowan in a Dublin suburb around 2am, and CCTV footage from the night shows that he remained in her company for over an hour. The footage shows Bailey assaulting Ms MacGowan sporadically for 42 minutes, including knocking her to the ground, putting her head first into a wheelie bin and applying pressure to the lid of the bin.

The bin fell over, and as Ms MacGowan tries to get out, she was punched in the face and kicked to the body, Garda Paul ODonnell told the court. The woman feared she was going to be killed and later told gardai: I really thought I was going to be dead.

Incident

The court heard that the victim had been living independently at the time, but she had early-onset dementia. She had been out with a friend for a meal that night, had returned home and gone to bed. She woke up later and headed out to the shops, not realising it was 1am.

Gda ODonnell said Ms MacGowan met a man who told her the shops were closed, and she headed back to her home, but she walked 100m too far past the avenue where her home was. She stopped outside an ice cream shop for some time, where she ultimately met Bailey.

Counsel for Bailey said his client had taken a significant number of intoxicants on the night, which led to induced psychosis, and he was under the delusional belief that the victim was a predatory paedophile. Bailey believed Ms MacGowan was a man dressed up as a woman, Patrick Gageby, SC, defending, told the court.

Gda ODonnell told Paddy Jackson BL, prosecuting, that three students passed by and came to the womans assistance. At this point, she was sitting on the kerb with her feet stretched out into a cycle lane. Her face and hands were covered in blood, and she was shaking.

A compilation of the footage was shown to the court, which shows Bailey standing nearby as the three students tried to help the woman. Bailey can be seen engaging in conversation with the group before walking away. Gda ODonnell said Ms MacGowan told the students that Bailey had assaulted her and taken her wallet. He had left the scene before emergency services arrived.

Bailey was arrested after gardai secured hours of CCTV footage. They traced his steps from the time he left work that evening before he spent some time in a number of pubs in the Dublin 2 and Dublin 6 area and ultimately met the victim. He wore the same clothing throughout.

Ms MacGowan was later treated for a fractured nose and blood loss. She had been living independently at the time, although she had been diagnosed with early-onset dementia. She has since had to move into a nursing home because she struggles with her balance following the attack and needs constant care due to a risk of her falling.

Bailey of Claragh, Ramelton, Donegal, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting the woman causing her harm on September 1, 2022, in Dublin 6. He also admitted robbery of cash and her mobile phone and false imprisonment. Bailey was arrested 12 days after the attack. He has no previous convictions and had been in full-time employment up until the attack.

Victim impact statement

Jack MacGowan speaks to the media outside the CCJ. His mother was attacked and put into a wheelie bin. Picture Collins Court

A victim impact statement from Jack MacGowan, Ms MacGowans son said that leaving his mother in a bin that night nearly killed her. It has impacted her life in a major way and significantly reduced her quality of life. He said his mother was traumatised and unable to walk for weeks. She lost her sense of balance and required 24/7 specialist care for four months.

He said she was obsessed with her near-death experience and repeated regularly, Please stop killing me, and Are you trying to kill me? She suffered regular bouts of physical shaking and did not sleep well.

Her son said the incidents of physical shaking have since reduced considerably but his mother has become withdrawn and is unable to walk unaided. Due to fall risks, she is no longer able to live independently and had to move to a nursing home.

According to her son, Ms MacGowans has lost her confidence and her dementia has worsened. She is highly unlikely to leave the nursing home and is sad and depressed. Many times, it seems as if she has given up, the statement continued. The victims son said prior to the attack, his mother really didnt want to lose her independence and led quite a fulfilling social life.

'Induced psychosis'

Gda ODonnell agreed with Mr Gageby that Bailey told the students that came to help the woman to keep away from her and that she was dangerous and a paedophile. Mr Gageby handed in a book of testimonials into court and a psychiatric report. He said his client had consumed a significant number of intoxicants that night and suffered a memory blackout.

He said that as a result of his intoxication, Bailey had induced psychosis and was under the delusional belief that the victim was a predatory paedophile.

Counsel said his client was deeply sorry for the pain and suffering he has caused and has since fully engaged with the Rutland Centre to deal with his alcohol and drug misuse. He had 10,000 in court to offer as a token of his remorse.

Sentencing

Passing sentence on Friday, Judge Crowe said this 30-year-old man with a previously unblemished record is now before the court for assault causing harm to a then 86-year-old woman whom he robbed, punched, kicked and threw into a wheelie bin.

She said the aggravating factors were the nature and duration of the offence, the age of the injured party and the injuries she sustained.

The judge said she took into consideration the mitigating factors including Bailey's early guilty plea, the fact that the injured party did not need to give evidence, his remorse, his good work history and the considerable work he has done while in custody to rehabilitate himself.

She said the court will treat the assault as the principal offence and take the offence of robbery into consideration. She outlined that this was on the higher range of offending, and the maximum sentence for this offence is five years.

Judge Crowe sentenced him to three years in prison, backdated from when he went into custody. In order to incentivise Bailey, she suspended the final six months under the condition that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two years post-release. He must abstain from all alcohol and drugs, attend the Rutland Centre for one-year post-release and agree to random urine testing.

The judge said that if the injured party did not wish to accept the 10,000 which was brought to court by Bailey as a token of his remorse, it should be donated to The Royal Hospital in Donnybrook, where the injured party received rehabilitation treatment.
Tanaiste Micheal Martin has said false stories being spread about refugees are outrageous and the country needs to stand up against it.

Mr Martin said he did not know if preconceptions about asylum seekers were an element as to why residents in Inch, Co Clare were protesting.

I don't know. I have to take people at face value. And the people in Clare have articulated their concerns around the building and so on," he told reporters in Westmeath on Friday.

Mr Martin said more generally the Government is aware of false stories being spread about people who come to Ireland that have no foundation, and some of the stories are outrageous in terms of whats being asserted.

He said: We just have to stand up against that.

Mr Martin said he met a person last week who was convinced after reading a post on Facebook that 150 refugees have been moved into a location, which was not true. Mr Martin described the post as "shocking stuff".

And that is a factor. I think that's beginning to spread unease and we have to really refute that, he said.

On Thursday, Minister of State Joe OBrien visited protesters and asylum seekers in Clare and said there would be a four-week pause on moving any more refugees into the area to allow further engagement.

When asked if he was concerned there will be copycat protests such as the one in Clare given the Government now appears to have bowed to the protesters, Mr Martin said he hoped not. He said the Government would assess the situation in Inch again in terms of whether to increase the number of refugees to be moved to Magowna House Hotel.

Garda response

The Tanaiste also said the Garda Commissioner is confident that officers have the ability to deal with the anti-immigrant protests.

It comes after the body representing rank-and-file gardai have said they are not trained to deal with an escalation in anti-immigration protests.

The Fianna Fail leader said Drew Harris has said gardai have the capacity to deal with the issues but that the force would also develop strategies given it is new territory in many respects in terms of Ireland.

Mr Martin said Ireland has welcomed 100,000 people between refugees and Ukrainians and, as a country, we know more about migration given our history.

He said there are certain groups that will endeavour to exploit the situation, particularly far-right groups.

However, he said the increase in the number of people coming to Ireland does create challenges, it creates insecurities, it creates fears and concerns".

And there are those politically who will endeavour to exploit those fears.

And it's absolutely unacceptable that anybody would attempt to harm anybody, as we saw in Dublin in terms of the burning of tents and so forth.

And we need to, as a society, stick to the values that I think have stood us in good stead over the years and work this out.
Who wouldnt love a new kitchen to loll in on a Saturday morning? Imagine idling about in pyjamas, sipping coffee and taking pleasure in cooking, maybe even having friends over for brunch rather than escaping for a cafe breakfast because you cant bear the drab, dated look?

IKEA, CORK

As an infrequent visitor to Dublin, the idea of Ikea opening up in a Cork suburb set my heart aflutter with excitement.

Its not a fully-fledged shop, mind you; more of a Tesco Express-type experience offering a design and order service for, among other things, kitchens.

Mint green is popular in Ikea.

Popping in, I find a half dozen kitchens on display and multiple samples of different colour and style finishes. (During my design consultation, staff surprise me by saying mint green is the most in-demand colour.)

So what is popular among the Cork buyers queuing up to avail of this new design and order service to create their kitchens?

Im immediately told its dresser-style glass-fronted units sitting on countertops, and lighting strips under wall cabinets to illuminate work surfaces  and that theres a shift from harsher spots to ambient lighting with its softer glow overhead.

For buyers prioritising sustainability, cabinet doors manufactured using recycled materials will appeal, as will smaller commitments like 100% cotton hanging string bags for fruit and small vegetables and glass storage containers instead of plastic.

No Dublin Ikea Marketplace here, however, to lure you into an unplanned 100 purchase of bits and pieces you didnt need in the first place but couldnt resist on the way to the checkout. Its sustainability by default, you might say.

The Stensund kitchen from Ikea.

But with sustainability being the buzzword of the moment, it can cause a reluctance to rip out a perfectly good kitchen carcass, even though an inconvenient layout and 1990s styling grates on the nerves.

Curious about the overall design service from start to finish, I sat with one of the kitchen planners to walk through a kitchen layout and appliance positions.

You can take a PDF of the design home with a link to an online 3D model.

Delivery and installation is a swift four to six weeks depending on the time of year, Im told. So, if youre in a hurry and dont need to muse on a design and endlessly adjust, and you dont need the builders in, this service could be the one for you.

But I know if I was buying a kitchen Id opt for a specialist kitchen company and the years of practical experience that comes with it, plus the minding you get while planning, maybe panicking, changing your mind more than once when finalising what is for most of us, a huge spend.

The Augusta two-tone from Cash & Carry Kitchens offers a natural colour palette with a mix of wood and stone effects.

CASH & CARRY KITCHENS

National showroom designer for Cash & Carry Kitchens Marie Brown advises me to look at the pros and cons of the existing kitchen.

Marie adds: Ask yourself, what am I missing if I keep the kitchen? If you decide to take it out, sell it on Done Deal, or give to a local community centre that might use the units so it doesnt end up in landfill.

Looking at where a new kitchen is produced is a consideration, too, she maintains.

Manufactured in Ireland with less carbon footprint in shipping is the biggest plus in sustainability, she says.

The other thing I would encourage is to make selections that prioritise longevity over trends. Select materials and surfaces that are going to last and stand through different trends. Yes, a pink kitchen sounds exciting today but will you want to rip it out in five years?

She also references how energy saving with savvy appliance buying, referencing the pitfalls of our beloved kettle, particularly.

The more traditional Shaker-style kitchen in ivory from Cash & Carry Kitchens.

Its shocking how much energy they use, she says, Go ahead and bite the bullet and get a hot-water tap. It gives you the right serving at the right temperature. It will save so much energy in the long run and pay for itself through the years of use.

Other trends playing nicely to our eco-conscience include the downdraft hob combining hob function with a traditional extractor hood. Marie says it costs less than having two separate appliances.

Kitchen colour finishes, while trend-driven, appear to have built-in longevity this year.

Natural units with black accents to pop is a timeless look, Marie says. Theres a big shift in how kitchens are used in Ireland with open-door larders with work surface and space for small appliances. The kitchen is now showcased. Hiding appliances makes the kitchen look more pulled together, more like furniture.

Kube Interiors Torino kitchen features on-trend larder cupboards where wares and small appliances are behind closed doors.

KUBE INTERIORS

David Fagan, director of Kube Interiors, says customers are asking more about sustainability credentials when looking to buy. They want to know where are the materials from, he tells me. Are they carbon neutral, safe? All of our timber comes from sustainable forests. We use Dekton surfaces which are carbon neutral in their manufacture and theyre all recyclable.

A natural colour palette combined with natural wood elements eliminate a stark kitchen look to create a warmer aesthetic (Kube Interiors).

When it comes to aesthetics and functionality, David cites the three most popular choices: People ask how do I fit in my coffee dock, pantry and extractor island. Then its colours and surfaces after that. They also want to know the energy efficiency of hobs, ovens, and appliances. They dont want throwaway projects.

Like Marie Brown, he sees the boiling water tap trending with an added eco benefit. Some of them can serve chilled still and carbonated water. It means theyre not buying bottled water in plastic bottles.
That our planets climate is at a critical point is influencing individual and organisational changes across the world.

Bord na Mona is playing an important role as part of Irelands commitment to transitioning to a climate-neutral economy by 2050. A key element of Bord na Monas mission is to lead the way and help the country re-imagine how it engages with climate action.

As Head of HR and Corporate Affairs at Bord na Mona, Sharon Doyle says the companys Accelerate Green Programme, which started last year, is designed for businesses that are innovative in the sustainable climate solution space. Bord na Monas Brown to Green strategy focuses on the delivery of renewable energy and climate solutions.

Peat briquettes will cease production at Bord na Mona in June.

Essentially, we will no longer be a peat-based fossil fuel company. As we progress on our journey, we have identified the need for green innovators and other businesses to step into that space with ourselves and provide sustainability-focused employment, mainly in the Midlands.

Having been on its own sustainability journey, Ms Doyle says that Bord na Mona is helping business leaders to identify pathways of scale, innovation and delivering solutions of measurable impact while supporting economic growth.

Now into its third Accelerate Green Programme, involving eight companies, Bord na Mona is investing 5m over three years in the continued rollout of this initiative. The programme is the first scaling accelerator in Ireland to focus on a sustainable transition to the green economy. It was developed in conjunction with Erinn Innovation and is being delivered in conjunction with Resolve Partners.

Supporting green innovators through Accelerate Green is a top priority for us at Bord na Mona. We are currently on a path to continue expanding our renewable energy solutions to support Irelands sustainable energy requirements by 2030 with a longer-term goal of supporting our national ambition of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. These goals cannot be reached without the growth and support of energy-conscious and environmentally sustainable companies and the Accelerate Green participants are leading the way in this field.

Bord na Mona provides mentoring support and advice to the companies.

Ms Doyle says there are huge opportunities in the sustainability space. She adds that the eight companies currently participating in the programme are very credible with very strong commercial offerings.

Accelerate Green participants

The participants in the Accelerate Green programme include the following:

NanobOx, which is developing novel water technology that provides an energy-efficient way of oxygenating water for chemical-free cleaning and sanitisation with nanobubbles;

Hibra Design, which is an automotive design engineering company that designs sustainable renewable alternatives to diesel powertrains in off-road and speciality vehicles;

HUB360, a software platform that optimises logistics with a particular focus on reducing carbon emissions;

HaPPE Earth, which is championing sustainability and the circular economy by aiming to bring together medical-grade functional compostables with SDG measurement for healthcare, a compostable medical waste solution and other pipeline products;

Superfy, which delivers sustainable smart resource management solutions through technology, empowering enterprises and connecting cities;

NEG8 Carbon, which is a spin-off from Trinity College Dublin specialising in the capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The company aims to be the leading inventor and integrator of sustainable and affordable technologies for the capture of carbon dioxide using renewable energy;

EC Charging, which is a well-established Irish manufacturer of end-to-end Electric Vehicle charging equipment.

CW Applied offers design, manufacturing and distribution services to facilitate successful electronic and IoT-enabled innovation. As well as electronic product design, CW Applied is also re-imagining electronic manufacturing to satisfy the demands of an evolving market.

Accelerate Green participants, whose ambitions and growth opportunities have soared thanks to the guidance of the expert mentors on the Bord na Mona environmental business acceleration programme.

'We've learned so much from successful climate-focused entrepreneurs'

John Favier, CEO and co-founder of NanobOx, says: Through participation in Accelerate Green, we have gained valuable insights on strategies to develop and scale our business internationally. Accelerate Green has helped us to better understand how we contribute to more than just the economic sustainability of our customers by getting us to think more deeply about the environmental and societal impact.

We have learned from climate-focused entrepreneurs who have already scaled up about the importance of quantifying how we can help our customers meet their sustainability targets and reduce their carbon footprint.

Mike Keane of Hibra Design, an Irish company at the forefront of automotive development, with more than 40 individual vehicle performance enhancement programmes. Hibra Design works with clients to increase performance efficiency, reduce operational costs, fulfil legislative requirements and cut environmental costs. A leader in his high octane field, Mike speaks very highly of the confidence he has gained from Bord na Mona's Accelerate Green Programme.

Mike Keane, Director of Hibra Design, says the Accelerate programme covers a wide range of customer-focused topics in significant depth. It has supported Hibra Design to be clear on its value proposition by rigorously testing strategies and the assumptions behind them. This has really sharpened the areas of most impact for the company and for our clients.

Mike adds: Accelerate Green has an international outlook and has allowed Hibra Design to interrogate opportunities for our service to have increased impact in an Irish context but also to understand how to position the company and how to reach global customers.

Sustainability is the fundamental driver for Hibra Design. We decarbonise industrial vehicles by re-engineering fossil-fuel-powered vehicles with battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell solutions, thus eliminating tailpipe emissions. Although sustainability is important to many of our clients, it is not often clear to companies how the value of environmental and sustainability goals can be measured. Accelerate Green allowed Hibra Design to show how the sustainability value of our services can have real, calculable, fiscal benefit to our clients.

Just a small sample of the road, industrial, off-highway, HGV and other vehicles with Hibra Design's projects are helping to deliver a more efficient performance.

Mr Keane says the mentoring support has been very useful. It has given Hibra Design examples of real-world business strategies and tactics that we can employ. Alongside this, it has shown where to appropriately place sustainability-focus as the business grows. This changes due to bandwidth and the changing relationship with our customers as we grow. Accelerate Green has given us practical strategies that work for each stage the company is at while having longer-term goals.

'The expert mentors have inspired us with their experiences'

John O'Neill and Denise O'Kelly of HUB360, who have gained the insights and platform to scale their business.

John ONeill of HUB360 says that the Accelerate Green programme has provided the company with access to world-wide class mentors and experts, it has given us invaluable insights into how to both scale and market our platform effectively.

Through the programme, we have gained access to a fabulous community of like-minded businesses and experts who are all committed to driving positive change in the fight against climate change. Being part of this community means we now have connections with other businesses and experts who share our values and visions, and we have been inspired by their stories and experiences, he said.

Mr ONeill says the mentorship aspect of the Accelerate Green programme has been the most valuable experience.

Accelerate Green provided us with access to a wealth of knowledge and expertise from seasoned professionals that would have been impossible to obtain otherwise. These mentors have given us practical insights on how to refine our business strategy. Theyve encouraged us to make informed decisions about how to prioritise our efforts for maximum impact. They have challenged us to think critically about our goals and have inspired us to aim higher and think bigger using their invaluable lived real-world experience.

Lisa O'Riordan and Mary O'Riordan of HaPPE Earth say Accelerate Green has been instrumental in helping them to communicate that sustainability is at the core of their business.

'Our mentors helped us investigate and scale our business'

One of the co-founders of HaPPE Earth, Lisa ORiordan, along with her cousin Dr Mary ORiordan, says the company is fortunate to have Resolve Partners as mentors at Accelerate Green.

They are skilled at dismantling our ideas and challenging us to investigate each aspect of the business and guiding us through the process of making it a more scalable business. It can be daunting but they are helping HaPPE reach full potential. The epic story of Bord na Monas evolution has also been an inspiration. Their journey serves as a reminder that with hard work and perseverance, anything is possible.

Ms ORiordan says: "Accelerate Green has been instrumental in helping us communicate that sustainability is at the core of our business. Being part of a cohort that is specifically focused on promoting sustainability has given us the opportunity to connect with other like-minded individuals who share our values.

"By interacting with and learning from them, we have been able to broaden our knowledge of sustainable practices and how to incorporate them into our business more effectively. Through the guidance of our peers and mentors, weve learned how to better communicate our sustainable practices to our customers, supplies and stakeholders. This has enabled us to showcase our commitment to sustainability and to differentiate ourselves in a crowded marketplace.

"The support weve received from entrepreneurs and speakers has been invaluable. Their experience and knowledge have provided us with insights into how we can grow and develop our business. By learning from their successes and challenges, we have been able to make more informed decisions and avoid potential pitfalls. Their guidance has helped us refine our business strategies, identify new growth opportunities and develop more effective sustainability practices.

Born na Mona, Accelerate Green and the speakers have given us access to a network of contacts and resources that we may not have otherwise had. This has allowed us to build relationships with other like-minded people and companies, opening up new possibilities for collaboration and partnerships. They have provided us with insights, resources and networks that will be critical to our success in the long term. We are incredibly grateful for everything we have absorbed so far.

'This is helping us to refine our sustainability message and target specific markets'

Ronan Quinlan and John Dillon of Superfy: "We have always had ambitions to scale this business and the programme has been very helpful in our preparations for navigating the steps along the journey.

John Dillon from Superfy says the Accelerate Programme is providing some valuable insights and access to an extended network of experienced advisors across all business functions and potential investors. We have always had ambitions to scale this business and the programme has been very helpful in our preparations for navigating the steps along the journey.

Sustainability is core to our business, but Accelerate Green has helped us to refine our messaging and focus in on very specific target markets. Weve been very impressed by the quality of the speakers and networking opportunities on the programme. The follow up one-to-one mentoring sessions have also been very beneficial. For any business, it is very important to test your propositions and strategy on a regular basis and the programme has provided us with excellent reviews from independent, external experts who serve a valuable role in challenging our thinking.

Theresa Keady of EC Charging says the company has benefited from the Accelerate Green mentoring.

Theresa Keady, Director of EC Charging, says that Accelerate Green has been invaluable to the company because of the networking opportunities with sustainable companies. The programme has helped the company to communicate that sustainability is core to its business through workshops on sustainability for business.

Ms Keady says the company has benefited from mentoring from climate-focused entrepreneurs who have already scaled up and have a wealth of experience and insights that they can share. They have provided us with insights, resources and networks that will be critical likely faced similar challenges and obstacles that companies scaling are currently facing and can offer valuable on how to navigate them.

John OConnell, Managing Director of CW Applied Technology, and Josephine Lynch, Product Manager of CW Applied Technology.

Managing director of CW Applied Technology, John OConnell, says: "When the company was set up, we had the objective of providing a high quality and high-value design and manufacturing service for the type of leading, dynamic and innovative customers we currently serve and also, to enable the most creative, start-up companies we could find in the sector and help them to grow and deliver on their promise where we could. Participating in Accelerate Green has given us the opportunity to focus on the latter part of that original objective and re-energise our scaling efforts for that objective in particular.

Mr OConnell says that the companys most important and innovative customers have products which are undeniably focused on sustainability. Through the marketing and sales modules in Accelerate Green, we have learned how to ensure that we can communicate that fact to other potential customers in green technology. We have also developed clear messaging around our own green credentials in terms of our manufacturing service. That process has also helped us to identify further areas we can concentrate on for increased sustainability within our process.

Being able to gain mentoring support from climate-focused entrepreneurs who have already scaled up has been of huge benefit to CW Applied Technology.

In any situation where you are trying to scale your business, having access to people who have been there and done that is invaluable. As we are seeking to scale climate-focused manufacturing products, the mentoring support has been really good.

Chief commercial officer for NEG8 Carbon (formerly Trinity Green Energies) Adrian Costigan, explains that the company uses Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology to extract C02 from the atmosphere, helping to reverse global warming.

We have just begun to commercialise our technology, so the timing of this years programme is perfect for us, says Mr Costigan. It provides a springboard for our business to attract funding and scale. The programme offers opportunities to connect with potential customers and investors, as well as receiving mentoring expertise and media exposure.

"Our ambitions are to capture millions of tonnes of C02, both in Ireland and internationally in the coming years. The programme has been incredibly beneficial in helping us define our value proposition, identify our ideal customer and develop a clear go-to market strategy.

Irelands Sustainable Future conference

Bord na Mona is hosting a conference on Irelands Sustainable Future 2023 on June 1 at the Tullamore Court Hotel. One of the keynote speakers will be Stephen Kinsella, economics lecturer at University of Limerick. Environmental scientist Dr Cara Augustenborg will also speak.

For more information, visit accelerategreen.ie.
The United States has signalled its support for Taiwan with a trade agreement as the island democracy comes under increasing pressure from China.

The agreement, the first under the US-Taiwan initiative on 21st Century Trade, is expected to set the stage for what US trade representative Katherine Tai described as a robust and high-standard trade agreement.

The initiative announced on Thursday includes cutting red tape at customs and reducing waiting for US businesses taking products to Taiwan.

Beijing is likely to complain about this announcement, but its words will fall on deaf ears in Washington as negotiations continue with Taiwan

It also commits both countries to measures designed to combat corruption and encourage more trade involving smaller business.

There is broad bipartisan support in Washington for Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade Chinese province.

Relations between the US and China have deteriorated in recent years.

The US accuses China of predatory economic practices and has criticised Beijings crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong and Muslim region of Xinjiang and its bullying of neighbors, including Taiwan, over territorial claims.

Beijing is likely to complain about this announcement, but its words will fall on deaf ears in Washington as negotiations continue with Taiwan, said Wendy Cutler, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former US trade negotiator.

Taiwan is the worlds leading producer of computer chips and supplied the US with 105 billion dollars (84.6 billion) worth of goods and services last year, making it the 10th biggest source of imports.

American exports to Taiwan came to nearly 55 billion dollars (44.3 billion), making it Americas 15th biggest foreign market.
An 88-year-old Australian doctor has been released after being held captive by Islamic extremists for more than seven years in West Africa.

Australian foreign minister Penny Wong said Ken Elliott was safe and well after being reunited with his wife and their children on Thursday.

She said: Im very pleased to advise that Dr Ken Elliott, whos been held hostage in Western Africa for some seven years, has been reunited in Australia with his family.

The foreign minister said no ransom was paid to secure Dr Elliotts freedom, but no other details on his release were disclosed.

The Australian government has a clear policy that we do not pay ransoms, she said.

At 88 years of age, and after many years away from home, Dr Elliott now needs time and privacy to rest and rebuild strength

What we have done over the last seven years is ensure that we worked with other governments and local authorities in relation to Dr Elliott.

Mr Elliott and his wife ran a medical clinic in Burkina Faso for four decades before they were kidnapped near the northern Burkina Faso town of Djibo, close to the border with Mali and Niger, in January 2016.

Jocelyn Elliott was released three weeks later in neighbouring Niger whose then-president Mahamadou Issoufou worked with Burkina Faso intelligence services to secure her release, his office said at the time.

A family statement said: We wish to express our thanks to God and all who have continued to pray for us.

We express our relief that Dr Elliott is free and thank the Australian government and all who have been involved over time to secure his release.

At 88 years of age, and after many years away from home, Dr Elliott now needs time and privacy to rest and rebuild strength.

The militant group behind the kidnapping, al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, rose to prominence in large part through kidnap-for-ransom operations targeting foreign aid workers and tourists.

On the day they were kidnapped, 30 people were killed in an extremist attack in Burkina Fasos capital Ouagadougou.

Al Qaidas North Africa wing claimed responsibility for that attack and other high-profile strikes in West Africa months earlier, including killing 20 people in an attack on a hotel in Malis capital Bamako.
A photo agency involved in an alleged New York City car chase with Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has reportedly refused to hand over images of the couple.

Backgrid rejected a demand by the couple to hand over photographs taken during what the pair described as a near catastrophic pursuit on Tuesday night, saying Americans long ago rejected royal prerogative, the BBC said.

The letter, which the celebrity picture agency said it got from the pairs legal team on Thursday, reportedly said: We hereby demand that Backgrid immediately provide us with copies of all photos, videos, and/or films taken last night by the freelance photographers after the couple left their event and over the next several hours.

The duke and duchess had been at the Ms Foundation For Womens 50th anniversary gala event (PA)

In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesman for Harry and Meghan said the pair and Meghans mother were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi.

He added: This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers.

The couple had been at the Ms Foundation For Womens 50th anniversary gala event.

It was Harry and Meghans first public appearance together since his father's coronation on May 6.

What is my priority and responsibility is people's safety at home

Paparazzi deny there were any near-crashes, while the NYPD said numerous photographers made the couples journey challenging but there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests.

During an interview with the BBC at the G7 summit in Japan, Rishi Sunak appeared to dismiss the incident, saying: Cars in New York are not really my priority or my responsibility.

What is my priority and responsibility is peoples safety at home.
Arab leaders, joined by Syrian President Bashar Assad for the first time in more than a decade, were holding an annual summit in Saudi Arabia, with a focus on Sudan and other conflicts  and featuring a surprise visit by Ukraines leader.

The meeting comes as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pursues regional diplomacy with the same vigour he previously brought to the oil-rich kingdoms confrontation with its arch-rival Iran and regional proxies.

In recent months, Saudi Arabia has restored diplomatic ties with Iran, is ending the kingdoms years-long war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen and has led the push for Syrias return to the Arab League, 12 years after its membership was suspended over Mr Assads bloody crackdown against Arab Spring protests.

The Saudis have even offered to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, following a prisoner exchange deal they brokered last year.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he has kicked off a visit to Saudi Arabia, aiming to enhance bilateral relations and Ukraines ties with the Arab world.

Among other topics he mentioned were Russias annexation of Crimea, a peace formula, and energy cooperation.

He also said he would address the summit.

Arab states have remained largely neutral over Russias war on Ukraine, with many maintaining close ties to Moscow.

As leaders from the 22-member league meet in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, attention is expected to shift to Sudan.

The East African countrys top generals  both of whom have been backed by Saudi Arabia and other Arab states  have been battling each other across the country for over a month, killing hundreds and sparking an exodus from the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere.

Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan, leader of the armed forces, and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, agreed to a pact in Jeddah last week that promised safe passage for civilians fleeing the fighting and protection for aid groups.

Saudi Arabia and the United States have meanwhile been leading international efforts to broker a lasting truce.

The fighting has killed more than 600 people and caused tens of thousands to flee their homes.

Syrian President Bashar Assad, is accompanied by Prince Badr Bin Sultan, deputy governor of Mecca, upon his arrival at Jeddah airport (Saudi Press Agency via AP)

The Arab League is also expected to reiterate its perennial criticism of Israels treatment of the Palestinians at a time of soaring tensions.

In recent years, Mr Assads forces have recaptured much of Syrias territory from insurgents with help from Russia and Iran.

Saudi Arabia had been a leading sponsor of the opposition at the height of the war but pulled back as the insurgents were eventually cornered in a small pocket of north-western Syria.

There are some Arab holdouts to Damascus rehabilitation, including gas-rich Qatar, which still supports Syrias opposition.

Qatar has said it will not stand in the way of the Arab consensus on readmitting Syria but would also not normalise bilateral relations without a political solution to the conflict.

Western countries, which still view Mr Assad as a pariah over his forces aerial bombardment and gas attacks against civilians during the 12-year civil war, have criticised his return to the Arab fold and vowed to maintain crippling sanctions.
Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Saudi Arabia ahead of an Arab summit, where he is set to address leaders who have remained largely neutral on Russias invasion of his country  including many who maintain warm ties with Moscow.

Among those in attendance is Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has been welcomed back into the Arab fold 12 years after Syria was suspended at the start of its civil war.

Russian air strikes on civilian areas brought devastation to both countries, but in Syria they helped Mr Assad cling to power.

The odd pairing of the two leaders in the same forum is the result of a recent flurry of diplomacy by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is pursuing regional rapprochement with the same vigour he previously brought to the oil-rich kingdoms confrontation with its arch-rival Iran.

In recent months, Saudi Arabia has restored diplomatic ties with Iran, is ending the kingdoms years-long war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen and led the push for Syrias return to the Arab League.

The Saudis have even offered to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, following a prisoner exchange deal they brokered last year.

Saudi state TV broadcast footage showing Mr Zelenskyy arriving at the airport in his trademark brown fatigues and being greeted on the tarmac by Saudi officials.

Mr Zelensky arrives at Jeddah airport (Saudi Press Agency via AP)

In a tweet, he said he hopes to enhance bilateral relations and Ukraines ties with the Arab world.

The Ukrainian leader said he would address the summit in Jeddah and discuss the treatment of Muslim Tatars living under Russian occupation in the Crimean peninsula.

The visit comes amid a whirlwind of international travel by the Ukrainian leader, but until now he has mostly visited allied countries.

Saudi Arabia pledged $400 million (370m) in aid to Ukraine earlier this year and has voted in favour of UN resolutions calling on Russia to end its invasion and refrain from annexing Ukrainian territory.

But it has resisted US pressure to increase oil production in order to squeeze Russias revenues, and like other Arab states has maintained warm ties with Moscow.

This video grab shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arriving at the airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Saudi state TV: Al Ekhbariya via AP)

Leaders from the 22-member league, who were meeting in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, were also expected to focus on Sudan.

The East African countrys top generals  both of whom have been backed by Saudi Arabia and other Arab states  have been battling each other across the country for over a month, killing hundreds and sparking an exodus from the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere.

Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan, leader of the armed forces, and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, agreed to a pact in Jeddah last week that promised safe passage for civilians fleeing the fighting and protection for aid groups.

Saudi Arabia and the United States have meanwhile been leading international efforts to broker a lasting truce.

The fighting has killed more than 600 people and caused tens of thousands to flee their homes.

Syrian President Bashar Assad, is accompanied by Prince Badr Bin Sultan, deputy governor of Mecca, upon his arrival at Jeddah airport (Saudi Press Agency via AP)

The Arab League is also expected to reiterate its perennial criticism of Israels treatment of the Palestinians at a time of soaring tensions.

In recent years, Mr Assads forces have recaptured much of Syrias territory from insurgents with help from Russia and Iran.

Saudi Arabia had been a leading sponsor of the opposition at the height of the war but pulled back as the insurgents were eventually cornered in a small pocket of north-western Syria.

There are some Arab holdouts to Damascus rehabilitation, including gas-rich Qatar, which still supports Syrias opposition.

Qatar has said it will not stand in the way of the Arab consensus on readmitting Syria but would also not normalise bilateral relations without a political solution to the conflict.

Western countries, which still view Mr Assad as a pariah over his forces aerial bombardment and gas attacks against civilians during the 12-year civil war, have criticised his return to the Arab fold and vowed to maintain crippling sanctions.
A court in Slovakia has acquitted for a second time a businessman accused of masterminding the 2018 slaying of an investigative journalist and his fiancee.

The Specialised Criminal Court in Pezinok, near the capital, Bratislava  which handles Slovakias most serious cases, ruled on Friday that Marian Kocner was not guilty of murdering Jan Kuciak, who had written about him in the past, and Martina Kusnirova, both aged 27.

The crime shocked the country and caused the government to fall.

The court said it was not proven that Mr Kocner was the mastermind.

However, Mr Kocners associate, Alena Zsuzsova, was convicted over her role in the killings and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The case is not over yet as both the prosecution and the defendants can appeal.

Prosecutors had requested life imprisonment for both defendants.

The parents of Mr Kuciak and Ms Kusnirova left the courtroom before the reading of the sentence was completed.

Theres no logic in it, the journalists father, Jozef Kuciak, told reporters. I dont get it at all.

Of course, well appeal, Zlata Kusnirova, the mother of Martina said. Its impossible what happened, she said. Its a shame for justice.

Mr Kuciak was shot in the chest and Ms Kusnirova was shot in the head at their home in the town of Velka Maca, east of Bratislava, on February 21, 2018.

Mr Kocner allegedly threatened the journalist following publication of a story about his business dealings, prosecutors said. Overall, Mr Kuciak published nine stories about Mr Kocner.

The killings prompted major street protests unseen since the 1989 anti-communist Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia. The ensuing political crisis led to the collapse of a coalition government headed by populist Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Mr Kuciak had been investigating possible government corruption when he was killed.

It was the second time the Pezinok court ruled in the case.

Originally, it acquitted Mr Kocner in September 2020, saying there was not enough evidence for the convictions. The prosecutors appealed.

Slovakias Supreme Court dismissed the acquittal in June 2021, saying the lower court did not properly assess available evidence when it cleared Mr Kocner and Zsuzsova and ordering a retrial.

Three other defendants were previously convicted and sentenced to stiff prison terms.

One of them, former soldier Miroslav Marcek, pleaded guilty to shooting Mr Kuciak and Ms Kusnirova and was sentenced to 23 years in prison in April 2020. Prosecutors said Mr Kocner paid Marcek to carry out the killings.

In the meantime, Kocner was sentenced to 19 years in prison in a separate forgery case while Zsuzsova received 21 years in prison for her role in the killing of a mayor.

Those verdicts are final.

In December 2019, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Kocner and six of his businesses for threatening Kuciak.
News Bangladesh Reports Growing Insurgency on Myanmar Border

Kuki National Army troops. / Flickr

DHAKA  Fighting between the Bangladesh army and Kuki National Army (KNA) has intensified in the last month, leaving at least three military personnel and numerous others dead.

The KNA, a Kuki insurgent group active in northeast India and west Myanmar, is the armed wing of the Kuki National Organisation.

Bandarban district has a long, porous border with both Myanmar and India.

Branded insurgents by Bangladesh, the group is trying to carve out autonomy for the hill community.

Travel bans were imposed in Bandarban in October 2022 and an anti-terrorism operation was launched in Bandarban and Barathali.

On Tuesday, at least two Bangladeshi soldiers were killed and two officers injured in an ambush and explosion in Rangamati with the authorities blaming the KNA.

On March 12, Warrant Officer Nazim Uddin was shot dead and two other soldiers were injured in a KNA ambush in Bandarban.

The military said the KNA is creating an anarchic environment in Bandarbans forests.

The Prothom Alo newspaper reported that a civilian, Jewel Tripura, was killed and Abraham Tripura, 35, sustained injuries in Ruma in an explosion on Wednesday. The police said both the Tripura men were assisting the authorities as porters.

On April 7, the police recovered eight uniformed bodies in Bandarbans hills after reports of gunfire.

The police said they were KNA members.

Three members of the Christian Bawm community, including Nem Thang, 35, a ruling Awami League ward leader, were found dead in Bandarban on May 8.

KNA spokesman Captain Fleming told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that the group took responsibility for killing soldiers and said they had no alternative when the army displaces, arrests and kills those seeking rights and protesting against decades-long discrimination.

He said only two KNA soldiers were killed and the other victims were civilians.

Fleming added: We did not want an armed struggle. We approached the authorities to address our problems. We submitted our proposals. None paid heed to us so we took up arms and demanded our autonomy.

We never wanted separation rather our land rights and an end to discrimination, he said. We are marginalized and facing discrimination in every area, especially in getting jobs.

Fleming said the KNA was ready to talk to the government but not the military.

We also want the conflict to stop, he added.

Mehadi Hassan Palash, chairman of CHT Research Foundation and the editor of parbattanews, said the Kuki tribe was always known as a marginalized and peace-loving community in the hills.

He said investment under successive governments in the hills following the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord in 1997 was not distributed equally and the marginalized tribes were ignored.

He said Kuki demands could be solved democratically and politically.

The Bangladeshi authorities were unavailable for comment.

Kazi Mujibur Rahman, president of the pro-government Chittagong Hill Tracts Citizens Council, said tourism, transport and trade had been badly affected since the imposition of travel restrictions.
Burma Cyclone Mocha Kills 145 in Myanmar, Military Junta Says

Sittwe in the wake of Cyclone Mocha / The Irrawaddy

YANGON The death toll from Cyclone Mocha has reached 145 in Myanmar, its junta said Friday, with most of the dead from the persecuted Rohingya minority.

Mocha brought lashing rain and winds of 195 km per hour (120 miles per hour) to Myanmar and neighboring Bangladesh on Sunday, collapsing buildings and turning streets into rivers.

The storm churned up villages, uprooted trees and knocked out communications across much of Myanmars Rakhine State.

The region is home to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who live in displacement camps following decades of ethnic conflict.

Altogether 145 local people were killed during the cyclone, a statement from Myanmars junta authorities said.

The number included four soldiers, 24 locals and 117 Bengalis, it added, using a pejorative term for the Rohingya.

Widely viewed as interlopers from Bangladesh, Rohingya are denied citizenship and access to health care in Myanmar, and require permission to travel outside of their townships.

A Rohingya village leader previously told AFP that more than 100 people were missing from his village alone following the storm.

Another leader based near the Rakhine State capital of Sittwe told AFP that at least 105 Rohingya had died around the city, with counting still ongoing.

Flights resumed

Media reports that 400 Rohingya had died were not true, the juntas statement said, adding that action would be taken against the outlets that published the figure.

The junta has arrested scores of journalists and closed outlets deemed critical of its rule since the military staged a coup that ousted an elected government more than two years ago.

Junta-backed media reported Friday that naval ships and the air force had brought in thousands of bags of rice, while thousands of electricians, firefighters and rescue workers had been deployed across Rakhine.

Normal flight service had resumed at Sittwe airport on Thursday, according to newspaper the Global New Light of Myanmar.

Some international aid groups, including the United Nations World Food Program, were working on the ground in Sittwe this week, AFP correspondents said.

A junta spokesman did not respond to questions on whether UN agencies would be granted access to displacement camps outside Sittwe that house Rohingya.

Offers from the international community for providing aid have been accepted, state media said Tuesday.

But relief and rehabilitation tasks must be done through existing united strength, said the Global New Light of Myanmar.

A military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017 sent hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing into neighboring Bangladesh, with harrowing stories emerging of murder, rape and arson.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who was head of the army during the crackdown, has dismissed the term Rohingya as imaginary.

In neighboring Bangladesh, officials told AFP that no one there had died in the cyclone, which passed close to sprawling refugee camps that now house almost one million Rohingya.

Cyclones, the equivalent of hurricanes in the North Atlantic or typhoons in the Northwest Pacific, are a regular and deadly menace on the coast of the northern Indian Ocean where tens of millions of people live.

Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmars Irrawaddy Delta in 2008, killing at least 138,000 people.

A previous junta regime faced international criticism for its response to that disaster. It was accused of blocking emergency aid and initially refusing to grant access to humanitarian workers and supplies.
Burma Myanmar Junta Court Hands Death Sentence to 5 Resistance Members

Five resistance members accused of shooting dead four policemen on a train are paraded after being arrested by junta troops in Yangon in September 2021. / GNLM

Five resistance members accused of shooting dead four police officers on a Yangon train were sentenced to death by a junta court at Insein Prison on Monday, according to lawyers familiar with the case.

Suspects Ko Kyaw Win Soe, Ko Kaung Pyae Sone Oo, Ko San Min Aung, Ko Zayar Phyoe and Ma Myat Phyo Pwint were handed death sentences under the counter-terrorism law and separately given life sentences under the Arms Act (1949).

A court source confirmed the sentence, saying Mondays verdicts were delivered by a civilian court rather than martial court, as in previous such cases.

On August 14, 2021, six policemen working as guards on a Circular Railway train travelling from Yangons Central Station to Kyemindaing in the citys west were shot at close range by three members of an anti-regime urban guerrilla group. Four of the police officers were killed on the spot while two were injured, and their firearms seized.

The targeted attack came one week after five resistance movement members jumped to their deaths from a four-story building to evade raiding troops. Two of the five died on the spot.

In September, the regime arrested five out of 16 people it suspected of being involved in the train attack.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) also verified that five men detained over the incident were sentenced to death this week.

AAPP said in its daily brief issued yesterday that since the February 1, 2021, coup, a total of 3,520 people, including pro-democracy activists and civilians, have been killed in military crackdowns against the pro-democracy movement.

Junta courts have sentenced a total of 158 people to death since the coup. Among those executed were four prominent pro-democracy figures including politicians U Jimmy and Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw.
Burma Myanmar Political Prisoners Escape in Taungoo Jailbreak

Taungoo Prison in Bago Region. /CJ

Nine anti-Myanmar junta political prisoners escaped from Taungoo Prison on Thursday, the most significant jailbreak since the 2021 coup, according to resistance groups and pro-regime media.

Taungoo Prison in Taungoo Township, Bago Region is where ousted civilian President U Win Myint has been held since January.

Some ten political prisoners, including a woman and two inmates sentenced to death, escaped from a cell of the special court in Taungoo Prison during a trial after stealing weapons from the police, according to a leaked report from the junta-controlled Myanmar Correctional Department. Nine of the ten prisoners managed to escape the jail, taking with them four weapons seized from military regime forces.

A Myanmar military sergeant was killed and a former army sergeant injured in his leg during the jailbreak, said the Correctional Departments report.

Locals told the media that pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia are assigned to guard Taungoo Prison alongside the army and police as the junta does not have enough personnel to man the jail.

Junta troops and Pyu Saw Htee militia chased and attacked the prisoners when they fled from the prison cell. They [the prisoners] got two more weapons after countering the regime forces and militia, the spokesperson for Bago Region Peoples Defense Force (PDF) told The Irrawaddy on Friday.

However, one prisoner was wounded in the escape and had to be left behind.

All nine escapees have now reached a liberated area in Bago Region controlled by a PDF, added Ko Wai Yan, Bago Region PDF spokesperson.

Taungoo District PDF, part of Bago Region PDF, and the allied Karen National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Karen National Union, are also active in Taungoo Township.

This is the voice of the peoples struggle as well as the struggle of our comrades who broke out of the prison. This escape is one of the important things during our revolution, said Ko Wai Yan.

Last September, two political prisoners were rescued after a resistance group attacked a vehicle in Amarapura Township transporting them to Obo Prison in Mandalay from Kyaukse Police Station.

Five political prisoners including two resistance fighters also escaped in September 2022 during a jailbreak in Pakokku Township, Magwe Region.

At least ten political prisoners reportedly escaped in Hkamti Township, Sagaing Region last October.
Burma Myanmar Protest Leader Gets Extra 20 Years in Jail for High Treason

Ko Wai Moe Naing speaks to protesters during an anti-regime march in Monywa, Sagaing Region, in late March 2021. / Wai Moe Naing / Facebook

Jailed anti-junta protest leader Ko Wai Moe Naing was found guilty of high treason on Friday and sentenced to an additional 20 years by a junta court on Friday, taking his total sentence to 54 years.

The 28-year-old pro-democracy activist was violently arrested on April 15, 2021, when junta troops rammed him with a car as he led a motorbike protest in Monywa, Sagaing Region.

Ko Wai Moe Naing has faced 10 charges, including sedition, unlawful assembly, abduction with the intent to murder, murder and treason, for his role in Monywas protests after the February 1 coup. The junta sentenced him to 34 years in prison under eight charges.

The Monywa Prison court on Friday used Article 122 of the Penal Code to add 20 years to his sentence for high treason.

A source said Ko Wai Moe Naing saw his mother for a few minutes and was in good health.

Monywa Peoples Strike Committee denounced the sentence and called for the release of all political prisoners.

Regime leader Min Aung Hlaing and his fellow junta leaders are the only people to have committed high treason, the committee said on Friday.

Ko Wai Moe Naing, a former student union leader and committee member, has been held in Monywa Prison since his arrest.

He also faces another murder charge in relation to the killing of two police officers.

Since the 2021 coup, more than 3,500 people have been killed and over 22,400 people have been incarcerated with around 18,000 still behind bars, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
War Against the Junta Dozens of Myanmar Junta Troops, One Resistance Fighter Killed in Three Days of Clashes

A makeshift armored vehicle that belonged to a Pyu Saw Htee militia group is seen after it was ambushed and seized by resistance groups in Myaing Township on May 11. / Myaing PDF

At least 26 Myanmar junta troops as well as a resistance fighter were killed in the last three days as Peoples Defense Forces (PDFs) and an ethnic armed organization (EAO) continued to attack regime targets across the country.

In one case, 10 anti-regime political prisoners escaped in a prison break after a shootout with regime forces in Bago Region.

Incidents were reported in Bago, Magwe, Mandalay and Sagaing regions and Mon State.

The Irrawaddy has collected the following reports of significant attacks from PDFs and the EAO.

Some military casualties could not be independently verified.

Ten political prisoners escape in prison break in Bago

Ten anti-regime political prisoners escaped in a prison break in Taungoo Township, Bago Region on Thursday, according to the reports of local media.

The pro-junta Telegram channel News of Myanmar also reported that 10 prisoners led by Chit Min Thu escaped from Taungoo Prison after stealing two weapons from junta police officers.

The prison break occurred as junta police were preparing to transport the political prisoners to a court for trial.

A military sergeant was killed and another junta soldier was injured during the shootout while they were attempting to arrest the fleeing prisoners. Two more weapons were stolen from the soldiers after the shootout, said the pro-junta media unit.

Eight regime forces killed in resistance raid in Magwe

Myaing PDF claimed to have killed eight regime forces on Wednesday evening as it and other local resistance groups conducted a surprise raid on a regime sentry unit near the pro-junta militia base at Thayet Kwa Village in Myaing Township, Magwe Region.

Military convoy hit by land mines in Magwe

PDF members trigger land mines to attack regime forces who were randomly opening fire on moving vehicles. / Yesagyo PDF

At least eight regime troops and Pyu Saw Htee militia members were killed and 10 others injured in Yesagyo Township, Magw Region on Wednesday when Yesagyo PDF used a cluster of 10 land mines to ambush 80 regime forces traveling in three vehicles, the resistance group said.

The convoy was attacked while transporting regime forces and militia members from the pro-junta village of Zee Taw to another pro-regime village, Sin Chaung.

Four pro-regime militia members killed in Sagaing

Four members of a pro-junta militia group, including its leader Myint Naing, were killed in Kyun Hla Township, Sagaing Region on Wednesday when Kyun Hla PDF group and Kanbalu District PDF raided the militia base in Kyi Kone Village, according to the resistance group.

In the raid, the wife and son of the militia leader, who were trained and armed by regime forces, were also killed as they attacked the resistance forces.

A PDF fighter was also killed in the raid.

The militia leader was notorious for oppressing and extorting residents in the area. He had accompanied military detachments as a guide as they looted and burned houses in nearby villages in the township, the resistance group said.

Junta forces ambushed in Mandalay

Local resistance group Tawgyi Mway Bwe claimed to have killed two regime forces as it ambushed a military detachment traveling in the west of Madaya Township, Mandalay Region on Thursday.

A video shot by the PDF shows a firefight erupting after a PDF sniper ambushed regime troops.

Military column clashes with resistance groups in Mon

At least three regime troops were killed during a clash with resistance forces in Bilin Township, Mon State on Thursday as combined resistance groups including the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union, attacked a military column of 100 troops near Nal Char Village, said Kyaikhto Revolution Force, which joined the attack.
Friday, May 19th, 2023 (9:54 am) - Score 600

The UK division of Norwegian renewable energy generator firm, Statkraft, has commissioned mapping firm FarrPoint to conduct a study of their proposed Loch Liath wind farm in Scotland, near Loch Ness. The work could help to facilitate the rollout of faster broadband into remote rural communities in the surrounding area.

At present the edges of Loch Ness, as well as some of its largest shoreline communities, are already being reasonably well served by a mix of gigabit FTTP and slower FTTC broadband from Openreach. But the same is not true for the many sparse communities that surround Loch Laith.

NOTE: A planning application for the new farm was submitted on 18th May 2023.

However, the proposed Loch Liath Wind Farm, which could become home to 13 turbines and operate for 30-35 years, may help to change the above situation. The wind farm will consist of turbines at a combination of 180m and 200m tip heights. If consented, the project will generate enough energy to power 78,000 Scottish householders every year.

Assuming the plan goes ahead, Statkraft would then be in a position to release funding and help facilitate the deployment of new broadband solutions to the remotest areas. FarrPoints full report, once completed, will thus aim to present a number of options for improving broadband in communities surrounding the site. The report will also take account of parallel improvements being supported by the Scottish Government (e.g. R100), which sadly wont reach everybody in the area.

Heather Lafferty, Statkrafts Senior Project Manager for Loch Liath, said: We have a good neighbour ethos at Statkraft, and always try to bring extra value to local communities. Local people often ask if we can help with broadband and so Im really pleased that we have been able to commission this study, which will provide much-needed broadband insights for community stakeholders and leaders to take forward.

Further superfast broadband studies are planned for other Statkraft projects in the Highlands. Each will be tailored to the particular conditions within their respective communities, so that they are of maximum use. All of this stems from the fact that the farm itself needs a good broadband link in order to ensure proper operation, which can often be used to help provide capacity for a wider network that reaches into local communities.

Naturally, a company that builds such tall structures is most likely to promote some form of Line-of-Sight (LOS) based Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) technology for distribution, since running FTTP to every home in such a remote area is unlikely to be economically viable for a project of this limited scale. But well have to await the final report before being able to see what is and is not feasible.
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.
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
09:07 | Cusco (Cusco region), May. 19.





In total, 38 finely crafted pieces were unveiled: four ceremonial vessels, a bracelet, four wristbands, two knives, 18 pectoral beads, a folded pectoral, a headband, six vases, and a headdress, which were discovered with remains of the Nusta Hispana site's soil.





The objects were found about 30 centimeters deep and are associated with a retaining wall of the agricultural terrace, which will undergo a process of restoration and enhancement.





DDC-Cusco Chief Maritza Rosa Candia confirmed that the pieces will undergo a preventive conservation process at the cabinet for samples and collections, and will be analyzed at the physical-chemical laboratory for the proper care.









Iconography, dates, and uses





"The experts will carry out the corresponding studies to determine, for example, the chemical composition of the metal or alloy, the iconography, dates, uses, and other aspects to establish their origin," she said.





Nicolas Alvino, the person responsible for the archaeological investigation at Yuraq Rumi Nusta Hispana, told Andina news agency that the pieces were initially protected in a small cabinet, but comprehensive treatment is necessary for their preservation.





"We cannot say what culture or what character these pieces belong to. That will be determined through desk research," he said.





However, Alvino affirmed that they are convinced this is a very important person based on the details they found.





(END) PHS/JOT/RMB/MVB

Impressive pre-Hispanic metallic objects that belonged to an important person were unearthed as part of the research conducted at the archaeological site of Yuraq Rumi Nusta Hispana, located in the district of Vilcabamba in La Convencion province, the Decentralized Culture Directorate (DDC) in Cusco has revealed.Publicado: 19/5/2023
Axolotls are a large threatened species of salamander that live in fresh water  they're not actually fish at all, as their common name suggests. In the wild they are most often dark brown or black with speckles, but leucitic or albino, variants are common, and you often see them as pets. With their round heads and permanently smiling faces, wild axolotls are cute  it's one of the reasons they do well with pet owners in the pet trade. One reason they're cute is because they display neoteny, which means they retain a lot of their juvenile features throughout their adult life.

For instance, although adult axolotls also have functional lungs like other salamander species and can breathe through their skin, they have big, fluffy external feathery gills  something most amphibians don't keep after babyhood. They have small, delicate webbed feet and a long tadpole-like tail crested with a translucent fin because they don't have to rely on their webbed feet and legs for land travel, but they have to be able to move through the water like a big tadpole.

Advertisement

Scientists think they stay baby-like throughout their lifespans because, unlike other salamander species, the wild axolotl population evolved in very stable habitats. Most other salamander species, such as the tiger salamander, live in wetlands that dry up during certain parts of the year, so they have to get rid of their feathery gills and breathe through functional lungs and through their skin. Wild axolotls evolved in a habitat with year-round water and with very few aquatic predators, so they didn't need to spend energy changing their bodies to suit their changing circumstances.

An axolotl's life span is about 15 years in captivity but a wild axolotl probably lives only five or six years. They reach sexual maturity at one year, and though they're solitary creatures for the most part, in February, breeding season begins and wild axolotl males begin finding females using pheromones. When they get together, he does a courtship dance in which he shakes his tail in her direction. After the female acquiesces to his attentions, she pokes him with her nose and he deposits a sperm packet on the lake floor, which she picks up and uses to fertilize her eggs.

The female wild axolotl will lay hundreds of eggs in the weeds or around some rocks and then leave them to fend for themselves  baby axolotls receive zero parental care. In fact, baby axolotls, hungry after hatching from their eggs, have been observed gnawing on their siblings' legs and tails for sustenance. As you'll see, this is totally fine, because the legs will just grow back later.

In their home ecosystem, axolotls are  or at least used to be  top predators around the lakes, wetlands and canals of central Mexico. They're unusual among amphibians because they remain underwater for their entire lives, breathing through gills, while most other salamander species walk around on land and breathe with lungs during the adult stage of life. Although they appear unassuming, they're actually ruthless carnivores, feasting on worms, mollusks, insects and insect larvae, and even small fish in the wild.

Part of the Aztec mythology of the axolotl centers around the fact that, like a powerful god, they are difficult to kill. If an axolotl loses virtually any part of its body it can regenerate it, no problem. While some lizards can grow back a tail, bisected flatworms can grow back their other half and starfish can regrow a limb, an axolotl can regrow practically any part of its body in a few weeks.

" " An axolotl, such as this speckled leucistic axolotl, can live very happily in captivity for as long as 15 years, but for only about five or six years in the wild. axolotlowner/shutterstock

"Of the animals that are closest to us  the vertebrates  salamanders are the only ones that can regenerate in this way, and can heal without scars," said David Gardiner, a professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, when we talked to him in 2019. "Other salamanders can regenerate, but axolotls do it best."

When the Europeans got wind of axolotl regeneration, axolotls went from being a sort of boring exhibit in the zoo to one of the most important and longest self-sustaining lab animals in history. Georges Cuvier, popularly considered the Father of Paleontology, studied axolotls in an attempt to figure out whether Carl Linnaeus was correct in categorizing the classes Amphibia and Reptilia separately  it was a big question in those days, and Cuvier concluded that axolotls, because they breathe through gills their entire lives, must be some sort of lizard that existed as a perpetual larva  in the words of paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, a "sexually mature tadpole." (Cuvier was correct sometimes, but not in this case.)

Because axolotls did incredibly well in laboratory and aquarium settings, 19th-century zoologist Auguste Dumeril took it upon himself to provide every lab in Europe with a supply of axolotls, which resulted in some truly horrific studies in which scientists chopped up lab axolotls just to test the limits of their regenerative powers.
ISTANBUL, MAY 19, ARMENPRESS. Whatever the outcome of the presidential election in Turkey, it wont seriously impact the activities of the Turkish-Armenian community, according to Ara Gochunyan, the Editor-in-Chief of the Jamanak newspaper of Istanbul.

Gochunyan said President Erdogan will likely win the runoff against his main rival Kemal Klcdaroglu on May 28. The editor described Erdogans policy towards minorities, especially Armenians in Turkey as positive.

Minorities and especially Turkish-Armenians have had some ease and guarantees in terms of their everyday life and interaction with the government during Erdogans presidency, Gochunyan claims.

Gochunyan was happy to note that one legislator - Sevan Svacoglu  will represent the Turkish-Armenian community in the new parliament. Svacoglu ran for parliament from the ruling AK party.

Speaking about the prospects of normalization between Armenia and Turkey, Gochunyan said he isnt much of a pessimist in this issue. I am not a pessimist over the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations. I am pessimistic regarding the problems stemming from the internal developments of our communities. You eventually get adapted to what doesnt depend on the community, Gochunyan said.

Jamanak is the longest continuously running Armenian language daily newspaper in the world.

Araks Kasyan
YEREVAN, MAY 19, ARMENPRESS. Some progress has been achieved in context of Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization around several provisions of the possible peace treaty, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at the beginning of the trilateral talks in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

Some progress has already been achieved over several provisions of the possible peace treaty in context of the Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization. There is some mutual understanding also in a number of other issues, including the unblocking of connection routes, delimitation and demarcation based on the Almaty Declaration, FM Mirzoyan said.

The Armenian FM stressed the necessity for not allowing further escalations and the use of force, noting that Armenia is committed to all trilateral statements signed between the leaders.

The Armenian side will engage in constructive work in these negotiations, Mirzoyan said.

In turn, the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov also noted that progress has been made in the talks.

Armenia and Azerbaijan held U.S.-mediated foreign ministerial talks in Washington in early May.

On May 14, an EU-mediated Armenian-Azerbaijani summit was held in Brussels.
More than 100 people have lost their lives in intercommunal violence in central Nigeria, resulting in the destruction of hundreds of homes and the displacement of thousands of people, according to local officials.

The clashes between farming communities and cattle herders in Plateau State are the most severe in years in a region plagued by ethnic, religious tensions and reprisal attacks.

A Mangu district chairman confirmed that the death toll from the gun attacks has exceeded 100 after earlier reports indicating 85 fatalities.

The Plateau State government has pledged to deploy more security forces on the ground to stem further violence, while the National Emergency Management Agency has revealed that over 3,000 people have been displaced and hundreds of homes destroyed.

Five people have been arrested so far over the violence. Violence across Nigeria has been rising recently after a brief period of calm during Februarys presidential and Marchs state elections.
Desperate Civilians in Darfur Take Arms to Protect Themselves from Militias in Sudan

As clashes between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue to rock Sudan, Janjaweed fighters  affiliated with the RSF  have been spreading terror in West Darfur, particularly in the city of Geneina.

Several waves of attacks have been reported, resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties, especially among non-Arab tribes. In the absence of military protection, some of them have taken up arms to defend themselves.

Since the start of the conflict between the armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in mid-April, civilians in West Darfur have been subjected to waves of devastating attacks by the Janjaweed, an Arab militia affiliated with the RSF.

The latest wave of attacks in the regions capital, Geneina, left at least 280 people dead and more than 300 wounded between May 12 and 15, according to the West Darfur Doctors Union.

The Sudanese Army is not present on the ground to protect civilians, many of whom belong to non-Arab ethnic groups, in particular, the Masalit people who live primarily in Geneina.

For the past week, our Observers in Darfur have been sending us reports that civilians have begun arming themselves with shotguns or pistols in order to defend their homes and businesses from attacks by Arab militias.

A video from April 24 shows residents of Geneina arming themselves with weapons found stockpiled in an abandoned police warehouse.

There is no one to protect them, so its every man for himself, says the person filming this video on April 24 in Geneina, the capital of West Darfur.

The financially well-off residents have been able to buy small arms to defend themselvesSince the beginning of the conflict, Khalil (not his real name) has been working as a volunteer in Geneina, treating the injured and burying the dead. He is not surprised to see residents resorting to self-defence. For his safety, we will keep him anonymous.

Since May 12, I have attended the burial of at least 176 victims of the Janjaweed attacks. I spend every day attending to the gunshot wounds in the clinics deployed on the ground in Geneina.

We have had to move some of the wounded because the artillery strikes are also targeting the clinics. We lost one of the few doctors on the ground, who was killed in one of these attacks.

We are receiving bullet wounds every two hours from Janjaweed snipers who are deployed to the south and west of the city. It is becoming dangerous to move around in Geneina.

In this story posted on Whatsapp on May 17, our Observer pays tribute to Dr. Adam, a doctor killed in an attack by Janjaweed militia.

Since there is no official security presence in West Darfur, residents have sought to acquire small arms to defend their homes and businesses, which have been targeted by the Janjaweed militia, but also by RSF fighters.

In this video posted on Facebook on May 14 and filmed by an RSF fighter, members of the force  identifiable by their uniforms and the RSF emblem on their arms  are seen looting food. Nearby, huts are on fire.

It is very easy to get weapons in Darfur: you just need enough money. For example, a Kalashnikov rifle costs about $1,300 [about 1,200 euros], bullets sell for $2 [1.85 euros] each  The financially well-off residents have been able to buy small arms to defend themselves. They cannot stand idly by because no one is protecting them.

In the video below, filmed on May 15 in Geneina, armed civilians storm a Thatcher vehicle belonging to the RSF (Thatcher is the name given to the Land Cruiser pickups historically used by the RSF in Darfur).

These civilians then set it on fire, shouting Janjaweed out of the Masalit and hurling insults at the militiamen. Several of these civilians are seen carrying automatic weapons, including the person filming the video who appears at the beginning.

Khalil continued:

Historically [under the regime of former President Omar al-Bashir], only Arab tribes could legally have weapons. Any African tribe was considered a rebel by the regime as soon as their leaders obtained weapons to defend themselves against the Janjaweed, and this has been the case since 2003.

Editors note: West Darfur has been the scene of ethnic massacres under Omar al-Bashir.

So since the fall of Omar al-Bashirs regime in April 2019, it has become easier to arm oneself in Darfur, by getting these weapons from neighbouring Chad for example. This is necessary because the attacks have intensified, especially since the war started.

A number of agreements have been signed between the two leaders of the warring camps, Abdelfattah Al Burhan (Sudanese Armed Forces) and Mohammad Hamdan Dogolo (RSF), the latest being the Jeddah Agreement signed on May 12, to allow access to humanitarian teams.

However, there has been no actionable ceasefire in civilian areas since the fighting began in Sudan, making the capital of West Darfur particularly vulnerable.

More than 500 people have been killed in Geneina since April 15, according to the governor of West Darfur.
Disney cancels plans for new campus in Florida amidst ongoing dispute with Gov. DeSantis.

Walt Disney Co DIS.N has decided to cancel plans to build a new corporate campus worth almost $1 billion in central Florida that would have accommodated 2,000 employees.

The decision was revealed in an email sent to employees on Thursday and comes amid an ongoing legal dispute between Disney and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Disney Parks chief Josh DAmaro said that changing business conditions influenced the companys decision to reconsider its plan to relocate employees to a new campus in Lake Nona, which was expected to cost as much as $864 million and serve as a base for Walt Disney Imagineering and the Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products division.

DeSantis had previously questioned Disneys continued investment in the state, leading to a bitter dispute with the company.
A heavy downpour did not dampen the spirits of Canness essential workers who staged a protest outside the towns iconic palace hotel despite prohibitions on demonstrations due to months of nationwide protests against an unpopular pension reform rammed through parliament by President Emmanuel Macrons government.

The CGT trade union, which spearheads resistance to the reform, organised a rally of hospitality workers outside the Carlton hotel, with the participants including union representatives and those from the hotel and catering industries.

The CGT has planned a larger rally for Sunday in a location further away from the Croisette.

Frances crucial hospitality sector is grappling with a severe labour shortage, and the governments controversial pension overhaul, which raises the countrys minimum retirement age, is expected to exacerbate this issue.

The CGT has threatened to cut power during the Cannes film festival if its demands are not met, and while it has not done so thus far, the unions threat remains.

Despite being removed from social context, the Cannes Film Festival has a long history of social and political activism, and this years festival takes place amidst labour unrest on both sides of the Atlantic.

Hollywood screenwriters are also on strike for better pay, new contracts for the streaming era, and safeguards against the use of AI.
The Chairman of the Sudanese Military Council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has appointed Malik Aggar as the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Aggar is a member of the Council and previously served as the leader of the Darfur rebel group Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

Aggars appointment comes amidst ongoing conflict in the country, with government forces fighting against rebel groups in various regions. In particular, the Council has been engaged in a conflict with the armed group Dacm-Sariic, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemeti.

Aggar was one of the leaders of the opposition to former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and was involved in the negotiations that led to his removal from power in April 2019. He has been a member of the Council since its formation in April 2019.

The appointment of Aggar as Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers is seen as a move to consolidate the Councils power and further its agenda of stabilizing the country. The Council has been criticized by some for its lack of progress in implementing reforms and improving the human rights situation in the country.

In response to his appointment, Aggar said that he was committed to working with the Council of Ministers to achieve peace and stability in Sudan. He also called on all parties to engage in dialogue and work towards a peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict.

The Sudanese people have been calling for a civilian-led government since the ousting of al-Bashir. The appointment of Aggar, a former rebel leader, as Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers is seen as a step in the right direction towards a more inclusive and representative government. However, there is still a long way to go before the aspirations of the Sudanese people are fully realized.

Malik Aggar, a former Darfur rebel and member of the Sudanese Military Council, has been appointed as Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

The appointment is seen as a move to consolidate the Councils power and stabilize the country in the midst of ongoing conflict. Aggar was involved in negotiations that led to the removal of former President Omar al-Bashir, and has pledged to work towards peace and stability in Sudan.

The appointment is a step towards a more inclusive gov Former Darfur rebel and member of the Sudanese Military Council, Malik Aggar, has been appointed as Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

This move is seen as an effort to consolidate power and stabilize the country amidst ongoing conflict. Aggar was involved in negotiations that led to the removal of former President Omar al-Bashir and has pledged to work towards peace and stability.

This appointment is a step towards a more inclusive government, but the country still has a long way to goernment, but there is still a long way to go.

Jowhar.com
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is set to attend the Arab League summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, his first in 12 years.

The move comes as Gulf states seek to combat the trade in Captagon, a synthetic stimulant known as the poor mans cocaine, which is produced mainly in Syria and worth over $10bn in the region.

The trade has become a key lifeline for the Syrian economy, hit by sanctions and civil war.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have reportedly sought to welcome Assad back into the international community by urging a crackdown on Captagon production.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is set to attend the Arab League summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, marking his return to the international stage after a 12-year absence.

The move comes as Gulf states seek to combat the trade in Captagon, a synthetic stimulant known as the poor mans cocaine, which is produced mainly in Syria and is worth over $10 billion in the region.

The trade in Captagon has become a key lifeline for the Syrian economy, which has been hit hard by sanctions and civil war. The drug is manufactured in clandestine labs in Syria and smuggled across the region, with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states being the main markets.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have reportedly sought to welcome Assad back into the international community by urging a crackdown on Captagon production. This move is seen as a way to pressure Syria to stop the drug trade and to curb the countrys support for terrorist organizations in the region.

Assads attendance at the Arab League summit is significant, as it marks his first public appearance outside of Syria since the civil war began in 2011. It also shows a shift in the stance of Gulf states towards Syria, which have been at odds with the country since the start of the conflict.

The Gulf states strategy of using the drug trade as a tool to pressure Assad is not without its challenges. The Captagon trade is deeply entrenched in Syrias economy, and the government has shown little willingness to crack down on it.

Moreover, the Gulf states themselves have been accused of turning a blind eye to the trade, as it provides a source of income for many of their citizens.

Despite these challenges, the Gulf states efforts to combat the Captagon trade could have a significant impact on the Syrian economy and on the countrys support for terrorist organizations.

The move could also pave the way for a rapprochement between Syria and its Arab neighbors, which could help to end the long-running civil war and bring stability to the region.
Rushdie Emerges in Public for the First Time Since being Stabbed as the Struggle Persists

British writer Salman Rushdie made his first public appearance since a knife attack that nearly took his life last year.

Rushdie, a naturalized American who has lived in New York for 20 years, lost sight in one eye after being stabbed on stage in August while speaking at a US arts center.

On Thursday, he attended an event at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan hosted by PEN America, a group that defends freedom of expression and literature.

Rushdie, wearing glasses with a black lens over his right eye, was given an honorary award and delivered an emotional address to the 700 guests.

He proclaimed in French, Spanish and English, Terrorism should not terrorize us. Violence must not deter us. The struggle continues.

 Rushdie has become an icon of free speech since Irans first supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ordered his killing for what he deemed the blasphemous nature of The Satanic Verses published in 1988.

On August 12, he was at a literary conference in upstate New York when a man armed with a knife stormed the stage and stabbed Rushdie around 10 times.

Bystanders and guards subdued the assailant, who was immediately arrested, charged and jailed pending trial.

Rushdies literary agent Andrew Wylie revealed in October that he had lost sight in one eye and the use of one hand.

In February, around the release of his latest novel Victory City, Rushdie said in his first interview since the attack that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress.

The attack was welcomed by extremists in some Muslim countries but shocked many in the West. (AFP)
( Middle East Monitor )  The thought that an international organisation could mark the establishment of one of its member states as a catastrophe or disaster is both appalling and repulsive, wrote Israels UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan when asking UN diplomats to refrain from attending the unprecedented UN General Assemblys commemoration of the 1948 Nakba. Truth be told, the most repulsive action was the UNs acceptance of the Israeli settler-colonial enterprise as a member state in 1948, at the expense of the ethnically-cleansed Palestinian population whose land was (and continues to be) usurped, and whose legitimate return to their land was a still unfulfilled condition of Israels UN membership.

The Nakba commemoration, while significant, pales in comparison with the UNs complicity in allowing Israel to thrive. How, we might ask, can the UN avail itself of Palestinian historical memory for a commemoration, when it fails to refer to it in terms of the Palestinian peoples political rights, or the legitimate right to resist Israels military occupation by all means?

Article continues after bonus IC video

Al Jazeera English: UNGA acknowledges the Nakba for the first time ever

This is an occasion to highlight that the noble goals of justice and peace, require recognising the reality and history of the Palestinian peoples plight and ensuring the fulfilment of their inalienable rights, the UNs website stated, without the slightest discomfort at knowing that the international organisation ensures the complete opposite.

Yet the commemoration, despite the hypocrisy prevalent in its hosts, was enough to make Israel panic, exposing its paranoia that enough awareness might be raised about the fact that the Palestinian people are suffering a decades-long political wrong that is actually reversible. All it would take would be enough political opposition to the status quo of normalising the settler-colonial state and backing the moribund two-state compromise.

According to the Times of Israel, 32 countries stated they would boycott the event, ten of which were EU members. The diplomatic clout that Israel wields at an international level is considerable; not only did a number of countries heed Erdans plea, but he also managed to convince some countries of a non-existent pro-Palestinian narrative at the UN. The organisations narrative on Palestine is both erroneous and totally pro-Israel. That the US, the UK and Canada would boycott the event was predictable; both the US and Canada are settler-colonial states themselves, and Britain is a former colonial power, so their allegiance to the apartheid state is strong. Moreover, the lack of any condemnation of Israel as a colonial entity depriving Palestinians of their land boosted the normalisation of colonialism and settler-colonial violence.

This means that the significance which such an exhibition could have inspired was lost as a result of the UNs own complicity in giving Israels false narrative some credibility. A single commemoration of the Nakba cannot compete with decades of colonial support. It must be remembered that the UN relies heavily on symbolism and has coerced Palestinians into the same narrative. However, Palestinians collective memory is not symbolic, it is a lived reality, which the UN prefers to ignore.

And yet, Israel still feels threatened at the thought of its atrocities being exposed. While Erdan made a lot of fuss over the UNs symbolic Nakba event, the truth is that Israel is reluctant for any exposure of Nakba-related memory. The reluctance to release its own archives to academic scrutiny is a case in point. What the UN event brought to the fore is that Israel will continue to have a hard time concealing the violence of its creation on usurped land in Palestine, despite the unwillingness of the international community to end the states colonialism and violence.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor or Informed Comment.
Reddit Email 30 Shares

By Joseph R. Stuart, Brigham Young University | 

May 2023 marks 98 years since the birth of civil rights leader Malcolm X, formerly Malcolm Little.

Malcolm X was a spokesperson for the Nation of Islam, or NOI, and helped to lead the organization until he left in 1964  the year before his assassination.

The NOI, whose role in civil rights movements is a focus of my research, included leaders such as Elijah Muhammad and Louis Farrakhan, who along with Malcolm X are known for their fiery rhetoric and teachings on race.

The NOI, which teaches a Black supremacist message and advocates for racial separatism, has also been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

While the organization once boasted half a million members, the group is now relatively small. Currently it has an estimated membership of roughly 35,000  but prominent NOI members, such as boxer and onetime Malcolm X friend Muhammad Ali, attracted wide public interest in the movement. Today, its influence continues to extend well beyond its membership.

Although Malcolm X  and other prominent members like Ali  left the NOI, thousands of students each year learn about the group from Malcolm Xs Autobiography, originally published in 1965.

Malcolm Xs influence on popular culture also remains significant. He inspired a Hollywood biopic and is referenced in the work of artists such as Beyonce, Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg, who was briefly associated with NOI.

Netflix: Blood Brothers | Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali Official Trailer | Netflix

Thanks largely to Malcolm X, the NOI is now a household name, but its teachings remain controversial, particularly among Muslims.

A radical alternative to Christianity?

W.D. Fard, a peddler by day and preacher by night, established the NOI in 1931 in Detroit, Michigan.

He taught that God was a Black man who taught the first human beings Islam. Accordingly, Fard framed Islam as the natural faith for people whose ancestors came from Africa, before colonization and slavery had forced Christianity onto them. He argued that Black people should abandon Christianity in favor of Islam as their ancestral religion.

Fard also taught that Christianity was the white mans religion and a corrupted form of Islam used to promote white supremacy. The message appealed to Black migrants from the South, who were sometimes looked down upon by Northern Black Protestants. Fard disappeared from the historical record in the mid-1930s.

Malcolm X and the NOI

Malcolm X joined the NOI while incarcerated in 1952. He became an international spokesman for the group, using his fierce wit and sense of humor to debate Black and white leaders on matters of race, religion and politics.

Malcolm X was suspended from the NOI in 1963 for his comments about President John F. Kennedys assassination. The following year, he renounced the NOI, converted to Sunni Islam, completed the hajj and formed a Black civil rights organization called the Organization of Afro-American Unit, or OAAU. This group sought to unite all Black people across the globe and conditionally accepted help from white people committed to Black freedom. The NOI, on the other hand, focused on the U.S. and refused all help from white Americans.

Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965, during an OAAU event in New York. The identity of his killers remains a mystery.

A new era

When Elijah Muhammad died in 1975, his son, Warith Deen Mohammed, transformed the NOI into the World Community of al-Islam in the West. He downplayed previous teachings about Black supremacy and aligned the movement closer to Sunni Islam. In 1977, however, a protege of Elijah Muhammads and Malcolm Xs named Louis Farrakhan restored Elijah Muhammads Nation of Islam. Farrakhan assumed leadership of the group and emphasized Elijahs teachings on race.

W.D. Fard, the NOIs founder, and his successor Elijah Muhammad did not seem to know much about Sunni or Shiite Islams teachings. Fard did not cite the Quran to his followers, and Elijah Muhammad did not read the book until after assuming the NOIs leadership.

As the group grew after World War II, Muhammad and other leaders became more familiar with mainstream Islamic tenets. They changed the name of their meeting places from temples to mosques and incorporated the Quran and Arabic phrases into their teachings and community organizing.

While the movement has changed its practices to align more closely with global expressions of Islam, many Muslims do not consider the NOI part of the Ummah, the global community of Muslims.

Not universally considered Muslim

The NOIs unique theology is one of the reasons the group is not accepted into the Ummah.

Other forms of Islam maintain that God is eternal, nonhuman and singularly divine. The NOI, however, teaches that W.D. Fard was God in person who called Elijah Muhammad as his prophet.

Despite this significant deviation from mainstream forms of Islam, the NOI follows four of the five pillars of Islam: five daily prayers (salat), giving alms to the poor (zakat), pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) and a month of fasting during Ramadan.

NOI Muslims did not practice Ramadan until 1988, when Farrakhan instructed members to fast with the entire Islamic world.

Changing attitudes?

That change led to opportunities for intra-Muslim cooperation but also underscored the limited acceptance of the NOI that continues among many other Muslim groups.

For example, in 2000, NOI members prayed with Houston Muslims during Ramadan, allowing the NOI to connect with other American Muslims.

However, these cross-Muslim events have not continued in Houston. Nor are they common elsewhere. The lack of sustained pan-Muslim events might suggest that, even when religious practice aligns, there remain obstacles to the building of relationships between mainstream and NOI Muslims.

While both the NOI and Malcolm X remain controversial, for many admirers Xs work has taken on new significance for todays racial justice movements.

Joseph R. Stuart, Postdoctoral Fellow, Brigham Young University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will attend the Group of Seven (G7) Hiroshima summit this weekend, Reuters reported citing a Ukrainian security official.

May 19, 2023, 10:24 Ukraine's Zelenskiy to attend Hiroshima G7 summit, new sanctions against Russia expected - Reuters

STEPANAKERT, MAY 19, ARTSAKHPRESS: Zelenskiy will attend the gathering on Sunday, the third and final day, two officials who declined to be identified told Reuters.

"Very important things will be decided there and it is therefore the presence of our president that is absolutely essential in order to defend our interests," Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, told state television.

New sanctions targeting Russia are expected to be announced by G7 leaders, according to Reuters.

Earlier on Friday the G7 leaders laid wreaths in Hiroshima, a city that, along with Nagasaki, was destroyed by a U.S. nuclear attack 78 years ago that ended WWII.

Besides announcing new Russia sanctions, the G7 leaders are also expected to debate strategy on more than year-long conflict that shows no signs of easing.

Britain will announce a ban on Russian diamonds and imports of metals from Russia including copper, aluminium and nickel in support for Ukraine, it said in a statement.

Britain will also target an additional 86 people and companies from Putin's military industrial complex, in addition to those involved in the energy, metals and shipping industries, it said.

Europe will also restrict sales of Russian diamonds.

The United States is set to add 70 entities to its export blacklist, and to expand its sanctions authority to 300 entities as well as new sectors of the Russian economy, a senior U.S. administration official said.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / Europacific Metals Inc (previously Goldplay Mining Inc) (TSXV:EUP), (the "Company" or "Europacific") is pleased to announce the Company has filed a Technical Report for the Portuguese Borba 2 Project entitled, "Geology and mineralization of the Borba 2 copper-gold property, Alentejo, Portugal", (the "Technical Report"). The Technical Report was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). The Technical Report was prepared by Marcelo Pereira, EurGeol, of Geologia e Geotecnia, Consultores Lda, a Portuguese geological consulting group.

The 32,851 ha Borba 2 concession in southern Portugal contains several mineral deposits, the most prominent of which is the Miguel Vacas open pit copper deposit which produced approximately 1 million lbs of copper from the oxide zone of a shear zone in schists at least 2000 meters along strike and 10 to 20 meters in width. The historic open pit covers a relatively short strike length and is 30 meters deep. Thirty four holes have been drilled below the oxide zone and have encountered copper sulfides in the steeply dipping shear zone, however the holes are too widely spaced and poorly sampled to generate a resource.

Other mineral deposits in Borba 2 concession include Mostardeira, Bugalho, and Mocicos which are in general quartz-chalcopyrite-gold veins. A fifth separate deposit, Amagreira, has gold values up to 4.5 g/t gold in a volcanic tuff horizon.

Exploration Potential

Distinct types of mineralization exist over the Borba 2 concession. The both oxide and sulfide copper exists at Miguel Vacas, while gold and copper potential occurs in four other underexplored mineralized zones.

Dr. Chris Osterman, President and CEO of EuroPacific Metals commented: "This report summarizes the history of the extensive BORBA 2 concession. The potential for a near term copper oxide operation exists at Miguel Vacas coupled with underlying sulfide copper. The Almagreira prospect shows the potential for a broad epithermal (Carlin type?) hydrothermal gold system over a large area. The two historic smelter operations near Mostardeira show an area that received a great deal of attention in the late 1800's but little modern exploration since then on what appear to be orogenic gold copper veins. EuroPacific Metals sees a great deal of exploration synergy in a highly mineralized area as Europe looks to develop metals in a dependable, stable economic environment."

1. Miguel Vacas- Past Producing Copper Mine

The copper mine last operated in 1986 and has produced at an average grade of 1.2-1.4% Cu. The mine is located on a cupriferous metallogenic sub-province (Pb-Zn paragenetic association) with polyphase mineralization hosted by an epithermal breccia and vein-type structures in a major shear zone (Alpine age?). Historical near surface drilling (60 to 71.63m) intercepted 1.79 % Cu over 11.63 m including 2.29% Cu over 7.30 m. Non-compliant in-house resource estimation was completed by Rio Narcea in 2007 based on 20 historical holes and estimated:

Oxide ore (from 0 to 80m depth): 1.1 Mt @ 1.23% Cu.

Sulphide ore (from 80m to 250m): 4.4 Mt @ 1.24% Cu

The readers should not rely on any historical estimates. The Company and the QP has not done sufficient work to classify historical estimate as a current resource. Company is not treating the historical estimate as a current resource. Additional work including drilling will be required to verify and upgrade historical estimates. The project remains open for exploration. This mineralized system is open in all directions and at depth.

2. Mostardeira Copper-Gold Mine

This Cu-Au mine area, located approximately 2 km south of the town of Estremoz represents a wide WSW-ESE shear zone that is developed for at least 700 m along strike and is open into both directions. This shear zone has been historically mined for Cu and Au with most of the mining works concentrated along a thin high-grade Cu zone (<2m) averaging over 5% Cu. Gold was also recovered from arsenopyrite rich zones within the vein system. Mineralization is hosted by Silurian and Devonian metasediments. Channel sampling by Rio Narcea (2006) has intercepted the following mineralized intervals: 2.60m grading 4.15 g/t Au, 0.40% Cu including 0.60m grading 11.20 g/t Au and 0.65 % Cu and another 3.60m interval grading 2.40 g/t Au, 0.82 % Cu and 80 g/t Ag. The average grade for the total of 34 samples analysed was 1.54 g/t Au, 22 g/t Ag and 0.25% Cu with a maximum of 11.20 g/t Au and a minimum of 0.10 g/t Au. A total of 4 holes were drilled by MAEPA in 2007 (total 485m) in the main Mostardeira workings. Highlights of the mineralized intercepts include: 1m grading 2.8 g/t Au, 5.9 g/t Ag and 0.18% Cu from 122.5m and 1.5 m grading 0.99 g/t Au , > 200 g/t Ag and 3.98% Cu from 177m (Hole MM1); 1m grading 5.72 g/t Au, 78.9 g/t Ag from 43.7m (Hole MM2); 0.5m grading 0.84 g/t Au, 27.1 % Ag, 3.89 % Cu from 26.3m and 1m grading 6.8 g/t Au, 12.8 g/t Ag from 40.5m (Hole MM2A); 0.7m grading 5.28 g/t Au, 1 g/t Ag from 100.6m, and 1m grading 1.26 g/t Au, 18.5 g/t Ag and 1.14% Cu from 114.3m (Hole MM3).

The project is open for exploration.

3. Bugalho Copper-Gold Mine

This mine was registered in 1866 has operated intermittently until around 1900. There are records for a total of 9 mine levels down to a total depth of 200m. Mineralization Includes three main veins that have been mined in the past: Vein 1 (main vein) - N50E/80 NW, up to 1.2 m thick, mined over 800m along strike; Vein2 - NS/50 E, average 1.3m thickness; Vein 3 - NS/90; no records on thickness. The mineralization is from a wide NE-SW trending anastomosing shear zone that can be mapped on 5 km along strike. Dump samples of silicified and sheared acid tuffs from the Bugalho mine area assay up to 10.97 g/t Au, 5.36% Cu and 20 g/t Ag. No drilling was done in this zone to date.

4. Almagreira Gold Prospect

This area has been identified by Rio Tinto during the early eighties and limited trenching and drilling have indicated the presence of gold mineralization associated with clay-sericite-silica alteration zones associated with a ENE-WSW fracture zone and represents an epithermal system (Carlin type?) identified in this sector hosted by brecciated acid volcanics and dolomites. More recent drilling by a JV between Rio Narcea Gold Mines and Kernow Resources carried out a limited campaign (834 m in 6 holes) in the main prospect area. Highlights comprise an interval of 5.45 m grading 1.53 g/t Au, including 2.47m grading 2.44 g/t Au from hole PAM-01. The highest individual value obtained came from a gossanous quartz-dolomite altered marble grading 5.77 g/t Au over an intercept of 0.75m. Hole PAM-02 intercepted an interval of 2m grading 3.7 g/t Au. The mineralized zone coincides with sections of intense silica-carbonate alteration with several massive gossan zones and localized fresh sulphide dissemination (chalcopyrite and pyrite).

This Technical Report can be accessed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.europacificmetals.ca.

Qualified Person

Jose Mario Castelo Branco, P.Geo., Vice President Exploration, is a "Qualified Person" for the purposes of NI 43-101, and he has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this news release.

About Europacific Metals Inc

Europacific Metals Inc. is a Canadian public company listed on TSXV and in US on OTCQB. The Company holds brownfield gold, and copper-gold projects located in Portugal. The Company is focused on exploration in highly prospective geological settings in Europe and Eurasian jurisdictions.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Chris Osterman"

CEO

For further information please contact:

Europacific Metals Inc.

Mr. Chris Osterman, Chief Executive Officer

Suite 650 - 1021 West Hastings Street

Vancouver, BC V6E 0C3

E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

www.europacificmetals.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to the exploration potential of the the Company's properties. Generally forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "anticipate", "will", "expect", "may", "continue", "could", "estimate", "forecast", "plan", "potential" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties relating to, among other things, results of future exploration and development activities, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of materials and equipment, timeliness of government approvals, changes in commodity prices and unanticipated environmental impacts on operations. Although the Company believes current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered are appropriate and that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct or enduring. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward-looking statements that are contained or incorporated in this press release. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 18, 2023 / NOA Lithium Brines Inc. (TSXV:NOAL) ("NOA" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has completed a non-brokered private placement ("Private Placement") for the sale of 17,633,741 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.40 per Unit for gross proceeds of $7,053,496. All amounts expressed are in Canadian dollars.

Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant of the Company (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant is exercisable into one Common Share at an exercise price of $0.60 for a period of 36 months from the date of issuance.

Taj Singh, President and CEO states, "In just a couple of months since going public we have made rapid progress. Our drill program at our flagship Rio Grande project resulted in the discovery of multiple brine horizons of significant thickness in the alluvial fans surrounding the salar in our first drill hole, with full assay results expected to be received shortly. Also at Rio Grande, we have strategically acquired claims to strengthen our position, both on the surface salar and in the alluvials. Most recently, we made an important acquisition at the Arizaro salar, materially increasing our land holdings here and acquiring a drill-permitted, high potential project on the surface salar. With the closing of this upsized financing, we are very well-positioned for long-term success."

The Company primarily plans to use the proceeds of the Private Placement for exploration of its properties, including accelerating the current drill program at its flagship Rio Grande project. The Private Placement is subject to a statutory 4-month and one day hold period from the date of issuance. The Private Placement remains subject to final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and applicable securities regulatory authorities.

In connection with the Private Placement, an aggregate of $206,725 was paid in cash as finder's fees to Zaphiros S.A., Patricio Milic, Gustavo Kagel, Ignacio Marseillan, Ruben Jabib, and Stephen Avenue Securities Inc.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

About NOA Lithium Brines Inc.

NOA is a lithium exploration and development company formed to acquire assets with significant resource potential. All NOA's projects are in the heart of the prolific Lithium Triangle, in the mining-friendly province of Salta, Argentina, near a multitude of projects and operations owned by industry leaders. NOA has rapidly consolidated one of the largest lithium brine claim portfolios in this region that is not owned by a producing company, with key positions on three prospective salars (Rio Grande, Arizaro, Salinas Grandes) and a total portfolio of over 100,000 hectares.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

Taj Singh, M.Eng, P.Eng, CPA

President & CEO, Director

For Further Information

Website: www.noalithium.com

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Telephone: 416-568-1027

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may include forward-looking statements that are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. All statements within this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements including, but not limited to NOA's future plans and objectives regarding its projects, which constitute forward looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. Although NOA 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 described in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements include fluctuations in market prices, including metal prices, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. NOA does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable laws.

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.
VANCOUVER, BC , May 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Targa Exploration Corp. (CSE: TEX) (" Targa " or the " Company ") is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated May 11, 2023 , it has completed the acquisition of 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Pan Canadian Lithium Corp. (" Pan... Read More
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, state media said, to join an Arab League summit for the first time in more than a decade of war.

The visit seals Assad's dramatic return to the Arab fold, a development championed by host Saudi Arabia and fellow Gulf power the United Arab Emirates despite reservations from other Arab leaders.

Assad "arrived at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah to participate in... the Arab League summit" to be held Friday, Syrian state television reported.

Saudi state-affiliated channel Al-Ekhbariya showed footage of a smiling Assad disembarking from a plane and being greeted on the tarmac by Prince Badr bin Sultan, deputy governor of Mecca region, where Jeddah is located.

The Arab League suspended Damascus in November 2011 over its bloody crackdown on protests, which triggered a conflict that has gone on to kill more than 500,000 people and displace millions more.

Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries either severed or downgraded ties with Assad at the time -- with Riyadh long openly championing his ouster.

But earlier this month, the 22-member pan-Arab body welcomed Damascus back and Saudi Arabia invited Assad to Jeddah, the latest in a series of high-profile diplomatic twists reshaping the region in recent months.

Syrian pro-government newspaper al-Watan said Assad would likely meet "a number of leaders in bilateral meetings" Thursday evening and Friday morning.

The last Arab League summit Assad attended was in 2010 in Libya.

- Arab embrace -

Regional capitals have gradually been warming to Assad as he has held onto power and clawed back lost territory with crucial support from Iran and Russia.

In 2018, the United Arab Emirates re-established ties with Syria, and it has been leading the charge to reintegrate Damascus.

It has also invited Assad to attend the UN climate summit in Dubai later this year, Syrian official news agency SANA reported on Monday.

In March 2022, Assad visited the UAE on his first official trip to an Arab country since the war began.

He has also visited Oman, Iran and Russia in recent years.

Arab outreach to Assad picked up pace after a deadly earthquake struck Syria and Turkey on February 6.

A decision in March by Saudi Arabia and Iran to resume ties has also shifted the Middle Eastern political landscape.

Riyadh, which cut ties with Assad's government in 2012, confirmed last week that work would resume at the two countries' respective diplomatic missions.

Not every country in the region has been eager to mend ties with Assad.

Qatar said this month it would not normalise relations with Assad's government but also noted this would not be "an obstacle" to Arab League reintegration.

On Thursday, the emir of Qatar, a fierce critic of the Syrian leader, announced he would lead the Gulf state's delegation.

While the Qatari government has called for accountability for "war crimes" in Syria, the emir made no comment on Qatar's expectations for the summit.

- 'Reconstruction' push -

Syria's front lines have mostly quietened, but large parts of the north remain outside government control, and no political solution to the conflict is in sight.

Officials at several recent meetings have said Arab leadership is needed to find a settlement.

The fate of millions of Syrian refugees -- many of them living in neighbouring Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon -- are among some states' main concerns.

Several Arab countries are also seeking increased security cooperation with Syria, which critics say has turned into a narco-state with a $10 billion captagon industry, mostly trafficked to the Gulf.

Assad is hoping full normalisation of ties with wealthy Gulf monarchies and other Arab states will help finance reconstruction.

Following a preparatory meeting in Jeddah on Wednesday, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said "reconstruction will facilitate (refugee) returns, and we welcome any Arab role in this field."

The United States has said it does "not believe that Syria merits readmission to the Arab League".

"We are not going to normalise relations with the Assad regime and we certainly don't support others doing that as well," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
The mega-trial of the Conakry stadium massacre has held Guinea in suspense for nearly eight months. It has seen the 11 defendants take the stand, and since February the victims, whose testimonies now allow us to understand that the abuses continued in detention several days after that fateful date of September 28, 2009.

On Tuesday May 16, Yagouba Barry was called to the stand. This 60-year-old participated, 13 years ago, in the opposition rally at the stadium in Conakry. The opposition intended to denounce the probable presidential candidacy of junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara, now sitting in the dock. With a closed face, Barry recounted the arrival of the soldiers, the first warning shots, his attempt to flee, and then the stab wounds to his neck and jaw. He lost consciousness. When he woke up, he realized that he had been taken to Camp Alpha Yaya Diallo, the main military camp on the outskirts of the capital. His foot was fractured and he had lost several teeth.

But his detention continued at the home of Moussa Tiegboro Camara, then Secretary of State for the fight against drugs and organized crime. The place was swarming with anti-drug agents. Some insulted him: "You are Cellou's dog [Cellou Dalein Diallo, leader of an opposition party]! one of them shouted at him. Barry is sure that while there, he crossed paths with Tiegboro on several occasions. His release came after 12 days: "A red beret [many soldiers wore red berets at the time, the victim did not specify the corps in question] came, he asked 'this one, what happened to him?' He said that the whites were coming for an international commission of inquiry and that I had to be removed from there." Barry was released at nightfall. He was convinced that the military hierarchy must have known about this place of detention.

This long ordeal is similar to the story of another victim who came to testify a few days earlier, on May 9. Abdoulaye Diallo is almost 40 years old but his face is still youthful. At the stadium, he was arrested by the military. "They sent us to Camp Koundara [at the end of the Conakry peninsula, near the port of Boulbinet]. They made us go upstairs. We stayed there from Monday to Saturday morning. We couldn't find food, they made us go downstairs to beat us, they poured hot water on us, they climbed on top of us." His presentation lasted barely two minutes. Behind the microphone, Diallo remained calm. Tactfully, the prosecutor asked him to detail the mistreatment he had suffered: "Mr. Diallo, you were the victim of assault and battery at Camp Koundara, can you explain to the court how it was done? Diallo repeated what he has just said, adding a few things: "They gave us about 50 blows each time. They asked us to fight each other." The detainees were also exposed to the sun, around a pole, in the camp courtyard.

Witness points to Paul Mansa Guilavogui

This physical violence was accompanied by threats. "While hitting us, they told us they were going to kill us," said Diallo, who later added: "The red berets insulted us, some said they were going to defenestrate us. They were doing this because we had gone to the demonstration, that's how they justified themselves.

In the military camp of Koundara, the prisoners were "numerous". In the room where we were sent, there were already people locked up there," said Diallo. Officers ensured that the torture went smoothly, he said. In Koundara, he says he met Chief Warrant Officer Mohamed Camara, known as Begre, the camp commander, and a certain "Sergeant Paul. "Sergeant Paul, is this the person who is here?" the deputy prosecutor asked, looking towards the dock. Diallo nodded. He accused Paul Mansa Guilavogui of participating in the torture and described him as "very violent". "What did he do to you personally? asked the deputy. "He participated in the beatings. He even came at night to do it. He also spilled hot water on us. He was the one who troubled us the most!" The military man at whom he pointed slept at the time in a room overlooking the room where about 20 protesters were being held, Diallo recounts.

This version is the opposite of Guilavoguis. That defendant is being prosecuted for torture. Last February, Guilavogui acknowledged in court that people were sent to Camp Koundara, but minimized his role, presenting himself as a "simple subordinate, just a guard. He did, however, accuse Begre: "He inflicted torture. He did things there. It was not my will, but what could I do?" Begre cannot be heard by the court, as he died in December 2009. Suspected of having participated in an assassination attempt on former junta leader Dadis Camara, he was arrested and executed by the military.

Diallo continued his story. For three days from September 28, Monday to Wednesday, he and his fellow prisoners were deprived of food. "Didn't Paul Mansa Guilavogui care to give you anything so that you would not die? he was asked. No, he didn't, came the reply. It was a small military man who came to find us to see if we had eaten. He informed one of his chiefs. Starting at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, we were given rations."

Lawless places

During his detention, Diallo was injured in the back. Now he is asking the court "to judge and convict" those responsible for the harm he suffered. He thinks the country's highest authorities, led by the president of the transition, were aware of what was happening in the military camps. Dadis Camara and his ten co-defendants, who have been appearing since September 28, 2022 before the Dixinn criminal court, are being prosecuted for alleged acts of torture, kidnapping, unlawful detention, failure to assist persons in danger, and complicity in these offences.

In these lawless places, the military also allegedly locked up women. In total, more than 100 women were raped on September 28, 2009 and in the days that followed. One of them testified before the court and gave a description of the building in Koundara, saying rapes took place there, the deputy prosecutor recalled. But Diallo did not see any women.

You didn't witness this, you didn't hear their cries for help?" asked the prosecutor.

No, I didn't hear that," Diallo replied soberly.
The United States has welcomed the reports that Armenia and Azerbaijan are going to continue to engage in discussions and reiterated that peace is within reach and that direct dialogue is key to resolving issues.

May 19, 2023, 15:07 U.S. welcomes continued discussions between Armenia and Azerbaijan ahead of Moscow foreign ministerial

STEPANAKERT, MAY 19, ARTSAKHPRESS: we continue to provide full support and engagement of the United States as these two countries work to secure a durable and dignified peace. We welcome the reports that the parties are going to continue to engage in these discussions, and we reiterate that  our conviction that peace is within reach and that direct dialogue is key to resolving these issues. Our view is that direct talks between the parties are of utmost importance, and were glad to see them happen and take place. Whether they are taking place in Arlington, in Brussels, in Moscow, our support with this effort will continue to endure, U.S. State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a press briefing when asked on the upcoming May 19 foreign ministerial talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Moscow.

Patel declined to prescribe or hypothesize or speculate on the possible outcome of the talks. He again stressed that peace between the countries is possible, and the U.S. continues to welcome and work towards a durable and dignified peace in this case.

The State Department spokesperson added that the U.S. has found the Washington D.C. foreign ministerial talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan to be constructive.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan is expected to meet his Azerbaijani counterpart on May 19 in Moscow in Russia-mediated trilateral talks.

Furthermore, Prime Minister Pashinyan is expected to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on May 25 again in Moscow, under the mediation of President Vladimir Putin.
The upcoming on-screen couple Kim Yoo Jung and Song Kang gave fans excitement as they were spotted filming their drama "My Demon."

'My Demon,' Starring Kim Yoo Jung & Song Kang, Starts Filming

Following the confirmation that Kim Yoo Jung and Song Kang are teaming up for a series, viewers can't wait to see the synergy of the two stars. The duo was spotted somewhere in Seoul filming their forthcoming K-drama "My Demon."

According to a source, the author narrated that while she was strolling along Seoul to unwind, she unintentionally saw a team shooting outside. It was then she found out that it was Kim Yoo Jung and Song Kang who were filming.

Though the photo taken by op were blurry, fans and viewers were happy to see them.

"My Demon" is a romance-fantasy drama about a chaebol heiress, Do Do Hee, who is everyone's enemy, and meets Gu Won, a demon who loses his powers, and they end up living together due to an unexpected incident.

Kim Yoo Jung plays Do Do Hee. Opposite her is Song Kang as Jung Gu Won, he is superior to humans, but when he loses his powers, he needs to work with Do Do Hee to recover them, and that's when the romance begins to bloom between them.

Kim Yoo Jung Returns To Drama After 2 Years

The "Backstreet Rookie" star is about to meet the audience again after a long time. After her hit Netflix movie "20th Century Girl," Kim Yoo Jung made her stage debut through the musical play "Shakespeare in Love."

This 2023, the actress is returning to primetime with back-to-back series.

First is the fantasy-romance drama "My Demon," and she will make her immediate comeback through the webtoon-based series "Sweet and Spicy Chicken."

Song Kang To Star in Dramas Before Military Enlistment

While he may enlist this 2023, Song Kang has been working non-stop filming his new projects. He is expected to dominate Netflix again through the second and third installments of "Sweet Home."

Adding to his list is "My Demon," where he was spotted filming with female co-star Kim Yoo Jung.

Song Kang is also active in doing various magazine pictorials and interviews, which are scheduled to be released soon.

Since the drama has already started filming, fans and viewers are already looking forward to seeing Song Kang and Kim Yoo Jung in one frame, and what kind of chemistry they will bring to the table.

What can you say about the upcoming drama of Kim Yoo Jung and Song Kang? Share your thoughts/replies in the comments!

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars.

KDramaStars owns this article.

Shai Collins wrote this.
Russia will do everything for the agreements aimed at stabilizing the situation in South Caucasus to be implemented, Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov said on May 19.

May 19, 2023, 15:42 South Caucasus stability and peace directly linked with Russian interests, says Lavrov at trilateral talks

STEPANAKERT, MAY 19, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: Speaking at the trilateral meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in Moscow, Lavrov expressed hope that the talks will proceed in a constructive atmosphere and direct dialogue will enable to achieve additional results.

Lavrov offered to discuss trilaterally the entire circle of issues of normalization between Armenia and Azerbaijan before continuing bilateral talks.

He said that the trilateral statements signed by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan are the roadmaps for achieving sustainable solutions.

Weve analyzed the situation around South Caucasus. We consider that there is no alternative to the agreements between our leaders. We in turn are interested in stability and peace in this region. This is directly linked with Russian interests. We will do everything for agreements aimed at stabilizing the situation to be implemented, Lavrov said, expressing hope that the decisions will be respected by all other countries who are interested in regional presence.

Lavrov also mentioned the need for stabilizing the situation in Nagorno Karabakh and at the border, resolving the humanitarian issues, unblocking economic and transport connections and the work around the peace treaty text.
Korean star Lee Dong Wook made fans' hearts flutter with his latest Instagram update as he instantly became a father on the set of his series "Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938."

Lee Dong Wook Exudes Father Vibes in New Instagram Post

On May 17, Lee Dong Wook gifted fans with his newly uploaded photos on SNS. The actor shared a series of snippets of him with a baby. He instantly turned into a father to the child. His interactions with the baby in the series have brought smiles not only to the drama viewers but also to fans.

The lead actor was seen carrying the baby and spending quality time during the drama break.

Lee Dong Wook captioned his post with "I am Lee Yeon, the hero of this era."

Due to the unexpected photos, fans and his followers expressed their adoration of the father-like figure of Lee Dong Wook to the baby.

"I think you need a wife to complete this family."

"Lee Dong Wook is so gentle with a child."

"He is going to be a good father someday."

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Lee Dong Wook Shows Sweet Gesture to Comedian Park Na Rae By Doing THIS

As of this writing, Lee Dong Wook's post already gained more than two million heart reactions on Instagram, and fans continue to show their support to the actor in the comment section.

What We Know So Far From 'Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938'

Meanwhile, Lee Dong Wook plays the role of Lee Yeon in the ongoing fantasy K-drama "Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938," which is the second installment of the "Tale of the Nine Tailed." Season 2 features the story of Lee Yeon, who time-traveled in the chaotic era of 1938, and strives to return to the modern era.

He reunites with original cast members Kim Bum and Kim Yong Ji. New stars have joined the new season including Kim So Yeon, Ryoo Kyung Soo, Kim Soo Jin, and more.

"Tale of the Nine Tailed" runs every Saturday and Sunday at 9:20 p.m. (KST) on tvN.

Where To Watch Lee Dong Wook Next

Furthermore, Lee Dong Wook's another upcoming series, "The Killer's Shopping Mall," where he might collaborate with "Kingdom" actress Kim Hye Jun. The heartthrob also has a soon-to-release movie, "Harbin" where he will share the frame with Hyun Bin, Jeon Yeo Bin, Park Jung Min, Jo Woo Jin, Yoo Jae Myung, and Park Hoon.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Lee Dong Wook Reveals Preparations For His Kiss & Shirtless Scenes

What can you say about Lee Dong Wook's latest Instagram update? Share your thoughts/replies in the comments!

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news and updates, keep your tabs open here at Kdramastars.

Kdramastars owns this article.

Shai Collins wrote this.
Song Seung Heon dishes on his working relationship with Kim Woo Bin as they starred in the hit K-drama "Black Knight."

The two South Korean stars play the main characters of Netflix's webtoon-based series helmed by Cho Ui Seok of "Cold Eyes" and "Master."

While Kim Woo Bin plays the legendary delivery man 5-8, Song Seung Heon took on the villain role and transformed into Cheonmyeong Group, Ryu Seuk.

As the world succumbed to great chaos brought on by depleting air supplies, Ryu Seuk is battling terminal illness.

This is also the reason why he is eager to do tests on humans and plans on taking over the conglomerate.

Song Seon Heon Calls Kim Woo Bin 'Perfect'

In an online interview with local media outlets, the 46-year-old actor talks about what's it's like working with Kim Woo Bin.

For Song Seung Heon, he is in awe of how "perfect" his co-star is.

From his flawless acting to his kindness, there's no doubt why fellow celebrities and fans loved him.

"He's so perfect," referring to Kim Woo Bin, adding that he never heard of anything negative about the actor.

Song Seung Heon also recalled the time when he talked to "Black Knight" director Cho Eui Seok and Kim Woo Bin and was constantly praised by the filmmaker.

He shared that the "Black Knight" lead star is a "very polite person" and has a "good personality," as mentioned by their director.

To recall, "Black Knight" is Kim Woo Bin and Cho Eui Seok's second work after the 2016 movie "Master."

The award winning actor continued to praise his junior co-star and pointed out that he "hasn't heard many bad things about Kim Woo Bin.

Interestingly, he once asked himself if his co-star was just pretending to be kind, but he was so "consistent" and saw how genuine his kindness is.

Kim Woo Bin is among the stars who are known for their kindness.

He recently made headlines after he expressed his frustration and anger after a junior model revealed that he had to do 80 looks and was underpaid.

Showing concern for the budding model, Kim Woo Bin called out the brand and wanted to expose the company behind it.

Why Song Seung Heon Quit Smoking?

In a separate report, Song Seung Heon was asked about how he keeps his visuals healthy and youthful.

The actor revealed that he doesn't do things that are out of the ordinary but says that he focuses on his health.

"There is nothing special, and I try to exercise whenever I have time," he said, moreover, Song Seung Heon also added that he quit smoking for 20 years and counting.

"My body needs to be healthy," he said, adding that he had to take care of his body, which he started by quitting smoking.

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars.

KDramaStars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
The Hallyu scene is abuzz as JTBC's medical-family drama "Doctor Cha" continues to dominate the charts every week.

Uhm Jung Hwa, who headlines the smash hit series, expressed her utmost gratitude to fans.

'Doctor Cha' Named As Uhm Jung Hwa's Best Drama Yet

This summer, JTBC delivered the refreshing medical-family drama "Doctor Cha" to satisfy and entertain the viewers.

Thankfully, the drama was well-received not only by the domestic fans but also the international viewers. It even broke milestone after milestone, proving its success.

Starring Uhm Jung Hwa, Kim Byung Chul, Myung Se Bin and Min Woo Hyuk, "Doctor Cha" tells the life of a housewife who decides to pursue her medical career after beating death.

On May 17, Uhm Jung Hwa dropped a new exciting vlog on her personal YouTube channel where she talked about her wine collection. She also made a charcuterie board to match the ambience.

According to her, wines and champagnes make her very happy. Uhm Jung Hwa popped a bottle of wine to celebrate the success of "Doctor Cha."

The actress said, "The immense support and love that the drama receives every day makes me so happy. It's a precious gift to me."

Uhm Jung Hwa confessed that the success of "Doctor Cha" feels so surreal for her. Despite being in the industry for more than three decades, it's the first time she felt genuinely excited because of a drama, making the JTBC series her best series yet.

She added, "I think I'm going to be happy for the next ten years!"

On the other hand, the latest episode of "Doctor Cha" received a high score of 18%, besting "Itaewon Class" in the history of JTBC dramas.

What To Expect From Uhm Jung Hwa's 'Doctor Cha'

With the fiery reception that "Doctor Cha" enjoys, fans' excitement spikes up through the roof.

While many look down at Uhm Jung Hwa's character's silence about her husband's infidelity, it's expected that the following episodes will break more records as it focuses on Cha Jung Suk's long overdue revenge.

It's expected that she won't just sit back and watch her husband's unfaithfulness that has been going on for so long. Because of this, fans couldn't wait for the premiere of the weekend series.

Moreover, the production unit also guarantees that justice will prevail, giving Cha Jung Suk the best after she endured the pain and hardships as a faithful wife.

Catch Cha Jung Suk's wrathful revenge this Saturday and Sunday at 10:30 p.m. KST on JTBC!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Uhm Jung Hwa's 'Doctor Cha' Faces New Controversy Because Of THIS

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
The Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ont., is shown on April 17, 2020. The family of a mentally ill man who died in an Ontario jail cell in 2016 is looking forward to a provincial inquest into his death later this year to provide them with answers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
The Kremlin has said that they will announce the possible meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in advance.

May 19, 2023, 18:08 Kremlin to announce possible Armenian-Azerbaijani summit in advance

STEPANAKERT, MAY 19, ARTSAKHPRESS: Indeed, we will work on Eurasian integration issues next week. Both the Eurasian Economic Conference and the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council session will take place in Moscow. We expect both President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan to be in Moscow. We will inform about possible contacts in time, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked on prospects of an Armenian-Azerbaijani summit in Moscow, TASS reports.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

AUBURN  A Brutus man whom prosecutors said essentially tried to cut off another man's head with a machete rejected a plea offer in Cayuga County Court Thursday.

Christopher M. Laframboise, 39, with a previously listed address of 2919 E. Brutus St. Road, was before Judge Thomas Leone for a conference. Laframboise is facing charges of second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault, both class B felonies.

New York State Police previously said Laframboise attacked and seriously injured a person at the victim's home on Pople Road in the town of Victory Feb. 6. Troopers said the defendant was arrested shortly afterward in a traffic stop on Egypt Road in the town of Conquest.

On Thursday, Cayuga County Chief Assistant District Attorney Chris Valdina offered a plea deal for Laframboise to plead guilty to the attempted murder count, with an agreed-upon sentence of 15 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision plus orders of protection for the victim and his family. The plea offer was not accepted Thursday.

A May 17 letter from Valdina to Laframboise's attorney, Eric Smith, about the plea offer includes a timeline of the case that "establishes that the defendant committed a premeditated attack."

The letter said that on Jan. 19, Laframboise was arrested for second-degree criminal trespass in a different case in which he allegedly entered the home of a woman in Port Byron and left two bags of candy and "several cans of Silly String."

"The defendant told the deputies that he was meeting a woman in the house for sex; the female homeowner did not even know the defendant," Valdina said in the letter.

That same day, after Laframboise was arrested, the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office secured nine long guns from his residence. He was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, the letter said, as his possession of the weapons was illegal due to a prior endangering the welfare of a child conviction.

Valdina also in said the letter that Laframboise bought a machete at Tractor Supply in Sennett on Feb. 2. After the weapon was found following the alleged Feb. 6 attack, members of the state's forensic investigation unit looked at the machete and determined the weapon had been sharpened based on markings found on the blade.

"In other words, two weeks after having his firearms taken away and four days before the attack, this defendant purchased the weapon and then sharpened it in preparation for his attack on the victim," the letter said.

Laframboise had dinner with the victim and his family at the victim's home Feb. 5, the letter continued, and the victim mentioned he would be leaving for work at 6 a.m. that following morning, so "the defendant believed that the victim would not be at home with his family at that hour the next day." The defendant then went to the victim's house at 6:45 a.m. Feb. 6. The victim had not gone for work that morning and the man's fiance and two sons were in the building at the time.

"If the victim had gone to work as planned, his family would have been in the home without him when the defendant first arrived," Valdina said in the letter.

Later that day, Laframboise returned to the house around noon. After he was allowed inside and briefly spoke with the victim, Laframboise pulled out the machete "and attacked the victim without warning," the letter said.

At Laframboise's arraignment in March, Valdina noted the weapon caused a laceration and a jaw fracture, which required metal plates to be implanted in the victim's jaw.

"For all intents and purposes, he attempts to cut the victim's head off," Valdina said at the time.

The letter said Laframboise chased the victim in the house with the machete and was calling for the victim's 10-year-old son by his nickname, but the child was at school. Laframboise had "the presence of mind," the letter said, to flee from the home when the victim pointed a shotgun at him, also mentioning that the victim's fiance pointed a pellet pistol at Laframboise. The letter also said Laframboise tossed the machete out of his vehicle and into a swamp, as the weapon was recovered days later.

Valdina mentioned Tuesday that Laframboise struck the left side of the victim's head and neck with the machete, adding that the man has a permanent scar.

"We have no motive in this case, but in my opinion, that makes it more disturbing," Valdina said at one point, adding that he doesn't feel Laframboise should be out in the community. Valdina also noted that the defendant has several previous criminal convictions but Eric Smith, Laframboise's attorney, later said those are all misdemeanors.

Smith said his client has children who are minors and is a "productive member of society." Smith also argued against the attempted murder charge and said he felt the victim's injuries were "nothing I haven't seen before" in assault cases.

"This is not something that warrants 15 years," Smith said at one point.

Noting Laframboise and the man had dinner the night before the alleged attack, Smith said his client and the alleged victim "were good friends."

"He likes the victim a lot," Smith said. Smith previously said his client "maintains his innocence" in this matter.

Valdina said Laframboise "obviously doesn't like the victim," arguing that the defendant tried to cut the victim's head off.

Leone remanded Laframboise back to the Cayuga County Jail. Laframboise's next court date is June 1.
The Coalition of African National Medical Associations is calling on regional governments to make available budgetary provisions to cater for positions of intern doctors in the public service.

The body that brings together physicians in the African region has noted with concern the issues relating to medical intern doctors working conditions in East Africa.

The coalitions coordinator, Dr. Osabon Enabulele particularly cites a proposition not to pay medical interns who have studied privately in Uganda, which prompted industrial action that has paralyzed health care services.

He says that arresting the interns is a further crisis in human resource for health care delivery, expplaining that governments must focus on progressive and motivational mechanisms to speedily resolve the unacceptable situation.

This comes a day after government tasked the Ministry of Finance to find funds to pay medical interns and striking Senior House Officers (SHOs), in a decision made during a Cabinet meeting held on Monday.

The ministry has thus promised to have the intern doctors allowance arrears amounting to Shs22 billion cleared by end of this week.
By Bill Oketch & Patrick Ebong

Police in Lira City are investigating the circumstances surrounding the gruesome murder of a security guard attached to PSG Security Company.

According to police preliminary reports, the deceased identified as David Ogolo, 27, was assigned alone to guard Apwoyo Distributors Limited Shop along Bala Road in Lira City when he was hacked by unknown assailants last night.

The North Kyoga regional police spokesperson, Patrick Okema says the Ogolo was found dead on Friday morning with a deep cut wound on his neck.

The company supervisor, Charles Ojok, was immediately notified and promptly reported the incident to Lira City Central Police Station.

Okema says several statements have been obtained from witnesses at the crime scene to aid in the investigation.

Ogolo is the fifth security guard to die in just six days.

On Thursday, a guard identified as Rogers Atuhaire attached to SGA Security Company allegedly shot himself dead at around 9 am at Buganda road zone, Nakasero III parish, Kampala central division.
The proposed marriage reforms on cohabitation continue to draw mixed reactions among Ugandans.

The time limit on cohabitation is among a raft of proposals in a private members bill titled The Marriage Bill, 2022 that is yet to be tabled by Tororo Woman MP, Sarah Opendi.

However, human rights and family lawyers have warned MPS to be careful when legislating laws.

Speaking to KFM, Humprehy Tumwesigye, a partner with Mujurizi and Tumwesige advocates notes that marriage is a contract by two consenting adults adding that the proposed law is an illegality.

He adds that the proposed law is implemented is prone to abuse by both women and men thus creating more marital problems than creating solutions.

Consent in marriage cannot be presumed. People must agree to get married and you dont legislate so that a legislation can make an illegality. Cohabitation can never be turned into marriage, you are either married or you are not, Lawyer Tumwesigye told KFM.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

UNION SPRINGS  Months of work by Kailey Forbes resulted in a high honor from U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney.

Forbes, a senior at Union Springs High School, won Tenney's Congressional Art Competition in the 24th Congressional District. A three-judge panel selected Forbes' piece, "Duality," out of the 27 submissions from students in the 12-county district.

"Duality" is a self-portrait. Forbes told The Citizen that she took two photos of herself next to the mirror, one with her eyes open and another with her eyes closed.

"I spend a lot of time looking at myself in the mirror," Forbes said. "A lot of what I do is self-portraits. I was just trying to find a way to make it interesting so that it wasn't just my face."

Self-portraits are Forbes' forte because, she explained, it's hard for her to find someone else to model and portray what she wants to draw. Her approach produces award-winning artwork.

Forbes has long been interested in art  "I've been drawing forever," she said  but art classes she took in middle school motivated her to continue art studies in high school.

With her win in Tenney's contest, Forbes joins four other Union Springs students who have won the Congressional Art Competition in the past seven years. The previous winners won the competition held by former U.S. Rep. John Katko, who represented Cayuga County until this year.

Jason Charles, an art teacher at Union Springs High School, is proud of Forbes' success and all of his students' accolades. Another student, Catherine Gilmore, won a gold medal in the national Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Gilmore won the Congressional Art Competition last year with a pandemic-themed drawing.

"I honestly want the kids to just do the best work they could possibly do. That's what I care about," Charles told The Citizen. "From there, if judges select the work... that's just the cherry on top of the cake."

Forbes credited Charles for the art program's success. She thinks it's a reflection of "how great he is as a teacher and how his methods are really impactful and definitely make us better artists."

What Charles want people to know is that while they admire the finished product, a lot of time and energy went into producing the artwork. Forbes' winning piece, "Duality," is an example. She started working on the drawing at the beginning of the school year and it took months to finish.

"It's a testimony to the kids and the effort that they put forth in their work," Charles said. "That's why I think they have the successes that they have is because they really do put the work in."

As the winner of the Congressional Art Competition, Forbes will have "Duality" displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year. A reception will be held in Washington, D.C., for the Congressional Art Competition winners from across the country. She plans to attend with her mother.

Although Forbes won't study art in college, she doesn't think her interest in drawing will wane. Since winning the Congressional Art Competition, people have asked her to make a piece for them.

"I think it's going to stay as a hobby or a side job maybe," Forbes said.
Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs Norbert Mao has blamed the public for failure to ask for accountability from government officials.

While delivering the achievements of his ministry as per 2022-2026 NRM manifesto at Prime Ministers Office in Kampala, Mao wondered why the electorates cannot pressurize government to deliver what is expected.

He advised citizens to always ask for accountability if theyre to get proper and timely service delivery, further urging them to stop supporting corruption tendencies among government officials.

Meanwhile, Mao said his ministry is progressing well, noting that they have recruited more judicial officers to close the case backlog gap to enable poor Ugandans get justice in time, secured a new home of the Electoral Commission, among others, saying by 2026, the ministry will be at 100%

Despite the progress reached, Mao revealed that the ministry still grapples with challenges which include; lack of funds for compensation, limited offices for the Uganda Human Rights Commission, and lack of funds for investigation of cases among others.
By Patrick Ebong

The Oyam North County by-election which is slated for July 6, 2023, will cost Shs900 million, according to the Electoral Commission (EC).

Justice Simon Byabakama Mugenyi, the EC chairman, launched the electoral roadmap by meeting all key stakeholders at a function held in Oyam Town Council on Thursday.



He said the Clerk of Parliament wrote to EC on May 8, declaring the Oyam North parliamentary seat vacant following the death of Col (Rtd) Charles Okello Engola. The minister of State for Labour, Employment, and Industrial Relations was killed by his own bodyguard, Pte Wilson Sabiiti, on May 2.

He said the law requires the EC to fill a vacancy in Parliament within 60 days from the date after receiving notification from the Clerk to Parliament.

Among those who attended the meeting included LC1 chairpersons of over 600 villages in Oyam North, LC3 chairpersons, police, leaders of political parties, and religious leaders.

Justice Byamukama said the Commission has now banned any form of fundraising during this period in Oyam North since it will be taken as a form of bribery of voters.



Justice Byabakama warned people from other areas who will be going to drum up support for their candidates against violence, saying police will deal with them because the EC wants a peaceful election.
Police in Mbarara District in western Uganda are investigating a murder case after a police officer shot and killed a Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) soldier near Bank of Uganda branch. Police Constable Charles Opio attached to Field Force Unit was detained after he allegedly shot and killed Lt Corporal Yeremiah Paper attached to Ruhengyere Engineering Brigade in Kiruhura District at around 6pm following a misunderstanding.

Police said Opio was in their custody at CPS Mbarara while the soldiers body was taken to the Regional Referral Hospital Mbarara for postmortem.

According to an eyewitness, Mr Victor Ampaire, the shooting happened as the army officer was having a light moment with a friend near a bar.

The soldier was enjoying a selfie moment with a girl at a bar in the police barracks opposite Bank of Uganda branch. The police constable asked him not to take photos in the barracks but the soldier abused him. A heated argument ensued before he (Opio) opened fire, Mr Ampaire said. Read more
By Mike Sebalu

The Uganda Medical Association (UMA) is holding a general meeting for all aggrieved parties of the health professionals who are currently under strike to forge away forward.

This follows numerous dialogues with different government stakeholders including Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja.

Since then, commitments have been made by government regarding fulfillment of medical professionals concerns.

UMA Secretary-General, Dr. Hebert Luswata said as administrators, they would want to hear from the horses mouth before the next course of action.

Yesterday in Parliament, the Minister of State in charge of general duties, Hanifah Kawooya noted that her Ministry was ready to send over 1000 medical interns to the 51 government health facilities to exercise their mandate.

She, however, said that what was pending was the availability of funds from the Ministry of Finance as his commitment was during cabinet to have the funds availed by today including arrears for medical interns.
Kilkenny was well represented at the recent Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA) National Biochar and Carbon Products Conference at the Landmark Hotel in Carrick on Shannon, County Leitrim.

Biochar is a stable form of charcoal, produced from a wide variety of biomass streams using pyrolysis technology. It is increasingly recognised for the important role it can play in environmental or agricultural applications, to be utilised as an effective carbon sequestration method and in its ability to decarbonise heating requirements.

This conference was organised under the auspices of the Interreg Northwest Europe funded THREE C Project - Creating and sustaining Charcoal value chains to promote a Circular Carbon economy in NWE Europe. The conference highlighted Irish stakeholders who are currently working in the biochar and carbon products sector and partners from across Europe in the THREE C project who had interesting stories, products and developments to share.

The conference, organised by the Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA) was sponsored by Celignis Analytical and Arigna Fuels. With over 122 delegates in attendance, representing a cross section of stakeholders and businesses from this emerging sector.

The event brought together experts, innovators, and entrepreneurs to discuss the potential of biochar and the development of carbon products. Attendees heard from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Colm Markey MEP for Midlands North West, who gave the keynote address and outlined the important potential contribution of biochar and carbon farming from a European policy perspective. IrBEA are thankful to all the speakers and attendees who came from across Europe and Ireland to share their knowledge and insights on the day.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Cayuga County has joined a growing list of upstate New York counties to declare a state of emergency related to New York City's plans to relocate international migrants.

In a press release issued Friday afternoon, Cayuga County Legislature Chairman David Gould said the emergency declaration is necessary because the county does not have the resources to house a swell of asylum seekers.

Cayuga County already has a crisis with its existing homeless population due to limited housing and related resources," he said. "The influx of migrant and asylum seekers to this existing needy population would strain our county facilities and resources beyond capacity.

The order from Gould prohibits lodging establishments from entering into contracts to house migrants. Violators could be charged with a class B misdemeanor and fined up to $2,000 per illegally housed migrant.

The order remains in effect for 30 days, unless rescinded earlier.

The news release sites "unprecedented and overwhelming numbers of immigrants and asylum seekers have entered and continue to enter the country staining resources and infrastructure at the federal, state and local levels. ... The Federal government has been unable to safely accommodate the housing, medical and physical needs of these populations, and therefore the burden of providing such services has fallen to certain state governments. These state governments are equally overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of people who need food, shelter, and medical care and as a result, have relocated several thousand immigrants and asylum seekers to major cities such as New York City. NY City has indicated its intent to relocate some of these people to upstate locations and has indeed attempted to do so in some cases."

Gould told The Citizen the decision to declare the emergency came after consulting with county department heads and city of Auburn officials. He said the office Gov. Kathy Hochul told the county there are no plans to bring asylum seekers there, but local officials believe an emergency order is still the prudent step to take.

Several other counties, including neighboring Onondaga, have taken similar steps in recent days.
A drug dealer who has taken substantial steps to turn his life around was handed down a suspended sentence at Kilkenny Circuit Court.

Jason ORegan, 2 Leggettsrath, Dublin Road, Kilkenny had previously pleaded guilty to the sale and supply of drugs contrary to section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act. Facts were heard last May before Judge Catherine Staines at Kilkenny Circuit Court and matters were adjourned for a year.

On Thursday the defendant appeared in court for sentencing.

Detective Garda Liam Murphy told the court that there were four counts of section 15 before the court. The garda outlined how on July 26, 2020 gardai were on patrol when they observed a vehicle driving past them which was missing its front and back lights. The gardai followed the vehicle and it pulled in and stopped at Lavistown. The defendant, who was driving the vehicle, was known to gardai and the vehicle was searched.

Paraphernalia

A shopping bag was located in the back seat of the vehicle which contained a glass jar. Gardai located drugs in the jar, along with a weighing scales and other paraphernalia. The court heard that the accused made admissions in respect of the contents of the jar and told the gardai that there was a lot of different stuff including weed, cocaine and MDMA.

responsibility

The defendant took full responsibility for the drugs in the vehicle and said that he had a drugs problem at the time and owed a drugs debt of 10,000. Garda Murphy told the court that the defendant made full and frank admissions. He told gardai that he made 600 per week from dealing which he used to pay off his drug debt.

Garda Murphy outlined to the court that the contents of the jar included 24 bags of cannabis herb valued at 864, 25 deals of cocaine valued at 174 and four bags of the designer drug ethylone worth 190. The total value of the drugs seized was 3158.93 and the defendant admitted that the drugs were for sale and supply.

Previous convictions

The court heard that the defendant has 38 previous convictions, including nine for possession of drugs for personal use, one for cultivation of drugs and four for the sale and supply of drugs.

The defendant hasnt come to garda attention since the offences before the court.

Defence barrister, David Roberts said that at the time his client had been involved in low level drug dealing in Kilkenny and that there was no trappings of wealth.

Probation report

The defendant has been in full time employment for the past year and is in a long term relationship. Mr Roberts also said that a toxicology report, which was handed into the court, indicated a negative result for drugs. A positive probation report was also handed into the court.

The judge remarked that the defendant had taken substantial efforts to take 2222 chance that the court had afforded him by adjourning sentencing for a year. The judge cited the positive letter which was handed into the court from his employer which described him as a valued employee and also said that the defendant has not come to garda attention since and is free from intoxicants.

Judgement

The judge also referenced the probation report before the court that the defendant has cut his ties from past anti-social acquaintances and has expressed remorse for his actions.

It would appear that he has taken substantial steps to turn his life around, said the judge.

The judge convicted the defendant and imposed a two year sentence which he suspended fully on condition that the defendant enter a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two years and that he remain under the supervision of the probation services and comply with all directions from them.
Almost four in ten workers in Kilkenny would choose to work longer for a higher State pension, new research from Lockton People Solutions Ireland has revealed.

The research looked at how workers are reacting to the overhaul of the State Pension system announced by the Irish government.

A nationwide survey was undertaken, and when looking at feedback from Kilkenny workers alone, it was found that just over 35% of workers from the county said that the changes would only entice them to work longer if they had no other financial option, however, almost 37% said that access to a larger pension payout would in fact make working longer a more attractive proposition regardless of their financial situation.

While the State Pension age will remain the same at 66, the proposed changes will form the foundation of a more flexible pension age model.

Taking effect in January 2024, workers will have the option to continue in their roles until the age of 70 in return for a higher State Pension.

Those that do so will secure a State Pension of 315 per week, compared with the current rate of 265.30 per week.

Employers can play a key role in facilitating and encouraging their workers to work beyond the current State pension age of 66  and there is strong merit for them in doing so, said Ray McKenna, Partner at Lockton People Solutions Ireland.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

State officials are seeking input on a proposed four-year plan to the federal government outlining goals and objectives to assist older residents, their families, and caregivers.

A series of upcoming public information forums includes Syracuse and Rochester that will be led by a presenter from New York State Office for the Aging and co-hosted locally by community partners.

During the programs, NYSOFA will also be sharing the results of its recent Community Assessment Survey of Older Adults, offering responses from over 26,000 older adults. These results, along with input provided at the upcoming community forums, will help inform NYSOFA's final Four-Year Plan due to the federal government later this year.

As the state's designated unit on aging, NYSOFA is responsible for developing and administering a multi-year State Plan on Aging that provides goals and objectives related to assisting older residents outlining how NYSOFA and its network will address federal priorities for older adults in several focus areas:

 Long term care reform

 Continuing to address COVID-19

 Targeting and equity  supporting individuals of greatest social and economic need

 Building system capacity

 Caregiving supports

In-person forums include: 10 a.m. Monday, May 22, Upstate Oasis, 6333 State Route 298, East Syracuse; and 12:15 p.m. Thursday, May 25, Monroe Community Hospital, Auditorium A, 435 E. Henrietta Road, Rochester. Parking is in Lot 3, and the Main Visitor Entrance is located on the canal side.

Public input to the Four-Year Plan will be accepted by writing to a dedicated mailbox at FourYearPlan@aging.ny.gov.

To watch a video of a livestream presentation or for other details, visit aging.ny.gov/four-year-plan.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
Get all the essential market news and expert opinions in one place with our daily newsletter. Receive a comprehensive recap of the day's top stories directly to your inbox. Sign up here!

(Kitco News) - This spring's spate of banking failures portends more to come, said Matthew Piepenburg, partner at Matterhorn Asset Management.

Earlier this month Piepenburg spoke to Kitco at Deutsche Goldmesse in Frankfurt, Germany.

In March Silicon Valley Bank was seized by the California Department of Financial Protection. Signature Bank also failed this spring. Piepenburg warned the sector is under stress.

"It's just a symptom of a greater problem in the credit markets credit events," said Piepenburg. "A policy of raising rates at 100 miles per hour in a very short period of time is too much, too fast, too late."

Piepenburg said that banks were basically buying U.S government bonds at a top and "..when there was a run on the bank they had to sell at the bottom and that affected their capital."

"When this crisis came out in March I said you ain't seen nothing yet," said Piepenburg. "There's going to be more to come and there's only so much the FDIC can insure."

Piepenburg noted that the number of regional banks is decreasing, and the ones that are running are stressed, noted Piepenburg.

"How many banks are going to need to fail and how much will it cost to support these depositors to avoid a contagion? This loss of faith in banking is going to have to be contained in some way.

"We'll see but I know that a lot of regional banks are going to have to raise their...checking account rates if they're going to keep deposits from going into money markets. That's going to affect their margins. If they get runs that's going to affect their viability. There's a lot of fingers pointing at these regional banks right now, and it's tragic and sad and it's not totally surprising."

Coverage of Deutsche Goldmesse 2023 sponsored by Defiance Silver.
LONDON/KYIV, May 19 (Reuters) - Ukraine wants its allies to be bolder in imposing sanctions on Russia, including by targeting banks that provide financial services to serving soldiers, a senior adviser told Reuters.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, who advises President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, also urged allies not to fear that a tougher sanctions clampdown could drive some countries closer to Russia, describing such a worry as overblown.

He was speaking in an interview from Kyiv as world leaders meet to discuss new sanctions measures and how to prevent Russia and companies in third countries from circumventing sanctions imposed after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year.

Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) convene in Japan this weekend, with Zelenskiy expected to join them, while European Union members are also working on an eleventh sanctions package.

We are grateful for all the support we have received from our allies and we have seen some positive signals on the latest sanctions packages under consideration," Vlasiuk said.

"But our allies should be bolder and refuse to pander to Kremlin propaganda that increased sanctions will drive nations closer to Russia.

Vlasiuk called on allies to tighten sanctions on banks, singling out three lenders whose banking cards had been found on dead or captured soldiers on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine.

The three lenders are Gazprombank - the financial arm of Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM), Tinkoff Bank, owned by TCS Group Holding (TCSq.L), and Rosselkhozbank (RSSBK.UL), an agricultural bank. All three banks did not respond to a request for comment.

The Gazprombank card was in khaki colour and emblazoned with the words "Russian army", according to photos shared with Reuters.

Tinkoff and Rosselkhozbank have already been excluded from the SWIFT global payments system, but other banks have been subjected to full blocking sanctions.

Gazprombank has escaped the harshest sanctions as it is a key conduit in the energy trade.

Russian banks who provide financial services to Russian soldiers fighting an unlawful war of aggression on Ukrainian soil should face the toughest possible sanctions from our allies," Vlasiuk said.

"These bank cards are fresh evidence of the loopholes in the sanctions regime brought in to respond to the war crimes extravaganza currently taking place within Ukraine," he said, adding there were "no further excuses".

CLOSING LOOPHOLES

Vlasiuk said Rosselkhozbank had been shielded from sanctions because it was seen to be linked to food security, but he questioned the logic behind this.

"We have nothing against food security but, again, if these banks are also doing some transactions in the military area, that makes it not particularly a food security bank," he said.

Citing a rise in exports to Russia's neighbours as evidence that entities in third countries such as Kazakhstan and Georgia were being used to circumvent sanctions on Moscow, Vlasiuk called on Ukraine's allies to be bolder.

He also criticised threats from neighbouring Hungary to block new EU sanctions and military aid unless Kyiv removes Hungarian bank OTP (OTPB.BU) from its list of war sponsors, saying the two issues should be kept separate.

Vlasiuk was encouraged about movement towards sanctions on Russia's diamond industry but was more pessimistic that countries would fall into line with a U.S.-led push to widen the scope of sanctions of traded goods with Russia.

U.S. officials expect G7 members to adjust their approach to sanctions so that, at least for certain categories of goods, all exports are automatically banned unless they are on a list of approved items, according to people familiar with the talks.

"There is an idea pushed mostly by the U.S. to ... forbid all the dual-use goods trade except for some exceptions," Vlasiuk said.

"But I'm not sure that all the G7 countries are going to support that. So I don't really think there is going to big progress in that regard but maybe, maybe, maybe they will surprise us, so let's wait and see."
NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters) - As JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) CEO Jamie Dimon prepares to take the stage for the bank's investor day on Monday, he can expect plenty of questions about its purchase of failed First Republic Bank.

Analysts will seek more details about the deal and JPMorgan's plans to integrate the business into the largest U.S. bank. JPMorgan's succession plans will also be in focus after Morgan Stanley's CEO said on Friday he would step down within a year.

Here are some key themes that investors are watching.

FIRST REPUBLIC

JPMorgan has agreed to undertake $173 billion of the failed bank's loans, $30 billion of securities and $92 billion of deposits after First Republic was shuttered by authorities earlier this month.

Dimon has said he expects blowback from the transaction, according to an interview on Bloomberg TV.

An acquisition of this scale will raise question on integration, execution risks, employee retention among others, analysts said.

"JPM views FRC as more complementary to its mass affluent approach than its ultra high net worth offering," Jason Goldberg, Brian Morton and Matthew Kesselhaut analysts at Barclays said in a note. They expect First Republic to be additive to JPMorgan's consumer and community banking business.

JPMorgan has made 19 acquisitions since 2020 but the last major purchases of this scale were in 2008 during the financial crisis-era takeovers of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual.

SUCCESSION

After Morgan Stanley (MS.N) CEO James Gorman's announcement said he plans to step down next 12 months and take on the role of executive chairman, Dimon's succession plan will garner some attention.

Dimon, 67, has been at the helm for more than 17 years. That is longer than Gorman, who at 64 years has been the CEO for 13 years.

The company's proxy statement identified its President and Chief Operating officer Daniel Pinto as a key executive who is immediately ready to step into the role of sole CEO, should the need arise in the near-term.

ECONOMY

JPMorgan is viewed as an economic bellwether. Its executives' commentary is watched closely by financial markets.

Dimon has warned that a failure to raise the U.S. debt ceiling is potentially catastrophic, and the bank has created a war room to tackle the situation with daily meetings.

He and other financial CEOs met Janet Yellen in Washington this week to discuss the health of the banking system and the debt ceiling, a source said.

GROWTH

The country's largest lender emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of turmoil in the banking industry after the collapse of two lenders in March, reporting first quarter profits that beat expectations and an influx of deposits.

The investor day should underscore the notion that Goliath is Winning, Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo said in a note.

JPMorgan is also expected to reiterate its target for return on tangible common equity -- a key metric which measures how well a bank uses shareholder money to produce profit -- of 17%.

"What we may hear about is what this ROTCE could be if a recession hit in '23, which would translate into higher credit costs and potentially rate cuts," wrote Erika Najarian, Robert Placet and Nicholas Holowko, analysts at UBS.

Commentary around deposit growth, strategic opportunities, loan loss provisions, and expenses are some of the other themes that will be keenly watched.

Dimon has said that the bank is unlikely to acquire another struggling lender.
(Kitco News) - Lithium giant SQM plans to keep investing despite Chile's plan to exert more control over the sector.

On Friday mining audiences manager Michael McCrae and Melissa 'Mel' Sanderson, President North America at American Rare Earths recorded Kitco Roundtable.

American Rare Earths is developing its 100%-owned magnet metals projects, Halleck Creek in Wyoming and La Paz in Arizona

Sanderson talked supply and demand in the rare earth sector.
Get all the essential market news and expert opinions in one place with our daily newsletter. Receive a comprehensive recap of the day's top stories directly to your inbox. Sign up here!

(Kitco News) - Kitco ranked gold mining companies based on their most recent reported attributable proven & probable reserves in-situ. A mineral reserve is the economically mineable part of mineral resource.

Russian gold mining giant Polyus boasts the largest gold reserves base globally. As at 31 December 2022, the company reported 97 million ounces of gold in reserves compared to 101 million ounces as at 31 December 2021. The company said the year-over-year decrease in gold reserves was due to depletion by mining and changes to stockpile inventories due to additions from mining and reclaim for processing.

Newmont has the second largest gold reserves base across the industry. For 2022, Newmont reported 96.1 million ounces of gold mineral reserves, a 3.6% increase from the prior year total of 92.8 million ounces. The company explained that additions of 8.6 million ounces and acquisitions of 3.1 million ounces were partially offset by depletion of 7.2 million ounces and unfavorable net revisions of 1.2 million ounces.

Barrick is third with 76 million ounces of gold reserves reported in 2022, an increase of 10% over 2021 (69 million ounces). The company said that its gold mineral reserves growth was led by Pueblo Viejo and the Africa & Middle East region, with nearly 12?million ounces of attributable proven and probable reserve gains in 2022 before depletion.

Newcrest sits fourth. The company reported 61 million ounces of gold reserves as at 30 June 2022, which is a 3% decrease compared to reserves as at 31 December 2021 (63 million ounces), primarily due to mining depletion.

Gold Fields is fifth with 52.1 million ounces of gold in reserves reported in 2022 compared to 47.4 million ounces in 2021.



Agnico Eagle sits sixth. The companys proven and probable mineral reserves increased by 9% year-over-year to 48.7 million ounces of gold (1,186 million tonnes grading 1.28 grams per tonne gold). The company said the increase in mineral reserves was largely due to significant additions at Detour Lake as well as successful conversion of mineral resources at several other operations.

AngloGold Ashantis ore reserves increased from 29.8 million ounces in December 2021 to 30.4 million ounces in December 2022. This annual net increase of 0.6 million ounces includes additions due to exploration and modelling changes of 2.8 million ounces, and changes in economic assumptions of 1.0 million ounces. This increase was partially offset by depletion of 2.9 million ounces and reductions due to other factors of 0.3 million ounces.

Harmony Golds total attributable gold mineral reserves amounted to 28.1 million ounces at 30 June 2022, compared to 31.4 million ounces at 30 June 2021. The decrease was mainly due to the mineral reserves reduction at the Tshepong and Bambanani operations as a result of the reduction of the life-of-mine of the respective operations.

Kinross total estimated proven and probable gold reserves at December 31, 2022 were approximately 25.5 million ounces, a decrease of 2.1 million ounces from 27.6 million ounces (excluding 5.0 million ounces related to the Chirano and Russian operations) at December 31, 2021. The decrease in estimated gold reserves compared to December 31, 2021 was mainly a result of production depletion.

In 2022, Russian mining giant Polymetals gold reserves decreased by 9% year-on-year to 24.7 million ounces, mostly due to mining depletion. This was partially offset by the successful exploration results at Omolon hub (Burgali and Nevenrekan), Pesherny (Voro hub), as well as initial reserve estimates at Galka and Tamunier (Voro hub).
NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) - Bankers are beefing up risk management, monitoring and emergency procedures around the use of social media after an internet-fueled run toppled Silicon Valley Bank two months ago and sparked turmoil in the industry.

In board rooms across the United States, executives are devising programs and plans to counteract online threats including rumors around the health of the banks that could lead to deposit outflows or weigh on the stock, according to seven banking industry executives and analysts.

The efforts, which have not been previously reported, underscore banks' urgent efforts to adapt to changing times, prevent depositors from sparking a bank run or stop online attacks on their shares by short sellers.

Lenders are taking action, rethinking social media's role as a potential risk rather than marketing tool, after tweets questioning SVB's financial health prompted nervous customers to pull $1 million per second from their accounts before the bank failed on March 10.

"Social media risk was primarily reputational, but now it has led to deposit flight risks, which are existential," said Sumeet Chabria, founder of ThoughtLinks, a consulting and advisory firm that works with banks.

Greg Becker, the former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, blamed social media as an "unprecedented" factor in the lender's demise. Depositors withdrew $42 billion from SVB in 10 hours, he wrote in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Monday.

SVB's swift downfall stunned markets. On March 8, the lender announced it was selling securities and raising capital. As concerns about its financial health escalated, clients in the Bay Area tech industry tweeted about their worries and pulled out funds via mobile apps or online banking.

The former CEO of First Republic Bank, Michael Roffler, also blamed social media for its collapse two months later.

"It has been a wake-up call for some smaller lenders who are now working on updating their emergency response and risk capabilities, along with business continuity plans to tackle this threat," Chabria said.

Bank executives and directors have ordered their companies to add social media into risk-management programs, according to regional bank executives who declined to be identified because the discussions are private.

Risk departments "have been pulled in to detail out a plan which allows banks to measure internet-related risk, prepare for it and respond to it," one of the executives said.

"NIP IT IN THE BUD"

Banks are also contacting customers who complain on social media to address their issues quickly.

"We want to nip it in the bud," the second executive said.

What played out at SVB could easily happen elsewhere, said Greg Hertrich, head of U.S. depository strategies at Nomura.

"Any bank that doesn't pay attention to their social media presence, and the effect it might have on deposit behavior is doing themselves, their stakeholders and most importantly, their depositors, a pretty significant disservice," Hertrich said.

Smaller lenders are focused on identifying who their depositors are and tapping into influential community members to counter any misinformation, said Lindsey Johnson, CEO of the Consumer Bankers Association, an industry group whose members hold $15.1 trillion in assets, or about 68% of the U.S. total.

"Many banks are taking a proactive approach to communicate to their customers to convey the right message," she said. The outreach includes "providing facts and resources to their depositor bases via email, Twitter and LinkedIn," she said.

The biggest lenders are also taking note. JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) CEO Jamie Dimon cited social media as a factor in SVB's failure, and Citigroup Inc (C.N) CEO Jane Fraser called it "a complete game changer."

As the collapses of SVB and Signature banks shook confidence in regional lenders, First Republic's stock plunged. A $30 billion deposit lifeline from 11 major lenders did not stop its decline, nor did the customer testimonials it posted on LinkedIn to shore up confidence.

First Republic was seized by regulators and bought by JPMorgan earlier this month.

Regulators, too, are watching. The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Federal Reserve both underscored how technology has sped up bank runs. The Financial Stability Board, an international body, is also investigating the role of social media in recent market turmoil, a source said.

While some banks have a game plan, others are still struggling, an analyst said.

"There are so many social media monitoring tools today, but the use of those tools is often delegated to threadbare marketing teams or third party vendors," said Jim Perry, senior strategist at Market Insights.

"Banks are cognizant of the risks and are beginning to understand that they need to dedicate more human resources to social media monitoring, it just hasnt become a priority for many small lenders," Perry added.
WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told bank CEOs on Thursday that more mergers may be necessary after a series of bank failures, CNN reported on Friday, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Yellen reaffirmed the strength and soundness of the country's banking system in a meeting with bank CEOs on Thursday, Treasury Department said Thursday in a statement.

The meeting with more than two dozen executives convened by the Bank Policy Institute came as the banking sector is endeavoring to shake off several weeks of turmoil spurred by the sudden failure of Silicon Valley Bank, which led to regulators seizing two more failing institutions and backing uninsured depositors in an effort to tamp down fears of broader contagion.

The Treasury readout did not mention bank mergers, but sources told CNN that consolidation was discussed. Two-year Treasury yields dropped by some 11 basis points on Thursday after the report, while benchmark 10-year yields fell by about five basis points.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

May 19, 1993

After five years of sitting empty, the old Cayuga County jail is about to be put to use again.

Since no private developer is willing to buy the Court Street building, legislators intend to move government offices into the 33-year-old structure.

The county's Board of Elections will likely share the first floor of the former jail with the sheriff's civil department, which is responsible for delivering legal subpoenas.

The district attorney, whose staff is now packed into a small fifth floor office in the county building, would move into the space vacated in the courthouse by the Board of Elections.

Legislator Mike O'Hora, D-Fleming, who chairs the Buildings Committee, said the move will help each of the departments involved and also the taxpayers.

The jail, vacated when the new public safety building opened in Sennett, became the focus of controversy several years ago when the county tried to sell it to the state Corrections Department to use as an overnight transfer prison.

The proposal created a firestorm in which angry residents and downtown merchants managed to torpedo the idea.

In the years since, efforts have been made to sell the jail to a developer to turn into offices, dorms or stores. But the last potential buyer backed out a couple of weeks ago, O'Hora said.
A guest post by Roderick Mulgan:

Joining a professional group entails submitting to its prescripts. Along with a lawyer's duty to uphold the Rule of Law, the New Zealand Law Society has floated a new statutory duty for lawyers  to discharge their duties in accordance with the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This will surprise many people and lawyers who see real dangers in this proposal have until May 31st to put submissions to the society.

Oddly, the treaty proposition arose from examining recent sexual misbehaviour in the profession. But the society's leadership adopted investigative terms of reference well beyond that issue, established an independent review panel' and staffed it so it was likely to champion ideological reforms that most lawyers do not endorse.

The review panel's report admits a clear majority of lawyers who were surveyed and expressed a view are opposed to importing Treaty principles into their regulatory structure  but the authors are undeterred. The report's slant is not surprising when one sees that the panel included an academic who also co-authored the government's He Puapua report, which report was hardly supportive of majoritarian rule.

This project to include such Treaty references into the lawyers' code', pretends that the scheme does not trample across a highly contentious area of party-political debate, when it obviously does. Treaty-principles endorsements pervade the lexicon of parties on the left and attempting to infuse ideologically-partisan positions into its statute should not be on the agenda of a professional body with a membership that holds beliefs spanning the political spectrum.

It has become fashionable for the Treaty to be slotted into all manner of official pronouncements and mission statements. However, while vague concepts might suit the politically progressive, Law is about accurate and circumscribed concepts. Working out what the Treaty principles might actually be is a fraught exercise, with no widespread legal or community consensus.

If Treaty adherence is to become obligatory, lawyers will need to sort that meaning out, particularly if they could be disciplined for non-adherence. So what might follow for legal practitioners, who are ethically required to advance anything credible that might help their clients, regardless of personal (and political) feelings?

Commentators, and not just the most radical ones, regularly assert that the chiefs who signed the Treaty did not relinquish sovereignty. This is especially so for theorists who prioritise the Maori version  Te Tiriti'  over the English text, which is the terminology the Law Society report prefers.

The commonest modern Treaty-principles interpretation routinely articulated is that the Treaty created a partnership between two races. This stumbles on the obvious problem of how Maori citizens can partner with a government that represents everyone, including Maori citizens. Partnership actually requires two parties that are separate and that is where the logic of contemporary Treaty activism is leading  racial separatism. The end game in this long march of treaty activism through the institutions is to inculcate into our legal system this ideology. If the Treaty gets imported into the heart of legal system, this activism will have laid an enormous landmine in the underbrush.

Might lawyers, obligated to insert treaty principles into their practices, be obliged to submit that His Majesty's courts no longer have jurisdiction over their Maori clients? Might lawyers be hog-tied in representing landowners who face claims against their land constructed on Treaty-based arguments? Might clients lay complaints about counsel who decline to go down these paths? The law has a way of following the path it gets set on, regardless of what might or might not have been intended.

The modern legal meaning' of the Treaty was first given statutory imprimatur in 1986 when the government passed a bill to transfer state forests to separate entities. Maori objected, as some of the land was subject to Treaty claims, so a statutory clause was inserted requiring the Crown to act consistently with Treaty principles. Most considered the move a quiet fob-off' which would not make a difference, but the court of appeal subsequently gave the concept serious legal teeth. The judgment was also the first time the partnership doctrine' was promulgated.

The lesson with undefined terms is clear; don't put words into statutes if you don't want them to take on legal life. Because the statute will be used to give them that life. Lawyers who see where this Treaty-principles trajectory will ultimately land, have only a few more days to submit.
Stuff reports:

While they concede they will be named eventually, lawyers for the Mama Hooch sexual predators are fighting to keep their identities secret for now.

In one of the biggest prosecutions of its kind in New Zealand, the 40-year-old and 38-year-old men were convicted of dozens of crimes  including rape, sexual violation, indecent assault, and spiking drinks  after a two-month trial in the Christchurch District court that began in February.

For her client, defence lawyer Trudi Aickin said his relatives would suffer extreme hardship from his name being published.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
With Gasgoo Daily, we will offer daily important automotive news in China. For those we have reported, the title of the piece will include a hyperlink, which will provide detailed information.

BYD Han DM-i Champion, DM-p Zhanshen editions bag over 8,051 orders on first sales day

BYD announced that the two new models in its Han DM series, namely, the Han DM-i Champion and the Han DM-p Zhanshen, have together bagged over 8,051 vehicle orders on the first day they went on sale, with an average order value of more than 240,000 yuan.

Han DM-i Champion; photo credit: BYD

NIO said to invest in nuclear fusion tech startup Neo Fusion

Chinese electric vehicle maker NIO has invested 995 million yuan in a nuclear fusion technology startup called Neo Fusion, acquiring a 19.9% stake, according to insider sources and Neo Fusions registration documents seen by a media outlet. In addition, NIO Capital also invested 505 million yuan in Neo Fusion for a 10.1% stake.

Chery's all-new Tiggo 3x to hit market tonight

Chery's all-new Tiggo 3x is seemed byscheduled to hit the market on May 19 at 19:15 Beijing Time. The new Tiggo 3x features body measurements of 4,200mm long, 1,760mm wide, 1,570mm tall, with a 2,555mm wheelbase, providing excellent onboard space for users.

JOYNEXT, Horizon Robotics ally on advanced autonomous driving solution development

On May 19, Chinese automotive intelligence solution providers JOYNEXT and Horizon Robotics signed a strategic cooperation agreement in the high-level autonomous driving solution field.

NavInfo's high-precision assisted driving map greenlighted in Beijing

NavInfo, the Chinese automotive intelligence solution developer, has obtained approval for its high-precision assisted driving map by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources.

NIO applies for registration of Firefly-related trademarks

NIO Co., Ltd. has applied for the registration of several trademarks, including "NIO Firefly" and "Firefly NIO", under the international classifications of scientific instruments and building repairs, according to the Chinese corporation information inquiry platform Tianyancha. The current status of these trademarks is all "under application."

Japans Nidec opens South China Headquarters, R&D Center in Foshan city

Nidec Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer and distributor of electric motors, on May 18 held an opening ceremony for its South China Headquarters and R&D Center project, according to a post on Wenhan Lakeside, an official WeChat account of Foshan citys authority.

Baidu Apollo, China Mobile to co-develop 5G+BeiDou+V2X-enabled navigation system

On May 19, Baidu Apollo and Chinese telecommunication giant China Mobile announced their joint innovation project, "5G+BeiDou+V2X" intelligent transportation.

ThunderSoft launches 'Rubik' AI large model

Chinese software developer ThunderSoft, held its Thunder World 2023 event on May 18, unveiling the "Rubik" large model, which includes a range of products such as Rubik Device, Rubik Enterprise, Rubik Studio, and Rubik GeniusCanvas.

Chinese EDA startup X-EPIC completes strategic investment in Optima Design Automation

X-EPIC, a Chinese leading intelligent software and systems provider for EDA (Electronic Design Automation), announced on May 19 via its WeChat account that it has completed the strategic investment in Optima Design Automation, an Israel-based automotive electronic solution company.

Black Sesame Technologies to provide A1000L chips for Hongqi's FEEA3.0 electronic architecture platform

Black Sesame Technologies, a leading Chinese automotive chip supplier, announced on May 19 that it has been nominated as the supplier for FAW Group's Hongqi brand to provide intelligent driving chips for Hongqis next-generation FEEA3.0 electronic architecture platform.

Schaeffler inaugurates second R&D center in China

On May 18, Schaeffler Greater China inaugurated an new R&D center in Xiangjiang New Area, Changsha city, Hunan province, which is Schaeffler's second R&D base in China following the one located in Anting town, Shanghai city.

Gotion High-tech introduces L600 Qichen cell without NCM materials

On May 19th, Gotion High-tech launched its self-developed L600 Qichen battery cell and battery pack based on the new LFMP (lithium manganese iron phosphate) system at its 12th Technology Conference, according to the companys press release.
Smokin' Lefties Barbecue, consisting of brothers Dave and Jim Feders (center), are surrounded by two of the teams they'll face as defending grand champions in the 2023 Shenandoah ShenDig Barbecue Competition in July. Those teams are Hamburg Charter High School's Big Blue Barbecue (left) and the Essex School District's Grill Reapers (right).
Beijing (Gasgoo)- NavInfo, the Chinese automotive intelligence solution developer, has obtained approval for its high-precision assisted driving map by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources.

NavInfo's booth at Auto Shanghai 2023; photo credit: NavInfo

The permit is as part of the intelligent connected vehicle high-precision map pilot program initiated by the Commission, which made NavInfo the first company to receive an approval number for its high-precision assisted driving map in Beijing.

The map submitted by NavInfo covers the entire pilot area of Beijings intelligent connected vehicle high-precision map pilot program, including a 60-square-kilometer section of the Beijing High-level Automated Driving Demonstration Area (BJHAD) 2.0 in Yizhuang, Beijing.

NavInfo has actively complied with industry policy requirements and has obtained approval for its high-precision assisted driving maps in multiple Chinese cities so far.

Previously, NavInfo innovatively integrated traditional navigation maps, assisted driving maps, high-precision maps, and parking lot maps into a unified platform called OneMap. The platform addresses the challenges of map integration in intelligent driving systems and seamlessly supports interactions between the cockpit and the driving domain.

Up to now, NavInfos high-precision maps have covered 420,000 kilometers of national highways and urban expressways, as well as major national, provincial, and county roads in over 120 cities nationwide.
Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT  Get Rating) has received an average recommendation of Hold from the nineteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.81.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EAT. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $29.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Brinker International in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. They issued a neutral rating for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $42.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. 51job restated a reiterates rating on shares of Brinker International in a report on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd.

Get Brinker International alerts:

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brinker International

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Brinker International by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,609,433 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $251,158,000 after purchasing an additional 26,101 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,382,945 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $205,414,000 after buying an additional 102,122 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,069,331 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $129,852,000 after buying an additional 940,888 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Brinker International by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,654,811 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $63,148,000 after purchasing an additional 46,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. grew its position in Brinker International by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 1,643,652 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $36,209,000 after purchasing an additional 42,373 shares during the last quarter.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of Brinker International stock opened at $40.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 2.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.39. Brinker International has a fifty-two week low of $21.47 and a fifty-two week high of $42.12.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The restaurant operator reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.07 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 2.17% and a negative return on equity of 44.32%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Brinker International will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Brinker International Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Brinker International, Inc engages in owning, developing, and franchising Chilis Grill and Bar and Maggianos Little Italy restaurant brands. It operates through the following segments: Chilis, and Maggianos. The Chilis segment includes the results of company-owned Chilis restaurants in the U.S.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Brinker International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Brinker International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- NIO Co., Ltd. has applied for the registration of several trademarks, including "NIO Firefly" and "Firefly NIO", under the international classifications of scientific instruments and building repairs, according to the Chinese corporation information inquiry platform Tianyancha. The current status of these trademarks is all "under application."

Earlier, NIO's co-founder Qin Lihong indicated that the companys new brands were being energetically prepared. Among them, "Firefly" will be NIOs third brand, targeting the small-sized car market with an expected price range of 100,000 to 200,000 yuan. It is planned to debut in the European market and is scheduled for release in the third quarter of 2024.

Besides, the companys second brand code-named "ALPS" is planned for delivery next year as well.

NIO wishes to create two fire new brands that differentiate from the existing NIO brand, likely with the goal of expanding sales volume and capturing a larger market share. Compared to the high-end market priced at over 300,000 yuan, the 100,000 to 300,000 yuan range represents the mass market with the largest proportion. However, it is also one of the most fiercely competitive market.
Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA  Get Rating) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,495 shares of the aircraft producers stock after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotias holdings in Boeing were worth $8,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Boeing by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,200,241 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $5,472,845,000 after buying an additional 670,698 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Boeing by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,139,127 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $501,165,000 after purchasing an additional 263,999 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Boeing by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,814,461 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $538,970,000 after purchasing an additional 62,955 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Boeing by 24.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,603,989 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $307,163,000 after purchasing an additional 310,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Boeing by 125.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,139,143 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $218,147,000 after purchasing an additional 632,913 shares in the last quarter. 57.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Get Boeing alerts:

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Howard E. Mckenzie sold 412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.36, for a total value of $84,196.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,181 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,511,109.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.15% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Boeing Stock Up 0.2 %

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BA shares. 888 reissued a maintains rating on shares of Boeing in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Boeing from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Boeing in a report on Friday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Boeing from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Boeing from $230.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boeing has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $221.60.

Boeing stock opened at $207.24 on Friday. The firms fifty day moving average is $204.98 and its 200 day moving average is $197.57. The Boeing Company has a 52-week low of $113.02 and a 52-week high of $221.33.

Boeing (NYSE:BA  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The aircraft producer reported ($1.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.98) by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.56 billion. The firms quarterly revenue was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($2.75) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Boeing Company will post -0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Boeing

(Get Rating)

The Boeing Co is an aerospace company, which engages in the manufacture of commercial jetliners and defense, space, and security systems. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Airplanes (BCA), Defense, Space and Security (BDS), Global Services (BGS), and Boeing Capital (BCC). The Commercial Airplanes segment includes the development, production, and market of commercial jet aircraft and provides fleet support services, principally to the commercial airline industry worldwide.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Boeing Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Boeing and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Citizens Financial Group Inc RI reduced its stake in Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB  Get Rating) by 25.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,881 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 4,688 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc RIs holdings in Core Laboratories were worth $281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its position in Core Laboratories by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 8,198,544 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $259,320,000 after buying an additional 394,237 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Core Laboratories by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,348,572 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $42,663,000 after buying an additional 211,873 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its position in Core Laboratories by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 700,708 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $9,446,000 after buying an additional 192,579 shares in the last quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC lifted its position in Core Laboratories by 91.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 365,835 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $4,931,000 after buying an additional 174,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Core Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $2,630,000. 97.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Get Core Laboratories alerts:

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CLB shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Core Laboratories in a report on Thursday. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Core Laboratories from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Core Laboratories from $24.00 to $25.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Core Laboratories from $18.00 to $19.00 in a report on Monday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Core Laboratories from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $21.50 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. They noted that the move was a valuation call.

Core Laboratories Stock Up 0.9 %

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

Shares of CLB opened at $21.26 on Friday. Core Laboratories has a 52 week low of $13.19 and a 52 week high of $31.42. The firm has a market cap of $992.42 million, a P/E ratio of 42.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 2.67. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $21.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.38.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 8th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 5th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. Core Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.00%.

Core Laboratories Profile

(Get Rating)

Core Laboratories NV engages in the provision of proprietary and patented reservoir description, production enhancement, and reservoir management services to the oil and gas industry. It operates through the Reservoir Description segment and Production Enhancement segment. The Reservoir Description segment encompasses the characterization of petroleum reservoir rock, fluid, and gas samples and provides analytical and field services to characterize properties of crude oil and petroleum products.

Featured Stories

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CLB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Core Laboratories Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Core Laboratories and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU  Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 17th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the bank on Monday, July 10th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th.

Community Bank System has increased its dividend by an average of 3.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Community Bank System has a dividend payout ratio of 50.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Community Bank System to earn $3.55 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 49.6%.

Get Community Bank System alerts:

Community Bank System Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CBU opened at $48.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.80 and a 200-day moving average of $57.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Community Bank System has a 12 month low of $44.26 and a 12 month high of $72.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Insider Activity at Community Bank System

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TheStreet downgraded Community Bank System from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Community Bank System from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on Community Bank System in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a sell rating for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Community Bank System in a report on Tuesday, March 14th. They set a buy rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Community Bank System from $54.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $59.80.

In other news, Director Brian R. Ace sold 4,148 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.54, for a total transaction of $251,119.92. Following the sale, the director now owns 63,011 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,814,685.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Brian R. Ace sold 4,148 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.54, for a total transaction of $251,119.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 63,011 shares in the company, valued at $3,814,685.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sally A. Steele purchased 2,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $53.46 per share, with a total value of $106,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,585 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $245,114.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community Bank System

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Community Bank System during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Community Bank System during the second quarter worth $32,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Community Bank System by 82.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 585 shares of the banks stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Community Bank System in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Community Bank System during the 2nd quarter worth about $104,000. 71.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Community Bank System Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Community Bank System, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of retail, business, and municipal banking services. It operates through the following segments: Banking, Employee Benefit Services, and All Other. The Banking segment offers lending and depository-related products and services to individuals, businesses, and municipal enterprises.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Community Bank System Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Community Bank System and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR  Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday morning. The firm issued a sell rating on the utilities providers stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on NJR. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $46.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $48.50.

Get New Jersey Resources alerts:

New Jersey Resources Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NJR traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $49.33. 557,434 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 504,111. The stocks 50-day moving average is $52.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.65. New Jersey Resources has a 12 month low of $38.07 and a 12 month high of $55.84.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

New Jersey Resources ( NYSE:NJR Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 14.22% and a net margin of 10.94%. The business had revenue of $644.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that New Jersey Resources will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. New Jersey Resourcess payout ratio is 51.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other New Jersey Resources news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.04, for a total value of $250,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 180,372 shares of the companys stock, valued at $9,025,814.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other New Jersey Resources news, CEO Stephen D. Westhoven sold 5,000 shares of New Jersey Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.04, for a total value of $250,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,372 shares in the company, valued at $9,025,814.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 2,040 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.00, for a total value of $104,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 38,129 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,944,579. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On New Jersey Resources

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in New Jersey Resources by 116.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 676 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of New Jersey Resources in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.09% of the companys stock.

New Jersey Resources Company Profile

(Get Rating)

New Jersey Resources Corp. is a holding company. The firm provides safe and reliable natural gas and clean energy services, including transportation, distribution, asset management and home services. It operates through the following segments: Natural Gas Distribution, Clean Energy Ventures, Energy Services, Storage and Transportation, and Home Services and Other.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for New Jersey Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for New Jersey Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund (NYSE:EOD  Get Rating) announced a monthly dividend on Wednesday, May 17th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 13th will be given a dividend of 0.107 per share by the closed-end fund on Monday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 30.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 12th.

Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 4.2% annually over the last three years.

Get Wells Fargo Advantage Funds - Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund alerts:

Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund Price Performance

NYSE EOD opened at $4.25 on Friday. The stocks 50 day moving average is $4.34 and its 200 day moving average is $4.59. Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund has a 12 month low of $4.12 and a 12 month high of $5.23.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund

About Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EOD. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,051,380 shares of the closed-end funds stock valued at $5,572,000 after buying an additional 173,492 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 938,773 shares of the closed-end funds stock valued at $4,976,000 after acquiring an additional 100,787 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund by 88.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 142,219 shares of the closed-end funds stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 66,810 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,359,996 shares of the closed-end funds stock worth $10,313,000 after buying an additional 45,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund by 59.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 120,489 shares of the closed-end funds stock worth $639,000 after buying an additional 44,917 shares in the last quarter.

(Get Rating)

Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. It is co-managed by Crow Point Partners, LLC and Wells Capital Management Incorporated. The fund invests in the public equity markets across the globe.

Read More

Receive News & Ratings for Wells Fargo Advantage Funds - Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wells Fargo Advantage Funds - Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
In this July 4, 2019 file photo, Uncle Sam makes his way around the Angola Fourth of July parade route. The official parade, as well as all other festivities, has been canceled, but a private effort at a parade is underway for the Fourth that will follow a route similar to the traditional parade route.
MONTREALDillon Diaz, Zeno Rey and Jake Waters lead a stellar cast in Steamy Encounters, the newest release from Dillon Diaz, Zeno Rey and Jake Waters lead a stellar cast in Steamy Encounters, the newest release from Mile High Media s gay studio Noir Male . The movie is now available on all platforms.

The performers share their passion and cover of the debut chapter of the new series that showcases handsome young men in captivating sexual encounters. The cast also includes Armond Rizzo, DeAngelo Jackson, Nick Fitt, Zario Travezz August Alexander and Xavier Zane in four scenes of hardcore, bareback sex.

Box art and release information is available here

Dillon, Zeno and Jake bring the passion in a steamy three-way encounter, the perfect scene to launch this new series, said Jon Blitt, vice president of Mile High Media. The energy and chemistry are off the charts as we take you from one wild scene to another in true Noir Male fashion.

Steamy Encounters opens with And then There Was Three, starring Diaz, Rey and Water; followed by The Hookup, with Travezz and Jackson; then by Tempt Me, with Fitt and Zane; and finally, by Sous Le Chef, with Rizzo and Alexander.

For the latest information, exclusive content and Behind-the-Scenes previews, follow Noir Male on Twitter, @NoirMaleXXX and Instagram @OfficialNoirMale
Former 2NE1 Sandara Park, who will turn 40 in Korean age next year, declared she's not getting married, and revealed the reason for this.

What made the icon decide to not settle down?

Why Is Sandara Park Not Planning To Get Married? 'I saw too many people who...'

Several Korean celebrities have been tying the knot since 2022, such as Son Ye Jin and Hyun Bin, EXO Chen and his non-showbiz partner, and more.

Meanwhile, Sandara Park, who will turn 40 next year in Korean age, remains firm in her decision to not get married.

On May 18, a preview of the YouTube web show, "No Back Tak Jae Hoon," featured Sandara Park as its upcoming guest for next week's episode.

In the short clip then, Tak Jae Hoon asked Sandara Park:

"Why aren't you getting married?"

The idol then replied without hesitation, saying:

"I'm a non-maritalist."

Hearing this, MC Tak Jae Hoon expressed his curiosity about the reason and continued asking:

"Why, do you hate men that much? Or what?"

Looking at him, Sandara Park savagely responded:

"I've seen too many people who had failed (marriage) around me."

Looking at Dara's straightforwardness with a teasing grin, Tak stared at the star with a blank face, drawing laughter.

In particular, Tak Jae Hoon is a dolsing (divorced) man who married his wife but parted ways later. He had a son and a daughter from his ex-wife. He got married to a younger former model in 2001 and got divorced in 2015.

Sandara Park's Past Relationships, Activities

Meanwhile, Sandara Park made her debut in the Philippines in 2004 and began her career as a 2NE1 member in 2009.

In her 19-year career, she only dated 1 person in public, and that was when she was still in the Philippines. She went out with the Filipino actor Joseph Bitangcol in 2005, but they broke up in 2007.

After that, Dara went back to Korea and started her own career in her home country.

Since then, she didn't have any public relationships. However, Dara also hinted that she had been dating in private.

In the past, she was even linked to numerous K-pop idols including BIGBANG G-Dragon, Super Junior Donghae, SHINee Minho, Kim Soo Hyun and more. Nevertheless, Dara didn't confirm any of those dating rumors.

From 2022 to this year, the idol has been repeatedly declaring her non-marriage position, mentioning that she wants to enjoy her singlehood even more.

Meanwhile, after the 2NE1 disbandment, Sandara Park has been focused on her career as an entertainer, appearing in various variety and reality shows.

Currently, she's active as a cast of Channel A's "Men's Life These Days - Groom's Class."

Dara also hinted that her solo comeback will finally happen sometime this 2023, raising BLACKJACK's anticipation of her return to the music scene.

For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz.

KpopStarz owns this article.

Written by Eunice Dawson.




US hegemony Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

(Global Times) While accusing other countries of using their great power status to ensure obedience, the US is the actual instigator of coercive diplomacy, with a disgraceful "dark history" that has caused immense suffering for the world, particularly developing countries, which have borne the brunt of its actions. Even the US' allies and partners have not been spared from it, said a report released by China's Xinhua News Agency on Thursday.

Experts said the report was published just at the right time ahead of the G7 summit to reveal the US' treacherous purpose in concealing its own behavior of coercive diplomacy and economic coercion by sticking such labels on China.

Titled "America's Coercive Diplomacy and Its Harm," the report exposed the evil deeds of US coercive diplomacy in the world and allows the international community to better understand the hegemonic and bullying nature of US diplomacy, and the serious damage caused by US actions to the development of all countries, regional stability and world peace.

Today, coercive diplomacy is a standard instrument in the US foreign policy toolbox. From economic sanctions and technical blockades to political isolation and threat of force, the US has demonstrated what coercive diplomacy is to the world through its own actions.

Developing countries are the "worst-hit areas" of America's coercive diplomacy. For over half a century, countries including Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, Iran, Belarus, Sudan, Russia, and China have all been subjected to coercive diplomacy by the US.

Violating the principle of fair trade and imposing tariffs on China, the tech blockade against China in the semiconductor sector, using state power to suppress China's high-tech enterprises on China alone, the US has spared no efforts to bring about all-round suppression, even coercing its Western allies to side with it in targeting China.

Developing countries aren't its only victims. The US has shown no mercy in applying such coercive diplomacy on its allies. For example, in the 1980s when Japan's GDP reached half of the US', Washington forced Tokyo to sign the "Plaza Accord" which eventually led to the long-term stagnation of the Japanese economy.

In recent years, the US wielded the stick of tariffs at Europe and interfered in market competition. In 2018, the US government imposed tariffs on up to 25 percent and 10 percent on steel and aluminum products in regions including the EU. In January 2021, to improve Boeing's competitive advantage, the US announced tariffs of up to 15 percent on imports from France and Germany, including aircraft parts, involving a total value of $7.5 billion.

The report was published just in time ahead of The Group of Seven (G7) summit, where one important theme, under US dominance, is to stick the label of coercive diplomacy on China. This could help the international community see through the US' treacherous purpose in smearing China to cover its own behavior of coercive diplomacy and economic coercion, Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The G7 summit in Hiroshima will be held from Friday to Sunday. According to media reports, G7 leaders will discuss concerns about China's so-called economic coercion in its dealings abroad as part of their larger joint statement.

Li pointed out that to suppress China's development momentum for its own selfish gains, the US has continually created conflict and harmed prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region through economic and diplomatic coercion, as well as by wooing its allies. He added that what the US has done in the past 30 years across the world has clearly shown that it is the greatest source of danger and disruption to regional stability and order.

The US is the inventor and master of coercive diplomacy, said the report. As US scholars have pointed out, the essence of US coercive diplomacy lies in the idea that "you are either with us or against us. The US should lead, and its allies should follow, and countries that oppose the supremacy of the US will suffer."

China's diplomacy, in contrast, seeks to uphold the equality of all countries large and small, and never to divide the world into different groups or engage in the practice of coercion and bullying. To slander China for engaging in so-called coercive diplomacy is obviously just making trumped-up charges, the report concluded.












The 2nd Experts Meeting on the Migration Partnership between Sri Lanka and Switzerland was held on 16 May 2023 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting was co-chaired by Director General/Europe & North America the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka Shobini Gunasekera, and Ambassador Vincenzo Mascioli Director of International Affairs, State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) of Switzerland.

The meeting reviewed the progress made under the Migration Partnership since its launch in 2016 and discussed the priorities and challenges for the future. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing bilateral cooperation on migration issues. They also exchanged views on current migration trends, developments, and avenues for promoting employment opportunities in Switzerland for skilled workers from Sri Lanka. Both sides agreed to explore possible future cooperation in the hospitality sector, especially sustainable tourism and also in the fields of vocational training, skills development and sustainable reintegration.

The Swiss delegation extended their appreciation towards Sri Lanka for its excellent cooperation in matters related to migration. Senior officials of relevant line ministries and government agencies including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labour & Foreign Employment, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Tourism & Lands, Ministry of Urban Development, Department of Immigration & Emigration, Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission, Vocational Training Authority, Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management participated in the discussion.

Read More: www.mfa.gov.lk

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

18 May 2023



View PDF
New Delhi [India], May 19 (ANI/SRV): 3AI, India's largest platform for AI and Analytics leaders, professionals, and aspirants, recently launched a first-of-its kind initiative in the AI and Analytics Industry: 3AI ChangeMakers Circle (CMC). 3AI CMC is a forum for emerging AI and Analytics leaders, progressive professionals, change catalysts, subject matter experts, and practitioners in the AI, Analytics, Data Sciences and Data Engineering arena.

3AI CMC is a novel initiative that taps into a large segment of progressive AI and Analytics professionals that are on the cusp of leadership and on the verge of attaining bigger and wider work roles. At 3AI CMC, they will interact with the best of the best, like minded professionals, build their thought leadership persona, get opportunities to showcase their knowledge potential, and augment their capabilities and competencies amongst being with the best.

Also Read | IPL 2023: Been a Beautiful Transition for Us Coming Together for RCB, Says Virat Kohli on Batting With Faf du Plessis.

"The 3AI ChangeMakers Circle is an enabler to unleash and empower emerging AI and Analytics leaders and professionals with opportunities to grow and showcase their AI and Analytics prowess" said Mr. Kapil Gandhi, COO, 3AI.

In less than three years, the 3AI platform has now created a milestone of reaching 26,000+ active and fast-increasing members representing 980+ organisations from 24 geographies, along with representation of top-of-line, by-invite 650+ AI and Analytics thought leaders from 580+ organisations. In addition to India, 3AI has geographical presence in the US, the UK, the Middle East, and Australia.

Also Read | Iran Executes Three Men Linked to Amini Protests: Judiciary.

The platform has scaled tremendously and has formidable and entrenched access to 1.5 million data, technology, analytics, and AI professionals, 13000+ C-suite members, and outreach with 125+ academic institutions with access to 4,00,000 students. 3AI also works with 95+ partner enterprises with differentiated programmes to accentuate their branding and visibility, build and augment their thought leadership quotient, promote talent advocacy and outreach, and enhance professional development.

Furthermore, 3AI will enable emerging and progressive leaders to come together as one to build visibility and mindshare, get mentored by top-line 3AI Thought Leaders, showcase their AI and Analytics prowess with curated speaking and publishing interventions, share pertinent knowledge interventions with 26000+ 3AI members and the larger ecosystem, and augment professional development with intimate in-person networking sessions.

About 3AI, it is India's largest platform for AI & Analytics leaders, professionals, and aspirants. The platform is focused on democratising the AI and Analytics thought leadership quotient for leaders and partner enterprises at scale. With 650+ thought leaders representing 590+ organisations and 26,000+ active and fast-increasing members representing 980+ organisations across India, the USA, the UK, the Middle East, and Australia, 3AI is revolutionising the AI and analytics ecosystem.

For more information, please write to cmc@3ai.in.

This story has been provided by SRV. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New technologies are not always well received, drawing skepticism, worries and fears. But why? A look at the history of technology provides some insight.Technological advancements are polarizing. It's not a new phenomenon for innovations to be sneered at, criticized or even demonized. "We find skepticism about technology even in the earliest written records that we have about technology theory, technology philosopher and historian Christian Vater told DW.

Also Read | Government Asks Airlines To Exercise Moderation and Ensure Balance in Pricing Tickets Amid Spike in Airfares After Suspension of Flights by Crisis-Hit Go First.

He adds that there are various reasons for this skepticism: The complexity of technological inventions and the associated lack of knowledge or understanding, for example the fear of losing control or even emotionality.

Also Read | India News | NIA Arrests Two wanted Aides of Terrorist Arsh Dhalla at Delhi Airport.

But skepticism toward new technologies is not proof of a general fear of technology, according to Helmuth Trischler, head of research at Deutsches Museum, Munich. "Behind this assumption is a limited perception  it's good that people examine things rationally," he says.

The difference between a rational assessment of possible consequences to technology and an irrational, uncontrolled defensiveness towards technology is also emphasized by Vater, who distinguishes between concern and panic. "I consider 'concern' to be very legitimate and extraordinarily necessary, especially if we want to actively, jointly shape a future shaped by technology in an informed democracy. 'Panic', however, typically leads to uncontrolled running away."

The fact that technological inventions can inspire both concern and panic in equal measure can be seen in the example of the railroad. People were initially skeptical of it too.

Diabolical conveyance: The railroad

Some 200 years after its invention, the railroad is a completely ordinary form of transportation for people and goods around the world and a part of the fabric of modern society. But in its early days, some people perceived the railroad as the work of the devil.

The world's first public railroad was inaugurated in England in 1825. After that, the steam locomotive made its fast, loud and smoky way across Europe  and with it, the fear of trains and of what was known in Germany as "Eisenbahnkrankheit or "railway sickness. This was thought to be caused by the speed of up to 30 kph  considered fast back then  and the bone-rattling vibrations while sitting in the carriages.

Even as the railway network grew throughout Victorian England, the criticism of this method of transportation remained strong, as evidenced by satirical caricatures and illustrated police reports.

Trischler says these reactions are "compeltely understandable within the context of their time. Technological advancements require reorientation, which can spark fears to which people react with dire prognoses and apprehension. "The new does, after all, arouse emotions. Technology is basically always associated with emotions," he explains.

Fear of the split atom

But not every technological invention inevitably evokes negative emotions. For instance, when nuclear energy was new, the attitude was different. The first German research reactor was built in Munich in 1957, and four years later, nuclear energy was fed into the power grid in the country for the first time. In the 1960s, atomic energy was seen as an inexpensive and clean alternative to oil and coal and encouraged hopes for a renewed industrial upswing.

The first critical voices grew loud in Germany in 1975, when the construction site of a planned nuclear plant was occupied by protestors. Critics in the southwestern German town of Wyhl warned of climate change, ground water drawdown and possible security problems in connection with nuclear plants. The anti-nuclear movement gained momentum and events such as the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979 in the United States or the meltdown at Chernobyl in 1986 further spread fear and worry among parts of the population. Nuclear energy was a subject of debate in Germany for decades, until the accident at Fukushima in Japan in 2011 finally led to the German government deciding to phase it out for good.

While in some parts of the world, nuclear energy is still seen as a good alternative to fossil fuels, in some countries it evokes almost existential angst. "When we think about why people are concerned when it comes to nuclear energy, we can point to the question of nuclear waste, to Chernobyl or Fukushima. In other words, to man-made or nature-dependent situations with technological failures and unsolved technical problems," says Vater.

But both academics see a democratic success story in the debate over nuclear energy. Vater emphasizes that a society, "if it does not want to become technocratic, but wants to remain a participatory democracy," is dependent on goodwill, understanding and support from its members. Trischler concludes that, "something can emerge from the debate about technology skepticism," and adds that it's about a society's struggle for co-determination and joint negotiation.

Man versus machine?

How fine the line can become between goodwill and skepticism, support and rejection, is illustrated by the current debate over AI. The American computer and cognitive scientist John McCarthy coined the phrase "artificial intelligence in 1956 to describe a discipline of computer science with the goal of creating machines with human-like intellectual capabilities.

After decades of developments in the field of AI, debate over the topic has focused of late on, among other things, the chatbot ChatGPT, which was released in November 2022 that immediately sparked controversy. In March 2023, Italy responded by becoming the first country to block the software, at least temporarily. It's now allowed again, but only with proof of the user's age.

Despite the many advantages AI promises  for example improved health care or increased road safety  there is also a great deal of criticism of the technology. The fears seem to run in two directions. Some worry about possible misuse, fakes or disinformation and about their professional future and intellectual property. Others are afraid of future technical developments that could gradually give AI more power and thus result in a loss of human control.

Trischler sees the fear of AI in general as rooted in the complexity of the technology. "Worries arise especially with regard to large technical systems that seem anonymous." According to Vater, questions about, for instance, what impact AI might actually have on one's profession are rational concerns as opposed to a blanket fear of the machine. "To predict that the spread of AI will make all human creative effort superfluous, and that machines will take over the world in the near future, that would be panic.

Skepticism raises questions

So is a certain degree of skepticism towards new technologies a normal, understandable human reaction? Christian Vater and Helmuth Trischler think it is.

"In hindsight, we often see that these fears have not materialized, says Trischler, but they are understandable when seen in the context of their time.

The ability to make predictions is useful, "because it helps us to tune in to the next steps in development as a group, as a society, perhaps even as humanity," Vater summarizes. "It's actually the normal situation that things then don't turn out as we expected."

This article was originally written in German.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 19, 2023 04:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).


On Wednesday, Montana governor Greg Gianforte didnt only ban TikTok state-wide. He also accused Telegram, WeChat, and the shopping app Temu of being tied to foreign adversaries and directed that they and similar apps be banned from government devices and all state business. Gianforte also cited TikTok owner ByteDances CapCut video editor and Lemon8 as examples of offending apps.

With this ban, Gianforte largely seems to be targeting apps with ties to China, given that ByteDance, Temu owner Pinduoduo, and WeChat owner Tencent are all based in the country.

Telegram is the exception: Gianfortes letter claims that the app was founded in Russia and that the Russian government uses the app to monitor users and obtain personal, sensitive, confidential information, perhaps referencing Wireds February report. However, Telegram spokesperson Remi Vaughn tells The Verge that the legal entity controlling Telegram at launch was located in the British Virgin Islands. Telegram is currently headquartered in Dubai. Vaughn also said that Telegram has never provided user data to the Russian government and that the apps messages are securely encrypted and cannot be intercepted.

Montanas new policy will be in effect on June 1st. The list of devices that cant have the apps includes all state-issued cell phones, laptops, tablets, desktop computers, and other devices which connect to the internet. And the ban wont just apply to government employees: Gianforte says that any third-party firms conducting business for or on behalf of the State of Montana shall not use these applications.

ianforte had already blocked TikTok on government devices or devices connected to the state network as of December, so this expands that policy to a suite of other major apps. WeChat and Telegram Messenger are widely-used for chats, for example, and shopping app Temu is currently the most popular free app in the US in the App Store and Google Play. If the offending apps are currently downloaded on any devices, Gianforte has instructed them to be immediately removed.

Despite Gianfortes claims its well-documented that TikTok provides personal information and data to the Chinese Communist Party, its unclear if owner ByteDance actually relays that data back to the government. But as we reported in March, Congress doesnt seem particularly interested in the answers  many have already made up their minds.
Lucknow, May 19 (PTI) The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday dismissed an appeal filed by the Uttar Pradesh government in 2004 against Union Minister Ajay Mishra's acquittal in a murder case.

The case pertains to the murder of Prabhat Gupta which took place in Lakhimpur Kheri in 2000.

Also Read | Sundar Pichai's Ancestral House Bought by Tamil Actor C Manikandan in Chennai.

A trial court had acquitted Mishra in the case in 2004, after which, the state government challenged the decision in the high court.

A bench of Justice AR Masoodi and Justice OP Shukla said there was no error in the trial court's order.

Also Read | IAS Officer Transfer News: Rajasthan Government Transfers 11 IAS Officers, Check Full List.

Mishra and others were named in the FIR lodged in Lakhimpur in connection with the murder of 24-year-old Gupta, who was shot dead in Tikunia area of the district.

A court of additional sessions judge in Lakhimpur Kheri had acquitted Mishra and others in 2004 for want of adequate evidence.

Aggrieved by the acquittals, the state government had preferred an appeal while the deceased's family had filed a separate revision petition challenging the judgement.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Darbhanga, May 19: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said that he has accepted the Congress' invitation to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka's new Chief Minister and his cabinet on May 20. He further said that efforts are underway to "unite" the Opposition as it would be in the "interest" of the whole nation.

"They (Congress) had a massive win (in Karnataka). I am in contact with the CM designate. He and Congress President also invited me to the swearing-in ceremony, so I told them that I will come...if Opposition parties come together, that will be in the interest of the nation, efforts are underway for that," Kumar said while talking to the media persons here. Karnataka CM Swearing-In Ceremony: DK Shivakumar Informs Precautions Taken To Ensure Smooth Conduct of CET 2023 at Exam Centres Near Venue in Bengaluru, Students Asked To Report Two Hours Prior.

Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar has been meeting Opposition leaders to strengthen the bloc against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Karnataka CM Swearing-in Ceremony Date, Time & Venue: Siddharamaiah Is Chief Minister, DK Shivakumar Deputy CM; Check Who All Are Invited for Oath-Taking Event.

Kumar had caught the national imagination with his pitch for a "united opposition" which, he believes, can take on and defeat the BJP in next year's Lok Sabha polls. The JD(U) supreme leader, who stunned the BJP last year when he snapped ties will visit Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar later in the day.

Several leaders including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot have reached Bengaluru to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Karnataka Cabinet. The oath ceremony will take place on Saturday in Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru.

Congress on Thursday invited the leaders of like-minded parties to the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar scheduled on May 20.

As per the sources, the invitation has also been sent to like-minded opposition parties and their leaders including Hemant Soren, Sitaram Yechuri, Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and Farooq Abdullah, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

(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], May 19 (ANI): The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Friday said that the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) (UG) 2023 examination scheduled for May 21 to 25, 2023 is cancelled in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir adding that exams will now be conducted from May 26 onwards.

"In continuation to the public notice dated: May 19, 2023, and press note dated: 19 May 2023, it has been decided that the CUET (UG) - 2023 examination scheduled for May 21 to May 25, 2023, is cancelled in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir," the official statement said.

Also Read | Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyys Diplomatic Tour Highlights Vladimir Putins Stark Isolation.

"Being sensitive to the needs of candidates and to facilitate the students of Jammu and Kashmir, the NTA is exploring the possibility of creating temporary Centres in Kashmir. In view of the above, it has been decided that the CUET (UG) - 2023 will now be conducted from May 26 onwards in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir," the statement added.

NTA said that a total of 87,309 (Eighty-seven thousand three hundred nine) unique candidates have been registered from the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

Also Read | Arjun Ram Meghwals Promotion Will Make People of Rajasthan Happy, Says CM Ashok Gehlot.

Earlier today Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has assured him that the issue related to the allotment of examination centres for CUET (UG) 2023 in J-K will be addressed on priority.

"Discussed the matter relating to exam centres for the scheduled Common University Entrance Test (CUET) with Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan and requested CUET centres in J-K UT. He has assured that the issue will be addressed on priority," J-K LG Sinha said.

NTA issued the CUET Undergraduate admit cards for examinations to be held from May 21-24.

Candidates can download their admit cards at cuet.samarth.ac.in

The CUET (UG) - 2023 has been scheduled for 14, 99, 778 (Fourteen Lacs, ninety-nine thousand, seven hundred and seventy-eight) candidates who have opted for 64,35,050 Test Papers.

The examination is being conducted by NTA in Computer Based Test (CBT) Mode for about 14.99 lacs candidates at various Examination Centres located in 295 cities across India and abroad. (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, May 19 (PTI) The Congress on Friday alleged that hype was being created around Prime Minister Narendra Modi's participation in the G7 summit in Japan through "fake narratives", and said this "drum-beating" serves the purpose of erasing the continuity of governance and contribution of previous governments.

Prime Minister Modi on Friday embarked on a tour of Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia to attend three key multilateral summits including that of the G7 grouping and Quad.

Also Read | Dhirendra Shastri Aka Baba Bageshwar Dham Sarkar, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari Fined by Traffic Police in Patna for Not Wearing Seat Belts.

In the first leg of his trip, Modi is visiting the Japanese city of Hiroshima from May 19 to 21 primarily for the annual summit of the G7 advanced economies in which he is expected to speak on challenges facing the globe, including food, fertiliser and energy security.

Taking a swipe at the prime minister, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "The hype factory around the self-styled Vishwaguru attending the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in Japan has started manufacturing fake narratives."

Also Read | Murder After Sex in Nagpur! Man Kills Gay Partner After They Have Sex and Alcohol in Khapri Village, Arrested.

"Here's the reality: Summits of developed countries started way back in 1976. India was invited along with few other countries for the first time in 2003. Dr. Manmohan Singh attended such G7+ Summits regularly," he said.

"So all this drum-beating serves the purpose of not only self-glorification of The Great Leader, but also erasing the continuity of governance and contribution of previous governments," Ramesh said.

From Japan, Modi will travel to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea where he will host the third summit of the Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) on May 22 jointly with Prime Minister James Marape.

In the third and final leg of the trip, Modi will visit Australia from May 22 to 24.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], May 19 (ANI): Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, without naming anyone hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Union Home Minister Amit Shah saying there are two people in Gujarat who are "sellers" while two are "buyers".

Baghel was reacting to Shah's remark where he said four Gujaratis-Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Morarji Desai and Narendra Modi-have made significant contributions to the modern history of India.

Also Read | Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyys Diplomatic Tour Highlights Vladimir Putins Stark Isolation.

"Gujarat has given many prominent personalities who became famous nationally and globally. Everyone knows about Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. "Gujarat has produced great saints and social reformers but in this modern time, there are four people in Gujarat, two are sellers and two are buyers," said CM Baghel.

Speaking in Gujarati at a function organized on the occasion of the completion of 125 years of Delhi Gujarati Samaj, Shah said that Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Morarji Desai and Narendra Modi are those four Gujaratis who made significant contributions to the modern history of India.

Also Read | G7 Summit 2023: Leaders Reaffirm Commitment To Achieve World Without Nuclear Weapons While Ensuring Security for All.

Shah said that the country got independence due to the efforts of Gandhiji, the country became united due to Sardar Patel, the country's democracy was revived due to Morarji Desai and India is being celebrated across the world due to Narendra Modi.

"These four Gujaratis have achieved great things and they are the pride of the entire nation," said the Home Minister.

Meanwhile, CM Baghel also attacked the PM over his silence in the matter of wrestlers staging a protest in Delhi against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh over an alleged sexual harassment case against him and said that even though the POCSO Act has been imposed in the case, the accused is roaming freely so the law is different for BJP MP and the entire country.

Further slamming the Modi-led BJP government at the centre, which is completing its 9 years this month, Baghel said that to mark the completion of nine years, BJP will be honouring those who are purchasing costly petrol, diesel and household LPG cylinders.

"Moreover, they (BJP) will also facilitate those who got the toilets on paper," 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)
Mumbai, May 19 (PTI) The cyber police in Mumbai arrested 12 persons who were part of an interstate gang involved in duping people of lakhs by asking them to perform various tasks on online, an official said on Friday.

Also Read | Punjab Shocker: Angry Over Howling, Miscreants Poison 20 Dogs to Death in Khanna Town.

The cyber police busted the racket while probing different cases of fraud registered at different police stations, he said. In one such case registered at East Region Cyber police station, the complainant was duped of more than Rs 10 lakh between January 10 and February 10 this year, the official said.

Also Read | RBI Withdraws Rs 2,000 Currency Notes From Circulation, To Continue As Legal Tender; Last Date To Exchange September 30.

The accused had contacted the victim through WhatsApp and Telegram app and offered money for liking some videos on YouTube and had initially also paid the complainant, he said.

The fraudsters then asked the complainant to deposit money to get a new task promising more profits in return, following which the latter deposited Rs 10.87 lakh, the official said.

The complainant then contacted the police when no money was returned to him, he said.

During the course of the probe, the police nabbed three persons from Jogeshwari area, the official said.

Another person was duped of Rs 27.2 lakh after fraudsters promised him part-time job opportunities in March, while an interior designer from south Mumbai lost Rs 25.35 lakh in a similar fraud last month, he said.

As many as nine persons were arrested in connection with both these cases, the official said, adding that the accused originally hailed from Rajasthan.

The cyber police's probe revealed that the accused were a part of a larger syndicate, and the accounts in which the victims deposited the money were linked to each other, he said.

While some of the accused worked independently, the high-ranking members of the interstate gang were connected with each other, the official said.

The police are on the lookout for the main accused behind the racket, he added.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Guwahati (Assam) [India] May 19 (ANI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that schemes like Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana are serving as a great help for a state like Assam which suffers from perennial floods.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Natural Farming Conclave at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati, the Assam Chief Minister said that the scheme has benefitted the farmers in safeguarding themselves from the perennial flood crisis.

Also Read | Congress Slams PM Narendra Modi Over Withdrawal of Rs 2,000 Currency Notes, Says 'Typical of Our Self-Styled Vishwaguru'.

It may be noted that financial assistance to the tune of Rs 236 crore under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Yojana was provided to over 3 lakh farmers of the state in the last three seasons.

Chief Minister Sarma said that central and state governments provided the premium free of cost as only Rs 100 is taken as interest from the farmers. This is a significant step towards providing economic security to the farmers.

Also Read | Rs 2000 Note Exchange Facility Available Till September 30, Says RBI After It Announces To Withdraw the Banknotes From Circulation.

Sarma also said that for those farmers who sell their milk through a cooperative society, the State government will give them Rs 5 per litre as a subsidy.

The Assam Chief Minister thanking the agriculture department for organizing the conclave said that Natural Farming is bound to stay as an alternative mode of agriculture because though modern inorganic agriculture gives high yields, it leads to depletion of soil quality as well as the environment.

Therefore, the state government is trying to make good use of Natural Farming to increase agricultural produce and help in doubling the farmers' income, he said.

He also said that farmers should come forward for natural farming and make it a Jan Andolan and make Assam a model state in natural farming, as it is a way forward towards health and wealth.

Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat who inaugurated the conclave by lighting the ceremonial lamp also addressed the conclave. Agriculture Minister Atul Bora also spoke on the occasion.

Several agriculture scientists and progressive farmers were present on the occasion.

Earlier, Gujarat Governor Devvrat along with CM Sarma inaugurated an exhibition where several organic products of local entrepreneurs were on display. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Faridkot (Punjab) [India], May 19 (ANI): A Labrador dog named Simmy, who is part of the Punjab Police Canine squad, beats cancer and is back on its duty to serve the nation, said a police officer for the Punjab police dog Squad.

According to the police, the seven-year-old canine handled by his handler Head Constable Kulbir Singh is exceptional when it comes to detecting any intoxicating substances. In the past, Simmy has conducted numerous successful operations.

Also Read | TN 11th Result 2023 Declared: Tamil Nadu HSE Plus 1 Result Announced At tnresults.nic.in; Know Steps to Check Score.

"Dog Simmy was suffering from cancer for a long time and was getting treated at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in Ludhiana and now her health has improved. She helps in anti-sabotage checking, in the past, she helped the Police to seize intoxicating substances from a foreigner," Harjit Singh, SSP, Faridkot

"These dog squads are very good at detecting explosives and drugs during checking devices and very helpful for district police," said the SSP. (ANI)

Also Read | G20 Summit 2023: CRPF Commandos Conduct Special Drill in Jammu and Kashmir's Dal Lake as Part of Security Preparedness (Watch Video).

(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], May 18 (ANI): After the Supreme Court stayed the order of the West Bengal government banning the screening of the film 'The Kerala Story' across the state, the lawyer of filmmaker Sudipto Sen said that there cannot be direct or indirect restrictions on the exhibition of the film.

"Today we have the stay on the ban imposed by West Bengal. As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, the statement is recorded. So the exhibition can go on the Tamil Nadu basis today by the council and there can't be direct or indirect restrictions on the exhibition of the film. The matter is all posted and they reopen on July 18. Protection will be provided to those who wanted to watch the film," Ameet Naik said.

Also Read | Mexico Finds 49 Kidnapped Migrants.

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the order of the West Bengal government banning the screening of the film 'The Kerala Story' across the state.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala took into the record the assurance of the Tamil Nadu government that there is no direct or indirect ban on the film.

Also Read | Jammu and Kashmir: Indian Army Medical Staff Help Woman Deliver Baby Girl at Sadhna Pass in Kupwara.

It directed the Tamil Nadu government that adequate security shall be provided to every cinema hall and requisite arrangements shall be made to ensure the safety of moviegoers.

West Bengal on May 8 had imposed a ban on screening of the film in the State to avoid "any incident of hatred and violence and to maintain peace in the State".

"Prima facie we are of the view that the prohibition by West Bengal is not tenable on the basis of material before. Thus the order banning the film is stayed," the bench said in its order.

With regard to Tamil Nadu, the bench in its order stated, "We direct that adequate security shall be provided to every cinema hall and requisite arrangement shall be made to ensure the safety of moviegoers. No express steps whether tacit etc. shall be taken to prevent the screening of the film."

It further asked the filmmakers to ensure that the movie carries a proper disclaimer.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for film producers, assured the bench that disclaimer will contain that film is a fictionalised version of events and there is no authentic data to back up the figure of conversion (of women to Islam) is 32,000.

To set the controversy aside, the disclaimer shall be added by 5 pm on May 20, said the senior counsel.

Salve added that filmmakers have videos and interviews of girls on the basis of which movie is made.

Regarding the challenge to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certification of the film, the bench posted the matter for hearing on July 18 saying it would first have to see the movie for that.

Chief Justice said that the court will define the doctrine and lay down what is permissible and what is not.

"We will see the film and decide," the bench added.

The film depicts how thousands of young women were allegedly brainwashed into joining the Islamic State (IS) and heading off to countries like Syria and Afghanistan.

'The Kerala Story', starring Adah Sharma, was released in cinemas on May 5. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mumbai, May 19 (PTI) Brookfield India REIT (BIRET) and Singapore's GIC on Friday announced an equal partnership to acquire two commercial properties in India for USD 1.4 billion or Rs 11,225 crore.

The two assets in the financial capital and Gurugram have a built-up area of 6.5 million square feet, and are presently owned by Brookfield Asset Management's private real estate funds, BIRET said in a statement.

Also Read | 20% TCS FAQs: Finance Ministry Answers Questions Related to International Credit Card Usage.

The two properties are Brookfield's Downtown Powai, which is a portfolio of nine commercial properties spread over three clusters having 2.7 million square feet of operational area and 0.1 million square feet of area under expansion, and Candor Techspace in Gurugram's sector 48, which has over 3.7 million square feet of operational space and three-fourths of it is classified as committed occupancy.

This is a first-of-its-kind partnership In India between a listed REIT (real estate investment trust) and a global institutional investor.

Also Read | RBSE Class 12 Result 2023 Out: Rajasthan Class 12th Board Examination Results Declared on rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in, Check Steps to Download Marksheet.

BIRET proposes to fund the acquisitions through an institutional placement of up to Rs 3,500 crore and may also consider other forms of fundraising, including preferential allotment.

This marks our first joint venture with a public REIT in India and will allow us to scale up our investments through this avenue. We look forward to adding value to the assets, which are well-located within key gateway cities, GIC'e deputy chief investment officer for real estate, Goh Chin Kiong, said.

Its Co-head of real estate for Asia, Kishore Gotety said GIC expects growth in the India office sector to continue, driven by an established IT industry, increased focus by global corporations on digital adoption, and the availability of skilled talent.

The transaction will increase the gross asset value of Brookfield India Real Estate Trust to USD 3.5 billion and the net asset value to USD 2 billion.

With a 35 per cent increase in total leasable space and a 44 per cent rise in operating area, the acquisition significantly scales the Brookfield India REIT portfolio, the statement said.

BIRET's operating area will increase by 44 per cent and consolidated gross asset value by 73 per cent after the acquisition of the assets, the statement said, calling it attractive acquisitions.

In the March quarter, BIRET achieved gross leasing of 1.2 million square feet, which includes 0.3 million square feet of new leasing and 0.9 million square feet of renewals.

The adjusted net operating income grew 15 per cent to Rs 244.4 crore from Rs 213.2 crore in the year-ago period.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A teacher at Norris High School was arrested Friday for an alleged sexual relationship the 23-year-old woman had with a student, according to the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office.

Lillie Bowman, an English teacher at the high school about 15 miles south of Lincoln, was arrested on suspicion of sexual abuse by a school employee, Chief Sheriff's Deputy Ben Houchin said in a news release.

Investigators determined Bowman developed a relationship in March 2023 with a Norris student that "became sexual," Houchin said in the release, offering no further details on the case.

Bowman will be taken to the Lancaster County jail.

In an emailed statement, Norris School District Superintendent Brian Maschmann said deputies informed the district Friday morning a teacher had been arrested.

Maschmann said Bowman, who he did not name in the statement, "was immediately removed from" her classroom and she "will not return." He said the district will work to assist the sheriff's office in its investigation.

"At this time, the district wishes to reaffirm to its students, parents and community members that student safety remains, without question, our highest priority," Maschmann said.

A Norris High School alumna, Bowman graduated from Doane University in May 2022, according to her Facebook page.

Bowman competed as a trap shooter in both high school and college and had been an assistant coach for Norris' trap team prior to her arrest, according to the district's website.

The 23-year-old will make her first court appearance Monday afternoon.

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
New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday asked foreign companies to invest in India's petrochemical industry that presents huge business opportunities.

Addressing 'Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference 2023', Mandaviya asserted that the Modi government is pro-farmer, pro-poor and is also industry-friendly.

Also Read | 20% TCS on International Credit Card Usage FAQs: What Is Exemption Limit for Students or Medical Purposes? Know Everything Here.

He said the government is making long-term policies for chemicals and petrochemicals sector to attract investments from domestic and foreign companies.

The minister asked industry to follow the path of reclaim, reuse and recycle for sustainable development.

Also Read | RBSE Class 12 Result 2023 Out: Rajasthan Class 12th Board Examination Results Declared on rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in, Check Steps to Download Marksheet.

"India is poised to be the new destination of petrochemicals, globally. Due to our business-friendly policies, the world views India as a trusted partner and priority destination for investment," Mandaviya said.

He said the Indian chemical manufacturing industry has truly been one of the emerging global manufacturing hub for petrochemicals.

"Today, India is promoting ease of doing business as the Indian government is industry-friendly government by minimising government's interference and through various other measures such as reduction in corporate tax, reduction in compliance burden and by policy changes," the minister said.

India is committed to becoming a trusted partner in the world in global supply chain of chemicals and petrochemicals, the minister said.

Mandaviya emphasised that this is the best time to invest in India with such a huge population.

"India, itself is a big market to invest. We are making way for free trade agreements with many countries...," he said.

The government is working effortlessly on policies to attract investment from domestic and foreign sources to address the major issue of availability of petrochemical.

He said the government has made necessary changes such as production-linked incentive scheme for chemicals and also proposed the manufacturing of difficult and strategic chemicals intermediates in India.

"India also provides an opportunity for easy import and export. It provides a win-win situation for foreign countries for joint ventures," the minister said.

Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) is a broad-based petrochemical industry conference with membership from seven partner countries  India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Over 1,200 delegates from seven member nations, participants from Europe, China, America, Middle East and other Asian countries, other senior government officials of key nations as well as regional and global partners participated in the conference.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington, May 19: The long and agonising wait for green cards for people from India, China, Mexico and the Philippines is mainly due to the country-based quota system in its allocation which can be changed only by the US Congress, a senior official has said.

A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently. The per-country caps are numerical limits on the issuance of green cards to individuals from certain countries. US Visa Rules 2023: Indians Can Get Visa Appointments At American Embassies Abroad, Check Details Here.

Immigration law provides for approximately 140,000 employment-based green cards to be issued each year. However, only seven per cent of those green cards can go to individuals from a single country annually.

Douglas Rand, the Senior Advisor to the director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said the annual limit established by Congress on family-sponsored preference green cards is 2,26,000 for the whole world while the annual limit on employment-based green cards is 1,40,000.

On top of that, the per-country limit is set at seven per cent of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, he told Indian Americans during a virtual town hall organised by the State Department on visa and consular issues. US Visa: India Main Priority for United States, 36% More Visas Processed Across Country After Coronavirus Pandemic, Says Official.

"That means 25,620. That is why individuals from India, China, Mexico and the Philippines typically face such long wait times than people from other countries," Rand said in response to a question. "There is demand for so many more than 25,620 green cards for both family and employment-based every year. Unfortunately, only Congress can change these annual limits. So our job is to do everything we can within these constraints to ensure that when those Green Card numbers are available, we make sure that they're utilised each and every year," Rand said.

For hundreds of thousands of Indian professionals, the wait for Green Card has currently been more than a decade and many a time the visa wait time goes back by years.

"Suffice to say for now that it is about supply and demand. Congress has constrained supply. Demand continues to go up. Not just from India, but all over the world. When the demand for a particular Green Card category or a country within a category exceeds the supply of numbers available then that category and country are considered oversubscribed," Rand said.

The State Department applies a cut-off date in the visa bulletin to ensure that visa use remains within those annual limits as well as the category and per country limits. The order of consideration is established by Congress.

"Retrogression means that due to the high demand for visas exceeding the statutory limits, visas are not available to all non-citizens who want them even if they've already filed an application for adjustment of status or otherwise for permanent residency," he said. Rand emphasised the US plans to continue improving the accuracy and comprehensiveness of its data on employment-based adjustment of status applications.

"Our goal is to resume publishing regular inventory reports," he said. He noted that even when there is retrogression there are enduring benefits. "So, somebody who had the opportunity to file for adjustment of status but who then sees their cutoff date retrogress, they're still able to seek certain benefits. They can apply for employment authorisation which is not tied to a particular employer. They can apply for advanced parole authorising travel outside the United States," the official said.

"Once that adjustment of status application has been pending for 180 days or more, they can port the underlying job opportunity to a new employer. Depending on the facts of the case, children who have also applied for adjustment of status might not age out. That individual is generally considered to be in a period of authorized stay while the application is pending," Rand added.

The number of employment-based green cards issued to people from India is roughly around 7,000-8,000 per year due to the seven per cent country cap limit. This 7,000-8,000 includes dependents of primary applicants, so roughly 2,000 Individual H-1B applicants get green cards every year for people of India.

There are 85,000 H-1B work visas issued every year and out of which nearly 60 per cent are issued via a fair lottery system to tech workers from India, which comes to around 51,000-60,000 H-1B visas.

The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
United Nations, May 19 (PTI) India has told the UN General Assembly that it accords high importance to disaster risk reduction issues and is developing ambitious mitigation programmes to reduce the risk of losses from all hazards, including landslides, floods, earthquakes, heat waves and lightning.

Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, P K Mishra, said in his address to the Midterm Review of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030) at a plenary in the UN General Assembly here on Thursday that in India disaster risk reduction is a "central public policy issue.

Also Read | US Green Card Delay: Country-Based Quota Behind Long Wait Time for Permeant Resident Card for People From India, Says Official.

Mishra is leading the Indian delegation at the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Midterm Review of the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (HLM) that is taking place from May 18-19 at the United Nations Headquarters.

He said that under India's current presidency of the G20, the group's members have agreed to establish a 'Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction'.

Also Read | G7 Summit 2023: UK Announces Ban on Russian Diamonds in Fresh Round of Sanctions Amid Ukraine War.

The five priorities identified by the G20 Working Group  early warning for all, resilient infrastructure, improved financing of DRR, systems and capacities for response and build back better', and eco-system based approaches to DRR  will provide added impetus to the achievement of Sendai targets globally, he said.

Mishra told the UNGA that India has significantly increased funding earmarked for disaster risk reduction and has brought about landmark changes in its financing architecture to support the entire spectrum of disaster risk management needs  disaster risk mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and reconstruction.

India's state and local governments have access to about USD 6 billion for disaster risk mitigation over five years (2021-2025). This is in addition to a resource of USD 23 billion meant for preparedness, response and recovery.

In just over a decade, we have been able to reduce the loss of lives from cyclones to less than 2 per cent, he said, adding that India is now developing ambitious mitigation programmes to reduce the risk of losses from all hazards  landslides, glacial lake outburst floods, earthquakes, forest fire, heat waves, and lightning.

The high-level meeting provides a platform for member states, the United Nations system partners and other stakeholders to reflect on the findings and recommendations of the Midterm Review, to examine context shifts and emerging issues since 2015.

It identifies course corrections and new initiatives to more effectively address the systemic nature of risk, and realise the outcomes and goals of the Sendai Framework, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement and other agreements, frameworks and conventions.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is a landmark 2015 agreement to reduce damage, losses and deaths from natural and man-made hazards by the end of the decade.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (Sendai Framework) was the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda and provides member states with concrete actions to protect development gains from the risk of disaster.

Referring to the 'Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure', presently co-led by India and the United States, Mishra said the initiative is bringing about transformation in the way infrastructure systems are planned, designed, built, and maintained in the 21st century.

Infrastructure projects are long-term investments. If informed by solid risk assessments, and underpinned by good risk governance, these infrastructure investments can build long-term resilience, he added.

Mishra said India is also working assiduously to improve access to early warning and is implementing Common Alerting Protocol, which will integrate Alert Generating Agencies with Disaster Managers and Telecom Service Providers.

This will ensure dissemination of geo-targeted alerts in regional languages to reach, each one of 1.3 billion citizens of our country, he said.

Applauding UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's initiative on Early Warning for All by 2027', Mishra said India's efforts will contribute to achieving the target set by this timely global initiative.

The UNGA plenary heard from a survivor of the devastating earthquake in February in Turkiye that killed over 50,000 people.

Mishra said that in the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' which sees the world as one large inter-connected family, India extended immediate help to our brothers and sisters from Turkiye and Syria by dispatching field hospitals and search and rescue teams as well as medical relief material.

He described this as a true testament to a human-centric global development approach.

He underlined India's commitment to join efforts to reduce disaster risks at home as well as everywhere on the planet in the spirit of the SDGs: Leave no one behind, leave no place behind, and leave no ecosystem behind.

President of the 77th session of the General Assembly Csaba Korosi said eight years after the adoption of the Sendai Framework, global progress has not kept pace with the urgency of our days as the known number of people affected by disasters has jumped 80-fold since 2015.

"The shocks ignited by unattended risk  and amplified by Covid-19, conflict, and climate change  have torn through our systems across the world," the top UN official said.

They have left millions homeless and starving, upended supply chains and laid bare the gross inequities of an international financial order that has often prized profits over people, the UN leader said.

By engaging those most affected by disasters, we can reverse the trends towards inequality, restricted civic space and rising vulnerability.

In short: anticipate risks, calculate, factor in, prepare, prevent, respond rapidly and build the lessons learned into the next action plans, Korosi said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Jerusalem [Israel], May 19 (ANI): Several Palestinians were hurt after Israeli police opened fire and used tear gas against them while they were participating in a protest on Gaza Strip's eastern border with Israel, reported Al Jazeera.

The protest occurred following a so-called "flag march" by far-right Israelis on Thursday in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem.

Also Read | 'Wasn't Like a Movie Car Chase': Indian-Origin Taxi Driver Who 'Rescued' Prince Harry, Meghan Merkle From Paparazzi in New York.

On Thursday, hundreds of Palestinians took part in the protest that had been scheduled by the Palestinian factions in response to the Israeli march. The protest in Gaza denounced the Jerusalem "flag march" and demanded a stop to Israeli raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.

Israeli authorities stated that after Palestinians threw explosives at the fence separating Israel and Gaza, its officers opened fire, according to Al Jazeera.

Also Read | France Moves To Ban Smoking in Woodlands To Combat Growing Climate-Related Risk of Mega Fires.

Violence has occurred in recent years as a result of the event, which is commemorated yearly to commemorate the occupation and annexation of East Jerusalem.

After unrest broke out following Israeli soldiers' storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam, and the deportation of Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah district, both in East Jerusalem, the march was rerouted in 2021, reported Al Jazeera.

Last week, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) carried out retaliatory strikes in the Gaza Strip that it claimed were directed at two underground Islamic Jihad rocket launchers as a result of missile alarms that had been heard in southern and central Israel.

After 5 days of intense fighting, Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad somehow agreed to a ceasefire, which was brokered by Egypt told The Times of Israel.

The fighting resulted in the death of 33 Palestinians, including at least 13 civilians. Two people in Israel were killed by rocket fire.

While the calm brought a sense of relief to Gaza's more than 2 million people and hundreds of thousands of Israelis who had been confined to bomb shelters in recent days, the agreement did nothing to address the underlying issues that have fuelled numerous rounds of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip. (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], May 19 (ANI): Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq has called upon the Chief Justice of Pakistan to declare the arrest of the Baloch leader Maulana Hidayat Ur Rehman 'illegal' and grant him bail, reported The News International.

In a letter to CJP, the JI leader demanded to fix a date for hearing the bail application of Maulana Hidayatur Rehman Baloch, who is a leader of the 'Give Right to Gwadar' Movement.

Also Read | 'Wasn't Like a Movie Car Chase': Indian-Origin Taxi Driver Who 'Rescued' Prince Harry, Meghan Merkle From Paparazzi in New York.

The top JI leader also called CJP Umar Atta Bandial's attention to the events that caused discontent among Baloch people, notably Gwadar locals.

"Maulana Hidayatur Rehman was taken only for the rights of people of Balochistan, and the movement led by him was peaceful," he said in his appeal.

Also Read | France Moves To Ban Smoking in Woodlands To Combat Growing Climate-Related Risk of Mega Fires.

Sirajul Haq continued in his letter by stating that the incarcerated leader had brought attention to the rights of Gwadar and other areas of Balochistan through his movement, which had been going on for more than two years.

A deal was eventually negotiated with the provincial administration as a result, although it was never put into practice. He claimed that Maulana Hidayatur Rehman had a peaceful sit-in for two months until the police attacked him and used force, including firing and tear gas shelling while also damaging private property, The News International reported.

A police officer died in the process due to a fire, but Maulana was then detained after a complaint was filed along with other employees even though he wasn't there at the time.

Earlier in April, massive protest rally was taken out on the occasion of Eid, in Pakistan's Gwadar, demanding the release of missing persons including many political activists, Pakistan vernacular media reported.

According to Intekhab Daily, a large number of people took part in the protest rally demanding the release of Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman Baloch and Mahil Baloch.

Hussain Wadela, President of 'Give Rights Movement' (Haq Do Tehreek), Deputy Organiser Yakub Juski, Gwadar organiser Akram Fida, sister of missing Azeem Baloch said that Maulana Hidayat ur Rahman Baloch has been behind bars for past three months for demanding rights, as per Intekhab Daily.

The protesters demanded the release of Maulana Rehman Baloch and Mahil Baloch and the recovery of all the missing persons, according to Pak vernacular media outlet Intekhab Daily.

Haq Do Tehreek (Give Rights Movement) had earlier said Balochistan has been made hell for political activists. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Tokyo [Japan], May 19 (ANI): Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday held a meeting with Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni and welcomed the progress of cooperation in security and defence. The two leaders shared the view to deepen discussions on concrete cooperation through the Political-Military Dialogue and other channels.

Kishida and Meloni welcomed the bright outlook for an entry into force of the Agreement on Social Security between the two nations, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in the statement. Kishida reiterated his request for Italy's cooperation towards the early lifting of import measures on Japanese food products by the European Union.

Also Read | El Nino Meaning, Causes and Effects: How the Phenomenon Will Affect Temperature Extremities in India and Globally.

The two leaders confirmed their commitment to promote concrete cooperation as strategic partners and welcomed the conclusion of negotiations on the Agreement on film co-production. They exchanged views on the situation in East Asia and agreed to continue to coordinate closely in addressing issues related to China, and in dealing with North Korea, including on nuclear and missile issues and the abductions issue, according to the statement released by Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Fumio Kishida and Giorgia Meloni exchanged views on addressing economic security challenges, and opaque and unfair development finance and confirmed that they would continue to work together. The leaders affirmed to continue severe sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine, according to the statement.

Also Read | NASA CAPSTONE Captures Its First Images of Moon, Successfully Tests GPS-Like Navigation Technology.

"The two leaders also exchanged views on addressing economic security challenges as well as opaque and unfair development finance, and confirmed that they would continue to work together," the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in the statement.

It further said, "With regard to addressing Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the two leaders affirmed to continue severe sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine. The two leaders also concurred that they would send robustly to the world the determination of the G7 to uphold the free and open international order based on the rule of law, and demonstrate the unwavering solidarity with Ukraine at the G7 Hiroshima Summit."

According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japanese PM Kishida said that he would like to "demonstrate G7's determination to uphold and reinforce the free and open international order based on the rule of law and explained Japan's view on the Summit as the Presidency." In response, Meloni expressed her willingness to fully cooperate for the G7 Summit. The two leaders agreed to continue to work together closely towards the success of the G7 Hiroshima Summit.

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and other G7 leaders are currently in Japan to attend the G7 meeting scheduled to be held in Hiroshima. The G7 grouping comprises Japan, Italy, Canada, France, the US, the UK and Germany.

Japan under its G7 Presidency has invited leaders from Australia, Brazil, Comoros, Cook Islands, India, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam, according to the statement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday left for Japan to attend the G7 Summit in Hiroshima. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Peshawar [Pakistan], May 19 (ANI): At least one person was killed and three others have been injured after a bomb planted in a motorcycle exploded in Peshawar, Geo News reported on Thursday.

The explosion took place when the motorcycle was being repaired on Wednesday in the provincial capital. Peshawar is the sixth largest city in Pakistan and the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Also Read | 'Wasn't Like a Movie Car Chase': Indian-Origin Taxi Driver Who 'Rescued' Prince Harry, Meghan Merkle From Paparazzi in New York.

"The blast took place after a bomb planted in a motorcycle exploded. We are gathering information on the nature of the blast. Initial reports suggest that the blast occurred when the motorcycle was being repaired," the police officials said, according to Geo News.

The incident happened close to a hotel on Ring Road in Peshawar city.

Also Read | France Moves To Ban Smoking in Woodlands To Combat Growing Climate-Related Risk of Mega Fires.

According to the police, the motorcycle's owner is among one of the three injured, and one of the injured is in critical condition.

A 200-gram improvised explosive device (IED) was utilised in the explosion, according to a statement from the bomb disposal team. According to the authorities, family-related incidents frequently involve IED use, Geo News reported.

Investigation of the explosion is underway. Further details awaited. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Tokyo [Japan], May 19 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Tokyo tomorrow.

Notably, this is the first in-person meeting between the two leaders after the Russia-Ukraine war started on February 24 last year.

Also Read | G7 Summit 2023: PM Narendra Modi Arrives in Hiroshima for G7 Meeting (See Pics and Video).

The Ukrainian president is attending the summit on an invitation by Japan, the current chair of the powerful grouping.

Since the Ukraine conflict began, PM Modi has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as President Zelenskyy a number of times.

Also Read | El Nino Meaning, Causes and Effects: How the Phenomenon Will Affect Temperature Extremities in India and Globally.

New Delhi has sought a diplomatic solution to the conflict while Modi, in comments seen as mildly critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin, told him in September that now was "not an era of war".

Prime Minister Modi's appeal to President Putin for a "cessation of violence" and for all sides to return to the dialogue table was certainly a notch up from India's earlier explicitly neutral stance, and carried a hint of the compulsions to get off the fence, though still largely maintaining a balance.

PM Modi's phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin underlined that Delhi will for now stick to a path of strategic ambivalence on the Ukraine crisis. This is a pragmatic choice, one that reflects the complexities of a realist world and Delhi's own positions on territorial integrity and sovereignty, its own concerns about its unresolved borders, it's a difficult relationship with its two northern neighbours.

In a phone conversation with President Zelenskyy on October 4 last year, PM Modi said there can be "no military solution" and that India is ready to contribute to any peace efforts.

India has maintained that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.

PM Modi is in Japan to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit. The prime minister is visiting the East Asian country at the invitation of his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida.

Japan is hosting the G7 summit as the current chair of the powerful grouping. PM Modi will be in Hiroshima for the G7 summit from May 19 to May 21. He is expected to speak on global challenges, including food, fertiliser and energy security.

Notably, PM Modi will hold bilateral meetings with Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and France ahead of the Quad Summit, tomorrow.

He will meet Yoon Suk Yeol, President of the Republic of Korea; Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister of Vietnam; and Emmanuel Macron, President of France. (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, May 19 : Rolls-Royce today announced that it has successfully completed the first tests of its UltraFan technology demonstrator at its facility in Derby, UK. The first tests were conducted using 100 per cent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

This is a historic moment for Rolls-Royce - it is the first time in 54 years that the aero-engine manufacturer has tested a brand-new engine architecture and is proof of what can be achieved when industry and Governments work together. Honda e:Ny1 Electric SUV Makes Its Global Debut Armed With New Powerful Powertrain and Eye-Catching Styling.

Confirming the capability of the suite of technologies incorporated in the demonstrator is a big step towards improving the efficiency of current and future aero-engines. UltraFandelivers a 10 per cent efficiency improvement over the Trent XWB, which is already the world's most efficient large aero engine in service. Volkswagen Tiguan 2023 Launched in India With ADAS Tech Tech, New Features and Updated Powertrain; Checkout Price and All Key Details.

In the nearer term, there are options to transfer technologies from the UltraFan development programme to current Trent engines, providing our customers with even greater availability, reliability and efficiency.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 19, 2023 07:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Chandigarh, May 19: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday asked squatters to vacate government land by May 31 or face action. The ultimatum comes a day after Punjab Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal directed officials to ensure the removal of encroachments from government panchayat land by June 10.

Mann said the state government is committed to freeing land from squatters and an anti-encroachment drive will begin on June 1. However, if there are houses on such land, people living in them will not be dislocated during the drive, he added. Demolition Drive at Tughlaqabad: Supreme Court Declines Stay on Anti-Encroachment Drive in Delhi Area.

From day one of assuming office, Mann said, his government had adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards encroachments. He lamented that previous governments in the state allowed "affluent people" to encroach on government land by violating norms and termed it "unwarranted and undesirable". Patna Anti Encroachment Drive: District Administration Demolishes 90 Illegal Structures in Rajiv Nagar, Nepali Nagar.

Mann, according to an official statement, said it is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that the state government has so far freed more than 9,000 acres of government land from encroachers. He said the momentum will be maintained and "every inch" of government land under illegal occupation will be vacated by all means.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A 28-year-old Lincoln man is in jail after he allegedly attacked his stepdad earlier this month, breaking the 49-year-old's nose and both eye sockets, causing "potentially ... lasting effects," police said in court records.

Scott Sanders had been hanging out at his mom's apartment, near 16th and E streets, at around 6:30 p.m. May 10 when he and his stepdad got in an argument over Sanders being disrespectful to his mom and stepdad, Lincoln Police Officer Brian Gruber said in the probable cause statement for his arrest.

The argument soon turned physical.

Sanders is accused of punching the 49-year-old once in the face, knocking him to the ground, before striking him three more times, Gruber alleged in the statement.

Lincoln Fire and Rescue crews took Sanders' stepdad to CHI Health St. Elizabeth. He was later taken to CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha due to the extent of his facial injuries, Gruber said.

The 49-year-old initially told police he didn't want to pursue criminal charges against his stepson, but after he underwent surgery and had metal plates installed near his eye sockets due to the severity of his injuries, he changed his mind, Gruber said.

Police arrested Sanders early Wednesday morning at the People's City Mission and took him to the Lancaster County jail.

And prosecutors on Wednesday charged him with first-degree assault, punishable by up to 50 years in prison.

Photos: Nebraska high school state track and field meet, day 2
London, May 19: An IT worker in UK sued her boss for sexual harassment after mistaking xx in his email as code for wanting kisses and his initials for A Jumbo Genital. The project manager also argued her bosss use of question marks in the same message were code for asking her when she would be ready to engage in sexual acts.

According to a report in BBC, Karina Gasparova made a string of elaborate claims that Aleksander Goulandris wanted to have a sexual relationship with her because of how he wrote emails, named computer files and his mannerisms on video calls. IBM Employee on Sick Leave for 15 Years Sues IT Company for Not Giving Salary Hike, Claims He Is Victim of Disability Discrimination.

She also claimed to the employment tribunal at London Central Court that her superiors renaming a file with his initials AJG was actually an acronym for A Jumbo Genital. Layoffs in Meta: I Packed My Whole Life in Five Suitcases, Says Sacked Employee As Fresh Round of Firing Leaves Many Workers Angry and Disappointed.

A judge-led panel also rejected her other sexual harassment claims terming it as a "skewed perception of everyday events", Gasparova interpreted Goulandris' renaming of a draft presentation file with "ajg" in brackets as meaning "a jumbo genital", his shouting as mistreatment for her having 'rejected his advances', and his refusal to have lunch as a sign he "only wanted sex".

The panel rejected her claims of direct sex harassment, discrimination and unfair dismissal.

Employment Judge Emma Burns said after the case was rejected that "Our primary reasons for rejecting her account of events were that we considered her perception of everyday events was skewed.

She demonstrated a tendency to make extraordinary allegations without evidence, and she contradicted herself in a way that could not be attributable to a fallible memory, said the judge adding that Gasparova interpreted entirely innocent work-related conduct, some of it accidental, by Goulandris as having a sinister intent.

Gasparova was also ordered to pay 5,000 pounds to essDOCS in costs following her failure to comply in time with parts of the tribunal procedures.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 19, 2023 09:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
On 18 May, Senatorannounced his resignation from Brazils environmentalist party, Rede Sustentabilidade (Rede), which is part of the ruling Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT)-led coalition of President

End of preview - This article contains approximately 348 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options
According to President Gustavo Petro, four children remain missing more than two weeks after the tragic Colombia plane crash. Search crews have discovered a temporary shelter and personal belongings believed to belong to the children in the jungle, leading them to conclude that the kids have been lost in the rainforest since the accident.

However, Petro has expressed that the information regarding their rescue needs to be more verifiable, per BCC.

The plane crash occurred on May 1, claiming the lives of the children's mother, the pilot, the co-pilot, and the other adults on board. The children's ages range from 13 years to 11 months.

Petro initially took to Twitter to announce the supposed rescue of the children on Wednesday afternoon, citing "arduous search efforts." However, he later deleted the tweet, stating that the information provided by Colombia's child welfare agency, ICBF, could not be confirmed.

He regretted the situation and assured the armed forces and indigenous communities would continue their tireless search for the children.

The ICBF, which had previously provided data supporting the president's deleted tweet, released a statement acknowledging that they had learned of the children's well-being "from the field."

The ongoing search efforts by the armed forces and indigenous communities aim to provide the country with the long-awaited news it hopes for.

READ NEXT: Colombia Volcano Rising Alert Level

Authorities Have Been Searching Since Day 1

Since the fateful day of the Colombia plane crash in the Amazonas province's southern district of Guaviare, search and rescue teams have tirelessly combed the area for wreckage and any signs of survivors, CNN reports.

Jairo Pineda, the general director of Colombia's civil aviation authority, provided an update on Thursday, revealing that three bodies had been discovered and transported to San Jose del Guaviare.

Pineda addressed reporters in San Jose del Guaviare, stating, "At this moment, we have the arrival of three confirmed adult bodies that we are examining after a challenging evacuation process involving helicopters."

Two of the bodies belong to individuals from a native village, while the third body is that of a pilot, according to Pineda.

The Civil Aviation Authority announced that recent findings potentially offering clues to the whereabouts of the missing children prompted renewed search efforts on Thursday evening.

With the assistance of Ulises, a canine search specialist, the Special Forces managed to locate a suitable site to construct a temporary shelter using wood and branches within the past few hours. Among the discoveries made by the police were scissors and "monitas," traditional hair clips commonly used by women.

Despite the challenges, hopes remain steadfast among the search teams and the public that the four children will be found alive. Thus far, no reports or evidence have emerged, such as images or recordings, depicting the children after the incident.

Unconfirmed Report Says Children Are All Safe and Being Transported by Boat

Avianline Charters, the owner of the ill-fated Cessna plane involved in the Colombia plane crash, said a regional pilot has received information suggesting that the missing children "were being transported by boat downriver and that they were all alive."

However, there has been no official confirmation of this report, as stated by the firm, according to CBS News.

While authorities have not yet disclosed the cause of the plane crash in Colombia, the country's disaster response agency had revealed that the pilot had reported engine trouble just minutes before the aircraft disappeared from radars. The challenging terrain and lack of adequate road infrastructure make air travel a standard mode of transportation.

Meanwhile, the Colombia plane crash survivors came from the Indigenous Huitoto (also spelled Witoto) group, known for their ability to thrive in remote jungle environments.

This resilient community relies on hunting, fishing, and gathering techniques to sustain themselves amidst the challenging conditions of their surroundings.

READ MORE: New Mexico Teen Killed 3 Elderly Women

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Four children found alive weeks after Colombia plane crash - From Reuters
Three caregivers from New Mexico have been arrested for their involvement in the death of a disabled woman whom they allegedly tortured and left dying near the US-Mexico border.

The three caregivers were identified as Angelita Chacon, the caretaker of the disabled woman, as well as Patricia Hurtado, who is reportedly Chacon's girlfriend, and Luz Scott, who provided the vehicle used in transporting the victim, who was identified as 38-year-old Mary Melero, who had developmental disabilities.

According to KOB 4, this was part of New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's initiative to investigate the alleged widespread abuse by agencies caring for people with developmental disabilities. All three women are now facing various charges in relation to Malero's death.

The three were said to have been paid thousands of dollars a month to care for the disabled woman, whom New Mexico's top prosecutor describes as being tortured by the three. They were reportedly part of a special program meant to offer an alternative to institutional care.

What Happened to the Disabled New Mexico Woman?

While the disabled woman and her caregivers were all from New Mexico, Melero was reportedly found near El Paso, Texas, along the US-Mexico border by Border Patrol agents. She was then transported to University Medical Center in El Paso, Texas.

According to ABC-7 News, Malero died in that hospital on April 7, 2023. Border Patrol reportedly found her in terrible condition, with infected sores and open wounds all over her body.

READ NEXT: New Mexico: Losing Republican Candidate Indicted for Shooting at Democrats

The disabled woman was reportedly unable to speak when the Border Patrol agents found her. Authorities stated she was severely dehydrated and drugged when she was found inside a van. She also had numerous bruises and lacerations, as well as bedsores with exposed bone. The marks found all over her body were consistent with those who have been restrained for a long time.

As for the suspects, Chacon and Hurtado were contracted by At Home Advocacy and three other contractors to take care of the victim. The company reportedly received almost $250,000 to coordinate care and support for the disabled woman during the three years before her death.

The company reportedly visited the home where Melero was staying a month before she was found near the US-Mexico border. An At Home Advocacy supervisor told the FBI that the company conducted monthly wellness visits at Chacon's home at that time. However, the supervisor admitted that they were not able to conduct any "body checks" for the victim and thus were not able to see any injuries.

Patient Torture Case Forced New Mexico to Review Disability Waver System

According to the Associated Press, this particular case was so disturbing that it forced New Mexico to conduct a statewide review of its entire developmentally disabled waiver system.

The state sent social workers over the course of a few weeks and conducted thousands of wellness checks to developmentally disabled people all over New Mexico.

This resulted in more allegations of possible abuse and neglect popping up, leading to the state Health Department canceling contracts with four caregiver companies within the Albuquerque area.

READ MORE: Republicans Investigated for Fake Elector Scheme in Michigan

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: New Mexico governor announces investigation into developmental disability providers - KOB 4
Tragedy struck on Wednesday as an eight-year-old Panama girl suffering from heart problems passed away while under the custody of the Texas Border Patrol, AP reports.

This distressing incident marks the second death of a child from Latin America in US government custody within the past two weeks.

The young girl and her family were being held at a Harlingen, Texas facility in the Rio Grande Valley, a region renowned for its high volume of migrant crossings.

Overcrowding has become a pressing issue for US Customs and Border Protection, the parent agency of the Border Patrol, as a surge of individuals sought to enter the country before the recent expiration of a significant limitation on immigration linked to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The child experienced a sudden "medical emergency," prompting the dispatch of paramedics who swiftly transported her to the hospital. Tragically, she was pronounced dead upon arrival. An autopsy will determine the precise cause of her untimely demise.

The Panama girl's name was Anadith Tanay Reyes Alvarez, according to the Honduran Consul in McAllen, Texas. Although her parents hail from Honduras, she was born in Panama.

The consul noted that the girl's family had contacted him for assistance. Her father had contacted the consul due to her congenital heart defects and her prior surgery in Panama three years ago.

The investigation into this heartbreaking incident will be conducted by multiple entities, including the internal affairs office of CBP, the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, and the Harlingen police, as announced by CBP.

READ NEXT: Honduran Teen Dies While in US Custody

Panama Girl Dies Following the Expiration of Title 42

Tragically, the passing of the Panama girl comes just over a week after the expiration of Title 42, a crucial emergency public health order that enabled the rejection of asylum claims from migrants amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.

Despite initial concerns, officials in President Joe Biden's administration have reported that the expiration did not lead to a significant surge in the number of migrants crossing the southern border, according to The Texas Tribune.

In anticipation of the expiration of Title 42, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas had taken proactive measures by deploying hundreds of Texas National Guard soldiers to the southern border.

Their objective was to prepare for the anticipated influx of migrants seeking entry into the United States.

As of Wednesday night, Governor Abbott had not responded immediately when approached for comment on this tragic incident.

According to CBP's official statement, the agency's Office of Professional Responsibility will investigate the girl's death.

Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security and the Harlingen Police Department have been notified and will be involved in the inquiry.

Honduran Teen Also Died Under US Custody

According to official statements from Honduran officials and a congressional notice, the recent death of the Panama girl follows another tragic incident involving a 17-year-old unaccompanied Honduran migrant who died while under the care of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The teenager was discovered unresponsive at a Safety Harbor, Florida facility. A government representative informed USA TODAY that the Office of Refugee Resettlement is currently investigating the matter and awaiting the final report from the medical examiner.

Five days after being placed in the Safety Harbor facility by the US Department of Health and Human Services resettlement office, Angel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza tragically passed away on May 10, per Tampa Bay Times.

Both federal government officials and the agency have remained relatively silent since the discovery of Espinoza's lifeless body in bed, offering limited information regarding the incident.

READ MORE: US-Mexico Border Crisis

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: 8-year-old girl dies in Border Patrol custody in Texas, as agency struggles with overcrowding - From WGN News
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed earlier this month SB 1718, which bans businesses from hiring illegal immigrants. However, this could badly backfire on the state as reports of migrants boycotting work in Florida have spread throughout social media.

According to Vox, posts featuring empty fields, abandoned construction sites, and scores of truck drivers calling for boycotts against Florida have surfaced on TikTok and Twitter over the last month.

That was reportedly the result of DeSantis signing SB 1718 into law. Around 800,000 undocumented immigrants call Florida home, and this new law will directly affect them.

The law does not just affect the workplace either, as it requires healthcare providers to report undocumented immigrant patients.

The law had already caused much panic even before DeSantis signed it, with reports of construction workers not showing up to work for fear of deportation. The same can be said for farms and other sites that employ illegal immigrants as their main labor force.

Experts have said this could cause widespread labor shortages in Florida, which has relied so much on undocumented immigrants to work several jobs deemed crucial to the state's economy.

Several businesses in construction, landscaping, and agriculture have already terminated undocumented immigrants because of the new law that punishes firms that employ them. Many of these undocumented immigrants already plan to move out of the state.

READ NEXT: Disney Cancels $1 Billion Florida Plan Amid Ron DeSantis Feud

Impact of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' New Immigration Law Remains to Be Seen

The law is set to be implemented on July 1. However, its effects are already being felt in Florida, with around 300,000 undocumented immigrants working at Florida farms and making up 60% of the state's farm workers.

Videos of Florida farms filled with produce but having no workers to harvest them have popped up all over social media. However, experts said it is still too soon to say what the impacts of the lack of immigrants would be.

"It remains to be seen, I mean, you know, boycotts and strikes and work stoppages take a lot of time, a lot of a lot of organization. And this is bubbling up. But again, the law hasn't even gone into effect," said Thomas Kennedy, a spokesperson for the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

Truckers are already boycotting Florida in solidarity with other Latinos who might be forced out of their jobs in the state. According to the Pensacola News Journal, several truckers, especially Latinos, have called for a boycott and pledged not to enter the state.

Like in Florida, Alabama Made a Similar Move, and It Did Not Go Well

MSNBC reported that what Florida is doing has already happened in another red state. Alabama reportedly had some economic repercussions after banning immigrant workers.

Its economy relied on hand-picked produce such as tomatoes, blueberries, and squash. The farm industry in the state largely employed undocumented immigrants.

Once these workers were banned, produce rotted in the fields as they remained unpicked. This is happening again in Florida as videos of abandoned workplaces draw concerns about how DeSantis' new law would affect the state's economy.

READ MORE: North Carolina Is Luring Disney World to Abandon Florida

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Law Targeting Undocumented Migrants Affecting Farms, Construction Sites - From CBS Miami
A wife of a California radiologist said her husband allegedly tried to kill himself and his family by intentionally driving their Tesla off a cliff in San Mateo County.

The 41-year-old driver was identified as Dharmesh Arvind Patel of Pasadena. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) said Patel, his wife, and their two children survived the January 2 crash along Highway 1 in San Mateo County.

The highway patrol noted that the Tesla vehicle was 250 to 300 feet down. Rescuers had to rappel down the cliff to get the two children, ages four and seven, while a helicopter crew rescued the couple from the vehicle.

According to a newly unsealed search warrant affidavit, Patel's wife told officers while aboard the helicopter: "He drove off. He's depressed. He's a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He purposely drove off."

San Mateo County District Attorney Steven Wagstaffe told KRON4 that several people heard the wife's statements, KTLA reported.

"There were multiple emergency people there who heard the statements as well as the CHP officer," Wagstaffe said.

However, the court documents showed that Patel narrated a different story. The California radiologist claimed he moved the Tesla to the "dirt path" to check on a possible flat tire.

He said it was a short distance before they fell down the cliff at Devil's Slide. In the affidavit, Patel mentioned feeling sad because "times were bad in the world," but denied being depressed.

When asked if he felt suicidal, he said, "You know, not like a plan, not usually." Three witnesses corroborated that the Tesla did not slow down as it traveled up the dirt road before the vehicle went off the cliff.

One witness noted that she did not see the vehicle braking or attempting to swerve to safety after turning right onto the dirt road and straight off the cliff.

READ NEXT: California Tesla Driver Arrested After Intentionally Driving off Cliff

Tesla Was Not on Autopilot at the Time of Accident, Authorities Say

According to Officer Mark Andrew of the CHP, it is unlikely that the Tesla involved in the accident was in autopilot mode when it plunged off the cliff.

The San Mateo County District Attorney's office told Fox News Digital that the children did not exhibit visible injuries.

The 7-year-old girl, who was properly restrained in a child seat, suffered "severe" injuries but was quickly discharged from the hospital and is not expected to have long-term physical complications, according to the DA's office.

Among the survivors, Wagstaffe noted that Dharmesh Arvind Patel's wife, Neha Patel, sustained the most severe injuries.

Surveillance video from the Tom Lantos Tunnel, which the California radiologist drove through before the crash, reportedly shows the Tesla going straight off the cliff without braking or trying to swerve to safety.

California Radiologist Pleads Not Guilty

Dharmesh Arvind Patel is facing charges of three counts of attempted murder to which he pleaded not guilty. He is currently being held without bond.

ABC News reported that a preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 12 to determine if there is enough evidence to move forward with a trial. Investigators interviewed Patel while he was recovering from major lower body injuries at Stanford Hospital.

During the interview, he revealed that his wife was irritated shortly before the crash because she did not want to stop at his brother's house in San Mateo County before driving home to the Los Angeles area, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

READ MORE: Colombia Plane Crash Update

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Wife Says Doctor Purposely Drove Tesla Over Cliff - From KRON 4
During negotiations with granddaughter Riley Keough over Lisa Marie Presley's trust, Priscilla Presley has reportedly requested to be buried next to her ex-husband, Elvis Presley, at his Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee.

A source confirmed this to Us Weekly. Another insider told TMZ that Priscilla asked for a burial spot next to the "King of Rock' n' Roll," whose tomb sits between the graves of his grandmother and father. Elvis' mother and daughter, Lisa Marie, and her son, Benjamin, are also buried at the estate.

"Although I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon. It is my family's and my wish for me to be laid to rest with my daughter and the love of my life when that time comes. We appreciate the love from all of the fans," Priscilla also told TMZ.

However, there is an unresolved issue of who will be moved if Priscilla is to be buried next to Elvis Presley. Thus, her demand was reportedly a non-starter and was denied.

Priscilla reportedly did not challenge the decision and backed down without much discussion. However, Elvis' ex-wife still reportedly walked away with an impressive settlement during negotiations with Riley over Lisa Marie's trust.

TMZ reported that Priscilla also asked for money, and she got millions in return for dropping her claims over who controls her daughter's trust.

Priscilla Presley was married to Elvis Presley from 1967 to 1973, and the former couple welcomed their daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, in 1968.

READ NEXT: What Lisa Marie Presley's Heirs Might Inherit

Priscilla Presley and Riley Keough Settle Dispute Over Lisa Marie Presley's Estate

Priscilla Presley and her granddaughter Riley Keough reportedly settled their dispute over Lisa Marie Presley's trust earlier this week.

According to PEOPLE, Priscilla and Riley's legal teams reached a settlement at a Los Angeles courthouse on Tuesday. However, details of the settlement were kept private.

TMZ sources noted that Lisa Marie's estate paid Priscilla an undisclosed sum of money to settle the dispute, and it's reportedly worth millions.

After the hearing, Ronson Shamoun, Priscilla's attorney, told reporters outside the courtroom: "They have reached a settlement. Families are happy. Everyone is happy. Unified and together and excited for the future."

Justin Gold, Riley's lawyer, added: "[Riley] would not have agreed to the settlement if she was not happy with it." The next hearing and motion for approval are reportedly set for August 4.

According to Los Angeles probate attorney David Esquibias, many families resolve disputes like this quietly and settle out of court, with lawyers acting as quick negotiators.

TMZ reported that at the time of her passing, Lisa Marie Presley reportedly had at least $35 million in life insurance policies.

"A 'life insurance trust' is typically created by wealthy people. It is an irrevocable trust that is funded with life insurance," explained Esquibias.

For someone like Lisa Marie, he added that a life insurance trust's primary objective is "to avoid tax at death."

Priscilla Presley Wanted to Remain a Co-Trustee For Lisa Marie Presley's Estate

Lisa Marie Presley, who died at 54 last January 12, changed her will in 2016 to remove her 77-year-old mother, Priscilla Presley, and make her 33-year-old daughter Riley Keough the executor.

Lisa Marie has three surviving children: Keough and 14-year-old twin daughters Harper Vivienne Ann and Finley Aaron Love.

Currently, the trust of the late Lisa Marie, which reportedly includes the Graceland mansion and a stake in the Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), named Riley a co-trustee. However, Priscilla is legally challenging that.

Lisa Marie had previously named her mother and former business manager Barry Siegel as co-trustees in 2010. However, a 2016 amendment removed the two as co-trustees and put the trust in the hands of her daughter and her late son Benjamin.

Last January, Priscilla's lawyers filed a petition questioning the "authenticity and validity" of the 2016 document. Priscilla's camp alleged that her daughter's signature on the 2016 amendment "appears inconsistent with her usual and customary signature."

She also argued that her daughter's name had been spelled wrong and that the document was never notarized. In filing the petition, Priscilla reportedly wanted confirmation from the court that she would continue to be a trustee of Lisa Marie's estate.

The only child of Elvis Presley owned Graceland, the estate in Memphis that her father bought in 1957. Despite having no ownership or role in the company, Priscilla was reportedly being paid $900,000 a year by EPE.

EPE is a corporate entity formed by "The Elvis Presley Trust" to conduct business and manage its assets, including Graceland and worldwide licensing of Elvis-related products. EPE's major source of revenue is the Graceland operation.

A friend of Lisa Marie previously told The New York Post that Priscilla, who had been a longtime Elvis estate trustee, has also failed to have her contract renewed by EPE in 2020.

READ MORE: Panama Girl Dies in Texas

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Priscilla Presley Scores Hefty Payout In Battle Over Lisa Marie's Trust - From Nicki Swift
Attorneys for the family of Gabby Petito have asked for additional information for their lawsuit against Brian Laundrie's parents.

Citing court documents filed Wednesday, WWSB reported that Patrick Reilly, the lawyer for Gabby's parents, requested access to all text messages between the elder Laundries and their son Brian between July 2, 2021 and September 30, 2021.

His request also includes emails or other correspondence between the three Laundries in the same date range, the US Sun reported. The Laundries have 30 days to reply.

In March last year, Gabby's parents, Joe Petito and Nichole Schmidt, filed a civil lawsuit against Brian's parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, for causing emotional distress in relation to their daughter's death.

Gabby's parents alleged that Brian's parents knew their son killed their daughter, but they tried to help him flee. When Gabby was missing, Gabby's parents also claimed that Brian's parents refused to return calls or texts to them, who were desperately looking for their daughter.

Brian Laundrie's parents reportedly answered back in court filings, arguing that they had no duty to Gabby Petito's family. The next hearing is scheduled on May 24.

READ NEXT: Brian Laundrie's Parents Shocking Demand

Brian Laundries's Mom Breaks Silence on 'Burn After Reading' Letter

In a previous request for additional evidence, Patrick Reilly requested for Brian Laundries' camp to produce the letter from Brian's mom, who allegedly "offered to bring a shovel to help bury the body" and helped him "get out of prison," among other things.

Reilly noted that the letter's envelope contained the words "burn after reading," and it was among the things recovered inside Brian's backpack after his remains were discovered.

In a letter she sent to Sarasota County Circuit Court last March, Roberta Laundrie said the "quirky" letter was to help repair the relationship between her and her son and was written months before Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie 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.

Roberta also 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 her son.

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

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 to block the attempts by Gabby's parents to make the letter she wrote to her son admissible as evidence in the civil trial.

Brian Laundrie's Mom Claims Police Did Not Find Her Letter to Son in His Bag

During a remote hearing in February, Patrick Reilly noted that he saw the letter of Brian Laundrie's mom at an FBI regional office," CNN reported. Gabby Petito's camp said the FBI released it to Laundrie's family lawyer, Steven Bertolino, on June 24, 2022.

However, in her letter to the court, Roberta said it was "not true" because the FBI had the letter in their possession and questioned her and her husband about it before 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 now in possession of another Laundrie's 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 January 2022, the FBI said that Brian confessed to killing Gabby in a message left in his notebook. The FBI noted that its investigation has concluded that Brian Laundrie was the only person responsible for Gabby Petito's "tragic death."

READ MORE: California Radiologist Tries to Kill His Family

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Report: Attorneys in Gabby Petito Case Battle Over Letter - From CBS New York
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Abortion opponents are trying again to implement restrictions in the latest round of court and legislative action on the divisive issue.

This round of efforts centers on states that have considered bans before and a policy that's been bouncing around federal courts.

Here are key things to know about the latest developments in the saga of how abortion policy will settle after the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade and the nationwide right to abortion:

***

PURPLE STATE POLICY

Since the Dobbs ruling last year, tighter abortion restrictions have been enacted in most Republican-controlled states and protections of abortion access have gone into effect in most that are dominated by Democrats.

But there hasn't been such a uniform story in the 11 states with divided government control. Virginia has kept its status quo, for instance, while Vermont has adopted a constitutional amendment to preserve abortion access and Louisiana and Kentucky have bans in place.

Change came quickly in North Carolina in April when one state lawmaker flipped from Democrat to Republican, giving the GOP enough votes to override gubernatorial vetoes.

Lawmakers promptly passed a ban that's less restrictive than most  allowing abortion for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed it. But lawmakers on Tuesday overrode that veto, so the ban will take effect July 1. The new law includes several other provisions that medical experts have criticized, including more medical and paperwork requirements for physicians, new licensing requirements for abortion clinics and increasing how many times patients must make an in-person visit to a physician ahead of obtaining the abortion pill.

***

TRYING AGAIN ON BANS IN NEBRASKA, SOUTH CAROLINA

Nebraska and South Carolina are both Republican-dominated states where GOP lawmakers have struggled to agree on the details of abortion bans.

Both are considering bans this week, just weeks after earlier efforts narrowly fell short on procedural votes.

And both have resurrected legislation that's less restrictive than versions that were rejected previously.

In South Carolina, the House on Wednesday approved a bill banning most abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy, bringing state Republicans closer to ending a longstanding disagreement over when to restrict access. The proposal must again clear the Senate after the House inserted a number of changes.

In Nebraska, lawmakers balked at a ban after six weeks. The unique unicameral legislature is now considering a ban on abortion at 12 weeks' gestation. It's been added to a bill that would also ban gender-affirming care for minors.

The plan won the votes it needed in Nebraska's one-chamber, officially nonpartisan legislature to end debate and set up other votes to advance it. It must now survive a final round, which could happen as soon as Thursday, to pass.

***

RESTRICTION IN MONTANA

In Montana, Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a ban Tuesday on dilation and evacuation abortions, which are normally performed in the second trimester of pregnancy.

Planned Parenthood of Montana later the same day asked a state judge to temporarily block the law, arguing it is unconstitutional.

And it isn't the first challenge on the policy in the state. A judge ruled last month that she would not block the ban preemptively, before it was signed into law.

The state in 2021 adopted a broader ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, but the state Supreme Court ruled that it will not enforce it pending a court challenge, leaving abortions by some means legal until viability, around the 24th week.

***

COURT ARGUMENTS ON AN ABORTION PILL

Most of the legal battles on abortion since the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision in 2022 have centered on whether individual state constitutions protect the right to abortion.

But one has implications nationally.

An anti-abortion group sued seeking to rescind the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's 2000 approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in combination in most medication-induced abortions in the U.S.

A federal judge in Texas agreed. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Wednesday on the matter. In the meantime, the U.S. Supreme Court has said that mifepristone can remain on the market. It is already barred from being used in abortions, with some exceptions, in states with bans in place.

An immediate response from the circuit court is unlikely. The case is expected to return to the nation's top court eventually. The Texas-based case could be merged with one in Washington, where another federal judge ruled last month that mifepristone restrictions cannot be rolled back in a group of Democrat-led states that filed lawsuits.

Abortion in America: How access and attitudes have changed through the centuries Abortion in America: How access and attitudes have changed through the centuries Pre-1850: Abortions in early America are commonplace Mid-1800s: Birth of the American Medical Association shifts abortion oversight from midwives to doctors; abortion is criminalized 1960s: 'Back-alley butchers,' birth control, and protests 1970s: Roe v. Wade protects women's right to abortion; politics shift 1980s-2000s: Legal challenges to Roe v. Wade introduce restrictions 2020s: Roe v. Wade is overturned; Postal Service allowed to mail abortion medication
A new eatery specializing in Chinese and Japanese cuisine must address code violations before it can open in Bethlehem Township.

Kung Fu II, 4402 Birkland Place, was expected to open Friday at the Southmont Plaza. Inspectors found multiple township code violations on Thursday thatll need to be addressed prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, according to Township Planning Director Amanda Raudenbush.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Two suspects are in custody in connection to the death of a man in Golden Valley County earlier this week.

A welfare check at a rural residence in the sparsely populated county spurred a multi-agency search that included the Montana Division of Investigation, according to a statement released Thursday from Golden Valley County Sheriff Robert B. Pallas.

Currently there are no outstanding suspects and there is no risk to the public as a result of this incident, said Pallas, who also serves as the county coroner.

On May 15, GVCSO deputies found the body of a 67-year-old man at a rural home while responding to a welfare check. The man had suffered severe head trauma. Along with Montana DCI, the Wheatland County Sheriffs Office also assisted in the ensuing investigation which resulted in two people arrested: a 37-year-old man and 21-year-old woman.

Theft charges have already been filed against both suspects, said Tami Allen with the Golden Valley and Musselshell County Attorneys Office, and more charges are expected to be filed as the investigation progresses. The county attorneys office is not releasing the suspects names at this time. Both are being held in custody on a $50,000 bond.

While the investigation into the mans death is still ongoing, Pallas asking anyone with information that might assist law enforcement to contact GVCSO at 406-568-2321.

With less than 1,000 people, Golden Valley County is one of the least populated counties in Montana. It's sheriff's office consists of Pallas, an undersheriff, two sergeants, a deputy and three reserve deputies.
Ahead of opening its newest exhibit, Habitat Madagascar, the Lehigh Valley Zoo announced two new residents wholl make their home in the new year-round facility.

Red-ruffed lemurs Weasley, a 5-year-old male, and Makira, a 6-year-old female, will make their Lehigh Valley public debut on May 26, the grand opening of Habitat Madagascar, but theyve already arrived at the zoo and have been getting acquainted behind-the-scenes, according to a news release from the zoo. The pair of red-ruffed lemurs, a species native to Madagascar and is critically endangered, are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan.

The lemurs keepers said in the release that Weasley has been very vocal and inquisitive while Makira is on the shy side, but the two are getting along very well.

Thats good news for the Species Survival Plan, an effort to steady populations of endangered species like the red-ruffed lemur. Weasley and Makira are an approved breeding pair and were brought together at the Lehigh Valley Zoo from Omahas Henry Doorlys Zoo and Aquarium and the Bronx Zoo, respectively.

When Habitat Madagascar opens on May 26, the pair will be settled into their new home along with another breeding pair, mongoose lemurs Abby and Mico, and the zoos leopard tortoises, Horace and Autobahn.

The new 1,600-square-foot facility has indoor and outdoor spaces for its residents, allowing zoo visitors to observe the lemurs and tortoises throughout the year. It also has a nursery habitat for, ideally, Abby and Makira to bond with and care for future offspring. Habitat Madagascar is climate-controlled so that its residents can live comfortably year-round, while some other zoo residents have separate living areas during colder months.

As we approach the end to what has been a three-year process, we are excited to officially unveil Habitat Madagascar to our guests and the Lehigh Valley community, Amanda Shurr, the Lehigh Valley Zoo president and CEO, said in the release. We are excited for the addition of the pair of red ruffed lemurs to this habitat as they will be great ambassadors for their species and help us to further educate the Zoos guests about conservation.

The zoo is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Connor Lagore may be reached at clagore@njadvancemedia.com.
A person was injured in a crash Thursday afternoon involving a school bus that did not have students on board, Bethlehem Township police said.

The two-vehicle crash was reported at 2:56 p.m. on Easton Avenue at the intersection with Fifth Street in the township.

A passenger vehicle collided with the school bus, police Capt. Shaun Powell said. The driver of the passenger vehicle had a head injury and was taken to an area hospital as a trauma patient, according to Powell said.

Both vehicles were disabled following the crash and had to be towed away from the scene. Easton Avenue was closed as police and emergency crews responded.

The crash is under investigation, but Powell said citations are expected.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
A burglary attempt reported this week comes on the heels of two other recent burglaries in a Lower Saucon Township neighborhood.

Police said this time the attempted burglary happened in the evening hours  just after 8 p.m. Tuesday  in the 2800 block of Macarro Way. Five men were reported to have smashed a back sliding glass door. The victim saw the men and screamed before they ran off, police said.

The men were reported by the victim to have been wearing all black, with their faces covered and wearing gloves. They reportedly fled in an SUV shown in photo that Lower Saucon police posted to their crimewatchpa.com page.

Two other burglaries have been reported to police since the start of the year near the Macarro Way home that was targeted Tuesday. Detective Cpl. Eric Marth told lehighvalleylive.com Thursday the Marcarro Way property is about six miles from the two other incidents.

The first burglary was reported to have happened about 12:30 p.m. Jan. 30 in the 1700 block of Red Hawk Way. Burglars also in that incident forced their way into the back of the home, township police had said.

Two people wearing dark hoodies were seen running from the back of the home to a gray/silver Jeep Cherokee. Another man was captured in a released photo by investigators standing in front of the home and drove the Jeep as it fled, according to police. That vehicle was last seen traveling on Skibo Road toward Route 412.

In the second reported burglary, burglars on Jan. 30 also forced open a rear door and went into the home, investigators said. That incident happened in the 1600 block of White Acre Drive, where the residents saw the man walking between several homes on White Acre Drive, according to the department, noting the crime occurred during daylight.

Police were not immediately able to connect the most recent burglary attempt with the pair from January or any others, including incidents in nearby Upper Saucon, Marth said.

Multiple burglary investigations remain ongoing, Marth said.

Police are asking those with information to call Detective Cpl. Marth at 610-625-8722 or emarth@lowersaucontownship.org.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
First Commonwealth Credit Union, based in Upper Macungie Township, announced this week that it will acquire the Berks County-based credit union Bellco pending approval from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and Bellcos membership.

The merger is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024.

The merged companies will operate under First Commonwealth Federal Credit Unions name, according to a news release.

Members of both credit unions will be granted access to expanded services, including a larger ATM network and customer contact center, the credit unions said.

As a member-owned Community financial cooperative, our members are our top priority. By joining forces with First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union, our members will have access to additional products and services, and a growing network of financial centers and ATMs/ITMs across the Lehigh Valley, said Tom Gosling, Bellco Federal Credit Unions president/CEO.

The two credit unions have combined assets of more than $1.3 billion and over 92,000 members, according to the news release.

First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union operates 12 locations across the Lehigh Valley, including Warren County, N.J., and Berks County. Its expected with the merger the number of locations will increase to 14, the bank said.

Bellcos community impact will be amplified through First Commonwealths We Thrive Foundation, Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, and volunteerism, the news release stated.

With shared values rooted in the wellbeing of our members and communities, complementing retail footprints, and strong financial positions, this partnership is a natural fit for both organizations members, employees, and communities, said Donna LoStocco, First Commonwealth Federal Credit Unions president and CEO.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Glenn Epps can be reached at gepps@lehighvalleylive.com or glenn_epps_on Twitter.
Warren Countys first assistant prosecutor said Thursday hell appeal a decision removing him as the prosecutor of former Phillipsburg councilman Frank McVey.

First Assistant Prosecutor Anthony Robinson said he has the backing of the state Attorney Generals office. Robinson insists there will be no conflict of interest if he handles the blackmail case against McVey.

The attorney for McVey, meanwhile, has turned down a deal that would expunge McVeys record and allow him to enter a pre-trial intervention program. Attorney Michael Critchley says the charges are politically motivated and McVey deserves complete vindication. He said Thursday Robinson should dismiss the charges, not prosecute them.

Investigators allege McVey in 2020 threatened to blackmail Mayor Todd Tersigni so that the mayor would be unable to carry out his elected duties without first getting McVeys approval. McVey is charged with second-degree official misconduct, second-degree pattern of official misconduct and fourth-degree criminal coercion after a grand jury dismissed two additional counts.

Somerset County Judge Peter J. Tober ruled in February that no one from Warren County Prosecutor Jim Pfeiffers office should prosecute Tersigni because Pfeiffer represented Tersigni as a private client more than 10 years ago. Pfeiffer says he can avoid any potential conflict of interest by walling himself off from the case and allowing Robinson to handle it unilaterally.

Robinson submitted a letter to Tober from the acting chief of prosecutors with the New Jersey Attorney Generals office. The letter says its appropriate for Robinson to keep the case.

In a ruling on May 8, Tober said he wont change his mind. His ruling taking the Warren County Prosecutors office off the case stands.

Robinson said hell appeal that decision to the states appellate division. He said the attorney generals office determines whether theres a conflict of interest, not a Superior Court judge.

The judge is wrong on the law. Hes wrong on the facts, Robinson said Thursday.

In the May 8 ruling, Tober also denied Critchleys motion to dismiss the case.

Critchley maintains McVey was exercising his First Amendment right to free speech in his emails to Tersigni, not threatening him.

Hes confident the case wont go anywhere once the attorney generals office studies it.

Once they get someone to look at it, theyll probably dismiss it, he said.

Critchley is prepared to take the case to trial if necessary. But he wont recommend McVey take any deal or admit any wrongdoing. McVeys reputation has been tarnished by pre-trial publicity, and the only way to restore it is to fight the charges, Critchley said.

We want an absolute dismissal, he said.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to Lehighvalleylive.com.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com.
A sentence handed down to a Laois man who systematically raped and abused his two younger sisters was a "substantial departure from the norm" and has been increased to six years imprisonment by the Court of Appeal.

The State has succeeded in its appeal against the four-and-a-half-year jail term handed down to Christopher Rafter, aged 49, of The Hermitage, Portlaoise, in June of last year at the Central Criminal Court by Mr Justice Paul McDermott.

The State appealed the original sentence arguing that it was unduly lenient as there were two victims in the case but only one punishment due to the concurrent structure of the sentences imposed.

When originally jailing Rafter, Mr Justice McDermott said it was outrageous that family members criticised the sisters and ostracised them for their courage in revealing the abuse, which he said had "destroyed" their childhood.

They were little children in their own home, the judge said, adding that Rafter bears the guilt and the responsibility for his abusive behaviour. It should not even have to be stated, said Mr Justice McDermott.

In their victim impact statements, sisters Dolores Prendergast and Linda Rafter had said they hoped that their revelations about the abuse would help others carrying a similar cross.

The women waived their anonymity in order for Rafter to be named.

Rafter had pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to the rape and sexual assault of the two sisters at the family home on dates between 1989 and 1993. Rafter had no previous convictions at the time of his sentencing.

Ms Rafter and Ms Prendergast were both younger sisters of Rafter, and were aged between six and 10 years and nine and 11 years old at the time of the abuse. Rafter was aged 14 at the start of his offending and 19 when it ended.

At the Court of Appeal, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said the offending was "serious and serial" and that the court would increase the sentence to seven years with the final 12 months suspended.

Ms Justice Kennedy said that the headline sentence of nine years identified for the rape offences had not been unduly lenient but the mitigation accounted for and suspended portions imposed did not reflect the offending conduct.

"In our view, the discount permitted for mitigation and the length of the period which was suspended was too great," said Ms Justice Kennedy.

Ms Justice Kennedy said the sentence imposed "was a substantial departure from the norm and amounts to an error in principle".

She then quashed the original sentence of four-and-a-half years and re-sentenced Rafter to seven years imprisonment with the final 12 months suspended.

At the appeal hearing, Fiona Murphy SC for the State, said Rafter had been given "too much credit" in mitigation when he was jailed for the "systematic abuse" of the two sisters and that the resulting sentence was "too low".



Ms Murphy said the maximum penalty for sexual assault was 10 years' imprisonment but that Rafter had only been sentenced to two years' imprisonment for the 10 indecent assaults.

Ms Murphy said a "low" headline sentence of nine years' imprisonment had been identified by Mr Justice McDermott for the rape of Linda Rafter but that mitigating factors reduced this to six years before the judge suspended 18 months of that sentence.



The barrister said the judge identified seven years as a headline sentence for the rape of Delores Prendergast but reduced that to four-and-a-half years after mitigation.

All sentences were to run concurrently, said Ms Murphy.

Ms Murphy said the abuse of Delores would happen late at night in the family home and initially involved the fondling of her private parts when he pulled down her underwear.

Ms Murphy said Delores would freeze and felt pain while she tried to pretend she was asleep.

Ms Murphy said digital penetration occurred on "a weekly basis or more often" and that there had been one incident of rape regarding her on Rafter's indictment.

The barrister said Linda Rafter had been raped "eight-to-ten" times by the accused and that the sexual assaults had become a "formality" for Rafter who would summon the girl upstairs.

Ms Murphy said Linda Rafter adopted the behaviour of "a robot" when dealing with the abuse and that both sisters had believed they were his only victim.

The two women spoke up about the abuse and Rafter was confronted at a family gathering where he admitted what he had done.

Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy asked if the offending was "continuous" and was told it was.



Counsel agreed with Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy her issue was that, because the sentences were concurrent, it amounted to a "single punishment".



Ms Murphy said the abuse was "a significant breach of trust" that continued over a five-year period and into Rafter's adult years. She added that Rafter's guilty plea could not be said to be an early plea.

The barrister said the cumulative nature of the offending had not been fully marked by the jail sentence.

Ms Murphy said too much "weight" had been given to the fact that the majority of the abuse took place when Rafter was a minor.

The barrister said the offending involved two victims who were younger siblings of Rafter who he should have been minding.

John D Fitzgerald SC, for Rafter, said that the Covid lockdown had delayed Rafter from entering his guilty plea as further psychiatric assessments had to be obtained after an initial report.

Mr Fitzgerald said the majority of offending occurred when Rafter was a minor and referenced similar sentences for the sexual assault and rape which meant that the four-and-a-half year jail term was "not radically out of line" with other cases.

Mr Fitzgerald said there had been an issue with Rafter's mental functioning and his ability to understand his offending and said his client had a "borderline intellectual disability" coupled with a "schizoid personality".

The barrister said his client would find it "more difficult" to serve his sentence compared to others and that he was a "very different" 18-year-old upon reaching his majority compared to most people.

Mr Justice McCarthy said the offending had been so fundamentally wrong that it was "almost irrelevant" that Rafter had cognitive difficulties. "It's such a basic concept that it should be understood that it is wrong," said the judge.

Mr Justice McCarthy said it is the State's case that there were two victims but that there was only one punishment for the offending because of the concurrent structure of the jail sentence.

Mr Fitzgerald said this did not amount to an error in principle when Rafter was being sentenced, that his client had indicated his remorse to the family and had no previous convictions.

Ms Justice Kennedy said the abuse had "a very severe and prolonged effect" on the two women.

At the sentencing hearing, the two women outlined how, after they made their disclosures, family relationships had broken down and their names were blackened and smeared by family members who claimed they were out for money and that they should get over it as it was 30 years ago.

The sisters said they were not allowed to attend their fathers funeral and had to watch via the parish webcam. They watched as their brother was being minded and fussed over.

When passing sentence, Mr Justice McDermott paid tribute to the women for their courage in coming forward, adding that they "deserved nothing but praise" from their community.

It is a difficult thing to do and a difficult path to take, the judge said. The personal price is a high one. It must not be hidden. People must have confidence to come forward and know when they do that they will be listened to, he said.

Mr Justice McDermott said the women were subjected to further abuse by family members' desperate attempts to prevent reporting of their abuse for the sake of the family name.

He inflicted awful damage on their growth and development as children, he said. That effect is long-lasting and continuous.

Ms Prendergast outlined in her victim impact statement that she no longer wanted to call the accused man her brother and referred to him as X".

She said she was a "survivor" with "no happy memories" of her childhood. "Inside those four walls I had no protection," she said.

I was utterly alone in the face of the abuse, she said, and went on to detail how the lack of protection had impacted her in terms of self-love, confidence and her ability to trust, carrying these effects into adult life.

Ms Prendergast said her mother had again rejected her truth when she made the disclosures for a second time in 2018 as an adult. She said her mother had tried to manipulate them with the shame of public knowledge for the family and her character was assassinated with vicious lies.

She said her brother began abusing her when she was just six years old and even her first Holy Communion was tarnished with the memory of rape. I would love to save six-year-old me from his clutches, she said.

She said her family had stood by, knowing the truth, thinking only about their own needs and how it affected them in society. She said her parents were cold and dismissive, only feeling sorry for her brother.

She said sexual abuse "should not be tolerated or accepted" and that she hoped her story would make a difference to someone "carrying a similar cross".
TUS Athlone student, Alexandra Kuran from Mountrath has placed second in the 2023 National Accounting Competition.

The winners were announced by the gamification application Quitch and CPA Ireland who sponsored the competition.

Alexandra received a 600 prize for her second place finished. She finished behind her fellow TUS Athlone student, Chenlu Lin.

Participants in the competition included first to final year accounting and business students as well as masters and postgrad students from 21 colleges across Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Each week a range of theory-based accounting questions were released to participants on the Quitch app. Participants scored points for correctly answers and how quick they answered the questions. Participants could monitor their progress under their avatar name and see their score on a leader board along with the other participants.

The Technological University of the Shannon Midlands Midwest was the Winning College for the second year running.

Brendan McLarney, Lecturer in Accounting at Technological University of the Shannon Midlands Midwest said, We are delighted to see our accounting students winning the top two prizes in the National Accounting Competition 2023. This is the second year in a row that one of our accounting students has won the competition, which is a great testament to the quality of the BA in Accounting programme at TUS Athlone.

"These awards are recognition of the hard work and dedication of the students and staff within the Department of Accounting and Business Computing".

Grainne Oats, CEO of Quitch said, I would like congratulate the winners and everyone who has participated in this years competition. We were delighted to partner with CPA Ireland again and provide students with a platform where they could use game-based techniques to answer theory-based accounting questions. There were brilliant results in the competition, and we would like to congratulate everyone who took part.

Adam OReilly, Business Development Officer at CPA Ireland said, CPA Ireland were delighted to sponsor the National Accounting Competition for its second year running. At CPA Ireland, we are always looking to the future and new ways of learning, and were excited to bring Quitch gamified learning platform to the students of Ireland while adding the fun and competitiveness of the competition.
Micheal Martin has said that outrageous false stories about refugees moving into communities are being spread that is spreading unease among communities.

The Tanaiste said he was not speaking about Co Clare specifically, where a protest is being held outside Magowna House hotel after more than 30 asylum seekers arrived by bus on Monday night.

Some locals have raised concerns about the quality of the accommodation and the lack of services in the area, and have blocked the road to stop more buses from arriving at the hotel.

They also raised concerns about a lack of prior consultation.

The government has said that concerns need to be listened to, but stressed that no one can veto the arrival of people into a community and insisted that the hotel will still be used as accommodation.

Mr Martin said he does not underestimate the pressures on people and on communities, but added this is not peacetime, referencing the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other conflicts.

He acknowledged that the government needed to improve communications and consultation, and said there was never anything wrong with engagement, referring to minister of state Joe OBriens meeting with locals in Co Clare on Thursday.

I think were always ready to improve communications and consultation, Mr Martin told reporters on Friday.

But theres another side to the story as well.

There has been, as I say, close to 100,000 people now housed by the state and in this country  that also reflects the welcome that many have received and the degree to which many communities across the country have not been engaged in blockades and so on, rather the opposite.

Theyve been working to help people to settle down, and acclimatise and integrate, and Ive been in many schools over the last while and I must say the education community have been to the fore in helping young children of asylum seekers and indeed Ukrainian children to continue their learning, continue their education.

And those environments are ones of warmth and of welcome. But of course, they dont get the headlines and rarely will get the headlines, he said.

He said that Ireland needed to rebut and refute rumours about migrants that are without foundation.

More generally, we are aware of false stories being spread about people who come into the country that have no foundation. And some of them are outrageous in terms of whats been asserted and we just have to stand up against that.

I met a person last week who was convinced that 150 people had arrived in the night before in a particular location, when that wasnt the case at all, no one had arrived the night before.

But it was posted on Facebook that 150 had arrived in and saying all sorts of things are going to happen and your children are in danger and so on like that.

And thats kind of shocking stuff and that is a factor, I think, thats beginning to spread unease and we have to really rebut that, refute that and its unacceptable.
Kildare TD and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for farm safety, Martin Heydon has urged farmers to take time to ensure a safe silage harvest.

Minister Heydon said: Silage harvesting is already underway in earnest in many parts of the country. It is an exciting time on farms that signals the start of summer, but it can also be an extremely dangerous time too.

We know the pressure that farmers and agricultural contractors alike can be under to get the work completed. I would urge everyone involved over the coming days and weeks to take some extra time to ensure it is completed safely as well.

Over half of all fatal incidents on farms involve vehicles or machinery while longer working days during the summer months can increase the risk of incidents due to fatigue.

Minister Heydon added: We know where the risks are when it comes to silage harvesting. It is important to plan ahead, identify the risks, and take action to mitigate them to ensure a safe harvest for everyone.

Taking the following steps can help ensure a safe silage harvest:

A safe system of work should be in place and properly communicated to all;

All machinery should be in a good state of repair, fully serviced with all protective guards in place;

Everyone involved should be properly trained and know their role;

The routes that the machinery will be taking should be known and there should be good visibility at the farm entrance and all field entrances that are being used;

Warning signs should be erected near entrances to fields and farmyards;

Silage pits should be checked to see they are in good repair and not overfilled.



The Minister concluded by emphasising: It is vital to keep vulnerable people, especially children safe and away from the silage harvest. Friends, family, visitors and fellow farmers not involved in silage making should also stay away from the yard and meadows.
The Kildare County Council Decade of Commemorations Committee is hosting the 7th Irish Military Seminar in Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge on this Friday and Saturday.

The Cathaoirleach of the County of Kildare, Cllr Fintan Brett, will open the Seminar on the Friday evening at a special event featuring former RTE Security Correspondent Tom McCaughren on The Peacemakers of Niemba.

This Friday evenings event, attended by many serving and past members of the Defence Forces, usually sells out so tickets (free) should be booked in advance via www.riverbank.ie or by phoning 045448327.

The Friday evening event will also see the launch of a unique biographical dictionary of Co. Kildare men, women and children who took part in the fight for Irelands freedom in the revolutionary decade. Stand you now for Irelands Cause A biographical dictionary of County Kildare republican activists 1913-23 by historian James Durney will be launched at 7pm. All are welcome to the launch.

The Saturday line-up features an exciting and varied programme of speakers and topics again this year, including talks on the Spanish Armada, the Irish Brigade at Monte Cassino, the War of Independence, the Niemba Ambush & a keynote address by Dr Siobhra Aiken titled Breaking The Silence: Writing the Civil War.

Tickets (free to attend) must be reserved via www.riverbank.ie or by phoning 045448327.

The full programme is available on www.riverbank.ie or by emailing localhistory@kildarecoco.ie

The Irish Military Seminar is supported by the Kildare County Council Decade of Commemorations Committee and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-23 initiative.

Email localhistory@kildarecoco.ie for more details.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Of those in the first round of a massive process to redetermine Medicaid coverage for most of those covered by Montanas programs, nearly half of the people contacted by the state health department have not yet returned information to determine if their health insurance will continue.

About 32,140 people were contacted in April by the state Department of Public Health and Human Services, and 45% had not responded to the request for information to determine if they were still qualified.

Starting in April and as a part of the end of the federal public health emergency, the health department began the process of contacting people on Medicaid and Healthy Montana Kids, the states Medicaid program for children, to determine if they were still qualified for coverage.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people who were enrolled on Medicaid programs stayed covered, regardless of if their financial or personal situations changed in ways that made them no longer qualified.

While health care advocates said this helped connect people with medical resources at a critical time, state Medicaid populations swelled, as did states costs to operate Medicaid programs even with a higher contribution level from the federal government.

Since early 2021, Montanas Medicaid enrollment across all programs rose from 257,892 to 300,900 by February of this year. During the legislative session that ran from January to May, Republican legislators urged the state health department to start the redetermination process as quickly as possible once the public health emergency ended.

Earlier this year the department said it planned a 10-month process to handle the workload with the need to conduct an expedient and quality process overall, a spokesperson said.

While some people were able to be automatically renewed in the first round, anyone whose coverage could not be determined by that process must complete a packet set to them from the department and return it. That can be done by mail or at apply.mt.gov. Households are given at least 30 days to respond, and the department said it would follow up with reminder notices and text messages to people who have not returned their information.

By Friday, 45% of those in the first batch of determinations had been sent a packet but not returned it by the May 10 due date. That was about 14,510 people.

As required, DPHHS has sent another notice to these clients providing notification that their case will close at the end of May unless they take action immediately, the department wrote in an email Thursday.

Nearly 20%, or about 6,260 people in the first group of reviewed coverage, have renewed their coverage either by returning the packet or through the automated process.

And about 35%, or 11,370 people, have initiated the process, meaning they have sent back information to the department thats now in the process of being reviewed.

Its too early to say how many people in the first round of redetermination may lose coverage, as the final review and deadline to submit information has not yet occurred. That information will be available in June, as the redetermination process is on a 60-day cycle.

DPHHS is taking a population-based approach, prioritizing redeterminations of individuals who had changes that would likely have impacted eligibility during the continuous enrollment period, but remained enrolled during the public health emergency, a spokesperson said in an email. Processing redeterminations of the MAGI-only population began in month one, with the aged, blind and disabled populations starting in month four.

The MAGI population refers to those whose eligibility is based on their modified adjusted gross income, which includes parents and caretaker relatives.

For those who are covered by Medicaid, the department is asking people to make sure they are able to receive their paperwork by completing the new change of address form online at the top of apply.mt.gov.

People can also create an online account at apply.mt.gov. There, Medicaid members can update their contact information, complete their paperwork and receive correspondence about their coverage.

People can also call the Public Assistance Helpline at 1-888-706-1535 and press 1 or by faxing 1-877-418-4533.

People can also mail the department at DPHHS, PO Box 202925, Helena, MT 59620-2925 or go to their local Office of Public Assistance for help.
National Broadband Ireland, the company delivering the new future-proofed, high-speed Fibre-to-the-Home network under the National Broadband Plan on behalf of the Government, has said that around 1,500 Kildare properties in the Ballylinan deployment area which includes homes and businesses in Athy and nearby townlands will be able to connect to its high-speed fibre broadband network shortly.

16,000 premises in County Kildare are included in the States Intervention Area, which will see NBI deliver minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second to homes, businesses, farms, and schools. As the biggest investment in rural Ireland since rural electrification, County Kildare will receive 53m of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan.

There are 1,507 Kildare homes, businesses and farms located in the Ballylinan deployment area that can join the National Broadband Ireland network. Works have already been completed in other parts of Kildare and there are 2,546 premises that are available to pre-order or order high-speed, reliable broadband across the county with 956 connections already made to the NBI network. National Broadband Ireland is calling on people to visit nbi.ie/map/ and enter their Eircode to see if they are ready to connect.

Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: We are delighted to announce that Kildare premises in the Ballylinan deployment area can now pre-order broadband services through the National Broadband Ireland network. This will enable users to experience the life-changing benefits that high-speed broadband provides.

National Broadband Irelands website is regularly updated to show estimated connection dates. Signing up to the NBI email notifications at https://nbi.ie/eoi/ is the easiest way to get the most up to date status of premises during the rollout and when premises will be ready for order.

As a wholesale network operator, NBI does not sell fibre broadband directly to end users, rather it enables services from a range of broadband providers or Retail Service Providers (RSPs). As a wholesale provider, NBI will make the new Fibre-to-the-Home network available to all RSPs operating in the Intervention Area.

Some 62 RSPs have already signed up to sell services on the National Broadband Ireland network and 51 are certified as ready to start providing connections as of today. To see the retail broadband providers that are currently licensed to sell on the National Broadband Ireland network, visit NBI.ie/buy.

National Broadband Ireland contractors have been on the ground across the country and over 151,211 premises nationwide are available to order broadband on the NBI network so far.

The National Broadband Ireland website is regularly updated to show estimated connection dates. Signing up to the NBI email notifications at https://nbi.ie/eoi/ is the easiest way to get the most up to date status of premises during the rollout and when premises will be ready for order.

Keep up to Speed!

NBI is encouraging people to check their eligibility and register for updates at www.nbi.ie to receive regular notifications related to their own premises as works progresses in their area.

Broadband Connection Points

In advance of the Fibre-to-the-Home rollout, the NBP provides for the delivery of Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) nationwide. 602 of these sites, including Public BCPs, are now live. Public BCPs  which include sports clubs, community centres and tourist sites  will provide free public access to high-speed internet in the rollout area. Other BCP categories include schools and marts.

BCPs will pave the way for rural communities to receive the benefits of broadband, from mobile working, e-learning and mobile banking, to digital tourism. You can view BCPs at www.nbi.ie/bcp-map/. An example of some of the locations of Broadband Connection Points in Kildare include Lullymore Heritage Park, Cookstown Further Education, Trainging and Community Centre, and Bigstone Community Hall. Primary schools in the Intervention Area are also being connected for educational access as part of the NBP.
PICTURED: Angela Reilly, Assistant Director of Nursing, and her daughter Orla Reilly, Nursing Student/Health Care Assistant, Naas General Hospital

Naas General Hospital marked International Nurses Day 2023, the theme of which was Our Nurses Our Future #IND2023 which aimed to highlight the contribution of nurses to the healthcare sector and shine the light on nurses and on a brighter future.

In Naas, the day was celebrated by all colleagues with an event that recognised the quality improvement initiatives developed by nursing and the ongoing learning of the nursing staff within the hospital.

Nurses are at the forefront of healthcare in Ireland. They influence and lead on the design and delivery of safe, quality-focused care that encompasses compassion and commitment. The nursing profession is transforming, with many advances in career opportunities, supportive innovations, and digital-enabled healthcare.

Angela Reilly, Assistant Director of Nursing, and her daughter Orla Reilly, Nursing Student/Health Care Assistant, spoke of their reasons for joining the nursing profession. Orla has followed in the footsteps of both of her parents who met while nursing in St James Hospital. To mark the International Day of the Nurse they spoke of their reasons for joining the nursing profession. Angela said When you empower people, empower patients, to manage their diseases it makes their lives better and richer. Thats a big thing and nurses are very central to that Orla said Its something really rewarding being able to see someone from the beginning to the end of their time in hospital.

Aine Lynch, Group Director of Nursing and Midwifery for the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group delivered a heartfelt thank you to her colleagues at the inaugural Dublin Midlands Hospital Group Nursing and Midwifery Conference which was held recently to celebrate International Day of the Nurse, she said, Nurses are at the forefront of healthcare delivery and we have a huge opportunity to work with you to really transform our health services for our patients. The Hospital Group wants to support you every step of the way and to say thank you to each and every one of you.

Anne Murphy, Director of Nursing at Naas General Hospital said, I am so proud of the work that is happening in Naas General Hospital to improve patient care pathways and in ensuring high-quality patient-centred care.

"Nursing is a very rewarding profession. There are challenges but there are very exciting aspects of nursing, it is a career that can take you in so many different directions from clinical specialties, advanced practice, leadership, management, education, to research. We are building for the future and our nurses are playing an active role in how we design and deliver patient care. It has never been more important to highlight what our profession has achieved, not only during the pandemic but also on a daily basis in making a difference in peoples lives.

To view a video of Angela and Orlas story, click here: https://youtu.be/Kgim2FJRKwM
This year The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon is celebrating National Drawing Day with a Drawing Dancers workshop with Youth Artist in Residence Andy Parsons. Every year, the National Gallery of Irelandtogether with dozens of museums, galleries, libraries, and cultural organisations all over the island of Irelandencourages people to get drawing with a jam-packed day of free events for people of all ages.

Drawing and movement are inextricably linked, and many contemporary artists have explored the idea of drawing as something that involves the whole body.

Using the idea of movement in dance, artist Andy Parsons will take the iconic painting The Dance by Paula Rego as a starting point to invite participants to join him in creating a roomful of drawn dancers.

Regos lyrical 1988 painting of a group of dancers by the shore is also featured as an inspiration to the artists in The Docks current exhibition, Na Cailleacha with reference to Paula Rego

While Regos work is meticulous and realistic, the drawings in the workshop will be more abstract and spontaneous. The emphasis will be on expressiveness and movement and artworks can be very abstract.

Participants will work with a variety of media including charcoal and collage. The workshop room will be covered with paper, and participants can choose to draw directly or create collages that can be stuck to the wall. As each new dancer is added over course of the day the room will fill with movement and energy.

The session will be open to all ages and all abilities. It runs from 12 noon to 2pm and admission is free.

See here for more information: https://www.thedock.ie/whats-on/drawing-dancers-national-drawing-day
Dr Mel Gorman in Longford has written to the Leitrim Observer to extend his congratulations to Carrick-on-Shannon native, Dr Paul Armstrong on completing his year as a very successful president of The Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP).

Dr Armstrong is a native of Main St in Carrick-on-Shannon and is brother of local politician Fiona Armstrong-McGuire and Dr Mary Armstrong (Co Armagh).

The ICGP is the professional body for general practice in Ireland. It has over 2,500 members.

The College's primary aim is to serve the patient and the general practitioner by encouraging and maintaining the highest standards of general medical practice. It is the representative organisation on education, training and standards in general practice.

Dr Armstrong, a GP in the seven-partner practice in the Lifford and Castlefin Primary Care Centres in Co Donegal, served as president of the ICGP from June 2022 to May 2023.

Dr Armstrong qualified form the UCD School of Medicine in 1984 and graduated from the Sligo GP Training Programme in 1988.

He holds several roles besides being a GP in Lifford.

He has been the Medical Officer for the Lifford Community Hospital since 1989, and a Trainer with the Donegal GP Training Programme since 1992.

He has been the Chairman of NoWDOC cooperative since 2001, and Chairman of the Habinteg Housing Association Ireland from 2011 to 2019, a registered social housing provider.

Dr Armstrong contributed to the College in a variety of roles, including: Chair of the Education Committee, Chair of the Quality and Standards Committee, ICGP representative with the UCD Centre for Emergency Medical Science, Representative Irish Health Services Accreditation Dept of Health & Children, Council Member and Executive member.

He has also published papers in the BMJ, IMJ, ICGP Forum Journal and the Family Practice Journal.

Speaking during his time as president, Dr Armstrong said, General Practice is the cornerstone of the Irish health service, and this was proven beyond doubt during the Covid-19 pandemic when there was a huge reliance on general practitioners to deliver care and then to deliver vaccines to vulnerable groups.

GPs showed their flexibility and adaptability at a time of huge pressure on doctors and their staff.

He also spoke about the challenges that general practitioners face.

We face the challenges of increased workload with a growing GP shortage, particularly in rural Ireland.

We urge the Government to recognise these challenges and work with the ICGP to help find innovative solutions to these challenges.

Dr Armstrong took over the presidency from Professor Tom O'Dowd, Professor of General Practice in Trinity College, Dublin and a GP in Tallaght, Dublin. He is a native of Croghan in Co Roscommon.

Recently, Dr Padraig McGarry, Longford was president of The Irish Medical Organisation for two years during the Covid crisis. The IMO is a doctors' trade union. Dr McGarry's paternal roots are in Clooncarne Lane, Bornacoola.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said her partys success in Northern Irelands local government elections is a message from the people that Stormont must return.

However, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has insisted his partys vote is holding up as counting continues to fill 462 seats across 11 council areas.

At 9.30pm, Sinn Fein led the way with 71 councillors elected. The DUP was next on 59, the cross-community Alliance Party had 31, the Ulster Unionists 24, the SDLP 12, with eight others.

In terms of the share of the first preference votes, Sinn Fein had 31.1% of first preferences of votes counted so far.

it's becoming clear from todays results that people across the North have seized the opportunity to send a clear signal that it is time to get the Assembly up and running. People are determined to see the positive transformation of our politics. Sinn Fein went into this pic.twitter.com/qtKASNBeZo  Michelle ONeill (@moneillsf) May 19, 2023

It means the republican party appears to be on course to repeat its success from last years Assembly elections when it emerged as the largest party for the first time.

The DUP secured 24% of first preference votes counted so far, with Alliance on 12.9%, the UUP on 11.7% and the SDLP on 8.7%.

The votes are being counted through the single transferable vote system and the process will continue well into Saturday.

The general pattern around voter turnout appeared to be up slightly in areas which would be regarded as predominantly nationalist/republican and down slightly in areas viewed as unionist majority.

The Stormont assembly has not been operational for more than a year due to the DUPs boycott of the powersharing institutions in protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Speaking at Belfast City Hall, Mrs McDonald said the election results showed a very strong showing for Sinn Fein right across the north.

She added: We are very pleased with that. We ran a very positive campaign and we are very pleased that the response to that has just been so positive by way of returns.

In the course of the election a lot of things were discussed, all the local issues but, in truth, the big issue was that of a return of the executive, the need to have government, the need to have leadership, the need to work together, to make politics work for everybody.

The need for Michelle ONeill to come into post as the first minister for all.

So, for us, that is the significance of this result, it is undoubtedly a vote for progress, for change, for positivity and, above all else, for working together.

Party vice president Michelle ONeill said the British and Irish Governments now needed to come up with a plan to bring Stormont back.

She said: We ran a very positive campaign.

But on the doors the conversation was very much centred around the need to have a restored Assembly and executive up and running.

That needs to be done now without delay. We would call on both governments to get engaged and actually make that happen.

There needs to be a plan now for a way back to a restored executive.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey said if Sinn Fein emerges as the largest party in local government, unionism will have to look at where its going.

Sinn Feins Geraldine McAteer is the first councillor elected in Belfast. She was elected in the Balmoral district electoral area with 2,037 votes. pic.twitter.com/lLmVAup2r3  Rebecca Black (@RBlackPA) May 19, 2023

Speaking at the Lisburn and Castlereagh council count, he said: Lets see when the final votes are all counted who is the largest party but, if Sinn Fein do emerge as the largest party in the council elections, I think yet again, as Ive been saying, consistently, there are lessons that unionism needs to learn here.

We cant go on with a situation where turnout in unionist areas is significantly lower than in nationalist areas, you cant go on with a situation where the unionist vote is continually splitting and splintering.

The result of that is that seats are gifted to Sinn Fein and to others when the unionist vote is split, and when that unionist vote doesnt transfer sufficiently.

So, I think, we really do need to learn the lessons behind all of this, the DUP without a shadow of a doubt is by far the largest unionist party and I think that unionism needs to look at where its going and regroup around a strong voice for unionism, and see more co-operation between unionist parties.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said she believes it has been a positive election for her party.

Speaking to the PA news agency at Belfast City Hall, Ms Long said: Its been very positive so far but its very early.

Its still too early to predict, any of the gains that we hope to make will come much later but it looks good, its been a strong turnout for Alliance and from our perspective its been a good day.

Undoubtedly Sinn Fein has had a fantastic election, I think everyone can see that, but with the exception of Sinn Fein I think Alliance is the only party to have made significant gains at this point.

Sinn Feins Gary McCleave was the first councillor to be elected on Friday at Lisburn and Castlereagh Council, securing a seat in the Killultagh district electoral area (DEA).

His election was swiftly followed by the DUPs Thomas Beckett and Claire Kemp of the Alliance Party in the same DEA.

In Belfast, sitting Lord Mayor Tina Black was among the first elected.

Her Sinn Fein colleague, Geraldine McAteer, was the first councillor to be elected to the capitals council in the Balmoral DEA.

A short time later, Ms Black, along with DUP candidates Frank McCoubrey and Nicola Verner, was elected in the Court DEA.

At the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council, UUP leader Doug Beattie referred to the possibility of unionism as a whole losing seats.

The question is will unionism as a whole lose seats in this election, if they do that, its a unionism-wide issue that has to be dealt with  as far as my party is concerned, weve set our path, Im not going to change that path, he said.

We believe that we need to get Northern Ireland working. We are confident unionists, we want to put out a positive, optimistic message and we will continue to do that, nothing will change.

Northern Irelands councils are responsible for setting rates, planning and waste collection as well as leisure services and parks.
A former priest and Irish Times columnist who was sentenced to four years in prison for sexual assaults on a school boy in the late 1990s has had his conviction quashed and is to be retried.

Barry Fergal Jennings (57) of Cloonkeerin, Frenchpark, Co Roscommon, was convicted by unanimous jury decision in March of last year of six counts of sexual assault of the boy at locations in Dublin on dates between September 1998 and December 1999.



Mr Jennings, aka Fr Jennings and Fr Fergal Mac Eoinin, was a chaplain at a community school in Dublin at the time of the alleged offences. He had denied the charges.



At his trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Monica Leech BL, prosecuting, said it was the State's case that the priest went to the victims home and molested him in his bed. Counsel said it was the State's case that the accused also sexually assaulted him a number of times while driving him around and also molested him twice at locations at the school.



In his victim impact statement, the man said that he was previously a happy child but that the sex attacks destroyed his life, resulting in him turning to alcohol and drugs and making him feel suicidal.



At the Court of Appeal today, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said that in December 2017 the complainant made statements to An Garda Siochana alleging the abuse. The complainant had already told a doctor, a separate priest and his mother that he had been assaulted.



In May 2018, the complainant also made a phone-call to a life-long friend to say that he had contacted the gardai.

Evidence of the making of the complaints were heard in the trial and put before the jury.

Ms Justice Kennedy said it was the submission of Mr Jennings' legal team that the jury were not directed on the value of this evidence about how the complaints were made.



She said it was argued that the trial judge erred in omitting to explain the purpose upon which the complaint evidence was admissible, "namely, to show consistency of the account, not for the purpose of proving the fact of the complaint itself and [that it] did not constitute corroboration".



Lorcan Staines SC, for Mr Jennings, had argued that it was "clear that this was an error or oversight which simply was not noted by any party to the trial".Mr Staines said the omission was "a legal principle of such fundamental importance, that the failure to instruct the jury on the limited use of this evidence amounts to a fundamental deficiency in the trial".

The State had argued that no requisition was made of the judge by the defence following the judge's charge to the jury before they began deliberations.

The State also submitted that nothing had arisen "to raise an apprehension that a fundamental injustice has occurred" due to the omission.

Ms Justice Kennedy said: "It must be recalled that evidence of complaint is not evidence of the truth of the allegation made and nor is such evidence capable of constituting corroboration of the complainant's testimony."

The judge said that complaint evidence could be relied on for the "limited purpose of seeking to show consistency on the part of the complainant". Ms Justice Kennedy said "it should always be made clear to the jury that such evidence is not evidence of the facts on which the complaint is based" but rather to show the victim was consistent with their testimony in court.

"There is a risk in the absence of an instruction by a trial judge that a jury, unaware of the legal niceties, may consider such evidence to be supportive of the complainant's account or that the evidence confirms the complainant's account.

"An express instruction is required in most circumstances to obviate that risk. Such an instruction was not furnished in this trial," said Ms Justice Kennedy.

The judge said the evidence of complaint was "clearly of importance" in the case and warranted a direction from the trial judge.

In quashing the conviction, Ms Justice Kennedy said there had been "an oversight or error of substance, giving rise to the apprehension of real injustice".

The judge said the complaint evidence was "critical to the prosecution's evidence against the appellant and the absence of the appropriate direction as to the specific use of that evidence in those circumstances renders the conviction unsafe".

Ms Justice Kennedy then quashed the conviction and Mr Jennings is to appear before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Wednesday of next week.



At the trial, Patrick OSullivan BL, defending, said Mr Jennings was a highly-educated man who had a number of primary degrees and qualified as a barrister. He joined the Dominican order in 1993 and became a chaplain at the school in 1996 before moving to a parish in Waterford.

The court heard Mr Jennings had a column in The Irish Times which ended as soon as the allegations against him came to light.



Defence counsel said Mr Jennings left the priesthood in 2016 after becoming disillusioned and that he now lived effectively as a hermit in a rural area in Co Roscommon, where he has little interaction with anyone.



In a medical report, Mr Jennings was described as being depressed and anxious as he was very despairing due to the allegation against him.



The report said Mr Jennings described himself as a hugely idealistic person who was dedicated to his principles and was angry at the false allegations. He described his life as being a living nightmare and that he suffers anguish on a daily basis.



His lawyers called three witnesses to give character evidence in defence of Mr Jennings, who were all young men the accused had worked with when he was a priest and described him as a father figure.
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and Teddy (Ethann Isidore) in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," directed by James Mangold. THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY FRANCE

OFFICIAL SELECTION  NOT IN COMPETITION

Harrison Ford received an honorary Palme d'Or and prolonged applause at the Grand Theatre Lumiere, which was at full capacity on Thursday, May 19 at 7 pm. It was the world premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which will be released at the end of June. The fifth movie of the franchise inaugurated in 1981 is also the first to be neither directed by Steven Spielberg nor co-written by George Lucas. The two old comrades who made a new Hollywood that is now becoming history had their expensive fun with the franchise, when they weren't busy with Star Wars and E.T., and more.

Spielberg's departure from directing and Lucas' own exit since the purchase of Lucas Films by Disney, in addition to Ford's age, mean this will undoubtedly be the ultimate salvo in the Indiana Jones story. The page has been turned on what the adventurous legend embodied: the spirit of childhood and endless curiosity brought to life in an imaginary soap opera based on 20th-century history.

This final episode from the previous century's legend completes the transformation that saw Disney take possession of Hollywood's lost ark, launch the teenage monoculture of superhero movies and contribute to the impoverishment of American auteur cinema in a way that no Golden Age mogul could have dreamed of.

James Mangold walks away with honors

James Mangold  a specialist of swan songs for great American myths (the Western, with 3:10 to Yuma in 2007, the superhero movie, with Logan in 2017, Formula 1 films with Ford v Ferrari in Europe in 2019) was asked to cleanly put the final nail on the coffin of Indiana Jones, a hero clearly too human for the superhero era. At a cost of $300 million dollars (compared to 18 million for the first film), Mangold could have afforded to miss the funeral, but he pulls it off with honors.

The plot up to now might be worth revisiting. Indiana Jones, imagined by Lucas before he began with Star Wars, is an archeology professor whose taste for adventure leads him to collect artifacts and other magical relics from distant civilizations, against the backdrop of the great wars that marked the first part of the 20th century. The character was matched perfectly with Ford, then a young actor recently propelled into the stratosphere by his role as Han Solo in the first Star Wars in 1977. It was the unexpected success of the "space opera" that incited Lucas, in collaboration with his friend Spielberg, to develop the Indiana Jones series.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes The first time Le Monde wrote Harrison Ford Ajouter a vos selections Ajouter a vos selections Pour ajouter larticle a vos selections

identifiez-vous Sinscrire gratuitement

Se connecter Vous possedez deja un compte ?

It was a success that allowed the tandem to craft sequels around stable narratives: preventing the Nazis from getting their hands on the Ark of the Covenant hidden in Egypt that would give them the secret to victory in Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981; recovering the precious stone taken from poor Indian villagers by the high priest of a dark sect in The Temple of Doom in 1984; preventing the Nazis, again, from capturing the Holy Grail in Turkey in The Last Crusade in 1989; and trekking in the Peruvian jungle to steal an extraterrestrial skull from the Soviets, in The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008.

You have 38.09% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
A NUTRITIONAL brand, founded by a Limerick senior hurler and his sister, has been selected as one of this years Grow with Aldi finalists.

FemFuelz, which specialises in female-specific nutritional and protein supplements, will have their products available to buy from Aldi stores nationwide for a two week period.

From May 25, online run FemFuelz will be selling selected products from their range in store. The company was founded by William ODonoghue and his sister Kylie in October 2020.

Speaking about being selected as a finalist for this years Grow with Aldi competition, Kylie ODonoghue said they were being overwhelmed by the support that herself and brother William have received.

FemFuelz was born out of the desire to create a female specific supplement company that would support women in becoming the best version of themselves, Kylie said.

We are delighted to be on shelves in Aldi stores nationwide this May.

We would like to thank Aldi for their help and support thus far and we cannot wait to see our product on the shelf.

The FemFuelz Gut Balance Apple & Kiwi (80g), White Chocolate and Hazelnut Whey Protein (300g) and Chocolate Brownie Vegan Protein (300g) will soon be available in Aldi stories.

All FemFuelz blends contain premium ingredients with added vitamins, minerals and more to ensure customers have a unique experience and see the greatest benefits possible.

In partnership with Bord Bia, Grow with Aldi is now in its sixth year and invites suppliers from across Ireland to take their business to the next level by trading in stores nationwide.

There are three Aldi stores in Limerick, located in the Dublin Road and Childers Road areas of the city, while another is in the square, Newcastle West.

The 24 participants, from 15 counties, in the Grow with Aldi programme will have their supplies on sale in over 157 stores nationwide.
A MAN who travelled from Limerick to Thurles to collect cannabis in order to repay a drugs debt has been jailed by Judge John Martin at Nenagh Circuit Criminal Court.

Sergeant David Godfrey told the court that Keith Lonergan, aded 46, who is originally from Clonmel but lives at St Lawrences Park, Garryowen, Limerick, was observed by gardai attempting to hide a bag behind a bin at Thurles Railway Station on March 24, 2021, in the company of another individual.

The bag was found to contain suspected cannabis.

The other male took off along the tracks and Mr Lonergan was detained under the Misuse of Drugs Act. The drugs were estimated to be worth 9,960.

A subsequent search of Mr Lonergans house in Limerick unearthed a further 2,330 worth of drugs. Mr Lonergan was interviewed on four occasions and admitted possession of the drugs.

He was subsequently charged with possession and with possession for sale or supply.

Sgt Godfrey said that Mr Lonergan stated that he had gone to Thurles to collect the cannabis and that the other male owned the drugs.

Mr Lonergan had said that he owed a drug debt and had agreed to carry and hold the cannabis to repay it.

He was to receive some cannabis from the other male as part payment for his actions.

The other man had been detained but made no admissions, Sgt Godfrey told the court.

In relation to the drugs seizure in Limerick, Mr Longeran had said that he was holding the greater amount for the other male and he had a smaller amount estimated at around 100 for himself.

The total amount found in Thurles came to 498 grams, with an estimated street value of 9,960; the amount found in Garryowen came to 116.5 grams, with an estimated value of 2,330.

Sgt Godfrey told Kenneth Kerins, BL, for Mr Lonergan, that he understood the defendants role was to carry the drugs and that he was to travel back to Limerick by train.

The garda accepted Mr Lonergan had co-operated with the investigation and that Mr Lonergan owed a drugs debt.

Sgt Godfrey accepted Mr Lonergan was a heavy cannabis user.

Mr Kerins, in mitigation, said that while the amount had been significant, he asked the court to be as lenient as possible.

He didnt try to flee. He put his hands up, said Mr Kerins.

The barrister said his client was only involved in order to pay a drug debt. He also had a history of employment and was in a stable relationship.

Mr Kerins revealed that Mr Lonergan had a sibling who died in Clonmel on Christmas Eve 2008 and that had a profound impact on his client.

He didnt deal with that and self-medicated through the use of alcohol, said Mr Kerins.

But while Mr Lonergan had not taken alcohol for the past two years, he had used cannabis as a replacement.

Mr Kerins said it had not been a smart option to replace one problem with another. He said Mr Lonergan was not Mr Big.

This man was a pawn. Its the way the drug business operates, he told the judge.

However, Judge Martin did not accept that Mr Lonergan was a mere pawn, saying he was an essential cog in the wheel in a business that was causing havoc in society.

He accepted that the death of Mr Lonergans sibling had had a profound impact on him and that he had self-medicated with alcohol before turning to drugs.

I note you are still using cannabis and there is no evidence you are going to wean yourself off drugs, he told Mr Lonergan.

Judge Martin said that in Mr Lonergans favour was the fact that he had not done a legger and had co-operated with the gardai, though he had tried to blame another person for the drugs.

Judge Martin also noted that Mr Lonergan had acknowledged his stupidity.

Judge Martin sentenced Mr Lonergan to four years in jail, with the final 18 months suspended, provided Mr Lonergan entered a bond of 100 to keep the peace, to co-operate with the prison services while in jail and on his release, to attend any meeting organised by the services and to provide urine samples whenever asked while in prison and on his release.

The charge of possession was taken into account.
GARDAI are warning students attending third-level education in Limerick not to become a money mule.

This is the term used to describe individuals who allow their personal bank account to be used for the transfer of other people's stolen or illegal money.

"They may or may not be aware of the crime, however, they are complicit if they recklessly allow their account to be used to launder the proceeds of criminality," said Garda John Finnerty.

The practice had been identified by gardai and there have been a number of arrests and prosecutions in Limerick in recent years.

"Those aged 18 to 24 and those over 55 years of age are the most commonly targeted age groups by organised crime gangs to act as money mules. Vulnerable people such as those who are new to the country, students, people who are unemployed or under financial pressure are also likely to be targeted," added Garda Finnerty.

Criminal gangs often target those who may owe a drug debt and offer them an opportunity to pay off or reduce the debt by becoming a money mule.

"We caution that ignorance is no excuse, and the penalties include a prison sentence of up to 14 years, a criminal conviction with a lifetime criminal record, and not being permitted to open another bank account," said Garda Finnerty.

One of the main warning signs to watch out for are advertisements for jobs on online platforms offering seemingly easy or quick money that are in fact a recruitment front for money mules.

"Anyone who thinks they are being approached to become a money mule should refuse to provide their bank details and to contact An Garda Siochana. If an account has already been compromised, the account holder should contact their bank and An Garda Siochana," added Garda Finnerty.

More than 800 money mules have been identified across Ireland over the past number of years.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

PORTLAND  Charles Coleman's life has been rapidly transformed since he moved into the Hattie Redmond, an affordable housing complex for Black people in Portland built with taxpayer-funded bonds.

"It's been a relief," he explained. "It's been joy. Clarity of mind. You know, just finding myself because for a long time I didn't have that privacy that you normally have. So yeah, it's hard to put into words."

Coleman, 62, became homeless after injuring himself so badly that he was unable to work. The bills kept piling up, and a studio in Portland was renting for $1,400 a month.

So he was homeless for what he says was a "long time," living in his van or with relatives or in different shelters.

He got connected with the Urban League of Portland, a civil rights and social service organization that empowers African Americans and others to find stable housing, employment, health, education and economic security.

The Hattie Redmond apartment complex provides 60 permanent, stable homes with services for people who have experienced homelessness. The project was funded in part by $4.4 million from Portland's Metro Affordable Housing Bond, and supportive services are paid for by the supportive housing services fund (explored in the Wednesday edition of the Missoulian).

In 2016, voters in Portland passed a bond that will raise $258.4 million to build roughly 1,300 low-income apartments. Then in 2018, voters approved the Portland Metro Affordable Housing Bond that will raise $652.8 million to create homes for approximately 12,000 people.

The Hattie Redmond is one of the affordable housing projects that has been built with bond funds, and the project is aimed at addressing the affordable housing crisis in Portland.

Home Forward, Portland's housing authority agency, selected applicants for the building based on a housing preference policy that aims to address the harm caused, primarily for the Black community, by government-led urban renewal initiatives. Applicants who have personal or generational ties to the area are prioritized for residency.

"In this case, this housing is for Black people who have been chronically homeless and have a disability and have requested culturally appropriate services from the Urban League," said Amanda Saul of Home Forward.

Harriet "Hattie" Redmond was a pillar of Portland's Black community and a leading voice for women's voting rights.

Residents have access to physical health, mental health and drug and alcohol addiction services.

"They also provide community-building events, meals and there's a GED program," Saul said. "And then they're doing like a survey with the residents to find out what kind of strengths or interests people have. So for example, there's two folks who moved in who were barbers, so they hold sort of like a periodic barber shop and are able to give haircuts to other residents."

Saul said it's important to have an affordable housing complex specifically designated for the Black community.

"Because we know that based on race, people are underserved in our housing system in general," she said. "We know in Multnomah County that there's a disproportionate number of Black people in our homeless population. Like 7% of Multnomah County is Black but 16% of our homeless population is Black. So we were very specific in targeting that community."

Portland is far more diverse and larger than Missoula, of course, but there are similar disparities in both places. Both have experienced drastic rises in rent and home sales prices.

In Missoula's Coordinated Entry System for homeless people in 2021, 4.5% of unhoused people in the city were Black. According to U.S. Census data, Black people make up just .9% of Missoula's overall population.

Housing statistics Missoula Racial disparities in housing statistics in Missoula.

That's the type of disparity that Portland's city leaders and voters were trying to address with the housing bond, and Saul said it can be replicated in other places successfully.

"The Hattie Redmond has only been open for a little over two months and we have over 37 people moved in already," she said. "And they were all formerly homeless. People feel really happy to have a home. They feel safe. They feel secure. They feel like they can ask the supportive services staff for support when they need specific things."

Eventually, there will be 60 or more people that are off the city's streets and into stable housing. At the building, the residents pay 27% of their actual income for rent, which means if they have no income they pay no rent.

Emily Lieb, the affordable housing program manager for Portland Metro, said the city and the region would be in a much more dire crisis without the two bonds. As in Montana and Missoula, the pandemic and other economic factors have exacerbated the shortage of affordable housing.

"I joined Metro in 2015 at a time when rents were rapidly increasing far beyond incomes," she said. "You know, housing had become issue number one from a public perspective. We didn't have the homelessness situation that we have now. It's gotten so much worse. But housing affordability was a huge concern."

Like Montana, Oregon doesn't have a sales tax and relies on property taxes for state revenue. That's why a bond was chosen over other forms of generating money for housing.

She said the Metro Bond has the goal of helping to finance the creation of 3,900 units available to people who make at or below 60% of Area Median Income. And 1,600 of those units will be "deeply affordable" for households that make 30% of Area Median Income or below.

Still, the number of units that it will build represents just 10% of what experts say is needed to address the shortage.

"I think the common thing that was said at the time (the bond passed) was we're like, we're not going to build our way out of this crisis," Lieb said. "We need a whole range of solutions. So I think this was really kind of intended to be one tool in the toolbox to address our housing affordability challenges."

She said there was "tremendous voter support" in all three Metro counties in 2018 to pass the bond, especially because affordable housing funds can be leveraged to get more federal money.

"Polling has consistently shown that this is like the number one issue," she said. "And I think that affordable housing and the argument of not leaving federal resources on the table really resonates."

As of June 2022, a total of 1,353 homes were either under construction or had been completed, and 1,826 homes were in development. Both Saul and Lieb said local contractors have benefited from the bond, but that rising materials and labor costs have been challenging.

It's unclear whether Missoula voters would support an affordable housing bond, as one has never been on the ballot here. A levy that would have funded crisis services failed here last November. Although voters within city limits were in favor, the voters in the county as a whole were opposed. Property tax increases have been a huge issue in Montana in recent years.

Portland obviously is much larger than Missoula, but Lieb said affordable housing bonds have been passed in smaller cities.

In 2016, Vancouver, Washington, voters approved a $42 million, seven-year Affordable Housing Fund for very low-income households within the city who earn 50% or less of the area median income. That bond has funded the creation of 250 units and another 251 are in the works. Several hundred other affordable housing units have been preserved with the money. By comparison, Missoula County voters approved a $42 million Parks and Trails bond in 2014.

"Yes, I think it is possible to develop a funding tool at a smaller scale," Lieb said.

Coleman, who found a place to live in the Hattie Redmond, isn't sure where he'd be living if the building hadn't been built.

"I would probably be an unimportant speck in a far-flung universe," he said. "I would be looking. I would either be in my van, you know, maybe at a relative's house. It's hard to say where I would be."

Coming Sunday: What Missoula city leaders and housing experts say about solutions to the affordable housing crisis that have been tried in other places, what options are available here, and the possibility of attempting to get an affordable housing bond on the ballot here.
LEARNING Limerick hosted a Shared Island learning city exchange programme earlier this week for the Irish Network of Learning Cities (INLC) which includes Limerick, Dublin, Cork, Derry Strabane, and Belfast.

The three-day programme included a welcome reception in Shannon Rowing Club, a conference and site visits to centres of learning in Limerick.

Funded by the Shared Island Programme, the visit was supported by the Government through the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, as well as the INLC.

The programme supports projects and initiatives between Local Government partners North and South. Working with the support of all INLC partners, it involves a series of exchanges and consultation workshops in all five cities, culminating in a Learning City Conference in Derry in June. The projects main goal is to support opportunities for cross-city learning exchange between the five INLC learning cities.

A conference took place on Tuesday morning as the main part of the Limerick programme. This provided an opportunity for the Irish Network and Learning Limerick members to interact with colleagues and the visiting speakers, to renew links with partners and colleagues, and forge some new ones.

Speaking at the event, Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Francis Foley, said: Limerick City and County Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the other four cities in the Irish Network in May 2022. This is an important agreement to commit each city to work together and provide mutual support to help deliver on the vision of a Learning City for all. Peer support and empathy are key drivers of our partnership. We are delighted to be committed to being close working partners with our Learning City friends in the Irish Network of Learning Cities.
A NOTORIOUS Limerick criminal with a previous conviction for nailing a man to a kitchen floor has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for money laundering.

At the Special Criminal Court this Friday, Mr Justice Tony Hunt said Gerard Mackin handled the money "in the context of some form of serious organised criminality in the Limerick area".

While the sum of money, 4,780, was "at the lower end of the scale" the judge said the circumstances were not and Mackin's previous conviction for assault causing harm is "relevant to this case in that it explains the background against which the proceeds of crime in this case were handled".

In mitigation, the judge said he was considering Mackin's early guilty plea and lack of sophistication in how he implicated himself when questioned by gardai about the money.

He set a headline sentence of four years and eight months and reduced that to three years and six months after taking into account the mitigating factors. He backdated the sentence to December 5, 2022 when Mackin first went into custody.

At a hearing last March Mackin accepted through his lawyers that he had made poor choices and intended to turn his life around with his family in Spain when he is released from prison.

The Belfast native, with a previous address at Rhebogue Road in Limerick, was once the first person convicted of a Belfast murder by a Dublin court before his conviction was quashed and a retrial collapsed.

The 40-year-old was extradited from Alicante in Spain last December and pleaded guilty, in March, to laundering 4,780 as the proceeds of criminal behaviour at Rhebogue Road in Limerick, on April 17, 2019.

Mackin had pleaded guilty before the three-judge court to knowing or believing, or being reckless as to whether property, 4,780, was the proceeds of criminal conduct, did handle, acquire and/or possess the said property contrary to Section 7 of the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act of 2010.

Detective Garda Stephen Ahern previously told the court that he arrested Mackin at Dublin Airport on December 5 last, in relation to a European Arrest Warrant issued on April 7, 2022.

At the hearing in March Detective Sergeant Padraig O'Dwyer told prosecution counsel Fiona Murphy SC that two gardai on patrol had observed an Opel Insignia car suspiciously parked outside Mackin's house on April 17, 2019.

Gardai, he said, had a conversation with the driver of the vehicle and he was searched.

Det Sgt O'Dwyer said the driver was found to be in possession of 4,780 in cash, an Aquaris phone and an iPhone wrapped in bubble wrap and tied together with elastic bands.

The driver spoke to gardai and said he was self-employed and that the money belonged to him. A cautioned memo was later taken from the driver of the car.

On that date, the court heard that Mackin came out of his house and conversed with gardai telling them that the money belonged to him. Mackin informed gardai that the driver of the car was going to Belfast the next day and that the money was to be given to his [Mackin's] fiancee.

Mackin produced a receipt from a credit union showing that he had a loan for 10,000. A search was carried out on the driver of the Insignia and Mackin but nothing of evidential value was found.

Mackin was later arrested and taken to Henry Street Garda Station, where he was interviewed on a number of occasions and denied the offence of money laundering.

During his fourth interview Mackin told officers that he had seen gardai outside his house and from his experience of gardai in the past "I said, put that money up for safekeeping in case you coming for me".

When asked about the Aquaris phone, which the court heard is used to communicate privately, Mackin told detectives that it had been left in his house and he had picked it up.

Mackin said the 4,780 was made up of a deposit by him to his previous landlord. Ms Murphy said a statement was taken from the landlord, who said the denominations were in 50 notes but that the money seized had been in 20 notes.

Mackin was then released and a file was sent to the DPP.

It is the prosecutions case, Ms Murphy said, that the money in the package was "not derived from a deposit" but was the proceeds of crime.

Counsel said the guilty plea was entered by Mackin in circumstances where he accepts the circumstances of the seizure and his guilt for the offence of money laundering. She said the view of gardai is that Mackin was engaged in criminality at the time of the offence.

The court heard that Mackin has one previous conviction for assault causing harm.

When directions were issued by the DPP to charge Mackin with money laundering, the accused had moved to Spain and a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) was issued. Mackin, the court heard, consented to his surrender and has been in custody since his arrest in Spain on December 5 2022.

Defence counsel Ronan Kennedy SC said there "is little enough to be said for the offence itself" and that obviously any money laundering offence is serious but the sum of money involved in the case fell at the lower end of the scale.

Mr Kennedy asked the court to take into account that his client had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. He said that Mackin was in a long-term relationship with his partner since 2005 and they had two children together.

In his submissions, Mr Kennedy said that Mackin and his family decided to move to Spain in September 2021 where the defendant found employment working in a building firm. "Things were going well until his past came back to haunt him and he was then arrested on foot of a EAW," he said. The court heard he went into custody in Spain on December 2, 2022.

Counsel asked the court to take into consideration that Mackin has never met his eight-week old son because of his surrender and that he has been incarcerated since then. "That is a source of very significant upset and regret to him that he wasn't present for his son's birth. His absence has also caused particular hardship to his partner in the last number of weeks," he added.

In mitigation, Mr Kennedy said actions speak louder than words and that the manner in which his client met the case was instructive. "He came home to Ireland to face the music and wipe the slate clean," he said, adding that Mackin had not made an application for bail.

In terms of the future, counsel said that Mackin would be on the first flight back to Spain when he is released from prison as he intended to build a new life there with his family and does not intend to return to this jurisdiction, certainly in the short-term.

Furthermore, the lawyer said Mackin intended to turn his life around when he is released from prison. "He is a person who has had an opportunity to look back on his past behaviour and readily accepts he made poor choices in the past and is determined to make a go of it when he serves his sentence," he stated.

The barrister said the defendant was born into a family where alcohol was "rife" and had taken positive steps in recent years to deal with this by having an implant inserted in 2020.

Ms Murphy, prosecuting, said the court needed to look at three matters namely the amount of money involved, the circumstances in which the money was moved and how it was obviously of relevance that the defendant was found with other items.

In January 2011, Mackin's retrial for the murder of Edward Burns, a taxi driver and 36-year-old father-of-five, dramatically collapsed at the Special Criminal Court after the State entered a 'nolle prosequi' [a decision not to prosecute]. Several of Mackin's supporters who were in court applauded and cheered while members of the victim's family openly wept.

The chief prosecution witness refused to give evidence at the trial after telling a Belfast High Court judge he was threatened that if he gave any evidence, he would be shot dead.

Mackin had pleaded not guilty to the murder at Bog Meadow, Falls Road, Belfast on March 12, 2007.

It was the second trial of Mackin after a 2008 conviction - which made Mackin the first person convicted in a Dublin court for an alleged murder in Belfast under a rarely-used cross border anti-terrorism law - was quashed by the Court of Criminal Appeal and a retrial ordered.

In July 2013, another nolle prosequi was entered against Mackin at the non-jury court on a charge of IRA membership and demanding money with menaces on behalf of the INLA in Co Monaghan on May 18 and 21, 2012.
THE UNIVERSITY of Limerick (UL) president says theres no ball park figure on what it may cost to bring a landmark city centre building it acquired up to standard.

Professor Kerstin Mey and other senior staff of the third-level college appeared before the Public Accounts Committee this week to answer questions on the controversial purchase of the former Dunnes Stores building in Sarsfield Street for 8.3m - 5m above what a council valuation suggested it sell for.

Previous estimates had suggested it could cost a further 200m to make the necessary improvements to the 1970s-era building, which is currently in use by UL.

Since making the acquisition, college bosses have spent a further 890,000 on improvements and upgrades to the former supermarket building.

The chairman of the committee, Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley pushed to know how much would be required.

But, Prof Mey said she has no detail on what the final cost will be because the full "master-planning" for the Dunnes site had not yet taken place.

Currently, the city centre campus takes in some 5,618 square metres of floor space and houses the UL FabLab digital fabrication laboratory, an innovation lab, and areas for community engagement.

The college is not currently planning to permanently move any department or faculty to the site, according to a filing it made with Limerick City and County Council recently.

However, the college expects there will be constant footfall and some students and staff could be permanently located there from the main campus.

Prof Mey also admitted there is no funding stream at present, adding UL hopes to secure additional support through partnerships with Limerick City and County Council and the European Regional Development Fund.

Mr Stanley said: At this point four years later, youre not sure whos going to partner up with you and whos going to pony up the money. Youre not sure what the amount of money is. Youre not sure if youve enough money for the upgrade, or even a ball-park figure. I would find that incredible you dont have some range in terms of where this is going. If I was going to build a house, I wouldnt start building the foundations unless I had some idea what the final cost would be.

It comes as another UL executive said the college is "satisfied" with the 8.3m price it paid to acquire the building.

It comes despite a council valuation revealing it was worth 5m less then what the third-level institution paid for the Sarsfield Street venue, which had been out-of-use for 11 years prior to its acquisition in 2019.

UL's human resources director Bobby O'Connor and the other executives faced questions from Oireachtas members on the acquisition of the building and its future plans for it.

There was widespread criticism of the price paid, but in evidence, Mr O'Connor defended the approach.

"In the context of us wanting that building, having that building, and working with that building, I think the university is satisfied," he told members.

He said a council valuation of the complex for just 3.5m was made "in completely different circumstances", pointing out that it was done on the basis of the local authority using compulsory purchase legislation to secure the site, a move which normally brings down a property's value.

"Dunnes Stores wanted 11m for the building, we paid 8m for the building. It was valued at 3.5m in a completely different circumstance. In the circumstances, it had been valued to be put on the Derelict Sites register for a compulsory purchase order. A desktop valuation that was not relevant in the context of a market valuation."

UL bosses have said there are "no regrets" over the purchase of the site, with Prof Mey adding: "We paid money to acquire a strategic and iconic site in the city centre."

However, Dublin TD Paul McAuliffe asked on several occasions whether the university had paid above market rates for the site.

He felt his question was not answered, prompting the Fianna Fail man to say: "The only thing iconic is this breathtaking lack of ability to name the cost of the mistake."

Mr Stanley, who chairs the committee, said he had learnt of an independent valuation of the site from a local auctioneer for 5m.

College executives did not address this claim.

Questions were raised over the manner in which the proposed purchase came about, with the item being included under any other business in a meeting of the college's governing authority in April 2019.

Mr Stanley said it's "untenable" for the group to be put in this position.

Anger was also expressed at the hearing that a report by auditors KPMG, which arose following complaints about the acquisition process from UL's governing authority had not been shown to this oversight body.

The college cited "legal concerns" over its non-release.

But James O'Connor of Fianna Fail said it's "astonishing", "utterly laughable" and "mystifying" that no-one on the governing authority had seen the report.

Mr Stanley said there is a "big credibility issue" over the governing authority not being able to see the report.

Prof Mey said: "We share the frustration of not being able to share the report," adding it's her hope the authority will eventually be able to view it.

Independent Wexford TD Verona Murphy said UL's management have "no credibility", adding it's evidence to the committee amounted to an "arse-covering exercise" - language she was criticised for using.

"It's gone. The public who are looking in now see the squandering of 8m trying to be justified, and hidden behind a KPMG report," she said.

Another member of the committee, Sinn Fein's John Brady criticised UL executives for being "less than helpful" and "evasive" in their approach to the body.

At the start of the hearing, Prof Mey told the committee that since she was installed as president in 2021, UL has become a "much-changed organisation" which is run with "prudence, sustainability and confidence."

She said there had been changes in structure, culture and personnel.

Former practices, she added, had been eradicated, and there has been the introduction of high standards of transparency, accountability and probity.

She did say there had been attempts to undermine her personal integrity from a "residue within our institutional culture".
BOSTON Scientific Corporation has announced an 80 million investment in its Clonmel operation ahead of a visit by Taoiseach Varadkar to mark the 25th anniversary of its arrival in the town.

The funding, supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland, will go towards the continued expansion of the companys medical technology manufacturing and research and development (R&D) capabilities and is expected to enable the creation of more than 400 jobs in the coming years.

The new investment will increase office and manufacturing space and transition the entire site to source more than 90% of its energy needs from renewable sources.

This is part of the companys broader sustainability commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

Boston Scientific has been steadily growing its footprint in Ireland for the past quarter century, said Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Ireland is a global leader in the life sciences sector, and the decision by the company to invest again in Clonmel shows real confidence in the talent and infrastructure available.

The companys Clonmel site includes a Centre of Excellence for metal additives used in a range of electronic components for medical technology.

Hiring is underway for positions in highly specialised roles within production, engineering, quality, supply chain and R&D functions.

Our growth in the region has been possible thanks to our talented workforce here in Clonmel, said Conor Russell, vice president, Operations, Boston Scientific.

Our team has worked to build strong manufacturing and R&D capabilities and also a high-performing and inclusive culture that we are proud to continue to foster as an employer of choice.

Boston Scientific employees based in Clonmel manufacture medical devices that support the treatment of more than 400,000 patients globally each year.

Products created in Clonmel help patients suffering from conditions such as heart disease, neurological disorders, kidney stones, and diseases of the pancreas, bile ducts and esophagus.

Boston Scientific in Ireland has transformed its activities over its 30 years here said Mary Buckley, executive director with IDA Ireland.

We welcome this investment in R&D and further manufacturing, which will offer new opportunities and careers in Tipperary and the region from the largest life sciences employer in Ireland.

IDA Ireland is tasked with attracting investment into Ireland by foreign-owned companies with a focus on jobs growth and industrial transformation in high growth sectors including MedTech.

The agency supports a wide range of multinational companies with operations in Ireland through grants and other business supports in compliance with EU and Irish legislation.

Boston Scientific also recently renovated part of the Clonmel facility to create a more agile and collaborative space for its growing workforce and to further support an innovative environment.

As a result, the site received a commercial interior design award as Project of the Year Workplace Interiors 5,000-15,000 square foot category at the UK Mixology Awards, which recognise the best projects, products and people in commercial interior design.
Housing Minister Darragh OBrien has said pod-style accommodation has vast potential to house migrants quicker.

The minister said that three pilot projects  one in Columb Barracks in Mullingar  would be fast, good quality accommodation that would be easier to find sites for compared with modular housing.

He made the comments as the government came under pressure this week over hundreds of asylum seekers being forced to sleep in tents due to no State-provided accommodation being available.

The government has blamed years of underinvestment in the severe shortage of housing in Ireland, and said the affordability of rents and house prices is best tackled by addressing the supply issue.

Efforts are also under way to refurbish some public buildings that are not in use to house asylum seekers and refugees, as requested by the Minister for Children Equality and Integration Roderic OGorman.

Mr OGorman said this week that Ireland fell behind in accommodating asylum seekers because at the end of March hotels ended contracts with the department.

This meant that half of the 5,000 beds brought on stream since January for asylum seekers had to be used to re-accommodate those who had to leave hotels.

Speaking to reporters in Co Westmeath, Tanaiste Micheal Martin acknowledged that the government has to provide accommodation for asylum seekers quicker than it has been doing.

Overall, in terms of services, there have been some strains on medical services but people have responded well within our health services, people have responded very well within our education services, he said.

The challenge for us really is to provide accommodation more quickly, and particularly accommodation that weve identified, but it has to go through the various regulatory processes before it can come on stream, and that the accommodation would be of a higher quality for people.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Mr OBrien said that the Cabinet believed pod-style accommodation offered real potential to help house hundreds of asylum seekers in Ireland.

Around 170-180 international protection applicants are arriving in Ireland per week; the government plans to bring 350 beds on stream at centres across the country this week for asylum seekers.

I think theres a real opportunity with the pods to get that moving quicker, he said on Friday.

Theres three sites identified  Columb Barracks being one of them, that construction is under way  theyll be used as kind of exemplar sites and example sites. And I think theres vast potential there. Theyre really good quality.

He said that the pod-style accommodation is different from the rapid-build modular homes the government is working on, and that it would be easier to find suitable sites to place them.

Actually, the local authorities, under my direction, identified the sites (for modular homes). That work is under way, well have 750 modular homes through the Office of Public Works (OPW), he said.

I think that (pods) can potentially provide accommodation quicker, is more open to maybe more difficult sites like brownfield sites as well.

Some of the modular (homes), theres certain topographies of sites that are needed to get that in, so difficult sites can make that harder.

But I believe and Cabinet believe theres real potential in the pods and I would like to provide them at scale, in addition to what were doing about refurbishing.

He said that Con Murray, a former chief executive of Limerick city and county council, has been working for the department for a number of weeks to scale up accommodation for Ukrainians and for international protection applicants, which he said falls under the Department of Children and Roderic, but we support them in that space.

When asked how widespread pod-style accommodation would be, Mr OBrien said at scale is at scale.

(Im) not going to put a number on it yet, but I want to see it scaled up and scaled up quickly, and scaled up means initially in the hundreds, and to build on it from there, he added.

It is important theyre designed properly, youre not just dropping them into a field, you need to have all the other siteworks done as well.

Mr OBrien also said the government had made a decision to implement meaningful and effective measures in the next Budget to retain and attract new landlords.

We need a functioning private rental sector, and it hasnt been functioning for a long number of years as it should do, he said.

He was speaking as he opened 28 new social homes in Swords in north Dublin, to be managed by the Iveagh Trust.

The chair of the Iveagh Trust, Rory Guinness, presented Mr OBrien with an heirloom of the family to cut the ribbon  a sword businessman Edward Cecil Guinness wore to a party in Iveagh House in 1890.

As a throwback to the 1890s, we have a bit of a surprise  a sword in Swords, Mr Guinness said.

What could be more appropriate a way to open this development than for the minister to cut the ribbon with a sword?
Billionaire tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya recently commented that the regulations have choked out the sector to the point of death. Meanwhile, an analyst claims AltCoin Arbitrum has the potential to take over Ripples XRP. Simultaneously, the brand new SignUpToken.com is gearing up for its launch after having garnered 5000 members, but not just yet. Stick around to the end to know more!

Crypto in the US is Dead" Says Bitcoin Patron Palihapitaya

During his recent appearance on the All-In podcast, prominent venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya declared that the cryptocurrency market is now dead in the United States. Palihapitiya, who invested in Bitcoin as early as 2013, expressed frustration over the lack of clear regulations governing the cryptocurrency industry in the US. He stated that the government has shown a strong hostility towards crypto, which could lead to the demise of the industry in the country.

Palihapitiya had previously predicted that Bitcoin could reach a price of $1 million per coin in the next two decades. However, his recent comments reflect a significant change in his outlook on the American cryptocurrency market. The podcast also featured discussions on the potential consequences of the US government's crackdown on cryptocurrency, with participants raising concerns about how this could impact innovation in the country. They pointed out that despite Coinbase's efforts to comply with regulations and work with authorities, they have faced difficulties in obtaining necessary licenses, while companies with questionable practices have had an easier time obtaining licenses.

Arbitrum To Topple XRP

According to analyst Jack Niewold, Arbitrum (ARB) will eventually surpass significant cryptocurrencies like Hedera, Aptos, Stellar, ICP, ETC, LEO Token, Avalanche and XRP. Niewold argued that ARB is a better investment choice because it offers exposure to unliquidatable leveraged ETH beta, and outperforms other assets, particularly during a time of high Ethereum fees.

However, not everyone in the crypto community shares this view. Some skeptics argue that ARB does not provide any significant value to investors, as it only offers more convenient and affordable access to an existing network. XRP and Aptos, for example, aim to offer unique value propositions to their users, unlike ARB, which operates on top of an existing blockchain. While ARB has gained significant traction and helps to alleviate congestion on the Ethereum network, it remains to be seen if it will surpass major cryptocurrencies like XRP and Aptos, which offer novel features and functionalities.

SignUpToken.com Nears 6k, Approaches Launch

Signuptoken.com is an innovative cryptocurrency project that stands out amongst other coins with its distinctive strategy. The project places a significant emphasis on its advanced and efficient ERC-20 token, but its most unique characteristic is a presale without sales; everyone can be a part of their DeFi ecosystem, absolutely free.

The project's primary goal is to create a million millionaires, and it has recently amassed 5000 members in its Millionaire's club, which continues to expand by the minute. By merely registering with an email address, users can gain access to the Millionaire's Club and receive notifications about the token's launch and Signuptoken.com's Uniswap exchange.

Moreover, the platform features a referral system that motivates users to invite friends and receive tokens in return, which can help to increase growth and adoption. With its distinctive approach and features, Signuptoken.com has the potential to become a significant player in the meme cryptocurrency space.

With the hostile sentiment displayed by regulatory bodies in the US, the vision for the development of the crypto sector in the US seems distant if not impossible. The market itself stands witness to constant changes, with AltCoins going neck-to-neck on their way to the top. One such example is Arbitrum, predicted to overcome many Cryptocurrencies including Stellar and XRP. However, this prediction is met with skepticism by those that argue that ARB has no significantly unique characteristics that can escalate it. On the other hand, new-and-coming projects like SignUpToken.com offer a range of unique user-centric features, including a hardware wallet and an identification system for added safety. Moreover, being a part of their ecosystem is completely free. Users are thus encouraged to sign up with SignUpToken today!

For More Info on Signuptoken.com:

Website: https://www.signuptoken.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/_SignUpToken

Telegram: https://t.me/SignUpToken

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/ editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/ subscribe to the contents of the article/advertisement and/or views expressed herein.

The reader is further advised that Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions.

Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the views, opinions, announcements, declarations, affirmations etc., stated/featured in same. The decision to read hereinafter is purely a matter of choice and shall be construed as an express undertaking/guarantee in favour of Hindustan Times of being absolved from any/ all potential legal action, or enforceable claims. The content may be for information and awareness purposes and does not constitute a financial advice.
Leading bourses BSE and NSE on Friday said that NDTV, an Adani Group company, will move out of the ASM framework from May 22.

On March 17, both the bourses moved NDTV from the second to the first stage of the long-term Additional Surveillance Measure (ASM) framework.

The stock is to be excluded from the ASM framework effective May 22, according to two separate circulars available on the BSE and NSE websites.

On March 10, both exchanges put three Adani Group stocks, Adani Total Gas, Adani Transmission and Adani Green Energy from the ASM framework.

In two separate circulars, the bourses said these securities will continue in the framework but will be moved from respective lower stage ASM from March 27.

Media firm New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) reported 97.5 per cent decline in net profit (attributable to owners) at 59 lakhs for the quarter that ended March 2023. This is against a consolidated net profit of 24.16 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Its consolidated revenue from operations declined by 35.5 per cent to 66.96 crore during the quarter under review compared to 103.8 crore a year ago.

On December 30, 2022, AMG Media Networks Ltd (AMNL), through its indirect subsidiary RRPR Holding Private Limited has acquired 27.26% stake in NDTV, resulting in a controlling stake of 64.71% in NDTV by AMNL through its subsidiaries.

The company's scrip ended 3.53 per cent up at 177.60 at BSE.
Edtech giant BYJU'S has refuted claims that it is hiding $500 million through its US-based company, BYJU'S Alpha. Terming BYJU's Alpha as a non-operative US entity with no employees, the ed-tech company called the claims made in the Delaware court bewildering.

In a statement about the matter, the company said, This is an interim order of a Delaware Court to maintain status quo in relation to BYJUS Alpha, a non-operative US entity set up to receive the Term Loan B, with no employees."

The litigants have made bewildering claims that BYJU'S moved" $500 million from BYJU'S Alpha, insinuating that these acts were somehow wrongful. This is entirely incorrect. We categorically deny these allegations." the company added

While BYJU'S has admitted to transferring the funds, it claims the fund transfer did not contravene any Credit Agreement.

The funds were transferred to other operative entities for growth and expansion in its global operations. BYJU'S entered into the Term Loan B agreement with the clear intention of utilizing the raised funds to drive growth and expansion in its global operations and is free to transfer and use the funds as necessary." BYJU's added

BYJU'S further added that it has met all its contractual payment obligations agreed upon in Term Loan B which was signed in 2021 and has not missed even a single payment. It added that the allegations of a default by the lenders are 'merely insignificant technical and non-monetary defaults'.

The lawsuit has been filed by Glas Trust Company and investor Timothy R. Pohl against BYJU'S Alpha, its director, Riju Ravindran, and Tangible Play Inc. Both the companies being sued by the lenders are part of Byju Raveendran's Edtech empire.

According to Bloomberg, the allegation of hiding $500 million from lenders came out of a Delaware court hearing. BYJU'S Alpha is in a legal battle with its lenders over who should control the company. The lenders claim that because BYJU'S defaulted earlier this year, they have the right to put their representative, Timothy R. Pohl, in charge.

During the court hearing on Thursday, BYJU'S Alpha claimed that the lenders were distressed debt investors who are trying to make a profit from the company's debt.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued a notification exempting several foreign and Indian entities from the purview of section 56 (2) (VII B), commonly referred to as angel tax, a statement released on Friday said.

The angel tax applies to the premium paid over the fair market value of shares and is set to apply to non-residents, according to the Finance Act 2023. The tax authority said that all government and government-related entities such as central banks, sovereign wealth funds, international or multilateral organizations or agencies" will be exempt. It also exempted entities where a government owns more than 75%, either directly or indirectly.

The notification added that banks or entities involved in the insurance business would also be exempt. Other entities exempted include those registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India as category-I funds, foreign portfolio investors, endowment funds associated with a university, hospitals or charities foreign pension funds, and a broad-based pooled investment vehicle with over 50 investors, which is not a hedge fund or a fund which employs diverse or complex trading strategies".

The governments notification is likely to offer major relief to the investment community, which was concerned that the new tax could exacerbate the ongoing funding crunch within the tech ecosystem.

Mint first reported on 24 March that the government was considering exempting overseas funds as well as funds regulated by certain entities like the International Financial Services Centre Authority.

Companies that raise capital at a premium from exempt entities wont have to pay angel tax. The tax authority has also proposed that an additional five valuation methodologies, excluding discounted cash flow and net asset value method (which are currently in use), will be considered to value the shares for the scope of angel tax.

There are other changes too. A key issue of the interplay of angel tax and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) was the price differential between resident and non-resident investors. FEMA didnt allow a non-resident to acquire securities below FMV (fair market value), while angel tax didnt allow a company to issue shares above fair market value. Now, price matching with venture capital funds will be taken as the fair market value," said Siddarth Pai, co-founder of 3one4 capital and co-chair of the regulatory affairs committee of the Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.

Previously, even a small difference could trigger angel tax. The government has now specified 10% variation as acceptable," Pai said.

Further, valuation reports now have a valid tenure of 90 days from the previously unspecified time period, he added.
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea by Tata Motors challenging a decision by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), Mumbais civic transport body, to disqualify it from a 2022 tender for 2,100 electric buses on arbitrary grounds". The appeal alleged BEST had favoured rival Evey Trans, the operational arm of e-bus maker Olectra Greentech.

The Court upheld BESTs decision to award the contract for 2,100 single-decker AC electric buses to Evey Trans, and has set aside an earlier order by the Bombay High Court directing BEST to issue a fresh tender.

We are of the view that the High Court should have been a bit slow and circumspect in reversing the action of BEST permitting Evey to submit a revised Annexure Y. We are of the view that the BEST committed no error or cannot be held guilty of favoritism, etc. in allowing Evey to submit a revised Annexure Y as the earlier one was incorrect on account of a clerical error. This exercise itself was not sufficient to declare the entire bid offered by Evey as unlawful or illegal," the apex court said in its judgment.

Accordingly, Evey Trans will now execute the contract according to contractual terms entered with the BEST," it said.

Tata Motors had submitted its technical and financial bid for the tender on 25 April.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A Texas man has been released on bail after he was arrested following a crash in Yellowstone National Park.

Michael Wayne McCollum, 47, appeared on May 18 by video before a U.S. District Court judge in Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming, where his bail was set at $2,500. His case was continued to July 6.

McCollum was arrested by park rangers on charges of operating a vehicle with a suspended or revoked license, possession of a controlled substance and for the vehicles occupant not wearing a seat belt. He was taken into custody following a vehicle crash into a snowbank atop Craig Pass, just outside Old Faithful, on May 13.

Inside the vehicle rangers found 38-year-old Catheryn Danyelle Griffin dead. According to the Cowboy State Journal, Griffins mother, Beth Morris, said her daughter had been working construction in Montana. Griffin and McCollum were visiting Yellowstone when they began to argue, an investigator told Morris, which ended with Griffin shooting herself.
New Delhi: Renewable energy solutions provider Suzlon on Friday said it has secured a 69 MW wind energy project from the Indian subsidiary of Nordic Energy Company. This order marks the fourth within a month for Suzlons new 3 MW series.

The company, however, didnt disclose the value of the order.

Under the agreement, Suzlon will install 23 wind turbine generators (WTGs) with a Hybrid Lattice Tubular (HLT) tower, each with a rated capacity of 3 MW. The project, located in Karnataka, is expected to be commissioned in 2024.

The S144-140m model from the new 3 MW series has been chosen for this project, demonstrating the confidence placed in Suzlons technology and expertise. In addition to supplying the wind turbines and overseeing project supervision and commissioning, Suzlon will also provide post-commissioning operations and maintenance services.

At Suzlon, we take great pride that a leading Nordic Energy Company with a proven global track record in renewable energy has placed their trust in Suzlon for their first wind energy project outside of Europe," JP Chalasani, Chief Executive Officer, Suzlon Group, said.

Once operational, this sizable wind power project has the potential to provide electricity to approximately 56 thousand households and reduce approximately 2.24 lakh tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, contributing to Indias sustainable development goals.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday recognized the significant contribution of four Gujaratis  Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Morarji Desai, and Narendra Modi  to modern Indian history . His remarks came while addressing a function organized on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of Shri Delhi Gujarati Samaj.

"India's fame is spreading across the globe because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Morarji Desai, and Narendra Modi, these four Gujaratis, have made significant contributions to the modern history of India," he said.

In an official statement, Shah said India got independence due to the efforts of Gandhiji, the country became united due to Sardar Patel, the country's democracy was revived due to Morarji Desai, and India is being celebrated across the world due to Narendra Modi.

These four Gujaratis have achieved great things and they are the pride of the entire nation, he said in his speech delivered in Gujarati, PTI reported.

The home minister stated that the Gujarati community is present across the country and the world, and has always mixed well in any society, while also serving it.

He said along with keeping the Gujaratis living in Delhi connected with their culture and civilization, this organization has done the work of motivating them towards the service of the country and the society, as per PTI reports.

Shah added that the Gujarati community has gained acceptance for itself and despite residing in Delhi, the Gujarati community has maintained the essence of Gujarat, promoted, and preserved its culture, and taken it forward.

Referring to the nine-year tenure of Prime Minister Modi, the minister said the country has accomplished many achievements during this period.

He said when Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, India's economy was in 11th place in the world, and today after nine years, the Indian economy is the 5th largest in the world.

(With PTI inputs)
PM Modi is set to attend the annual summit of the G7 advanced economies today, May 19 in Hiroshima, in which he is expected to speak on challenges facing the globe including food, fertiliser and energy security.

India anticipates significant outcomes and deliverables from the upcoming Quad summit in Hiroshima, Japan, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join US President Joe Biden, as well as their counterparts from Japan and Australia.

PM Modi's six-day visit to Japan, Papua New Guinea, and Australia will be marked by a packed schedule, with over 40 engagements planned.

I will leave for Hiroshima, Japan to attend the #G7Summit under the Japanese Presidency at the invitation of Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan. It will be a pleasure to meet Prime Minister Kishida again after his recent visit to India for the India  Japan Summit: Prime pic.twitter.com/SOw2oyszGG  ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2023

The Indian ambassador to Japan highlights the special strategic and global partnership between the two nations, which was established during PM Modi's visit in 2014 with then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Indian Ambassador Sibi George stated in an interview with ANI, "It is a special strategic and global partnership established during the visit of PM Modi in 2014 with his counterpart, the then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. And now with PM Kishida, this relationship is getting reinforced."

Officials have stated that PM Modi will interact with more than two dozen world leaders through summits and bilateral meetings, emphasizing India's commitment to multilateral engagement and building stronger partnerships.

Ambassador George highlighted the anticipation in Hiroshima for Prime Minister Modi's visit, where he is expected to participate in the G7 summit and hold discussions with his Japanese counterpart, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. During his visit, PM Modi will also unveil a bust sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi, further symbolizing the enduring ties between the two countries.

The ambassador also acknowledged India's commendable work done by India after it assumed the rotating presidency of the G20, and said, India, as the chair of G20 has taken a lot of initiatives. As you know, there are more than 200 meetings scheduled to be held in India on G20 and there has been active participation from Japan in that meetings. And when it comes to India's participation, India is here as an important partner, partner of peace, stability, security and economic progress."

The envoy further mentioned that the Indian government is working on various initiatives to strengthen people-to-people connections between India and Japan. The recently launched "India-Japan era of tourism," with a focus on connecting the Himalayas and Mount Fuji, is one such endeavour aimed at fostering closer ties between the two countries.

The forthcoming G7 summit is expected to address a wide range of pressing global issues. The agenda of the summit will encompass crucial topics such as nuclear disarmament, economic resilience, economic security, regional challenges, climate change, energy security, food security, and health.

The participating nations will engage in discussions and deliberations to explore collaborative solutions and strategies to tackle these multifaceted challenges. By focusing on these key areas, the G7 summit aims to foster international cooperation, promote sustainable development, and address shared concerns for the betterment of the global community.
A Japanese ice cream brand, Cellato, has managed to bring all the rare ingredients in a single jar to come up with the world's most expensive ice cream. The very special dessert, Byakuya, costs around 873,400 Japanese yen, $6,696, and has bagged the Guinness World Records Title for being the world's most expensive ice cream.

Trying this super-expensive ice cream might cost you more than a family holiday trip or a second-hand car. The exotic ingredients kept in the very special dessert, which is made from rare ingredients shot its price tag phenomenally.

To take a bite of the mind-bogglingly expensive dessert, named Byakuya, it would cost people around a staggering 873,400 Japanese yen (5,469; $6,696).

However, the rich and creamy taste of the ice cream is certainly something to write home about, told people who tasted the ice cream.

New record: Most expensive ice cream - JP873,400 (5,469; 6,211; $6,696) made by OMER in Japan.



The ice cream includes edible gold leaf, white truffle and natural cheeses  pic.twitter.com/kaJOACEear  Guinness World Records (@GWR) May 18, 2023

What makes Byakuya the world's most expensive ice cream?

One of the main reasons, crafting the ice cream is so costly for the chiefs is its ingredients. It contains rare white truffles grown in Alba, Italy. The white truffle comes for 2 million Japanese yen (nearly 12,000; $15,192) per kg. Other special ingredients in the ice cream include Parmigiano Reggiano and sake lees. The ice cream also includes ingredients like edible gold leaf, white truffle, natural cheeses, etc.

"It took us over 1.5 years to develop, with a lot of trials and errors to get the taste right. Achieving a Guinness World Records title made the effort all worth it," said a Cellato representative.

The man behind the world's most expensive dessert?

More than presenting a super-expensive dessert, the ice cream makers wanted to intertwine European and Japanese ingredients together in the ice cream. Cellato did this with the help of Tadayoshi Yamada, the head chef at RiVi, a restaurant in Osaka known for its imaginative fusion cuisine.

The Cellato staff people who tasted the ice cream shared their experience with the Guinness World Records team. They said that the ice cream is rich in taste and texture. The dominant fragrance of white truffle is enough to give a glimpse of the tasty delight. While tasting the desert, its fruity taste of Parmigiano Reggiano is an additional treat. Moreover, the Sake lees finish off the glorious taste experience.

The company is now planning to release the ice cream with other combinations of the finest ingredients, such as Champagne and caviar. Cellato will continue to experiment with the desert to bring something more exotic and creative for food lovers.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Modi on Friday embarked on a tour to Japan, Australia and Papua New Guinea to attend key multilateral summits including that of the G7 and Quad.

PM Modi will travel to Japan first for the G7 Summit, where he is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies. The G7 counts the United States, Japan, France, the UK, Germany, Canada and Italy among its members. The European Union functions effectively as a full member of the body. India, along with key partner countries like Australia, Indonesia and South Korea, has also been invited for the summit.

As India holds the G20 presidency this year, its participation in the G7 was significant, the PM said in his departure statement. I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them," PM Modi said as he set out for Japan.

Modi will be in Japan from 19-21 May.

Japan is also set to play host to the Quad Leaders Summit. The meeting, one of the most anticipated events in the annual diplomatic calendar, was originally expected to take place in Australia on 24 May.

However, the ongoing talks in the United States between the Biden administration and opposition Republicans over raising the debt ceilings led President Joe Biden to cancel his planned visit to Australia. The four countries now hope to hold the meeting in Japan, where all four leaders will be attending the G7 Summit.

Modi will then proceed to PNG, where he will hold a meeting with Pacific Island countries.

This will be my first visit, as also the first ever visit by any Indian Prime Minister, to Papua New Guinea. I will host on 22 May 2023 the 3rd Summit of the Forum for IndiaPacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit) jointly with H.E. Mr. James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. I am grateful that all 14 Pacific Island Countries (PIC) have accepted the invitation to attend this important Summit. FIPIC had been launched during my visit to Fiji in 2014, and I look forward to engaging with the PIC Leaders on issues that bring us together, such as climate change and sustainable development, capacity building and training, health and well-being, infrastructure and economic development," Modi said.

He is also expected to meet with the Prime Ministers of Fiji and New Zealand, according to Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra.

For the final leg of his visit, he will meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Sydney. This will be the fifth meeting between the two leaders in the space of a year. They first met during the Quad Leaders Summit in May last year, shortly after Albanese took office as prime minister. PM Modi is also expected to meet with the governor-general of Australia, David Hurley. Modi will interact with Australian CEOs and will also meet with the Indian diaspora in the country, he announced. The prime ministers visit will conclude on May 24.
Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy

By Carl Sferrazza Anthony

Gallery. 379 pp. $29.99

- - -

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Kennedy author in possession of unused material must be in want of a new book deal. And yet, almost three decades have passed between Carl Sferrazza Anthony's "As We Remember Her," a 1997 oral history of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and his new book, "Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy."

While Anthony tended to other first ladies and their families - including biographies of Florence Harding and Nellie Taft - a spate of new books on Jackie arrived. They plodded along a predictable timeline, beginning with her parents' bitter divorce after the Great Depression, followed by Jackie excelling and rebelling at Miss Porter's boarding school, perfecting her French at the Sorbonne, feeling uninspired at Vassar and a little less so at George Washington University. She abandoned her hard-won guest editor job at Vogue, wrote a column in Washington and was briefly engaged to a man whose greatest aspiration was making a perfect martini. All the while, Jackie was being driven toward her real destination.

"Camera Girl" offers one of the most detailed, nuanced portraits of Jackie to date. Anthony covers much of her early life, but the heart of the book, as the title suggests, was her time as an "inquiring photographer," later renamed "inquiring camera girl," at the Washington Times-Herald. From the fall of 1951 until the summer of 1953, Jackie was a gumshoe journalist who published, in addition to other works, a column six days a week. She left the job to marry Jack - a name Anthony withholds to good narrative effect until the congressman actually appears. Before he does, we see how Jackie was working on becoming, as she once wrote, "a sort of Overall Art Director of the Twentieth Century, watching everything from a chair hanging in space."

It's delightful to see her pursue such a lofty goal. "Someday I'll send him a literary masterpiece," she wrote about a boy who had wronged her, "that will make him swallow his braces."

Jackie was a voracious reader who took hours to wonder at ideas, often processing her thoughts in letters to friends and family. "Write - or I will kill you," she warned her beloved stepbrother Yusha, in a long letter from Paris in 1949. She described dropping a pencil and hearing it roll, roll, roll, after a professor at the Sorbonne explained that, "once oppressed people have experienced freedom, they can never again be truly controlled." She was fun and smart, even in adolescent defiance. In high school, the music teacher who caught her playing "strip polka" demanded to know, in Jackie's retelling, "What would Chopin think?"

Some part of her was always in perpetual motion. "Once classwork is done," she needed "stimulation." Jackie danced, rode horses and excelled at the arts; she painted, drew, designed sets. She wrote short stories, poems and holiday plays for her siblings to perform, and illustrated books to commemorate milestones.

The 1947 Debutante of the Year wanted to chart her own path, not be "a schoolgirl among schoolgirls." But it was more complicated than that. "Maybe because I'm Catholic and my parents were divorced when I was young," she wrote, "I've always felt an outsider in that world." She was rarely so vulnerable. Jackie's happiness depended on maintaining the facade of a privileged boarding-school student with many homes: her stepfather's grand estates in Fairfax, Va., and Newport, R.I., and her father's high-rise apartment in Manhattan and family home in East Hampton.

In reality, her parents, Janet and Black Jack, made "Kramer vs. Kramer" look tepid. Allowance was delayed or withheld for such high crimes as loving both parents. When Jackie disappointed them, they retaliated: Janet, an unrelenting critic, hit her. Black Jack, a reckless bon vivant, blamed his wet, depressive episodes on her. Nothing was ever really hers, except her imagination.

Jackie, from an early age, showed great promise as a writer. Grampy Lee, Janet's father, submitted her poetry to the East Hampton Star. "I honestly think you could write a book on your travels," praised her father, predicting a "best-seller." But that kind of success could ruin a girl's prospects. Every author quotes Jackie's intention, memorialized in a 1947 high school yearbook, "not to be a housewife," but Anthony does well to show what being "distinct" - her advice to lovelorn friends - meant in the real world. John Husted, her erstwhile fiance, deemed her career "insipid" and her column "stupid." She wanted to "marry a man with imagination," but "that's not easy to find."

Careful what you wish for. As her engagement waned, she met John F. Kennedy. "I was rather frightened of him - because I knew if he came towards me, I wouldn't have the power to run away - though it would probably be better if I did." If it worked out, Kennedy's dreams would clearly eclipse hers, but at 35, Jack had never gotten close to proposing to anyone. "He didn't look like someone who wanted to get married, and I pictured heartbreak," but still, it "seemed worth it." In theory. After they met, he didn't call for months.

"He hurt me terribly when he was campaigning," she admitted to her priest, "and never called up for weeks." Today, we'd call it ghosting, and the rest - a couple of short telegrams, a couple of books as gifts in lieu of flowers and last-minute invites - breadcrumbing. And she allowed it. When he disappeared, she didn't chase him, and when he reemerged, she accepted his overtures. Jack's insouciance was painful, but his whereabouts could be accounted for in the papers: He was running for senator in Massachusetts, where women accounted for 51 percent of the vote. They flocked to see the rich, eligible bachelor on the campaign trail, and the eligibility wasn't an act. "He was as much in love with me as he could be with anyone," Jackie said, aware that he was publicly dating other women.

Was she buying time before becoming a senator's wife and, as it was clear even then, the first lady - or building a future on her own terms? An attractive, unmarried woman of little personal wealth - she was a guest at her stepfather's estates, and her father's wealth had been greatly reduced by the Great Depression - had, at 24 years old, little time to waste. But Jackie, mired in courtship limbo, was determined to make her own luck. She shopped around a screenplay about the Octagon House, where James and Dolley Madison moved after the British burned the White House in 1812. She wore down her boss, who assigned her features and published her illustrations alongside stories. She kept up the column, too, posing questions to subjects that reveal an otherwise quiet pining: "Can you give me any reason why a contented bachelor should get married?" "What is the food of romance?" "The Irish author Sean O'Faolain claims that the Irish are deficient in the art of love. Do you agree?"

Anthony lingers on her ambition, critical to her sense of self, but his approach has a fundamental flaw: He prioritizes her photography over her writing. She didn't. The Leica camera she's wrangling for when the book opens, which Anthony emphasizes as a Rosebud-like object, isn't the one she used at work. Few of the new photos in the book were taken with it. The title, "Camera Girl," sounds unserious, but more important, it omits a key word, and function, of her column: "Inquiring Camera Girl" featured photos and interviews. She identified as a writer. Kennedy described her as a journalist. But Anthony sees her as a photographer, and his tunnel vision, which sometimes thwarts his narrative, leaves future scholars with gaps to fill.

Anthony has written a good book. With a bit more vision, diligence and energy, he could have written a great one.

- - -

Alexis Coe is the author of "You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington," and she is at work on a biography of John F. Kennedy.
Once Upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections Between Mathematics and Literature

By Sarah Hart

Flatiron. 304 pp. $29.99

- - -

As a high school sophomore in the 1960s, I was struggling with geometry, then being badly taught according to the notoriously ill-conceived system known as the New Math. In despair over one D-plus too many on my week's homework, I finally resolved never, ever to take another course involving numbers. Instead of advancing to trigonometry in 11th grade and calculus in 12th, I politely asked my guidance counselor if I could sign up for electrical shop instead. No way, he sternly informed me, colleges required four years of high school math. But I was stubborn and as a compromise was eventually allowed to substitute two years of German. Ironically, the first words I learned were "eins, zwei, drei."

Despite my near innumeracy, math has always enthralled me. As we know from Norton Juster's "The Phantom Tollbooth," numbers can be magical. Even as a kid, I used to marvel at that neat trick for multiplying two-digit numbers by 11. How much is 11 times 63? Simple. You just add the 6 and 3 together and place the resulting 9 between them. Your answer is 693. This works for larger numbers, too, with a bit of adjustment. Being bookish even as a teenager, I happily studied a paperback of George Gamow's classic of popular science, "One, Two, Three . . . Infinity," read with pleasure the essays and stories in Clifton Fadiman's collection "Fantasia Mathematica," and puzzled over the first of Martin Gardner's many collections of his recreational math columns from Scientific American.

All three of those authors loved words and stories as well as numbers. So too does Sarah Hart, as she demonstrates in "Once Upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections Between Mathematics and Literature." Now professor of geometry at Gresham College in London, Hart is the first woman to hold this position. It's an honor with a long history that runs from the 17th-century scientist Robert Hooke to the 20th century's Roger Penrose. The goal of her book, she tells us, "is to convince you not only that mathematics and literature are inextricably, and fundamentally, linked, but that understanding these links can enhance your enjoyment of both."

In her introduction, Hart stresses that poetry and mathematical proofs are both things of beauty and patterned elegance. As she points out, even nature-loving William Wordsworth, in his poetic autobiography, "The Prelude," speaks of the beguiling charms of geometry, "an independent world/ Created out of pure intelligence."

The Gresham professor often sounds as if she were conducting a class and pausing occasionally to scribble formulas on a blackboard. She frequently addresses the reader as "you" and begins each chapter by announcing what she's about to "show" us. Her prose throughout is clear, direct and jokey, a near necessity given some of the more ferocious mathematical arcana in "Once Upon a Prime."

The book is wide-ranging. Early on, Hart lists several mnemonics for remembering pi, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. For instance, the phrase "How I wish I could calculate pi" will give you pi's first seven digits: Just count the letters in each of the words and you arrive at 3.141592. A few pages later, we learn about primes, those numbers like 2, 3, 5, 7 and 11 with only two factors - that is, they can be evenly divided only by 1 and themselves. A 6 isn't prime because of its additional factors: Besides 6 and 1, it can also be evenly divided by 2 and 3. To me, this seemingly random mix of primes and non-primes - called composites - implies some strange mystical undercurrent running beneath the orderly march of the cardinal numbers.

In other chapters, Hart intersperses the exposition of mathematical theorems - the Fibonacci sequence, the Koch curve - with reflections on meter in poetry, Kurt Vonnegut's whimsical graphs of fiction's basic plot arcs, the arithmetical substructure of Eleanor Catton's Booker Prize-winning novel "The Luminaries" and much else. Chapter 3, for example, explores the French "Ouvroir de la litterature potentielle," a "workshop for potential literature" composed of both mathematicians and writers, each hoping to learn from the other.

The most dazzling works of the Oulipo, as it's commonly referred to, include Georges Perec's "La Disparition" - a novel written without using the letter e - and its companion "Les Revenentes," which excludes all vowels except e. Hart also explicates such wordplay tours de force as Mark Dunn's "Ella Minnow Pea" (say its title aloud) and Christian Bok's "Eunoia," which consists of five chapters, each of which uses just one of the five vowels (excluding y). In Claude Berge's Oulipian mystery, "Who Killed the Duke of Densmore?," the detective knows that the duke's murderer must be one of seven "lady friends," all of whom paid him a visit at overlapping times during the fatal evening. Hart then demonstrates how an interval graph determines the identity of the murderer.

Many readers will be particularly drawn to the chapter about "choose your own adventure" novels and those interactive plays in which the audience periodically votes on what should happen next. How do the creators of such works keep the number of options manageable? Consider that a play with four pauses, each offering two different courses of action, would require actors to memorize 31 possible scenes. We learn how a "theater tree" can ingeniously cut this number in half. From here, Hart segues into a consideration of B.S. Johnson's "The Unfortunates," a loose-leaf novel in which the first and last chapters are specified but the 25 others can be arranged in any order. How many different orders are possible? A mere 15.5 septillion.

The middle section of "Once Upon a Prime" turns the reader's attention to mathematical symbolism. Hart begins by scrutinizing the magical numbers 3, 7, 12 and 40, which recur so often in folklore and fairy tales. Why is it always the third son who behaves differently from his two older brothers and thus wins the princess? "The narrative reason for this," she explains, "is obvious - we require two repetitions to get to know the pattern, so that the breaking of the pattern in the third iteration can surprise or amuse us."

In the book's final third, Hart examines the use of math in Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick," George Eliot's "Daniel Deronda," Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" and the works of James Joyce. She offers an especially acute and extended analysis of the two-dimensional world of Edwin Abbott's "Flatland," mentions that "The Inheritors," a science fiction novel by Joseph Conrad and Ford Madox Ford (writing as Ford M. Hueffer), involves fourth-dimensional beings, and deduces why the main action of Yann Martel's "Life of Pi" takes 227 days: That number can be rejiggered into the fraction 22/7, which when divided out yields an answer very close to pi. She also touches on Lewis Carroll's Alice stories, investigates the fractal chapter ornaments in Michael Crichton's "Jurassic Park" and reminds non-Sherlockians that Professor Moriarty was an authority on the "binomial theorem." Hart ends by confessing her fondness for Sydney Padua's 2015 graphic novel, "The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage," which is "set in a parallel universe where the two protagonists" - the Victorian computer visionaries Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage - "have managed to get the Analytic Engine to work and use it to fight crime and generally be awesome."

"Once Upon a Prime" is generally awesome, too, though some parts may require patience and close attention. At least that was my experience, but then I can do little more with numbers than make change and count my blessings.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A federal appeals court has agreed to dismiss North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley's appeal of a judge's block on a decade-old abortion restriction, though the move is largely a technicality and won't impact any potential legal wrangling over newly passed legislation.

Wrigley said the Thursday dismissal by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is merely because the matter is moot due to a bill Gov. Doug Burgum signed last month, revising North Dakota's abortion laws nearly a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion.

The Legislature essentially replaced North Dakota's abortion laws -- a ban triggered by the Dobbs ruling that also was blocked by a judge, and the 2013 so-called "heartbeat bill" -- with revised regulations in a new chapter in state law.

The heartbeat bill sought to ban abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected -- as early as six weeks, when some women don't yet know they're pregnant -- except when a medical emergency exists that prevents compliance with the law.

Wrigley after the Dobbs ruling sought to appeal the 2014 block of the heartbeat bill. A federal judge had found the restriction "invalid and unconstitutional."

Now the heartbeat case is "just moot" due to Senate Bill 2150 becoming law, according to Wrigley.

"There's nothing for us to defend or attempt to revive," he told the Tribune on Friday.

The appeals court action was the result of a "joint stipulation of dismissal," according to court documents.

Autumn Katz, interim director of U.S. Litigation at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement: "It is outrageous that North Dakota state officials sought to resurrect a six-week ban that had been permanently struck down almost 10 years ago, shortly after trying to enforce their total abortion ban. While the six-week ban has now been repealed, there is still an ongoing and relentless assault on North Dakotans reproductive freedom. Lawmakers have criminalized essential healthcare regardless of the dire consequences to peoples health and lives. The people of North Dakota deserve better.

The bill Burgum signed is a near total ban on abortion, but for up to six weeks of pregnancy in cases of rape and incest, and to prevent death or a "serious health risk" of the mother.

The clinic last year sued to overturn North Dakota's trigger law, which sought to ban nearly all abortions after Roe v. Wade was overturned. A state district court judge temporarily blocked the trigger ban from taking effect as the lawsuit played out. Wrigley challenged the injunction, but the state Supreme Court upheld it.

Chief Justice Jon Jensen wrote in the court's majority opinion that the clinic "has demonstrated likely success on the merits that there is a fundamental right to an abortion in the limited instances of life-saving and health-preserving circumstances."

Wrigley said he anticipates litigation to continue regarding North Dakota's abortion laws.

"The issue is squared up very squarely: Did the Legislature erect boundaries that the court views as complying with the court's directive and recent decision?" the attorney general said.

It's unclear what will happen next in the lawsuit now that the revised abortion laws are in effect.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)  The Nebraska Legislature on Friday approved a 12-week abortion ban and restrictions on gender-affirming care for people younger than 19 in a move so contentious that lawmakers on both sides have said they may be unable to work together in the future.

Conservative lawmakers called in a visibly ill colleague so they would have enough votes to end a filibuster and pass a bill with both measures. Republican Gov. Jim Pillen, who pushed for the bill, has promised to sign it into law.

The mood in the Nebraska Capitol has been volatile since lawmakers on Tuesday advanced by a single vote the hybrid measure that ties together restrictions that Republicans have pursued across the U.S. One lawmaker, Omaha state Sen. Megan Hunt, disclosed in March that her teenage son is transgender and said Friday that she now plans to leave the state.

North Carolina also passed a 12-week abortion ban this week, among a slew of restrictions enacted in states after the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that established a nationwide right to abortion. Fourteen states now have bans throughout pregnancy.

Nebraska, however, had not passed new restrictions while continuing to prohibit abortion starting around 20 weeks of pregnancy. The 12-week ban includes exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the mother. Opponents unsuccessfully sought an exception for fatal fetal anomalies and to explicitly protect doctors from criminal charges for performing a contested abortion.

The bill also would prevent transgender people under 19 from receiving any gender-confirming surgery. It would also restrict the use of hormone treatments and puberty blockers in minors, putting the states chief medical officer  a political appointee who is an ear, nose and throat doctor  in charge of setting the rules for those therapies. In Nebraska, people younger than 19 are considered minors.

At least 17 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for minors, and proposals are pending before the governors of Texas and Missouri. Medical groups and advocates say such restrictions are further marginalizing transgender youth and threatening their health.

Nebraska's restrictions on gender-affirming care wouldn't take effect until Oct. 1. The abortion ban will take effect as soon as the governor signs it. Bill opponents promised to sue to stop both measures.

Fridays debate was briefly halted when protesters in a chamber balcony stood and yelled obscenities at conservative lawmakers while throwing what appeared to be bloody tampons onto the floor. The Nebraska State Patrol cleared both balconies and said at least six people were arrested. As lawmakers began voting, hundreds of protesters packed into the Capitol rotunda shouted, Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! just outside the chamber.

Hundreds of businesses and medical professionals signed letters warning that both the abortion ban and the trans health restrictions would prompt corporations and doctors to leave the state. A letter submitted Friday and signed by more than 1,200 Nebraska medical professionals called the bill a direct attack on the medical community of our state.

Sen. Kathleen Kauth, who authored the trans health measure, has repeatedly referred to an increase of children who identify as transgender as a social contagion." She said the measure is aimed at protecting children from doing something they might later regret.

It does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that we hate them, she said. Quite to the contrary: We love them.

Kauth's measure was the genesis of an epic filibuster by Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, who along with a handful of progressive allies, including Hunt, have slowed the business of passing laws to a crawl by introducing amendment after amendment to every bill that made it to the Senate floor. That sent leadership scrambling to prioritize which bills to push through.

After lawmakers merged the abortion limits with the transgender health bill, state Sen. Julie Slama insinuated that conservatives were supporting the restrictions on gender-affirming care simply to retaliate against Cavanaugh. Slama noted that the restrictions did not initially have the 33 votes needed to survive.

On Friday, Cavanaugh vowed to continue her filibuster until the end of this year's session in early June and even through all of 2024.

This place is morally bankrupt, Cavanaugh said. "Im looking forward to 2025 when I no longer have to serve with many of you.

Conservatives in the one-house, officially nonpartisan Legislature announced early this month that they would amend the trans health bill to squeeze in the abortion restrictions. That unconventional move came after conservatives failed to advance a bill that would have banned abortion once cardiac activity can be detected  generally around six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.

Legislative rules state that a bill failing to defeat a filibuster must be tabled for the year. So opponents were surprised by the plan announced just last week.

Left-leaning lawmakers complained that conservatives essentially created a new bill that received no public hearing. They also say it violates state law that requires amendments be related to the underlying bill.
ARTESIA, N.M. (AP)  A New Mexico woman has been charged with first-degree murder in the January death of her newborn son, whose body authorities said she placed in a trash can.

Alexee Trevizo, 19, also was charged this week with tampering with evidence, according to a criminal complaint filed in Eddy County in southeastern New Mexico.

Trevizo went to the emergency room in late December for back pain, and lab tests showed she was pregnant and in labor, according to Artesia police. Trevizo then locked herself in a bathroom, where she gave birth to a boy Jan. 27, then placed the baby in a bag that she concealed under other trash, investigators said.

By the time the baby was found, the baby had died and Trevizo had left the hospital, investigators said. An autopsy listed the cause of death as a homicide.

Gary C. Mitchell, an attorney for Trevizo, said Thursday that said his client has no criminal record and should not be facing a murder charge.

He said there are major discrepancies about what happened in the hospital and this isn't a classic child abuse case.

A court hearing is scheduled Friday to review conditions of release.

It's the second high-profile case involving a mother and a newborn baby in New Mexico lately.

Jurors convicted Alexis Avila, 19, of throwing her newborn into an outdoor trash receptacle in January 2020 in Hobbs, New Mexico. The child survived. Avila was sentenced May 1 to 16 years in prison.
Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspap/Houston Chronicle

The family of the sixth Harris County Jail detainee to die in custody so far this year says Robert Terry, 32, was healthy before he was booked into the jail.

Terry was booked into Harris County Jail on Saturday and was held on $30,000 bond for a retaliation charge. Three days later, Terry died "after suffering an apparent medical emergency," the Harris County Sheriff's office said in a Tuesday news release. Robert Terry Sr., Terry's father, told KPRC 2's Deven Clarke that his son didn't have any medical conditions. "For him to collapse in Harris County [Jail,] that don't make sense to me," Terry's father told KPRC 2's Clarke.
Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday announced an investigation into Texas Children's Hospital related to healthcare procedures for transgender patients.The announcement comes two weeks after Paxton launched a probe into Dell Children's Hospital in Austin also focused on medical procedures for transgender people.

Paxton's Texas Children's Hospital investigation announcement comes after the Texas Senate approved a bill banning gender-affirming hormone procedures for transgender youth on Wednesday, per the Dallas Morning News' Lauren McGaughy. The U.S.'s top medical association has repeatedly affirmed gender-affirming therapies as vital medical interventions for trans people's physical and psychological health. The bill now awaits signature into law from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
A Texas bill to overturn local municipalities' ordinances and bar cities and counties from enacting legislation beyond state law is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk after final approval from House lawmakers Friday. In an 84-58 vote, state representatives voted to concur with the Senate's latest amendments after a dismissed point of order. Previously, Abbott said he supported the legislation, and after his final signature would put the measure into effect on Sept.1.

House Bill 2127, also coined as the "Death Star Bill," is a preemption bill to override local regulations in industries like agriculture, oil, and insurance, among others. In a Senate debate Monday, officials also approved an amendment to stop cities from passing protections for tenants facing evictions. The bill's author Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), who also has a real estate business, added the amendment on Monday.

The bill's proponents maintain the legislation will "return regulatory powers to the state where they belong." In addition to Abbott and Republican lawmakers, business lobbying groups have also said they support the legislation. The Texas chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business thanked Creighton and co-author state Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) for writing the bill.

"#HB2127 is a major victory for #smallbiz owners!," Texas NFIB said Friday afternoon.

However, officials from larger cities like Houston, Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio have opposed the bill noting it waters down local governments' authority. Earlier this week, Houston officials said the legislation could impact city ordinances like noise complaints, mandates to protect workers, and security requirements for BYOB establishments.

At a Wednesday Houston City Council meeting, city officials commented on the unpredictable future of passed and upcoming ordinances. "2127 says that Austin will be your city council, essentially," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said.

Furthermore, labor rights organizations like the Texas AFL-CIO condemned the legislation's passage and said it erases workers' protections such as mandatory water breaks for workers.

"We just witnessed the largest transfer of power away from working people and into the hands of a few power mad, anti-worker legislators that our state has ever seen," the group tweeted. "Our ability to organize, mobilize and build worker power in our state has never been more important."

With the bill's passage, lawsuits are expected to follow but Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said the bill would be hard to fight legally because of the scope.

"Today is a sad day in Texas as Republican leaders in Austin are stripping local officials of the power to protect their communities in the way they see fit," Menefee said in a Friday statement in response to the bill.

"The self proclaimed party of small government is blocking local leaders from deciding what's best for their constituents. I expect we'll see more of these bills in the coming years and people across our state should be concerned."
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP)  A Massachusetts Air National Guard member charged with leaking highly classified military documents will remain behind bars while he awaits trial, a federal magistrate judge ruled Friday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy said releasing 21-year-old Jack Teixeira would pose a risk that he would attempt to flee the country or obstruct justice. The judge cited Teixeiras fascination with guns, disturbing online statements and admonitions by Teixeira's military superiors about his handling of sensitive information before his arrest.

The ruling comes after prosecutors revealed that Teixeira had a history of violent rhetoric, and was caught by fellow military members months before his arrest taking notes on classified information or viewing intelligence not related to his job.

Teixeira is accused of sharing classified military documents on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games. The stunning breach exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments on Russias war in Ukraine, the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other nations and other national security issues.

The judge said the case represented a profound breach of the defendant's word that he would protect information related to the security of the United States.

Who did he put at risk? I mean, you could make a list as long as a phone book, Hennessy said, including military personnel, medical workers overseas and Ukrainian citizens.

The judge indicated that he found persuasive prosecutors' arguments that U.S. adversaries who might be interested in mining Teixeira for information could facilitate his escape.

Foreign countries know that this defendant was disloyal to the United States," the judge said. It doesnt seem implausible at all that a foreign government would make an overture to this defendant to get information."

Teixeira appeared to show no emotion as he was lead out of the courtroom in handcuffs and orange jail clothes. He smiled at his father sitting in the front as he walked into the hearing in Worcester, Massachusetts, federal court.

Teixeira can appeal the judge's ruling, and Hennessy told him another judge could come to a different conclusion." The judge said the support of Teixeira's family  who have attended every court hearing  is a compelling reason to release the man, but his concerns outweigh that.

In a statement after the hearing, Teixeira's family said it was disappointed with the outcome but we realize there is a long road ahead of us all, and Jacks wellbeing and safety is our priority right now. As a family, we are as committed as ever and remain steadfast and determined in our complete support of Jack as we continue to wade through this process.

The high-profile case is being prosecuted by the Massachusetts U.S. Attorneys office, whose leader  U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins  resigned on Friday after two federal watchdog agencies found she committed a slew of ethical and legal violations.

Teixeira has been behind bars since his April 13 arrest on charges, under the Espionage Act, of unauthorized retention and transmission of classified national defense information. He has not yet entered a plea.

Prosecutors had urged the judge to keep Teixeira jailed, in part because of his arsenal of weapons and history of online statements, including one social media post from last November saying that, if he had his way, he would like to kill a ton of people because it would be culling the weak minded.

His lawyers had pressed the judge to release him to his father, saying he has no criminal history and strong family support to ensure he shows up in court. His lawyer said last month that he has nowhere to flee and will answer the charges against him.

Prosecutors have detailed a troubling history going back to high school, where Teixeira was suspended in 2018 when a classmate overheard him discussing Molotov cocktails and other weapons as well as racial threats. His initial application for a firearms identification card that same year was denied due to police concerns over those remarks.

He regularly made statements about violence and murder on social media, and also used his government computer to research past mass shootings and standoffs with federal agents, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said he also kept his gun locker within reach of his bed and in it were handguns, bolt-action rifles, shotguns, an AK-style high-capacity weapon and a gas mask.

Teixeiras father told the judge that he removed all the guns from his home and would ensure that his son followed his pretrial conditions if he were released. Teixeiras lawyer argued that despite the statements highlighted by prosecutors he was not a danger to the community or a flight risk.

Prosecutors revealed in court papers filed this week that Teixeiras superiors had raised concerns in the months before his arrest about his mishandling of classified information.

He was twice admonished by superiors in September and October, and was again observed in February viewing information that was not related to his primary duty and was related to the intelligence field, according to internal Air National Guard memos filed in court.

The revelations have raised questions about why Teixeira continued to have access to military secrets after what prosecutors described as concerning actions related to his handling of classified information.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh was questioned Thursday about why Teixeiras leaders did not take action after the concerns were raised. Singh referred to the Justice Department and Air Force investigations, and said those concerns and the potential lack of response to them were among the areas the inquiries would examine.

____

Tucker reported from Washington.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  Brazils environmental regulator has rejected a license for a controversial offshore oil drilling project near the mouth of the Amazon River that had drawn strong opposition from activists who warned of its potential for damaging the area.

The agencys president, Rodrigo Agostinho, highlighted environmental concerns in announcing the decision Wednesday evening to turn down the state-run oil company Petrobras' request to drill the FZA-M-59 block. He cited a group of technical inconsistencies" in the company's application.

With Brazil's existing production set to peak in coming years, Petrobras has sought to secure more reserves off Brazils northern coast. The company earmarked almost half its five-year, $6 billion exploration budget for the area, and in a statement Thursday said it would file an official request that the decision be reconsidered.

CEO Jean Paul Prates had said that the first well would be temporary and that the company has never recorded a leak in offshore drilling. The company failed to convince the environmental agency.

There is no doubt that Petrobras was offered every opportunity to remedy critical points of its project, but that it still presents worrisome inconsistencies for the safe operation in a new exploratory frontier with high socioenvironmental vulnerability, Agostinho wrote in his decision.

The unique and biodiverse area is home to little-studied swaths of mangroves and a coral reef, and activists and experts had said the project risked leaks that could be carried widely by tides and imperil the sensitive environment.

Eighty civil society and environmental organizations, including WWF Brasil and Greenpeace, had called for the license to be rejected pending an in-depth study.

Caetano Scannavino, coordinator of Health and Happiness, an Amazon non-profit group that supports sustainable projects in the Tapajos basin, congratulated Agostinho on Twitter for not succumbing to pressure, asking for more studies, and prioritizing science in the service of the collective.

It is a sensitive, little-studied region, and theres no way back for any mistake there, Scannavino added. Not to mention the governments promise of a decarbonized future.

The Climate Observatory, a network of environmental non-profits, also cheered the decision, saying in a statement that Agostinho is protecting a virtually unknown ecosystem and maintains the coherence of the Lula government, which has promised in its discourse to be guided by the fight against the climate crisis.

During the first presidential terms of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, from 2003 to 2010, huge offshore discoveries became a means of financing health, education and welfare programs. Some members of his Workers' Party continue to see oil as a means to ensure social progress.

Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira said in March that the area is the passport to the future for development in Brazils northern region. In his prior terms, Lula used the same phrase to describe the offshore oil discoveries in an area known as pre-salt.

But Lula has strived to demonstrate the environmental awakening he has undergone in the years since, with protection of the Amazon a fixture in his campaign last year to unseat Jair Bolsonaro and return to the presidency.

Activists and experts had warned that approval for the offshore oil project could threaten the natural world, but also dent Lula's newfound image as an environmental defender.

The process to obtain an environmental license for the FZA-M-59 block began in 2014, at the request of BP Energy do Brasil. Exploration rights were transferred to Petrobras in 2020.

Suely Araujo, a former head of the environment agency and now a public policy specialist with the Climate Observatory, said Agostinho made the right call not just for the specific project, but also for the nation.

"The decision in this case gives cause for a broader debate about the role of oil in the countrys future. It is time to establish a calendar to eliminate fossil fuels and accelerate the just transition for oil exporting countries, such as Brazil, and not open a new exploration frontier, Araujo said in a statement. Those who sleep today dreaming of oil wealth tend to wake up tomorrow with a stranded asset, or an ecological disaster, or both.

Not all of Lula's allies were pleased. Sen. Randolfe Rodrigues, a member of the Sustainability Network political party and the government's leader in Congress, said the decision deprives people in his home state of Amapa from much-needed development and goes against research conducted in the state, which is closest to the proposed drilling site.

We will gather together all those who want Amapa's sustainable development, so that technically, legally and responsiibly we can fight against this decision, Rodrigues wrote on Twitter.

He announced he would leave the center-left party, of which Environment Minister Marina Silva is a leading member. She appointed Agostinho to lead the environment regulator.

In its statement, Petrobras said it believes it strictly followed all licensing requirements and highlighted that the proposed drilling, in an area known as the Equatorial Margin, was proposed for an area over 500 kilometers (over 300 miles) from the Amazon River's mouth.

The company remains committed to the development of the Brazilian Equatorial Margin, recognizing the importance of new frontiers to ensure the countrys energy security and the resources needed for a fair and sustainable energy transition," the statement said. "To supply Brazils future demand for oil, the country will have to look for new sources in addition to the pre-salt.

Other controversial megaprojects in the Amazon that remain on the table include repaving a highway that would slice through preserved rainforest, construction of a major railway for grain transport and renewal of a giant hydroelectric dams license.

___

Associated Press writer Eleonore Hughes in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

WAHPETON  A North Dakota man who initially claimed that he ran over and killed an 18-year-old after a political argument pleaded guilty Thursday to manslaughter, prosecutors said.

Shannon Brandt, of Glenfield, was initially charged with murder in the September 2022 death of Cayler Ellingson during a street dance in McHenry, about 150 miles northeast of Bismarck.

The case drew attention on social media because Brandt initially said he ran over Ellingson, whom he called a Republican extremist, after an argument about politics.

Investigators have said the disagreement was not political, and there was no evidence to show that Ellingson was a member of a Republican extremist group.

Foster County State Attorney Kara Brinster said in a news release Thursday that Brandt had been drinking and argued with Ellingson before driving erratically and knocking the victim down with his car and running over his legs and torso.

A probable cause affidavit said Brandt left the scene and was visibly intoxicated when authorities found him at his home in Glenfield.

In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dismissed a charge of leaving the scene of an accident. Brandt remains free on bond pending sentencing. He faces up to 10 years in prison.
Nancy Patterson with the college says they were alerted of the incident on Saturday, May 6. They have shut down their systems and have disrupted 1,069 students.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A lot of people are tired of winter and are ready to plant.

-- Plant Perfect owner Casey McCollum, on the start of the growing season in the Bismarck region.

q q q

Ive always said, Why not? -- Why not push myself and see how well I can do in all of these things? Why not take the highest-level classes? Because even if it doesn't go well, you'll still learn something on the way.

-- Century High School senior Caylee Michela, named Teen of the Year by MDU Resources Group Inc. and The Bismarck Tribune.

q q q

The Bicentennial Founders Day is on a Saturday in 2072, so you might as well get it on your calendars early. Ill be 95 that year and am looking forward to seeing you there.

-- Assistant City Administrator Jason Tomanek, on the burying of a time capsule whose opening a half century from now will unofficially kick off Bismarck's 200th anniversary.

q q q

"We're eventually going to grow to where that pipeline is. We've got 95,000 people here that we all care about, and we want the best decision going forward."

-- Mike Connelly, member of the Bismarck City Commission, which passed a resolution supporting calls to move or delay a planned carbon dioxide pipeline just north of the city.

q q q

"It looked like a spaceship almost."

-- Matt Johnson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Bismarck, describing a supercell thunderstorm that blasted the Bismarck-Mandan area with heavy rain and widespread hail.

q q q

"I like trees. I spent a lot of my life in the woods, and you just gradually get to know trees."

-- Sterling-area native Duane Elness, a retiree who searched for state champion trees in Bismarck and found a river birch, littleleaf linden, common honeylocust and apricot that were added to the North Dakota Register of Champion Trees.

q q q

"We had a big snow event on the first day and one on the last day, but in between it was just cold -- well-below-normal temperatures, which can restrict or reduce hydraulic fracturing but is not bad for movement of people and materials in terms of drilling and production."

-- State Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms, detailing why North Dakota oil production in March dropped 3% from February.

q q q

"During the pandemic, many of us were deferring a lot of the medical need and preventative care. So now it is time to go back and seek annual checkups with providers; preventative health screenings, whether it's immunization, whether it is mammograms or other health screenings, are all really important in detection of these diseases or ailments, at fairly early stages, as well as adopting healthy lifestyles and behaviors."

-- State Health Officer Dr. Nizar Wehbi, urging North Dakotans to consider a "back to the basics" health focus as the COVID-19 threat wanes.

q q q

Its well attended -- Ive been to 20 of them if not more and it's a great community event.

-- Burleigh County Commissioner Jerry Woodcox, as the group granted $5,000 to the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra for its traditional Fourth of July Symphony Spectacular at the state Capitol, after denying the money the past two years due to concerns about rising property taxes.
A defendant who failed to engage with probation services when offered a training course was remanded in custody before a Circuit Court judge concluded his case.

Joe Mears (30), 1 Richmond Street, was convicted of cannabis possession in Longford Circuit Court last year.

The conviction related to a high speed chase by Gardai in which a kilogramme of cannabis was thrown out the window of a car.

Mr Mears and John Doyle (41), 35 The Mill, Clondra, Longford, were convicted by Judge Keenan Johnson of the offence from September 5, 2017 as they drove their VW Passat in the Danesfort area of Navan.

Officers found a Tesco bag containing two packs of cannabis with a total weight of 987.4 gramme, valued at 19,750.

Last January Judge Johnson said he would consider his options if the defendant came before the court with a job by the May sitting of the court.

The matter returned before Judge Kenneth Connolly who was told the defendant had secured work experience in a local tyre depot, with the potential of full time role on completion of the trial period. Judge Connolly said he did not feel this met with the conditions Judge Johnson imposed and adjourned the matter.

When Judge Johnson reviewed the matter on Friday he noted the defendant had not attended training courses recommended by the Probation Services.

Counsel for Joe Mears, Niall Flynn BL, said his client's father recently passed away and the defendant now plays a key role in caring for his six siblings. He said Mr Mears is also a father himself and was looking for one more chance.

Judge Johnson said: I am fed up with giving you one more chance.

The defendant was remanded in custody to appear before the court on May 18 at which point Judge Johnson will finalise matters.
A Circuit Court judge has vowed to eradicate as soon as possible any ongoing familial conflict in the Midlands.

Judge Kenneth Connolly made his statement in the hearing of Dylan Stokes (20) of Lisnanagh, Edgeworthstown, Longford who had a 20 month custodial sentence suspended for a period of three years.

Detective Sergeant Keelan Brennan outlined details of the incident in which Daniel Lawrence sustained multiple stab wounds to his head, stomach, back and arm following the attack outside Aldi, Athlone Road, Longford on April 1, 2019.

The incident stemmed from a history of antagonism over a relationship between Mr Lawrence and Kate Stokes, a sister of the accused.

On the day of the attack Mr Lawrence and Kate Stokes were about to enter the Aldi store when the defendants' mother Margaret Stokes and Chantel Stokes walked towards them. The court was told Margaret Stokes said: The cheek of you, to put your father up on stories, referring to a social media post by her daughter.

She then slapped Kate Stokes across the face. The court heard Mr Lawrence told Margaret Stokes to leave his then girlfriend alone. In the ensuing argument Chantel Stokes produced a can of deodorant and sprayed it in the victim's face.

Kevin Stokes Jnr and Dylan Stokes then ran across a car park and attacked Mr Lawrence. Kevin Stokes used a knife, inflicting serious injuries to the victim's head and stomach, while Dylan Stokes hit Mr Lawrence.

The attack lasted around 30 seconds, then the assailants ran off. The victim had no idea what happened and did not realise he was stabbed. The extent of his injuries was so serious he had to be airlifted to hospital and underwent emergency surgery.

Detective Sergeant Brennan said Dylan Stokes was arrested, but remained silent during the interview. The Det Sgt acknowledged the defendant had certain intellectual difficulties.

In his victim impact statement Daniel Lawrence, who attended the court hearing, outlined how the attack affected him. He sustained physical injuries resulting in scars to his head and neck, but has also suffered depression and anxiety in the wake of the attack.

He gets very stressed and avoids going out. Mr Lawrence said he was once confident, but no longer participates in sports.

Issues that developed since the attack sometimes put a strain on his current relationship.

The victim spoke of flashbacks when he goes to Aldi and has just been released from Cluain Mhuire where he has received treatment.

He detailed nightmares, being constantly nervous, and panic attacks: This vicious attack affected my family as much as it did me. It had a big impact on my mother. I have to get back to myself for their sake, he said.

Outlining details of his client's circumstances barrister Gerard Groarke BL said Dylan Stokes was expelled from both primary and secondary schools. He attributed these expulsions to the defendant's mild intellectual disability. Mr Groarke said Mr Stokes has adaptive functioning lower than 99% of people of a similar age.

The barrister said: Since this incident Dylan saw his father run over by a car in a deliberate attack.

Counsel told the court this client entered a guilty plea as soon as it was established he had the capacity to enter a plea: He was involved in this incident, but it was a spontaneous involvement. The extent of his involvement was a couple of thumps and the victim sustained no injuries from these thumps.

Previously prosecuted for the offence Kevin Stokes Jnr received a three years and four month prison sentence for the assault, while Chantel Stokes was ordered to do 240 hours of community service for violent disorder alongside a 12 month sentence for assault, which was suspended for three years.

Judge Connolly said he accepted Stokes was not the immediate instigator of the conflict, but noted he intervened in a conflict between families. The judge accepted there was no common design or joint enterprise in the matter and observed Mr Stokes did not inflict any of the knife injuries.

The fact the defendant fled to Northern Ireland with his brother after the attack was mentioned, but also noted was his voluntary return to deal with the matter.

Judge Connolly set the sentence at three years, but outlined the mitigation: He has only one previous conviction, so he has no significant history of previous offending. There was some class of an apology to the victim. It was not the most fulsome, it came late and was short, but it was an apology nonetheless.

Having dealt with a number of cases related to traveller feuding in the course of the week Judge Connolly said: I take a serious view of ongoing familial conflict. This will be eradicated as soon as possible. There appears to have been some sort of tolerance for this in the past, not by the court or the Gardai, but by certain sections of the public. This will not be tolerated going forward.

The judge imposed a 20 month sentence for the assault, but suspended it for three years on condition Mr Stokes be of good behaviour for a period of three years and have no unsolicited contact with the injured party or their family.
Longford's Joe Murray is organising the 35th annual Afri Famine Walk through the Doolough Valley in County Mayo on Saturday, May 20.

Carrickboy native Joe has been an organiser of every walk since the first one in 1988, even when the event was forced to go online during Covid-19.

Mr Murray commented, It has been a great privilege to be involved in this unique event since its inception and I have met many extraordinary people who have taken part in the walk over the years, including Desmond Tutu, actor Gabriel Byrne, Christy Moore, Sharon Shannon, Lisa Lambe, Damian Dempsey, Declan ORourke to name but a few.

Walkers will gather in Louisburgh from 11am for the opening ceremony before being ferried by bus to the starting point at Delphi Lodge.

Renowned singing star and Independent Senator Frances Black, will be among this years walk leaders.

A strong advocate for social justice, Senator Black is the first female Independent from the Seanads panel system in the history of the state.

She is the founder of the RISE Foundation and also the Chairperson and a founder member of the recently launched Irish Anti-Apartheid Campaign for Palestine.

Other walk leaders will include leading educationalist and activist Michael Doorly of Concern and Joseph Kabwe Kamfwa, an agriculturist from Lusaka in Zambia.

Music will be provided by the folk and traditional music legend, Karan Casey, whose recently released album is entitled Nine Apples of Gold.

Mr Murray explained, The walk is about remembering those who suffered, died or were forced to emigrate during An Gorta Mor and those who suffer the same injustices today, anywhere in the world.

He added, This years walk is an expression of solidarity with all who suffer as a result of war and a call for every effort to be made to bring an end to war and pursue a path of peace.

Joe says anyone is welcome to join them for this walk of solidarity and peace. Even if you cannot complete the full 18 kilometres, a shuttle car can pick you up along the way.

For further information on the 35th annual Afri Famine Walk contact Joe Murray 086 3946893.
A former priest and Irish Times columnist who was sentenced to four years in prison for sexual assaults on a school boy in the late 1990s has had his conviction quashed and is to be retried.

Barry Fergal Jennings (57) of Cloonkeerin, Frenchpark, Co Roscommon, was convicted by unanimous jury decision in March of last year of six counts of sexual assault of the boy at locations in Dublin on dates between September 1998 and December 1999.

Mr Jennings, aka Fr Jennings and Fr Fergal Mac Eoinin, was a chaplain at a community school in Dublin at the time of the alleged offences. He had denied the charges.

At his trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Monica Leech BL, prosecuting, said it was the State's case that the priest went to the victims home and molested him in his bed. Counsel said it was the State's case that the accused also sexually assaulted him a number of times while driving him around and also molested him twice at locations at the school.

In his victim impact statement, the man said that he was previously a happy child but that the sex attacks destroyed his life, resulting in him turning to alcohol and drugs and making him feel suicidal.

At the Court of Appeal today, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said that in December 2017 the complainant made statements to An Garda Siochana alleging the abuse. The complainant had already told a doctor, a separate priest and his mother that he had been assaulted.

In May 2018, the complainant also made a phone-call to a life-long friend to say that he had contacted the gardai.

Evidence of the making of the complaints were heard in the trial and put before the jury.

Ms Justice Kennedy said it was the submission of Mr Jennings' legal team that the jury were not directed on the value of this evidence about how the complaints were made.

She said it was argued that the trial judge erred in omitting to explain the purpose upon which the complaint evidence was admissible, "namely, to show consistency of the account, not for the purpose of proving the fact of the complaint itself and [that it] did not constitute corroboration".

Lorcan Staines SC, for Mr Jennings, had argued that it was "clear that this was an error or oversight which simply was not noted by any party to the trial".Mr Staines said the omission was "a legal principle of such fundamental importance, that the failure to instruct the jury on the limited use of this evidence amounts to a fundamental deficiency in the trial".

The State had argued that no requisition was made of the judge by the defence following the judge's charge to the jury before they began deliberations.

The State also submitted that nothing had arisen "to raise an apprehension that a fundamental injustice has occurred" due to the omission.

Ms Justice Kennedy said: "It must be recalled that evidence of complaint is not evidence of the truth of the allegation made and nor is such evidence capable of constituting corroboration of the complainant's testimony."

The judge said that complaint evidence could be relied on for the "limited purpose of seeking to show consistency on the part of the complainant". Ms Justice Kennedy said "it should always be made clear to the jury that such evidence is not evidence of the facts on which the complaint is based" but rather to show the victim was consistent with their testimony in court.

"There is a risk in the absence of an instruction by a trial judge that a jury, unaware of the legal niceties, may consider such evidence to be supportive of the complainant's account or that the evidence confirms the complainant's account.

"An express instruction is required in most circumstances to obviate that risk. Such an instruction was not furnished in this trial," said Ms Justice Kennedy.

The judge said the evidence of complaint was "clearly of importance" in the case and warranted a direction from the trial judge.

In quashing the conviction, Ms Justice Kennedy said there had been "an oversight or error of substance, giving rise to the apprehension of real injustice".

The judge said the complaint evidence was "critical to the prosecution's evidence against the appellant and the absence of the appropriate direction as to the specific use of that evidence in those circumstances renders the conviction unsafe".

Ms Justice Kennedy then quashed the conviction and Mr Jennings is to appear before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Wednesday of next week.
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: May 19 2023

Grant Funding Helps Municipalities Adopt Green Infrastructure, Greenhouse Gas Reduction, and Storm Resiliency Initiatives.

Governor Kathy Hochul has announced $8 million is now available for the Climate Smart Communities Grant program to help municipalities take action to address climate change. Funding is available for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the ongoing impacts of climate change. Eligible projects can include reducing flood risk, increasing natural resiliency, relocating or retrofitting critical infrastructure, and climate change planning and assessment projects as part of Climate Smart Communities certification.

"As we continue to see the effects of climate change and extreme weather events, this significant funding through New York's Climate Smart Communities Program is critical to supporting local efforts that protect residents and strengthens infrastructure," Governor Hochul said. "These grants will help empower locally-driven, bold action to help meet New York's ambitious climate goals, while creating resilient communities that set an example for other municipalities to follow."

Established in 2016, the State Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) Climate Smart Communities Grant Program is a 50/50 matching program. It supports municipalities seeking to become certified Climate Smart Communities and implement projects that advance the State's climate change goals by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, mitigating flood risk, and helping to prepare for extreme weather. The program supports the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act), which requires New York to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Since the program's inception, DEC awarded more than $60 million to municipalities in support of local climate mitigation and adaptation projects. More information about this grant program and the 2023 Request for Applications are available on the DEC website.

Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said, "New York's communities are on the frontlines of our fight to address climate change and DEC's Climate Smart Communities Program provides critical resources to help municipalities reduce greenhouse gas emissions, invest in renewable energy, and reduce waste. Thanks to Governor Hochul's leadership, this next round of substantial grant funding will provide regional economic development investments in communities statewide and will support local governments to join in New York's ambitious efforts to fight climate change, reduce energy costs and build healthier, more resilient communities."

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, "Climate Smart Communities is an essential support for municipalities in the fight against climate change, helping them embrace a greener tomorrow through a wide range of options. We are proud to work with DEC on this important statewide program, which works in tandem with NYSERDA's Clean Energy Communities program, to maximize available resources for reducing pollution and increasing sustainability while ensuring that all New Yorkers benefit from our transition to a clean energy economy."

Up to $7 million is available for grants of between $50,000 and $2 million for implementation of projects that could include:

Reducing vehicle miles traveled;

Reducing food waste;

Reducing hydrofluorocarbon emissions from refrigeration and other cooling equipment;

Increasing natural resiliency through restoration or preservation of wetlands and floodplains;

Reducing future flood risk, including by relocating or retrofitting critical infrastructure;

Preparing for extreme weather events, and

Renewable energy projects in municipally-owned low-income housing.

In addition, up to $1 million is available for certification grants of between $10,000 and $200,000 for planning, inventory, and assessment projects that are aligned with 19 specific Climate Smart Communities Certification actions in the areas of greenhouse gas mitigation, climate adaptation, and land use.

Applications are due by 3 p.m. on July 28, 2023. To apply for this latest round of grants, visit the New York State Consolidated Funding Application (CFA), which is available online: https://apps.cio.ny.gov/apps/cfa/

The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act) requires that New York's disadvantaged communities receive at least 35 percent of the benefits of spending on clean energy and energy efficiency programs, with a goal of 40 percent. The Climate Justice Working Group recently finalized criteria to identify disadvantaged communities to ensure that frontline and otherwise underserved communities benefit from the state's historic transition to cleaner sources of energy, reduced pollution and cleaner air, and economic opportunities. Given this important objective of the Climate Act, implementation projects occurring in disadvantaged communities and certification projects occurring in municipalities with disadvantaged communities will receive additional points in the scoring criteria for applications for Climate Smart Communities grants.

These grants are part of a larger program to support community engagement in local climate action. There are currently 381 registered Climate Smart Communities, representing more than 9.4 million New Yorkers. To be designated a registered community, municipalities make a commitment to act on climate change by passing a formal resolution that includes a 10-point pledge. Since 2014, 118 municipalities completed the rigorous review process to be designated as certified Climate Smart Communities. These certified communities have gone beyond the pledge to complete and document a suite of actions that mitigate and adapt to climate change at the local level. More information about the certification program is available online: https://climatesmart.ny.gov/

The Climate Smart Communities funding programs are supported by the State's Environmental Protection Fund (EPF). New York's EPF supports climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, improves agricultural resources to promote sustainable agriculture, protects our water sources, advances conservation efforts, and provides recreational opportunities for New Yorkers. In the FY 2024 State Budget, Governor Hochul maintained EPF funding at $400 million, the highest level of funding in the program's history. The EPF also provides funding for critical environmental programs such as land acquisition, farmland protection, invasive species prevention and eradication, enhanced recreational access, water quality improvement, and an aggressive environmental justice agenda.

NYSERDA's Clean Energy Communities program supports the Climate Smart Communities program, offering additional strategies and funding opportunities to assist New York State municipalities that implement clean energy projects and initiatives. A regional coordinator network provides support to municipalities for both programs. Learn more online.

The Climate Smart Communities (CSC) program is an interagency initiative of New York State and several other state entities in sponsor the program, including DEC, the Department of Public Service, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Department of Health, NYSERDA, New York Power Authority (NYPA) and the New York State Division of Homes and Community Renewal (HCR).

New York State's Nation-Leading Climate Plan

New York State's nation-leading climate agenda calls for an orderly and just transition that creates family-sustaining jobs, continues fostering a green economy across all sectors and ensures that at least 35 percent, with a goal of 40 percent, of the benefits of clean energy and energy efficiency investments are directed to disadvantaged communities. Guided by some of the nation's most aggressive climate and clean energy initiatives, New York is on a path to achieving a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, and economywide carbon neutrality by mid-century. A cornerstone of this transition is New York's unprecedented clean energy investments, including more than $35 billion in 120 large-scale renewable and transmission projects across the state, $6.8 billion to reduce building emissions, $1.8 billion to scale up solar, more than $1 billion for clean transportation initiatives, and over $1.8 billion in NY Green Bank commitments. These and other investments are supporting more than 165,000 jobs in New York's clean energy sector in 2021 and a 2,100 percent growth in the distributed solar sector since 2011. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, New York also adopted zero-emission vehicle regulations, including requiring all new passenger cars and light-duty trucks sold in the State be zero emission by 2035. Partnerships are continuing to advance New York's climate action with nearly 400 registered and 100 certified Climate Smart Communities, nearly 500 Clean Energy Communities, and the State's largest community air monitoring initiative in 10 disadvantaged communities across the state to help target air pollution and combat climate change.
How to monitor when peer reviewers or editors make citation requests? Who call the shot? authors? peer-reviewers? editor? "one in five academics in various social science and business fields reported being asked to pad their papers with superfluous citations."Youre making a decision on something thats not a characteristic of the article itself.

**

Computer Science > Digital Libraries

[Submitted on 20 Jul 2022 (v1), last revised 19 Aug 2022 (this version, v3)]

Journal Impact Factor and Peer Review Thoroughness and Helpfulness: A Supervised Machine Learning Study

Anna Severin, Michaela Strinzel, Matthias Egger, Tiago Barros, Alexander Sokolov, Julia Vilstrup Mouatt, Stefan Muller

The journal impact factor (JIF) is often equated with journal quality and the quality of the peer review of the papers submitted to the journal. We examined the association between the content of peer review and JIF by analysing 10,000 peer review reports submitted to 1,644 medical and life sciences journals. Two researchers hand-coded a random sample of 2,000 sentences. We then trained machine learning models to classify all 187,240 sentences as contributing or not contributing to content categories. We examined the association between ten groups of journals defined by JIF deciles and the content of peer reviews using linear mixed-effects models, adjusting for the length of the review. The JIF ranged from 0.21 to 74.70. The length of peer reviews increased from the lowest (median number of words 185) to the JIF group (387 words). The proportion of sentences allocated to different content categories varied widely, even within JIF groups. For thoroughness, sentences on 'Materials and Methods' were more common in the highest JIF journals than in the lowest JIF group (difference of 7.8 percentage points; 95% CI 4.9 to 10.7%). The trend for 'Presentation and Reporting' went in the opposite direction, with the highest JIF journals giving less emphasis to such content (difference -8.9%; 95% CI -11.3 to -6.5%). For helpfulness, reviews for higher JIF journals devoted less attention to 'Suggestion and Solution' and provided fewer Examples than lower impact factor journals. No, or only small differences were evident for other content categories. In conclusion, peer review in journals with higher JIF tends to be more thorough in discussing the methods used but less helpful in terms of suggesting solutions and providing examples. Differences were modest and variability high, indicating that the JIF is a bad predictor for the quality of peer review of an individual manuscript.

Comments: 44 pages

Subjects: Digital Libraries (cs.DL); Machine Learning (cs.LG); Machine Learning (stat.ML)

Cite as: arXiv:2207.09821 [cs.DL]

(or arXiv:2207.09821v3 [cs.DL] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2207.09821

Focus to learn more

Submission history

From: Matthias Egger [view email]

[v1] Wed, 20 Jul 2022 11:14:15 UTC (1,441 KB)

[v2] Sat, 23 Jul 2022 17:39:02 UTC (2,265 KB)

[v3] Fri, 19 Aug 2022 05:11:10 UTC (1,050 KB)

**

NATURE INDEX

03 May 2023

Researchers who agree to manipulate citations are more likely to get their papers published

Data suggest that these researchers are more willing to publish in journals that participate in such coercion.

Dalmeet Singh Chawla

Twitter

Facebook

Email

[Female scientist looking tired reading risk report on computer]

Pressure from editors to include extra citations is a frequent problem in scientific publishing, surveys suggest.LumiNola/Getty

Researchers who are coerced by editors into adding superfluous citations in their manuscripts are more likely to succeed in publishing papers than are those who resist, finds a study published in Research Policy1.

The paper focuses on 1,169 scholars who reported in a survey done in 2012 that they had been asked to add superfluous citations, of whom 1,043 complied, adding at least one citation.

When scientists are coerced into padding their papers with citations, the journal editor might be looking to boost either their journals or their own citation counts, says study author Eric Fong, who studies research management at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. In other cases, peer reviewers might try to persuade authors to cite their work. Citation rings, in which multiple scholars or journals agree to cite each other excessively, can be harder to spot, because there are several stakeholders involved, instead of just two academics disproportionately citing one another.

Although the survey data were collected around a decade ago, the findings are just as relevant today and the situation is unlikely to have changed significantly, says Fong.

AI science search engines are exploding in number  are they any good?

In previous work based on the 2012 survey, Fong and his Huntsville colleague Allen Wilhite found that one in five academics in various social science and business fields reported being asked to pad their papers with superfluous citations2. And in a 2017 survey by the same authors, women were less likely than men to be persuaded to add unjustifiable citations, but more likely to include honorary authors, potentially because of power dynamics between themselves and more senior colleagues3.

There are legitimate circumstances in which a peer reviewer or an editor might ask for a certain paper to be cited, particularly in fields with only a handful of researchers. I think if a researcher is coerced, then they should seek the advice of trusted scholars and their supervisor, Fong says. If editors become aware that their coercive requests are being shared, maybe that would dissuade them from future coercion.

Removing incentives

According to the latest study, researchers who agreed to comply fully with editors coercive requests had an acceptance rate of 85%, compared with 77% for those who complied only partially and 39% for those who refused to comply.

Researchers who cave to adding undeserved citations into their papers are likely to publish in the same journals in the future and to engage in citation manipulation repeatedly. More than 68% of researchers who werent coerced agreed that they would be less likely to submit to coercing journals in the future, compared with 47% of those who were coerced.

Fong says that one solution to the problem is that journal self-citations should be excluded from metrics such as the journal impact factor, which is sometimes misused to evaluate scientists and their work. That, he notes, would give journal editors fewer reasons to ask for more citations to other papers published in their title.

Matt Hodgkinson, research integrity manager at the UK Research Integrity Office in London and an elected council member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), a UK-based non-profit organization, agrees. If we want to reduce these distorting practices, then we have to take away the incentive to do them, he says. Its a systemic corruption of the process.

The researchers using AI to analyse peer review

Hodgkinson says that editors who are making decisions on manuscripts on the basis of coercion are distorting the literature. Youre making a decision on something thats not a characteristic of the article itself.

I think there is still a lot of work to be done on educating individual journal editors, Hodgkinson says. But, he adds, publishers and journals should actively monitor when peer reviewers or editors make citation requests.

Detecting and flagging

In February, a journal run by Dutch publishing giant Elsevier drew a lot of criticism after it stated in a rejection letter to the author of a manuscript that one of the reasons their paper was rejected was that they had not included enough citations of papers published in the journal. The case came to light after the rejection letter was circulated widely on social media.

At the time, Elsevier clarified that it had a clear policy on citation manipulation, which states that editors must not attempt to boost the journal rankings by artificially inflating any metrics.

The onus is on publishers to take action, Hodgkinson says. If they dont, the community needs to respond and flag these issues to bodies such as COPE, which can provide oversight.

Jonathan Wren, a bioinformatician at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in Oklahoma City, contends that researchers who engage in citation manipulation should be named and shamed.

Wren is in the process of developing a tool that can automatically detect and flag excessive referencing between journals and individuals.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01532-w

References

Fong, E. A., Patnayakuni, R. & Wilhite, A. W. Res. Pol. 52, 104754 (2023).

Article Google Scholar

Wilhite, A. W. & Fong, E. A. Science 335, 542543 (2012).

Article PubMed Google Scholar

Fong, E. A & Wilhite, A. W. PLoS ONE 12, e0187394 (2017).

**

Elsevier journal under fire for rejecting paper that didnt cite enough of its old papers

Publisher says it has policies against artificially increasing journal metrics

by Dalmeet Singh Chawla, special to C&EN

February 10, 2023

Advertisement

MOST POPULAR IN POLICY

Biden nominates Monica Bertagnolli to lead NIH

Afghanistans crystal meth boom is rooted in this plant

Elsevier journal under fire for rejecting paper that didnt cite enough of its old papers

Reviewer comment on NSF fellowship application sparks outrage on Twitter

P&G settles benzene class action lawsuit

[The cover of the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.]

Credit: Elsevier

The International Journal of Hydrogen Energy is published by Elsevier on behalf of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy.

Ascholarly journal run by the Dutch publishing giant Elsevier has come under scrutiny for rejecting a paper submitted for publication because, among other reasons, it didnt cite enough of the journals previously published papers.

The rejection letter, from the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy (IJHE), which is published by Elsevier on behalf of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy, reads: while the subject is within the scope of the journal, there are only four citations to past papers published in IJHE out of 150 references cited.

The letter came to light after microbiologist-turned-scientific integrity expert Elisabeth Bik posted it on Twitter on Jan. 19.

Several researchers took to Twitter to criticize the wording of the letter. Asking for more citations of the journal is inappropriate, tweeted Jeff Catalano, a geochemist at Washington University in St. Louis. While papers that are a poor fit often lack citations from the journal, this is not a predictor of fit.

If a paper doesnt cite any studies from a journal, that should be a flag to check if the paper is within the journals scope, Catalano tells C&EN. But this shouldnt be an acceptable deciding factor on an acceptance or rejection, he says.

Nabi Ullah, a chemist at the University of Lodz who wrote the rejected paper, says its not the first time he has been asked to pad his manuscript with citations. Previously, they just requested and did not reject our articles, he says. But this time they rejected our article, and once I saw the letter and read it I was surprised.

Ullah subsequently submitted his paper to a different journal. This makes me very disappointed, and I feel it is against science integrity, he says.

The obvious implication is that they are gaming the system, says Guy Gratton, a professor of aviation and the environment at Cranfield University who also posted on Twitter about the rejection letter. Theyre simply trying to get more citations to up the Journal Impact Factor. The impact factor is a controversial metric that is used to judge the significance of journals.

Darren Broom, product manager at Hiden Isochema, a company that makes instruments for sorption analysis, tweeted that he and his colleagues received a similar request when publishing in the IJHE. I think we pushed back against the request & it was fine, but I wish they would not do this, he wrote on Twitter. Broom declined a request for an interview with C&EN.

In a statement, Elsevier communications director David Tucker says the publisher takes manipulation of citation metrics seriously. Elsevier has a clear policy around editors influencing citations to their journals: The editor must not attempt to influence the journals ranking by artificially increasing any journal metric, he says. We take coercive citation practices and peer-review manipulation very seriously and have retracted 131 papers from Elsevier journals over the last three years for peer-review manipulation.

Referring specifically to the rejection letter circulating on Twitter, Tucker notes that it was issued without the knowledge of the IJHEs editor-in-chief. The Editor-in-Chief does not agree with the wording used and doesnt in any way promote citations to the journal as an acceptance criterion. He is now talking with the other Editors of the journal to reinforce this point.

But Gratton noted on Twitter that he previously received a similar request from another Elsevier journal. The wording looked almost identical to the wording a group of colleagues and I had in a rejection about three years ago, Gratton tells C&EN. It was a paper [submitted] to one of Elseviers engineering journals. He recalls that he and his colleagues were asked to add three or four citations from papers already published by the same journal before the manuscript would be considered for peer review.

We decided that this was a piece of cynical game playing we werent prepared to get involved with, so we simply pulled it and submitted to another journal, Gratton adds. He also notes, that the journal didnt specify which papers should be cited; instead, it just demanded more papers from the same title. This sort of behavior has no place. Its cheating, he says.

Peer reviewers asking for authors to cite their work is a similar problem. In 2019, Elsevier launched an investigation into hundreds of peer reviewers accused of manipulating citations by asking authors of submitted papers to pad them with citations to the reviewers own papers. The investigation was launched after a study by Elsevier staff found that fewer than 1% of peer reviewers of Elsevier journals out of the 55,000 examined consistently had their own papers referenced by the studies they refereed.

Academics say abuse and manipulation will continue as long as current incentive systemswhich encourage publishing as many papers as possible in so-called prestigious publicationsare in place.

If we could find a way to value quality and have people slow down and not try to publish the smallest increment of results or not publish excessively, that would be helpful, Catalano says.

Chemical & Engineering News

ISSN 0009-2347

Copyright  2023 American Chemical Society https://cen.acs.org/policy/publishing/Elsevier-journal-under-fire-for-rejecting-paper/101/web/2023/02?
(Alliance News) - The Bank of England is preparing to reject a bid by digital bank Revolut for a UK banking licence, citing balance sheet issues, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on Friday.

Revolut, Britain's most valuable fintech company, told the paper the issue in fact surrounded auditor concerns over revenues. The Bank of England made no comment when approached by AFP.

A licence, which Revolut has in the EU, would allow it to lend money as well as take deposits in the UK  and is seen also as a gateway to gaining bank licences around the world.

Friday's report meanwhile comes amid concerns over the health of the global banking sector.

Revolut chief executive Nik Storonsky recently cited the banking crisis, that caused the collapse of several US regional lenders, as making regulators "extra cautious".

Refusal to grant Revolut a UK licence would be seen as a blow to the government, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak seeking to maintain London's position as a major financial hub following Brexit.

source: AFP

Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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.
Hong KongCNN 

As leaders of seven of the worlds most powerful democracies gather in Japan on Friday, it will be the authoritarian powers of China and Russia that dominate the agenda.

The annual Group of Seven (G7) summit, convening this year in Hiroshima, will seek to project a unified response to an increasingly assertive China  and the perceived threat it poses to the stability and economic security of a world already shaken by Russias ongoing war on Ukraine.

While much of the attention will be focused on Ukraine  including how to further tighten the screws on Russia and defuse rising nuclear tensions  the three-day summit also provides an opportunity for G7 leaders to recalibrate and coordinate their approach toward China, which has refused to condemn the invasion and instead bolstered ties with Moscow.

Basically this is going to be a meeting for them to talk about how to deal with China and Russia, said Yasuhiro Matsuda, an international relations professor at the University of Tokyo.

But agreeing on a common approach to the worlds second largest economy will not be an easy task.

China, a global manufacturing hub and a huge consumer market, is an important trade partner to the G7 countries, which is comprised of the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Italy.

It is difficult to have one single position on China across seven countries considering their different concerns and relationships with Beijing, said Sun Yun, director of the China Program at the Washington-based Stimson Center think tank.

But to the extent that a position with the largest common denominator can be developed, the G7 offers a great opportunity.

Security in Asia

Projecting unity on China comes at a crucial moment for the US and its allies, as Beijing ramps up diplomatic efforts to repair ties with Europe and drive a wedge in the transatlantic alliance.

Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron caused consternation in Western capitals after he said, following a warm visit to Beijing, that Europe must not become just Americas followers and get caught up in crises that are not ours when asked about the prospect of China invading Taiwan.

Days later, in an effort to present a united front on Taiwan, the G7 foreign ministers said in a preparatory meeting for the summit that there was no change in the blocs position on the self-ruled democratic island, which the Chinese Communist Party claims sovereignty over despite never having controlled.

The top diplomats called on China to abstain from threats, coercion, intimidation, or the use of force and reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element in security and prosperity in the international community.

Japan, the host of this years G7 summit and its only Asian member, will position regional security on the summits main agenda, said Matsuda at the University of Tokyo.

Deeply concerned about Beijings military posturing in the region, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has warned publicly that Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow.

In response to growing threats from China, Japan has moved to double its military spending and is in talks to open a NATO liaison office  the first of its kind in Asia and a sign of deepening ties between Western and Asian democracies.

In a move that highlighted Tokyos concerns, China sent a naval flotilla  led by one of its most powerful destroyers  on a 12-day circumnavigation of Japans main islands in a display of military power in the lead-up to the G7 summit.

Economic coercion

Another important theme of the summit will be economic security, including how to counter Chinas economic pressure tactics.

At a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Japan last week, US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen called for coordinated action by G7 nations against Beijings use of economic coercion.

The tough rhetoric was echoed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this week before she departed for Hiroshima.

Weve seen attempts of economic coercion, for example China towards Lithuania; weve seen similar practices vis-a-vis Japan and Australia, von der Leyen said in Brussels Monday, citing Beijings recent punishment of the Baltic state for opening a new trade office with Taiwan.

We are most vulnerable to coercion in general where dependencies built up, she said, calling for the de-risking, not decoupling of economic relationship with China.

The summit will seek to diversify supply chains and reduce heavy reliance on China.

At the front of the push for economic de-risking is the US, which has curbed Beijings access to advanced semiconductors and the equipment used to make them. It is also seeking to impose new restrictions on outbound investment in China.

But there is the question of how far other countries are willing to follow through.

Japan and the Netherlands have joined the US in the chip curbs, but most countries remain skeptical about the investment controls.

The problem is all the countries are competing with each other over Chinas market, so Beijings divide and rule strategy has been working very well, Matsuda said.

The G7 is trying to facilitate some norms and rules among themselves first, which can then be enlarged to other like-minded countries in Europe and beyond, he said.

China closely watching

In an effort to expand the G7s influence beyond the club of rich democracies, Japan has invited leaders from a long list of developing countries, including India, Brazil, Vietnam and Indonesia, to attend the summit as observers.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will also join the gathering. Following years of disputes and a long history of acrimony with Japan, the two neighbors are now mending their ties due to growing threats from North Korea and rising concerns about China.

In a sign of a growing trilateral alliance, the US, Japan and South Korea will meet on the sidelines of the summit to discuss plans for the real-time sharing of intelligence  which will further deepen Chinas fears of encirclement by the US and its allies.

And with US President Joe Biden cutting short of his Asia trip to address a debt limit crisis, a summit of Quad leaders from the US, India, Australia and Japan could now take also place in Hiroshima instead. The informal security dialogue is widely seen as a counter to Chinas aggressive posture in the region.

As the G7 summit gets underway, Chinese officials will be closely watching from Beijing and will not hide their displeasure, experts say.

The Chinese will not like it and will criticize the cold war mentality and bloc politics played by the West, said Sun, the expert with the Stimson Center.

In the lead-up to the summit, Beijing has already berated a statement by G7 foreign ministers.

It was full of arrogance, prejudice against China and we have made a strong demarche to the host Japan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

Similarly, Beijing also lashed out at accusations of its economic coercion, claiming it is the victim of US economic coercion rather than a perpetrator.

And while China is not invited to Hiroshima, it is hosting its own summit with Central Asia countries, experts noted.

Although the timing were not coordinated, it does present the world with Chinas effort to build a coalition with its own like-minded countries, Sun said.
The Climate Change Commission (CCC) is lobbying for climate justice and developed countries accountability to mitigate the severe impacts of climate change.

During the recent Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) Regional Consultation for Asia, Robert Borje, CCC vice chairperson and executive director urged wealthier nations to make appropriations, lamenting that developing countries that are least responsible for climate change will suffer the most.

Stressing the need to help developing nations adapt to extreme weather disturbances, Borje rallied vulnerable countries to work together for transformational global climate action.

Allow me to reiterate the importance of working on the principle of climate justice  for those who are least responsible for climate change, those with the least resources, and those who are most vulnerable and at risk, the world has to do more, Borje said on Friday.

Conversely  for those most responsible for climate change, with the most resources, they need to do more. For us, this is climate justice.

Borje said climate action should be anchored on the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and climate justice.

He also emphasized the need to put a premium on Global Stocktake, a mechanism assessing global response to climate crisis; accelerated adaptation action; loss and damage from climate change; target to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius; and climate financing.

On Wednesday, a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that for the first time ever, global temperatures are likely to breach 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming within the next five years.

The WMO also said there is a 98 percent chance that within the next five years, the world will experience the hottest on record, surpassing 2016 when global temperature impacted by about 1.3C (2.3F) of warming.

It is only through global collective action that we can transform our developing countries vulnerabilities, and avert, minimize and address existing losses and damages in order to achieve climate resilience, Borje said.

As part of the collective efforts in attaining the global climate agenda, Borje ensured the Philippines support for the CVF and the so-called V20 (Vulnerable 20), a group of 20 nations that are most vulnerable to the climate crisis.

The CCC and our allies in Congress, most especially Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda who also serves as a CVF Ambassador for Parliaments, remain committed to the work of CVF and V20 in promoting ambitious climate action to safeguard the worlds most vulnerable, developing nations, Borje said.

The CVF, currently chaired by Ghana, is composed of 58 vulnerable nations, including the Philippines.

In 2015, the Philippines chaired the CVF. Under its presidency, the V20 group was officially founded, and the 1.5 degrees Celsius Campaign was launched ahead of the Conference of the Parties in Paris.

The CCC serves as the CVF National Focal Point of the Philippines.

Under Ghanas chairmanship, the CVF conducted regional consultations ahead of the 58th Session of the Subsidiary Bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the 28th Meeting of Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC.

The CVF Regional Consultation for Asia was held on Wednesday in preparation for the upcoming climate change negotiations in June and November 2023, in Bonn, Germany and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, respectively.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers assigned at the countrys international airports were ordered to monitor and intercept suspended Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., who is facing murder charges, should he arrive in the Philippines.

However, BI commissioner Norman Tansingco clarified that arresting Filipino nationals is not within the scope of the agency, saying the monitoring was part of its protocol.

The BI wishes to clarify that such instruction is merely a part of the BIs protocols in monitoring individuals who are the subject of high-profile cases, the BI said in a statement.

Coordination with local law enforcement agencies is crucial in the proper implementation of BI procedures, it added.

Teves slammed the alleged order from Tansingco to intercept him when he returns to the country.

In a video message he posted on his social media Friday, Teves said in Filipino: Its finally out. So this is the real reason why they want me to return home. Theres now an order for me to be intercepted if I arrive.

In his video message, Teves showed an encoded text of the order.

This order came out before they even filed charges against me. This means that there was already an order to intercept me before I had a case, Teves said.

He also dismissed the BI order as obviously political persecution and an abuse of his human rights.

Teves was tagged as the mastermind of the March 4 assassination of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo, a charge he denies. He has been out of the country since Feb. 28 and has refused to come back home for fear of his life.

The Department of Justice on Friday said law enforcement agencies have gathered substantial evidence to support the designation of Teves as a terrorist.

Justice Undersecretary Jose Dominic Clavano IV said the pieces of evidence will be submitted to the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) to support the recommendation of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remula against Teves.

Remulla had recommended the designation of Teves as terrorist under Republic Act No. 11479, the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, which created the ATC, as a way to pressure Teves into returning to the country.

The ATCs technical working group (TWG) is set to meet again to discuss the matter, Clavano said, in a television interview.

We can expect in this next TWG meeting, we would be able to see the progress of the evidence gathering and the case build up by the law enforcement agencies, he added.

The DOJ official also said the National Bureau Investigation (NBI) had other sources that told them about other incidents which were not even filed in court or with the prosecutor and have started to dig on the other incidents.

We also got a lot of materials from Senate hearings where a lot of these incidents were put to light as well, he noted.

According to the Justice official, the process of designation by the ATC will be finished soon.

I can give a [timeline] of about a month or so because the TWG has been very diligent in meeting and trying to figure out whether the designation can be done as soon as possible or we need to find more evidence, he said.

On Wednesday, May 17, Teves was charged with 10 counts of murder, 14 counts of frustrated murder, and four counts of attempted murder in the March 4, 2023 killings of 10 persons, including Degamo. Eighteen other persons were also injured during the attack at Degamos residence in Pamplona town.

Five other persons were named as co-respondents of Teves. They were identified as Angelo V. Palagtiw, Neil Andrew Go, Capt. Lloyd Cruz Garcia, Nigel Electona, and a person identified only with the aliases Gee-Ann, Jie-An, reportedly a sister of Palagtiw.

The DOJ is expected to create a panel of prosecutors to evaluate and study the complaints. If the prosecutors find basis to proceed, summons are expected to be issued to require the respondents to file their counter-affidavits.

Lawyer Levito Baligod, the legal counsel of the Degamo family, had alleged that 62 other killings in Negros Oriental from 2012 to 2022 have been also attributed to Teves.

Meanwhile, Justice Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano on Friday confirmed that a former Department of Justice undersecretary managed to talk to some suspects detained at the National Bureau of Investigation for their alleged involvement in the March 4 killings.

However, Clavano declined to identify the former DOJ official.

I would not like to divulge his name without further clearance from the higher ups. I think that information should be kept quite confidential first, he said, in an interview with CNN Philippines.

Earlier, Baligod said a former DOJ undersecretary allegedly tried to bribe detained suspects to stop their cooperation in the investigation on the March 4, 2023 killings.

He too did not name the former DOJ official.

Eleven suspects in the Pamplona town killings are detained at NBI.

Clavano admitted that he first learned about the former DOJ official when he (the former undersecretary) was actually there at the NBI.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Papua New Guinea and Australia on Sunday as New Delhi seeks to counter mounting Chinese influence in both the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Western nations regularly refer to the wider region as the Indo-Pacific, but New Delhi has been left far behind by Beijings efforts in recent years to woo the small island states that dot the vast expanses of water with trade and aid.

Several Pacific island states have switched their diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in recent decades, and before the coronavirus pandemic enjoyed economic boosts from Chinese tourists.

At the same time, as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing has negotiated infrastructure deals with countries around the Indian Ocean including Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bangladesh, and Djibouti, sometimes accompanied by military agreements.

New Delhi sees the area as its backyard, and Beijings activities have alarmed Indian officials.

In Port Moresby, Modi will co-host the Summit of the Forum for IndiaPacific Islands Cooperation with PNG Prime Minister James Marape, before going on to Australia, a fellow member of the Quad  an alliance set up as a bulwark against Chinas growing assertiveness under President Xi Jinping.

China has taken over South China Sea, said navy veteran and former Indian navy spokesperson DK Sharma, describing the strategically vital waterway as a global common that had to be treated and respected as such.

Today or tomorrow, the enemy is the same. Either you prepare now or react later, he told AFP. Indias visit to the islands is one of the last opportunities we have.

One cannot deny the fact that the power we are all mustering strength against is too superior to be handled by any single one of us. Best way is to collaborate and have like-minded defense procedures.

Xi visited PNG in 2018, and Beijing struck a controversial security deal with Solomon Islands last year that sent shockwaves across the region when a leaked draft included measures that would allow Chinese naval deployments to the Pacific nation, less than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from Australia.

Modi will travel to Australia for meetings with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and business leaders, just two months after the Australian visited India.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
ONE WEALTHY FAMILY. (From left) European Council President Charles Michel, Italys Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Frances President Emmanuel Macron, Japans Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, US President Joe Biden, Germanys Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britains Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pose for a photo during a visit the Peace Memorial Park as part of the G7 Leaders Summit in Hiroshima on May 19, 2023. AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the G7 summit in Japan in person, officials familiar with his plans revealed Friday, as the bloc announced new sanctions targeting Russias war machine.

The surprise trip will be his first to Asia since the war began and would allow him to meet key allies like US President Joe Biden and the leaders of powerful unaligned nations who have been invited, including Brazil and India.

Zelensky had been expected to address the grouping by videolink on Sunday.

Very important things will be decided there, and therefore the presence, the physical presence of our president is absolutely essential to defend our interests, Secretary of the National Security Council of Ukraine Oleksii Danilov said confirming the trip.

An informed source in Hiroshima told AFP that Zelensky was now expected to appear, though the timing of his trip remained unclear.

Zelensky recently embarked on a European tour, pleading for military support ahead of a long-anticipated spring offensive.

The Hiroshima summit would offer a chance to again push Kyivs demand for modern US-made fighter jets, as well as tougher sanctions on Russia.

Earlier Friday, the United States and its G7 allies announced new measures targeting Moscows lucrative diamond trade and more entities linked to the invasion of Ukraine.

Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago has prompted waves of sanctions that have helped plunge his country into recession and drained the Kremlins war chest.

The G7 wants to tighten the screws further, strengthening existing sanctions, closing loopholes, and subjecting more Russian firms and their international partners to punitive restrictions.

A senior US administration official said another 70 entities from Russia and other countries would be placed on a US blacklist.

And there will be upwards of 300 new sanctions against individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft, the official said.

As the G7 weighs how to collectively choke off Russias $4-5 billion annual trade in diamonds  including through high-tech methods of tracing  Britain announced its own ban on Russian diamonds.

London said it was also targeting imports of aluminium, copper and nickel.

As todays sanctions announcements demonstrate, the G7 remains unified in the face of the threat from Russia and steadfast in our support for Ukraine, said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. AFP

The G7 is likely to stop short of an outright ban on Russian diamonds, at least for now. But according to officials, the summit will signal a determination to act.

Russian diamonds are not forever, said EU Council President Charles Michel. We will restrict trade.

EU member state Belgium is among the largest wholesale buyers of Russian diamonds, along with India and the United Arab Emirates.

The United States is a major end-market for the finished product.

Economists are divided about just how much G7 and other sanctions have hurt the Russian war effort.

The Russian economy contracted 2.1 percent in 2022, a trend that continued early this year.

But Moscow has adapted quickly, introducing strict capital controls, diverting trade to allies like China, and reportedly borrowing evasion techniques from much-sanctioned countries like Cuba, Iran and North Korea.

The International Monetary Fund has projected a modest 0.7 percent economic rebound in 2023.

Michel said military support for Ukraine would also be discussed among G7 members Friday, along with training for fighter pilots.

We will assess the level of additional support that will be needed. Its very clear that Ukraine needs more military equipment, he added.

Apart from Ukraine, China will also dominate the three days of meetings.

The focus will be on diversifying crucial supply chains away from China and insulating sectors from economic coercion.

But European countries insist that doesnt mean breaking ties with China, one of the worlds largest markets.

Not a single country is pursuing decoupling, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters in Hiroshima.

However, we want to organize global supply relations, trade and investment relations, in such a way that the risks are not increased by dependence on individual countries, he said.

Earlier Friday, the leaders visited Hiroshimas peace park memorials and museum, where they saw evidence of the suffering and devastation caused by the 1945 atomic bombing of the city.

In a moment heavy with symbolism, they laid wreaths at the Hiroshima cenotaph, which commemorates the estimated 140,000 people killed in the attack and its aftermath.

Kishida, who comes from Hiroshima, has tried to move nuclear disarmament up the agenda, but there appears to be little appetite to reduce stockpiles at a time when Russia is issuing thinly veiled threats to use the weapons and China is building up its arsenal. AFP

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Disney had plans to relocate much of its Imagineering Department, which works on theme park attractions, from Southern California to Lake Nona Town Center near Orlando, Florida, but announced it was canceling those plans today. Link to The New York Times article, here.

""Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?" Robert A. Iger, Disney's chief executive, said on an earnings-related conference call with analysts last week. "On Thursday, Mr. Iger and Josh D'Amaro, Disney's theme park and consumer products chairman, showed that they were not bluffing, pulling the plug on a nearly $1 billion office complex that was scheduled for construction in Orlando. It would have brought more than 2,000 jobs to the region, with $120,000 as the average salary, according to an estimate from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity."

BREAKING: Disney officially cancels the $1 billion Lake Nona project.https://t.co/widwam9dfE pic.twitter.com/LYlqMxKPHk  Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) May 18, 2023

200 employees had already moved to Florida under the plan, and D'Amaro said various options would be discussed with them, including moving back to Southern California. There's no telling how many effected California Disney employees left their jobs and upended their lives in anticipation of the mandatory move to Florida.

Florida Governor DeSantis's sustained legislative attacks on Disney, in retaliation for its criticism of DeSantis's "Don't Say Gay" law, seems to be the reason for canceling the plan.
The Suzuki String Serenade is set for Saturday.

Thats this Saturday at South Congregational Church in Springfield, with a Twinkle Prelude at 6:15 p.m. and the concert at 6:30.

In the Twinkle Prelude, new students and some parents perform the Twinkle Variations, which are rhythmic variations on the theme of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

This family-friendly concert is the main fundraiser for the Suzuki Talent Education Partnership Scholarship & Instrument Fund, which supports the partnerships mission to make Shinichi Suzukis method of instrumental music instruction accessible to students of all ages, economic levels and religious and ethnic backgrounds.

The STEP Suzuki strings, STEPs performing ensemble, consists of 14 students, including two parents who are learning violin along with their children. STEP alumni and friends will fill out the string chamber orchestra playing violin, viola and cello. The musicians are aged 5 to adult.

The scholarship and instrument fund not only helps low-income families in the community  who make up half of STEP students  to have equal access to high-level music instruction, but also increases STEPs diversity and supports access for string students of color in the area.

The child-centered aspects of Suzuki study  improve the quality of life for all families, so its important to provide equal access for any family wanting to study in the Suzuki way, said Lani J. Bortfeld, Suzuki String Serenade director. With the financial barrier removed for low-income families, they can focus on nurturing their childrens music education, learning an instrument that adds beauty to their lives. Education in the arts nurtures the human spirit from within and gives us an avenue of positive self-expression that is beyond price. Also, as STEP has increased access for low-income families, our program has become more diverse, providing more musical opportunities to children of color. This is a social justice issue to which the families at STEP and I are very committed.

STEP is a multigenerational, interfaith music ministry whose mission is to combine high-quality instruction in string instruments, accessible to all, partnering with the Greater Springfield community, through free family-friendly concerts and its scholarship fund and instrument loan program. It is STEPs vision that students of diverse ages, genders, backgrounds and cultures will thrive by experiencing the joy of making music together using Suzukis step-by-step approach where teachers, students and families work and learn together in an environment nurtured by love.

STEP, with its focus on high standards, on building a solid technical foundation which allows students to express themselves, and on teaching students audition skills through mock and real auditions, can help students audition successfully for other orchestras. STEP also provides the funds for the Junior District auditions when needed, so there is no financial barrier for students of color seeking opportunities in these higher-level student ensembles. This is part of STEPs commitment to equal access in the arts, Bortfeld said. If anyone questions why this is important, I believe that symphony orchestras should be more representative of the communities they serve, both for social justice reasons and practically speaking, to attract audiences and support from their communities.

The concert will open with Classical Bash, an arrangement of excerpts from symphonies by Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart and will include classics for string orchestra by Bach, Handel, Lully, Suzuki and von Weber. The STEP trio will perform chamber works by Bartok and Joanne Martin, and there will be solos by three STEP students chosen by audition.

Bortfeld and pianist Larry Picard will close the first half with the Presto from Beethovens Kreutzer sonata.

The second half will begin with an arrangement of Kumbaya, followed by international folk songs including a north African song and Celtic fiddle tunes; it will and end with a sing-along of America the Beautiful with a modern verse about all the Americas  North, Central and South America  accompanied by the STEP Suzuki Strings.

Suzuki was a classically trained violinist who began developing his method after World War II. Compared to what is available now, he had limited sheet music available to him to include in his 10-volume Violin School. So, in the 21st century, we can supplement the Suzuki repertoire with music from all over the world to supplement what is a Euro-centric curriculum, Bortfeld said.

For the director, having a variety of music is important as a music educator so children can hear different kinds of music and expand their sonic environment while their minds are still open to new sounds. Often children love music that isnt from their culture of origin. Ive seen Latina students enjoying Celtic fiddle tunes and Irish students enjoying Mexican mariachi music, she said. And when I talk about Black composers in class, I sense a pride in my Black students in their culture, which is so important for childrens sense of identity and self-expression. This kind of cultural exchange fosters appreciation for our differences which in a small way helps build a sense of community in our divisive world.

Tickets for the Suzuki String Serenade are $12 in advance, $15 at the door; proceeds will go to the STEP Scholarship and Instrument Fund.

We also hope our music can bring healing to those who need it, and that when we raise our voices together in the concert finale  a sing-along of America the Beautiful with a modern verse by Miriam Therese Winter expressing a much-needed hope that all the Americas, North, Central and South America, can live together in harmony  our voices will be a kind of prayer for peace and appreciation of our diversity, Bortfeld said.

For more information, call 860-265-2879.
Taylor Swift is officially in Massachusetts where shell perform for three nights at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough as part of her record-breaking The Eras Tour and she is being welcomed with open arms by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey.

In Mauras Version, Governor Healey released a Governors Citation welcoming the mega pop star to Massachusetts on Friday, May 19.

The Citation, which is filled with titles and lyrics from several of Taylor Swifts hit songs, states the following:

Taylor Alison Swift -- On behalf of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I am pleased to confer upon you this Governors Citation (Mauras Version) in recognition of your Enchanted performances at Gillette Stadium. Welcome to Massachusetts - Its been waiting for you. The Eras Tour has been a long time coming but were ready for the weekend of our Wildest Dreams. Well welcome you back forever and always. Thank you for making our Commonwealth Shimmer.

Swift will kick off her three days at Gillette Stadium on Friday, May 19 and close out on Sunday, May 21. For those still looking to grab tickets to this unforgettable performance, tickets are still available to purchase online at VividSeats, StubHub and SeatGeek.

*New customers who purchase tickets through VividSeats can get $20 off a $200+ ticket order by using the promo code MassLive20 at checkout.*

As of May 19, the cheapest tickets for the show on Friday are $882 on VividSeats, $951 on StubHub and $838 on SeatGeek. Fans looking to purchase tickets for the rest of the weekend can see the schedule below with tickets available:

May 19 - Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA - Buy tickets at VividSeats StubHub and SeatGeek

May 20 - Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA - Buy tickets at VividSeats StubHub and SeatGeek

May 21 - Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA - Buy tickets at VividSeats StubHub and SeatGeek

The Gillette Stadium shows are a part of her 52-date, 17-state-wide stadium tour The Eras Tour, with Sundays show being her 13th time performing at Gillette which is a special number for Swift.

The tour will feature songs from her recent 10th studio album, Midnights, which launched back on October 21. It also will span a wide variety of her discography, including her country roots in Fearless, electropop beats from Reputation, slow ballads from sister albums Evermore and Folklore and everything in between.

She will be joined by artists Phoebe Bridgers, Gracie Abrams and GAYLE.

Below is the remaining Taylor Swift Eras Tour schedule; find tickets to shows close to you:
Bradford Ferrick, the Baystate Health doctor charged with possession of more than 80 devices containing thousands of pictures and videos featuring child sex abuse, has a status hearing scheduled for June 1, according to a Boston federal court judge.

Ferrick, 32, of Winchester and Amherst, was charged with one count of possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Rachael Rollins office said, and was arraigned on Feb. 14, 2023. He pleaded not guilty on April 21 in Boston federal court.

The June 1 court date will be for a status hearing, and will be the first time Ferrick could be back in court since his arraignment. However, Ferrick is not required to be present for this hearing.

If found guilty, Ferrick faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. Ferrick previously voluntarily agreed to be held in custody without bail.

This June hearing will be to get the case on track for trial before Judge Young, as his case was transferred from Judge Boal, the office reported.

Ferrick has been on unpaid administrative leave from Baystate Franklin Medical Center since mid-February, according to Baystate Health.

He had began working at Baystate in July 2022 after recently graduating from State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University. He was arrested almost a year after a tip came in March 2022 to police of a suspicious Google Drive account from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The tip recalled three separate incidents of suspicious activity on the Google Drive account, with two dated Nov. 16, 2021 and the third dated March 7, 2022  all located in the Syracuse, New York, area.

The tips included information related to the users IP address information, with specific dates and times the files were uploaded to Google Drive, court documents state, and a login to that IP address on Feb. 21, 2022, was associated with an account in Ferricks fathers name at a Winchester, Massachusetts residence, according to court documents.

The NCMEC had sent these tips to the Massachusetts State Police Internet Crimes Against Children and Cyber Crime Unit, who had then handed the tips to the Winchester Police Department.

Law enforcement later confirmed Ferrick lived with his parents, and a search of the home on Feb. 13, revealed about 61 devices that officials said contained thousands of images and videos of child sex abuse, Rollins office said.

The external hard drives, computers, cell phones, hidden camera systems and SD cards were all seized.

A second search of Ferricks Winchester home revealed 11 more devices with images and videos depicting child sex abuse material of victims who appear to be between the ages of 6 and 11 years old, Rollins office had said.

Officials then searched Ferricks residence he was renting in Amherst. Rollins office said eight more devices were found, including multiple hidden camera devices and USB storage devices.

It is alleged that one of the hidden camera devices  which was designed to be worn as a bracelet  was found to contain at least two surreptitiously recorded videos of Ferrick administering medical exams, the statement read.

It is alleged that two minors who investigators believe to be patients could be heard and, at times, partially seen in the videos.

A forensic review of the devices seized at both residences is ongoing.
SPRINGFIELD  Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice remain tight-lipped about the path to replace outgoing U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins two days after reports by government watchdogs portrayed her as riding roughshod over ethical standards attached to her position.

Rollins, a controversial pick when she was twice confirmed by a tiebreaking vote by Vice President Kamala Harris in 2021, was essentially run out of the job 16 months into her tenure.

Two separate ethics reports published by the Justice Department inspector general and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel excoriated Rollins for various abuses of power including trying to tank her preferred candidates rival in the Suffolk County district attorneys race.

We found Rollinss conduct described throughout this report violated federal regulations, numerous DOJ policies, her Ethics Agreement, and applicable law, and fell far short of the standards of professionalism and judgment that the Department should expect of any employee, much less a U.S. Attorney, the inspector generals 161-page report read.

The reports described her treatment of her staff, the media and others as entitled and abusive even as she sharply critiqued others for not standing up for underrepresented communities.

Rollins was scheduled to make a public appearance in Springfield Wednesday as part of a ceremony at the Springfield Armory marking the return of some stolen medals. But she was a no-show, despite the fact the she announced she would tender her resignation to President Joe Biden on Friday. The DOJ nonetheless included canned statements from Rollins in related press releases the same day.

Rachael S. Rollins, United States Attorney, District of Massachusetts, speaks during a press conference at the Federal Courthouse in Springfield where it was announced that the government has reached an unprecedented court settlement with the city, designed to revamp use-of-force and reporting policies within the police force. In the rear is Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justices Civil Rights Division. (Don Treeger / The Republican) 4/13/2022

Rollins has so far left it to her attorney to make public statements on her departure. But The Republican reviewed a memo she sent to her entire staff on May 16, the day her pending resignation was announced.

As I have often said, the community I come from does not see themselves reflected in our office or in much of the affirmative work we do, she wrote. Yet, they are overrepresented in many of our criminal prosecutions. I grapple with that tension constantly.

Stay the course, she added.

While the scandal presents a political quicksand for Democrats from Massachusetts to the highest reaches of President Joe Bidens administration, a logical question hangs in the air: Whats next for the U.S. Attorneys office in this state?

Inquiries to the Department of Justice went unanswered on Thursday.

Typically, the process of appointing a U.S. Attorney begins with the U.S. senators in the presiding partys state, advances to the U.S. Senate and ultimately to the presidents desk. Some DOJ insiders have privately speculated that an acting U.S. Attorney from within Rollinss office may be appointed and the administration may run the clock until the next presidential election. Others disagree.

U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, for instance, is of the latter opinion.

I would recommend they execute the process to select her replacement quickly and transparently, Neal said during an interview Thursday.

The veteran congressman added that the matter may erode the publics confidence in the entire criminal justice system.

I think we need to remind ourselves as to how important a U.S. Attorneys nomination is, because they have enormous power. The candidates have to be properly vetted, Neal said. They decide which cases are brought. They decide in the end what trial strategy is. The justice system in America is very much based upon the confidence the people have in those decisions.

Congressman Richard Neal speaks during an announcement at Chicopee City Hall of $2.8 million in federal funds to support the Nitrogen and Energy Optimization Project of the Chicopee Water Pollution Control Facility. (Don Treeger / The Republican) 3/20/2023

Springfield-based political consultant Anthony L. Cignoli believes that in light of the scandal, Biden will look to heavy-hitters inside Massachusetts, including Gov. Maura Healey, to weigh in on the next pick given Rollinss disastrous outcome.

This translates into politics for Biden. This is bad. This is really bad, Cignoli said. This is all documented and it gives Republican candidates and political consultants something to run with.

Biden announced his intention to run for re-election in 2024 three weeks ago.

Rachael Rollins overnight becomes that poster child, that glaring example of what Republicans have been talking about, Cignoli continued. In this particular instance, putting Rollins name forth to the Senate, they found someone who fit their political ideology  more liberal, more progressive.

But it blew up.

President Biden cant afford for that to happen again. The next pick needs to be stalwart, Cignoli said.
The family of Ruth Marie Terry  identified last year as the famed Lady of the Dunes, the victim of the oldest, unidentified murder in Massachusetts  came back to where her body was found in 1974, NBC 10 Boston reported.

Terrys son, Richard Hanchett, was with the family when they came to see where her body was found. NBC 10 did not say when the visit occurred but reported on it May 18. Hanchett never knew Terry, as he was raised by a couple in Michigan since birth, the TV station reported.

What a horrible thing, you know what I mean? Hanchett told NBC 10 from Provincetown. In such a beautiful place like this. Its just really messed up. I can feel, you know, something really bad happened here. Yeah, I dont want to be here at all.

Terry was found dead in 1974 a mile east of Race Point Ranger Station in Provincetown. The cause of death was a lethal blow to the head that occurred several weeks prior, according to the FBIs Boston Division in October. Identification was difficult because her hands were severed and her head was nearly decapitated, Special Agent Joseph R. Bonavolonta said at the time.

Terry was born Sept. 8, 1936, in Tennessee. Her family still lives in the city of Whitwell, NBC 10 said, and when Hanchett took a DNA test in 2018, the results connected him with Terrys family. Months after she was finally identified last year, the family gathered to pay their respects and say goodbye.

Im 64 years old. I didnt think Id figure any of it out, actually, Hanchett told the station. And then to find out she was lost.

Hanchett approached her grave and said he loved her. Then everything set in, it broke my heart, he told NBC 10.

Investigators believe Terrys husband at the time, Guy Rockwell Muldavin, is the person who killed her. Shortly after her body was identified, authorities asked the public for information about Muldavin and Terry, specifically their whereabouts in 1973 and 1974 in the New England area.

Muldavin married several times between the 1940s and 1960s prior to his marriage to Terry in 1974, months before her body was discovered.

Muldavins name first appeared in the news in 1960 when living in Seattle with his then-wife and stepdaughter, Manzanita Mearns and Dolores Ann. Running an antique shop, both women suddenly disappeared. Muldavin fled and police searched his home, finding pieces of human flesh in a septic tank. Without any DNA testing, it was assumed but never confirmed that those were the remains of the missing women.

Without evidence, Seattle prosecutors dropped the unlawful flight charge. Muldavin married Terry after he moved to Reno. After her murder, he fled to California. The Californian wrote a profile on Muldavin when he gained a cult following as a result of his popular radio program Take to Me on KAZU in Pacific Grove. He died in Salinas on March 14, 2002.

The fact that he touched my mom kills me but the fact that he got away with it pisses me off more than anything, Hanchett told NBC 10. But as he ventured to where she was found and where shes buried in Provincetown, he said he felt at peace now that he completed (his) task.

Some of Terrys remains will stay in Provincetown, while some are buried with her mother in Tennessee, NBC 10 said. Hanchett brought some of her ashes back home with her but also scattered some of her ashes on the same beach where her body was found almost 50 years ago.
The city of Gloucester is transitioning to a new digital platform for beach parking reservations for those coming from out of town this summer to enjoy its local beaches.

Those intending to visit Good Harbor Beach, Wingaersheek Beach or the beaches at Stage Fort Park who dont reside in the North Shore community must reserve parking by using a service called Blinkay through its website or mobile app.

The move to Blinkay comes after the citys successful first season requiring parking reservations in 2022, according to a Thursday news release.

Read more: This Massachusetts beach ranks among the best in the US

Gloucester previously instituted digital reservations through a digital program called Yodel in spring of last year, according to The Gloucester Times. Yodel is also used by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) for the majority of its facilities statewide.

The new platform builds upon last years system by adding an improved platform utilizing fixed license plate reader cameras to validate passes, the city said.

The Blinkay app is available for free download via the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.

Reservations through Blinkay do not affect residents of Gloucester who can gain beach parking access through a vehicle sticker system.

However, non-residents are required to create an account on Blinkay prior to selecting their vehicle type and the desired date of their journey to the citys beaches.

Once users enter their license plate information, they can pay via a credit or debit card to secure their reservation up to 10 days in advance of their arrival, according to the city. Reservations become mandatory starting Memorial Day weekend on Saturday, May 27.

It costs $30 per vehicle to park at Good Harbor Beach and Wingaersheek Beach on weekdays, and $35 to park there on weekends and holidays, according to Gloucesters city website. Parking at Stage Fort Park costs $20 per vehicle on weekdays and $25 on the weekends and holidays.

Notably, once a reservation is made it is non-refundable, but the city stated that those using Blinkay can add or change their passes between vehicles to allow flexibility to visitors.

Cash is no longer accepted at entry gates, according to the Gloucester Beaches Facebook page. Additionally, the city said its fixed license plate reader cameras at entry points will streamline the check-in process.

Reservations will be associated with a specific license plate number  the plate reader cameras will notify parking lot attendants if a vehicle has a valid reservation or a resident beach sticker, according to the city.

The plate reader cameras will also give real-time beach operations information, such as parking lot capacity counts, to manage parking availability, the city added.

Gloucester Mayor Greg Verga said in a statement that the reservation system was an overwhelming success last year, adding that we have been able to dramatically decrease traffic, reduce overcrowding and eliminate the stress of driving to Gloucester only to be turned away at the gate.

He added that by implementing efficient systems they can have positive ripple effects on other aspects of city governance and that he is proud of how successful this new system has been and is looking forward to the coming beach season.

Last July, the city did oversell hundreds of parking spaces one Saturday due to a glitch it experienced through its previous non-resident beach parking reservation system.

For Gloucester residents, the city said there are no significant changes to the beach sticker process and no reservation requirements are asked of them.

It added that license plate reader cameras will verify a vehicles resident beach sticker and the plate number will no longer be on the sticker itself.
This map shows how umami, the "fifth" taste, is enjoyed across the world. In 1908 chemistry professor Kikunae Ikeda (Imperial University of Tokyo) isolated the main ingredient, a type of seaweed, in dashi (a Japanese soup stock), and was able to identify the additional qualitybeyond sweet, bitter, salty, and sourthat the human tongue is capable of tasting. Frank Jacobs describes the taste of umami:

It has been described as meaty and savory, but it's a complex and subtle taste, even in high concentrations. In fact, umami is more of a helper flavor, enhancing the saltiness or sweetness of other foods, which explains why it has remained under the radar for so long. Umami comes from molecules found in meat (inosinate), plants (guanylate), or both (free glutamate). Some processes like aging and fermenting create free glutamate, bringing out the umami flavor. (Think: cured meats or cheeses.) But umami is also strongly present in mushrooms, seafood, and tomatoes. The latter points to why ketchup is such a popular condiment: its umami-ness acts as a flavor enhancer.

The taste has existed long before it was isolated, identified, and named in 1908:

Umami has a global presence and a long history. Take for instance garum, a fermented fish sauce that was ragingly popular throughout the Roman Empire. One of the most intriguing "known unknowns" from antiquity is the exact composition of this Roman condiment, a distant ancestor to both Worcestershire sauce and ketchup. Other more contemporary umami-rich foodstuffs across Europe include selyodka (or Russian salted herring), Poland's kielbasa sausage, and yeast extracts like Marmite, which has been dividing opinion in the UK since 1902.

Go explore the map to see what foods around the world contain the umami flavor. Now I feel like eating some vegemite on toast! Yum!
A former top official in the Hampshire County Sheriffs Office used her position to interfere in last years election by surveilling the home of a jail employee who supported a challenger to the incumbent sheriff, a report by an outside investigator found.

The report determined that Barbara Marean, formerly the deputy superintendent of the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction, parked outside the jail employees home and photographed lawn signs he had placed supporting a candidate hoping to unseat Hampshire Sheriff Patrick Cahillane.

Marean, who had more than 30 years experience in the sheriffs office, also removed lawn signs for Cahillanes opponents from other homes, the investigation determined.

She did all this during work hours and while using her government-issued SUV  a violation of state ethics law, the report found.

In a brief phone call, Marean denied she had done anything wrong.

Marean told MassLive the State Ethics Commission had cleared her of wrongdoing. The commissions website lists no information related to a complaint against Marean, though a commission spokesperson said many complaints are resolved confidentially.

I did nothing wrong despite what anyone else might think, Marean said. She declined further comment.

Cahillanes office did not respond to requests for comment by phone call or email.

On Aug. 23, the sheriff ordered an investigation after the Daily Hampshire Gazette reported that Mareans name appeared in police reports alleging a woman had driven a government-issued vehicle past the home of a jail employee and photographed his home and yard.

Days later, Marean resigned.

Cahillane ultimately won the sheriffs election over challengers Caitlin Sepeda, a nurse who worked in state corrections facilities, and Yvonne Gittelson, the Hampshire jails former education coordinator.

The investigation found that on Aug. 8, 2022  a Monday  Marean drove her official work SUV past the Southampton home of a jail employee, where she photographed Sepeda lawn signs he had placed in the yard.

According to the report, the employees wife saw a suspicious vehicle pause at the stop sign outside their house before the driver photographed the lawn the home and lawn.

She jotted down the cars license plate and reported it to her husband. A day later he spotted the same vehicle  driven by Marean, he said  in the parking lot of the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction facility in Northampton.

The employee contacted Southampton police and filed a report, concerned that his job could be at stake, he said.

He did not understand why a high-level jail official would drive by his house in a facility vehicle on a Monday during business hours, the investigative report into Mareans conduct said.

Marean returned to the mans home days later and again photographed the Sepeda lawn signs in his yard, the report found. The jail employee and his wife again contacted the police, though they could not identify the driver.

The investigation into Mareans actions was conducted by Daniel Bennett of Comprehensive Investigations and Consulting. Bennett previously served under Gov. Charlie Baker as secretary of the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, which oversees the Department of Corrections. Before that, hed had a career as a prominent prosecutor in both Worcester County and Middlesex County.

Marean denied to Bennett that her actions were political. She told him she worried the employee could be delaying preparations for an upcoming state audit of the jail in order to hurt Cahillanes chances in the election. She photographed the employees home and lawn in order to prove that he was not on Sheriff Cahillanes team, the report said.

Another high-ranking jail employee interviewed for the investigation called Mareans reasoning a fairy tale  the audit was not set to begin until after the sheriffs primary election was completed.

Reached by phone, Sepeda said that as a person who was involved in the campaign for this office, as well as someone previously employed by this office, as well as an engaged voter in my county, that reason does not hold water for me.

Potentially there is a different reason Marean staked out the jail employees home, she said. But the audit is a nice idea.

The jail employee himself believed Mareans actions were a form of intimidation for his support of an opposing sheriff candidate, he told Southampton police.

A day after her second visit to the jail employees home, Marean drove to Gittelsons home in Goshen and removed lawn signs from her yard and others nearby. The stolen signs all supported Gittelson or Sepeda, Cahillanes only opponents, Gittelson reported to the police.

Marean said it was not a political move  but because she felt spurned by Gittelson among a personal conflict between the two, who had once been friends.

Marean told investigators that she acted alone and did not inform other sheriffs office staff of her plan to surveil the employees home or remove lawn signs.

Many of the names and some other information in the report were redacted by the sheriffs office. But much of the information was still visible beneath the redactions.

Sepeda said she was glad the report was released and said she hoped members of the public read it. But she was disappointed that Bennetts only recommendation in the report was that Marean be prevented from returning to her post in the sheriffs office.

There should have been a discussion of more thorough and formal ethics training, Sepeda said, describing the current training as a fairly rote process in which employees point and click until the instruction is complete.

I know what was completed was a state standard for employees, but given the circumstances that the report is looking at, perhaps there is a need for more, she said.

Cahillane was first elected in 2016. His victory over Sepeda and Gittelson this past fall secured a second six-year term.
CHICOPEE  Volunteers of the states first hospice home want people to know this is not going to be a somber place.

They envision music, laughter, card-playing, group dinners and plenty of family and friends visiting the terminally ill residents, said Gina Mazza, president of the board of directors for Harmony House.

Harmony House is scheduled to reopen this fall in a renovated six-bedroom home on View Street. It comes after years of struggles including a legal battle over the purchase of the property, the death of the founder and the complete gutting and renovation of the home they purchased.

What a journey this has been, said Mazza, while showing off the nearly-finished house earlier this week.

That journey started in 2007 as the dream of Ruth Willemain, a Holyoke native who served as a hospice volunteer after retiring from teaching. After visiting a hospice home in the Midwest, Willemain, who died in 2022, made it her mission to open one in Western Massachusetts.

She felt too many people in hospice die in institutional settings because they do not have family or friends capable of caring for them. Harmony House allows people to live their last days in a family-like setting where they can do what they please such as have visitors when they want, eat meals they enjoy and have a glass of wine.

Our mission is we are serving the people who dont have the resources to hire someone and they dont have the family, said Mazza, of Chicopee who runs a home healthcare consulting firm and teaches at Elms College.

Willemain spent years building a group of like-minded volunteers many of them who work in health care  setting up a non-profit agency and tirelessly fundraising. The Board of Trustees purchased the about 3,000-square-foot house on View Street in 2015 but legal battles with family members of the former owners stagnated in court for years.

But that didnt stop the mission. In 2017, three siblings offered their late parents three-bedroom ranch on Pendleton Avenue to the organization for use rent-free. The home was opened in June and volunteers cared for two residents at a time, helping nearly 50 people and their families, Mazza said.

We closed the house on Pendleton at the end of 2019 and six months later we planned that this house would be open. Then COVID hit, she said.

The pandemic essentially halted work on the house since workers couldnt gather, couldnt get building materials due to supply chain problems and healthcare workers were unavailable as volunteers, Mazza said.

Once restrictions started to ease, work was able to begin on the house. Before the pandemic Adam Quenneville Roofing volunteered to replace the leaky roof and volunteers had gutted the inside down to the wall studs.

Rich Rivet, owner of Cedar Falls Construction, stepped in to serve as project manager. He made sure the home had the proper permits and offered his own crews at no charge. Other companies, such as Yankee Home Improvement, also volunteered their time and individual tradesmen worked on the project unpaid, Mazza said.

It has been a year of hard work, she said.

The home now has new windows, new wiring and an energy-efficient heating system that will allow each resident to control the temperature in their own room. It is waiting for a final sign-off on the new fire suppression system, she said.

Larry and Louise Labrie are part of what they call the Wednesday work crew, a group of between 12 and 14 people who come over for the morning or longer to finish work listed by Rivest on a whiteboard in the living room. The list, which used to be pages long, is now much shorter.

The two typically visit the home multiple times a week and organize jobs for the Wednesday work party. Louise Labrie has also managed to secure couches, chairs, tables and desks at no charge to furnish the home through a local business.

They talk about the incredible acts of generosity they have encountered since getting involved. For example, when they hired a tradesman to make an emergency repair, the man realized a friend had been cared for at the Pendleton Avenue home and has returned multiple times at no charge.

Businesses have done volunteer days at Harmony House. Labrie connected up with a designer and art consultant who has helped decorate the home, she said.

Last weekend the Moose Family Center ran a spaghetti supper fundraiser for Harmony House, providing the food, the space and the volunteers for the event. Harmony House sold out of the 300 available tickets and couldnt have been happier with the turnout and financial help, Larry Labrie said.

When I get you in the door, when you understand what this is all about, Ive got you, Louise Labrie. This is going to be a home with laughter and music. It is not a death house.

To be accepted to the house, a person must be diagnosed with a terminal condition and not expected to live for more than three months. They will be connected with a hospice program that will provide health care services they need to make them comfortable. Mazza said.

The home itself is designed to meet multiple needs. The large, open kitchen has two stovetops so two or more people can cook at the same time. It opens to a large dining area with a long table where multiple people can sit down together. Also connected is a living room with a television and couches and chairs.

The great room is connected to a large outdoor deck by glass doors. It will have a picnic table, lounge chairs and a grill.

Off the main room is a private spot called Ruths Reflection Room. It was initially designed to be used by visiting pastors but is available to anyone who needs some alone time. The focus point of it is a stained glass picture designed by Willemain, Mazza said.

The five resident bedrooms are all roomy and airy with multiple windows that residents can make their own. Each will have a hospital bed to make home care easy and attached handicapped accessible bathrooms designed for privacy as well as to make it easy for residents to receive help from a caregiver, Mazza said.

The home is on multiple levels and upstairs is a guest bedroom that can be used by family members or friends or a volunteer who might need to stay in an emergency or because of bad weather, she said.

On the same level are work areas for the Board of Trustees and an industrial-sized washer and dryer.

This house goes on and on, Mazza said, showing off a basement and a sub-basement that can have multiple uses.

When the house reopens the board of trustees plans to accept two residents at a time to start and will slowly grow depending on its capability, she said.

For now, she is envisioning residents mainly being referred by hospice agencies. The previous experience shows that most people remain in the house for three to six weeks before they die, she said.

Now that the home is getting ready to open, the Board of Trustees is developing a new budget and operations plan for the long term. Since residents stay for free, Harmony House relies on grants, fundraising and volunteers. More information about helping is available on the organizations website www.harmonyhousema.org.

We know it will be a hybrid. We will need some paid staff and we will have a crew of volunteers, she said.

The current thought is paid staff will mostly be nurses or other trained healthcare workers who will cover overnight and weekend shifts. When Harmony House was first opened it mainly relied on volunteer healthcare workers, but Mazza said she knows that is not sustainable.

They also want enough staff, paid and volunteer, so no one is stretched thin and someone is available if a resident just wants some companionship, she said.

We know it costs an average of $250 a day to take care of someone and we are using that as our benchmark, Mazza said.

With every successful fundraiser, every grant awarded, every volunteer who walks in the door and every good thing that happens to the organization, Mazza and other organizers say the same thing.

Ruth was looking down on us.
HOLYOKE  Mirroring a historic moment in January 1928 when French Ambassador Paul Claudel was a guest of the late heiress Belle Skinner, French Consul General Mustafa Soykurt visited her estate on Tuesday.

Soykurts stop in Holyoke was part of a broarder tour, which included Springfield and a reception at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley. The counsel general is posted in Boston and his territory encompasses New England.

Donald T. Sanders, executive director of the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts, guided Soykurt around the Victory Theater, a venue slated for a $60 million renovation.

Soykurts agenda centered on arts, cultural exchanges and strengthening economic ties with Holyoke, a city he recognizes for its tremendous potential and great history.

It is a very special moment in the footsteps of my glorious predecessor, the ambassador, who came here in 1928, Soykurt said. He expressed a desire to continue the special bond between France and Holyoke,

Sanders shared Soykurts optimism about Holyokes economic development and future cultural exchanges, stating, We presented, quite frankly, a fairly comprehensive menu of needs, where there could result in economic development.

French Consul General Mustafa Soykurt examines Belle Skinner's seating chart for a 1928 visit of the French ambassador.

Sanders saw the potential for mutual benefits on cultural, educational and economic fronts, with Soykurts visit as a stepping stone for a future partnership between Holyoke and France.

Mayor Joshua A. Garcia echoed these sentiments, expressing excitement over Soykurts visit.

Its motivating and inspiring to know that theres interest in the city and the direction were going, Garcia said.

Garcia regarded Soykurts visit as an endorsement of Holyokes resurgence and revitalization efforts, notably the Victory Theater, a project Sanders continues to champion.

The conversation with Soykurt included the importance of language skills and introducing French in the citys public schools, which drew Garcias support. The Holyoke Public Schools operates a dual-language program, with the curriculum split between English and Spanish.

Holyoke City Officials discuss a future partnership with F with French Consul General Mustafa Soykurt.

During Soykurts tour of Wistariahurst, city historian Penni Martorell showcased Belle Skinners seating chart for Claudels 1928 visit and Skinners guest book, which included signatures of prominent individuals like French Prime Minister Alexandre Millerand.

Martorell recounted Skinners philanthropic endeavors, notably her efforts in rebuilding Hattonchatel, a village devastated by World War I. Skinner was awarded the French Legion of Honor for her contributions, signifying the bond between France and Holyoke.

Martorell told Soykurt that Belle Skinner loved only three destinations: New York, Paris and Holyoke. Unfortunately, the heiress died a few months after Claudels reception during a visit in her beloved Paris.

Rick Sullivan of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council highlighted the potential for cultural and economic collaborations stemming from Soykurts visit. In addition, he emphasized the mutual benefits of international partnerships.

The ability of the city of Holyoke to have partnerships with France and even with other countries, its how Holyoke can become a better community, Sullivan said.

For example, he noted that West Springfield developed a strong cultural and economic partnership with Dingle, Ireland.
Massachusetts State Police are discouraging people from going to Gillette Stadium this weekend to stand outside a Taylor Swift concert if they dont have a ticket, after that scenario happened at one of her shows in Philadelphia, causing major traffic, police said.

Related: Shop for last-minute Taylor Swift tickets at VividSeats, StubHub, SeatGeek

Swifts weekend Foxborough takeover will begin Friday, May 19, and continue for both Saturday and Sunday nights.

Police said if a lot of people head to Gillette without tickets, hoping to hear the concert or hang out, it could increase traffic and crowd congestion and tax existing resources for concert-goers, state police spokesman David Procopio said.

We understand that they want to be near the action, but because doing so would add significantly to the traffic and crowd congestion; we are appealing to the considerate nature and good citizenship of unticketed fans, said Procopio.

State police will adopt the same tactics the department uses to control traffic during Patriots games, the department said, and will use contra-flow lanes. The extra lane taken from the opposite side of the road and going in the wrong direction (i.e., towards Ms. Swift, in this case) will improve traffic flow, police explained.

Prior to the concert, we will take a travel lane heading away from the Stadium on Route 1 on each side, north and south, and temporarily turn it into an incoming lane heading into the stadium, the department said. After the concert, we will reverse the process to increase traffic flow away from the venue.
Pittsfield police charged a Massachusetts woman with assault and kidnapping after she attempted to take a toddler and baby away from their home on Wednesday, Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrues office announced Thursday.

Sharon Kranich, 55, was charged with indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and kidnapping, the district attorneys office said in a statement.

On Wednesday night, Pittsfield police responded to a 911 call for a reported attempted kidnapping on North Street. Kranich approached a family and immediately grabbed and assaulted the toddler, Shugrues office said. As the mother called 911, Kranich grabbed both children and moved 10 to 15 feet down the street.

The mother was able to bring the children back while Kranich fled before Pittsfield police placed her in custody, Shugrues office said.

During her arraignment on Thursday, a defense council requested an evaluation for competency and the court ordered an evaluation on criminal responsibility, which would determine if she was not responsible for the crimes they have been charged with due to a mental disease or mental defect, Shugrues office said.

A doctor at the Central Berkshire District Courts clinic found Kranich needed to be hospitalized for further evaluation and has been committed for a minimum of 20 days, Shugrues office added.

The district attorneys office stated that she has no known address in Berkshire County. Kranich has a criminal history in Las Vegas, where she pled guilty to child abuse and neglect in Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County, Nevada, in 2018.

A status report on Kranichs competency to stand trial will be given on her next court date, on June 5, Shugrues office said. If more time is needed to complete her evaluation, she will remain committed for another 20 days. If determined competent by the medical facility, she will be brought to the Berkshire County Sherriffs Department and a dangerousness hearing could be scheduled for June 6.
Early this year, Gov. Maura Healey called the climate crisis the greatest challenge facing Massachusetts and said we have no time to delay.

We agree. Theres one big thing that the governor can do right now: Issue an executive order that halts new fracked gas expansion projects while the state creates a plan for a clean, green energy future.

Such a move  backed by groups across the state  would put a stop to the unnecessary, expensive projects that keep us hooked on fossil fuel pollution. And it would keep Massachusetts on pace with whats happening in New York, where lawmakers and grassroots activists are doing more than merely talking about addressing the climate crisis.

Two years ago, the New York City Council passed a law that bans gas hookups in most new construction projects under seven stories. That was followed by a more dramatic move this month. Gov. Kathy Hochul passed a state budget that includes a ban on gas hookups in new construction. Shifting buildings away from dirty fuels will yield massive reductions in climate pollution, and big savings for residents who are stuck paying outrageous utility bills due to fossil fuel company profiteering.

With a governor who is fully committed to tackling the climate crisis, Massachusetts can pursue similarly bold policies. Thats why groups across the state are pushing Healey to sign an executive order that would stop new pipelines like the Springfield-Longmeadow Western Mass Reliability Project, as well as expansions of existing pipelines like the Worcester Feed Line Improvement in Westborough and Southborough.

The companies that propose these new pipelines and compressor stations have a simple reason for doing so: They stick us with the bill, and it keeps us all dependent on their product.

Community groups and environmentalists have fought to stop new gas projects because they understand that there is no way to meet our climate targets without stopping the fossil fuel projects that are causing the problem in the first place.

There are encouraging signs that Massachusetts is moving in the right direction. Last month, Boston passed an ordinance that changed the citys building codes in order to shift away from fossil fuels in preparation for an all-electric future. And last years state climate law created a pilot program where 10 cities and towns will prohibit fossil fuels in new construction.

The logic here is simple. As we move towards electrification across our economy, we need to introduce policies that require this shift to happen, and we need to put a stop to new fossil fuel projects that are expensive and unnecessary.

This is about more than just reducing emissions that are driving a global climate emergency. Gas-fired stoves and other appliances create serious health hazards in our homes  specifically air pollution in the form of nitrogen dioxide and benzene. And this dependence on gas is expensive, too. Advocates in New York were able to show that electrification will save households hundreds of dollars a year. Volatile gas prices are one more reason to move away from fossil fuels.

As soon as she took office, Healey announced new positions in her administration to deal with climate issues, and has embraced some important goals, such as expanding access to heat pumps across the state.

These are good starting points. But in order to make the progress she says she wants to see in Massachusetts, Gov. Healey must take a stand against the growth of dirty fossil fuels.

Nisha Swinton is a senior organizer at the advocacy group Food & Water Watch. Karina Wilkinson is the Food & Water Watch Local Coordinator in Massachusetts.
On Wednesday, Rep. Eric Swalwell of California shared a message that he took as a threat from a man who went by Bruce Miller on social media. That would be the same Bruce Miller who used to play for the San Francisco 49ers.

The Bay Area representative, who says hes a lifelong 49ers fan, didnt recognize the name at first, asking Who is this guy threatening to execute me? And how does he have so many followers?

Almost time !!! Would you rather Guantanamo or just execution ... (expletive) traitor, the message read, per a screenshot shared by Swalwell.

Swalwell, who represents Californias 14th congressional district (previously the 15th district) has been in office since 2013. According to NBC Bay Area, Swalwell has reported the threat to capitol police.

My family and staff are deeply disturbed by the threat of execution ... apparently by former 49er Bruce Miller. Threats of political violence are unacceptable, the congressman told NBC Bay Area.

Miller played for the 49ers from 2011 until 2016, when he was released after being charged with assault in an incident involving a 70-year-old man and his son at a hotel. Miller pleaded not guilty to seven felony charges, which were later dropped. In 2015, he was arrested on suspicion of domestic assault and later pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace.

Swalwell later said on Twitter that the 49ers reached out about the message from their former player.

As a lifelong member of The Faithful, I appreciate them sharing their concern, Swalwell wrote.

As for Miller, he took to Twitter himself to give his side of the incident. He says that the message was a harmless game of would you rather and a simple question which struck a nerve.

Heres Millers full statement about the incident:

I was content with trolling corrupt politicians in my dms, but since you want to make a story out of it then thats what well do, Miller wrote. That was in no way a threat to you or you (sic) family. I missed when a harmless game of would you rather Guantanamo or execution (which to my knowledge is the punishment) for the treason youve so aggressively participated in trying to frame the sitting president, who was disrupting the corrupt status quo of the parasitic us (sic) gov.

You Eric, are a traitor to the country, to your state, and to your district, Miller continued. I am not a threat to you or anyone else for that matter. However, you and the uniparty are a threat to the country and to the world. While your (sic) busy deflecting to bs and running around screwing Chinese spies while sitting on an intelligence committee, the Bay Area is in decay under the leadership of you and the other corrupt leadership. But youd rather spend the last 7 years committing the biggest fraud in US history, instead of helping people. One that all of you knew from conception was a fraud, and its very clear.

I never threatened you, I asked a simple question which struck a nerve, which I can imagine would since that punishment is in the cards for you and many others! Im not maga, republican or democrat. Im an American who is sick of watching the corrupt establishment destroy our country, Miller finished.

Miller also addressed the criminal charges hes faced in the past, stressing that the assault charges were dropped after 4 years, 3 DAs and a lot of wasted time.

And while were here and so many people are invoking my case as a history of violence. Id be glad to inform you that my case was dismissed with 0 liability, Miller wrote. My record is cleaner than most of you. I had to tell another corrupt destroyer of cities George Gascon to kick rocks and shove his plea. After 4 years, 3 DAs and a lot of wasted time the incompetent were forced to dismiss. Who charges someone with 50 years worth of felonies and walks away with a pat on the back for effort but its prob hard to convict someone after the witness claimed to assault me 1st!
Taylor Swifts record-breaking Eras Tour has officially reached Foxborough, Massachusetts with shows to kick off on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Since announcing her 27-show tour on November 1, Swift has added a total of 25 shows for the U.S. leg of the tour, which will feature songs from each of her different eras in music.

Related: Shop for last-minute Taylor Swift tickets at VividSeats, StubHub, SeatGeek

The tour will feature songs from her recent 10th studio album, Midnights, which launched back on October 21. It also will span a wide variety of her discography, including her country roots in Fearless, electropop beats from Reputation, slow ballads from sister albums Evermore and Folklore and everything in between.

*New customers who purchase tickets through VividSeats can get $20 off a $200+ ticket order by using the promo code MassLive20 at checkout.*

Swifts stop at Gillette Stadium is part of the 52-date, 17-state-wide tour.

Foxborough is the first place that I realized it was a possibility to play, she reportedly has told the Foxborough crowd. My time in Foxborough will be filed under one of the greatest times in my life.

She will be joined by artists Phoebe Bridgers, Gracie Abrams and GAYLE. Fans looking to grab last-minute tickets to these shows can shop online using VividSeats, StubHub and SeatGeek.

Below is the remaining Taylor Swift Eras Tour schedule; find the cheapest tickets to shows close to you:
A judge is poised to decide Friday whether a Massachusetts Air National Guard member accused of leaking highly classified military documents will remain behind bars while he awaits trial.

Jack Teixeira is due back in federal court in Worcester, Massachusetts, where a magistrate judge is expected to hear arguments on prosecutors request to keep the 21-year-old locked up before issuing his ruling.

Teixeira, who faces charges under the Espionage Act, is accused of sharing secret military documents about Russias war in Ukraine and other top national security issues in a chat room on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers.

Prosecutors said in court papers filed this week that Teixeira was caught by superiors months before his April arrest taking notes on classified information or viewing intelligence not related to his job.

He was twice admonished by superiors in September and October, and again observed in February viewing information that was not related to his primary duty and was related to the intelligence field, according to internal Air National Guard memos filed in court.

The revelations have raised questions about why Teixeira continued to have access to military secrets after what prosecutors described as concerning actions related to his handling of classified information.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh was questioned Thursday about why Teixeiras leaders did not take action after the concerns were raised. Singh referred to the Justice Department and Air Force investigations, and said those concerns and potential lack of response to them were areas the inquiries would examine.

Teixeira has been in jail since his arrest last month on charges stemming from the most consequential intelligence leak in years.

Magistrate Judge David Hennessy heard arguments on detention from lawyers late last month, but put off an immediate decision and scheduled a second hearing for Friday. The judge has said he expects to rule Friday.

The high-profile case is being prosecuted by the Massachusetts U.S. Attorneys office, whose leader  U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins  is expected to resign by the end of the day Friday after two federal watchdog agencies found she committed a slew of ethical and legal violations.

Teixeira has not yet entered a plea. His lawyers are urging the judge to release Teixeira to his fathers home, noting he didnt flee when media outlets began publishing his name shortly before his April 13 arrest. His lawyer told the judge last month that Teixeira will answer the charges and will be judged by his fellow citizens.

Teixeiras lawyers noted in court papers this week there have been many Espionage Act cases in which courts have approved release or the government did not seek to keep the person behind bars pretrial.

During last months hearing, prosecutors told the judge that Teixeira kept an arsenal of weapons before his arrest and had a history of violent and disturbing remarks.

Teixeira frequently had online discussions about violence, saying in one November message that he would kill a (expletive) ton of people if he had his way, because it would be culling the weak minded, according to prosecutors. Years earlier in high school, he was suspended when a classmate overheard him discussing Molotov cocktails and other weapons as well as racial threats, prosecutors said.

The Justice Department said Teixeira used his government computer in July to look up mass shootings and government standoffs, including the terms Ruby Ridge, Las Vegas shooting, Mandalay Bay shooting, Uvalde and Buffalo tops shooting  an apparent reference to the 2022 racist mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket.

Investigators believe Teixeira was the leader of an online private chat group on Discord called Thug Shaker Central, which drew roughly two dozen enthusiasts who talked about their favorite types of guns and shared memes and jokes. The group also held a running discussion on wars that included talk of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The leaked documents appear to detail U.S. and NATO aid to Ukraine and U.S. intelligence assessments regarding U.S. allies that could strain ties with those nations. Some show real-time details from February and March of Ukraines and Russias battlefield positions and precise numbers of battlefield gear lost and newly flowing into Ukraine from its allies.
Canons advanced eyecare equipment has been life-changing for thousands of children suffering from vision loss in Bangui, Central African Republic. The situation in the country is alarming because children are often facing undetected vision limitations during school lessons, and this has impacted their livelihoods.

According to research, Banguis dry climate has been a huge contributor to poor vision conditions including Paediatric Dry Eye and even worse is Glaucoma.

With limited healthcare facilities and eyecare specialists in the area, the Optical center Anna, located in the Mama Carla paediatric Center, a big project of the non-profit organisation Amici per il Centrafrica, has stepped in to help and support the local fight against visual impairments. The admirable work at Mama Carla is being carried out by a senior technician in ophthalmology, an optician, and an intern. At the clinic, children suffering from vision disorders and discomfort are assisted with treatment including eye drops for artificial tears, corticosteroid therapy  which is used to reduce inflammation  and are provided with sunglasses that have been donated.

Through the years, Canons Eye Care Division with the support of their authorised distributor in Italy FE-Group have been supporting the clinic by delivering much-needed eye care devices to support the screening of Bangui children. By Canon donation, the Centre has accumulated a Canon Autorefractor, a lens meter, and a Full Auto Tonometer, which helps the screening and diagnostic of refraction errors and intraocular pressure in the eyes.

I have been here for over three years, and I see an average of 45 children per day from new-borns to 15-year-olds. Poor vision can slow down reaction time and can lead to dangerous consequences. The eye is an organ that can easily be damaged so taking care of ones eyes is crucial as it has a massive impact on the quality of life, said Dr Ngondjhias Bonna Marie Nick, the optician who has been working at the clinic.

Dr Nick said that increased temperatures and other environmental factors were also contributing to visual disorders in the area.

Cristina Ceresoli, Vice President of Amici per il Centrafrica said there was so much good being done at the clinic in Bangui, all thanks to the dedicated staff, volunteers, and the reliability and accuracy of Canons eyecare equipment.

We are so proud to have created and supported this center because what they are doing is so amazing and inspirational. The staff have dedicated a huge amount of time to the children, and the parents and community are so grateful. We are extremely thankful to all the volunteers who have also stepped up and gone above and beyond to help make a difference in Bangui.

Adel Bencheikh, Director of Canon Medical Eye Care said it was an honour to donate and support such an initiative, which follows Canons Medical Made for Life philosophy. He thanked Chris van Wijk, the Eye Care Product Manager who has been involved in this project for many years.

Tushar Vashnavi, Director of Strategic Planning for Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA) said it was heart-warming and rewarding to know that Canons eyecare technology was being used to positively change thousands of childrens lives.

We couldnt be happier to know that Canons eyecare products are making a meaningful and life-changing difference to the children of Bangui, who can now work on restoring their sight. This initiative has really touched us and it is humbling to know that we are living up to our philosophy of Kyosei- to live and work together for the common good, he said.

We at Canon are inspired by the work at Mama Carla and by the commitment and dedication of staff and volunteers. We are proud that Canon products play a small part in this uplifting initiative.

Articles similaires
Lieutenant Shane Lamond, 47, of the Columbia Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., was charged with obstruction of justice and three counts of false statements over law enforcement information leaked to the Proud Boys. Lamond, say prosecutors, was in regular contact with the far-right gang's then-leader Henry Tarrio, kept him up to speed on investigations, and warned him when a warrant was issued for his arrest. Tarrio, among other gang members, was convicted earlier this month of seditious conspiracy.

From the Department of Justice's press release:

According to the indictment, Lamond worked as the supervisor of the Intelligence Branch of MPD's Homeland Security Bureau. Beginning in July 2019 and continuing to at least January 2021, Lamond and Tarrio were in regular contact regarding Proud Boys planned activities in the District of Columbia. The indictment alleges that, as early as at least July 2020, Lamond began using Telegram to provide information to Tarrio about law enforcement activity relating to Proud Boys' activities in Washington, D.C. For instance, the indictment alleges that beginning on December 18, 2020, Lamond gave Tarrio confidential law enforcement information into the investigation of the December 12, 2020 burning of a banner that read "#BLACKLIVESMATTER." As set forth in the indictment, Tarrio would then pass this information along to other Proud Boys members and take action based on the sensitive information. On or about January 4, 2021, following the issuance of an arrest warrant for Tarrio in connection with the burning of the BLM banner, while Tarrio was on a flight from Miami, Florida to Arlington, Virginia, Lamond, using Telegram, sent Tarrio a notification that a warrant had been signed for his arrest in the District of Columbia. After arriving in Arlington, Virginia and driving in to the District of Columbia, Tarrio was arrested on the warrant and subsequently pleaded guilty to one count of destruction of property in connection with the burning of the banner. As the indictment alleges, on June 2, 2021, during an interview with federal law enforcement, Lamond made false and misleading statements regarding his communications and contacts with Tarrio. These false and misleading statements related to: (1) the methods by which Lamond and Tarrio would communicate; (2) whether Lamond had provided Tarrio with sensitive law enforcement information; (3) whether Lamond had notified Tarrio about the status of the MPD investigation into the banner burning; (4) whether Lamond notified Tarrio about his pending arrest warrant; and (5) the content and extent of Lamond's discussion with Tarrio prior to and after January 6.

Just imagine how brazen this guy had to be for other cops to feel they had to do something about it.
May marks Mental Health Awareness Month, a period dedicated to raising awareness on mental health and wellbeing, while eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

With the upcoming Global Black Impact Summit (GBIS) taking place in Dubai this November, the intersectionality of mental health within the Black community has emerged as a key component in developing the next generation of future leaders and role models and building strong, impactful and inclusive communities.

Health and wellbeing represent one of the six pillars upon which the Black Impact Foundation is built, emphasizing the importance of physical and mental health in creating opportunities and encouraging social mobility within Black communities. The Foundation aims to promote health equity and access to quality healthcare for Black individuals, raise awareness about mental health issues and provide support and resources for members within its community.

While mental health represents a crucial aspect of overall wellbeing, it is often stigmatized and overlooked, particularly within communities of color where access to adequate resources is limited. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in every eight individuals worldwide grapples with a mental disorder, which can cause significant disruptions in thinking, emotional regulation or behavior, as well as lead to a domino-like chain of effects like unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness and incarceration.

Mental health issues and access to healthcare services in particular took a significant hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, with anxiety and depressive disorders seeing a rise of over 25% during the first year of the pandemic. WHO states that around 10-25% of the population in African countries experience a mental health disorder in any given year, with common disorders including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and substance abuse. Given the pervasiveness of mental health issues in Black communities, it is a critical time to come together and find tangible solutions to increasing equity and availability of mental health resources.

Mental Health Awareness Month serves as a reminder to prioritize mental health and foster a culture of understanding and acceptance. It encourages individuals to educate themselves and others about mental health, recognize the signs of mental health conditions, seek support when needed and engage in self-care practices to maintain good mental health. It also emphasizes the importance of reducing stigma associated with mental health and creating safe spaces for open and honest conversations about mental health challenges.

This years GBIS presents a unique opportunity to bring mental health awareness to the forefront of discussions on social impact and change. The Summit aims to connect, inspire and empower the Black community globally to drive positive change and create a more inclusive world. Integrating mental health discussions into the Summits agenda will highlight the significant role that mental health plays in the larger picture of socioeconomic growth and opportunity.

Addressing mental health within the Black community offers several key benefits, including improved individual wellbeing, stronger communities and increased productivity and economic prosperity. When individuals have access to mental health resources, support and education, they are better equipped to manage stress, build resilience and navigate challenges. This can lead to healthier relationships, more effective problem-solving skills and enhanced overall functioning in various aspects of life, including work, education and social engagement.

Additionally, prioritizing mental health can contribute to breaking the cycle of intergenerational trauma and promote healing and resilience within the global Black community. Promoting mental health awareness and wellbeing also has broader societal implications. It can contribute to reducing disparities in health outcomes, promoting social equity and fostering a more inclusive society. When mental health is prioritized and stigma is reduced, it can encourage more individuals to seek help when needed, access appropriate care and engage in preventative measures. This can lead to reduced health care costs and a more vibrant and resilient society overall.

The upcoming GBIS in Dubai highlights the power of connection and networking among individuals and communities, emphasizing the value of unity in advancing mental health support for the Black community. This years summit recognizes that fostering connections and promoting dialogue is crucial for addressing mental health challenges. Through connection and collaboration, substantial progress can be made in promoting mental wellbeing within the Black community and improving support systems and resources that cater to underserved communities.

As we commemorate Mental Health Awareness Month and look ahead to the GBIS in Dubai, it is essential to recognize the intersectionality of mental health within the Black community and the critical role it plays in fostering wellbeing and social change. It is a time to prioritize mental health, eliminate stigma and create a culture of understanding, acceptance and support. By prioritizing mental health within the Black community, we can work towards a better future where everyone has the opportunity to thrive mentally, emotionally, professionally and socially. Let us come together to advocate for mental health awareness and empower individuals and communities to take steps towards better mental health and wellbeing for all.

Articles similaires
As part of Africa Day celebration on 25 May, Meta (http://www.Facebook.com) announced the third iteration of its pan-African Made by Africa, Loved by the World campaign. Themed Rising Stars, this years edition aims to amplify the voices and stories of eight rising talents from across Africa, who are building a global presence and changing the way Africa is viewed on the international stage.

Representing several creative industries ranging from music, fashion, lifestyle, to art, this years self-shot 'vlog-styled' short stories provide a glimpse of the creators' world and highlights how being African inspires their creativity. Alongside this, Meta is running a dedicated community Reels challenge - #ShareYourAfrica #AfricaMade, encouraging the African community on Instagram to celebrate their authenticity  whether through dance, music, fashion, food or art. For Africa Day Meta will be holding a fireside chat with a selection of key figures from across the continent - exploring the global impact of Africa's youth and how platforms like Instagram are helping to fuel their global appeal.

Commenting, Kezia Anim-Addo, Director of Communications, Sub-Saharan Africa, Meta, said: Were thrilled to celebrate Africa Day this year by amplifying the stories of just some of our talented rising stars from across the continent who are shining a spotlight on African culture, music, food, dance, fashion, and so much more in their own voices. Every day, we see young African creatives use Meta technologies, like Instagram and Facebook, to share their stories, express themselves, and bring people together in incredible and inspiring ways. Were proud that our technologies have a role to play in amplifying these voices and stories, both locally and globally.

Articles similaires
A twelve-member delegation of the Zambian Parliamentary Committee on Media, Information and Communication Technologies, led by the Hon. Eng Raphael Mabenga, MP, Chairperson of the Committee is presently on a study visit to the Mauritius National Assembly.

The main objective of the mission is to learn best practices and share experiences on matters pertaining to cyber security.

The programme of visit started on 02 May 2023 with a briefing on the Mauritian Parliamentary System by Urmeelah Devi Ramchurn, Deputy Clerk and Navin Gopall, Clerk Assistant.

The delegation also paid a courtesy call on Sooroojdev Phokeer, GCSK, GOSK, Speaker of the National Assembly. The Chairperson and Members of the delegation and Mr Speaker exchanged views in regard to parliamentary practices.

The delegates will have a meeting with Mr Kavish Pultoo, Director of Government Information Service. The delegation will also pay a courtesy call on Darsanand Balgobin, Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation followed by a working Session with Mrs S Valere-Bolli, Permanent Secretary and officers of the Ministry, officers of the National Computer Board and the CERT-MU under the purview of the Ministry.

During the study tour, the delegates will undertake guided visits to the Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage Site and the Le Morne Cultural Heritage Landscape and Monument of Nature.

Mauritius

Articles similaires
As part of the ongoing University growth initiative, Northwestern Engineerings Department of Computer Science welcomes three teaching-track faculty to develop new courses based on emerging ideas and student demand, all while fostering a broad and inclusive computing community.

I am delighted that we made tremendous progress this year in building our team of teaching track faculty by bringing together three faculty with significant experience in key areas of artificial intelligence, software engineering, data structures and introductory programming, said Samir Khuller, Peter and Adrienne Barris Chair of Computer Science at the McCormick School of Engineering. Our department will greatly benefit from this recruitment effort and I am thrilled to welcome three wonderful new faculty to our dynamic team. Our students will get a chance to experience a wide variety of new courses and electives.

David Demeter

In September, Demeter (PhD 20) will be promoted from a postdoctoral fellow to an assistant professor of instruction. Demeter instructs courses in artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing. His research focuses on examining the composition of neural and symbolic models and addressing the architectural limitations of neural network language models. Demeter seeks to apply these methods to research topics at the intersection of natural language processing and finance.

Previously, Demeter worked as an investment banker focusing on financing transactions and international mergers and acquisitions, completing more than 70 transactions totaling roughly $10 billion. He also cofounded a startup specializing in derivative securities.

Demeter earned a PhD in computer science from Northwestern Engineering in 2020, advised by Doug Downey, professor of computer science. Demeter obtained a masters degree in applied mathematics and bachelors degree in electrical engineering from Northwestern University, and an MBA in analytical finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Anastasia Kurdia

Kurdia joins in August as a full professor of instruction. Prior to joining Northwestern, she served as a senior professor of practice and undergraduate coordinator with the Department of Computer Science at Tulane University. In these roles, she developed and taught a wide variety of computer science courses. Kurdia also worked on issues in computer science education, concentrating on effective teaching and active learning, novel pedagogic methods, learning at scale, teaching with technology, and increasing diversity in technical fields. Kurdia's contributions to the pedagogy of computing have been recognized by several awards, including a Teach Access Curriculum Development Award, Google CS Engagement Small Award, and Ada Lovelace Woman of the Year in Greater New Orleans Area Tech Award.

Before joining Tulane, Kurdia taught at several selective liberal arts institutions, including Bucknell University, Connecticut College, and Smith College. She earned a PhD in computer science from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2010 and received a bachelor of science degree in applied mathematics from Belarusian State University in 2004. In her dissertation, she developed new algorithms for studying protein geometry.

Rachel Trana

Trana (PhD 10) joins in September as an associate professor of instruction and assistant chair. Her current research interests include machine learning algorithms to detect cyberbullying in image and text memes, and the analysis and assessment of educational technologies and approaches to improve undergraduate engagement and retention in STEM.

Most recently, Trana was an engineering manager with Grainger in the KeepStock domain, where she was responsible for leading and managing multiple technical teams developing innovative and cutting-edge software solutions to streamline inventory management processes. Previously, Trana served as an associate professor of computer science at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), where she received the Spring 2021 NEIU Unsung Shero award and a teaching excellence award.

Trana earned a masters degree and PhD in applied mathematics from Northwestern University, with a focus on computational modeling of neurons in the hippocampus region of the brain.
Asymmetrical multiplayer slash-'em-up Dead by Daylight is no stranger to crossovers. Over the years, its roster of harried survivors and menacing killers alike has been expanded by pulls from the likes of Silent Hill, Friday the 13th, Evil Dead, Hellraiser and more. Now, though, it's taken a first step into its weirdest territory yet: including Nicolas Cage, playing himself.

It's the performance of a lifetime.

Dead by Daylight: Nicolas Cage. Coming to a realm near you.



Learn more on July 5th. pic.twitter.com/A96yvZPYpt  Dead by Daylight (@DeadbyDaylight) May 17, 2023

He's lovingly rendered to an almost disturbing degree, complete with eyeliner. Details are still hazy  but expected to be revealed on June 5  so we still don't know the scope of this collaboration, or even whether he's a survivor or a killer. Still, this may open the door to future celebrity collaborations, meaning being hunted down by Actual Cannibal Shia Labeouf may soon be a very real possibility.
Con artist Elizabeth Holmes is headed for prison at the end of the month, and it looks like she end up at the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, not too far from where she lived as a child in Houston. The BBC outlined what life will probably look like for the fraudster, who once commanded the attention of the rich and famous.

Inmates are typically housed in dormitory-style two-person bunk beds, and four to eight person cubicles, according to Pink Lady Prison Consultants, a prison consulting group led by formerly incarcerated people. Life at the federal facility is centred around work and extracurricular programmes, the prison handbook says. All inmates are expected to work, and earn between 12 cents and $1.15 (0.90) an hour for their jobs. Many are involved in food service and factory work.

Additionally, if Holmes isn't a natural early riser, she will soon learn to become one. Inmates who don't get up at the appointed 6 AM rollcall will be slapped with a fine.
The global Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitors market size is expected to reach USD 2,225.00 million by 2030, registering a CAGR of 7.9% from 2023 to 2030, according to a new report by Coherent Market Insights Inc. Due to the rising demand for blood pressure monitoring devices used for self-health monitoring, the ambulatory blood pressure monitors (ABPM) market is predicted to experience rising demand. Moreover, ambulatory blood pressure monitors are employed by pharmaceutical firms to evaluate the effectiveness of hypotensive and antihypertensive medications that are being developed for cardiac health. For instance, ERT Clinical announced the availability of a centralised ABPM system in the US in April 2013, a provider of high-quality patient safety and efficacy data gathering solutions for use in clinical drug development. With the aid of ABPM, biopharmaceutical companies can quickly assess endpoints for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular outcomes as well as the effectiveness and cardiac safety of both hypertension and anti-hypertensive medications.

Request Sample Report + All Related Graphs & Charts @

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/411

We have an updated report [Version  2023] available.

(The sample of this report is readily available on request. The report sample contains a brief introduction to the research report, a Table of Contents, a Graphical introduction of regional analysis, Top players in the market with their revenue analysis, and our research methodology.)

Our Sample Report May Includes:

 2030 Updated Report Introduction, Overview, and In-depth industry analysis.

 100+ Pages Research Report (Inclusion of Updated Research).

 Provide Chapter-wise guidance on Requests.

 2023 Updated Regional Analysis with Graphical Representation of Size, Share & Trends

 Includes Updated List of tables & figures.

 Updated Report Includes Top Market Players with their Business Strategy, Sales Volume, and Revenue Analysis.

Top Key Players:

 OSI Systems Inc.

 SunTech Medical Inc.

 Andon Health Co. Ltd.

 Schiller AG

 Omron Healthcare Co. Ltd.

 Beurer GmBH

 Finapres Medical Systems B.V.

 Welch Allyn Inc.

 Koninklijke Philips N.V.

ABPMs are used to track a patients blood pressure measurements taken over the course of a 24-hour period as they were moving around and going about their regular lives. The main indications for the use of ambulatory blood pressure monitors include white coat hypertension, nocturnal hypertension, masked hypertension, and paroxysmal hypertension. These monitors enable regular monitoring of the bodys blood pressure values at predetermined time intervals, which can be anywhere between 15 and 30 minutes. It gives specific details regarding how changes in blood pressure readings are related to peoples daily routines and sleeping habits. The main advantages of ambulatory devices over traditional blood pressure measuring techniques are their lower rate of misdiagnosis, continuous monitoring, and precise blood pressure profile

We Offer Customized Report, Click @

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/411

The two main variables that are anticipated to propel market growth are an ageing population and an increase in people who live unhealthy lifestyles like smoking and drinking. Due to their increased risk of hypertension and propensity for high blood pressure, this target population is unintentionally fuelling the need for blood pressure monitors.

The International Heart Federation reported that 970 million people worldwide experienced high blood pressure in 2015. Out of 970 million people, approximately 330 million (9%) lived in developed nations and the remaining 640 million (80%) came from emerging economies. In the management of hypertension, a few preventive steps taken in conjunction with routine blood pressure monitoring can significantly improve outcomes. Wearable and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring devices make it simple to monitor blood pressure, which will promote expansion in the global market.

Hypertension is more likely to occur in those who are obese. Moreover, excess weight gain raises visceral adiposity, which contributes 65% to 75% of the risk for primary hypertension. For instance, the World Health Organization estimates that in 2016 there were over 650 million obese individuals worldwide, out of the 1.9 billion adults who were overweight.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitors face difficulties such device failure and inconsistent product components. Recalls by the Food and Drug Administration result from this, which hinders the market expansion for ambulatory blood pressure monitors. For instance, the French company Withings BPM+ wireless blood pressure monitor was recalled by the U.S. FDA in June 2018. The device was recalled because it was unable to meet the demands of reliably measuring systolic pressure and because the control system showed some inconsistent behaviour.

The ambulatory blood pressure monitors market is divided into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa on the basis of region. Due to increasing public awareness of personalised and portable blood pressure monitoring systems, which in turn boosts demand for these devices, North America is anticipated to have a prominent position in the worldwide ambulatory blood pressure monitors market. For instance, the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion reports that in 2017, several campaigns, including Million Hearts, Well-integrated Screening And Evaluation For Women Across The Nation (WISEWOMAN), and Sodium Reduction in Communities Program (SRCP), were launched to lower the populations mortality rate due to hypertension by raising awareness of the effects of hypertension on health. This increased the sale of portable d

Due to the increased rate of childhood obesity in the region, the Asia Pacific market is anticipated to expand significantly over the next years. For instance, about 50% of all children in Asia Pacific, or 41 million children under the age of 5, were obese in 2016, according to the World Health Organization.

Purchase This Premium Research Report:

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/buy-now/411

Table of Contents with Major Points:

Introduction

Research Scope

Market Segmentation

Research Methodology

Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics

Market Drivers

Market Restraints

Market Opportunities

Key Insights

Key Emerging Trends

Key Developments Mergers and Acquisition

New Product Launches and Collaboration

Partnership and Joint Venture

Latest Technological Advancements

Insights on Regulatory Scenario

Porters Five Forces Analysis

Qualitative Insights Impact of COVID-19

Supply Chain Challenges

Steps taken by Government/Companies to overcome this impact

Potential opportunities due to COVID-19 outbreak

TOC Continued!

Explore More Related Insights:

Robotic-assisted Surgery Systems Market

Digital X-ray Devices Market

Oxygenators Market

Urology Device Market

Patient Mechanical Lift Handling Equipment Market

Microdermabrasion Devices Market

Sterilization Services Market

Virtual Clinical Trials Market

Medical Device Testing and Certification Market

U.S. Hospital Emergency Department Market

About Us:

Coherent Market Insights is a global market intelligence and consulting organization focused on assisting our plethora of clients achieve transformational growth by helping them make critical business decisions. We are headquartered in India, having office at global financial capital in the U.S. and sales consultants in United Kingdom and Japan. Our client base includes players from across various business verticals in over 150 countries worldwide. We pride ourselves in catering to clients across the length and width of the horizon, from Fortune 500 enlisted companies, to not-for-profit organization, and startups looking to establish a foothold in the market. We excel in offering unmatched actionable market intelligence across various industry verticals, including chemicals and materials, healthcare, and food & beverages, consumer goods, packaging, semiconductors, software and services, Telecom, and Automotive. We offer syndicated market intelligence reports, customized research solutions, and consulting services.

 :

Mr. Shah

Coherent Market Insights Pvt Ltd,

533 Airport Boulevard, Suite 400,

Burlingame, CA 94010, United States

Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com

United States of America: +1-206-701-6702

United Kingdom: +44-020-8133-4027

Japan: +050-5539-1737

India: +91-848-285-0837
According to projections, the global hemodynamic monitoring systems market is expected to achieve a worth of US$ 1,094.5 Mn by 2023 and is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.6% between the projected durations of 2023 and 2030.

Hemodynamic Monitoring Systems Market, by application (Minimally Invasive Hemodynamic Monitoring, Invasive Hemodynamic Monitoring, Non-Invasive Hemodynamic Monitoring), by product type (Central Venous Catheters, Pulse Oximeters, Vital Sign Monitors, Non-Invasive Blood Pressure Monitors, Pulmonary Artery Catheters), by end user (Home Care Settings, Hospitals, Ambulatory Surgical Centers, Independent Catheterization Laboratories, Clinics), and by region (Africa, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Middle East, North America, and Europe)  Outlook, Share, Size, and Opportunity Analysis, 20222030

Hemodynamic monitoring is the process of assessing the cardiovascular systems functional status in response to acute stress like cardiogenic shock and myocardial infarction. Hemodynamic systems are equipped to continuously monitor the flow of blood and the pressure levels within the hearts chambers, arteries, and veins. This type of monitoring system relies on invasive measurements of systemic, pulmonary arterial, and venous pressures, as well as cardiac output. By providing continuous assessments of severely ill patients, invasive hemodynamic pressure monitoring can help healthcare providers gather the essential information necessary for more precise diagnoses and prompt correction of any issues.

To Get More Business Strategies Request for Sample Copy @ https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1070

Note  Updated Version 2023 is available

 Brief Introduction to the research report.

 Table of Contents (Scope covered as a part of the study)

 Top players in the market

 Research framework (structure of the report)

 Research methodology adopted by Coherent Market Insights

Drivers

The global hemodynamic monitoring systems market is anticipated to be propelled during the projected timeframe by major market participants employing inorganic approaches like introducing new products. An example of this is LiDCo Group, a medical technology firm and Masimos subsidiary, which revealed the launch of LiDCO Rapid v3 in May 2019. This non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring system is utilized to keep track of cardiac output.

Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic:

After the emergence of the COVID-19 virus in December 2019, it quickly spread to more than 100 countries worldwide. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the disease a public health emergency.

The economy can be impacted by COVID-19 in three primary ways, which include direct effects on drug production and demand, distribution channel disruptions and financial repercussions on markets and firms. Many nations, including India, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, China, the U.A.E., and others, are encountering transportation difficulties due to nationwide lockdowns, making it challenging to transport drugs between locations.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread disruption, it had a favorable effect on the market for global hemodynamic monitoring systems. To illustrate, in April 2020, Health Canada, which is the regulatory agency for Canada, authorized the utilization of Edwards HemoSphere platform for the care of COVID-19 patients. This platform is designed to monitor various vital signs that aid in the management of blood flow and oxygenation in patients who are critically ill, including those undergoing treatment for COVID-19. Additionally, it offers multiple tools for tracking fluid levels in patients. Given the constantly evolving and intricate conditions of COVID-19 patients, the ability to access uninterrupted hemodynamic data can assist healthcare providers in selecting appropriate interventions to maintain patient stability.

Prominent players:

Prominent players, including Schwarzer Cardiotek GmbH, Medtronic, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, PULSION Medical Systems SE, General Electric, Tensys Medical Inc., Masimo, Osypka Medical GmbH, ICU Medical, Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Getinge AB., OMRON Corporation, TytoCare Ltd., Nonin, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA, Baxter, and Nihon Kohden Corporation, are operating in the global hemodynamic monitoring systems market.

Direct Buy This Premium Research Report @ https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/buy-now/1070

Report Attribute Details The market size value in 2023 US$ 1,094.5 million The revenue forecast in 2030 US$ 1,826.3 million Growth Rate CAGR of 6.6% The base year for estimation 2022 Historical data 2017  2021 Forecast period 2023  2030 Report coverage Revenue forecast, company ranking, competitive landscape, growth factors, and trends Segments covered Types, End Users, Regions Growth Drivers Adoption of inorganic strategies such as product launches and acquisition by key market players are the major factors driving the growth of the global hemodynamic monitoring systems market. Restraints & Challenges Increasing number of product recalls by regulatory authorities such as U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Recent developments:

During the projected timeframe, the global hemodynamic monitoring systems market is predicted to be propelled by the implementation of non-organic approaches like acquisitions by significant market participants. To illustrate, in September 2019, Baxter, a healthcare corporation, declared that it had purchased Cheetah Medical, a company that provides non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring technology, with the intention of broadening its range of specialized patient monitoring products. This acquisition will improve Baxters offerings and treatments by incorporating a non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring system that is utilized for fluid management.

Market restraints:

The global hemodynamic monitoring systems market is expected to face obstacles in its growth due to the rising occurrence of product recalls by regulatory bodies like the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration). In January 2021, for instance, the FDA recalled a class 2 device called the Cogent hemodynamic monitoring system, produced by ICU Medical, Inc., a medical device manufacturer. This medical device corporation faced a recall owing to a potential software issue that resulted in the display showing incorrect continuous cardiac output (CCO) readings after pulse oximeter calibration.

We Offer Customized Report, Click Here @ https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/1070

Table of Content (TOC):

Chapter 1 Introduction and Overview

Chapter 2 Industry Cost Structure and Economic Impact

Chapter 3 Rising Trends and New Technologies with Major Key players

Chapter 4 Hemodynamic Monitoring Systems Market Analysis, Trends, Growth Factor

Chapter 5 Hemodynamic Monitoring Systems Market Application and Business with Potential Analysis

Chapter 6 Market Segment, Type, Application

Chapter 7 Hemodynamic Monitoring Systems Market Analysis (by Application, Type, End User)

Chapter 8 Major Key Vendors Analysis of Hemodynamic Monitoring Systems Market

Chapter 9 Development Trend of Analysis

Chapter 10 Conclusion
MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland, California will honor one of the city's beloved cultural icons, the late rapper, poet, and actor Tupac Shakur, following a unanimous vote by the city council Tuesday. The stretch between Grand Avenue and Van Buren Avenue will soon be renamed "Tupac Shakur Way," an homage to the rapper who credited Oakland as the launchpad for his career. According to KQED, Shakur lived in an apartment at 275 MacArthur Boulevard in the 1990s.

This is the second time the City of Oakland has honored Shakur. In 2016, June 16 was proclaimed "Tupac Shakur Day."

Oaklandside:
by Fern Siegel , May 19, 2023

Brand consultancy-creative agency 50,000feet is going global.

It already has offices in New York and Chicago  but its opening a London outpost in June. The agency will continue to strategically aid brands in the financial, health, tech, manufacturing and design sectors.

The London office will be a European hub for the firms growing roster of global clients. 50,000feet works with global brands including Mastercard, BCG and Knoll.



In addition to increasing our visibility with another world of clients and talent, opening London will help strengthen relationships with current clients who operate globally and across markets, especially between London and New York, Jim Misener, CEO, 50,000feet, told Agency Daily.

We have been in conversation regarding our expansion plans with a short roster of clients and their reaction has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic, he added.

advertisement advertisement

A London office lead will be announced in the coming weeks, per the agency.



The move underscores the companys growth  it has seen a 30% uptick in staff since 2019. In 2020, 50,000feet joined forces with design firm Carbone Smolan Agency, opening an office in New York. In February 2023, 50,000feet launched a health and wellness practice.
by Tanya Gazdik , May 18, 2023

Tesla founder Elon Musk told the automakers shareholders this week that it is time for Tesla to consider advertising.

Musk recently named ex-NBCUniversal ad chief Linda Yaccarino as Twitters new CEO.

"So I guess I should say advertising is awesome, and everyone should do it," Musk said at the annual shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas. "We'll try out a little advertising and see how it goes.

Tesla has never advertised or worked with automotive journalists to generate earned media for its vehicles. Musk tweeted in in 2019 that he "hates advertising" and "We use that money to make the product great.

The brands first stop in its advertising run is an experiential event this weekend at Electrify Expo Long Beach. This is the first consumer event that Tesla has appeared at in years, says BJ Birtwell, founder and executive producer of Electrify Expo.

The brand joins Ford, BMW, Toyota, Volvo, Kia Lexus, Volkswagen, Chrysler, Mitsubishi and other brands in what is billed as the nations largest EV festival. The weekend event allows consumers to ride, drive and demo telectric cars and trucks, e-motorcycles, e-bikes, e-scooters and e-skateboards across 1 million square feet of festival space.

We are bringing out consumers with real purchase power that have the power to really move the needle, which is a demographic that Tesla is looking to hit, Birtwell tells Marketing Daily. When youre planning an advertising mix, more than getting the maximum impressions, it matters that theyre the right impressions. We are the top event for car shoppers and buyers in the country and are essentially bringing the exact right people together that Tesla wants to convert to customers.

Musk told CNBC after the shareholder meeting that he was surprised by their level of enthusiasm for advertising. He acknowledged that people who followed him on Twitter are likely already knowledgeable about EVs, and that outreach to others new to the brand could be helpful. He said he is still considering what type of advertising would be most effective for the brand.

I believe that advertising should be informative about a product [and] it should be ideally aesthetically pleasing, Musk told CNBC. And it should be something that you don't regret watching after it's done. And I think if advertising fits those criteria, that it starts to approach content, you want advertising that is as close to content as possible, such that you don't regret the time you spent watching it.
by Les Luchter , May 19, 2023

All asthma patients arent alike. Just under 10% of the 56 million Americans with asthma have severe eosinophilic asthma, caused by high levels of white blood cells called eosinophils in their respiratory systems.

AstraZeneca, which five years ago introduced Fasenra to treat this disease, has now launched an eosinophilic asthma awareness campaign called Move Forward With Fasenra thats directed at both patients with the condition and healthcare providers who treat it.

We are taking an integrated approach across consumer and HCP audiences, rather than segmenting the audiences with separate messaging and creative, confirmed Matt Gray, executive director for Fasenra marketing at AstraZeneca, in an interview with Marketing Daily. The intent behind the campaign is to highlight AstraZenecas goal to help patients living with severe eosinophilic asthma by clarifying the impact of Fasenra and educating health care professionals about Fasenra.

In a 60-second spot called Remember, a female voiceover asks, Remember the things you loved doing before your asthma got in the way as a woman onscreen takes a motorcycle out for a ride. Get back to the things you love with Fasenra.

Over the five years [the drug has been on the market], weve heard countless stories of patients in real life who are now able to go back to doing the things they love, both from the patients and the HCPs who treat them, Gray explained. Weve found that the ability to get back to these things is motivating for both customer segments.

He added, The motorcycle imagery represents the idea of liberation and is meant to remind patients how they felt before their asthma prevented them from doing what they wanted. We want severe eosinophilic asthma patients to talk to their doctor so they can get back to doing the things they enjoy.

To back up the spot, which launched in February, AstraZeneca has featured a physical Triumph motorcycle at its booth at industry events, first at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Congress, and starting this Friday at the American Thoracic Society Congress. Gray said this is designed to generate further awareness of and education on eosinophilic asthma, the Move Forward with Fasenra campaign and its benefits to patients and health care professionals.

Traditional campaign ads are planned for later this year, he adds.

Two agencies -- FCBCure and McCann -- worked with AstraZeneca on the Move Forward with Fasenra campaign.

In March, compared with October, We saw an approximate increase of 10% in aided awareness of Fasenra among patients, which this campaign has helped support, Gray reported.

According to WebMD, other drugs used against eosinophilic asthma include Sanofi/Regenerons Dupixent, GSKs Nucala and Tevas Cinqair.


On Thursday, allegations of child labor, inappropriate behavior, and a hostile environment shut down a Popeyes fried-chicken franchise in Oakland, California. The complaints were filed Wednesday with CalOSHA and the California Labor Commissioner by two 17-year-olds who allege that a coworker started working at the restaurant when she was just 13, in the 7th grade, and has been clocking in 40 to 45 hours a week, including late nights on school days. Allegations also include that lewd, sexually suggestive comments were made to female teen employees.

California's child-labor law bans employment of children 12 and 13 at any time on school days, or having them work more than 40 hours per week, and they are not to work past 7 p.m., or after 9 p.m. June 1 through Labor Day. The girl who allegedly started at the Popeyes at age 13 stayed on the same schedule when she was 14, also a labor-law violation, the complaint claimed.

The Oakland Popeyes employees also made disturbing allegations regarding the behavior of their security staff, including the use of pepper spray and threats of violence. Popeyes has stated they are investigating these allegations and will take necessary actions against any proven violation. Meanwhile, the accused franchise owners, Mohammad Noor and Sedig Joe Amin of 14th Street Chicken Corporation, have not commented on the matter.
G. KOUVARAS: Our first topic of discussion is foreign policy and Nikos Meletis, our diplomatic editor here at ERT, will ask Mr. Dendias.

N. MELETIS: Mr. Dendias, I don't want to sound as if I m prognosticating where you will be after the elections, but in any case, you are leaving a significant legacy to your successor, to the one who will succeed you in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and that is the important agreements that you have signed, as well as the fact that you have opened the horizons of Greek foreign policy in geographic areas that had not previously been under the radar of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Id like to ask you about Greek-Turkish relations. You have frequently stated that you will suggest a fresh approach to find a solution, to promote a solution to the problem of delimitation of the continental shelf and address the problems in Greek-Turkish relations. Do you believe that the problem in Greek-Turkish relations has so far been procedural rather than a substantive one due to Turkish positions?

N. DENDIAS: No, Mr. Meletis, I don't think its a procedural issue. I believe its an issue of substance. But I also believe that the exploratory talks, which began with a specific rationale of taking the dispute between Greece and Turkiye to arbitration in The Hague in 2004, have fallen out of the rhythm that they were originally intended to have. And there have been 64 rounds with no tangible results, which we would have desired.

Therefore, I will not propose a change to the procedure but some changes which I believe will make it easier to determine whether Turkiye is willing to resolve the dispute after the elections or not.

N. MELETIS: Allow me to ask a follow-up question. Following the latest incidents in Himare with the arrest of Fredi Beleri, Id like to ask: Minister, do you regret inviting Edi Rama to Athens and organizing an exhibition of his artworks at Zappeion? As has now been demonstrated, personal relations are not the rule when it comes to foreign policy.

N. DENDIAS. There are no regrets. The country must do all possible to foster good relations with its neighbours and its then up to its neighbours to realize that good relations with Greece are a major asset for these countries.

Therefore, my answer is 'no'. I have no regrets whatsoever. Of course, if you will allow me to add a final comment on the heart of the matter. First of all, Im very happy about Beleri being elected and Id like to reiterate what Prime Minister Rama said: if there is no irrefutable, I repeat the word, irrefutable evidence against him, then arresting him and putting him on trial is an enormous scandal.

G. KATROUGALOS: Id like to ask Mr. Dendias, who has already spoken, a question. We read in Kathimerini newspaper that Mr. Erdogan said that a new era can open for Greek-Turkish relations as long as Mr. Mitsotakis keeps his promises. Do you know what these promises are? Because I dont. Furthermore, rather than the national position that we will refer the maritime economic zones, continental shelf and EEZ to The Hague, Mr. Mitsotakis consistently refers to the fact that we will refer maritime zones, including the territorial waters, which we have the sovereign right to extend. How do you comment on that?

N. DENDIAS: Let me start with the second one. It goes without saying that theres no Greek Prime Minister, or Prime Minister from any party, who would agree to discuss the issue of territorial waters. The issue of territorial waters and their extension to 12 miles, you know it and everyone knows it, is a unilateral right of our country. No one can cede it.

G. KATROUGALOS: Does Mr. Mitsotakis not know that?

N. DENDIAS: He obviously knows.

G. KATROUGALOS: And why does he say otherwise?

N. DENDIAS: Its obvious that the current and the former and future Prime Ministers are not going to negotiate on the issue of territorial waters. Let us now return to the initial issue. I wouldnt take any statements during the election period in Turkiye at face value.

Its clear that President Erdogan wanted to have a good election result. He was obliged to present a narrative to Turkish society in order to achieve this electoral result.

I havent used anything that was said during the pre-election period in Turkiye as a yardstick for the post-election period. If President Erdogan wins after 14 days, his true colors will be seen. But let us not get caught up in what he said to his own domestic audience during the pre-election period.

. LOVERDOS: [...] My question has to do with Mr. Meletis' question that was not answered in any way. The minister was asked what new procedures or ideas he has for the talks with Turkiye. The Ministers response was limited to the exploratory talks. He didnt share his ideas with us.

And, secondly, as regards Albania, I believe the Minister should reflect, if he is not doing so, on the fact that the Prime Minister has very much strengthened Albania's course towards the EU without claiming anything, while the minority is blatantly oppressed by Edi Rama.

N. DENDIAS: I am trying to follow the rules of the debate. First of all, on the first point, youre right, Mr. Loverdos. I have not been sufficiently detailed in my answer to Mr. Meletis. But I have not been sufficiently detailed because precisely the procedure I propose to follow cannot be the subject of a public debate.

If I were to put it openly to any public audience, I would jeopardize its effectiveness. But to be honest, Im completely ready to privately explain what I believe could be improved in this approach to any of you. And I'm sure, since we've worked together on foreign policy matters for so long, you wouldn't want me to say openly what has to change in this.

Now as regards the issue of Albania's European perspective, Mr. Mitsotakis did not do anything new. Mr. Mitsotakis followed the 2003 Thessaloniki Agenda.

What does the 2003 Thessaloniki Agenda say? It says that our country, Greece, can benefit from the European perspective of the Balkan countries, of all Balkan countries.

We have succeeded in the Eastern Balkans; we are trying for the Western Balkans. In the context of this perspective, it is certain that the Greek National minority will benefit the most.

Because there wont be such things as a Beleri arrest when there is European rule of law. As a result, Kyriakos Mitsotakis has favored the Greek national minority, which he visited a few weeks ago.
Tennessee governor Bill Lee yesterday signed a law that effectively ends public oversight of police forces in the state, disbanding existing community oversight boards and ensuring that citizens cannot form them again.

The final nail in the coffin occurred April 20 when state House lawmakers voted emphatically 67-19 to disband oversight boards, which rely on taxpayer dollars to operate as civilian oversight of police departments. The state's current model was approved by Tennessee voters.In 2018, more than 59% of Nashville residents voted to approve the creation of an oversight board.

They want to commit crimes without accountability, and this makes it much easier to do soperhaps the most literal political implementation of Wilhoit's law yet.
As the weather gets warmer, tourism in the Buffalo Niagara region becomes more visible  whether it's the blue ponchos at the Maid of the Mist or convention attendees making their way down Franklin street to the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center.

But tourism and hospitality keep the region humming all year long. It is especially the case in Niagara County, where more than 20% of jobs are tied to tourism, according to data from Oxford Economics Co, overtaking agriculture as its No. 1 employer.

And the impact from the pandemic continues to be felt, even as crossing restrictions at the Canadian border have been lifted. Leisure and hospitality jobs are down 9% from pre-pandemic levels, according to the state Labor Department.

The industry is still building its way back from the Covid-19 crash, which put a stop to business travel, closed the Canadian border and drastically changed consumer and business travel habits.

Here are a few of the challenges the industry faces as it goes forward.

5 ways Covid changed retail  maybe forever It has been three years since the Covid-19 pandemic turned the world upside down. In the pro

A lack of workers

The labor shortage has hit the hospitality and tourism industries especially hard.

Restaurants and hotels were forced to shut down or reduce operations during Covid-19, and, by April 2020, the food and beverage workforce in Buffalo Niagara was cut by more than half, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many workers left the industry for different jobs  especially as the economy shifted to include remote work and better-paying jobs with more flexible schedules.

That's a loss of 5,200 jobs, many of them in tourism-related businesses. Many of the industry veterans businesses relied on left their jobs and didn't return when they reopened. Since then, establishments have struggled to find the help they need.

Employers have had to adapt their strategies to attract and retain workers, said Seth Piccirillo, director of economic development at the regional chamber of commerce, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership.

"You have many employers competing in the space," he said at a recent Buffalo Niagara Partnership event discussing tourism and hospitality. "We're seeing some jobs that are sitting in the market for a long time, seasonal and non-seasonal. And then you do have some retirements coming."

Rising wages

A key part of the strategy to attract workers has been to increase wages in the hospitality and tourism industries, which have a lot of low-wage jobs. Now that those wages are on the rise, it is a challenge for employers, and not just because it affects their bottom line.

With the upstate minimum wage now at $14.20 an hour and firms competing for workers, the average weekly wage  which reflects hourly pay and hours worked  has jumped by 30% since 2019 to $590 a week, according to federal wage data. That's the biggest increase of any industry sector across the Buffalo Niagara region, but leisure and hospitality jobs also are, by far, the lowest-paying.

Clearly, employers have had to budget more money for payroll. But for a significant segment of workers, things are more complicated that that.

That is because an increase in income can bump workers who receive social assistance out of eligibility for social services such as subsidized housing, child care or food assistance, said Kenya Hobbs, director of community engagement and equity initiatives at the Buffalo Niagara Partnership.

"What employers sometimes do not take into account is the fact that these increased wages that are being put out there in order to attract people to come get these jobs, some folks are hesitant about getting and taking these opportunities, because if they take that hourly increase, it negatively impacts the benefits that they receive," he said.

It is referred to as the "benefits cliff." The Partnership is pushing for government policy change to provide a safety net of six months to a year to make the transition away from benefits less stark, and came up with a calculator tool that helps employers and workers calculate how increased earnings might negatively affect the support a worker receives.

A transport disconnect between Buffalo and Niagara Falls

Now that Buffalo has established itself as a tourist destination in its own right, there needs to be better public transportation solutions to carry visitors between both areas, said John Percy, president and CEO of Destination Niagara USA.

"Our connectivity could be better for both of our success and to help each other out," he said. "The better Buffalo is, the better we are, and vice versa. We may be competitors on some things, but we both want great things for each other because it improves our business in the long run."

Inroads have been made with trolley shuttle service within Niagara County, to take visitors between the falls and historic tourist destination Old Fort Niagara, as well as between the falls and Lockport. But there is more to be done.

There is Amtrak service that travels between Buffalo and Niagara Falls three times a day, every day of the week, but that service has been undependable and is often late. Bus service is just as spotty, he said.

"It's so infrequent that a visitor may have to wait three, four, five hours. It's so unreliable," he said. "But, you know, it comes down to money and resources."

Canadian traffic is still not back in full force

The most frequent international visitors to the Buffalo Niagara region often come not just from minutes away in Ontario, but much father away in Canada. They're the lifeblood of many border hotels, restaurants and shops, and were sorely missed when the Canadian border entering the United States was closed to non-essential travel for roughly 19 months due to Covid-19.

Visitors spent nearly $1.8 billion in Erie County in 2021, compared to 2019, which was nearly $2.0 billion, according to a report from Empire State Development.

When the border closed, Canadians rediscovered some of their own hotels and attractions, and built new leisure habits that didn't include Buffalo Niagara. But Canadians have begun to return, and Kaler expects them to return in numbers that will outpace pre-Covid-19 ones.

"Those numbers are encouraging, considering our Canadians aren't completely back yet," he said.

A need for more hotel rooms and convention space

Business travel took a major hit during Covid-19.

"You can't ride the Maid of the Mist or visit our restaurants over Zoom," said Josh Veronica, manager of government affairs and economic development at Buffalo Niagara Partnership.

Business travel is still down in the region, and is not expected to hit pre-Covid-19 levels again until next year or 2025, according to Smith Travel Research, a market data firm.

The lack of good convention space has also been an age-old problem in the region: There just isn't enough of it, industry leaders said. More hotel rooms are needed, too.

It also doesn't help that the closure of the Buffalo Grand Hotel due to fire in 2021 took 500 hotel rooms and more than 70,000 square feet of event space temporarily out of commission.

In 2021, the Erie County Legislature approved spending $6.1 million for an exterior overhaul of the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center on Franklin Street. The county previously had been talking about building a $441 million convention center, but the Covid-19 outbreak scuttled those plans. Instead, much more modest renovations are underway at the convention center.

The Niagara Falls tourism bureau has taken over management operations at the Niagara Falls Convention Center on Old Falls Street, which markets to smaller conventions, conferences and meetings than the Buffalo facility, with events of 500 to 750 people.

"We've put a huge push elevating the visibility that Niagara Falls is a viable meetings destination for meeting planners on a smaller level," Percy said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

When Kamryn Yanchick graduated, she hoped to decorate her cap with a beaded pattern in honor of her Native American heritage. Whether she could was up to her Oklahoma high school. Administrators told her no.

Yanchick settled for wearing beaded earrings to her 2018 graduation.

A bill vetoed earlier this month by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, would have allowed public school students to wear feathers, beaded caps, stoles or other objects of cultural and religious significance. Yanchick, a citizen of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and descendent of the Muscogee Nation, said she hopes the legislature tries again.

Being able to unapologetically express yourself and take pride in your culture at a celebration without having to ask a non-Native person for permission to do so is really significant, said Yanchick, a Native American policy advocate and a former intern with the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma.

For Native American students, tribal regalia is often passed down through generations and worn at graduations to signify connection with the community. Disputes over such attire have spurred laws making it illegal to prevent Native American students from wearing regalia in nearly a dozen states including Arizona, Oregon, South Dakota, North Dakota and Washington.

High schools, which often favor uniformity at commencement ceremonies, take a range of approaches toward policing sashes, flower leis and other forms of self-expression. Advocates argue the laws are needed to avoid leaving it up to individual administrators.

Groups like the Native American Rights Fund hear regularly from students blocked from wearing eagle feathers or other regalia. This week in Oklahoma, a Native American high school graduate sued a school district, claiming she was forced her to remove a feather from her cap at a ceremony last spring.

When Jade Roberson graduated from Edmond Santa Fe High School, the same school attended by Yanchick, she would have liked to wear a beaded cap and a large turquoise necklace above her gown. But it didn't seem worth asking. She said a friend was only able to wear an eagle feather because he spoke with several counselors, consulted the principal and received a letter from the Cherokee Nation on the feather's significance.

It was such a hassle for him that my friends and I decided to just wear things under our gown, said Roberson, who is of Navajo descent. I think it is such a metaphor for what it is like to be Native.

When Adriana Redbird graduates this week from Sovereign Community School, a charter school in Oklahoma City that allows regalia, she plans to wear a beaded cap and feather given by her father to signify her achievements.

To pay tribute and take a small part of our culture and bring that with us on graduation day is meaningful, she said.

In his veto message, Stitt said allowing students to wear tribal regalia should be up to individual districts. He said the proposal could also lead other groups to demand special favor to wear whatever they please" at graduations.

The bill's author, Republican state Rep. Trey Caldwell, represents a district in southwest Oklahoma that includes ancestral land of Kiowa, Apache and Comanche.

"Its just the right thing to do, especially with so much of Native American culture so centered around right of passage, becoming a man, becoming an adult," he said.

Several tribal nations have called for an override of the veto. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said the bill would have helped foster a sense of pride among Native American students. Muscogee Nation Principal Chief David Hill said students who choose to express the culture and heritage of their respective Nations are honoring their identity.

It means a lot that the bill was able to garner support and make it to the governor, Yanchick said, but she wishes it wasn't so controversial.

Native American students shouldnt have to be forced to be activists to express themselves or feel celebrated, she said.

___

Mumphrey reported from Phoenix. AP reporter Sean Murphy contributed to this story from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

___

The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
BATTLE CREEK (AP)  Students who graduate from Battle Creek public schools will receive scholarships to attend a Michigan public college or a historically Black college or university outside the state, officials announced Wednesday.

The scholarships will be provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a local foundation created in 1930 by the cereal entrepreneur.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

NEW YORK (AP)  In the polarizing wake of Jordan Neelys chokehold death at the hands of a fellow New York City subway rider, there has been a distortion of values, Rev. Al Sharpton said Friday in eulogizing the former subway performer at his funeral.

Neely, who had been struggling with mental illness and homelessness in recent years, was screaming for help, Sharpton told a crowd of relatives, friends and elected officials. They gathered at Harlems Mount Neboh Baptist Church to mourn the 30-year-old man, whose May 1 death set off a debate about vigilantism, homelessness and public safety.

People having mental health problems dont need abuse, he said, chastising people including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has spoken out in support of Daniel Penny, the man who put him in the chokehold. The potential Republican presidential candidate has called Penny a good Samaritan and shared a fund-raising link for Pennys legal defense, which has raised more than $2 million.

Sharpton said the Biblical parable of the good Samaritan is about coming to the aid of someone in need.

A good Samaritan helps those in trouble, Sharpton said. They dont choke him out.

Sharpton added, What happened to Jordan was a crime and this family shouldnt have to stand by themselves.

Elected officials including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado were among the mourners attending the funeral, held at the same church where Neelys mother, Christie Neely, was eulogized after she was murdered when Neely was 14.

Neelys last moments were recorded on video by an onlooker who said he had been yelling at other passengers as he begged for money, but hadnt attacked anyone.

Daniel Penny was charged with manslaughter by the Manhattan district attorney last week. Pennys lawyers say he was acting to protect himself and other passengers after Neely made threatening statements.

Neelys death and Pennys subsequent arrest divided New Yorkers and people beyond, with some saying Penny, who is white, was too quick to use deadly force on a Black man who posed no real threat, and others saying the 24-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran shouldn't be punished for trying to protect people on the train.

The criminal justice system has also come under criticism for Penny initially being released after Neelys death. Sharpton said that if the races of the men had been reversed, with a white man dying at a Black mans hands, authorities would not have let that Black guy leave the precinct that night.

While Neely had a history of disruptive behavior  he had been arrested many times and pleaded guilty this year to assaulting a stranger  friends and relatives said they dont believe he would have harmed anyone had Penny just left him alone.

Sharpton, standing in front of a white casket with a flower arrangement on top, also condemned government policies and social service systems that he said had let Neely down and needed to be reformed.

When they choked Jordan, they put their arms around all of us, he said. All of us have the right to live.
MANISTEE  Lynne Gatz's preschool class at Trinity Lutheran School kicked off National Police Week with a visit from a Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Department of Public Safety police officer.

Officer Paul Aksamitowski dropped by the school Monday to meet with the students, show off some tools of the trade and read a children's book called "Police: Hurrying! Helping! Saving!" by Patricia Hubbell.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

TALLINN, Estonia (AP)  While the world awaits Ukraines spring battlefield offensive, its leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has launched a diplomatic one. In the span of a week, he's dashed to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France and Britain to shore up support for defending his country.

On Friday, he was in Saudi Arabia to meet with Arab leaders, some of whom are allies with Moscow.

President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, was in the southern Russian city of Pyatigorsk, chairing a meeting with local officials, sitting at a large table at a distance from the other attendees.

The Russian president has faced unprecedented international isolation, with an International Criminal Court arrest warrant hanging over his head and clouding the prospects of traveling to many destinations, including those viewed as Moscow's allies.

With his invasion of Ukraine, Putin took a gamble and lost really, really big time, said Theresa Fallon, director of the Brussels-based Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies. He is an international pariah, really.

It was only 10 years ago when Putin stood proudly among his peers at the time - Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and Shinzo Abe  at a Group of Eight summit in Northern Ireland. Russia has since been kicked out of the group, which consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States, for illegally annexing Crimea in 2014.

Now it appears to be Ukraines turn in the spotlight.

There were conflicting messages from Kyiv whether Zelenskyy would attend the G7 in Japan on Sunday. The secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council said on national television the president would be there, but the council later walked back those remarks, saying Zelenskyy would join via video link. The presidents office would not confirm either way for security reasons.

But whether in person or via video, it would be of great symbolic and geopolitical significance.

It conveys the fact that the G7 continues to strongly support Ukraine, said Nigel Gould-Davies, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Its a visible marker of the continued commitment of the most highly industrialized and highly developed countries in the world.

It also comes at a time when the optics are just not in the Kremlins favor.

Theres uncertainty over whether Putin can travel to South Africa in August for a summit of the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Moscow has long showcased the alliance as an alternative to the Wests global dominance, but this year it is already proving awkward for the Kremlin. South Africa, the host of the summit, is a signatory to the ICC and is obligated to comply with the arrest warrant on war crimes charges.

South Africa has not announced that Putin will definitely come to the summit but has been planning for his possible arrival. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed an inter-ministerial committee, led by Deputy President Paul Mashatile, to consider South Africas options with regard to its ICC commitment over Putins possible trip.

While it is highly unlikely the Russian president would be arrested there if he decides to go, the public debate about whether he can is in itself an unwelcome development whose impact should not be underestimated, according to Gould-Davies.

Then there are Moscows complicated relations with its own neighbors. Ten days ago, Putin projected the image of solidarity, with leaders of Armenia, Belarus and Central Asian states standing beside him at a Victory Day military parade on Red Square.

This week, however, the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan flocked to China and met with leader Xi Jinping at a summit that highlighted the erosion of Russias influence in the region as Beijing seeks to make economic inroads into Central Asia.

Xi is using the opportunity of a weakened Russia, a distracted Russia, almost a pariah-state Russia to increase (Chinas) influence in the region, Fallon said.

Putins effort this month to shore up more friends in the South Caucasus by scrapping visa requirements for Georgian nationals and lifting a four-year ban on direct flights to the country also didnt appear to go as smoothly as the Kremlin may have hoped.

The first flight that landed Friday in Georgia was met with protests, and the countrys pro-Western president has decried the move as a provocation.

Zelenskyys ongoing world tour can be seen as a success on many levels.

Invitations from other world leaders is a sign they think Ukraine is "going to come out of the war in good shape, said Phillips P. OBrien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Otherwise, it simply wouldnt be happening, he said. "No one would want to be around a leader they think is going to be defeated and a country thats going to collapse.

By contrast, the ICC warrant might make it harder for leaders even to visit Putin in Moscow because its not a good look to visit an indicted war criminal, Gould-Davies said.

European leaders promised him an arsenal of missiles, tanks and drones, and even though no commitment has been made on fighter jets  something Kyiv has wanted for months  a conversation about finding ways to do it has begun.

His appearance Friday at the Arab League summit in Jeddah, a Saudi Arabian port on the Red Sea, highlighted Kyivs effort to spread its plight for support far and wide, including in some countries whose sympathies are with Russia.

In addition to Zelenskyy, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also welcomed Syrian President Bashar Assad at the summit after a 12-year suspension  something analysts say aligns with Moscows interests.

Anna Borshchevskaya, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute who focuses on Russias policy in the Middle East, called it another testament to the fact that Russia is not isolated globally for its invasion of Ukraine, that the Middle East is one part of the world where Russia is able to find avenues to avoid global isolation  both ideological isolation but also economic isolation.

She added that Zelenskyy and his government deserve credit for in recognizing that they need to reach out more to improve their diplomatic efforts in this part of the world and other parts of the world where the Russian narrative resonates.

Kyiv could expect that this is the beginning of a larger shift in perception that could eventually translate into potential support, Borshchevskaya said.

Similarly, the Ukrainian presidents participation in the G7 summit is a message to the rest of the world, to Russia and beyond, and the so-called Global South, Gould-Davies believes.

There is a concern in the West over the extent to which some major developing economies  Brazil, South Africa and, to a degree, India  are not criticizing, not condemning Russia and indeed in various ways are helping to mitigate the impact of sanctions on Russia, he said.

Collectively, economically, they matter. So there is, I think, this felt need for a renewed diplomatic campaign to bring some of these most important states into the kind of the Western way of looking at these things, Gould-Davies said.

___

Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London and Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa, contributed.

___

Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  The alleged drunken driver who police say slammed into newlyweds riding along a South Carolina beach road now faces a wrongful death lawsuit alongside several establishments accused of overserving her on the night of the crash, which killed the bride.

Four bars gave copious amounts of alcohol to a visibly intoxicated woman, identified as Jamie Lee Komoroski, last month before she drove 40 miles over the speed limit into a golf cart carrying the couple away from their wedding reception, according to a new lawsuit filed May 17.

The April 28 wreck killed Samantha Miller, 34, and injured the groom, Aric Hutchinson, and two other passengers. A toxicology report released last week showed Komoroski, 25, had a blood alcohol level of 0.261  over three times the legal limit.

The complaint alleges that Komoroski slurred and staggered her way through El Gallo Bar & Grill, Snapper Jacks, the Drop In Bar & Dali and the Crab Shack  all of which either allowed her to become intoxicated or continued serving her alcohol when they should have recognized her inebriated state.

The owner of El Gallo Bar & Grill declined to comment. Representatives of the other three establishments did not immediately respond Thursday afternoon to emails.

A taqueria that had recently hired Komoroski is also accused of negligence and recklessness. An unnamed Taco Boy supervisor coerced the new server into consuming a dangerous amount of alcohol at an employee function before the fatal crash, according to the complaint.

In a statement on its website, Taco Boy denied that an officially organized employee function around drinking occurred. The statement said video footage, staff interviews and sales receipts confirm that Komoroski, who has since been fired, did not enter the restaurant on the day of the accident.

Hutchinson and other family members seek unspecified damages. Miller experienced conscious physical pain before she died, the complaint says, and Hutchinson has suffered psychological trauma after witnessing her death.

Police charged Komoroski with reckless vehicular homicide and three counts of driving under the influence causing death or great bodily injury. A lawyer representing her in the criminal case did not respond Thursday afternoon to a call.

The familys attorney, Danny Dalton, said he hopes the civil lawsuit will bring more details about the events preceding the tragedy.

This case is about keeping our community safe from drunken drivers, and an important part of that effort is making sure the establishments we entrust with liquor licenses live up to their responsibility to serve alcohol responsibly, Dalton said in a statement.



This story has been updated to correct that the lawsuit alleges that an unnamed Taco Boy supervisor coerced Komoroski into consuming alcohol, not unnamed supervisors.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. (AP)  Kevin Houston scanned the Michigan street where his fixer-upper and older homes bridge gaps between the vacant, overgrown lots and abandoned, ramshackle houses, boarded-up businesses and potholed streets of Highland Park.

Its not a bad place to live, Houston said. Its not the best.

The community nearly surrounded by Detroit is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy because it cannot pay its bills to the utility providing drinking water and sewage services to a city that was once a thriving auto manufacturing town. It serves as an example of blue collar cities that lost their way amid changes to manufacturing and are now shells of their past, plagued by neighborhood malaise, neglect and deep poverty.

Over 50,000 people lived there in 1930. Homes  elegant and spacious  rivaled some of those built in Detroit. The city is just under 3 square miles (7.8 square kilometers) and is a shell of its auto baron past, when manufacturing boomed and money flowed. Fewer than 9,000 now call it home. The auto companies are long gone, leaving strip malls and retail shops to bolster the city's dwindling business tax base.

And, owing about $20 million to a regional water service, Highland Park is considering municipal bankruptcy  a strategy that a decade ago allowed Detroit to erase or restructure $7 billion in debt  to keep its financial future afloat.

Troubled cities like Highland Park are the toughest cases in America to figure out how to fix, because they have so few assets to build on, said Alan Mallach, author of a soon-to-be-released book, Smaller Cities in a Shrinking World: Learning to Thrive Without Growth.

They have appalling levels of poverty and abandonment, Mallach said. A city like Highland Park probably cannot turn itself around all by itself. They just dont have the resources.

Highland Park and communities like it have been fading as jobs dry up and families move away, but before the decline began, the auto and manufacturing industries helped build up some of these inner ring suburbs.

In 1907, Henry Ford bought 160 acres of land for what would be his Highland Park Ford Plant. The first moving assembly line started a few years later at the plant. Immigrants and other workers eager to earn $5 per day flocked to the area.

A building boom followed that included thousands of homes along tree-canopied streets.

Highland Park was really a shining city on a hill. It was really the place to live, said Jeff Horner, urban studies professor at Wayne State University in Detroit. Horner credits Ford with turning the city into an important and successful suburb run by his political friends.

Ford would move its auto production operations to nearby Dearborn in the 1920s. The automaker would keep a tractor plant in Highland Park and Chrysler, now Stellantis, had its headquarters in the city. But both moved away in the 1990s.

Like Detroit and other large urban cities, white residents began fleeing Highland Park in the 1950s for the suburbs. Jobs followed. About 85% of Highland Park's residents are Black. The median household income is about $25,000 and about 40% of the population lives in poverty, according to the U.S. Census.

Neighborhood malaise and neglect are overpowering in some parts of the city. In a rat-infested, vacant apartment building in early February, authorities found the bodies of three aspiring rappers. The trio were to perform Jan. 21 at a club in Detroit when they disappeared.

Theres very little left there in terms of a tax base that built this city, Horner said. Any time youre a small, inner ring suburb that cant grow in land you have to bring in a tax base. You have to bring in more residents.

Highland Park has said that property taxes in the 2022 fiscal year were about $9.6 million. Estimated revenues for the coming fiscal year are expected to be about $12.6 million, according to Mayor Glenda McDonald's proposed 2023-24 budget.

Income and property taxes, respectively, would account for $4.7 million and $2.6 million in revenue. Another $3.5 million would come from state revenue, according to the proposed budget.

McDonald declined to comment due to ongoing court-ordered mediation over the water debt with the Great Lakes Water Authority.

The debt owed to the Great Lakes Water Authority stretches back to at least the 1990s when the water system was run by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.

In 2014, the state determined Highland Park was in a financial emergency and appointed a manager. A court granted the water department a $19 million judgment in 2015 against Highland Park. The ongoing mediation is expected to lead to a plan for how the debt will be paid.

Highland Park has not made any payments for sewer services since April 2021 and has paid less than 1% of its water service charges since 2012, according to the water authority.

The water authority says other communities in the system have incurred charges due to Highland Park's nonpayment. Once the judgment is paid those communities will be reimbursed, the authority said.

And those communities have no sympathy for Highland Park, said Eric Lupher, president of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

They dont want to float the city anymore, floating their debt while the city figures this out," Lupher said. "They want whats best for Highland Park, but theyre not willing to pay Highland Parks way.

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmers office has said the water authority and Highland Park need to find a solution that doesnt push the cost to homeowners or businesses.

In April, Highland Park's council voted 3-2 to ask Whitmer to move quickly on a municipal bankruptcy.

The state Treasurer's office is looking into the city's request for a financial review.

Bankruptcy would be only a Band-Aid for Highland Park, Mallach said.

Its not just the water debt, Mallach said. The city is not able to generate enough revenue to provide adequate services or reverse the downward spiral of its properties. Any benefit from bankruptcy would probably disappear over the course of the next five years or so.

However, Houston, the 40-year-old resident who remembers when every Highland Park house had a family in it, said he can't disagree with the bankruptcy option.

If its the best way to get out of it, you have to do what you have to do," he said.
The Buffalo Niagara region's job count increased in April by 2.1% from a year ago.

"We've seen a steady increase of workers back into the labor force," said Timothy Glass, the state Labor Department's regional economist in Buffalo.

But "help wanted" signs at businesses remain plentiful, as employers try to fill job vacancies.

The state Department of Labor on Wednesday reported the region gained 11,400 jobs from a year ago. On a percentage basis, its 2.1% increase trailed only the gains of Glens Falls, New York City and Syracuse. And it was the region's best year-over-year increase since January.

The region's increase was virtually the same as the state's 2.3% job gain.

Glass said the latest job increase for the Buffalo Niagara region continued a pattern seen over the past several months.

"We're trending in the right direction  that's what we've been doing," he said.

Employers have long been trying to bring more workers off the sidelines to fill openings. Glass said that problem persists, as reflected in the "help wanted" signs visible in the windows of restaurants and grocery stores, among other businesses.

"They're (offering) $15, $16 an hour, and that's higher than the minimum wage, which is currently $14.20 in this area," Glass said. "That definitely demonstrates there is still a need for workers."

The hiring push indicates the region's job gains could go even higher, if employers succeed in bringing aboard more new hires.

A recent Siena Research College Research Institute survey found that 34% of Western New York CEOs were planning to increase the size of their workforce, while only 10% were planning to shrink their workforce.

Meanwhile, total wages across the region have been rising since the end of the pandemic lockdowns.

With warmer weather on the way and colleges wrapping up the semester, more students will be entering the workforce, Glass said.

Jobs in areas such as construction, tourism and recreation typically pick up at this time of year.

Some other takeaways from the latest Labor Department figures:

 The region's employment in April was 549,700, the highest total since December 2022.

 Buffalo Niagara's employment grew by 4,100 from March.

 The region's private-sector job increased by 2.2% from a year ago.

 Among some notable categories, manufacturing employment in the region increased 2.8% in April from a year ago. Construction jobs increased 2.4% and leisure and hospitality jobs were up 4.1%, while finance and insurance jobs declined 3.4%.

 The U.S. government recently lifted the last of the Covid-era restrictions on Canadians visiting the United States. As of May 11, Canadians no longer must be vaccinated against the virus to cross into the U.S. Removing that requirement could lead to a greater flow of Canadian tourists and shoppers into the Buffalo Niagara region.

"We need their dollars, and we have shown in the past that they are significant and help this region," Glass said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)  Crews searching the rubble of a massive construction fire in North Carolina on Friday found the bodies of two people who firefighters couldn't reach to save before the flames became too intense.

Authorities didn't identify the victims, but officials said two workers were missing after the Thursday fire on the site of a new apartment building in the upscale South Park neighborhood of Charlotte.

No one else was injured in the five-alarm fire, including more than 90 firefighters and a worker trapped for a time on top of a crane as a fire engine sprayed water on the metal to keep it from collapsing.

Ive never ever seen a fire of this magnitude," said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings, a 31-year veteran of the force. "Its devastating, heartbreaking.

Investigators think the fire started about 9 a.m. Thursday in a trailer used to spray insulation into the building's walls, Charlotte Fire Chief Reginald Johnson said.

The chief said they aren't sure exactly what set off the blaze and haven't been able to do a thorough investigation of the trailer.

Obviously, the building's still in a state where it is not safe for all of our members to go in, Johnson said.

The massive fire sent huge red flames and dense black smoke into the sky. At least two small crews of firefighters had to make mayday calls and be rescued from the fast-moving blaze, including one who could hear the cries of the trapped people on the sixth floor but couldn't see them through the smoke, Johnson said.

They were going by sound, trying to get to them but were unable to get to them before conditions changed, Johnson said. They had to call a mayday.

The firefighters did rescue 15 workers inside the building, including the crane operator. Firefighters delivered protective clothing to him until he could climb down to safety, Johnson said.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Iran on Friday executed three men accused of deadly violence during last year's anti-government protests despite objections from human rights groups.

Mizan, the judiciary's website, announced the executions of Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi, without saying how the deaths were carried out. Authorities say they killed a police officer and two members of the paramilitary Basij group in the city of Isfahan in November during nationwide protests.

Rights groups say the three were subjected to torture, forced into televised confessions and denied due process.

The protests erupted last September after the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by the country's morality police for allegedly violating its strict Islamic dress code. The demonstrations rapidly escalated into calls for the overthrow of the theocracy that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The demonstrations have largely subsided in recent months, though there are still sporadic acts of defiance, including the refusal of a growing number of women to wear the mandatory Islamic headscarf, known as the hijab.

Iran has executed a total of seven people in connection with the protests. Rights groups say they and several others who have been sentenced to death were convicted by secretive state security courts and denied the right to defend themselves.

The prosecution relied on forced confessions, and the indictment was riddled with irregularities that reveal this was a politically motivated case, Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, said of the three executed on Friday.

The group said Kazemi had called a relative and accused authorities of torturing him by flogging his feet, using a stun gun and threatening him with sexual assault.

London-based Amnesty International also criticized the cases.

The shocking manner in which the trial and sentencing of these protesters was fast-tracked through Irans judicial system amid the use of torture-tainted confessions, serious procedural flaws and a lack of evidence is another example of the Iranian authorities brazen disregard for the rights to life and fair trial, said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Iran launched a heavy crackdown on the protests, portraying them  without evidence  as a foreign-backed conspiracy. The protesters said they were fed up after decades of repression and poor governance. Iran's economy has been in a tailspin since the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement and restored crippling sanctions.

Robert Malley, the U.S. envoy for Iran, had spoken out against the imminent execution of the three men, calling it an affront to the human rights and basic dignity of all Iranians" that showed the government has learned nothing from the protests.

The United States will continue to stand with the Iranian people. We are coordinating closely with our allies and partners to expose and confront the Iranian regimes unremitting human rights abuses, Malley tweeted on Thursday.

The European Union condemned the executions in the strongest possible terms and called on Iran to abolish the death penalty.

More than 500 people were killed during months of protests, including dozens of members of the security forces. Some 19,000 people were arrested, though many have since been released.

Iran is one of the world's leading executioners. At least 582 people were executed in 2022, up from 333 the previous year. The surge in executions, including for drug violations and vague charges of enmity against God and spreading corruption on earth, has drawn criticism from U.N. officials and human rights activists.
BEIJING (AP)  Echoing the crackdown on freedoms in neighboring Hong Kong, the former Portuguese colony of Macao has revised its legal system to face new adverse challenges in terms of national security.

The government of the tiny enclave, heavily dependent on its gambling industry, said changes to the Law on Safeguarding National Security were needed as an upgrade to legislation first enacted in 2009, a decade after Macao's handover to Chinese rule.

"As the country presently faces new adverse challenges in terms of national security, the revision of Macaos Law on Safeguarding National Security is a compulsory step to respond effectively to risks and threats," the government said.

It gave no details of the changes passed Thursday by the special administrative regions rubber-stamp legislature.

However, the Global Times newspaper published by Chinas ruling Communist Party said Friday that the changes target espionage, foreign interference and Taiwan independence supporters. It also expands the definition of crimes such as abetting and supporting insurrection and the preparation or intent to commit such criminal acts, according to the newspaper.

Such changes  especially the inclusion of foreign influence, which has been loosely defined and broadly applied in Hong Kong to include any contact with a foreign political or civil rights entity  would tighten Beijing's control and bring Macao's legal system in closer alignment with that of mainland China's.

Unlike former British colony Hong Kong, which saw months of sometimes violent anti-government protests in 2019 that led to a sweeping crackdown, Macao has shown little taste for challenging Beijing's authority.

Most of its 686,000 people are recent migrants from the mainland and appear willing to accept heavy-handed party control as long as its casinos continue to draw customers, mainly from China. Both Macao and Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, were promised they would retain their unique political, social and economic freedoms for 50 years.

In Beijing, the Cabinet's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office praised the legislation's passage, saying the constantly evolving and intricate international environment presents new challenges for safeguarding national security in both regions.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong removed books related to the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown and certain political figures from its libraries, further shrinking the citys freedoms. The citys leader said Thursday that public libraries would not recommend books featuring undefined bad ideologies to residents.

Critics said the book pulling would further undermine Hong Kongs reputation for having free access to information and freedom of expression, especially after school curriculum was rewritten to inject patriotism and to play down sensitive issues.

Since Beijing's imposition of a National Security Law in 2020, opposition figures have been arrested and intimidated into silence, or have fled into exile; the city's independent media has been gutted; and the city's electoral system was overhauled to ensure only pro-Beijing voices are represented.
Top House lawmakers want the Pentagon to give more details on the lead-up to a suicide bombing outside Afghanistan's Kabul airport in 2021 that killed 13 U.S. troops, following testimony from a Marine who claimed to have identified the bomber before the attack.

Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, a Marine Corps sniper who testified to the House Foreign Affairs Committee in March, said he couldn't get approval from his chain of command to shoot the terrorist, who was killed in what became known as the Abbey Gate bombing during the military's chaotic withdrawal from the country.

"Plain and simple, we were ignored," Vargas-Andrews, whose leg and arm were amputated after the attack, said at the hearing.

Read Next: 'That Was Nick': Special Forces Vet Killed in Ukraine Remembered as Big-Hearted Protector

In a letter released Thursday afternoon, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul, R-Texas, asked for a slew of documents related to the bombing.

"Battlefield decisions are often made in a cloud, but in honor of the lives lost and those still living following that terrible day, it is incumbent we learn whether events were avoidable and if uncertain procedures, broken lines of communication, or worse, contributed to the lack of engagement," Rogers and McCaul wrote in the letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley.

A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment to Military.com about the letter, saying in an email that "as with all congressional correspondence, we will reply directly to the authors of the letter."

McCaul has been leading an investigation into the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 that saw the U.S. military rush to evacuate as many vulnerable Afghans as possible after the U.S.-backed government in Kabul fell to the Taliban.

In March, McCaul's committee held an emotional public hearing kicking off the investigation in which service members and veterans who helped with the evacuation recounted their experiences.

Citing the testimony, Rogers and McCaul requested the Pentagon provide all documents and communications about the Abbey Gate bombing by June 2, including any intelligence about the identity of the attacker; the rules of engagement in effect at the time of the bombing; any video or photographs from the day of the attack; and any messages or chats about threats to the Kabul airport.

The pair also asked for a detailed description of the response to Vargas-Andrews' request for engagement authority.

"Testimony during the hearing raises serious questions regarding the events leading up to the attack, which must be answered," the lawmakers wrote.

The military's investigation into the Abbey Gate bombing concluded it was not preventable, despite indications of threats to the airport beforehand. Vargas-Andrews testified at the hearing that he has never been interviewed as part of any Pentagon investigation into the withdrawal.

Rogers and McCaul also asked for documents related to the Pentagon's after-action review of the withdrawal. The Biden administration allowed lawmakers to see the classified review, but publicly has released only a White House summary that largely pins blame for the chaos of the withdrawal on the Trump administration. The lawmakers specifically asked the Pentagon to provide the footnotes from the after-action review, which they said were redacted in the version given to Congress, as well as transcripts of interviews done for the review.

The letter to the Pentagon comes after McCaul's standoff with the State Department over his Afghanistan withdrawal investigation eases, at least for now.

In March, McCaul issued a subpoena demanding the State Department hand over a document known as a dissent cable that was written by diplomats and reportedly warned Kabul would soon fall to the Taliban. McCaul was planning a vote next week to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress as the department withheld the document over stated concerns that providing the cable would violate the confidentiality of the diplomats who sent it.

But on Wednesday, the department offered to let McCaul and Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, view the cable under supervision at the State Department with personal information about the senders redacted. McCaul accepted the offer Thursday and said he would postpone next week's contempt vote. But he added that he still wants other committee members to be able to see the cable and reserves the right to enforce the subpoena.

-- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel.

Related: 'We Were Ignored': Veterans and Troops Detail Horrors of Afghanistan Evacuation as House Investigation Begins
The former commander of 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, was charged with sexually assaulting another officer's wife, according to court documents reviewed by Military.com.

Col. Jon Meredith, an armor officer, was arraigned Monday at Fort Cavazos, Texas, the base formerly known as Fort Hood, and faces a court-martial. Meredith has been charged with abusive sexual contact and conduct unbecoming an officer.

Army documents say that Meredith touched the breasts, inner thigh and genitals of another officer's civilian wife "with intent to arouse and gratify his and her desires" in July. Meredith, a married man, also kissed her repeatedly and told her he wanted to have sex with her, the documents allege.

Read Next: US Will Train Ukrainians on F-16 Fighter Jet After Months of Speculation

The Army has tried to be more aggressive in recent years ousting soldiers who are accused of sexual assault and harassment, particularly after the gruesome 2020 slaying of Spc. Vanessa Guillen at Fort Cavazos, which caught national attention and drew intense scrutiny from the media and Congress on how the service protects women.

High-profile courts-martial against colonels, particularly for sexual assault, are relatively rare.

Last year, an Air Force general was convicted of sex abuse, making history as the first general in the service to be prosecuted by court-martial. Maj. Gen. William Cooley, the former head of the Air Force Research Laboratory, was accused by his sister-in-law of pinning her, kissing her, putting his hand on her breast and then moving his hand to between her legs after a brief drive following a family barbecue in August 2018.

In Meredith's case, the court documents say he went uninvited to the house of the woman while her Army officer husband was participating in a field training exercise. During that visit, he allegedly groped her and made sexual advances.

Meredith was fired from his job in command in October 2022 after being at the helm since May 2021. His court-martial is set for Oct. 18.

Meredith is married to Col. Ann Meredith, who was also ousted from her role commanding the 89th Military Police Brigade, also at Fort Cavazos, in February. She initially took command of the brigade in July 2022.

In a social media post reviewed by Military.com, Ann Meredith alleges she was initially suspended from command after sending a text message that was perceived as potentially influencing the investigation into her husband's conduct. The details of that text message could not be independently verified.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

Related: Another Senior Officer Fired at One of the Army's Most Troubled Bases
Cpl. Micah Coomer, who worked with military intelligence in the Marine Corps, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor count of illegally demonstrating inside the U.S. Capitol building during the Jan. 6 insurrection in 2021.

More than 48 hours later, officials won't say whether the Marine -- allegedly part of the anti-government Boogaloo movement, according to court documents -- still holds a security clearance. Coomer is alleged to have told another person that the U.S. is corrupt and needs a second civil war.

The situation with Coomer comes as the Pentagon has ordered a review of the handling and access to classified information after a 21-year-old Guardsman who also reportedly expressed anti-government and racist views leaked top secrets documents online, causing friction with U.S. allies.

Read Next: 'That Was Nick': Special Forces Vet Killed in Ukraine Remembered as Big-Hearted Protector

Coomer was one of three active-duty Marines who were arrested in January after they stormed the Capitol with a violent mob in a bid to prevent Congress' certification of President Joe Biden's election victory. The trio also all held jobs in the intelligence community with one, Joshua Abate, a sergeant, being assigned to the Marine Corps' Cryptologic Support Battalion at Fort Meade, Maryland -- also home to the National Security Agency headquarters.

Pentagon Spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters at a Thursday briefing that removing clearances from Marines like Coomer who have been charged in connection with extremist activities "certainly could be something that we look into" but she added, "Everyone is innocent until proven guilty."

Singh said she would not comment on ongoing litigation, which is typical policy. Patty Hartman, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department, directed questions on Coomer's clearance back to the Pentagon.

A spokesperson for I Marine Expeditionary Force confirmed to Military.com that Coomer is still assigned to 1st Radio Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California.

The service did not provide an update on Coomer's clearance, and Maj. Kevin Stephensen, a spokesman for the branch, said that "the Marine Corps does not comment on ongoing legal matters" but added that they are "fully cooperating with appropriate authorities."

In court documents filed by prosecutors, it was revealed that Coomer told another Instagram user in the weeks after the siege "that everything in this country is corrupt. We honestly need a fresh restart. I'm waiting for the boogaloo." When the other person asked what a boogaloo was, Coomer said "Civil war 2."

Boogaloo is a violent anti-government movement that refers to a future race war. However, some experts, such as the Anti-Defamation League, have noted that most participants in the movement are not white supremacists, though there are white supremacists within the movement.

The lack of comment on Coomer's access to classified information comes just days after it was revealed in court filings that Air Force enlisted leaders had issued multiple warnings to Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Guardsman accused of leaking numerous classified defense documents on the Ukraine war, as well as U.S. surveillance efforts around the world.

According to documents filed with the court, Teixeira was warned three times by superiors between September and February about his mishandling of classified information before his arrest in April.

It's still unclear whether Teixeira, who has been held in custody, has had his top level security clearance terminated. The Pentagon has said the Air Force and Justice Department are running parallel investigations into the leaks.

"We will take any piece from the investigation ... either the Air Force or what is happening at DOJ to inform our best practices moving forward when it comes to handling classified documents or accessing classified systems," Singh said.

Meanwhile, as part of his plea, Coomer made a statement to the court in which he acknowledged traveling from his military post in Virginia to the riot and entering the Capitol as "part of a statement about the presidential election and state of the nation."

According to a copy of Coomer's plea agreement provided to Military.com by the Justice Department, he faces a maximum sentence of 6 months in prison, 5 years' probation, and up to $5,000 in fines.

He has also agreed to pay $500 in restitution to the Architect of the Capitol, the federal agency responsible for the maintenance and preservation of the building.

Meanwhile, the cases against the other two Marines who were with him that day continue to make their way through the courts. Records provided by the Marine Corps show they have not been transferred out of their units.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

Related: Air Force Superiors Warned Alleged Pentagon Leaker Multiple Times Before Arrest
Eight months after detecting Legionella, a medical barracks at Joint Base San Antonio is still shuttered to residents and employees.

The barracks detected the bacteria, which can cause a severe type of pneumonia called Legionnaires' disease, in its water this past September, forcing 100 residents and 50 employees in the building to relocate across the installation as officials have examined the situation.

After months of extensive cleaning and maintenance efforts, officials still don't have a date for when residents can return.

Read Next: After Marine's Testimony, Republicans Seek Answers from Pentagon on Bombing During Afghanistan Withdrawal

Public health and water experts who spoke to Military.com said that, while Legionella bacteria can be a complicated problem, it's one that can be handled with the right processes and, in some cases, can even be worked on without relocating people.

Rob Strain, a spokesman for the 502nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs at the joint base, told Military.com that the latest water sample was taken in mid-April and subsequent result showed there was no longer Legionella detected, but the base still does not have a timeline for moving residents and employees back into the barracks.

"The bottom line is that we're not going to move anyone back into Liberty Barracks until leadership and public health experts are satisfied with the condition of the facility," Strain said in an emailed statement.

Shoshana Shelton, a senior policy analyst at the nonprofit Rand Corp. who specializes in infectious disease control and mitigation as well as public health systems, said it's a common problem and in some cases can even be remedied without having to close an entire building.

"It is very common," Shelton said, explaining that a nearby "school had Legionella two years ago in the water. They detected it, it was a very low dose. No one got sick or anything, but they were able to use control measures without shutting down the school."

On Sept. 30, the base publicly announced that Legionella bacteria was detected during routine water testing at the Liberty Barracks, a building where service members who are patients at the nearby medical center are housed. Additionally, the base's behavioral health clinic located inside the building had to be moved, along with all the employees and residents.

"Residents and staff from Liberty Barracks continue to live and work from other barracks and facilities on JBSA," Strain said, referring to Joint Base San Antonio. "JBSA leadership and Brooke Army Medical Center public health experts have explored a number of different potential courses of action, but they have decided that the safest one for both residents and staff was to keep them living and working from other facilities until Liberty Barracks' repairs were completed."

But moving residents out of a building can also make efforts to solve the problem more difficult, experts told Military.com

David Krause, an Army veteran and former state toxicologist for the Florida Department of Health who now consults as one of the nation's leading experts on Legionella, told Military.com that the bulk of the problem can typically be addressed in the first couple of months.

"It's not unusual to take months, if not years, to gain full control over Legionella growth and amplification within a facility," Krause said. "Usually you get 90% of the problem fixed in the first month or two, and then you're picking away at the edges in the flare-ups and the issues that come around the learning curve."

In October, Liberty Barracks underwent a chlorination process to destroy the bacteria, but testing after the procedure showed that Legionella may still have been present. The most recent chlorination effort was on March 7, Strain said.

Additionally, the base has used its civil engineering squadron as well as contractors to replace bathroom and kitchen fixtures throughout the building and has been flushing the water system three times per week.

"We have identified several potential sources, and civil engineers are working diligently to repair or replace several different plumbing fixtures throughout the facility, including sink and shower fixtures," Strain said. "They have also flushed and disinfected the hot water storage tank and replaced the building's water softener."

Krause said moving the residents may have been the right call to protect the health and safety of those inside Liberty Barracks. But he said that leaving a building dormant, even with routine flushing of the water system, can make it harder to remediate the issue.

"Not moving them in there is safer than moving them back in there," Krause said. "But it will inherently take longer, and they will have more and more troubles getting it working, getting things taken care of in a building that isn't constantly being used."

Liberty Barracks, a 216,000-square-foot facility capable of housing nearly 400 patients, opened in 2012, designed to provide a place to stay for wounded and injured service members while they receive treatment at the base's medical facilities.

Those residents may also be especially susceptible to catching Legionnaires' disease, the type of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. It is named for the 1976 outbreak at the American Legion Convention in Philadelphia where the illness was first identified; that incident led to the deaths of 29 people and more than 180 infections.

It spreads through microscopic droplets of water containing Legionella and can be transmitted through drinking water, swimming pools and cooling towers in air conditioning systems, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Those who smoke, are 50 years old or older, or have weakened immune systems are most susceptible to the illness. Base officials told Military.com there have been "no confirmed cases of Legionnaires' disease or legionella-related infections among residents or staff at Liberty Barracks."

Strain said the standard for reopening the building is that the results of randomly selected water samples must be below the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention threshold of 1 colony-forming unit per milliliter and that base leadership as well as health experts from Brooke Army Medical Center have cleared the barracks as being safe for occupants.

This is not the first time Liberty Barracks has detected Legionella. Last year, it was evacuated after the bacteria was found in the building's plumbing, according to a press release.

Joint Base San Antonio's struggle with Legionella at Liberty Barracks also comes at a time when all the services continue to address quality-of-life issues with water and base housing.

Last month, 11 soldiers interviewed by Military.com said they have developed illnesses ranging from nose bleeds to breathing issues from exposure to moldy conditions in the Army's dilapidated barracks as the service has struggled to significantly boost quality-of-life standards.

This month, Military.com reported newly published research showed that Marines and sailors who unwittingly drank and showered in water containing organic solvents and other volatile compounds at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, during its water contamination crisis decades ago had a 70% higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease.

"Water quality has been an issue on military bases for some time," Krause said. "If you don't have good water quality, it affects not only the service members but their families and patients. Without good water quality, you don't have a reliable service."

-- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.

Related: Legionella-Infested Medical Barracks Still Closed Almost 5 Months After First Positive Test
State prosecutors are appealing the sexual assault case against Garrett Lee Holsen, a midshipman at the Naval Academy acquitted of raping a classmate during an off-campus party.

Holsen, 21, was found not guilty of second-degree rape in September following a six-day trial in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court. Though several witnesses testified that he had sex with a heavily intoxicated midshipman after the 2021 Herndon Monument Climb, a jury ultimately sided with Holsen, who said the woman didn't seem drunk and consented to the encounter.

In a May 1 filing, the Office of the Attorney General asked the Appellate Court of Maryland to enter a mistrial for the second-degree assault and third-degree sex offense charges on which the jury did not render a verdict in September. During last year's trial, following an argument by defense attorney Peter O'Neill suggesting the counts were redundant, Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Robert Thompson ordered the jury not to seek verdicts for the two counts if they acquitted Holsen of rape.

Following county prosecutors' objections to that decision, Assistant Attorney General Jer Welter will handle the state's case for the appeal. The attorney general's office declined to comment Thursday evening.

Instead of O'Neill, who is a trial attorney, Holsen is being represented by Greenbelt attorney Megan Coleman.

"Our position is that the jury's verdict of acquittal on the second-degree rape charge meant that the jury necessarily decided an essential fact in Mr. Holsen's favor: that the complaining witness was not physically helpless or mentally incapacitated at the time that the acts occurred between them," Coleman said in a statement.

The appellee's brief is due at the end of May. No oral argument has yet been scheduled.

A midshipman and Wisconsin native, Holsen initially faced a fourth-degree sex offense charge as well, though Anne Arundel prosecutors agreed to drop it.

At the time, before jury deliberations, the county's prosecution team argued each charge stemmed from "separate and distinct" acts and should be considered on their individual circumstances.

"This is not an if then stop issue," they said during the trial. "These are separate crimes with separate elements."

Describing consent as "the big enchilada for the jury," however, Thompson dismissed the county's objections and gave the jury its instructions.

In the attorney general's appellant brief, state prosecutors contend the judge's decision to obtain an "all or nothing" verdict was incorrect and asked for oral arguments to proceed on an appeal.

An appeal would not overturn Holsen's rape acquittal  the double jeopardy principle from common law marks acquittals as final even if they are "based on a mistake of law or a mistake of fact." Rather, the attorney general's office is seeking a verdict on what it described as the two "open counts": second-degree assault and third-degree sex offense.

This month's appeal came nearly two years after Holsen's encounter with his classmate.

According to court documents, the midshipmen became close friends during their plebe year. Though they were never intimately involved, Holsen said he saw their relationship developing into a deeper, more romantic connection.

On May 23, 2021, following that year's Herndon Monument Climb  an annual teamwork tradition that took place Wednesday at the academy  they met off campus at an Airbnb party on Colonial Avenue. Much of September's trial was focused on how intoxicated or sober the woman was when she and Holsen had sex in an upstairs bathroom.

After one of the woman's friends confronted them, the midshipman silently sobbed, saying, "I don't know how he got in. I don't know what's happening. I didn't want him to, I didn't want him to," the friend testified.

Several character witnesses were called on Holsen's behalf to testify about his respect toward women. O'Neill also challenged the integrity of the accuser, noting inconsistencies in testimony and citing an unrelated honor code violation against her for plagiarism.

At one point, O'Neill described the investigation against his client as "embarrassing," saying in his closing argument, "it should be frightening to all of us."

A Pentagon report on sexual assaults at the Army, Navy and Air Force academies showed an 18% jump in incidents reported by students during the 2021-22 school year  the Naval Academy in Annapolis had nearly double the number of reports in 2021 as it did in 2002.

___

(c)2023 The Capital (Annapolis, Md.)

Visit The Capital (Annapolis, Md.) at www.hometownannapolis.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The U.S. and its allies will begin training Ukrainians on F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets after months of lobbying and requests from Kyiv, the latest in the effort to help the Western-style democracy fend off a Russian invasion.

President Joe Biden broke the news to world leaders at the Group of Seven summit in Japan on Friday, according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the decision, and the move was hailed by the U.K. and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on social media.

"The U.S. will support a joint effort with our allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s, to further strengthen and improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force," the U.S. official told Military.com in an email.

Read Next: After Marine's Testimony, Republicans Seek Answers from Pentagon on Bombing During Afghanistan Withdrawal

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak praised the announcement in a tweet, saying his country "will work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs."

Zelenskyy said that he welcomed the "historic" decision and that it will "greatly enhance our army in the sky." The leader of Ukraine, known for his forceful stand against Russian President Vladimir Putin's onslaught and his signature olive drab outfits, was expected to participate in the meeting of leaders in Japan on Sunday, according to The Associated Press.

"I count on discussing the practical implementation of this decision at the G7 summit in Hiroshima," he added in a tweet.

The U.S. official said it would be up to the countries that are participating in the training to decide "when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them."

Ukraine's interest in foreign fighter jets goes back months. In April, the country's Air Force tweeted about the idea, saying that its "greatest need is for fighter jets -- F-15s and F-16s of the fourth generation or higher would be sufficient."

Another Ukrainian Air Force official went so far as to rebuff the American idea of sending the older A-10 Warthog, telling Military.com that the planes would "not close our sky, they will not stop bombers and missiles."

In July, the U.S. Air Force's top officer, Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown, said that officials were, indeed, considering the training.

"I do believe that we have an aspect and a responsibility, like we do with all our allies and partners, to be prepared to train them in various capabilities and capacities," Brown told the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, also said the possibility was being considered around the same time.

In March, NBC reported, citing two congressional officials and a senior U.S. official, that two Ukrainian pilots came to the U.S. to be tested to see how long it would take to train them to fly attack aircraft, including F-16 fighter jets.

However, experts who spoke to Military.com were skeptical that it would be a simple matter of just a few classes. One Air Force veteran pilot said supplying and training Ukrainians on the planes would be nothing short of a "herculean effort."

Gen. James Hecker, the head of U.S. Air Forces in Europe as well as Air Forces Africa and Allied Air Command, told Military.com in March that he's not surprised by the request for the modern jets but doubts the aircraft's ability to repel Moscow's invasion.

"I think it's going to help them a little bit," Hecker said. "I don't think it's going to be a game changer."

Those concerns were similar to the issues raised when the Ukrainians asked for another major U.S. weapons platform -- the Abrams tank.

Colin Kahl, the under secretary of defense for policy, told reporters in January that "the Abrams tank is a very complicated piece of equipment."

"It's expensive, it's hard to train on. ... It is not the easiest system to maintain," Kahl said at the time. "It may or may not be the right system."

There were also concerns about supplying the fuel-hungry gas turbine engines used to power the main battle tank.

A 1992 Government Accountability Office report found that, during the first Gulf War, "Abrams crews were impressed with the power and performance of the Abrams' turbine engine, but they were concerned about its high fuel consumption and the need to frequently clean air filters in the sandy desert environment.

"Refueling was a constant concern," the report added.

Despite these reservations, Ukrainian troops are set to start training on the tanks in Germany in the next couple of weeks, and the Pentagon aims to have 31 Abrams in the country by the fall.

-- Thomas Novelly contributed to this report.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

Related: Abrams Tanks Arrive in Germany, Setting Stage for Ukrainian Training
Buffalo attorney Maryann Saccomando Freedman has been a trailblazer all her professional life.

When she graduated from the University at Buffalo Law School in 1958, she was one of only three women in a class of about 100.

She later served as a role model and mentor to many female attorneys in Buffalo, as she became the first female president of the Erie County Bar Association and the first female president of the New York State Bar Association.

Now, at age 88, she is about to enjoy the rare distinction of watching a play written about her.

Freedmans life story will be the focus of "Buffalo Stories: The Life of Maryann Saccomando Freedman," which will be presented by Road Less Traveled Productions at 7 p.m. June 3 in the Road Less Traveled Theater, 456 Main St. The event is a fundraiser for Road Less Traveled, with tickets costing $250.

Freedman said she is thrilled to be joining the list of people honored with previous "Buffalo Stories" presentations including former Buffalo mayor Anthony Masiello, Buffalo Bills great Thurman Thomas, and business people/philanthropists Russell Salvatore, Shelley Drake and Robert Gioia.

Its going to be a bit weird, but Im also very excited, Freedman told The Buffalo News. My reaction was disbelief when they told me they wanted to do this  but Im really honored.

Because of her accomplishments as a pioneering female lawyer, Freedman was a natural for the "Buffalo Stories" series, said Scott Behrend, artistic director for Road Less Traveled.

Weve actually wanted to do this for several years, but it was all delayed by Covid, Behrend said. We look for well-known, influential people in Buffalo. Maryann has a really interesting Buffalo story, and an important one.

Written by playwright Jon Elston, the show features many of Freedmans favorite songs, tweaked slightly to portray her life story, Behrend said.

Its a cabaret-style show, with Katy Miner playing Maryann and five other actors, Behrend said. Its definitely not a roast; its a celebration.

While best known for her work with the state and county bar associations, Freedman also played major roles in many other organizations, including the Women Lawyers Association of Western New York, Erie County Aid to Indigent Prisoners Society, Zonta, the Buffalo Geological Association, Western New York Heritage Magazine and the Committee to Form a Buffalo Presidential Center.

She also served on the Governors State-Wide Judicial Screening Committee, the American Bar Association, Legal Services for the Elderly, the Erie County Bar Foundation and organizations devoted to helping the poor and sexual assault victims.

Im probably most proud of heading the state bar association and the Erie County bar, two jobs that really tested my stamina, she said. When you are the first woman to head an organization like that, many people are waiting and watching for you to make a mistake, trip up somehow.

When asked if she is proud that she inspired women lawyers, Freedman said: I hope I inspired male lawyers, too. I hope I inspired men and women to be good lawyers.

INFO: "Buffalo Stories: The Life of Maryann Saccomando Freedman," is June 3 at Road Less Traveled Theater (456 Main St.). The fundraiser for Road Less Traveled Theatre has a pre-show reception at 7 p.m. with cocktails and hors doeuvres, followed by an 8 p.m. performance and post-show reception. Tickets are $250 in advance only.
The As stadium drama has been one of MLBs biggest storylines of the past couple months. The franchise has already expressed its hope for getting a deal done in Las Vegas thatd allow them to relocate out of Oakland within the next couple years. Theyve entered into a pair of land purchase agreements for potential stadium sites in recent months, but the franchises biggest hurdle  a public financing agreement with the Nevada legislature  has yet to get off the ground.

Reports on Monday suggested the organization was likely to formally put forth a funding proposal by the end of the week. That still hasnt happened, and multiple reports yesterday indicated potential reluctance on the legislatures part to meet the As ask. The franchises as-yet unofficial proposal is expected to call for $395MM in public funding via Clark County-issued bonds to be paid by tax dollars related to the stadium project. Initially, the organization was set to pursue $500MM in bonds before revising their anticipated ask after changing their target stadium site.

Even that diminished $395MM figure seems to be beyond the legislatures comfort. Both Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Tabitha Mueller/Howard Stutz of the Nevada Independent reported yesterday the legislature wasnt keen on the $395MM price tag. The respective reports present differing details on precisely how large the gap between the organization and state is.

The Nevada Independent suggests the legislature is mulling an approval of $150-195MM in tax credits, which would leave a $200MM+ gap on the organizations desired figure. The Review-Journal pegs things more closely, reporting that government officials are willing to commit $320MM in financing. Thatd be a much smaller but still not insignificant $75MM shy of the As goal.

Akers writes that the As formal financing proposal is now not expected to go in front of the legislature until sometime next week. Lawmakers are only in scheduled session through June 5, leaving a small window for a deal to be approved before the session is set to close. The governor or 2/3 of the legislature can choose to call a special session to continue negotiations beyond June 5 if necessary, Mueller and Stutz note.

In any event, theres an increasing sense of urgency for the organization to accelerate talks. The franchise is hoping to build a 30,000-seat retractable roof facility with an estimated $1.5 billion price tag on the south end of the Vegas strip. Just over $1.1 billion would be paid by the As under their expected proposal, with the $395MM in public funding accounting for the remainder of the costs. Its to be seen whether either side will budge on the funding discrepancy (however large it is at present) to get a deal done.

Under the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement, the As have until next January 15 to sign a stadium deal somewhere if theyre to retain their status as recipients of revenue sharing. Its clear the organization hopes thatll be in Vegas, though there remains some chance they turn their focus back to Oakland if talks with the Nevada legislature fall apart.
DONKEN, MI  A busy Upper Peninsula road will be closed for about eight weeks as the tourism season begins, officials said.

A bridge replacement project along Donken-Tapiola Road is expected to delay motorists who will be rerouted around the construction, according to a news release from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The project to install an arched culvert over the Misery River, south of Donken and just east of M-26 is scheduled to begin June 6, the DNR said.

This will close down a fairly well-traveled road for that duration, said Brad Carlson, Baraga unit manager for the DNRs Forest Resources Division. It will not block access to any private property as there is alternative access, it just may take longer and through travel will be restricted.

For the latest information on DNR facility and other closures, visit Michigan.gov/DNRClosures.

READ MORE:

Underground history, hoist houses: 3 U.P. mines open for summer tours

$250M in state parks upgrades means some spring, summer campground closures

Michigan is the most popular camping destination in U.S.

Vintage motel in Northern Michigan beach town celebrates 70 years of unique experiences

U.P. town builds $5M pier big enough for cruise ships
EATON COUNTY, MI  Deputies are looking for someone suspected of shooting a Consumers Energy power pole with a rifle.

According to the Eaton County Sheriffs Office, the damage was caused to a pole located on West Street near Third Street in Vermontville.

The damage was reported at 1:42 p.m. on Wednesday. Nearby homeowners told deputies the power pole was shot several times with a rifle during the early morning hours on May 12.

Consumers Energy estimated the damage to the pole and equipment costs at about $30,000.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Eaton County Sheriffs Office at (517) 543-3512 and ask for deputy Roxanna Fronckel.

According to the Eaton County Sheriff's Office, the damage was caused to a pole located on West Street near Third Street in Vermontville.Eaton County Sheriff's Office

READ MORE:

Evil Michigan man gets lengthy prison sentence for prolonged abuse of woman, kids

Rainbow fentanyl found in Ohio is death disguised as candy, attorney general says

Search crews on horseback find more human remains in U.P. woods
DETROIT  A gas station clerk has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after allegedly trapping three men inside a store with an angry customer who then opened fire on them, striking all three and killing one, prosecutors said.

Al-Hassan Aiyash, 22, of Hamtramck, was arrested Thursday, May 18, in connection with the incident that happened after 3 a.m. on Saturday, May 6, inside of the gas station store located in the 12800 block of West McNichols in Detroit.

Gregory Kelly, 37, of Detroit, was fatally shot while a 37-year-old man and a 60-year-old man, both of Detroit, were both non-fatally shot.

The allegations of the defendant locking the door of the store and not heeding the pleas of the men to be released led to tragic consequences in this case, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement.

It is alleged that on May 6, Samuel Anthony McCray, 27, of Detroit, attempted to make a $3 purchase inside the gas station but it was declined. He then allegedly attempted to leave with unpurchased items. Aiyash then allegedly locked the store with McCray, Kelly and the other victims inside.

RELATED: Man charged with murder after shooting 3 people when $3 gas station purchase was declined

The three victims repeatedly pleaded with Aiyash to unlock the door and let them out, the prosecutors office said.

McCray became very agitated and continued to argue with Aiyash, the prosecutors office said. Eventually, Aiyash pushed a security button to unlock the door. He did not tell the men. Second later, McCray allegedly began shooting at the victims.

McCray allegedly produced a gun and fatally shot Kelly, and non-fatally wounded the other victims. McCray fled from the gas station after the shooting. Detroit police officers were dispatched to the scene. Upon arrival, officers found Kelly and the 37-year-old victim inside the gas station store suffering from gunshot wounds; the 60-year-old victim was privately transported to a local hospital for treatment. Medics pronounced Kelly dead at the scene. The 37-year-old victim was transported to a local hospital.

RELATED: Fatal shooting was over $3 refund at Michigan gas station, police say

An investigation by the Detroit Police Department led to the arrest of McCray on May 7. Aiyash was arrested on May 18.

Aiyash was arraigned Friday, May 19, in 36th District Court. His bond was set at $200,000 cash with a GPS tether and house arrest. A bond redetermination hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 23 before Judge William McConico.

McCray is charged with first-degree murder, two counts of assault with intent to murder, and three counts of felony firearm and felon in possession of a firearm. He was arraigned and remanded to jail in 36th District Court. He is due back in court on Tuesday, May 23.

READ MORE:

Off-duty DNR officer shoots person while camping

Consumers Energy power pole shot with rifle will cost $30K to fix, Michigan police say

Hippo that killed antelope at John Ball Zoo had no history of aggression, former zoo says
DETROIT -- General Motors has announced a recall of an estimated 668,000 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain SUVs from the model years 2020 to 2023 because child seats may not be able to be installed properly. According to the Associated Press, the issue stems from the rear-seat lower anchor bars which may have too much powder coating on the bar. With too much coating it can make the bars too thick and prevent a child seat from being installed safely.

Until a fix can be made, GM is asking owners to install child seats using the seat belts in the back seat until a repair can be made. Dealerships will inspect the anchor bars and determine if the finish of the anchor needs to be replaced.

Owners of impacted vehicle will begin being notified via letter on June 26. Thus far GM says no crashes or injuries have been reported as a result of the problem.

READ MORE:

Jeep Cherokee owners told to park outside as part of recall involving increased fire risk

These 22 Hyundai & Kia models are eligible for an anti-theft software update

Ford recalls nearly 232K Ranger trucks as air bags may not be installed properly

BMW tells 90K owners not to drive some older models thanks to faulty Takata air bag inflators

GM tells newer Silverado owners to park outside due to fire risk, possible 40K trucks recalled

564K Honda CR-Vs recalled in cold weather states for rust issue

Owners of 140K Volkswagen vehicles told not to let anyone sit in front seat in latest recall

Ford announces recall of 1.5 million vehicles over 2 different issues

Honda announces recall of 500,000 vehicles over seat belt problems

341,000 Ram diesel truck owners told to park outside over fire risk

Feds issue do not drive warning to drivers of select older Honda models

Feds investigating claims of Ford Explorer parts flying off vehicles

Backup camera issue leads to recall of nearly 383,000 Ford SUVs

Rare fires caused by seat belt issue leads GM to recall 140,000 Bolt models

Dodge owners again warned to stop driving certain cars as exploding air bag kills another driver

Transmission leaks lead to recall of 250,000 Ram trucks, 16 fires already reported

340,000 SUVs recalled by General Motors as daytime lights might not shut off

Hyundai recalls 44,000 SUVs, warns drivers to park outside as computers can cause fire

Kia recalls older Sportage models for 2nd time, warns drivers to park outside

Ford announces 2nd recall this week, latest involves risk of fire

Hyundai, Kia announce another recall, fires reported due to latest problem

Seat belt issue leads GM to recall 484K SUVs

Kia recalls 260,000 Optima models over possibly loose ceiling plates

Ford recalls nearly 3 million cars because they can roll away, even while in park

Exploding seat belt parts lead to recall of 239,000 Hyundai vehicles

Some Mercedes owners told not to drive their cars, brakes could fail

Hyundai announces recall of 215,000 vehicles as hoses can crack, leak fuel

Ford Explorer SUVs recalled as they can roll away, even while in park

Toyota recalls 460,000 vehicles as software issue can impact stability control system

GM announces recall of 740K SUVs as headlights are too bright for other drivers

Hyundai, Kia recall 485K vehicles over fire risk, owners urged to park outside

Tesla recalls 54K vehicles as Full Self-Driving feature doesnt stop at stop signs

Estimated 200K Ford models recalled as brake lights can stay on

Audi, Subaru announce recalls over possible power loss issues in vehicles

Honda recalls 723K vehicles because hoods can open while driving

Volvo recalling 260K early-to-late-2000s vehicles as airbag inflators can explode

Kia-Hyundai recalls more than 550K vehicles as turn signals may flash the wrong way

GM issues 2nd recall of Bolts as battery issues can lead to fire

Ford recalls 205,000 vans over problem that causes vehicle to go into wrong gear

Kia recalls 440K vehicles over another possible fire hazard, again warns owners to park cars outside

Subaru recalling 875K cars over engine, suspension problems

Toyota announces recall of 280K SUVs due to air bag wiring issue

Estimated 750K GM vehicles being investigated over air bags possibly not inflating

GM recalling 10K Chevy, GMC vans over fire risk, suggests parking vehicle outside

Faulty fuel pumps lead to Honda recalling 628K vehicles in the U.S.

2021 Ram truck owners encouraged to park vehicle outside due to fire risk, recall announced

Nissan recalls 854K vehicles as brake lights may not turn on properly

Ford recalls over 100K trucks over windshields that may not stay in place, payload misinformation

Ford cant find deadly airbags that may have been installed, recalls more than 154K vehicles

Tesla to recall 135K vehicles over concerns of touch screens possibly going dark

Brake light issue leads to Nissan recall of 354K Pathfinder SUVs

Regulators investigating Ford recall that customers say didnt fix tailgate problems

Hyundai recalls another 471K SUVs over possible electrical short that can lead to fire

GM recalling 840K vehicles over possible seat belt, suspension failures

Volkswagen recalling 105K vehicles for Takata air bag issue

GM ordered to recall millions of vehicles over Takata air bag issue

GM announces recall over oil leak that can cause cars to stop, 217K vehicles involved

Over 375K Ford Explorer models recalled for suspension issues

Toyota, VW announce recalls involving faulty fuel pumps, fuel leaks respectively
A Buffalo man faces a maximum 15 years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday in Erie County Court to trying to rob businesses in Buffalo and Orchard Park.

Edward T. Turner, 39, admitted he entered a business on Chippewa Street near Delaware on Nov. 13, 2021 and stole an unknown amount of money from an open cash register after reaching into his jacket pocket and indicating to the employee at the register that he had a weapon.

Turner also admitted stealing several bottles of cologne from a store on Amelia Drive in the Town of Orchard Park while being observed by store employees, who then called the police.

Outside the store, prosecutors said, Turner got in the backseat of an occupied vehicle and made threatening statements toward the woman inside. Turner then got into the drivers seat and attempted to drive away while the womens children were inside of the vehicle. All of the children were able to get out safely before he fled in the victims car.

The stolen vehicle was discovered abandoned on Georgia Street in Buffalo the following day. Investigators found a bottle of cologne, packaged with the security tag still attached, inside of the stolen vehicle.

Turner, who continues to be held without bail, is scheduled to be sentenced as a second felony offender on June 29.
ANN ARBOR, MI  More than 1,000 new apartment beds could be coming to Ann Arbors Church Street.

Texas-based developer LV Collective LLC unveiled its latest plans for a 17-story, 283-unit high-rise during a meeting with residents at Pizza House on Wednesday, May 17.

New massing drawings show the scale of the project planned for the 700 block of Church Street, just south of Willard Street, where a row of houses and apartments have been demolished and two more houses could be next to go.

The developer aims to continue the trend of high-amenity, high-rise housing geared toward University of Michigan students in the South University Avenue area next to campus.

We have been interested in this market, as most people know, for a long time, said Chris Johnson, LVs executive vice president of development, explaining his firm focuses on student housing at walkable, accessible sites for top-tier universities.

Architect Eduardo Illanes, left, and LV Collective's Chris Johnson present plans for a 17-story student apartment tower on Ann Arbor's Church Street during a citizen participation meeting at Pizza House on May 17, 2023.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

With units ranging from studios to six bedrooms, the tentative bed count for the project is 1,031, which would help meet student housing demand as UM enrollment continues to grow.

LV is working with Colorado-based OZ Architecture and Ann Arbor architect Brad Moore, who said the plans are evolving and hopefully the project will get City Council approval eventually after going through multiple layers of review.

With the project extending further north now to include the footprint of two more houses, it has been reduced in height from an earlier 19-story version  now two stories lower and also stepping down to 12 stories at the south end to cast less shadow on the Towsley Childrens House.

The site on Ann Arbor's Church Street just south of Willard Street where Texas-based developer LV Collective LLC has plans for a 17-story high-rise on May 17, 2023.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

There arent detailed architectural renderings yet, but the design team led by architect Eduardo Illanes intends to refine plans for submittal to the city. The site is just outside downtown and would require special planned unit development zoning.

A lot of attention is being paid to how pedestrians would experience the building, which as proposed would be recessed from Church Street at multiple points to create green pocket parks along the sidewalk, Illanes said.

Plans also include townhome-style apartments with porches along the sidewalk at the south end. At the north end, ground-floor plans call for a two-story transparent lobby and a coffee shop serving up LVs own Austin-based Daydreamer Coffee.

Texas-based developer LV Collective LLC, working with Colorado-based OZ Architecture and Ann Arbor architect Brad Moore, unveiled its latest plans for a 17-story, 283-unit high-rise with 1,031 beds catering to University of Michigan students at 711 Church St. on May 17, 2023.Provided by LV Collective

Dennis Tice, owner of the Pizza House restaurant on Church Street, was among community members at Wednesdays meeting who expressed concerns about new commercial enterprise competing with existing businesses.

Everybody down here is trying to survive, he said, suggesting he could get behind the project with assurances the commercial aspect would be limited to just the coffee shop.

Another resident argued theres already enough places to get coffee, to which the developer responded by suggesting they should wait until they taste LVs coffee.

Other attendees expressed concerns about the potential impacts on the neighborhood, including the Towsley Childrens House, and the potential for high-rise development to continue creeping further south into the neighborhood.

Two houses along Willard and Church streets in Ann Arbor that remain to be demolished for a 17-story high-development on May 17, 2023.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

The proposed buildings garage would have about 150 car parking spots, as well as ample bicycle parking, plus space for scooters and e-bikes, Johnson said.

The projects density allows providing community benefits that would be required for approval, he said, mentioning a potential $6.2 million contribution to the citys affordable housing fund or possibly including some workforce housing in the building.

With carbon-neutrality in mind, LV also is aiming for a LEED Gold design and is in the early stages of exploring an all-electric building with the exception of backup gas generators, and geothermal and electric heat options, Johnson said.

Texas-based developer LV Collective LLC, working with Colorado-based OZ Architecture and Ann Arbor architect Brad Moore, unveiled its latest plans for a 17-story, 283-unit high-rise with 1,031 beds catering to University of Michigan students at 711 Church St. on May 17, 2023.Provided by LV Collective

The project also could contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to the citys parks fund and theres a potential for public art on the lawn, Johnson said.

Other elements highlighted include a two-story green wall as a buffer for neighbors to the east and a green roof area.

Tenant amenities could include a fitness area, hotel-like lobby, co-working space, outdoor decks at upper levels and a spa and wellness space. Its undecided whether there will be a pool.

The South University Avenue high-rise corridor in Ann Arbor with the Vic Village South high-rise under construction across from Vic Village North on May 17, 2023. The corridor has seen a wave of several apartment towers catering to University of Michigan students in the last 15 years.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

The developer isnt going public with possible rents at this time but indicated they would be competitive with the market.

The site is just south of the South U commercial district, where there are several student-focused apartment high-rises already, and across from UMs East Quad dorm.

Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Ann Arbor daily newsletter.

Read more Ann Arbor development stories.

MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS:

University of Michigan to spend $75M to buy Ann Arbor land for more student dorms

Heres what big tax jump means for Ann Arbor property owners

Too big? 8-story SouthTown development in Ann Arbor hits snag

5 fun things to do in Ann Arbor this weekend (May 19-21)

Ann Arbor puts its money where its values are in new $565M budget
ANN ARBOR, MI - Traversing Michigan Avenue or getting out of town on U.S. 23 is only getting trickier as road construction projects multiply in Washtenaw County.

Heres a list of road work that could affect commute times and travel across Ann Arbor and the county for the weekend beginning Friday, May 19 and the week ahead.

Read more: Road construction season kicks into gear in Washtenaw County. Heres whats coming

ANN ARBOR

Washtenaw Avenue: The street along the University of Michigans central campus will see single-lane closures in both directions between Wilmot Street and Glen Avenue beginning Monday, May 22 and running through Friday, June 30.

Huron Parkway/Glazier Way: Intermittent lane closures will be in place on Huron Parkway in both directions between Geddes and Hubbard roads for a road repair and resurfacing project.

On Glazier Way between Green and Earhart roads, lane closures are also possible, with the roadway slated to close in the eastbound direction as of Wednesday May 17.

Work is expected to be completed on both roads by Tuesday, June 6.

Geddes Avenue: The street is closed to through traffic between Observatory and Hill streets for a resurfacing and utility project.

The project will proceed in phases, with the first estimated to conclude on Friday, June 9, when Geddes will reopen to westbound traffic only.

South Main Street: The street is closed between Liberty and Huron streets for the second phase of a major resurfacing project. The Washington and Main intersection is also closed.

Pedestrians can still access the businesses in the Main Street commercial district. Crews will replace a water main, make crosswalk improvements and put new pavement on the crumbling downtown street.

The project is slated to run until Wednesday, July 12 with a third phase in the cards within the Main/Huron intersection, beginning after the Ann Arbor Art Fair, July 20 to 22.

South State Street: The downtown street is closed to vehicle traffic between North University Avenue and Huron Street until Friday, Sept. 1, for the second phase of a major overhaul extending curb-less design in the area near the University of Michigan Diag and bringing water and sewer upgrades.

The intersections on either side of the work zone will remain open. Regular updates can be found online from the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority.

Broadway Street: The street is closed through Monday, Aug. 21 between the Traver Creek pedestrian crossing island, just south of Jones Drive, and Plymouth Road for a project bringing water main upgrades, sidewalk improvements and pavement resurfacing.

The dead-end section of Broadway southwest of the roundabout next to the Beekman on Broadway development is also closed as crews complete utility installations through June 9.

Platt Road: The road on the citys east side is reduced from four lanes to two between Packard Road and Huron Parkway until Friday, Aug. 1.

The restrictions will allow for crews to replace an existing water main, as well as replace curb, sidewalk and ramps while resurfacing Platt Road. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction.

Scio Church Road: A section of the road between South Seventh Street and South Maple Road is closed for a resurfacing project, bringing improvements for pedestrians and cyclists.

Construction on the first phase of the project is set to run through Friday, May 26, when Scio Church Road will reopen in the eastbound direction, and officials will notify residents of a new traffic pattern.

During the project, the Maple Road intersection will remain open to traffic turning left onto Maple or right onto Scio Church to ease congestion because of the damage to the Liberty Road I-94 overpass.

Research Park Drive: The west side of the road will close between Tuesday, April 25 and May 26 for the installation of a new water main.

Long-term projects: North Fifth Avenue from Detroit to Catherine streets will have a lane shift through June 2024 for a new development.

Eastbound South University Avenue traffic between East University Avenue and Church Street is closed long-term for high-rise construction.

The Liberty Road bridge over I-94 is reduced to single-lane traffic, with temporary traffic signals, until further notice after being damaged by a truck on March 13. The Michigan Department of Transportation plans to design and contract for a bridge replacement, officials say, though no timeline has been released for the project.

OTHER WASHTENAW COUNTY PROJECTS:

Sylvan Township - I-94 ramps: Ramps along the interstate in the Chelsea area are slated to close overnight for construction.

The M-52 ramps to and from westbound I-94 will close between 8 p.m. May 22 and 6 a.m. May 23. The M-52 ramps to and from eastbound I-94 will close between 8 p.m. May 23 and 6 a.m. May 24.

The Old U.S. 12 ramps to and from westbound I-94 will close between 8 p.m. May 24 and 6 a.m. May 25.

The Kalmbach Road ramps to and from westbound I-94 will close between 8 p.m. May 22 and 6 a.m. May 23.

Overnight single-lane closures on I-94 between Freer Road and the Washtenaw/Jackson county line will also be in place Monday through Saturday through May 26.

Pittsfield Township - U.S. 23/Michigan Avenue: A major project widening Michigan Avenue in Pittsfield Township and upgrading the U.S. 23 interchange will cause shoulder closures and lane closures on a stretch of U.S. 23 south of Ann Arbor.

From 11 p.m. on May 22 to 5 a.m. on Tuesday, May 23 northbound U.S. 23 will see intermittent total closures at the Michigan Avenue interchange.

On Michigan Avenue between Carpenter and Textile roads, a single-lane closure is in place.

The construction is scheduled to run through November. Pittsfield Township is posting regular updates.

Ypsilanti - Hamilton Street: A single lane in the southbound direction on the street is closed between Pearl and Ferris streets through Thursday, Aug. 31.

Ypsilanti - Michigan Avenue: A single lane in the eastbound direction is closed between Washington and Huron streets through Aug. 31.

The downtown Avenue will also see intermittent total closures in the eastbound direction through May 26 from Hamilton Street to Adams Street.

Other downtown Ypsilanti street closures are possible as a major utility and street overhaul project continues. See the citys webpage on the project for updates.

Read more: Construction coming to downtown Ypsilanti as utility, street renovation projects resume

Ypsilanti Township - Michigan Avenue/I-94 ramp: A road reconstruction project has closed Michigan Avenue between I-94 and a point just east of Hewitt Road as of Friday, May 12 and running eight weeks.

A detour map is available online, and north/south traffic on Hewitt will be maintained with lane restrictions.

The westbound I-94 off-ramp at Michigan Avenue is also closed during the project.

York Township - U.S. 23/Willis Road interchange: Willis Road at U.S. 23 is closed in both directions through late June as bridge and ramp construction takes place. The eastbound Willis Road ramp to northbound U.S. 23 also is closed during the project.

As of May 15, additional closures at the interchange include both the southbound U.S. 23 exit and on-ramps at Willis Road, slated to be off-limits through through Thursday, June 15.

Ann Arbor/Northfield townships - Joy Road: The road will see intermittent lane restrictions between Earhart and Dixboro roads until Thursday, May 25 for drainage and forestry work.

Bridgewater Township - Hogan Road: The road will see intermittent lane restrictions between the old pit entrance 3,168 feet north of Allen Road and Logan Road from May 22 and May 25 for limestone resurfacing.

Bridgewater Township - Hack Road: The road will see intermittent lane restrictions between Neblo Road and the Saline Township line from May 22 to May 25 for gravel resurfacing.

Dexter Township - Brand Road: The road will see intermittent lane restrictions between Quigley and North Territorial roads during through Wednesday, May 31 for forestry work. This project has been extended.

Dexter Township - Stitchfield Woods Road: The road will see intermittent lane restrictions between Dexter Townhall and Toma roads from May 22 to May 31 for forestry work.

Dexter Township - Toma Road: The road will see intermittent lane restrictions between North Territorial Road and the Washtenaw County line from May 22 to May 31 for forestry work.

Lima Township - Dancer Road: The road will see intermittent lane restrictions between the railroad tracks and Lima Township line from May 22 to May 25 for drainage and forestry work.

Lima Township - Wylie Road: The road will see intermittent lane restrictions between Dexter-Chelsea Road and the Lima Township line from May 22 to May 25 for drainage and forestry work.

Lodi Township - Saline Waterworks Road: The road will see intermittent lane restrictions between Dell Road and the end of the pavement through May 25 for drainage and forestry work.

Lodi Township - Textile Road: The road will see intermittent lane restrictions between Alber and Dell roads through May 25 for drainage and forestry work.

Lodi Township - Strieter Road: The road will close between Waters and Scio Church roads between through May 25 for road resurfacing. A detour map is available online.

Lyndon/Sylvan townships - Various roads: Several roads in the townships will see intermittent lane restrictions through July for a Consumers Energy natural gas pipeline replacement project. A project map is available online.

Read more: We cant save our trees: Washtenaw County residents lament impact of Consumers Energy pipeline

Lyndon Township - Bowdish Road: The road will close between Worden and Roepke roads from May 23 to May 25 for the Consumers pipeline project. A detour map is available online.

Sylvan Township - Sibley Road: The road will be closed between Conway and Bush roads from April 17 to Saturday, July 1 for the Consumers pipeline project. A detour map is available online.

Pittsfield Township - Morgan Road: The road between Carpenter Road and Michigan Avenue is closed for sanitary sewer installation until June 30. A detour map is available online.

Pittsfield Township - Platt Road: The road will see intermittent lane closures between Bemis Road and Michigan Avenue through September for construction of a non-motorized pathway.

Pittsfield Township - Crane Road: The road between Textile Road and Michigan Avenue is through June 9 for sanitary sewer installation. A detour map is available online. This project has been extended.

Pittsfield Township - Bemis Road: The road will see intermittent lane closures between Moon and Warner roads from May 22 and Monday, May 29 for road resurfacing.

Pittsfield Township - Textile Road: The road is closed between Carpenter and Crane roads for sanitary sewer installation. The project runs through September. A detour map is available online.

Scio Township - Huron River Drive: The road will see intermittent lane closures between Zeeb and Delhi roads for Border-to-Border Trail construction through Nov. 15.

Sylvan Township - Kilmer Road: The road will see intermittent lane restrictions between Notten and Hoppe roads from May 22 to May 25 for drainage work.

Sylvan Township - Ridge Road: The road will see intermittent lane restrictions between McLure Road and the end of the pavement from May 22 to May 25 for drainage work.

Ypsilanti Township - Georgina Street: The street between Grove Road and Service Drive will see daytime lane closures for DTE Energy gas line replacement through November.

Ypsilanti Township - Textile Road: The road between Bunton and Bridge roads will see intermittent lane restrictions through May 26 for gas main work.

Ypsilanti Township - Service Drive: The road will see daytime lane closures through November between Emerick Street and Share Avenue for a DTE gas line replacement project.

Ypsilanti Township - Grove Road: The road will see daytime lane closures through November between Arthur and Emerick streets for a DTE gas line replacement project.

An updated list of Ann Arbor city street closures, the weekly Washtenaw County Road Commission schedule and the MDOT road closure map are all available online.

Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Ann Arbor daily newsletter.

More from The Ann Arbor News:

Washtenaw County leaders set goals, from creating housing commission to building rec center

Too big? 8-story SouthTown development in Ann Arbor hits snag

Ypsilanti suspends law targeted by landlords lawsuit as unconstitutional

I will think of the raisin toast forever: Community mourns pending closure of Angelos Restaurant
YPSILANTI, MI - The process of removing Ypsilantis Peninsular Paper Dam from the Huron River has received a major financial boost.

The dam removal project, advanced by the city, will receive nearly $3.8 million this year though a state grant program aimed at reducing the risk of dam failure. The sum is the largest of 16 grants headed to dam removal and repair efforts across Michigan, according to an announcement from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy on Thursday, May 18.

Read more: 16 Michigan dam removal, repair projects spilt $15.3M in grants

The $3,781,654 grant from the Dam Risk Reduction Grant Program will get the city almost all the way to deconstructing the dam, according to Ypsilanti Ward 2 City Council Member Steve Wilcoxen, who has played a lead role in coordinating the project.

This is great, it gets us most of the way there, and we will reapply next year and get the rest of the funding for it, he said.

In November, state inspectors downgraded the condition of the defunct power dam, originally dating back to 1867 and rebuilt in 1920, to poor condition, noting no conditions presented an immediate threat to the dams stability but giving city officials a checklist of upkeep items until it is removed.

City leaders voted to knock out the dam in 2019 and have already won some $650,000 in state grants to kick off the assessment and design process, a lengthy affair involving several phases of studies, including reports on sediment sampling for toxic industrial contamination and plans to protect several upstream bridges.

Removing the dam eliminates the possibility of catastrophic dam failure, decreases flooding risk, improves river habitat and will increase the size of nearby Peninsular Park, according to the Huron River Watershed Council, a partner of the city on the project.

Read more: 7 key takeaways on the progress to remove Ypsilantis Peninsular Dam

Some residents, many organized under the group Friends of Peninsular Park, have criticized the plans as fiscally irresponsible, advocating for the rehabilitation of the dam for hydropower generation  an option city officials have dismissed as too costly and unsustainable given the necessary infrastructure.

An early 2018 feasibility study for removing the dam pegged the potential cost at $2.7 million, but city officials said last year a final price tag is impossible to derive without final engineering plans on the design of the removal. The city has committed $500,000 of its funds to the effort.

The project is likely to continue over the next several years. EGLE provided the vast majority of funds the city requested, so it could get moving engaging engineers for the removal, Wilcoxen said. The city will reapply for more funding in the next round, and the council member is confident more it will receive more state support.

Officials and the Huron River Watershed Council are planning an open house event in August or September to educate residents on the various pieces of the removal project and update them on the results of the latest engineering reports, Wilcoxen said.

The Pen Dam is not the only Washtenaw County structure to receive state money, according to EGLE.

About $71,000 is going to the Village of Manchester to complete several studies relating to the high-hazard Ford Manchester Dam. Saline is receiving $192,000 for a dam removal feasibility study for the Saline River Dam and the Washtenaw County Water Resource Commissioners Office will get $1-million for the removal of two dams near the Willow Run Airport.

The Peninsular Paper Dam project is getting the most money of initiatives funding with the $15.3 million in grants announced on Thursday.

Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page, the Ypsilanti-area page or sign up for the free 3@3 Ann Arbor daily newsletter.

More from The Ann Arbor News:

Ypsilanti suspends law targeted by landlords lawsuit as unconstitutional

This is a warning: Ypsilanti leaders hear options for fixing long-term budget trouble

Regents spar for 1st time in public with striking University of Michigan grad workers

Washtenaw County leaders set goals, from creating housing commission to building rec center
LAPEER, MI - Hernandez Mexican Food is set to have its long awaited grand opening in Lapeer.

After serving the community for over 50 years as a food stand, Hernandez Mexican Food has moved into a former office building in downtown Lapeer, located at 4 E. Nepessing St., for takeout orders only.

Their grand opening is from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 20.

Its one more step in our journey, Zac Schlaud, business owner, told MLive-The Flint Journal. Without our family and community support, this would not have happened.

Deanna Hernandez-Schlaud, Zacs wife, is a co-owner on the new venture.

The business started many years ago with Hernandez-Schlauds grandmother, Adelina Gutierrez, making lunches for the migrant field workers.

Ernesto Hernandez, Hernandez-Schlauds father, took the reigns over in the 1980s and grew it into a successful food stand in the community.

Around 10 years ago, both Zac and Deanna gained ownership.

Schlaud said they secured the lease on the building in October 2022.

Its been much more of an undertaking than we initially thought, Schlaud said.

The restaurant offers Mexican food with a Texas flare to it, as Schlauds father-in-law is originally from Texas.

We want everyone to understand that we are a Tex-Mex based restaurant, he said. Were not from Mexico. My father-in-law is from San Antonio. Our recipes are Tex-Mex based. We dont want people to expect we offer something we are not. This is who we are.

Hard and soft tacos, burritos, nachos and enchiladas will be offered. The menu also will be expanded to include weekly specials with additional authentic Mexican dishes.

Business hours for Hernandez Mexican Food will be from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.

Read more at The Flint Journal:

Michigan 11-year-old with cerebral palsy sparks need for $25M treatment facility

Michigans Best Local Eats: Vasquez Mexican Food offers tamales every Sunday

Isaiah Oliver to resign as president of Community Foundation of Greater Flint

Kildee announces new federal funds for United Way of Genesee County

Want more Flint-area news? Bookmark the local Flint news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Flint daily newsletter.
DAVISON, MI  Petitions to recall three Davison Board of Education Trustees were filed in the Genesee County Clerks Office this week after the appointment of a former trustee that failed to earn one of two positions in the 2022 election.

The three trustees  Karen Conover, Granger Stefanko and Holly Halabicky  each supported Diane Rhines appointment on May 15.

It was a controversial decision according to some, as Matthew Smith challenged the vote to appoint a trustee who was voted out, in his terms.

Rhines failed to earn one of two available seats in the November 2022 election, despite receiving more than 3,000 votes in her favor.

Rhines finished fourth in a race with eight candidates. First was Alicia Hensley with 4,269 votes, Kurtis McMahan with 3,367 votes, Kurt Minto with 3,172 and Rhines with 3,128.

It was a number that members of the board cited before voting to support Rhines appointment.

A recall was also going to be filed against McMahan, but since hes in his first year on the board, Michigan law prohibits any recall attempts.

The vote to appoint Rhines was 4-2.

Smith called the appointment a slap in the face to voters who supported other candidates in the election.

Recall petitioner Leonard Marden asked why the appointment was made before the public comment period at the May 15 meeting.

What is the point of having school board elections and making our voice heard if the first opportunity this board gets to fill an open seat is appointing someone we voted out? Marden asked. This goes against our Democracy and community as a whole.

The Genesee County Clerks Office confirmed the recall petitions were filed on May 19.

Each recall uses the same language: (Conover, Stefanko, Halabicky) voted to appoint Diane Rhines to the Davison Board of Education.

The Genesee County Election Commission will hold a meeting on June 8 to determine whether the recall language is clear and factual. If successful, signatures can be gathered.

Read more at The Flint Journal:

Flint River Trail Watchers program to restart after being halted due to pandemic

Appeals Court ruling sends former Flint superintendents lawsuit against school board members to arbitration

College students plan forum to encourage Flint students to attend HBCUs

More than $50K in scholarships on the line at Davison auto skills competition

Want more Flint-area news? Bookmark the local Flint news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Flint daily newsletter.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Fifty minority-owned businesses gathered at the Goei Center to bond over their shared experiences as Grand Rapids entrepreneurs and share their unique perspectives with the community.

All around the Goei Center on Thursday, May 18, community members walked table to table, connecting with businesses whether it was tasting coffee or smoothie samples, modeling clothing items or just having conversations with the owners. They connected with small, local businesses that many may not be familiar with.

Owner of Tasteful Vegan Kalene Mcelveen showcased her dairy free, gluten free, soy free and peanut free frozen desserts that she sells at her shop in Wyoming. She said being surrounded by her colleagues and other like-minded businesses had a warmth to it.

Youre able to see a lot of businesses that you support and that you have been around for a long time, and be in a place where were all together, Mcelveen said.

The Black, Indigenous, People of Color event was sponsored by Rende Progress Capital, which handed out small-business loans to 38 out of the roughly 50 businesses at the event.

It was the second semi-annual event for the pop-up, with a much better turnout than the last event. The first event in November 2022 fell on the first snowstorm of the winter, keeping out the bulk of the customers.

I hope that due to the weather that its hopefully good marketing for people that can come out, Mcelveen said.

Iroyanna Hogan Davis is the owner of Perfect Fit, selling professional clothes for younger people that still want to connect with fashion in their business life. It touts an everyday brand that sells jeans and casual wear as well as a kids line, wanting to be the perfect fit to make people feel beautiful in all shapes and sizes.

Inclusion is a large aspect of the brand for Perfect Fit, said Davis. She wants to see minority businesses speak for the minority markets they sell to and makes personalized jewelry about black magic and being black and educated.

I definitely think that there needs to be a lot more representation and a lot more support, Davis said. We need to recognize in order to be a great flourishing and thriving community, it takes all of us.

While Davis monetary goal was to make a minimum of $500 in sales at the BIPOC event, she also wanted to connect with other businesses and community members to see how to support them.

Scenes of the BIPOC vendor pop-up event in the Goei Center on Thursday, May 18, 2023. (Drew Travis | MLive.com)Drew Travis | atravis@mlive.com

Owner of Eden Coffee, Emmitt Bronkema came to the event to give out free samples. She wants to grow her business and create awareness that Grand Rapids west side has a coffee shop that stretches the bounds of coffee, making specialty lattes and drinks.

Bronkema said he was grateful to the pioneers of minority business owners that came before him. He wants to follow in their footsteps and be an example to pass on the torch and was happy to see other businesses at the Goei Center with the same goal.

Its very good, even if its just for minorities, to mix up populations and be able to meet with each other, connect with each other and be able to say, I have that, and you might need this so we can build off each other, Bronkema said. Honestly, the goal is to make Grand Rapids a beautiful city and build with them. Its like we were playing with Legos.

Emmitt Bronkema of Eden Cafe puts up his sign at the BIPOC vendor pop-up event in the Goei Center on Thursday, May 18, 2023. (Drew Travis | MLive.com)Drew Travis | atravis@mlive.com

Community member Regenail Thomas was invited to the event by friends. He loved that the businesses took the time to come out and engage with the community.

We know that these communities have built this country, Thomas said. Most of their intellectual prowess has been used throughout to help advance this country and put this country in the position to be the empire that we are today. [We are] tapping into that talent in a way that hopefully inspires people and energizes people. It only does what it always has, and that allows our country to create an environment that the rest of the world often tries to ignore.

Thomas said historical inequities have impacted minority businesses and their ability to organize great business opportunities. The BIPOC event was in contrast to that history.

Community member Lynn Setsma said that she was just interested in browsing what the businesses had to offer the larger Grand Rapids community.

I think it can make people aware of diversity in the types of products that are out there, as well as just being open to different ideas, Setsma said.

Richard Haslinger looks at products from Amazing Essentials at the BIPOC vendor pop-up event in the Goei Center on Thursday, May 18, 2023. (Drew Travis | MLive.com)Drew Travis | atravis@mlive.com

Mcelveen wants this event to not only be a promotion for her business, but minority businesses all over the Grand Rapids area. She believes they can be just as prominent in the area as large chains.

There has to be a way to promote the minority businesses that are present in [Grand Rapids] that you dont typically hear about being promoted, Mcelveen said. Because theres a lot of restaurant chains or things that people are more familiar with in terms of larger brands, so when small businesses are starting out in the minority, its harder to get that visibility. I think something like this gives them visibility, so people know instead of going to a Bath and Body Works, I can get my lotions and creams here.

Want more Grand Rapids-area news? Bookmark the local Grand Rapids news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Grand Rapids daily newsletter.

More from MLive

Grand Rapids neighborhood association asks for pause on proposed police drones purchase

Michigan nonprofit prepares for arrival of migrant children following end of pandemic restrictions

Off-duty DNR officer shoots person while camping
KALAMAZOO, MI -- A former candidate for the Kalamazoo Public Schools superintendent position was placed on administrative leave shortly after interviewing for the position in KPS.

Ty Weeks, superintendent of Dearborn Heights District No. 7, was placed on administrative leave by Dearborn Heights District No. 7s Board of Education, based on three pending Title IX complaints and a civil rights complaint, according to Detroit WXYZ Channel 7.

The decision was made at a meeting where more than 130 community members attended to criticize a previous board decision placing the Annapolis High School principal on leave. A handful of people called for Weeks to leave the district, according to the Detroit News.

Related: New Kalamazoo Schools superintendent showed successful track record: trustees

Weeks was a finalist for the Kalamazoo job, but the district ultimately selected Darrin Slade for the job at a meeting last week.

At the Dearborn meeting, the Michigan Education Association claimed Weeks had refused to negotiate a virtual learning program, removed a bargaining unit member from the local Administrative Assistants Union and placed her in a non-represented position, refused to compensate a teacher who suffered serious injuries after being assaulted by a student and required central office secretaries to sign non-disclosure agreements, according to The Detroit News.

At his interview, Weeks touted improvements made in Dearborn Heights District No. 7s graduation rates and other recently created programs in the district. KPS trustees said there was not yet enough data to show whether the programs were effective, as Weeks was just hired there in November 2021.

Weeks was highly considered for the KPS superintendent position. As the board narrowed finalists from three to two, Weeks received nine votes from trustees while Slade received 10. The board then voted unanimously to offer Slade the job.

The third finalist, Stephanie Jones of Chicago Public Schools, had been accused of creating a toxic work environment at CPS, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The district looked into the complaints, but couldnt substantiate any misconduct or mismanagement, per the Sun-Times.

KPS had the vacancy after Rita Raichoudhuri resigned abruptly in December 2022, amid growing tensions between her and the board.

MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette attempts to reach Dearborn district officials for comment on Friday were unsuccessful.

More on MLive

2 schools, a day care and toxic gas: Parent worries escalate as state confirms health hazards

Michigans unique 2023 prom venues include museums, boats and the Big House

Why a downtown Kalamazoo park has nearly 1,000 giant portraits of kids
BATTLE CREEK, MI -- The fear of student loans and college debt was wiped away in an instant for many Battle Creek Public Schools students on Wednesday, May 17.

The district unveiled the Bearcat Advantage, a scholarship program covering up to 100% of tuition and fees for Michigan colleges as well as nearly 100 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), thanks to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

BCPS Superintendent Kimberly Carter made the surprise announcement to seniors in the 2023 graduating class, who are immediately eligible for the scholarship. The room erupted in applause and a standing ovation.

Andre Hollins, a senior in BCPS whos going to Western Michigan University this fall, was expecting a much duller announcement -- that graduation would be held outdoors.

I can go to college without worrying about my finances and how Im going to pay. I can put all of my thoughts and all of my knowledge into my studies, Hollins said.

With the Bearcat Advantage, all of his tuition will be covered.

The program covers 100% of tuition for students whove been in the Battle Creek district from kindergarten through 12th grade. Students who moved into the district later will get a portion of their tuition covered, depending on how long theyve been in the district.

RELATED: Michigan school district announces students will get free college tuition

Without cost as a barrier, this will keep students from being left behind after high school, former BCPS student and University of Michigan student Abigail Arndt said.

Everybody should have access to a program like this, a handful of students said.

Kids want to go to these big schools and they have these big ambitions, but they just cant pay for it, said Taylor Solis, a BCPS senior attending WMU in the fall.

The announcement is historic and groundbreaking said Sarah Cox, a visiting faculty member from Grand Valley State University. Cox helps students apply to college and has seen how anxiety-provoking it can be. One student Cox worked with applied for tuition reimbursements and scholarships, but still couldnt cover the costs.

They were completely devastated, they thought it was over, Cox said. Through the new scholarship program, those roadblocks are erased.

The scholarship will last for at least the next generation, Carter said.

Battle Creek typically has about 300 students in each class, with roughly 200 graduating on time each year, according to MI School Data.

Why HBCUs are included

Incorporating HBCUs into the program is a unique aspect of the scholarship. The idea to include those came from the districts equity imperative, Carter said. Black students are the largest racial group in the district at 40%, according to state data.

For a long time, students have not had the level of access needed to actually be a part of that community, Carter said.

Bearcat Advantage resembles the longtime Kalamazoo Promise program in offering 100% college tuition to all eligible students. But the Kalamazoo Promise only applies to Michigan schools, while Battle Creeks also includes those HBCUs across the U.S.

Kapree Richardson, a sophomore at BCPS, said everyone should have the choice of whether they choose a predominantly white (PWI) college or university versus an HBCU, because the experience at an HBCU could be more fulfilling.

As a Black kid in Battle Creek, theres a lot of eyes on us. Were supposed to fall into the system, Richardson said. (If) I go to college at an HBCU for free, I get to know my heritage for free ... They let us get our heritage.

Attending college wasnt a guarantee for Richardson before Thursday. Richardson would be the first in his family to go to college, he said. The Bearcat Advantage is a huge game-changer, he said.

Want more Kalamazoo news? Our 3@3 newsletter rounds up Kalamazoos top stories every weekday at 3 p.m.



Enter your email to get our free newsletter:





Help for a struggling district

The announcement comes at a time where graduation rates in the district have been on a steady decline.

Less than 58% of students graduated on time in 2022, per state data. Comparatively the statewide graduation rate was 81% in 2022. Graduation rates were around 70% pre-pandemic.

Maintaining and boosting enrollment has also been a challenge.

In 2022-23, Battle Creek schools had about 300 students who lived in other districts, while about 3,900 students who lived in the district boundaries enrolled elsewhere.

The 2022-23 district enrollment was 3,734 students.

Carter said the Bearcat Advantage is an investment in the districts economic vitality. Increasing enrollment was also a motivating factor in the decision.

Theres a lot of different residual effects the scholarship will have, Carter said. But first and foremost, its about making sure that students have access.

Want more Kalamazoo-area news? Bookmark the local Kalamazoo news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Kalamazoo daily newsletter.

More on MLive

2 schools, a day care and toxic gas: Parent worries escalate as state confirms health hazards

Outright war: Gender Queer and the attack on Michigan libraries

Out of this world opportunity: Michigan high school choir to share stage with Foreigner
KALAMAZOO, MI -- More than 150 people attended a meeting to hear about the link between community health and neighborhood pollution, and several people interrupted presenters to shout out criticism and demand action.

Citizens and government officials gathered in the gymnasium at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Kalamazoo Thursday, May 18, to discuss health findings released by the state last week that confirmed levels of pollution seen regularly in nearby neighborhoods represent a health hazard.

Shame! people shouted after Tom Olstad, mill manager at Graphic Packaging in Kalamazoo, spoke briefly. He said the company is committed to making progress on the odor issue related to toxic hydrogen sulfide gas detected regularly in neighborhoods around the paper plant and nearby city wastewater plant.

Shut it down! others shouted. Dozens of people also stood in line and spoke at the meeting. Many of them delivered harsh criticism to state and city officials in attendance.

Related: 5 key quotes, as parents grill state officials on Kalamazoos toxic gas

Im here for the same reason you are, I want to learn about this study, Olstad said, and there are things for the company to learn as well.

Im not here to answer questions, Olstad said. The company is looking for collaborative solutions to these issues, he said.

Northside Association for Community Development Executive Director Mattie Jordan-Woods said she thought steps would be taken to shut down the source of the hazard once it was identified.

You had to know, once you put in the paper that this caused harm, that people would ask what are you going to do and they were not gonna accept Stay in the house, Jordan-Woods said.

People dont want to hear that carbon scrubbers will be installed, she said, because they might find out months later the technology does not work right.

She and others mentioned the possibility of shutting down the factory.

I would think your ultimate goal is to make sure people in the community are safe, Jordan-Woods said.

Some held signs while waiting for their turns to talk.

I dont really understand why the source isnt being shut down immediately, Edison resident Emma Munson-Blatt said. It doesnt make sense that we need more testing.

She criticized Graphic Packaging for not answering any questions. Olstad declined to answer any questions Monday night and a public relations representative said he planned to respond in writing at a later date.

This meeting has been an insult to Kalamazoo residents, Munson-Blatt said.

Residents focused on the need for urgency while responding to the report, which took nearly three years of work before it was released.

We dont want to wait, parent Mary Andrew said, noting the health impacts are happening now.

There havent been discussions of shutting down the plant, said Marcus Wasilevich, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Environmental Health Section Manager for the toxicology and assessment section.

City of Kalamazoo Public Services Director James Baker said the city has taken steps to try to address the odor and gas issue, and more work is coming in the future.

Graphic Packaging is also doing work at its plant, including some that was required due to an order from state environmental regulators.

Residents arent happy about the damage already done.

Yall let these people come into our neighborhood and destroy it, Margaret Perkins said.

Brandi Crawford, a plaintiff in a lawsuit against Graphic Packaging, said, We cant count on any of these officials or politicians to save our lives.

The comments followed a brief presentation by state health officials. The crowd got louder as official responses grew longer and filled with technical details about the factory and city infrastructure.

Adam Frazier asked people to get engaged and push for changes. Fraziers children attend school near the factory and parents there believe the pollution in the air is harming their children. Others asked for wearable monitors for the community or for children.

Justin Colacino, an associate professor in the areas of environmental health sciences and the environment at the University of Michigan, attended Thursday. He said he appreciates the work the state health department did on the report.

Colacino was one of multiple outside experts who identified a concern for long-term health and shared his concerns with MLive/Kalamazoo in an article published in November, about six months before the states health study was released.

The community is right to be frustrated and angry about this pollution, Colacino said. The goal needs to be the removal of these chemicals from the air.

Since we now know that there is a risk, in the short term, the city and state should consider additional efforts, he said.

That could include providing affected community members with air purifiers for their houses and increased access to preventive care and treatment for respiratory diseases like asthma, he said.

Community members are sick of waiting.

Are you really listening to the people who are here tonight telling you whats happening in the community? Nadine Whitfield said.

We cant pinpoint it, but the community is getting sick, Whitfield said. Our babies are getting sick. Are you really listening?

Related: 10 takeaways from state investigation into Kalamazoos air pollution

Air concentrations of hydrogen sulfide gas next to Graphic Packaging International and the Kalamazoo Wastewater Reclamation Plant present a public health hazard, the state report found, after an analysis of 33 months of data.

Consistently breathing in levels of hydrogen sulfide exceeding 1.4 parts per billion can lead to chronic health problems. One of the main issues is an increased risk of nasal irritation that does not go away once the person stops breathing in the gas, the state health department said. Concentrations of gas in some areas next to the industrial facilities have averaged levels 10 times higher than the 1.4 parts per billion benchmark, MDHHS said.

Want more Kalamazoo-area news? Bookmark the local Kalamazoo news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Kalamazoo daily newsletter:

Also on MLive:

2 schools, a day care and toxic gas: Parent worries escalate as state confirms health hazards

Free-for-all pedestrian scramble crossings eyed for downtown Kalamazoo

I-94 project inches closer to finish as new ramp opens

Long Island Cafe opens with mimosa towers, breakfast happy hours

Get ready for 8 to 10 years of major roadwork to transform downtown Kalamazoo
MUSKEGON, MI  The Muskegon Area Promise is expanding its scholarship eligibility requirements so that more students can benefit from the life-changing benefits of a tuition-free college education.

Muskegon area high school students now only need a 3.25 grade point average, or to rank within the top 30% of their graduating class, in order to qualify for the Promise Zone scholarship, the Muskegon Area Promise Zone Authority Board announced in a Friday, May 19 news release.

The eligibility change, down from the previous requirement of a 3.5 GPA, is expected to benefit over 850 students in Muskegon, officials say.

This expansion is a testament to our commitment to offering access to generation-changing education for all Muskegon County students, said Megan Byard-Karaba, college access specialist at the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District (MAISD). The Promise is more than just a scholarship. Its an investment in the future of Muskegon.

The Promise Zone scholarship provides Muskegon area high school students with scholarships covering two years of free tuition at Muskegon Community College or Baker College of Muskegon.

Promise scholarships are available to students who graduate from one of 16 local high schools: Calvary Christian, Fruitport, Holton, Mona Shores, Montague Area, Muskegon Catholic Central, Muskegon Covenant Academy, Muskegon, Muskegon Heights Public School Academy, North Muskegon, Oakridge, Orchard View, Ravenna, Reeths-Puffer, Western Michigan Christian, and Whitehall.

Muskegon Area Intermediate School District (MAISD) Superintendent Randy Lindquist said the expansion of eligibility for the Promise scholarship will open doors to students who may not have previously considered higher education as an attainable goal, including first-time college students.

Our goal has always been to create opportunities, Lindquist said in a prepared statement. By broadening the eligibility requirements, we are doing just that. Were ensuring that a greater number of our talented students have access to the education they deserve, right here at home.

In addition to lowering the GPA requirement for all students, the Promise Zone Authority Board is also waiving the GPA requirement for students who are enrolled in the Career Tech Center. That means the board could give out Promise scholarships to Career Tech Center students regardless of their GPA or class ranking.

Promise Zone officials are hoping the move will offer a more accessible pathway to higher education, according to the news release.

The Muskegon Area Promise Scholarship program is thrilled about this expansion and its potential for positive change within the community, the news release reads. As we continue to break down barriers to higher education, we remain hopeful and excited about the impact these changes will have on our community, our economy, and, most importantly, our students.

Officials from the Promise Zone board announced the eligibility changes Friday morning at the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce Breakfast.

Since its inception in 2015, the Muskegon Promise has awarded scholarships to 1,656 students who have achieved a high school 3.5 GPA, offering them two years of tuition at Muskegon Community College or Baker College of Muskegon, according to the release.

Officials say these scholarships have acted as an economic driver, incentivizing top talent to remain local and contributing to the growth and development of the county.

Want more Muskegon-area news? Bookmark the local Muskegon news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Muskegon daily newsletter.

More on MLive:

Michigan school district announces students will get free college tuition

Escape rooms showcase Muskegon history at Lakeshore Museum Center

Grand Rapids superintendent wants parents to weigh in on guns and school safety at forum
A Buffalo man who pleaded guilty to killing one puppy and seriously injuring another was sentenced Thursday to a one-year conditional discharge, according to the Erie County District Attorney's Office.

As part of the sentence, 21-year-old Joelier A. Santiago was ordered by Buffalo City Court Judge Kevin J. Keane to perform 360 hours of community service and also referred to a program for a mental health evaluation, prosecutors said.

Keane also issued an order preventing Santiago from owning or caring for any animals over the next five years.

Santiago was accused of causing serious injuries to two Maltese puppies under his care inside of an apartment on Louisiana Street in Buffalo on Dec. 29, 2021.

One of the dogs, a 10-month-old female named Nala died from her injuries that resulted from blunt force trauma caused by excessive force, according to a necropsy .

The other dog, a 2-month-old male named Milo, was unresponsive when he was taken to a veterinary emergency clinic in Buffalo. A veterinarian in Orchard Park determined that Milo had suffered severe bruising caused by excessive force. Milo has since been returned to his owner and has recovered from his injuries, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Santiago pleaded guilty on March 14 to two counts of overdriving, torturing and injuring animals and failure to provide proper sustenance.
MUSKEGON, MI  The NAACP will be allowed to participate in Muskegons Memorial Day parade after a decision to ban the civil rights organization was overturned.

A letter to the parade committee sent May 12 by the national NAACPs general counsel noted that denying the NAACP the right to march likely violates Michigans Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.

The issue came down to either canceling the parade or allowing in the NAACP, Greater Muskegon Memorial Day Parade Committee Chair Steve Allen told MLive/Muskegon Chronicle.

It was just an all or nothing type of thing, Allen said. It was either we were going to cancel the parade, or we were going to allow the NAACP to march.

The parade committee previously denied the local NAACPs application to march in the parade, after this year banning political groups from participating, Allen said.

However, NAACP officials say theirs is a nonpartisan group that counts many veterans among its members.

Related: NAACP excluded from Memorial Day parade in Muskegon

Local elected officials had contacted the committee about its decision and the letter from the national NAACPs general counsel had urged it to overturn its decision.

In the end, the eight-member committee decided the parade should not be about divisiveness, Allen said.

We look forward to having a good parade, he said.

Allen wouldnt say if the committees vote was unanimous. He said his vote, which would have been cast last, wasnt needed so he didnt cast one.

The meeting on Monday, May 15, was called before the national NAACPs letter was received, Allen said when asked if the letter from NAACP General Counsel Janette McCarthy Wallace influenced the vote.

Muskegon NAACP President Eric Hood told MLive/Muskegon Chronicle that he had emphasized to Allen that the civil rights organization fights for the rights of veterans and military personnel.

He called the initial decision to exclude the NAACP a a slap in the face that still stings.

Were going to make the best of it and educate everyone around Memorial Day and use it as a catalyst for our membership drive, Hood said. Its a slap in the face to think that this type of attitude still goes on in the City of Muskegon  throw a rock, hide a hand. Its still a struggle.

Wallaces letter explained that the roots of Memorial Day lie with formerly enslaved Black Americans who in 1865 created Decoration Day to honor Union soldiers who died during the Civil War. She noted that that year, more than 10,000 Black South Carolinians marched in support of the fallen soldiers.

Her letter also included a history lesson about the fight of Black Americans, including those serving in the U.S. military, against segregation, lynchings and discrimination and for the right to vote.

She also noted that Hood himself is a veteran. He served in the U.S. Army, and also is a retired Muskegon police officer who currently sits on the Muskegon City Commission.

You should invite the Muskegon NAACP to march this year, Wallace wrote. Banning the local branch from participating in the Memorial Day parade does a disservice to the roots of Memorial Day, the sacrifices Black soldiers have made for the United States, the importance of the NAACP in advocating for Black soldiers, veterans, civil rights  and a huge portion of Muskegons population.

The local NAACP had marched in Muskegons Memorial Day parade for many years, before the decision was made to exclude it this year, Hood said.

Allen said that the parade committee decided that this year it wouldnt allow politicians or political groups to march in the parade. After reviewing the NAACPs website, he said he concluded the NAACP is a political action committee.

The NAACPS mission is presented on its website:

Our mission is to achieve equity, political rights, and social inclusion by advancing policies and practices that expand human and civil rights, eliminate discrimination, and accelerate the well-being, education, and economic security of Black people and all persons of color.

Its bylaws for local branches state that activity to promote legislation to improve education and economic status of minority groups as well as repeal those that are discriminatory shall be non-partisan and shall not endorse candidates for public office.

The parade will begin at 9 a.m. May 29 at 340 Morris Avenue in downtown. It will proceed down Morris to Terrace Street and then to Clay Avenue, ending at Hackley Park.

Want more Muskegon area news? Bookmark the local Muskegon news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Muskegon daily newsletter.

Also on MLive:

Parade will be part of this years Muskegon Pride Festival in downtown

Muskegon Promise lowers GPA requirements, expanding eligibility to hundreds of students

Parties in the Park announces 2023 lineup for free downtown Muskegon events
BAY CITY, MI  Last fall, a Saginaw man allegedly shot and killed an Isabella County woman, wounding her baby in the process. Charged federally with murder due to the killing taking place on the Isabella Indian Reservation, he could have faced execution if convicted and prosecutors wanted to pursue such a penalty.

However, prosecutors recently announced that, no, they do not intend to seek the mans death.

A federal grand jury on Nov. 9 indicted 38-year-old Johnathan Ashford, on nine charges  second-degree murder, first-degree child abuse, assault with intent to murder, felon in possession of a firearm, failure to register as a sex offender, and two counts each of discharging a firearm in a crime of violence and domestic assault by a habitual offender.

The charges stem from the Nov. 5 homicide of 33-year-old Rosanna M. Romero, also known by the surnames Martin and Keshick.

Even though Michigan abolished the death penalty in 1847  being the first English-speaking government in the world to do so  federal prosecutors may seek it if they believe the crimes circumstances justify such a punishment. In accordance with U.S. Department of Justice policy, only the U.S. Attorney General may decide whether the government will seek such a penalty.

On April 25, U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison submitted a notice of intent to not seek capital punishment in Ashfords case.

Ashfords case began with Mount Pleasant police seeking the publics help in identifying two children left unaccompanied at a local hospital within the city about 12:45 a.m. on Nov. 5. The children were described as a boy between 15 and 18 months and a girl between 4 to 6 months.

The investigation led police to Romeros residence in the 2700 block of South Ivy Lane, where they found Romero deceased from multiple gunshot wounds.

According to complaints authored by Bureau of Indian Affairs agents, investigators executed a search warrant on Romeros home and found mail addressed to Ashford. However, Ashfords last registered address was in Saginaw.

A relative of Romeros told investigators Ashford had been living at the Ivy Lane home since September 2021 but often would stay in Saginaw for weeks at a time. The relative also told investigators there were at least three guns at Romeros residence.

Though Romero bought the guns, Ashford often used them, the relative said. Investigators found a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun at the home, the complaints state.

Romero was a member of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, while Ashford is not.

Law enforcement located and arrested Ashford in Saginaw late on Nov. 5. Ashford later waived his Miranda rights and told police he had shot Romero to death with a 9mm handgun, the complaints state.

Ashford said he shot Romero as he believed she was cheating on him. He also admitted to accidentally shooting Romeros baby who was in the room when he shot Romero, the complaints allege.

Romero graduated from Aabizikaawin Alternative School in 2006 and later earned her bachelors degree from Central Michigan University in 2016. For the last 10 years of her life, she worked for the tribe in the business regulations department. She also worked as a delivery driver for Amazon and DoorDash and had recently become a notary public, according to her obituary.

Rosanna was very active helping others in any way she could, serving on various tribal committees, her obituary continues. She was very loved and well-respected in her community and will be missed by so many. Rosanna loved traveling, going to concerts, and any time spent with her family. Beyond anything else, she loved her children and was an unforgettable mother.

Ashfords trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 9, with a plea cut-off date of Nov. 28.

Want more Bay City- and Saginaw-area news? Bookmark the local Bay City and Saginaw news page or sign up for the free 3@3 daily newsletter for Bay City and Saginaw.

Read more:

Man who allegedly killed woman in Michigan could face death penalty

Saginaw man charged with murder in death of Mount Pleasant woman on tribal lands

Facing death penalty, Marvin Gabrions appeal rejected in 1997 killing of Rachel Timmerman
LANSING, MI  Searching for somewhat of a political middle ground, a group of anti-extremist and anti-Trump conservatives are attempting to start a new political party in Michigan: the Common Sense Party.

Were concerned about the rise of extremism and the attack on free and fair elections, said Jeff Timmer, a former Michigan Republican Party executive director who has been a vocal opponent of former President Donald Trump.

Now a political strategist and senior advisor for the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, Timmer is helping lead this new party effort in response to growing right-wing extremism fanned by the ex-president and supported in a crucial swing state.

Timmer spoke to reporters Friday after a meeting of the states top elections board on his push for 2024. The Board of State Canvassers was to vote on approving the groups petition form for signature gathering, but Timmer delayed it until at least next month to fix some technical errors.

New political parties are required to gather petition signatures to gain ballot access in Michigan.

Once approved, Common Sense Party officials must gather around 45,000 valid signatures in a 180-day window.

Related: Conspiracies and a Holocaust meme mark the dawn of Karamos Michigan Republican Party

The new party avoided being tied to one issue, Timmer said, focusing instead on supporting candidates who exhibit a pro-democracy, pro rule of law, anti-extremist position. He said there is more political extremism on the right than the left and its dominating much of the GOP today.

Other names behind Common Sense include former congressmen Joe Schwarz and Dave Trott, plus former Michigan Chamber of Commerce executive Bob LaBrant. Other members, Timmer said, were high-level appointees of Republican Govs. Rick Snyder and John Engler.

Michigan officially recognizes seven political parties: Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green, U.S. Taxpayers, Natural Law and Working Class. Only Republicans and Democrats hold statewide, legislative or federal office.

In last years governor race, third-party candidates earned 1.58% of the vote  about 71,000 votes of 4.5 million cast.

Related: Tired of left-right gridlock? Forward Party vying for Michigans 2024 ballot.

Common Sense also wants to reimplement fusion voting in Michigan, which would help the party avoid the spoiler label third parties often get. Fusion voting is when multiple parties on a ballot can nominate the same candidate and pool votes for them.

If the ban on fusion voting in Michigan were to be overturned or removed, Timmer said, we would only nominate candidates who are also already nominated by either the Democrats or Republicans.

Read more from MLive:

25 Michigan ZIP codes that have donated the most to Trump 2024

Winners and losers in Michigans draft budgets

A tornado ravaged Gaylord in 3 minutes. The city is rebuilding a year later.

Outright war: Gender Queer and the attack on Michigan libraries
Were about 18 months away from the 2024 presidential election and the race picture is coming into focus.

Former President Donald Trump is one of five Republicans who have entered the race as of Thursday, May 18. Theyll seek the partys nomination to challenge the Democrat nominee, which could be the incumbent President Joe Biden.

Its not yet clear if Trumps legal issues will impact his candidacy. The nations 45th president was indicted earlier this year on allegations of falsifying business records. A jury also found him liable for defamation and sexual abuse in a civil court case.

According to his official campaign website, Trump isnt giving up now, and neither are his supporters.

Between Jan. 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, the campaign has received $306,548 from individual Michigan donors, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Stacker, a data media company, compiled a list of the top 25 Michigan ZIP codes based on its total donation amount per 1,000 people. The listing doesnt include donations from groups or committees, and excludes ZIP codes with fewer than 1,000 people or fewer than 10 individual donations.

Below are the top 25 ZIP codes. Included with each ZIP is its general location within the state, the communitys population and median household income, and the available donor data.

25. 48094 (Washington, Macomb County)

Money donated per 1k people: $165.95 ($3,296 total)

Number of individual donations: 51

Population: 19,862

Median household income: $87,687

24. 49088 (Scotts, Kalamazoo County)

Money donated per 1k people: $169.53 ($629 total)

Number of individual donations: 10

Population: 3,708

Median household income: $92,434

23. 49446 (New Era, Oceana County)

Money donated per 1k people: $169.79 ($387 total)

Number of individual donations: 11

Population: 2,279

Median household income: $67,635

22. 49038 (Coloma, Berrien County)

Money donated per 1k people: $172.79 ($1,531 total)

Number of individual donations: 36

Population: 8,861

Median household income: $57,741

21. 49002 (Portage, Kalamazoo County)

Money donated per 1k people: $177.02 ($3,565 total)

Number of individual donations: 13

Population: 20,139

Median household income: $63,080

20. 49259 (Munith, Jackson County)

Money donated per 1k people: $179.66 ($475 total)

Number of individual donations: 17

Population: 2,646

Median household income: $50,987

19. 49125 (Sawyer, Berrien County)

Money donated per 1k people: $185.62 ($413 total)

Number of individual donations: 15

Population: 2,226

Median household income: $71,920

18. 48350 (Davisburg, Oakland County)

Money donated per 1k people: $196.96 ($1,575 total)

Number of individual donations: 16

Population: 7,994

Median household income: $97,981

17. 49301 (Ada, Kent County)

Money donated per 1k people: $231.31 ($4,695 total)

Number of individual donations: 14

Population: 20,296

Median household income: $149,356

16. 49689 (Wellston, Manistee County)

Money donated per 1k people: $233.57 ($346 total)

Number of individual donations: 12

Population: 1,481

Median household income: $60,294

15. 49795 (Vanderbilt, Otsego County)

Money donated per 1k people: $246.84 ($462 total)

Number of individual donations: 25

Population: 1,871

Median household income: $50,878

14. 49841 (Gwinn, Marquette County)

Money donated per 1k people: $262.05 ($1,916 total)

Number of individual donations: 57

Population: 7,310

Median household income: $54,194

13. 48145 (La Salle, Monroe County)

Money donated per 1k people: $278.31 ($863 total)

Number of individual donations: 58

Population: 3,101

Median household income: $70,156

12. 49740 (Harbor Springs, Emmet County)

Money donated per 1k people: $290.61 ($2,157 total)

Number of individual donations: 24

Population: 7,422

Median household income: $71,857

11. 48079 (Saint Clair, St. Clair County)

Money donated per 1k people: $338.91 ($4,239 total)

Number of individual donations: 88

Population: 12,507

Median household income: $84,593

10. 49012 (Augusta, Kalamazoo County)

Money donated per 1k people: $349.09 ($1,294 total)

Number of individual donations: 39

Population: 3,708

Median household income: $78,173

9. 49043 (Covert, Van Buren County)

Money donated per 1k people: $354.82 ($766 total)

Number of individual donations: 11

Population: 2,158

Median household income: $31,028

8. 48191 (Willis, Washtenaw County)

Money donated per 1k people: $357.33 ($1,462 total)

Number of individual donations: 10

Population: 4,090

Median household income: $90,547

7. 49935 (Iron River, Iron County)

Money donated per 1k people: $362.59 ($2,198 total)

Number of individual donations: 11

Population: 6,062

Median household income: $45,529

6. 48414 (Bancroft, Shiawassee County)

Money donated per 1k people: $374.62 ($1,027 total)

Number of individual donations: 19

Population: 2,742

Median household income: $68,750

5. 48766 (Twining, Arenac County)

Money donated per 1k people: $396.48 ($540 total)

Number of individual donations: 10

Population: 1,362

Median household income: $47,083

4. 49755 (Levering, Emmet County)

Money donated per 1k people: $413.13 ($702 total)

Number of individual donations: 25

Population: 1,699

Median household income: $55,313

3. 48834 (Fenwick, Montcalm)

Money donated per 1k people: $501.67 ($1,056 total)

Number of individual donations: 22

Population: 2,104

Median household income: $56,944

2. 49648 (Kewadin, Antrim County)

Money donated per 1k people: $675.84 ($1,690 total)

Number of individual donations: 48

Population: 2,500

Median household income: $78,229

1. 48848 (Laingsburg, Shiawassee County)

Money donated per 1k people: $715.82 ($5,470 total)

Number of individual donations: 55

Population: 7,641

Median household income: $82,161

Read more on MLive:

Michigan a step closer to stricter environmental rules than feds

Michigan hunting, fishing guides face licensure under new legislation

Outright war: Gender Queer and the attack on Michigan libraries
TRAVERSE CITY, MI  River connectivity and biodiversity are the focus of Michigans share of a federal grant-making program call America the Beautiful.

The Boardman River in Traverse City provided the backdrop for state, federal, and tribal officials to gather and discuss the importance of the ecological restoration work $5 million in grants will fund across Michigan. The effort is part of President Joe Bidens Investing in America agenda.

U.S. Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz toured several dam removal and fish passage restoration sites across Northern Michigan on Thursday, May 18, 2023. She said the Boardman River dam removal project was the most inspiring project shed seen so far.

Rivers have long memories. The species and the life that has evolved with that river has a long collective ecological memory. And when you begin the process of healing rivers, they reward you immediately because they remember what they were supposed to do and what they were supposed to be, said the subcabinet official in the Department of the Interior.

Estenoz said the grant program is meant to bring federal resources to bear on conservation efforts led by local and tribal officials.

This is exactly what we want to be investing in, she said, gesturing to the Boardman River behind her.

Michigan will use the influx of federal dollars to help pay for removal of 27 dams or other stream barriers to restore natural pathways for native fish and other aquatic species in 14 counties.

The work is expected to additionally benefit multiple other species, including the pickerel frog, fluted shell and elktoe freshwater mussels, and the eastern massasauga rattlesnake  which was recently added to Michigans list of threatened and endangered species.

Related: Bumblebees, bats, birds and more added to Michigans threatened, endangered species list

Kimberly Balke, program director for river restoration group Conservation Resource Alliance, said its critically important to remove smaller dams and river barriers across Michigan, even those on little streams and tributaries.

Its still vital because our rivers and their tributaries are essentially the immune system of our Great Lakes, Balke said. Its up to us to restore the sites for a better water quality and stream habitat, outdoor recreation, and community safety.

Officials at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources will manage the grant-funded projects and will partner with local groups and Indigenous tribes to reconnect nearly 200 upstream miles of rivers and streams.

Related: Michigan fish will have more room to swim with removal of 27 dams

Carolan Sonderegger, Natural Resources Department manager for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa, said its important to remember the human connection to water and strive to preserve the environment for the future.

We need to protect that and its projects that like these that keep us going and fighting and remembering who we are where we came from, Sonderegger said as restored Boardman River rapids rippled behind her.

The existing Boardman River  called the Ottaway River by the Tribe  is largely reconnected after the removal of three dams between 2012 and 2018.

Only the FishPass project to replace the aging Union Street Dam on the Boardman River in downtown Traverse City remains pending, currently paused in a legal limbo before the Michigan Supreme Court.

Estenoz spent three days touring conservation project sites across Michigan, including the Ocqueoc and Black Mallard rivers in Presque Isle County, Hammond Bay on Lake Huron, Cheboygan River, and the sea lamprey control center in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. She also attended briefings on fisheries management and sea lamprey controls in Ann Arbor during her Michigan tour.

Sign up to receive MLive's free new environment and climate newsletter, "Lake Effect." Enter your email below:





Related articles:

16 Michigan dam removal, repair projects split $15.3M in grants

A $100M bridge: Traverse City bypass plan emerges from 30-year debate

These northern Michigan sturgeon were on the brink. 20 years of efforts saved them.

If trees had feet: Tree migration brings climate resiliency to Michigan forests
MADISON, WI  A federal judge in Wisconsin this week heard arguments about shutting down a controversial oil and gas pipeline after an Indigenous tribe said recent flooding and erosion along the Bad River put the aging infrastructure at greater risk of rupturing on reservation land and spoiling Great Lakes wetlands.

U.S. District Judge William Conley did not immediately issue any orders.

The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa recently filed an emergency motion arguing springtime flooding endangered the integrity of Enbridges Line 5 pipeline and put river wetlands and downstream Lake Superior at risk of a catastrophic oil spill.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed an amicus brief in support of the tribes argument because of the threat to the Lake Superior watershed.

But Enbridge officials said there is no immediate threat, and the pipeline is working normally. However, they want to work on erosion prevention methods with tribal approval to access the pipeline on reservation lands.

During arguments on May 18, 2023, in Madison, Wisconsin, the judge seemed hesitant to shut down the pipeline when the tribe had not allowed Enbridge workers to reinforce the riverbank.

Conley said it is an extraordinary request to be made when the Band is doing nothing, according to reporting by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The judge previously ruled in September 2022 that Canadian energy transportation giant Enbridge willfully trespassed on tribal lands with its pipeline and wrongly used requests to renew past easement agreements as justification for continued use. The company must now reroute the pipeline around tribal lands.

However, Conley stopped short of ordering Enbridge to shut down Line 5 as the Wisconsin tribe requested because of expected economic consequences and impacts on the economic relationship between the United States and Canada.

This week, the judge said he was uncomfortable being put in a position to possibly shut down the pipeline.

Nessel argued in her brief that Michigan agrees with the Bad River Band and believes the risk of a pipeline rupture outweighs any risk posed by a shutdown of Line 5.

Lake Superior is a priceless natural and cultural resource and, like all the Great Lakes, it is vital to our way of life in Michigan, Nessel said.

Tribal officials said some arguments in court went well this week, while others didnt.

Michigan-based attorney Riyaz Kanji represents the Bad River Band and said they were disappointed the judge didnt order the immediate shutdown of Line 5 after reviewing the erosion evidence. Yet, the tribe remains hopeful after the judge indicated he may set an erosion threshold that would warrant shutting down the pipeline.

He suggested that he would do that fairly quickly and he is taking into account some important considerations in setting that threshold, Kanji said.

Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy said the judge this week affirmed there is no immediate threat of the pipeline failing and it continues to operate normally and safely.

We also heard Judge Conley say that the erosion mitigation projects are critically important and multiple projects are before the Band for approval, Duffy said. We stand ready to work with the Bad River Band on projects that will prevent any future erosion and protect the waters of the Bad River and the Line 5 pipeline.

Tribal citizens and other water protection advocates spoke during a press conference that began after this weeks federal court hearing ended.

Bad River Band Chairman Mike Wiggins Jr. said it was difficult to listen to testimony from those who are considered environmental experts but who dont have a relationship with the Bad River in northern Wisconsin.

We know as inhabitants in that place for thousands of years what our waterways are capable of, and theres a lot of things that were not allowed to be said in that courtroom, both during our litigation last fall and also today, about  how our river interacts with our place, Wiggins said.

And all of that culminates in us as ancient people in our ancestral homeland as a true experts of whats going on there.

The chairman also said the tribe has its own environmental regulations to enforce and not allowing Enbridge to do erosion prevention work was not complicit and contributing to the threat as the judge suggested.

The response to that and to the notion that we didnt do enough and maybe even didnt do anything to let Enbridge industrialize the river bottom is essentially that we have a federal authority under the EPA Clean Water Act to enforce our own water quality standards, Wiggins said.

Environmental advocacy groups from Wisconsin, Michigan, and Canada lined up to announce support for the Bad River Bands latest legal fight with Enbridge, including Sierra Club Wisconsin, Great Lakes Business Network, and Environmental Defence Canada.

Line 5 is nearly 70 years old and carries about 23 million gallons a day of crude oil and natural gas liquids from Superior, Wisconsin, into and across Michigans Upper Peninsula, beneath Great Lakes waters at the Straits of Mackinac, and then through Lower Michigan to end at refineries in Sarnia, Ontario.

In Michigan, Enbridge wants to build a tunnel through the bedrock beneath the Straits into which Line 5 would be rerouted, removing the 4-mile section that runs across Great Lakes bottomlands where Lakes Michigan and Huron meet.

Both Nessel and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have sued in state court to shut down Line 5, though Enbridge has successfully had the cases removed to federal court.

Both Indigenous tribes and environmental groups contend the dual pipelines are a constant petrochemical spill risk that could pollute hundreds of miles of Great Lakes shorelines at the heart of the continents greatest freshwater resource. Enbridge officials say the lines have never leaked in the Straits and remain in sound working condition.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently said its review of the companys proposed tunnel that was initially expected by this years end is now projected to take until spring 2025. A decision would now come no sooner than early 2026.

This new timeline could push the tunnels projected completion date to 2030.

Proponents contend a tunnel is needed to maintain energy market stability in the Midwest and would heighten environmental protections for the pipeline that is now exposed to Great Lakes waters and strong underwater currents.

Federal approval is not the only hurdle to Enbridges tunnel plan, which still must clear a lengthy review by the Michigan Public Service Commission.

State environmental regulators already approved permits for the company to build the tunnel, as well as the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority.

In 2021, Canada invoked a 1977 treaty over Michigans efforts to close the line, arguing that it delivers critical fuel supplies to Ontario and Quebec. The treaty limits actions that could impede energy supplies of either the U.S. or Canada.

The Biden and Trudeau administrations remain in negotiations over the treaty invocation.

Sign up to receive MLive's free new environment and climate newsletter, "Lake Effect." Enter your email below:





Related articles:

Wisconsin Line 5 trespass ruling may influence Michigan legal fight

Michigan AG files appeal to return Enbridge Line 5 case to state court

Line 5 tunnel could be a stranded asset in 20 years, report suggests

Tribal challenge to Line 5 tunnel permit reinstated by oversight panel

Part of tribal identity, Great Lakes wild rice threatened by climate change
Abena Korkor Addo has in a new social media rant prompted to release a long list of male celebrities who according to her, have had their way with her.

From politicians to musicians to actors, Abena Korkor who has a history of mentioning names during some of her relapses has gone on the tangent again.

This has sent chills down the spine of her 'bed warmers' as she threatens to release an updated list of men she has had sex with.

Abena Korkor dropped that intriguing post whilst she captioned new list is loading.

Currently, Abena Korkor is causing a stir on social media as fans least expected her to go back to this after taking a long break from social media.

In another post, Abena Korkor shared a post that says Dont let anyone stop you from sharing the truth. If the characters in your story wanted an honourable mention, they would have done honourable things by one Helen.

She vowed to expose these individuals who have high social respect but perform all kinds of bad deeds in the dark which included sleeping with her.

Watch the video below


Albert Nathaniel Hyde, better known as Bongo Ideas, says he is "a free man" after popular Ghanaian social media influencer and forex trader, Bright Kojo Onipayede alias Kojo Forex filed a GHS1 million lawsuit against him for defamation.

Kojo Forex claims Bongo Ideas published "disparaging and defamatory statements" about him on Twitter after he refused to mentor or associate with Bongo Ideas.

According to legal documents intercepted by Modernghana News, Kojo Forex runs a forex trading academy with a large social media following.

Bongo Ideas, known for controversial tweets about public figures, messaged Kojo Forex in April 2022 requesting mentorship.

After Kojo Forex refused to engage, Bongo Ideas began tweeting "disparaging and defamatory" statements in February 2023, the lawsuit alleges.

Kojo Forex's lawsuit cites tweets from Bongo Ideas calling him a "FX fraudster," "Ponzi schemer" who "steals from people."

Kojo Forex is seeking damages, an apology and restraint from further defamatory comments.

The case is scheduled to be heard soon.

In a tweet with the lawsuit documents, Kojo Forex wrote: Bongo Ideas, see you in court.

However, Bongo Ideas quickly hit back, tweeting: Bongo Ideas is a free man! indicating he is unconcerned about the lawsuit.
Ghanaian blogger and showbiz critic, Boga Ali Hashim has jabbed Kofi Kinaata over a statement he described as "prideful" made by the latter.

The 24th VGMA Highlife Artist of the Year, Kofi Kinaata speaking in an interview with Blakk Rasta on 3fm 92.7 indicated that he was not discovered by the revered reggae/dancehall artist, Samini.

According to Kinaata, his affinity with Samini only propel him to the next stage of his musical career and thus he was already in the spotlight before joining the Highgrade family in 2014.

Boga Ali Hashim reacting to this, took to social media and wrote "So I just chanced on a video of Kinaata saying that he wasn't discovered by Samini and that he was already a big act before Samini came into the picture. Smh, I guess that's an unfortunate remark by my brother. It's factual, Samini's impact on the Kinaata brand even goes beyond a 'discovery', the high level of grooming, developments, plugs, exposure, opportunities, and need not to say much, I feel it's prideful to say he didn't discover you. Let's credit where credit's due. #love."

Kofi Kinaata in 2018 parted ways with the Highgrade Family Records after his 5-year contract with the label elapsed to form his own label 'Team Move'.

Meanwhile, The 'things fall apart' crooner is currently promoting his latest single titled 'Effiakuma love'.
Bongo Ideas[left] and Kojo Forex

20.05.2023 LISTEN

Popular Ghanaian social media influencer and forex trader, Bright Kojo Onipayede, known as Kojo Forex, has reiterated his no-going-back stance on the lawsuit he recently filed against Ghanaian blogger, Bongo Ideas.

In a tweet on Friday, May 19, the Forex investor noted that he will go to any length to make sure the twitter troll pays for whatever pain he has caused him and his family.

Causing my family & especially my wife to have a psychological breakdown because stupid & ignorant random strangers online are labelling her husband a scammer when she freaken knows how hard I legit work! Youll pay for it, I PROMISE! he wrote.

Kojo Forex had filed a lawsuit against Bongo Ideas for defamation.

In the suit filed in Accra High Court, Kojo Forex claims Bongo Ideas published "disparaging and defamatory statements" about him on Twitter following Kojo Forex's refusal to mentor or associate with Bongo Ideas.

According to the statement of claim intercepted by Modernghana News, Kojo Forex runs an academy providing forex trading education and has a large social media following, including over 156,000 YouTube subscribers and 78,800 Twitter followers.

In contrast, Bongo Ideas has approximately 86,800 followers on Twitter, where he frequently posts controversial comments about public figures.

The statement of claim alleges that Bongo Ideas first contacted Kojo Forex in April 2022 to request mentorship on "how to makemoney."

However, Kojo Forex refused to respond or engage with Bongo Ideas due to the latter's notorious social media behavior.

In response, Bongo Ideas allegedly began posting "disparaging and defamatory" statements about Kojo Forex on Twitter in February 2023.

Some of the defamatory tweets from Bongo Ideas include: "I hate to give FX fraudsters like @KojoForex a bite of my so-called 'ill-gotten clout.' But a Ponzi-schemer who steals from people & comes online to proudly show off deserves some hooting. Pay the people you've defrauded first, & let's see if I could consider you for a beefing." Another tweet allegedly said, "The FX thingy is just a small part of the secretive online business empire (I will explain later) he runs. His profits from FX, as he makes it...are from his numerous students...As for his illicit online money-making empire...that's episodes are loading!"

Kojo Forex is seeking one million cedis in damages, a retraction and apology from Bongo Ideas, and a court order restraining him from further defamatory comments.

The case is scheduled to be heard in the Accra High Court in the coming days.

In a tweet on Thursday, May 18, with the suit documents attached, Kojo Forex wrote, Bongo Ideas, see you in court.
Former City of Dunkirk Festivals Coordinator Hector Rosas, 63, was arraigned Friday in Chautauqua County Court in Mayville on two counts of third-degree grand larceny and two counts of public corruption, both the state comptroller and Chautauqua County district attorney announced in a joint statement. He is accused of using his public position to steal more than $50,000 through a variety of schemes.

Rosas, who is the older brother of Dunkirk Mayor Willie Rosas, is accused of stealing nearly $15,000 in donations collected from citizens, schools and civic groups for the Hurricane Maria relief effort that he oversaw in 2017 to aid the people of Puerto Rico. In addition, he is accused of pocketing over $42,000 in cash that he collected from beer sales at the annual summer city festivals between 2016 and 2019.

"Rosas allegedly used his position to steal donations meant to help Hurricane Maria victims and divert funds meant to benefit his community into his own pockets," State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a statement Friday. "Public service is a privilege and a duty that he is charged with betraying. Thanks to our partnership with District Attorney Schmidt, we have exposed these schemes.

Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt added that the crimes of which Rosas is accused are not victimless.

"Dunkirk City, like many of our local municipalities here in Chautauqua County, is engaged in an every-day battle to service its residents with precious little money. City residents, themselves, and most of us here in Chautauqua County, live paycheck to paycheck. Every dollar stolen is a dollar not spent servicing our community. No one should use their public office for personal gain," Schmidt said.

Rosas' lawyer, Barry Covert, said his client pleaded not guilty at his arraignment.

"He is adamant that there was absolutely no improprieties in these matters, and that there is no money missing at all," Covert said Friday.

Mayor Rosas did not respond to a telephone message left at his office Friday.

A Silver Creek resident, Hector Rosas began his employment with the City of Dunkirk in 1984 as a water meter reader and then laborer. In 2016, Rosas was promoted to the newly created position of festivals coordinator in which he ran Dunkirks summer festival programs through the citys local development corporation. He retired in 2019.

Rosas is due back in court on June 13.
18.05.2023 LISTEN

In July of 2023 YahKwame Kariuki Nii Ayi Kushi Amaa Blackwell who is professionally recognized as "Yahu Blackwell" of the Gadangme Tribe of Ghana, and the Kikuyu Anjiru Clan in the east African nation of Kenya, will be enthroned as "OSU NORYAA TSE" in Ghana.

An "OSU NORYAA TSE" among the people of Osu in Ghana is also referred to as "The Development-King-At-Large" and is recognized by His Royal Majesty (HRM) Notse Nii Nortey Owuo IV of the Osu Empire. The new chieftain will be responsible for overseeing projects  on behalf of the Osu monarchy  that's concerned with the development of Osu's economy and also work to attract both foreign and domestic investors from the Diaspora.

He will serve as a liaison between Osu monarchy and the indigenes of Osu who reside outside of Ghana and around the world and serve as the unifying strength that will focus their attention on the motherland.

"This enthronement means the world to me. It is a weight I'm prepared to shoulder, and I'll do everything I can to make the best of it, to make Osu greater. I will be open to new ideas and discover ways to move the people of Osu forward positively into the future with the help of everyone," said Yahu Blackwell to TheAfricanDream.net from his base in the United States.

Soon to be His Excellency, King YahKwame Kariuki Nii Ayi Kushi Amaa Blackwell (Yahu Blackwell), will be serving the Osu Stool after his coronation rituals are performed later this year in Ghana around July through August.

HRM Owuo IV reminded Yah'Kwame that loyalty to the stool is always a blessing that the ancestors will pour out upon him. The King of Osu further told the boxer to "be true in your convictions to serve always, and understand why we serve. Do remember your oath on the day you take it and the sky will be no limit."

Yahu Blackwell, who is a professional boxer fighting under the flag of Ghana, has expressed his excitement about his enstoolment. "This gives me a humbling opportunity to serve my people and to ultimately establish a strong link with my ancestral heritage on the Ghana side. As a serial entrepreneur and businessman, I've always prayed for ways to not just give back, but also learn from my people and I can't wait to do exactly this as a development-chief-at-large when I attend the 2023 Homowo Festival in Ghana."

Sources say HRM Notse Nii Nortey Owuo IV and his excellency Osu Noryaa Tse (Yahu) have already begun outlining some development projects for Osu, and they will soon announce details about them.

The township of Osu is located about 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) east of the central business district of the neighborhood in central Accra, Ghana. It is locally known as the "West End" of Accra and bounded to the south by the Gulf of Guinea, Osu's western boundary is the Independence Avenue.

Meanwhile, Yahu Blackwell makes his official return to the ring at the end of June in a Cruiserweight highly anticipated match at Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic against Columbian fighter Roberto Gonzales. The scheduled 8-round bout will be for the WBC and WBA regional titles.

Source: TheAfricanDream.net
A former member of opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Stephen Atubiga has predicted more court actions against NDC Members of Parliament (MPs), blaming the party's "incompetent" and "strategically-inept" leadership.

He made the comments in a Facebook post on May 17 hours after the Supreme Court dismissed the NDC MP for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson from Parliament.

Atubiga criticized the NDC leadership for failing to strike deals with the governing NPP that could have helped shield NDC MPs from legal troubles.

He claimed NDC should have postponed its parliamentary leadership elections to maintain an "effective opposition in parliament."

He wrote: "There is a more guilty verdict against the NDC MPS coming soon...Protecting your MPs in Parliament through any means or dialog with the majority is also parliamentary. As a minority, it's your numbers that provide you the extraordinary strength over the majority in the house."

Atubiga blamed what he called the NDC's "village boy's leadership" for the party's troubles, saying "suits wearing educated people can[not] lead people to the promised land with common sense."

The Supreme Court's decision on May 17 ordered Parliament to expunge James Quayson as MP for Assin North from its records for failing to renounce his Canadian citizenship before running for parliament in 2020.

The court said a by-election must be held to elect a new MP for Assin North.

The verdict comes as a blow to weaken the NDC numerical strength in parliament.

In a statement, the minority said it member remains a legitimate member of the House having fulfilled all the constitutional requirements before his election and swearing-in.
Dalex Finance's Director of Business Operations, Joe Jackson, is advising the NPP government to avoid excessive borrowing following Ghana's $3 billion rescue from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Joe Jackson urged government to draw lessons from its own actions that contributed to the economic crisis in his interview with Eyewitness News on Citi FM.

He emphasized that in order to avoid worsening the economic crisis, the government should use the funds wisely and refrain from borrowing recklessly.

Joe Jackson warned the NPP government against another extravagant lifestyle.

What this means is that, once we have taken the money, the behavior that we have to undertake to ensure that this money is spent properly, has to kick in. We now have to make sure that we do the right thing. If anything at all, this is absolutely the wrong time to believe that we can be reckless in borrowing.

He added, This is the time you get prudent with your money. Its not an invitation to go on another spending spree, its not the time to show your bad habits. If government doesnt behave, it wont get the 2nd tranche, talk less of the 3rd tranche. The whole world is watching to see how the government will behave.

He asked the government to turn away from the penchant for borrowing excessively.

The program is going to be for a few years, so Im sure we will behave properly. We are so close to disaster this time, so close to total collapse that we have to learn our lessons. We need to ask ourselves the things we can do to prevent future governments from this reckless borrowing. How do we make sure that we dont borrow and borrow until we cant pay anymore? How do we make sure this does not happen again? he shared.

Joe Jackson further urged the closure of inefficient State-Owned Enterprises that were draining the nation's resources and a reduction in the number of appointees in government.
18.05.2023 LISTEN

Mahama Ayariga, the MP for Bawku Central has expressed his dissatisfaction with the Supreme Court's decision to remove the MP for the Assin North district James Gyakye Quayson from Parliament.

The Supreme Court unanimously ordered Parliament to expunge the name of James Gyakye Quayson from its records.

The SP held that he should no longer be listed as a Member of Parliament for the Assin North for owing allegiance to Canada.

Hon. Mahama Ayariga expressed his worry in an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Eyewitness News on Wednesday, saying Some of us advocated that the court should be more progressive in its interpretation of the Constitution and assume the determination of status to the point where an MP is being sworn in but it seems the court has taken a position that it should be at the time that you are even filing your nominations to contest an election.

Ayariga criticized the Supreme Court for hurriedly issuing the order without giving the full ruling.

I have been a critique of the Supreme Court taking decisions without reasoning and even allowing time before they give judgment. In politically charged cases, it will do the Supreme Court image good if they took their time to give the decision and the reasoning at the same time so that it will not allow for all sort of interpretations, he shared.

Evans Nimako, the director of elections for the ruling New Patriotic Party applauded the Supreme Court for declaring the Assin North 2020 parliamentary election null and void.
Assin North MP James Gyakye Quayson is the subject of the government's alleged cruelty and evil behavior, according to North Tongu Member of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

On May 17, the Supreme Court in a majority decision ordered the removal of James Gyakye Quayson's name from the records of the Parliament as MP for Assin North for owing allegiance to Canada.

In reaction, Mr Ablakwa tweeted that Shouldnt government be exhibiting just a fraction of the viciousness & fiendishness with which they have pursued Hon. James Quayson by going after those who callously killed 7 harmless & hapless Ghanaians during the 2020 elections? Parliamentary votes over human lives? Despicable!

The Minority Leader in Parliament, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has reacted to the Supreme Court's directive asking Parliament to expunge James Gyakye Quayson's name as Member of Parliament from the Assin North constituency.

In a press statement issued Wednesday reacting to the Supreme Court's ruling, Dr Ato Forson argued that "the intention of the framers of Ghana's constitution is not to allow a dual citizen to perform the functions of a Member of Parliament."

His thinking is that, "as at the time of his election, James Gyakye Quayson was not a dual citizen, neither was he a dual citizen as at the time he took the oath of office as a Member of Parliament."

"It is therefore baffling that the Supreme Court could direct the removal from Parliament of such a person who has been duly elected as a Member of Parliament."
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has revealed that Ghana is set to receive the first tranche of the $3 billion bailout package approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He said the money is likely to come tomorrow, May 19, 2023.

While speaking at a joint press conference between the Government of Ghana and officials of the IMF, Ofori-Atta outlined a roadmap for continued financial support from the IMF over the coming months.

There is a $600 million release, and we will be working with the IMF to see if we can get it by tomorrow, and then we will move on to the next 6 months which will be another $600 million, and then we move on to about 5 different tranches every 6 months in the periods ahead.
Management of VRA/NEDCo in the Upper East Region says it is diligently working towards resolving the power supply challenges in some parts of the Garu district.

Following a severe rainstorm that damaged approximately 31 electric poles in the area, communities such as Akora, Woriyanga, Yakoti, and Kpikpira have experienced prolonged power outages.

Expressing their concerns, the local youth have demanded an immediate solution to this problem as they say it adversely affects their livelihoods.

However, Ishmael Ben Kwofie, the VRA/NEDCo Area Engineer, in a Citi News interview assured that despite the extensive damage caused by the rainstorm to their network, their team is working tirelessly to restore electricity supply to the affected communities by the end of this week.

The extent of damage caused by the rainstorm was quite substantial, making it challenging to acquire the necessary materials for power restoration. It took several days before we could address the situation, but there are contractors currently on-site attending to the matter. Numerous communities were affected, including Akara with 11 damaged high-tension poles, Woriyanga with 9 poles, Yakoti with 7 poles, and Kpikpira with 4 poles. Additionally, several low-voltage poles were also damaged. Our priority is to restore the high-tension poles, followed by the low-voltage poles, explained Ing. Kwofie.

He acknowledged the unfortunate delay in restoring power promptly due to the extensive damage and material requirements.

However, the team, he said, is determined to resolve the issue by the end of this week. Out of the approximately 613 damaged high-tension poles, 23 have already been restored, and they have dispatched steel poles to repair the remaining 9 damaged ones.

Ing. Kwofie appealed to the affected communities for patience while VRA/NEDCo works diligently to restore power supply, assuring them that the company will continue exploring innovative opportunities to reduce such failures in the future.

Furthermore, he expressed concern over the impact of the ongoing Bawku ethnic crisis on the companys operations in the area.

He said contractors are currently hesitant to enter Bawku to address specific electricity supply challenges.

We currently face a breakdown in Bawku, and despite contacting several contractors, none of them is willing to collect materials from our yard and commence work. This is a significant problem that has already affected our operations. However, we are actively working to mitigate this issue and hope that it does not prolong, Ing. Kwofie lamented.

-Citinewsroom
The Attorney General, the Ghana Police Service, and the Inspector General of Police have been sued by some 82 police officers over failure to promote them despite being due after completing their studies.

All the Plaintiffs applied for the 2017/2018 Academic Year Study Leave with pay programme for Tertiary Courses ranging between two (2) to four (4) years.

Each and every Plaintiff having qualified were selected and made to enter into the requisite Bond to serve the Police Service upon completion of their various courses for at least Five (5) years upon condition that the Bond would be entreated when breached.

-3news.com
The Christian Council of Ghana has expressed its intention to collaborate the Ga Traditional Council in order to obtain clear directives regarding the ban on drumming and noise-making.

The ban, which precedes the annual Homowo festival, commenced on May 15, with the Ga Traditional Council urging all individuals within its jurisdiction to comply with the directive.

However, the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs stated in a release that the council has endorsed the use of microphones and public address systems by clergy, but at reduced volumes. Nevertheless, the Ga Traditional Council has refuted this claim.

Reverend Dr. Cyril Fayose, General Secretary for the Christian Council, explained in an interview with Citi News that they would seek clarification on the directive to ensure harmony with the traditional authorities.

I will clarify the issue with the traditional council, and also with the Ministry of chieftaincy. When we are clear on what they are demanding, we will send same message to our congregants. At the end of the day, we have to collaborate for the observation to be successful. If there is a misunderstanding, the observation of the silence will not be successful. So we will talk to them and clarify issues, the General Secretary for the Christian Council of Ghana said.

Background

The one-month ban on all forms of noise-making and drumming in Accra came into effect on May 15, 2023.

This ban is part of the preparations for the celebration of the Homowo festival by the Ga people.

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) issued a statement reminding residents within its jurisdiction about this annual practice and urged compliance with the directive.

The ban encompasses any kind of noise-making activity, including the use of loudspeakers, drums, tambourines, funeral rites, and roadside evangelism.

Henry Quartey, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, has stated that the Regional Security Council will ensure strict adherence to the ban throughout the region.

-citinewsroom
David Aseye Tay, Renaizance Oil MD, an unlicensed Oil Marketing Company has been found guilty and convicted of defrauding Nick Danso Adjei , Chairman of Misyl Energy Company Limited of GH27.9 million.

Tay was convicted by the Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo on all 23 counts in respect of three charges despite earlier pleading not guilty.

The counts include one count of defrauding by false pretense, nine counts of issuance of false cheques and 13 counts of money laundering.

The full trial lasted for two years.

When he appeared in court on Monday, May 15, Tays request for sections of the plea bargaining act, 1079 to be referred to the Supreme Court was refused after the prosecution had indicated that it was not interested in negotiating with him under the plea bargaining law.

However, his sentencing has been deferred to May 29 as the court orders for restitution with the complainant as part of his mitigation plea before his sentencing.

He made false representation to a licensed Bulk Distribution Company, importers of finished petrol and diesel products in 2018 and defrauded it by over GH27.9 million.

The amount of GH27.9 million in 2018 was equivalent to $6 million since $1 was exchanged at GH4.67 at the time.

Tay made false representation to Misyl Energy, a bulk oil distribution company, importers of finished petroleum products.

The prosecution told the court that Tay owns Renaizance Oil, an unlicensed Oil Marketing Company (OMC).

In January 2018, he used the company to enter into an agreement to lift finished petroleum products belonging to Misyl Energy and sell to three OMCs, namely Goodness Energy Limited, Compass Oleum Limited and G&G Oil Company Limited.

After lifting the petroleum products valued at GH27.9 million, he failed to pay for it as agreed.

When all efforts to retrieve the money proved futile, Misyl Energy Chairman Nick Danso Adjei, reported the matter to the police for redress.

Following investigations, the Prosecution noted that at the time Tay entered into agreement with Misyl Energy, he knew that two of the OMCs, Goodness Energy and Compass Oleum did not belong to him.

According to the prosecution, the convict misrepresented to the OMCs that he had imported finished petroleum products and could supply them from oil tank farms belonging to certain BDCs.

The court was told that the Renaizance Oil MD also defrauded two OMCs that made full payments to him but he did not supply the products to them.

The court heard that the convict used proceeds from the sale of Misyl Energys petroleum products to purchase another OMC called G&G Oil and acquired various properties.

During the course of the investigation, it was revealed that Tay had issued a post-dated cheque worth GH250,000 which was later dishonored by the bank.

Source: www.techfocus24.com
Erie County Legislature Chairwoman April Baskin angrily denounced Republican legislators Thursday after committee meetings, accusing them of not truly caring about racism.

"Ever since May 14, you ain't said (expletive) about racism. Since May 14. You haven't raised your hand to call out racism before. Ever," she yelled at Republican Legislator Chris Greene, of Clarence, and a group of other Republicans.

She hurled the accusations across the Legislature floor after a Buffalo News reporter asked about two resolutions addressing allegations that the Clover Group operated under a racially biased policy to keep its housing developments out of Black communities.

The Clover Group controversy on Thursday broke open simmering resentments between Republican legislators and the Legislature chairwoman, who has championed issues of racial equity.

When the issue came before the Legislature last week, Greene brought up the topic of Clover and the audio recording of Clover executives referring to African Americans as "Canadians" and saying they wouldn't build senior housing in communities where more than 20% of the residents were Canadian.

Greene and the rest of the Republican minority caucus subsequently shared a resolution with the Democrats calling on the boards of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the AKG Art Museum to suspend Clover President Michael Joseph from their boards until an investigation into the allegations could be completed.

Joseph has contributed thousands to New York Democratic governors and contributed $16,000 to the campaign of Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz from 2011 to 2014.

A Democratic staffer later presented the Republicans with an alternate resolution that did not mention Joseph but included broader language about standing up against racism and referenced Buffalo being a target of racist attacks such as the May 14, 2022, mass shooting.

Unlike the Republican resolution, which focused on Joseph, the Democratic resolution called for Clover to fire the individuals heard on the recording, for the company to make a statement against racial housing discrimination, and for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to investigate Clover.

The Republican resolution failed on party lines. All legislators voted in favor of the Democratic resolution.

A reporter asked Baskin and Legislator Howard Johnson, two Democratic city legislators who represent districts with large Black populations, why Joseph's name was not included on the Democratic resolution and whether any outside Democratic leaders had asked Democratic legislators to leave his name out of their resolution.

Senior housing and apartment development firm to face racial discrimination lawsuits Clover Group, a real estate development firm headquartered in Lancaster, is about to get hit with two federal lawsuits that accuse the firm of deciding where to build senior housing on the basis of race.

Democratic legislators and staffers strenuously denied this, saying they received no calls from anyone about that.

Peter Anderson, a spokesman for Poloncarz, said any suggestion that there was any outside political involvement in the Democratic resolution is "100% wrong."

"Neither the County Executive nor anyone from this administration told the Legislature to do anything regarding a vote," he said.

Baskin went on to say she doesn't know Joseph and would never defend someone who might be racist for political reasons.

Baskin then angrily accused Greene of suddenly caring about racism when it involves someone with a history of contributing to Democratic officials.

"You tried to use me and Howard ... you tried to use racism as a political victory lap!" she said.

Greene denied that.

"Roll the tape back! Find the meeting minutes where you talk about racism."

Greene said he's always cared about racism, that he's strongly opposed racist behavior and pushed back against Baskin's assertions that he hasn't been supportive of racial equity issues that have come before the Legislature. He agreed with comments by Baskin and Johnson that racism was a community issue.

He also pointed out to The Buffalo News later that the Republican resolution was modeled on Buffalo Common actions. He noted that Council Council Member Rasheed Wyatt was demanding that Joseph step down from board positions.

"It's insulting to me that she's using the decade-old trope that somehow Republicans don't care about racism," he said.

Hochul accepts resignation of Roswell Park board chair after racism claims against his company Michael Joseph had been on Roswell Park's board for 19 years, including the last 16 as board chair, but had recently faced a growing chorus calling for his removal from that post after his development company was hit last week with a federal racial discrimination lawsuit.

Baskin and Johnson falsely accused Republicans of never otherwise saying anything denouncing racism.

Legislators on both sides of the aisle have expressed opposition to racism and racial discrimination, especially after the May 14 attacks, though Democrats  and Baskin in particular  have been the ones to push issues of racial justice in floor resolutions.

Baskin said she didn't believe Greene was sincere in his positions about racism because he and the rest of the Republican minority caucus opposed the creation of an Office of Health Equity and opposed the women- and minority-owned business modernization act that would give preferential treatment to such business owners in government contract deals.

Greene said he didn't believe people should be treated differently by government based on their race or gender, and that while he supports funding to address health disparities, he did not support the creation of a new, permanent county department.

Johnson said the Legislature, in general, does not talk in any meaningful, bipartisan way about the issue of racism, which makes it hard to trust the intentions and motivations of the Republican caucus.

News Staff Reporter Stephen T. Watson contributed to this report.
The Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) has invited Dr. Michael Boadu, the dismissed assistant senior registrar of the C.K. Tedam University of Applied Sciences and Technology, to respond to allegations that he used a fake certificate to get his job.

Sources at EOCO , who spoke to The Fourth Estate on condition of anonymity, say the anti-corruption institution is investigating allegations of fake certificates and over-aged appointments that have put the three-year-old university under the spotlight for the wrong reasons.

Also invited for questioning are the Vice-chancellor, Prof. Eric Magnus Wilmot, and registrar, Dr. V.A. Ankamah-Lomotey, who are still at post even though they have passed the retirement age.

The two senior university administrators appeared before EOCO last week but Dr Boadu is yet to.

Their invitation to EOCO follows a petition EOCO received from a resident of Navrongo, Joseph Pwoawuvi Weguri, who alleged that both the vice chancellor and the registrar were unfit to hold substantive positions in the university.

Mr. Weguri also alleged that Prof Wilmot and Dr. Ankamah-Lomotey also superintended over the hiring of the assistant senior registrar, Dr. Boadu, whose Bachelor of Law and Master of Public Administration certificates were purportedly acquired from the University of Ghana were fake.

Apart from the petition to EOCO, Mr. Weguri has filed a lawsuit seeking the removal of Prof. Eric Wilmot and Dr. Ankamah-Lomotey on the grounds that the two are above the retirement age and are, therefore, ineligible to hold their positions.

In addition to their removal from office, the plaintiff also wants the court to order the two defendants to refund all monies they received from the Consolidated Fund and/or from the university, including salaries and allowances, and costs, plus legal fees.

Earlier this month, The Fourth Estate reported allegations of impropriety against the three members of the top hierarchy of the C.K. Tedam University of Applied Sciences and Technology.

The university, by letters dated December 1, 2020, appointed Prof. Eric Magnus Wilmot as Vice-Chancellor and Dr. V.A. Ankamah-Lomotey, as Registrar of the institution for full terms of four (4) years each.

Prior to that, in October last year, The Fourth Estate raised alarm about the appointment of the two retirees which had become a matter of concern for the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC). The commission has expressed displeasure about the universitys decision to appoint Prof. Eric Wilmot and Dr. Ankamah-Lomotey to substantive positions.

The plaintiff contends that the Act establishing the university mandates it to appoint its officers, including a vice-chancellor and Registrars, in accordance with the statutes of the university.

The plaintiff, however, claims that the appointing authorities violated the public service laws of Ghana, especially Article 199 of the Constitution, 1992, by allowing the public officers to remain in full-term employment after they attain the age of compulsory retirement.

The current retirement age is 60 in accordance with the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766), as amended by the National Pensions (Amendment) Act, 2014 (Act 883).This Act of impunity is also frowned upon by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission Directive on reengagement of retired employees of Higher Education Institutions which states among other things that persons who are re-engaged after retirement subject to permission cannot be assigned position holding roles nor draw allowances due a person still in active service.

The Universitys Council defended the appointment of the over-aged VC and registrar in a response to the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC).

The Governing Council when duly constituted was given the mandate to regularise the appointments of the vice-chancellor and registrar. At the time of their appointment, the vice-chancellor was 58 years old while the registrar was 59 years old. In pursuit of its mandate to appoint a VC and Registrar, the Governing Council constituted a committee, chaired by an eminent retired professor, to interview and ascertain the suitability or otherwise of the two officers.

The committee, therefore, subjected the officers to a rigorous interview and submitted its report to the Governing Council. Council discussed and approved the report and then formally sought and obtained approval from the Minister of Education through the Director General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to offer full four-year terms of office to Professor Eric Magnus Wilmot as vice-chancellor and Dr. V. A. Ankamah-Lomotey as registrar, spanning September 2020 to August 2024, it said in response to the allegations of wrongdoing.

They however admitted that Dr Michael Adusei Boadu presented fake certificates to the University one year into his employment as an assistant registrar.

Michael Adusei Boadu was unable to present the certificates until late last year when he presented them to the Vice-Chancellor. A few weeks thereafter, the Appointments and Promotions Board met and invited him to present the certificates in person. It was at this point that suspicions were raised after the examination of the certificates. A request for verification of his LLB and Master of Public Administration certificates from the University of Ghana revealed that the said certificates were fake, Prof. Gordon A. Awandare told the Commission.

Not only that.

Dr. Boadu was asked to refund all salaries and allowances paid to him while in the service of the university.

You are also required to refund all the salaries and allowances you fraudulently drew from the University from December 2021 to December 2022 to the C.K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences GCB Bank Account number: 9021130002211.

The amount you are required to refund is Two hundred and thirty-one thousand, One hundred and Eighty-two Ghana Cedis, Sixty-Four Pesewas (231,182,64.00). You may submit a payment plan to cover the full amount paid to you to the Director of Finance not later than January 15, 2023, the universitys registrar, Dr. V.A. Ankamah Lomotey, wrote.

Source: thefourthestategh.com
19.05.2023 LISTEN

Your Excellency,

We could not be happier since we heard of your re-election as the flagbearer of our great party, the National Democratic Congress. Congratulations, your Excellency! The massive endorsement across the length and breadth of the country is testament to the renewed and continuous faith of the Ghanaian people in your vision and leadership. Your election gives our party and country hope for the future.

Unbeknownst to some people, your election was not the outcome of a popularity contest. Your strong leadership and track record made your victory possible.

What is even more exciting is your ideologies and policies for the 2024 general elections. The NDC Atlanta USA branch promises to support your vision with our blood, tears and sweat. We intend to be with you every step of the way.

And to the average Ghanaian, we say do not despair anymore!!! Help is here! H.E John Dramani Mahama is here to return the economic power they took from you to you.

Congratulations once again, your Excellency. May God bless and protect you. God bless our homeland Ghana!

Dr. Benard Akalbeo

Secretary, Atlanta Branch NDC
Presidential candidate aspirant, Hon. Joe Ghartey, has urged delegates of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to elect an experienced and trustworthy presidential candidate to help the party win the 2024 general elections.

He said the party needed someone who was loyal and also had compassion to lead the party.

The former Minister of Railways Development, while talking in an interview with Sir John on Fox morning drive on Tuesday as part of his tour of the Ashanti Region urged the delegates to do the needful by voting him if they wanted the party to break the 8 years electoral cycle.

Joe Ghartey explained that he had been a member of the NPP since 1992 when the party was formed, and had since touted the ideals and campaigned for the party to move the country forward.

He indicated that Railway Transport was his priority and it was his intention to focus on transportation infrastructure to develop Ghana. He stressed that as a country "we must always strive to go forward and not backwards."

Talking to yet another Kumasi radio station, Angel FM, Joe Ghartey stated that the Justice for All programme he initiated had decongested Ghana's prisons.

He said the introduction of the Justice for All programme had reduced the number of remanded persons in Ghanaian prisons to 9% from 33%

"Justice for All" was a programme which, among other things, moved the court into the prisons to grant relief to people who were unjustifiably incarcerated. Today, I say this to praise the Lord, that only 9% of our inmates are remand prisoners," Joe Ghartey stated.

He explained that the decision to introduce such a life-touching programme was realised after visiting the Kumasi Central Prison, where he realised the place was overcrowded, during which he met a young lady who had been jailed in very unfortunate circumstances.

He added that "other African countries like Kenya have adopted the programme to help reduce the number of remand prisoners in their prisons in their countries."

The lawmaker affirmed that these initiatives made him happy because it was all about making a difference wherever he found himself in serving the people.

The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has set November 4, 2023 for its presidential primary to select a flagbearer for the general elections in 2024.

Former Attorney General and Minister for Justice Joe Ghartey will face former Agric Minister Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Mr. Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, Former Trade Minister, Mr. Boakye Agyako, former Energy Minister; Mr. Kennedy Agyapong, Mr. Kwabena Agyapong, former General Secretary of the party, Mr. Francis Addai-Nimoh and Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku alongside the Vice. President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who have all declared their intention to contest in the upcoming presidential primary to seek the mandate to lead the party ahead of the 2024 polls.
Ghanaian-British agribusiness entrepreneur and athlete Yvette Tetteh became the first person to swim across the Volta River from Buipe to Ada, completing the longest documented swim in Ghanaian history, covering 450 kilometers.

A colourful parade of drummers and dancers marched down the riverbanks to commemorate Yvettes and the local communities extraordinary achievements.

Yvette, a 30-year-old athlete and environmental activist, embarked on this tough journey as part of an expedition organized by The Or Foundation.

Yvette, a 30-year-old athlete and environmental advocate, set out on this difficult journey as part of an expedition organized by The Or Foundation. The trip, accompanied by the research vessel The Woman Who Does Not Fear, sought to undertake a comprehensive study on microfiber pollution generated by textile waste and raise awareness about the impact of waste colonization on the regions ecosystems.

Yvettes remarkable feat was well embraced by the crowd that gathered in Ada to witness the completion of the journey

While the expedition potentially marks the longest distance kayaked it also showcased the first-ever deployment of a solar-powered research vessel in Ghana and groundbreaking scientific research conducted on water quality in the Volta River System and Accra.

According to Yvette, the final leg presented a formidable upstream current caused by the Gulf of Guinea at the Ada estuary. However, her unwavering perseverance led her to triumph, reaching the resort where a joyous celebration awaited her.

The expedition began on March 7th, with the launch of a locally built aluminum research vessel. Yvette and her team, the Swim Team, navigated the Black Volta and Volta Lake, stopping in towns and villages to observe the effects of rising waters and connect with local communities. Despite choppy waters and slow progress, their determination and teamwork prevailed throughout the journey.

The chief, community leaders, and ecstatic spectators hailed Yvette as she emerged from the ocean in her custom-made recycled swimsuit. The festive mood allowed Yvette and her colleagues to show appreciation while also fielding questions from community members and local and international journalists. The backdrop of the solar-powered research vessel represented The Or Foundations dedication to preventing water pollution by measuring its breadth along Accras coast.

Yvettes safety in the water was secured by a kayaker during the mission, while expedition documentarian Ofoe Amegavie and Science Lead/Communications Manager Edwin Dzobo, who were both crucial in the kayak tasks.

The expedition builds upon The Or Foundations year and a half of scientific research into the environmental impact of secondhand clothing waste in Ghana, which receives a staggering 15 million items of used clothing every week.

By shedding light on the consequences of textile waste, the foundation aims to address the significant environmental and social repercussions faced by the country, including overflowing volumes of clothing waste that led to the explosion of the only engineered landfill in 2019.

The Agbetsi Living Water Swim expedition focused on investigating the impact of textile waste in Ghana. Through the collection of water and air samples, strict adherence to protocols, and engagement with local communities, valuable data has been gathered. This data will be analyzed and shared in the upcoming months to shed light on the situation.

3news.com
I shall be brief with this publication because I had decided not to write anything today due to bodily weakness and intermittently dozing off. However, I cannot let go the preposterous comments being passed by some NDC parliamentarians and their members and some supposedly learned public members.

Let Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwah, member of parliament for North Tongu Constituency and his loquacious bunch of NDC ilk that are devoid of the knowledge of the law and the constitution, although legislators as they are, understand as follows.

1. Ghana's Constitution of 1992 with Amendments through 1996 states in Article 94 on QUALIFICATIONS AND ELIGIBILITY at Section 2 subsection a thus, A person shall not be qualified to be a member of Parliament if he owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana. The statement is clear WITHOUT any shred of ambiguity.

1.

Ambiguity is defined by the dictionary as the fact of something having more than one possible meaning and therefore possibly causing confusion However, the framing of Section 2a of Article 94 is completely devoid of any confusion. The English and the wording are plain.

2. The Supreme Court is there to interpret the Constitution

3. The Assin North Constituency parliamentarian, JAMES GYAKYE QUAYSON, at the time of filing his candidacy form to contest for the parliamentary seat on the ticket of NDC in 2020 was having a dual Canadian and Ghanaian citizenships. Clearly, he was owing allegiance to both Ghana and Canada. Nonetheless, the Constitution is explicit about owing an allegiance to any country other than Ghana.

4. Does the bible not say in Matthew 6:24  No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money?

5. Any citizen of a country, either native or naturalised, is required by law to obey the laws, pay taxes, defend the nation and serve on juries, serve in the Armed Forces and appear in court. If you do this, does it not go to affirm your allegiance to the country?

6. In the United States of America (USA) any foreigner taking their citizenship is obliged to swear as thus, "I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America.

In the United Kingdom (UK), one does as following;

A) Oath of allegiance:

I, (name), swear by Almighty God that, on becoming a British citizen, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III, his Heirs and Successors, according to law.

b) Affirmation of allegiance:

I (name) do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that on becoming a British Citizen, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III, his Heirs and Successors, according to law.

c) Pledge:

I will give my loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect its rights and freedoms. I will uphold its democratic values. I will observe its laws faithfully and fulfil my duties and obligations as a British citizen.

7. At the time when James Gyakye Quayson was filing his application, he was both a Ghanaian and a Canadian citizen, owing allegiance to both countries in clear contravention of Act 94 Section 2a. The fact that he alleges to have filed an application with the Canadian authorities to renounce his Canadian citizenship at the time of filing his form to contest for the Assin North parliamentary seat does not negate the fact that he was still not a Canadian. Until a certificate of renunciation was issued to him, despite the fact his application had been submitted and was pending, he was a Canadian citizen much as he is a Ghanaian citizen, owing allegiance to both countries.

What mistake have the Supreme Court made when they interpreted the Constitutional clause exactly as meant and stated by the framers of the Constitution? Why should ignorant and malicious NDC parliamentarians who although are legislators, have no clue about, or difficulty understanding, the Constitution, go on that stupid tangent to lambast the Supreme Court judges?

Did James Gyakye Quayson state in his application form filed with the Ghana Electoral Commission (EC) that he was in the process of renouncing his Canadian citizenship, let alone, attaching a photocopy of his pending renunciation letter to the forms he submitted to the Electoral Commission?

He must have answered a question therein asking if he owns any other nationality apart from Ghanas by saying NO. If he had said Yes, the EC may have refused his application. By answering NO to any such question, is he not guilty of Sections of Ghana Criminal Code 1960 (Act 29)?

Section 249Giving of False Certificate by Public Officer.

Every public officer who, being bound or authorised as such officer to attest or certify, by writing or otherwise, any document or matter, or that an event has or has not happened, attests, or certifies the document or matter knowing it to be false in any material particular, or attests that such event has happened or has not happened, as the case may be, without knowing or having reason to believe that it has happened or has not happened as the case may be, according to his attestation or certificate, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.

Section 251Deceiving a Public Officer

Whoever with intent to defeat, obstruct, or pervert the course of justice, or the due execution of the law, or evade the requirements of the law or to defraud or injure a person, or to obtain or assist in or facilitate the obtaining of any passport, instrument, concession, appointment, permission or other privilege or advantage, endeavours to deceive or to overreach any public officer acting in the execution of any public office or duty, by personation, or by any false instrument, document, seal, signature, or by any false statement, declaration, or assurance, whether written or verbal or by any written or verbal statement, declaration, or assurance which the person making such statement, declaration, or assurance did not have good reason to believe to be true, is guilty of misdemeanour

This article is full of quotes just because I want the public to see who and what most NDC guys are. They are pure deceivers and they do so stupidly, thinking all Ghanaians are fools.

The Supreme Court is right with their judgment pronounced on James Gyakye Quayson.

The next step by whoever took him to court is to pursue him for criminal charges, going by the Ghana Criminal Code 1960 Act 29, for he contested and won that seat by deception.

Rockson Adofo

Friday, 19 May 2023
An Anti-Witchcraft Accusations Bill Coalition has been launched to push for the passage of the Anti-Witchcraft Bill in Parliament.

The Coalition which was launched on Thursday, 18 May 2023, is dedicated to combating the dangers associated with the accusation of people as witches.

The Anti-witchcraft Bill, seeks to criminalise the practice of declaring, accusing, naming, or labelling people as witches as well as provide protection for victims.

Speaking to Class91.3FMs Kekeli Havila on the sidelines of the launch, one of the Conveners for the Coalition, Professor John Azumah, of the Sanneh Institute explained the role of the Coalition.

Our task is to really push for a bill that criminalises witchcraft accusations and our second task to really help with the education of the import of the bill but also to make victims know that they have been empowered. That there is some kind of a bill that gives them the encouragement and confidence to speak out and to challenge when people accuse them of witchcraft.

Finally it is to work towards reintegrating some of the victims who are currently languishing in some of the camps.

Professor Azumah indicated that the coalition will be working with chiefs and headmen and other civil society organisations to see how best they can be reintegrated back into their societies where they belong.

He noted that the coalition will support Parliament in facilitating their work to get the bill through the various stages into becoming law because it is a private members bill.

We need to be there to lobby the MPs. We as Civil Society Organisation, we dont have a vote to cast but we can lobby the MPs, and thats one of the things that the Coalition will be doing to make sure that the bill goes through, he said.

A member of the coalition, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Madina and a lead advocate for the Anti-Witchcraft Accusation Bill in Parliament, Francis-Xavier Sosu, also explained the importance of the coalition with reference to Article 15 of the 1992 Constitution which stresses on the dignity of every Ghanaian being inviolable.

When you look at the statistics available, anytime people are accused of witchcraft they are even chained to either trees or some metals in some traditional homes. Some are mistreated in some churches, some are referred to witch camps mostly in the North, all these people are mistreated, he said.

The Madina MP continued that: Irrespective of how people are accused, it is important that they are protected. Unfortunately, the witchcraft practice generally violates this provisions of our Constitution.

The MP further noted Now that I have the opportunity to be in Parliament, it is important that I would translate my advocacy into action where we can lead the way to pass laws that can crimilise the practice, laws that criminilise people who carry themselves as witch doctors, laws that would criminalise the accusation of people and all that happens when people are accused, laws that criminalise the spaces used for these accusation, for example, the communities where these things are prevalent, we have some community leaders.

classfmonline.com
Angry residents of the Assin North Constituency have reacted to the Supreme Courts order to Parliament to expunge the name of James Gyakye Quayson as a Member of Parliament (MP).

The Apex Court in a unanimous decision ruled that My Quaysons election was unconstitutional and his name should be expunged from the records of Parliament.

The Court on, Wednesday, 17 May 2023, explained that he held dual citizenship as at the time he filed to contest the 2020 elections.

Reacting to the courts ruling, however, the constituents of Assin North say they still want Mr Quayson as their MP.

According to the residents, Mr Quayson has left an impression on them and they would want him to continue with the good work he began even unconstitutionally.

Some residents of the constituency who spoke to Class News Central Regional Correspondent Nana Tawiah said: I dont like the ruling because Joe Quayson is a good person. He has really helped us here especially we the young women, he has made it possible for us to learn a trade for free.

I wont agree, a female constituent remarked.

Another woman noted that: We want Joe Quayson, and no one else.

While another stressed that: We are here learning this trade because of Joe Quayson, I didnt pay for my apprenticeship, he took care of that in order to give us the youth a better future, we want Joe Quayson.

A man stressed on the impact made by Mr Quayson on the people of Assin North describing him as a pillar.

To us in Assin North constituency, it has come as a shock because we never anticipated this, in fact Honourable Joe Quayson has been a pillar in Assin North constituency. Looking at the things that he has done for his constituents, I mean putting people into apprenticeship a whole lot. Even when this court issue started in 2012 for the first time in Assin North it took this Member of Parliament to donate bulbs about 1000 bulbs to the constituency, he narrated.

Today when you come to Assin North there is nowhere in Assin North that is having light issues. I think subsequent to that he also came and supported the women in the constituency by giving them some kind of trade and all that, he said.

He added that whoever took the issue to court has done the people of Assin North a great disservice.

So in fact with the ruling that has come today, it is very unfortunate and that person who took this issue to court has done a very great disservice to us the people of Assin North and especially the people in Assin Bereku, he added.

Meanwhile, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Assin North Constituency has lauded the decision by the Supreme Court.

The NPP Constituency Secretary in Assin North, Stephen Asamoah, said: Its refreshing that finally were bringing finality to this case. We welcome the decision from the court we in the NPP held the view that indeed Mr Gyakye Quayson was not qualified as at the time of filing his nomination.

He was optimistic that the ruling paves way for the people of Assin North to have a proper representation in parliament.

Finally, we can have a proper and qualified representation in parliament, he said.

classfmonline.com
In sweltering heat in a small building in eastern DR Congo, technicians cast molten gold into ingots as traders nearby haggle over the day's price for the precious metal.

Primera Gold, a joint venture between the Congolese government and the United Arab Emirates, operates with a transparency that is highly unusual in conflict-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Experts say illicit trade in gold and other minerals in eastern DRC has long fuelled the dozens of armed groups that have plagued the region for decades. Much of the trafficked minerals are thought to transit through neighbouring countries, particularly Rwanda.

But Primera Gold buys gold dug by artisanal miners in South Kivu province, and sells it legally and openly.

Sitting in his office in a five-storey building in the provincial capital Bukavu, Benjamin Bisimwa, the assistant to the company's managing director, said a tonne of gold was being smuggled across the border every month.

DR Congo's gold ranks among the purest in the world, say experts. By ALEXIS HUGUET (AFP)

In South Kivu, just 23 kilogrammes (50.7 pounds) of gold were officially declared for export in 2021, and 34 kilos in 2022.

But since it began operations in January, Primera Gold has already exported one tonne, according to the finance ministry.

"The results speak for themselves," said Bisimwa, who added that the company aims to ship a tonne to the UAE each month.

Pure gold

South Kivu not only has gold in abundance but some of the purest gold in the world, say industry specialists.

Hills of gold: The approach to the Luhihi mine in South Kivu. By ALEXIS HUGUET (AFP)

In the baking-hot building adjacent to Primera Gold's headquarters, a technician took a crucible of liquid gold from a furnace and poured it into a rectangular mould.

The ingot, when cooled, weighed about two kilos -- worth about $120,000 (111,000 euros).

Using a spectrometer to analyse the production, the technician said the purity was 96.8 percent.

Traders streamed in and out of the facility, bearing pellets and nuggets dug from the South Kivu hills by so-called artisanal miners.

Miners digging a tunnel at Luhihi. Artisanal mining in DR Congo is fraught with risks, and many diggers quit from poverty or injury. By ALEXIS HUGUET (AFP)

These are individuals who often work in gruelling and hazardous conditions, but have legal status if they meet specific conditions.

These include being aged over 18, working in a designated area for artisanal miners and being members of an officially recognised cooperative.

Primera Gold says it only sources its gold from "qualified" sites and cooperatives, and shuns gold from mines that are controlled by militias or employ children.

'Nothing for us'

Many in Bukavu support the company's ambitions but are sceptical about how clean the gold supply really is in a country where enforcement of laws can be notoriously lax.

A miner in Luhihi hauls away spoil which will be carefully sifted for specks of gold. By ALEXIS HUGUET (AFP)

"There is a big question mark over supply," said Blaise Bubala, the head of a civil society working group on mining.

Where the money will end up is another concern, he added.

The Congolese state owns 45 percent of Primera Gold, but many people wonder whether the profits will be ploughed back into impoverished local communities.

"Building schools, roads, hospitals, is something we've always asked for," Bubala said.

Similar concerns are expressed in Luhihi, about 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Bukavu.

Gold particles are extracted through a laborious process of 'cleaning' the soil. By ALEXIS HUGUET (AFP)

Gold was discovered there just three years ago and miners now sell their haul to Primera Gold.

"Foreigners have come to steal our gold. And there's nothing for us in return," said Minani Bufole, a 62-year-old butcher who was among a small group who had come to demonstrate outside a meeting of the local mining authorities.

Zouzou Njangu, the head of a Luhihi artisanal miners' co-op, said the sudden arrival of gold diggers in the farming area was bound to rankle.

Wearing a hardhat and overalls, she said attitudes can take time to change, pointing to her own difficulties in convincing artisanal miners to pay dues for a co-operative membership card.

'Shameful'

"How can you afford to buy a card for $10 when you don't even have 200 francs ($0.1) for soap," asked Innocent Dunia, a miner in Luhihi, who like many others, hasn't struck gold in a long time.

Most of the miners, known as diggers, scrape at the ground wearing old plastic shoes and clothes caked in dust.

Newly-opened Primera Gold aims to export a tonne of gold per month to the UAE. By ALEXIS HUGUET (AFP)

"Look how we are, it's shameful," said Dunia, 32.

Despite the rudimentary conditions, Luhihi is a pilot site in Primera Gold's effort to sell traceable Congolese ore.

The company acknowledges it still has its work cut out in improving the lot of miners. It's promised health insurance to 10,000 diggers and their families, for example, although it does not yet have a list of potential beneficiaries.

"We are going to face the challenges together," said Bisimwa, who pointed to what he described as a growing political will to address the sector.

The discovery of gold in Luhihi three years ago has triggered a rush of miners hoping to strike it rich. By ALEXIS HUGUET (AFP)

On May 1, soldiers raided several gold traders in Bukavu, seizing gold, cash and computers and arresting dozens of people allegedly involved in the illicit side of the business. Primera Gold said it recorded a bump in turnover after the operation.

Jean-Jacques Mayah, the head of an association of South Kivu gold traders, said he had worked with the old Bukavu enterprises for 22 years.

Today, he is Primera Gold's main buyer. "Now, things are being put in order," Mayah said.
INTRODUCTION

This critique is the beginning of the concluding series of critiques of the authors narrative on the second and last tenure of President Rawlings under the 1992 Constitution. This series will deal with the narratives of the author about the succession to President Rawlings within the NDC and the problems it engendered. It will include the true facts contradicting the authors fabricated narrative of the circumstance under which a bait was dangled before Martin Amidu who swallowed it to become Professor Mills running mate for the 2000 presidential elections. I start in this instalment with the narrative on the award of the Officer of the Volta, and what the author styles the two governance aberrations.

OFFICER OF THE VOLTA (OV)

The authors narrative, at pages 129 and 130 of Working with Rawlings, of how he came to be awarded the Officer of the Volta (OV) by the Government of Ghana leaves one with the distinct impression that the award was intended as a ploy by Captain (Rtd.) Kojo Tsikata, and President Rawlings to keep him within the Government of NDC 2. The occasion of National Honours Award was merely used by President Rawlings to get the author to rescind his decision to leave front line politics and not to continue as a Minister in his second term as President as the author himself noted - in the euphoria of the moment .and the solemnity of the occasion.

But as Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the General Secretary of the NDC, was reported by Ghana Web to have said on Monday, 30 June 2005 on the occasion of President Kufour crowning himself as part of the impending National Honours Award ceremony: while celebrating distinguished service worthy of recognition and [it] is expected to be conferred on principles rather than political convenience. Surely, to confer the Officer of the Volta just to dissuade any person not to leave front line politics in any Government is a core example of political convenience and not one conferred on principles. Mr. Asiedu Nketia was speaking in 2005 after prominent NDC awardees, including President Rawlings and Captain Kojo Tsikata had turned down Mr. Kufours offer of national awards which they perceived to have been based solely on political convenience.

Whatever the real reasons for the decision to award the Officer of the Volta to the author in 1997, when I heard the citation that accompanied the award I told Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu that President Rawlings had formally enrolled Kwamena Ahwoi as lawyer on the Roll of NDC Lawyers whose name would never appear on the Roll of Lawyers of the General Legal Council of Ghana. I was convinced that the award was arranged to compensate for the authors hurt ego of his inability to be enrolled on the Roll of Lawyers in Ghana as a lawyer. But for the indemnity provision in section 34 of the Transitional Provisions to the 1992 Constitution which indemnified unlawful administrative acts of the PNDC, the author could have been prosecuted under Section 9(2) of the Legal Professions Act, 1960 (Act 32) upon

the coming into being of the 1992 Constitution for unlawful practice as a lawyer in Ghana during the regime of the PNDC.

The PNDC knew my attitude towards awards, and commendations after the Marine Drive Arbitration in which I led the Ghana side to conclude in the United States of America. The numerous institutions that had attempted to confer awards on me also knew my aversion to such post facto recognitions as though one was performing ones inherent duties in

anticipation of somebody elses recognition. There are several other people the world over who hold ingrained aversion to the utility of accepting awards in alleged recognition of their unsolicited contributions to society or their nations. It partakes of trying to make a public spectacle of those contributions made out of volution and for the awarder to seek to take some credit for the achievements of the awardee.

There is a 9 March 2012 blog, Kwame Gyans Blog entitled, Making A Mockery Of National Awards which made interesting reading for me because it was commenting on National Honours Awards which had been conferred by President Mills in 2011. This was long before the author wrote Working with Rawlings. One sentence that caught my attention stated that: I glanced through the list of 241 who were awarded in July 2008 and it was very obvious they were largely persons who bore some relationship with the NPP. The interested reader may just go on open source to find the 2015, and 2016 National Honours Awards lists and the reader would not fail to be stupefied to recognize that National Honours Awards had always been and continue to be mostly gifts to partisan political elites given on grounds of political convenience. But National Honours Awards had become political awards, and paid for awards, the whole world over for decades. Open source contains the abuses to which they have been put in various countries and the refusal of genuinely eminent persons to accept being pestered with them, including Nobel Awards. The unknown soldier is more celebrated than the known one.

TWO GOVERNANCE ABERRATIONS

The author, for purposes of his own ego, selected two events he chose to call aberrations he alleges were worth mentioning because in both situations President Rawlings and he were almost set on a collision course in the Local Government sector during the Presidents second term in office. The events he selected were: The waste management contract between City and Country Waste Limited and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and the demolition of a newly-constructed, fully-furnished hotel owned by one Alhaji Yusif Ibrahim in the Airport area of Accra. As the reader could expect from the beginning, these events were chosen to denigrate President Rawlings as acting undemocratically and contrary to the normal rules of procedure for the execution of government business.

City & Country Waste Limited

I was the Deputy Attorney General and was acquainted with the issues involved in what the author calls two governance aberrations. The waste management contract was submitted to the Attorney-Generals office from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development for legal opinion, and it fell under my schedule to proffer the advice for and on behalf of the Attorney-General.

The legality of the conduct of Heads of State, and Government are measured by the quality and integrity of the Ministers they appoint and the ability of those Ministers to reason with them to the extent of the Minister being willing to tender his resignation if a disputed fundamental decision touched on matters of principle and breaches of the Constitution. The foregoing fundamental principles of public administration are reinforced by the Ministerial oath in the second schedule to the 1992 Constitution as follows:

that I at all times well and truly serve the Republic of Ghana in the office of Minister of State (Deputy Minister); and that I will uphold, preserve, and protect and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana as by law established; that I will, to the best of my judgment, at all times when required freely give my counsel and advice for the good management of the public affairs of the Republic of Ghana; and that I will not directly or directly reveal any matters that shall come to my knowledge in discharging my duties and committed to my secrecy as Minister of State (Deputy Minister).

With the above fundamental constitutional obligation imposed on the author, Kwamena Ahwoi, as the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development any reader of the narrative on The waste management contract between City and Country Waste Limited and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) cannot escape the conclusion that the author failed woefully in his duties as a Minister of State when he remained at post to condone what he now terms a governance aberration attributable only to the unlawful behaviour of former President Rawlings.

The resort to the excuses that the . waste management contract between a company called City and Country Waste Limited and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) was a joint Ghanaian-Canadian venture owned partly by Mr. Eddie Annan, a known NDC financier and a close friend and confidante of President Rawlings and his wife as a means of apportioning blame for the failure of the author in his Ministerial duties to defend the Constitution is not an honourable conflict strategy or tactic. If as a sector Minister the author was not happy about the structure of the contract between the AMA and the company his duty was to protect and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. As a joint Ghanian and Canadian venture to which the Government was a party, it was clearly an international economic and business transaction which the sector Minister was enjoined to submit to Parliament for approval under Article 181(5) of the 1992 Constitution: no further excuses were permissible.

But the narrative by the author seeking to blame President Rawlings and his wife for practicing cronyism is contradicted by the authors own attempt at fabricating the facts and evidence based entirely on suspicions. He wrote at pages 136 to 137 of Working with Rawlings that:

Meanwhile, I was under intense pressure from President Rawlings, who I suspect was under intense pressure from Mr. Eddie Annan, to authorize the MCE of the Accra Metropolis, Nat Nunoo Amarteifio, who was later replaced by Mr. Ishmael Ayittey (sic), to sign the contract. When President Rawlings realized that I would not give the authorization until I had finished with my consultations and checks, and seeing that this was going to result in considerable delay, he went behind me and directly ordered Mr. Ishmael Ayittey (sic) to sign the contract. Mr. Ayittey (sic)did.

The concluding statement that President Rawlings went behind the author as the Minister for Local Government and directly ordered Mr. Ishmael Ayittey (sic) to sign the contract. Mr. Ayittey (sic) did is a big, irredeemable, and unpardonable lie. First, the narrative events fabricated by the Professor of Law does not support the facts and evidence of the tenure of office of the persons he wrote about. Mr. Ishmael Ayeetey was nowhere near the AMA as its MCE when he was allegedly directly ordered to sign the contract.

Mr. Ishmael Ayeetey was appointed the Chief Executive of the AMA in 1992 as successor to Kofi Portuphy (1991-1992). He won the 1992 elections as Member of Parliament for Odododiodio constituency and exited the post of Chief Executive to become a Member of Parliament on 7 January 1993. Mr. Ishmael Ayeetey was succeeded by Mr. Nat Nunoo Amarteifio as MCE of the AMA from 1994 to 1998 when the contract was allegedly signed on 4 December 1997. Mr. Samuel Adokwei succeeded Mr. Amarteifio as the MCE from 1998 to 2001 to be replaced by Solomon Ofei Darko of the NPP (2001-2003) after the NDC lost the 2000 elections. The surnames Ayittey and Ayeetey are not interchangeable in Ga.

The foregoing verifiable facts do not do any credit to the faculties of any person holding himself out as a Professor of Law and a former Minister for Local Government and Rural Development who wants the whole world to believe that he was competent in his Ministerial office. It is noteworthy that the author does not even have the patience and acumen required of any academic to have verified the surname of Mr. Ayeetey whom he assigned the fabricated surname of Ayittey. Understandable the author could not have had the ability to practice the profession of law as rightly determined by the UK Inns of Courts and General Legal Council of Ghana.

Secondly, the author after having the temerity to fabricate the facts and evidence as to who signed the waste management contract under discussion followed it up with another contradictory admission that:

The sequel to the event was that when the NDC lost the 2000 elections and the NPP came to power in 2001, they abrogated the contract and sold the equipment to private individuals. City and Country Waste Limited sued the AMA and in the case in which I gave evidence for the company, which travelled all the way to the Supreme Court, City and Country Waste was awarded damages of about US$17million. (Emphasis supplied).

The reader is thus being told by the author who would not give the authorization until I had finished with my consultations and checks,. that he turned round to be a witness for the very Ghanaian-Canadian venture owned partly by Mr. Eddie Annan, a known NDC financier and a close friend and confidante of President Rawlings and his wife to which he apportioned blame to President Rawlings for the signing of the contract. The author fails or refuses to inform the reader the consideration that persuaded him to be a star witness in a contract he formed the view as the sector Minister had not met all the procedures for its execution. The author was gloating even when he had failed to comply with Article 181(5) of the 1992 Constitution to submit the international business or economic joint venture transaction to Parliament for approval despite the Attorney-Generals opinion urging him to do so. The author chose to forget that his friends and colleagues went to jail in the Aveyime Rice Transaction (called the Quality Grain case) for a similar unconstitutional conduct.

The author knew that such an important case that had travelled to the Supreme Court from the High Court presided over by his surrogate and a reviewer of his Working with Rawlings

would be reported in the Ghana Law Reports to which he had access as a Professor of Law. He, however, again deliberately refused to cite the case because he knew that it would provide a conscientious reader with the tools to cross-check his narrated facts from the Ghana Law Reports. The case was reported as City & Country Waste Limited v Accra Metropolitan Assembly [2007-2008] SCGLR 409, years before the author wrote and published Working with Rawlings. It was a decision given without reference to Article 181(5) of the Constitution  the lawyers call it a per incuriam judgment and unenforceable under the 1992 Constitution. This is the only plausible explanation why the enforcement of the judgment gained momentum only when the NDC returned to power in 2009.

Mr. Justice Ofoe, now a Justice of the Court of Appeal, who was one of the editors and reviewers of Working with Rawlings, presided over the High Court which heard the case at first instance with the author as a principal witness for the City & Country Waste Limited owned partly by Mr. Eddie Annan, a known NDC financier and a close friend and confidante of President Rawlings and his wife. Mr. Justice Ofoe was referred to in the Supreme Court judgment as having stated in his judgment in the High Court that the contract was signed on 4 December 1997 and work was commenced on 13th July 1999 and continued until 29 June 2001 when it was terminated. How then Could Mr. Ayeetey have been ordered by President Rawlings to sign the same contract as contended by the author?

Mr. Justice Ofoe, who did not recuse himself from the case on account of the authors deep involvement with the case, was also quoted by the Supreme Court as saying inter alia that: The service contract itself was signed on 4 December 1997. Between 30 July 1997 and 4 December 1997, what prevented Mr. Amarteifio from putting the matter of Garbage

Collection Disposal and Land Fill Services of solid Waste before the assembly? . Mr. Justice Ofoes quoted words from the judgment demonstrates clearly that it was Mr.

Amarteifio who signed the contract on 4 December 1997 and not Mr. Ayeetey. How could Mr. Justice Ofoe and the author have missed these facts when it came to reviewing and editing Working with Rawlings? The simple reason is that both author and surrogate saw the writing of Working with Rawlings as payback time to shift blame to President Rawlings. The story and residues of the Log & Lumber Limited, Kumasi, criminal convictions, and sentences which the author has left untold in Working with Rawlings might still have been operating against former President Rawlings in the writing, editing, and reviewing of Working with Rawlings.

The author, who was the chief puppet master of President Mills before and after he assumed office on 7 January 2009 failed or refused to inform the reader of the reasons it had to take the NDC Government to return to power in 2009 to step in and get the judgment debt liquidated under arrangements with the District Assemblies Common Fund Administrator (DACFA) (See page 137 of his book thereof). Professor of Law, Kwamena Ahwoi knew that the judgment having been given without consideration of Article 181(5) of the 1992 Constitution was unenforceable and which was the reason the NPP Government never paid upon it. The author was also a consultant to the Ministry of Local Government at the time the judgment debt was liquidated and should have been candid with the reader as to the reasons for liquidating a debt which as a sector Minister he thought was unlawfully incurred through pressures from President Rawlings.

I had been the Chairman of the Public Agreements Board (PAB) under PNDC Law 42 and responsible for the recommendation of all public agreements to the PNDC for consideration and approval from 1989 to 6 January 1993. I sat in PNDC meetings on account of my position as the Chairman of the PAB to speak to the recommendations and dis- recommendations of the Board. I dissuaded the enactment of a PNDC Law during the transitional period to institutionalize the PAB to be an existing body after the coming into force of the 1992 Constitution on account of the several battles I had fought with PNDC Members and Secretaries who selfishly wanted to have just any agreement approved by the PNDC. Chairman Rawlings always supported the PAB when it dis-recommended public agreements for approval by the PNDC. My experience was that Chairman Rawlings was open to objective reasoning as to why a public agreement was not in the national interest to be executed by the Government.

It was to the credit of President Rawlings and the PAB that no PNDC operative was ever investigated, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced for manipulation of the public procurement or contract process for private gain when the NDC lost the 2000 elections. On the contrary a number of Ministers and operatives of the NDC 1 and NDC 2 Governments who would not listen to the Attorney-Generals advice on procurement paid high prices for their indolence.

Demolition of Hotel in Airport Area

In the second event or alleged aberration chosen by the author, the demolition of Alhaji Yusif Ibrahims Hotel in the Airport area of Accra, the Attorney-Generals Office was not involved in the circumstances of the demolition. But I had known Alhaji Yusif Ibrahim for years at the Accra Polo Club since I came on transfer from the Upper East as a PNDC Deputy Secretary to the Ministry of Local Government in January 1986 through my late cousin who used to be a Chief Manager at the Agricultural Development Bank, and a member of the Accra Polo Club.

I also knew Alhaji Ibrahims circle of friends within the PNDC, particularly at the Ministry of Finance, and the PNDC Secretariat. I knew Chairman Rawlings detestation of the relationship between PNDC Secretaries at the Ministry of Finance and the handling of the two signed USAID/Ghana Public Law 480 (P.L. 480) Title III program agreements with the Government of Ghana (GOG), committing A.I.D. to transfer rice and wheat to Ghana. Those commodities were to be sold by GOG through its authorized agents to eligible local dealers and facilitate programming of the local currency sales proceeds for development activities in Ghana in accordance with the Title III agreements. Alhaji Yusif Ibrahim was reputed to have been entrusted by the Ministry of Finance with aspects of the implementation of the PL 480 assisted programme.

Chairman Rawlings had been apprehensive of the arrangements with the PL 480 agreement and the involvement of some of his trusted PNDC Secretaries in the counterpart arrangements with Alhaji Ibrahim. Cadres in the 31st December Revolution knew that Chairman Rawlings used various sources and methods in gathering intelligence about his appointees.

Consequently, there was already simmering latent conflict between President Rawlings and the Minister for Finance, Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, the Deputy Minister for Finance, Paa Kwasi Amissah-Arthur, and other PNDC Secretaries whom he perceived to be friends and associates of Alhaji Yusif Ibrahim.

When the demolition of Alhaji Yusif Ibrahims hotel eventually took place the cadre circles, including myself, were convinced that the direct target was not Alhaji Yusif Ibrahim but his associates who were appointees within the government and former appointees who were perceived as having some financial interest in the Hotel. The conflict issues, however, appeared to have been contested on the patent basis of the environmental consequences and the validity of permits and the site upon which the Hotel was built.

Former President Rawlings himself stated to the Daily Graphic as published online on 5 June 2019 that he does not regret demolishing the Hotel and given another opportunity he would order the demolition of that Hotel if it was built again. He was quoted to have said that: If time were reversible, I would do it again and again and I would take along their new gargantuan structures in the watercourses. The structures were reported by his own respectable, law-abiding neighbours.

Unfortunately, President Rawlings was unable to complete the book he promised Ghanaians he was writing before his untimely death on 12 November 2020, a few months after the author published his pernicious and vengeful Working with Rawlings. It is, however,

important for any reader of the authors narrative to know that there were long outstanding residues of conflict between the Chairman of the PNDC/President, and some PNDC Secretaries/Ministers, Deputy Secretaries/Ministers, and operatives from the PNDC/NDC Government Secretariat allegedly associated with Alhaji Yusif Ibrahim that gave rise to the conflict escalations that led to the demolition of the Hotel when it was built during the tenure of President Rawlings. These may constitute the untold stories of the stories told in the authors narrative.

President Rawlings believed after the publication of Working with Rawlings that the author knew the foregoing undercurrents to the demolition of the Hotel but refused to articulate them to reap vengeance on President Rawlings after their relationship soured. It is my duty and in the public interest to articulate his concerns as I had promised him before his demise.

When the reading public comes someday to appreciate the stories told by the author in Working with Rawlings, the stories he has left untold, and the stories he will never tell, then the reading public will better understand the authors pernicious motives for writing Working with Rawlings.

Martin A. B. K. Amidu 18 May 2023
19.05.2023 LISTEN

Pentecost International Worship Center, Asokwa (PIWC Asokwa), will from May 22nd to 28th, 2023 be hosting a week-long homecoming event to bring together current and former members of the church to celebrate its history, achievements, and continued presence in the country.

The event, which will be themed "Come, See the Faithfulness of the Lord" from Psalm 117:2, is set to be a joyous celebration of the church's history, growth, and progress.

The homecoming event will be followed by a week-long series of services, seminars, health walk, drama and a music show.

It will also feature a variety of social and cultural activities. Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy traditional Ghanaian cuisine, music, and dance performances, as well as games and competitions for all ages.

The homecoming event is expected to draw a large crowd, including current and former members of PIWC Asokwa, as well as friends and supporters from across the country and the diaspora.

The event promises to be a time of reflection, celebration, and fellowship, as attendees come together to give thanks for the faithfulness of the Lord in their lives and in the life of the church.
Seven Western New York counties have declared states of emergency aimed at blocking New York City from sending an overflow of migrants and asylum-seekers to area hotels.

Niagara County on Thursday issued an emergency order that prohibits hotel operators from contracting with government entities outside of the county to house or transport migrants or asylum-seekers without the approval of the county Legislature.

Chautauqua and Wyoming counties also issued similar orders on Thursday, followed by Allegany County on Friday.

Orleans, Genesee and Cattaraugus counties issued their orders on Wednesday.

Only Erie County has declined to take this step.

New York City is amid a housing crisis, with more than 60,000 migrants arriving within the past year, forcing city officials to look for housing options outside the city, including busing people to hotels in neighboring Rockland and Orange counties.

Niagara County Legislature Majority Leader Randy Bradt said he wanted no part of it.

New York City decided it would be a sanctuary city and welcome those who entered the country illegally and now that this ill-conceived policy has produced the predictable results, it appears state and city officials are looking to upstate counties to bail them out, Bradt said in a statement Thursday. We are not without compassion, but we simply lack the resources to do it.

Orleans County Legislature Chairwoman Lynne M. Johnson said in an emergency declaration Wednesday that this situation is a threat to public safety.

But she said the declaration was not due to concerns about asylum-seekers possibly coming upstate.

"We did it because we have no housing availability," said Johnson. "Our homeless population has increased over 150% since Covid."

Genesee County Manager Matt Landers said the county isnt shutting out migrants entirely. Officials dont want a crush of people to arrive unexpectedly, as has happened in some other counties, he said.

"So, this was kind of a more preemptive role that instead of waiting until potentially a busload shows up that we cannot adequately support in our community to take this step so that we can hopefully prevent that from happening," Landers said. "I want to emphasize that we are not saying the doors are shut. The state of emergency just states that local businesses, hoteliers, vendors, they need to basically get a permit or permission from the county manager before contracting with outside municipalities for housing immigrants and asylum-seekers.

A spokesman for Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz said the Erie County Attorneys Office was monitoring ongoing litigation over executive orders in several counties.

Erie Countys emergency housing options are at or above capacity and the county would not be able to shelter large numbers of homeless immigrants, spokesman Peter Anderson said.

But he added, at this time we are unaware of even a single asylum-seeker arriving here in Erie County from New York City, and there is no emergency to respond to.

The issue cuts along political lines.

Poloncarz and the leadership of the Erie County Legislature are, like Hochul, Democrats. The local counties that have issued emergency orders are run by Republicans.

Civil and criminal penalties apply for violating the emergency order, including a $2,000 per immigrant per day fine for any hotel owner who enters a contract with New York City or New York State, said Niagara County Sheriff Michael Filicetti.

We are not interested in turning hotel owners into criminals, but the emergency order is clear and we will enforce it, said Filicetti.

Immigration attorney Matthew Kolken warned about the potential for counties to overreach with their emergency declarations.

"We saw it during the pandemic and, oftentimes, there can be executive overreach when there is a constitutional right that is being infringed upon, and the question becomes whether or not the counties are potentially inhibiting the owners of the hotels from exercising their constitutional rights to be able to enter into contracts either with the state or federal government," said Kolken. "My assumption would be that those hotels, if they have contracts that they are being precluded from entering into as a result of an executive order or state of emergency that they would retain counsel to seek legal recourse.

Kolken noted that courts had decided previous actions taken by the executive branch during the Covid-19 pandemic were unconstitutional.

"It took a long time to get there, but I always err on the side of caution or, at least, the government should be erring on the side of caution when they tell private citizens what they can and cannot do from a contractual standpoint," Kolken said.

Such actions, he said, are tantamount to the state taking over a business without due process.

News Staff Reporter Stephen T. Watson contributed to this report.
The Executive Director of SWIDA-Ghana, Hajia Alima Sagito has charged Ghanaian youth to appreciate and cherish the effort of women particularly mothers.

Speaking as a guest speaker at the Tamale Technical University branch of the Dagbon Students Association general house meeting session of this year's Mothers Day Celebration on Wednesday 17th May, 2023, Hajia Alima noted that mothers are priceless due to the role they play at home.

Mothers play a critical role in the family, which is a powerful force for social cohesion and integration, the mother-child relationship is vital for the healthy development of children, she stated.

According to her, mothers are not only caregivers but also breadwinners for their families. Mothers are the type who have given their all out to the upbringing of their children just for them to become responsible and productive to the society, they do pity trading on the street to provide food for her household, she stated.

She added, Don't let the pain and struggle of your mother go in vain, now that you people are in school please and please take your studies very serious, make your parents proud, let them benefit from their labor, avoid dodging or escaping from school and concentrate on your books, much thanks to DASA for inviting me to speak to you.

Hajia Alima advised the house to appreciate and honor their mothers due to their selflessness.

She further advised the gathering to prepare economically, mentally, socially and spiritually before going into marriage, stating that marriage is not as rosy as young girls of today perceive it to be.

Hajia Alima cautioned Ghanaian youth to avoid rushing into marriage just because their colleagues are getting married, revealing that the consequence of unprepared marriage is dire and mostly leads to divorce.

Don't be in competition with anyone, identity yourself and be in your line, that alone will make you happy as you grow, she advised.

Mr. Hassan Nantogma, the President of the Dagbon Students Association (DASA) of the University expressed the palace's gratitude to Hajia Alima Sagito for the detailed education and empowerment.

He tasked members of the Association especially the younger ones at the Tamale Technical Institute (TTI) to let Hajia's words guide them as they pursue their individual careers.

Meanwhile, before Hajia Alima engaged members and leadership of the Association she had a brief and insightful discussion with the DASA Patron, Prof Abdul Razak.
The unravelling story coming out of Aker Energy in which they admitted to bribing the Multimedia journalist, Evans Mensah, to do their dirty work or lets say wipe their dirty slate clean with articles and programmes that sought to create a halo around the heads of the Norwegian titans has come at an opportune time when Multimedia seems to have become the Gog and Magog of media practice in Ghana. It looks like this bribery scandal was routed through the culprits media company to give it the semblance of authenticity. Alas, this cat could just not be kept in the bag!

The all-knowing journalists of this farcical media entity do not only spew lies to make the government of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo unpopular, a scheme that keeps flying back into their faces like a ricocheting bullet from the barrel of a defective gun, but they, also, seem to take bribes to cover rot in businesses and dirty deals that have the propensity to suffer the nation heavy losses. Theirs is just to make money no matter the circumstances. After all, they are the only ones who have children and families to care for. The rest of the nation can go to hell and swallow the bitter pill for all they care! E no be so? How nasty!

Evans Mensah carries himself as, and I quote from his Linkedin profile, a coordinator of cross platform teams for radio, television and online to develop content and ensure accurate, compelling and comprehensive coverage of all political events! So Evans Mensah, the truth seeking liar, corrupter of information, which is skewed in his interest and that of the journalists of multimedia group of unethical journalism, had collected bribes one of which was a United States Dollar bribe of $125,281.21.00 (one hundred and twenty five thousand two hundred and eighty one US Dollars and twenty one cents), which amount is the equivalent of approximately GHC 1,390,621.43 (one million three hundred and ninety thousand six hundred and twenty one Ghana Cedi and forty three pesewas). For that, he, allegedly, liaised with and made moves to influence media houses and practitioners.

You see, as you are cracking your nuts trying to make ends meet, wondering why you have to live at Amasaman or Oyibi and suffer the stress of traffic to commute to and fro work while others with lesser jobs are living in mansions in elite areas, journalists are being bribed to control the nation like Koliko! So, you see, now you know why! In Ghana, the very people who are supposed to be influencers of society are so corrupt that society is going down the drain with their deceitful disposition. Tell me, how different is this Evans Mensah from Hajia4Real? Both are thieves in that the former took dirty money to cover up for a foreign conglomerate of cheaters while the latter took money for aiding and abetting thieves in love scams! The only difference is that Hajia4real is beautiful, and Evans Mensah is ugly. That is all!

Then we have the COPEC guy, Duncan Amoah, who is so cheap as to have sold his soul to the devil with an alleged admission to having collected a bribe from Evans Mensah of GHC25,000 (twenty five thousand Ghana Cedis) and GHC10,000 (ten thousand Ghana Cedis) directly from the Norwegians. I can only imagine how the European thieves must have thought of this sleaze to accept such a miserable bribe in order to turn a blind eye to the nefarious activities of Aker oil! This scenario of Evans Mensah bribing Duncan Amoah with GHC25,000 reminds me of John Dramani Mahama when he announced to the nation that the meat was all gone except the bones with reference to Ghana as a carcass that had been devoured by the NDC, leaving the bones for suffering Ghanaians. In similar manner, Evans Mensah took the meat and gave a small morsel to Duncan Amoah to shut him up and buy his conscience! What a shame!

Dont be misled by the clamouring of the CSOs (Civil Society Organisations) either. They just make noise when the cake is not shared with a measure of satisfaction. I do not know of any CSO that does any conscientious work for the betterment of the nation. It is all about their pockets. I will one day tell you a story about the head of a think tank, who had tried to twist the arm of Jospong of Zoomlion to collect a small token of the latters dirty money as a price for ceasing the noise, but Jospong was smarter by recording him! That certainly shut the think tank Boss forever! Abuuuuzege (guy guy terms)!

Never ever believe in the fables of Multimedia and its joy news. They have played daredevil with the fortunes of the nation. They have gambled with the fortunes of Ghanaians by airing many news articles that were skewed in their favour against the government for the simple reason that their owner does not see eye to eye with the President. Then again how can the owner of multimedia, who superintends over the lies and deceptions of Joynews see eye to eye with President Nana Akufo-Addo for who the miracles of destiny were knit with the needles of heavenly ordinance! A devil cannot see eye to eye with an angel, surely!

Stay tuned for more! In Arnold Schwarzeneggers voice. I SHALL BE BACK!
Dhaka, Bangladesh - Renowned Bangladeshi author William Gomes is potentially facing charges under Section 21 of the Digital Security Act 2018, linked to his authorship of a contentious poem and his critique of Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal in an interview given to ABC Radio. If convicted, Gomes could face a prison term of up to 10 years and a substantial fine.

Section 21 of the Act enforces serious punishment for disseminating "propaganda and campaigns against the Liberation War of Bangladesh, the spirit of the Liberation War, or the Father of the Nation."

Gomes' poem, named "Anti-State" and published in the HuffPost, purportedly advocates for the burning of Bangladesh's red and green flag. This, coupled with his comments doubting the participation of Bangladeshi freedom fighters in war crimes during the 1971 war, have been mentioned in a police general diary as possible infringements of the Digital Security Act.

Regarding the issue, Gomes voiced his belief that his critique of the tribunal was rightful criticism. However, according to the Digital Security Act, the validity of such critiques could be disputable.

Following the publication of "Anti State" in 2012, Gomes' website (www.williamgomes.org) was blocked by the Bangladeshi government.

The incident serves to emphasise the ongoing debate over the interpretation and scope of the Digital Security Act. Critics claim the Act has the potential to limit freedom of speech and suppress government criticism, while supporters argue that it is crucial for the protection of national security and maintaining social order.

As of now, no formal charges have been levelled against Gomes. The case underscores the larger issues associated with the use of such legislation, and its potential impact on freedom of speech and political critique within Bangladesh.

Furthermore, Gomes has previously spoken out against extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances carried out by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). His support for Shahidul Alam's release and the rights of Adilur Rahman Khan, among others, are well-documented. He believes his ongoing opposition to human rights violations, in conjunction with international sanctions against the Bangladeshi government, have placed him in the crosshairs of the authorities.

Since his self-imposed exile in 2011, Gomes perceives this latest development as an attempt by the Bangladeshi government, leading up to a general election, to suppress journalists living abroad who they perceive as threats or opposition. He also suspects that this general diary has been filed to deter him from critiquing the government in the run-up to and during the elections.

Gomes argues that Section 21 of the Digital Security Act 2018 is specifically designed to penalise and criminalise individuals like him and to stifle those who hold divergent views. His plea to Saima Wazed, Bangladeshi autism activist and daughter of Bangladesh's Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, for intervention, has been publicised on Twitter.

He urges Wazed to read his poem and convey its message to her mother, imploring her not to press charges and reminding her that writing a poem is not a crime.

However, Gomes further emphasised his vulnerability by expressing concerns that he may not be able to defend himself effectively, considering his inability to return safely to Bangladesh. He also pointed out the sensitivity of issues relating to the national flag and national history, which could discourage any lawyer from representing his case.

Moreover, Gomes raised the grim prospect of potential enforced disappearance upon his return to Bangladesh to face charges under the Digital Security Act 2018. He lamented that even while in exile, he is subjected to what he termed 'enforced censorship'.

This case once again brings to light concerns over the Digital Security Act, particularly Section 21. Critics fear that the legislation is structured in a way that potentially criminalises divergent views and penalises their propagators, thereby threatening the fundamental principle of freedom of speech.

The Bangladeshi authorities, however, are yet to officially charge Gomes. As this case unfolds, it is clear that it will continue to ignite debate and draw global attention to the legislation's impact on free speech, political critique and the broader human rights context within Bangladesh.
ACCRA, GHANA, May 18, 2023  It's not everyday that drummers and dancers parade along the banks of the Volta River, but then again it's not everyday that someone finishes the longest recorded swim in Ghanaian history. Yvette Tetteh, 30 year old Ghanaian-British agribusiness entrepreneur, athlete and activist, is the first person ever to have swum across the Volta River from Buipe to Ada. Over the course of the expedition, Yvette and the crew of The Or Foundation's accompanying research vessel The Woman Who Does Not Fear, ventured down Ghana's largest internal waterway conducting extensive research into microfiber pollution from textile waste and raising awareness about the impact of waste colonialism on the ecosystems that give life to millions of people throughout the region.

The crowds that came to the river banks in Ada as Yvette finished the final kilometers were celebrating many records and many firsts. The longest swim in Ghanaian history. Likely the most kilometers kayaked in Ghanaian history. The first solar power research vessel in Ghana and groundbreaking scientific research on the state of water quality in the Volta River System and in Accra.

Yvette reported that the final day of the swim was one of the hardest yet as the current from the Gulf of Guinea at the Ada estuary pushed her upstream. Yet she persevered all the way to Tsarley Kope Beach Resort where a celebration awaited.

She explains the expedition started in Buipe on March 7th with the challenging task of putting the made-in-Ghana aluminum research vessel into the water. The Swim Team, as members of the expedition crew have come to call themselves, then ventured down the Black Volta onto the Volta Lake, stopping in towns and villages along the way, many that have been flooded by rising waters and some that don't appear on common maps at all. The expedition spent several days in Yeji to top up on supplies and creature comforts, including hair cuts, and then continued on to Kete Krachi and Tapa Abotoase for minor boat repairs before swimming onward toward Kpando and Akosombo. The choppy waters south of Kpando made for especially challenging swimming, with waves often breaking above her head. One day after several hours of swimming, she had only made it 1.5 kilometers, or one tenth of her usual pace.

This could have been disheartening, but together with the expedition crew they chose to push through and prove that anything is possible with the right determination and teamwork.

The chief and community leaders gathered with area youth and a drum troupe surrounding Yvette as she emerged from the water in her custom made recycled swim costume with an anklet holding a water sampling device to record the chemicals in contact with her skin. After taking a deep breath recognizing her accomplishment, Yvette and the crew thanked the cheering crowd and took questions from community members and foreign and local press in front of the custom built solar powered research vessel that The Or Foundation will now deploy along the coast of Accra to map ocean pollution.

Throughout the expedition, Yvette was accompanied by a kayaker to ensure her safety in the water. Expedition documentarian Ofoe Amegavie, and Science Lead / The Or Foundation Communications Manager, Edwin Dzobo, performed a combined many hundreds of kilometers of kayak duties, likely setting a record as well for the longest distance kayaked in Ghana. The home stretch of the expedition was truly home for Ofoe, who is from Ada and who has worked for much of his career to document the changing water patterns disrupting life in the coastal area. It was with this eye for how humans and the environment interact that Ofoe documented the monumental human-environmental interaction swimming Ghana's largest waterway.

The expedition builds on a year and a half of scientific research by The Or Foundation into the environmental impact of secondhand clothing waste flowing through Ghana as one of the largest recipients of used clothing in the world. The Or Foundation, an Accra-based NGO operating at the intersection of Environmental Justice, Education and Fashion Development, estimates that Ghana sees 15 million items of secondhand clothing from Global North countries such as the EU, the UK, and the USA entering local markets every week and that on average 40% of every bale of secondhand clothing opened in Accra, Ghana's largest secondhand market, Kantamanto, is discarded as waste, causing enormous environmental and social upheaval in a country where the only engineered landfill blew up in 2019 due to overflowing volumes of clothing waste. The Or Foundation has recorded thousands of textile tentacles, or tangled masses of discarded clothing, some over ten meters long, along Accra's beaches. Now, the Agbetsi Living Water Swim that completes this week is tracking the impact of textile waste throughout the country. Agbetsi is an Ewe word, a local language in Ghana, for living water, an apt name for an expedition seeking to keep Ghana's waterways alive.

Once in Akosombo, The Or Foundation team, led by Special Projects and Logistics Manager Enoch Nsoh and supported by local boat builder Benlex Engineering, worked to move the boat overland around the Akosombo and Akuse dams, while Yvette was supported by the Bravehearts Expeditions team to swim between the two dams.

In addition to swimming between 10 to 20 kilometers every day, Yvette and the expedition crew, including boat captain JayJay Addo-Koranteng of Bravehearts Expeditions, Ofoe Amegavie, a celebrated documentary photographer, Edwin Dzobo and Isabel Abreu, artist and environmentalist, collected water and air samples every day following the same protocols as The Or Foundation team gathering samples in Accra. The expedition crew also shared information with communities along the route of the swim to keep track of the expedition as it progresses.

The Or Foundation has released a first of its kind collection of stories about the Volta River System and the people who live along it - The Untold Stories from The Volta, a series of 12 commissioned stories from along the expedition route accessible through the campaign website https://livingwaterswim.org . On Friday the 19th of May at 6pm, The Or Foundation will be hosting an open screening of the film stories on the rooftop of their Adabraka office in Accra.

Photos of hundreds of the water samples taken along the expedition are available through the project website, and The Or Foundation plans to publish an in-depth analysis of the findings within the coming months. In the meantime, citizen scientists and aspiring swimmers can still engage with the expedition through the video updates, daily dispatch audio diaries, and the Untold Stories collection, all available on the website https://livingwaterswim.org, and by following @livingwaterswim and @theorispresent on Instagram.

About The Or Foundation

The Or Foundation is a USA and Ghana-based not-for-profit organization that has been working between the two countries at the intersection of environmental justice, education and fashion development since 2011. The Or Foundation has brought global awareness to fashion's waste crisis through extensive research and action around the secondhand clothing trade as it manifests in Accra, Ghana, home to the largest secondhand clothing market in the world. To learn more about The Or Foundation, visit www.theor.org .

About Bravehearts Expeditions - Expedition Operator

Bravehearts Expeditions is Ghana's premier outdoor expedition leader, supporting modern day explorers to discover the natural beauty of Ghana. For more on Bravehearts, visit https://braveheartsexpeditions.org

Agbetsi Living Water Swim-9 Ofoe Amegavie Courtesy Of The Or Foundation (11)

Agbetsi Living Water Swim Ofoe Amegavie Courtesy Of The Or Foundation (1)

Agbetsi Living Water Swim Ofoe Amegavie Courtesy Of The Or Foundation (2)

Agbetsi Living Water Swim Ofoe Amegavie Courtesy Of The Or Foundation (3)

Agbetsi Living Water Swim Ofoe Amegavie Courtesy Of The Or Foundation (4)

Agbetsi Living Water Swim Ofoe Amegavie Courtesy Of The Or Foundation (5)

Agbetsi Living Water Swim Ofoe Amegavie Courtesy Of The Or Foundation (7)

Agbetsi Living Water Swim Ofoe Amegavie Courtesy Of The Or Foundation (8)

Agbetsi Living Water Swim Ofoe Amegavie Courtesy Of The Or Foundation (9)

Agbetsi Living Water Swim Ofoe Amegavie Courtesy Of The Or Foundation (10)

Agbetsi Living Water Swimofoe Amegavie Courtesy Of The Or Foundation (12)
Three men sentenced to life in prison over the 2018 massacre of 14 wood workers in Senegal's troubled Casamance region on Friday began a trial to appeal their convictions, which they argue are politically motivated.

The trio  who have close links to the region's rebellious, separatist opposition  were found guilty of attacking the wood workers in the protected forest of Bayottes on 6 January, 2018.

Those who escaped the massacre said the victims had been collecting firewood in the forest  near the village of Boffa Bayotte, close to the regional capital of Ziguinchor  when they were ambushed by group of 15-20 armed men.

Authorities said 10 of murdered workers had been shot, two were stabbed and one was burned. Half a dozen more were also wounded. A few days later a 14th body was found.

However sources told AFP the victims may have been involved in the illegal logging trade in a region known for its rosewood and teak  woods that are highly prized in China.

Following the attack Senegalese police arrested 19 men and a woman, 15 of whom were convicted in June 2022.

Two defendants received a six-month suspended prison sentence for possession of weapons without authorisation. The other 10 were acquitted.

The three sentenced to life in prison were Casamance chief rebel Cesar Atoute Badiate, journalist Rene Bassene, and separatist opposition leader Oumar Ampoi Bodian.

Their lawyer, Cire Cledor Ly, said the men had received heavier sentences because of their connection with the region's separatist opposition.

Decades of protests

Rebels in Casamance, which is geographically separated from the rest of Senegal by the Gambia, have been seeking regional independence for more than 35 years.

Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who is also mayor of the Casamance capital Ziguinchor, is himself the target of rape accusations that his supporters say are politically trumped up.

Clashes between police and Sonko supporters on Monday erupted in Ziguinchor on the eve of his rape trial in Dakar, which was ajourned for a week.

The Interior Ministry said a police officer died after being accidentally crushed by an armoured vehicle.

There are fears Sonko's trial could lead to further violence.

The 48-year-old denies the charges and accuses President Macky Sall of seeking to prevent him from running in next elections, scheduled for 25 February 2024.
Iranian authorities have executed three men convicted of violence against security forces during protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who died days after she was arrested for allegedly wearing her headscarf too loosely.

Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi were convicted of "moharebeh", or "war against God", for drawing a gun during a demonstration in the central city of Isfahan.

The confrontation resulted in the deaths of three members of the security forces, the judiciary's Mizan Online news website said.

Their death sentences by hanging were upheld by the judiciary.

Death of Amini

Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin, died on September 16, three days after her arrest by the notorious morality police while visiting Tehran with her younger brother.

During the protests, which Tehran labelled as foreign-instigated "riots", thousands of Iranians were arrested, and hundreds killed including dozens of security forces.

Friday's hangings bring the total number of Iranians executed in connection with the protests to seven.

Kazemi, Mirhashemi and Yaghoubi were arrested in November and sentenced to death in January.

They were also charged with membership of "illegal groups with the intention of disrupting national security and collusion leading to crimes against internal security", Mizan said.

It noted "evidence and documents in the case and the clear statements made by the accused" showed that "the shootings carried out by these three people led to the martyrdom of three security forces".

Iran executes more people a year than any other nation except China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty International.

Last year, 576 people were put to death, up from 314 the year before, as the government tried to put down a popular uprising, according to an Amnesty report on executions and the death penalty.

(with wires)
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo Prampram, Samuel Nartey George has opened up on how he is being intimidated when he travels abroad because of his campaign against LGBTQ+ in the country.

Speaking to Asempa FM, the outspoken Parliamentarian said he is accused of money laundering and cannot change a dollar when he is out of Ghana.

They claim I am laundering money for evangelical conservatives in the United States of America.

I cant change money anywhere, I have done some travels in the United Kingdom and Dubai, Sam George disclosed on the Ekosii sen programme.

The Ningo Prampram MP continued, You know over there when you want to exchange the money theyll swipe your passport, so once they do that the countenance of the cashier changes when my name appears, then they hand the passport back to you, and say we cant change the money for you, sorry.

Sam George is one of the 8 Members of Parliament leading the charge to have the anti-gay bill passed by Parliament.

Despite the intimidation, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP says he is not perturbed.

He insists that he is only motivated to do more to ensure the anti-gay bill is passed into law.
A presidential staffer, Samuel Bryan Buabeng has waded into the Supreme Court's recent ruling that the election of James Gyakye Quayson as Member of Parliament for Assin North constituency is unconstitutional.

The court unanimously ruled that Mr. Quayson was not qualified to contest the 2020 parliamentary election failed to renounce his Canadian citizenship before filing to run for parliament, which violates the 1992 Constitution.

Reacting to the ruling, Mr Buabeng argued that dual citizens should not be allowed to contest even Assembly elections in Ghana.

To him, if they want to serve the country, they should be willing to give up their foreign citizenship.

The staffer in a tweet on Friday, May 19, cited the US and UK, which disallow dual nationals to run for parliament, Senate, and House of Representatives, and asked why Ghana should bend its rules.

The US & UK disallow dual nationals to run for parliament, Senate and House of Rep. In the US, you have to be a citizen of at least nine years and resident in the state to represent as a senator at the time of election. WHY SHOULD WE BEND OUR RULES?

A dual national should NOT be allowed to contest for even assembly elections in this country. If they want to serve Ghana, they must be willing to give up their foreign citizenship. This is as simple as ABCD! They are not more Ghanaian than Adamu Dramani Sakande!! his post reads.

The ruling followed a petition filed by a resident of Assin North, Michael Ankomah-Nimfah, challenging Mr. Quayson's eligibility to be an MP.

The High Court in Cape Coast had earlier nullified Mr. Quayson's election and ordered fresh polls in the constituency.

However, the MP is said to have continued attending parliament pending the final determination of the case by the Supreme Court.
Elsewhere, the question has been asked by anti-royalists whether, by accident of birth, societies should continue to set above their citizens the unelected few called royals to rule over the majority.

Whereas the question will always whisk the minds of some, especially the so-called modernists who see monarchs as a waste of time and public resources, it is one institution that has defined traditions and has enriched the history of practising countries. Royalty revives and tells the traditions and customs of a people for posterity.

And so as King Charles III of England's coronation unfolded last weekend live before millions of viewers, the rich history of the British monarchy dating back centuries was beautifully told.

Coronation

The coronation, as one witnessed on television captured thousands of people defying that morning's rain just to be part of the historic occasion.

Reportedly, more than 20 million people tuned in around the globe to watch the event while the country predicted over 30,000 visitors for the coronation fortnight. Definitely, there were business gains here. With the millions watching the occasion live, advertisers must have had a field day with their products opened up to the world.

And so as interest heightened, so, one gathers, did also tourism revenue. The coronation opened up the country to tourism opportunities. It has been reported that about 350 million pounds of windfall was expected as tourism revenue to boost the economy.

For those countries which are much into royalty, therefore, some of the lessons from the coronation are worth carrying forward.

Traditional Rulers

In our own country, monarchies represented by our traditional rulers are very much a part of our local development. With our Chiefs and Queen Mothers firmly in control, we can develop and escalate certain practices and traditions to an all-high level.

Let us pause for a minute and think about the beautiful and historic occasions at the traditional level that communities can create never-ending tourist attractions about.

We have occasions which not only positively impact tourism but they also serve as a unifying force for the people as they come under one umbrella to celebrate tradition and culture.

Across the country, we celebrate colourful festivals each year. These celebrations bring families together as well as locals living in other parts of the country. Some of the high-profile festivals are already bringing in tourists but there are other avenues to make them even more glorious.

Talk about the Adae Kese festival, Homowo, Odwira, Hogbetsotso, Fetu Afahye, Aboakyer, Damba and many more festivals across the country. It is time to hype them up and exploit them to the fullest to the benefit of not only the local economies but the national as well.

As one reflects on the coronation, my imagination has gone wild with ideas on the kind of things our chieftaincy institutions could do to add value to established festivals while adding benefits both at community and national levels.

Luckily, we have a whole Ministry devoted to Chieftaincy Affairs in this country. We also have the Ghana Tourism Authority actively promoting both local and foreign tourism. Active collaboration between the two can work for the good of the country, promoting chieftaincy-related occasions to be exploited and pushed at the tourism platform.

Stealing With pride

I love the idea of stealing good concepts with pride. There is no shame about it so long as it will promote something purposeful. As I believe there are some ideas one could proudly steal from the King's coronation to boost tourism, one particular idea that appealed much was their community day celebration.

The community day celebration reportedly brought together thousands of youngsters and families across Britain to be engaged in celebrations that were planned by local community groups and which highlighted the impact of volunteering in communities. The day saw a mixture of tradition and modernity, culture and community that define the people and the nation.

I look at our traditional setups and the way our youth get enchanted with community engagements, this kind of arrangement could beautifully be packaged to fit into the calendar of our traditional festivals.

The year of return and other such initiatives have worked well for us and we should continue to make room and keep an open door for our Diaspora relations and friends. But we should also make conscious efforts with plans to connect with communities in our backyard and get people, especially the youth to engage in community volunteerism around local celebrations.

With tourism drive in mind, may our traditional rulers lead us and begin to engage with their festival planners, may the Ghana Tourism Authority engage the Chieftaincy Ministry, and may we all push and pull with the aim to craft and drive volunteerism and other community engagements as an active part of our festivals.

Let the Ministry of Chieftaincy have a close collaboration with the Ghana Tourism Authority and let us see our many traditional celebrations transform into something else beyond what we are used to.

There are surely new creative activities one could build around our beautiful monarchies for local and national advantage. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

By Vicky Wireko
Under the prevailing world economic circumstances of which we are a part, there is good reason to pop champagne over the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout which has eventually come.

The naysayers think otherwise because they would have rather the story was different, not this glossy.

The naysayers are disappointed and even frustrated that we have cause to say 'eureka'. They continue to tendentiously live in denial of the effects of the post-COVID 19 economic fallouts because it fits their bill of political mischief.

The way some opposition elements carry politics makes us wonder whether such persons harbour any iota of patriotism at all in their DNA. They have lost it and should not come near the political leadership of this country.

The qualification for consideration for a bailout is good governance and good economic management, which government exuded palpably.

We recall one of the many unfortunate remarks of the then President John Mahama when he complained about a government which was so broke it had no longer flesh over the bones. What went wrong then? Sheer poor governance was the cause and not an extension of an occurrence such a pandemic or a war with global repercussions as is the case today.

The occasioning factors for the case today are clearly what have been already spelt out plus the Russian/Ukrainian war.

When after WWII a depression hit the world, a Marshal Plan was launched to ameliorate a bad situation.

The IMF was set up to address the economic challenges of individual countries, and so if we have resorted to the institution to assist us address a situation, so be it, we dare tell the mischievous good-for-nothing naysayers.

Things could have been worse but for the achievements chalked when things were smooth sailing.

Let them continue to bask in political foolishness to the extent of wishing for their country bad times. Unfortunately, they cannot dictate the destiny of a country.

We have made it and the confidence the economy has regained within this brief period since the approval for the bailout can only be conjectured.

We are on the verge of bouncing back as an economy with a promise.

When the Vice President presented the Gold-for-Oil programme and they out of economic naivety did not appreciate the wisdom preferred to spite it with oral venom as they always with everything good. Today, the dividends are noticeable.

When they castigate government for going to the IMF for a bailout they do so with an agenda to draw the country back.

Even as they wear their countenance of disappointment and frustration that their wish has not come to pass, we shall continue to pop champagne and look forward to a better Ghana full of promise. They may consider burning the sea if they so wish.

Source: Daily Guide
WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with Google, Twitter and Facebook in lawsuits seeking to hold them liable for terrorist attacks. However, the justices sidestepped the big issue hovering over the cases: the federal law that shields social media companies from being sued over content posted by others.

The justices unanimously rejected a lawsuit alleging that the companies allowed their platforms to be used to aid and abet an attack at a Turkish nightclub that killed 39 people in 2017.

In the case of an American college student who was killed in an Islamic State terrorist attack in Paris in 2015, a unanimous court returned the case to a lower court, but said there appeared to be little, if anything, left of it.

The high court initially took up the Google case to decide whether the companies' legal shield for the social media posts of others, contained in a 1996 law known as Section 230, is too broad.

Instead, the court said it was not necessary to reach that issue because there is little tying Google to responsibility for the Paris attack. "We therefore decline to address the application of Section 230 to a complaint that appears to state little, if any, plausible claim for relief," the court wrote in an unsigned opinion.

The outcome is, at least for now, a victory for the tech industry, which predicted havoc on the internet if Google lost. The high court remains free to take up the issue in a later case.

"The Court will eventually have to answer some important questions that it avoided in today's opinions. Questions about the scope of platforms' immunity under Section 230 are consequential and will certainly come up soon in other cases," Anna Diakun, staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said in an emailed statement.

Google general counsel Halimah DeLaine Prado said in an email that the company will "continue our work to safeguard free expression online, combat harmful content, and support businesses and creators who benefit from the internet."

A lawyer for the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, who was killed in Paris, expressed disappointment at the outcome but pledged to fight on. "We lawyers see this decision as just another hurdle we need to navigate. It took decades to topple Big Tobacco, we'll eventually rein in reckless and greed driven Big Tech as well," Nitsana Darshan-Leitner wrote in an email.

The families of victims in both attacks asserted that the internet giants did not do enough to prevent their platforms from being used by extremist groups to radicalize and recruit people.

They sued under a federal law that allows Americans injured by a terrorist attack abroad to seek money damages in federal court.

The family of a victim in the bombing of the Reina nightclub in Istanbul argued that the companies assisted in the growth of the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the attack.

Writing for the court, Justice Clarence Thomas said the family's "claims fall far short of plausibly alleging that defendants aided and abetted the Reina attack."

In the Paris attack, Gonzalez' family raised similar claims against Google over her killing at a Paris bistro in an assault also claimed by the Islamic State. That was one of several attacks on a June night in the French capital that left 130 people dead.

The family wants to sue Google for YouTube videos they said helped attract IS recruits and radicalize them. Google owns YouTube.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that most of the claims were barred by the internet immunity law.

The Supreme Court's decision in October to review that ruling set off alarm at Google and other technology companies. "If we undo Section 230, that would break a lot of the internet tools," said Kent Walker, Google's top lawyer.

Yelp, Reddit, Microsoft, Craigslist, Twitter and Facebook were among the companies warning that searches for jobs, restaurants and merchandise could be restricted if social media platforms had to worry about being sued over the recommendations they provide and their users want.

How to take a break from social media Be easy on yourself and ask for help about social media use Helpful exercise to remind you what you're missing by scrolling Use your phone's screen-time tracking feature and limit social media use Physically distance yourself from your phone and apps Benefits of taking a social media break Reevaluate what you want out of social media Two and a half hours.
Richard Ahiagbah, NPP National Communications Director

19.05.2023 LISTEN

National Communications Director of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah has dismissed claims by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the government's bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should have been done in 2021.

The IMF board recently approved a $3 billion extended credit facility arrangement for Ghana, following months of anticipation.

The unanimous decision will enable an immediate disbursement of about $600 million today Friday, May 19.

In a tweet on Friday, May 19, Ahiagbah stated that the NDC's assertion was misguided, as the economy had shown positive signs of recovery from the Covid-19 slump in 2020, posting a 5.4% GDP at the end of that year.

He further argued that if not for the delay in passing the e-levy and the Russia-Ukraine war, Ghana would not have needed IMF support as it currently does.

"The NDC's view that Ghana should have requested IMF support in 2021 was a piece of poor advice because the economy was showing positive signs of recovery from the Covid-19 slump in 2020, posting a 5.4% GDP at the end of that year.

Had Russia not invaded Ukraine in 2022, and had the e-levy been passed without the partisan acrimony that attended it, Ghana would not have needed IMF support as we have it today," Ahiagbah said in his tweet.
19.05.2023 LISTEN

Ashanti Regional branch of the Seedling Contractors Association is demanding payment of over GH2.3 billion owed its members by the government.

According to the group, the amount is for the supply of seedlings for the tree planting exercise during the Green Ghana Day celebrations for 2021 and 2022.

One of the leaders of the group, Gloria Amposah says they don't understand how another project has been launched when their money is still in arrears

How can the government launch a new project when our monies have not been paid? The government is set to invest huge sums of monies into the Green Ghana project when we have not been paid our monies. We want our monies, we are pleading with government to settle us, we cannot wait any longer, we are suffering, we need our monies, the spokesperson of the Seedling Contractors Association in the Ashanti Region stated.

The Association in April threatened legal action against government if they are not paid arrears owed them for providing seedlings in 2021 and 2022 during the national tree planting exercise.

They are thus calling on government to pay them before starting this year's Green Ghana Day exercise or risk facing them in court.

The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has confirmed that it owes the seedling Contractors an amount of GH28 million but has not been able to give firm assurances on when the amount would be paid.

 Citi Newsroom
A delegation from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) will today, Friday, 19 May 2023 visit Kumawu in the Ashanti Region.

The delegation will be led by flagbearer of the party John Dramani Mahama.

Mr Mahama will be leading the delegation to campaign for the NDC Parliamentary candidate, Akwasi Amankwa, in the upcoming Kumawu by-election.

Leadership of the party, has already been in the constituency to support the Parliamentary candidate.

While in Kumawu, Mr Mahama will visit the chief of Kumawu and proceed to meet various groups for the campaign.

There will be a by-election in the Kumawu constituency on Tuesday, 23 May 2023, the Electoral Commission has announced.

The seat became vacant following the death of MP Philip Basoah.

classfmonline.com
Director of Communications for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Richard Ahiagbah, has explained that the government would not have gone to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for support but for the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

He also said, if the e-levy had been passed without the partisan acrimony that attended it, the Fund would not have come in to support Ghana.

In a tweet dated May 19, 2023, Mr Ahiagbah said: The NDCs view that Ghana should have requested IMF support in 2021, was a piece of poor advice because the economy was showing positive signs of recovery from the Covid-19 slump in 2020, posting a 5.4% GDP at the end of that year.

Had Russia not invaded Ukraine in 2022, and had the E-levy been passed without the partisan acrimony that attended it, Ghana would not have needed IMF support as we have it today.

The Board of the Fund unanimously approved Ghanas bailout on Wednesday, May 17 at a meeting in Washington after Ghana secured the Paris Club financing assurance on Friday, May 12.

The NDC's view that Ghana should have requested IMF support in 2021, was a piece of poor advice because the economy was showing positive signs of recovery from the Covid-19 slump in 2020, posting a 5.4% GDP at the end of that year. Had Russia not invaded Ukraine in 2022, and had  Richard Ahiagbah (@RAahiagbah) May 19, 2023

Classfmonline.com
Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources has stated small-scale mining has been contributing increasingly to the nations gold output as the sector produced a total of 712,405 ounces of gold last year.

He said it brought to the nation almost US$1,200,000,000 in export receipts, adding that all diamonds produced in the country in 2022, which amounted to 82,251.99 carats and generated US$3,900,000 in revenue were from small-scale mining.

Mr Jinapor made the statement when he was speaking at the opening of a two-day transformational dialogue on artisanal and small-scale mining under the theme, Sustaining Environmental Security and Human Rights in Small Scale Mining Operations in Ghana at Fiapre in the Sunyani West Municipality.

The programme, initiated by the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) aimed at bringing together various stakeholders to deliberate on the issue and jointly make efforts towards a common direction.

It was attended by politicians, traditional leaders, students, members, and staff of the UENR, artisans and small-scale miners, civil society actors, representatives of large-scale mining companies and the media.

Mr Jinapor said the small-scale mining sector had been the source of employment for thousands of people and supported the lives and livelihoods of millions of citizens.

But he added the increasing illegalities associated with the sector and resulting in the destruction of the environment remained a national challenge that required collaborative effort to end the menace.

Mr Jinapor said the government's effort to clamp down on galamsey had been met with resistance because of the greedy and unscrupulous nation-wreckers destroying the environment for their personal interests.

He said the government in addressing the threat of illegal mining had introduced policies and measures under the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP) to provide alternative sources of income and livelihood to persons engaged in the menace.

In that regard several young men and women had been employed in the production of seedlings and reclamation of degraded mined lands in the Ashanti, Eastern and Western North Regions, the Minister added.

He said the Apprenticeship, Skills Training and Entrepreneurship module of the Programme was expected to be rolled out later this year to provide training for 5,000 youth in agriculture, technical, vocational, industrial, and mining skills.

Mr Jinapor , therefore, commended the UENR for introducing several novel programmes, including bachelor and graduate programmes in Sustainable Mining, Land Degradation Neutrality and Sustainable Land Management aimed at promoting sustainable mining and environmental protection.

The effort needed a hands-on-deck approach to promoting sustainable resources extraction practices and transforming mined lands into viable lands for agricultural purposes, he said and called for intensification of education on responsible and sustainable mining practices.

GNA
Isaac Adongo, the Deputy Ranking Member of the Parliament's Finance Committee, is questioning the whereabout of the Ghanaian team that negotiated the $3 billion bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He said the country failed to present a clear-cut policy to the IMF team due to a lack of a well-composed team from Ghana

Because there was no policy document on the part of the Ghanaian delegation during the negotiation hence, the decision of the IMF to foist their policies down our throat, he stated.

He explained that the agreement the nation reached was the result of the Finance Minister's own work without the team.

The $3 billion IMF bailout, according to the MP for Bolgatanga Central, is a mixed bag that will worsen the nation's problems.

The MP said this during an interview with Nana Ama Agyarko, a sit-in host for The Citizen Show on Accra 100.5 FM on Thursday, May 18, 2023.

According to him, the sector minister used his familiarity with the IMF team memberswhom he managed to persuade to approve the deal for Ghana.

When the NDC went to the IMF in 2015, it had a team chaired by the late Prof Kwesi Botchwey.

Where are the team members of the 2023 delegation except the Finance minister? he asked.

The first tranch of the $3 billion extended credit facility from the International Monetary Fund is expected to reach Ghana's account by today, Friday, May 19, 2023.

At a joint press conference on Thursday, 18 May 2023, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta said: "There is a $600 million release, and we will be working with the IMF to see if we can get it by tomorrow, and then we will move on to the next 6 months which will be another $600 million, and then we move on to about 5 different tranches every 6 months in the periods ahead."
A Senior Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Ransford Gyampo has urged the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to organize a debate for its presidential candidate aspirants.

The party is expected to choose its flagbearer for the 2024 general election in an internal election scheduled for November 4, 2024.

The NPP has a list of top names including Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, former Trade Minister Alan Kyeremateng, former General Secretary Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong, former Agric Minister Owusu Afriyie Akoto and others contesting for the flagbearer race.

In a Facebook post on Friday, May 19, Professor Gyampo said organizing a debate will provide voters with the opportunity to access the competencies and policies of the various aspirants.

The political science expert added that a debate would create a level-playing field for the candidates to showcase their ideas.

According to him, it will also promote a healthy contest of ideas and enhance the exercise of people's right to choose.

NPP Flagbearership race - Can the top echelons create a level playing platform for the key aspirants to debate among themselves to ensure a healthy contest of ideas and enhance the exercise of peoples right of choice? Professor Gyampo asked.
19.05.2023 LISTEN

A Man Diesel truck with registration number AS -5942-10 heavily loaded with wood has fallen on an unidentified person at Masalachi Roundabout at Assin Fossu in the Central Region.

The truck fell on its side killing the person whose body was discovered by firemen at the scene.

Firemen say a distress call was received at 21:48 hours at Assin Fosu Fire Station reporting an accident at the Assin Fosu Masalachi roundabout.

According to the firemen, the body was mutilated beyond recognition.

The Ghana National Fire Service handed over the mutilated body to the Police who then transported it to the Saint Francis Xavier Hospital morgue.

The cause of the accident is under police investigation.

-Classfmonline.com
Caucus for Democratic Governance (CDG-GH) would like to congratulate HE John Dramani Mahama - a man of the people - for his resounding victory. Many were those who predicted his trajectory of victory. His high popularity, the empathy of the masses, the strong desire of the people to have him back, because of his experience on the job, led him to a sweeping victory with 98.9% votes; a percentage which transcends all predicted limitations. A well crafted symbiosis between JM and National Executive will surely translate courageous firm and transformational Leadership into sure victory in 2024. Once more congratulations.

Running Mate (RM)

Now that the Primaries are over, all concentrations are certain to be on the RM and the 2024 general election. It is however important to note, that the early appointment of the RM, comes with advantages that can maximize victory in 2024. As Party in Opposition, going into 2024 general election, would require a running mate who brings one touch victory. A RM who has once lost a contest cannot be presented the second time; says the grass root wisdom that has guided NDC Presidents through the 4th Republic. Let us choose the right Running Mate to complete the circle to NDC victory. From the financial point of view it is imperative to get an RM in place, so the financial and strategic distribution of labour would leave the Presidential candidate time and space for other matters of equal importance. Besides, the plethora of consultations to affirm the choice of the Presidential candidate will require time. As a Party in Opposition, it will be unwise to get into time pressure; considering the complex nature of General elections.

RM Nominee of NDC

It is worth knowing, that all NDC Presidents have had to change their Vice Presidents at one point or the other. Late President JJ Rawlings changed his Running Mate (RM) before he went in for his second term. His first RM was Ackaah, who comes from Winneba ( his root was Nzema). His second term Vice President was Prof Atta Mills who was trained at the Ideological Institute at Winneba. Late Prof Mills changed his Running Mate (RM) after each attempt. After his first attempt, he changed Martin Amidu and took Alhaji Mumuni for his second attempt. His third attempt was with a third RM, HE John Mahama, who brought him his victory.

Conclusion

The dichotomy of choosing spiritually victorious RM and an RM that will not bring defeat are all reasons why the appointment of HM should come early enough. Since JM committed his flag bearer victory to JJ Rawlings, we pray that the RM would come from the Volta Region to connect the founder of NDC - JJ Rawlings  and his spiritual impact and strength to victory 2024.

Dr E.K. Hayford,

Executive Director,

Caucus for Democratic Governance (CDG, GH)

0277606338
It was somewhere in 2017 when I started knowing Hon. Joe Ghartey, a 2024 Presidential candidate aspirant of the ruling New Patriotic Party and former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice under former President John Agyekum Kufuor's administration, on a personal level. That was shortly after he was sworn-in by President Nana Akufo-Addo as Minister for Railways Development. Hon. Ghartey, very passionate about developing Ghana's Railways sector and using rail to boost economic development, hit the ground running after he was sworn-in in February 2017. I was one of the first three journalists the Railways Development Ministry selected to join its Press Corps at a time when Hon. Ghartey was actually working as the Railways Development Minister from his office as Member of Parliament for Essikado-Ketan Constituency in the Job 600 building, Parliament House, before the building being used by the Ministry now was prepared. He stayed in his office at Parliament for six months with just a secretary but with abundant optimism. Since then, I have been really close to him.

My first tour with Hon. Ghartey was the inspection of the now Tema-Mpakadan railway line. Those were the early days of Hon. Ghartey's impressive revamping of the once 'dead' Railways sector.

Along the journey, I have learned a lot from this astute Ghanaian politician. Everyone who knows me as a journalist knows that I love asking questions. From my days at Daily Guide Newspaper when I was mainly covering political events or reporting on political issues, till now, I have always believed that the easiest way to introduce and as well market oneself as a journalist is to ask relevant questions at every function you attend when the opportunity is given. So everytime I went on a tour with Hon. Ghartey, after inspecting work being done on a particular Railway track, I would always ask him questions on the development of Railways in Ghana, what the plans were, what he was going to do, etc. But each time we (journalists) asked him to talk about what he was doing or to tell Ghanaians what he was going to do for the Railways sector his answers were a little reserved. I realized that he was a man who loves to work more and talk less, something I have started practicing myself. One day at Kpone while we were inspecting the railway line, he jokingly told me "Melvin, today if you don't stop asking questions, you won't eat." Everyone laughed. Then later, while we were walking, he told me, "the thing is about doing the job and not talking too much about what you are doing or what you want to do. When you do a good job, people will see and your job itself will speak for you when you show it to them."

Hon. Ghartey, after our conversation during the tour, remained true to his conviction which is "more work, less talk." And indeed, when some of the Railways tracks were completed, Ghanaians from everywhere, including even the former Deputy General Secretary of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Koku Anyidoho, were full of praise. In 2019 he was identified as the Best Minister.

It was indeed under Hon. Ghartey that Ghana since colonial times, could boast of standard gauge Railways lines. The country had since colonial rule by Britain had just narrow gauge rail lines.

Work more and talk less

So the first leadership lesson I picked from Hon. Ghartey!!! Work more, talk less. When you are called to serve your nation, serve with all your heart, focus on doing the job and do it well.

I have always said one way for Africa to develop or progress is for us to have leaders who talk less and work more. A lot of our leaders talk too much, full of too much rhetorics, make promises upon promises and deliver less or work less.

Welfare

Another important leadership lesson I picked from Hon. Ghartey is that leaders must strive at all times to not only be concerned about their own welfare but also to be concerned about the well-being of their employees, their followers or citizens.

It was on his birthday in 2018 and we visited the Ghana Railway Development Authority. Hon. Ghartey had visited the Authority to interact with its management members and staff, and to his surprise, the Authority threw a little birthday party for him in its Board room. Though appreciative of the birthday surprise, Hon. Ghartey was mainly concerned about the well-being of Railway workers in Ghana. Prior to him assuming office as Railways Development Minister, railway workers in the country had not been paid for several months, something Hon. Ghartey found absolutely unacceptable.

So while addressing management of the Ghana Railway Development Authority then led by its late CEO, Richard Dombo, Hon. Ghartey appealed passionately to management members of the Authority to at all times think about the ordinary workers at the Authority such as cleaners, drivers, whenever they think of increasing their own salaries and allowances. I was sitting not far from him and heard him clearly saying to Mr. Dombo and his management staff that when you think of increasing your own salaries and allowances, also think of increasing the salaries and allowances of every staff members because the economic conditions that push you to want to increase your salaries and allowances also affect the ordinary workers here.

After hearing what Hon. Ghartey told management of the Authority, I started saying to myself this man is certainly not one of the typical self-centered and greedy African politicians I have always known or heard about. He is indeed, a leader who stands for the less privileged, a leader who understands the plight of ordinary workers or ordinary people.

Think about solutions and not dwell on problems

Somewhere in 2019, in the afternoon, Hon. Ghartey called me on phone and I asked that I meet him in his office at the Ministry. He needed me to do something for him so I had to rush there. While returning from the Ministry, I met a relative of President Akufo-Addo and while we were talking, the person told me bluntly "the President will remove your man (Joe Ghartey) from office". I asked the person why the President wanted to remove Hon. Ghartey from office, and the person said because "he (Joe Ghartey) is nursing a Presidential Ambition and the President now feels it's best to remove him from office so he can go focus on his Presidential project".

In 2020, Hon. Ghartey publicly revealed his intention to lead NPP into the 2024 Presidential election. And sadly in 2021, he was surely removed from office apparently because of his Presidential ambition. At the time he was removed from office, he was in full gear modernizing and revamping Ghana's Railways sector and working on building what he termed as "economic hubs" along major Railways lines. That dream, for obscured political reasons, has not come to life since Hon. Ghartey was removed from office, and today, little is heard about the Railways sector as nothing seems to be happening in the sector.

So after his removal, he called me to his law firm, Ghartey & Ghartey, at Labone, a suburb of Accra. Yes, I was deeply disappointed he had been removed from office. So when I met him, I said to him, "my main concern now is how we are going to keep you in the media from now until the Presidential primaries next year or in 2023. I am truly worried about you not being out of the spotlight, in the news regularly." Then he asked me: "are you worried?" I responded in the affirmative. And then he told me not to worry, "God knows best", and that rather than dwelling on what has gone wrong, we should rather think about what we can do.

So Hon. Ghartey taught me another important lesson as a leader and that is as a people, we should not dwell on our problems, on what went wrong. Rather, we should focus on finding solutions to the problems that confronts us and remain resolute in the face of adversity. When he was removed from office, he did not despair. He did not take to television and radio stations to speak ill about President Akufo-Addo for removing him from office simply because he declared his intention to lead NPP. He rather took his removal from office in good faith and moved on.

Today he is running for President and I will not be suprised at all if in the near future Ghana has a President Joe Ghartey. A man who believes in working more and talking less; a man who believes in the welfare of his people; a man who works hard regardless of the situation; a man who bears no grudges and is always looking at the bright side of things; a man who says God knows best. Yes this is President Joe Ghartey.
The Lincoln Project asked rhetorically, how many lies could Donald Trump tell in his 60 minute campaign rally on CNN. They counted 139 lies.

Trump is not running on policies, hes running on lies, hate and resentment against liberals like me, people of color, immigrants, college educated, those who read, against women, against Jews and others who arent white Christian radicals.

His more ardent true believers swallow his conspiracy theories whole then take a gun and act out their rage killing innocent people in supermarkets, churches and schools. (The documentation exists.)

The congressmen who voted to overturn the election on Jan. 6, 2021, should be called on to resign. If they want democracy to end they should move to some other authoritarian country.

Trumps MAGA supporters who want Russia to conquer Ukraine, should join the Russian military instead of staying here and sabotaging American freedom..

This region has a sizable Ukrainian population and an enormous Polish one. Millions of Poles were murdered by Stalin in the 1930s and 40s. (See Bloodlands by Prof. Timothy Snyder.) The Poles know what could happen if Trump is elected and quits NATO allowing Vladimir Putin to crush Ukraine, then Poland and into the heart of Europe. They remember the starvation and the blitzkrieg of 1939.

Bob Catalano

Derby
A woman from Nzhelele, Limpopo in South Africa has been arrested for fraudulently collecting child support money from eight men for one child.

Nancy Mudau, a 35-year-old woman, has been allegedly collecting money for 12 years from these men who believed they were the father of her child.

The collection included school fees for the child, which Ms. Mudau allegedly misused for her own personal gain.

According to a whistleblower, Ms. Mudau used the money to build herself a beautiful house and was in the process of building a tavern when she was arrested.

This shocking revelation has left many people in the community outraged and disgusted.

Child support fraud is a serious crime that can have devastating consequences for both the child and the contributors.

Ms. Mudau is currently in police custody and is expected to appear in court soon to face charges of fraud and theft.

The netizen who shared the news on Twitter, wrote, A 35-year-old woman was arrested for collecting child support money from Eight (8) different men for one child. Ms. Nancy Mudau from Nzhelele, Limpopo, has been collecting money for 12 years from these Eight (8) different men who thought they are the father of her child.

The collection included school fees money for the child. Ms Mudau used the money to build herself a beautiful house. At the time of her arrest she was busy building a tavern with child support money.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed a summit of Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Friday before what a senior official said would be a trip to Japan for a meeting with the leaders of the world's most powerful democracies.

Zelensky's office said he was invited to attend the Arab League summit in Jeddah where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before holding other bilateral meetings.

They discussed Zelensky's peace plan, the security situation in Ukraine and possible investments in the reconstruction of the country, a presidential statement said. Zelensky also invited Prince Mohammed to visit Ukraine.

Zelensky urged leaders at the summit to resist Moscow's influence and consider his peace proposals, which include the withdrawal of the Kremlin's forces from occupied areas of Ukraine.

I'm more than sure that none of you will agree to surrender a third of your country to the invaders, Zelensky said in English.

Another priority is the protection of the Muslim community of Ukraine, Zelensky said. Crimea was the first to suffer from the Russian occupation, and most of those who suffer repression in occupied Crimea are Muslims.

Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev accompanied Zelensky on the visit.

Zelensky will later travel to a Group of Seven summit in Japan where leaders of the world's most powerful democracies aim to step up punishment on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, according to Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council.

However, Danilov's office later posted a statement backtracking on his announcement and saying Zelensky would appear at the G7 summit via video link. Zelensky's movements are kept secret for security reasons.

(AP)
19.05.2023 LISTEN

The NDC Germany Chapter wishes to send our congratulatory message to the newly elected Flagbearer of our dear Party, H.E. John Dramani Mahama (JDM) in the just-ended parliamentary and presidential elections on 13 May 2023. We also wish our Flagbearer good health and more grace and landslide victory in December 2024.

Although the internal Party primaries campaign period was a fierce one, the contested candidates have shown magnanimity and maturity during and after the Saturday elections. This is the way to go for the NDC because it is a family contest among comrades and all presidential and parliamentary candidates are winners.

The overwhelming, resounding, and history-making victory for JDM with 297,603 votes representing 98.9% of the total valid votes cast in the presidential race is an emphatic expression of the desire of many Ghanaians to bring JDM back to the Jubilee House.

With JDMs verifiable and durable record as well as unmatched experience as a former President, he is indeed the right presidential candidate for the NDC and HOPE for Ghana in 2025.

During his acceptance speech in Tamale recently, JDM decried the economic mess created by this disappointing government and outlined actionable plans to fix this economic mess for more job creation.

It is no surprise that the NPP is simply afraid of JDMs comeback to lead the NDC into the 2024 general elections. This is because Ghanaians are appalled and eager to change this inept and corrupt Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led regime.

H.E. JDM has hit the nail on the head by reminding all Ghanaians that he is ready to run an actionable government but not a government of slogans and experimentation as we are unfortunately witnessing now under this insensitive Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led government.

We, therefore, urge all NDC faithful and Ghanaians at large to rally behind the newly elected Flagbearer to win handsomely on 7 December 2024 to RESCUE, REBUILD and REPAIR Ghana for accelerated and sustainable development.

All of us should give our unalloyed support to the flagbearer of the NDC to forge a formidable united front to wrestle power from the NPP come the 2024 general elections.

We highly commend the national executives (e.g. the Nation Chairman, General Secretary, Council of Elders, etc.) of our great NDC Party for putting up such highly peaceful and successful national-wide presidential and parliamentary primaries.

Eye Zu, Eye Za

Long live Germany Chapter

Long live the NDC Party

Long live Ghana

Endorsed by Germany Chapter Chairman, comrade Daniel Dake & issued by the Germany Chapter Communication Team.

NDC Germany Chapter congratulates the newly elected Flagbearer, H.E. John Dramani Mahama for 2024
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Parent Teachers Association (PTA), Kwabena Amofa-Sarpong, has refuted claims that a form 3 student of the St Monicas Senior High School in Ashanti-Mampong of the Ashanti Region died because she was refused exeat.

Patience Amaning was reported to have been denied an exeat from school by the House Mistress upon request to seek medical attention.

However, the Ashanti Regional PTA Chairman indicated that the student did not die while in school and was not refused exeat.

She reported at school very sick but the school shares a wall with Mampong Government Hospital. So when she reported sick, they gave her an exeat to visit the hospital," he narrated. "Pease mark my words; they gave her an exeat to visit the hospital or attend hospital."

When she was seen to, she was given some medicine to come and take so she came back to school, Mr Amofa-Sarpong further explained.

Thereafter, according to the Ashanti Regional PTA Chairman, the student took ill again and was taken to the hospital where her unfortunate demise happened.

Then one day, she collapsed in class and some of her colleagues decided to take her to the hospital so the assistant Head Mistress (Domestic) followed suit and got to know that she was recovering but then her situation became complicated and she passed on in the presence of the Assistant Headmistress (Domestic), he intimated.

-classfmonline
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) extraordinary session is returning to Ghana once again.

The 2023 edition of the extraordinary session will be held in Winneba in the Central Region in September.

This will be the second time the beautiful city will be hosting the high-level session.

This years ECOWAS extraordinary session will be attended by over 300 people made up of MPs from across member states as well as experts, and journalists, among others.

Confirming the news in an interview with Citi News monitored by ModernGhana News, Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin noted that Winneba won the bid for the session because of the success of the 2021 event.

He assured that all the necessary facilities are already available to ensure a successful hosting of the session.

I am happy to announce that by the grace of God, after successfully hosting the first ECOWAS extraordinary session in Winneba in 2021, it has pleased the Speaker and the entire ECOWAS Parliament Secretariat to select Winneba for another extraordinary congress in September.

The necessary letters have been written and delivered to the authorities, so we are going to start the necessary processes to receive the over three hundred people made up of MPs, experts, and journalists. We have the necessary facilities and infrastructure to host them, Hon. Afenyo-Markin said.

The MP for Effutu continued, Winneba is just an hours drive away from Accra by road and if there is traffic, you could spend just an hour and a half, so it is not out of reach that our Parliamentarians will leave Accra, and come to Winneba for the session.
The National Democratic Congress's (NDC's) support in the Volta Region which is regarded as their world bank in terms of votes has decreased during the last three elections by 6.6 percent, according to pollster Ben Ephson.

He said the opposition NDC is losing popularity in its stronghold.

Mr. Ephson, who is also the Managing Editor of the Dispatch Newspaper was commenting on NDC's declaration of former Deputy National Youth Organiser Eric Edem Agbana as the winner of the parliamentary primary held last Saturday in the Ketu North Constituency in the Volta Region.

Speaking to TV3, Ben Ephson said If they think that Edem Agbana is popular they should go for a rerun. I am just talking as an observer or political analyst. If the NPP is smart and they field a popular person who is in the other mans camp, they will win. Once it was split it means this gentleman is also popular.

If they get someone to go independent from this mans camp, Edem Agbana will lose the seat, and dont be surprised the NPP will do it

He added The Volta Region being the NDCs political world bank over the last three elections NDCs votes in the region have dropped by 6.6 percent. Before you win, you have to get as maximum votes as possible in your world bank, then you struggle with your opposing parties for the swing regions for Greater Accra, Western, and Central.

So if in your world bank, you are losing votes you will go into the battle in the swing regions with a deficit, so the NDC can go ahead and take the region for granted. The people wont vote for NPP, no, they will rather stay away.
Growing discontent with President Nana Akufo-Addo's leadership style among first-time voters in Ghana could spell doom for the NPP in the 2024 general elections, according to a new poll.

Research firm Global InfoAnalytics found that only 21% of non-voters in 2020 approve of Akufo-Addo's performance, compared to 67% who disapproved.

Per the poll, the vast majority of these first-time voters who were not part of the electorate that voted Akufo-Addo into power in 2016 and 2020, are unlikely to reward his party with reelection in 2024.

"The data shows clearly that the president is failing to win over Ghana's next generation of voters," said Global InfoAnalytics in a tweet on Friday, May 19.

"If this trend continues, these new voters could hand victory to the opposition in 2024, it added.

Among those who voted for Akufo-Addo in 2016 and 2020, only 44% approve of his leadership - signaling growing disenchantment even within his traditional support base.

In contrast, most of former President John Mahama's voters remain firmly opposed to Akufo-Addo.

The findings indicated that the NPP's chances in 2024 may hinge on whether they can appeal to young, first-time voters who are increasingly doubtful of Akufo-Addo's leadership by embarking on more developmental projects.

If the opposition candidate can win over this new bloc of voters as the poll predicts, it could gain the edge needed to oust the NPP from power after serving two terms.

Read their full tweet, According to April 2023 opinion poll, only 44% of voters who voted for Nana Addo in 2020 approve of his job performance, 49% disapprove and 7% have no opinion.

For those who voted for John Mahama, only 12% approve of the president's performance, 85% disapprove and 3% have no opinion.

More worrying for the NPP and the president, 67% of voters who did not vote in 2020 disapprove of the President's job performance compared to only 21% who approve his performance. This is a strong sign that most voters voting in the 2024 elections for the first time are likely to vote for the opposition candidate.
19.05.2023 LISTEN

Mr Michael Buabin, acting General Manager of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Volta Region, says the companys cashless system of transactions introduced recently has been enrolled in the Volta and Oti regions.

He said presently, no ECG office accepts cash during transactions such as payment of bills or purchasing of prepaid credit.

Customers with smartphones can access this cashless system by downloading the ECG PowerApp from Google play store or App store and follow the prompts to pay their postpaid bills or purchase prepaid credit for smart meters, Mr Buabin noted.

The system announced by the Company on May 11, is being rolled out across all 11 districts of the two regions, namely; Denu, Keta, Sogakope, Akatsi, Ho, Kpeve, Hohoe, Kpando, Jasikan, Nkwanta and Dambai.

Mr Buabin addressing the media noted that following the enhancement of the ECG PowerApp, customers could now do cashless business with ECG anywhere and anytime.

He noted that customers without smart phones could dial *226# to access the cashless system for all transactions.

Mr Buabin said the system was part of efforts to digitalise the company's operations to make it efficient and also provide convenience for customers.

Our customers are always at the heart of everything we do since without them we are not in business so we will keep enhancing our operations to provide convenience for them and enable them access our services with ease.

He said prior to the introduction of the system, customers had to travel from far places to transact business with the company, which caused some inconveniences to them looking at the cost of transportation and the risk involved.

He said with the introduction of the system, the inconvenience caused had been reduced as customers could sit in the comfort of their homes and transact real time business with ECG.

Mr Buabin noted that with postpaid meters, customers needed to add their account numbers after logging onto the app, but with prepaid meters, the system required meter number of customers.

He advised customers to be vigilant and confirm their details when they added the meter or account numbers to ensure their details were correct before clicking the THIS IS CORRECT button on the app.

Mr Buabin said they must also do so before making payment to ensure payment of bills was done for the right account.

He said customers who intended to pay their bills or purchase prepaid with cheque could also do same via the app by generating a cheque pay-in slip number and make payment at any bank.

He announced that customers who still wished to visit ECG offices to pay their bills or buy prepaid should load the money on their mobile money wallet before going to the offices.

Mr Buabin said third party prepaid vendors would still sell prepaid to customers who visit them as they have always been doing.

He revealed that the region was embarking on an intensive campaign to sensitize customers on how to use the system and its benefits.

We have adopted strategies to ensure our customers understand what is happening, know how to use the app and the shortcode and also the benefits of this system.

We have done jingles which will be played on radio stations, we have caused announcements, commenced radio education, town hall meetings and stakeholder engagements to ensure all our customers are well informed.

He assured customers that the company would continue to provide convenience for customers and urged them to visit the nearest office or contact ECG via 0302611611 for further assistance.

Mr Buabin appealed to customers to pay their bills promptly since the company was still on its revenue mobilization exercise after the national exercise ended on 20th April 2023.

Madam Cynthia Amu, a nurse at the Ho Teaching Hospital and a resident of Ho Power House, expressed her satisfaction with the progress of work by ECG to enhance this App.

I have been using the App for more than a year after my old meter was replaced with the smart prepaid meter.

She said the App was unstable initially as it took days before credit purchased reflected but had been stable for the past month.

Mr James Adjei, a fridge repairer at Breweniase in the Nkwanta District of ECG indicated that prior to the system, he had to close his shop and travel from Breweniase to Nkwanta to pay his bills, which was stressful since the bill collector was not coming around frequently.

He said during a community engagement in January this year with ECG on preventing bushfires, he got to know of the shortcode *226# and had since paid his bills without travelling.

GNA
Three hundred and twenty-one customers who engaged in electricity power theft in the Upper East Regional operational area of the Northern Electricity Distribution Company of the Volta River Authority (VRA/NEDCo), have been arrested.

Mr William Asare, the Billing and Revenue Protection Officer for the Upper East Region operational area, said the culprits were arrested when his outfit embarked on an exercise to retrieve money owed the company.

The revenue drive started on April 18, 2023, to retrieve Ghc125 million owed by its customers in its operational area, Upper East and North East regions.

He said some of the arrested customers connected to the national grid without recourse to the authority while others tampered with the connections, to enable them to pay less or completely pay nothing for the power used.

Mr Asare, who was speaking to the media in Bolgatanga, said the Authority served the customers letters telling them to pay for the power they stole before they could be reconnected.

A number of them have come to pay and have been reconnected but a good number of them haven't also paid. Those who haven't paid anything at all, we will take them through the law, he said.

He said his outfit would compile a list of all offenders who had not paid, for a court summons to be prepared for them.

He warned the public against illegal electricity connections and said it was not only a crime but denied the authority the needed revenue to fully supply power to the public.

After a month of revenue mobilization drive, the Billing and Revenue Protection Officer said VRA/NEDCo in the Upper East Region operational area raked in about Ghc7.9 million from defaulting customers who owed the company.

Every month, we bill our postpaid customers averagely about 5.8 million cedis so if within this period we have collected 7.9 million cedis, what it tells us is that if we sustain it, at least we will be collecting our current bills in a little of the arrears and the bills will not pile up. So, we are very excited, he stated.

Mr Asare said with the amount retrieved, it was expected that his outfit would sustain the exercise to help them to stay in business.

A little over 6,321 customers owing various sums of money were disconnected.

Some of those customers he said had paid and were reconnected to the nation's grid while others who could not pay all at once, entered an agreement with VRA/NEDCo to settle their bills over a period.

The Area Engineer, Mr Ismael Ben Kwofie lamented that the conflict in Bawku had affected its revenue drive as contractors engaged to retrieve monies were not willing to go to the company's yard located in the heart of Bawku to get materials for the repair of broken lines for fear of their lives because of the protracted conflict in the area.

When you take Bolga, our next bread basket is in Bawku followed by Navrongo. But for the past two years, we have gotten almost nothing from Bawku even though we don't fail to improve the service delivery there, he added.

He said the VRA/NEDCo did not take delight in plunging areas in darkness because when that happened would lose revenue.

GNA
Madam Cynthia Delarko, a matron at the Asukawkaw Senior High School (SHS) in the Krachi East Municipality of the Oti Region has been arrested for allegedly stealing food consignment meant for the School.

The matron was arrested by Mr Mark Oduro, the Assembly member of Asukawkaw Electoral Area upon tip-off and handed over to the Katanga Police for further investigations.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Oduro listed the food items to include bags of rice, bags of beans, canned tomatoes in large and small sizes and a gallon of frytol vegetable oil.

He indicated that the matron's action was not first as previous ones went unnoticed and decided to track subsequent movement of food consignment meant to feed students.

He told GNA that the suspect was apprehended for her action, which is tended to undermine the governments free SHS policy.

Mr John Sitsofe Nukunu, Headmaster of the School remained tight-lipped about the development and demanded authorisation from the GNA to speak on the matter.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr Kennedy Frimpong, Katanga Police commander however confirmed the arrest and said her docket was being built.

GNA
Press Release

May 18, 2023 Gatchalian to DepEd: "Make data more open" EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Senator Sherwin Gatchalian called on the Department of Education to open up education-related data for analysis during a meeting on learning loss recovery with DepEd and stakeholders. "I heard mention about opening up the data sets. I think that's an admission that we need help from the experts, that's a good admission. We also encourage the private sector to help analyze the data," Gatchalian said. He added that "DepEd should also develop its own capability and analysis because we will also rely on those analyses". The discussion was part of EDCOM 2's Sub-Committee on Basic Education Meeting on learning losses and interventions, which featured DepEd officials and private-sector stakeholders sharing insights on how to mitigate and recover from learning losses suffered by Filipino students during the COVID19 Pandemic. DepEd's National Learning Recovery Program Presenting the National Learning Recovery Program (NLRP) of DepEd, Assistant Secretary for Curriculum and Teaching Alma Ruby Torio noted that, while learning losses have been observed around the world, the Philippines' is reported to be in severe levels. "For sampled Grade 6 learners, a significant learning loss was detected in Problem Solving and Critical Thinking", Asec. Torio said. The NLRP intends to mitigate the effects of learning loss through four distinct programs: the National Reading Program, the National Math Program, the National Science & Technology Program, and the Learning Camp. Asec. Torio further added that "the NLRP has to be learners-centered, learners-focused, and that no one is left behind. DepEd also detailed its plans for the National Learning Camp: a two-fold program that aims to improve learning either in the form of enrichment, intervention, or remediation held every end of the school year break. Starting this year in July, the Department plans to prioritize Grades 1-3 learners for Reading, and Grades 8-10 students for STEM and English. Learning loss interventions by stakeholders A discussion on interventions to mitigate learning loss was also conducted with stakeholders in the education sector. Ms. Ina Aquino, of ABC+, a project by DepEd in partnership with USAID, explained their efforts in the program's focus areas, namely Region V, Region VI, and Maguindanao and Cotabato City Special Geographic Area (SGA). DepEd Regional Director Gilbert Sadsad of Region V discussed his area's Learning Recovery Plan, implemented last school year. According to Dir. Sadsad, the Plan was designed for Grades 1, 2, and 3, and focused on foundational skills in literacy and numeracy. Dir. Sadsad narrated that, by focusing on learning remediation in early years, learners saw improvements and became "grade ready" within the program's implementation period of eight weeks. Geomel Jetonzo, Director of the Brigada Pagbasa program of World Vision Philippines, discussed the Literacy and Numeracy Diagnostic and Proficiency Assessment Tool (DAPAT), which diagnosed learners literacy by skill level at understanding letters, words, paragraphs, and concepts. Jaton Zulueta of AHA! Learning Center discussed an Empathy Informed Learning System, where academic interventions are targeted by skill level, rather than grade level. The system reported 75% improved learning outcomes, and that 86% of students have more confidence in doing their lessons independently and reciting in class. De La Salle University's Dr. Miguel Rapatan cited his study, commissioned by the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC), and exhorted schools to expand their current concepts of learning loss and learning recovery actions by emphasizing the gathering and use of data. Joel Santos of Thames International School, discussed the Philippine Assessment for Learning Loss Solutions (PALLS): a test conducted with 3,600 private school Grades 1-12 students from 18 schools, most of them garnered below passing marks. Santos cautioned that "the older the student, the lower the results". He noted that, while mean score trends across grade levels, the magnitude of learning loss is much higher at the upper grade levels. Undersecretary for Curriculum and Teaching Gina Gonong shared that they are currently analyzing the data so that learner needs across the country could be disaggregated at the municipality/division level, and could be shared with partners. She also mentioned that the Department will be inviting potential partners to a Stakeholders Forum this July to share their analysis, and to systematize engagement in combating learning loss. "Rolling out a massive intervention program is really daunting. Rolling it out as fast as we can, as even as possible, taking into consideration the need to make it robust and customized to the needs of our learners is really challenging, but I'm happy to see that there are things moving," Senator Gatchalian said. "What we need is national consolidated data and analysis because from my point of view, when we allocate the budget, we need to justify that budget. And we also need to look at the bigger picture. Of course the granular, municipality, division data are very important but from a policy point of view, we also need to look at the bigger picture," Senator Gatchalian added. # # # EDCOM 2 is the Congressional body created through RA11899, tasked to undertake a comprehensive national assessment and evaluation of the performance of the Philippine education sector. In the next three years, it will also recommend legislation that aims to address the education crisis in the country. MEDIA NOTE:

All interview requests related to EDCOM II should be directed to the EDCOM II Communications Office at [email protected]. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edcom2ph Twitter: https://twitter.com/edcom2ph Instagram: https://instagram/edcom2ph Website: www.edcom2.gov.ph
Opinion / Columnist

United Nation Sustainable Development Goals Target 5.3 (Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation). Target 3.1 looks at the proportion of girls between the ages of 20-24 who were married before the age of 15 and before the age of 18. This UN SDG's goal is to Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.Due to numerous reports on social media about child marriages by church leaders in Zimbabwe, I went to the UN webpage to and here is what I found: Zimbabwe has committed itself fully to Agenda 2030. I found this to be interesting because when I opened Target 5 of the SDGs, below is what I found: https://data.unicef.org/sdgs/country/zwe/ (No data).This bothered me; I told myself that this is social media but then this case has the man's name and address together with a picture. I went through some reflections. If if this was false, what will it cost for the police to check on it? Where are the policeman?Well as much as this is flagrant violation of human rights, this is the modus operandi of all despotic regimes. Their second order of business after taking power and grabbing the security forces, they seize control of the media.The security cannot move against child marriages because as it stands, church leaders are loyal to ZANU PF and have a free ticket to commit heinous child sex crimes - to pay back, they will vote and mobilize votes for ZANU PF. To add salt to injury, the conventional media is stone silent about these marriages only paying a lip service when the molested child dies giving birth.We as a people, fail to realize the critical importance of free and independent media, As Joseph Stalin once remarked, "Control the media and you control the minds of the people." One of the reason the despotic regime is controlling the flow of information is:To keep the outside world "in the dark" regarding the flagrant violations of human rights, exposed to the outside world. Our despot does not want the world to know of the underage girls being raped in churches.
Palgrave Frimpong Boakye-Danquah, the government's spokesperson for governance and security, has thrown his weight behind Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to lead the party in the 2024 general elections.

He said Bawumia's performance and competencies suggested that he is the ideal candidate to win the 2024 elections for the NPP.

I throw my support very confidently behind Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and I wish him the best that he wins and I am certain that he will be able to take this country further from Nana Akufo-Addo, he stated.

On 3FM's Sunrise, Mr. Boakye-Danquah discussed the upcoming presidential primaries of the ruling party.

Mr. Boakye-Danquah asserts that Dr. Bawumia is still one of Ghana's most prominent and "out-of-the-box-thinking" Vice Presidents since 1992.

You can name all the Vice Presidents that have come and tell me what they did. When you mention Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the immediate thing that comes to mind is digitalisation because he sought to digitalise the Ghanaian economy, he added.

The former executive director of the Kandifo Institute has revealed his desire to run for Abuakwa North Constituency in the Eastern Region when nomination opens.

He stated that the objective is to help the residents of Abuakwa North.
Sudan's de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan sacked his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo Friday, as forces loyal to the feuding generals pressed on with fighting in both Khartoum and Darfur.

The United Nations meanwhile warned that humanitarian needs are increasing in Sudan, with aid chief Martin Griffith allocating $22 million in emergency funds to help Sudanese fleeing the violence.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says more than 1 million people have been displaced by the power struggle between Burhan and Daglo, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Hundreds have been killed in the fighting, which has now raged for more than a month.

On Friday, witnesses reported exchanges of fire both in the capital Khartoum and in the troubled Darfur region, where armed civilians have also entered the fray, stoking ethnic and tribal rivalries.

In Central Darfur, RSF fighters are trying to push Burhan's military from its headquarters in the capital Zalingei, residents said.

In South Darfur capital Nyala, fighting killed 18 people on Thursday, Sudan's doctors syndicate said. Witnesses told AFP clashes were ongoing on Friday.

Ceasefire efforts

The power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo has played out mostly in Khartoum but also in the troubled Darfour region, killing hundreds and displacing more than a million others. By - (AFP)

The persistent violence has defied regional and international calls for a humanitarian ceasefire.

Sudan has been gripped by economic and political turmoil since veteran leader Omar al-Bashir was ousted by the military in 2019.

Two years later, a coup by Burhan and Daglo derailed a fragile transition to civilian rule, and forces loyal to the two men have been fighting relentlessly since April 15.

Representatives of the warring generals have been in Saudi Arabia, which hosted an Arab summit on Friday and has been trying to hammer out a humanitarian ceasefire.

Asked about those talks, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the focus was "on reaching a truce that allows Sudanese civilians to take a breather".

Neighbouring South Sudan on Friday defended its own efforts to broker an end to the conflict after the Sudanese foreign ministry protested its hosting of a delegation from Daglo earlier this week.

South Sudan's government "has continued to play its part within (East African bloc) IGAD with absolute impartiality," the foreign ministry in Juba said in a statement.

Daglo's envoy Yusif Isha held talks with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and IGAD officials in Juba on Wednesday.

With neither side appearing to have the upper hand, on Friday Burhan sacked Daglo and appointed three allies to top jobs in the military.

The UN has said it is allocating $22 million in emergency funds to support relief efforts in Chad, Central African Republic, Egypt and South Sudan which have been flooded by Sudanese civilians fleeing the violence. By - (AFP)

"General Burhan has issued a constitutional decree assigning Malik Agar to the post of vice-president of the ruling transitional Sovereignty Council, effective today," the council said on its Facebook page.

The military also reported that Burhan named General Shamsedding Kabashi to be his deputy, and chose two other loyal officers to be his assistants.

Emergency aid

Agar, a former rebel leader and governor of Blue Nile state on the South Sudan border, signed a peace deal with Khartoum in 2020 and was appointed to the Sovereignty Council in February 2021.

He leads one wing of the SPLM-North, formed in 2011 by northern fighters of the movement which led South Sudan to independence that year.

Observers consider Agar's promotion as a symbolic move which is not expected to impact the power struggle between Burhan and Daglo.

People gather at a bus station in southern Khartoum to flee the Sudanese capital. By - (AFP)

The United Nations has voiced fears the crisis in Khartoum could spread to neighbouring countries now flooded with Sudanese fleeing the violence. It renewed its appeals for the safety of civilians caught in the crossfire to be respected.

"Over a month since the fighting started, UNHCR... is making an urgent appeal for the safety of civilians and to allow humanitarian aid to move freely in Sudan," Matthew Saltmarsh, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency, said on Friday.

He said more than one million people have been displaced within Sudan or as refugees in neighbouring countries.

"Inside Sudan, people are braving danger, moving notably from Khartoum, Darfur and other unsafe areas," Saltmarsh said.

UN aid chief Griffiths said on Twitter he was "allocating $22 million... to support relief efforts in Chad, the Central African Republic, Egypt and South Sudan," where Sudanese have sought refuge.

The United States on Friday promised $103 million for Sudan and neighbouring countries to support displaced people.
Flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, is entreating voters to vote massively for the partys parliamentary candidate for Kumawu to win the seat in the upcoming by-election.

Akwasi Amankwaa popularly known as Tom Cee, the NDCs parliamentary candidate for Kumawu was acclaimed by the party in April and went unopposed during the partys recent presidential and parliamentary primaries on May 6.

Akwasi Amankwaa, NDC parliamentary candidate.

He will face off with Ernest Yaw Anim, the New Patriotic Partys parliamentary candidate.

Ernest Yaw Anim, NPP parliamentary candidate

The electoral management body Electoral Commission (EC) has slated May 23 for the Kumawu by-election.

The by-election follows the demise of the New Patriotic Partys (NPP) MP, Philip Basoah who passed away in March, aged 54.

The by-election has generated interest among the two leading political parties-the governing New Patriotic Party and the opposition NDC, with the former giving indications of retaining the seat for the NPP and the latter being confident of snatching the seat.

Interacting with the Muslim community in Kumawu in the Ashanti Region on May 19, the former President called on NDC members to ensure that the parliamentary candidate wins the by-election.

We all know that constitutionally, after the death of our younger brother Philip Basoah, there has to be a by-election. We acclaimed Akwasi Amankwaa for the 2024 general elections, but now that we are in for a by-election, he will be representing the party.

Im calling on our Zongo chiefs, Imams and all of you to pray and vote massively for Akwasi Amankwaa to win the seat. NDC brings relief anytime we are in power. We in the NDC do not discriminate, we share projects across the board. Though we have not won the Kumawu seat before, all beautiful projects in Kumawu were undertaken by the NDC government. We know that your prayers and Gods grace will bring us to power.

The Government has denied allegations that recent infrastructural development ongoing in the Kumawu constituency aims to influence voters ahead of the by-election.

The town, which had not witnessed any major upgrades over the years, has experienced significant development in the past few days.

Numerous untarred roads in the area have been paved, and construction of new roads is currently underway.

Background

The Member of Parliament for the Kumawu Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Philip Basoah died on March 27, 2023.

Mr. Basoah was born in 1969. He first came to Parliament in 2017 after winning the 2016 general elections in the Kumawu constituency.

Prior to sailing to Parliament, Mr. Basoah was a Chief Executive for the Sekyere East District from June 2005 to January 2009 and was also a tutor at the Agogo State College.

In the 2016 Ghana general elections, he won the parliamentary seat with 21,794 votes making 78.2% of the total votes cast on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party.

In the 2020 Ghana general elections, he won the parliamentary seat with 14,960 votes making 51.1% of the total votes cast.

-citinewsroom
Shares of Jupiter UK Growth Investment Trust PLC (LON:JUKG  Get Rating) passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of GBX 230 ($2.88) and traded as low as GBX 224 ($2.81). Jupiter UK Growth Investment Trust shares last traded at GBX 230 ($2.88), with a volume of 44,385 shares traded.

Jupiter UK Growth Investment Trust Price Performance

The businesss 50-day simple moving average is GBX 230 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 230. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.79. The company has a market capitalization of 33.50 million and a P/E ratio of 4.71.

About Jupiter UK Growth Investment Trust

(Get Rating)

Jupiter UK Growth Investment Trust PLC is a United Kingdom-based investment trust. The Companys investment objective is to focus on capital appreciation from holding predominantly listed investments. The Companys principal activity is portfolio investment. The Companys United Kingdom equity portfolio combines core holdings of large-cap stocks, which pay dividends and various smaller growth stocks.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Jupiter UK Growth Investment Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Jupiter UK Growth Investment Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Avantax Planning Partners Inc. cut its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (BATS:EFG  Get Rating) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,770 shares of the companys stock after selling 750 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.s holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF were worth $818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 129.7% during the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 6,692 shares of the companys stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 3,779 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 344,693 shares of the companys stock valued at $28,872,000 after acquiring an additional 64,928 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 268,613 shares of the companys stock valued at $22,518,000 after acquiring an additional 59,162 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 7,219 shares of the companys stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,625 shares during the period. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,629 shares of the companys stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares in the last quarter.

Get iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF alerts:

iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of BATS EFG traded up $0.17 on Friday, hitting $96.17. The company had a trading volume of 316,255 shares. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 0.87. iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF has a 12-month low of $67.58 and a 12-month high of $85.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $93.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.24.

iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF Company Profile

iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Growth Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Growth Index (the Index). The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East.

Featured Articles

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EFG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (BATS:EFG  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Bellecapital International Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AmerisourceBergen Co. (NYSE:ABC  Get Rating) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,976 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Bellecapital International Ltd.s holdings in AmerisourceBergen were worth $493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Profund Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AmerisourceBergen by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the companys stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Vantage Consulting Group Inc raised its holdings in AmerisourceBergen by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vantage Consulting Group Inc now owns 1,482 shares of the companys stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in AmerisourceBergen by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc now owns 2,682 shares of the companys stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its position in shares of AmerisourceBergen by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,989 shares of the companys stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers Trust Co. grew its position in shares of AmerisourceBergen by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 9,765 shares of the companys stock worth $1,618,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. 84.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Get AmerisourceBergen alerts:

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AmerisourceBergen from $182.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Evercore ISI reissued an outperform rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of AmerisourceBergen in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Citigroup began coverage on shares of AmerisourceBergen in a report on Friday, March 31st. They set a buy rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of AmerisourceBergen from $174.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of AmerisourceBergen from $184.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $181.62.

Insider Activity at AmerisourceBergen

AmerisourceBergen Trading Down 0.3 %

In other AmerisourceBergen news, EVP Gina Clark sold 1,924 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.22, for a total transaction of $300,567.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,176,229.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink . In other AmerisourceBergen news, EVP Gina Clark sold 1,924 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.22, for a total transaction of $300,567.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,176,229.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink . Also, major shareholder Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. sold 292,792 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.77, for a total transaction of $50,000,089.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,366,388 shares in the company, valued at $5,697,978,078.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders sold 326,213 shares of company stock worth $55,412,200 in the last 90 days. 20.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Shares of ABC traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $174.23. The stock had a trading volume of 444,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,229,015. AmerisourceBergen Co. has a 1 year low of $135.14 and a 1 year high of $176.62. The firm has a market cap of $35.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.13, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stocks 50 day moving average is $163.48 and its 200 day moving average is $162.71.

AmerisourceBergen (NYSE:ABC  Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $63.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.40 billion. AmerisourceBergen had a net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 809.53%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that AmerisourceBergen Co. will post 11.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AmerisourceBergen Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 11th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. AmerisourceBergens payout ratio is 24.94%.

About AmerisourceBergen

(Get Rating)

AmerisourceBergen Corp. engages in the provision of pharmaceutical products and business solutions that improve access to care. It operates through the Pharmaceutical Distribution Services and Other segments. The Pharmaceutical Distribution Services segment distributes an offering of brand-name, specialty brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to healthcare providers, including acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, and long-term care and alternate site pharmacies.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ABC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AmerisourceBergen Co. (NYSE:ABC  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for AmerisourceBergen Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AmerisourceBergen and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Blair William & Co. IL decreased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW  Get Rating) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,107,942 shares of the medical research companys stock after selling 33,739 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL owned 0.18% of Edwards Lifesciences worth $82,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 708.0% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 404 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 252.5% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 698 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.35% of the companys stock.

Get Edwards Lifesciences alerts:

Insider Buying and Selling at Edwards Lifesciences

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Jean-Luc M. Lemercier sold 6,640 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $511,014.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 168,875 shares of the companys stock, valued at $12,996,620. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Jean-Luc M. Lemercier sold 6,640 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $511,014.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 168,875 shares of the companys stock, valued at $12,996,620. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 80,700 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.54, for a total transaction of $7,145,178.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,294 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,619,750.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 182,670 shares of company stock valued at $15,691,418. Corporate insiders own 1.29% of the companys stock.

Edwards Lifesciences Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Edwards Lifesciences stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $87.80. 1,160,253 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,191,907. The company has a quick ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 3.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stocks fifty day moving average is $84.36 and its 200 day moving average is $78.90. The firm has a market cap of $53.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.02. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 1 year low of $67.13 and a 1 year high of $107.92.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The medical research company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.01. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 27.07% and a return on equity of 25.81%. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Edwards Lifesciencess revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $94.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 25th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Thursday. They issued a buy rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Monday, April 24th. Finally, 92 Resources reiterated a reiterates rating on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Edwards Lifesciences presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $89.63.

About Edwards Lifesciences

(Get Rating)

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. engages in patient-focused medical innovations for heart disease and critical care monitoring. Its products are categorized into four main areas: Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, Transcatheter Mitral and Tricuspid Therapies, Surgical Structural Heart, and Critical Care.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for Edwards Lifesciences Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Edwards Lifesciences and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Bombardier Inc. (OTCMKTS:BDRBF  Get Rating) has been given a consensus rating of Moderate Buy by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $82.00.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BDRBF shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on Bombardier from C$83.00 to C$84.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Desjardins increased their price objective on Bombardier from C$99.00 to C$100.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. Vertical Research downgraded Bombardier from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, January 23rd. CIBC increased their price objective on Bombardier from C$65.00 to C$69.00 in a research report on Friday, March 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Bombardier from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 12th.

Get Bombardier alerts:

Bombardier Price Performance

OTCMKTS BDRBF opened at $44.54 on Friday. The stocks fifty day moving average is $47.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.16. Bombardier has a fifty-two week low of $14.09 and a fifty-two week high of $55.25.

About Bombardier

Bombardier, Inc engages in the design, development, and manufacture of business aircraft. It operates through the Business Aircraft Segment and Customer Services Segment. The Business Aircraft segment includes the manufacture of three families of business jets spanning from the light to large categories.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Bombardier Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bombardier and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Americas Silver Corp (NYSEAMERICAN:USAS  Get Rating)  Stock analysts at Desjardins cut their FY2023 earnings estimates for shares of Americas Silver in a report released on Tuesday, May 16th. Desjardins analyst J. Egilo now forecasts that the company will post earnings of ($0.06) per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of ($0.05). The consensus estimate for Americas Silvers current full-year earnings is ($0.05) per share.

Get Americas Silver alerts:

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on USAS. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Americas Silver from C$0.85 to C$0.80 in a research report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reissued a buy rating and issued a $1.75 price objective on shares of Americas Silver in a research note on Monday, April 17th.

Americas Silver Price Performance

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

USAS stock opened at $0.45 on Friday. Americas Silver has a fifty-two week low of $0.37 and a fifty-two week high of $0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.56.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Americas Silver by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,404,792 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,750 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in Americas Silver by 16.4% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 921,412 shares of the companys stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 130,000 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Americas Silver by 518.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 507,329 shares of the companys stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 425,339 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Americas Silver during the 1st quarter valued at about $121,000. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Americas Silver in the 1st quarter worth approximately $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.94% of the companys stock.

About Americas Silver

(Get Rating)

Americas Gold and Silver Corporation engages in the acquisition, evaluation, exploration, development, and operation of mineral properties. The company explores for silver, lead, zinc and copper. It principally owns 100% interests in the Cosala Operations consisting of 67 mining concessions that cover approximately 19,385 hectares located in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico; and Galena Complex situated near the town of Wallace in the state of Idaho, the United States.

Read More

Receive News & Ratings for Americas Silver Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Americas Silver and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
BT Group (OTCMKTS:BTGOF  Get Rating) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Barclays from GBX 240 ($3.01) to GBX 225 ($2.82) in a report released on Friday, The Fly reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on BTGOF. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of BT Group from GBX 130 ($1.63) to GBX 135 ($1.69) in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on BT Group from GBX 275 ($3.44) to GBX 280 ($3.51) in a research note on Friday, April 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $184.44.

Get BT Group alerts:

BT Group Stock Down 8.5 %

Shares of OTCMKTS BTGOF traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $1.73. 135,390 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 45,518. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.63. BT Group has a 12-month low of $1.25 and a 12-month high of $2.43.

About BT Group

BT Group Plc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of communications services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer, Enterprise, Global, Openreach, and Other. The Consumer segment offers mobile, broadband, home phone, and television services. The Enterprise segment sells communications and information technology (IT) services to businesses and public sector organizations; and provides network products and services to communications.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for BT Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BT Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Visa has agreed to lower the interchange fee it charges on its cards in Canada to under one per cent. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg - image credit)

The government has announced new details of an agreement with Visa and MasterCard that will see them lower the amount that they charge retailers when a customer pays for a purchase with a credit card.

Known as so-called interchange fees, they have long irritated merchants by allowing the credit card company to keep a percentage of every sale, instead of a flat fee for each transaction.

On Thursday, the government announced a deal with the two card companies that will reduce interchange fees for in-store transactions to 0.95 per cent, on average.

That means on a $100 purchase, if a customer pays with a credit card, the retailer will get at least $99, where they previously would have kept as little as $97 in some cases.

A government release says on average, the deal will reduce the typical fee that a merchant pays by 27 per cent.

The fee reductions are expected to save retailers about $1 billion over five years and "make credit card transactions fairer for small businesses, which have less bargaining power than larger merchants to negotiate lower rates," the government said in a release.

Many other jurisdictions, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Israel, Australia, China and Malaysia, have capped interchange fees at well under one per cent, but in Canada some cards can charge up to three per cent. Currently, the average interchange fee for a Canadian Visa credit card is 1.4 per cent, Visa says.

Merchants were forbidden from passing those fees on to consumers directly for years, but that all changed last fall when the credit giants agreed to settle a class action lawsuit over the matter, a deal that saw them agree to refund businesses hundreds of millions of dollars for what they charged in interchange fees over the years.

Part of that settlement allowed retailers to start adding a surcharge to customer bills to cover the fee, which led to increased attention among shoppers.

WATCH | Why businesses can now charge you for paying with a credit card:

While businesses welcomed the settlement, it didn't do anything to govern the actual amount of the fee being charged, and the government hinted in its recent federal budget that it would weigh in on the issue soon.

Businesses with annual Visa sales volume below $300,000 will qualify for the lower fee, as will those who do less than $175,000 from MasterCard.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), which has been drawing attention to the issue for years, called the deal a "significant accomplishment" but wishes that the timeline to implement the new fee structure could be moved up from its current target of the fall of 2024.

"CFIB will be encouraging government to deliver on its commitment to ensuring other card brands  including American Express  take similar measures ... as well as a regular review of the size thresholds to ensure more small businesses can benefit from these lower rates in the future," the CFIB said in a release.
Shares of Callon Petroleum (NYSE:CPE  Get Rating) have received an average recommendation of Hold from the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.63.

CPE has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Callon Petroleum from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Callon Petroleum from $55.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Callon Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. StockNews.com started coverage on Callon Petroleum in a report on Thursday. They issued a hold rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Callon Petroleum from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 19th.

Get Callon Petroleum alerts:

Callon Petroleum Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Callon Petroleum stock opened at $32.48 on Friday. Callon Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $28.91 and a fifty-two week high of $64.08. The firm has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 2.73. The businesss fifty day moving average is $33.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Insider Activity

Callon Petroleum ( NYSE:CPE Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.96 by ($0.02). Callon Petroleum had a return on equity of 27.29% and a net margin of 46.15%. The business had revenue of $560.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $535.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Callon Petroleum will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

In other Callon Petroleum news, Director Steven A. Webster bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $31.63 per share, for a total transaction of $632,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 562,824 shares of the companys stock, valued at $17,802,123.12. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Steven A. Webster bought 20,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $31.63 per share, for a total transaction of $632,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 562,824 shares in the company, valued at $17,802,123.12. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven A. Webster bought 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.24 per share, with a total value of $302,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 592,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,926,997.76. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 30,250 shares of company stock worth $944,795 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Callon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Callon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Callon Petroleum by 220.4% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the oil and natural gas companys stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Callon Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Callon Petroleum by 25.2% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,296 shares of the oil and natural gas companys stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.60% of the companys stock.

About Callon Petroleum

(Get Rating)

Callon Petroleum Co engages in the exploration, development, acquisition, and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. It focuses on unconventional oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin. The company was founded by Sim C. Callon and John S. Callon in 1950 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for Callon Petroleum Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Callon Petroleum and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Bank of America downgraded shares of CEMEX (NYSE:CX  Get Rating) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, The Fly reports. The brokerage currently has $7.20 target price on the construction companys stock, up from their previous target price of $6.80.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on CX. The Goldman Sachs Group raised CEMEX from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the stock from $5.90 to $9.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Citigroup lowered CEMEX from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised CEMEX from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $6.28.

Get CEMEX alerts:

CEMEX Price Performance

CX opened at $6.59 on Monday. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $5.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.04. CEMEX has a 12-month low of $3.20 and a 12-month high of $6.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $9.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.42.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

CEMEX ( NYSE:CX Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 13th. The construction company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. CEMEX had a return on equity of 5.13% and a net margin of 5.52%. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CEMEX will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of CEMEX by 93.2% during the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,429 shares of the construction companys stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 3,584 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CEMEX during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of CEMEX during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Newfoundland Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of CEMEX during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in CEMEX by 26.2% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 13,555 shares of the construction companys stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 2,817 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.74% of the companys stock.

About CEMEX

(Get Rating)

CEMEX SAB de CV operates as a global construction materials company. It offers cement, ready-mixconcrete, aggregates, and urbanization solutions. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: Mexico, United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia (EMEAA) and South, Central America and the Caribbean (SCA&C).

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for CEMEX Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for CEMEX and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC trimmed its stake in Edison International (NYSE:EIX  Get Rating) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 219,639 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 13,269 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 0.06% of Edison International worth $13,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EIX. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora bought a new position in shares of Edison International in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Edison International during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. CI Investments Inc. grew its stake in Edison International by 980.9% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 508 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Edison International during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Edison International during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. 87.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Get Edison International alerts:

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Edison International from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their price target on Edison International from $66.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their price target on Edison International from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Edison International from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Edison International in a research note on Monday, March 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $73.08.

Insider Activity

Edison International Price Performance

In other news, SVP J Andrew Murphy sold 22,471 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $1,618,586.13. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,989 shares in the company, valued at $935,597.67. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website . Company insiders own 1.03% of the companys stock.

Shares of Edison International stock opened at $68.85 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.35. Edison International has a 12 month low of $54.45 and a 12 month high of $74.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.44, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4 billion. Edison International had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 6.12%. The businesss revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Edison International will post 4.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Edison International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st were given a $0.7375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $2.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. Edison Internationals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 134.70%.

About Edison International

(Get Rating)

Edison International is a renewable energy company, which through its subsidiaries, generates and distributes electric power, and invests in energy services and technologies. The company was founded on July 4, 1886, and is headquartered in Rosemead, CA.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for Edison International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Edison International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG  Get Rating) Director Terrance Lillis purchased 1,000 shares of Citizens Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.39 per share, for a total transaction of $26,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $79,170. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Citizens Financial Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CFG traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $26.34. The company had a trading volume of 7,862,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,476,097. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $29.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.93. The stock has a market cap of $12.75 billion, a PE ratio of 6.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.32. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.37 and a 1-year high of $44.82.

Get Citizens Financial Group alerts:

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 21.12%. Citizens Financial Groups quarterly revenue was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.38%. Citizens Financial Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.48%.

Citizens Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, February 17th that permits the company to buyback $1.15 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the companys management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Citizens Financial Group by 23.1% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 10,537 shares of the banks stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 1,980 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 53,879 shares of the banks stock valued at $2,442,000 after acquiring an additional 12,350 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 57,027 shares of the banks stock valued at $2,585,000 after acquiring an additional 3,531 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 71,237 shares of the banks stock valued at $3,229,000 after acquiring an additional 6,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 38,619 shares of the banks stock valued at $1,751,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.96% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $40.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 30th. Credit Suisse Group reduced their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $44.00 to $35.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Citizens Financial Group from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $43.18.

Citizens Financial Group Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Citizens Financial Group, Inc engages in the provision of commercial banking services. It operates through the Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking segments. The Consumer Banking segment includes deposit products, mortgage and home equity lending, student loans, auto financing, credit cards, business loans, and wealth management and investment services.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Citizens Financial Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Citizens Financial Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. (TSE:FAF  Get Rating)  Equities researchers at Echelon Wealth Partners dropped their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for Fire & Flower in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, May 16th. Echelon Wealth Partners analyst A. Semple now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of ($0.17) for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of ($0.15). The consensus estimate for Fire & Flowers current full-year earnings is ($0.58) per share. Echelon Wealth Partners also issued estimates for Fire & Flowers Q3 2024 earnings at ($0.16) EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at ($0.13) EPS, FY2024 earnings at ($0.68) EPS and FY2025 earnings at ($0.42) EPS.

Get Fire & Flower alerts:

Separately, ATB Capital cut their price objective on shares of Fire & Flower from C$3.00 to C$2.50 in a report on Wednesday, March 29th.

Fire & Flower Stock Up 9.2 %

Fire & Flower Company Profile

FAF stock opened at C$1.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 60.45. Fire & Flower has a twelve month low of C$0.92 and a twelve month high of C$3.75. The companys 50 day moving average is C$1.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$1.26. The stock has a market cap of C$48.31 million, a P/E ratio of -0.49 and a beta of 2.55.

(Get Rating)

Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. operates as an independent cannabis retailer in Canada and the United States. The company operates through Retail, Wholesale and Logistics, and Digital Platform segments. The Retail segment sells cannabis products and accessories to the adult-use market in provinces under the Fire & Flower, Friendly Stranger, Happy Dayz, and Hotbox retail banners.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Fire & Flower Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Fire & Flower and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Globant (NYSE:GLOB  Get Rating) had its price objective reduced by KeyCorp from $211.00 to $201.00 in a research note issued on Friday, The Fly reports. KeyCorps price objective suggests a potential upside of 32.53% from the stocks current price.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Globant from $207.00 to $192.00 in a research report on Friday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Globant from $224.00 to $221.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Globant in a research report on Thursday. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Globant in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. They issued a buy rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and set a $204.00 target price on shares of Globant in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $224.50.

Get Globant alerts:

Globant Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE GLOB opened at $151.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.58 and a beta of 1.41. Globant has a 52-week low of $135.40 and a 52-week high of $240.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $152.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Globant

Globant ( NYSE:GLOB Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The information technology services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.02). Globant had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 8.36%. The company had revenue of $490.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $489.67 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Globant will post 4.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Utah Retirement Systems boosted its holdings in shares of Globant by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 7,300 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Globant by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 18,255 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Globant by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 4,646 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Globant by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 528,214 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $98,818,000 after acquiring an additional 7,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Globant by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 969 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.01% of the companys stock.

Globant Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Globant SA engages in the provision of information technology services. It includes application development, testing, infrastructure management, and application maintenance. The company was founded by Martin Migoya, Martin Gonzalo Umaran, Guibert Andres Englebienne, and Nestor Augusto Nocetti in 2003 and is headquartered in Luxembourg.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Globant Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Globant and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H  Get Rating) insider H. Charles Floyd sold 6,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.00, for a total value of $684,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,927 shares in the company, valued at $3,753,678. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

H. Charles Floyd also recently made the following trade(s):

Get Hyatt Hotels alerts:

On Thursday, March 9th, H. Charles Floyd sold 33,067 shares of Hyatt Hotels stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.51, for a total transaction of $3,720,368.17.

Hyatt Hotels Price Performance

H stock opened at $115.19 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $111.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.69. Hyatt Hotels Co. has a 52-week low of $70.12 and a 52-week high of $125.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65, a PEG ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Hyatt Hotels Announces Dividend

Hyatt Hotels ( NYSE:H Get Rating ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.06). Hyatt Hotels had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.33) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Hyatt Hotels Co. will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a  dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 26th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hyatt Hotels

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Manhattan CO. LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Hyatt Hotels in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Hyatt Hotels by 80.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 276 shares of the companys stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Money Concepts Capital Corp grew its position in Hyatt Hotels by 335.2% in the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 383 shares of the companys stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Finally, Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hyatt Hotels in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 46.89% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on H. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $112.00 to $124.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hyatt Hotels in a report on Thursday. They set a hold rating for the company. Barclays lowered shares of Hyatt Hotels from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $125.00 in a report on Thursday, March 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $113.00 to $121.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $121.88.

About Hyatt Hotels

(Get Rating)

Hyatt Hotels Corp. engages in the development and management of resort and hotel chains. It operates through the following segments: Owned and Leased Hotels, Americas Management and Franchising, ASPAC Management and Franchising, EAME/SW Asia Management and Franchising, and Apple Leisure Group. The Owned and Leased Hotels segment offers hospitality services and hotels.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Hyatt Hotels Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hyatt Hotels and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG  Get Rating) had its target price cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $147.00 to $138.00 in a report published on Monday morning, The Fly reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on EOG. Piper Sandler cut their price target on EOG Resources from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. UBS Group assumed coverage on EOG Resources in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. They set a buy rating and a $152.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on EOG Resources from $141.00 to $142.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Raymond James boosted their price target on EOG Resources from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on EOG Resources from $152.00 to $145.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $149.54.

Get EOG Resources alerts:

EOG Resources Stock Up 1.1 %

EOG Resources stock opened at $112.02 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $65.52 billion, a PE ratio of 7.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.17. EOG Resources has a one year low of $92.16 and a one year high of $150.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $113.74 and a 200 day moving average of $124.65.

EOG Resources Dividend Announcement

EOG Resources ( NYSE:EOG Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 5th. The energy exploration company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $6.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.28 billion. EOG Resources had a return on equity of 30.34% and a net margin of 33.83%. EOG Resourcess revenue for the quarter was up 51.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that EOG Resources will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, July 17th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. EOG Resourcess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EOG. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in EOG Resources by 16.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,031 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $1,911,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new stake in EOG Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $404,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in EOG Resources during the 1st quarter valued at $278,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in EOG Resources by 237.7% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,155 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in EOG Resources by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 662 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.40% of the companys stock.

EOG Resources Company Profile

(Get Rating)

EOG Resources, Inc engages in the exploration, development, production and marketing of crude oil and natural gas. It operates through the United States, Trinidad & Tobago, and Other International segments. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for EOG Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for EOG Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR  Get Rating) by 77.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 190,972 shares of the utilities providers stock after buying an additional 83,061 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.21% of Portland General Electric worth $9,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Portland General Electric by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,034 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 2,083 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Portland General Electric by 58.9% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 46,899 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $2,586,000 after acquiring an additional 17,386 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in shares of Portland General Electric in the first quarter valued at about $239,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Portland General Electric in the first quarter worth approximately $460,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Portland General Electric by 55.0% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 47,232 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,605,000 after purchasing an additional 16,750 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.03% of the companys stock.

Get Portland General Electric alerts:

Portland General Electric Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of POR stock opened at $49.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Portland General Electric has a twelve month low of $41.58 and a twelve month high of $56.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $49.48 and a 200 day moving average of $48.36. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.58.

Portland General Electric Increases Dividend

Portland General Electric ( NYSE:POR Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $687.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $624.60 million. Portland General Electric had a return on equity of 9.06% and a net margin of 8.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Portland General Electric will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 26th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This is a boost from Portland General Electrics previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 23rd. Portland General Electrics dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on POR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Portland General Electric in a research report on Monday, May 8th. They set an overweight rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Thursday. They issued a hold rating for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Portland General Electric from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 14th. Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on shares of Portland General Electric from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Portland General Electric from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, February 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Portland General Electric has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $50.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP John Teeruk Kochavatr sold 3,000 shares of Portland General Electric stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $153,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,797.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Brett Michael Sims sold 2,050 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total transaction of $96,350.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,978 shares in the company, valued at $515,966. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Teeruk Kochavatr sold 3,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total transaction of $153,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,489 shares of the companys stock, valued at $791,797.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Portland General Electric Profile

(Get Rating)

Portland General Electric Co engages in the generation, wholesale purchase, transmission, distribution, and retail sale of electricity in the state of Oregon. The firm also sells electricity and natural gas in the wholesale market to utilities, brokers, and power marketers. It also serves residential, commercial and non-residential customers.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding POR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Portland General Electric Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Portland General Electric and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Societe Generale upgraded shares of Maisons du Monde (OTCMKTS:MDOUF  Get Rating) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning, The Fly reports.

Maisons du Monde Stock Performance

OTCMKTS MDOUF opened at $12.15 on Monday. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $12.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.57. Maisons du Monde has a one year low of $9.12 and a one year high of $12.15.

Get Maisons du Monde alerts:

About Maisons du Monde

(Get Rating)

Featured Stories

Maisons du Monde SA, through its subsidiaries, creates and distributes home decoration items and furniture in France and internationally. The company's decorative products include bed linen products, carpets, candles, pillows and cushions, clocks, tableware, lamps, kitchen utensils, mirrors and frames, vases, storage units, curtains and net curtains, and bath products.

Receive News & Ratings for Maisons du Monde Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Maisons du Monde and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The Excellence in Education program recognizes the top 5% of graduates from Chippewa Falls Senior High School and McDonell Central Catholic High School. Meet one of this years honorees.

Alyson Welch, Chippewa Falls Area Senior High School

Parents: Les Welch and Maggie Welch

Educator: Mr. Nick Gagnon, Chi-Hi physics and Remote Pilot Training teacher

Alsyons comments about Mr. Gagon: Mr. Gagnon always made everyone feel welcome in class. He went above and beyond to make connections with each student and have conversations based on their particular interests. Aside from being an excellent role model, he taught well and was always sure to help students fully understand the material. I was excited to go to his class every day and learn, but also have fun!

Mr.Gagnons comments about Alyson: Im fortunate to have had Alyson in physics! A curious and dedicated learner, eager to explore new ideas and challenge herself. She approaches life with a growth mindset, always pushing to learn. What impresses me most about Alyson is her commitment to hard work, she wont accept mediocrity. She is a skilled communicator, able to articulate her thoughts and ideas with clarity and precision. Her empathy and kindness make her a valuable team player and supportive classmate, always helping others. Above all, she embodies the values of integrity, humility and perseverance. She, without a doubt, has earned this award!

Future plans: Alyson is still undecided on a specific school, but she plans on attending a four-year college to major in marketing and minor in business management or journalism.
StockNews.com started coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC  Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on MKC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 29th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. They issued a hold rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Friday, March 10th. They issued a sell rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $80.10.

Get McCormick & Company Incorporated alerts:

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MKC traded up $0.34 during trading on Thursday, reaching $88.92. 2,927,402 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,413,434. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $70.60 and a twelve month high of $94.52. The stock has a market cap of $23.85 billion, a PE ratio of 35.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

McCormick & Company, Incorporated ( NYSE:MKC Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.10. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 6th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. McCormick & Company, Incorporateds payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 39,906 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total value of $3,592,338.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,365,301.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 19.00% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 1st quarter worth about $74,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 702,174 shares of the companys stock valued at $58,427,000 after purchasing an additional 134,577 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 18,657 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 7,466 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 1st quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

(Get Rating)

McCormick & Co, Inc engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. It operates through the Consumer and Flavor Solutions segments. The Consumer segment sells spices, seasonings, condiments, and sauces.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for McCormick & Company Incorporated Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for McCormick & Company Incorporated and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG  Get Rating) in a research report report published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the banks stock.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Mizuho Financial Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 24th.

Get Mizuho Financial Group alerts:

Mizuho Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE MFG traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $2.95. 3,380,651 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,154,951. The businesss 50 day moving average is $2.91 and its 200-day moving average is $2.84. Mizuho Financial Group has a 12-month low of $2.10 and a 12-month high of $3.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.46.

Institutional Trading of Mizuho Financial Group

Mizuho Financial Group Company Profile

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Mizuho Financial Group by 6.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,435,393 shares of the banks stock valued at $21,679,000 after buying an additional 502,830 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Mizuho Financial Group by 278.5% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,178,492 shares of the banks stock worth $23,063,000 after purchasing an additional 6,017,867 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Mizuho Financial Group by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,100,083 shares of the banks stock worth $15,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,617 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Mizuho Financial Group by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,415,317 shares of the banks stock valued at $12,539,000 after purchasing an additional 288,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Mizuho Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $9,695,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 0.53% of the companys stock.

(Get Rating)

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc operates as a holding company which engages in the provision of financial services such as banking, trust banking, securities, and others. It operates through the following segments: Mizuho Bank Ltd. (MHKB), Mizuho Trust & Banking Co, Ltd. (MHTB), and Mizuho Securities Co, Ltd.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for Mizuho Financial Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Mizuho Financial Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Eli Lilly and (NYSE:LLY  Get Rating) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $478.00 to $507.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, The Fly reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on LLY. SVB Securities increased their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and from $410.00 to $458.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and from $421.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Societe Generale lowered shares of Eli Lilly and from a hold rating to a sell rating and set a $278.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and from $432.00 to $485.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $415.75.

Get Eli Lilly and alerts:

Eli Lilly and Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $437.89 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. Eli Lilly and has a 12 month low of $283.11 and a 12 month high of $445.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $415.68 billion, a PE ratio of 69.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $375.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $359.57.

Eli Lilly and Dividend Announcement

Eli Lilly and ( NYSE:LLY Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Eli Lilly and had a return on equity of 61.42% and a net margin of 20.54%. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.62 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Eli Lilly and will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 12th. Eli Lilly ands dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.86%.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $435.29, for a total value of $261,174.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,602,163.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Eli Lilly and news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 20,646 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.77, for a total transaction of $9,141,429.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 101,668,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,015,612,974.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 600 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $435.29, for a total transaction of $261,174.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,602,163.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,109,251 shares of company stock worth $411,295,505 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oxler Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Oxler Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the companys stock worth $2,078,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and by 3.2% during the first quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 774 shares of the companys stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and by 0.6% during the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,487,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and by 2.8% during the first quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 956 shares of the companys stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and by 2.7% during the first quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the companys stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.13% of the companys stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Eli Lilly & Co engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of pharmaceutical products. The firms products consist of diabetes, oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and other products and therapies. The company was founded by Eli Lilly in May 1876 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, IN.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Eli Lilly and Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Eli Lilly and and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI  Get Rating) CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.13, for a total value of $14,556,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 91,843 shares of the companys stock, valued at $26,738,252.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Motorola Solutions Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Motorola Solutions stock opened at $296.53 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $282.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $268.38. The company has a market cap of $49.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.15. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $195.18 and a 1 year high of $296.88.

Get Motorola Solutions alerts:

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. Motorola Solutions had a negative return on equity of 1,549.95% and a net margin of 14.63%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 10.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 14th. Motorola Solutionss dividend payout ratio is 44.00%.

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Motorola Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $470,994,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 149.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,583,272 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $354,605,000 after buying an additional 947,497 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,775,220 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $621,567,000 after buying an additional 678,694 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 14,651,837 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $3,281,573,000 after buying an additional 599,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 97.5% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 991,295 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $283,639,000 after acquiring an additional 489,440 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TheStreet raised Motorola Solutions from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Edward Jones lowered Motorola Solutions from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Motorola Solutions from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and upped their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $305.00 in a report on Thursday, March 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $303.00 to $329.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Friday, May 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Motorola Solutions presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $301.67.

About Motorola Solutions

(Get Rating)

Motorola Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of communication infrastructure, devices, accessories, software, and services. It operates through the following segments: Products and Systems Integration, and Software and Services. The Products and Systems Integration segment offers a portfolio of infrastructure, devices, accessories, and video security devices, and the implementation and integration of such systems, devices, and applications.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for Motorola Solutions Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Motorola Solutions and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (NYSE:HVT  Get Rating) Director Mylle H. Mangum sold 5,158 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total transaction of $135,552.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,479.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Haverty Furniture Companies Stock Up 0.1 %

HVT traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.34. 146,897 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 141,265. The stock has a market capitalization of $425.39 million, a PE ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 1.37. The stocks 50-day moving average is $30.02 and its 200 day moving average is $31.83. Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.77 and a 12 month high of $38.85.

Get Haverty Furniture Companies alerts:

Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.03). Haverty Furniture Companies had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The company had revenue of $280.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.60 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. will post 3.9 EPS for the current year.

Haverty Furniture Companies Dividend Announcement

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Haverty Furniture Companies

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Haverty Furniture Companiess dividend payout ratio is currently 23.05%.

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 108.4% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 794 shares of the companys stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 75.2% in the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,142 shares of the companys stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 2,666 shares of the companys stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 84.0% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,539 shares of the companys stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Haverty Furniture Companies in a research report on Thursday. They set a buy rating on the stock.

Haverty Furniture Companies Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Haverty Furniture Cos., Inc engages in the retail of residential furniture and accessories. The company was founded by James Joseph Haverty in 1885 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Haverty Furniture Companies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Haverty Furniture Companies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund (OTCMKTS:CGIFF  Get Rating) had its price objective hoisted by National Bank Financial to C$12.50 in a report released on Monday morning, The Fly reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on CGIFF. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund from C$10.50 to C$10.00 in a report on Thursday, March 9th. Desjardins increased their price objective on shares of Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund from C$12.50 to C$13.00 in a report on Friday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund from C$10.50 to C$11.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund from C$10.00 to C$11.00 in a report on Friday, February 24th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report on Friday, May 12th.

Get Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund alerts:

Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund Stock Performance

Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund stock opened at $6.25 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.49. Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund has a 12-month low of $4.93 and a 12-month high of $7.64.

About Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund

Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund engages in the provision of portfolio of industrial chemicals and value-added services. It operates through the following segments: Sulphur and Water Chemicals, Electrochemicals, and Corporate. The Sulphur and Water Chemicals segment markets sulphuric acid, liquid sulphur dioxide, sulphur, sodium hydrosulphite, sodium bisulphate, zinc oxide and a variety of inorganic coagulants used in water treatment.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
New Hampshire Trust acquired a new stake in Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,435 shares of the insurance providers stock, valued at approximately $492,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Truist Financial by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 100,049,345 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $4,356,148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,443,946 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Truist Financial by 585.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,712,800 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $153,816,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316,800 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Truist Financial by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,080,104 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $562,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153,942 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Truist Financial by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,881,812 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $5,263,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Truist Financial by 81.2% during the 1st quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,264,011 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $128,369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014,637 shares in the last quarter. 72.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Get Truist Financial alerts:

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $52.00 to $40.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $57.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Truist Financial from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Sunday, March 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Truist Financial from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and set a $53.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $46.24.

Truist Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE TFC opened at $30.17 on Friday. Truist Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $25.56 and a 12 month high of $53.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.63 and a 200-day moving average of $40.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $40.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.05.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). Truist Financial had a net margin of 22.81% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The companys revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Truist Financial Co. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 12th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 11th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.89%. Truist Financials payout ratio is 46.33%.

Insider Activity at Truist Financial

In other Truist Financial news, Director Charles A. Patton purchased 3,668 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.00 per share, for a total transaction of $69,692.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,668 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $69,692. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David M. Ratcliffe purchased 13,125 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $38.08 per share, for a total transaction of $499,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 39,025 shares in the company, valued at $1,486,072. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles A. Patton purchased 3,668 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.00 per share, with a total value of $69,692.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,668 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $69,692. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Truist Financial

(Get Rating)

Truist Financial Corp. is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of banking services to individuals, businesses, and municipalities. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Wealth, Corporate and Commercial Banking, Insurance Holdings, and Other, Treasury & Corporate.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Truist Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Truist Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
New Hampshire Trust purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,393 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. KWB Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. KWB Wealth now owns 5,280 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 1,487 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 22,430 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,174,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. abrdn plc lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 401,302 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $39,913,000 after buying an additional 28,363 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,124,000. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 8,278 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $823,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.33% of the companys stock.

Get Prudential Financial alerts:

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 4,126 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total value of $409,299.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,241 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,214,307.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.9 %

Several equities analysts recently commented on PRU shares. 92 Resources reissued a maintains rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. VNET Group reiterated a maintains rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler reissued a neutral rating and issued a $106.00 price target on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $99.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday. They issued a hold rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $99.83.

PRU opened at $83.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.34 billion, a PE ratio of 915.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.38. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.37 and a fifty-two week high of $110.96. The companys 50-day moving average is $82.64 and its 200 day moving average is $95.32.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.02 by ($0.36). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 0.09%. The business had revenue of $15.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 11.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the companys board believes its shares are undervalued.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 22nd. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.02%. Prudential Financials payout ratio is 5,555.56%.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Prudential Financial, Inc engages in the provision of insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services to both individual and institutional customers. It operates through the following segments: PGIM, U.S. Businesses, International Businesses, Closed Block, and Corporate and Others.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for Prudential Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Prudential Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Novartis (NYSE:NVS  Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a strong-buy rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on NVS. Citigroup lowered Novartis from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, January 26th. BTIG Research raised their price target on Novartis from $75.00 to $85.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $82.25.

Get Novartis alerts:

Novartis Stock Performance

NVS traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $100.81. 1,510,063 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,116,211. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.54. Novartis has a 52-week low of $74.09 and a 52-week high of $105.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The companys fifty day moving average price is $95.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.52.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Novartis ( NYSE:NVS Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $12.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.60 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 23.29% and a net margin of 13.78%. Novartiss revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Novartis will post 6.67 EPS for the current year.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Novartis by 514.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,461,446 shares of the companys stock valued at $112,669,000 after purchasing an additional 7,085,365 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Novartis by 19.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,604,681 shares of the companys stock valued at $699,631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235,303 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novartis by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,982,292 shares of the companys stock valued at $642,371,000 after purchasing an additional 279,999 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Novartis by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,503,191 shares of the companys stock worth $494,313,000 after purchasing an additional 465,677 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Novartis by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,488,196 shares of the companys stock valued at $588,609,000 after buying an additional 377,693 shares during the period. 8.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Novartis

(Get Rating)

Novartis AG is a holding company, which engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Innovative Medicines, Sandoz, and Corporate. The Innovative Medicines segment researches, develops, manufactures, distributes and sells patented pharmaceuticals, and is composed of two business units: Novartis Oncology and Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Novartis Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Novartis and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Global Business Travel Group, Inc. (NYSE:GBTG  Get Rating) CEO Paul G. Abbott bought 8,147 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.25 per share, for a total transaction of $50,918.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,537,225 shares of the companys stock, valued at $15,857,656.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Global Business Travel Group Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE GBTG traded down $0.06 during trading on Thursday, reaching $6.27. The companys stock had a trading volume of 41,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 79,568. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $6.31 and a 200 day moving average of $6.29. Global Business Travel Group, Inc. has a one year low of $4.26 and a one year high of $9.98.

Get Global Business Travel Group alerts:

Global Business Travel Group (NYSE:GBTG  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 9th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $527.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $505.15 million. Global Business Travel Group had a negative return on equity of 2.09% and a negative net margin of 1.30%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Global Business Travel Group, Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Business Travel Group

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Credit Suisse AG purchased a new stake in Global Business Travel Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Cowen AND Company LLC purchased a new stake in Global Business Travel Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. purchased a new stake in Global Business Travel Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Global Business Travel Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. bought a new position in shares of Global Business Travel Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $120,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.91% of the companys stock.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Global Business Travel Group from $6.50 to $7.50 in a research report on Sunday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Global Business Travel Group from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $9.00 price target on shares of Global Business Travel Group in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Global Business Travel Group presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $8.68.

Global Business Travel Group Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Global Business Travel Group, Inc provides business-to-business (B2B) travel platform in the United States of America and internationally. The company's platform offers a suite of technology-enabled solutions to business travelers and clients; travel content suppliers including airlines, hotels, ground transportation, and aggregators; and third-party travel agencies.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Global Business Travel Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Global Business Travel Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

At its meeting earlier this month, the Farmington City Council worked its way through a busy agenda that included taking the first step in rezoning property for a proposed business; considered approval of a low-cost housing project near the site of the former Mineral Area Medical Center; appointed a new fire chief; and heard a public apology from the mayor for a comment he made at a countywide event in February.

The meeting began with a series of public meetings in which Development Services Director Tim Porter provided the council and gallery with the details of each item. One of the meetings regarded a request for the rezoning of property to allow for construction of a new business, two dealt with a request for construction of affordable housing on property adjacent to the former Mineral Area Medical Center, and one concerned a request for an application of a final record plat at a private residence.

Rezoning request

Introducing the public meeting on the subject of rezoning property for the construction of a new business at 918 Weber Road, which is adjacent to the previous location of the business Signs Etc. prior to its relocation to Highway OO and Ste. Genevieve Ave.

Porter explained that a portion of the 3.9-acre property is already zoned commercial and is the property on which the vacated Signs Etc. building sits.

The applicant, Mr. Terry Hyde, reached out to [the Planning and Zoning Commission] several months ago about the potential of purchasing the property and building a locally owned pharmacy, a retail pharmacy, on the property. But he's asked for the entirety of the property to be rezoned to C2 (Commercial).

It's important to note that at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting back in April, they made a favorable recommendation for a rezone of the property. A couple of things to note, in our comprehensive plan this entire parcel was  even though it was zoned C2 at the time  recognized as a residentially zoned area, but some of which would be multifamily with some single family, just for your reference.

Addressing the council, Hyde said he and his partners had several previous business relationships in the Farmington area, including his partnership in Healthcare Equipment and Supply for more than 24 years. He also noted that he and his partners already own the Austin Plaza Pharmacy in Potosi, and the proposed name for their new Farmington location is Community Care Pharmacy.

We have had several people over the last two or three years that we know that we do business with and they're like, Could you please come open something in Farmington? Hyde said. "And so, we got with a lot of the professionals within the industry and everything and started doing our due diligence. And in a city the size of Farmington, there's only one independent pharmacy left, and we're not coming into town to necessarily compete.

Explaining why the partnership was purchasing additional property and asking to have it rezoned to commercial, Hyde said, We want to be accessible. We want to make sure that people know where we are, but we want it to be safe. We wanted to make sure that everybody can get in and get out safely. So, as we looked at different pieces of property we stumbled across the piece of property on Weber Road. I am the first one to tell you we were not looking to buy 3.9 acres. The other thing is that the property was actually already listed as C2 (Commercial), so we're like, OK, let's start negotiations, and that's where we got involved.

It was after we got a hold of Taylor Engineering that we started breaking down the surveys of the flats and everything else where we realized that part of it was zoned R3 (Residential). As far as some of the reasoning as to why we've asked planning and zoning to consider us as far as the rezoning process is because a pharmacy falls under C2, so it doesn't make any sense for us to buy a piece of property [that is zoned residential.] Actually, our sales contract is contingent upon getting [the zoning change] through planning and zoning and taking into account anybody's questions and saying Yes, we support this.

Hyde further explained that it wasnt in the partnerships budget to purchase 3.9 acres, but because the property was the best option for them in town, and they intend to add 6,000 square feet of retail space to rent out to other suitable businesses to offset the cost of purchasing the additional acreage. He also told the council that it would be a year to a year-and-a-half before the pharmacy and other retail property would be open.

After Hyde spoke, Mayor Larry Forsythe asked if any members of the public wanted to comment on the request. Travis Trokey, property owner of a residence at 834 Posey St. told the council he was in opposition to the rezoning because of the potential effect it would have on his and other homeowners property values.

Later in the meeting, the council voted unanimously to allow for the first reading of an ordinance to approve the rezoning request. The council will make the final decision on the ordinance at the May 22 city council meeting.

Housing project

Porter next addressed the council regarding an application submitted by Chad Hartle on behalf of the city of Farmington for a final record plat at 617 through 621 Wallace Road, which is currently zoned as OA-1 (Office and Apartment) and OP-1 (Office and Professional).

Mayor, the city owns this property, but it's part of the Old Mineral Area Hospital complex, he said. Back in December, the council and planning and zoning rezoned a portion of the property to OT1. As a requirement, Mr. Hartle is in agreement in principle with the city to purchase the property to develop it  for lack of a better way to describe it  income-based apartments as part of tax credit programming.

He's got several other apartment complexes and projects in town. So, we've rezoned the area that we need to have formally subdivided into the area that he's going to purchase. That's what this first hearing is about, just the formal subdivision of the property. Incidentally, we'll have another public hearing coming up related to the other portion of Mr. Hartle's request.

Immediately after the conclusion of the public meeting regarding Hartles request for a final plat was concluded, the next hearing dealing with the contractors application to build a planned unit development on the property was begun. Asking if anyone had input on Hartles construction request, Don Wyler of 914 Murphys Way addressed the council to express his opposition to the project.

He first asked if the development was going to encompass all of the former hospitals property, or just a portion of it. Porter replied that it was a small lot. Wyler asked if the property had been rezoned for two-residential housing. Porter replied, Well, its rezoned for OP1, so its multi-family.

Responding to Porters answer, Wyler asked, This is something that East Missouri Action Agency is pushing? Because we don't need any more homeless in here. What that would do is kill all our property values over there.

Porter replied, These will be homes for folks to live in permanently.

Wyler asked, It's not going to be homeless people being brought in, like they've done with the shelter down there?

Porter replied that he didnt understand what Wyler meant by the phrase bringing in.

Well, they got the homeless shelter down there on the backside of the old hospital, Wyler said.

Porter replied, Yeah, but your question was, Are we gonna bring in homeless people?

Wyler said, "Oh, no, I mean, is it gonna be where they're gonna promote homeless people coming in?

Porter replied, Well, I suppose they would be eligible to live there, yes, sir.

Wyler said, That's not  you're walking around the corner always. What we need to know is how's this gonna affect our property values over there? Right now, our property values are up, and if you bring in low-income housing  which is probably what it's gonna end up being  and you still got those old trailers sitting back there that they're supposed to have moved out two years ago, and they never moved. So, that's keeping our property values from going up and staying up. The way it is, if you bring a lot of homeless in, our property value is going to go down.

City Administrator Greg Beavers told Wyler that the container houses had been placed on the property for homeless people  not to import homeless people into Farmington.

We had homeless people in town we had to take care of, Beavers said. But those have to be moved for these apartment developments. So, those two container units that are sitting on the old helipad  that's what you were referring to as the trailers  have to be removed for this project. They're leaving town. They're completely leaving town.

Beavers displayed a site plan for the project and models of the apartments.

Wyler replied, Right now, there's two projects that's supposed to be started to build a total of 600 more apartments. How many apartments do we need in front of you?

Porter replied that it wasnt his project and that he couldnt answer Wylers question.

Ward 3 Councilman Chris Morrison said, Well, I think until the apartments aren't full anymore, I think every time they build apartments, they're full, which is kind of like supply and demand.

Wyler replied, You got on Hillsboro Road, you got a big project gonna go in. Over on Highway D or Washington, there's another big project. Between the two projects, there'll be over 600 apartments.

Ward 4 Councilman Garett Boatright said, To your point, sir, it's a larger problem nationwide. The cost of building a single family home nowadays just unaffordable for young families starting now.

"So, that's why the demand for apartments has gone up so significantly and Farmington is very blessed to have a good economy, to have good businesses and people want to live here, but unfortunately developers just aren't building affordable housing for for new families.

Later in the meeting, the council voted unanimously to allow for the first reading of ordinances approving the final plat and housing construction. The council will make the final decision on the ordinance at the May 22 city council meeting.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Mayor Forsythe addressed Wyler, saying And also, in the housing, you said something about housing, sir. And I am big in housing. If you go over by the Wilson-Rozier Ballpark, you will notice the houses are probably 15 foot apart. I grew up over there and I grew up in a small little house with two bedrooms, or two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living room, and a bathroom. There was four of us in the house and we did just fine  a 900-square-foot house.

"I do believe that if we bend the rules a little bit as far as our zoning goes and as far as our rules go, we can start these subdivisions again where a family that's starting out can afford a $160,000 home, can afford the payments, and can have their own house and take pride in their own house. And I do believe that we need to look forward to that, and we need to figure out how we can do this.

New fire chief

The council unanimously approved a resolution appointing Kyle Carter as Farmington's new fire chief.

On the selecting committee, I want to thank Councilor Morrison, Councilor Boatright, and I want to thank Paula and Greg for helping me sit in on this, Forsythe said. It's a big decision to make and I want the public to meet our new fire chief.

The citys current fire chief, Todd Mecey, is retiring effective June 2 after 34 years with the department.

Mayor apologizes

Forsythe addressed a comment he had made while speaking at the annual State of the County Address held at Mineral Area College in February.

I attended the St. Francois County get-together  tell you what's going on with your community thing  and I made a remark about marijuana and the people who smoke it, he said. It was very unfortunate that I said that. I did not know at the time, and I did not realize, that I was putting two different kind of people  the one that use it for medical and the one that uses it for recreational, and I'm very sorry about that. I apologize. It was very inappropriate of me to do that, and that is all I'm gonna say on that now.

Proclamation

Mayor Forsythe presented a proclamation to long-time Farmington resident Jesse Williams.

I have a lady here tonight, bless her heart, he said. She was at the Volunteer Banquet, and I did not give her an award because she's really not a volunteer, she is Farmington. And the volunteers are made up from my personal beliefs in the volunteerism and the people that do that. Mrs. Williams goes beyond that and she deserves something from the city itself, not from the mayor. So I would like to give Mrs. Jessie Williams a proclamation on her work that she has done for so many years.

Historical discovery

Dr. Ryan Johnson, a local chiropractor who currently has an exhibit at the Farmington Public Library featuring photos he took of the now disassembled Harrington Barn, addressed the council about a discovery of historical significance he uncovered. The Daily Journal and Farmington Press will publish a separate story on Johnsons discovery in a future issue.
StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras (NYSE:PBR  Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the oil and gas exploration companys stock.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PBR traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $11.73. The company had a trading volume of 13,188,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,756,826. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras has a 52 week low of $8.88 and a 52 week high of $16.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.22. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $10.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.03. The stock has a market cap of $76.50 billion, a PE ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.37.

Get Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras alerts:

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras (NYSE:PBR  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $30.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.03 billion. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras had a return on equity of 44.84% and a net margin of 28.50%. Analysts expect that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras Increases Dividend

Institutional Trading of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.551 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 38.26%. This is a positive change from Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobrass previous dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 28th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobrass dividend payout ratio is presently 46.11%.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras by 58.3% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 142,949 shares of the oil and gas exploration companys stock valued at $2,116,000 after purchasing an additional 52,626 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras by 117.9% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 48,997 shares of the oil and gas exploration companys stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 26,512 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras in the first quarter worth $801,000. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras in the first quarter worth about $320,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras in the 1st quarter worth $11,529,000. 12.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Petroleo Brasileiro SA engages in oil and gas exploration, production, and distribution activities. It operates through the following segments: Exploration and Production; Refining, Transportation, and Marketing; Gas and Power; and Corporate and Other Business. The Exploration and Production segment involves crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas exploration, development, and production.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Primo Water (NYSE:PRMW  Get Rating) in a report issued on Thursday. The brokerage issued a strong-buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet downgraded Primo Water from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Friday, March 17th. CIBC downgraded Primo Water from a sector outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report on Friday, February 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Primo Water from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Primo Water has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $19.33.

Get Primo Water alerts:

Primo Water Price Performance

Primo Water stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $13.71. 446,379 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 800,929. The stocks fifty day moving average is $14.88 and its 200-day moving average is $15.17. Primo Water has a 12 month low of $12.15 and a 12 month high of $16.47. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.45 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Primo Water Dividend Announcement

Primo Water ( NYSE:PRMW Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.03). Primo Water had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 7.46%. The firm had revenue of $533.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.69 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Primo Water will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 2nd will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 1st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Primo Waters payout ratio is 118.52%.

Institutional Trading of Primo Water

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRMW. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Primo Water by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,325 shares of the companys stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Primo Water by 556.1% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,257 shares of the companys stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,913 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Primo Water during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Primo Water by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,961 shares of the companys stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new position in shares of Primo Water during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.68% of the companys stock.

About Primo Water

(Get Rating)

Primo Water Corporation provides pure-play water solutions for residential and commercial customers. It offers bottled water, water dispensers, purified bottled water, self-service refill drinking water, premium spring, mineral water, sparkling and flavored water, filtration equipment, and coffee. The company offers its products under the Primo, Alhambra, Crystal Rock, Mountain Valley, Deep Rock, Hinckley Springs, Crystal Springs, Kentwood Springs, Mount Olympus, Pureflo, Nursery, Sierra Springs, Sparkletts, Clear Mountain Natural Spring Water, Earth2O, Renu, and Water Event Pure Water Solutions brands in the United States; Canadian Springs and Labrador Source brands in Canada; and Decantae, Eden, Eden Springs, Chateaud'eau, and Mey Eden brands in Europe and Israel.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for Primo Water Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Primo Water and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE:RBA  Get Rating) (TSE:RBA) Director Robert George Elton purchased 1,471 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $54.15 per share, for a total transaction of $79,654.65. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,471 shares in the company, valued at $79,654.65. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Trading Up 4.6 %

NYSE:RBA traded up $2.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $54.25. 2,181,259 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,564,053. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.36, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.89. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated has a 52 week low of $48.72 and a 52 week high of $72.73. The firms 50 day moving average is $55.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Get Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers alerts:

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE:RBA  Get Rating) (TSE:RBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The business services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $443.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $430.21 million. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers had a net margin of 6.13% and a return on equity of 5.25%. The firms revenue was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Dividend Announcement

Analyst Ratings Changes

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 26th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneerss dividend payout ratio is presently 110.20%.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. OTR Global upgraded shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers to a positive rating in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday, March 20th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $61.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday. National Bankshares upgraded shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $61.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $61.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers by 75.2% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,823,012 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $158,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211,834 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers during the first quarter valued at approximately $270,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers by 52.7% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 13,539 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 4,674 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP purchased a new stake in Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers during the first quarter valued at approximately $14,138,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new position in shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers in the first quarter worth $63,742,000. 81.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

(Get Rating)

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Inc is an industrial auctioneer, which engages in the sale of equipment to on-site and online bidders. It operates through the following segments: Auctions and Marketplaces, Ritchie Bros. Financial Services and Mascus. The Auctions and Marketplaces segment consists of live on site auctions, online auctions and marketplaces, and brokerage service.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Sandy Spring Bank lessened its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV  Get Rating) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 89,582 shares of the technology companys stock after selling 1,171 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Banks holdings in Fortive were worth $5,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FTV. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 39.4% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 5,710,019 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $332,894,000 after buying an additional 1,614,640 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Fortive by 75.3% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,345,333 shares of the technology companys stock worth $136,733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007,368 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortive by 2.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,557,116 shares of the technology companys stock worth $2,288,355,000 after purchasing an additional 989,883 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Fortive by 54.2% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,678,828 shares of the technology companys stock worth $156,729,000 after purchasing an additional 941,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortive by 3.0% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 29,779,513 shares of the technology companys stock worth $1,736,146,000 after purchasing an additional 860,002 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.84% of the companys stock.

Get Fortive alerts:

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on FTV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $78.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Fortive from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Vertical Research raised shares of Fortive from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $74.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 27th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Thursday. They set a buy rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $73.00.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of FTV traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $65.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,002,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,006,675. The firm has a market cap of $23.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $65.35 and a 200-day moving average of $66.09. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $52.47 and a 12 month high of $69.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The technology company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.02. Fortive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 11.92%. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 25th. Fortives dividend payout ratio is 13.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,249 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.75, for a total transaction of $220,119.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,721 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,216,847.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Fortive news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,249 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.75, for a total transaction of $220,119.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,721 shares in the company, valued at $2,216,847.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 1,336 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.39, for a total transaction of $88,697.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 37,946 shares in the company, valued at $2,519,234.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fortive Profile

(Get Rating)

Fortive Corp. engages in the design, development, manufacturing, and marketing of professional and engineered products, software, and services for a variety of end markets. It operates through the following segments: Intelligent Operating Solutions, Precision Technologies, and Advanced Healthcare Solutions.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FTV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Fortive Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Fortive and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Scotia Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP  Get Rating) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,404 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 1,949 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.s holdings in Molson Coors Beverage were worth $1,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trustcore Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Molson Coors Beverage during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Molson Coors Beverage by 1,781.3% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 602 shares of the companys stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new stake in Molson Coors Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Molson Coors Beverage by 96.4% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 760 shares of the companys stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC acquired a new stake in Molson Coors Beverage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.24% of the companys stock.

Get Molson Coors Beverage alerts:

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on TAP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Molson Coors Beverage from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and lifted their target price for the company from $59.00 to $64.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $68.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, May 12th. Roth Capital reiterated a buy rating on shares of Molson Coors Beverage in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $53.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $52.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $57.87.

Molson Coors Beverage Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of TAP stock opened at $61.88 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $56.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.72. Molson Coors Beverage has a 12 month low of $46.69 and a 12 month high of $66.67.

Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. Molson Coors Beverage had a negative net margin of 1.97% and a positive return on equity of 7.16%. The companys revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Molson Coors Beverage will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Molson Coors Beverage Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, March 3rd were given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 2nd. This is a boost from Molson Coors Beverages previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Molson Coors Beverages payout ratio is -137.81%.

Molson Coors Beverage Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Molson Coors Beverage Co is a holding company, which engages in the production and sale of beer. It operates through the following segments: Americas, and EMEA and APAC. The Americas segment operates in the U.S., Canada and various countries in the Caribbean, Latin, and South America. The EMEA and APAC segment operates in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Montenegro, the Republic of Ireland, Romania, Serbia, the UK, various other European countries, and certain countries within the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TAP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Molson Coors Beverage Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Molson Coors Beverage and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Shelton Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEARCA:EFA  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 26,680 shares of the exchange traded funds stock, valued at approximately $1,751,000. iShares MSCI EAFE ETF comprises about 1.4% of Shelton Wealth Management LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new stake in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 172.9% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 464 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank raised its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 189.7% in the 4th quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 504 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Trust LLC acquired a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. 80.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Get iShares MSCI EAFE ETF alerts:

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Price Performance

NYSEARCA EFA traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $73.53. The company had a trading volume of 9,689,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,728,621. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.11. iShares MSCI EAFE ETF has a twelve month low of $54.61 and a twelve month high of $74.05.

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Company Profile

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Funds investment objective is to seek investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of its underlying index, MSCI EAFE Index (the Index). The Index has been developed by MSCI Inc as an equity benchmark for its international stock performance.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EFA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEARCA:EFA  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI EAFE ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Bellecapital International Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEARCA:GLD  Get Rating) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,813 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 2,130 shares during the quarter. SPDR Gold Shares makes up 1.5% of Bellecapital International Ltd.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Bellecapital International Ltd.s holdings in SPDR Gold Shares were worth $5,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in SPDR Gold Shares by 409.0% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 277,344 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $47,049,000 after acquiring an additional 222,860 shares during the last quarter. Sageworth Trust Co of South Dakota purchased a new position in shares of SPDR Gold Shares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $226,000. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of SPDR Gold Shares by 141.9% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 5,658 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $960,000 after buying an additional 3,319 shares in the last quarter. True Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of SPDR Gold Shares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $295,000. Finally, Quantum Capital Management LLC NJ raised its stake in shares of SPDR Gold Shares by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Quantum Capital Management LLC NJ now owns 34,447 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $5,844,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 37.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Get SPDR Gold Shares alerts:

SPDR Gold Shares Stock Performance

Shares of GLD stock traded up $2.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $183.84. 5,045,515 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,918,454. The companys 50 day moving average is $184.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.57. SPDR Gold Shares has a 1 year low of $150.57 and a 1 year high of $191.36.

About SPDR Gold Shares

SPDR Gold Trust (the Trust) is an investment trust. The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less the Trusts expenses. The Trusts business activity is the investment of gold. The Trust creates and redeems Shares from time to time, but in one or more Baskets (a Basket equals a block of 100,000 Shares).

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GLD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEARCA:GLD  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for SPDR Gold Shares Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for SPDR Gold Shares and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS  Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the casino operators stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on LVS. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $76.00 to $80.50 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Las Vegas Sands from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $68.54.

Get Las Vegas Sands alerts:

Las Vegas Sands Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LVS traded down $0.15 during trading on Thursday, reaching $60.49. 1,966,025 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,817,080. Las Vegas Sands has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $65.58. The stock has a market cap of $46.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -84.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $58.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.79.

Insider Activity

Las Vegas Sands ( NYSE:LVS Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The casino operator reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.11. Las Vegas Sands had a negative return on equity of 10.21% and a negative net margin of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.40) earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 124.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Las Vegas Sands will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other Las Vegas Sands news, Director Charles D. Forman sold 15,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.17, for a total value of $947,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 205,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,012,009.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.91% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Republic Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 218.2% in the third quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 76,324 shares of the casino operators stock worth $2,864,000 after purchasing an additional 52,338 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 87,554 shares of the casino operators stock valued at $3,285,000 after buying an additional 1,264 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Las Vegas Sands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $334,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,385 shares of the casino operators stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 38,470 shares of the casino operators stock valued at $1,849,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.75% of the companys stock.

About Las Vegas Sands

(Get Rating)

Las Vegas Sands Corp. engages in the development of destination properties. The firm operates through the Macao and Singapore geographical segments. The Macao segment handles the operations of The Venetian Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Macao, and Sands Macao.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Las Vegas Sands Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Las Vegas Sands and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:VWO  Get Rating) by 527.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,412 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after buying an additional 1,187 shares during the quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF were worth $55,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VWO. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF by 3,906.2% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,950,880 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $180,658,000 after purchasing an additional 4,827,299 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF by 843.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 4,898,835 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $178,758,000 after acquiring an additional 4,379,584 shares in the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its stake in Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 8,793,050 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $342,753,000 after acquiring an additional 3,850,015 shares in the last quarter. Yale University grew its stake in Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF by 49.6% in the 1st quarter. Yale University now owns 10,971,356 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $506,109,000 after acquiring an additional 3,637,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adviser Investments LLC grew its stake in Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF by 6,844.1% in the 4th quarter. Adviser Investments LLC now owns 2,049,565 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $85,405,000 after acquiring an additional 2,020,050 shares in the last quarter.

Get Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF alerts:

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF Price Performance

VWO stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.97. The company had a trading volume of 2,903,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,015,311. The company has a market capitalization of $71.15 billion, a PE ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.97 and a 200 day moving average of $40.04. Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has a 12 month low of $34.88 and a 12 month high of $44.28.

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF Profile

The Fund seeks to track the performance of the FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index, that measures the return of stocks issued by companies located in emerging market countries.

Read More

Receive News & Ratings for Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Tyler Technologies (NYSE:TYL  Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the technology companys stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on TYL. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and set a $475.00 price target on shares of Tyler Technologies in a research report on Friday, February 17th. DA Davidson lowered Tyler Technologies from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $395.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Tyler Technologies from $365.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, April 28th. Credit Suisse Group raised their target price on shares of Tyler Technologies from $370.00 to $376.00 in a report on Monday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Tyler Technologies from $410.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $435.38.

Get Tyler Technologies alerts:

Tyler Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TYL traded down $5.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $394.75. The company had a trading volume of 47,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 271,570. The stock has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.23 and a beta of 0.84. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $360.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $335.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Tyler Technologies has a 12 month low of $281.11 and a 12 month high of $425.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

Tyler Technologies ( NYSE:TYL Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 15th. The technology company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.04. Tyler Technologies had a net margin of 8.31% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The business had revenue of $452.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $452.13 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Tyler Technologies will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current year.

In other Tyler Technologies news, Chairman John S. Marr, Jr. sold 4,868 shares of Tyler Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.88, for a total transaction of $1,586,383.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 59,970 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $19,543,023.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO H Lynn Moore, Jr. sold 6,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.00, for a total transaction of $2,010,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 80,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,867,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman John S. Marr, Jr. sold 4,868 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.88, for a total transaction of $1,586,383.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 59,970 shares of the companys stock, valued at $19,543,023.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,803 shares of company stock worth $11,467,625. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tyler Technologies

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TYL. Meritage Group LP lifted its holdings in Tyler Technologies by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 752 shares of the technology companys stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tyler Technologies by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the technology companys stock worth $1,062,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Tyler Technologies by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 4,905 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $1,740,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Tyler Technologies by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,243 shares of the technology companys stock worth $3,633,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Vantage Consulting Group Inc grew its position in shares of Tyler Technologies by 3.0% in the first quarter. Vantage Consulting Group Inc now owns 1,093 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.45% of the companys stock.

Tyler Technologies Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Tyler Technologies, Inc engages in the provision of integrated technology and management solutions and services for the public sector with a focus on local governments. It operates through the following segments: Enterprise Software and Appraisal and Tax. The Enterprise Software segment provides municipal and county governments and schools with software systems to meet their information technology and automation needs for mission-critical back-office functions such as financial management, courts and justice processes.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Tyler Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Tyler Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A familys dream of taking an old property with an incredible view and turning it into a beautiful setting for weddings, celebrations, parties and romantic getaways has become a reality with the recent grand opening of the Charleville Brewery and Winery in western Ste. Genevieve County.

Its immediately obvious that Kara Naeger and her brothers  contractors Eric and R.J. Clements  have spared little expense and effort in creating an attractive venue that features a tasting room and patio that offers a breathtaking view overlooking the Saline Creek Valley. On top of all that, Charleville brews and serves a large selection of handcrafted wines and beers.

Naeger explained that while much of what guests see at Charleville is brand new, the brewery has been around for a while now.

It's been about 20 years since the original owners purchased the property and built a tasting room on site, she said. We purchased it a year ago and completely renovated it. We added on a venue, expanded the brewery, and enhanced the old historic log cabin here. So, we did a lot of wonderful improvements.

With the renovation to our brewery and winery property, we optimized the space in our on-site lodging while still keeping as much original elements of the cabin, which was built in 1860. Our Airbnb now offers a kitchen, half-bath, and living room on the main floor with two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, that are connected by a spiral staircase.

Asked about Charlevilles brewery, Naeger said, Were brewing everything that they were brewing before, and we have our full license, so we can brew beer, and serve wine and spirits here at our facility. We not only brew for ourselves, but we are brewing for other clients. We can brew other breweries' beer, or we can make them a ready-to-drink cocktail.

Charleville uses what is called an in-tank brewing system. This system uses a tank to store beer after fermentation is complete. The tank is kept under pressure to keep the beer fresh and carbonated. The beer is also filtered to remove any leftover yeast or other particles.

According to Naeger, Charleville holds itself to very high standards.

We believe the best beer comes from the best ingredients handled by the best team members, she said. With every sip, you can taste the passion and dedication that goes into crafting Charleville beer.

And where can guests enjoy a taste of Charlevilles fermented offerings?

Our iPourIt Wall has 24 taps that flow beer, wine, and Charle-ritas with the touch of a wristband, Naeger said. Our tasting room staff will walk you through the process, but we promise you'll love it. We not only offer Charleville beer on our iPourIt Wall, but we also have Strawberry Blonde Ale, Peach Blonde Ale, Pineapple Wheat Ale, Hoptimistic IPA, Pecan Amber Ale, Barleywine, Whiskey Scented Santa, Bellows Shake, Box of Chocolate, Imperial Vanilla Porter, Tornado Alley, Half Wit Wheat, Pineapple Mango Habanero Blonde, Basic Blonde Ale, Old Arena Light Lager, and Medium Rare Strawberry Milkshake IPA.

Naeger added that the brewery features year-round beers like Half Wit Wheat Ale, Hoptimistic IPA, Strawberry Blonde Ale, and Tornado Alley Amber Ale  as well as seasonal beers that include Barleywine-Style Ale, Bellows Shake Oktoberfest, Box of Chocolate Belgian Quadruple, Hairy Cow Wee Heavy, Late Night Karate Kicks Coffee Stout, Long White Cloud Pilsner, Pineapple Mango Habanero Blonde Ale and Barrel-Aged Imperial Porter.

And you'll notice we offer more than just Charleville wines, she said. In fact, we are currently working on our newest vintages, but like everything, it takes time. We want to make sure our guests have a well-rounded, enjoyable experience, which brought us to Wild Sun Winery & Tavolo Vigneto.

Naeger is especially proud of Charlevilles new wedding venue.

We can do indoor and outdoor weddings, or you also can have your anniversary parties, showers or rehearsal dinners here, she said. It was created to highlight the breathtaking landscape that Missouri Winery Country has to offer. We also have The View, which seats 175 inside, and that can also be booked for weddings. We thought out and planned every detail of this space to enhance the best day of a couples life.

We can also do a variety of other things. This is a really great place to come out with a group of friends, go on the trolley rides, and make the rounds. Its also a great place to celebrate your birthday. We have bays that you can individually reserve and have your own private party in a bay. We always are hosting events too from murder mysteries to pairing dinners. Its a really good gathering place  a place to come and enjoy. Charleville is a place where you can have some really great beer and great, amazing wine.

Charleville Brewery & Winery, 16937 Boyd Road in Ste. Genevieve, is open Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Charleville is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. For more information call 573-568-8165 or visit the website at https://charlevillemo.com.
Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW  Get Rating) by 54.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,687 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock after buying an additional 5,556 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLCs holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $3,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SHW. Roundview Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 8,065 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $2,013,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 189.1% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 10,409 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $2,598,000 after purchasing an additional 6,808 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 118,763 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $29,956,000 after purchasing an additional 24,884 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 1st quarter worth about $1,231,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,387 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the companys stock.

Get Sherwin-Williams alerts:

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:SHW traded down $1.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $231.30. 367,615 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,528,416. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $224.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.00. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $195.24 and a twelve month high of $278.31. The firm has a market cap of $59.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.07.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

Sherwin-Williams ( NYSE:SHW Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.20. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 86.29% and a net margin of 9.41%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 19th will be paid a $0.605 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 18th. This represents a $2.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Sherwin-Williamss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $220.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $231.00 to $253.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Thursday. They issued a buy rating for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $257.83.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,750 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.76, for a total transaction of $607,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,145.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Profile

(Get Rating)

The Sherwin-Williams Co engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of paint and coatings. It operates through the following segments: America Group, Consumer Brands Group, and Performance Coating Group. The America Group segment manages the exclusive outlets for Sherwin-Williams branded paints, stains, supplies, equipment, and floor coverings.

Featured Articles

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SHW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Sherwin-Williams Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sherwin-Williams and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Shares of Vesuvius plc (LON:VSVS  Get Rating) have earned an average rating of Moderate Buy from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 465 ($5.82).

Several analysts recently issued reports on VSVS shares. Numis Securities reaffirmed an add rating and issued a GBX 450 ($5.64) price target on shares of Vesuvius in a report on Monday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a buy rating and issued a GBX 585 ($7.33) target price on shares of Vesuvius in a research report on Friday, March 24th.

Get Vesuvius alerts:

Insider Transactions at Vesuvius

In other Vesuvius news, insider Mark Collis acquired 11,450 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 400 ($5.01) per share, for a total transaction of 45,800 ($57,371.92). Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the companys stock.

Vesuvius Price Performance

Vesuvius Increases Dividend

Vesuvius stock opened at GBX 417 ($5.22) on Friday. Vesuvius has a 1 year low of GBX 282.37 ($3.54) and a 1 year high of GBX 448.60 ($5.62). The firm has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 402.52 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 399.21. The company has a market cap of 1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 613.13, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 33.49, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.87.

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 20th will be given a GBX 15.75 ($0.20) dividend. This represents a yield of 3.66%. This is a positive change from Vesuviuss previous dividend of $6.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 20th. Vesuviuss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3,283.58%.

About Vesuvius

(Get Rating)

Vesuvius plc provides engineering services and solutions principally to steel and foundry industries worldwide. It operates in two divisions, Steel and Foundry. The company offers foundry consumables and equipment, including binders, coatings, feeding systems, filtration and gating systems, melt shop refractories, metallurgical and pouring control systems, die dressings and coatings, melt treatment products, crucibles, and ceramics for the iron, steel, and nonferrous foundries.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for Vesuvius Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vesuvius and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Waddell & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT  Get Rating) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 566 shares of the aerospace companys stock after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Waddell & Associates LLCs holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,885,865 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $8,840,580,000 after buying an additional 289,110 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,256,069 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $2,320,030,000 after purchasing an additional 264,665 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,148,736 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $443,745,000 after purchasing an additional 25,283 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 988,725 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $381,934,000 after purchasing an additional 10,587 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 59.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 698,200 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $269,708,000 after purchasing an additional 259,700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the companys stock.

Get Lockheed Martin alerts:

Lockheed Martin Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:LMT traded down $1.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $454.31. The company had a trading volume of 447,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,340,472. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $472.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $474.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 1 year low of $373.67 and a 1 year high of $508.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.67.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

Lockheed Martin ( NYSE:LMT Get Rating ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 18th. The aerospace company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $6.08 by $0.35. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 67.75% and a net margin of 8.60%. The business had revenue of $15.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.44 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 1st will be paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 31st. Lockheed Martins payout ratio is presently 54.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LMT. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $478.00 to $496.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $542.00 to $532.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $510.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered Lockheed Martin from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $513.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $494.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy S. Cahill sold 2,534 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.44, for a total value of $1,214,900.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,460 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,014,942.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director John Donovan bought 506 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $495.17 per share, for a total transaction of $250,556.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,401,331.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy S. Cahill sold 2,534 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.44, for a total transaction of $1,214,900.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,460 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,014,942.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the companys stock.

About Lockheed Martin

(Get Rating)

Lockheed Martin Corp. is a global security and aerospace company, which engages in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of technology systems, products, and services. It operates through the following business segments: Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control (MFC), Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS), and Space.

Featured Stories

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LMT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Lockheed Martin Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Lockheed Martin and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Waddell & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,182 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,134,691 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,425,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275,790 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 71,579,128 shares of the companys stock worth $2,957,671,000 after purchasing an additional 513,208 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,302,349 shares of the companys stock worth $1,896,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,178,596 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,517,169 shares of the companys stock worth $990,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Altria Group by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,209,557 shares of the companys stock worth $329,550,000 after purchasing an additional 1,774,297 shares during the last quarter. 58.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Get Altria Group alerts:

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $45.23. The company had a trading volume of 3,384,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,916,706. The company has a market capitalization of $80.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.59. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $45.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.87. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.35 and a twelve month high of $54.89.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

Altria Group ( NYSE:MO Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 245.43% and a net margin of 22.44%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 24th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 23rd. Altria Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 120.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, April 13th. They set a buy rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.50 to $47.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday. They set a buy rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $44.67.

About Altria Group

(Get Rating)

Altria Group, Inc operates as a holding company, which engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States. It operates through the following segments: Smokeable Products, Oral tobacco products, and Wine. The Smokeable Products segment consists of cigarettes manufactured and sold by PM USA and machine-made large cigars and pipe tobacco manufactured and sold by Middleton.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Altria Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Altria Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Keeping pollution in mind, Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari has urged the automobile industry to start preparing for the next generation of BS-7 compliant vehicles and not to wait for the government's push. BS-7 complaint automobiles will be prepared on the lines of proposed Euro-7 emissions standards. The European Commission has proposed to roll out the Euro-7 norm from July 2025 for new cars and vans, and July 2027 for new trucks and buses. Sources said the road transport ministry has started initial work for the BS-7 emission standard. Speaking about the same at the apex technical committee on vehicle standards (CMVR-TSC) meeting, Gadkari said that the automakers in India now should start their own research and keep a focus on making vehicles as per BS-7 norms. He said this time the industries have to take the initiative on their own. They should not wait for deadlines from the government, which already happened at the time of the BS-6 transition. Indian auto industry should also go parallel to European counterparts, the minister added. Gadkari's comments come after days of the European Commission declaring that it will start implementing Euro-7 emission norms by July 2025 for new cars and vans. Later, in 2027, the same will be implemented for new trucks and buses. To export their goods to European nations and to reduce local vehicular pollution, the auto industry in India also will have to follow the transition from the present BS-6 to BS-7. Meanwhile, some reports say that leading car manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda already started working on a plan to minimise vehicular pollution. (With inputs from CNN News18)
In a setback for Tata Motors, the Supreme Court on May 19 dismissed the company's plea that challenged its disqualification from a tender to supply 1400 electric buses to Mumbai. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) had awarded the contract to Evey Trans, a decision which has been upheld by the court. While dismissing Tata Motors' plea, the Supreme Court also set aside a Bombay High Court order that had directed BEST to issue a fresh tender. Tata Motors is yet to issue statements regarding on the court's decision. At noon, Tata Motors' stock was quoting at Rs 520.40 on the NSE, up 2.35 percent from the previous close. This is a developing story. Please check back for more details.

USER CONSENT

We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy.

*We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies.

Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy

*I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age

I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl

I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites

I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS

Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue.

I Accept
India's domestic air traffic in April rose 22 percent when compared to the same month last year. The number climbed to 128.88 lakh passengers carried, data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on May 19 shows. However, domestic air traffic fell very slightly in April when compared with March 2023's reading which stood at 128.93 lakh passengers. Air traffic also surpassed pre-COVID levels. In April 2019, domestic airlines flew only 109.95 lakh passengers. The aviation pie The market share of India's largest airline, IndiGo, rose 70 basis points in April, after rising nearly 90 basis points in March and 130 basis points in February. The airline's market share is now 57.5 percent, with the low-cost carrier flying 74.06 lakh passengers in April. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. Vistara remained the second-largest domestic carrier in April and garnered a market share of 8.7 percent, flying 11.23 lakh passengers during the period. Air India's market share in April fell 20 basis points to 8.6 percent, the airline flew 11.13 lakh passengers in April. The airline has seen its market share fall from 9.2 percent in January to 8.6 percent in April, falling 20-30 basis points every month. AirAsia India, which, too, is part of the Tata stable, rose up to number four in terms of market share. Its market share remain stable at 7.6 percent in April, as the carrier served 9.81 lakh passengers. SpiceJet fell to the number six spot in terms of market share, which was even lower than Go First, accounting for 5.8 percent of the domestic market, 60 basis points fall since March. The airline flew 7.41 lakh passengers in April. The market share of Go First, formerly GoAir, fell 50 basis points to 6.4 percent in April. Facing financial crunch, Go First stopped flying since May 3. The passenger load factor, or the occupancy rate, of SpiceJet, Vistara, IndiGo, Air India and AirAsia India stood at 92.2 percent, 92.1 percent, 87.4 percent, 87.9 percent, and 89.4 percent, respectively, in Apri. GoFirst had reported a passenger load factor of 91.2 percent in April. Akasa Air, India's newest carrier, saw a rise in its passenger load factor to 84.9 percent in April, its ninth month of operations, from 73.6 percent in March. The airline carried 5.13 lakh passengers in April, a market share of 4 percent. As many as 360 passenger complaints were received in April, data shows. The number of complaints per 10,000 passengers carried was around 0.28. In April, Akasa AIr had the best on-time performance, for the second straight month in a row, of 94 percent at four metro airportsDelhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. Air India and IndiGo were the second and third followed by Vistara.
Food delivery platform Zomato on May 19 reported consolidated net loss for the March quarter at Rs 188.2 crore that narrowed from a loss of Rs 359.7 crore in the same quarter last year. Revenue from operations came in at Rs 2,056 crore, rising 69.66 percent from Rs 1,211.8 crore in the corresponding quarter year ago, Zomato said in a regulatory filing. The company said its business, excluding quick commerce, turned adjusted EBITDA positive in the March quarter, driven by the food delivery business generating Rs 78 crore of EBITDA. Zomato added that it plans to get positive adjusted EBITDA and PAT on a consolidated basis including quick commerce in the next four quarters. ALSO READ: Zomato Q4 result: Food delivery gross order value shrinks after exit from 225 cities Deepinder Goel, Founder of Zomato, said the company will get to the goal by increasing profits in the food delivery business and reducing losses in the quick commerce (Blinkit) business. Over the last five quarters, we have improved our margins meaningfully while further strengthening our market position. We will continue with the same mindset as we look to further expand the Adjusted EBITDA margin (from the current 1.2 percent) to our stated goal of +4-5 percent of GOV (which would translate to Rs 1,000 to 1,300 crore of annual cash operating profit at the current scale of the food delivery business), he said in a release. Zomato saw the gross order value of its food delivery business shrink about 1 percent sequentially to Rs 6,569 crore in the March quarter due to an industry-wide slowdown and its exit from 225 cities in the previous quarter. Average monthly transacting users also fell from 1.74 crore to 1.66 crore sequentially. Despite many saying ONDC is a threat to Zomato's business, Goel said he welcomes all innovations that could help the restaurant industry in India grow. "We continue to watch the ONDC progress closely and learn from it," he added.
The government has asked airlines to exercise moderation and ensure a balance in pricing of air tickets amid a spike in airfares on certain routes especially after suspension of flights by crisis-hit Go First, according to a senior official. While making it clear that there are no plans to regulate airfares, the official said there should not be a huge gap between the tickets sold in the lower and upper fare buckets by the airlines. India is one of the fastest growing civil aviation markets in the world and domestic passenger traffic has been rising after being significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. After cash-strapped Go First stopped flying from May 3, there has been a significant rise in airfares on certain routes that were operated by the budget carrier. The routes include Delhi-Srinagar and Delhi-Pune. Also, the reduction of capacity due to the Go First crisis has come at a time when peak domestic air travel period is round the corner. The senior civil aviation ministry official told reporters that airlines have been asked to "exercise moderation" and "maintain some kind of balance" in terms of pricing of tickets. There cannot be a situation where there is a huge gap between the lowest and highest fare buckets, and passengers should not face hardships in terms of exorbitant fares, the official said on the condition of anonymity. There are no plans to regulate airfares, the official said. Go First, which is undergoing voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings, has cancelled flights till May 26. Besides, many planes of IndiGo are grounded due to Pratt & Whitney engine issues while SpiceJet is also facing financial headwinds. The official noted that capacity is an issue and hoped that resumption of flights by Go First at the earliest would help ease the situation before the peak travel season in June. In April, domestic airlines flew 128.88 lakh passengers, as per the latest official data. There has been a steep jump in airfares on certain routes where Go First was operating. For instance, the average one-way spot fare on Delhi-Leh route saw a 125 per cent rise to an average of Rs 13,674 during the May 3-10 period compared to April 20-28 period, as per data shared by travel portal Ixigo. During the same comparable periods, average one-way spot fare witnessed an increase of 86 per cent to Rs 16,898 on Delhi-Srinagar route, the data showed. After deregulation of the country's airline sector, airfares are market driven and are neither established nor regulated by the government. Airline pricing runs in multiple levels (buckets or Reservation Booking Designators). Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, on March 16, informed the Lok Sabha that "airfares are neither established nor regulated by the government". "The airline pricing system runs in multiple levels (buckets) which are in line with practices being followed globally. The prices are fixed by airlines keeping in mind the market, demand, seasonality and other market forces. The airfare increases with increase in demand for seats as the lower fare buckets get sold out fast when bookings are offered by airlines," he had said in a written reply.
Indian Oil Corp., the country's top refiner, said on Friday it is looking to decarbonise its petrochemical feedstocks by introducing bio-naphtha at its crackers. "To attain sustainability, bio-based feedstocks such as bio-naphtha and bio-ethanol are being envisaged as the natural transition for the petrochemical industry," the company's Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said at Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference, without providing a timeline. Bio-naphtha is typically obtained from hydro-treatment of used vegetable and cooking oils. "It is under research and development at our Faridabad facility in northern India... we have kept the used cooking oil pathway open but we're trying to get it via bio-ethanol," the company's executive director of petrochemicals, A. S. Sahney, told Reuters on the sidelines of the event.

USER CONSENT

We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy.

*We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies.

Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy

*I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age

I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl

I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites

I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS

Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue.

I Accept
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Bonne Terre has lost one of its hardest- and longest-working firefighters.

Henry Wayne Pratte, 74, died May 9 at Parkland Health Center North. His visitation is being held Friday, May 19, from 6 p.m. until the memorial service begins at C.Z. Boyer & Son Funeral Home, with Rich Barker officiating.

Pratte was the fire chief of Big River Fire Department for 25 years, and was also the fire chief of the Bonne Terre City Fire Department.

He was a leader in a lot of things. He accomplished some groundbreaking things in our county, said his brother, David Pratte, who is the current chief of the Big River/Bonne Terre Fire Department. He was one who always tried to move things forward. He had a dedicated group of men he was surrounded by, and they stuck with him through the highs and lows, they built where there was nothing to build on. He did a lot of extraordinary things for fire service in his time.

He strived to support the departments and furnish them with equipment and gear. In the early part of the 2000s, he traveled with other local firefighters to lobby in Jefferson City for a firefighter education trust fund and equipment grants during the days when Bob Ward, R-Bonne Terre, was Speaker of the House and Danny Staples, D-Eminence, led the Senate.

He led the charge to persuade voters to establish a fire protection district. He was also fire chief when Big River FD broke ground on their present station on Vo Tech Road. In 2001, when a large tire-salvage place located on U.S. 67  acres of piled-up tires lying amid the treescaught fire and burned for days, Prattes was one of several local fire departments who received reimbursement money from the EPA to cover the costs of successfully extinguishing the black-smoke smoldering blaze. Big River FD received the most money of all the departments.

"We needed some equipment but really didn't have the money. We've been holding off on buying it, waiting on this, he said.

Pratte was born, raised and died in Bonne Terre, but in at least one aspect, he was a man of the world in his ham radio hobby.

In the Dec. 10, 2006, edition of the Daily Journal, Pratte was interviewed in an article about the local ham radio operators, and said, "It's a great hobby. You get to talk to people around the world and learn about other countries." He recollected he'd spoken with other radio operators from Russia, Africa, Europe, South America, Australia, the Caribbean, and the South Pole. He even connected with someone who lived with five other people at a Norwegian weather station located above the Arctic Circle.

One conversation stood out for him. He'd arrived home from McDonnell Douglas about 1:30 a.m. and connected with a man in England who was almost like a twin.

"I traveled 75 miles to work in the aeronautical industry and he traveled 80 miles a day to work in the aeronautical industry," he said. "He was married with two kids and so was I. We had the same urge to travel. It was like talking to myself. It was amazing, all we had in common."

Pratte was born Sunday, Jan. 16, 1949, to the late Henry and Mary (Nash) Pratte. He was preceded in death by his siblings Pete Griffin, Connie Brewer, Norma Pettus, Bessie Borchers, Mabel Zimmermann, Rose Neel and Herb Griffin.

Survivors include his son, Ryan Cordell Pratte and daughter Paula Pratte; mother of his children, Glenda Pratte; siblings Joe Pratte, Nancy (Mark) Mayberry and David (Lorri) Pratte.

Pratte retired from Boeing-McDonnel Douglas as a machinist-tool and die maker. In his free time, he loved to fish and was also a ham Radio operator. He was a member of the Primrose Baptist Church in Bonne Terre.
Britain is close to winning a major battery plant for electric vehicles as Tata Group, the parent company of Jaguar Land Rover, leans toward choosing it over Spain. Tata, a conglomerate involved in industries from cars to salt, is currently favoring a factory in England after the UK government offered a support package, according to people familiar with the matter. No final decision has been made, and Tata could still decide on another location, the people said. A decision in favor of the UK by Tata would secure the future of JLRs plants in the country and mark a major coup for the government, as Spanish authorities were battling to win the investment. The plant  to be based in Somerset, England  would make batteries for Jaguar Land Rovers planned range of fully electric models that are due from 2024. The UK has been struggling to attract significant auto-industry investment in the aftermath of Brexit, while several manufacturers have shifted output to other countries amid the generational push toward electrification. Stellantis NV, which is adapting its Ellesmere Port site to make electric vans, said operations in the UK could close if the cost of manufacturing became uncompetitive and unsustainable. BMW last year said it will move production of electric Mini hatchbacks from Oxford to China. Honda Motor Co. closed its car factory in Swindon in 2021, leaving Britain with just four major manufacturers: Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan Motor Co., BMW and Toyota Motor Corp. A spokesperson for Tata declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade declined to comment.

USER CONSENT

We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy.

*We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies.

Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy

*I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age

I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl

I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites

I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS

Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue.

I Accept
Electric two-wheeler maker Kabira Mobility on Friday unveiled its flagship electric bike KM5000, which can attain a top speed of 188 kilometre/hour and comes with a 344 kilometre range on a single charge. The company plans to formally launch the bike later this year with deliveries expected to commence in 2024. Price of the cruiser electric bike is expected to start from Rs 3.15 lakh (ex-showroom Goa). "We are constantly raising the bar of what we can expect from the electric bike segment. KM5000 is a testament to our belief that electric bikes are now on par, if not even better than their ICE counterparts in terms of performance and safety," Kabira Mobility CEO Jaibir Siwach said in a statement. The company has several products in the pipeline that will be coming to the market very soon, he added. KM5000 comes with two types of charging options: a high-speed boost charger that can charge the vehicle from 0 to 80 per cent in less than two hours and a standard charger for overnight charging, the company said. The Goa-based electric vehicle startup launched its first e-bikes, the KM3000 and KM4000, in February 2021. The company recently raised USD 50 million in a Series A round of funding from Qatar-based Al-Abdulla group for scaling up its manufacturing infrastructure and increasing sales network.

USER CONSENT

We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy.

*We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies.

Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy

*I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age

I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl

I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites

I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS

Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue.

I Accept
Shares of InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) opened around 2 percent higher on May 19 as the airline reported a strong set of quarterly numbers followed by an upbeat brokerage commentary. However, given the recent rally, the scrip failed to hold on to early gains. At 09:45 am, the airline company's stock was quoting at Rs 2,234, down more than 1%. In the past month, the scrip has gained 15 percent and is up 36 percent in the past year. Indigo's revenue from operations grew 76.5 percent to Rs 14,161 crore from Rs 8,020 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. The carrier's EBITDAR (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and rent) jumped to Rs 2,966.5 crore as against Rs 171.8 crore YoY, while its margin increased manifold to 20.9 percent as compared with 2.1 percent a year ago. Net profit rose to Rs 919.20 crore as compared to last years loss of Rs 1,681.80 crore. Morgan Stanley has an overweight rating on the stock with a hike in target price to Rs 3,126. The brokerage firm believes market share and margin are key stock drivers for the airline company. It also said that IndiGos stock valuation is below the median level. JP Morgan also has an overweight call on the companys stock with a hike in target price to Rs 2,700. The foreign brokerage firm said that Q4 earnings are in line with its estimates. It also pointed out that the airline company has maintained its guidance on more than 15 percent growth in Available Seat Kilometers in FY24. Catch up on all LIVE stock market updates here It expects better than usual spread in Q1 of FY24 led by some yield hardening against the fall in crude. JP Morgan has revised its EBITDA estimate for FY24 and FY25 by 12 percent and 7 percent respectively to reflect better spread potential. IndiGo's yields, a metric for profitability, rose 10.2 percent YoY to Rs 4.85 per kilometre. Besides, Indigo intends to double its fleet by 500 aircraft by FY30. Further, replacement of CEOs with NEOs shall lift yields. This has prompted Nuvama Institutional Equities to maintain a buy rating on shares of IndiGo with an 8 percent increase in target price to Rs 2,703. A likely duopolistic industry structure dominated by Indigo and Air-India bodes well, said the domestic brokerage firm. Motilal Oswal Financial Services has even increased its revenue estimates by 12 percent and 17 percent for FY24 and FY25 because of the strong pricing trend being seen in ticketing revenue. It has highlighted that the stock continues to trade above its pre-covid levels which has resulted in the brokerage firm reiterating its neutral recommendation on the stock with a target price of Rs 2,135 at 7.5 times FY25 EV/EBIDTAR.
The market regulator has proposed to strengthen the investor grievance handling mechanism through SEBI Complaint Redressal System (SCORES) by integrating it with the online dispute resolution (ODR) mechanism, which was recently approved by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Sebi operationalised the ODR this March. The ODR platform is a way for investors to access a three-step, Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) mediated dispute resolution mechanism. Investors opt for this mechanism when they are not happy with the resolution they find through SCORES. In a consultation paper released by it, Sebi stated that this linking of the two platforms is aimed at making the entire redressal process of grievances in the securities market comprehensive by providing an end-to-end solution and making the process more efficient and faster by reducing timelines and introduction of auto-routing and auto-escalation. In the paper, the market regulator has also suggested that complaints pertaining to issues such as market-price manipulation, price/volume manipulation or insider trading, which cannot be classified as individual investor grievances, could be excluded from the SCORES platform and could be routed through a separate portal for Market Intelligence. New platform On the proposed mechanism to deal with investor grievances, the paper stated that SCORES may be redesigned as a platform for people/entities to seek timely resolution from listed entities directly. If the investors are not satisfied with the solution provided, then they can then opt for two levels of review  first by trade bodies or first-level regulators such as BSE Administration and Supervision Limited, and the second by Sebi. Sebi will examine and close the complaint on SCORES with its remarks. If the investor is still dissatisfied, he/she can opt for the ODR or opt for civil remedies. According to the consulting paper, investors will therefore have two linked, complementary avenues to approach for redress, one would be the SCORES portal and the other would be the ODR platform. The scope of investor grievances through SCORES is constrained by the fact that SEBI is not empowered to adjudicate on third party rights, or grant specific relief or compensation, stated the paper. The scope of investor grievances through ODR is wide as arbitrators involved in the process can adjudicate between the parties and pass awards. It also gives the parties an opportunity to arrive at an amicable settlement, it added. Separate platform On the need for a separate Market Intelligence platform, the paper stated that current complaints on issues such as insider trading or price or volume manipulation are being auto-closed with a comment because such complaints require Sebi to examine/investigate if there is any violation of Sebis regulation. These types of complaints cannot be treated as investor grievances as they require examination/investigation in the matter. Further, providing any status in these complaints can be price-sensitive and have a market impact. Hence, such complaints are treated as market intelligence, the paper stated. A separate portal for collection of market intelligence will help in distinguishing between investor grievances and intelligence inputs, with independent focus on each, it added.
Capital markets watchdog Sebi on Thursday proposed to streamline regulatory framework for registration of Foreign Venture Capital Investors (FVCIs). In its consultation paper, Sebi has suggested that the process of granting registration to FVCIs and processing other post-registration references may be delegated to designated depository participants (DDPs) in line with provisions prescribed for FPIs (Foreign Portfolio Investors). An applicant seeking registration as an FVCI should engage a DDP to avail its services for obtaining a registration certificate as FVCI. Presently, the processing of applications for granting registration to FVCIs and related due diligence is carried out by Sebi. In addition, the regulator has suggested that the eligibility criteria for FVCIs should be streamlined, in line with that prescribed for FPIs. Also, it proposed that FVCIs should hold their investments in demat form. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has sought comments from the public till May 31 on the proposals. FVCI is an investor incorporated and established outside India, who invests primarily in unlisted securities of Venture Capital Undertakings and Venture Capital Funds. As on March, 2023, a total of 269 FVCIs are registered with Sebi. Further, the cumulative investments made by FVCIs directly in investee companies stood at Rs 48,286 crore during the period.

USER CONSENT

We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy.

*We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies.

Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy

*I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age

I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl

I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites

I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS

Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue.

I Accept
Capital markets regulator Sebi on Thursday proposed a uniform total expense ratio (TER) across mutual fund schemes in a bid to bring in transparency in the costs charged to unitholders. At present, Sebi allows asset management companies to charge unitholders of mutual fund four additional type of expenses over and above the specified TER limits. These are brokerage and transaction costs, additional TER for distribution commission for inflows from B-30 (beyond top 30) cities, good and services taxes and addition expense for exit loads. The TER is a percentage of a scheme's corpus that a mutual fund house charges towards expenses including administrative and management. "TER reflects the maximum expense ratio that an investor may have to pay and hence it should be inclusive of all the expenses permitted to be charged to an investor and the investor should not be charged any amount over and above the prescribed TER limits," Sebi said in its consultation paper. Noting the underlying principle that TER should be inclusive of all costs charged to an investor, Sebi proposed that brokerage and transaction expenses may be included within the TER limit. Besides, all expenses and costs of investment including STT (Securities Transaction Tax) should be within the TER limit. Also, Sebi suggested that additional commission to distributors may continue for inflows from B30 cities. The distributors may be paid only for investment from new individual investors (new PAN) from B-30 cities at the industry level. Sebi suggested that AMCs design their distribution commission policy with an intent to promote financial inclusion and reward inflows from B-30 cities. In this regard, AMCs can consider paying a higher percentage of commission for inflows from B-30 cities as compared to commission for inflows from T-30 (top 30) cities. Further, Sebi proposed that the provision enabling charging of additional expense of 5 basis points for schemes having provision of exit load, may be discontinued. For more than 10 years AMCs have been permitted to charge additional expenses. The limits on TER have been proposed to be kept at AMC level and inclusive of all costs and expenses including GST on management fees, brokerage and transaction costs, B-30 incentive etc. Considering that 20 per cent of the AMCs are presently managing around 75 per cent of the industry AUM and many of the small AMCs continue to be loss making entities, Sebi proposed revised TER slabs, ensuring small players are not at a disadvantage, and to encourage competition amongst AMCs of all sizes. The regulator has suggested that there should be uniformity in charging of each and every expense to the investor of regular plan and direct plan and the only difference between the TER of regular plan and direct plan should be the expenses towards distribution commission. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has sought comments on the proposals till June 1. Among other proposals, Sebi suggested that unitholders should be given an option to exit at the prevailing net asset value (NAV) without any exit load when there is an increase in TER and proposed to lower the exit load of an open ended scheme to a maximum permissible limit of 2 per cent. In addition, it has been recommended that payment of upfront commission by investor directly and transaction costs deductible from investments of investors, should not be allowed. For financial inclusion of women in the mutual fund space, Sebi suggested an additional incentive may be introduced for distributors for new investments from women investors (new PAN) at the industry level. Currently, there are 42 players in the mutual fund industry that manages asset base of over Rs 40 lakh crore.
SEBI has proposed a uniform total expense ratio (TER) across mutual fund schemes in an attempt to enhance transparency in the costs charged to unitholders. The market seems to have a muddled view of a slew of changes proposed by the capital markets regulator in a consultation paper. Nirav Karkera, Head of Research, Fisdom, is of the view that the new proposal is in the best interests of mutual fund investors but could lead to intermittent challenges for the asset management industry. Such challenges would be majorly attributable to the transition and limited visibility on the outcomes of such a transition in the near term. He thinks that with AMCs being under SEBI scanner, investors in shares of such AMCs may want to pause and watch for developments. This would especially hold true for shorter-term portfolios. In fact, in a reactive fashion, the sentiments of most investors could be dented and the same can be expected to reflect in share prices. Also read: Market regulator Sebi proposes four key revamps: Top takeaways Shares of HDFC Asset Management Company, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, UTI AMC and Nippon Life India Asset Management were down 1-2 percent whereas Shriram Asset Management Co and Escorp Asset Management were up 3 and 10 percent respectively. However, Karkera quickly shed light on the other side of the story. He believes in the long term though, adverse knee-jerk reactions could offer longer-term investors to invest in asset management companies at relatively lower prices. Proposed changes are still in the consultative stage, most variables remain unknown, and consequences are even farther from known. At the same time, almost certainly, the mutual fund industry is slated to witness robust market expansion and Indian capital markets are growth-bound. These two vectors form the foundation of a robust growth narrative for the asset management space in the long run while the proposed transition shakes up things in the near term. Manoj Nagpal, Outlook Asia Capital told CNBC-TV18, that the new changes proposed are very positive. He sees SEBI's proposal as making Mutual Funds lucrative and is indirectly a positive for AMCs and distributors. Catch up on all LIVE stock market updates here Even ICICI Securities said, The proposed framework shall bring in more transparency and will lead to a lower TER cap especially for big AMCs. The higher commission structure for inflows from B-30 cities will reward distributors for bringing new investors to the industry, as per the domestic brokerage firm. On the contrary, Mohit Gang of Moneyfront told the news channel that as the industry grows in size, it is right on the part of the regulator to be more retail-friendly. Though the margin of AMCs could be impacted by 4-5 percent, the volumes can absorb it easily, he added. At present, SEBI allows asset management companies to charge four additional expensesbrokerage and transaction costs, TER for distribution commission for B-30 (beyond top 30) cities, GST and exit loadover and above the specified TER limits, as per reports. TER is a percentage of a schemes corpus that a mutual fund house charges towards expenses. The paper is currently at the consultation stage, awaiting feedback from industry participants. The paper in all put forth 15 topics of consultation. SEBI has also proposed the idea of performance-based TER and put forward two approaches but said the new concepts can be first tested in a regulatory sandbox structure. For the new framework, the capital markets regulator has proposed that at the AMC level, the maximum TER that can be charged for an equity scheme is 2.55 percent. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Go First will seek approval early next week to resume flights with three fleet-size options, depending on how many aircraft lessors are allowed to take back. The airline will approach the civil aviation ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) with its plans to restart operations, people aware of the development said. Three sets of plans have been prepared by Go First, which involves restarting operations with a fleet of seven planes, 15 planes, and 20 planes, one person said. The plans will be submitted once the airline gets clarity on how many planes it can operate, the person added. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) is expected to pass its order on May 22 on petitions filed by three aircraft lessors against Go First's voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings and the decision to place a moratorium on the airline's fleet. ALSO READ: Assets worth Rs 1,500 crore stuck with Go First after moratorium, aircraft lessor tells NCLAT Interim resolution professional Abhilash Lal of Alvarez & Marsal, who was appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal on May 10 to oversee the companys operations during the proceedings, has approached Delhi airport to resume flights using some of Go First's slots, another person said. Flight Plan One option for Go First is to restart operations with seven planes as a charter service between Delhi and Leh, Delhi and Srinagar, and Delhi and Thoise air force base in Jammu & Kashmir. If the airline can restart commercial operations with 15 planes, it will target the Delhi-Leh, Delhi-Srinagar, Delhi-Goa, Delhi-Lucknow, and Delhi-Jaipur routes, officials said. With 20 aircraft, it will resume flights on the Delhi-Leh, Delhi-Srinagar, Delhi-Goa, Delhi-Lucknow, Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Chennai routes. The airline operated 27 aircraft until May 2 and held key slots at the New Delhi and Mumbai airports. Go First said it cancelled flights until May 26 due to financial losses resulting from faulty Pratt & Whitney engines that have grounded half its fleet as it waits for them to be repaired or replaced. The NCLT's decision to grant Go First bankruptcy protection has helped the budget carrier keep its aircraft and airport parking slots and restrained lessors and vendors from recovering pending dues or reclaiming assets. On May 12, aircraft lessors argued that the cash-strapped airline was using the insolvency proceedings to hold on to aircraft that it does not own. SMBC Aviation Capital, an aircraft leasing company in Dublin, questioned the rationale of Go First filing for voluntary insolvency despite having 26 functional aircraft and accepting bookings for future dates. SMBC Aviation claimed it has unpaid dues of Rs 700-800 crore from Go First. SMBC also said the NCLT did not provide it with an opportunity to present its side and admitted Go First's plea for insolvency without ascertaining the entire situation.
[content][quote]Market Buzz[/quote][title]Faced with tech-savvy crooks, Sebi proposes new regulations to probe suspicious trading activity[/title][body] The market regulator is seeking to regulate unexplained, suspicious trading activity through a new set of regulations as the use of innovative, vanishing and encrypted methods of private communication, as well as complex and untraceable funding arrangements allow people/entities to do fraudulent activities while masking their identities and connections. Read more here. [/body][/content] [content][quote]Watch Out[/quote][title]Take a look at these key events[/title][body] Today PM Modi To Visit Japan, Papua New Guinea, Australia starting today Avinash Reddy summoned for CBI questioning Investment in HDFC Defence Fund opens RBI's board to meet to consider dividend payout to government IPL 2023: PBKS vs RR Tomorrow Siddaramaiah to take oath as Karnataka CM Kerala SSLC Class 10 Result 2023 to be out Manipur phone line extends internet ban till today IPL 2023: DC vs CSK and KKR vs LSG [/body][/content] [content][quote]Big News[/quote][title]SBI posts record Q4 net profit: Key highlights from the earnings[/title][body] The countrys largest public sector lender State Bank of India (SBI) on May 18 reported its highest-ever quarterly net profit of Rs 16,694 crore for the March quarter of the financial year 2022-23, recording an 83 percent rise from the year-ago period. Read more here. [/body][/content] [content][quote]Auto[/quote][title]Govt considers reducing subsidy for EV two-wheelers in FAME scheme[/title][body] The prices of two-wheeler electric vehicles are likely to rise sharply as the Ministry of Heavy Industries is considering increasing the outlay for EV two-wheelers and reducing the subsidy per vehicle. The ministry plans to raise the outlay by 75 percent from the current Rs 2,000 crore under the FAME-II scheme. There are no plans to extend the FAME-II scheme beyond March 2024 or introduce FAME-III, according to a government official. Read more here. [/body][/content] [content][quote]Your Money[/quote][title]Save on health insurance premiums as your fitness band helps you maintain good health[/title][body] Health insurance products that offer discounts on renewal premiums based on physical activity levels help policyholders maintain good health and assist insurers in reducing claims. However, not adhering to the prescribed regimen will mean losing out on discounts in the subsequent year. Read more here. [/body][/content] [content][quote]Tech Tattle[/quote][title]Amazon unveils new gadgets as AI race heats up[/title][body] For more than a year the digital assistant has been using a home-built set of large language models  the foundational networks that enable ChatGPT and rival technologies  to help summarize text gathered from the web and make Alexa more conversant in various languages, Dave Limp, Amazons senior vice president of Devices & Services, said in an interview. Read more here. [/body][/content] [content][quote]Tailpiece[/quote][title]Rafael Nadal announces his withdrawal from French Open, hints at retirement in 2024[/title][body] Rafael Nadal announced on May 18 that he would not be competing in the French Open due to the hip injury he sustained during the Australian Open in January. He made the announcement during a press conference at Manacor, in Spain. Read more here. [/body][/content]
Capital market regulator Sebi's new proposal to improve transparency in mutual fund houses could be a major blow to asset management companies (AMCs)'s profits. AMCs are already under pressure from changes in taxation for debt mutual funds and the new proposal by the Securities and Exchange Board of India to bring a uniform total expense ratio (TER) will impact profits by 13 percent, to the tune of a Rs 1,400-crore loss, according to a Jefferies report released on May 19. The TER is a percentage of a scheme's corpus that a mutual fund house charges towards expenses including administrative and management. During FY22, AMCs reported pre-tax profit of Rs 10,900 crore. This was after absorbing Rs 30,800 crore of expenses, which as per the new TER proposals will be capped at Rs 29,400 crore. According to Jefferies' calculation, this equates to under-recovery of Rs 1,400 crore or 13 percent of pre-tax profit and 4 basis points of average AUM. "However, we expect that industry will look to discuss with SEBI and pass part of the impact on to value chain," Jefferies analysts Prakhar Sharma and Vinayak Agarwal said. ALSO READ: SEBIs new proposal on MF TER an alphabet soup, AMC stocks mixed At present, Sebi allows asset management companies to charge unitholders of mutual fund four additional type of expenses over and above the specified TER limits. These are brokerage and transaction costs, additional TER for distribution commission for inflows from B-30 (beyond top 30) cities, goods and services taxes, and additional expense for exit loads.The board has sought comments on the proposals till June 1 and post-finalisation, it may implement in six months. The new proposed changes are part of Sebi's plan to improve transparency and pass the benefit of larger scale to investors. The market regulator has also sought to improve linkage of charges/ TER with fund-performance. Noting the underlying principle that TER should be inclusive of all costs charged to an investor, Sebi, in its consultation paper released on May 18, proposed that brokerage and transaction expenses may be included within the TER limit. Besides, all expenses and costs of investment including STT (Securities Transaction Tax) should be within the TER limit. Speaking to Moneycontrol, Nirav Karkera, Head of Research, Fisdom, is of the view that the new proposal is in the best interests of mutual fund investors but could lead to intermittent challenges for the asset management industry. Such challenges would be majorly attributable to the transition and limited visibility on the outcomes of such a transition in the near term. Manoj Nagpal, Outlook Asia Capital, told CNBC-TV18 that the new changes proposed are very positive. He sees SEBI's proposal as making Mutual Funds lucrative and is indirectly a positive for AMCs and distributors. Among other proposals, Sebi suggested that unitholders should be given an option to exit at the prevailing net asset value (NAV) without any exit load when there is an increase in TER and proposed to lower the exit load of an open ended scheme to a maximum permissible limit of 2 per cent. For financial inclusion of women in the mutual fund space, Sebi suggested an additional incentive may be introduced for distributors for new investments from women investors (new PAN) at the industry level. Shares of HDFC Asset Management Company, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, UTI AMC, and Nippon Life India Asset Management were down 1-2 percent whereas Shriram Asset Management Co and Escorp Asset Management were up 3 and 10 percent, respectively.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The Rivanna RiverFest returns to Rivanna River Company on Saturday with music by Hometown Choir at 4 p.m., the Loya Brothers at 5 p.m. and Wild Common at 6 p.m.

A variety of free activities will be offered from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., including a traditional basket-weaving demonstration and an opportunity to learn about the history of the Monacan Indian Nation from the area. There will be guided nature walks, beginner fly-fishing lessons, nature scavenger hunts, tubing on the Rivanna River and opportunities to dress up as butterflies, build fairy houses and take home potted plants.

Visitors can learn about invasive plants, the effects of human activity on water quality and the diverse bugs, fish and wildlife that can be found along the river.

Other activities are offered for separate fees. Speaking of Rivers ... A Guided African American River History Trip, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, will travel from Darden Towe Park to Riverview; tickets are $35 to $28. The two-mile paddle includes a Class 1 rapid.

Paddlers also can take the Guided River History Trip  Adventure Paddle from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., a jaunt from Rivanna River Company to Milton with kayaking guide and history teacher Earl Gibson for $45 to $35. Several Class II rapids are involved.

From noon to 2 p.m., catch the pirate-themed river cleanup trip led by the Rivanna Conservation Alliance, which is $35 to $28.

Refreshments will be available from the Fun Guy food truck and La Flor Michoacana, There will be Rivanna River beer from Starr Hill Brewery, cider from Potters Craft Cider, soft drinks and water.

Free parking is available at the Rivanna River Company, and a variety of free parking options are listed at rivannariver.org/rivanna-riverfest. Parking is no longer allowed at Cosner Brothers.
HDFC Mutual Fund has launched the New Fund Offering (NFO) of the first defence sector fund in India, the HDFC Defence Fund (HDF). The NFO opens on May 19, 2023. At a time when geopolitical tensions are rising in many parts of the world, the need to invest in defence capabilities is being increasingly felt. No wonder defence-focused businesses are in demand and a fund around it should hog some investor attention. What is on offer? HDF aims to invest a minimum of 80 percent of the corpus in shares of defence and allied sector companies. Defence and allied sector stocks include (i) stocks forming part of certain eligible basic industries based on AMFI Industry classification including aerospace and defence, explosives, shipbuilding and allied services, as amended from time to time; or (ii) Stocks from any other defence and allied sectors as per the benchmarks criteria; or (iii) stocks present on SIDM (Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers) list; and which obtain at least 10 percent of revenue from the defence segment. The scheme will be managed by Abhishek Poddar and the performance of the scheme will be benchmarked against Nifty India Defence Index TRI. ALSO READ: Large, mid or smallcap? Find out which fund suits you the best The investment strategy of the fund will focus on growth and quality at reasonable valuations and the fund manager will invest in companies of all sizes. What works? With increased geopolitical tensions, many countries, including India, want to invest in their defence capabilities. The Indian government has been consistently reinforcing its commitment to modernise its defence forces with the introduction of state-of-the-art technology and armaments. Capital expenditure in defence is increasing as the government is batting for import substitution to become AtmaNirbhar. Self-reliance calls for local manufacturing of arms and other supplies. There is an expectation that the uptrend in defence orders to local companies will continue. The government is also supportive of exports of arms to friendly countries. ALSO READ: SIPs and bank FDs attract investors amid volatility and new tax rules Export revenue has a relatively smaller contribution to the revenue pie. Overall, India accounts for barely 1-2 percent of global arms exports, even after growth of 8 times in the last 8 years. However, focus on R&D and manufacturing can allow Indian companies to tap large export potential growing forward, says Abhishek Poddar, Fund Manager Equity, HDFC Asset Management Company. With government backing for local manufacturing of arms and research in defence and allied activities, many new companies may want to expand aggressively. ALSO READ: Does the large size of SBI Small Cap Fund bother its fund manager, R Srinivasan? As many Indian companies invest in creating capabilities in defence manufacturing, there is an opportunity for long-term investors. Many new companies should get listed in near future and with the governments increased focus on self-reliance, stocks of defence sector can be wealth creators, says Deepak Chhabria, founder and managing director, Axiom Financial Services. What does not work? The defence sector is tightly regulated and the government procurement decides the business opportunities for the companies operating in this sector, says Ravi Kumar TV, founder of Gaining Ground Investment Services. Changes in government policies, defence expenditures and export regulations can be a risk for investors. Government is the key buyer, which does create a buyer concentration risk. However, the fact that defence forces are in constant need to upgrade and modernize the defence platforms due to technological advancement and product obsolescence, creates a stable demand with steady growth, says Poddar. Also, Indian companies could tap vast export potential going forward, he adds. ALSO READ: Where to invest Rs 10 lakh today? ICICI Pru MFs Anish Tawakley recommends 2 sectors and MF categories As of now, there are not many listed companies in this sector and going forward, expansion of the listed universe is crucial for investors to diversify their portfolios. Also, the quality of companies getting listed needs to be watched. In the year ended May 17, 2023, the Nifty India Defence Index rose 56 percent to 2,410 points. As on April 28, 2023, the benchmark had 13 constituents. Hindustan Aeronautics and Bharat Electronics each had almost 20 percent allocation. Solar Industries, the third largest stock, has 18 percent weight. The universe for HDF comprises 21 stocks and 80 percent of the scheme money will have to be invested in some of these stocks. What should you do? Do not invest in the defence sector fund looking at last one years returns, if you do not have a long-term view, says Kumar. Being a sectoral fund, this cannot be your first investment in mutual funds. If you have seen a couple of market cycles and have a core portfolio in place, then you can consider some allocation to this fund provided you have a high-risk taking capacity. Kumar recommends this offering only to mature investors as a small allocation in a satellite portfolio. Besides, the sector is dependent largely on government policies and how much it decides on the defense section, year after year. Most small individual investors should get exposure to opportunities in defence sector if they are attractive enough through diversified equity funds, he adds. A run-up in stock prices in the last one year cannot be ignored. Even if you are very bullish on the sector, there is no need to jump in with all your money into the NFO. Chhabria says to invest gradually if you are keen to take exposure to the defence theme. The NFO closes on June 2, 2023.
The capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), has proposed a drastic overhaul in the way mutual funds (MF) charge their expenses to customers. In a consultation paper issued recently, it simplified the definition of the total expense ratio (TER), yet made it much tighter by proposing that it include all peripheral expenses that fund houses were allowed to charge over and above the TER. This confirms an exclusive by Moneycontrol on January 28 that gave a glimpse of Sebis plans to cut down expense ratios. Here are the five big proposals and what they mean for you, the investor. TER must include brokerage expenses At present, your equity fund can charge a maximum TER of 2 percent (for the first Rs 250 crore) to investors. Thereafter, the cost comes down to 1.75 percent for the next Rs 1,250 crore, 1.60 percent for Rs 1,500-3,000 crore, and so on. But over and above the TER, your fund can also charge you for other expenses. At present, fund houses are allowed to charge brokerage and transaction costs of up to 0.12 percent of the trade value. Sebi found that fund houses were charging brokerage amounts that were higher than the amounts charged under TER, and in some cases even double the permissible TER. And investors had been paying that, assuming that they were just paying the TER, which was the only expense they had been told of. In an internal study that Sebi conducted before it put out its proposals, it observed that fund houses buy brokerage reports, the cost of which they pass on to clients as part of the brokerage cost. This, Sebi says, is wrong, as investors end up paying for research twice; once, by paying management fees to the fund manager, and then again, by paying a higher brokerage. Dip into the investor education fund; dont charge the investor Every year, mutual funds contribute 1 percent of their daily net assets towards an investor education fund. Sebi wants this money to be better utilised. Sebi has proposed that a few key expenses that fund houses used to charge to investors must now be charged to the investor education fund. Also, it proposed that the B30 commission, or commission paid to distributors for soliciting clients from beyond the top 30 towns (called B30 towns in MF industry parlance) should now come out of the investor education fund. Further, it observed that the investment from B30 towns is usually taken out after a year (B30 commissions are paid only for the first year, after which they revert to normal levels). Unlike market rumours a few months back which suggested that Sebi might scrap B30 incentives altogether, Sebi suggested that the additional commission to distributors can continue beyond the first year for inflows from B30 towns. Sebi has also proposed that fund houses must incentivise distributors to get more women investors. The commission for this can also come from the investor education fund. The NFO blow When a new fund offer (or a newly-launched scheme) collects a handsome figure in its NFO period, you might think that the fund house is popular and investors queued up for it. Not quite. In an analysis of NFO collections between April 2021 and September 2022, Sebi found that 29 percent of the inflows into NFOs came from existing schemes of the respective fund houses. Curiously, 93 percent of this came from regular plans. Direct plans are meant for those who invest directly with the fund house or through their registered investment advisor. Regular plans are sold by distributors. Moreover, it observed that nearly 72 percent of mutual fund investments were redeemed within two years. Sebi has now proposed that if distributors switch your money from one scheme to another, he would earn the lower commission of the two schemes. Performance-linked fee If you dont make money from your mutual fund scheme, should your fund manager be making any? Thats a question many investors and market experts have been asking for decades. In its study of mutual funds past performance, the Sebi found that just 40 percent of the schemes (regular plans) have outperformed their benchmark indices over the past 10 years. Over the last 5 years, just 27 percent of schemes (regular plans) have outperformed their benchmark indices. Sebi has set the cat among the pigeons by proposing a performance-linked TER. This proposal is meant to be implemented at an investor-level. To put it simply, your fund will charge you management fees (fund manager fees) at the time of redemption. Once you put in your redemption request, your fund house would then quickly calculate whether youre leaving as a happy customer. In other words, if your money has grown in tandem with or higher than the benchmark index or a hurdle rate (a rate of return the fund house fixes to judge its performance and justify management fees). If your fund has outperformed, you will receive a slightly lesser amount because the fund house would then deduct its management fee. As of today, fund houses deduct a certain percentage from your corpus throughout your investment tenure regardless of the funds performance. Alternatively, Sebi has suggested that the fund house could charge you a TER (including management fee) through your investment tenure. When you put in a redemption request, the fund house will calculate if it has made more money than its indicated return. If not, it will return the management fee. In this case, you might receive a little more than your corpus at redemption time. The trouble with the first approach is how would fund houses explain to investors that they deserve a lesser amount than their portfolio value, on account of management fees being suddenly deducted at redemption time. Experts Moneycontrol spoke to said that Sebi would need to move cautiously on this. Sebi has proposed that this can be introduced on an experimental basis, in a sandboxed (test) environment. Overhaul of TER Sebi has proposed a complete overhaul of how fund houses calculate expenses. At present, every scheme is subjected to a formula  the lower the corpus, the higher the expenses it can charge. As the corpus grows bigger, the expenses go down. But there were a few problems with this formula. Sebi noted that while fund houses pass on the benefits of economies of scale to debt funds (where mostly large investors invest), retail investors, who mostly invest in equity schemes, dont get to benefit from lower expense ratios. Further, at present, individual schemes of the same fund house charge different expense ratios, which allows fund houses to pay different commissions for different schemes. This causes distributors to churn customers from lower commission schemes to higher ones. Sebi has now proposed category-wise expense ratios. All equity funds will follow a similar expense structure, and all debt schemes will follow a different (albeit lower) TER structure. Hybrid schemes would refer to both these structures; the equity structure would decide how much it can charge for its equity assets, and the debt structure would decide how much it can charge for its debt assets. The equity and debt assets will be added up, and they will then be assigned an expense ratio based on the slab they fall under. Higher the assets (equity or debt), lower will be the TER. Once the TER gets decided this way, all equity and debt schemes of the fund house will have to apply that TER. In other words, a new equity scheme of a fund house will have to charge the same expense ratio as, say, a 20-year-old equity scheme of the same fund house, even though the latter might be 10 times bigger than the new scheme. The new formula will bring down the TER of large fund houses.
Its that time of the year when fresh graduates are looking for their first dream job and experienced workers aim for better, higher-paying jobs or a big career jump. But layoffs are a harsh reality that has plagued some sectors this year, especially among startups and information technology companies. According to data compiled by Moneycontrol Research, about 41 Indian startups have laid off almost 6,000 employees in the first four months of 2023. Even global companies including Amazon, Alphabet, LinkedIn, Meta, and Microsoft are letting people go. Still, some opportunities are floating around, and while no one can predict the future and its impossible to anticipate a bad turn in a company, there are some things that you could look at when searching for your dream job to minimise the chances of being laid off. Company history This is the most basic thing to do  check how old or new the company is and how it took care of employees during the tough times. Look for job stability by targeting companies with a track record of stability and growth, said Hariom Seth, founder of Find.Inc., a job search platform. If its a new startup, the company wont have a track record of survival through business cycles. Such companies can offer sweeteners such as higher-than-average salaries. Seth added that employees should also focus on diversifying their skills to remain adaptable in different roles and sectors. Once an offer letter is received, go through it with a fine toothcomb. Understand the clauses. Most employees tend to sign the contract after just reading through the cost to company (CTC) offer, leave policy, incentives and other terms, without focussing on key sections. An offer letter is an important document while joining the organisation and you should read the fine print in detail because that would determine your ability to stay with the organisation for a longer term, said Vihang Virkar, a partner at Lumiere Law Partners. Reach out to the human resource department if more clarity is needed on any provision. Also read: Switching jobs? 6 tasks that require your immediate attention Longer notice period In your contract, there should be an adequate notice period. A one-month notice period means the company can lay you off at short notice, which is hardly enough to look for a new job these days. Experts advise getting a longer notice period. You should negotiate for a notice period of at least three months, said Virkar. Once you have a longer notice period, the company will try to first lay off employees with shorter notice periods, he added. While a longer notice period might give you slightly more job security, the flipside is that it can hold you back when you get a good job offer and wish to leave sooner. Applicants must be aware of the risks of probation. According to Kunal Sharma, a partner at Singhania & Co., prospective employees should negotiate for a no-probation period because during such a period, the organisation generally has the right to terminate with very short or no notice period. LIFO policy The last-in-first-out (LIFO) method is an approach where employees who joined an organisation most recently are the first to be laid off during downsizing. While it may not be possible to completely exclude oneself from the LIFO policy, employees can discuss their concerns with the HR department and explore possibilities for alternative arrangements that align with the organisation's policies, said Kartik Narayan, CEO of staffing at TeamLease Services. Its always a good idea to communicate your preferences to the HR department openly. You might talk about your desire to take on more responsibility or move to another position within the company if it helps you keep your job, said Navneet Singh, founder of Avsar. This year, there are instances wherein some companies visiting campuses for hiring at premium B-schools and IITs have stated that the graduates joining the organisation will not be subject to LIFO policy in case of a layoff, said Virkar. Also read: Got your first job? Here's how you can make tax-saving investments Golden handshake A golden handshake clause, or severance agreement, grants cash rewards and stock options in some instances to an employee in the case of termination, layoffs, or a change in ownership of the firm. It is meant to give the employee a financial safety net or a reward during challenging times, said Singh. Entry-level or lower-level employees are less likely to receive it than high-level executives and those in crucial roles, he said. The organisation could award employees with a severance package in the form of a golden handshake, as per the clause in the offer letter, even if the company is going through a financially lean phase, said Virkar. The organisation may structure the cash rewards to be disbursed in parts over a period of time if it is not performing well. You should get a clear understanding of the golden handshake terms in the offer letter by speaking to a legal expert or employment specialist. Employees can negotiate the inclusion of this clause in their offer letter, although companies may or may not agree to it, depending on their policies and seniority, said Narayan. The offer letter should clearly outline the terms and conditions of severance packages in the case of layoffs. This should include details about the duration of the severance pay, benefits continuation, or any other relevant compensation, said Sharma. Sachin Alug, CEO of NLB Services, a talent solutions company, said that by agreeing to give a golden handshake to an employee, an employer not only helps them in the situation of job loss but also motivates them to work harder. Also read | 23% of salaried people arent prepared for financial emergencies: Survey Non-compete clause Restrictions on joining a rival company, commonly known as a non-compete clause, can vary, depending on the organisation. While some companies may be willing to lift the restrictions after a few years of experience, it ultimately depends on factors such as industry norms, job position, and the employee's value to the organisation, said Seth. It is advisable to discuss such matters during the offer stage or at a relevant time. Employees should negotiate to limit the non-compete clause to four or five core competitors, said Virkar. This is legal and some companies do it for certain employees, said Heena Bhatia, founder of Team Recruit Consultancies. She said that joining a direct competitor by violating the terms in the offer letter can result in the company sending a notice to you. Termination without cause Termination can only occur if you have breached company policy. So, without a cause, there shouldnt be any termination. In case of termination without a cause, you must get adequate compensation, at least a three-month notice period or salary for three months, said Virkar. Look out for this clause in the contract and if its not mentioned, one should negotiate for its inclusion in the offer letter. Customised clauses While adding customised clauses such as longer notice periods, excluding from LIFO policy, golden handshakes, etc. to protect employability can have advantages such as providing additional security, although there can be drawbacks, too. These include the possibility of negotiations breaking down, resulting in no job offer, or the employer perceiving the inclusion of such clauses as overly demanding or lacking commitment, said Narayan. Customised clauses can create ambiguity and confusion, especially if they deviate significantly from standard employment terms, said Seth. This can lead to disputes between the employer and employee regarding the interpretation and implementation of these clauses.
Its the holiday season and many Indians are packing their bags and heading off for holidays abroad. However, they may need to relook their travel budget soon. A recent amendment to the Foreign Exchange Management rules (FEM (CAT) Rules, 2000) is all set to play spoilsport, particularly if you are using your credit cards for overseas spends. All international transactions by individuals using credit cards when outside India have been brought under the RBIs Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS), which permits Indian residents to send up to $250,000 in a financial year abroad, without prior approval from the central bank. This has come into effect from May 16, 2023, as per a notification by the Ministry of Finance in the Gazette of India. And by extension, such spends beyond a transaction value of Rs 7 lakh will now come under 5 percent tax collected at source (TCS). This rate is applicable only up to June 30, 2023. From July 1, 2023, these credit card transactions will attract a higher TCS rate of 20 percent. The Ministry of Finance in a release last night clarified that international spends of up to Rs 7 lakh by individuals on credit cards or debit cards will continue to be exempt from TCS even after June 30, 2023. On the purchase of overseas tour packages, currently, a TCS of 5 percent is levied. From July 1, 2023, this will be hiked to 20 percent. Gautum Nayak, Partner, CNK & Associates LLP says that TCS is applicable whether the payment for the tour package is made in Indian rupees or not. According to Sumanta Mandal, Founder TechnoFino if you make a holiday booking via an Indian travel agency, the latter will pass on the TCS-related extra cash outflow to the customer. In simple words, your travel agent will pay it on your behalf but will bill you for the TCS in your travel bill. Your PAN will be mentioned along with the booking and you will be able to claim TCS credit at the time of filing your tax returns. So those planning summer trips to Europe will have to rejig their travel budgets. While you can always claim a refund on this TCS amount at the time of filing returns, you will have to shell out higher upfront costs initially. As regards international transactions via credit cards, while one is in India, these are already covered under the LRS according to Nayak. Brace up for higher upfront international travel costs Simply put, the latest amendment means that you will have to set aside an additional 20 percent of your intended foreign remittance amount  meant to pay for travel and shopping expenses abroad, for instance  from July 1, 2023. Unlike TDS (tax deducted at source) which gets levied on income (salary, interest income etc.), TCS gets deducted on certain expenses  with the tax authority intending to keep track of them. The TCS deducted can be claimed only at the time of filing your income tax returns. But until then, this money is blocked. Taking the example of international travel, Parijat Garg, a digital lending consultant says, Assuming a spend of Rs 1 lakh per passenger, for a typical family of 4, this may mean blocking nearly Rs 80,000 (Rs 20,000 per person) for 9-12 months. This would put more budgetary pressure on middle class families aspiring to travel abroad for holidays. Credit cards in the LRS net to track spends Most tax consultants feel that the hike in TCS rate (introduced in Budget 2023) is a harsh move. LRS is applicable to individuals only. Salaried employees already pay TDS. Business income and professional income is also subject to TDS. Then in addition, one has to pay TCS at 20 percent, says Neeraj Agarwala, Director, Nangia Andersen India. He feels, if the tax authorities wanted to monitor transactions then 1 percent TCS would have been sufficient. When the Finance Bill 2023 was passed, there was confusion on whether international transactions done via credit card transactions would attract TCS or not. The amendment to the FEMA rules has eliminated this confusion. TCS will now be levied on all international transactions using credit cards just as it is for transactions through debit cards and forex cards, bank transfers or any other channel, says Mandal. Some industry players feel inclusion of credit cards under LRS was long overdue. Sudarshan Motwani, Founder & CEO, BookMyForex.com says, "Debit and credit cards are becoming common methods for payments to merchants, booking of international hotels and holidays, etc., and hence control over LRS without the inclusion of credit cards was not possible. How to claim TCS To claim TCS, you will need a TCS certificate provided by the collector or deductor at the time of deduction. This certificate can be used during your income tax return filing process to claim the TCS credit. While filing income tax returns, provide the TCS details in the appropriate section of the tax return form. This typically includes the TCS amount, the TCS certificate number, and other relevant information. The taxpayer can claim the TCS credit against their total tax liability, that is, tax payable. The TCS credit reduces the overall tax liability or can be refunded if the TCS amount exceeds the tax liability. Remember, the deductor is responsible for issuing TCS certificates, to the taxpayer. These certificates contain details of the TCS amount collected. Once you receive the certificate, verify the details carefully to ensure the accuracy of the TCS amount reported. Any discrepancies should be resolved with the deductor. If there are discrepancies or mismatches, it may require additional effort to rectify the details and claim the correct TCS credit. To ensure a smoother process of adjusting TCS while filing income tax returns, it is advisable to maintain clear communication with the deductor, keep records of TCS certificates and other relevant documents, and seek professional advice if needed. Being proactive in resolving any discrepancies or issues can help streamline the process of getting a refund The operational process of how this TCS will be charged on credit card spends is still unclear says Gupta. He further points out that cancellations, refunds, cashback in a forex transaction may lead to more tax-related disputes, unless managed with deft use of technology. According to Agarwala, the TCS could possibly reflect in your credit card statement as an additional charge on your international spends (which are shown under a separate head from domestic credit card spends). Limited options to save on TCS outgo According to Garg, with all banking transactions, whether done through a credit card or debit card or any other means getting covered under LRS, one cannot seemingly avoid the TCS impact. While the governments objective is to improve tax compliance, some tax experts are concerned that the stringent rules and higher rate could, in fact, backfire. The new rule may encourage people to circumvent the rules by asking their friends and family members living abroad to make payments on their behalf and then be reimbursed by transfers to their Indian bank accounts, says an expert who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The travel sector was hit the hardest when the world was rattled by the Covid-19 pandemic. Many individuals put off their international travel plans and opted for domestic travel instead. India is an incredibly diverse country, encompassing everything from beaches to the majestic Himalayan mountains, scorching deserts to the icy environs of Kashmir. With modern cities like Mumbai and spiritual destinations like Haridwar, India offers a wealth of experiences  beyond what one may have imagined  waiting to be explored. The potency of credit card rewards is immense as they can enable you to travel the globe at minimal cost. While it's commonly known that using airline miles can substantially reduce international travel expenses, the same holds true for domestic travel. Lets delve into the possibilities for credit card holders to redeem their reward points for free domestic travel. Also read: Credit cards have much to offer than just credit; here are tips to get the best out of them Co-branded credit cards There are two options for credit card users in India to avail free travel. The first is to use a co-branded credit card and the second involves converting credit card reward points into airline miles. Several co-branded credit cards are available in India, allowing users to earn specific airline miles or points on their daily expenses. These miles or points can be redeemed to purchase flight tickets. Axis Bank offers co-branded credit cards in partnership with SpiceJet and Vistara, while SBI Card has co-branded credit cards with Air India and Vistara, among others. Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank offer co-branded credit cards in association with IndiGo. By selecting a credit card based on their flying preferences, individuals can take advantage of the associated benefits. Also read: Travelling abroad for summer holidays? Here are 5 credit cards with low forex markup fees Reward points The more commonly used and preferred method to obtain free flights using credit card rewards is the second option  converting credit card reward points to airline miles. Credit cards of banks such as HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, AMEX, IndusInd Bank, AU Small Finance Bank, and HSBC provide options to convert reward points to airline miles. For travel within India, Vistara and SpiceJet are the best options. However, it's essential to keep in mind that Vistara primarily operates flights from Delhi and Mumbai, which may not be as advantageous for those living in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, or other parts of the country because of connectivity issues. Vistara provides an official award chart that outlines the number of CV points (the airmiles currency of Vistara) required to travel between two places. If you plan to fly from Delhi to Mumbai, you'll need 5,000 CV points for economy class, 8,500 CV points for premium economy, and 18,000 CV points for business class. If you wish to travel from Kolkata to Mumbai, you'll require 6,000 CV points for economy, 10,000 CV points for premium economy, and 23,000 CV points for business class. However, Vistara offers only a limited number of seats in each class that can be booked using CV points or ticket vouchers, and seat availability is a significant concern when using airmiles, not just for Vistara but for all major airlines. SpiceJet offers the option of booking revenue tickets directly with SpiceClub points, with a fixed conversion rate of 1 SC point equaling 50 paise for all redemptions. If you wish to book a flight from Kolkata to Delhi, which costs Rs 6,000, you can use 12,000 SC points to pay for the ticket instead of cash. IndiGo flight tickets can also be booked the same way using 6E Reward points, with a conversion rate of 1 reward point equaling 1 rupee. This means that if the ticket price for an Indigo flight is Rs 10,000, you can use 10,000 6E Reward points instead of cash to pay for it. However, it's important to note that 6E Rewards is not IndiGo's frequent flyer programme and is only accessible to co-branded credit card holders. Normal credit card reward points cannot be transferred to your IndiGo 6E Rewards account. Also read: Credit cards dont bleed your money, they breed it for you! Global airline alliances Another interesting option is available for booking Air India domestic flights through Miles&Smiles, the frequent flyer programme of Turkish Airlines. You can transfer your reward points from your credit card to Miles&Smiles and book economy or business class tickets within India for 7,500 miles or 12,500 miles, respectively. Both Air India and Turkish Airlines are Star Alliance partners, which allows you to book tickets on any of the alliance's airlines using another partner's airmiles. While you can also book Air India tickets using United Airlines airmiles, the miles requirement is slightly higher. Options for booking domestic flight tickets with credit card reward points are quite limited. Excluding Vistara, there isn't a very robust frequent flyer programme for domestic flights in India. The issue with Vistara is limited connectivity to cities other than Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, which may not be the preferred choices of travelers from other parts of the country. Surprisingly, India's largest domestic air carrier, IndiGo, lacks a proper frequent flyer programme, even though it has the potential to become the top choice for Indian frequent flyer programmes due to its extensive network. Its best to choose a credit card based on your needs and spending habits. Redeeming rewards for free air travel shouldn't be too complicated. Save more while spending money.
Hundreds of homebuyers in the US Open project in the Mulund area of Mumbai took to Twitter to express their deep displeasure on the delay in handing over possession of their dream homes. Nirmal Lifestyle had originally launched the project in 2009. However, it did not take off. So in June 2019, Nirmal Lifestyle sold the rights of the project to Ricardo Constructions of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. However, homebuyers in the project allege that despite four years having passed by since the takeover, the new developer has not undertaken any significant construction work on the site. And so, they fear that possession of the flats will be further delayed. According to the homebuyers, the new developer had promised possession in September 2021. But that date passed by without possession being given. In February 2023, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) registration of the project was extended till March 2026, according to the homebuyers. Using the hashtag #ShapoorjiPallonjiCheats, the homebuyers took to Twitter to express their displeasure over the delay in construction. One of the homebuyers, Vikas Kharbanda, tweeted, "$30 Billion Company cant complete project worth just $5 Million Dollar Project of US Open Mulund Project? This creates serious question about Shapoorji Pallonji Group." (sic) Shailesh Dave, a homebuyer in the project, told Moneycontrol, "Earlier the developer cited the lapse of RERA registration as a reason for the delay. Now that RERA has given extension, the developer is citing lack of commencement certificate (CC) from the municipal corporation as a reason for not being able to start work." He added, "We agree that the developer has time till March 2026, as per RERA extension, but the work has to start. The developer has not started work despite getting extension in February 2023, nor has uploaded any quarterly progress report on the RERA website for us to understand what steps he has taken to continue the construction of the project. We expect the authorities to intervene and ensure that the developer starts construction work and hands over possession to the homebuyers." Also read: Bombay HC asks MahaRERA to decide on extension of registration of a lapsed realty project within three months When contacted, a spokesperson for Ricardo Construction in a email response to Moneycontrol said, "Ricardo as a responsible developer, remains committed to the project and will take matters forward, keeping in mind the interest of all stakeholders." The company added, "Nirmal Lifestyle was the erstwhile developer of the US Open project since 2010, and the current customers of the US Open had purchased units from Nirmal Lifestyle. The stressed project was acquired by Ricardo Constructions along with existing flat purchasers in 2019, pursuant to action taken by the lender of Nirmal Lifestyle." According to homebuyers, they have formed an association of over 200 home buyers who have invested Rs 125 crore, but have not received possession of the property for nearly 15 years. I booked a 2 BHK flat in the year 2013, and paid almost Rs 80 lakh which is 70 percent of the total cost of the flat. However, I have still not got possession. I had to purchase another 2 BHK apartment due to this (fiasco). After a new developer entered in the year 2019, there were hopes. But no construction has taken place in the last three years," Mandar Ghanekar, a 42-year-old homebuyer had told Moneycontrol in December 2022. Meanwhile, the developer maintained that the project suffered from lack of approvals. In the statement it said, "The project suffered from a lack of approvals on account of issues affecting the larger layout as well as COVID-19. We have relentlessly worked with the relevant authorities between 2019 and 2022 to delink the project from the issues affecting the legacy larger layout, including filing appeals with the Revenue Department, and have obtained the necessary delinking and approvals only a few months back." Also read: 17 years after launch, buyers await possession of apartments in Mumbai's Mulund The statement added, "Due to this regulatory issue, the statutory time limit for completion of the project expired. Please note that since the time of acquisition of the project by us in 2019, due to the aforesaid reasons, in line with relevant regulations, we have not made any collections from existing flat purchasers, nor have we undertaken any sale of units."
Real estate developer Trident Group has acquired Shipra Mall at Ghaziabad for Rs 551 crore through an auction process, its CEO Parvinder Singh said on Friday. Trident Group, which is developing projects in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Tri-city (Panchkula), has forayed into retail real estate segment with the acquisition of Shipra Mall at Indirapuram in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. The size of the mall is 4.5 lakh square feet. "We have acquired the Shipra Mall through auction under the SARFAESI Act (Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act) for Rs 551 crore. The auction was conducted by Shipra Mall's lenders Indiabulls Housing Finance and Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company," Singh told PTI. The property has been registered and the company paid a stamp duty and registration charge of Rs 44 crore, he said. The deal has been funded through a mix of equity and debt, Singh said. "The mall serves the catchment area of Indirapuram, Vaishali, Vasundhara, Ghaziabad, and East Delhi. Out of 4.5 lakh square feet area, 3.5 lakh square feet is already leased," he said, adding that the company is in process of taking physical possession of this mall from Indiabulls Housing Finance. Singh said the company expects to earn a rental income of Rs 60 crore annually, once the mall is 100 per cent leased. "The group has a clear strategy to focus on horizontal residential development in Tier-II markets and vertical residential in inherent and deep-demand markets. Additionally, we have been exploring opportunities in the retail real estate segment as India's burgeoning consumption trends present long-term growth opportunities," Singh said. Established in 2008, Delhi-based Trident Group has delivered over 20.34 million square feet of residential and commercial space. The area of around 13 million square feet is under various stages of construction in residential, retail, hospitality, and commercial segments.

USER CONSENT

We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy.

*We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies.

Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy

*I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age

I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl

I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites

I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS

Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue.

I Accept
Edtech giant Byju's on May 19 refuted allegations that it was hiding $500 million through its US-based subsidiary, Byju's Alpha. The company described Alpha as a non-operative entity in the US, devoid of any employees and said it was astonished at the claims made in a Delaware court. The company said the transfers were fully compliant and did not contravene provisions outlined in the Credit Agreement or the agreed-upon rights and responsibilities between the parties involved. The Indian company said even the lenders themselves had not said that the transfers were impermissible under the contractual arrangements. Lenders contended that due to a default earlier this year, they possessed the right to appoint their representative, Timothy R Pohl, to assume control of the company. The accusation against BYJU'S Alpha emerged during a court hearing in Delaware on May 18. (This is a developing story. Please check back for updates)

USER CONSENT

We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy.

*We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies.

Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy

*I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age

I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl

I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites

I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS

Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue.

I Accept
The State Bank of India (SBI) share price will remain in focus on May 19, a day after company posted robust numbers for the quarter ended March 2023. SBI on May 18 reported a standalone profit of Rs 16,694.51 crore for the March quarter, up 83.18 percent from Rs 9,113.53 crore in the same quarter of the previous. India's largest lender's net interest income came in at Rs 40,392.50 crore, rising 29.5 percent from Rs 31,197 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. State Bank of India was expected to post a 68 percent rise in profit over the last year, according to a Moneycontrol poll of brokerages. Whereas net interest income (NII) was expected to increase 25.8 percent. SBI's board recommended a dividend of Rs 11.30 per equity share for FY23. It will be paid on June 14, 2023, the bank said. Catch all the market action on our live blog Here is what brokerages have to say about stock and the company post March quarter earnings: Motilal Oswal The company delivered a mixed quarter led by margin expansion and lower provisions driving earnings while higher opex hurt operating profits. Business growth remained healthy driven by growth across segments. A higher mix of floating loans (MCLR), which could benefit further from re-pricing, will continue to support NII and overall earnings even as the deposit cost could increase. Asset quality was strong with tight control on slippages and improvement in headline asset quality ratios, with the restructured book being under control at 0.8%. Motilal Oswal estimate the bank to deliver FY25 RoA/RoE of 1.0%/ 17.1%. Reiterate buy with an unchanged Target Price of Rs 700 (based on 1.2x Sep24E ABV + INR190 from subs). Nirmal Bang The banks 4QFY23 performance was healthy, driven by balance sheet momentum, NIM expansion and lower provisioning. Balance sheet expansion was driven by domestic credit and deposit growth at 4.9% QoQ and 5.1% QoQ, respectively. The management expects credit growth to moderate to ~12-14% while on the deposit front the bank is still at a comfortable position with C/D ratio at 72.3%. Also, the SBI management indicated that the bank carries excess SLR of Rs 4 trillion, which is likely to support growth going forward. Asset quality continued to show an improvement, driven by lower slippages and higher recoveries & upgrades. The bank registered almost a decade high RoA/RoE of 1.2%/20.6% for 4QFY23 and Nirmal Bang expect it to clock RoA/RoE of 1%/16% for FY25E. Maintain Buy on SBI with a target price (TP) of Rs 664 (SOTP). Morgan Stanley Broking firm assigned an overweight rating with a target price of Rs 715 per share. The profit after tax (PAT) was above estimates, helped by higher margins, lower credit costs, and high treasury gains. The loan growth remained strong at 17% year-on-year and common equity tier 1 (CET 1) ratio moved lower quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to 10.3%. Morgan Stanley has FY24 earnings estimates led by lower credit costs. JPMorgan Brokerage house has kept overweight rating with a target price of Rs 720 per share. The net income was 11% ahead driven by lower provisions. The operating profit was in line with expectations The domestic loan growth stood at 16%, which was higher than the overall system. However, only negative was the elevated capital expenditure (capex). Bernstein Research house has kept outperform rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 700 per share. The Q4 earnings per share (EPS) was led by strong loan growth, margin expansion, and lower credit costs. The only negative was continued surge in Opex potentially led by wage revision. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
The Quick Service Restaurant space (QSR) space can be a bit of a pickle! Now, get this. Popeyes is owned by Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International. In India, Popeyes franchise is with Jubilant Foodworks, which means the Indian firm pays a royalty to Restaurant Brands International to operate Popeyes stores here. Restaurant Brands Intl also owns Burger King, but in India, Burger Kings franchise is with Restaurant Brands Asia. So it would have made sense for Jubilant Foodworks to acquire a stake in Restaurants Brand Asia and run both Burger King and Popeyes outlets here. Naturally, the Street assumed Jubilant was in the fray to pick private equity firm Everstone Capitals 41 percent stake in Restaurants Brand Asia, which is on the block. But, Jubilant denied any such discussions were underway. These are completely false and baseless and the company is not involved in any negotiations nor considering the aforesaid acquisition, Jubilant said in an exchange filing on May 18. Mutual benefit Usually found next to a McDonalds, Burger King has failed to scale in India as well as its peer. So one does wonder if Jubilants magic wand could have helped the Burger King franchise in India. Analysts believe a turnaround was possible. Burger King India has 391 stores while Jubilant operates 1,816 stores of Dominos India across 393 cities. The expertise of Jubilants management could have made Burger King a pan-India name. It could have leveraged the giants commissary kitchen network too, said an analyst on condition of anonymity. Commissaries are essentially rentable commercial kitchens where foodservice operators can prepare and store their food. And it wouldnt have been a one-way street. Jubilant also stood to benefit from the acquisition. Jubilant already has pizza (Dominos India), chicken (Popeyes) and coffee (Dunkin Donuts), so adding a burger chain would have completed its QSR portfolio, said the same analyst. It would have been a step towards Jubilants ambition of becoming a food-tech giant. Acquisition risks But there are some risks why the Dominos operator probably does not want to check in into Burger King India. Burger King opened its first store in India in 2014 and nine years later it is yet to break even. In fact, the chain widened its losses in FY23. A rise in overall ADS (average daily sales) by 4 percent year-on-year to Rs 1.08 lakh was "underwhelming", says ICICI Securities Manoj Menon. Plus, Restaurant Brands Asias margins have been in low single digits consistently, while Jubilant boasts of a 25 percent operating margin. Though RBAs same-store sales growth (SSSG) at 8 percent was better than Jubilants (-0.6 percent) for Q4, it was lower than Westlife Developments SSSG at 14 percent. Burger King has very low brand recall. Their strategy does not stand out, they have simply followed what McDonalds has done in India, Karan Taurani of Elara Capital said. At this point, when end demand remains an issue and the growth rate is expected to remain low in the near term, an acquisition does not make sense, he said. McAloo Tikki vs Whopper The scepticism around Burger Kings growth trajectory also stems from the fact that it does not have a unique proposition in India that would draw in customers in large numbers, something its rival has cracked. Sreedhar Prasad, an adviser to consumer business and an ex-KPMG partner, says: Burger King does not have a hero in its portfolio. For instance, for McDonalds, it is clearly the McAloo Tikki Burger. It is a product for all age groups  you love it as much as your grandmother, and its low-priced, he said. It's not that Burger King does not have a USP. Burger Kings "hero", one can argue, is the Whopper, which is what it is famous for elsewhere in the world. But a Whopper starts at Rs 130, while McAloo Tikki costs about Rs 40. Thats where a Burger King loses out on the young crowd, says Prasad. Understanding the Indian palate Amid low recall value, it also becomes difficult to compete with local players. Homegrown Biggies Burger is expanding rapidly and aims to have 350 stores across India by 2024. Meanwhile, Burger King has cut its previous guidance of 470 stores in FY24 to 450. These local players have been able to understand the Indian palate well, according to Prasad, which explains their success compared to Burger King. Whoever acquires the Everstone stake will have to get Burger King Indias positioning, pricing and menu right. The acquirer should also be willing to take up additional pressure on balance sheet with capacity expansion. Pizza QSR has limited store capex as store sizes are smaller and business is delivery-driven. Burger QSRs have larger store sizes due to more kitchen space requirement, and a dine-in focus. This drives store capex higher and returns lower, pointed out an Edelweiss report in the past. As Taurani foresees it, the acquirer might have to shut some Burger King outlets if the demand environment remains poor and also cut down on expansion in the Indonesian market, which is yet to achieve cash breakeven. Considering the financial commitments that would have accompanied the acquisition, the limitation faced by Burger King in terms of growth considering its premium positioning the serious competition from McDonalds and local players, Jubilants decision to refrain from the acquisition seems well conceived, analysts say. The stock was trading flat at Rs 469, giving up the knee-jerk gains of May 17 on acquisition rumours. Restaurants Brands Asia has gained 15 percent over the past two days as news about its imminent sale gathers ground. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Albemarle County police have arrested a man and a woman after officers said they interrupted an infant abduction in progress.

Police said they arrested 34-year-old Catherine Ortiz-Caridad and 24-year-old Wilson Canan-Cruz on Monday and charged the pair with abduction as well as filing a false police report.

According to the police, Ortiz-Caridad and Canan-Cruz were caught attempting to abduct the infant child of a relative they had been trusted to care for while the mother was preparing for a move out of state.

On Sunday, April 23, 2023, members of the Albemarle County Police Department were dispatched to a residence located on Wilton Farm Road for an infant abduction in progress, the police department tweeted on Wednesday. Once on scene, officers found three adults arguing over the custody of an infant.

With the assistance of the Albemarle County Department of Social Services and Homeland Security Investigations, police detectives said they learned that the infants biological mother had temporarily placed her baby in the care of relatives while she reestablished herself in another state.

When the infants mother returned to Virginia, the temporary guardians prevented the mother access to the infant, and they subsequently presented themselves to the police as the biological parents, the police department said on Twitter. The infant, who has been in the custody of ACDSS since the April 23, 2023, was returned to the out of state mother after a DNA test confirmed she was the biological parent.

Police said Ortiz-Caridad and Canan-Cruz were both being held at Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail without bond.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on May 19 announced that it has decided to withdraw the Rs 2,000 denomination bank notes from circulation. However, the apex bank said that the existing Rs 2,000 denomination bank notes will continue to be legal tender. In order to ensure operational convenience and to avoid disruption of regular activities of bank branches, the exchange of Rs 2,000 notes into notes of other denominations can be made up to a limit of Rs 20,000 at a time at any bank starting from May 23, 2023, the central bank noted. Here are all the details and clarifications from the RBI. 1. Why are Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes being withdrawn? The Rs 2,000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016 under Section 24(1) of the RBI Act, 1934 primarily with the objective to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after withdrawal of the legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes in circulation at that time. With the fulfilment of that objective and the availability of banknotes in other denominations in adequate quantities, the printing of Rs 2,000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19. A majority of the Rs 2,000 denomination notes were issued prior to March 2017 and are at the end of their estimated life span of 4-5 years. It has also been observed that this denomination is not commonly used for transactions. Further, the stock of banknotes in other denominations continues to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public. In view of the above, and in pursuance of the Clean Note Policy of the Reserve Bank of India, it has been decided to withdraw the Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation. 2. What is the Clean Note Policy? It is a policy adopted by RBI to ensure the availability of good quality banknotes to the members of the public. 3. Does the legal tender status of Rs 2,000 banknotes remain? Yes. The Rs 2,000 banknote will continue to maintain its legal tender status. 4. Can Rs 2,000 banknotes be used for normal transactions? Yes. Members of the public can continue to use Rs 2000 banknotes for their transactions and also receive them in payment. However, they are encouraged to deposit and/or exchange these banknotes on or before September 30, 2023. 5. What should the public do with the Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes held by them? Members of the public may approach bank branches for deposit and/or exchange of Rs 2,000 banknotes held by them. The facility for deposit into accounts and exchange for Rs 2,000 banknotes will be available at all banks until September 30, 2023. The facility for exchange will be available also at the 19 Regional Offices (ROs) of RBI having Issue Departments1 until September 30, 2023. 6. Is there a limit on deposit of Rs 2,000 banknotes into a bank account? Deposit into bank accounts can be made without restrictions subject to compliance with extant Know Your Customer (KYC) norms and other applicable statutory/regulatory requirements. 7. Is there an operational limit on the amount of Rs 2,000 banknotes that can be exchanged? Members of the public can exchange Rs 2,000 banknotes up to a limit of Rs 20,000 at a time. 8. Can Rs 2,000 banknotes be exchanged through Business Correspondents (BCs)? Yes, an exchange of Rs 2,000 banknotes can be made through BCs up to a limit of Rs 4,000 per day for an account holder. 9. From which date will the exchange facility be available? To give time to the banks to make preparatory arrangements, members of the public are requested to approach the bank branches or ROs of RBI from May 23, 2023, for availing exchange facility. 10. Is it necessary to be a customer of the bank to exchange 2000 banknotes from its branches? No. A non-account holder also can exchange Rs 2,000 banknotes up to a limit of Rs 20,000 at a time at any bank branch. 11. What if someone needs more than 20,000 cash for business or other purposes? Deposits into accounts can be made without restrictions. The Rs 2,000 banknotes can be deposited into bank accounts and cash requirements can be drawn thereafter, against these deposits. 12. Is there any fee to be paid for the exchange facility? No. The exchange facility shall be provided free of cost. 13. Will there be special arrangements for senior citizens, persons with disabilities, etc. for exchange and deposit? Banks have been instructed to make arrangements to reduce inconvenience to senior citizens, persons with disabilities, etc., seeking to exchange/deposit Rs 2,000 banknotes. 14. What will happen if one cannot deposit/exchange Rs 2,000 banknote immediately? To make the entire process smooth and convenient for the public, a period of over four months has been given for the deposit and/or exchange of Rs 2,000 banknotes. Members of the public, are, therefore, encouraged to avail of this facility at their convenience within the allotted time. 15. What will happen if a bank refuses to exchange/accept/deposit of Rs 2,000 banknote? For redress of grievance in case of deficiency of service, the complainant / aggrieved customer may first approach the concerned bank. If the bank does not respond within a period of 30 days after lodging the complaint or if the complainant is not satisfied with the response/resolution given by the bank, the complainant can lodge the complaint under the Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS), 2021 at the Complaint Management System portal of RBI (cms.rbi.org.in).
USER CONSENT

We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy.

*We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies.

Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy

*I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age

I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl

I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites

I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS

Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue.

I Accept
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Papua New Guinea and Australia on Sunday as New Delhi seeks to counter mounting Chinese influence in both the Indian and Pacific oceans. Western nations regularly refer to the wider region as the Indo-Pacific, but New Delhi has been left far behind by Beijing's efforts in recent years to woo the small island states that dot the vast expanses of water with trade and aid. Several Pacific island states have switched their diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in recent decades, and before the coronavirus pandemic enjoyed economic boosts from Chinese tourists. At the same time, as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing has negotiated infrastructure deals with countries around the Indian Ocean including Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bangladesh, and Djibouti, sometimes accompanied by military agreements. New Delhi sees the area as its backyard, and Beijing's activities have alarmed Indian officials. In Port Moresby, Modi will co-host the Summit of the Forum for IndiaPacific Islands Cooperation with PNG Prime Minister James Marape, before going on to Australia, a fellow member of the Quad -- an alliance set up as a bulwark against China's growing assertiveness under President Xi Jinping. "China has taken over South China Sea," said navy veteran and former Indian navy spokesperson DK Sharma, describing the strategically vital waterway as a "global common" that had to be treated and respected as such. "Today or tomorrow, the enemy is the same. Either you prepare now or react later," he told AFP. "India's visit to the islands is one of the last opportunities we have. "One cannot deny the fact the power we are all mustering strength against is too superior to be handled by any single one of us. Best way is to collaborate and have like minded-defence procedures." Xi visited PNG in 2018, and Beijing struck a controversial security deal with Solomon Islands last year that sent shockwaves across the region when a leaked draft included measures that would allow Chinese naval deployments to the Pacific nation, less than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) from Australia. Modi will travel to Australia for meetings with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and business leaders, just two months after the Australian visited India. - Diplomatic tightrope - India overtook China as the world's most populous nation in April, according to UN estimates, and the Asian giants are the world's second- and fifth-biggest economies. But their relations are fraught with tensions over territory and trade -- 20 Indian troops died in clashes with Chinese soldiers in 2020 on their disputed Himalayan frontier. Since then, worried about China's build-up on the other side, Modi's government has pumped billions of dollars into connectivity projects on its side of the border to boost civilian presence, and establish new paramilitary battalions. It is also seeking to develop closer ties with Western countries including Quad members the United States, Japan, and Australia, which are themselves wooing it as an alternative to China. Modi will travel to PNG from Japan, where he is expected to participate in a Quad meeting taking place alongside a G7 summit. But his government has something of a diplomatic tightrope to walk between India's increased security cooperation with Western countries and its reliance on Russia for defence and oil imports. As well as being part of the Quad, India is a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which includes both Russia and China, and currently holds its rotating presidency. New Delhi and Moscow have been allies for decades, with Russia by far India's biggest arms supplier, and the Asian country has never condemned the invasion of Ukraine, calling instead for an end to hostilities, to the frustration of Western diplomats. India is also this year's G20 president, and meetings of that grouping have failed to agree on joint common statements on the war.
China and Turkey are among G-20 member nations likely to skip a tourism working group meeting slated from May 22-25 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, while several other states may have low-level participation in the forthcoming event, according to sources. China had earlier skipped a G-20 meeting held in Arunachal Pradesh in March. The G-20 meeting in Srinagar is the first major international event in the valley when since the abrogation of Article 370, which happened in 2019. Experts are of the view that the mega event is likely to have a positive impact on the tourism and trade sectors of the region. Stringent security arrangements were put in place in place around the venue, Sher-e-Kashmir International Conventional Centre (SKICC) on the banks of the Dal Lake. At present, it is not clear whether Indonesia, the last president of the G20 and a member of the groupings troika, would participate in the meeting or not. Several reports, however, mentioned that Saudi Arabia and Mexico are expected to be represented by diplomats from their embassies in New Delhi instead of officials from their respective capitals. Earlier, New Delhi discarded objections from Pakistan over organising the G-20 meetings in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, emphasising that such events are being organised in all states and union territories ahead of the summit in the national capital. Analysts say Chinas decision is solely based on its friendly ties with Pakistan while Turkey has flayed Indias handling of the Kashmir situation in the past years. Host countries are free to choose venues for the G-20 events, and since Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India, New Delhi is well within its rights to hold an event in Srinagar. Plus, New Delhi wants to showcase its developmental work in the area, as well as the tourism potential, handicrafts and arts of the region. The G-20 members represent around 85 percent of the global GDP (gross domestic product), over 75 percent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
Beneath the sound and fury triggered by the violent arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan Niazi are the birth pangs of a new, younger generation of future Pakistani top leadership. Caught up in the immediate developments surrounding the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, the variables around a new political generation have been mostly overlooked. Pakistan is unlikely to implode even though it may continue to teeter on the edge of an abyss for some time to come. More than anyone inside Pakistan, the international community will not allow a nuclear-armed state to fall to pieces. The situation is very different from Afghanistan, where, the world stood by as regimes changed and reincarnated. Pakistans Army, although no longer firmly united, as reported in this space on April 21, will ultimately paper over differences: it has the most the lose if anarchy takes over the country. Besides its Army is the only stable institution left in Pakistan. History is replete with instances, big and small, where an Army which believes that it is the only glue left for a country, comes together as a last resort to save it from going under. Egypt is the most recent example among big countries. Fiji is the best example of a small nation of this genre. Unholy Alliance The Army and the establishment political forces represented in the Shehbaz Sharif government are in an unholy alliance born of necessity to protect one anothers interests as the people threaten to take power in a Pakistani version of the Arab Spring. When there is turmoil, institutions which are otherwise largely peripheral to the big picture seek their short-lived fame. That is now the case with Pakistans judiciary, which has visions of self-glorification, reminiscent of the sunset period of Pervez Musharrafs presidency. Two years after Musharraf dismissed Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry in November 2007 and house-arrested his fellow Justices, the General-turned-President admitted that it was the mistake which led to his downfall. The incumbent Chief Justice, Umar Ata Bandial, appears to believe that he can be the arbiter in the ongoing political logjam in Islamabad, but he is mistaken. The entire judiciary led by Chaudhury was united in its opposition to Musharraf, but the ranks of Pakistans present-day judiciary are already showing cracks within. Imran cannot count on it in the long run, especially since Bandial has only four months left of his term as Chief Justice. What creates a dilemma for the coalition of the Army and establishment politicians in dealing with Imran is that everything is not in black and white unlike previous civilian-military confrontations in Pakistan. Many of Imrans advisers  not just at the top, but down the PTI chain of command  are retired Army officers. Many of them are battle-hardened in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and have lost colleagues and friends in the protracted conflicts there involving terrorists, fanatical sub-nationalists and secessionists on the one side, and men in uniform on the other. Imran is Pashtun himself. That creates a predicament within the Army General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, where most previous Chiefs and subordinate Chiefs have been creatures of comfort, groomed mainly in Punjab or mohajirs. Imran simply cannot be wished away the way Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and his daughter were done away with or the ease with which the Sharifs were repeatedly co-opted or coerced. Engineering A Change The most likely scenario in Pakistan once Imrans bail period is over and yet another confrontation passes, is that a call will have to be taken on whether to hold national elections this year or later in 2024. Pakistanis are used to postponement of polls or no polls at all. So that is no big deal. A fragile peace with sham democracy in the short run will gradually lead to more durable law and order. The Army will claw its way back to being the puppeteer in national affairs, from behind the scenes. Yet, that can see Pakistan through only in the medium term. After the Army has consolidated its position after the shocking and unprecedented May 9 attacks on defence establishments and properties  in the heartland  it will gradually set in motion a process of generational change in the countrys politics. Bilawal Bhutto has shown that he is the chip off the old block on both his maternal and paternal sides. In the short time that Bilawal has been Foreign Minister in the present government, he has shown that he has the potential to be Pakistans future leader. Maryam Nawaz Sharif has fulfilled all the mandatory requirements to be Bilawals foil and rival leader in future: bouts of imprisonment, political persecution orchestrated by the Army, including disqualification from election contests and subsequent exoneration. Bilawal and Maryam are both young by the standards of top political leadership in South Asia. Maryam is 49, Bilawal is younger at 34. In their own ways, both future leaders have demonstrated charisma, popular appeal and the potential to grow. The Armys best bet is to groom them for positions of power once the dust settles on developments in the months since Imrans loss of prime ministerial office. New faces and young blood always come with promise and renew hopes among the people. Between Maryam and Bilawal, one or the other  most likely one after the other  will eventually step into their fathers shoes. From behind the scenes the Army will engage in its familiar game of playing one against the other as it has done with their respective parents. Next time, the Army will revise its playbook to ensure that there are no interlopers in Pakistans politics like Imran. The more things change in Pakistan, the more they remain the same. KP Nayar has extensively covered West Asia and reported from Washington as a foreign correspondent for 15 years. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.
The timing and theatrics of Geoffrey Hintons warning about the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) catastrophe, the necessity of regulation, and the White Houses response were intriguing and raised question marks about its purpose. It was followed by another high-visibility Congressional hearing with Sam Altman of Open AI recently. In the natural course of business, the US government exploring monitoring and regulation of AI would seem to be another endeavour by the US to take the lead in addressing a challenge of global nature, which potentially found a voice in Hintons arguments. The almost integrated messaging emerging from a series of interviews of Hinton, the US governments communication and Atmans hearing made everything appear strategically scripted to a purpose. The high decibel moves in the US triggered a global discussion, wherein control and regulation seemed to emerge as the default means to safeguard against potential AI risks, which is too simplistic a view and seen in the context of the huge stakes involved. Hinton and the US government simultaneously changed their stance in favour of regulating AI, despite arguing against it for long as it would stifle innovation. Meanwhile, AI companies involved in discussions chose to remain silent on the White Houses significant policy shift, which contrasts with the scenario last year when serious question marks were raised when a whistle-blower made a disclosure related to AI turning sentient. Next, Altman echoed Hintons argument but suggested that the government restrict the development of advanced AI to only a few licenced and regulated players, who would provide AI-based platforms to others. This contrasts with the regulation model of other sectors like healthcare, food and automobile, which is competition and innovation friendly. Shaping Public Opinion The story emerging from the US may be successfully shaping public opinion internationally, which is critical for policymakers, but in this high stake powerplay, some key strategic elements present a more holistic perspective. Firstly, it is questionable why Hinton waited till AI products and solutions landed in the market and built a global following. Being the Godfather of deep learning, Hinton ought to have known about the opportunities and risks as the technology had been in development for years. Sceptics are bound to question Hintons sudden push for AI regulation, and the argument for involving AI companies in regulating AI. Altman went a step further and advised how selecting AI companies would enable regulation. Secondly, while the US governments actions may support the process of building a global consensus on regulating AI to manage potential risks, it also puts other countries in a blind as most other governments in other jurisdictions are still trying to build a better understanding of AI. While the Australian government has sought scientific advice, the UK and the EU have argued for user and IPR protection focussed mechanisms in future, while the Indian government had formally announced it wouldnt regulate AI. US, China Approaches Finally, the US and China, the primary contenders for AI supremacy, till recently had contrasting approaches. The US government advocated against the regulation of AI and focussed on enabling AI innovation by giving US companies a free hand while arguing for self-regulation. It helped foster a private sector-led AI ecosystem and the development of multiple AI platforms, applications, etc, which now seem to have matured. Sectoral regulators did get involved when required, as was the case with Boeing 737 Max, self-driven cars, etc. The Chinese government, in contrast, has been very hands-on and deeply involved. Chinese companies like Baidu were seen rolling out their AI-based consumer products earlier this year, besides extensive AI applications in cutting-edge projects in defence and space. In contrast to the typical muted approach, China had announced plans and has been rolling out rules on regulation. With the White House also shifting its stance, the two countries dominating the AI ecosystem are now arguing for its regulation. However, the push by the US and China for regulating AI could limit access to AI technologies and compromise the development of domestic AI capabilities in other countries. They would be increasingly dependent on solutions and technologies developed by the American and Chinese companies; wherein geo-political considerations will also come into play. This not only puts a lot of pressure on other governments to act, and each country is bound to view this differently, especially in the current geo-political scenario. Policymakers in other countries including India would be reminded of the sanctions restricting Russia from using the SWIFT banking system, and the USs protectionist approach to the export of AI technology. China is among the countries subject to USs AI controls under Export Control Reform Act or ECRA. While Indias decision to keep AI out of the scope of regulation was on expected lines, given its access to technical skills, capabilities and the desire to be independent, it may be pushed to rethink. As with any critical sector, control and checks are needed for AI technology, but regulation over the technology itself would concentrate power and gains to a few. Since everyone would want to gain from AI technology, much like GPS, finding common ground is critical, at least till alternatives are available or domestic technology matures. Rahul Gossain is a communications strategist and works at the intersection of business, law, policy, ESG and climate impact. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies will form a committee to discuss the seat-sharing formula for the next year's Lok Sabha polls, senior Maharashtra Congress leader Naseem Khan said on Friday. The MVA comprises the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress. The tripartite alliance that was formed after the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly election results ruled the state from November that year to June 2022, when its government collapsed following a rebellion against the Shiv Sena leadership by Eknath Shinde and 39 MLAs of the party. "A committee of leaders from all three alliance partners will be formed to take a review of all the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies and recommend a formula which will be finalised by the leadership of the three parties,'' Khan, who is the working president of the state Congress, told PTI. The seat-sharing will be done on electoral merits and there is no criterion that the constituency with a sitting MP belonging to one of the allies will remain with the party, he said. "Electoral merit will be the only criterion," he added. Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the undivided Shiv Sena had won 18 seats in Maharashtra in the last general elections and these seats will remain with his party. Talking about it, Khan said the 18 seats won by the Shiv Sena in 2019 were in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and it was not a criterion for seat-sharing in the MVA. "This has been decided at the MVA meeting on May 15 convened by (NCP chief) Sharad Pawar where Uddhav Thackeray was also present," Khan said. He also asserted that the MVA leaders have agreed to ensure that the process of seat-sharing will be smooth and without any controversy. "NCP, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress have started preparations for the Lok Sabha polls. Sharad Pawar chaired a meeting of NCP leaders earlier this week, while Shiv Sena (UBT) is also holding internal meetings as part of preparations. Congress state executive will meet on May 23," he said. He said his party's state executive will deliberate on the prevailing political situation. Of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the BJP had won 23 in 2019, followed by the then undivided Shiv Sena's tally of 18. While the NCP won four seats, the Congress got one. The BJP's defeat in the recently-concluded Karnataka Assembly elections has spurred the MVA to put up a united challenge to the ruling party in Maharashtra in next year's general elections. The Lok Sabha elections are expected to be held in April-May 2024, while the Maharashtra Assembly polls are scheduled in October-November next year.
An Air India flyer turned violent while flying from the US to Mumbai on Wednesday, May 17. The business class passenger, described by an eyewitness as being in his 70s, apparently suffered a panic attack three hours into the flight and subsequently began to scream, yell and curse, Times of India reported. The man swung between calm and violent in an episode that lasted more than seven hours, much to the discomfort of crew and other passengers. Efforts to calm him down were of little success and it ultimately took a doctor to sedate him before he settled down. During his rage-filled episode, the unnamed flyer verbally abused the crew, screamed for the aircraft door to be opened so he could disembark and tried to strangle his wife. Eyewitness Pravin Tonsekar, who was also flying business class on the same flight, told Times of India that the man tried to strangle his wife on three separate occasions and had to be physically restrained. He was about 6 ft tall, probably in his seventies, and he appeared to be physically fit. Then, all of a sudden, he started to scream, yell and shout in panic, saying he wanted to disembark, Tonsekar recalled. He was screaming for the aircraft door to be opened so that he could leave. He kept on screaming, 'Stop, open the door' and then when that didn't work, he started hurling verbal abuses at the crew. His wife, who is about five feet tall, too bore the brunt of his rage. When we saw him grip her neck as if to strangle her, the crew and passengers rushed in and physically restrained him, he added. The passengers wife was so scared that she ultimately hid in economy class for some time to get away from him. Tonsekar said the mans episode lasted so long that the second batch of crew members, not yet on duty, also stepped up to talk to him in an effort to calm him down. The Air India crew eventually asked for doctors on board to help them deal with the unruly passenger. Two doctors responded to the call for help, restrained the passenger and administered a sedative. The passengers wife told doctors that he had skipped on the anxiety medication he was supposed to have after take-off. The flight progressed smoothly after the passenger was sedated and landed in Mumbai without any further incident.
The leaders of G7 advanced economies on Friday resolved to stand against Russia's "illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked" invasion of Ukraine and unveiled new sanctions on Moscow, in an indication that they would maintain their tough approach on the conflict at the G20 summit in India as well. The G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Delhi in March was unable to come out with a joint communique due to a bitterly increasing rift between the US-led Western powers and Russia over the Ukraine conflict despite efforts by host India to bridge the differences. On the first day of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, US President Joe Biden and other leaders of the grouping strongly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and vowed to step up economic sanctions on Moscow. The G7 comprises the US, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, and Japan. Japan, the current chair of the grouping, invited India and seven other countries to the summit. All the G7 countries are also members of the G20 grouping. India is holding the presidency of the G20. India has been focusing on ensuring consensus for a joint communique at the G20 summit in September. The G20 also comprises Russia and China. Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Hiroshima on Friday to attend three sessions at the G7 summit. "At our meeting today in Hiroshima, we, the Leaders of the G7, reaffirmed our commitment to stand together against Russia's illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine," a statement issued by the G7 leaders said. "We condemn, in the strongest terms, Russia's manifest violation of the Charter of the United Nations (UN) and the impact of Russia's war on the rest of the world," it said. The G7 leaders also criticised Russia's "irresponsible nuclear rhetoric". "Russia's irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, undermining of arms control regimes, and stated intent to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus are dangerous and unacceptable. We recall the statement in Bali of all G20 leaders, including Russia," they said. "In this context, we reiterate our position that threats by Russia of nuclear weapon use, let alone any use of nuclear weapons by Russia, in the context of its aggression against Ukraine are inadmissible," they added. The G7 leaders said that 15 months of Russian aggression has cost thousands of lives, inflicted immense suffering on the people of Ukraine, and imperiled access to food and energy for many of the world's most vulnerable people. "We salute the Ukrainian people for their brave resistance. Our support for Ukraine will not waver. We will not tire in our commitment to mitigate the impact of Russia's illegal actions on the rest of the world," the leaders' statement said. "Today we are taking new steps to ensure that Russia's illegal aggression against the sovereign state of Ukraine fails and to support the Ukrainian people in their quest for a just peace rooted in respect for international law," it said. The G7 leaders also announced renewing their commitment to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine. "We are imposing further sanctions and measures to increase the costs to Russia and those who are supporting its war effort," they said in the statement. The G7 leaders also urged Russia to stop its aggression against Ukraine and "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops and military equipment" from Ukraine. "We underline that a just peace cannot be realized without the complete and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops and military equipment, and this must be included in any call for peace," the statement said.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A 52-year-old California man has been charged with manslaughter in Thursday's crash on Interstate 5, one of the deadliest in Oregon history; state police troopers believe he was intoxicated.

Court documents allege Lincoln Clayton Smith was "under the influence of intoxicants" when the tractor-trailer he was driving left the northbound lane of Interstate 5 and collided with a parked passenger van, killing seven and injuring four occupants Thursday afternoon, May 18 near Millersburg.

They did not indicate the substance.

Police say the northbound truck drove onto the east shoulder, striking a Ford Econoline passenger van occupied by 11 people, according to an Oregon State Police news release.

The tractor-trailer pushed the van, crushing the van against another commercial motor vehicle parked on the shoulder near the Santiam River Rest Area.

Responders declared six passengers dead at the scene. An air ambulance transported another who was declared dead at a hospital, according to the news release.

Police arrested Smith, from North Highlands, California, on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, seven counts of second-degree manslaughter and three counts of third-degree assault.

Thursdays crash is believed to be the deadliest on the freeway since 1988, when 24 cars collided on I-5 south of Albany. Officials blamed smoke blowing over the freeway and diminished visibility for the chain reaction wreck that killed seven and injured 38.

A head-on collision on a remote road in Harney County in eastern Oregon in August 2018 killed a family of seven, including five young children. Eight people died in total.

In December 2012, nine people died after a tour bus careened on an icy Interstate 84 and crashed through a guardrail, plunging several hundred feet down a steep embankment. The bus was carrying about 40 people when the accident occurred in an area near Pendleton called Deadman Pass.

On Thursday, motorists were halted in the northbound side of the rest area, vehicles parked on a freeway on ramp while ambulances filled the roadway.

Fire and police officials erected a barrier and hung a tarp from the vans remains while personnel from the Marion County Medical Examiners Office examined the scene.

Vehicles driving around the wreck flooded nearby highways, slowing traffic to a few miles per hour on Old Salem Road Northeast.

Law enforcement and crash reconstruction teams kept the northbound freeway closed for several hours while they investigated.

Northbound I-5 traffic remained backed up to Grand Prairie Road Southeast by 6:45 p.m., about 9 miles south. By around 8:39 p.m. Thursday, one lane of northbound I-5 had reopened, according to an ODOT news release.

Smith was scheduled to be arraigned in Marion County Circuit Court on Friday afternoon, May 19 on seven counts of second-degree manslaughter, three counts of third-degree assault, reckless driving and DUII.

Court documents filed with Marion County Circuit Court allege Smith unlawfully and recklessly caused the death of seven different individuals and also unlawfully and recklessly caused serious physical injury to three other victims by means of a dangerous weapon: a tractor-trailer.

Troopers were at the scene for about eight hours, according to an agency spokesperson. They seized the van as evidence and all three vehicles were towed from the freeway shoulder.

Associated Press contributed to this report.
Elon Musk wanted to build a bathroom next to his Twitter office so he could use it at night without waking up his bodyguards, a new lawsuit claims  an accusation that the Tesla billionaire dismissed as absurd. The lawsuit was filed against Elon Musk and X Corp, Twitter's holding company, by six former Twitter employees. It accuses them of violating 14 counts, including fraud, breach of contract, and labour-rights laws, Business Insider reported. The lawsuit also details the work environment at Twitter under Musk. It says that one of the plaintiffs, Joseph Killian, was asked by Boring Company CEO Steve Davis to start building a bathroom next to Musks Twitter office. Davis told Killian that Musk wanted to add a bathroom next to his office so that Musk didn't have to wake his security team and cross half the floor to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, the lawsuit claims. Killian, who worked at Twitter for 12 years, said he would begin work on the bathroom as soon as he got the necessary permits ready. Davis, however, told him not to bother with permits and to hire an unlicensed plumber if no licensed plumber agreed to work without necessary permits, according to the lawsuit. Musk today reacted to the claims made in the lawsuit, saying they came across like comedy. It reads well as comedy  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 19, 2023 He poked fun at the claim saying even if the absurd scenario were true, he would have been more concerned about his bodyguards being asleep instead of thwarting assassins rather than shortening his trip to the bathroom. Even were this absurd scenario true, my bodyguards being asleep instead of thwarting assassins would be of far greater concern to me than shortening my trip to the  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 19, 2023 In March, a former employee of Twitter told BBC that Musk was followed by bodyguards wherever he went. "Wherever he goes in the office, there are at least two bodyguards - very bulky, tall, Hollywood movie-[style] bodyguards. Even when [he goes] to the restroom," the employee said.
What is common between company that provides us our breakfast cereals, a dairy company, a bakery products company, and a cosmetics manufacturer? Well, yes, they are all FMCG players. But in the current digitally connected consumer world, they are all also explorers of the omnichannel omnibus. The distribution model for FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) companies in India has undergone a metamorphosis of sorts fueled by the growth of e-commerce and the increasing importance of digital channels. To reach out to digitally savvy consumers, FMCG companies are also increasingly leveraging D2C mediums such as their websites and social media platforms. It is estimated that the potential impact of D2C on the domestic revenue of mainstream companies could be more than 30% for large firms. However, consumers today are not just restricting themselves to digital platforms. They are exploring every available channel of consumption. It, therefore, makes a good business strategy for FMCG players to engage with customers through various channels like brick-and-mortar stores, e-commerce platforms, D2C and social media. Undeniably, we are firmly into the omnichannel era, and it is here to stay. But how are leading FMCG companies finding an equilibrium at a time when distribution models are becoming more complex and dynamic? How are they leveraging the range of channels and technologies to reach and engage with consumers? How are they navigating the new and emerging buying behaviours? Raj Kanwar Singh, MD, Bimbo Bakeries, India giving a glimpse into the sales pattern that driving the company's omnichannel choice says, the company sells its three bread brands in India  Harvest Gold, Modern Bread, and Kitty Bread  across channels. Something peculiar about bread is that a lot of purchase and consumption happens early in the morning before breakfast, and everybody wants a fresh loaf of bread. So, for us still, 90% of sales is general trade and the balance is roughly equally split between modern trade and e-commerce. For a dairy company like Mother Dairy, the sales pattern is similar. Manish Bandlish, MD, Mother Dairy, explains that Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt Ltd has multiple lines of businesses and how the omnichannel plays out depends on the nature of the product. Sales across channels differs, he says. For example, for milk, the percentage of sales is more offline just like bread. But when it comes to frozen products, the shares of sales on online channels are more than the general trade. So, it really depends on which product category you're talking about, he explains. So, if bread and milk, our breakfast staples are bought more off the shelves in stores and local groceries, are cereals, another breakfast must-have, also sold more through stores than other channels? Bagrrys India, pioneers in the category, are credited with bringing cereals to our breakfast table. Aditya Bagri, Promoter, Bagrrys India, says that when the company started out, it was pure general trade business. Baggrys have been selling breakfast cereals in India for almost 30 years in the GT mode but increasingly, its becoming an omnichannel business. A lot of new consumer acquisition is happening online and in organised retail shelves, says Bagri. As there's an increasing amount of complexity in product categories, for example, muesli now comes in different varieties, protein muesli does much better online versus the flagship muesli which sells across all channels, says Bagri. This market insight has helped the company segment cereal by consumer cohort. How is the complexity of omnichannel playing out for bigger companies with a host of products and channels? Samir Kumaar Modi, MD, Modi Enterprises runs three companies  Modicare which is one of Indias leading direct selling companies, Colorbar which is a pure cosmetics company, and Twenty Four Seven Convenience Store. He says Colorbar is predominately offline, 70% of which is in GTM tiny POS and 30% happens through the marketplace. We don't really promote our own website, simply because D2C is the wrong word in our industry, he says. Modicare, the MLM business, with its growing family of 60 lakh consultants, has a large number of people joining for self-consumption and to make money. Please drop this line. The number mentioned is unclear. As regards the Twenty-Four Seven Convenience Store, 50% of the business happens from 10:00 to 9:00 and between 9 to 10, 1:00 to 4:00 am is 30%. Of this, 17 per cent is ready-to-eat, which is fresh food, 10% is tobacco and the balance is toiletries, cold drinks, milk, cereal, or ice-cream. Speaking from his consulting and advising experience to FMCG companies, Harsha Razdan, Partner & Sector Head  Consumer Markets, Lifesciences & Internet Business, KPMG in India, commenting on the trends in consumer behavior and how consumer companies can make their business optimal with regard to omnichannel, says, I think it's more about consumer commerce. We have to get to the consumer wherever and whenever they want. Currently, most companies are in a domain where they are trying out different things. Its a confusing situation and in the next few years, there will be two paradigms to open  one, the platform players will become stronger and two, large retailers. He advises brands to go into specialties. As we go along, brands must choose where they want to have primacy and then take support from different channels. That's the way to go, says Razdan. Talking about the kind of management that goes into each of these channels, Bagri says, Incremental business in India today is becoming increasingly complex in the consumer landscape. Based on their work in Bagrrys, he adds that what is worth is differentiated focus. Having a razor-sharp focus across key channels like general trade, modern trade, e-commerce, and adjacencies around, communities one could get into is essential. Right from the way one is ideating, product pack size, price points  the need is for a focused narrow funnel. With a vision to build the brand into one of Indias most trusted health food brands, Bagri says they are out there ideating with the whole bunch of experts on superfoods, larger pack sizes, back forms, etc. Specifically for Q-commerce because there is more out-of-home consumption happening. So, the complexity increases and then you have to really narrow down on those innovations to see which is the common denominator, he explains. You have to be comfortable and scalable enough to have something going for GT which you know may never reach e-commerce and vice versa. Singh of Bimbo Bakeries agrees that different channels call for different skillsets. Elaborating further he adds, General trade was all about distribution, visibility, the viability of routes, and displays at the counters. Modern trade came in about two decades back and we all started to learn how to navigate it. And now we talk about a very different set of parameters. But the end result is that you still want visibility you still want presence across channels but how to navigate it all changes completely, adds Singh. Bandlish of Mother Dairy notes, The consumer today is highly informed. If we divide them into multiple categories there are the value-conscious customers, there are those looking at convenience and those who are looking at a premium product as well. So, there are well-defined customers that exist in India today and they are also exploring and experimenting with the various channels, he adds. There are certain channels which have just bloomed. For example, money is pouring into q-commerce. From Mother Dairys perspective, when we decide what to do with each of these channels, we categorize what is the role each channel will play for each of the categories of consumers that we know, says Bandlish. What he points out is that each channel player is motivated by his own set of factors.For me, I will service that model as long as the customer is coming and buying my product, but for a premium portable product, like frozen yoghurt, for me, GT is important, he elaborates adding but I would like to use the channel, for example, of online player, or modern trade, to drive these categories, much more than GT because they have the premium customer coming in to buy, not necessarily value conscious, but people who are looking for convenience, people who are exposed to product categories, which are beyond our normal GT routes. Bandlish says Mother Dairy creates a grid where each product category is mapped with what role each of these channels plays for it. We even take a call not to be present in some regions. Modi Enterprises is not only present in diverse channels but also in diverse industries. Modi points to customer segmentation saying customers who come to say Select City Mall in Delhi or Pacific Mall have a different mindset from those who buy products from Modicare consultants. He also talks about the cannibalization buy online and the discounts and Black Friday sales, all of which impact the companys channel decisions. As regards the Convenience Store, its very consumer-driven, he says. My goal is that I should be 50 meters from your home, and you should come at least once a day and the food should be good and the price suitable, he explains. The approach to omnichannel differs from industry to industry, and sector to sector, but there should be a broad understanding and a common theme as to why the brand exist, says Razdan If your brand purpose is clear, the channel purpose follows. However, if you are not clear in terms of what the brand is doing, then omnichannel becomes a sort of bloodbath area. That's the Golden Rule, he explains. He further adds that while in business, you'll have many ideas coming in from teams, as the head of the business, the promoter or the CEO of the company must be clearer in terms of what the purpose is, what am I trying to do? Is my strategy in line? As regards Quick Commerce, the question currently is whether it is cannibalizing all platforms and the marketplace or whether it is a new incremental source of business for FMCG companies. In the context of bakery companies, Singh of Bimbo bakeries says its a bit of both. Q-commerce has now become a habit and is no longer discount led. I don't know about the viability side of it, but it has found its feet. The fact that the q-commerce players can charge for that quick delivery and consumers are willing to pay for it, proves this. Q-commerce for certain products, for example, gluten-free bread or sourdough bread, has become an incremental business and is having an impact in many places on GT or replacing GT for certain categories. Certain niche products if it were not for e-commerce, would have remained unconsumed. The minimum viable audience shrinks with e-commerce, he adds. For Mother Dairy, q-commerce has seen rapid growth and we have a dedicated team which takes care of the e-commerce and q-commerce, says Bandlish. In fact, q-commerce has overtaken e-commerce. Q-commerce is the preferred choice for the consumer right now, and the company has a dedicated team working with the q-commerce players. In terms of challenge, Bandlish identifies being able to be available at each of the dark stores. He adds the information available is scarce and this makes the use of technology extremely important to be nimble and service each of the players with the product they want at a given moment. We track the availability of our products across the various PIN codes, and distribution centers and we have been fairly successful in terms of making our products available across various platforms on quick commerce. For Bagrrys, though the core category of breakfast cereals is a habit buy and people stock up, given the assortment that they offer and the fact that globally more and more people are having breakfast out of home, there has been tremendous growth in q-commerce segments, both for the core portfolio as well as a lot of innovations. Q-commerce for breakfast cereals has worked tremendously well and is increasing faster in the overall e-commerce ecosystem, says Bagri. He adds, Theres definitely an implication in terms of pack sizes and we've actually developed a product portfolio to cater to the immediate needs of consumers. The shift in the mindset of the companies is apparent when it comes to quick commerce. Earlier, there would be products and companies would look for channels for those products. But now there are channels and FMCG players are ideating products exclusively for them. However, the question facing businesses now is whether q-commerce is viable. Whenever there is a new channel entry into the market, it disturbs the equilibrium. Razdan says, while the old businesses are the cash cows and earn more money, the new businesses struggle over a period and settle down. So, I think we have to give it time. He advises brands to not get overexcited or under excited. Everyone's experimenting, and though I can't comment on profitability, I think eventually every channel reaches its peak. Hopefully, this will too. As regards finding equilibrium at a time when omnichannel is the way to go, is tough for any company. For old businesses like Modi Enterprises, it is all about the bottom line. Singh of Bimbo Bakeries agrees, I think for the company, clearly, there are times of investment and there are times of net  net will always be about profit, says Singh. Bandlish adds that the consumer has multiple choices today and when we decide a strategy for a particular channel and a product category, we also look at the cost of delivery. It is very important to control the cost of delivery for each channel and that is where we have to find a balance and equilibrium. So how do businesses transform this dilemma into decision-making and find the equilibrium amid the omnichannel chaos? Razdan finds three distinct themes emerging  one is people, that is your own people, customers, and stakeholders you must do the right things by. The second is planet sustainability and the third is profit. All three of them pulled in different directions. But as a business leader, you must get your purpose right. Of the 4Ps, how you care for the planet is what will count for a business in the years to come, he emphasizes. Moneycontrol journalists were not involved in the creation of the article.
The Delhi High Court recently relied on the Wayback Machine certificate to hold certain persons guilty of patent infringement. The certificate, which was used by the court for the first time, showed an older version of the offenders' website to prove that they had violated the courts order. The Wayback Machine, founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, allows users to see how websites looked in the past. What was the case? Sugen Inc, an indirect subsidiary of US pharma firm Pfizer Inc, approached the court against a person named K Vijaya Prakash and some others, for not following High Court's 2016 order not to infringe their patent. ALSO READ: SC upholds Tata Motors' disqualification by BEST from electric bus tender, junks plea The court, with the use of Wayback machine, found that Prakash and other defendants sold a drug similar to Sugens drug Crizotinib in an older version of their website. Thus concluding that they were guilty of infringing Sugens patent. On January 1, 2016, the court had asked Prakash not to sell drugs similar in composition as that of Sugens. One of the infringers, a Bangladesh-based entity, appeared to have an established supply chain for its generic products in India, including in Delhi. Sugen approached the court, alleging that even after the court had ordered in their favour, Prakash and others were infringing their patent, as products with Sugen's composition were found to be listed on third-party e-commerce websites. ALSO READ: Delhi HC bars Zydus Wellness from using SugarLite brand name During trial, the Prakash and his associates were shown Wayback Machines archives of their website, indicating that the Bangladesh-based entity was their associated company. During the final arguments, Sugen lawyer, Pravin Anand, from Anand and Anand, drew the attention of the High Court to the cross-examination of the infringers, the documents filed in the suit and the Wayback Machine certificate to assert that all of them Defendants were connected and associated entities and therefore have committed willful and contumacious disobedience of the court's earlier order. In view of these arguments, the court held that Prakash and his associates had willfully disobeyed the order of the court. The court has now kept the case pending for sentencing Prakash and others for disobeying its orders.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on May 22 will hear a plea by Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC), the successor to Jet Airways management, seeking directions to stop the State Bank of India (SBI) to invoke its bank guarantee of Rs 175 crore. Appearing for the consortium at NCLAT on May 19, senior advocate Ravi Shankar Prasad, urged the court to grant an interim injunction stopping SBI from invoking its bank guarantee. Gopal Jain, senior advocate, who appeared for SBI told the court that the consortium had to pay certain dues to it by May 15, however, the bank is yet to see 'the colour of money'. Prasad argued that the consortium is taking all the efforts to meet its commitments. However, due to paucity of time, the tribunal decided to adjourn the case to May 22. As per the order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) from January 13, the Consortium was supposed to make the first tranche of the payment to Jet's lenders before May 15. However, the consortium is yet to make the payments owing to which they apprehended that SBI will invoke the bank guarantee of Rs 175 crore in lieu of the dues. The airline's ownership would not be given to the consortium if the outstanding payments are not cleared. The air operator's certificate of Jet Airways is also scheduled to expire on May 19. In January, NCLT allowed the transfer of Jets ownership to JKC saying conditions were met. The tribunal had allowed JKC's plea and had set November 16, 2022, as the effective date for the resolution plan. Lenders of the airline had approached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) as they opposed the ownership transfer to the consortium. They alleged that the consortium had not fulfilled its obligations and hence contended that the ownership should not be transferred. Jet Airways was grounded in April 2019 over piling losses and debt of about Rs 8,000 crore. In October 2020, the airline's Committee of Creditors (CoC) approved the revival plan submitted by the Jalan-Kalrock consortium.
After direct and indirect confrontations with the judiciary for quite some time, BJP leader Kiren Rijiju (51) was removed from the post of law minister on May 18 and handed over the earth sciences ministry portfolio. A three-time Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal Pradesh, Rijiju has served as the minister of state (MoS) (independent charge) youth affairs and sports, MoS minority affairs and MoS home affairs. Rijiju holds a bachelors degree from Hansraj College and a law degree from the Faculty of Law, Delhi University. He took over as Union law minister on July 7, 2021, after the exit of Ravi Shankar Prasad. Despite holding the portfolio of law minister for less than two years, Rijiju's term could definitely be termed momentous. Moneycontrol takes a look at the actions and events that shaped Rijijus term. Also read: Privilege to serve as law minister; looking forward to fulfilling PM's vision in Earth Sciences Ministry: Kiren Rijiju What did Rijiju do as a law minister? Rijiju had a controversial yet eventful term; controversial because of his frequent digs at the collegium and sub-judice cases. Eventful because it was in his 1.10-year tenure that 18 of the 34 sitting judges of the Supreme Court were appointed. It should also be noted that it was during his term as the law minister that the government sanctioned Rs 7,000 crore towards the e-courts project in the Union budget, it was a four-fold jump from Rs 1,670 crore granted for phase two of the digital upgradation of courts in 2015. A vocal supporter of the use of regional language in the courts, it was Rijijus efforts that led to the formation of Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti chaired by former Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde for developing a Common Core Vocabulary close to all Indian languages for the purpose of translating legal material into regional languages. Having taken over as the law minister just after the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was in Rijijus tenure as law minister that the concept of virtual hearings picked pace, and became a regular feature in courts even after the pandemic.. Rijiju has told in many meetings that he requested CJI Chandrachud to continue as the chairperson of the Supreme Courts e-committee in order to continue his work. Why was his term controversial? In late 2022, speaking at a public function, he called the collegium system of appointment of judges opaque and alien to the Indian Constitution. Collegium is a system where the sitting judges of High Courts and the Supreme Court send recommendations for the appointment of judges. The SC collegium sends it forward to the government, which notifies the appointments. Rijijus criticism was met with strong disapproval from the bench. In January 2023, Rijiju wrote to CJI Chandrachud seeking amendment to the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), an agreement between the judiciary and the government with a set of guidelines on making appointments to the higher judiciary. Reports suggested that the letter sought for a government representative in the search cum selection committee of the judges. However, many thought it was the governments renewed attempt at reintroducing the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), which was struck down by the apex court in 2015. In fact, his comments on collegium led an organisation called Bombay Lawyers Association to file a plea in the courts seeking his disqualification. The Supreme Court, however, dismissed it on May 15. In January 2023, Rijiju criticised the collegium for making intelligence reports public by putting them on the resolution which is available for the public to read. He called it a cause of concern at a press conference. Speaking at a public event in March 2023, Rijiju alleged that some retired judges who were "part of the anti-India gang" were trying to turn the judiciary against the government and those who turn against the nation would have to pay. Many lawyers criticised Rijijus statement and even signed a resolution against it. Despite his frequent criticism of collegium, Rijiju maintained that he had good relations with judges and urged the media not to call it a confrontation. At the platinum jubilee function of Gauhati High Court in April, Rijiju said differences in opinion cannot be termed as confrontations.
Sundar Pichais parents have sold their family home in Chennai where the Google CEO grew up, The Hindu reported. His father sold the piece of land, located in the citys Ashok Nagar neighbourhood, after demolishing the house. The buyer of the house is Tamil actor and producer C Manikandan, the newspaper reported. Born in Tamil Nadus Madurai to Lakshmi, a stenographer, and Regunatha Pichai, an electrical engineer, Sundar Pichai spent all his childhood in Chennai where he did his schooling (Jawahar Vidyalaya Senior Secondary School and Vana Vani School) before joining IIT-Kharagpur. Sundars father broke down for a few minutes while handing over the documents since this was his first property, Manikandan told The Hindu. The new owner recalled the humility of Pichais parents who did not use their sons name to get the paperwork done sooner. Sundars mother made a filter coffee herself and his father offered me the documents right at the first meeting, Manikandan said, recalling his meeting. In fact, his father waited for hours at the registration office, paid all necessary taxes before handing over the documents to me, he said, adding that the senior Pichai bore the cost of demolishing the house before handing over the land for further development. Manikandan said he decided to immediately buy the property after getting to know that it belonged to the Google top boss's parents. Sundar Pichai has made our country proud and buying the house where he lived will be a proud achievement of my life, he said. The buyer said the deal took four months as Pichai's father was in the US. Sundar Pichai last visited Chennai in October 2021 when he dropped by Vana Vani school on his way to the airport.
Walt Disney Co is scrapping plans to build a nearly $1 billion corporate campus in central Florida that would have housed 2,000 employees, according to an e-mail to employees on Thursday, against the backdrop of its ongoing legal battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Disney parks chief Josh D'Amaro said "changing business conditions" prompted Disney to reconsider its 2021 plan to relocate employees, including its Imagineers who design theme park rides, to a new campus in Lake Nona. The company was expected to spend as much as $864 million on the project, according to the Orlando Sentinel, on a campus that would have served as a base for Walt Disney Imagineering and the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products division. Disney's decision to move the California-based Imagineering staffers across the country drew complaints from employees, many of whom said they did not want to move to Florida. "Given the considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions, we have decided not to move forward with construction of the campus," D'Amaro wrote. "This was not an easy decision to make, but I believe it is the right one." A week ago, Disney CEO Bob Iger publicly questioned Florida's interest in the company's continued investment in the state. In a call with investors to discuss quarterly results, he noted that Disney employed more than 75,000 people in Florida, attracts millions of visitors each year to Walt Disney World and had plans to invest $17 billion to expand the resort over the next decade. "Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people and pay more taxes, or not?," Iger asked. DeSantis's press secretary, Jeremy T. Redfern, wrote that while Disney announced the possibility of a Lake Nona campus nearly two years ago, "nothing ever came of the project, and the state was unsure whether it would come to fruition." Redfern wrote that given the company's financial position, "it is unsurprising that they would restructure their business operations and cancel unsuccessful ventures." Disney and DeSantis have been locked in an increasingly acrimonious battle that started in March 2022, when Disney's then-CEO, Bob Chapek, criticized legislation in Florida that would limit discussion of gender identity and sexuality in elementary schools. DeSantis, who is expected to soon announce that he will seek the 2024 Republican nomination for U.S. president, then moved to strip Disney of its long-standing self-governing power over Walt Disney World in Orlando. The governor argued that "woke Disney" should not receive special treatment in the state. Disney called the move political retaliation over what should be protected free speech and sued the state last month to have the moves reversed. Former President Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign was quick to seize on the news, with the Trump War Room account tweeting that DeSantis's actions cost the state jobs and investment. Democratic State Sen. Linda Stewart, who represents part of Orange County, called it "disappointing" that Florida would lose jobs. Former Congressman Carlos Curbelo, a Republican who represented Miami, praised DeSantis's leadership during the pandemic, but said the governor was tarnishing his own record and dissuading businesses from coming to Florida or expanding in the state. "This is first obvious negative consequence of an overly aggressive approach to governing and to politics," Curbelo said. Iger's predecessor announced plans in July 2021 to relocate jobs from Southern California to a new facility in central Florida, citing its "business-friendly climate." While Disney has never disclosed the value of its investment, the Los Angeles Times reported that it would receive nearly $580 million in tax credits over the next 19 years. "I remain optimistic about the direction of our Walt Disney World business," D'Amaro wrote. We have plans to invest $17 billion and create 13,000 jobs over the next ten years. I hope we're able to do so."
Elon Musks top outside attorney sent Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella a letter Thursday, saying Microsoft had accessed Twitters data for unauthorized purposes. Microsoft may have been in violation of multiple provisions of its data agreement with Twitter for an extended period of time, Quinn Emanuel attorney Alex Spiro wrote in a letter seen by Bloomberg News. Microsofts agreement with Twitter includes the obligation to notify Twitter of any modifications to the companys API, or application programming interface, according to Spiros letter. Microsoft uses Twitters API in several products, including Xbox One, Bing Pages, Azure and Power Platform. But last month, the Redmond, Washington-based company said its social media planning and scheduling tools for advertisers would no longer support Twitter. Musk at the time responded by accusing Microsoft of illegally using Twitter data and threatening a lawsuit. Microsoft said in an emailed statement it had received Twitters letter and will review the questions. We look forward to continuing our long term partnership with the company, it said. Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, bought Twitter for $44 billion in October. Since then, he has slashed staff and stiffed vendors amid declining advertising revenue. The letter, reported earlier by the New York Times, comes as Twitter changes the companys policy to charge businesses for access to its stream of data. Musk has also publicly criticized Microsofts investment in ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which the billionaire co-founded before leaving in 2018.

USER CONSENT

We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy.

*We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies.

Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy

*I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age

I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl

I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites

I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS

Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue.

I Accept
In February, Meta made an unusual move in the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence: It decided to give away its AI crown jewels. The Silicon Valley giant, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, had created an AI technology, called LLaMA, that can power online chatbots. But instead of keeping the technology to itself, Meta released the systems underlying computer code into the wild. Academics, government researchers and others who gave their email address to Meta could download the code once the company had vetted the individual. Essentially, Meta was giving its AI technology away as open-source software  computer code that can be freely copied, modified and reused  providing outsiders with everything they needed to quickly build chatbots of their own. The platform that will win will be the open one, Yann LeCun, Metas chief AI scientist, said in an interview. As a race to lead AI heats up across Silicon Valley, Meta is standing out from its rivals by taking a different approach to the technology. Driven by its founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta believes that the smartest thing to do is share its underlying AI engines as a way to spread its influence and ultimately move faster toward the future. Its actions contrast with those of Google and OpenAI, the two companies leading the new AI arms race. Worried that AI tools like chatbots will be used to spread disinformation, hate speech and other toxic content, those companies are becoming increasingly secretive about the methods and software that underpin their AI products. Google, OpenAI and others have been critical of Meta, saying an unfettered open-source approach is dangerous. AIs rapid rise in recent months has raised alarm bells about the technologys risks, including how it could upend the job market if it is not properly deployed. And within days of LLaMAs release, the system leaked onto 4chan, the online message board known for spreading false and misleading information. We want to think more carefully about giving away details or open sourcing code of AI technology, said Zoubin Ghahramani, a Google vice president of research who helps oversee AI work. Where can that lead to misuse? Some within Google have also wondered if open-sourcing AI technology may pose a competitive threat. In a memo this month, which was leaked on the online publication Semianalysis.com, a Google engineer warned colleagues that the rise of open-source software like LLaMA could cause Google and OpenAI to lose their lead in AI. But Meta said it saw no reason to keep its code to itself. The growing secrecy at Google and OpenAI is a huge mistake, LeCun said, and a really bad take on what is happening. He argues that consumers and governments will refuse to embrace AI unless it is outside the control of companies like Google and Meta. Do you want every AI system to be under the control of a couple of powerful American companies? he asked. OpenAI declined to comment. Metas open-source approach to AI is not novel. The history of technology is littered with battles between open source and proprietary, or closed, systems. Some hoard the most important tools that are used to build tomorrows computing platforms, while others give those tools away. Most recently, Google open-sourced the Android mobile operating system to take on Apples dominance in smartphones. Many companies have openly shared their AI technologies in the past, at the insistence of researchers. But their tactics are changing because of the race around AI. That shift began last year when OpenAI released ChatGPT. The chatbots wild success wowed consumers and kicked up the competition in the AI field, with Google moving quickly to incorporate more AI into its products and Microsoft investing $13 billion in OpenAI. While Google, Microsoft and OpenAI have since received most of the attention in AI, Meta has also invested in the technology for nearly a decade. The company has spent billions of dollars building the software and the hardware needed to realize chatbots and other generative AI, which produce text, images and other media on their own. In recent months, Meta has worked furiously behind the scenes to weave its years of AI research and development into new products. Zuckerberg is focused on making the company an AI leader, holding weekly meetings on the topic with his executive team and product leaders. On Thursday, in a sign of its commitment to AI, Meta said it had designed a new computer chip and improved a new supercomputer specifically for building AI technologies. It is also designing a new computer data center with an eye toward the creation of AI. Weve been building advanced infrastructure for AI for years now, and this work reflects long-term efforts that will enable even more advances and better use of this technology across everything we do, Zuckerberg said. Metas biggest AI move in recent months was releasing LLaMA, which is what is known as a large language model, or LLM. (LLaMA stands for Large Language Model Meta AI.) LLMs are systems that learn skills by analyzing vast amounts of text, including books, Wikipedia articles and chat logs. ChatGPT and Googles Bard chatbot are also built atop such systems. LLMs pinpoint patterns in the text they analyze and learn to generate text of their own, including term papers, blog posts, poetry and computer code. They can even carry on complex conversations. In February, Meta openly released LLaMA, allowing academics, government researchers and others who provided their email address to download the code and use it to build a chatbot of their own. But the company went further than many other open-source AI projects. It allowed people to download a version of LLaMA after it had been trained on enormous amounts of digital text culled from the internet. Researchers call this releasing the weights, referring to the particular mathematical values learned by the system as it analyzes data. This was significant because analyzing all that data typically requires hundreds of specialized computer chips and tens of millions of dollars, resources most companies do not have. Those who have the weights can deploy the software quickly, easily and cheaply, spending a fraction of what it would otherwise cost to create such powerful software. As a result, many in the tech industry believed Meta had set a dangerous precedent. And within days, someone released the LLaMA weights onto 4chan. At Stanford University, researchers used Metas new technology to build their own AI system, which was made available on the internet. A Stanford researcher named Moussa Doumbouya soon used it to generate problematic text, according to screenshots seen by The New York Times. In one instance, the system provided instructions for disposing of a dead body without being caught. It also generated racist material, including comments that supported the views of Adolf Hitler. In a private chat among the researchers, which was seen by the Times, Doumbouya said distributing the technology to the public would be like a grenade available to everyone in a grocery store. He did not respond to a request for comment. Stanford promptly removed the AI system from the internet. The project was designed to provide researchers with technology that captured the behaviors of cutting-edge AI models, said Tatsunori Hashimoto, the Stanford professor who led the project. We took the demo down as we became increasingly concerned about misuse potential beyond a research setting. LeCun argues that this kind of technology is not as dangerous as it might seem. He said small numbers of individuals could already generate and spread disinformation and hate speech. He added that toxic material could be tightly restricted by social networks such as Facebook. You cant prevent people from creating nonsense or dangerous information or whatever, he said. But you can stop it from being disseminated. For Meta, more people using open-source software can also level the playing field as it competes with OpenAI, Microsoft and Google. If every software developer in the world builds programs using Metas tools, it could help entrench the company for the next wave of innovation, staving off potential irrelevance. LeCun also pointed to recent history to explain why Meta was committed to open-sourcing AI technology. He said the evolution of the consumer internet was the result of open, communal standards that helped build the fastest, most widespread knowledge-sharing network the world had ever seen. Progress is faster when it is open, he said. You have a more vibrant ecosystem where everyone can contribute.
The UK government has invited bosses from some of the worlds biggest artificial intelligence firms to a meeting, people familiar with the matter said, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak crafts a policy to manage the risks and benefits of the technology. The summit will be convened as soon as this month, with invitations likely for OpenAI chief Sam Altman and the leaders of Alphabet Inc.s DeepMind and Anthropic, the people said. Sunak could be among officials in attendance, they said, requesting anonymity because the plans havent been finalized. Anthropic, which recently opened an office in London, declined to comment Thursday. Representatives for OpenAI and DeepMind didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. Altman is expected to be in London in the coming days and participate in an event Wednesday at an OpenAI event at University College London. The UK is trying to embrace the fast-developing technology while ensuring its not used for nefarious purposes. During an appearance before the US Senate this week, Altman touted AIs potential to make our lives easier while warning about the risks it poses to labor markets and elections. Representatives from the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. Asked in an interview Thursday whether he planned to meet Altman, Technology Minister Paul Scully said such conversations would happen at the secretary of state level. Were looking at how we can use our position as a sort of global leader in AI development to convene the international community to make sure we can have some sort of some standards and some ground rules, Scully said. Youve got to hear from practitioners, from industry leaders, from academia. I think we need ethicists and other people involved in that conversation as well, because these are tricky times.
The net zero fixation is on all of our minds here at Money Morning. Critical minerals will continue to be a major theme and in major demand for years to come. Find out how the copper market is responding to this growing issue, and why James Cooper is insistent on investing in this space right now

Yesterday was a big day for all of us here at Money Morning.

After weeks of planning, all of our editors  including those at our sister publications: Daily Reckoning Australia and Fat Tail Commodities  gathered for a day of discussion. It was a meeting to hash out new ideas and gauge sentiment on the big themes facing markets and everyday investors like yourself.

And while there was certainly some variety in the topics covered, one was a clear standout

Net zero.

Its clear, amongst all of us, that net zero is a nigh impossible goal. Not just because of the aggressive timeline that governments are proposing, but also because the world simply cant get enough of the resources it needs to make it happen.

Lithium

Cobalt

Nickel

Copper

These are all key metals that are needed to bring about the green energy future. But what investors need to be asking themselves is, do we have enough to make this happen?

Because the answer for all of our editors seems obvious

Copper market squeeze in just two years

When looking at copper, for example, the writing is already on the wall.

Just yesterday, an article came out from mining.com stating that copper concentrate will be in deficit by 2025. According to analysts, the rising processing in Chinese smelters is going to suck up excess supply and exacerbate the shortage.

As the article notes:

Industry data provider SMM forecast a 216,000-tonne surplus in the global copper concentrate market this year to reduce to 107,000 tonnes in 2024, and switch to a deficit of 150,000 tonnes in 2025.

Naturally, the solution should be to just bolster, right?

If copper demand is growing this aggressively, we simply need to put forth policies and investment that support existing and new mines. But of course, the governments  the ones pushing for this net-zero goal  arent doing that

In Chile this week, the national government has proposed a new tax rate for copper miners. Theyve decided to up the burden for top-tier producers by raising taxes to 46.5% for producers of more than 80,000 tones per year, and 45.55 for producers of between 50,00080,000 tonnes per year.

For comparison, right now, copper miners in Chile tax pay anywhere between 4144%. So while this may seem like a small adjustment, its still an important distinction. This decision, if it passes, will hurt copper supply from one of the worlds largest producing nations.

Not to mention a proposal from the Chilean Government for a new 1% ad valorem tax as well. Just another greedy policy that will burden miners even further.

The point is, policymakers dont seem to understand the mess theyre creating.

Red drought

Of course, none of this is news to our commodities expert, James Cooper.

As youve probably heard from us by now, he is already predicting a market meltdown in copper. The Red Drought, as he calls it, is an outcome that seems destined to arrive with things proceeding as they are.

But if you simply look at the price of copper, you may get a different impression.

After all, weve yet to really see the reality of this looming shortage be priced in. That could be for any number of reasons, but all you need to care about is the opportunity that it presents.

As James recently told his readers on the matter:

supply for the metal remains incredibly tight; output is declining at the worlds largest copper mines precisely at a moment in history when were looking to transition away from a 100-year-plus reliance on fossil fuels. Copper is central to this energy transition. But last month, Codelco, the State-owned copper mining giant in Chile, reported another 6% decline in output thanks to declining grades across its operations. This was the biggest drop in output in six years. But declining grades are not isolated to Chilean minesits a global trend, including here in Australia where average grades are less than half of what they were from 20 years ago. This will add further pressure to supply in 2023. But given the lack of new deposits coming online tends to suggest this will be a long-term supply problema key reason well be utilising market pullbacks to capitalise.

For this reason, if you havent already checked out Jamess copper thesis, you should do so. You can click here to learn all about this copper shortage and how to profit from it.

Regards,

Ryan Clarkson-Ledward,

Editor, Money Morning
Press Release

May 19, 2023 MESSAGE OF SENATE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE LOREN LEGARDA

"Fostering Multilingualism for Inclusion in Education and Society" LANGUAGE AND INCLUSION SUMMIT

Department of Education

May 19, 2023

Manila Marriot Hotel, Pasay Languages are the most powerful instruments for preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage, that is from no less than the United Nations. Promoting our mother tongues encourages linguistic diversity, multilingual education, and cultural awareness, and inspires understanding, tolerance, and dialogue. These benefits are shown in study after study across the globe. It has been taught as early as biblical times in the story of the Tower of Babel but it is more effectively proven as a theory by the fact that our languages develop based on our different habitats and ecosystems. Language and education have always been at the heart of my missions in life and are integrated into everything, including the environment. You cannot protect what you cannot name, hence the death of a mother tongue means the ability of that society in interacting with its habitat is hindered. The Philippines has an array of diverse and unique sets of languages from our 17 regions. There are about 130 native languages in the country according to the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (KWF). However, we are currently standing on the brink of losing some of them and it is no wonder as we are also eroding the ecosystems from which they sprung forth. This is why we have initiatives that will revitalize and preserve environments and languages through policies and programs. As a four-term Senator, I consistently highlight linguistic inclusivity to improve communication and foster deeper and more meaningful appreciation among cultures. I support multilingualism because people are diverse both culturally and linguistically. Equally important is access to quality education and equal opportunities for every student, regardless of background or abilities. We should bridge the gaps and promote inclusivity in education that cater to special needs, Madrasah, indigenous peoples, and alternative learning. I authored and co-sponsored Republic Act No. 11106 or the Filipino Sign Language Act which mandates the use of the Filipino Sign Language as the medium of instruction in deaf education. Let us focus on addressing individual needs and providing tailored support to enable every student to reach their full potential. I have supported the Department of Education's (DepEd) Mother Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTB-MLE) Program wherein the first languages to which students are accustomed were used as a medium of instruction. In line with this, I am pleased to share that I have supported the publication of ten storybooks in Kiniray-a, under the Kug-ungan Kinaray-a project of the Sentro ng Wika at Kultura at the University of Antique. This was accomplished in collaboration with the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino and the National Commission of Culture and the Arts. Copies of these storybooks are part of the Region VI exhibit of our event today. Studies have shown that the use of the first language as the medium of instruction contributes to students' better performance in school. In 2016, the program covered 19 languages and I will name them just to emphasize that if you have not heard of some of them, it shows we can all learn a bit more about our diverse cultures-- they are Ybanag, Sinugbuanong Binisaya, Hiligaynon, Waray, Bahasa Sug, Maguindanaoan, Maranao, Chavacano, Ivatan, Sambal, Akianon, Kinaray-a, Yakan, and Sinurigaonon and the familiar Tagalog, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, Iloko, Bikol. In 2018, we proudly supported--in partnership with the KWF--the International Conference on Endangered Languages and published the Atlas ng Wika, a significant milestone in the mapping, validation, and archiving of the native languages of the country. I am very proud to share that we also collaborated with KWF in providing funding for the installation of 130 language markers as tangible representations of our efforts to honor and preserve the roots of our languages all over the country. The first language marker was erected in Antique (for Kinaray-a). These markers emphasize as well that language is both oral and written. Our written form, Baybayin, and many other related permutations across the cultures of the land can be revived and used again. I have this writing on my office walls and all my correspondence and even ensured the funding and set up of a Baybayin exhibit at the National Museum. We are now seeing a glorious revival where this writing is more visible -- it is in our passports; it was in our money and many signages of government agencies and private institutions have adopted it. Our Cultural Mapping Bill, which was recently passed on Third Reading, is aimed at strengthening the preservation of our cultural heritage which includes our oral traditions, languages, and expressions. We aim to increase cultural education programs and identify, record, and document our cultural property. We have likewise emphasized the importance of accessible disaster-related information in the lives of Filipinos. Senate Bill No. (SBN) 834, the Language Accessibility Act, prioritizes localized messaging for disaster-related communications. Once, during the distribution of resilience tool kits for vulnerable sectors, I insisted that to be effective, these needed to be in the lingua franca appropriate to each site. In relation to this, we also filed SBN 1116, or the "Local Studies Center Act," to document and safeguard our vast cultural and historical heritage that includes languages and dialects. This would entail the creation of research institutions in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs). Here is where I say I hope everyone here already understands the difference between dialects and languages. Some of those educated during my time still use the term dialect for anything other than Tagalog and it is not only wrong but a disservice to the speakers of those other distinct languages across the country. As the author of RA 8978 which designated the Mt. Kitanglad Range, the natural habitat of the Philippine eagle, as a protected area, I ensured conservation efforts are effectively communicated to the local communities. I included specific provisions for the production of conservation materials in languages that are easily understood in the area. We have launched the documentary "Usapang Wika" in partnership with the NCCA. Its ten episodes feature Ilokano, Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Kinaray-a, Waray, Pangasinan, Kapampangan, Tagalog, Bicolano, and Meranaw -- the country's main languages, and highlight the history, literary works, and evolution of each. Stakeholders, such as the academe and the local governments, can localize, innovate and come up with programs to promote and preserve their linguistic heritage such as language tours that will ignite a passion for language learning. Speak your native tongue proudly, even to tourists, make it part of their experience! If we are all keenly aware of the value of our spoken and written languages and the multiple advantages of multilingualism, we can all take pride in them, prevent the loss of any indigenous language, enhance our capacity to protect our habitats, and give our visitors the experience of hearing and reading our diverse cultures. Let us place this in the mainstream and we will be ready for the challenges and opportunities of the globalized world we are in. Thank you very much! Isang luntiang Pilipinas sa ating lahat!
May 19, 2023 The Arabs Are Reunited And Israel Is Out Just ten weeks ago I was in awe. "This is huge!" I wrote about the surprising news of the restoration of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran after mediation by China (and Russia). With that it was obvious that the conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen between Iran friendly and Saudi sponsored forces would be coming to an end. But no one predicted the speed with which that is now happening. Today President Assad of Syria was welcomed back in Saudi Arabia to a summit of the Arab League. Syria's Assad shakes hands, kisses cheeks with onetime foes at Arab League summit Every handshake would count, and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad had plenty of them at Friday's Arab League Summit - along with hugs and kisses - from his onetime foes in the region. As he strolled into the summit venue in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Friday afternoon, a beaming Assad extended his arms to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who grabbed them both and kissed Assad once on each cheek. It was a symbolic moment, sealing Assad's reintegration into the Arab fold after being suspended from the League and isolated by most of the region for over a decade over his crackdown on protests against him. Attempts by the U.S. and the neoconned foreign minister of Germany Annalena Baerbock to prevent this have failed. Even countries still somewhat hostile to Syria - Qatar, the United Emirates and Marocco - refrained from vetoing the step. Arab unity is more important to them than some out-of-area interests. As Juan Cole summarizes: Washington is now the skunk at the diplomats party. The Iranians were never likely to trust the Americans as mediators. The Saudis must have feared telling them about their negotiations lest the equivalent of another Hellfire missile be unleashed.

...

Where two sides are tired of conflict, as was true with Saudi Arabia and Iran, Beijing is clearly now ready to play the role of the honest broker. Its remarkable diplomatic feat of restoring relations between those countries, however, reflects less its position as a rising Middle Eastern power than the startling decline of American regional credibility after three decades of false promises (Oslo), debacles (Iraq) and capricious policy-making that, in retrospect, appears to have relied on nothing more substantial than a set of cynical imperial divide-and-rule ploys that are now so been-there, done-that. Withe Arabs united Israel is now an isolated outlier. Salman Rafi Sheikh analyses the new situation it finds itself in: While the US and Israeli officials have stated that the Iran-Saudia deal doesnt impact the politics and the possibility of the possible extension of the Abraham Accords, it remains that the deal has not materialised despite various rounds of talks. While one of the key reasons is the change of government in the US, with the Biden administration not sharing the Trump administrations enthusiasm for both peace in the Middle East and deep ties with Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia, too, is not keen to make this deal. In other words, the China-led new peace process in the Middle East is nothing short of a setback for Israel.

...

As irony would have it  and as it may further complicate the US position  China recently offered its services to mediate between Israel and Palestine to develop a realistic peace plan. If the US fails to convince Saudia, Israel, fearing increasing isolation, may ultimately move towards China for a new peace process. The Saudis are even rebuilding their relations with Hamas, the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood entity which the U.S. has declared to be a 'terrorist group': For Israel, this move is a major setback for two basic reasons. First, it shows that the Saudi state is not mindlessly pursuing talks with Israel. In fact, Saudi moves are aimed at squeezing regional space for Israel in order to force it to make difficult choices. Secondly, the report shows that Saudi Arabia is actively countering the US in the Middle East. Establishing ties with Hamas directly confronts the US insofar as the Saudis do not consider Hamas as a terror group, at least in the same sense as Washington and Jerusalem evidently do.

...

For Israel, this is a challenging situation. It can either stick to its traditional way of geopolitics and pursue its interests aggressively and risk wider confrontation, or it can turn to China for the new peace process. The latter option will, however, further undermine the US position in the Middle East. I do not see much hope for any talks with Israel as it can not commit to any reasonable solution. Jonathan Cook provides that it is falling apart: The surprise is that Israels woes spring not, as generations of its leaders feared, from outside forces  a combined attack from Arab states or pressure from the international community  but from Israels own internal contradictions.

...

Israels long-term problem is underscored by the current, bitter standoff over Netanyahus plan for a so-called judicial overhaul. The Israeli Jewish population is split down the middle, with neither side willing to back down. Rightly, each sees the confrontation in terms of a zero-sum battle. And behind this stands a political system in near-constant paralysis, with neither side of the divide able to gain a stable majority in the parliament. Israel is now mired in a permanent, low-level civil war. Israel's problem, since its founding, are the two distinct groups that it attempted to unite under the roof of Zionism. The more secular and liberal European Ashkenazi have mostly led the country while the Middle Eastern Mizrahim and Ultra orthodox Haredim played a side role. But they have the higher birthrate and are on their way to become the majority. The aims these different groups have are incompatible and feed a permanent conflict: For decades, the Ashkenazi leadership assumed the religious right, especially the Mizrahim and Haredim, would accept their inferior status in Israels Jewish hierarchy so long as they were bought off with privileges over the Palestinians. But the religious right is now greedy for more than the right to oppress Palestinians. They want the right to shape Israels Jewish character too. The religious fervor the Ashkenazi establishment hoped to weaponize against the Palestinians, especially through the settlement enterprise, has come back to bite it. A monster has been created that increasingly cannot be tamed  even by Netanyahu. The new Middle East has now only one entity that is swimming against new the Zeitgeist current. That entity is disunited and unable to decide on anything. There is no one on the Israeli side with whom China, or anyone else, could make a deal over Palestine that would stick. Should the Mizrahim and Haredim win, which they likely eventual will, the more secular Ashkenazi may even start to leave. Israel's capabilities would leave with them. A reabsorption of a less capable and rich Israel into a wider Middle East might then become possible. It would an astonishing development. But so is the current one. Posted by b on May 19, 2023 at 16:54 UTC | Permalink Comments next page  next page 
May 19, 2023

Ukraine Open Thread 2023-120

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 May 19, 2023 at 16:59 UTC | Permalink

Comments

next page 
Drilling activity continued its decline for a third consecutive week as commodity prices continue to waver amid uncertainty about the economy and demand. The decline was led by Texas, the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford.

Oilfield services firm Baker Hughes said its US rig count, which it has issued weekly since 1944, fell 11 rigs, the second consecutive weekly double-digit decline, to 720 rigs. Thats the steepest weekly decline since September 2021 and the lowest level since May 2022. The decline also marked the first time the rig count has fallen below year-ago levels  its eight fewer than the 728 counted last May  since April 2021.

The number of rigs seeking crude oil fell by 11 to 575 rigs, the lowest since June 2022 and one fewer than the 576 drilling for oil last year. The number of rigs drilling for natural gas was unchanged at 141, nine fewer than 150 last year.

Texas saw its rig count sink nine rigs to 357, the same level as last year. New Mexico added a rig for 109 rigs at work across the state. California (1), Colorado (2) and Louisiana (1) joined Texas as producing states to see declines while Wyoming (1) joined New Mexico in seeing a decrease.

The Permian Basin rig count fell by four rigs to 349  still six more than the 343 rigs active in the region last year. It was the steepest drop among the nations major producing basins, followed closely by the Eagle Ford, down three rigs.

Eddy County, New Mexico, became the most active county in the Permian with the addition of two rigs, bringing its count to 55. Lea County, New Mexico, fell one rig to 53 for second most active.

Martin County reported 43 rigs, up one. Reeves County recorded the steepest decline among Permian counties, falling four rigs to 39. Midland County lost one rig for 32 rigs at work within county lines. Loving County had 27 rigs, up one. Upton County had 15 rigs for a second consecutive week. Ward County had 13 rigs, up one. Howard County had 12 rigs for a second week. Andrews County and Reagan County each reported 11 rigs, unchanged for Andrews and up one for Reagan.

Garza County saw no activity this week, losing its one rig.

Enverus Foundations, part of the energy-focused Software as a Service firm Enverus, said its US rig count reached a peak of 780 during the week ended May 17, down by six from the previous weeks high point. The count is down 4%, or 35 rigs, in the last month and down 5% year over year.

Only half of the major plays saw declines in rigs. The Appalachian Basin added two rigs to reach 53, and the DJ Basin had a one-rig bump to 18. The Anadarko Basin was flat week over week at 63 rigs. The Permian, Gulf Coast and Williston each dropped one rig to hit 341, 88 and 38.
State Rep. Tom Craddicks (R-Midland) House Bill 446 was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott this week.

This legislation updates the Texas statute references for those with intellectual disabilities and will change all Texas statutes by replacing mental retardation with individuals with intellectual disabilities, according to a news release from Craddicks office.

By updating the terminology used in statute referencing citizens with intellectual disabilities we will be taking a huge stride in decreasing the stigma surrounding disabilities.

The time for change is finally here, Craddick wrote in the statement. Today, we signed into law the updated language describing Texans with intellectual disabilities. I am thankful this legislation will help Texans for years to come. I would like to thank Kathleen Kirwan-Haynie for bringing this to my attention and working with me on this important legislation.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Midland Police Department Chief Seth Herman laid out a number of actions taken by law enforcement following the disappearance of 20-year-old Madeline Molina Pantoja.

Herman provided actions from MPD and other law enforcement agencies, a rebuttal to repeated comments made during a Thursday night rally in downtown Midland for Molina Pantoja.

Herman said that since police first responded to the report of a missing person -- identified as Molina Pantoja -- search protocols were implemented by both first responders and MPD Crimes Against Persons Unit members. Other efforts conducted on a 24-hour basis since the initial report court was taken include:

The enlistment and assistance from members of the Midland County Sheriff's Office, Texas Rangers, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Securitys Homeland Security Investigations unit,

The search of approximately 60 square miles of remote property using human assets, drones and manned aircraft,

The execution of more than a dozen search warrants related to both tangible property and technological data,

The interview of approximately 25 individuals thus far,

The follow-up investigation of approximately 20 tips derived from Midland Crime Stoppers, as well as call-ins to the Midland Police Department.

The investigation continues to be classified as a missing person search, Herman said Friday. Please be assured that should evidence suggest foul play, criminal enforcement action will be taken without delay.

Herman added that MPD efforts are conducted in methodical, technique-based and legally comprehensive manner and that the public should not interfere by engaging in their own investigations which could potentially impede locating Miss (Molina) Pantoja.

Any interference by any parties in our investigation that may thwart efforts will result in the filing of applicable criminal charges against the actors, Herman said. Ladies and gentlemen, this is an ongoing investigation.  We ask the public to be patient, to call with any information that may lead to her whereabouts and to avoid spreading unnecessary and untrue rumors.

Midland Mayor Lori Blong stated the police department has the full support of (her) and the Midland City Council as they investigate the whereabouts of Madeline Molina Pantoja.

She also stated that the police department, other city leaders and I have been in communication with the family, and we remain committed to keeping them as informed as possible.

I cannot imagine the stress and the concern and worry of Madeline's family and friends as they have gone through this ordeal, Blong said. We know that Madeline is a daughter and a sister and a friend to many in this community. So, to those who know and love her, please know that we join you in praying for her swift and safe return.

Blong added that those with information should call MPD at 432-685-7108 and there is a $20,000 reward for anyone offering information which leads to the whereabouts of Molina Pantoja.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

More than 200 Midlanders marched, protested and rallied for the missing 20-year-old Madeline Molina Pantoja, who was last seen late in the evening on May 10 in south Midland.

Chants of justice for Madeline, we need answers and Madi is someones daughter filled the downtown streets as the march went around the Midland Police Department headquarters and the Midland County Courthouse.

The late evening event also included young and older residents with signs that read We are Madeline, Bring Madeline home safe, Where is Madeline and We are her voice.

Pantoja was last seen at 1711 West Francis Ave., according to Midland police, which published a missing person alert on its Facebook on May 12. Pantoja's vehicle and phone were found at her apartment.

Our guys have been working day and night since she was reported missing, Midland Police Department Chief Seth Herman told the Reporter-Telegram on Thursday night via text. Every asset is being directed towards finding her.

The protest included a rally on the east side of the Midland Police Department. Speakers included Pantojas brother, Robert, who told the Reporter-Telegram afterward that Madelines disappearance impacted what we were supposed to be celebrations of Mothers Day, their brothers graduation and their mothers birthday in the past eight days. Robert also said next week is Madelines 21st birthday, so it's only going to get harder. It's totally going to get harder.

Robert said the rally brought tears to his eyes because of the estimated 200-plus people that came out. Madeline's mother also attended the event.

Only maybe like 1% of the people here actually know who she is, Robert said. But I think they are they can all relate to her, and they all have daughters. They all fear that this is going to happen to them.

Robert told crowd on Thursday evening that people are tired of cases going unsolved. A lack of information was a theme when speakers addressed the those gathered downtown. One speaker was social media commentator Nino America, who commented about how no information, action or anything positive was coming from the police department about the case. He also asked where were the mayor, the faith leaders and city leaders and why aren't they standing side by side with those protesting.

Her father is distraught, her family is distraught, we have more than 200 people here, and we are not playing around, America said. My people, we dont even know this woman, but we cant even sleep at night. We think about her, because my daughter looks like her.

MPD stated in a release earlier Thursday its officials remain in contact with the family regarding the investigation.

Midland Mayor Lori Blong offered the following in a Facebook post:

"The Midland Police Department and others in our community are continuing to put all available resources behind the search for Madeline Pantoja. We ask that you please call MPD if you have knowledge of her whereabouts. And please also continue to join our community in prayers and support for Madeline and her family."

Herman and Blong read statements Friday to address what the MPD's actions taken following the disappearance of 20-year-old Madeline Molina Pantoja.
Last month, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 990, which would eliminate county voting centers and polling locations.

The Texas Tribune reported that Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood) has said the elimination of voting centers will ensure accurate vote counts and prevent people from voting twice.

Midland County Elections Administrator Carolyn Graves said the legislation, if passed by the Texas House and signed by the governor, will probably be the worst thing that has happened for elections in a really, really long time.

Graves pointed to the inconvenience the bill will create for county voters and the additional costs Midland County will have to spend at election time. Midland County has made the transition to voting centers for early voting and voting day. Any eligible voters can vote at any center.

The vote centers are so convenient for everyone, Graves said. You can stop anywhere, you dont have to be at a specific place, Graves said.

Halls bill has been referred to the House Elections Committee. If the bill were to pass through the Texas House, Midland County would have to expand its number of Election Day voting centers from around 20 to about 40. The cost to do so, Graves said, would be astronomical.

The Elections Office also would have to find additional facilities to accommodate the expanded number of voting centers, which also would require staffing. Graves said in a primary election, there must be an equal number of staff members from each party represented at a voting center and the minimum number of staff members allowed is three from each party (six total).

For a location, youd have to have -- for a primary (election) -- at least six people at 40 locations versus 20, so that basically doubles the cost, Graves said.

On top of spending money on additional staff members, the county would have to invest in more equipment.

Graves said she hopes that the state will continue to allow the use of voting centers. One of the concerns Graves has heard from state policy makers about voting centers is a lack of accountability and voter integrity. She said Midland County works hard, using precinct-by-precinct reporting to ensure accountability in the local voting process.

SB 990 prevailed in its third reading and final passage in the Texas Senate, 17-12, according to state government records. Sen. Kevin Sparks was absent when the vote took place.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP)  A Bolivian priest has been detained on suspicion of abusing seminary students a decade ago in a case that emerged after news broke earlier this month of a pedophilia scandal involving a late Jesuit priest in the Andean country.

Milton Murillo, a Catholic parish priest at the Church of San Roque in the southern region of Tarija, was sent to pre-trial detention for three months during a hearing late Thursday, regional prosecutor Sandra Gutierrez Salazar said.

With this, we want to express that the Public Prosecutors Office is taking stern action to ensure these crimes are punished, she told reporters Friday.

The Murillo case came to a head in part because of the scandal that erupted earlier this month over Spanish Jesuit Alfonso Pedrajas. Pedrajas died of cancer in 2009 and left behind a personal diary in which he confessed to having abused around 85 minors in Bolivia during the 1970s and 1980s in Catholic boarding schools, as reported by the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

The Catholic Church and the Society of Jesus have asked for forgiveness and pledged to support any investigations that emerge from the Pedrajas case.

Prosecutors called on victims of Pedrajas and other priests to testify as authorities also investigate whether there was any cover-up. Although there had already been allegations of abuse by Murillo, new testimony by alleged victims helped lead to his detention.

The Bolivian government said this week it will create a Truth Commission to investigate allegations of sexual abuse against children and said it will push for a law that would get rid of statute of limitations for these types of crimes.

This horror cannot be repeated; these crimes, whether committed by priests or anyone else, cannot be subject to statutes of limitation, said Maria Nela Prada, the minister of the Bolivian presidency.

A small group of people gathered outside the archbishop's palace in downtown La Paz to demand justice for the allegations of sexual abuse by Church authorities.

We're devastated," Alejandra Casas said while protesting Friday. "We know the Catholic Church is covering up cases.

Although there have been several allegations of pedophilia involving priests in the Andean nation, human rights organizations say that, until now, few have been properly investigated.

Child Rights International Network, one of the organizations that has worked extensively on cases of pedophilia involving religious authorities, stated in a 2019 report that only three cases had resulted in convictions, including that of a priest who was sentenced for abusing 30 children in a poor rural town in the central region of Cochabamba.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP)  Papua New Guinea had declared next Monday a public holiday in anticipation of an historic visit by U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders from the region.

Police were tightening security, billboards were going up, and people were getting ready to sing and dance in the streets. Expectations were high for what would have been the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to any Pacific Island nation.

I am very honored that he has fulfilled his promise to me to visit our country, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape had written on Facebook.

Those expectations were dashed Wednesday when Biden canceled the visit to focus on debt limit talks at home.

To be sure, many of the festivities will still be going ahead. Biden's planned three-hour stopover  sandwiched between the Group of Seven meeting of wealthy democracies in Japan and a now-scrapped trip to Australia  was timed to coincide with a trip by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will still meet with Pacific Island leaders to discuss ways to better cooperate. But now that Biden plans to return home directly after the G-7 meeting, many in Papua New Guinea are feeling deflated.

Steven Ranewa, a lawyer in the capital, Port Moresby, said Biden's planned visit had been very big news across the Pacific, and he planned to watch the motorcades from the street.

Everyone was excited," he said. "But now that it's been canceled, it's really demoralizing.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that Biden still planned to visit Papua New Guinea and the trip was not canceled, postponed.

"Were looking forward to getting that back on the books," she told reporters en route to Japan aboard Air Force One.

It's unclear if the promise would assuage any of the disappointment.

Konio Anu, who manages a lodge in the capital, said she was saddened that Biden wouldn't visit as expected, and wondered if people would still get the day off on Monday. She said she was waiting to see if one international guest who booked for Monday would cancel.

Some other leaders had their doubts as well. New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins deliberated most of the day before announcing that he would still go ahead with his trip to Papua New Guinea.

Anna Powles, a senior lecturer in international security at New Zealands Massey University, said that although Pacific leaders would understand that Biden was needed at home, the cancellation demonstrated how domestic U.S. politics can undermine the nation's foreign policy agenda.

Unfortunately, it speaks to a pattern of behavior that causes many in the region to regard the U.S. as a less-than-reliable partner, Powles said.

She said the meeting had been framed as a sequel to a summit held with Pacific leaders in Washington last year, and was supposed to represent a deepening of the relationship between the U.S. and the Pacific at a time when China is increasingly exerting its influence in the region.

The U.S. has recently opened embassies in the Solomon Islands and Tonga, and plans to open more in the region as it tries to reassert its presence in the Pacific.

Powles said the hectic schedule leading into the U.S. elections next year would make it difficult for Biden to reschedule.

Home to nearly 10 million people, Papua New Guinea is the largest Pacific Island nation by population. It is located just north of Australia on the eastern side of New Guinea island, the world's second-largest island. The western side of the island is part of Indonesia. Papua New Guinea is relatively poor, with many people leading subsistence lives.

During a 2016 speech in Australia when he was vice president, Biden talked about his connections to the Pacific region and said that two of his uncles had fought in Papua New Guinea during World War II. He said one had been killed and the other had returned home badly injured.

But China ended up sending a top-level delegation first, after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Papua New Guinea for an APEC summit in 2018.

Ranewa, the lawyer, said that Chinas increasing influence could be seen throughout the nation, whether it was in providing services or building infrastructure. He said some welcomed China's help, while others did not.

____

White House correspondent Zeke Miller contributed from Air Force One.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP)  New Zealand police on Friday lowered the confirmed death toll from a Wellington hostel fire from six people to five, although they said they still haven't finished searching the dangerous four-story building.

And in another development, a man charged with two counts of arson in connection with the fire made his first court appearance. He was not required to enter a plea and was ordered held in jail until his next court appearance on June 19.

If found guilty, the man faces a maximum 14 years in prison on the charges. Police said they're treating the case as a homicide investigation and could add more serious charges later.

Police Inspector Dion Bennett did not offer an explanation for why authorities had downgraded the death toll after they had put it at six since Tuesday, hours after the fire ripped through Loafers Lodge.

But he did say police have still not been able to search all areas of the building after parts of a roof and a floor collapsed in the fire and created piles of debris.

The scene examination in itself, and in the third floor in particular, is quite dangerous, Bennett told reporters. And there are still parts we can't cross.

He said that urban search and rescue teams had been working with police to prop up sections of the floor as police inched forward with their examination. He said police have removed four bodies and hoped to remove the fifth soon.

The 48-year-old man charged with setting fire to a couch and to the lodge wore a black hoodie in court, waved his arms about and tried to fire his lawyer, local media reported.

Lawyer Douglas Ewen later told The Associated Press that the man remained his client. The judge granted the man temporary name suppression, a routine practice in the New Zealand legal system.

Police had earlier said there was a couch fire at the Loafers Lodge hostel about two hours before the large, fatal fire. They said the couch fire was not reported to emergency services at the time, and they were investigating to see if there was any link between the two fires.

The deadly fire ripped through the building at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, forcing some people to flee in their pajamas. Others were rescued by firefighters from the roof or jumped from windows.

Loafers Lodge offered 92 basic, affordable rooms with shared lounges, kitchens and laundry facilities to people of a wide range of ages. Some people were placed there by government agencies. Others worked at a nearby hospital.

Emergency officials said the building had no fire sprinklers, which are not required in older buildings that would need to be retrofitted.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said he'd asked his housing minister to investigate current building regulations to see if they need changing.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  South Korea will send a 21-member team of government experts to Japan next week to visit the Fukushima nuclear power plant where they will review contentious Japanese plans to release treated but slightly radioactive water into the sea.

The six-day visit starting Sunday will focus on examining the plants processing system, which reduces radioactive materials from contaminated water, and whether the treated water would be safe enough to be diluted and discharged into the ocean, officials said Friday.

The safety of the water for years has been a sensitive issue between the U.S. allies, who are now working to repair long-strained ties to address joint challenges like the North Korean nuclear threat and Chinas assertive foreign policy.

After a summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol this month, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that his government had agreed to host a team of South Korean experts at Fukushima to calm South Korean concerns about food safety, in a show of his desire for improved ties.

Japanese officials say the South Korean visit to the plant will not amount to a genuine inspection, as the safety of the water discharge plan is already under review by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which may publicize the results next month.

The South Korean experts will be briefed by Japanese officials over water treatment details and discharge plans on Monday before visiting some facilities at the Fukushima plant on Tuesday and Wednesday. The South Koreans will then have in-depth technical discussions with related Japanese authorities based on their observations on Thursday before returning home, Park Ku-yeon, first vice minister of South Koreas Office for Government Policy Coordination, said during a briefing.

The South Korean team will be led by Yoo Guk-hee, chairperson of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, who said his focus will be on the plants advanced liquid processing system, or ALPS, which is designed to reduce dozens of types of radioactive isotopes in the contaminated water to safe levels.

(Japan) has accepted almost all of our requests on the facilities we had hoped to see, except for those that had higher concerns for radioactive contamination or other safety issues, Park said.

South Korean officials say Japan has refused to receive South Korean private experts to the site, describing the visit as a government-to-government matter. Park said private experts may participate in an advisory group South Korea plans to form later to cross-examine the information gained from the visit.

Japans Foreign Ministry also confirmed the South Korean delegations visit to the Fukushima plant in a statement that also endorsed the effectiveness of the ALPS system, saying it ensures that all radioactive materials other than tritium are reduced to safe levels.

It is planned that ALPS-treated water will then be sufficiently diluted before the discharges so that the concentrations of the radioactive materials including tritium will be far below the regulatory standards for safety, the ministry said.

A massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed the Fukushima plants cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt and release large amounts of radiation.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holding, which operates the facility, has been storing the ALPS-treated water in hundreds of tanks that now cover most of the plant and are nearly full. Japanese officials say the tanks must be removed to make room to build facilities for the plants decommissioning and to minimize the risk of leaks in case of another major disaster. The tanks are expected to reach their capacity of 1.37 million tons in early 2024.

Japan first announced plans to discharge the treated water into the sea in 2018, saying that the treated water will be further diluted by seawater before being released in a carefully controlled process that will take decades to complete.

We will focus on the ALPS facility and the status of the ocean discharge facility and will also review analyses of the contamination levels in ALPS-treated water, which will take place in the buildings chemical analysis building, Yoo said about the South Korean visit.

We also plan to have in-depth discussions and question-and-answer sessions with Japanese officials about assessments on the radiations environmental impact, including possible accumulation in eco systems, he said.

South Koreas government has not provided a specific time for when it would release the results of its findings in Fukushima. South Korean officials say Seoul will not consider lifting its import ban on seafood from Fukushima even if it determines Japans water release plan is safe, citing South Korean public concerns and a need for deeper investigations into the environmental impact of the 2011 disaster.



AP writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed from Hiroshima, Japan.
Space Nation Day at the Petroleum Museum

Space Nation Day will take place the Petroleum Museum on Sunday, starting at 2 p.m.

Admission is free and includes a panel of visiting leaders in space, exciting space activities for kids and a space mission challenge for adults and students (with a grand prize of a free ticket to Space Nations upcoming Moon Pioneers Mission scheduled for Fall 2023).

For more information: https://petroleummuseum.org/

The Literacy Coalition of the Permian Basin

The Literacy Coalition of the Permian Basin will pack 8,000 POWER Bags on Saturday to promote early literacy to new parents at local hospitals, including Midland Memorial.

Upon discharge, medical staff will provide new parents with information about the importance of speaking, interacting, and reading to the newborn. The greatest amount of brain growth occurs between birth and age 5. By age 3, roughly 85% of the brains core structure is formed.

Representatives from the Literacy Coalition of the Permian Basin, Education Partnership of the Permian Basin and Odessa Regional Medical Center will be present at the POWER Bag packing event from 9 a.m. to noon at the West Texas Food Bank, 1601 Westcliff Drive.

City of Midland requests feedback

The City of Midland is in the process of searching for a new city manager and is seeking input from residents about the traits, qualities and experience residents would like to see in the next city manager. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete, and all responses are completely anonymous. The survey will remain open through June 4.

To complete the survey, access the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/hu17NASGdU.

Community Calendar

Seventh-annual Mariachi Workshops, June 7-9, Abell Junior High

Hot Dog Run benefiting Midland Humane Coalition, June 10, Midland College. Web: www.midlandhumane.org/hotdogrun.html

Cesar Ornelas Mex-Tex Family Fiesta, June 10, Centennial Park

Carver Junior-Senior High School Reunion, June 15-18

The Beach Boys at the Education Foundation (ECISD) annual concert, July 27, Ector County Coliseum

Meetings this week

Commissioners Court

9 a.m. Monday

Commissioners Courtroom

Midland County Courthouse

500 N. Loraine St.

Midland City Council

10 a.m. Tuesday

Council Chamber, City Hall

300 N. Loraine St.

Midland ISD bond committee

The following is a list of Bond Planning Committee meetings, which are open to the public to attend. All meetings are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., and future meeting dates are as follows:

June 1 at Bunche Elementary, 700 S. Jackson St.

June 20 at a location TBD.

MISD's Bond Planning Committee website will be updated with more information as the process continues. You can find it at midlandisd.net/bond

--

Send your Community Roundup information to Stewart Doreen (sdoreen@hearstnp.com)
Bahrain-headquartered technology group Beyon has made a number of significant announcements relating to digital infrastructure that will, it says, support the acceleration of Bahrains digital transformation and the growth of the countrys digital economy.

Service provider Batelco, part of the Beyon group of companies, has joined the SEA-ME-WE 6 (Southeast Asia - Middle East - Western Europe) consortium, which is building a 21,700 kilometre-long undersea telecommunications cable system connecting Bahrain with 14 other countries. The cable system, offering one of the lowest latencies available between the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Western Europe, will significantly boost Beyons global network infrastructure.

Additionally, Batelco is investing to build a regional subsea cable, the Al Khaleej Cable, which the company will fully own, enhancing the regions data exchange. This cable system will extend from Bahrain to other regional countries including Oman, UAE and Qatar. This fully owned subsea cable will help to diversify routes and augment international connectivity for the region.

The SEA-ME-WE 6 submarine cable connectivity to Bahrain and Al Khaleej Cable are expected to be completed by Q2 2026.

Beyon has also announced Data Oasis, which, it says, will be the biggest technology hub in Bahrain and include a newly built advanced data centre for the company, which is being developed on a 140,000 square metre site located in the south of Bahrain.

Beyon Data Oasis will incorporate the SEA-ME-WE 6 and the Al Khaleej cables into the data centre, enabling hyperscalers and businesses to access seamless integrated solutions and helping to strengthen Bahrains position as a leading regional technology hub.

Beyon adds that the new data centre will feature multiple megawatt power capacity and utilize clean power technologies provided by the companys solar park, aligning with its sustainability plans to increase alternative power sources.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. and other Group of Seven nations rolled out a new wave of global sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine as they met Friday during a summit in Japan. The sanctions target hundreds of people and firms  including those helping Russia to evade existing sanctions and export controls. Some of the sanctions focus on additional sectors of Russia's economy, including architecture, construction and transportation.

After 15 months of war, the allied nations are still aiming at new targets for financial penalties that block, freeze and seize access to international funds.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the newest sanctions will tighten the grip on Russian President Vladimir Putins "ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions.

But there are limits to how much impact they can have.

A look at the sanctions dynamics:

WHAT'S IN THE NEWEST ROUND?

The U.K imposed sanctions on 86 people and companies, including parties connected to the theft and resale of Ukrainian grain. It also banned the import of diamonds from Russia. The European Union, too, plans to restrict trade in Russian diamonds.

The U.S. hit individuals and organizations across 20 countries, focusing on people and firms helping the Kremlin evade existing sanctions to procure technology. The Commerce Department added 71 firms to its list, and the State Department put 200 people, firms and vessels on its blocked list.

Additionally, new U.S. reporting requirements were issued for people and firms that have any interest in Russian Central Bank assets. The purpose is to fully map holdings of Russias sovereign assets that will remain immobilized in G7 jurisdictions until Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine, the Treasury Department said.

HOW EFFECTIVE HAVE THE SANCTIONS BEEN SO FAR?

While the U.S. and other G7 nations have turned Russia into the most sanctioned country in the world, some foreign policy experts question the effectiveness of the financial penalties and point to Russia's maneuvers to evade them and press its war effort.

Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Russia has demonstrated a remarkable degree of adaptability to Western sanctions."

She added that the war is relatively cheap for Russia to prosecute, amounting to up to an estimated 5% of GDP.

That is easily manageable for Russia in the next couple of years at least, and the cumulative effect of sanctions is just not strong enough to radically alter that," she said.

U.S. officials defend the effectiveness of the sanctions, and argue that they are not designed to work immediately.

Along with imposing individual sanctions, the U.S. and allies have frozen Russian Central Bank funds, restricted Russian banks access to SWIFT  the dominant system for global financial transactions  and imposed a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil and diesel.

The Treasury Department on Friday in a new progress report said the price cap has been successful in suppressing Russian oil revenues. It cited Russian Ministry of Finance data showing that the Kremlins oil revenues from January to March of this year were more than 40% lower than in the same period last year.

Despite widespread initial market skepticism around the price cap, market participants and geopolitical analysts have now acknowledged that the price cap is accomplishing both of its goals, the Treasury Department report.

WHY ARE THE US AND ITS ALLIES STILL FINDING NEW TARGETS?

Treasury officials say that as sanctions are imposed, Russian intelligence keeps looking for ways to get around them, requiring constant adjustments.

Newer sanction efforts have been dedicated to the evaders and the facilitators of evasion, who help Russia acquire supplies and technology.

We know the Kremlin is actively seeking ways to circumvent these sanctions, Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said earlier this year.

One of the ways we know our sanctions are working is the Kremlin has tasked its intelligence services, such as the FSB and GRU, to find ways to get around them."

Among other things, U.S. officials say, Moscow has turned to North Korea and Iran to resupply the Russian military with drones and surface-to-surface missiles.

WHAT MORE IS THERE TO SANCTION?

Treasury officials say future targets could include newly identified firms and people connected to supply chains that help Russia gain materials for the war, front companies that help Russia evade sanctions and rogue actors from North Korea and Iran.

For the past month, Treasury officials Brian Nelson and Liz Rosenberg have traveled across Europe and Central Asia to press countries that do business with the Kremlin to cut off financial ties because of the war on Ukraine.

They are also increasingly sharing intelligence between countries and firms to spot evasion.

There are also calls for the U.S. and allies to confiscate and transfer Russia's central bank funds to Ukraine for the war effort.

The G7 countries must sustain and augment their efforts, including by confiscating frozen reserves of the Central Bank of Russia to help fund Ukraines reconstruction, said Jeffrey J. Schott, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Pike County Sheriff's Department

BARRY  A husband and wife have been arrested after a Pike County Sheriff's Department investigation into a report of a sex offender failing to register a new residence.

Deputies went to a residence in the 800 block of Front Street about 8:20 a.m. Wednesday after Chief Deputy Zack Orr received information that a sex offender was living in a camper on the property.
Jasmin Merdan/Getty Images

Cases of mpox  a disease formerly known as monkeypox  are rising in the Chicago area, prompting health officials to renew calls for statewide vaccination ahead of summer.

There have been 24 cases confirmed in Illinois since March 24, as well as two probable cases. Four have been reported in Sangamon County, but none in Morgan or surrounding counties.
Jacksonville School District 117 will continue work on construction projects into the summer, starting with crews putting finishing touches on the Washington Elementary School renovation.

Crews now are working on the second floor of Washington, along with lockers and external projects that will wrap up the construction, said Bob Roads, a consultant who oversees the projects for the district.

Superintendent Steve Ptacek said the school will be finished in time for teachers to move into the space before the beginning of next school year.

"The project is coming along," he said.

Construction on the building began at the end of the 2021-22 school year. Students were housed in modular building on the grounds of Jacksonville Middle School for the 2022-23 school year while the work was completed.

Once teachers from Washington move into their newly renovated school, teachers from Eisenhower Elementary School will move ithe modular buildings at JMS as construction begins on the Eisenhower building.

Eisenhower will undergo a $10.5 million renovation.

"We are installing exterior windows in the classrooms, we are adding a cafeteria so the gym and cafeteria are separate," Ptacek said. "There will be a new, secure entrance."

The project also will create walls to divide classrooms, instead of the open concept now in use.

The work will cost more than originally estimated, Ptacek said.

The project was expected to cost about $7.5 million. Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds that were distributed to the schools during the pandemic will cover a significant portion of the cost, about $6.5 million. Another $2 million will be bonded out and $2 million will come from district funds.

"Up until a few weeks ago, we did not know if we were going to be able to pursue this project, but it is now a reality and construction will start soon," Ptacek said in a post on Facebook. "This construction project will bring obstacles and challenges, but the payoff will be worth it."

While they are at JMS, Eisenhower students will adopt many of the procedures established this year by Washington students, including drop-off and pick-up, Ptacek said.
A requirement that the Jacksonville Airport Authority conduct an efficiency study is something that flew under the radar until a new law was brought to Dan Beard's attention.

Beard, the city attorney for Jacksonville who also represents the airport authority, said he was unaware of the Decennial Committee on Local Government Efficiency Act until it was brought to his attention by a newsletter article prepared by Ancel Glink, a Chicago law firm that specializes in Illinois local government law.

The act, passed in 2022 by the General Assembly, requires all units of local government that levy a tax, except municipalities and counties, to convene a committee to "study local efficiencies and report recommendations regarding efficiencies and increased accountability." School districts are not "units of local government" under the Illinois Constitution and are exempt from the act.

The Jacksonville Airport Authority was one entity that fit the criteria under the law, and now it is working quickly to meet a June 10 deadline for the committee to have its first meeting. That will happen at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, when the airport authority will meet specifically to address the state edict.

The airport authority is a stand-alone taxing body with members appointed by the city of Jacksonville and Morgan County. That status is why it must comply with the decennial committee law.

"We are trying to figure out what our role is in determining efficiency in government and where we can go from there," Beard said. "A lot of this is simply figuring out what we are supposed to do."

Aside from meeting before June 10, the law provides the committee must meet at least three times; prepare a written report with recommendations, if any, on efficiencies and increased accountability; and file the summary report with the county board within 18 months of the first meeting.

At the end of each meeting, according to Ancel Glink, the committee must "conduct a survey of residents who attended asking for input on the matters discussed at the meeting."

The committee must be comprised of the members of the governing board, at least two individuals who live within the unit of local government's district, and the authority's chief executive officer. At its April meeting, Tim Heady, chair of the authority, appointed Steve Hackett and Jim Duncan to serve as the two non-board members of the decennial committee.

"I dont think we will have to have special committee meetings. I anticipate the two non-board members will be at board meetings when we have a reason to get together and talk," Beard said. "What we may be doing is checking with other regional airports and comparing notes on recommendations and things that might be useful for us to consider."

Beard said the law says the committee may seek expert advice, hire a consultant, or have someone conduct a study.

"But they make it clear it is an unfunded mandate. We won't rule out a consultant, but cost is a factor because the authority would have to pay any of the associated expenses," Beard said.

What is less clear is what other entities must comply with the law. Beard said the city's library and cemetery boards fall outside of the law because each is part of Jacksonville city government.

Beard said he has talked with Morgan County Board member Brad Zeller about road districts and whether they would have to establish a decennial study committee. Fire protection districts levy taxes and would be under the umbrella of the law.

"It would seem road districts would fall under the county board in the way the library board falls to the city. Road districts are generally a commissioner and a clerk. It's hard to see how they would be considered a committee," Beard said.

"I think this is geared toward reducing special districts in the state. The legislature wanted to see whether all these boards are necessary and what efficiencies can be gained by putting some together," Beard said.

The decennial committees are moving in uncharted waters and the law provides little in the way to help them navigate.

"It's difficult to determine what we should do with so little history," Beard said. "I'm not sure what the consequences of ignoring this are, but we won't ignore it because we don't want to find out if there are consequences."
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 NoahBryant/Getty Images/iStockphoto Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Pike County Sheriff's Department Show More Show Less 3 of 3





PLEASANT HILL  Police have arrested a high school student after they said a loaded handgun and body armor were found in his vehicle Thursday.

Pike County Sheriffs Department Chief Deputy Zack Orr said the investigation is in the early stages and law enforcement authorities are continuing to interview people and follow leads. He said, however, that there were no known direct threats to the school, students or personnel.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Five major U.S. cities and the state of California will receive federal help to get unsheltered residents into permanent housing under a new plan launched Thursday as part of the Biden administration's larger goal to reduce homelessness 25% by 2025.

The All Inside initiative will partner the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and its 19 federal member agencies with state officials in California and local governments in Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle and the Phoenix metro area.

The goal is for the federal government to provide knowledge, resources and elbow grease to population centers where nearly half the nation's unhoused residents live, said Susan Rice, President Joe Biden's domestic policy advisor.

The administration will offer tailored support for two years to improve efforts toward housing unsheltered people in the participating communities, including embedding a federal official in each area, officials said.

In addition, teams will be deployed to help the communities obtain federal funding, establish a network of resources and identify areas where regulations can be loosened and the process for securing housing can be sped up.

Philanthropic groups and private businesses will be invited to help identify opportunities for support and collaboration, according to the administration.

More than 580,000 Americans were homeless in 2022, with 4 out of 10 of them unsheltered and sleeping on sidewalks and in tents and cars, Rice said.

We know we cannot meaningfully address our nations homelessness problem without a distinct focus on unsheltered homelessness, she said during a livestreamed announcement with the cities' mayors and other officials.

Agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Social Security Agency, Department of Labor, Federal Emergency Management Agency, will be involved under Thursdays announcement to help coordinate housing opportunities.

Funding specifics were not offered, but the White House said the program will build on the $2.5 billion already allocated to prevent homelessness under the administrations American Rescue Plan and $486 million in the Department of Housing and Urban Development funding released to local municipalities earlier this year.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she hoped the initiative would unstick the current bottleneck plaguing her program Inside Safe, which offers homeless people motel rooms and a path to permanent housing with services. The City Council on Thursday passed the mayor's budget, which provides $250 million for the LA initiative. It has over 1,200 enrollees so far but is moving slowly because of bureaucratic red tape.

If anything, we know that our current system on the federal, state and county level isnt designed for the emergency that we are facing today, Bass, a Democrat, said.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said the White House plan will unite our systems, bringing solutions that are effective in some cities to other areas.

Whats working in one city will work here because were dealing with the same American issues, Harrell, a Democrat, said.

The Seattle area had the nations third highest population of homeless residents in 2022, after Los Angeles and New York, at more than 13,300, according to a one-night count required by the federal government.

Seattle, King County and nearby cities joined together to launch a regional homelessness authority two years ago. But many officials say the new agency has underperformed, been beset by political fights and had trouble fulfilling administrative duties such as executing contracts with service providers.

Meanwhile, the city of Phoenix is under increasing pressure to do something about a massive downtown encampment known as The Zone, where as many as 1,000 unhoused people have congregated near social services.

Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, a former social worker, successfully pushed for $150 million to be included in Arizonas Housing Trust Fund in the states budget to shore up rent and utility assistance programs, eviction prevention, and build new shelters and affordable housing.

Biden's All In strategy roadmap made public last December follows a 2010 effort called Opening Doors, which was the nations first comprehensive effort seeking to prevent and end homelessness.

___

Associated Press writers Anita Snow in Phoenix and Gene Johnson in Seattle contributed.
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

CHICAGO (AP)  The firearms industry, including gun sellers, could be sued for alleged violations of Illinois law including marketing to young people under legislation Illinois state senators approved Thursday.

The House previously approved the bill and it now goes to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, also a Democrat, who said that he will sign it. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, a Democrat, spearheaded the proposal.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP)  Tens of thousands of people rallied in Serbia's capital on Friday for a third time in a month in protest at the government's handling of a crisis after two mass shootings in the Balkan country earlier this month, even as officials rejected the criticism and ignored their demands.

In a show of defiance, the nationalist right-wing party of autocratic Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic organized a counter-protest in a town north of Belgrade attended by thousands of his supporters.

The opposition protesters in Belgrade were chanting slogans against Vucic, demanding the resignations of two senior ministers and the revocation of broadcasting licenses for two TV networks which, they say, promote violence and glorify crime figures.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and other government officials attended a parliamentary session on Friday focusing on the May 3 and May 4 shootings and the opposition demands to replace the interior minister and the intelligence chief following the carnage that left 18 people dead, many of them children.

The two shootings stunned the nation, especially because the first one happened in an elementary school in central Belgrade when a 13-year-old boy took his father's gun and opened fire on his fellow students. Eight students and a school guard were killed and seven more people wounded. One more girl later died in hospital from head wounds.

A day later, a 20-year-old used an automatic weapon to randomly target people he ran into in two villages south of Belgrade, killing eight people and wounding 14.

Brnabic rejected allegations that the populist authorities were in any way responsible for the shootings. Instead, she accused the opposition of fueling violence in society and threatening President Aleksandar Vucic. Brnabic blasted the opposition-led protests as purely political, saying they were intended to topple Vucic and the government by force.

You are the core of the spiral of violence in this society, Brnabic told opposition lawmakers. You are spewing hatred.

She also said that everything that has happened in Serbia after the mass shootings was directly the work of foreign intelligence services, adding that her government could be changed only by the will of the people in elections and not on the streets.

The opposition gathering Friday evening outside the parliament building in Belgrade, is the third since the shootings. The two previous gatherings drew tens of thousands of people who marched peacefully, only occasionally chanting slogans against Vucic.

Authorities have launched a gun crackdown in the aftermath of the shootings and sent police to schools in an effort to boost a shaken sense of security.

Faced with public pressure, the increasingly autocratic Vucic has scheduled a rally of his own for next week in the capital while suggesting that the entire government could resign and a snap vote be called for September.

He also attended his party's rally Friday in the town of Pancevo that started at the same time as the opposition-led protest in the capital.

In his speech, Vucic mirrored his prime minister's narrative, suggesting the opposition protests had been orchestrated from abroad. He accused his political opponents of trying to take power through violence and destroy Serbia.

There can be no (coming to) power without elections," Vucic told the crowd. I will never serve foreigners.

Earlier in the parliament, Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic, whose resignation is demanded by protesters, defended the police measures in the aftermath of the shootings. He also told parliament that citizens have so far handed over more than 23,000 weapons and over 1 million rounds of ammunition since a one-month amnesty was declared on May 8.

Police could not have known or predicted that something like this would happen, he said of the school shooting, the first ever in Serbia.

Gasic also confirmed media reports that a man who was recently released from a mental hospital fired an anti-tank missile on Thursday at an empty house from a grenade launcher in the town of Ruma, outside Belgrade. No one was injured in the incident, and Gasic said two people were arrested.

Serbia is flooded with weapons left over from the wars of the 1990s, including rocket launchers and hand grenades. Other gun-control measures declared in the wake of the shootings include better control of gun owners and shooting ranges, a moratorium on new licenses and harsh sentences for possession of illegal weapons.

-

Dusan Stojanovic contributed.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP)  Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee signed a bill into law Thursday that would let state funds be used to pay for health insurance plans that cover state workers and Medicaid recipients seeking abortions.

The signing ceremony was held almost immediately after the state Senate approved the measure, also Thursday, on a 24-12 vote following less than an hour of debate in the chamber.

McKee, a Democrat, said he was proud to sign the bill into law and include related funding in his state budget proposal.

Here in Rhode Island, we will always protect a womans right to choose and ensure equal access to these crucial health care services, he said.

An identical version of the measure cleared the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on April 27 by a 49-24 vote.

Democratic state Sen. Bridget Valverde, one of the bills sponsors, said that despite a vote by Rhode Island lawmakers four years ago to enshrine the right to safe, legal abortion in the state, the work to help guarantee access to abortions was unfinished.

For so many the right has remained illusive, she said. Thats because a right to a health care service is useless if we intentionally prevent peoples health insurance from covering it.

Medicaid patients and state workers deserve to have the same access to care as people enrolled in private health insurance plans, she said.

With the new law, doctors will no longer have to tell their low-income patients that their health insurance won't cover their abortion, she added.

Opponents said the state shouldn't require state taxpayers, including those with moral objections to the procedure, to cover the cost of abortions.

For decades, the consensus has maintained that regardless of one's view on the legality or appropriateness of abortion, taxpayers should not be forced or encouraged to pay for abortions, said Republican Sen. Jessica de la Cruz.

About a quarter of Rhode Islanders are covered by Medicaid, and another 30,000 are covered by state employee plans, backers of the new law said. They have had to pay out of pocket for the full cost of abortions.

In his budget plan for fiscal year 2024, McKee includes funding to add abortion coverage to Rhode Islands Medicaid program and to the insurance coverage for state employees, at a projected cost of $622,000.

The legislation repeals a section of state law banning Rhode Island from including any provision that provides coverage for induced abortions in any health insurance contracts with state employees. The current law exempts instances when the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term, or when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.

Other critics, including Democratic House Labor Committee Chair Arthur Corvese, have said its one thing to end a pregnancy because of rape, incest or the health of the mother, and another to do so because it was unplanned.

The Rhode Island measure follows a pattern that has emerged during the first legislative sessions in most states since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Republicans are moving to make abortion restrictions tougher, while Democratic-dominated states are moving to protect access for their residents and residents of other states arriving for care.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

A whole new thing to worry about has just arrived. It joins a list of existential concerns for the future, along with global warming, the wobbling of democracy, the relationship with China, the national debt, the supply chain crisis, and the wreckage in the schools.

Artificial intelligence, known as AI, has had pride of place on the worry list for weeks. Its arrival was trumpeted for a long time, including by the government and by techies across the board. But it took ChatGPT, an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, for the hair on the back of the national neck to rise.

Now we know the race into the unknown is speeding up. The tech biggies, like Google and Facebook, are trying to catch the lead claimed by Microsoft. They are rushing headlong into a science the experts say they only partially understand. They really dont know how these complex systems work; maybe like a book that the author cannot read after having written it.

Incalculable acres of newsprint and untold decibels of broadcasting have been raising the alarm ever since a ChatGPT test told a New York Times reporter that it was in love with him and he should leave his wife. Guffaws all around, but also fear and doubt about the future.

Will this Frankenstein creature turn on us? Maybe it loves just one person, hates the rest of us, and plans to do something about it.

In an interview on the PBS television program White House Chronicle, John Savage, An Wang professor emeritus of computer science at Brown University, told me there was a danger of over-reliance, and hence mistakes, on decisions made using AI.

For example, he said, some Stanford students partly covered a stop sign with black and white pieces of tape. AI misread the sign as signaling it was OK to travel 45 mph. Similarly, Savage said the slightest calibration error in a medical operation using artificial intelligence could result in a fatality.

Savage believes AI needs to be regulated and that any information generated by AI needs verification.

As a journalist, it is the latter that alarms.

Already, AI is writing fake music almost undetectably. There is a real possibility that it can write legal briefs. So why not usurp journalism for ulterior purposes and put stiffs like me out of work?

AI images can already be made to speak and look like the humans they are aping. How will you recognize a deep fake from the real thing? Probably, you wont.

We are struggling with what is fact and where is the truth. There is so much disinformation, so speedily dispersed that some journalists are in a state of shell shock, particularly in Eastern Europe, where legitimate writers and broadcasters are assaulted daily with disinformation from Russia.

How can we tell what is true? a reporter in Vilnius, Lithuania, asked me during an Association of European Journalists meeting as the Russian disinformation campaign was revving up before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Well, that is going to get a lot harder. You need to know the provenance of information and images before they are published, Brown Universitys Savage said.

But how? In a newsroom on deadline, we have to trust the information we have. One wonders to what extent malicious users of the new technology will infiltrate research materials or, later, the content of encyclopedias. Or, are the tools of verification themselves trustworthy?

Obviously, there will be upsides to thinking-machines scouring the internet for information on which to make decisions. I think of handling nuclear waste; disarming old weapons; simulating the battlefield; incorporating historical knowledge; and seeking new products and materials. Medical research will accelerate, one assumes.

However, privacy may be a thing of the past  it almost certainly will be.

Just consider that attractive person you saw at the supermarket but were unsure what would happen if you initiated a conversation. Snap a picture on your camera, and in no time AI will tell you who the stranger is, whether the person might want to know you and, if that should be your interest, whether the person is married, in a relationship or just waiting to meet someone like you. Or whether he or she is a spy for a hostile government.

AI might save us from ourselves.

But we should ask how badly we need saving  and be prepared to ignore the answer. We are human.
Gov. Gregory Abbott blamed the shooting at a Texas mall on mental health. Critics have claimed that Texas budget cuts in health and low spending contributed to the tragedy, as well as other such killings in the Lone Star State.

Both may be overstating the connection between mental health and mass shootings. I look at what the American Psychological Association has found, as well as my analysis of mass shootings and spending on mental health in states.

HuffPost reported that on Fox News Sunday after a pair of mass shootings in Texas, Abbott said, What Texas is doing in a big-time way, we are working to address that anger and violence by going to its root cause which is addressing the mental health problems behind it. ... People want a quick solution. The long-term solution here is to address the mental health issue.

Yet last year, after the Uvalde shooting, CNNs Pamela Brown reported that despite Abbotts assertion that the issue is tied to mental health, hes cut more than $117 million from the states Health and Human Services Commission in 2021 to a little more than $93 million in 2022. Mental Health America, a non-profit tracking mental health resources across the country, however, ranked Texas 50 out of 51 territories for mental health access in 2021. It also ranked 15 for adults and 30 for youth  indicating that it had high prevalence of mental health illnesses but limited care according to Business Insider.

In response to ABC News reporting on Abbotts budget cuts, his office put out the statement. Governor Abbott also made addressing statewide mental health needs an emergency item during the 86th legislative session, passing and signing a bill creating the Child Mental Health Consortium and the Child Psychiatric Access Network. CPAN provides telehealth-based consultation and training to primary care providers.

Would simply spending more on mental health solve the problem? To determine this, I use the Mental Health America data on rankings for mental health resource availability, and analyze all mass shootings in America for 2023, comparing the 19 states with a mass shooting (with multiple victims and at least three dead with more) with the 31 which have other shootings.

Results show that states which had a mass shooting averaged a ranking of 24th among all states, in comparison to 27th in mental health resources for states that did not have a mass shooting. There was no significant different in mental health resources and mass shootings. I alter the types of shooting cases, and the states included, but the results do not change. I didnt find a statistical relationship between mental health resources and these spree slaughters.

An APA report about mental health and mass shootings reveals, It is important to learn about these issues not only to better treat these individuals and to aid their families and communities but to combat the misperception that most people with serious mental illness are violent," adds Jeffrey Swanson, a medical sociologist at Duke University School of Medicine and a prominent researcher of the topic.

For example, people often believe that people with mental illness are largely responsible for incidents of mass violence and that people with mental illness are responsible for a large share of community violence. Yet both views have been roundly debunked by research," says Swanson.

Mental health spending is a good idea, not just to treat those with problems, but it could cut down on the massive numbers of suicides. But it wont cut down on the mass shooters, who often are either undiagnosed or have other anger issues unrelated to mental health, combined with easy access to firearms. That would likely do more to cut down on all of those killings.
Deterrence is the new word for defense. Now the Americans and South Koreans are talking about vastly increasing their deterrence against North Korea, which says it is building more and better missiles and more nuclear warheads, too, all for defense. When our leaders talk about increasing deterrence, they, too, mean doing a lot more to defend against enemies.

President Biden, at his summit with South Koreas President Yoon Suk-yeol, engaged in rhetorical pyrotechnics, declaring a nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies would result in the end of whatever regime were to take such an action.

Big talk, but American military people have been saying the same thing for years. Kim Jong-un may order the Norths seventh nuclear test, but hes not about to fall into the pit of ordering a direct attack, nuclear or not, knowing the holy hell that would befall him.

The term now in vogue is extended deterrence, but what does extend add to the equation, the balance of forces? Will American and South Korean troops stage more and better military exercises? Will we send big bombers from Guam and Okinawa to prowl below the Demilitarized Zone, within eyesight of North Korean gunners waiting to ambush them from the other side?

Nor does the news, imparted by Biden, that a single nuclear-powered American submarine is visiting a Korean port alter the balance. The fact that its nuclear is not a game-changer. So are the aircraft carriers that move in and out of Korean ports. Will the carriers be cruising off the east and west coasts of South Korea more often? Maybe. Will the aircraft they carry do more than play war games, showing their versatility and sophistication? Sure, but Kim will not try to shoot one of them down any more than Biden will order them to fire on the North Koreans.

The Americans use the word deterrence to put off South Korean desires for more than just rhetoric. Most South Koreans think South Korea should be producing its own nuclear warheads, and many want the Americans to store nuclear warheads in the South as they were doing until 1991 when George H.W. Bush, then president, withdrew them. The joint Washington Declaration signed by Biden and Yoon put the kibosh on any notion of reversing that decision.

Now Biden and Yoon have agreed on setting up a consultative committee of South Koreans and Americans to ensure theyre all on the same page. But havent they always been doing that? The committee will provide another channel to exchange views but it wont change much. It all depends on the closeness of contacts, the degree of mutual trust and politics back home.

There was probably a lot more chance in 1991 that North Korea would denuclearize than today. Roh Tae-woo, the general elected South Koreas president in 1987, was riding high years before he was jailed for massive corruption and his role in repressing the bloody Gwangju Revolt of May 1980. North Korea at that time was far from fabricating its first nuclear warhead, much less testing one, which did not happen until 15 years later when Kim Jong-il, father of Kim Jong-un, ordered the Norths first nuclear test.

Now Kim Jong-ils son, Kim Jong-un, is hinting he might fire one of his latest models for real, making extended deterrence all the more necessary. So what are the implications? The answer is not pleasant to contemplate. Might South Korea discourage activists from opposing the Korean-American alliance?

Given the firepower of South Korea, theres no need for the South to go nuclear, considering all the nukes the U.S. has stockpiled in Japan, Guam and Hawaii, and also on aircraft carriers. The South does not have to go nuke for nuke against the North to give new meaning to the phrase extended deterrence.
Russia targets Greenpeace in crackdown on dissent but Kremlin critic Roizman avoids prison View Photo

MOSCOW (AP)  The Russian branch of the environmental group Greenpeace on Friday announced it would close after the authorities declared Greenpeace International to be an undesirable organization.

A statement from the national prosecutor-generals office said it had determined that Greenpeace posed a threat to the foundations of the constitutional order and security of the Russian Federation and pointed in particular to the conflict in Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the special military operation of the Russian Federation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, Greenpeace activists have been engaged in anti-Russian propaganda, calling for further economic isolation of our country and tougher sanctions, it said.

But Greenpeaces Russian office said, We are sure that the declaration of Greenpeace International as an undesirable organization is due precisely to the fact that we tried to prevent the implementation of plans that are destructive to nature and in many cases did it successfully.

This decision makes it illegal for any Greenpeace activity to continue in Russia. Therefore, the Russian branch of Greenpeace is forced to close, it said on its website.

Amsterdam-based Greenpeace International said it had no immediate comment. Since launching the Ukraine operation in February 2022, the Russian government has intensified its crackdown on dissent and toughened legislation against critics.

The authorities have methodically targeted people and organizations critical of the Kremlin, branding many as foreign agents, declaring some as undesirable and prosecuting those found to have discredited the military.

The dissident former mayor of Russias fourth-largest city was found guilty Friday of such discrediting, but avoided a prison sentence.

Yevgeny Roizman, 60, a sharp critic of the Kremlin, is one of the most visible and charismatic opposition figures in Russia. He enjoyed broad popularity while serving as mayor of Yekaterinburg, a city of 1.5 million people in the Ural Mountains.

Roizman, who was mayor from 2013 to 2018, was arrested last August on charges of discrediting the Russian military, under a new law adopted after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine. Prosecutors at the time singled out a video broadcast Roizman made in July 2022 in which he criticized Russias intervention.

Last year, Russian courts repeatedly fined Roizman on similar charges in an administrative court. Under the law, repeat offenses can be tried in a criminal court.

While the charge of discrediting the Russian military could carry a prison sentence, a Yekaterinburg court on Friday instead fined Roizman 260,000 rubles ($3250), in line with a request made the day before by the prosecution.

The ex-mayor told reporters Friday that he didnt plan to appeal the verdict, which he described as an acquittal in the current conditions.

Russian courts have regularly handed out fines and, occasionally, prison terms for public criticism of Moscows actions in Ukraine.

A top opposition figure, Vladimir Kara-Murza, was convicted last month of treason and sentenced to 25 years in jail over public speeches against the military operation. Human rights organizations and Western governments denounced the verdict and demanded Kara-Murzas release. Amnesty International declared the 41-year-old to be a prisoner of conscience.

Another prominent Kremlin critic, Ilya Yashin, was sentenced last year to eight and a half years in prison on charges of spreading false information about the military.

In March, a Russian court also convicted a father over social media posts critical of the military operation and sentenced him to two years in prison. His 13-year-old daughter, who drew a sketch at school expressing distress over Moscows actions, was sent to an orphanage before being taken to live with her estranged mother.
UN envoy reportedly meeting Russian official accused of war crimes for deporting Ukrainian children View Photo

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  The U.N. envoy charged with trying to protect children caught in conflicts is in Moscow, where she is reported to be meeting Russias childrens rights commissioner, who is charged with war crimes for deporting children from Ukraine.

Human Rights Watch strongly criticized Virginia Gambas reported meeting with Maria Lvova-Belova, saying the Russian commissioner should be behind bars and not meeting with senior U.N. representatives.

Its hard to imagine any circumstance that would justify Gamba meeting with a suspected war criminal, when there are clearly other officials she could meet with instead, Balkees Jarrah, associate director of the groups International Justice Program, said.

U.N. associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay did not confirm that Gamba was meeting with Lvova-Belova while in Moscow. Pressed on whether there was anyone else Gamba could meet with, Tremblay replied: Her role is really to do everything she can to improve the protection of children impacted by armed conflict and preventing violations that could be committed against them.

The spokesperson also would not say whether Gamba was discussing the return of Ukrainian children, telling reporters that details will be included in her report to the U.N. Security Council, which is expected in early July. Gamba was in Ukraine last week to meet with officials there before traveling to Moscow.

In March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Lvova-Belova and Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing them of abducting children from Ukraine.

The deportation of Ukrainian children following Russias Feb. 24, 2022, invasion is an emotional issue not only for the families but for millions of Ukrainians and their global supporters.

An Associated Press investigation published in October on Lvova-Belovas involvement in the abduction of Ukrainian children found that an open effort to put Ukrainian children up for adoption in Russia was well under way.

The exact number of Ukrainian children taken to Russia has been difficult to determine. A statement posted on Twitter by Ukraines U.N. ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, on April 5 said more than 19,500 children had been seized from their families or orphanages and forcibly deported.

In April, Lvova-Belova addressed an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council by video link. Western ambassadors boycotted the meeting, which had been called by Russia.

She told the council that the children were taken for their safety and Moscow was coordinating with international organizations to return them to their families. She said Russia had taken in more than 5 million Ukrainians, including 700,000 children  all with parents, relatives or legal guardians except for 2,000 from orphanages in Ukraines eastern Donbas, where fighting has been intense.

By early April, she said, about 1,300 children had been returned to their orphanages, 400 were sent to Russian orphanages, and 358 were placed in foster homes. She insisted there had been no adoptions.

After visiting Ukraine, Gamba commended the Kyiv government for measures it has taken to protect children, who she said are disproportionately affected by the war.

Children have been killed or maimed, their schools and hospitals have been attacked and the unbearable levels of violence they are experiencing daily is leaving deep scars that will last for a lifetime, she said in a statement on May 14.

By EDITH M. LEDERER

Associated Press
BRUSSELS (AP)  Authorities have detained seven people, most of them Chechen origin, on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack in Belgium, the federal prosecutors office said Thursday.

The office said in a statement that the suspects had not yet selected a precise target but police decided to pick them for questioning anyway.

All of them are suspected of preparing a terrorist attack in Belgium, the statement said. The examining magistrate will decide at a later stage whether to bring them before him and possibly issue an arrest warrant.

Three of the suspects are Belgian nationals, according to federal prosecutors. The offices statement said all seven allegedly belonged to a group of strong supporters of the Islamic State extremist group.

Possible charges are attempted terrorist assassination, participation at the activities of a terrorist group and preparation of a terrorist attack, according to the statement.

Belgium was hit by several terror attacks in the past decade, including suicide bombings in 2016 that killed 32 people and injured hundreds more in the Brussels subway and airport.
Oil drilling project near mouth of Amazon River rejected by Brazils environmental regulator View Photo

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  Brazils environmental regulator has rejected a license for a controversial offshore oil drilling project near the mouth of the Amazon River that had drawn strong opposition from activists who warned of its potential for damaging the area.

The agencys president, Rodrigo Agostinho, highlighted environmental concerns in announcing the decision Wednesday evening to turn down the state-run oil company Petrobras request to drill the FZA-M-59 block. He cited a group of technical inconsistencies in the companys application.

With Brazils existing production set to peak in coming years, Petrobras has sought to secure more reserves off Brazils northern coast. The company earmarked almost half its five-year, $6 billion exploration budget for the area, and in a statement Thursday said it would file an official request that the decision be reconsidered.

CEO Jean Paul Prates had said that the first well would be temporary and that the company has never recorded a leak in offshore drilling. The company failed to convince the environmental agency.

There is no doubt that Petrobras was offered every opportunity to remedy critical points of its project, but that it still presents worrisome inconsistencies for the safe operation in a new exploratory frontier with high socioenvironmental vulnerability, Agostinho wrote in his decision.

The unique and biodiverse area is home to little-studied swaths of mangroves and a coral reef, and activists and experts had said the project risked leaks that could be carried widely by tides and imperil the sensitive environment.

Eighty civil society and environmental organizations, including WWF Brasil and Greenpeace, had called for the license to be rejected pending an in-depth study.

Caetano Scannavino, coordinator of Health and Happiness, an Amazon non-profit group that supports sustainable projects in the Tapajos basin, congratulated Agostinho on Twitter for not succumbing to pressure, asking for more studies, and prioritizing science in the service of the collective.

It is a sensitive, little-studied region, and theres no way back for any mistake there, Scannavino added. Not to mention the governments promise of a decarbonized future.

The Climate Observatory, a network of environmental non-profits, also cheered the decision, saying in a statement that Agostinho is protecting a virtually unknown ecosystem and maintains the coherence of the Lula government, which has promised in its discourse to be guided by the fight against the climate crisis.

During the first presidential terms of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, from 2003 to 2010, huge offshore discoveries became a means of financing health, education and welfare programs. Some members of his Workers Party continue to see oil as a means to ensure social progress.

Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira said in March that the area is the passport to the future for development in Brazils northern region. In his prior terms, Lula used the same phrase to describe the offshore oil discoveries in an area known as pre-salt.

But Lula has strived to demonstrate the environmental awakening he has undergone in the years since, with protection of the Amazon a fixture in his campaign last year to unseat Jair Bolsonaro and return to the presidency.

Activists and experts had warned that approval for the offshore oil project could threaten the natural world, but also dent Lulas newfound image as an environmental defender.

The process to obtain an environmental license for the FZA-M-59 block began in 2014, at the request of BP Energy do Brasil. Exploration rights were transferred to Petrobras in 2020.

Suely Araujo, a former head of the environment agency and now a public policy specialist with the Climate Observatory, said Agostinho made the right call not just for the specific project, but also for the nation.

The decision in this case gives cause for a broader debate about the role of oil in the countrys future. It is time to establish a calendar to eliminate fossil fuels and accelerate the just transition for oil exporting countries, such as Brazil, and not open a new exploration frontier, Araujo said in a statement. Those who sleep today dreaming of oil wealth tend to wake up tomorrow with a stranded asset, or an ecological disaster, or both.

Not all of Lulas allies were pleased. Sen. Randolfe Rodrigues, a member of the Sustainability Network political party and the governments leader in Congress, said the decision deprives people in his home state of Amapa from much-needed development and goes against research conducted in the state, which is closest to the proposed drilling site.

We will gather together all those who want Amapas sustainable development, so that technically, legally and responsiibly we can fight against this decision, Rodrigues wrote on Twitter.

He announced he would leave the center-left party, of which Environment Minister Marina Silva is a leading member. She appointed Agostinho to lead the environment regulator.

In its statement, Petrobras said it believes it strictly followed all licensing requirements and highlighted that the proposed drilling, in an area known as the Equatorial Margin, was proposed for an area over 500 kilometers (over 300 miles) from the Amazon Rivers mouth.

The company remains committed to the development of the Brazilian Equatorial Margin, recognizing the importance of new frontiers to ensure the countrys energy security and the resources needed for a fair and sustainable energy transition, the statement said. To supply Brazils future demand for oil, the country will have to look for new sources in addition to the pre-salt.

Other controversial megaprojects in the Amazon that remain on the table include repaving a highway that would slice through preserved rainforest, construction of a major railway for grain transport and renewal of a giant hydroelectric dams license.

___

Associated Press writer Eleonore Hughes in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.

By DAVID BILLER

Associated Press
Bark Beetle destruction View Photo

Sonora, CA  CAL Fire is asking forest property owners to help them keep California forests healthy by preventing the spread of bark beetle outbreaks.

The damage from the historic 2023 winter storms uprooted and downed ponderosa pines, leaving some lying on the forest floor, which can attract bark beetles if not treated and monitored. CAL Fire officials urge, Timberland owners should work with a licensed timber operator to salvage trees by moving downed trees to markets where the accumulated carbon can be stored for years or used as fuel in plants with the best available control technology to reduce harmful smoke emissions.

CAL Fire offers these tips for trees that are going to remain on timberlands:

Lop branches from stems and spread them in sunny areas away from roads or structures.

Buck pine logs to lengths shorter than four feet, or bury, chip, de-bark, solarize, or burn pine slash before beetle colonies become established and spread to nearby healthy pines.

CAL Fire noted that healthy trees can fend off bark beetle attacks by exuding pitch into the holes, pushing the beetles out. However, they say drought-stressed trees have a difficult time producing enough pitch to fight off insects. For more information on how to help, get tips from the California Forest Pest Councils Tree Notes (3, 19, and 28) by clicking here, or contact a local forester.
Saudi surge of diplomacy brings Assad, Zelenskyy to Arab summit View Photo

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP)  Saudi Arabia hosted an Arab League summit on Friday in which Syrian President Bashar Assad was welcomed back after a 12-year suspension and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to rally support against Russia.

Russian airstrikes have left a swath of destruction across both countries, but in Syria they came at Assads invitation and helped him cling to power through years of grinding civil war. Other Arab states have deepened ties with Moscow while remaining largely neutral on the Ukraine war.

The odd pairing of the two leaders in the same forum is the result of a recent flurry of diplomacy by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is pursuing regional rapprochement with the same vigor he previously brought to the kingdoms confrontation with archrival Iran.

In recent months, Saudi Arabia has restored diplomatic ties with Iran, is ending the kingdoms yearslong war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen and led the push for Syrias return to the 22-member Arab League.

The Saudi crown prince welcomed both Assad and Zelenskyy to the Red Sea city of Jeddah, expressing support for whatever helps in reducing the crisis between Russia and Ukraine. He added that the kingdom, which brokered a prisoner exchange last year, is ready to exert efforts for mediation.

Addressing the summit in English, Zelenskyy appeared to invoke the Arab worlds own troubled history of invasion and occupation, saying Ukraine will never submit to any foreigners or colonizers.

He took a swipe at Iran for supplying attack drones to Russia and spoke about the suffering of Muslim ethnic Tatars living under Russian occupation in Crimea. He also accused some in the hall of turning a blind eye to Russias violations.

The visit comes amid a whirlwind of international travel by the Ukrainian leader, but until now he has mostly visited allied countries.

Saudi Arabia pledged $400 million in aid to Ukraine earlier this year and has voted in favor of U.N. resolutions calling on Russia to end its invasion and opposing the annexation Ukrainian territory. But it has resisted U.S. pressure to increase oil production in order to squeeze Russias revenues.

Assad, a close ally of both Russia and Iran, said he hoped the summit would mark a new stage of Arab solidarity that would bring peace instead of war and destruction. He added that Arab countries should reject external interference in their affairs.

A collective statement issued at the conclusion of the summit rejected any illegitimate foreign presence in Syria and supported the eventual return of Syrian refugees. It also condemned Israels crimes against the Palestinian people, called on Lebanon to overcome its political paralysis and encouraged dialogue in Sudan, where rival generals have been at war since last month.

In recent years, Assads forces have recaptured much of Syrias territory from insurgents with crucial military aid from Russia and Iran. Saudi Arabia was a major sponsor of the opposition at the height of the war but pulled back as the insurgents were eventually cornered in a small pocket of northwestern Syria.

Saudi Arabias push to bring Syria back into the fold is part of a broader shift in the kingdoms approach to regional politics, says Torbjorn Soltvedt, a leading Mideast analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

The previously adventurist foreign policy defined by the Yemen intervention and efforts to confront Iran are now being abandoned in favor of a more cautious approach, he said.

Assads first official meeting on Friday was with his Tunisian counterpart, Kais Saied, who is waging his own crackdown on dissent in the birthplace of the Arab Spring protests that swept the region in 2011.

We stand together against the movement of darkness, Assad said, apparently referring to extremist groups that came to dominate the Syrian opposition as the civil war ground on, and which drew large numbers of recruits from Tunisia.

The Saudi crown prince later welcomed each leader to the summit, including a smiling Assad. The two shook hands and kissed cheeks before the Syrian leader walked into the hall.

There are some Arab holdouts to Damascus rehabilitation, including gas-rich Qatar, which still supports Syrias opposition and says it wont normalize bilateral relations without a political solution to the conflict. Qatars ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, attended the start of the summit but walked out before Assad spoke, a Saudi official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release details of the proceedings.

Western countries, which still view Assad as a pariah over his forces aerial bombardment and gas attacks against civilians during the 12-year civil war, have criticized his return to the Arab fold and vowed to maintain crippling sanctions that have hampered reconstruction.

Years of heavy fighting involving Assads forces, the opposition and jihadi outfits like the Islamic State group left entire villages and neighborhoods in ruins. The conflict killed nearly a half million people and displaced half of the countrys pre-war population of 23 million.

American lawmakers advanced bipartisan legislation this week that would further tighten sanctions on Assad, who came to power in 2000 after the death of his father. But the White House National Security Council expressed concern Friday that the additional measures would make it unduly difficult to provide humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people.

The U.S. administration remains committed to a roadmap to peace drafted more than a decade ago. But several rounds of peace talks held over the years went nowhere, and Assad has had little incentive to compromise since Russia entered the war on his side.

Arab leaders appear to be focused on more modest goals, like enlisting Assads help in countering militant groups and drug traffickers, and bringing about the return of Syrian refugees, many of whom fled to escape his autocratic rule.

Asked about American criticism of the restoration of relations with Syria, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said there is no way to solve the Syrian crisis without a dialogue with the Syrian government.

There is a humanitarian crisis. There are Syrian refugees who want to return to their country, he said.

___

Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.

By BASSEM MROUE

Associated Press
Tunisian leader calls meeting with Syrias Assad historic, buries memories of Arab Spring View Photo

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP)  Smiles, a handshake and what Tunisian President Kais Saied called a historic meeting with the long-ostracized Syrian leader Bashar Assad.

The talks between the two presidents, held before the start on Friday of the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia, buried memories, and perhaps the legacy, of the Arab Spring which started in Tunisia 12 years ago. That series of uprisings gave the North African country its first taste of democracy as protests rolled across the region, including in Syria.

Today, I am absolutely convinced of Tunisian support for Syria, a statement from Saieds office said after what it called the historic meeting.

Tunisia, reborn after its 2011 revolution which toppled autocratic ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was among the fiercest critics of Assad. But Saied has largely trampled the gains of Tunisias revolution since his 2019 election, notably by assuming near full powers after suspending the legislature in 2021 then dissolving it in his crackdown on corruption and dissent.

Tunisia resumed diplomatic relations with Syria in April, and Assads presence at the Arab League summit sealed Syrias return to the club of Arab nations.

The official TAP news agency showed photos of him and Assad greeting each other with smiles, a warm hand shake and a sit-down for serious talks. Assad was invited to the residence where the Tunisian president was staying in Jeddah, the Saudi Arabian city hosting the summit.

Syria was kicked out of the club of Arab nations in 2011 at the start of its brutal civil war. That was months after Tunisias revolution.

We stand together against the movement of darkness, Assad said, apparently referring to extremist groups that came to dominate the Syrian opposition as his countrys war ground on, and militants groups there drew a large number of recruits from Tunisia.

In an interview with Tunisian television, Assad said that the North African country used to be a platform to propagate the (Islamist) mindset.

After my meeting with Kais Saied, I am now convinced that the Arab people hasnt changed and Tunisia is the same, he was quoted as saying by the Radio Mosaique.

Among numerous figures jailed in Saieds crackdown is Rached Ghannouchi, head of the moderate Islamist party that triumphed in Tunisias first free elections in October 2011. Ghannouchi was also speaker of the parliament that Saied dissolved.
China warns against geopolitical games as US announces Blinken trip to Papua New Guinea

China warns against geopolitical games as US announces Blinken trip to Papua New Guinea View Photo

BEIJING (AP)  China on Friday warned against the introduction of geopolitical games in the South Pacific following the announcement that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Papua New Guinea next week.

The U.S. opted to send Blinken after President Joe Biden canceled what was to have been a historic stop in Papua New Guinea as well as a visit to Australia for a meeting of leaders of the so-called Quad partnership so he can focus on debt limit talks in Washington.

The administration has made putting a greater focus on the Pacific region central to its global outreach, largely to counter Chinas growing influence there.

China has no objection to normal exchanges and cooperation between relevant parties and Pacific Island countries, and has always advocated that the international community should pay more attention to and support the development and revitalization of the island countries, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily briefing.

However, Wang added, We also oppose any introduction of any geopolitical games into the Pacific Island country region.

Bidens planned Papua New Guinea visit would have been the first by a sitting U.S. president to the island country of more than 9 million people.

The area has received diminished attention from the U.S. in the aftermath of the Cold War, and China has increasingly filled the vacuum through increased aid, development and security cooperation. The U.S. and regional partners New Zealand and Australia were particularly concerned when China signed a security pact last year with the Solomon Islands that could allow the presence of Chinese naval ships and security forces.

The Solomon Islands later agreed to sign an accord between the United States and more than a dozen Pacific nations after indirect references to China were removed, with its foreign minister saying he didnt want his country to be forced to take sides.

Last September, Biden also hosted leaders from more than a dozen Pacific Island countries at the White House, announcing a new strategy to help the region with climate change and maritime security. A second summit is planned later this year.

His administration also recently opened embassies in the Solomon Islands and Tonga and has plans to open one in Kiribati.

During his visit on Sunday and Monday to Port Moresby, Papua New Guineas capital, Blinken will meet with leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum on Bidens behalf, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Thursday.

The sides will discuss shared priorities such as tackling the climate crisis, advancing inclusive economic growth for the people of the Pacific Islands, and highlighting the U.S. commitment to realize a prosperous, resilient, and secure Pacific Islands region, Miller said, without mentioning China.

Blinken will also meet with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape and sign bilateral defense cooperation and maritime security agreements, Miller said.
Truck driver arrested in multi-vehicle freeway crash that killed 7 in Oregon View Photo

ALBANY, Ore. (AP)  The driver of a semitruck that slammed into a passenger van on Interstate 5 in western Oregon, killing 7 people in one of the states deadliest crashes in recent years, was arrested Friday on suspicion of manslaughter, DUI and other charges, police said.

Eleven people were in the van when it was struck, authorities said. Six people died at the scene, one more died after being airlifted to a hospital and four were injured, according to Oregon State Police.

State police said the names of the victims would not be made public until their families have been notified. Authorities have not released information about the condition of the four injured passengers.

Lincoln Clayton Smith, 52, of North Highlands, California, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, manslaughter and assault, police said.

Smith was arraigned in the afternoon and was being held without bail in Marion County Jail. It wasnt clear whether his case had been assigned to the state public defenders office or a specific attorney. The office didnt immediately respond to a message asking about that, and a lawyer whose name appears in court documents said she had not formally been assigned the case and could not comment.

At the arraignment, a district attorney said Smith refused a field sobriety test and was unable to focus and answer basic questions, the Salem Statesman Journal reported. The prosecutor also said Smith acknowledged taking speed the day before the crash and was in possession of methamphetamine, according to the paper.

The husband of one of the dead passengers said their 1-year-old son had asked for his mother on Friday.

My future is destroyed, he was quoted as saying, through an interpreter, by the Statesman Journal, which published a photo of victims relatives and friends outside the Marion County Court annex after the arraignment.

Two semitrucks and the van were involved in the Thursday afternoon crash near Albany, in an agricultural area in the Willamette Valley.

The truck driven by the suspect left the northbound lanes of I-5 and hit the van as it was parked on the roadside, according to police. The van was then pushed into the back of another truck parked in front of it.

Witnesses said the first truck had been weaving on and off the road and hit the van without braking first, according to comments by the DA as reported by the Statesman Journal.

The northbound lanes of I-5 were closed for hours as experts investigated but reopened Thursday night, state transportation officials said.

Bodies were seen covered in plastic in a nearby field after the crash, the Albany Democrat-Herald reported. Police and fire officials put a blue tarp on the wrecked van and placed a barrier near one of the trucks to block the view of the scene, according to the news outlet.

Life Flight Network confirmed that one of its emergency medical helicopters transported one patient to a Salem-area hospital.

Witness Adrian Gonzalez told the Statesman Journal the van was mangled by the force of the impact.

Judging by the damage, it looked like the van was sandwiched, he said. It got hit very hard.

The crash is one of the deadliest in Oregon in recent years.

A head-on collision on a remote road in Harney County in eastern Oregon in August 2018 killed a family of seven, including five young children. Eight people died in total.

In December 2012, nine people died after a tour bus careened on an icy Interstate 84 and crashed through a guardrail, plunging several hundred feet down a steep embankment. The bus was carrying about 40 people when the accident occurred in an area near Pendleton called Deadman Pass.

Another crash in 1988, also near Albany on I-5, killed 7 people and injured 37 more. Two infants were among those killed in the fiery 23-vehicle pileup.

Albany lies between Salem and Eugene and is about 70 miles (113 kilometers) south of Portland. I-5 is the main north-south interstate highway on the West Coast.
LAYTON, Utah. (AP)  A Utah man killed his wife and her parents and then called police Friday to report and admit to the crime, authorities said.

Jeremy Bailey, 34, surrendered without incident at the family home in Layton, just north of Salt Lake City, police said.

The bodies of Baileys wife, Anastasia Stevens, 36; Becky Stevens, 61; and Donald Stevens, 73; were found inside the house.

Becky Stevens was Anastasia Stevens stepmother and Donald Stevens was her father. Becky and Donald Stevens lived in Nevada and were visiting Bailey and Anastasia Stevens, who were living at the home where the bodies were found, police said in a statement.

Motive and cause of death were still being investigated. Three of the familys dogs also were killed.

Bailey couldnt be reached for comment and had no attorney listed to comment on his behalf.

Layton is a city of about 82,000 people 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Salt Lake City.
Sen. Tim Scott makes it official: Hes a Republican candidate for president View Photo

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina made it official Friday: Hes running for president.

Scott, the Senates only Black Republican, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring his intention to seek his partys nomination in 2024. His candidacy will test whether a more optimistic vision of Americas future can resonate with GOP voters who have elevated partisan brawlers in recent years.

The deeply religious 57-year-old former insurance broker has made his grandfathers work in the cotton fields of the Deep South a bedrock of his political identity. Yet he rejects the notion that racism remains a powerful force in society, and he has cast his candidacy and rise from generational poverty as the realization of a dream only possible in America.

Scott, who last month formed an exploratory committee allowing him to raise and spend money while weighing a White House campaign, has scheduled a formal announcement on Monday at Charleston Southern University, a private Baptist college and Scotts alma mater, in his hometown of North Charleston.

Scott already has scheduled TV ads to begin airing in the early voting states Iowa and New Hampshire early next week, the most significant advertising expenditure by a potential or declared candidate in the early stages of the 2024 nominating campaign.

Scott tries to focus on hopeful themes and avoid divisive language to distinguish himself from the grievance-based politics favored by those leading the GOP field, such as former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who hasnt yet entered the race but is expected to do so soon.

The senator refuses to frame his own life story around the countrys racial inequities. He insists that those who disagree with his views on the issue are trying to weaponize race to divide us, and that the truth of my life disproves their lies.

During a February visit to Iowa, which holds the first GOP presidential caucuses, Scott spoke of a new American sunrise rooted in collaboration.

I see a future where common sense has rebuilt common ground, where weve created real unity, not by compromising away our conservatism, but by winning converts to our conservatism, he said.

But Scott has his limits. During that same trip, he railed against political correctness in much the same fashion as Trump and DeSantis.

If you wanted a blueprint to ruin America, youd keep doing exactly what Joe Biden has let the far left do to our country for the past two years, he said. Tell every white kid theyre oppressors. Tell Black and brown kids their destiny is grievance, not greatness.

Scott speaks often about his hardscrabble roots. He was raised by a single mother who worked long hours as a nurses assistant to provide for him and his brother after her divorce from their father. Scott, who describes himself as a lackluster student, graduated from Charleston Southern University with a political science degree before opening an insurance business.

Scotts faith is an integral part of his political and personal story. Describing himself as a born-again believer, Scott often quotes Scripture at campaign events, weaving his reliance on spiritual guidance into his stump speech and using Faith in America to describe his series of political appearances before joining the race.

On many issues, Scott aligns with mainstream GOP positions. He wants to reduce government spending and restrict abortion, saying he would sign a federal law to prohibit abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy if elected president.

But Scott has pushed the party on some policing overhaul measures since the killing of George Floyd, and he has occasionally criticized Trumps response to racial tensions. Scott called it indefensible after Trump retweeted a post  that he later deleted  containing a racist slogan associated with white supremacists.

In the days that followed Trumps widely criticized response to a 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Scott said Trumps principles had been compromised and that without some introspection, it will be hard for him to regain  moral authority.

Throughout their disagreements, though, Scott has maintained a generally cordial relationship with Trump, saying in his book that the former president listened intently to his viewpoints on race-related issues.

A potentially more awkward rival for Scott will be Nikki Haley, Trumps former U.N. ambassador who helped fuel Scotts political rise when she was South Carolinas governor and appointed him to the Senate in 2012.

In filing the seat that had been held by Republican Jim DeMint, Scott became the first Black senator from the South since just after the Civil War. In a 2014 special election to serve out the remainder of his term, Scott became the first Black candidate to win a statewide race in South Carolina since the Reconstruction era.

He easily won reelection last year and had long said his current term, which runs through 2029, would be his last.

As a senator, Scott has been a go-to Republican voice on issues including policing and was the GOPs chief negotiator on legislation that ultimately stalled in 2021. He has also spoken on the Senate floor about his personal experiences as a Black man in America.

I have felt the anger, the frustration, the sadness and the humiliation that comes with feeling like youre being targeted for nothing more than just being yourself, Scott said in 2016, recounting how he was pulled over seven times in a year. He was once stopped by a U.S. Capitol Police officer who recognized the Senate lapel pin that Scott was wearing  but did not recognize Scott.

Scott rejects the notion that the country is inherently racist and has repudiated the teaching of critical race theory, an academic framework that presents the idea that the nations institutions maintain the dominance of white people.

Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country, Scott said. Its backwards to fight discrimination with different types of discrimination. And its wrong to try to use our painful past to dishonestly shut down debates in the present.

Scott believes parents should have more oversight over what their kids learn in public schools about race, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Scott has twice addressed the Republican National Convention  in 2012 as a first-term congressman and in 2020 as a senator. At the last GOP convention, he praised Trump for building the most inclusive economy ever and for supporting funding for historically Black colleges and universities.

After Bidens White House victory, Scott was tapped to give the GOP response to the new presidents first address to Congress.

Others in the GOP 2024 race include entrepreneur and Woke, Inc. author Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and radio show host Larry Elder. DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are among those who are expected to announce campaigns soon.

If Scott is successful, he would be the first Black person to win the Republican presidential nomination and the second elected to the presidency, following Barack Obama in 2008.

Scott frequently mentions that his family made it from cotton to Congress in one lifetime  a reference to his grandfather who left grade school to pick cotton in the Deep South.

___

Associated Press writer Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.

___

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP

By MEG KINNARD

Associated Press
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP)  American oil giant ExxonMobil said Friday it had appealed a recent Guyanese court ruling requiring it to obtain insurance for unlimited liability in the event of a major oil spill off the coast of Guyana.

The company said in a statement that the court had failed to consider that Exxon and consortium partners Hess Corp. and China National Overseas Offshore Corporation have the undoubted ability to meet their financial obligations in the event of a spill at their operation.

The consortium is operating the prolific Stabroek Block near the southeastern border with Suriname.

In the ruling two weeks ago, Guyanas high court ordered the local environmental agency to obtain independent liability insurance from Exxons subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Limited. It also sought an unlimited guarantee from its parent company in the case of damage caused by operations in the South American country.

The company argues that no insurance company would provide unlimited coverage.

Guyanas government said this week that it supports the appeal, contending the judge erred in the ruling in part because the environmental agency already has agreed with Exxon on the amount of money to set aside for each oil field to cover any damage from a spill.

Rights activists and environmentalists fear that a spill could severely harm the countrys marine resources while devastating the tourism economies of nearby Caribbean nations.

Exxon, the lead operator in the consortium, has argued that a spill is highly unlikely and that the court had failed to recognize the ability of the Stabroek block co-venturers to meet our financial obligations, which are supplemented by the insurance that we already have in place and the agreement we reached with the EPA for financial guarantees that exceed industry benchmarks.

Production began in December 2019, with some 380,000 barrels a day expected to soar to 1.2 million by 2027.

By BERT WILKINSON

Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. (AP)  The union that represents railroad engineers finally secured its first deal for paid sick time with Norfolk Southern, several months after other rail unions began reaching similar agreements with the major freight railroads.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen announced the deal with the railroad Thursday. Roughly 3,300 engineers who operate trains for Norfolk Southern will soon get five days of paid sick leave along with the option to convert two personal leave days to sick time, for a total of seven days a year.

This deal follows the model established by the conductors union in its first sick-time deals with Norfolk Southern and CSX. Those train crew workers are getting better deals, with five days of sick time, than the other smaller rail unions that received four days of sick time. But train crews work much more unpredictable and demanding schedules than other rail workers.

The railroads have also agreed to pay workers for any unused sick time at the end of the year.

More than a third of all rail workers have reached deals to gain sick time this year. The issue and other quality-of-life concerns nearly led to an economically devastating strike last fall. Congress intervened and blocked a walkout, forcing rail workers to accept a deal that more than half of them rejected.

Previously, the BLET union expressed frustration about the pace of sick-time negotiations and the demands railroads were making. Union officials said they didn't have to make any concessions to secure the deal with Norfolk Southern.

Its a transformative agreement, said Scott Bunten, one of the union's general chairmen who helped negotiate the deal. Of course we would have liked more days, but this is kind of a huge win for us because now our foot is in the door, so you know the next time we talk about this, we may get another day or two.

One of the key parts of the agreement is that engineers won't be disciplined under the railroad's attendance policy for using sick time. Bunten said that is huge because otherwise, engineers might have been reluctant to use the benefit.

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said the deal builds on the railroad's effort to enhance quality of life as we become the first railroad to reach an engineer sick leave deal.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  Torture is how New Mexicos top prosecutor describes the treatment a 38-year-old developmentally disabled woman endured before her death at the hands of her caregivers, who he said were paid thousands of dollars a month through a special program meant to offer an alternative to institutional care.

Attorney General Raul Torrez detailed the womans injuries during a news conference Thursday, saying she died weeks after being found in the back of a van as the caregivers tried to take her to Mexico so her wounds could be treated.

"The abuse and neglect that she endured was horrific and the injuries she sustained are among the worst I have seen in my career as a prosecutor, Torrez said. This was torture. Theres really no other word for it.

Three people were arrested and charged Wednesday with abuse and neglect following an investigation that began with the stop at the U.S.-Mexico border in late February.

The case spurred a statewide review of New Mexico's entire developmentally disabled waiver system. Social workers spent weeks conducting individual wellness checks on thousands of developmentally disabled people who receive care through the federally-funded waiver program.

More allegations of possible abuse and neglect were turned up, and the state Health Department canceled contracts with four providers in the Albuquerque area.

An affidavit filed by the Attorney Generals Office details the abuse that resulted in the charges filed Wednesday against Angelita Rene Chacon, 52, and Patricia Hurtado, 42, both of Rio Rancho. They face counts of abuse or neglect of a resident resulting in death, false imprisonment and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.

Luz Scott, 53, of Clovis, an acquaintance of the women, has been charged with false imprisonment and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.

Messages seeking comment from Daniel Lindsey, an attorney listed for Scott, were not immediately returned. Court records didn't indicate whether Chacon and Hurtado had lawyers yet.

The women were scheduled to make their first court appearances Friday.

According to the attorney general's office, Chacon and Hurtado contracted with At Home Advocacy and three other contractors to provide supplemental care for the victim. They were receiving about $5,000 a month under the waiver program to care for her.

Prosecutors say a preliminary review of available business records indicate that At Home Advocacy received nearly $250,000 to coordinate care and support for the victim in the three years before her death.

Records show the company last visited the home on Jan. 25, one month before the victim was found at the port of entry in El Paso.

According to court records, a supervisor with At Home Advocacy told FBI agents the company conducted monthly wellness visits at Chacons home but that body checks were not conducted during those visits and that no injuries were seen.

Authorities said the woman who died was severely dehydrated and drugged when she was found in the van. She also had numerous open wounds, bedsores with exposed bone and bruises and lacerations on various parts of her body.

They also described marks consistent with being restrained for a prolonged period of time.

Unable to speak when discovered by federal agents at the border crossing, she was transported to University Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, where she died on April 7. The Associated Press generally does not name people who have been abused.

Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and top health officials had warned that any caregivers who mistreat and abuse developmentally disabled or otherwise vulnerable people would be held accountable.

Republican legislative leaders also requested that the federal government investigate, saying an independent inquiry would ensure transparency and might prevent such cases in the future.

Both Torrez and Raul Bujanda, FBI Albuquerque agent in charge, called the case a wake-up call about the treatment of developmentally disabled people in New Mexico.

The woman who died could easily have been our loved one," Bujanda said. "You expect, you demand that your loved one is taken care of in such a way that ... the only thing youll ever worry about is making to time to go and see them.

Torrez urged the governor and lawmakers to overhaul protocols at the state Department of Health. His suggestions included increased staff and training, mandatory inspections every 90 days and new civil and criminal penalties for companies and providers.

He tallied 12 auditors for more than 6,000 sites statewide and faulted administrators and the Legislature for relying on care providers to self-report problems.

Thats one of the fundamental problems that has arisen in this case, Torrez said, suggesting that lucrative contracts with the state provide no incentive for providers to police themselves.

State Health Secretary Patrick Allen said Thursday that an independent investigation is ongoing to identify any systemic flaws that would allow for abuse or neglect to go unchecked. He also said the agency will continue to refer any other cases of suspected abuse and neglect to law enforcement.

Persons with disabilities often rely on others for their day-to-day living. They literally entrust their caregivers with their lives, Allen said, adding that when their care is covered by a state program "everyone is accountable, and we must ensure their health and safety needs are met.

___

This story has been corrected to show the arrests were announced and a news conference was scheduled Thursday, not Wednesday.

___

Associated Press writers Ken Ritter in Las Vegas and Walter Berry in Phoenix contributed to this report.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  Late last year, with the Virginia State Police under scrutiny after authorities said a former trooper kidnapped a 15-year-old California girl and killed three members of her family, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced he had requested a full investigation by the states watchdog agency.

But due at least in part to a previously existing mutual agreement between state police and the watchdog, state police appear to have simply investigated the matter themselves, according to a policy document obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request.

A memorandum of understanding between state police and the Office of the State Inspector General, the watchdog agency tasked with investigating waste and rooting out inefficiencies in state government, says that in nearly all cases, VSP retains responsibility for the oversight and conduct of internal investigations of its personnel.

The memorandum makes an exception for allegations against the superintendent or deputy superintendent of the state police, which would be handled by OSIG.

Questions about the investigation into the Austin Lee Edwards matter have swirled after reporting from the Virginia Mercury and Richmond TV station WRIC noted that OSIG never produced an official report. Instead, when media outlets sought the findings, the watchdog agency produced only a letter written by State Police Superintendent Gary Settle to the inspector general, leading to questions about what seemed to be an inconsistency in what Youngkin asked for and what was produced.

That Settle letter, which news outlets covered in early January, said a background investigator failed to check Edwards' mental health history and missed a judge's order that would have disqualified Edwards from state police employment. The letter characterized the human error in the case as an isolated incident.

Authorities have said Edwards  who had moved on to a job with the Washington County Sheriff's Office in southwest Virginia  posed online as a 17-year-old boy while communicating with the 15-year-old girl in California, a form of deception known as catfishing.

On Nov. 25, Edwards, 28, killed the girls mother and grandparents, then set fire to their home in Riverside, a city about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of downtown Los Angeles, according to police. Edwards died by suicide during a shootout with San Bernardino sheriffs deputies the same day. The girl was rescued.

On Wednesday, surviving relatives of the family filed a notice of intent to sue with Washington County and the Commonwealth of Virginia, documents that raised additional questions about the hiring process.

In the notice filed with the state, lawyers for an aunt and sibling of the teen allege Virginia State Police were grossly negligent in hiring Edwards as a state trooper in January 2022.

On his application to become a state trooper, Edwards disclosed that he had voluntarily checked himself into a mental health facility in 2016. In response to that disclosure, state police ordered Edwards to undergo a mental health evaluation, which he failed, the attorneys allege in the notice.

The Virginia State Police deliberately buried the results of this mental health examination, did no further examination into this aspect of Edwards application, and hired him, the notice states.

The attorneys also allege that at the time he was hired by state police, Edwards did not have the legal right to own or possess a gun because under Virginia law, anyone who is held on a temporary detention order and later admitted to a treatment facility is prohibited from buying or possessing a firearm until that right is restored by a court.

The attorneys say Edwards displayed his law enforcement badge and service weapon in order to get into the Riverside home by falsely claiming he was conducting a law enforcement investigation.

They also describe in graphic detail how the girls mother and grandparents were killed, saying Edwards slit her mothers throat and asphyxiated the girls grandparents, who both were found hogtied and with bags over their heads.

A separate notice of intent to sue was filed with Washington County in late March by a Virginia firm representing the estates of the victims. The existence of the notices was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

With regard to the Virginia investigation, state officials in recent weeks have repeatedly declined opportunities to clarify the questions that arose about the probe or the final work product.

Youngkins office, which pledged transparency when the governor first said publicly that hed asked for the probe, declined to answer questions from the Mercury, including about whether the governor did or did not formally ask for an investigation, the online outlet reported.

Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter later told AP that the governor requested OSIG to look into the matter and under their purview they deemed the proper investigatory measures.

State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller likewise did not respond to questions from AP, and OSIG officials refused to comment beyond the agency's response to AP's public records requests.

In an email earlier this year when AP first sought the Settle letter, the agency told AP that it had coordinated the investigation with Virginia State Police in accordance with the memorandum of understanding, which is mandated by state law.

The investigation was independently and appropriately conducted in accordance with OSIGs long-established procedures, Michael Westfall, the state inspector general, wrote in that email.

Settle's December letter did not address the issue of Edwards' gun rights or any kind of failed mental health evaluation. Nor did a March 2 letter by Settle to OSIG, which reiterated changes VSP says it has taken to address the problems its own review raised, including updating its policy manuals and developing written training for background investigators pertaining to mental health histories.

Geller said she could not comment on pending litigation and did not respond to questions about what was known about the status of Edwards gun rights when he was hired or whether he failed a mental health evaluation ordered by state police.
adamkaz/Getty Images

The close friend of an Amarillo resident is accused of using a Samurai sword to attack him during a home invasion.

On Sunday, May 14 around 3:50 a.m., Kjetil Erik Mjolhus broke into Casey Cabbiness' house and used the sword to attack Cabbiness and his dog, authorities said.
LAS VEGAS (AP)  Trial was delayed Thursday for a woman who has been in state psychiatric care for more than seven years after being accused of intentionally plowing a car into pedestrians, killing one, on a Las Vegas strip sidewalk in December 2015.

Paris Paradise Morton told Clark County District Court Judge Tierra Jones she wants a different court-appointed attorney to represent her on murder and 70 other felony charges. The crash killed an Arizona woman and injured dozens of other people near the Paris Las Vegas and Planet Hollywood resorts.

Morton rejected a plea bargain this week that would avoid trial, which had been scheduled to begin May 30. The judge set a closed-door hearing with Morton next Wednesday to determine if she will get a new lawyer. No new trial date was set.

Morton, now 32, has been prosecuted as Lakeisha Nicole Holloway, the name she gave to authorities following the crash a few days before Christmas 2015. Records show she legally changed her name before the crash from Holloway to Morton.

Jessica Valenzuela, 32, a tourist from Buckeye, Arizona, was killed and authorities said at least 35 people from several states, Mexico and Canada were injured.

Clark County and Las Vegas have in recent years installed rows of vehicle barriers called bollards along Las Vegas Boulevard and other sidewalk curbs with large pedestrian crowds to prevent similar crashes.

Morton's daughter, who was 3 years old at the time, was with her in the car during the crash, after which Morton drove to a casino-hotel off the Strip and asked employees to call police. Morton's court-appointed defense attorney, Scott Coffee, has said she no longer has custody of the child.

Coffee has said his client was from Portland, Oregon, and traveled through several cities in the U.S. and Canada before arriving in Las Vegas a few days before the crash.

Morton told investigators she and her daughter had been living in the car and sleeping in casino parking areas until being told by security officers to leave. Authorities said she may have been on her way to Texas to see the girls father at the time of the crash.
May 11

A crash resulting in vehicle damage was reported on May 11 at the 3100 block of Olton Road. One driver was treated and released by EMS at the scene and a vehicle was towed away.

A crash with vehicle damage was reported on May 11 at the 4000 block of Olton Road. No injuries were reported.

Another crash was reported at the 700 block of Milwaukee. No injuries were reported, though there was vehicle damage.

An assault was noted at the 1200 block of Houston St.

Harassment was reported to the Plainview PD at the 900 block of N. Broadway.

Police arrested a 29-year-old man for an active felony warrant on May 11 at the 500 block of Milwaukee.

May 12

Police arrested a 26-year-old man on May 12 at the 1500 block of Houston during a traffic stop. The individual was charged with possession of a controlled substance and with tampering/fabricating physical evidence, which are both felonies.

A crash was reported at the intersection of 5th St. and N. Columbia on May 12. No injuries were reported.

An animal attack was reported on May 12 at the 1500 block of Gray.

May 13

Officers arrested a 37-year-old and a 25-year-old man on May 13 at the 600 block of W. 5th St. The 25-year-old was arrested for several active warrants including charges for driving while intoxicated, resisting arrest, search or transportation, assault and for bail jumping and failure to appear. The other individual was arrested for public intoxication.

Police arrested a 26-year-old man at the 2000 block of W. 5th St. on May 13. Officers were called to the location (the Budget Inn) in reference to a disturbance where they found a male had assaulted a girlfriend injuring her nose and right hand. He was charged with assault.

An assault was reported at the 1500 block of N. I-27 on May 13.

Trespassing was reported at the 1100 block of Fresno.

Loud music or a party was reported at the 2000 block of E. 5th St.

May 14

Officers arrested a 32-year-old man at the 800 block of Joliet St. for driving while intoxicated.

A crash was noted at the 800 block of Joliet St. on May 14.

Another crash resulting in vehicle damage was reported at the 1500 block of Dallas St. on May 14.

An assault was reported at the 2100 block of W. 9th St.

Theft from a vehicle was reported at the 100 block of W. 6th St. on May 14.

Hit-and-run crash was reported at the intersection of W. 11th and Joliet on May 14. Vehicle damage was noted.

May 15

A crash with vehicle damage was reported on may 15 at the 2600 block of W. 24th St.

Assault was reported at the 1100 block of E. 5th St. on May 15.

Theft was reported at the 3300 block of Olton Road on May 15.

Criminal mischief was reported at the 1300 block of W. 32nd St. on May 15. Damaged property was noted.

Criminal mischief was also reported at the 900 block of Portland. Vehicle damage was reported there.

A 44-year-old woman was arrested at the 500 block of Denver St. on May 15 for an active warrant for theft of property with a previous conviction.

May 16

A reckless driver was reported at the 3700 block of Olton Road on May 16.

Criminal mischief was reported at the 2700 block of El Paso. Damaged property was reported. According to the incident report, someone threw a rock through a window at the location.

An aggravated assault with a weapon was reported at the 1100 block of Thunderbird on May 16.

Police arrested a 40-year-old man at the 1400 block of Travis St. He was charged with assault.

A 25-year-old woman was arrested at the intersection of W. 24th and N. Columbia. She was found to have an active out-of-county felony warrant.

A sexual assault was reported to Plainview PD on May 16.

A crash resulting in vehicle damage was reported at the 1000 block of N. I-27 west frontage road.

Harassment was reported to officers on May 16.

An assault was reported at the 700 block of W. 28th St.

May 17

An assault was reported at the 800 block of Denver St. on May 17.

A stolen vehicle was reported to the 200 block of S. Holiday.

A 32-year-old man was arrested on May 17 at the 400 block of Elm St. for active warrants. The warrants include charges for failure to maintain financial responsibility, driving with no license and failure to appear/bail jumping.

A crash was reported at the 4400 block of Olton Road on May 17. A driver and a passenger were transported to Covenant Health Plainview with injuries. The other driver declined medical attention at the scene.

A 35-year-old man was arrested on May 17 at the 1700 block of W. 13th St. He was found to have an active warrant for failure to identify a fugitive.

A 31-year-old woman was arrested on May 17 at the 500 block of Joliet for an active misdemeanor warrant.

A crash resulting in vehicle damage was reported at the 300 block of W. 5th St. on May 17.

Public intoxication was reported at the 2600 block of Dimmitt Road. A 56-year-old woman was arrested for public intoxication.

Criminal mischief was reported at the 3300 block of Olton Road on May 17.

A 25-year-old woman was arrested on May 17 during a traffic stop at the 500 block of W. 5th St. The stop was initiated for failure to signal prior to 100 feet and for reasonable suspicion. The woman was found to be in possession of a controlled substance. She was charged with possession of a controlled substance, which is a felony.

Obstruction of police was reported on May 17 at the 2100 block of N. Columbia. A 35-year-old individual was arrested and charged resisting arrest, search or transportation. They were also found to have active warrants with charges for possession of a controlled substance, which is a felony, for driving with no license, failure to appear/bail jumping and for passing an authorized emergency vehicle.

Officers were called to the 1700 block of W. 13th St. on May 17 in reference to a disturbance. The call is noted as an aggravated assault but there are no arrests reported.

May 18

Criminal trespassing was reported at the 600 block of W. 18th St. on May 18. A 30-year-old man was charged with criminal trespass.

A stolen vehicle was reported on May 18 at the 300 block of S. I-27 on May 18.

Police were dispatched to the 1300 block of Lexington on May 18 in reference to unwanted property.

A crash resulting in property damage was reported at the 300 block of W. 24th St. on May 18.

A hit-and-run crash was reported at the 800 block of Oakland St. on May 18. Vehicle damage was noted.

Police arrested a 32-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man on May 18 at the 1800 block of Quincy St. during a traffic stop. The individuals were found to have active warrants. One had warrants for driving with no license, running a stop sign, failure to maintain financial responsibility and for operating an unregistered motor vehicle. The other warrants included charges for display of an expired license plate/expired registration insignia and for failure to maintain financial responsibility.
Four Hale County 4-H members were awarded $80,000 in scholarships from the Texas 4-H Foundation. Hale County was the second highest county (out of 254 counties) in the state.

Graden Allen received the $20,000 Davidson Foundation Scholarship. Graden is the son of Cody and Stephanie Allen of Abernathy. Graden will attend Texas Tech University as an animal science major with a specialization in Business. He plans to attend law school to one day become a lobbyist for the agriculture industry.
The Plainview school district abided by the instructions given by law enforcement pertaining to what the district has described as an incident involving mutual inappropriate sexual contact between 6-year-old students at Plainview South Elementary, according to a statement read Thursday evening by Amber Bass on behalf of the Plainview ISD School Board and Superintendent H.T. Sanchez.

The board vice president read the statement to a full house during a meeting that drew great interest and unusually high attendance from not just the Plainview community but people from across the country. It drew attendance from a few people from out of state including people from Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.

It has been confirmed that school and district administrators abided by the instructions given to them by Child Protective Services and law enforcement and followed all legal requirements well within the timeframe as required by the state of Texas and the United States government. It was also confirmed that the teacher was abiding by the same structure teachers across the district and state used to test students as required by the Texas Education Agency for the end of the year reading proficiency when the unsettling situation occurred, Bass read.

Thursdays school board meeting was unlike any other recently. Prior to the start of the meeting, the Plainview Police Department helped organize traffic, set up barricades and monitored the administration building inside and out. Anyone who entered the building had to walk through a metal detector and was not allowed to bring in a bag of any kind.

A few minutes before 6 p.m. the police force escorted the school board members to their seats to begin the meeting.

The board immediately went into closed session after the invocation and pledge of allegiance. Bass read the statement upon the board members return to their seats. Public comments began after.

Public comments were limited to one minute per person due to the number of speakers that signed up. Eleven people signed up for a public comment. Board president Adam Soto stated prior to the first speaker taking the podium that anyone who spoke over the one-minute mark would be removed from the meeting.

All eleven of the speakers spoke on the situation that occurred at South Elementary while a teacher was in the room. A majority of the speakers comments were critical of the districts actions.

The way the situation was handled was inappropriate, wrong and disgusting, said Esther Castillo, one of the 11 speakers. Her sentiments were echoed over and over again by nearly all the speakers.

There has been a lack of justice and transparency in this district. Refusing to protect students after they report sexual violence is a violation of federal law, Nadine Rodriguez said. Words without action is just manipulation. We are tired of your words and action is well overdue.

Another speaker, Erin Evanson, shared her disapproval with the districts recent actions.

I feel sorely disappointed in the districts response and the press release did not refute the CPSs explanation of mutual sexual behavior, Evanson said. I ask the board to call things what they are.

She also stated that just because the video recorded did not show any sign of struggle, it does not mean that it indicated consent.

With their limited time, not all of the speakers got a chance to express everything theyd hoped. Of the eleven speakers, three were removed after going over the time limit. They were escorted out by multiple police officers, each time followed with boos from the gathered crowd.

It (the districts statement) was more than a minute but then they thought one minute was enough to express how we feel with all of this built-up tension over the past three weeks, Heather Gonzales, one of the speakers at Thursdays meeting said. They didnt care about the kids and the passion that was shown by the parents.

Gonzales is a family member of one of the kids involved. She has been one of the loudest voices in the community over the past few weeks. She has called for change and accountability from district administration and she organized two protests on May 1 and 5 to spread the message.

Multiple parents and members of the community shared the same sentiment as Gonzales and expressed their displeasure with the board once they ended the meeting and were escorted out of the building.

They are cowards, said Francis Guajardo, a parent of two children at Plainview ISD. They should have taken accountability.

One of the items not addressed during Thursdays meeting was the extension of Superintendent Sanchezs contract. It was an item presented in April and was tabled then due to board member Sylvia De La Garza not being present. A few members of the crowd shouted questions asking why the item was not brought up in Thursdays meeting. The board or Sanchez did not respond.

Unfortunately, its not surprising what happened, one of the speakers, Sabrie Villegas, said after the meeting. Obviously they tabled his contract extension because they didnt want that to be brought up now. Im just disappointed in our schools.

The crowd chanted Be their voice among other things as they left the board room and continued to protest outside of the administration building for a few minutes before dispersing.

Watch the full meeting:
(Editors note: This project is a collaboration between the Plainview Herald and Saint Francis Ministries to showcase kids who are cleared for adoption.)

Angel is a very energetic, curious, and loving child who is looking for his forever family.

The 10-year-old can be shy at first, but he warms up to people quickly. Once he is comfortable, he will talk your ear off.

Angel has a big imagination and is very likeable, which he sometimes uses to his advantage to get what he wants.

Like most children, he often needs to be redirected as he prefers to play rather than do his work.

Angel loves being outside and riding his scooter. He is very creative and considers himself a master at Lego creations. Angel will need a family with lots of patience and lots of energy as he is constantly on the go! Angel loves Pokemon and Minecraft. Angel is anxiously awaiting his forever home!

---

Angel is among the children listed on the Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE) website. Visit https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Application/TARE/Home.aspx/Default for more details.

Saint Francis Ministries is a nonprofit organization and a community-based care provider for the Texas Department of Family Protective Services Region 1. This region includes 41 counties across the Panhandle and South Plains.

To learn more about fostering or adopting, those interested are encouraged to attend one of the monthly virtual meetings hosted by Saint Francis Ministries and other child placing agencies. The meetings provide information about how to get started, the basic qualifications and more, in addition to providing opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

Those interested can visit Saint Francis Texas on Facebook @SFMtexas to register for the online meetings, which can also be found below:

The meetings are scheduled for the second Thursday of the month (Lubbock area  https://lubbock-area-foster-care-adoption.eventbrite.com) and the third Thursday of the month (Amarillo area  https://amarillo-area-foster-care-adoption.eventbrite.com).

For more information, please contact Erin Baxter at (806) 317-5631 or email texasinfo@st-francis.org. Visit Saint Francis Ministries online at https://saintfrancisministries.org.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

MONTGOMERY  The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs Friday reached an important milestone as it has now hosted community broadband meetings in each of Alabamas 67 counties.

These meetings, implemented through the Alabama Community Broadband Technical Assistance Program, are designed to bring community leaders to the table and provide state-level assistance to support local efforts to expand broadband infrastructure for the benefit of the public and economic development.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey recognized the importance of having hosted these meetings in all counties across the state and thanked the many different partners involved for their participation in this program.

No matter where you live and what you do, being connected to the world is an absolute necessity for everyone, Ivey said. Without it, businesses cannot thrive, students cannot excel in their studies, and families are deprived of many services and personal enrichment opportunities. Increasing high-speed internet access has been and will continue to be a top priority of my administration. My goal has been to make sure everyone in Alabama, regardless of where they live, will have the ability to achieve high-speed connectivity by the time I leave office. These meetings, which have now been held in every Alabama county, have helped lay the groundwork for our state to get across the finish line.

As Ive said before, Ivey added, achieving full broadband coverage is a journey, not a short trip. And most importantly, it takes a team. It is evident given the buy-in weve received from community leaders and residents across our state that we have a winning team. There is no doubt that Alabama will be a model for the nation when it comes to achieving full broadband coverage.

ADECAs Digital Expansion Division developed the Alabama Community Broadband Technical Assistance Program in response to the critical need for high-speed internet access in communities across the state. Through this program, ADECA provides technical assistance meetings at the county level for communities seeking to expand broadband infrastructure and services. These meetings are intended to be the starting point to produce local insights and the data and planning needed to take advantage of future opportunities for broadband deployment.

Ivey helped kicked off the first county-level meeting in Montgomery County on Dec. 12, 2022. Today, just a few months later, ADECA hosted the 67th county-level meeting in Autauga County.

ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell today thanked Ivey for her leadership and praised the successful implementation of this program:

It is no secret that one of Gov. Iveys top priorities is the expansion of access to high-speed internet to all Alabamians, regardless of their zip code. The State of Alabama reaching this important milestone in our broadband journey today demonstrates that we are taking the steps needed to make that happen, and I thank the governor for her leadership and support on this issue, Boswell said. We have a long way to go and a lot of hard work ahead of us, but its important to recognize milestones such as this and to thank the countless people, including the great team we have at ADECA and all of those at the local level who have put their time and effort into this process, for making it a success.

While the conclusion of todays meeting in Autauga County marked the milestone of each Alabama county having hosted a community broadband meeting, ADECA will hold periodic additional meetings including at the MOWA Choctaw Housing Authority Administration Building in Washington County on May 25, 2023.

The conclusion of these broadband meetings will result in county-specific profiles for each Alabama county with strategic approaches to help communities achieve broadband goals and to position counties to take advantage of significant broadband funding opportunities in the state during the next few years.
FRIDAY: Med-Trans flew to Lubbock, Portales, New Mexico and back in their Bell 407 jet helicopter. Ronnie Robbins flew locally in his Piper Supercrusier. A customer flew in from Artesia and Clovis, New Mexico for fuel, then flew back to Artesia in his Cessna 182 Skylane. Mark Piercy flew in from Lubbock for fuel, then back in his Cessna 182 Skylane. A customer flew in from Williston, North Dakota and Elkhart, Kansas in his Beech Duke for fuel, and to spend the night. Med-Trans flew Tulia to pick up a patient, then flew to Amarillo and back in their Bell 407 jet helicopter. Ron Lowe flew locally in his Ercoupe. Med-Trans flew over to Covenant Hospital, picked up a patient, then flew to Lubbock and back in their Bell 407 jet helicopter.

SATURDAY: No activity reported.

SUNDAY: A customer flew in from St. George, Utah for fuel, then flew onto Arlington in his Cirrus SR-22. No other activity reported.

MONDAY: A customer flew to Sugar Land in his Beech Duke, returning later in the day for fuel, and to spend the night. Texas Aerial Inspectors flew in from San Angelo, Carlsbad, New Mexico, and Brownfield patrolling pipeline in their Cessna 172 Skyhawk for fuel, and to spend the night. Mark and Jill Parish flew locally in their Cessna 182 Skylane.

TUESDAY: Med-Trans flew over to Covenant Hospital to pick up a patient, then flew to Lubbock and back in their Bell 407 jet helicopter. Texas Aerial Inspectors departed for the Amarillo area to patrol pipeline, and later back in their Cessna 172 Skyhawk for fuel, and to spend another night. Ronnie Robbins flew locally in his Piper Supercruiser. A customer flew in from Amarillo for a touch and go, then back to Amarillo in his Piper Cherokee 140. A customer flew in from Albuquerque, New Mexico for fuel, then flew to Dallas in his Experimental A & M 7. A customer departed for Rapid City, South Dakota in his Beech Duke. Speck Cox flew locally in his Cessna 150. A customer flew to Santa Fe, New Mexico in his Aerostar. A customer flew in from Lubbock for fuel, business, and later flew to Littlefield in his Piper Cub.

WEDNESDAY: Texas Aerial Inspectors flew out to patrol pipeline in the area, returning later for fuel, lunch, then back out to patrol more pipeline, and back for fuel in their Cessna 172 Skyhawk, and to spend another night. A customer flew in from Naples, Florida for a quick turn on fuel, then flew to Davis/Woodland/Winters airport in California in his Cessna 525 Citation CJ 2+ jet. A customer flew in from Amarillo for a touch and go, then back to Amarillo in his Cessna 182 Skylane. Ronnie Robbins flew locally in his Piper Supercruiser. A customer flew in from Lubbock for fuel, then back in his Cessna 172 Skyhawk. A customer flew in from Fort Worth and Breckenridge for fuel, lunch, then to Graham and Fort Worth in his Cessna 172 Skyhawk. Cannon Air Force Base flew in from Clovis, New Mexico for touch and goes, and later back to Cannon in their Pilatus PC-12 prop jet. A customer flew in from Amarillo for a touch and go, then flew to Slaton in his Cessna 172 Skyhawk. A customer flew in from Las Vegas, Nevada or fuel, then flew to New Orleans, Louisiana in his Cessna 310. A customer flew in from Clovis, New Mexico to look at an airplane, and later back to Clovis in his Cessna 182RG Skylane. A customer flew locally in a Cessna 210 Centurion.

THURSDAY: Texas Aerial Inspectors departed out to patrol pipeline in the area, and back to San Angelo in their Cessna 172 Skyhawk. A customer flew in from Moriarty, New Mexico for a quick turn on fuel, then flew to New Orleans, Louisiana in his Cessna 414 Chancellor. A customer flew in from Liberal, Kansas for fuel, then flew to Midland in his Cessna 172 Skyhawk. A customer flew in from Tucson, Arizona and Artesia, New Mexico in his Vari E Z for fuel, and to spend the night.
HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP)  Leaders of the world's most powerful democracies warned China and North Korea against building up their nuclear arsenals, pivoting to major northeast Asian crises ahead of the arrival later Saturday of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The focus on Asia at the Group of Seven summit comes as leaders tighten sanctions meant to punish Moscow and change the course of its 15-month invasion of Ukraine. Japan confirmed that Zelenskyy's decision to attend the G7 in person stemmed from his strong wish to participate in talks that will influence his nation's defense against Russia.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that President Joe Biden and Zelenskyy would have direct engagement at the summit, a day after Biden announced his support for training Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, a precursor to eventually providing those aircraft to Ukraines Air Force.

World leaders have faced a high-stakes balancing act in Hiroshima as they look to address a raft of global worries demanding urgent attention, including climate change, AI, poverty and economic instability, nuclear proliferation and, above all, the war in Ukraine.

China, the world's No. 2 economy, sits at the nexus of many of those concerns.

There is increasing anxiety in Asia that Beijing, which has been steadily building up its nuclear bomb program, could try to seize Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict. China claims the self-governing island as its own and regularly sends ships and warplanes near it.

The G7 leaders issued a statement warning that China's accelerating build-up of its nuclear arsenal without transparency (or) meaningful dialogue poses a concern to global and regional stability.

North Korea, which has been testing missiles at a torrid pace in an attempt to perfect a nuclear program meant to target the mainland United States, must completely abandon its nuclear bomb ambitions, the leaders said, "including any further nuclear tests or launches that use ballistic missile technology. North Korea cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon State under" international nuclear treaties, the statement said.

The green light on F-16 training is the latest shift by the Biden administration as it moves to arm Ukraine with more advanced and lethal weaponry, following earlier decisions to send rocket launcher systems and Abrams tanks. The United States has insisted that it is sending weapons to Ukraine to defend itself and has discouraged attacks by Ukraine into Russian territory.

Weve reached a moment where it is time to look down the road again to say what is Ukraine going to need as part of a future force, to be able to deter and defend against Russian aggression as we go forward, Sullivan said.

An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity to brief reporters on the deliberations, said Zelenskyy will take part in two separate sessions Sunday. The first session will be with G7 members only and will focus on the war in Ukraine. The second session will include the G7 as well as the other nations invited to take part in the summit, and will focus on peace and stability.

The G7 leaders also used their summit to roll out a new wave of global sanctions on Moscow as well as plans to enhance the effectiveness of existing financial penalties meant to constrain President Vladimir Putins war effort.

Our support for Ukraine will not waver, the G7 leaders said in a statement released after closed-door meetings. They vowed to stand together against Russias illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.

Russia started this war and can end this war, they said.

Zelenskyy has consistently called for the supply of Western fighter jets to bolster his countrys defenses against Russias invasion, but has until now faced skepticism from the United States that they would turn the tide in the war.

Now, as Ukraine has improved its air defenses with a host of Western-supplied anti-aircraft systems and prepares to launch a counteroffensive against Russia, officials believe the jets could become useful in the battle and essential to the countrys long-term security.

Biden's decisions on when, how many, and who will provide the fourth-generation F-16 fighter jets will be made in the months ahead while the training is underway, Biden told leaders.

The F-16 training is to be conducted in Europe and will likely begin in the coming weeks. Thats according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Bidens private conversations with allies.

Zelenskyy said Friday that he had opened a visit to Saudi Arabia, where Arab leaders were holding their own summit.

The latest sanctions aimed at Russia include tighter restrictions on already-sanctioned people and firms involved in the war effort. More than 125 individuals and organizations across 20 countries have been hit with U.S. sanctions. The financial penalties have been primarily focused on sanctions evaders connected to technology procurement for the Kremlin. The Commerce Department also added 71 firms to its own list.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Friday sanctions will further tighten the vise on Putins ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions.

In addition, new reporting requirements were issued for people and firms that have any interest in Russian Central Bank assets. The purpose is to fully map holdings of Russias sovereign assets that will remain immobilized in G7 jurisdictions until Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine, the U.S. Treasury Department said.

Russia is now the most-sanctioned country in the world, but there are questions about the effectiveness.

Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said going into the summit that while G7 countries deserve credit for their sanctions, Russia still maintains capacity to fight this war in the long term.

She added that war's costs are "easily manageable for Russia in the next couple of years at least, and the cumulative effect of sanctions is just not strong enough to radically alter that.

The G7 nations said in Fridays statement that they would work to keep Russia from using the international financial system to prosecute its war, and they urged other nations to stop providing Russia with support and weapons or face severe costs.

World leaders Friday visited a peace park dedicated to the tens of thousands who died in the worlds first wartime atomic bomb detonation. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, wants nuclear disarmament to be a major focus of discussions.

The peace park contains reminders of Aug. 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, a city that has become synonymous with anti-nuclear peace efforts.

Biden, who scrapped plans to travel on to Papua New Guinea and Australia after his stay in Japan so that he can get back to debt limit talks in Washington, arranged to meet Saturday on the G-7 sidelines with leaders of the so-called Quad partnership, made up of Japan, Australia, India and the U.S.

As G7 attendees made their way to Hiroshima, Moscow unleashed yet another aerial attack on the Ukrainian capital. Loud explosions thundered through Kyiv during the early hours, marking the ninth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the city after weeks of relative quiet.

In a bit of dueling diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting the leaders of the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for a two-day summit in the Chinese city of Xian.

The G7 leaders are also to discuss efforts to strengthen the global economy and address rising prices that are squeezing families and government budgets around the world, particularly in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

A U.S. official said the leaders on Saturday would issue a joint communique outlining new projects in the G7's global infrastructure development initiative, which is meant to offer countries an alternative to China's investment dollars.

The G7 includes Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union.

__

Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Elaine Kurtenbach and Mari Yamaguchi in Hiroshima, Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.
MERIDEN  With just a few weeks of high school left, Maloney High School senior Griffin Papallo now has his eyes set toward the future.

This fall, the 18-year-old ventures to Springfield College in Massachusetts, where hell study occupational therapy.

Four years ago, when Papallo entered Maloney as a freshman he was unsure about his future path. But he knew one thing: I just knew I always wanted to help people, Papallo said.

Taking science classes and a class on medical careers help Papallo identify occupational therapy as a career choice.

Papallo said he is leaning towards pediatric occupational therapy as a focus. He said through his work at summer camps with younger students, hes learned he is very good at working with kids.

On Thursday morning, leaders at Maloney High School celebrated Papallo and his peers during a pep rally-like event in the schools auditorium dubbed Senior Signing Day. Platt High School will host a similar event for its students on Friday morning.

State education data show that roughly 64% of Meridens graduating high school seniors go on to two-year or four-year postsecondary programs.

During Thursdays Senior Signing Day, many of those students who plan to attend such programs in the fall arrived wearing T-shirts and sweatshirts bearing the logos of their soon-to-be-schools: places like the University of Connecticut, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University, Middlesex Community College and many others. They followed a thunderous cadence from the Maloney High School Marching Band drumline as they made their way into the auditorium.

Of the Maloney seniors who walked across stage Thursday morning, 210 are bound for two-year or four-year schools, 28 are heading into the workforce, three into the military, and one student will enter the Community Classroom Collaborative  which helps students with special needs transition into the workforce.

Abbey McClure, 18, will follow the path blazed by her older siblings: she will attend Quinnipiac University this fall. Both of her older sisters majored in nursing. But McClure said she will pursue occupation therapy  much like Papallo.

McClure said she was able to obtain her license as a certified nursing assistant while at Maloney. While she initially considered nursing as a possible career, she realized that the profession wasnt for me.

Then she found out about occupational therapy.

And I realized that I just love working with other people and I think that would be a good career for me, McClure said.

McClure spoke with the Record-Journal while she and her peers were gathered outside behind their school, during an event that had a neighborhood block party and cookout vibe, complete with hand held foods like hotdogs and hamburgers and activities including an inflatable bounce house.

The four-year high school graduation rates at both Maloney and Platt have continuously improved, state data show. During the five-year span between the 2016-2017 school year to the 2020-2021 school year, Maloneys four-year rate increased from 86.2% to 95.2%. Platts rate similarly improved: from 82.6% in 2016-2017, to 90.5% four years later.

Peter Civitello, the Meriden Public Schools supervisor of data integration and post secondary planning, indicated the school districts numbers for this years graduation rate are not finalized. However, both Platt and Maloney did reach benchmarks for college-going seniors: having 100% of them submit at least one application.

That happened at both schools, Civitello said. Also, all students completed planning meetings with school staff during which they decided on their post-high school goals, whether that was furthering their education, entering the workforce, or enlisting in the military.

Civitello said while the district doesnt yet know its four-year high school graduation rates, he anticipates the overall number will be in the range of 94% to 95%.

Ensuring students graduate on time is an effort that begins as soon as they enter Maloney and Platt. Freshman year, the schools counseling departments monitor students progress through on-track rates. Counselors continue to work with students during the following two years, with post-secondary planning meetings beginning their junior years.

By the time students reach their senior years, counselors engage in what Civitello called weekly senior list meetings.

We are meeting with every single senior to make sure that they have their senior plan in place: that theyve completed their FAFSA, theyve completed their college essays, theyve received their recommendations, and reached out for potential internships, Civitello said.

Those meetings have helped staff ensure they have a solid understanding of their students plans for after high school.

On Thursday, led by event emcee Jens Kiss, students celebrated those plans. Kiss read off students names, as well as the colleges they plan to attend and their intended majors. They walked across the Maloney High School stage as their fellow seniors, and juniors who looked on as well, cheered them on.

Maloney assistant principal James Donewald and Superintendent Mark D. Benigni were among those who cheered students on.

Congratulations. You guys are very close to the finish line, Donewald said.

Both he and Benigni urged students to give themselves a round of applause.

Benigni noted that students are off to different pursuits beyond high school. He offered some advice.

Seniors, as you begin your next journey in life, choose a job or career that makes you excited to get up each and every day, Benigni said. Always do your best  even when no one is watching.

Calvin Henderson, 17, is Maloneys senior class secretary. Henderson will head to the University of Hartford this fall, majoring in communications.

I like the school because its small, Henderson said. Im going to get a lot of help from my professors.

Henderson described his time at Maloney as having been great.

I spend every single second in the music department, getting involved  being a part of a really strong community, making a lot of friends. And I feel like Ive just had a ton of support from all the adults and staff in the building Ive gotten so many opportunities just coming here that I wouldnt have gotten if I had gone to any other school, Henderson said.

mgagne@record-journal.com203-317-2231Twitter:@MikeGagneRJ
The Plainville Choral Society (PCS) is excited to announce that the first Peter and Maryjane Peluso Scholarship has been awarded to Madison Howe, a senior at St. Paul Catholic High School in Bristol.

This scholarship award is given to a high school senior who is planning on attending college in the fall with a major in music, musical theatre, performance or production. The award is in recognition of the 33 years that Peter and Maryjane Peluso ran a summer youth theatre program, with the goal of giving 8-to-13-year-olds an educational and enjoyable experience in musical theatre.

When the summer program ended in 2018, its remaining funds were returned to the Plainville Choral Society.

In the fall of 2022, the PCS Board of Directors made a decision to establish a scholarship to honor the Pelusos. The 2023 scholarship winner, Madison Howe, plans to attend DeSales University in the fall.

The Plainville Choral Society also awards scholarships to students currently in college (sophomores and subsequent years) who are majoring in theatre, music, performance or production. These PCS scholarships are named after Isabel Watts and Suzanne Beckius, former members of the choral who were instrumental in bringing youth theatre to the community.

Earlier this year, the Suzanne Beckius Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Aneesa Aviles, who is studying costume design at Central Connecticut State University. Her design portfolio will be available for viewing at PCSs Saturday, May 27 performance.
Legendary Zimbabwean jazz musician and producer Kelly Rusike has passed away at the age of 59 after battling diabetes.

Rusike died on Wednesday evening at his home in Harare. His son Cole confirmed the sad news and said funeral arrangements will be announced soon.

Rusike released albums and singles with his brothers under the group The Rusike Brothers who were popular in the 90s. He performed for European royalty and shared the stage with music legends like Oliver Mtukudzi, Jimi Dludlu and Rozalla Miller.

Rusike owned Shed Studios which produced music, ads and jingles.

The arts community expressed sadness at Rusikes passing:

Article continues below these jobs... Work In Zimbabwe Latest Jobs General Hand on 28 May 2023 Valley Crest Academy is a []

Marketing Attache on 28 May 2023 Defcorp Security is a leading []

Peer Educator Supervisor on 28 May 2023 Centre for Sexual Health and []

Sales Administrator on 28 May 2023 BYD Zimbabwe is a subsidiary []

Jazz artistic director Filbert Marova called Rusike a professional jazz artist and bassist who contributed immensely to Zimbabwes music sector. They worked together in The Rusike Brothers and Jazz Invitation.

Journalist Garikai Mazara described Rusike as a force, recalling The Rusike Brothers popularity in the 80s and 90s. Though they didnt produce much recorded music, they were well known for their Ngwerewere sadza advert.

Actress Jules Julie Sandi said Rusike was not only a good friend but convinced her to do her first TV ad. She said this is a sad time and offered condolences to Rusikes family and fans.

Breaking News via Email
South Africa: Presidential Imbizo hailed as a success

President Cyril Ramaphosa has hailed the sixth District Development Model (DDM) Presidential Imbizo as a success.

The Imbizo  which sought to bring together leaders of all spheres of government and communities  was held at the Drakenstein Municipality in the Western Cape.

Whenever we hold these Imbizos we do allow 30 to 35 people to speak and that gives me a sense of what is happening in the area where we are at. But [it] also gives us an opportunity to listen. We are a listening government and today, we listened carefully.

This for me has been a most meaningful day to be here in the Western Cape, to be here in this district. To have our Imbizo, he said on Friday.

During the day, communities from all parts of the Cape Winelands joined the President and several Ministers to discuss the challenges these communities face.

At least 30 community members had their say  raising issues related to employment, housing, crime, education and gender-based violence.

The President honed into the challenges raised around crime and gangsterism in the province and also assured community members that these issues will be addressed in a meaningful manner.

We also heard about crimea lot is being done to deal with criminality and to deal with gangsters.

Fighting criminality really is at the local level where we want all stakeholdersto work together to fight the criminals and the gangsters in our ranks. I remain confident that we will turn the tide of criminality around and we will start seeing lower levels including on gender-based violence.

Many of the questions you have raised, in fact all of them, will be addressed. Theyve all been written down. At provincial level and at national level, all of the questions have been written down, they will be addressed, he said.

Turning his attention to load shedding, President Ramaphosa said government determined to eliminate it.

This is a challenge that we are looking at, we are addressing it. At a national level, this is the key priority we are facing and addressing as the government. This priority is top of our agenda and it is for that reason that I appointed a Minister of Electricity.

I remain confident that within the next few months and yes, within the year, we will have brought load shedding down quite significantly and we will finally eliminate load shedding in South Africa within the programmes that we are putting in place, he said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-05-19. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
US Ambassador to Georgia, Kelly Degnan, raised important questions regarding the recent offers made by Putin to Georgia. She emphasized the need to understand the motives behind these offers and the potential costs associated with them, such as direct flights, the cancellation of the visa regime, and the potential restoration of the railway line. Degnan stated that it is crucial to recognize that Putin does not offer anything without expecting something in return."A country with 20 percent of its territory occupied by Russia, eight of its citizens held by Russian-backed forces in South Ossetia, and continued pressure from Russia should be wary of what looks like Russia's attempt to normalize relations with Georgia.I think the important questions are: Why? Why now? Why is Putin now making these concessions and offers to Georgia? What fees will Georgia have to pay for this, for direct flights, for the cancellation of the visa regime, with the potential restoration of the railway line that will connect Georgia to Russia through Abkhazia? These are very important questions, because we know that Putin does not give anything without a price. When asked why Russia is doing this now, we have to draw conclusions based on the facts to understand what they might want to receive in terms of this step, this gesture," Kelly Degnan said.According to Kakha Kaladze, the mayor of Tbilisi, the government of Georgia has repeatedly stated its refusal to participate in sanctions. He emphasized that the government is committed to making decisions that prioritize the well-being of the country and its citizens, avoiding any potential harm.Kakha Kaladze expressed his approval of Putin's decision, stating that there is nothing wrong with visa-free travel and flights being made possible."I welcome the decision that visa-free travel and flights are possible, there is nothing wrong with that," said Kaladze.When asked by journalists about the possibility of restoring railway traffic and whether the government would agree to such a concession, Kakha Kaladze responded, "This is the first time I am hearing about it. What concessions and steps has Georgia taken in general? The sanctions were unilaterally imposed by Russia, and they have made the decision to lift these sanctions. The government of Georgia does not support these sanctions. We have reiterated multiple times that we will not make decisions that are detrimental to our country and its people."
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

MONTGOMERY  The House of Ruth in Dothan is among agencies awarded grants from Gov. Kay Ivey to assist domestic violence and sexual assault victims in 21 counties.

Victims of domestic violence and sexual assault deserve ready access to a variety of professional services including those provided by court advocates who can help them navigate the complexities of the justice system, Ivey said as she awarded the grants totaling $141,338. I commend the work of these organizations to protect victims and their families every day.

The House of Ruth Inc. in Houston County is using funds of $39,000 to provide education and training to law enforcement officers, social service workers and other first responders on issues of domestic violence and sexual assault. The organization will also offer education and awareness training to public schools and college students through community events, health fairs, job fairs and media outreach. The project serves Barbour, Bullock, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, and Pike counties.

Rape Counselors of East Alabama is using grant funds of $19,988 to provide a 24-hour hotline, hospital response, crisis intervention counseling, emergency assistance, advocacy, information and referrals for victims of sexual assault in Chambers, Lee, Macon, Russell, and Tallapoosa counties.

The Baldwin Family Violence Shelter, also known as The Lighthouse, is using funds of $33,000 to continue offering crisis interventions, information, referrals, safe shelter, case management, counseling and advocacy to domestic violence and sexual assault victims in Baldwin, Conecuh, Escambia, and Monroe counties.

Penelope House Inc. is using grant funds of $36,000 to implement the Court Advocacy Program. The program provides information to victims about their rights and options in the legal system, assists with protection orders and helps victims navigate the criminal and civil court systems. This program serves Choctaw, Clarke, Mobile, and Washington counties.

A $13,350 grant will assist the Columbus Alliance for Battered Women Inc. located in Columbus, Ga., to continue the Hope Harbour Community Outreach Program. The program provides crisis intervention, legal advocacy and comprehensive support services for domestic violence victims in Russell County. The program also provides education and awareness about domestic violence to the community and information on the support services available for victims and their families.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grants from funds made available to the state from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Gov. Ivey and ADECA believe that partnerships with local organizations are vital to ensuring that victims continue to receive the services and help they require to recover from abuse, ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said. These grants will help support such assistance through these organizations and programs.

ADECA administers a wide range of programs that support law enforcement, victim programs, economic development, water resource management, energy conservation and recreation.
Yves here. Tom Neuburger sets forth examples of how the US is expanding its definitions of who its enemies are.after potentially having included President Kennedy as one. This posture looks like an effort to indoctrinate law enforcement officials and the press to view the world through a paranoid, adversarial lens.

By Thomas Neuburger. Originally published at Gods Spies

I want to put three thoughts in front of you, drop three stones in the slipstream of your mind. Perhaps youll see the ripples as they cross, note their interaction, hear what their crossing says.

The future this article previews isnt new, just newly forgot.

Domestic Terror from the Activist Left

First, from ace investigator Lee Fang (parts of this piece are subscriber-only):

DHS and FBI Depict Vegan Activists as Potential Domestic Terrorists Imagine a young woman named Jane who recently adopted a vegan lifestyle after learning about factory farming in college. She discusses animal welfare and begins attending protests. For most, Janes experiences sound remarkably benign. But for the Department of Homeland Security, the young woman is following a path of potential radicalization, according to new documents released through a public records request. The scenario was one of several depicted in a violence prevention workshop from the DHS Office for Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention, a division of the agency that works to counter domestic terrorism. Janes supposed path towards violence  as featured in the DHS workshop  is composed of little more than everyday experiences that many Americans take as they embrace activism. In the workshop scenario, Jane reacts with anger when discussing animal cruelty and mentions that she joined a group that has a reputation for holding controversial protests. She had not only become an animal lover, but had become militant about food and animal rights, and other issues like testing.

Note the workshop. This is a report of a DHS workshop on domestic terrorism, where new threats may come from, and what to do. The source doc is here; you can probably guess the rest of what it says. If not, Fang lays it out.

Heres the cover portion of the document and summary-first remarks:

Can you see where this is headed? If you do, youre not alone.

The Foreign-Domestic Switcheroo

The second stone drops here. Does what you read above touch whats below?

Through a complicated set of leaks (described here), we find that the Aspen Institute hosted a Hack-and-Dump Working Group exercise in the summer of 2020 titled, Burisma Leak, which predicted with uncanny accuracy an upcoming derogatory story in the New York Post about Hunter Bidens lost laptop.

Heres a link to the Aspen Institute document in question. In it we find the following. First, from the Executive Summary (emphasis mine):

Once a promise of free expression and the democratization of information, the Web and its many channels are now polluted with mis- and dis-information, bots, abuse, lies, and conspiracies  sometimes planned by adversarial actors from home and aboard.

Then, from the section about dealing with Reporting and Promoting Hack-and-Dumps:

As we countdown to election day, the risk of a major hack and dump of documents aimed at undermining a candidate or party grows more acute. How can news organizations put provenance front and center? What happens when fabricated documents are released alongside genuine (stolen) content? How can social feeds avoid serving as promoters of foreign or other adversarial entities? Aspen Digital is convening Platform Trust and Safety leaders, cybersecurity reporters, journalism ethicists and First Amendment attorneys to develop and adopt new norms guidelines for publication and coverage of hacked documents.

Note that the Aspen Institute is not just a think tank. Its where the elites 2020 discussion over moderation of hacked content was happening.

Now consider what promoters of foreign or other adversarial entities means? The only other adversarial entity that isnt foreign is  domestic. Can you trust, given whats above, that this designation  other adversarial entities  is reserved just for Proud Boy types?

About this, Matt Taibbi writes (emphasis mine):

First of all, this notion that there may be fabrications mixed in with real content is a suggestion that pops up somewhere in nearly every one of these leak stories, even if all the material proves to be real (old friend Malcolm Nance did the job in 2016 in suggesting the Podesta leaks were riddled with forgeries). More importantly however, that last line is a great example of what former cybersecurity official and Foundation for Freedom Online head Mike Benz calls the foreign-domestic switcheroo. Its the basic rhetorical trick of the censorship age: raise a fuss about a foreign threat, using it as a battering ram to get everyone from congress to the tech companies to submit to increased regulation and surveillance. Then, slowly, adjust your aim to domestic targets. You can see the subtlety: the original Stanford piece tries to stick to railing against disinformation and information from foreign adversaries, but the later paper circulated by Aspen slips in, ever so slightly, a new category of dubious source: foreign or other adversarial entities. These rhetorical devices are essential. It would be preposterous to form (as Stanford did) an Information Warfare Working Group if readers knew the war being contemplated was against domestic voices.  But if you start by focusing on Russians and only later mention as an afterthought other adversarial entities, you can frame things however you want, from espionage to warfare. As reader ONeill correctly pointed out, they are now getting close to being explicit about the fact that their motivation for suppressing news is to fight domestic political adversaries.

You dont have to be a lover of these sources to hate whats youve just found out. And I think its reasonable to fear, even if you fear Trump more than God herself, what our security agencies do with domestic power.

Regime Change

The last stone dropped in the pond is the oldest one. Before most of you were born, the halls of power fully understood that our security agencies, birthed in the Soviet threat, were fully capable  even tasked with the job  of making sure the global world was a safe American playground.

The list of American-led coups in other countries is long as your leg and both arms. Start here to see most of it. Do these agencies act domestically as they do abroad? The FBI sure does. But what about the CIA and the rest of the alphabet community?

Heres what Robert Kennedy, the man who was murdered on his way to the 1968 nomination, thought of the murder that felled his brother Jack in 1963 (via The Hill, emphasis mine):

[Robert] Kennedy Jr. said the first call his father, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, made after learning his uncle had been shot was to a CIA desk officer. My father said to him, Did your people do this? Kennedy Jr. told Fox Newss Hannity on Monday. His next call was to [Enrique Ruiz-Williams], who was one of the Cuban Bay of Pigs leaders who had remained very, very close to our family and to my father, he continued. My father asked him the same question. Kennedy Jr. said his father then called John McCone, the head of the CIA, and asked him to come to the familys house. When I came home [from] Sidwell Friends School, my father was walking in the yard with John McCone, and my father was posing the same question to him, Was it our people who did this to my brother? he said. It was my fathers first instinct that the agency had killed his brother.

The Hill later tags this story as a conspiracy theory, no doubt to distance itself from both charge and source. But the underlying report is nonetheless true, or RFK Jr. is lying.

Ripples In the Pond

What do these data points sum to? Ill leave it to you. If you love the FBI as some today do, would you love them still if they thought their remit included squelching you and your kind, not just Trump and his, using control of media as their tool?

As Ive said before, its appropriate to fear what a Trump, or worse, a DeSantis  who unlike Trump, who loves adoration and cash, truly loves power  would do if power were given them.

Is it therefore not also appropriate to fear these agencies?

After all, their goals wont always align with whats broadly called the left. Their goals have never aligned with ours in the past. And unlike Republicans, who are only halfway to their goal, these agencies have power now, and practice using it.
The EUs own top court has ruled on multiple occasions that the USA does not offer adequate privacy protections for non-citizens, yet the Commission and the member states are planning to open up their biometric databases to the [DHS].

This post is based largely on the findings of a report that was released in late April by the British civil rights organization Statewatch. That was some time ago, but given the pertinence of the topic to citizens on both sides of the North Atlantic as well as the paucity of coverage in both the mainstream and alternative media, I thought it merited a belated post.

An Offer Most Governments Probably Wont Refuse

First some background. As readers may recall, the Biden administration last year quietly made an offer to roughly 40 governments in Europe, the Anglosphere and beyond that they will probably be unable to refuse. That offer was to grant them access to vast reams of sensitive data on US citizens held by the Department of Homeland Security. From my July 26, 2022 post, Unbeknown to Most US Citizens, Washington is Preparing to Share Their Biometric Data With Dozens of Other National Governments:

[The data repositories] include the IDENT/HART database, which Statewatch describes as the largest U.S. Government biometric database and the second largest biometric database in the world, containing over 270 million identities from over 40 U.S. agencies. Biometric identifiers include fingerprints, facial features and other physiological characteristics that can be used for automated identification. In some cases, these identifiers have been harvested by the US government without the consent of the citizens in question.

Granted, biometric technologies are already being used in diverse settings, from banks (a topic Yves recently broached in Banks Try to Make Security Customer-Friendly. Not a Good Mix) and other financial institutions to schools and workplaces. Passports around the world have included biometric features for many years, as have other forms of ID. Many people choose to sign in to their mobile phones and tablets using their biometric data.

Nonetheless, DHS data-sharing proposal is worrying for a host of reasons. For a start, the wholesale collection and sharing of biometric data is problematic because the data is irreplaceable. Once it is compromised, there is no way of undoing the damage. You cannot change or cancel your iris, fingerprint or DNA, like you can change a password or cancel a credit card. It is also prone to biases as well as failure, whether due to the fading of fingerprints or cataracts affecting iris scans. Whats more, the systems upon which the data are stored are far from impregnable.

The idea of a data breach is not a question of if, its a question of when, says Professor Sandra Wachter, a data ethics expert at the Oxford Internet Institute. Welcome to the Internet: everything is hackable.

And so it has proven. In 2020, hackers supposedly working for the Russian government gained access to internal communications within DHS. As Jerri-Lynn Scofield reported for NC in 2017, the worlds largest biometric ID database, Indias Aadhaar system, has been repeatedly hacked. Documents published by Wikileaks suggest that the CIA used tech provider Cross Match Technologies to discreetly extract Aadhaar data. Wikileaks noted on its website that the CIA already has a branch, known as the Office of Technical Services (OTS), that is devoted to collecting and sharing biometric data with liaison services around the world. However, this voluntary sharing obviously does not work or is considered insufficient by the CIA.

Now, the US wants to formalize its collection of biometric data beyond US borders. Its data-sharing arrangement is being offered to all 40 countries selected for the US governments Visa Waiver Program (VWP). That means their citizens can travel to the U.S. for up to 90 days without a visa. They include most of the EUs 27 Member States, three of the US four fellow members of the Five Eye Alliance (United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia), Japan, Israel and South Korea.

The first countries to be approached were reportedly the EU, the UK and Israel (though Israel is not actually a VWP member). Of course, the US government is not doing this out of selfless altruism. On the contrary, it expects the governments of the VWP member countries to make their own citizens biometric data available to the US Department of Homeland Security as part of what the US calls Enhanced Border Security Partnerships (EBSPs). Back to my last piece:

DHS may submit biometrics to IBIS partner countries to search against their biometric identity management systems in order for partner countries to provide DHS with sharable biographic, derogatory, and encounter information when a U.S. search matches their biometric records. This high-volume matching and data exchange is accomplished within minutes and is fully automated; match confirmation and supporting data is exchanged with no officer intervention. The emphasis in the last sentence was added by Statewatch, for good reason. In the fully digitised world that is fast taking shape around us, many of the decisions or actions taken by local, regional or national authorities that affect us will be fully automated; no human intervention will be needed. That means that trying to get those decisions or actions reversed or overturned is likely to be a Kafkaesque nightmare.

Participation in the EBSPs will be mandatory for VWP member states if they want their citizens to continue to benefit from visa-free travel to the US. Any country that refuses will probably find their eligibility for the Visa Waiver Program withdrawn. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document published by Statewatch last year showed that the EBSPs will require direct connections between the biometric databases of participating states and the USAs IDENT/HART system.

Continuous and Systematic Transfers of Data

Statewatch recently came out with a second report detailing the latest developments in this quietly evolving story. It features excerpts from a Council of the EU document obtained by Statewatch. They include an admission from the Council that the EBSPs will involve continuous and systematic transfers of biometric data to the USA for the sake of immigration and asylum vetting. The Commission and the Biden administration set up a dedicated Working Group last September to hash out the EBSP requirements.

Ominously, the document notes that the Commission has recently opted for a pragmatic approach, that is to disassociate information exchange from issues linked to visa policy, when EU member states engage with the U.S. on bilateral negotiations.

In other words, the Commission will look the other way if EU member states decide to begin sharing their citizens biometric data with the DHS. It has even told member states that they can negotiate an EBSP bilaterally with the USA as long as those discussions cover information exchange only, and not the EUs common policy on visa. At the same time, it notes that considering the continuous and systematic transfers envisaged by the U.S., negotiations should be based on an international agreement or administrative arrangement ensuring sufficient data protection safeguards.

Of course, the Commission knows better than anyone that the US does not have sufficiently strong data protection safeguards in place. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has twice ruled against the Commissions proposed data sharing arrangements with the US for failing to comply with the EUs General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Although GDPR may be flawed, it is, as Cory Doctorow commented on this site just over a year ago, the most comprehensive (and, sadly, underenforced) data-protection law on Earth. While the US may have made some concessions on data protection in recent years, it still has a long way to go.

Just last week, the European Parliament called on the European Commission to reject the latest proposed EU-US Data Privacy Framework in a non-binding resolution. The Commission believes that US law now offers an adequate level of protection for the personal data of EU users of US companies services but the Parliaments Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs begs to differ, arguing that the proposed data privacy framework doesnt fully comply with GDPR, particularly in light of the USs ongoing predilection for the large-scale, warrantless collection of user data for national security purposes.

Yet the EUs executive branch appears to be willing to set aside those concerns in order to participate in the US proposed biometric data sharing system. In fact, according to the document published by Statewatch, the Commission is already working on a Proof of Concept that would assess the added value of this sharing of information. This comes after a meeting of EU and USA senior justice and home affairs officials in March at which they discussed the possibility of hav[ing] a first set of data transferred as part of the proof of concept.

In other words, the biometric data of US and EU citizens would be shared without any kind of official agreement or arrangement in place, and despite the opposition of the European Parliament to the Commissions latest attempt to establish a lasting framework for EU-U.S data transfers. As the parliamentary committee noted, unlike all other third countries that have received an adequacy decision under the GDPR, the US still does not have a federal data protection law.

Galling But Not Surprising

For Statewatchs Director Chris Jones, the most enraging aspect of the whole business is the secrecy of the negotiations:

The EUs own top court has ruled on multiple occasions that the USA does not offer adequate privacy protections for non-citizens, yet the Commission and the member states are planning to open up their biometric databases to the Department of Homeland Security and, by extension, who knows how many other US agencies? The fact that discussions on the plan are taking place in secret makes it all the more galling, albeit entirely unsurprising.

No less galling in my view is the blatant duplicity of EU policymakers. One of the arguments most frequently deployed by the EU (and governments of other ostensibly democratic nations) for setting up digital identity systems, which are likely to include a biometric component, is that they will grant citizens greater control over the use of their personal data on the Internet. It will be the citizens, they say, who will ultimately decide who has access to their data.

A case in point is the following statement from EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen on the empowering potential of the EUs Digital Identity Wallet:

Every time an App or website asks us to create a new digital identity or to easily log on via a big platform, we have no idea what happens to our data in reality. That is why the Commission will propose a secure European e-identity. One that we trust and that any citizen can use anywhere in Europe to do anything from paying your taxes to renting a bicycle. A technology where we can control ourselves what data is used and how.

That is, of course, unless the data in question is being shared, in a pragmatic way, with the US Department of Homeland Security, which in turn will share the data with a whole host of other US government agencies.

It is also worth recalling that the EU itself is in the process of building one of the largest facial recognition systems on planet Earth, ostensibly as part of wider plans to modernize policing across the 27-member bloc. It is also seeking to merge biometric data from different databases into a Common Identity Repository, which will be used by security forces to compare fingerprints and facial images at EU borders.

This has all been in the works for some time. As a 2020 expose by The Intercept revealed, the national police forces of 10 EU member states, led by Austria, were calling for the introduction of EU legislation to introduce and interconnect all Member States biometric databases as early as November 2019. As the article noted, If previous data-sharing arrangements are a guide, the new facial recognition network will likely be connected to similar databases in the U.S., creating what privacy researchers are calling a massive transatlantic consolidation of biometric data.

Those transatlantic structures are now being put in place. This is happening at the same time that both the EU and the US are scrambling to set up their own respective digital ID and government systems. Those systems are a prerequisite for the establishment of central bank digital currencies, which are being broadly treated as a fait accompli in policy circles on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2021, the FT noted it will be nigh on impossible to issue [retail CBDCs] outside of a comprehensive national digital ID management system.

By next year all EU member states will have to make a Digital Identity Wallet available to every citizen who wants one, providing (in the words of the European Commission) a powerful enabler of digital operations that require cross-border identity recognition. On the other side of the Atlantic, unbeknown to most US citizens, the US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee recently passed the Improving Digital Identity Act by 11 votes to one. The legislation now awaits debate at the full Senate. This is all happening, of course, in the almost complete absence of public consultation, awareness or debate.
Yves here. This is a fine compact treatment of the intellectually shoddy market fetishism, and how its biggest fanbois are routinely the ones who get waivers, such as bank and airline bailouts and subsidies via favorable tax treatment. There are many other points I am sure readers can add to this critique, but this is designed to reach a broad audience and is suitable to send to friends and family.

By Richard D. Wolff, professor of economics emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a visiting professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University, in New York. Wolffs weekly show, Economic Update, is syndicated by more than 100 radio stations and goes to 55 million TV receivers via Free Speech TV. His three recent books with Democracy at Work are The Sickness Is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us From Pandemics or Itself, Understanding Socialism, and Understanding Marxism, the latter of which is now available in a newly released 2021 hardcover edition with a new introduction by the author. Produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute

A changing world order, a shrinking U.S. empire, migrations and related demographic shifts, and major economic crashes have all enhanced religious fundamentalisms around the world. Beyond religions, other ideological fundamentalisms likewise provide widely welcomed reassurances. One of the lattermarket fundamentalisminvites and deserves criticism as a major obstacle to navigating this time of rapid social change. Market fundamentalism attributes to that particular social institution a level of perfection and optimality quite parallel to what fundamentalist religions attribute to prophets and divinities.

Yet markets are just one among many social means of rationing. Anything scarce relative to demand for it raises the same question: Who will get it and who must do without it? The market is one institutional way to ration the scarce item. In a market, those who want it bid up its price leading others to drop out because they cannot or will not pay the higher price. When higher prices have eliminated the excess of demand over supply, scarcity is gone, and no more bidding up is required. Those able and willing to pay the higher prices are satisfied by receiving distributions of the available supply.

The market has thus rationed out the scarce supply. It has determined who gets and who does not. Clearly, the richer a buyer is, the more likely that buyer will welcome, endorse, and celebrate the market system. Markets favor rich buyers. Such buyers in turn will more likely support teachers, clerics, politicians, and others who promote arguments that markets are efficient, socially positive, or best for everyone.

Yet even the economics professionwhich routinely celebrates marketsincludes a sizableif underemphasizedliterature about how, why, and when free (i.e., unregulated) markets do not work efficiently or in socially positive ways. That literature has developed concepts like imperfect competition, market distortions, and externalities, to pinpoint markets failing to be efficient or benefit social welfare. Social leaders who have had to deal with actual markets in society have likewise repeatedly intervened in them when and because markets worked in socially unacceptable ways. Thus, we have minimum wage laws, maximum interest-rate laws, price-gouging laws, and tariff and trade wars. Practical people know that leaving matters to the market has often yielded disasters (e.g., the crashes of 2000, 2008, and 2020) overcome by massive, sustained governmental regulation of and intervention in markets.

So then why do market fundamentalists celebrate a rationing systemthe marketthat in both theory and practice is more replete with holes than a block of Swiss cheese? Libertarians go so far as to promote a pure market economy as a realizable utopia. Such a pure market system is their policy to fix the massive problems they admit exist in contemporary (impure) capitalism. Libertarians are forever frustrated by their lack of success.

For many reasons, markets ought not claim anyones loyalty. Among alternative systems of rationing scarcity, markets are clearly inferior. For example, in many religious, ethical, and moral traditions, basic precepts urge or insist that scarcity be addressed by a rationing system based on their respective concepts of human need. Many other rationing systemsincluding the U.S. version used in World War IIdispensed with the market system and substituted a needs-based rationing system managed by the government.

Rationing systems could likewise be based on age, type of work performed, employment status, family situation, health conditions, distance between home and workplace, or other criteria. Their importance relative to one another and relative to some composite notion of need, could and should be determined democratically. Indeed, a genuinely democratic society would let the people decide which (if any) scarcities should be rationed by the market and which (if any) by alternative rationing systems.

Market fetishists will surely trot out their favorite rationalizations with which to regale students. For example, they argue that when buyers bid up prices for scarce items other entrepreneurs will rush in with more supply to capture those higher prices, thereby ending the scarcity. This simple-minded argument fails to grasp that the entrepreneurs cashing in on the higher prices for scarce items have every incentive and many of the means to prevent, delay, or block altogether the entry of new suppliers. Actual business history shows that they often do so successfully. In other words, glib assurances about reactions to market prices are ideological noise and little else.

We can also catch the market fetishizers in their own contradictions. When justifying the sky-high pay packages of mega-corporate CEOs, we are told their scarcity requires their high prices. The same folks explain to us that to overcome scarcity of wage labor, it was necessary to cut U.S. workers pandemic-era unemployment supplement, not to raise their wages. During times of scarcity, markets often reveal to capitalists the possibility of earning higher profits on lower volumes of product and sales. If they prioritize profits and when they can afford to bar others entry, they will produce and sell less at higher prices to a richer clientele. We are watching that process unfold in the United States now.

The neoliberal turn in U.S. capitalism since the 1970s yielded big profits from a globalized market system. However, outside the purview of neoliberal ideology, that global market catapulted the Chinese economy forward far faster than the United States and far faster than the United States found acceptable. Thus the United States junked its market celebrations (substituting intense security concerns) to justify massive governmental interventions in markets to thwart Chinese development: a trade war, tariff wars, chip subsidies, and sanctions. Awkwardly and unpersuasively, the economic profession keeps teaching about the efficiency of free or pure markets, while students learn from the news all about U.S. protectionism, market management, and the need to turn away from the free market gods previously venerated.

Then too the market-based health care system of the United States challenges market fundamentalism: the United States has 4.3 percent of the world population but accounted for 16.9 percent of the worlds COVID-19 deaths. Might the market system bear a significant share of the blame and fault here? So dangerous is the potential disruption of ideological consensus that it becomes vital to avoid asking the question, let alone pursuing a serious answer.

During the pandemic, millions of workers were told that they were essential and front-line responders. A grateful society appreciated them. As they often noted, the market had not rewarded them accordingly. They got very low wages. They must not have been scarce enough to command better. Thats how markets work. Markets do not reward what is most valuable and essential. They never did. They reward what is scarce relative to peoples ability to buy, no matter the social importance we give to the actual work and roles people play. Markets pander to where the money is. No wonder the rich subsidize market fundamentalism. The wonder is why the rest of society believes or tolerates it.
My position with the Post has evolved since 2000, when I began work with The City Paper. In 2008, SouthComm Inc. bought the Post and The City Paper, after which I worked with both publications. The City Paper ceased operations in 2013, two years after I was named Post managing editor. In 2018, FW Publishing acquired the Post.

Follow William Williams Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
(Natural News) Sixty thousand pounds of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used both as a fertilizer and a component in the creation of explosives, has gone missing from a train bound for California.

The ammonium nitrate went missing from a railcar that left Cheyenne, Wyoming on April 12. Two weeks later, when the train reached a rail stop in the Mojave Desert, an inspection found that the railcar was empty. (Related: IT KEEPS HAPPENING: Tanker carrying thousands of gallons of propane fuel FLIPS OVER in Florida train derailment.)

The ammonium nitrate came from the company Dyno Nobel, which has a plant near Cheyenne. It reported the incident on May 10 to the National Response Center, an agency under the United States Coast Guard that acts as the federal governments sole point of contact for reporting hazardous discharges into the environment anywhere in the U.S. or its territories, including chemical spills.

Ammonium nitrate is commonly used in the U.S. as fertilizer. But it is also used as a crucial ingredient in high explosives. Dyno Nobel actually makes ammonium nitrate to sell as an explosive, usually for coal and metals mining, quarrying and construction.

Ammonium nitrate was also the key component used in the homemade bomb detonated in the 1995 attack on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people and injured nearly 700 more.

It was also the substance that caused the deadly explosion in a warehouse in the Port of Beirut in Lebanon in 2020. This explosion caused 218 deaths, over 7,000 injuries and over $15 billion in property damage. The incident also left an estimated 300,000 people homeless.

Company claims ammonium nitrate leaked from railcar

According to Dyno Nobels current working theory, the ammonium nitrate  which was transported in pellet form in a covered hopper car similar to those used to ship coal  fell from the car on the way to a rail siding, a short track that connects with the main railroad.

The rail siding is located in Saltdale, an unincorporated community about 26 miles to the northeast of the town of Mojave in eastern Kern County, California.

The railcar was sealed when it left the Cheyenne facility, and the seals were intact when it arrived in Saltdale, said the company through a spokesperson. The initial assessment is that a leak through the bottom gate on the railcar may have developed in transit.

A separate investigation being conducted by the Federal Railroad Administration suggests that one of the hopper car gates was not properly closed, which could have led to the ammonium nitrate spilling all along the approximately 800-mile journey from Cheyenne to Saltdale.

Dyno Nobel claims the trip to Saltdale lasted two weeks and included multiple stops. The company added that it only has very limited control over the railcar as soon as it is on its journey, as the Union Pacific Corporation, which controls the railroad, takes over.

Dyno Nobel and the FRAs investigations are ongoing. The California Public Utilities Commission and the Union Pacific Corporation are also conducting their own investigations.

The railcar that carried the ammonium nitrate is on its way back to Wyoming for inspection. Dyno Nobel said it hopes to better understand how the shipment was lost, and upon the conclusion of its investigation hopes to bring up recommendations to prevent something similar from happening again.

None of the four separate and ongoing investigations on the matter suspect foul play. But the loss of a massive amount of hazardous chemicals is very questionable, especially given the fact that this is just the latest rail problem to occur since February, when a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, causing a massive explosion that spread harmful substances to the surrounding communities and farther.

Learn the latest dangerous incidents to occur in the United States at Chaos.news.

Watch this episode of Evolutionary Energy Arts as hosts Michael and Cindy Lazaro discuss how unlikely it is that 30 tons of ammonium nitrate just went missing from a train car.

This video is from the channel Evolutionary Energy Arts on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Train carrying paint and lithium ion batteries derails in Wisconsin, sending two cars into Mississippi River.

Another train carrying hazardous materials derails in Maine  THIRD crash this week.

18-inch pipe bomb found near railroad tracks in Philadelphia neighborhood.

ANOTHER ONE: Norfolk Southern train with one car carrying hazardous chemicals CRASHES outside Detroit.

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

KQED.org

EPA.gov

DynoNobel.com

Brighteon.com
This weekly feature from Dynamic Business runs down the weeks top funding rounds from Australia and the US. Check out last weeks biggest funding rounds here.

Arlula secures $2.2 million in seed funding

Australian space tech startup Arlula today announced it has raised AUD$2.2 million (USD$1.5 million) to expand access to Earth Observation (EO) data and imagery, allowing individuals, small businesses and large enterprises alike to harness its full potential.



Main Sequence, Australias deep tech investment fund founded by CSIRO, led the funding, with participation from Black Nova Venture Capital.

FLINTpro Corp. raises USD$9 million Series A investment

FLINTpro, a nature technology company that empowers organizations to measure and manage land-based natural capital, has announced the closing of its USD $9.0 million Series A funding round. Understorey Ventures led the round with new participation from Pollination, Persei Venture and existing investors Ananta-OM and Synovia Capital.

Finspo raises $2.55M in latest funding round

Finspo, the digital mortgage broker founded by ex-bankers in 2019, has completed its Series D capital round and raised $2.55 million in equity funding to scale up its business and advance its end-to-end digital experience. The funding will help Finspo build on its game-changing platform that digitises and automates the home loan application process on its way to providing customers the option of a fully robo mortgage broking experience.

Gradiant secures $225 million in funding to drive business expansion

Gradiant, a leading global provider of advanced water and wastewater treatment solutions, announced today the successful closure of its Series D financing round, raising an impressive $225 million. This round was spearheaded by BoltRock Holdings and Centaurus Capital, propelling Gradiants total funding to over $400 million and its valuation to an impressive $1 billion.

US content creator companies Surpass $4 billion in funding

New data from OnlyAccounts.io reveals that content creator companies in the United States have collectively secured over $4 billion in funding, surpassing the combined funding of their European and Asian counterparts by a staggering 60%.

Mortgage fintech company raises $2.55 million in Series D funding

Online mortgage broker Finspo, based in Melbourne and established just four years ago, has successfully raised $2.55 million in its recent Series D funding round. This investment will be directed towards enhancing Finspos digital platform, although specific details regarding the investors involved in the raise have not been disclosed.

Cotiss secures $2.2 million in Pre-Seed funding round

Procurement startup Cotiss, headquartered in New Zealand, has secured $2.2 million in pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Blackbird Ventures and received support from Icehouse Ventures, AfterWork Ventures, Phase One, and Co-Ventures. This infusion of capital will bolster Cotisss growth and further develop its innovative procurement solutions.

Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
(Natural News) A group of German climate protesters, Letzte Generation (Last Generation), are suspected of being a criminal organization in a landmark decision by the Potsdam Regional Court.

(Article by Jake Welch republished from TheNationalPulse.com)

The ruling was determined by the State Protection Chamber of the Potsdam Regional Court at the end of April this year, reports Tagesspiel.

This is the first time such a decision has been made in Germany, a nation which has led the way on left-wing climate change measures including the destruction of nuclear power plants, despite the radical Green government admitting there being downsides.

In December 2022, nationwide raids on Last Generation activists were carried out by German authorities following an attack on PCK raw material refineries in the Brandenburg towns of Schwedt and Werneuchen.

Since then, the Public Prosecutors Office (Staatsanwaltschaft) has been investigating the group and preparing charges under the German Criminal Code.

The group is also under investigation for its attack on a Monet painting at the Barberini Museum in Potsdam with mashed potatoes and attempting to disrupt flight operations at Berlin Airport last year.

NEW  Mashed potato attack on $110 million Monet painting in Germany.pic.twitter.com/dK8YCB2F1C  Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) October 23, 2022

If found guilty, the groups activists will be prosecuted for supporting illegal action.

Read more at: TheNationalPulse.com
(Natural News) In the past several years, transgenderism has really taken off across the United States, in large part due to the influence of the far-left Human Rights Campaign (HRC), an LGBT organization that has been teaching hospitals how to mutilate more children.

With the financial backing of Pfizer, the HRC is responsible for bringing transgender clinics to facilities like Childrens National Hospital (CNH) in Washington, D.C. Around 2019, Beth Rempe, a nurse at CNH, started to notice doctors wearing transgender pins and nurses asking innocent children with no history of gender dysphoria about their preferred gender pronouns.

During this same time period, increasingly more patients were suddenly being prescribed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, especially young girls. Even more disturbing were the internal policy changes at CNH that allowed staff members to start changing their genders on a whim based on their mood.

By 2022, Rempe says CNH started requiring staff members to use patients preferred pronouns on demand, even as their European counterparts were backing away from the practice due to its tendency to create more gender dysphoria where it did not previously exist.

(Related: In 2020, the HRC renamed human genitals using silly names in order to please deranged transgenders.)

CNH equality indexes aim to turn all corporations, hospitals into LGBT freak shows

Rempe quit working at CNH in 2022 after asking for an exemption and being denied. She did not want to be put in the uncomfortable position of having to administer puberty blockers and hormone drugs to children, which would have violated her conscience and beliefs.

I kept finding myself in situations I wasnt comfortable with ethically, Rempe said.

Since leaving CNH, Rempe has struggled to figure out what happened to the hospital where she worked for 16 years. Was there some hidden force behind the new policies that pushed them from the outside? It turns out that there was, and it was the HRC.

The HRC manages what is known as the Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a scorecard system for LGBT compliance that was behind the recent Bud Light fiasco involving transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The HRC also manages the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI), which is basically the same as CEI but for the health care system.

Using a 100-point scale, the HRC scores hospitals based on the equity and inclusion of their LGBTQ+ patients. This scale, by the way, is funded both by Pfizer and the pharmaceutical industry trade association PhRMA.

The more transgender mutilation and other perversion a hospital pushes, the higher it rates on the Pfizer-funded HEI. The less LGBT perversion a hospital embraces and promotes, the lower its HEI score.

The HEI, by the way, does not in any way recognize exemptions based on conscience or religion, which makes it inherently discriminatory against Christians and other religious medical workers who object to mutilating children.

Not surprisingly, the childrens hospital where Rempe used to work earned a perfect HEI score.

When asked for comment on the matter, PhRMAs Brian Newell downplayed the index entirely, claiming that it was not involved in the development.

Our work with the [Human Rights Campaign] has primarily focused on issues impacting patient access and affordability, including for those with HIV, Newell said.

Pfizer, conversely, did not respond to a request for comment.

Anything that the HRC deems as discriminatory, including objections to harming and mutilating children, will lower a hospitals HEI score. And with that score deduction comes the threat of reduced funding or other woke punishments, which incentivizes hospitals to push as much LGBT perversion as possible to attain the highest score.

Want to learn more about which entities are pushing transgender mutilation on children? Visit Transhumanism.news.

Sources for this article include:

FreeBeacon.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) believes he can beat incumbent President Joe Biden in presidential primaries for the 2024 election.

Yes, I can win, the Democratic candidate said when asked about his chances against the former vice president. The public polls are showing me at 20 percent over for the Democrats, and our private polling is showing that I have very strong support among independents and even Republicans.

The nephew of former President John F. Kennedy later told Fox News: We need to be able to show people that democracy works and the U.S. isnt just like the Soviet Union, where the [ruling] party picks candidates and the public really doesnt have a say.

We should be trying to convince the public that we are the Democratic Party. We do believe in democracy and that the people actually get to choose candidates; get to meet them; see them debate; touch them and participate in their own governance.

RFK Jr.s remarks appear to be aimed at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which earlier insinuated that there will be no primary debates. Some Democrats have voiced concerns that the DNC is overly committed to Bidens reelection and are protecting him by not planning any debates.

The DNC has not offered any public comments about whether debates will be held. Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee has planned about a dozen presidential primary debates. But former President Donald Trump  the leading candidate for the GOP  has signaled he wont participate in any of these.

RFK Jr. told Fox News that he joined the 2024 race because he believes the Democratic Party is on the wrong track and has now become the party of war, of censorship [and] of fear. His uncle John and his father, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy Sr., were avowed Democrats in their lifetimes.

RFK Jr. wont be running with Trump

RFK Jr. and Trump share several similarities despite being on different political parties. Both are hostile to the Deep State and are hated by the mainstream media. Both candidates also espouse anti-establishment positions such as ending wars driven by the military-industrial complex and promoting free speech.

But RFK Jr., the founder and general counsel of health freedom group Childrens Health Defense, quashed rumors of a potential election run with Trump in a May 11 tweet. (Related: RFK Jr. says HE WONT JOIN TRUMP, ending rumors of a possible tandem in 2024 presidential elections.)

Just to quell any speculation, under no circumstances will I join Trump on an electoral ticket, he tweeted. Our positions on certain fundamental issues, our approaches to governance and our philosophies of leadership could not be further apart.

The CHD founders tweet purportedly came as a response to former White House chief strategist and podcast host Steve Bannon. In April, the Bannons War Room host said RFK Jr. would be a good running mate for the real estate mogul in case former Arizona gubernatorial candidate and news anchor Kari Lake was unavailable.

If [Lake is] not available to be Trumps vice president, [RFK Jr.] would be an excellent choice for Trump to consider, Bannon said. The erstwhile adviser to the Trump campaign said his suggestion purportedly received a standing ovation during a public appearance.

VoteDemocrat.news has more stories about RFK Jr.s presidential run.

Watch Robert F. Kennedy Jr. talking about his 2024 presidential candidacy on Fox News below.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

RFK Jr. promises punishment against all government officials who committed crimes against humanity during covid: Not retribution but justice!

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. rejects climate cultism, while expressing genuine alarm about stopping REAL pollution and ecological destruction.

RFK Jr. tied with Biden in primary poll, 20% of Democrats say theyd vote for Kennedy or Trump over Biden.

RFK Jr. commits to making America an EXEMPLARY DEMOCRACY again in 2024 presidential bid.

TruNews: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s presidential bid a BIG THREAT to the Deep State.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

YourNews.com

Newsweek.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Board-certified pathologist Dr. Ryan Cole talked about how the spike protein in Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) mRNA vaccines trigger unusual clumping in the bloodstream at a recent White Coat Summit.

So, this is really unusual in clotting mechanisms, Cole explained. To see something like this and a protein that will do this in the absence of other things that are usually necessary for a clot is very unusual. And again, concerning.

In relation to this, Dr. Resia Pretorius from South Africa showed that spike protein can cause proteins to clump together if you take platelets out of the blood.

Cole warned during his presentation that the mRNA vaccines spike protein is toxic, causing adverse health outcomes in the short term and also for future generation. The spike protein creates blood clots that impede the flow of blood to the heart and other organs vital to human health.

According to Cole, the mRNA vaccines caused a 200 percent hike in the rate of myocarditis. He also noted that Pfizers mRNA vaccine caused a 16 percent decline in fertility in rats. The pathologist shared that placentas delivered to his office contain spike proteins and are not properly sized in accordance with the age of gestation. Placenta is important in the development of the fetus during pregnancy.

The mRNA vaccines appear to have caused the placentas to calcify, likely as a result of the spike protein. Additional analysis revealed the placentas also have considerable inflammation and antibodies, essentially becoming a post-jab toxic stew that is not conducive to health or survival.

Additionally, whistleblower and renowned writer Naomi Wolf revealed that some midwives told her that the placentas of vaccinated mothers are shrunken and have a silver-gray color. These signs mean that the placentas are not big enough to sustain a normal baby. (Related: Naomi Wolf: No more normal placentas since COVID-19 vaccine rollout.)

Its an experiment, an emergency authorization, not approved. Humanity is the phase 3 trial. What is the risk for cancer after the shot? What is the risk of autoimmune disease after the shot? What is the risk of impairing fertility for a lifetime? We dont know, Cole said. So why in the world are we really pushing forward at the pace rate were going without knowing these things? Its a complete attack on science and a complete attack on us.

Spike proteins can also damage the brain

The spike proteins induced by the mRNA vaccines can also cause neurological damage. This was according to retired neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock.

This [COVID-19] injection is an injection of artificial exosomes. The brain is one of the most complex things in the entire universe and people in the medical profession really dont understand this injection. They dont understand what it does to the neurological apparatus of the brain and spinal cord, Blaylock said.

He explained that when theres systemic inflammation or any kind of trauma occurs in the body, it produces inflammation and activation of the immune system. This sends a signal to the brain within minutes and starts activating the microglia, which is the inflammatory, cytotoxic cell in the brain, he said, adding that this is what would happen following the first dose of the COVID-19 injection.

As the second dose is injected months later, primed microglia become fully activated. It will then release all the toxic components.

You get chronically activated microglia [in] overactivated state, and theres a threefold higher inflammatory reaction than youd normally get with microglial activation, he said.

Check out PharmaceuticalFraud.com for more news on Big Pharmas dangerous vaccines.

Watch the video below where cardiologist Dr. Peter McCollough tackled the things you need to know about spike proteins.

This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Vaccine damage from spike protein jabs is inducing wave of health carnage across the globe.

Study: These two simple nutritional supplements trigger spike protein UNFOLDING and may neutralize its harmful properties.

How to DEFEAT micro blood clots and block the spike protein by protecting the QUALITY of your blood.

Sources include:

NaturalHealth365.com

Rumble.com

ChildrensHealthDefense.eu

Expose-News.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Entrepreneur and tech investor David Sacks got candid in an interview with podcaster Benny Johnson about the governments attempt to silence speech.

(Article by Gabriela Pariseau republished from NewsBusters.org)

Sacks applauded The Twitter Files for unveiling how federal agencies weaponized their authority against Americans in an interview on Benny Johnsons The Benny Show Sunday. He credited Twitter owner Elon Musk for releasing the files. I think we would have very little knowledge of what was actually happening inside these social media companies if Elon hadnt opened up The Twitter Files, Sacks said. The only conclusion you can come away with is you know we have these security agencies that have been weaponized against the American people. Theyre propagandizing the American people. Theyre surveilling the American people. Theyre censoring the American people. Theyre completely out of hand and unacceptable.

?@DavidSacks breaks down the revelations of the #TwitterFiles and how they worked with intelligence agencies to censor speech: They were doing so, in many cases, in violation of their own stated policies Subscribe To The Benny Show:https://t.co/eFopXPngL4pic.twitter.com/9dptlnEVpq  Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 7, 2023

The pair discussed the weight of what the now 21 Twitter Files have revealed to the American public. He compared The Twitter Files to peeling back onion layers and at the heart of the metaphorical onion lies the FBIs entangled relationship with Twitter.

[Twitter censorship] wasnt just a case of corporate bias. Their actions were being guided by the deep state. You have 80 former FBI agents who were flagging posts to be taken down from social media, Sacks told Johnson. And then we find out that it wasnt just the FBI you have the Department of Homeland Security, you have the global engagement center which was originally created to create propaganda to propagandize other countries but it had been set loose on us, on the American people. You had representatives of the CIA who were participating in this meeting.

To top it tall off, Sacks added, the FBI was not merely involved. It was involved for fabricated reasons. The pretext they were giving us for their involvement, for the FBIs involvement in the first place was all about malign foreign influence. It was that we have these foreign governments involved in Twitter running propaganda campaigns trying to influence our elections. This was the stated reason for their authority, for them trying to have this giant FBI operation, he said, noting the FBIs claims of uncovering Russian disinformation operations. He later added that Even the rationale that they gave for their involvement, for the FBIs involvement in the first place was a fabrication and Twitter knew it.

Sacks referred to internal communications found in Twitter Files parts 11 and 15 showing Twitter employees discussing among themselves that the alleged massive amounts of Twitter disinformation did not exist. Many of the accounts flagged by intelligence agencies as posting Russian disinformation were merely small domestic accounts belonging to everyday Americans.

Read more at: NewsBusters.org
(Natural News) The Australian government under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is investing $2 billion Australian dollars ($1.32 billion) in a hydrogen power program. The endeavor seeks to turn the Land Down Under into a so-called superpower for renewable energy.

The program dubbed Hydrogen Headstart will provide taxpayer funding for large-scale hydrogen power projects via competitive hydrogen production contracts. It will put Canberra on course to build up to a gigawatt of electrolyzer capacity by 2030 through two to three flagship projects. AU$2 billion ($1.32 billion) will be earmarked for Hydrogen Headstart, according to Mirage News.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, an electrolyzer is a device that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The resulting hydrogen can then be combusted for industrial heat, used as a chemical input for green manufacturing, [converted to] fuel for heavy transport, or liquefied and compressed for export to our key trading partners.

Aside from this, AU$38.2 million ($25.29 million) will be earmarked for a scheme of certification for renewable energy projects, alongside the verification and tracking of the emissions from these. An additional AU$2 million ($1.32 million) will go to a fund to support Aboriginal Australians and indigenous-led businesses to engage with hydrogen projects.

Moreover, another AU$5.6 million ($3.71 million) will be allocated to leverage Australias competitive strengths in the renewable energy industry. This amount will also be used to fund the acquisition of critical minerals and highly skilled laborers to accelerate the countrys industrial and manufacturing capabilities.

After a decade of policy inaction, Hydrogen Headstart contributes to the over $40 billion of investment by the Albanese government to make Australia a renewable energy superpower.

Hydrogen Headstart could also be the start of hydrogen fraud scheme

Writing for Watts Up With That (WUWT), Eric Worrall warned that Canberras Hydrogen Headstart program could lead to more hydrogen fraud.

He pointed out that while Hydrogen Headstart appears promising, concerns have been raised regarding the potential for hydrogen fraud. This, he explained, stems from the difficulty in differentiating hydrogen energy produced from truly clean and renewable sources and that produced from fossil fuels.

Nobody can tell post-production whether the hydrogen came from steam reforming fossil fuel, renewable electrolysis or even nuclear-powered thermochemical processes, Worrall wrote. Maybe regulators could cast some doubt using isotopic analysis, but there would likely be enough natural variation for plausible deniability.

He warned that without a powerful certification process, fraudulent activities could undermine the credibility and viability of Australias burgeoning hydrogen energy market. (Related: Climate change is a malicious, dangerous myth.)

When you think about it, hydrogen fraud makes a lot of financial sense as a criminal money maker, There is no way green industries can produce affordable hydrogen which can challenge the cost of producing hydrogen from fossil fuel, so you need a certificate to prove your absurdly expensive hydrogen process has the correct green pedigree, Worrall wrote.

He predicted that nations with high levels of corruption and lax enforcement will become the global leaders in certified green hydrogen production. These same nations, he added, will get mad and start slinging accusations of racism when anyone demands to inspect their renewable powered hydrogen production plants.

Learn more about hydrogen power at NewEnergyReport.com.

Watch Australian Sen. Malcolm Roberts discuss how Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would rather meet with billionaire Bill Gates than with the countrys own people.

This video is from the channel Towards The Light on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Aussie researchers develop new way to turn seawater into hydrogen fuel  no desalination necessary.

Technology that turns solar energy into hydrogen fuel nears practical feasibility threshold for solar hydrogen generation.

Can we find a cleaner way to extract hydrogen from water?

Renewable energy using rocks? Scientists figure out how to successfully split hydrogen gas from water.

An unlimited supply of hydrogen energy from wastewater? New research suggests its possible.

Sources include:

MirageNews.com

Energy.gov

WattsUpWithThat.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) New research out of Northwestern University in Illinois has confirmed that most of the pre-vaccine deaths that occurred in the early days of the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic were caused by ventilators, and specifically ventilator-acquired pneumonia, rather than the virus.

SARS-CoV-2, it turns out, was relatively mild the entire time, afflicting most people with little more than a cold or sniffles. The establishment health system, however, was told and incentivized to make it appear like another black plague, which sent countless millions to an early grave through the treatment modalities they were offered.

One of those so-called treatments was ventilators, which caused patients who otherwise would have survived, in most cases, to develop a serious case of ventilator-acquired pneumonia. This, Northwestern researchers found, is why millions died  again, not because of covid itself.

Covid itself has a relatively low mortality rate compared to other respiratory illnesses, the researchers found after examining about 600 patients with severe pneumonia, reported Alex Berenson on his Substack. Yet Covid patients remained intubated longer than other patients and developed secondary bacterial infections more often.

Those extra infections caused many deaths in Covid patients, the researchers wrote. More patients may have died from the bacterial infections than Covid itself.

(Related: Be sure to also check out our recent coverage about how hospitals across America became death and murder facilities during covid.)

American hospitals murdered patients with ventilators, data shows

This revelation is really bad news for the corporate media and establishment medicine, both of which aggressively pushed for all admitted covid patients to have a ventilator smashed over their breathing holes. These same entities then tried to blame President Donald Trump for not doing enough to save lives by imposing even more medical tyranny.

Early on in the scamdemic when Trump openly stated that he did not believe the medical establishment needed so many ventilators, let alone even more ventilators after their overuse created a shortage, he was blasted by the powers that be for spreading misinformation.

Doctors often preemptively put patients on ventilators, The Wall Street Journal reported in December 2020, noting that the medical establishments excuse for ventilator overuse is that it would help protect hospital staff from catching covid from patients breathing out covid viral particles.

It was already long established at the time that putting patients on mechanical ventilation, especially for long periods of time, is really dangerous because tracheostomy tubes are a highway to bacterial lung infections, to quote Berenson, who warns that ventilator-acquired pneumonia is very difficult to treat, even with powerful antibiotics.

The importance of VAP [ventilator-acquired pneumonia] as a driver of mortality in patients with COVID-19 has been underestimated, wrote the researchers behind the new study, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The truth about ventilators eventually came out, resulting in many hospitals simply abandoning them altogether. This resulted in truckloads of brand-new ventilators having to be given away  though nobody wanted them, so most ended up in landfills.

By then, though, Berenson notes, it was too late for Covid patients admitted  and ventilated  in 2020.

It is incredible the speed at which the  once revered  medical profession was effortlessly dismantled, wrote one of Berensons readers about what covid did  or perhaps simply brought to light  concerning the deeply embedded corruption within the medical establishment.

Charlie Munger, Warren Buffets right-hand man, once said: Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome,'  and, man, was this right as far as what happened during covid, resulting in millions of needless deaths.

The latest news about the covid scamdemic and what it did to the world can be found at Genocide.news.

Sources for this article include:

JCI.org

AlexBerenson.substack.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Deutsche Bank has agreed to a multimillion-dollar settlement in a federal lawsuit filed by victims of child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to settle claims that the institution enabled his crimes by doing business with him.

As reported by CNBC, the $75 million bombshell deal still leaves JPMorgan Chase to defend its own would-be class action lawsuit by Epstein accusers in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, which involves similar allegations.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who previously stated that the bank is not responsible for the sex trafficking activities of its former customer, is scheduled to be deposed in the lawsuit filed against the bank. The deposition is in relation to the lawsuit filed by the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands as well as another related suit, both set to take place on May 26, CNBC reported.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the $75 million settlement. CNBC reported:

Under the deal, victims of Epstein who were affected by his sex trafficking during the time when he was a customer of Deutsche Bank, from 2013 through 2018, would receive at least $75,000 and up to $5 million depending on an evaluation of their claims.

Deutsche Bank spokesman Dylan Riddle would not comment on the deal, but noted that his bank has spent more than 4 billion euros [$4.34 billion] to strengthen internal financial controls.

In recent years, Deutsche Bank has made considerable progress in remedying a number of past issues, Riddle said.

He pointed out that in 2020, when JPMorgan agreed to pay a $150 million fine to New Yorks financial regulator for its involvement with Epstein and other matters, Deutsche Bank had noted: We acknowledge our error onboarding Epstein in 2013, and the weaknesses in our processes, and have learnt from our mistakes and our shortcomings.

The two law firms representing the accusers, Edwards Pottinger and Boies Schiller Flexner, in a joint statement obtained by CNBC, said: This groundbreaking settlement is the culmination of two law firms conducting more than a decade-long investigation to hold one of Epsteins financial banking partners responsible for the role it played in facilitating his trafficking organization.

The lawsuit, filed in November by a woman identified as Jane Doe, sought class-action status. In the suit, Jane Doe alleged that Deutsche Bank had knowingly engaged in and financially profited from Epsteins sex trafficking activities by providing the necessary financial support to sustain the operation.

Deutsche Bank also knew that Epstein would use means of force, threats of force, fraud, abuse of legal process, exploitation of power disparity, and a variety of other forms of coercion to cause young women and girls to engage in commercial sex acts, the suit claimed.

Knowing that they would earn millions of dollars from facilitating Epsteins sex trafficking, and from its relationship with Epstein, Deutsche Bank chose profit over following the law, the suit added. Specifically, Deutsche Bank chose facilitating a sex trafficking operation in order to churn profits.

Following the termination of his banking relationship with JPMorgan in 2013, Epstein subsequently became a customer of Deutsche Bank. Prior to that, Epstein had been a customer of JPMorgan from 1998 until 2013.

Deutsche Bank picked up exactly where JPMorgan left off and became the bank that Epstein needed to fund his sexual abuse and sex-trafficking operation, the suit says.

Epstein was an American financier and convicted sex offender who was found dead in his cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors. He was convicted of soliciting an underage girl for prostitution in 2008 and served 13 months in jail.

He made headlines again in 2019 when he was arrested and charged with sex trafficking minors. He was accused of running a sex trafficking ring that involved underage girls, some as young as 14, and had allegedly been engaging in this behavior for years.

The charges against him were extensive, including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, sex trafficking of minors, and conspiracy to commit forced labor. He was denied bail and was held in a federal jail until his death.

Sources include:

NBC.com

WSJ.com
(Natural News) Veteran emergency room physician Dr. Richard Bartlett attested to budesonide as an effective early treatment against Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.

Budesonide is a cheap generic corticosteroid used as an anti-inflammatory drug and often administered through a nebulizer. When used for COVID-19, it relieves breathing issues and prevents the release of inflammatory chemicals.

Bartlett expounded on the benefits of budesonide during his appearance on The HighWire with Del Bigtree. He told host Del Bigtree of the Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) that inhaling a steroid such as budesonide is like turning the faucet off and preventing the release of cytokines in the body.

According to Bartlett, a West Texas frontline doctor, budesonide has been used safely on premature babies right up to elderly people for years. When administered through nebulizers, it can be more effectively inhaled  especially important for those who cannot take a deep breath. He first discovered the benefits of budesonide back in March 2020.

Bigtree agreed with his guest, saying that the use of budesonide as an early treatment reduced COVID-19 severity by 80 to 90 percent. He also cited two studies to back up the effects of the steroid.

The first study from the University of Oxford showed that inhaled budesonide reduced the relative risk of requiring urgent care or hospitalization. The second study, meanwhile, showed that the budesonide paired with the oral antidepressant fluvoxamine was effective in treating early-onset COVID-19. Earlier studies showed the antidepressant drug reduced the production of inflammatory cytokines. (Related: American husband tells Clay Clark how budesonide treatment saved his wife from COVID-19  Brighteon.TV.)

Bartlett: Censorship preventing the use of budesonide against COVID-19

According to the Texas doctor, censorship in social media has prevented budesonide from being used as an early treatment for COVID-19. This censorship came despite the drugs well-documented reputation for effectively decreasing inflammation in the lungs, a consequence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Bartlett lamented that life-saving information was being hidden from the public.

Bigtree, the founder and CEO of ICAN, also mentioned that administering budesonide through an inhaler also worked. However, he pointed out that a huge pushback against it still remains and turned to Bartlett as to why this happened.

According to the program guest, people were conditioned to be afraid, stay in their homes and trust the government to come up with a new miracle  in the form of the COVID-19 vaccine. But this plan to inject the people with COVID-19 shots did not work, as many of them were unable to get their normal lives back. Some of those injected suffered serious, debilitating reactions while some others died.

Bartlett also remarked that infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci had been smearing budesonide after he revealed its effectiveness in treating COVID-19. Bigtree added that Fauci was just one of many opposing the drugs use against COVID-19, showing video clips that questioned the steroids use against the disease.

And so, there was definitely an agenda, remarked Bartlett. But I think we can say that openly now, because clearly  misinformation was coming from the top.

Follow AlternativeMedicine.news for more stories about budesonide and other alternative COVID-19 treatments.

Watch the segment of The HighWire where Del Bigtree and Dr. Richard Bartlett discuss budesonide for treating COVID-19 patients.

This video is from The HighWire with Del Bigtree channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Pastor David Scarlett talks to Dr. Richard Bartlett about how COVID-19 is 100% treatable  Brighteon.TV.

Dr. Bryan Ardis: Theres a cheap, effective and APPROVED drug for COVID-19  Brighteon.TV.

FDA denies generic drug fluvoxamine emergency use authorization as COVID treatment.

Pandemic Health Alliance fights to allow hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin for early treatment of covid.

Hospitals are suppressing effective COVID treatments, says Dr. Chuck Thurston  Brighteon.TV.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

TotalityOfEvidence.com
(Natural News) Special Counsel John Durhams highly-anticipated report on the origins of the FBIs investigation into the Trump campaign in 2016 revealed that top leaders at the Bureau shut down four criminal investigations into Hillary and Bill Clinton.

(Article by Jordan Dixon-Hamilton republished from Breitbart.com)

In 2014, the FBI investigated a well-placed confidential sources claims that an unnamed foreign government intended to contribute to Hillary Clintons anticipated presidential campaign, as a way to gain influence with Clinton should she win the presidency, the report said.

The field office investigating these claims almost immediately sought a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant, but it remained in limbo for approximately four months, primarily due to Clintons then-expected presidential campaign.

As stated in Durhams report:

According to another agent, the application lingered because everyone was super more careful and scared with the big name [Clinton] involved. 321 [T]hey were pretty tippy-toeing around HRC because there was a chance she would be the next President.

Durhams report also revealed that three separate FBI field offices in Washington, DC; Little Rock, Arkansas; and New York City, New York, opened investigations into possibly criminal activity involving the Clinton Foundation less than one year before the November 2016 presidential election.

One of these investigations was spawned by Breitbart News contributor Peter Schweizers book, Clinton Cash, which exposed the Clinton Foundations global nexus of influence peddling.

As Durhams report detailed:

Beginning in January 2016, three different FBI field offices, the New York Field Office (NYFO*), the Washington Field Office (WFO*), and the Little Rock Field Office (LRFO**), opened investigations into possible criminal activity involving the Clinton Foundation. The IRFO case opening communication referred to an intelligence product and corroborating financial reporting that a particular commercial industry likely engaged a federal public official in a flow of benefits scheme, namely, large monetary contributions were made to a non-profit, under both direct and indirect control of the federal public official, in exchange for favorable government action and/or influence. The WFO investigation was opened as a preliminary investigation, because the Case Agent wanted to determine if he could develop additional information to corroborate the allegations in a recently-published book, Clinton Cash by Peter Schweizer, before seeking to convert the matter to a full investigation. Additionally, the LRFO and NYFO investigations included predication based on source reporting that identified foreign governments that had made, or offered to make, contributions to the Foundation in exchange for favorable or preferential treatment from Clinton.

Speaking with the DailyMail, Schweizer said he received a call from somebody from the New York FBI office after the book came out.

There was a New York Times piece on Uranium One. It was kind of confirming what we had in the book. Thats what I think triggered the interest, Schweizer said. With the Clinton Foundation, you have the transfer of large sums of money, you had policy positions that were affected, and you had certifiable evidence.

Im not a lawyer, so I cant say what was illegal. But there was definitely a there there, with all the speeches, donations, and policy effects, and nobodys ever really disputed that, he added.

Ultimately, FBI leadership held a joint meeting with the three field offices, FBI Headquarters, and appropriate United States Attorneys offices. The first joint meeting occurred on February 1, 2016. However, the Department of Justice Public Integrity Section Chief, Ray Hulser, said the FBI briefing at that meeting was poorly presented, and saw insufficient predication for at least one of the investigations.

A second joint meeting occurred on February 22, 2016, which former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe chaired.

McCabe initially directed the field offices to close their cases, but later agreed to reconsider the final disposition of the cases, Durhams report noted.

Paul Abbate, who was the FBI Washington Field Offices Assistant Director-in-Charge at the time, described McCabes demeanor during the joint meeting as negative, annoyed, and angry.

As the report detailed:

According to Abbate, McCabe stated they [the Department] say theres nothing here and why are we even doing this? At the close of the meeting, Campbell directed that for any overt investigative steps to be taken, the Deputy Directors approval would be required.

Durhams report also revealed that former FBI Director James Comey demanded, through an intermediary, the New York Field Office cease and desist their Clinton Foundation investigation.

Earlier in the week, McCabe claimed the Durham report was never a legitimate investigation.

We knew from the very beginning exactly what John Durham was going to conclude, and thats what we saw today. We knew from the very beginning this was never a legitimate investigation, McCabe said. This was a political errand to exact some sort of retribution on Donald Trumps perceived enemies and the FBI.

Durhams report highlighted the FBIs different approaches regarding their investigations into Clinton and former President Donald Trump.

The use of defensive briefings in 2015 contrasts with the FBIs failure to provide a defensive briefing to the Trump campaign approximately one year later when Australia shared the information from Papadopoulos, the report stated.

Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, who sits on the House Judiciary Committees Weaponization of the Federal Government subcommittee, told the DailyMail that Durhams report warrants additional exposure and review.

The Clintons had a team of people at the FBI running interference for them to avoid criminal culpability, Gaetz told the outlet. These matters absolutely warrant additional exposure and review.

Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) said the FBIs investigations into the Clintons were shut down by the higher-ups who had an obvious political desire to see Donald Trump lose and Hillary Clinton win.

Its disgusting really. Absolutely these investigations should be revisited, he told DailyMail. Theres no reason why Congress cant have a series of hearings with the field agents who were pursuing the Clinton Foundation, and public interviews with them as well.

Read more at: Breitbart.com
In late 2016, the Colombian government ratified a peace agreement that ended a bloody conflict between the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The conflict lasted for over five decades and cost around 260,000 Colombian lives, with another 80,000 people missing.

Over the half century of fighting, participants on both sides have committed, or been accused of committing, human rights abuses. Therefore, to aid the transition to peace, in early 2017, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, or JEP, was established within the framework of the peace agreement. Its objective is to satisfy the victims of abuses and atrocities, by allowing for the investigation and prosecution of the abusers.

The United States has proudly supported Colombias Peace Accord since its signing in 2016. Colombias Peace Accord addresses conflict-related atrocities and abuses which took place over more than 50 years, through a Comprehensive System for Truth, Justice, Reparation, and Non-Repetition, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a written statement.

This system relies on several transitional justice institutions that advance justice and accountability. In particular, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, [or JEP], works to end impunity for conflict-related crimes.

In support of the JEPs actions to end impunity for those who committed crimes against humanity during Colombias armed conflict, the United States designated three former Colombian officials for their involvement in gross violations of human rights, pursuant to Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2023.

In 2007, former Colonel Publio Hernan Mejia Gutierrez headed the La Popa battalion. This unit undertook offensive counter-guerrilla activity and has been accused of extrajudicial executions of civilians in its operations, with the intention of passing them off as guerrillas.

Former Colonel Juan Carlos Figueroa Suarez was designated for also being an officer of the La Popa battalion.

Former General Ivan Ramirez Quintero commanded the Colombian Armys 20th brigade, which was dismantled in 1998 for accusations of human rights violations. In 1985, Ramirez was in charge of the Colombian governments intelligence and counter-intelligence services. He has been accused of involvement in the 1985 disappearances of numerous persons.

The United States commends the JEP for its vital work in support of conflict victims and survivors, said Secretary Blinken, and will continue to work alongside Colombian and international partners to support the full implementation of the 2016 Peace Accord.
(Natural News) The reason why the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) appeared out of nowhere and destroyed the world is because of a serious biosafety incident that occurred in China. This is the claim of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican, who compiled a report about it that was just released publicly.

Rubios study, which took two years to put together, includes a plethora of documenting material, including vast translations of source material that was originally published in Chinese. In a nutshell, the communist regime knew the truth about covid but kept it a secret.

In its quest to make aggressive advancements in its bioweapons research, Beijing ignored numerous safety shortcomings at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), which were known about since as early as July 2019. After covid escaped the lab, Rubios report claims, China launched a cover-up to keep it under wraps.

(Related: Remember when Rubio, a prohibition pusher, was caught profiting from the for-profit prison industry?)

Three months before China acknowledged the existence of covid, the communist regime had already begun developing a vaccine for it

The idea that the Fauci Flu accidentally leaked from the WIV has repeatedly been decried by Democrats and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a wild conspiracy theory without any basis in truth. Rubios report suggests otherwise.

As early as February 2020, China launched a comprehensive plan to strengthen the biosafety measures at the WIV, which is Chinas only known level-4 biosafety lab, this being the highest and most secure classification for a biolab.

Just as Beijing was denying the possibility that COVID-19 came from a lab on the world stage, it was warning its own officials of such risks and rolling out new measures to prevent lab accidents, reads a document authored by the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Furthermore, the communist regime downplayed the threat of covid early on, taking steps to hide its origin while unleashing wild conspiracy theories claiming that covid emerged from tainted bat soup at a Wuhan wet market.

Also in February 2020, the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) filed a patent for a covid vaccine, work for which began four months earlier in November 2019, Rubios report alleges.

It took until January 2020, three months after China began work on said vaccine, for the communist regime to alert the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of unknown etiology.

The implications are impossible to ignore, Rubio said in a statement. Beijing hid the truth. This report reinforces the need to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable.

The administrations of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden have expressed frustrations with Chinas lack of transparency. Biden, as you may recall, ordered the director of national intelligence (DNI) to conduct a 90-day inquiry into the origins of covid.

In August 2021, the DNI released its findings, concluding that a more definitive explanation of covids origins would most likely not be possible without some kind of cooperation from China.

Both the Biden regime and the WHO have repeatedly asked China to share health data from the early days of the so-called pandemic as part of their ongoing investigations into the matter.

At one point, the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC) did upload some data to the global virus database about covid samples that were supposedly collected at a Wuhan wet market located near the WIV. Said data was deleted not long after it was uploaded.

A classified report from the Department of Energy (DOE), which oversees the operation of numerous biological research laboratories controlled by the United States, later concluded with low confidence that covid more than likely came from the Wuhan lab at the WIV.

The latest news about the Chinese Virus can be found at Plague.info.

Sources for this article include:

WND.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) When Donald Trump was in office, virtue-signaling Democrats like Eric Adams whined about his strict immigration policies and proudly proclaimed that migrants  legal and illegal  were welcome in their cities.

Republicans have proven them to be massive hypocrites.

No sooner than Joe Biden was led into the Oval Office following his inauguration, he got to work signing a two-foo-high stack of executive orders, many of which undid Trumps immigration and border security policies  policies that were so effective, illegal immigration had fallen to record lows and the border was the most secure it had been in decades.

That told the worlds poor that a) U.S. borders were wide open again; and a) anyone who wanted to come could come and theyd be welcomed with open arms (and U.S. taxpayer benefits).

Naturally, the border states were hit the hardest and the fastest, but after more than two years of dealing with Bidens open borders and getting nowhere with the regime, GOP governors began fighting back. They began bussing and flying illegals into blue states and cities where sanctuary city majors and governors could welcome them with open arms.

Only now, after several months of shipping migrants north, blue city leaders like NYCs Adams have become so inundated with illegals they have run out of resources to take care of them  and theyre complaining about having to deal with so many.

According to The Blaze:

New York City Mayor Eric Adams claimed that the migrant crisis is so bad that 50% of all hotel rooms in the city are being occupied by illegal aliens.

Adams made the comments on Wednesday while addressing criticism for his handling of the crisis.

In order to address an onslaught, you have to have places you can put people. Almost half of all hotel rooms now are taken up by asylum seekers. Think about that. Im not sure what its going to take before people hear what I am saying, said Adams during a press briefing in Harlem.

New York City is the hotel capital. Were the hotel capital  tourism, visitors, sporting events, graduations, he added. Its a major economic engine for us. Almost 50% of those hotel rooms are being taken up by migrant asylum seekers.

But even members of his own party are claiming that his numbers are fabrications.

It would be impossible, said City Councilwoman Diana Ayala, according to the New York Daily News. The math doesnt add up.

According to other officials, approximately 65,000 migrants have arrived in New York City in recent months. Many of these individuals have been accommodated in temporary locations such as public school gyms, emergency relief shelters, and certain homeless shelters.

As for Adams, he demanded  of course  that taxpayers pay more to solve his problem.

Instead of monies coming from people who are visiting us and spending and our tourism and our Broadway plays  instead of them using those hotels, were using those hotels, he whined.

Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, millions of migrants have attempted to cross the southern border illegally into the United States. The surge has led to a major humanitarian and political crisis, with many individuals and families facing difficult conditions at overcrowded detention centers and border facilities.

One of the main drivers of the migrant surge under Biden has been the reversal of some of the Trump administrations immigration policies, such as the Remain in Mexico policy and the Title 42 public health order. Trumps policies had effectively blocked many migrants from seeking asylum in the United States, but the Biden administration has sought to roll them back in order to restore a more humane and compassionate approach to immigration.

This is a problem of Democrat making  after Democrats claimed to be so welcoming and tolerant of people whose first official act in the U.S. was to break immigration law.

Sources include:

TheBlaze.com

NYDailyNews.com
(Natural News) Earlier approvals granted by the federal government for gender-transitioning drugs should be withdrawn, according to Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN). His proposal came in light of the shooting perpetrated by transgender shooter Audrey Hale in March of this year.

I think it certainly warrants some sort of investigation and/or hearing into the matter. These are powerful drugs; they have side effects that can clearly be dangerous, if not deadly, he told the Epoch Times in an interview.

I think it does call into question whether or not these drugs should be on the market, and certainly  consideration of the question of Should there be further guidance, warnings and stipulations given as to when they are administered or prescribed?'

Three children and three adults were killed during the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, part of the congressional district Ogles represents. It also raised concerns about both the safety of gender-transitioning procedures and the responsibility of medical professionals involved in affirming Hales chosen identity.

The Epoch Times noted that Hale had been taking these gender-transitioning drugs, which are typically used for those diagnosed with gender dysphoria  a mental condition where a person identifies with the gender opposite of the one they are born as. Given the potency of these drugs, it is possible that she was under the influence of these medications as she shot up the Nashville school. (Related: Doctor speaks out at SCOTUS protest: We need to understand causes of gender dysphoria.)

Independent journalist Abigail Shrier wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal: The standard for dealing with teens who assert they are transgender is affirmative care  immediately granting the patients stated identity.

But instead of prescribing dangerous medications that cause long-term consequences for their psychological and social well-being  such as in the case of Hale  she wrote that medical professionals ought to be helping gender-confused teens to overcome their unhealthy urges.

Ogles calls for Hales manifesto to be made public

The Tennessee congressman also told the Epoch Times that authorities should make Hales manifesto, journals and other writings public. These documents written before the shooting would help give clarity to her state of mind prior to the shooting, he added. These are currently in the possession of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD), which earlier declined to publicize the documents.

Were at this point where it is time for them to release [Hales] manifesto. Part of that is they owe it to the families, the community and  the nation. So it is imperative from a trust and accountability issue that [the MNPD] release the manifesto and they do it immediately, said Ogles.

The manifesto is going to show that the woman was deeply troubled. Its going to bring into question whether or not she should have been transitioning, and its going to bring into question the culpability of the doctors and the clinicians involved in feeding her psychosis.

Ogles also denounced efforts by the Left to paint Hale in a positive light. He said in a March 30 statement: In the wake of the Covenant School shooting, there has been a movement by radical leftists to  legitimize the actions of the shooter because she identified as transgender. Make no mistake  she was a domestic terrorist who sought to kill and destroy.

Learn more about transgenderism among the youth at GenderConfused.com.

Watch Dr. Patrick Flynn and Del Bigtree discuss the dangers of gender transition drugs on The HighWire with Del Bigtree.

This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

TikTok personality who cut off both breasts in affirming gender transition reveals near-death complications.

NY father desperate to save 11-year-old child from forced gender transition speaks out.

English woman expresses REGRET over gender transition procedures, claims she wasnt ready for hysterectomy.

Trans psychologist who helps kids through gender transition now says its all gone too far.

Mutilated girl describes horrors of child gender transition: I cant believe I was allowed to have this procedure.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

WSJ.com
(Natural News) Pro-life advocates have expressed their opposition to an extreme late-term abortion bill during a hearing in the Maine Legislature earlier this month.

The hearing tackled the bill introduced by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, which seeks to legalize abortion after fetal viability, or around 24 weeks of pregnancy. Fetal viability refers to the ability of a human fetus to survive outside the uterus.

Many of the pro-life advocates who signed up used their two minutes to speak out against the infanticide bill, including Penny and Eric Winter.

Penny reiterated her belief that viable children need to be protected. Her husband Eric agreed, saying: Were not talking about something done to some helpless tissue. This is a body with arms and legs and a heartbeat and face that is exposed to abortion by this bill.

Ann Dowdy, a mother of six, also testified that time. She even brought her daughter Rejoice, who was born prematurely and spent three months in a neonatal ICU, to the hearing. I think it is wrong to be killing our babies when they could be living.

If a baby can survive outside its mother, that means that it is alive. It has a life, Audrey Wimmer testified. By terminating viable pregnancies, we are being shown that lives dont matter, and that isnt important.

Concurrent with the hearing, pro-life advocates also held a Speak Up For Life rally in the State Houses Hall of Flags. They voiced out their opposition to the bill and rebuked Mills for promoting infanticide. Barbara Ford of Godparent Home Ministries addressed the crowd: Mills may be the leader of this state, but we say Governor, we know youre wrong.'

GOP lawmakers in Maine challenge abortion bill

Mills and 90 other Democrats proposed the bill, which mainly expands abortion up to a later time in pregnancy with a doctors recommendation. The governor also added that the abortion bill has the backing of various groups, such as the Maine Council of Churches, Maine Medical Association, ACLU of Maine and Maine Womens Lobby. (Related: hose who side with Democrats are siding with DEATH, warns Pro-Life Health Ranger.)

However, anti-abortion groups like Maine Right to Life and the Christian Civic League of Maine have spoken out against it. Republican lawmakers in the Pine Tree State also denounced the bill, calling it evil and extreme.

Maine Senate Assistant Minority Leader Sen. Lisa Keim, blasted the proposal as a radical expansion of abortion that are both unnecessary and inhumane. Government should not be in the business of promoting [the] death of the unborn, she said.

State Rep. Laurel Libby remarked: We are here to say no to late-term abortion. We are here to say no to killing babies that would survive outside their mothers womb.

Maine House Assistant Minority Leader Rep. Amy Arata blasted the bill on the State House floor. She called it beneath the dignity of this body and urged fellow lawmakers to vote it down before it has a chance to kill anybody.

Its my hope that the Democrats will search their heart, search their intellect, change their minds and vote against this, Arata said.

To say this bill is evil would be a severe understatement, remarked State Rep. Reagan Paul. God alone numbers our days, not Janet Mills.

Visit Abortions.news for more stories about abortion bills in different states.

Watch this video that asks if Republicans are pulling back on abortion.

More related stories:

Illinois Passes Bill Forcing Every Doctor, Pharmacist and Pregnancy Center to Promote Abortion.

Pro-abortion California bill could legalize infanticide for months after birth, attorney warns.

Virginias Democratic governor, Ralph Northam, publicly endorses infanticide as he voices support for legislation allowing abortion to term.

Disgusting: Late-term abortionist offers patients cuddle time with their dead babies before trashing them.

WARNING: Extremely GRAPHIC  video shows PROOF that late-term abortion is outright child murder.

Sources include:

enVolve.com

SpectrumLocalNews.com

Brighteon.com
A study reveals that since 1980, pesticides and fertilizers used in intensive farming have killed roughly 550 million birds.

550 Million Birds Gone

According to biologists, the main reason for the decline in bird populations in the UK and across the rest of Europe is the use of pesticides and fertilizers in intensive agriculture.

There are 550 million fewer birds flying over the continent today than there were a generation ago, and their fall has been well-documented. However, it was unknown up until now how significantly different pressures were on bird populations.

An analysis of data gathered by thousands of citizen scientists in 28 nations over nearly four decades by a team of more than 50 academics revealed that extensive agriculture is primarily to blame for the reduction in the continent's bird populations.

They discovered that since 1980, the total number of wild birds on the continent has decreased by more than a quarter, but the loss among species located in farming has increased to more than half.

Swifts, yellow wagtails, and spotted flycatchers are just a few of the birds that depend on invertebrates for food, according to senior conservation scientist Richard Gregory of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Gregory is one of the study's principal authors.

Intensive Farming and Farmland Species

The study by Gregory and 50 colleagues was recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study looked at how 170 bird species had reacted to four common stressors caused by humans, including intensive farming, changing forest cover, urbanization, and the climate crisis.

According to the report, farmland species saw the sharpest declines, with numbers dropping by 56.8% since the start of the study. Bird populations in cities were down by 27.8%, while those in woodlands fell by 17.7%.

However, intensive farming, which has become more prevalent throughout Europe, was found to be a significant contributor to the decline in all cases, with the wholesale killing of invertebrates as pests causing a "trophic cascade" up the food chain.

Urbanization

The second most significant cause exerting pressure on bird populations was determined to be urbanization, which is likewise growing throughout Europe. Gregory noted that modern architecture also had a part in the loss of what little green space many cities possessed for development.

It was discovered that northern, cold-loving bird species are also under a lot of stress, with populations down 39.7% as temperatures soar across Europe as a consequence of the climate catastrophe. The study found that there were winners and losers as a result of changing temperatures, with the number of southern warm-preferring species declining by just 17.1%.

Also Read: Evolution of Tree Roots Triggered Mass Extinctions 300 Million Years Ago, UK Study Reveals

Change in Temperature

Overall, the researchers found that while temperature change can increase the abundance and distribution of some species, for those, particularly cold-adapted species, already under the influence of other anthropogenic pressures, temperature change represents a double burden directly affecting their annual cycle.

The United Kingdom alongside the devolved governments should make sure that agri-environment programs recognize and reward farmers that use ecologically friendly agricultural techniques such as flower-rich margins and herbal leys, which have been shown to help them produce high-quality food, while supporting gradual reductions in the use of pesticides and fertilizers, according to Alice Groom, the RSPB's head of sustainable land use policy in England, The Guardian reports.

Global Problem

According to the agricultural practices used in each nation, researchers have discovered that the decline of the birds has been distinct. The areas of Western Europe that are most impacted are those with big crop plots and heavy pesticide use. The situation is better in the Eastern nations, though.

Stanislas Rigal, principal author of the study and a researcher at the University of Montpellier, cautions that despite these regional differences, the problem is "global." According to Rigal, the negative impacts of intensive farming, fertilizers, and pesticides are extending across Europe, The Limited Times reports.

Related Article: Tiny Galapagos Bird Darwin's Flycatcher Battles Extinction as 12 Chicks Hatch This Year
Reports showed that it was not easy for rescuers to finally rescue an exhausted dog that showed weakness while on England's highest mountain, which took the rescue operations about four hours.

The dog owners immediately called for assistance after the dog refused to move while climbing England's highest mountain.

Authorities responded to the call with a 13-member rescue operation.

Dog rescue operations

Based on the CNN, AccuWeather, and The Guardian reports, the 13-man rescue team climbed to rescue the exhausted and injured dog. Reports said that the pooch was about 73-pound (33 kilograms).

The report added that the dog showed signs of refusing to move from its location on the Scafell Pike near the Lake District National Park in England.

The rescue operations took about four hours, according to reports.

When the rescuers came to save the dog, they put the 73-pound dog on a stretcher. Meanwhile, the Guardian report said that the dog was calm and cool as the rescuers climbed him down from the mountain.

Based on the Kwesick Mountain Rescue Team Facebook page, many Facebook users thanked the rescue teams for their immediate response to the call.

In July 2022, CNN also reported that a St. Bernard dog was rescued on England's highest mountain. Although St. Bernard's dogs are known for cold temperatures and rescue operations, they collapsed as they climbed down on the mountain.

Reports showed that the St. Bernard dog was named Daisy, weighing about 121 pounds, as rescuers rescued the dog from the Scafell Pike. About 16 rescuers responded to the call.

Furthermore, the dog's owners helped to keep the dog hydrated while they waited for the rescuers to come in.

The report said that the rescue operations took about five hours.

Hiking preparations to keep in mind

Hikers can bring pets while climbing on mountains, especially England's highest mountain. It is best for hikers or anyone with plans to prepare and plan ahead.

Also Read: Stranded 48-Year-Old Woman on Australia's Bushland Survives for 5 Days With Only Lollipops, Wine

Understand the environment

It is best to understand the mountain environment before climbing. It is best that hikers should also check the weather temperatures and forecasts.

Before planning to hike, it is advisable to save for the emergency details that you can call if there could be emergencies.

Hiking backpack

Hikers should bring a hiking backpack that is comfortable for them to carry. The backpack should include the following:

Adequate water supply for hikers and if you have pets

Food supplies and first aid kits

Navigation tools

Appropriate clothing with a jacket and boots

Extra clothing and sun protection

Water bottles

Battery-powered radio

Battery-powered flashlight

Extra mobile phone or power bank

A map

Multi-tool knife

Inform your family members about hiking plans

Hikers should also inform their friends and family members about their hiking plans. It is best when there could be accidents or emergencies. They could contact rescuers or authorities.

Related Article: Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks Hold Breath Underwater To Hunt Prey

For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
Dungeness crabs are a popular seafood delicacy due to their flavor and abundance on the western coast of North America. Based on reviews, Metacarcinus magister, the scientific name of the crab, has a sweet taste and is easy to eat.

However, the all-star crustacean is facing an existential threat, potentially due to anthropogenic climate change and global warming.

In a new study led by scientists from Canada, it was confirmed the Dungeness crab population has started to decrease at a significant rate.

The main cause of their deaths or impaired ability to reproduce is their losing sense of smell. The researchers link such phenomenon due to ocean acidification caused by anthropogenic climate change.

In previous years, scientific evidence has highlighted the dangers of the climate crisis both in terrestrial and ocean environments.

Prior to the studies about ocean acidification, there has been no specific data on how each living marine organism will be affected by the warming of the planet, where greenhouse gases are trapped in the atmosphere.

Dungeness Crab Population Decline

In the study published in the journal Global Change Biology on May 9, researchers from the University of Toronto Scarborough confirmed previous evidence that ocean acidification is detrimental to Dungeness crabs. However, this time researchers said it is altering the foraging behavior or eating habit of the crab species by damaging their olfactory pathway.

The research team acknowledged the importance of crustacean olfaction when it comes to living and communicating in marine environments, as well as fore sexual reproduction success. Yet, the accelerating ocean acidification due to increased amount of carbon dioxide threatens the crustaceans' ability to detect and respond to smell-related threats, the research paper said.

Also Read: Lethal Crabs: Seafood Lovers Told To Avoid Dungeness and Rock Crabs

Ocean Acidification

In January 2020, Nature World News also covered a story published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, wherein researchers found that ocean acidification can dissolve the shells of Dungeness crabs living in the Pacific Ocean.

The researchers explained in the 2020 study that the acidification phenomenon occurs when excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere goes into the ocean and lowers the pH levels in the water.

What is the Dungeness Crab?

Dungeness crabs belong to one of the most popular seafood items in the Pacific Northwest. One can identify them due to their purple-hued shells, which can grow to a size of up to 10 inches wide. The species support the fishing industry in communities from California to Alaska, with harvest reaching 54 million pounds of crab for some years, according to the Ocean Conservancy organization.

Even the organization said that Dungeness crabs are difficult to catch, but ocean warming and ocean acidification are making it difficult for fishers to find them. Citing from previous research, the conservancy said acidification can also make young members of the crab species grow more slowly or make some of them unable to survive into adulthood.

Related Article: The Pacific Ocean is So Acidic That It Could Dissolve Dungeness Crabs' Shells
The ghostly Da Vinci glow, formerly known as Earthshine, proves that the Earth can also light up the moon.

This week, those who glance up at the night sky may notice a hazy, spectral glow illuminating the entire moon.

Earthshine and the Ghostly Da Vinci Glow

Known as the "Da Vinci glow," the phenomenon is named for the inventor and artist Leonardo Da Vinci. The Renaissance-era artist also sought to unravel the enigma of what was originally referred to as "Earthshine," according to NASA.

Only a crescent moon on the horizon at either sunrise or sunset makes the celestial occurrence observable. The moon's crescent sparkles brilliantly during the occurrence, and its dark side appears as an overcast. The radiance is not a result of the moon shining on its own. It is produced by planet Earth, whose light can brighten the night sky by a factor of 50, compared to the brightness of a full moon, NASA says.

Da Vinci's Codex Leicester

According to NASA, Da Vinci set out to discover the enigma behind that eerie radiance in the 16th century. In his notebooks, he produced a drawing that seemed to depict the phenomenon; this drawing is remembered in the "Codex Leicester," a collection of the scientific writings by Da Vinci.

Like his contemporaries, Da Vinci was operating with a sketchy knowledge of the solar system. NASA claimed that it would be another 20 years before the idea that the sun is at the core of the solar system would be widely accepted, and of course, no one had ever visited the moon. As a result, little was known about how close the sun was to Earth.

Solving the Riddle

According to NASA, there is a passage in the "Codex Leicester" titled "Of the Moon: No Solid Body is Lighter Than Air." Da Vinci highlighted several theories, including the notion that the moon contains an atmosphere and oceans. He was right about the first thing, but the second thing has been proven false by NASA missions. Da Vinci also stated that the moon acted as a light reflector.

Using this knowledge, he put up a theory: Earthshine's eerie glow was caused by sunlight reflecting off the oceans of the Earth and striking the moon.

Also Read: Weather Forecast: 3-Day Thunderstorm Follows Hottest Day of the Week at Low 90s - Florida

Slim Cresent Moon Days

According to Live Science, the glow can only be seen on the first or last few days of the lunar cycle when a thin crescent moon is visible near the horizon. This phenomenon can be seen on Thursday mornings at sunrise, which is a nice time to attempt and watch the event.

The next week Sunday, May 21, Monday, May 22, and Tuesday, May 23, are the best days to observe it after sunset. Try observing the sky for an hour after sunset.

According to NASA, April through June are typically the brightest months for Earthshine.

No extra tools are required to see the glow. In actuality, unassisted vision is the greatest way to perceive it. Binoculars and a small telescope are useful but not necessary, CBS News reports.

Related Article: Air Quality Suffers as Canada Wildfire Haze Sweeps Through Northern US
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe recently released a report looking into allegations of the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children by Russian authorities.

There have been a lot of horrible crimes committed by Russias forces in Ukraine, but the separation of children from their families is among the most vile and repugnant, said Ambassador Michael Carpenter, U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe:

I think it goes without saying that no government should ever be committing crimes against children, and to do so with the aim of erasing their national identity so as to pave the way for one state to take over the territory of another is simply unconscionable.

There has been a broader effort by Russia to engage in forcible transfers of the Ukrainian population since 2014, and that over a thousand children have been taken from Crimea in a process that began even before the full-scale invasion of February 24th, 2022, explained Ambassador Carpenter.

The report notes these children have been sent as far away as Siberia and the Russian far-east. And while thousands of children have been taken from Ukraine, as of April 23rd of this year, only 361 have been returned to Ukraine. That leaves thousands of families still torn apart by Russias authorities and thousands of children traumatized, he said.

There are several ways that these children are taken from their families and caregivers, said Ambassador Carpenter:

One way is that theyre forcibly separated from their parents or guardians by Russian authorities during the so-called filtration process. When parents are detained and get sent to the filtration camps, the children often get sent to different detention centers. Another way in which Russia has, to be blunt, stolen Ukrainian children from their families is by offering all-expenses-paid trips to childrens camps in places like occupied Crimea as well as in Russia and Belarus.

For children that are adopted, this process often entails actually changing the childs name and even their place of birth, which then makes it impossible to ascertain their true identities once they disappear into the Russian Federation.

The U.S. is helping Ukraine to return these deported children to their homes and remains committed to holding Russian authorities accountable these right violations.
OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE) virtually held its 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders today (May 18), electing its board of directors and acting on a number of items.

Chairman, President and CEO Sean Trauschke began the meeting by thanking the company's employees for their unwavering commitment to the company's customers and communities as they deliver life-sustaining and life-enhancing products and services.

"I am grateful for our incredible employees whose dedication and strong execution led to a solid year, particularly when you consider how weather extremes impacted other parts of the country," Trauschke said. "In 2022, we advanced a number of customer initiatives including continued upgrades and enhancements to the grid as well a new mobile app and new System Watch outage map. We look forward to continuing OG&E's rich history in building and growing communities as we invest in transmission, distribution and generation to support that growth."

Trauschke discussed the company's continued focus on delivering reliable and resilient electricity at rates 22% below the national average and 15% below Texas. He reflected on fully exiting the midstream natural gas segment in 2022 and the growth that investment provided OG&E, OGE Energy's electric company subsidiary, over the last 36 years.

In voting announced at the meeting, OGE Energy shareholders:

Elected 10 members of the company's board of directors to one-year terms. They are: Judy R. McReynolds , lead director, chairman, president and chief executive officer of ArcBest Corporation. Frank A. Bozich , president and chief executive officer at Trinseo PLC Peter D. Clarke , former of-counsel and partner of Jones Day, a law firm Cathy R. Gates , former assurance partner of Ernst & Young LLP David L. Hauser , former chairman and chief executive officer of FairPoint Communications Inc. Luther C. Kissam, IV , partner with Bernhard Capital Partners David E. Rainbolt, executive chairman of BancFirst Corporation J. Michael Sanner, former audit partner of Ernst & Young LLP Sheila G. Talton, president and chief executive officer of Gray Matter Analytics Sean Trauschke , current chairman, president and chief executive officer of OGE Energy Corp. and OG&E

Ratified the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the company's principal independent accountants for 2023;

LLP Approved, on an advisory basis, the compensation paid to named executive officers;

Approved, on an advisory basis, a voting frequency of every year (annually) on the compensation paid to named executive officers;

Did not approve an amendment of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation to modify supermajority voting provisions, as it received less than 80% of the outstanding shares of the Company's common stock required for passage.

Quarterly Dividend Declared

The OGE Energy board of directors also declared a third quarter dividend of $0.4141 per common share of stock, to be paid July 28, 2023, to shareholders of record July 10, 2023. The dividend was unchanged from the previous quarter.

OGE Energy Corp. is the parent company of OG&E, a regulated electric company with approximately 890,000 customers in Oklahoma and western Arkansas.

This news release may contain "forward-looking" statements. Forward-looking statements are intended to be identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "plan," "expect," "continued," "goal," "may" or similar expressions. Factors that could affect actual results are listed in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission including those listed in Risk Factors in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Latest job opportunities

Use this website to help find the best person to fill your role. This is a paid-for service aiming at advertising jobs which are of interest to the Norwich and Norfolk Christian community and its many churches, groups and organisations.

To advertise a vacancy, simply e-mail the details such as job and person specifications, approx salary, contact details and a closing date to us here .

For full details of the service, and our cost-effective fee, please click here.

Word of thanks

Stewart Barber, Eckling Grange Care

We had a great advert on Network Norwich for many weeks with great layout, unlimited words, colour logo and a direct link from the weekly newsletter! We also found our new manager through the website.

Tom Howell, Halls of Residence

Thank you for all your help with our recruiting process during 2019. We have some great new staff at the Matthew Project as a result. God bless."We had a good response to our advert on Network Norwich for a Project Worker. We were able to short-list some very possible applicants and have now made an appointment of a lady whom we expect to fit well into our existing team and who brings to us some useful past experience.Thank you for your help, what a useful medium this is.""We see the Network Norfolk website as a good place to advertise the organisation and Im very pleased to say that the recent advert for an account assistant led to an appointment."
On 17 May 2023: EDF (BBB stable S&P / Baa1 neg Moody's / BBB+ stable Fitch) successfully priced a senior bond issuance in 5 tranches for a nominal amount of U.S. $3 billion (the "USD Bonds") and CAD 500 million (the "CAD Bonds"):

$1 billion bond, with a 5-year maturity and a 5.700% fixed coupon;

$1 billion bond, with a 10-year maturity and a 6.250% fixed coupon;

$1 billion bond, with a 30-year maturity and a 6.900% fixed coupon;

CAD 300 million bond, with a 7-year maturity and a 5.993% fixed coupon;

CAD 200 million bond, with a 30-year maturity and a 6.492% fixed coupon.

EDF is an active issuer of debt and other types of securities. EDF regularly assesses its financing requirements and monitors national and international financial markets for opportunities to conduct additional issuances of senior debt, hybrids and/or other types of securities.

Settlement and delivery of the USD Bonds will take place on 23 May 2023, the date on which the USD Bonds will be admitted to trading on the multilateral trading facility of the Euro MTF, operated by the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Settlement and delivery of the CAD Bonds will take place on 23 May 2023.

These transactions enable the Group to further strengthen the structure of its balance sheet, as well as refinance upcoming maturities.

The expected rating for the USD Bonds and the CAD Bonds is BBB / Baa1 / BBB+ (S&P / Moody's / Fitch).

Important Notice

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of that jurisdiction. The securities to which this press release relates (the "Securities") will not be and have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. There will be no public offer of securities in the United States.

EDF has not authorized any offer of Securities to retail investors in any member state of the European Economic Area (a "Member State"). No action has been undertaken or will be undertaken to make an offer of Securities to retail investors requiring publication of a prospectus in any Member State. As a result, the Securities may only be offered in Member States (i) to any legal entity that is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Regulation or (ii) in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation. For the purpose of this paragraph, the expression an "offer" means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the Securities to be offered so as to enable the investor to decide to exercise, purchase or subscribe for the Securities, the expression "Prospectus Regulation" means Regulation (EU) No 2017/1129, as amended, and the expression "retail investor" means a person who is one (or more) of the following: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU, as amended ("MiFID II"); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Regulation.

This press release is an advertisement and not a prospectus within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation and does not constitute an offer to acquire securities. Any offer to acquire securities will be made, and any investor should make its investment, solely on the basis of information that will be contained in the offering document that has been made generally available in connection with the offering. Copies of the offering document may be obtained at no cost from EDF or through the website of EDF. No Prospectus Regulation compliant prospectus, subject to the approval of the French Autorite des Marches Financiers or any other Member State's regulator, has been or will be published. The information in this announcement is subject to change.

This press release may in the United Kingdom only be distributed to, and is only directed at, persons who are "qualified investors" within the meaning of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, and who are also (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order"), or (ii) persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.) (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). This press release is directed only at Relevant Persons and must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Any investment or investment activity in securities of EDF is available only to Relevant Persons and will be engaged in only with Relevant Persons.

This press release is certified. Check its authenticity on medias.edf.com

About EDF

As a major player in energy transition, the EDF Group is an integrated energy company active in all businesses: generation, transmission, distribution, energy trading, energy sales and energy services. EDF group is a world leader in low-carbon energy, having developed a diverse production mix based mainly on nuclear and renewable energy (including hydropower). It is also investing in new technologies to support energy transition. EDF's raison d'etre is to build a net zero energy future with electricity and innovative solutions and services, to help save the planet and drive well-being and economic development. The Group is involved in supplying energy and services to approximately 40.3 million customers (1), of whom 30.3 million in France (2). It generated consolidated sales of 143.5 billion in 2022. EDF is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange.

(1) Customers are counted per delivery site. A customer can have two delivery points: one for electricity and another one for gas.

(2) Including ES (Electricite de Strasbourg) and SEI.
Final Approval from U.S. Bureau of Land Management for largest clean energy infrastructure project in American history; Full construction anticipated to commence in summer 2023

Pattern Energy Group LP (Pattern Energy), a leader in renewable energy, welcomes the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management's Record of Decision on the SunZia Transmission project, which will enable over 3,500 MW of New Mexico wind power from the SunZia Wind project to provide clean, reliable, and affordable electricity across Western states.

Today's Record of Decision by the Bureau of Land Management marks an important milestone for the SunZia Transmission project. After over 16 years of development including rigorous regulatory and environmental review, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process is complete. Full construction is anticipated to commence in the summer of 2023.

"This is a historic day for the advancement of America's clean energy goals as SunZia receives its major federal routing permit, clearing the way to bring online enough renewable power for 3 million Americans," said Hunter Armistead, CEO of Pattern Energy. "We're proud that SunZia is the culmination of over a decade of collaboration with communities, residents, landowners, environmental groups, wildlife organizations, and federal agencies. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, specifically the New Mexico State office, did a thorough and professional job managing this robust environmental NEPA process review to a close. SunZia will implement industry-leading measures for environmental mitigation, including emerging technology and long-term conservation research. More than 2,000 workers will now roll up their sleeves and get to work on America's largest clean energy infrastructure project, which we look forward to completing in 2026."

SunZia Transmission is setting a precedent with a gold standard in environmental mitigation efforts developed hand-in-hand with the environmental community. These range from restoring thousands of acres of wildlife habitat to investing in emerging technology and long-term conservation research. SunZia Wind has also established robust environmental best practices to reduce project impacts and study effective habitat restoration strategies in partnership with local and state experts.

"Climate change is the number one threat to birds' survival, and projects like SunZia are key to reducing carbon pollution and creating a cleaner future for people and wildlife," said Garry George, Director of the National Audubon Society's Clean Energy Initiative. "We look forward to continuing to collaborate with Pattern Energy and other conservation groups to responsibly expand our nation's clean energy and transmission infrastructure in ways that avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts on birds and communities."

"We welcome this important milestone for the SunZia project that will unlock New Mexico's vast renewable wind resource," said Fernando Martinez, Executive Director of the New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority (RETA). "Pattern Energy has been an excellent partner and we see SunZia as the model for planning and developing critical transmission projects that will advance our transition to clean energy.''

SunZia Transmission is a 550-mile  525 kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line between central New Mexico and south-central Arizona with the capacity to transport 3,000 MW of clean, renewable energy. SunZia Transmission will open access to the western energy markets to SunZia Wind, the largest wind project in the Western Hemisphere, which is comprised of more than 3,500 MW of new wind generation located in Torrance, Lincoln, and San Miguel Counties in New Mexico.



SunZia Transmission will enable access to the 3,500+ MW SunZia Wind project, powering the needs of 3 million Americans

Pattern Energy recently announced that the SunZia Transmission and SunZia Wind projects are expected to generate $20.5 billion dollars in total economic benefit, which includes over $8 billion of direct capital investment, at no added cost to ratepayers, according to the results of an independent study conducted by the research firm Energy, Economic & Environment Consultants LLC. Together, the projects will generate an expected $1.3 billion in fiscal impacts that will go to governments, communities, and schools. These benefits are generated through sales and use taxes, property taxes, community benefit payments, and land payments to federal and state agencies.

The Record of Decision also includes an updated Preferred Alternative Route for the adjacent RioSol Transmission Line, a 500-kV High Voltage Alternating Current project that will have a capacity of 1,500 MW and will bring additional clean resources to western markets.

About Pattern Energy

Pattern Energy is one of the world's largest privately-owned developers and operators of wind, solar, transmission, and energy storage projects. Its operational portfolio includes 38 renewable energy facilities that use proven, best-in-class technology with an operating capacity of more than 6,000 MW in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Mexico. Pattern Energy is guided by a long-term commitment to serve customers, protect the environment, and strengthen communities. For more information, visit www.patternenergy.com.

Matt Dallas

Corporate Communications & Media Relations

+1 917-363-1333

Matt.Dallas@patternenergy.com - patternenergy.com
The world's largest floating wind energy event, FOWT 2023, took place on 10-12 May in Nantes. Government representatives, the wind industry and other stakeholders came together to discuss how to drive the further expansion of floating offshore wind.

Nearly all of Europe's existing offshore wind is "bottom-fixed" right now. But that only makes sense commercially up to 60 metres sea depth. Beyond that it is more cost-competitive to install floating offshore wind turbines. Floating wind is now rapidly coming of age. And this is going to allow for offshore wind development in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and other sea basins with high water depths.

Europe has 4 small floating wind farms today - totalling 176 MW of capacity. But France is now tendering a 250 MW floating wind farm off Brittany. And they're about to tender 2 more 250 MW floating projects in the Mediterranean. And large-scale floating wind auctions are expected to take place this year in Spain, Portugal and Norway too. The UK has already tendered sea space development rights for over 15 GW of floating wind.

Europe can be confident it will have 3-4 GW of floating wind in operation by 2030. And it is not unreasonable to think it will have 10 GW by then if Governments back up their expansion targets with the right policies.

The next big challenge for floating wind is to consolidate the different foundation models into a few and develop large scale manufacturing, assembly and transport of those models. Unlike bottom- fixed offshore wind where the assembly and installation of turbines happen at sea, for floating wind turbines most of these activities take place around ports. The turbines themselves are the same that are used in bottom-fixed offshore wind.

Ports already need to invest significantly in space, quaysides and berths to support the transport of the rapidly growing volume of bottom-fixed wind turbines. The development of manufacturing facilities for big floating structures (e.g. a concrete or steel substructure of 3,000 tons and with 80 metre sides) will need additional investment. France and the UK are already planning public financial support for this.

Floating wind costs more than bottom-fixed offshore wind today. But the costs are coming down and will continue to do so with the use of scale-effects and the introduction of competitive auctions. The EU has contributed significantly to this cost reduction with its COREWIND project. The project optimised the design of two floating structures for a 15 MW turbine, tested new solutions for cables and mooring systems and identified improved ways of transporting, installing and operating floating wind farms. It helped reduce the cost of floating wind by up to 18%, which is equivalent to 58.8/MWh in the best scenario.

WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson said: "Floating wind is advancing at a rapid pace. The demo projects have worked. Now is the time to scale-up to large projects. Watch out for France's 250 MW tender which will conclude this year. Floating wind opens up the Mediterranean and other deeper seas to offshore wind. Norway, Spain and Portugal all plan tenders this year. Italy, Greece and Ireland are preparing to join in soon. And the UK has big ambitions. We can expect Europe to have 3-4 GW of floating wind by 2030."
Great Victory for India: Ujjwal Nikam on US court nod for extradition of 26/11 attack accused Tahawwur Rana

Pune, May 18: Senior advocate Ujjwal Nikam, the special public prosecutor in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case, has said that the US court's approval for the extradition of case accused Tahawwur Rana to India is a great victory for the country.

Great Victory for India: Ujjwal Nikam on US court nod for extradition of 26/11 attack accused Tahawwur Rana

According to Nikam, this is the first time that the US government has relied upon evidence by the Indian investigating agencies."The order of the American court extraditing Tahawwur Hussain Rana is a great victory for India. It is for the first time, according to my knowledge, that the American government has heavily relied upon Indian investigating agencies' evidence," Ujjwal Nikam told ANI."I'm glad that when I was conducting the trial against one of the Indian accused, Abu Jindal, who was also in the control room which was constituted in Pakistan during the terror attack of 26 November on Mumbai, David Hadley before the attack had visited Mumbai. After the attack had visited Mumbai, he had taken the photographs and he handed over the photographs of the targeted places to the Lashkar-e-Taiba," he added.Nikam's statement comes after the US court approved the extradition of Tahawwur Rana to India where he is sought for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Ujjwal Nikam said that David Headley was convicted by an American court for 35 years. He said that there was a plea bargain agreement between the American government and David Headley that he will not be taken to India. He said that Headly had named Tahawwur Rana.Speaking to ANI, Nikam said, "David Headley was convicted by an American court for 35 years. It was a plea bargain agreement whereby it was agreed between the American government and David Headley that he will not be transferred either to India, Pakistan, but he can give the evidence by using this plea bargain. We (Indian government) have decided to tender pardon to David Headley and accordingly, we have made him an approver giving a more detailed scope of the entire criminal conspiracy."David Hadley had named Tahawwur Rana because David Hadley was guided by Tahawwur Rana for opening an immigration office in Mumbai and in person. So, in following that office, David Headley had taken the various photographs of the targeted places. David Headley had given the sensitive revelation disclosing the closed links between the Lashkar-e-Taiba that is Jamaat-ud-Dawa and that is the Pakistan army official," he added.Ujjwal Nikam said that David Headley gave certain email correspondence exchanged between Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives as well as the Pakistanis people. He further stated, "I think the order of the extradition of Tahawwur Rana would be very clinching evidence so far as the further opening the scope of the entire criminal conspiracy."The lawyer termed the Tahawwur Rana extradition order a "major breakthrough." He said that the order will help India in many ways for opening the gate of the criminal conspiracy. "It's a major breakthrough because myself and the government of India's three high officials had visited Islamabad and we were very keen to see whether Pakistan is prosecuting the conspirators who had hatched the criminal conspiracy for the terror attack of Mumbai on 26 November. But Pakistani authorities were asking us to furnish evidence," Ujjwal Nikam said."After examining David Hadley, we have given the entire evidence but Pakistan did not act. But I think this extradition order of Tahawwur Rana would help us in many ways for opening the entire gate of the criminal conspiracy because Tahawwur Rana was working as a doctor earlier in Pakistan and he was working in the Pakistan army also for some time. That is what David Headley said. I think this is a very important catch for us," he added.A US court had approved the extradition of Tahawwur Rana to India. Rana was arrested in the US on an extradition request by India for his role in these attacks in which 10 Pakistani terrorists in an over 60-hour siege, attacked and killed over 160 people including 6 Americans.The US court consented to the Indian request, through the US Government for his extradition. Tahawwur Rana has been accused by the Indian government of participating in the planning and execution of the Lashkar terrorist attacks in Mumbai by collaborating with his childhood buddy David Coleman Headley, also known as "Daood Gilani," and others."The Court has reviewed and considered all of the documents submitted in support of and in opposition to the Request and has considered the arguments presented at the hearing," US Magistrate Judge of the US District Court of California, Judge Jacqueline Chooljian, said in a 48-page court order dated May 16, which was released Wednesday."Based on such review and consideration and for the reasons discussed herein, the Court makes the findings set forth below and certifies to the Secretary of State of the United States the extraditability of Rana on the charged offences that are the subject of the Request," the Judge wrote in the order.Rana was convicted in Chicago in 2011 of providing material support to the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which planned the Mumbai terror attack and for supporting a never-carried-out plot to attack a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed in 2005.He was accused of allowing David Headley to open a branch of his Chicago-based immigration law business in Mumbai as a cover story and travel as a representative of the company in Denmark.ANI18 May 2023

Shared Recently!
J-K: Awareness program on G20 summit organized at SSM College of Engineering in Srinagar

Srinagar, May 18: The Voice of Youth had its momentous moment as it organized an awareness and informative program on the upcoming G20 summit at SSM College of Engineering in Srinagar.

J-K: Awareness program on G20 summit organized at SSM College of Engineering in Srinagar

The event featured dignitaries from different parts of the valley who shared their views on a range of pertinent global issues like climate change, healthcare, energy sustainability, and digital transformation.Mir Junaid, the Chief Guest of the program, presided over the event and emphasized on the significance of the summit.He maintained that the G20 summit provides a platform for leaders to collaborate on multifaceted challenges and come up with joint initiatives for positive change and global progress.The President of Voice of Youth, Khubaib Mir, expressed his gratitude towards the SSM college faculty, guests, and the team for their unwavering efforts in making the program a success.Khubaib highlighted the importance of the upcoming G20 summit for the Kashmir valley and believes that it will open up ample opportunities for the development of sectors such as Agriculture, Handicrafts, Horticulture, and more.Adding to this, the General Secretary of Voice of Youth, Qasim Nasir, asserted that the event will have a positive impact on the economy and educational infrastructure of the valley. The summit will also attract a considerable number of foreign tourists, which in turn will boost the region's economy.Kashmir must welcome the delegates with open arms, and we must stand up against those who refuse to acknowledge the potential of the valley, said Khubaib, imploring the people to come together and seize the opportunity presented by the G20 summit.Delegates from different countries will envision the valley in terms of socio-economic development. The amalgamation of international organizations and Kashmir Valley is a golden opportunity for remote areas to foster limited tourism to large-scale tourism. The meeting will openly discuss the challenges coming in the way of tourism and development.The third G20 Tourism Working Group meeting will be held at Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Center (SKICC) from May 22 to 24. The first Working Group meeting was held in February at Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. The second meeting was held from April 1 to 3 in Siliguri, West Bengal.G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkiye, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. It represents 85 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade, and two-thirds of the world's population.ANI18 May 2023

Shared Recently!
From WhatsApp to Telegram, how fraudsters are still conning Indian users

New Delhi, May 18: Not just international spam calls, scamsters have devised several ways to con WhatsApp users in India, especially the popular 'like YouTube videos' scam, where they lure them via WhatsApp and then take them to rival chat app Telegram and siphon off their hard-earned money.

From WhatsApp to Telegram, how fraudsters are still conning Indian users

Although international spam calls have reduced in the past few days, people are still losing money via spam text messages on WhatsApp which has more than 500 million users in the country.A software engineer in Gurugram lost over Rs 42 lakh after scammers tempted him with promises of huge earnings for simply liking videos on YouTube, first via WhatsApp message and then adding him to a Telegram group.In April, with the arrest of four men, Delhi Police claimed to have busted a gang of cyber crooks for cheating over 500 people on the pretext of 'online trading' on a huge margin across the country. The official said that the gang members were connected with Chinese accomplices operating from Dubai.A senior Delhi Police official told IANS that in the past six months, several cases of fraud, ultimately connected to Chinese cyber gangs who are using WhatsApp to connect and lure people, have come to light."They lure people on pretext for small earnings just for a 'like' and then dupe them of their hard-earned money from banks. Several Chinese gangs have been identified behind such rackets operating across the country and rotating money through Hawala channels," the official said.According to police, a woman in her recent complaint said she was searching for a job online when she received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number."The message has an offer of paying Rs 50 per like for the link of social media accounts sent to her through WhatsApp. She opened the various links sent by the caller and liked them. She sent the screen shot to the sender named Xarina," Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central, Sanjay Kumar Sain said.Xarina asked her to open a Telegram link to receive the credited amount."She joined the Telegram channel and Rs 150 was credited in her bank account. Xarina then instructed her to join another Telegram channel and like some YouTube videos, which she completed and received Rs 200 in return," the DCP said.Later, Xarina convinced her to invest in crypto currency with the promise of significant profits. The woman initially invested Rs 1,000, and Xarina lured her with the prospect of even more profit. However, the woman ended up losing around Rs 22 lakh in a single day and has requested legal action against Xarina for her actions.Delhi Police recently unearthed an international gang of cyber crooks based in China, Dubai and the mastermind sitting in Georgia who have defrauded 11,000 of people on the pretext of providing online work from home jobs in Amazon.The gang duped crores of rupees on the pretext of providing online jobs. Police arrested three people in separate raids conducted at Delhi, Gurugram and Fatehabad (Haryana) in this connection.The investigation indicated that Chinese cyber-criminals developed a module to cheat people looking for online work from home or part-time jobs as Chinese loan fraud is now declining due to action by agencies and awareness among people.It was revealed that the Telegram ID used by the scammers was being operated from Beijing and the WhatsApp number -- used to defraud the victim by convincing her to invest into a fake Amazon site -- was also found being operated from outside India.The police then wrote an email to the National Payments Council of India (NPCI) and Kotak Mahindra Bank, seeking beneficiary details of the suspected transactions and it was revealed that a shell firm account had been used to accumulate money from victims."During the examination of details received from the bank, it was found that a total of Rs 5.17 crore were credited in a single day. In further money trail, it was revealed that the whole amount was siphoned off further through seven different firms. That siphoning of money has been done to foreign accounts through crypto currency," the DCP informed.In another modus operandi, Delhi Police arrested eight people who used to dupe people on pretext of investment and online gaming. The gang used to contact the victims over WhatsApp and offered them to earn money through investment and online gaming."After that, they add the victims in a Telegram group and represent that other members of the group are earning good profit in a short span of time. The victim falls in their trap and transfers money as per their instruction and loses his hard earned money," said the officialThe gang also lured the victims to earn money through online gaming."They send them the link to their website to play games. If a person wins, they give them coins in their account instead of money when victims ask for money, thereafter they stop responding to him," said the official.Meta-owned WhatsApp last week took action on the growing menace of International scam calls in India, after the government took cognisance of the issue and announced to send a notice to the platform over the issue."Our new enforcement will reduce the current calling rate by at least 50 per cent and we expect to be able to control the current incidence effectively. We will continue to work relentlessly towards ensuring a safe experience for our users," a company spokesperson said in a statement.WhatsApp this week launched a safety campaign 'Stay safe with WhatsApp' in an effort to raise awareness around its existing safety tools and product features.(Shekhar Singh can be reached at shekhar.s@ians.in)IANS18 May 2023

Shared Recently!
Microsoft India adds 4 new languages to Translator

New Delhi, May 18: Microsoft India on Thursday announced the addition of three new Indian languages -- Konkani, Maithili, and Sindhi, in Translator along with Sinhala, the official language of Sri Lanka.

Microsoft India adds 4 new languages to Translator

Microsoft Translator now supports 16 Indian languages -- Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu."We are excited to announce that we are broadening our language capabilities to include Maithili, Konkani, Sindhi, and Sinhala. We celebrate and support India's diversity of language and culture with the most advanced AI to enable India's growth, by making access to technology pervasive," Rajiv Kumar, Managing Director, Microsoft India, said in a statement.The company said that users can translate Konkani, Maithili, Sindhi, and Sinhala text, supported in more than 125 languages, for their apps, websites, workflows, and tools with Azure Cognitive Services Translator.Over two million people in India speak Konkani, primarily in the states of Goa, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. It is also spoken by a sizable population in other parts of India, such as Kerala and Gujarat.Maithili is spoken by over 75 million people in India and Nepal.It is the second most widely spoken language in Bihar and is also spoken in neighbouring states Jharkhand and West Bengal, the company said.Sindhi is spoken by over 20 million people in India and several other subcontinental countries, whereas Sinhala is spoken by over 16 million people in Sri Lanka, as well as Malaysia and Singapore.Microsoft Translator can be used across Windows, iOS, Android, and the web.IANS18 May 2023

Shared Recently!
Amazon Web Services to invest USD 12.7 billion in cloud infrastructure in India

Mumbai, May 18: Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Thursday announced it plans to invest USD 12.7 billion (Rs 1,05,600 crore) in cloud infrastructure in India by 2030 to meet growing customer demand for cloud services in India.

Amazon Web Services to invest USD 12.7 billion in cloud infrastructure in India

This investment is estimated to contribute USD 23.3 billion (Rs 1,94,700 crore) to India's total gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, according to a statement from Amazon. This planned investment in data centre infrastructure in India will support an estimated average of 1,31,700 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in Indian businesses each year.These positions, including construction, facility maintenance, engineering, telecommunications, and other jobs, are part of the data centre supply chain in India.This follows AWS's investment of USD 3.7 billion (Rs 30,900 crore) between 2016 and 2022, bringing AWS's total investment in India to USD 16.4 billion (Rs 1,36,500 crore) by 2030.According to the statement, AWS's investment in India has a ripple effect in the local economy in areas, such as workforce development, training and skilling opportunities, community engagement, and sustainability initiatives."PM Narendra Modi ji's Digital India vision is driving the expansion of cloud and data centres in India," said Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information technology, skill development and entrepreneurship in India, according to the statement.The minister said, "India Cloud and the underlying data centre infrastructure are important elements of India's digital infrastructure and ecosystem. I welcome the Amazon Web Services (AWS) investment of USD 12.7 billion to expand their data centres in India. It will certainly catalyse India's digital economy. MeitY is also working on a Cloud and Data Center Policy to catalyse innovation, sustainability, and growth of India Cloud."AWS's infrastructure investment in India creates a positive ripple effect across the economy, including in digital skilling, according to the Amazon statement.Since 2017, Amazon said AWS has trained more than four million people in India on cloud skills through programmes such as AWS Skill Builder which offers digital cloud skills to anyone with an Internet connection, and AWS re/Start -- a full-time, classroom-based skills development and training program that prepares individuals for careers in the cloud.AWS re/Start has connected over 98 per cent of all programme graduates in India with employment opportunities across organisations, Amazon said.Puneet Chandok, president of commercial business, AWS India and South Asia (Amazon Web Services India, said, "Since 2016, AWS has invested billions of dollars into cloud infrastructure in India to support the tremendous growth we have witnessed in the use of the cloud for digital transformation."He said AWS was committed to driving positive social and economic impact in India."In addition to building cloud infrastructure and helping local customers and partners digitally transform, we have trained more than four million people in India with cloud skills since 2017, and invested in six utility-scale renewable energy projects to meet our global 100 per cent renewable energy goal by 2025," he added.ANI18 May 2023

Shared Recently!
We are planning Quad leaders meeting in Japan, says Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra

New Delhi, May 18: India is planning for a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) leaders meeting in Japan on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Thursday.

We are planning Quad leaders meeting in Japan, says Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra

While addressing the special briefing on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to three-nation countries, Kwatra said, "We are also planning Quad leaders meeting in Hiroshima with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, President of the US Joe Biden, Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese, and of course our Prime Minister Narendra Modi."This statement came after the Quad summit, scheduled to take place on May 24 in Australia, was called off.Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday said that the Quad leaders meeting in Sydney next week will not go ahead after US President Joe Biden cancelled his visit to Australia.Meanwhile, in the special briefing, Kwatra further said that PM Modi is also scheduled to unveil a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Hiroshima.Giving details about PM Modi's Japan visit, the Foreign Secretary said that at the invitation of the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, PM Modi will be travelling to Hiroshima, Japan tomorrow morning, May 19 to participate in the G7 Summit, where India has been invited as a guest country.This would be the first leg of the Prime Minister's three-country visit."The broad terms of the G 7 Summit preferences, in particular regarding their outreach with the invited guest countries, are one-on nuclear disarmament, two-on economic resilience and three-economic security, fourth-regional issues, fifth-climate and energy, food and health and development," Kwatra said."There are other priorities also, such as digitization and science and technology, which would get highlighted in various sessions during the G Seven Summit," he added.The Foreign Secretary further informed that India's participation would be structured around three formal sessions. Two of them would be held on May 20 and the third one on May 21. The two structural sessions on the 20th are the first one that relates to food, health, development and gender equality. The second session is on climate, energy and environment, and the third session on May 21 is titled Towards Peaceful, Stable, and Prosperous World.The Prime Minister will then travel to Papua New Guinea to host the third Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation jointly with his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape on May 22.In Papua New Guinea, Prime Minister will begin his bilateral engagements the next day with a call on the Governor General of the Pacific island country, which will be followed by a meeting with Prime Minister James Marape. This will be Prime Minister's first visit to that country during his stay in Port Moraspi.Kwatra further stated that Prime Minister will also be meeting the Prime Minister of New Zealand during his stay in Papua New Guinea. This would be the first meeting between both the Prime Minister after Chris Hipkins became the new Prime Minister of New Zealand, who was sworn in earlier in January.ANI18 May 2023

Shared Recently!
G20 meeting reassures J&Ks economic potential

Srinagar, May 18: Some people wait for a lifetime for a moment like this, and that moment is finally here for Kashmir. In Srinagar, the air smells victorious.

G20 meeting reassures J&K's economic potential

More than the event -- the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting under India's presidency -- the residents know it's a big win for Jiamp;K. It's a chance to showcase their best after three decades of terrorism, which was uprooted after the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A in 2019.Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, is due to host the Tourism Working Group meeting of G20 members from May 22-24, which is part of a series of meetings ahead of a G20 Summit in New Delhi in September.Last year, the Jiamp;K tourism industry recorded a footfall of 1.88 crore people from across the world. The Gulf countries, the US, and European nations are making a beeline to invest in Kashmir. The builder of the Burj Khalifa, Dubai's Emaar Group, is already building a $60 million shopping and office complex while projects worth $181 million are in the pipeline. Now that's a number to envy!New Delhi's decision to host the G20 meeting in Srinagar has also greatly encouraged Jiamp;K to outperform itself, a chance to redeem the status before militancy from across the border ruined it.In India's ongoing 75th year of Independence, 75 new tourist destinations were launched in the Union Territory, including some border villages, all pristine and breathtaking. Since then, tourism has been woven into all aspects of life. The concept of agro-eco tourism took shape; nature walks in cities, culture walks, and food walks helped businesses across sectors to take off.Faced with resistance from Pakistan and China initially in convening the G20 meeting in Srinagar because it is "self-serving", Kashmiris are thrilled to be in the international limelight. Terrorism and conflict sent them to sleep on empty stomachs, but the Centre's promotion and developmental works have brought peace and prosperity.The G20, an international congress of 20 major economies, builds a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about $82.8 trillion, accounting for 74 per cent of the world's total GDP. Such public exposure could be the beginning of a complete 180-degree transition for Jiamp;K.In March 2022, the first-ever consignment of GI-certified Kashmiri silken carpets worth a whopping 40,000 euro was exported to Germany. And now that delegates from Germany, a member country of the G20, will be visiting Kashmir, it is exciting to imagine the magnitude of business they will bring in.Jiamp;K is already leaps ahead of its projected growth rate from the pre-2019 era. All the telltale signs of a potentially robust economy such as new highways and roadways, multispeciality hospitals and research centres, universities and vocational centres, and clean water and gas access to every last village - are all at play in the Union Territory.The summit will be an excellent occasion to leverage strategic alliances and partnerships, attract foreign investment, and grab global attention. It will also be a curt reply to our immediate neighbour in the West who has always portrayed Jiamp;K as a damsel in distress.Naya Kashmir is rooted in a target-oriented citizen-centric government - a regime of the people, by the people. It will be a self-sustaining economy within a few years. The JK Economic Survey 2022-23 report stated, "Jiamp;K is expected to grow at 8 per cent as against 7 per cent at the national level during 2022-23 at constant prices. At current prices, the GSDP of Jiamp;K is expected to record a growth of 15 per cent which is at par with the national level."Jiamp;K doesn't need saving, the delirious elements of the society need to come out of the reverie. Their state is akin to how seasoned addicts are denied their favourite choice of addiction. The addiction of victimising Jiamp;K globally while being unable to appraise their own condition.Tourists and foreign delegations such as the ones who attended the International Sufi Conference in January 2023 were pleasantly surprised after having arrived here. In heightened emotion, some guests agreed that Kashmir has joined the ranks of places like Istanbul, Cairo and Rome in their historical richness and in having something for everyone who visits her.The G20 meet will pave the way for increased regional stability and development and cultivate better understanding among the participant countries. It's a chance for Kashmir to tell its story, its truth. A chance to finally make use of its geostrategic location and multi-talented demography, which had been waiting on an opportunity to showcase its capabilities.The thrill among the locals is palpable. The Valley of Kashmir is decked up in her bridal attire and the future looks bright.IANS19 May 2023

Shared Recently!
Course5 raises $28 mn to boost AI biz, plans to raise $55 mn in this round

New Delhi, May 18: Analytics and AI solutions company Course5 Intelligence on Thursday said it has raised $28 million for targeted acquisitions and ramp up its investments in deep learning, computer vision, natural language and generative AI.

Course5 raises $28 mn to boost AI biz, plans to raise $55 mn in this round

360 ONE Asset Management Ltd (formerly known as IIFL Asset Management Ltd) led the round by investing $28 million in Course5. The company plans to raise a total of $55 million in this funding round.Course5 Intelligence said it is on track to cross $100 million revenue in the next fiscal and plans to launch its IPO in the next 18 months."Course5's growth and client wins are largely due to our focus on building a world-class talent pool, driving innovation through our AI Labs, and creating business impact through the work we do," said Ashwin Mittal, Chairman and CEO of Course5 Intelligence."This funding will enable us to continue to invest in augmenting our value proposition for our clients," he added.The company's enterprise analytics platforms are already integrated with Open AI's GPT models for generative AI and offer enterprises the capability to rapidly leverage the latest technology innovations."Course5 has emerged as a leading data analytics and insights player with strong IP-led solutions and deep domain knowledge across technology, media and telecom, life sciences, consumer packaged goods and retail," said Chetan Naik, Fund Manager and Senior EVP at 360 ONE Asset.360 ONE Asset manages a total assets under management (AUM) of more than Rs 58,000 crore across all its businesses.IANS19 May 2023

Shared Recently!
Auction.io acquires Home-Buying Platform Doorsey

New Delhi, May 18: Auction.io, a leading B2B SaaS provider of auction and e-commerce solutions that has processed more than 1 billion auction transactions for Fortune 500 and middle-market companies, announced today that it has acquired Doorsey, a modern high-tech online platform designed to facilitate and improve real estate transactions for buyers, sellers and their agents.

Auction.io acquires Home-Buying Platform Doorsey

The acquisition of Doorsey by Auction.io marks a significant milestone for both companies. By adding Doorsey's innovative technologies and expertise, Auction.io is significantly expanding its presence in the residential and commercial real estate market. The Doorsey platform has consistently outperformed the traditional method of selling properties, and with additional resources from Auction.io, it is well positioned to accelerate its growth trajectory in the foreseeable future.Doorsey's mission is advancing the new tech-enabled era for residential real estate with one of the most comprehensive for-sale listing platforms available on the market today featuring an open auction process for selling properties. Buyers have access to a third-party inspection report, seller disclosures, a 3D virtual tour, and a community forum for interacting with sellers and neighbors -- everything that a buyer needs to bid with confidence, even sight unseen, and sellers have a transparent and robust digital tool to maximize their selling price and closure rate. The platform differentiates itself by providing buyers and real estate agents with full visibility into competing offers in real-time. The real estate agents favor the Doorsey platform because of the intuitiveness of its interface and ease of use, as well as the robust functionality of the software solution and additional control over the selling process that it provides. Doorsey's listings are posted on the local MLS (Multiple Listing Services) and distributed through national real estate websites, including Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, and Realtor.com.According to Rajesh Rajaram, CEO of Auction.io, "We are thrilled to welcome Doorsey to our business. Doorsey has developed a groundbreaking platform that has revolutionized the home buying process by providing buyers with a transparent, efficient and secure way to purchase properties and sellers with tools to maximize value and speed of the sale transactions. While Auction.io is strong in the automotive, collectibles, liquidation, live animals, electronics and other areas, the acquisition of Doorsey is a strategic move that enables us to further expand our reach in the real estate market and provide a best-in-class online auction marketplace solution for buyers and sellers in that space too."Doorsey's Founder and CEO, Jordan Allen, added, "We are excited that Doorsey will join forces with Auction.io and believe that this partnership will enable the business to continue to shake up the real estate industry. Our mission has always been to make the residential and commercial real estate buying process as seamless and transparent as possible, and we are confident that by joining forces with Auction.io, we will be able to achieve this goal."Doorsey's operations will be integrated with Auction.io offerings shortly after this transaction. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.Founded in Oct 2021, Auction.io is a Dallas, TX based B2B SaaS solution company that provides customizable single and multiple vendor e-commerce auction marketplaces in the US and globally. For more information, visitDoorsey is SaaS platform designed to improve the home buying and selling offer process. Doorsey's mission is to advance the new tech-enabled era for residential real estate, providing buyers, sellers, and their agents full transparency throughout the offer process. To learn more, visitThis story has been provided by SRV. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV)ANI19 May 2023

Shared Recently!
20 pc tax to be collected at source from July under remittance scheme for some items

New Delhi, May 18: Tax Collected at Source (TCS) under Liberalised Remittance Scheme for the sale of overseas tour packages and any other remittance (such as for bonds, shares, and real estate gifts) through the usage of international credit cards is set to rise from this July.

20 pc tax to be collected at source from July under remittance scheme for some items

TCS for these cases will be now at 20 per cent against the earlier 5 per cent. However, TCS for education and medical treatment remains unchanged at their respective slab.For TCS on remittance for travel and incidental expenses related to education and medical treatment, the rates of TCS as applicable to remittances for education and medical treatment, respectively, shall apply, said the Finance Ministry in a series of FAQ on Thursday, adding that a detailed clarification will be issued separately.The Finance Ministry said the changes were necessitated as some instances have come to notice where the LRS payments were "disproportionately high" when compared to the disclosed incomes.In the FAQ, the ministry said the primary impact will only be on investment in assets such as real estate, bonds, and stocks outside India by High Net Individuals and tour travel packages or gifts to non-residents.Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, all resident individuals, including minors, are allowed to freely remit up to USD 2,50,000 per financial year (April - March) for any permissible current or capital account transaction or a combination of both.The Scheme was introduced on February 4, 2004, with a limit of USD 25,000. The LRS limit has been revised in stages consistent with prevailing macro and micro economic conditions. There are no restrictions on the frequency of remittances under LRS.The government has reportedly amended rules under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), which has brought credit card spending outside India under the LRS.ANI19 May 2023

Shared Recently!
" " Tired of posting content every day about your various vacations (like this shot of the colorful street Rue Cremieux in Paris)? You might want to delete Instagram. Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

Before you delete your account  a move that will permanently remove your Instagram account from the internet, you might want to consider downloading a copy of your information (i.e. your videos and pics) as a reminder of all the joy (???) this app brought you in the past. Remember, once you click Delete, you will not be able to access the Data Center again. If you just want a temporary break from Instagram, you can disable your account instead of deleting it.

If you've downloaded your images, or really don't care if you see them in the future, here's how to delete your account. It's pretty simple.
Big opportunity: Uttarakhand CM Dhami thanks PM Modi for opportunity to host G20 meetings

Dehradun, May 18: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the opportunity to host G20 meetings in the state.

'Big opportunity': Uttarakhand CM Dhami thanks PM Modi for opportunity to host G20 meetings

CM Dhami said, "India has got the chairmanship of G20 under the leadership of PM Modi and Uttarakhand has got 3 big meetings in it, this is a big opportunity for us. The first meeting was held in Ramnagar while the second meeting will be starting on May 25 in Rishikesh."The Chief Minister further said that the preparations for the second meeting are underway."Preparations for the meeting in Rishikesh are going on smoothly. Our Ramnagar meeting was concluded historically. People came from all over the country and across the world to attend the meeting. They returned with good experiences here", the CM said.He said that a similar meeting is going to be held in Rishikesh on May 25. "People will come from all over the country and the world to witness the event. We are engaged in the preparation of showcasing Uttarakhand's beauty, culture and specialities to the whole world", he added.Earlier this month, CM Dhami lauded the Central government for hosting G20 meetings in small towns of the country.He also said that India is fast moving towards becoming a world guru. India has got the presidency of G-20 this year, and its meetings are being organized at different places in the country.This is a good opportunity for us to take our cultural heritage to the global level. The country has entered the nectar of independence. The coming 25 years are very important for the country, Dhami said.Uttarakhand's Ramnagar hosted a G20 conference from March 28-30. The three-day G20 meeting in Ramnagar saw the participation of 70 foreign guests and 30 Indian officials.During the meeting, Ramnagar showcased the rich cultural and civilizational heritage of the state with streets and venue being decorated with traditional paintings and conducting traditional art forms.ANI19 May 2023

Shared Recently!
9 EU states agree to work on Mediterranean green energy hub

Valletta, May 19: Energy ministers from nine EU countries have agreed to turn the Mediterranean region into a green energy hub.

9 EU states agree to work on Mediterranean green energy hub

At their meeting in Valletta, the capital of Malta, on Thursday, the Ministers of the so-called MED9 alliance, including Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain, signed the Malta Statement, a joint declaration aimed at facilitating renewable energy investments in southern Europe.The alliance will prioritise the development of offshore renewable energy sources, solar PV systems, the production and transportation of renewable hydrogen, the creation of storage solutions and the construction of new energy interconnections between EU and non-EU Mediterranean countries, Xinhua news agency reported.Miriam Dalli, Malta's minister for the environment, energy, and enterprises led the meeting, which was also attended by EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson."We all recognise that investments in renewable energy infrastructure are not simply a forward-looking commitment with long-term objectives. These investments are the best solution to our current challenges," Dalli said in a statement.The Med9 group agreed to set up a steering committee to oversee the work on the green hub.They also called for the European Commission to look into the potential of creating green energy corridors that would link Europe with renewables-rich North African countries and to prioritise EU funding for the development of key Mediterranean interconnections.The discussions in Valletta took place on the first anniversary of launching the bloc's REPowerEU plan, which aims to accelerate the deployment of renewables and to increase investment in energy efficiency throughout the EU."The Commission remains ready to assist where needed to help the Mediterranean region become a green energy hub," Simson said in a statement.IANS19 May 2023

Shared Recently!
Telangana scraps GO aimed to protect Hyderabads twin reservoirs

Hyderabad, May 18: In a major move, the Telangana cabinet on Thursday decided to scrap a Government Order (GO) issued in 1996 to protect two reservoirs on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Telangana scraps GO aimed to protect Hyderabad's twin reservoirs

The government claimed that the decision will benefit people of 84 villages as the GO was hampering their development.The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. This was the first Cabinet meeting at the new Secretariat complex inaugurated on April 30.The GO 111 was issued on March 8, 1996 to protect the catchment areas of Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar by imposing restrictions on construction activity.The two reservoirs were built across Musi River by the Nizam of Hyderabad after the devastating Musi floods of September 1908 which had killed thousands of people. The two reservoirs were the main source of drinking water for the twin cities.The government argued the GO became redundant as the two reservoirs were no longer the sources of drinking water as Hyderabad is getting piped supply of water from Krishna and Godavari rivers.The government's proposal mooted last year was strongly opposed by environmentalists and citizens who cautioned it against the catastrophic move to lift the restrictions on construction activity in the catchment areas of the two reservoirs.Finance Minister Harish Rao told reporters after the Cabinet meeting that the Kaleshwaram reservoir will be linked to Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar.The Cabinet also decided to bring Godavari water to Hussain Sagar lake in the heart of the city.It decided to formulate a scheme to provide financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh each to artisans. A Cabinet sub-committee headed by the Backward Classes Welfare Minister will be constituted to work out modalities for the scheme, which will be launched during state formation day celebrations, beginning on June 2.The government decided to organise state-wide formation day celebrations for 21 days.The Cabinet decided to create 38 posts of District Medical and Health Officers (DMHOs). It also gave its nod for setting up primary health centres in 40 newly created mandals.IANS19 May 2023

Shared Recently!
Centre notifies appointment of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, Senior Adv KV Viswanathan as Judges of SC

New Delhi, May 18: The Central Government on Thursday notified the appointment of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Senior Advocate KV Viswanathan as Judges of the Supreme Court of India.

Centre notifies appointment of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, Senior Adv KV Viswanathan as Judges of SC

Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal tweeted in those regards and stated that, in the exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President of India, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Senior Advocate KV Viswanathan as Judges of the Supreme Court of India.Arjun Ram Meghwal on Thursday replaced Kiren Rijiju and took charge as the new Law and Justice minister of India.According to the circular issued by the Supreme Court of India, the Swearing-in-Ceremony will be held on May 19, 2023, and live-streamed on the website of the Supreme Court of India.On May 16, 2023, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended Andhra Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Senior Advocate KV Viswanathan to be elevated as judges of the apex court.The Collegium further said that on the retirement of Justice Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala on August 11, 2030, senior Advocate Viswanathan would be in line to assume office as the Chief Justice of India till his retirement on May 25, 2031.According to SC Collegium resolution, Senior Advocate K V Viswanathan was born on May 26, 1966, and on his appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court would serve in that capacity until May 25 2031.In a collegium resolution passed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi and Sanjiv Khanna, the decision was taken to recommend the name of Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Viswanathan for appointment as judges of the top court.After carefully evaluating the merit, integrity and competence of eligible Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of the High Courts and also accommodating a plurality of considerations, the Collegium found Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, Chief Justice, Andhra Pradesh High Court (Parent HC Chhattisgarh) to be more deserving and suitable in all respects for being appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India.The Collegium unanimously resolved to recommend that Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India.Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Chhattisgarh on 10 December 2009. He was appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on 13 October 2021. There is no representation to the High Court of Chhattisgarh in the present composition of the Supreme Court of India.Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra has served as a judge of the High Court for over thirteen years and ranks at serial number 21 in the All-India Seniority List of judges of the High Courts. During his tenure of nearly twelve years as a judge of the High Court of Chhattisgarh, Justice Mishra has acquired significant experience in diverse fields of law.His judgments cover wide-ranging issues pertaining to law and justice. Besides, according to the representation to the State of Chhattisgarh, the appointment of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra will provide value addition in terms of his acquired knowledge and experience. Justice Mishra is a judge with integrity, the collegium said.The Collegium said that it is conscious of the fact that the present Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court who was appointed as a judge on March 31, 2009, is drawn from the parent High Court of Chhattisgarh and ranks senior to Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra.However, having considered all relevant factors, the Collegium is of the view that Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra is worthy of appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court, the Collegium resolution said.Having regard to the fact that at present there is only one member from the Bar directly appointed to the Supreme Court Bench, the Collegium has also considered the names of eminent members of the Bar. In their considered opinion, K V Viswanathan, Senior Advocate is eminently suitable for being appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court.The appointment of K V Viswanathan will enhance the representation of the Bar in the composition of the Supreme Court. Viswanathan is a distinguished member of the Bar of the Supreme Court. His wide experience and profound knowledge will provide significant value addition to the Supreme Court, the collegium said.K V Viswanathan completed the five-year integrated law degree from Coimbatore Law College, Bharathiyar University and enrolled with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in 1988. After practising before the Supreme Court for over two decades, he was designated as a senior advocate in 2009.Viswanathan has appeared in a wide range of cases on diverse subjects including Constitutional law, criminal law, commercial law, the law of Insolvency, and Arbitration. His stature as an eminent member of the Bar has been recognised by the Supreme Court in numerous cases where he was appointed to assist the Court as amicus curiae.Viswanathan has a sound understanding of the law and is known in the legal fraternity for his integrity and as an upright senior member of the Bar, the collegium said.The Supreme Court of India has a sanctioned strength of thirty-four Judges and is presently functioning with thirty-two Judges. Thus, there are two clear vacancies. With four more vacancies which are going to arise by the second week of July the working strength of Judges would come to twenty-eight.The Collegium has, however, unanimously resolved to recommend, for the present, names to fill up the two existing vacancies.The Collegium deliberated on and discussed the names of Chief Justices and Senior puisne Judges of the High Courts eligible for appointment to the Supreme Court.ANI19 May 2023

Shared Recently!
Coast guard rescues 2 injured Indian crew members from foreign vessel

Kochi, May 19: Indian Coast Guard on Thursday rescued two injured Indian nationals from a commercial ship near the Kochi seashore in a swift coordinated operation, a statement from the Southern Naval Command said.

Coast guard rescues 2 injured Indian crew members from foreign vessel

As per the statement, the crew members suffered "critical second-degree burns" while working in the engine room.The vessel, MT Xante, was on passage from UAE to Chennai. A medical distress was received by Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Mumbai from the vessel, it said."In a swift coordinated operation, two Indian Nationals namely Ambrose Antony (48) and Pradeep Jaiswal (32) were successfully evacuated from MT Xante off Kochi. The crew suffered critical second-degree burns while working in the engine room," the statement informed."Instantaneously Indian Coast Guard Ship C-162 based at Kochi, sailed in medical configuration with a medical team embarked for transfer of injured persons from MT Xante. The medical team examined the patient and accessed the feasibility of transferring the patients at sea. Adhering to all safety precautions to avoid the aggravation of injuries patients were brought to Coast Guard Jetty Kochi and the patients were shifted to the Hospital," the statement added.ANI19 May 2023

Shared Recently!
Alec Baldwin becomes grandfather as daughter Ireland welcomes baby girl

Washington, May 19: Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin became grandfather after his daughter Ireland Baldwin and her boyfriend RAC welcomed their first child, a baby girl on Thursday (local time).

Alec Baldwin becomes grandfather as daughter Ireland welcomes baby girl

The couple has named their daughter Holland.Taking to Instagram, Ireland shared a family picture which she captioned, "Holland."In the picture, Ireland could be seen on the hospital's bed holding her new born daughter and her boyfriend RAC sitting with her.Soon after she announced the news, her friends and fans swamped the comment section with red heart emoticons and congratulatory messages for the couple."CONGRATS IRELAND!!!!!!!!," a user commented.Another user wrote, "Welcome to the world Baby Girl Holland.""Awww welcome baby Holland!," a user wrote.According to Page Six, a US-based media outlet, Ireland, 27, surprised her followers with her pregnancy news in December 2022, posting a video from an ultrasound appointment.The couple have been publicly dating since 2021.Ireland casually revealed the sex of her and RAC's baby in January, referring to her little one with feminine pronouns, reported Page Six.Later that same month, the model told 'Girlboss Radio' listeners why she chose the name Holland for her daughter."I'm Ireland, so [we chose] another country name because we wanted to keep that consistent," she explained. "I've always loved that name since I was young. I just thought that was such a classy, beautiful name," as per Page Six.ANI19 May 2023

Shared Recently!
West Bengal CM writes to Union Railway Minister to revert to old fare in Katwa-Azimganj section

Kolkata, May 18: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to revert the old Railway fare in the Katwa - Azimganj section of Howrah Division of Eastern Railway which was increased from Rs 10 to Rs 30 during the pandemic period.

West Bengal CM writes to Union Railway Minister to revert to old fare in Katwa-Azimganj section

"I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the population of Murshidabad district and its surroundings are very poor. They can hardly afford tickets at higher rates, since most of them are daily wage earners belonging to the BPL category and they need to travel from home to their place of work every day," West Bengal CM said in her letter.She further said that the Eastern Railway Authorities has not taken any action despite many appeals by the Passengers Association."It is very unfortunate that the Passengers Association which represents poor passengers of that section had preferred many appeals to the Eastern Railway Authorities on various occasions, but it seems that so far no action has been taken to give relief to the poor people of the area," she added.She further mentioned the Railway Budget for the year 2009-10 presented by her when she was the Union Minister and had announced the scheme "Izzat" which was later withdrawn."The Railway Budget for the year 2009-10 (final) presented by me as Railway Minister, I had drawn the attention of the House to the provision of concession to the very poor people, which is appended as- Every person wants to live in dignity. The journey of life also begins with dignity. A rail journey is also like a journey of life. I want every person should travel on our Railways with dignity. I, therefore, wish to present the gift of travel with dignity to even the poorest of the poor. I, therefore, announce a new scheme called 'izzat'. Under this scheme, a uniformly-priced monthly season ticket of Rs 25 would be available free of all surcharges for travel up to 100 km for members of the unorganized sector with a monthly income not exceeding Rs 1500. This will give lakhs of people in our country a chance to travel on rail with dignity. This scheme will be implemented with the cooperation of Members of Parliament," she wrote.She also mentioned that the scheme has since been withdrawn thereby adversely affecting the poor withdrawn thereby adversely affecting the poorer section of the society.ANI19 May 2023

Shared Recently!
Study reveals how cells select DNA damage repair pathways

Daejeon, May 19: DNA is widely recognized as the blueprint for life, and it is required for an organism to assist biological functions. DNA may be damaged by a variety of circumstances, including radical metabolites, radiation, and some toxic compounds. Because DNA is a two-stranded molecule, any one or both strands can be damaged.

Study reveals how cells select DNA damage repair pathways

When one of the two strands of DNA is damaged or broken, a single-strand break (SSB) occurs. These are very minor damages that can be quickly repaired by specialized enzymes that seal the break and restore the DNA molecule's integrity. A double-strand break (DSB), on the other hand, occurs when both strands of DNA are broken. These are the most severe types of DNA damage, with the potential to cause genetic alterations or cell death.Cells preserve genomic integrity by having many repair mechanisms for DSBs. Among the several DSB repair processes, homologous recombination repair (HR) is a highly accurate and error-free technique that employs the undamaged sister chromatid as a template to repair DSBs. However, DNA repair through polymerase theta-mediated end-joining (TMEJ) might result in the loss of some genetic material and the development of mutations. To maintain genomic integrity, it is critical to select the optimal DSB repair method.But How do cells select the right repair process? And what kinds of proteins are involved in the selection process?Led by Professor MYUNG Kyungjae, Director of the Center of Genomic Integrity (CGI) within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), the research teams of Professor LEE Ja Yil at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, and Professor OH Jung-Min at Pusan National University have discovered that repair proteins involved in DSB repair, mismatch repair, and TMEJ are closely related and interact with each other during DSB repair process.There are various repair mechanisms in our cells, each tailored to the type of DNA damage. For instance, DSBs are repaired by DSB repair proteins, while improperly paired DNA bases are repaired by mismatch repair proteins. Until now, most researchers thought that a specific type of DNA damage is only repaired by its corresponding DNA repair mechanism.However, this study revealed that repair proteins previously thought to be responsible for different repair mechanisms can interact with each other to recognize damaged sites and select an appropriate repair mechanism.Specifically, it was revealed that MSH2-MSH3, a DNA mismatch repair protein, actually plays a crucial role in the DSB repair process. The researchers observed the recruitment of fluorescent protein-labeled MSH2-MSH3 protein to the site of DSBs and revealed that this movement occurs through binding with the chromatin remodeling protein called SMARCAD1. The binding of MSH2-MSH3 to DSBs facilitates the recruitment of EXO1 (exonuclease 1) for long-range resection of damaged DNA.After the long-range resection, the damaged DNA is repaired through error-free HR. Furthermore, it was discovered that the binding of MSH2-MSH3 inhibits the access of POLth, which mediates a more error-prone TMEJ pathway, thereby preventing mutations that may occur during DSB repair.Director Myung said, "This research has revealed a new function of the mismatch repair protein MSH2-MSH3 in regulating DSB repair," adding, "The repair proteins that have been believed so far to act independently in the mismatch repair, double-stranded break repair, and TMEJ repair pathways are now shown to closely interact each other for proper maintenance of genomic integrity."ANI19 May 2023

Shared Recently!
Countdown begins for G20 meet in Kashmir

Srinagar, May 19: The stage is all set for the third G20 tourism working group meeting scheduled to take place in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir from May 22- 24, 2023 under India's presidency.

Countdown begins for G20 meet in Kashmir

According to a report, there has been a resurgence of confidence among the youth that foreign tourists would soon start travelling to Kashmir in great numbers. Tourism, the backbone of Jammu and Kashmir's economy absorbs the labour force from unskilled to the unorganized sector, which gives impetus to educational unemployment.Kirmani Aafaq, a recent pass-out graduate from Government Degree College, in north Kashmir's Baramulla district expressed his optimism that the summit would give the tourism sector a much-needed boost and help youth to earn their livelihood."Unemployed youth here in Jammu and Kashmir is hopeful that the countries that had put travel advisories restraining their citizens from travelling to Kashmir will be lifted. As we know dignitaries from 20 different countries will attend this summit here in Srinagar and discuss tourism, unemployment, and socioeconomic development in different regions, with this event we will see a huge footfall of foreign tourists here in the valley. And definitely after a huge footfall, there will be more employment to unemployed youth " said Kirmani."Kashmir is heaven on earth but over the year terrorism has made it hell on earth. Now the Government of India has accelerated the pace of development in Jammu and Kashmir, which had been neglected for decades. Now there will be a further boom in tourism after the G20 summit, which holds more relevance in J-K, as it will go a long way in controlling the menace of terrorism in the Union Territory," Kirmani further said.In the words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "Today, the development of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, is one of top priorities. Whether it is women empowerment, opportunities for youth, the welfare of the downtrodden, or oppressed our government is taking decisions for the betterment of Jammu and Kashmir."According to the report, with great potential to grow further, tourism has a great contribution to employment generation.With its abundance of pilgrimage, and ecotourism destinations, J-K has the potential to transform its entire economy by creating more jobs."Tourism is one of the most important sectors of the economy here in Jammu and Kashmir. Tourism is providing employment to a large number of people in UT. Due to its labour-intensive nature, this industry has a large potential for creating jobs and requires less investment than other economic sectors," said Hanan Qadir, a Business student from south Kashmir's Kulgam district."Tourism offers a variety of jobs, including those for hotel managers, tour guides, chefs, etc., which further boosts the UT's economy by raising residents' incomes and living standards," he said.Tourism sector in Jammu and Kashmir is being developed as per the vision of sustainable development goals. Besides, dedicated focus is given to strengthening the hospitality segment and for establishing a robust tourism infrastructure system."Tourism gives employment and business to lacs and crores of local people. This business can now flourish as there is peace and tranquillity. LG Manoj Sinha led administration always thought that peace can be made by sincerely addressing to grievances," said another youth Zaid Ali, hailing from north Kashmir's Tangmarg. Adding that it is now every Kashmiri's responsibility to cooperate with the government in making Jammu and Kashmir more people.A senior official in the administration said that the delegates attending the G20 event here from May 22 will act as brand ambassadors for Jammu and Kashmir and its tourism at the global level."G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting is taking place in Srinagar which in itself is a major international event. We are working to attract the attention of the world and this event is a major opportunity to promote Jammu and Kashmir at a global scale," the official said.Kashmir has been experiencing a record-breaking year for tourism. For the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, a record 1.88 crore tourists visited UT in the year 2022 to enjoy the beauty of various famed tourist spots.The report said that with the launch of the new J-K Film Policy in 2021, Jammu and Kashmir has emerged as the favourite shooting destination for the film industry and permission has been granted for the shooting of more than 150 films and web series in less than two years.Officials in the tourism department said that Jammu and Kashmir is now being promoted on all possible global forums and that is the reason the UT is witnessing the highest-ever tourist footfall in recent years."Since last year, there has been a good influx of tourists, and we are optimistic that this trend will continue in the future. We have planned a variety of events in an effort to attract tourists. Furthermore, we are trying our best to promote Jammu and Kashmir on global forums," the official said.Urging people to make the upcoming working group meeting of Tourism Delegates from G20 nations a grand success, Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta said on Wednesday (May 17) said that the mega international event will help boost tourism industry in Jammu and Kashmir.The Chief Secretary said that J-K witnessed a huge footfall of both domestic and foreign tourists last year and that the number may go fourfold if people together with the administration work to make the upcoming G20 event successful."Let's all work together to make the event a grand success. G20 working group meeting of tourism delegates from G20 nations will help boost the tourism industry in J-K," Mehta told reporters after launching a week-long Solar Expo-23 at Kashmir Haat here.Regarding projects being executed under Srinagar Smart City Ltd (SSCL) in the city, Dr Mehta said the Polo-View market was inaugurated recently while work on the Left Jhelum Riverfront has also been completed."I would like to reiterate that Srinagar has never experienced such rapid development before. Most of the projects under Srinagar Smart City Ltd have been completed in Srinagar," he added.J-K BJP president Ravinder Raina said that the G20 meeting in Srinagar is a "big opportunity" for Jammu and Kashmir to showcase its true potential."We are marching forward with the common vision of peace, progress and prosperity. Delegates attending the G20 event here in the coming days will act as brand ambassadors for Jammu and Kashmir and its tourism at the global level, boosting local businesses. It is an opportune moment for Jammu and Kashmir to showcase its cultural richness and tourism potential on the world stage. G20 will give a new height to J-K's growth, boost to the limitless potential of tourism and hospitality sector and enhance economic prosperity to all sections of society," Raina said."The time has changed and has changed for the good. A common man in J-K has heaved a sigh of relief as there have been no disruptions in his life. The elements inimical to peace have been taken care of as their entire ecosystem has been shattered. It's an honour for J and K as our land would host such an important international meet which will be attended by the representatives of the most powerful countries in the world," Raina further added.Not only tourism, but the Government of India is encouraging various projects involving substantial investment and public expenditure on schemes for employment generation. Besides this, various flagship programmes of the Government such as Make in India, Start-up India, Stand-up India, Digital India, Housing for All etc. are also oriented towards generating employment opportunities.This year the gains achieved in the past three years are expected to reach new heights as the historical G-20 Summit is taking place in three days' time and more so the third record-breaking tourist season can bring big positive social change in the lives of people of Jammu and Kashmir.Meanwhile, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Kashmir Zone Vijay Kumar on Thursday said that all the security arrangements have been made for the upcoming G20 summit in Union Territory.ADGP Vijay Kumar said that a three-tier security will be put in place for the event.While talking to ANI, ADGP Vijay Kumar said, "We have made all the security arrangements for the upcoming event. There will be three-tier security in place for the event. Anti-drone equipment is being set up. We are taking the help of NSG and the Army for the same. For the water body- Dal Lake - we will depute a team of MARCOS, also a Police team will be present there."G20 tourism working group meeting under India's presidency in Srinagar is slated to be held on May 24-26, 2023.ANI19 May 2023

Shared Recently!
Nazara Techs Founder Nitish invests in RVCF backed Agri-Tech Social Commerce Platform Freshokartz

Jaipur, May 19: Freshokartz, a comprehensive agricultural services provider catering to farmers in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and neighbouring states, has successfully raised funding from prominent investors including RVCF, Real-Time Angel Fund, Nitish Mittersain (Founder and CEO of Nazara), Sreevasthva P (Founder and CEO of Servify), Marwari Catalyst, Siddharth Shah and others. The company has also announced the launch of India's pioneering social commerce super app, designed specifically for village level entrepreneurs (VLEs), with the aim of providing entrepreneurship opportunities to aspiring micro-Agripreneurs in Rajasthan, MP and nearby states.

Nazara Tech's Founder Nitish invests in RVCF backed Agri-Tech Social Commerce Platform Freshokartz

Rajendra Lora, Founder, and CEO of Freshokartz, stated, "We have analysed the rural economy and developed a completely tech-based solution. Having served in the Agri Input and Market Linkages services for a considerable period, we have observed recurring engagements with our farmers. The initial traction we have witnessed with our VLE Super App has been phenomenal, with VELs Considering it as primary source of income. Our vision is to collaborate with over 500,000 VLEs in the next 4-5 years, reaching more than 5 million farmers."Freshokartz focuses on addressing the needs of over 100 million Indian farmers who have been underserved due to a lack of innovation at the farm level. While online platforms typically cater to metropolitan areas and select tier 2-3 cities, farmers in remote regions are often overlooked and reliant on traditional solutions, resulting in higher costs.Through Freshokartz Saarthi's (Village Level Entrepreneurs), the platform establishes an efficient channel to serve these farmers. VLEs act as intermediaries between farmers and Freshokartz, assisting with customer acquisition, product and service awareness, and order placement through the Saarthi mobile application.The platform empowers thousands of individuals to start their small businesses from the comfort of their homes without any initial investment. It also enables businesses to reach farmers in the last mile, bypassing traditional supply channels. Freshokartz caters to various agricultural needs, including Agri inputs, financial products, Agri equipment, farm machinery, tractors, insurance, market linkages, and crop advisory services.Currently, the company collaborates with more than 15,000 VLEs in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and nearby states, connecting with over 500,000 farmers. Freshokartz boasts over 50 partners who collaborate to distribute their products to farmers through these VLEs. Remarkably, VLEs earn an average monthly income ranging from 5,000 to 15,000 INR, with the potential to earn up to 25,000 INR.Freshokartz aims to onboard more than 100,000 VLEs, thereby serving over 1 million farmers by March 31, 2024. The company is experiencing rapid growth, with the number of VLEs and farmers increasing 2-3 times every month.Nitish Mittersain Founder and CEO of Nazara Tech said, "Founder's Farming and technology background make them unique to solve farmers problem. Only technology can help in building a scalable model and Freshokartz current traction clearly show that they are growing in the right direction with multiple Agri Related services in a single platform."Additionally, Freshokartz is forging partnerships with various organizations, including UPL, BASF, Axis Bank, BankSathi, ICICI Lombard, Balwan, JCB, Jain Irrigations, GrowIT, Shakti Pumps, Solskean Energy, and others. These collaborations aim to offer a comprehensive platform that addresses all the needs of farmers, ranging from soil testing, Agri products, banking and financial services, cattle feed and care, crop advisory, and more.For more information, please visit .This story has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article.ANI20 May 2023

Shared Recently!
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Water, water everywhere. With the warm daytime temperatures and nights well above freezing, the snow is melting quickly at lower elevations. However, the air temperatures at the upper reaches of eastern Nevadas mountain ranges are still below freezing and the snow will be there throughout the summer feeding area streams.

Looking at the USGS Snotel measurements for snowpack across Nevada we are waaaay above the long-term median. Measurements range from well over 300% of the long-term median all the way up to 3,200%!

But a little perspective is necessary. We are nearing the end of May when many years there is no snow at many of these Snotel sites which brings the long-term median way down. An example would be the Upper Jack Creek Snotel site which is currently showing 3.9 inches of snow water equivalent currently while the long-term median is only 0.2 inches.

This 1,950% of snow water equivalency over the long-term median is a huge piece of the puzzle in why the upper Humboldt Basin is 389% of the long-term median of snow water equivalent. That notwithstanding, almost four inches of water is huge when the city of Elkos average precipitation is less than 11 inches annually.

A better way to look at the water situation for Nevada would be to look at the year-to-date precipitation. This is still good news as the year-to-date precipitation ranges from a low of 111% of the median in the Owyhee River Basin to 178% in the Spring Mountains in southern Nevada.

At the start of the current water year last September, 100% of Elko County was in severe drought condition and almost 38% in extreme drought condition. Currently almost 65% of Elko County is not in any drought condition and only 35% of the county is designated as just abnormally dry. A huge improvement.

WILDHORSESnow melt continues to flow into the lake filling it with turbid water especially in the Penrod and Hendricks arms. Hopefully there is still enough snow left to fill the lake as it is getting close. As you get more towards the middle of the lake and the south and north ends the water does start to clear up. Look for the coves that are closest to the canyon by the dam and the furthest from the inflows of hot creek, Penrod and Hendricks arms where the water is flowing into the lake. Anglers report dead perch floating in the lake though there doesnt appear to be any problems with the bass or trout. Anglers have had some luck first thing in the morning before the winds begin to blow. Fly rodders have landed some fish stripping buggers and leech patterns which provide some turbulence to attract the fish. Balanced leeches and chironomid patterns under an indicator are also working where the water is clearer. Presentations for those throwing hardware include small spinners, rooster tails or panther Martins. Worms or PowerBait fished around three feet under a bobber are catching a few fish for bait anglers though active presentations are producing more fish due to the stained water conditions. The dock at the state park boat ramp is in the water for launching boats. No black bass may be kept until July 1. Flows below the dam are minimal as no water is being released, though the river picks up water from the tributaries as you go downstream and there is a chance of flooding as you get closer to Mountain City. The first two miles below the dam are fishable and fishermen report fair to good fishing there.

SOUTH FORK RESERVOIRThe dock at the main boat ramp is in the water for boaters and surface water temperatures have moved into the 50s at the boat ramp but the southern end of the lake where the river flows in is still in the 40s. The river is flowing into the lake is close to breaching its banks by the causeway and anglers should avoid this area. Fishing has picked up in the lake and anglers were catching 14-to-18-inch trout both from shore and boats. The flats on the west side of the lake north of Jet Ski Beach have been holding both trout and bass as the shallow water is warming up from the sun and isnt as turbid as the main body of water. Black bass and a couple of catfish have shown up in the creel over the past couple of weeks. Male bass are moving into the flats along shorelines as the water warms into the 50s, preparing spawning beds. The females are holding off a bit deeper and should be moving into the beds any day. While it is okay to fish for bass, all black bass must be released until July 1. Both lipped and lipless crankbaits have produced some bass. For fly fishermen targeting trout, buggers, leeches and balanced leeches are working in the more turbid water while chironomids, balanced leeches and other nymphs are working in the clear water found further north in the lake and the coves. For spin fishermen, still fishing worms in the stained water conditions is not very effective, so they should be throwing spinners and small lures with a slow retrieve to attract the fish. With the discolored water dark colors that provide a good silhouette seem to be working the best. The clearer water at the north end of the lake is more conducive to bait fishing using worms or PowerBait.

WILSON RESERVOIRLittle change here from last week. The lake is spilling, though with all the snowmelt is turbid and fishing is fair to good for trout. Anglers report 12-to-14-inch fish for fly fishermen using leech patterns or chironomids. The usual small spinners, worms or PowerBait for spin fishermen should be working. For fly fishermen, wooly buggers, leech patterns, chironomids, hares ears and pheasant tail nymphs should all be productive. A few bass are being taken with crankbaits. NDOW will wait until the lake stops spilling before stocking trout.

RUBY LAKE NWRHarrison Pass is open and the road is in fairly good shape. Surface water temperature at the main boat ramp is in the high 40s to low 50s. Access to the collection ditch is good in most areas but expect lots of water so stay off areas that appear to be muddy. This should be a good year for the marsh and for fishing for trout. Bass fishing may get a bit later start than normal due to colder water temperatures from the large snowpack. The water in the collection ditch is stained from the snow melt bringing muddy water and fly anglers will probably have the best luck stripping wooly buggers, leeches or small streamers. Spin fishermen should be using dark colored or very shiny spinners, Kastmasters, panther Martins and other small lures.

JAKES CREEK/BOIES RESERVOIRThe reservoir is full and anglers report catching trout up to 17 inches along with some bass and a few catfish. Use the same flies, lures and presentations as at South Fork Reservoir. Aquatic vegetation has not started to grow yet, so shore fishing is still accessible.

COLD CREEK RESERVOIRCold Creek Reservoir is filling up nicely. The main reservoir is filling up and backing into the middle pond. Water temperatures are moving into the low 40s. Anglers can expect to catch 8-to-10-inch Rainbow Trout and 8-to-10-inch Tiger Trout.

CAVE LAKECave Lake is lowered to minimum pool and unfishable. Fish stocking will resume once the dam repairs are completed. Cave Lake is closed to fishing due to shorelines that are very soft and dangerous due to the complete saturation of the soil. For more information on Cave Lake, please contact the NDOW Ely Field Office.

COMINS LAKEThe lake is a brackish color from leaching of tannins from the surrounding vegetation as well as from siltation coming in from Steptoe Creek. Despite slow catch rates anglers can expect to catch 14-to-18-inch Rainbow Trout and the occasional Brown Trout and possibly a Tiger Trout. Largemouth Bass in the 10-to-12-inch range will be caught, however, with cold water temperatures they are not quite active yet. The spawn is in full swing for Northern Pike and anglers are encouraged to target Northern Pike while they are fishing. Anglers can expect to catch 14-to-18-inch Rainbow Trout and the occasional Brown Trout and possibly a Tiger Trout. The spawn is getting started for Northern Pike and anglers are encouraged to target Northern Pike while they are fishing. Please note that NDOW has placed radio tags in several Northern Pike. These pike will have an orange Floy tag near their dorsal fin and a small antenna (~ 7 inches long) coming from their stomach. Please return these fish to the water for research purposes. All other pike should be humanely dispatched. There is no limit on the pike.

ILLIPAHIllipah Reservoir is 100% open water and ~80% of capacity and continues to fill. Angling should be good, however the water is murky with recent snowpack runoff. Anglers can expect to catch 8-to-10-inch Rainbow Trout. A variety of night crawlers, PowerBait, and spinners should produce trout for anglers. Fly fishermen should have luck with dark colored wooly buggers, leeches, chironomids and small nymphs. The road into Illipah Reservoir does have some minor ruts but otherwise access is good.

ANGEL LAKEThe road is closed for the winter and the lake is ice covered. The lake is not expected to be ice free until late June.

ALPINE LAKESThe lakes are ice and snow covered. With the snowpack expect a very late start to summer fishing at the high elevation lakes. It will probably be July before some of the lakes will be accessible.

STREAMSFlows in area streams are well above the long-term median, and significantly higher than last week in most areas due to the warm weather and great snowpack. Access to the fishable parts of streams is still difficult due to road conditions and either snow, mud or even flooding causing travel problems. Travel off most paved roads is still not recommended at this time. Carry chains, tow chain or rope and a shovel and be prepared to spend the night. Please leave a trip plan with someone responsible so that if you dont return home at the expected time someone can start looking for you. Streams will be turbid which will also add to the difficult fishing conditions. Access to both the Bruneau and Jarbidge Rivers is through Idaho due to road conditions and even then, it is difficult to impossible to travel into the Bruneau and travel is not recommended there. The Bruneau is still experiencing flooding at this time with extremely high flows. There are washouts on the road to Jarbidge from Nevada so access the Jarbidge through Rogerson, Idaho north of Jackpot for the foreseeable future. As of the morning of May 19, the East Fork of the Owyhee had minimal flows below Wildhorse dam, while the station near Mountain City was flowing at 532 cfs. The Jarbidge River at 92.7 cfs, the Bruneau River at 682 cfs, Salmon Falls Creek at 979 cfs, Lamoille Creek a very high 326 cfs, the South Fork of the Humboldt at 772 cfs, Cleve Creek at 58.6 cfs, Steptoe Creek at 26.2 cfs and Kingston Creek at 30.2 cfs.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 56F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 56F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
At the invitation of Premier of the State Council Li Qiang, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin will pay an official visit to China from May 23 to 24.

At the invitation of State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will pay an official visit to China from May 21 to 24.

At the invitation of State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Dutch Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra will pay an official visit to China from May 23 to 24.

China News Service: Could you share the program of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustins visit and Chinas expectations for the visit?

Wang Wenbin: We welcome Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to visit China. During the visit, both sides will have an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations, practical cooperation and issues of mutual interest. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will also travel to Shanghai besides Beijing.

China and Russia are each others largest neighbors and major emerging markets, and the cooperation between the two countries boasts strong resilience, ample potential and wide space. In March this year, President Xi Jinping paid a successful state visit to Russia, and the two heads of state reached important common understandings on the growth of bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields. We hope that Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustins visit will further enhance our cooperation, deepen cultural and people-to-people and sub-national exchanges, and give a strong boost to global economic recovery.

Kyodo News: G7 leaders visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum this morning. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed hopes for the leaders to understand the tragedy caused by the atomic bombs the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 so as to work for a world free of nuclear weapons. Do you have any comment on this?

Wang Wenbin: The tragedies caused by nuclear weapons should never happen again. Japan has characterized itself as an advocate of a nuclear-weapons-free world. But in fact, Japan sits comfortably under the USs nuclear umbrella, and it is against and hindering the USs renouncing of the first use of nuclear weapons. We also hope that Japan will no longer take a hypocritical position on the relevant issue.

AP: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be attending the G7 Summit this weekend. Do you have any comments? Does China see this as a positive development? The second question, a defense agreement is reportedly being discussed between the US and Papua New Guinea. Is there any comment? Is China considering any countermeasures?

Wang Wenbin: On your first question, we hope relevant international cooperation follows the principles of openness and inclusiveness and play a constructive role in promoting peace, stability and development of the region and the world, rather than inciting division and confrontation.

On your second question, China does not object to normal exchange and cooperation between relevant parties and Pacific island countries. China believes the rest of the world needs to give more attention to and support for the development and prosperity of Pacific island countries. Any cooperation document to be negotiated and signed should serve this purpose. We oppose bringing geopolitical contest into the region of Pacific island countries by any nation.

CCTV: Registration for the 76th World Health Assembly will close this week. Taiwan has not received an invitation. Whats your comment?

Wang Wenbin: There is only one China in the world. The PRC government is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinas territory. Chinas position on the Taiwan regions participation in the activities of international organizations, including the WHO, is consistent and clear. It must be handled in accordance with the one-China principle. This is a fundamental principle affirmed in UNGA Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1.

For eight consecutive years from 2009 to 2016, the Taiwan region participated in the WHA as an observer in the name of Chinese Taipei. This is a special arrangement made through cross-Strait consultation on the basis of adherence by both sides of the Taiwan Strait to the 1992 Consensus, which embodies the one-China principle. The one-China principle is the political foundation for the peaceful development of cross-Strait ties and for the special arrangement for the Taiwan regions participation in the WHA. After coming into power in 2016, the DPP has placed political calculations before the Taiwan peoples welfare and remained headstrong on Taiwan independence. As a result, the political foundation for the Taiwan region to participate in the WHA no longer exists. To uphold the one-China principle and the sanctity and authority of relevant UNGA and WHA resolutions, China has decided not to agree to let the Taiwan region participate in this years WHA.

The Taiwan authorities claim that its absence from the WHA will cause a gap in global anti-epidemic efforts. Thats not true. They are just using this false assumption as a pretext to get into the WHA. The Chinese Central Government attaches great importance to the health and well-being of our compatriots in the Taiwan region, and has made proper arrangement for Taiwans participation in global health affairs on the condition that the one-China principle is upheld. According to the arrangement agreed on between China and WHO, Taiwans medical and health experts can participate in WHO technical meetings given that the one-China principle is upheld. Over the past year alone, medical and technical experts from Chinas Taiwan region took part in WHO technical activities 24 times, which involved 26 participants. Taiwan has timely access to WHO information on global public health emergencies and reports to WHO in a timely manner the information of public health emergencies in Taiwan. Till now, the Chinese Central Government has updated the Taiwan region on COVID-19 over 500 times, including information about confirmed cases who are Taiwan residents staying in the mainland. These arrangements have ensured that Taiwan can promptly and effectively deal with any local or international public health emergency. The DPP authorities are hyping up Taiwans WHA participation not because this is necessary for epidemic response, but because they see it as a potential way to expand international space for Taiwan independence.

Chinas decision of not agreeing to let the Taiwan region participate in this years WHA has received broad-based support and understanding from the international community. Recently, nearly 140 countries have communicated to China that they stand for the one-China principle and oppose Taiwans participation in the WHA. Nearly 100 countries wrote to the WHO Director-General or issued public statements to make that clear. This once again shows that the one-China principle has international support and represents the prevailing trend. It shows that the overwhelming majority of countries uphold the just and right position on Taiwans WHA participation. People around the world are sharp-eyed. Any attempt to play the Taiwan card to contain China will be firmly rejected by the overwhelming majority of members of the international community and will not succeed.

Bloomberg: The US and Taiwan agreed to boost trade ties, the first tangible results under an initiative announced last year. Whats the foreign ministrys comment on this latest development?

Wang Wenbin: China strongly opposes official interaction of any form between Chinas Taiwan region and countries that have diplomatic relations with China. That includes negotiating or signing any agreement that implies sovereignty and has an official nature. The US move gravely violates the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, and contravenes the USs own commitment of maintaining only unofficial relations with Taiwan. China deplores and strongly opposes this move.

The US needs to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques with concrete actions, stop official interaction of any form with Taiwan, refrain from negotiating or signing any agreement with implications of sovereignty and of official nature with Chinas Taiwan region, and stop sending any wrong message to separatist forces seeking Taiwan independence in the name of economy and trade.

Reuters: The Zambian President Hichilema has said this month that he wants to meet with President Xi in order to get Zambias debt restructuring done. Does China expect to agree relief terms at the next meeting of official creditors? If not, why not?

Wang Wenbin: China takes Zambias debt issue seriously. China is the first international official creditor that provided debt relief for Zambia and has played a constructive role in treating Zambias debt as the co-chair of the Creditor Committee for Zambia. According to data from Zambias Ministry of Finance and National Planning, the debt of multilateral financial institutions and predominantly Western commercial lenders account for 70% of Zambias foreign debt. They need to take stronger actions in the treatment of Zambias debt to comprehensively, systematically and effectively help Zambia emerge from the debt crisis. China has stayed in close communication with Zambia and relevant parties, and will continue to jointly work for the best solution.

AFP: Does the foreign ministry have any new information today on the capsized Chinese fishing boat in the Indian Ocean?

Wang Wenbin: After the fishing boat Lupeng Yuanyu 028 capsized in the central part of the Indian Ocean on May 16, following General Secretary Xi Jinpings instruction, the Foreign Ministry immediately activated the emergency mechanism for consular protection and worked in full collaboration with competent departments including those responsible for transport and fisheries and relevant local peoples governments to jointly carry out the search and rescue operation. On May 18, the Chinese naval vessels retrieved two bodies from the area where the accident occurred.

The search and rescue operation is underway. More professional rescuers, including divers sent by Sri Lanka, are on their way. Australia, India, Sri Lanka and other countries have sent vessels and aircraft to assist in the search and rescue, and we appreciate this. We will continue to work with all parties to do everything necessary and do our utmost to search for the missing.

Al Jazeera: The G7 this weekend is reportedly discussing additional sanctions on Russia. Next week Russian Prime Minister Mishustin is reportedly leading a delegation to China. Is this timing intentional? Does China hope to balance the actions of the G7 by increasing business relations with Russia? Second question, there are reports that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will be visiting Beijing soon. Do you have any confirmation or details for this?

Wang Wenbin: On your first question, China always opposes unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction that have no basis in international law or mandate from the Security Council. China has always carried out normal economic and trade cooperation with Russia and other countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. China-Russia cooperation does not target any third party and shall be free from disruption or coercion by any third party.

On your second question, China and the US maintains necessary communication.

Beijing Youth Daily: You just announced that Dutch Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra will visit China. How does China view the current China-Netherlands relations and what expectations does China have for this visit?

Wang Wenbin: China and the Netherlands boast an open and pragmatic partnership for comprehensive cooperation. Last year, our two countries celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level. In 2014, President Xi Jinping paid a historic visit to the Netherlands, which ushered in a new era of comprehensive and rapid growth for bilateral relations. In recent years, China and the Netherlands have sustained close high-level exchanges and achieved fruitful outcomes in cooperation across the board. The two countries share extensive common understandings in such aspects as protecting free trade and upholding multilateralism.

During Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstras visit, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang will exchange views with him on Chinas relations with the Netherlands and the EU and international and regional issues of mutual interest. China stands ready to work with the Netherlands through this visit to further follow through on the important common understandings between the leaders of our two countries, deepen mutual political trust, expand practical cooperation, take the open and pragmatic partnership for comprehensive cooperation to new heights and jointly contribute to keeping the global industrial and supply chains stable and boosting the world economic recovery.

NHK: Japan, as chair of the Summit, is considering including the following in the joint statement, that is, given Russia and Chinas actions, it is important to safeguard and strengthen the law-based international order. Do you have any response to this?

Wang Wenbin: Before talking about rules and order, Japan needs to first stop the irresponsible act of pushing through the plan of dumping nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, explicitly recommit itself to the post-war international order, and unequivocally stop those within Japan trying to turn back the wheel of history by whitewashing the history of aggression, honoring the militarists and justifying their crimes.

CCTV: It is reported that Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Ambassador Li Hui who is on a visit to Ukraine and other countries plans to visit the headquarters of the European Union. Can you confirm this and provide more information?

Wang Wenbin: At the invitation of the EU, Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Ambassador Li Hui will visit the EU headquarters.

China stands ready to continue to promote talks for peace and make Chinas contribution to the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

Xinhua News Agency: We noted a report titled Americas Coercive Diplomacy and Its Harm published by the Xinhua News Agency yesterday, which has been reposted on the website of the Foreign Ministry. On the same day, a senior US government official said that concerns would be expressed over what they call Chinas economic coercion in the joint statement to be released by the G7. Do you have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: The US often accuses other countries of using great power status, coercive policies and economic coercion to pressure other countries into submission and engage in coercive diplomacy. This is how the US projects its own poor track record onto others. The fact is, the US is the very origin of coercive diplomacy. It is the US and the US alone who owns the copyrights of coercive diplomacy. Coercive diplomacy has now become an essential part of the US foreign policy toolbox. The US would resort to all kinds of political, economic, military, cultural or other types of measures as tools for coercive diplomacy to curb and bludgeon countries around the world for selfish interest. Victims to US coercive diplomacy are found across the world, with developing countries bearing the brunt of it.

By enacting the CHIPS and Science Act, the US government forbids semiconductor companies that receive federal financial aid from making substantive expansion in China, forces allies into imposing export restrictions on China and seeks to split up the global chips industrial and supply chains. The US uses state power to suppress Chinas high-tech enterprises and even intimidates countries into not cooperating with Chinese 5G suppliers.

Not even US allies have been spared from such ruthless coercion. Companies such as Toshiba from Japan, Siemens from Germany and Alstom from France, are all its victims. If the G7 Summit is to discuss response to economic coercion, perhaps it should first discuss what the US has done to the other members of the group.

The report issued by Xinhua News Agency contains abundant facts and data that reveal the deplorable US record of coercive diplomacy on the world. It shows the world the hegemonic, domineering and bullying nature of US coercive diplomacy, and the serious damage it does to countries independence and development, to regional stability and to world peace. The report is worth a good read.

China has no taste for coercion and bullying. We have always taken a clear-cut stand against hegemony, unilateralism and coercive diplomacy. We urge the G7 to adapt to the prevailing trend of openness and inclusiveness in todays world and stop carrying out coercive diplomacy or building small, exclusive circles.

AFP: There are reports that China will boycott meetings and events next week for the G20 focused on tourism and theyre planned to be held in Indian-administered Kashmir. Can the foreign ministry confirm if the Chinese side is or is not planning to attend?

Wang Wenbin: China firmly opposes holding any form of G20 meetings on disputed territory. We will not attend such meetings.

Dragon TV: According to reports, a US official stated that this years G7 summit communique will stress on de-risking rather than decoupling from China. Whats your comment?

Wang Wenbin: Before talking about de-risking, one must know what the risks are and where they come from.

The biggest risks facing the world today are: the hegemonic act of using military advantage to launch barbaric invasions of vulnerable countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, the bullying act of undermining the principle of market economy and international trade rules by overstretching the concept of national security and wantonly going after foreign companies, and trying to turn back the wheel of history by hyping up democracy versus authoritarianism narratives and dragging the world back to the era of the Cold War. Clearly, none of these risks come from China. They all come from a handful of countries that have sought to pin various labels on China.

China is committed to the path of peaceful development and a win-win strategy of opening-up. Over the past decade, China accounted for more world economic growth on an annual, average basis than G7 members combined. China brings to the world opportunities, stability and assurance, not challenges, turmoil and risks.

Decoupling is unrealistic for todays world, which does not need so-called de-risking that targets China. What the world truly needs to get rid of are ideology-based mentality, opposing blocs and exclusive circles.

Xinhua News Agency: The China-Central Asia Summit was successfully held in Xian this morning. Could you elaborate further on this Summit?

Wang Wenbin: This morning, President Xi Jinping chaired the inaugural China-Central Asia Summit in Xian, Shaanxi Province. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, President Sadyr Zhaparov of Kyrgyzstan, President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan attended the Summit. In an amicable atmosphere, the presidents reviewed the history of friendly exchanges between China and the five Central Asian countries, took stock of cooperation experience in various fields, and envisioned future cooperation directions. With the future in mind, they agreed to work together for an even closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future.

President Xi delivered a keynote speech entitled Working Together for a China-Central Asia Community with a Shared Future Featuring Mutual Assistance, Common Development, Universal Security and Everlasting Friendship. He noted that changes of the world, of our times, and of the historical trajectory are taking place in ways like never before. Central Asia is at a crossroads connecting the East and West, the South and North.

The world needs a stable Central Asia. The sovereignty, security, independence and territorial integrity of Central Asian countries must be upheld; their peoples choice of development paths must be respected; and their efforts for peace, harmony and tranquility must be supported.

The world needs a prosperous Central Asia. A dynamic and prospering Central Asia will help people in the region achieve their aspiration for a better life. It will also lend strong impetus to global economic recovery.

The world needs a harmonious Central Asia. solidarity, inclusiveness, and harmony are the pursuits of the Central Asian people. No one has the right to sow discord or stoke confrontation in the region, let alone seek selfish political interests.

The world needs an interconnected Central Asia. Central Asia has the right foundation, condition and capability to become an important connectivity hub of Eurasia and make unique contribution to the trading of goods, the interplay of civilizations and the development of science and technology in the world.

President Xi pointed out that last year, China and Central Asian countries announced the vision of a China-Central Asia community with a shared future. It was a historic choice made for the fundamental interests and bright future of all peoples in the new era. In building this community, it is important to stay committed to four principles.

First, mutual assistance. It is important to deepen strategic mutual trust, and always give each other unequivocal and strong support on issues concerning a countrys core interests such as sovereignty, independence, national dignity, and long-term development. The countries should work together to ensure that their community features mutual assistance, solidarity, and mutual trust.

Second, common development. It is important to continue to set the pace for Belt and Road cooperation and deliver on the Global Development Initiative. The countries should fully unlock their potentials in traditional areas of cooperation. And they should forge new drivers of growth in such areas as poverty reduction and green and low-carbon development. They should work together to ensure that their community features win-win cooperation and common progress.

Third, universal security. It is important to act on the Global Security Initiative, and stand firm against external attempts to interfere in domestic affairs of regional countries and strive to resolve security conundrums in the region. They should work together to ensure that their community features no-conflict and enduring peace.

Fourth, everlasting friendship. It is important to implement the Global Civilization Initiative. The countries should do more to share their experience in governance, deepen cultural mutual learning, and cement the foundation of the everlasting friendship between the Chinese and Central Asian peoples. They should work together to ensure that their community features close affinity and shared conviction.

President Xi underscored that this Summit has created a new platform and opened up new prospects for China-Central Asia cooperation. China would take this as an opportunity to step up coordination with all parties for good planning, development and progress of China-Central Asia cooperation.

First, it is important to strengthen institutional building. China has proposed the establishment of meeting and dialogue mechanisms on industry and investment, agriculture, transportation, emergency response, education, and political parties, which will be platforms for all-round mutually beneficial cooperation between the countries.

Second, it is important to expand economic and trade ties. China will take more trade facilitation measures, upgrade bilateral investment treaties, and open green lanes for streamlined customs clearance of agricultural and sideline products at all border ports between China and Central Asian countries. China will also hold a live-streaming sales event to further promote Central Asian products, and build a commodities trading center.

Third, it is important to deepen connectivity. China will strive to increase the volume of cross-border cargo transportation, support the development of the trans-Caspian international transport corridor, promote the opening of the air transportation market, and build a regional logistics network. China will also step up the development of China-Europe Railway Express assembly centers, encourage capable enterprises to build overseas warehouses in Central Asian countries, and build a comprehensive digital service platform.

Fourth, it is important to expand energy cooperation. China would like to propose the establishment of a China-Central Asia energy development partnership. The countries should expedite the construction of Line D of the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline, expand trade in oil and gas, pursue cooperation throughout the energy industrial chains, and strengthen cooperation on new energy and peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Fifth, it is important to promote green innovation. China will work with Central Asian countries to conduct cooperation in such areas as improvement and utilization of saline-alkali land and water-saving irrigation, build together a joint laboratory on agriculture in arid lands, and tackle the ecological crisis of the Aral Sea. China supports establishing high-tech firms and IT industrial parks in Central Asia. China also welcomes Central Asian countries to participate in special cooperation programs under the Belt and Road Initiative, including programs on sustainable development technologies, innovation and start-up, and spatial information science and technology.

Sixth, it is important to enhance capabilities for development. China will formulate a China-Central Asia special cooperation program for poverty reduction through science and technology, implement the China-Central Asia technology and skills improvement scheme, set up more Luban Workshops in Central Asian countries, and encourage Chinese companies in Central Asia to create more local jobs. China will provide Central Asian countries with financing support and grant.

Seventh, it is important to strengthen dialogue between civilizations. China invites Central Asian countries to take part in the Cultural Silk Road program, and will set up more traditional medicine centers in Central Asia. The countries will speed up establishment of cultural centers in each others countries. China will continue to provide government scholarships for Central Asian countries, and support their universities in joining the University Alliance of the Silk Road. The countries will launch the China-Central Asia Cultural and Tourism Capital program, ensure the success of the Year of Culture and Arts for the Peoples of China and Central Asian Countries, and open special train services for cultural tourism in Central Asia.

Eighth, it is important to safeguard peace in the region. China is ready to help Central Asian countries strengthen capacity building on law enforcement, security and defense, support their independent efforts to safeguard regional security and fight terrorism, and work with them to promote cyber-security. The countries will continue to leverage the role of the coordination mechanism among Afghanistans neighbors, and jointly promote peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

Presidents of the five Central Asian countries thanked China for initiating and successfully hosting the inaugural China-Central Asia Summit, and spoke positively of the fruitful outcomes of their all-round cooperation with China. They noted that, sharing a millennia-old friendship and deep bonds, Central Asian countries and China have always been good neighbors, good friends and good partners of mutual support and mutual trust, and that Central Asian countries are Chinas most sincere old friends west beyond the Yangguan Pass. China has now become a crucial force for ensuring global security and stability and for promoting scientific, technological and economic development. Cooperation with China is an important factor indispensable for countries pursuit of sustainable development. To further deepen the relations between the five Central Asian countries and China meets the common aspirations of all their peoples and the fundamental and long-term interests of the countries. The China-Central Asia Summit provides a new platform for their cooperation, bringing their relations into a new era. The parties welcome and commend Chinas policy of friendship and cooperation toward Central Asia. They expressed readiness to keep fully harnessing the strategic and leading role of head-of-state diplomacy, expand and strengthen the Central Asia-China Summit Mechanism, enhance top-level planning and coordination, and deepen their all-round practical cooperation with China. The goal is to deliver more benefits to the people, help the countries achieve common development and prosperity, and make due contributions to regional security and stability.

The five presidents voiced firm support for each other to choose a development path compatible with their national conditions, firmly uphold their core interests including sovereignty, independence, security and territorial integrity, and oppose interference in others internal affairs. They spoke highly of the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Development Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative put forth by President Xi. They expressed readiness to earnestly implement the important common understandings and outcomes of this summit, use the 10th anniversary of Belt and Road cooperation as an opportunity to further synergize their development strategies with Belt and Road cooperation, advance regional connectivity and deepen practical cooperation in such areas as trade, investment, agriculture, energy, science and technology, and security, and scale up people-to-people exchanges. Together, they would rise to challenges, achieve win-win cooperation and build an even closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future.

President Xi signed with presidents of the five Central Asian countries the Xian Declaration of the China-Central Asia Summit and adopted the List of Outcomes of the China-Central Asia Summit.

This Summit has been a good start for cooperation. We believe that with our joint efforts, Chinas relations with Central Asian countries will forge ahead like a ship braving all winds and waves, offer new vitality to the development and revitalization of the six countries, and inject strong, positive energy to peace and stability of the region.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Angeleah Cryst, 32, of Twin Falls was arrested May 12, 2023, at a Jackpot casino for fugitive felon from another state. She was also booked May 16 on an additional charge of fugitive felon from another state.

Steven A. Gomez, 40, of Elko was arrested May 14, 2023, at 1170 Colt Drive for possessing stolen property and fugitive felon from another state.

Darian M. Hoover, 27, of Spring Creek was arrested May 12, 2023, at 1900 Idaho St. for felony possession of a controlled substance and violation of probation or condition of suspended sentence.

Timothy J. Ferguson, 41, of Reno was arrested May 15, 2023, at 171 W. Silver St. for burglary of a business, grand larceny, obtaining money by false pretenses, 13 counts of forgery, eight counts of obtaining or possessing a credit card without cardholders consent, and six counts of intent to utter a fictitious bill, note or check. Bail: $230,000

Alex M. Knudson, 28, of Elko was arrested May 15, 2023, in the 100 block of Court Street alleyway for obtaining or possessing a credit or debit card without owners consent, and fraud by authorized holder of credit or debit card. Bail: $10,000

Terrence D. Vittori, 29, of Layton, Utah was arrested May 15, 2023, on a warrant for failure to appear after bail on a felony crime. Bail: $25,000

Kurt C. Warner, 33, of West Valley, Utah was arrested May 15, 2023, in West Wendover on a warrant for failure to appear after bail on a felony crime. Bail: $35,000

Amber R. Williams, 36, of Elko was arrested May 15, 2023, at 115 W. Adams St. for unlawful reentry of real property and trespassing. Bail: $2,695

Juan P. Flores Escareno, 24, of West Wendover was arrested May 16, 2023, at 556 Opal Way for failure to appear after bail on a felony crime and failure to appear after bail on a misdemeanor crime. Bail: $5,925

Tosh D. Howe, 18, of Spring Creek was arrested at 172 Spring Creek Parkway on a felony warrant for home invasion, residential burglary, attempted kidnapping, and destroying the property of another. Bail: $255,000

Graydon A. Jolliff, 45, of Elko was arrested May 18, 2023, at 2324 Virginia Way for felony possession of a controlled substance, possession of stolen property, and violation of probation or condition of suspended sentence. On May 19, Jolliff was booked on additional charges of possessing stolen property, felony possession of a controlled substance, and conspiracy to commit a non-felony crime.

Yvonne M. Meza, 53, of Spring Creek was arrested May 17, 2023, at 2503 Mountain City Highway for battery with use of a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm. Bail: $50,000

Dustin F. Morgan, 30, was arrested May 18, 2023, at the Nugget Casino parking lot in West Wendover for fugitive felon from another state.

Tamara J. Reese-Tomten, 60, of Elko was arrested May 18, 2023, at 2324 Virginia Way for possession of stolen property, violation of probation or condition of suspended sentence, and failure to appear after bail on a misdemeanor crime. On May 19, Reese-Tomten was booked on additional charges of possessing stolen property, two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance, and conspiracy to commit a non-felony crime.

Monique R. Valdez, 27, of Elko was arrested May 17, 2023, at 540 S. Fifth St. for felony possession of a controlled substance, drug paraphernalia, driving without a drivers license, and operating an unregistered vehicle. Bail: $11,030
A new study suggests that increasing rates of induction of labor (IOL) of pregnant women and people in the UK, without considering the accompanying, real-world impact on staffing workloads and patient care, may have unintended consequences.

The study from City, University of London, the University of Edinburgh and others highlights the limited evidence around the delivery of home-based IOL services, which were seen as an important step to reducing maternity staff workload.

It finds large gaps in knowledge on how to deliver home-based care, with workload perceived to be increased in some cases, relative to hospital-based services.

Around one-third of pregnant women and people underwent IOL in the UK in 2021. Rates have surged in recent years due to new evidence on safety and efficacy, and vary considerably between maternity services, with some rates as high as fifty per-cent.

However, earlier this year, a survey reported by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) found that UK senior midwives are relying significantly on the goodwill of staff working extra hours to ensure safe services, amidst plummeting staff retention and recruitment rates that they say have reached "boiling point".

The RCM said that midwives are leaving the profession "because they cannot deliver the quality of care they so desperately want to because of their falling pay, and because they are exhausted, fragile and burnt-out."

IOL, or starting labor artificially, is offered when the risks of the pregnancy continuing are believed to outweigh the risks of artificially starting labor. For those deemed at lower risk, maternity services are offering this as an 'outpatient' service where the woman returns home in the first stage of induction, despite limited evidence on its acceptability to pregnant women, birth partners and maternity staff, and how different approaches work in practice.

The current study explored IOL from the perspectives of 73 clinicians: including 49 midwives, 22 obstetricians and two other maternity staff from five maternity services across the UK. Specifically, it investigated the recommended first stage of induction known as "cervical ripening" (CR) and the option of the pregnant person to return home from hospital during that process.

CR is either the use of topical medication (prostaglandin) or mechanical means (balloon catheter or osmotic dilator) to help dilate the pregnant person's cervix. Following this first stage, further steps are generally necessary to stimulate the onset of labor.

In the study, clinicians were either interviewed directly by the researchers or took part in focus groups to elicit their views, which then formed part of a thematic analysis to reveal common themes in their responses.

A wide range of practices and views regarding induction were recorded, suggesting that the integration of home CR into care is far from straightforward, and demonstrating that whether provided at hospital or home, IOL care is complex and represents a significant workload to maternity services staff.

The study follows closely on the heels of findings of a sister study which surveyed 309 women who had undergone IOL in the UK, and which was published earlier this month. The women reported receiving little information about IOL and being routinely impacted by delays at every stage of the care pathway, which they widely attributed to staffing shortages.

Professor Christine McCourt leads the Centre for Maternal and Child Health Research at City, University of London, and co-authored the study. She said:

"This study shows that well-intentioned interventions may have unintended consequences for quality of care and staff workload. Efforts are needed to target induction of labor effectively and ensure genuine informed choice; meanwhile, maternity services must be adequately resourced to ensure safe care."

The study is published online in the journal, PLOS ONE.
Produce such as lettuce and spinach is routinely tested for foodborne pathogenic bacteria like salmonella, listeria monocytogenes and pathogenic types of E. coli in an effort to protect consumers from getting sick.

Rapid testing of foods may occur, but it still takes time to figure out who is sick and from where the contaminated product originated. That's far too late for the many Americans who already ate the produce. The current solution, often a multi-state recall, then becomes damage control.

University of Delaware researchers want to spot these bacteria before anyone ever falls ill. As detailed in an article published in the Journal of Food Safety, UD and Delaware-based startup Biospection are about to speed up testing -; a lot. Faculty members Harsh Bais and Kali Kniel, alongside former graduate student Nick Johnson, teamed up with Andy Ragone of Biospection to detect foodborne pathogens in three to six hours.

A microbiologist by trade, Kniel is an expert on crossover pathogens like salmonella, which gleefully jump to new hosts like that delicious, fresh lettuce.

"While the produce industry is working diligently to reduce risks associated with microbial contamination, tools like this have incredible potential to improve risk reduction strategies," said Kniel, professor of microbial food safety who works regularly with industry and government agencies to reduce risk of foodborne illness. "Collaborations like ours between academics and biotechnology companies can enhance technology and impact food safety and public health."

These pathogens easily find their way into plants, which are unfortunately very welcoming hosts -; hosts that can't tell you where their guests are.

Just like humans, plants use defense mechanisms to fight disease. But some human-borne pathogens learned to push open a plant's open-entry gates called stomates -; pores in the leaves or stem -; and make themselves at home.

Because these bacteria are not true pathogens for plants, you cannot physically see early signs that the plant is under stress. Biospection's technology allows us to say, very quickly, if the opportunistic human pathogen is present in the plant." Harsh Bais, UD professor of plant biology

As a chemical physicist working in Wilmington, Ragone got to know Kniel and Bais through Delaware's scientific community and lab equipment sharing. A relationship built over time, culminating when Kniel, Bais and Ragone applied for and received research funding from a Delaware Biotechnology Institute Center for Advanced Technology (CAT) grant for scientific technology and intellectual property.

The researchers married their interdisciplinary expertise to reduce the risk of foodborne illness, a task that industry and academic researchers struggled with for many years. The result? The team created a multi-spectral imaging platform to look at plant sentinel response. A goal is to use this technique directly on a conveyor, scanning your lettuce before it ever heads to the grocery store.

So how do you see a symptom that you can't see? The researchers' technique scans leaves via multispectral imaging and deep UV sensing when the plant is attracting these pathogens. When the researchers looked at benign bacteria, they observed little change. But, with harmful, human-borne pathogens, the test can spot differences in the plant under attack.

"Using listeria as an example, in three to six hours, we see a sharp drop of chlorophyll pigments," Bais said. "That's a strong signal that the plant is responding physiologically -; a marker of unusual bacteria."

The new, multi-spectral imaging technique is non-invasive, and lightning fast compared to current tests, where a lab scientist extracts a leaf, grinds it up, plates the bacteria and looks for disease. The current method is not commercially available, but Biospection was awarded a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research grant in 2022 to develop and commercialize it into a real time imaging sensor to inspect plants for disease and other stresses.

"Harsh and Kali were certainly instrumental in the techniques that we developed with multi-spectral imaging and the use of deep ultraviolet fluorescence," said Ragone, founder and chief technology officer of Biospection. "We built a portable instrument that could be commercialized."

Vertical farming is an agricultural sector that stands to reap the benefits of this new technology. Using less water and less space, vertical farms are a vital step towards more sustainable agriculture. But when it comes to disease, these farms are just as vulnerable as traditional, outdoor agriculture. An incidence of E. coli means a vertical farm must throw away an entire harvest.

Biospection is already working with agricultural companies to embed the imaging sensor into vertical farms' shelves and, for outdoor farms, crop drones.

"Working with UD, we've laid the scientific foundation to create better instruments," Ragone said. "We're working toward an instrument that's portable, automated and can give an answer in a matter of seconds."

For future research, Bais has his eye on determining if this technology can differentiate between different microbes.

"If the sentinel response is different from one microbe to the other, that gives us the identity of the microbe based on plant sentinel response. We haven't gone there yet, but that would be the ultimate achievement," Bais said. "In one sentinel, then you could differentiate between what benign and harmful microbes does this in terms of one sentinel."
NYU Grossman School of Medicine celebrated the achievements of 111 new doctors at its graduation ceremony on Wednesday, May 17, at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. The graduates, bound for residencies at some of the top programs in the country, received their Doctor of Medicine degrees and recited the Hippocratic Oath as they begin their careers.

Robert I. Grossman, MD, dean of NYU Grossman School of Medicine and CEO of NYU Langone Health, told the Class of 2023 to savor the joy of medicine, adding, "Each of you will contribute meaningfully to the health of our world. All of you can find purpose in your chosen field. There is nothing more honorable than being responsible for another person's health or wellbeing."

About the ceremony

In the keynote address, Linda G. Mills, president-designate of NYU, shared with the graduates the most powerful lessons that she learned from her late father, a cardiologist.

The timeless messages of precision, dedication, listening, paying attention, and perhaps most important of all, acting rather than doing nothing; these lessons are ever more pressing in our post-COVID world. With your outstanding training, your healing superpowers, and your well-honed emotional intelligence, you are ready to meet the challenge of doing much more than mending a broken bone." Linda G. Mills, president-designate of NYU

Mills was named the 17th president of NYU in February by a unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees; she begins her tenure in July. Currently NYU's vice chancellor and senior vice provost for global programs and university life, Mills is also the Lisa Ellen Goldberg Professor of Social Work, Public Policy, and Law, and is the executive director of the NYU Center on Violence and Recovery.

Also making remarks were Anthony J. Grieco, MD, associate dean for alumni relations and academic events, and Kenneth G. Langone, chair of the NYU Langone Board of Trustees, and Joachner Philippe, MD, who gave the student address. Additionally, Elaine A. Langone and Elisabeth J. Cohen, MD, professor of ophthalmology, were recognized as honorary alumnae.

About the class of 2023

The Class of 2023 entered NYU Grossman School of Medicine one year after the school announced it would offer Full-Tuition Scholarships to all current and future students in the MD degree program. During their time at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the school also introduced need-based Debt-Free Scholarships to cover the financial need of students beyond tuition. Last year, the school began to cover the cost of an individual health insurance plan for all students.

Twenty of the graduating students participated in the three-year MD pathway, an accelerated track for a select group of eligible students who have already been guaranteed acceptance into an NYU Grossman School of Medicine residency program. Also of note, 24 students completed a dual MD/master's degree program:
Teenage boys are twice as likely as girls to die by suicide, and, when boys become men, they are three times more likely than women to die by suicide.

After years on the frontline of teaching and observing, first-hand, a decline in teenage mental health, a teacher has warned that we need to deal better with male anger, friendships, and attitudes towards sex in order to combat the male suicide crisis.

Official statistics for England, Scotland, and Wales show that in 2020, 264 people aged 1019 died by suicide  72% of these were boys. In England, suicide is the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45. They are three times more likely than women to die by suicide.

While statistics surrounding male suicide paint a bleak picture of the future of boys in our schools, teacher Matt Pinkett thinks all is not lost.

What can be done?

Pinkett has gathered evidence from teachers and school staff, wellbeing experts and therapists to create a powerful guide to helping boys, in Boys Do Cry, released next month.

The practical and engaging guide, backed up by the latest research from the fields of psychology and education, suggests that teachers must stop stigmatizing anger and instead help angry boys understand the neurological and physiological reasons for their feelings.

Anger isn't an inherently bad thing and telling boys it is just leads to shame and hiding away. Instead, how about we teach them that anger is a feeling as natural as joy or sadness, and give them ways to manage it and the words to talk about it?" Matt Pinkett

He also suggests that teachers need to make loving, male relationships the norm, and to assume that every social interaction that takes place in a classroom is being watched and internalized.

He advises male teachers to compliment male colleagues openly, to talk lovingly about other people, and praise and salute male emotional vulnerability wherever and whenever possible.

"I am not suggesting that we should ever try to be therapists  that would never work," Pinkett explains, "but the fact is that we are in front of these children for massive chunks of their life. If we can speak positively about male emotions and demonstrate ways of dealing with problematic feelings, that would be a powerful thing."

Talking isn't enough

In Boys Do Cry, Pinkett advocates the benefits of the 'bromance', suggesting that teachers and schools harness this relatively recent phenomenon of male-to-male relationships. He argues that in teaching boys about bromances, teachers can equip young men with the skills to actively listen and display compassion and affection towards each other.

He suggests teachers can help facilitate emotional connection between boys and help build friendships that are supportive.

He explains: "The problem isn't encouraging young men to talk  it's teaching their peers to listen. Research suggests boys don't listen as well as girls. There is so much conversation about encouraging boys and men to speak up, but are we teaching them how to support each other through listening effectively?"

Demonstrated through research and case studies, Pinkett argues that boys crave emotional intimacy and the freedom to express themselves without being mocked, but that toxic ideas about masculinity are preventing these fruitful peer relationships.

"We need to teach boys to be kind, and that it is OK to be vulnerable and emotionally articulate," he says.

Benefit to society

With his research-backed tools and tips, Pinkett hopes the book will give teachers confidence to engage with really difficult topics  to the benefit of all.

"This isn't just a problem for teenage boys. If we can teach these boys to get rid of those harmful and outdated expectations of what it means to be a man, all of society will be better off," Pinkett says. "It is only through education of young people that the scourge of male-on-female sexual abuse, assault, and harassment can be eradicated."

Boys Do Cry examines key research on factors impacting boys' mental health, including topics such as body image, pornography and self-harm, and provides teachers with practical strategies to start enacting positive change.

With his extensive research, he has created advice on intervening when a child may be in danger, to tips on how to set up group working so friendships can be made while learning.

"This isn't about turning teachers into therapists," Pinkett adds, "It's just about being brave enough to intervene and give boys a chance to learn another way of being."
Researchers from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine are hoping a first-of-its-kind "glyco-immune" checkpoint inhibitor could be the key to stopping bone cancer metastasis for breast cancer survivors.

Breast cancer often migrates to other organs. As many as 40% of breast cancer survivors are diagnosed with metastatic cancer, sometimes years after their initial treatment. Bone metastasis is involved in more than two-thirds of those cases, and bone metastatic lesions are known to "seed" metastatic cancer in other organs of the body.

Rice chemist Han Xiao and Baylor biologist Xiang Zhang have identified a new way to train patients' immune systems to specifically target and kill bone metastatic cancer. Thanks to a $2.3 million Breakthrough II award from the Breast Cancer Research Program of the Department of Defense's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, they'll be able to further test the technology and see if it warrants development for human clinical trials.

Xiao said metastatic bone cancer eats away at patients' skeletons, leaving them prone to fractures that often require surgery.

"For bone metastasis right now, unfortunately there's no cure," said Xiao, who joined Rice in 2017 with funding from theCancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). "It is a terribly painful disease. Patients endure many fractures and surgeries. Better and more effective treatments are badly needed."

The therapy Xiao and Zhang are developing is an innovative new checkpoint inhibitor, a type of immunotherapy drug that was pioneered by James Allison at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Cancer often evades attack by the body's immune system by co-opting regulatory systems that dampen immune response. Checkpoint inhibitors are drugs that block this evasion. They target immune-damping proteins on the surface of cancer cells, allowing the immune system to recognize cancer and mark it for destruction by immune T-cells.

Checkpoint inhibitors have been a game-changer for the treatment of some cancers, including some forms of breast cancer. But currently approved checkpoint inhibitors have so far proven ineffective at treating metastatic bone cancer, Xiao said.

Bone is a really immunosuppressive environment. T-cell proliferation is lower, and it is very hard to stimulate the T-cells. That's why we needed to find a marker, an immune checkpoint marker, that was specific to the bone." Han Xiao, Rice Chemist

Unlike other checkpoint inhibitors, which target immune-suppressing proteins, Xiao and Zhang's therapy targets a specific glycoprotein, a molecule that's part protein and part sugar.

Glycoprotein conjugates are abundant in nature, and they are one of Xiao's specialties. A chemical biologist, his research group focuses on both cancer immunology and glycobiology to understand the interface between cancer and immunity.

Xiao and Zhang previously identified the glycoprotein as a glyco-immune checkpoint target that was prevalent in metastatic bone cancer cells. They developed a drug that binds with the glycoprotein, and it proved remarkably effective in preliminary tests. In the first animal tests on a small sample of rodents, for example, the treatment eradicated cancer from some animals.

"Our study will, for the first time, reveal how a blockade of the glyco-immune checkpoint in bone may impede bone metastasis and subsequent multiorgan metastases," said Zhang, interim director of Baylor's Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center and a member of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Xiao is a Norman Hackerman-Welch Young Investigator, a CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research and an assistant professor of chemistry, bioengineering and biosciences at Rice. Zhang is a William T. Butler Endowed Chair for Distinguished Faculty at Baylor, a McNair Scholar and a professor of molecular and cellular biology.
A day after the government amended the foreign exchange management rules to apply 20% TCS on foreign remittances through the RBIs liberalised remittance scheme (LRS), the finance ministry has issued the clarification in the form of (FAQs) frequently asked questions. As per the latest rules, forex spending through international credit cards will also be covered under the LRS.

Under the liberalised remittance scheme, all resident individuals (including minors) are allowed to freely remit up to $2,50,000 in a financial year (April-March) for any permissible current or capital account transaction or a combination of both.

The e-Gazette notification dated 16th May 2023 omits Rule 7 of the FEM(CAT) Rules, 2000. Here are the Frequently Asked Questions #FAQs w.r.t. Tax Collection at Source (TCS) on foreign remittance through the Liberalised Remittance Scheme. @RBI (1/2) pic.twitter.com/CLJyHQh5ub Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) May 18, 2023

Heres the governments clarification on new credit card LRS rule and the TCS changes:

Tax Collected at Source (TCS) Already There on Debit Card

While on a visit abroad, a person could use international debit cards or other methods or international credit cards for undertaking current account transactions. Payments by debit cards etc. have been treated as LRS even earlier. By bringing TCS on Credit Card, it plugs the loophole

Due to the exemption under erstwhile Rule 7, expenditures through credit cards were not accounted for under the specified LRS limit, which has led to some individuals exceeding the LRS limits

Data collected from top money remitters under LRS reveals that international credit cards are being issued with limits in excess of the present LRS limit of USD 2,50,000. The differential treatment between debit cards and credit cards needed to be removed in the interest of uniformity and equity in the treatment of modes of drawal of foreign exchange and for capturing total expenditures under LRS for prudent foreign exchange management and to prevent by-passing of LRS limits

RBI had written to the government on more than one occasion, pointing to the need to remove this differential treatment

Under the LRS, in the financial year 2021-22, a total of USD 19.61 billion was remitted, rising from USD 12.68 billion in 2020-21. In 2022-23, it rose to more than USD 24.0 billion, of which overseas travel accounted for more than half

Instances have come to notice where the LRS payments are disproportionately high when compared to the disclosed incomes

TCS is like TDS, it is NOT a final burden of TAX. One can claim it as Refund while filing ITR

TCS Will Not Be Deducted

Will NOT apply on the payments for purchase of foreign goods/services from India such as newspapers or online streaming services

Will NOT apply on Company/Business trips (IT sector employees unaffected)

Will Not apply on the payments for Education & Medical purposes

top videos

Applicability
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

ELKO  Elko County Commissioners decided to write to U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., to signal their concerns about his reintroduction of an economic development bill that affects oil and gas leasing in the Ruby Mountains without reaching out to them, but Amodei disagreed about their concerns.

We consulted with everybody in Elko County last year, including county commissioners. It was part of the Fallon expansion, and everybody was in favor, so unless Elko County has changed its mind in the last 12 months about no oil and gas drilling in that part of the Ruby Mountains then, you know what, we were just going with what the countys position was 12 months ago, Amodei said.

We had consultations up the ying yang, he said in a May 18 call. We dont write bills without consulting with counties.

The bill he reintroduced has the same points in it as the one proposed last year, but only the U.S. Navys Fallon testing grounds expansion and Lander County land portions passed and were signed into law.

The Northern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act of 2023 would remove the possibility of any oil and gas leasing on more than 300,000 acres of the Ruby Mountains in Elko County and create 150,000 acres of wilderness in northern Nevada, while identifying less than 40,000 acres for economic development.

Assistant County Manager and Natural Resources Director Curtis Moore said Amodeis proposal is for land just outside the current wilderness area in the Rubies as a compromise toward getting federal land transfers for development.

The new bill would also convey federal lands to Douglas and Pershing counties, the cities of Fernley and Sparks, and the Incline Village General Improvement District.

Commissioner Delmo Andreozzi said on May 17 the horsetrading doesnt come close to the 300,000 acres affected in Elko County, and he said he didnt know if the Rubies are conducive to mineral extraction. He also said this was the first time he had heard about Amodeis bill.

Commissioner Jon Karr said he was surprised that Amodei, someone weve supported, didnt have a representative get a hold of us. He said that was disturbing and disappointing.

Commissioner Travis Gerber said the letter should ask the congressman to consult with Elko County on bills that include lands in the county.

Amodei said his new bill will go to the House public lands subcommittee, and he expects a hearing before the August recess.

Were trying to get it heard and marked up in September, he said, also stating that he will send details of the previous bill to Elko County Manager Amanda Osborne to show that Elko County and the other counties involved wanted the proposals.

Andreozzi also brought up a bill by U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., that affects the Ruby Mountains.

Her Senate bill that would protect the Ruby Mountains from oil and gas leasing also is pending in Congress. She announced on May 17 that her bills to protect Lake Tahoe and the Ruby Mountains won approval in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Wipro Buyback: IT major Wipro share buyback program presents an opportunity for short-term traders and investors to profit by participating in the same. The 12,000 crore buyback of the IT major is seen as a smart opportunity for investors to make a quick buck.

Wipro Buyback Details

The buyback issue from the countrys third largest software exporter is likely to open in June-end and was announced last month. It includes a buyback of 26.97 crore shares from its shareholders on a proportionate basis through a tender offer at a price of Rs 445 per share.

The buyback will lead to the extinguishment of 4.91 per cent shares of the company and 15 per cent of the issue will be reserved for the retail shareholders with holdings worth less than Rs 2 lakh.

Market analysts expect an acceptance ratio of around 40 per cent in the retail category and up to 15 per cent in the non-retail segment on the basis of shareholding data. However, the entitlement right will be clearer on the final letter for the offer is out in the public domain.

Retail acceptance is likely to be around 40 per cent (4.04 crore shares), while general acceptance is seen at 4.2 per cent (22.92 crore shares), suggests a report from IIFL Securities. Members of the promoter and promoter group of the company have indicated their intention to participate in the proposed buyback," it said.

However, the IT major has not yet announced the record date, timeline, and other details of the offer. As of now, Wipro is currently conducting an e-voting of shareholders to seek approval for the buyback. The outcome would be declared on June 3, following which the company will release the timeline of the buyback offer.

After completing the share buyback, it would have around $1.5bn of cash, said Yes Securities, which remains neutral on the stock with a target price of Rs 413 apiece.

What do market experts say?

Analysts at ICICI Securities believe that the acceptance ratio in the share buyback could be as high as 60 per cent or even higher, considering almost 100 per cent acceptance ratio seen for small investors in the last buyback offer in 2020.

This is a high risk trade in which the acceptance ratio continuously varies. We have arrived at a breakeven price of Rs 290 per share based on assumption of 60 per cent acceptance ratio. We do believe that acceptance ratio is likely to be north of 60 per cent, considering almost 100 per cent acceptance ratio seen for small investors in the last buyback offer in 2020., ICICI Securities said in a note

top videos

Emkay Global Financial Services has also recommended clients buy Wipro at the current market price and tender at Rs 445 in the offer period. We expect acceptance ratio to be between 10-15 per cent (non-retail) considering 25-50 per cent tendering by large shareholders, the brokerage said.

Wipros previous buyback was worth Rs 9,500 crore and was carried between December 29, 2020, to January 11, 2021.
The results of the Kerala Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC or Class 10) board exam 2023 will be released today, May 19 at 3 PM. The official websites keralapareekshabhavan.in, keralaresults.nic.in, sslcexam.kerala.gov.in, and results.nic.in will allow students to view their results.

Kerala SSLC Class 10 result 2023 Live Updates

The Kerala Board of Public Examinations (KBPE) conducted the exams and approximately 4,19,554 students appeared for the Kerala SSLC exam 2023 at various exam centers in Kerala. To check their result, students will need to provide their roll number and date of birth in the result login window.

Kerala SSLC Class 10 Result 2023: Passing Marks

In order to pass the Kerala SSLC Class 10 examinations, students must achieve a minimum of 33 per cent marks in each subject as well as in the overall aggregate. The performance of students in the SSLC Class Examination, which took place from March 9 to March 29, 2023, will be used to determine their marks. The final results for the same will be calculated based on the aggregate marks obtained by the students.

Kerala SSLC Class 10 Result 2023: Details Mentioned on Marksheet

- Students Name

- Registration Number

- School Name

- Date of Birth

- Gender

- List of Subjects (codes and names)

- Marks Scored (subject-wise and total marks)

- Qualifying Status (Pass or Fail)

Following the declaration of the Kerala SSLC Class 10 results 2023, students dissatisfied with their marks will have the opportunity to apply for re-evaluation. The registration process for re-evaluation will open in July 2023 on the official website. To initiate the re-evaluation process, students will be required to pay a non-refundable fee. It is important to note that once the fee is paid, no refunds will be granted under any circumstances. After the re-evaluation, the results of the Kerala SSLC 10th Exam 2023 will be deemed final, and any further objections against the re-evaluation wont be taken into consideration.

top videos

The KBPE board also organizes supplementary exams for students who did not pass the Kerala SSLC exams. The results of the Kerala SSLC supplementary exams are expected to be announced tentatively in July 2023. After the declaration of the Supplementary SSLC results Kerala 2023, students will be able to access their results online through the official website.
The results of the Kerala Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC or Class 10) board exam 2023 will be released today at 3 PM. About 4,19,554 students took the exam and they will be able to view their results at sslcexam.kerala.gov.in and keralapareekshabhavan.in once it is released. Students can check and download their SSLC result 2023 by using their roll number and date of birth in the login window. It is to be noted that the online Kerala 10th result will consist of the total marks, grades, and pass-fail status of the candidate.

Kerala Class 10 Result 2023: Previous Years Pass Percentage

2022: About 4,23,303 students appeared for the exam and the overall pass percentage was 99.26 per cent.

2021: A total of 4,22,226 candidates wrote the Class 10 exam and the overall pass percentage recorded was 99.47.

2020: There were about 4,22,000 students who appeared for the Kerala SSLC exam. The overall pass percentage was 98.82 per cent.

2019: Around 4,34,729 candidates appeared for the Kerala Class 10 exam and that year the overall pass percentage was 98.11 per cent.

2018: Approximately 4,41,103 students sat for the state Class 10 board exam. In that year, the overall pass percentage was 97.84 percent.

Kerala SSLC Result 2023: Steps to Download

Step 1: Visit sslcexam.kerala.gov.in

Step 2: Click on the link that reads  Kerala SSLC Result 2023

Step 3: Then login to the portal using the credentials such as roll number and date of birth.

Step 4: The Kerala SSLC Result 2023 will appear on the screen.

top videos

Step 5: Check all the details mentioned and download it.

Students need to secure a minimum of 33 per cent marks in every subject to pass the Kerala SSLC examination. The Kerala SSLC Result 2023 will mention details such as the Students Name, Gender, Registration Number, School Name, List of Subjects (codes and names), Date of Birth, Total Marks Scored (subject-wise and total marks), and Qualifying Status (Pass or Fail). In case of any mistake in the SSLC result 2023, students are advised to inform the school authorities immediately.
Step 1: Go to the Tamil Nadu Board official website tnresults.nic.in

Step 2: On the homepage, click on TN 11th result link 2023.

Step 3: On the redirected page, key in the exam roll number and date of birth.

Step 4: Post submitting the details, class 11th mark sheet 2023 will open up on the screen.

Step 5: Go through the same and cross-check the details.

Step 6: Take its printout for future reference.
The Tamil Nadu Directorate of Government Exams (TNDGE) has released the result for the SSLC or class 10 examinations today, May 19, 2023, at 10 am. The announcement from TNDGE states that the results for TN SSLC will be declared by the Minister of School Education, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, through a press conference to be held at the Anna Centenary Library.

TN SSLC 10th, Tamil Nadu +1 Result 2023 Live Updates

Following the announcement, direct links to access the results will be activated on the official websites - tnresults.nic.in and dge.tn.gov.in.

Students who have appeared for the exams can visit these websites to check their class 10th results.

If a students score falls below 35 per cent, they will be required to reappear for the examination. Those who fail one or more subjects can apply for the compartmental exams. The Tamil Nadu Class 10 compartment exams are likely to take place in June or July, as per the 2023 information bulletin. Candidates who could pass any paper at all will have to repeat a year.

Students who are dissatisfied with their scores will have the option to apply for re-evaluation. The purpose of revaluation is to potentially achieve higher scores. The TN 10th re-evaluation form 2023 will be available the day after the initial results are released. Candidates will have to wait for approximately a month for the Tamil Nadu Board Class 10th re-evaluation result to be declared. Once the re-evaluation results for Class 10th Result 2023 are announced, students can download the revised scorecards.

The exams were conducted from April 6 to 20 across the state for the academic year 2023. A total of 9,38,291 students appeared for the SSLC exam, with 5.01 lakh male students and 4.75 lakh female students awaiting their results.

As many as 93.76 per cent of students passed class 12th board exams and 90 per cenyt had passed class 10th exams in Tamil Nadu. The pass percentage had seen a fall in both classes 10 and 12 last year.
The results for the class 10 SSLC examination 2023 in Tamil Nadu, conducted by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Government Examinations (TNDGE), will be announced today, May 19 at 10 AM. The Minister of School Education for Tamil Nadu, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, will hold a press conference at the Dr MGR Centenary Building, located in the Professor Anbazhagan Educational Complex, to officially release the class 10 results.

TN SSLC 10th, Tamil Nadu +1 Result 2023 Live Updates

The results will be made available on the official websites of the board, including dge.tn.gov.in and tnresults.nic.in. The SSLC examination 2023 saw a participation of 9,38,291 students, comprising 5.01 lakh male students and 4.75 lakh female students who registered for the exam.

In order to view the TN SSLC result, students will be required to input their roll number and additional details on the result portal. It is recommended that students keep their admit cards handy to ensure the accuracy of the provided credentials before entering them into the portal.

TAMIL NADU BOARD SSLC 10TH RESULTS 2022: HOW TO CHECK ONLINE

Step 1: Visit the TNDGE official website, either at dge.tn.gov.in or tnresults.nic.in.

Step 2: Select the TN SSLC result 2023 link on the TNDGE homepage.

Step 3: After getting redirected to a new page, enter the required information, including your roll number and birthdate, and then click submit.

Step 4: A screen will show the TN SSLC result for 2023.

Step 5: Keep a printout of the TN class 12 result for future records after downloading the mark sheet.

TAMIL NADU BOARD SSLC 10TH RESULTS 2023: HOW TO CHECK VIA SMS

Step 1: Open the Messages app on your mobile.

Step 2: Compose a new message and type the following message: TNBOARD10 followed by registration number and birth date.

Step 3: Send the message to the number 9282232585.

Step 4: You will receive an SMS with the Tamil Nadu Board SSLC Result 2023 on your mobile number.

TAMIL NADU BOARD SSLC 10TH RESULTS 2023: HOW TO CHECK VIA DIGILOCKER

Step 1: Visit digilocker.gov.in or download the DigiLocker app from the Play Store.

Step 2: To register for an account, click the Sign up" option.

Step 3: If the user already exists, log in with their credentials.

Step 4: After that, search for and select the Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education" option.

Step 5: Enter your Class 10 roll number, birth date, and other information. then select Get Document" from the menu.

Step 6: The TN SSLC 2023 Result will show up on the screen.

top videos

Step 7: Download the TN board class 10 result and save a printout for future records.

Students who have cleared the TN Class 10 examination but are dissatisfied with their scores have the option to apply for re-evaluation. The purpose of revaluation is to potentially achieve higher scores. The TN 10th Revaluation Form 2023 will be available the day after the initial results are released. Candidates will have to wait for approximately a month for the Tamil Nadu Board Class 10th re-evaluation result to be declared. Once the re-evaluation results for Class 10th Result 2023 are announced, students can download the revised scorecards.
The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) has announced the results of class 10th students. Students are advised to visit the official website of West Bengal Board wbbse.wb.gov.in and wbresults.nic.in to check their results. Students have to use their date of birth and roll number as their login credentials.

WB 10th Result 2023 LIVE Updates

This year the pass percentage of WB Madhyamik students stands at 86.15 percent. This year 118 candidates have secured their places in the top 10 positions. With 697 marks, Devadutta Majhi topped the WB Board results. The board will soon declare the dates for re-evaluation and supplementary examination. It is advised to the WB students to stay updated and regularly check the official websites of the Madhyamik WB board.

Around 6,98,628 candidates appeared in the Madhyamik Class 10 state board exam in 2023, said WBBSE in its notification. Notably, the number of WB Board candidates appearing in the exam dropped significantly by 36.41 per cent. In 2022, 10,98,775 candidates gave the Class 10th Board exam.

WB 10th Result 2023: How to check result online?

Step 1: Open your preferred web browser and visit the official website wbresults.nic.in.

Step 2: On the homepage, locate and click on the link labelled West Bengal Madhyamik Result 2023 WB Board.

Step 3: Once you click on the link, you will be directed to the result page.

Step 4: Fill in the required information, including your Roll number and Date of Birth, in the designated fields.

Step 5: After providing the necessary details, click on the Submit button.

Step 6: The WB Madhyamik Result 2023 will be promptly displayed on your screen.

Step 7: For future reference, you may choose to either print a hard copy of the result or capture a screenshot.

top videos

In 2022, the pass percentage for the Madhyamik exams, or WBBSE 10th board exams, was 86.60 per cent. This marked a decline from 2021 when 100 per cent of students cleared the exam. In 2020, the pass percentage was recorded as 86.34 per cent, while it was higher at 88.87 per cent in 2019.
The five Congress guarantees in Karnataka did the trick electorally. Now, the freebie promise is being replicated in other poll-bound states by the party, with former chief minister Kamal Nath rolling out a series of guarantees in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh.

For 18 years as the Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan did nothing. Nobody trusts Shivraj. That is the bottom-line," Kamal Nath told News18 amid his ongoing whirlwind tour of the state to speak about these promises.

Nath on Thursday announced that 100 units of electricity will be free and half the charges will be taken till 200 units for all in the state if the Congress comes to power later this year. 100 units tak maaf, 200 tak half, Shivraj sarkar saaf, the former CM said.

The second big guarantee that Nath has promised is that women in the state will get Rs 1,500 per month from the government without any pre-conditions.

In Karnataka too the Congress promised 200 units of free electricity and Rs 2,000 to the woman head of every household  which seems to have swung women voters its way. Nath has gone a step ahead in Madhya Pradesh and also promised that an LPG gas cylinder price would be capped at Rs 500, with the state government footing the rest of the cost, which could mean a consumer saving nearly Rs 600 on an LPG cylinder refill.

top videos

Among other guarantees, Nath has promised the rollout of the Old Pension Scheme that proved to be a game-changer for the party in Himachal Pradesh earlier. He has also promised to re-start the farm loan waiver, which he claims was left incomplete after his government was dislodged due to the rebellion by Jyotiraditya Scindia.

The BJP is attacking such promises to be unfeasible given the fiscal burden these will put on the public exchequer to the tune of over Rs 50,000 crore annually. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is also citing how Kamal Nath went back on his earlier promise to give an unemployment allowance after he became the CM. Chouhan is citing his new CM Sikho Kamao Yojana in which unemployed youngsters will be trained and given stipend of Rs 8,000-Rs 10,000 during the same.
Read more

with the Governor, who invited them to form the government.

I am in receipt of your letter dated 18th May, 2023 staking claim to form the government, the Governor said in a communication to newly-elected CLP leader Siddaramaiah, after their meeting.

I invite you to take oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka and D.K. Shivakumar to take oath as Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka along with team members. The oath ceremony will take place at 12.30 p.m. on May 20, 2023, in Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru, read the communication, a copy of which has also been sent to Shivakumar.

Ending days of suspense, the Congress central leadership earlier on Thursday announced that Siddaramaiah would be the chief minister, while state party chief D K Shivakumar would be his only deputy in the soon-to-formed cabinet.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who were in a tight race for the top post, will take oath tomorrow at 12.30 PM along with a group of ministers-designate.

The hectic parleys, to help break the logjam over the top post in Karnataka, continued from Monday and went on till the wee hours of Thursday, as both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar presented their cases before the top brass.

The leadership issue in Karnataka lingered as Shivakumar had dug his heels in and asserted that he be made the chief minister as the party staged a stunning victory in the southern state under his presidency.

Sources said after Rahul Gandhi told both the leaders to sit together and work out a solution with Kharge, it was the party chief who told the duo to hold talks with Venugopal and Surjewala, and sort out the differences and agree to Siddaramaiah as the chief minister, whose leadership abilities and mass support helped him clinch the top post.

The decision, sources said, was chalked out in the wee hours of Thursday when all parties agreed to accommodate confidantes of both the leaders and asked Shivakumar to continue on the post of state Congress chief till next years parliamentary elections.

To maintain his number two position in the Karnataka government, Shivakumar was made the only deputy chief minister.

However, Congress headache of power distribution may be far from over with the announcement of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. As per sources, there will be about 15 ministers who too will take the oath to office along with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.

But balancing power and ensuring all castes and communities are represented may not be easy. Rahul Gandhi had told Kharge that Muslims, SC/ST and women who had voted for the party in huge numbers, must be represented, they said.

The problem is that leaders G Parmeshwara and MB Patil, who have been openly disgruntled after losing the race for the top post, will expect meaty portfolios in their kitty. Meanwhile, Shivakumar, to maintain his position of second tallest leader in the Karnataka government, will also expect important ministries under him.

In the May 10 elections to the 224-member Assembly, the Congress scored an emphatic victory by bagging 135 seats, while the ruling BJP and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) secured 66 and 19 seats respectively.
Fahmaan Khan is likely to participate in the upcoming season of Bigg Boss OTT. If a recent report by India Forums is to be belived, Fahmaan has been approached for the reality show. However, he has not confirmed his participation yet.

This comes at a time when Fahmaan Khans Dharampatni is all set to go off-air soon. Reportedly, the actor will be shooting for the last episode of the show on May 20 which will then air on June 9.

Everything needs to come to an end at some point. Its not necessary that a show should run for three, four, five years. Everything comes to an end and I am glad it gave me what I wanted. I could do what I wanted to. I could bring out Ravis emotions in the way I could. I got a chance to prove myself in another character. It is disheartening to leave Ravi and it is disheartening that I will not meet the other characters that are there in the show but I am ready to embrace, accept it and move on. Its the same as Ive done in the past," Fahmaan recently told E-Times while talking about Dharampatni coming to an end.

Meanwhile, the latest reports suggest that the shooting of Bigg Boss OTT 2 will begin by the end of this month. Reportedly, not Karan Johar but Salman Khan will be hosting the reality show this time and will begin shooting for it on May 29. The reports also claim that Bigg Boss OTT 2 will go on for six weeks.

Earlier, it was also reported that Sushmita Sens brother Rajeev Sen has also been approaced for Bigg Boss OTT 2. Besides him, stand-up comedian and Lock Upp season one winner Munawar Faruqui has also been reportedly roped in for Bigg Boss OTT 2. Archana Gautams brother Gulshan is also likely to participate. However, no name has been officially announcement as of now.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

ELKO  Far from home, Miriam Bremmer Alva decided to earn a college degree while living in an expatriate community in Saudi Arabia.

Since 2012, Alva has lived in the Eastern Province Arabia  nearly 7,900 miles away  and decided to search for a degree program that was 100% online.

I looked at many colleges and universities claiming to be, but none of them were completely online or had a program that stood out to me, Alva recalled.

Then she found Great Basin College, an accredited institution that checked all the important boxes and discovered it had an Associates of Applied Science program for Early Childhood Education.

Once I connected with Lynette Macfarlan, the program director who became my adviser and my mentor, there was honestly no question about needing to look any further.

After finding her school, Alva then learned where GBC was located.

I had never heard of Elko prior to finding GBC, she said. I had no idea where it was, even in relation to Las Vegas!

On Saturday morning, Alva, 44, will walk onto the Great Basin College campus in Elko for the first time and receive her diploma, wearing her Phi Theta Kappa sash that represents her 3.9 GPA and all the hard work that it took to earn her academic honors.

One of the challenges was not having in-person or face-to-face time with her instructors and other students, she said. As an online distance student, you dont have as much access to raise your hand and ask questions, or paring up with a fellow peer and connect with them like in a traditional classroom.

Another challenge was taking proctored exams online that had to be scheduled to accommodate the 10-hour time difference between Saudi Arabia and Elko.

These memories stand out to me the most because my husband and son would anxiously wait in another room in the house until I finished testing to celebrate with me or console me.

Alvas support system included her 14-year-old son Matthew King and her adoring husband Douglas, a passionate second-grade teacher.

Her family will be in attendance at GBC when Alva receives her diploma. I am Mexican American and the first in my family to graduate college, she said.

This degree is a gift for me, Alva explained. Even though its a piece of paper, the level of effort and sacrifice it took to obtain it is a demonstration to the self-persona that doubts what one can accomplish with hard work and dedication.

Alvas hard work paid off, and she was inducted into the PTK honor society. She said she was unable to attend the ceremony online due to the time difference, but has the certificate framed in her home and "proudly wears PTK gear.

After completing her degree officially in December, Alva traveled to Egypt to celebrate, taking pictures with her sash and graduation cap in front of the pyramids.

Of course, I would have loved to show more support through volunteering and at events to serve the community, but as we all know, we cant be in two places at once.

Alva said she has volunteered in her local kindergarten through fourth-grade classroom, which was where she completed her practicum hours last fall. I cant get enough of the joy working with children gives me.

Now she is in talks with the assistant principal of the school in her area and hopes for an opening to work in early childhood on a more consistent basis.

For students looking for an online program, Alva has some advice for them in the research stage and as a student.

The first is for people to find out which degree programs are online that align with their end-goals, and create a pros and cons list. Figure out if you identify more with the pros so that the cons become just the little strings attached.

After starting classes, Alva recommends students reach out to professors if theres something they dont understand. Dont hesitate to check in and ask follow-up questions. Staying organized is also important and becoming familiar with any and all resources available and use them.

Alva also advises to lean on your support system. Whether its friends, family, co-workers or your advisers.

Dont shy away from letting others be involved in your journey. Allow yourself to feel vulnerable with them when youre frustrated or nervous about a paper or exam, or even need a little help with a subject or whatever it may be.

Remember, no one is really self-made. We all depend on someone to help us succeed and, honestly, it is a beautiful feeling to share our successes with others.
The Centre has changed the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) guidelines to include international credit card purchases made outside of India in the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS). Furthermore, from July 1, spending on overseas credit cards will be subject to a 20% Tax Collected at Source (TCS).

According to the government, the decision was made in conjunction with the Reserve Bank of India. The change, announced Tuesday night, is expected to impose major compliance burdens on both card-issuing institutions and consumers.

What are the Changes?

The finance ministry on Thursday said the changes in FEMA rules, which brings overseas international credit card spending under RBIs liberalised remittance scheme (LRS), are intended to bring in parity in tax treatment of remittances using debit and credit cards.

The ministry said since credit card spending overseas has now been brought under LRS, such remittances would be liable to tax collected at source (TCS) at applicable rates. If the TCS payee is a taxpayer, he or she can claim credit and adjust it against his/her I-T or advance tax liability.

The Union Budget 2023-24 had hiked TCS rates to 20 per cent, from 5 per cent currently, on overseas tour packages and funds remitted under LRS (other than for education and medical purposes). The new TCS rates will come into effect from July 1, 2023.

Why are the Changes Being Made?

A day after amending the Foreign Exchange Management (Current Account Transaction) Rules, the ministry issued a list of FAQ (frequently asked questions) detailing the reasons for inclusion of foreign spending using credit cards.

It said that instances came to notice of the tax authorities that remittances under LRS by some individuals were disproportionately high to their disclosed sources of income.

A person on overseas visit can use international debit cards, international credit cards or other methods for undertaking current account transactions.

Although the payments by debit cards were covered under the LRS, expenditures through credit cards were not accounted for under the specified LRS limit, which has led to some individuals exceeding the LRS limits, the ministry said.

This exemption to international credit cards was provided under erstwhile Rule 7 of FEMA Rules.

Data collected from top money remitters under LRS also revealed that international credit cards were being issued with limits in excess of the present LRS limit of $ 2.50 lakh.

The ministry further said that the Reserve Bank of India too had on numerous occasions written to the government pointing to the need to remove the differential treatment to debit and credit card spendings.

The differential treatment between debit cards and credit cards needed to be removed in the interest of uniformity and equity in the treatment of modes of drawal of foreign exchange and for capturing total expenditures under LRS for prudent foreign exchange management and to prevent by-passing of LRS limits," the ministry said.

More Details

Under the RBIs LRS scheme, an individual can remit up to $2.5 lakh annually overseas without approval of the RBI. Remittances beyond the $ 2.5 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency would require approval from the RBI.

In 2021-22, a total of $ 19.61 billion was remitted under LRS, up from $12.68 billion in 2020-21. In 2022-23, it rose to more than $24 billion, of which overseas travel accounted for more than half of the total.

The FAQ also clarified that TCS of 5 per cent will be levied on expenses exceeding Rs 7 lakh towards medical treatment and education, while other expenses including investment in real estate, foreign tour and travel would attract 20 per cent.

For those availing loans for overseas education, a lower TCS rate of 0.5 per cent would be levied above the Rs 7-lakh threshold.

The ministry said the primary impact of higher TCS rate would only be on investment in assets such as real estate, bonds, stocks outside India by HNI and tour travel packages or gifts to non-residents.

If the TCS is of a person not being a taxpayer, then the 20 per cent rate on such presumed income is not high. The tax rate slab of 20 per cent starts in the new regime for incomes over Rs 12 lacs and is 30 per cent for incomes over Rs 15 lacs," the ministry said.

top videos

The ministry also clarified that LRS does not cover business visits of an employee. When an employee is being deputed by an entity, such expenses will be treated as residual current account transactions outside LRS and may be permitted by the AD without any limit, subject to verifying the bona fide of the transaction, it said.

With inputs from PTI
She was featured in a Netflix show as an Unsolved Mystery, featuring cases related to family abduction. However, less than a year after her appearance in the show, the 15-year-old Illinois was found alive in North Carolina on May 18.

Kayla, who was allegedly kidnapped by her mother six years ago was spotted by a person, who called police, recognising the girl from published media, as per a report by the Guardian. Im overjoyed that Kayla is home safe, Ryan Iskerka, the childs father, said in a statement issued by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. We ask for privacy as we get to know each other again and navigate this new beginning.

What Was the Case?

The 9-year-old child was last seen in 2017 after a Fourth of July parade, while her mother was tying their possessions to the cars top, as per a report by Washington Post.

According to family members, Heather Unbehaun and her daughter, Kayla Unbehaun, then left the parade site in a Chicago suburb for a camping trip in Wisconsin. The next day, they had a court-ordered parenting handoff with Kaylas father.

But the couple never showed up, sparking a six-year search for Kayla, which ended Saturday when an employee at a thrift store in Asheville, N.C., spotted her with her mother and alerted authorities.

It was discovered that all of Heathers social media had been cancelled and her phone had been turned off," Iskerka explained on a GoFundMe page, after filing a missing person report.

Unbehaun had missed a court date a few weeks before. Her lawyer hadnt spoken to her in days, was unaware of what had occurred, and was very concerned," Iskerka explained.

According to NBC Chicago, prosecutors in Kane County, Illinois, obtained an arrest warrant for Unbehaun immediately after she and Kayla went missing.

The disappearance was among numerous purported family abduction instances covered in an episode of Unsolved Mysteries in November of last year.

What Will Happen to Kayla and Her Mother Now?

After the mother, who only had visitation rights at the time, ran off with their daughter, the sad father missed critical moments in Kaylas life and was never able to give his daughter a birthday present.

Ryan decided to write letters to Kayla in order to express how much he missed her every day.

He had uploaded the letter on the website of the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, along with digital images of how his daughter would look now, in an attempt to raise notice of her absence, according to a Mirror report.

I hope you enjoyed your birthday and I want you to know that I love you so much and so does the rest of your family. We all miss you so much and think about you every day. I want you to know that your absence has by far been the most difficult trial of my life.

When I found out you were gone my heart was shattered into a million pieces. Luckily I have the love and support of God and our family so I have managed to make it. But there is nothing I want more than to have you back in my life. We all want you back in our lives. I think about you all day, every day. I pray for you and your mother every day hoping that you are safe and that you will return into my life soon. There are also so many other people praying for you."

Unbehaun was apprehended by Asheville police on Saturday and was scheduled to be extradited to Illinois. According to NBC, it was unknown whether she had a lawyer.

Kayla was in the custody of North Carolina social services and was scheduled to be reunited with her family in Illinois, NBC said.

Family Abductions

top videos

Family abduction occurs when a kid is taken, wrongfully retained, or concealed by a parent or other family member depriving another individual of custody or visitation rights," according to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, as per a report by the Guardian.

In 2020 in the US, almost 5% of the nearly 30,000 instances reported to the centre were family abductions. In the same year, claimed family abductions accounted for more than 60% of amber alerts, which are emergency communications sent to assist locate missing people, usually children.
Dissident Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Friday met the protesting wrestlers at Delhis Jantar Mantar. The meeting comes at a time when Pilot has been holding demonstration in Rajasthan over various corruption issues amid a power tussle with chief minister Ashok Gehlot.

If justice is not done in time, then its injustice. Why the delay in justice to people who made us so proud," Pilot said.

#WATCH | Congress leader Sachin Pilot arrives at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to meet the wrestlers who are protesting against WFI (Wrestling Federation of India) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. pic.twitter.com/WprHbtY3G6 ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2023

Indias top wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, are staging a sit-in at the Jantar Mantar, demanding the arrest of BJP MP and WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for allegedly sexually harassing seven women grapplers.

Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala, who hails from Haryana, had also visited the protest site and met the wrestlers, and expressed solidarity with their demands.

Meanwhile in Rajasthan, Pilot, the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister, had last week began a Jan Sangharsh Yatra" to raise issues of corruption and government recruitment exam paper leaks.

Pilot began the foot march from Ajmer on Thursday, challenging CM Gehlot and the partys top brass as assembly elections in Rajasthan approach.

The march comes days after Gehlot accused the MLAs involved in the 2020 revolt of taking money from the BJP. Pilot and 18 other Congress MLAs had then sought a leadership change in Rajasthan.

top videos

In 2020, Pilot had led a failed revolt against the Gehlot government after which he was removed from the posts of party state unit president and deputy chief minister.

The two Congress strongmen in Rajasthan have been at loggerheads over the post of chief minister ever since the party formed the government in the state in 2018.
Army medical staff assisted a woman in labour while being transported to a hospital in Jammu and Kashmirs Kupwara district on Thursday, helping her give birth to a baby girl, a defence spokesperson said here.

Col Emron Musavi said Harmida Begam, a resident of Jadda village in the Tangdhar area, was being transported to the Kupwara district headquarters after being referred to a medical facility there due to her critical condition.

He mentioned that the patients movement was expedited at Sadhna Pass, which is manned by the Army.

However, after a few minutes, her ambulance returned to Sadhna Pass as she had gone into labour. The medical staff accompanying her faced difficulties due to complications that had emerged during the delivery, the spokesperson said.

He added that the Indian Army medical staff promptly responded and assisted in the emergency delivery, ensuring the safety of both the mother and the newborn child.

Col Musavi praised the Armys medical staff for their resilience and timely delivery, which brought joy to the womans anxious family members.

top videos

The parents named the baby girl Sadhna to acknowledge the location and honour the efforts of the Indian Army, he added.

The pass is named after yesteryear actress Sadhna, who once shot a movie there.
Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede, who has been accused of demanding a Rs 25 crore bribe from superstar Shah Rukh Khan for not implicating his son Aryan Khan in the Cordelia cruise drug bust case, has been granted relief from arrest by the Bombay High Court until May 22.

Wankhede on Friday moved a petition before the Bombay High Court seeking quashing of an FIR filed against him by the CBI in the case.

Advocate Kuldeep Patil, appearing for the CBI told the court that no interim protection should be granted.

In the petition moved before a vacation bench of the high court, Wankhede also sought that no coercive action related to the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) first information report (FIR) be taken against him. The CBI filed the FIR against Wankhede and four others recently.

Wankhede also attached his chats with Shah Rukh Khan in the petition, ANI reported.

Aryan Khan was arrested by the NCB on October 3, 2021, after a raid on the Cordelia cruise ship. He was granted bail by the Bombay High Court after three weeks as the anti-drug agency failed to substantiate its charges against him.

The CBI booked Wankhede and others for alleged criminal conspiracy and threat of extortion, besides under provisions pertaining to bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act on a complaint by the NCB.

The probe agency has alleged that the NCB, Mumbai Zone, had received information in October 2021 related to the consumption and possession of narcotics substances by various individuals on the private cruise ship and that some of its officers conspired and obtained undue advantage in the form of bribes from the alleged accused.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted protection from coercive action to Wankhede for five days with the liberty to approach the appropriate forum, which would be the Bombay High Court.

The CBI summoned Wankhede for questioning in Mumbai on Thursday in connection with the case, but he did not appear before the agencys team.

top videos

(With PTI inputs)
Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede, who is under the scanner of the agency amid allegations that he tried to extort Rs 25 crore from Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khans family to let off his son Aryan Khan in the Cordelia Cruise Drugs Case, is in deeper trouble if the Special Enquiry Team (SET)s report is to be believed.

CNN-News18 has accessed exclusive details of the SET report based on which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had also filed an FIR against Wankhede and his two former juniors of NCB Mumbai zone.

According to the report, Wankhede and his juniors did not follow the rules while handling the drug bust case. It has also been revealed that the names of Aryan Khan and his friend Arbaaz Merchant were a last-minute addition while the names of some other suspects were dropped from the original information note.

The SET also observed from analysis of the panchnama and other documents that neither were the phones of the suspects seized with the panchnama nor was there a separate seizure memo. Thus, no formal documents were made for seizure of the phones. In the absence of a seizure memo, the chain of custody of the seized phone  which is a vital evidence  was affected.

Several witnesses examined by the SET stated that their valuables as well as those of other suspects were taken away by NCB Mumbai officers without documentation.

Another issue that could make things difficult for Wankhede is that despite accused Arbaaz Merchant revealing one Siddarth Shah as the supplier of charas to him, the NCB let him walk free. The agency examined Shah and he was allowed to go despite the SET later finding that his phone chats on both WhatsApp and Telegram clearly showed he was consuming drugs. The NCBs clean chit to Shah has now raised suspicions.

Another suspect Saumya Singh, whose name figured in the NCBs information note, was also given the clean chit despite the officials recovering rolling papers from her bag. When the SET later contacted her and asked her to assist in the enquiry, she did not appear.

The SET also found major lapses in its Mumbai office when during the enquiry, the team collected the CCTV equipment of the NCB office to verify the facts but the footage was found to be corrupt. The DVR and the hard disc provided by the NCB Mumbai office were also different, hinting that it was crucial footage was intentionally not provided to the SET.

The report has also put a question mark on Wankhedes foreign trips as well as expenditure on his luxury watches.

In a span of about five years from 2017 to 2021, Wankhede made six private foreign visits with family to countries like UK, Ireland, Portugal, South Africa and Maldives. The trips spanned over 55 days of foreign stay with a declared amount of only Rs 8.75 lakh, which is barely enough to cover the cost of air travel.

Further, the report said Wankhede and his friend Viral Jamaluddin stayed in Taj Exotica Maldives Beach suits with their families and maid in July 2021 on credit basis/cash payment (about Rs 7.5 lakh for Wankhedes family). They paid the amount to the hotel only on 18.12.2021 through Jamaluddins credit card when the SET started the enquiry.

The SET has also questioned Wankhedes purchase of a luxurious Rolex Gold watch worth Rs 22,05,000 for only Rs 17,40,000 on credit from Jamaluddin. The probe added that Wankhede could not explain the expenditures of his foreign tours and expensive watches. The investigation team has also raised several questions on Wankhedes Mumbai and Washim properties and also analysed the income tax return documents of the ex-NCB zonal director and his wife, noting that further detailed enquiry is needed.

top videos

Based on this report, the CBI had filed an FIR against Wankhede and he was called for questioning but he approached the Delhi High Court and has got interim relief from any coercive action by the agency.

Now, it will be interesting to see how Wankhede handles himself on the other side of the questioning table.
A student at a private university in Uttar Pradeshs Greater Noida, shot a female classmate, after which he returned to his room and allegedly killed himself too. The incident took place around 1.30 pm on Thursday at the Shiv Nadar University in the Dadri police station area of Greater Noida, police said.

The youth, a student of Bachelor of Arts, died on the spot, while the woman was declared brought dead at Yatharth Hospital.

Both students-Sneha Chaurasia and Anuj Singh-were aged around 21 years and knew each other well but the cause of the murder-suicide is yet to be ascertained, police said in a statement.

The accused has been identified as Anuj Singh, a third-year sociology (BA) student. On Thursday afternoon, they met outside the dining hall of the university where they were seen talking and hugging, police said.

After the meeting, Singh shot the woman student with a pistol and rushed to his room in the boys hostel of the university where he shot himself dead, they said.

Sneha died of two bullet injuries in her stomach and chest, while Anuj died of a bullet wound in his head.

Police found the pistol next to him in his hostel room.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Greater Noida) Saad Miya Khan said both the students were good friends but had some disputes of late.

The two had been in a relationship for a year and a half and had broken up, leaving Anuj shattered as Sneha had started seeing someone else, Times of India reported citing a video that Anuj recorded and uploaded on Google Drive.

Towards the end of the video, Anuj reportedly claimed he was in the third stage of brain cancer and does not have much longer to live.

Anuj also requested not to create any problem" for his and Snehas parents and signed off with please forgive me if you can" in the mail he sent with the video.

Singh hailed from Amroha district, while Sneha was from Kanpur, he said.

The relatives of the duo were informed and they reached Greater Noida by evening, even as police said their teams had secured the incident spots for forensic examination.

The Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence said it was deeply saddened and pained at the unfortunate loss of lives.

The matter is currently under investigation by authorities and we are closely monitoring the situation. All other residents of the campus are safe. Our utmost priority is the safety and well-being of our students, employees, and the entire community, it said in a statement.

We are fully cooperating with the authorities in their investigation. Our deep and heartfelt condolences go out to the affected families and we are supporting them in every way possible at this difficult time, it added.

top videos

(With PTI inputs)
Notwithstanding a joint onslaught from the opposition over the demolition drive in a Jalandhar locality a few months ago, the Punjab government on Friday announced a major crackdown on the illegal encroachment on government land soon.

Chief minister Bhagwant Mann gave an ultimatum to encroachers of government land to vacate the areas by May 31 or face action. The Aam Aadmi Party government had faced criticism for the demolition exercise in Latifpura area of Jalandhar a few months ago. It had also become an issue during the recent Lok Sabha bypoll. But days after recording a massive win in the election, the Mann government announced the drive.

The chief minister said that the state government was committed to freeing land from encroachments. He alleged that during the tenure of successive governments in the state, affluent people had illegally encroached upon precious government land by violating the norms, which is unwarranted and undesirable. From day one after assuming charge of office, my government had adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards illegal encroachments," said Mann.

top videos

The CM announced that the state government has so far freed more than 9,000 acres of government land from encroachers. He said that this momentum will be continued further and every inch of government land under encroachment will be vacated by all means. Bhagwant Mann asked the encroachers to vacate the land under their possession by May 31, failing which government action will follow.

The chief minister said that a massive anti-encroachment exercise by the state government will be started from June 1. He said that no one, however affluent they may be, will be spared during this drive to be started in the larger public interest. However, Bhagwant Mann categorically said that people residing on such land, if any, should not worry as they will not be dislocated during the drive.
China said on Friday that it is opposed to a G20 tourism meeting next week in Kashmir and will not attend.

China is firmly opposed to holding any kind of G20 meetings in disputed territory, and will not attend such meetings," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a regular press conference.

India, as the current chair of G20, has arranged a series of nationwide meetings in preparation for the upcoming summit in New Delhi this September.

In 2019, India created two federal territories from the state of Jammu and Kashmir. China and Pakistan opposed this move.

Last month, China skipped another G20 meeting held in Ladakh.

Meanwhile, India has maintained that changing the status of Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter.

New Delhi has previously rejected the statements from Beijing and Islamabad on Jammu and Kashmir.

The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh are and always will be integral and inalienable parts of India. No other country has a locus standi to comment on the same, the Ministry of External Affairs has commented before on comments by Pakistan and China.

India and China are also locked in a lingering border standoff in eastern Ladakh for three years.

top videos

The bilateral relationship came under severe strain following the deadly clash in Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh in June 2020.

(With agency inputs)
The Supreme Court on Friday deferred the scientific survey, including carbon dating, of a Shivling said to have been found at the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi during a videographic survey last year.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud issued notices to the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government and the Hindu petitioners on the mosque panels plea against the high court order for the scientific survey and carbon dating of Shivling".

Since the implications of the impugned order merit closer scrutiny, the implementation of the directions concerned in the order shall stand deferred till the next date," the bench also comprising Justices P S Narasimha and K V Vishwanathan said.

The apex court stayed the Allahabad High Courts order directing carbon dating by the Archaeological Survey of India and issued a notice.

The carbon dating is to begin on Monday," senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the Gyanvapi mosque management committee told the court.

The high court, on May 12, ordered determination of the age of the structure claimed to be a Shivling in the mosque in Varanasi using modern technology. It set aside an October 14 order of the Varanasi District Court that rejected a plea for scientific investigation, including carbon dating, of the structure found in May 2022 during a court-mandated survey of the Gyanvapi mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

Following the high court order, a local court at Varanasi on May 16 agreed to hear a plea for a survey by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) of the entire Gyanvapi mosque premises.

Accepting the petition filed by lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, who represents the Hindu side, District Court Judge A K Vishvesh asked the Gyanvapi mosque committee to file its reply to the plea by May 19. The court fixed the next hearing in the matter on May 22.

Prior to this, the high court, on May 12, directed the Varanasi district judge to proceed, in accordance with law, on the application by the Hindu worshippers for conducting a scientific probe of the Shivling.

The high court order had said no harm should be done to the structure, which the Hindu petitioners claim is a Shivling. However, the mosque authorities say it is part of a fountain in the wazu khana, where ablutions are performed before namaz.

The high court passed the order on a revision petition filed by Laxmi Devi and three others challenging the Varanasi court order.

The high court had obtained a report from various institutions, including the IITs in Kanpur and Roorkee and Birbal Sahni Institute of Lucknow, before ordering for determination of the age of the structure.

The report says direct dating of the structure is not possible and the age can be ascertained with proxy dating of materials, which can correlate with the establishment of the lingam if there is any". This needs a thorough study of the materials surrounding the lingam," it adds.

The report also suggests the dating of some organic materials below the surface can ascertain the age but it needs to be established that they are related to the structure.

The ASI, in its 52-page report, had given the opinion that the age of the structure can be determined through scientific method without causing any harm to it. Its opinion was based on studies conducted by IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, Birbal Sahni Institute, Lucknow, and another educational institute.

On November 4, 2022, the high court had sought the response of the ASI in the matter and directed the ASI director general to submit his opinion whether investigation of the said structure, if examined through carbon-dating, GPR, excavation and other methods adopted to determine its age, nature and other relevant information, is likely to damage it or a safe evaluation about its age can be done.

A suit was filed in the Varanasi District Court seeking the right to regular worship of Maa Shringar Gauri and other deities whose idols the petitioners submitted are located in the mosque complex.

top videos

(With PTI inputs)
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

After citing state laws for limiting their ability to tackle skyrocketing rent, local officials are conspicuously quiet about a bill that would empower them to do that. (Photo by Ronda Churchill/Nevada Current))

Policy, politics and progressive commentary

As rents skyrocketed in the aftermath of the pandemic and have continued squeezing Nevadans in the last year, local officials on numerous occasions stressed state law restricted them from taking action to address the housing crisis.

Now given a chance to weigh in on legislation that would clarify their authority, local governments have been mostly silent on the matter.

Senate Bill 371 would expressly give counties and cities the authority to enact any ordinance or measure relating to affordable housing.

While the bill identifies rent control as a potential action governments can take, Democratic state Sen. Edgar Flores said it is one example of numerous options open to municipalities if they choose to act.

The legislation passed the Senate 12-9 in April with Democratic state Sen. Skip Daly joining Republicans to oppose the measure.

The bill was heard by the Assembly Government Affairs Committee Wednesday and has until Friday to pass out of committee.

Other than Reno City Councilwoman Jenny Brekhus, who submitted testimony in support of the bill, no local official or lobbyist representing governments has publicly commented during the bills various hearings.

SB 371 comes as local governments face a housing and homeless crisis, which includes rents rising more than 20% statewide, limited housing stock and an increased number of people entering homelessness.

Dillons rule, a governing principle that Nevada abides by that limits local authority to actions expressly authorized by the state, is the reason many local officials cite as being unable to respond to the crisis.

During a February 2022 meeting, County Commissioner William McCurdy said the county needs to talk to our Legislature about a more permanent fix to an issue were all experiencing while County Commissioner Justin Jones said the state needs to step in.

Clark County didnt respond to requests for comment.

Jeffrey Rogan, a Clark County lobbyist who has testified on numerous bills, told the Nevada Current hes not authorized to speak on the record about the bill.

In an email Jace Radke, a spokesman with the City of Las Vegas, said the city is neutral on that bill at this time and is monitoring it.

He wouldnt clarify the reason why.

North Las Vegas declined to comment.

Candidates running for North Las Vegas mayor in 2022 were also asked at a forum if they would commit to enact rent control if the state legislature were to allow it.

Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown, who won election, said she didnt have a problem with that.

Policies have consequences

Brekhus, whose testimony also included emails from Reno residents facing housing insecurity, said housing affordability has declined since the Great Recession.

She said part of the reason can be traced to policy decisions made by state lawmakers.

The reason for this is multi-faceted but the origin in my belief was an outcome of state legislative policy, Brekhus said. This is known as the Tesla effect resulting from ramped up population and job growth due to tax subsidies to that business and others.

Other factors she listed included investment companies purchasing single family homes, the housing market failing to modernize and Trump era tax cuts that incentivized Californians to leave the state because they could no longer deduct state income taxes from US income taxes.

Though SB 371 does not mandate local governments to take any action, in particular on capping rent rates, Brekhus noted the legislation would make it an option.

Lawmakers, she wrote, should not let anyone convince you that rent control is not a path toward addressing homelessness, economic stability, and poverty reduction.

Flores, as well as the Legislative Counsel Bureau, have maintained that local governments already have the authority to enact policies to address the housing crisis. The bill only seeks to clarify that authority.

The bill, if passed, would allow governments to consider other policies such as inclusionary zoning, which requires a certain portion of new residential construction to go to affordable housing projects, or requiring builders to include low income housing in new developments or pay additional fees to be used to create affordable housing.

But the example of rent control drew the most ire.

The Nevada Realtors, which gave a presentation against the bill during this weeks hearing, said the legislation would create confusion by allowing localities to create different and conflicting rules around affordable housing and rent regulations.

The cities of North Las Vegas, Henderson and Las Vegas would all have different affordable housing policies than the counties they reside in, making it extremely difficult for residents, property owners and state agencies to navigate, said Azim Jessa, a lobbyist for the Nevada Realtors.

Erika Minaberry, a Reno resident in support of the bill, urged lawmakers to give local governments the clear directive that they are able to help us.

When we ask our local government bodies for reprieve, they blame this state body for the reason why they cant help us, she said.

Minaberry said she had to relinquish custody of her three children in 2018 because of housing insecurity but was able to get them back 18 months later. Since then, shes had to move every year due to rising rents and currently works multiple jobs to afford $2,050 a month.

As a single mother with three kids working multiple jobs without any assistance, if my landlord decides to raise my rent I will not have a place to stay, she said. I will not know where to go. My kids and I are terrified to be separated again.

Some of the lawmakers questioned the notion of local control altogether.

Democratic Assemblywoman Selena Torres, who chairs the committee, expressed unease with the bill, saying its putting a lot of faith in our local governments.

Some members of city councils and county commissions in Nevada would say the same exact thing about us, Flores responded.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to amplify the voices and concerns of the Global South at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Japan and emphasised Indias role as a reliable partner in addressing global challenges.

PM Modi, who will be participating at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in Japan, spoke on a range of issues including the Ukraine war, tensions with neighbouring China and Pakistan and the upcoming Quad summit in an interview with Nikkei Asia.

top videos

Here are the top points from PM Narendra Modis interview:
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested two wanted associates of Canada-based listed terrorist Arshdeep Singh Dalla.

The duo  Amritpal Singh, alias Ammy, and Amritk Singh, both hailing from Punjab  was nabbed in an early morning operation, as they arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) from Manila, Philippines, where they have been living.

The NIA court in Delhi had issued non-bailable arrest warrants issued against them in a case related to the unlawful and violent activities of banned organisations in India.

They also have several criminal cases registered against them in Punjab.

The NIA investigations revealed that the accused had allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy to raise funds for banned terrorist organization Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), and also smuggled arms, ammunition and explosives from across the border.

LINKED TO KTF, PEETA

The accused had been working for designated terrorist Dalla to promote violent criminal activities of the KTF in India, said NIA sources.

In association with another wanted accused Manpreet Singh alias Peeta, they had been allegedly involved in smuggling weapons from Pakistan and recruitment of youth to carry out acts of violence and terror in the country at the behest of the KTF.

They were also allegedly part of an extortion racket for raising funds for the banned outfit.

The accused used to identify extortion targets, including businessmen, and threaten them into parting with huge amounts, said NIA sources.

If the identified targets refused, their homes and other premises would be fired at by the accuseds India-based associates.

top videos

The arrests were part of the NIAs continuous crackdown on individual terrorists and terrorist outfits engaged in a criminal conspiracy to smuggle terrorist hardware such as arms, ammunition, explosives etc, and raise funds for carrying out terrorist acts on the Indian soil.
The Maharashtra government, in its latest Government Resolution (GR) exclusively accessed by News18, has decided to start a smart card-based calling system for inmates and the pilot project will be carried out in Punes Yerawada jail.

So far, jails have been using payphones  a coinbox-based landline phone  for inmates to speak to their family members. But once it malfunctions, it is difficult to repair it. Also, it gets tough to get coins suitable for use in these machines.

The GR states that inmates kept in high-security areas of jail or in isolation have to be brought to these machines by the jail authority, posing a threat to the internal security. Hence, some jail superintendents have sought permission from authorities to allow use of a simple mobile phone, instead of the payphone.

It has been approved and the authorities have been asked to run a pilot project in Pune.

TN-BASED GROUP GETS NOD FOR PILOT PROJECT

Tamil Nadu-based Allen Group, which is an expert in smart card payphone-based system, had presented one such system to the Maharashtra Police and jail authorities, which has been approved for the pilot run.

According to the GR, the company has to follow the rules mentioned in the jail manual (1979) strictly. Once the system is installed, the company has to submit the implementation report.

top videos

As internal security of the jail is the responsibility of jail officials, the GR has asked them to ensure there is no misuse.

Sources in the Maharashtra Police (prisons) said, This pilot project is important as some jail superintendents had requested the government to change the coin-based phones, citing security reasons. If it works smoothly for a few months, it will be implemented in other jails in the state too.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said Odisha will get more Vande Bharat trains connecting Puri and Bhubaneswar with Rourkela, Sambalpur and Jharsuguda after Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first semi-high-speed train for the state on Thursday.

The minister, who was onboard the Odisha-West Bengal train throughout the journey till Howrah, told News18 that his ministry was aiming to connect all states with Vande Bharat trains.

Very soon, we will connect Puri, Bhubaneswar with Rourkela, Sambalpur and Jharsuguda We are also aiming to connect all the states with Vande Bharat, Vaishnaw said.

Rourkela is the industrial capital of Odisha and is popularly known as Ispat Nagar and Steel City of Odisha.

Jharsuguda is also an industrial hub, consisting mainly of metallurgical industries. It has an airport and is also known as the powerhouse of Odisha. Famous for the Sambalpuri Saree, Sambalpur is a textile hub of Odisha.

The minister said the Puri-Howrah route was selected as it is very popular.

Puri is a holy land and has a place on the worlds tourism map. It is important in terms of religion, heritage, culture as well as history. A lot of passengers come on this route," he said.

Vaishnaw added that the route is part of the Golden Quadrilateral. We will not stop here. We will be expanding this route as well, he said.

Operating between West Bengals commercial city Howrah and Odishas temple town Puri, the latest train is now the fastest between the two stations covering the distance in around 6 hours and 30 minutes.

This train is roughly one hour faster than the Shatabdi that was already running between the two stations.

During the inauguration of the Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat and even before that, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his government had demanded these semi-high speed trains on at least two routes  between Puri and Rourkela connecting Sambalpur and another train between Bhubaneswar and Hyderabad.

top videos

Railways is running these Vande Bharat trains on 16 routes currently and this number is expected to go up as more Vande Bharats are being launched.

Since April 1, six pairs of Vande Bharats have been inaugurated. Vaishnaw said with enhanced production, the delivery of these trains will be faster and more routes will be connected.
IAS officer Tina Dabi has once again grabbed the headlines after she triggered a controversy after the Jaisalmer district administration bulldozed the temporary settlement of Hindu immigrants who have come to India from Pakistan, on her order.

Over 50 kutcha houses of Pakistan Hindu migrants were razed using bulldozers, following the orders of Dabi, who is currently posted as Jaisalmer District Collector, in Rajasthan. The move rendered more than 150 women, men and children homeless, living in the Amar Sagar area, about 4 km from district headquarters.

Following the action, Pakistani Hindu migrants staged a dharna by putting up tents outside the Collectors office.

Controversy Over Bulldozer Action

The administrations bulldozer actions, which came at the heels of the Assembly election in the state, drew flak from the government and Opposition alike.

Leader of the Opposition Rajendra Rathore has termed it as appeasement politics of the Congress government.

He said that bringing down the houses of Hindu refugees from Pakistan with bulldozers after Jodhpur, now in Jaisalmer, shows the cruel attitude of the Congress government".

He further said that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot should stop playing politics of appeasement with the Hindu refugees who returned to their land after being harassed by Pakistan and there should be proper arrangements for their stay.

However, Rajasthan minister Pratap Khachariyawas blamed the action on the officials and said they will have to answer for the eviction drive.

What the officials did is wrong, they will have to answer. We will take action against them. Pakistani Hindu migrants are living in Jaisalmer on an empty plot of land. The Rajasthan government is giving them documentsAs per the law of the Rajasthan government, you cant evict anyone without them being rehabilitatedThis is a very serious matter. This is a conspiracy, such officials will be taken to task who try to malign the government. They committed a sin, they will have to face it," the minister said, as quoted by the news agency ANI.

#WATCH | Rajasthan Minister Pratap Khachariyawas says, What the officials did is wrong, they will have to answer. We will take action against them. Pakistani Hindu migrants are living in Jaisalmer on empty plot of land. Rajasthan Govt is giving them documentsAs per the law of https://t.co/pTQY2ak9pW pic.twitter.com/hmAnT2WIOQ ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) May 18, 2023

Dabi Defends Administrations Move

Meanwhile, Dabi defended her action and said migrants will be moved to a shelter house till they get a proper allotment of land.

Today a successful dialogue was held with the people. As per their demand, Urban Improvement Trust (UIT) will mark them in a week and give them a proper place. They were assured of settlement at some other place, after which the protestors announced to end the strike," she said.

Today a successful dialogue was held with the people. As per their demand, Urban Improvement Trust (UIT) will mark them in a week and give them a proper place. They were assured of settlement at some other place, after which the protestors announced to end the strike. The land on pic.twitter.com/xirMobklGO ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) May 17, 2023

top videos

The administration also said the displaced were living by constructing illegal houses on the banks of the Amar Sagar pond due to which the inflow of water to the pond was stopped.

The land on which the encroachment was removed yesterday was either allotted by UIT earlier or is in the water catchment area. Thats why we have explained to those people that if you sit at this place then you will face problems in future also. The encroachments that were removed yesterday were done during the last 10 days and were fresh. The land will be allotted to those who have got citizenship and those who have not got it will be identified and settled after getting citizenship they will also be allotted land," Dabi added.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday announced to withdraw Rs 2000 currency note from circulation. The notes will continue to be legal tender.

To complete the exercise in a time-bound manner and to provide adequate time to the members of public, all banks shall provide deposit and/or exchange facility for Rs 2000 bank notes until September 30, 2023, the RBI said.

Rs 2000 currency note will remain legal tender after 30th September too. RBI expects that 4 month time is enough for people to exchange notes with the banks. Most of the Rs 2000 notes that are in circulation will return to banks within the given time frame of 30th September. This is a routine exercise of RBI and people need not panic," sources told ANI.

The RBI has advised banks to stop issuing Rs 2000 denomination banknotes with immediate effect.

Exchange Rs 2,000 Notes at Banks from May 23

In order to ensure operational convenience and to avoid disruption of regular activities of bank branches, the exchange of Rs 2000 banknotes into banknotes of other denominations can be made upto a limit of Rs 20,000 at a time at any bank starting from May 23, 2023

A person can also exchange Rs 2,000 notes upto the limit of Rs 20,000 at a time at the 19 Regional Offices (ROs) of RBI from May 23, 2023.

Objective of Introducing Rs 2,000 Notes Was Met: RBI

The central bank said the objective of introducing Rs 2000 banknotes was met once banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities. Therefore, printing of Rs 2000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19, it said.

Members of the public may deposit Rs 2000 banknotes into their bank accounts and/or exchange them into banknotes of other denominations at any bank branch. Deposit into bank accounts can be made in the usual manner, that is, without restrictions and subject to extant instructions and other applicable statutory provisions," read the press release.

RBI Explains Why Rs 2,000 Notes Are Being Withdrawn

The RBI said that Rs 2,000 note is not commonly used for transactions and the stock of banknotes in other denominations continues to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public.

top videos

About 89% of the Rs 2000 denomination banknotes were issued prior to March 2017 and are at the end of their estimated life-span of 4-5 years. The total value of these banknotes in circulation has declined from Rs 6.73 lakh crore at its peak as on March 31, 2018 (37.3% of Notes in Circulation) to Rs 3.62 lakh crore constituting only 10.8% of Notes in Circulation on March 31, 2023.," RBIs press release said.

In view of the above, and in pursuance of the Clean Note Policy of the Reserve Bank of India, it has been decided to withdraw the Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation. The banknotes in Rs 2000 denomination will continue to be legal tender," it added.
While the Bombay High Court (HC) on Friday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) not to take any coercive action till May 22 against former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede in the Cordelia cruise drug bust case, media reports claimed the plea filed by the officer in the HC included parts of his purported conversation on WhatsApp with actor Shah Rukh Khan, in which the latter is allegedly pleading for relief for his son, Aryan.

The veracity of these chats could not be independently verified by News18.

According to media reports, in the chats dating from October 3, 2021 to October 15, 2021, Wankhede has allegedly claimed that Khan begged as a father for his son to be sent home as his spirit would be destroyed. The officer reportedly responded that he wanted to look forward toward the kids in a reformatory approach.

Wankhede claimed that these alleged chats prove that the extortion claims are false.

top videos

Wankhede, along with his officers VV Singh and Ashish Ranjan and two more civilians, who acted as punchas, has been accused of demanding Rs 25 crore bribe from Khan for not implicating Aryan in the case. The CBI claimed the deal was later settled for Rs 18 crore, and Rs 50 lakh was taken as bribe. The officer has moved the HC seeking the quashing of the first information report (FIR) filed by the CBI. The FIR is based on the report of the Special Enquiry Team (SET).

The CBI had summoned Wankhede for questioning in Mumbai on Thursday in connection with the case, but he did not appear before the agency. Wankhede, who is now an officer with the Indian Revenue Services (IRS), has maintained that he is honest" and this is a personal attack" on him.
The Supreme Court has asked the Bihar government to produce original records in connection with the early release of gangster-politician Anand Mohan, who was sentenced to life term in the 1994 murder of G. Krishnaiah, the then district magistrate of Gopalganj.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and J.B. Pardiwala on Friday issued the direction to the Bihar governments counsel to produce the original records related to the remission granted to Mohan for the perusal of the court.

The top court has scheduled the matter for further hearing in August.

On May 8, the Supreme Court had issued notice on a plea of the widow of IAS officer G. Krishnaiah, who was lynched in 1994 by a mob led by Singh, against Anand Mohans premature release from prison.

The plea filed by Umadevi Krishnaiah said: The sentence of imprisonment for life given to a convict as a substitute for death sentence must be viewed differently and segregated from the ordinary life imprisonment given as the sentence of first choice. Life imprisonment, when awarded as a substitute for death penalty, has to be carried out strictly as directed by the court and would be beyond application of remission."

Imprisonment for life means full natural course of life and cannot be mechanically interpreted to be 14 years. It means that imprisonment for life lasts until the last breath," it said.

Anand Mohan was released from the Saharsa jail following an amendment in Bihars prison rules.

The plea said Mohan is a politically influential person and has committed the murder of G. Krishnaiah, a serving IAS Officer, while himself being an MLA. He enjoys political support and has several criminal cases pending against him.

The plea argued that Rule 481(1)(c) of Bihar Prison Manual, 2012 provides that convicts whose death sentence has been commuted to life sentence will be eligible for consideration of remission only after completion of 20 years of sentence.

top videos

In 1994, Krishnaiah, then District Magistrate of Gopalganj, who hailed from Telangana, was beaten to death by a mob when his vehicle tried to overtake the funeral procession of gangster Chhotan Shukla. The mob was instigated by Anand Mohan.

(With IANS inputs)
Haryanas Home and Health Minister, Anil Vij, has issued an order stating that overweight police personnel should be transferred to the police lines until they regain fitness. Vij issued the directions to the Additional Chief Secretary of the Home Department, expressing concern over the number of overweight police personnel and emphasising the need for their transfer to the police lines.

In an official statement, Vij issued instructions to the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) to ensure that police personnel, whose weight has been increasing or continues to increase, can regain fitness through exercise.

It has been observed that many of the police personnel in the police department have become overweight and by the time (with time), their weight is being increased more (is increasing more). In order to maintain fitness of police officers/personnel, I would like that all the police officers/personnel who have become overweight be transferred to the police line and make them do exercise unless they get fit for duty," the minister wrote.

In the direction, Vij said that it has been observed that many of the police personnel in the police department have become overweight and by time, their weight is being increased more". I would like that all the police officers/ personnel, who have become overweight be transferred to police line and make them do exercise unless they get fit for duty," he wrote.

The sanctioned strength of the Haryana police stands at 75,000.

The Haryana governments directive follows closely on the heels of the Assam Polices announcement regarding the initiation of voluntary retirement options for obese personnel who do not meet weight reduction targets by November this year.

Director-General of Police (DGP) Gyanendra Pratap Singh on Tuesday said the decision was made under the guidance of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

@assampolice Hq has decided to go in for the professional recording of Body Mass Index (BMI) of all Assam Police personnel including IPS/APS officers and all DEF/Bn/Organisations," he tweeted.

On May 8, the Assam Police had compiled a list of approximately 680 personnel categorised as either habitual drinkers or obese. After undergoing a thorough multi-tier review process, those deemed unfit for duty will be given the opportunity to opt for voluntary retirement.

top videos

Earlier in April, Chief Minister Sarma had announced that around 300 officers and personnel of the Assam Police would be retired due to issues related to alcoholism.

(With inputs from PTI)
A small-time actor and producer in Tamil Cinema has reportedly bought the ancestral home of Google CEO Sundar Pichai in the quiet, residential neigbourhood of Chennais Ashok Nagar.

A report in Hindu Business Line quoted actor-producer Manikandan as saying that it is not Sundar Pichais property but the humility of the Google CEOs parents that has floored him.

Sundars mother made a filter coffee herself and his father offered me the documents right at the first meeting. I was spellbound by their humility and humble approach, he was quoted as saying.

Manikandan also said Sundar Pichais father was insistent on not using the Google CEOs name to expedite the registration or transfer process. In fact, his father waited for hours at the registration office, paid all necessary taxes before handing over the documents to me, he was quoted.

The report further stated that Manikandan is a real estate developer himself and claims to have built and delivered around 300 homes under his brand Chellappas Builders.

Manikanandan immediately decided to buy the Ashok Nagar property when he heard that it was the same house where Sundar Pichai was born and raised. Pichai was born and brought up in Chennai and left the city in 1989 to study Metallurgical Engineering at IIT Kharagpur, the report stated.

Sundar Pichai has made our country proud and buying the house where he lived will be a proud achievement of my life, Manikanandan was quoted.

top videos

Google CEOs home was reportedly fully razed down by his father at his own expense and the plot was handed over to Manikandan for development.

Sundars father broke down for a few minutes while handing over the documents since this was his first property, he was quoted as saying. Manikandan will build a villa in this space and expects it to be completed in the next one and half years, the report stated.
Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province, is working with Central Asian countries to develop tourism based on intangible cultural resources along the ancient Silk Road in order to better reflect the region's rich history.

The latest example is an agreement signed earlier this month on promoting the tourism resources of the Uzbek city of Samarkand in Xi'an.

"It was agreed that an area at the Silk Road Paradise scenic spot will be specially used to display the traditional architecture of Samarkand and present Uzbek cultural performances," Zhou Bing, chairman of Shaanxi Tourism Group, said at a news conference on Thursday.

Xi'an used to be the capital of 13 dynasties, including the prosperous Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang dynasties. Zhou said the group is seeking to present this rich historical legacy to tourists in specific ways such as theme parks and musical performances.

For example, a musical named Sound of the Silk Road has been produced to present the culture and history of various countries along the Silk Road during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220).

The development of cultural tourism along the Silk Road has gained momentum since the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed in 2013. The Shaanxi provincial government has introduced guidelines urging greater efforts to design tour routes with Xi'an as the starting point and other cultural tourism projects.

According to Zhou, the Shaanxi Tourism Group will organize tour groups from Xi'an to cities with rich tourism resources in Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries.

Visits to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have been facilitated after the two countries introduced 14-day visa-free policies for Chinese citizens.

Zheng Hao, an official with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said that many provinces and regions in China have given full play to their strengths in terms of their geographical location and resources to engage in culture and tourism exchanges and cooperation with Central Asian countries.

Zheng pointed out that, in recent years, China has invited Central Asian countries to participate in the China International Tourism Fair, and China has also been an active participant in international tourism exhibitions in Central Asian countries.

"China-Central Asia tourism cooperation is distinctive and enjoys broad prospects," he said.
The Supreme Court on Friday will hear a plea challenging the Allahabad High Court order of conducting a scientific survey, including carbon dating, to determine the age of a structure claimed to be Shivling found inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi.

After taking notes of submissions by senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi representing the Gyanvapi mosque management committee, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala agreed to list the plea for hearing on Friday.

According to a PTI report, on May 12, the Allahabad High Court had ordered the use of scientific methods, including carbon dating, to determine the age of the structure found inside the Gynavapi mosque complex.

top videos

The Allahabad HC set aside an October 14 order of the Varanasi District Court that rejected a plea for the use of scientific methods, including carbon dating of the structure. The high court passed the order on a petition filed by Laxmi Devi and three others challenging the Varanasi court order.

The high court further directed the Varanasi district judge to proceed, in accordance with the law, on the petition by the Hindu petitioners for conducting a scientific probe of the Shivling adding that no harm should be done to the structure.
A local court has ordered a case to be filed against the then Superintendent of Police (Amethi) and two investigating officers on charges of irregularities in the investigation of a quadruple murder case in Amethi last year.

The order is related to a probe into the murder of four members of a family in the Gungwach area of Amethi district in March 2022, the governments counsel Ravi Shukla said.

The police had registered a murder case against Ram Dulare Yadav, his sons Akhilesh Yadav, Brijesh Yadav, Abhishek Yadav, current village head Asha Tiwari, her husband Ram Shankar Tiwari and their son Nitin Tiwari at Amethi police station.

During the investigation, the police allegedly removed one by one the names of the accused from the case, Shukla said.

top videos

When this matter came to light, District Judge Jai Prakash Pandey on Thursday ordered to register a case against Dinesh Singh, the then Superintendent of Police (Amethi), Inspector (Kotwali Amethi) Umakant Shukla and Crime Branch Inspector Parshuram Ojha and sought a detailed probe, he said.

The court has also ordered a copy of the order to be sent to the Principal Secretary (Home), the Inspector General of Police (Lucknow) and the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Ayodhya), Shukla added.
Before embarking on the journey of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment, there are important factors to consider. Firstly, it is crucial to research and choose a reputable fertility clinic with experienced professionals. Understanding the costs involved and exploring financial options is essential. The gift of motherhood is beautiful but some considerations are to kept in mind when opting to go for an IVF procedure.

With the help of science, everything under the earth seemed to be evolving, and nothing seemed impossible with it. One such is, bringing happiness and smiles for those couples who are unable to conceive babies due to various reasons as: having lower eggs or overaged to conceive or even due to health problems faced both by men and women. Now, this problem has been solved for many couples around the world with the bringing of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) done by science, says Dr Shiwali Tripathi, Senior Consultant- IVF & Infertility, Apollo Fertility (Varanasi).

Dr Kshitiz Murdia, CEO & co-founder, Indira IVF, feels, In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a transformative fertility treatment, offering hope and the possibility of parenthood to countless couples.

Before embarking on this procedure, there are crucial factors that one must consider:

Have clear goal intentions

The couple should be able to decide, understanding the approach towards it with communication in equal terms expecting positive results, says Dr Shiwali Tripathi, Senior Consultant- IVF & Infertility, Apollo Fertility, Varanasi. A working knowledge process both negative and positive

The most important thing to keep in mind is learning what the treatment is all about from various sources. Choose a suitable IVF clinic

It can be confusing sometimes to make decisions, however choosing a proper clinic bearing in mind the success stories including elements such as age, health, as well as the methods they used to deliver and care for the patients, adds Dr Tripathi. Knowledge of cost and expenses

Tripathi believes, Before taking forward to go for various procedures, learn of it so that the cost won`t shock with Unanticipated cost or unforeseen costs. Learn about complications

Study the outcomes of complications that can arise during or after the procedure. An expertly educated counselor may assist in comprehending your worries, including as the donors legal rights. Informed decision

To make an informed decision, it is essential to comprehend the intricacies of the IVF process including cost, success rate, emotional impact, and possible risks. Familiarizing yourself with the process and understanding the success rate of a particular clinic enables one to navigate this journey with confidence and optimism, says Dr Kshitiz Murdia, CEO & Co-Founder, Indira IVF. On the basis of this, fertility specialists and clinics that best fits one requirement should be shortlisted. Consult the right specialist

Consult experienced fertility specialists who are trained to evaluate an individuals unique fertility status and recommend the most suitable treatment, personalised for ones individual needs. Important things

Dr Murdia encourages couples to make note of any of the following to the specialist and be transparent:

History of health conditions and surgeries

Any medication being taken currently and in the past

Consumption of alcohol and smoking Emotional Toil

It is perfectly normal to experience a range of emotions during the IVF process and hence, having someone to share ones burdens with, including counselling therapist, is encouraged.

By considering all these factors and taking the necessary precautions, you can increase your chances of success with IVF treatment.

To achieve the desired results, preparation is required on both - emotional and physical level. This therapy significantly aids couples in overcoming a variety of infertility difficulties. However, at times it might appear to be a frightening endeavor. Your mind and body can become extremely stressed out due to daily drugs, numerous tests, time commitments, and, most importantly, the fear of results.
Bhutan is presently seeing a surge in tourism levels. As per a report by The Bhutan Live, more than 52,000 tourists have visited the country in the past eight months. According to the countrys Tourism Department, it represents a promising development in the revival of the tourism sector. A sizable portion of the foreign visitors paid the new Sustainable Development Fee or SDF.

Reportedly, over 32,500 of the foreign visitors were Indians, who paid Bhutanese Ngultrum (Nu) 1,200 per night. Over 19,000 international tourists visited Bhutan after the announcement of the SDF. Going by the latest data, the top 10 countries from which tourists arrived in Bhutan in the previous eight months included India, the United States, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and Vietnam. The tourism department has said that visitors who travelled for business purposes are not included in this report.

Dorji Dhradhul, Director General of the Department of Tourism, told the publication that in terms of the new SDF, we feel that it is now slowly picking up because when we started on September 23rd because of the enhanced SDF rate, our arrivals could be really impacted, but now what we are seeing in the figures is that its picking up, and as of today, the total number of tourists paying the new SDF seems to be a little bit higher than the old SDF rate."

Dhradhul added in the report that service providers had at first expressed worries following the SDFs modification to USD 200 per night. However, the Tourism Department stated that the number of visitors is higher than expected given the current trend. The official firmly believes that Bhutans tourism industry is recovering quite well, especially when compared to other nations in the area. He cites that in April, tourist arrivals exceeded their projections by around 45 percent.

As per the latest data from the tourism department, in April, more than 13,700 tourists visited Bhutan, an increase of around 87 percent from Marchs total of over 7,000 visitors. The Department anticipates that Bhutan will welcome approximately 98,000 visitors in 2023 and is optimistic about this trend. An official from the Guide Association of Bhutan said that this rise in the number of tourists was a good trend.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is a regular at Cannes film festival. The Bollywood actress, who was last seen in Mani Ratnams pan-Indian film Ponniyin Selvan: II, once again made a sensational appearance on the Cannes red carpet wearing a silver hooded cape gown.

The former Miss World attended the Thursday night screening of Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny after making a bold statement in the gorgeous hooded silver cape gown from Sophie Coutures racks. However, Aishwaryas outfit did not go down well with a section of the internet. Many netizens pointed out that Aishwaryas ensemble felt like a foil wrap".

One user wrote, First Christmas wrap and now foil wrap Im so done The only hope I had this year was her." Another one commented, First was a gift wrapper, next was how to tie the wrapper around the present and a add a neat bow, and finally it will be how to place it under the Christmas tree." A third user said, If I say even Urvashi (Rautela) was better this year I might get downvoted but its A FACT." Absolutely love her but the dress kinda looks like tin foil," a fourth user commented.

Meanwhile, for her first day out in the French Riviera, Aishwarya made a vibrant statement in a cape dress made of emerald green sequins from Valentino. Although the outfit was bound to grab eyeballs, Aishwaryas glass heels also caught everyones attention.

Over the years, Aishwarya Rai has served some stunning looks as she walked the red carpet in gowns and sarees. Fans are eager to see what she has in store for the red carpet this year.

Besides Aishwarya, this year, many more Bollywood celebrities are walking the red carpet of Cannes 2023. On the opening night, Sara Ali Khan, Manushi Chillar and Esha Gupta were seen marking their attendance. Mrunal Thakur joined the stars on day 2. Anushka Sharma is also expected to make her way to Cannes and walk the red carpet.
Amitabh Bachchan has been grabbing all headlines after his picture of riding a pillion on a strangers bike went viral on the internet. Netizens were seen trolling the senior actor for not wearing a helmet. And today, the actor once again took to his Instagram handle and shared another picture posing next to a Mumbai Police van, jokingly suggesting that he had been Arrested. Fans were quick enough to react to his post.

In the picture, Amitabh can be seen wearing a check shirt and black pants as he poses next to the Mumbai police van. He is looking sad and tense. As soon as he shared the picture, fans were seen rushing to the comment section. One of the fans wrote, Bhootnath ko koi arrest nahi kar sakta. Another wrote, Aakhir Kar Don ko Mumbai Police ne pakad Liya. Kis police Wale ka din kharab hogya ..Jo apko arrest krega, a fan commented.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Amitabh Bachchan (@amitabhbachchan)

To note, the controversy started after Amitabh Bachchan posted a picture of him riding a pillion on a strangers bike. In his caption, he thanked the man for the ride and also mentioned that he reached the location of the shoot on time. Well, a day later, Big B clarified saying, The fact of the matter is that this is on location shoot on the street of Mumbai .. It is Sunday .. formal permission taken for shoot at a lane in Ballard Estate .. permission sought for Sunday because all offices are shut and there is no public or traffic ..One lane in the region BLOCKED off by Police permission for shoot .. the lane barely 30-40 meters .. The dress I wear is my costume for the film..

On the same day, Anushka Sharma was also seen taking a bike ride to avoid traffic and reach work on time. Netizens pointed out that neither Anushka, nor Amitabh Bachchan were wearing helmets, and tagged Mumbai Police. In response, Mumbai Police mentioned that they have shared this with the traffic branch.
Anil Kapoor on Friday celebrated 50 years of togetherness with his beloved wife, Sunita Kapoor. In a heartfelt tribute, the actor opened up about their enduring love story, describing it as his most epic romance and also shared a series of pictures which also included some unseen.

The actor took to social media to express his gratitude and love for Sunita, sharing a heartfelt message that resonated with fans and followers. In his post, he reflected on their five decades of togetherness, emphasizing the strength and depth of their bond. He described Sunita as his pillar of support, his confidante, and his partner through thick and thin.

He wrote, Happy 50 years of love to us Sunita! Heres to being the leads in the most epic romance we could have ever imagined A love story that began 50 years ago and will live on forever! Ill never understand how you managed to remain sane through 39 years of marriage and 11 years of dating me! They should write ballads about your patience and devotion! And yet, half a decade later, one thing hasnt changed You still take my breath away everytime you walk into a room! Happy Anniversary to my one and only, now and forever! @kapoor.sunita.

Take a look at the post here:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by anilskapoor (@anilskapoor)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rhea Kapoor (@rheakapoor)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sonam Kapoor Ahuja (@sonamkapoor)

Anils daughter Rhea Kapoor also took to her Instagram handle and wished them a happy marriage anniversary. Happy anniversary icons. Cant believe I got lucky enough to get you both as parents. Love you forever.

Many celebrities along with fans also joined the celebration and wished them. Shilpa Shetty wrote, Awwwww #couplegoals Happppyyy Anniversary @anilskapoor @kapoor.sunita. Karan Johar wrote, Wow!!! This is so so so lovely and full of love.

Sonam Kapoor also wished them saying, Happy Anniversary to the best parents in the world! Thank you for showing us that love never asks us to settle for anything less than #everydayphenomenal! Love you both so much.

Anil Kapoor and Sunita got married on May 19, 1984, and they are blessed with three children - Rhea, Sonam and Harsh Varrdhan.

On the work front, Anil Kapoor will be next seen in Sandeep Reddy Vangas Animal in the pipeline. He will be seen alongside Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna and Bobby Deol. The film will release this year in August. He also has Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone starrer Fighter in the pipeline.
Lavani folk dancer Gautami Patil has become quite popular in Maharashtra. She enjoys a massive fan base. Many of her fans go to great lengths to catch a glimpse of their favourite dancer. She is called to perform at birthdays and other important functions in small villages in Maharashtra. From elders to children, everyone enjoys seeing her dance. People from village to village invite her to perform in their areas. However, the famous folk dancer has been in the middle of various controversies as well. Sometimes some people gather outside the venue protesting against her.

Recently, she was a part of another controversy. Her recent performance was organised near AIIMS Hospital and Research Centre in Aundh, Pune. Many people protested against the performance and even argued how the police could allow a loud event in proximity to a hospital.

Recently, one of her fans proposed to her in the comment section of a reel. In a clip posted by the folk dancer on the song Kasam Ki Kasam from the film Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, one of her fans commented that he loved Gautami immensely and would support her in every difficult situation. He also added that he was the life partner she had been waiting for and would never hurt her. Please Reply Me", the fan wrote.

Not too long ago, a Maharashtra State Transport Board employee requested two days off to watch one of her performances. The employee worked as a driver in Maharashtras Tasgaon Tehsil, Sangli district. He filed for leave on May 22 and 23, stating that the Lavani dancer would be performing in his village.

She has been severely criticised for making obscene gestures on stage. According to reports, the folk dancer charges Rs 2Rs 5 lakh for an event.
The Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) released its statement for all the filmmakers, informing them about the Censor Boards alleged decision regarding not allowing movies with blur scenes. It claimed that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) will be taking this decision unofficially and will implement it for upcoming movies.

The Union of the Directors of Malayalam Cinema is also against this new restriction as they believe that blur scenes are often used to reduce the intensity of violent scenes, drinking scenes etc. in the movie.

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is taking a decision unofficially and implementing it," FEFKA alleged in its statement which it posted on Facebook yesterday.

This decision, when and if implemented, will completely reject the use of editing technique blur, which is widely used by the directors, aesthetically and technically, in their movies, the Malayalam film body said.

FEFKA has now complained that the Censor Board no longer approves of the movies which blur the scenes of violence, alcoholism, etc. The predominant use of blur scenes by the filmmakers is practised so that they can reduce the intensity of the violent scenes in the movie. They are afraid to show the audience the severity of those scenes. With this backdrop, the FEFKA General Secretary, Shri B Unnikrishnan will be discussing these problems with the concerned authorities to raise the issues of filmmakers, the FEFKA directors union said.

With this letter, the Film Employees Federation of Kerala aims to inform all filmmakers who are approaching the Censor Board with their new movies. They should be careful about the new rules and exercise caution when making films.

Recently, FEFKA and other associations have been very active in raising issues about irregularities in the Malayalam cinema. Last month, the Kerala Film Producers Association, FEFKA and the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists ( AMMA) jointly decided to ban popular actors Shane Nigam and Sreenath Bhasi from the forthcoming films due to their constant bad behaviour on the movie sets.
Rashmika Mandanna has reacted to Aishwarya Rajeshs clarification about the latters recent comments on Srivallis character from Allu Arjun starrer Pushpa. Aishwarya has clarified that she never meant she would be better than Rashmika and only shared that such a character would suit her.

In a note, shared via her publicist, Aishwarya said her statement was misconstrued" and that she has nothing but profound admiration" for Rashmikas work. Now, Rashmika has reacted to the statement.

Rashmika wrote, Hi love just came across this.. the thing is - I perfectly understood what you meant and I wish there were no reasons for us to explain ourselves and as you know I only and only have love and respect for you.. and ones again all the bestest for your film Farhana love."

Hi love.. just came across this.. the thing is - I perfectly understood what you meant and I wish there were no reasons for us to explain ourselves and as you know I only and only have love and respect for you.. and ones again all the bestest for your film Farhana love ..  Rashmika Mandanna (@iamRashmika) May 18, 2023

Earlier, speaking with a television channel, Aishwarya was discussing working in the Telugu film industry and starring with Vijay Deverakonda in World Famous Lover when she brought up Pushpa. I like the Telugu industry but I want to do a good Telugu film like a comeback, which will make my family proud because of my roots. I starred in World Famous Lover opposite Vijay Deverakonda but it didnt work out as expected," the 33-year-old reportedly said.

In case I were given the opportunity, I would have jumped at it. Rashmika played Srivalli well but I feel and believe I would suit the character better," Aishwarya added.

Aishwarya Rajesh has worked in a number of films in the South. These include The Great Indian Kitchen (2023), Kaaka Muttai (2015), and Vada Chennai (2018), among many others. She is currently promoting her new release titled Farhana. The film revolves around a Muslim woman working in a call centre and the events that transpire around her. Besides Aishwarya Rajesh, Farhana also stars Anumol.
To pressure China is reportedly to be one of the core topics of the Group of Seven (G7) summit to be held in Japan's Hiroshima. The summit is likely to attack and smear China in the name of "obeying the rules" and "taking responsible actions."

Blinded and instigated by the United States and a few other G7 members, the organization has again and again grossly interfered in China's domestic affairs and arrogantly pointed fingers at China, which reflects deep-rooted Cold War mentality and ideological prejudices.

It's an open strategy of the United States to contain and oppress China, which it takes as an "imaginary enemy," and rope in its allies to encircle China.

In June last year, despite China's stern position and firm opposition, the G7 mentioned China 14 times in a leaders' communique, making irresponsible remarks on Hong Kong, Xinjiang, human rights, the East China Sea, the South China Sea and the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, grossly interfering in China's domestic affairs and peddling its false narrative of "democracy versus authoritarianism," to incite confrontational sentiments.

As the G7 presidency, Japan uses the misguided China policy of the United States to speculate and seek private interests, which has provided convenience for the U.S. in jamming the topics of containing China into the agenda of the G7.

A recent G7 foreign ministers' meeting hyped China-related issues, grossly interfering in China's domestic affairs and maliciously slandering and smearing China. A G7 trade ministers' meeting also sent a signal of countering China.

With a decreasing influence, the G7 has been reduced to a servant of the U.S. hegemony, which could only prove its presence by hyping China topics.

Claiming to safeguard the so-called "rules-based international order," the G7 is blatantly challenging the core of the postwar order.

It's known around the world that Taiwan's return to China is an important component of the post-war international order, which is written in the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation. Any country that's sincerely committed to safeguarding the international order should follow the one-China principle and oppose all acts supporting and emboldening "Taiwan independence."

With a total disregard for the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, the G7 said China's opposition to "Taiwan independence" is "changing the status quo of the Taiwan Strait." This obviously condones "Taiwan independence" and challenges the post-war international order recognized by the international community. It fully proves that the G7's efforts to safeguard the so-called international order are hypocritical and the G7 itself is a saboteur of the international order.

Claiming to jointly cope with "economic coercion," the G7 is turning a blind eye to the economic coercion of the United States around the world.

For a long time, the United States, relying on its economic strength and financial hegemony, has abused illegal unilateral sanctions. According to media reports, U.S. government sanctions designations soared by 933 percent between 2000 and 2021. More than 9,400 sanctions designations had come into effect in the United States by fiscal year 2021. The United States has slapped unilateral economic sanctions on nearly 40 countries, affecting nearly half of the world's population.

Not even G7 members have been spared from U.S. economic coercion and bullying. Companies such as Toshiba from Japan, Siemens from Germany and Alstom from France, were all victims of U.S. suppression.

China is a victim of U.S. economic coercion. It has been firmly opposed to economic coercion by any country in the world. If the G7 summit is to discuss response to economic coercion, perhaps it should first discuss and condemn what the U.S. has done, rather than being an accomplice.

Claiming to discuss the so-called "economic security," the G7 tolerates and even assists the "decoupling and severing ties" of the United States, which creates risks for global economic recovery.

During a G7 finance ministers' meeting, the United States said it was considering further restriction on American enterprises' investment in China and would discuss the issue with its allies and partners. This just revealed the country's intention to upgrade its economic hegemony.

Over the recent years, the United States has overstretched the concept of national security and abused export control measures, restricted American enterprises' normal economic and trade cooperation with China, impeded the decision making of enterprises, and instigated and even forced its allies to follow its practices, which has damaged the international economic and trade order and disturbed the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

If the G7 green-lights the economic bullying practices of the United States to hinder the economic development of other countries, it will not only become a destructive player in global development, but also hurt its own economic recovery.

A big country should act like a big country. As a club of rich countries, the G7 is being cruel and has triggered dissatisfaction around the world. Every summit it has hosted faced strong opposition. Last year, a poster showed a distorted Earth fitted in a letter G, which suggested that the world is becoming distorted under the interference of the G7. This exactly mirrored the destructive role played by the group.

The G7 should understand that being a servant of U.S. hegemony, establishing exclusive cliques, containing other countries and provoking bloc confrontation are against the trend of the times. Those who play fire will only get themselves burned.
Raveena Tandon is spilling the beans on her equation with her ex Akshay Kumar and his exes. The Bollywood actress reveals that she still shares a good bond with Akshay despite their past relationship. Raveena Tandon was said to be in a serious relationship with Akshay Kumar in the late 1990s.

In a new interview, Raveena said that they both have immense respect for each other. Akshay and I are still friends. You need to respect it and move on. I think of him very highly. I think he is one of the strongest pillars of our industry," Raveena told ETimes.

Talking about her equation with Shilpa Shetty, who reportedly dated Akshay Kumar after the formers breakup with him, Raveena says, Shilpa and I have become close friends. There are things that have bonded us together. There are experiences that have bonded us together. Shilpa and Shamita have been close friends of my hubby. We keep sharing our good times and bad times together."

Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandons fans were in for a huge surprise recently as the two exes reunited at a fashion event in Mumbai earlier this month. Akshay and Raveena sent their fans into a frenzy after multiple videos of them sitting together and sharing a hug went viral on social media.

Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon were attending HT Indias Most Stylish 2023, where the former bagged the Style Hall of Fame  Male award. Raveena presented the award to him. The duo also played a rapid fire game on stage. Host Riteish Deshmukh asked Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon to name who was Malaika Arora of the nineties. Raveena, at first, said that Malaika is incomparable". However, she later took Shilpa Shettys name. Interestingly, Shilpa was also present at the event.

Raveena Tandon recently spoke out about her past relationship with Akshay Kumar. The actress revealed that she completely avoided reading anything written about her in the press during that time.

Raveena Tandon and Akshay Kumar reportedly began dating in 1995, after starring together in the 1994 hit film Mohra. According to Raveena, they got engaged in the late 90s. Later, they called it quits.
Following her film Shaakuntalam, Samantha Ruth Prabhu is now rumoured to join forces with Telugu actor Siddhu Jonnalagadda, igniting excitement among fans with the prospect of their onscreen chemistry in an upcoming romantic film. Notably, Siddhu Jonnalagaddas popularity soared after his remarkable performance in director Vimal Krishnas musical rom-com Dj Tillu. With Samanthas stellar acting prowess and Siddhus inherent charm, this anticipated collaboration promises to introduce an exciting and dynamic new onscreen pair to the silver screen.

The much-anticipated project is likely to be bankrolled under the inspection of producer Ram Talluri. Adding more to the new venture is said to be the addition of acclaimed director Nandini Reddy, as per a report in Siasat. If the report is to be believed, then the rumoured project will mark the third collaboration of Samantha Ruth Prabhu and filmmaker Nandini Reddy. The details of the plot along with the remaining cast remain unknown as of yet. It is pertinent to note that the makers havent officially announced the project, and neither Samantha nor Siddhu has confirmed or denied their reported collaboration.

In terms of work, Samantha Ruth Prabhu already has a slew of interesting projects lined up in her kitty. The star, who made her Hindi debut with The Family Man: Season 2, is busy with the shooting of her much-awaited series Citadel alongside Varun Dhawan. Some of her latest social media updates remain to be about braving excessive workout blows owing to the strenuous acting sequences. In addition to this, she will romance South heartthrob Vijay Deverakonda in Shiva Nirvanas romantic-comedy Kushi, set to be released in September. She also has Chennai Story in the pipeline which is the adaptation of Indian Author Timeri N Muraris bestselling novel titled, The Arrangements of Love.

When it comes to Siddhu Jonnalagadda, he is set to reprise his role of DJ Tillu in a sequel film titled Tillu Square. Besides this, he will team up with Tamannaah Bhatia and Shibani Dandekar in Prasanth Varmas This is Mahalakshmi, the Telugu adaptation of Kangana Ranauts Queen. Lastly, he is also set to feature in the yet-untitled remake of Thallumaala.
JAMSETJI TATA DEATH ANNIVERSARY: From an iron and steel company, a world-class educational institution, to the first hydroelectric power plant, the founder of the TATA group Jamsetji Tata sowed the seeds of development on the Indian soil. Being a visionary with an exceptional entrepreneurial spirit, Jamsetji Tata shaped a successful business conglomerate and helped bring India on par with other industrial nations. Today, on the death anniversary of Jamsetji Tata, let us remember the industrialist and how he established the steel-to-salt conglomerate.

Born on March 3, 1839, in the Navsari town of Gujarat, Jamsetji was the only son of Nusserwanji Tata. In a family of priests, he turned out to be the first one to dive into business. At the age of 14, Jamsetji joined his father in Bombay and went to Elphinstone College there. He received a liberal education and graduated in 1858 which made him harbour a love for academics and reading throughout his life. He later joined his fathers small firm in 1857 and gained experience for nine years. At 29 years, Jamsetji went on to open his trading company with a capital of Rs 21,000. He believed that Indian companies had the potential to dominate the British textile industry and opened a cotton mill in 1869. Jamsetji sold the mill two years later and went to England on an extended visit to study the Lancashire cotton trade. Impressed by the machinery, quality of produce and workforce, Jamsetji made it a point to achieve it in his homeland. Jamsetji also nurtured the dream of establishing a steel plant capable of making the best quality products. The idea struck him during his trip to Manchester where he went to check new machinery for his mill. However, Jamsetji could not materialise this dream before dying in 1904.
On May 21, 1990, at around 10:00 am, two visitors arrived at Mirwaiz Molvi Farooqs residence in Nageen. Simultaneously, three young individuals, aged 18 to 25, claimed to have a scheduled appointment and gained entry after the initial visitors left. Molvi Farooqs secretary, Syed Rahman Shamas, and another security guard, Mohammad Maqbool, were present in a separate room. The young individuals spent 15 to 20 minutes with Molvi Farooq before he was shot with a 7.65 pistol, sustaining severe injuries to his head, shoulders, and abdomen.

Due to the severity of his condition, Molvi Farooq was immediately transferred to SKIMS Hospital in Soura. Medical professionals performed surgery, but unfortunately, he succumbed to his gunshot wounds at 12:25 pm.

In a momentous news conference on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, the Jammu and Kashmir Police delivered a breakthrough in the long-standing case of Molvi Farooqs assassination. After 32 years, the two elusive terrorists responsible for the murder were finally captured.

Since that fateful day on May 21, 1990, these terrorists had evaded capture by hiding in different countries like Nepal and Pakistan. But their days on the run came to an end when they returned to Kashmir a few years ago. The terrorists, identified as Zahoor Ahmad Bhat and Javaid Ahmad Bhat, known as Ajmal Khan and Bilal, were finally brought to justice. Out of the total five terrorists involved in this heinous act, Abdullah Bangroo and Rahman Shigan met their deserved fate earlier during encounters with security forces in the 1990s. The wheels of justice continue to turn, leaving no room for these terrorists to escape the consequences of their actions.

Throughout the years, a deliberate narrative perpetuated by Pakistans ISI, their paid secessionists, intellectuals, and self-proclaimed champions of civil liberties has sought to conceal the truth surrounding the killers of Mirwaiz Molvi Farooq. Instead of openly acknowledging that the murderers were terrorists, armed and financially supported by our neighbouring country Pakistan, they cunningly labelled them as unknown gunmen. This was a calculated deception aimed to manipulate the world and the people of Kashmir into believing that it was the Indian state responsible for Molvi Farooqs murder, rather than the terrorists sponsored by Pakistan. The truth, however, remains resolute: Mirwaiz Molvi Farooq was ruthlessly murdered by terrorists aligned with pro-Pakistani terrorist groups like Hizbul Mujahideen and Hizbula. These terrorist organisations branded him as an Indian agent due to his participation in a purported political process aimed at achieving peace with the Indian government. Blinded by their warped ideology, the Pakistani-sponsored terrorists callously executed him, silencing a voice advocating for dialogue and reconciliation. It is imperative to recognise the malevolent forces at play, orchestrating acts of terror to fuel separatism and undermine peace in the region.

Pakistans reprehensible actions knew no bounds, as they even targeted the funeral procession of Molvi Farooq. Infiltrating a procession of 20,000 to 25,000 mourners from Soura, terrorists orchestrated a meticulously planned assault. As the funeral procession made its way towards Rajouri Kadal, it was intercepted by the CRPF forces near Islamia College in Hawal. What ensued was a nightmarish display of violence, carefully engineered by the terrorists. They instigated confusion and chaos, hurling stones at the CRPF personnel, while armed terrorists within the procession unleashed a hail of gunfire from AK-47 rifles, attacking the CRPF picket at Hawal. This horrific incident resulted in the loss of over 60 innocent civilian lives, with more than 200 individuals sustaining grave injuries due to the crossfire. The event, now known as the deadliest massacre in Kashmir, was a calculated scheme masterminded by Pakistan.

The truth, however, was twisted and distorted, as people were falsely led to believe that the Indian state was responsible for the assassination of Molvi Farooq and intentionally carried out a massacre during his funeral procession. The reality is far more sinister and implicates Pakistan in orchestrating this heinous act, aiming to instigate unrest and manipulate public sentiment. The consequences were dire, as a perpetual cycle of hate and warfare against India engulfed the Kashmiri region. Molvi Farooqs assassination served as a catalyst, but it was only the beginning. Pakistani-backed terrorists orchestrated countless political and civilian killings, plunging the situation into deeper despair.

On April 1, 1993, Dr Abdul Ahad Guru, a pioneering Kashmiri cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon, fell victim to a merciless terrorist attack. And on June 19, 1994, Qazi Nissar, a revered religious scholar and educator, met a similar fate. These were just a few examples of the countless lives ruthlessly snuffed out by terrorists supported by Pakistan. Yet, the entire secessionist and pro-Pakistani ecosystem propagated a twisted narrative. The killers were not mere unknown gunmen, but ruthless terrorists. Yet, a web of deceit was cunningly woven to sow confusion and falsely paint India as the culprit. The aftermath of such deceitful narratives was nothing short of catastrophic. The youth, deceived by false information, took up arms and waged a misguided war against their own country. Grave after grave was dug, as innocent lives were sacrificed for a hollow and fabricated cause.

Three decades have passed, and justice continues to elude the victims of countless killings. Among them are the brutal murders of Kashmiri Pandits, including KL Ganju, his wife Serwanand Kaul Premi, Mahant Keshav Nath, Tika Lal Taploo, NK Ganju, Prem Nath Bhat, Ajay Kapoor, and many others. These innocent lives were tragically snuffed out by terrorists like the JKLF Chief Yasin Malik, yet their quest for justice remains unfulfilled.

In the face of overwhelming evidence, the truth was callously sacrificed, and a false narrative persisted. Blame was unjustly shifted onto former Governor Jagmohan for the exodus and killings of Kashmiri Pandits. However, the reality is starkly different.

The long-awaited arrest of the killers of Molvi Farooq after an agonising 32 years sends a resounding message: The Indian state possesses unwavering political will, superiority, and the necessary resources to apprehend the terrorists sponsored by Pakistan. This monumental achievement serves as a firm declaration from the authorities that Jammu and Kashmir will no longer be left vulnerable to the machinations of subversionists, terrorists, and fundamentalists.

The impact of such breakthroughs reverberates across the public sphere, leaving an indelible imprint on the collective consciousness. It has become undeniably clear that terrorists can no longer evade the consequences of their monstrous crimes. Moreover, those who have actively or passively participated in these acts of terror will not escape scrutiny.

The writer is a Srinagar-based Journalist and columnist. He is also the recipient of Outstanding Media Person Award by the Jammu & Kashmir Government on Republic Day-2023. Views expressed are personal.
Case 1: It was an unusually busy and buzzy day in the otherwise sleepy village of Undhela in Gujarats Kheda district. Ten young Muslim men were brought to the chowk by police and each one was held against a pillar and caned by policemen in plain clothes. As the video shows, the villagers shouted Bharat Mata ki Jai, while the caning continued. Some others were seen cheering and clapping. These 10 men were among 43 who allegedly threw stones, indulged in violence and disrupted a garba event at the same chowk the previous night.

Case 2: At a store in Citrus Springs in Florida, USA, Roy and Robert Lashley met a black man, who too was shopping there. Seeing an Afro-American man, Roy repeatedly used racial slurs. Later the two followed the victim into the parking lot. There, Robert ran to the victim and hit him several times, while Roy retrieved an axe handle from his truck, ran to the scene, and struck the victim multiple times with it. The victim sustained deep injuries to his face and legs.

There are numerous such cases in the US of targeted killings in the name of religion and colour. In one case, in January this very year, a Black man was seen screaming for his mother as US cops beat him to death, reminding one of the killing of George Floyd in 2020 that led to the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement. Statistically speaking, this year, the trend of fatal police shootings in the United States seems to be only increasing, with a total 344 civilians having been shot, 42 of whom were Black (as of 1 May 2023). In 2022, there were 1,096 fatal police shootings, of them more than one-fifth (225) were connected with Black. In 2021, there were 1,048 fatal shootings  and 233 of them came from the Black background.

When one analyses the two given cases, they appear similar in nature  of police brutality, of targeting a particular community (religious or racial). In fact, in the first case, the victim has been at least accused of throwing stones, indulging in violence and disrupting a garba event. But in the second case, there was no such provocation; it was sheer racial hatred that led to the targeting of that Black man. But the State Departments Religious Freedom Report 2022, released by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Washington on Monday, has picked out Case 1, among other isolated incidents in India, to project the image of a majoritarian state indulging in targeted attacks against members of religious minorities. As for the violence in America, they remain law and order issues.

Apart from the selected targeting of Muslims, the report also highlights how religious conversion in India is under state scrutiny. Thirteen of 28 states have laws restricting religious conversions for all faiths. Some of these states also impose penalties specifically against forced religious conversions for the purpose of marriage although historically, some state high courts have dismissed cases brought under these laws, it said.

What this report doesnt say is that the laws in these states are reactive in nature; they have been made after several cases of undue influence, coercion, and allurement came to light. As Section 3 of Uttar Pradeshs Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 says, No person shall convert or attempt to convert another individual, directly or otherwise, by misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means. It is only in the case of violations of Section 3 that one is punished by prison terms between one and five years and a fine of at least Rs 15,000. One wonders how a law that stops undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means can be cited to paint India and its democracy in dark hues.

The Religious Freedom Report 2022, however, is not one of its kind in targeting India and its leadership. In fact, in the last year, especially after the Ukraine war and with India heading for a parliamentary election early next year, the anti-India, anti-Modi tirade has only increased. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), for instance, had come up with its report in March this year and it too had targeted India for promulgating the anti-conversion laws. It accused the 12 Indian states of promulgating the anti-conversion laws that grossly violated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

But it was the report of the US Holocaust Museum that took the cake. This report came out in December last year and its Early Warning Project for 2022-23 has ranked India eighth in the top 15 highest-risk countries in the world. Our statistical model estimates that there is a 7.4 percent, or approximately 1 in 14, chance of a new mass killing beginning in India in 2022 or 2023. India ranks 8th highest-risk among 162 countries, the report said. For the last six years, India has ranked in the top 15 highest-risk countries in the world. Interestingly, as per the latest report, India is just better off than Afghanistan, but worse than Sudan, Somalia, Syria and Iraq in the same ascending order. Even autocratic China, ranked 23rd in the list, is better off than democratic India!

The Western doublespeak is obvious when one realises that Black Americans make up 13 percent of the US population but are killed by police at more than twice the rate of white Americans, as the Washington Post had reported. Still, the Americans never shy off from lecturing the worlds largest democracy with a content-size population and globe-like diversity. Europeans have experienced a surge in government restrictions on religious activity over the last decade, as per a recent PEW survey, but they remain the paragon of libertarian values.

Pallavi Aiyar writes in Punjabi Parmesan: Dispatches from a Europe in Crisis, The laws passed across Europe aimed at restricting the public performance of Muslim belief are rarely in proportion to the reality of the Muslim presence. A 2009 Swiss ban on minarets was carried out despite the existence of a sum total of four minarets in the entire country; while the French interior ministry estimates that less than 1 percent of Muslim girls wore headscarves to schools before they were banned. The number of women who chose to wear burqas in the country before they were outlawed was around 350, a fourth of whom were converts.

Still, when an Indian educational institution in Karnataka  and not the Government of India  decides to enforce its dress code in the classroom, all hell breaks loose. Indian democracy, secularism and liberalism  all seem to be imperiled. But the West comes out unscathed even for the worst of crimes. This was also evident during the so-called farmers protest in India, when the West joined in chorus to go soft with the protesters, but while dealing with their own protesters, they took the most undemocratic measures available to them.

The political nature of the Religious Freedom Report 2022 is obvious when it talks about the 26 April letter by, 108 former senior government officials, who wrote Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that government discrimination against religious minorities, particularly Muslims, in states like Assam, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, was undermining the countrys Constitution. But what about the open letter written by eight former judges, 97 ex-bureaucrats, and 92 former armed forces in support of the current dispensation in India?

The timing of the Religious Freedom Report 2022 is interesting, as it comes ahead of Prime Minister Modis first official state visit to the US. The US-led West wants India by its side, as has been obvious during the ongoing Ukraine crisis, but it is vehemently opposed to the idea of a strong and powerful India. It wants an ally against rising China, but more in the mould of Ukraine, whose leadership has taken the self-destructive path while pushing the Western interest in Kiev. To its misfortune, India isnt Ukraine. And Modi definitely isnt Zelenskyy. And thats where such anti-India reports become relevant: To tarnish the image of India and its political leadership, and push for a regime change in 2024  a government that it hopes will be more pliant to Western interest and prone to American pressure.

The author is Opinion Editor, Firstpost and News18. He tweets from @Utpal_Kumar1. Views expressed are personal.
In geographical terms, Maldives is a small country compared to most others. In terms of national sovereignty and the global strategic initiatives it signs into, the nation is no less than any other. Maybe, it is more strategically located than many others, as a result, Maldives relations with the larger Indian neighbour, especially in matters of defence and security, and the more recently achieved closure to the long-standing IMBL dispute with Mauritius in the South, have both become meat for the domestic political mill. They are so independent of the truth and logic behind the arguments that are proffered by political adversaries of incumbent President Ibrahim Solih. It makes it all the more personal and political than foreign and security policy issues, as they are being sought to be made out.

In this overall background, the irony was that Maldivian Vice President Faisal Naseem was urging for peace in the Indian Ocean at a conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh, when the nations Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid was participating and also co-moderating a green energy round-table of the Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum of the European Union (EU) at Stockholm, Sweden. If one agrees that the multiple Indo-Pacific initiatives at times working at cross-purposes is not only about altruist intentions to make the inherited world a better place for future generations but is also about making it more secure (here there are differences in ideas and interpretations), then one will (have to) agree that the two Maldivian leaders may have been working at cross-purposes, all at once.

It does not stop with the Maldives. Neighbouring Sri Lankas Ports and Shipping Minister, Nimal Siripala de Silva, was at Dhaka, his choice indicating the nations priority just now, vis a vis the Indian Ocean. The nations Foreign Minister Ali Sabry was in Stockholm, chairing a round-table discussion on Building more sustainable and inclusive prosperity together. It is indicative of the way and direction in which the world and the region, in particular, has travelled since the early sixties, when Sri Lanka was spearheading a campaign for declaring the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace. Only years later, in 1966, the US obtained Diego Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in a controversial deal with an erstwhile British coloniser and converted it into a military base.

Positions, postures

Indias initiatives, positions and postures in the Indian Ocean on one hand and the Indo-Pacific on the other, lent greater direction and purpose. Delivering the keynote address at the Dhaka conference, for instance, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar declared that New Delhi was committed to the wellbeing of Indian Ocean nations. In the same vein, he added that the Indo-Pacific is now a reality. He did not clarify if he was just referring to Indo-Pacific as a new geographical marker or has invested it with what New Delhi has conceptualised along with the US, Japan and Australia.

There are reasons. One, India is a partner in both the US-initiated Indo-Pacific and Quad. Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen Anil Chauhan, participated in military commanders conference on the Indo-Pacific in the US with the UK. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to be in Australia for a Quad summit later this month but it has been put off as US President Joe Biden is getting caught in debt-ceiling negotiations with the US Congress. However, Modi may continue with the scheduled bilateral with Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.

A day earlier, on 22 May, he will be in Papua New Guinea in the neighbourhood, for the third India-Pacific Islands Cooperation Summit (India-Pacific summit). The forum brings together 14 Pacific islands, namely, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. En route, he would be there at the G7 summit in Japan.

All of it is fine, but then, some time ago, it was said that India did not want Quad to become a military alliance. In fact, when the US, the UK and Australia surprised the world with their AUKUS, a military alliance, one of the reasons given was that Quad could not take that road on Indias insistence. Yet, there was no knowing if India  and also Japan, the other Quad member  were adequately taken into confidence before the AUKUS came into being, as if out of the blue.

The question is the Quad constitutes the founding members of the Indo-Pacific, where membership is wide open. Rather, what distinguishes the two? Independent of both, India is again a member of the independent Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) of regional nations, including of course, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Mauritius, with Seychelles and Bangladesh as observers (for the present). Whether or not India sees its multiple initiatives of the kind pointing to its greater interest in promoting the US-led Indo-Pacific, at least other nations in the region have come to believe that is after all the case.

French connection

In the overall context, the US-led Indo-Pacific triggered interests (and possible concerns) elsewhere and the EU came up with one of its own. They even had an introductory workshop in Colombo, before the mass protests in Sri Lanka that led to internal disturbances and regime change. Such instances, coupled with the continuing Ukraine War, may have delayed the EU initiative but not dampened its enthusiasm. That is a possible message from the recent Stockholm round-table. Its not as if what it was about. Instead, it was about what it is now.

Yet, the EU plans are not without inherent hiccups. Old-world member nations like France and Germany are said to want to spread the forgotten European glory across the globe. They sorely feel the absence of their colonial glory though they may be willing to tailor and tune their ambitions to contemporary realities. Between them, Germany, at least before the Ukraine War, was seen as willing to play the second-fiddle to France, smitten as it is still by the 20th century past  the two Great Wars and their cumulative fallout on the nation and its overseas image, near and afar.

They, however, faced a problem as new members that they ushered into the EU without second thoughts seemed willingly yield to unsaid American pressure, of not toeing the line of these two in particular. After the commencement of the Ukraine War, there are perceptible differences in the approach and attitude of France and Germany. The latter wants oil from Russia but also wants to arm Ukraine to fight off Russia. France does not seem to care too much.

Yet, the common goal, which they seem to want to take up with the EU, maybe a little later, is to reach out to the larger Indo-Pacific region, where France has 24 island nations to call its own. There are another 20 French islands in the Atlantic, but that is immaterial just now. The French islands in the Indo-Pacific give the need and justification, and also concern and commitment, to reach out to the larger region, be it in political, economic or strategic terms.

France is not in alliance with the US in any of the American initiatives of the kind. But it has independent economic and security out-reaches with other nations in these regions. For instance, the militaries of France and India regularly exercise in and around French Reunion islands on the mouth of the Indian Ocean, not far away from Americas Diego Garcia military base and the adjoining waters of BIOT (British Indian Ocean Territory).

Hidden agenda

Yet, in the post-Cold War contemporary era, the credit for ushering in the concept of Indo-Pacific, without calling it by that name, belongs to China. It had the String of Pearls strategic encirclement of India in the immediate and extended Indian Ocean region, but through purported development cooperation initiatives. For now, China has the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka and has a radar station coming up at the lands end, Dundra Point, both on 99-year-long leases.

China has since expanded it all in the name of ambitious/over-ambitious BRI, and at the same time has begun with a naval base in Djibouti. It is also eyeing properties in the Pacific, closer to the US mainland. The Covid hazard and more so, the bad name that China got as the source of the same, had come as a dampener, but Beijing is slowly but surely trying to shake them off with initiatives that would be packaged as developmental aid for a post-Covid revival of third world economies, but with a hidden strategic agenda, too.

There is another unlikely candidate in the race, but running parallel and not within the group or groups identified as the global Indo-Pacific contest. Russia has chosen the strategic route without using, selling or firing a weapon. In Indias neighbourhood, Russia has agreements with Bangladesh and now Myanmar for setting up nuclear power plants. In fact, India is the third partner in Bangladesh, in charge of civil construction and the like, while the nuclear plant and nuclear fuel come from Russia. Right now, Russia is expanding its nuclear power-based strategic outreach to the rest of South-East Asia, and has agreements with a few nations in the region.

Waiting time

In this background, the question arises, Which Indo-Pacific are you talking about? Barring China, India fits into all combos barring one-on-one with all others. Even with China, though in Indo-Pacific proper, India is a partner in BRICS and the reigning chair of SCO, albeit in the company of a friendly Russia. It is too early to speculate if Chinas BRI and Russias below-the-radar Indo-Pacific would meet somewhere, someday.

It is clearer in the case of Indias friends from the West, granting the ideological divide between this larger grouping and the supposedly left-leaning combo-less combo of China and Russia, India is a founding partner in the US-led Indo-Pacific and Quad, but has not stated its approach towards the EU-centric Indo-Pacific. With the EU, Indias initiatives and partnerships are on the bilateral plane, either with individual nations or the EU as a grouping, but not with the EU as a defence and security-centric entity. That is also because, despite several attempts, the EU refuses to evolve into a defence entity along with its substantial institutional presence on the political and economic fronts. Here too, India and the EU are struggling to negotiate an FTA for years now. Owing to internal dynamics that has pitted numbers against original goals, the EU is unable to come up with a cohesive defence and security policy approach to support the fairly well-defined foreign policy objective of the grouping.

Until they make it work together as a powerful engine, the EUs political focus viz India or other third nations will have to be confined to a soft power approach to such esoteric ideas as human rights. When they develop that invisible yet collective strategic muscle in and for the external world, say, in the Indo-Pacific, then like the US before it, the EU too would make human rights, ecology and environment, subservient to its overall strategic policy.

That is to say, like my terrorist and your terrorist, you will then have my violator and your violator. But unlike in the case of the US, the EU will have to think as one body and not as a group of nations with different perceptions and priorities. India can wait until then to make its choice, unless it is as altruist as believed in matters of keeping Indo-Pacific and Quad, non-military groupings, with similar or at least near-similar purposes and goals.

The writer is a Chennai-based policy analyst & political commentator. Views expressed are personal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a busy global schedule over the next few days. First, the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 20 where he will meet US President Joe Biden on the sidelines. Then, in between a stopover in Papua New Guinea (PNG), the island strategically located north of Australia in Chinas Indo-Pacific backyard, a series of engagements in Sydney, including a bilateral with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Next month Biden will host Modi for a four-day state visit in Washington, beginning June 22, with a black-tie banquet dinner at the White House thrown in. Its only the third state visit Biden has hosted for a foreign leader since he took office in January 2021.

What lies behind the US charm offensive? India has to be careful not to be swept off its feet. Washington needs India for three reasons: China, China and China.

The Wests break with China is existential. Economic ties are being loosened. Alternative supply chains are being set up. China will remain the worlds factory for some time to come. But the unravelling has begun.

Beijings deepening support of Russias invasion of Ukraine has added to the Wests conviction of the economic and security threat China poses to a Western world order. That threat is serious enough for Washington to forgive India for shipping Russian crude to Europe as refined fuel, including diesel, thus evading sanctions.

Europe is less forgiving. This week in Brussels the European Unions foreign policy chief Joseph Borel said that India should be penalised for avoiding sanctions in this roundabout manner.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal looking on at a press conference in Brussels soon after Borels comment, minced no words in calling out Europes double standards: Look at EU Council regulations. Russian crude is substantially transformed in a third country and not treated as Russian anymore. I would urge you to look at Councils Regulation 833/2014.

Jaishankar had called out Europes hypocrisy earlier as well: Our trade with Russia is at a very small level  $12-13 billion, in comparison with European countries. I dont think people should read more into it other than the legitimate expectations of any country to increase its trade. I would urge you to look at these figures. There is a website called Russia Fossil Fuel Tracker that gives you country-by-country data of who is really importing what and I suspect that might be very, very helpful.

Washington has prosecuted the war against Russia with the same uncompromising ruthlessness that enabled it to colonise the new world, push indigenous Americans into impoverished Reservations, and use African slaves shipped across the Atlantic by European slave traders to create the worlds most powerful country.

The US has wielded its hegemonic power on behalf of the West for over a century. Americas foreign and military policy from 1950 onwards was tailored to defeat the Soviet communist threat. That mission was accomplished in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. But the West missed seeing in plain sight the rise of China.

By the time it woke up to Beijings economic, technological and military threat, the rules had changed. Russias invasion of Ukraine gave America the pretext to use Ukraine and Western weaponry to terminally weaken Russia.

The tactic has worked, at least partially. Russia has been terminally weakened. But it has given rise to an unintended consequence: an even greater threat to the West  a China-Russia axis.

One of the reasons Biden is wooing India is to persuade it to keep the Global South on the Wests side. The Wests recurring nightmare is large countries like South Africa and Brazil moving from neutrality towards closer economic ties with the China-Russia alliance.

As a leader of the Global South, the West recognises that keeping India on its side is critical. With a GDP approaching $4 trillion, its a matter of time before India overtakes Germany ($4.1 trillion) and Japan ($4.3 trillion) to emerge as the worlds third-largest economy.

Outside China, India is also the worlds biggest consumer and internet market. It has an established legal system, a vibrant democracy, and English as the primary language of business. There are few US and European companies who want to miss being part of the India story.

But Indian policymakers must be under no illusion. The West is interested in India for its utility value. When India wasnt seen as useful in the 1950s-1990s, the US treated New Delhi with indifference.

India today finds itself in a sweet spot: a pivot in the emerging triad of axes: the US-led West, China-Russia, and the Global South.

Just as the West uses India for the economic and security advantages it offers in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, so must India strategically use the West for the advantages it offers. What are these?

First, defence linkages through multilateral alliances. The I2U2 alliance between India, Israel, the UAE and the US is one example. The Quad, despite its waffling agenda, is another. The trilateral initiative with France and the UAE too holds promise.

Second, technology. China stole US technology for 30 years and reverse-engineered it. India has developed indigenous technology  from space to digitisation. It must use its relationship with the US to leverage the sharing of critical technologies. The high-level dialogue held in Washington earlier this year between India and the US on the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET) is a move in the right direction.

Third, trade. The West habitually uses international institutions like the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), apart from various tentacles of the United Nations (UN), to set global rules in its favour. In return for cooperating with the West on geopolitical pressure points, India must ensure rules governing, for example, action on climate change and free trade agreements are fairer than they have historically been.

When you deal with the West, keep your aces up your sleeve. But never hesitate to play them when needed.

The writer is an editor, author and publisher. Views expressed are personal.
The stage is set for Karnataka chief minister-designate Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister-designate D K Shivakumars oath taking ceremony at 12.30 pm on Saturday at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who flew in from Bengaluru along with general secretary in-charge Randeep Surjewala, held discussions with party leadership in Delhi discussed government formations and are believed to have shortlisted some names of ministers and their portfolios.

Closed-door Meetings

Siddaramaiah, accompanied by AICC general secretary K C Venugopal and Surjewala, engaged in a closed-door meeting to discuss potential cabinet members. Later, D K Shivakumar joined them for further discussions. Following an hour-long deliberation, Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar, Surjewala, and Venugopal met Rahul Gandhi at 10, Janpath, where they held extensive talks for over an hour and a half. In addition, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar formally extended invitations to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for the upcoming swearing-in ceremony.

After meeting Rahul Gandhi, Surjewala and Vengugopal headed to party chief Mallikarjun Kharges residence where they are said to have finalised the list of ministers, which sources said would be around 20. Venugopal had earlier said a bunch" of ministers would also be taking oath.

The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) conducted a meeting on Thursday where Siddaramaiah was formally elected as its leader. Subsequently, he staked claim with the governor and received an invitation to form the government.

Regarding the attendance of Opposition leaders, Shivakumar stated, We have requested our AICC president to take care of that. For us, the first priority is the Congress president and the Gandhi family, and we are here to invite them personally."

Portfolios, Representation from All Communities

With no official announcement made, reports suggest that only a few ministers are expected to be sworn in. The new cabinet is likely to ensure representation from all regions of the state and various sections of society, including SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, women, youth, as well as the prominent communities of Lingayats and Vokkaligas. D.K. Shivakumar, belonging to the Vokkaliga community, is among those involved in the formation of the cabinet, sources said.

Shivakumar has assured that the promises made by leaders like Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi to the people of Karnataka would be fulfilled in the first Cabinet meeting itself. Newly-elected MLA Priyanka Kharge, who is a probable minister, met Shivakumar at his brothers residence. Before departing for Delhi, Shivakumar reiterated that fulfilling the promises made to the people remains their top priority. He further stresses on unity and stated, We will work unitedly; there is no need for any speculation. We will keep you informed about the cabinet and other matters."

Opposition Unity at Swearing-In

Siddaramaiahs swearing-in ceremony as Chief Minister of Karnataka will showcase opposition unity, with the presence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, National Conference President Farooq Abdullah and several other leaders from the non-BJP bloc. The gathering signifies a collective effort in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge has extended invitations to leaders from various political parties, including JMM, RJD, Shiv Sena, SP, PDP, CPI(M), CPI, MDMK, RSP, CPI(ML), VCK, RLD, Kerala Congress, and IUML, for the swearing-in ceremony. Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister M Veerappa Moily said: It (the swearing-in ceremony) could also be launchpad for the opposition unity and demonstration of strength and solidarity".

However, the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala criticized the Congress for not inviting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, stating that it reflects the grand old partys immaturity and political fragility.

While the event aims to promote opposition unity, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee will not be in attendance, making her absence conspicuous.

Siddaramaiah Faces Cabinet Balancing Act

The initial challenge that Siddaramaiah is anticipated to confront is the formation of a Cabinet that ensures a balanced representation of various communities, regions, factions, as well as a mix of experienced and new legislators. With a sanctioned strength of 34, there is intense competition among numerous aspirants vying for ministerial positions.

top videos

On the first day of assuming power in the state, the Congress has pledged to fulfill a series of guarantees" to the people. These include providing 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), extending monthly assistance of Rs 2,000 to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), offering 10 kg of free rice to each member of a below poverty line (BPL) household (Anna Bhagya), granting Rs 3,000 per month for graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for diploma holders (between the ages of 18 and 25) for a duration of two years (YuvaNidhi), and ensuring free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti). The Congress remains committed to implementing these promises from the moment they assume power in the state.

(With inputs from PTI)
When Sonia Gandhi gave up charge of the Congress party in October last year, and passed the baton to Mallikarjun Kharge, it was with a sigh of relief. But knowing the way the party works, in private Sonia knew that she would still have to be around.

The four-day-long Karnataka crisis" has once again showcased the duo who matter, and that its Sonia and Kharge who would have to be the jodi to guide and help the party sail through, especially with Lok Sabha elections around next year.

The Sonia-Kharge duo twinned in the last few hours before the Congress officially put a lid on the Karnataka natak, and announced Siddaramaiah as the chief minister and DK Shivakumar as his deputy.

Actually, the tipping point was when DK Shivakumars supporters gave media bites and demanded that he be made the chief minister. This even as DK was meeting Rahul Gandhi and the Gandhis had told him that justice would be done. The Congress president cracked the whip and insisted that the issue needed to be sorted in a couple of hours. Randeep Surjewala was asked to issue a statement in which he said that disciplinary action would be taken against those leaders who made public comments on the CM issue.

Then Kharge spoke to Sonia Gandhi and both KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala were asked to meet the two warring Karnataka leaders separately and explain the urgency. The message from the president and the Gandhis was clear  Siddaramaiah would be CM while DK Shivakumar would be the only deputy CM. He would also continue as state party chief till the Lok Sabha polls. This last bit was important because, in an election year, the one who controls the party and distributes tickets has the power.

On the rotation system, the party decided not to go public for two reasons. One, it would make Siddaramaiah look weak. Second, it would increase tensions between the two.

top videos

These sources say it was Sonia Gandhis idea which Kharge agreed with. Sonia was aware that the Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh examples meant that rotation or even a deputy chief ministership may not be a guarantee of justice. So she called up DK Shivakumar and assured him that she would never allow a repeat of what happened in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh to him. DK could not say no to Sonia and he blinked first.

This sets a trend. With tough calls coming up in state polls ahead, the two would be called upon to manoeuvre a solution. Sonia may need to postpone her retirement plans and Kharge would still need her by his side.
Around a week since the Karnataka election results, distinctly different scenes are playing out in the Congress and the BJP. The former is trying to analyse the political ramifications of making Siddaramaiah the Chief Minister, while RSS-BJP seniors are busy dissecting how the Hindutva plank failed in the coastal Karnataka region.

Despite the smooth working equation between BL Santosh, the general secretary of the BJP, and Dattatreya Hosabale, the general secretary of the RSS  both from the Sangh pedigree and the region of Mysore  the saffron partys overall vote-share in coastal Karnataka almost halved in many seats. The number of seats also took a plunge as the BJPs tally of 17 seats in 2018 went gone down to 13 seats this time. The coastal belt of Karnataka includes three districts and has 19 Assembly seats across the region.

Of the 19 Assembly seats in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts, the BJP lost two seats in Uttara Kannada and one in Dakshina Kannada. According to News18s analysis of the vote-share, the BJP has gone down by at least 20% to 40% in vote share even in the seats it won.

Excessive Drop in Vote Share

Dakshina Kannada, which has been a fortress of the RSS-BJP for decades, saw an unusual slump in BJP vote share even in the seats the party won. In Dakshina Kannada seats like Belthangady, the BJPs vote share nosedived from 82% in 2018 to 53% in 2023, even though the party managed to win the seat.

In Moodabidri, known as one of the strongholds of the RSS-BJP combine, the saffron partys vote share went down to 56% from 76.19% in 2018. In Sullia, the BJP vote share hit an all-time low of 57% from 89% in 2018. The BJP had been winning the seat by a huge margin for the last three Assembly elections.

The party lost Puttur to Congress in the district. Hindus constitute around 72% of the voters here, while Muslims total around 23%. The BJP recorded a vote share of 82.47% in 2018 elections here, but this year it dropped to 23%.

The RSS is said to be disappointed with the result as the organization is most active on the ground in coastal Karnataka. It has suffered losses, as many of its volunteers were murdered in the area and it has been in constant conflict with the now-banned PFI in the region.

Of the six seats in Uttara Kannada, the BJP won two  Yellapur and Kumta. The Congress won the rest four  Sirsi, Karwar, Haliyal and Bhatkal. In Dakshina Kannada, it won in six seats  Moodbidri, Bantwal, Sullia, Mangaluru City South, Mangaluru City North, and Belthangady. The Congress won Puttur and Mangalore.

Not About Halal-Hijab, But Insecurity

A senior RSS functionary told News18 that the election result was not a failure of hijab-halal issues, which are now being portrayed as the primary cause of the defeat.

The issues related to hijab and halal were nothing unusual. These were relevant issues that were raised and questioned. It was unfortunate that the government, which was our own, did not really stand by our Swayamsevaks, our members. They fought a lone battle against the fundamentalists and militants of PFI."

Significantly, the murder of Praveen Nettaru, an RSS member and BJYM leader, was the tipping point for the RSS. The resentment among local BJP and RSS members against the government ran high.

top videos

Dozens of our young volunteers were literally butchered, some were grievously injured saving our religious values. Their families were not taken care of by the government. We, from the Sangha, and the locals managed to somehow run their families, bringing some relief to them. Some of the murder cases have been going on for decades, the witnesses turned hostile too. The government did not do anything. Our young men felt insecure, the functionary quoted above said further.

In many seats where Hindus have absolute majority, the BJPs vote share dropped by 30% to 40%. In some, the BJP has lost. Isnt this abnormal or unusual for a region like coastal Karnataka? Anyone who understands the region will look at it with grave concern. Our workers did not go out, they lost confidence," said another senior functionary based out of the coastal belt in Karnataka.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday delivered a keynote speech at the China-Central Asia Summit held in the city of Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

The following is the full text of the speech:

Working Together for a China-Central Asia Community with a Shared Future

Featuring Mutual Assistance, Common Development, Universal Security, and Everlasting Friendship

Keynote Speech by H.E. Xi Jinping

President of the People's Republic of China

At the China-Central Asia Summit

19 May 2023

Distinguished Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

I'd like to welcome you all to Xi'an for the China-Central Asia Summit to explore together ways for closer cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries.

Xi'an, known as Chang'an in ancient times, is an important cradle of the Chinese civilization and nation. It is also the starting point of the ancient Silk Road on the east end. Over 2,100 years ago, Zhang Qian, a Han Dynasty envoy, made his journey to the West from Chang'an, opening the door to the friendship and exchanges between China and Central Asia. With their joint endeavor of hundreds of years, Chinese and Central Asian peoples made the Silk Road expand and prosper, a historic contribution to the interaction, integration, enrichment and development of world civilizations. The Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai once wrote, "In Chang'an we meet again, worthy of more than a thousand pieces of gold." Our gathering in Xi'an today to renew our millennia-old friendship and open up new vistas for the future is of very important significance.

Back in 2013, I put forward the initiative of jointly building a Silk Road Economic Belt during my first visit to Central Asia as Chinese president. Over the past decade, China and Central Asian countries have worked closely together to fully revive the Silk Road and actively deepen future-oriented cooperation, steering our relations into a new era.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan highway that runs across the Tianshan Mountain, the China-Tajikistan expressway that defies the Pamir Plateau, and the China-Kazakhstan crude oil pipeline and the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline that traverse the vast desert -- they are the present-day Silk Road. The China-Europe Railway Express operating around the clock, the endless streams of freight trucks, and crisscrossing flights -- they are the present-day camel caravans. Entrepreneurs seeking business opportunities, health workers fighting the COVID-19, cultural workers delivering message of friendship, and international students pursuing further education -- they are the present-day goodwill ambassadors.

The China-Central Asia relationship is steeped in history, driven by broad actual needs, and built on solid popular support. Our relations are brimming with vigor and vitality in the new era.

Colleagues,

Transformations of the world unseen in a century are unfolding at a faster pace. Changes of the world, of our times, and of the historical trajectory are taking place in ways like never before. Central Asia, the center of the Eurasian continent, is at a crossroads connecting the East and West, the South and North.

The world needs a stable Central Asia. The sovereignty, security, independence and territorial integrity of Central Asian countries must be upheld; their people's choice of development paths must be respected; and their efforts for peace, harmony and tranquility must be supported.

The world needs a prosperous Central Asia. A dynamic and prospering Central Asia will help people in the region achieve their aspiration for a better life. It will also lend strong impetus to global economic recovery.

The world needs a harmonious Central Asia. As a Central Asian saying goes, "Brotherhood is more precious than any treasure." Ethnic conflicts, religious strife, and cultural estrangement are not the defining feature of the region. Instead, solidarity, inclusiveness, and harmony are the pursuits of the Central Asian people. No one has the right to sow discord or stoke confrontation in the region, let alone seek selfish political interests.

The world needs an interconnected Central Asia. Blessed with unique geographical advantages, Central Asia has the right foundation, condition and capability to become an important connectivity hub of Eurasia and make unique contribution to the trading of goods, the interplay of civilizations and the development of science and technology in the world.

Colleagues,

At the virtual summit commemorating the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Central Asian countries held last year, we jointly announced our vision of a China-Central Asia community with a shared future. It was a historic choice made for the fundamental interests and bright future of our peoples in the new era. In building this community, we need to stay committed to four principles.

First, mutual assistance. It is important that we deepen strategic mutual trust, and always give each other unequivocal and strong support on issues concerning our core interests such as sovereignty, independence, national dignity, and long-term development. We should work together to ensure that our community features mutual assistance, solidarity, and mutual trust.

Second, common development. It is important that we continue to set the pace for Belt and Road cooperation and deliver on the Global Development Initiative. We should fully unlock our potentials in traditional areas of cooperation such as economy, trade, industrial capacity, energy and transportation. And we should forge new drivers of growth in finance, agriculture, poverty reduction, green and low-carbon development, medical service, health, and digital innovation. We should work together to ensure that our community features win-win cooperation and common progress.

Third, universal security. It is important that we act on the Global Security Initiative, and stand firm against external attempts to interfere in domestic affairs of regional countries or instigate color revolutions. We should remain zero-tolerant to the three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism, and strive to resolve security conundrums in the region. We should work together to ensure that our community features no-conflict and enduring peace.

Fourth, everlasting friendship. It is important that we implement the Global Civilization Initiative, carry forward our traditional friendship, and enhance people-to-people exchanges. We should do more to share our experience in governance, deepen cultural mutual learning, increase mutual understanding, and cement the foundation of the everlasting friendship between the Chinese and Central Asian peoples. We should work together to ensure that our community features close affinity and shared conviction.

Colleagues,

Our Summit has created a new platform and opened up new prospects for China-Central Asia cooperation. China will take this as an opportunity to step up coordination with all parties for good planning, development and progress of China-Central Asia cooperation.

First, we need to strengthen institutional building. We have set up meeting mechanisms on foreign affairs, economy, trade and customs, as well as a business council. China has also proposed establishment of meeting and dialogue mechanisms on industry and investment, agriculture, transportation, emergency response, education, and political parties, which will be platforms for all-round mutually beneficial cooperation between our countries.

Second, we need to expand economic and trade ties. China will take more trade facilitation measures, upgrade bilateral investment treaties, and open "green lanes" for streamlined customs clearance of agricultural and sideline products at all border ports between China and Central Asian countries. China will also hold a live-streaming sales event to further promote Central Asian products, and build a commodities trading center. All this is part of an effort to push two-way trade to new heights.

Third, we need to deepen connectivity. China will strive to increase the volume of cross-border cargo transportation, support the development of the trans-Caspian international transport corridor, enhance the traffic capacity of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan highway and the China-Tajikistan-Uzbekistan highway, and move forward consultations on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. China will seek to modernize the existing border ports at a faster pace, open a new border port at Biedieli, promote the opening of the air transportation market, and build a regional logistics network. China will also step up the development of China-Europe Railway Express assembly centers, encourage capable enterprises to build overseas warehouses in Central Asian countries, and build a comprehensive digital service platform.

Fourth, we need to expand energy cooperation. China would like to propose that we establish a China-Central Asia energy development partnership. We should expedite the construction of Line D of the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline, expand trade in oil and gas, pursue cooperation throughout the energy industrial chains, and strengthen cooperation on new energy and peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Fifth, we need to promote green innovation. China will work with Central Asian countries to conduct cooperation in such areas as improvement and utilization of saline-alkali land and water-saving irrigation, build together a joint laboratory on agriculture in arid lands, and tackle the ecological crisis of the Aral Sea. China supports establishing high-tech firms and IT industrial parks in Central Asia. China also welcomes Central Asian countries to participate in special cooperation programs under the Belt and Road Initiative, including programs on sustainable development technologies, innovation and start-up, and spatial information science and technology.

Sixth, we need to enhance capabilities for development. China will formulate a China-Central Asia special cooperation program for poverty reduction through science and technology, implement the "China-Central Asia technology and skills improvement scheme", set up more Luban Workshops in Central Asian countries, and encourage Chinese companies in Central Asia to create more local jobs. To bolster our cooperation and Central Asian development, China will provide Central Asian countries with a total of 26 billion RMB yuan of financing support and grant.

Seventh, we need to strengthen dialogue between civilizations. China invites Central Asian countries to take part in the "Cultural Silk Road" program, and will set up more traditional medicine centers in Central Asia. We will speed up establishment of cultural centers in each other's countries. China will continue to provide government scholarships for Central Asian countries, and support their universities in joining the University Alliance of the Silk Road. We will ensure the success of the Year of Culture and Arts for the Peoples of China and Central Asian Countries as well as the China-Central Asia high-level media dialogue. We will launch the "China-Central Asia Cultural and Tourism Capital" program, and open special train services for cultural tourism in Central Asia.

Eighth, we need to safeguard peace in the region. China is ready to help Central Asian countries strengthen capacity building on law enforcement, security and defense, support their independent efforts to safeguard regional security and fight terrorism, and work with them to promote cyber-security. We will continue to leverage the role of the coordination mechanism among Afghanistan's neighbors, and jointly promote peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

Colleagues,

Last October, the Communist Party of China successfully held its 20th National Congress, which laid out the central task of realizing the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and advancing rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization. It is a grand blueprint for China's future development. We will strengthen theoretical and practical exchanges with Central Asian countries on modernization, synergize our development strategies, create more opportunities for cooperation, and jointly advance the modernization process of our six countries.

Colleagues,

There is a proverb popular among farmers in Shaanxi Province, "If you work hard enough, gold will grow out of the land." In the same vein, a Central Asian saying goes, "You get rewarded if you give, and you harvest if you sow." Let us work closely together to pursue common development, common affluence, and common prosperity, and embrace a brighter future for our six countries!

Thank you.
Political parties in Tamil Nadu unanimously hailed the Supreme Courts historic verdict to uphold the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 2017, and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Conduct of Jallikattu) Rules, 2017, allowing the conduct of the traditional sport.

In January 2017, massive protests were held when thousands gathered at the Marina beach in Chennai against the ban on Jallikattu, forcing the then AIADMK government under the leadership of O Panneerselvam to pass an Ordinance in favour of the bull-taming sport.

With the apex court stating that it did not interfere with the state legislatures finding that the bull-taming event is part of the cultural heritage and tradition of the people, the DMK thanked its leader MK Stalin for the victory. Speaking exclusively to CNN-News 18, DMK leader and MP K Kanimozhi said the state government ensured that the Tamil people got justice.

We know that the youth of Tamil Nadu came together to preserve this game which has been part of the Tamil culture for centuries together and we take great pride in that. Today, our chief minister fought this case in the Supreme Court and the Tamil Nadu government ensured that we get justice. This is not justice but a celebration of our culture which rightfully belongs to the people of this state. It is a very good sign that the Supreme Court has recognised the culture and the tradition of the Tamil people today, Kanimozhi said.

While the animal rights activists continue to demand that the Jallikattu sport be banned as it leads to cruelty against animals, Kanimozhi said all procedures are in place to ensure bulls remain unharmed during the events.

There are very strict procedures to ensure there is no cruelty to animals and that they are treated well and are healthy. It has happened for so many centuries. People lived with nature 1,000-2,000 years ago and the tradition is continuing since then. You (animal rights activists) should understand that people understood nature much better than we do today.

Meanwhile, the state BJP thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the historic judgment.

On behalf of @BJP4TamilNadu & the people of Tamil Nadu, we thank our Hon PM Thiru @narendramodi avl for his persistent effort to ensure the ban on the Cultural sport of TN, Jallikattu was lifted in its entirety, K Annamalai tweeted.

BJP also blamed the Congress and its allies for the ban on Jallikattu. At this juncture, we also wish to share that Smt. Sowmya Reddy from the Congress party was one of the petitioners calling for the Ban on Jallikattu but was recently defeated by BJP Candidate Thiru CK Ramamurthy avl in the Jayanagar constituency in the Karnataka assembly elections. It is noteworthy that Thiru Thol Thirumavalavan, Leader of VCK, campaigned for Smt Sowmya Reddy. The people of TN cannot be fooled by the Congress party and their allies anymore. If there was anyone who stood for Jallikattu from the beginning to now, it was our Hon PM Thiru @narendramodi avl," Annamalai tweeted.

top videos

Former chief minister and ousted AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam said: I consider it the greatest privilege in my lifetime that this law was brought during my tenure as the Chief Minister.

Jallikattu was banned between 2014 and 2016 and following the demise of AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa, protests snowballed against the ban paving way for the sport to be held since 2017.
On a high after the Karnataka win, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is determined to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP abroad. On May 31, he will leave for the US and return to India on June 10 with several meetings lined up with students, entrepreneurs and NRIs; this will be his first visit abroad after being disqualified as an MP.

Gandhis visit is only a few days before the prime minister embarks on his state visit to the US on June 22, on a special invite by President Joe Biden. But out of all the programmes for the former Lok Sabha MP, the most interesting and, perhaps, most likely to stoke a controversy will be the one he has with the Indian diaspora on June 4 at New York Citys Madison Square.

Located in midtown Manhattan, Madison Square is a massive indoor arena and has been the hub of a number of political activities and celebrity events. It was here that Prime Minister Modi held an impressive show back in 2014 with overseas Indians and NRIS.

While sources in the Congress said Gandhi had not timed his visit with the PMs impending visit, the fact is that he is likely to set the stage for some political confrontation back home. He is likely to raise the issue of his disqualification since he is now fighting a legal battle to quash the conviction. He will also make his point about the Karnataka results and its implications for the BJPs style of politics.

But whenever Gandhi has travelled abroad, delivered lectures and addressed press conferences, he has always invited some controversy or the other. Hence, giving the BJP an opportunity to accuse him of maligning the image of the country on foreign shores.

top videos

For example, when Gandhi had visited the UK recently, he had spoken about the death of democracy in India and how the opposition was muzzled in parliament, during a media intervention and speech at Cambridge University. The saffron camp had demanded an apology from the former Congress chief and said he had let down Indias image abroad.

So, all eyes are once again on his visit to America.
In an incident that left Chinese netizens fuming, a greedy" diner at a buffet restaurant in the countrys Guizhou province has been compelled to pay a hefty sum of nearly 45,000 yuan (USD 6,500) as compensation.

The diners gluttonous behavior came to light through surveillance footage, which revealed her frequent visits to a restaurant in the southwest province over a span of two weeks in August 2022, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

The restaurants manager, surnamed Wu, disclosed that on each occasion, the diner not only ordered beyond her capacity but also surreptitiously stashed leftovers in pre-prepared plastic bags concealed in her handbag, according to the SCMP report.

Further revelations by Wu to Hongxing News disclosed that this was not an isolated incident, as the woman had made more than a dozen visits to the restaurant since March the previous year.

According to Wu, during each visit, the diner ordered an exorbitant amount of food worth approximately 10,000 yuan (USD 1,500)  a staggering ten times more than the average customer. The buffet charged 218 yuan per person.

Restaurant owner Chen added that the woman exclusively opted for expensive items such as sweet shrimp, salmon, and goose liver.

In one bill, the diner, surnamed Wen, had ordered 45 servings of sweet shrimp priced at 48 yuan each, 20 servings of salmon sashimi priced at 38 yuan each, and an additional 140 servings of meat and dessert.

Chen, under the impression that Wen was a competitive eater" akin to those featured in online influencer videos, was shocked to discover that she was taking the majority of the food away.

Wen defended her actions, claiming she carelessly ordered more than she could consume and took the leftovers to avoid wastage.

Subsequently, the restaurant filed a lawsuit against Wen, seeking compensation amounting to nearly 45,000 yuan for the five recorded incidents.

Chen maintained that the restaurant was justified in demanding such payment, citing visible signs displayed on the cashiers desk and at every table that explicitly stated, waste over 100g or takeaway needs to be paid according to the menu pricing."

top videos

Initially reluctant to comply, Wen ultimately succumbed to legal threats and an additional 8,000 yuan in legal costs, as confirmed by Chen.

The case has sparked widespread outrage on Chinese social media platforms, with many condemning Wens greedy" behavior while applauding the resolution as a triumph.
A $120 million Russian ship has been parked and left abandoned in Antigua for more than a year after Moscows invasion in Ukraine.

Alfa Nero has been left steady in Antigua since March 2022, ever since the Russian troops crossed the border into Ukraine and the UK slapped sanctions on its purported owner billionaire Andrey Guryev, Bloomberg reported.

When the Ukraine war started last year, the vessel was blocked from leaving the port of Antigua and was subjected to an official search to determine whether the owner had been named on international sanctions lists. The US also sent FBI agents to search the vessel in August with local law enforcement.

The yacht has since been deemed abandoned" while the crew of the 267 feet long luxury ship with robust 2,500 gross tons of volume is idling and there is practically no owner or the guest in sight.

Even though the ship is still in shape and looks ready for the next voyage, it may not happen for a while.

The yacht features a 12-metre infinity pool, a Jacuzzi, a spa, gym, a beauty room and master suite. It also has an infinity pool, which converts into a helipad and PlayStation with video games.

Six crew members have been left behind in the ship to ensure the boat doesnt look haggard and hapless. While they are meticulously maintaining the docked ship, there is ample time at hand which is spent on playing video games.

Even though Washington claimed Andrey Guryev as the owner, the allegation is denied by the Russian billionaire. A lawyer for Guryev said hes used Alfa Nero from time to time" since 2014.

Guryev was subjected to UK government sanctions in April 2022 and is also the owner of Londons largest private residence- a 25-bedroom 50 million Highgate mansion Witanhurst, according to The Guardian.

The ship was built in the Dutch shipyard Oceanco in 2007, it was until recently available for charter for about $1 million a week.

However, Antigua now wants to get rid of what it considers an abandoned ship.

The country formally seized Alfa Nero in April, hoisted an Antiguan flag and posted two security guards on the dock.

top videos

But the ship has become a floating hazard, according to officials. The crew members of the ship want back pay with crew expenses alone costing $112,000 a month. Though the diesel for the generator costs a small fortune, bills have been piling up since Antigua took over.

Antigua authorities have urged the US to lift its sanctions on the yacht so it can be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The country said it has already received roughly 20 bids.
Iran on Friday executed three men convicted of killing security force members during protests triggered by Mahsa Aminis death last year, the judiciary said, drawing condemnation from rights groups.

Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi were found guilty of moharebeh"  or waging war against God"  for shooting dead three members of the security forces at a demonstration in the central city of Isfahan on November 16, the judiciarys Mizan Online news website said.

Iran witnessed waves of nationwide protests following the September 16 death of 22-year-old Amini, an Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for an alleged breach of the Islamic republics strict dress rules for women.

During the protests, which Tehran generally labelled as foreign-instigated riots", thousands of Iranians were arrested and hundreds killed including dozens of security forces.

Fridays hangings bring to seven the total number of Iranians executed in connection with the demonstrations.

Kazemi, Mirhashemi and Yaghoubi were arrested in November and sentenced to death in January.

They were also charged with membership of illegal groups with the intention of disrupting national security and collusion leading to crimes against internal security", Mizan said.

It noted evidence and documents in the case and the clear statements made by the accused" showed that the shootings carried out by these three people led to the martyrdom of three security forces".

Nazanin Boniadi, a British actor and activist of Iranian origin, tweeted that the three men had been murdered after forced confessions and sham trials".

- Surge in executions -

A video shared on social media on Friday and verified by AFP showed Tehran residents chanting Death to the Islamic republic" and other anti-regime slogans in the capitals Ekbatan district, the site of repeated protest actions.

The cases of the three men have caused concern abroad, including in Australia where some of Kazemis family live.

His cousin Mohammad Hashemi wrote an open letter to Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong asking for her support.

Majid is only 30 years old. He is a compassionate, loving, and strong-willed person. He, like many other Iranians, participated in peaceful demonstrations to raise his voice and demand change," Hashemi wrote in the letter, published on the petition website change.org.

Wong on Friday condemned the execution, which she said exemplifies the regimes brutality against its people".

Australia stands with the people of Iran," Wong tweeted.

Iran executes more people a year than any other nation except China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty International.

The authorities last year carried out the executions of four protesters, prompting international condemnation.

Since the start of the year, Iran has witnessed a surge in executions on various charges to campaigners alarm.

- Serious consequences -

The latest executions must have serious consequences" for Tehran or dozens of other protesters will be in danger", said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR).

We must make the Islamic republic leaders understand that execution of protesters will not be tolerated," he said on Twitter.

The authorities hanged 75 percent more people in 2022 than the previous year, IHR and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty said in a joint report in April.

At least 582 people were executed in Iran last year, the highest number of executions in the country since 2015 and well above the 333 recorded in 2021, the two groups said.

But the frenetic pace of executions in 2023 has not slowed, with IHR recently counting over 220 executions so far this year.

Hengaw, another Norway-based rights group, decried an unfathomable wave of executions in Iran", urging in a Twitter message special attention from human rights organisations as well as Western governments".

top videos

Earlier this month, UN rights chief Volker Turk sounded the alarm over Irans abominable" track record this year, with an average of more than 10 people being put to death each week.

Advocacy groups have warned that members of ethnic minorities have been disproportionately targeted in the current wave of executions.
A decision by Brazils environmental regulator to block state-owned oil company Petrobras Amazon oil project has exposed tensions in President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvas coalition between green advocates and those prioritizing economic development.

Ibama, late on Wednesday, said it would block a request by state-run oil giant Petrobras to drill at the Amazon mouth near Amapa, in a much-awaited decision that followed a technical recommendation by Ibama experts to reject the project.

In a filing, Petrobras said it planned to file an appeal for Ibama to reconsider its ruling, saying it strictly complied with all the requirements of the licensing process."

The decision by Ibama, which is overseen by Lulas environment minister, the globally recognized environmentalist Marina Silva, has riled some within the governing coalition.

Lula, who hails from the poor northeast, has staked his international reputation on reversing environmental back-sliding under his far-right predecessor former President Jair Bolsonaro. But he is also under pressure to deliver much-needed growth to poor, under-developed regions in the north and northeast, and wants state-owned Petrobras to be an engine of that growth.

Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, who represents the state of Amapa, said Ibama had taken a decision with major economic impact for the state without taking into account the views of the people of Amapa or its state government. Rodrigues is a senior Lula ally who ran his presidential campaign last year.

Well fight against this decision," Rodrigues wrote on Twitter, adding that the people of Amapa want to have the right to be heard". He later announced he was departing his party, the center-left Sustainability Network, in light of the decision.

The Sustainability Network was founded in the early 2010s by Silva, the environment minister, who appointed Ibama head Rodrigo Agostinho.

Agostinho told GloboNews TV on Thursday that Petrobras would be allowed to file a new request to drill in the region, but noted that studies presented by the firm to date were not enough for the move to be cleared.

Petrobras said in its filing that it was not giving up hope on its plans to develop an oil-rich region with potential reserves of up to 14 billion barrels of oil.

The company remains committed to the development of the Brazilian Equatorial Margin," it said, adding it would ensure the countrys energy security."

THE DECISION IS FINAL

Despite Petrobras stated intentions, the ruling effectively ends all future development of the unexplored oil prospects at the mouth of the Amazon river, former Ibama boss Suely Araujo told Reuters.

Araujo said that even if Petrobras undertakes the deeper studies requested by Ibama, the final say would still rest with the regulator. The decision is final," she said, adding she expected Lula to support Ibamas ruling.

Shares in Petrobras were down around 0.5% on Thursday.

Exploration rights in the area were auctioned in 2013, but oil majors BP and TotalEnergies pulled out due to the cost of the off-shore studies and difficulties in obtaining licenses for drilling, while Petrobras kept going.

Neither Lulas office, nor the environment ministry responded to requests for comment.

Environmental groups celebrated Ibamas decision.

top videos

In a statement, Greenpeace said Ibama had emphasized the need for a fair energy transition, instead of insisting on yet another oil exploration frontier in the context of the climate crisis."

Ibama has postponed the end of the world," environmental group Observatorio do Clima proclaimed.
Leaders of the worlds richest democracies agreed on Friday to stiffen sanctions against Russia, while a draft communique to be issued after their talks in the Japanese city of Hiroshima stressed the need to reduce reliance on trade with China.

SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE

* G7 leaders said they had ensured that Ukraine had the budget support it needs for this year and early 2024. Today we are taking new steps to ensure that Russias illegal aggression against the sovereign state of Ukraine fails and to support the Ukrainian people in their quest for a just peace rooted in respect for international law," they said in a statement.

* A French government plane is taking Zelenskiy to the Arab League Summit in Saudi Arabia and will later take him to the G7 summit in Hiroshima, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

* The United States and the rest of the G7 economies will unveil new sanctions and export controls targeting Russia over its war against Ukraine, a U.S. official said ahead of the summit.

* Ukraine wants its allies to be bolder in imposing sanctions on Russia, including by targeting banks that provide financial services to serving soldiers, a senior adviser told Reuters.

* German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his government wanted pragmatic measures to prevent the circumvention of sanctions imposed on Russia.

* Britain published plans to ban imports of Russian diamonds, copper, aluminium and nickel and announced a new wave of sanctions against Russia, targeting companies connected to the alleged theft of Ukrainian grain.

* Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Zelenskiy on the sidelines of the summit, broadcaster CNN-News 18 reported.

DEALING WITH CHINA

* G7 members are prepared to build constructive and stable relations" with China while acting in their national interests, according to a draft version of their communique seen by Reuters on Friday.

* U.S. President Joe Biden met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after arriving in Japan and the two discussed ways to strengthen defence cooperation and counter coercive behaviour by China, the White House said in a statement.

* China is gravely concerned about recent signs of negative" China-related moves at the G7 summit and urges Japan not to turn it into a political show" against or to curb China, the countrys embassy in Japan said.

CLIMATE/ENERGY/NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION

* The G7 must take the lead in phasing out fossil fuels, the leaders of seven countries including The Netherlands and Chile have said, attempting to build momentum for a global deal this year to gradually quit oil, coal and gas.

* The G7 believes that publicly supported investment in the gas sector can be temporarily appropriate while countries are accelerating the phasing-out of their dependency on Russia, a draft communique seen by Reuters showed.

* The G7 will express its commitment to achieving a world without nuclear weapons with undiminished security of all, through taking a realistic, pragmatic, and responsible approach", the draft showed.

top videos

* G7 leaders remain deeply concerned about Irans unabated escalation of its nuclear programme", according to the draft.
The United States and the rest of the Group of Seven" major economies will unveil new sanctions and export controls targeting Russia over its war against Ukraine, a US official said ahead of a G7 summit in Japan.

G7 leaders are gathering in Hiroshima on Friday with the invasion of Ukraine, now in its second year, high on the agenda. The US has spearheaded tough sanctions on Russian companies, banks and individuals, and the coming announcement is designed to reaffirm world powers resolve to support Ukraine and squeeze Moscow.

A US official, speaking to reporters on Thursday ahead of the gathering, said the G7s latest efforts were aimed at disrupting Russias ability to get materials it needs for the battlefield, close loopholes used to evade sanctions, further reduce international reliance on Russian energy, and narrow Moscows access to the international financial system.

Our commitment to continue tightening the screws on Russia remains as strong as it was last year," the official said.

The United States and its allies, including the European Union and Britain, have continued to ratchet up sanctions and export-control pressure on Russia since the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Thousands of targets hit with sanctions by Washington so far have included Russian President Vladimir Putin, the financial sector and oligarchs.

Washington over the past few months has cracked down on sanctions evasion with a heavy focus on dual-use items - those which have both commercial and military applications.

The latest US sanctions package will include extensively restricting categories of goods key to the battlefield" as well as preventing some 70 entities from Russia and third countries from receiving US exports by adding them to the US Commerce Departments blacklist.

In addition, the United States will announce some 300 new sanctions against individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft targeting financial facilitators", Russias future energy extracting capabilities, and others across Europe, the Middle East and Asia helping to support the war.

top videos

US sanctions authorities would also be expanded to more sectors of the Russian economy.

The US official said Washington would take significant steps to align its actions closely with the EU and Britain to ensure that the G7 remained as coordinated as possible in response to Russias brutal actions".
Imran Khan Arrest Updates: Punjab Police will begin a search operation at Former Imran Khans residence shortly. The search warrants for Imran Khans house has been issued and police are likely to reach Khans residence shortly.

top videos

Here are the latest updates on Imran Khan:
Ahead of the G-7 Summit in Japan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an interview to Nikkei Asia, said that India wants normal bilateral ties with Pakistan, adding that it is incumbent upon them to create a conducive environment free from terrorism and hostilities.

The onus is on Pakistan to take necessary steps in this regard, he said.

PM Modi on Friday reached Hiroshima in Japan for the Summit. India has been invited as a guest country. India has been participating in the G7 Summit since 2003.

ALSO READ | WATCH | PM Modi Clicks Selfies, Interacts With Indian Diaspora As He Reaches Japan to Attend G7 Summit

India has repeatedly raised concerns over Pakistans support to cross-border terrorism and has asserted that terror and talks cannot go together.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto had attended the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting in Goa earlier this month, but there were no bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

#G7HiroshimaSummit: #PMModi arrives at his hotel in #Hiroshima; PM interacts with Indian diaspora crowd gathered outside his hotelRousing welcome for PM Modi by Indian Diaspora; Indian community chants 'Vande Mataram'@maryashakil reports live | @poonam_burde pic.twitter.com/e9CCQdEu11  News18 (@CNNnews18) May 19, 2023

ON CHINA

During the interview, the Prime Minister also answered queries related to ties with China and spoke about Indias efforts to amplify the voices and concerns of the Global South. India is fully prepared and committed to protect its sovereignty and dignity, PM Modi said, on the standoff with China in Eastern Ladakh in 2020.

Peace and tranquility in the border areas are essential for normal bilateral ties with China. The future development of India-China relationship can only be based on mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests, Modi said, noting that normalizing" the ties would benefit the wider region and the world.

I am grateful to Hiroshimas Indian community for a memorable welcome to the city. pic.twitter.com/gMPJPZInAU Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2023

ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

Asked whether India can play a mediator role in Russia-Ukraine conflict, PM Modi said his countrys position on the Ukraine conflict is clear and unwavering. India stands on the side of peace and will remain firmly there. We are committed to supporting those who face challenges in meeting their basic needs, especially in the face of rising costs of food, fuel, and fertilizers. We maintain communication with both Russia and Ukraine," PM Modi said, adding that cooperation and collaboration should define our times, not conflict".

ALSO READ | PM Modi, Ukraine President Zelensky to Meet in Hiroshima, First Meeting Since Onset of War

PM Modi said that Japan and Indias shared values of democracy, freedom and the rule of law have naturally brought them closer. We now see a growing convergence in our political, strategic, security, and economic interests," he said in the interview, which was conducted partly in writing and partly in person.

ON GLOBAL SOUTH

PM Modi also vowed to amplify the voices and concerns of the Global South nations at the summit in Hiroshima, as he strives to foster synergy" with the broader Group of 20. India holds G20 presidency and will host the summit later this year.

ALSO READ | G7 Hiroshima Summit: As PM Modi Arrives in Japan, Guide to Everything You Need to Know | In GFX

top videos

He told Nikkei Asia that he was looking forward to discussing global changes and challenges in areas such as energy, digital technology and supply chains. I will emphasize Indias role as a reliable partner in addressing these challenges," he said, adding that Indias experience would resonate strongly at the meeting.

With ANI Inputs
A garment factory in Vietnam (Photo: VNA)

Trade turnover totalled 206.76 billion USD during January - April, down 15.3% year on year, with those of FDI and domestic businesses at 144.02 billion USD and 62.74 billion USD, respectively dropping 15.1% and 15.8%, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The slow global economic recovery and tightened monetary policies in many countries have lowered the consumption demand in some major partners of Vietnam, leading to decreases of orders and a 13% fall in the four-month export revenue.

However, the FDI sector still recorded a trade surplus of 14.18 billion USD as a result of 79.1 billion USD in exports, down 12.4%, and 64.92 billion USD in imports, down 18.3%. Meanwhile, the domestic one saw a trade deficit of 8 billion USD.

In 2022, Vietnam shipped abroad 371.5 billion USD worth of goods, including 275.9 billion USD (or 74%) by FDI firms, statistics show.

The FDI sector plays a considerable role in the growth of the Vietnamese economy as seen in its contributions to export revenue, job creation, and formation of supply chains in key export industries like electronics, garment, and footwear production, said Phan Huu Thang, former Director of the Foreign Investment Agency at the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as cited by Dau tu (Vietnam Investment Review).

Illustrative photo (Source: VOV)

The continuous rise of trade surplus for the past nearly 10 years is partly attributed to the substantial role of FDI enterprises, which have helped Vietnam become one of the 20 largest trading economies. Its economys total foreign trade topped 730 billion USD by the end of last year.

However, the overdependence on the FDI sector for export has also revealed certain problems. While domestic businesses have witnessed a serious trade deficit, large exporters, mainly FDI firms, in big export industries like garment, electronics, and footwear have had to apply lay-offs or furloughs due to order shortages.

Economist Le Quoc Phuong pointed out that in recent years, export has grown strongly in just quantity instead of quality. The added value in overseas shipments is still lower than that in other ASEAN countries such as Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia.

FDI businesses is in integral part of the economy, but it also is necessary to gradually improve the competitiveness of domestic firms and their engagement in supply chains for the FDI sector right in the domestic market, he noted.

Canadians to receive first VinFast VF8 series in June 3023

A shipment of 781 electric vehicles (VF8 series) manufactured by leading Vietnamese automaker VinFast arrived at the Canadian port of Nanaimo in British Columbia on May 18, the Voice of Vietnam qouted VinFast as saying that.

All 781 electric vehicles (VF8 series) manufactured by leading Vietnamese automaker VinFast will be delivered to Canadian customers in June 2023. (Photo: VinFast)

This is the first shipment of VinFasts VF8 Eco and Plus series to be delivered to Canadian customers.

The Eco and Plus models boast the ranges at 264 miles and 243 miles per charge respectively. The Eco might boast the longest driving range but the Plus model delivers the most luxury features, including a panoramic glass roof, leather upholstery, and second-row captain's chairs.

VinFast says it will provide 10-year/125,000-mile warranty coverage or 10-year/unlimited mileage for the vehicle, along with mobile repair and 24/7 rescue service during the warranty period.

According to the automaker, all of its VF8s have passed tests in accordance with the regulations of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the US.

The firm has also been licensed to market its VF8s in both the US and Cananda. It is expected that the firm will hand over the VF8s to customers from June 2023.

In Canada, the VF8 Eco version changes hand at CAD53,600, while the VF8 Plus version starts at CAD59,200. In addition, the Plus version also has the option to upgrade the power from 260 kW to 300 kW with an additional price of CAD1,500/vehicle.

Earlier, a shipment of 1,098 VF8s reached the US port of Benicia in California on May 12.

Vietnamese, Russian scientists conduct joint survey on marine resources

Russian research vessel Akademik Oparin has arrived at Nha Trang port in the central province of Khanh Hoa to conduct a joint survey on marine resources as part of the "Roadmap for cooperation in marine research for the 2018-2025 period" between the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) and the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), reported the Voice of Vietnam.

Russian research vessel Akademik.

It marks the 8th research trip by Akademik Oparin in Vietnam's territorial waters to date.

Speaking at a ceremony to welcome the ship on May 17, which was connected with the capital city of Hanoi, and Moscow and Vladivostok of Russia, VAST President Chau Van Minh reviewed the outcomes of the vessel's seven field trips, especially in training young scientists of the VAST as well as scientific cooperation between the two sides.

Panchenko Vladislav Yakovlevich, RAS Vice President in charge of international cooperation, highlighted the importance of maritime research collaboration in promoting scientific research and training at the two academies. He also appreciated the VASTs efforts and active cooperation for the 8th trip to proceed as planned.

Valery Falkov, Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia, highly appreciated the long-term cooperation between the two academies and expressed support for the implementation of the signed roadmap until 2025 and fostering collaboration in the future, contributing to enhancing the long-standing traditional friendship between the two countries.

On May 18, Akademik Oparin with nearly 40 scientists from the two academies was scheduled to embark on the survey journey that will last for about one month in Vietnam's territorial waters.

Vietnam Restaurant and Bar Week 2023 slated for late May

More than 100 chefs and bartenders across the country will gather at Vietnam Restaurant and Bar Week 2023 scheduled to run from May 20 to June 4 in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang, reported the Voice of Vietnam.

The week is part of Flavours Vietnam 2023, the fourth annual gastronomy series and the most flavourful celebration of Vietnamese cuisine in the country.

This year the event has been upgraded to feature an extension of two weeks, an expansion to include the beach city of Da Nang, and an increase in the number of restaurants and bars. It is expected to be an exciting and priceless culinary exploration that taps into each touch point whilst paying tribute to the local food culture.

The week draws the participation of famous chefs from 42 restaurants nationwide who are expected to help diners discover the delicious cuisine of all three of the countrys regions.

Furthermore, customers will have the chance to sample a range of innovative mixes from leading bartenders in 71 unique venues nationwide.

Flavours Vietnam 2023 is jointly organised by Mastercard International Inc., a provider of payment processing products worldwide and Vietcetera Company Limited, a provider of a digital platform intended to connect Vietnam with the world.

Themed Taking Vietnams Food & Beverage industry to the next level, the fourth and largest edition of Flavours Vietnam features a range of enticing events, such as the Vietnam Food & Beverage Conference, Banh My Awards, Vietnam Restaurant and Bar Week, and Rising Chefs Challenge./.
The miscreants who stormed Pakistan army headquarters and attacked military properties following former prime minister Imran Khans arrest last week would face trial under military laws, CNN-News18 has learnt.

The miscreants including civilians, serving or retired army personnel who attacked the Pakistan Army headquarters, Corps Commander House in Lahore and Air Force property would face trial under Army Act, Pakistan Navy Act and Pakistan Air Force Act, sources said.

The federal cabinet has also endorsed the decisions of national security committee and special corps commander conference.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the plan of action against rioters and miscreants who set ablaze army installations and Corp commanders house in Lahore on May 9, they added.

The miscreants will be tried under Army Act, Official Secret and Anti-Terrorism Act. A committee of political parties will be former for smoother plan of action.

The federal cabinet said that justice will be done at all cost so that the May 9 incident would not be repeated.

top videos

The Punjab caretaker government has also endorsed the decision to book the arsonists who attacked military installations under military laws.

Shehbaz Sharif last week vowed to deal with demonstrators with an iron fist. The prime minister made an address to the nation after the deadly violence following Imran Khans arrest.
Former US ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad on Friday revealed that Pakistan chief of army staff General Asim Munir threatened the wives and children of his critics during a closed-door meeting held in Sialkot. Khalilzad said these comments were made during a speech made to senior army officers.

A recent speech by the Army Chief has led me to believe that things are truly dire. His closed-door angry tirade to senior officers in Sialkot has been reliably shared with me, Khalilzad said referring to the speech made earlier this week.

First, he threatened the wives and children of his critics. The May 9 violence was not a good thing and should be transparently investigated, but that is no excuse for threatening harm to innocent family members of retired officers who may have participated. (2/6) Zalmay Khalilzad (@realZalmayMK) May 19, 2023

Khalilzad, in a series of tweets, said that Munir threatened the wives and children of his critics. The former envoys tweets signal that the Pakistan army chief was angered about possible involvement of innocent family members of retired officers who may have participated in the protests staged by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) demanding release of their leader and former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan.

He threatened the wives and children of his critics. The May 9 violence was not a good thing and should be transparently investigated, but that is no excuse for threatening harm to innocent family members of retired officers who may have participated, Khalizad said.

A report by CNN-News18 said that during the Pakistans National Security Committee (NSC) meeting on Tuesday the Pakistan Army arrived at a conclusion that the possible leakage of sensitive information regarding army installations and personnel could have been made by certain military personnel and ex-servicemen. Intelligence agencies were told to actively investigate the matter.

A separate report by CNN-News18 also revealed that the Command of Pakistan is in trouble due to the unprofessional approach taken by the team of the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (COAS) of Pakistan, General Asim Munir. Even lower-ranking soldiers and officers are calling for the institution to remain neutral.

May 9 has been declared a black day by the military after PTI workers ransacked, set ablaze and vandalised army installations across Pakistan in retaliation to Imran Khans arrest.

Imran Khan was arrested on May 9 by the Pakistan National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for his alleged involvement in the Al-Qadir Trust case where he has been accused of whitewashing ill-gotten money.

He was in custody of law enforcement agencies until May 11 when the Supreme Court and the Islamabad High Court granted him relief until the second week of June and termed his arrest illegal.

top videos

Before his release, for the two days that Imran Khan was held, PTI workers took part in violent protests and targeted army installations and even set fire to the Radio Pakistan building in Peshawar. More than half a dozen people died and several hundreds were injured as PTI cadres, ruling party supporters and police from Pakistans cities clashed.

Khalilzads comments come a day after COAS Munir announced that those involved in ransacking the military installations will face trial under the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secret Act.
Bound on his three-nation tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday reached Japans Hiroshima and interacted with the Indian diaspora, who were in large numbers, waiting outside the hotel he will stay in.

Holding Indian flags in hand, several members of the Indian community, who were eagerly waited outside the Sheraton hotel in Hiroshima, got to interact and click pictures with the prime minister.

PM Modi was seen shaking hands of children, talking to people and clicking pictures with Indians who had gathered to meet him. He also signed a few autographs.

Chants of Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Mataram were heard as the leader arrived.

#WATCH | Japan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets children and interacts with the members of the Indian diaspora as he reaches Sheraton Hotel in Hiroshima. pic.twitter.com/Gckl5Gfdau ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2023

PM Modi is here to attend the annual summit of G7 and third in-person Quad leaders meet, along with bilateral talks.

Hiroshima is the first leg of Modis three-nation trip to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia and is expected to take part in over 40 engagements.

#WATCH | Japan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with the members of the Indian diaspora as he reaches Sheraton Hotel in Hiroshima.PM Modi met us, and he said he was happy to meet us too." say young girls who met PM Modi outside Sheraton Hotel. pic.twitter.com/7rda8yqd65  ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2023

Landed in Hiroshima to join the G7 Summit proceedings. Will also be having bilateral meetings with various world leaders," Modi tweeted.

Earlier, in his departure statement, the prime minister said he was looking forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them.

My presence in this G7 summit is particularly meaningful as India holds the G20 presidency this year. I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them," he said.

The prime minister was received by senior Japanese and Indian officials at the airport.

PM Modis Three-nation schedule

In this foreign tour, PM Modi is set to attend three multilateral summits including Group of Seven (G7), Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) and Quad.

The trips first destination will be the G7 summit in Japans Hiroshima, and the prime minister will be there from May 19 to 21.

He will likely voice his opinions on global challenges including food, fertiliser and energy security.

From Hiroshima, the prime minister will travel to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea where he will host the third summit of FIPIC on May 22, jointly with Prime Minister James Marape.

top videos

In the third and final leg of the trip, PM Modi will visit Australia. Here, he is set to hold talks with his counterpart Anthony Albanese.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday left for Japan where he will meet the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) for the G7 Summit in Hiroshima. His Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida earlier this year invited the Prime Minister to attend the G7 Summit.

Leaving for Japan, where I will be joining the @G7 Summit in Hiroshima. Looking forward to a healthy exchange of views on diverse global subjects. https://t.co/TYYOLeHAFH Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2023

My presence in this G7 Summit is particularly meaningful as India holds the G20 Presidency this year. I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them. I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 Summit, PM Modi said in a press release.

After the Japan visit, will be in Papua New Guinea to take part in the FIPIC Summit, a vital forum to boost multilateral cooperation. There will be productive deliberations on subjects such as sustainable development, climate change, healthcare and more. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also visit Papua New Guinea in a historic visit as it is the first time an Indian Prime Minister will visit the Pacific Island. The island-nation has become a priority for India as well as members of the QUAD grouping like the US and Australia as they deepen relationships with Pacific island-nations as China aims to assert its influence in the region.

I will be in Australia, where I will be holding talks with my friend, PM @AlboMP. This visit will further cement the India- Australia friendship. I also look forward to interacting with the vibrant Indian community and meeting top Australian CEOs. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2023

He will also host the third summit of the Forum for IndiaPacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit) jointly with Papuan Prime Minister James Marape.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the 2nd FIPIC Summit said that the relationship between India and Pacific Islands is partnership of equals.

I am grateful that all 14 Pacific Island Countries (PIC) have accepted the invitation to attend this important Summit. FIPIC was launched during my visit to Fiji in 2014, and I look forward to engaging with the PIC Leaders on issues that bring us together, such as climate change and sustainable development, capacity building and training, health and well-being, infrastructure and economic development, PM Modi said.

top videos

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will then visit Australia where he will hold bilateral talks with counterpart Anthony Albanese. The Quad summit which was to be held in Sydney has been cancelled due to US President Joe Biden not being able to attend the meet as he will jostle with the Republicans over US debt ceiling hike and halting a possible US default.

I will be travelling to Sydney, Australia at the invitation of Prime Minister Albanese. I look forward to our bilateral meeting, which will be an opportunity to take stock of our bilateral ties and follow up on our first India-Australia Annual Summit held in New Delhi in March this year. I will also interact with Australian CEOs and business leaders, and meet the Indian community in Sydney at a special event, PM Modi said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in Hiroshima on the sidelines of the G7 Summit. This is the first time both leaders are meeting in person since the onset of the war in Ukraine.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to join the G7 Summit and will arrive in Hiroshima on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already left for Hiroshima where he will meet with G7 leaders and also attend the Quad leadership summit.

This will be the first time that Ukrainian President Zelensky will meet PM Modi since the war began in February 2022. Earlier this year Ukraines deputy foreign minister Emine Dzhaparova visited New Delhi where she urged India to support Ukraines peace plan.

India on several occasions has urged both Russia and Ukraine to return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy in order to restore peace and stability in the eastern European region.

PM Modi has met Russian President Vladimir Putin once after the war in Ukraine erupted. During their meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in September 2022, he told Putin that it is not an era of war - a statement which resonated with global leaders.

India continues to push for dialogue and diplomacy and has sought an end to hostilities and urged all parties to take concrete steps to end the war in Ukraine.

PM Modi also this February urged for peace in Ukraine. While addressing a joint press conference with Olaf Scholz, German Chancellor, in New Delhi, PM Modi said: Since the beginning of developments in Ukraine, India has laid emphasis on resolving this dispute through dialogue and diplomacy. India is ready to contribute to any peace process.

top videos

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also hold several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the G7 Summit where he has been invited as a special guest. He will meet South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, G7 chair and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The informal group of leading industrialised nations consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States are meeting in Hiroshima. This year, the leaders of Australia, Brazil, Comoros, Cook Islands, India, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam are invited as G7 aims to reach out to developing countries in the so-called Global South.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Hiroshima, Japan on Friday to attend the annual summit of the G7 grouping and the highly anticipated third in-person Quad leaders meeting. The Prime Minister is slated to hold a series of bilateral meetings including those with Japan, Vietnam, France and Ukraine and is slated to unveil a Gandhi bust.

Kickstarting the first leg of his three-nation trip, which includes Japan, Papua New Guinea, and Australia, PM Modi is scheduled to participate in over 40 engagements according to officials.

Here is a breakdown of PM Modis engagements on Saturday, May 20 (IST timings):

Timings PM Narendra Modis Schedule in Japan on Saturday 4:00 am Bilateral meeting with Japan PM Kishida Fumio 5:00 am Unveiling of Mahatma Gandhi bust 5:30 am Bilateral meeting with Vietnam PM Pham Minh Chinh 11:00 am Arrival at G7 summit venue 11:30 am Working session 6 1:40 pm Bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron 2:20 pm Bilateral meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky 2:55 pm Working session 7 4:35 pm Quad Summit

PM to Emphasise Voice of Global South

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his commitment to representing the interests of the Global South at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on Friday. In an interview with Nikkei Asia, PM Modi highlighted his eagerness to engage in discussions on global changes and challenges, specifically in the areas of energy, digital technology, and supply chains.

I will emphasise Indias role as a reliable partner in addressing these challenges," PM Modi stated. He further emphasised that Indias experience would strongly resonate during the summit.

Prime Minister Modi highlighted the growing convergence of political, strategic, security, and economic interests during the interview. We now see a growing convergence in our political, strategic, security, and economic interests," he stated.

PM Modis Talks With Ukraine President

The Prime Minister is set to hold bilateral talks with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 summit, the first such meeting between the two leaders since onset of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

When asked about Indias potential role as a mediator, PM Modi reiterated Indias clear and unwavering position on the Ukraine conflict. India stands on the side of peace, and will remain firmly there. We are committed to supporting those who face challenges in meeting their basic needs, especially in the face of rising costs of food, fuel, and fertilizers. We maintain communication with both Russia and Ukraine," he affirmed.

Modi has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as Zelenskyy a number of times since the conflict began.

During a phone conversation with Zelensky on October 4 last year, PM Modi stressed on no military solution and expressed Indias readiness to contribute to any peace efforts."

In a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin held on September 16, last year in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, PM Modi underlined the contemporary eras focus on peace. He urged the Russian leader to bring an end to the conflict by stating, Todays era is not of war."

G7 Summit

Emphasising the significance of cooperation and collaboration over conflict, PM Modi expressed his anticipation for exchanging views with G7 countries and other invited partners at the Hiroshima summit. He also mentioned his plans to hold bilateral meetings with select leaders attending the summit.

I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them. I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 Summit," PM Modi stated in his departure statement.

Later in a Tweet, he said, Landed in Hiroshima to join the G7 Summit proceedings. Will also be having bilateral meetings with various world leaders."

Landed in Hiroshima to join the G7 Summit proceedings. Will also be having bilateral meetings with various world leaders. pic.twitter.com/zQtSZUpd45 Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2023

The Group of Seven (G7) consists of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, and Japan. As the current chair of the G7, Japan extended invitations to India and seven other countries to participate in the summit.

Notably, all G7 countries are also members of the Group of Twenty (G20). India currently holds the presidency of the G20 and has been actively working towards achieving consensus for a joint communique at the G20 summit scheduled for September. The G20 comprises additional nations such as Russia and China, providing a broader platform for global economic cooperation and policy coordination.

top videos

The originally planned location for the Quad summit in Sydney, Australia was changed to Hiroshima slated due to US President Joe Bidens need to prioritise debt-ceiling talks in Washington.

The Quad leaders, representing the United States, India, Australia, and Japan, will convene in Hiroshima on Friday to discuss ways to enhance their cooperation on various crucial matters including, critical and emerging technologies, high-quality infrastructure, global health, climate change, maritime domain awareness, and other significant issues relevant to the Indo-Pacific region, as stated by the White House.
The meeting of the Quad group of nations will be held in Hiroshima on Saturday, people familiar with the developments said. The Quad meeting was originally scheduled to be held in Australias Sydney but it was cancelled due to US President Joe Biden not being able to attend due to issues related to the US economy.

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Thursday said that plans are being made for a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) leaders meeting in Japan during the G7 Summit.

During a special briefing on Prime Minister Narendra Modis upcoming visit to three countries, Kwatra revealed that India is organising a meeting with QUAD leaders in Hiroshima. The meeting will include Japans Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Joe Biden cancelled his attendance at the Sydney Quad summit because he will have to be back home to iron out issues between the Republicans and the White House as the former, who have a majority in the US House of Representatives, are delaying raising the US debt limit which if not raised before June 1 will lead to the US to default on its debt for the first time in its history.

The Quad summit is important for the region because it has a constructive agenda for the Indo-Pacific region and in the words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a Force for (Global) Good.

Issues related to the he Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), Quad Satellite Data Portal, Quad Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP), Quad Partnership on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) and Quad Fellowship will be discussed during the meeting.

The summit will now be held on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima. The Group of Seven (G7) summit is being held in Japans Hiroshima with leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States attending.

The G7 Summit, hosted by Japan this year, follows the rotating presidency among its members.

top videos

In addition to the seven nations, representatives from the European Union are also in attendance.

The Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, has extended invitations to leaders from various countries, including Australia, Brazil, Comoros, Cook Islands, India, Indonesia, South Korea, and Vietnam.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will visit China from May 23 to 24, Beijings foreign ministry and the Kremlin said on Friday.

At the invitation of Premier Li Qiang of the State Council, Russian Federation Prime Minister Mishustin will pay an official visit to China from May 23 to 24," foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a statement.

Confirming the visit, the Kremlin said: Russian-Chinese cooperation in trade and economic spheres will be discussed."

Particular attention will be given to the industry, energy, transport infrastructure and agriculture," it added, saying a number of bilateral agreements were expected to be signed.

Mishustin will also visit Shanghai during his visit, where he will speak at a Russian-Chinese business forum, the Kremlin said.

Russia and China have close relations, with President Xi Jinping visiting Moscow in March and saying ties were entering a new era".

top videos

And while China says it is a neutral party on the Ukraine war, it has been criticised for refusing to condemn Moscow for the invasion.

Chinese envoy Li Hui visited Kyiv this week, where he told Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and other officials that there is no panacea to resolve the crisis".
Ukraine said on Friday it had repelled attacks by Russian forces trying to recapture land they had lost around the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, where Kyiv says it has inflicted heavy Russian casualties.

A Ukrainian mortar unit near the city told Reuters it had advanced this week, but was facing heavy fire from Russian forces who appeared to have significant strength in manpower and stocks of ammunition.

The fire was intensive this week. Our forces pushed forward a little, stopped near the canal. Its hard to push them (the Russians) out of there," said a soldier with the call sign Medvid, which means bear" in Ukrainian.

The units troops said they were firing around 100 mortar rounds a day at Russian positions. They said their location could not be disclosed.

Ukraine says it has made small advances this week on the flanks of the city in the industrial Donbas region even as Russias Wagner private army has inched closer to capturing the city itself.

Deputy Ukrainian Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said the Russian forces had gained some ground inside Bakhmut in fierce fighting but did not control the city.

The enemy is trying to regain what they have lost but our forces are repulsing the attacks," she said in televised remarks. Its very difficult to carry out combat missions there and every metre (of advance) is like 10 kilometres in other conditions."

She said the Russian forces had made some progress" inside Bakhmut but did not say how far forward they had advanced.

The head of Russian mercenaries fighting in Bakhmut said the city was unlikely to fall in the next two days. Ukrainian soldiers, he said, were holed up in a makeshift fortress" in the south of the city.

Moscow regards its assault on Bakhmut, a city of about 70,000 before Russias full-scale invasion nearly 15 months ago, as an important part of a campaign to capture the rest of the industrial Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov told Ukrainian news portal RBK that Russia had taken up to 70,000 casualties in and around Bakhmut including dead and wounded.

top videos

The assertion could not be independently verified. Russia says Ukraine has sustained heavy losses in the area.
Russia on Friday said it banned entry to 500 Americans, including former president Barack Obama, in response to sanctions imposed by Washington.

In response to the anti-Russian sanctions regularly imposed by the Biden administration entry into the Russian Federation is closed for 500 Americans," the foreign ministry said, adding that Obama was among those on the list.

On Friday, the United States added hundreds more companies and individuals to its sanctions blacklist as it broadened efforts to choke off Russias economy over the Ukraine offensive.

Washington should have learned a long time ago that not a single hostile step against Russia will be left unanswered," the foreign ministry said.

Among those listed were television hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers.

CNN anchor Erin Burnett and MSNBC presenters Rachel Maddow and Joe Scarborough were also included.

Russia said it blacklisted senators, congressmen and members of think tanks involved in the spread of Russophobic attitudes and fakes" and the heads of companies that supply weapons to Ukraine."

top videos

In the same statement Russia said it had denied consular visit to detained US journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested in March on claims of spying.

The refusal was triggered by a refusal from Washington to issue visas to journalists travelling to the United Nations with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in April.
At the reception (Photo: CPV)

So said Politburo member and permanent member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee's Secretariat Truong Thi Mai during a reception for a high-ranking delegation from the Committees for the Defence of the Revolution of Cuba (CDR), led by its National Coordinator Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo, in Hanoi on May 17.

During the meeting, Ms Mai warmly welcomed the working visit to Vietnam of the CDR delegation; expressed her pleasure about the solidarity and special friendship between the two Parties, the two states and the peoples; emphasized the special, exemplary, impartial, loyal and transparent friendship between the two Parties, the two States and the two peoples, which was founded by President Ho Chi Minh and leader Fidel Castoro, and cultivated by generations of leaders and people of the two countries over the past 60 years, to become an invaluable common asset that needs to be preserved and constantly developed.

She affirmed that the Party, State and people of Vietnam always stand side by side and wish to further tighten the relationship of solidarity and special friendship with the Cuban Party, State and people, constantly developing the relationship between the two countries to get better and better in the new period.

She also expressed her joy at the positive results that Cuba has achieved in recent times and affirmed the support of the Party and State of Vietnam for the process of updating Cubas socio-economic development according to the resolutions of the 8th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba and expressed confidence that the fraternal Cuban people, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba, will continue to make efforts to overcome difficulties and challenge and protect the revolutionary achievements and the goal of building socialism in Cuba.

She highly appreciated the good traditional friendship between the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the CDR, suggested the two sides work closely to effectively implement the Cooperation Agreement for the period of 2023 -2028, contributing to tightening and deepening the friendship and cooperation between the two organizations and the special friendship between Vietnam and Cuba.

Mr. Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo expressed his emotions and thanked comrade Truong Thi Mai for taking the time to receive the CDR delegation. He informed Ms Mai of the current Cuban situation and the focus of work of the CDR; affirming the solidarity, attachment and admiration of the Cuban people for the resilient example of the Vietnamese people in the previous struggle for national liberation and the present development.

He expressed his deep belief that under the wise leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, headed by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, the Vietnamese people will continue to make many more great achievements, helping Vietnam develop more and more strongly./.
The US Supreme Court handed a victory to Twitter and Google on Thursday, saying the social media giants could not be held liable by victims of terrorist attacks for posts that endorsed the Islamic State group.

Crucially, the cases that targeted Google-owned YouTube and Twitter were seen as potential challenges to decades-old legal protections for tech companies.

The justices declined to wade into the debate, indicating that the cases fall outside the scope of the law because the platforms did not in any case aid and abet" IS terror attacks by hosting postings supportive of the extremist group.

A law known as Section 230 gives internet platforms blanket immunity from any legal fallout of content that comes from a third party, even if it is pushed out as a recommendation by the website.

Section 230, which became law in 1996, is credited with allowing the no-holds-barred expansion of the internet but has increasingly been seen as helping cause the harmful effects of social media on society.

Without it, websites would potentially be open to lawsuits for content posted by users, making the free-wheeling discussions seen on social media subject to much stricter moderation.

A bitterly divided US Congress has failed to update the rules, and many US states are passing their own laws to make platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok more responsible for content.

Enough is enough Congress must step in, reform Section 230, and remove platforms blanket immunity from liability," said influential Democratic Senator Dick Durbin after the ruling.

- Decline to address -

The justices of the Supreme Court largely evaded the question. They said that the allegations against YouTube and Twitter did not amount to a liable infraction and therefore the debate over section 230 was not pertinent.

We therefore decline to address the application of Section 230 (in a case) that appears to state little, if any, plausible claim for relief," they said.

The justices however gave no indication on how they could potentially address the immunity issue in the future, nor were their stances on the matter made clear at hearings in February.

Google welcomed the result.

Countless companies, scholars, content creators and civil society organizations who joined with us in this case will be reassured by this result," said Halimah DeLaine Prado, Googles general counsel.

An association representing US tech companies said the decision was good news.

The Court correctly recognized the narrow posture of these cases and declined to rewrite a key tenet of US Internet law, preserving free expression online and a thriving digital economy," said Matt Schruers, head of the Computer & Communications Industry Association.

- Fight another day -

The first of the two cases involved a US victim of the 2015 Paris attacks, claimed by the IS group.

The other case was brought by the family of a victim of a 2017 attack by the group on an Istanbul nightclub.

The family alleged that Twitters failure to take down and stop recommending IS tweets constituted aiding an act of terror.

top videos

The Supreme Court declines to hear the vast majority of the cases that come its way, and experts had predicted that by opting to decide on this one justices could be willing to modify the increasingly contested landmark law.

But in the hearings, the justices largely expressed doubts that the case would be fit to begin a debate about reworking Section 230.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday vowed to amplify the voices and concerns of the Global South at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

PM Modi also said he was looking forward to discussing global changes and challenges in areas such as energy, digital technology and supply chains.

I will emphasise Indias role as a reliable partner in addressing these challenges," PM Modi said in an interview to Nikkei Asia before embarking on a visit to Japan and added that Indias experience would resonate strongly at the meeting.

PM @narendramodi sets foot in the historic city of Hiroshima. PM will attend the @G7 Summit under s presidency at the invitation of PM @kishida230. Besides other bilateral engagements, PM will also participate in the Quad Leaders Meeting. pic.twitter.com/pFaRBXDUM9  Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) May 19, 2023

We now see a growing convergence in our political, strategic, security, and economic interests," he reportedly said in the interview.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Hiroshima earlier today where he will attend the annual summit of the G7 grouping and the third in-person Quad leaders meeting.

India, which is not a member of G-7 nations, was invited by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has expressed his own determination to strengthen ties with Global South.

PM Modi further said that Tokyo and New Delhis shared values of democracy, freedom and the rule of law have brought the two allies closer.

During the two meetings he will exchange views with world leaders on global challenges and discuss ways to collectively address them.

PM Modi has repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine and has reiterated that todays era is not an era of war."

On the question of whether India can play a mediator role, the prime minister said Indias position on the Ukraine conflict is clear and unwavering."

India stands on the side of peace, and will remain firmly there. We are committed to supporting those who face challenges in meeting their basic needs, especially in the face of rising costs of food, fuel, and fertilizers. We maintain communication with both Russia and Ukraine," PM Modi said.

He added that cooperation and collaboration should define our times and not conflict.

top videos

I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them. I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 Summit," PM Modi said in his departure statement.

Modi will also visit Papua New Guinea and Australia and is expected to take part in over 40 engagements. He will interact with over two dozen world leaders in summits as well as in bilateral meetings, officials said.
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) have convened in Japan with a dual aim of stopping Russias war on Ukraine and containing Chinese assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific. The informal group of leading industrialised nations consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States are meeting in Hiroshima, Japan where they will also push for nuclear disarmament.

It should be noted that three members of the G7 - namely the UK, France and the United States alone possess thousands of warheads.

G7 leaders visited the citys Peace Park and laid wreaths at the cenotaph to remember those who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the US bombed Japan during World War II.

Commencing their visit, the leaders first made a stop at the Hiroshima Peace Museum, where they witnessed firsthand the harrowing evidence depicting the immense destruction and human suffering resulting from the US nuclear attack on August 6, 1945.

Before the visit, several bilateral meetings were also held on the sidelines.

top videos

Here are the key takeaways from first day of the G7 Summit:
Joe Biden informed his colleagues that the "US will support a joint effort with allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth generation aircraft, including F-16s."

That is according to CNN, citing a senior U.S. official.

CNN notes that such a decision by the US President is "a stark turnaround for Biden", as previously he has repeatedly stated, in particular, that providing Western fighter jets to Ukraine is not a top priority.

Fighting Falcon aircraft for Ukraine is closer - tTraining likely happen entirely in Europe, the US will provide personnel / Photo credit: U.S. Air Force

According to preliminary data, the training should take place entirely in Europe, but "US personnel will participate in the training alongside allies and partners". As one of the officials told CNN, he hopes that the training should begin "in the coming weeks."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed the Joe Biden's decision to support an international "fighter jet coalition" for Ukraine.

reported this

"I welcome the historic decision of the United States and President Joe Biden to support an international fighter jet coalition. This will greatly enhance our army in the sky. I count on discussing the practical implementation of this decision at the G7 summit in Hiroshima," President Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

It should be noted, that Ukraine's acquisition of modern aviation directly influences on the course of the war and ensuring security in the airspace of Europe.

We will remind, earlier it became known that according to the results of the tests of two Ukrainian pilots on the flight simulator, it was determined that Ukrainian military can master the F-16 in a fairly short time - within approximately four months.

As for the future international F-16 coalition for Ukraine, Defense Express previously analyzed in detail how it might actually look and what realistic timelines can be expected.
After CEO Bob Iger hinted last week that the company might do something like this, given what it sees as the hard time Gov. Ron DeSantis is giving it, Disney dropped its plans to build a $1 billion office complex in Florida. Josh D'Amaro, the head of theme parks, told employees in a memo Thursday that the Lake Nona Town Center project is off, the New York Times reports. Two years ago, D'Amaro credited "Floridas business-friendly climate" for the project. But for the past year, Disney and DeSantis have been battling, a confrontation that's included a lawsuit, threats, and a struggle over a special tax district that includes Disney World. D'Amaro's memo acknowledged the "changing business conditions."

Not everyone at Disney was thrilled with the original plan, which included moving more than 1,000 employees from California to Florida. Most workers in company's celebrated Imagineering department would have had to relocate. Part of Disney's incentive was a Florida tax credit that would returned as much as $570 million over 20 years to the company for carrying through on the project. Iger's resistance apparently also was a factor; when he came back as CEO, Iger said he didn't see the point of having Imagineering thousands of miles from Disney's movie studios, per the Times.

D'Amato's memo cited Iger's return as a reason and added that employees who'd already moved to Florida can go back, per CNBC. Florida had estimated that the office project, which would have been built near Orlando International Airport, would have brought 2,000 jobs at an average salary of $120,000. Disney still plans to spend $17 billion on construction at Disney World over the next decade, which it says would generate another 13,000 jobs. Iger, who reassumed his old job last fall, suggested last week that making that investment isn't guaranteed. "I hope we're able to, D'Amato said. (Read more Walt Disney Co. stories.)
A selection of bones belonging to a juvenile mastodon that roamed the woods of Michigan 13,000 years ago is now on display at the Grand Rapids Public Museum, after workers unearthed it by chance last year. Excited museum officials showed off some of the long-extinct pachyderm's remains on Thursday, though much of the skeleton still is going through the drying process, the AP reports. Mastodons might seem similar to woolly mammoths, but they were shorter and stockierimagine a mix between a woolly mammoth and modern elephantand their tusks were shorter and less curved.

The Michigan skeleton was discovered last August by Kent County drain commission workers digging about 30 miles north of Grand Rapids on private property belonging to the Clapp family, who donated it to the museum. Museum CEO Dale Robertson called the discovery amazing during a news conference Thursday before officials toured the new exhibit. It's not unusual to find mastodon bones, especially in the Midwest. But what's special about this discovery is that as many as 80% of the mastodon's bones are intact, "which is really, really impressive," said Cory Redman, the museum's science curator. "Anything over 20 youre super excited about, so 75 to 80% is absolutely fantastic," he said.

No tusks were found and only a partial skull was, which is displayed under glass. A selection of the bones, now known as the "Clapp Family Mastodon," will be publicly displayed as part of the museum's exhibition "Ice Age: Michigan's Frozen Secrets," which opens Saturday. The exhibit also features an array of creatures from the Pleistocene period. The museum acquired 63 new fossils and casts, allowing visitors to touch real fossilized bones and teeth. But the Clapp Family Mastodon is the star of the show. The juvenile was between 10 and 20 years old when it died, said Redman, which radiocarbon dating puts at around 13,210 years ago. "What makes this specimen unique and so exciting is it's a juvenile. It's a young animal. Typically, when you find them, they're adults," Redman said.

(Read more mastodons stories.)
Investigators believe the gun Alec Baldwin was handling when it fired a bullet that killed Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins may have been intentionally modified. In a motion requesting forensic testing of the .45 Long Colt revolver and ammunition, New Mexico special prosecutors say "the modification appears to be related to the notches on the internal portion of the hammer for full cock, half cock and quarter cock positions." Specifically, "it appears that these notches may have been partially removed or ground down so that they are less prominent," according to the motion filed Wednesday, per Reuters.

Prosecutors are requesting forensic testing to confirm the modification, determine its source, and learn what effect it had on the gun's performance. "If it is found to have been modified, it could bolster Baldwins contention that he never pulled the trigger when it discharged, despite FBI tests and expert skepticism claiming otherwise," reports the Washington Post. Prosecutors dropped criminal charges against Baldwin last month with the Los Angeles Times reporting that possible modifications to the gun's "hammer and sear" may have affected the firing mechanism.

Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed still faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter. Her lawyerwho filed a motion Thursday to drop the criminal case against heris not opposing the prosecutors' motion to transfer the gun, ammunition, and a jacket Gutierrez-Reed wore to a ballistics expert for testing, per the Post and Reuters. The plan is to examine the jacket for gunpowder residue. Numerous legal battles over the shooting continue, as the Post points out. In one lawsuit, Gutierrez-Reed accuses the movie's ammunition supplier of providing live ammunition to the set. (Read more Rust stories.)
On May 16, 2023, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang held talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone David J. Francis in Beijing.



Qin Gang said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China and Sierra Leone have always supported each other and cooperated with sincerity. China highly appreciates Sierra Leones firm commitment to the one-China principle and its adherence to justice on Xinjiang-related human rights and other issues. This year marks the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinpings proposal of principles guiding Chinas Africa policy, including sincerity, real results, amity and good faith. These principles have shaped the past of China-Sierra Leone relations and will open up a bright future for bilateral relations. The two sides should jointly follow through on the important common understandings reached by the two heads of state, continue to firmly support each other, strengthen practical cooperation, and keep closer coordination in international and regional affairs. Noting the strong vitality of Chinas economy, Qin Gang said China is ready to share opportunities with Sierra Leone for common development.

Francis first conveyed President Julius Maada Wonie Bios sincere greetings to President Xi Jinping. Francis said that Sierra Leone-China relations are robust and the two sides share broad common interests. Sierra Leone cherishes its relations with China and firmly pursues the one-China principle. Sierra Leone looks forward to strengthening cooperation with China in such areas as trade and investment, agriculture and infrastructure development to benefit the two peoples. Sierra Leone highly applauds Chinas important role in safeguarding world peace and stability, actively supports important initiatives put forward by President Xi Jinping, and stands ready to work with China for greater democracy in international relations and a multi-polar world.

The two sides also exchanged views on the situation in Africa, the reform of the United Nations and other issues.




A slogan is pictured at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in a protest against the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit, in Hiroshima, Japan, May 17, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)

HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Japanese and U.S. leaders on Thursday met in Hiroshima prior to a larger gathering of Group of Seven (G7) nations, overshadowed by protests and a tense atmosphere.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who holds the G7's rotating presidency and will host a three-day G7 summit which starts Friday, held talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday evening in the western Japanese city.

The two leaders discussed further strengthening deterrence of the Japan-U.S. alliance and decided to advance Japan-U.S.-South Korea cooperation, according to notes released after the meeting.

Hiroshima, devastated by U.S. atomic bombings in 1945, has become the scene of intense demonstrations decrying the bloc days before the summit, while police officers from all over the nation were seen patrolling the streets.

Nearly 100 protesters gathered from Wednesday to Thursday in front of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, also known as Atomic Bomb Dome, at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which will be shut till next Monday due to the summit.

Pulling up banners and signs such as "Crush the G7 Summit" and "No War-themed Conference," protesters shouted slogans such as "No Japan-U.S. leaders talk" and "Withdraw U.S. military bases in Japan."

The protesters, including university students and family members of atomic bombing victims, rallied along one of the main streets in Hiroshima, crowded by police over 10 times the number of protesters.

The Japan-U.S. leaders' talk on Thursday will eventually lead to upgrades of the military alliance between the two countries in East Asia, said Ryo Miyahara, head of a Hiroshima citizens' group and one of the protests' organizers, citing the Japanese government's aggressive announcements of counterattack abilities in striking enemy bases and doubling its defense spending.

"Today's talks will definitely ignore the ideas of ordinary people," said Akamine Chiaki, a college student from Okinawa at Thursday's rally.

His words were echoed by another protester on-site, a 23-year-old French student named Fred who now studies Japanese in Osaka, who said there is nothing to be expected from the G7 gathering.

"The G7 summit has nothing to do with the interests of humanity," he told Xinhua, adding that it is simply a game for the rich bloc. 

Protesters rally at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in a protest against the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit, in Hiroshima, Japan, May 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)

A man holding a banner protests against the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit, in Hiroshima, Japan, May 17, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)

Protesters rally in a protest against the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit, in Hiroshima, Japan, May 17, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)

Protesters rally at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in a protest against the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit, in Hiroshima, Japan, May 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)

Protesters rally at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in a protest against the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit, in Hiroshima, Japan, May 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)

Editor: Zhang Zhou
Five TikTok content creators wasted no time filing a lawsuit challenging Montana's first-in-the-nation TikTok ban; their complaint was filed Wednesday night, hours after Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the law, which goes way beyond a prohibiting TikTok on government devices. The Montana ban aims to prohibit the Chinese-owned app from being used or downloaded by anyone in the state, though it would not penalize app users. The five creators who are suinga rancher, a former Marine sergeant, and the owner of a small swimwear company are among themsay that violates their First Amendment rights, CNN reports. All are residents of Montana.

Montana can no more ban its residents from viewing or posting to TikTok than it could ban the Wall Street Journal because of who owns it or the ideas it publishes, says the complaint. It also accuses the state of depriving TikTok users of rights without due process, a Fourteenth Amendment violation. And it claims the ban conflicts with the federal government's authority and powers, Reuters reports, saying the state is trying to"exercise powers over national security that Montana does not have." A spokesperson for the state attorney general's office says in response, "We expected a legal challenge and are fully prepared to defend the law. (TikTok itself, as well as the ACLU, have also spoken out against the ban.)
Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a lawsuit claiming that the German lender should have seen evidence of sex trafficking by Jeffrey Epstein when he was a client, according to lawyers for women who say they were abused by the late financier. A woman only identified as Jane Doe sued the bank in federal district court in New York and sought class-action status to represent other victims of Epstein. The lawsuit asserted that the bank knowingly benefited from Epsteins sex trafficking and "chose profit over following the law" to earn millions of dollars from the businessman, the AP reports.

One of the law firms representing women in the case, Edwards Pottinger, said it believed it is the largest sex trafficking settlement with a bank in US history. "The settlement will allow dozens of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein to finally attempt to restore their faith in our system knowing that all individuals and entities who facilitated Epsteins sex-trafficking operation will finally be held accountable," the firm said in statement. Deutsche Bank would not comment on the settlement Thursday but noted a 2020 statement from the bank acknowledging its mistake in taking on Epstein as a client, said Frank Hartmann, the German lenders global head of media relations.

The Boies Schiller Flexner law firm called the settlement an important step for victims' rights. "The scope and scale of Epsteins abuse, and the many years it continued in plain sight, could not have happened without the collaboration and support of many powerful individuals and institutions," David Boies, the firm's chairman, said in a statement. Deutsche Bank had previously joined JPMorgan Chase, which is also facing a lawsuit over its ties to Epstein, in fighting the allegations. (The Virgin Islands government is trying to subpoena Elon Musk as part of its own litigation against JPMorgan.)
Apple is content to offer OpenAI's ChatGPT to iPhone users, but not to its own employees. The company is restricting workers from using external artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft-owned GitHub's Copilot, which automates the writing of software code, for fear that confidential data entered into the programs could be leaked, the Wall Street Journal reports. ChatGPT stores user interactions, which are used to train the AI model. Back in March, it identified a bug that exposed elements of users' chat history. ChatGPT has since come out with an "incognito mode" that allows users to turn off chat history, per Reuters. But "even with this setting enabled, OpenAI still retains conversations for 30 days with the option to review them 'for abuse' before deleting them permanently," reports the Verge.

Apple is hardly the first company to restrict use of ChatGPT. JP Morgan, Verizon, Amazon, and others have also done so, per the Journal. Meanwhile, Italy has banned the model throughout the country. However, Apple's stancewhich has been the status quo "for months," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurmanis notable as its App Store began hosting the official ChatGPT app on Thursday. Two days previously, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, calling for government oversight "to mitigate the risks of increasingly powerful models." (Read more ChatGPT stories.)
Leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies vowed Friday to tighten punishments on Russia for its 15-month invasion of Ukraine, days before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joins the Group of Seven summit in person on Sunday. "Our support for Ukraine will not waver," the G7 leaders said in a statement released after closed-door meetings in Hiroshima, Japan, vowing "to stand together against Russias illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine." "Russia started this war and can end this war," they said.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, confirmed on national television that Zelensky would attend the summit, the AP reports. "We were sure that our president would be where Ukraine needed him, in any part of the world, to solve the issue of stability of our country," Danilov said Friday. "There will be very important matters decided there, so physical presence is a crucial thing to defend our interests." Zelensky on Friday opened a visit to Saudi Arabia, where Arab leaders were holding a separate summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putins nuclear threats against Ukraine have resonated with Japans push to make nuclear disarmament a major part of the summit. World leaders Friday visited a peace park dedicated to the tens of thousands who died in the worlds first wartime atomic bomb detonation. After group photos near the city's iconic bombed-out dome, a wreath-laying, and a symbolic cherry tree planting, a new round of sanctions were unveiled against Moscow, with a focus on redoubling efforts to enforce existing sanctions meant to stifle Russia's war effort and hold accountable those behind it, a US official said. Russia is now the most-sanctioned country in the world, but there are questions about the effectiveness of the financial penalties.

(Read more Group of Seven stories.)
On a day meant to highlight discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, a traffic sign in Orlando broadcast a clear example: "Kill all gays." The hateful message in bright orange capital letters was shown in the area of Lake Nona Medical City early Wednesday on a digital traffic sign, which had been warning drivers about possible delays as a result of a weekend fun run, per WOFL. The message was "immediately taken down" and the sign removed, a city rep tells the Washington Post. Police, who were notified shortly before 4am, are now trying to determine those responsible for tampering with the sign, per the Orlando Sentinel.

Mayor Buddy Dyer condemned it as a "disgusting display." "To Orlandos LGBTQ+ residents and visitors: you are respected and valued here," he tweeted. "And we won't be deterred in our efforts to ensure that our city is inclusive for all." The message was especially painful as it arrived in a city "where a gunman killed 49 people inside a popular gay bar in 2016" and on International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia, which is recognized by dozens of human rights organizations, per the Post.

Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis chose this day to sign into law a package of bills that imposes new restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors and adults, "makes it a crime to admit minors to drag performances; and bans trans people from using bathrooms that match their gender identity in schools, prisons or public buildings," per the Post. Under the new law, gender-affirming care for minors is akin to child abuse, meaning a child found to have received such care can be taken from their parents, CNN reports.

DeSantis said "Florida is proud to lead the way in standing up for our children ... as the world goes mad." State Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, a Democrat representing parts of Orlando, countered that Wednesday's incident is a reminder that attacks on the LGBTQ+ community "are only getting worse, and our governor is allowing this pattern to continue." She tells the Post that the individuals responsible for altering the sign "are affirmed and empowered by the policies around them, and by the elected officials around them who echo that same sentiment, whether they say it as bluntly or not." (Read more Florida stories.)
A California radiologist and his wife gave police very different accounts of why the family's Tesla plunged off a cliff in northern California on Jan. 2. According to newly unsealed documents, Neha Patel repeatedly told police and paramedics that Dharmesh Patel drove off the cliff because he was depressed and was trying to kill the family, including their two children, ages 4 and 7, NBC reports. "He drove off. Hes depressed. Hes a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He purposely drove off, Neha Patel told a California Highway Patrol officer. She also told paramedics who pulled the family from the wrecked vehicle that her husband "had driven off the side of the road on purpose" and needed a "psych evaluation."

When he was interviewed in the hospital, however, Dharmesh Patel, claimed that he pulled off to a "dirt path" to check the Model Y's tire air pressure after receiving alerts and it was "a short distance before they fell off," the San Francisco Chronicle reports. "When asked if he felt depressed, he related he was not really depressed, he just felt down because times were bad in the world, the war, and the drugs," CHP officer Aaron Sapien wrote in a search warrant affidavit. When asked if he felt suicidal, he stated, you know, not like a plan, not usually and related that he was more worried about the world." Witnesses contradicted Dharmesh Patel's version of events, saying they didn't see the vehicle brake or make any effort to slow down as it approached the cliff.

The vehicle fell 330 feet and rescuers were amazed that all four family members survived. According to court documents, Neha Patel spent more than a month in the hospital. Her daughter had a broken hand and her son had injuries to the back of his head. Dharmesh Patel pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder. In February, his attorney told a judge that his wife did not want him to be prosecuted. It's not clear whether she will testify at a preliminary hearing next month. San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe says she has not recanted her statements. (Read more attempted murder stories.)
A DC police officer was arrested Friday on charges he lied about leaking confidential information to a leader of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group and obstructed an investigation after group members destroyed a Black Lives Matter banner in the nation's capital. An indictment alleges that Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Shane Lamond, 47, of Stafford, Virginia, warned former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio that law enforcement had an arrest warrant for Tarrio related to the banner's destruction, per the AP. A federal grand jury in Washington indicted Lamond on one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements.

Lamond, who supervised the intelligence branch of the police department's Homeland Security Bureau, often contacted Tarrio about Proud Boys' planned activities in Washington. Mark Schamel, an attorney for Lamond, has previously said that Lamond's job was to communicate with a variety of groups protesting in Washington, and his conduct with Tarrio was never inappropriate. Prosecutors say the two men communicated at least 500 times across several platforms over a period nearly a year and a half. Lamond began using the Telegram messaging platform to give Tarrio information about law enforcement activity around July 2020, about a year after they started talking, according to prosecutors. By November of that year, he was talking about meeting Tarrio during a night out.

Lamond, whose job entailed sharing what he learned with others in the department, asked Tarrio whether he should share the information Tarrio gave him about Proud Boys activities, prosecutors said. Earlier this month, Tarrio and three other group members were convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said was a plot to keep then-President Donald Trump in the White House after he lost the 2020 election. Jurors who convicted Tarrio heard testimony that Lamond frequently provided the Proud Boys leader with internal information about law enforcement operations in the weeks before other members of his group stormed the Capitol. (Read more Proud Boys stories.)
The Supreme Court dispensed with a pandemic-related immigration case with a single sentence. But Justice Neil Gorsuch had much more to say, leveling harsh criticism of how governments responded to the gravest public health threat in a century. The justice, who was President Trump's first Supreme Court nominee, called emergency measures taken during the COVID-19 crisis that killed more than 1 million Americans perhaps "the greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country." He pointed to orders closing schools, restricting church services, mandating vaccines, and prohibiting evictions, the AP reports. His broadside was aimed at local, state, and federal officialseven his colleagues.

"Executive officials across the country issued emergency decrees on a breathtaking scale," Gorsuch wrote in an eight-page statement Thursday that accompanied the Supreme Court order formally dismissing a case involving the use of the Title 42 policy to prevent asylum seekers from entering the US. The policy was ended last week with the expiration of the public health emergency first declared more than three years ago because of the coronavirus pandemic. When the omicron variant surged in late 2021 and early 2022, Gorsuch was the lone justice to appear in the courtroom unmasked even as his seatmate, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who has diabetes, reportedly did not feel safe in close quarters with people who were not wearing masks.

Sotomayor, who continues to wear a mask in public, did not take the bench with the other justices in January 2022, though the two justices denied reports they were at odds over the issue. The emergency orders about which Gorsuch complained were first announced in the early days of the pandemic, and months before the virus was well understood and a vaccine was developed. The thrust of his complaint is not new. He has written before in individual cases that came to the court during the pandemic, sometimes dissenting from orders that left emergency decrees in place. Only in his final paragraph did Gorsuch acknowledge that emergency orders sometimes are needed. "Make no mistakedecisive executive action is sometimes necessary and appropriate. But if emergency decrees promise to solve some problems, they threaten to generate others," he wrote.

(Read more Neil Gorsuch stories.)
American Airlines and JetBlue Airways must abandon their partnership in the Northeast US, a federal judge in Boston ruled Friday, saying that the government proved that the deal reduces competition in the airline industry. The ruling is a blow for the airlines, which have said that their deal helps consumers by creating a stronger competitor in the region to Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. But US District Judge Leo Sorokin wrote that through their alliance, American and JetBlue carved up Northeast markets between them, "replacing full-throated competition with broad cooperation," the AP reports. Sorokin said the airlines offered only minimal evidence that the partnership helped consumers.

The ruling is a major victory for the Biden administration, which has used aggressive enforcement of antitrust laws to fight mergers and other arrangements between large corporations. The Justice Department sued to kill the deal in 2021 and was joined by six states and the District of Columbia. The case went to trial last fall in Boston. The partnership, called the Northeast Alliance, had the blessing of the Trump administration when it took effect in early 2021. It lets American and JetBlue coordinate schedules and share revenue on many routes to and from New York and Boston.

But soon after President Biden took office, the Justice Department took another look at the case and found an economist who predicted that consumers would spend more than $700 million a year extra if American and JetBlue stopped competing with each other in the Northeast. "It is a very important case to us ... because of those families that need to travel and want affordable tickets and good service," Justice Department lawyer Bill Jones said during closing arguments. Lawyers for American and JetBlue countered that the government had failed to produce evidence of harm to consumers nearly two years after the alliance took effect. They pointed to new routes, which they said were added only because the alliance provided enough new passengers to make the flights feasible. (The Biden administration also is fighting JetBlue's proposed purchase of Spirit Airlines.)
Children experience face painting at Shanghai Natural History Museum in Shanghai, east China, May 18, 2023. Shanghai Natural History Museum(SNHM) held a special event themed "Night at the SNHM" in celebration of the International Museum Day on Thursday. (Xinhua/Xin Mengchen)

People visit the Shanghai Natural History Museum in Shanghai, east China, May 18, 2023. Shanghai Natural History Museum(SNHM) held a special event themed "Night at the SNHM" in celebration of the International Museum Day on Thursday. (Xinhua/Xin Mengchen)

Visitors watch a sand painting show at Shanghai Natural History Museum in Shanghai, east China, May 18, 2023. Shanghai Natural History Museum(SNHM) held a special event themed "Night at the SNHM" in celebration of the International Museum Day on Thursday. (Xinhua/Xin Mengchen)

People visit the Shanghai Natural History Museum in Shanghai, east China, May 18, 2023. Shanghai Natural History Museum(SNHM) held a special event themed "Night at the SNHM" in celebration of the International Museum Day on Thursday. (Xinhua/Xin Mengchen)

Editor: GSY
Li Qingsheng tunes a guitar in Tangwu, a small town in east China's Shandong Province, Oct. 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Chen Guofeng)

JINAN, May 18 (Xinhua) -- After working in the guitar industry for more than a decade, Li Qingsheng, a former farmer, has honed the skill to distinguish the desired timbre and tune more than 300 electric guitars a day.

Li works at the Changyunda musical instrument company in Tangwu, a small town in east China's Shandong Province which has been the manufacturing hub of musical instruments, especially guitars, for decades. At present, about 2 million musical instruments are produced in the town every year, with an annual output value of 1 billion yuan (about 142.92 million U.S. dollars).

According to Zhang Longgang, general manager of the Changyunda musical instrument company, the process of guitar making involves seven crucial stages that include molding, sanding, painting and drying. He explained that each process consists of around 10 to 20 steps, of which 80 percent need to be done manually, and therefore, the core competitiveness of the industry lies in craftsmanship.

More than 8,000 people are involved in the entire production chain of the guitar industry in Tangwu, accounting for over 10 percent of the town's population, with some workers earning a monthly income of nearly 10,000 yuan.

Previously, guitar factories in Tangwu were mostly small and the production standard of the guitars was not clear. The young generation of industry leaders, such as Zhang, continued to refine the production process and quality standards in order to gain market recognition.

After 11 years of development, Zhang's factory has the advantages of scale and standardization. The number of workers has increased from the initial 10 to more than 80, while the annual output of its musical instruments such as electric guitars and bass guitars exceeds 100,000, which are exported overseas.

In Tangwu, the number of musical instrument production and accessories processing enterprises has grown to more than 80. The products cover nearly 400 varieties under eight series, such as electric guitars, acoustic guitars, ukuleles, banjos and mandolins, which are exported to more than 30 countries and regions including the Republic of Korea, Japan and the United States.

According to Meng Hong, the Party chief of Tangwu Town, to ensure the high-quality development of local musical instrument companies, the government actively organizes them to participate in international exhibitions and has increased investment in innovation, promoting the transformation of the musical instrument industry from OEM production to independent research and development.

"We have to build our own brands," said Zhao Weiguo, general manager of Eart Music Co., Ltd.

In over a decade, the company forged cooperations with the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, Tianjin Conservatory of Music and other universities to establish its own art college, and developed more than 500 "guitar classrooms" across the country to train guitar teachers and students. It also held music festivals and summits to expand its brand influence. As a result, a number of national-level performers as well as guitarists from well-known bands have been included in the customer list of Eart Music Co., Ltd.

Thanks to years of efforts, Tangwu has cultivated nearly 40 local brands such as Krait and Eart. Liu Di, who had been engaged in arranging and recording in Beijing, is optimistic about the development prospect of Tangwu's musical instrument industry and set up the Disheng musical instrument company there a few years ago.

Through cross-border e-commerce sites, Liu sells more than 6,000 electric guitars a month abroad. "I want guitarists all over the world to know Tangwu," he said.

"In the near future, we will promote 'Tangwu guitar' as a regional brand, and combine the development model of industry, culture and tourism to make Tangwu a guitar town with international influence," Meng said.

Editor: WJH
Crypto Daily - May 18

Japan, which missed out on the Web2 revolution -- by failing to produce its own Meta, Google, Amazon, and Alibaba -- is now looking to regain its economic prowess by embracing the burgeoning crypto and Web3 industry.
In the early 1990s, Japan was under pressure to play a larger role in the international community. Japans government established the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) in 1993 to transfer skills to trainees from developing countries to meet international community expectations.

The introduction of the TITP also coincided with a shortage of labour across Japan, particularly at small firms.

The TITP has played an important role plugging labour shortages and has become indispensable as the shortage of Japanese workers has worsened. But while the TITP has been sold as a contribution to international development, this characterisation belies the reality the program.

Although the TITP filled labour shortages  a situation which has grown more pronounced  it failed to protect the safety and wellbeing of trainees.

In 2017, the Organisation for Technical Intern Training (OTIT) was established as a supervisory agency to oversee the TITP and protect foreign trainees. In November 2017, the Technical Intern Training Act came to effect, with the aim of ensuring the appropriate implementation of technical training.

In April 2023, Japans Ministry of Justice released an interim report on transitioning to a new regulatory system of foreign workers. The report recommended the abolition of the current TITP, which allows foreigners to work while learning skills at professional training organisations.

The TITP has been criticised for importing cheap labour, allowing long working hours and illegally promoting low wages. The focus of the TITP is on labour collectively, rather than individual human lives. It is a one-sided mechanism for learning, which has operated through skill and technology transfers to developing countries. Such an approach is outdated and patronising. The government has been urged to take action to address these issues.

While the interim report has received positive feedback, it also notes that the Immigration Services Agency and conservative politicians have impaired the transition to a new program as they have done as much as possible to prevent foreigners from permanently residing in Japan. The reports expert panel has proposed a new system that would allow for possible long-term stays and some degree of flexibility in changing training places (tenseki). These options are not allowed in the current TITP.

The new system aims to not only develop skills through training (ikusei), but also to secure adequate staffing (jinzai kakuho) for companies. The report proposes a new specific skill system that would exempt TITP trainees who have completed more than three years of training from taking the qualifying exam, paving the way for long-term employment. The new system also proposes stricter requirements to ensure the independence of registered supervisory organisations (kanri dantai) from the employers of trainees. A final report is expected in September 2023.

... continue reading
, May 19 ( Kyodo ) - Leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized economies kicked off talks at their summit on Friday in Hiroshima, with concerns lingering that Russia may use a nuclear weapon in its ongoing aggression against Ukraine.

During the three-day summit, the G-7 leaders, who earlier in the day visited a museum dedicated to documenting the world's first nuclear attack by the United States, are expected to declare their opposition to any threat to use such weapons.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend the G-7 summit in Hiroshima in person, Japanese government sources said Friday. ...continue reading
Tokyo police say the parents of popular kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke may have died of psychotropic poisoning.

On Thursday morning, the 47-year-old actor, his father, Ichikawa Danshiro, who is also a kabuki actor, and his mother were found collapsed at their home in Tokyo. The parents were later confirmed dead.

Ennosuke was half conscious when he was taken to a hospital. He had difficulty speaking on the day, but police say he has already been released from the hospital.

The police say the parents were found lying on their backs in the home's second-floor living room. Ennosuke was discovered in a basement, with an apparent suicide note nearby.

On Friday, the police performed a legally ordered autopsy to look into the parents' deaths. They say the results show that both may have died of psychotropic drug poisoning.

But investigators say no sleep-inducing or other drugs in the category have been found in the home. ...continue reading
A confused-looking US President Biden had to be gently guided by Japanese leader Fumio Kishida on Friday  before tripping and almost falling down some stairs.

On Friday, US President Joe Biden appeared perplexed as Japanese leader Fumio Kishida provided gentle guidance to prevent any missteps, reported NY Post. While making his way down a flight of stairs, the President stumbled, narrowly avoiding a fall. Being the oldest-ever US president, he relied on the support of First Lady Jill Biden, who held his hand and led him towards a photo opportunity with the Japanese counterpart and his spouse in Hiroshima, prior to the G7 summit held in the city.

Following the handshake with Kishida, President Joe Biden, aged 80, directed his focus towards Yuko Kishida, the 58-year-old wife of the prime minister. In an unusual manner, he slightly bent over, with his fists clenched, reminiscent of a boxer's pose, before proceeding to shake her hand as well.

65-years-old Kishida took charge of guiding the US dignitaries to their designated positions for the photo session. Sensing President Biden's uncertainty, he politely intervened, assisting Biden in finding his place. The president shuffled slowly and appeared perplexed, glancing at the ground for guidance. ...continue reading
, May 20 ( Kyodo ) - The leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations visited a small island in Hiroshima Bay containing a world heritage shrine and sat down to a working dinner at a traditional hot-spring inn there at the end of the first day of their summit Friday.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other leaders arrived at Miyajima Island, a popular tourist destination in the Seto Inland Sea, on a cruiser, while U.S. President Joe Biden arrived separately in a helicopter.

The leaders posed for the traditional summit family photo before the large "torii" gate of the Itsukushima Shrine. "Gagaku" music traditionally performed there was played as they listened to a briefing on the history of the shrine, which, according to its website, was established on the site in 593.

... continue reading
Tourists visit the scenic area of Yulong Snow Mountain in Lijiang City, southwest China's Yunnan Province, May 17, 2023. The Yulong Snow Mountain scenic spot has received 2.4 million tourists since the beginning of this year. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo)

Tourists visit the scenic area of Yulong Snow Mountain in Lijiang City, southwest China's Yunnan Province, May 17, 2023. The Yulong Snow Mountain scenic spot has received 2.4 million tourists since the beginning of this year. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo)

Tourists visit the scenic area of Yulong Snow Mountain in Lijiang City, southwest China's Yunnan Province, May 17, 2023. The Yulong Snow Mountain scenic spot has received 2.4 million tourists since the beginning of this year. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo)

This aerial photo taken on May 17, 2023 shows the summer scenery of Lanyue (Blue Moon) Valley in Lijiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province. The Yulong Snow Mountain scenic spot has received 2.4 million tourists since the beginning of this year. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo)

This aerial photo taken on May 17, 2023 shows the summer scenery of Lanyue (Blue Moon) Valley in Lijiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province. The Yulong Snow Mountain scenic spot has received 2.4 million tourists since the beginning of this year. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo)

Editor: WJH
XI'AN, Shaanxi/YUNCHENG, Shanxi, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, listened to a report on the work of the CPC Shaanxi Provincial Committee and the provincial government at a meeting on May 17.

Xi stressed that Shaanxi should have the ambition and courage to become the pioneer of the era in advancing Chinese modernization, make efforts to catch up with and surpass other regions, so as to play a demonstrative role in the western region. He stressed the importance of fully and accurately implementing the new development philosophy on all fronts. Centering on the primary task of high-quality development, taking into consideration the big picture of the national development, based on its own reality, Shaanxi needs to leverage its strengths, clarify its main development targets, take the initiative to integrate into and serve the forging of a new development pattern, and work hard to achieve new breakthroughs in building self-reliance and strength in science and technology, developing a modern industrial system, promoting coordinated development between urban and rural areas, expanding high-level opening up, and strengthening ecological and environmental protection. All these endeavors will contribute to the writing of a new chapter of Chinese modernization in Shaanxi.

The meeting was held ahead of the China-Central Asia Summit, which will be held in Xi'an, capital city of Shaanxi Province. Xi will preside over the summit. Zhao Yide, secretary of the CPC Shaanxi Provincial Committee, delivered the report. Zhao Gang, governor of Shaanxi Province, among others, attended the meeting. Xi made an important speech, in which he affirmed what the province has achieved in various aspects of work.

Xi pointed out that Shaanxi must achieve new breakthroughs in innovation in science and technology and in the development of a modernized industrial system in order to catch up with and surpass other regions. The province should focus on developing the real economy based on its industrial foundation and endowment of resources. While consolidating its traditionally leading industries, it should explore new fields and paths, and develop new strengths for competition. It needs to promote technological innovation to accelerate high-end, smart and green transformation and upgrade of traditional industries, boost strategic emerging industries, and develop digital economy and modern service industries. Efforts are needed for the province to promote the development of smarter, greener and more integrated industries and build a complete modern industrial system that is advanced and secure, and improve modern energy industrial clusters, Xi noted. He urged that focus should be placed on national strategic demands and key fields in international competition to launch national major technological projects, make breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields and develop more cutting-edge technologies and projects of national significance. Leading role of enterprises in technological innovation should be strengthened, and innovation, industries, funds and professionals should be further integrated to accelerate the industrialization of achievements in science and technology. He urged efforts to do a good job in building the comprehensive national science center and the technological innovation center in Xi'an, and build the city into a key sci-tech research, cultural and education center and hi-tech industrial and manufacturing hub.

Xi stressed that rural development is still the most arduous task when it comes to building a modern socialist country in all respects and promoting common prosperity, and urban-rural gap must be gradually narrowed. It is necessary to promote new urbanization with county towns playing a key role. Public utilities in county towns must be improved, and so must the basic public services as well as supporting industries there. Comprehensive carrying capacities and governance capacity of county towns must be promoted so that the role of county towns in boosting county economies can be given full play. We should develop small cities and towns in line with local conditions, and promote the sound development of featured small towns, so as to forge a county economic system with county towns as pivots and small cities and towns as junctures. We should develop and improve institutions and mechanisms for integrated urban-rural development, put in place policies for promoting equal exchanges of production factors between urban and rural areas, so as to facilitate the smooth flow of resource elements from cities to villages and unleash new impetus for the development of agriculture and countryside. We should redouble our efforts to develop featured industries in line with local conditions, and advance the integration of primary, secondary and tertiary industries in rural areas to open up more channels for increasing farmers' incomes. It is imperative to continuously improve rural living environment, preserve traditional villages and rural characteristics, promote cultural and ethical progress in rural areas, and nurture good folk customs. It is essential to continue with dynamic monitoring, strengthen the endogenous drivers for development of regions that have just been lifted out of poverty, and guard against a large-scale relapse into poverty.

Xi noted that more efforts must be made to transform our growth model into a green and low-carbon one so as to promote ecological progress. We should firmly establish and practice the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and continue to improve air, water and land quality. Shaanxi Province should pursue high-quality development starting from the ecological conservation of the Yellow River Basin, strictly enforce the Yellow River Protection Law and relevant plans, step up comprehensive control of soil erosion and desertification, strengthen the ecological protection and restoration of the basin, deepen prevention and control of wide-spread pollution in agriculture, industry, urban and rural areas and improve the eco-environment in mining areas, thus doing a better job in protecting our mother river. Work must be done to establish a regular and long-term mechanism for the protection of the Qinling Mountains, improve the supervision system, strengthen dynamic investigation and governance, thus better protecting the "central water tower" of our country. Work should be done to strengthen the protection of the water source of the middle route of the Water Diversion Project from South to North to ensure clear water can be transferred to the north perpetually. Xi called for green and low-carbon economic and social development, emphasizing accelerated restructuring in industry, energy, transportation and land use, and the green transformation of the energy sector, so as to advance towards carbon emissions peaking and carbon neutrality in a proactive and prudent manner. He stressed the importance of implementing a comprehensive resource conservation strategy, and promoting green consumption, as well as the intensive and economical use of resources.

Xi stressed that efforts should be made to open up wider both domestically and internationally, and develop the inland province into a high ground for reform and opening up. It is necessary to be more proactive in integrating into and serving the country's endeavor of fostering a new development pattern, integrate local development more deeply into the Belt and Road Initiative, and strengthen the development engine and dynamic in the process of expanding opening up domestically and internationally, so as to break new ground in development. Efforts should be made to steadily promote institutional opening up that covers rules, regulations, management and standards, advance high-quality development of pilot free trade zones, with a view to building high-level platforms of opening up. The province should be more active in the development of new land-sea transit routes for the western region, give full play to Xi'an's role as an assembly center of the China-Europe freight train services, speed up the formation of the transportation corridors to countries in Central, South and West Asia, and play a bigger role in connecting the domestic and international markets. More should be done to foster a world-class business environment that is market-based, law-based and internationalized to attract higher quality inbound investment.

Xi noted that the theoretical study program on the study and implementation of the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is underway throughout the Party. Party organizations at all levels must make in-depth and solid efforts in this regard, and achieve substantial results in nurturing minds, gaining wisdom, improving Party conduct, and motivating work through the program. Enhancing one's wisdom through learning means gaining a clear understanding of the law, direction, methods, and wisdom from the Party's scientific theories, drawing greatest strengths from the Party, and acquiring the skills of invigorating the Party and the country. First, it is essential to improve political ability. We need to be good at thinking, making decisions, and handling things from the viewpoint of the Party and the people and from the overall work of the Party and the country. We need to be adept at grasping the regularity of various complicated problems, the tendency from emerging ones, and the inevitability from occasional ones. We should also be skilled at navigating a complex situation, pooling social forces, and guarding against political risks. It is necessary to shoulder the political responsibilities entrusted by the Party and the people, and truly become sober-minded in politics. Second, it is crucial to improve thinking ability. We need to translate the worldview, methodology, positions, viewpoints and methods of the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era into our own scientific thinking and methods, and use them as the master key to studying and solving problems. We need to improve our ability in strategic, dialectical, systematic, innovative, historical, legal, and bottom-line thinking. We should be good at grasping the nature of things, the law of development, the key to our work, and the measure of policies, so as to make our work more scientific, farsighted, proactive, and creative. Third, efforts should be made to strengthen ability for practical work. We should carry forward the fine style of study that combines theory with practice, fully grasp the practical requirements of new concepts, ideas and strategies of the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and strengthen our ability to push forward high-quality development, serve the people, and prevent and defuse risks. We should strengthen the courage and ability to carry on fight, redouble our efforts to enhance the ability to prevent risks, rise to challenges, and withstand pressure, fill our gap in knowledge, address inadequacies in quality and strengthen weak areas in capability in a timely manner, so as to become more professional. Shaanxi must make good use of its own historical and revolutionary cultural resources and further carry forward the great founding spirit of the Party and the Yan'an Spirit to ensure that the theoretical study program yields concrete results.

Xi concerns himself about the ecological conservation and the protection of cultural relics in the Yellow River Basin. On the afternoon of May 16, on his way to Shaanxi, Xi took off the train at Yuncheng, and visited Yuncheng Museum and Yuncheng Salt Lake, accompanied by Lan Fo'an, secretary of the CPC Shanxi Provincial Committee, and Jin Xiangjun, governor of Shanxi Province. Yuncheng, which gets its name from a phrase "a town transporting salt" in Chinese, has a long and enduring history and abundant cultural resources. At the museum, Xi visited exhibitions themed on topics including the origin of the Chinese civilization, collection of rarities, and the history of the local salt industry, to learn in details about the origins of mankind and the development of early history of the Chinese civilization in Yuncheng. He was also briefed on the formation, development and historical evolution of Yuncheng Salt Lake. Xi stressed that the museum has a great collection of precious cultural relics or even "national treasures," which prove that China's history includes million years of humanity, 10,000 years of culture, and more than 5,000 years of civilization. We must further advance the national research project on tracing the origins of Chinese civilization and extend research into its history. Requirements of the CPC Central Committee in this regard must be conscientiously implemented: give top priority to protection, strengthen management, tap values and make good use of cultural relics to let them play their own role in cultural development. As such, the protection and utilization of cultural relics and the preservation and inheritance of cultural heritage will be strengthened.

Yuncheng Salt Lake has a mining history of more than 4,600 years, with profound cultural heritage and significant historical value. In recent years, local authority has insisted on giving priority to protection and green development and stopped all industrial production within the protection area of the lake, in a bid to promote industrial transformation and upgrading according to local conditions. Xi listened to relevant briefings based on display panels and exhibits, and inspected the landscape of the salt lake. He pointed out that the ecological value and function of the salt lake are becoming increasingly important. Work must be done to coordinate its protection and utilization to ensure that the unique cultural and historical resources and ecological resources of the lake can be passed on from generation to generation, gradually restore its ecological function, and better protect its historical and cultural value. He emphasized that the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin is a major strategic decision made by the CPC Central Committee from the perspective of sustainable development of the Chinese nation and Chinese civilization. All provinces and regions within the Yellow River Basin must take the protection of the ecology of the Yellow River Basin as the baseline in planning development and promoting high-quality development, and must refrain from doing things that are not conducive to the ecological protection of the Yellow River Basin.

Cai Qi, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, attended the meeting and accompanied Xi on his inspection trip.

The leading officials of the relevant central Party and government departments were on the inspection tour and attended the meeting, leading officials of the Third Central Steering Group for theoretical study program were also present at the meeting. 

Editor: JYZ
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

NEW HAVEN  At Southern Connecticut State University commencement Friday, ABC News Nightline host Juju Chang told graduating seniors to use curiosity as a guide in life, at their own pace, while living with gratitude.

The Emmy Award-winning Korean-American journalist offered five keys to navigate a life: gratitude, curiosity, kindness to oneself and others, act of service and relationships with loved ones.

I'm sure you are supremely confident and at the same time full of abject terror, Chang said. This is that pivotal moment for most of you, between adulthood and childhood, that liminal state between being your parents dependent and being independent; you're on the launchpad.

About 1,200 undergraduate students gathered Friday at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, with about 8,000 families in attendance.

Chang said she understood the graduates well, as a daughter of immigrants from South Korea who was incredibly insecure about her identity, thought her familys food smelled funny and her face looked funny and believed she was meant to be the other.

Despite taking decades to overcome her insecurities, that experience set her out to a career in journalism with a focus on social justice, said Chang, who landed a job at ABC 10 days after graduation, by following curiosity.

Not generic curiosity, but like a deep-seated, open-ended, uncynical and, hopefully, evidence-based curiosity, she said. Notice I didnt say passion.

Thats because Chang said most people at 22, including her, dont know what their passion is, but curiosity is what will lead them to a journey they didnt think of.

For her, it was a journey of traveling through the country and the world to examine gender-based violence, extremism, terrorism, antisemitisim, migrant policies, opioid addiction and racial equity among other topics, as a journalist.

You can use that kind of curiosity to guide your own lives, she said. What I would ask of you today is dont turn away. Im asking you to care, to give a crap. ... I want you to care about the world in a way that helps make it better.

The ABC journalist also touched on thinking critically before trusting everything on the internet because facts matter, being engaged citizens and providing acts of service to others.

But the bottom line, perhaps the most important thing as several speakers emphasized during the commencement is to maintain the personal ties and relationships with friends, families and networks.

Those relationships are what keep you mentally healthy and sound will actually help you live longer, Chang said. They are the key to happiness.

Arnold Gold/Hearst Connecticut Media

The ceremony Friday also marked university President Joe Bertolinos last after his seven years in New Haven. Hes stepping down next month to lead Stockton University in New Jersey.

Somebody just said, Jersey? Youre not getting your degree, he joked.

As a Southern alum, you are prepared and we ask you to do one thing: go out and do good for yourself and for others, said Bertolino, That is your job.

In attendance was U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who said this graduating class was unique because they have lived through the entirety of the pandemic as a student on top of what he called epidemics of gun violence, loneliness and opioid addiction.

Youve done it, Blumenthal said.

The university awarded an honorary doctorate degree of humane letters to former state senator and former New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, the citys first female mayor who was a key player in creating the BioPath program.

Bertolino said the university saw a new business school, a science building and a major renovation of Buley Library during Harps tenure as a state senator between 1993-2013.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

NEW HAVEN  Connecticut's Nigerian Igbo community will be cracking kola nuts to honor their ancestors and celebrate the birthday of Professor Austine Okwu, a respected figure in the local Igbo community  he turns 99.

Okwu, a one-time Nigerian and Biafran diplomat who for 22 years was director of behavioral and social sciences at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, will be honored by an expected 40-50 people at a party at his home in the Beaver Hills neighborhood, where he has lived since 1971.

"I never thought I would live to be this age, but it's what God thought is possible," said Okwu, a co-founder of Igbozue Connecticut USA, a social and cultural organization of Nigerian Igbos living in Connecticut. Okwu estimated there are about 30,000 Igbos residing in the state, "and they are all professional people," he said.

Okwu, previously honored as a ceremonial chief, has been married to his wife, Beatrice, a former teacher at St. Aedan School, for 63 years. Together, they raised five children, educated at places such as Phillips Exeter Academy and the Kent School and, later, Harvard, Dartmouth and Tufts universities and the University of Connecticut.

One son lives in Cheshire, but the rest are far-flung, with two living in California, one in Georgia and one in Berlin, Germany. Okwu wasn't sure if any of the children residing more distant were coming Saturday and said that sometimes they don't tell him and just surprise him.

"They're full of surprises," he said. "So I'll be surprised."

But there are certain things he's sure will happen.

He pointed out that "my people" who are not blood relatives also are coming. "They are also my children," he said.

"They are coming tomorrow to celebrate my birthday and to join me in thanking God for giving me longevity," he said, sitting in a big, reddish-brown leather easy chair in his dimly-lit living room.

One of the people who will be celebrating with Okwu is Dr. Anselm Anyoha, a Bridgeport pediatrician and author who also is an Igbo who said, "To me, the reason why I love him is, he's a guy that gets things done."

"If you ask him to help you do something, if you want him to introduce you to somebody, he goes out of the way to do that," Anyoha said. "He's a guy to whom everything is possible. I like that about him. He connects people to each other, especially people from his Igbo tribe."

Anyoha, who grew up during the civil war between Nigeria and Biafra in the late 1960s, pointed out that during the civil war, Okwu, who began as a Nigerian diplomat, ended up quitting and "being the ambassador of Biafra."

As an elderly man now, "his memory's very, very sharp," and "his wishes for the Igbos are for them to love one another, to be together and be brothers and sisters and unite," Anyoha said.

Last year, at Okwu's 98th birthday celebration, Mayor Justin Elicker was among the attendees, he said. This year's is likely to be a little smaller. Okwu said he did not ask the mayor to come this time because he didn't want to impose.

Asked what he thinks of the area where he lives, Okwu said, "It has been an exceptionally beautiful place. Nobody fights. We all get along ... No quarrel, no problem."

Things have changed a bit since he moved in, of course.

"When I came here, my neighbors, who were not of my race, started to leave," said Okwu, who earned a master's degree at Southern Connecticut State University and a Ph.D. at Columbia University after getting his undergraduate degree at Fourah Bay College in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

But in later years, one of his neighbors took to calling him "Uncle," he said.

The Igbo people are among the largest of Nigeria's 371 ethnic groups, and Okwu said that, among other things, he's thankful to Connecticut and the U.S. government "for letting our people stay."

A couple of members of the community are cardiologists; others are pediatricians, lawyers, insurance salespeople.

"We're a hard-working race," he said of the Igbos. "We're go-getters, and we believe in America."

A part of Saturday's celebration "is thanking God" for bringing him and everyone with him to this point, Okwu said. "Tomorrow, we're telling stories and we're thanking God for his mercies.

"Without God, I wouldn't be here today," he said.
A heated debate has erupted in Ukraine over claims that the fight against corruption is used to compromise influential business people who support government reforms, The Guardian has reported.

According to the authors of the article, the recent high-profile corruption investigations into the activities of the former head of Naftogaz Andriy Kobolev, ex-general director of Boryspil airport Yevhen Dykhne and former infrastructure minister Andriy Pyvovarsky may raise broader doubts about Ukraine's domestic political situation and its ability to effectively use billions of European funds to recover from the war.

These concerns have been expressed to the U.S. State Department and the British Foreign Office, and are shared in part by Ukrainian anti-corruption campaigns.

At the same time, the article notes that the issue of corruption in Ukraine is diplomatically sensitive, as the situation could be exploited by Russian propaganda in its own interests. In particular, this could involve such Russian narratives as the hyperbole of corruption in Ukraine or the promotion of theses that anti-corruption institutions, in the creation of which Western allies and Ukrainian civil society played a major role, are "off the rails."

"Corruption has long been Ukraine's Achilles heel, with the country making little progress, rising slowly on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index from 142nd in the world in 2014 to 122nd in 2021. Despite this, critics argue that some investigations have not focused on genuinely corrupt people, but instead have focused on businessmen who came into government to help revive Ukraine's economy after the 2014 revolution. The question at stake is what kind of economy Ukraine will become after the war - and whether talented people will risk working for the state again," the article stresses.

The Guardian cites the opinion of Transparency International Ukraine representative Kateryna Ryzhenko, who called, in particular, for reviewing the work of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.

"This is a good sign that, despite the war, the anti-corruption ecosystem is not afraid to pursue 'big names' and to achieve a transparent review of these cases by independent judges. However, these cases have highlighted serious problems in the work of Ukrainian anti-corruption bodies," The Guardian quoted Ryzhenko as saying.

Also referring to an unnamed Ukrainian ex-official who "participated in the campaign to create anti-corruption bodies in Ukraine," the authors of the article write that the officers of these bodies seem to prosecute people for violations of corporate governance rather than outright corruption.

The article also discusses various factors which, according to the authors, may cause ambiguity in the anti-corruption segment. In particular, it notes that some critics accuse Ukraine of being overzealous, driven by a desire to show the EU a positive outcome before the possible accession negotiations next year. Others accuse Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies of ineptitude or a punitive mentality that is "still shaped by Soviet mistrust of profit.

The article quotes Andriy Kobolev as saying that "there is an attempt by some to discredit Ukrainian reformers - and, by extension, the anti-corruption bodies themselves."

The article also discusses details of the trial of Kobolev, who, according to the authors, "faces 12 years in prison if found guilty of allegedly misleading Naftogaz board members by forcing them to pay him a huge bonus in 2018."

This cites both the position of the prosecutor's office, which argues that the payment violated a decree limiting the bonuses of state-owned enterprise managers and accuses Kobolev of misleading the Naftogaz board, and Kobolev himself, who denies any wrongdoing, stating that he warned the board about the decree, but an independent legal adviser said that the board had the exclusive right to decide on bonuses.

The article cites Kobolev's counterargument that "the size of his bonus was determined not by him, but by the supervisory board. It goes against all the rules of corporate governance when the head of a company determines his own remuneration," as well as the opinion of Claire Spottiswood, a former British gas regulator and former chair of Naftogaz's supervisory board, who said that the board unanimously approved the bonus after receiving legal advice. In a statement she signed along with two other former supervisory board members, Spottiswood said that "it was a brave act of leadership on Kobolev's part to take on an astoundingly successful case" that many thought was unwinnable. She also claims that she "never gave an interview to the NABU."

Mark Savchuk, head of the civilian body that oversees the agency's anti-corruption work, also criticized the NABU, telling the Kyiv Post newspaper, "The Ukrainian company received $4.6 billion, so no damage was done. These additional funds were then invested in Naftogaz's infrastructure or paid to the state in the form of dividends. To say that the person who achieved this did it in a corrupt way is strange. In my opinion, the law enforcement agencies are making a mistake".

Although, as the authors of the article acknowledge, Kobolev's award "may be morally questionable," they also appeal to the fact that "during his time at Naftogaz, he transformed the company from a failure into one that provided 15 percent of all Ukrainian state revenue," and that "after the war began, he used his knowledge of the Russian gas industry to push for tougher sanctions against Moscow, as acknowledged in a letter written in his defense by John Herbst, the former US Ambassador to Ukraine."

In addition, according to The Guardian, Kobolev is "not the only businessman caught up in this conflict. The second court case cited in the article is the case of Yevhen Dykhne, who, according to the authors, "was sentenced to five years in prison for leasing premises at Boryspil airport to private businesses, such as stores and cafes, without using the state competitive selection process, which would have taken two years."

The article notes that Yevhen Dykhne himself "did not receive any personal benefit, but the court ruled that only the state has the right to lease the property and calculated that Dykhne's actions resulted in a loss to the state of 15.7 million hryvnia." Dykhne himself calls his verdict "worthy of Kafka.

The third high-profile trial mentioned in the article was the case of former Minister of Infrastructure Andrei Pivovarsky, who, according to the authors, "is accused of depriving the state of $30 million by deciding in 2015 that only half of the port fees at the Yuzhny seaport on the Black Sea should go to the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority.

At the same time, the article quotes Pivovarsky himself as saying that the other half should go to private companies on the condition that they would reinvest the money received in maintenance and that his goal was to make the port more efficient.

The Guardian also notes that Pivovarsky was in charge of deregulating the Ukrainian economy at the time, and according to him, he notified the Justice Ministry about the reforms. He is not accused of receiving private benefits, but the NABU insists that only a state-owned company has the right to collect port fees.

The newspaper also quotes Pivovarsky's recent Facebook post: "Only now I realized the price of my sincere desire to change the country for the better. I apologize to my wife and children for what they have gone through with me."

Finally, The Guardian notes that the NABU "did not respond to a request for comment for this article."

However, it notes that "critics (of the anti-corruption bodies - ed.) admit that some businessmen walk a fine line between showing initiative and abuse of office. But they warn that Ukrainian prosecutors distort the essence of financial crimes".

"If someone doesn't figure it all out, Ukraine may find that it gloriously won the war, and then find that it lost the world," the authors of the article state.

On May 18, the Supreme Court of Ukraine started considering the appeal of the ex-general director of Boryspil Dykhne against the court's sentence of five years in prison.
If youre on the lam from the mob, the FBI or assassins in the service of the Cafeteria Rusticana (a Benchley joke), a fine place to hide out would be on the bench of the Connecticut State Supreme Court.

A reasonably well-informed Connecticut citizen can probably name, at best, one or two of the Mighty Seven. Many of you could probably name more Real Housewives of Miami than state Supreme Court justices. In fact, it may come as a surprise to you that there are only seven.

The reasons for this include the shrinking ranks of journalism, the relatively drama-free (and therefore less interesting) functioning of the court under Chief Justice Richard A. Robinson, the fact that justices must retire at 70, the reality that some justices seek greener pastures before they could ever lodge in our consciousness.

The current, much-debated vacancy on the bench, for example, is caused by Maria Araujo Kahn decision to take a federal appeals court gig.

About that vacancy.

Gov. Ned Lamont nominated one Sandra Slack Glover to fill it. Glover was appellate chief in the Connecticut U.S. Attorneys office. She had, back in the day, been a clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OConnor.

In the October 1998 term of the court, one of Glovers fellow clerks was Amy Coney Barrett, assigned to Antonin Scalia. In 2017, Barrett was nominated by then-President Donald Trump to the federal appellate bench, and all surviving clerks from the good old days signed a letter exalting her.

The letter, unfortunately, for Glover, lays it on pretty thick with phrases such as remarkable intellect and character and eminently qualified for the job and this view is unanimous.

Somewhat unfathomably, Glover signed that letter the same year she attended the massive Womens March, which was intended as a rebuke of Trumps expected incursions on the rights of women.

I had mistakenly believed the letter surfaced in the days and weeks after Lamont announced Glover. The letter actually surfaced about 40 seconds after the announcement, having failed to escape the watchful eye of Connecticut Mirror reporter Mark Pazniokas.

It simmered for a while and then boiled up, especially on Twitter. Longtime progressive blogger Al Robinson scraped Barretts public statements and scholarly writings and then assembled a scorching Tweet-thread demonstrating how achingly obvious it should have been to Glover that Barrett was on a collision course with Roe v. Wade, part of a well-documented conservative movement to groom results-oriented judges for the big leagues.

Constituent emails began to ping the inboxes of Democratic legislators. And then came Glovers Monday hearing before the legislatures Judiciary Committee where Glover was quizzed for seven hours in a fairly unfriendly manner by legislators who might have been expected, under normal circumstances, to take her side.

As I write this Friday morning, Glovers nomination is in serious trouble. It has come to resemble, ironically, the path of Harriet Miers, who was nominated in 2005 to fill OConnors old seat on the bench. In each case, the significant pushback came from members of the chief executives own party. Republican senators resisted President George W. Bush. Democratic legislators are the big problem right now for Lamont.

By late afternoon Friday, the Miers/Glover resemblance was cemented. Glover asked Lamont to pull her nomination, just as Miers asked W.

The ordinarily mild-mannered Lamont seemed prepared earlier in the day to treat this as a hill worth dying on. He reportedly contacted committee members, even trying to change the positions of people whose public utterances would have to be walked back if they voted for Glover.

This is not something lawmakers like to do. His Nedliness has certain virtues, but it could be argued that he has never understood the legislature.

As a general rule, you want to get commitments for the votes you need much earlier. It wouldnt have been crazy for Lamont or a surrogate to sit down with Gary Winfield, the influential Senate Judiciary chair, before the nomination was even announced.

Winfield told me Friday the problem is not just the letter.

The letter is the entrance, he said. The letter is what says, Lets pay attention to this person. Lets figure out what this letter really means. We all have lapses of judgment. Was the letter just one moment or is it part of a larger lack of judgment?

To that end, during a frequently cringey 27-minute exchange, Winfield asked Glover for her definition of justice. Possibly due to bad acoustics, Glover appeared to hear this question as, Could you provide us with a disjointed hodgepodge of stuff that happens in the justice system, occasionally contrasted with other stuff that maybe should have happened?

It was not pretty.

Glovers nomination became a little bit of a national story, mainly pegged to her uncredited citation of the British four-person judicial panel Faces who sang I wish that I knew what I know now when I was younger.

Glover has specifically said she would not have signed the letter, had she known what Barrett would do. Which is theoretically a tiny bit embarrassing for Barrett.

I feel sorry for Glover. In a better world, the collegiality she exhibited in signing that letter would be a good thing. And what Barrett did in the years that followed Glovers signing of the letter maybe shouldnt be Glovers fault.

The French have a term  lesprit de lescailer  for thinking of the perfect response long after one needed it.

But Glover might have been better served by sticking to her guns, by pointing out that liberal Supreme Court icon Ruth Bader Ginsburgs best friend on the bench was hardline conservative Antonin Scalia and that they repeatedly traveled on vacations with their spouses, went to the opera together and convened their families on New Years Eve.

Glover could have argued that, yes, she knew Barrett didnt share her policies but that were a better society when we see the attributes of our opponents and acknowledge that people with different value systems are committed to doing their versions of the right thing.

Glover might have been dead in the water even if she had explained things better. Our collective view of the courts has gone full-on shark tank.

But it would have been interesting to watch this story unfold with some good coaching.
Sandra Slack Glover of Guilford, a veteran federal prosecutor who came under fire for her support of a conservative federal judge, and gained meager support after a nearly seven-hour legislative hearing this week, withdrew her name for a state Supreme Court nomination on Friday.

The withdrawal spares the 52-year-old assistant U.S. attorney, who heads the state Department of Justice's appellate unit, from a potential lopsided loss in the 38-member legislative Judiciary Committee. The committee would have been required to meet for a vote if she kept her nomination in play.

Sources said that fewer than 10 committee members supported her, following the revelations that she had signed a letter of support for the controversial conservative Amy Coney Barrett prior to gaining a position as a federal appeals court judge that was quickly followed by an appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court by the Trump administration.

Following the Monday hearing, 90-minute committee caucuses that illustrated a reticence on the part of lawmakers to confirm someone who has never been a judge and whose legal practice in Connecticut was limited. But on Tuesday, Gov. Ned Lamont vowed to stick by Glover, whose nomination was suggested to him by his former legal counsel, Nora Dannehy, a former U.S. Attorney who was Glover's boss, along with Chase Rogers, a former state Supreme Court chief justice who is now in private practice in Hartford.

Lamont said that lawmakers needed to get to know Glover better, but the reaching out failed to move committee members. Some members said that her signing a 2017 letter with other former federal law clerks in support of Barrett's nomination for a federal judgeship was a deal breaker, combined with her lack of experience with Connecticut criminal and civil cases, despite of her nearly two decades of work in the U.S. Attorney's office.

But by 3:38 p.m. on Friday, Lamont announced that Glover had been discouraged to pursue the post any further.

Attorney Sandra Slack Glover would have been an extraordinary justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, Lamont said in a statement. I stand by that, and I stand by her as a lawyer of experience, character, and compassion, while respecting her decision today to withdraw from consideration.

Lamont cited her two decades in the U.S. Attorneys office. She did a terrific job during her seven-hour public hearing and had substantive and positive meetings with legislative leaders from both parties. From beginning to end, she showed her talent, demonstrated her keen legal mind, and let people know she shares Connecticuts values.

But Lamont admitted the defeat.

In the coming months, I will consider other accomplished candidates who, like Sandy, share my values and are dedicated to the principles of justice, equality, and fairness under the law, he said.

State Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, a co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said Glover's withdrawal reinforces the strength of the legislature in deciding judges, but it's nothing to be happy about.

"I don't love how this process played out," he said in a phone interview. "I find it unfortunate. Given a slightly different set of circumstances, she might have made it on to the court. Her making the decision to withdraw is the best way. Regardless of people's votes and her positions she has taken or not, I don't think anyone wants to hurt her career. On what should have been a special day for her, there was no victory."

"During the Judiciary Committee nomination hearing for Attorney Sandra Slack Glover, concerns were raised by members from both sides of the aisle regarding her qualifications and the process under which she was ultimately nominated to serve as a jurist at the highest level of state court," said Rep. Craig Fishbein of Wallingford, a top Republican on the Judiciary Committee. "Unfortunately, those ongoing concerns created a difficult barrier to confirmation. I appreciate Attorney Slack Glover recognizing that and withdrawing her name from consideration. Despite her experience as a federal prosecutor, she possessed no acumen for state court, state law or procedure. No candidate for such an important and influential position as Supreme Court Justice should ever receive a rubber stamp no matter how politicized the process has become."

"Attorney Sandra Slack Glover faced a thorough vetting from the Judiciary Committee and many members felt there were unanswered questions that put her confirmation in jeopardy," said Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, co-chairman of the committee, in a statement. "While Attorney Glover is an experienced prosecutor and talented attorney, I respect her decision to withdraw her name from consideration to become a justice of our highest court. As one of the leaders of the Judiciary Committee I have had a strong working relationship with the Governor and his staff and I look forward to continuing our work together confirming future nominations."

The CT Pro-People Judiciary Coalition, a group of advocacy groups for civil rights and racial justice created this year, called on Lamont to pick a candidate for the state's top court who has experience in legal aid, civil rights of public defense.

Advancing professional diversity is not some kind of box-checking exercise. Recent empirical studies have shown that professional diversity on courts has a significant impact on the people appearing before them, with former prosecutors imposing harsher sentences than others, and former prosecutors and corporate attorneys siding more often with employers over their workers in discrimination and other employment cases," said Steve Kennedy, the organizing and network director for the coalition.

Unlike some states that elect their judges or allow governors to appoint them, Connecticut chooses judges through the Judicial Selection Commission. According to the National Center for State Courts, about a dozen states have judicial nominating commissions that lead to appointments to the highest court by the governor. Thirteen states have nonpartisan elections, such as Washington, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Pennsylvania and Illinois hold partisan elections.

In February, the New York state Senate rejected Gov. Kathy Hochul's nominee for the state's top top judge.

The Connecticut Judicial Selection Commission is a group of 12 people with three-year terms, six of whom are non-lawyers, who concentrate on the personal acumen of candidates. The governor appoints six members of the commission, with other members named by majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate. The commission screens candidates who apply for various levels of court. Some candidates can win approval in the secret process and remain on the list of candidates for years before appointment. There is currently one vacancy.

Glover had originally applied for a Superior Court position, but her candidacy was upgraded when Lamont nominated her to the high court last month.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Photo by Ken Dixon Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 File Photo / Show More Show Less 5 of 5









HARTFORD  The House of Representatives on Thursday built on last year's so-called safe harbor legislation for reproductive rights and approved a bill that would offer further protections for women's health and gender-affirming health professionals.

The bill, which passed 128-19 and next heads to the Senate, is aimed at preventing out-of-state entities, including government officials and nongovernmental agencies, from attacking the credentials, privileges, certifications and licenses of Connecticut doctors, physicians assistants, midwives and others. It would protect both residents of Connecticut and nonresidents who perform health care treatments here, said Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey, D-Fairfield, co-chairwoman of the legislative Public Health Committee who introduced the bill for an hour-long debate.
Its only May with the peak of the summer tourist season yet to arrive, but Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said the GO train is already seeing a 340 per cent increase in ridership for weekend trips to Niagara.

He expects that influx of tourists to increase significantly in the weeks to come, thanks to an expansion of GO train services, more than doubling weekly round trips to Niagara Falls starting Saturday.

Premier Doug Ford was at the St. Catharines railway station Friday with Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney, Tourism Minister Neil Lumsden, Metrolinx chief executive officer Phil Verster and several local political leaders announcing two additional round trips to Niagara Falls on weekdays and one added daily trip on weekends, for a total of 21 round trips per week.

Diodati said he hopes the increased service will rise the tide for tourism operators in Niagara, while also making it easier for Niagara residents to travel to destinations beyond the regions borders.

The pandemics in the rear-view mirror and now this is going to connect us to the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country, the GTA, Diodati said.

Its going to be a symbiotic relationship. Niagara residents will be able to get to Toronto in time for Blue Jays games which is important for a lot of people and likewise Toronto and GTHA folks will be able to come down here, avoid the congestion of the highway and make it in time for check in and not feel rushed to check out. This to me was perfectly thought through, planned out and executed.

Ford called it a huge boost for the people and the businesses of Niagara Region.

It will help attract more tourists to the region, creating more jobs and be an economic driver for local hotels and restaurants and other attractions and businesses, and for Niagaras growing population it will provide daily commuters with more service, more options and more convenience, he said.

We also will be introducing more express train service between Hamilton, Burlington and Toronto and once again, Go trains will be stopping right here at the St. Catharines VIA station.

Verster, too, said ridership to Niagara is continuing to increase.

Even as late as last year, weve been seeing six times as many riders on our trains coming as tourists to Niagara on the weekends, Verster said during the announcement.

St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe said the city and region have been pushing hard for this (expanded service) for a number of years. adding he met with Metrolinx management in January, just talking about how important it is to increase service.

He said he told Vester during that meeting: Niagara residents often drive to Burlington to board a GO train, where more frequent trips are offered.

But if we can increase the frequency of the trips and make it more convenient, we can change that habit, Siscoe said.

If we can increase the number of trips coming out of St. Catharines, were going to change those habits.  Increased frequency is going to mean really good things for the community.

Given Fridays announcement, he said the province and Metrolinx clearly have been listening.

Its really good to see the province moving in the direction of increased public transit options. Ive been a believe in public transit since I was 10 years old, Siscoe said. Ive seen how it works in other parts of the world. We can make it work the same way here, but we have to be willing to make the investment and this government has shown itself so far to be willing to make the investments.

Regional Chair Jim Bradley called the expansion of services exceptionally good news for Niagara.

While making it easier for Niagara residents to travel through the Greater Toronto Area, he said it also allows more tourists to visit the region without having to fight the traffic on the QEW.

When we look at the various destinations that GO has, this is the one where you see a lot of people wanting to come to Niagara and the more service, we have the better, Bradley said.

And it tends to de-clog the highways just a little bit.

Ford, too, discussed the increased weekend ridership to the region, calling it just absolutely incredible.

Niagara is one of the best tourist destinations anywhere in the world, and with the collaboration and co-operation of the region and local mayors were going to do some incredible things in Niagara, he said.

Verster said the increased service is the result of recent investments on the Lakeshore West line, offering more travel options between Hamilton, Burlington and Toronto.

Im very excited about just the tourism that will come to Niagara Falls from the increased services, he said, adding it will also help connecting communities along the corridor such as Grimsby and Beamsville.

It all creates opportunities for connecting the region with the rest of Toronto.

Mulroney said the announcement heading into May 24 weekend is an especially exciting time for families and friends looking to escape the city life and enjoy the best of what Ontario has to offer.

Read more about:

SHARE:
As the hearse drove through St. Catharines, the Ukrainian community bowed their heads and knelt.

It was a show of respect and gratitude.

And love.

Lining the streets along the QEW overpass, it felt like the very least they could do to welcome home Cole Zelenco, who lost his life fighting for Ukraine.

And for his family, to show their support. Bringing Ukrainian traditions to a fallen Niagara hero.

Were just going to do what we can to give him the highest honour because I think he really deserves it, said Laryssa Doig.

Twenty-one-year-old Zelenco served in the Canadian Armed Forces for four years before joining the fight in Ukraine. He performed two tours following Russias invasion of Ukraine, in 2022 and again in 2023 as part of the 92nd mechanized brigade.

On April 23, while protecting the city of Bakhmut, Zelenco, together with fellow Canadian soldier, 27-year-old Kyle Porter, were both killed.

Friday afternoon, Zelenco returned to Canada, escorted by the North Wall Riders Association, travelling by motorcade from Pearson International Airport to the George Darte Funeral Home in St. Catharines.

People from the Ukrainian and Niagara community, as well as a firetruck from the St. Catharines Fire Services, gathered along the bridges and streets, holding Ukrainian and Canadian flags, To pay their respects and honour a fallen countryman.

As the hearse passed Sts. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church, it paused for to allow those outside to bow their heads, before continuing to the funeral home, where Zelencos family waited.

This boy went over there on his own, no ties, gave his life for whats right  it takes a truly special person to do that, said Doig, who was appreciative of the family allowing them to take part.

Its really important, not just to the Ukrainians but also to the people of Niagara and the people everywhere, they should know his name. They should know what he died fighting for.

Doig, who spearheaded St. John Ukrainian Catholic Churchs Ukraine fundraising efforts, met Zelenco through the church, setting his group up with medical gear and passing along Ukrainian contacts.

Right until his death, the church sent items to his battalion, getting in touch once in awhile to figure out what else was needed.

Its personal for a lot of people from St. Johns because he sat in the hall, we had coffee with him and the three other boys that went. We got to know him in a short time, said Doig.

I gave them all a hug and I said were going to throw the biggest party when you guys come home. I dont think anybody thought it was going to end up like this  we will definitely try our best to honour him as best we can.

Irene Newton, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Niagara branch, said the Ukrainian community, as well as many newcomers, gathered along the streets, expressing their love, gratitude and pride for what Zelenco did for their country.

For herself and all Ukrainian people, it was heartbreaking.

We have young Canadian soldiers who are willing to give up their life to fight for Ukraine and I cant think of a better tribute, whether hes of Ukrainian background or not. He was willing to go with four other soldiers and fight for a country and not come back, said Newton.

I give a lot of gratitude (and) pride to the family of Cole Zelenco who raised such a wonderful son that he would want to do this.

North Wall Riders Association president Keven Ellis said it important to honour a young man who was willing to put himself in harms way to protect the people of Ukraine.

We have to recognize people that recognize when somebody else needs help and they step up and help, said Ellis, whose association has done the repatriation of the last 50 soldiers returning from Afghanistan.

Well walk by just about anything we see now happening in the streets and just turn the other way  Cole was completely the opposite to that. He (saw) the problem and went running into it to try and help those people.

Zelencos funeral will be held Thursday ,May 25 at Club Roma in St. Catharines, with a celebration of life to follow.

Read more about:

SHARE:
KITCHENER  The silence of the bystanders was one of the most surprising things of all.

Mifrah Abid, who wears a hijab, challenged a woman who spoke racist words inside a DriveTest centre Wednesday.

At one point during the interaction, Abid turned to the other people who were watching. I asked: Is no one going to do anything about this?  she said at a news conference Thursday in a parking lot near the DriveTest Centre.

They just looked at me, she said, even though perhaps 80 per cent of them were also racialized.

Waterloo Regional Police said a woman allegedly made racial slurs at the Ottawa Street North business, which provides drivers licences and tests for the province. When Abid used her phone to record the interaction, the woman grabbed her phone and threw it at her. She then left.

The incident was recorded by another bystander, as well as Abid.

Police have since charged a 27-year-old Waterloo woman with assault, theft under $5,000 and assault with a weapon. She was held for a bail hearing.

Abid works in anti-racism advocacy with the Coalition of Muslim Women of KW. She understands that bystanders to an event like this may not intervene, especially if there are a large number of them.

I was still surprised, she said at a news conference called Thursday to discuss the issue.

That was sad, I think, for me.

Abid said she received many incredibly kind and sympathetic comments when she shared the incident and video on Twitter.

She is the co-ordinator of the Together Against Islamophobia program at the Coalition of Muslim Women of KW. She also hosts a podcast telling stories of Canadian women with immigrant roots.

Abid also praised the police for their response.

When she called to report the incident, she asked police not to come to her Kitchener neighbourhood in uniform with flashing lights on their cruisers, because of concerns her children would feel stigmatized. I didnt want my kids to go through that, she said.

Police did as she asked, and arrived in plain clothes and unmarked cruisers.

I truly appreciate the police taking these steps, she said.

She urged others who have been victims of racist abuse to report those incidents.

Also at Thursdays news conference was Fatema Abdalla, communications and advocacy officer for the National Council of Canadian Muslims.

It is deeply saddening to express just how appalled we are, she said, noting that visibly Muslim women continue to be targets for hate.

This cannot be the Canada that we live in, she said.

SHARE:
Some 160,000 sq m of new logistics space expected to be put into operation in capital region by end of 2025  CBRE

By the end of 2025, it is expected to put into operation some 160,000 square meters of new logistics space and the restoration of about 120,000 square meters affected by shelling in 2022 in the capital region, CBRE Ukraine managing partner Radomyr Tsurkan said during the architectural and construction business forum "Restoration of the country. Change strategy for architects, developers and builders."

"In 2023-2025, about 160,000 square meters of new warehouse space is expected to be put into operation. Approximately 71% of the new supply will be represented by projects that are built for the owners' own needs (owner-occupied). Thus, the speculative market expects only about 40,000 square meters of new space for rent. In addition, by the end of 2025, the market expects the restoration of almost 100,000 square meters of warehouse space affected by shelling in 2022," he said.

Tsurkan recalled that the war provoked an unprecedented crisis in the logistics segment of Ukraine and the world. The closure of ports in Odesa led to the introduction of "dry supply chains" related to land and rail transportation, which shifted demand to the western regions of Ukraine. Amid new situational demand in areas such as Lviv and Uzhgorod, where the main route for international transportation - the M-06 highway passes, the need for high-quality warehouse space has become especially acute.

Nevertheless, the capital region managed to maintain the status of the main logistics hub, which allows transporting goods throughout Ukraine - to the south, east and north. Immediately after the de-occupation of Kyiv region, companies began to return back to Kyiv. Among the tenants, realtors (51%), logistics operators and humanitarian missions (35%) and pharmaceutical companies (14%) prevailed.

However, the destruction of almost 22% of the total warehouse supply in Kyiv region by missile hits caused unprecedented damage to the market.

"Given that space shortages have been particularly acute in recent years, the decline in the overall supply of warehouses in the future will continue to put pressure on deferred and post-war demand. Rental activity in the first quarter of 2023 amounted to about 27,000 square meters, which is 48% more than in the same period of pre-war 2021," Tsurkan said.

At the same time, according to a CBRE study, rental rates have not changed since the beginning of the year ($4.5-4.1/square meter/month in A class), and vacancy has decreased from 4% to 2%.

"The shortage of new speculative supply is likely to persist in the medium term, as uncertainty about the duration of the war, the shortage of construction materials and labor migration affect the long-term decisions of developers," Tsurkan said.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, the USA, CBRE is the world's largest commercial real estate consulting and investment company with $30.8 billion in revenue in 2022. According to Fortune, it is included in the list of the world's 500 largest companies.

Shares of CBRE Group Inc. traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Ukrainian office of CBRE was opened in January 2008 and is part of the company's affiliated network.
Its always fun to return to the French Riviera for what is one of the years most exuberant red carpet fashion displays. Under bright sunshine and against a backdrop of swaying palms and the Mediterranean sea in the distance, hundreds of international movie stars bring out the feathers, sequins and trains to suit the festivals chic Euro flair.

Behold, the best dressed on the Cannes Film Festival 2023 red carpet.

Viola Davis

Viola Davis brought the drama to the premiere of Monster in an oyster one-shoulder gown and billowing cape covered with feathers, created for her by Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli.

Uma Thurman

Uma Thurman ruled the red carpets opening night with a Dior dramatic satin robe over a blush gown with an unexpected Chopard choker. But look closer: Thurman offset the regal look with elegant metallic flat sandalsperhaps a nod to the festivals controversial rule circa 2015 that women must wear high heels, which Kristen Stewart and Julia Roberts protested by removing their shoes altogether.

Helen Mirren

Dame Helen Mirren had heads turning at the Jeanne du Barry premiere in head to toe periwinkleliterally. Her newly minted blue tresses matched her draped Del Core dress, complimented by a pair of silver platform sandals. She accessorized with a black fan: iconic.

Gemma Chan

The skirt and train of Gemma Chans Louis Vuitton look, at the premiere of Monster, was encrusted with white paillettes for maximum embellishment without overly flashy sparkle, and the sleeveless mock-turtleneck top kept things sleek. Her hairstyling feels a little Audrey Hepburn, complete with clip-in baby bangs.

Elle Fanning

The Great star returned to the festivals opening premiere this year as a LOreal Paris ambassador wearing a custom Alexander McQueen gown with a geometric silver bodice and beige-toned ballgown with layers and layers of fabric for extra oomph. Icy Cartier bling completed the look.

Naomi Campbell

The legendary supermodel walked the carpet in a sequinned silver Celine gown featuring a plunging V-neck paired with sparkly Chopard cuffs. When she added white Celine sunglasses, the look became an epitome of the best Cannes style.

Brie Larson

Serving as a jury member for this years festival, Larson brought fresh spring style to France in a chic floral jumpsuit from Chanel, with her long hair pushed back with a black headband. Minimal makeup and simple gold huggie earrings were the perfect finishing touches.

Simona Tabasco

The Italian star of The White Lotus served some smoulder in a red open-back Lanvin gown with lace panels, a long train and sweeping ruffles to spare, finished off with Chopard earrings, a chic updo and the perfect baby bangs.

SHARE:
MONTREAL - One of Quebecs most wanted criminals was recaptured this week after escaping more than four years ago from a federal prison.

Denis Begin disappeared on Feb. 15, 2019, from a minimum security unit at the Federal Training Centre, north of Montreal. He was caught by Montreal police on Monday, but police said his arrest was not connected to his escape; they refused to give details.

Begin, 62, was serving a life sentence for a 1993 murder committed in Montreal when he escaped. A news release Thursday from the federal corrections agency provided little information other than saying, an investigation was conducted by the Correctional Service of Canada into the circumstances surrounding this incident.

He was sentenced to life after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the killing of 19-year-old Ricardo Gizzi on Halloween night in 1993. Wearing a hockey mask, Begin walked into a bar and shot Gizzi, who was also in costume and wearing a hockey mask. News reports at the time said bar patrons initially thought they were witnessing a Halloween joke when a costumed Begin walked in with a gun.

A jury found Begin guilty of first-degree murder in 1997, but that conviction was overturned and a new trial ordered after he successfully argued that his statement to police after his arrest was not voluntary. The appellate court judgment said he had confessed while agreeing to become an informant for Quebecs anti-biker unit.

A news report from the Montreal Gazette said Begin testified at a 1998 trial that he had a long history with gangs and had information that could help solve many crimes, including the 1995 bombing that killed 11-year-old Daniel Desrochers.

The child was killed while playing near his home when a car bomb  intended for a gang member  exploded. Desrocherss death came at the height of Quebecs biker gang wars and is considered a turning point in the bloody battle between rival gangs. No one has been charged for the killing.

Montreal police Const. Jean-Pierre Brabant said Friday that Begins arrest was not tied to the prison escape, but the officer didnt give details around the circumstances of the arrest, citing an unrelated investigation.

The federal corrections agency said Friday it would not give interviews.

Quebecs provincial police had listed Begin as one of the provinces most wanted criminals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2023.

Read more about:

SHARE:
PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - Indigenous leader Bobby Cameron got up from his chair, walked to the back of the room and then returned to his seat, taking 19 seconds.

The chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations said Friday its the same amount of time police officers in Prince Albert, Sask., could have taken during a domestic violence call to check on the well-being of 13-month-old Tanner Brass.

Instead, says a report by the Public Complaints Commission, the toddler was left with his father and his mother, Kyla Frenchman, was taken to a police station. Five hours later, the boy was killed.

The report released Thursday into the February 2022 case found the two officers neglected their duty.

The boys father, Kaij Brass, has been charged with second-degree murder and his trial is scheduled for next year.

Nineteen seconds is all they had to do to go and save that young baby, Cameron said at a news conference with other chiefs. We have the justice system that has failed our First Nations people.

Chiefs said they want a full inquiry into the case and have called for the officers involved to be fired.

Indigenous leaders wrapped a blanket around Frenchman at Fridays news conference as a gift to help her heal.

Eleanore Sunchild, who is Frenchmans lawyer, said her client is considering legal action against Prince Albert police.

Sunchild said the report shows significant changes need to be made.

It found the officers werent following protocol when they determined they had no authority to enter the home or grounds to arrest the father. The officers were outside for 13 minutes and did not attempt to check on the child.

It said officers also failed to follow the intimate partner violence policy, which requires members to ensure complainants and children are safe.

How does the police service, the entire chain of command, send officers out to serve and protect with confidence when those officers dont understand their authority or roles when they get to those calls? asked Sunchild.

The report stays Frenchman told a 911 operator at 5:44 a.m. on Feb. 10, 2022, that the father had hurt the child before. Officers were then dispatched. When they arrived three minutes later, she told officers the father was intoxicated and had pushed her down some steps.

Frenchman had wanted to get her child and belongings, and wait for a ride to La Ronge, 200 kilometres north.

However, an officer told her she could not stay outside in the cold with the child because it would be a long wait. After speaking with the father through the window, officers determined they had no grounds to arrest him or enter the home.

The report said the officers didnt take any information regarding the fathers level of intoxication and whether it was safe for him to be alone with the toddler.

The officers then tried to find a place for Frenchman to stay, but all the womens shelters were full. One officer determined the child was safer in the warmth of the house with his father than outside in the cold waiting.

The officers then suggested she could stay at the police station for a few hours, which she agreed to do. The report said she was sober.

Frenchman stayed in a cell and was released at around 9 a.m. At 10:45 a.m., police received a call from a man indicating he had killed his baby.

Prince Albert police are to determine the discipline for the officers, but Sunchild said management and the entire police service needs to be held responsible.

There indeed is grave and serious issues with the Prince Albert Police Service, Sunchild said. This was a preventable tragedy.

Prince Albert Police Service Chief Jonathan Bergen announced his retirement on Thursday after the release of the report.

He said the move is in the best interest of the department and the city, but went on to accuse others of personal attacks against him in what he described as character assassination.

Bergen did not name who had made the attacks, but said most have been anonymous.

Indigenous leaders are awaiting another report from the provincial government, which conducted an independent review into Prince Albert police. The force has been criticized for several cases involving Indigenous people.

Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Christine Tell said in a statement the report is to be released in the coming weeks.

This situation was tragic and the details now released highlight the need for immediate change within the Prince Albert Police Service, Tell said. I am confident that the new interim chief of police will begin the process of change that is necessary.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2023.

 By Jeremy Simes in Regina

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version misspelled the last name of Kyla Frenchman.

SHARE:
OTTAWA A shooting in Bourget that left an Ontario Provincial Police officer dead was not an ambush, the accused shooters defence attorneys said in a statement Friday.

Alain Bellefeuille, 39, is charged with one count of first-degree murder in the shooting of 42-year-old Sgt. Eric Mueller, and two counts of attempted murder after the tragic shooting that took place on May 11.

Mueller and two other officers were shot when they responded to a disturbance call in the small town of Bourget, east of Ottawa, after neighbours complained about the sound of gunshots.

Mueller died later in an Ottawa hospital, while the other two officers were injured but survived.

This was not an ambush, said John Hale and Cassandra Richards, the lawyers for Bellefeuille in a statement to the media.

We trust that the public  including potential jurors  will remain open to the possibility of an alternate account of events. Mr. Bellefeuille neither requested nor expected the police to show up at his home in the middle of the night, said Hale.

He was in his bed with the lights off, falling asleep, when one or more officers entered his home.

The counsellors statement also revealed that Bellefeuille made one 911 call that morning, which the statement said was a call for help after the incident took place.

Bellefeuille had worked a full day, and had gone to bed with plans of getting up early in the morning for work, Hale said.

The statement did not provide any further information but said that the accuseds actions that morning, including the hours leading up to the incident, will be reserved for trial.

Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Thomas Carrique made a statement on the day of the incident in which he described the shooting as an ambush.

Bellefeuille looked dishevelled and tired on his first court appearance last Thursday. A court-appointed lawyer speaking on his behalf said he had barely slept and didnt want to answer any questions until he had some rest.

Bellefeuille made a brief court appearance yesterday in LOrignal, Ont., which lasted around 3 minutes according to his lawyers. He remains in custody and his next court appearance is June 13.

On Tuesday Ontarios police watchdog said it will investigate evidence suggesting an officer fired his gun during the incident.

The SIU said it was notified by an OPP forensic team that one of the surviving officers may have discharged his firearm during the shooting.

The SIU said no one was struck when that gun was fired.

Bellefeuille lived alone in a house tucked into the forest and was unemployed but did odd jobs for cash, village residents who knew him told the Star in the aftermath of the shocking events.

In the close-knit village of 1,200 people, Bellefeuille was known as a hunter, a dog owner and a man who kept to himself and had few close relationships.

Bellefeuille owned a gun and would sometimes shoot rabbits in his backyard, one neighbour who knew him told the Star last week, adding that didnt strike her as unusual in a rural community.

With files from Amy Dempsey and The Canadian Press

Read more about:

SHARE:
WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. has once again buckled under pressure from European allies and Ukraines leaders and agreed to provide more sophisticated weapons to the war effort. This time its all about F-16 fighter jets.

Ukraine has long begged for the sophisticated fighter to give it a combat edge as it battles Russias invasion, now in its second year. And this new plan opens the door for several nations to supply the fourth-generation aircraft and for the U.S. to help train the pilots. President Joe Biden laid out the agreement to world leaders meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, on Friday, according to U.S. officials.

So far, however, the U.S. has provided no details and said decisions on when, how many, and who will supply the F-16s will be made in the months ahead while the training is underway. Details on the training are equally elusive. U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss decisions not yet made public.

Still, with this decision, the Biden administration has made a sharp reversal, after refusing to approve any transfer of the aircraft or conduct training for more than a year due to worries that it could escalate tensions with Russia. U.S. officials also have argued against the F-16 by saying that learning to fly and logistically support such an advanced aircraft would be difficult and take months.

Here is a look at the fighters, why the U.S. has been reluctant to provide them to Ukraine and what is known and not known yet about the decision.

WHY DOES UKRAINE WANT F-16 FIGHTER JETS?

Ukraine has pressed for Western jets since the very earliest stages of the war, insisting that the sophisticated aircraft would give them a leg up in the war and allow them to strike Russian forces.

Nearly a year ago, two Ukrainian fighter pilots who asked to be identified by their callsigns Moonfish and Juice met with reporters in Washington to argue for getting the F-16 Fighting Falcons, which have more advanced radars, sensors and missile capabilities.

In February, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov held up a picture of a warplane when he was asked in Brussels what military aid his country needed. And earlier this month Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a visit to Germany that he was pushing for allies to forge a fighter jet coalition that would provide Ukraine with the combat planes it needs to counter Russias air dominance.

Ukraines leaders have argued that the F-16 is far superior to their existing fleet of Soviet-era warplanes. In response to those pleas, the U.S. has found ways to deliver some of the advanced capabilities without providing the actual jets.

For example, Air Force engineers found ways to modify the HARM air-to-surface anti-radiation missile so that it could be carried and fired by Ukrainian-flown MiGs. The missile and its targeting system enable the jet to identify enemy ground radars and destroy them.

WHY HAS THE U.S. BALKED?

Repeatedly for months senior U.S. officials  from Biden on down  had flatly rejected sending F-16s to Ukraine, when asked publicly. And the U.S. had so far declined to allow other countries to export their U.S.-made Falcons to Ukraine.

As recently as Monday, after Zelenskyy reiterated his desire for F-16s and other jets, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby was asked if the U.S. had in any way changed its position on F-16s not being the right focus for military aid. Kirby said, No.

Asked similar questions in recent months, Biden also declined to approve the F-16s. In one instance earlier this year he was asked why he opposed sending them, and he responded, Because we should keep them here.

U.S. officials at the Pentagon have insisted that the military aid the U.S. was providing to Ukraine was based on what the country needed most to fight the war. So the emphasis has been on sending air defense systems and millions of rounds of rockets, missiles and other ammunition  as Ukraine prepares for a much expected spring offensive.

The other key reason, however, is the ongoing concern that sending fighter jets to Ukraine would enrage the Russians, provoke President Vladimir Putin and possibly escalate or broaden the war.

WELL, ON SECOND THOUGHT ....

Despite all the concerns, the U.S. has proven again and again during the war that it can change its mind.

Early on the U.S. balked at sending Patriot missile batteries, longer-range missiles or tanks. And in each case, it eventually succumbed to pressure from allies and agreed to send the increasingly advanced weapons.

Of note was the recent turnabout on M1A1 Abrams tanks. For months the U.S. had said the Abrams was too complicated and required too much logistical support for Ukrainian troops. Under escalating pressure from European nations that wanted to send Ukraine their own tanks, the U.S. finally agreed to send 31 Abrams to Ukraine. Training is expected to begin soon.

The F-16 approval has been a long, slow slog. Despite public insistence  for months  that there was no movement on the F-16s, the Pentagon in March brought two Ukrainian Air Force pilots to the Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona, to familiarize them with the F-16 and learn how pilots are trained.

U.S. officials refused to discuss the event publicly, but privately they said the two pilots flew F-16 simulators and got a feel for the training. The U.S. Air Force, meanwhile, got insight into how long it would take for an experienced Ukrainian fighter pilot to learn the F-16s more advanced systems. Officials determined that realistically it could be done in about four months, if the pilots were already trained to fly their own Soviet-era fighters.

WHAT WE STILL DONT KNOW

According to U.S. officials, Biden told leaders in Japan that the U.S. will participate in the F-16 training, and that decisions on providing the jets will come later.

Officials said its still not clear if the U.S. will simply allow other nations to send F-16s to Ukraine, or if the U.S. will also send some. And there are no estimates on how many of the jets will be provided or when. Officials acknowledge that it will not be in time for the anticipated spring offensive.

And while officials said the training will begin soon, it isnt yet clear where it will be, how many pilots will be trained and how long it will take.

The U.S. Air Force has two F-16 air wings in Europe: the 31st Fighter Wing at the Aviano Air Base in Italy and the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. The U.S. also routinely sends F-16 fighters in and out of Europe on a rotational basis in smaller groups.

Read more about:

SHARE:
WASHINGTON (AP)  For months, Western allies have shipped billions of dollars worth of weapons systems and ammunition to Ukraine with an urgency to get the supplies to Kyiv in time for an anticipated spring counteroffensive.

Now summer is just weeks away. While Russia and Ukraine are focused on an intense battle for Bakhmut, the Ukrainian spring offensive has yet to begin.

Last week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said its been delayed because his country lacks enough Western weapons to succeed without suffering too many casualties. Weather and training are playing a role too, officials and defense experts say.

Officials insist the counteroffensive is coming. Preliminary moves by Ukraine to set the conditions it wants for an attack have already begun, a U.S. official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

A look at the factors delaying the counteroffensive and the preparations both sides are making in anticipation of it starting soon.

WEATHER

A big part of the delay is the weather. Its taken longer than expected for Ukraines frozen ground to thaw and dry, due to an extended, wet, cold spring, which has made it difficult to transition into an offensive.

Instead, the ground has retained a deep mud that makes it more difficult for non-tracked vehicles to operate.

The mud is like a soup, the official said. You just sort of sink in it.

TRAINING

In the past few months, tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been trained by the U.S. and allies for the fight. But the final Ukrainian battalion the U.S. is currently training is just finishing its course now.

This final class brings the total number of Ukrainians the U.S. has trained for this fight to more than 10,700. Those forces have learned not only field and medical skills but advanced combined arms tactics with the Stryker and Bradley armored fighting vehicles and Paladin self-propelled howitzers. It also includes highly skilled forces who were trained to operate the Patriot missile defense system.

According to U.S. Army Europe-Africa, more than 41,000 additional Ukrainian troops have been trained through programs run by more than 30 partner nations.

Soon a new phase will begin: The U.S. will start training Ukrainians on Abrams tanks at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. But the Ukrainians wont wait for the tank training to be finished before they launch their counteroffensive, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told reporters in late April.

WEAPONS ARRIVALS

In just the past five months alone, the U.S. has announced it would send more than $14 billion in weapons and ammunition to Kyiv, most of which is being pulled from existing stockpiles in order to get the supplies to Ukraine faster. NATO and Western allies have responded too, pledging billions in tanks, armored vehicles and air defense systems.

But a lot of that gear still hasnt arrived, said Ben Barry, a former British intelligence official who is now the senior land warfare fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

For example, of the approximately 300 tank systems pledged  such as the Leopard 2 tanks promised by countries including Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany  only about 100 have arrived. Of the 700 or so pledged fighting vehicles, such as British Marauders and U.S. Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, only about 300 have arrived, he said.

Ukraine will also need enough ammunition on hand to sustain a higher tempo fight once the counteroffensive begins, When it comes to the ammunition needed, Ukraines chief military logistician will also have a strong say in when the army is ready to launch, Barry said.

In just one munition  the 155mm howitzer round  Ukraine is firing between 6,000 and 8,000 rounds per day, Ukrainian parliamentary member Oleksandra Ustinova told reporters in April.

COUNTEROFFENSIVE CLUES

Both Russia and Ukraine are taking steps in anticipation of the counteroffensive.

Russia has approximately 200,000 troops along a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) battle line, dug in using the same type of trench warfare tactics used in World War I, a Western official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.

These troops are not as highly trained as Russias initial invading force, which sustained heavy casualties. But they are defended by ditches, minefields and dragons teeth  above ground triangle-shaped concrete barriers that make it difficult for tanks to move.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has begun shaping operations, such as targeting Russias forward lines with long-range artillery fire. That may indicate that Ukraine is about to push forward on that location  or it could be a decoy to draw Russias attention from its actual planned first strike, the official said.

When Ukraine does try to punch through those lines  whether in a limited area or a complex campaign carried out in multiple locations  that will be the likely indicator the offensive has begun, both Barry and the Western official said.

Barry said when Ukrainian brigades start crossing into Russian-held territories and try to attack the first line of Russian defenses, thats going to be a dead giveaway I think.

___

Associated Press reporter Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

Read more about:

SHARE:
HIROSHIMA, Japan - Canada has announced new sanctions against Russia as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends the G7 Leaders Summit in Hiroshima.

In short remarks made to media Friday, the prime minister said more than 70 new sanctions focus on people who are supporting Russias illegal military action and complicit in human rights violations.

He says Canada will continue to support Ukraine and the international rules-based order.

The Prime Ministers Office says the sanctions are on 17 individuals and 18 entities linked to Russian companies that provide military technology and know-how to Russias armed forces, family members of listed persons, and members of the Kremlin elite.

Sanctions will also be applied on 30 individuals and eight entities involved in Russias ongoing human rights violations, including the transfer and custody of Ukrainian children in Russia.

In March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Russian childrens rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of abducting children from Ukraine.

Other G7 countries are expected to announce their own sanctions on Russia as leaders meet to discuss geopolitical tensions, particularly with China and Russia.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2023.

Read more about:

SHARE:
HIROSHIMA, Japan - The G7 Leaders Summit kicked off on Friday in Hiroshima with Canada joining other members to announce new sanctions on Russia, as well as new funding to guard against the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Leaders of G7 countries released a joint statement on Friday reaffirming their support for Ukraine and announcing further sanctions on Russia, before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joins them in person on Sunday.

We are renewing our commitment to provide the financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support Ukraine requires for as long as it takes, the statement says.

We are imposing further sanctions and measures to increase the costs to Russia and those who are supporting its war effort.

In short remarks made to media earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced what new sanctions Canada would be imposing.

Today, Canadas announcing more than 70 new sanctions focused on people who are supporting Russias illegal military action and complicit in human rights violations, he said.

Canada will continue to be there to support Ukraine and support international rules based order.

The Prime Ministers Office said the sanctions are on 17 individuals and 18 entities linked to Russian companies that provide military technology and know-how to Russias armed forces, family members of listed persons, and members of the Kremlin elite.

Sanctions will also be applied on 30 individuals and eight entities involved in Russias ongoing human rights violations, including the transfer and custody of Ukrainian children in Russia.

In addition to the sanctions, nuclear disarmament was another theme of the summit on Friday, as leaders look to address geopolitical threats from countries such as China, Russia and North Korea.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, wants nuclear disarmament to be a major focus of discussions, and he formally started the summit at Hiroshimas Peace Memorial Park.

The visit by world leaders to a park dedicated to preserving reminders of Aug. 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, provided a striking backdrop to the start the summit.

On Friday, G7 nations took the opportunity to also condemn Russia for its nuclear rhetoric and threats to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Threats by Russia of nuclear weapon use, let alone any use of nuclear weapons by Russia, in the context of its aggression against Ukraine are inadmissible, a joint statement on nuclear proliferation reads.

Canada announced $15 million to help the international community monitor and respond to North Korean weapon of mass destruction programs.

It also announced an additional $4 million for the International Atomic Energy Agency to help verify and monitor Irans nuclear commitments.

Trudeau also met with leaders, sharing their common goals  and differences.

In his meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni,Trudeau spoke out against the Italian governments stance on LGBTQ rights.

Obviously, Canada is concerned about some of the (positions) that Italy is taking in terms of LGBT rights, Trudeau told Meloni at the start of the meeting on Friday morning.

But I look forward to talking with you about that.

The comments were made at the start of the meeting, prior to media being ushered out of the room.

In March, gay rights activists denounced as homophobic moves by Melonis far-right-led government to limit recognition of parental rights to the biological parent only in families with same-sex parents.

In a move that would impact hundreds of families, the government told the city of Milan to stop automatically recording both parents in same-sex couples on city registers.

It was the last major city to continue the practice that had been briefly adopted in Rome, Turin, Naples and elsewhere after Italys high court in 2016 made it easier for gay people to adopt a partners biological child.

In a readout of the meeting sent out by the Prime Ministers Office, it says the leaders exchanged views on the importance of protecting and defending human rights, including the rights of 2SLGBTQI+ people.

Prime Minister Meloni responded that her government is following court decisions and is not deviating from previous administrations, the summary said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2023.

 With files from The Associated Press.

Read more about:

SHARE:
The Labour Party has reacted to the pronouncement of a Federal High Court sitting in Kano nullifying the election of the Abia State Governor-elect, Dr Alex Otti.

The court presided over by Justice M N Yunusa, nullified the elections of Otti and all the candidates of the Labour Party in Abia State.

According to the court, the emergence of Otti and other affected candidates was not in compliance with the provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act.

However, when contacted, the Labour Party Chairman in Abia State, Hon. Ceekay Igara, said the courts pronouncement is laughable.

According to him, the decision of the court would have no significance in the coming inauguration of the governor-elect.

Igara told correspondent that only the election tribunal is bequeathed the power to sack a democratically elected person.

He said, That court pronouncement is laughable. Everybody should go about their normal activities. It is only the tribunal that can remove Alex Otti.

It is not just a court that will remove someone who was duly elected. Infact I am going to gear up activities for the inauguration.
From May 7, inspections for ships en route to Ukrainian ports as part of the grain initiative were suspended due to the position of the Russian delegation in the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC); after statements about the continuation of the initiative, the Russian Federation agreed to resume entrance inspections only in two ports out of three, Yuriy Vaskov, Deputy Minister of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, said.

"As of the morning of May 19, it became known that Russia agreed to resume the inspection of the incoming fleet at the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk, but refused to inspect ships heading for the port of Pivdenny," he said in a blitz interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

Vaskov clarified that 62 ships are queuing, waiting for inspection, and some of them have been saying for several months.

He confirmed that after the ship DSM Capella under the flag of Barbados with 30,000 tonnes of corn left the port of Chornomorsk for Turkey on May 17, there are no other ships participating in the initiative in Ukrainian ports yet.

"And this is the result of Russia's destructive policy, the purpose of which is to limit the work of the initiative," the deputy Minister of Restoration emphasized.

According to him, Russia's actions in the JCC lead to a significant increase in the cost of logistics and an increase in prices for its components: insurance, freight, etc.

"That's why we see only 62 ships in the queue today. Because from a certain moment the charter of additional ships really stopped, because it was not clear what would happen. The market always needs predictability," Vaskov said.

He recalled that with the normal functioning of the grain initiative, Ukraine is ready to export 6 million tonnes of agricultural products per month from three ports, but since November, Russia has been finding new reasons to limit exports and suspend the grain initiative, as a result, from the beginning of May to May 17, there were less than 1 million tonnes exported, and in April - 2.7 million tonnes.

As the deputy minister confirmed, in April the representatives of the Russian Federation in the JCC crossed out the ships presented according to the plans of Ukrainian port operators and offered their own list of ships.

"Of course, we did not agree to this. After that, there was also a stop for a few days. As a result, the UN and Turkey proposed moving to the principle of a 'live queue' - submitting ships that physically arrived earlier for inspection. And we agreed with this, although this does not meet the plans of our port operators. But we agreed, because it is better than the initiative will not work at all, and this is also transparent," the representative of Ukraine described the development of events.

He added that the work continued in this way for about a week, but then the Russian Federation unilaterally stopped the inspection of ships heading to the port of Pivdenny, and later to other ports.

According to him, as expected, the "oldest" ships, which have been waiting in line for the longest time, should be the first to go through the entrance inspection. If it happens today, such vessels may be in port in Ukraine the day after tomorrow.

"We will see how it will be now. So far, as I said, the initiative has not worked. So far, there is no ongoing inspection at the entrance," Vaskov said in conclusion.
President Muhammadu Buhari has advised Richard Montgomery, high commissioner of the United Kingdom, to always respect traditional institutions in Nigeria.

The president gave the advice on Thursday when he received letters of credence from the UK high commissioner and Velupillai Kananathan, his counterpart from the Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka.

Buhari said Nigerias relationship with the two countries would be further consolidated with their consideration of local cultures, traditional rulers, and institutions.

I like the way our traditional rulers and institutions are being respected in spite of the changing times, education and rising materialism, Buhari said.

There is a lot to learn from our cultures and the traditional institutions are the custodians, and they should be respected by all.

Buhari told the UK high commissioner that the diplomatic relations, spanning many years, have been sustained on mutual respect for cultures.

All courtesy would be extended to you to make your stay in Nigeria memorable, he said.

Buhari told the British diplomat that a good understanding of cultural differences and respect for institutions paved the way for most of the successes of the UK.

He said previous diplomats had established relations with the sultan of Sokoto, emir of Kano, shehu of Borno and emir of Ilorin.

In his remarks, Montgomery said the UK have always held Nigeria and its cultural institutions in high esteem.

He also extended the best wishes of King Charles III as Nigeria prepares for the handover ceremony on May 29.

We have had a long, productive dialogue over security, economic partnership, home affairs, and other issues, he said.

Speaking with the Sri Lankan diplomat in another meeting, Buhari said the participation of women in politics and governance in Nigeria has steadily increased over the years.

Recently, we got close to having the first female governor in Nigeria, he added.

Kananathan assured that he would consolidate the efforts of his predecessor by strengthening relations on energy projects which have already started in East Africa.
Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, says the basis of the telephone conversation between Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, and Bola Tinubu, president-elect, is unclear.

In a series of tweets on Friday, Obi said the US should wait for the presidential election tribunals verdict before conferring legitimacy.

Blinken had called Tinubu on Tuesday and pledged to strengthen the relations between the US and Nigeria.

There is still a lack of clarity on the basis of the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinkens call to APC's presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu on 16th May 2023. The most fundamental tenet and core value of democracy is the rule of law.  Peter Obi (@PeterObi) May 19, 2023





Nigerias democracy is founded on these principles which the American people hold dear. Without the risk of interfering in Nigerias domestic affairs, the U.S.-Nigeria relationship should be guided by the core values of democracy.

Above all, Nigerians expect that the U.S. responses to our affairs should be based on mutual respect, shared ideals, aspirations and interests which ought to transcend the considerations of any individual.

Contextually, the willful manipulation and falsification of the will of Nigerians as freely expressed during the February 25 elections cannot be overlooked by the true friends and partners of Nigeria.

The former governor of Anambra said the final determination of the true winner of the election can only be made by the relevant courts of law.

More so, the issues in judicial contention imply far-reaching violations of both the Nigerian electoral law and the Nigerian constitution, he added.
The division in the Labour Party (LP) played out at the presidential election petition tribunal on Friday as two lawyers appeared to represent the party.

LP and Peter Obi, the presidential candidate, filed a petition challenging the victory of Bola Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In the petition marked CA/PEPC/03/2023, they alleged that Tinubu was not duly elected by the majority of the lawful votes cast at the time of the election.

When the case was called on Friday, Awa Kalu announced appearance for the petitioners.

However, Oba Maduabuchi, another lawyer, also announced his appearance for the Labour Party.

I was instructed by the LP to appear on its behalf and represent it in this petition. I was given a brief to appear, he said.

Maduabuchis announcement elicited murmurs from other lawyers and litigants.

Responding, Haruna Tsammani, chairman of the five-member panel of justices, said two lawyers cannot announce appearance for the same party.

Let the person that filed the petition make an appearance, he said.

Abba Mohammed, another justice, said: As a learned silk, you should know better and should have advised whoever it is that briefed you that there cannot be two counsels for the petitioner.

Subsequently, Kalu moved the petitioners motion seeking to have the proceedings televised.

The counsel to the respondents, however, opposed the application and prayed the court to dismiss it.

The court reserved ruling to Monday.

For the past few months, the LP has been embroiled in a leadership tussle that has resulted in two factions.

One faction recognises Julius Abure as the national chairman of the party and another recognises Lamidi Apapa as the leader.

Abure was recently suspended by a high court in the federal capital territory (FCT) over allegations of forgery.
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo says the world will miss the leadership acumen of President Muhammadu Buhari when he leaves office.

Akufo-Addo spoke on Friday while unveiling two books written on the legacies of Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja.

Buhari will leave office on May 29 after serving as two-term of eight years.

The Ghanaian president said ECOWAS, Africa and the world at large would miss Buharis leadership qualities.

As leaders, we all have our high and low moments, but I have no doubt that posterity will be kind to Muhammadu Buhari, Akufo-Addo said.

President Buhari, we will miss you. West Africa, Africa, and indeed, the world will miss your leadership. The leadership of a military ruler turned consummate democrat who was extremely solicitous of Nigerias and Africas interests and who sought principles in all decisions which he took.

Im yet to have a book written about me, let alone author one myself. I have some 19 months to leave office, and I guess I have to take a cue from my senior and hope the books will give about me.

Meanwhile, the books: State of Repair: How Muhammadu Buhari tried to transform Nigeria for the better authored by Anthony Goldman, a former journalist and ex-Africa editor of the Financial Times of London; and The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari by Abu Ibrahim, former representative of southern Katsina senatorial district  raked in over N500 million during the presentation.

The President-elect Bola Tinubu and the Vice-President-elect Kashim Shettima obtained copies of the book for a combined amount of N40 million.

Abdulsamad Rabiu, chairman of BUA Group, generously purchased copies of the books with the sum of N200 million

Aliko Dangote, chairperson of the Dangote Group, contributed N100 million to acquire copies of both books, and Muhammed Idimi purchased copies for the same amount.

The books were reviewed by Kayode Fayemi, former governor of Ekiti; and Abubakar Abba, deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Abuja.
A federal high court in Abuja has been asked to order the Nigeria Police Force to investigate and prosecute Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, before his inauguration on May 29.

In a motion ex parte marked FHC/ABJ/CS/669/2023 and filed on Tuesday, the incorporated trustees of Advocacy for Societal Rights Advancement and Development Initiative (ASRADI), a civil society group, claims that Tinubu lied on oath when he refused to give information regarding his alleged Guinean citizenship in his Form EC9 submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to contest the 2023 presidential election.

Shortly after Tinubu was declared the president-elect, there were reports that he allegedly obtained citizenship of Guinea.

The allegation generated varied reactions on social media, with many arguing that having dual citizenship bars Tinubu from contesting elections in the country.

Tinubus relationship with Alpha Conde, the former president of Guinea, has also come under scrutiny.

Recall that Ousmane Yara, a Guinean ambassador to African Union (AU) for Agenda 2063, said Tinubu was recognised by Conde as a special envoy.

However, Tinubu is yet to make any remark on the issue.

In the suit by ASRADI, the civil society group through its counsel, Chukwunweike Okafor, is praying the court to grant leave to apply for an order compelling Usman Baba, inspector-general of police, to prosecute Tinubu if found culpable of perjury regarding his alleged Guinean citizenship.

Citing relevant provisions of the Nigerian constitution and the Police Act in an affidavit of urgency, Okafor said the police have a statutory duty to investigate Tinubu for the alleged offence.

In the affidavit sworn to by Adeolu Oyinlola, executive director of ASRADI, the applicant urged the court to hear and determine the request before the swearing-in of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on May 292023.
Abdulmajid Kwamanda, a leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano, says Bola Tinubu, president-elect, must not give an appointment to Rabiu Kwankwaso, candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the just concluded elections.

Recall, it was reported that Tinubu and Kwankwaso met in France over the possibility of the latter joining the formers cabinet after he takes office later this month.

Kwakwanso won only Kano in the presidential election.

Speaking with reporters in Kano on Thursday, Kwamanda said the party in the entire north-west zone would not welcome Kwankwaso.

He cautioned that the party in the zone would withdraw its support if the NNPP candidate is considered for a portfolio by the president-elect.

We in the north-west do not welcome Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to our party APC. We do not accept the idea of Bola Tinubu giving him any appointment even as low as a messenger in our dear party, Kwamanda said.

Should Tinubu ignore our outcry and appoint Kwankwaso, we are going to disrupt the entire APC in the north and withdraw our support for him.

If we set the party on fire, not even Tinubu as a president can put out that fire. We are north and the people are our people.

We have invested all our efforts, integrity and dignity in the North to mobilize the people to vote for Tinubu, they refused to vote for a fellow northerner just for him to win in the region and now come and embrace our major opposition. We will not accept that.

We assure Tinubu that we will turn our backs on him if he decides to ignore our call. We dont welcome Kwankwaso to our party and dont give him any appointments.




The former Iyaloja General of Osun State, Awawu Asindemade has insisted that she cannot be removed from office.





Asindemade also maintained that her group is a Non-Governmental Organisation which she founded by herself.





It was reported that the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke had in a statement on Thursday by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed announced the appointment of a new Iyaloja General for the state.





The new Iyaloja General, Oyebode Aderonke Mary was described by the governor as a strong leader of business women in the state.





Adeleke also noted that Oyebode has contributed immensely to the growth and development of commerce in Osun.





Reacting to her replacement, Asindemade said, They only removed themselves and not me, I am not bothered by that development, because they cant stop me from being the Iyaloja General, rather the one appointed as the new Iyaloja General is for the PDP.





I am still the Iyaloja General in Osun, while the new appointee is PDPs Iyaloja General. It is no problem if the government decides not to relate with us, we have a government at the federal level.





Asindemade also insisted that her position was not for specific tenure, adding that the state government had no power to remove an Iyaloja General.





My position as Iyaloja General is not for a specific tenure. The government has no power to remove Iyaloja General. Our group is a Non-governmental Organization. I was the one that founded it, she said.





Asindemade was appointed to the office of Iyaloja General by the Rauf Aregbesola administration.





The Adegboyega Oyetola administration still accorded her the recognition throughout its tenure but trouble started for Awawu Asindemade when the Ademola Adeleke administration came into office on November 27, 2022.





In February, 2023, it was alleged that state government officials raided her home and carted away official vehicles in her possession and 31 other iyalojas in the state.





She was alleged to have attended the February 2, 2023, Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign in Osun at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo.





The raid on her home also led to a shouting match between the Osun Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the APC.
President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed his reaction when ex-President Goodluck Jonathan telephoned him after the 2015 election.

Buhari spoke on Friday at a farewell meeting with his media support group, the Buhari Media Organization (BMO)

The Nigerian leader called on citizens to walk on the path of duty if we really want to see the country achieve new heights.

On the phone conversation with his predecessor, he said Jonathan called at 5:25pm that evening to say congratulations.

I said pardon me Mr. President? He said yes, I called to concede and congratulate you. That was equally very un-Nigerian.

Buhari also recalled the countries he had been to on military training, citing a particular one where people died of hunger overnight.

The President described Nigeria as a lucky nation given the natural resources available to it and its vast population.
Festus Keyamo, minister of state for labour and employment, says the US is aware that Peter Obi, standard bearer of the Labour Party (LP), lost the presidential election.

Keyamo spoke in response to Obis comments about the telephone conversation between Antony Blinken, US secretary of state and Bola Tinubu, the president-elect.

The former governor of Anambra said the basis on which Blinken called Tinubu to pledge to strengthen the ties between Nigeria and the US was unclear.

Obi asked Blinken not to legitimise the victory of Tinubu until the presidential election petition tribunal gives a verdict.

In a tweet on Friday, the minister said Obi overrated his tantrums and that of his supporters as having any effect internationally.

Your Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi, I am sorry, but there is clarity as to the basis of the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinkens call to @officialABAT and their pledge for support and cooperation. Its obvious that you and your supporters have overrated your noise and https://t.co/sK9MFwfKYd  Festus Keyamo, SAN (@fkeyamo) May 19, 2023





Its obvious that you and your supporters have overrated your noise and tantrums after the election as having any real effect internationally. No, they have not had any such massive effect as you would wish, he said.

Unfortunately for you, the US has dealt with so many opposition figures around the world and they know exactly how to separate facts from fiction. They know you lost, fair and square. They know that in a complex society like Nigeria, you could not have won with your message of religious war.

They know youre just a splinter of the main opposition, the PDP, so it amounts to delusions of grandeur to think that you won when you actually came third.

They also know the declaration of a winner already announced by INEC has the force of law and is the only acceptable legal framework upon which to proceed than your Petition in court that is yet to be decided upon. You really want this country to stand still because you have a case in court? Is that what we have practised in this country for decades?

The minister added that Obis pontifications about the presidential election were worrisome.
The national assembly has invited the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to a meeting over its strike action.

Innocent Orji, NARD president, said he has received an invitation to attend a meeting with the leadership of the national assembly.

The resident doctors began a five-day warning strike on Wednesday due to the federal governments refusal to meet its demands.

Some of the demands include massive recruitment of clinical staff in the hospitals; immediate infrastructural development in hospitals and an allocation of at least 15 percent of the budgetary provisions to health; immediate payment of the 2023 medical residency training fund (MRTF); and the immediate increment in the consolidated medical salary structure (CONMESS) to the tune of 200% of the gross salary of doctors.

The withdrawal of the anti-brain drain bill from the national assembly is also one of the prominent demands of the association.

On Tuesday, Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, said the federal government was already negotiating with the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) on a pay rise for doctors.

He also said the health minister would instruct teaching hospitals to employ ad-hoc staff for the strike period and pay them with the money meant for the resident doctors.

Speaking on Thursday during an Arise Television programme, Orji said his association has had no negotiation with the federal government since the strike was called.

All we are hearing on the media is that the government is negotiating with us but nobody has called us for any negotiation except that they are negotiating with other associations, but not NARD, he said.

It was only this afternoon, a few minutes ago that I was informed of a meeting convened by the national assembly for tomorrow. It was just this afternoon I saw the invitation but outside that, there has not been any negotiation since Monday when our national executive council had an extraordinary session and declared the five-day strike that commenced yesterday.

On the federal government replacing the striking doctors with ad hoc staff, Orji described the move as strange since a major part of NARDs demands is for the federal government to quickly replace the clinical staff that have left the system.

We have been saying that we have a massive manpower shortage in our hospitals and we do not have enough numbers to contain the influx of patients in hospitals across the country, he said.

So, if the government that has refused to do that is now waking up to employ ad hoc staff as a way for resolving this issue, I wish them good luck. But just like I have been saying, as long as they do not negotiate in good faith, the crisis in the health sector will continue, our members are watching.

All we have heard so far from the government are just threats and those threats they are issuing will be what will escalate the crisis we have already.

So, I want to call on them again to do the right thing. Our demands are clear, they are specific, they are achievable and these are things they can achieve in a matter of days.
Ukrhydroenergo, Italian We build sign memo of cooperation in construction of HPPs

PrJSC Ukrhydroenergo and Italian We build signed a memorandum of cooperation in the construction of hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) over the next three years.

"Recently in Rome, during a conference on Ukraine's recovery, a memorandum was signed between We build and Ukrhydroenergo on cooperation in the construction of hydroelectric power plants," the company said on Friday.

As the company informed, the document states the interest of the parties to cooperate over the next three years in the construction of new facilities.

"Within the framework of cooperation, it is envisaged to promote the introduction of modern energy-efficient and carbon-free technologies during the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, and support for the development of hydropower in Ukraine," Ukrhydroenergo said.

As reported, the company sets the completion of Dniester Pumped Storage Power Plant and the construction of Kaniv Pumped Storage Power Plant as a priority task.




The National Security Adviser(NSA), retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, has appealed to Nigerians to use social media positively during the inauguration of Bola Tinubu on May 29.





Monguno made the appeal on Thursday in Abuja, at a World Press Conference organised to mark commencement of activities for the May 29 presidential inauguration.





He assured Nigerians of adequate security during the Presidential Inauguration ceremony.





The NSA, who heads the Security, Facilities and Intelligence Committee of the Presidential Transition Council(PTC), said necessary measures had been put in place to provide all-round security.





He said security would be beefed up at the Eagle Square, venue of the May 29 presidential inauguration and its environs.





Monguno also said there would be tight security in and around hotels to ensure safety of guests coming into the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) from within and outside Nigeria.





According to him, membership of the committee, which is drawn from various security agencies have been collaborating to ensure a seamless transition.





It is perhaps the most critical of all the committees by virtue of the nature of its own task.





That is why membership of the committee comprises of representatives or heads of agencies at the highest level.





The Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector-General of Police, Director-General of the SSS.





The Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency(NIA) and the Governor of Kebbi State, who sits in as representative of the incoming government,he said.





Monguno further said, our main function and primary concern is provision of both overt and covert security cover for all the venues where the programmes will take place.





As well as hotels in which invited guests and dignitaries will be staying for the period up to the inauguration and immediately after.





On restriction of movement, Monguno said there would be restriction of movement at a certain range around Eagle Square.





He also said there would be traffic diversion and provision of alternative routes for motorists and pedestrians.





While assuring Nigerians of a peaceful inauguration, he urged them to steer clear of anything that would threaten the peace of the nation.





The committee has concluded arrangement for accreditation and issuance of tags, passes and identity documents for all security agents.





If you have no business with security you need not be near the vicinity of the programme especially on the inauguration day.





We do not envisage anything that will be negative on that day, so, I urge everybody to be calm.





The people who use the social media, please understand this till our visitors, especially those who come from other countries disperse, he said.





The sub-committees like Transportation Sub-Committee, Venue, Parade and Swearing-in Sub-Committee, Media and Publicity Sub-Committee also assured of adequate preparation.





Also, the Medical Sub-Committee, said adequate arrangement had been made for over 100 medical doctors, nurses and other medical personnel to be on ground within the period.
The factional chairman of the Labour Party, LP, Lamidi Apapa, has threatened to expose the partys presidential candidate in the last elections, Peter Obi.

Apapa had to deal with bitter exchanges inside the tribunal over sitting arrangements on Wednesday.

He was booed by the partys supporters as he emerged from the tribunal, while his cap was pulled off his head.

Addressing the media afterwards, Apapa claimed Obi was taking sides with Julius Abure, the LP chairman removed by the court.

Apapa also denied he had collected bribes from other political parties to destroy LP from within.

On the allegation of bribe-taking, its not true. If you have evidence to prove, bring your evidence that I have collected money or weve collected money from anybody. Its absolutely untrue, Apapa said.

On Peter Obi taking sides, I dont want to expose him, but he deserves to be exposed. Some time ago, in one of the interviews he (Obi) granted, he said he did not know me at all.

I have been trying to cover him, but he does not deserve it. The reasons are this: This is a man, during his primary in Asaba, I did the opening prayer. And I was not a young officer. I was the deputy national chairman of the party. I have been 21 years in this party. I have held a lot of positions in this party to the level I am today.

Obis first campaign started in Benin. I was in Benin with him. And we used his aircraft from Benin back to Abujachartered plane. Not only that, when he came to Ekiti (Afe Babalola University), I led the team that hosted him in that campus. We were there for over two hours. I led the team to the palace. And he doesnt know me?




Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola has admitted that Arsenal will not win this years Premier League title because they failed to maintain their early season form.





The Citizens can claim their successive title this Sunday when they host Chelsea at the Etihad.





However, as of March, the Gunners were still eight points clear at the top and looked favourites to dethrone Guardiolas men.





To recover eight points from Arsenal, we had one game in hand. First of all, that was a little bit fake. But we knew we had to win all games.





If Arsenal had maintained their early season form, we wouldnt have been able to do it.





But they dropped a few points and we were there, Guardiola said.
Subomi Balogun, founder and former chairman of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), has died at the age of 89.

Family sources told ThisDay that he died in London on Friday morning.

A direct descendant of Oba Tunwase of Ijebu-Ode, Balogun held the chieftaincy title of Otunba Tunwase of Ijebuland. He was also the Olori Omoba of Ijebuland and the Asiwaju of Ijebu Christians.

As a high ranking Ijebu chief, his death has not been officially announced.

The newspaper reported that the family has informed the Awujale of Ijebuland of his death and a formal announcement would be made soon in line with tradition.

The renowned banker graduated from Igbobi College and studied law at the London School of Economics.

Following his graduation in June 1959, he was called to the English Bar in December of the same year.

Baloguns legal career saw him serve as a crown counsel in the ministry of justice of Western Nigeria and later as an assistant parliamentary counsel in the federal ministry of justice in Lagos. However, the January 1966 coup prompted a shift in his career trajectory towards the banking sector.

Balogun later founded City Securities, a stock broking and issuing house, which handled Mobil, Texaco and Total petroleum marketing companies equity offerings. Balogun secured a merchant banking licence to establish First City Merchant Bank.

When the operations of the bank took effect in 1983, Balogun was said to have established an entrepreneurial culture at the new bank, unique as an owner managed bank in contrast to the government owned banks at the time.

Balogun was a long time member of the council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has set the stage for definite hearing today, Friday, in a fresh suit seeking prohibition of inauguration of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on May 29.

The Court ordered that the suit marked CA/ABJ/CV/259/2023 seeking to prevent Tinubu from being inaugurated as Nigerias new President to take over government on May 29, must be heard unfailingly by 3pm today.

To clear coast for hearing of the suit, the Appellate Court on May 18 heard a joinder motion by Tinubu and argued by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, and in a brief ruling, granted Tinubus request and joined him as 4th respondent, along with President Muhammadu Buhari and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Immediately after joining Tinubu in the suit on the ground that he has interest that could be jeopardized, the court thereafter ordered that Buhari, AGF, INEC and Tinubu as 1st to 4th respondents should file their Respondents Briefs and serve the Appellants by 10 am this morning.

The Appeal Court also issued an order that the Appellants should file their Reply Brief and serve the Respondents by 12 noon today and subsequently fixed the suit for hearing by 3 pm also today.

DAILY POST sighted the hearing notice on the notice board of the Court of Appeal and was confirmed by the first Appellant in the matter, Chief Ambrose Albert Owuru.

The suit is instituted by a Presidential candidate in the 2019 Presidential election and constitutional lawyer, Chief Ambrose Albert Owuru and his political party, Hope Democratic Party (HDP).

Owuru, who was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1982, is praying the Court of Appeal in Abuja to prohibit President Muhammadu Buhari, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from inaugurating the 2023 President-elect on May 29.

The politician, who participated in the 2019 presidential poll on the platform of Hope Democratic Party (HDP) wants Buhari, AGF and INEC stopped from taking any further steps on the 2023 presidential election that produced Tinubu as winner.

Owuru, who claimed to be adjudged Constitutional winner of the 2019 presidential election, predicated his grouse against inauguration of Tinubu or anybody else as successor to Buhari on the ground that he has not spent his four-year tenure as required by law.

Among others, Owuru insisted that President Buhari has been usurping his tenure of office since 2019 because the Supreme Court has not determined his petition filed in 2019 in which he challenged the purported declaration of Buhari as the election winner.

His first suit was dismissed by Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja on January 30, 2023, prompting his movement to the Court of Appeal to ventilate his anger.
Jarvis Johnson, a member of the Texas house of representatives, has asked the US congress to prevail on the Nigerian government to release Nnamdi Kanu.

In a letter dated May 10 and addressed to the US congress, Johnson, who represents district 139, said Kanus condition has deteriorated and that there is an urgent need to release him unconditionally.

The lawmaker also informed the US congress that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was illegally extradited from Kenya to Nigeria in violation of international laws.

This is an appeal for your urgent intervention to urge the Government of Nigeria (GON) to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu (MNK) from his Extraordinary Rendition dating back to June 27, 2021, the letter reads.

For over 50 years, the Igbos have been engaged in a struggle for self-determination.

MNK is the leading advocate of this struggle for self-determination.

MNKs persecution by the Nigerian Government has increasingly intensified since 2015 when he visited Nigeria from London.

Advertisement

That MNK was extraordinarily renditioned has been judicially affirmed by the Nigerian Courts and the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. As a result of the persistent and consistent efforts of The Kanu Family, the UKs Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and its Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) have engaged in insufficient efforts to secure his release from the GONs extraordinary rendition.

For additional information on the Nigerian Courts and UN Opinions holding that MNK was extraordinarily renditioned to Nigeria, discharging and acquitting him of all charges, and ordering\directing his unconditional and immediate release.

Extraordinary rendition is illegal under our laws and policy. Congress explicitly clarified and codified this in the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (FARRA) reprinted in 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1231 (Historical and Statutory Notes (1999).

There is no debate that the UN, Western Democracies including the UK and the US uniformly prohibit extraordinary rendition, as do the Nigerian courts and the Kenyan Government. Nevertheless, the GON continues to disobey its court orders and ignore the unanimity of laws prohibiting extraordinary rendition.

For months now, it is public knowledge that MNKs health condition has deteriorated, and continues to do so daily. He suffers from a serious heart condition and other ailments for which he is not getting medical attention.

The right of self-determination is a natural right, and is enshrined in our foundational documentsThe Declaration of Independence and Constitution. It has been, and is our policy and practice to support this right as we are now doing in Ukraine.

In October 2022, the court of appeal in Abuja struck out the terrorism charge filed against Kanu.

The appellate court held that Kanus extradition from Kenya to Nigeria to stand trial was illegal.

The federal government later filed an appeal before the supreme court challenging the judgement  and subsequently filed an amended charge before a federal high court.

The federal government also filed to stay the execution in the appellate court and it was granted.

The supreme court heard the case last week but adjourned it to September 14.
A New Jersey deacon, 78-year-old James Puliatte of Norwood, died Wednesday at Hackensack Medical Center after falling ill while vacationing in Antigua.

Puliattes son Justin said on April 23 his father suffered multiple strokes and seizures caused by a rare bacteria, which developed into Listeria Meningitis. Puliatte was vacationing with his wife Elaine at Galley Bay Resort in Antigua, their son said.

Justin Puliatte blamed what he said was a misdiagnosis and inadequate medical care in Antigua for a delay in treatment and his fathers ultimate death, but lauded the people back home who rallied in an attempt to save him.

A GoFundMe was organized to help Puliattes family pay for a private air ambulance to transport him to a hospital in the United States. Nearly 1,000 people donated over $148,000, Justin Puliatte said.

On April 26, Puliatte said American doctors and personnel arrived with an air ambulance jet and were able to stabilize his father and transport him to Hackensack Medical Center.

Once at the medical center, Puliatte said, it took the team of doctors no more than 45 minutes to diagnose my father with Listeria Meningitis, a rare food borne illness found in dairy, processed meats, and vegetables.

For nearly three weeks the Hackensack medical staff did everything in their power to help my father recover but it was too late the damage was done, Puliatte said.

Prior to going aboard, Puliatte said his father celebrated his 45th year anniversary of being a deacon last month and had been serving at St. Josephs Church in Demarest for years. He was assigned to Immaculate Conception Church in Norwood for most of his tenure.

After receiving numerous donations to help his father, Puliatte said, Its purely the grace and gratitude of so many of the people and families my father has touched, blessed, and comforted in times of need.

It was a way of saying thank you, an appreciation for my fathers dedication to his ministry for over 45 years. ... Whether it was a monetary donation or simply offering prayers and kind words, it all was a direct reflection (of the impact) my father had on so many people. And he loved what he did, he loved to care for and take care of others, especially his family.

A mass of Christian burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday at St. Joseph Church with interment to follow at Rockland Cemetery, Sparkill, New York.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Vashti Harris may be reached at vharris@njadvancemedia.com.
A Bergen County man was charged Thursday with theft and other crimes accusing him of stealing $525,000 from investors through mortgage-fraud schemes, authorities said.

Gerrmaioud Chape, 43, of Rochelle Park, solicited investmentments by claiming he had financial interests in properties he did not own, according to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella.

He supported his claims by providing fraudulent mortgage documents to his victims, Musella said in a statement.

Chape told NJ Advance Media on Friday that he has been wrongly accused and that investigators have misunderstood how his business operates.

I plan to be vindicated of all the charges, Chape said. Theyre under the impression that Ive done something wrong, and I have not.

The investigation began in January when the prosecutors office received a complaint that Chape was using his company, 10 Percent Group LLC, as a front to maintain control over victims funds, the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor did not say how many alleged victims there are, but noted losses are about $525,000.

Detectives with the prosecutors office and the Rochelle Park Police Department executed a search warrant at Chapes home on Thursday, Musella said.

Chape is charged with two counts of second-degree theft by deception, two counts of second-degree theft, and two counts of third-degree forgery. He was released on a summons ahead of a court hearing.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
As Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Bands international tour rolls through Europe, The Boss was criticized by some fans for not canceling a show in Ferrara, Italy Thursday night, after deadly floods slammed the nearby Emilia-Romagna region.

As reported by The Guardian Thursday, Massimiliano Zampini tweeted: @springsteen please consider to reschedule your concert today. Surrounding areas have faced devastating floods. You should because: all emergency resources should be available in the affected area; we need to avoid massive traffic; out of respect for the victims.
A New Jersey hospital says a nurse broke protocol while treating a patient.

The nurses union says she may have saved the patients life through quick action.

Two months later, the fallout is still being felt at Clara Maass Medical Center.

The incident and its ripple effects have triggered a petition with dozens of signatures, multiple suspensions, the nurses termination and a protest in front of the Belleville hospital as the acrimony continues.

Nine nurses  including the employee eventually terminated  were suspended after trying to file a petition supporting the nurse and an ensuing altercation with a supervisor, according to Clara Maass.

Then on Tuesday, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the union representing the nurses, protested in front of the hospital over the suspensions, the termination and ongoing contract disputes.

The root incident occurred March 1 when a rapid response team nurse was treating a patient and administered an IV, according to the union. Its unclear which department the patient was in. The nurse, who 1199SEIU declined to identify, needed to stabilize the patients arm with a securement device to administer the IV, the union says.

But the hospital determined the nurses actions were an egregious breach of protocol, according to a statement from Clara Maass, part of the RWJBarnabas Health network.

In fact, the hospital said the nurse not only violated hospital protocols, it was also so egregious that it likely would have violated protocols of care at any hospital.

The petition sought reconsideration of the Hospitals decision to suspend the nurse for 2 weeks after she safely  and according to her (professional) judgment and specialized training  rendered critical care to one of the Hospitals patients who was in dire need of an IV line to enable the patient to receive medication, read a statement from 1199SEIU. The nurses care and diligence may have saved that patients life.

The incident and ensuing discipline were reviewed and sanctioned by the employees peers through a standard peer review process that the union was fully aware of and participated in, the hospital said in its statement.

Clara Maass declined to divulge further details, citing patient privacy issues and potential litigation.

On April 26, about a dozen nurses  including the nurse who had administered the IV  filed a petition against the hospital bearing the signatures of 170 health care workers over the disciplinary action.

But Clara Maass says another situation unfolded.

Other employees were disciplined after a large group of individuals, including nursing staff and an unauthorized non-employee representative, surrounded an experienced nursing director on a patient unit and in front of patient rooms to challenge the suspension of the individual involved in the original patient issue, a spokesperson for the hospital said in the statement. The manager felt so intimidated and threatened for their personal safety that the director filed a formal complaint.

Such behavior cannot and will not be tolerated and will be met with swift and decisive action.

The suspended nurses have since returned to work.

The nurse involved in the March incident was ultimately fired on May 15, the union says. The union filed federal unfair labor practice charges against Clara Maass, it says.

This is despite the nurse following all hospital procedures and acting to protect the safety of her patient and herself, the 1199SEIU statement said.

This week, hundreds of nurses gathered outside the hospital, protesting the suspensions, saying the incident resulted from an acute staffing shortage at the hospital.

Clara Maass said it is committed to working in good faith with their union through the collective bargaining process.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com.
Negotiations, which resulted in the unblocking of the grain deal and its work until July 18, have not yet been completed and continue taking into account the proposal of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to consider the possibility of improving and expanding the grain initiative on mutually beneficial terms for all parties, Yuriy Vaskov, Deputy Minister of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, has said.

"When there is a position of all parties on the acceptability of such a proposal, then this issue will be discussed, but only through the prism of Ukraine's interests. But now everything that is signed and concluded within the framework of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, we, for our part, are fulfilling in full," he said in a blitz interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

Vaskov noted that Ukrainian farmers need a predictable long-term period of its validity.

"Therefore, of course, we will proceed with the proposal to extend the term. But the primary task now is the effective operation of the deal already signed, and then we will offer things that meet the requirements of world trade," the deputy Minister of Restoration emphasized.

He clarified that Ukraine still adheres to the position that in the signed text of the agreement, the term of the agreement and its extensions is 120 days, unless another period is agreed.

"No other deadline was agreed in writing. In March, a deadline of 120 days was agreed and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN called the same deadline. The Russian Federation then announced an extension of 60 days, but these were just words that were not fixed in any way by all participants. Therefore, it is correct to interpret, that it was a statement by the Russian Federation that it would withdraw from the agreement in 60 days, and yesterday it stated that it would remain in the agreement," Vaskov explained.

He also noted that the grain agreement was extended without taking into account the requirements of Russia. Speaking about them, the Deputy Minister pointed out that such requirements as the work of the Russian Agricultural Bank, the lifting of EU sanctions for insuring ships with agricultural products and a ban on their entry into European ports, exemption from sanctions on spare parts for agricultural machinery manufactured by the EU and the USA and the removal of arrests from the assets of Russian agricultural producers - do not relate to Ukraine.

"And the resumption of the operation of the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline. This is a question of the Ukrainian ammonia pipeline, but in the text of the grain initiative we have nothing about the ammonia pipeline. There is about the export of ammonia available in the ports - yes, but not a single ship came for it. As for transit, there is not a word about the ammonia pipeline in the initiative," Vaskov added.

Answering a question about the possibility of expanding the initiative from agricultural cargo to others, the Deputy Minister of Restoration stressed that this is entirely in the interests of Ukraine.

"This is the right of Ukraine and the right of foreign shipowners - free commercial navigation. Of course, we, as Ukraine, are interested and will do everything to ensure that this right is realized. At present, I can't say anything more, except that we are certainly interested and will do it as soon as possible," he said.
Breathe easy, Hudson County. Youre not going to look like a ghost town any time soon.

A year after thousands of residents fled Hudson County during the coronavirus pandemic, the countys population quickly stabilized, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The county lost only 81 residents between July 2021 and July 2022, after more than 20,000 moved out between April 2020 and July 2021. The countys population was 703,366 as of last July.

Experts attributed the exodus to millennials fleeing the tight confines of the county for the open spaces of the suburbs during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those same experts now say that the population has stabilized because of newcomers, the lure of vacated units and a slowdown in departures.

One demographic moving to Hudson County in the post-pandemic world are affluent individuals from Manhattan and Brooklyn who find real estate prices in New Jersey less expensive than the Big Apple, experts say.

I think the biggest increase (in population) is people coming from New York, said Sawyer Smith, the founder of the real estate company Sawyer Smith Residential in Jersey City and Hoboken.

There are also newcomers such as people emigrating from overseas, and New Jersey residents looking to downsize and live in a live-work-play environment, said James W. Hughes, a professor at Rutgers Universitys Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.

Part of Hudson Countys future is linked to the health of the New York City economy, because thats a source of really high-paying jobs, he said. If New York City stays strong and housing production keeps at that very high level that it is, Hudson has a very bright future.

I just met a colleague who lived in a single-family in Highland Park and moved to a rental unit in Jersey City, Hughes said.

Out of the cities with a population of more than 50,000, only Jersey City and Bayonne saw increases to their populations between July 2021 and 2022. Jersey City in particular added about 2,000 residents between that time.

Cities such as Union City, Hoboken, and West New York, however, have continued to see their populations decline since the beginning of the pandemic. Union City lost the most residents between then and July 2022 at more than 2,000.

Experts say that Hudson County, and Jersey City in particular, has been experiencing a hot sellers market, where properties are scooped up by buyers just days after listing, sometimes for more than the asking price. The county leads the state in adding new housing units, which has also helped to counterbalance the departures, Hughes said.

Theres going to need to be some increasing development in order to satisfy the need for housing, said Sawyer, who called it a housing crisis in the county.
An arbitrator has ruled that Jersey City is not obliged to pay a group of union employees double-time for the duration of the COVID-19 state of emergency, a decision Mayor Steve Fulop says will save the city as much as $15 million.

But dont go spending that money just yet, says the Santo Dellamonica, president of Local 245, who represents roughly 400 workers in the Department of Public Works and other departments. He says his union, which won a protracted legal battle for overtime wages related to a 2018 winter storm state of emergency, plans to fight the arbitrators ruling.

The 34-page decision, released Thursday, said the the union  despite contract language that says its workers are to be paid double-time for all work hours during a state of emergency  failed to file a timely grievance (within 10 days of the incident), as clearly spelled out in the union contract.

A big win for Jersey City today in arbitration dismissing in its entirety Local 245s state of emergency grievance filed against the city for extra pay during COVID, Fulop said in a tweet. It was estimated that a loss in this case would have exposed (Jersey City) to (approximately) $15 million in additional payroll liability.

As a mayor, at this point I have 10 years of negotiating (with more than six) unions on so many issues. I pride myself on being fair as we fight for the taxpayers, but we also want a positive work environment with for our employees. Its one of the toughest parts of my jobs.

Jersey City argued before the state Public Employees Relations Commissioner that the union never filed a grievance, while the union said it alerted one of the city attorneys to the issue on Oct. 21, 2021, after the 2018 case was finally completed adjudicated, constituting notice to the city.

The union said the 10-day deadline to file a grievance is moot, citing a Supreme Court decision that said if a situation is ongoing, the deadline resets with each new occurrence.

The city also maintained that the stipulation for double-time pay during a state of emergency should be waived because frustration of purpose should relieve the city of its contractual obligation, citing a 2002 case in which the obligation of performance of duty may be relieved in the case of supervening circumstances.

Unlike the 2018 state of emergency, in which the union workers eventually were awarded a total of $106,000 in back pay, this COVID-19 state of emergency qualified as an extraordinary, supervening event, the city argued.

At the time the parties negotiated the language ... no one could have predicted a three-plus year state of emergency because of a global health pandemic, the city said in a brief.

In the decision, the arbitrator did not rule on the supervening event argument.

The city cant just stop paying us, Dellamonica said. Its in the contract. Well go to the next step. We are not giving up. I dont know what that is yet. I havent met with the attorneys yet.

Dellamonica noted that the 2018 case started with an arbitrator ruling against the union, only to have an appellate court overturn the decision. Jersey Citys appeal of that decision to the state Supreme Court was rejected.
A class-action lawsuit by a group of tenants at a Weehawken luxury apartment complex over security is moving forward after an appellate court panel affirmed an earlier ruling that the agreement to waive such suits was unenforceable.

The panel rejected the argument by Hamilton Coves owner, Hartz Mountain Industries, that the lawsuit, which stemmed from a claim made to prospective renters that there was around-the-clock security, should be dismissed because the tenants lease includes a clause that waive their right to file or take part in a class-action lawsuit against the property.

The lawsuit was brought by William Pace and Robert Walters on March 31, 2022, and it says Hamilton Coves advertising claim of providing elevated, 24/7 security at its three buildings was false. The suit was filed by the Costello and Mains law firm, and handled by Lauren Bess and Miriam S. Edelstein.

After moving into the 573-unit complex on the Hudson River waterfront, Pace and Walters found in June 2020 that the apartments security cameras were broken and that in at least one building, a front desk greeter/mailroom attendant was stationed at the front of the building just six hours a day on weekdays (11 a.m.-5 p.m.) and less time on weekends.

By February 2022, the front desk greeters weekday hours were extended to 9 p.m., with more consistent staffing on weekends, but the building never provided the 24/7 security as promised, the lawsuit said. In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Hamilton Cove argued that the tenants were allowed to file lawsuits individually, but in their lease agreements they waived any right to file or participate in class action.

In the 16-page appellate court ruling released Wednesday the panel said the waiver could not be enforced because the tenants had not been offered arbitration.

Considering our longstanding, fundamental public policy favoring class actions, we hold there is no societal interest in enforcing a class action waiver in a contract that does not contain a mandatory arbitration provision and conclude that the class action waivers in this case are unenforceable as a matter of law and public policy, the ruling said.

The lawsuit asks for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, the installation of working cameras and around-the-clock security as initially promised, and for the management to refrain from advertising amenities and services that are not delivered. In the event the 24/7 security and working security cameras are not in place at the time of the court order, the lawsuit ask for a reduction in rent to compensate tenants.
Robert Byrne, who presided over Jersey City City Hall meetings as city clerk for parts of five different decades, died Friday at the age of 63.

Anyone who dealt with Jersey City over the last 30 years would have encountered Robert Byrne, and every single one of them would have left with a positive and memorable experience, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop said. For me, I have countless examples as he embraced me when I was an outside councilman first elected and taught me about government. He swore me in at midnight when I was first elected mayor of Jersey City.

He was a self-designated counsel in my personal life as he lectured me countless times about the importance of family over politics, and he officiated my wedding at City Hall with Jaclyn. The most amazing thing is how close I felt to Robert, the same way thousands of people felt about him in Jersey City.

Byrne stepped down from his position in 2020, but continued to work part-time for the city, even in retirement. He got his start in the the city clerks office in 1982, under Mayor Jerry McCann, and became city clerk in 1989.

In an interview with The Jersey Journal prior to retiring in 2020, Byrne calculated that he had attended more than 1,700 evening council sessions, handled 150 election day results, and has signed over 50,000 marriage licenses during his 31 years.

If you ask any of the people who served on any of the city councils when Robert ran the show, youd hear the same thing  no one didnt like Robert Byrne, a gentle giant of a guy, said Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise, a longtime friend of Byrnes. He had an encyclopedic knowledge and memory of things that were Jersey City government. ... He was a prince of a guy.

His first year in charged featured a municipal election with 105 candidates on the ballot: 10 for mayor, 32 for council at large, and eight to 13 candidates in each of the six wards. Record-setting, Byrne said. He cobbled together seven computers from all over City Hall  this was 1989, remember  and had the election results by 9:30 p.m.

Robert is my mentor. He is more than a brother to me, current City Clerk Sean Gallagher said. He is the fairest guy I ever met in my life. Robert always answered questions giving a history of the answer. I tried to be a sponge during his tenure as clerk. I was his deputy for 18 years and learned so much from him.

Said longtime friend, Hudson County District 2 Commissioners Bill ODea: Robert was a great city clerk, a great dad, husband and human being. Robert and I were lifelong friends who grew up two blocks from each other. We were patrol boys and altar boys at Saint Josephs grammar school. If you look up integrity in the dictionary, you will find a photo of him there. He still called me William. not Bill because thats the name he remembered from grammar school.

Fulop said flags will be flown at half staff next week in Byrnes honor.

His passing is a massive loss to Jersey City as he embodied everything special about being born and raised in Jersey City, the mayor said. He loved Jersey City more than one could convey. Roberts legacy will be remembered here forever, and in a place that prides itself on historical bigger-than-life government officials, Robert will join the ranks of the most significant in Jersey City history.
Gavin DeGraw is heading out on a summer tour beginning in June

DeGraw will begin his summer tour on June 23 in Clearwater, Florida and it will wrap up on Aug. 25 in Madison, Wisconsin.

The summer tour will be in support of his Face The River album.

Tickets for Gavin DeGraws summer tour dates can be bought on Ticketmaster.

Fans also can look for tickets on secondary market websites such as StubHub, Vivid Seats, TicketCity and TicketNetwork.

First-time Vivid Seats users can save $20 on ticket orders over $200 by entering promo code NJ20 at checkout.

A complete list of Gavin DeGraws tour dates is available here.

Upcoming tours in 2023

Gavin DeGraw is not the only artist going out on tour in the next few months.

Here are a few more upcoming tours you wont want to miss.

RELATED STORIES ABOUT LIVE EVENTS:

Aerosmith farewell tour 2023: Dates, schedule, ticket info for The Peace Out Tour

Taylor Swift tour 2023: Full schedule, dates, where to buy tickets

The biggest heavy metal and rock music tours in 2023: Concerts, festivals, dates, tickets, venues

Stevie Nicks tour 2023: How to buy tickets for extended tour dates

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Nicole Iuzzolino can be reached at niuzzolino@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips.
A now 18-year-old woman injured when she was struck by a vehicle in East Brunswick nearly five years ago has settled her civil lawsuit against the driver and the cars owner for $2 million, her attorney said.

Melanie Morales was 14 when she was she was sitting on a curb on Prigmore Street with two friends after school on May 25, 2018, according to one of her attorneys  Michael Heck of Epstein Ostrove.

The driver of the vehicle which hit Morales was traveling on Arthur Street when she turned right onto Prigmore Street, Heck said. The rear passenger wheel then hit a curb and when the driver tried to overcorrect, the car veered across the road and struck Morales, the attorney said.

Morales rolled back to try to avoid being struck but suffered an injury to her cervical spine. She decided against surgery due to her age, Heck said.

She later developed an acute stress reaction which led to post-traumatic stress disorder. Her condition has improved due to therapy, according to Heck.

Morales, an East Brunswick resident, also suffered a laceration on her left thigh as she dropped a ceramic pot she had been holding from a school project.

The settlement was reached April 14 before the case went to trial during a conference with a judge. Morales was also represented by Daniel Epstein of the Edison-based law firm. The defendants in the suit were the driver and the drivers father, the listed owner of the vehicle. The driver was not charged following the crash, Heck said.

An attorney representing the driver confirmed the $2 million settlement and declined to comment further.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
Bulldozers arrived on the beach in Asbury Park on Thursday, apparently to begin clearing a path around the Casino breezeway, which was shut down last week following an inspection that revealed structural deficiencies in the rickety old boardwalk icon.

A crew began pushing sand on Thursday morning to flatten out a path that may allow boardwalk strollers to bypass the fenced-off Casino breezeway. The shutdown effectively sealed off the southern end of the boardwalk, blocking the passthrough to Ocean Grove.

Tom De Seno, a local lawyer from Asbury Park, took pictures as the bulldozers and backhoes went to work just past the footprint of where the building that housed the Casino ice rink used to be. That building was demolished in 2006.

Madison Marquette, which owns all the buildings on the boardwalk, did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Thursday. But the Asbury Park City Manager Donna Viero said the city wants Madison Marquette to use the beach as a walk-around to keep the foot traffic moving.

We have been talking to them about using the beach, Viero said.

Bulldozers started pushing sand to create a beachfront walkway that would bypass the boardwalk at the recently-shuttered Casino in Asbury Park. iCourtesy of Tom DeSeno

The company did not say what the structural deficiencies were, but did say the closure was temporary when it shut the building on May 8.

Right now, the nearest detour for people on the boardwalk are the the two footbridges over Wesley Lake. But Ocean Grove locks those footbridges between midnight and 5 a.m., and despite a recent letter from Asbury Park mayor John Moor to open them, the Neptune Township Commission, which oversees Ocean Grove, decided to keep them shut.

Asbury Park did reach out to us by way of a letter from the mayor, which I gave to the township committee, said Gina LaPlaca, the Neptune Township business administrator. But at the moment there is no interest in changing the policy.

With the Memorial Day weekend fast approaching, Asbury Park has been asking Madison Marquette to build a new boardwalk connection. Earlier this week, rumors began flying around online that Madison Marquette planned to knock down the decrepit Casino within a matter of days, but those rumors proved to be unfounded.

In order to knock down the Casino, Madison Marquette would need permission from the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection and the City of Asbury Park.

No application for demolition has been filed, Viero said. The only thing we are talking about with Madison Marquette is how to get around the Casino breezeway.

Built in 1929, whats left of the Casino forms the southern bookend of the Asbury Park boardwalk, with Convention Hall at the other end. Earlier this year, the City of Asbury Park filed a notice of default against Madison Marquette for failing to maintain the Casino and Convention Hall.

According to a published report, the company has put together a $130 million boardwalk restoration plan that includes a 3,500-seat amphitheater on the beach at the Casino. But the company has yet to make a formal announcement of the plan.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Richard Cowen may be reached at rcowen@njadvancemedia.com.
A minor earthquake early Friday rattled parts of New York and northern New Jersey, where some residents reported they were awakened by the rumbling.

The 2.2 magnitude quake, which occurred about 1:50 a.m., was centered about 10 miles from New York City in Hastings-on-Hudson in Westchester County, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake could also be felt in parts of Connecticut, according to news reports.

There were no initial reports of injuries or damages to structures in the New York metropolitan area.

Some residents took to social media early Friday to describe the tremor. One man tweeted the noise sounded like an explosion.

While earthquakes are rare, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in 2011 caused millions in structural damage to buildings in Washington, D.C., Maryland and in Virginia, where it was centered. Experts say earthquakes below 2.0 on the Richter scale are rarely felt.

The New York earthquake occurred about the same time as a significantly stronger 7.7 magnitude earthquake resulted in a small tsunami in the Pacific Ocean, according to the USGS.

The earthquake struck Westchester County about 1:50 a.m. on Friday and could be felt in parts of North Jersey.USGS

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
An impasse this month over where to bring offshore wind power cables onshore has ended up in state Superior Court.

The Ocean Wind LLC project is the first of several wind farms approved by the state to lead an effort to get up to half of New Jerseys energy production from non-fossil fuels by 2035 and all of it by 2050.

The state Board of Public Utilities has approved a plan to bring the cables ashore at the 35th Street beach in Ocean City, Cape May County  a pristine setting with a view that looks like an infinite horizon into the Atlantic Ocean.
A man who was upset because he could not park in front of a school in Paterson on Tuesday took out his frustration on a school security officer by shooting at him, according to police.

The officer fired back six times, striking the mans car and two other vehicles parked nearby, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in the case.

Robert Carroll, 56, was later identified as the alleged shooter and charged with attempted murder and two weapons offenses, investigators said.
Laman Ismayilova

Newly appointed director of the International Mugham Center Honored Artist Sahib Pashazade has been introduced to his team.

According to Azernews, Deputy Culture Minister, People's Artist Murad Huseynov congratulated Sahib Pashazade on his appointment and spoke about the attention and care of the state to mugham art.

In his speech, Advisor to the Culture Minister. Honored Art Worker Jahangir Selimkhanov spoke about Sahib Pashazade's worthy presentation of the Azerbaijani performing arts worldwide.

Sahib Pashazada successfully tours many countries like Turkiye, Morocco, China, Lithuania, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, Canada, Japan, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Greece, Georgia, Kazakhstan, etc.

In 2011, Sahib Pashazada was awarded with the title of Honored Artist of Azerbaijan. He is an associate professor of the Azerbaijan National Conservatory.He is the first Azerbaijani musician, who has been awarded a medal for high performing skills during a concert program dedicated to the International Day of Peace.

Sahib Pashazade thanked for the trust, emphasizing that the team of the International Mugham Center is dear to his heart. The tar musician have apperead on the center's many times. He took part numerous concert programs and musical projects.

Sahib Pashazade promised to continue his fruitful activity as a director of the center.

The International Mugham Center is constantly expanding its activities, organizing numerous international projects, concert programs, seminars, and conferences aimed at promoting mugham art.

Over the past years, the Mugham Center has also successfully implemented multiple cultural projects aimed at promoting national music: "Evenings of ashug music", "Treasury of Secrets", "Unforgettable", and "Pearls of ethnic music", etc.

The long-standing cooperative relations between the Mugham Centre and international partners are a solid basis for expanding the scope of international cultural ties.

For several years, the International Mugham Centre has successfully cooperated with Hungary.

For the first time, the sides expressed their readiness for cooperation when the International Mugham Center and the Hungarian Cultural Heritage signed a memorandum on cultural cooperation.

The memorandum contributes to the expansion of cultural ties between the countries and the promotion of mugham art and Azerbaijani music.

A memorandum of cooperation signed between the International Mugham Centre and the Japanese Embassy in Azerbaijan is another step in expanding international ties.

The center also takes important steps toward bolstering cultural cooperation with Turkiye, Poland, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Morocco, and other countries.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the Day of Embroidery to remember those who are fighting for Ukraine.

Today, many Ukrainians wore vyshyvankas. It's important to remember the richness that unites us all. Ukraine is diverse, and this is our strength, and it was evident throughout the day in the different patterns of embroidery. But now I ask you all to remember those Ukrainians who are literally our strength and our defense. Many of our people were not wearing vyshyvankas because they were in military uniforms, he said in his video address.

I ask you now to remember everyone who is fighting for Ukraine. All those who are on combat missions and at combat posts for the sake of Ukraine. All those who train our soldiers for the sake of Ukraine. Those whom you know personally, those whom you have heard about, and thousands and thousands of others who are equally protecting the life of Ukraine. Please remember them now and thank them, the president said.

He also urged not to forget about those of our people who are being held in captivity by the occupier. About captured Ukrainians, about those repressed in the occupied territories. About those who are in the occupied cities and communities and are waiting for the return of our flag and our state. We must liberate all our people and all our land from Russian captivity, Zelenskyy said.
Advocates worry that the recent public deaths of Banko Brown and Jordan Neely will only exacerbate the compassion fatigue harming homeless communities as more cities enact criminalization efforts.

Loosely, compassion fatigue is defined as the frequent exposure to traumatic stories or events that gradually make people numb to them. Most Americans might relate to it in their responses to mass casualty events.

In the cases of Brown and Neely, two unhoused individuals struggling in some of the countrys largest metropolitan areas, support systems failed them.

30-year-old Neely died earlier this month after he boarded an F train in Manhattan. Nearby witnesses heard him shouting about being hungry and thirsty, adding that he didnt care if he died. At a later point, 24-year-old ex-Marine Daniel Penny placed Neely in a chokehold, a move that ultimately resulted in the end of Neelys life.

Attorneys for Penny previously stated that their client never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.

Based on media reports, passengers didnt attempt to physically stop Penny. Life-saving measures were administered to Neely once police arrived, but it was too late. He was pronounced dead on May 1.

In April, 24-year-old Banko Brown, a transgender Black man, was suspected of shoplifting at a Walgreens downtown when security guard Michael Anthony confronted them.

Anthony repeatedly punched Brown in the face in an attempt to stop him from taking the items, believed to be snacks. Brown got up, grabbed the bag and proceeded to leave the pharmacy. Thats when Anthony pulled out his gun and shot him. The incident was caught on security footage.

Speaking to The San Francisco Standard earlier this month, Anthony said the following about the incident: Im still dealing with it, still dont understand and dont have time to reflect, he stated.

Its not like I go through this many times. This is a life-changing matter.

Donald Whitehead, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, fears that incidents like these will dehumanize unhoused people.

As an example, he pointed to Daniel Pennys ability to raise over $2 million for his defense fund. In comparison, a GoFundMe page for Neelys funeral garnered under $200,000.

Theres more compassion for the individual that killed this young man, Whitehead said.

In some parts of the country, officials have made homelessness a crime. Whitehead estimates that over 168 cities have instituted criminalization practices.

Last year, Tennessee created a law making it a felony offense to sleep on public land. Missouri enacted a similar bill in January forbidding people experiencing homelessness to camp on state-owned land, making it a misdemeanor offense if caught doing so.

Whats more, both Portland and Los Angeles recently passed tent-living bans in some capacity.

We have seen a lot more cities that we would consider progressive cities more toward criminalization, Whitehead continued. In my opinion, that move is directly related to compassion fatigue.

Paul Boden, executive director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project, has been working in advocacy spaces for about 40 years. In all his experience, he said that compassion for homeless communities has never been so obsolete.

Its like, were going to make these guys disappear. And were not going to bullshit about it, he said. And I dont care where they go. I dont care whether theyre able to hang on to their belongings. I dont care about any of that anymore.

Boden, who works in the Bay Area, is worried that officials there will move toward criminalization in the wake of Browns death.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced earlier this week that she would not pursue charges against Anthony, the security guard.

Still, he added, I dont think this is a catalyst. I would hope and I can see and hear its galvanizing those that find this egregious, he said. And hopefully not just temporarily.

After the deaths of Brown and Neely, protestors took to the streets.

In Manhattan, multiple people were arrested during demonstrations. In San Francisco, activists took over Market Street and demonstrated outside of Jenkins office, unafraid to voice their anger over the citys handling of Browns death.
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.
Yaacob Fikre, a computer science student, gets a box of Narcan from a vending machine at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, on May 9, 2023. The Narcan vending machine is free and no student ID is needed. Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group/TNS
Zelenskyy on Day of Remembrance of victims of deportation of Crimean Tatar people: Crimeas issues to be brought to new intl level

On Thursday, May 18, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the office of the Crimea Platform and met with leader of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Dzhemilev, representatives of the Mejlis and the Crimean Tatar community.

Today and every year on this day, May 18, we honor the memory of all the victims of the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people. It was one of the most serious crimes of the twentieth century - the entire nation was forcibly removed from its native land and forced to live in a foreign land for decades. And when the people returned home, Russia once again brought its evil to their home, to our Ukraine - the evil of aggression, repression, and humiliation. It is our historical task to restore justice to all our people, to guarantee freedom for our entire country without any exceptions. The task of all those who defend the state, all those who chose Ukraine and, therefore, will win, Zelenskyy said, the press service of the head of state reports.

He also noted that the Crimea Platform effectively directs the overall strength of the entire Ukrainian state and the Crimean Tatar people.

I am glad to know that our joint work with the Mejlis brings the result Ukraine needs, the president stressed.

By the way, we are preparing some very important joint steps for the near future. We are bringing the issue of Crimea, Crimean prisoners and all our people in Crimea to a new international level, he added.
The Louisiana House labor committee on May 18 narrowly advanced a bill 6-5 aimed at protecting people using medical marijuana legally from being disqualified from unemployment compensation.

House Bill 351 by Rep. Mandie Landry, a New Orleans Democrat, originally said that a person who receives a recommendation from an authorized clinician to use marijuana for a therapeutic use shall not be disqualified from unemployment benefits or filing a workers compensation claim.

But the committee amended the bill to remove the workers compensation piece after hearing concerns from Wayne Fontana of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, a powerful lobbying group in the state, about how it would affect incidents where an employee does show up to work intoxicated.

Landry said that under the bill an employee who showed up to work high would still not be eligible for employment compensation, adding that she found it extremely insulting that LABI would insinuate otherwise, which she said they also did in a previous email.

Just to make it clear, I was not trying to pass a law that says you can be stoned at work because that's crazy, Landry said.

Rep. Kenny Cox, a Natchitoches Democrat, offered the amendment in hopes of helping the bill pass. Cox, a veteran, said he thought the bill would help veterans, many of whom use medical cannabis and many of whom experience housing and job insecurity.

Don't drive my guys back under the bridge, he told Fontana.

Landry promised the committee that she would work with LABI, Rep. Larry Frieman, an Abita Springs Republican and workers compensation lawyer on the committee, and other opponents on the bill before the full House votes on it.

Rep. Laurie Schlegel, a Metairie Republican, said she was only voting for the bill on that promise. Schlegel and Rep. Neil Riser of Columbia were the only two Republicans to vote for the measure, and it likely faces an uphill battle in the House.

Since medical cannabis is still illegal under federal law  despite most states legalizing it  doctors can only recommend, not prescribe it.

The committee killed another bill, this time along a party line vote that would have made it illegal for employers to ask about a candidates wage or benefits history during the hiring process.

And after facing resistance from some committee members and LABI, Rep. Ed Larvadain, an Alexandria Democrat, pulled a bill he was handling for New Orleans Democrat Aimee Adatto Freeman that would have created a statewide paid family and medical leave program in Louisiana.

Currently, federal law is that employers must provide workers with at least 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for the care of a newborn, care of a new foster care placement or adoption, for serious health conditions or to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, in addition to provisions for family of active-duty military.

House Bill 596 would have changed that to 12 weeks of partial paid leave tied to the states average weekly wage rate. Those making less than half of that average rate would receive almost all of their wages (90%). Those making more than half of that rate would receive that average rate.

Employers would have paid 45% of the cost of the benefit, while employees would have paid 55%. For example, that means a worker earning $50,000 a year would have contributed $230 a year, while their employer would chip in $200.

The state would have paid the employers portion for any employer with less than 25 people. The bill would have cost nearly $33 million a year, according to an analysis.

The committee heard from both small business owners, cancer patients and advocacy groups in support of the bill.

Maggie Pullen, who owns a one-woman consulting business in the New Orleans area, said she had a surgery for breast cancer in 2018 and couldnt afford to take off work the six to eight weeks her doctor recommended. She said she wound up going back to work two and a half weeks after her surgery

It had long term implications for my well-being, and it was incredibly exhausting, Pullen said.

Stacy Roussel of the Louisiana Budget Project read a statement from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that said 40% of working cancer survivors had to make significant changes to their employment status because of their illness, including switching to part-time status or retiring early. The society said that number was higher for women and people of color.

Cancer patients in Louisiana need access to paid family and medical leave, so they don't have to choose between treating their cancer or keeping their job, Roussel read.

But once LABI came out against the bill, Larvadain said they were at an impasse with the business lobbying group and would work with them on a solution to try to bring back the bill next year.
The Venture Global LNG Calcasieu Pass terminal. Venture Global is asking the state to greenlight increases of its annual emissions and flaring limits at the LNG facility, according to records filed with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.(Photo by Sophia Germer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
On Friday night, the occupiers attacked Kyiv with shock drones Shahed, all of them were shot down by air defense forces, there is no information about the victims and destruction, said head of Kyiv City Military Administration Serhiy Popko.

"The tenth air attack on the capital in 19 days of May! With an interval between the latter  less than a day. Such is the intensity of the enemy's 'air fire in Kyiv in May. The latest air raid siren in the capital is connected with the use of UAVs by the aggressor. According to preliminary data, the ruscists have again launched Shahed ammunition in the capital. According to the tactical review, it was an attack in several waves, with short intervals between attacks. With such tactics, the Kremlin evil is trying to exhaust our air defense, as well as psychologically influence the civilian population. They won't wait! All detected air targets moving in the direction of Kyiv were destroyed by the forces and means of our air defense. Strikes on Kyiv were prevented! Thanks to the defenders of the sky for the excellent work! Operational data is updated and detailed. Stay tuned for new messages," Popko informed on the Telegram channel of Kyiv City Military Administration.
+2 Suspect in New Orleans Uber driver's stabbing death indicted with murder The man accused of stabbing his Uber driver to death in Harvey after authorities say he awoke that day determined to kill someone, was indicte

Jacobs is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 54-year-old Yolanda Dillion, a budget analyst for the New Orleans Police Department who worked as a ride-share driver for Uber to make ends meet, relatives said.

Jacobs was a Microsoft software developer who had been living in Seattle. But he was on disability leave from work and had come to Harvey where he had family ties a few weeks before the Dec. 8 homicide, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

He was staying at the Travelodge on the West Bank Expressway when investigators said he decided one morning that he was going to kill someone.

After researching knives online, Jacobs ordered an Uber to take him to a knife store in New Orleans, according to the Sheriff's Office. Jacobs bought two knives and then ordered another Uber to drive him back to the Travelodge. Dillion accepted the fare, authorities said.
Faimon Roberts III covers rural communities in Louisiana. His work is supported by a reporting grant from the Microsoft Journalism Initiative and is administered by the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

He can be reached at froberts@theadvocate.com.
Marlon Brando convinced actor and then photographer Dennis Hopper to go to Selma to document what was going on during the third 1965 march. Brando is pictured here with Charlton Heston (left) with James Baldwin, and Harry Belafonte at the Civil Rights March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom 1963. Sidney Poitier is in the background.(By U.S. Information Agency. Press and Publications Service. (ca. 1953 - ca. 1978) (NARA - ARC Identifier: 542051 [1]) via Wikimedia Commons)
The G7 leaders intend to continue to support Ukraine in the economic and security spheres, according to a statement released on Friday.

We stress the importance of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in coordinating military and defense assistance, the statement reads.

It is noted that the leaders intend to continue to provide security assistance to Ukraine while it defends its territory.

The statement also notes the need to continue providing economic assistance to Ukraine. The G7 leaders said they intend to continue supporting Ukraine's efforts to restore vital infrastructure facilities.

The leaders welcomed the fight of the Ukrainian authorities against corruption and urge them to continue working in this direction.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Saudi Arabia, where he will take part in the Arab League summit.

"I have arrived in Saudi Arabia. I will speak at the Arab League summit. I am to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud and hold other bilateral talks," he wrote on the Telegram channel on Friday.

"Our priorities are the return of all political prisoners of Crimea and the temporarily occupied territories, the return of all prisoners and illegally deported, the presentation of our Peace Formula, to the implementation of which it is necessary to involve as many states as possible, ensuring energy security next winter," the President said.

Another priority is the "protection of the Muslim community of Ukraine". "Mustafa Dzhemilev, the leader of the Crimean Tatar people, is with us. Crimea was the first to suffer from the Russian occupation, and most of those who are subjected to repression in the occupied Crimea are Muslims," Zelenskyy also wrote.
The Russian occupiers are trying to regain the lost kilometers around Bakhmut, but the Ukrainian military repels the attacks, the enemy has not captured the town, said Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Maliar.

"Yesterday and today we observe that the enemy is trying to regain the lost kilometers. But they fail, our military repel all attacks. As for Bakhmut itself, most of the fighting is now going on in the south-western part, but we control this part as of now," Maliar said on the air of the national telethon on Friday.

The Deputy Minister stressed that the enemy's attacks continue, the Ukrainian forces are fighting back. Maliar added that the fighting in Bakhmut direction continues.

Speaking about the advance of the occupiers in the town, she said that "there is some progress." At the same time, the Defense Ministry denied information in Russian social networks about the alleged capture of Bakhmut by the occupiers.

"At the same time, this is the style of Russians - they always have an informational false start. They give wishful thinking and announce earlier the goals they want to achieve. But it often turns out that they do not reach them. Yesterday-the day before yesterday they claimed on social networks that they already control Bakhmut, this is not true," she said.

In addition, Maliar noted that the occupiers are trying to capture Maryinka and Avdiyivka, and the same fierce fighting continues there.
The team of the International Criminal Court (ICC), together with Ukrainian prosecutors, examined about 10 places in Kherson where war crimes of the Russian Federation were recorded, the Prosecutor Generals Office (PGO) reports.

"The ICC team led by Brenda Hollis and accompanied by prosecutors from the Prosecutor General's Office and Kherson regional prosecutor's office inspected Kherson," the PGO said on the Telegram channel on Friday.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, during the visit, the ICC specialists saw about 10 places where signs of war crimes against the civilian population were recorded, including torture and murder in places of illegal detention, indiscriminate shelling of crowded places, medical institutions, apartment buildings.

"The evidence collected during the visit can be very important for proving international crimes in Ukraine. Everyone guilty of these crimes should be brought to justice, including senior officials," the Prosecutor General's Office said.
You are clearly a super-user of NUVO.net. Thats a good thing. It means you depend on independent and local news sources to keep you informed. You are a smart person.



Coincidentally, independent and local news sources depend on you too. Youve read 25 articles this month and now, wed like you to be join our mission and become a NUVO Supporter. For as little as $4 a month, you can keep us alive and fighting -- and can have unlimited access to the independent news that cant be found anywhere else.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

VALPARAISO  Retired U.S. Army Col. Christopher Kennedy gave new military recruits from across Northwest Indiana a glimpse of what to expect, based on his experiences, and advice on how to have a successful career.

Kennedy spoke Wednesday at the annual Our Community Salutes the Recruits banquet sponsored by Kiwanis and Rotary clubs in Porter and LaPorte counties.

When I enlisted 33 years ago, there was none of this, he said.

America has changed in the 50 years since the Army became an all-volunteer force: We are having problems recruiting the number of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines we need to fill the force. When youre a veteran, youre providing an example for the next generation.

However, there are fewer veterans now. Only 7% of living Americans served the military in some capacity, he said, and only 0.04% are in the armed forces.

Its a huge responsibility, he told the recruits, but hes glad he enlisted.

Whether you serve for three years or 30 years, youre going to be better off for the experience you get.

Induction and basic training will be hard, he warned them: Theyre going to poke, prod and measure you and mold you.

The military is not a spectator sport. You need to get in the ring and compete.

Kennedy was named outstanding soldier of the cycle during basic training, the first in a long string of awards he received.

Everything is a competition, whether youre competing against yourself or competing against our peers, he said.

Kennedy rose through the ranks, ending his career as director of the Strategic Initiatives Group at the Pentagon.

You may deploy, he told the recruits. Its not as likely as when I was training because U.S. troops are no longer in combat roles in Iraq and Afghanistan.

What they can expect is to build long-lasting friendships. Even if youre in for a short time, you can build those special relationships with someone as a mentor.

As my career fades away, yours is just starting. Thats what I joined the Army for, to lead soldiers in war.

Kennedy advised the recruits to focus on discipline, hard work, faith and perseverance. With those, they will develop the luck theyll need.

It does take a true hero to fight for the safety of strangers, said event organizer John Bowker of the Valparaiso Noon Kiwanis Club.

The Kiwanis and Rotary clubs partnered with the Our Community Salutes organization, which does the same kind of recognition the local service clubs were already doing for military recruits. The national nonprofit helps supply speakers for the local events.

Were the only one of these events in 300 miles from here, he said.

Army Reserves recruit Richard Walker of South Bend was impressed with the event. It was better than I thought it would be, he said.

Walker enlisted mostly because he needed a way to pay for college, he said. He chose the Army because his father served in the 101st Airborne.

Dylan Glickauf of Valparaiso enlisted in the Marines so I can be half the man of the people who serve, he said.

Lily Churchill of Valparaiso also joined the Marines. It has a greater degree of physical excellence, and it pushes me to my limits, and it pushes me past them, she said.

Churchill said she once weighed 216 pounds but was in the process of losing weight when she asked a recruiter for advice. Keep pushing, the recruiter told her. Never give up.

She appreciated the recognition the banquet provided: They just assume youre going to college.

Photos: NWI clubs salute military recruits
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Franciscan Health and Geminus Regional Health Systems are offering free car seats to new parents at an upcoming car seat safety clinic.

The free car seat safety clinic will take place from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. May 30 at the Franciscan Health Michigan City legacy campus at 301 W. Homer St.

Indiana residents who qualify can get free car seats funded by a Geminus Regional Health Systems grant. A certified technician will install them in vehicles as long as supplies last.

Parents or other caregivers must bring their children to the care safety clinic so that the technicians can ensure a proper fit.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration encourages all parents or drivers who have young children in the car to have a certified technician check their car seats. It warns that car crashes are a leading cause of death for children between 1 and 13 years old.

About 42% of children killed in car accidents in 2020 were unrestrained, according to the federal agency. Car seats saved about 325 children's lives per year. But an estimated 46% of children are not restrained correctly in car seats, putting them at risk.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration advises keeping children in car seats as long as possible and in the back seat until at least age 12.

Reservations to the car seat clinic are required.

To schedule an appointment and find out if one is qualified for a free car seat, call 219-488-1380.
The Class UFC Gym in Winfield will have a grand opening Saturday with top welterweight UFC title contender Belal Muhammad.

Muhammad, a Chicago-based fighter with a 23-3 record in the mixed martial arts, will do a meet-and-greet and teach a class at the grand opening, which will take place from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the gym at 10660 Randolph St. in Winfield.

The high-end gym focuses on classes, specializing in boutique boxing conditioning, kickboxing and HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training. Manager Hannah Elliott said it's more akin to an Orange Theory than the boxing or mixed martial arts gym one might expect from the name.

"We use Myzone Fit Metrics, which track your workout and connect you to an app," she said. "It's like Orange Theory where they track you the same way and you burn the most calories and sweat the most when you're in the orange."

The owners also own the Class UFC Gym on Calumet Avenue in Munster. There also was an unaffiliated UFC Gym in Merrillville that closed.

"We are an affiliated class-based gym that's mostly focused on conditioning," she said. "There's also sparring. We hold classes for boxing, kickboxing and high interval cardio and strength classes. We have circuit training and one-on-one time with coaches."

Most classes run 60 minutes per session. People can get coached by active MMA fighters or trainers who help them reach their fitness goals, whether getting in shape, losing weight or recovering.

Classes run from 5:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays.

Class UFC Gym also has open gym times between 12 and 4 p.m. during the week. People can come in and work out outside of classes, such as by punching a heavy bag, rowing, cycling, lifting weights or practicing fundamentals. It has classes like Muay Thai, cycling and a coach's choice day on the weekend.

"You can get a day pass to come in and learn techniques and fundamentals," she said. "Our coaches will push you. There's no downtime. They push you hard and you feel accomplished. It's a good workout you feel for days. It will help you get in shape again. We focus on conditioning and fundamentals."

The grand opening event will have a taco truck, an ice cream vendor, a bounce house, a bakery, an artisan jewelry maker and fitness clothing for sale. It will feature a motorcycle club, balloon animals, Jersey Mike's and Muse Med Spa.

People will be able to buy sparring gloves and have Muhammad sign them. There will be discounted memberships and giveaways.

"It's an open house where people can come in to see how we operate," she said. "The facility itself is impressive and high-end. It will be an amazing experience."

Class UFC Gym offers monthly membership and multi-class passes. It gives discounts to teachers, first responders and veterans.

For more information, call 219-252-9812 or visit www.classufcgym.com/locations/winfield/.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

GARY  City departments are gearing up for another summer youth employment program.

Mayor Jerome Prince's administration revived the summer job training initiative last year, with $1.5 million of the city's American Rescue Plan Act funding. Last summer, 100 teens participated in the paid internship program.

Atiya Muhammad, director of the city's Youth Services Bureau, said participants will apprentice with several organizations, including the Gary Housing Authority, the Gary Public Library and the Gary Sanitation Department. They also will participate in interactive workshops, tours and field trips.

The goal of the seven-week program is to expose young people to potential career paths and employers.

The program is open to Gary residents who are 14 to 21 years old; interns will be paid $10 to $15 an hour.

In an email to the Times, Muhammad said the city hopes to have 150 participants. The application period closes May 31; the program will run from June 12 to July 28.

Apply at gary.gov/parks/about-us/youth-services-bureau. For more information, call Gary Human Resources, 219-881-1346.

PHOTOS: News conference for Tolleston Opportunity Hub Tolleston Opportunity Hub Tolleston Opportunity Hub Tolleston Opportunity Hub Tolleston Opportunity Hub Tolleston Opportunity Hub Tolleston Opportunity Hub Tolleston Opportunity Hub Tolleston Opportunity Hub Tolleston Opportunity Hub
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking on Friday at the Arab League summit, called on its participants to expand their joint experience and actions in releasing Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars from Russian prisons.

"We have a positive experience with Saudi Arabia regarding the release of our people captured by Russia. We can expand this experience. Even if there are people here at the summit who have a different view on our land and call war by 'conflict,' I believe that we can be united in saving our people from the cages of Russian prisons," he said.

The head of state also appealed to the leaders of the Arab countries with calls to help protect the Ukrainian-Muslim community suffering from Russian aggression in Ukraine.

"For centuries, the Crimean Tatars have been and will remain an integral part of the Muslim world. But they were the first to suffer from the Russian occupation. Most of them are victims of repression in the occupied territory of Crimea," the president said.

"I believe that your nation will understand the call that we want to leave here in Jeddah. A noble call to all of you: help protect our people, including the Ukrainian Muslim community," he said.
When asked if he thought the girl was making up the allegations, Kevin Herbert responded, "It certainly as hell does not sound like she is making things up," police said.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

You gave me fortune, you gave me fame. You gave me power in your god's name. I'm every person you need to be. I'm the cult of personality.  Living Colour

My dictionary defines cult as a group of people led by a charismatic, self-appointed leader who excessively controls its members, requiring unwavering devotion to a set of beliefs and practices that are considered deviant with repeated lies.

Sound familiar? It should. Our species has a history of cult leaders whove attracted radically devout followings despite obvious red flags to observers. Cult leaders fascinate me. Not for who they are but for who they attract, and why.

The first cult leader I wrote about was the Rev. Fred Phelps, who didnt hide his agenda when I talked with him in 1997.

I hate gays and so should you, Phelps told me flatly.

The infamous God Hates Fags pastor from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, was preparing for his churchs first protest in Northwest Indiana. They were planning to demonstrate against a gay-themed poster in Chesterton High School.

Its a disgrace that in the heart of America, the gay element is trying to take hold of the political power points, said Phelps, who had preached against homosexuality since he was ordained at 17.

It was no coincidence that he commonly referenced politics in his public preaching. The cults of politics, religion and personality have comprised a Bermuda Triangle of diabolical devotion for eons. These elements go together like fear, anger and blind faith.

This is our calling, Phelps told me before his churchs protest at Valparaiso University.

The groups Christian-by-name-only protesters  who I believe are truly delusional  arrived at the schools campus to preach that gay people are condemned to hell. The Bible preaches hate, they insisted. They were as serious as Scripture.

I'm proud of my grandfather, and I don't like gays either," 8-year-old Joseph Phelps told me that day.

He stood outside a school building with his aunt, Abigail Phelps, Freds daughter. They traveled to Northwest Indiana to stand in the midst of a snowstorm, and public opposition, to proudly hold up a No Special Laws For Fags sign.

The boy had been joining these kind of protests for four years, half of his life, his mother told me. I know adults whove spent half of their life blindly, yet faithfully, following cult leaders like puppies following their owners. As I said, Im fascinated.

I exploit you, still you love me. I tell you, one and one makes three. Oh, I'm the cult of personality.

For years Ive been captivated by an old black-and-white photo of Adolf Hitler as he spoke to a group of visibly mesmerized supporters. The undated photo is one of 1,300 images digitized from glass photo negatives by the National Archives.

There are thousands of photos depicting Hitler from his youth to the peak of his power during World War II. But this particular photo is captivating because of the other people surrounding Hitler. They hung on his every word.

Ive studied their faces. Especially their eyes. They were visibly excited to be in Hitlers presence for that moment. They recognized that they were intimately close to what they felt was true greatness. In hindsight, they were spellbound by true evil.

This is another telltale sign of cult leaders who, historically, are megalomaniacal madmen in positions of immense power. They have the ability to attract and convert gullible, sycophantic, lemming-like followers.

In that old photo, Hitlers followers appear as if theyre staring into the eyes of Jesus Christ or Mahatma Gandhi or Mother Teresa. They didnt care that they were obviously posing on the wrong side of history. They looked like they were honored to be there. And they were more than willing to believe every lie Hitler told them.

I sell the things you need to be. I'm the smiling face on your TV. Oh, I'm the cult of personality.

Cult leaders depend on lies the way political leaders depend on votes. Fortunately for them, lies travel faster and linger longer than facts.

As the satirist Jonathan Swift wrote in the early 1700s, Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it. By the early 20th century, the humorist Mark Twain was commonly credited with saying A lie will fly around the whole world while the truth is getting its boots on.

Another century after that, social media helps lies fly around the world while truth is getting its boots on. A study published in the journal Science revealed that false rumors on Twitter travel six times faster than the truth, and those tweets also reach more people. This was especially true for stories about politics, according to researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

No matter how you slice it, falsity wins out, the studys co-author, Deb Roy, director of MITs Laboratory for Social Machines, told The Associated Press.

I thought about this study while watching the recently released four-part docuseries Heavens Gate: The Cult of Cults, an HBO Max original production.

Heavens Gate is a riveting examination of the infamous UFO cult that gained popularity in 1975 with the disappearance of 20 people from a small town in Oregon. It ended in 1997 with the largest mass suicide in our country, changing the face of modern New Age religion.

Just imagine if social media existed back then. How many more duped believers would have been fooled by the cults insane leaders, Bonnie Nettles and Marshall Applewhite, known within the movement as Ti and Do. How ridiculous, huh? But only to observers outside a cult. Within a cult, followers will believe literally anything.

I know your anger, I know your dreams. I've been everything you want to be. Oh, I'm the cult of personality.
We see free speech threatened on all sides, from the left and the right, Suzanne Nossel, who has been PEN Americas chief executive since 2013, said in an interview before the gala. People question it, they dont believe in it, they doubt it. But this is a really important time to shore it up as a cultural and constitutional value. Thats part of what the gala does.

The gala itself has been affected by the complexities of the current moment. Ted Sarandos, the co-chief executive of Netflix, who last year invoked freedom of expression in defending the polarizing comedy specials of Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais on the streaming service, had been set to receive an award recognizing his commitment to literary adaptations. But he withdrew last week, citing the continuing Hollywood writers strike.

And earlier this week, the journalist Masha Gessen resigned as vice president of PEN Americas board after a dispute over a panel at the recent PEN World Voices Festival featuring exiled Russian writers. The panel was canceled following a boycott threat from Ukrainian writers.

In her opening remarks, Nossel addressed the controversy head-on.

As a free speech organization, we must go to the utmost lengths to avoid sidelining speech or being seen to do so, she said. We should have found a better approach.

During the dinner under the museums 94-foot blue whale, the mood was festive but pointed.

The comedian Colin Jost, a head writer on Saturday Night Live and the co-anchor of its Weekend Update segment, got things started with a joke acknowledging the surprise guest. Nothing puts you at ease at an event like seeing Salman Rushdie, he said to titters.
The Secrets of Hillsong

When to watch: Friday at 10 p.m., on FX.

Carl Lentz rose to fame as the pastor of the New York outpost of the global megachurch Hillsong, baptizing Justin Bieber and exemplifying the PreachersNSneakers brand of pop Christianity. Then came the affairs, the exposes, a swift canning and a retreat from public life. Secrets includes Lentzs first interviews since he was fired in 2020, but the four-episode documentary is most interesting in its second half, when it turns its attention to Hillsongs origins in Australia  where its founder has been accused of covering up child sex abuse.

If you cant pass up a documentary about a religious movement whose adherents start out having fun but then later feel defrauded by the charismatic liars to whom they gave their time, money and adoration  and who, hey, now that you mention it, also treat women terribly  this is a solid entry in the genre. Two episodes air on Friday, and two more next Friday.
The pale ruby wine emerged from the bottle with a tinge of orange. It smelled lightly smoky, not as fruity as a grenache ordinarily might but unusually herbal. The aroma would have been right at home at rock concerts and college dorms of a certain era. On the palate, it was beautifully balanced with a lingering aftertaste. It was delicious. It was also illegal.

The producer of this wine was pouring tastes to a few dozen colleagues and friends, along with a wine writer, in a cool, humid barrel room in a Santa Barbara winery. The crowd, jostling for access, seemed to love the wine. I know I did.

That experience, nearly 20 years ago, was my first encounter with weed wine. The memory has lingered like the fragrant haze after a party full of stoners.

Since that first taste, Ive had the pleasure of trying wines infused with marijuana a half dozen times or more, on the West Coast, on the East Coast and in France. It hasnt been common, but occasionally, when the spirit strikes, a winemaker will break out a bottle of homemade wine to pour for friends.
The chefs Liz Johnson and Will Aghajanian, partners in business and marriage, have attracted nationwide attention and a celebrity following for their informal, sophisticated cuisine at the Catbird Seat in Nashville, Mimi in New York City and Horses in Los Angeles.

But that notice has spilled over into notoriety this week as sensational and intensely personal allegations lifted from public documents began to make the rounds on the internet. Ms. Johnson has accused Mr. Aghajanian of assaulting her, visiting prostitutes and torturing a number of pet kittens to death. He has accused her of threatening to kill him and deliberately burning him with kitchen implements.

In November, in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Ms. Johnson requested and was granted a temporary restraining order against her husband, ordering him to stay 10 feet away from her at work and 100 yards away from her and their three dogs at all other times.

In January, Mr. Aghajanian responded with a similar request as part of a divorce filing, saying that Ms. Johnson had verbally and physically abused him for years, both at home and in their restaurants. In that filing, he stated that the couple no longer lived together and asked for sole custody of the dogs. A judge denied his request for a restraining order for lack of sufficient showing of good cause.
Unfolding over one fraught night, Sanctuary dances on the border between fantasy and reality. Hal, a soft-shell weakling whos nonetheless steeled by entitlement, wants to begin his new life as a person who wins. As such, he feels the services of a sex worker are surplus to requirements; and as he moves to end his relationship with Rebecca, his actions  providing a lavish dinner and the gift of an expensive watch  insultingly mimic the familiar tropes of the retirement ceremony. Hes about to find out, though, that this employee will not be pensioned off so easily.

Both actors are excellent, but Qualley is chameleonic in a role that requires her to slide seamlessly from playful to stern, cunning to confrontational, penitent to downright scary. At times, as when Hal erupts with unexpected violence, her face freezes and we can almost see her contriving ways to regain control of a suddenly dangerous situation. If shes to succeed, shell need more than a talent for debasement and humiliation.

Sexual but not sexy, Sanctuary is fantastically dynamic and emphatically theatrical. The ending feels too smoothly settled, but it at least prods Hal and Rebecca to answer the films central question: Where does role-playing end and real life begin?

Sanctuary

Rated R for nasty talk and naughty behavior. Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes. In theaters.
Heres a question that vexes me: Why does it seem that so many men who have been successful in the tech sphere and then waded into politics prove so problematic on issues of diversity and equity?

Vivek Ramaswamy, a hedge fund analyst turned biotech executive, is the fifth-ranked candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, going by the RealClearPolitics polling average. But he makes up for his modest numbers in exposure  announcing his candidacy in a Wall Street Journal opinion essay, pandering to the National Rifle Association at its convention and making the cable news rounds. Hes also the author of several books, including Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate Americas Social Justice Scam and Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit and the Path Back to Excellence, and has largely staked his campaign on anti-wokeness.

Ramaswamy has tried cozying up to Donald Trump  who leads Republican primary polls by a wide margin  including by saying in February that he doubted hed wind up as one of the targets of Trumps trademark vitriol because were friends. I think we have a deep, mutual respect for one another. Were both energetic people. And many of Ramaswamys views arent far from those of Gov. Ron DeSantis  who is polling a distant second behind Trump and is another anti-woke crusader.

When he began his campaign, Ramaswamy tweeted: Were in the middle of a national identity crisis. Faith, patriotism & hard work have disappeared. Wokeism, climatism & gender ideology have replaced them. His tweet came with a video that quotes Martin Luther King Jr.s I Have a Dream speech  the only King speech Republicans ever seem to quote.
About two hours after Century 21 reopened as Century 21 NYC in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday, the stores point-of-sale system crashed.

It was less than three years ago when the retailer, which was beloved for offering designer labels at a discount, declared bankruptcy and closed all of its stores, disappearing from the citys shopping map like other fabled department stores including Abraham & Straus and Barneys.

At the time, Century 21 had 13 locations in four states. But arguably, none was as popular as its flagship location on Cortlandt Street in the Financial District, which was opened in 1961 by two cousins, Al Gindi and Samuel Gindi, who was known as Sonny.

After closing in September 2020, the flagship store sat empty because the company, which was then run by the second-generation owners Raymond, IG, Isaac and Eddie Gindi, still had a long-term lease on the space. Later in 2020, the Gindis bought Century 21s intellectual property in a bankruptcy sale with hopes of eventually reviving the business, said Teresa Rodriguez, the vice president of marketing at Century 21 NYC.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced new sanctions against Russia during a meeting of the G7 leaders in Hiroshima, Canadian media .

"Today, Canada's announcing more than 70 new sanctions focused on people who are supporting Russia's illegal military action and complicit in human rights violations," CTV News said.

Among them, some 30 people and eight companies are included in the sanctions list in connection with the "transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia." Restrictive measures will also be introduced against 17 more individuals and 18 organizations that provide military technology and developments to the Russian armed forces, family members of persons under sanctions, and others.
Christian Poole, 20, has deemed himself the unofficial ambassador for the state of Montana.

On TikTok, his favorite social media platform, he posts lighthearted videos about the peculiarities of his home state. His nearly 420,000 followers reward him with hearts and laughing-face emojis.

But when Gov. Greg Gianforte of Montana signed a bill on Wednesday making his state the first in the nation to ban the site, Mr. Poole, along with hundreds of thousands of users, was left trying to make sense of the unlikely collision between TikToks mostly young users and international geopolitics.

Recent videos posted by Mr. Poole, of Bozeman, cover topics like cows, which outnumber people in Montana, and spring showers, which often bring frozen pellets called graupel, not rain. He says he posts for fun, not money, and his objective on the app is simple: I want to make people laugh.

Mr. Poole expected the ban to face numerous legal challenges, he said, so he was not losing sleep over it.
Ukraines air defenses shot down dozens of Russian missiles in the skies above Kyiv early Thursday, casting flaming debris over the Ukrainian capital on the same day that an explosion derailed a Russian freight train in Crimea, the latest in a series of blasts in Russian-occupied territory.

Russias railway operator said that unauthorized persons were behind the derailment, suggesting an act of sabotage. The Ukrainian authorities, who often do not confirm or deny responsibility for incidents in Crimea or Russia, did not claim any role in the derailment.

The missile attack and the explosion in Crimea come as both Russia and Ukraine are preparing for a widely expected Ukrainian offensive aiming to retake occupied land. In anticipation of that campaign, Russia has fired volley after volley of missiles  Thursday was the ninth attack on Kyiv this month  in a long-range effort to demoralize civilians and keep Ukraines air defenses tied up away from the front.

And the explosion in Crimea fit a pattern of strikes on Russian railways, supply lines, fuel depots and ammunition stores that analysts call a Ukrainian push to handicap Russias war machine and sow instability ahead of the offensive.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine will attend the Group of 7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, this weekend, to seek further commitments for more arms and aid from the worlds wealthiest democracies.

Mr. Zelenskys position was strengthened on Friday, after several U.S. officials said that President Biden, in a major shift, had told U.S. allies that he would allow Ukrainian pilots to be trained on American-made F-16 fighter jets and was prepared to let other countries give F-16s to Ukraine. On Saturday morning, in Hiroshima, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, confirmed the shift.

Hours earlier, Mr. Zelensky welcomed the historic decision by Mr. Biden, who had long expressed reluctance to allow the jets to be sent to Ukraine, and said on Twitter that he would discuss its practical implementation at the summit.

In the past week, Mr. Zelensky has visited Britain and other European nations, seeking to build support ahead of a widely anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive, and on Friday, he joined an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia. The Japanese government confirmed on Saturday that he would be attending in person.
Since November 2021, Greeces prime minister and the British Museum have been holding back-room talks about the potential return of at least some of the Parthenon Marbles, a collection of antique treasures that once decorated the famed pillared temple in Athens.

The collection, which includes statues of Greek gods and carved friezes, was taken from Greece in the early 1800s by Lord Elgin, a British aristocrat. They have been at the London museum ever since.

The prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has met several times with George Osborne, a former chancellor of the Exchequer who is now chairman of the British Museum.. The rapport between Mitsotakis and Osborne has widely been seen as one reason the talks have progressed so far.

But on Sunday, Greece holds an election and the talks have been postponed until the result of the vote is clear.
In 2019, Sothebys sold a work by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, the master painter, that was left behind in Austria when a Jewish gallery owner fled the Nazis in 1938. Sothebys says that at the time of the sale it didnt know that history, and so the auction catalog only mentioned that the work came from a distinguished private collection and had once been in the possession of the Galerie Wolfgang Bohler in Bensheim, Germany.

But, according to court papers filed Friday, the painting had actually passed through the hands of Julius Bohler, a separate and unrelated art dealer in Munich whom American authorities described in 1946 as someone who had been implicated in art looting activities.

Now three heirs of the Jewish gallery owner, Otto Frohlich, are saying in the court papers that Sothebys misled the public by attributing the painting to the wrong gallery. This had the effect, the heirs said, of making a sale easier and perpetuating the very cycle of injustice and exploitation that began in 1938 and that the international and national restitution laws and policies were designed to prevent.

Sothebys, in response, attributed the provenance attribution in the 2019 catalog to human error. The auction house said in a statement that it conducted new research after first hearing from the heirs and learned of an owner before Frohlich who had been subject to Nazi persecution and whose heirs may have grounds for a claim.
Andy Rourke, the bass player who provided the muscle and drive behind the darkly poetic musings of the Smiths, one of the most influential bands of the 1980s, died on Friday in Manhattan. He was 59.

A representative said he died of pancreatic cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Center.

While Mr. Rourke  along with the bands drummer, Mike Joyce  received a tiny share of the accolades (and revenues), his sinewy bass lines provided both heft and melodicism behind Morrisseys lachrymose vocals, which bounced between elegiac and funereal, and Johnny Marrs intricate, layered guitar work, which could be almost symphonic in its complexity.

The nature of the music that we were playing in the Smiths meant that the sound needed a bit more of a kick, Mr. Rourke said in a 2019 interview with Bass Player magazine. And because its me," he added, every time I do something, I do it big.

Mr. Rourkes playing, influenced by Paul McCartney and John Entwistle of the Who, was always habitually unsung, David Cavanagh, an Irish journalist, wrote in 1993, but it was also incontrovertibly top drawer.
Each season of the great British series Happy Valley begins the same way, with the rock-solid cop Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) facing the everyday bizarrerie of policing in a tired, depressed, grimly beautiful pocket of West Yorkshire: teenage sheep rustlers, a jilted boyfriend threatening to set himself on fire, unseen agitators heaving kitchen appliances out of upper-story windows onto patrol cars. Compassionate but impatient and prone to anger, smarter than the detectives who condescend to her, Cawood wears her black uniform and neon vest like a bulky suit of armor. Shes a contemporary knight errant, upholding a code of decency against the terrors of modern life.

Happy Valley, whose final season premieres on Monday (streaming on Acorn TV and AMC+, broadcast on BBC America), is a pocket-size, prosaic saga  a heros tale contained in three six-episode seasons and embedded in a family drama. The emotions that buffet the characters are epic in scale, but the action, though it has occasional flashes of brutal violence, tends to be of the everyday, walking-and-talking variety. Like all mythical heroes, Cawood has an antagonist, the psychopathic rapist and killer Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton), who is the father of her grandson. But for long stretches of the show, he is in prison, and he and Cawood spend much more time stewing about each other than actually facing off.

The second season was shown in 2016, and that seven-year gap is reflected onscreen. Season 3 begins with Cawood counting the days to her retirement and enjoying atypically peaceful relations with her sister, the recovering alcoholic Clare (Siobhan Finneran), and with her now teenage grandson, Ryan (Rhys Connah). The center quickly fails to hold, however, as both the emergence of a body in a drained reservoir and Cawoods discovery of a profound betrayal by someone close to her raise the specter of Royce, even though he is in prison for life.

In its structure, Happy Valley is very much a traditional British crime series, with seemingly unconnected plot strands and investigations that wind themselves together against a backdrop of cop-shop politics. But in the hands of the accomplished writer and producer Sally Wainwright (Gentleman Jack, Scott & Bailey), who has written every episode, it is also a powerful social drama that focuses unflinchingly on male violence against women without sliding into speechmaking or heavy-handed symbolism. In the new seasons major subplot, a less-than-sympathetic female character is caught between two seemingly more capable men whose weaknesses run deeper than hers.
The New York Timess review of Abraham Vergheses debut novel, Cutting for Stone, wasnt negative, per se, but it contained hints of lukewarmness that might have taken some of the air out of its 2009 publication. Stalwart and puzzling are not the stuff of quotes publishers like to print on paperbacks, nor is damnation by faint praise  for instance, He is to be admired for his ambition.

But Verghese doesnt seem to hold any grudges. In a phone interview, he described how he knew the paperback had taken flight. I remember pulling up to do a reading at a bookstore close to where I live and I couldnt find parking, Verghese said. I walked into the store and realized this place which I had gone to often was packed! And they were there to hear me. Between 2010 and 2013, Cutting for Stone spent a whopping 117 weeks on the paperback fiction list.

Vergheses second novel, The Covenant of Water, has already followed a different trajectory: With a nudge from Oprah Winfrey, it shot straight to the top of the hardcover fiction list in its first week. The 724-page, 10-part, 84-chapter book follows three generations of a family in Kerala, on South Indias Malabar Coast; in a mostly positive review in The Times, Andrew Solomon described it as grand, spectacular, sweeping and utterly absorbing. If youre a person who appreciates the physical object of a book, this one is worth cradling, flipping through and inhaling in the olfactory sense. As Verghese said, It looks like it should be as heavy as a Bible, but I think that the publisher was able to pull off a feat with the quality of the paper, which is beautiful but also very light. Its like picking up a fake dumbbell. It comes right up in your hand.

The Covenant of Water was inspired by a 157-page illustrated document Vergheses mother, Mariam Verghese, created for her 5-year-old granddaughter and namesake, who wanted to know what life was like when her grandmother was growing up. The novel contains a series of small drawings by Thomas Varghese, who is Abraham Vergheses cousin (his name is spelled differently). The pair grew up together in Ethiopia. I asked him to recreate Mums drawings, Verghese said. He could have done things that were very sophisticated but deliberately wanted to get the sense of a pencil sketch done by a talented hand working fairly quickly.
Lawyers for Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida asked a federal judge on Friday to step down from a case brought by Disney, saying his comments in two unrelated court proceedings last year displayed a bias toward the company.

John Guard, the Florida chief deputy attorney general, made the request to Mark E. Walker, the chief judge for the Northern District of Florida, on behalf of Mr. DeSantis. Judge Walker is presiding over the early stages of a Disney lawsuit, filed last month, that accused Mr. DeSantis and a board that oversees government services at Walt Disney World of engaging in a targeted campaign of government retaliation.

In their motion to disqualify Judge Walker, Mr. Guard and lawyers for the five members of the board said two remarks from last year could reasonably be understood to reflect that the court has prejudged Disneys retaliation theory here, and therefore create significant doubts about the courts impartiality.

In both instances, Judge Walker brought up Disney in hearings for unrelated cases, briefly citing actions by Mr. DeSantis and his allies in the Florida Legislature against the company as examples of retaliatory conduct, according to the filing. Judge Walker made one of the remarks, at a hearing in a case involving intellectual freedom on college campuses, a day after Mr. DeSantis publicly refuted the notion that he was taking retaliatory action against Disney, the filing said.
Why It Matters: A dose of uncertainty at a stable bank.

Mr. Gorman took over the bank in 2010, after Morgan Stanley nearly crumbled during the preceding financial crisis. His time as chief executive has been marked by stability, at least by the boom-and-bust standards of investment banks. Morgan Stanley has avoided the consumer banking foibles of its rival Goldman Sachs and stuck to the work of making billions of dollars on its advisory work to corporations and wealthy individuals, including Elon Musk.

But like its rivals, Morgan Stanley has recently been squeezed by a downturn in its bread-and-butter work of helping companies to go public, merge and acquire others.

In a sign of its financial health, Morgan Stanley was among the banks to put in billions of dollars in what ultimately proved an unsuccessful attempt to rescue the ailing midsize lender First Republic. Morgan Stanley has since hired some of that fallen banks advisers, bolstering its already enviable wealth management business, previously called Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

On Friday, Mr. Gorman said: In my view, we are not in a banking crisis, but we have had and may continue to have a crisis among certain banks.

Background: An invisible hand on Wall Street.

A native Australian, Mr. Gorman worked at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company before becoming a banker.

Unlike Jamie Dimon at JPMorgan Chase, the only major bank chief with a longer tenure, Mr. Gorman has maintained a muted public presence. Im pretty invisible, and thats fine, he told The New York Times in 2014.

Mr. Gorman is one of the highest-paid public-company chief executives on Wall Street, making $31 million in 2022.

Mr. Dimon is 67 and has shown no indication that he will step down soon. Mr. Gorman, 64, will most likely depart at the same age as did his predecessor, John Mack, who left at 65.

Whats Next: A corporate succession race.

Neither Mr. Gorman nor Morgan Stanley gave an exact date for his departure from the chief executive role. Mr. Gorman said he expected to shift to the position of executive chairman for a period of time after stepping down.

Echoing what he has said publicly, Mr. Gorman noted on Friday that there were three very strong unnamed internal candidates to take over.

In tipping his departure without naming the banks next chief executive, Mr. Gorman said he was aware of the television series Succession, which has spent years telling the story of an intense corporate power struggle.

The Morgan Stanley chief, referring to the drama around the shows departed patriarch, said he had no plans to go out like Logan Roy.
Ukraine intends to reach agreement with Turkey on govt guarantees for quality of defense goods, works, services

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved a draft memorandum of understanding between the governments of Ukraine and Turkey on the mutual acceptance of government guarantees on the quality of defense goods, works and services.

Representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnychuk said in Telegram, the decision was made at a government meeting on Friday.

In particular, a draft memorandum of understanding between the governments of Ukraine and the Republic of Turkey on the mutual adoption of government guarantees on the quality of goods, works and services for defense purposes has been approved.
Siding with the government, Judge Leo T. Sorokin of U.S. District Court in Boston wrote, It makes the two airlines partners, each having a substantial interest in the success of their joint and individual efforts, instead of vigorous, arms-length rivals regularly challenging each other in the marketplace of competition.

In statements, JetBlue and American said they were considering their legal options. JetBlue said it was disappointed in the decision, and American called the ruling plainly incorrect. Both described the partnership as a huge win for customers.

For the Justice Department, its a big win, said Gene Kimmelman, a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and Yales Tobin Center for Economic Policy and a former Justice Department official. It was a very important case for the department to show that the agreement was constructed like a merger that concentrates power at key hub airports by coordinating flight schedules and airline capacity.

A series of mergers over roughly two decades has greatly reduced the number of large airlines in the United States. In 2013, for example, American combined with US Airways. Earlier, United and Continental Airlines became one company, and Delta Air Lines joined up with Northwest Airlines. That has left travelers with fewer choices, especially at many hub airports, which tend to be dominated by one or two airlines.

Part of the Justice Departments concern was that other airlines could establish partnership agreements, too, limiting choice for customers even further.
Volkswagen has sold its assembly plant and other operations in Russia to a local auto dealership, more than a year after the German carmaker ceased production in the country following the invasion of Ukraine, the company said on Friday.

Under the deal, which required approval from the Russian government, a Moscow-based dealership called Avilon acquired the assets of Volkswagen Group Rus, the carmaker said. Neither company specified a sales price, but Russia media, citing local records, said Avilon had paid about 125 million euros ($135 million).

Volkswagen made the announcement in a terse statement, and declined to comment further on the deal.

The move makes Volkswagen the latest European carmaker to withdraw from Russia in the past year, joining several hundred other multinational corporations leaving a market where many spent decades currying and constructing. But outrage over Moscows war in Ukraine, combined with the difficulties coping with tough economic sanctions aimed at punishing Russia, has made the Russian market less attractive.

Mercedes-Benz announced last month that it had sold its Russia division, including an assembly plant, to Avtodom, a Russian investor, roughly a year after it suspended local manufacturing and the export of passenger cars and vans to Russia. The sale included a limited repurchase option, the company said, but it did not give any further details.
What does a country do when rising seas threaten to swamp its coastal capital?

In the case of Indonesia, the countrys leaders are building a new capital city, from scratch, on higher ground. That monumental endeavor was recounted in detail this week by my colleague Hannah Beech, who has covered Asia for more than two decades.

The project poses a big question, Hannah wrote: What happens to the millions left behind in the old capital, Jakarta, once the government moves?

That question resonates well beyond Indonesia. Rising seas are a challenge for two-thirds of the worlds biggest cities, including New York, Mumbai and Shanghai. The U.N. secretary general, Antonio Guterres, has warned that higher sea levels could result in a mass exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale if not addressed.

Today, I want to talk about what leaders around the world are doing about the problem and what the future might hold for people in these cities.
Its dark. Its 39 degrees outside. And its 2:40 a.m.

At a bus stop in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn, Celestino Garcia, wearing a black puffer jacket, jeans, gray Skechers and a black North Face backpack, has already started his day.

Mr. Garcia, 58, cranes his neck to look for the B3 bus, which will take him to the Avenue U subway station. He will then catch the F train and head to his first workplace of the day, Court Street Bagels in Cobble Hill. There, he will roll hundreds of bagels  by hand.

CC Allen, a supervising producer for the New York Times Cooking video team, and Gina Fernandez, an associate producer, followed Mr. Garcia on this particular Friday in March for the first episode of the new season of On the Job. (The episode will be uploaded to YouTube on Friday afternoon.) Hosted by Priya Krishna, a reporter for Food and Cooking, On the Job tells the stories of some of the hardest working people in the city: the largely unseen labor force shaping what and how New Yorkers eat. Each episode is about 10 to 20 minutes long and spotlights a day in the life of someone like Mr. Garcia, who is one of the citys last bagel rollers.

Mr. Garcia is used to the early call time. Six days of his week begin in the middle of the night. For members of The Timess Food team, it was a little tougher to get out of bed, though well worth it. The team likes to slowly introduce crew members to their subjects throughout the day of the shoot.
A Family

Stream it on Netflix.

Turning away from the portrayal of Yakuza as reckless renegades guided solely by blood lust, Michihito Fujiis A Family paints the mobsters in a different, melancholic light. Known by many as Lil Ken, Kenji Yamamoto (Go Ayano) discovers family, brotherhood and a surrogate father when he joins the rough and tumble gang belonging to the crime lord Hiroshi Shibasaki (Hiroshi Tachi). We follow Kenji throughout the years, beginning in 1996, as he ascends from loyal enforcer to top lieutenant. Kenji ultimately lands in prison because of retribution against an assassin who targeted Shibasaki. When he is released 14 years later, Kenji must adjust to a changed world.

While A Family features familiar violence, its the tragic undertones applied to Kenji that are most gripping. The aged mobster finds his gangland family has fallen on hard times, and now, being a Yakuza is a scarlet letter that promises the bearer a lonely, impoverished life. Can Kenji reunite with a lost love by leaving this life behind or will his past hold him back? Its a critical question with a poignant answer that sheds new light on the Yakuza image.

AKA

Stream it on Netflix.
Harrison Ford was beginning to tear up and the movie hadnt even started yet.

It all went down Thursday night at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, part of the five-film adventure franchise that Ford kicked off when he was 37 years old and now, at 80, is bringing to a conclusion. After Ford took his seat in the Grand Theatre Lumiere, the festival director, Thierry Fremaux, addressed him from the stage. We have something special for you, he said.

Ford raised his eyebrows. A surprise? Well, a clip reel  or as Fremaux put it, an hommage. And as Fremaux continued to speak, Fords lower lip began to quiver.

As an actor, Ford can be beguilingly vulnerable  watch the way his eyes widen when he takes an onscreen sucker punch  but as a public figure, he has a reputation as a curmudgeon. This is a man who says no more than he has to in interviews, and attempts to probe his emotional state are typically swatted away.

But something is different this time around. As Fremaux cued the clip reel, Ford pressed his hands together, brought them to his lips and blew Fremaux an appreciative kiss. A montage followed that tracked Fords career from its humble beginnings through the explosive superstardom of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and when he was brought up to the stage afterward to receive an honorary Palme dOr, Fords voice trembled. I just saw my life flash before my eyes, he joked.
He was not, as far as I could tell, Dr. Black Johnston said. He never said anything positive about it, but he was also not one of those like Henry Ward Beecher over in Brooklyn who was an abolitionist. Again, this was 1808. That was five years before Beecher was born.

Romeyn apparently mentioned slavery only once in the sermons he preached in 17 years as the minister of the church. He did call it a sin, Dr. Black Johnston said. This was after she was freed. Hes not a hero in this story, but hes also not quite the villain that some might want him to be.

The church was unaware of the disturbing connection between the first pastor and the last name on its original membership roll until 2018, when John Jay College of Criminal Justice released the New York Slavery Records Index, listing enslaved persons and those who held them in slavery from 1525 through the Civil War. A search turned up a record of manumission indicating that Jackson had been released by Romeyns family.

Besides renaming the boardroom, the church commissioned a portrait of Jackson, even though Dr. Black Johnston said some members of the congregation worried that they did not have an image of her for an artist to work from. I said, There are millions of portraits of Jesus and nobody had a photo of him, Dr. Black Johnston said.

The church enlisted Clayton Singleton, a painter from Norfolk, Va., who used a retired teacher he knew from a theater production as a model. She has the feistiness that was described in the writings I read, he said. Perfect casting, if you will.
When Raegan Zelaya and Shua Wilmot decided to include their pronouns at the end of their work emails, they thought they were doing a good thing: following what they viewed as an emerging professional standard, and also sending a message of inclusivity at the Christian university where they worked.

But their bosses at Houghton University, in upstate New York, saw the matter very differently.

Administrators at Houghton, which was founded and is now owned by a conservative denomination that branched off from the Methodist Church, asked Ms. Zelaya and Mr. Wilmot, two residence hall directors, to remove the words she/her and he/him from their email signatures, saying they violated a new policy. When they refused to do so, both employees were fired, just weeks before the end of the semester.

Houghtons firing of the two staff members has dismayed some of its alumni, nearly 600 of whom signed a petition in protest. And it comes as gender and sexuality have become major fault lines in an increasingly divided nation, and after other faith-based organizations, including Yeshiva University in Manhattan, have argued that First Amendment protections of religious freedom allow them to treat gay and transgender people differently than others.

As Republican lawmakers across the country have sought to energize their base by passing laws restricting gender-transition health care and banning drag performances and classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity, Christian colleges have become staging grounds in these escalating debates.
In this hyperpartisan era, the country has no shortage of politicians willing to savage each other from across a hearing room or on social media. But Mr. Bowman, a media-savvy democratic socialist from the Bronx, has rapidly made a name for himself this spring by going where most of them have not: up to his opponents actual faces.

Mr. Bowmans platform includes far-reaching left-wing policies that split his party. Still, his style  middle school principal energy, he calls it  appears to have captured the id of even more moderate Democrats and has fueled party speculation about his ambition.

A video in which an AR-15-owning House Republican from Kentucky tells Mr. Bowman, 47, to calm down as they argue over how to stop gun violence has already been viewed more than seven million times. A friendlier confrontation, with a conservative House colleague, spawned a full CNN debate.

I dont mean any harm, Mr. Bowman said in an interview. I aint trying to hurt nobody. But weve got to take America to the next level, and we are not moving with urgency.

The approach also carries risks, especially for a Black man, some of which came into sharp relief on Thursday. That is when Ms. Greene, a combative Georgian with a history of spouting conspiracy theories and directly confronting her own political opponents, said that she had felt threatened by Mr. Bowman, even though video showed her smiling as they sparred.
An officer who broke his baton hitting a prisoner 35 times, even after the man was handcuffed, was not fired. Neither were the guards who beat a prisoner at Attica Correctional Facility so badly that he needed 13 staples to close gashes in his scalp. Nor were the officers who battered a mentally ill man, injuring him from face to groin. The man hanged himself the next day.

In dozens of documented cases involving severe injuries of prisoners, including three deaths, the agency did not even try to discipline officers, state records show.

For decades, the workings of the prison discipline system had been hidden from public view under a secrecy law adopted at the urging of the states powerful law enforcement unions. But after the Legislature repealed that law in 2020, The Marshall Project obtained more than 5,600 records of disciplinary cases against prison employees, for issues ranging from physical abuse of prisoners to sleeping on the job.

The records probably reflect only a fraction of the violence guards have inflicted in New Yorks corrections system, experts said. Many prisoners do not file complaints because they fear retaliation or not being believed. And in most of the states 44 prisons, officers do not wear body cameras, which sometimes help prove abuse. These records do not detail prisoner attacks on officers, which the department and the guards union said have increased in recent years.

A key reason the prison system finds it so hard to get rid of guards is the contract the state signed in 1972 with the union. The agreement requires any effort to fire an officer to go through binding arbitration, using an outside arbitrator hired by the union and the state  a system the union has successfully kept in subsequent contracts. Only a court can overturn arbitration decisions.
Rena Murshud

According to the Armenian media, the successful agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Brussels, and especially Pashinyan's re-admitting that he recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, was met with great turmoil in the country. The Armenian media allegedly mentions that Pashinyan, returning from the meeting in Brussels, faced an assassination attempt against himself and his son.

This information mentioned about Pashinyan is also similar to the scenario of Karen Demirchiyan, who had been assassined in 1999 in the Armenian parliament. Some sources even mention that Pashinyan wants to make himself a hero. Supposedly, because there are conspiracies against him, Pashinyan is trying to insure himself in order to deny his promise in the future.

Turkish political analyst, professor Husameddin Inac, in a comment for Azernews on the issue, evaluated this chaos in the Armenian society as follows: Pashinyan is currently in a very difficult situation. In fact, since he was defeated in the 44-day war, he is somehow thinking of signing peace. But, unfortunately, he cannot accept this either in his country, or due to pressures of members in his government and even society.

The expert, who approaches the issue from the prospect of both Russia and the domestic audience, noted that currently Russia is not an interested party in Armenia's rapprochement with Azerbaijan. Because, according to Inac, the settlement of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations means the end of the mission of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh. This does not leave the need for Russia to be a joint mediator. According to Husameddin Inac, another issue is related to the so-called artsakh in Karabakh.

If we look at it from a historical point of view, there was no state called "artsakh". Everyone knows that Karabakh is historically the territory of Azerbaijan and no so-called state can be a matter of discussion.

Armenia accuses Azerbaijan by inventing various excuses. Allegedly, they claim that if Azerbaijan starts the great retun to Karabakh, it will carry out ethnic cleansing against the Armenians there. This is a completely fictitious claim. However, Mr. Ilham Aliyev said that the population could only under the condition of accepting Azerbaijani citizenship. They will have the same rights as other citizens and will live in peace and tranquility. Unfortunately, since this condition did not satisfy them, they falsely spread a series of fake news in the media about the oppression of Armenians by Azerbaijanis. And now they also want to blame Pashinyan for what he has only done right in Brussels."

At the same time, Husameddin Inac touched upon the protests that took place in Karabakh after Pashinyan's meeting in Brussels.

"If we look carefully at the processes, we will see that after Pashinyan's meeting in Brussels, the protests by separatists in Karabakh started to become more active. This is not only the influence of the separatists, but also of the foreign forces that reign over Yerevan. I think that direct and sincere dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia will not be possible as long as this influence is on Yerevan. First of all, Yerevan should take control of the separatists in Karabakh and dissuade them from empty claims as possible," the political analyst said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his stay at the G-7 summit in Hiroshima will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden, Head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak said during a telethon on Friday evening.

"President Zelenskyy will be meeting with the President of the United States in the coming days," Yermak said. He also confirmed Zelenskyy's participation in the G7 summit. "Yes, I can confirm that," he said.

According to Yermak, during the meeting with Biden, among other things, the U.S. statement of support for the "fighter coalition" will be discussed.

"The presidents will discuss this issue and others," Yermak said.

"Ukraine will very soon have everything it needs to protect our skies," the head of the President's Office said.
Nevertheless, he continued, we launched Redeemer Presbyterian Church, and by the end of 2007 it had grown to more than 5,000 attendees and had spawned more than a dozen daughter congregations in the immediate metropolitan area.

Today the church has several locations in Manhattan. The original one is on West 83rd Street near Amsterdam Avenue; the others are on the Lower West Side, on the West Side at Lincoln Square, on the Upper East Side and in East Harlem.

In addition to those who heard him preach in person at any one of those churches, thousands downloaded Mr. Kellers weekly sermons from the Redeemer website. His dozens of books have been translated into 25 languages and sold an estimated 25 million copies.

Fifty years from now, the journal Christianity Today wrote in 2006, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Tim Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.
I was reminded of this moment on Wednesday when the Florida governor and almost certain Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis signed several new bills directly targeting the freedom and dignity of queer people. Surrounded by smiling children, DeSantis scrawled his signature on a bunch of draconian new laws, including a far-reaching one that will require people in government-run buildings  including state universities, prisons and public schools  to use bathrooms associated with their sex assigned at birth. Anyone who fails to comply could face misdemeanor trespassing charges that could result in jail time.

When a law like this was passed in North Carolina in 2016, it prompted a furious outcry. Major companies announced they would halt plans to expand in the state. The N.B.A. and N.C.A.A. moved major events elsewhere. North Carolina faced billions in potential losses and ultimately repealed the measure.

Now, bathroom bills are back, part of a pitiless onslaught against trans bodies that gathers speed with each passing day. The new Florida bills target many aspects of trans peoples lives, expanding the Dont Say Gay policies in school to older students, banning gender-affirming medical care for children and allowing the state to seize children from parents who allow them to receive such care. The laws also prohibit schools from recognizing a childs preferred name or pronouns.

The new bathroom law is particularly cruel and absurd. Politicians claim these measures seek to make bathrooms safer. But I have yet to see any of these legislators produce a shred of credible evidence that transgender people pose a safety threat to cisgender people in bathrooms.

What is clear is that they open up transgender people to harassment, intimidation and surveillance. Around 10 states have passed laws barring transgender children from using their chosen bathroom. So far this year there are more than 30 bills aimed at restricting bathroom use by trans people, according to the Human Rights Campaign, more than any other year on record. But none have gone as far as Florida, which is now the only state to criminalize using a bathroom that doesnt align with your sex at birth.
George Santos is far from the first member of Congress to be indicted while in office. Both chambers and both parties have endured their share of scandals. In 2005, for instance, F.B.I. agents discovered $90,000 hidden in the freezer of Representative William Jefferson, who was under investigation for bribery. He refused to step down, wound up losing his seat in the 2008 election, and was later sentenced to 13 years in prison. James Traficant was expelled from Congress in 2002 after being convicted of bribery and racketeering. Bob Ney resigned in 2006 because of his involvement in a federal bribery scandal.

But in one way, Mr. Santos is different from other members of Congress who have demonstrated moral failures, ethical failures, failures of judgment and blatant corruption and lawbreaking in office. What he did was to deceive the very voters who brought him to office in the first place, undermining the most basic level of trust between an electorate and a representative. These misdeeds erode the faith in the institution of Congress and the electoral system through which American democracy functions.

For that reason, House Republican leaders should have acted immediately to protect that system by allowing a vote to expel Mr. Santos and joining Democrats in removing him from office. Instead  not wanting to lose Mr. Santoss crucial vote  Speaker Kevin McCarthy pushed a measure to refer the matter to the House Ethics Committee, notorious for its glacial pace, and the House voted predictably along party lines on Wednesday afternoon to follow that guidance.

If the House doesnt reverse that vote under public pressure, its incumbent on the Ethics Committee to conduct a timely investigation and recommend expulsion to the full House, where a two-thirds vote will be required to send Mr. Santos back to Long Island.
The loss of Orli is a phantom limb that wakes me in the night or, sometimes, lies dormant with me for hours; I never know which will happen. Seeing old friends recently I joked, dry-eyed, about the wonder and terror of the first seven days of Jewish mourning  the shiva  being like a sort of cocktail party in hell. The night before, at a lovely restaurant, apropos of nothing at all, I started weeping into my food and ran to escape the table. I wear only waterproof mascara now.

Her absence is a palpable presence. As Hana said to me, This is our first May without Orli. We have already gone on our first road trip without her, taking as a paltry stand-in one of Orlis beloved stuffed foxes. We each see a new place as we imagine she might see it, old places as she once walked them; we worry over how hard it will be to do the things she desperately wanted to do without her.

There is a blurry quality to time now. The other night, I took a dance class thinking I would focus on movement  until I signed in and realized it was the very studio where Orli danced until she first fell ill. I could see myself there, some 40 months earlier, talking to her teacher about the strange pain keeping my daughter from class.

I am queried, daily, by friends and colleagues about how Im feeling. I try to explain that I am terrifically, ineffably, surrealistically sad, but I am not always unhappy. Hana, after all, is our joy. But the pain she feels over losing her sister is concrete and multidimensional; it is preoccupied with the altered present and it is aware of a changed future. In the early days, her hurt was so raw we could just barely keep hold of her in its tumult. Hana worried that she was so angry with God that God would be angry with her. We explained to her that we come from a tradition of questioning and of confronting God. We reassured her: We are all angry. She is, after all, only 9. She still needs us to run with her to the park, to continue to experience the world anew. We cannot sink. We must all float together.

The peculiarity of grieving an adolescent is that there is still so much Orli to absorb. Some of it comes by way of anecdotes offered by friends and acquaintances, some from her written journals. A vast majority of it is from her phone, which is alive with her photos and videos, beginnings of stories she wrote, with talent and snark, with worldly observations, with anger. The Orli in her phone isnt bound by the terrible chronology of her illness; she can walk, she can dance, she can narrate her own story. I sometimes miss her phone when I am away from it. I crave it. I dole it out to myself in tiny doses.
To the Editor:

Re On Immigration, Biden Should Out-Trump Trump, by Thomas L. Friedman (column, May 17):

Three cheers for Mr. Friedmans lucid discussion of the murky topic of immigration. His analysis is consistent with the following propositions, which I consider to be self-evident:

1) We have the right to control who enters our country, and our political leaders have a responsibility to ensure border security.

2) We have a moral responsibility to be as generous as we can in welcoming people from around the world who come to us because of intolerable circumstances where they live.

3) The number of people in such intolerable circumstances vastly exceeds our ability to absorb all of them.

4) Because of this, we need to put limits on the number of needy people we accept into our country.

5) The limits we place should strike a reasonable balance between our self-interest and our compassion for those who are suffering.
After a decade-long spending spree and a devastating pandemic, New York City is now staring at three years of huge budget deficits, beginning with at least $4.2 billion in the year that starts in July 2024.

Mayor Eric Adams, rightly, is trying to wring some savings from the citys $106 billion budget. But so far, he appears to be making some strange choices.

Among the most mystifying is a decision to shrivel the citys free prekindergarten initiative by proposing a $567 million funding cut to the program and stopping its planned expansion. There are signs that the program is in need of attention: It has about 30,000 unfilled seats. The city also owes prekindergarten providers hundreds of millions of dollars in back pay, as Bloomberg reported on May 15, leaving many of them struggling to stay afloat. But rather than cut, New York City should increase its outreach and pay providers what they are owed. Poverty is on the rise in New York. This is no time to slash funding to a program that provides early education to 90,000 children across the city and could serve tens of thousands more.

Also on the chopping block in the mayors budget proposal: $5 million for a program that delivers meals for city seniors and $17 million for contractors that provide therapy, job placement and other social services for people in city jails. Frank Dwyer, a spokesman for the Department of Correction, said in a statement that the agency would provide the social services previously performed by contractors. But that could be difficult at the citys jail complexes, which continue to suffer from violence and inmate deaths.
On Tuesday, Republicans in North Carolina overrode Gov. Roy Coopers veto to pass a strict limit on bodily autonomy in the form of a 12-week abortion ban.

In addition to this new limit on abortion, the law extends the waiting period for people seeking abortions to 72 hours and puts onerous new rules on clinics. As intended, the net effect is to limit access to abortion and other reproductive health services to everyone but those with the time and resources to seek care outside the state.

North Carolina Republicans are obviously not the only ones fighting to ban, limit or restrict the right to bodily autonomy, whether abortion or gender-affirming health care for transgender people. All across the country, Republicans have passed laws to do exactly that wherever they have the power to do so, regardless of public opinion in their states or anywhere else. The war on bodily autonomy is a critical project for nearly the entire G.O.P., pursued with dedication by Republicans from the lowliest state legislator to the partys powerful functionaries on the Supreme Court.

You might even say that in the absence of a national leader with a coherent ideology and agenda, the actions of Republican-led states and legislatures provide the best guide to what the Republican Party wants to do and the best insight into the society it hopes to build.
Over the years, Dr. Knobes research has found that people often form two conceptions of the same thing, one concrete and one abstract. For example, people could be considered artists if they display a concrete set of features, like being technically gifted with a brush. But if they do not exhibit certain abstract values  if, say, they lack creativity, curiosity or passion and simply recreate old masterpieces for quick profit  one could say that, in another sense, they are not artists. Maybe sad songs have a similarly dual nature, thought Dr. Knobe and his former student, Tara Venkatesan, a cognitive scientist and operatic soprano.

Certainly, research has found that our emotional response to music is multidimensional; youre not just happy when you listen to a beautiful song, nor simply made sad by a sad one. In 2016, a survey of 363 listeners found that emotional responses to sad songs fell roughly into three categories: grief, including powerful negative feelings like anger, terror and despair; melancholia, a gentle sadness, longing or self-pity; and sweet sorrow, a pleasant pang of consolation or appreciation. Many respondents described a mix of the three. (The researchers called their study Fifty Shades of Blue.)

Given the layers of emotion and the imprecision of language, its perhaps no wonder that sad music lands as a paradox. But it still doesnt really explain why it can feel pleasurable or meaningful.

Some psychologists have examined how certain aspects of music  mode, tempo, rhythm, timbre  relate to the emotions listeners feel. Studies have found that certain forms of song serve nearly universal functions: Across countries and cultures, for instance, lullabies tend to share similar acoustic features that imbue infants and adults alike with a sense of safety.

All our lives weve learned to map the relationships between our emotions and what we sound like, said Tuomas Eerola, a musicologist at Durham University in England and a researcher on the Fifty Shades study. We recognize emotional expression in speech, and most of the cues are used similarly in music.
For centuries, cheetahs roamed vast swaths of India and prowled among lions, tigers and leopards. They were declared extinct in 1952 after decades of hunting by princely rulers and British colonizers, shrinking habitats and vanishing prey.

Last year, the Indian government sought to bring cheetahs back by reintroducing the species to the country, bringing 20 in from South Africa and Namibia.

Those efforts suffered another setback this month after the death of a third cheetah in 45 days at Kuno National Park, a wildlife sanctuary in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. In the latest case, a female cheetah was killed during a violent interaction with two older males after they were put in the same enclosure for the purpose of mating.

Another male cheetah brought from South Africa in February died of apparent heart failure last month. And a female from the Namibia group, consisting of five males and three females, died of a suspected kidney ailment in March.
On their second try, Jeff Bezos and his rocket company have won a contract to take NASA astronauts to the moon.

NASA announced on Friday that it had awarded a contract to Mr. Bezos company, Blue Origin, to provide a lunar lander for a moon mission that is scheduled to launch in 2029. NASA agreed to pay $3.4 billion for the 50-foot-tall spacecraft, which is named Blue Moon and can transport four astronauts to the moons surface.

The mission, Artemis V, is another critical piece of NASAs Artemis program to send astronauts back to the moon as part of an effort to explore its south pole region. Astronauts are to land on the moon in a vehicle built by SpaceX for the Artemis III and IV missions.

John Couluris, Blue Origins vice president for lunar transportation, said that the company was contributing well north of the price of the NASA contract amount to the development effort and that it, not NASA, would absorb any cost overruns. In the past, some members of Congress have complained about providing taxpayer money to Blue Origin, given Mr. Bezos wealth.
In Kyiv region, work has begun on the restoration of multi-apartment residential buildings as part of the Rebuild Ukraine direction of the UNITED24 fundraising platform, the press service of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration has reported.

"It is about three out of 18 houses in the region, damaged by Russian invaders. These are objects in the settlements of Myla, Buzova, and Hostomel," Head of the Regional Military Administration Ruslan Kravchenko said.

Together with Deputy Minister for the Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine Natalia Kozlovska and UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine Jaco Cilliers, he got acquainted with the progress of construction work in Myla on Friday.

"A few months ago, the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, the Ministry of Infrastructure, and the UNDP signed a memorandum of cooperation and large-scale restoration of 18 high-rise buildings. The project will return more than 4,000 residents to their homes. The approximate cost of restoring 18 houses is UAH 800 million. We are grateful to UNITED24 ambassadors, international partners, and everyone who joined the fundraiser," the head of the Regional Military Administration said.

As Kravchenko said, it is about rebuilding three houses in Hostomel, four in Dmytrivka, four in Borodianka, and seven in Irpin communities. All work will be carried out taking into account modern restoration principles, in particular, thermal modernization.

Another requirement is transparency and accountability of all processes. Online cameras are installed at each facility: everyone can follow the link to see how the work is being carried out.

The head of the Regional Military Administration said the restoration of three high-rise buildings started this week. On others, the work will be carried out in stages soon and should be completed by the end of the year.

He recalled that during the hostilities in Kyiv region, destruction was recorded in 46 territorial communities out of 69. Critical destruction is in Bucha, Irpin, Hostomel, Borodianka, Makariv, Dmytrivka, and Velyka Dymerka communities.

"We are facing a clear task from the president and the government: to create all conditions so that people can return to their homes as soon as possible. And most importantly, that living conditions are comfortable," Kravchenko said.
Mr. Bezos has been a guest on similar boats, according to Bloomberg: In 2019, he was spotted on Eos, a 305-foot sailing yacht owned by Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg.

Bill Tripp, a Connecticut-based naval architect, said the appeal of this type of boat is clear: When you are on a powerboat, you ask, Are we there yet? and on a sailboat, youre enjoying the ride and the ocean so much that you dont ask that question.

The Dinghy

Koru will be trailed by Abeona, a 246-foot support vessel. Superyachts often have support vessels following along behind them. These shadows, as they are colloquially known, are for the toys  the ATVs, supercars, seaplanes, motorcycles, smaller boats, scuba gear, personal submarines and even helicopters that pleasure boaters might bring on a trip. According to its builder, this model of boat can carry these gadgets along with dozens of crew members. (Ms. Sanchez flies helicopters, and the couple was recently photographed taking a helicopter to board Abeona and then Koru.)

Abeona, a motor yacht, will have enough range to follow Koru from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean  a common course for yachts  on a single tank of gas.

The Kerfuffle

Koru set off a controversy last year  before it was even completed  in a face-off with the Dutch city of Rotterdam. The boat was built at Oceancos facility in Alblasserdam, the Netherlands, and needed to pass the historic Koningshaven Bridge, known as De Hef, in Rotterdam, to undergo testing in the North Sea.

When the city announced it would dismantle the bridge to allow the boat and its mainmast  an estimated 230 feet tall  to pass through unscathed, locals were angry. They planned a protest to throw eggs at the yacht as it cruised by. In the end, the bridge was not taken apart, and the yacht was towed to a different location to have its masts attached.
I was sitting at DK Donuts in Boise, Idaho, on a dreary November day, talking by phone to my therapist in London, where my husband was, and where I should have been too, if I hadnt fallen in love with another man and upended our world.

It was a spectacular betrayal. I had been close with Davids wife for years, as he had been with my husband. We shared long Sunday lunches, holiday meals, had five decades of marriage between us and five children. Although there was always a gentle attraction between David and me, we never spoke of it.

But in the months between my husband leaving to work in London and the end of the school year in Idaho, when I planned to join him with our teenage children, David and I crossed a line. We found ourselves in an old western bar one night after a fund-raiser. A band played, we danced too close and said things we couldnt take back, even though we tried the next day, and kept trying, until the pull was too great.

From spring to summer, we debated whether to tell our spouses, the harm we would cause by leaving them, the happiness we might miss if we didnt. Despite my husbands dalliances, he and I shared a rich intellectual connection, a big life. Our children felt secure. Davids were grown but still in early adulthood. We had compromised in our marriages, denied parts of ourselves, often felt lonely, but who didnt? Werent we happy enough?
The sari, in essence, is a six- to nine-yard cloth draped freely around the body.

But the garment, which is often worn with a blouse and a petticoat, comes in many forms, from mass-produced polyester versions to silk saris woven on hand looms. Many South Asian designers have put their stamp on the sari, and it has influenced the work of Cristobal Balenciaga, Gianni Versace and the French couturier Madame Gres.

In April, Zendaya wore a sparkling deep-blue sari by Rahul Mishra on a red carpet in Mumbai, India. At the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, the Indian actress Deepika Padukone wore a shimmering gold-and-black sari by Sabyasachi Mukherjee that Vogue France called the star piece of the festival. And at last years Met Gala, Natasha Poonawalla, the executive director of an Indian biotechnology company, wore a glittering gold sari by Mr. Mukherjee beneath a sculptural metal corset by Schiaparelli.

Ms. Poonawallas Met Gala sari is among the pieces featured in a new exhibition, The Offbeat Sari, opening on Friday at the Design Museum in London. The show, which runs through September, explores how the sari is being newly defined, said Priya Khanchandani, the head of curatorial at the museum.
Eight months ago, the future of Chinas largest internet companies looked grim. Covid-era lockdowns crushed sales, and Beijings harsh tech regulations had spooked even audacious China investors. Shares of Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent dropped to some of their lowest levels in several years.

With Chinas economy now reopen, the tech giants this week released earnings reports that showed initial signs of recovery. But the financial results, the first issued since the end of zero Covid restrictions, also reflected the uneven pace of Chinas economic rebound and signaled that the companies makeovers, while underway, are likely to be rocky.

Baidu, Chinas leading internet search business, and Tencent, owner of the ubiquitous messaging app WeChat, both recorded double-digit revenue growth in the first three months of the year over the same period in 2022, marking the first time in over a year that they had reached that level.

Revenue rose 10 percent at Baidu, which said on Tuesday that strong digital advertising sales had continued into the current quarter. Tencent on Wednesday attributed its 11 percent revenue climb in part to a rebound in digital payments as Chinese consumers began to spend money again after a long dry spell. Tencent, Chinas dominant video game company, also benefited from an easing of restrictions on gaming licenses last year after a nine-month freeze.
When I was a kid, my bond was really with my grandparents, said Lin-Manuel Miranda, the songwriter, actor, director and producer. I would go to Puerto Rico with my family for a month every year. As my sister and I got older, I guess you could say we got sent there for a month a year.

Those months went on to inform Mr. Mirandas taste in food, art and culture. I didnt stay in a hotel, I stayed in town, I ate Puerto Rican food. Thats different than being a tourist.

Over the years, Mr. Miranda has become one of the most prominent advocates for Puerto Rico. Next month, he will bring his musical Hamilton back to San Juans Centro de Bellas Artes Luis A. Ferre for two weeks, hosting a fund-raiser to support the Hispanic Federation and the Flamboyan Foundation, a charity devoted to educational equity in Puerto Rico.
Voters interviewed in California on Thursday had mixed views on the meaning and consequences of fresh and troubling revelations about Ms. Feinsteins condition. But they did not seem to share the sense of urgency expressed by some of the states political players, the politicians, donors and activists who were distressed over the possibility that Ms. Feinsteins condition would slow the Democrats agenda and effectiveness in Washington.

Denise Dixon, a lifelong Democrat who lives in Anaheim, southeast of Los Angeles, said she was still unsure of Ms. Feinsteins mental capacity and whether the senator was able to carry on with her job.

As a voter, Id hope she would be responsible and make the right choice whether to step down now or later, said Ms. Dixon, who voted for Ms. Feinstein in 2018.

After a New York Times report on Thursday revealed that Ms. Feinsteins condition had been more severe than her office had previously disclosed, a spokesman confirmed that the senators bout with shingles  a virus that had caused vision and balance impairments and partial paralysis in her face  had also brought on encephalitis, a rare but potentially debilitating swelling of the brain. Ms. Feinstein returned to the Capitol last week after missing more than two months because of her illness.

The revelation has amplified calls for Ms. Feinsteins resignation, especially among the most politically engaged. She has already announced that she will retire when her sixth term ends in January 2025, but there are growing doubts that she can fulfill her duties until then.
Nebraska lawmakers voted on Friday to restrict access to abortion and medical care for transgender youth, after weeks of vociferous debate on two issues that have divided state legislators across the country this year.

Conservative lawmakers bundled provisions restricting access to both forms of medical treatment into a single bill in the final days of the legislative session.

The merger was done for practical reasons in Nebraskas capital: As a result of persistent filibustering by Democrats, proponents of limits on abortion and transgender care were running out of time to push the issues through as stand-alone laws before the session ended.

The blended bill, known as L.B. 574, passed by a 33-to-15 vote. It includes looser restrictions than the original provisions that Republicans sought to pass. Republicans saw it as a compromise, while Democrats were furious about what they saw as a last-minute scramble to revive restrictions on abortion. Minutes after vote, opponents of the bill gathered outside the chamber and chanted, Shame! according to video posted by Nebraska Public Media News.
The global megachurch Hillsong was known for its hipster trappings, celebrity congregants and wildly popular worship music in the 2010s, but in recent years it has been more closely tied to a series of scandals, including the firing of its charismatic celebrity pastor, Carl Lentz, for moral failures.

A four-part documentary series, The Secrets of Hillsong, premieres on FX on Friday and delves into the turmoil. The series, which is based on a 2021 article in Vanity Fair magazine, features the first interview with Mr. Lentz since he was fired in 2020.

Heres how the trouble unfolded.

Why was Hillsong so popular?

Brian Houston and his wife, Bobbie, founded Hillsong in Australia in 1983 and opened its first United States branch in New York in 2010. The church was a member of the Australian branch of the Pentecostal denomination, the Assemblies of God, before it formed its own denomination in 2018.

Hillsongs expansion into the United States built on its enormous success in presenting worship music. Its services drew in young people in big cities, where services were held in concert venues, such as Irving Plaza and the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. The congregants were fashionable and included celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Kevin Durant and Vanessa Hudgens.
Still, the use of body cameras continues to vary widely, and only seven states have enacted requirements for them, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In Georgia, the police chiefs association reported that nearly 90 percent of the 254 local agencies it surveyed in 2021 were using body cameras in some fashion. But the Georgia State Patrol, with nearly 800 troopers, does not routinely equip its officers with them, relying instead on dashboard cameras. Nor does the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which was part of the forest-clearing task force and led the investigation of Terans death.

Because most troopers operate primarily from their vehicles, only three Georgia State Patrol units  those at the State Capitol and the tourist destination of Jekyll Island, and a motorcycle unit in metropolitan Atlanta  currently use body cameras, according to Courtney Floyd, a spokeswoman for the agency. Every marked patrol car has a permanently mounted, in-car dash camera, she said.

Some other state police forces share that policy, said John Bagnardi, executive director of the American Association of State Troopers. Although his organization does not track body camera use, he said, I know some states prefer the dash cameras, as much of their work is performed in and around the vehicle.

In the wake of the Teran shooting, Democratic legislators in Georgia proposed requiring body cameras for all law enforcement officers in the state, but the bill failed to reach the floor for a vote. State Representative Sandra Scott, one of the bills sponsors, said opposition to the bill stemmed from a desire to shield police forces from accountability. We still have officers that are doing things they should not be doing, she said.
Customs and Border Protection officials said on Wednesday that emergency medical services had transported the girl to a hospital, where she died. Biden administration officials did not respond to additional questions about the circumstances surrounding the childs death, citing the internal review. A border official in Texas who was not authorized to speak publicly said that Ana had a serious medical condition of which officials had not immediately been aware.

Though all migrants are given health screenings when taken into federal custody, the death of a child is at the heart of concerns about the governments policy of detaining children for any period of time and particularly in crowded settings. While there is no law or official guidance about how long undocumented migrants are to be detained while in border custody, the government typically aims for about three days.

In the past week the authorities have struggled with overcrowding at border facilities, which quickly exceeded capacity after a spike in illegal migration ahead of last weeks lifting of the pandemic-era public health rule, known as Title 42.

That policy had allowed officials to expel some migrants swiftly, instead of holding them in custody. Since its expiration, officials have reverted to policies that involve longer processing times for migrants.

On May 17, the day Ana died, migrants were being held for an average of four and a half days, according to internal data obtained by The New York Times, compared to an average of a little under three days on May 10.
The Ministry of Health and the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) will resume physical monitoring of the work of medical institutions contracted with the NHSU, Health Minister Viktor Liashko has said.

"Now, we are preparing to resume and restart the monitoring of the implementation of contracts with the NHSU. The draft relevant resolution is being coordinated with the central authorities, and the government will adopt it soon. Then the physical monitoring will begin when NHSU employees come to a particular institution and check," he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

Liashko recalled that the Ministry of Health and the NHSU had developed another mechanism that determines the medical facilities to which the NHSU arrives with monitoring.

According to the minister, the Ministry of Health is developing a strategy "to combat informal payments, including monitoring not to allow writing lists of medicines for patients treated in medical institutions funded under the Medical Guarantee Program."
President Biden was 2 years old when the nuclear era opened with a blast of devastation unlike any the world had ever seen. Seventy-eight years later, he came on Friday to ground zero of the first atomic bomb used in warfare to pay tribute to the dead.

Mr. Biden and other world leaders met privately with a survivor, toured a museum, laid wreaths at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and planted a tree. The president stared solemnly at the Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims as the citys mayor described the monument. But the president offered no comments on what he saw, much less the apology some Japanese still wish the United States would provide.

Mr. Bidens visit came at a pivotal moment in the atomic age, with the prospect of Armageddon, as he has described it, greater than at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has hinted ominously that he may yet unleash nuclear weapons to salvage his flailing invasion of Ukraine. And rather than moving away from the kind of destruction represented by Hiroshima, the world is seeing more such arms being built and fewer constraints being imposed on their spread.

I worry a lot that we are moving in the wrong direction, that we are less secure, and I worry we will see nuclear weapons used in our lifetimes, said Jon B. Wolfsthal, a former arms control adviser to President Barack Obama and now a senior adviser to Global Zero, a group that advocates abolishing nuclear weapons. So to me, the importance of going to Hiroshima is not just about the symbolism, but also using the legacy of Hiroshima to remind people that these weapons are devastating and should never again be used.
Federal prosecutors unsealed charges on Friday against a veteran police officer in Washington, accusing him of obstructing justice by leaking law enforcement information to Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys.

Prosecutors say that the officer, Lt. Shane Lamond, 47, told Mr. Tarrio that he would not face hate crime charges after a group of Proud Boys under his command burned a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic Black church in Washington after a pro-Trump rally in the city in December 2020. The episode took place weeks before the far-right group played a central role in the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.

Mr. Lamond, who worked as an intelligence expert for the Metropolitan Police Department, was suspended from his job as an investigation into his ties to Mr. Tarrio moved forward. He also gave Mr. Tarrio advance notice that he would be arrested in connection with the banner-burning episode in early January 2021 as he returned to Washington for the events of Jan. 6.

A lawyer for Mr. Lamond, Mark Schamel, said that the defendant was a decorated officer and that his position required contact with extremist groups who sought to undermine our democracy on Jan. 6. The lawyer added that Mr. Lamond does not support their views, nor has he ever.
Is it the Biden default? Or the Republican Default on America?

Even as negotiators push forward with halting talks to resolve the federal debt-ceiling standoff, members of both parties are positioning themselves to try to dodge the blame for the economic fallout if things go south. Democrats lambaste Republicans for taking the debt ceiling hostage to appease extreme MAGA conservatives bent on shrinking government spending. Republicans hit Democrats for waiting too long to open talks and not taking G.O.P. demands seriously.

But deep down  and in some cases not so deep  officials in both parties know they are all going to pay if they dont get a deal, the government defaults and Americans lose money and jobs and confidence about their financial well-being and future.

I would hate to be the politician trying to explain to people when the economy is in the toilet that its not my fault, its their fault, said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. Yeah, that aint going to work. They will flush us all.

Polls have suggested Mr. Grahams view is correct. A Washington Post-ABC News Poll released earlier this month shows that the public is divided about who will bear the blame, with a significant chunk of independents saying the two sides should share it equally.
It is not just the perks, like free, reserved parking spots at D.C. airports, that make it appealing to hang on. Ms. Feinstein, after all, is wealthy, and has flown on private planes for the majority of her career.

But with long years in Congress also comes more seniority, more seasoned staff, committee chairmanships and the ability to funnel more money toward ones state. Theres the built-in soapbox of the Senate floor, where members can champion their priorities, or rail against policies they oppose. Theres the camaraderie of being part of a team, drawn closer together by the built-in adversary that is the opposing party.

Many aging lawmakers also feel they have experience to contribute that makes them more effective than ever for their constituents as they enter lifes final chapters.

Ms. Feinstein insists that she is still effective, even though her health challenges have forced her to give up some of her power and prestige; she bowed in 2020 to Democrats wishes that she give up her spot as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, and stepped aside rather than serve as president pro tempore of the Senate this year, a post that usually goes to the most senior member of the majority party. Still, she insists it is not time to go yet.
F.B.I. analysts improperly used a warrantless surveillance program to search for information about hundreds of Americans who came under scrutiny in connection with two politically charged episodes of civil unrest: the protests after the 2020 police killing of George Floyd and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, a newly declassified court ruling shows.

While the F.B.I. has tightened restrictions since then, the disclosure of the misuses is likely to provide fodder to critics of the program as the Biden administration seeks to persuade Congress to renew it.

The surveillance program, known as Section 702, empowers the government to collect, without a warrant and from American companies like Google and AT&T, the communications of foreigners abroad who are targeted for intelligence purposes  even when they are talking with or about Americans.
The bipartisan political group No Labels is stepping up a well-funded effort to field a unity ticket for the 2024 presidential race, prompting fierce resistance from even some of its closest allies who fear handing the White House back to Donald J. Trump.

At the top of the list of potential candidates is Senator Joe Manchin III, the conservative West Virginia Democrat who has been a headache to his party and could bleed support from President Biden in areas crucial to his re-election.

The centrist groups leadership was in New York this week raising part of the money  around $70 million  that it says it needs to help with nationwide ballot access efforts.

The determination to nominate a ticket will be made shortly after the primaries next year on what is known as Super Tuesday, March 5, said Nancy Jacobson, the co-founder and leader of No Labels. A national convention has been set for April 14-15 in Dallas, where a Democrat-Republican ticket would be set to take on the two major-party nominees. (Mr. Biden is facing two long-shot challengers, and Mr. Trump is the Republican front-runner.)
Maxon Wille, an 18-year-old in Surprise, Ariz., was driving toward Interstate 17 last year when he noticed a massive construction site: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company at work on its new factory in Phoenix.

A few weeks later, as he was watching YouTube, an advertisement popped up for a local community colleges 10-day program that trains people to become semiconductor technicians. He graduated from the course this month and now hopes to work at the plant once it opens.

I can see this being the next big thing, Mr. Wille said.

Semiconductor manufacturers say they will need to attract more workers like Mr. Wille to staff the plants that are being built across the United States. America is on the cusp of a semiconductor manufacturing boom, strengthened by billions of dollars that the federal government is funneling into the sector. President Biden had said the funding will create thousands of well-paying jobs, but one question looms large: Will there be enough workers to fill them?

My biggest fear is investing in all this infrastructure and not having the people to work there, said Shari Liss, the executive director of the SEMI Foundation, a nonprofit arm of SEMI, an association that represents electronics manufacturing companies. The impact could be really substantial if we dont figure out how to create excitement and interest in this industry.
Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Air Force National Guardsman accused of posting a trove of secret documents online, will remain in prison pending his trial because he poses a continuing threat to national security and public safety, a federal magistrate judge ruled on Friday.

The judge, David H. Hennessy, cited Airman Teixeiras history of seeking out and posting classified intelligence materials in defiance of his superiors at an Air Force base on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, in denying his request to be released on bond into the custody of his father.

Airman Teixeiras actions were a profound breach of his vow to protect sensitive information when he received his security clearance, Judge Hennessy said during a 45-minute hearing at the federal courthouse in Worcester, Mass. His ruling came after the government said the airman continued to have access to sensitive intelligence months after his superiors noted his suspicious behavior.

Who did he put at risk? Judge Hennessy said, after the defense team played down the possibility he would leak new information. I mean, you could make a list as long as a phone book.
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina will announce his candidacy for president on Monday and will enter the race with around $22 million cash on hand, making him one of the most serious competitors for the front-runner, Donald J. Trump, even as Mr. Scott has hovered around 2 percent in Republican primary polls.

After announcing his campaign in his hometown, North Charleston, Mr. Scott will head to Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states of the Republican nominating contest. Mr. Scotts campaign has reserved around $6 million in advertisements across television and radio in those states, according to an adviser with direct knowledge of Mr. Scotts plans. The Scott campaign also plans to spend millions of dollars on digital ads that will target Iowa and New Hampshire voters and will run through the first Republican primary debate, scheduled to be held in August.

Mr. Scott, the most influential elected Black conservative in America, has a compelling life story around which he is expected to build his campaign. He portrays his rise from poverty to become the first Black senator from South Carolina and the only Black Republican in the Senate as an embodiment of the American dream.

Mr. Scott rarely criticizes Mr. Trump directly, but his message could not be more different from the former presidents. While Mr. Trump talks ominously of retribution  his promise to gut the civil service and law enforcement agencies that he pejoratively calls the deep state  Mr. Scott prefers the sunny language of Ronald Reagan.
A congressional delegation of five Republicans and two Democrats met with representatives of Ukraines Parliament this month in Poland, where the Ukrainians thanked the delegation for American aid and asked for F-16 fighter jets to help in the war against Russia. Three members of the delegation described the meeting as cordial and informative.

One left the session in a state of indignation.

I just got back from meeting with the Ukrainian Parliament in Poland, where they demanded F-35s and thought it was an obligation for every American to pay $10 a month to fund their war, Representative Anna Paulina Luna, a conservative Republican freshman from Florida, wrote in a heated email to this reporter three days later. Ukrainians are not asking for the more advanced and expensive F-35s, but regardless, Ms. Luna said the United States role in the conflict could potentially start WWIII.

Ukraine ranked low on her constituents concerns, she added, vowing to brief her colleagues about the encounter.

Ms. Luna is among the boisterous proponents in Congress of former President Donald J. Trumps America first worldview that regards financial commitments overseas with extreme skepticism. Like Mr. Trump, they maintain that every dollar spent on Ukraine  and there has been $113 billion for the war so far  is a dubious investment of taxpayer money that could have been better used on domestic priorities, like fighting the spread of fentanyl. Senior Republicans who support the war, and maintain the hawkish traditions of the establishment G.O.P., fear the movement will gain momentum as the conflict grinds on and Mr. Trumps candidacy consumes the 2024 spotlight.
Deputy Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Andriy Smyrnov held a meeting with Director for Policy and Cooperation of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) Andreas Kleiser, ICMP Program Director for Europe Matthew Holliday and ICMP Legal Consultant Oleksandr Krasnoborov.

According to the presidential press service, the meeting participants discussed cooperation and preparations for launching the program of the International Commission in Ukraine.

"We are open to constant dialogue and will make every effort to start the work of the International Commission in Ukraine as soon as possible," the Deputy Head of the President's Office said.

He also said Ukraine has had a positive experience of opening two offices of international organizations in 2022: the International Criminal Court and the OECD, and is also preparing to open a permanent office of IDLO  the International Development Law Organization.

Kleiser, for his part, said the ICMP works at the international level with many countries and seeks to help Ukraine.

"We have cooperation agreements with international criminal tribunals and national tribunals. We help in the work of their large network and, of course, at the level of domestic organizations," he said.

As noted in a press release, in the spring of 2022, ICMP and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine exchanged diplomatic notes, after which personnel were sent to Kyiv to begin preparations for the launch of the program. The Ukrainian ICMP program is supported by the European Union and Canada. Currently, work is underway on the final draft of the cooperation agreement.

"The ICMP director for policy and cooperation said that the Commission can provide Ukrainian authorities with access to its DNA laboratory in The Hague and a database that opens up great opportunities for obtaining DNA profiles in extremely complex cases, such as degraded bone samples," the office said.

The meeting participants agreed on coordination and cooperation to achieve the final goal  the signing of the cooperation agreement and the start of the program of the International Commission on Missing Persons.

ICMP is an intergovernmental organization with headquarters in The Hague that assists governments in exhuming mass graves and identifying missing persons through DNA. The Commission also provides support to associations of families of missing persons and helps in the creation of strategies and institutions to locate the missing. In addition, ICMP helps governments develop legislation to protect the rights of families of missing persons; maintains a unique specialized Online Inquiry Center (OIC) and the Integrated Data Management System (IDMS) that manages all data related to missing persons. The Commission provides training and education programs to a wide range of individuals, including government authorities, prosecutors and judges, NGOs, families of the missing, and forensic practitioners.
The Georgia prosecutor leading an investigation into former President Donald J. Trump and his allies has taken the unusual step of announcing remote work days for most of her staff during the first three weeks of August, asking judges in a downtown Atlanta courthouse not to schedule trials for part of that time as she prepares to bring charges in the inquiry.

The moves suggest that Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, is expecting a grand jury to unseal indictments during that time period. Ms. Willis outlined the remote work plan and made the request to judges in a letter sent on Thursday to 21 Fulton County officials, including the chief county judge, Ural Glanville, and the sheriff, Pat Labat.

Thank you for your consideration and assistance in keeping the Fulton County Judicial Complex safe during this time, wrote Ms. Willis, who has already asked the F.B.I. to help with security in and around the courthouse.

Ms. Willis had said in a previous letter that any charges related to the Trump investigation would come in the grand jury term that runs from July 11 to Sept. 1. Her letter on Thursday appears to offer more specificity on timing.
Most nights, Hwang In-suk pushes a shopping cart up and down the steep alleys of her Seoul neighborhood, trailed by stray cats that emerge from shadows to greet her under glowing streetlamps and convenience store marquees.

Her neighbors tend to think of Ms. Hwang, 64, merely as someone who feeds cats in the street. Only a few know that she is a celebrated poet whose work explores loneliness and impermanence in the South Korean capital.

Her decades of writing span a time in which South Korea has cycled through a dizzying number of identities, including those of a country ruled by repressive military dictatorships, a fledgling democracy and, most recently, an economic power and international cultural juggernaut.

Ms. Hwang said her nocturnal cat-feeding routine allows her to quietly observe not only cats, her favorite muses, but also her changing neighborhood and the underclass of a megacity that is increasingly known for its flashy exterior.
On a controversial trip to Taiwan, Liz Truss, Britains prime minister for 44 tempestuous days, met President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday and called for an economic NATO to counter Chinese coercion.

Ms. Trusss visit has been denounced by Beijing, which claims the self-governed island as its territory. China opposes visits to Taiwan by foreign politicians, even fallen ones like Ms. Truss, who resigned last year after the shortest tenure of any British prime minister. And even some members of Ms. Trusss own Conservative Party suggested her trip was unnecessarily provocative  the worst kind of Instagram diplomacy, said one.

Taiwans government has nonetheless treated Ms. Trusss five-day visit as a small but welcome gesture of support in the face of Beijings tightening political isolation of the island democracy. Taiwan now has only 13 formal diplomatic partners  most states have shifted recognition to Beijing  and Taiwan has increasingly reached out to foreign lawmakers, think tanks and organizations to promote its global standing.

Taiwan and the United Kingdom are like-minded partners, Ms. Tsai told Ms. Truss when they met at Taiwans presidential office. Together we are working to advance freedom and democracy around the world.
What I need to do now is to find a road-map that bridges that gap between a functioning democracy and half-baked democracy at the very end of nine-year rule by a military coup, he said in an interview with The New York Times.

In order to take the role, Mr. Pita needs to gather enough support in the 500-member House of Representatives to overcome a 250-member, military-appointed Senate. To be precise, he needs 376 votes. So far, he only has 314.

Already, several senators have said they would not support a candidate who so threatens the status quo. Now, Thais are waiting to see if their choice will be allowed to lead or if he will be blocked from becoming prime minister by prevailing powers, an outcome that could plunge the country into political chaos.

Thai generals rewrote the Constitution in 2017 so a Senate stacked with military allies could jointly determine the top leader. Conservatives are counting on an Election Commission complaint that has been filed against Mr. Pita for failing to disclose that he owned shares of a now-defunct media company that he inherited from his father.

So far, Mr. Pita has brushed off the petition to investigate him, saying he had already reported the shares to the authorities. He also said he believed there was a group of senators who had felt their conscience and understood the consequences of going against the 25 million Thais who voted for change. Only 14 senators have indicated that they would vote for him.
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the South Pacific on Friday, triggering tsunami warnings for a number of Pacific island nations. But hours later, no significant damage had been reported.

Waves as high as 10 feet could hit Vanuatu, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations tsunami warning system initially said, later revising that estimate to 3 feet. The authorities in Vanuatu, an island nation with a population of about 300,000, urged people in coastal areas to move to higher ground.

Vanuatu officials later said that the threat had passed. Waves just over two feet high had been recorded, its department of meteorology said.
The Australian police are investigating why an experienced officer used a Taser on a 95-year-old woman who had approached him at a slow pace while holding a steak knife.

The woman, Clare Nowland, who is 5-foot-2 and 95 pounds, uses a walker and has dementia. She was left in critical condition after a senior constable used the weapon on her on Wednesday morning in the care facility where she lives, causing her to fall and hit her head, according to the police.

At the time she was Tasered, she was approaching police  but it is fair to say, at a slow pace, Peter Cotter, the New South Wales Police assistant commissioner, said at a news conference on Friday. She had a walking frame, but she had a knife.

The news conference was held after people in the community, rights activists and advocates for those with disabilities expressed outrage, asking whether the officers use of force had been necessary.
British Columbia was the site in 2021 of one of Canadas worst wildfires in recent decades, when fires decimated the tiny community of Lytton after temperatures there reached a record 49.6 degrees Celsius, or 121.3 Fahrenheit.

Not since the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic buffeted the region has the area been so overcome by apprehension, accompanied by the all-too familiar need to wear masks outside. Only this time, residents say, a silent killer has been replaced by something more visceral and visible.

So far, no deaths have been reported. But in Alberta, Frankie Payou, a firefighter and 33-year-old father of three from the East Prairie Metis Settlement in Northern Alberta, was in a coma with severe injuries after being hit in the head by a burned tree. His home was also destroyed by a fire.

The bulk of the fires are in the far north of the province, home to many Indigenous communities, dealing a heavy blow to people who depend on the land and natural resources.

At a sprawling evacuation center in Edmonton, Ken Zenner, 61, a father of eight, two of whom are members of the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, said he and his family had been evacuated from the town of Valleyview. He worried how they would get by.
As passengers on the first direct flight from Russia to Georgia in more than three years disembarked on Friday, they were met by protesters cursing their arrival.

Shouts of Why did you come here? Your country is an occupier! echoed through the arrivals hall at Tbilisi International Airport. Outside, a crowd of about 200 demonstrators unfurled a banner saying You are not welcome.

I am only here for a vacation, one passenger replied, running away from a media throng that had gathered to meet the flight.

Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, and it wields military control over 20 percent of its territory. Graffiti that says Russians go home is commonplace in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. A determination to join NATO is enshrined in the former Soviet republics Constitution.
The Greek government did not respond to repeated requests for comment. But campaigning on Lesbos last week ahead of general elections on Sunday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis defended his governments tough but fair migration policies and boasted of a 90 percent drop in the arrival of illegal migrants.

The government has consistently denied mistreating asylum seekers and points to the fact that it shoulders a disproportionate burden of managing new arrivals to Europe.

But the video, provided by an Austrian aid worker, Fayad Mulla, who has spent much of the past two and a half years working on the island and trying to document abuses against migrants, may be the most damning evidence yet of the Greek authorities violation of international laws and E.U. rules governing how asylum seekers must be treated.

In addition to interviewing the asylum seekers in Turkey, The Times verified the footage by doing a frame-by-frame analysis to identify the people in the video, geolocating key events and confirming the time and day using maritime traffic data, as well an analysis of the position of the sun and visible shadows.

We showed the video in person to three senior officials from the European Commission in Brussels, describing how we had verified it. Later, in written comments, the Commission said that it was concerned by the footage and that, though it had not verified the material for itself, it would take the matter up with the Greek authorities.

Greece must fully respect obligations under the E.U. asylum rules and international law, including ensuring access to the asylum procedure, said Anitta Hipper, the European Commission spokeswoman for migration.

The Greek authorities declined requests to meet in person to review the video.

Greece and the European Union hardened their attitudes toward migrants after the arrival in 2015 and 2016 of more than one million refugees from Syria, Iraq and elsewhere. The wave of newcomers reshaped European politics, igniting populist hard-right forces who played on nativist angst.

Greece is far from alone in cracking down on migrants. Poland, Italy and Lithuania have recently changed their laws to make it easier to repel migrants and to punish those who help them.

But the new videos suggest that the Greek authorities have gone still further, resorting to surreptitious extrajudicial expulsions that sweep up even the most vulnerable with the participation of its maritime forces.

Through the will of God, we managed to survive, Ms. Aden said.

Anatomy of an extrajudicial deportation

It was just after midday on April 11 that a white unmarked van drove down to a small cove with a wooden dock at the southern tip of Lesbos, according to Mr. Mullas video.

As the van wound down to the coastline, two men waiting in a speedboat covered their faces with what appear to be ski masks. When the van stopped, three men emerged, unlocked the back doors  and out filed 12 people, several of them small children.

The passengers included Ms. Aden and her baby, Awale, with whom she had originally fled Jilib, a small city in an area of Somalia controlled by Al Shabab, a militant group linked with Al Qaeda, she said. Ms. Aden said they had landed on Lesbos in a smugglers dinghy a day earlier and had spent a night hiding in the brush before being rounded up by masked men.

Sulekha Abdullahi, 40, and her six children were crammed in the van, too.

So were Mahdi, 25, and Miliyen, 33, who said they had also arrived on Lesbos by dinghy and sought cover in the brush. They were captured after a short pursuit, and Miliyens ankles still bore deep scratches when we interviewed him days later.

They agreed to share their stories but asked to be identified only by their first names, fearful of retribution.

A few minutes after the group was escorted out of the van, everyone was taken out on the Aegean waters in the speedboat. From a distance it looked like a tourist leisure ride. It was anything but.
President Biden told U.S. allies on Friday that he would allow Ukrainian pilots to be trained on American-made F-16 fighter jets, moving toward letting other countries give the planes to Ukraine  a major upgrade of the Ukrainian military and a sharp reversal.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago, officials in Kyiv have pleaded for advanced warplanes to overcome Russian air superiority. But Mr. Biden had resisted, concerned that the jets could be used to hit targets deep inside Russia, and prompt the Kremlin to escalate the conflict. Pentagon officials have said that other weapons, especially air defenses, were needed more urgently, and the high cost of the F-16s could squeeze out other materiel.

But several European countries that belong to the NATO alliance and have F-16s in their arsenals have called for an international effort to provide the training and transfer of their jets to Ukraine. Doing so would require American permission, because the weapons were first sold to them by the United States. Though not the most advanced U.S. fighter, the F-16 carries powerful radar that can spot targets from hundreds of miles away and modern missiles and other technology that American officials do not want duplicated or falling into hostile hands.

Mr. Biden told other leaders of the Group of 7 nations, the worlds wealthiest democracies, of his decision on pilot training, opening a path to supplying Ukraine with fighter jets, at their summit meeting in Hiroshima, Japan.
Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte has welcomed the decision of the United States to approve the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets and said that the modalities will be worked out in the coming weeks.

"Together with my British, Danish and Belgian colleagues we welcome the news that the United States stands ready to approve the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets. The modalities will be worked out in the coming weeks. Ukraine can count on the unwavering support of the Netherlands and its international partners," he said on Twitter on Friday.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, for his part, also welcomed the decision of the United States.

"Welcome announcement that the US will approve the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets. The UK will work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs. We stand united," he said on Twitter on Friday.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine implored Arab leaders meeting in Saudi Arabia on Friday not to bend to Russian influence, as he continued a diplomatic tour to build international support ahead of a widely anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Mr. Zelensky made a surprise visit to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to attend the annual Arab League summit, where he addressed countries that have maintained warm relations with Russia. In his speech, Mr. Zelensky appealed to the rulers  some of whom have overseen massacres and filled prisons with opponents  to help save Ukrainians from the cages of Russian prisons.

Unfortunately there are some in the world, and here among you, who turn a blind eye to those cages and illegal annexations, he said. I am here so that everyone can take an honest look, no matter how hard the Russians try to influence.

His remarks seemed especially pointed given that for the first time in more than a decade, the Arab leaders were welcoming back to the fold Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who relied heavily on Russian military support to wage war against his own people. He had largely been shunned, regionally and internationally, since 2011, when he began violently suppressing Syrias Arab Spring uprising, using chemical weapons against his own people at some points in a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands.
The Germans announced recently that they would seize any French airplane that happened to come down in their territory. Occasion offered itself for enforcing the threat on Friday, when one of the commercial planes flying from Prague to Strasburg had to alight near Nuremberg on account of engine trouble. The machine and its contents were impounded, and two passengers and the pilot were sent on by rail after interrogation.

Protest has been entered by the French Embassy in Berlin with a demand for the release of the plane. According to Article 313 of the Treaty of Versailles French planes may fly over and descend in German territory and enjoy the same rights as German planes, especially in case of distress at sea or by land. The Treaty of Versailles provided also that Germany should adhere to an international air convention by January 1, 1923. Germany rejected the convention after the occupation of the Ruhr, and claims to have a free hand.

 The New York Herald, European Edition, May 21, 1923
Yulia the endangered seal did not seem fazed by the rockets from Gaza, let alone the missiles heading in the opposite direction.

About six feet long and two decades old, Yulia heaved herself last Friday onto a sandy beach in Jaffa, an ancient city immediately south of Tel Aviv. It was the fourth of five days of fighting between the Israeli military and Palestinian militants in Gaza.

She promptly fell fast asleep.

Yulia was the definition of an incongruous sight. Two days earlier, air-raid sirens on the same shoreline had sent swimmers and sunbathers rushing to municipal bomb shelters. Now, an endangered Mediterranean monk seal  one of an estimated 700 in the world  had landed on an Israeli shore for the first known time since 2010.

A miracle, said Ruthy Yahel, a marine ecologist at Israels Nature and Parks Authority who helped watch over Yulia this week. She knows no limits, no borders, no wars between the countries.
Two important elections happened this week. In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan failed to win an outright victory so he now faces a runoff election that could be the most significant political challenge of his career.

And in Thailand, ruled by military leaders who took power in a 2014 coup, voters overwhelmingly backed opposition parties, delivering a stinging rebuke to the military establishment. It remains to be seen how much power the junta will actually hand over.

Both countries have me thinking about the type of government that is sometimes called a competitive authoritarian regime. Their leaders use the tools of state, such as purging foes from the bureaucracy and curtailing civil liberties, to consolidate their own power. But they regularly hold elections, and when they do, the votes are not shams. Voters can cast ballots with the expectation that they will be fairly counted, and that leaders will abide by the result.

And yet the fact that those governments embrace elections can tell us something important about the nature of democratic backsliding, and perhaps something even more important about its opposite. Most people call it democratization, but I prefer to think of it, for the sake of verbal and conceptual symmetry, as democratic forwardsliding.
After wearing masks in public for three long years, many Japanese are signing up for smiling classes to learn how to smile again without looking awkward.

Smiling used to be a natural response, but apparently, three years of hiding behind a mask have left many Japanese unable to smile naturally. Some of them are now paying so-called smiling educators to teach them how to display their pearly whites again without looking awkward. They participate in specialized classes where they are taught how to stretch and flex various parts of their faces and even their neck muscles to smile properly and actually convey happiness without looking weird.

Photo: Lesly Juarez/Unsplash

A smile is only a smile if its conveyed, Keiko Kawano, a radio personality-turned-entrepreneur, told The Japan Times. Even if youre thinking about smiling or that youre happy, if you have no expression, it wont reach the audience.

Kawano said that she has taught smiling classes to around 4,000 people so far and has also helped train around 700 certified smile specialists since she started her work in 2017. However, demand for her services has skyrocketed recently after people started giving up the medical masks they have been wearing for the last 3 years.

Ive heard from people who say that even if theyre able to remove their masks, they dont want to show the bottom half of their faces, or that they dont know how to smile anymore, smile trainer Miho Kitano said. Some say that they see more wrinkles around their eyes after using them more to smile, or they feel like their face is drooping because they havent been using it as much as before.

Smiling instructors like Kitano claim that exercising ones smile is just like training other parts of the body. Its all about the muscles, so exercising the expressive facial muscles is the most important thing.



A standard smiling education class begins with a stretching session, after which participants are asked to pick up small handheld mirrors and observe themselves as they follow the instructions of a trainer who teaches them how to flex their facial muscles to convey the warmest and brightest expression of happiness possible.

Interestingly, instructional smiling classes have been a part of Japanese culture for several decades, because of the peoples notorious difficulty to convey their feelings through facial expressions, but theyve once again risen in popularity after the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted.
Allan Ripp

Many urgent questions confront Linda Yaccarino, whom Elon Musk tapped to be the new CEO of Twitter (shes expected to start at the end of June).

Can the former top NBC ad executive lure major advertisers back to the platform, while creating new revenue streams such as banking to service the companys pressing debt load from last years $44 billion buyout? Can she win back major media companies and celebrities who fled Twitter in protest of the chaos and controversies that Musk brought to the business?

Can she turn a profit or get Donald Trump to re-activate his account?

Oh, and will she please dump the poop emoji?

For anyone who hasnt seen it  or been on its receiving end  the emoji is the auto-reply image sent to those emailing Twitters press office. It officially dropped in March via a tweet by Musk himself after the company stopped taking media inquiries altogether following the buyout. Dont look for a press officers name or phone number, or a generic thanks for reaching out, though the horrid little pile does come with a pair of googly eyes and an open mouth. Whether thats a comment on press officers or journalists is hard to figure.

Mr. Musk obviously enjoys the stink hes raised with such a provocative and unsightly bot response  just as he does when dueling with the SEC and others he deems unworthy. Reporters covering Twitter contact the company seeking verification of basic information  is Tucker Carlson recreating his show on Twitter? How many users have paid to keep their blue check marks for verified accounts? Instead of recording a simple no comment, or no one was immediately available, or perchance an actual fact-based reply, they are forced to state for the record, Twitter responded to a request for comment with an auto-reply of a poop emoji. Funny? Maybe the first time, but also juvenile, disrespectful and a sad reflection of public communications from one of the worlds best-known brands. In becoming Twitters stock answer to every incoming question, the jokes no longer on us.

Companies often play cat-and-mouse with the press. In my own day job handling PR for law firms and other businesses, Ive sometimes (to my regret) had to stonewall, divert and challenge reporters looking to confirm details about my clients, though my first goal is to be transparent and truthful. To have no dialogue at all is anathema, and depletes any good will when the time comes to call on the same reporters with real news to share. Musk might say he doesnt need an information office when he can simply tweet out whatevers on his mind to an estimated 134 million followers. But theres far greater need to know about an enterprise than what flows from an owners brain, especially for a business that is supposed to facilitate information sharing on a massive scale.

The troubling thing about Twitter isnt just the emoji, but the complete lack of engagement it represents. I doubt Ill ever hear back from the query I sent to [email protected], along with a set of questions about the emoji, including how the company might translate a happy-face turd. For Twitter, media relations has become no relations at all, something that should concern the incoming CEO seeking to improve discourse with stakeholders, including the Fourth Estate.

Elon has committed to being accessible to everyone for continual feedback, Ms. Yaccarino said during an April interview with Twitters owner, in which she also echoed her new bosss view that free speech is a bedrock of American excellence. What does it say when your companys go-to feedback for editorial requests is a scoop of dung? Is that enhancing, or diminishing, the concept of open speech?

According to media lore, in the 1970s New York Times music critic John Rockwell reportedly did his best to dignify hard rocker Meat Loaf by sometimes referring to him as Mr. Loaf. It showed a wonderful touch of absurdity to the papers propriety, which Ive lately adapted to Musk. Instead of Chief Twit, Elmo or even the billionaire entrepreneur, Ive come to regard him as Mr. Poop. Heres hoping that Ms. Yaccarino can cut the crap and help Twitter clean up its act.

***

Allan Ripp runs a press relations firm in New York.
Kevin McCarthy

Congressman Kevin McCarthy worked so hard to get his dream job, Speaker of the House.

But this week he threw it all away by backing an ethics committee probe, rather than an expulsion vote, for the indicted laughing stock of the House, George Santos.

What was McCarthy thinking? Santos is kryptonite to the Republican Party and its slim control of Congress.

The Democratic Congressional Committee wasted no time in cashing in on the McCarthy debacle.

It launched digital campaigns on May 19 targeted at Republicans in swing districts who voted in support of the ethics probe, after they publicly said they want Santos out of Congress.

New York Congressmen Nick LaLota, Anthony Esposito, Mike Lawler and Marc Molinaro are the initial targets.

Vulnerable House Republicans have proven they are too weak to buck party leadershipinstead of expelling serial grifter and indicted criminal George Santos from Congressthey are protecting him, Viet Shelton, DCCC spokesperson, said in announcing the campaign. Voters deserve better than hypocritical representatives who put their party above their people and the DCCC will continue to hold these Republicans accountable.

The ads will run through Memorial Day.

The DCCC slates more Santos ads in competitive districts in California, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Montana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

McCarthy on May 17 posed with former Speakers Nancy Pelosi, Newt Gingrich, John Boehner and Paul Ryan at a ceremony that unveiled a painting of Ryan for Statuary Hall.

He will soon be posing for his official painting.

The Village People say enough is enough. The 1970s disco group wants Donald Trump to stop using its YMCA and Macho Man mega-hits without the bands consent.

The former president has been using those songs at his rallies for years, which band members tolerated, according to a cease-and-desist letter sent by the Village Peoples manager Karen Willis to Trumps legal team.

The last straw: a lookalike Village People group performed at Mar-a-Lago and a video of band members dancing to Macho Man was widely shared on social media.

Village People fans who saw the video were shocked, thinking the actual band performed at Mar-a-Lago.

Trumps attorney Joe Tacopina told TMZ that the Village People should be grateful that Trump got them some publicity.

I havent heard their name in decades. Glad to hear they are still around, hissed Tacopina.

Getting conversations started. Minnesotas Dept of Health slates a communications campaign to encourage family conversations at dinner time.

The effort will be based on materials created by The Family Dinner Project to promote families eating together while engaging in conversation to build connections.

The Project has compiled a list of conversation starters (e.g., talking about the future, resilience, STEM, gender roles, etc) to get the talk going.

The campaign comes as 47 percent of Minnesota students report experiencing one or more adverse childhood experiences. ACEs are linked to health problems, mental illness, substance abuse in adolescence and adulthood.

The DoH believes the adverse effects of ACEs can be prevented through protective factors like a connection to parents and supportive adults in the community.

Sharing a meal together increases feelings of connection, improves social and emotional learning skills and reduces conflict.

Ring that dinner bell.
A MAN with 56 previous convictions has been warned that if he is charged with any offence in the next six months he will be sent to prison.

Tullamore District Court heard that Martynas Jurkaitis (27), Sandymount, Birr, now had a job and that would help keep him off alcohol.

Sergeant James O'Sullivan told Judge Andrew Cody that alcohol was the problem with Mr Jurkaitis who had pleaded guilty to committing a public order offence at a SuperValu supermarket in Birr on April 17 last.

The man had also been in court previously accused of public order offences on June 25 last year at Cemetery Road, Birr.

When he came before the District Court last week his solicitor Donal Farrelly said he had been previously released from detention so that he could get into a treatment centre for alcohol addiction.

In the meantime he had got a full time job in Birr as a mechanic after being unemployed at the time he was committing offences.

Mr Farrelly added that his client had difficulty getting a doctor in Birr to take him on and refer him for alcohol treatment.

Judge Cody said Mr Jurkaitis had 56 previous convictions and he had previously given him options of seeking addiction treatment or a prison sentence.

Either go to Cuan Mhuire or the North Circular Road or the Dublin Road in Portlaoise, said the judge.

Mr Farrelly asked that the accused not be sent to prison and said that when he is working he does not drink.

He urged Judge Cody to adjourn sentence to see if the man could remain alcohol-free, stay in employment and out of trouble.

Judge Cody said he would remand Mr Jurkaitis on continuing bail to November 15 next but warned him that another charge, even without a conviction, would result in him going straight to jail.

I don't like insulting people here but you've been a nuisance to the gardai for long enough.

A previous court sitting was told the accused was a Lithuanian man who spoke good English.

Most of his previous convictions were for road traffic offences and he had once been disqualified from driving for 15 years.

During the incident at Cemetery Road he was verbally abusive to gardai and would not allow them to handcuff him. The gardai had to use pepperspray, the court heard.
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.
Maliar: In Bakhmut's suburbs, pace of advancement of our troops been reduced, but enemy unable to regain lost positions

Fierce battles continue in Bakhmut direction, the Russians continue to attack at the cost of huge losses, our troops hold the borders of Litak (Plane) district in Bakhmut, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar has said.

"The enemy cannot win by quality, so he takes quantity. In particular, he increased the presence of troops in Bakhmut direction by several thousand people and is trying to use the advantage in heavy artillery and the number of shells," she said on the Telegram channel on Friday.

As Maliar noted, Russian troops continue to attack at the cost of heavy losses, "which are disproportionately higher than our losses. In the town of Bakhmut, they turn buildings into ashes. They leave only the foundation that cannot be defended." As Maliar said, "our troops are holding the borders of Litak (Plane) district in Bakhmut.

According to her, in the suburbs of Bakhmut today "the pace of advancement of our troops is somewhat reduced. At the same time, the enemy is not able to regain lost positions. Our soldiers repel all attacks of the enemy in this direction," she said.

"The defense of Bakhmut and the suburbs is fulfilling its military tasks: the enemy is being destroyed, the offensive enemy potential is being reduced, time is being won for other planned actions," the Deputy Defense Minister said.
ON Sunday 30th April a plaque was unveiled at Crimblin Big, Moneygall to the memory of two members of the National Army, who died from wounds sustained in action at the spot just over 100 years ago.

Sgt Patrick Byrne and Pvt. John Gunning were wounded during an exchange between members of the North Tipperary anti-Treaty IRA and a National Army patrol operating out of Roscrea. Patrick Byrne had been a member of the North Tipperary Flying Column during the War of Independence and had taken the Pro-Treaty side following the split over the Treaty. John Gunning had joined the British army and fought during WW1. Byrne was a native of Roscrea and Gunning was a Laois man married in Birr.

The anti-Treaty fighters, under the command of Paddy Ryan (Lacken), had fled the Cureeny area the previous day  February 27th 1922- ahead of an extensive National Army infiltration of the area. Word quickly reached Roscrea of their presence in Crimblin Big and a patrol was sent out to search the area. The men were staying at the home of Timothy Ryan (Captain) and his family, when early on February 28th it was surrounded. Fearing execution if captured with arms, the IRA men decided to make a stand. Following a lengthy exchange of fire there was a lull during which Tim Ryan pleaded with the Military to cease firing as there were children in the house.

Seizing the opportunity Denis Sonny ONeill called on the men inside the house to follow him as he charged from the besieged home. Firing as he ran, ONeill was followed by Ryan (Lacken), John Leamy, Paddy Hughes and Jim Murphy. ONeills fire found its mark and three members of the National forces including Sgt Byrne and Pvt. Gunning were hit as the men made good their escape. Three men who remained in the house were captured and taken to Roscrea. John Gunning succumbed to his wounds the following day and Sgt Patrick Byrne died the next day.

In the wake of their deaths the families of both men, in common with almost all National Army casualties, were treated appallingly by the Government of the day. Both families were living in penury before eventually receiving meagre pensions from the Military Service Pensions Board.

Last Sunday week, family members from both sides who faced each other in combat that fateful day came together in a spirit of reconciliation to honour the men who died and to remember those terrible days and events of the Civil War. A plaque was unveiled by Ann Creane  grand daughter of Patrick Byrne, assisted by her son Brendan. Among the large attendance were four grand nephews of Sonny ONeill, who travelled from West Cork for the occasion, as well as members of the Ryan Lacken, Ryan Captain and Hughes families.

The event was organised by local men Sean Kenny and Seamus Doherty, with the co-operation of the Coonan and Egan families. The oration was delivered by local historian, John Flannery and a colour party was provided by members of North Tipperary O.N.E. Lil Cleary, who was born in the house, and Sean Kenny - two of the oldest residents - recounted reminiscences of the event which they heard growing up. John McLoughney, Moycarkey Pipe Band, was piper for the ceremony.

Report by John Flannery
SHAKEFEST is back at Charleville Castle, Tullamore, Co. Offaly once again after a 3 year online haitus and we want to celebrate!

In its 18th year, Shakefest will once again have a variety of fantastic arts and culture performances and activities for all ages to enjoy.

On Saturday, May 27th experience an inspiring and dynamic Drum Circle workshop from 6pm with JabbaJabba Jembe, followed by an incredible set of performances in the Ballroom including Bubble Lock Hip Hop, Indian Classical dance, Irish dance, music and storytelling with Rahan Comhaltas plus special guests, then featuring then dynamic Birr Co.

Offaly artists Finn Nichol with indoor castle art projections, as well as Caroline Conway who presents 'THE PEOPLE'S CASTLE', a spectacular illuminated projection show on the front of Charleville Castle, about Charleville Castle! This is an evening NOT to be missed!

On Sunday, May 28th, from 1-5:30pm, treat yourself to fun and energetic workshops with Rama from Bubble Lock, each for kids and adults, as well as an adventurous and explorational Abstract Paint Pour workshop for kids!

Camping is not available this year but please refer to our 'Where to Stay' page on the website should you need accommodation over the weekend.

All programme information and pricing is on our website.

BOOK NOW at www.shakefest.net, and looking forward to celebrating with you!

* Sponsored content
A Tullamore schoolgirl is celebrating the success of farming communities in southern Malawi who have seen their lives transformed since receiving a fairer price for their pigeon pea crop.

To coincide with Christian Aid Week (14-20 May), 12-year-old Isobel Hayes shared a photo with a pea pod in place of her normal smile to demonstrate her happiness for farmers who have received a higher income for their drought-resistant harvest since joining a Christian Aid-supported pigeon pea cooperative.

Isobels father, Rev William Hayes of Tullamore Presbyterian Church, supports Christian Aid through his ministry by holding church collections, coffee mornings and other fundraising events.

Pigeon peas thrive in drought-prone southern Malawi. Theyre cheap to grow from recycled seed and require only minimal amounts of fertiliser and pesticides, making them an ideal crop to grow in a region where over 60% of families live in poverty.

Esther Saizi, a 54-year-old widowed grandmother, is one of more than 3,300 farmers helped by Christian Aids local partner, the Nandolo Farmers Association, which runs the pigeon pea cooperative.

With the improved profits from her harvest, Esther began buying goats, which provide milk and meat for her family as well as manure for her crops, saving on expensive fertiliser. Esther even used her income to buy a sewing machine and now she makes clothes for her family.

The extra income also enabled Esther to support her elder daughters carpentry business and her younger daughters dream of going to college and qualifying as a nurse. She is also paying school fees for her 4-year-old grandson.

Christian Aid Ireland Chief Executive, Rosamond Bennett, praised the impact of the charitys supporters:

The transformation in Esthers fortunes in Malawi is only made possible by our incredible supporters who generously give each Christian Aid Week to fund our work to help tackle the root causes of poverty around the world.

Christian Aid Week has been running in Ireland since 1957, making it the countrys longest running fundraising campaign. Each year, thousands of people donate to Christian Aid during the week to support people living in some of the poorest countries in the world as well as countries coping with conflict, drought, risk of famine and the impacts of climate change.

By giving this Christian Aid Week, you can help more farmers like Esther secure a fair price for their crops and make their childrens dreams come true. For more information and to donate, please visit caweek.ie/Donate or call 01 496 7040 to make a telephone donation.
Supernova Airlines, a member of the Nova Poshta group of companies, made its first flight on the Riga-Rzeszow-Riga route, the press service of the postal operator reported on Friday.

"The aircraft delivered 7 tonnes of international parcels from Nova Poshta customers from Riga International Airport to Polish Rzeszow. After that, the parcels were reloaded onto trucks and sent to Ukraine," the press service said.

According to the press service, the first flight was made on an ATR 72 aircraft with a carrying capacity of up to 7.5 tonnes in cooperation with the Latvian airline RAF-Avia, which also has a SAAB 340 cargo aircraft with a carrying capacity of up to 3.7 tonnes.

Supernova Airlines plans to fly this route twice a week  every Tuesday and every Thursday.

As reported, Supernova Airlines, on January 6, received a Ukrainian air operator certificate, which provides an opportunity to start cargo flights. The AN-26-100 aircraft manufactured in 1978 was declared in the airline's fleet.
Fact Check: Can Banks Verify If You Have Spent Less Than Rs 7 Lakh A Year?

Fact Check: This Video Is Of A Black Man Hitting A Lady In The US

Fact Check: Did Members Of The Bajrang Dal Burn The Indian Flag In Manipur?

Fact Check

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

A video of a group of men burning the Indian National Flag has gone viral on the social media.

It is being claimed that the ones burning the flag are allegedly members of the Bajrang Dal from Manipur. "Bajrang Dal is burning the national flag in Manipur," wrote one user on Twitter.

The Bajrang Dal has been in the news off late after the Congress in Karnataka said in its Karnataka manifesto that it would the organisation if it came to power. The Congress did win the Karnataka elections, the results of which were declared on May 13.

Fact Check: Did A Judge Hit A Lawyer In A Court In Maharashtra?

OneIndia has learnt that the video does not feature Bajrang Dal members in Manipur. The members seen in the video are more likely part of a separatist group from the state, where widespread violence has been reported in recent times.

The video was shot on August 25 2022 and we found the same on the Facebook page, NingtamPaojel.

We also found the video on the page of the People's Liberation Army. The headline read, 'burning down the Indian Flag. The description said that the PLA, is a separatist group in Manipur which was established under the leadership of the N Bishweswar Singh in 1978.

Fact Check: Did This Girl Fight With Her Parents For Supporting BJP In Karnataka?

The Manipur police too said that there is no report of Bajrang Dal members burning down the Indian National Flag in the state. The Bajrang Dal too has rubbished the claim and said that their members would never do any such thing. Such videos are being floated to defame the organisation, a member said.

Fact Check Claim Bajrang Dal members burnt Indian National Flag in Manipur. Conclusion The video is an old one and no Bajrang Dal member was involved in the flag burning. Rating False Raise your request for FACT CHECKING. Mail us at [email protected]

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, May 19, 2023, 10:09 [IST]
OPINION: Happy Days Are Back In Kashmir

Feature

lekhaka-Balbir Punj

One of the biggest success story of the Modi regime has been restoration of peace in Kashmir valley, following abrogation of Articles 35A and 370 of the Constitution in August 2019. The life in the strife-ridden valley is near normal now - something unthinkable not long back.

Earlier, even Army convoys were stoned by mobs, shouting pro-Pakistan slogans, and now the valley is bursting at seams with tourists and film-makers swarming the Union territory in search of exotic locations for shooting. It's understandable that New Delhi would want to showcase this incredible transformation to the world, and something India-haters would obviously resent.

India has decided to hold G20 Tourism Group meeting in Srinagar on May 22-24. While the move has been welcomed by the locals, it's no surprise that professional India-baiters are whining. The UN Special Rapporteur (SR) on Minority issues Fernand de Varennes tweeted: "Holding a G20 meeting in Jammu and Kashmir while massive human rights violations are ongoing is leading support to attempts by India to normalise the brutal & repressive denial of democratic & other rights of Kashmiri Muslims and minorities." SRs are independent expert appointed by the United Nations for monitoring human rights.

India has strongly rejected the statement issued by the SR and said that as G20 President, it's India's prerogative to host its meetings in any part of the country. The Indian mission said in a statement on Twitter, "We are aghast that @fernanddev has acted irresponsibly to politicise this issue, misused his position as SR to publicise on social media his presumptive and prejudiced conclusions in a gross violation of the Code of Conduct for SRs."

India has dismissed objections from Pakistan over the holding of G20 meetings in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, saying such events are being organised in all the States and Union territories ahead of the summit in New Delhi in September. In fact, Pakistan's objections are meaningless, in view of the fact that Pakistan is not a member of the G20.

China, which skipped a G20 meeting held in Arunachal Pradesh in March, and Turkey will not attend the meet in Srinagar. China's decision is apparently linked to objections by its close ally Pakistan while Turkey has criticised India's handling of the situation in Kashmir in past years.

The meeting is being billed as one of the largest international events to be organised in Kashmir in the aftermath of the abrogation of the Articles. Over 100 delegates of the G20 and guest countries are expected at the mega event. Tight security arrangements have been put in place around the venue, Sher-e-Kashmir International Conventional Centre (SKICC) on the banks of the Dal Lake.

Srinagar has been spruced up for the event and the administration has been on a major renovation drive in the run up to the event. Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) Commissioner Athar Amin Khan told the media that all projects under the smart city project have been completed or are on the verge of completion. The airport road and flyover have been spruced up and the city has been illuminated.

While the main summit is in Srinagar, the national and international delegates are scheduled to visit the picturesque bowl-shaped Gulmarg, which loosely translates to "meadow of flowers", surrounded by pine trees and steep slopes in north Kashmir's Baramulla district, some 50 km from Srinagar.

Much to the chagrin of Pakistan and China, most of the international community already appears to believe that Kashmir is no longer a conflict or a dispute. Most of the world has set aside any concerns about Kashmir in order to ensure good relations with New Delhi, which much of the international community regards as a key trade and investment partner. Even most Muslim-majority countries have stayed quiet on the Kashmir issue.

In the last four years, the Union territory has undergone a complete transformation. It has witnessed economic growth of 14.64 per cent and tax revenue was up by 31 per cent, as 1.88 crore tourists visited the Union territory last year. People are enjoying Sikara rides till late night. Cinemas are running smoothly after a gap of three decades. Night bus services have started in Kashmir. Schools and colleges and universities are running smoothly. Shops remain open as usual.

Moreover, investment proposals worth Rs 70,000 crore have been received by the UT administration for industrial development. It received the highest ever investment of Rs 1,547.87 crore during the last 10 months while as many as 500 startups have come up during the last three years in Jammu & Kashmir.

Apart from the unprecedented tourist arrivals, the newly created UT is buzzing with a lot of activities in the field of creative arts too. At one time, the valley was a favourite haunt of Bollywood producers. As the fundamentalist Islam seized Kashmir, it turned into a cultural desert. Cinema houses were forced shut and film crews stopped coming, fearing for their lives.

Now things are changing. With the end of terrorism, a sense of optimism and security prevails in the valley. The UT administration too has tweaked its policies to lure film producers, who are now coming in droves to take advantage of fresh incentive schemes. The new Film Policy launched by the UT administration in 2021, along with single-window clearance and subsidies, also entails "appropriate security arrangements to be made free of cost to enable film-makers to complete shooting."

According to official soruces, 350 of 500 requests for permission to shoot films in the valley have already been ranted now. That besides the location permission committee, headed by respective Divisional Commissioners, and the script screening committee, which looks into the film scripts for sensitive or anti-national content before giving the nod. In fact, there are incentives connected to the themes of films and series.

The 2021 Film Policy, which sets the vision till 2026, also aims to uplift the local film sector. A film-maker giving work to local artists will get additional subsidy of up to Rs 50 lakh in case over 50 per cent of shoot days have been spent in Kashmir. Local Kashmiri actors are being taken as main leads, something that has not happened before. In fact, most actors in Onir's 'Chahiye Thoda Pyaar' are Kashmiris.

Films produced to inspire the feeling of 'One Nation, Best Nation' shall be given 50 per cent of their cost or Rs 50 lakh, whichever is less, as subsidy, while those related to child and women empowerment will receive additional aid of 25 per cent.

Just last month, actor Shah Rukh Khan had landed in the valley for Rajkumar Hirani's 'Dunki', in which he plays an Army officer. A song for the film was shot in Sonmarg and the crew did a recce in the neighbouring Thaji glacier. Earlier this year, film-maker Karan Johar had arrived at the Gulmarg Ski Resort with the crew of 'Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani' including the lead actors Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt.

Nearly 350 film crews have been permitted to shoot in Jammu & Kashmir over the last two years, a record number in the past four decades. Besides mainstream Hindi films, movies and series in Punjabi, Urdu, Telugu, Kannada and a series for History TV18 titled 'OMG! Yeh Mera India' have also been shot in Kashmir.

However, the story of Kashmir would be incomplete, till the Pandits, flag-carriers of its original catholic and plural culture, don't feel safe and confident to return back to their homes, settle and start their lives afresh. No doubt the Valley has travelled a great deal, from chaos to peace, but still it has a long way to go.

(Mr. Balbir Punj is a Former Member of Parliament and a Columnist. He can be reached at: [email protected])

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of OneIndia and OneIndia does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
OPINION: US Report On Indias Religious Freedom Is Absolutely Fallacious

Feature

lekhaka-Jagdish N Singh

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom's latest report on India is absolutely fallacious. It has generalised some isolated incidents in India's huge diverse population of 1.4 billion people. The US administration is highly unlikely to accept it.

It is highly unfortunate that in its latest annual report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is critical of India's record on one's right to religion. The report says India's 12 State-level anti-conversion laws are inconsistent with international human rights law. These laws prohibit conversions and presume an individual accused of violating an anti-conversion law is guilty. They violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The USCIRF report claims that in 2022, religious freedom conditions continued to worsen in India. Throughout the year, the Indian government, at the national, State and local levels, promoted discriminatory policies that targeted religious conversion and interfaith relationships. The government promoted discriminatory policies on the issues related to the wearing of 'hijab' and cow-slaughter. Such policies negatively impacted Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits and Adivasis (indigenous peoples and Scheduled Tribes).

The report says, "The national government also continued to suppress critical voices-particularly religious minorities and those advocating on their behalf-including through surveillance, harassment, demolition of property and detention under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and by targeting non-governmental organisations (NGOs) under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)."

The US Commission report has recommended to its Department of State that it designate India (China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Burma, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam) as 'Country of Particular Concern' (CPC) for its violations of religious freedom. It has urged the US administration to impose targeted sanctions on Indian government agencies and officials responsible for "severe violations" of religious freedom in the country. It has also recommended to the US Congress to raise the issue of India's religious freedom and conduct hearings on it.

Observers say the USCIRF report is absolutely fallacious. It has come to generalise some isolated incidents in India's hugely diverse population of 1.4 billion people. The report refers to the rights violations related to some cow slaughter-related incidents. Therein, it glosses over the cultural and economic significance of cows in India. The report is oblivious of the fact that there is a constitutional ban on cow slaughter. While referring to the incidents of house bulldozing in India, the report ignores the fact that the bulldozed houses have been illegal.

It seems the forces opposed to democracy are being very active in the United States today. They have influenced the USCIRF to depict India negatively in the United States so as not to let the two democracies come together and strengthen their shared values.

However, the observers say, the USCIRF report is highly unlikely to affect adversely US-India relations today. In the post-Cold War landscape, relations between the world's two leading democracies have prospered in almost all areas of diplomacy. India and the United States share more or less the same page on conducting the affairs of the world, including in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Joe Biden administration in Washington DC is highly unlikely to take any action that might damage Washington's ties with New Delhi. It may be clearly understood that the USCIRF is just an independent, bipartisan federal government entity. The US Congress has established it to monitor, analyse and report on religious freedom abroad. The USCIRF may make foreign policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State and the Congress in the country. But its recommendations are not mandatory. The USCIRF has been making similar recommendations to the State Department against India since 2020. But none of them has ever been accepted.

Most importantly, the US administration, the Department of State in particular, today is aware of the pitfalls in the present USCIRF case to declare India a 'CPC'. The core of the White House knows it would be absolutely immoral to bracket India with the nations such as China and Pakistan in the category of the CPC. It knows India is an ever-flourishing democracy with its ancient roots. Since the Republic of India came into existence in 1950, it has adhered to its tradition of a robust public discourse. It has conducted periodic elections to form its governments at the Centre and in the States.

The White House knows well that the successive governments in India have been fully committed to ensure that the fundamental rights, including the one to religion or faith, of all its citizens are intact. Also, India has constitutionally mandated institutions, including its fiercely independent judiciary, that guarantee protection of religious freedom and the rule of law.

Also, the 'other America'-the United States of well-informed citizens, Congressmen and journalists, who influence the country's decision-making process the most-continues to admire the Indian democracy.

(Jagdish N. Singh is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. He is also Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, New York)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of OneIndia and OneIndia does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
How Allahabad HC fought in Supreme Court to save its land occupied by a Mosque

Allahabad HC Upholds Acquittal Of Union Minister Ajay Mishra In 23-Year-Old Murder Case

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The Allahabad High Court has upheld the acquittal of Union Minister of State for Home, Ajay Mishra Teni, in the 23-year-old Prabhat Gupta murder case. The bench, consisting of Justice Attau Rahman Masoodi and Justice Om Prakash Shukla, dismissed the appeal by the Uttar Pradesh government against his acquittal order issued by a trial court in 2004.

Ajay Mishra Teni is the father of Ashish Mishra, who was accused in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri killings. The case hearing concluded on Tuesday, and the bench reserved its decision after a hearing on February 21, 2023.

The incident took place in 2000 when Prabhat Gupta, a member of the Samajwadi Party's youth wing, was shot dead in Surrey Bazar, Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, while returning home. At the time, Teni was associated with the BJP. Four individuals, including Ajay Mishra Teni, were named in the FIR: Subhash Mama, Shashi Bhushan Pinky, and Rakesh Dalu.

Teni was acquitted by the trial court in 2004 due to a lack of evidence. The Uttar Pradesh government at the time filed an appeal in the High Court against the trial court's decision.

How Allahabad HC fought in Supreme Court to save its land occupied by a Mosque

During the case, the state government argued that Teni had a dispute with Prabhat, a student leader, regarding the panchayat elections. It was alleged that Teni and the other accused, Subhash Mama, had shot Prabhat.

Eyewitnesses to the incident were also present, but their testimonies were disregarded by the trial court. In response, the defense argued that the alleged eyewitnesses were deemed untrustworthy by the trial court as they were employees of a shop where the incident occurred. The defense claimed that the trial court's decision to acquit Ajay Mishra Teni was justified.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, May 19, 2023, 17:10 [IST]
Need 6X6 ft land for our leader, nothing else: DMKs emotive pitch in HC

Here is where Karunanidhi will be laid to rest at Marina

Assam Mosque Committee Not to Allow Burial Of Those Who Died Due To Consumption Of Drugs

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

In an effort to combat the drug menace, the Kabristan Committee in Morigaon district of central Assam has made a decision to prohibit the participation and burial of individuals who died due to drug consumption or involvement in the illegal drug trade.

During a recent meeting, the Moirabari Town Kabristan Committee reached this decision with the aim of raising public awareness about the drug menace. Mehboob Muktar, the president of the committee, stated that the decision was a bold step taken to address the drug problem in their locality.

According to Muktar, many young people in the area are involved in the illegal drug trade, and numerous children have become addicted to drugs.

"The Moirabari Town Kabristan Committee of Morigaon district has taken a bold decision that, we will not allow the body of those people who die due to consumption of drugs or have been involved in illegal drugs trade to be buried in the Kabristan. We have taken the decision to fight against the drug menace in our area," Muktar said as qupted by ANI.

Biggest drug haul: NCB seizes drugs worth Rs 15,000 crore in Kochi

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma responded to the committee's decision by highlighting the state government's significant efforts in the war against drugs. He mentioned that in the past two years, 9,309 people have been arrested, narcotics worth Rs 1,430 crore have been seized, and measures have been taken to destroy 420 acres of cannabis and opium cultivation.

The chief minister also expressed the government's commitment to combating drug consumption and supply networks, emphasizing the impactful nature of their efforts in this regard.

In last 2 years, we have waged the most effective war against drugs, inflicting severe damage on consumption and supply networks.



Narcotics worth Rs 1430 cr has been seized, 9309 people arrested, 420 acres of cannabis and opium cultivation destroyed.@assampolice pic.twitter.com/fyBOItzPMx  Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) May 19, 2023

''In last 2 years, we have waged the most effective war against drugs, inflicting severe damage on consumption and supply networks. Narcotics worth Rs 1430 cr has been seized, 9309 people arrested, 420 acres of cannabis and opium cultivation destroyed,'' he tweeted.
Broad Arrangement On Term-Sharing In Karnataka, But There Is A 2024 Twist

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The Congress managed to successfully broker a deal in Karnataka and both Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar attended a meeting of the legislature party in Bengaluru on Thursday.

While it has been rumoured that there would be a power sharing arrangement, nothing has been confirmed officially. Sources tell OneIndia that the 50:50 deal would largely depend on the performance of the Congress party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Karnataka has 28 Lok Sabha seats up for grabs and the BJP currently holds 26 of them.

Both leaders on Thursday were given a rousing welcome in Karnataka, following which they met with Governor, Tawarchand Gehlot.

Both leaders are expected to be back in Delhi to discuss the names of the ministers with the central leadership.

Karnataka CM Swearing-In Ceremony: Heres Who All Will Be Attending

There were plenty of deliberations before a final conclusion could be reached. Apparently D K Shivakumar was refusing to relent, but following the intervention of Sonia Gandhi he is said to have agreed to be the deputy chief minister. Sources also said that he would have a pick of six persons as ministers apart from deciding on what portfolio he wants.

While Shivakumar said that he is abiding by the decision in the larger interest of the party, his brother, D K Suresh said that they were not happy. We were expecting the post of chief minister, he said.

Keeping the flock united is very crucial for the Congress party. The upcoming elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections would all have a bearing on how the situation in Karnataka. For now, all is well in the Karnataka Congress and on whether Shivakumar gets to share the term would all depend on how the elections in Karnataka play out for the party in 2024.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, May 19, 2023, 9:30 [IST]
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. Uzbekistan supports Azerbaijan's initiative to open the Zangazur corridor, Deputy Minister of Transport of Uzbekistan Abdusamat Muminov told Trend in an exclusive interview.

As he pointed out, thanks to this project, the transportation of Uzbek goods through the territory of Azerbaijan will increase significantly.

"Uzbekistan has always supported and will continue to support Azerbaijan's initiatives to develop transport links. The Zangazur corridor is a very important project in this regard. According to our initial estimates, the Zangazur corridor will provide an opportunity for the transportation of about 5-10 million tons of cargo. The advantage of this transport route also lies in its geographical convenience. If other routes pass through the highlands, this corridor is more gentle, respectively, it becomes possible to transport more cargo in a shorter period. We hope that as soon as the Azerbaijani side completes its part of the work, our Turkish colleagues will also join in and complete the railway from their side. Further, the goods can be transported by road. Uzbekistan is always ready to support this project, and I am sure that we will increase the number of transported goods along this route," Muminov said.

The deputy minister added that Uzbekistan is currently actively working on the reorientation of its cargo in the Azerbaijani direction.

"Uzbekistan is reorienting cargo in the Azerbaijani direction, thus developing the potential of the [Trans-Caspian International Transport Route] Middle corridor. To date, we are very actively using the transport potential of Azerbaijan, the possibilities of the Baku International Commercial Sea Port, and in particular for the import of sugar," he added.
China, Turkey Likely To Give A Miss To G20 Meet In Kashmir

India

oi-Prakash KL

China and Turkey will reportedly give a miss to the upcoming G20 tourism working group meeting in Kashmir. The event is scheduled to be held between May 22 and 25 at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) on the banks of the Dal Lake.

In addition to it, several countries will have a low-key participation as they plan to send officials from their embassies in New Delhi rather than diplomats from their capitals, Hindustan Times reported citing matter in the know.This is first international event to be held in Kashmir since the BJP scrapped Article 370 in 2019.

The report claims that China is not attending the event as its ally Pakistan has raised objection to India conducting the event in Kashmir. It skipped G20 meeting held in China in March. Whereas Turkey had criticised India for doing away with the special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

UN's special rapporteur on minority issues Fernand de Varennes had recently criticised India over G20 meet in Srinagar. "G20 should on the contrary uphold 'International human rights obligations & the #UN Declaration of Human Rights should be upheld... and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir should be decried and condemned, not pushed under the rug and ignored with the holding of this meeting'," he added.

As a result, several other countries have decided to have a low-key represenation.

Here is why Pakistan squirming over India hosting G20 Summit

"Saudi Arabia and Mexico are likely to be represented by diplomats from their embassies in New Delhi instead of officials from their respective capitals," Deccan Herald quoted sources as saying.

As Kashmir is integral part of the country, India is within its rights to choose the venue for the G20 event. By conducting the event in Srinagar, it is trying to showcase the positive development that the region has witnessed since the abrogation of the Article 370.

The event has the potential to put Kashmir on the global map which can boost the tourism and economy. "We have refurbished the conference centre to international standards and an eco-friendly environment has been created for the delegates. Everything is being done to make this event sucessful and to showcase the culture, tourism and art of Jammu and Kashmir," Hindusan Times quoted a senior official as saying.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, May 19, 2023, 15:56 [IST]
Google CEO Sundar Pichai hints at more job cuts if productivity does not improve

International news brief: Sundar Pichai meets Indian ambassador in US; Queen Elizabeth II buried and more

Google CEO Pichai's Childhood Home Sold To Tamil Actor

India

oi-Prakash KL

A property where Google CEO Sundar Pichai was born and brought up has been purchased by a Tamil actor and real estate developer C Manikandan.

The property was located at Ashok Nagar in Chennai. "Sundar Pichai has made our country proud and buying the house where he lived will be a proud achievement of my life," a daily quoted Manikandan as saying.

The small-time actor has claimed that Pichai had lived in the house for 20 years. Manikandan has also praised the humility of Pichai's parents which took him by surprise.

"Sundar's mother made a filter coffee herself and his father offered me the documents right at the first meeting," he stated, recalling his visit to the Pichai's house. "I was spellbound by their humility and humble approach," he adds.

His father insisted on not using the Google CEO's name in order to complete the registration and transfer process quickly. "In fact, his father waited for hours at the registration office, paid all necessary taxes before handing over the documents to me," the actor added.

Amid layoffs, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai gets 6-mn pay package

"Sundar's father broke down for a few minutes while handing over the documents since this was his first property," the actor claimed.

Born in Chennai, Pichai left the city in 1989 to study Metallurgical Engineering at IIT Kharagpur.

During his last visit to Chennai in December, the Google CEO distributed money and home appliances to security guards. "He also took selfies with his family members on the balcony," the neighbour told the daily.

The real estate developer now plans to construct a villa which is expected to be completed in 18 months.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, May 19, 2023, 15:22 [IST]
IAS Officer Tina Dabi Under Attack For Bulldozing Houses of Pakistan Hindu Migrants

India

oi-Prakash KL

Jaisalmer District Collector Tina Dabi is in the news again. This time for demolishing houses of Pakistani Hindu migrants in Rajasthan.

Following her order, the district administration demolished the temporary settlements in the Amarsagar gram panchayat, 4 km from district headquarters, on Tuesday.

This anti-encroachment drive led the migrants to protest in front of her house while netizens on social media sites condemned her action.

As people also targeted the state government, Rajasthan Minister Pratap Khachariyawas said that the officials involved in the demolition will face action. "What the officials did is wrong, they will have to answer. We will take action against them. Pakistani Hindu migrants are living in Jaisalmer on an vacant plot of land," ANI quoted him as saying.

Rajasthan | Pakistani Hindu migrants who are settled in Jaisalmer allege that Rajasthan Government had ordered the eviction of Pakistani Hindu migrants from Government land here. pic.twitter.com/TT1sUGv6Qu  ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) May 17, 2023

2015 IAS topper Tina Dabi is engaged, set to tie the knot again with Rajasthan cadre IAS officer: See pic

He then claimed that it was a "conspiracy" to malign the Rajasthan government. "As per the law of the Rajasthan government, you can't evict anyone without them being rehabilitated...This is a very serious matter. This is a conspiracy; such officials will be taken to task who try to malign the Govt. They committed a sin, they will have to face it," he added.

Meanwhile, Tina Dabi, a 2016 IAS officer, said that they will be shifted to shelter houses till they get a proper allotment of land. "We issued a circular on April 5 too. We have been trying to make them understand but many didn't get convinced. The place they were residing, had already been allotted to others. We had a talk with them today. They will be moved to shelter houses till they get a proper allotment of land," said Tina Dabi.

The collector claimed that she has assured of settlement at some other place to them. "Today a successful dialogue was held with the people. As per their demand, Urban Improvement Trust (UIT) will mark them in a week and give them a proper place. They were assured of settlement at some other place, after which the protestors announced to end the strike. The land on which the encroachment was removed yesterday was either allotted by UIT earlier or is in the water catchment area. That's why we have explained to those people that if you sit at this place then you will face problems in future also," she added.

Tina Dabi was earlier in the news after tying the knot with IAS officer Athar Amir-ul-Shafi. As a section of netizens slammed her over her interfaith marriage, Rahul Gandhi had used the opportunity to take a veiled dig at the Narendra Modi government while congratulating them.

"Congratulations Tina Dabi and Athar Amir-ul-Shafi, IAS toppers, batch of 2015, on your wedding! May your love grow from strength to strength and may you be an inspiration to all Indians in this age of growing intolerance and communal hatred. God bless you," Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet.
5 Guarantees Will Be Fulfilled At Any Cost: New Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah In His First Press Conference

Karnataka: Winners Won By An Average of 50% Of Votes Polled: Report

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The winners in the Karnataka Assembly elections 2023 won by an average of the 50 per cent votes polled. In the 2018 election, the winners won by an average of the 48 per cent of the total votes polled says a report by the Association For Democratic Reforms.

The report also said that 113 winners won with 50 per cent and above of the total votes polled in their constituency. 111 winners won just less than 50 per cent of the total votes polled in their constituency.

The report also says that 63 candidates with declared criminal cases against them have won with a vote share of 50 per cent or above. 111 out of the 218 crorepati candidates have won with a vote share of over 50 per cent and above, the report also added

Margin of Victory:

8 winners have won with a margin of victory of less than 1,000 votes.

5 winners have won with more than 40 per cent margin of victory.

Winners with Declared Criminal Cases and their Margin of Victory

63 out of 123 winners with declared criminal cases have won against a runner up with a clean background.

Among these 63 winners, 35 winners have won with more than 10 per cent margin of victory.

Among these, B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan (INC) from Chamrajapet constituency won with 43 per cent margin of victory.

Crorepati winners and their margin of victory:

7 out of 218 crorepati winners have won against a non-crorepati runners up.

Among these 7 winners, 2 winners have won with more than 30 per cent margin of victory.

Among these, Balachandra Laxmanrao Jarkiholi (BJP) from Arabhavi constituency won with 38 per cent margin of victory.

Performance of Women Winners:

Among the 224 winners, 10 are women.

All of them won with 35 per cent and above of vote share in their constituencies.

Among the women winners, Bhagirathi Murulya (BJP) from Sullia (SC) Constituency has won with the highest vote share, i.e. 57.01 per cent in her constituency and 18.74 per cent margin of victory.

Performance of Re-elected Winners:

Out of total 94 re-elected winners, none have won with less than 20 per cent of vote share in their respective constituencies. 48 have won with more than 50 per cent of vote share.

49 re-elected winners have won with less than 10 per cent margin of victory whereas 1 has won with more than 50 per cent margin of victory.

NOTA:

The NOTA button instated by the ECI in 2013 gave the voters an option of rejecting all the candidates in their constituency. Out of 3, 91, 54,967 votes polled in Karnataka Assembly, 2023, 2, 69, 763 were polled for NOTA.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, May 19, 2023, 17:05 [IST]
OPINION: With Pasmanda Muslims Ignored, Karnataka Polls Can't Be Called 'People-Centric'

He Has Small Thinking: BJP Slams Rahul For Raising Objection To PM Inaugurating Parl Building

Only JPC Probe Will Reveal Full Truth Of Modani Scam: Congress

India

oi-PTI

The Congress on Thursday said only a joint parliamentary committee probe into the Adani issue will reveal the "full truth of the Modani scam", with Rahul Gandhi alleging that the government is not bothered about the public money getting "looted".

"Market capitalization of LIC - May 2022: Rs 5.48 lakh crore. May 2023: Rs 3.59 lakh crore. Decline: 35 percent. 'Saheb' has only one focus - how to save the businessman. Even if the hard-earned money of the public gets looted, or the investment of shareholders sinks," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

Senior leader Jairam Ramesh, in a tweet, cited a news report that has alleged a "cover up".

The Congress has been alleging that the money of LIC (Life Insurance Corporation) policyholders has been invested in the Adani Group.

Gautam Adani meets Sharad Pawar in Mumbai amidst demand for JPC probe

It has also claimed that LIC share prices have declined drastically since the Hindenburg Research report, which alleged stock price manipulation by the Adani Group, came out.

The Adani Group has denied the allegations.

Sharing the link to a news report on Twitter, Ramesh said it is an "expose of the anatomy of a Modani cover-up".

Citing the report, he said, "Hire a tiny accounting firm to audit gigantic companies. Get auditors to make identical 'qualified opinions', the minimum needed to comply with the law, without saying why or how it affects investors."

"Claim an 'independent review' has been done by an unnamed law firm but without disclosing any details. Avoid a forensic audit at all costs that could expose what actually happened. No one is any wiser as to how you used related-party transactions to launder money and inflate earnings."

"This is why we need a JPC. Everything will be investigated, the full truth of the Modani scam will be revealed," Ramesh added.

The Congress has been demanding a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the Adani issue and even stalled proceedings in both Houses of Parliament during the Budget Session.

On Wednesday, Ramesh had expressed concern over the 35 per cent decline in the market capitalisation of LIC and blamed "Modani" for the steep decline.

No objection to JPC probe on Adani row: NCP chief Sharad Pawar

"Exactly a year ago today, LIC was listed in the stock market. Its market capitalisation then stood at Rs 5.48 lakh crore. Today, this is down to Rs 3.59 lakh crore -- a fall of a whopping 35 per cent," the AICC general secretary said on Twitter.

"There is only one reason for this steep fall -- Modani," he added.

The senior Congress leader further alleged, "In the process, lakhs and lakhs of policyholders have taken a serious hit."
See How New Parliament Building Looks From Inside

Adheenams Hand Over 'Sengol' To PM Modi Ahead Of New Parliament Building Launch

Centre, States Should Work As Team India, Fulfil Dreams Of 'Viksit Bharat: PM Modi At NITI Aayog Meet

'Sengol' Was Kept As A 'Walking Stick' In Anand Bhawan, Says PM Modi

PM Modi To Embark On 3-Nation Visit Of Japan, Papua New Guinea, Australia From May 19

India

oi-Prakash KL

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia from May 19 to 24.

He will be in Hiroshima from May 19 to 21 for the G7 summit. During the Summit, the Prime Minister will speak at G-7 sessions with partner countries, on subjects such as peace, stability and prosperity of a sustainable planet; and food, fertiliser and energy security, health, gender equality, climate change and environment, resilient infrastructure, and development cooperation, a statement from his office said.

PM Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. He will also hold bilateral meetings with some of the other participating leaders on the sidelines of the Summit.

The Indian Prime Minister will then travel to Port Moresby where he will host the third summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation jointly with Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape on May 22.

"I will leave for Hiroshima, Japan to attend the G7 Summit under the Japanese Presidency at the invitation of H.E. Mr. Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan. It will be a pleasure to meet Prime Minister Kishida again after his recent visit to India for the India - Japan Summit. My presence in this G7 Summit is particularly meaningful as India holds the G20 Presidency this year.

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi departs from Delhi for Hiroshima, Japan.



He will attend the #G7Summit under the Japanese Presidency at the invitation of Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, there. pic.twitter.com/K1dYOB8MC2  ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2023

Japanese PM Kishida invites PM Modi to G7 Hiroshima summit

I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them. I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 Summit," the PM said in a statement.

The Prime Minister will then travel to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, where he will host the 3rd Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit) jointly with Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape on 22 May 2023.

Launched in 2014, FIPIC involves India and 14 Pacific Island Countries (PICs), namely, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Prime Minister Modi will have bilateral engagements in Papua New Guinea, including meetings with Governor-General Sir Bob Dadae and Prime Minister James Marape. This will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Papua New Guinea.

Thereafter, Prime Minister Modi will visit Australia for a bilateral meeting with Australian PM Anthony Albanese despite the cancellation of the Quad leaders' meeting in Sydney.

The Australian PM recently cancelled the Quad leaders' meeting in Sydney as US President Joe Biden postponed his visit to Australia to focus on crucial debt-ceiling talks to prevent a catastrophic federal default.

#WATCH | US President Joe Biden arrives at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan.



Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida welcomes him and other G7 leaders. #G7HiroshimaSummit pic.twitter.com/aE4DN8vqhF  ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2023

Albanese, Modi, Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida were to attend the Quad Leaders' Summit.

#WATCH | UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visits the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida welcomes him and other G7 leaders.#G7HiroshimaSummit pic.twitter.com/2wIcR82LlS  ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2023

Meanwhile, G7 partners including US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Friday, on the sidelines of their summit.
New report soon: US short seller Hindenburg Research calls it another big one

Adani-Hindenburg row: SC may grant 3 more months to SEBI to wrap up probe, says it did not talk about regulatory failure

SC Panel Gives Clean Chit To Adani Group

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

A committee formed by the Supreme Court of India to oversee the investigations into the Adani Group said that India's market regulator SEBI had not found anything on alleged violations by the group's overseas entities.

The expert committee however said that there was evidence of a build-up in short positions on Adani Group stocks ahead of the report the US based short seller Hindenburg Group.

It was however not possible to conclude whether there has been regulatory failure regarding price manipulations, the committee also said in its report.

The court had formed the panel to examine the regulatory framework and allegations that were levelled against billionaire Gautam Adani.

In January US-based short-seller Hindenburg Group raised several governance concerns about the Adani Group. It alleged improper user of tax havens and stock manipulation by the ports-to-energy conglomerate. The group has however denied all allegations.

Key findings:

No pattern of artificial trading or wash trades among the same parties multiple times was found.

No coherent pattern of abusive trading came to light.

No violation found on Minimum Public Shareholding, investments from related parties.

No finding of regulatory failure regarding Minimum Public Shareholding.
SC Gets Two New Judges As Justices Mishra, Viswanathan Are Sworn-In

School Jobs Scam: TMC Leader Abhishek Moves SC Against CBI Questioning, Plea To Be Heard On May 26

SC Seeks Original Records On Anand Mohan Singh's Release From Bihar Government

India

oi-Deepika S

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Bihar government to release the records on the early release of gangster-politician Anand Mohan, in the murder case of an IAS officer.

"Original records with regard to remission to Respondent-4 (Anand Mohan) by order dated April 10, 2023, be placed before the court", said the bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and J.B. Pardiwala, adding that records with regard to criminal antecedents be also placed before it.

The bench told advocate Manish Kumar, representing the Bihar government, that no further adjournment will be granted in the case and directed him to place the complete records for perusal of the court.

The top court listed the plea filed by the wife of the slain officer challenging the release of Mohan on August 8.

Anand Mohan walks out of jail after controversial Bihar prison rule change

A plea challenging the release has been filed by the wife of G Krishnaiah, who was lynched by a mob led by former Bihar MP Anand Mohan in 1994.

According to PTI, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Uma Krishnaiah claimed that the Bihar government has changed the policy retrospectively and released him in the case.

He urged the court to direct the state to place entire records of criminal antecedents of Mohan and sought the matter to be listed in the month of August.

Mohan's remission of sentence followed an April 10 amendment to the Bihar Prison Manual by the Nitish Kumar government whereby the restriction on early release of those involved in killing of a public servant on duty was done away with.

The decision was met with criticism with the opposition attacking the state government's decision paving the way for the release of former MP Anand Mohan and 26 others, who have completed 14 years' life sentence in connection with murder and other heinous crimes.

Krishnaiah, an honest and upright officer, who hailed from Telangana, was beaten to death by a mob led by Anand Mohan in 1994.
Student Kills Classmate In Greater Noida, Dies By Suicide Later

India

oi-Prakash KL

In a shocking development, a third-year student of Shiv Nadar University in Greater Noida allegedly shot dead a woman classmate and killed himself. The incident occurred on Thursday.

Both were studying third-year of BA Sociology. They are identified as Anuj Singh and Sneha Chaurasia.

"Around 1.30pm on Thursday, the administrative officials of Shiv Nadar University alerted the police that a woman student was shot dead by her classmate outside the dining hall on the university campus. The woman student, identified as Sneha Chaurasia, who hailed from Kanpur, was immediately rushed to Yatharth Hospital in Greater Noida where she was declared brought dead," Hindustan Times quoted SM Khan, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Greater Noida, as saying.

The cops have recovered a countrymade pistol.

9 Andhra students die by suicide after failing in AP Inter Results 2023

What Is The Motive?

The early investigation has revealed that they were in a relationship and it had strained of late, Deputy Commissioner told the daily. The incident was captured on CCTV.

Going by the visuals, they were seen hugging and he tried to give something to her. As she rejected it, he shot her in the abdomen.

"The hall was locked but had glass doors. Both students met right outside around 1 pm. The girls' and boys' hostels are located on either side of the hall. In the CCTV footage, the students could be seen hugging and exchanging words. The male student had brought along something to give to the woman, presumably a gift. She could be seen refusing the parcel, following which she was shot in the abdomen by the male student. She tried to fight the man on being shot but he shot her again and she collapsed. The man was then seen running towards the boys' hostel," the investigator told Hindustan Times.

However, there are no eyewitnesses to the incident as the university is shut for the summer vacation.

The spokesperson from the university has expressed his sadness over the incident and claimed that they are fully cooperating with the investigation.

His Video Message

Before taking the extreme step, he had allegedly recorded a video where he spoke about his troubles and about their relationship. "Sneha came into my life and changed it completely," The Times of India quoted him as saying.

He said that he helped her overcome her difficult phase, but their relationship strained last year. "She went home for New Year and told me we would start afresh when she comes back. However, when she returned, she told me she wanted a break. I asked her for how long. She said 'indefinitely'," he stated,

Their relationship deteriorated further even as he battled cancer.

"If I don't get my surgery, then at the maximum, I have two years. I'm broken, shattered. Call me selfish, monster, coward. I'm OK with being called anything but I'm sorry for my actions." he said in the clip. He also apologised to his parents for "not being a good son".

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, May 19, 2023, 11:57 [IST]
5 Guarantees Will Be Fulfilled At Any Cost: New Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah In His First Press Conference

'We All Have To Sacrifice At Some Point': Parameshwara On Missing Deputy CM Post

India

oi-Prakash KL

Amid rumours of being upset with the high command over the denial of the Chief Minister or Deputy Chief Minister post, G Parameshwara on Friday said that everybody should "sacrifice" at some time for their party.

"That is okay. We all have to sacrifice at some point in time. It is a good thing happening," ANI quoted former Deputy CM in a tweet after meeting CM-designate Siddaramaiah at his Bengaluru residence.

This statement comes a day after telling the central leadership that there would be an adverse reaction if a Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) post is not given to a Dalit. It was his response to the high command after it announced that Siddaramaiah would be Chief Minister and D K Shivakumar would be his 'only deputy'.

The longest-serving Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Chief had claimed that Dalits have high expectations from the Congress government and the high command should understand it. "Understanding these expectations, our leadership will have to make a decision. If it doesn't happen, naturally there will be reactions for it. There is no need for me to say it. Instead of realising it later, if they rectify it now it will be better. Or else it may cause trouble for the party. I would like to tell them to understand it," Parameshwara said.

The drama around the next CM came to an end on Thursday, days after Congress registered a thumping victory in Karnataka Assembly polls. The grand old party won 135 seats in the 224-member Assembly.

A Grand Show Of Opposition Unity At Karnataka CMs Swearing-In-Ceremony

Meanwhile, the swearing-in ceremony of Siddaramaiah and other ministers will be held on Saturday at Kanteerava Stadium on Saturday at 12.30 pm. The leaders from Opposition parties across the country have been invited.

The event is expected to become a stage to display the Opposition Unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Congress President Kharge has invited Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, National Conference Chief Farooq Abdullah, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. Our decision to, after nearly [30] years, close the International Monetary Funds (IMF) office in Baku reflects the strong performance of Azerbaijans economy and its large financial buffers, IMF spokesperson told Trend.

The IMF does not expect in the foreseeable future any lending arrangement with the country, which is usually the reason for a continued local presence. Nonetheless, the IMFs close engagement with Azerbaijan will continue, including through regular visits to discuss economic and financial policies and by providing technical assistance when requested, said IMF.

Azerbaijan joined IMF on September 18, 1992. During the period from 1993 to 2009, the IMF had a representation in Azerbaijan. After that, the financial institution continued its operations in Azerbaijan through a local coordinator. Starting from 2005, cooperation with the IMF has been conducted at the consultation level, as the Azerbaijani government opted not to receive loans from the fund.
What Challenges Does The Congress In Karnataka Face To Choose Its Council of Ministers

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The suspense in the Congress, Karnataka is over, following the decision by the party to make Siddaramaiah the Chief Minister and D K Shivakumar his deputy.

There are however challenges ahead for the party as it gets set to announce the council of ministers. There is a list in circulation about the probable list of ministers, but that is speculation as of now.

Leading political analyst Dr. Sandeep Shastri tells OneIndia that this would be a challenge for the party. There are 40 MLAs out of the 135 who have been ministers. It would be challenging for the Congress to accommodate all of them as the total strength of the ministry can only be 34 (15 per cent of the strength of the 224 member legislative assembly). Merely one-fourth of the congress Legislators are hoping to become ministers, Dr. Shastri adds.

The biggest challenge for the party would be to balance and accommodate these MLAs while also ensuring that there is fresh blood in the ministry. The other challenge would be to balance the regions, caste, experience and more importantly keep in mind their capabilities, he adds.

Karnataka: Who Will Make The Cut, Full List Of Probable Ministers In Siddaramaiah Cabinet

On the question whether not making Shivakumar the chief minister would use the Vokkaliga apple cart for the Congress, Dr. Shastri was in disagreement. He says that making Shivakumar the deputy CM would work in favour of the Congress. They know that their leader has been placated. If one looks at the last Congress government, Siddaramaiah, a Kuruba was made the CM. There were no other senior Kurubas in the government, he points out.

The Congress won 135 of the 224 seats in the Karnataka elections, the results of which were declared on May 13. Both Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah were in Delhi for nearly three days post the results. The party high-command finally prevailed and announced that Siddaramaiah would be made the chief minister and Shivakumar his deputy. Although there is talk on a term sharing arrangement between the two, the same has not been officially confirmed as yet.

In Delhi Shivakumar said that he had returned to invite their leader for the swearing-in-ceremony. " I wanted to invite them personally. Later on we will discuss the Cabinet formation," he also said.
London Woman Mistakes 'XX' In Email For Kisses; Sues Boss

International

oi-Prakash KL

The mention of "xx", "yy", and "????" in an official email made a woman file a sexual harassment allegation against her boss. The incident occurred in London.

While he had sought information related to work, Karina Gasparova assumed he was asking for a sexual favour, according to a report in the BBC. However, the employment tribunal at London Central Court shot down her allegations saying her perception of events was "skewed".

Gasparova worked as a project manager at the London office of essDOCS and she dragged the company to the tribunal over sexual harassment, discrimination and unfair dismissal.

She claimed that Goulandris renamed a work file with his initials 'ajg', which according to her, was an abbreviation of "A Jumbo Genital".

What Was In The Email?

The solution us currently used by xx Agris companies and yy Barge lines in corn cargoes in south-north flows in the ???? waterways.

Also, can you remind me of what the balance of the rollout will be and the approx. timing.

Thanks

What She Thought?

According to her, the 'xx' referred to kisses, 'yy' to sexual contact and '????' as a coded way of asking "when she would be ready" to have sex.

In addition to it, she has accused her boss of "trying to chat her up" during business calls and he would stare her in the office. Further, she claimed he sent "have a nice evening" message in "an alluring voice". He also touched her hand when reaching for a mouse, the report added.

She alleged that he is "rich and powerful" and a "man in his position would be too clever" to make any advances obvious. She quit from the company in 2021 after her grievance letter was rejected by the company.

What Tribunal Said?

The tribunal called her allegation a "skewed perception of everyday events" and stated that she "demonstrated a tendency to make extraordinary allegations without evidence".

It also found that her boss made a "genuine request" and did not imply any sexual nature.

She was also asked to pay 5,000 costs to essDOCS.
Weather Update: IMD Issues Rain Alert In These States Till May 26; Check Details Here

No Heatwave In Delhi For Next Five Days: IMD

MHT CET 2023 Answer Key To Be Released Soon: Check Details

Kerala SSLC Result 2023 Declared At keralaresults.nic.in; Check Details Inside

New Delhi

oi-Deepika S

Kerala Secondary School Leaving Certificate (KSSLC) has announced Kerala SSLC Result 2023 on Friday. Students can check their results on the official website Kerelaresults.nic.in.

Around 4.19 lakh students appeared for the Kerala Class 10 exams held from March 9 to 29, 2023. As many as 99.70 per cent students passed the Kerala SSLC examination this year.

Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty announced Kerala Class 10 Results 2023 at Pareeksha Bhavan.

Websites To Check Kerala SSLC result 2023

How to check Kerala SSLC Result 2023

Go to the official website of Kerala SSCL board results.kite.kerala.gov.in .

. On the homepage, open the Kerala SSLC result link.

Provide your registration number and date of birth.

Login and your Kerala SSLC Result 2023 will be displayed on the screen.

Download and keep a copy for future reference.
The 47th G7 summit was held from 11 to 13 June 2021 in Cornwall, England, during the United Kingdom's tenure of the presidency of the Group of Seven (G7), an inter-governmental political forum of seven advanced nations.
Anthony Albanese will fly to Japan to attend the G7, the AFL declares support for Voice as debate continues, and Australias national unemployment rate goes up.
The London clubs victory was overshadowed by frightening scenes as fans of Dutch club AZ Alkmaar headed for the area containing West Ham players friends and families.
Upworthy 25 May 2023

Rivalry with China, fallout from Russia's war in Ukraine and wrangling once again in Washington over the U.S. debt ceiling have put..
Sean Penn has strongly backed the current Hollywood screenwriters strike while speaking at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday, saying the dispute over Artificial Intelligence is a human obscenity. Penn addressed the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike in a press conference for his new film, Black Flies, director Jean-Stephane Sauvaires harrowing, gritty drama about New York paramedics. Asked about the strike, Penn said the industry has been upending the writers and actors and directors for a very long time. Penns comments come as the potential for a wider work stoppage in Hollywood may be growing, with directors and actors also considering their next steps.
The Welsh government's target of hitting one million Welsh speakers by 2050 is in doubt, according to a new report.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. Azerbaijan is developing a startup ecosystem with the support of leading countries in this field, Executive Director of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communications Vusal Gasimli said during the graduation day of the StartUp School project of the Enterprise Azerbaijan portal, Trend reports.

According to him, about 300,000 projects are created annually in the world, of which only 10 percent are successful.

"Its important to establish a platform of interaction between startups and investors, because the project needs funding to implement it. Our StartUp School project serves as this platform and we are confident that our startups will succeed in implementing their ideas," he said.

Gasimli also noted that at the startup map, the leading positions are held by the UK, China, UK, Germany, and Israel.

"The development of the startup ecosystem in Azerbaijan is carried out with the support of experts from these countries. Our cooperation with the University of Nevada is an example of this. Its very important for us to develop cooperation with leading universities and think tanks," he explained.

Gasimli also said that the economy of Azerbaijan is quite stable and the country doesnt need external finance.

"Now we need to bring knowledge and experience to the country, including the sectors of the startup ecosystem, medicine, education, and other important areas. Of course, we have already established such cooperation and we aim to strengthen it," the official added.

Back in September 2021, the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication and the University of Nevada signed the Cooperation Agreement. The agreement identifies the areas of cooperation as visits of faculty's teachers, exchange programs, joint research activities, participation in seminars and academic meetings, exchange of scientific materials and other information, and short-term academic programs.

Enterprise Azerbaijan registered 200 startup projects within the framework of the Startup School project from February through March this year. As many as 33 have reached the final out of 200 projects, which will be developed with the support of mentors from the US, Turkiye, Israel, and other leading countries along with Azerbaijani experts.
Football.london 24 May 2023

Seven men have been detained by Dutch police and ten more are being sought after AZ Alkmaar supporters attacked members of family..
The Ukrainian president is likely to repeat his call for more military aid, including fighter jets.
Sky News 22 May 2023

John Allan, the Tesco chairman, is in talks to sell his stake in a firm which mentors executives at dozens of blue-chip companies,..
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday embarked on a tour of Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia to attend three key multilateral summits including that of the G7 grouping and Quad. In the first leg of his trip, Modi is visiting the Japanese city of Hiroshima from May 19 to 21 primarily for the annual summit of the G7 advanced economies in which he is expected to speak on challenges facing the globe, including food, fertiliser and energy security.
Business Insider 25 May 2023

Only a handful of Democratic lawmakers have publicly called on Dianne Feinstein to retire immediately. Privately, many more think..
According to a New York Times report, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told donors on a call that he is one of only three "credible" options running for president in 2024.
San Francisco (AFP) May 18, 2023



A total ban of TikTok in the US state of Montana is set up to face an epic battle in the courts, but many experts wonder whether the law is even technically possible. Montana is the first US state to ban TikTok, with the law set to take effect next year as debate escalates over the impact and security of the popular video app that is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. "You would have to
 2008-2023 One News Page Ltd.

All rights reserved.

One News is a registered trademark

of One News Page Ltd.
Here's the latest for Friday May 19th: G7 leaders work on new Russia sanctions; Air National Guardsman suspected of leaking documents goes back to court; Fatal vehicle crash in Oregon; Disney cancels plans for new campus in Florida.


Following Thabo Bester's brazen prison break, Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola has assured South Africans the country's prisons are not porous centres synonymous with escapes.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received credentials of the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India Sridharan Madhusudhanan.

The ambassador presented his credentials to President Ilham Aliyev.

Then, the head of state had a conversation with the ambassador.

The ambassador said that he is, first of all, happy to come to Azerbaijan in the year marking the 100th anniversary of the Great Leader in the country. He noted that renowned personality Heydar Aliyevs and President Ilham Aliyevs views suggest that Azerbaijan is on the path of building prosperous, multicultural country with a very strong economy.

The ambassador highlighted Azerbaijans chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement and Indias presidency of the G-20 and Shanghai Cooperation Organization, saying India is among 5 top trade partners of Azerbaijan and trade turnover surge of 155 percent registered last year is a good sign of this.

Sridharan Madhusudhanan noted that there is a great potential for expansion of economic cooperation between the two countries given India has a strong economy too. He mentioned the oil and pharmaceutical industries in this respect.

At the same time, the ambassador pointed out that multiculturalism prevailing in Azerbaijan is very attractive for India, and highlighted the importance of enhancing humanitarian relations.

The diplomat touched upon the cooperation in the tourism sector, saying large number of Indian tourists traveling to Azerbaijan, ancient history of relations between both peoples, large number of historical monuments provide ample opportunities for cooperation in the tourism sector. The ambassador said that along with the old and historical buildings he was impressed by the modern ones constructed in the capital.

Sridharan Madhusudhanan said he would spare no effort to further cooperation in information technologies, energy, education, environment and other fields.

President Ilham Aliyev pointed out that the Great Leader is a founder of the modern Azerbaijani statehood and guarantor of the countrys development, adding Azerbaijani lands had been already occupied by Armenians when the National Leader assumed the presidency. The Azerbaijani leader noted that the occupied Azerbaijani lands had been ruined with a million Azerbaijanis forced from their homes by the Armenian aggression. The Azerbaijani President pointed out that Great Leader Heydar Aliyevs goal had been to ensure territorial integrity and defense capacity and build a strong state and economy. The head of state underlined that Azerbaijan had liberated its occupied lands 2.5 years ago and, thus, the National Leaders wish and instructions had been fulfilled.

The President of Azerbaijan noted that during the 30-year-long occupation, the Azerbaijani people had faced a humanitarian catastrophe with a million of people left homeless  the fact, which caused great obstacles for the development of Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani leader noted there was a great potential in the country in all fields in the wake of liberation of the occupied lands. Emphasizing that the large-scale reconstruction and reconstruction works are underway in the territories liberated from occupation, the head of state noted that following the Victory in the Patriotic War, the people of Azerbaijan live with a sense of pride and this manifests itself in every sphere.

At the same time, the President of Azerbaijan emphasized that today revanchist forces are rising in Armenia, adding that territorial claims against Azerbaijan continue. Saying that Armenias rapid arming poses new threats, the head of state noted that if Armenia really wants peace with Azerbaijan, then why is it buying weapons worth 100 millions of dollars. The President of Azerbaijan underlined that this policy could lead to new threats to the region.

On the Azerbaijan's chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), President Ilham Aliyev underscored that the countrys chairmanship term was very efficient in terms of institutional development of the Movement. The head of state noted that a number of important initiatives put forward by Azerbaijan are known to have been successfully implemented, in this regard. The Azerbaijani President emphasized the importance of strengthening the cooperation between the NAM member states, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the countries as well as the continued commitment to the well-known Bandung principles.

Recalling that India is one of the Non-Aligned Movement founders, and President Ilham Aliyev highlighted the importance of NAMs becoming an important factor in the global policy in the future although this institution has got through various stages of development since its establishment.

President Ilham Aliyev touched upon relations with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, saying that Azerbaijan had been a dialogue partner of the organization for many years, and described the countrys high-level participation in the summit of this organization in Uzbekistan as a remarkable event.

Discussions during the conversation also addressed the prospects of cooperation in the fields of culture, transport as well as the North-South corridor.

.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. Further work on the North-South corridor will be agreed soon, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov said at the meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov, Trend reports.

"I want to emphasize our focus on the implementation of all the agreements that were reached between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Among the interesting projects is the North-South corridor. Our leaders have discussed this among themselves and with the participation of other interested countries, and there are many of them. Therefore, we expect that further work on this and other areas will be agreed upon at the next meeting," he said.
New US sanctions targeting the Russian "war machine" were announced Friday as part of a tightening of the screws on Moscow by the G7 at a summit in Japan, a senior US official said.
The government has offered Jaguar Land Rover 500m in subsidies in an effort to persuade the carmaker to build a new electric battery plant in the UK. The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has offered a package of incentives to entice JLR, days after three global carmakers warned that Brexit rules on where



#jaguarlandrover #jeremyhunt #jlr #tata #spain #treasury #somerset #times #tetleytea #porttalbot
Britain published plans to ban imports of Russian diamonds, copper, aluminium and nickel on Friday and announced a new wave of sanctions against Russia, targeting companies connected to the alleged theft of Ukrainian grain.
The U.S. will support a joint international effort to train Ukrainian pilots on modern fighter aircraft, including F-16s, President Joe Biden informed G-7 leaders on Friday in Japan. According to a senior administration official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the matter before it was



#f16s #ukraine #norway #denmark #netherlands #ukrainianairforce
The ANC is on a mission to minimise the impact of its diplomatic fallout with the United States, with the party's secretary-general Fikile Mbalula holding talks with ambassadors from US, Russia and Ukraine.
Acting National Assembly Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli has rejected the DAs request for an urgent debate on the USs allegations that South Africa provided war materials to Russia.
The 19th-century Prussian military strategist Carl von Clausewitzs idea that echoed till the outbreak of the First World War on the supremacy of great battles as the key factor in generating major decisions was vehemently rejected by British military thinker Captain B. H. Liddell Hart in his classic text The Strategy of...
I'm seeing a lot of back and forth lately on whether or not there's a "crisis" at the border, with greatly increased migration and limited ability on the part of law enforcement to respond.

Personally, I don't consider it a "crisis" at all. Immigration is just people moving from one place to another -- maybe permanently, maybe temporarily -- for any of various reasons.

Maybe they're safer from criminal or government (but I repeat myself) violence in the new place than in the old place. Maybe there are more jobs. Maybe the jobs pay more.

Or whatever. Moving isn't some kind of unnatural phenomenon. The average American does it 11 or 12 times in his or her life.

"Now, Tom," I've been told many times, "if you think there's no crisis at the border, you must not live near the border."

In fact, I DO live near the border -- fairly close to the US border in the form of the Gulf coast, and VERY close to the border separating Alachua County, Florida from Levy County, Florida.

On any given morning, I can watch literally hundreds of immigrants fleeing Levy County and crossing into Alachua County for better livelihoods on the other side of that border.

A lot of people live in Levy County, but work in Alachua County.

Why do they live in Levy County? Because it's cheaper. Home prices are lower. Rent is lower. Taxes are lower.

Why do they work in Alachua County? Because wages are higher.

Is that a "crisis?" No.

Why isn't it a "crisis?"

Because the meaning of "crisis" is "something politicians can use to make people fearful and demand bigger government."

It's hard to make Americans afraid of other Americans crossing city and town limits, county lines, and state borders, simply because hundreds of millions of us do that hundreds of billions of times per year. Most Americans can't do their grocery shopping without crossing at least one or two "borders."

The only way to make Americans afraid of "border" crossing is to pick a smaller subset of immigrants -- the few million who cross the US-Mexico "border" on their way from Latin American countries each year -- and make them sound like a threatening "other."

Next Page 1 | 2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"Rob Kall is tapping in, exploring, assessing, and clarifying this important new way of thinking that has been influenced by the civil rights movement; women's movement; and new, more effective ways of doing business. This will be an important book that can make changes in our world."



Dr. Linda Seger, author of twelve books, including the best-selling Making a Good Script Great, Spiritual Steps on the Road to Success and The Better Way to Win.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. Flight J2-110 of Azerbaijan Airlines on the Prague-Baku route was delayed for technical reasons, Trend reports.

Passengers of the delayed flight will fly to Baku by another plane at 23:50 (GMT+4).


(Image by Rob Kall) Details DMCA



I'm a Democratic committeeman. I do it to stand up to and challenge Democratic leadership from the inside.

On Tuesday, I worked the polls in Philadelphia. The endorsed candidate was not progressive, so I supported the progressive candidate, not the Democratic party's choice. Some of the other committeepeople gave me flack for not towing the party line. I stood my ground and added that I also didn't want Joe Biden to run again. To my surprise, every single one of the 8-10 other committee people there all agreed-- 100% of them-- that they didn't want Biden either.

The conversation that ensued made it clear that even though these politically savvy people didn't want Biden, they felt that there was no other choice.

And there's the rub.

The doddering, anti-democracy Democratic leaders are succeeding in creating a sense of inevitability for Biden's candidacy in the 2024 presidential. The lap-dog "liberal" media at CNN and MNSBC, where former Biden and Obama employees are actually employed as "news personalities" are also treating the 2024 Democratic primary as an inevitable, done deal.

f*ck them. f*ck their attempt to take away the democratic process from Democratic voters. f*ck the DNC's and Democratic party leaders attempt to raise money to support loser Joe.

The closer we get to the election, the worse Joe Biden looks as a candidate. We must have a stronger, younger, smarter, more charismatic, feistier candidate who has the smarts, knowledge and personality to eviscerate Trump or De Santis in debates.

And we need to change that sense of inevitability that Joe is the only candidate to a sense of inevitability that Joe can't possibly be the candidate. That will take three things:

-polls showing Biden losing

-Comedy and jokes mocking Biden and the Democratic leadership

-Alternative stories showing much better outcomes with other candidates, and stories characterizing the Democratic leadership as bad for democracy, bad for the Democratic party, and selfishly doing what will give THEM more power.

Some might argue that this will sabotage Biden's election chances. And I agree. I do not want Biden. If he runs, the Democratic leadership is throwing away the potential for coat-tail help in down ballot races. Biden generates no enthusiasm or excitement. People will vote against Trump or whoever the Republicans select, but Biden will not attract people. A strong candidate will do just that--- get people excited about coming out to vote for her or him.

This is about changing the conversation. When you talk to people about not wanting Biden-- and a majority don't including 90% of young people-- talk about the attempt to make it seem like Biden is inevitable. Challenge their beliefs that it is too late or impossible for someone else to be the candidate. Once the inevitability factor strengthens, more potential candidates will emerge, hopefully ones who are not in the US congress.

We must fight this, hard. Because Biden will lose to Trump or DeSantis or whoever else the Republicans choose. Biden is not the answer to defeating Trump. I assure you, Republicans want Biden to be the candidate they run against. Don't let that happen. Contact the Democratic leaders in you area. Tell the staffers for you local and national representatives.

To help Joe out, Norman Solomon has written a speech Joe could use to withdraw his candidacy. Joe should use it.

Next Page 1 | 2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
For decades, Iran was firmly within the US ambit, but then came the revolution. The Shah, whose family had ruled for over half a century, fled abroad. And following a failed attempt at parliamentary democracy, the Iran Revolutionary Guards led by their cleric masters took over.



While there are elections now and an elected government, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sets the broad outlines of domestic and foreign policy. He also controls the judiciary and is head of the armed forces.

At present, Iran is further strengthening its ties with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) through its observer status with a view presumably to eventual full membership. The SCO embraces almost all of Central Asia, the Indian Subcontinent and Sri Lanka. It is a vast bloc including the two largest developing economies in the world.

Japan and Taiwan have already expressed their trepidation at China exercising muscle along its littoral regions and the coastal islands down to the Philippines. Their principal concern is for the shipping lanes up which tankers bring fossil fuels to them from the Middle East.

There appears to be no concerted US policy to deal with these issues other than random acts of petulance. Thus the bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines exposed by the investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. It thwarted Germany's desire for cheap Russian gas transported under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. The result was a point or two drop in German GDP as it scurried to buy liquefied gas from the global market including the US.

If earlier, it had acquired half of its gas from Russia and a third of its oil, the invasion of Ukraine accelerated a move away from Russia. However, everyone is quite aware that when the Ukraine problem dies down, the gas and oil will still be in Russia as will Europe's hunger for them and the added attraction of low prices. The multiplicity of routes including one via Turkey just across the Black Sea -- more than one way to skin a cat as that awful expression goes -- add to the temptations.



After all that has happened, is it any wonder Putin gave up on an impotent Europe and went east. So it is that China's ravenous demand for energy in a fast-growing economy is to be supplied by its neighbor Russia.



China is also constructing roads (the Belt and Road Initiative) along Pakistan's spine to its newly built (by China) port of Gwadar. It provides a direct road link from China. Of course, Pakistan is an old trusted friend and now dependent ally.



Next Page 1 | 2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
Big Bear City, California - BigBearCity.com is excited to announce a fireworks show on Sunday, May 28 in honor of the Memorial Weekend holiday. The show will be conducted from on the water near Pine Knot Marina, similar to the Independence Day fireworks. This allows the show to be viewed from nearly any shoreline location and many trails with lake views. The fireworks show will begin at approximately 9 PM or 
In the vast realm of digital marketing, Google's search engine ranking plays a pivotal role in determining the success of businesses and websites. Among the numerous search engine optimization (SEO) experts, one name that has garnered significant attention is Zammy Zaif. Renowned for his expertise in Google ranking, Zaif has emerged as a prominent figure in the field. This article will delve into the world of Zammy Zaif, exploring the 
Technology reporter Mike Rogoway of The Oregonian/OregonLive has won the 2023 Bruce Baer investigative reporting award for his work exposing Googles water use in The Dalles, the contest announced Friday.

Rogoway won the award for his relentless reporting on tech giant Google negotiating in secret with the small Oregon town of The Dalles to procure a guarantee of scarce water to cool present and future internet data farms, an announcement said.

For the past few years, Rogoway has focused his reporting on data centers in Oregon and the public policy tradeoffs that follow. He sought information from The Dalles about Googles use of city water and was denied. He appealed to the district attorney of Wasco County, who ordered the records released.

The Dalles initiated a lawsuit against The Oregonian/OregonLive in an attempt to keep the information from the public. An attorney for the Local Legal Initiative of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press took on representation of the news organization at no cost.

Last year, The Dalles settled the case and released the information, which showed Google had tripled its city water use in recent years. The case had wide- ranging impact as Google changed its policy nationwide around water use. It pledged to be transparent going forward. The Dalles paid associated legal fees incurred by the news organizations attorney, Ellen Osoinach.

The Bruce Baer Award is considered among the most competitive and prestigious in Oregon investigative reporting. Baer was a political reporter for KATU when he died of cancer at age 40. The prize comes with a $1,500 award.
UPDATE: Crash victims were farmworkers returning from work

A semi-truck driver from California has been charged with driving under the influence and seven counts of manslaughter, one for each of the people who died Thursday afternoon when he crashed into a passenger van on northbound Interstate 5 near the Santiam Rest Area.

Lincoln Clayton Smith, 52, was arrested and booked into the Marion County Jail, Oregon State Police said Friday afternoon. Hes also facing charges for reckless driving and third-degree assault for the crash, which happened just after 2 p.m. Thursday and shut down I-5 north for at least 7 hours while police investigated.

Police say Smith was driving a semi-truck on I-5, about 10 miles north of Albany, when he veered off the road onto the east shoulder, striking a Ford Econoline passenger van with 11 people inside and pushing it into a parked semi-truck.

The force of the crash caused extreme damage to the passenger van, the Oregon State Police said in a news release.

Smith was uninjured but six adults inside the van were dead at the scene. A seventh victim was taken by Life Flight to a hospital, where the person died.

The four people in the van who survived were injured and taken to a hospital by ambulance.

Oregon State Police have not publicly identified the victims. The crash is an ongoing criminal investigation, police said.

The driver of the parked semi-truck was not injured, police said.

Thursdays crash marks one of the deadliest collisions in Oregon in recent years. A fatal crash in Harney County in August 2018 killed eight people, said Don Hamilton, a spokesperson for Oregon Department of Transportation.

-- Savannah Eadens; seadens@oregonian.com; 503-221-6651; @savannaheadens
Multnomah County Circuit Judge Marilyn Litzenberger was barred from hearing most serious felony cases for several years after the District Attorneys Office in 2009 started filing affidavits claiming she wasnt impartial.

In Washington County, now-Senior Circuit Judge James Lee Fun Jr. was restricted from handling any felony cases for about eight months, also resulting from affidavits submitted by multiple deputy district attorneys.
Correction appended

With Dennis Rosenbaum set to retire at the end of June as Portlands adviser on federally required police reforms, the city is choosing between two groups to take his place.

Rosenbaums partner Tom Christoff, who has set up his own 18-member team, and a four-member group led by Richard Rosenthal, who served as the first director of Portlands Independent Police Review division, are in the running.

Rosenthal left the city in 2005 after nearly four years in the job and went on to become a monitor for police reforms in Denver and Cleveland. He had worked as the first civilian director overseeing criminal investigations of police use of deadly force in British Columbia and is currently the independent police auditor for the city of Pasadena and an assistant federal monitor for Clevelands consent decree.

He said his goal will be to get Portland to meet the provisions of its settlement with the U.S. Justice Department to avoid having a court-ordered monitor appointed.

The costs of hiring an independent monitor are extraordinary, Rosenthal said, and the money can be better spent on having three or four full-time employees working within the city on getting police to meet the required changes.

In contrast, Christoff said if U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon were to appoint a traditional court monitor to oversee the settlement, he and his team would apply, though he said he didnt expect the work to change drastically from what he has been doing and wants to continue to do as the city-hired compliance team.

We already have the experience of, in essence, acting in the same capacity, he said.

Both men and their teams answered questions during a virtual community forum Wednesday night.

The settlement, approved by Simon in 2014, followed a federal investigation that found Portland officers used excessive force against people with mental illness. It called for widespread changes to use-of-force and Taser policies and training, a restructuring of police crisis intervention services and quicker investigations into alleged police misconduct.

The city hasnt met the requirements since early 2021 because of inappropriate police use and management of force during the 2020 social justice protests.

City and police leaders are working on returning to compliance by taking some required steps, including equipping officers with body cameras and hiring a civilian dean of training. An outside assessment of police crowd control training is still ongoing.

Last November, Simon urged lawyers from the Justice Department and city to select an independent monitor to oversee the reforms, concerned by the lack of progress. All parties to the case remain in mediation on the subject.

Christoff has worked side-by-side with Rosenbaum, a Chicago-based academic, since Rosenbaum was selected the citys compliance officer in 2015 for the settlement. He said hes already established relationships with lawyers for the city, police and Justice Department and community representatives and is familiar with all aspects of the agreement and the bureaus history of meeting them or not.

I was really drawn into stepping into this role, given my knowledge of the history and evolution as well as the current state of the settlement agreement with the Department of Justice, he said.

Christoff has proposed an annual cost of about $797,000. Rosenthals estimated annual cost for his smaller team would be about $440,000, not including travel expenses.

Unlike Rosenbaum, Christoff said he has added a community engagement aspect to his team to make sure that everybody who is impacted by the settlement agreement will be able to have that voice.

Leading that effort would be Steven Holt who owns a Portland consulting company called Try Excellence and has trained city officers on equity.

Among others who would be involved in community engagement are Janie Gullickson, a peer support and recovery mentor who is director of the Mental Health and Addiction Association in Oregon; and Kevin Fits, executive director of the Oregon Mental Health Consumers Association, according to Christoff

Rosenthal said he offers a smaller team that would bring a fresh-eyes approach by experts in the field and save money for the city so it can spend more on returning to compliance versus a court-appointed monitor.

His goal is to make sure police follow all the settlements requirements to ensure effective, constitutional policing in Portland.

To see how far the bureau fell out of compliance was actually quite disappointing, Rosenthal said.

One of the members of Rosenthals team is Randolph Dupont, who created the Memphis police Crisis Intervention Team model, which relies on a team of officers trained to respond to crisis calls and who volunteer for the job. Rosenthal said he also would add a Portland resident to his team of outside experts and work closely with Portlands existing community advisory groups.

Rosenthal said hes driven to make the unique settlement that Portland reached with the Justice Department -- absent a traditional federal consent decree or a court monitor  succeed.

Rosenthal said he brought in outside consultants, the Police Assessment Resource Center, to do regular independent reviews of police shootings when he worked for the city. Another firm, California-based OIR group, took over that work.

Weve had a lot of reviews and analysis and recommendations, and the Police Bureau needs to track them, evaluate them, train to them and implement them in order to reduce the risk of further police shootings, he said.

Jason Renaud, a member of the Mental Health Alliance, said the city didnt do enough to draw candidates from across the country to replace Rosenbaum. The city received three proposals and narrowed the field to two teams, according to Stephanie Howard, the mayors community safety manager.

Theres probably better candidates out there, Renaud said.

Sarah Ames, a deputy city attorney, said the city asked the Indiana-based National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement to advertise the opening. The city also asked Portland State University and Tarleton University in Texas, which started hosting an annual conference on federal consent decrees for police reform in 2016, to share the job opening with their contacts.

A city selection team working with Justice Department lawyers, along with input from the Albina Ministerial Alliances Coalition for Police and Justice Reform and the Portland Committee on Community-Engaged Policing, is expected to select one of the teams by the end of next week and recommend approval to City Council.

-- Maxine Bernstein

This post has been updated to correct the current position of Richard Rosenthal.

Email mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe
A man who was being taken to a hospital caused a ruckus on Interstate 5 north in Vancouver on Thursday night, the Clark County Sheriffs Office said.

Sheriffs deputies and Washington State Patrol were called just before 11 p.m. after the patient  Joseph Webb, 37, of Kelso  became combative inside the American Medical Response ambulance and reached for his bag.

The medics didnt know what was inside Webbs bag and couldnt restrain him, so they pulled over and got out of the ambulance for their safety.

Deputies negotiated with a Kelso man after he barricaded himself inside an ambulance.

For about half an hour, Webb was in a standoff with law enforcement, intermittently peeking out through the back doors of the ambulance, according to the sheriffs office.

Deputies ultimately negotiated with him until he surrendered. He was taken to a hospital in a different ambulance.

No one was hurt, the sheriffs office said. Its unclear why Webb originally was being transported by ambulance or whether he will face charges for the standoff with deputies.

-- Savannah Eadens; seadens@oregonian.com; 503-221-6651; @savannaheadens
A Multnomah County jury on Friday found a pastor of a religious group guilty of sexually abusing a former member when she was a child  the third time a jury has reached a verdict against Michael Sperou.

Though he was found guilty of sexually abusing one victim, six other women came forward years ago with their own allegations of abuse they say they experienced as children. The allegations of only one woman, Shannon Clark, fell within the statute of limitations.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. There will be an opportunity to discuss a number of issues on the post-conflict settlement between Azerbaijan and Armenia today, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said during the meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Trend reports.

"We highly appreciate the organization of this meeting and the emerging positive dynamics in the negotiation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. I mean rather close contacts in May, he said.

Bayramov noted that a large delegation from Azerbaijan consisting of about 80 people, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev, is now at the XIV "Russia  the Islamic World: KazanForum" forum in Kazan.

"The meeting of deputy prime ministers is now taking place. Our Deputy Prime Minister is scheduled to meet with several deputy prime ministers on a wide range of issues," he said.

Bayramov expressed gratitude to the Russian side for the attention paid in the Russian Federation to the memory of national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev.

"It is not surprising for us that all state structures, public organizations and citizens pay attention to events dedicated to the memory of the national leader Heydar Aliyev," he said.
On the TV calendar, May is when news generally emerges about what networks and streaming services have planned for their fall schedules. As media companies try to whip up excitement among advertisers at events known as the upfronts, viewers learn what shows are canceled, renewed, and get a sense of whats coming to their screens once summer is over.

This year is different, however, because of the Writers Guild of America strike. The WGA members are asking for increased compensation and protections related to how streaming and other technology has impacted writers financial and working conditions. But negotiations between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have stalled.

As a result, much of the news coming out of this years pared-down upfronts has centered on how the rather vague 2023 fall schedules reflect the uncertain state of the industry.

So, what does all this mean for viewers? Heres a look at some of the trends, surprises and unanswered questions that have surfaced in recent weeks, and which may determine what viewers can expect to see  or not see -- on their screens.

Strike-proof schedules: With the WGA on strike, production has been impacted. Some shows suspended production immediately, which explains why Last Week Tonight With John Oliver and Real Time With Bill Maher arent on HBO, while networks shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live! are airing repeats. Other projects  for example, the fifth and final season of Netflixs Stranger Things -- have halted filming in solidarity with the writers.

So, guess what? The fall schedules announced by the broadcast networks are full of shows that industry sources refer to as strike-proof. In other words, since reality shows, sports, news and daytime talk shows generally arent subject to the WGA agreement, expect primetime hours to be packed with reality fare.

In some cases, studios anticipated a possible WGA strike and remained in production for a longer period of time than usual, in order to stockpile episodes. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, NBCs fall schedule includes three new series, Found, The Irrational and Extended Family, that began production early enough that the network has completed episodes that can be programmed even if the WGA strike halts new production. Similarly, Night Court and Quantum Leap, which were both renewed shortly after they premiere, stayed in production after completing their first seasons, and so will have second season episodes available for the fall 2023 schedule.

But some shows that have been announced for fall  Law & Order: SVU, for example -- may not be able to produce new episodes, if the WGA strike continues. Though CBS announced a fall schedule with plenty of scripted shows, including Kathy Bates in a new take on the old Andy Griffith series, Matlock  its not clear whether those series will actually be ready to go, or whether the WGA strike will put them on hold.

That foggy future is likely why ABC is leaning into reality and game shows with its fall 2023 schedule. Dancing With the Stars is moving back to ABC after only being available to stream on Disney + last season. Meanwhile, the scripted comedy, Abbott Elementary, will be airing repeats, and viewers will have to wait for later announcements to find out when they might expect to see other scripted shows, including Greys Anatomy, The Good Doctor, Will Trent, The Rookie, and more.

Other unscripted ABC fall schedule shows include Judge Steve Harvey, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, Celebrity Jeopardy, What Would You Do?, Press Your Luck, The $100,000 Pyramid, Shark Tank, Bachelor in Paradise, and The Golden Bachelor.

Related: As the writers strike disrupts TV production, here are 10 shows to catch up on

The Golden Bachelor?: The press release announcing the ABC fall schedule described it as a long-awaited spinoff of the Bachelor franchise. Is it? Whatever. The latest addition to the Bachelor-verse is, according to press materials, designed to showcase a new kind of love story  one for the golden years, in which one hopeless romantic is given a second chance at love in the search for a partner with whom to share the sunset years of life. The women arriving at the mansion have a lifetime of experience, living through love, loss and laughter, hoping for a spark that ignites a future full of endless possibilities. In the end, will our Golden man turn the page to start a new chapter with the woman of his dreams?

When will we see any of this stuff?: Thats another looming question. The Fox network, for example, announced its 2023-2024 programming slate, but the company hasnt yet announced the 2023 fall schedule or premiere dates. If the WGA strike continues, production cant start on scripted comedies and dramas, so its still up in the air when viewers may see the new season of 9-1-1: Lone Star, The Cleaning Lady, or other scripted shows.

Oregons Kaitlin Olson gets a new show: The Portland-born Kaitlin Olson, whose credits include the long-running comedy Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Hacks, will star in a new ABC series, High Potential. The ABC announcement says the show, which is based on a French series, follows a single mom with an exceptional mind, whose unconventional knack for solving crimes leads to an unusual and unstoppable partnership with a by-the-book seasoned detective (Daniel Sunjata). Though High Potential is part of the 2023-2024 primetime schedule announcement, when viewers will actually see it depends on what happens with the WGA strike.

Cancellations, renewals and surprises: While some decisions made about the fate of shows were to be expected, the canceled, then-uncanceled status of S.W.A.T. raised eyebrows. First, CBS said the show was gone. Then, after star Shemar Moore and others publicly objected, CBS brought S.W.A.T. back, for one more, final season.

And considering that 9-1-1 has been one of the most popular series on Fox, it was a bit weird to hear that the series will be moving to ABC, even as the spinoff, 9-1-1: Lone Star, remains on Fox. Industry reports indicate that the move has to do with economics and ownership. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Fox had to pay a licensing fee to Disneys 20th Television, which owns 9-1-1, to air the series, which was expensive to produce. ABC is owned by the Walt Disney company, so bringing 9-1-1 to ABC is essentially keeping the show within the Disney family.

Among the recently announced canceled shows are Yellowstone (Paramount Network); True Lies (CBS); East New York (CBS); Call Me Kat (Fox); Fantasy Island (Fox); Alaska Daily (ABC); Big Sky (ABC); The Company You Keep (ABC); The Winchesters (The CW); Kung Fu (The CW); and Walker: Independence (The CW).

Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin in "So Help Me Todd," which is set, though not filmed, in Portland. CBS

Among the renewed series are the Portland-set So Help Me Todd (CBS); Animal Control (Fox); Accused (Fox); Lego Masters (Fox); Next Level Chef (Fox); Alert: Missing Persons Unit (Fox); The Simpsons (Fox); Survivor (CBS); NCIS (CBS); NCIS: Hawaii (CBS); Fire Country (CBS); Bob Hearts Abishola (CBS); the FBI franchise (CBS); the Chicago franchise (NBC); Ghosts (CBS); Will Trent (ABC); Abbott Elementary (ABC); Greys Anatomy (ABC); The Conners (ABC); American Idol (ABC); and The Good Doctor.

 Kristi Turnquist

503-221-8227; kturnquist@oregonian.com; @Kristiturnquist

Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe
John Mellencamp is usually known for using his gravelly voice to sing vague lyrics about the heartland. But now, the guy who brought us Jack & Diane, Pink Houses and Hurts So Good has turned his attention away from the center of the country to almost its very edge: Portland, Oregon.

Mellencamps new song The Eyes of Portland is all about the main thing people who dont live in Portland love to talk about: How destroyed the city is.

Portland, burned to the ground, ravaged by homelessness, drug users on every corner. Your classic wasteland scenario.

People who live in Portland know that we have some problems. There are people struggling, living outside or in their vehicles. The drug situation is terrifying and dangerous. Yet Portland is also a lovely city, full of beautiful parks, quiet streets, trees, rivers, bike paths, restaurants, friends, shops, ice cream, donuts. It might be the best major city in the entire country. Might be? Is.

People who have visited other major U.S. cities know that homelessness is not just a Portland problem. Its a nationwide problem, stemming from all sorts of long-standing nationwide issues, which make it very hard to fix at the local level.

But that nuance doesnt make it into Mellencamps new song. And I am using quotes here because this song has a very I put a prompt into ChatGPT and this is what came out vibe.

Take, for example, the opening lyrics: As I saw through the eyes of Portland one day/ There were so many homeless, theyd all gone astray/ They slept on the corners during the day/ As not to be harmed when the sun went away.

What? This is just word salad created by a machine that knows the basics of how to rhyme. Whether that machine is a computer or Mellencamps brain, I cannot say.

You will be unsurprised to hear it doesnt get better from there. Because this is a song, there is a chorus. And it aint good: All of thes homeless, wher do they come from?/ In this land of plenty where nothing gets done/ To help those who are empty and unable to run/ Your tears and prayers wont help the homeless.

First of all, let me be clear that I dont like to say mean things about people and I dont like to write negative things on the internet about art, either. Ive learned the hard way, its usually not worth it. But John. John Cougar. John Cougar Mellencamp. This is worth it. What is this?

These homeless for one, are people. People who could answer you if you posed the question, Hey, where are you from? I get the strong feeling that youve never actually spoken to a person living on the street, which is where I would start if I were going to write a song ostensibly about their perspective.

Instead of speaking to a human, Mellencamp falls back on some of the most boring cliches available.

Some are mentally ill, some are higher than kites, he sings. Selling their bodies as day turns to night.

Really? Higher than kites? If I were teaching a middle school poetry class, I would circle this and say, Can you think about what this means and come up with something more concrete?

If it were a high school poetry class, I would probably just cross it off with a big red marker and write, Do better. (Just kidding. Dont come after me. I would never teach high schoolers how to write poetry. I am not that brave.)

Possibly the funniest or saddest or best or worst part of this song, depending on your mood, is the fact that the music video isnt filmed in Portland at all. Nope, thats the Los Angeles skyline youre seeing.

All in all, its not good on a song level or a human level. Thats going to be a pass from me.

Anyway, watch the video or better yet, dont.

 Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052; lacker@oregonian.com; @lizzzyacker

Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe
Proponents of the Greater Idaho measure on the Wallowa County ballot lost a little ground Thursday as their margin of victory narrowed from 21 to seven votes.

As of 7:30 p.m., 1,742 voters had said yes to further consideration of a long-shot effort to move Idahos border west. Meanwhile, 1,735 said no to the measure, which would require Wallowa County commissioners to meet twice annually to discuss promoting Wallowa County interest in relocating Idaho borders to include Wallowa County.

Theres potential for a recount if the gap closes any more.

According to state law, a gap of one-fifth of one percent or less triggers a recount. With 3,477 votes so far, one-fifth of one percent is seven votes (with rounding).

Sandy Lathrop, county clerk, said Wallowa County has 28 outstanding contested ballots, including two from voters who use wheelchairs. Since those voters wont be able to come to the countys office to cure their ballots, Lathrop said she plans to visit their homes Friday.

Lathrop says additional ballots that were postmarked Tuesday may continue to trickle in too.

Wallowa County saw the highest voter turnout in the state with 55% of eligible voters casting ballots. Statewide voter turnout stood at just under 26%.

So far, 11 counties have approved similar measures to possibly merge with Idaho.

Crook County, in central Oregon, is expected to vote on the initiative next May, with Gilliam and Umatilla after that.

-- Lisa Moreno; lmoreno@oregonian.com
Oregon elections officials will ask the state Department of Justice to consider criminal charges against Nishad Singh, an executive at disgraced cryptocurrency firm FTX, for donating $500,000 to the Democratic Party of Oregon last October under a false name.

Elections officials opened the investigation into Singh and the Democratic Party in October after the party identified the donor of its largest ever campaign contribution as cryptocurrency wire service Prime Trust. The party only identified Singh as the true donor after The Oregonian/OregonLive contacted Prime Trust in late October to inquire why the company had donated a substantial sum to Oregon Democrats.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. In the forest in the village of Azerbaijan's Tugh, employees of Azerbaijani Khojavend district police department found explosive devices belonging to the Armenian military, Barda regional group of the press service of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) told Trend.

Police officers found 52 shells of various types and 14,000 rounds of ammunition for machine guns in the forest in the village of Tugh and handed them over to the Azerbaijani Mine Clearance Agency. They have remained there since the recent war [the second Karabakh war].

Following the liberation of its lands, Azerbaijan from November 2020 started carrying out operations on clearing its lands from mines, booby traps, and various weapons left behind by the Armenian troops.

According to the ANAMA, 88 anti-personnel landmines, 75 anti-tank mines, and 123 unexploded ordnances were found and defused in Tartar, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Khojaly, Khojavand, Fuzuli, Shusha, Gubadli, Lachin, Jabrayil, and Zangilan, as part of the de-mining process from May 1 through May 6, 2023.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

BIG RAPIDS  Treehouse Club, a recreational adult use marijuana retail establishment at 217 Maple St., has been permanently closed after the city revoked its permit for multiple violations, including selling marijuana to minors.

The city made the decision to revoke the store's permit to sell recreational marijuana due to multiple complaints received at the Big Rapids Department of Public Safety and the Community Development Department.

This matter originated after public safety and community development received complaints about the operations and potential violations of the city code, community development director Michelle Stenger said.

Upon inspection, she said the departments found multiple violations, including but not limited to:

Not maintaining a security system

Patrons and employees consuming marijuana on premises

Failing to keep marijuana products and cash properly secured

Selling marijuana to minors

Improper signage

Using the structure as a residence occasionally.

Pursuant to our ordinances, a hearing was held by the city manager, Mark Gifford, and the city clerk, Tammy Gillis, to give the business owners an opportunity to show cause why their permit should not be revoked, Stenger said. At that hearing back in March, one of Treehouse's co-owners and their attorney appeared and admitted to the violations. Accordingly, the city manager and clerk issued a determination that the Treehouse Club was in violation of the code, and the city revoked their license.

An appeal of the revocation came before the Big Rapids planning commission, as per the city code, during its meeting May 17.

Stenger told the planners it was determined, after complaints through the DPS and the community development office, that Treehouse Club had not been following the required regulations.

The applicant had been notified of the violations and moved forward with fixing those that involved the community development regulations, but did not fully address concerns of the DPS, Stenger said. The city held a hearing and determined that their permit should be revoked.

City attorney Brad Fowler told the planners an appeal was filed by a law firm on behalf of Treehouse Club appealing the decision of the city administration to revoke the recreational marijuana establishment permit.

Under city code there is a number of reasons why the city, after a hearing, can suspend or revoke a permit, Fowler said. That (revocation) was done by the city manager and the city clerk on March 10. They held a hearing and issued a written decision to revoke that permit. I gave the reasoning to their lawyer, and (the lawyer) filed an appeal on April 7, asking the planning commission to modify or reverse the order from the city. It (the appeal) says if you were to give them the opportunity, they would make changes.

Following a public hearing, during which no one spoke on behalf of the store, the planners voted unanimously to uphold the revocation decision of the city administration.

Planner Rory Ruddick said they (the planners) took a lot of time and careful deliberation in establishing the requirements for marijuana businesses in Big Rapids, and the behavior of this particular establishment was like a cold slap in the face.

It appears to me they brought the black market into a retail setting in Big Rapids and were going to just do whatever they wanted, Ruddick said. There will be repercussions from the state for selling to minors, Im sure. I see no reason to overturn the decision.

From an enforcement perspective, the regulatory issues could have been given 90 days to address, but on top of that selling to minors, planner Jacob Buse added. We have a dozen other facilities in this community, and we knew there would be a weeding out process through market forces and poor management. It looks like poor management got them, so I see no reason to overturn the decision.

Planning chair Sarah Montgomery said after reading through all the information, she has zero tolerance for everything she read.

They defaulted on what they were supposed to be doing. They blatantly disregarded the rules. I am not pleased with what I read, Montgomery said.

According to information provided to the planners, the state of Michigan continued to do inspections following the revocation and allegedly found several issues, including no proof of valid business insurance and several incidences of noncompliance, including:

Open packages of marijuana

Open product containers within reach of customers

No power for security alarms and on-site cameras

Untagged product on site

Unsecured product on site

No up to date Standard Operating Procedures on site

Evidence of marijuana use on site.

The Treehouse Club opened in summer 2022, filling the storefront on Maple Street left vacant by the former occupant The Wellflower dispensary, which closed in November 2021, after a year.

Founders Joseph Barakat and Casey Shaughnessy said at the time that they had the goal of creating a community space like a tree house or club around recreational marijuana use.

We want to work toward becoming a community hub and making a difference for people, they said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

WASHINGTON (AP)  For months, Western allies have shipped billions of dollars worth of weapons systems and ammunition to Ukraine with an urgency to get the supplies to Kyiv in time for an anticipated spring counteroffensive.

Now summer is just weeks away. While Russia and Ukraine are focused on an intense battle for Bakhmut, the Ukrainian spring offensive has yet to begin.

Last week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it's been delayed because his country lacks enough Western weapons to succeed without suffering too many casualties. Weather and training are playing a role too, officials and defense experts say.

Officials insist the counteroffensive is coming. Preliminary moves by Ukraine to set the conditions it wants for an attack have already begun, a U.S. official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

A look at the factors delaying the counteroffensive and the preparations both sides are making in anticipation of it starting soon.

WEATHER

A big part of the delay is the weather. It's taken longer than expected for Ukraine's frozen ground to thaw and dry, due to an extended, wet, cold spring, which has made it difficult to transition into an offensive.

Instead, the ground has retained a deep mud that makes it more difficult for non-tracked vehicles to operate.

The mud is like a soup, the official said. You just sort of sink in it.

TRAINING

In the past few months, tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been trained by the U.S. and allies for the fight. But the final Ukrainian battalion the U.S. is currently training is just finishing its course now.

This final class brings the total number of Ukrainians the U.S. has trained for this fight to more than 10,700. Those forces have learned not only field and medical skills but advanced combined arms tactics with the Stryker and Bradley armored fighting vehicles and Paladin self-propelled howitzers. It also includes highly skilled forces who were trained to operate the Patriot missile defense system.

According to U.S. Army Europe-Africa, more than 41,000 additional Ukrainian troops have been trained through programs run by more than 30 partner nations.

Soon a new phase will begin: The U.S. will start training Ukrainians on Abrams tanks at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. But the Ukrainians won't wait for the tank training to be finished before they launch their counteroffensive, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told reporters in late April.

WEAPONS ARRIVALS

In just the past five months alone, the U.S. has announced it would send more than $14 billion in weapons and ammunition to Kyiv, most of which is being pulled from existing stockpiles in order to get the supplies to Ukraine faster. NATO and Western allies have responded too, pledging billions in tanks, armored vehicles and air defense systems.

But a lot of that gear still hasnt arrived, said Ben Barry, a former British intelligence official who is now the senior land warfare fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

For example, of the approximately 300 tank systems pledged  such as the Leopard 2 tanks promised by countries including Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany  only about 100 have arrived. Of the 700 or so pledged fighting vehicles, such as British Marauders and U.S. Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, only about 300 have arrived, he said.

Ukraine will also need enough ammunition on hand to sustain a higher tempo fight once the counteroffensive begins, When it comes to the ammunition needed, Ukraines chief military logistician will also have a strong say in when the army is ready to launch, Barry said.

In just one munition  the 155mm howitzer round  Ukraine is firing between 6,000 and 8,000 rounds per day, Ukrainian parliamentary member Oleksandra Ustinova told reporters in April.

COUNTEROFFENSIVE CLUES

Both Russia and Ukraine are taking steps in anticipation of the counteroffensive.

Russia has approximately 200,000 troops along a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) battle line, dug in using the same type of trench warfare tactics used in World War I, a Western official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.

These troops are not as highly trained as Russia's initial invading force, which sustained heavy casualties. But they are defended by ditches, minefields and dragon's teeth  above ground triangle-shaped concrete barriers that make it difficult for tanks to move.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has begun shaping operations, such as targeting Russia's forward lines with long-range artillery fire. That may indicate that Ukraine is about to push forward on that location  or it could be a decoy to draw Russia's attention from its actual planned first strike, the official said.

When Ukraine does try to punch through those lines  whether in a limited area or a complex campaign carried out in multiple locations  that will be the likely indicator the offensive has begun, both Barry and the Western official said.

Barry said when Ukrainian brigades start crossing into Russian-held territories and try to attack the first line of Russian defenses, thats going to be a dead giveaway I think.

___

Associated Press reporter Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.
The Michigan Court of Appeals on Thursday rejected an inmate's bid to appeal his murder conviction.

On May 9, the court heard the appeal from Joel Brandon Wallace, 38, of Reese, of his 2019 convictions for first-degree murder, unlawful imprisonment, forgery, and uttering and publishing.

This week, the court of appeals upheld his convictions, meaning Wallace will continue his life sentence without parole for first-degree murder of his great-aunt, Victoria Kilbourne, 74, of Midland.

Further, Wallace continues to concurrently serve 171 months to 30 years in prison for his unlawful imprisonment conviction, and 34 months to 28 years in prison for his forgery and uttering and publishing convictions.

The court cited in a nine-page document there were no errors warranting reversal of the convictions.

Wallace appealed the verdict leading to the prison time, citing ineffective assistance at trial and victim statements introduced that shouldnt have been allowed in the original hearing. Midland County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Atea Duso presented at the appeal hearing on behalf of the state.

Wallace was convicted on March 15, 2019 of murdering Kilbourne, a beautician, who had been reported missing on June 26, 2018. Her remains were found four days later in a shallow grave on Wallace's hunting property near Onaway in Presque Isle County.

Wallace is imprisoned in the Macomb Correctional Facility in Lenox. He was originally represented by attorney Daniel Duke. Attorney Ronald Ambrose is handling Wallace's appeal, which was filed in June 2019 but was not heard until this month due in part to COVID-related delays.

More Information Michigan Court of Appeals upholds murder, other convictions stemming from beautician's death in 2018. See More Collapse

Ambrose told the Court of Appeals that Wallaces brother should have been introduced as a potential suspect during the trial.

The guilty verdict against Wallace came following a nine-day jury trial in Midland County Circuit Court before Judge Stephen Carras.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

A federal judge is considering whether to block Florida's ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, as bills targeting the rights of trans people are being embraced by Republican governors and statehouses across the country.

The restrictions are spreading quickly despite criticism from medical groups and advocates who say they are further marginalizing transgender youth and threatening their health.

Here's what's happening:

FLORIDA'S RESTRICTIONS

Attorneys for the parents of three transgender children appeared before a federal judge in Florida on Friday, seeking to block the ban on gender-affirming care for minors that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis approved this week.

Along with the treatment ban, DeSantis on Wednesday also signed bills that restrict pronoun use in schools and force people to use the bathroom corresponding with their sex assigned at birth in some cases.

DeSantis also signed new restrictions on drag shows that would allow the state to revoke the food and beverage licenses of businesses that admit children to adult performances. The DeSantis administration has moved to pull the liquor licenses of businesses that held drag shows, alleging children were present during lewd displays.

The rules on gender-affirming care also ban the use of state money for the care and place new restrictions on adults seeking treatment. They took effect Wednesday, along with the drag show restrictions. The bathroom and pronoun restrictions take effect July 1.

DeSantis has advocated for such restrictions, and championed a Florida law that restricts the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools. Florida has expanded that prohibition, which critics have dubbed the Don't Say Gay law, to all grades.

WHERE BANS STAND NATIONALLY

Hundreds of bills have been proposed this year restricting the rights of transgender people, and LGBTQ+ advocates say they've seen a record number of such measures in statehouses.

At least 17 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, South Dakota and West Virginia. Federal judges have blocked enforcement of laws in Alabama and Arkansas, and several other states are considering bills to restrict or ban care. Proposed bans are also pending before the governors of Texas, Nebraska and Missouri.

Oklahoma on Thursday agreed to not enforce its ban while opponents of the law seek a preliminary injunction against it in federal court.

These bans have spread quickly, with only three states enacting such laws before this year.

Before DeSantis signed the latest ban, Florida was one of two states that had restricted the care via regulations or administrative action. Texas' governor has ordered child welfare officials to investigate reports of children receiving such care as child abuse, though a judge has blocked those investigations.

Three transgender youth and their parents who are suing to block Florida's earlier ban on the care for minors expanded their challenge on Wednesday to include the prohibition DeSantis signed into law.

Every major medical organization, including the American Medical Association, has opposed the bans and supported the medical care for youth when administered appropriately. Lawsuits have been filed in several states where bans have been enacted this year.

STATES POISED TO ACT

Nebraska lawmakers on Friday approved and sent to Republican Gov. Jim Pillen proposed restrictions on gender-affirming care for children as part of legislation that includes a 12-week abortion ban. Pillen has promised to sign the combined measure into law.

The bill would prevent transgender people 18 or younger from receiving any gender-confirming surgery. The states chief medical officer  a political appointee who is currently an ear, nose and throat doctor  would set rules for puberty blockers and hormone therapies. There would be some exceptions for minors who were already receiving treatment before the restrictions were enacted.

A proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors is awaiting action before Republican Gov. Mike Parson in Missouri. The states Republican attorney general, Andrew Bailey, this week withdrew a rule he had proposed that would have gone further by also restricting access to the care for adults.

Bailey cited the bill pending before Parson as a reason for eliminating the rule, which had been blocked by a state judge.

A proposal that failed in New Hampshire's House on Thursday would have required school officials to disclose to inquiring parents that their child is using a different name or being referred to as being a different gender. Opponents said the bill would have exposed LGBTQ+ students to the risk of abuse at home.

Not all states are adopting restrictions, and some Democratic-led states are enacting measures aimed at protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ youth.

Michigan Democrats introduced legislation Thursday that would ban conversion therapy for minors, a discredited practice of trying to convert people to heterosexuality.

The legislation is expected to move quickly with Democrats in control of all levels of state government. Democratic state Rep. Jason Hoskins, a sponsor of the bill, told The Associated Press that he hopes the legislation passes by the end of June, which is Pride Month.

___

Associated Press writers Anthony Izaguirre in Tallahassee, Florida; Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee, Florida; Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire; Margery Beck in Lincoln, Nebraska; Margaret Stafford in Kansas City, Missouri; and Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan, contributed to this report.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  The executive committee of Minnesotas Democratic Farmer Labor Party gave initial approval on Thursday to bylaws that would permanently ban anyone who engages in or incites acts of violence from participating in party activities, after a weekend endorsing convention for a Minneapolis City Council seat erupted in chaos.

The executive committee also agreed Thursday that if those bylaws receive final approval from the DFL State Central Committee, the candidate whose supporters are accused of instigating the Saturday melee will be permanently disqualified from seeking and receiving the party's endorsement.

Ken Martin, chair of the state Democratic Party organization, called the melee that erupted Saturday night unacceptable." The DFL is an affiliate of the state Democratic Party.

Video circulating on social media shows that the disturbance began after supporters of incumbent Aisha Chughtai took the stage to seek delegates backing for the Ward 10 City Council seat. That sparked an uproar among backers of her challenger, Nasri Warsame. Some jumped on stage, shouting, banging on tables and waving signs. At least two people were injured and the convention broke up with no endorsement.

Martin said on Twitter that it was clear that the conflict was instigated by Warsame supporters. He continued to place the blame on some of Warsame's supporters on Thursday.

Martin said some mistakes were made, but none of those mistakes, big or small. justify a few bad actors from the Warsame campaign taking things into their own hands and inciting, encouraging and participating in violence against other DFL participants.

With unanimous votes, the executive committee approved two bylaws that would essentially ban individuals who have engaged in, incited or consciously condoned physical assault, threats of violence, or violent acts from party activities.

The first would immediately and permanently disqualify an individual from seeking the partys endorsement if they or their campaign supporters engage in such acts. The second would permanently ban an individual who carried out such acts from any elected or appointed position within the party, including serving as a delegate or alternate to a convention.

Pending final approval of those bylaws, the executive committee said Warsame would be permanently disqualified from seeking and receiving DFL endorsement or letters of support for any future office. Martin clarified that this does not mean Warsame can't run for office. But if he does, he won't get backing from the DLF Party.

Disagreements over how a convention was run is not an excuse for violence. Not understanding the convention process is not an excuse for violence, Martin said. He later added, The reality is, if we dont act, this will just embolden people in the future to use this as a tactic to essentially force conventions to adjourn.

Warsame did not immediately reply Thursday to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Warsame and Chughtai are Democrats in an overwhelmingly Democratic city when campaigns for party backing are often heated. Warsame, a political newcomer, is a Somali immigrant.

Chughtai is a longtime activist who managed U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar's 2018 campaign. She is the daughter of Pakistani immigrants and has support from some prominent Somali American politicians, including Omar and state Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, and other Muslims, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Chughtai has endorsements from a long list of progressive and labor groups, including the Democratic Socialists of America. Warsame has campaigned on a law-and-order message.

Warsame said at a news conference Wednesday: I do not condone violence. I do not condone intimidation or harassment of any sort. Before Thursday's closed-door session, Warsame's campaign manager, Abshir Omar, told the executive committee that he supports Martin's message condemning the violence, but that he was disheartened by statements that blamed Warsame supporters, saying party officials never contacted the campaign to get their side of the story.

Samuel Doten, who chaired Saturday's convention, told the committee that the chaos unfolded due to the actions of about five to 10 people, and that it was not representative of all of Warsame's supporters. He urged the committee to avoid disenfranchising the Somali community from participating in the process.

Chughtai released a statement on Wednesday saying the video does not match the Warsame campaign's version of events.

Campaigns that are winning and have the support of the people dont violently disrupt the process, she said. "As a campaign and as a movement, were on the path to a safer, more just Minneapolis and we look forward to continuing to share that vision with the people of Ward 10.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

TBILISI, Georgia (AP)  Direct flights resumed on Friday between Russia and Georgia amid protests and sharp criticism from the South Caucasus nations president, just over a week after the Kremlin unexpectedly lifted a four-year-old ban despite rocky relations.

Georgian police on Friday afternoon dispersed protesters who had gathered at Tbilisi airport to meet an Azimuth Airlines flight from Moscow, the first to arrive from Russia since July 2019, with signs and slogans criticizing the Kremlin and what they described as the current Georgian governments pro-Russia course.

Georgias pro-Western president, Salome Zourabichvili, who has previously clashed with the government over mending ties with Moscow, also voiced her opposition in a tweet posted on Friday.

Despite the opposition of the Georgian people, Russia has landed its unwelcome flight in Tbilisi. No to flights to Russia!, Zourabichvili said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last Wednesday unexpectedly abolished visas for Georgian nationals and lifted the flight ban Moscow unilaterally imposed in 2019 after a wave of anti-Kremlin protests in Georgia.

Putins decrees came a day after leaders of several Central Asian and South Caucasus states stood beside him at a military parade marking the anniversary of Nazi Germanys defeat in World War II, in what looked like the Kremlin seeking to show that Russia still had allies and wasn't completely isolated.

Following Putins decrees, Russias Foreign Ministry issued a statement lifting its 2019 recommendation for Russian citizens to avoid traveling to Georgia.

Russia-Georgia relations have been complicated since the Soviet Unions collapse in the early 1990s. The two countries fought a short war in 2008 that ended with Georgia losing control of two Russia-friendly separatist regions.

In the aftermath, Tbilisi severed diplomatic ties with Moscow, and the issue of the regions status remains a key irritant, even as relations have somewhat improved.

After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Georgia joined international resolutions condemning the war, provided Kyiv with humanitarian aid and took in thousands of refugees. However, its authorities stopped short of supplying Ukraine with weapons, citing the need to maintain neutrality.

At the same time, the Black Sea country of 3.7 million people became one of the main destinations for Russians fleeing the crackdown and the partial mobilization into the military that Putin announced in September 2022.

Zourabichvili last week responded to Putins decrees with a tweet calling them another Russian provocation.

Resuming direct flights and lifting visa ban with Georgia is unacceptable as long as Russia continues its aggression on Ukraine and occupies our territory!, she said.

Opposition lawmaker Giorgi Vashadze told reporters that Georgias pro-Western political parties planned to hold a rally outside the parliament building on Friday evening.

The current authorities want rapprochement with Russia, but the population is against this and is committed to the Euro-Atlantic course, Vashadze said, referencing Tbilisis stalled European Union membership bid and decades-long aspirations to join NATO.

By contrast, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday said at a media briefing that restoring direct flights from Russia was the right thing to do. Garibashvili stressed that Tbilisi wouldn't allow flights by Russian airlines sanctioned by the West, but said that stopping trade and economic relations with Moscow would harm the interests of the Georgian people.

The Georgian aviation authority this week authorized two smaller Russian airlines, Azimuth Airlines and Red Wings, to launch flights to Tbilisi and Georgias second city of Kutaisi.

Vazha Siradze, a Georgian interior ministry official, said in a statement Friday that six people were detained during the demonstration at Tbilisi airport after allegedly throwing eggs and shouting insults at police.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. The main topic of today's meeting is the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan in Moscow, Trend reports.

He noted the importance of the trilateral statements signed by the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders [following the 2020 Second Karabakh War], adding that these statements should play a decisive role in resolving all issues.

"This concerns a peace treaty, the opening of communications, as well as the delimitation and demarcation of borders [between Azerbaijan and Armenia]. Progress in all directions is the main condition for achieving peace in the South Caucasus," Lavrov said.

According to him, Moscow is ready to contribute to the full establishment of peace and stability in the region.
TO THE EDITOR:

Midland is my home and I am a proud Midlander. I have had the honor to serve my home as Midland County Sheriff from 1977-1990 and later as Midlands State Representative from 1991-1998.

I know from first-hand experience that a terrific community like ours is only possible because of the efforts of outstanding organizations and committed leaders who strive to make Midland the finest town in Michigan and America.

No incident has triggered this community spirit like our community response to the legacy flooding challenges we have faced over the decades. My wife Mary Jane and I raised our three children on Haskin Drive. Living just off Sturgeon Creek, we weathered the floods of 1986, 2014, 2017 and 2020. Like too many others in our community our home was flooded out twice in five years.

May 20, 2023 marks the anniversary of the especially devastating flood of 2020. While we can remember the incredible community response, we also now have the potential for transformational investment in our local infrastructure to help prevent this type of tragedy from happening again.

The Midland Business Alliances Advisory Committee on Infrastructure, working with the Army Corp of Engineers and community stakeholders, has developed a bold plan that can help protect hundreds of homes and small businesses in Midland. Via investing in pump stations, flood walls and drainage improvements we can work to end the type of legacy flooding that has plagued the Midland area for too long. This type of transformational infrastructure is significant, it would require a $34 million investment along Snake Creek and $73 million investment along Sturgeon Creek  but we are the City of Modern Explorers  we should rise to meet this challenge with gusto.

State Representative Bill G. Schuette is battling for state funding for this flood reduction plan in our state budget. Schuette has three times proposed a $117 million flood reduction amendment for Midland. Three times it was voted down along partisan lines.

As a former state legislator, I know that these types of negotiations are not easy, but that Schuette understands the importance of Midland getting the maximum investment possible.

We cannot be timid in our approach to solving this flood problem that impacts families throughout the town. On our third anniversary of the 2020 flood, let us send a message that we can solve this problem for good.

JAMES MCNUTT

Midland
Cape Town, South Africa (PANA)  The CEO of of KWV, one of Africas biggest alchohol producers, has been axed after his wife made a controversial appearance on the television reality show Die Real Housewives van die Wynlande (The Real Housewives of the Winelands)
Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - As heavy fighting continues in Sudan, UN humanitarians warned on Friday that more than one million people have now been forced to flee for their lives
Photo: (Photo : Handout / Getty Images)

Disney World has taken decisive action against two individuals who were involved in a violent altercation at the popular theme park over a photo attempt. The incident occurred at the Magic Kingdom, prompting the intervention of Florida authorities.

Disney World's Efforts to Maintain Safety

The confrontation unfolded on Monday afternoon, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, when a member of one family asked someone from another, larger family to move out of the frame while they were posing for a photo in front of the park's 100th-anniversary sign.

In response to the request, a member of the larger family allegedly punched a member of the victim's family in the face, sparking a physical fight. The incident, which was captured in videos circulating on social media, depicted a group of adults engaging in physical altercations while onlookers watched in shock.

However, the sheriff's office has stated that it is unclear whether the footage in question directly relates to the incident at hand.

According to the New York Post, the disturbing video captured the intense altercation that unfolded within the park premises.

The footage shows the involved parties engaging in physical violence, with punches being thrown while a man is seen on the ground. Disney employees promptly called for backup as the situation escalated.

Prior to the intervention of workers and a security officer, the families were engaged in a heated exchange characterized by shouting and the use of offensive language. The footage also reveals that the man on the ground encountered difficulty getting up and chose to remain seated.

According to TODAY, the Orange County Sheriff's Office reported that one individual required medical attention following the fight.

However, despite the severity of the incident, the victim opted not to pursue charges against the responsible party.

The police report states that the altercation erupted at approximately 2:30 p.m. when a member of one family, who had been requested to move, resorted to physical violence by punching a member of the other family in the face.

As a consequence of their actions, both individuals have been issued trespass warnings by the authorities, effectively prohibiting them from entering the Disney World property. If they attempt to return, they may face arrest. The exact identities of the individuals involved have not been disclosed.

Read Also: Indiana Enacts Anti-Bullying Law 'TB3,' Named for Teen Who Took His Own Life

Previous Altercations at Disney World

Disney World, a world-renowned family-friendly destination, strictly prohibits any behavior deemed unsafe, illegal, disruptive, or offensive. Their official website outlines rules against using profanity, jumping lines, engaging in physical altercations, or saving places in lines for others.

This is not the first time Disney World has encountered such incidents within its theme parks.

As reported by NBC, in a previous incident that occurred in July, the sheriff's office reported that three individuals were taken into custody on charges of misdemeanor battery, while one person required medical attention for a minor injury following their involvement in a physical altercation.

The recurring nature of these altercations led Disney to issue a warning in late 2022 against unruly behavior, emphasizing its commitment to maintaining a safe environment for all visitors.

As Disney World strives to provide a magical experience for guests, incidents like these underscore the importance of adhering to park rules and maintaining a respectful environment.

The bans issued to the two individuals involved in the recent altercation serve as a reminder that such behavior will not be tolerated. Disney World remains committed to the safety and enjoyment of its visitors and will continue to enforce its rules to ensure a pleasant experience for all who enter its gates.



Related Article: Michigan's Grand Rapids Schools Ban Backpacks in Efforts to Combat Threats
Photo: (Photo : Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Montana becomes the first state in the U.S. to enforce a complete ban on the popular social media app TikTok, citing concerns over kids' online safety.

The move has ignited a legal battle and sparked discussions on the potential risks associated with children's use of the platform.

Montana has taken a significant step in safeguarding children's online safety by implementing a statewide ban on TikTok.

Reuters reported that the decision, announced by Republican Governor Greg Gianforte, makes Montana the first state to enact such a sweeping measure against the Chinese-owned social media giant.

A Landmark Decision Raises Concerns for Children's Online Safety

The ban is primarily motivated by concerns that TikTok poses potential risks to children's privacy and security.

The app, known for its short-form videos and wide user base, has gained immense popularity among young people worldwide.

However, recent controversies surrounding data privacy and the platform's ties to the Chinese Communist Party have raised alarm bells among lawmakers and cybersecurity experts.

As Montana takes the lead in banning TikTok, legal experts predict a challenging road ahead for the state.

TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter argues that the ban infringes on users' First Amendment rights and is unlawful.

While the company has not indicated whether it will file a lawsuit, the ban's constitutionality is likely to be questioned.

As reported by CNN, organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and NetChoice, a trade group representing tech giants including TikTok and Google, have already labeled the ban as unconstitutional.

Keegan Medrano, policy director for the ACLU of Montana, argues that the legislation tramples on the free speech rights of hundreds of thousands of Montanans who use TikTok as a means of expression and information gathering.

TikTok's Influence on Children and the Debate on Responsible Digital Engagement

The Montana ban on TikTok has triggered a broader discussion on children's digital well-being and responsible online engagement.

As per USA Today, supporters of the ban emphasize the potential risks associated with children's exposure to explicit content, cyberbullying, and the unauthorized collection of personal data.

Opponents of the ban, however, argue that it undermines freedom of expression and limits access to a platform that has become an integral part of many young people's lives.

They caution against overreactions and emphasize the importance of educating children about responsible online behavior rather than imposing bans.

The ban's enforcement is expected to face challenges, as technological workarounds such as virtual private networks (VPNs) could potentially allow Montana residents to bypass the restrictions.

Critics argue that the ban's effectiveness in protecting children's online safety remains uncertain, as it might inadvertently push them toward riskier alternatives or limit their access to creative and educational content.

Read Also: FDA Raises Concerns About Perrigo's Opill Birth Control Drug for OTC Sales

Moving Forward: A Balancing Act

According to the Associated Press, certain states, such as Utah and Arkansas, have implemented legislation that links the use of social media platforms to the requirement of parental consent.

Comparable measures are currently being developed in various other states.

Montana's ban on TikTok sets a significant precedent in addressing children's online safety, but it also raises complex questions about balancing freedom of expression and protecting vulnerable users.

As the legal battle unfolds, policymakers, parents, and technology companies must work collaboratively to create a safer digital environment for children-one that promotes responsible digital engagement without compromising individual rights.

Ultimately, the ban in Montana sheds light on the urgent need for comprehensive discussions on children's online safety, effective parental guidance, and responsible practices by social media platforms to ensure the well-being of young users in an increasingly interconnected world.

Related Article: Top 10 Science-Based Recommendations for Parents To Help Teens Use Social Media Safely
Photo: (Photo : Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Oklahoma has agreed to temporarily suspend the enforcement of its controversial ban on gender-affirming medical care for young transgender individuals.

The decision comes as opponents of the law seek a court order to block its implementation, further intensifying the ongoing legal battle surrounding transgender rights and healthcare access in the state.

Agreement Reached to Pause Enforcement

According to the Associated Press, the attorney general's office, along with attorneys representing families and medical providers challenging the ban, have filed an agreement before a federal judge overseeing the lawsuit.

This agreement aims to temporarily halt the enforcement of the ban and grants both parties additional time to submit briefs and arguments.

The move reflects a mutual understanding of the need for a comprehensive examination of the ban's potential impact on transgender youth in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma is one of 17 states that have introduced legislation either prohibiting or imposing limitations on gender-affirming care for individuals under the age of 18.

However, similar laws in states like Alabama and Arkansas have faced legal challenges, with federal judges subsequently blocking their enforcement.

Notably, several other states are currently considering legislation that could limit or ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

In response to the temporary suspension of the ban, leading civil rights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Lambda Legal, and the Jenner & Block law firm, have expressed their unwavering support.

In a joint statement, these organizations stressed the importance of safeguarding the rights of all transgender individuals in Oklahoma and beyond.

The ACLU, Lambda Legal, and Jenner & Block firmly expect all state officials to honor the agreement while the motion is pending, and they stand prepared to hold the state accountable should any enforcement of the ban occur.

Their commitment to defending the rights of transgender Oklahomans reflects the broader significance of this case in shaping the future of transgender healthcare access and equality.

Governor Stitt's Ban Faces Legal Opposition

According to NBC News, Oklahoma's ban on gender-affirming care for minors was signed into law by Republican Governor Kevin Stitt in May, with immediate effect.

Governor Stitt had prioritized the ban during the legislative session, framing it as a measure to protect children.

However, major medical groups have consistently opposed such bans, emphasizing the safety and importance of gender-affirming care when administered appropriately.

The ban prohibits healthcare professionals from providing gender-affirming surgeries, puberty-blocking medication, and hormone treatments to individuals under the age of 18.

Violating the ban could result in felony charges for healthcare providers. However, opponents argue that these treatments are highly individualized and essential for supporting the well-being of transgender youth.

Read Also: Disney World Bans Two Individuals After Violent Altercation Erupts Over Photo Attempt

The Complexities of Gender-Affirming Care

Gender-affirming medical care refers to a range of medical treatments and procedures that aim to align an individual's physical and emotional attributes with their gender identity.

These evidence-based treatments often involve a multidisciplinary approach and can include reversible puberty suppression therapy, hormone therapy, and, in some cases, surgical interventions.

Transgender youth face unique challenges in their journey toward self-discovery and acceptance.

For some, gender-affirming care can play a vital role in reducing gender dysphoria, improving mental well-being, and fostering a healthy sense of identity.

The medical community widely recognizes the importance of providing safe and appropriate healthcare options to transgender youth, as supported by leading professional organizations.

As per CNN, the temporary suspension of Oklahoma's ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth marks a significant turning point in the ongoing battle for transgender rights and healthcare access.

While opponents of the ban continue their legal efforts to challenge its enforcement, the focus remains on upholding the rights of transgender individuals and ensuring their access to medically necessary and evidence-based care.

As the case unfolds, the outcome will have far-reaching implications not only for transgender youth in Oklahoma but also for the broader landscape of transgender rights across the nation.

Related Article: Montana Sets Precedent with Statewide Ban on TikTok, Sheds Light on Kids' Online Safety
In September 2021, Patently Apple posted a report titled "Samsung is working on AR Smartglasses that could provide users with Virtual Desktop Functionality at any time and on the go." A key image from that report is presented as our cover graphic above. The second that I read about this, it was inevitable that this would be one of the killer apps for AR Glasses or an XR Headset. Of course the idea was first covered in an Apple patent.

While Apple's marketing approach is still shrouded in secrecy, Apple's headset OS, rumored to be unveiled as 'xrOS,' will reportedly run iOS apps and may introduce a macOS simulator, according to Mark Gurman. That feature alone would technically provide Mac users with a mobile desktop experience for the home and on-the-go, allowing the Headset display to provide users with a working display that could mimic a 32" or much larger display to work with. This isn't a day dream, Apple already patented this back in 2018 and was granted a patent for it in 2020. One of Apple's patent figures is presented below.

This could be a killer app and a new company by the name of 'Sightful' might be first to market with this concept that could be a popular trend in the coming years.

The company developed a new portable device that they're branding a Spacetop, a new category of PC that takes the traditional laptop and completely reimagines it. Powered by their unique AR operating system, it creates a massive virtual workspace that functions as a private, personal and portable home office, working with AR Glasses. Their promotional video is presented below.

The CEO of the company, Tamir Berliner, worked at PrimeSense, a company that Apple acquired back in 2013. After the acquisition, he eventually moved on to work for Magic Leap in Tel Aviv before becoming the CEO and co-founder of Sightful in July 2020, according to his LinkedIn Profile. His partner is Tomer kahan who is COO worked at Magic Leap, Broadcom and N-Trig that was acquired by Microsoft.

The company noted in their press release today that their new Spacetop was in development for three years. Laptop. Created by a team of more than 60 spatial computing experts, including veterans from Apple, Microsoft, and Magic Leap, Spacetop represents the next generation in personal computing and the first application of Augmented Reality that seamlessly fits into users daily lives. With customized hardware and a proprietary spatial environment, Spacetop leverages AR to remove the physical constraints of standard laptops. The result is a first-of-its kind product that allows users to carry with them a massive, private, virtual workspace designed and customized by the user to be their most creative self, no matter where they are - all in a familiar laptop form factor.

Two worlds sit at a crossroads: Laptops are the centerpiece of our daily working lives, but the technology has not evolved with the modern, work from anywhere, privacy matters, road warrior mentality. Meanwhile, augmented reality is full of potential and promise, but is yet to find its daily use case, said Tamir Berliner, CEO and co-founder of Sightful. We are at the perfect moment for a significant paradigm shift in a device we all know and love, and Spacetop Early Access is the first step in that journey.

Designed specifically for the work from anywhere movement, Spacetop takes full advantage of Augmented Reality to transform the world around users into a portable home office.

With a more than 100 virtual canvas, Spacetop users design their perfect working environment - unclutteredand organized in the exact way that helps them focus and do their best work. Unconstrained by 13-16 screens that lead to endless tabs, buried applications, and constant window switching, Spacetop users are able to focus, with their key applications visible and accessible at any moment, all overlaid on the real world, while users still remain present in the real world.

The result is an experience that delivers:

Intuitive Augmented Reality: Spacetop operates seamlessly and intuitively as a laptop. Users enjoy a familiar but dramatically expanded experience in AR with no complicated gesture controls to learn, and no external hardware or software awkwardly integrated with non-AR devices.

Limitless Digital Workspace: Spacetop users carry a multi-monitor setup as large as their work requires, whether sitting on a couch in their home, working over breakfast at a local cafe, or squeezed into an airplane seat on a cross-country flight.

Privacy by Design: The Spacetop work environment, called the Canvas, and the users work, are completely invisible to those who are not using the device. No more wandering eyes from nosy neighbors, no more privacy screen filters.

Spacetop is the bridge between reality and augmented reality, combining the utility and versatility of a laptop with the magic of painting information on the world around us, said Marvin Tien, Partner at Corner Ventures. Corner is committed to leveraging all its connections across Asia Pacific, Europe, and anywhere else in the world where our network may reach to help align the Sightful team with the right leaders across spatial computing, personal computing, and product innovation.

The Spacetop Early Access program is now open with 1000 early adopters invited to join. At the moment the company has stated what the price of their Spacetop will go for.

At the end of the day, it's the trend that's worth noting here. I personally think that this could be a killer app that's not too far off into the future and one that Apple's engineers have been working on for year. When you think about it, why would you buy an iMac or PC with a 32" display when you could be working with up to a 100" virtual canvas using AR devices. Being portable makes it priceless.

With Apple working on a headset display offering 7,000ppi in the future, it would be mind blowing to work with graphics or for viewing medical scans and so much more.

What are your thoughts on AR-based PCs? Send in your feedback in the comment section below or on our Twitter feed.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. Economic and transport communications in the South Caucasus should be opened, and the text of a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which is being actively worked on, should be also agreed, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, Trend reports.

Lavrov made the remark during a trilateral meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia - Jeyhun Bayramov and Ararat Mirzoyan.

He also noted the importance of developing contacts along the so-called "second track" - through experts, public organizations, and MPs.

"This was the experience and I think that it is very important as an additional step to build confidence," he said.
Tradition & Authority; Bankruptcy of Sola Scriptura

The late Steve Hays (1959-2020) was a Calvinist (and anti-Catholic) apologist, who was very active on his blog, called Triablogue (now continued by Jason Engwer). His 695-page self-published book, Catholicism  a collection of articles from his site  has graciously been made available for free. On 9 September 2006, knowing full well my history of being condemned and vilified by other anti-Catholics (and his buddies) like James White, Eric Svendsen, and James Swan, Hays was quite  almost extraordinarily  charitable towards me. He wrote then:

I dont think Ive ever accused him of being a traitor or apostate or infidel. . . . I have nothing to say, one way or the other, regarding his state of grace. But his sincerity is unquestionable. I also dont dislike him. . . . I dont think theres anything malicious about Armstrongunlike some people who come to mind. In addition, I dont think Ive ever said he was unintelligent. For the record, its obvious that Armstrong has a quick, nimble mind. . . . The term apostasy carries with it a heavy presumption that the apostate is a hell-bound reprobate. I think its unwarranted to assume that all Catholics or converts to Catholicism are damned. Two-and-a-half years later, starting in April 2009 and up through December 2011 (in the following quotations) his opinion radically changed, and he claimed that I have an evil character, am actually evil, ego-maniac, narcissist, idolater, self-idolater, hack who pretends to be a professional apologist, given to chicanery, one who doesnt do any real research, a stalwart enemy of the faith . . . no better than [the atheists] Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens, with an intent to destroy faith in Gods word, schizophrenic, emotionally unhinged, one who doesnt trust in the merit of Christ alone for salvation, has no peace of mind, a bipolar solipsist, split-personality, and a bad man. He wasnt one to mince words! See more gory details. I feel no need whatsoever to reciprocate these silly and sinful insults. I just wanted the record to be known. Ive always maintained that Hays was a very intelligent man, but habitually a sophist in methodology; sincere and well-meaning, but tragically and systematically wrong and misguided regarding Catholicism. Thats what Im addressing, not the state of his heart and soul (let alone his eternal destiny). Its a theological discussion. This is one of many planned critiques of his book (see my reasons why I decided to do this). Rather than list them all here, interested readers are directed to the Steve Hays section of my Anti-Catholicism web page, where they will all be listed. My Bible citations are from the RSV. Steves words will be in blue.

*****

[Chapter 2: Exposition]

Catholicism in the dock

The claim that critics of Catholicism cant avoid referencing a tradition of their own is at odds with the common assertion that Protestants are guilty of proposing theological innovations. But a theological position cant be simultaneously traditional and innovative. [p. 67]

Here Hays confuses traditions of men: which can start up at any time (i.e., be new traditions) and apostolic, patristic tradition, continuing through apostolic succession from 2000 years ago. Everyone has traditions of some sort. They are either openly acknowledged (thats what Catholics do), utilized without knowledge and self-awareness that one is doing it (many Protestants who pretend that they just go by the Bible, etc.) or openly acknowledged, but erroneous (Protestant traditions that are false, or heretical / schismatic worldviews).

Theres a first time for everything. Its quite possible for a theologian to make a break with the past. [p. 68]

Of course it is. But if it goes contrary to apostolic tradition or the Bible or magisterial Church teaching, it ought to be rejected. This is one of the major functions of the One True Church.

The question is whether tradition is regarded as intrinsically authoritative and unquestionable. Tradition as an argument from ecclesiastical authority, that isnt subject to review. [p. 68]

Authoritative tradition is determined by a combination of serious historical analysis of Christian history and biblical teaching. When that is done, we maintain that Catholicism wins, hands-down, as the Guardian of apostolic tradition.

Thats quite different from tradition as an interpretation of Scripture that appeals to reason and evidence rather than authority. [p. 68]

It need not be a dichotomy. Catholic authority is built upon reason, evidence, and the Bible.

There are traditional interpretations in the sense of a tradition that starts out as an interpretation of Scripture, then becomes traditional, and something that starts out as a tradition, then casts about for prooftexts to retroactively validate a tradition that developed independently of Scripture. [p. 68]

Yes, the latter is an accurate description of both sola Scriptura and sola fide.

In addition, some traditional interpretations become dogma. The tradition is frozen in place and becomes the foundation for a theological skyscraper. But thats different from a traditional interpretation that remains subject to scrutiny. Traditional interpretations that must prove themselves to each new Christian generation. Traditions that are responsive to logic and evidence. [p. 68]

Protestants have their own traditions, even of this sort, too. Does someone want to doubt that? Okay: go to a Calvinist and deny the five tenets of Calvinism (TULIP). See how far that gets you. See if that entrenched 500-year-old theological tradition is subject to scrutiny and responsive to logic and evidence. So it works out exactly the same way. All Christians have non-negotiable elements. And it has to be that way because Christianity is a religious belief-system. Some things in any Christian system are regarded as unquestionably true. Its only a matter of degree and which beliefs are placed in this category. But for Hays to act as if only Catholics have dogmas which no one can question is, at best, ultra-naive and blind to reality, and at worst, equivocation and sophistry.

Divine guidance is not continuous but occasional and unpredictable. Theres no oracle that answers all our questions. [p. 69]

It surely is continuous in some sense:

Matthew 28:20 . . . I am with you always, to the close of the age. John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. John 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth . . . Acts 15:28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: Acts 16:3-4 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him; . . . [4] As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions which had been reached by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem. 1 Corinthians 11:2 . . . maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter. 1 Timothy 3:15 . . . the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.

Catholic apologists and theologians say the church is subordinate to Scripture rather than above it, but if, according to them, the Magisterium is the arbiter of what Scripture means, then Scripture means whatever the Magisterium says it means. So that puts the Magisterium above Scripture. Scripture can never act as an independent check on the Magisterium if the Magisterium is the definitive interpreter. [pp. 69-70]

What we say is that Church teaching, tradition, and Scripture are always harmonious in fact. They are a three-legged stool and it makes no sense to try to place one above the other (all three legs have to be the same length or else the stool is unstable and falls). Scripture is indeed unique in that it is God-breathed in a way that Church teaching and tradition are not; yet it still has to be interpreted. We believe that God set up a guiding, teaching Church, led by the Holy Spirit, that is led to infallibly teach, so that believers are not led astray into heresy and other false beliefs and doctrines. Infallibility is a gift from God, to preserve and protect His Church, which in fact provides true interpretations of the inspired, infallible, inerrant revelation of Holy Scripture.

Moreover, in Jn 14-16, Jesus didnt promise the Spirit to the Church, much less the pope or the Roman Magisterium, but to the Eleven. This is a classic example of how Catholics read out of Scripture what they first read into Scripture. [p. 70]

They represent the Church, as its prototypes. When they got together as part of this Church in the council of Jerusalem (The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter: Acts 15:6), they showed that they were now leaders in the Church, not just atomistic individuals (which is the false Protestant tendency). The Holy Spirit then led these apostles and [non-apostle] elders (it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us: Acts 15:28) to make an authoritative pronouncement, binding on believers throughout Asia Minor (Turkey). Paul himself delivered to them for observance the decisions which had been reached by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem (Acts 16:4).

That is the Spirit guiding the Church; its infallible, Spirit-led authority, in a way that is contrary to the fundamental principle of authority and rule of faith of Protestantism: sola Scriptura, which holds that no authority is infallible except Scripture; therefore, it follows the Jerusalem council could not have been, and we must deny that the Holy Spirit led it, as inspired Scripture states (Acts 15:28). The Church infallibly leads us to theological and spiritual truth because Paul told us so in inspired Scripture, in calling it the pillar and bulwark of the truth (1 Tim 3:15).

Catholic appeal to Scripture is circular inasmuch as Scripture is only allowed to mean whatever meaning the Magisterium assigns to Scripture. [p. 70]

As explained, God sees to it that the two are in fact one and the same. Its not circular if there is an equivalence, brought about by Gods supernatural guidance and protection.

But in that event, how do they establish the authority of the Magisterium in the first place? [p. 70]

From biblical teachings, which I have been outlining, and Jesus commission to Peter, and his primacy, as seen in Holy Scripture. And from examining Church history to see which Christian body or institution has avoided officially promulgated heresy these two thousand years. Only one has.

To begin with, suppose our interpretations do fall short of certainty? But unless all interpretations are equally uncertain, why is that a problem? [p. 70]

Merely human ones, collectively, always do fall short and contradict each other. Thats precisely why supernatural guidance and an infallible teaching Church was a absolute necessity. Once Protestants rejected an infallible teaching Church and tradition, it doomed itself to chaos and theological relativism, and thats exactly what their history of many thousands of competing denominations demonstrates.

Why cant Protestant epistemology appeal to supernatural faith? [p. 70]

It can in areas where it agrees with us. It cant in the usual instances where there is endless internal contradiction, because that is the logically necessary presence of error and falsehood, which cannot be a good thing. And it cant in the case of late-arriving theological novelties like sola Scriptura and sola fide. If these were such bedrock truths, God would have seen to it that the Church taught them all along,. But it didnt. So they are immediately suspect on that basis alone, along with others.

So long as Christians are heavenbound, why is hermeneutical certitude required? [p. 71]

Because God desires it, as shown in Pauls constant insistence upon it. I dont see anywhere indicated in Holy Scripture that only some can know the whole truth of Christian doctrine, or that no one can, or that there are competing schools that contradict each other, rather than one unified Church, or that doctrinal dissensions and disagreements are to be expected and tolerated, let alone praised and glorified as open-mindedness or the status quo, etc. Jesus and the Bible writers (St. John and St. Paul above all) all assume that there is one truth (the truth), one tradition, one doctrine: that can be known with Gods help, and the Churchs guidance:

Luke 1:4 that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed. John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. (cf. 8:31-32) John 15:26 But when the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me; (cf. 14:6; 16:13; 17:17-19) John 18:37 . . . For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice. John 19:35 He who saw it has borne witness  his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth  that you also may believe. Romans 9:1 I am speaking the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 2:13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who possess the Spirit. (cf. 2 Cor 13:8) Galatians 5:7 You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? Ephesians 1:13 In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, putting away falsehood, let every one speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Ephesians 5:9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), (cf. 6:14) Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Colossians 1:3-10 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing  so among yourselves, from the day you heard and understood the grace of God in truth, as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. And so, from the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, to lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 1 Timothy 2:4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 3:15 if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth. 1 Timothy 4:3 . . . those who believe and know the truth. 2 Timothy 2:25 God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth, (cf. 1:14; 3:7-8) 2 Timothy 4:4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths. Titus 1:1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith of Gods elect and their knowledge of the truth which accords with godliness, Titus 1:14 instead of giving heed to Jewish myths or to commands of men who reject the truth. Hebrews 10:26 . . . the knowledge of the truth, . . . James 5:19 My brethren, if any one among you wanders from the truth and some one brings him back, 2 Peter 1:12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these things, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. (cf. 1 Pet 1:22) 1 John 2:27 but the anointing which you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that any one should teach you; as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie, just as it has taught you, abide in him. (cf. 2:21) 1 John 3:19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our hearts before him. (cf. 4:6) 1 John 5:7 And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth. 2 John 1:1-2 The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth, because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us for ever: 3 John 1:3-4 For I greatly rejoiced when some of the brethren arrived and testified to the truth of your life, as indeed you do follow the truth. No greater joy can I have than this, to hear that my children follow the truth. 3 John 1:12 Demetrius has testimony from every one, and from the truth itself; I testify to him too, and you know my testimony is true.

Related Reading:

Bible vs. Denominationalism and Against Primary / Secondary Doctrines [8-18-06]

Reply to Calvin #4: Primary & Secondary Doctrines [4-3-17]

Although the Spirit is given to the apostles at Pentecost, thats inclusive rather than exclusive to the apostles. The Spirit is given to Christians in general, including revelatory dreams and visions (Acts 2:16-17). Throughout the Book of Acts, the gift of the Spirit is common property of Christian converts, including supernatural phenomena. [p. 71]

Yes, the Bible plainly teaches that the Holy Spirit indwells all Christian believers.

Theres no clerical/lay dichotomy in that regard. [p. 71]

There was at the Jerusalem council, because it declared an infallible decision, led by the Holy Spirit, as shown above (which is blatantly contrary to sola Scriptura; indeed, fatal to it). Only apostles and popes have that sort of infallibility on their own, as individuals and thats still the clerical/lay dichotomy because apostles and popes are on a much higher level than us run-of-the-mill laity.

A basic problem is that modern Catholicism tries to combine two divergent paradigms. The deposit of faith represents the traditional paradigm. Thats fixed. Complete. But modern Catholicism has added the theory of development. That leads to special pleading, where theological innovations are reclassified as theological developments. [p. 71]

Its not a basic problem for us at all. It is in Hays deficient understanding of what development is in the first place. Development is completely consistent with one tradition progressively unfolding and being better understood over time. Development of doctrine is not evolution of doctrine. Its not amoeba to dinosaur (fundamental change); its acorn to oak (essential continuity  with growth  of the same thing).

Its demonstrably false that throughout the NT, Peter is the central authority, the primary teacher on whom all others depend for final rulings in church governance. For the first few chapters in Acts, Peter takes the lead. After that, others like Stephen and Philip step in. Then Peter is eclipsed by Paul, because Paul is more talented than Peter.

The NT has two letters attributed to Peter. In mainstream Catholic scholarship, sanctioned by the Magisterium, Petrine authorship is denied. Most of the NT was composed by writers other than Peter. The Book of Acts contains some Petrine speeches, but mainstream Catholic scholarship regards the speeches in Acts as fictional. My point is not to agree with that but to respond to modern Catholicism on its own terms. And even if we take a more conservative position, the dominant and predominant NT teaching is from teachers other than Peter. [p. 72]

This is the good old pitting Paul against Peter failed Protestant attempt. Ive addressed it many times:

50 New Testament Proofs for Petrine Primacy & the Papacy [1994]

Primacy of St. Peter Verified by Protestant Scholars [1994]

Reply to Critique of 50 NT Proofs for the Papacy (vs. Jason Engwer) [3-14-02]

Refutation of a Satirical Pauline Papacy Argument (vs. Jason Engwer) [9-30-03]

Papal Passages Lk 22:31-34 & Jn 21:15-17 (vs. Jason Engwer) [5-12-20]

Did Peter or James Preside at the Jerusalem Council? (And Was it the Prototype of Ecumenical Councils or Merely a Local Synod?) [5-21-21]

Pope St. Clement of Rome & Papal Authority [7-28-21]

Reply to Lucas Banzolis 205 Potshots at St. Peter, Part I (+ Pt. 2. / Pt. 3 / Pt. 4) [5-26-22]

No Papacy in the NT? Think Again (vs. Jason Engwer). With Special Emphasis on the Protestant Exegesis of The keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16:19) [8-1-22]

Defending 20 Biblical Proofs for the Papacy (vs. Lucas Banzoli) [+ Part II] [2-13-23]

Reply to Rodrigo Silva on NT Evidences for the Papacy [2-27-23]

Did You Know That St. Peter is Mentioned More Than St. Paul in the New Testament? I Didnt Till Today [Facebook, 2-27-23]

Reply to Steve Hays Caricatures of the Papacy [2-28-23]

***

Practical Matters: Perhaps some of my 4,200+ free online articles (the most comprehensive one-stop Catholic apologetics site) or fifty-one books have helped you (by Gods grace) to decide to become Catholic or to return to the Church, or better understand some doctrines and why we believe them. Or you may believe my work is worthy to support for the purpose of apologetics and evangelism in general. If so, please seriously consider a much-needed financial contribution. Im always in need of more funds: especially monthly support. The laborer is worthy of his wages (1 Tim 5:18, NKJV). 1 December 2021 was my 20th anniversary as a full-time Catholic apologist, and February 2022 marked the 25th anniversary of my blog. PayPal donations are the easiest: just send to my email address: apologistdave@gmail.com. Youll see the term Catholic Used Book Service, which is my old side-business. To learn about the different methods of contributing, including 100% tax deduction, etc., see my page: About Catholic Apologist Dave Armstrong / Donation Information. Thanks a million from the bottom of my heart!

***

Photo credit: The Whore of Babylon (workshop of Lucas Cranach): colorized illustration from Martin Luthers 1534 translation of the Bible [public domain / Wikimedia Commons]

***

Summary: The late Steve Hays was a Calvinist and anti-Catholic writer and apologist. This is one of my many critiques of Hays Catholicism: a 695-page self-published volume.
Rule of Faith; Catholic Mariology

The late Steve Hays (1959-2020) was a Calvinist (and anti-Catholic) apologist, who was very active on his blog, called Triablogue (now continued by Jason Engwer). His 695-page self-published book, Catholicism  a collection of articles from his site  has graciously been made available for free. On 9 September 2006, knowing full well my history of being condemned and vilified by other anti-Catholics (and his buddies) like James White, Eric Svendsen, and James Swan, Hays was quite  almost extraordinarily  charitable towards me. He wrote then:

I dont think Ive ever accused him of being a traitor or apostate or infidel. . . . I have nothing to say, one way or the other, regarding his state of grace. But his sincerity is unquestionable. I also dont dislike him. . . . I dont think theres anything malicious about Armstrongunlike some people who come to mind. In addition, I dont think Ive ever said he was unintelligent. For the record, its obvious that Armstrong has a quick, nimble mind. . . . The term apostasy carries with it a heavy presumption that the apostate is a hell-bound reprobate. I think its unwarranted to assume that all Catholics or converts to Catholicism are damned. Two-and-a-half years later, starting in April 2009 and up through December 2011 (in the following quotations) his opinion radically changed, and he claimed that I have an evil character, am actually evil, ego-maniac, narcissist, idolater, self-idolater, hack who pretends to be a professional apologist, given to chicanery, one who doesnt do any real research, a stalwart enemy of the faith . . . no better than [the atheists] Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens, with an intent to destroy faith in Gods word, schizophrenic, emotionally unhinged, one who doesnt trust in the merit of Christ alone for salvation, has no peace of mind, a bipolar solipsist, split-personality, and a bad man. He wasnt one to mince words! See more gory details. I feel no need whatsoever to reciprocate these silly and sinful insults. I just wanted the record to be known. Ive always maintained that Hays was a very intelligent man, but habitually a sophist in methodology; sincere and well-meaning, but tragically and systematically wrong and misguided regarding Catholicism. Thats what Im addressing, not the state of his heart and soul (let alone his eternal destiny). Its a theological discussion. This is one of many planned critiques of his book (see my reasons why I decided to do this). Rather than list them all here, interested readers are directed to the Steve Hays section of my Anti-Catholicism web page, where they will all be listed. My Bible citations are from the RSV. Steves words will be in blue.

*****

[Chapter 2: Exposition]

Catholicism in the dock, part 2

Why . . . even bother with the text of Scripture when the Catholic distinctive[s] derive, not from Scripture, but from church fathers, church councils, &c? Scripture doesnt contain the specific claims of developed Catholic theology. [p. 74]

Hes assuming what he needs to prove: begging the question or petitio principii fallacy. On the other hand, I deny his false premise: why does he think everything has to come from Scripture, or perhaps (qualifying a bit) explicitly therefrom? Where in the Bible does it teach that this is a requirement? If its not taught in Scripture, its merely a Protestant extrabiblical tradition. And if that is the case, by Protestant criteria it cant be infallible; therefore no one is bound to accept it. But Hays is freed from all of this consideration of reason. He simply accepts with blind faith and a complete arbitrariness the notion that every Christian truth must be laid out in the Bible.

Its also a truism that Scripture doesnt lay out claims of a theology that has undergone up to 1950 years of development. How could it? It can, however, contain the more primitive versions and the essence of doctrines that later came to be more or less fully understood. Even the Holy Trinity and divinity of Jesus, which are very well expressed in the Bible, nevertheless took 500 years to fully develop (as most Protestant Church historians would agree).

Thats why he must supplement the sacred text with extrabiblical texts that do. [p. 74]

Just as Protestants accept many extrabiblical tenets and doctrines. I just explained one of them above. Sola Scriptura, sola fide, and the canon of the New Testament are other ones.

But in that event its the extrabiblical texts that actually teach Catholic distinctive. [p. 74]

In my 33 years of Catholic apologetics, I have been able to find, fairly easily, biblical justification for every single Catholic doctrine. Its one of the major themes of my apostolate, and probably what I am most known for. In those same 33 years, I have yet to see biblical justification for Sola Scriptura and sola fide: the two pillars of the so-called Protestant Reformation. In those instances, Protestants simply accept an unbiblical tradition and labor under the illusion that they are taught in the Bible (somewhere, as it were). The usual falsehoods employed are equating material and formal sufficiency of the Bible, and equating salvation by grace alone with salvation by faith alone. Lately, Ive noticed Protestant apologists refreshingly conceding that sola Scriptura is not taught in the Bible itself:

I dont think the Bible directly, explicitly teaches sola scriptura. Rather, I think sola scriptura is an implication of Biblical teaching. . . . I dont think 2 Timothy 3:15-17 is saying that Timothy or anybody else at that time should have abided by sola scriptura. Rather, when we combine 2 Timothy 3 with what other sources tell us about scripture and what we know about other factors involved (e.g., ecclesiology), we arrive at the conclusion of sola scriptura. (Jason Engwer, How To Argue For Sola Scriptura, 1-10-18)

I think the question that we have is: do we have to find a particular Scripture that says Scripture is the only authority? And I just dont think we have to. We dont. Theres nothing in  you cant find  in any of Pauls letters, for example, . . . by the way, Scripture is the only authority and traditions are not an authority and there is no magisterium that is given some kind of infallible authority to pass on infallible teachings. (Jordan Cooper, A Defense of Sola Scriptura, 3-12-19; from 1:39 to 2:14 on the video)

At best, the biblical texts are merely consistent with subsequent developments, without affirming or entailing subsequent developments. [p. 74]

Thats perfectly consistent with the nature of development of doctrine. Once again, Hays shows that he doesnt understand the basic definition of development of doctrine. He thinks it is evolution of dogma: a false belief that the Catholic Church has roundly condemned.

But that means theyre consistent with disaffirming subsequent developments. Theyre consistent with more than one theological trajectory. [p. 74]

Theoretically, before the fact, yes. But in actuality, after the fact and in retrospect, no.

Theres a sense in which you could say Mary is the new Eve. By the same token, theres a sense in which you could say Noahs wife is the new Eve. [p. 75]

I dont see how. Noahs wife didnt say yes in a way that Marys yes reversed the no of Eve. There is simply no analogy there. Nor did Noahs wife bear the incarnate God, which is the whole point of why Mary was greeted by an angel, who said, Hail, full of grace and informed Mary that she would bear God the Son. No one claims that Noahs wife was sinless, either, which was fitting for the Mother of God the Son.

A sense in which Noah is the new Adam . . . [p. 75]

There is no such sense, seeing in this case that Holy Scripture itself calls Jesus Christ the last Adam (1 Cor 15:45; cf. the parallelism of 15:22). Thats not even deductive. It flat-out states it.

[T]hat illustrates the risks and limitations of these facile parallels. [p. 75]

His example of Noah as the second Adam certainly is quite facile. Even if it was an intended reductio ad absurdum, it was dumb ,because it completely overlooked the refuting passages of 1 Corinthians 15:22, 45. But the new Eve motif goes back to at least St. Irenaeus in the second century.

[Pious Catholics are intoxicated by the idea of Catholicism. Swept away by appealing ideas. (Appealing to them.) [p. 75]

As if zealous Protestants are not intoxicated with the idea of Protestantism? Well-known Protestant historian Alister McGrath wrote a book entitled, Christianitys Dangerous Idea: The Protestant Revolution (2007). The blurb on the Google Books page gushes: The radical idea that individuals could interpret the Bible for themselves spawned a revolution that is still being played out on the world stage today.

Theres nothing in the Gospels about Mary interceding for sinners. [p. 76]

She intervened, on behalf of the hosts of the wedding reception, for Jesus to miraculously make wine. Thats fairly analogous to intercession. Even Hays state on page 77, half-conceding this very point, that Marys intervention precipitated a public miracle, thereby initiating his ministry, . . .

Heres we see the process of legendary embellishment right before our eyes. Notice that [the Catholic] argument [regarding Luke 1:28 and full of grace is explicitly dependent on the wording, not of the original text of Luke, but the Vulgate. Hes not even conscious of the problem when he departs from the Greek text to draw his inference from a nuance in the Latin translation that cant be traced back to the text that Luke actually wrote. Thats not what it means in the Greekor even the Latin. [p. 76]

I already dealt with this at considerable length in Reply #7 (Hays is dead wrong) but heres a little more. I cited the linguistic scholars Blass and DeBrunner (Greek Grammar of the New Testament) [pp. 166, 175], and H. W. Smyth (Greek Grammar  Harvard Univ. Press, 1968) in footnote number 188 in my book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism (2003, Sophia Institute Press, page 178). I wrote on the latter page: It is permissible, on Greek grammatical and linguistic grounds [footnote], to paraphrase kecharitomene as completely, perfectly, enduringly endowed with grace. Thats based on Smyth describing kecharitomene as a perfect passive participle, that shows a completed action with permanent result and denotes continuance of a completed action (pp. 108-109, section 1852:b).

If you identify Mary as the referent in Rev 12 because shes the biological mother of Jesus, then you cant suddenly drop that principle and say shes the metaphorical mother of Christians, or a symbol of the church. For if the depiction is metaphorical, then you cant infer that the referent is the mother of Jesus because Mary is his biological mother. The interpretation needs to be consistently literal or consistently figurative on the same plane. The referents must operate on the same level of literality or figurality. If the woman is figuratively the Church, then the manchild cant literally be Jesus. In this passage, Mary doesnt personify the church. Rather, the church/Israel is personified by a woman. In the OT, Israel is personified as a mother in labor. [pp. 77-78]

There is no inviolable hermeneutical rule, let alone scriptural prohibition of possible multiple meanings or applications of prophetic-type biblical literature, as I have written about. I explained it to an atheist. I wouldnt have thought it would be necessary to have to point this out to an educated Calvinist apologist. As for the exegesis of Revelation 12, I have dealt with it many times:

Virgin Mary: Woman of Revelation 12? [4-1-09]

Dialogue on the Woman of Revelation 12 (Mary?) [8-16-11]

Blessed Virgin Mary & Revelation 12: Debate with a Protestant [5-28-12]

Vs. James White #12: Mary the Woman of Revelation 12 [11-7-19]

The Queen Mother & the Bible (vs. James White) [10-8-21]

Although the passage alludes in part to Gen 3, the serpentine/dragonesque imagery also derives from passages in Isaiah and the Psalter regarding the Red Sea crossing (e.g. Ps 74:13-14; Isa 27:1). So thats not just about Eve, but Israel and the Exodus. [p. 78]

No one denied that it did. It has multiple applications, like many  if not most  prophecies do.

***

Practical Matters: Perhaps some of my 4,200+ free online articles (the most comprehensive one-stop Catholic apologetics site) or fifty-one books have helped you (by Gods grace) to decide to become Catholic or to return to the Church, or better understand some doctrines and why we believe them. Or you may believe my work is worthy to support for the purpose of apologetics and evangelism in general. If so, please seriously consider a much-needed financial contribution. Im always in need of more funds: especially monthly support. The laborer is worthy of his wages (1 Tim 5:18, NKJV). 1 December 2021 was my 20th anniversary as a full-time Catholic apologist, and February 2022 marked the 25th anniversary of my blog. PayPal donations are the easiest: just send to my email address: apologistdave@gmail.com. Youll see the term Catholic Used Book Service, which is my old side-business. To learn about the different methods of contributing, including 100% tax deduction, etc., see my page: About Catholic Apologist Dave Armstrong / Donation Information. Thanks a million from the bottom of my heart!

***

Photo credit: The Whore of Babylon (workshop of Lucas Cranach): colorized illustration from Martin Luthers 1534 translation of the Bible [public domain / Wikimedia Commons]

***

Summary: The late Steve Hays was a Calvinist and anti-Catholic writer and apologist. This is one of my many critiques of Hays Catholicism: a 695-page self-published volume.
Samuel Nartey George, a Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has dared a Tema High Court judge over the exclusion of certain delegates from participating in the recently held parliamentary primaries in the constituency.



According to the MP, the judge exceeded his authority by ordering the inclusion of sixteen delegates in the voting register for the primaries. In response, Sam George challenges the High Court judge to cite him for contempt.



"Just before the election on Saturday, they go back to court, and I hear the judge doesn't hear the case in open court and calls the case into his chamber, and gives a directive that he instructing that those sixteen names should be added. And I said, well, I don't know what the judge ate or I don't know what he drank," he fumed during an interview on TV3 following last Saturday's closely contested election.



When the host of the program pointed out that the ruling came from a court of competent jurisdiction, the MP retorted, "So what... absolutely not, the judge has no power in a matter that was not brought before him, and I will bring a petition to the Chief Justice against that judge because he must be investigated for his conduct. Because a case is brought to you seeking an injunction on ward election and then you go in chamber to issue directives that people be added to a register for a parliamentary vote. Who brought a parliamentary primary before you? Who told you judges have the power to extend their judgment beyond what is before them? And so I said if he thinks he has those powers, he should cite everybody for contempt, but those people will not vote and they did not vote.



"If the judge thinks he is right, he should cite me for contempt and let's see. I am saying I will bring a petition against him to the Judicial Service and the Chief Justice to investigate him in this matter," Sam George added.



On May 13, 2023, Sam George emerged victorious in the NDC parliamentary candidate election for Ningo Prampram, defeating Kwettey Nettey in a closely contested race ahead of the 2024 general election.



The election, closely monitored across the country, was halted midway after Kwettey Nettey presented a court order requesting the inclusion of sixteen delegates in the voting process.



Sam George, on the other hand, maintained that the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the party had already ruled on the matter and decided against the inclusion of the said delegates in the voter register.



Eventually, the delegates in question were not allowed to vote, and Sam George secured victory with 1,036 votes, while his contender managed to secure 636 of the total votes cast.









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
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. ADA University rector, Professor Hafiz Pashayev was awarded the title of Honorary Doctor of the Georgian Technical University (GTU), Trend reports.

The awarding ceremony was organized in the GTU building.

Rector of the GTU David Gurgenidze noted that the decision to award Hafiz Pashayev the title of honorary doctor was made by the Academic Council of the university. He presented Hafiz Pashayev with the diploma of honorary doctor and the honorary badge of the GTU.

Professor Hafiz Pashayev thanked the Rector and the Academic Council of the GTU for honoring him with this high award.

The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Science and Education of Azerbaijan Emin Amrullayev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan to Georgia Faig Guliyev, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia Nodar Papukashvili and other officials.
Police in western Kenya have arrested a self-proclaimed preacher who recently said he wanted to meet President William Ruto to deliver a prophetic message.



Joseph Chenge of Jerusalem Mowar Church was arrested on Wednesday evening alongside 11 members of his church in Ruri village, Homa Bay county.



Homa Bay criminal investigations officer Abed Kavoo said they were holding Mr Chenge in suspicion of promoting questionable religious teachings.



Mr Kavoo said preliminary investigations had revealed that the cleric was detaining sick people at his church in the guise of praying for them. Five patients were rescued from the preacher's church, local media reported.



Police said Chenge's church operations were illegal, as it was not registered. The preacher and the arrested members of his church are due to appear in court on Thursday.



On Sunday, Mr Chenge told journalists that something unfortunate may happen to the country if he failed to meet President Ruto within 21 days.



The arrest of the preacher comes amid crackdown on suspicious churches in Kenya, following the death of more than 200 in a doomsday cult in coastal Kilifi county.

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 Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has explained what the 3 billion dollars loan facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is going to be used for in the country.



According to him, the money will be released to Ghana in seven (7) tranches with the first tranche being the 600 million dollars.



He reiterated on Peace FM's 'kokrokoo' show Friday that the 600 million dollars has hit the account of the Bank of Ghana.



He further revealed that the other tranches have been spread over the next 3 years, stressing the rest of the money will be released only when Ghana meets the performance criteria given by the IMF.



"It's a three-year programme till April 16th, 2026. The way we structured is such that, when the Board approved it, they released 600 million . . . then by November 1st, they will release another 600 million when we meet the performance criteria," he told host Kwami Sefa Kayi.



He added that another $600 million will be released in November 2023 and $360 million in May, June next year and between May 1st and October 2025 till April 16, 2026.



He added that the first 600 million will be used for balance of payment and budget support for Ghana.





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
The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) says it is committed to ensuring the successful execution of the Saltpond Field Decommissioning Project (SFDP).



The assurance from the GNPC comes on the back of a publication in the Africa Intelligence media entity, an affiliate of

Indigo Publications run by Phillipe Vasset on the above subject.



The said publication, authored by one Thibault Lanchon, had called procurement breaches regarding the award of consultancy contracts in respect of the Saltpond decommissioning project.



However, the Corporation in its response described the allegations raised by

Africa Intelligence as "false".



"The statement that 'almost 70% of the consultancy work had already been done by the GNPCs technical teams' before the project management consultancy contract was awarded is false," a release issued by the Corporate Affairs Department stated.



The release dated Friday, May 19, 2023, explained: "It should be noted that the scope of the project management consultancy is in three (3) phases: pre-decommissioning, decommissioning, and post-decommissioning"



The full statement is published below:



The attention of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has been drawn to a publication by one Thibault Lanchon of the Africa Intelligence media entity, an affiliate of Indigo Publications ran by Phillipe Vasset on the above subject. The said publication seeks to disingenuously impugn procurement breaches regarding the award of consultancy contracts in respect of the Saltpond decommissioning project. The Corporations response to the false allegations raised by Africa Intelligence are as follows.



The Saltpond Field was discovered in 1970 and put into production in October 1978. It had been shut in several times due to a decline in production with a complete shutdown in 2015 when production became non-commercial.



The Government of Ghana decided to decommission the Saltpond Field and appointed the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to manage the project. On January 12, 2022, GNPC and Hans & Co. Oil and Gas Limited, the decommissioning contractor, signed the Saltpond Field Decommissioning Contract for the decommissioning of the Saltpond Field.



As part of the project implementation, GNPC without any prior decommissioning experience began its search for a project management consultant to ensure quality assurance and quality control of the Saltpond Field Decommissioning Project (SFDP).



On October 19, 2021, GNPC applied to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to use the single source procurement method to engage a project management consultant for the SFDP. The PPA approved GNPCs request on January 27, 2022. Following an internal review of the process, GNPC cancelled the tender on a legal basis.



After a subsequent comprehensive review in July 2022, there was a need for a project management consultant. GNPC re-applied to the PPA to secure a project management consultant for the SFDP using the single source procurement method. In a letter dated July 28, 2022, PPA recommended that GNPC adopts an open competitive tender method instead of the

1

single source procurement method. GNPC complied with PPAs directive and commenced a competitive tendering process in respect of the project management consultant for the SFDP.



Three (3) consultancy firms responded to GNPCs request for an expression of interest for the project management consultancy and all three (3) advanced to the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage. However, of the three (3) consultancy firms, only the partnerships of Ensol Energy Ghana Limited (Ensol) and TSB Offshore Inc. (TSB); and PAP Energy Limited and Luy Resources submitted proposals at the RFP stage.



After evaluating all the proposals submitted, GNPC awarded the contract to the Ensol-TSB partnership and executed the project management consultancy contract on January 30, 2023. The award of the project management contract to the Ensol-TSB partnership was based solely on the merit of the tender submitted. The Ensol-TSB partnership showed it had a comparatively better experience in the upstream petroleum industry and scored higher in critical requisite areas for project management consultancy for decommissioning. For example, Ensol had provided services to reputable international oil companies that were GNPCs partners prior to the SFDP and the current GNPC Chief Executive assuming office. It is therefore erroneous to imply that the Ensol-TSB partnership was awarded the project management contract, not on the strength of its proposal but on bias.



On March 7, 2023, Ensol notified GNPC of the withdrawal of its partner TSB from the project management consultancy contract and proposed a replacement. According to Ensol, TSB made a decision to prioritise other contracts it had over the project management consultancy contract due to the prolonged procurement process from tender submission in October 2022 until contract execution at the end of January 2023. Nowhere in the communication between GNPC and Ensol is there a suggestion that TSBs withdrawal was as a result of any malpractice by anybody related to GNPC, and as such anybody suggesting that must provide evidence. Ensolsrequest to replace TSB with another firm is currently going through GNPCs internal due diligence process. It is therefore false that the PPA objected to Ensols proposed new partner.



The statement that almost 70% of the consultancy work had already been done by the GNPCs technical teams before the project management consultancy contract was awarded is false. It should be noted that the scope of the project management consultancy is in three (3) phases: pre-decommissioning, decommissioning, and post-decommissioning. The critical phase covers decommissioning which is ongoing and post-decommissioning. In recognition of the fact that part of the pre-decommissioning had been done at the time of execution of the project management consultancy contract, the final contract price of under three million US dollars (USD 3,000,000.00) was consistent with the change in scope.



Given the far-reaching environmental health and safety implications of the SFDP, GNPC assures the public that it is committed to ensuring the successful execution of the SFDP as has been the case throughout the lifecycle of the SFDP.









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
An Adentan Circuit Court has asked the police not to assume the role of judges at police stations when cases are reported.



Dont assume the role of judges in your various police stations. Present cases as they are, before the courts.



The court presided over by Sedinam Awo Balokah gave the caution after she had ordered a 36-year-old taxi driver, Justice Antwi, to sign a bond for 12 months on a charge of causing unlawful harm to another driver during a fight over passengers at the Kotoka International Airport Terminal three.



Antwi, aka IGP, in default of the bond, would serve 12 months imprisonment.



This was after Antwi had pleaded guilty with an explanation on the charge of causing unlawful harm.



The court was informed that during the fight between Antwi and the complainant, Shadrack Adjei, they both got injured.



The court asked the Police Officer why they did not charge both the accused and complainant and the Officer answered that her superiors asked her to charge Antwi.



Antwi in his explanation said the complainant bit him during the fight and he used his car key to inflict wounds on his face.



The court, in its decision, convicted Antwi on his plea saying Antwis explanation confirmed his guilt.



Inspector Eric Ransford Abban, who held the brief of Inspector Gloria Ayim, said Shadrack Adjei and Justice Antwi, aka IGP, were both taxi drivers operating as floating drivers around Terminal Three Car Park of the Kotoka International Airport.



The prosecution said Antwi and Adjei resided at Flowerpot Spintex and Kasoa respectively.



It said on February 24, 2023, at about 11:20 pm, Adjei, the complainant came to the Airport Police Station Charge office with severe injuries and blood oozing from his face.



The prosecution said Adjei was issued with a Police Medical Report form to seek medical attention and report back.



It said the complainant later led the Police to Terminal Three, KIA, and Justice Antwi was arrested and brought to the Police Station.



The Police said on February 24, 2023, Adjei and Antwi were near the Arrival Hall, KIA to solicit passengers.



It said Antwi first approached a passenger, whiles the complainant also approached a group of three passengers.



Unknown to the complainant, the passenger Antwi was talking to was among the group of three passengers.



It said that brought about a misunderstanding between the complainant and the convict.



The prosecution said the complainant and the convict threatened to beat each other and a security at the Arrival Hall ordered them to leave the place.



It said at the Exist of the car park, the complainant, and the convict, engaged in fierce fighting and the convict inflicted several lacerations on the face and the neck of the complainant.



It said Antwi, the convict, admitted the offence in his investigation caution statement.





Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II says he will be collaborating with King Charles III of the United Kingdom to reclaim lands that have been destroyed by illegal mining activities in Ghana.



The Asantehene disclosed this at the launch of the 2023 edition of the Green Ghana Day held in Kumasi today, Wednesday, 17 May 2023.



He said he had a discussion with King Charles III when he attended his coronation in London about land reclamation in Ghana.



During the private discussion, Otumfuo said, King Charles III accepted to collaborate with him to reclaim lands destroyed by galamsey activities in the country.



Otumfuo said his technical team together with King Charles' team will meet to formulate a policy to embark on the land reclamation.



When I attended the coronation of King Charles III whose number one legacy is perhaps his commitment to afforestation, reforestation and the fight against climate change, interestingly, my discussions with him were on land reclamation in Ghana and we had some private discussions and he has accepted to collaborate with me for us to do that, the Asantehene said that.



He added he [King Charles III] has directed his technical team to meet mine so we can direct a policy to meet for that to help Ghana reclaim some of our land that has been destroyed by galamsey.













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 Minority Leader in Parliament, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has disagreed with the Supreme Court's directive asking that the records of James Gyakye Quayson, Member of Parliament for the Assin North constituency be expunged from Parliament.



"As at the time of his election, James Gyakye Quayson was not a dual citizen, neither was he a dual citizen as at the time he took the oath of office as a Member of Parliament... It is therefore baffling that the Supreme Court could direct the removal from Parliament of such a person who has been duly elected as a Member of Parliament" he said in a statement issued Wednesday.



A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court ordered Parliament to expunge the name of the NDC MP.



In the ruling, the apex court barred Mr. Quayson from holding himself as an MP for Assin North.



Read Ato Forson's statement below



STATEMENT ON SUPREME COURT RULING DIRECTING PARLIAMENT TO REMOVE JAMES GYAKYE QUAYSON AS MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT



The Minority Caucus has become aware of the Supreme Court's decision invalidating the nomination, election and subsequent swearing in of James Gyakye Quayson, Member of Parliament for Assin North, as being unconstitutional and of no legal effect, and subsequently directing Parliament to expunge his name from its records.



It is important to place on record that as at the time of his election, James Gyakye Quayson was not a dual citizen, neither was he a dual citizen as at the time he took the oath of office as a Member of Parliament.



The intention of the framers of Ghana's constitution is not to allow a dual citizen to perform the functions of a Member of Parliament.



It is therefore baffling that the Supreme Court could direct the removal from Parliament of such a person who has been duly elected as a Member of Parliament.



While we are yet to study the reasoning of the court in making its decision, it appears to be a slap in the face of our democracy and the rule of law.



We shall inform the public of our position upon reviewing the reasoning of the Court in arriving at its decision. We urge our rank and file to be calm while we pursue all legal avenues to ensure that justice is served.





Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
A parliamentary aspirant in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) primaries in the Asawase constituency has denied claims he was sponsored by the partys executives during his contest with the incumbent MP, Muntaka Mohammed.



According to him, there is not an iota of truth in the allegations, as 70 per cent of the money he spent during his elections was from his coffers.



Speaking at a press conference in Kumasi, he said, The issue about me being a favourite candidate, wow how lucky I am? I remember last year this same establishment barred me from contesting. So, I dont think theres any iota of truth in these allegations. I wasnt in any way sponsored. 70 per cent of the money I have spent came from my personal coffers, and 30 per cent came from people I have empowered in one way or the other. I never had any contributions from any business or party person, I can say that with authority.



He further added that, following the election results, he extended a congratulatory message to Muntaka Mohammed.



Let me once again congratulate my brother Muntaka Mubarak for his success in the just-ended parliamentary candidate elections. I have already communicated and congratulated him. Theres a need for my supporters to stay calm and let cool heads prevail. Lets all unite and rally around our re-elected parliamentary candidate so that, come 2025, Muntaka Mubarak will return to Parliament. He has all my support, and Im encouraging my supporters to also support him so that at the end of the day, NDC will come out victorious in the upcoming elections.



Muntaka Mubarak who was keenly contested by Masawudu Mabarick, has now emerged victorious after the electoral process.



Muntaka polled 1,063 votes against his only contender, Masawudu Mabarick who also polled 735 votes.



The total valid vote cast was 1798 and 09 were rejected.



















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
As the current Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu remains the longest-serving Member of Parliament in the House, on the side of the New Patriotic Party.



Having entered parliament in 1996 as the MP for Old Tafo Suame, the MP, who is also the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, is considered one of the most experienced lawmakers in the country.



In his experience, he has been both Minority Leader and Majority Leader in Parliament; positions that only the sitting Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, can match him on, just as with the number of years both of them have been in the House.



However, there are two other senior Members of Parliament from the New Patriotic Party (NPP).



These MPs: Kennedy Agyapong (Assin Central) and Kobina Tahir Hammond (Adansi-Asokwa).



Kobina Tahir Hammond



K. T. Hammond, as he is popularly known, is also one of the longest-serving MPs in Ghanas parliament. He has served in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and in the 8th parliaments.



He joined parliament in 2001 for the Adansi-Asokwa Constituency in the Ashanti Region and has since retained his seat.



His hard work and knowledge in the oil and gas industry make him one of the best MPs in the field.



He is the current Minister of Trade and Industry.



Kennedy Agyapong



Kennedy Agyapong joined the House as the Member of Parliament for Assin South, which is now known as Assin Central.



He joined parliament in 2001 and has since served in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th parliaments.



He is currently seeking a mandate to lead the NPP as its presidential candidate for the 2024 general elections.















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
RAS Caleb Appiah-Levi, one of the three aspirants for the post of President in the upcoming general election of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), says he doesnt trust the election scheduled for Tuesday, August 8 to select a new MUSIGA President will be free and fair.



His contention is that the acting MUSIGA President, Bessa Simons, is also an aspirant and such a situation cannot be trusted to bring about an impartial election.



All the same, he doesnt intend to fight for the right things to be done when those he describes as at the helm of affairs have turned a blind eye to measures that can create an equal playing field for all aspirants.



Speaking with Graphic Showbiz on Tuesday, May 16, Ras Caleb said he had been in favour of the establishment of an interim management committee to handle affairs for the upcoming election but his efforts had not yielded any results.



I have been saying at committee meetings that we need an independent body to handle the election and its processes. I have been requesting an Interim Management Committee because the Electoral Commission of Ghana doesnt contest elections. They only conduct elections.



They also dont compile the voters register. That is why I think Bessa Simons, who is the acting MUSIGA president, should not be a referee and a contestant at the same time. Per his role, he will supervise the compilation of the voters register to be given to the election committee set up by MUSIGA and that is where the conflict of interest arises.



He has an interest and if I were him, I would have stepped down for an interim management committee, comprising the arbitration committee and people from the creative arts to run the union.



Once we are affiliated with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, they can bring us somebody from the National Commission on Culture or other entities to support the election, he stated.





Ras Caleb said though he had been fighting for the right things to be done, he had rather been peddled as the black sheep of MUSIGA, stalling the groups growth.



Im tired of being seen as the bad one because Im fighting for the right things to be done. Besides, God has told me to let it go and allow them do what they want to do.



It is up to the members to see the light and say that okay, even though these people are trying to manipulate things, we will vote as our hearts tell us, he said.



Ras Caleb pointed out that he would start an official campaign tour in July but he was also doing his underground work to secure him the needed votes.

Source: Graphic Showbiz









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
A 35-year-old man has been charged with raping a girl in York County, police said.

Andrew M. Harrison, of Hollywood, South Carolina, repeatedly sexually assaulted the girl before his May 4 arrest, according to Carroll Township police.

The most recent assault was when he inappropriately touched her in his work truck in November 2022, police said. According to police, the assaults most frequently happened in Harrisons work truck, before he left central Pennsylvania and moved to South Carolina.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office has responded to a letter from the Azerbaijani community in this country related to the Azerbaijani soldiers arrested by Armenia, Agshin Babirov and Huseyn Akhundov, and the inhumane treatment of them, the State Committee on Work with Diaspora of Azerbaijan told Trend.

In the letter which was addressed to Farida Panahova, Chairwoman of the British Azerbaijanis Society, gratitude for the provided information was expressed.

"As the minister responsible for our relations with Azerbaijan and with such a vast region as the South Caucasus, I declare that the Ministry strives to promote universal human rights. We call on States to ensure that prisoners are treated in accordance with international human rights law, as required by Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which includes humane treatment and respect for human dignity, primary needs, and basic needs," the letter stresses.
A New York company has agreed to a settlement for causing millions of unwanted telemarketing calls to be made to Pennsylvanians, the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office said Friday.

Fluent, LLC gathered personal information through promotional offers that offered gift cards to retailers like Walmart and Amazon as an incentive. The personal information, which included phone numbers, was then sold as leads to telemarketing companies, according to Attorney General Michelle Henry.

Some of the personal information that was released belonged to residents who are on state and federal Do Not Call lists, according to the attorney generals office.

Henry said Fluents promotional offers did not notify residents that participation could lead to telemarketing calls.

More than 4.2 million Pennsylvanians unknowingly gave up their information for telemarketers through Fluents offers, Henry said. As part of the settlement, Fluent is barred from further contacting Pennsylvanians on the Do Not Call list without written permission. Fluent was also ordered not to further share any personal information that could result in residents receiving prerecorded messages.

Henry said Fluent must pay $250,000 to the attorney generals office, which she said will be used for public protection and educational purposes.

Do Not Call means just that, and my office will continue to do all we can to aggressively target those who illegally cross those boundaries, Henry said in a Friday news release. Millions of people registering for gift cards or other prizes with familiar retailers had no idea they were also signing up for invasive telemarketing calls.

Pennsylvanians who are on the Do Not Call list and receive unwanted telemarketing calls can file a complaint at https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/submit-a-complaint/not-call-verification/, by calling 1-800-441-255, or by emailing scams@attorneygeneral.gov.

READ MORE: 1 person injured in afternoon central Pa. shooting: police

Masked man with airsoft gun caused school lockdown: state police
A new study has found the states whose residents need to lawyer up the most.

Pennsylvania ranked among the top 10.

SIMILAR STORIES: Cumberland County lawyer suspended for taking thousands from clients but not doing the work

As conducted and published by injury lawyers, The Patel Firm, this study tapped into Google search data to see the average monthly volume of each state for terms related to different layers and generic lawyer-related terms. The studys press release explains how researchers calculated these searches before per 100,000 people for final rankings.

Pennsylvania ended up getting a seat in the number 10 overall ranking.

The study found that Colorado had the most searches per 100,000 people (534.1) over the last 12 months for various types of lawyers and related terms, making them the state seemingly most interested in hiring a lawyer, the study reads. The research also showed that the people were predominantly interested in finding family lawyers, immigration lawyers and employment lawyers.

Colorado was followed by North Carolina, who with just over 462 searches per 100,000 people, ranked in second. The data showed they searched for bankruptcy lawyers the most.

Georgia was the state that ranked in third, rounding out the top three.
MORAINE, Ohio (AP)  A man was killed and a second person was wounded in a shooting at an Ohio auto plant Thursday night, police said.

Police and firefighters responded just after 9 p.m. to a report of an active shooter at the facility in Moraine operated by DMAX Ltd., Moraine Police Sgt. Andrew Parish said.

A male suspect targeted and shot two people. One victim died at the scene and the other was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Parish said.

The male suspect also shot himself and was transported to a hospital for treatment, Parish said.

The identities of the suspect and the victims were not immediately available.

There were other injuries reported as the facility was being evacuated but they were not related to the shooting, Parish said.

CNN reports that it was the second workplace shooting in one day: Two people were injured in a shooting during a disagreement Thursday morning at the Pearl River Solar Park in Scott County, Mississippi, Sheriff Mike Lee told CNN. The shooter is believed to be in custody at a hospital.
At least seven people were killed and multiple others injured after two semi-trucks and a van crashed on Interstate 5 in Marion County Thursday afternoon, Oregon State Police said.

The crash was reported at 2:05 p.m. in the northbound lane of the interstate near the Santiam Rest Area, about 10 miles north of Albany, state police said.

Police did not identify the seven people who died. The cause of the crash is under investigation, police said. Those who died were adults, police said, but they did not specify how many were injured.

The passenger vehicle involved was a van, the Albany Democrat-Herald reported.

Bodies covered in plastic could be seen in a nearby field and the Marion County medical examiner was at the scene, the newspaper said. A Life Flight helicopter left the scene at about 2:45 p.m.

Oregon State Police troopers and firefighters work near the site of a wrecked tractor-trailer Thursday, May 18, 2023, along Interstate 5 in Albany, Ore. (Alex Powers/Albany Democrat-Herald via AP)AP

Oregon State Police troopers work near the site of a wrecked tractor-trailer Thursday, May 18, 2023, along Interstate 5 in Albany, Ore. (Alex Powers/Albany Democrat-Herald via AP)AP

Police and fire officials put a blue tarp on the wrecked van and placed a barrier near one of the trucks to block the view of the scene, according to the Democrat-Herald. The van appeared to have been crushed between the trucks, a witness told the Statesman Journal.

Judging by the damage, it looked like the van was sandwiched, Adrian Gonzalez said. It got hit very hard.

Two Life Flight helicopters landed and took people away, while paramedics treated others on the ground, Gonzalez told the paper.

The northbound lanes of I-5 were reopened Thursday night.

This is one of the deadliest crashes in Oregon in recent years. A fatal crash in Harney County in August 2018 killed eight people, said Don Hamilton, a spokesperson for Oregon Department of Transportation.

A crash near Pendleton in December 2012 killed nine and injured at least 39 people after a tour bus careened down a steep, snow-covered embankment.

-- Catalina Gaitan, cgaitan@oregonian.com, @catalingaitan_

More:

Drunken driver was weaving through traffic when he crashed into central Pa. motorcyclist: police

Car crashes into Pa. home and catches fire, police say
SOMERVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  A girl has been charged with second-degree murder in the deaths of two Tennessee teenagers who officials believe overdosed in the parking lot of their high school, authorities said Thursday.

The Fayette County Sheriffs Office told news outlets that a teenage girl had been charged in the deaths.

Two teenage girls were found dead Tuesday at Fayette Ware Comprehensive High School in Somerville and a third was hospitalized before being released Wednesday, the sheriffs office said. All three of the students attended Fayette Ware, the school said.
Investigators looking into the collapse of a Pittsburgh bridge want transportation officials nationwide to examine more than 10,000 other bridges with similar construction to ensure they dont have the same kind of corrosion that was found on the bridge that collapsed.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a report Thursday that drainage problems on the weathered steel bridge that failed allowed the metal legs to deteriorate over time. It determined Pennsylvania neglected for years to perform the maintenance needed to clear the debris, dirt and leaves that were causing the problem, even though inspectors noted the issue.

Rust that caused the deterioration of the Pittsburgh bridges steel legs and allowed holes to form in the structure was noted on every inspection done since 2005, including one completed just four months before the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed on Jan. 28, 2022. Work was done in 2009 to clear the debris clogging the bridges drainage system, but that wasnt repeated in the years since even after inspectors said in every report between 2011 and 2021 that the drains had become clogged again.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokeswoman Alexis Campbell said the agency is still reviewing everything the NTSB released Thursday, and the state will continue cooperating with the investigation. Last fall, the state Transportation Department issued a safety bulletin focused on the maintenance issues with these steel bridges in response to the NTSBs preliminary findings.

Safe, reliable infrastructure is a top priority of the (Gov. Josh) Shapiro administration, and we are committed to ensuring Pennsylvanians and all motorists can travel across the Commonwealth safely, Campbell said. To that end, PennDOT remains proactive in its review, analysis and maintenance of its bridges.

The Pittsburgh bridge span that fell last year dropped a bus and four cars some 100 feet (30 meters) into a ravine, injuring several people hours before President Joe Biden visited the city to promote a massive infrastructure law. The span carried Forbes Avenue over Frick Park, Fern Hollow Creek and Tranquil Trail.

A new bridge opened to traffic in December after its design and construction were fast-tracked.

The NTSB said that these kind of steel-frame bridges can last for decades if they are properly maintained. But in the Pittsburgh case, the drainage issues kept the steel from developing a protective patina that would have kept the corrosion at bay. Investigators looked at 10 similar bridges in Pennsylvania and found similar maintenance problems, although none were as severe as the Fern Hollow Bridge.

Its not clear how widespread these issues are nationwide. But the NTSB wanted to urgently call them to bridge owners attention even though it hasnt completed its investigation of the Pittsburgh bridge collapse.

The NTSB said in its report that its critical for bridge owners, usually cities and states, to clear accumulation of water and debris on bridges with weathering steel components.

The agency wants the Federal Highway Administration to help owners identify similar problems and complete the needed bridge safety work.

Josh Funk of The Associated Press wrote this story.

More:

Man fatally shot in vehicle while wife sat in passenger seat in Pa.: reports

Time to spruce things up: Mailbox Improvement Week is coming
Editors note: This story has been updated to include a response from Perrys press secretary.

Already targeted by Democrats in 2024, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry and another Pennsylvania GOP House member are drawing fire for their votes this week concerning embattled Rep. George Santos.

Perry, a York County resident representing the 10th Congressional District, and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Bucks County resident representing the 1st Congressional District, voted to hand the possible expulsion of Santos to the House Ethics Committee, which is already investigating him.

Democrats tried to expel Santos, a New York Republican, after he was charged with 13 federal crimes, including fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds. He also agreed to pay restitution in a 2008 case in Brazil in exchange for prosecutors dropping stolen check charges, according to the New York Times.

Since being elected last year, Santos has been caught in numerous lies about his background and faced questions about his personal and campaign financial dealings.

However, Republicans rejected the resolution to expel Santos in a 221-204 party-line vote, instead choosing to refer his case to the Ethics Committee.

The campaign arm of House Democrats, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, released statements after the Wednesday vote castigating Perry and Fitzpatrick for voting to refer the expulsion resolution to the committee, which it said only serves to protect Santos until his term ends in 2024.

Scott Perry voted to protect the lies, deceit, and disgrace of George Santos in the U.S. House of Representatives, said DCCC spokesperson Tommy Garcia.

I guess this is what you talk about when you cant address the destruction youve brought to American families, the economy, our border and our military, Jay Ostrich, Perrys press secretary, told PennLive.

In April, the DCCC unveiled its Districts in Play plan for 2024 House races and described Perry and Fitzpatricks districts as offensive target districts that could be flipped by Democrats.

Perry beat Harrisburg City Councilwoman Shamaine Daniels, an attorney, 54% to 46% in November 2022. Daniels has said she will seek to challenge Perry again in 2024.
Shanks Extracts, a specialty ingredient, flavors and botanical extracts company will expand operations at its East Hempfield Township headquarters in Lancaster County, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced on Friday.

The company plans to invest $30.5 million into the project, creating at least 83 new jobs, and retaining 234 statewide jobs within the next three years.

As part of its expansion, Shanks Extracts facility will support additional liquid and dry manufacturing, packaging, and refrigerated storage. This project will also include installation of other manufacturing capabilities at the facility.

Shanks Extracts is eligible to receive $498,000 in funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

Shanks Extracts, a producer of vanilla extract, has been headquartered in Lancaster County since its creation in 1899 and makes and distributes more than 2,400 products, including botanical extracts and sauces for retail and food industry customers globally. Universal Corporation purchased Virginia-based Shanks Extracts in October 2021.

The expansion of our facilities at Shanks Extracts will enable us to enhance and expand the product offerings of our plant-based ingredients platform, George C. Freeman III, chairman, president, and CEO of Universal Corporation, said in a news release. Through this platform, we provide a variety of value-added manufacturing processes to produce high-quality, specialty vegetable-and fruit-based ingredients, and we appreciate the support and partnership of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in this endeavor.

The project was coordinated by the Governors Action Team, a group of economic development professionals who report directly to the governor and work with businesses that are considering locating or expanding in Pennsylvania.

Shanks Extract is located at 350 Richardson Drive.

Sign up for Eat, Shop, Go, a weekly report on food, restaurants, business, retail centers, things to do and places to go all around central Pa. Sign up for free by clicking here.
More than 140 United Methodist Church congregations in the Susquehanna Conference, including 14 in the Harrisburg area, plan to end their affiliations with the denomination under agreements approved by the conference Wednesday night.

Among those churches are 14 in the Harrisburg district and 43 in the York district. The seven-district Susquehanna Conference includes 870 churches, almost 150,000 members and close to 580 pastors.

Nationally, simmering disagreements over the 6.4 million-member churchs position on ordaining and marrying members of the LGBTQ community, as well as other issues, have caused a rift fueling the disaffiliations by more moderate and conservative churches.

Marriage is still defined by the church as being between a man and a woman. The church bans its clergy from performing ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions and its churches from hosting such events, a stance that has become increasingly controversial for many parishioners.

Churches that are disaffiliating have until Dec. 31 to completely cut ties with the United Methodist Church after fulfilling financial obligations. Many congregations that have left the Church are joining the more traditional Global Methodist Church, which opposes ordaining or marrying LGBTQ people.

PennLive was unable on Thursday to reach anyone from the disaffiliating churches in the Harrisburg district.

Over the past four years, 1,831 congregations across the country have voted to sever their ties with the church, or about 6% of the 30,000 United Methodist congregations nationwide, according to ChristianityToday.com.

A summary of the meeting was posted on the Susquehanna Conferences website.

At the start of the session, Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball acknowledged the difficulty of the evening, the summary noted. Tonight, this work is not easy, she said. And we recognize that we will look differently when everything is over. Yet, in the midst of disaffiliation, God is present and God is faithful.

The summary said that worship was an integral part of this session and each vote was preceded with prayer. Each prayer leader acknowledged the heaviness of the moment, while still giving praise and thanks to God.

In an email to PennLive, Liz Lennox, the director of communications ministry for the Susquehanna Conference, outlined the financial responsibilities of the churches that are disaffiliating:

Churches owe the Susquehanna Conference just 1% of their assessed property value even though the conference owns all of the churchs assets under the trust clause.

Churches must fulfill their fair-share obligations to the United Methodist Church pension fund for retired clergy.

Churches must pay outstanding apportionments for the calendar years 2020, 2021 and 2022, apportionments for 2023 and an additional 12-month apportionment.

Churches must also pay unpaid debts to the Susquehanna Conference, clergy compensation through June 2023 and $1,000 in legal fees.

Once the churches meet the terms of their settlements, they will no longer be considered part of the United Methodist Church, Lennox said.
Want a say in the news? Email Claudia at todayinpa@pennlive.com to have your thoughts on the stories covered here or on PennLive heard during Listening to Listeners, an original Today in Pa. segment that occurs every other Friday.

You can listen to the latest episode of Today in Pa at this link, or on any of your favorite apps including Alexa, Apple, Spotify, and Stitcher. Episodes are available every weekday on PennLive. Feel free to subscribe, follow or rate Today in Pa. as you see fit!

Today in Pa. Daily Podcast | May 19, 2023

Police are warning of a scam that uses a number matching that of their bureau. Its going to cost more to fish next year. A state board lowered tax ratios used in property tax appeals. Lastly, the site where a historical battle began has been officially confirmed.

Those are the stories we cover in the latest episode of Today in Pa., a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Claudia Dimuro. Today in Pa. is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories pertaining to Pennsylvania that lets you know, indeed, whats happening today in Pa.

Todays episode refers to the following articles:

If you enjoy Today in Pa., consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon. Reviews help others find the show and, besides, wed like to know what you think about the program, too.

As sponsored by Renewal by Anderson of Central PA.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. Azerbaijan and Armenia have got closer to a common vision on the peace treaty and on a number of discussed articles, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, Trend reports.

Lavrov made the remark on the sidelines of a trilateral meeting with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia - Jeyhun Bayramov and Ararat Mirzoyan in Moscow.

"Peace treaty is a special issue. The parties have started working on it, and its now being actively discussed, including with the involvement of other mediators, he noted.

The Russian minister reminded that the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers visited Washington, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev visited Brussels a week ago.

Work on a peace treaty is, of course, fundamental, but our partners today confirmed that without resolving issues of delimitation, opening transport and economic communications, without a general improvement in the security situation in Karabakh and on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, its difficult to move forward on specific aspects of the peace treaty," he said.

Lavrov also noted that the Azerbaijani and Armenian ministers expressed gratitude to Russia for the leading role in the common efforts reflected in the trilateral statements signed by the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders [following the 2020 second Karabakh war], and in those contacts that continue in each of the directions mentioned by him.
Four western Pennsylvania high school seniors have missed their prom and could be banned from their graduation ceremony after district officials said a senior-class prank went too far.

According to multiple reports, the Aliquippa Junior Senior High School students in Beaver County went to the high school on May 10 after hours. They covered doors and windows with smashed eggs, chocolate syrup, honey and ranch dressing.

We thought it would just be a fun thing to mark off our senior list, senior Jason Harvey Jr. wrote in a Facebook post. We didnt know that it would cost us the rest of our final senior moments.
It shouldnt be easier for Democrats to vote than for Republicans. Democrats shouldnt be able to sit in their warm, comfy chairs, put a few checks in the boxes, stick the ballot in an envelope and drop it in a mailbox while Republicans are forced to trek to the polls.

That just isnt right. Rep. Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon County), understands its so much easier for his voters to fill out the ballot at their kitchen table than feeling rushed and tired after standing in a long line.

The lines werent that long at many polls for this election primary, which is a sad statement about American democracy. But the point is still valid. It should be as easy for Republicans to vote as for Democrats. Were glad Republicans like Rep. Diamond are starting to think so, too.

PennLives Jan Murphy noted in a recent story that Pennsylvania Republicans once demonized mail-in ballots as a tool to commit electoral fraud. Their attitudes seem to be changing.

The Pennsylvanian Department of State noted an almost 5 percent increase in Republican voters asking for mail-in ballots for last weeks primary compared to the 2021 primary. Thats welcome news. It shows Republican voters are starting to realize they can vote safely and easily by mail and dont have to stand in sweltering heat or slosh through rain, sleet and snow to cast their ballots.

Pennsylvania voters take to the polls in Harrisburg on Election Day, Nov. 8, 2022.

Why should voting be harder for Republicans than for Democrats?

Despite the recent increases in mail-in ballots among Republican voters, there are still far more Democrats taking the easy way to vote. In fact, statistics show three times as many Democrats vote by mail than Republicans.

That gives Democrats a huge advantage and Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Lawrence Tabas is right to be alarmed. He believes the ease of voting by mail led to recent Democratic victories in the Pennsylvania governor and U.S. Senate races and helped them gain control of the state House of Representatives.

Tabas says its time for Republican voters to get with the program and accept mail-in voting. We couldnt agree more.

U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, with his wife Christy, stand in line outside the Monaghan Presbyterian Church to cast their ballots in the midterm election, November 8, 2022. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

Many Republican voters are elderly, disabled or too exhausted from a full day of work to head to the polls on election day. They shouldnt think theyre betraying their party by sticking their ballot in a mailbox a week before the election.

Think about the many Republican mothers with children who could use a break from driving here, there and everywhere. Think of how many more people would vote if we made it as easy as possible, without the acrimony and guilt.

Tabas is convinced more Republican mail-in voting helped their candidates in the January special election for an open Senate seat. Hes probably right.

We encourage Republican leaders who once cast misplaced suspicion on mail-in voting to change their tune and help instill voter confidence in the system.

It just might help increase voting in primaries like Tuesdays. Considering the dismal turnout, we need to make voting as easy as possible for all voters; Republicans included.

Quality local journalism has never been more important. You deserve the best. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.
A view of a wildfire over Hay River, Northwest Territories from an air tanker is shown in a May 14, 2023 handout photo. Residents of K'atl'odeeche First Nation and the neighbouring community of Hay River, N.W.T., remain displaced as an out-of-control wildfire continues to burn in the area. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Northwest Territories Environment and Natural Resources **MANDATORY CREDIT**
First version published at 18:54

BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov during a working visit to Russia, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend.

The Azerbaijani-Russian bilateral cooperation relations, the current state and prospects of the normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia were discussed at the meeting.

The sides expressed satisfaction with the level of multilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia and noted the broad prospects of relations.

At the same time, the special importance of the events held at a high level within the framework of the 100th anniversary of the national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev and the "Year of Heydar Aliyev" was emphasized.

Bayramov pointed out that Azerbaijan, as the initiator of the peace process with Armenia, is interested in establishing peace and stability in the region, and highlighted the importance of agreeing and signing a peace agreement.

The Azerbaijani side brought to the attention of the Russian side its position on such areas of normalization as negotiations on the delimitation of the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as on the process of opening transport and communication lines.

Furthermore, the minister underlined that the Armenian Armed Forces have not yet been completely withdrawn from the territory of Azerbaijan, despite the commitments made by Armenia, which is a source of serious threat to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.

The sides also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili sent a letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Heydar Aliyev, Azernews reports.

The letter reads:

President Heydar Aliyev was distinguished statesman who played an instrumental role in shaping the modern state of Azerbaijan. It was precisely his vision that laid the foundation for building a strong and prosperous nation.

As a beacon of hope for the entire country, Your fathers deeds and efforts directed toward the prosperity of the Azerbaijani people will be remembered by future generations and will always serve as their source of inspiration and pride, the President of Georgia said.

Under President Heydar Aliyevs leadership Azerbaijan established itself as an important state on the global stage. He played a decisive role in developing the relations between our countries, Georgia appreciates the firm friendship and partnership with Azerbaijan and we are ready to further deepen this tie for the prosperity of our people," Salome Zourabichvili emphasized in her letter.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. Talks were held in Moscow between Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend.

Bayramov and Mirzoyan stated their positions on the implementation of the trilateral statements of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia.

The parties continued working on the draft agreement "On the establishment of peace and interstate relations" and had a constructive exchange of views on topics on which they still have disagreements.

Moreover, the ministers expressed gratitude to the Russian side for organizing negotiations between the two countries and agreed to continue negotiations.

They also held separate meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
First version published at 19:15

BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. Talks were held in Moscow between Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend.

Bayramov and Mirzoyan stated their positions on the implementation of the trilateral statements of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia.

The parties continued working on the draft agreement "On the establishment of peace and interstate relations" and had a constructive exchange of views on topics on which they still have disagreements.

Moreover, the ministers expressed gratitude to the Russian side for organizing negotiations between the two countries and agreed to continue negotiations.

They also held separate meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

Sean Hannity is holding down the 1/6 misinformation fort on Fox News by describing the 1/6 attack as moms and dads attending a Trump rally.

Video:

Sean Hannity describes January 6 insurrectionists as "moms and dad who merely attend a Trump rally" pic.twitter.com/5e1AebMmIc  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 19, 2023

The political rot extends far beyond the former President Of The United States. Pro-abortion activists, traditional Catholics, people moms and dads who merely attend a Trump rally. Even angry parents, how dare they speak out about age-appropriate material being taught to their kids or CRT? How about we stick to reading, writing, math, and computers? But if they speak out at a school board meeting, speak out against Critical Race Theory, guess what? You could be scrutinized by your weaponized FBI.

Hannity was trying to defend Jim Jordans weaponization of government hearing involving the Trump-funded fake whistleblowers when he referred to the FBI investigating Trump rally. The only Trump rally that the FBI has ever investigated happened on 1/6, so Sean Hannity was reframing the domestic terrorists who attempted to overthrow the government with violence as just some moms and dads at a rally, which I guess could be true if you ignore the whole violent attack on the Capitol with the intention to harm political leaders and the killing of police officers.

The underlying motives for claims of the weaponization of government are to whitewash 1/6 and make Trumps behavior look like a plot by law enforcement. None of what Hannity said was true, but the idea that the government is targeting Trump has not motivated Republican voters so Trump and his supporters have extended it to include parents at school board meetings to inspire fear and make the threat seem personal.

Hannity is already in 8 PM timeslot form. No matter how many hosts get fired, or lawsuits are settled, Fox News is going on with misinformation business as usual.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. The time and place of the next face-to-face meeting of the trilateral working group of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia will be determined, following consultations of the vice-premiers of the three countries, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexey Overchuk said, Trend reports.

"Today, during the day, intensive consultations are being held between the Deputy Prime Ministers of the Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia on the issue of restoring transport communications in the South Caucasus region within the framework of a trilateral working group under our joint chairmanship. The final decision on the place and time of the next in-person meeting of the trilateral working group will be made following consultations," he said.
Update: June 6 2021

As Sex and the City celebrates its 20th anniversary and the reboot is on its way, for fans of the show, this means it is officially peak rewatch season.

When news of the iconic show's revival  a 10 episode HBO Max series titled And Just Like That  hit, SATC devotees were eager to dive back into that fairytale version of New York City to the tune of a classic Carrie Bradshaw monologue.

However, despite the nostalgia spurred by the return of many 90s-early 2000s phenomena, watching them in 2021 can be mortifyingly cringe inducing. Did we really watch this? we ask ourselves, wondering how we ever took Carrie's fake-deep musings as gospel, or aspired to be like characters who now seem outdated and, in a lot of ways, even embarrassing.

While the core of the show still holds  portraying the lives, romantic exploits, and interests of women in a refreshing (for its time) new light that celebrates female friendships instead of belittling women for being interested fashion or having their own real lives  what that "empowerment" looked like in 2001 is very different than what it would look like in 2021.

Another nostalgic giant Friends has also been forced to reckon with its outdated, sometimes offensive, episodes and flawed premise. And yet, the 2021 Friends Reunion special drew audiences who watched the show in its prime and newer audiences alike.

So what's the thing that keeps shows like this evergreen? We can't say. Maybe it's the nostalgia, maybe it's the comfort of simpler times, maybe it's the charm of the cast.

Most likely, it's our own dreams that we project onto shows like Sex and the City and Friends, in which the characters may not have it all together, but they still feel aspirational, and we still want to live their lives.

Whatever it is, for many fans, the 20 year anniversary of SATC coupled with the impending And Just Like That premiere is serving as inspiration for Hot Girl Summer.

And so the question remains: Are you a Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, or Charlotte?

Original Article:

Inevitably, Sex and the City is making a comeback.



In a recently announced reboot, Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte will be returning to our screens  kind of. The new limited series, titled "And Just Like That" will be coming soon to HBO Max.

The 10 episode spin off was confirmed on Instagram with a teaser that Sarah Jessica Parker posted with the caption: "I couldn't help but wonder where are they now?" The new series gives the answers.

There will be some changes from the original series. First off, Kim Cattrall will not be returning as Samantha. Despite rumors that Jennifer Coolige, or even Caitlyn Jenner, will be her replacement, Sarah Jessica Parker has responded saying the revival has "New York City as the fourth character," which, admittedly, makes no sense but feels on brand.



Sex and the City isn't about making sense. The show has gained its cult following because of its aspirational and whimsical portrait of life in New York City. The logic is an afterthought.

After 16 years and two movies, the franchise still retains its inexplicable hold on popular culture. Even those of us who were too young to have watched it premiere have since caught up through endless reruns and a prequel. For better or worse, Carrie and co. are the paragons of what it means to be very young in New York, the blueprints of a bygone era that we love just the same.

But can the series sustain another reboot? What made the show so iconic was the lawlessness of the late '90s to the early-2000s, the liminal era right before the completely digital age.

It was boundary-breaking at the time, but the landscape has changed. The lives and times of four thin white women in New York is a tired premise, and much of the show's magic is outdated.

Yet, the news of the reboot was met with excitement from loyalists who are excited to see what the gang has been up to in the years between the last movie and now.

But before we watch the reboot, we have some questions. So much of the show has been allowed to go unexamined because of the legendary status of the series as a whole. And while the legacy of the show and its beloved characters might have carried the ephemera of the original into the new age, some more problematic elements need to be acknowledged and accounted for in the new series.

Oh to cram in the backseat of a cab... via HBO Max

Just, Like, the Logistics?



First things first: No young fashion editor is making enough to live in Carrie's apartment, let alone considering her lavish lifestyle habits.

This long-had critique of the show persists because anyone living in New York knows that a studio on the Upper East Side (or the West Village, where the famous brownstone stills of the apartment's exterior were shot), even one where you have to keep your sweaters in your oven, costs a pretty penny.

The show used the same half-satisfying, cliched explanation that Friends used to explain their loft: It was rent controlled. Carrie claimed to pay just $700 a month for her apartment, which is unheard of, and never explained how she lucked into such an anomaly of a situation  that could have been an episode in itself.

Today, many magazine editors with Carrie's purported level of influence supplement their income with Instagram brand deals and sponsorships to fund the more indulgent aspects of their lifestyle and stock their wardrobes with the latest pieces. But how did Carrie do it?

Between her refusal to take the subway (every New Yorker is rolling their eyes) and her weakness for designer shoes, someone get us to Carrie's financial planner. We have some questions. Many have since tried to do the math on how much Carrie had to have been spending and the numbers get astronomical.

The magic of credit cards, we have to guess.

By the end of the series, Carrie does pick up a side hustle: freelancing at Vogue. She also lands a book deal and, oh yeah, marries rich.

Jennifer Hudson as Louise from St Louis in the Sex and the City movie Jennifer Hudson in "Sex and the City" movie via HBO

The Diversity. Or Lack Of It.



I have to wonder  is this some kind of alternate New York City in some alternate media and fashion industry in which Black people don't exist?

Of the few episodes to prominently feature non-white characters, many moments dealing with race and sexuality were problematic at best. From fetishizing Black men and perpetuating the "angry Black woman" stereotype in the episode where Samantha dates a Black record executive (ah yes, such an inventive career choice for a Black character  the music business) to biphobia and LGBTQ slurs, the women on the show were not the paragons of inclusivity.

The show's startling lack of diversity could only have been possible in the era where Friends got away with the same egregious whitewashing of New York City, and fans will be watching to see how the reboot handles its fatal flaw.

Some are calling for a Samantha replacement who represents a marginalized community, even pushing for Jennifer Hudson to reprise her role as Louise from St. Louis in a more prominent role. Others, however, think this would be a cheap fix, and not do enough to address the fact that the gang spent so many years in such a bubble.

Some executives have responded to fan speculation, saying the reboot will be "as racially diverse and colorful as New York city itself." The use of the word "colorful" does not bode well.

Whatever the revival holds, audience expectations of diversity and representation have shifted and it needs to rise to meet them.

Carrie .. what is this? via HBO Max

Not the Golden Age of Fashion



It's hard to admit, but the show which inspired generations of fashion lovers maybe, in hindsight, did not always have the best styling.

The show itself can't really be to blame  the early 2000s era was hardly the golden age of fashion.

The more-is-more fashion ethos of the time feels gaudy and gauche through a contemporary lens. After surviving the logomania fashion era and settling into pandemic fashion, it's safe to say that there is a place for extravagance, but senselessly piling together brands and it-pieces is not an outfit.

The infamous Instagram account @everyoutfitonsatc chronicles, you guessed it, every outfit on Sex and the City. And while it can be satisfying to feast on some of the gems of the show, it soon becomes glaringly obvious that the era of kitsch and over-the-top styling is over.

Emily in Paris, the 2020 phenomenon (if not for the wrong reasons) by Sex and the City creator Darren Star, underwent criticism for Emily's styling, which often recalled Carrie Bradshaw, but translated in this era as avant-basic.

Fashion influencers and editors have also recently had to answer for how their buying habits respond to growing calls for sustainability in the industry, from shopping from small, ethical brands to just shopping less. It's no longer cool to drown in clothes you never wear; it's an ethical and Marie Kondo nightmare.

The revival will no doubt adjust for the times, though I can't imagine Carrie laying around in a pandemic sweatsuit like the rest of us. Perhaps she'll be in #gifted garb from the likely Instagram promotions she engages in  we'll have to wait and see.

via HBO Max

Sex and Fashion at the Expense of Everything Else



Sex and the City, for its flaws, was revolutionary for giving women space on television to talk about sex and fashion on their own terms.

The series ushered in an era of shows about women living their lives, celebrating their friendships, having problems and careers and dynamic story arcs.

However, despite the women's different careers and distinct personalities, sometimes their lives revolved around sex and fashion at the expense of everything else. In an episode where Carrie starts dating a local politician, she reveals she's not even registered to vote  not a good look in 2021.

With contemporary shows spending more time discussing social and political issues, and current audiences expecting it, it's both a comfort and a flaw that Sex and the City just  doesn't.

For some, watching endless reruns of the series is a balm for the stress of the current times. However, any revival won't be able to fall on the same excuses. In a more politically aware climate, the show doesn't have to tackle major issues (and I'd rather it didn't try), but it can't ignore them.

As viewers, neither can we. While it's one thing to watch the occasional cringe-inducing episode of Sex and the City and dismiss it as a product of its time, but we have to demand better from the new era.

As revivals and reboots abound, from this new revival to the Gossip Girl reboot also coming to HBO, we don't have to analyze every old episode, but we do have to understand the context that allowed the less informed, more harmful content to go excused on some of the most popular shows on television.

We'll see if the show retains its charm in its new iteration, or if attempts at remedying its flaws make it feel bloated.
Local restaurant owner Michael DAndrea was supposed to be purchasing a new air conditioner unit, but after he wrote a check for $5,000 to Buddy's HVAC for the work and not having that work completed, DAndrea realized he had been scammed.

I need to warn other people of his unprofessional practices, DAndrea said.

DAndrea wants to warn others so they dont fall victim to a scam and wont lose money like he did.

D'Andrea, who moved to Aiken from Miami in 2020, didnt think this would happen to him.

DAndrea said on Jan. 26, he met a man named William Seamon who said he would do the needed air conditioning work through his company, Buddys HVAC Co. Seamon met with DAndrea wearing a uniform and presented credentials; D'Andrea signed a contract for the work.

DAndrea was told the cost to get a new air conditioning unit would be $10,000, and he wrote Seamon a check for $5,000; he was told the unit would be installed no later than Feb. 2.

Seamon never came back to do the work.

Federal Trade Commission data shows that consumers reported losing nearly $8.8 billion to fraud in 2022, according to the FTC website.

Consumers reported losing more than $3.8 billion to investment scams and $2.6 billion to imposter scams, the report said.

DAndrea filed a complaint with the Aiken Department of Public Safety and was told to file a civil case as well, according to an incident report from Aiken County Department of Public Safety.

DAndrea filed a lawsuit Feb. 27 with New Ellenton Summary Court, and Magistrate Judge Patrick Dorn Sullivan made a judgment of $5,580 on the case April 28, according to court records obtained from the Aiken Standard.

Seamon was named as the defendant in the lawsuit, and the lawsuit stated that Seamon failed to provide HVAC services as agreed and was in breach of contract, the records show.

D'Andrea said Seamon cashed the check within 10 minutes of receiving it. D'Andrea said Seamon told him he was going to purchase the equipment to do the work and never did.

Five months later, DAndrea still hasn't received any of the equipment or had the money returned.

He has never purchased the equipment and he has made excuse after excuse for over 30 days, DAndrea said.

Court documents show Seamon is listed as the owner of Buddys HVAC Co. , but the business is not accredited according to the Better Business Bureau website.

We hired him based on the referral, D'Andrea said. We are just really disappointed that we trusted both of these individuals and obviously, we didnt get the air conditioning unit or money back. Its a lot of money.

Lt. Jennifer Hayes with Aiken Department of Public Safety said the department has seen businesses be scammed by outside fraudsters pretending to work for an agency that claims to be completing an audit or looking into alleged fraud inside the business. She also said there was a report of an employee at a business assisting in a fraud.

Hayes said people who fall for these type of scams are often those who can't physically complete the work themselves.

She said people fall for business scams because the business doing the scamming often portrays their work in a positive light or offers the a service at a reasonable price.

Sometimes the victims fall for the scam because they have a very busy lifestyle and don't have time to complete the work and having someone else complete the task will save money and time.

Not the first time

New Ellenton Police Chief Shawn Middleton said Seamon, 32 of Jackson, was arrested and charged Dec. 19, 2022 with breach of trust with fraudulent intent, value of more than $2,000 but less than $10,000.

Middleton said Seamon scammed another victim out of $3,100 for similar repairs while posing as the owner of Buddys HVAC; he quoted the cost of the work to be $6,731.

Middleton said the victim wrote a check for $3,100 and the work was to supposed to start work in August 2022.

He said on the day the work was scheduled to start, Seamon rescheduled the work to start on Aug. 31, but Seamon never showed up to complete any of the services.

He said the victim asked for the money back, but Seamon didnt answer phone calls or emails.

Middleton said Seamon was arrested on the breach of trust charge, and was released on bond until he was rearrested by ADPS for domestic violence charge in March.

Middleton said Seamon's only prior charges are minor traffic violations in 2022.

An increase in scams

Middleton said he has seen an increase of scams in the area in the last four to five months.

Its getting to the point in which $3,000 is like chump change, they are taking $64,000, he said. I have had some that are over $100,000, these scams.

You just have to know who you are hiring and who is coming to your house to do work, he said.

He said that a majority of the time, older people are getting scammed because they tend to trust more.

How to prevent similar scams

After the ordeal, DAndrea still had to hire another company to install the new air conditioning unit.

I hope my story prevents it from happening again, he said.

Capt. Eric Abdullah with Aiken County Sheriffs Office said if people have doubts about something then they shouldnt do it.

He recommend that people hang up the phone and call back in order to ask for more information.

If you are not making the purchase yourself then dont do it, he said.

Middleton said people should do a background check on the business or person they're doing businesses with to make sure it is credible. He said in the city of New Ellenton people have to apply for a business license.

He said no one should ever give someone a large sum of money and should not pay people upfront. Also, don't let people come to your property unsolicited and ask to do a service.

Middleton said if anyone sees Seamon, they should contact local law enforcement.

We have been looking for him, Middleton said.

DAndrea said next time if he gets a referral he will look for the business online to make sure it's credible and accredited by the Better Business Bureau. He also said he would ask to see if the person has an EPA card.

I am positive that if the community takes the steps before hiring an air conditioning company or a technician, they would get this (tips) vital information, he said. It will prevent them from having and falling into the same mistakes as us.

More information

To report a scam to the FTC, visit reportfraud.ftc.gov.

If anyone comes in contact with Seamon, they are asked to call 911 or the New Ellenton Police Department at 803-652-7770.
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have agreed to talk directly as they race to strike an agreement that would resolve the looming debt crisis. McCarthy said earlier Saturday the Republican negotiators are closer to an agreement," but there's no deal yet. McCarthy gathered top allies at the Capitol as negotiators push for a deal that would raise the nations borrowing limit and avoid a catastrophic default while also making spending cuts that House Republicans are demanding. They have been stalled over work requirements for aid recipients. Biden said on Friday evening before departing for Camp David that bargainers were very close. He's continuing to talk with his negotiating team multiple times a day. Read moreBiden, McCarthy agree to talk on debt crisis, speaker says negotiators 'closer to an agreement'
Azerbaijani businesswomen convened at the JW Marriott Absheron Baku on May 15

The 5th SHE Congress held in Azerbaijan in the partnership with the country's leading mobile operator Azercell convened more than 500 businesswomen across the country and the region. The event featured remarkable speeches, panel discussions, dynamic sessions and workshops.

The conference held under the slogan "OWN YOUR LIFE" enhanced womens leadership and business skills, as well as provided an excellent platform for networking and sharing experiences.

Azercell was represented by Sona Abbasova, the companys Corporate Communications Director, and Shirin Aliyeva, Legal, Ethics and Compliance Director.

Shirin Aliyeva set an example and inspired guests at the event by sharing her success story. Ms. Aliyeva spoke about unique opportunities provided by the government for womens participation in the country's political, economic, social and cultural life. Sh. Aliyeva noted the role of advantages created in Azerbaijan for the advancement of women in her 19-year professional journey.

Azercell`s Corporate Communications Director Sona Abbasova, in her speech highlighted numerous programs carried out by the largest mobile operator within its corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. She then invited to the stage Gulshan Akhundova, Head of the Women's Hotline established with the initiative and support of Azercell. Ms. Akhundova presented detailed information on the hotline and spoke about the challenges and difficulties faced by women in society. The speakers called on all women in need of support to contact the Center, which provides 24/7 service through the short number 116111.

It is worth mentioning that, in the 26 years of its operation, Azercell spent over $22 mln on social oriented projects. The company keeps the protection of women's rights and womens development in the spotlight, implementing numerous projects to empower them through education and enhance their career opportunities.
The tourism industry in the Charleston area climbed to new highs in 2022, exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

The hospitality trade had a record-breaking $12.8 billion economic impact on the region last year, a new College of Charleston study found  about $3.15 billion more than in 2019, the year before the onset of the global health crisis. The figure is up $2.2 billion from 2021.

The number of visitors also climbed to a new high, rising more than 6 percent to 7.7 million last year.

All signs point to a healthy tourism economy, said Daniel Guttentag, director of the college's Office of Tourism Analysis, which compiles the annual data. Weve returned to where we were before the pandemic, along the trend line of where we should have been in 2021 had COVID never happened.

The impact was driven by higher visitor spending across the region, an increase in air travel and a boost in hospitality employment.

A record number of passengers traveled through Charleston International last year, with more than 5.3 million arrivals and departures. As more city pairings are added, the state's largest airport is helping to pull in more visitors who generally spend more and stay longer than tourists who come and go by automobile, Guttentag said.

Tourism experts also pointed to visitor economic activity playing a critical role in the economy too, with nearly a quarter of all taxable sales receipts within Charleston County last year attributed to tourism- and hospitality-related purchases.

In addition, hotel room rates also reached record highs last year. The average daily price for a room was $185 in 2022, compared to $167 for 2021 and $155 in 2019.

Last years hotel inventory growth was offset with the increased average daily rates across the market, which Guttentag said is another sign of sustainable growth. He also noted that while visitor numbers were up 6 percent year over year, the financial punch they brought with them increased more than three times that amount to about 20 percent.

Most of the out-of-state tourism traffic was from nearby states such as North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Others included Ohio, Virginia, Tennessee, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and New Jersey.

On average, tourists in 2022 spent $537 on accommodations, $224 on food and $99 on tours and attractions during their stay. The total spent per adult per trip was $1,026, up from $878 before the pandemic.

Guttentag said that with the way 2023 is shaping up, he expects the trajectory to continue. Metrics that are harder to track, such as the opening of the International African American Museum in June, are likely to have a positive impact on the 2023 numbers.

Helen Hill, CEO of the regional tourism marketing agency Explore Charleston, said the industry thrived last year, supporting more than 51,000 jobs.

A 21 percent increase in year-over-year economic impact coupled with a much smaller increase in the number of visitors indicates progress toward the industrys goal to create the highest yield visit and maximize downstream benefits for the community, not promote mass visitation, she said. This strategy prioritizes sustainability and maintaining the region's unique charm and character.

While the new report accentuated the economic benefits, the growth is also a reminder of the importance of a balanced tourism economy, said Brian Turner, CEO of the Preservation Society of Charleston.

Booming annual tourism figures are a testament to the qualities that make Charleston so unique and that value of the urban realm that earlier generations had the foresight to preserve, he said. But they are also a stark reminder that we must be vigilant about the pressures of over-tourism and the need to manage growth for the sake of those who call our city home.

Turner said it's important to remember that Charleston is much more than a party destination or museum, which is why his organization continues to advocate against bigger, more-expensive accommodation developments that could affect livability for residents.

Hill said her organization takes its role in managing tourism just as seriously as its role to promote it. She said livability for local residents remains a top-of-mind priority because, otherwise, Charleston will lose the charm that attracts visitors in the first place.

If you are a place people want to live, youll naturally be a place people want to visit, she said. It walks hand-in-hand, but not every community gets it right. What matters is that we get it right, and so far we have, by spending the time to manage positive growth. Everything we do matters, whether it's something as big as new developments to as small as trash pickup.
Several new commercial tenants are coming to a large housing development on the edge of Summerville.

Lombardi's Pizza Kitchen, The Co-op Frose & Eatery, The Backyard Biergarten, Lowcountry Yoga and children's gym KidStrong are all lined up to be a part of The Hub in Nexton.

The restaurants and fitness sites are expected to move in by late June or early July, according to Nexton spokeswoman Cassie Cataline.

The Hub is a collection of office and commercial buildings under development on Nexton Parkway and Brighton Park Boulevard near Home Telecom and Refuel convenience store.

Office tenants include Coastal Vascular & Vein Center, Charleston Wound Care, Palmetto Primary and Specialty Care Physicians, Derrington Dermatology and Holliday Ingram law firm.

A new pair of two-story office buildings is expected to be completed in 2024 and 2025. They will be 30,000 square feet and 20,000 square feet, respectively, and be built beside Nexton Parkway.

Nexton is a 5,000-acre, mixed-use development next to Summerville between Interstate 26 and U.S. Highway 176 in Berkeley County. With more than 2,500 homes already sold, the development is expected to have 7,500 residential units at full build-out.

It also could house as many residents as the current populations of Clemson, North Myrtle Beach or West Columbia, roughly between 16,000 and 20,000. That would make it as big as Moncks Corner and Georgetown combined.

Now open

A new pizza restaurant is now open in Mount Pleasant.

BarPizza opened May 12 at 656-G Long Point Road in the revamped former Kiki & Rye space.

It's part of Free Reign Restaurants owned by Ryan and Kelleanne Jones. They also operate the recently opened Southbound on the Charleston peninsula and Community Table in Mount Pleasant.

Stepping in

A new retail shop that incorporates a clothing item in all of its wares is close to opening in downtown Charleston.

Respoke hopes to open by the weekend at 377 King St. in the former location of Simply J Boutique.

Sign up for our real estate newsletter! Get the best of the Post and Courier's Real Estate news, handpicked and delivered to your inbox each Saturday. Email

Sign Up!

The shop will offer shoes, clothing and other items that are made in part by repurposing different sections of scarves. Hours will be 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily, but they could change after the shop opens, according to store manager Joseph Fennell.

New threads

Also, coming to downtown Charleston is a new women's clothing store, now with a shop in Asheville.

Hazel Twenty owner Lexi DiYeso plans to open in August at 73 Wentworth St., formerly part of 269 King St. that was used as back-of-house storage for the former Gap store. The front section houses Aerie, also a clothing shop.

The 3,641-square-foot space is currently under construction behind clothing store Collared Greens and next to The Port Mercantile, part of The Restoration Hotel, according to Blair Hines Gearhart of Oswald Cooke & Associates, who represented the tenant. Charles Constant with Constant Properties represented the landlord.

Fresh return

Rukes Produce Stand returns to Mount Pleasant on May 24. Operated by Arthur Brown, the vegetable and fruit vendor will operate 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday through Dec. 31. Its at 378 Mathis Ferry Road next to Holy Trinity AME Church.

Book it

That Big Book Sale returns for its 41st run May 19-21 at Omar Shrine Auditorium at 176 Patriots Point Road in Mount Pleasant.

More than 60,000 books in all categories will be on sale, starting at $1. Sponsored by Charleston Friends of the Library, the event helps support Charleston County Public Library System.

A pre-sale event for members is 5-8 p.m. May 18. The event is open to the public 9 a.m.-7 p.m. May 19, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. May 20, and 10 a.m-3 p.m. May 21.

Checks, cash, major credit cards and electronic payments, such as ApplePay, will be accepted.
A new Pakistani restaurant that's been in the works for the past two years soon will welcome diners in a former popular Charleston dining venue.

Ma'am Saab will open at 5 p.m. May 26 at 251 Meeting St., where longtime restaurant Jestine's Kitchen operated for 24 years before closing in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It's the third Pakistani dining site in the Charleston area from co-owners Maryam Ghaznavi, who serves as chef, and her husband, Raheel Gauba, creative director. Ma'am Saab also will serve as the flagship operation for the duo.

The concept first arrived in Charleston in 2020 as a pop-up location at Workshop on the upper peninsula. They then shifted to focus on opening casual eatery Malika Canteen in Mount Pleasant Towne Centre in 2021. A second Malika location recently opened in The Charleston Pour House on James Island.

Maam Saab, which means Boss Lady in the Urdu language, encompasses the culinary powerhouse that is Maryam in all her drive, talent and leadership, said Gauba. Our food, drinks and decor pack a punch unique to anywhere else in Charleston.

Ghaznavi's menu includes favorites from Workshop such as butter chicken as well as dishes like lollipop chicken, kala chana chaat (black chickpea salad), charsi karahi (a traditional stir fry), nalli nihari (slow-cooked beef curry) and kababwala (skewered meats).

The bar will offer cocktails, mocktails inspired by Pakistani flavors, wine and a wide selection of local, national and international beers.

The restaurant is now accepting reservations through its website maamsaabchs.com.

Hours will be 5-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Master's Sale 2022-CP-10-00889 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, COUNTY OF CHARLESTON: IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, PLAINTIFF VERSUS Georgia Mayhew; Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., DEFENDANT(S). Upon authority of a Decree dated September 19, 2022, I will offer for sale to the highest bidder for cash, at public auction, the premises fully described below, at the County Council Chambers, 4045 Bridge View Drive, North Charleston, SC 29405 on the Sixth day of June, 2023 at 11:00 AM or shortly thereafter. ALL that piece, parcel or lot of land, situate, lying and being in Charleston County, South Carolina, known and designated as Lot 12, Palmetto Terrace Subdivision as shown on a plat by C. P. Collette, Surveyor, dated January 26, 1961 and recorded in Plat Book N, page 30 in the RMC Office for Charleston County. Said lot having such size, shape, location and dimensions, courses, distances and measurements as shown on said plat. This being the same property conveyed to Georgia Mayhew by Deed of Jimmy Gadsden a/k/a Jimmie L. Gadsden dated February 20, 1978 and recorded February 21, 1978 in Book Z114 at Page 243 in the Office of the Register of Deeds for Charleston County, South Carolina. Thereafter, Georgia Mayhew conveyed said property to Georgia Mayhew and Leo Mayhew, as joint tenants with right of survivorship, by Quit Claim Deed dated December 29, 2016 and recorded December 29, 2016 in Book 0606 at Page 839 in said Records. Thereafter, Leo Mayhew passed away and said property passed to Georgia Mayhew by operation of law. SUBJECT to any and all restrictions, easements, covenants, and rights-of-way of record. TMS # 229-13-00-133 Current Property Address: 5972 Glayton Dr, Ravenel, SC 29470 SUBJECT to any senior encumberances. No personal or deficiency judgment being demanded, the bidding will not remain open after the date of sale, but compliance with the bid may be made immediately. The property shall be sold for cash to the highest bidder. The highest bidder, other than the Plaintiff, will be required to deposit with the Master, at the conclusion of the bidding, cash or certified check in the amount of five per cent (5%) of the bid: the said deposit to be applied to the purchase price. Should the highest bidder fail to comply with the bid within thirty days from the date of sale, the Master will resell the property at the risk and expense of the defaulting bidder upon the same terms as above set out. The Sheriff of Charleston County may be authorized to put the purchaser into possession of the premises if requested by the purchaser. If the Plaintiff is demanding a deficiency, the Plaintiff may waive any of its rights, including its right to a deficiency judgment, prior to sale. In the event an agent of Plaintiff does not appear at the time of sale, the within property shall be withdrawn from sale and sold at the next available sales date upon the terms and conditions as set forth in the Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale or such terms as may be set forth in a supplemental order. PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY Brock & Scott, PLLC AD# 2043508
GEORGETOWN  A Savannah-based convenience store has expanded inside the Grand Strand retail market with a location in historic Georgetown.

Parkers Kitchen recently opened at 1347 N. Fraser St. across from the Walmart shopping center. The gas station with Lowcountry-inspired architecture is the first of two planned locations for the states third-oldest city.

Were truly honored to join the Georgetown community and to serve local customers while giving back to support local schools, said Greg Parker, founder and chief executive officer in a statement. Our newest location in Georgetown is an exceptional fit for our growth plan, which is based on building new stores in strong growth markets.

Construction is also underway on a Parkers Kitchen store off of U.S. 17 beside the Quality Inn hotel and across from Taco Bell. Company officials have not announced any timetable for completion of the second location.

Parkers Kitchen, in addition to fuel, features a hot bar with made-from-scratch food for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as a wide range of grab-and-go convenience items including fountain drinks with chewable ice, coffee, lemonade, sweet tea and beer.

Popular menu items include the companys fried chicken tenders, spicy chicken tender sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, salads and potato logs.

The U.S. 701 store is the 32nd store in the state for Parkers, which has a portfolio of more than 70 stores in Georgia and South Carolina mainly located in the Savannah/Hilton Head and Charleston areas, but is expanding along the southwestern S.C. border in Aiken with future stores.

Company officials said they give back to every community they are located in through the stores Fueling the Community program, which donates a portion of gas sold on the first Wednesday of each month to area schools. The program has donated nearly $2 million to schools across South Carolina and Georgia.

Customers are also able to contribute to the Lowcountry Food Bank through the companys Round-Up Campaign, where Parkers matches 25 percent of every round-up donation made in the store.
GREENVILLE  A former bursar of Greenville Technical College is facing charges that she embezzled more than $10,000 in college funds for her own personal use.

The State Law Enforcement Division alleges in an arrest warrant that Jennifer Leigh Price of Seneca embezzled the funds for a five-month period between April and September. As bursar, she was tasked with safekeeping, transferring and disbursing the money.

SLED agents arrested Price, 53, on May 18, according to a SLED news release. She was booked into Greenville County Detention Center and later released on a $10,000 recognizance bond.

In an emailed statement, Greenville Tech spokeswoman Becky Mann said that Price had been employed at the school from August 2021 to November 2022 and didn't elaborate further.
On Saturday, May 13, the Kingstree High River of Soul Marching Band competed in the Views Choice Battle of the Bands at Six Flags in Atlanta. The band was awarded fifth place out of the 12 bands competing. This was the last event of the school year for Kingstree Highs 100-member award-winn Read moreKingstree High River of Soul Marching Band competes in Battle of the Bands in Atlanta, Georgia
My wife will tell you that you can do all sorts of things when you are young. She said, I was practice teaching, trying to graduate from college, plan a wedding and build a house. The builder would call and tell me I had to make a decision about light fixtures for the house. Id leave schoo Read moreThe Long Strange Journey of The Other Woman Air Racing Team Part Four
The National Park Service is seeking public input during an initial planning phase to replace and rehabilitate the docks at Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park. The docks at each fort are essential for transporting visitors and staff to the park. Read morePublic can provide input on Fort Moultrie dock replacement
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. Operations against members of organized gangs who import narcotics into Azerbaijan continue by employees of the Main Directorate for Combating Drugs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country, Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs told Trend.

According to the ministry, it was established that the drugs were imported from South America to Europe, and from there in transit to the territory of Azerbaijan.

During the last operation, Khalid Iskenderov, Khayyam Asadov and Elman Yusifov were detained with about 1 kg of cocaine and 3,284 ecstasy pills.

Thus, Yusifov, who was engaged in international cargo transportation, imported drugs into the country, while Asadov's goal was to pick up these drugs from the border and deliver them to Iskenderov in order to later organize the sale in Baku.

During the ongoing operations, other people have been detained as well - resident of the Yardimli district, Hagani Sultanov, residents of Baku Emin Aliyev, his accomplices Kamil Aliyev and Natig Aslanov, as well as Vugar Jafarov.

These individuals were caught with a total of 50 kilograms of drugs, including 33 kg of heroin, 12 kg of marijuana, 5 kg of methamphetamine and 210 tablets containing psychotropic substances.

The detainees admitted that they were attracted to drug trafficking by persons living in Iran, who seek to widely distribute drugs in the country, mainly among young people.
SUMMERVILLE  Two former teacher assistants at an elementary school were arrested after police said they were caught abusing a special education student on surveillance cameras.

An assistant principal at Newington Elementary School called police on May 10 after escorting TA Emily Westermann off the campus for allegedly shoving the student to the floor, according to a Summerville Police Department incident report.

Police watched surveillance video which they said showed Westermann talking with a teacher in the school's autism room where students were watching a movie on a Smart Board. The victim, who the incident report says is nonverbal and deaf, walked over to the teachers and began making the sign for please several times. When they continued talking, he "became agitated." The student then raised his right hand, causing the teacher to grab him by the wrist and move his arm away from her.

At that point, the incident report says, Westermann approached the student from behind and yanked him backward by his shirt. She then shoved him twice, causing him to lose his balance on the second shove and fall onto a beanbag.

The other teacher in the incident told officers the student had been aggressive and that Westermann extended her arm to protect herself and didn't see the student fall.

The call led police to another case. On May 12, while officers were watching the surveillance video they saw another incident involving the same student and teacher aide Patricia Fuller, this one on May 8.

In that incident, police said, the student was misbehaving. According to the report, Fuller pinched him on the back of the neck, pushed him toward a table and shoved him into his chair. She slapped the student's face and grabbed him by the neck and jaw multiple times while she appeared to be screaming at him. Police said the student was flinching, screaming and raising his arms in an apparent defensive posture.

When police showed the video to school administrators, Fuller was escorted from campus, the incident report says.

Westermann has been charged with assault and battery third degree. Fuller has been charged with unlawful conduct toward a child. Both have been released on personal recognizance bonds.

Fuller's attorney, Glenn Justis of Summerville, declined to comment on the facts of the case which he feels is inappropriate for attorneys, but said he is "anxious" for a Dorchester County jury to hear all the facts, not just those presented in the arrest affidavit.

We all know that theres two sides to every story so I hate that (Fuller) has to be slandered in the media based on half the story and I hope that jurors will keep an unbiased view and make a decision based on the facts and not on emotion, Justis told The Post and Courier, adding that Fuller is a "great person."

Westermann's attorney Russell Hilton of Summerville, did not return a call from The Post and Courier.

Dorchester School District Two spokesman Matthew Kenwright confirmed Westermann and Fuller are no longer employed with the district and said DD2 is cooperating with investigators.

While the incidents appear unusual for Summerville, the arrests come around the same time at least six lawsuits were filed, four of them for alleged misconduct involving special education students.

Jocelyn Grzeszczak contributed to this report.
COLUMBIA  Three South Carolina law enforcement officers have been awarded special recognition by S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster, as a part of an inaugural Officer of the Year ceremony to celebrate excellence in law enforcement statewide.

Among those recognized May 19 was Senior Special Agent David Owen, the lead State Law Enforcement Division agent in the investigation of the double murder of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh, one of the most-watched criminal cases South Carolina has ever seen.

Sgt. Blake Weathersbee of the Sumter County Sheriff's Office and Officer Luke Boling from the Rock Hill Police Department were also given Officer of the Year awards.

The officers recognized today represent the very best our state has to offer, McMaster said. Its truly a privilege to honor these fine men and women for their dedication to duty, service, and valor."

In total, 13 finalists were identified from various state, county and municipal agencies. The three winners were awarded $10,000 each.

Weathersbee, a 15-year veteran of the Sumter County Sheriff's Office, was injured on a call Sept. 22, when a domestic disturbance call turned into a house fire. Weathersbee was shot in the leg, but managed to alert other deputies to the suspect's location and make sure they were safe. He was awarded the South Carolina Sheriffs' Association Medal of Valor earlier this year.

Boling has been recognized for his work with federal agents settling a nationwide drug trafficking case with roots in Rock Hill. Boling was given the 2022 South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Association Officer of the Year Award and the 2022 Alston Wilkes Award.

The awards given May 19 were the first of their kind, distributed through the state-funded Governor's Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award program. The S.C. Department of Public Safety organized the program, and a committee appointed by the governor selected winners in the state, county and municipal categories.

Despite where they serve and what uniform they wear, this program allows us in the profession to all come together and rally around these exceptional individuals who are doing great work in their communities, said S.C. Department of Public Safety Director Robert Woods.
I was covering my second state budget debate when I got my first look at a USC-Clemson rivalry that was deeper and far more expensive than the one that plays out on a football field: the never-ending battle over legislative largesse. Read moreScoppe: The worrisome re-emergence of the Clemson-USC rivalry. No, not that rivalry.
Many in Charleston long regarded West Ashley as a red-headed stepchild to the historic, peninsular city. To the extent that was true, it reflected the city's confinement to the peninsula for three centuries before eventually annexing across the Ashley River in the 1960s; it took time for the Read moreEditorial: West Ashley deserves something new and special on Sumar Street
COLUMBIA  A long-simmering tussle between South Carolina's two African American members of Congress over how to tackle poverty escalated Wednesday, as House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn introduced a bill to fix what he views as problems with the "opportunity zones" initiative U.S. Sen. Tim Scott shepherded through Congress.

The legislation offers Clyburn, D-Columbia, an opportunity to address the criticism he has repeatedly directed at the program, which provides tax incentives for developers to invest in economically distressed areas.

That critique has primarily been that those who need help the most aren't getting it.

"From the start, Ive raised concerns that the Opportunity Zone incentive would turn out to be a tax credit for rich investors with limited benefits for low-income communities," Clyburn said in a statement announcing the bill.

"This program needs to be tweaked if it is to accomplish its stated purpose, and this legislation makes the necessary reforms to ensure it is making an impact in the communities that need investments the most," he added.

Clyburn's proposed changes would seek to nix zones he contends are not truly impoverished. It would prohibit investments in certain developments such as casinos, stadiums, parking lots or luxury apartments and ensure the incentives only go to new investments within the zones, not projects that were already underway.

The bill tracks with similar legislation introduced in the Senate last week by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who has also expressed concerns about potential abuse of the tax incentives.

Scott swiftly hit back, calling the revamp idea a "misguided attempt by Congressional Democrats" that would "wreck the Opportunity Zone initiative under the guise of improvement'" and "needlessly punish low-income communities who are hoping to use Opportunity Zones to transform areas left behind."

The Republican senator argued the proposal would wipe out multiple zones with high poverty rates. He took particular umbrage with the inclusion of "health centers" as one type of business that could no longer qualify for the tax incentives under Clyburn's proposal.

"This is absolutely egregious, as we should be looking for ways to help improve the health of folks living in zones where the average life expectancy is three years shorter than the national average and the average obesity rate is significantly higher than the national average," Scott said.

The dispute lays bare stark ideological differences between the two South Carolina lawmakers over whether government or the private sector is more effective at combating poverty.

Earlier this year, Clyburn panned opportunity zones as "a bunch of smoke and mirrors" that would only benefit investors.

The Columbia Democrat has instead focused much of his efforts on pumping more government funds into persistently poor areas through his "10-20-30" formula, which calls for directing at least 10 percent of public money to areas where 20 percent or more of the population has lived below the poverty line for the past 30 years.

Critics of the opportunity zone initiative have raised concerns that some of the census tracts selected by governors and locally elected officials are not truly distressed and could lead to gentrification without measures to ensure more affordable housing.

For example, a thriving area of downtown Charleston got opportunity zone status thanks to College of Charleston students driving down the average household income.

Other recent revelations include a ProPublica report that billionaire Dan Gilbert used relationships in the White House to secure opportunity zone status for wealthy areas of downtown Detroit, thereby boosting his own real estate empire.

Scott conceded that some governors chose their zones in a way he did not agree with, though he claimed those issues have mostly stemmed from Democratic officials. Regardless, he argued Clyburn's bill uses too broad of a brush in addressing the issue and is an attempt to "to damage the program for purely partisan reasons."

Scott worked with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., to include the opportunity zones measure in the broader tax bill that passed through Congress in 2017.

In an interview last week with The Post and Courier, Booker acknowledged shortcomings of the current opportunity zones legislation that need fixes.

"There's lots of examples of it working, but there are definitely abuses where people are making areas that do not need incentives and developers are making a quick real estate play and getting better dollars," Booker said.

"So what I can say is that it's the right idea that doesn't have the accountability measures to prevent a bad president from not doing it right," Booker added.

Scott and Booker introduced their own bill earlier this year to require the U.S. treasury secretary to collect data on the progress of opportunity zones and issue a report to Congress  a measure Scott cites as an example of a more constructive way to scrutinize the program.

"Instead of trying to take down Opportunity Zones because of their distaste for President Trump and our successful tax reform package, I invite Democrats to come to the table and work together on a path forward," Scott said.
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott took aim at the White House's COVID-19 response in the GOP's formal rebuttal to President Joe Biden's first speech to a joint session of Congress, but he also highlighted Republican solutions to issues facing Americans.

And while Biden celebrated accomplishments such as the passage of pandemic relief, touted increased vaccination efforts and shifting tides in the economy, Scott attempted to take the wind out of the president's sails.

The junior South Carolina senator pointed to former President Donald Trump's efforts as the reason for the decline in COVID-19 fears and said the GOP is to thank.

"This administration inherited a tide that had already turned," Scott said. "The coronavirus is on the run. Thanks to Operation Warp Speed and the Trump administration, our country is flooded with safe and effective vaccines. Thanks to our bipartisan work last year, job openings are rebounding."

Additionally, he said Democratic attempts to halt or limit in-person school classes during the pandemic are "locking vulnerable kids out of the classroom, is locking adults out of their future."

Scott's speech overall took a positive tone in which he tried to lay out an optimistic vision for America that he believes Republican politicians can accomplish, if returned to power.

"Our best future wont come from Washington schemes or socialist dreams," Scott said. "It will come from you  the American people."

Scott said "nowhere do we need common ground more desperately than in our discussions of race" and reflected on being pulled over by police and followed around stores.

He also said "America is not a racist country" which echoes similar words said by former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley and Sen. Lindsey Graham in past GOP speeches.

Scott reportedly spent the weekend in Charleston to prepare for the speech and decompress, according to Politico. He spent time with his mom, he worked out and he watched the superhero show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney Plus. It was all part of what goes with being picked to be the rebuttal voice to Biden while also stoking speculation he is showing his own interest in the White House in 2024.

As the lone Black Republican in the Senate, Scott highlighted his personal story including his upbringing in North Charleston with his single mother. He pointed to progress made before Democrats won both chambers of Congress as an example of what the GOP can accomplish for families like his.

"We passed Opportunity Zones, criminal justice reform and permanent funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities for the first time ever," Scott said. "We fought the drug epidemic, rebuilt our military and cut taxes for working families and single moms like mine."

Scott has often spoken about issues relating to race in policing as it has related to his life and in the Black community. In the wake of former police officer Derek Chauvin's conviction in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Scott said there is "more work to be done when it comes to law enforcement reform.

Scott is seen as a Republican point man for any bipartisan effort on the federal response to police issues just as Democrats get behind their package of reforms.

Biden briefly acknowledged the need for action on the issue and encouraged the passage of the Democrats' George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. But he also encouraged compromise.

"I know the Republicans have their own ideas and are engaged in productive discussions with Democrats," Biden said. "We need to work together to find a consensus."

This was Scott's second nationally televised speech on behalf of the Republican Party. He closed out one night of the 2020 Republican National Convention on behalf of Trump where he took on a more adversarial tone against then-candidate Biden. He claimed the Democrat wanted to "come for your pocketbooks" and said liberals "are trying to permanently transform what it means to be an American."

Scott is up for reelection in 2022 and has raised more than $2.2 million in the last quarter for his bid, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Donald Trump has hired three South Carolina political operatives to help the Republican front-runner build out his 2024 presidential primary operation in the Palmetto State and shore up support among the state's grassroots base, The Post and Courier has learned.

Trump campaign officials are calling the trio of hires the start of "the Palmetto Team."

The effort will be on full display this weekend when Trump addresses South Carolina Republicans in a video that will play at the state GOP convention, according to Trump campaign officials with direct knowledge of the efforts.

Trump picked Austin McCubbin to be his state director, acting as the chief executive overseeing statewide campaign operations.

McCubbin managed Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace's successful reelection bid in the 2022 midterms, where Mace easily defeated Democratic challenger Annie Andrews by 14 points in the race for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District.

But that same contest also saw a heated GOP primary break out between Mace and Trump-backed Republican Katie Arrington. In that GOP primary, which attracted national attention, Mace found herself in Trump's crosshairs and defending her conservative bona fides after openly criticizing the former president in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack.

Asked why he decided to join Trump's 2024 campaign, McCubbin said, "There's no place I'd rather be."

"The reason why I picked President Trump is he's a winner," he said in a May 18 interview. "He's done more for the country in a matter of months than most presidents can accomplish in eight years."

Joining McCubbin is former Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, who has been named senior adviser. In this role, he will be a leading surrogate for Trump, making appearances on his behalf across the state and leveraging his own political contacts to boost Trump's chances in South Carolina.

Bauer served as the states lieutenant governor from 2003 to 2011 under then-Gov. Mark Sanford. He has been a longtime fixture in Republican politics, starting as a member of the state Legislature in both the House and Senate, and later running for governor.

In 2020 Bauer, a longtime Trump supporter, was rewarded for his loyalty when Trump nominated him to be his ambassador to Belize.

Rounding out the team is Justin Evans, who will be director of special projects. His political resume features ties to Sanford and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. In 2020, he worked with the Trump White House on its advance team and traveled the country to prepare for events with both Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence. In 2021, he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Hartsville.

The burst of new hires comes ahead of this weekend's state GOP convention, which will start at 11 a.m. May 20 at River Bluff High School, 320 Corley Mill Road in Lexington.

Trump campaign officials said they will have a large Trump booth set up at the convention, where staffers and volunteers will be engaging with GOP faithful and encouraging them to support Trump's latest White House bid.

Sarah Jane Walker, spokeswoman for the South Carolina GOP, declined to say who was invited to attend the convention but cautioned that a combination of in-person and video addresses from presidential hopefuls are regular features.

"I expect this weekend's convention to be the same," she said.

Trump campaign officials declined to say whether Trump would be endorsing in the state GOP chairman's race, where S.C. GOP Chairman Drew McKissick is facing two challengers for the top party job. In 2021, Trump reiterated his support for McKissick when he faced a challenge from pro-Trump attorney Lin Wood.

South Carolina went big for Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 general elections, winning by double digits both times.

The big question is whether that support will hold among Republican primary voters in the state's "First in the South" presidential primary, where former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is also seeking the GOP nomination and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott is exploring a presidential bid of his own and is widely expected to announce his decision on May 22.

The latest independent polling in the state shows Trump enjoys a comfortable double-digit lead over his closest GOP challenger, where he has the early support of 41 percent of Republican voters in the Palmetto State.
SPARTANBURG  State inspectors have handed down a $900 fine to the Spartanburg County Department of Public Works months after a county employee was crushed and killed at a household waste drop-off site.

Documents obtained by The Post and Courier give more insight into what led to Michael Harrison Cooper's death last November.

The county knew or shouldve known its employees risked serious injury or death when they were exchanging waste containers from a compactor, the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation wrote in a citation April 18.

Spartanburg County didn't respond to multiple requests for comment.

The county has paid the fine and hasn't requested an informal conference to negotiate the penalty, LLR spokeswoman Lesia Kudelka said in an email May 18. That deadline would be May 24.

Records released May 11 to The Post and Courier through a Freedom of Information Act request provided new details into the 65-year-old Cooper's death.

On Nov. 23, Cooper was killed at the Valley Falls waste collection site when he and a coworker were moving containers from a waste compactor, according to the inspection report from the South Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

The coworker was using hydraulics to hoist a waste container onto a rollback truck, which is similar to a tow truck, when the coworker noticed the container was heavier than expected, according to the report.

The container then shifted off the back of the truck and hit Cooper, who was standing in the rear of the truck. He was pinned between the container and a concrete retaining wall.

Other employees called 911, but Cooper was deceased when emergency workers arrived. He died from blunt force trauma to the head, chest and lower body, according to the report.

According to the inspection report, public works didnt have written procedures for lockout/tagout, a practice in workplaces designed to prevent harm to workers because of the release of hazardous energy, such as a jammed conveyor belt restarting. Employees did receive PowerPoint training on the container change-out process, the inspector noted.

A feasible and useful method to correct this hazard  is to ensure that employees are not located between the retention wall and the container when the container is being loaded or unloaded by a rollback truck, the LLR citation said.

Spartanburg County had been cited by OSHA in 2001 because there werent barriers in front of the compactors at its waste drop off sites, and a rollback truck didnt have a backup alarm, according to the recent report.

The county installed barriers at 17 of its waste sites, but not at the Valley Falls location, which was built in 2021.
Tim Scott has decided to launch a White House bid. He'll make the official announcement on May 22 at his alma mater Charleston Southern University.

In this Understand SC pop up episode, political editor Schuyler Kropf and senior politics reporter Caitlin Byrd discuss Tim Scott's political journey and what lies ahead as he campaigns for the presidency.

Understand SC is a podcast from The Post and Courier that draws from the reporting resources and knowledge of our newsroom to help you better understand South Carolina.

Are there any stories you'd like to hear on the show? Contact us at understandsc@postandcourier.com.

This episode was hosted by Schuyler Kropf and Caitlin Byrd and edited by Eric Russell.

Related reading:
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. The recent growth of export opportunities in the non-oil sector is one of the important indicators of economic diversification, Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov wrote on Twitter, Trend reports.

"Exports of non-oil products increased by 21.2 percent from January through April of this year compared to the same period of the previous year to $1.1 billion," he said.

Azerbaijan increased non-oil exports by 12.3 percent to $3 billion in 2022.

It is planned to increase the volume of Azerbaijan's non-oil exports to $5 billion by 2025.

From January through March 2023, non-oil sector goods worth $339.9 million were exported to Turkiye, $200.7 million to the Russian Federation, $109.2 million to Georgia, $29.7million to the Swiss Confederation, and $27.6 million to Kazakhstan.

Non-oil exports amounted to $261 million in March 2023.
In a rare move, port officials may try to advance the Union Pier redevelopment proposal to a vote from the Charleston Planning Commission without a stamp of approval from a city review committee that typically gives their OK first.

The 64-acre Union Pier parcel is owned by the State Ports Authority. The SPA hired real estate development firm Lowe to draw up a zoning document that would dictate how the downtown Charleston site could be redeveloped when the port sells the property.

The Technical Review Committee, which reviews the finer points of a proposal such as storm water management and parking requirements, asked the port to revise their zoning document May 18 and return before the committee to show their revisions. But that may not happen.

"This is a very critical new neighborhood and we have to get it right," said TRC member Eric Schultz.

The document making its way through the city approval process, known as a planned unit development, allows for 1,600 residential units, 600 hotel rooms, and over 500,000 square feet of retail and office space. Height limits for buildings range from two-and-a-half stories at the waterfront to seven stories at the center of the property.

Because the port already requested review from the planning commission and has a meeting with them scheduled for June 7, the development team will likely not bring the proposal to TRC again.

SC Ports is following the citys rigorous review process," a statement from the port reads. "This is the Technical Review Committees second review of the PUD. The staff provided thoughtful, substantive comments and we greatly appreciate their expertise. We are working diligently to incorporate many of these comments into the submittal prior to the Planning Commissions June 7 public hearing."

The proposal went before the TRC for the first time March 2. The revision and scheduling process took months, resulting in a second TRC review May 18. Now, that same process would have to play out in a matter of three weeks to be complete in time for the Planning Commission review June 7.

The Technical Review Committee serves to advise developers about what roadblocks they may encounter in future city approval processes. Some revisions suggested by the TRC relate to mandatory code requirements such as compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act or the city's fire safety code. Other suggestions from the TRC come from city staff who relay different departments' preferences. That could include the number of hotel rooms allowed on a property or the location of park space.

While some suggestions have been heeded by the port, such as expanding the park space around the Bennett Rice Mill facade, others were rejected or deferred. Some responses recorded by the port said more detail would be available during the later stages of the process.

One of the suggestions from the city included scaling back the number of hotel rooms allowed on the property from 600 to 300. That suggestion was not incorporated in the updated plan.

Another suggestion advised adding a turn lane at some intersections and expanding the traffic study to examine the possibility of increasing the number of lanes on Washington Street beyond one lane in each direction.

Although the TRC can approve a proposal with some minor suggestions unmet, this time around the body determined that the remaining suggestions are too complex for the TRC to give their OK.

This process is playing out amid a frenzy of advocacy from local groups such as the Coastal Conservation League, the Preservation Society of Charleston and the Historic Charleston Foundation, all of which are seeking to slow the planning effort down. The three groups planned a series of events aimed at educating the public about how to influence the plan on May 11, 16 and 18.

Recently, the groups successfully advocated for the National Trust for Historic Preservation to include the historic neighborhoods around Union Pier on its annual list of "endangered places."

When the plan reaches planning commission, that body can deny the proposal, advance it to city council with conditions or advance it to city council as is. City Council also has the authority to attach conditions to the development proposal before approving it. City Council can defer a proposal for up to one year, after which it is automatically denied if a vote is not taken.
PR-Inside.com: 2023-05-19 13:05:46

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 1051 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / Aton Resources Inc. (TSXV:AAN) ("Aton" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has now commenced a 10,000m programme of reverse circulation percussion ("RC") exploration drilling at its 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession ("Abu Marawat" or the "Concession"), in the Eastern Desert of Egypt (Figure 1).Figure 1: Geology and prospect plan of the Abu Marawat Concession"I am very pleased to be able to announce that Geodrill have now started on our highly anticipated regional RC exploration drilling programme" said Tonno Vahk, Interim CEO. "We are delighted to finally be in a position to get out and drill some of our regional targets for the first time at Abu Marawat. We have no doubt that we have one of, if not the most prospective package of gold exploration projects in Egypt. The team on the ground has worked hard to get this programme together, and are very excited to be finally starting drilling at some of these great targets. We are absolutely confident that the results of the drilling will speak for themselves in the coming months." 2023 Abu Marawat RC drilling programmeAton signed a contract with Geodrill's Egyptian branch, Geodrill for Leasing and Specialized Services Freezone LLC, for 10,000m of RC drilling at the Abu Marawat Concession in April 2023 (see news release dated April 20, 2023). Geodrill's X900 multi-purpose drill rig arrived at the West Garida prospect on May 18, 2023, and commenced drilling on the first hole of the programme, WGP-006 (Figure 2). The powerful X900 multi-purpose rig carries a 1200cfm/430psi onboard compressor, and an additional service unit equipped with a 1200cfm/430psi auxiliary compressor and 1800cfm/900psi booster pack. The X900 rig has a rated RC depth capacity of 400m.Drilling has commenced at the West Garida prospect (Figure 1), which is only 3 km away from the Company's Hamama West deposit. A short programme of 19 holes has been planned at West Garida, for a total of 1,370 metres to follow up on a previous drill intersection of 41.7 g/t Au, 263 g/t Ag and 2.08% Pb over a 1m interval (see news release dated September 1, 2022). Mineralisation at West Garida is associated with narrow high grade quartz veins.Figure 2: Collaring off the first hole WGP-006 at West Garida, 18 May, 2023After the completion of the West Garida programme the rig will then be mobilised to the Abu Gaharish prospect (Figure 1), where a temporary exploration camp has been erected to service the drilling. Drill pad construction is almost finished at the prospect, and is expected to be completed in the coming days. Abu Gaharish is located approximately 16km east northeast of the Company's main exploration camp at Rodruin, and is accessed by rough desert tracks. A provisional programme of 28 holes has been planned for a total of 4,040 metres at Abu Gaharish. The Company believes that Abu Gaharish is an analogue of the world-class Sukari deposit, approximately 200 km south of Abu Marawat, and where artisanal miners have recently exploited a highly prospective structural system consisting of numerous mineralised veins and structures along a c. 3 km strike length on the southeastern margin of the Gaharish granite pluton. Aton has carried out extensive surface sampling at Abu Gaharish with samples grading up to 157 g/t Au (see news release dated October 28, 2021).A further programme of 17 holes for a total of 3,600m has been designed at the Semna prospect, which will be drilled after Abu Gaharish, and where drill access road and pad construction is also well advanced. Semna is located approximately 10 km northwest of Abu Gaharish (Figure 1). The Semna area has a long history of gold mining, during both ancient and modern times, dating back as far as the Old Kingdom period, over 4,500 years ago. Semna was exploited by 2 British companies between 1904 and 1906, who reported that Semna had the widest vein mined during the British phase of mining in Egypt in the early 20th century, reaching up to 6m in width in places. The British reported mining grades of over 2 ounces per ton. Reports from the British Mining Journal from 1905 indicated that some pillars from the ancient Pharaonic era stopes assayed up to 5.5 ounces per ton gold. Mineralisation is associated with at least 4 sub-parallel structures at Semna, and Aton has returned channel sampling intercepts including 5.17 g/t Au over an interval of 9.7m at surface, and individual channel samples grading up to 18.05 g/t Au (see news release November 22, 2017).Further drilling programmes are being developed to also test the Zeno, Sir Bakis and Bohlog areas (Figure 1) in the current RC programme.About Aton Resources Inc.Aton Resources Inc. (AAN:TSXV) is focused on its 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession ("Abu Marawat"), located in Egypt's Arabian-Nubian Shield, approximately 200 km north of Centamin's world-class Sukari gold mine. Aton has identified numerous gold and base metal exploration targets at Abu Marawat, including the Hamama deposit in the west, the Abu Marawat deposit in the northeast, and the advanced Rodruin exploration prospect in the south of the Concession. Two historic British gold mines are also located on the Concession at Sir Bakis and Semna. Aton has identified several distinct geological trends within Abu Marawat, which display potential for the development of a variety of styles of precious and base metal mineralisation. Abu Marawat is 447.7 km2 in size and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure; a four-lane highway, a 220kV power line, and a water pipeline are in close proximity, as are the international airports at Hurghada and Luxor.Qualified personThe technical information contained in this News Release was prepared by Javier Orduna BSc (hons), MSc, MCSM, DIC, MAIG, SEG(M), Exploration Manager of Aton Resources Inc. Mr. Orduna is a qualified person (QP) under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.For further information regarding Aton Resources Inc., please visit us at www.atonresources.com or contact:TONNO VAHKInterim CEOTel: +1 604 318 0390Email: info@ atonresources.com Note Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsSome 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 i
PR-Inside.com: 2023-05-19 16:30:41

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 1089 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

AbbottNORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / As far as epic journeys go, 1.2 miles is pretty manageable and quite lovely.New York's Central Park in April. There are worse places to be. And worse reasons to be there.Because, on this spring morning, an impressive group of people has united to continue their journey to a place many thought could not be reached.A place where Parkinson's Disease no longer exists.This is the Parkinson's Unity Walk, one more path on which explorers like Jim McNasby, 53, Chief People Officer and General Counsel for The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF), take on a degenerative neurologic condition diagnosed in nearly 1 million Americans, 10 million worldwide.We know Jim because we featured his story before - and his role in efforts to end Parkinson's, both through his professional role and in supporting the Unity Walk itself, are well-known in the community.McNasby - individually and paired with his husband, Donny Moss (as Team McMoss) - has been a top Unity Walk fundraiser, bringing in more than $100,000 this year and $1 million-plus over the last decade.We know Parkinson's because Abbott's neuromodulation business developed the Infinity Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) system, a strong tool that has helped McNasby live a better quality of life with the condition over the past several years.Abbott has supported and worked extensively with the Parkinson's community, including advocates like MJFF, for years, understanding that unified action is the best path to success.The Road Less Traveled. Until Now.Parkinson's is second only to Alzheimer's as the most common neurodegenerative disease and, like Alzheimer's in 2011, is the subject of historic national legislation geared to slow and, eventually, end the disease.When enacted, this legislation, currently working its way through Congress as the National Plan to End Parkinson's Act (National Plan), will support multiple approaches to combat the effects of, and hopefully eradicate, the disease."There are three primary pillars to the National Plan," said Mason Zeagler, public policy officer at MJFF. "It will unite the federal government and private enterprise in a mission to prevent and cure Parkinson's, while simultaneously working to improve the quality of life for those currently living with the disease." This journey has many participants, and the National Plan is designed to provide them all the support necessary."What often happens at the federal level is that individual agencies work in silos. This bill will get all the right people around the same table," Zeagler said.The precedent bodes well."In 2011, Alzheimer's took the same path, and since then federal research jumped from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars," Zeagler said. "Our goal is to ensure the best outcomes for the most people. We're coming at it from all angles to get advocates and the grass roots movement engaged." Road WarriorMcNasby gets it because he's lived it.For almost a quarter century."I tell people that it's a long journey and a long battle that we're in for." But few have trained harder or longer than him to help lead this work.McNasby was diagnosed in 2000 at age 31, far younger than most people with Parkinson's. After years of medication treatment that became less effective over time, our Infinity Deep Brain Stimulation neuromodulation device was implanted in 2020, which, in his case, had an immediate impact.His unique position as both Chief People Officer with MJFF and a person with Parkinson's gives him a particularly focused perspective."Along with the CEO, I get to make the hiring decisions for people brought in to spend each day solving a complex problem like Parkinson's," he said. "That makes me feel strong. Like I'm doing something palpable. Here is a person who is here to help me get better. That's a strong incentive to get it right." His personal and professional stakes in MJFF efforts mirror his broad view of the work that needs to be done, both for people like him with the diagnosis, and for the generations to come that he hopes never have to face his challenges.Having the Right Tools"Research is essential," McNasby said. "MJFF is currently funding more research than the federal government, and that's not the right ratio. We need them to catch up and pass us." With adequate resources, the future looks promising. Much research is focused on identifying biomarkers that will reduce the impact on future generations."We're funding clinical trials that will provide biologically-based criteria for whether a treatment is working, not just determining if a drug is effective based on how fast one snaps their fingers." MJFF is monitoring 145 unique therapies in clinical testing that are targeting novel pathways, addressing the underlying disease biology or symptoms of the disease.Soon they expect to assess biomarkers over time and chart the progress and limitations of Parkinson's. "That level of empiricism will help us establish prevention strategies and develop better treatment plans," McNasby said.Dialing Up Hope from a Paramus Parking LotBut the impact of all this work is not limited to the physical. Every journey takes a psychological toll, especially one with such unique components. There is no place for false optimism.But there is considerable room for legitimate hope.Hope in technology."I was in the Catskills [in New York] when I noticed I was having some problems. I contacted my doctor, who, using the Neurosphere Virtual Clinic device that controlled my Infinity DBS, was able to diagnose the problem while she was sitting in a parking lot in Paramus, New Jersey," McNasby recalled."I felt like it was 2250 and I was in outer space. When the current state feels like science fiction, that gives you hope." We are doing our best to provide the technology that helps people literally walk the walk and live each day to its best advantage.Hope in people."At the Foundation, we have 18 Ph.D.'s and a diverse, highly qualified team with a wide range of skills," he said. "Our greatest strength is that we can put five or six of these people in a room and, because of their talents and diverse points of view, they will come up with the best possible solution to an issue." Hope in legislation.Remember those 144 clinical trials from earlier? There were almost none in 2000. Groups like MJFF have carried that heavy weight for decades and could use some he
PR-Inside.com: 2023-05-19 18:00:57

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 348 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

2023 Colorado Manufacturer of the Year dpiX Announces New Name: InnovaFlex FoundryCOLORADO SPRINGS, CO / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / dpiX, a Colorado-based local semiconductor manufacturer and 2023 Colorado Manufacturer of the Year in the technology sector, today unveiled a major corporate rebranding to become InnovaFlex Foundry. The rebranding represents a strategic move in a new, innovative direction. Chief Executive Officer Lindsay Pack unveiled the new corporate identity alongside Mayor John Suthers, state representatives from Senator Michael Bennet and from Congressman Doug Lamborn, Commissioner Stan VanderWerf, and members of the Colorado Springs City Council at InnovaFlex headquarters.InnovaFlex FoundryNew name and logo to kick off the rebranding The new corporate identity reflects InnovaFlex's expanded commitment to innovation and growth in even more markets, building upon the company's 20-year history of delivering high-quality digital imaging solutions to a range of industries including military, medical, industrial, and security imaging."InnovaFlex's new corporate identity represents a significant and strategic step forward for our company," said Lindsay Pack, CEO. "As the only company in the U.S. to do what we do, we are excited to find new ways to push the boundaries of what's possible in semiconductors, and we believe this new identity reflects our vision for the future of the industry." The unveiling event included a presentation by Pack, showcasing the new corporate identity and its significance for the company's future. Attendees were also able to view the new logo and branding, with a celebratory social following the announcement.About InnovaFlex FoundryInnovaFlex Foundry is a nontraditional semiconductor, design and manufacturer that has capabilities to create a variety of electronics on both glass and flexible substrates. InnovaFlex provides the foundation for some of today's most innovative solutions in the military, medical, industrial, and security imaging businesses. At InnovaFlex, what we are doing is making a positive impact through collaboration, innovation, and technology. We believe the HOW we do things is as important as WHAT we do. To learn more, visit https://www.innovaflexusa.com Contact InformationCeleste BurkeMarketing Communications Manager719-332-0570SOURCE: InnovaFlex Foundry
PR-Inside.com: 2023-05-19 21:16:50

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 325 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / ENV Activewear is announcing the release of fresh spring must-haves to its coveted Infinity Collection. With 5 new colorways added to the sold-out selection of 3, the new collection offers a fresh experience with long sleeves, halter bras, 4.5-inch inseam shorts, and leggings. In addition, ENV Activewear added 4 new pump cover tees to the collection featuring designs by local graphic designers. The new items in the collection are now available for purchase on the ENV Activewear website. These items are must-haves for people who missed out on the sold-out products in the Infinity Collection."The ENV Activewear team is thrilled to announce the launch of these spring must-haves. Activewear enthusiasts will feel good when wearing our unique designs and well-fitted clothing," said Alexander Wegelin, founder of ENV Activewear. "As someone who has been involved in fitness my whole life, from competing in Olympic weightlifting at age 13 to qualifying to compete at the national level in Men's Physique at age 20, I experienced firsthand the importance of feeling confident in what I wear. Whether in the gym, running errands, or walking the dog, when I feel good about what I wear and how I look, it motivates me. It inspires me to go for one more rep, one more lap, and makes me walk a little taller. From that inspiration emerged the idea for ENV Activewear and the Infinity Collection." Founded in Niagara Falls, Ontario in 2020, ENV Activewear is a Canadian activewear brand. ENV Activewear is built for the mindful, modern individual who is obsessed with progression and being the best version of themselves every single day. The clothing brand prides itself on high-quality, cutting-edge designs and pieces that are versatile and have functionality in and out of the gym.For more information about ENV Activewear, go to https://envactivewear.ca/ Media DetailsWebsite URL: https://envactivewear.ca/ Company Name: ENV ActivewearEmail address: envactivewear@ gmail.com SOURCE: ENV Activewear
PR-Inside.com: 2023-05-19 21:01:37

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 488 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

GUJARAT, INDIA / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / The Gerino Coin Project, an innovative blockchain-based platform, is excited to announce the completion of several significant milestones, marking a major step towards its anticipated launch. The project completed the Know Your Customer (KYC) verification and auditing process, solidifying its legitimacy and transparency. Furthermore, the Gerino NFT platform is set to be unveiled shortly, facilitating a marketplace for unique digital assets.Gerino Coin Project has diligently undergone a comprehensive auditing process by the renowned blockchain auditing firm, BlockSAFU. After a meticulous examination, BlockSAFU has declared Gerino as a legitimate platform with claims that are verified to be 100 percent true. As a result, Gerinocoin has earned the distinction of being part of the exclusive group of KYC-certified cryptocurrencies. For more detailed information, users can refer to the official report by BlockSAFU, available at: https://github.com/blocksafu111/kyc/blob/main/KYC-Gerinocoin-by-BlockSAFU.pdf The Gerino Coin Project's Initial Coin Offering (ICO) sale is underway, allowing participants to secure their tokens. The 5th phase is active, with subsequent steps scheduled to follow soon. The exclusive deal is concluding on the 10th of June. Users can also enhance communication and transparency with Gerino's new launch of an official blog that will provide the latest updates on the project's developments, industry insights, and educational content.Looking ahead to the second quarter, Gerino is preparing for the anticipated launch of the Gerino NFT Marketplace. This platform provides a wide range of digital assets, enabling users to explore, purchase, and sell unique NFTs. Furthermore, Gerino is pleased to announce the launch of Gerinocoin on Pinksale, creating an opportunity for individuals to participate in its upcoming projects.At Gerino, the team's value is building strong connections with its community. Therefore, the company introduces the Gerino Public Face, allowing people to get to know the individuals behind Gerino, hear their stories, and witness their dedication to transforming the crypto industry.About the Company - GerinoGerino establishes a crypto trading experience, making it the preferred choice for traders. By leveraging its copy trading feature, users can benefit from the strategies of experienced traders. The platform provides access to the largest crypto resource available, Gerino's Intelligence Portal, which keeps traders informed and updated with comprehensive news and updates on crypto, blockchain, and NFTs. Moreover, Gerino's Zero loss feature generates the services that any losses encountered in crypto trading can be recovered with the assistance of a team of experienced traders.In addition, Gerino is excited to announce the upcoming release of Whitepaper 2.0. The comprehensive document will offer in-depth insights into the project's vision, roadmap, and technical details, providing stakeholders with a complete understanding of Gerino's objectives.For further details, potential users can visit the important links related to the project: https://linktr.ee/gerino Company DetailsOrganization: Scopway Business Private LimitedContact Person: Alok PandeyWebsite: https://gerinocoin.io/ Email: info@ gerinocoin.io City: SurajState: GujaratCountry: IndiaSOURCE: Scopway Business Private Limited
Subscription to paid content

Gain access to all that Trend has to offer, as well as to premium, licensed content via subscription or direct purchase through a credit card.
PR-Inside.com: 2023-05-19 16:30:46

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 483 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / Hagens Berman urges Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) investors who suffered substantial losses submit your losses now.Class Period: July 15, 2019- Feb. 22, 2023Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 12, 2023Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/MPW Contact An Attorney Now: MPW@ hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (MPW) Securities Fraud Class Action:According to the complaint, Defendants made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose that Medical Properties: (1) masked the distressed state of its tenants through sale-leaseback arrangements that were essentially round-robin transactions in that they allowed debt-saddled tenants to meet their obligations in the short term; (2) fraudulently transferred hundreds of millions of dollars in what amounted to a bailout of financially distressed tenants; and (3) concealed its fraudulent transfers with fake construction projects with purportedly high capital expenses, despite the fact that the company entered into "triple-net leases" that obligated its tenants to pay a significant portion of expenses.Investors began to learn the truth on Jan. 26, 2023, when Viceroy Research published a scathing report accusing Medical Properties of "engaging in billions of dollars of uncommercial transactions with its tenants and their management teams in order to mask a pervasive revenue round-robin scheme and/or theft." Then, on Feb. 2, 2023, Viceroy sent and published its letter to Medical Properties' auditor highlighting Viceroy's concerns about severely distressed tenants and round-tripped revenues, uncollectible accrued revenues and impaired asset values.Finally, on Feb. 23, 2023, the company announced Q4 and full-year 2022 financial results that included a whopping $171 million impairment charge relating to four properties leased to Prospect and a write-off of $112 million on unbilled Prospect rent.These revelations drove the price of Medical Properties shares sharply lower."We're focused on investors' losses and proving Medical Properties cooked its books," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.If you invested in Medical Properties and have substantial losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm's investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman.Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Medical Properties should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email MPW@ hbsslaw.com # # #About Hagens BermanHagens Berman is a global plaintiffs' rights complex litigation law firm focusing on corporate accountability through class-action law. The firm is home to a robust securities litigation practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com . Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.Contact:Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895SOURCE: Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
PR-Inside.com: 2023-05-19 17:00:20

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 522 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

ROCK HILL, SC / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / Employers are required to issue pay stubs to their employees. This shows proof of the employee's income, it also provides proof that the employer withheld taxes as required. Both of these are crucial when it comes time to file taxes with the IRS each year.Many small businesses and sole proprietors struggle to find a cost-effective solution to creating professional paystubs. 123PayStubs, the leading paystub generator offers an easy, affordable, and secure solution for creating pay stubs instantly.New Pay stub Template Designs from 123PayStubs123PayStubs offers simple and user-friendly technology to help create accurate paystubs, their application also offers professional paycheck stubs that can be customized to match the look of any business. With a wide range of templates, business owners can easily find a design to match the look and feel of their business.123PayStubs has added four new professional paystub templates to help their clients create pay stubs that meet their needs and business branding.Accurate Tax Calculations with 123PayStubsOne of the most difficult aspects of creating paystubs is calculating the Federal and State taxes correctly. 123PayStubs provides accurate tax calculations to simplify the process, allowing their clients to create accurate paystubs in minutes.This includes calculating the Federal and State tax withholdings, FICA taxes (social security and Medicare taxes), and accurate year-to-date (YTD) information. Small business owners and sole proprietors can get started and create their first paystub for free with 123PayStubs. They can continue to create pay stubs starting at $3.99 per paystub.Generate PayStubs Anywhere with 123PayStubsHaving the ability to create and share accurate paystubs on the go is a powerful tool that all small business owners and sole proprietors should have at their fingertips, and the 123PayStubs mobile app makes this possible.123PayStubs is available in the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and the Galaxy Store. Downloading and getting started with the mobile app is free.When asked about the year ahead, the CEO and Co-founder of SPAN Enterprises, the parent company of 123PayStubs, Agie Sundaram, responded stating, "The team at 123PayStubs continues to expand their offerings to best suit their client's needs. By adding new pay stub templates, we are providing our clients with even more easy and affordable options to choose from for their business".About 123PayStubs123PayStubs is an online pay stub stub generator that provides unique features at an affordable price point. Accurate tax calculations are built into the application to ensure that employers meet IRS requirements for withholding tax amounts from their employee's wages.123PayStubs is a well-rounded solution for "do-it-yourself" payroll, with IRS e-filing available for quarterly payroll Form 941 and 941-X, and annual Forms 940, 1099-MISC, 1099-NEC, and Form W-2.Visit 123 paystubs.com to generate pay stubs in minutes.About SPAN EnterprisesBased 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 123PayStubs, TaxBandits, Tax990, ACAwise, ExpressExtension, and TruckLogics.For any media inquiries, please reach out to Stephanie Glanville, Content Writer at stephanie@ spanenterprises.com SOURCE: 123PayStubs
PR-Inside.com: 2023-05-19 04:00:19

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 988 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATESVANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 18, 2023 / Victory Battery Metals (CSE:VR)(FWB:VR6)(OTC PINK:VRCFF) ("Victory" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a private placement financing of up to 6,000,000 units of the Company (the "Units") at a price of $0.05 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $300,000 (the "Offering").Each Unit will be comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one additional Common Share at a price of $0.07 per Common Share for a period of two years following the closing date of the Offering, subject to accelerated expiry as described herein. If, at any time, the closing price of the Company's Common Shares is greater than $0.20 per Common Share for 10 consecutive days, including days where there is no trading, the Company may provide written notice (a "Warrant Acceleration Notice") to the holders that the expiry of the Warrants shall be accelerated to a date that is not less than 30 days from the date of the Warrant Acceleration Notice.Subject to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and in accordance with National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-106"), the Units will be offered for sale to purchasers resident in Canada, except Quebec, and/or other qualifying jurisdictions pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of NI 45-106 (the "Listed Issuer Financing Exemption"). Because the Offering is being completed pursuant to the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption, the securities issued in the Offering will not be subject to a hold period pursuant to applicable Canadian securities laws.There is an offering document ("Offering Document") related to the Offering that can be accessed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.victorybatterymetals.com . Prospective investors should read the Offering Document before making an investment decision.The Company intends to use net proceeds of the Offering for working capital requirements and other general corporate purposes.In connection with the Offering and as disclosed in the Offering Document, the Company may pay finder's fees in cash or securities or a combination of both, as permitted by CSE policy and applicable securities laws.The closing date of the Offering is expected to occur on or about May 25, 2023, or such later date or dates as the Company may determine, and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, including approval from the Canadian Securities Exchange.The securities of the Company have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. 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 absent registration or an available exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there by any sale of the securities referenced in this press release, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.For further information, please contact:Mark Ireton, PresidentTelephone: +1 (236) 317 2822 or TOLL FREE 1 (855) 665-GOLD (4653)E-mail: info@ victorybatterymetals.com About Victory Battery MetalsVICTORY BATTERY METALS (CSE: VR) is a publicly traded diversified investment corporation with mineral interests in North America. The Company is also actively seeking other exploration opportunities.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 StatementsCertain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involvesubstantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial position, business strategy, use of proceeds,corporate vision, proposed acquisitions, partnerships, joint-ventures and strategic alliances and co-operations, budgets, cost and plans and objectives of or involvingthe 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 certainactions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. A number ofknown 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 ofwhich are beyond the control of the Company including, but not limited to, the impact of general economicconditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals. 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-lookingstatements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities laws.SOURCE: Victory Battery Metals Corp.
PR-Inside.com: 2023-05-19 21:55:13

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 1070 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

SHERMAN OAKS, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / Osipov Law Group recently opened its doors in the San Fernando Valley, offering services in criminal defense and personal injury law, where effective communication skills can make all the difference in obtaining a favorable outcome for clients. Anna Osipov, a California native, has extensive experience as both a former in-house counsel for nationally recognized insurance companies and as a plaintiff's counsel, and her criminal defense experience, combined with her stint in the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, has molded her into a formidable legal magician. According to Osipov, "Whenever you can figure out how the opposing counsel works-see their cards, read their mind, so to speak-you can predict how they think." "Once you decipher their strategy, you surprise them with something very unexpected. Then you have the advantage." "When I first started watching trials, I quickly learned that the ability to speak to jurors and command the attention of everyone in the room is a valuable skill set," she said. "It's not like in movies where both teams are legal eagles, thinking fast with these great, pithy quotes. But if you are quick and can pivot fast, you definitely have the advantage." Her experience in criminal defense has honed her ability to think on her feet, read her opposition, and effectively communicate with judges, jurors, and other courtroom personnel. This storytelling skill set has proven invaluable in personal injury cases as well, where effective communication can make all the difference in obtaining a favorable outcome for her clients.In addition to her extensive legal experience, Anna Osipov possesses a distinctive advantage-an exceptionally fast memory that can be likened to a secret weapon. While she clarifies that her memory is not precisely photographic, it has proven to be a tremendous asset in her practice. This remarkable ability enables her to recall crucial details, analyze complex legal situations effectively, and strategize with precision.After years of working for corporate counsel and several other law firms, Osipov has fulfilled a lifelong dream and established her own firm.For as long as she can remember, Osipov wanted to be an attorney. "When I was five or six years old, I used to pretend I was a lawyer," she says from her new office in Sherman Oaks. "I would walk around with paper and pencil, asking questions and looking for clues. My mom made fun of me because I wouldn't go anywhere without that notebook." Her drive to be an attorney propelled her through high school and college. "I started out in English literature, but I was still so obsessed with wanting to be an attorney that when I interviewed at Southwestern Law School, I discovered they had a SCALE program where you could get your juris doctor in 22 months. Two years instead of three? It was designed just for me!"While some of her fellow students took advantage of the 2009 financial crisis to take time off and tour the world, Osipov sent out resumes and did interviews. "The economy was a mess," she recalls. "I desperately wanted to be a prosecutor, but nobody, and I mean nobody in the government was hiring. After doing a short stint in the prosecutor's office, and at the worst possible time to graduate, I landed a job as a criminal defense attorney." "In addition, I am proud to mention that I hold active bar memberships in California, Maryland, and Washington DC, and I am also admitted to the Court of Appeals in Maryland. Throughout my legal career, I have successfully practiced law in state and federal courts across the United States, gaining valuable experience and expertise in various jurisdictions." As the Osipov Law Group offers services in both criminal defense and personal injury law, a big focus of her practice is on personal injury cases, where her experience as a former in-house counsel for insurance companies provides a unique perspective on the myriad of legal and financial questions involved in personal injury claims."This is where I learned what happens in the background," she said. "By effectively penetrating the strategies of opponents and anticipating their moves, one can secure a significant advantage." Osipov understands first-hand how insurance adjusters evaluate claims and how they may work to limit the amount of compensation paid to victims."Insurance companies are in the business of making money," says Osipov. "They have teams of lawyers and adjusters whose job it is to protect the company's bottom line. My job is to level the playing field and ensure that my clients receive what they deserve." Personal injury cases involve medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and a host of other issues. As an insurance defense attorney, Osipov gained insight into how insurance companies operate, how they evaluate claims, and how they defend against personal injury lawsuits.Personal injury cases can have devastating impacts on the lives of victims, as well as their families. Besides physical injuries, victims may suffer emotional trauma, financial hardship, and other serious consequences. The personal toll can be devastating when the victim cannot work or requires long-term medical care.Compensation for damages can be pursued through a lawsuit. "These types of cases demand a thorough understanding of the legal system," Osipov said. "Having a skilled attorney on your side can make all the difference in obtaining the compensation you not only deserve but desperately need." One of the key challenges in pursuing a personal injury claim is proving fault. To obtain compensation, the victim must show that the other party was liable for the accident or injury. This requires a thorough investigation, which may include gathering witness statements, reviewing medical records, and consulting with experts."Personal injury cases can be challenging enough, but when criminal charges are involved, the stakes are even higher," Osipov said. This is where her extensive experience as a criminal defense attorney, spanning over 13 years, becomes invaluable. Having handled a wide range of cases, including RICO, murder, fraud, rape, theft, and drug-related offenses, both at the state and federal levels across multiple jurisdictions, she possesses a comprehensive understanding of the criminal justice system. With licenses in three jurisdictions and a track record of providing effective representation, Osipov is well-equipped to navigate the complexities of criminal and
Seven months after instituting a N1 billion lawsuit against Halima Abubakar, Apostle Suleman Johnson, the Founder of Omega Fire Ministries International, is set to bring his case before the Nollywood actress in court.

In October 2022, the preacher, through his legal representatives, Ephesus Lex Attorneys & Solicitors, brought Abubakar before Justice. J. Enobie Obanor of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in the Abuja Judicial Division.

Following the courts order, substituted services of the court processes were advertised in the Daily Trust Newspaper on the 18th of December 2022.

On the 27th of March when the case was due for hearing, neither the actress nor her counsel appeared before the Honourable Court.

The case was then adjourned to the 6th and 7th June for hearing.

In the latest development, Apostle Sulemans lawyers say they are ready to press and establish their clients claims for damages against Abubakar whom they described as the queen of social medias pity.

Open and close

Lawyers to Apostle Suleman said that they are ready to open and close their clients case during the two days allotted to them by the court.

A statement signed by Abdul Mahmud, Counsel to Apostle Suleiman says that the goal is to secure justice for his client who has been unjustly attacked, scurrilously maligned and criminally defamed by an actress whose sinister intention is to blackmail our client for monetary gains.

Mr Mahmud further stated that he will expose her lies and show that she is unwilling to subject her pack of lies and unfounded claims to judicial scrutiny, hence her refusal to file her defence against the lawsuit of our client and or to enter an appearance before the court.

We are ready to open and close our clients case during the two days the Honourable Court has in its judicious powers allocated to our client in its docket, he said.

Background

In 2022, Abubakar, on several occasions accused the controversial cleric of reneging on his promise to marry her.

She also said he was behind an undisclosed life-threatening ailment that had plagued her for years.

The preacher then issued a cease and desist notice to the actress.

The cleric accused her of publishing malicious, defamatory, and demeaning statements about him on several microblog sites, chiefly Gistlover.

This did not deter Ms Abubakar who announced that she had quit acting as she went ahead to grant more interviews of her alleged romance with the preacher.

This led the Apostle to seek a court order to restrain her from further comments, and publish a retraction of her earlier statements in five national dailies within three days from Thursday.

He also demanded that she deliver a letter stating her full assurance and undertaking that she will desist from publishing previous and further defamatory statements against him.

She must also repay him for all costs incurred in defending and protecting his reputation.

Interestingly, Ms Abubakar, who announced her exit from the movie industry in October 22, is yet to respond to any of the fiery clerics latest threats

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The much-anticipated 14th Commencement Ceremony of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), scheduled for May 27, has the potential to become a watershed in the history of the prestigious institution.

Graduation events build up their own momentum, and no two events tell the same story. Nonetheless, this years graduation at AUN will be unique and memorable for the graduating seniors, their families and loved ones, and the community at large. For the graduating students, it marks the end of a remarkable personal journey for academic excellence and self-discovery in a university campus in Sub-Saharan Africa that compares with the best anywhere in the world regarding learning and residential facilities. They would be ending one crucial life journey and embarking on another. As they make choices and physically depart the campus that was their comfort zone for the past four or five years, theirs is a mix of joy, sadness, and great expectations.

The graduating students and their parents will converge on one point though. It is not the same students who enrolled at AUN four or five years ago who will graduate on May 27. The transformation has been phenomenal in content, character, and attitude. The AUN experience has a comprehensive and permanent effect on those who receive it.

AUNs American-style liberal arts education has a unique learning approach that encourages critical thinking and creativity in students. A country like Nigeria, with a fast-growing youth population and expanding opportunities in the ICT, technology, and service sectors, will increasingly depend on graduates of AUN-style education who have received an education that challenges their critical aptitude and can think outside the box.

A liberal arts education, in the American tradition, is interdisciplinary and aims to equip students for success in a modern, interconnected world. For example, at the American University in Nigeria, all students must take courses in writing, mathematics, algebra, science, history, language proficiency, civic and cultural studies, entrepreneurship, logic, information and communication technology, and community service learning, regardless of their intended field of study.

The outcome is a graduate with all the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in their chosen field. It is axiomatic that students who pursue a liberal arts education are more likely to think critically, solve problems creatively, and grow into influential leaders.

The AUN-style liberal arts education is, arguably, best suited for a developing country like Nigeria which requires a new generation of leaders who are not afraid to raise their voices or take risks in considering their options; graduates confident in applying global solutions to local problems. It is a model that emphasises a strong ethical foundation, analytical thinking, independent-mindedness, excellent communication skills, and interdisciplinary knowledge of the complex modern world.

The small class size is another distinguishing feature of the American educational model obtained at AUN. It provides the latitude for professors to better cater to each students needs. The learning curve at AUN is intense and never passive. Students must engage analytically with course materials and contribute their ideas and perspectives. As one student put it, inside the Class at AUN, there are no stupid questions. They are expected to participate actively in a class by asking questions, discussing thoughtfully and knowledgeably with classmates and lecturers, and confidently defending their arguments. Thanks to the small class sizes, AUN students and teachers can spend more time constructively interacting with one another.

Students of the American University in Nigeria also get a highly valued strong ICT foundation. The university requires all its students, regardless of major, to take technology and computing courses and use computers for all academic activities. Those who have interacted with them in the larger society confirm that AUN graduates are tech-savvy. It is no coincidence. High-speed Internet, wireless technology services, and depth in bandwidth coverage make the AUN campus one of the most technologically advanced educational institutions in sub-Saharan Africa.

AUNs widespread adoption of learning technology also enhances academic integrity. Because of AUNs zero-tolerance policy on academic dishonesty, checking for plagiarism in written assignments is simplified for students and their professors. It is safe to say that AUN students are better equipped to succeed in todays complex knowledge economy not by a cut-and-paste approach but by being innovative, more motivated and confident in decision-making.

As one of the graduating seniors this year succinctly put it while addressing a class of incoming students: Choosing AUN as your place of higher education will prove to be one of the best decisions you make for your future. You have all you need to not only get by as those who pass through it stand out in their respective careers. Ms. Halima Mohammed, the President of the AUN Student Government Association, was referring to the vast opportunities and resources available at the university to students.

The Politics and International Studies Major urged incoming students to discover their passions and develop their full potential using the universitys many opportunities.

Many of my new classmates and I were extremely reserved during our first few months at AUN, according to Ms Mohammed. We used to be shy about raising our hands and voices in class, but now we have much more self-assurance. This is how AUN changes you, and I know that every one of you will push yourself beyond your limits and accomplish wonderful things thanks to the inspiring lectures and unwavering encouragement of your fellow students.

She was referring to the numerous academic support services at AUN, including the Writing Centre, the Math Resource Centre, the Academic Advising and Retention Unit, and the Career Services Unit, which helps prepare students for post-graduation careers and assists them secure internship and work-study places to earn helpful work experience in blue-chip firms while in School. She was also referring to the numerous academic organisations like the Honor Society, which organises peer-to-peer tutoring classes for struggling students, and extracurricular activities like the Art Club, the Women Leadership Society, the Entrepreneurship Club, the Sustainability Club, the Public Speaking Club, and others which groom students for leadership and decision making.

As they are joined by families and loved ones to celebrate their graduation, AUNs industry-ready graduates will have great expectations in the months and years ahead. If they choose to further their studies, they will be in the same company as hundreds of AUN alums studying or have graduated from some reputable graduate schools in Europe, Asia, or North America.

Should they choose to start their own businesses, they would find that the rich entrepreneurial education and practical field experience they received at AUN adequately prepared them to manage enterprises, big or small, and become successful corporate leaders.

Those joining the labour force will fit in perfectly as solution providers and change agents under any given scenario. The AUN Career Services Office would have groomed them for a lifelong career.

Mr Okereke is executive director, marketing and communications, at AUN. He can be reached via danokereke@gmail.com.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The G7 announced plans to restrict the trade in diamonds with Russia in an effort to cut the revenues that fund Moscows ongoing war against Ukraine.

Leaders of the G7 countries announced the new sanctions in a joint statement on Friday, the first day of their three-day summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

The statement said there would also be cooperation with partner countries to enforce the measures.

The new sanctions will increase the costs to Russia and those who are supporting its war effort, according to the statement, which was approved by the heads of state and governments of the US, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Japan and Canada as well as the top representatives of the European Union (EU).

However, the precise details of how the sanctions on Russian diamonds will work were not immediately released.

According to EU sources, diamond-tracing technology will be used to ensure that Russian diamonds can still be identified after being resold via other countries such as India or the United Arab Emirates.

In the EU, the trade in Russian diamonds has already fallen by around 80 per cent as a result of voluntary commitments.

But there have not yet been formal EU restrictions on Russian diamonds, in part because of resistance from Belgium, a major global centre of diamond trading.

Russia is the worlds largest producer of rough diamonds. The trade in gemstones is an important industry for the country and a significant source of income.

State diamond mining group, Alrosa, had revenues of 332 billion rubles (around $4 billion) in 2021, the last year in which it disclosed revenue figures.

(dpa/NAN)

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The five-day warning strike embarked on by doctors under the aegis of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has continued to disrupt health services across public tertiary hospitals in Nigeria.

PREMIUM TIMES reporters observed that health activities were largely disrupted in some hospitals in Nigerias capital city Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states on Thursday, the second day of the strike.

The doctors commenced strike in the early hours of Wednesday following the failure of the Nigerian government to meet their demands.

The doctors, among other issues, are demanding the immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), tangible steps on the upward review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) and payment of all salary arrears owed its members, since 2015.

The doctors also want immediate massive recruitment of clinical staff in the hospitals and abolishment of the bureaucratic limitations to the immediate replacement of doctors and nurses who leave the system.

They also want the immediate review of hazard allowance by all the state governments as well as private tertiary health institutions where any form of residency training is done.

Although the Nigerian government said negotiation is ongoing to halt the industrial action, the doctors said they have not been contacted for talks.

The resident doctors comprise the bulk of medical personnel in Nigerias tertiary hospitals; hence health activities are mostly crippled when they are on strike.

Ogun State

The ongoing strike has crippled health activities in some public hospitals in Ogun State, South-west Nigeria.

When our correspondent visited the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) and the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, both in Abeokuta, the states capital, he noticed that resident doctors fully complied with the directive of their national association.

At the FMC, some patients were reportedly handed over to consultants while some have been discharged to prevent morbidity owing to inadequate medical attention during the strike period.

Although some patients are still in the hospitals, there are not enough personnel to attend to them.

A patient, who identified as Adeola, was seen moving out of a ward with the help of her caregiver, Michael. Barely audible, she said she could no longer stay at the hospital.

I cant just keep staying here. With what I have seen since yesterday, I dont think things can get better any time soon. Doctors were never enough for the number of patients but they are now nowhere to be found, she said.

In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the chairperson of NARD at the FMC, Abeokuta, Osundara Tope, said the resident doctors had stopped caring for patients until the strike ends.

We have handed over the care of patients to consultants and the nurses are in the wards to also assist them. Some of them may want to refer while some of them may want to manage the patients on their own. So, for some of these patients, I will just enjoin them that they can always liaise with consultants of the ward and see what can be done.

Lagos University Teaching Hospital

At the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), while some patients confirmed they are being attended to, relatives of other patients expressed dissatisfaction over the unavailability of doctors.

When PREMIUM TIMES visited the paediatric department of the hospital, two patients relatives who were in the waiting room complained about the student doctors attending to them since the commencement of the strike.

Christiana Olatunji, one of the relatives, said that since her daughter-in-law delivered a premature baby on Thursday in Agbado, Ogun State, they have been to four different hospitals before they were referred to LUTH on Friday.

She said since the doctors strike commenced, they have been seeing different faces requesting different tests, while they still source blood for the premature baby.

We were told the child needs blood, only for them to say the doctor is no longer available, and then nurses and student doctors took over, she said.

We have been doing different tests, and we have spent more than N500,000 since then.

Similarly, the other relative, identified as Mrs Olatunji, said her biological sister who also delivered a premature baby in a private hospital in Lawanson area of Lagos, was referred to LUTH on Sunday.

She also acknowledged that the doctors who attended to them have stopped coming since the strike started on Wednesday, adding that she is afraid the student doctors arent yet qualified to attend to patients.

Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES, the President of the Association of Residents Doctors (ARD), LUTH chapter, Kemi Abiloye, said the members have complied fully with the warning strike.

Ms Abiloye said apart from the general demands, LUTH does not have specific demands, urging the government to grant their demands accordingly.

As long as we have adequate funding for the health care system, the hospital can function well, and when there is infrastructural development, people are happy to work in an environment they choose to work in, she said.

Ms Abiloye emphasised that the government should also withdraw with immediate effect the ill-conceived bill seeking to compel medical and dental practitioners to practise for five years before considering relocation abroad.

She noted that the existing issues contribute to the brain drain in the country, and it wont stop until they are addressed.

Nigerias capital city, Abuja

At the time PREMIUM TIMES visited the Asokoro district hospital, many patients were waiting to be attended to.

A patient, Chidi Moses, said he was unaware of the strike before leaving his house for the hospital.

Mr Moses said although he cannot afford a private hospital, he would have consulted one of the pharmacies around his environs for treatment.

I came to the hospital this morning with the hope of seeing a doctor and get back to work before 12 p.m. but look at the time now, we are all still waiting, he said.

Another patient who identified as Adebola said she travelled from Zuba to access health services at the Asokoro hospital.

She said although services are slow, she will wait until it gets to her turn.

I cannot afford to visit a private hospital at the moment. So no matter how long it takes, I will wait, she said.

At the (FMC) Jabi, skeletal health services were ongoing. Patients were still trooping in and out of the hospital with the hope of getting treatment.

Aside from the resident doctors, other workers were on duty to ensure patients get some required health services.

Sunday Alabi, a patient who had already received treatment, said he waited for a long time before seeing a consultant. Mr Alabi said so far he believes the hospital management is doing their best to ensure all patients receive adequate care despite the strike action.

Strike continues

The chairperson of NARD at the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Aro, Odubakun Kazeem, said patients in the facility were not being attended to by resident doctors.

Mr Kazeem said the strike would continue until the government meets their demands.

I can confirm to you that we are complying fully. The strike is avoidable because most of the issues have dragged on for long. We have always demanded that the right things be done but the government fails to do its own part, he said.

One of many

Health workers strike is not a new phenomenon in Nigeria. These essential workers, especially medical doctors, under different umbrellas, have embarked on multiple industrial actions to drive home their demands.

The frequent strikes have continued to cripple the delivery of quality healthcare services in the country.

Before the doctors downed tools on Wednesday, NARD had, in January, issued an ultimatum to the government to resolve issues affecting its members, including the immediate implementation and payment of the new hazard allowance and arrears.

The resident doctors on 29 April further issued a two-week ultimatum to the government to meet its demands or face industrial action.

But the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, described the doctors demands as absurd, noting that the resident doctors are suffering from entitlement syndrome.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


After stalling for days, the Plateau State Police Command on Friday said 87 people were killed in Tuesdays attack on villages in the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The police also said 39 people were injured during the incident and are currently receiving treatment in various hospitals in the state.

Alabo Alfred, the spokesperson of the state police command, gave the figure in a statement.

Mr Alfred said seven suspects were arrested in connection to the attack.

After calm was restored to the communities, more bodies were recovered, which is part of the thirty (30) earlier reported. The figures are as follows: (1) Kubat Village 27, (2) Kantoma Village 31, (3) Alagon 6, (4) Kubwas 8, (5) Dumnang 9, (6). Shangal 1, (7) Gwet 3 and (8) Washna 2

As at the time of filling this report, Manret Hospital had about Fifteen (15) injured persons, Infinity Hospital had over Eight (8), Allah Nakowa Hospital had over Sixteen (16), while at Mangu Cottage Hospital, there are an unspecified number of persons receiving treatment there also,  he added.

We are pleased to inform the general public that in addition to the Five (5) suspects earlier announced, two (2) more suspects have been arrested, and exhibits recovered from them include two (2) cutlasses, one (1) dagger and some amount of money suspected to have been stolen from the houses they looted, as they were all arrested in the act of committing the crime by officers from one of our tactical team.

The suspects are presently in our custody and will be charged to court for prosecution after our investigations are concluded. As part of the Commands efforts to maintain peace and order, there has been an intensified security presence in and around Mangu Local Government Area.

The Command extends its condolences to the families of the deceased and assures them that everything possible is being done to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice.

 The CP also urged the good people of Plateau State to remain calm and cooperate with the Police and other Security agencies in their efforts to maintain law and order in the State through the timely reportage of suspicious activities in and around their environment, as security is everybodys business.

He also assures them that the Police will continue to work tirelessly to ensure the safety and security of all the residents of Plateau State, the statement read.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has trained 27 prosecutors on the investigation and prosecution of crimes against journalists and the protection of freedom of expression.

The 3-day capacity building workshop from 17 to 19 May, held in Abuja, focused on the freedom of expression, the safety of journalists and access to information.

It also provided the participants with practical and theoretical tools to carry out their responsibility of promoting and upholding the rule of law.

The training was supported through the Multi-Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists which was part of UNESCOs Judges Initiative aimed at reinforcing capacities of judicial actors.

The Officer-in-Charge of UNESCO Office Abuja, Philippe Delange, observed that between 2006 and 2020, over 1,200 journalists were killed around the world.

Mr Delange said that according to the UNESCO Observatory of killed journalists, about nine out of ten cases of the killings remained judicially unresolved.

Represented by Magdalene Anene-Maidoh, he said that such crimes had repercussions on the victims and their families and hindered freedom of expression, which was fundamental to democracy and human rights.

A free, independent, pluralistic media, working in safe conditions, can serve as a watchdog for democracy, ensuring free flow of information and the exercise of the publics right to access information.

Journalists, when free to investigate, analyse and diffuse news are essential for ensuring openness, accountability and transparency.

As such, UNESCO directly contributes to the achievement of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, especially Sustainable Development Goal 16.10.

The goal seeks to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels, he said.

The official said the UN Plan of Action was established within the UN System to address these issues by bringing together UN agencies, national authorities, judicial actors, media and civil societies.

He added that judicial actors had the role of reinforcing the Prevention, Protection and Prosecution of crimes committed against journalists.

Mr Delange further said the workshop provided the platform to discuss, exchange good practices and perspectives and refresh memories on international and regional standards on freedom of expression and the safety of journalists.

This is also to ensure that those accounted as responsible for attacks against journalists were prosecuted and tried, he said.

Mr Delange said the workshop would strengthen the rule of law and human rights in Nigeria, and support the role of prosecutors in protecting and ensuring an environment conducive to freedom of expression.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the participants were drawn from Lagos, Enugu, Anambra, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kano, Plateau, Gombe, Delta and Rivers States.

The event had in attendance the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Muhammed Abubakar, and stakeholders from the Ministry of Information and Culture, among others.

(NAN)

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


A former vice-chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Cyril Onwumechili, a professor, has died at the age of 91.

Mr Onwumechili served as OAUs vice-chancellor from 1979 to 1982, at the age of 47.

The university Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Olarewaju, confirmed the development in a statement on Friday.

The university extended condolences to the late professors family, friends, and loved ones.

Mr Olarewaju said the authorities at OAU received his death with a heavy heart and deep sadness.

Eulogy

The university vice-chancellor, Adebayo Bamire, a professor, is said to have described the late former VC as a detribalised Nigerian and a renowned academic of high repute.

According to the statement, Mr Bamire noted that the late professor championed progressive policies, fostered a vibrant academic community, and left an indelible mark on the university during his time as the vice-chancellor.

Under Professor Cyril Onwumechilis leadership, the university experienced remarkable growth and advancement in various fields of study, research, and outreach as he spearheaded strategic initiatives that fostered interdisciplinary collaborations, established partnerships with renowned institutions worldwide, and ensured the universitys relevance in an ever-evolving global landscape, he said.

He also described Mr Onwumechili as an exceptional scholar, renowned for his groundbreaking research as a Physicist.

In fact, Professor Onwumechili was a compassionate mentor, a trusted confidant whose genuine concern for the well-being of staff, students and faculty resonated deeply within the university community, fostering an environment of support, growth and collaboration, he added.

About Mr Onwumechili

Professor Cyril Onwumechili was born in Enugu State in 1932. He attended Kings College, Lagos.

He bagged a bachelors degree in Physics from the University of London in 1953 and a masters degree from the University of Ibadan in 1954. He also received a Doctorate degree from the University of London.

Professor Onwumechili became a professor of Physics at the age of 30 in 1962.

During his active years, he taught at the University of Ibadan and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. In 1979 at the age of 47, he was appointed the vice-chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly the University of Ife).

He was the first Nigerian Geophysicist and the second President of the Nigerian Academy of Science, elected in 1979.

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, on Thursday presented his credentials to Nigerias President Muhammadu Buhari.

The event which took place at the State House in Abuja officially marks the beginning of Mr Montgomerys posting to Nigeria.

He takes over from Catriona Laing who recently concluded four years as High Commissioner to Nigeria.

PREMIUM TIMES reported his appointment as Ms Laings successor.

It is great to be back in Nigeria. I look forward to working with the people of this great country, including those in government, in the private sector and in civil society, to do all I can to help build a more prosperous Nigeria and strengthen the partnership between our countries, Mr Montgomery said.

Married with two kids, a statement from the UK High Commission in Nigeria said the diplomat and his family are looking forward to their second stay in Nigeria.

Prior to becoming the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, he was the UK Executive Director at the World Bank Group Board from 2018 to 2022 in Washington DC, USA.

He has held various senior positions in the Department of International Development (DFID). These include Director for Asia, Caribbean & Overseas Territories Division, Country Director for Pakistan, and prior to that Country Director in Nigeria from 2009 to 2013.

Prior to these operational roles, Mr Montgomery was Deputy Director for Corporate Human Resources and Deputy Head in DFIDs Top Management Group. Earlier in his career, he had postings in the British High Commissions in Zambia, Bangladesh and India.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


A media aide to Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamafara State said Thursday his principal would not react to the allegations of N70 billion fraud levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier Thursday that the EFCC was investigating the governor for allegedly diverting about N70 billion he sourced as loan from a bank purportedly for executing projects across the local governments in the state.

When contacted on Thursday, Mr Matawalles Special Adviser on Media, Publicity and Enlightenment, Zailani Bappa, said the governor was at the tail end of his tenure and would not respond to EFCCs allegations.

The governor is finishing his term in two weeks time. I do not see any reason why he should react to EFCCs allegations, Mr Bappa said in a short telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday.

Mr Matawalle has about 10 days to spend in office as his tenure ends on 29 May. He will lose his immunity from prosecution when he leaves office.

Mr Bappa who said he was learning of the allegations against his principal from this reporter, noted that the EFCC as a federal government agency was at liberty to accuse anyone of wrongdoing.

The EFCCs announcement of the investigation of Mr Matawalle came barely 24 hours after the outgoing governor had attacked the commission.

Mr Matawalle had on Wednesday advised the EFCC to extend its investigations to Nigerias presidency and other top federal functionaries instead of focusing attention on outgoing governors.

He also asked the EFCC chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, to come clean on disposal of seized proceeds of corruption as well as plea bargain procedures on his watch.

Reacting to the governors statement, Osita Nwajah, EFCCs Director of Public Affairs, on Thursday, in Abuja, disclosed that Mr Matawalle whose four-term as governor ends on 29 May, allegedly diverted N70 million from the Zamfara State coffers.

This newspaper earlier reported how the outgoing governor allegedly cornered the funds that were received as a loan from a commercial bank.

Matawalles outburst is corruption fighting back

Alerting Nigerians to what described as the plots by some persons to discredit the anti-corruption agencys efforts in tackling sleaze, Mr Nwajah said Mr Matawalles outburst is product of paranoia- an uncomfortable exertion arising from the heat of EFCCs lawful activities.

He said every political transition era since EFCCs creation has been trailed by vicious attacks against the agency by persons who are under its investigation.

He explained that the governors tirade had nothing to do with EFCCs transparency in assets recovery and disposal.

Contrary to the claims by Matawalle, the Commission supervised an asset disposal exercise that was widely acclaimed as the most transparent in the countrys history. Proceeds of the open and transparent exercise have since been remitted into the coffers of the Federal Government, and are being deployed in the provision of infrastructure for Nigerians.

The commission further accused Mr Matawalle of hypocrisy for criticising its plea bargain procedure of which he has been a beneficiary.

Mr Nwajah revealed that Mr Matawalles investigation by the commission is the source of anxiety in Government House, Gusau, with the governor in mortal dread of his fate once he steps down as governor on May 29.

Mr Matawalles tenure in office is marked by escalation of insecurity with bandits freely kidnapping for ransom and sacking communities of residents.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The inaugural flight of Nigerian pilgrims for the 2023 Hajj exercise will depart the country for Saudi Arabia on 25 May, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria has disclosed.

The Chairman of the Commission, Zikrullah Hassan, announced this on Thursday at the inauguration of the media team for the 2023 exercise in Abuja.

Mr Hassan said pilgrims from Nasarawa State will be the first set to depart for Hajj.

He stated that the commission has concluded arrangements for the advance team to depart for Saudi Arabia on Sunday to prepare for the Nigerian delegation.

Every pilgrim will get value for money in terms of the money they paid for service.

Insha Allah, we are fully prepared, all registered Nigerian pilgrims will be airlifted. Our plan still remains that our advance team proceed to the holy land on the 21 May, which is just in three days.

An advanced team of Hajj officials will depart to the Holy land on Sunday to prepare for the reception of Nigerias pilgrims, he said.

Mr Hassan further disclosed that over 96,000 Nigerians are expected to participate in the 2023 Hajj.

Speaking to the media team, Mr Hassan urged it to cover the 2023 Hajj robustly while maintaining the ethics of journalism.

He assured the team that the commission is ready and willing to provide information when required. He noted that the team should equally obey the laws of the host country during the exercise.

In his remarks, the commissioner of planning, research and policy management, Sulayman Momoh, also called for collaboration between the commission and the media in making the 2023 Hajj seamless.

According to the timetable released by the Saudi authority, Saudi airports will open for the first flight carrying 2023 Hajj pilgrims on Sunday 21 May and close for arrivals of Hajj flights on Thursday 22 June.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


Gunmen in Rivers State, South-south Nigeria on Tuesday kidnapped a yet-to-be-ascertained number of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Emohua Local Government Area of the state.

Vanguard newspaper reported that the incident was disclosed by a witness who called a radio station in the city to announce the abduction of her sister-in-law and colleagues.

The abducted corps members were returning to Rivers State after their Orientation Camp in Ondo State when they were kidnapped around 9 p.m., on their way to the state capital, Port Harcourt.

According to Vanguard, the corps members were abducted on the Rumuji axis of the East-West Road. Five of them reportedly escaped and reported the incident to the Rumuji Divisional Police Station.

The police spokesperson in Rivers State, Grace Iringe-Koko who confirmed the incident on Thursday said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Okon Effiong had deployed a tactical team to track down the kidnappers.

According to the newspaper, Mrs Iringe-Koko said some of the abducted corps members have been rescued but did not give specific figures.

A witness, however, told the newspaper a different account of the incident contrary to the claim by the police spokesperson that some of the victims were rescued by the police.

Those the police say they have rescued were lucky corps members, who escaped the kidnap. What happened was that a group of corps members, who live in Rivers state, were on their way to Port Harcourt from the NYSC Camp in Ondo after passing through orientation in that state, the witness said.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


Lamidi Apapa definantly appeared at the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja on Friday, barely two days after supporters of the Labour Party (LP) mobbed him on court premises and warned him to stay away from the hearing of the partys case.

Mr Apapa, who stepped as the partys chair by virtue of a court order, was mobbed by party supporters after Wednesdays hearing in the case Labour Party filed to challenge the outcome of the 25 February presidential election.

Labour Party supporters who were suspicious of his intention about the petition had attacked him after Wednesdays proceedings for daring to seek to represent the party during the sitting of the court.

Mr Apapa and the partys suspended national chairman, Julius Abure, are entangled in a leadership tussle of the party.

The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, had restrained Mr Abure from parading himself as the national chairman of Labour Party.

Subsequently, Mr Apapa stepped into the void created by Mr Abures suspension.

At Wednesdays proceedings, Mr Apapa was booed and attacked when he attempted to brief journalists on behalf of Labour Party shortly after days sitting.

But vowing to assert his authority as LP chairman, Mr Apapa appeared on the court premises at 7:30 a.m on Friday.

He took a seat on the back row of the court. He was flanked by his supporters.

Mr Abure and Akin Osuntokun, Director General of Peter Obis presidential campaign council are seated at the litigants gallery.

The crack in the partys leadership emerged after it lost the presidential election.

The partys presidential candidate, Mr Obi, is challenging the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubus victory as Nigerias president-elect.

Mr Obi, who came third in the February presidential election, is urging the court to set aside Mr Tinubus election on account of fraudulent practices by Nigerias electoral commission, INEC.

He is at the court for Fridays proceedings where the five-member panel led by Haruna Tsammani will hear Mr Obis request for a live broadcast of the courts sittings.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


At least 30 members-elect of the House of Representativeson Thursday attended the formal declaration of Sani Jaji (APC-Zamfara) for the race for the speaker of the incoming 10th House of Representatives.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has anointed Tajudeen Abbas (APC-Kaduna) and Benjamin Kalu (APC-Imo) as its candidates for speaker and deputy speaker respectively but other aspirants in the party are refusing to queue behind the anointed candidates.

Seven of the aspirants have formed a group initially called the G-7 with the aim to support one of them against Mr Abbas, However, a member of the group, Alhassan Doguwa, on Wednesday withdrew from the group and declared his acceptance of the candidature of Mr Abbas.

On Thursday, Mr Jaji presented a six-point agenda, as he formally declared his interest in the race.

Speaking at the event on Thursday night at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, Mr Jaji pledged to strengthen the legislative process of the House, if elected speaker.

He said the issue of appropriation would top his priority, adding that it would be in line with the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).

Mr Jaji also said the issue of the economy, which he said currently poses a lot of challenges, would be addressed, through legislation that would provide policies that impact significantly on the citizenry.

On the choice of consensus candidacy by the APC, he said, the 10th Assembly would not be a House to anoint someone to discharge responsibility, adding that members would resist being made an extension of the 9th Assembly.

He said the battle to stop any anointed candidate was not borne out of personal interest, but in the interest of Nigerians.

Also, the current Deputy Speaker of the House, Ahmed Wase, said the G-7 is in solidarity with Mr Jaji, to strengthen the House and those who believe in democracy in the country as well as share the belief that power to choose resides in the people.

We need to speak in defence of democracy. We are not fighting, but for one person to own the institution, own Nigeria and push leadership to us without consultation, will be resisted.

I want to believe that the Shenanigans done by my brother will not stand the test of time, this group will produce the speaker. We are going to work for democracy and we shall not succumb to any blackmail,  he said.

Another aspirant, Yusuf Gagdi, while also speaking, said, the G-7 would soon begin consultations, and when we start, we shall be unstable, we are determined to ensure that one of us becomes the Speaker of the 10th House of Reps.

A member-elect, Dickson Takum from Benue, who stood in for another aspirant, Aliyu Betara, said,  choosing the leadership of the National Assembly has nothing to do with the word I, but We,

This, he said, was in line with the House rule, which emphasised that members shall, and not I shall.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that over 30 members-elect were in attendance, to show support for the aspiration of Mr Jaji.

(NAN)

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The Enugu State governor-elect, Peter Mbah, has sued the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for N20 billion at the Federal High Court, Abuja, for alleged conspiracy, deceit, and misrepresentation of facts.

This comes after Mr Mbah obtained the courts order barring the NYSC from disclaiming his certificate, which is usually issued to Nigerian graduates aged 30 and below who have successfully completed a mandatory a one-year national service organised by the body.

The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that the judge, Inyang Ekwo, issued the restraining order against the NYSC based on an ex-parte by Mr Mbahs counsel, Emeka Ozoani, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

In the suit, Mr Ubah urged the court to declare that he participated in the NYSC scheme vide a call-up letter number FRN/2001/800351; Lagos code LA/01/1532 and upon completion was issued certificate of National Service No. A808297.

The governor-elect also alleged that the corps conspired by fraudulent design, suppressed and misrepresented facts in suggesting that it did not issue his certificate of national service with number A808297.

According to him, this is a fact the NYSC knew as untrue, incorrect and which act, he says, constitutes an act of conspiracy.

He also urged the court to declare that the defendants were negligent and maliciously misrepresented facts, which facts the defendants know or ought to know as untrue and ought reasonably to have foreseen that damages would flow from such negligent misrepresentation of material facts.

NYSC participation

An affidavit filed in support of the suit said Mr Mbah, after graduating in law from the University of East London in 2000, returned to Nigeria.

It said he subsequently applied and was admitted into the Bar Part I programme of the Nigerian Law School.

The affidavit added that the plaintiff upon completing the Bar Part I exam had to wait for the Bar Part II programme.

That the plaintiff in view of the above was called up for the NYSC and was deployed to Lagos State, with the following particulars: Mbah Peter Ndubuisi; Call up letter No 01134613; reference No NYSC/FRN/2001/800351.

That the plaintiff in the course of his NYSC programme aforesaid and after six months of NYSC, the Nigerian law School scheduled the commencement of the Bar Part II programme usually called Bar Finals.

The plaintiff was offered admission to the Nigerian Law School by a letter dated 20 June 2002, the plaintiff applied to the State Director, NYSC, for deferment of NYSC year 2001/2002.

Pursuant to paragraph 12 the NYSC directorate headquarters vide Ref: NYSC/DHQ/CM/M/27 approved the plaintiffs application for deferment of NYSC Ref: LA/01/1532 of Aug.6, 2002.

That the plaintiff upon completion of his NYSC service, was issued the NYSC certificate No. A808297 dated 6 January 2003, certifying that he completed the one year of NYSC from 7 January 2002 to 6 January 2003.

No date has been fixed to hear the motion.

Public attention

Academic and NYSC records of politicians appointed to or getting into public office usually attract public scrutiny.

NYSC certificate is a prerequisite for degree holders to secure a job in Nigeria. Those who are above 30 are issued a certificate of exemption which is also tenable for securing a job.

But graduates who fail to participate in the NYSC scheme before clocking 30 are not entitled to an exemption certificate after crossing the eligibility age.

There are, however, controversies over whether the certificate is required to secure a political office, though nominees for political appointments are often required to submit it for screening.

A former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, had no NYSC certificate when he was appointed to the office in 2015.

Although Mr Adebayo insisted that he broke no law by failing to participate in the scheme as a law graduate, his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), cited the deficiency as the grounds for disqualifying him from contesting for its governorship ticket in Oyo State in 2018.

In 2018, a former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, who was removed from office after a PREMIUM TIMES investigation revealed that she had presented a forged NYSC certificate to be appointed to office in 2015.

READ ALSO: Gunmen abduct NYSC members in Rivers

But in July 2021, she got partial reprieve in a judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja that ruled that she did not require NYSC certificate to hold public office, but the court made no comment on the forgery allegation.

The court ruled that as of the time she graduated from a United Kingdom university at 22 in 1989, she was a British citizen who was not qualified to participate in the scheme. As such, the court ruled that, her non-participation in NYSC scheme could not prevent her from holding public office.

(NAN)

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja on Friday rejected an attempt by a lawyer, Oba Maduabuchi, to represent the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Awa Kalu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, had announced legal representation for the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, when Mr Maduabuchi suddenly stood up to also announce his appearance for the petitioners.

I have been instructed to represent the petitioners, Mr Maduabuchi said without disclosing the name of who briefed him to represent the party and Mr Obi.

His action drew murmurs from Labour Party supporters in the courtroom. Mr Maduabuchi. The lawyer is believed to be from the camp of Lamidi Apapa, who had emerged as the partys chair following a court order suspending Julius Abure as the partys substantive chair.

Reacting to the situation, the chairman of the five-member panel, Haruna Tsammani, said the court would not take two legal representations for the petitioners.

You didnt file a petition. So, you cannot announce appearance for the petitioners, Mr Tsammani retorted, to the cheers of people in the courtroom who thundered, as the court pleases.

Lending his voice to the issue, a member of the panel, Abba Mohammed, said the lawyer should have advised his client that you cannot have two counsel representing a client in one suit.

The Labour Party has been enmeshed in a leadership crisis that has led to the suspension of its national chairman, Julius Abure.

Abure Vs Apamba controversy

Following Mr Abures suspension by a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja in April, Lamidi Apapa who was earlier suspended by the party, assumed headship of the Labour Party.

On Wednesday, Mr Apapa clashed with Akin Osuntokun, Director General of Peter Obis presidential campaign council at the court.

He was later mobbed by riotous LP supporters shortly after Wednesdays proceedings. He defiantly returned to court on Friday.

Mr Maduabuchis conduct at Fridays proceedings might not be unconnected to the crisis rocking the party.

There have been insinuations concerning plots by Mr Apapa to take over LPs petition with a view to withdrawing it from court.

But he denied the allegation at a press briefing on Wednesday in Abuja.

On Friday, the court heard Mr Obis request concerning a live broadcast of the courts proceedings.

Thereafter, the court adjourned until 22 May for ruling on the application for a live broadcast of the courts sittings.

The court heard similar application by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and reserved its ruling for a yet-to-be announced.

Livy Uzoukwu, a SAN, had filed the petition on behalf of LP and Mr Obi challenging the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubus victory in the 25 February election.

Mr Obi who came third in the February presidential election urged the court to nullify Mr Tinubus victory and order a fresh poll.

In his preliminary response to the petition, the APC and Mr Tinubu prayed the court to dismiss the petition for lacking in merit.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners (NAGGMDP) has called on the Nigerian government to initiate measures to tackle factors surrounding medical tourism effectively.

The association made the call in a communique issued at the end of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on 14 May in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.

The President of the association, Sofiri Peterside, said the conviction of Nigerias former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, his wife, and a medical doctor in the United Kingdom had highlighted the multidimensional issues surrounding medical tourism in Nigeria.

Mr Peterside said this includes the gap in health infrastructure and the attitude of political officeholders on their preference for healthcare overseas despite the availability of such services in the country.

In light of Sen. Ekweremadus saga, NEC urged the government to initiate measures to tackle the factors surrounding medical tourism effectively, and consider placing some restrictions on political office holders from seeking medical care overseas, especially when such services (both human and infrastructural) are available in the country.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Nigerian politician and the two others were found guilty of organ trafficking in the UK and sentenced to prison.

They allegedly procured a 21-year-old Nigerian and flew him to the UK to harvest his kidney for their sick daughter. While Ekweremadu got nine years and eight months in prison, the court sentenced his wife, Beatrice, to four years and six months in jail, while the doctor Obeta, was sentenced to 10 years.

Medical tourism

Nigerian politicians, including President Muhammadu Buhari, are fond of seeking medical treatment overseas. Contrary to the promise he made to Nigerians to end the practice, the president has embarked on many medical trips since he came into office in 2015.

The latest of his numerous trips is for toothache treatment in the UK, barely three weeks to the end of his eight-year tenure.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported how medical tourism had been estimated to cost Nigeria over N576 billion ($1.2 billion) yearly, a part of that by the Nigerian leader, although the government never discloses the cost of Mr Buharis medical trips.

Other issues

The association urged the government at all levels to increase budgetary allocations to health, improve the welfare of health workers, improve the working conditions and health infrastructure and improve the security of healthcare workers and institutions.

It also called for the provision of regular inducement packages and other incentives, as these are the essential keys to tackling and reversing the ongoing brain drain in the healthcare sector of our country.

It said it was important for various state governments to urgently address the welfare issues confronting doctors working under their employ.

The communique reads in part: NEC commended the efforts of the government of Ekiti and Delta States in improving the welfare of their healthcare workers and admonished other state governments to follow suit by ensuring domestication of the reviewed hazard allowance, payment of 100 per cent CONMESS, payment of medical residency training grants, prompt payment of salaries/arrears and ensure prompt promotions.

On Benue, Ondo

The association also admonished the government of Benue State to show greater political will and commitment by paying the ten months salary arrears owed doctors and other health workers in the state, describing the development as a gross violation of extant labour laws for workers to be owed for such a duration.

It also implored the government of Ondo State to jettison the ongoing payment of enhanced salary structure and revert to payment of CONMESS as applicable in other states.

The association also declared as unacceptable and condemned the malicious and obnoxious bill seeking to prescribe a five-year mandatory service for Nigerian-trained Doctors.

READ ALSO: Doctors strike paralyses public hospitals in Ogun

It insisted that such a bill should be immediately jettisoned as it violates all known labour laws and infringes on the fundamental rights to freedom of movement.

NEC believes that the taxpayers money should not be wasted in calling for a public hearing on such bill. NEC profoundly commends the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige, for standing on the side of truth by strongly condemning the said bill, the association added.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) actively cooperates with Azerbaijan, Director of the ITU Regional Office in the CIS countries Natalia Mochu told Trend on the sidelines of the GSMA M360 Eurasia 2023 conference in Baku.

Natalia Mochu noted two priority areas - digital literacy assessment and cybersecurity, speaking about the main areas of ITU cooperation.

"We are working to assess the level of digital literacy of the population together with the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, as well as with the national statistical authority. This is quite a voluminous work that we have started literally this year," she said.

According to her, the results are positive at the moment.

Azerbaijan collects all the necessary data. The objective of the project is to create a holistic, statistical questionnaire and conduct research throughout Azerbaijan.

"This project will affect about 11,000 households, as well as ministries and universities. It is aimed at determining both the general situation with digital literacy and specific needs in industries or types of organizations," Natalia Mochu said.

She also noted the importance of the goal that the Azerbaijani government has set, ensuring that all citizens have an equal opportunity to use public services.

"The next priority area of cooperation with Azerbaijan is cybersecurity," she said.

"Azerbaijan already has the necessary infrastructure to ensure the proper level of cybersecurity, but nevertheless we see that the country is very interested in updating, strengthening, and improving the skills that exist. In this regard, we are working with Azerbaijan to assess and determine the directions of tasks that need to be solved in this particular area," Natalia Mochu said.
Abdulhakeem Abdullateef, the new chairman of the governing board of the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), has warned friends and associates to stop putting pressure on him with requests.

In a post on his verified Facebook account, Mr Abdullateef, a former Lagos lawmaker and commissioner, said he is ready to lose friends and relationships to be a model for zero tolerance for corruption and lawlessness.

I will not award any contract throughout my tenure because that is not a part of my responsibilities, he wrote, adding that he wont interfere in the functions of the management of the insurance regulator.

I am just a leader whose primary assignment is to LEAD the Governing Board of NDIC in good corporate governance and best practices in accordance with established rules and regulations. I will not do otherwise, Mr Abdullateef, an Islamic cleric, added.

On Wednesday, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Mr Abdullateef to serve as the chairman of the board of NDIC following the confirmation of the board members by the senate.

In his statement, he noted that he is neither excited nor celebrating his new feat: My appointment and confirmation as NDIC Chairman is a trial from my Lord and not a success yet. Kindly reserve the congratulatory messages until the day I succeed in leaving this organisation better than I met it. said Mr Mobolaji, a Lagos-based Islamic cleric.

The full statement by the new appointee is reproduced below.

I AM NOT CELEBRATING

1. My appointment and confirmation as NDIC Chairman is a trial from my Lord and not a success yet. Kindly reserve the congratulatory messages until the day I succeed in leaving this organisation better than I met it.

2. Stop putting pressures on me with requests. I will not honour your requests. I am going to be very different. I am ready to lose friends and relationships. I will not award any contract throughout my tenure because that is not a part of my responsibilities. I will not interfere in the functions of Management. I am not excited about my new office and I am ready to quit if I am asked to leave tomorrow. You have no idea what my role entails. I will not take any step to betray my education, experience and exposure. No threat or pressure can recruit me into the stinking system we complain of.

3. I am just a leader whose primary assignment is to LEAD the Governing Board of NDIC in good corporate governance and best practices in accordance with established rules and regulations. I will not do otherwise.

4. My team promises to be a model for zero tolerance for corruption and lawlessness.

5. My job as an Islamic Preacher is far better than this trial and for your information, I have not left serving my Lord.

READ ALSO: Senate confirms NDIC board members

6. To all those concerned, please stay on your lane. Do not bring anything before me except what is right.

7. I need around me only those who understand that they will enter their graves with nothing and are truly determined to bring about the needed change in this country.

8.Thank you so much for avoiding me.

9. While thanking Allah for this appointment I pray it does not become a reason for my disgrace and humiliation in this world and the hereafter.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The United States Embassy in Abuja has confirmed that two of its employees involved in the attack on its convoy in Anambra have been rescued alive.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the rescue earlier on Friday following an announcement by the police in Anambra.

The embassy made its position known in a statement made available to journalists on Friday in Abuja.

The embassy said that the victims were under the protection of the Nigerian authorities in Anambra.

The statement said that the US government was working intensively to bring to book the perpetrators of the crime.

According to it, two US Mission employees missing since the May 16 attack in Anambra State are alive and safe, and under the protection of Nigerian authorities in Anambra.

We have informed their families of their safe recovery. U.S. Mission personnel are on their way to meet and accompany them home.

We continue to work intensively with the Nigerian security and law enforcement on this matter, to identify the victims previously found, and to bring to justice those responsible for this heinous attack.

We welcome any information the public may have in this regard.

We are deeply grateful for the partnership and solidarity of the Nigerian government and Nigerian security and law enforcement colleagues and mourn with them for those who died in the attack.

On May 16, a convoy of a US team was attacked by gunmen in Atani, Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State while the team was on a mission.

At least seven people including two police officers were killed during the attack. Although most of the victims worked with the US Mission, none was an American, officials said.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The governor-elect of Abia State, Alex Otti, has reacted to a judgement which cancelled the votes he polled in the 18 March governorship election.

The governor-elect, whose inauguration is about ten days away, faulted the court judgement in a statement by one of its aides on Friday.

A prominent lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, similarly criticised the judgement and gave reasons why it would have no effect in a thread of tweets.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Federal High Court in Kano gave the controversial judgement on Thursday, declaring votes Mr Otti polled in the Abia State governorship election as wasted.

The judgement issued by M. N. Yunusa also affects all Labour Party candidates in Kano and Abia states.

The judge held that the emergence of the Labour Party candidates in Abia and Kano States was not in compliance with the provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act.

He said the emergence of the candidates breached legal provisions that require the party to submit its membership registers to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) within 30 days before conducting its primary elections ahead of the 2023 general elections.

But the judge turned down the plaintiffs request to set aside the certificates of return issued to Mr Otti and other affected Labour Party candidates that emerged victorious in the elections.

Haruna Ibrahim filed the suit against the LP and the INEC. Mr Otti and Labour Party candidates were not joined as parties.

Mr Otti, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), was declared the winner of the governorship election in Abia State by INEC in March.

Judgement wont stand

Reacting on Friday, Ferdinand Ekeoma, the spokesperson for Mr Otti, told PREMIUM TIMES that the judgement was a nullity.

Mr Ekeoma contended that the judgement would not affect the governor-elect and his inauguration on 29 May, given that the court did not make any order with respect to the certificate of return to Mr Otti because we (LP and Otti) were never parties to the suit.

He said the claim by the plaintiff, Mr Ibrahim, regarding the alleged failure of the LP to submit its membership register to the INEC within 30 days before their primaries had been decided by the Court of Appeal in various states and the Supreme Court, which all went in favour of the LP.

He said the plaintiff went to the Federal High Court in Kano because he knew that the matter would have been thrown away if he had filed the suit at the Umuahia division of the court.

Our (LPs) candidature was not nullified. The last paragraph (of the court judgment) stated that it cannot make any order with respect to Abia because we were not parties to the issue.

So, if the petitioner now decides to challenge Alex Ottis victory or his qualification to have stood for the election, he would need to go to another court and join us (in the suit) so that we will come and argue it with them, he said.

And because they know that most courts will avoid adjudicating on this matter that had been decided by the Supreme Court, thats why they didnt want to join us (in the suit). So, the issue of nullification does not exist, Mr Ekeoma said.

Lawyer faults judgement

Also, reacting, a human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, in a Twitter post on Friday, faulted the judgment saying there were so many questions that have to be answered about it.

Mr Effiong argued that the court should not have entertained the suit given that Mr Otti emerged as the candidate of the LP in June, while the suit was filed on 11 May, months after the LP primary in Abia

The suit was filed outside the timeframe allowed by law for pre-election matters, he said.

Section 285 of the (1999) Constitution states that all pre-election matters must be filed within 14 days of the event.

If the case filed by Ibrahim Haruna-Ibrahim at the Federal High Court in Kano was/is a pre-election matter, it should have been filed within 14 days of the primaries, he said.

Mr Effiong, who posted copies of the court judgement, argued that the Federal High Court in Kano lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the case for many reasons, principally because the case was statute-barred.

A court in Kano cannot nullify primaries outside Kano. The jurisdiction of the Federal High Court cannot be invoked this way.

Nullifying primaries of candidates, and even declaring their votes scored as wasted votes in this circumstance, goes against all established principles of law and fair hearing, he stated.

The lawyer expressed surprise that the court in Kano admitted lacking jurisdiction over the candidates not before it by refusing to grant the petitioners 10th relief and, at the same time, declaring the LP primaries in Abia and votes cast for the party as wasted votes.

Isnt this clear contradiction? If theres no territorial jurisdiction for the court to grant relief 10, on what basis did the court void the Abia primaries? Mr Effiong stated.

Judgement cannot stop 29 May inauguration

Mr Otti is billed to be sworn in as the substantive governor of Abia State on 29 May.

As it stands, the judgment delivered yesterday (Thursday) by Hon. Justice Yunusa cannot stop the swearing-in ceremony of Alex Otti, the lawyer wrote in another tweet Friday afternoon.

He noted that the judge did not restrain the chief judge of Abia State from swearing-in Mr Otti as governor.

Conversely, the judge declined the prayer (which) sought to order INEC to declare the first runner-up winner (of the election).

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The founder of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Subomi Balogun, is dead.

Confirming the incident, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun and former governor Gbenga Daniel, expressed their sadness over the passing of the business mogul.

The duo said they received with shock, the passing unto eternal glory of the Olori Omoba and Otunba Tunwase of Ijebuland.

Mr Abiodun, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, described the death of Mr Balogun as a colossal loss, not only to Ogun State, but to Nigeria and the business world.

The governor noted that Mr Balogun was one of the foremost entrepreneurs who took banking to an enviable level in Nigeria.

Chief Subomi Balogun was a devoted Christian, a loving father and husband as well as lover of Ijebuland.

The contributions of the late banker to the socio-economic development of Ijebuland and Ogun State was humongous and beneficial to numerous people and entities.

Mr Abiodun said the vacuum created by the demise of the banker will be difficult to fill, adding that his love for humanity and dedication to the service of God was second to none.

While commiserating with the Awujale of Ijebuland, Sikiru Adetona and the entire people of Ijebu-land on the passing of the renowned entrepreneur, the governor also condoled with the immediate family left behind by the deceased philanthropist.

In his own message, Mr Daniel said the late Mr Balogun, who was the Asiwaju of Ijebu Christians, lived a worthy life.

Mr Daniel said the deceased brought the fear of God into everything that he did and believed in, and united the Body of Christ while promoting interfaith relationships in the entire Ijebuland to the best of his ability.

He described the octogenarian as an astute banker, who lived a life worthy of emulation by carrying the weight of royalty into his enterprise.

He further said that Mr Balogun lived a graceful life with colour and candour.

He was a man whom I have the greatest respect for both in royalty and in the business world.

Yeye and I will miss this great icon of Ijebu culture and business enterprise, and we are consoled that God granted him a bountiful life to a ripe old age.

My sincere condolences go to the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, MFR; The Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, His Royal Majesty, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, CFR, Ogbagba II; the entire Balogun Dynasty and Jadiara/Funsegbuwa Royal ruling House, Olorituns and the entire Ijebu people home and abroad for this great loss. Nigeria has indeed lost one of its illustrious sons.

We pray that the good Lord would grant his repose eternal rest and for the family that he left behind to be able to mourn his passage with great strength.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


Senators-elect from the North-central geopolitical region have named the senator representing Niger East, Sani Musa, as their choice for the position of Deputy Senate President in the 10th assembly.

The senators-elect said their demand is to ensure that the dividends of democracy are extended to the people of the zone.

The senator-elect for Nasarawa West, Aliyu Wadada, made the position of the North-central caucus known on Friday while addressing journalists shortly after the closing ceremony of the induction programme for newly elected federal lawmakers.

Mr Wadada, a senator-elect on the platform of Social Democratic Party (SDP), said he was collaborating with his colleagues from the North-central region to secure the position of the deputy senate president, irrespective of their political differences.

Mr Wadadas submission came a few hours after he and his colleagues from Nasarawa North, Godiya Akwashiki, endorsed the candidature of Godswill Akpabio as the senate president.

Although media reports quoted Mr Wadada to have also endorsed Barau Jibrin as the deputy senate president, he claimed that the media misquoted him.

The SDP senator-elect maintained that his endorsement for the choice of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, does not mean that he is also supporting Mr Jibrin.

The North-central will not, and cannot be left out with a representative like us. We will always strive to get what belongs to us or what we deserve. We already had a press briefing where we clearly stated our position. After the press briefing, when the zoning arrangements had been announced, we also took a stand and our governors supported us, he said.

The governors met with the aspirants from the North-central and efforts are really on to ensure that the North-central gets what it deserves. As senators elect from the zone, our position has not changed. We stand for the Deputy Senate President. If the North-central Caucus stands for the Deputy Senate Presidency, by implication that means that the caucus of the North-central wants the presidency of the Senate to go to the Southern part of Nigeria, he added.

My being around Godswill Akpabio and Barau Jibrin does not change my position as a senator from the North Central part of Nigeria. Akpabio is from the South-south, Barau is from the North-west, while Wadada is from the North-central. So, there is no confusion at all.

My being around Godswill Akpabio and Barau Jibrin does not mean that the North-central Caucus has conceded to the APC joint ticket. The North-central geopolitical zone that has been a stabilising factor in Nigerias politics, would not want to rock the boat.

Mr Wadada said it would not be fair if none of the principal positions were zoned to the North-central region.

What we have said lately is that, if for any reason the position of the Deputy Senate President that we have always canvassed for would not be conceded to us as North-central, then we should be given the Speakership position, he noted.

This is because North Central cannot go empty handed. It is not fair, it is not just, it is not rational. There is nothing right about it. A situation where a single geopolitical zone is to have two presiding officer positions when the North-central remains empty is not fair.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday adjourned indefinitely a suit seeking to stop Bola Tinubu from being sworn-in as president on 29 May.

It comes barely 10 days to the scheduled swearing-in, a strict constitutional event any court would have hardly altered its dates on speculative grounds.

Mr Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won Nigerias 25 February presidential election, defeating former vice president Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Labour Partys Peter Obi.

But a former presidential candidate of the defunct Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Ambrose Owuru, who claimed he was deprived of his victory in the 2019 election, filed a suit that asked for a court order to stop Mr Tinubus inauguration.

He urged the court to order him to be sworn in as president instead of Mr Tinubu to compensate for the injustice of depriving him of his acclaimed victory in 2019.

Mr Owuru, a serial presidential candidate, did not contest the 2023 presidential election. His party has been deregistered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He lost at the Federal High Court, and then proceeded to appeal at the Court of Appeal.

After taking the arguments of lawyers to parties in the suit on Friday evening, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal headed by Jamil Tukur, adjourned indefinitely to deliver judgement.

Mr Tukur said a date for verdict would be sent to parties in the suit.

Buhari, AGF ignored proceedings

At the resumed proceedings on Friday, neither Mr Buhari nor the Attorney-General was represented in court.

Despite being served with a hearing notice, Mr Buhari whose second term as president ends on 29 May, did not file any court papers.

But the electoral umpires lawyer, Hassan Halilu, urged the court to dismiss the suit for being frivolous.

Mr Owuru claims to be the adjourned constitutional winner of the 2019 presidential election.

Mr Halilu further informed the court that Mr Owurus case is baseless and irritating.

Mr Tinubus lawyer, Adelani Ajibade from the law firm of Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, argued that Mr Owurus suit is strange and baseless.

He said the plaintiffs case is bereft of merit and should be dismissed.

The lawyer informed the court that Mr Owurus claim to have won the 2019 had been dismissed by a Supreme Court judgment which nullified his petition filed challenging Mr Buharis victory.

Mr Ajibade prayed for a dismissal of the case with N20 million cost to be imposed on Mr Owuru and in favour of the respondents.

Owurus prayers

The plaintiff urged the court to stop Mr Buhari, the AGF and INEC taking steps to facilitate Mr Tinubus swearing-in in 10 days time.

Mr Owuru argued that neither Mr Tinubu nor anyone else should succeed Mr Buhari, because he has yet to serve his statutory term of four years as Nigerias president.

MR Owuru accused the outgoing president of usurping his tenure since 2019.

He falsely claimed that the Supreme Court had not determined his petition against Mr Buharis victory in 2019.

An order of prohibitory injunction compelling Buhari, AGF and INEC, their servants, agents  from any further undertaking or engaging in any act of usurpation of adjudged acquired Constitutional rights and mandate as winner of the 2019 presidential election, court filings showed Mr Owuru urging the court.

In addition, he sought an order directing and placing on notice that any form of handover inauguration, organized and superintended by Mr Buhari on 29 May 2023 outside his adjudged winner of the 2019 presidential election.

Meanwhile, the appellate court evicted Mr Owuru from the inner bar  the front section of the court exclusively reserved for Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs).

Upon filing into the courtroom on Friday, the appellate court panel sighted Mr Owuru seated in the reserved seat.

Mr Tukur who led the panel asked Mr Owuru to vacate the seat, wondering when he was conferred the prestigious title of a SAN.

Attempts by Mr Owuru to sway the justices to allow him hold on to the seat was rebuffed.

Mr Owuru was called to the Nigerian Bar 40 years ago.

The lawyer, despite his scanty votes in the previous election, had challenged the outgoing President Buharis victory in the 2019 election. His case failed spectacularly as it was dismissed by the Presidential Election Petition Court.

Mr Owuru pursued the case further to the Supreme Court which also dismissed the suit as a gross abuse of court processes.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


A responsible government would have placed the current reality on the table for a national debate. They have not done so. The central task today is to get the government to engage the subject of education as a public good within the present context. My key recommendation is that the incoming government should immediately produce a Green Paper on Education as a Public Good, which would then be presented to a National Conference on Education as a Public Good.

Last Friday, I gave the Convocation Lecture at Modibbo Adama University in Yola. The theme was the Nigerian University System and the Public Good: Pathway to Recovery. I addressed the problem of declining finances of the university system, which makes it difficult for universities to recruit and above all to retain quality staff, engage in research and provide a conducive atmosphere for learning and research. I also addressed the more complex story about the corruption of Nigerian society in general, but as particularly insidious in the university, which created a mentality of looting and wanton exploitation in whatever situation people find themselves.

The enrolment of university students has witnessed an immense increase since the inception of this system of education in Nigeria. It started from barely 100 in 1948 to 3,681 in 1962, and then to 7,697 in 1965-66, to about 17,750 in 1972-73, then around 250,000 in 1994. Over the past two decades, there has been an incredible growth of student numbers in the country. Currently, there are 1,855,261 undergraduate students in Nigerian universities, of which only 102,500 are in private universities.

Meanwhile, the university landscape has been transformed significantly with the dramatic growth of private universities, where lecturers are not allowed to join the union.

Nigerias national educational policy is based on the premise that the greatest investment that a nation can make for the quick development of its economic, political, social and human resources is education. It is considered as the greatest force that can be used to bring about change. It is in this context that the Nigerian Constitution defines education as a public good that the State has an obligation to provide to citizens in an equitable manner, as enunciated in Article 18 of the Constitution.

The university cannot serve the public good if it is perpetually on strike. The addiction of ASUU to the strike option as the only way to promote its interests has to stop. ASUU strikes have become part of Nigerias national strife and trauma. Enormous working days are lost regularly due to these strikes. Over the past twenty years, public universities have been closed for five years cumulatively due to strikes.

The problem with the constitutional stipulation is that successive governments since the Ibrahim Babangida regime have simply refused to place it on the policy agenda. They neither believe in it nor have they been ready to implement it. There has been no national conversation on sustaining or reformulating the stipulation and the occasion of the in-coming government is an opportunity to place it on the public agenda. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has however been very committed to it and has worked very hard for over four decades to sustain it. The public good is defined essentially as  FREE AND HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATION PAID FOR BY THE STATE. The arrival of radical unionism in the university system meant their engagement was no longer focused on catering for the advancement of the staff welfare of academics but also to have a greater voice in the operations of the Nigerian university system and the affairs of the nation at large. ASUU radicalism has however left the society behind on the theme of education as a public good.

The university cannot serve the public good if it is perpetually on strike. The addiction of ASUU to the strike option as the only way to promote its interests has to stop. ASUU strikes have become part of Nigerias national strife and trauma. Enormous working days are lost regularly due to these strikes. Over the past twenty years, public universities have been closed for five years cumulatively due to strikes. As Emmanuel Emmanuel, the best all round student said in his valedictory speech, in his final year, there were 18 months of strikes  so, do the maths. These long strikes have been sustained for a very long time because ASUU has the power and capacity to organise them without consequence to its material interests, as eventually they do not work for the said periods but they still get paid eventually for that period, which most academics use to work in private universities. The capacity to carry out long strikes, keep students at home for three to six or eight months at a time and get them to put pressure on parents and the government of the day to sign a deal, is an apparent sign of strength.

Successive Nigerian presidents have all been forced to sign deals; but signing is the simpler part, implementation has always been the bane of policies in Nigeria. It could be argued that in reality, ASUU is weak because it is too focused on a grandiose victory called an AGREEMENT that often yields little in real results. This state of affairs might be changing. After an eight-month strike from February to October 2022, the government refused to pay lecturers the backlog of salaries for the period they were on strike. This might signal a change in the balance of forces. If government maintains its refusal to pay, ASUU will understand that long strikes are not always the best forms of industrial action.

The strikes have seriously affected university calendars over the decades and generations of students have lost one to two years of their lives waiting for their lecturers to return to work. The strikes have shortened teaching weeks and the capacity of lecturers to cover course outlines thereby contributing to the decline in the quality of graduates. Precisely because of this impact, wider sections of the elite have taken their children out of public universities to private universities, where ASUU is not allowed to operate, so there are no strikes and lecturers teach and cover the course outlines. As more members of the elite take their children out of the public system, the unintended consequence is that increasingly, governments have less and less commitment to rebuilding the universities because their children are no longer there but in private universities within or outside the country. The fact of the matter is that family budgets have transformed drastically over the past three decades, with considerable percentages of these budgets devoted to expensive private education for children, from the nursery to tertiary levels. In other words, public education has been abandoned to the children of the poorest in society.

The context today is that the rentier state has collapsed and massive corruption and oil theft have wiped out petroleum revenues. Over the past decade, public expenditure has been based on massive borrowing and the country is now in a debt trap. The state is no longer capable of funding quality education for all. Nigerians know this and they are deciding differently for the education of their children. ASUU is stuck in the context of the political economy of the 1970s and 1980s.

The Nigerian government has not reflected on its philosophy of education for 50 years. Since ASUU started negotiating with the Federal Government in 1982, the Union has always had a position paper but government has never had a position on the issues involved. It simply ducks blows from ASUU and threatens or cajoles the Union to reduce its demands. Government does not even brief its own negotiating team on the principles upon which it should negotiate with ASUU, because it does not have any. Good examples were the last three government teams  of Wale Babalakin, Munzali Jibril and Nimi Briggs  which all had their recommendations rejected by the government that appointed them. ASUU puffs and rants about the disrespect of government to the negotiated deals it signs but the Nigerian government was never an interlocutor because it never had a position to negotiate from, so all its moves are tactical, rather than strategic.

The context today is that the rentier state has collapsed and massive corruption and oil theft have wiped out petroleum revenues. Over the past decade, public expenditure has been based on massive borrowing and the country is now in a debt trap. The state is no longer capable of funding quality education for all. Nigerians know this and they are deciding differently for the education of their children. ASUU is stuck in the context of the political economy of the 1970s and 1980s. A responsible government would have placed the current reality on the table for a national debate. They have not done so. The central task today is to get the government to engage the subject of education as a public good within the present context. My key recommendation is that the incoming government should immediately produce a Green Paper on Education as a Public Good, which would then be presented to a National Conference on Education as a Public Good. Key issues should include the following:

Making our educational system fit for purpose; Developing a national strategy to bring back our students from foreign universities; Enhancing equality and access to education; Funding of education, including payment of tuition fees and scholarships; Ending the regime of permanent strikes in our universities; Addressing corruption in the education system; Ending sexual harassment in tertiary institutions; Raising academic standards.

We should all lobby the incoming administration to immediately review the constitutional, legal and policy framework for higher education or simply the education system. The conference itself should be proceeded with stakeholder meetings where issues are discussed.

A professor of Political Science and development consultant/expert, Jibrin Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Development, and Chair of the Editorial Board of PREMIUM TIMES.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

All praise be to Allah and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him). I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone who has no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger.

Dear brothers and sisters, know that Islam dignified Salat (Prayer) and raised its status as the greatest pillar of Islam after the Kalimatush Shahadah (Testimony of Faith). Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:



Islam is based on (the following) five (principles): 1. To testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is Allahs Messenger. 2. To perform the (compulsory congregational) Salat dutifully and perfectly. 3. To pay Zakah (i.e. obligatory charity). 4. To perform Hajj. (i.e. Pilgrimage to Makkah) 5. To observe fast during the month of Ramadan. [Bukhari and Muslim]

Dear servants of Allah, Salat (Prayer) is the major form of worship that a Muslim offers five times a day regularly. It is an obligation upon a Muslim and a Muslim is to offer no excuse when it comes to offering Salat. The offering of Salat in addition to representing the submission of Muslims to their Lord also has other benefits as well which are highly cherished by every Muslim.

The establishment of Salat is one of the major topics upon which Quran has emphasised more than anything else. In the Noble Quran Allah Almighty has stressed upon Muslims to learn to offer Salat regularly and with mentions of offering Salat Allah has also mentioned its benefits with it as well.

Although there is no constraint upon a Muslim on how to invoke Allah Almighty, however, Salat (prayer) is the preferred means of doing so as when a person worships Allah he or she develops a connection with Allah and any invocation within that or after that connection is bound to be accepted by Allah more compared to invocation done in any other circumstance. In the Noble Quran, Allah Almighty says:

O you who have believed, seek help through patience and Salat (prayer). Indeed, Allah is with the patient. [Quran, 2:153]

Therefore, a Muslim must use Salats (prayers) as a means of invocation and ask Allah Almighty for help and assistance in any difficulty or worry.

Piety (Taqwah) or righteousness is the prime objective which a Muslim has to achieve in this life. All the instructions, constraints, freedom, rights and education provided by Islam are with the objective that a Muslim becomes pious and moves on the righteous path. In this regard, Salat (prayer) has a great role to play as it promotes Taqwah or piety in the follower. In the Noble Quran, Allah Almighty says:

This is the Book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for those who have Taqwah: who believe in the unseen, and who establish Salat, and spend out of what we have provided for them. [Quran, 2:2-3]

Therefore, in addition to giving charity and believing in the unseen, a Muslim must also establish Salat in order to move towards Taqwah (piety).

Every deed, whether good or bad that a Muslim undertakes in this life, he or she will have to be answerable for it in the afterlife. Although all the deeds get rewarded in the afterlife, however, the actual reward of Salat will truly be realised in the afterlife when Allah Almighty will shower special blessings on that person. In the Noble Quran, Allah Almighty says:

Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds and establish Salat (prayer) and give Zakah will have their reward with their Lord, and there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve. [Quran, 2:277]

Therefore, Salat (prayer) is not something that ends in this world, rather the real reward of it will come to surface in the afterlife.

Muslims who realise that Allah Almighty is their Lord and the Giver of everything, they try to develop a relation with Him and wish to stay connected with Him as much as possible so that their relation grows strong. Salat (prayer) can effectively help in achieving so, as Allah says in Quran:

And when you have completed the Salat (prayer), remember Allah standing, sitting, or [lying] on your sides. But when you become secure, re-establish [regular] prayer. Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times. [Quran, 4:103]

Therefore, performing Salats (prayers) is a means of developing a connection with Allah Almighty and when a Muslim does so five times a day, then the consequent relationship is to naturally grow strong.

Respected Muslim brothers and sisters, shaitan (satan) is an open enemy of believers and all what he tries is to make people go stray from the path of righteousness and go down in the path of oblivion and darkness. Shaitan (Satan) tries to tempt a person in all the possible ways and when a person once listens to him, he gradually lures him or her down further into the pit of darkness. Therefore, seeking protection from shaitan (satan) is also imperative for a Muslim. In the Noble Quran Allah Almighty says:

Shaitan (Satan) only wants to cause between you animosity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you not desist? [Quran, 5:91]

Therefore, not offering prayer is actually falling into the prey of shaitan (satan), whereas those who try to offer and establish prayer are actually resisting his temptation and when these temptations are resisted for long the result is one not falling prey to shaitan (satan) ever again on any forefront.

In life, a Muslim gets exposed to all sorts of environments and people, all of which have a direct impact on the personality of the person. There is no denying the fact that the current plight of the people of the world is miserable where they are more prone towards ills and lewdness compared to goodness, thus if a Muslim starts being like other people, he or she goes down the road of darkness. Thus, in order to prevent ones self from all the lewdness that is common in the world of today, a Muslim must find refuge in Salat (prayer) as it will help in combating lewdness, as Allah Almighty says in the Noble Quran:

Recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish Salat (prayer). Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do. [Quran, 29:45]

Therefore, a Muslim must consider Salat (prayer) as an effective weapon when it comes to fighting lewdness and evils of all sorts.

Respected brothers and sisters, Salat (prayer) is an act of worship. It is not a custom. It is not a ritual. It is very special. It has no equal. It has no alternative. There are no excuses, even when you are ill, on a journey or even in a war.

Salat (prayer) is the second and most important pillar of Islam. Salat is a practical sign of obedience to the commands of Allah Almighty. It is the practical proof of our faith (Iman) in Allah and Islam.

Salat is the only distinction between a Muslim and a non-Muslim. Salat reminds you of Allah Almighty, when you get up in the morning, it reminds you three more times when you are busy during the day, and once again before you go to bed.

Salat (prayer) is a direct contact or link between the worshipper and Allah Almighty with no earthly intermediaries. It is the Miraj of a believer.

Salat builds a strong defense against evils which exist around us. It is said in the Noble Quran that, surely, Salat keeps you away from indecency and evil. This is why the prayer is described as remembrance to Allah Almighty.

Salat (prayer) wipes out our sins. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) once asked his companions: Tell me if there was a river at the door step of one of you in which you washed 5 times a day would any of your dirt remain? When he received the reply that none of it would remain he then said That is like the 5 times Salat, with which Allah Almighty wipes out sins.

Salat (prayer) was the last will of the Prophet (Peace be upon him). As his soul departed he said with his last breaths: As-Salah, As-Salah (Prayer, Prayer).

Salat is the first thing that a person is judged by on the Day of Judgement. If it was good, the rest of all his deeds will be good. But if it was poor, the rest of all his deeds will be poor.

This narration sets a clear declaration as to how we will be judged on the Day of Judgement. We are given a clear message: [get your Salat in good order, and it will take care of the rest Lose your Salat, and you are in big trouble]; Very simple message, but very powerful, and very direct.

That is how important Salat (prayer) is. It was the first command in Islam, it was the last will of the Prophet (Peace be upon him), and it is the first act that we will be judged by on the Day of Judgement. Therefore, we need to know why it is so important, and how can we uplift our prayers and make our Salat in the manner that will give us the reward in this life and in the hereafter.

The knots in the rope of Islam will be undone one by one. Every time a knot is undone, people will adhere strongly to the next. (By undone, we understand that people no longer act by this aspect of Islam). The first knot to be undone is living by the law of Islam, and the last to be undone is Salat. What we take from this Hadith, is that when a Muslim community gives up Salat, it will be the last act in giving up their Islam. We have seen this happening across the world and across the generations. This is also why we see that when a Muslim community wants to hold on to Islam, and wants to be recognised as faithful, people make that extra effort to return to Salat.

In this society, we can look at Salat in Islam as our last line of defence. We hold on to it, we preserve ourselves as Muslims, and Allah willing, we preserve our children and their children and so on, as Muslims. If we lose Salat, Allah forbid, we lose everything, in this life and in the hereafter. That is truly a disaster.

This is what the Noble Quran says about those communities who gave up their Salat:

[But after them there followed future generations who lost the Salats (prayers) and followed after lusts. Soon, then, will they face destruction]. [Quran, 19: 59]

The following are just a few more verses from the Noble Quran to cast away any further doubts about the rule of establishing Salat in Islam. Allah Almighty says:

[And establish regular prayer and give Zakah and obey the Messenger, that you may receive mercy]. [Quran, 24: 56]

[And be steadfast in prayer; give Zakah and bow down your heads with those who bow down in worship]. [Quran, 2: 43]

[They are those who, if We establish them in the land, establish regular prayer and give Zakah, enjoin the right and forbid the wrong. With Allah rests the end (and decision) of (all) affairs]. [Quran, 22: 41]

Dear brothers and sisters, there should be no doubt in our minds and hearts about the need to establish regular Salats (prayers). It is vital for our present community, and it is vital for our future generations.

We cannot instil in our children the need to establish regular prayers if we do not act as an example. We cannot understate this point. We have to act as an example to our children. We are asked to encourage our children by age seven, and we are asked to enforce prayers by age ten. There is no doubt as to what the instructions are. We are responsible for our children. We may feel happy that we have been able to establish regular prayers ourselves, and that we have preserved Islam in our community for this generation, but what about the next, and what about the one after. There is no room for leniency here, and we need to be very vigilant. Indeed, there is a Hadith that states that between the person and Kufr (wilfully renouncing Allah) is abandoning Salat (prayer) on purpose. This was narrated by Muslim and by Ahmad, and it is also agreed by the Sahabah (Prophets Companions).

Respected servants of Allah, Islam encourages the Congregational prayers (Jamaah prayers). In an agreed Hadith, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) states that the Jamaah prayers (Congregational prayers) is worth 27 times the prayers of a person by himself. There is always more reward when we pray together.

In another Hadith, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) states that the prayer of the man in Jamaah is worth 25 times his prayers alone. When he performs good ablution, and leaves his house for the sole purpose of prayers, with every step he takes his status is uplifted, and a sin is forgiven. As he prays, the angels will continue praying for him, saying, Allah bless him and Allah forgive him, until he finishes his Salat. This is the reward for establishing Congregational prayers (Jamaah prayers).

In another Hadith, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) mentions that if three Muslims are present in a community, they need to establish Jamaah prayers, or shaitan (satan) will get to them, as we are weakened by being separate, and strengthened by the Jamaah.

In fact, establishing Congregational prayers (Jamaah prayers) is a definite Sunnah, to the extent that we are informed in another Hadith, that if we leave the Jamaah prayers, we are actually abandoning an established Sunnah of the Prophet (Peace be upon him).

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said who ever attends the Mosque and returns, Allah prepares for him paradise on every occasion he attends and leaves. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) also says when you witness a person that regularly attends to the Mosque for prayers it is a testimony of his faith (Iman). Allah Almighty says:

[The Mosques of Allah shall be visited and maintained by those who believe in Allah and the Last day, and establish regular prayer]. [Quran, 9: 18]

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said; Shall I guide you to what wipes away the sins and lifts up your status.

The Mosque is the home of every pious person. Allah will look after this person with mercy and guides him along the straight path to paradise.

Dear brothers and sisters, we all know that Salat (prayer) is compulsory, but even with this pillar there are important issues that we need to address.

The most important for us, for the community in anywhere, is that we should encourage ourselves to attend the Mosque for Jamaah prayers more and more. Not just the Jumaah prayers, but for most Jamaah prayers if we can.

There is a great reward when Salat is offered in Jamaah.

Salat gives us both Worldly and Spiritual benefits. In the congregation, rich and poor, high and low, all stand shoulder to shoulder. It is the best scene of mankinds equality.

In this Salat all have one intention (Niyyah), one language and identical actions. All kneel together, all go to Sajdah together.

This teaches us the lesson that we, as Muslims, should be united at all times.

People meet with one another in the Congregational prayer (Jamaah Salah). They know the hardships and worries of one another and try to help each other. New things are known there. Mutual love develops. Circle of friendship is widened. We get an opportunity to perfect our life in the light of others experiences.

While offering Salat in Jamaah we stand in rows, follow the Imam of Jamaah and practice obedience to Allah, this forces discipline in us, which is the essential feature of a communitys life.

Our Mosques remain thriving  due to Salat in Jamaah. It enhances the prestige of Muslims, and the Unity of Muslims affects greatly the enemies.

Allah has put a big reward for Congregational prayer (Jamaah Salah). Our beloved Prophet (Peace be upon him) has laid great emphasis on Jamaah Salah.

Therefore we should offer Jamaah Salah as often as possible. We should also know that if there are more than 10 people in Jamaah, then nobody can estimate its limitless reward except Allah.

My last point is that we must all strive to maintain and protect our Mosque, for it is this establishment that will hopefully look after our children and their children. Please invest in the Mosque, both financially and with your efforts. This is where our community starts, and this is where we maintain our faith (Iman).

In a nutshell, those who learn and read Quran on regular basis are familiar with the importance of Salat (prayer) and how strongly has Allah Almighty emphasised on it and explained its importance to the people in the Noble Quran. A Muslim must realise that above anything, Salat is an obligation and every Muslim has to fulfill his or her obligation.

Lastly, I ask Allah, the Most High to grant us success and enable us to be correct in what we say and write.

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation; may Allah extol the mention of our noble Prophet Muhammad in the highest company of Angels, bless him and give him peace and securityand his family, his Companions and all those who follow him correctly and sincerely until the establishment of the Hour.

Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumuah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okenes Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761.

This Jumuah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Shawwal 29, 1444 AH (May 19, 2023).

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


Why should a state governor and his cohorts wield so much power as to want to appropriate these artifacts, and why should the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) be so intertwined with LRT? What are the agreements signed between these parties, and why does such a group have so much access to Benins looted artifacts in Western museums? Under whose authority does the British Museum fund archeological excavations in Benin city?

Many persons thought the period of colonialism was long over! Western reportage about handling the return of Benin treasures by the Federal Government of Nigeria shows a lack of sensitivity and understanding of the cultures looted of their valuable cultural materials. These careless remarks do not show respect for our democratic structures. Western institutions and governments that have held these stolen materials for over a century do not have the moral right to insist on their models of keeping and displaying these treasures. They should not cast aspersions on how Nigeria intends to handle, display, and preserve its cultural property. What should be done is simply to return the looted works and cause no further disruptions within the communities from where these works were stolen. I made this remark when I was privileged to address the German Culture Minister in Bayreuth last year. I mentioned the importance of giving voice to host communities from where these works had been taken. The genocide of Herero and Nama people, who the Germans killed, is another matter regarding the return of skulls and human remains to Namibia.

The Federal Government recognises the value of these works and the role of the Benin royalty in their sustenance and production before they were looted in the first instance. It was from the palace of this single royal family that these treasures were looted. Despite this, the Oba of Benin has said that the works will be accessible to the public and shown in the Benin Royal Museum.

All this bad press has come since the recent Gazette issued by the Federal Government of Nigeria. We will recall that the Presidency issued an earlier directive in line with this Gazette last year. The Federal Government has followed its initial stand and affirmation. Also, the High Commissioner to Britain, His Excellency Sarafa Tunji Isola, on the return of two looted Benin treasures to Nigeria secured by the Federal Government from Institutions in the United Kingdom, brought them physically to the palace of the King. In his address on 13 December, 2021, he explicitly mentioned that he was acting on the instructions of the President of Nigeria.

The Gazette is a normal and necessary response to distractions playing out over the display and management of the restituted objects. We have read repeatedly that the returned artifacts will be housed in the Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA), which has received international funding. It is commendable that Germany has gone ahead of other countries to physically return Benins looted objects. Providing funding to hold these returned Benin works is also remarkable. However, the Legacy Restoration Trust, or LRT, which has metamorphosed into Emowaa, is not a government organ. It was conceived as a separate entity set up to collect objects for which they have no jurisdiction.

Why should a state governor and his cohorts wield so much power as to want to appropriate these artifacts, and why should the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) be so intertwined with LRT? What are the agreements signed between these parties, and why does such a group have so much access to Benins looted artifacts in Western museums? Under whose authority does the British Museum fund archeological excavations in Benin city? The BM has categorically said it will not relinquish ownership of Benin bronzes to Nigeria, yet they are digging up new and fresh treasures. Do we realise they might be digging the same palace that British naval officers burnt down in Benin city and looted its artifacts in 1897? The current palace, as it is today, occupies a small portion of what it was pre-1897.

Why are these ceremonial showboating advocates acting like they lifted any meaningful fighting finger in the struggle to return the artifacts? Where were they when Dr Kwame Opoku, a handful of others, and myself, in my little musical way, went headfirst into the eyes of the storm in the West, over a decade ago, to ignite the war for the return of the artifacts, when others thought the struggle was hopeless?

One-third of Benins looted objects will not leave Germany and will be on permanent loan for ten years! Who decides what number of treasures remain in Germany? Who also decides which items remain in Europe? There are so many questions to be answered.

I was in Benin city a few days ago and was led to the site of the proposed Museum of West African Art. I was so sad to see that one wing of the Specialist Hospital had been demolished to build a museum. For several decades, this state hospital catered to the underserved in Benin city. Can you imagine taking down the Kings College Hospital, London or the Charite in Germany to build a museum pavilion?

Sidelining the Oba of Benin, whose forebears suffered the attack of 1897, seems a better choice for foreign partners and funders. The memories and trauma associated with the looted artifacts are still etched in the memory of the Benin royal family. Is the LRT an internal agent of neo-colonialism?

I was also in Berlin on 1 July, 2022, for the ceremony passing on ownership of the Benin materials to Nigeria. There was no mention of the Oba during the entire ceremony. The Western curators who had worked tirelessly on the international scene to bring restitution to fruition were recognised. I single out Nanette Snoep, with whom I have been on this journey for the return of Benin artifacts since 2003, when we began the Broken Memory project in Benin, Paris, and Zurich. That was a time when no one believed the objects would ever return to Benin. Suddenly, we have newcomers who think they understand better how we should handle these treasures.

The restitution victory we see today did not happen overnight. In another article, I will highlight the incredible work and sacrifices that Prince Edun Akenzua, of blessed memory, made for several decades. Many advocacies, civil society groups, pressure groups, and artist projects  music, film, installations, performances, and lectures  have centred discussions on Benin art and brought awareness about it in local and international spaces. Kwame Opoku had begun writing about the Benin case in 2007 when we first met in Vienna. Today, European scholars hardly cite his work, even though they read his well over 300 articles on Modernghana. These are the true heroes of the restitution debate! My dear friend and brother, Monday Midnite of the 1897 musical fame, wrote me when he saw the handover ceremony in Abuja.

The looting and rape of Benin is one of the most documented histories of pillage in Africa. If we miss this opportunity to handle the situation properly, it will mess up the case for other parts of the continent. I am sure Ghanaians know where the looted gold treasures should go. The Asantehenes gold should be kept in some museum that he recognises as a safe and secure place for displaying his treasures.

Why are these ceremonial showboating advocates acting like they lifted any meaningful fighting finger in the struggle to return the artifacts? Where were they when Dr Kwame Opoku, a handful of others, and myself, in my little musical way, went headfirst into the eyes of the storm in the West, over a decade ago, to ignite the war for the return of the artifacts, when others thought the struggle was hopeless?

It is important that the Federal Government has firmly defined the role of the Oba of Benin as the head of a system that encouraged the production and sustenance of these artifacts. Is there any problem with this? What I see as a problem is that Western institutions may have plans for the future of the Benin artifacts and cry out when there is a deviation from that plan. We must ask them why the artifacts should not be returned to the original owners. Propagandists claim that the treasures will be kept away from the public. The king has said that a few objects will remain in the West as ambassadors of the culture. But more importantly, the other treasures will be kept in the Benin Royal Museum to tell a different narrative from what we have heard over the decades. Kwame Opoku has written about this in Modernghana. You may also want to read my blog post published in 2021.

The looting and rape of Benin is one of the most documented histories of pillage in Africa. If we miss this opportunity to handle the situation properly, it will mess up the case for other parts of the continent. I am sure Ghanaians know where the looted gold treasures should go. The Asantehenes gold should be kept in some museum that he recognises as a safe and secure place for displaying his treasures. All hands must be on deck to build the Benin Royal Museum.

The ball of restitution is rolling. It could be delayed, but it will eventually happen. More importantly, it should happen the right way, so that history and posterity can vindicate our motives and roles.

Peju Layiwola is an artist who teaches studio art and art history at the University of Lagos; pejulayiwola1967@gmail.com; @pejulayiwola

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


This writeup is therefore aimed at urging Lagos State government to double down on this idea which will have a very salutary impact on the image of the state, apart from providing jobs for thousands of young drivers. Whether detractors like it or not, Lagos is rapidly changing for the better and even better days are coming. Lagos may be approaching the level of a United Arab Emirates (UAE) if these branded taxis are more available.

Say what you like, Lagos is changing and in a good way. I personally find not much for which to condemn that great city state each time I visit. No city state is perfect. So, many people rushing in one direction on a daily basis could result in huge snarl-ups. In fact, the traffic snarls in Lagos are nowhere near what is seen in many cities of China, Japan, UK or US. And the deployment of entities like the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) means that we have thinking people in government there who are ready to solve local problems using local solutions. I often wonder about the big agbero problem of which guber contestants complained just a few months ago during the campaign. Lagos became a ping pong in the hands of politicians nationwide. It wasnt Doherty, Jandor and Gbadebo who spoke about Lagos agbero problem. Everybody in opposition parties railed on end about agberos in Lagos, I was worried that they had developed the ability to snatch bags from flying airplanes. For me, I dont come across these agberos that much. But that doesnt mean they dont exist. I believe that statistically, Lagos is much safer than it was before. We dont hear of daredevil armed robbers that much. Even kidnappers have taken their trades elsewhere. Indeed, many Nigerians relocate to Lagos from troubled parts of Nigeria, for safety. I dont take it lightly with anyone who tries to run down our own best attempt at a modern society. Those who administer Abuja  a city established on a clear template and built from the scratch  have proven consistently to be deficit of vision and grossly lacking in capacity.

Lagos is changing. Lagos has changed. It is the only city in Nigeria where you are likely to find some functioning traffic lights. In fact, Lagos is the first city that returned the idea of traffic lights after they had been abandoned nationwide. With the surging crowds in Lagos, the administrators work hard daily to ensure that things do not break down entirely. Development has spread in Lagos, with new cities opening up on the Lekki-Epe axis, while old areas such as AgegeAlakuko, and of late, Mile 2 towards Badagry, are getting a new lease of life.

Uber and Bolt seem to have totally lost the whole idea of why they were a revolution when they appeared in our environment. The cars listed are increasingly dilapidated, their drivers seem to be getting lesser trainings or none at all. They no longer clean their cars before picking passengers and are now going back to being like their Lagos yellow taxi fathers and grandpas, even in terms of attitude. It is now most likely that your next ride driver will be rude, uncouth, unwashed, abusive, and even criminal.

But what concerns me today is LagRide. This is the rideshare idea put together by the government of Babajide Sanwoolu. Without as much as advertisements, this idea promises to tell a different story of that city. When I discussed this with someone, he said Lagos might be heading towards being a Dubai with the LagRide idea. So, LagRide are these white-and-blue taxis that operate under some public-private partnership with the Lagos State government. The state government does not own any taxi but enables the car manufacturer  which are Chinese, I think  to sell to investors and drivers under some lease agreement. The idea leans on the examples of Uber and Bolt, in deploying technology to ensure the fidelity of all transactions. But LagRide is holding up better than the now tired Uber and Bolt in terms of standards, at least in Nigeria.

Uber and Bolt seem to have totally lost the whole idea of why they were a revolution when they appeared in our environment. The cars listed are increasingly dilapidated, their drivers seem to be getting lesser trainings or none at all. They no longer clean their cars before picking passengers and are now going back to being like their Lagos yellow taxi fathers and grandpas, even in terms of attitude. It is now most likely that your next ride driver will be rude, uncouth, unwashed, abusive, and even criminal. On social media presently circulates a short clip of what appeared to be one of those drivers, who openly battled with a hard on, maybe because his rider showed too much laps. Uber and Bolt drivers in Nigeria now get up to all sorts of pranks  they show up with cars totally different from what is listed and, what is worse, in the Lagos local airport (MMA2 precisely), they routinely frustrate riders by picking and canceling their rides, simply to obtain the phone numbers and names of the riders through the app and then negotiate much higher prices with then, after having taken the riders off the comppanys radar. I had written about this very recently and nothing happened. Uber and Bolt do not really care about the business in Nigeria anymore. I guess we are, as usual, too troublesome. I also think they will not mind losing the businesses here.

I understand there are some 3,000 new cars which have been promised. Lagos cannot wait for this great initiative, which benefits from technology as well. The Global Positioning Systems on the LagRide cars are working perfectly. Perhaps like Singapore and Kigali, Lagos does not need Uber or Bolt. Governor Sanwoolu should ensure that this advantage is taken right now and that this idea does not die. We dont get this lucky very often.

And this is where LagRide comes in. Unlike Uber and Bolt, I think for now there is still the fear of officialdom. These are taxis emblazoned with Lagos State colours, so the drivers seem to be behaving themselves. They hardly cancel on you once they pick your ride. They have no reason to. The arrangements ensure that they are incentivised to pick rides and record their movements officially. The cars are (still) fairly new. There is at least one camera installed in the car to record every ride and it captures even the conversation in the car. This is referred to in any eventuality and it gives both the rider and driver a lot of confidence. There hasnt been any untoward incident recorded about LagRide, even though I understand just 1,000 cars were deployed in the first phase, with many a big man having bought the N7 million  N8 million Chinese cars and parked them at home. One driver said he took someone to the Redeemed Camp and found more than 100 of the LagRide cars parked there. LagRide cars are often neat and their drivers appear well-trained and cautious. I reckon they are required to bring guarantors. In spite of the fact that most of them work for the car owners, an average driver takes home at least N150,000 per month. The arrangement for now is that two statutory payments are made daily  N6,000 to the app company and N9,000 to the finance company which bankrolled the car. Whatever is left is for fuel and the driver, except where there is an owner, who would collect between 20% and 40% of the daily takings (before fueling). The only complaint gathered from drivers is that the state government should step in and reduce the exploitation (which does not occur often).

This writeup is therefore aimed at urging Lagos State government to double down on this idea which will have a very salutary impact on the image of the state, apart from providing jobs for thousands of young drivers. Whether detractors like it or not, Lagos is rapidly changing for the better and even better days are coming. Lagos may be approaching the level of a United Arab Emirates (UAE) if these branded taxis are more available. The fact that they are branded lends brand equity to Lagos. More tourists and businesspeople will go to Lagos just for that added confidence and the idea that Lagos is more organised. I am writing this because one may not assume that those in government are aware of the advantages that they sit upon. A third eye like mine may be the needed impetus for more investment. I understand there are some 3,000 new cars which have been promised. Lagos cannot wait for this great initiative, which benefits from technology as well. The Global Positioning Systems on the LagRide cars are working perfectly. Perhaps like Singapore and Kigali, Lagos does not need Uber or Bolt. Governor Sanwoolu should ensure that this advantage is taken right now and that this idea does not die. We dont get this lucky very often.

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


BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. Beijing will provide 26 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) to the Central Asian states free of charge as part of financial support, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in its keynote address at the China-Central Asia summit, Trend reports via TASS.

According to the Xinhua Agency, China will develop plans for cooperation with Central Asian countries in poverty reduction through science and technology to strengthen development potential.

Chinese-funded enterprises will be encouraged to create more local jobs. China will provide 26 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) of financial support and gratuitous assistance to the Central Asian states.

The meeting is also attended by the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The meeting is taking place in Xi'an (northwest China's Shaanxi Province).
A Nigerian publication, Naija Times, is set to hold the third edition of its colloquium tagged, Naija Times Diaspora Conversations (NTDC).

The conversations will be held via Zoom on Saturday, May 20 at 7:30 pm. Participants will be drawn from a wide audience around the world, the mediums editorial director, Jahman Anikulapo, said in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES.

According to Mr Anikulapo, Nigerians in the diaspora remain an important audience for Naija Times. When the newspaper was founded three years ago, two sections  Diaspora News and Diaspora Files  were deliberately created to connect with them.

The statement said five distinguished Nigerians will discuss the topic, Cultural Transformation: An Imperative for National Development at the event.

They are Naseer Kura, former president the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and Executive Director of Kano-based NGO, Basic Rights Action.

He will be joined by Joe Onyenyili-Onuorah, a marketing communications professional and author as well as Debbie Akindele-Ojo, a fashion and beauty entrepreneur. She describes herself as a fair-minded and enterprise-oriented business owner.

Others are Charles Omorodion, a UK-based accountant, chartered marketer, and leadership consultant, and US-based project manager, Nosa Osaikhuiwu, who is the executive director of the African Institute for Cultural and Economic Renaissance (AICER).

Speaking on what to expect on Saturday, Ehi Braimah, publisher/editor-in-chief of Naija Times and Convener of the colloquium, said a clinical diagnosis of the Nigerian problem will reveal that we have to change the way we think and behave as the starting point of cultural transformation.

To move forward and enthrone transparent governance and begin the task of nation-building and development, our people and society must become culturally-oriented, Braimah explained. The pervasive culture of impunity without consequences by our people will also be discussed, he added.

Mr Braimah also noted that we do not have any other country to call our own, adding that Nigerians must work together to build a better and prosperous country.

One of the confirmed speakers, Nosa Osaikhuiwu, who is based in Houston, Texas, USA, shares the same views with Mr Braimah.

We must do away with unethical behaviours and embrace a new culture that promotes the truth, honesty, fairness and integrity in all that we do, Mr Osaikhuiwu wrote in an email to Naija Times.

Naija Times Diaspora Conversations was launched on April 17, 2021 with the following objectives: engage our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora to give them a voice on the issues that affect us; find a common ground from the discussions and make recommendations to the government, and promote patriotism generally among Nigerians  both at home and in the Diaspora.

The first edition of the colloquium discussed the security challenges in Nigeria while the second edition focused on the dilemma of home coming of Nigerians in the diaspora and what needs to change.

While Mr Anikulapo will oversee media relations management and participants engagement of the colloquium, Akpandem James, Chairman of the Editorial Advisory Board of Naija Times, will serve as rapporteur.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday commissioned a 22 km flyover and dual carriage road, which waslittered with refuse in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital.

The administration of the states outgoing governor, Darius Ishaku, built the flyover.

The former President praised the governor for the initiative towards the execution of the projects after the commissioning.

He also appreciated the government and the people of Taraba for the warm reception and the opportunity to commission the project.

Mr Jonathan also commended the quality of the project, saying, I want to commend the contractors and the governor for the quality of work. 

This is a project that will open up Jalingo to attract more investment.

Mr Ishaku thanked Mr Jonathan for the visit and encouragement.

When asked why he invited the former president to commission the project, Mr Ishaku said Mr Jonathan gave him the opportunity to serve as a minister in three different ministries from where he got the experience to govern Taraba.

He uniquely moved me to Niger-Delta from power, and even in the Niger-Delta he combined the ministry of environment to me.

Cumulative being in the ministry of power, Niger Delta and environment all was like a tutelage period for me, being the governor it helped me a lot in applying all the skills I learnt, he said.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the flyover had been overtaken by traders and commercial transport operators who set up illegal parks around the facility.

As Mr Jonathan commissioned the flyover on Friday, the entire surrounding of the bridge was littered with broken bottles, used plastic, dirty nylons, and rags.

The flyover is also defaced with campaign posters of candidates in the recently concluded general elections in the state.

The Road Block area of Jalingo, where the flyover is located, is one of the busiest locations in the metropolis.

The area is renowned for unrestricted trading activities.

Due to the constant commercial activities and poor refuse disposal system, waste and rubbish used by traders and commuters in the busy area are dumped indiscriminately.

Mohammed Inusa, a trader in the area, said he was unhappy with how the place is littered with waste.

Government is not doing anything to help by providing waste disposables, so there is nothing we can do.

A former chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state, Jonah Kataps, described Jalingo as the dirtiest state capital in Nigeria.

Speaking to this newspaper in Jalingo, Mr Kataps cited road block as an example to express his displeasure over the horrid sanitation of the state capital.

He criticised the government for not making any effort to keep the city clean.

Despite the strategic location of the road block being on a major highway, it remains the dirtiest location in the city, and the government is not making any effort to change the ugly scenario.

He said the ugly site was exposing residents of the area, traders and passers-by to possible epidemics and other environmental hazards.

He noted that, in most areas, the drainage system had been blocked by waste, and the gutters ooze a pungent stench.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


Residents of a mainly herders community in Mangu Local Government in Plateau State, Central Nigeria, where scores of people were killed on Monday in what appears to be coordinated attacks said they fear being targeted in reprisal attacks.

The original attacks, which targeted farming communities in the area, were blamed on herders.

Though the Plateau State government placed a 24-hour curfew in the area on Tuesday, to prevent reprisal attacks, residents said the situation is still tense.

The residents of Ruga Gabdo, a herders community, said in the last few hours they have observed persons they suspect are from neighbouring communities encircling their community in the last three days and are afraid they will be targeted in reprisal attacks.

They told Premium Times on Thursday night that they are scared that their homes may be attacked overnight if the government does not send security personnel to the area.

We are appealing to the security agents to come to our rescue and save the children and women who are more vulnerable in the situation.

The situation is terrible, the security forces are not doing enough, our children and women are not safe, they may be attacked and killed overnight, said Muhammed Gendero, a community resident.

Mr Gendero said those at risk of the possible overnight attack are women and children in their hundreds.

Though the police nor the government is yet to say the number of people killed during the attack on Monday, the National President of the Mwaghavul Development Association, Joseph Gwankat told reporters on Wednesday that 85 people were confirmed killed. He added that the members of the affected communities were still searching for missing people.

When reached for comment, the spokesperson of the police in Plateau State, Alfred Alabo, said the police would release a statement on Friday about the incident.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The police in Anambra State, South-east Nigeria, have announced the rescue of two officials of the US Consulate who went missing after gunmen attacked their convoy on Tuesday.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how gunmen killed officials of the US Consulate and some police officers after ambushing their convoy along Atani-Osamala Road in Ogbaru Local Local Government of the state.

The US officials were on a mission to assess the impact of erosion in the local government area.

The police had, on Thursday, confirmed that seven people were killed in the attack while two officials of the US consulate  said to have been abducted by the gunmen  were missing.

Rescue of the missing officials

But in a statement on Friday morning and made available to PREMIUM TIMES, the spokesperson of the police in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, said the two missing US officials had been rescued.

In the early hours of today, 19 May, the joint security forces rescued unhurt the two remaining victims abducted during the attack on the US Convoy, Mr Ikenga, a deputy superintendent of police, said in the statement.

The police spokesperson, however, did not give details of how they were rescued.

Operations are still ongoing and further details shall be communicated, he added.

Increased attacks

Like other states in Nigerias South-east, security has deteriorated in Anambra State with frequent attacks by armed persons.

Although the attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities, the attack on the US officials was a novelty.

Dozens of people have been killed and others abducted since gunmen resumed attacks in the state and across the region.

The Nigerian government has accused the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region. But the group has repeatedly denied their involvement in the attacks.

The separatist group is leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south Nigeria.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


BEIJING, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 5, 2023 (Beijing time), the 133rd China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) came to an end. After three years of waiting, traders gathered in full bloom again, with buyers from 229 countries and regions participating in the Canton Fair.

Oriental Yuhong (SZ 002271) followed the Beijing Trade Mission to join the grand event. With the theme of "Building Nationally, Growing Globally", it made an eye-catching appearance at Hall 9.3, Area B, attracting many overseas buyers.

Oriental Yuhong

After gaining a domestic foothold, Oriental Yuhong has gradually developed overseas markets. As the company's globalization strategy progresses, Oriental Yuhong has spread its reach to 136 countries and regions, constructing various overseas projects such as railroads, highways, industrial parks, and public infrastructure. In addition to accumulating a good reputation, the company accelerates the internationalization of Chinese brands through its professional strength. Oriental Yuhong exhibited at the Canton Fair to showcase its quality products, technology, and comprehensive strength. In addition, it aimed to establish interaction with global customers and promote the rapid development of its international business.

On April 15, Ding Yong, Director of the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau, and Zhao Qizhou, Director of the Beijing International Trade in Services Center, led an inspection team to visit Oriental Yuhong's booth. They learned about Oriental Yuhong's participation, the exhibits' advantages and application scenarios over the years. They encouraged Oriental Yuhong to seize opportunities, utilize the Canton Fair platform, win more orders, seek new opportunities, and explore the international market.

During the exhibition, Oriental Yuhong received visitors from 20 countries and regions, including Dubai, Armenia, the Philippines, the United States, Pakistan, Canada, Nepal, Lebanon, Mongolia, and Vietnam. Combined with on-site mock-ups, it gave in-depth elaboration on its development concept of "building materials system solution service provider" for global buyers, fully demonstrating its fruitful achievements in the process of high-quality development.

To accelerate the online and offline integration, Oriental Yuhong cooperated with Made-in-China.com for the first time to jointly carry out live-streaming reporting, presenting itself to more online audiences.

As globalization deepens, Oriental Yuhong has continuously innovated and cultivated development momentum. It empowers building material technology and segmented solutions with professional strength. It keeps perfecting its software and hardware strength, and core competitive advantage. It wholeheartedly provides more professional, people-oriented, and more efficient service support and guarantee for overseas customers and engineering projects with faster response speed and more efficient quality and services.

SOURCE BEIJING ORIENTAL YUHONG WATERPROOF TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
QINGDAO, China, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On the afternoon of May 13, 2023, the Qingdao Global Venture Capital Conference officially ended. Over the past two days, more than 1,000 leading investors, economists, entrepreneurs and representatives from financial institutions in the field of venture capital from China and around the world gathered in the city of Qingdao to discuss new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. More than 30 million people watched the live broadcast, an increase of nearly 10 million compared with the year before.

Although the conference lasted only two days, it featured more varied content than previous editions. The 2-day event included one main forum and six sub-forums, with participants discussing new applications and trends for venture capital investment, and making suggestions on how to improve Qingdao's efforts for developing into a global venture capital center in the future. During the conference, the 3.0 policy for the "10 Articles of Qingdao Venture Capital Investment" was issued. In order to meet the needs of Qingdao's industrial development, a number of awards, including capital investment awards, S fund transaction awards and scale awards were added, aiming to attract more venture capitalists to invest in Qingdao, share opportunities with the city and attract the attention of the industry.

Agreements on 55 projects were signed at the conference worth a total value of CNY 58.7 billion, including 2 projects worth 5 billion and 5 projects worth 3 billion. These projects were concentrated in strategic emerging industries such as electronic information, integrated circuits, intelligent manufacturing, biomedicine and VR. The Metaverse Joint Investment Fund focuses on allocating funds for the metaverse; the Tailai Venture Capital Fund employs academics as consultants to provide support for project implementation and industrial investment; the Semiconductor Industry Investment Fund will help semiconductor enterprises achieve technology independence and controllability; the CICC AstraZeneca Medical and Health Fund covers the whole industrial chain, from R&D, production, operation and commercial development of new drugs all over the world.

In addition to project funding, the implementation of other financial projects was also of great interest to attendees. The Hengfeng Financial brand was launched; Zhongtai Securities Qingdao Regional Headquarters and Qingdao Capital Market Service Base were opened; and Fortune Luchenhui, an investment platform belonging to Fortune Capital (a top venture capital investment institution in Shenzhen), was established on the 13th. This platform will bring together high-end resources to boost the development of enterprises following investment.

During the conference, many districts and cities also seized the opportunity to encrypt their regional financial system, thus laying a solid capital foundation for industrial development. The "Fushanwan Fund Valley", a key project for the fund park established in Shinan District, will make full use of the agglomeration of the financial (fund) industry, creating a large Qingdao-based investment and financing platform to serve all of Shandong province. The scale of the fund is planned to reach CNY 100 billion by 2026. In addition, agreements for 12 funding projects were signed in Laoshan District, at a total investment of CNY 15.8 billion. These projects are centered on the four emerging industries of medicine and health, new-generation information technology, AI and VR, and advanced manufacturing.

The "Best Partner Award for Qingdao Municipal Government Guiding Fund in 2022" and the "Outstanding Contribution Award for Qingdao Municipal Government Guiding Fund in 2022" were awarded for the first time this year. Partners who have supported innovation and entrepreneurship, transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and the development of the "Four New" economies in Qingdao received these awards. Up to now, the Qingdao Municipal Government Guiding Fund has participated in the establishment of 137 funds, with a subscription of more than CNY 144.9 billion. The equity fund has made direct equity investments of CNY 18.9 billion across 420 projects in the city, attracting 218 overseas projects to settle ere, including "unicorn" enterprises such as Extreme Vision, BOE and AdTiger. Companies yet to be listed have also opened headquarters, resulting in a more than ten-fold increase in the number of fund enterprises, as well as the scale of private equity investment and number of employees in related fields in Qingdao.

"Hard Science and Technology" enterprises and SRDI enterprises were the key words at this conference. 9 venture capital investment institutions forming part of the first SRDI Enterprise Cooperation and Development Alliance in Qingdao were awarded licenses, allowing them to better serve as an "incubator" and "booster" for the development of SRDI enterprises. Blue Ocean Equity Exchange and Wanrong Investment released their own financing products for SRDI enterprises. According to the Annual White Paper on the Global Venture Capital Industry (2023) issued during the conference, Qingdao's "Hard Science and Technology" enterprises are greatly favored by venture capital investment institutions. More than 70% of the nearly 100 investment cases in Qingdao in 2022 were in the "Hard Science and Technology" fields, including information technology, biomedicine, semiconductors, intelligent manufacturing and high-end equipment.

The roadshow for specialized emerging industry park projects, which was launched during the conference, was also a great focus of attention. According to the current situation of the top ten emerging industries in Qingdao, the municipal government plans to build 15 specialized parks (as a first batch) within the city. The agglomeration and development of specialized parks cannot be realized without the empowerment and support of industrial and venture capital. The roadshow for these high-quality projects attracted the attention of many venture capital investment institutions present at the conference.

The Qingdao Global Venture Capital Conference has been held for five consecutive years since 2019. As a grand event for the development of the financial industry in Qingdao and throughout the country, the conference has provided a broader platform for the city to attract both investment and talent. In this way, it has provided strong support for the strategy of "finance serving the real economy", improved the scale and service level of Qingdao's financial industry, and greatly boosted the city's high-quality socio-economic development.

SOURCE Qingdao Global Venture Capital Conference
Qabil Ashirov

For centuries, Armenia, which has been dreaming of the so-called 'great armenian', eyed on the territories of Azerbaijan and always invaded the lands whenever it had the opportunity, is not satisfied only with Karabakh. It should be recalled that 13 villages of the Gazakh region of Azerbaijan, located far from Karabakh, were occupied by Armenians in the 1990s. But later, 6 of those 13 villages were freed from occupation. At present, 7 villages of Gazakh, as well as the territory of Nakhchivan called Kerki, have been under the occupation of Armenia since that time.

The occupation of those villages has laid bare the Armenian whopper and proved to the world that the issue is neither the violation of minority rights nor self-determination, the issue is expansionism and false idea of usurping lands of neighbor countries.

Unfortunately, the scale of atrocity committed by Armenians against the native Azerbaijanis in Garabagh was so big that it has overshadowed and caused to forget the occupation of those territories. Except for the IDPs of these villages, neither Azerbaijan nor the world talked about them until the humiliating defeat of Armenians in the 44-day War in 2020. After the war, Azerbaijan raised the issue of these villages several times and the Armenian side brought some excuses as usual. Last time the issue was raised by the EU ambassador to Armenia.

She noted that there are one or two stations in the border with Azerbaijan, from which Armenia should withdraw its troops. She underscored that this issue was voiced in Brussels, as well, and the EU hopes that the parties will start this process soon.

It should be noted that the opinion of the experts regarding the current and subsequent fate of the occupied villages was received.

Speaking to Azernews the military expert Adalat Verdiyev also confirmed that the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan had stated in his last statement in Reykjavik that he recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan as 86.6 thousand square kilometers. He underlined that this means Armenia recognizes Karabakh, Eastern Zangazur, and eight villages that are under occupation as the territory of Azerbaijan.

Despite Azerbaijan regaining control over other areas, these eight villages still remain under the control of Armenia. Armenia realizes that their return to Azerbaijan would cause serious problems for Armenia. For example, the return of the village of Karki to Azerbaijan allows Azerbaijan to take control of the Yerevan-Gafan highway, and the return of 7 villages of Gazakh allows Azerbaijan to control the Ijevan Noyemberyan M4 Highway. This promised serious problems for Armenia, and therefore Armenia is trying to solve this issue in slightly a different way, Verdiyev said.

Reminding that four of these villages are Azerbaijans exclave within Armenia, the expert admitted that solving this issue will be very hard. However, he believes that Azerbaijan and Armenia can solve the problem if Armenia approaches the issue rationally.

For example, it will not be easy to open a corridor to Azerbaijan from the Yukhari Eskipara village [exclave], which borders Armenia on all four sides, and ensure the safety of Azerbaijani citizens there. Similarly, the other 3 exclaves. Therefore, the exchange of these areas may be possible. However, we do not observe any open discussions about territorial exchange yet, he noted.

He added that in any case, the victorious Azerbaijan will not compromise an inch of its land to the Armenian side. This is an axiom, and this proof does not need any further evidence. Besides, Armenia also does not have the military capabilities to control the territories of Azerbaijan.
MELBOURNE, Australia, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Forex and CFD specialists, CompareForexBrokers, have tested 16 well known forex brokers to determine which have the lowest Spreads for RAW/ECN accounts. The top three finalists were:

Fusion Markets

City Index

TMGM

Testing Results

Comprehensive testing by Ross Collins, Chief Technology Researcher at CompareForexBrokers, found by Fusion Markets and City Index had average spreads lower than 0.30 pips. This is a third of the most expensive broker results.

Broker Pips Fusion Markets 0.22 City Index 0.25 TMGM 0.32 IC Markets 0.32 Pepperstone 0.36 FP Markets 0.41 BlueBerry Markets 0.43 ThinkMarkets 0.46 Go Markets 0.46 Tickmill 0.47 Eightcap 0.50 Axi 0.73 CMC Markets 0.73 Admiral Markets 0.79 BlackBull Markets 0.94

To ensure the test fairness, Ross Collins combined the average result of 6 major currency pairs. These tests do not factor in commission costs which are another cost in addition to the spread. Other brokers noteworthy for low spreads from the tests included TMGM, IC Markets and Pepperstone.

Analysing The Winners

The lowest Australian based forex broker was Fusion Markets . Phil Horner of Fusion Markets said "We appreciate the deep research done by CompareForexBrokers. Our team invests significant effort in sourcing pricing that provides our clients with the lowest costs in the market. We are committed to continue working hard to make trading easier and cheaper for our clients, no matter what they trade."

City Index was the lowest UK-based forex broker. Tom Brown - Head of City Index Australia said "We're thrilled with the reception to our new RawFX account among active traders and are pleased to be recognised as one of the market's leading FX brokers. Our most demanding traders wanted a product that provided lower spreads, commissions and faster execution and it is satisfying to be recognised for this from the industry and importantly, our customers."

More Details On The Test Methodology

RAW/ECN accounts have tighter spreads than standard accounts as they use straight through processing (STP) to deliver competitive spreads. Spreads for major currency pairs such as EUR/USD and AUD/USD can be as low as 0 pips but on average are slightly higher. To find the brokers with the tightest spreads for such accounts, CompareForexBrokers conducted testing using 16 MetaTrader 4 forex brokers.

All testing was done on the popular MetaTrader 4 trading platform using live RAW/ECN accounts across 16 of the top brokers in the world. The overall rankings for the 16 brokers tested by average spreads for the 6 major currency pairs used - AUDUSD, EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDCAD, USDCHF and USDJPY.

About Compare Forex Brokers

CompareForexBrokers is a forex comparison website that compares the best forex and CFD brokers based on crucial trading considerations, broken down in plain English.

Social Media Channels:

Website | Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter

Media contact:

Justin Grossbard

[email protected]

0431475683

SOURCE CompareForexBrokers
BEIJING, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from China Daily:

Located at the heart of the economic circle of Northeast Asia, Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province in Northeast China, is well positioned to build itself into a high-level international cooperation hub, local officials said.

The illustration shows Shenyang's industrial and business muscle, as well as its logistics strengths

According to the guidelines on the construction of a national central city that the Shenyang government released in May 2022, the provincial capital is advancing its opening-up to the world more extensively and more deeply, getting more involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, developing a more advanced open economy and creating a high-level opening-up platform.

Meanwhile, in response to the guidelines, the city is enhancing regional cooperation and strengthening domestic opening-up, giving full play to city clusters in their agglomeration and integration, industrial synergy, and influence.

In the dual-circulation pattern, Shenyang is striving to become a pivot of the domestic market circulation and a key node of dual circulation in the domestic and international markets. Its goal is to build itself into an international open and inclusive cosmopolitan city in Northeast Asia, according to the guidelines.

To this end, the city is beefing up the Shenyang Area of China (Liaoning) Pilot Free Trade Zone. It centered on maintenance and remanufacturing, digital trade, and trade in services, putting emphasis on institutional innovation in the free trade zone, and promoting pilot projects of import for remanufacturing.

Established in 2017, the FTZ Shenyang area makes full use of the combination of institutional innovation and the real economy's development. It strives to make breakthroughs in key industries and crucial production processes to meet the growth needs of local businesses, and ramps up upgrades to the FTZ, in a bid to take the lead in Northeast China's opening-up, officials said.

Driven by the FTZ Shenyang area, the city's foreign trade volume stood at 140.66 billion yuan ($20.3 billion) in 2022, of which exports increased 7.7 percent year-on-year to 52.23 billion yuan.

Shenyang will broaden the fields for opening-up across the board, comprehensively improve its capabilities of attracting investment, smooth international channels and build high-level platforms for opening-up, thus creating a high-quality open economy in such dimensions, the officials added.

Siasun Robot & Automation, a high-tech company headquartered in Shenyang's Hunnan district, has exported its products to 13 countries and regions, meeting the demand across the board for robotic technologies and high-end intelligent equipment used in key sectors including industry, transportation, energy and people's well-being.

Neusoft Medical Systems, a world-leading clinical diagnosis and treatment solutions provider from Shenyang, has launched its NeuViz 128 intelligent CT system in the international market, including the regions of South Asia and North Africa.

The move set a new technological record for large intelligent medical machines made in China, leading the homegrown large diagnosis equipment to break through their overseas peers' monopoly on technology and the market and to move onto the international high-end market.

The China-Germany (Shenyang) Equipment Manufacturing Industrial Park is a front-runner in the city's opening-up landscape.

To date, the industrial park, which was given the green light by the State Council in December 2015, is home to more than 420 companies. Of them, 127 are foreign-funded businesses and 84 are direct investment projects by Fortune Global 500 companies.

Big names include automaker BMW-Brilliance, and auto component and system suppliers ZF Friedrichshafen and Mubea.

BMW-Brilliance is the cradle of the German automaker's localized production in China. Its production facility in Shenyang's Tiexi district, the 25th plant of BMW worldwide, is an exemplar of Sino-German cooperation in advanced manufacturing.

The city has also made headway in economic cooperation with South Korea, Japan and Russia. With a focus on Northeast Asian countries, Shenyang will capitalize on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which came into effect in January 2022, to help local businesses move up the industrial, supply and value chains, aid enterprises from around the globe to attain sustainable development goals, and achieve a win-win situation, local officials noted.

Government data show that paid-in foreign investment in Shenyang continued momentum in 2022, amounting to $3.92 billion and representing a surge of 375.1 percent year-on-year.

Behind the international trade boom and the influx of foreign investment are the city's favorable policies, efficient administrative services, a well-established industrial foundation, skilled workforce, strong innovation capacities and a convenient transportation network.

The China Railway Express (Shenyang) Hub for China-Europe freight trains came into official operation on March 4. Covering over 2 square kilometers, the hub can handle more than 1,000 trains a year.

Such international logistics channels have significantly helped businesses slash time and costs, bringing them enormous benefits and playing a pivotal role in promoting connectivity and trade in the Northeast Asia region.

In addition, prominent innovation capacities also add to the charm of the investment destination.

The research program of unmanned submersible Haidou-1 achieved world-class breakthroughs in October 2021, filling the gap in the application of 10,000-meter-deep unmanned submersibles in international oceanographic research. The program was led by the Shenyang Institute of Automation at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Another CAS branch, the Institute of Metal Research, is situated in the city's Shenhe district. It was among the first CAS institutes established after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

The city's open-mindedness also helps to expand Shenyang's influence in international exchanges. It has forged friendly ties with 101 cities in 43 countries  of which 23 are international friendship cities and 78 are in cooperation with Shenyang  ranking No 1 in the province.

Of the 23 international friendship cities, Sapporo and Kawasaki are in Japan; Daejeon, Seongnam and Incheon are in South Korea; and Irkutsk, Novosibirsk and Uft are in Russia. Four of them  Sapporo in Japan, Chicago in the United States, Daejeon in South Korea, and Belfast in the United Kingdom  have been awarded as international friendship cities for their exchanges with China.

SOURCE China Daily
New Education and On-The-Job Training Tools Debut

NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION SHOW: BOOTH 5334

CHICAGO, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In addition to tasting and experiencing the latest culinary trends, attendees at the 2023 National Restaurant Association show May 20-23 can learn how to find, train and retain skilled candidates for culinary positions by visiting leading workforce solutions partner, Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, debuting at booth #5334.

Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/9154851-auguste-escoffier-school-of-culinary-arts/

Escoffiers Work and Learn Program with Angry Cactus Online student taking photo of bread

According to the National Restaurant Association, 500,000 new foodservice jobs will be added in 2023 and 87 percent of operators say they will likely hire staff if there are qualified applicants available. Unfortunately, more than 79 percent also say it's difficult to fill open positions .

Escoffier designed its education-focused workforce development solutions to connect employers and recruiters with its national resources of culinary candidates. The Escoffier Works initiative focuses on education and training to help create a stronger, more skilled workforce. Escoffier Works can offer employers a suite of specialized culinary upskilling (training and continuing education) tools designed to help find, develop and keep talented staff.

"We're in a unique position to offer employers tailored on-the-job training and education tools and help build in-house programs," said Denise Sullivan, Escoffier's vice president of Enterprise Solutions.

Escoffier Connect, Works' specially-designed technology platform, provides partners access to an extensive job board and Escoffier's network of culinary-focused candidates, including graduating students completing their externship requirement. Employers in hospitality, restaurant, food management, healthcare and senior living industries are starting to take advantage of Escoffier's options.

"We continue to hear firsthand about the recruiting and retention benefits of connecting employers to our talent pool through Escoffier's proprietary tools," added Sullivan. According to Angry Cactus , Escoffier's Work and Learn option incorporates education and training to help create an environment for success for both the employer and student.

According to a recent Gallup survey, upskilling opportunities are a powerful attraction tool for employers, and one employees seek. More than 65 percent of workers surveyed believe employer-provided upskilling is important when looking for a new job and 61 percent said upskilling opportunities are an important reason to stay at their job. A whopping 75 percent of workers who participated in an upskilling program said it helped advance their careers.

Escoffier Works includes a broad range of customizable education and training tools, including online courses, on-the-job training resources, and professional development modalities. "These tools can help employees enrich their career path and give employers valuable resources to leverage for staff development and retention," added Sullivan.

For more information about Escoffier Works, visit, https://www.escoffier.edu/works/

For more information about Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, visit https://www.escoffier.edu/ .

Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts (Escoffier) is the largest culinary school brand in the U.S. (based on comparable student population data currently reported in IPEDS) .

It is the only U.S. accredited institution, available through its Boulder campus, to offer 100 percent online culinary degrees which include culinary classes and real-world industry externships. Ranked in the top 10 culinary schools in the United States by USA Today and number one in the world by Chef's Pencil , the school's professional programs offer the proven combination of a classic and contemporary approach to modern industry skills training as well as sustainability-centered and business-focused curriculum. Escoffier is a Great Place to Work-Certified institution, a Newsweek Top Online Learning School and its Boulder (includes online programs) and Austin campuses are designated as Military Friendly Schools .

Click for more information on Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts accreditations and degree and diploma programs .

MEDIA CONTACT: Patti Thomas/ [email protected]

AUGUSTE ESCOFFIER SCHOOL OF CULINARY ARTS CONTACT: Brian Watt / 844.914.2682 / [email protected]

SOURCE Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts
LONDON, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BE OPEN Art , an online art gallery set up by BE OPEN think tank, a humanitarian initiative founded by international businessperson and philanthropist Elena Baturina, is setting up an art exhibition in Nicosia, Cyprus.

The exhibition dedicated to celebrating the emerging artists of the Eastern Mediterranean will take place at the Centre of Visual Arts and Research (CVAR) and display the artworks selected by the public and BE OPEN community experts in the course of BE OPEN Regional Art competition, as well as a selection of visuals by young Cypriot artists.

With the beginning of year 2023, BE OPEN started selecting those young artists who best represent the artistic tradition of the Eastern Mediterranean to feature in the BE OPEN Art gallery and take part in the BE OPEN Regional Art competition to offer them greater visibility.

Every month, works by 20 emerging artists from Cyprus, Turkey, the Greek Dodecanese islands, and the countries of Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Jordan and Egypt were posted at the online gallery, for the public to select the Regional Artist of the Month.

Based on the general amount of votes, Jovanna Theodosiou has become the Artist of the Region for the Eastern Mediterranean. Jovanna studied Fine Art in Kingston University, UK, and currently lives and works in Nicosia, Cyprus. As a regional winner, she gets a money prize of 500 euros and major representation at the exhibition.

The BE OPEN Regional Art exhibition will be open from the 5th to the 21st of June with free admission at the Centre of Visual Arts and Research (285 Ermou Street, Nicosia, 1017).

BE OPEN Regional Art is a series of competitions for emerging artists, aimed to support those whose art best represents their regional, cultural and ethnic identities. Each regional stage lasts three months, therefore four stages will be run a year, with a winner named for each of them. The regional winners get the money prize of 500 euros, while a selection of artwork best representing the region form an exhibition, in order to share the art with the wide public and celebrate the artists involved. The ongoing stage of the regional programme is held in the Caribbean, and then BE OPEN Regional Art will travel to Southeast Asia and Central Africa at the end of the year.

SOURCE BE OPEN Foundation
All Proposals Approved by Shareholders; Company Highlights Strength & Progress

BOSTON, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB), announced today that all four proposals were approved at its Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 18, 2023, with a quorum of approximately 93% of outstanding shares voted in person or by proxy at the meeting. All measures were unanimously recommended by the Board. All measures requesting shareholder approval received at least 97% support.

Shareholders voted to approve the election of all twelve director nominees to serve a one-year term:

David M. Brunelle (Chairperson) William H. Hughes III Laurie Norton Moffatt Baye Adofo-Wilson, Esq. Jeffrey W. Kip Karyn Polito Nina A. Charnley Dr. Sylvia Maxfield Eric S. Rosengren Dr. Mihir A. Desai Nitin Mhatre (Berkshire CEO) Michael A. Zaitzeff

Shareholders further provided advisory votes, ratification and guidance as follows:

Executive compensation practices were approved;

Ratification of the appointment of Crowe LLP as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2023 was approved; and

The "one year" option was selected for the frequency of future "say-on-pay" advisory votes on executive compensation.

The Company's proxy materials highlighted Berkshire's financial progress and outperformance of comparative stock indices for the last two years, its highly ranked Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) programs as well as the experience and diversity of the board. The board reflects two thirds gender and ethnic diversity including 33% (4/12) women and 33% (4 12) ethnic minorities.

During the meeting CEO Nitin Mhatre thanked the board members for their resolute commitment to strong governance. He also recognized retiring directors John B. Davies and Jonathan I. Shulman for their significant contributions to the Company.

"We believe that institutions such as ours play a vital role in our communities. No other bank can serve our customers and communities as well as Berkshire. We remain focused on our role in providing robust financial solutions to our customers while maintaining a disciplined credit posture, reflected by our diversified customer base and above-average credit quality." - CEO Nitin Mhatre

Berkshire reported progress in its first quarter results building on the improvements it made in 2022 through its Berkshire's Exciting Strategic Transformation or BEST program. Berkshire's financial strength was recently reaffirmed with an A3 deposit rating by Moody's Investors Service, and ratings were also affirmed without change by the KBRA rating service.

"Despite the uncertainty in the broader economic environment, the steadfast commitment of our bankers to provide exceptional service to our customers continues to inspire me every day. We're pleased with the ongoing support we continue to receive from our customers and for the new business opportunities that are emerging from the current market disruption. Together, our steady execution of our BEST plan and these emerging opportunities will help us drive long term, profitable and responsible growth for our stakeholders," concluded Mhatre.

ABOUT BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP

Headquartered in Boston, Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE: BHLB) is the parent of Berkshire Bank. Founded in 1846, the Bank's vision is to be a high-performing leading socially responsible community bank. It empowers the financial potential of its stakeholders by making banking available where, when, and how it's needed through an uncompromising focus on exceptional customer service, digital banking, and positive community impact. Providing a wide range of financial solutions through its consumer banking, commercial banking and wealth management divisions, the Bank has approximately $12.3 billion in assets and a community-based footprint of 100 financial centers in Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Named one of America's Most Trusted Companies by Newsweek and America's Best Midsize Employers by Forbes, Berkshire is also listed in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality. To learn more, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , and LinkedIn .

Investor Contact Kevin Conn Investor Relations 617.641.9206

[email protected]



Media Contact Gary Levante Corporate Communications 413.447-1737 [email protected]

SOURCE Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.
Fintech startup Blokko.io, in partnership with IBEX, introduces a game-changing payment solution for the Bitcoin Conference 2023, allowing attendees to purchase products using Bitcoin. The innovative payment solutions provided by Blokko.io and IBEX's Lightning Network node create a seamless and secure experience for merchants and consumers.

MIAMI, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Blokko.io is proud to announce its groundbreaking collaboration with IBEX, which revolutionizes payment methods at the highly anticipated Bitcoin Conference 2023. The event, known for its vibrant atmosphere and cutting-edge discussions, will feature more than 30 vendors who can now accept Bitcoin as a form of payment, thanks to the partnership between Blokko.io and IBEX.

As a pioneer in crypto payments, Blokko.io has forged alliances with major digital asset exchanges, digital wallets, as well as traditional acquirers and aggregators. This unique network enables businesses to seamlessly accept payments from consumers using digital wallets and receive reimbursement in their local currency directly into their bank accounts.

How it works: At each vendor booth, Blokko.io's state-of-the-art payment terminals will be prominently displayed. Attendees can select their desired products, and the cashier will input the corresponding amount in US dollars. Blokko.io will instantaneously generate a QR code, displaying the equivalent Bitcoin amount needed for the transaction.

Users can conveniently access their Bitcoin wallets, such as CashApp or any Lightning Network-compliant wallet, and scan the QR code provided by the payment terminal. Upon confirmation of the payment, the transaction is swiftly processed, and a printed receipt is generated  all completed within seconds.

One key advantage of this innovative payment solution is the instant conversion of Bitcoin into USD for each transaction, and subsequent reimbursement to the merchant. Blokko.io's cutting-edge technology guarantees a frictionless experience for merchants, empowering them to maximize the potential of cryptocurrencies while expanding their customer base and eliminating the volatility typically associated with cryptocurrencies.

"We are thrilled to introduce this revolutionary payment solution at the Bitcoin Conference 2023," said Alejandro Morales, Global Head of Business Development at Blokko.io. "By collaborating with IBEX and leveraging our extensive partnerships within the crypto ecosystem, we are enabling merchants and consumers to embrace the future of finance. Attendees will enjoy the experience of purchasing products and services with Bitcoin, further accelerating the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies."

For media inquiries, please contact: [email protected]

About Blokko.io

Blokko.io is a leading Miami-based fintech allowing businesses to accept payments from consumers using digital wallets and receive reimbursement in local currency directly into their bank accounts. With strategic partnerships and a user-friendly payment gateway, Blokko.io facilitates seamless transactions with cryptocurrencies at points of sale, creating a frictionless experience for merchants and consumers. Website: www.blokko.io

About IBEX:

IBEX is a Bitcoin infrastructure company specializing in Lightning Network enterprise solutions. By running a Lightning Network node, IBEX enables faster and more scalable Bitcoin transactions, revolutionizing the potential of decentralized payments.

Israel Hernandez

Blokko.io

1.305.975.3124

[email protected]

www.blokko.io

SOURCE Blokko.io
The Blyncc blockchain ecosystem aims to introduce a smooth and fast B2B Payment System leveraging blockchain technology.

DUBAI, UAE, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Blyncc, a promising B2B payment initiative for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), has gladly announced the launch of their $BLC token's private sale happening on May 22, 2023.

Blyncc

The Blyncc is a revolutionary initiative from the CEO and solo Founder Niky Achivei, offering a perfect solution that addresses the problems and hindrances SMEs face while processing their B2B transactions through traditional financial systems. In addition, Niky has dedicated the majority of her time to learning about problems SMEs experience while transacting. In addition, she has also traveled across Europe to take insights from bankers, experienced professionals, and companies in the fintech industry. Her quest to analyze and understand the problems in the B2B financial ecosystem did not stop there. She herself had also tested payment systems in the current fintech world, and she opened bank accounts in different countries as a customer for her B2B transactions. This led to her realization that there is no tailored, complete, smooth, and fair solution for B2B payments in the traditional financial world. With these profound insights and ground research, Niky is creating the ultimate solution for SMEs offering autonomy, simplicity, transparency, and fairness.

"I believe the blockchain is the new internet. I strongly believe that blockchain is not just hype but a real change. I believe the blockchain will not just disrupt every industry but will be the backbone of the financial industry. "

-Niky Achivei - Founder & CEO

The Blyncc blockchain ecosystem consists of a B2B payment gateway supporting B2B payments, Blyncc Token ($BLC), and finally, a dedicated Blyncc Blockchain, which will serve as the ultimate solution for the payment ecosystem for SMEs granting them a seamless transaction experience with autonomy and fairness.

As Niky envisions creating a perfect payments ecosystem that serves as a one-stop solution for SMEs. Blyncc moves a step closer to making their dream come true by launching their $BLC token's private sale, which will be live from May 22, 2023. Join their Discord and follow their official social handles to get instant updates on the project.

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE BLYNCC
But Many Get A Fail For Barking Up The Wrong 'Tea' Says A New Tea Census Research Study And Report Launched To Mark International Tea Day On 21st May

LONDON, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Most Brits are pretty clued up on their tea facts, reveals a new Tea Census Study1 and Report  'From Plant to Cup: There's more to a cup of tea than meets the eye'  from the UK Tea & Infusions Association (UKTIA).

Nearly seven in 10 Brits know that tea is made from the leaves of the tea plant, and most can name several tea-producing countries. More than six in 10 appreciate that tea leaves have to go through drying, rolling and chopping before ending up in our cup. A brainy half correctly say that tea is tested for quality throughout its production.

But when it comes to certain facts, Britain's army of tea drinkers needs to go back to the classroom. Chief Executive of the UK Tea & Infusions Association (UKTIA), Dr Sharon Hall, says: "As a nation of tea lovers, we know plenty of stuff about tea such as where it comes from, how it's made and the benefits it brings to our day."

"But we are still barking up the wrong 'tea' on key facts such as the differences between green and black teas. More than half (55%) of the nation claim wrongly they come from different plants and four in 10 (43%) believe green tea is picked in summer while black tea is picked in winter."

"A third (32%) reckon green tea is only made in Japan, while a similar group (33%) think that green tea looks that way because it contains a colouring."

"Even though most folk are on the ball about their national tea brew, a minority still think that regular black tea is made from fruit, vegetables, fungus, bark or roots, or even that it comes from a laboratory  which is all nonsense."

The new UKTIA report  'From Plant to Cup: There's more to a cup of tea than meets the eye'  also looked in detail at the care taken at each step of the process from tea plant to tea pot. Amazing facts from this report include:

Our love of tea started when Charles II married Portuguese princess and tea lover, Catherine of Braganza.

The first shipment of tea from China arrived in 1664 to quench the thirst of wealthy Londoners.

arrived in to quench the thirst of wealthy Londoners. Today, we import around 100,000 metric tons of tea each year to provide for the one hundred million cups a day we drink in the UK.

we drink in the UK. Tea is grown in more than 60 countries around the world; some is even grown in the UK and on the Channel Island of Jersey .

. It can take 15 years to get from tea plant seedling to actually harvesting the leaves for a cuppa.

to get from tea plant seedling to actually harvesting the leaves for a cuppa. Huge driers  a bit like hairdryers inside tunnels  are used to get the moisture content of tea leaves down to 3-4%. This is crucial for keeping tea fresh in your kitchen cupboard.

Dr Sharon Hall adds: "Many of us take tea for granted but there really is an amazing back story to how this humble leaf ends up in our teabags or tea pots."

"The type of tea enjoyed most in the UK is strong and robust, typically drunk with milk and brewed using a teabag. To create this flavour profile, tea leaves have to be cut more finely using something resembling a mincing machine called a CTC (cut, tear, curl)."

"Tea tasting is also vital to produce the 'British taste'. Just like for wine, the expert tea tasters will slurp the brew to bring in air, swish it around the mouth, and spit it out to evaluate the flavour. It's a very strict process."

"In fact, there are agreed standards on tasting methods, terminology and even the crockery used to make the brew to ensure everyone around the world is assessing quality the same way."

"As our report shows, tea production is a highly complex process but thankfully all we need to do is stick on the kettle, boiling just the water you need, grab a teabag, pour the water and sit back to enjoy a lovely, warming cuppa."

How to make a perfect brew

Want to know what makes the best brew? UKTIA's Dr Sharon Hall has put together a few simple steps to help ensure you make the best brew this International Tea Day and beyond:

Use a good quality teabag or loose-leaf tea and store your tea in a cool, dry place.

Avoid storing tea next to strongly flavoured or perfumed foods.

Always use freshly drawn water and consider using a water filter. Dr Sharon Hall explains, "In some parts of the country the tap water is hard or soft and this can affect the taste of the tea."

explains, "In some parts of the country the tap water is hard or soft and this can affect the taste of the tea." Use one teabag or one rounded teaspoon of loose tea for each cup or mug.

Smart boil. Using your mug, measure out just the water you need for one or two cuppas and only boil that.

Dr Sharon Hall notes; "This will help save on energy costs and will ensure a good flavour tea which develops best when made with freshly boiled water. The lack of oxygen bubbles in re-boiled water can give the tea a flat taste."

notes; "This will help save on energy costs and will ensure a good flavour tea which develops best when made with freshly boiled water. The lack of oxygen bubbles in re-boiled water can give the tea a flat taste." Allow the tea to brew for the recommended time before pouring. Always read the instructions on the pack and if you're brewing tea from a bag in a mug, adding milk last is best.

Most black teas should be brewed for three to four minutes, while Lapsang Souchong black tea tastes best after four to five minutes. Brew green tea for three to four minutes and oolong tea for three to five minutes, depending on your strength preference.

Remove the bag after brewing, before adding the milk.

Put your feet up, relax and enjoy.

To discover more about tea, see: https://www.tea.co.uk/

The UK TEA & INFUSIONS ASSOCIATION is the trade association for the UK tea industry.

1Independent poll of 1011 UK-based adults, Spring 2023

SOURCE UK Tea & Infusions Association
STOCKHOLM, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, on 19 May 2023, Lyvia Group AB (publ) (the "Company") held an extraordinary general meeting in Stockholm. At the meeting, the following resolutions were made.

"I am very pleased that the general meeting today resolved on the proposed share issue, the implementation of a necessary incentive program as well as the election of new board members. These resolutions mark another milestone in Lyvia's young history and continued journey. We will now strengthen our financial flexibility to accelerate the development and delivery of business-critical and growth-enabling software and services to our customers around the world," says Sebastian Karlsson, CEO Lyvia Group.

Resolution to issue shares

The general meeting resolved on a directed issue of not more than 356,293 shares at a subscription price of SEK 1,137 per share. The issue was directed to a number of external investors as well as certain entrepreneurs and employees within the Lyvia Group. Subscription shall be made within a week from the date of the general meeting, and the Company has already received subscriptions of approximately MSEK 405, of which approximately MSEK 313 will be paid through set-off.

Incentive program (LTI 2023)

The general meeting resolved to implement a long-term incentive program in the form of not more than 52,000 warrants (LTI 2023). The warrants will initially be issued to the Company and transferred to eligible participants of LTI 2023 at a price per warrant which corresponds to the fair market value. Each warrant carries entitlement, during the period January 1  December 31, 2027, to subscribe for one (1) share in the Company at a subscription price of SEK 2,274.

Election of new members of the board and resolution on board remuneration

The general meeting resolved to elect Mikael Ericson as new chairman of the board, and Martin Almgren as new member of the board, for the period up until the end of the next annual general meeting. It was further resolved that the chairman shall receive SEK 300,000 per year, and that Martin Almgren shall receive SEK 150,000 per year. In addition to the above remuneration, the chairman shall be entitled to invoice the Company for extraordinary services up to an amount of SEK 700,000 per year.

For more information, please contact:

Sebastian Karlsson, CEO and Founder

Email: [email protected]

Daria Hyppa, Investor Relations

Phone: +46 76 307 40 20

Email: [email protected]

The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above on 19 May 2023, 13:00 CET.

About Lyvia Group AB (publ)

Lyvia Group is a leading European technology partner based in Stockholm, covering the entire value chain from digital design and strategy to software and technology development. As such, it develops and delivers business-critical and growth-enabling software and services to customers all over the world. Lyvia thereby drives the digitalization of society by providing best-in-class digital services in every niche.

Read more on https://lyviagroup.com/

SOURCE Lyvia Group AB (publ)
CINCINNATI, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital Tactics Inc., a management advisory firm based in the Cincinnati metro market, today announced the promotion of Greg Beck to Director of Technology Solutions, its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) service offering to middle market companies.

Dino Lucerelli Greg Beck

Capital Tactics Founder and Managing Director Dino Lucarelli explained, "We have partnered with clients in ERP projects for more than 20 years. Our recent successes and growth in this segment necessitate this important elevation of Greg to the helm. Greg's promotion reinforces our commitment to keeping our clients on pace with emerging technologies. Our experiences with solutions such as Acumatica, NetSuite, Epicor, Infor, SAP Business One, Microsoft Dynamics, and others, have elevated technological proficiency for our clients."

Doug Miller, Chief Financial Officer for Harrison Ohio based Crown Plastics, commented on his company's recent experiences with Beck and Capital Tactics: "Greg displayed exceptional rigor in guiding us to the optimal solution for our next chapter of success. He and his team demonstrated valuable technical expertise and understanding of our users' critical needs."

Michael Chesin, Senior Director, Alliance and Consultancy Relations for Infor, a global leader in business cloud solutions, regarding his company's recent engagement with Beck and Capital Tactics, added, "Greg and the Capital Tactics team demonstrated dexterity in their understanding of the technology as well as in translating the client's needs to a "real world" implementable solution."

About Greg Beck

In addition to this new role, Beck will continue to lead the firm's M&A sourcing efforts. He joined Capital Tactics in 2021, harnessing 25 years in strategic leadership with Kroger and Fifth Third Bank. Greg has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Miami University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Xavier University.

About Capital Tactics Inc.

Capital Tactics, based in the Cincinnati metro area, provides financial advisory services to industry, private equity firms, and entrepreneurs. Services include guidance in Mergers and Acquisitions, Capital Raising, Financial Management, and Technology Services. Capital Tactics was founded by Dino Lucarelli, CPA, a former public company Chief Financial Officer and industry veteran in corporate finance and management.

For more information contact Dino Lucarelli, at (859) 250-4140, or [email protected], or Greg Beck, Senior Advisor, at (513) 379-2399, or [email protected].

SOURCE Capital Tactics Inc.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. The Consulate General of Kazakhstan in China's Xi'an was inaugurated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, signifying an important milestone in Kazakh-Chinese relations, Trend reports.

During the ceremony, President Tokayev expressed gratitude to the Chinese government for their support in establishing this diplomatic mission.

President Tokayev held significant discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping, resulting in the signing of a joint statement and other important documents. This visit is seen as the catalyst for a new era of cooperation between Kazakhstan and China, referred to as the "golden 30th anniversary".

Tokayev emphasized the significance of Xi'an as a vital hub for the economic "One Belt, One Road" project, making the opening of the Consulate General in this city particularly noteworthy. Strong ties have been forged between Kazakhstan and the Shaanxi and Xi'an provinces, with agreements signed to establish sister city relationships between North Kazakhstan and Shymkent with their Chinese counterparts. These efforts are aimed at fortifying the bonds between China and Kazakhstan.

The president believes that the establishment of the Consulate General in Xi'an will invigorate the development of Kazakh-Chinese cooperation, further enhancing economic and diplomatic relations.

Kazakhstan is the sole Central Asian country to have established a diplomatic representation in Shaanxi Province. The consulate building will not only house the diplomatic corps but also host representative offices of Kazakhstani companies, aimed at promoting the economic interests of Kazakhstan.

This milestone is the result of a decree signed by Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 5, 2022, demonstrating the commitment of both countries to strengthen their ties in a large industrial and historically significant region of China.
CHICAGO, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The cell isolation industry is poised for significant advancements in the near future. With the rapid progress in biotechnology and regenerative medicine, there is a growing need for precise and efficient methods of isolating specific cell populations. Cell isolation techniques enable researchers and clinicians to obtain pure and viable cells for various applications, including cell-based therapies, disease research, and drug development. In the coming years, we can expect the development of innovative technologies and protocols that improve the efficiency, accuracy, and scalability of cell isolation processes. These advancements will not only accelerate scientific discoveries but also pave the way for personalized medicine and enhanced treatment options for various diseases and conditions. The cell isolation industry is poised to play a pivotal role in unlocking the full potential of cellular therapies and advancing our understanding of human biology.

Cell Isolation Market in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $4.4 billion in 2023 and is poised to reach $8.2 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 13.4% from 2023 to 2028 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. Factors such as rising cell-based research and increasing focus on personalized medicine are driving the growth of this market. However, high cost and safety, ethical issues, are the major factors restraining the growth of this market.

Download an Illustrative overview: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=103931479

Browse in-depth TOC on "Cell Isolation Market"

412 - Tables

46 - Figures

307 - Pages

Cell Isolation Market Scope:

Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2023 $4.4 billion Estimated Value by 2028 $8.2 billion Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 13.4% Market Size Available for 2021-2028 Forecast Period 20232028 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Product, Cell Type, Cell Source, Technique, Application, End User, and Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities Growth opportunities in emerging markets Key Market Drivers Increased government funding for cell-based research

The consumables segment accounted for the largest share of the product segment in the cell isolation market in 2022.

Based on product, the cell isolation market is broadly segmented into consumables, and instruments. In 2022, consumables accounted for the largest share of the cell isolation market for product. This segment's large share can be attributed to factors such as the wide usage of reagents during cell isolation and continuous introduction of advanced consumables for cell isolation. Consumables can be used for a wide range of applications and cell types, making them a versatile choice for researchers. Some consumables, such as antibody-based cell isolation kits, are non-destructive and can isolate cells without damaging them, which is important for downstream applications. Consumables can be used to isolate large numbers of cells, which is important for applications such as cell therapy and drug discovery where large quantities of cells are needed.

The human cells segment accounted for the largest share of the cell type segment in the cell isolation market in 2022.

Based on cell type, the cell isolation market is categorized into two segmentshuman cells and animal cells. In 2022, human cells segment accounted for the largest share of cell isolation market. Factors such as the increasing investments by public and private organizations for research on human cells are projecting the segmental growth. The use of human cells for research is regulated by various agencies, such as the FDA and the NIH. Therefore, using human cells that have been obtained from reputable sources can ensure regulatory compliance. Human cells are directly relevant to clinical applications such as regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and cell-based therapies. This makes human cell isolation an essential part of medical research. Human cells are diverse, which allows for the study of a wide range of diseases and conditions. Human cell isolation allows researchers to isolate specific cell types for further study.

Asia Pacific is likely to grow at double digit growth rate during the forecast period.

The Asia Pacific region is estimated to grow at the highest CAGR in the cell isolation market during the forecast period, this is mainly due to the rising geriatric population and increasing number of hospitals in Asian countries. Moreover, increasing chronic diseases in the countries of this region is likely to boost the market. Also, growing infectious diseases in the region is attracting several foreign investors in the market. Governments in the APAC region are supporting research in various ways, such as funding research institutes and offering tax incentives to biotech and life sciences companies. This has led to an increased demand for cell isolation technologies to support this research.

Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=103931479

Cell Isolation Market Dynamics:

Drivers:

Increasing government funding for cell-based research Increasing number of patients suffering from cancer and infectious diseases Technological advancements Growing focus on personalized medicine

Restraints:

Ethical issues related to embryonic stem cell isolation High cost of cell-based research

Opportunities:

Emerging markets

Key Market Players:

Some of the prominent players in the cell isolation market are Danaher Corporation (US), Merck KGaA (Germany), Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (US), Becton, Dickinson and Company (US), Terumo Corporation (Japan), Agilent Technologies, Inc. (US), Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (US), Corning Incorporated (US), F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (Switzerland), Miltenyi Biotec (Germany), STEMCELL Technologies (Canada), Alfa Laval (Sweden), Sartorius AG (Germany), Akadeum Life Sciences (US), Bio-Techne (US), PerkinElmer Inc. (US), Invent Biotechnologies, Inc. (US), Takara Bio, Inc. (Japan), MiCareo Inc. (US), Proteintech Group, Inc. (US), QIAGEN (Germany), Lonza (Switzerland), Promega Corporation (US), PluriSelect Life Science UG (Haftungsbeschrankt) & Co. KG (Germany), and MagBio Genomics (US).

Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=103931479

Recent Developments:

In October 2022 , Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. launched DynaCellect, a next-generation cell isolation, cell activation, cell depletion instrument. It also launched the Dynabeads magnetic beads removal instrument to optimize the cell therapy manufacturing process.

, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. launched DynaCellect, a next-generation cell isolation, cell activation, cell depletion instrument. It also launched the Dynabeads magnetic beads removal instrument to optimize the cell therapy manufacturing process. In June 2022 , Terumo BCT and GenCure collaborated to advance cell and gene therapy manufacturing solutions.

, Terumo BCT and GenCure collaborated to advance cell and gene therapy manufacturing solutions. In May 2022 , Terumo BCT inaugurated its second manufacturing facility in Colorado .

Cell Isolation Market Advantages:

Enhanced Experimental Precision: Cell isolation techniques allow researchers to isolate specific cell populations from complex biological samples, enabling more precise and targeted analysis. This improves the accuracy and reliability of experimental results, leading to better understanding of cellular processes and disease mechanisms.

Increased Efficiency and Cost-effectiveness: Advanced cell isolation methods have streamlined workflows and reduced the time and resources required for isolating cells. This enhances overall laboratory productivity and cost-effectiveness, making cell isolation more accessible to researchers and clinicians.

Diverse Applications: Cell isolation techniques have a wide range of applications in various fields, including stem cell research, cancer biology, immunology, regenerative medicine, and drug discovery. Isolated cells can be used for studying cell behavior, developing novel therapies, conducting drug screening, and personalized medicine approaches.

Improved Cell Viability and Purity: Effective cell isolation methods ensure high cell viability and purity, which are crucial for downstream applications. By eliminating unwanted cells or contaminants, researchers can obtain a more representative and reliable cell population for their experiments.

Advancements in Automation and Standardization: The cell isolation market has witnessed advancements in automation and standardization, allowing for higher throughput and reproducibility. Automated cell isolation systems minimize human errors and variability, resulting in consistent and reliable outcomes.

Integration with Omics Technologies: Cell isolation techniques can be seamlessly integrated with omics technologies, such as genomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics, enabling comprehensive characterization of isolated cells. This integration facilitates deeper insights into cellular functions and molecular profiles.

Overall, the cell isolation market provides researchers and clinicians with efficient, reliable, and versatile tools for isolating specific cell populations, driving advancements in basic research, clinical diagnostics, and therapeutic development.

Related Reports:

Cell Therapy Technologies Market - Global Forecasts to 2027

Regenerative Medicine Market - Global Forecasts to 2027

Single Cell Analysis Market - Global Forecasts to 2026

Cell Expansion Market - Global Forecasts to 2025

Cell Counting Market - Global Forecasts to 2025

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/cell-isolation-market.asp

Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/

Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/cell-isolation.asp

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg

SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
BEIJING, May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- China's General Administration of Customs published data on Wednesday, showing that China's import and export volume with Central Asian countries amounted to 173.05 billion yuan ($24.8 billion) in the first four months, an increase of 37.3 percent compared with the same period last year.

It is particularly noteworthy that China's export and import volume with the five Central Asian countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, reached a combined 50.27 billion yuan in April alone, exceeding 50 billion yuan for the first time, marking a new step in trade volume.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that the keys to successful cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries are mutual respect, good neighborliness and friendship, solidarity, and mutual benefit.

The presidents of the five Central Asian countries are all in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, to attend the China-Central Asia Summit, which is scheduled for Thursday and Friday. President Xi held bilateral meetings with each of the five Central Asian leaders, with the talks covering topics including promoting bilateral ties, enhancing win-win cooperation, safeguarding regional safety and development, and building a community with a shared future.

Mutual trust, solidarity

"China and the Central Asian countries, with their interests closely entwined, have stood together through thick and thin and are a community with a shared future," Xi noted when meeting with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov on Thursday.

In the past decade, Xi visited Central Asia seven times and also hosted multiple Central Asian leaders in China. Xi has had in-depth exchanges with people from different sectors in the region. Guided by head-of-state diplomacy, the friendship and political mutual trust between China and the five Central Asian countries have been constantly deepened.

China has established comprehensive strategic partnerships will all the five countries and reached consensus with them on building a community with a shared future on a bilateral level.

Xi and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov on Thursday also announced the elevation of the bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era.

The five Central Asian leaders spoke of the need to build a community with a shared future to contribute to the development and vitalization of both sides.

Mutual respect, support

Talking with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Thursday, Xi said that the two sides should firmly support each other and be trustworthy and reliable friends and partners of each other.

In the face of a turbulent and complex world situation, China and the Central Asian countries have become more aware of the need to support each other in order to safeguard regional peace and realize modernization and development of their respective countries. This is highly consistent with the China-proposed Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.

During their talks with Xi, the five leaders hailed the significance of the three initiatives and reaffirmed their commitment to coordinate with China on their implementation.

Xi reiterated China's firm support for the Central Asian countries to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to independently choose development paths suited to their own national conditions, stressing China opposes foreign interference in Central Asian countries' internal affairs.

The five countries also vowed to firmly adhere to the one-China principle and support China's position on issues related to Taiwan, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and other core interests.

Mutual benefit, cooperation

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev lauded the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a great initiative when he met Xi on Wednesday. Thus, the five Central Asian leaders all expressed their intention to dovetail their countries' respective development strategies with the BRI.

Ten years ago, Xi put forward the initiative of jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt in Kazakhstan, which led up to the BRI. Over the past decade, Central Asian countries have become pioneers in promoting the BRI and the region has been built into an example of high-quality BRI development.

From fully loaded trains to humming production lines and natural gas pipelines, from the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan highway to the industrial parks, vigorous cooperation has facilitated industrial upgrades and livelihood improvements in the region, resulting in win-win results.

In 2022, China-Central Asia trade volume hit a historic high of $70.2 billion, an over 100-fold increase since diplomatic ties were established 31 years ago.

Apart from the five bilateral talks, a raft of bilateral documents on cooperation in areas including economy, trade, energy, transport, agriculture, connectivity, culture, and local affairs were also signed.

During his meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Xi said he is convinced that, with the concerted efforts of all parties, the China-Central Asia Summit will open a new chapter for China-Central Asia cooperation.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-05-18/How-to-open-up-a-new-era-of-China-Central-Asia-cooperation-1jUyqn7Dmo0/index.html

SOURCE CGTN
Chainlink VRF is the leading random number generator in the blockchain space

SAN FRANCISCO, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chainlink , the industry-standard Web3 services platform, and Arbitrum , the most widely used Layer 2 scaling solution suite for Ethereum dApp development, have today announced the launch of Chainlink VRF (Verifiable Random Function) on Arbitrum One.

Chainlink VRF is the leading random number generator in the blockchain space

Chainlink VRF is the industry's most widely adopted random number generator (RNG), fulfilling more than 15.8 million request transactions and currently providing verifiable randomness to more than 6,300 unique smart contracts across multiple blockchains. VRF provides an easy-to-use subscription management app for accessing a secure source of randomness, and empowers smart contract developers to build the next wave of provably fair and scalable NFT and gaming applications.

"Ethereum Layer 2s like Arbitrum play a fundamental role in offloading transaction congestion from Ethereum, without sacrificing the security needed to ensure the healthy growth of the blockchain industry," said Johann Eid, VP of Go-To-Market at Chainlink Labs. "We're excited about the use cases that can now be unlocked by optimizing Chainlink VRF to benefit from the incredible speed enabled by Arbitrum."

Arbitrum One is an optimistic rollup for Ethereum that powers high-throughput, low-cost dApps. Chainlink VRF provides cryptographically secure randomness for blockchain-based applications, and is now available on the Arbitrum network. By combining Chainlink's reliable VRF solution with Arbitrum One's Layer 2 ecosystem, developers now have access to the leading RNG in the blockchain industry.

"The implementation of Chainlink VRF on Arbitrum One is a great win for both the Arbitrum and Chainlink communities," said A.J. Warner, Chief Strategy Officer at Offchain Labs. "Chainlink VRF is a time-tested solution, and its transparency and security is a welcome benefit for Arbitrum users. We look forward to the innovation this sparks with our community and continuing our work with Chainlink Labs in the years to come."

In December 2022, Chainlink Automation went live on Arbitrum One, helping developers build advanced dApps to reliably trigger key smart contract functions.

About Chainlink

Chainlink is the industry standard for building, accessing, and selling oracle services needed to power hybrid smart contracts on any blockchain. Chainlink oracle networks provide smart contracts with a way to reliably connect to any external API and leverage secure off-chain computations for enabling feature-rich applications. Chainlink currently secures tens of billions of dollars across DeFi, insurance, gaming, and other major industries, and offers global enterprises and leading data providers a universal gateway to all blockchains.

Learn more about Chainlink by visiting chain.link or reading the developer documentation at docs.chain.link . To discuss an integration, reach out to an expert .

About The Arbitrum Foundation

The Arbitrum Foundation, founded in March 2023, supports and grows the Arbitrum network and its community with secure scaling solutions for Ethereum. The Foundation oversees the $ARB token and governance structure as well as the Arbitrum Security Council, a 12-member multisig of well regarded community members designed to ensure the security of the chains. Arbitrum One is a leading Ethereum Layer-2 scaling solution developed by Offchain Labs.

An Optimistic Rollup, Arbitrum One provides ultra-fast, low-cost transactions with security derived from Ethereum. Launched in August 2021, the Arbitrum One mainnet beta is EVM-compatible to the bytecode level and has 65%+ TVL in the L2 segment. 400+ DeFi and NFT projects are live in the ecosystem to date. In August 2022, Arbitrum One upgraded to Nitro tech stack, enabling fraud proofs over the core engine of Geth compiled to WASM.

SOURCE Chainlink; Arbitrum Foundation
BEIJING, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The China-Central Asia Summit in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, ended on Friday. "The China-Central Asia relationship is steeped in history, driven by broad actual needs, and built on solid popular support. Our relations are brimming with vigor and vitality in the new era," said Chinese President Xi Jinping in his keynote speech during the event. How do foreign experts evaluate this summit? What role will it play in the further development of China-Central Asia ties? Global Times asked former officials and scholars of Central Asian countries and Russia about their views on the summit, as well as their understanding of China-Central Asia relations.

Djoomart Otorbaev, former prime minister of the Kyrgyz Republic and a Non-resident Senior Fellow of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China

I think that during the 30 years of our diplomatic relationship, the key is that we established trust between our countries. We work continuously with each other without any problems. So the time was not wasted: We understand each other better and the structures of our economy better. We know about the China-launched Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative. We also want to be part of these global initiatives so that the region will be more harmonious with security, peace, and mutually beneficial activities together. On our horizons, we have much more ambitious projects between each other. And what's happening is that now we're going to go to the next step of our cooperation.

Denis Berdakov, head of the "Elchi" Institute of Social-Political Research in Kyrgyzstan

The China-Central Asia Summit in Xi'an is a new platform in the international arena and will open a new chapter in the history of cooperation between the six countries. For the countries of Central Asia, it is very important that China puts forward the idea of global partnership at the world and regional levels based on the understanding that "joint development is real development, sustainable development is high-quality development." And China focuses on the fact that the results should be aimed at obtaining a win-win. China aims to strengthen all-round diplomacy and move from bilateral to multilateral relations, advocating all-round development and partnerships around the world. In this regard, the China-Central Asia Summit can be regarded as a logical step toward creating a belt of stability in Central Eurasia.

Kairat Batyrbayev, Executive Director of the Eurasian International Studies Association

It is expected that the summit of the heads of state of China and Central Asian countries will be important and bring significant results. The main purpose of the summit is to discuss and strengthen cooperation between China and the Central Asian countries, as well as to form a common understanding of the future steps and development of relations, especially in the context of the changing geopolitical situation in the world related to the Ukraine crisis. In general, it is believed that the C+C5 platform is a more effective mechanism for the development of relations between China and Central Asia.

Timofei Bordachev, a program director of the Moscow-based Valdai Discussion Club

China and Russia are equally interested in the stability of Central Asia simply because they are directly neighboring most of the states located in this part of Eurasia. The common task of China and Russia is to make their friends and neighbors in Central Asia stable and relatively prosperous in today's turbulent times. Those who want stability in Central Asia believe in the general openness of the market economy and have a sincere desire to ensure security and development in this important part of Eurasia. One would expect that the Xi'an summit will open a new page in China-Central Asia relations and bring good news for all neighbors of this important region.

Sergey Biryukov, a professor at the Siberian Institute of Management in Novosibirsk, Russia

The Xi'an summit will be of great significance. The Central Asian nations, accepting China's proposal to turn the region into a new powerful center of economic growth, can return in a new capacity to the same role that they successfully performed two millennia ago: the role of a link between trade routes from East to West and vice versa. Such a role of the Central Asian countries is in demand today. The China-Central Asia Summit can rely on the established and successfully functioning mechanisms of inter-country and interregional cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. It acts as a structure that could unite and consolidate a diverse world, confirming its declarations and plans with regular practical work.

SOURCE Global Times
SHANGHAI, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The China Brand Day events kicked off at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center in mid-May, joined by over 1,000 Chinese brands.

At the events, China Eastern Airlines (CEA) displayed its cabin services, in-flight meals, technological and innovative products and other interactive experiences with an aim to build an immersive experience for visitors, which well indicated the company's commitment to creating splendid experiences for travelers with targeted and meticulous services.

A newly developed mixed reality (MR) headset was a big hit at the China Brand Day. It integrates mobile equipment and digital technologies, and is widely used in aviation scenarios. The equipment attracted a number of visitors.

Besides, CEA also exhibited a smart bracelet that is able to sense staff members' motions in baggage handling and thus improve their work efficiency and ensure their occupational health. The bracelet is the first of its kind in the civil aviation industry and is gradually being distributed to relevant CEA employees.

At the center of CEA's exhibition booth, there were in-flight meals and drinks newly launched by CEA's Excellent Sky Chef, including the MU Catering "Zhen", MU Catering "Huan", MU Noodles and MU Tea series. International passengers flying to and from China with CEA will have the opportunity to enjoy delicious food served by CEA's "Lingyan" crews.

CEA also attended a conference on the global communication of Chinese brands, a sub-event of the China Brand Day, to share the excellent stories of CEA.

Image Attachments Links:

Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=440802

Caption: China Brand Day

Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=440809

Caption: China Brand Day

Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=440810

Caption: China Brand Day

SOURCE China Eastern Airlines
AUSTIN, Texas, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Choose Health is excited to expand its popular private label product line to include additional at-home blood tests. A wide variety of healthcare providers from weightloss clinics to med spas to pharmacies will be able to leverage data analysis technology in addition to having the opportunity to sell white label at-home blood tests.

Healthcare providers can now offer private label at-home tests for:

White Label At-Home Blood Tests

Metabolic function

Liver function

Kidney function

Thyroid function

Male hormones

Female hormones

Adrenal function

Stress levels

These at-home blood tests cover 29+ biomarkers:

Total Cholesterol

HDL Cholesterol

LDL Cholesterol

Triglycerides

Average Blood Sugar (hbA1c)

Natriuretic Peptide (NT-ProBNP)

Visceral Fat (Waist : Height Ratio)

Oxidative Stress (GGT)

Inflammation (hs-CRP)

Vitamin D (25-OH vitamin D)

Total Testosterone

Free Testosterone

Estradiol

Luteinizing Hormone (LH)

Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH)

Progesterone

Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA)

Thyroid (TSH)

Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG)

Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH)

Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate (DHEA-S)

Cortisol

Prolactin

Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (EGFR)

Creatinine

Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST)

Alanine Transaminase (ALT)

Total Bilirubin

Alkaline Phosphatase

Private label at-home blood tests aren't limited to private practitioners. They can be resold online or in-store at a variety of locations. Choose Health's white label partners can create customized test panels that utilize dried blood spot (DBS) testing technology. The tests are affordable, stable and easy for anyone to administer. The white-label service is all-inclusive. Everything that's needed for at-home blood testing is included:

Finger-prick test supplies

Inbound shipping

Outbound shipping

Physicians requisition processing

24/7 customer service

"Finger prick testing provides powerful information with just a few drops of blood. But often people are deterred from venipunctures, blood draw clinics and the time & cost incurred. Therefore, our mission is to provide easier and more affordable access to functional medicine." Matthew McDermott, Msc, Head of Research & Development at Choose Health.

Private label at-home blood tests also include Choose Health's HIPAA-compliant tracking platform. The platform features a customized dashboard so that customers can review the results and get recommendations. Customers receive a personalized video going over each biomarker and how to improve them.

The results dashboard also gives healthcare providers another platform for:

Gathering customer data to enhance services.

Communicating with customers.

Creating highly targeted marketing campaigns.

Branding and finding brand evangelists.

Repeat sales through tracking multiple test results.

Improving customer experience and product value.

The goal for Choose Health is to create a seamless, multi-channel branded experience no matter what type of at-home blood test is being taken. The customer taking the test will only be exposed to private label branding that's added to:

Product packaging

Product inserts

Instructions

Results platform interface

Online customer intake form

Emails

Choose Health has gone one step further by ensuring all redirect links also connect to the retailer's website.

At-home health testing will be a $2 billion industry within a few years. Choose Health is poised to be the reliable test provider of choice that is able to supply a selection of white label at-home tests that are paired with a results platform for exceptional value and customer experience.

If you are interested in hearing more about Choose Health's white-label solutions, feel free to book a call with an expert today - Book here .

Media Contact:

Matthew McDermott

1 (512) 806-1603

[email protected]

SOURCE Choose Health
GUIYANG, China, May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by Huanqiu.com:

In the sizzling sound of the welders, the worker quickly welds on a piece of steel bar. Such sound can be heard anywhere at the site of Midea Cloud Project in Machang Science & Technology New City in Guian New Area of Guiyang, capital city of Guizhou Province. Workers are busy carrying materials, welding and erecting steel cages.

GeoHan servers are being assembled on the production line in the workshop of Guizhou Yunshang Kunpeng Technology Co., Ltd. in Guian New Area, Guizhou Province

On that day, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for 687 major projects for Q1, 2023 in Guizhou Province in Guian New Area. It is one of the collective kickoff projects in Q1, 2023 for a total investment of about 1.355 billion yuan.

As the core area of the first national big data comprehensive pilot zone, Guian New Area boasts both inherent advantages like climate resources and institutional ones in policy. After ten years of hard efforts, the area has achieved "birth  taking root  thriving" development of the big data industry.

At present, seven ultra-large data centers have gathered in Guian New Area, including China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom, Huawei Qixing Lake, Huawei High-end Park, Tencent and Apple. To further consolidate the leading position as a data center, the area introduced 11 data center projects like Midea, Industrial Bank and Bank of Communications in 2022. The total investment of the first phase of these newly contracted data centers is estimated to exceed 20 billion yuan with additional 900,000+ servers. It is just the starting stage. In 2022, the big data business contributed to Guian's economic growth at a ratio of 44.5%.

"Cloud service" industrial ecology has gradually turned out to be the "top industry" of digital economy in Guizhou. The province will support the growth of more "cloud service" enterprises at a faster pace, aiming to achieve a 25% increase in the revenue of software and IT service.

Jing Yaping, Director-General of Big Data Development Administration of Guizhou Province noted, "The most critical factor to the rapid development of digital economy is the industry digitalization, so that data become a major driver of our socioeconomic transformation. Industry digitalization means the combination of big data and real economy. In our four proposals of new industrialization, new urbanization, tourism industrialization and agricultural modernization, we focus on the high-quality industry development. The deep industrial integration will serve as new growth impetus for Guizhou Province."

In recent years, Guizhou Province has vigorously implemented the initiative of "100 Leading Enterprises" so that the emerging high-quality enterprises of software and IT service are creating Guizhou's "cloud service" brand across China. The province works hard to develop industrial clusters of data centers, and provide favorable hardware and software conditions to build a computing power base for China.

While workers carry out installing operations in an orderly manner, GeoHan series servers are being produced in a row. Thanks to Huawei's computing products and technical support like Kunpeng motherboard, Guizhou Yunshang Kunpeng Technology Co., Ltd. independently invested and developed the branded server. Since its launch in May 2021, 80,000+ intelligent computing products have been manufactured and sold.

Zhang Hu, Director of Solutions of Guizhou Yunshang Kunpeng Technology indicated, "Our AI all-in-one machine of 'Kunpeng + Ascend' can timely meet the demand of strong computing power and high strength required by AI. Such all-in-one machine will achieve better effect of energy conservation and consumption reduction in data centers. Besides hardware updating, we collaborate with the database operation system and intermediate manufacturers both upstream and downstream, so as to get the optimal capacity of the full stack."

"A wise man changes as time and event change". Embarking on a new journey with new requirements, Guizhou will organize the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2023 themed "Integrate Digital and Real Economies and Unlock the Future with Computing Power", and make good use of this platform to implement the cloud-Internet integration and accelerate the penetration of cloud-based service in all sectors, thus promoting digital economy development to a new height with more breakthroughs.

SOURCE Huanqiu.com
GUANGZHOU, China, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CNFinance Holdings Limited (NYSE: CNF) ("CNFinance" or the "Company"), a leading home equity loan service provider in China, today announced that it will report its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023, before U.S. markets open on Friday, May 26, 2023.

CNFinance's management will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time on Friday, May 26, 2023 (8:00 PM Beijing/ Hong Kong Time on Friday, May 26, 2023).

Dial-in numbers for the live conference call are as follows:

International: +1-412-902-4272 Mainland China +86-4001-201203 United States: +1-888-346-8982 Hong Kong: +852-3018-4992 Passcode: CNFinance

A telephone replay of the call will be available after the conclusion of the conference call until 11:59 PM ET on June 2, 2023.

Dial-in numbers for the replay are as follows:

International: +1-412-317-0088 United States: +1-877-344-7529 Passcode: 7691736

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the Investor Relations section of CNFinance's website at http://ir.cashchina.cn/.

About CNFinance Holdings Limited

CNFinance Holdings Limited (NYSE: CNF) ("CNFinance" or the "Company") is a leading home equity loan service provider in China. CNFinance, through its operating subsidiaries in China, conducts business by connecting demands and supplies through collaborating with sales partners and trust companies under the trust lending model, and local channel partners and commercial banks under the commercial bank partnership model. Sales partners and local channel partners are responsible for recommending micro- and small-enterprise ("MSE") owners with financing needs to the Company and the Company introduces eligible borrowers to licensed financial institutions with sufficient funding sources including trust companies and commercial banks who will then conduct their own risk assessments and make credit decisions. The Company's primary target borrower segment is MSE owners who own real properties in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities and other major cities in China. The Company's risk mitigation mechanism is embedded in the design of its loan products, supported by an integrated online and offline process focusing on risks of both borrowers and collateral and further enhanced by effective post-loan management procedures.

For more information, please contact:

CNFinance E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE CNFinance Holdings Limited
NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Consolidated Edison, Inc. ("Con Edison") (NYSE: ED) executives will meet with investors at the American Gas Association Financial Forum in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on May 21 and 22.

The company executives who will attend are:

Tim Cawley , the Chairman and CEO of Consolidated Edison Inc.

, the Chairman and CEO of Consolidated Edison Inc. Robert Hoglund , Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Consolidated Edison Inc.

, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Consolidated Edison Inc. Kathy Boden , Senior Vice President of Gas Operations, Consolidated Edison Company of New York .

, Senior Vice President of Gas Operations, Consolidated Edison Company of . Yukari Saegusa , Vice President and Treasurer of Consolidated Edison Inc.

The executives will discuss the company's Q1 2023 financial results and business strategy, including its initiatives to create a clean energy future.

A copy of Con Edison's latest investor presentation for these meetings can be found on the Presentations & Webcasts page of the Company's Investor Relations website.

Consolidated Edison, Inc. is one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy-delivery companies, with approximately $16 billion in annual revenues and $63 billion in assets. The company provides a wide range of energy-related products and services to its customers through the following subsidiaries: Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (CECONY), a regulated utility providing electric service in New York City and New York's Westchester County, gas service in Manhattan, the Bronx, parts of Queens and parts of Westchester, and steam service in Manhattan; Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (O&R), a regulated utility serving customers in a 1,300-square-mile area in southeastern New York State and northern New Jersey; and Con Edison Transmission, Inc., which falls primarily under the oversight of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and manages, through joint ventures, both electric and gas assets while seeking to develop electric transmission projects that will bring clean, renewable electricity to customers, focusing on New York, New England, the Mid-Atlantic states and the Midwest.

SOURCE Consolidated Edison, Inc.
- New investigational data evaluating Fexuprazan in a Korean clinical trial program for healing erosive esophagitis (EE) regardless of food intake, and in a Chinese pivotal clinical trial program for the treatment of EE

SEOUL, South Korea and CHICAGO, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Daewoong Pharmaceutical (CEO Lee Chang-jae and Jeon Sengho) announced on the 19th that they set up a booth at the Digestive Disease Week 2023 (DDW 2023) held in Chicago, USA and revealed new clinical data through two poster sessions demonstrating the efficacy and safety of Fexuclue (active ingredient name: Fexuprazan) on patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Daewoong Pharmaceutical Presents New Clinical Data of Fexuprazan at Digestive Disease Week 2023.

DDW is the world's largest conference where over 10,000 doctors, researchers, and gastroenterology experts are gathered from all around the world and share their recent studies and clinical practices. Throughout the conference, in addition to two poster sessions, Daewoong have a physical presence located at booth #4729, where the representatives of the company presented on-site to provide medical information regarding Daewoong's Fexuprazan and were able to make active scientific and academic exchanges with gastroenterologist from all over the world based on clinical trial results.

On May 7th local time, Daewoong Pharmaceutical had two poster sessions, which were an investigator initiated trial (IIT) conducted in South Korea to compare the healing rates of a mucosal breaks by Fexuprazan before and after food intake, and a pivotal phase 3 clinical trial conducted in China to assess the efficacy and safety of Fexuprazan in treating the EE.

The IIT led by Sung In-Kyung, a professor of gastroenterology at Konkuk University, assessed the efficacy and safety of Fexuprazan in patients with erosive esophagitis. The study compared the outcomes of patients who took the investigational product once a day before and after food intake. The study found no significant difference in healing rates between the group that took the investigational product before and after food intake. The ability to administer Fexuprazan irrespective of food intake provides potential differentiation from most PPIs.

Professor Sung In-Kyung who oversaw the clinical trial said, "In this study, Fexuprazan is the first P-CAB agent to demonstrate equal effectiveness regardless of food intake, enabling convenient administration. At two and four weeks, Fexuprazan has shown the potential to provide a faster and stronger in suppressing the production of gastric acid than PPIs. We anticipate that the investigational use of Fexuprazan will exhibit excellent efficacy in other conditions resulting from excessive gastric acid secretion."

Additionally, the randomized controlled phase 3 clinical trial that was conducted in China focusing on erosive esophagitis compared the healing rates of mucosal breaks observed through upper endoscopy over an eight-week period, which served as the effectiveness evaluation index. The study revealed that the percentage of mucosal healing rate by 8 weeks in the Fexuprazan group was 97.3% (145 out of 149 people) and that in the Esomeprazole group was 97.9% (143 out of 146 people). It demonstrates that Fexuprazan is non-inferior to Esomeprazole, which serves as an active comparator drug. Furthermore, a safety evaluation was carried out to assess adverse drug reactions, and the results were similar between Fexuprazan: (19.4%) and the active comparator drug, Esomeprazole (19.6%). No unexpected serious adverse reactions were observed, indicating its safety profile.

Dr. Xiao Yinglian, the presenter of the phase 3 clinical trial in China, and a professor at Sun Yat-sen University, said, "Fexuprazan has several advantages over PPIs. It starts working within just one day and shows equal effectiveness regardless of food intake. P-CAB drugs will gradually take the place of PPIs, and Fexuprazan has the potential to lead the transition".

Aside from the poster presentations at DDW 2023, Daewoong successfully held a special event outside of the traditional DDW session, "Fexuclue Reception Night" held in Chicago, USA on May 8th (local time). At Fexuclue Reception Night, about 70 key opinion leaders from around the world, including executives from Korean and overseas digestive societies, actively discussed the features of P-CAB including Fexuprazan as well as the treatment guideline for GERD using P-CAB.

Lee Chang-jae, CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical said, "We had the opportunity to showcase the potential effectiveness of Fexuprazan to doctors and researchers specializing in gastrointestinal diseases at the world's largest conference, DDW 2023 during the presentation of study results related to the erosive reflux disease that can be treated by Fexuprazan", adding "We have plans and ongoing clinical trials in and out of the country, aiming to expand the range of diseases that can be treated by Fexuprazan. We will concentrate our resources on gathering data that can demonstrate the efficacy of Fexuprazan and developing various formulations to enhance the value of Fexuprazan."

About Fexuprazan

Fexuprazan is investigational new drug in the United States of America. Outside the United States of America, Fexuprazan is known with a brand name of Fexuclue for GERD treatment. Fexuclue is an approved prescription drug for the treatment of GERD in South Korea, Chile, Ecuador and the Philippines. Fexuclue is registered trademarks of Daewoong Pharmaceutical. Any other trademarks referred to in this press release are the property of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the current beliefs and expectations of Daewoong Pharmaceutical's management. These statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) Regulatory and governmental approvals: The approval process for pharmaceutical products is subject to extensive regulations and may involve uncertainties and delays. Any failure to obtain necessary approvals or the occurrence of delays in the approval process could adversely affect Daewoong Pharmaceutical's business and results of operations; and (2) Clinical trials: The success of Daewoong Pharmaceutical's products depends on the results of clinical trials. The results of early clinical trials may not be indicative of the results of later-stage or larger-scale clinical trials.

SOURCE Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Investment Firm Surpasses Purchase of 525 Multifamily Units

RALEIGH, N.C., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DeVanDylan Capital Partners LLC (DVD), a value-add multifamily investor and operator focused on assets in the Southeast region, acquired the Willow Park Apartments complex in Forest Park, GA for $10.3 million ($95,000 per door), continuing to build a multifamily portfolio and marking the 525th unit purchased by the emerging firm. Steve P. Morrows, DVD's Founder and Chief Executive, made the announcement.

"We are thrilled to add Willow Park Apartments to our portfolio, and immediately begin our trademark repositioning, rebranding, capital improvement and asset management campaigns to bring the hidden value of the asset to light and deliver highly improved housing for our residents and the community while at the same time providing excellent Investor return on investment," Mr. Morrows said. "This transaction, in line with our growing track-record, represents an opportunity to take a hands-on approach to enhancing this property through meticulous asset management, data-driven leasing strategies and thoughtful physical re-envisioning of the apartment complex."

Located at 1466 Rockcut Road, the charming Willow Creek complex is comprised of 108 units in 14 buildings on approximately 10 acres of park-like property just south of Atlanta and only three miles from Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson International Airport (the busiest airport in the world). Area demographics indicate strong and growing demand for workforce housing in this region, with great need for quality rental housing for families desiring a safe environment and excellent outdoor amenities. DVD has completed 11 multifamily acquisitions in the last seven years with a combined estimated market value of over $50 million.

"With a very conservative and disciplined approach, we have a talent for acquiring multifamily properties that are undervalued and under-managed, then making smart capital investments in meaningful improvements  polishing these gems  to bring them back to the market with new life," Mr. Morrows said. "In the case of Willow Park, we are starting with a Class-C property, with quality construction in an excellent location and transforming the complex into a solid Class-B property."

Mr. Morrows said DVD will create a stand-out community by investing in a comprehensive exterior renovation, including roof, facade and parking lot replacement, interior renovations, upgraded security systems and community amenities. In addition, DVD will tap Strategic Management Partners for property management.

Steve Morrows brings almost four decades of real estate investment, leasing, management, brokerage, and accounting experience to his role at DVD. His first 30 years as a professional were spent in senior executive roles on the teams of a number of New York's most famous real estate investors and developers, including, RFR Realty (Aby Rosen), Rockrose Development Corp. (Henry Elghanayan) and Heitman/JMB Realty. Mr. Morrows is credited with successfully driving leasing for Class A New York Office buildings totaling more than 15 million square feet, and was a trusted steward for trophy properties such as the Seagram Building, Lever House, Carnegie Hall Tower, 17 State Street, 1211 Avenue of the Americas and numerous other buildings. Transitioning to multifamily investor with DVD in 2015, Mr. Morrows deploys many of the hands-on strategies from his earlier career to deliver outstanding results for his tenants and investors.

About DeVanDylan Capital Partners

DeVanDylan Capital (DVD) is an emerging value-add multifamily investor and operator focused on assets in the Southeast region. DVD was founded in 2015 by Steve P. Morrows, one of the commercial real estate industry's most accomplished veteran brokers-turned-principal. DVD has completed 11 acquisitions valued at more than $50 Million to date and established a track record for identifying and securing undervalued opportunities, applying hands-on asset management and meticulous property management to create excellent returns for investors in tandem with outstanding properties for its residents. For more information, please write to [email protected].

FROM: DeVanDylan Capital Partners LLC

Media Contact: Great Ink  212-741-2977 Roxanne Donovan  [email protected] Eric Nizguretsky  [email protected]

SOURCE DeVanDylan Capital Partners
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Encompass Health Corp. (NYSE: EHC) today announced it plans to build a freestanding, 50-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Concordville, Pennsylvania. The hospital will be located on Baltimore Pike within Concord Township.

The hospital will serve patients recovering from debilitating illnesses and injuries, including strokes and other neurological disorders, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations and complex orthopedic conditions. In addition to 24hour nursing care, the hospital will offer physical, occupational and speech therapies to restore functional ability and quality of life. Care will be provided by highly specialized nurses, therapists and physicians.

The hospital will feature private patient rooms, a spacious therapy gym with advanced rehabilitation technologies and an activities of daily living suite, dining room, pharmacy and therapy courtyard.

"We are excited to expand our inpatient rehabilitation services to Delaware County, as we identified this as an underserved area," said Pat Tuer, president of Encompass Health's Northeast region. "The hospital will provide our patients with high-quality, compassionate and individualized care close to home, helping patients regain the strength and function needed to return to the community at their highest level of independence."

The hospital will become part of Encompass Health's national network of rehabilitation hospitals, and it will be Encompass Health's 10th hospital in Pennsylvania.

About Encompass Health

Encompass Health (NYSE: EHC) is the largest owner and operator of rehabilitation hospitals in the United States. With a national footprint that includes 157 hospitals in 37 states and Puerto Rico, the Company provides high-quality, compassionate rehabilitative care for patients recovering from a major injury or illness, using advanced technology and innovative treatments to maximize recovery. Encompass Health is ranked as one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For and Modern Healthcare's Best Places to Work in Healthcare. For more information, visit encompasshealth.com, or follow us on our newsroom, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release which are not historical facts, such as those relating to the likelihood, timing and effects of the completion of this hospital project, are forward-looking statements. In addition, Encompass Health may from time to time make forward-looking public statements concerning the matters described herein. All such estimates, projections, and forward-looking information speak only as of the date hereof, and Encompass Health undertakes no duty to publicly update or revise such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates based upon current information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Encompass Health's actual results or events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors. While it is impossible to identify all such factors, factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated include, but are not limited to, the regulatory review and approval process, any adverse outcome of various lawsuits, claims, and legal or regulatory proceedings that may be brought by or against the Company; the possibility this project will experience unexpected delays; the ability to successfully complete this project consistent with Encompass Health's growth strategy, including realization of anticipated revenues and avoidance of unforeseen exposure to liabilities; disease outbreaks, including the speed, depth, geographic reach and duration of the spread; the actions to be taken by Encompass Health in response to disease outbreaks; changes in the regulation of the healthcare industry at either or both of the federal and state levels; competitive pressures in the healthcare industry and Encompass Health's response thereto; the hospital's ability to maintain proper local, state and federal licensing; potential disruptions, breaches, or other incidents affecting the proper operation, availability, or security of Encompass Health's information systems; Encompass Health's ability to attract and retain nurses, therapists, and other healthcare professionals in a highly competitive environment with often severe staffing shortages and the impact on Encompass Health's labor expenses from potential union activity and staffing shortages; changes, delays in (including in connection with resolution of Medicare payment reviews or appeals), or suspension of reimbursement for Encompass Health's services by governmental or private payors; general conditions in the economy and capital markets; and other factors which may be identified from time to time in Encompass Health's SEC filings and other public announcements, including Encompass Health's Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2022 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2023.

Media contact:

Danielle Hall | 205-970-5912

[email protected]

Investor Relations contact:

Mark Miller | 205-970-5860

[email protected]

SOURCE Encompass Health Corp.
The award-winning transplant surgeon and world leader in diabetes research revolutionized the field of transplantation through the development of a novel kidney pancreas transplant technique that significantly improved patient outcomes

MADISON, Wis., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Endsulin announced today that Founder and Chief Scientific Officer Hans Sollinger, M.D., Ph.D., passed away peacefully on May 15, 2023, after a recurrence of a previous illness. His contributions to the field earned him numerous awards and recognitions, including the industry's highest honor, the American Society of Transplant Surgeon's distinguished Pioneer Award.

At the University of Wisconsin Madison Dr. Sollinger worked tirelessly on a gene therapy approach with the potential to revolutionize the treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus T1DM. In 2016, after 20 years of research, he founded Endsulin, an early-stage biotech company based on Dr. Sollinger's proprietary technology. Endsulin is developing a single dose, liver-directed gene therapy that enables liver cells to produce and regulate insulin, mimicking the function of the pancreas.

"The passing of Hans is a profound loss," said Endsulin's Chairman of the Board and CEO, Thomas Dee. "He was a true visionary and world leader in diabetes research whose personal interest in improving diabetes care led to remarkable achievements in pancreas transplantation, the development of immunosuppression, and discovery of a gene therapy in development for T1DM. On behalf of our Board of Directors, we extend our deepest, heartfelt condolences with the Sollinger family during this difficult time. At Endsulin we will honor Hans' legacy by exhibiting his energy, passion, and ambition in everything we do to further the development of our lead candidate ENS-101, which has the potential to reach millions of patients suffering with T1D."

About Endsulin

Endsulin is a pre-clinical stage gene therapy company whose mission is to end insulin dependence for good and free people from being defined by diabetes. Endsulin's approach employs a widely studied and proven viral vector to deliver their patented genetic factor to the liver and restore the body's own ability to produce and regulate insulin. With a single administration, Endsulin's revolutionary genetic therapy for T1DM delivers a patented genetic factor that will "switch on" new insulin-producing cells to confer years  and perhaps a lifetime  of freedom from injecting artificial insulin, realizing the goal that has eluded researchers since the discovery of insulin.

Founded by an award-winning transplant surgeon and world leader in diabetes care and supported by a team of experts in gene therapy, endocrinology, diabetes science and pharmaceutical development, Endsulin has the scientific, medical, and commercial expertise to develop its innovative therapy quickly, filling an enormous unmet need and bringing us one step closer to ending insulin dependence for good  and for the good of everyone with T1DM.

Media Contact:

Julie Ferguson

[email protected]

(312)385-0098

SOURCE Endsulin
NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved EPKINLYTM (epcoritamab-bysp), as the first and only T-cell engaging bispecific antibody for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), not otherwise specified (NOS), including DLBCL arising from indolent lymphoma, and high-grade Bcell lymphoma (HGBL), after two or more lines of systemic therapies. EPKINLY is approved under the FDA's Accelerated Approval program based on response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials. EPKINLY is being co-developed by AbbVie and Genmab as part of the companies' oncology collaboration.

DLBCL is a type of aggressive, fast-growing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), a cancer that develops in the lymphatic system and affects B cells, a type of white blood cell. DLBCL is the most common type of NHL, comprising of an estimated 30,400 U.S. cases in 2022 and 150,000 new cases each year globally. DLBCL patients are typically treated with chemoimmunotherapy-based regimens. For R/R patients, several targeted therapies including T-cell mediated treatments have recently emerged. However, single agent and ready-available or off-the-shelf treatment options are limited.1,2,3,4,5

"DLBCL is an aggressive cancer type that can rapidly progress and resist treatment. The FDA approval of EPKINLY represents a new treatment mechanism of action for third line DLBCL patients. As a non-chemotherapy, single-agent treatment for DLBCL patients, we hope that EPKINLY can effectively treat this aggressive cancer type and can be used for patient care quickly and in an off the shelf form for physicians," said Thomas Hudson, M.D., senior vice president, research and development, chief scientific officer, AbbVie. "The approval is just the first step, with our partner Genmab, towards a shared goal of developing a core therapy for patients with B-cell malignances."

AbbVie is committed to transforming standards of care across blood cancers and advancing a dynamic cancer research and treatment pipeline. EPKINLY marks the third approved blood cancer treatment available as part of AbbVie's growing oncology portfolio, as we strive to make a remarkable impact for people living with cancer.

"Patients with DLBCL who relapse or are refractory to currently available therapies have limited options. Generally, the prognosis for these patients is poor and management of this aggressive disease can be challenging," said Tycel Philips, M.D., City of Hope Associate Professor, Division of Lymphoma, Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. "Epcoritamab is a subcutaneous bispecific antibody that offers an additional treatment option for this patient population. With this approval, patients who are in need of additional therapy may have the opportunity to receive epcoritamab after failure to respond or relapse after two or more systemic therapies."

"The FDA approval of EPKINLY represents a new treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphomas among patients who have relapsed or have refractory disease and are looking for a new medication," said Meghan Gutierrez, chief executive officer, Lymphoma Research Foundation.

Highlights of the Phase 1/2 EPCORE NHL-1 clinical trial supporting the approval:

In the expansion cohort of the EPCORE NHL-1 trial, 148 patients with CD20+ DLBCL were enrolled, 86 percent of which were diagnosed with DLBCL NOS, including 27 percent with DLBCL transformed from indolent lymphoma, and 14 percent with HGBL. The median number of prior therapies was three (range: 2 to 11), with 30 percent receiving two prior therapies, 30 percent receiving three prior therapies, and 40 percent receiving four or more prior therapies. Eighteen percent had prior autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and 39 percent had prior chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)T-cell therapy. Eighty-two percent of patients had disease refractory to last therapy and 29 percent of patients were refractory to CAR T-cell therapy.

EPKINLY delivered an overall response rate of 61 percent , a complete response rate of 38 percent and median duration of response of 15.6 months in heavily pretreated R/R DLBCL patients.

, The prescribing information has a Boxed Warning for serious or life-threatening cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS). Warnings and precautions include infections, cytopenias, and embryo-fetal toxicity. The most common ( 20 percent) adverse reactions were CRS, fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, injection site reactions, pyrexia, abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea. Please see additional Important Safety Information, below.

About EPKINLYTM (epcoritamab-bysp)

EPKINLY is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with certain types of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and high-grade B-cell lymphoma (HGBL) that has come back (relapsed) or that did not respond to previous treatment (refractory), and who have received 2 or more treatments for their cancer. EPKINLY is approved based on patient response data. A study is ongoing to confirm the clinical benefit of EPKINLY. It is not known if EPKINLY is safe and effective in children.

EPKINLY is an IgG1-bispecific antibody created using Genmab's proprietary DuoBody technology. Genmab's DuoBody-CD3 technology is designed to direct cytotoxic T cells selectively to elicit an immune response towards target cell types. It is designed to simultaneously bind to CD3 on T cells and CD20 on B-cells and induces T cell mediated killing of CD20+ cells.5,6,7

AbbVie and Genmab are evaluating EPKINLY as a monotherapy, and in combination, across multiple lines of therapy in a range of hematologic malignancies. This includes an ongoing Phase 3, open-label, randomized controlled trial evaluating EPKINLY as a monotherapy in patients with R/R DLBCL (NCT: 04628494) and two Phase 3, open-label, randomized controlled trials evaluating EPKINLY combination regimens in patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL (NCT: 05660967) and R/R follicular lymphoma (NCT: 05409066). The companies will share commercial responsibilities in the U.S. and Japan, with AbbVie responsible for further global commercialization. AbbVie will continue to pursue regulatory submissions for epcoritamab across international markets throughout the year.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Important WarningsEPKINLY can cause serious side effects, including:

Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS). CRS is common during treatment with EPKINLY and can be serious or life-threatening. Tell your healthcare provider or get medical help right away if you develop symptoms of CRS, including fever of 100.4F (38C) or higher, dizziness or lightheadedness, trouble breathing, chills, fast heartbeat, feeling anxious, headache, confusion, shaking (tremors), or problems with balance and movement, such as trouble walking.



Due to the risk of CRS, you will receive EPKINLY on a "step-up" dosing schedule. The step-up dosing schedule is when you receive smaller "step-up" doses of EPKINLY on day 1 and day 8 of your first cycle of treatment (cycle 1). You will receive your first full dose of EPKINLY on day 15 of cycle 1. If your dose of EPKINLY is delayed for any reason, you may need to repeat the step-up dosing schedule. Before each dose in cycle 1, you will receive medicines to help reduce your risk of CRS. Your healthcare provider will decide if you need to receive medicine to help reduce your risk of CRS with future cycles.





CRS is common during treatment with EPKINLY and can be serious or life-threatening. Tell your healthcare provider or get medical help right away if you develop symptoms of CRS, including fever of 100.4F (38C) or higher, dizziness or lightheadedness, trouble breathing, chills, fast heartbeat, feeling anxious, headache, confusion, shaking (tremors), or problems with balance and movement, such as trouble walking. The step-up dosing schedule is when you receive smaller "step-up" doses of EPKINLY on day 1 and day 8 of your first cycle of treatment (cycle 1). You will receive your first full dose of EPKINLY on day 15 of cycle 1. If your dose of EPKINLY is delayed for any reason, you may need to repeat the step-up dosing schedule. Before each dose in cycle 1, you will receive medicines to help reduce your risk of CRS. Your healthcare provider will decide if you need to receive medicine to help reduce your risk of CRS with future cycles. Neurologic problems. EPKINLY can cause serious neurologic problems that can be life-threatening and lead to death. Neurologic problems may happen days or weeks after you receive EPKINLY. Your healthcare provider may refer you to a healthcare provider who specializes in neurologic problems. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you develop any symptoms of neurologic problems, including trouble speaking or writing, confusion and disorientation, drowsiness, tiredness or lack of energy, muscle weakness, shaking (tremors), seizures, or memory loss.

Due to the risk of CRS and neurologic problems, you should be hospitalized for 24 hours after receiving your first full dose of EPKINLY on day 15 of cycle 1. Your healthcare provider will monitor you for symptoms of CRS and neurologic problems during treatment with EPKINLY, as well as other side effects, and treat you if needed. Your healthcare provider may temporarily stop or completely stop your treatment with EPKINLY if you develop CRS, neurologic problems, or any other side effects that are severe.

Do not drive or use heavy or potentially dangerous machinery if you develop dizziness, confusion, tremors, drowsiness, or any other symptoms that impair consciousness until your symptoms go away. These may be symptoms of CRS or neurologic problems.

EPKINLY can also cause other serious side effects, including:

Infections. EPKINLY can cause serious infections that may lead to death. Your healthcare provider will check you for symptoms of infection before and during treatment. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you develop any symptoms of infection during treatment, including fever of 100.4F (38C) or higher, cough, chest pain, tiredness, shortness of breath, painful rash, sore throat, pain during urination, or feeling weak or generally unwell.

EPKINLY can cause serious infections that may lead to death. Your healthcare provider will check you for symptoms of infection before and during treatment. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you develop any symptoms of infection during treatment, including fever of 100.4F (38C) or higher, cough, chest pain, tiredness, shortness of breath, painful rash, sore throat, pain during urination, or feeling weak or generally unwell. Low blood cell counts. Low blood cell counts are common during treatment with EPKINLY and can be serious or severe. Your healthcare provider will check your blood cell counts during treatment. EPKINLY may cause low blood cell counts, including low white blood cell counts (neutropenia), which can increase your risk for infection; low red blood cell counts (anemia), which can cause tiredness and shortness of breath; and low platelet counts (thrombocytopenia), which can cause bruising or bleeding problems.

Your healthcare provider may temporarily stop or completely stop treatment with EPKINLY if you develop certain side effects.

Before you receive EPKINLY, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you:

have an infection.

are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. EPKINLY may harm your unborn baby . Females who are able to become pregnant: Your healthcare provider should do a pregnancy test before you start treatment with EPKINLY. You should use effective birth control (contraception) during treatment and for 4 months after your last dose of EPKINLY. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant or think that you may be pregnant during treatment with EPKINLY.

Your healthcare provider should do a pregnancy test before you start treatment with EPKINLY. You should use effective birth control (contraception) during treatment and for 4 months after your last dose of EPKINLY. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant or think that you may be pregnant during treatment with EPKINLY. are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if EPKINLY passes into your breast milk. Do not breastfeed during treatment with EPKINLY and for 4 months after your last dose of EPKINLY.

Tell your healthcare provider about all of the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

The most common side effects of EPKINLY include CRS, tiredness, muscle and bone pain, injection site reactions, fever, stomach-area (abdominal) pain, nausea, and diarrhea.

These are not all the possible side effects of EPKINLY. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects.

You are encouraged to report side effects to the FDA at (800) FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch or to Genmab US, Inc. at 1-855-4GENMAB (1-855-443-6622).

Please see Medication Guide, including Important Warnings.

About AbbVie in Oncology

At AbbVie, we are committed to transforming standards of care for multiple blood cancers while advancing a dynamic pipeline of investigational therapies across a range of cancer types. Our dedicated and experienced team joins forces with innovative partners to accelerate the delivery of potentially breakthrough medicines. We are evaluating more than 20 investigational medicines in over 300 clinical trials across some of the world's most widespread and debilitating cancers. As we work to have a remarkable impact on people's lives, we are committed to exploring solutions to help patients obtain access to our cancer medicines. For more information, please visit http://www.abbvie.com/oncology and our Blood Cancer Press Kit page .

About AbbVie

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, neuroscience, eye care, virology and gastroenterology, in addition to products and services across our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

Some statements in this news release are, or may be considered, forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project" and similar expressions and uses of future or conditional verbs, generally identify forward-looking statements. AbbVie cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, challenges to intellectual property, competition from other products, difficulties inherent in the research and development process, adverse litigation or government action, and changes to laws and regulations applicable to our industry. Additional information about the economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect AbbVie's operations is set forth in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," of AbbVie's 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as updated by its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. AbbVie undertakes no obligation, and specifically declines, to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments, except as required by law.

1 Sehn LH, Salles G. N Engl J Med. 2021;384:842-858.

2 What is Lymphoma. Lymphoma Coalition. https://lymphomacoalition.org/what-is-lymphoma/. Accessed April 24, 2023.

3 Kanas G, Ge W, Quek RGW, et al. Leukemia & Lymphoma. 2022;63(1):54-63.

4 Crump M, Neelapu SS, Farooq U, et al. Blood. 2017;130(16):1800-1808.

5 Chao MP. Cancer Manag Res. 2013;5:251-269.

6 Engelberts PJ, Hiemstra IH, de Jong B, et al. "DuoBody-CD3xCD20 induces potent T-cell-mediated killing of malignant B cells in preclinical models and provides opportunities for subcutaneous dosing." EBioMedicine. 2020;52:102625. DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.102625

7 Rafiq S, Butchar JP, Cheney C, et al. "Comparative Assessment of Clinically Utilized CD20-Directed Antibodies in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Cells Reveals Divergent NK Cell, Monocyte, and Macrophage Properties." J. Immunol. 2013;190(6):2702-2711. DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1202588

8 Singh V, Gupta D, Almasan A. "Development of Novel Anti-Cd20 Monoclonal Antibodies and Modulation in Cd20 Levels on Cell Surface: Looking to Improve Immunotherapy Response." J Cancer Sci Ther. 2015;7(11):347-358. DOI: 10.4172/1948-5956.1000373

SOURCE AbbVie
Second consecutive year firm's Validus platform wins category

LONDON and NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Eventus , a leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, market risk, transaction monitoring and algorithmic monitoring solutions, has won the RegTech Insight Europe Award for Best Trade Surveillance Solution for the second consecutive year. The award, bestowed yesterday in London, marks the fifth RegTech Insight award the firm has earned since 2019.

Eventus won Best Trade Surveillance Solution at the RegTech Insight Awards Europe 2023.

Nick Wallis, Eventus Head of Sales, International Markets, said: "We're truly honored to win this award again, which is a testament to our ability to help clients navigate the regulatory environment in the region and ensure they are employing best practices in their surveillance programs. Our team added a diverse range of new clients in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, and we look forward to welcoming more throughout the year."

Angela Wilbraham, CEO at A-Team Group, and host of the RegTech Insight Awards Europe 2023, said: "These awards celebrate both established solution providers and innovative newcomers of RegTech solutions, services and consultancy to capital markets in Europe. Many congratulations to Eventus for winning Best Trade Surveillance Solution in recognition of their contribution to the global financial services industry. They should be deservedly proud of their achievement in a closely fought and highly competitive contest."

Eventus continually updates the Validus platform based on its own innovations as well as enhancements and features identified through its collaborative process with clients. Among the region-specific enhancements introduced recently were increasing clients' asset class coverage across European Union (EU) energy markets by enabling cross-venue surveillance for on-exchange and over-the-counter (OTC) gas and power spot markets. The firm also increased coverage with the addition of EU-based multilateral trading facilities (MTFs), systematic internalizers and digital asset intermediaries.

Presented at a luncheon ceremony in London, the awards were determined by votes from throughout the capital markets community. RegTech Insight, an A-Team Group publication, said this year's awards attracted a record number of votes, following selection of the shortlist in each category by the editorial staff and RegTech Insight Awards Advisory Board.

The annual RegTech Insight Awards Europe recognize both established solution providers and innovative newcomers providing regulatory technology solutions that throughout the year have successfully improved firms' ability to effectively respond to the evolving and ever more complex regulatory requirements across the global financial services industry.

Eventus has earned more than 30 awards and honors to date for best-in-class technology and service, including the RegTech Insight recognitions for Best Trade Surveillance Solution addressing regulations in the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific (APAC).

About Eventus

Eventus is a leading global provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance, market risk, transaction monitoring and algorithmic monitoring solutions. Its powerful, award-winning Validus platform is easy to deploy, customize and operate across equities, options, futures, foreign exchange (FX), fixed income and digital asset markets.

Validus is proven in the most complex, high-volume and real-time environments of tier-1 banks, broker-dealers, futures commission merchants (FCMs), proprietary trading groups, market centers, buy-side institutions, energy and commodity trading firms, and regulators. The company's rapidly growing client base relies on Validus and Eventus' responsive support and product development teams to overcome its most pressing regulatory challenges. For more, visit www.eventus.com .

SOURCE Eventus
ExchangeRight Expands Broker-Dealer and RIA Relations Team With Tom Purpura, SVP Tweet this

"Adding Tom to our already exceptional team will help us to better serve representatives, advisors, and investors in the Great Lakes region," said Warren Thomas, one of the managing partners of ExchangeRight. "We are grateful to have Tom join our efforts to empower people to be secure, free, and generous."

Purpura is a graduate of Walsh University in Canton, Ohio, with degrees in Finance and Business. He currently holds Series 6, 7, 24, and 63 licenses with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

In his position, Purpura will focus on supporting the investment needs of advisors, representatives, and their clients, with a specialization in ExchangeRight's REIT and 1031 DST portfolios.

"ExchangeRight is well known in the alternatives industry for its perfect track record of meeting or exceeding expectations even through economic downturns," Purpura said. "I'm looking forward to doing my part to support advisors and representatives with ExchangeRight's unique approach of creating investments that put investors first by targeting secure capital, stable income, and strategic exits."

ExchangeRight and its affiliates' vertically integrated platform features more than $5.5 billion in assets under management that are diversified across over 1,100 properties, 22 million square feet, and 47 states. More than 7,600 investors have trusted the company to manage their capital.

About ExchangeRight

ExchangeRight pursues its passion to empower people to be secure, free, and generous by providing REIT, fund, and 1031 DST portfolios that target secure capital, stable income, and strategic exits. The company structures and manages net-leased portfolios of assets backed primarily by investment-grade corporations that successfully operate in the necessity-based retail and healthcare industries, as well as diversified value-add portfolios of inline and outparcel retail properties shadow-anchored by strong-performing grocery tenants. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Please visit www.exchangeright.com for more information.

Media Contact

Lindsey Thompson

Senior Media Relations Officer

[email protected]

(626) 773-3448

SOURCE ExchangeRight
SUQIAN, China, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 15 and 16, the "Foreigner's View of Yanghe" Photography Project was held in Suqian. Photographers and journalists from renowned organizations such as MBC, Vietnam News Agency, and Voice of Vietnam, gathered in Suqian, known as the "Capital of Chinese Liquor".

The manual brewing workshop of Yanghe Distillery

Their objective was to delve into the centuries-old art of liquor brewing and gain a deep appreciation for the rich heritage of Chinese liquor culture. Through their lenses and reporting, they aimed to provide a unique perspective from foreigners on Yanghe and contribute to the broader understanding and promotion of Chinese liquor culture.

Chinese liquor, known as Baijiu, plays a significant role in shaping the unique Chinese liquor culture.

Suqian, located in the northern part of Jiangsu Province and within the Yangtze River Delta, holds a distinct identity as the home of Baijiu and serves as a cultural symbol. With a history that dates back to the prosperous Sui and Tang Dynasties and continued growth during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Suqian's liquor-making tradition exemplifies the deep-rooted heritage of its liquor culture.

The region's natural water sources, climate, soil, air, and ecological environment rich in microbial flora make it the prime location for liquor production in eastern China. The renowned brands "Yanghe" and "Shuanggou", along with six other well-known Chinese trademarks, have made Suqian's liquor specialties a household name, extending far beyond the borders of Jiangsu. In March 2019, Suqian was officially recognized as "China's Liquor Capital" following a re-evaluation, solidifying its status as a prominent hub for liquor production.

In the manual brewing workshop of Yanghe Distillery, craftsmen are skillful in operation, clouds are blown on the retort barrels, and the air is filled with the aroma of liquor. Because all the processes are all hand-crafted, the puree that comes out is rich in aroma, thick and long-lasting, sweet and delicate.

Photographers came to Yanghe's liquor making workshop covering an area of about 93,000 square meters, the old Yanghe cellar, and the century-old underground cellar known as the treasure of Yanghe's town. In the automatic intelligent 3D warehouse and the Shuanggou modern packaging logistics workshop, they can feel the traditional culture and the modern exploration behind the industry.

Water is the "key" to Suqian. Sitting on the wide ecological water system, with a water area of 2,367 square kilometers, it continuously delivers clear water to Suqian liquor. During the event, the group came to the Hongze Lake Wetland Scenic Area, which is densely covered with tidal flats, rivers, swamps, and lakes.

Liquor, being a universal language, has increasingly gained significance as a medium for cultural exchanges and a bridge that connects different civilizations. It serves as a vehicle for mutual learning among nations. In this context, media reporters and photographers utilized liquor as a medium to explore and understand Suqian's rich liquor culture during their two-day trip. Through their exceptional storytelling skills and captivating photography, they shared the flavors and essence of the liquor, effectively conveying the narrative of Suqian's liquor culture. This media coverage plays a pivotal role in promoting Suqian as the capital of liquor to a broader audience and enabling its recognition beyond regional boundaries.

Zhang Liandong, Chairman of Yanghe Distillery, emphasizes that Chinese baijiu serves as both a new symbol for China and a global trend in experiencing Chinese culture. To transform Chinese brands into global brands, it is crucial to integrate and organize renowned liquor companies for international expansion. This involves establishing a world-class liquor production zone that showcases the exceptional quality and value of renowned Chinese liquors. By leveraging the production zone as a representation of world-class famous liquors, the aim is to enhance the global perception and recognition of Chinese baijiu.

Image Attachments Links:

Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=440823

Caption: The manual brewing workshop of Yanghe Distillery

SOURCE "Foreigner's View of Yanghe" Photography Project
Dr. Biden, Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland and Rep. Mary Peltola hold event in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region of Alaska, the heartland of Yup'ik culture

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- First Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden visited Bethel, Alaska, on Wednesday, and highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration's historic investments in broadband connectivity through the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). IIJA programs and funding are closing the digital divide in Alaska and throughout the nation.

First Lady Jill Biden wears the handcrafted qaspuq presented to her by Representative Mary Peltola and Bethel Native Corporation President and CEO Ana Hoffman at the May 17 event in Bethel. Bethel Native Corporations Ana Hoffman describes the AIRRAQ Network to a crowd of almost 1,000 gathered to see First Lady Jill Biden.

At an event held at Bethel High School, Dr. Biden heard remarks from local, regional and Tribal leaders about the importance of connectivity for health care, education and culture as well as the positive impact broadband projects will have on the region's economy.

"The funding is going directly to Bethel Native Corporation because you know what your communities need, and I love the name that you've chosen for it," said Dr. Biden. "An Airraq isn't the story itself. It's a tool that helps us tell it. A simple string that becomes a thing of beauty with the creativity and joy and hope we bring to it. The connections of this community are already deep. But with Airraq, you will be able to bring them to life in new ways."

With Ana Hoffman and Bethel Native Corporation in the lead, Bethel and nine other Y-K Delta communities are set to receive 2.5 gig (2,500 Mbps) internet speeds in the coming years through the federally funded AIRRAQ fiber project. Several other Alaska providers also received funding to connect communities across the state.

"Investments made through IIJA and the Biden-Harris Administration will have a profound impact on the Y-K Delta and communities throughout the nation," said Hoffman. "The Yup'ik people have lived and thrived here, in one of the most-challenging climates on earth, for generations, maintaining a vibrant culture, strong traditions and enduring values. There are many other communities Dr. Biden could have visited. We are honored she chose ours to demonstrate the importance of investment in connectivity to close the digital divide. I appreciate the way the community came together to address all of the unique logistics needed to accommodate this visit."

About BNC

Bethel Native Corporation is respected as a business leader with offices in Bethel, Anchorage and the lower 48. Bethel's companies engage in many diverse lines of business including government contracting, construction, logistical support, environmental remediation and commercial real estate. Learn more about BNC at https://bethelnativecorp.org

SOURCE Bethel Native Corporation
Partnership with U.S. Department of Energy will help boost industry-wide reliability

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - FLO, a leading North American electric vehicle (EV) charging company and a smart charging solutions provider, was named a founding member of a new effort led by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop EV charging solutions on behalf of Americans. FLO, along with members of the National Charging Experience Consortium (ChargeX Consortium), will work to measure and identify opportunities to improve customer experience with public EV charging infrastructure.

FLO Joins National Charging Experience Consortium led by the U.S. DOE (CNW Group/FLO)

"There is no doubt ChargeX Consortium will be crucial for the future of America's EV industry and FLO supports its ultimate mission to improve EV charging infrastructure across the U.S.," said Cory Bullis, Director of Public Affairs at FLO. "Together with our industry partners, our work has the potential to not only transform the way we power our vehicles, but also help pave the way for a more sustainable future. FLO is proud to join this important initiative as part of our commitment to provide the best EV charging experience to consumers."

The goal of ChargeX Consortium is to ensure public charging stations function more reliably for drivers. This goal compliments federal requirements of greater than 97% uptime to ensure customers can successfully and seamlessly charge at public charging stations.

FLO's recent achievements engaging with public-private partnerships to improve the overall EV charging experience and increasing EV charging accessibility are highlighted below:

Last year, FLO sponsored the EV Charging Reliability Transparency Act in California , signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom .

, signed into law by Governor . In March, FLO worked with members of the New York State Assembly to introduce legislation requiring reliability data for all public and ratepayer-funded EV charging stations deployed across the state.

For more information, please visit chargex.inl.gov.

About FLO

FLO is a leading North American electric vehicle (EV) charging network operator and a smart charging solutions provider. We overcome climate change and accelerate EV adoption through a vertically integrated business model and by delivering EV drivers the best charging experience from curbside to countryside. Every month, we enable more than 1 million charging events thanks to over 90,000 fast and level 2 EV charging stations deployed at public, private and residential locations. FLO operates its network across North America and our high-quality charging stations are assembled with care in Michigan and Quebec. To learn more about what "EV charging done right" means to us, visit flo.com.

FLO is a registered trademark of Services FLO Inc.

SOURCE FLO
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. FlyArystan, Kazakh's first low-cost air carrier, has launched direct passenger flights on the Astana-Ankara route, Trend reports.

Starting from May 23, the flights between Astana and Ankara will operate twice a week, specifically on Tuesdays and Sundays. The flights will be carried out on Airbus A320 aircraft.

According to the company's schedule, the flight from Astana to Ankara is scheduled to depart at 14:15 (GMT+6) and arrive at Ankara Esenboga Airport at 16:25 (GMT+3). The estimated flight duration is 5 hours and 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, flights in the opposite direction, from Ankara to Astana, are scheduled to depart at 17:10 (GMT+3) and arrive at Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport at 00:55 (GMT+6).

Reportedly, an increase in the number of flights between Kazakhstan and Turkiye will contribute to the further development of trade, economic, tourism, and cultural cooperation between the countries.

Also, as Kazakhstan's Civil Aviation Committee noted, jointly with Kazakh airlines, work is underway to increase the number of international flights and expand the geography of flights.
JUNO BEACH, Fla., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of a rate decrease that began this month, Florida Power & Light Company today proposed a $256 million rate reduction with the Florida Public Service Commission to take effect in July.

"This is more positive news for our customers," said Armando Pimentel, president and CEO of FPL. "We know that every dollar counts for our customers, and we are pleased to propose another rate reduction. At the same time, we continue to encourage our customers to use FPL's tips and free tools to help save energy and money."

Today's FPL proposal calls for reducing the fuel portion of customer bills by $256 million starting in July, reflecting continued downward revisions in projected natural gas costs for 2023 after last year's high levels.

If approved, FPL bills would remain well below the national average and the typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill in Northwest Florida would be lower in July than it was last year. Business customer bills would decrease by 2% to 5%, depending on rate class.

FPL Typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill FPL

FPL Northwest April May July

(proposed)

April May July

(proposed) $144.38 $139.95 $136.00

$163.30 $158.86 $154.91

The PSC approves a fuel charge on customer bills based on FPL's projection of how much it will spend on fuel for its generating plants. FPL does not earn a profit on fuel and works hard to operate its power plants as fuel-efficiently as possible.

Since FPL projected its 2023 fuel expenditures last year, natural gas prices have declined. FPL has already made downward adjustments, which took effect in April and May, totaling nearly $1.4 billion in its 2023 fuel charges. If the July decrease is approved, it would be the third reduction in the fuel portion of FPL bills in 2023.

FPL offers energy-saving tips to customers

Even with the latest proposed rate reduction, individual bills could increase as customers use more air conditioning during the summer months. FPL is encouraging customers to take steps now to lower their bills by monitoring energy use and making their homes more energy efficient.

For example, customers can:

Cool their home at 78 or higher; each degree customers increase the temperature on their thermostats can reduce bills by up to 5% a month for cooling costs

Clean the lint filter in their dryer before each load to minimize drying time

Turn off ceiling fans and lights in unoccupied rooms

View daily, weekly and monthly energy use by using the FPL Mobile App, which is available on the Apple App store, Google Play or by texting "App" to MyFPL (69375)

Activate the free FPL Energy Manager tool to monitor how your home is using energy and identify ways to save

Visit FPL.com/waystosave for more helpful tips

Florida Power & Light Company

As America's largest electric utility, Florida Power & Light Company serves more customers and sells more power than any other utility, providing clean, affordable, reliable electricity to approximately 5.8 million accounts, or more than 12 million people. FPL operates one of the cleanest power generation fleets in the U.S and in 2022 won the ReliabilityOne National Reliability Award for the seventh time in the last eight years. The company was also recognized in 2022 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by Escalent for the ninth consecutive year. FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized for its efforts in sustainability, corporate responsibility, ethics and compliance, and diversity. NextEra Energy is ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry in Fortune's 2023 list of "World's Most Admired Companies" and recognized on Fortune's 2021 list of companies that "Change the World." NextEra Energy is also the parent company of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun and a world leader in battery storage. For more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com , www.FPL.com , www.NextEraEnergyResources.com .

SOURCE Florida Power & Light Company
FUKUOKA, Japan, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fukuoka City (Secretariat of Fukuoka Prize Committee) on May 19 announced the laureates for the Fukuoka Prize 2023. The Grand Prize has been awarded to Professor Thongchai WINICHAKUL, a Thai historian who made a significant influence globally with his study of nationalism focused on the making and use of maps; the Academic Prize to Professor Khatharya UM, a U.S. political scientist who meets challenges in the modern society by throwing light on the sufferings of immigrants and refugees; and the Arts and Culture Prize to Mr. ZHANG Lu, a Chinese film director who creates works regarded as unparalleled in East Asian cinema that transcends nationality and borders.

Grand Prize: Professor Thongchai WINICHAKUL (Thailand/Historian)

https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M100886/202305115565/_prw_PI1fl_v374237u.jpg?_ga=2.138369011.275247967.1683679058-665113690.1585873260

Academic Prize: Professor Khatharya UM (U.S.A./Political Scientist)

https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M100886/202305115565/_prw_PI2fl_VHAaY4Fz.jpg?_ga=2.163929468.275247967.1683679058-665113690.1585873260

Arts and Culture Prize: Mr. ZHANG Lu (China/Film director)

https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M100886/202305115565/_prw_PI3fl_Xror5u8r.jpg?_ga=2.162421119.275247967.1683679058-665113690.1585873260

The Award Ceremony will be held on Tuesday, September 12, 2023. Mr. ZHANG Lu is scheduled to give a public lecture on Wednesday, September 13, Prof. Khatharya UM on Thursday, September 14, and Prof. Thongchai WINICHAKUL on Friday, September 15. Each event will be held for an audience in attendance, and archived recordings will be available online at a later date. Bookings for the Award Ceremony will be open from Monday, July 3, and for the public lectures will be from Tuesday, July 18.

*Advance bookings are mandatory.

About the Fukuoka Prize

The Fukuoka Prize is awarded by Fukuoka City, for the purpose of its international contribution to Asia, to honor those who have made outstanding achievements in preservation and creation of unique and diverse Asian cultures. The prize was established in 1990 by Fukuoka City, which has played a significant role as Japan's gateway for exchanges with the rest of the Asian region since ancient times. The prize will mark its 33rd anniversary this year. The prize has so far been presented to 121 leaders in their respective fields. Past laureates include Professor Muhammad YUNUS from Bangladesh, who also received the Nobel Peace Prize; and Dr. NAKAMURA Tetsu from Japan, who took the lead in medical services, land reclamation and social welfare for the sick and vulnerable in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Official website: https://fukuoka-prize.org/en/

SOURCE Fukuoka City (Secretariat of Fukuoka Prize Committee)
Partnership with Brilliant Detroit and Little Free Library Provides Equitable Book Access in Detroit Communities to Inspire a Love of Reading

DETROIT, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- To promote youth and adult literacy, Gale, part of Cengage Group, has teamed up with Brilliant Detroit and Little Free Library to build and install 21 Little Free Libraries in high-need neighborhoods across Detroit. Each little library is stocked with a variety of books  donated by Gale and their employees  for children and adults. Though the partnership is aimed at improving the city's literacy rates, there's a concentrated focus on inspiring a lifelong love of reading by providing young readers with access to youth large print books. Download the post-event press kit (b-roll, photos) here.

Partnering with Brilliant Detroit and Little Free Library is about making books accessible to build stronger communities Tweet this Gale employees spent yesterday afternoon (May 18) building 21 Little Free Libraries that will be installed in high-need neighborhoods across Detroit.

Research shows that large print text can improve reading confidence and skill level in students. A recent study conducted by Project Tomorrow, an education nonprofit, indicates that students in grades 3-12 who read large print books developed stronger reading skills, felt more comfortable reading and adopted new, positive reading mindsets.

Large print books have a larger font size, increased spacing, fewer words and lines per page, and clearer contrast between text and the background of the paper than standard books. This formatting makes visualization easier, reduces eyestrain and increases readability.

"Partnering with Brilliant Detroit and Little Free Library is about making books accessible to build stronger communities and create a more equitable society that loves to read," said Paul Gazzolo, senior vice president and general manager at Gale. "We believe in the power and joy of learning and large print books are a proven literacy intervention resource that can be life changing for developing readers. By making reading easier and less frustrating, these books are changing the mindsets young learners have about their own reading abilities. So, these Little Free Libraries we built are a great opportunity for us to share the books with Detroit youth in hopes of turning reluctant readers into lifelong readers."

The large print books donated by Thorndike Press include diverse, award-winning, and bestselling, titles like: Genesis Begins Again, Lu, Patina, Sunny, Merci Suarez Changes Gears, Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry, See You in the Cosmos, The Night Diary, The House on Mango Street and Small Spaces.

"We are excited to work with Gale to bring these Little Free Libraries to our Detroit neighborhoods," said Cindy Eggleton, co-founder and CEO of Brilliant Detroit. "We believe that access to books is critical to building a strong foundation for literacy and education. These Little Free Libraries will help make that a reality for families in our communities."

Some of the Detroit neighborhoods where the 21 Little Free Libraries will be placed and installed include: Banglatown, Cass Corridor, Chandler Park, Claytown, Cody Rouge, Cornerstone Village, Denby, Gratiot-Grand, Grixdale Farms, Islandview, Jefferson Chalmers, Littlefield, McDougall-Hunt, Mexicantown, Nortown, Russell Woods, Seven Mile Lodge and Warren Avenue Community Center.

"Our mission is to promote literacy and the love of reading, and we believe that this partnership with Gale will help us achieve that goal," said Greig Metzger, executive director of Little Free Library. "We are excited to see the impact that these Little Free Libraries will have on the youth and adults in Detroit."

To show their continuing commitment to the partnership and to supporting literacy, Gale will restock the libraries with books annually, ensuring the neighborhoods continue to have access to a wide selection of reading materials to enjoy.

A Little Free Library is a "take a book, return a book" free book-sharing exchange. They come in many shapes and sizes, but the most common version is a small wooden box of books, that are often built by supporters or volunteers  with their own unique, personal touch. Little Free Library book-sharing boxes provide 24/7 access to books in areas where books are scarce to encourage a love of reading.

For more information about Thorndike Press Youth Large Print, visit its webpage.

About Cengage Group and Gale

Cengage Group, an education technology company serving millions of learners in 165 countries, advances the way students learn through quality, digital experiences. The company currently serves the K-12, higher education, professional, library, English language teaching and workforce training markets worldwide. Gale, part of Cengage Group, provides libraries with original and curated content, as well as the modern research tools and technology that are crucial in connecting libraries to learning, and learners to libraries. For more than 65 years, Gale has partnered with libraries around the world to empower the discovery of knowledge and insights  where, when and how people need it. Gale has 500 employees globally with its main operations in Farmington Hills, Michigan. For more information, please visit www.gale.com.

Follow Gale on:

About Brilliant Detroit

Established in 2015, Brilliant Detroit provides a radically new approach to kindergarten readiness in neighborhoods and creates a unique delivery model for early childhood development by using underutilized housing stock to create early child and family centers in neighborhoods. Brilliant Detroit homes  complete with signature orange-colored front doors  provide holistic services for children ages 0-8 predicated on evidence-based programs around health, family support and education. The organization was born to create kid success neighborhoods. In each location, neighbors come together for fellowship, activities and learning to assure school readiness and provide needed support for families. For more information, visit: brilliantdetroit.org.

About Little Free Library

Little Free Library (LFL) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that builds community, inspires readers and expands book access for all through a global network of volunteer-led Little Free Libraries. There are more than 160,000 registered Little Free Library book-sharing boxes worldwide in all 50 states, 120 countries and seven continents. Through them, over 300 million books have been shared since 2009. LFL received the 2020 World Literacy Award as well as honors from the Library of Congress, National Book Foundation and others. The organization grants Little Free Libraries full of books to underserved areas through its Impact Library and Indigenous Library Programs and champions diverse books through its Read in Color initiative. To learn more, visit: LittleFreeLibrary.org.

Media Contact:

Kayla Siefker, Gale, part of Cengage Group

248-378-3376

[email protected]

SOURCE Gale, part of Cengage Group
DUBLIN, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Hospital Gowns Market 2023-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



As per report estimates, the global hospital gowns market will progress with a CAGR of 11.83% in the forecasted years from 2023 to 2030.



The rise in the prevalence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and the increasing number of operations & surgeries being performed are the key factors driving the market. Along with this, the implementation of government policies to ensure patient safety and hygiene also contributes to market growth.



On the other hand, the rise in product recalls & failures is expected to hamper the market's progress over the forecast period. However, the development of smart hospital gowns presents a lucrative growth opportunity for the market. Moreover, the rising elderly populace and the surge in the prevalence of various diseases are expected to aid the market reach its projected growth.



REGIONAL OUTLOOK



The global hospital gowns market report covers North America, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa regions.



The Asia-Pacific is estimated to grow the fastest in the global market during the forecasted period. Some of the key factors projected to drive the studied market include the development of the healthcare infrastructure in the region and the surging awareness pertaining to patient safety & hygiene standards. Whereas, North America leads the global market, and held the highest revenue in 2022. The adoption of hospital gowns in the region has risen owing to the increasing number of surgeries and the development of healthcare facilities.



COMPETITIVE OUTLOOK



The well-known companies studied in the hospital gowns market include Halyard Health, Molnlycke Health Care, Aramark, AmeriPride Services Inc (Acquired By Aramark), 3M, Primed Medical Products Inc, Cardinal Health Inc, Medline Industries LP, Standard Textile Co Inc, and Angelica Corporation.

3M is a globally renowned company operating in the following four business segments: Health Care, Consumer, Safety and Industrial, and Transportation and Electronics. As part of its protective wear section, the company offers 3MT Protective Coverall 4510, 3MT Protective Coverall 4515, and 3MT Disposable Protective Coverall 4540. 3M was established in 1902, and has a strong workforce of over 95000 employees worldwide. It generated net revenue of $35.4 billion by 2021. The gross profit earned by the company that year amounted to $16.6 billion.

Market Dynamics

Market Drivers

Increase in the Prevalence of Healthcare-Associated Infections

Growth in the Number of Surgeries Performed

Government Policies to Ensure Patient Safety and Hygiene

Market Challenges

Stringent Production Standards for Hospital Gowns

Product Recalls and Failures

Adoption of Robotic Surgeries

Market Opportunities

Development of Smart Hospital Gowns

Rise in the Geriatric Population Across the Globe

Increasing Prevalence of Various Diseases

Key Topics Covered:



1. Global Hospital Gowns Market - Summary



2. Industry Outlook



3. Global Hospital Gowns Market - by Type

3.1. Surgical Gowns

3.2. Non-Surgical Gowns

3.3. Patient Gowns



4. Global Hospital Gowns Market - by Usability

4.1. Disposable Gowns

4.2. Reusable Gowns



5. Global Hospital Gowns Market - by Protection Level

5.1. Minimal

5.2. Low

5.3. Moderate

5.4. High



6. Global Hospital Gowns Market - by End-User

6.1. Hospitals

6.2. Specialty Clinics

6.3. Other End-Users



7. Global Hospital Gowns Market - Regional Outlook



8. Competitive Landscape

9. Research Methodology & Scope



A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes

Standard Textile Co Inc

Medline Industries Lp

Cardinal Health Inc

3M

Ameripride Services Inc (Acquired by Aramark)

Angelica Corporation

Halyard Health

Molnlycke Health Care

Aramark

Primed Medical Products Inc

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/tou3ml

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, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Co-development Partnering Terms and Agreements in Pharma, Biotech and Diagnostics 2016 to 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Global Co-development Partnering Terms and Agreements in Pharma, Biotech and Diagnostics 2016-2023 report provides comprehensive understanding and unprecedented access to the co-development deals and agreements entered into by the worlds leading life science companies.



This report provides details of the latest co-development agreements announced in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic sectors. Fully revised and updated, the report provides details of co-development agreements from 2016 to 2023.



There is an increasing willingness for parties to enter co-development deals; such deals enable both parties to benefit from the upside of a big product win, whereas traditional licensing deals forfeit upside for near term upfront, milestone and royalty payments.



Co-development partnering allow the parties to securitize value and reduce risk, but keep a part of the potential upside should the product reach the market. Event if the licensor does not commercialize the project they can either sell those rights to the licensee partner or another partner for an amount higher than would have been achieved at an earlier stage licensing deal.



There are mainly two forms of co-development deals; Either the parties agree on a certain division of ownership, or decide that one party gets the rights to commercialise the drug in a certain geographical area, and the other side gets the other geographical area rights. Typically, the ownership division applies when it is likely that the project will be licensed at a later point in time. The geographical split usually applies when the two companies are determined to commercialise the drug themselves.



Another reason for co-development deals is the joint origin of a project. Drug development projects often require various scientific and technological novelties that stem from different companies. If both companies contributed to the origination of the project, then both have from the beginning a stake in the project.



Understanding the flexibility of a prospective partner's negotiated deals terms provides critical insight into the negotiation process in terms of what you can expect to achieve during the negotiation of terms. Whilst many smaller companies will be seeking details of the payments clauses, the devil is in the detail in terms of how payments are triggered - contract documents provide this insight where press releases and databases do not.



This report contains a comprehensive listing of Co-development deals announced since 2016 as recorded in the Current Agreements deals and alliances database, including financial terms where available, plus links to online copies of actual co-development contract documents as submitted to the Securities Exchange Commission by companies and their partners.



The report includes deals announced by hundreds of life science companies including big pharma such as Abbott, Abbvie, Actavis, Amgen, Astellas, AstraZeneca, Baxter, Bayer, Biogen Idec, BMS, Celgene, Eisai, Eli Lilly, Gilead, GSK, J&J, Kyowa Hakko, Merck, Mitsubishi, Mylan, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, Shire, Takeda, Teva, and Valeant, amongst many others.



Key benefits

In-depth understanding of co-development partnering deal trends since 2016, with real life case studies

Comprehensive listing of all co-development deals since 2016, together with deal terms, value and press release

Comprehensive access to actual co-development contracts entered into by the world's leading life science companies

Analysis of key deal financials including headline value, upfront, milestone payments and royalty rates

Insight into the terms included in a co-development agreement, together with real world clause examples

Understand the key deal terms companies have agreed in previous deals

Undertake due diligence to assess suitability of your proposed deal terms for partner companies

Report scope



Global Co-development Partnering Terms and Agreements in Pharma, Biotech and Diagnostics 2016-2023 includes:

Trends in co-development dealmaking in the biopharma industry since 2016

Case studies of real-life co-development deals

Comprehensive listing of co-development deals since 2016

Access to co-development contract documents

Key financial benchmarks for headline, upfront, milestone and royalty rates

The leading co-development deals by value since 2016

Most active co-development dealmakers since 2016

The leading co-development partnering resources

Available deals and contracts are listed by:

Company A-Z

Headline value

Therapeutic area

Technology type

Analyzing actual contract agreements allows assessment of the following:

What are the precise rights granted or optioned?

What is actually granted by the agreement to the partner company?

What exclusivity is granted?

What is the payment structure for the deal?

How do milestone align with clinical stage development phases?

How are sales and payments audited?

What is the deal term?

How are the key terms of the agreement defined?

How are IPRs handled and owned?

Who is responsible for commercialization?

Who is responsible for development, supply, and manufacture?

How is confidentiality and publication managed?

How are disputes to be resolved?

Under what conditions can the deal be terminated?

What happens when there is a change of ownership?

What sublicensing and subcontracting provisions have been agreed?

Which boilerplate clauses does the company insist upon?

Which boilerplate clauses appear to differ from partner to partner or deal type to deal type?

Which jurisdiction does the company insist upon for agreement law?

Key Topics Covered:



Executive Summary



Chapter 1 - Introduction



Chapter 2 - Trends in Co-development dealmaking

2.1. Introduction

2.2. Definition of co-development deals

2.3. Success factors for co-development deals

2.4. When co-development can be useful

2.5. Attributes of co-development deals

2.6. Aligning partners to make the co-development work

2.7. Trends in Co-development deals since 2016

2.7.1. Co-development dealmaking by year, 2016 to 2023

2.7.2. Co-development dealmaking by phase of development, 2016 to 2023

2.7.3. Co-development dealmaking by industry sector, 2016 to 2023

2.7.4. Co-development dealmaking by therapy area, 2016 to 2023

2.7.5. Co-development dealmaking by technology type, 2016 to 2023

2.7.6. Co-development dealmaking by most active company, 2016 to 2023

2.8. Option to co-develop

2.9. The future of co-development deals



Chapter 3 - Overview of Co-development deal structure

3.1. Introduction

3.2. Pure versus multi-component co-development deals

3.3. Pure co-development agreement structure

3.3.1. Example co-development agreements

3.3.1.a. Case study 1

3.3.1.b. Case study 2



Chapter 4 - Leading Co-development deals

4.1. Introduction

4.2. Top Co-development deals by value



Chapter 5 - Top 25 most active Co-development dealmakers

5.1. Introduction

5.2. Top 25 most active Co-development dealmakers



Chapter 6 - Co-development deal term financials

6.1. Introduction

6.2. Co-development partnering headline values

6.3. Co-development deal upfront payments

6.4. Co-development deal milestone payments

6.5. Co-development royalty rates



Chapter 7 - Co-development deals including contracts directory

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Co-development deals with contracts 2016 to 2023



Appendices

Appendix 1 - Co-development dealmaking by companies A-Z

Appendix 2 - Co-development dealmaking by industry sector

Appendix 3 - Co-development dealmaking by stage of development

Appendix 4 - Co-development dealmaking by therapy area

Appendix 5 - Co-development dealmaking by technology

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ljqe76

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
The study projects the market to grow at an influential CAGR of 14.10% between 2023-2033

FREMONT, Calif., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BIS Research, the global leader in providing market intelligence on deep technologies, has released its latest study titled Space Carbon Fiber Composite Market - A Global and Regional Analysis.

According to this study, the global space carbon fiber composite market was valued at $393.6 million in 2022 and is projected to reach $1.67 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 14.10%.

The following factors are responsible for the increase in demand for space carbon fiber composite:

Increase in demand for satellites

A growing number of deep space exploration programs

Increase in the utilization of carbon fiber composite in small launch vehicles

The detailed study is a compilation of 79 market data tables and 23 figures spread across 178 pages.

Check Out the Detailed Table of Contents Here - https://bisresearch.com/requestsample?id=1494&type=toc

Analyst's Take on the Market Projection

According to Nilopal Ojha, Principal Analyst, BIS Research, "Space infrastructure is on the rise and particularly the small satellite constellation is increasing, which is supporting the demand for space carbon fiber composites. While dedicated space missions are being developed for communication and Earth observation, the demand for manufacturing lightweight satellite and launch vehicle components is one of the major focuses for satellite manufacturers, enhancing the need for space carbon fiber composites. This study captures market insights on current and emerging opportunities for diverse stakeholder groups within the advanced materials domain (across the New Space sector)."

Request a Free Sample of this Report Here - https://bisresearch.com/requestsample?id=1494&type=download

North America to Dominate the Market Over the Forecast Period (2023-2033)

North America accounted for the highest share of 48% in the space carbon fiber composite market in 2022, owing to the increasing space activities, such as the launch of satellite mega-constellations and the development of reusable launch vehicles and small launch vehicles. Moreover, the region is home to several key companies that are engaged extensively in developing and providing advanced materials for space applications.

Major Industry Leaders in the Global Space Carbon Fiber Composite 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 as follows:

Applied Composites

Airborne

ACPT Inc. (Advanced Composite Products and Technology)

Boston Materials, Inc

CarboSpaceTech GmbH

CPI AdamWorks, LLC

CST Composites

Calian Group Ltd.

Hexcel Corporation

Hanwha Cimarron

Oxeon AB

Peak Technology

Rockwest Composites, Inc.

RUAG Group

SGL Carbon SE

Teijin Limited

TRB

Toray Advanced Composites

SpaceX

Blue Origin

Maxar Technologies

ROCKET LAB USA

Thales Group

Airbus S.A.S

ArianeGroup

Boeing

Recent Developments in the Global Space Carbon Fiber Composite Market

In October 2022 , Beyond Gravity received the contract to supply 38 payload fairings for ULA's Vulcan rockets, which would be used to launch the satellites of Amazon's project Kuiper.

, Beyond Gravity received the contract to supply 38 payload fairings for ULA's Vulcan rockets, which would be used to launch the satellites of Amazon's project Kuiper. In October 2022 , Beyond Gravity and HyPrSpace formed a partnership for the development of the orbital micro-launcher OB-1, with the structural composite parts of the rocket based on innovative flexline technology.

, Beyond Gravity and HyPrSpace formed a partnership for the development of the orbital micro-launcher OB-1, with the structural composite parts of the rocket based on innovative flexline technology. In July 2022 , Boston Materials and Textron Systems announced a partnership to jointly develop an enhanced thermal protection system (TPS) based on the Z-axis fiber technology to be deployed in hypersonic vehicles and reusable launch vehicles.

, Boston Materials and Textron Systems announced a partnership to jointly develop an enhanced thermal protection system (TPS) based on the Z-axis fiber technology to be deployed in hypersonic vehicles and reusable launch vehicles. In March 2022 , Beyond Gravity and Amazon announced a partnership to develop and manufacture customized satellite dispenser systems for Project Kuiper. The project aims to establish a low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation comprising 3,236 satellites.

Want to Learn More about the Latest Trends in Spacetech? Speak to Our Analysts

Exclusive Deeptech M-A-P in Aerospace by BIS Research:

Advanced Space Composites Market

Space-qualified Propellant Tank 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]

+1-510-404-8135

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
BEIJING, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn:

From May 12th to 14th, 2023, around 20 young representatives from 14 countries visited Nanjing, Jiangsu Province to experience the open, vibrant and ecologically charming city of modern China.

As a Chinese saying goes, "Hundreds of boats contend on the same stream, with those who work hard taking the lead". Nanjing showed its charm and innovative strength to the visitors. In the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, a game of recognition of fossils in scanned pictures lit up the atmosphere, the youth learned about the innovative practice of using Micro-CT technology in geological and paleontological research. At SAIC MAXUS Nanjing factory, the youth sat in the new energy cars to experience the operation of vehicles using AI technology, fascinated by the allure of "Created in Nanjing".

"Advanced technologies are being used in the field of paleontology in China, which is exhilarating," said Professor Dany Azar from Lebanon. "I can see that this country has unlimited possibilities."

Nanjing has always been a place where "those who dwell here feel safe, those who are nearby are pleased, and those who are far away come to visit", and elected as "China's Happiest City" for 11 times. At Little West Lake Historic Landscape Area, the youth engaged in enthusiastic conversations with local residents to understand the improvement of people's livelihood through the renovation of Shared and Symbiotic Courtyard, experiencing the charm of the old city where original residents and new industries coexist and thrive. At Nanjing Qiaofeng Agriculture, they handpicked and savored fresh fruits and vegetables.

"The transformation of the Little West Lake Historic Landscape Area is not simply about dismantling, but rather restoring traditional residential areas using new technologies and materials. This approach embodies both modernity and tradition, which is what makes China's modernization unique to the country," remarked Professor Pavle Mocilac from Croatia.

Global youth played the role of wildlife conservationists at Hongshan Forest Zoo, where animal welfare and preservation are top priorities. They took part in maintaining enclosures and preparing food for wild boars, gaining an understanding of the zoo's core principles of respecting animals and protecting the natural environment. During their conversation with Zhu Yingchun, winner of the "World's Most Beautiful Book" award, they were deeply attracted by the cross-life philosophical concept of returning bugs to nature. They also conversed with a science educator from the Nanjing Finless Dolphin Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Association, gaining insights into the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature depicted in the ecological landscape of Nanjing.

"The Hongshan Forest Zoo really treats animals with humaneness. Nanjing has been well-known for its excellent preservation of nature and animals, teaching us to appreciate and coexist with the environment in a friendly manner, all while safeguarding our beloved planet Earth," said Ekaterina Kaligaeva, the Belarusian national champion of Chinese Bridge.

From ancient times to today, Nanjing has always exuded an enchanting charm as a cultural city. Its exquisite cuisine, breathtaking scenery, and colorful lanterns along the Qinhuai River all showcase the historical significance of this ancient city. In the salon dialogue at the Nanjing Hall of Literature, the youth exchanged their impressions of Nanjing through picture stories with local cultural experts, writers, and youth representatives.

"Chinese cities are experiencing rapid development through modernization," said Rafael Henrique Zerbetto, editor of China Report from Brazil. He is willing to tell the story of China to the world, building bridges for communication and mutual understanding between China and other countries.

The GYLD China Tour is jointly organized by the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies and the Information Office of Nanjing Municipal People's Government.

SOURCE China.org.cn
CAPE TOWN, South Africa, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hisense, a manufacturer and provider of high-performance electronics and medical devices, recently participated at Spain's University Hospital of Valdecilla clinical ultrasound in traumatology training program as part of the company's effort of global expansion. Since the beginning of this year, Hisense has accelerated its entry into the international medical equipment market and continued market expansion in countries such as South Africa, Spain and several other European countries.

Hisense HD60 Demonstrated in Clinical Training at University Hospital of Valdecilla

The University Hospital of Valdecilla (El Hospital Universitario Marques de Valdecilla), established in 1929, is a leading central hospital situated in the city of Santander, Cantabria, in Northern Spain. It is a prominent medical institution that represents the epitome of local medical and health care. The hospital boasts eight cutting-edge research centers, specializing in areas like lung and pancreas transplants, as well as children's hematopoietic transplants. The medical care and quality provided at the hospital have earned it the QH Seal Two-Star recognition and IHHI (Children's Hospital Humanization Index) certification. With over 20 service units, the hospital is equipped to provide comprehensive medical care.

The hospital is currently exploring personalized precision medicine, which combines daily diagnosis and treatment with cutting-edge laboratory technology to deliver comprehensive and precise data for experts across various fields to evaluate and address challenging issues.

One of the hospital's ongoing personalized precision medicine projects is the use of ultrasound equipment for MSK trauma grade evaluation. Doctors can leverage ultrasound image diagnosis information to improve the treatment plan, track the actual effect of the treatment process, and evaluate rehabilitation.

Users were given ultrasound training in MSK and nerve pain management by the director of the Neurology Department of Ramon y Cajal University Hospital. The Hisense HD60's ultrasound image resolution and ease-of-use impressed all who felt that it effectively fulfills the demanding requirements for trauma ultrasound.

Hisense has successfully introduced its ultrasound and medical display products to several countries, such as South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Indonesia, Thailand, and Germany. The company firmly believes that its future growth rests in the international market. Thus, it remains dedicated to expanding its global presence and providing excellent medical equipment to medical professionals and patients worldwide.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2081231/thumbnail_image__1.jpg

SOURCE Hisense SA Sales Holdings (Pty) Ltd
CHEYENNE, Wyo., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Business and Quality Management Institute LLC (IBQMI) has announced the release of its prestigious IBQMI CERTIFIED DEVOPS MANAGER certification program, in response to numerous requests from professionals in the IT industry.

IBQMI CERTIFIED DEVOPS MANAGER Transforming Cultures, Enabling Teams!

This certification is a highly sought-after qualification for individuals looking to elevate their career from an operative expert to a management or leadership position in the fast-paced world of DevOps environments. Students of the program will learn the perfect combination of DevOps expert knowledge and management/leadership qualifications, making them the future leaders of the industry. Professionals in the IT industry are encouraged to enroll in this program and become trailblazers in revolutionizing the world with DevOps.

"I am convinced that this certification will separate the nerds from the future leaders, equipping them with a comprehensive understanding of all DevOps topics and paving the way to advance their careers in management positions," says Marcello Raffaele Avagliano, CEO Asia/Pacific.

The primary objective of the IBQMI CERTIFIED DEVOPS MANAGER program is to advance the career of professionals who are currently working in an operational capacity but desire team and budget responsibilities to climb the career ladder. Unlike other certification programs that focus solely on computer science or specific administrative knowledge, our program aims to equip professionals with the necessary skills and expertise for IT management in a DevOps environment, thus enabling them to take on more significant roles in their organizations.

The IBQMI CERTIFIED DEVOPS MANAGER certification program provides comprehensive training materials that encompass principals, methodologies, tools, and technologies, implementation, and transformational projects - all vital areas of DevOps. Participants gain hands-on experience using various tools like Jenkins, Git, Docker, Kubernetes, and Ansible. Thus, they gain the confidence they need to lead teams and manage technical projects.

The IBQMI CERTIFIED DEVOPS MANAGER certification program is designed to transform cultures, enable teams and empower leaders to revolutionize the future of business with DevOps. As an internationally recognized certification program, IBQMI graduates are highly valued by major corporations, enabling them to advance in their careers and achieve higher levels of management roles. Enroll now and elevate your career with the ultimate certification in IT management - IBQMI CERTIFIED DEVOPS MANAGER. This program will equip you with the necessary skills to gain an in-depth understanding of DevOps and stay ahead of the latest trends and best practices to become a leader in the DevOps industry.

To learn more about the IBQMI CERTIFIED DEVOPS MANAGER certification program, visit their website at https://www.ibqmi.org or follow IBQMI on social media: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn.

Media Contact Details:

Melissa Hayes

[email protected]

Phone +1 307-459-3576

Fax +1 307-459-3576

Headquarters

1603 Capitol Ave. STE 310 A311

Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001, USA

Innovation Hub

611 Gateway Blvd suite 120

South San Francisco Ca 94080, USA

Asia Pacific

Shanghai Tower, 29/F, No.501

Middle Yincheng Road Pudong, Shanghai, 200120

P.R.China

SOURCE International Business and Quality Management Institute LLC
BROOKFIELD, Wis., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hydrite, an integrated manufacturer and supplier of chemicals and related services, was recognized as a 2023 Top Workplaces award winner by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for creating high employee experience and exceptional workplaces. Hydrite has won Top Workplaces six other years in the past.

Hydrite has been awarded a Top Workplaces 2023 honor by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Top Workplaces. The list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage LLC. The confidential survey uniquely measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of any organization: including alignment, execution, and connection, just to name a few.

The Top Workplaces award is based on employee feedback gathered through a third-party engagement survey. The survey assesses an organization using several factors, including 15 research-based culture drivers and three statements that measure employee engagement.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is the publisher for the Top Workplaces in the Milwaukee/Southeast Wisconsin region. Participating Counties include Dodge, Jefferson, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington, and Waukesha.

"Winning a seventh Top Workplaces award is the ultimate compliment to being named 2023 Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year," Hydrite Chief Human Resources Officer Dan Sager said. "Manufacturer of the Year is essentially based on results. A Top Workplaces award is based on how those results are achieved  by highly engaged and dedicated individuals. Manufacturers are underrepresented on Top Workplaces lists which makes this an extraordinary honor for the People of Hydrite."

Hydrite President Kevin Honkamp commented, "We are proud to be recognized as a Top Workplace in Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin where competition for talent is intense. Our strong culture remains key to what makes Hydrite a great place to work. It is a testament to the words of my grandfather R.C. Honkamp, 'All of this is possible with the excellence of our people, Hydrite's greatest asset.' It is an honor to receive this year's 2023 Top Workplaces award."

As a company with a strong commitment to their employees, Hydrite stands by their core values and expectations which focus around Integrity, Innovation, Quality, People, and Responsible Growth.

About Hydrite Chemical Co.

Hydrite, established in 1929, is family owned and operated. Hydrite is one of the largest independent providers of chemicals and related services in the US. Headquartered in Brookfield, Wisconsin, Hydrite has manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and laboratories located in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, California, and Texas with nearly 1000 employees in more than 25 states.

Hydrite offers expertise in chemical manufacturing and distribution, food and dairy sanitation, organic processing, liquid sulfites, foam control and water treatment chemistries. Hydrite's dedicated chemists, engineers, and technical service staff have extensive knowledge and experience to solve challenging formulation problems and provide creative solutions. www.hydrite.com

Contact:

Judy Allen

262-792-1450

[email protected]

SOURCE Hydrite
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is going to allocate a fund in the amount of $500 million for the construction of the Rogun hydroelectric power plant (HPP) in Tajikistan, Trend reports with reference to the press service of the Tajik president.

The allocation of funds was announced by the president of (AIIB), Jin Liqun, at a meeting with the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon on May 17 in Beijing.

Following the meeting, the sides discussed further financing the development of green infrastructure in the transport, energy, housing, and communal services sectors.

The necessity to strengthen relations, attract more capital to priority projects for the development of infrastructure, industry, and private sector, increase economic activity, and support entrepreneurship was emphasized.

The parties also touched upon the issues of financing projects for the processing of agricultural products and minerals, emphasizing that Tajikistan has opportunities and resources for their implementation.

At the meeting, the president of Tajikistan and the president of AIIB also discussed climate change, the lack of drinking water, the impact of these factors on the economies of countries and the initiatives of Tajikistan on water and climate, and the conservation of glaciers.

Rogun HPP is under construction on the Vakhsh River in the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan, with an estimated capacity of 3,780 mW. It will be the biggest hydropower station in the country. The power plant is planned to achieve full operational capacity in 2028 and generate 13,300 GWh of electricity per year.
In an effort to attract industry professionals to join the five IEEE Standard committees, the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society (CASS) Standards Activities Sub Division (SASD) is organizing a global outreach event at IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS) on the 23rd of May 2023 from 4:30 pm to 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Professionals or ad-hoc industry groups actively working on standardization activities related to Circuits and Systems are invited to bring their activities under the umbrella of IEEE Circuits and Systems Society (CASS) Standards Activities Sub Division (SASD) to utilize the broader impact of IEEE Standards. IEEE CASS SASD has started efforts to provide core standards for the benefit of the industry including integrated circuit design and test systems, arithmetic, microprocessors, and domain-specific accelerators. These standards help enable the industry to move technology forward at a rapid pace to deliver amazing products to consumers. Presently, there are more than 100 experts with around 30% participants from the industry.

The IEEE CASS SASD committee for the 2022-2023 term consists of:

IEEE CASS Vice President - Technical Activities: Xinmiao Zhang

Chair: Kiran Gunnam

Chair-Elect: Yongfu Li

Voting Members:

Hossam Ahmed,

Wen-Hsiao Peng,

Lu Yu,

Yuanjin Zheng

The global outreach event will be held on the 23rd of May 2023 from 4:30 pm to 5:00 pm Pacific Time at Monterey, Monterey Conference Center Room: Stevenson 2. Attendees are also required to register at this Eventbrite link .

At this event, the IEEE CASS SASD Chair, Prof. Yongfu Li, Dr. Kiran Gunnam and Prof. Xinmiao Zhang will be presenting the IEEE CASS SASD program and an overview of the IEEE Standards Procedure. The standard committee chairs as listed below, will be sharing the recent development and activities in their respective committee.

(1) IC Design and Test for Emerging Circuits and Systems. Chair: Vahid Vahidfar, Apple.

(2) Emerging Processor Systems. Chair: Travis Anderson, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

(3) Domain-Specific Accelerators. Chair: Mehran Nekuii, Google.

(4) Flexible and Wearable Circuits and Systems. Chair: Yong Lian,York University, Canada

(5) Hardware Security. Chair: Yi Wang, Continental AG

We would like to call out to those professionals who are interested in participating in IEEE CASS SASD activities. You can sign up through this mailing list .

SOURCE IEEE CASS SASD
Former and present Hyundai engineers and designers commemorate the Pony Coupe Concept restoration in the birthplace of the original's design and debut in 1974

The restoration represents the company's historic past, present success and future mobility vision, shown alongside the innovative Pony Coupe Concept-inspired N Vision 74 concept

Hyundai Motor to enter the Pony Coupe Concept-inspired N Vision 74 'Rolling Lab' into the concept car competition at the upcoming Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este

COMO, Italy and SEOUL, South Korea, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor Company today celebrated the restoration of the Pony Coupe Concept at Hyundai Reunion held at historic Villa Pliniana in Lake Como, Italy.

Hyundai Motor collaborated with Italian design firm GFG Style, notably its father and son founders Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro to rebuild the influential 1974 Pony Coupe Concept that young Giorgetto created for Hyundai's debut at the 1974 Turin Motor Show.

Inaugural Hyundai Reunion Celebrates Rebirth of Hyundai Motor's Pony Coupe Concept Inaugural Hyundai Reunion Celebrates Rebirth of Hyundai Motor's Pony Coupe Concept Inaugural Hyundai Reunion Celebrates Rebirth of Hyundai Motor's Pony Coupe Concept

At the event, Hyundai Motor also showcased its N Vision 74 concept, which was inspired by the Pony Coupe Concept. These two vehicles represent a shared lineage between the company's past and future, illustrating the continuation of its ambition to be innovative and daring.

"Despite the poor industrial environment in the 1970s, my grandfather and Hyundai's Founding Chairman Ju-young Chung poured his heart and soul into rebuilding Korea's economy and improving the lives of its people after the devastating Korean War. He finally realized his vision of making Korea a country capable of developing its own vehicles with perfection," said Euisun Chung, Executive Chair of Hyundai Motor Group. "I express my sincere gratitude to everyone from both Italy and Korea who played a critical role in the success of Pony."

Hyundai Reunion, a heritage brand platform that reflects on Hyundai Motor's past and its future direction, has brought together all the designers and engineers involved on N Vision 74 and the original Pony Coupe Concept, including Giorgetto Giugiaro and former Hyundai Motor President Chung Goo Lee, for the celebration.

"In the age of electrification, a key condition for Hyundai Motor Company to become a leader in future mobility will be our ability to remain faithful to the unshakable values we inherited," said Jaehoon Chang, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company. "Moving forward, through Hyundai Reunion and other heritage communication initiatives, we will continue to leverage our past as a unique vector for our future innovation."

SOURCE Hyundai Motor Company
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Laugh Factory Hollywood and nonprofits Black Women Lead and Women's March Los Angeles are holding a special all-women's march on Sunday, May 21 at 2 p.m. in solidarity with Iranian women in the struggle for life and freedom.

Notable celebrities will speak at the event, including Tiffany Haddish and many more.

Protesters fill the streets of Tehran (L); Tiffany Haddish at Laugh Factory Hollywood (C); Marchers head toward martyr Mahsa Aminis hometown.of Saqqez, Iran (R).

"Every day, innocent young girls in Iran are being slaughtered simply because they are standing up for their rights. So far we know over 500 people that have been killed, but we don't know how many others have been executed. So many women on Mother's Day cried out for help for their children who were killed or incarcerated," said Laugh Factory Owner Jamie Masada, an Iranian American. "On Sunday in Los Angeles, women will be marching for them, and for the future of all women and girls in Iran.

"Black Women Lead, Laugh Factory Hollywood and Women's March Foundation stand in solidarity with the women of Iran, who seek to replace the current regime with one that respects democracy, equality, accountability and human rights," Masada said.

Marchers are asked to bring a single red rose to dedicate to those who have been lost and the 19,600 political prisoners who have been behind bars in Iran.

The event organizing committee has no affiliation to any political party, religion or special interest groups.

Event Details:



Time: Gathering at 2 p.m.



Location: Laugh Factory Hollywood

8001 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90046



Suggested attire: White

The Laugh Factory  8001 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90046  www.laughfactory.com

Contact: Greg Waskul at (818) 926-0079 or [email protected]

SOURCE Laugh Factory
David Fleming and Hachette Explore the Founding of America in New Book: WHO'S YOUR FOUNDING FATHER?

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Who's Your Founding Father? an explosive new book from David Fleming and Hachette, explores the incredible discovery of a centuries-old secret document with the potential to unravel the origin story of America while revealing Thomas Jefferson as an unrepentant plagiarist, and much worse. And now, Fleming argues, everything we once understood about America's founding, even the designation of July 4th as our independence holiday, is up for debate. It's a shocking theory supported by many historians and scholars, including Ken Burns and the late David McCullough, as well as 11 US presidents, starting with John Adams who, in an 1819 letter, was the first to accuse Jefferson of both plagiarism and conspiring to cover up his crimes.

Author and longtime ESPN senior writer, David Fleming, releases his third book, Who's Your Founding Father, available wherever books are sold.

"David Fleming has proven beyond reasonable doubt that Thomas Jefferson plagiarized the Declaration of Independence and then sought to cover it up," says the renowned historian Andrew Roberts, the author of Napoleon, Churchill, and The Last King of America. "This is historical detective work at its best."

In his third book, WHO'S YOUR FOUNDING FATHER? One Man's Epic Quest to Uncover the First, True Declaration of Independence (Hachette Books; 5/16/23; 9780306828775) author and longtime ESPN Senior Writer David Fleming goes on a global, gonzo-style deep dive into our country's history to uncover America's first, true declaration of independence: The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. Known as the MecDec, the document was crafted by several Princeton scholars and signed by a rebellious group of Scots-Irish patriots in Charlotte on May 20, 1775  a date that's still featured on the state flag of North Carolina. "The genuine sense of America at that moment was never so well expressed before, nor since," Adams wrote of the MecDec in 1819 after discovering substantial proof that Jefferson had plagiarized the May 20, 1775 declaration and then organized an international cover-up, a conspiracy that reached the highest levels of government and remains on-going to this very day.

Picking up where Adams left off, Fleming uncovered astounding new details that journalist and author Tommy Tomlinson says "will change how you see American history, and that is not hyperbole." Among them: The significant role the Scots-Irish played in the Revolutionary War, especially in the critical, but rarely discussed, Southern Theatre. The heroic ride of Captain James Jack, who rode 537 miles farther than Paul Revere to deliver the MecDec to Congress in 1775. The re-discovery, after more than a century, of the "lost" Freedom Spring, the natural spring where the MecDec was crafted and the spot that confirms Charlotte's standing as America's true cradle of freedom and May 20th as the country's real Independence Day.

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/david-fleming/whos-your-founding-father/9780306828775/

SOURCE David Fleming
DUBLIN, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Lab Instrumentation Markets for Pharmaceuticals and Biopharmaceuticals" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Lab Instrumentation Markets for Pharmaceuticals and Biopharmaceuticals is an in-depth examination of the major technologies used in the pharma/bio sector, encompassing 50 technologies in 9 categories.

The report examines historical growth and provides forecasts for demand over the next five years. This report focuses on delivering insights into phases of discovery, therapeutic focus, and the challenges being faced in therapeutic development.

Drug development is a long and complicated process that involves several types of analytical instruments used in a variety of ways and purposes. Starting at early discovery, a targeted process occurs during drug and biomarker discovery to identify a drug candidate. These drug candidates are then tested in preclinical and clinical trials, translational research, and finally manufacturing and QA/QC.

Due to the nature of drugs and their interactions, knowing how a drug works, its side effects, the method of delivery, its efficacy, consistency in manufacturing, and more all must be tested using precise methods and accurate data. The instruments covered in this report are the primary sources of that data and form the critical infrastructure for pharmaceutical and biotherapeutic compounds.

Further, innovations in the instruments, software controlling them, and analysis methods will further drive new biotherapeutics and drug formulations that are key to the success of the industry.

At the heart of all drug development is the pharmaceutical, biotech, and biopharmaceutical companies. They account for the majority of demand for these instruments, as they are the main commercial benefactors of biotherapeutics.

These companies will often utilize contract research organizations and public sector organizations such as those in academia, the government, and research institutions to assist in the R&D process. Together and in conjunction with a regulatory framework, this network alongside instrument suppliers forms a fast growing marketplace that has only been further helped by steady government investment.

Future growth in the pharma/bio marketplace will be driven by new therapeutic modalities that are more specific to a certain disease, delivered in better ways, with faster research and production timelines, and an increased reliance on personalization to patients.

The resulting price tag and need for specific capital and infrastructure will further rely on high throughput screening, automation, and reliance on CROs and CMOs that provide expertise and scale up resources.

Top Vendors include:

Bruker

Danaher

Illumina

MilliporeSigma

Perkin Elmer

QIAGEN

Sartorius

Tecan

Thermo Fisher

Waters

Key Topics Covered:

Introduction

A. About this Report

B. Scope and Methodology

C. Regional Segmentations

D. End Market & Sector Segmentations

E. Application Segmentations

F. Therapeutic Type Segmentation

G. Executive Summary

Background on the Pharma/Bio Sector

A. Introduction to the Pharma/Bio sector

B. Trends in Pharma/Bio

C. Market Opportunities

D. Market Threats

Laboratory Market Demand

A. Overall

Overall Demand by Technology, 2021-2026

Overall Demand by Sector, 2021-2026

Overall Demand by Lab Function, 2021-2026

Overall Demand by Region, 2021-2026

Overall Vendor Share, 2021

Overall Supplier Participation, 2021

B. Chromatography

C. Mass Spectrometry

D. Atomic Spectroscopy

E. Molecular Biology

F. Life Science Instrumentation

G. Imaging

H. Bioprocessing

I. Lab Automation & Informatics

J. Other Techniques

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/7att4n

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: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Research and Markets
BALTIMORE, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- William F. Regine, MD, FACR, FASTRO, FACRO, President of University of Maryland Faculty Physicians, Inc. (FPI), along with University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean Mark T. Gladwin, MD announced that Rachel L. Hoover, MS, MBA, began serving as the new FPI Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer (EVP/CAO), effective May 1.

Hoover is a healthcare leader with more than 20 years of experience in providing strategic oversight and planning for enterprise-wide initiatives in academic and private health care systems. Most recently she served as Chief Operating Officer for Johns Hopkins Regional Physicians and was previously Director of Global Services for Johns Hopkins Medicine.

"Rachel Hoover brings an extraordinarily deep and diverse portfolio of experience in financial and operational oversight of clinical care, education, and translational and clinical research," said Dr. Regine, who is also the Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at UMSOM, the Isadore & Fannie Schneider Foxman Chair of Radiation Oncology, and Executive Director of the Maryland Proton Treatment Center. "She also has proven expertise in leading strategic planning, program management, and transformation initiatives, which makes her a perfect fit for implementing the new FPI integrated model that involves greater participation from departments."

In this critical leadership position, Ms. Hoover will be responsible for establishing and executing the major objectives associated with FPI's reinvigorated mission as an integrated multispecialty clinical enterprise of excellence, in alignment with University of Maryland Medical Center and Medica System (UMMC/UMMS) and community partners.

"I am honored to step into this important role and to work with such an esteemed group of experts," said Ms. Hoover. "Having spent so many years on the other side of town, I have had the opportunity to admire the work this group does, and I look forward to partnering broadly with teams to achieve sustained growth and to support the expansive, strategic priorities of UMSOM and UMMC/UMMS."

The redesign of FPI, implemented last year, involves an integrated group practice model in which departments have greater participation in the shared business plans and initiatives, and in financial growth, while preserving economies of scale and aspects of the previous "federated" model. Multiple advantages of the new structure include strengthening of FPI's alignment with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System, creating shared decision-making structures, and reducing artificial siloes and barriers.

"Given her experience and previous achievements, I am confident that Ms. Hoover will be successful in building efficiencies and process improvements within FPI," said Mark T. Gladwin, MD, who is also Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor at UMSOM. "She will also develop and implement operational plans to accelerate clinical growth and expand primary and multidisciplinary care in support of UMSOM and its UMMC/UMMS and community partners."

University of Maryland Faculty Physicians, Inc. (FPI), is made up of more than 1,200 faculty members from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, providing care for more than 1.5 million outpatients and inpatients every year. UMSOM faculty physicians conduct cutting-edge research and clinical trials and offer care in more than 40 medical specialties. FPI treats patients nearby at more than 60 offices located across Maryland, as well as provides all clinical care at the University of Maryland Medical Center, one of the nation's leading academic medical centers, and some of the clinical care at all other UMMS hospitals.

"I look forward to working with Ms. Hoover in inspiring, motivating, and engaging our FPI team members, UM SOM faculty, and UMMC/UMMS and community partners to achieve goals that will benefit our patients and sustain and support current and new initiatives," said Dr. Regine.

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 46 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs, and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of more than $1.3 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic, and clinically based care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has nearly $600 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 students, trainees, residents, and fellows. The combined School of Medicine and Medical System ("University of Maryland Medicine") has an annual budget of over $6 billion and an economic impact of nearly $20 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity (according to the Association of American Medical Colleges profile) is an innovator in translational medicine, with 606 active patents and 52 start-up companies. In the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of the Best Medical Schools, published in 2021, the UM School of Medicine is ranked #9 among the 92 public medical schools in the U.S., and in the top 15 percent (#27) of all 192 public and private U.S. medical schools. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu

Provided by Newswise, online resource for knowledge-based news at www.newswise.com

SOURCE University of Maryland Medical Center
SINGAPORE, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- LightInTheBox Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LITB) ("LightInTheBox" or the "Company"), a global online retail company that delivers products directly to consumers around the world, today announced that it will release its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 before the open of U.S. markets on Friday, May 26, 2023.

LightInTheBox's management will hold an earnings conference call at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on May 26, 2023 (8:00 p.m. Hong Kong/Singapore time on the same day).

Preregistration Information

Participants can register for the conference call by going to https://s1.c-conf.com/diamondpass/10030748-hf84u6.html. Upon registration, participants will receive dial-in numbers, an event passcode, and a unique access PIN.

To join the conference, simply dial the number in the calendar invite you receive after preregistering, enter the event passcode followed by your unique access PIN, and you will be joined to the conference instantly.

A telephone replay will be available two hours after the conclusion of the conference call through June 2, 2023. The dial-in details are:

US/Canada: +1-855-883-1031 Singapore: 800-101-3223 Hong Kong, China: 800-930-639 Replay PIN: 10030748

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the Company's Investor Relations website at http://ir.lightinthebox.com.

About LightInTheBox Holding Co., Ltd.

LightInTheBox is a global online retail company that delivers products directly to consumers around the world. The Company offers customers a convenient way to shop for a wide selection of products at attractive prices through its www.lightinthebox.com, www.miniinthebox.com, www.ezbuy.sg and other websites and mobile applications, which are available in over 20 major languages and cover more than 140 countries.

For more information, please visit www.lightinthebox.com.

Investor Relations Contact

Investor Relations

LightInTheBox Holding Co., Ltd.

Email: [email protected]

Jenny Cai

Piacente Financial Communications

Email: [email protected]

Brandi Piacente

Piacente Financial Communications

Tel: +1-212-481-2050

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE LightInTheBox Holding Co., Ltd.
HANGZHOU, China, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In China's eastern coastal province of Zhejiang, the port stands witness to the boom of trade, while the pulse of investment could be taken on an annual symposium.

The five-day 24th China Zhejiang Investment & Trade Symposium (ZJITS) kicked off on May 16 in Ningbo, a coastal city in Zhejiang. In addition, the 3rd China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair was held at the same time, according to the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province.

The event's active registration, rich activities and robust exchanges have witnessed the enthusiasm and expectation of global investors for Zhejiang, an open highland in China.

From an investment & trade event to high-level opening-up platform

The ZJITS has witnessed the magnificent course of the province's open economy development and is an important window for the world to observe the trends of Zhejiang's investment and trade.

The ZJITS started in 1999, the first International Consumer Goods Fair was held in 2002, and the first China-CEEC Expo was held in 2019, which is the only national-level institutional exhibition facing CEEC. Gradually the three events formed a grand opening-up exchange platform, creating the most important carrier for Zhejiang to deepen foreign trade and economic cooperation on all fronts.

As an important platform for Zhejiang's foreign economic and trade exchanges, the ZJITS has been held for 24 sessions. Since the China-CEEC Expo was elevated to a national-level institutional exhibition, the ZJITS has gained more influence.

Even the COVID-19 pandemic had not dampened the enthusiasm for investment and trade with Zhejiang at home and abroad. In 2020, the 22nd ZJITS was held online for the first time, inking a total investment of 13.7 billion U.S. dollars. In 2021, the 23rd ZJITS saw the signing of 80 projects with a total investment of 15.1 billion U.S. dollars.

The 24th ZJITS not only has a main forum focusing on investment in Zhejiang, 6 matching exchanges and supporting activities, and over 100 investment promotion activities jointly held by governments at all levels of the province, but also introduced new measures of opening up and promotion such as fund investment, pilot opening of service industry, introduced successful experience of foreign enterprises investing in Zhejiang, and carried out multi-party dialogues among government, enterprises and institutions to share new opportunities for investment and cooperation.

The main forum alone attracted more than 150 guests from over 30 countries and regions at home and abroad, including Fortune 500 enterprises, multinational industry leaders, international investment promotion agencies, intermediary consulting companies, well-known business associations and representatives of some other provinces and cities.

"The business environment in Zhejiang is very good. I have been deeply impressed by Zhejiang's service efficiency in both project implementation and actual operation, which makes us choose to continue to increase our local presence," said attendee Julia Mateos Caro, general manager of Sanofi's Hangzhou plant.

From introduction of foreign investment to going global by local firms

The increasingly rich activities and growing platform of the ZJITS reflect the transformation of Zhejiang Province from a foreign trade hub to an opening-up powerhouse.

Opening-up has always been a major priority of Zhejiang's development. In July 2003, Zhejiang promoted the implementation of the development strategy that calls for provincial authorities to make full use of the province's eight key advantages. The strategy has led the overall development of the whole province since then, and proposed to continuously improve the level of opening-up.

In the past ten years, the actual utilization of foreign capital in Zhejiang increased from 8.33 billion U.S. dollars to 19.3 billion U.S. dollars, with an annual average growth of 8.8 percent, and the accumulative actual utilization of foreign capital reached 141.97 billion U.S. dollars.

In January this year, Zhejiang proposed to accelerate the building of a high-level open province. It seeks to adhere to the organic unity of going global and investment introduction, and promote the upgrading of industrial chain and supply chain system of leading industries, domestic and foreign trade competitiveness, important open platforms and enterprises.

The province aims to build a more resilient, dynamic and competitive "sweet potato economy" that features open development going beyond a city, the province and even the country.

Like a sweet potato whose vines spread out in all directions to absorb more light, rain, and nutrients, so that the tubers that support the roots can grow bigger and bigger, Zhejiang has seen many local economies thrive via open development.

The province is home to the business-minded Wenzhou City, the overseas Chinese merchants hometown Qingtian City, world supermarket of small commodities Yiwu City and global textile hub Keqiao District in Shaoxing City.

In 2022, a total of 934 going-global enterprises and institutions were registered and approved in Zhejiang, an increase of 16.5 percent over the previous year. The registered foreign direct investment amounted to 13 billion U.S. dollars, up 45 percent year on year.

In Yuecheng District of Zhejiang's Shaoxing City, open development has become the consensus of local enterprises. Since the beginning of this year, Yuecheng has organized more than 560 enterprises to participate in 16 domestic and overseas exhibitions such as the intertextile in Shanghai and Hong Kong Fashion Week, and obtained intended orders with value exceeding 250 million U.S. dollars.

Meanwhile, more and more local enterprises are making high-quality global investment around the industrial chain. Sleemon, a Yuecheng-based firm producing high-quality furniture such as mattresses, is stepping up its going-global efforts. In addition to continuing investment in Safin manufacturing base in Thailand, it has also opened an overseas design center. Currently, the company's European design center is in operation in Milan.

From commodity and factor flow to institutional opening-up

In addition to going global and introducing investment led by cities and enterprises, Zhejiang is also keen on integrating into the country's overall opening-up blueprint, embracing a new round of high-level opening-up with institutional reform and innovation.

A number of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation pilot zones have sprung up in various parts of Zhejiang.

For example, Ningbo is China's first demonstration zone for economic and trade cooperation between China and CEEC. Hangzhou is a national comprehensive pilot for expanding the opening-up of the service sector. Wenzhou Ouhai District has been listed as a national innovation demonstration zone for promoting import. Six cities, including Jiaxing, have been designated as demonstration zones for high-level opening-up and cooperation with RCEP countries.

China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, as the main driver of promoting the province's institutional opening-up, took the lead in expanding the pilot area in China, with 477 institutional innovation achievements made since its establishment in 2017. Among them, 149 pioneering achievements have been practiced across Zhejiang, and 37 innovative cases have been promoted across the country, facilitating the continuous optimization of the opening-up business environment in Zhejiang and beyond.

In order to promote Zhejiang's opening-up via digital economy, the Forum on China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone DEPA and International Commodity Supply Chain (Beilun) was held.

The event also saw the launch of the upgrading action for China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the launch of the green trade initiative, the launch of DEPA benchmarking action, and the establishment of the enterprise innovation alliance, which together seek to explore more possibilities for the pilot FTZ to link with the world by leveraging digital economy.

Image Attachments Links:

Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=440811

Caption: Signing contracts of major foreign investment projects and the launch of a fund focusing on investment in Zhejiang were held during the Forum on Investing in Zhejiang.

SOURCE The Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province
Vertical Integration will enable leading manufacturer of grid infrastructure products to fortify their US supply chain and increase production capacity.



FORT MILL, S.C., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MacLean Power, LLC ("MacLean Power Systems", "MPS", or the "Company"), a leading manufacturer of products for transmission, distribution, substation, and communications infrastructure, today announced it has completed the purchase of Dotson Iron Castings, a ductile iron foundry located in Mankato, Minnesota.

Dotson Iron Castings, in business for over a century, specializes in the production of ductile iron castings and manufactures more than 120 tons of ductile iron daily. Dotson currently supplies critical transmission hardware and fiberglass cross-arm brackets to MPS' Alabaster, Alabama and Newberry, South Carolina facilities. MPS' customers and end users will benefit from shorter lead times and increased production capacity in these rapidly growing market segments.

Integration will enable leading manufacturer of grid infrastructure products to fortify their US supply chain. Tweet this

MacLean Power Systems provides a comprehensive offering of engineered products, including poleline hardware, insulators, arrestors, connectors, anchors, cross-arms, and other related products. Across MPS' utility and communications end markets, the MacLean Power Systems brand has become synonymous with quality and reliability since the Company's founding in 1986. The Company operates in the United States, Canada, South America, Asia, and Europe with sales offices throughout the world.

Steve Scharnhorst, CEO of MPS, commented, "We are thrilled to welcome Dotson to the MPS team. As an existing vendor to MPS, our partnership with Dotson has flourished over the last several years. Dotson's excellent performance as a supplier, including the quality of their product, and best-in-class foundry process are really what drove us to this partnership. However, what is most advantageous about Dotson is their talented and knowledgeable team. Each and every dedicated individual at Dotson has worked to make the business what it is today and they will continue to be their essential element. We have great potential to integrate with all our existing facilities. This acquisition accelerates our vertical integration strategy, allowing us to serve our customers' needs more effectively and continue to expand our ability to provide a growing number of American manufactured products."

Dotson CEO Tyson Twait will join MPS as Vice President and General Manager of Mankato Operations. Tyson Twait, commented, "I am very excited about the opportunity this brings to Dotson. MPS' dedication to its facilities, employees, and safety will be of great benefit to our existing workforce."

Steve Scharnhorst also added that "the utility industry has an urgent and timely demand for infrastructure hardware. We've heard our customers' needs clearly, and this acquisition is designed to help meet that requirement, while strengthening the quality of all our offerings." Steve Scharnhorst closed by saying "Dotson Iron Castings will remain in Mankato, where it's world class facilities and people reside. We look forward to investing in the workplace and workforce located in Mankato."

About MacLean Power Systems

MacLean Power Systems is a leading manufacturer of engineered products used in the maintenance, repair, upgrade, and construction of transmission, distribution, substation, and communications infrastructure. We are dedicated to keeping power infrastructure performing optimally by supplying world-class products and programs to fulfill the needs of customers who maintain electrical services to consumers worldwide. The Company operates in the United States, Canada, South America, Asia, and Europe with sales offices throughout the world. Learn more at www.macleanpower.com .

About Dotson Iron Castings

Dotson Iron Castings specializes in the production of ductile iron castings for a variety of industries, including agriculture, construction, transportation, and more. The company was founded in 1876 and is located in Mankato, Minnesota, USA. Learn more at www.dotson.com

Contact:

MacLean Power Systems Dotson Iron Castings



Corinne Williams Liz Ulman



[email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Maclean Power Systems
Acquisition will accelerate global expansion of Serverfarm's portfolio and drive innovation to better serve customer requirements

BOSTON and LOS ANGELES, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife Investment Management ("Manulife IM"), on behalf of Manulife Infrastructure Fund II* and its affiliates, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Serverfarm, a data center owner and operator. The significant investment by Manulife IM, together with support from existing shareholders, will provide capital to Serverfarm to continue its expansion across North America, Europe, and Israel to capitalize on attractive market opportunities.

Serverfarm currently operates a portfolio of eight data centers across North America, Europe and Israel that aggregate more than 1.5 million gross square feet and 125MW of IT capacity, and it has secured additional land for future data center developments.

"Avner and the Serverfarm team have built a high-quality data center portfolio and growth platform that is well-positioned to capitalize on the strong secular tailwinds in the data center market," said Recep Kendircioglu, global head of infrastructure, Manulife Investment Management. "We are excited about the company's future and our ability to support Serverfarm through its next phase of growth on behalf of our clients."

"Partnering with Manulife Investment Management, an investor that shares Serverfarm's vision for growth and customer service, will allow us to effectively address the next wave of demand from our existing and new customers," said Avner Papouchado, Founder and CEO of Serverfarm. "Our new relationship with Manulife Investment Management provides Serverfarm with additional expertise and new capital to execute on a number of attractive development opportunities and give our customers a long-term growth runway."

The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023 after the satisfaction of customary closing conditions including the receipt of certain regulatory approvals.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is serving as lead financial advisor, TD Securities (USA) LLC is serving as financial advisor, and Dentons US LLP and Alston & Bird LLP are serving as legal counsel to Serverfarm.

TAP Advisors LLC is serving as financial advisor, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is serving as legal counsel to Manulife Investment Management.

About Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the global brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our extensive capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 19 geographies. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com.

About Serverfarm LLC

Serverfarm is an established multi-regional data center platform that provides data center solutions to key hyperscale, webscale, technology & network customers. These data center solutions include Colocation, Data Center Design, and IT Infrastructure Management, through Serverfarm's proprietary InCommand DMaaS technology. For more information, visit https://www.serverfarmllc.com/.

* Manulife Infrastructure Fund II is closed and no longer open for subscription



SOURCE Manulife Investment Management
CHICAGO, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MarketsandMarkets' new study on artificial intelligence (AI) sheds light on AI's rapid growth and evolution and its impact on business models. As per their prediction, approximately $87 billion worth of opportunities is expected to open up in the AI industry for B2B companies this year, and it is expected to reach $407 billion by the end of 2027.

The whitepaper, titled 'Emergence of AI-based Business Models  Orchestrating the Next Big Shift in Enterprise AI Adoption,' unveils critical insights into how AI is changing the landscape of B2B business models across different industries, from healthcare to finance and retail. It further examines case studies of companies that have successfully implemented AI in their business strategies and its impact on their operations, customer engagement, and revenue.

MarketsandMarkets brought together some of the esteemed stakeholders and industry leaders in the AI ecosystem to cover the market landscape of AI-based business models and various disruptions in this space. The discussions were organized in a traditional roundtable format in Houston, Boston, and London.

"AI-based business models will create successful and high-growth revenue streams in use cases that improve the human experience through multiple levers. These levers cover prediction/foresight/early-stage detection, capacity augmentation in supply-constrained areas (like healthcare provision), improving cost-to-serve, offering entirely new capability (soft sensors in chemical industries), reducing error rates, and personalized customer experience," said Krishnan Chatterjee, Chief Operating Officer, MarketsandMarkets.

Brief Summary of the Whitepaper

As technology continues to advance rapidly, businesses are looking for innovative solutions to optimize their processes and stay ahead of the competition. One of the most promising areas for businesses to explore is the use of AI and its potential for transforming traditional business models.

One of the key themes explored in this whitepaper is the potential for AI to drive significant cost savings for businesses. AI can automate routine tasks, allowing employees to focus on more strategic and creative work. Additionally, AI can analyze vast amounts of data, identifying patterns and insights that would be impossible for humans to uncover. Another essential theme discussed is the potential for AI to improve customer engagement. AI-powered chatbots, for example, can provide personalized support to customers 24/7, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty. AI can also be used to analyze customer data, providing businesses with insights into customer preferences and behavior that can inform product development and marketing strategies.

Further, this whitepaper includes 

Country-wise outlook on current and future AI deployment

Best practices to build enterprise maturity that can squeeze out the last drop of profitability from an AI business model

Revenue increase of global organizations from adopting AI business models, with extensive data on ROI increase post-AI adoption

Top industry verticals by the growth rate in AI adoption

Top use cases of B2B AI-based business models, covering novel areas such as IT process automation, sensor data analysis, and conversational AI

Excerpts from discussions with key opinion leaders in the AI industry, including Fortune 500 firms

Download the whitepaper: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/mega_trends/artificial_intelligence

About MarketsandMarkets

Founded in 2010, MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. 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.

In March 2023, Forbes recognized MarketsandMarkets as one of America's Best Management Consulting Firms.

To know more, visit: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/

Contact:

Kriti Tiwari,

PR & Communications,

MarketsandMarkets INC.

Tower B5, Office,101, Magarpatta SEZ, Hadapsar, Pune  411013

Contact No.: +91 9545812969

USA: +1-888-600-6441

Email: [email protected]

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg

SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
Largest witness unlawful detention case in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- May Jung Law, a leading civil rights law firm, announced today that it has reached a $700,000 settlement with the City of Minneapolis in a landmark unlawful detention case on behalf of the Vue family.

The groundbreaking settlement marks the largest witness unlawful detention case in the State of Minnesota, if not the country.

On Dec. 15, 2019, Chiasher Vue, a Hmong refugee, was shot and killed by the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). Police officers held Vue's four children, the case's plaintiffs, for over five hours in the back of locked and unheated patrol cars, forced to hear radio traffic authorizing the use of deadly force against their father and ultimately the barrage of bullets that killed him. Video recordings capture over dozens of screams and cries to be released and the MPD's denials.

The Vue plaintiffs were transported to MPD headquarters, and then locked in separate interrogation rooms  all of which was without a legal basis and against their will. MPD held them for more than five additional hours in interrogation rooms and were never told that their father had been killed hours earlier.

The settlement comes in the wake of the MPD's policy changes regarding witness detention, enacted through Special Order SO22-027 in November 2022. This order explicitly prohibits every single unlawful action that was inflicted upon the Vue Plaintiffs, signaling a step towards progress and accountability within law enforcement practices.

"We hope that the MPD and other law enforcement agencies throughout the country understand that upholding fundamental constitutional requirements is neither discretionary, optional, nor contingent upon an individual's race, ethnicity, or language capabilities," said Je Yon Jung, partner at May Jung Law. "It is our fervent hope that the policy changes implemented by the MPD will endure as more than temporary measures or mere lip service."

For more information about May Jung Law Firm, go to www.mayjung.com.

SOURCE May Jung Law Firm
MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Methodist South Hospital, one of five adult hospitals within the Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare system, will celebrate its 50th Anniversary this Saturday on the hospital campus. In recognition of the milestone and in conjunction with its annual Whitehaven Healthy Community Day, neighborhood residents can join festivities that include a health fair and a live broadcast radio remote, as well as inflatables and games for the kids.

"To recognize five decades worth of providing quality, compassionate care in this tight-knit community is truly an honor," said Ocpivia Stafford, PharmD and president of Methodist South. "We've been privileged to serve generations of families throughout this historic area and look forward to providing innovative care here for another 50 years and beyond. I encourage everyone in Whitehaven to come celebrate with us and take a more proactive role in maintaining healthy bodies and minds."

Saturday's celebrations open with a Fun Walk followed by a comprehensive Health Fair offering healthy cooking and exercise demonstrations, a "Mega Brain Tour" and free health screenings including blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index and glucose checks, as well as hearing tests powered by Cigna.

"Building connections with our patients and families through active listening allows Methodist South to better understand and treat the conditions specific to our neighbors," said Stafford. "Forging these types of relationships are critical to developing and sustaining a healthy community."

Methodist South Hospital celebrates another recent accomplishment with its Labor and Delivery Team being recognized by Money.com as one of the best hospitals for maternity care.

Additionally, all five adult hospitals within the Memphis-based healthcare system recently received straight "A" safety grades from The Leapfrog Group, a national organization committed to the highest quality of patient safety standards in hospitals and outpatient surgery centers. Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare is the only hospital system in the Greater Memphis area to receive A ratings this period. Results of local hospitals can be viewed here.

About Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare

Based in Memphis, Tennessee, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has been caring for patients and families regardless of their ability to pay for more than 100 years. Guided by roots in the United Methodist Church and founded in 1918 to help meet the growing need for quality healthcare in the greater Memphis area, MLH has grown from one hospital into a comprehensive healthcare system with 13,000 Associates supporting six hospitals, including nationally ranked Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, ambulatory surgery centers, outpatient facilities, hospice residence and physician and specialty practices serving communities across the Mid-South. From transplants and advanced heart procedures to expert neurology services and compassionate cancer care, MLH offers clinical expertise with a focus on improving every life we touch.

SOURCE Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare
Plant-Milk options made more accessible, as Miyoko's award-winning vegan butter and cheese now available in all 50 states.

SONOMA, Calif., May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading plant milk dairy maker, Miyoko's Creamery, has announced an exciting new partnership with North America's largest food industry redistributor, Dot Foods, offering its award-winning products to customers across the United States. The distribution partnership with Dot Foods will allow Miyoko's Creamery to deliver the highest quality vegan products, crafted for all culinary and baking applications, to over 5,000 foodservice distributors around the country.

Miyoko's Creamery strives to perfect the art of crafting cheese and butter from plant milks and is committed to delivering the highest quality vegan products that challenge category norms with taste appeal, culinary excellence, and compassion. Crafted with care and intention, the brand takes a true artisan approach from start to finish. From handcrafting artisanal cheeses to cold-smoking mozzarella with hickory chips, to aging countless racks of cheese, Miyoko's Creamery invests in time, equipment, and quality processes that make its products worthy of the world's finest plant milk creamery.

The Miyoko's Creamery lineup at Dot Foods consists of:

The award-winning European Style Plant Milk Butter. Cultured and churned using traditional creamery methods, Miyoko's plant milk butter is a trusted choice by chefs and bakers for its ability to melt, spread, bake, and brown.

Cultured and churned using traditional creamery methods, Miyoko's plant milk butter is a trusted choice by chefs and bakers for its ability to melt, spread, bake, and brown. The first-of-its-kind, award-winning Pourable Plant Milk Mozzarella. Crafted from organic cashew milk without the melt-inhibiting ingredients typically found in plant-based, Pourable Plant Milk Mozzarella is loved by pizza professionals and enthusiasts alike, for its cheesy layer that bubbles, browns, and tastes delicious.

"We are thrilled about our distribution partnership with Dot Foods, as it enables us to scale our foodservice footprint significantly. Consumers everywhere- from vegans to flexitarians- are seeking better-for-you and tastier dairy-free and lactose-free options with cleaner ingredients when dining out. Our products appeal to consumers and professional chefs alike," said Marc Asmussen, Miyoko's Creamery Director of Sales, Food Service.

"This is a truly exciting and pivotal moment for our company and our team," said Rebecca Infusino, Chief Customer Officer. "As we look to help inspire and build a more compassionate and sustainable food system through crafting high-quality, and nourishing plant-milk products, our goal is to be in every household and on every menu, giving consumers the choices they want. We are excited to be on our way with Dot Foods."

"Miyoko's continues to be an innovator in the plant-based space, and we are excited to make their products more accessible through our network of distributors," said Rodd Willis, Dot's director of natural and specialty. "The Miyoko's brand is highly sought-after, and we hope that our partnership will support their overall growth moving forward."

Pourable Plant Milk Mozzarella (also available in allergen friendly option) and Plant Milk Butter are now available through Dot Foods.

For more information, visit Miyokos.com and follow Miyoko's Creamery on Instagram @miyokoscreamery.

ABOUT MIYOKO'S CREAMERY

Miyoko's Creamery, based in Northern California's esteemed wine country, was established in 2014 and has built a reputation as the world's finest plant milk creamery. The brand, which was built on the foundation of craft and compassion, is the natural evolution of dairy using time-honored techniques and the finest ingredients to make a variety of award-winning artisan butters and cheeses.

As a mission-driven, proudly vegan, certified B Corporation, Miyoko's Creamery believes that food unites us all, that the good life can be savored without sacrifice, and that change can be made when we recognize the connection of our plates to the world, systems and living beings around us. With taste and performance at the forefront, Miyoko's Creamery products are perfect for all culinary and baking applications. From the much-loved European Style Plant Milk Butter to the highly praised Pourable Plant Milk Mozzarella, all offerings are a 1:1 substitution in any recipe or dish.

Proudly served in world-class wineries & restaurants, Miyoko's Creamery cheese and butter are loved by chefs, pizzaiolos, cheesemongers, and sommeliers worldwide. Rapidly becoming a foodie favorite, Miyoko's Creamery products are widely available in over 20,000 retailers nationwide, including Whole Foods, Sprouts, Target, Kroger and Walmart as well as in-home delivery services like Whole Foods Market via Amazon delivery and Instacart via select retailers, as well as on Miyokos.com.

For more information, visit Miyokos.com. Follow Miyoko's Creamery on Instagram @miyokoscreamery.

ABOUT DOT FOODS AND DOT TRANSPORTATION

Dot Foods, Inc. carries 125,000 products from 1,020 food industry manufacturers making it the largest food industry redistributor in North America. Through Dot Transportation, Inc., an affiliate of Dot Foods, the company distributes foodservice, convenience, retail, and vending products to distributors in all 50 states and more than 55 countries. Dot Foods operates 12 U. S. distribution centers, which are located in Bullhead City, Arizona; Modesto, California; Bear, Delaware; Vidalia, Georgia; Burley, Idaho; Mt. Sterling, Illinois; University Park, Illinois; Cambridge City, Indiana; Williamsport, Maryland; Liverpool, New York; Ardmore, Oklahoma; and Dyersburg, Tennessee. Dot's 13th U.S. location will be located in Manchester, Tennessee. Dot Foods' Canadian operations are located in Toronto, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta. A new Dot Foods Canada distribution center will open in Ingersoll, Canada in spring 2023. For information, visit DotFoods.com .

SOURCE Miyoko's Creamery
Event attendees and visitors can find and reserve parking in advance or pay for parking onsite via the ParkMobile app or web link

NEW ORLEANS, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center announced a new partnership with ParkMobile, the leading provider of smart parking and mobility solutions in North America and part of the EasyPark Group. As a result of this new partnership, event attendees and guests to the Convention Center can now reserve and pay for parking before their visit via ParkMobile's online parking reservations and digital payment platform. Users can also pay for parking onsite through the ParkMobile app.

With ParkMobile's approximately forty-five million users across North America, the integration of the mobile app reservations offering at the NOENMCC will now provide a consistent user experience for conference attendees traveling from across the country. ParkMobile currently services nearly 600,000 users in Louisiana and plans to continue to expand its mobile parking services across the state and region.

"Through introducing ParkMobile's easy-to-use technology, each event will have a unique link to reserve and pay to park. Visitors are guaranteed a parking spot before they arrive on property," said Convention Center President, Michael J. Sawaya. "Our visitor experience is our top priority, and with the integration of the reservation and onsite digital payment service, our guest experience is even more seamless."

"ParkMobile's reservation and onsite digital payment services creates a better experience for event and conference attendees. As we work to achieve our goal of making cities more livable, we're thrilled to partner with New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center to bring the ease of ParkMobile to their drivers," said David Hoyt, ParkMobile's Managing Director.

ParkMobile is available both iPhone and Android devices or can be accessed on a mobile web browser. To make a parking reservation, users can search for the event venue in the ParkMobile app or on the dedicated NOENMCC ParkMobile website then select the lot where they would like to park.

After the reservation is booked, it can be redeemed at the location using a mobile pass in the ParkMobile app or printed permit. To pay for parking onsite via the ParkMobile app or website, the users will enter the zone number or scan the QR code found on the strategically located signs within the parking lot. More information about parking at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center can be found on the Center's website.

CONTACT:

Haley Haas

PR Manager, US

404-580-0112

[email protected]

The following files are available for download:

https://news.cision.com/parkmobile/i/parkmobile---new-orleans-ernest-n--morial-convention-center-,c3180318 ParkMobile - New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

SOURCE ParkMobile
DALLAS, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NexPoint Capital, Inc. (the "Company"), a non-traded publicly registered business development company sponsored and managed by NexPoint Advisors, L.P., today announced that it will commence a voluntary tender offer on or about May 19, 2023 (the "Tender Offer") for up to 2.5% of its outstanding common stock ("Shares").

The purchase price of each Share will be (i) not less than the net asset value ("NAV") per Share of the Company's common stock ("NAV Per Share") (as determined in good faith by the board of directors of the Company or a committee thereof, in its sole discretion) next calculated following the Expiration Date (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) (the date of repurchase) and (ii) not more than 2.5% greater than the NAV Per Share as of such date, plus any unpaid dividends accrued through the expiration date of the Tender Offer.

This announcement is not a recommendation, an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell Shares of the Company. The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") a tender offer statement on Schedule TO and related exhibits, including an offer to purchase, a related letter of transmittal, and other related documents (the "Tender Offer Documents"). The Tender Offer Documents will be sent by mail to holders of the Shares. Shareholders of the Company may obtain additional copies of the Tender Offer Documents for the Company, without charge, by contacting the Tender Agent for the Tender Offer, DST Systems, Inc., at 1-844-485-9167. Shareholders can also obtain the Tender Offer Documents free of charge on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Shareholders should read these documents and related exhibits, as the documents contain important information about the Company's Tender Offer.

Tender Offer Questions and Additional Information

Any questions regarding the Tender Offer can be directed to the Company's Tender Agent, DST Systems, Inc., at 1-844-485-9167. The Company's NAV Per Share, $5.28 as of May 17, 2023 (the last Board-approved NAV), as well as other information, including information about management and the healthcare-focused investment strategy, are available at www.nexpoint.com . The information on or accessible through www.nexpoint.com is not incorporated by reference herein.

About NexPoint Capital, Inc.

NexPoint Capital, Inc. is a non-traded, publicly registered business development company sponsored and managed by NexPoint Advisors, L.P.

About NexPoint Advisors, L.P.

NexPoint Advisors, L.P. ("NexPoint Advisors") is an SEC-registered adviser on the NexPoint alternative investment platform ("NexPoint"). NexPoint Advisors serves as the adviser to a suite of funds and investment vehicles, including a closed-end fund, interval fund, business development company ("BDC"), and various real estate vehicles. For more information visit www.nexpoint.com.

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements. These statements may involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including the performance of financial markets, the investment performance of NexPoint Advisors' sponsored investment products, general economic conditions, future acquisitions, competitive conditions, and government regulations, including changes in tax laws. Readers should carefully consider such factors. Further, such forward-looking statements speak only on the date at which such statements are made. NexPoint Advisors undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statement.

This material has been distributed for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy, or investment product. Neither the Company, nor the Company's Board of Directors, nor NexPoint Advisors makes any recommendation as to whether to tender or not to tender any Shares in the Tender Offer. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission.

Contact Information for Tender Offer:

Financial Advisors: (855) 498-1580

Shareholders: (844) 485-9167

Media Relations: [email protected]

SOURCE NexPoint Capital, Inc.
STOCKHOLM, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ombori today announced that its new StoreAI extension to Ombori Grid will include AI-powered store mapping solutions from digital mapping specialists Pointr.

This collaboration will make it quick and easy for retailers to provide interactive in-store digital maps and wayfinders for their stores. Pointr uses a combination of AI and computer vision to analyze CAD files of a store and automatically convert that into a digital map.

Once the map is created, it can easily be repurposed for many different devices and use cases, this can include voice or touchscreen kiosks or mobile apps. These can be used by employees and customers to locate and be directed to products, service desks, or other facilities.

Ombori CEO Andreas Hassellof said, "Retailers are always asking us for in-store wayfinding solutions, like the one we did for Target in Melbourne. Store mapping for one or two stores is quite easy, but it's a huge challenge to do it for hundreds or thousands of stores across a large enterprise. We're very excited to be partnering with Pointr, who are experts in this area and are using AI to solve this very problem."

Jessica Milan, Chief Growth Officer, Pointr, said, "Ombori has built some great APIs which made it extremely easy for us to integrate with the Grid platform. We are very much looking forward to seeing what retailers are going to do with the things that we deliver to them together."

StoreAI for Ombori Grid will officially launch at a special online event on May 24th.

CONTACT:

Andreas Hassellof, CEO, OmboriGrid AB (publ), +46 (0) 77-586 80 00, [email protected]

SOURCE OmboriGrid AB
Official Designation Represents Recognition of Important Role PEOs Play in Supporting Small Business



ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hundreds of owners, executives, and employees of professional employer organizations (PEOs) around the country will be gathering in Washington, DC next week to celebrate National PEO Week, which recognizes the key role of PEOs in helping small businesses and their employees thrive.

PEOs provide payroll, employee benefits, compliance assistance, and HR services to hundreds of thousands of small and mid-sized businesses that employ more than 4 million people. These businesses are in every state and Congressional district.

National PEO Week coincides with the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations' (NAPEO) PEO Capitol Summit, the association's annual legal and legislative conference that includes a Capitol Hill fly-in and two days of educational content. On May 23, hundreds of PEO representatives will head to Capitol Hill to talk with their members of Congress and Senators about the industry's broad impact on the small business sector. They'll also urge lawmakers to push the IRS to process hundreds of thousands of Employee Retention Credit (ERTC) applications from small and mid-sized businesses, many of whom have been waiting years to receive these funds that are critical to their survival.

PEOs across the country will also be commemorating the National PEO Week in their own communities in a variety of ways, including virtual events, client outreach, social media campaigns, and staff celebrations.

"There's something for every elected official  Republican or Democrat  to love about the PEO industry, and that's the story we will tell during National PEO Week," said NAPEO President & CEO Pat Cleary. "Not only do PEOs promote small business compliance with a broad scope of federal and state employment and workforce laws, but small businesses that use a PEO have faster growth, higher profitability, and happier employees."

National PEO Week has been recognized in the federal Congressional Record and by the National Day organization, which annually approves only 30 requests out of 25,000 applications. Several states have also issued proclamations in recognition of National PEO Week, including Arizona, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oklahoma. It is celebrated the third full week in May each year.

About NAPEO

The National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) is The Voice of the PEO Industry. NAPEO's 250 PEO members provide payroll, benefits, workers' comp, regulatory compliance assistance, and other HR services to more than 173,000 small and mid-size businesses employing 4 million people. Our members account for more than 90 percent of the industry's $254 billion in revenue. An additional 250 companies that provide services to PEOs are associate members of NAPEO. For more information, please visit www.napeo.org.

SOURCE National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO)
CHICAGO, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

ISAAC SOLOMON and FRANCINE

CANION, Individually and On Behalf of All

Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs, v. SPRINT CORPORATION, MICHEL

COMBES, ANDREW DAVIES, MARCELO

CLAURE and TAREK ROBBIATI Defendants.

Civil Action No. 1:19-cv-05272-MKV

SUMMARY NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION

TO: All individuals and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Sprint common stock between October 25, 2017 and November 1, 2019, both dates inclusive, and who were damaged thereby.

Excluded from the Settlement Class are (i) Defendants; (ii) the parent entity, officers and directors of the Company, at all relevant times; (iii) members of the immediate families of such officers and directors of the Company, and their legal representatives, heirs, successors or assigns; and (iv) any entity in which Defendants have or had a controlling interest. Also excluded from the Settlement Class is any Settlement Class Member that validly and timely requests exclusion in accordance with the requirements set by the Court.

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY AND IN ITS ENTIRETY.

YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY PROCEEDINGS IN THIS ACTION.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and an Order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, that a hearing will be held on August 8, 2023 before the Honorable Mary Kay Vyskocil in Courtroom 18C of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007, for the purpose of determining, among other things: (1) whether the proposed Settlement of the Settlement Class's claims against the Defendants for $3,750,000 in cash should be approved as fair, reasonable and adequate; (2) whether the Plan of Allocation should be approved as fair, reasonable and adequate; (3) whether the application by Lead Counsel for an award of attorneys' fees and expenses should be approved; (4) whether a request for reimbursement of Plaintiffs' costs and expenses should be approved; and (5) whether the Action should be dismissed with prejudice against the Defendants as set forth in the Stipulation of Settlement filed with the Court.

If you purchased or acquired Sprint common stock between October 25, 2017 through November 1, 2019, your rights may be affected by the Settlement of this Action, including the release and extinguishment of claims you may possess relating to your ownership interest in Sprint common stock. If you have not received a detailed Notice of Pendency and Class Action Settlement (the "Notice") and a copy of the Proof of Claim and Release Form, you may obtain copies by writing to the Settlement Administrator at: Sprint Securities Litigation, c/o A.B. Data, Ltd., P.O. Box 173094, Milwaukee, WI 53217, www.SprintSecuritiesClassAction.com.

If you are a member of the Settlement Class and wish to share in the Settlement money, you must submit a Proof of Claim no later than July 25, 2023 establishing that you are entitled to recovery. As further described in the Notice, you will be bound by any judgment entered in the Action, regardless of whether you submit a Proof of Claim, unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Notice, by no later than July 25, 2023. All members of the Settlement Class who have not requested exclusion from the Settlement Class will be bound by any judgment entered in the Action pursuant to the Settlement Stipulation. Any objections to the Settlement, Plan of Allocation, attorney's fees and expenses, or Plaintiffs' reimbursement award must be filed and served, in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Notice, no later than July 25, 2023 to each of the following:

Clerk of the Court United States District Court Southern District of New

York 500 Pearl Street New York, NY 10007 Lead Counsel Omar Jafri POMERANTZ LLP 10 South LaSalle Street Suite 3505 Chicago, IL 60603 Defendants' Counsel Scott D. Musoff SKADDEN, ARPS, SLATE, MEAGHER & FLOM LLP One Manhattan West New York, NY 10001

If you have any questions about the Settlement, you may visit

www.SprintSecuritiesClassAction.com or contact Lead Counsel at the above address or via telephone at (312) 377-1181.

INQUIRIES SHOULD NOT BE DIRECTED TO THE COURT,

THE CLERK'S OFFICE, DEFENDANTS, OR DEFENDANTS' COUNSEL.

Dated: May 19, 2023 By Order of the Court

United States District Court

Southern District of New York

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
FORT WORTH, Texas, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Premier Truck Rental (PTR), a leading provider of custom truck and trailer rentals, is proud to announce the grand opening of its new facility in Fort Worth. This facility is part of the company's ongoing expansion strategy and will enable it to better serve its growing customer base across the country.

Premier Truck Rental announces state-of-the-art facility in Fort Worth, Texas. Tweet this Premier Truck Rental opens facility in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Founded in 2014, PTR is a family-owned and operated provider of commercial vehicles and equipment rentals, offering a wide range of products. With the HQ based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Premier Truck Rental serves a wide variety of clients across the United States, including commercial construction companies, investor-owned utilities, utility contractors, and renewable contractors.

The new Fort Worth facility spans 84,187 sq. ft over 14.4 acres and features 18 EV stations, 4 overhead cranes, a wash bay and a body shop with a paint booth large enough for a Class VIII truck.

"We are thrilled to open our second facility in Fort Worth and expand our presence in the region," said Adriene Horn, PTR's President. "This facility will allow us to better serve our customers and we look forward to continuing to grow in this thriving market."

PTR's Fort Worth facility is expected to create 40 jobs in the area, with administrative and technician positions available. Interested candidates can learn more and apply by visiting careers.rentptr.com.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for fall 2023.

About Premier Truck Rental

Our job at Premier Truck Rental (PTR) is to give you the type of rental equipment you need, whenever you need it, and to make the rental process as easy and seamless as possible. Being selected as one of NAFA's Top 100 Commercial Fleets in America, we work with you on making sure that you have the best units for your job and industry, providing you with truck, trailer, and equipment rentals that can be upfit specifically for the demands and requirements of your projects. We are family-owned and operated with over 30 years of equipment rental experience. Serving the lower 48 states, PTR has the exact units for you to add to your fleet to kickstart your next construction project. Learn more at rentptr.com.

CONTACT

Kylie Phillips, Digital Marketing Strategist

Premier Truck Rental (PTR)

Cell: 260-222-9835

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Premier Truck Rental
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. The trade turnover between Turkiye and Turkmenistan from January through March 2023 amounted to $541.05 million, Trend reports citing the Turkish Statistical Institute.

According to the information, these figures in the reporting period are 27.4 percent more than in the first three months of last year ($424.67 million).

Turkmen exports to Turkiye amounted to $306.06 million from January through March this year, which is 34.6 percent more than in the same period in 2022 ($227.4 million).

Turkmenistan in the first three months of this year increased imports from Turkiye by 19.1 percent compared to the same period in 2022 ($197.27 million) - up to $234.99 million.

Meanwhile, the trade turnover between Turkiye and Turkmenistan in 2022 amounted to $2.06 billion, which is 21.8 percent more than in 2021 ($1.69 billion).
TAIPEI, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Taiwanese AutoML enterprise solution for the manufacturing sector, Profet AI , launched a new Asia expansion strategy at an event on May 18th. The launch of 'Profet AI Suzhou', a Suzhou, China-based joint venture between Profet AI and Aedgetech, a subsidiary of optoelectronics leader AUO Corporation, was also celebrated at the global event. This is Profet AI's seventh global location, after Taipei, Hsinchu, Kaohsiung, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

Profet AI celebrates the opening of its 7th global location through a live stream event, showcasing its active global expansion.

After a successful $5.6 million Series A funding in January, Profet AI achieved impressive results in Q1 of this year, with revenue growing by nearly 60% compared to the same period in 2022. The company successfully entered the automotive industry supply chain and made its first foray into the healthcare, renewable resources, and property management sectors. With a target to acquire more than 100 new customers this year, Profet AI continues to expand its global customer base, with a focus on Japan, China, and Southeast Asia

Strategic Targets: Japan and Southeast Asia

Profet AI has made Japan a key focus market for its expansion plans. In November 2022, the company participated in the "Aichi Global 500 Accelerator," a project to bring overseas startups to Aichi Prefecture in collaboration with 500 Global. The company also joined the " Pre-Station AI " startup program organized by SoftBank subsidiary Station AI in April 2023. Furthermore, Profet AI has been selected for the Access to Asia - For Japan 2023 program by IAPS at National Yang-Ming Chiao Tung University. This program will allow the company to have deeper collaborations with the local manufacturing industry in Kyushu, Japan's semiconductor hub. Additionally, Profet AI has launched local partnerships in Japan, including one with embedded software company Ubiquitous AI , and another to be announced shortly. They will also participate in the 2023 Japan Industry Exhibition to be held in Tokyo from June 21-23.

Profet AI has also set its sights on the Southeast Asian market, with a particular focus on Vietnam, which is now one of the preferred locations for manufacturing expansion and saw 9.9%[1] growth in its industrial sector in 2022. The company will hold a Crossover Talks discussion forum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from June 18 - 21 with the goal of sharing Taiwan's successful experiences in using AI for manufacturing digital transformation with local businesses and exploring future collaboration.

Pioneering Standards for AI Implementations in Manufacturing

Prophet AI's AI Lifecycle Management (AILM) product, set to be launched in the third quarter, is a significant milestone that will cement its status as a trailblazer in the implementation of AI to improve manufacturing processes. With an increasing number of manufacturers using thousands of AI models, AILM's launch is timely, as it provides businesses with an efficient tool to manage their AI implementations. Furthermore, AILM's integration with GPT technology will offer clients a self-controlled and automated GPT experience.

"The pandemic highlighted how crucial Taiwan's manufacturing sector is to the global supply chain. We are now looking forward to collaborating with global manufacturing partners to share Taiwan expertise and improve their operations with our AI solutions" said Jerry Huang, Profet AI's Co-founder, and CEO.

About Profet AI

Profet AI is a manufacturing artificial intelligence software company that provides an end-to-end no-code AutoML platform and on-demand AI application knowledge base to enable industry sectors or IT professionals to quickly build high-quality predictive models and rapidly deploy AI applications to solve daily production and digitization challenges. EMS, Semi-OSAT, PCB, IC design houses, display panels, and material solution providers.

For more information, visit www.profetai.com

[1] https://en.vietnamplus.vn/industrial-sector-reports-9-growth-in-2022/246247.vnp

SOURCE Profet AI
NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Jakubowitz Law announces that a securities fraud class action lawsuit has commenced on behalf of shareholders of Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD).

To receive updates on the lawsuit, fill out the form:

https://claimyourloss.com/securities/rite-aid-class-action-loss-submission-form/?id=39587&from=4

The lawsuit seeks to recover losses for shareholders who purchased Rite Aid between April 26, 2018 and March 13, 2023.

Shareholders interested in acting as a lead plaintiff representing the class of wronged shareholders have until May 19, 2023 to petition the court. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

According to a filed complaint, Rite Aid Corporation issued materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) until at least June 2019, Rite Aid filled at least hundreds of thousands of unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances that lacked a legitimate medical purpose, including for potentially lethal opioids such as oxycodone and fentanyl; (2) Rite Aid pharmacists filled these prescriptions despite clear "red flags" that indicated that the prescriptions were unlawful; (3) Rite Aid ignored evidence that its stores were dispensing unlawful prescriptions, and intentionally deleted internal notes about suspicious prescribers written by concerned pharmacists; (4) by knowingly filling unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances, Rite Aid violated the Controlled Substances Act and, where Rite Aid sought reimbursement from federal healthcare programs, also violated the False Claims Act; (5) as a result, it was at risk of prosecution by federal authorities such as the United States Department of Justice; and (6) as a result, defendants' statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all times.

Jakubowitz Law is vigorous in pursuit of justice for shareholders who have been the victim of securities fraud. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

JAKUBOWITZ LAW

1140 Avenue of the Americas

9th Floor

New York, New York 10036

T: (628) 895-0423

F: (212) 537-5887

SOURCE Jakubowitz Law
Global Leader Signed 200+ New Franchise Sales and Nearly 300 Renewals in Q1 2023

DENVER, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RE/MAX, the #1 name in real estate1, announced today that 206 additional franchises affiliated with the network during the first quarter of 2023  nearly 17% more than in Q1 of 2022. Additionally, 293 existing RE/MAX brokerages, including 12 team offices, and two sub-regions renewed their agreements between January 1 and March 31, 2023.

Peter Luft, RE/MAX Vice President of Franchise Sales, says the strong franchise sales quarter confirms that real estate entrepreneurs see tremendous value in aligning with a strong brand and vast global network  especially as the housing market continues to rebalance.

"Relationships and services drive the real estate business," Luft says. "With the housing market in a state of adjustment, real estate brokerage owners are looking to align and stay with a brand that has a strong worldwide presence and a network of knowledgeable and committed professionals  their peers. RE/MAX had a strong quarter of franchise sales and renewals because the RE/MAX network provides layers of confidence and support for owners and agents."

RE/MAX remains focused on providing valuable networking opportunities through events such as the recent 2023 RE/MAX Global Commercial Symposium and the upcoming The RE/MAX Collection 2023 Luxury Forum. RE/MAX events are tailored to provide valuable resources to real estate professionals with a growth mindset.

Steve Silcock, Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Heritage in Florida, has experienced recent office growth of his own, expanding his operations this quarter through the acquisition of an unaffiliated brokerage. Silcock cites the strong RE/MAX brand presence as one of his greatest assets.

"Changing demographics and explosive growth in Central Florida have created a tremendous opportunity in the local residential market," Silcock says. "RE/MAX provides the technology and brand recognition that supports our continued expansion while allowing the core values and reputation of the brokerage to be carried forward."

RE/MAX also remains focused on technology and the roll out of MAX/TechSM powered by kvCORE, which began at the end of 2022 in Canada and has been accelerated to regions in the U.S. in 2023.

RE/MAX has a presence in more countries and territories than any other real estate brand. From a single office that opened in 1973 in Denver, Colorado, RE/MAX has grown into a global real estate network with more than 140,000 sales associates in over 9,000 offices and a presence in more than 110 countries and territories.

For more information about RE/MAX, LLC, a business that builds businesses, visit remax.com. Each office independently owned and operated.

About the RE/MAX Network

As one of the leading global real estate franchisors, RE/MAX, LLC is a subsidiary of RE/MAX Holdings (NYSE: RMAX) with more than 140,000 agents in over 9,000 offices and a presence in more than 110 countries and territories. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX, as measured by residential transaction sides. RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, with an innovative, entrepreneurial culture affording its agents and franchisees the flexibility to operate their businesses with great independence. RE/MAX agents have lived, worked and served in their local communities for decades, raising millions of dollars every year for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and other charities. To learn more about RE/MAX, to search home listings or find an agent in your community, please visit www.remax.com. For the latest news about RE/MAX, please visit news.remax.com.

1 Source: MMR Strategy Group study of unaided awareness.

SOURCE RE/MAX, LLC
MIAMI, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Galleria Azur is delighted to announce the upcoming gallery exhibition on June 2nd featuring the remarkable artwork of renowned artist Dr. Prerna S. Sharma. The exhibition, which will take place at Galleria Azur's prestigious gallery in Miami, showcases Prerna's captivating and thought-provoking artistry. This eagerly anticipated event is set to captivate art enthusiasts and collectors alike.

Prerna Sharma Artwork

Prerna S. Sharma is an accomplished artist, physician, and philanthropist, whose work has garnered widespread acclaim for its unique blend of creativity, depth, and emotional resonance. Dr. Sharma is dedicated to giving back and generously donates her art for charitable causes all over the world. The exhibition at Galleria Azur will provide a comprehensive display of Prerna's exceptional talent and artistic vision.

Prerna is also launching her online store and website  shop.abstractedme.com. This innovative platform allows art enthusiasts from around the world to engage with and acquire Prerna's artwork conveniently. "I am thrilled to announce the launch of my online store. One of the standout features of my store is the availability of selected limited-edition prints and print on demand items that can be shipped to any location in the world. This allows me to share my artwork with a wider audience and connect with art lovers across borders," said Dr. Sharma.

"Prerna S. Sharma's exhibition at Galleria Azur showcases not only her incredible talent as an artist but also her dedication to philanthropy," said Alejandro Pupkin, Business Development Director (USA) at Galleria Azur. "Prerna is an accomplished physician and a philanthropist who generously donates her art for charitable causes. We are thrilled to showcase her captivating artwork and contribute to the flourishing art scene in Miami."

The exhibition featuring Prerna S. Sharma's artwork will be open to the public at Galleria Azur from June 2nd to July 3rd with an opening reception on June 2nd at 7pm. Art enthusiasts and collectors are invited to visit the gallery to experience the profound beauty and artistic brilliance of Prerna's captivating artwork. For more information about Prerna S. Sharma and her artwork, please visit www.abstractedme.com.

About Dr. Prerna S. Sharma: Dr. Prerna S. Sharma is an accomplished artist, physician, and philanthropist known for her captivating and thought-provoking artwork. With a distinctive style that combines creativity, depth, and emotional resonance, Prerna's artistry defies conventional boundaries and explores abstract themes that challenge perceptions.

About Galleria Azur: Galleria Azur is a prestigious gallery located in Miami, renowned for showcasing exceptional contemporary artwork. The gallery promotes talented artists and provides a platform for artistic expression.

SOURCE Prerna Sharma
NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Centre for Climate Mobility -- A senior delegation from Tuvalu, one of the world's most climate vulnerable countries, is visiting Geneva, Copenhagen, Paris, and Berlin to meet with senior government officials, UN representatives and civil society, and discuss the urgent need for climate action.

Pacific island countries account for less than 0.03% of global emissions but bear the brunt of its impacts. In this century, Pacific islands will lose considerable land territory with the Pacific Atoll countries (Tuvalu, Kiribati, and the Marshall Islands) at the forefront of an existential crisis, facing virtual total inundation of their lands by rising sea level.

Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Marshall Islands have called for urgent global action. The Rising Nations Initiative, launched by Heads of States in September 2022, aims to protect the statehood of Pacific Atoll countries, preserve their sovereignty, and safeguard the rights and heritage of affected populations. It also calls for a global settlement to guarantee these nation states a permanent existence beyond the inhabitable lifetime of their atoll homes.

"The science is clear, and the urgency is palpable. The time for individual actions alone has passed; we need swift and decisive international action to protect our people, land, and statehood," said H.E. Seve Paeniu, Tuvalu's Minister of Finance and Climate Change.

During the delegation's visit to Europe, they will raise awareness of the unprecedented emergency facing the Pacific Atoll countries and call for greater international support. In Paris, Tuvalu also ratified the World Heritage Convention at UNESCO Headquarters, a first step in securing global recognition of the need to protect its culture and heritage.

"We are acutely conscious of the consequences of inaction. Every effort counts in the fight against climate change. As we embark on this trip, we are reminded of the immense stakes for our small island nation," said Ambassador Samuelu Laloniu, Special Envoy of the Government of Tuvalu for the Rising Nations Initiative.

"As a young person living in Tuvalu, I know firsthand the impacts of climate change. But rather than feeling powerless, I'm inspired by the resilience of my community. We must work together to find solutions that not only protect Tuvalu, but also ensure a sustainable future for young people across the world," said Grace Malie, Rising Nations Initiative Youth delegate.

More information: https://bit.ly/RNI-Intro

Contact:

David Lonnberg, [email protected] , +1-347-836-2121

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2052908/1_GCCM_primary_horizontal_RGB_blue__6_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Global Centre for Climate Mobility
NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of adidas AG ("adidas" or the "Company") (OTCMKT: ADDYY). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether adidas and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

In the fall of 2022, musical artist Kanye West, Adidas's design partner for the Company's popular Yeezy shoe, made a series of overtly anti-Semitic and racially offensive remarks in public. On October 25, 2022, following mounting public pressure, Adidas canceled its partnership with West.

Then, on November 27, 2022, The Wall Street Journal published an article entitled "Adidas Top Executives Discussed Risks of Staff's 'Direct Exposure' to Kanye West Years Ago." The article revealed that Adidas's leadership, including Chief Executive Officer Kasper Rrsted, had discussed the risk of the Company continuing a relationship with West as early 2018, citing the artist's often erratic and controversial behavior.

On this news, Adidas's American depositary receipt (ADDYY) ("ADRs") fell $2.20 per ADR, or 3.13%, to close at $62.34 per ADR on November 28, 2022.

Then, on February 9, 2023, Adidas warned that the Company could shift from a profit to a loss if it failed to sell its inventory of Yeezy shoes following the termination of its partnership with West. Specifically, the Company stated that it expected sales to fall at a high single-digit rate in currency-neutral terms because of the "significant adverse impact of not selling the existing stock" of Yeezy products. Failure to sell the stock of Yeezy's (valued at 1.2 billion euros) would accordingly lower Company revenue by 1.2 billion euros (or about $1.29 billion), and operating profit by 500 million euros."

On this news, Adidas's ADR price fell $7.4 per ADR, or 8.96%, to close at $75.16 per ADR on February 9, 2023.

Finally, on February 21, 2023, S&P Global announced that it was downgrading Adidas to "'A-/A-2' From 'A-1' On Deteriorating Credit Metrics; Outlook Negative." S&P largely attributed the downgraded to the financial impact of the termination of Adidas's partnership with West.

On this news, Adidas's ADR price fell $3.56 per ADR, or 4.62%, to close at $73.59 per ADR on February 21, 2023.

Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

[email protected]

888-476-6529 ext. 7980

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Rite Aid Corporation ("Rite Aid" or the "Company") (NYSE: RAD). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether Rite Aid and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

On March 13, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") issued a press release announcing that it had filed a lawsuit against Rite Aid, intervening in a whistleblower lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act against Rite Aid and various subsidiaries, alleging that Rite Aid knowingly filled unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances. The DOJ also announced that it was suing Rite Aid for violations of the Controlled Substances Act.

On this news, Rite Aid's stock price fell $0.71 per share, or 21.65%, over the following two trading sessions, to close at $2.57 per share on March 15, 2023.

Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

[email protected]

888-476-6529 ext. 7980

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
New Lemonade Fest TikTok challenge offers fans the chance to win sweet rewards

EAST HANOVER, N.J., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SOUR PATCH KIDS is celebrating summer with the launch of Lemonade Fest, a mouth-puckering, lemonade-inspired candy. Now available in stores nationwide, Lemonade Fest is SOUR PATCH KIDS' delicious mix of everyone's favorite sour-then-sweet candy in four unique lemonade-themed flavors: Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade, Blue Raspberry Lemonade and Cherry Lime Lemonade. From the first sour bite to the sweet finish, SOUR PATCH KIDS Lemonade Fest is sure to make tastebuds tingle.

"With Lemonade Fest, we've created a fun and refreshing candy that perfectly captures the ultimate essence of sour-then-sweet, in a way that only SOUR PATCH KIDS can. We know our Gen Z fans will love the bright, lemonade-inspired flavors," said Grace Howard, Brand Manager, Innovation, Mondelez International. "Whether you're lounging by the pool, trick-or-treating, looking for a cool stocking stuffer, or puckering up for Valentine's Day, SOUR PATCH KIDS Lemonade Fest delivers a tangy tingle that will keep the summer vibe alive all year long."

To celebrate the launch of Lemonade Fest, from May 29 to August 29, SOUR PATCH KIDS is turning sour summers sweet on TikTok by encouraging fans to post a TikTok video sharing their sour summer stories including the hashtag #SPKMakesLemonade and tagging @therealsourpatchkids in the caption, and including #Sweepstakes as a text overlay. Whether it be missing a flight, dropping an ice cream cone before the first lick, or falling asleep on the beach and waking up with a sunglasses tan line, SOUR PATCH KIDS is stepping in to save summer by allowing fans to enter for a chance to win sweet rewards, including a SPK Lemonade Fest prize pack and a summer getaway.

The SOUR PATCH KIDS brand loves to introduce unique flavor combinations for fans to enjoy, and Lemonade Fest is a perfect new addition to the classic line-up of sour-then-sweet favorites. SOUR PATCH KIDS Lemonade Fest candy is now available at all major national retailers in two sizes: 3.6 oz for $1.25 SRP, and 8 oz for $3.09 SRP. For more information about SOUR PATCH KIDS, please visit https://sourpatchkids.com/.

Abbreviated Sweepstakes Rules

No Purchase is Necessary to enter the Sweepstakes, which is open to legal residents of the 50 United States/D.C. and Puerto Rico 16 years of age and older. Void elsewhere and where prohibited. Sweepstakes ends August 29, 2023. For full entry, prize descriptions and other details, including odds of winning, see the Official Rules at bit.ly/41vJoDH.

About Mondelez International

Mondelez International, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDLZ) empowers people to snack right in over 150 countries around the world. With 2022 net revenues of approximately $31 billion, MDLZ is leading the future of snacking with iconic global and local brands such as Oreo, Ritz, LU, Clif Bar and Tate's Bake Shop biscuits and baked snacks, as well as Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka and Toblerone chocolate. Mondelez International is a proud member of the Standard and Poor's 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Visit www.mondelezinternational.com or follow the company on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/MDLZ.

SOURCE Mondelez International, Inc.
DUBLIN, May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Railway Transport and Manufacture of Locomotives and Rolling Stock in South Africa 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



This report focuses on freight and passenger rail transport and the manufacture of railway locomotives and rolling stock and includes information on the size and state of the industry, revenues, volumes, transport costs, investment and expansion and turnaround plans.

There are profiles of 27 companies including major state-owned players such as PRASA and Transnet, whose businesses include Transnet Freight Rail and Transnet Engineering, Gautrain operator Bombela and locomotives and rolling stock manufacturers such as Alstom and Gibela.



Railway Transport and Manufacture of Locomotives and Rolling Stock in South Africa



The rail industry has been plagued by ageing infrastructure and governance issues. Companies have continued to shift the transport of goods to road as the country's rail system becomes increasingly unreliable.

The plan to open the rail network to private participation has failed to gain traction, with only one successful bidder to date. Theft and vandalism of rail infrastructure is rampant and locomotive availability is a major issue.

The loss-making state-owned Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), which is responsible for most passenger rail services in the country, and Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), have been involved in procurement irregularities and irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure and poor governance, with ongoing investigations and appearances at the commission of inquiry into state capture.



State of Decline



South Africa's railway industry is in a state of decline, as seen by the decrease in freight and passengers transported by train, with freight volumes the lowest recorded over the past decade, and the downward trend continuing. The dilapidated rail network is forcing more freight onto the country's already overwhelmed and overburdened roads, increasing congestion and damaging infrastructure.

The passenger network is even worse than freight, as passenger volumes decreased nearly 90% between 2019 and 2021, and a further 15% in 2022. Criminality, such as theft and vandalism, is the biggest challenge and safety threat to rail infrastructure.



Key Topics Covered:



1. INTRODUCTION



2. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY

2.1. Industry Value Chain

2.2. Geographic Position

2.3. Size of the Industry



3. LOCAL

3.1. State of the Industry

3.2. Key Trends

3.3. Key Issues

3.4. Notable Players

3.5. Corporate Actions

3.6. Regulations

3.7. Enterprise Development and Social Development



4. AFRICA



5. INTERNATIONAL



6. INFLUENCING FACTORS

6.1. Unforeseen Events

6.2. Economic Environment

6.3. Environmental Issues

6.4. Technology, R&D, Innovation

6.5. Government Support

6.6. Operating and Input Costs

6.7. Safety and Security

6.8. Investment in Rolling Stock and Rail Infrastructure

6.9. Localisation and Supplier Development Programmes

6.10. Private Sector Open Access and Concessions

6.11. Governance and Supply Chain Issues

6.12. Mining Sector Issues

6.13. Cyclicality



7. COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT

7.1. Competition

7.2. Ownership Structure of the Industry

7.3. Barriers to Entry



8. SWOT ANALYSIS



9. OUTLOOK



10. INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS



11. REFERENCES

11.1. Publications

11.2. Websites



APPENDIX

Summary of Notable Players

COMPANY PROFILES

ABB South Africa (Pty) Ltd

(Pty) Ltd ACTOM (Pty) Ltd

African Rail and Traction Services (Pty) Ltd

ALSTOM Rolling Stock SA (Pty) Ltd

ALSTOM Ubunye (Pty) Ltd

Bombela Operating Company (Pty) Ltd

Denel Vehicle Systems (Pty) Ltd

Galison Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd

Gibela Rail Transport Consortium (RF) (Pty) Ltd

Global Railway Engineering (Pty) Ltd

Ikusasa Rail (Pty) Ltd

Knorr-Bremse ( South Africa ) (Pty) Ltd

) (Pty) Ltd Lucchini South Africa (Pty) Ltd

Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa

Progress Rail SA (Pty) Ltd

R and H Rail (Pty) Ltd

SAFreight Logistics (Pty) Ltd

Siemens (Pty) Ltd

Siyahamba Engineering (Pty) Ltd

Swasap (Pty) Ltd

Thelo DB (Pty) Ltd

TMH Africa (Pty) Ltd

Transnet SOC Ltd

Traxtion Sheltam (Pty) Ltd

Trident South Africa (Pty) Ltd

(Pty) Ltd Versa Rail (Pty) Ltd

(Pty) Ltd Wabtec South Africa Technologies (Pty) Ltd

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/85lzrx

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
The trailblazing Brooklyn -based artist, educator, and artificial intelligence practitioner aims to create equitable social and technological ecosystems.

The Award is part of the LG Guggenheim Art and Technology Initiative, a five-year, multifaceted collaboration designed to research, honor, and promote artists working at the intersection of art and technology.

SEOUL, South Korea, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Guggenheim and LG proudly announce Stephanie Dinkins as the inaugural LG Guggenheim Award recipient. The Brooklyn-based artist, educator, and pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) practitioner, whose career spans over twenty years of artistic inquiry, is the first awardee to be recognized as part of the LG Guggenheim Art and Technology Initiative; a five-year, multifaceted collaboration designed to research, honor, and promote artists working at the intersection of art and technology. Selected by an international jury of experts in the field, Dinkins will receive an unrestricted honorarium of $100,000 in celebration of her groundbreaking achievements in technology-based art.

Thomas Yoon, President and CEO of LG Electronics North America and Naomi Beckwith, Chief Curator at the Guggenheim with Stephanie Dinkins, the 2023 LG Guggenheim Award Winner. Photo: Courtesy of LG Stephanie Dinkins, Conversations with Bina 48:Fragments 7, 6, 5, 2, 2018 (detail). Four-channel digital color video installation, with sound, 4 min., dimensions variable. Photo: Stephanie Dinkins LG Guggenheim Award 2023. Photo:Courtesy of LG

"Stephanie Dinkins' artistic range, engagement with socio-cultural values, and leading artificial intelligence explorations are crucial reflections of the evolving future of technology-based art. It's the Guggenheim's honor to support her extraordinary work through this award," stated Naomi Beckwith, Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator at the Guggenheim.

"LG congratulates Stephanie Dinkins, and hopes this recognition will meaningfully advance her future endeavors," said Seol Park, Head of Brand Management at LG Corp. "The $100,000 honorarium is accompanied by a physical award whose sculptural form represents the potential for technology to inspire new and unexpected artforms," explained Park.

Dinkins's participatory and immersive works aim to create equitable social and technological ecosystems through public engagement, storytelling, and a hands-on approach to technology. Her long-running experiments with AI center memory, intimacy, poetics, and playfulness as strategies to reconstruct AI models and their integrated toolsin particular natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML), by which computers encode words into data for self-training, as well as deep learning (DL), which takes inspiration from neural networks to better imitate human thought processes. By anchoring her practice in small data rather than vast quantities of information, Dinkins develops reparative models for AI centered not on instrumentalization but rather on socially driven and culturally sensitive values such as care and attentiveness.

"I am grateful to LG and the Guggenheim for their support of artists who are using technology to foster positive change. I believe that art has the power to inspire and provoke, and I am committed to using my work to raise awareness of important issues and to promote social justice," said Stephanie Dinkins.

Whether through chatbots, virtual and augmented reality, or gallery experiences, Dinkins addresses marginalized groups, such as people of color, LGBTQIA+ communities, women, and disabled people, who are excessively affected by poor code design. Her body of work advances transparent, redressable AI systems by cultivating digital literacy and online representation among these largely unprotected populationsforeshadowing the most urgent discussions about social justice and technology in the present day.

Dinkins (b. 1964, Perth Amboy, NJ) is the Yayoi Kusama Professor of Art at Stony Brook University, NY, where she founded the Future Histories Studio as part of the DISCO Network, an interacademic web incorporating social sciences and artistic approaches to promote online equity and safety for impacted communities. She holds an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and is a graduate of the Whitney Independent Study Program. Recent exhibitions include Stephanie Dinkins: On Love and Data, Stamps Gallery, Ann Arbor, MI (2021, traveled to Queens Museum of Art, NY); In Search of the Present, Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Finland (202122); FUTURES, Smithsonian Museum Arts and Industry, Washington D.C. (202122); Difference Machines: Technology and Identity in Contemporary Art, Buffalo AKG Museum, NY (2022); BioMedia: The Era of Life-Like Media, ZKM|Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany (2022); and The Imitation Game, Vancouver Art Gallery, Canada (2022). She has also exhibited at De Young Museum, San Francisco (2020); Philadelphia Museum of Art (2019); and Ford Foundation Gallery, New York (2018, 2023). Her work has also been supported by the Onassis Foundation (2021); Nokia Bell Labs (201921); Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence; Facebook (Meta) FAIR (202122); the Artist Fellow program of the Berggruen Institute (2020); Creative Capital (2019); Soros Equality Fellowship (2018); and many others. Dinkins lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

The jurors for the 2023 LG Guggenheim Award are Legacy Russell, Executive Director and Chief Curator, The Kitchen, New York; Tina Rivers Ryan, Curator, Buffalo AKG Art Museum, New York; Nat Trotman, Curator, Performance and Media, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Xiaoyu Weng, independent curator and writer; and Anicka Yi, artist.

Stephanie Dinkins will be celebrated in this year's YCC Party, presented by LG Display. The LG Guggenheim Award and the LG Guggenheim Art and Technology Initiative is made possible by LG.

Jury Statement

"We are pleased to offer the inaugural LG Guggenheim Award to artist and educator Stephanie Dinkins. Among the truly impressive group of nominees we considered, Dinkins stood out for her singular and exceptional work in the field of artificial intelligence. Dinkins's longstanding and internationally recognized practice is deeply centered in ethics of care and social equity, exploring new models for machine learning based not in extraction but in engagement. Her inclusive and collaborative approach powerfully advocates for transparency, participation, and access around AI technologies, especially among communities at greatest risk of being abused by them. Through a range of media that includes interactive installations, sculpture, video, and web projects, as well as writing and community workshops, Dinkins steadfastly focuses on family structures, oral histories, and small data. By enacting change locally, her works claim, we can envision new technological ecosystems at a global scale.

"As artificial intelligence dominates public discourse around technology and increasingly impacts the daily lives of people all over the world, we applaud Dinkins for the urgency and optimism of her investigations. We are honored to support her groundbreaking practice through this transformational Award."

About the LG Guggenheim Art and Technology Initiative

Founded in 2022, the LG Guggenheim Art and Technology Initiative is a five-year, multifaceted collaboration between the Guggenheim and LG designed to research, honor, and promote artists working at the intersection of art and technology. Unique in its areas of concentration and approach, the initiative is an unprecedented investment in technology as an artistic medium. It will allow the Guggenheim to broaden its investigations into this innovative field, providing essential support to the visionary artists who inspire new understandings of how technology shapes, and is shaped by, society.

The initiative is also supported by the appointment of Noam Segal as LG Electronics Associate Curator. Focusing on research, Segal holds an active role in developing the Guggenheim's engagement with technology-based art, producing scholarship and public-facing content that will strengthen the goals of the multifaceted initiative across the museum's departments.

About LG

LG is a technology innovator and global leader in consumer electronics, chemicals, and automotive components. Founded in 1947, LG was a driving force behind South Korea's modernization. The company produced South Korea's first radio and television sets, and today is a global leader in organic light-emitting displays (OLED), electric car batteries, and advanced industrial plastics. The LG group of companies employ over 280,000 people in more than 60 countries that together generate USD 150 billion in annual revenue. LG Corporation (LG Corp.) is the holding company for industry-leading LG subsidiaries, such as LG Electronics, LG Display, LG Energy Solution, LG Chem, to name a few. For more information about the LG group of companies, visit lgcorp.com.

About the Solomon R. Guggenheim

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation was established in 1937 and is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of modern and contemporary art through exhibitions, education programs, research initiatives, and publications. The international constellation of museums includes the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice; the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao; and the future Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. An architectural icon and "temple of spirit" where radical art and architecture meet, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is now among a group of eight Frank Lloyd Wright structures in the United States recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. To learn more about the museum and the Guggenheim's activities around the world, visit guggenheim.org.

#LGxGuggenheim

#Guggenheim

@Guggenheim

For press image requests, contact [email protected].

May 19, 2023

For additional information:

Suhoon Choi

LG Corp.

+82 2 3773 2171

[email protected]

Sara Fox

Guggenheim Press Office

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation

212 423 3840

[email protected]

SOURCE LG Corp.
Allianz Partners USA Reveals Top 2023 Summer Travel Destinations, Top Days for Travel

RICHMOND, Va., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With the summer travel rush about to begin, Allianz Partners' Top 10 Summer Travel Destinations review reveals where Americans are escaping to, with Orlando and Cancun once again topping sun-worshippers' must-visit lists.

Download chart image HERE.

Summer Travel Heats Up: Perennial Favorites Orlando and Cancun Lead Top Vacation Destinations

The travel insurance and assistance company analyzed more than 1.6 million flight itineraries* between five and eight days in length for travel booked between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day and found that 73% of the itineraries reviewed were for U.S. domestic trips and 27% of travelers are headed abroad.

Following Orlando's #1 ranking, destinations in the Hawaiian islands (Honolulu, Oahu #3 and Kahului, Maui, #5) and Pacific Northwest (Seattle, #2, Portland #10) will welcome visitors this summer, along with major metropolitan cities Boston (#4), New York (#6) and Los Angeles (#7). Travelers are also trying their luck in Las Vegas this year (#8), and Miami (#9) also returns to the Top 10, knocking out Denver, Colorado.

Beach breezes and Caribbean vibes set the mood for this summer's international travel radar  closely aligning with Allianz Partners' Spring Break review, Cancun enjoys the top international hotspot designation alongside Mexican destinations San Jose del Cabo (#2) and Puerto Vallarta (#7). Destinations in Aruba (#4), Jamaica (#5), and Bahamas (#6) have us humming popular refrains and dreaming of ways to "get there fast and then take it slow" in true Beach Boys style.

Turks & Caicos, which dropped its COVID vaccine mandate on April 1, joins the list this year at #9 along with the US Virgin Islands (#10). London, the only European destination featured in 2023's review, chuffs across at #8 likely spurred by King Charles III's coronation festivities.

The survey revealed that for international trips, the trip length favored by a majority of travelers (59%) is seven days, and the highest volume of travelers departs on Saturdays, May 27, June 10 and June 17. Domestically, trip lengths of six (49%) and seven (48%) days split the schedule, with Saturday, July 1st as the most popular departure date ahead of the nation's Independence Day holiday.

"Claiming their seventh consecutive year atop our summer travel rosters, Orlando and Cancun are tried, and true destinations trusted to deliver some of the most-memorable vacations," said Daniel Durazo, director of external communications at Allianz Partners USA. "But even the best-laid plans can go awry, and travelers who cover their trip investment with a travel insurance policy can protect against the cost of covered unexpected delays and cancellations that may derail their trip."

Allianz Partners offers travel insurance through most major U.S. airlines, leading travel agents, online travel agencies, hotel companies, cruise lines and directly to consumers. For more information on Allianz and available travel policies, please visit http://www.allianztravelinsurance.com/.

*Methodology: The data of U.S. travelers' 2023 Summer Travel plans was gathered by analyzing the number of customers that went through the online booking process of airfare and package paths for partners offering Allianz Global Assistance travel insurance, to generate itineraries for roundtrip flights departing from U.S. airports during the Summer Travel season from 5/26/2023  9/5/2023 for trips between 5-8 days in length. In total, 1.6 million itineraries were analyzed using this methodology.

About Allianz Partners

In the United States, Allianz Partners USA (AGA Service Company) offers Allianz Travel-branded travel protection plans and serves millions of customers each year. In addition to travel protection, the company offers event ticket protection, registration protection for endurance events and unique travel assistance services such as international medical assistance and concierge services. AGA Service Company is doing business as Allianz Global Assistance Insurance Agency in California (License # 0B01400) and Massachusetts. Allianz Partners USA is part of the Allianz Partners group. Allianz Partners is a world leader in B2B2C insurance and assistance, offering global solutions that span international health and life, travel insurance, mobility and assistance. Customer driven, our innovative experts are redefining insurance services by delivering future-ready, high-tech, high-touch products and solutions that go beyond traditional insurance. Present in over 75 countries, our 19,400 employees speak 70 languages, handle over 58 million cases each year, and are motivated to go the extra mile to offer peace of mind to our customers around the world.

For Allianz Partners USA products offered and sold in the U.S.: Terms, conditions, and exclusions apply to all plans. Plans are available only to U.S. residents. Not all plans are available in all jurisdictions. Availability of coverage, including the epidemic-related benefits and covered reasons described here, varies by product and by state. Products may not include all benefits or covered reasons described here. All benefits are subject to maximum limits of liability, which may in some cases be subject to sublimits and daily maximums. Benefits and limits vary by plan. For a complete description of the coverage and benefit limits offered under your specific plan, carefully review your plan's Letter of Confirmation/Declarations and Certificate of Insurance/Policy. Insurance coverage is underwritten by BCS Insurance Company (OH, Administrative Office: Oakbrook Terrace, IL), rated "A" (Excellent) by A.M. Best Co., under BCS Form No. 52.201 series or 52.401 series, or Jefferson Insurance Company (NY, Administrative Office: Richmond, VA), rated "A+" (Superior) by A.M. Best Co., under Jefferson Form No. 101C series or 101P series, depending on state of residence. A+ (Superior) and A (Excellent) are the 2nd and 3rd highest, respectively, of A.M. Best's 13 Financial Strength Ratings. Except as otherwise specified, AGA Service Company d/b/a Allianz Global Assistance is the licensed producer and administrator of Allianz Travel-branded travel protection plans in the U.S. and an affiliate of Jefferson Insurance Company. Allianz Global Assistance is a mark of AGA Service Company or its affiliates. The insured shall not receive any special benefit or advantage due to the affiliation between Allianz Global Assistance and Jefferson Insurance Company. Plans include insurance and assistance services. Noninsurance benefits/products are provided and serviced by Allianz Global Assistance.

SOURCE Allianz Partners
TIANJIN, China, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 18, the opening ceremony of the 7th World Intelligence Congress and World Summit on Intelligent Technology Innovation and Cooperation was held at the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Tianjin). Wan Gang, Vice Chairman of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, delivered a keynote report. Chen Min'er, Secretary of Tianjin Municipal CPC Committee, delivered a speech. Singaporean Minister for National Development, Mr. Desmond Lee Ti-Seng, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Mogilev Region of Belarus, Anatoly Mikhailovich Isachanka, His Majesty's Trade Commissioner for China (HMTC), Mr. John Edwards, Chinese Minister of Education, Mr. Huai Jinpeng, and Minister of Science and Technology, Mr. Wang Zhigang delivered speeches as well. Zhang Gong, mayor of Tianjin, presided the ceremony.

On site of the 7th World Intelligence Congress (PRNewsfoto/World Intelligence Congress) Wan Gang, Chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, is giving the keynote speech. (PRNewsfoto/World Intelligence Congress)

Wan Gang pointed out in his keynote report that the development of China's artificial intelligence has been firmly grasping the main line of "enabling the substantial economy and supporting social development"; through the traction through application and demand, the opening of the innovation system, the leading role of the platform, the collaborative innovation among industry, academia, research and application, a research and development system and application ecology with Chinese characteristics has been formed, empowering the industrial upgrading and social progress, leading all fields of economy and society to leap from digitalization and networking to intelligence.

Chen Min'er pointed out that President Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the development of artificial intelligence and digital economy. With the theme of "Intelligence: Extensive Development Space. Sustainable Growth Driver", the World Intelligence Congress will encourage all participants jointly to discuss new issues in the smart era and plan a new blueprint for the smart cooperation. Tianjin is willing to use the congress as a medium to exchange new ideas and technologies, further strengthen the interaction of science and technology, industrial cooperation and project implementation, seek a broader development space, more sustainable growth driver, and share the new opportunities of digital economy development.

Mr. Desmond Lee Ti-Seng commented that this year's congress has brought together like-minded professionals from all around the world to discuss experiences and innovative solutions related to artificial intelligence. Singapore will take the 15th anniversary of the development and construction of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city as an opportunity to deepen its cooperation with Tianjin in the sustainable development and smart city construction, strengthen exchanges and mutual understanding, as well as open a new chapter of cooperation.

Isachanka said that the World Intelligence Congress is an important platform for scientists and entrepreneurs to discuss the frontier trends in the development of artificial intelligence, gathering the world's best representatives in the field of intelligence, and Tianjin is the concentration of artificial intelligence industry. He hopes to exchange and share experience as well as knowledge in the field of artificial intelligence in order to promote cooperation between the two sides to achieve more practical results.

A series of activities such as projects signing, parallel forums, smart technology exhibition, competitions and smart experience will be held during the 7th World Intelligence Congress, and nearly 500 enterprises listed on the Forbes Top 500 both domestic and abroad and well-known technology enterprises will take part in the exhibition, making every effort to build an international event with gathering of innovative resources, leading industrial development and better smart experience.

ContactFan Yingming

Tel: 0086-13702005832

E-mail: [email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2081427/World_Intelligence_Congress_1.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2081426/World_Intelligence_Congress_2.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2081425/4045527/World_Intelligence_Congress_Logo.jpg

SOURCE World Intelligence Congress
A roundup of the most newsworthy press releases from PR Newswire this week, including the top vacation homes in the U.S. and the biggest challenges facing journalists.

NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists and consumers stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a recap of some major stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

PR Newswire Weekly Press Release Roundup, May 15-19, 2023. Photo provided by Vrbo. https://prn.to/3WeLwOs

Read more of the latest releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNalert on Twitter.

Can't-Miss Earnings

In addition to these popular releases, several must-read earnings reports crossed the wire this week, including the quarterly results for Home Depot and Target.

Catch up on all the latest earnings reports here.

Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News

These are just a few of the recent press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists.

Once they're signed up, reporters, bloggers, and freelancers have access to the following free features:

Customization: Users can create customized newsfeeds that will deliver relevant news right to their inbox. Newsfeed results can be targeted by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more.

Users can create customized newsfeeds that will deliver relevant news right to their inbox. Newsfeed results can be targeted by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more. Photos and Videos: Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include in a journalist or blogger's next story.

Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include in a journalist or blogger's next story. Subject Matter Experts: Journalists will have access to ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in their articles.

Journalists will have access to ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in their articles. Related Resources: Our journalist- and blogger-focused blog, Beyond Bylines, features regular media news roundups, writing tips, upcoming events, and more.

About PR Newswire and PR Newswire for Journalists

For more than 65 years, PR Newswire has been the industry leader with the largest, most comprehensive distribution network of print, radio, magazine, television stations, financial portals and trade publications. PR Newswire has an unparalleled global reach of more than 200,000 publications and 10,000 websites and is available in more than 170 countries and 40 languages.

PR Newswire for Journalists (PRNJ) is an exclusive community that includes over 20,000 journalists, bloggers and influencers who are logging into their PRNJ accounts specifically looking for story ideas. PR Newswire thoroughly researches and vets this community to verify their identity as a member of the press, blogger or influencer. PRNJ users cover more than 200 beats and verticals.

For questions, contact the team at [email protected].

SOURCE PR Newswire
A roundup of the week's most newsworthy environment industry press releases from PR Newswire, including The Weather Company's staying power and a new AI-powered hummingbird feeder.

NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering the environment industry stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

PR Newswire Weekly Environment Press Release Roundup, May 15-19, 2023. Photo provided by Bird Buddy. https://prn.to/3o57RkT

Read more of the latest environment-related releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNenv on Twitter.

Can't-Miss Earnings

In addition to these popular releases, several must-read earnings reports crossed the wire this week, including the quarterly results for Evogene and SinglePoint Inc.

Catch up on all the latest earnings reports here.

Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News

These are just a few of the recent press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists.

Once they're signed up, reporters, bloggers and freelancers have access to the following free features:

Customization: Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more.

Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more. Photos and Videos: Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story.

Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story. Subject Matter Experts: Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles.

Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles. Related Resources: Read and subscribe to our journalist- and blogger-focused blog, Beyond Bylines, for media news roundups, writing tips, upcoming events, and more.

About PR Newswire and PR Newswire for Journalists

For more than 65 years, PR Newswire has been the industry leader with the largest, most comprehensive distribution network of print, radio, magazine, television stations, financial portals and trade publications. PR Newswire has an unparalleled global reach of more than 200,000 publications and 10,000 websites and is available in more than 170 countries and 40 languages.

PR Newswire for Journalists (PRNJ) is an exclusive community that includes over 20,000 journalists, bloggers and influencers who are logging into their PRNJ accounts specifically looking for story ideas. PR Newswire thoroughly researches and vets this community to verify their identity as a member of the press, blogger or influencer. PRNJ users cover more than 200 beats and verticals.

For questions, contact the team at [email protected].

SOURCE PR Newswire
A roundup of the week's most newsworthy health industry press releases from PR Newswire, including the FDA approval of a medication to moderate hot flashes.

NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering the healthcare industry stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

PR Newswire Weekly Health Press Release Roundup, May 15-19, 2023. Photo provided by Alife Health. https://prn.to/42MuoCk

Read more of the latest health-related releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNhealth on Twitter.

Can't-Miss Earnings

In addition to these popular releases, several must-read earnings reports crossed the wire this week, including the quarterly results for Elevation Oncology and INVO Bioscience.

Catch up on all the latest earnings reports here.

Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News

These are just a few of the recent press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists.

Once they're signed up, reporters, bloggers and freelancers have access to the following free features:

Customization: Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more.

Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more. Photos and Videos: Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story.

Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story. Subject Matter Experts: Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles.

Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles. Related Resources: Read and subscribe to our journalist- and blogger-focused blog, Beyond Bylines, for media news roundups, writing tips, upcoming events, and more.

About PR Newswire and PR Newswire for Journalists

For more than 65 years, PR Newswire has been the industry leader with the largest, most comprehensive distribution network of print, radio, magazine, television stations, financial portals and trade publications. PR Newswire has an unparalleled global reach of more than 200,000 publications and 10,000 websites and is available in more than 170 countries and 40 languages.

PR Newswire for Journalists (PRNJ) is an exclusive community that includes over 20,000 journalists, bloggers and influencers who are logging into their PRNJ accounts specifically looking for story ideas. PR Newswire thoroughly researches and vets this community to verify their identity as a member of the press, blogger or influencer. PRNJ users cover more than 200 beats and verticals.

For questions, contact the team at [email protected].

SOURCE PR Newswire
A roundup of the week's most newsworthy policy and public interest press releases from PR Newswire, including Habitat for Humanity's new campaign and the launch of a new ethics accelerator.

NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering the policy and public interest industries stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

PR Newswire Weekly Policy & Public Interest Press Release Roundup, May 15-19, 2023. Photo provided by Habitat for Humanity International. https://prn.to/424lqiJ

Read more of the latest policy-related releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNpolicy and @prnedu on Twitter.

Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News

These are just a few of the recent press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists.

Once they're signed up, reporters, bloggers and freelancers have access to the following free features:

Customization: Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more.

Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more. Photos and Videos: Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story.

Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story. Subject Matter Experts: Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles.

Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles. Related Resources: Read and subscribe to our journalist- and blogger-focused blog, Beyond Bylines, for media news roundups, writing tips, upcoming events, and more.

About PR Newswire and PR Newswire for Journalists

For more than 65 years, PR Newswire has been the industry leader with the largest, most comprehensive distribution network of print, radio, magazine, television stations, financial portals and trade publications. PR Newswire has an unparalleled global reach of more than 200,000 publications and 10,000 websites and is available in more than 170 countries and 40 languages.

PR Newswire for Journalists (PRNJ) is an exclusive community that includes over 20,000 journalists, bloggers and influencers who are logging into their PRNJ accounts specifically looking for story ideas. PR Newswire thoroughly researches and vets this community to verify their identity as a member of the press, blogger or influencer. PRNJ users cover more than 200 beats and verticals.

For questions, contact the team at [email protected]

SOURCE PR Newswire
SINGAPORE, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SSI SCHAEFER, the global leader of modular warehousing and logistics solutions, and Brands for Less announced the successful implementation of the first automated Roaming Shuttle in their distribution center facility in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The groundbreaking solution comprises a VNA selective storage system for 4,350 pallets and an automated bin storage system with 123,000 totes and it is set to revolutionize the retail logistics landscape, offering significant improvements in efficiency, storage optimization, and cost reduction for businesses in the industry.

SSI SCHAEFER and Brands for Less have implemented the first automated Roaming Shuttle in their Dubai distribution center facility. The 6,000 sqm facility now features a state-of-the-art VNA selective storage system, revolutionizing the retail logistics industry with improvements in efficiency, storage optimization, and cost reduction.

Brands for Less, a renowned off-price fashion and homeware retailer, has served the Middle East and Europe for over 20 years through its 85+ stores, offering over 3,000 designer brands. In response to the growing need for streamlined logistics processes and reduced operational costs, Brands for Less turned to SSI Schaefer to develop a cutting-edge system tailored to the unique needs of retail businesses.

The 6,000 sqm facility now features a state-of-the-art VNA selective storage system for bulk storage and an automated bin storage system for small and medium-sized goods. Most goods are received in bins and cartons from a central Brands for Less import facility and are automatically stored in the bin storage system. Conveyors and vertical lifters deliver bins to pick-up points, where 32 roaming shuttles pick up the bins and store them in assigned locations.

"We are extremely pleased with the results of our collaboration with SSI Schaefer, as this automated storage solution has significantly enhanced our warehouse efficiency, allowing us to serve our customers better and meet their increasing demands. The system's flexibility will support our expansion across the GCC, as well as our growing e-commerce business," said Ayman Beydoun, Deputy CEO and Group COO of Brands for Less

Carsten Spiegelberg, Managing Director of SSI Schaefer MEA, added, "We are excited to be part of Brands for Less' amazing growth story in the Region by providing them with their first automated fit-out in their central warehouse facility in Dubai. This fully automated storage facility will provide Brands for Less a sound and flexible basis to support the growth expected in processing the supply of goods to their continuously expanding network of branches and increasing e-commerce business across the GCC and beyond."

For businesses seeking to optimize their logistics operations, the Brands for Less and SSI Schaefer collaboration serves as a prime example of how innovative technology can drive growth, improve efficiency, and reduce costs. The cutting-edge solution by SSI Schaefer has enabled Brands for Less to strengthen its market position and cater to customers' specific and increased demands effectively. As automation will improve warehouse and logistics efficiency, SSI Schaefer's solutions are poised to become a game-changer for various industry, offering a scalable, customizable solution for businesses of all sizes.

About SSI Schaefer

The SSI Schaefer Group is the world's leading provider of modular warehousing and logistics solutions. Employing approximately 10,000 people across six continents, SSI Schaefer develops and implements innovative industry-specific answers to its customers' unique challenges, by designing, developing, and manufacturing systems for warehouses, industrial plants, workshops, and offices. SSI Schaefer is also a leading provider of modular, regularly updated software for in-house material flows. Designed by a strong team of 1,100 engineers, SSI Schaefer's broad IT offering, including its WAMAS and SAP products, delivers seamless support for all warehouse and material flow processes.

For more information, please visit https://www.ssi-schaefer.com/en-sg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2076948/SSI_SCHAEFER_Brands_Less_implemented_automated_Roaming_Shuttle_Dubai_distribution.jpg

SOURCE SSI Schaefer
New dispensary expands patient access to medical cannabis with ribbon cutting and pop-up event

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) ("Trulieve" or "the Company"), a leading and top-performing cannabis company in the United States, today announced the grand opening of a new Trulieve-affiliated medical marijuana dispensary in Limerick, PA. Located at 451 West Ridge Pike, the doors will open 9 AM on Friday, May 19, 2023 with ongoing hours of 9 AM - 10 PM, seven days a week.

Located at 451 West Ridge Pike, the Limerick dispensary will open 9 AM on Friday, May 19, 2023 with ongoing hours of 9 AM - 10 PM, seven days a week.

"Pennsylvania is one of the strongest medical markets in America," said Trulieve's Chief Executive Officer Kim Rivers . "We are proud to serve customers by offering quality products, first-class service and convenient locations throughout Pennsylvania."

Trulieve invites the Limerick community to join in celebrating this new affiliated medical marijuana dispensary on Friday, May 19 with a ribbon cutting, partner giveaways, special discounts and more starting at 9 AM.

Additional Trulieve-affiliated dispensaries in Pennsylvania communities, including: Camp Hill, Coatesville, Cranberry Township, Devon, Harrisburg, Johnstown, King of Prussia, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Charter City, Philadelphia Washington Square, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh North Shore, Reading (on Lancaster), Reading (on 5th St. Hwy), Scranton, Washington, Whitehall, York and Zelienople.

To find a location or to learn how to become a registered patient, visit Trulieve.com, follow us on Instagram at trulieve_pa or connect with Trulieve PA on Facebook.

About Trulieve

Trulieve is an industry leading, vertically integrated cannabis company and multi-state operator in the U.S. operating in 11 states, with leading market positions in Arizona, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Trulieve is poised for accelerated growth and expansion, building scale in retail and distribution in new and existing markets through its hub strategy. By providing innovative, high-quality products across its brand portfolio, Trulieve delivers optimal customer experiences and increases access to cannabis, helping patients and customers to live without limits. Trulieve is listed on the CSE under the symbol TRUL and trades on the OTCQX market under the symbol TCNNF. For more information, please visit Trulieve.com.

Facebook: @Trulieve

Instagram: @Trulieve_

Twitter: @Trulieve

Investor Contact

Christine Hersey, Vice President of Investor Relations

+1 (424) 202-0210

[email protected]

Media Contact

Nicole Yelland, Executive Director of Corporate Communications

+1 (248) 219-9234

[email protected]

SOURCE Trulieve Cannabis Corp.
The UAE Ministry of Interior launches new Child Protection Strategy to tackle the surge of online child abuse at the United Nations Human Rights Council's 43 rd Session of the Universal Periodic Review.

UAE intends to promote a holistic approach for child protection, which empowers children, upholds values and creates a safe and cohesive environment online.

GENEVA, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, at the United Nations Human Rights Council's 43rd Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group, the Ministry of Interior (MOI) of the United Arab Emirates, in partnership with the Permanent Mission of the UAE, launched a new innovative programme, MOI's Child Protection Strategy 2023-26, which responds to the global crisis of child safety on online platforms.

The launch event at Palais des Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland gathered a diverse group of relevant high-level stakeholders from the UAE, WePROTECT Global Alliance, the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and the FBI, among others.

Unveiling the Child Protection Strategy, Lt. Colonel Abdulrahman Al Tamimi, Deputy Director General of the International Affairs Bureau at the MOI said:

"Against the backdrop of increased online child sexual abuse and exploitation, the safety of children is the UAE's utmost priority. Our latest strategy centres around building a comprehensive system for child protection which will be facilitated by effective partnerships with all relevant stakeholders. Additionally, by adopting AI and machine learning to assist efforts in tackling infringement of children's rights in the virtual world, we in the UAE are determined to continue leading these efforts by example", Lt. Col. Humaid said.

According to Lt. Col. Al Tamimi, the Ministry aims to enhance the capabilities of professionals in the field and support their mental health, improve cooperation nationally and internationally to combat the spread of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) and raise awareness of children's rights, including their dignified right to grow in a moral and safe community.

Major Khaled AlKaabi Director, Child Protection Center, UAE MOI, also stressed the importance of enhancing the efficiency of child protection services.

"The online world is only becoming more contentious with child sexual abuse and exploitation on the rise, and it is our duty to enhance child protection services to prevent harm. The UAE Child Protection Strategy is designed to ensure children's rights receive the precedence they deserve in a holistic manner", said Lt. Col. Al Tamimi.

Speaking at the launch event, Irakli Beridze, Head of the Centre for AI and Robotics at UNICRI, highlighted the use of AI as the most progressive way to safeguard children online and endorsed UAE's strategy.

"Through a cohesive collaboration between law enforcement agencies, technological solutions and machine learning  the versatility to monitor children's activity online is far more concise. The UAE's Child Protection Strategy is a practical action plan which essentially facilitates the prevention, detection and most importantly, prosecution of the perpetrators behind online child abuse", said Beridze.

The newly unveiled Child Protection Strategy builds on the UAE MOI's global leadership advocacy, capacity-building, operations and policy-making relevant for improving the protection of children online. UAE MOI is a Member of the Virtual Global Task Force, Permanent Board Member of WePROTECT Global Alliance, and co-founder of AI for Safer Children Initiative.

For more background on the overarching AI for Safer Children programme, see the website - https://unicri.it/topics/AI-for-Safer-Children

SOURCE UAE Ministry of Interior
The Vice President's visit highlights the national nonprofit's impact serving 1 million children annually across the United States.

LOS ANGELES, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Los Angeles where she toured the Baby2Baby headquarters and warehouse, also meeting with mothers to discuss maternal healthcare and support for families. The visit included the announcement of a new Baby2Baby pilot program alongside the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to distribute Newborn and Maternal Supply Kits made up of essential goods and critical maternal health items.

Baby2Baby is a non-profit organization that provides children living in poverty with diapers, formula, clothing, and the basic necessities that every child deserves, serving more than one million children across all 50 states. One in three families in this country struggle to provide diapers to their children. Since 2020 Baby2Baby has seen a 500% increase in diaper requests, with requests for 1.3 billion diapers this year alone.

"Every mother or mother-to-be should have access to the support they need for their family to be healthy," said Vice President Kamala Harris. "Through this partnership, our Administration continues to prioritize the maternal health of women across America."

During the tour, Baby2Baby Co-CEOs Norah Weinstein and Kelly Sawyer Patricof walked Vice President Harris through the facility to view their mass diaper distribution system, the range of critical items they distribute including formula, car seats, cribs, clothing, backpacks and school supplies and their disaster relief program. HHS Assistant Secretary for Children and Families January Contreras joined them to showcase the Newborn and Maternal Supply Kits.

"At Baby2Baby, we have distributed more than 300 million diapers and basic essentials over the past 12 years, and yet this is just a fraction of the need that exists," said Baby2Baby Co-CEOs, Norah Weinstein and Kelly Sawyer Patricof. "The Vice President's visit offered us an important opportunity to share the needs of mothers and children around the country, and continue to discuss shared solutions."

"The disparities in maternal and neonatal health care in this country are staggering  and unacceptable. The pilot program with Baby2Baby provides much needed supplies to mothers and their newborns," said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. "The Biden-Harris Administration will continue to use every lever available to address the disparities in our health care system and provide whole-person care to pregnant people and their families. This is another strong example of government working in partnership with leaders in the community to solve problems for the American people."

Baby2Baby and HHS will first distribute 3,000 of the Newborn and Maternal Supply Kits across Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico  three states experiencing deep levels of family poverty  via hospitals and community-based partner organizations. The kits consist of more than 20 items including diapers and wipes, clothing, hygiene items, blankets and thermometers as well as items to support new mothers, including postpartum pads, lotion, cold packs, breastfeeding supplies and carriers.

"The partnership between Baby2Baby and the U.S Department of Health and Human Services comes at a moment where the demand for essential goods for infants and families continues to rise," Baby2Baby Co-CEOs, Norah Weinstein and Kelly Sawyer Patricof further shared. "We want to ensure that new moms have everything they need to get their babies' lives started off on the right track. When we can provide these critical items, not only can mothers pay their rent and put food on the table, but it helps their mental health by alleviating the stress of meeting their children's most basic needs."

Following the pilot program implementation, the goal is to expand this effort, to significantly increase the number of American families receiving these Newborn and Maternal Supply Kits.

About Baby2Baby: Baby2Baby is a $70 million national non-profit organization that provides children living in poverty with diapers, formula, clothing, and the basic necessities that every child deserves, serving more than one million children across all 50 states. Led by Co-CEOs Kelly Sawyer Patricof and Norah Weinstein, the organization has distributed over 300 million items over the past 12 years  more than any organization of its kind  to children across hospital networks, underserved school districts, and federal agencies addressing poverty, disaster response, and other areas of need. The organization's success has been propelled forward by its industry-leading model that is redefining what it means to operate a non-profit with a seamless integration of impact, innovation, and influence, which earned them recognition as the #1 non-profit on Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies List. To learn more about Baby2Baby, please visit www.baby2baby.org and follow them on Instagram at @baby2baby .

Media Contact

[email protected]

SOURCE Baby2Baby
May 25-June 22, 2023

NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Waterhouse & Dodd, leading international dealers with galleries in New York and London, present After the Rain, Alessandro Keegan's debut solo exhibition at their Upper East Side gallery. Sandra Safta Waterhouse, the gallery Director, says "Keegan is a highly regarded emerging artist and given his dedication and skill, his future is bright. Collectors are encouraged to purchase while his prices are low. Prices for the 11 oil paintings start at just $5,800."

Alessandro Keegan, After the Rain, 2023, Oil on canvas, 60 x 69 in (152.4 x 175.26 cm). Waterhouse & Dodd, New York.

These recent paintings highlight Keegan's vibrant and exceptionally rendered technique, rich with historical references and metaphysical intrigue. After the Rain (2023) the title painting of the show, has connections to traditional landscape painting and references the great Surrealist Max Ernst's Europe After the Rain II (1941)- a postapocalyptic scene of Europe in unrecognizable ruin. Other works like Nature Transformer (2023) feature atomic-like forms and celestial orbs, appearing as intimate observations of scientific phenomena.

Waterhouse says that "Keegan's paintings are truly beautiful but they are more than just great decoration. His process is akin to mediumistic practices of art making, specifically automatic drawings where the artist is compelled to draw in a spontaneous way. The result oscillates between abstraction and representational with mysterious shapes painted in a formal manner." Waterhouse encourages collectors to contact the gallery to discuss what is available.

Keegan has an established visual vocabulary of jewel-like forms, saturated colors, and organic shapes. The artist cites his own visual experiences as source imagery for his abstract paintings, as well as symbolism and nature.

Alessandro Keegan was born in 1980 and lives and works in Upstate New York. The artist holds a MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a MA in Art History. His paintings have been exhibited internationally including in New York, Chicago, London, Dublin, Barcelona, Hong Kong, and the Hague.

Keegan's art is held in the permanent collection of the College of Psychic Studies in London, UK. Writings about his work have appeared in Artsy, ArtMaze Magazine, and Artforum. In 2022 he exhibited at Galerie du Monde, Hong Kong with curator Zoie Yung and his work will be featured in the upcoming Art Macau: Macao International Art Biennale 2023.

CONTACT:

Sandra Safta Waterhouse

[email protected]

+1 212 717 9100

https://www.waterhousedodd.com/exhibitions

15 East 76th Street

New York, NY 10021

SOURCE Waterhouse & Dodd
VANCOUVER, BC, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. ("Wheaton" or the "Company) regrets to announce that one of the Company's founding board members, John Brough, passed away on May 17, 2023, due to a health-related issue.

Spanning a career of over 40 years, Mr. Brough was active in both the real estate and mining industries. Throughout Mr. Brough's tenure with Wheaton, he played an integral role in the successful development and growth of the Company as a dedicated member of the Board of Directors, having held the positions of Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Governance and Sustainability Committee.

"John's strategic foresight, guidance and support have been a core part of our development and growth," said Randy Smallwood, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wheaton. "Our success reflects John's firm commitment to building Wheaton into one of the best precious metals streaming companies in the world. I would like to express our sincere gratitude for his service. John will always be a part of Wheaton. On behalf of the board of directors, management and staff of Wheaton, our deepest sympathies are with John's family and friends during this difficult time."

"John will be deeply missed by all who knew him. His contributions to Wheaton and the business community as a whole will always be remembered and appreciated," said George Brack, Chair of the Board of Directors of Wheaton.

In memory of Mr. Brough, Wheaton will make an increased contribution to Wellspring Cancer Support, a non-profit organization that provides support and programs at no charge to anyone with cancer. Mr. Brough was a strong advocate for the organization and Wheaton is honoured to support this important cause.

About Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.

Wheaton Precious Metals is the world's premier precious metals streaming company with the highest-quality portfolio of long-life, low-cost assets. Its business model offers investors leverage to commodity prices and exploration upside but with a much lower risk profile than a traditional mining company. Wheaton delivers amongst the highest cash operating margins in the mining industry, allowing it to pay a competitive dividend and continue to grow through accretive acquisitions. As a result, Wheaton has consistently outperformed gold and silver, as well as other mining investments. Wheaton is committed to strong ESG practices and giving back to the communities where Wheaton and its mining partners operate. Wheaton creates sustainable value through streaming.

SOURCE Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.
NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The workforce management software market size is set to grow by USD 2,307.38 million between 2022 and 2027 and register a CAGR of 6.82%, according to Technavio's latest market research report. With a focus on identifying dominant industry influencers, Technavio's reports present a detailed study by way of synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. This report offers an up-to-date analysis of the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Workforce Management Software Market 2023-2027

Discover market potential and make informed business decisions based on qualitative and quantitative evidence highlighted in Technavio reports. View Sample Report

Factors such as regulatory compliance, the increasing need to streamline HR functions, and the need for workforce diversity management will offer immense growth opportunities. To leverage the current opportunities, market vendors must strengthen their foothold in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments. The workforce management software market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period.

Workforce Management Software Market 2023-2027: Segmentation

Deployment

Cloud-Based: The market share growth of the cloud-based segment will be significant during the forecast period. The growth is due to the feature that enables cloud-based workforce management solutions to gather, store, and provide global information from a unified point of access.



On-premise

End-user

IT And Telecom



BFSI



Healthcare



Manufacturing



Others

Geography

North America: North America is estimated to contribute 36% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. Factors such as improved penetration of social media and high demand for cost-efficient HR solutions are driving the market in North America .

.

Europe



APAC



Middle East And Africa



South America

Receive our market sample report now to gain access to detailed analysis on the workforce management software market: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR44428

Workforce Management Software Market 2023-2027: Vendor Analysis and Scope

Some of the major vendors of the workforce management software market in application software

industry include ATOSS Software AG, Automatic Data Processing Inc., Bamboo HR LLC, Blue Yonder Group Inc., Ceridian HCM Holding Inc., International Business Machines Corp., Koch Industries Inc., Kronos Inc., NICE Ltd., Oracle Corp., Paycor Inc., Performly International Inc., Reflexis Systems Inc., Rippling People Center Inc., Sage Group Plc, SAP SE, UKG Inc., Verint Systems Inc., Workday Inc., and Zoho Corp. Pvt. Ltd.

To help businesses improve their market position, Technavio's report provides a detailed analysis of around 15+ vendors operating in the market. To leverage the current opportunities, market vendors must strengthen their foothold in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the workforce management software market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile & M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

adp.com- The company offers workforce management software to improve time and attendance tracking, automate scheduling or simplify leave management.

bamboohr.com- The company offers workforce management software that makes it easy to collect, maintain, and analyze people data, improve the way to hire talent, onboard new employees, manage compensation, and develop company culture.

blueyonder.com- The company offers workforce management software that is designed to help address today's labor challenges with flexible scheduling, time and attendance, simplified labor compliance and long-range planning.

The report also covers the following areas:

Market Driver

Regulatory compliance

Increasing need to streamline HR functions

Need for workforce diversity management

Market Trend

Rising adoption of digital HR technology

Increasing popularity of advanced workforce analytics

High utilization of social media

Market Challenges

High implementation and maintenance cost

Frequent changes in regulations

Data privacy and security concerns

Get lifetime access to our Technavio Insights. Subscribe now to our most popular "Lite Plan" billed annually at USD 5000. View 3 reports monthly and Download 3 Reports Annually!

Workforce Management Software Market 2023-2027: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2023-2027

Detailed information on factors that will assist workforce management software market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the workforce management software market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the workforce management software market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of workforce management software market vendors

Related Reports:

Social Networking Market- The social networking market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 16.9% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 163.6 billion.

Expense Management Software Market- The expense management software market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 13.75% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 4,776.21 million.

Workforce Management Software Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 6.82% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 2,307.38 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023(%) 5.9 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, and South America Performing market contribution North America at 36% Key countries US, Canada, China, UK, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled ATOSS Software AG, Automatic Data Processing Inc., Bamboo HR LLC, Blue Yonder Group Inc., Ceridian HCM Holding Inc., International Business Machines Corp., Koch Industries Inc., Kronos Inc., NICE Ltd., Oracle Corp., Paycor Inc., Performly International Inc., Reflexis Systems Inc., Rippling People Center Inc., Sage Group Plc, SAP SE, UKG Inc., Verint Systems Inc., Workday Inc., and Zoho Corp. Pvt. Ltd. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Market overview

Exhibit 01: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Overview



Exhibit 02: Executive Summary  Data Table on Market Overview



Exhibit 03: Executive Summary  Chart on Global Market Characteristics



Exhibit 04: Executive Summary  Chart on Market by Geography



Exhibit 05: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Deployment



Exhibit 06: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by End-user



Exhibit 07: Executive Summary  Chart on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 08: Executive Summary  Data Table on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 09: Executive Summary  Chart on Vendor Market Positioning

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 10: Parent market



Exhibit 11: Market Characteristics

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 12: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 13: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2022

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2022-2027

Exhibit 14: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 15: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 16: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 17: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

4 Historic Market Size

4.1 Global workforce management software market 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size  Data Table on Global workforce management software market 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.2 Deployment Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size  Deployment Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.3 End-user Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size  End-user Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.4 Geography Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 21: Historic Market Size  Geography Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.5 Country Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 22: Historic Market Size  Country Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

5 Five Forces Analysis

5.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 23: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2022 and 2027

5.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 24: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers  Impact of key factors 2022 and 2027

5.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 25: Bargaining power of suppliers  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 26: Threat of new entrants  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 27: Threat of substitutes  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 28: Threat of rivalry  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.7 Market condition

Exhibit 29: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2022 and 2027

6 Market Segmentation by Deployment

6.1 Market segments

Exhibit 30: Chart on Deployment - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 31: Data Table on Deployment - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

6.2 Comparison by Deployment

Exhibit 32: Chart on Comparison by Deployment



Exhibit 33: Data Table on Comparison by Deployment

6.3 Cloud based - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 34: Chart on Cloud based - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 35: Data Table on Cloud based - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 36: Chart on Cloud based - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 37: Data Table on Cloud based - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.4 On-premise - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 38: Chart on On-premise - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 39: Data Table on On-premise - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 40: Chart on On-premise - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 41: Data Table on On-premise - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.5 Market opportunity by Deployment

Exhibit 42: Market opportunity by Deployment ($ million)

7 Market Segmentation by End-user

7.1 Market segments

Exhibit 43: Chart on End-user - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 44: Data Table on End-user - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

7.2 Comparison by End-user

Exhibit 45: Chart on Comparison by End-user



Exhibit 46: Data Table on Comparison by End-user

7.3 IT and telecom - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 47: Chart on IT and telecom - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 48: Data Table on IT and telecom - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 49: Chart on IT and telecom - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 50: Data Table on IT and telecom - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.4 BFSI - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 51: Chart on BFSI - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 52: Data Table on BFSI - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 53: Chart on BFSI - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 54: Data Table on BFSI - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.5 Healthcare - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 55: Chart on Healthcare - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 56: Data Table on Healthcare - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 57: Chart on Healthcare - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 58: Data Table on Healthcare - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.6 Manufacturing - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 59: Chart on Manufacturing - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 60: Data Table on Manufacturing - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 61: Chart on Manufacturing - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 62: Data Table on Manufacturing - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.7 Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 63: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 64: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 65: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 66: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.8 Market opportunity by End-user

Exhibit 67: Market opportunity by End-user ($ million)

8 Customer Landscape

8.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 68: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

9 Geographic Landscape

9.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 69: Chart on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 70: Data Table on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)

9.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 71: Chart on Geographic comparison



Exhibit 72: Data Table on Geographic comparison

9.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 73: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 74: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 75: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 76: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 77: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 78: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 79: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 80: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 81: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 82: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 83: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 84: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.6 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 85: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 86: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 87: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

and - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 88: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.7 South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 89: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 90: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 91: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 92: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.8 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 93: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 94: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 95: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 96: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.9 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 97: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 98: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 99: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 100: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.10 UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 101: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 102: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 103: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 104: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.11 Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 105: Chart on Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 106: Data Table on Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 107: Chart on Canada - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 108: Data Table on Canada - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.12 Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 109: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 110: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 111: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 112: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.13 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 113: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

10 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10.1 Market drivers

10.2 Market challenges

10.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

Exhibit 114: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027

10.4 Market trends

11 Vendor Landscape

11.1 Overview

11.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 115: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

11.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 116: Overview on factors of disruption

11.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 117: Impact of key risks on business

12 Vendor Analysis

12.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 118: Vendors covered

12.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 119: Matrix on vendor position and classification

12.3 Automatic Data Processing Inc.

Exhibit 120: Automatic Data Processing Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 121: Automatic Data Processing Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 122: Automatic Data Processing Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 123: Automatic Data Processing Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 124: Automatic Data Processing Inc. - Segment focus

12.4 Bamboo HR LLC

Exhibit 125: Bamboo HR LLC - Overview



Exhibit 126: Bamboo HR LLC - Product / Service



Exhibit 127: Bamboo HR LLC - Key offerings

12.5 Blue Yonder Group Inc.

Exhibit 128: Blue Yonder Group Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 129: Blue Yonder Group Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 130: Blue Yonder Group Inc. - Key offerings

12.6 Ceridian HCM Holding Inc.

Exhibit 131: Ceridian HCM Holding Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 132: Ceridian HCM Holding Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 133: Ceridian HCM Holding Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 134: Ceridian HCM Holding Inc. - Key offerings

12.7 International Business Machines Corp.

Exhibit 135: International Business Machines Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 136: International Business Machines Corp. - Business segments



Exhibit 137: International Business Machines Corp. - Key news



Exhibit 138: International Business Machines Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 139: International Business Machines Corp. - Segment focus

12.8 Koch Industries Inc.

Exhibit 140: Koch Industries Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 141: Koch Industries Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 142: Koch Industries Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 143: Koch Industries Inc. - Key offerings

12.9 NICE Ltd.

Exhibit 144: NICE Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 145: NICE Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 146: NICE Ltd. - Key news



Exhibit 147: NICE Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 148: NICE Ltd. - Segment focus

12.10 Oracle Corp.

Exhibit 149: Oracle Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 150: Oracle Corp. - Business segments



Exhibit 151: Oracle Corp. - Key news



Exhibit 152: Oracle Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 153: Oracle Corp. - Segment focus

12.11 Paycor Inc.

Exhibit 154: Paycor Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 155: Paycor Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 156: Paycor Inc. - Key offerings

12.12 Performly International Inc.

Exhibit 157: Performly International Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 158: Performly International Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 159: Performly International Inc. - Key offerings

12.13 Reflexis Systems Inc.

Exhibit 160: Reflexis Systems Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 161: Reflexis Systems Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 162: Reflexis Systems Inc. - Key offerings

12.14 Sage Group Plc

Exhibit 163: Sage Group Plc - Overview



Exhibit 164: Sage Group Plc - Business segments



Exhibit 165: Sage Group Plc - Key news



Exhibit 166: Sage Group Plc - Key offerings



Exhibit 167: Sage Group Plc - Segment focus

12.15 SAP SE

Exhibit 168: SAP SE - Overview



Exhibit 169: SAP SE - Business segments



Exhibit 170: SAP SE - Key news



Exhibit 171: SAP SE - Key offerings



Exhibit 172: SAP SE - Segment focus

12.16 Workday Inc.

Exhibit 173: Workday Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 174: Workday Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 175: Workday Inc. - Key offerings

12.17 Zoho Corp. Pvt. Ltd.

Exhibit 176: Zoho Corp. Pvt. Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 177: Zoho Corp. Pvt. Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 178: Zoho Corp. Pvt. Ltd. - Key offerings

13 Appendix

13.1 Scope of the report

13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 179: Inclusions checklist



Exhibit 180: Exclusions checklist

13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 181: Currency conversion rates for US$

13.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 182: Research methodology



Exhibit 183: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 184: Information sources

13.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 185: List of abbreviations

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. The Turkmen delegation took part in the 14th annual "Russia - the Islamic World: KazanForum" international economic forum on May 17, 2023, Trend reports.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, the Turkmen delegation, which included members of the government, employees of relevant ministries and departments, the Turkmen Ambassador to Russia, was headed by the Director of the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Mammetkhan Chakiyev.

The purpose of the conference is to strengthen the relations between Russia and the members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the fields of trade, culture, and science.

The program of the large - scale event includes several sessions, including on the development of transport corridors. An international fair will be held within the framework of the economic forum, where products of Turkmen manufacturers will be presented.
Ramallah, May 19 : Palestine has condemned an Israeli decision that allows Jewish settlers to return to an Israeli settlement evacuated 18 years ago.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday in a press statement that it condemns the decision of Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to allow settlers to return to the "Homesh" settlement, evacuated in 2005, in the northern West Bank.

On Wednesday, Israel Radio reported that Gallant took the move weeks after the Knesset, or parliament, approved of the settlers' return to the settlement in the second and third readings, Xinhua news agency reported.

The radio said that the Israeli Army will establish military sites as a starting point for rebuilding the deserted settlement.

"What happens is part of an Israeli race against time to prevent any opportunity to embody the Palestinian state on the ground, in implementing the principle of the two-state solution and the UN resolutions," the Palestinian statement said.

It added that "the Palestinian people must be provided with the necessary climate to enable them to exercise their right to self-determination, like other people, as stipulated in the UN charter".

After its occupation of the West Bank in 1967, Israel has constructed dozens of settlements in violation of the international law. According to Palestinian and Israeli institutions, more than 4,50,000 Israeli settlers live in 132 settlements and 147 random outposts in the West Bank.

The settlement issue is one of the main issues that have stalled the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks since 2014.
Tehran, May 19 : The Iranian Foreign Ministry has rejected any "official and unofficial" links between Iran and the Azerbaijani citizens arrested for allegedly working for the Iranian special service.

The Ministry's spokesman Nasser Kanaani made the remarks on Thursday in a statement published on the Iranian Foreign Ministry's website, in response to a Tuesday statement by the Azerbaijani Interior Ministry that it had "arrested at least nine citizens allegedly working for the special services of Iran and Armenia".

Kanaani accused the Azerbaijani government of arresting its citizens over "baseless" accusations and claims about their connections with Iranian institutions, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said the relations between the two countries' citizens are "heartfelt, emotional, historical, religious and even family-based," calling on the Azerbaijani government to refrain from attributing such deep-rooted and historical bonds to "security issues or associating them with the neighbouring states".

The spokesman said that Baku's move to arrest and imprison many citizens on the charges of having connections with Iran is "unacceptable".

The Azerbaijani Interior Ministry said members of the "Revenge 313" group were detained and investigated for writing "radical religious slogans" on the streets near government buildings, and sharing their images on social media "with the aim of creating confusion among citizens".
United Nations, May 19 : UN peacekeepers have chased armed rebels from several villages in eastern Congo, a UN spokesman said.

Villagers raised warnings over the last few days the rebels were in several villages of Djugu territory in Ituri province, said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on Thursday.

"UN peacekeepers immediately deployed to the areas, prompting the assailants to flee the scene." There was no immediate word on casualties.

Haq identified the rebels as members of CODECO, Xinhua news agency reported.

The CODECO members are a loose association of militia groups called the Cooperative for Development of the Congo.

The spokesman added that peacekeepers from the UN mission in Congo, known as MONUSCO, also engaged with communities around Djugu, notably internally displaced persons and youth leaders. It is part of efforts to strengthen protection and early warning mechanisms.

The MONUSCO peacekeepers launched a Joint Assessment and Engagement Mission to Bweremana, close to the town of Sake, in North Kivu province, Haq said.

He added the programme follows population displacement caused by another armed rebel group, the M23, displacing the population in Masisi territory.

The spokesman said the peacekeepers met with civilians and local leaders to understand their needs and protection concerns better.

On Monday, the Secretary-General's special representative, Bintou Keita, visited Kalehe territory in South Kivu province to see the damage caused by recent torrential rain and heavy flooding, he added.

"She expressed her condolences and solidarity with the government and the affected population," Haq said.

"More than 450 people died in the floods and many more are missing, according to official estimates."
Beirut, May 19 : Lebanese Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, who faces domestic and international corruption probes, said that he would step down if any court ruling is issued against him.

He said in an interview with al-Hadath TV on Thursday that despite the judicial procedure is unfair, he is "ready for it," adding he did not intend to extend his term at the central bank which ends in July, Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier in the day, Lebanon's caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh al-Shami called on Salameh to resign, two days after Salameh dismissed an international arrest warrant as "presumptuous ideas".

The warrant was issued on Tuesday by a French judge over his failure to show up for questioning on corruption charges, with Salameh calling the move "a violation of law".

Salameh and his associates are being investigated in Lebanon and multiple European countries on suspicion of embezzling more than $330 million from the Lebanese central bank.

The governor, who is blamed for the unprecedented financial crisis in Lebanon, denies embezzlement, money laundering, illicit enrichment and other charges against him.

On many occasions, Salameh has insisted that his wealth comes from his previous job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch, inherited properties, and investments.

Lebanon is reeling under the worst financial crisis in its history as the country has lost billions of dollars in bank deposits, plunging more than 80 per cent of the population into poverty.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the Focus Africa Conference will delve into six priorities under IATAs Focus Africa initiative to strengthen aviations contribution to the development of the continent.



The focus areas include the continents economic and social development, improving connectivity, safety and reliability for passengers and shippers.



Focus Africa is taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on June 20-21 with Ethiopian Airlines as the host airline.



Over the next 15 years, Africas passenger traffic is expected to double. The continent stands out as the region with the greatest potential and opportunity for aviation. But this potential is limited by infrastructure constraints, high costs, lack of connectivity, regulatory impediments, slow adoption of global standards and skills shortages, among other factors. The Focus Africa Conference will bring together the continents key stakeholders to address these challenges, said Willie Walsh, IATAs Director General.



Mesfin Tasew, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, will deliver an Opening Keynote Address. We are delighted to host IATAs Focus Africa Conference and welcome the aviation industry to our home, Addis Ababa. Advancing the air transport industry is critical for Africas economic growth. The conference will allow industry leaders to join forces and drive the Focus Africa initiative, said Tasew.



Walsh, Tasew, and Kamil Alawadhi, IATAs Regional Vice-President for Africa and Middle East will be speaking at the event along with several other industry leaders.  TradeArabia News Service
Singapore, May 19 : A domestic worker from Myanmar who stabbed her employer's Indian mother-in-law 26 times in 2018, has been found guilty of murder in Singapore, a media report said.

Zin Mar Nwe, 22, who came to work in Singapore in January 2018, took the extreme step after the 70-year-old woman abused and threatened to send her back to Myanmar, The Straits Times reported on Thursday.

On June 25, 2018, the two women were alone in the flat when Zin grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed the victim multiple times.

She then left with some cash and went to her agency to ask for her passport, where she was arrested after a few hours.

After her arrest, the maid initially denied stabbing the victim but later admitted, according to the report.

Zin said she was physically abused by the victim, and in one of her statements to the police on July 1, 2018, she listed numerous instances of how the victim abused her.

She added the victim came to stay with her employer's family on May 26, 2018, and would use her knuckles to knock Zin on her head or back whenever she did not understand what the victim wanted her to do.

Zin said on one occasion, while she was massaging the victim, the victim slapped her because she found the massage painful.

The purported trigger point was when the victim told Zin that she would be sent back to the agent the next day, which would mean going back to her native country in debt.

The High Court accepted on Thursday that the victim had abused Zin to get her attention or reprimand her.

"I do not believe that the accused would have stabbed the deceased if there were just an isolated statement by the deceased, on the day in question, that the accused would be sent back to the agent," Justice Andre Maniam was cited as saying by The Straits Times.

"But for the threat to send the accused back to the agent, however, the accused would not have stabbed the deceased," added Justice Maniam.

Zin's lawyer argued that she should be convicted of culpable homicide, relying on the opinion of Dr. Tommy Tan that the maid was suffering from adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood at the time.

Justice Maniam did not accept Dr. Tan's opinion that the maid was in a "dissociative state" at the time of the stabbing.

He found that the maid was conscious that she was stabbing the victim, noting that she could remember details of the stabbing, and was able to describe the stabbing to the police.

The case has been adjourned to a later date for sentencing.

Zin faces the death penalty or life imprisonment, but according to the prosecution, it is not seeking a death sentence.

The victim and her family members could not be named due to a gag order as one of the witnesses in the trial is below 18 years.
New Delhi, May 19 : Representatives from UN member states meeting in New York this week have agreed on greater political commitment to resilience building.

It comes in a context of rapidly rising disaster risk which is projected to reach 560 a year -- or 1.5 disasters a day --by 2030.

As the meeting got underway, Cyclone Mocha hit Myanmar and Bangladesh destroying hundreds of homes while heavy rains caused flooding in Italy's northern Emilia-Romagna region.

The two-day high-level meeting is part of the midterm review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Reduction 2015-2030, an international agreement with seven targets to reduce global disaster losses.

Agreed by member states in 2015, the Sendai Framework has become more relevant than ever, as climate change causes more frequent, extreme, and unpredictable weather events, and geophysical hazards, such as earthquakes continue to take thousands of lives.

"As risks are left unattended, disasters are materializing faster, surpassing our ability to cope, with increasingly dire consequences for people, livelihoods, society and the ecosystems on which we depend," said Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of UNDRR, which coordinated the review process.

The representatives agreed through a Political Declaration that increasing human and economic costs of disasters demanded a redoubling of efforts to reduce risks and build resilience.

"I can't over-emphasize the need to scale up implementation of the Sendai Framework for our own collective resilience. Disasters are not natural and know no borders," said Mwanahamisi Singano, who spoke on behalf of the Stakeholder Engagement Mechanism Women and Gender Stakeholder Group and Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO).

The value of disaster risk reduction was highlighted by Mustafa Kemal Kilinc, a student who survived the February earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria.

"I am here today because our building did not collapse because our contractor applied high standards to make our building earthquake resistant." The political declaration calls for countries to embed risk reduction in all investments and development decisions, and to bolster resilience, especially for the most vulnerable countries and groups.

Leaders from Small Island Developing States reinforced the call. "The main challenge is the limited technical and financial resources available to invest in disaster risk reduction" said Prime Minister Mark Anthony Philips of Guyana.

"Financing is driven by reactive investment post-disaster, all of which hinder investment. We need more investment towards the underlying drivers of risk," added Tonga's Prime Minister Siaosi Ofakivahafolau Sovaleni.

There were urgent calls for countries to heed the calls to action in the Political Declaration.

"This midterm review is our last chance before 2030 to collectively change course, starting todayaI challenge you to account for risk in every decision that impacts how we live, consume, build, and invest," said Csaba Korosi, President of the UN General Assembly, who chaired the high-level meeting.

Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, said: "As we look to the 2023 SDG Summit and the Summit of the Future, it is time to make a dramatic shift from managing disasters to managing risk and investing in prevention. People are depending on itaWe need to work together; member states, investors, business, civil society and the entire UN system to ensure the clauses contained in the midterm review are woven across all of our agendas.a The midterm review, found that eight years into its implementation, many disaster lessons have been ignored.

As the official report released by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) states, "progress has stalled and, in some cases, reversed".

Bright spots in the review include that 125 countries now have national strategies for disaster risk reduction, but half of the countries still do not have multi-hazard early warning systems.

It finds that mortality rates are lower during disasters than they were, thanks to improvements in early warnings in some countries, but the number of affected people is increasing.

Without effective action, many more people will die or otherwise be affected.
New York, May 19 : A group of US lawmakers, including Indian-American Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi and Ami Bera, have reintroduced a bipartisan legislation to protect children of-long-term visa holders from aging out when they turn 21, forcing them to self-deport.

Congresswoman Deborah Ross and Senator Alex Padilla, who were accompanied by more than 40 such children -- also called Documented Dreamers -- announced the reintroduction of the America's Children Act at a press conference on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

More than 250,000 children and young adults are living in the US as dependents of long-term non-immigrant visa holders, including H-1B, L-1, E-1, and E-2 workers.

"These young people are part of the fabric of our country, contributing to our economy and enriching our communities. It's our moral duty to provide these young individuals with a pathway to permanent residency and a future free from the threat of having to leave the only country they know and love because of a broken immigration system," Bera said.

These individuals grow up in the US, attend American schools, and graduate from American universities. Because they have maintained legal status, Documented Dreamers are not eligible for protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or the work authorisation that comes with it.

The DACA program was created to protect eligible young adults who were brought to the US as children from deportation and to provide them with work authorization for temporary, renewable period.

America's Children Act bill will allow Documented Dreamers to obtain permanent residency if they were brought to the country as dependent children of workers admitted under employment visas, have maintained status in the US for 10 years (including eight years as dependents), and have graduated from an institution of higher education.

The bill would protect any child who has been in the country for an aggregate of eight years before the age of 21 as a dependent of an employment-based nonimmigrant by allowing them to remain a dependent on their parent's non-immigrant visa until they can find another status.

It will also establish age-out protections that lock in a child's age on the date on which their parents file for a green card, and provide work authorisation for individuals qualifying for age-out protection.

"These Documented Dreamers are Americans in every way except one: their parents' green card is tied up in red tape," said California Senator Padilla.

"This legislation is about more than just immigration reform -- it's about righting a moral wrong that's a byproduct of our outdated immigration system," he added.

Welcoming the move, Dip Patel, founder of Improve the Dream, an organisation supporting Documented Dreamers, said: "Fixing this loophole will ensure that America reaps the benefits of the contributions of the children it raised and educated.

"Ending aging-out will empower people to tap into their talents and ambitions, helping us and our country reach our fullest potential. And that won't be possible if we continue to waste the product of our country's investments, by forcing thousands of American-raised and educated children to leave every year." In 2022, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) led by Congresswomen Ross that included age-out protections for dependent children on green card applications as well as non-immigrant dependent children.

In 2021, Representatives Ross, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Young Kim first introduced the America's Children Act in the House.

Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by Senators Padilla and Rand Paul.
New York, May 19 : Nine months after a near-lethal attack that left him debilitated and without vision in one eye, Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie made his first appearance at the PEN Americas annual gala in New York City.

His appearance at the 2023 Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan on Thursday night came as a surprise as it had not been earlier announced.

PEN America honored the India-born author with the PEN Centenary Courage Award.

"Rushdie accepted the award in person, in his first public appearance since he was severely wounded in a knife attack nine months ago," said the nonprofit organization that works to defend and celebrate free expression in the US and worldwide through the advancement of literature and human rights.

As the crowd greeted him with cheers and a standing ovation, the 75-year-old noted author said: "Well, hi everybody... It's nice to be back -- as opposed to not being back, which was also an option. I'm pretty glad the dice rolled this way.

"I just thought if there's a right thing to chose as a re-entry, it's this... It's being part of the world of books, the fight against censorship and for human rights." Rushdie said he was accepting the award on behalf of the "heroes" who rushed the dias at the Chautauqua Institute in New York State and tackled his assailant after he was repeatedly stabbed on August 12, 2022.

"If it had not been for these people, I most certainly would not be standing here today. I was the target that day, but they were the heroes. The courage, that day, was all theirs. I owe my life to them." As a result of the murderous attack, Rushdie, who had received death threats from Iran in the 1980s after his novel 'The Satanic Verses' was published, lost sight in one of his eye, had three serious wounds in his neck, one hand incapacitated because the nerves in his arm were cut, as well as about 15 more wounds in his chest and torso.

Hadi Matar, 24, accused of stabbing Rushdie pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges when he appeared in court on August 18, 2022.

Concluding his speech, the author said: "Terrorism must not terrorise us. Violence must not deter us... The struggle goes on." PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said: "After the shock of the attack, there was a long period when we had real doubts about whether Salman was going to make it and what kind of shape he might be in if he did. So to see him back, in action, at this event, with his PEN America family is a remarkable testament to his resilience and strength and a kind of emblem of our work -- that in the face of lethal threats, the writer triumphs and the voice continues."
New Delhi, May 19 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday embarked on a six-day visit to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia to attend three key multilateral summits, including that of the G7.

While leaving for Japan's Hiroshima, the Prime Minister in a statement said, "I will leave for Hiroshima, Japan to attend the G7 Summit under the Japanese Presidency at the invitation of Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan." He said it will be a pleasure to meet Prime Minister Kishida again after his recent visit to India for the India-Japan Summit.

"My presence in this G7 Summit is particularly meaningful as India holds the G20 Presidency this year. I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them. I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 Summit," the Prime Minister said.

Modi said that from Japan, he will be visiting Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

"This will be my first visit, as also the first ever visit by any Indian Prime Minister, to Papua New Guinea. I will host on 22 May 2023 the 3rd Summit of the Forum for India -Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit) jointly with James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. I am grateful that all 14 Pacific Island Countries (PIC) have accepted the invitation to attend this important Summit." He said, "FIPIC had been launched during my visit to Fiji in 2014, and I look forward to engaging with the PIC Leaders on issues that bring us together, such as climate change and sustainable development, capacity building and training, health and well-being, infrastructure and economic development".

"Apart from the FIPIC engagements, I look forward to my bilateral interactions with Papua New Guinea Governor General Sir Bob Dadae, Prime Minister Marape and some of the other PIC Leaders participating in the Summit," the Prime Minister said.

Commenting on his visit to Australia, the Prime Minister said, "I will be travelling to Sydney, Australia at the invitation of Prime Minister Albanese. I look forward to our bilateral meeting, which will be an opportunity to take stock of our bilateral ties and follow up on our first India-Australia Annual Summit held in New Delhi in March this year." He will also interact with Australian CEOs and business leaders, and meet the Indian community in Sydney at a special event.
New York, May 19 : Elon Musk's personal lawyer has sent a letter to Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, accusing the tech giant of violating Twitter's developer agreement for an extended period of time.

Musk's personal lawyer Alex Spiro said in the letter sent on behalf of Twitter that their recent review of the tech giant's activity on the Microsoft Apps indicates that "Microsoft may have been in violation of multiple provisions of the Agreement for an extended period of time".

Microsoft integrated eight separate Twitter's APIs with its products like Xbox, Bing search and its ads platform.

By registering and using these eight Twitter API apps (collectively, the Microsoft Apps), the company agreed to comply with Twitter's Developer Agreement and Policy.

Microsoft Apps accessed Twitter's APIs over 780 million times and retrieved over 26 billion tweets in 2022 alone, according to the letter.

"Indeed, for one of the Microsoft Apps, Microsoft's account information outright states that it intends to allow its customers to "go around throttling limits," the letter stated.

Outgoing Twitter CEO last month threatened to sue Microsoft over claims that the company "trained illegally using Twitter data".

Musk reacted after Microsoft dropped Twitter from its advertising platform as it allegedly refused to pay Twitter's application programming interface (API) fees.

"They trained illegally using Twitter data. Lawsuit time," said Musk in a tweet.

The Spiro letter to Nadella, however, does not say anything about taking legal action.

A Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge that they heard from a law firm representing Twitter with some questions about "our previous use of the free Twitter API".

"We will review these questions and respond appropriately. We look forward to continuing our long term partnership with the company," the spokesperson added.

The Spiro letter said that the terms of the Agreement require Microsoft to provide its "full cooperation and assistance" with the requested compliance audit.

"We look forward to your prompt and full cooperation in this matter. Please provide a date certain by which Microsoft will provide the requested information, and, in any event, no later than June 7, 2023," it added.
Hiroshima, May 19 : The G7 leaders on Friday began their three-days of talks in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, during which the US is set to announce fresh sanctions on Russia as the continued war in Ukraine will be a major point of focus during the Summit.

Earlier in the day, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is chairing the G7 gathering, welcomed the leaders at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park with his wife Yuko, reports public broadcaster NHK.

The leaders in attendance are US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, German Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Union president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel.

They also took turns laying wreaths at the Hiroshima cenotaph and later stood in a line with their heads bowed, paying respects to the estimated 140,000 people killed in the August 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima and its aftermath.

The leaders will also visit the Peace Memorial Museum in the park and are expected to meet the atomic bomb survivors, known as hibakusha, according to the NHK.

In the afternoon, the G7 leaders are scheduled to begin discussions at a hotel in the city. A total of 10 sessions will be held during the three-day summit.

To wrap up the talks, the leaders will issue a declaration highlighting the main points of their discussions.

Regarding the new US sanctions on Russia, Washington is hoping that the measures will convince the other G7 countries to increase theirs, reports the BBC.

Washington says the new measures, which include banning 70 entities from receiving US exports as well as another 300 new sanctions on other individuals or entities, are aimed at crippling Moscow's "war machine" in Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine, now in its 15th month, is at the top of the summit agenda.

According to unofficial media reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will virtually attend the summit on Sunday.

Meanwhile, 'no war' protests are underway near the G7 site, where demonstrators are chanting anti-war slogans, like "no to the summit. No to war".

Japan's choice of Hiroshima as the host city for the G7 Summit highlights the peace-building theme of the gathering.

Hiroshima is also the hometown of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. His office has said the G7 envisions a world free of nuclear weapons -- and disarmament is likely to be a topic he is likely to focus on, the BBC reported.

The Summit comes as Western leaders warn Russia against using nuclear weapons in war and North Korea has ramped up its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons testing.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, May 19 : Next week, the third Commonwealth Sustainable Energy Forum will bring together senior government officials, private sector actors, industry experts and youth delegates to review energy transition progress and discuss ways to achieve ambitious goals with action on the ground.

Energy access is essential for sustainable development, with nearly 774 million people across the world still without access to electricity. More than half of them live in Commonwealth countries.

Globally, nations are working to pivot towards low-carbon energy systems, in response to climate change, energy security needs and the falling cost of renewable energy technologies.

Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland KC, highlighted the importance of the upcoming discussions, stating: "Commonwealth countries are working together to fast-track an inclusive, just, and equitable transition to low-carbon energy systems through the Commonwealth Sustainable Energy Transition (CSET) Agenda.

"While the transition pathways may differ, the move to clean energy systems is a common goal, and all member countries recognise of the nexus between climate change, energy access and sustainable development." A number of milestones and new initiatives will be announced at the event. These will be implemented under the CSET Agenda -- a platform for all member countries to work together to accelerate the global transition to clean energy through collective action, knowledge sharing and technical support.

The Sustainable Energy Forum is also seen as an opportunity to discuss the road to the UN Climate Change Conference COP28, to be held in Dubai in November.

In particular, the event will have a strong intergenerational approach, recognising that young people are essential stakeholders in creating the solutions for the energy transition.

The Forum will meet over three days: The day one focuses on global developments in the transition to cleaner energy; the day two will be a closed-door plenary for member country delegates, including dedicated sessions focusing on youth action; and the day three will consider both public and private financing solutions.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Thiruvananthapuram, May 19 : When friends and colleagues of 36-year-old Kerala government employee, Shaikh Hassan Khan toil hard to take and repay loans for houses and cars, this man takes loans to pursue his passion - climbing mountains.

Khan works in the Finance department at the State Secretariat and hails from Pandalam in Pathanamthitta district.

By now he has climbed Mount Everest and Kilimanjaro. Speaking to IANS over phone from Denver in the US, on Monday his next arduous trek commences when he starts to climb the third tallest peak, Mount Denali in Alaska.

Along with him are three Americans, one of whom was with him when they reached the Mount Everest peak, last year.

"I am planning to take five years' leave to reach my target, which is to climb the tallest peaks of 185 countries... Denali would be the third and in July, I will reach Russia and in August - Japan. For 2023, my target is to scale 15 peaks in various countries," said Khan.

But then Khan has a mountainous problem before him as to achieve his target by 2028, he requires about Rs 2.50 crore.

"My Everest trip cost me Rs 3.5 million and the present one will be around Rs two million. The biggest element of cost is buying air tickets and boarding expenses. I am on the lookout for sponsors, not one, but multiple sponsors," said Khan.

And Khan says by now he has an outstanding loan of Rs 2.5 million, which he incurred for his previous two expeditions.

"Since I have a state government job, getting bank loans is easy and I don't need to build a house, as I have inherited one. I have a good track record too in repaying loans that was taken to pursue my passion. I have bought equipment, a must for my expeditions. So I am sure I will be able to achieve my target and help will come from some quarters," added Khan.

His wife, a teacher by profession, chips in too, as she takes tuitions, while his biggest supporter is his six-year-old daughter, who will now be missing her hero, as he is busy pursuing his target.

Khan makes it sure that every peak he conquers, the Tricolour is hoisted. His motto apart from self-satisfaction is to carry the message of unity as well as make people aware about climate change.
Seoul, May 19 : A 21-member team of South Korean experts will embark on a six-day visit to Japan for an on-site inspection ahead of the planned release of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean, the government said on Friday.

The delegation, headed by the chief of the country's nuclear safety commission, will review the safety of the entire process of discharge and check Japan's capability in analyzing radioactive materials, according to the Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC).

The inspection visit was agreed upon in principle when President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a summit in Seoul earlier this month, reports Yonhap News Agency.

South Koreans have been concerned about possible health and environmental hazards from the planned release of contaminated water.

Diplomats from the two countries have since worked out details of the visit.

Leading the team will be Nuclear Safety and Security Commission Chairperson Yoo Guk-hee, accompanied by 19 other experts in nuclear reactor and radiation sectors, as well as one expert in radiation in the marine environment, according to the OPC.

During the visit, the inspection team will first meet officials from the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., to discuss the overall situation in detail.

The team will also examine the plant's custom purification system, known as ALPS, and assess the results of the water purification process through ALPS.

In addition to the government experts, a separate group of some 10 civilian experts will also be formed to review and support the inspection team's activities.

In March 2011, a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami damaged the Fukushima plant's cooling systems, resulting in the release of a large amount of radiation.

The plant currently stores over 1.3 million tonnes of water treated by ALPS.

The water release is set to begin this year and will take decades to complete, in what Japanese officials claim is an unavoidable step in the decommissioning process.

Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency is conducting a separate inspection.

The Vienna-based nuclear watchdog has already released five reports and is scheduled to publish its final report on the multi-year safety review in June.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. US Department of Commerce has applied sanctions on Armenian company, Trend reports.

According to the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Department, Armenian Medisar LLC has been added to the list for "engaging in conduct that prevented the successful accomplishment of an end-use check".

This is not the first time that Armenia enters US "blacklist" of the parties, trying to act "contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the US". The trilateral document of the US Departments of Commerce, the Treasury, and of Justice issued earlier this year revealed that Armenia has been redirect goods to Russia or Belarus illegally, thus, bypassing sanctions.

On March 1, the Department imposed restrictions on 37 companies that were subjected in actions contrary to national security and US foreign policy interests.
London, May 19 : The UK telecommunication giant BT Group, which has announced to slash a massive 55,000 jobs by the end of the decade, did not suddenly concoct a plan in the last 36 hours and announced it to the world, its CEO Philip Jansen has said.

The telecom company which has around 130,000 employees as of today, will move to a total workforce of between 75,000 and 90,000 people.

"There is no surprise on the jobs. This is not a new plan that we suddenly concocted in the last 36 hours and announced it, right. This is the plan that we have been working on for a long-time," Jansen told analysts during the company's earnings call on Thursday.

He said that the company did not announce this before "because we wanted to get some runs on the board in terms of delivery of performance, both in terms of build and provisioning, but also efficiencies and I think we've done enough of that".

On AI and job threats, the BT CEO said that there will be new jobs as a result of new technologies.

"We don't know yet, no one does, but anytime there's been a big jump in technology, new jobs appear, new things, and they will appear and we'll be able to participate in that. For now, we've got to get those efficiencies," said Jansen.

The company is aiming to enable growth by transferring productivity and customer outcomes through digitising, automating and reskilling of its workforce.

"We will show measurable progress through fewer business applications and reduce reliance on legacy networks, both to a tiny fraction of today's level by the end of the decade. Future BT will be more efficient and need fewer people," said the company.
Bengaluru, May 19 : A police atrocity case on Hindu activists in connection with garlanding posters of Karnataka BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kateel with chappals has taken a political turn.

The police had detained nine Hindu activists and allegedly given third degree treatment. Most of them were admitted to the hospital.

The issue has stirred a controversy as both Congress and BJP are trading charges against each other. On the other hand, Bajrang Dal has demanded that IPC Section 307 (attempt to murder) should be lodged against the accused police officers. The Bajrang Dal had warned that if the demand was not fulfilled they would stage a big protest.

An FIR had already been lodged against Puttur Rural DSP and three other policemen. The police department had suspended a sub-inspector and a police constable in this connection. Karnataka ADGP (Law and Order) Alok Kumar assured stern action.

The BJP is alleging that Congress had planned the police atrocity on the Hindu activists. In turn Congress is maintaining that the police have acted due to the pressure from the BJP leaders.

Puttur Constituency Congress MLA Ashok Kumar Rai stated that he would make public the names of leaders who pressured the police to give third degree treatment to Hindu activists in two days.

Following the Assembly election results, BJP was pushed to third position in Puttur Assembly constituency. A banner with portraits of BJP Karnataka President Nalin Kumar Kateel and former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda was garlanded with chappals on May 13, the day the Assembly election results came. The banner put up near Puttur bus stop claimed condolences for both the leaders.

Puttur Municipality President Madhu Manohar and others had lodged a complaint with the police. The police had taken nine accused into custody and given them third degree treatment. It was alleged that third degree treatment was given in the presence of Puttur Rural DSP.

Arun Kumar Puttila, the rebel candidate who contested as an independent after being denied ticket by the BJP and secured second position, had got the accused released. Later, all the accused turned out to be Hindu activists who had worked for the BJP. There was public outrage against Kateel and Sadananda Gowda.

Nalin Kumar Kateel had also condemned the third degree treatment to Hindu activists.
Thiruvananthapuram, May 19 : Two men were killed when a wild buffalo attacked them in Erumeli in Kerala's Kottayam district.

Chackochen was busy reading the day's newspaper at his house on Friday, when a wild buffalo attacked him and he died instantly.

His friend, Thomas who lives next door to Chackochen also was attacked by the buffalo, and despite fighting for his life at the Kottayam Medical College hospital, succumbed to injuries.

Outraged by the attack and the deaths, the locals assembled in large numbers and blamed the forest officials for their callousness in tackling this menace.

Angry protesters took to the main road and blocked traffic.

"Just as people live peacefully in towns and cities, we too have the right to live peacefully. The problem today is in yesteryears our forefathers used to ensure that adequate food is there for the wild animals, such a mechanism is not there now and hence the wild animals stray into human settlement areas," said an angry local.

Anto Antony, the Congress MP of the area said, "Sad are the state of affairs as there seems to be no action to the genuine problems by the authorities.

"Two lives have gone and if lives of human beings have no value, then what's the use of a government? Steps should be taken to tackle this menace and the wild animal should be shot dead," said Antony.

Incidentally, a similar episode was reported in Trissur, when a wild buffalo strayed into an area, but no untoward incident occurred as the wild buffalo was chased away.

Of late the man-animal conflict in Kerala, especially in the areas bordering forests, have increased, and the locals have taken to protests.
Riyadh, May 19 : Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has arrived in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah to attend the Arab League's 32nd Summit on Friday, marking the first time since the war-torn nation was suspended from the regional body 12 years ago.

Upon his arrival late Thursday night, Assad was greeted by Prince Badr bin Sultan, the deputy governor of Mecca, along with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, and several other local officials, according to the Syrian presidential media office in Damascus.

Striking a positive vibe, Assad smiled while shaking hands with the officials receiving him at the airport.

The visit, the first since the beginning of the ongoing Syrian war in 2011, comes as Damascus and Riyadh have resumed diplomatic missions in both countries, which had been suspended since November 2011.

Earlier this month, the Arab League voted to reinstate Syria's membership in the 22-member regional bloc.

At a meeting of the Arab League Foreign Ministers on Wednesday, Aboul-Gheit had declared that he hoped that "Syria's regaining of its seat is a precursor to the end of its conflict", reports the BBC.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud also welcomed Syria, saying: "Our world today is facing numerous challenges and difficulties that place us at a crossroads... It is necessary for us to stand together and try harder to strengthen joint Arab action to meet them." As a result of the war in Syria, half of the country's pre-conflict population of 22 million have had to flee their homes.

Some 6.8 million people are internally displaced, while another 6 million are refugees or asylum-seekers abroad, reports the BBC.

Even before the February 6 devastating earthquake struck, an estimated 15.3 million people inside Syria were in need of some form of humanitarian assistance -- an all-time high since the war began.
Beijing, May 19 : China said that it has become the world's biggest exporter of cars after overtaking Japan in the first three months of the year.

China exported 1.07 million vehicles in the period, up 58 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2022, the BBC reported.

At the same time Japan's vehicle exports stood at 954,185, after edging up 6 per cent from a year earlier.

China's exports were boosted by demand for electric cars and sales to Russia.

Last year, the Asian giant overtook Germany to become the world's second largest car exporter.

According to China's General Administration of Customs, the country exported 3.2 million vehicles in 2022, compared to Germany's 2.6 million vehicle exports, the BBC reported.

The shift away from fossil fuels has helped fuel the rise of China's motor industry.

First quarter exports of new energy vehicles (NEVs), which includes electric cars, rose by more than 90 per cent, compared to a year earlier.

Tesla's China arm, SAIC -- the owner of the MG brand -- and BYD, which is backed by veteran US investor Warren Buffett, are among China's top exporters of NEVs.

Elon Musk's electric carmaker Tesla has a huge manufacturing plant in Shanghai which exports to regions including Japan and Europe.

Tesla's 'Gigafactory' is currently capable of producing 1.25 million vehicles a year, and the company is planning to further increase capacity.

Last month, it started making Model Y sport utility vehicles for export to Canada, the BBC reported.

China has also seen exports to Russia surge since the start of the Ukraine war, as Western countries imposed trade sanctions on Moscow.

Last, year, Chinese carmakers, including Geely, Chery and Great Wall, saw their market share in Russia jump after rivals including Volkswagen and Toyota quit the country following the invasion of Ukraine.
New Delhi, May 19: The European Parliament's Qatargate bribery scandal is now touching Indian shores. A number of websites in Europe have reported how various countries and individuals seem to be influencing the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) narrative in Europe.

In the latest, the South Asia Press run by exiled Pakistani journalist Taha Siddiqui says that with the latest revelations, Turkey and Pakistan have been linked to the Qatargate scandal through Turkish-British lawyer Hakan Camuz.

Camuz, who had filed cases in London against the Indian Army chief and the Home Minister for alleged war crimes in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in 2021 has admitted to funding an ex-Member of the European Parliament (MEP) who is under investigation for the Qatargate bribery scandal in Belgium and Italy.

Camuz had filed anti-India cases before the Metropolitan Police through his legal firm Stoke White based on investigations by Pakistani entity - Legal Forum for Oppressed Voices of Kashmir (LFOVK). The LFOVK is run by former Pakistani Judge, Justice Ali Nawaz Chowhan and Advocate Nasir Qadri, says the report. Pakistani judge Chowhan has been advocating "lawfare" against India over J&K.

Some Europe-based news websites claim that Qadri has close links to Pakistani agency ISI, the radical party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). He is a frequent visitor to Turkey, one of the few European nations siding with Pakistan to orchestrate the Kashmir issue. Qadri had also started a hashtag on social media platforms asking for the arrest of the Indian Army chief.

The Turkish lawyer, who is based in London, is said to be close to Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family.

Greek website Directus quotes Camuz as saying: "Kashmiri Muslims have only international law to turn to after decades of seeking justice in their own country and only being subjected to further violence for doing so. This means Stoke White must begin the process of justice on their behalf, in a country that we understand respects the rule of law." Camuz now claims that his company signed contracts for "parliamentary services" and paid Euro 75,000 to a company Equality Consultancy. The firm, in turn, is linked to ex-MEP Antonio Panzeri and his assistant Francesco Giorgi. Panzeri, who is currently jailed, remains a focal point of the Qatargate bribery scandal that has rocked Europe's conscience.

A Financial Times article also quoted Camuz saying that he had hired the discredited firm of Panzeri and Giorgi for "ethical lobbying services", which he now claims were for "services" that included fixing meetings with MPs of the European Parliament, holding public events in Brussels, raising questions in the European parliament and getting EU funds for his charitable projects. Camuz has defended himself by saying that he was approached by Giorgi and he was keen to take up human rights campaigns on Syria and Yemen.

Panzeri is being investigated by various authorities for accepting payments from Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania between 2018 and 2022. Panzeri has reportedly admitted to have received up to Euro 2.6 million in payments from these three governments.

Panzeri was the chairperson of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights from January 2017 to July 2019 when the subcommittee took up the case of alleged human rights violations by India in J&K.

It is not just European MPS. Even British politicians have been feted by Doha, who have praised Qatar's human rights record in the parliament.

The Qatargate investigations are of importance to India which is battling intense Pakistan-sponsored terrorism through infiltration of heavily-armed terrorists and drones carrying drugs and weapons to India.

Investigators are focusing on how countries like Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania are making attempts to influence the European Parliament by bribing MPs. The investigations are also linking the Pakistan-Turkey nexus against India where both Camuz and Panzeri have tried to damage India's image and undermine Indian sovereignty.

Pakistan is known to fund anti-India lobbies across the world. As Abhinav Pandya, founder and CEO of the Usanas Foundation, and anti-terrorism expert says: "Kashmir has become a global industry for many. Pakistan has always been active on the global front to internationalise the Kashmir issue. It has cultivated and invested in lobbies in countries like the UK, the USA, Canada and Europe." Pandya says that Islamabad has pumped money in civil society organisations to raise the pitch against India. "There are lots of Islamist groups working as charities and welfare organisations who have good relations with Western governments. They have been peddling a Pakistani agenda on Kashmir. Qatargate is just one of such efforts by Pakistan," says Pandya.

The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative
New York, May 19 : An Indian-American doctor denied that he intentionally drove his family off a cliff in California saying that the Tesla car he was driving malfunctioned -- a claim that has been denied by his wife, media reports said.

Dharmesh A. Patel, 41, of Pasadena, was charged with attempted first-degree murder and child abuse in February to which he pleaded no guilty.

According to The New York Post, Patel told investigators that the sensor on his Model Y electric car indicated it had low tire pressure as he was driving his wife and two children on the Pacific Coast Highway on January 2 this year.

He further told the investigators that he was trying to stop to check the tires when the vehicle tumbled down the cliff overlooking the ocean, court documents released on Wednesday said.

His wife Neha denied his claims, according to the documents obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle.

"He's depressed. He's a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He purposely drove off," Neha told the rescuers.

Patel, a radiologist at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Los Angeles, was transported to San Mateo County jail after his release from the hospital where he was treated for "serious lower body injuries".

His wife and two children, aged four and seven, also sustained serious injuries.

Patel told investigators he and his family were on their way to Montara, a beach town where his brother lived, the Post reported, adding he stopped at three gas stations because Tesla's dashboard sensors kept indicating the tire pressure was low.

He added while he was on the Pacific Coast Highway, the car "began to feel different.

"Patel also said his wife had been "irritated" just before the crash because she didn't want to stop by his brother's house.

He also told officers he was not on any medication or under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.

"When asked if he felt depressed, he related he was not really depressed, he just felt down because times were bad in the world (with) the war and the drugs," California Highway Patrol Officer Aaron Sapien wrote in the documents.

According to witnesses, the Tesla didn't show signs of slowing down before it plummeted off the cliff and the police report also does not indicate a malfunction.

San Mateo District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said in January the Tesla was not in self-driving mode when it plunged into the rocky beachside bluff.

If convicted of murder charges, Patel could get a life sentence in prison.
Lucknow, May 19 : As high temperatures begin to set in, the water level of Gomti river in Lucknow has dropped two feet below the normal level of 346.7 feet.

The lack of supply from Sharda Canal for the past one month is a factor is dropping of water level.

The normal level is the lowest "intake point" for Jalkal's pumping station at Gaughat water works for supplying drinking water to the Old City areas.

When the water level drops below normal, the pumping station is unable to draw water from the river.

According to officials, if the same situation continues for four more days, there will be a water crisis in about 16 localities of the Old City, including Aminabad, Aishbagh, Nakhas, Rakabganj, Naka, KKC, Lalbagh, and Latouche Road, overall affecting about 10 lakh population.

Officials said that if the supply by the irrigation department from Sharda Canal does not resume in the next couple of days, they will have to cut down supply to residents by 30 minutes, both in the morning and evening.

The supply from the Sharda Canal has been cut off for the past one month because the water from it is being diverted to villages for refurbishing ponds and other water bodies.

This is the second time this year that the Gomti water level has dropped below normal.

Earlier, it happened in February because of lack of winter rains.

In fact, low water discharge in Gomti has become a problem in the past 10 years due to decline in average annual rainfall and indiscriminate ground water extraction.

High temperatures in summers often aggravate the problem.

According to Jal Sansthan general manager, Ram Kailash, talks are underway with the irrigation department to release 100 cusecs of water daily from the Sharda canal to the Gomti river.

"We hope to avert the crisis as the irrigation department has assured to resume supply in the next 4-5 days," he said.

Geologist Prof Dhruvsen Singh from Lucknow University said that there is a need to find a concrete plan to save the Gomti.

He explained that the river originates from Gomat Taala in Pilibhit and relies on groundwater and rainwater for its sustenance.

However, over the past decade, there has been a consistent decrease in rainfall, leading to a reduction in the river's water level.

Additionally, unregulated extraction of groundwater in the Tarai belt has further contributed to the reduction in the water level of the river.
Bengaluru, May 19 : Karnataka Congress President and designated DyCM D.K. Shivakumar on Friday stated that the swearing-in ceremony of the Congress government on May 20 will be a historical event.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Shivakumar stated that the new government which is the voice of the people and which is looked up to by the people is going to take shape on Saturday.

"All our national leaders are coming to attend the swearing-in ceremony. On the first day of the cabinet, we are going to implement all the guarantee schemes. Many national leaders are also participating in the event.

"I call upon all Congress workers and leaders to consider this statement through the media as an invitation and attend the programme. The people need to reach the venue before 11 a.m.," he stated.

"I invite other party leaders from JD(S), BJP to attend the event as they are also part of the government," he said.

"We are going to meet AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala regarding finalisation of the first stage of cabinet expansion," he said.

Shivakumar, answering a question on region or caste wise priorities in cabinet formation, stated, "Our first priority is to keep the word given to the people. There is no scope of confusion. We will work unitedly. We don't have caste or region based priorities. There is only one region," he said.

Asked about any conditions applying for guarantee schemes, Shivakumar explained that these schemes are not given by Siddaramaiah or himself. "One scheme was promised by Rahul Gandhi, the Gruhalaxmi scheme was announced by Priyanka Gandhi and we (Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar) have announced others. These are vows given by the Congress," he added.
Los Angeles, May 19 : Hollywood star Johnny Depp has recently stepped out at Cannes Film Festival, with his "rotting teeth" at the centre of discussion among fans.

The Hollywood star has been working on his first feature film in three years, 'Jeanne Du Barry' which sees the 59-year-old play King Louis XV, reports 'Mirror.co.uk'.

With fans completely taken aback by Johnny's teeth, fans have claimed that they were "rotting". After seeing the images of him at Cannes online, one fan compared him to his Pirates of the Caribbean character when they penned: "He turning into 'Captain Jack Sparrow' for real." While another said: "Johnny Depp's teeth are literally ROTTING." As per 'Mirror.co.uk', now it has emerged that almost three decades before being trolled for his teeth, Johnny spoke of how proud he was of them. Back in 1995 he gushed: "I've got loads of cavities. I had a root canal done eight years ago that's unfinished. It's like a rotten little stub." In the chat with Premiere Magazine, he went on to say that he's "proud" of his gnashers, with him claiming to "like" his smile.

He went on: "It's like when the Indians would make something beaded, they would always put imperfections on it. I'm proud of these." The then-31-year-old Hollywood hunk then spoke of how people with "perfect teeth" would drive him up the wall, with him adding: "I'd rather swallow a tick than have that!"

This comes a day after the now-59-year-old actor addressed claims that he has been "boycotted" in Hollywood.

He previously claimed that there was a "boycott" of him in Hollywood in a 2021 interview, which followed on from the Amber Heard libel court case, but now Johnny claims to no longer feel "boycotted".

Asked about feeling "boycotted" by Hollywood, the Pirates of the Caribbean star spoke of how he felt "boycotted" previously, but now does not.

He added: "Do I feel a boycott now? No, not at all. I don't feel boycotted by Hollywood because I don't think about Hollywood. Johnny then said that he doesn't have "much further need" for Hollywood, with the actor touching upon how he finds it to be a "strange" time where everybody "wants to be themselves, but they can't, they must fall in line, conform".
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. Georgia domestic exports from January through April 2023 amounted to $1.96 billion, marking a significant 23.6 percent increase compared to the same period last year, Trend reports.

In the reporting period, local exports accounted for 50.3 percent of the total exports, totaling $986.8 million, which is 18.3 percent lower than January-April 2022, latest statistics say.

Russia, with $178.5 million, China, with $147.9 million, and Turkey, with $122.2 million, were identified as Georgia's key trading partners.

The primary export goods from Georgia were as follows: copper ores and concentrates - $253.1 million (25.6% of total exports); ferro-alloys - $84.4 million (8.6%); wine - $78.4 million (7.9%).

Meanwhile, Levan Davitashvili, Georgian Economy Minister, emphasized the significance of local production, highlighting it as the primary source of employment in the country. He noted that the increased export figures directly correlate with the employment opportunities provided by Georgian enterprises.
New Delhi, May 19 : Experts say that the higher tax collection at source (TCS) rate of 20 per cent on overseas remittances makes it almost mandatory to file Indian income tax returns.

Kunal Savani, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas said in many past instances, persons remitting the funds overseas (mainly for travel purpose) would accept 5 per cent TCS as additional cost and not file their Indian income tax returns. Higher TCS rate (20 per cent makes it almost mandatory for individuals remitting funds overseas to file their Indian income tax returns and claim the TCS paid either as refund or adjust it against their tax liability.

Savani said separately, 20 per cent TCS for travel expenses can also be seen as an indirect measure to support our Indian tourism industry which was the worst hit during the pandemic. This move will discourage many residents from overseas travelling and look at travel destinations within India.

The Finance Ministry in a clarification said that instances have come to notice where the LRS payments are disproportionately high when compared to the disclosed incomes.

There are no changes in medical or Education expenses -- Position stays as it was before the Finance Act 2023.

Primary Impact only on investment in assets such as real estate, bonds, stocks outside India by HNI and tour travel packages or gifts to non-residents. Those individuals remitting from their own funds are normally expected to be higher-income taxpayers, and for those remitting through institutional loans for education, a concessional rate of 0.5 per cent is provided.

While on a visit abroad, a person could use international debit cards or other methods or international credit cards for undertaking current account transactions. Payments by debit cards, etc., have been treated as LRS even earlier. Due to the exemption under erstwhile Rule 7, expenditures through credit cards were not accounted for under the specified LRS limit, which has led to some individuals exceeding the LRS limits, the Finance Ministry said.

Data collected from top money remitters under LRS reveals that international credit cards are being issued with limits in excess of the present LRS limit of USD 2,50,000. The differential treatment between debit cards and credit cards needed to be removed in the interest of uniformity and equity in the treatment of modes of drawal of foreign exchange and for capturing total expenditures under LRS for prudent foreign exchange management and to prevent by-passing of LRS limits. RBI had written to the government on more than one occasion, pointing to the need to remove this differential treatment.

Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, all resident individuals, including minors, are allowed to freely remit up to USD 2,50,000 per financial year (April - March) for any permissible current or capital account transaction or a combination of both.

Further, resident individuals can avail of foreign exchange facility for the purposes mentioned within the limit of USD 2,50,000 only.

Under the LRS, in the financial year 2021-22, a total of USD 19.61 billion was remitted, rising from USD 12.68 billion in 2020-21. In 2022-23, it rose to more than USD 24.0 billion, of which overseas travel accounted for more than half.

(Sanjeev Sharma can be reached at Sanjeev.s@ians.in)
Kolkata, May 19 : A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Friday refused to hear a plea filed by Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on a fast-track basis.

The plea challenges the order of a single-judge bench of Justice Amrita Sinha allowing central agencies to question Banerjee in a matter related to the school-recruitment case in West Bengal.

The division bench comprising Justices Subrata Talukdar and Supratim Bhattacharya refused to hear the matter stating that there were some other pending hearings scheduled for Friday.

The matter has now been referred back to the Calcutta High Court's Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam for him to decide.

On Thursday evening, Banerjee's counsel had approached the Chief Justice with an appeal for the fast-track hearing.

The Calcutta High Court will be going for a summer vacation from May 22 and it is closed this coming weekend.

However, Justice Talukdar at the same time verbally advised Banerjee's counsel to approach the vacation bench if they deemed it necessary.

On Thursday, Justice Sinha's bench while allowing the central agencies to question Banerjee and expelled youth Trinamool Congress leader Kuntal Ghosh in the case, also imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakhs each on the two.

Banerjee's name surfaced after Ghosh wrote letters to a local police station as well as to the judge of a lower court accusing central agencies of putting pressure on him to name the Trinamool general secretary in the alleged scam.

Initially, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay had empowered the central agencies for questioning Banerjee. But he approached the Supreme Court in the matter.

Following the order of the Supreme Court, two related cases in the matter were transferred to the bench of Justice Sinha.
Patna, May 19 : Two persons were killed and three others injured when a pick-up van crashed into a makeshift barrier in Patna's outskirt village Bihta, police said here on Friday.

The occupants of the pick-up van were returning from Bihta after a marriage ceremony late on Thursday night. The bride's 15-year-old brother also lost his life in the incident.

SHO Pramod Kumar said that the accident took place at Pathtolia embankment under Bihta police station. The people were returning home after the 'tilak' ceremony when the driver of the vehicle lost control and crashed into a makeshift barrier.

"Some of the people were sitting on the van's rooftop. When the vehicle crashed into the barrier, they somersaulted and fell," Kumar said.

"The driver of the vehicle managed to flee from the spot. Efforts are on to nab him," he said.

"On being informed, a team immediately rushed to the spot and rescued them. One of the deceased Vivek Kumar died on the spot while another named Natak Mahto (40) succumbed in the hospital. Three persons also sustained injuries and are battling for their lives in the hospital," Kumar said.

The victims were natives of Dayalchak village under Doriganj police station in Saran district.
Canberra, May 19 : Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) on Friday announced that a tsunami warning is currently in place for Lord Howe Island, after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck southeast of the Loyalty Islands.

The BOM warned that for the marine environment of Lord Howe Island, there is the possibility of dangerous rips, waves, and strong ocean currents, and some localised overflow onto the immediate foreshore, which are expected to commence after 4.15 p.m. on Friday and persist for several hours, reports Xinhua news agency.

While evacuations are not necessary for marine threat areas, the BOM urged people in these areas to get out of the water and move away from the immediate water's edge.

The weather authority also noted that an 8-cm tsunami wave has been observed in New Caledonia.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake struck at 2.57 a.m., and its epicentre, with a depth of 37.7 km, was determined to be at 23.229 degrees south latitude and 170.694 degrees east longitude.

In a report, the US Tsunami Warning System said that hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within 1,000 km of the epicentre along the coasts of Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji.

The Loyalty Islands is one of three administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia encompassing the Loyalty Island archipelago in the Pacific, which are located northeast of the New Caledonian mainland of Grande Terre.
Colombo, May 19 : Sri Lanka and Uttar Pradesh are planning to strengthen ties by promoting the Ramayana trail in the island nation and the Buddhist trail in the Indian state through a formal framework.

In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry in Colombo, the decision was taken following a meeting between Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday in Lucknow.

"The discussions centred on the ancient and strong cultural and religious affinities between Uttar Pradesh and Sri Lanka and the ways to further strengthening them through tourism as well as religious and cultural exchanges," the statement said.

Wednesday's talks were a follow up of an initial meeting between the envoy and the Chief Minister in October 2021.

Symbolising the close ties between Buddhism and Hinduism and Uttar Pradesh and Sri Lanka, High Commissioner Moragoda proposed to plant a Bo sapling from island's southern city of Rumassala in Ayodhya.

According to popular beliefs, Rumassala is part of the mythical Sanjeevani mountain which was carried by Lord Hanuman when he was assigned to bring a herb of the same name to cure Lord Rama's brother Lakshman who was severely injured in a battle with Ravana's son.

During the meeting, two large photographs of Sri Lankan origin were presented to the Chief Ministe to be installed at the Varanasi International Airport, marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Indo-Lanka diplomatic relations this year.

The photographs feature two murals painted by the eminent Sri Lankan painter Solias Mendis in the Kelaniya Rajamaha Vihara, depicting the arrival of Arahat Mahinda in Sri Lanka from India to delivering the message of the Buddha to King Devanampiyatissa.

The second marks the arrival of Theri Sanghamitta to Sri Lanka, bearing the right-hand branch sapling of the sacred Sri Maha Bodhi tree.

Similar photographs have been installed at the Kushinagar and Ahmedabad airports; the RSS Headquarters in Nagpur; and office of the State Minister of External Affairs and Culture at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi.

As part of an ongoing programme to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Indo-Lanka diplomatic relations, action has been initiated to install similar photographs at Bodh Gaya International Airport as well, the High Commission stated.

High Commissioner Moragoda also presented Adityanat, a stone obtained from the stream flowing besides the Seetha Amman Temple in Seetha Eliya (Ashoka Vatika) in Sri Lanka, which is believed to be the site where Sita was held captive By Ravana.
New Delhi, May 19 : The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Bihar government to produce original records in connection with the remission granted to former MP Anand Mohan, who was sentenced to life term in the 1994 murder of G. Krishnaiah, the then district magistrate of Gopalganj.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and J.B. Pardiwala directed the Bihar government counsel to produce the original records related to the remission granted to Mohan for the perusal of the court. The apex court has scheduled the matter for further hearing in August.

On May 8, the Supreme Court had issued notice on a plea of the widow of IAS officer G. Krishnaiah, who was lynched in 1994 by a mob led by Singh, against Anand Mohan's premature release from prison.

The plea filed by Umadevi Krishnaiah said: "The sentence of imprisonment for life given to a convict as a substitute for death sentence must be viewed differently and segregated from the ordinary life imprisonment given as the sentence of first choice. Life imprisonment, when awarded as a substitute for death penalty, has to be carried out strictly as directed by the court and would be beyond application of remission." "Imprisonment for life means full natural course of life and cannot be mechanically interpreted to be 14 years. It means that imprisonment for life lasts until the last breath," it said.

Anand Mohan was released from the Saharsa jail following an amendment in Bihar's prison rules.

The plea said Mohan is a politically influential person and has committed the murder of G. Krishnaiah, a serving IAS Officer, while himself being an MLA. He enjoys political support and has several criminal cases pending against him.

The plea argued that Rule 481(1)(c) of Bihar Prison Manual, 2012 provides that convicts whose death sentence has been commuted to life sentence will be eligible for consideration of remission only after completion of 20 years of sentence.

In 1994, Krishnaiah, then District Magistrate of Gopalganj, who hailed from Telangana, was beaten to death by a mob when his vehicle tried to overtake the funeral procession of gangster Chhotan Shukla. The mob was instigated by Anand Mohan.
New Delhi, May 19 : In a growing bureaucratic standoff, Delhi Services Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj on Friday expressed his displeasure over the lack of response from Lieutenant Governor (L-G) V.K. Saxena regarding the transfer of Services Secretary Ashish More.

Bhardwaj claimed that since there was no communication from the L-G's office in the past two days, it prompted him to write a letter urgently requesting the clearance of the file.

Highlighting the importance of the transfer, the Minister emphasized that the government intends to implement several significant changes, and the appointment of a new Services Secretary was a crucial step.

The matter was first raised by Bhardwaj on Thursday, and following the Civil Services Board (CSB) meeting held two days ago, the file was sent to L-G Saxena for final approval.

With the delay in receiving a response, the Minister has now resorted to a formal letter, urging the L-G to promptly address the matter and expedite the clearance process.

"We had sent a proposal to change the Secretary (Services) two days back. After the order of Hon'ble Supreme Court, the elected government wishes to make several administrative changes for which change in Secretary (Services) is important. A lot of work is held up due to that," says the letter sent by Bhardwaj to the L-G on Friday.

"Constitution Benches of Hon'ble Supreme Court have said in their two judgments that Hon'ble LG should exercise power of difference of opinion in rarest of rare cases. Change in Secretary (Services) is a very routine matter and not a fit case for exercise of difference of opinion. (The) 2018 judgement of Hon'ble Supreme Court had said that files should not be sent to Hon'ble L-G for his approval, only decisions should be conveyed.

"However, GNCTD Amendment Act overturned SC judgement. Now, we have to send all routine files also to Hon'ble LG. This GNCTD Amendment Act is under challenge in Hon'ble Supreme Court. I sincerely urge you to kindly clear the file for change of Secretary (Services) soon," it added.

Earlier on Thursday, Bharadwaj had asserted his authority over the Services Department by instructing officials to seek his approval before issuing any orders.

The directive comes precisely one week after the Supreme Court granted executive control over services matters, excluding those pertaining to land, police, and public order, to the elected government.

In a clear display of his authority, Bharadwaj stated in an order: "In supersession of all previous directives, it is now mandated that no orders concerning any category of employees shall be issued by the chief secretary, secretary (services), or the services department without my explicit approval."
Shimla, May 19 : In a major reprieve, the Supreme Court has permitted axing of khair trees on government forest land in 10 forest divisions of Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu said on Friday.

He said that the government had pleaded the case in the court and it has delivered the judgment in favour of the state.

"A working plan is ready for the felling of khair trees in five forest divisions - Una, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Nalagarh and Kutlehar - and the yield prescribed is 16,500 trees per annum. The extraction of khair will commence shortly," an official statement quoting the Chief Minister said.

He said that the preparation of a working plan for the remaining five forest divisions - Nahan, Paonta Sahib, Dharamshala, Nurpur and Dehra - are underway. Forest officers would initiate the process of inspecting the forests and counting of khair trees would be conducted to prepare a working plan for these five forest divisions.

According to Sukhu, the felling of khair trees is better for forest management and its rejuvenation, besides revenue generation for the state exchequer. Most of the khair trees are decaying due to non-extraction of the timber in time and this is a major obstacle in the direction of better forest management.

The Chief Minister said that the Supreme Court had allowed the felling of khair trees in 2018 on an experimental basis to know the results of silviculture felling of khair trees.

"Now the apex court was convinced with the opinion of the Forest Department as the Central Empowered Committee had submitted its findings to the court and it has allowed the felling of khair trees," he added.
It's not Mammootty and Mohanlal who have fans association, now a new one for Kerala's rogue elephant-Arikomban. Image Source: IANS News

It's not Mammootty and Mohanlal who have fans association, now a new one for Kerala's rogue elephant-Arikomban. Image Source: IANS News

Thiruvananthapuram, May 19 : Surprisingly, Kerala's rogue elephant 'Arikomban', which has trampled over ten people and ransacked several rationshops to steal rice has a huge fanbase in the state's Idukki district.

Apparently, a group of auto drivers at Annakara in the hill station has formed the Arikomban Fans Association.

It was here that the elephant was first tranquilised and moved into a forest area away from human settlements after a long struggle by the forest officials, along with a big contingent of police and locals.

On Friday, at Anakkara, huge flex boards could be spotted under the name of Arikomban Fans Association.

"We watched the entire operation when Arikomban was captured. When the operation was on, a few elephant calves were watching it. We are sad that Arikomban who lived here was forcefully removed. We really felt sad and decided to come out with this new association," said a few auto rickshaw drivers.

Another passionate Arikomban fan, also an auto rickshaw driver, said the elephant was captured in the second attempt.

"We know that a huge sum of money has been spent on this operation, if the officials had used one fourth of the expenses, it could have been safely rehabilitated here itself, which was its most favorite location. What we say is not the opinion of a few, but a good majority," said the driver.

Arikomban was christened so because he had a liking for rice (in Malayalam ari means rice and komban means tusker) and his targets were mostly rice shops and homes where rice was stored.

As per the latest news, Arikomban which has been fitted with a radio collar after it was captured last month, now is in the vicinity of the area from which it was captured last month and its fans are probably waiting for its return.
Kiev, May 19 : Ukrainian government officials have confirmed that President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the ongoing G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, in person, marking his first trip to Asia since Russia launched its full scale invasion in February 2022.

In a live TV address to the nation, Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, said: "Who would doubt that our President would be present there? We are confident that our President will be where he needs to be, anywhere in the world, to address the sustainability of our country.

"Very important things will be decided there, so the physical presence of our President is absolutely important in order to defend our interests, to provide clear proposals and clear arguments on the events that are taking place in our country." The announcement comes a day after the Japanese government said on Thursday that Zelensky will attend the three-day Summit online,reports Ukrayinska Pravda.

In his announcement, Danilov also stressed the importance of face-to-face meetings.

"Because when a person is far away, across the ocean or somewhere else, they do not always feel and understand what is happening here in our country," he added.

"It is the physical presence of our president that is extremely, extremely important at such events," CNN quoted the top official as saying G7 member countries -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US -- include Ukraine's largest backers.

As the Summit got underway, a joint statement of the G7 leaders said: "We are renewing our commitment to provide the financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support Ukraine requires for as long as it takes.

"We are imposing further sanctions and measures to increase the costs to Russia and those who are supporting its war effort. We are also building on the success of our efforts to ensure that Russia is no longer able to weaponise the availability of energy against the world." The statement also said that "Russian troops' complete and unconditional withdrawal" is required for peace, reports the BBC.

The Summit's main point of focus is the Ukraine war, and the US will also announce fresh sanctions against Russia, including a ban on 70 entities from receiving US exports, as well as 300 new mesures on other individuals or entities, aimed at crippling Moscow's "war machine" in Kiev.

The UK has also announced new sanctions against Russia, targeting companies connected to the theft of Ukrainian grain and those involved in the shipment of Russian energy.

Meanwhile, Arab diplomats confirmed to CNN that Zelenksy will first stop at Jeddah to attend the Arab League's 32nd Summit on Friday.

Although, there has been no official confirmation on this development from Ukraine.

Earlier this month, he visited France, Germany and the UK, where he secured defence aid packages worth millions of dollars.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. A rally against direct flights between Russia and Georgia is being held near the Georgian Parliament, Trend reports citing Georgian media.

The protesters demand an immediate ban on direct flights from Russia.

Politicians, civil activists and ordinary citizens have gathered in front of the parliament.
Ahmedabad, May 19 : As Bageshwar Dham's Dhirendra Shastri from Madhya Pradesh prepares to visit Gujarat, a wave of controversy is sweeping across the state.

With both support and opposition mounting for Shastri, preparations for the "divine durbar" are underway in Rajkot, Surat, and Ahmedabad.

Former Gujarat Chief Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela has openly criticised Shastri, accusing him "of being a marketing tool for the BJP, indulging in politics under the guise of religion". He further alleged that "false miracles and religious propaganda were being disseminated by the BJP as part of their political strategy." Pratap Dudhat, former MLA of Liliya, Savarkundla, penned a satirical letter to Shastri regarding the price of cotton, asking him to leverage his divine power to increase cotton prices for farmers from Rs 1500 to Rs 2400 as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016.

Meanwhile, the Hindutva youth leader Shastri is set to hold a session at Racecourse in Rajkot on June 1 and 2.

Rajkot commercial co operative Bank CEO Purushottam Piparia, however, has challenged Shastri on social media, asking him to reveal how drugs come into Gujarat.

Piparia has promised a reward of five lakhs for this information, while simultaneously accusing Shastri of misusing vashikaran science and promoting superstition.
New Delhi, May 19 : The Reserve Bank of India may cancel the licences of a few asset reconstruction companies (ARC) who had been issued show cause notices.

RBI had earlier sent show cause notices to a few asset reconstruction companies (ARCs), seeking answers on why their licences should not be cancelled, as per media reports.

RBI is contemplating cancelling the licenses of four Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) namely, Omkara Asset Reconstruction Pvt Ltd, Rare Asset Reconstruction Pvt Ltd, CFM Asset Reconstruction Pvt Ltd, and Invent ARC Pvt Ltd.

According to the reports, the move follows a special audit conducted by the banking regulator after the income tax (I-T) department raided the premises of these ARCs in 2021.

The I-T department, which carried out search and seizure operations on four ARCs in December 2021, found a nexus between the borrower group and ARCs and a maze of shell or dummy companies used in acquiring non-performing assets (NPAs), as per the media reports.

In a release, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said, "The search has revealed that the minimum cash payout made out by the ARCs to lender banks for acquiring the stressed assets or NPAs have usually been using the funds of the borrower group. Such funds have been routed through several layers of dummy companies controlled by the borrower group or through hawala channels."
Dhaka, May 19 : Customs officials at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka seized 204 gold bars worth some $2.33 million, a local official said.

Kazi Farid Uddin, a senior official of the customs intelligence department, told journalists that the 204 gold bars, were seized from a flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, reports Xinhua news agency.

He said the BG-122 flight landed in Dhaka at around 11.30 a.m. on Thursday from Muscat, via Chittagong.

According to the official, the gold bars were left abandoned in the cargo hold of the aircraft.

Acting on a tip-off, Uddin said the customs officials searched the aircraft and recovered the gold bars wrapped in clothes.

No one was arrested in connection with the seizure, according to local authorities.
Bengaluru, May 19 : Pressure is mounting on AICC President Mallikarjuna Kharge from senior Congress leaders in Karnataka to create more posts of the Deputy Chief Minister.

The AICC has announced only one Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) post for Karnataka which will be taken up by the party's state president, D.K. Shivakumar.

Some of the senior leaders who have made the demand are G. Parameshwara, Shamanur Shivashankarappa, Satish Jarkiholi, M.B. Patil and Ramalinga Reddy.

Parameshwara said that the party should consider him for the post, adding that it should also consider the request of oppressed classes who have voted for Congress.

"It is better to consider the request in this regard before the community responds," he said.

The supporters of Ramalinga Reddy and community leaders have claimed that their leader is more senior than Shivakumar and Chief Ministerial candidate Siddaramaiah.

They further asserted that Ramalinga Reddy won more elections than Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah and hence he should be considered for the post of Deputy Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, former Union Minister K.H. Muniyappa said that for the past 20 years, the demand was being made for a Dalit Chief Minister.

"This time the community has to be given a Deputy Chief Minister's post," he said According to sources, he is lobbying for a top portfolio in the new Karnataka government for his daughter Roopa Shashidhar, an MLA from Kolar district.

Muniyappa won from the Devanahalli seat this time.

The sources also said that senior Congress leaders have reached New Delhi and are lobbying for top portfolios.

Ediga Mahamandala President Pranavananda Swamiji has urged that Billava and Ediga communities should be given proper representation.

The community leaders should get the excise portfolio, Swamiji added.
More than a lakh to attend swearing in ceremony in K'taka. Image Source: IANS News

More than a lakh to attend swearing in ceremony in K'taka. Image Source: IANS News

More than a lakh to attend swearing in ceremony in K'taka. Image Source: IANS News

More than a lakh to attend swearing in ceremony in K'taka. Image Source: IANS News

Bengaluru, May 19 : The Congress is expecting over one lakh people at Siddaramiah's swearing-in ceremony on Saturday here and arrangements are in full swing.

Kanteerava Stadium, the venue of the swearing-in event, has seating capacity for more than 25,000 people. The authorities are planning to accommodate others in the playground. Siddaramaiah had taken oath in the same venue as the CM in 2013.

The official circular confirmed participation of 11 VVIPs in the event. Congress' former Presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Puducherry CM N. Rangaswamy and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren are taking part in the event. West Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee has also been invited but reports said that she has deputed her party MP for the event.

Siddaramaiah will be taking oath as the Chief Minister while D.K. Shivakumar will be sworn-in as the Deputy Chief Minister at 12.30 p.m.

According to sources, Kannada superstar Shivaraj Kumar, who had campaigned for Congress party, has also been invited to the function.

Preparations were kept in mind in view of the 'Z' plus and 'Z' category security for the CMs of various states and Congress dignitaries. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will be deputed to ensure security. An Advance Security Liaison (ASL) meeting is being conducted to ensure foolproof security.

The Karnataka Police have deputed 12 ACPs, 11 reserve police inspectors, 24 ASIs, 206 constables for security.

Meanwhile, Additional Commissioner for Traffic M.A. Saleem has announced prohibitory orders around the 122 examination centers of Bengaluru where the Common Entrance Test (CET) is conducted.

The CET will be attended by more than two lakh students across the state. The exams will be conducted throughout the days on May 20 and 21. Due to the swearing-in ceremony, the students were asked to reach examination centers earlier.

The Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) Executive Director Ramya stated that all preparations are made for the CET exams. Students who are writing exams in the centers located near the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, where the swearing in ceremony is taking place should reach two hours earlier, she added. She noted that those students who have exams in the noon might get stuck in the traffic and they should start much earlier.

The students are being sent bulk messages and also informed over the phone. The traffic police will take action to avoid inconvenience to students, Ramya stated.

Meanwhile, Deputy CM designate and Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar along with other leaders paid a visit to the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium and inspected the preparations.
Tehran, May 19 : Three men who were sentenced to death in connection to last year's anti-government protests in Iran were executed by the authorities on Friday, the judiciary announced.

Majid Kazemi (30), Saleh Mirhashemi (36) and Saeed Yaqoubi (37) were arrested in the city of Isfahan on November 16, 2022, the BBC reported.

They were convicted over their alleged involvement in an attack which killed two Basij paramilitary force members and a police officer during a protest in the city.

Last week, the authorities announced that the Supreme Court had upheld their sentences.

According to Amnesty International, the three men were subjected to unfair trials and allegedly tortured.

"The use of the death penalty against these men is a blatant act of vengeance against a courageous generation of protesters for steadfastly demanding the rights of Iranian people during the past seven months," the BBC quoted Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty's Middle East deputy director, as saying said in a statement.

"The shocking manner in which the trial and sentencing of these protesters was fast-tracked through Iran's judicial system amid the use of torture-tainted 'confessions', serious procedural flaws, and a lack of evidence, is another example of the Iranian authorities' brazen disregard for the rights to life and fair trial." Protests gripped Iran following the custodial death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was detained by morality police in Tehran in September 2022 for allegedly wearing her hijab "improperly".

Dozens of protesters have reportedly been sentenced to death or charged with capital offences for taking part in the nationwide demonstrations.

Since December 2022, four other protesters were executed.
Jaipur, May 19 : The boisterous victory of Congress in Karnataka Assembly polls undoubtedly has left the Congress confident and motivated but not without triggering a debate on whether it can pull off another 2004 in 2024.

The Gehlot government is burning midnight oil to get repeated in the state. It is not leaving any stone unturned to emerge as winner in Assembly polls which are scheduled to be held in or before December.

If it emerges victorious in the Assembly polls, definitely, it shall work harder to snatch 25 Lok Sabha seats from BJP.

In the 2018 election, Congress government came to power and Gehlot took over as the chief minister. However, surprisingly, six months after the election, the party lost all 25 seats to BJP in Lok Sabha polls.

This time, Gehlot is working keeping parliamentary polls in mind. He has already triggered a nationwide debate on OPS and won millions of hearts of those in government jobs. Also, he has been talking of social security for all and has implemented the right to health bill in the state.

Now, after setting these people centric schemes in place, Gehlot has been asking the central government to introduce OPS, Right to Health and social security nationally too.

Even in the Nathdwara programme held recently, Gehlot in presence of Modi, asked him to launch the Social security act and right to health all across the nation.

Surprisingly, ever since, BJP has been quiet and has not given any reply to the demands of Gehlot.

Meanwhile, Gehlot himself is monitoring the Mehangai Rahat Camp and has been travelling from one place to another as a brand ambassador of this campaign, there are crores of people who have taken benefits out of this scheme.

He is trying to get the government repeated at any cost so that he can leverage the benefits of his scheme nationally too.

Sources said Gehlot has given the responsibility of campaigning and strategy for Assembly polls to the team handling the election campaign of Congress in Karnataka. This team is engaged in various experiments like Mehangai Rahat camps. Sources claimed the state government is preparing to spend more than Rs 150 crore. In fact, the same team might join the Madhya Pradesh Congress as well.

While Gehlot is batting from the front foot keeping Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in mind, the former deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, sources said have also hired political strategist Prashant Kishore team which once hailed Narendra Modi's BJP's campaign.

This is perhaps happening for the first time in Rajasthan, when professional teams are working for political parties. Planning secret of the strategists, but many types of survey, campaigning and strategy works are going on.

As Congress won in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh in the last decade, the recent biggest victory in Karnataka has left it motivated.

Karnataka is among the five largest states of the country and the party workers' hard work and anti-incumbency against BJP, has defined the victory in this southern state.

So party workers in Congress are confident of winning the 2024 polls too.

"With the kind of schemes Gehlot has brought in Rajasthan and the way OPS has become a national issue, we are sure to win the elections," a party leader told IANS. "However, we need to fill in the plugs of factionism which are hampering party prospects," he added.
New Delhi, May 19 : The upcoming G20 Summit in India in September has stirred excitement in the global cryptocurrency community.

According to Onramp.money, the G20 Summit could serve as an excellent opportunity for India to exhibit its achievements and inspire other nations to adopt similar legislation. India's chance to demonstrate its accomplishments and promote cryptocurrency & web3 makes the G20 Summit one of the most anticipated events.

With the Indian government achieving major milestones towards acknowledging and supervising digital assets in recent months, and its dedication to fostering innovation in the crypto space firmly entrenched, many are eager to see the progress made by the country.

The G20 Summit presents an exceptional possibility for leaders worldwide to convene and engage in a transparent discussion about the oversight and expansion of the cryptocurrency sector. With representatives from major economies such as the US, China, and the European Union, the G20 Summit has a unique position to encourage global cooperation on this critical matter.

Chandan Kumar, Co-founder, Onramp.money said, "The G20 Summit could be a game-changer for India's role in shaping global cryptocurrency & web3 ecosystem. A successful G20 summit could encourage member nations to align their thought processes and regulatory approaches, thereby creating a more consistent and predictable environment for the overall crypto & web3 ecosystem." For the cryptocurrency industry to attain its full potential, countries must collaborate to establish an integrated and cohesive governance structure. As such, this summit provides a significant opportunity for global collaboration in this area. By creating a framework for the regulation and growth of the cryptocurrency and web3 ecosystem, the G20 leaders can help bring clarity and stability to the industry, which is vital for its continued success.

The G20 Summit presents a great opportunity for nations to collaborate and create a comprehensive set of guidelines to address digital asset risks like money laundering and terrorist financing while promoting innovation and competition in the sector. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has defined international cryptocurrency regulations, especially for virtual asset service providers (VASPs).

The FATF's recommendations for enhanced international regulation coordination have proven significant. However, there is still more to be accomplished, and the G20 Summit is a great opportunity for member countries to expand on these efforts and create a clear and effective regulatory framework that facilitates the growth of the cryptocurrency & web3 sector while managing associated risks.

"Significant improvements to cryptocurrency legislation could result from the global collaboration between crypto companies and financial institutions that the G20 Summit provides. This landmark event has the potential to shape the future of crypto regulations, even with leading central banks around the world like the RBI, exploring the benefits and risks of providing banking access to crypto firms and creating their own CBDCs," added Chandan.

Furthermore, the G20 Summit presents a unique opportunity to tackle the diverse challenges that arise from the taxation of cryptocurrencies. By facilitating a constructive dialogue among member nations, the Summit can lay the foundation for developing fair and consistent tax policies that foster the growth of the crypto sector.

To conclude, a successful G20 Summit might transform the global crypto sphere by fostering innovation, growth, and digital asset applications. G20 nations can create a more connected, efficient, and inclusive financial future by collaborating on cryptocurrency. The Summit can serve as a vital platform to encourage cooperation and build consensus towards a common goal of regulating the crypto & web3 industry, while ensuring a fair and transparent environment for all.
Chennai, May 19 : A Tamil actor has purchased the ancestral house of Google CEO Sundar Pichai in Chennai for an undisclosed sum.

C. Manikandan, a small-time actor and producer who is also into real estate, is thrilled on purchasing the property in Ashok Nagar neighbourhood where Sundar Pichai was born and raised.

He told mediapersons that he feels proud of buying the house where Sundar Pichai was born. "Since Sundar Pichai made India proud, it is exciting to buy the house where he was born," said Manikandan, who plans to build a villa there.

Manikandan has built and delivered around 300 homes under his brand Chellappas Builders in different parts of the city.

According to Manikandan, Sundar Pichai's father R.S. Pichai razed the old structure at his own cost and handed over the plot. The actor revealed that since this was R.S. Pichai's first property, he became emotional while handing over the documents.

Sundar Pichai was born and brought up in Chennai. He is said to have lived in this house till the age of 20 years. He left the city in 1989 to study Metallurgical Engineering at IIT Kharagpur.

When Manikandan heard that the property was for sale, he immediately decided to buy it. He, however, had to wait for R.S. Pichai's return from the US.

He was impressed by the humility of the Google CEO's parents. He revealed that Sundar's mother made a filter coffee herself and his father offered him the documents at the very first meeting.

The actor said Sundar Pichai's father also insisted that the name of his son should not be used to expedite the transfer of ownership of the property and the registration.

Manikandan said R.S. Pichai waited for hours at the registration office, paid all necessary taxes before handing over the documents to him.
Lahore, May 19 : Police in Pakistan's Punjab province on Friday obtained warrants from court to carry out a search at former prime minister Imran Khan's residence, local media reported.

The development comes after the provincial government decided to send a team to hold talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief before conducting the search operation at Zaman Park, Geo News reported.

According to details, an officer of the rank of superintendent of police will lead the party which will also include women personnel. Commissioner Lahore Division will accompany the search team.

The provincial government on Wednesday had claimed that "30-40 terrorists were hiding inside Khan's residence" and gave 24 hours to PTI to hand over these miscreants or face action, Geo News reported.

However, no action was taken after the deadline expired on Thursday.

Later, Punjab Information Minister Amir Mir said that law enforcers will conduct a search operation at Khan's residence after his permission and in front of cameras to apprehend "terrorists".

"We [the interim government] have decided that instead of a head-on collision, we will send a delegation to Khan sahab under the supervision of the Lahore commissioner," Mir told Geo News.

"They will ask him [Khan] to allow them to conduct a search operation. A police party - comprising 400 personnel - will accompany the delegation as there is a reported presence of terrorists," he said.

Earlier, Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Bilal Saddique Kamyana claimed to have arrested six more "terrorists" attempting to flee from Khan's Zaman Park residence.

According to CCPO Kamyana four of the alleged "terrorists" were involved in the attack on Askari Tower while two of them were among those who ransacked the Corps Commander House Lahore.

On Thursday, Punjab province Caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir shared that eight "terrorists" had been arrested while they were escaping from Lahore's Zaman Park area.

The arrested terrorists were wanted in the attack on the Lahore Corps Commander House on May 9, he had said, Geo News reported.
The UK government prohibits the import of Russian copper, aluminum, and nickel, as well as Russian diamonds, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak, Trend reports citing TASS.

Thus, imports of Russian diamonds are expected to be banned later this year, as well as imports of copper, aluminum, and nickel of Russian origin, the statement said.

The announcement also stated that the UK will apply sanctions on 86 Russian individuals and companies involved in the military-industrial complex and sectors that provide export profits to the Russian budget. So far, the UK government has not presented a list of individuals or companies who will face sanctions.

The statement was issued just before the start of the three-day Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
Nashik, May 19 : Giving a new twist to the ongoing controversy, a Mahant on Friday alleged that a Hindu temple exists beneath a prominent dargah (Mausoleum) near the Trimbakeshwar Temple in Nashik.

Mahant Aniket Shastri, the leader of Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti (Maharashtra) has contended that the Hazrat Pir Syed Gulab Shahwali Baba Dargah is actually built on a cave of the Nath Sect of Baba Goraknath.

"There are several Hindu idols including Lord Ganesha, other deities and symbols there.. We demand that the Archaeological Survey of India carry out a proper survey here and reveal the truth," Mahant Shastri told media persons.

Claiming historians had provided the information, he also dropped hints that the Dargah, revered by people of all communities, was reportedly built after razing an old temple of the Nath Sect.

On Thursday, Mahant Shastri had given a call to recite Hanuman Chalisa in mosques, ostensibly in retaliation for the ages old practice of showing 'incense' (dhoop) to the Trimbakeshwar Temple during the annual 'Urs' at the Dargah.

On Friday, the government-appointed SIT reached the Trimbakeshwar Temple to probe the case - which shot into prominence on May 13 after alleged clashes in this pilgrimage centre - and will also meet the Dargah officials.

Meanwhile, in Mumbai, state Congress President Nana Patole led a delegation to the Additional Director General of Police Sanjay Saxena and discussed the issues of Trimbakeshwar Temple and the recent communal clashes in different parts of the state.

Patole demanded to know why the police are not lodging FIRs - as directed by the Supreme Court recently - against those political leaders, particularly from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party who are making "hate speeches", or taking any action against them.

In the past one week alone, riots with a communal tint have erupted in Akola, Ahmednagar and then Nashik for different reasons, though the locals and police in Trimbakeshwar have denied that there were any violence or clashes as alleged there on May 13-14, and the town has remained normal since then.
Mumbai, May 19 : Actor Inaamulhaq, who will be seen in the upcoming Vicky Kaushal- Sara Ali Khan-starrer film 'Zara Hatke Zara Bachke', has shared an interesting anecdote about working with his 'Filmistaan' co-actor, Sharib Hashmi.

Inaamulhaq and Sharib share a close bond having worked together in the National Award-winning film 'Filmistaan'. Both of them started off as writers who then turned into actors. 10 years down the line, their friendship is stronger than ever.

Walking down the memory lane, Inaamulhaq shared: "This is my fifth film with Sharib Hashmi. We first met on the sets of 'Filmistaan' and relate to each other as we share common backgrounds as professionals having started off as writers. We don't have any scenes together in 'Zara Hat Ke Zara Bach Ke'." He further mentioned: "So, just to spend a day with him, I told him that I would accompany him on the sets as his spot boy on my day off. I took the duties on the set that day as his boy and everyone was perplexed as to what was happening but that's the best part about our friendship, there's no place for ego in this friendship." Inaamulhaq also opened up about being very selective with regards to his work despite the huge demand from his fans. The actor maintained that he has always prioritised good stories and he values the quality.

He said: "In the last 10 years, I have done mostly 10-12 significant characters counting web series like 'Maharani'. It's a deliberate attempt on my part in order to prevent getting typecast because unfortunately, in our industry, you start getting the similar kind of work if your previous work gets clicks with the audience at large." "When you start being selective about your work, it always comes with the risk of upsetting a few people because saying no comes at a cost. But, I made that choice because I can't do it as a monotonous job, I have always wanted to do good work and be a part of good stories, stories that make a difference. I always put an effort to pick roles that help me grow as an actor. Having said that, I'm rescheduling and replanning to do more roles which are relatable and stay with the audience," he added.

His filmography comes off as well-rounded with a good mix of mainstream films and the films that are high on the content value. The actor said that it has been a conscious effort on his part to keep a healthy mix of commercial and meaningful films in his body of work.

He said: "I have done both mainstream cinema with big stars 'Airlift', 'Jolly LLB 2' or the recent Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan-starrer film 'Zara Hatke Zara Bachke', and content-driven cinema like 'Filmistaan' or 'Nakkash'. The biggest difference between these lines of cinema is the flow of money, mainstream films come with the luxury of a smooth making process while the content-driven medium budget films face several challenges on the operational front, such films can only be made with the right script, right team and right passion." "I would like to say there should always be a co-existence between all kinds of cinema, it keeps the economy of the industry in check and also helps the audience evolve," he concluded.
Kolkata, May 19 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned Trinamool Congress's national General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee for questioning in connection with the recruitment scam in West Bengal schools on Saturday.

Banerjee, who is in Bankura district now for his pre-scheduled party programme, has confirmed that he will abide by the summon and for that purpose he will be coming back to Kolkata on Friday only.

According to the summons dated May 19, issued by CBI's Deputy Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar Samal, Banerjee has been asked to be present at the agency's Nizam Palace office in central Kolkata by 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Banerjee tweeted: "I have received a summon from the CBI to appear before them tomorrow, on 20th May'23 for examination. Despite not being given even a day's prior notice, I will still abide by the summon. I will give my full cooperation during the course of the investigation. As for my #JonoSanjogYatra, it will resume again on 22nd May'23 from the same location in Bankura where I stop today. Unfazed by these events, I shall strive to serve the people of West Bengal with even greater dedication, zeal and commitment. Bring it on".

On Thursday, the Calcutta High Court's single-judge bench of Justice Amrita Sinha had given the go-ahead signal to central agencies like CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to question Banerjee and expelled Trinamool leader Kuntal Ghosh in the matter.

Justice Sinha also imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakh each on Banerjee and Ghosh for wasting the time of the court.

On Friday morning, Banerjee's counsel approached two division benches of the high court challenging the single-judge bench order and also appealing for a fast-track hearing in the matter. However, both the division benches turned down the plea.

The summons by the CBI followed.
Gurugram, May 19 : A Nigerian man and his aide have been arrested from Delhi on the charges of duping a woman on a matrimonial website of over one lakh rupees on the pretext of sending expensive gifts, police said on Friday.

The accused, Danial Gozie, 38 and Grabilla Sharmilla, 33, a resident of Darjeeling, West Bengal revealed to the police that they duped the complainant woman of Rs 1,73,000, police said.

A woman recently filed a police complaint, stating that she met a man who introduced himself as a project manager in a Turkey-based company on a matrimonial website. The suspect told her that he is sending her a gift parcel," Varun Dahiya, Gurgaon ACP (crime) said.

In her complaint, the victim said she received a call from a woman who introduced herself as a customs official from Mumbai airport and told the victim that her friend Shiva Jadhav has sent a parcel for her.

"She then cheated the victim to the tune of Rs 1,73,000 on the pretext of customs duty and other taxes for the gift parcel," he said.

Further investigation led to the accused's location in Delhi's Om Vihar, Uttam Nagar area, police said, adding that a raid was conducted and the accused were arrested, Dahiya said.
New Delhi, May 19 : The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF) has unveiled a diverse programme of more than 2,000 events for its 32nd edition, which will be held from May 22-28 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

Organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, part of the Department of Culture and Tourism,Abu Dhabi, the fair is set to welcome more than 1,300 exhibitors from nearly 90 countries, with participation from authors, publishers, creatives and other industry professionals from around the globe.

Event attendees can expect an educational immersive and fun experience with a programme ranging from book signings with renowned authors and insightful panel discussions to creative workshops, live art demonstrations, and music performances.

The theme of the fair is 'Sustainability', to coincide with the UAE's 'Year of Sustainability', marking the country's hosting of the annual COP28 conference on climate change in November this year. The fair's programme will include events focused on the future of the planet, with panel discussions covering wider perspectives on sustainability, and exploring ways to make the publishing industry more sustainable.

With the Republic of Turkiye as this year's Guest of Honour, a special programme will celebrate the country's creative output and highlight the cultural exchange between Turkiye and the Arab world. Panel discussions and events will explore Turkish literature and poetry, literary translations of Turkish classics, and the nation's rich culinary traditions in sessions including 'Game Changing Women', 'Philosophy for Children' and 'Turkish Culinary Culture', featuring appearances by renowned authors such as Besir Ayvazoglu and Mehmet Hakki Sucin. The dedicated Turkish pavilion will welcome publishers and partners from across the region, including the Republic of Turkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce.

The Fair's Focus Personality this year is the 14th-century Arab philosopher Ibn Khaldun, widely regarded as the father of the social sciences. The programme will feature sessions and workshops focused on Ibn Khaldun's work and legacy.

The fair will also celebrate Arab literary awards and translation grants, with the Meet the Winners event introducing the laureates of the 2023 Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA), who will also be on hand throughout the fair for meet-and-greets and book signings. The winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) will also be honoured, along with the IPAF shortlisted authors, as ADIBF 2023 marks the 15th anniversary of Abu Dhabi hosting the Prize.

Fairgoers will have the opportunity to hear from a diverse range of international creatives including the author of The Rational Optimist and How Innovation Works Matt Ridley; Spanish philosopher and author Carissa Veliz, an Associate Professor at the Institute for Ethics in AI, University of Oxford; as well as Ali Tabrizi, director of the documentary 'Seaspiracy', one of Netflix's Top Ten most popular films across the globe in 2021.

The festival will also feature a representation of youth across all programmes and activities, including cultural, professional and creative programmes.
Mumbai : Former NCB Zonal Director, Sameer Wankhede, has moved to the Bombay High Court seeking the quashing of the CBI FIR filed against him in the Aryan Khan bribery case, in Mumbai on Friday, May 19, 2023.(Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai : Former NCB Zonal Director, Sameer Wankhede, has moved to the Bombay High Court seeking the quashing of the CBI FIR filed against him in the Aryan Khan bribery case, in Mumbai on Friday, May 19, 2023.(Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai : Former NCB Zonal Director, Sameer Wankhede, has moved to the Bombay High Court seeking the quashing of the CBI FIR filed against him in the Aryan Khan bribery case, in Mumbai on Friday, May 19, 2023.(Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai : Former NCB Zonal Director, Sameer Wankhede, has moved to the Bombay High Court seeking the quashing of the CBI FIR filed against him in the Aryan Khan bribery case, in Mumbai on Friday, May 19, 2023.(Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai, May 19 : The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to refrain from taking any coercive action against Narcotics Control Bureau ex-Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede in the alleged Rs 25-crore bribery case pertaining to the arrest of Aryan Khan after the cruise ship drugs raid.

A vacation bench comprising Justice Sharmila Deshmukh and Justice Arif Doctor also said that prima facie, there was a legal bar under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Section 17A, mandating the probe to be completed within four months of the alleged offence that had occurred in 2021.

However, since the notice is issued under Section 41A, the judges restrained the CBI from any coercive action against Wankhede till Monday, May 22, when his matter would come up for hearing, according to the IRS officer's lawyer, Rizwan Merchant.

On his part, Wankhede said that he had complete faith in the country's judiciary and the Central government to give him justice in the false case in which he was being implicated.
Kolkata, May 19 : A political slugfest has erupted in West Bengal over the CBI summon to Trinamool Congress' national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee for questioning in connection with the alleged recruitment scam in state-run schools in West Bengal.

According to the summon issued by CBI's Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sanjay Kumar Samal, Banerjee has been asked to be present at the agency's Nizam Palace office in Kolkata by 11 a.m. on Saturday.

On his part, Banerjee has claimed that although his legal advisors advised him to avoid the notice sent without any prior intimation, he has decided to abide by the summon to prove his point.

"I am saying again that if I am proven guilty of involvement in any kind of corrupt activities, I am ready to be hanged in public," Abhishek Banerjee said.

Trinamool spokesman Kunal Ghosh said, "Abhishek Banerjee is neither scared nor tense. Despite two letters from accused Sudipta Sen against the leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari about the latter's involvement in the Saradha chit fund scam, the CBI did not summon Adhikari even once. My question is why Abhishek Banerjee is being unnecessarily summoned just by involving him in a case using jugglery of words." CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said that had Abhishek Banerjee not been scared, why was he approaching the courts to avoid summons and questioning?

"There is no need for him to get hanged in public. He should rather cooperate with the investigation," Chakraborty said.

According to Suvendu Adhikari, the disinclination of Abhishek Banerjee to face the CBI in the matter became clear from the beginning.

"Even the court has questioned the CBI about the progress in the matter. Finally, the central agency has summoned him and all the attempts to avoid the questioning have failed," Adhikari said.
London, May 19 : Rolls-Royce today announced that it has successfully completed the first tests of its UltraFan technology demonstrator at its facility in Derby, UK. The first tests were conducted using 100 per cent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

This is a historic moment for Rolls-Royce - it is the first time in 54 years that the aero-engine manufacturer has tested a brand-new engine architecture and is proof of what can be achieved when industry and Governments work together.

Confirming the capability of the suite of technologies incorporated in the demonstrator is a big step towards improving the efficiency of current and future aero-engines. UltraFandelivers a 10 per cent efficiency improvement over the Trent XWB, which is already the world's most efficient large aero engine in service.

In the nearer term, there are options to transfer technologies from the UltraFan development programme to current Trent engines, providing our customers with even greater availability, reliability and efficiency.
New Delhi, May 19 : Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud on Friday told an advocate that he will not permit forum shopping.

A bench headed by the Chief Justice made this remark during the process of mentioning of cases. A lawyer mentioned a case even though the same case was mentioned the day before a bench headed by Justice K.M. Joseph. The lawyer submitted that this was a case of encounter.

The Chief Justice told the lawyer: "You went to Justice Joseph, today you are here. You can go to some other judge then. You can just pick and choose your judge. I will not permit forum shopping as the CJI." "A message to the bar, you have a tough CJI and such practices will not be allowed." In another incident during the mentioning of cases process, the Chief Justice pulled up a lawyer for not showing respect to a woman lawyer before him.

"What are you doing? There is a lady in front of you.. show some respect. Is this how you behave at home and outside? You are putting your arm around her to get the mike...," he said.

The Chief Justice refused to hear the lawyer's matter and told him to come back the next day.
New Delhi, May 19 : The Special Enquiry Team (SET) of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has alleged in its report that members of Sameer Wankhede's team 'stole' valuables from the accused individuals caught in the Aryan Khan case.

It has been alleged that they stole Nupur Satija's Apple watch.

"There are allegations of valuables being taken away without documentation. Several witnesses examined by the SET stated that their valuables were taken away by officers of the NCB Mumbai without documentation. Accused Nupur Satija has complained regarding the theft of her Apple watch," read the SET report.

The Controversy Sameer Wankhede, the former Mumabai zonal director of NCB, finds himself in a precarious position as allegations have emerged that he attempted to extort Rs 25 crore from Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan in exchange of releasing his son Aryan Khan, who was accused in the Cordelia Cruise drugs case.

According to the SET report, Wankhede and his subordinates neglected proper protocols during the drug bust case. The names of Aryan Khan and his friend Arbaaz Merchant were added at the last minute, while some other suspects' names were omitted from the original information note. The SET also found that the suspects' phones were not seized or documented properly, impacting the chain of custody for crucial evidence.

Testimonies from witnesses examined by the SET indicate that both the accused persons' belongings and those of other suspects were confiscated by the NCB officers without any documentation.

Also, despite Arbaaz Merchant identifying Siddarth Shah as his drugs supplier, the NCB allowed Shah to walk free. Subsequent analysis of Shah's phone conversations on WhatsApp and Telegram by the SET provided evidence of drugs consumption, casting doubt over the NCB's decision.

The SET also discovered significant lapses at the NCB Mumbai office, including corrupt CCTV footage and discrepancies between the DVR and hard discs provided, raising suspicions of intentional withholding of crucial evidence.

Based on this report, the CBI filed an FIR against Wankhede and summoned him for questioning.

However, in a relief to Wankhede, the Bombay High Court on Friday directed the CBI to refrain from taking any coercive action against the former NCB Mumbai zonal director in the alleged Rs 25 crore bribery case pertaining to the arrest of Aryan Khan after the cruise ship drugs raid.
The European Union on Friday condemned in the strongest possible terms Irans execution of three men linked to protests that flared up after the death last year of Mahsa Amini, Trend reports citing Al Arabiya.

The EU urges the Iranian authorities to refrain from applying the death penalty and carrying out future executions, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrells office said a statement.

The three men Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi were hanged after an Iranian court convicted them on charges of killing security force members at a demonstration in the city of Isfahan in November.

The EU statement emphasized that Iranian officials must observe due process rights of detained individuals and ensure they are not subjected to any form of mistreatment.

It also called on them to abide by their obligations under international law, including respecting the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Fridays executions bring to seven the number of Iranians executed in connection with the demonstrations.
New Delhi, May 19 : The Supreme Court on Friday declined to stay the Calcutta High Court order transferring the probe in cases connected with Ram Navami violence to the National Investigation Agency.

Counsel for West Bengal submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud that the NIA Act cannot be invoked in ordinary cases of violence unless the case is in connection with the security of the country or sovereignty.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the state, said there cannot be NIA just because there might have been a bomb and argued that the high court passed the order on the assumption that bombs and explosives were used warranting the invocation of the Explosives Act, which is a scheduled offence under the NIA Act.

He said all this was done in a PIL, by an active member of the BJP.

The West Bengal government took objection to the high court entertaining a PIL filed by Leader of Opposition Suvendhu Adhikari.

The Calcutta High Court by order dated April 27, 2023, observed violation of Section 6 of the NIA Act. The high court noted that during the violence which occurred during Ram Navmi, crude bombs were used to attack the procession. It was claimed that despite there being allegations about bombs, the West Bengal Police did not register an offense under Explosive Substances Act, in order to prevent NIA investigation. The high court transferred the investigations to NIA, which has already registered 6 FIRs in relation to the Ram Navami violence.

The West Bengal government moved the apex court against this order.

However, the bench, also comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and K.V. Viswanathan, declined to grant any stay or relief to the West Bengal government and scheduled the matter for hearing after summer vacation.

For Adhikari (on caveat), senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and P. S. Patwalia appeared along with advocate Bansuri Swaraj. The NIA was represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. The counsel claimed that the West Bengal government was not transferring files to NIA on the ground that they have filed a plea before the Supreme Court.

The state's plea said: "The Hon'ble High Court by directing the petitioner state police to transfer all the FIRs, documents, material seized, CCTV Footage, etc. immediately to NIA who shall proceed hereon with the investigation, has acted in contravention to settled principles of the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in catena of judgments."
Bengaluru, May 19 : The swearing in ceremony of Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister of Karnataka to be held on Saturday in Bengaluru is causing concern among the student community as thousands of students are scheduled to appear in the crucial Common Entrance Test (CET) at 122 centres in the capital city.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to be held in the premises of Kanteerava Indoor Stadium located in the central business district of Bengaluru.

Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar has appealed to all party workers to attend the event. Over a lakh people are expected to participate in the event.

Such a huge turnout of people and vehicles are going to pose a challenge to the Bengaluru traffic police. This has raised concerns over the likely inconvenience to the students appearing in the exam.

In view of the oath-taking ceremony, students who are to take CET-23 in the centres in surrounding areas on Saturday have been advised by the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) to reach their venues two hours before the start of scheduled examination time.

Ramya, ED, Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) in a press release on Friday stated that the authority has taken appropriate measures to ensure that students reach designated centres without delay. The steps have been taken anticipating traffic congestion in the surrounding areas of Kanteerava stadium on May 20.

She has informed that candidates from 11 centres near Kanteerava stadium need to be present at their respective centres by 8.30 a.m. This applies to students who are taking only Mathematics exams as well, she clarified.

In a special arrangement, breakfast and lunch will be provided to all those who have their centre at St.Joseph Indian PU College (AR-code) on Vittal Mallya Road. This arrangement has been done in the centre since it is very close to the oath-taking venue.

Students who will be attending the Maths exam in the second session will also be given both breakfast and lunch. Once after having entered the centre at 8.30 a.m. students will not be allowed to go out till the end of their examination.

KEA has also sought the assistance of police authorities in this regard. According to Ramya, candidates can seek the help of nearby police to reach their centres by showing the admission ticket.

Students who need to come early are those who have their centres in any of these colleges: Bishop Cotton Women's PU College (DU- code), 19, 3rd crs, CSI compound; Goodwill PU College for girls (AD-code), No 10, Promenade Road, Frazer Town; St. Joseph's PU College (AE-code), Residency Road, PBNO 25003 (Bengaluru- 560025); St.Joseph Indian PU College (AR-code), No.2, Grant Road, Vitthal Mallya Road (Bengaluru-560001); St. Annes Girls PU College (BQ-code), Millers Road (Bengaluru- 560052); RBANMS PU College (CM-code), 12A, Annaswamy Mudaliar Road, (Bengaluru-560033); SJRC BIFR PU College (CL- code), Ananda Rao Circle, RC ROAD; Cathedral Comp PU College (EN-code) Richmond Road, NO 63, (Bengaluru -560025); St. Euphrasias Girls High School & Composite PU college (E2- code), No.6, Albert Street, Richmond Town; Stracey Memorial Composite PU college (BZ-code), No. 52, St.Marks Road; Hasanath PU College for women (P2-code), Dickenson Road, No.43, Bengaluru North.

The issue has taken a political turn as well with the National General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santhosh taunting CM designate Siddaramaiah over his remarks about PM Modi roadshow causing inconvenience to students writing NEET.

Quoting Siddaramaiah's tweet Santhosh said: "not many days have passed after our designated CM tweeted this. Tomorrow CET exams across the state and Bengaluru. What would have happened to Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar if your oath taking was deferred by a day or two so that students will not be troubled." Referring to the road show by PM Modi, Siddaramaiah had tweeted before elections that, it is an utter irresponsible step from PM Modi to hold a road show in Bengaluru in spite of the opposition from NEET students and people of Bengaluru.

"We don't have any objection to PM Modi's campaign. But, who will be accountable for the troubles faced by the students?" Siddaramaiah had asked.
Mumbai, May 19 : The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the CBI not to take any coercive action against Narcotics Control Bureau former Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede in the alleged Rs 25 crore bribery case pertaining to the arrest of actor Aryan Khan after the cruise ship drugs raid of October 2, 2021.

A vacation bench comprising Justice Sharmila Deshmukh and Justice Arif Doctor also said that prima facie, there was a legal bar under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Section 17A, mandating the probe to be completed within four months of the alleged offence that had occurred in 2021.

The high court also directed Wankhede to cooperate with the investigations and appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to record his statements, to which he agreed.

Since the notice was issued under CrPC's Section 41A, the judges restrained the CBI from any coercive action against Wankhede till Monday, May 22, when the matter would come up for next hearing, according to the IRS officer's lawyer Rizwan Merchant.

However, CBI counsel Kuldeep Patil opposed Wankhede's plea and said he should seek anticipatory bail.

When the court asked Wankhede why he didn't move the Sessions Court for bail, Merchant contended that he wanted to prevent the arrest of an IRS officer which could demoralise the entire force.

Wankhede had moved the Bombay High Court on Thursday, challenging the CBI FIR against him and five others, for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 25 crore from the kin of those arrested in the sensational raids on Cordelia cruiser, including Aryan, the son of Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan.

Of the four-month period, Patil argued, the duration starts from the date of approval from the Centre to conduct the probe against a public servant which was granted just recently, and felt that the probe would be hampered if Wankhede was protected from arrest.

Wankhede had earlier moved the Delhi High Court against the CBI but later withdrew his plea on May 17 and then moved the Bombay High Court here on Thursday.

Among other things, he had sought quashing of the CBI FIR against him, a fair probe and lodging a 'cross FIR' based on his complaint against NCB officers Vishwa Vijay Singh, Ashish Ranjan, and witnesses in the ship case, K. P. Gosavi and Sanvile D'Souza.

In his fresh plea here, Wankhede has claimed that he carried out the raids on the Cordelia Cruise ship under the specific orders of his seniors in the NCB including the Deputy Director-General Gnyaneshwar Singh.

The 2008 batch IRS officer contended that Singh was attempting to cover his own tracks and had been harassing him since the raids and did not stop even after he left the NCB.

The CBI FIR of May 11 was based on a SET report submitted by Singh into the Cordelia ship raid case which shot to global headlines.

After the raid, NCB claimed to have seized small amounts of different drugs, cash and nabbed 17 persons including Aryan Khan.

Later, when the former Nationalist Congress Party minister Nawab Malik - currently in jail in a different matter - and another witness Prabhakar Sail (who died last year) made allegations of bribes and extortion, Wankhede was taken off the case, and the probe was taken over by another NCB team, which gave a clean chit to Aryan Khan and others in May 2022.

In the latest case against him, Wankhede said that he had complete faith in the country's judiciary and the Central government to give him justice in the false case in which he was being implicated.
New Delhi, May 19 : As the 'king of clay' Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from this year's French Open, the seven-time grand slam champion Mat Wilander has urged the emerging stars to seize the opportunity in his absence.

The 14-time champion Nadal announced his withdrawal from the clay court major at the Rafa Nadal Academy on Thursday. The Spaniard will not play in the seas'n's second major for the first time since his tournament debut in 2005.

However, the 22-time major winner added that he will stop for an undetermined length of time and that 2024 is "probably" going to be his last year on the professional tour.

Wilander believes the tournament is not going to be the same without the 36-year-old Nadal, but it will present a huge opportunity for one of the rising stars in the men's game to seize the chance to claim the title in Rafa's absence.

"The French Open is just not the same now that Rafael Nadal has decided not to play. The winner is always going to be questioned about if they could have won it if Nadal was in the tournament.

"The positive part of the announcement that Rafa made is that, of course, he is still thinking about playing at least another season.

"We wish for him to play forever, and to play at Roland-Garros forever; but at the same time, I don't want to see him come to Paris and not be 100%, not feeling good and risking his future life.

"To the rest of the players: this is your chance because Rafa is not there, so you had better take it," Wilander told Eurosport.

Another Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz and Denmark's Holger Rune are young players highly anticipated to excel at Roland Garros. But, Wilander expressed disappointment that they won't have the opportunity to face the legendary Spaniard.

"To the young guys like Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune, it would have been great for them to have been able to play Rafael Nadal at the French Open once before he is done, but we just cross our fingers that he will be back next year," he said.

"This year is going to be a tough tournament without Rafa -- we miss him," Wilander added.
Chandigarh, May 19 : Punjab Police on Friday conducted simultaneous raids at premises of anti-social elements and persons involved in crimes.

Special DGP, Law and Order, Arpit Shukla said the day-long operation was conducted across the state in a synchronised manner and all the CPs and SSPs were asked to depute at least one police party per police station to check the whereabouts of these persons.

He said 450 police parties, involving over 3,000 police personnel, have conducted raids at premises of at least 4,171 persons, who have a criminal record.

The Special DGP said the purpose to carry out this operation was to know the whereabouts of such persons, besides, ensuring that they have returned to the mainstream.

He said the police teams have also questioned family members of persons involved in crimes and checked bank transactions from abroad, and Western Union and property details. Police teams have also checked the vehicles stationed at their premises and verified their registration numbers using VAHAN mobile app, he added.
Hyderabad, May 19 : Hyderabad has emerged as the most preferred investment destination for US aerospace and defense companies, said Telangana's Minister for Industries and Information Technology K.T. Rama Rao during his ongoing US visit.

Amid the visit, he led the aerospace and defense roundtable in Washington DC, where prominent US majors, advisory firms, think tanks, and startups participated, according to a statement from the minister's office in Hyderabad.

KTR, as the minister is popularly known, showcased the spectacular growth of the aerospace sector and private sector defence investments in Telangana in the past nine years, it said.

Stating that aerospace and defence is a thrust sector in Telangana, he said that Telangana has achieved a remarkable feat by winning the best state awards for aerospace for three years in 2018, 2020, and 2022. Hyderabad was also ranked No 1 Aerospace city of Future in Cost effectiveness parameter by Financial Times FDI rankings 2020-21. These recognitions reflect the State's progressive outlook towards the aerospace sector, he said.

Telangana hosts multiple production lines for US majors including Lockheed Martin joint venture with Tata group that manufactures and exports Sikorsky helicopter cabins, C130 J empennages and F 16 Wings. Similarly, Boeing JV with TATA manufactures the entire Apache fuselages, Chinook aerostructures including tail and nose cones, and vertical stabilizers for the 737 series of aircrafts.

GE manufactures engine parts in Hyderabad. Raytheon group's Pratt and Whitney has their only engine training centre in India in Hyderabad. Safran has recently inaugurated their aero engine parts manufacturing facility and announced the first Engine MRO by an OEM in India in Hyderabad.

The manufacturing ecosystem is supported by 1000 plus MSMEs exclusively into aerospace and defence manufacturing, many of whom are already integrated into the global supply chains of the OEMs, the minister said.

Telangana has created several dedicated aerospace and precision engineering clusters with world class infrastructure. Adibatla Aerospace SEZ is one amongst the first aerospace SEZs in the country which host most of the mega projects of the Tata Group and their US JV partners. The minister highlighted how TS-iPASS, the revolutionary industrial policy, helped boost industry confidence by granting online time bound and transparent approvals based on self-certifications.

Leadership teams from industry giants met with KTR in Washington and New York. The discussions revolved around investment opportunities and expansion plans.

KTR met Lockheed Martin Corporation senior leaders Ray Piselli, VP International Business and Global Business Development and Dave Sutton, Director for International Government Affairs on ongoing manufacturing programmes in Hyderabad and new programmes in pipeline.

During the meeting, held in Washington DC, the Lockheed Martin leaders appreciated the unmatched support received from Telangana government during the pandemic days and assured support for the various skilling initiatives undertaken by the state including the plan to establish a world class aerospace university proposed in partnership with leading OEMS.

"Glad to note that Lockheed is planning their next supply chain meet in Hyderabad and is actively speaking to several Telangana based MSMEs and start-ups for fruitful collaborations," said KTR.
Hiroshima : Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being welcomed upon his arrival in Hiroshima, Japan on Friday, May 19, 2023. PM Modi will attend the G7 Summit. (Photo: IANS/G7 japan) Image Source: IANS News

Hiroshima : Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being welcomed upon his arrival in Hiroshima, Japan on Friday, May 19, 2023. PM Modi will attend the G7 Summit. (Photo: IANS/G7 japan) Image Source: IANS News

Hiroshima : Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being welcomed upon his arrival in Hiroshima, Japan on Friday, May 19, 2023. PM Modi will attend the G7 Summit. (Photo: IANS/G7 japan) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, May 19 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday landed in Japan's Hiroshima city to participate in the G7 Summit where he will also be having bilateral meetings with various world leaders.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister said: "Landed in Hiroshima to join the G7 Summit proceedings. Will also be having bilateral meetings with various world leaders." He also attached the photographs of his arrival in Hiroshima.

Modi on Friday embarked on a six-day visit to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia to attend three key multilateral summits, including that of the G7.

While leaving for Hiroshima, the Prime Minister in a statement said: "I will leave for Hiroshima, Japan to attend the G7 Summit under the Japanese Presidency at the invitation of Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan." He said it will be a pleasure to meet his Japanese counterpart again after his recent visit to India for the India-Japan Summit.

"My presence in this G7 Summit is particularly meaningful as India holds the G20 Presidency this year. I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them. I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 Summit," the Prime Minister said.

Modi said that from Japan, he will be visiting Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

"This will be my first visit, as also the first ever visit by any Indian Prime Minister, to Papua New Guinea. I will host on May 22 the 3rd Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit) jointly with James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. I am grateful that all 14 Pacific Island Countries (PIC) have accepted the invitation to attend this important Summit." He said: "FIPIC had been launched during my visit to Fiji in 2014, and I look forward to engaging with the PIC Leaders on issues that bring us together, such as climate change and sustainable development, capacity building and training, health and well-being, infrastructure and economic development.

"Apart from the FIPIC engagements, I look forward to my bilateral interactions with Papua New Guinea Governor General Sir Bob Dadae, Prime Minister Marape and some of the other PIC Leaders participating in the Summit," the Prime Minister said.

Commenting on his visit to Australia, the Prime Minister said: "I will be travelling to Sydney, Australia at the invitation of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. I look forward to our bilateral meeting, which will be an opportunity to take stock of our bilateral ties and follow up on our first India-Australia Annual Summit held in New Delhi in March this year." He will also interact with Australian CEOs and business leaders, and meet the Indian community in Sydney at a special event.
Hyderabad, May 19 : The Telangana Police on Friday launched an initiative towards making workplaces safer for women.

Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali launched the initiative called 'Sahas' in the presence of Director General of Police Anjani Kumar, Additional DGP, Women Safety Wing Shikha Goel, Femina Miss India Manasa Varanasi and senior representatives from industry.

Sahas, which in most Indian languages means "courage", is a programme that aims to strengthen the ecosystem of support for women who face workplace sexual harassment. Under the initiative, the Sahas Microsite, Sahas Sathi Chatbot, Sahas Whatsapp Number, Forum and online support facilities were launched.

Mahmood Ali stated that Telangana continues to lead the way in terms of groundbreaking initiatives involving government-industry partnerships. He lauded the efforts of the state police in working hard to reduce crime in the state, whilst striving to approach all relevant issues in a humane manner.

DGP Anjani Kumar called 'Sahas' the natural next step towards reducing vulnerabilities in workplaces.

Telangana, on a conservative estimate, will have over 3 lakh employers and over time, it will be the endeavor of Sahas team to ensure that all employers are connected and sensitised through awareness and training activities. He also asked the Sahas Steering Committee to ensure roll out of a massive awareness cum training campaign among their stakeholders, including affiliate companies, and government departments as well.

Goel noted that the state has the largest percentage of working women in the country, and this could only be possible due to the positive atmosphere employers of Telangana have created over time.

She stated that Sahas a first of its kind initiative in the country, involving a collaboration between industry bodies and a state police force.

C. Shekar Reddy, Chairman, CII & IWN stated that in his long experience as an entrepreneur and an employer, he believed that every employer in Telangana was passionate about the safety and well being of the women workforce.

Under Sahas initiative, they will be benefited by the support extended to them through legal and training experts in creation of an enabling ecosystem and strengthening of existing support channels in their organisations.
New Delhi, May 19 : Former Mumabai zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Sameer Wankhede, has finally broken his silence over the CBI's FIR filed against him and others in connection with the alleged Rs 25 crore bribery case pertaining to the arrest of Aryan Khan after the cruise ship drugs raid.

Speaking exclusively with IANS, IRS officer Wankhede said that he has full faith in judiciary, CBI and the Central government.

His comments came after the Bombay High Court on Friday directed the CBI not to take any coercive action Wankhede till May 22, when the matter would come up for next hearing.

"I will come out clean in this matter. I have done nothing wrong. The report (prepared by the Special Enquiry Team of the NCB) has some flaws. I trust the CBI and believe that the agency will find out the truth. I also believe that the Central government will look into the matter as to how I am being victimised. The judiciary is there to protect the rights of the individuals. The judiciary has given me relief," Wankhede told IANS.

Wankhede stated that it has been nearly two years, and despite his innocence he continues to endure emotional distress.

Wankhede finds himself in a precarious position as allegations have emerged that he attempted to extort Rs 25 crore from Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan in exchange of releasing his son Aryan Khan, who was accused in the Cordelia Cruise drugs bust case.

On the basis of the SET report, the CBI has lodged an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Wankhede and others. The CBI also conducted raids at his premises.

"I will expose a few things at the right time," Wankhede said.

(Atul Krishan can be approached at atul.k@ians.in)A
New Delhi, May 19 : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said that it will withdraw the Rs 2,000 denomination banknote from circulation but it will continue as legal tender.

In a statement, the RBI said: "The 2,000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016 primarily to meet the currency requirements of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of legal tender status of all 500 and 1,000 banknotes in circulation at that time.

"The objective of introducing 2,000 banknotes was met once banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities. Therefore, printing of 2,000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19," the RBI said.

The RBI said that about 89 per cent of the 2,000 denomination banknotes were issued prior to March 2017 and are at the end of their estimated life-span of 4-5 years.

"The total value of these banknotes in circulation has declined from Rs 6.73 lakh crore at its peak as on March 31, 2018 (37.3 per cent of notes in circulation) to Rs 3.62 lakh crore constituting only 10.8 per cent of Notes in Circulation on March 31, 2023," it said.

The RBI also pointed out that this denomination is not commonly used for transactions and further, the stock of banknotes in other denominations continues to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public.

"In view of the above, and in pursuance of the 'Clean Note Policy' of the Reserve Bank of India, it has been decided to withdraw the 2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation," the RBI said, adding: "The banknotes in 2,000 denomination will continue to be legal tender." It also said that all banks shall provide deposit and/or exchange facility for 2,000 banknotes until September 30, 2023.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is holding a meeting with ATA Alliance leader Sinan Ogan in Istanbul ahead of the upcoming runoff elections on May 28, presidential sources said Friday, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.

The closed-door meeting lasted an hour, sources said.

No official statement has been made about the meeting yet.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chair Binali Yildirim recently said theres nothing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and third candidate Sinan Ogan couldnt agree on since their rhetoric is not so wildly different.

Entering the campaign at the last minute, hardline nationalist Ogan, 55, picked up 5.2% of the vote in Sundays landmark election that ran into a second round after neither Erdogan nor his main challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu secured more than 50% of the vote.

Erdogan finished with 49.5%, taking a clear lead over Kilicdaroglu, who lagged at 44.9%.

Ogan, however, running as an independent, has since emerged as a kingmaker and basked in newfound fame over his potential second-round endorsement.

He is believed to have sucked votes away from both Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu, the head of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the joint contender for an opposition bloc of six nationalist and secularist parties.
Cannes, May 19 : Hollywood star Harrison Ford is officially ready to retire his 'Indiana Jones' character -- the swashbuckling, fedora-wearing adventurer -- a legendary role he has inhabited in five films across 40 years, reports 'Variety'.

"Is it not evident?" the 80-year-old actor joked at the Cannes Film Festival's Friday press conference for the action-adventure. "I need to sit down and rest a little bit."

In returning to the character for one last time, adds 'Variety', Ford expressed a desire to see "a completion of the five films". He added: "I wanted to see the weight of life on him. I wanted to see him require reinvention. I wanted him to have a relationship that wasn't a flirty movie relationship."

Director James Mangold's 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' isn't playing in competition, but it's one of the buzziest premieres at this year's Cannes Film Festival. It marks Ford's return to the festival for the first time since the fourth chapter, 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' (2008), notes 'Variety'.

'Dial of Destiny' premiered on Thursday night at the Palais, where, according to 'Variety', Ford was greeted with a movie star welcome, with thousands of fans screaming his name and the audience inside the theatre showering him with applause.

He also received a tribute award to celebrate his lengthy Hollywood career, ranging from blockbusters such as 'Star Wars' and 'Blade Runner 2049' to 'The Fugitive' and 'Witness'.

"It's indescribable. I felt ... I can't even tell you," an emotional Ford said while reflecting on the prior night. "It's just extraordinary to see a relic of your life as it passes by. With the warmth of this place and sense of community, the welcome is unimaginable. It makes me feel good."

-- Syndicated from IANS
Bhopal, May 19 : In a bid to kick-start its campaign for upcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly polls, the ruling BJP organised a state working committee meeting at the party office on Friday. In the meeting, the state leadership decided to launch a campaign in all 230 assembly seats during which, the Centre's schemes would be highlighted.

During the month-long campaign from May 30 to June 30, all the BJP leaders and workers will reach their respective areas, having a bundle of papers mentioning beneficiary schemes introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in the last nine years.

The state BJP leadership has given a clear instruction to its workers to speed up their working and visit their respective areas to convince people for the assembly elections.

More than 1,000 BJP workers, along with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state BJP president V.D.Sharma, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and party's state organisational leaders attended the meeting. However, around half a dozen BJP workers spoke to IANS after the meeting was over, they were disappointed by state's top leadership.

They were annoyed with lectures given by senior leaders. "Nothing was new to learn in the meeting as most of our senior leaders reiterated the same as what we are hearing for last several years," a Rewa-based BJP workers told IANS on condition of anonymity. Few others present there agreed with him.

Interestingly, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh was one of points of discussion in the BJP's state working committee meeting. Sources told IANS that Digvijaya's name was mentioned sever times, not just for criticism but on a positive note as well.

According to sources, MP BJP unit has decided to corner the Congress by highlighting the negatives of Digvijaya Singh's government in Madhya Pradesh from 1993-2003. A senior BJP leader while speaking on the occasion also advised BJP workers that they should learn commitment and determination for the party from Digvijaya Singh, who despite being a senior leader has been working relentlessly for his party.

Notably, two-time Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh has been travelling across Madhya Pradesh for meeting Congress workers and reviewing the party's preparations at district and booth levels for the assembly elections. Meanwhile, he is also preparing plans to corner BJP's top leaders in their respective assembly constituencies during the elections.
Bengaluru, May 19 : Keen to send a clear message across the country in view of next year's Lok Sabha elections, the Congress high command has reined in dissidence over the decision to have only one post of Deputy Chief Minister in Karnataka.

Former Deputy Chief Minister and prominent Dalit leader Dr. G. Parameshwara had demanded that he should be given the post. He had even stated that it is better for the party to fulfil this demand before the community responded. Many other leaders had also started lobbying for the Deputy Chief Minister's post.

The party, taking note of the evolving situation, intervened and reined in the leaders making the demand.

Following this, Parameshwara on Friday stated that, against the backdrop of Lok Sabha elections, he will keep aside personal ambitions and work for the party.

"Party is supreme. We all abide by the orders of the high command. Presently, we got to fulfil the promises made to the people. At this stage personal ambitions are not important. We have to see the future. We will work unitedly keeping 2024 parliamentary elections in mind," he said.

"All of us have personal ambitions. But, opportunities will come to everyone in the future stage by stage. The people would want posts for their representatives. One should know the limitations in this regard. Everything good is happening in the coming days," Parameshwara stated.

"There is nothing wrong in putting forth demands for opportunity. When the opportunity is not given, sacrifices are needed." He also claimed that he is happy with the proceedings which took place for four days. "I have confidence that CM and DCM will take everyone along," he said.

Sources said that on Friday, about 30 senior legislators have flown to New Delhi from Bengaluru International Airport to lobby for plum cabinet berths including Chittapur MLA Priyank Kharge, son of party President Mallikarjun Kharge.

The party leaders are demanding cabinet berths to legislators from Shivamogga, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan districts, which were considered as bastions of BJP and JD-S.
Bengaluru, May 19 : With the Congress party high command reaching out to senior leaders to take up the post of the Speaker in the Karnataka Assembly, veterans, eyeing plum cabinet posts, are reluctant.

According to party sources, the seniors are evading the responsibility on one pretext or the other.

The party is contemplating to allot the post of Speaker to senior leaders like Dr. G. Parameshwara, T.B. Jayachandra, R.V. Deshapande, H.C. Mahadevappa, and Tanveer Sait.

Parameshwara is a prominent Dalit and resourceful leader, and Mahadevappa and Sait are close confidantes of Siddaramaiah. But, none of these leaders are interested in taking up the post, sources said.

Deshapande termed the post of Speaker "very high". "I don't deserve to take up such a big post. Let the high command decide on what post should be given to me. I have worked with eight CMs," he said.

But, the party is cautious and giving a serious thought to the post of Speaker to ensure smooth sailing of the party in any eventuality that might arise out of BJP's misadventures throughout the tenure of Congress government.
Kolkata, May 19 : Facing massive criticism over the blast at an illegal fire-cracker factory at Egra in East Midnapore district that claimed nine lives on Tuesday, the state police directorate has ordered the transfer of the inspector-in-charge of the local police station, Mausam Bhattacharya.

Bhattacharya will be replaced by Swapan Goswami, who has prior experience of serving in the same police station.

After the blast, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had criticised the role of Bhattacharya in handling the matter.

"The owner of the factory was earlier arrested on similar charges. The inspector-in-charge should be issued a show-cause notice and asked how he could continue with the same illegal activities after being released on bail," Banerjee had said after the blast on Tuesday.

Incidentally, on Thursday morning, the owner of the illegal cracker unit, Krishnapada Bag a.k.a. Bhanu, died at a private nursing home at Odisha's Cuttack. He was also injured in the blast and had absconded to Cuttack. He died before the investigating officers could record his statement.

Although initial probe has suggested that the explosion was caused by the raw materials stocked at the illegal factory, the opposition parties have claimed that the impact of the explosion proves that not fire-crackers, but crude bombs were being manufactured there.
Srinagar, May 19 May 19 : Speaking to Pakistani journalists in Goa where he was attending the Conference of Foreign Ministers of SCO, Pakistan's foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari issued a thinly veiled threat to the host country India.

Responding to a question on the Pakistani stand on the G20 meeting on tourism in Srinagar in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Zardari declared that "when the time is right we shall give a befitting reply which India will never forget." A couple of weeks earlier, the Pakistan foreign office had officially condemned the Indian decision to hold a G20 meeting in Srinagar. There were also reports that Pakistani diplomacy was going to go into an overdrive to campaign against holding of this meeting in Kashmir.

Earlier, Pakistan had tried to block the G20 meetings in Jammu city in the Union Territory. But that effort fizzled out. Clearly, Pakistan believed that it couldn't allow the same to happen to its campaign against the Srinagar meeting. For an Islamic State like Pakistan, Muslim majority Srinagar is far more critical than Hindu dominated Jammu and it would pull out all stops to deny, disrupt and sabotage this meeting.

That Pakistan is rattled by India hosting a G20 meeting in Kashmir is quite apparent. Pakistan thinks that if this meeting takes place, it will deal a body blow to its claims that Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed area. While India will gain international legitimacy on Kashmir, Pakistan will lose its case if the 20 most developed economies meet in Srinagar because it will be tantamount to putting a de facto seal of approval over Indian claims on the 'disputed' region.

Not surprisingly, Pakistan is hoping to convince some of its friends in G20 - China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Indonesia - to boycott the Srinagar meeting in solidarity with Pakistan. But until now, except for China which skipped the meeting in Arunachal Pradesh, and perhaps Turkey, none of the other countries have indicated any reservations about going to Srinagar.

The noise coming out of Pakistan really doesn't make any sense. It isn't as if representatives of foreign countries haven't travelled to Jammu and Kashmir in the past. In fact diplomats from different countries have gone to J&K on their own and as part of delegations facilitated by the Indian government. Incidentally, similar tours have taken place on the Pakistan-occupied parts of the territory.

Foreign tourists, journalists and even investors have been visiting the Kashmir valley. Recently an investors conference was held in which both UAE and Saudi Arabia participated. In fact, the UAE has unveiled ambitious plans for investing in the Union Territory. Investors from other countries have also shown interest in becoming part of the growth story in Jammu and Kashmir. Clearly, Pakistan's protestations are quite meaningless and mendacious.

The bottom-line is that India doesn't need the stamp of G20 to justify her claim on J&K. That claim is well-established and well-accepted, more so after the constitutional reforms of 2019 in the erstwhile state. The G20 meeting is being held in Srinagar not because India wants to cock a snook at Pakistan, but because Kashmir is a part of India.

If similar meetings are being held in each and every state and Union Territory of India, then they will also be held in Jammu and Kashmir. Just because Pakistan has a fictitious claim on the territory, there is no reason for India to kowtow to Pakistan's demands. In any case, there can be no place more appropriate to hold a meeting on tourism than a tourism paradise like Kashmir.

Unfortunately, for nearly three decades, Kashmir has been a tragic victim of Jihadist terrorism sponsored and supported by Pakistan. It lost its place as the jewel in India's tourism map because of the violence that Pakistani agent provocateurs unleashed in the region. Only in the last couple of years has Kashmir once again become a haven for tourists. Record numbers of Indian and foreign tourists have been going to the Union Territory. It is difficult to find a hotel room in the Valley.

Meanwhile, the tourism boom has led to new hotels coming up. Locals have set up top class B&Bs. Local entrepreneurs - hoteliers, tour operators, craftsmen, restauranteurs, cafes, retailers, you name it - have been profiting from the revival of tourism, which itself is a function of the restoration of normalcy in the Valley.

For India, G20 is an excellent opportunity for showcasing the return of normalcy in Kashmir. The fake news, narrative and propaganda on Kashmir being peddled by countries like Pakistan under the tutelage and guidance of Turkey is best busted by allowing, even encouraging, foreign tourists to travel to the proverbial 'Heaven on Earth'. No amount of advertising or publicity campaigns to convince people to travel to Kashmir are as effective as accounts of travellers who have witnessed first-hand the change that has come in the Union Territory.

Except for citizens and reports of hostile countries like Pakistan, China and Turkey, there should be absolutely no restrictions on foreign media from going to and reporting from Kashmir. There will always be some reports who will look for negative stories and file what can be called 'drain inspector's reports'.

These reporters will look for stories that reinforce their prejudice, bias and agenda against India. But there will be many more reporters who will go with an open mind and report what is an objective reality of the situation in Kashmir. They will see the positive energy in Jammu and Kashmir, the development that is taking place, the mainstreaming that is being encouraged and promoted.

The G20 is only the start of this process. Conferencing in Kashmir is now becoming a thing and will only grow. Pakistan will of course do its damnedest best to undermine and sabotage the progress that is visible in the Valley. The only images coming out of Kashmir that Pakistan wants to see is of death, destruction and desolation. That is the reason why Pakistani media often airs footage from years ago to plug the fake narrative of a Kashmir that is burning. But fakery has a shelf-life and Pakistan's efforts to stall the return of normalcy in Kashmir is way past its sell-by date.
Chennai/New Delhi, May 19 : Announcing the decision to withdraw Rs 2,000 denomination notes from circulation, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks not to issue such notes with immediate effect.

The central bank has also said the ATMs/Cash Recylers to be reconfigured accordingly.

It said banks may exchange Rs 2,000 banknotes up to a limit of Rs 20,000 (10 notes per account holder) at a time from an account holder so that the inconvenience to the public is minimised.

The facility for exchange of Rs 2,000 banknotes shall be provided to all members of the public by all banks through their branches.

The RBI has given banks till May 23 to get ready to exchange the Rs 2,000 notes while deposits of the notes are accepted in usual manner.

Business Correspondents may also be allowed to exchange Rs.2,000 banknotes upto a limit of Rs 4,000 per day for an account holder. For this purpose, banks may, at their discretion, enhance the cash holding limits of BCs.

For providing deposit/exchange facility to people residing in remote/unbanked areas, banks may consider using mobile vans, if necessary, it said.

While crediting the value of Rs 2,000 notes to Jan Dhan Yojna Accounts/Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) Accounts, the usual limits will apply mutatis mutandis.

Banks holding Currency Chests (CCs) shall ensure that no withdrawal of Rs 2,000 denomination is allowed from the CCs. All balances held in the CCs shall be classified as unfit and kept ready for dispatch to respective RBI offices.

All banknotes in this denomination received by the banks shall be sortedimmediately through Note Sorting Machines (NSMs) for accuracy and genuineness and deposited in the currency chests under the Linkage Scheme or kept ready for dispatch to the nearest Issue Office of RBI.

The facility for deposit and/or exchange of Rs 2,000 banknotes shall be available for members of the public up to September 30.

The banks shall also be required to comply with Cash Transaction Reporting (CTR) and Suspicious Transaction Reporting (STR) requirements, where applicable.
Bhopal, May 19 : Municipal officials were attacked during an anti-encroachment drive by the members of a family in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district.

In a video clip of the incident that surfaced on social media, a woman could be seen throwing chilli powder and bricks at the Municipal officials who had gone there for an anti-encroachment drive on Thursday.

Municipal engineer P.S. Dharve, who was part of the anti-encroachment drive, told IANS that complaints were received from the local residents of Bhainsa Pahad area, Ward No. 24, regarding encroachment of a portion of government land.

"Multiple complaints were received regarding encroachment of government land by the same family. When officials visited the spot, it was noticed that the accused family had not only encroached upon government land, but also blocked the road for others living in the same locality," Dharve said.

When a team of municipal officials along with the local police requested the accused family members not to block the passage of their neighbours, they attacked the officials with chilli powder and bricks.

"The family members, including women, threw chilli powder, pelted stones, and even tried to blast a gas cylinder to threaten the municipal officials. One of our colleagues received burn injury in his eyes and is recuperating at the hospital presently," Dharve said.

He added that the attackers were so furious that they could have even killed some municipal officials.

"They were saved only after some lady police officers somehow managed to overpower the women attacking the officials," he added.

The municipal team, however, later removed the encroachment and also lodged a complaint at the local police station.

According to the police, the accused have been identified as Parveen Bi, her son, and her two daughters who have been booked for obstructing government work and injuring municipal officials on duty.
New York, May 19 : An Indian-American and three others have been selected among a pool of graduating high school seniors as a recipient of the Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing that empowers students to pursue computing challenges beyond the traditional classroom environment.

Sirihaasa Nallamothu of University High School in Normal, Illinois, will receive a $10,000 cash prize for her project that was selected by a panel of judges based on ingenuity, complexity, relevancy and originality.

Her project engages modern technology and computer science to address the research gap to predict Vasovagal Syncope -- a sudden drop in heart rate and blood pressure leading to fainting -- in Patients with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).

Inspired from a TikTok that led her down a rabbit hole about POTS, Sirihaasa found to her surprise there were no research studies or consumer solutions to predict syncope on real-world data.

Sirihaasa is the first person to conduct an Institutional Review Board research study and collect human subject field data on POTS patients in the real world using non-invasive technologies, according to a news release.

She wrote a Python script to extract the 15-minute window signal data of heart rate, blood volumetric pressure, EDA, temperature, and accelerometer data, the release added.

The high schooler also founded a Girls Who Code club at her Middle school, developed and taught coding curriculum/activities, managed grants/funding, and networked and planned events.

After completing her research, Sirihaasa plans to work toward creating a consumer product and pairing her algorithm with a smart watch.

The Cutler-Bell Prize promotes the field of computer science and empowers students to pursue computing challenges beyond the traditional classroom environment.

In 2015, David Cutler and Gordon Bell established the award.

Cutler is a software engineer, designer, and developer of several operating systems at Digital Equipment Corporation. Bell, an electrical engineer, is Researcher Emeritus at Microsoft Research.

This year's Cutler-Bell Prize recipients will be formally recognised at the Computer Science Teachers Association's 2023 Virtual Conference, July 11-13.
Nanded : , May 19 (IANS) Continuing his focus on Maharashtra, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) President and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday announced a month-long programme to expand his party across the western state.

Inaugurating a training camp for the party leaders here, he said the party will undertake an extensive campaign from May 22 to expand in over 45,000 villages and 5,000 municipal wards in civic bodies.

KCR, as Rao is popularly known, directed the party leaders to form nine committees at each place comprising farmers, youth, women, backward classes, tribals and minorities.

He asked party workers to go to five villages every day, interact with people and eat with Dalits.

He said the party was also trying to set up offices in Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, and Nagpur.

KCR said party flags will be hoisted in every village, 'Ab ki Baar kisan sarkar' caps will be distributed, leaders will address the meetings, and books and pamphlets will be distributed in every village.

He asked BRS workers to carry the party material and educate people about the BRS development agenda.

He said 2,000 party stickers will be pasted on bikes and cars in every Assembly constituency. Artists will be roped in to prepare songs. Every month, new songs will be released.

Stating that his BRS is working to bring a qualitative change in the country, he hoped that the change will begin from Maharashtra.

"If you are all ready to fight for change in Maharashtra, I will go to Punjab , Haryana and other northern states soon. You should be active," he said.

He claimed that the Maharashtra government was already thinking about the Telangana model of development. He called up on farmers to become active. "No need for strikes and dharnas. How long farmers fight. They should also be rulers. Maharashtra will be the first place to bring a change in the country. People of Maharashtra got an opportunity to bring a change in the country," he said.

This was KCR's fifth visit to Maharashtra since he changed Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) into BRS to expand the party across the country.

"India will remain the same unless there is a qualitative change. India is blessed with abundant water resources which is double to the entire India's requirement. Water is a precious commodity which is not manufactured in any factory. We are not handling water resources in an effective manner. Farmers are struggling dueA to water shortage. They are paying a heavy price for not managing water resources," he said.

The BRS leader said that every Maharashtra town is facing a drinking water crisis. "Why is this situation prevailing in Akola, Solapur and other major towns? When will this situation change? Who will change the situation? There is no doubt the present leaders will not change the prevailing situation in Maharashtra. No party is making an effort towards bringing a change," he said.
Republicans have paused crunch US debt default talks less than two weeks before a potentially catastrophic default, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Friday, citing lack of movement from Democrats, Trend reports citing Al Arabiya.

Weve got to pause, the Republican leader told reporters in Congress, adding, we cant be spending any more money next year.

Negotiators for President Joe Biden have been locked in talks with Republicans as the two sides try to agree on a deal to raise the US borrowing limit and allow the country to pay for its existing obligations.

Republicans continue to insist Biden must sign up to spending cuts in exchange for their support to raise the debt ceiling, ignoring repeated Democratic calls for a clean increase of the borrowing limit with no strings attached.

Democrats have framed the talks as an opportunity to discuss the upcoming budget ahead of June 1, when the Treasury predicts the United States could start defaulting on its debts if Congress does not act.

On Friday, the White House said significant problems remained between the two sides over the budget.

There are real differences between the parties on budget issues and talks will be difficult, a White House official said in a statement, adding: the Presidents team is working hard towards a reasonable bipartisan solution that can pass the House and the Senate.

Joe Biden, who is at the G7 summit of world leaders in Japan, is cutting short his trip to the region and returning to Washington on Sunday to try to secure a deal.
Bhopal, May 19 : With Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections just a few months away, both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress in the state have been making announcements about freebies to impress the voters.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government headed by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is not just announcing the one after another scheme but also taking steps to implement them.

The Congress, on the other hand, led by state president Kamal Nath, has been making a series of promises.

Chouhan, who was given the tag of 'ghoshna machine' (announcement machine) by the opposition, has now announced to increase the amount of financial assistance from Rs 49,000 to Rs 51,000 under "Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah Yojana".

The Madhya Pradesh government provides financial assistance to the women whose marriages are conducted in mass marriage ceremonies under the scheme.

"We have tried to end the injustice meted out to daughters in society by launching several welfare schemes. Under the Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah/Nikah Yojana, Rs 49,000 is being given at present for the wedding of girls belonging to poor sections of the society. It is now raised to Rs 51,000," Chouhan made the announcement during a function held at Sonkatch town in Dewas district, around 160 km from here, on Thursday.

Kamal Nath on the same day (Thursday) announced that electricity charges up to 100 units would be waived off for people in the state and charges up to 200 units would be halved if Congress wins the assembly polls to be held later this year.

However, Thursday's announcement regarding electricity at a cheaper rate was a reiteration as Kamal Nath has been mentioning the same for the last couple of months.

Before these announcements, CM Chouhan announced providing financial assistance of Rs 1,000 per month to women under "Ladli Behna Yojana" and he has been relentlessly campaigning for it across the state.

In the beginning, the scheme was enough to make an impression among the people, but the Congress announced to provide Rs 15,000 per month under "Nari Samman Yojana".

The Congress also announced providing subsidised LPG cylinders at Rs 500 to households in the state.

Notably, the elections to the 230-member Assembly in Madhya Pradesh are scheduled to be held by the end of this year. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is seeking to retain power, while the opposition Congress is endeavouring to return to the helm.
Bhubaneswar, May 19 : Odisha Police's Crime Branch on Friday issued an advisory for telecom service providers to crack down misuse of pre-activated SIMs, which has become a serious issue having a bearing on national security apart from affecting individuals.

ADG, Crime Branch, Arun Bothra has advised the telecom operators to make calls to the Aadhaar-linked phone number for tele verification. Dealers having permanent shops should only be allowed to sell SIMs, he said.

Telecom service providers (TSP) were asked to devise a mechanism for the customers to complain about the fake SIM and to get it deactivated. Those point of sales (POS) who are caught violating the SOP of SIM activation will be blacklisted.

The TSPs have been instructed to strengthen their internal surveillance mechanism to crackdown the activated SIMs lying dormant continuously but are being recharged regularly.

Bothra also made it clear that henceforth in cases involving bulk seizure of such SIMs, the role of all officials concerned of the telecom service provider would also be brought under the purview of the investigation for conspiring to issue such SIMs and suitable legal action shall be initiated against them along with others in the supply chain.

In May 2022, about 20,000 SIMs along with cash of Rs 14 lakh were seized by the police while a SIM box machine with a large number of SIMs seized at Baripada in September 2022 and in another case, 17,000 SIMs were seized at Bhubaneswar.

Recently, the state police's Special Task Force (STF) had arrested Pathani Samant Lenka, 35, Saroj Kumar Nayak, 26, and Soumya Pattanaik, 19, on charges of fraudulently procuring huge numbers of pre-activated SIM cards in others' names and selling the OTPs to some Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIO) and ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) agents in Pakistan and in India for large sums of money.

They were also in touch with a female PIO agent who was arrested last year in an Official Secrets Act/Honey-Trap case in Rajasthan, sources said.

The OTPs were misused to open online mule bank accounts and social media like Whatsapp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram etc. and also on online shopping sites like Amazon, Flipkart etc.

The OTP also might have been used in opening email accounts. People will think that these accounts are owned by an Indian but actually they are operated from Pakistan.

During investigation, the STF found prime accused Lenka's links with Pakistani intelligence agents and has decided to invoke the NSA against him, the official said.

The STF has also started investigating whether any official of the telecom provider is also involved in the scam or not.
New Delhi, May 19 : The Supreme Court on Friday directed that the Chairperson of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) should be appointed within two weeks.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and K.V. Viswanathan stressed that the Lt Governor (LG) has to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers.

Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, representing the Delhi government, had submitted that it had sent a proposal to the LG for the appointment of a retired Madhya Pradesh high court judge as DERC Chairperson before the post fell vacant, however no decision has been forthcoming.

The top court, referring to Section 84 of the Electricity Act, said while appointing a sitting or a retired judge to the post of a state electricity regulatory commission, the Chief Justice of that high court has to be consulted.

The bench said the Act provides for appointment of Chairperson and members of state commission and it indicates that state government may appoint any person from among persons who is or has been judge of the high court and added that the appointment has to be after consulting Chief Justice of that high court.

The bench said: "In view of clear provisions, the appointment of Chairperson shall be made in two weeks." The LG's office has insisted that the view of the Delhi High Court Chief Justice was required for appointing justice (retd) Rajeev Shrivastava, who had served in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, as DERC Chairperson.
Bengaluru, May 19 : The swearing-in ceremony of Siddaramaiah as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka to be held on Saturday in Bengaluru is causing concern among the student community, as thousands are scheduled to appear for the Common Entrance Test (CET) at 122 centres in the capital city on the same day.

However, Deputy Chief Minister designate and Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar has said that precautions have been taken to ensure that the students reach the examination centres without facing any problems. The Education Department and the Chief Secretary have been informed in this regard, he said.

"Our request: Reach the examination centre by 9.30 am; the management board has been informed to arrange lunch for the midday exam takers at the selected centres; contact the police for any assistance," Shivakumar said.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to be held at the Kanteerava Stadium located in the central business district of Bengaluru at 12.30 p.m.

With Shivakumar appealing to all the party workers to attend the event, over a lakh people are expected to witness the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday.

Such a large turnout of people and vehicles will pose a challenge to the Bengaluru traffic police. This has raised concerns over the likely inconvenience the students appearing for CET might face.

In view of the oath-taking ceremony, students who are to write CET at centres located around the stadium have been advised by the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) to reach their respective venues two hours before the start of scheduled examination time.

Ramya, ED, Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA), said in a press release on Friday that the authority has taken appropriate measures to ensure that students reach their designated centres without any delay. Steps have been taken anticipating traffic congestion in the surrounding areas of the stadium.

She informed that candidates taking the exam at the 11 centres located near the stadium need to be present at their respective venues by 8.30 a.m. This applies to students who are taking only mathematics test also, she clarified.

As a special arrangement, breakfast and lunch will be provided to all those writing the exam at St. Joseph Indian PU College (AR-code) on Vittal Mallya Road, which is located very close to the oath ceremony venue.

Students appearing for the mathematics exam in the second session will also be given both breakfast and lunch. After entering the centre at 8.30 a.m., the students will not be allowed to go out till the exams are over.

The KEA has also sought the assistance of police in this regard. According to Ramya, candidates can seek the help of the police to reach their respective centres by showing their admission ticket.

Students need to come early at the following centres on Saturday:

Bishop Cotton Women's PU College (DU-code), CSI compound

Goodwill PU College for Girls (AD-code), Promenade Road, Frazer Town

St. Joseph's PU College (AE-code), Residency Road

St. Joseph Indian PU College (AR-code), Vitthal Mallya Road

St. Annes Girls PU College (BQ-code), Millers Road

RBANMS PU College (CM-code), Annaswamy Mudaliar Road

SJRC BIFR PU College (CL-code), Ananda Rao Circle, RC Road

Cathedral Comp PU College (EN-code), Richmond Road

St. Euphrasias Girls High School & Composite PU college (E2-code), Albert Street

Stracey Memorial Composite PU college (BZ-code), St. Marks Road

Hasanath PU College for Women (P2-code), Dickenson RoadThe issue has taken a political turn as well with the BJP's national General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santhosh taunting CM-designate Siddaramaiah over his earlier remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's roadshow causing inconvenience to students writing NEET.

Quoting Siddaramaiah's tweet, Santhosh said, "Not many days have passed after our designated CM tweeted this. Tomorrow CET exams will be held across the state and Bengaluru. What would have happened to Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar if theur oath taking was deferred by a day or two so that the students were not troubled." Referring to the road show of Modi before the May 10 Assembly elections, Siddaramaiah had tweeted that "it is an utter irresponsible step by PM Modi to hold a road show in Bengaluru in spite of the opposition from NEET students and the people of Bengaluru".

"We don't have any objection to PM Modi's campaign. But who will be accountable for the troubles faced by the students," Siddaramaiah had asked.
Washington, May 19 : In some tough competition to Elon Musk-run SpaceX, the US space agency on Friday selected Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to develop a human landing system for the agency's Artemis V mission to the Moon.

The NASA award is worth $3.4 billion, and Blue Origin said it's contributing "well north" of that figure on its own. The Blue Origin-led effort is a more than $7 billion project.

Blue Origin's national team partners include Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics.

"Honored to be on this journey with @NASA to land astronauts on the Moon a" this time to stay. Together, we'll be solving the boil-off problem and making LOX-LH2 a storable propellant combination, pushing forward the state of the art for all deep space missions", Bezos tweeted.

Blue Origin will design, develop, test, and verify its Blue Moon lander to meet NASA's human landing system requirements for recurring astronaut expeditions to the lunar surface, including docking with Gateway, a space station where crew transfer in lunar orbit.

In addition to design and development work, the contract includes one uncrewed demonstration mission to the lunar surface before a crewed demo on the Artemis V mission in 2029.

The total award value of the firm-fixed price contract is $3.4 billion.

"We are excited to announce Blue Origin will build a human landing system as NASA's second provider to deliver Artemis astronauts to the lunar surface," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

The agency previously contracted Musk's SpaceX to demonstrate an initial human landing system for the Artemis III mission.

Under that contract, the agency also directed SpaceX to evolve its design to meet the agency's requirements for sustainable exploration and to demonstrate the lander on Artemis IV.

Through Artemis, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before, uncovering more scientific discoveries, and preparing for future astronaut missions to Mars.
New Delhi, May 19 : The Congress on Friday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the Rs 2,000 banknotes introduced with such fanfare after that "singularly disastrous" demonetisation decision of November 8, 2016, are now being withdrawn.

In a tweet, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said: "Typical of our self-styled Vishwaguru. First Act, Second Think (FAST). 2000 rupee notes introduced with such fanfare after that singularly disastrous Tughlaqi firman of Nov 8 2016 are now being withdrawn." Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said: "The ghost of 8th November 2016 has come back to haunt the nation once again. The greatly propagated move of demonetisation continues to be a monumental disaster for this nation. The PM sermoned the nation on the benefits of the new 2000 notes, today when the printing is stopped what happened to all those promises?" "The government must explain its motive for such a step. The government continues its anti-people and anti-poor agenda. Hope the media questions the government on such a drastic measure and not attribute it to achip shortage' in the world," he added.

The Congress leaders remarks came after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday announced to withdraw the Rs 2,000 bank notes from circulation but said that it will continue as legal tender till September 30.

The RBI in an official communique said, "In pursuance of the 'Clean Note Policy' of the RBI, it has been decided to withdraw the 2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation".

"The banknotes in 2,000 denomination will continue to be legal tender." It also said that all banks shall provide deposit and/or exchange facility for Rs 2,000 banknotes until September 30.
Patna, May 19 : Bihar's Power Ministry on Friday has cancelled the booking of its auditorium here for the BJP state executive committee meeting 24 hours before the event.

The BJP state unit had booked the auditorium well before this meeting, and paid the booking amount. However, the Power Department said that the auditorium is not meant for political purposes and hence, the department is cancelling the booking.

Power Minister Bijendra Yadav said: "BJP had booked the auditorium for an event of Kailashpati Nyas. Now, we have learned that the BJP will organise a state executive committee meeting. As there is no provision to organize an event in the auditorium of the Power Department for political purposes, the department has cancelled the booking." "The BJP, instead of blaming the Bihar government, has to book the Bapu Sabhagar or Gyan Bhawan for a political event," he said.

Meanwhile, state BJP chief Samrat Chaudhary claimed that the state government is "frightened" of the BJP and hence it has cancelled the booking just 24 hours before to "sabotage the event".

"We have booked the auditorium in advance. Why have they taken the booking if there was no provision of political events to be organized in it. It is a well planned conspiracy to disturb us," he said.
Patna, May 19 : Bihar police have arrested a wanted criminal from Madhubani district, who was involved in a number of robbery cases in Nepal as well as in the state.

Zahid Ali alias Zahid Rain, a native of Dhanusha district in Nepal, was planning a robbery in Madhubani district when the district police conducted a raid and arrested him.

ADGP Jitendra Singh Gangwar told mediapersons: "We had learnt that Zahid Ali was planning to execute a big loot in the district. Accordingly, we constituted a team which arrested him.

"The police also recovered two pistols, 23 live cartridges, marijuana, one mobile phone and a motorbike from his possession. He was booked in over a dozen cases at different police stations in Madhubani district. He was also involved in a number of criminal cases in Nepal.
Patna, May 19 : Keeping in view of excessive use of mobile phones, Bihar Police warned all personnel to avoid using them on duty, particularly for making reels and videos on duty.

A letter in this regard, issued on May 15, directed all personnel to avoid making reels and videos and uploading on social media. In case any personnel is found violating the direction, they would be liable to face departmental action, and may lose their jobs as well.

"It has been observed that the cops are excessively making reels of arms and ammunition, uniforms and secrets on public platforms. It is not only a violation but it also affects their working efficiency and concentration as well. Hence, it has been decided that those who violate the directives would face action," the letter said.

A similar letter was issued by Bihar Police on June 1, 2021 but did not seem to be effective. Now, it has issued these directions again.
Washington, May 19 : The third in-person Quad summit that was to take place in Australia earlier is now being held in Japan's Hiroshima on Saturday. Scheduled to last only 40 minutes, it will perhaps be the shortest summit yet of the body that has been seen as the Indo-Pacific bulwark against rising China.

US President Joe Biden, Prime Ministers Narendra Modi of India, Anthony Albanese of Australia and Fumio Kishida of Japan will meet on the sidelines of the ongoing G-7 summit, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who is travelling with the US delegation in Japan, said Friday.

"Along with sharing strategic assessments, the leaders will welcome new forms of Quad cooperation on secure digital technology, submarine cables, infrastructure capacity building, and maritime domain awareness," Jean-Pierre said further, adding, "President Biden thanks Prime Minister Albanese, as well as the Prime Ministers of Japan and India, for their flexibility, and he looks forward to rescheduling his trip".

Biden was earlier to travel to Australia from Japan for a bilateral summit with Albanese and a Quad summit, joined by Modi and Kishida. But he cancelled that leg as, the White House has said, he needs to be back in Washington to negotiate a budget deal with Republicans to raise America's debt limit and prevent it from defaulting, which could have grave consequences not only for the US but the world at large. The two sides have until June 1 to come to an agreement.

The cancellation of Biden's Australia visit has raised questions about America's commitment to the Quad, which has had a checkered history - taking off as a group to organise relief and rehabilitation efforts in the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami, it fell apart in 2008 as Australia bolted, caving in to Chinese pressure; it was resurrected by the Donald Trump administration with an officials-level meeting in 2017 and it grew rapidly to meetings of the Foreign Ministers of the four countries and to a summit-level meeting in January 2021, although it took place virtually.

The first in-person summit-level meeting took place in September 2021 in Washington DC and it lasted over 2 hours, according to a schedule released at the time by the White House of the president's engagements. Biden and Modi were joined by then Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and then Japanese premier Yoshihide Suga.

It was also a convenient time for the summit to take place in the US as the leaders were all expected to be in the the country for the annual UN General Assembly meetings in New York. Biden also held his first in-person bilateral meetings with each of the three leaders, having taken charge earlier in the year.

The second in-person Quad summit took place in May 2022 in Tokyo. And the four leaders spent considerable time together, according to the White House schedule of the US President. Biden, Modi, Albanese and Kishida first met as a group for 2 hours and then together launched an application for the Quad Fellowship and carried on for a working lunch.

The third in-person summit, which is taking place in Hiroshima on the sidelines of the G-7 summit joined by invited leaders of non-member countries such as India and Australia, is scheduled to start at 8.05 p.m. local time, according to a White House schedule, and the president and first lady Jill Biden are scheduled to leave together for a dinner with G-7 and invited leaders at 8.45 p.m.
Syria ended over a decade of exile from the Arab League on Monday as officials participated in a preparatory session ahead of Friday's summit in Saudi Arabia.

"I... take this opportunity to welcome the Syrian Arab Republic to the League of Arab States," Saudi finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan told the meeting, which was broadcast live by state TV channel Al Ekhbariya.

Jadaan added that he was "looking forward to working with everyone to achieve what we aspire to", as the camera panned to the Syrian delegation.

It is the first time Syrian officials have participated in an Arab League meeting since the body suspended Damascus in November 2011 over its violent crackdown on protests which spiralled into a conflict that has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions.

Earlier this month, the pan-Arab body officially welcomed back Syria's government, securing President Bashar al-Assad's return to the Arab fold.

Saudi King Salman has invited Assad to attend Friday's summit in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah, which would be his first since the 2010 meeting in Libya.

Regional capitals have gradually been warming to Assad as he has held onto power and clawed back lost territory with crucial support from Iran and Russia.

The United Arab Emirates re-established ties with Syria in 2018 and has been leading the recent charge to reintegrate Damascus.

Diplomatic activity picked up after a deadly earthquake struck Syria and Turkey on February 6.

A decision in March by Saudi Arabia and Iran, a close ally of Damascus, to resume ties has also shifted the regional political landscape.

Riyadh, which cut ties with Assad's government in 2012 and had long openly championed the Syrian leader's ouster, confirmed last week that work would resume at the two countries' respective diplomatic missions.

But while Syria's frontlines have mostly quietened, large parts of the north remain outside government control, and no political solution to the conflict is in sight.

Top diplomats from nine Arab countries discussed the Syria crisis in Saudi Arabia last month, and five regional foreign ministers including Syria's met in Jordan on May 1.

But not every country in the region has been quick to mend ties with Assad.

Qatar said this month it would not normalise relations with Assad's government but also noted this would not be "an obstacle" to Arab League reintegration.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Jaipur, May 19 : With Rajasthan set to go to the polls this year-end, the cycle of homecoming of rebel leaders has started.

On Friday, former Union minister Subhash Maharia, who had jumped ship from the BJP to the Congress in 2016, returned to the saffron camp along with former IPS officers Gopal Meena, Ramdev Singh Khairwa, former IAS officer P.R. Meena, and Narsi Kirad at the state BJP headquarters here.

After joining the BJP, Mahariya said: "I am feeling very happy to be back in my family again. I have rejoined as a BJP worker. Whatever responsibility the party gives me, I will try to fulfil it." A minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, Maharia was elected to the Lok Sabha thrice -- 1998, 1999 and 2004.

However, after his loss in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP denied him a ticket in 2014. After quitting the party in 2016, Maharia had contested against the BJP on a Congress ticket in 2019.
Visakhapatnam, May 19 : Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu on Friday welcomed the decision of the Reserve Bank of India to withdraw Rs 2,000 currency notes.

"I have been professing since a long time to abolish currency notes of higher denomination which is the root cause of corruption, laundering, hoarding and bribing of voters," tweeted Naidu, who had opposed introduction of the high denomination currency.

"This will not only boost the economy but also add tremendous value to the efforts of honest individuals who work with integrity for the larger good of people," he said.

Naidu feels that the move will help check distribution of money among voters to a large extent.

"The decision to ban the Rs 2,000 notes is certainly a very good sign. I had submitted a report on digital currency long ago and the scrapping of the notes will certainly check corruption. Politicians are trying to win the polls by distributing money to the voters and Rs 2,000 notes are playing a major role in this. Now, this can be checked to a great extent," Chandrababu Naidui said while addressing a huge gathering at Anakapalle as part of his ongoing 'Idemi Kharma Mana Rashtraniki' programme.

Stating that the Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is crazy for money and whatever he earns is not enough for him, the TDP leader said that Jagan is out to loot the whole state. "He is ready to kill anyone for money," the TDP supremo remarked.

Observing that the prices of all commodities, gas fuel and other items too are skyrocketting and if anyone raises voice against this false cases are being foisted against such persons, he said.
New Delhi, May 19 : Ahead of the Central government's move to bring an ordinance setting up an authority on service matters, the discontent between the Delhi government and the Lt. Governor grew further on Friday over the Supreme Court's verdict on the issue.

In a unanimous verdict, the Supreme Court, earlier this month ruled that the Delhi government has legislative and executive powers over services except for public order, police and land.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, after meeting L-G V.K. Saxena, claimed a "conspiracy" to overturn the ruling, while the L-G accused the AAP administration of disregarding rules and procedures.

The controversy intensified over the transfer of Services Secretary Ashish More, prompting separate meetings between Kejriwal and his ministers with the lieutenant governor on Friday evening.

Following his meeting with Saxena, the Chief Minister emphasised that the transfer of the services secretary is essential to implement further administrative changes.

While talking to reporters, Kejriwal expressed concerns about rumours suggesting that the central government may issue an ordinance to overturn the Supreme Court's verdict.

He hoped that these rumours were baseless and emphasised the need to respect the decision of the Constitution Bench.

He stated that if such an ordinance were to be passed, it would be a betrayal against the people of Delhi and the entire nation.

Prior to CM's meeting with L-G, five AAP government's Cabinet Ministers, Kailash Gahlot, Gopal Rai, Imran Hussain, Saurabh Bhardwaj and Atishi had to stage a dharna for one and a half hours outside the L-G Office, demanding an appointment with him.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal had written a letter in response to the recent letter he received from Lt. Governor.

In his reply to the L-G, Kejriwal addressed the unparliamentary language and concerns raised in the letter, while emphasising the commitment of the Delhi government to the welfare of its citizens.

Expressing surprise at the accusatory tone of the letter, Kejriwal acknowledged the significance of the issues mentioned.

The Chief Minister also underlined the government's determination to undertake extensive work in Delhi, aiming to transform it into the foremost city in the world.

Kejriwal assured that concrete action will be taken to accomplish this vision, showcasing Delhi as a global leader.

Regarding the references made in the letter to Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj, the Chief Minister expressed his disbelief, asserting the Minister's peaceful and amiable nature.

"However, in the event that Saurabh has said anything inappropriate, I suggest you address the matter directly with him, considering him as a younger brother," Kejriwal wrote.

Furthermore, the CM raised a pertinent question, questioning the need for such matters to become subjects of written correspondence between a Lt. Governor and the Chief Minister.

He emphasised the importance of focusing on the significant tasks at hand and appealed for Lt. Governor's blessings and cooperation in the ongoing efforts to serve the people of Delhi effectively.

In a growing bureaucratic standoff, Delhi Services Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj also expressed his displeasure over the lack of response from Saxena regarding the transfer of services secretary Ashish More.

"No communication has been received from the L-G's office in the past two days, prompting Bhardwaj to write a letter urgently requesting the clearance of the file," Bhardwaj claimed.

Highlighting the importance of the transfer, Bhardwaj emphasized that the government intends to implement several significant changes, making the appointment of a new secretary in the services department a crucial step.

The matter was initially raised by the minister on Thursday, and following the Civil Services Board (CSB) meeting held two days ago, the file was sent to L-G Saxena for final approval.

With the delay in receiving a response, Bhardwaj has now resorted to a formal letter, urging the L-G to promptly address the matter and expedite the clearance process.
Tehran, May 20 : A top Iranian military commander has said that Iran's ultimate revenge on the US for the assassination of the country's top commander Qassem Soleimani is yet to come.

Hossein Salami, the chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), made the remarks when addressing a commemoration ceremony in the central province of Isfahan, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Friday.

Elaborating on Tehran's revenge for the US assassination of Soleimani in January 2020, Salami said Iran threw the first "slap" by launching missiles at US Ain al-Asad base in the Iraqi province of Anbar just a few days after Soleimani's death.

"The second slap is nothing but the US gradual pullout from the region," the commander said, noting the "third slap" has not been delivered yet, Xinhua news agency reported.

On January 3, 2020, the US military assassinated Soleimani in a drone strike near the Baghdad International Airport. The assassination was condemned by Iran as "state terrorism".

In January this year, a senior Iranian judicial official said 94 US nationals have been charged with involving in Soleimani's assassination, stressing that no one will be immune from prosecution in this case.
Beirut, May 20 : Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has called on Arab brothers to assist Lebanon in securing a safe return of Syrian refugees to their homeland.

"The return of refugees cannot be achieved if Arabs do not unite their efforts with the support of the international community, and in communication and dialogue with Syria," a statement by Lebanon's Council of Ministers quoted Mikati as saying on Friday during the Arab League summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

He said Lebanon "has never hesitated to open its doors to our displaced Syrian brothers out of faith in the brotherhood of the two people and the advancement of humanitarian considerations".

However, it could no longer bear the burden of hosting the large number of Syrian refugees on its territories, as the displacement crisis has strained the country's capacity in terms of infrastructure, social influences, and political repercussions at home, Mikati added.

He said that it is a natural right of those displaced to return to their cities and villages, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Prime Minister added that Lebanon suffers from multiple crises weighing heavily on the Lebanese people struggling in dire living conditions.
Founder Joseph J. Rhoades, Esq. handles plaintiff personal injury and Workers Compensation cases at the firm. A graduate of Widener University Delaware Law School, Joe previously served as law clerk to the Honorable Henry R. Horsey with the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware prior to his private practice. Joe currently serves as Chair of the State of Delaware Workers Compensation Oversight Panel and also serves as the Injured Workers Representative. In addition, he is Vice Chair of the State of Delaware Superior Court Civil Rules Committee. He has been named to the Delaware Super Lawyers list each year since 2021.

Partner Stephen T. Morrow, Esq. focuses his practice on personal injury and Workers Compensation cases. A graduate of the New England School of Law, Steve co-chairs the Legislative Continuing Education Committee of the Delaware Trial Lawyers Association, for which he previously served as President. He is also the former Chair of the Delaware State Bar Associations Workers Compensation Section and provides pro bono legal representation to children in the Delaware foster care system. This is Steves first year being selected to the Super Lawyers list.

Super Lawyers recognizes attorneys throughout the country in more than 70 different practice areas. Selection is determined through an extensive multi-phase process, which includes peer nomination and recognition, professional achievements, and independent research.

Rhoades & Morrow is a personal injury law firm that has been serving Wilmington, Delaware and the surrounding areas for over 30 years. Those in need of an attorney can call 302-427-9500 or visit http://www.rhoadeslegal.com.
Google achieved a revenue of $279.8 billion in 2022.

Google I/O 2023 was held at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, reaching a global audience through a live stream on Google's YouTube and official I/O website.

As the company's flagship event of the year, it showcased an impressive array of new products, services, and AI advancements, capturing the essence of Google's cutting-edge developments.

DesignRush, a B2B marketplace connecting businesses with agencies, presents the most notable announcements during Google I/O 2023:



Pixel Fold, Pixel Tablet, and Pixel 7A pre-orders are now open

Google Workspace gets an upgrade with advanced AI capabilities, including Docs, Photos, Maps, and Gmail.

Google introduces Search Generative Experience (SGE) in Search Labs, incorporating generative AI technology into its search engine.

The AI chatbot Bard and AI image generator Adobe Firefly are now accessible to everyone.

Google Cloud welcomes a fresh lineup of AI tools to enhance its services.

Exciting new features are unveiled for Wear OS 4.

Read more about the event highlights in the full Spotlight news feature.

About DesignRush:

DesignRush.com is a B2B marketplace connecting businesses with agencies through expert reviews and agency ranking lists, awards, knowledge resources and personalized agency recommendations for vetted projects.
AmeriCare Medical, CEO, Greg Jamian with Post-Acute Care and Specialty Nursing Award winner, Mary Ross, BSN, RN Greg Jamian, AmeriCare Medical, CEO, stated, We are privileged to award Mary Ross, BSN, RN Childrens Hospital of Michigan, She has 35 years of service with 27 years of experience in ENT. Mary is proud of the support she provides to families with children who require tracheostomy. Thank you, Mary!"

Each year, AmeriCare Medical, Inc. and their home care company, AmeriStaff Nursing Services, partners with Oakland University - School of Nursing to sponsor this prestigious event. Greg Jamian, AmeriCare Medical, President and CEO, attended the ceremony and presented the award for Post-Acute Care and Specialty Nursing. Greg acknowledged, We are privileged to award Mary Ross, BSN, RN from DMC  Childrens Hospital of Michigan (CHM), Mary has 35 years of service at CHM with 27 years of experience in Ears, Nose, and Throat (ENT). Mary is proud of the support she has provided families with children who require tracheostomy. Her compassion and dedication is truly inspiring! Pamela Zawaszki, MBA, BSN, RN, HN-BC of Corewell Health was the runner-up for the Post-Acute Care Award.

Jamian also noted, AmeriStaff Nursing Services is an exemplary employer of the nursing fields, and currently employs over 200 nurses and caregivers to Michigan businesses, hospitals, schools and assisted care facilities, including two thirds of AmeriStaffs management team - who are alumni of the Oakland Universitys School of Nursing.

This year, there were nine Nightingale award winners and 123 nurses that were nominated throughout the State of Michigan. Oakland County Health Division was the evenings big winner, capturing three Nightingales, while Henry Ford Health had the most nominations with thirty-six.

Since 1979, AmeriCare Medical, Inc. provides unmatched integrated healthcare services to hospitals, assisted care facilities and private homes throughout Michigan. AmeriCare Medical, Inc. is the parent company of AmeriStaff Nursing Services, OakMed Home Nursing and Rehabilitation, Private Reserve Home Care, Rx iV Pharmacy, and Sun Medical Equipment offering an easy solution for patients and all of their home care needs. For more information visit:http://www.americaremedical.com


Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellows

The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation announced today its 2023 class of Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellows in Chemical Sciences, individuals who underscore the Foundations mission of supporting basic research in the chemical sciences and chemical instrumentation. They were selected after a three-part review led by a panel of scientific experts.

The Foundation will award more than $4.7 million in funding over the next three years for 16 exceptional research fellows from 11 universities and research institutions:

Chemical Instrumentation Development



Suman Gunasekaran, Ph.D., Cornell University

Chemical Sciences



Ashley Arcidiacono, Ph.D., The University of Chicago

Alexander Hurben, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley

Christian Oswood, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Clorice Reinhardt, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Grigorii Skorupskii, Ph.D., Princeton University

Jakob Dahl, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jake Jagannathan, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

James Law, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jonathan Shultz, Ph.D., Duke University

Kelsie Wentz, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University

Matthew Hannigan, Ph.D., New York University

Neil Razdan, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Stephanie Hart, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley

Steven Chapman, Ph.D., Northwestern University

Steven Chavez, Ph.D., Stanford University

Congratulations to the 2023 class of Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellows! shared Dr. Anne Hultgren, Executive Director of the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. We are inspired by their innovative chemistry and instrument development projects, and excited to provide this group of excellent scientists with support to help them transition to independent research careers.

The Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship provides salary and research support to postdoctoral scholars with the highest potential for success in an independent academic career in the chemical sciences, and to assist in their moves from mentored yet independent researchers to tenure-track positions. Funds for 2023 awardees will be issued this summer and extend over a period of up to three years.

About the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation

Located in Irvine, California, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation supports researchers and nonprofit research institutions in making the next generation of breakthroughs in chemistry and the life sciences. Founded in 1978 by 20th century scientific instrumentation pioneer Dr. Arnold O. Beckman, the Foundation supports United States institutions and young scientists whose creative, high-risk, and interdisciplinary research will lead to innovations and new tools and methods for scientific discovery. For more information, visit http://www.beckman-foundation.org/.

###
We live twenty miles from the ocean, and pools are everywhere, and some people dont know how to swim. We want to change that.

British Swim School, the nations leading learn to swim franchise company, continues to rapidly expand its reach throughout North America with the opening of its newest franchise location in San Jose, CA, servicing the Campbell and Almaden areas. Lessons will be held at the 24 Hour Fitness Center at 6223 Santa Teresa Blvd. on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Gabriel Flores, who works in the tech industry, and Lorena Martinez, a pre-and post-natal yoga instructor and wellness entrepreneur, are the new owners of the latest British Swim School in the Campbell-Almaden area. Gabriel will be working more behind the scenes, while Lorena will take the lead on-site, working with students and instructors. Her work with moms and babies makes her a natural fit for this franchise.

"The fact that British Swim School transforms and saves lives through its local communitIes was a crucial factor for me when it came to choosing a franchise," said Lorena.

Weve been exposed to two traumatic pool incidents involving kids, Gabriel admitted. We live twenty miles from the ocean, and pools are everywhere, and some people dont know how to swim. We want to change that.

For more than 40 years, British Swim School has been dedicated to teaching water survival skills by teaching infants, children and adults of all ages the skills needed for water acclimation, water survival, and stroke development. Its mission  ensure that every person, regardless of age or ability, has the opportunity to become a safe and happy swimmer.

Across the nation, eleven people die every day from unintentional drownings, with nearly 4,000 deaths occurring each year. Research shows that participation in formal swim programs, such as those offered by British Swim School, can reduce the risk of drowning by 88% among children who are most at risk for deaths caused by drowning. However, the risk of drowning isnt limited to children: a Red Cross survey found that more than half of all Americans (54%) either cant swim or dont have the basic swimming skills needed to save themselves in the event of a water emergency.

Gabriel emphasized the importance of safety when he said, "Although our kids' friends have pools, not all children or adults are proficient swimmers. Providing a service where our community can learn how to swim is crucial to us."

Weve always been water people, says Lorena. In fact, Gabriel and I met wakeboarding. Were super excited to open this summer.

Were delighted to have Gabriel and Lorena as part of the British Swim School family, said Ashley Gundlach, British Swim School President. Theyre dedicated to our mission of teaching survival skills and are a marvelous addition to our franchise.

For more information about British Swim School, visit http://www.britishswimschool.com/campbell-almaden.

To learn more about the benefits of British Swim Schools franchising opportunities, visit http://www.britishswimschoolfranchise.com.

About British Swim School

British Swim School, the nations most established swim school franchise, with over 40 years in business, believes that every individual, regardless of age or ability, should have the opportunity to become a safe and happy swimmer. Offering lessons for babies, children, and adults, the brand is dedicated to its mantra, Survival of the Littlest, focusing first on the survival skills needed to survive a water accident, then moving on to stroke development and more advanced skills. Not only does British Swim Schools give peace of mind to countless families who seek the essential life skill the brand offers their children but the purpose-driven franchise also offers an exceptional opportunity for entrepreneurs who seek a fulfilling business venture with a sound foundation, low investment, and an easily scalable model. Part of the Buzz Franchise Brands family, British Swim School currently operates over 300 schools across the United States and Canada.

For more information about British Swim School, visit http://www.britishswimschool.com.

To learn more about the benefits of British Swim Schools franchising opportunities, visit http://www.britishswimschoolfranchise.com.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met with Lebanese Prime Minister Naguib Mikati in Jeddah on Friday to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries and efforts to help Lebanon implement necessary reforms to overcome various crises.

Earlier on Friday, President El-Sisi also met with Tunisian President Kais Saeid where they discussed bilateral relations as well as regional crises in Sudan and Libya.

The presidents meetings came on the sideline of his participation in the 32nd Arab Summit that will start in the Saudi Red Sea coastal city later Friday, according to a statement released by spokesman for the Egyptian presidency.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Dr. Lance Gibbon was unanimously selected by the Hood Canal Board of Education to serve as the new superintendent.

The Hood Canal Board of Education voted unanimously to hire Dr. Lance Gibbon to serve as the new superintendent for the Hood Canal School District. His selection followed a thorough process facilitated by the professional search firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA).

After interviewing in multiple forums, visiting classrooms, and chatting with students and staff, the reviews for Dr. Gibbon were overwhelmingly positive. According to School Board President Edie Reclusado, The consensus regarding his positive attributes were: a thoughtful approach to issues, a commitment to collaboration and communication, and a relationship-oriented approach to leadership.

Dr. Gibbons first principal job was in a small PK-4 primary school in Anacortes. He describes this as one of the best jobs hes had. I knew each child and family by name and experienced a deep sense of connection, Dr. Lance Gibbon reflected. Ive worked in bigger schools and districts with more programs and staff but missed the family environment. Coming back to a place where this is possible is one of the biggest things that attracted me to Hood Canal.

The Hood Canal School District has experienced frequent leadership changes which Dr. Gibbon recognized can be difficult for everyone. Its challenging to get traction when youre always adjusting to someone new, he said. Ill be working hard to help the school community heal and earn their trust.

Dr. Gibbon is excited about the rich Native culture in Hood Canal and continuing to grow the relationship with the Tribe. Ive enjoyed partnering with Indian Lands districts and local tribes in the past, Dr. Gibbon shared. I was very impressed by the range of services offered by the Skokomish Indian Tribe. I look forward to working with the Tribal Council on ways we can enrich Native education, increase cultural connections, and better serve our kids together.

Dr. Gibbon also shared that he looks forward to working with the Hood Canal School Board. They have unique backgrounds and perspectives, which is so important, he noted. And they also seem to work really well as a team because of their incredible shared passion and dedication to the students, staff, and families of Hood Canal. Their optimism about the future of the district was inspiring to me. I think well make a great team!

Pending contract negotiations, Dr. Gibbon starts officially on July 1, but he hopes to spend several days in the district prior to that time to meet and connect with students, staff, families, and Tribal and community leaders.

About Lance Gibbon

Dr. Lance Gibbon is a 4th generation educator in Washington State and loves the Pacific Northwest. During his distinguished 30-year career in four districts, he served as a superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, and music teacher. His efforts have contributed to improved student achievement, expanded opportunities, greater equity, and state and national awards. Dr. Gibbon is deeply committed and community-oriented, twice recognized as Community Leader of the Year.
"Naming Fidessa Surveillance as the Best Solution for Records Retention reflects IONs commitment to delivering innovative solutions to meet our customers evolving needs, said Robert Cioffi, Global Head of Equities Product Management, ION Markets.

ION, a global leader in mission-critical trading and workflow automation software, high-value analytics, ad strategic consulting, announces that its Fidessa Surveillance solution has won Best Solution for Records Retention at the RegTech Insight Europe Awards.

Hosted by A-Team Group, the RegTech Insight Europe Awards recognize RegTech solutions that improve firms ability to respond effectively to the evolving and ever more complex regulatory requirements across the global financial services industry. Fidessa Surveillance, developed by LIST  an ION company  is a multi-asset solution for record-keeping, to which market surveillance, regulatory reporting, and business analytics can be added. The solutions rich functionality earned it the top honors.

Given the effects of globalization and resulting similarities in regulation worldwide, trading systems must manage high-frequency market data; extend record-keeping components to deal with all trading activity; and process legal entities and personal data. With over 35 years experience in providing trading and compliance solutions and industry knowledge, LIST developed Fidessa Surveillance as a single, unique, and normalized data model that addresses the markets evolving regulatory demands.

By design, Fidessa Surveillance is a robust, reliable, and flexible buy-and-sell-side solution, prioritizing data quality enforcement during collection, data validation, easy integration, and correlation across multiple sources. The solution offers accurate reporting and comprehensive detection of abusive behavior. And it navigates all major regulatory landscapes and complies with European surveillance regulations, meeting the obligations embodied in MAD/MR, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Singapore, and the USA.

Naming Fidessa Surveillance as the Best Solution for Records Retention reflects IONs commitment to delivering innovative solutions to meet our customers evolving needs, said Robert Cioffi, Global Head of Equities Product Management, ION Markets. We are proud that the LIST-developed solution can cope with the unprecedented growth in new trading regulations over the past few years.

We are thrilled that Fidessa Surveillance has been honored for its exceptional record retention, said Mirko Marcadella, Chief Product and Marketing Officer, LIST. The solution can process large amounts of data and offers a workflow management system with built-in connectivity for reporting entities and National Competent Authorities.

About ION

ION provides mission-critical trading and workflow automation software, high-value analytics and insights, and strategic consulting to financial institutions, central banks, governments, and corporates. Our solutions and services simplify complex processes, boost efficiency, and enable better decision-making. We build long-term partnerships with our clients, helping transform their businesses for sustained success through continuous innovation. For more information, visit https://iongroup.com/.

About ION Markets

ION Markets provides transformative technology and solutions to financial institutions dealing in asset management, cleared derivatives, equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, and secured funding. Our award-winning end-to-end solutions simplify clients operations by automating the entire trade lifecycle, providing tools to manage risk, and maximizing access to liquidity, while giving real-time access to critical information for timely operational decisions and execution on a global scale. For more information, visit https://iongroup.com/markets/.

About LIST

An ION company, LIST is a leading financial technology provider to the global trading community, including trading venues, market makers, brokers, asset managers, risk managers, and compliance officers. LISTs innovative turnkey products and delivery, driven by customers needs, play a key role in supporting successful business growth in todays volatile times. Continuous innovation and client partnerships around the globe have built trust and reliance on LISTs unique real-time and data analytics capabilities.

About RegTech Insight Europe Awards

The annual RegTech Insight Awards  Europe recognizes RegTech solutions that have successfully improved firms ability to effectively respond to the evolving and ever more complex regulatory requirements across the global financial services industry. For more information, visit https://a-teaminsight.com/awards/regtech-awards.
"I have been a passionate champion of women trailblazers all my life - these are extraordinary women who have had the courage to stand up for what they believe in, no matter how daunting the task or undertaking."

Ellevate Network, the largest community of women+ at work, is excited to announce that Janet Hanson will be an honoree at the Mobilize Women Cocktail Reception on June 6th at Prince George Ballroom in New York City.

Following her successful career at Goldman Sachs, in 1997 Janet founded 85 Broads (the name being a humorous riff on Goldmans former headquarter address), the first professional womens network of its kind. The mission of 85 Broads was to connect women currently working at Goldman Sachs with the firms female alumnae to create a powerful crossruff of experience and intellect. Over the next decade and a half, 85 Broads expanded its membership to include over 30,000 trailblazing women who attended many of the leading colleges, universities, and graduate schools worldwide.

In 2013, Janet stepped down as CEO of the network and in 2014, 85 Broads was rebranded as Ellevate. Ellevates new mission was to create a coalition of ambitious and supportive women who wanted to mobilize their collective power to effect positive and lasting change throughout the culture of business.

Through in-person and virtual programming, Ellevate creates safe spaces where women+ can be honest about work and get validation, perspective, and actionable advice. One of Ellevates signature programs, the annual Mobilize Women Summit, will be held online on June 7th. In advance of the Summit, Ellevate will be hosting an Awards Cocktail Reception on June 6th at The Prince George Ballroom in New York City.



The awards, including the International Woman of Change Award which has been bestowed in the past to actress and activist Debra Messing and production designer Hannah Beachler, will honor women+ who have used their social, professional, political, or economic capital to create a more equitable playing field for women and minorities.

"I am honored and delighted to accept the Ellevate Lifetime Achievement Award," said Hanson. "I have been a passionate champion of women trailblazers all my life - these are extraordinary women who have had the courage to stand up for what they believe in, no matter how daunting the task or undertaking. I am continuously inspired by the accomplishments, energy, vision, and leadership of the members of this amazing network!"

"We're thrilled to honor Janet Hanson with the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Mobilize Women," said Maricella Hererra, CEO of Ellevate Network. "As the founder of 85 Broads, she has been a driving force of the network since its inception. Her work and passion have been fundamental to the growth of our community and mission."



If youd like to attend the Mobilize Women Awards and Cocktail Reception, you can purchase your tickets here or email corporate@ellevatenetwork.com to reserve a table.. If youd like to participate in the Mobilize Women Virtual Summit on June 7th, you can register here.



Ellevate would like to thank all sponsors involved in this year's Mobilize Women, RBC Wealth Management, Accenture, Alliant, SunCommon, ABA, Diageo, DTCC, NFP, New York Life, Mamava, Tend Academy, WE Magazine for Women, Women of Wisdom Magazine, and Satyn Magazine.

If your company would like to support Mobilize Women as a sponsor, contact Allison Matejczyk at allison@ellevatenetwork.com.
NAI Interconnect Solutions for Industrial Automation The NAI exhibit will include a video presentation of the companys capabilities by displaying sample interconnect products, including cable assemblies, harnesses, panel, and box builds, as well as an overview of the company and its manufacturing plants.

The NAI exhibit will include a video presentation of the companys capabilities by displaying sample interconnect products, including cable assemblies, harnesses, panel, and box builds. In addition, a second video presents an overview of the company and includes scenes from its manufacturing plants, which are strategically located around the globe.

NAI specializes in designing and manufacturing interconnect solutions to support applications in industrial technologies, such as robotics, warehouse automation, industrial equipment, and machinery, and IIoT. They are fully capable of handling Low Volume / High Mix orders, as well as High Volume / Low Mix orders.

Automate 2023 is sponsored by A3: the Association for Advancing Automation and is being held at the Huntington Place Convention Center in Detroit from May 22 to May 25. A3 states Automate is the leading automation showcase in North America with over 750 exhibitors, 200 speakers and 25,000 registrants.

For more information, visit NAI at http://www.nai-group.com/.

About NAI

NAI is the most resourceful interconnect solutions provider customers count on to solve design, manufacturing, and logistics problems. Offering copper and fiber optic cable assemblies and harnesses, coupled with block assemblies, panel and box builds, NAI

provides an unparalleled breadth of capability. Being remarkably scalable, flexible, and agile, NAI customer projects are brought to life very quickly, while meeting or exceeding expectations and delivering high reliability.

NAI strives for high integrity with customer relationships by providing notable transparency and delivering on promises. Product and market diversity, an extraordinary talent base and an ability to supply globally are distinct characteristics of NAI.

Only NAI provides this unique combination of company attributes, distinguishing them as the most reliable supplier of interconnect product solutions and expert service.
Rabbi "Shush" Carson of Tennesse joins Sim Shalom online synagogue to lead Shabbat and weeknight services Rabbi "Shush" Carson is happy to be a spiritual leader for the modern world. Embracing the Whole Tapestry of Jewish Families. she values a world where all People - Jews, and non-Jews alike - find a spiritual home and are accepted as they are,

Sim Shalom Online Synagogue continues to grow and on Friday, May 12th installed three new Rabbis who will be leading services. Sim Shalom was developed and dedicated to broadcast services online directly to congregants in 2010 long before covid. Attendees who joined Rabbi Blane from around the world could always chat with one another and him but the introduction of other platforms allows them to now see and talk directly to each other. They like to say they can attend services from home in their PJs What could be a warmer vibe? The addition and installation of three additional clergy who bring a refreshed take and vibrancy to the thriving Friday night Shabbat services.

Rabbis RuthE Levy of Georgia, Shoshana "Shush" Carson of Tennessee and Shari Berman of Hawaii and Japan were installed online before the Sim Shalom congregation. All were trained under Rabbi Steve Blane at the Jewish Spiritual Leaders' Institute (JSLI).

Rabbi Shari Joy Berman is a Special Associate Professor at the Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine in Northern Japan. Shari has been teaching English, writing, editing, and translating from Japanese to English for over 40 years.

A lay leader since January 2007, and Rabbi since last year, these days she honors Shabbat in various ways in two US times zones and in her own in Japan.

Berman will be leading Friday night Shabbat Services for Sim Shalom and reading Torah which she excels at. She joined the installation service from Japan, where it was 2am.

Rabbi Shoshana "Shush" Carson is a California native, who has lived in East Tennessee for the last 24+ years. She has served as a cantorial soloist for various congregations in California and Tennessee for over 30 years.

Shush is currently the Director for Family Religious Life at Heska Amuna, a Conservative Synagogue in Knoxville where she is the Education Director and leads bi-weekly Shabbat morning services for the congregation.

She and her husband David have three children and four grandchildren. She will be leading Shabbat and weeknight services for Sim Shalom.

Rabbi RuthE (RuthEllen) was born in Orange County, California. RuthE entered the US Air Force in which she served for 12 years at duty stations around the world.

She has been a Jewish educator and Spiritual Leader ever since.

In 2007, an opportunity developed to start a Jewish book store, and RuthE began her Jewish book business. Since that time, she has expanded and moved the business to Roswell, GA, where it is still operating.

RuthE is married to husband David and they have five sons and 6 grandchildren and reside in Marietta, GA. She will be leading weeknight services for Sim Shalom.

ABOUT SIM SHALOM AND JSLI

Sim Shalom is an interactive online Jewish Universalist synagogue which is liberal in thought and traditional in liturgy. Created in 2009 by Rabbi Steven Blane on Manhattan's Upper West Side, Sim Shalom offers a means of connecting the unconnected. Rabbi Blane leads accessible Shabbat services every Friday night using a virtual interface and additionally Sim Shalom provides online education programs, Jazz concerts, conversion and life-cycle ceremonies along with weeknight services at 7:00PM EST led by Rabbis of this online community.

Rabbi Blane is the Founder and Dean of the Jewish Spiritual Leaders' Institute, https://jsli.net, the online professional rabbinical program and of the Union of Jewish Universalist Communities, https://ujuc.org.

Sim Shalom, a non profit 501  (3) tax-exempt organization, nurtures a Jewish connection through its mission of innovative services, creative education and dynamic outreach to the global community. For more information visit the website.
Mental Health Awareness Week 2023 Logo ''Star has long understood the importance of good mental health, both in the workplace and outside of it and has a number of employees who are trained Mental Health First Aiders, to provide support, guidance and reassurance to employees experiencing mental health issues.''

Star Refrigeration is once again celebrating Mental Health Awareness Week, this year running from the 15th-21st May, by providing access to a number of training sessions and activities aimed at promoting wellbeing and destigmatising Mental Health issues.

This year the company is focusing on 2023s Mental Health Awareness Week topic - anxiety - which can have a huge impact both physically and mentally, as well as within the workplace. During this week, Star employees have the chance to take part in numerous activities, including Wellbeing webinars, Coffee and Connect sessions and the Tell Us Something Good initiative, where staff can contribute positive customer and colleague feedback and news, which will then be shared company-wide.

The Wellbeing webinar series includes a number of 30 minute episodes on various anxiety-related topics, including the final webinar, Top Tips for Managing Anxiety, streaming on Friday 19th May at 12pm. In the last webinar of this years series, Star employees will be taught effective techniques for overcoming fear and anxiety and will learn how to manage anxiety better by taking part in day to day activities. The Coffee and Connect Sessions will see the company encouraging its employees to take time out during the week, for a coffee break where they connect up with colleagues, whether in the office or online via Teams.

Nadia Rae, Group HR Director at Star Refrigeration, said, This year, were offering a number of activities and events aimed at boosting our employees' understanding of anxiety, how to take steps to improve their wellbeing and well also be providing them with information on support and resources available.

Star has long understood the importance of good mental health, both in the workplace and outside of it and has a number of employees who are trained Mental Health First Aiders, to provide support, guidance and reassurance to employees experiencing mental health issues. The company plans to expand the number of Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs) it already has, aiming to add to those previously trained to build a network of 38 MHFAs across the entire company.

To complement Star Refrigerations strong support for Mental Health Awareness Week, the company will also be highlighting another important initiative, The Star Community Involvement Programme- a corporate programme designed to encourage Stars local teams to give back to the community. Through the scheme, Star offers employees funding, or 6 days time away from work, to enable them to donate time or money to a good cause within the local community.

Mrs Rae, said, We want to do more than improve our own employees wellbeing; we also want to empower our staff to be in a position to make a positive contribution to our local communities where possible.

If employees have identified a local cause they feel would benefit from support, they can share this within their department and put forward a request for support, resources, or funding.

Star Refrigeration has long been involved in community initiatives to improve wellbeing and alongside these efforts, the organisation is encouraging its own employees to further boost their mental health through participation in Mays National Walking Month. Star are inspiring their staff to commit to walking by making small changes that build up over time and are providing them with helpful resources and podcasts, in an effort to enhance the Mental Health Week Awareness programme and support wellbeing.

Those interested in discovering more about Mental Health Awareness Week 2023 as well as this years topic, anxiety, can visit https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/

For more information on Star Refrigeration, visit https://www.star-ref.co.uk


Khepera Batties and WeXL Boundless youth participants "The joy, the energy, the creativity that filled every session were testament to how powerful and fun learning can be when we come together, says WeXL founder Arabella DeLucco.

WeXL.org, a trailblazing nonprofit dedicated to fostering creativity and equity, celebrates the completion of its first in-person Boundless Self-discovery Filmmaking program. Thanks to Oakland-based thisspace, a startup connecting communities, WeXL has partnered with The Village Project SF to create a dynamic, fun, and engaging environment at St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church in the Western Addition. A harmonious collaboration unfolded as young creators aged 5 to 11 explored their passions while making movies.

Inspired by WeXL's vision, "Together We eXceL as Creators for an Equitable World," the program encouraged learning from seasoned professionals and initiated an energetic, symbiotic relationship between mentors and students. The five-week program was full of laughter, camaraderie, and an atmosphere of shared creativity.

"The joy, the energy, the creativity that filled every session were testament to how powerful and fun learning can be when we come together, says WeXL founder Arabella DeLucco. "This program was not only about imparting filmmaking skills. It was about dissolving barriers, cultivating mutual respect, and igniting a shared passion for storytelling that transcends individual identities."

Industry professionals -- Khepera Batties taught documentary filmmaking; Keika Lee and EunBi Chang, animation; Marissa Smit, acting; and Antonio Garro, green screen and editing. The mentors guided participants to discover their creative potential in a fun and nurturing setting.

"Watching the students create their films with enthusiasm and imagination is inspiring, and it reminds me that they have unique artistic voices that the world needs," says mentor Marissa.

The culmination of this unique and vibrant program will be an exclusive screening of the films made by the young creators at The Little Roxie Theater from 4:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. This joyous event symbolizes the collective creativity sparked when children and mentors unite in the spirit of shared learning and fun.

Following the youth screening is a panel talk on The Future of Film & Media in partnership with the Bay Area Film Mixer (BAFM) from 5 to 8 p.m. at 518 Valencia.

WeXL invites you to join this celebration and witness the creative brilliance nurtured through collaboration, fun, and shared respect.

**About WeXL.org**

Founded by Jefferson Award recipient Arabella DeLucco, WeXL.org is a San Francisco-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to empower through the creative process. WeXL and our impact network in arts, media, and technology work to create a more equitable world by offering programs that foster creativity and inclusion. Everyone can excel when given the right tools and opportunities. Together WeXL. To learn more or support our programs, visit http://www.WeXL.org.
Cogent Labs Inc. transcosmos inc. and Cogent Labs Inc. will help clients streamline business processes and achieve DX by using the AI OCR services for automatic sorting and process management on a variety of transcosmos data platforms all designed for a specific operational process.

transcosmos inc. and Cogent Labs Inc. (Representative Director, President CEO: Eric Hideyuki Whiteway; Cogent Labs) hereby announce that the two companies have signed a capital and business alliance agreement. Leveraging cutting-edge AI technologies that Cogent Labs owns, the two companies now collaborate in expanding transcosmos's BPO x Digital Transformation (DX) service offerings.

Given the workforce and talent shortage in recent years, there is a growing momentum towards workstyle reform and digital transformation (DX). Adopting DX to a wider range of processes brings more benefits to businesses. And so, there is also an increasing demand for services that combine DX with business process outsourcing (BPO); services that help organizations modernize, standardize and optimize their overall business processes.

Under the BPO Services Business unit, transcosmos has been offering a range of Digital BPO Services that underpin clients' business foundation by combining BPO and information technology (IT) services. Its competitive strength lies in its ability to transform and optimize each business process by merging operational excellence and various technologies. At transcosmos, process optimization starts from digitizing all kinds of documents securely and accurately. From there, transcosmos performs decision making and data processing tasks required for each operational process on its platforms.

Cogent Labs stands out from the crowd with its ability to extract and digitize information quickly and accurately from a range of documents with the power of cutting-edge AI technologies. transcosmos has also been using SmartRead, a next-gen AI OCR service by Cogent Labs, in digitizing documents efficiently.

With this capital alliance, the two companies will combine their respective technologies and strengths and expand the service coverage, thereby serving many more clients in reinforcing their business foundation. With AI OCR services by Cogent Labs, businesses can not only digitize standard form documents, but also all kinds of non-standard documents including design drawings, as well as commercial documents such as invoices. In addition, the two companies will help clients streamline business processes and achieve DX by using the AI OCR services for automatic sorting and process management on a variety of transcosmos data platforms all designed for a specific operational process.

Together, transcosmos and Cogent Labs will provide clients with services that underpin their efforts in reinforcing their business foundation, and ultimately help clients solve their challenges and create additional value.

*transcosmos is a trademark or registered trademark of transcosmos inc. in Japan and other countries.

*Other company names and product or service names used here are trademarks or registered trademarks of respective companies.

 About Cogent Labs Inc.

Cogent Labs is a company that is working to digitally transform knowledge work by developing and offering cutting-edge yet practical AI services that can be used from the cloud to the edge. It provides AI-based products and services to support companies that are dealing with such issues as improving productivity in the workplace or that are facing shortages of skilled labor. The company made its SmartRead IDP service available as it moves ahead with building its Cogent DX platform for realizing digital transformation in documents through recognition and natural language processing technologies. Currently, Cogent Labs offers Kaidoku SmartFind, an enterprise document search service utilizing its proprietary natural language processing engine.

Head Office: Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower 36F, 3-2-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032

Established: April 2014

Representative Director: Eric Hideyuki Whiteway

Capital: 4,601,591,952 yen (including reserves)

URL: http://www.cogent.co.jp/en/

 About transcosmos inc.

transcosmos launched its operations in 1966. Since then, we have combined superior "people" with up-to-date "technology" to enhance the competitive strength of our clients by providing them with superior and valuable services. transcosmos currently offers services that support clients' business processes focusing on both sales expansion and cost optimization through our 170 bases across 28 countries/regions with a focus on Asia, while continuously pursuing Operational Excellence. Furthermore, following the expansion of e-commerce market on the global scale, transcosmos provides a comprehensive One-Stop Global E-Commerce Services to deliver our clients' excellent products and services to consumers in 46 countries/regions around the globe. transcosmos aims to be the "Global Digital Transformation Partner" of our clients, supporting the clients' transformation by leveraging digital technology, responding to the ever-changing business environment.

Media Contact

Public Relations, Cogent Labs Inc. Tel: +81-3-6773-1836 Email: pr@cogent.co.jp

Public Relations & Advertising Department, transcosmos inc. Email: pressroom@trans-cosmos.co.jp
Wisconsin Center District and Gilbane | Smith recently gathered with state and local leaders to celebrate the topping-off milestone for the expanded Baird Center in downtown Milwaukee. This achievement marks the completion of the steel structure of the expansion.

This milestone really sets us up for the next several months to complete construction so that were on time and budget, said Marty Brooks, Wisconsin Center District President and CEO. I want to thank our construction partners, Gilbane and Smith, who have worked around the clock to ensure the project is on time and budget.

Our project team and the incredible craftworkers have put in significant hard work and effort to get the building to this topping-off milestone, said Alicia Dupies, Gilbane Building Company Vice President and Milwaukee Business Leader. The men and women building this complex project are truly building more than a building. This expansion will result in a catalytic change to how our city can host conventions, which will have a ripple effect on our economy. We are proud to support Wisconsin Center District in this investment in the city of Milwaukee.

Upon completion, this monumental expansion project will nearly double the convention centers size, bringing the expo hall to 300,000 SF, adding 24 new meeting rooms, six additional loading docks, and a rooftop ballroom with spectacular outdoor terraces. In addition to the expansion, the project includes a complete renovation of the existing convention center.

The expansion project includes a comprehensive economic inclusion plan by committing to 25 percent minority-owned businesses, five percent women-owned businesses, and one percent disabled veteran-owned businesses. The project has also committed to a residents-preferred program of 40 percent, which means that at least $40 million of the $100 million in anticipated construction wages will be earned by residents of the City of Milwaukee. Upon opening in May 2024, the expanded Wisconsin Center is projected to support 2,300 full-time equivalent jobs throughout the state of Wisconsin.

About Gilbane Building Company

Gilbane is a global integrated construction and facility management services firm with strong roots in Southeast Wisconsin over the past 40+ years. Gilbanes downtown Milwaukee office has been steadily growing in recent years. Gilbane has assembled an impressive portfolio of work, while staying true to our commitment of community partnerships, building capacity and safety excellence. Our extensive experience translates into a builder our clients can trust with valuable lessons learned and best practices on a variety building types including corporate, high-rise developments, industrial, food and beverage, education, hospitality and municipal, to name a few. Visit http://www.gilbaneco.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Egypt is always keen on strengthening joint Arab action in order to resolve all crises facing the Arab world, the Spokesman of the Egyptian Presidency Ahmed Fahmy told CBC on Thursday.

"Resolving Arab crises is the highest and noblest goal of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and the Egyptian state., Fahmy told the Egyptian TV station ahead of the Arab Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday.

Supporting joint Arab work is not just rhetoric but is backed by real actions, he added.

The conflict in Sudan and the developments in Palestine will be the top issues addressed in the summit meetings, he noted.

President El-Sisi arrived in Jeddah on Thursday to participate in the Arab Summit.

The presidential spokesman said that the current summit is different because it witnesses the return of Syria with its full membership in the Arab League.

Egypt looks forward to this return contributing to finding a settlement to the Syrian crisis in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254 to end the suffering of the Syrian people and put an end to external interventions and militias so that the Syrian people can regain security and stability towards a better future, he said.

On Thursday, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad arrived in Jeddah to participate in the summit.

Earlier this month, the Arab League reinstated the membership of Syria after a 12-year-suspension.

On developments in the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the presidential spokesperson said Egypt defends its right to life and water.

It is an issue that the Egyptian president and state institutions do not compromise on, he said.

Egypt respects Ethiopia's rights in development and is ready to offer its expertiese to all friendly countries, Fahmy noted.

The latest developments in the dispute on the Ethiopian dam are expected to be discussed during the summit in a closed session, according to news reports.

In March the Arab League Council placed the GERD issue as a permanent topic on the councils agenda.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met on Friday Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman on the sidelines of the 32nd Arab Summit in Jeddah.

According to the Egyptian presidency, Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomed President El-Sisi, expressing Saudi Arabia's appreciation for Egypt, its leadership and its people.

He also affirmed Saudi Arabia's aspiration to further enhance the distinguished bilateral relations between the two countries in various fields.

For his part, President El-Sisi extended his congratulations to the crown prince on assuming the presidency of the summit and expressed Egypt's wishes and confidence in Saudi Arabia's success in promoting joint Arab work in the future.

The official spokesperson added that the meeting discussed ways to enhance bilateral relations and sustain the partnership between the two countries in a manner that serves the common interests and mutual benefits of the Egyptian and Saudi people.

Earlier Friday, El-Sisi met with the Lebanese Prime Minister Naguib Mikati and Tunisia President Kais Saeid.

The Egyptian president had arrived on Thursday to participate in the summit.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


In response to recent spikes in anti-trans legislation, particularly in the South, the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance hosted an hour-long virtual panel discussion May 18 billed as A Conversation on Supporting Trans/Nonbinary Staff and Community.

The panel, which drew 54 attendees from around the country, was moderated by Candice Huber, the owner of Tubby & Coos Mid-City Bookshop in New Orleans who announced that the store is transitioning into a queer traveling bookshop." The panel featured Libertie Valance, the co-owner of Firestorm Books in Asheville, N.C., a 15-year-old queer and trans collectively-run bookstore; and E.R. Anderson, the executive director of Charis Circle, the nonprofit programming arm of Charis Books & More in Decatur, Ga., one of the countrys oldest feminist bookstores. The moderator and panelists all identify as trans; Huber and Valance also identify as nonbinary.

The discussion was divided into three segments: accommodating trans and nonbinary employees and making the workplace a safe place for them; fighting anti-trans legislation as a bookseller; and supporting the trans and nonbinary community.

Anderson said that Charis asks new employees to fill out a form in order to obtain information that the employee is willing to share, such as who to contact in case of emergency. We often have employees whose emergency contact is not going to be their mother or their father, its going to be their best friend or their room-mate. The form also asks which pronouns are preferred, both within the store, and externally. You get to tell us how you want us to behave in [different] contexts. Well make sure youre seen in your workplace with dignity and respect, he said. Anderson explained that the store also is receptive to changing names and gender classifications on payroll records and other paperwork to accommodate employees.

Noting that peoples gender identity sometimes shifts, and that it can be triggering to be asked to publicize ones preferred pronouns, Valance emphasized that many trans and nonbinary people are in crisis a lot of the time, due to being marginalized and urged bookstore owners and managers to have a higher level of flexibility when dealing with employees who are in crisis.

Huber pointed out that they think all the time when in meetings if the other person(s) present think I should exist and suggested that if one wants to be a good ally, that showing your support in various ways is important outside of meetings so that when were in them, its a little a little bit easier. I can tell myself, I know these people support me, its okay, lets just do this meeting. It's also important to show in general that you care.

Huber suggested that bookstore owners and managers not pressure their employees into disclosing preferred pronouns. Asking is fine, but dont make it required, they said.

Anti-Trans Legislation

The conversation heated up when it turned to legislation targeting trans individuals and the panel made connections between discrimination against trans individuals and book banning. Noting that he has been fighting anti-trans legislation in Georgia, and has personally lobbied Republican officials at the state capitol who want us to die, Anderson expressed frustration: Ive been there during work hours when I should have been booking author events. Pointing out that trans people are being denied access to medical care, Anderson described this as a really perilous time and declared that the mainstream media is doing a terrible job of reporting on this crisis. He urged booksellers and other allies to get in the middle of opposing this type of legislation.

Valance urged store owners and managers to support employees who want to take a stand on political issues. Be flexible, close the store for a day, let your staff go to a rally or attend a civil action, they said, noting that those who discriminate against trans people are often the same people who want to ban books. Firestorm Books has been partnering with youth groups, making space to those folks, and making sure they know the bookstore is a safe space for them. It has also been working with prison book programs, including the Transmission Book Project, an organization that sends books to incarcerated LGBTQ people throughout the Southeast. We dont talk as much as we should that prisons are ground zero for book banning, they said, In a lot of ways, things that are done to people who are incarcerated trickle out into our society.

Huber said that book challengers engage in relationship building and coalition building and that we need to be doing that as well. They urged people to get involved with their local communities, and connect with their local government officials. Knowing my hyper local government has been helpful to me in fighting this stuff [book bans], Huber said.

Anderson added that if one has children, one must get involved as much as these right-wing mothers groups and advocate before school boards for childrens freedom to read. If we do not impose our will on some of these systems, were going to be steamrolled over completely, he said, Were fighting the clock and its important for folks to be more aggressive about advocating for what you want your vision of the world to be, because were about to not have the opportunity to advocate for ourselves anymore; its that dire.

Supporting The Community

Anderson noted that bookstores are information hubs, and that booksellers can provide good information on a range of issues to customers or point them in the direction of people or organizations that can best help them.

Recalling that when Firestorm first opened, its staff was more circumspect about their political views for fear of alienating customers, Valance insisted that bookstores need to step it up like Firestorm has.

Sometimes were more afraid of alienating folks who dont share our values. We need to think about who might we be able to reach as a result of being honest and taking a stand, Valance explained, At the end of the day, there are some topics that transcend marketing and we just have to take a stand, whether or not it ultimately impacts our bottom line. I would call upon everyone to understand this issue [trans rights] and many other issues, such as abortion access and anti-Black racism, have to be more than a marketing decision.

Huber noted that they, too, have become more outspoken in their role as a bookseller, and it has not hurt my business in any way  it has helped it in a lot of ways. Queer people are everywhere, people of color are everywhere, marginalized people are everywhere, more specifically trans and nonbinary people, are everywhere. If you show support to that group of people, you might alienate some, but you will gain others.

Noting that he knows some booksellers that have received pushback because they have been perceived as liberal, Anderson responded that it all boils down to trans people being under attack and we need everybody by our side. We need people who feel that trans people are worth fighting for, right now.
It was a big week for free speech advocates. As we reported in Publishers Weekly, PEN America filed a major lawsuit (with Penguin Random House, a group of authors, and a group of parents) alleging that school administrators in Escambia County, Florida, are illegally banning and restricting access to books in school libraries. Supporters say it is an important escalation in the defense of the freedom to read, especially in that it includes a major publisher.

Meanwhile, at their annual gala on May 18, PEN America had a surprise guest: author Salman Rushdie. The Associated Press reports that the award-winning author and free speech advocate, who was brutally attacked and nearly killed onstage just nine months ago, gave a brief speech in which he warned of the unprecedented threat to freedom of expression in the U.S.

"We live in a moment, I think, at which freedom of expression, the freedom to publish has not in my lifetime been under such threat in the countries of the West," Rushdie said, according to the AP report. "Sitting here in the U.S., I have to look at the extraordinary attack on libraries, and books for children in schools.... The attack on the idea of libraries themselves. It is quite remarkably alarming, and we need to be very aware of it, and to fight against it very hard.

The New York Times also covered the gala. "During the dinner under the museums 94-foot blue whale, the mood was festive but pointed," the Times reports. "Satireand the right of comedians to offendhas become an increasingly charged issue in the United States. But the moral center of the evening was the struggle against government repression."

From Hong Kong, a reminder of just how vital the freedom to read and the freedom to publish are. NBC News reports that officials are under fire for pulling books from relating to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. "Hong Kong is a former British colony that returned to Chinas rule in 1997, promising to retain its Western-style freedoms. But the citys cultural and creative sectors said the citys freedoms have shrunk since Beijing imposed a tough national security law following massive pro-democracy protests in 2019," the report notes. According to the report, Hong Kong chief executive John Lee defended pulling the books and explained to reporters that "the books we offer for residents to borrow are those that we recommend," and that Hong Kong libraries "would never recommend books that we deem to be featuring bad ideologies."

The fight against book bans will be a big part of the conversation at the third annual Libraries Are Essential virtual program at the U.S. Book Show, which is set for Monday, May 22 from10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. The program again features a great lineup of speakers, and it's always a privilege to be able to host these conversations and highlight for the publishing community the central role libraries and librarians play in society, as well as some of the challenges they face. This year's program will focus on some of the key issues librarians are grappling with as we come of out the pandemic, including the unprecedented surge in book bans and how the post-pandemic digital library market is evolving.

Immediately following the 2023 Libraries Are Essential Program, the U.S. Book Show is excited to host the first AAPI Communities in Conversation online program (Monday May 22, 2-4:15 p.m.). This lively series of panels will center on Asian American and Pacific Islander voices, books, cultures, and experiences, and features authors, creators, and librarians. The program is a collaborative effort from the University of South Carolinas Augusta Baker endowed chair, Penguin Random House Library Marketing, and PW. We hope you can join us!

The Los Angeles Times this week has a feature on the Florida Freedom to Freedom to Read Project. "[Jen] Cousins and Stephana Ferrell founded the Florida Freedom to Read Project after meeting at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to support mask-wearing in schools. They confronted conservative parental rights groups, including Moms for Liberty, that opposed COVID-19 restrictions and would later challenge 'liberal indoctrination' on the teaching of racial equality and gender," writes staff writer Jeffrey Fleishman. "'I didnt know it would lead to any of this when I was sitting in a school board meeting two years ago,' said Ferrell, a mother of two elementary students who shut down her photography business to concentrate on fighting censorship. 'We chose public schools because of diversity. But diversity is under attack. Theyre targeting minority communities whose stories are only just getting out there on the shelves.'" We're happy to say that Florida Freedom to Read Project's Raegan Miller is part of our Libraries Are Essential morning program on book bans.

In the Washington Post, Hannah Natanson writes about the surge in legislation threatening librarians with jail time for providing allegedly harmful books. "At least seven states have passed such laws in the last two years, according to a Washington Post analysis, six of them in the past two monthsalthough governors of Idaho and North Dakota vetoed the legislation. Another dozen states considered more than 20 similar bills this year, half of which are likely to come up again in 2024," the Post reports. "Some of the laws impose severe penalties on librarians, who until now were exempted in almost every state from prosecution over obscene materiala carve-out meant to permit accurate lessons in topics such as sex education. All but one of the new laws target schools, while some also target the staff of public libraries and one affects book vendors."

In Michigan, MLive has a story (based on a documentary short film) on the effort to censor Maia Kobabe's graphic memoir Gender Queer in Michigan libraries, including the Patmos Library in Jamestown, which garnered national media attention after voters defunded the library for refusing to pull the book. "Cierra Bakovka, a former adult services librarian for the Patmos Library, said the book was kept on the shelves out of a need for patrons 'to have all the choices they could ever need,'" the article notes. "To see Patmos at risk of closing over it was heartbreakingespecially considering that, to Bakovka, there was never a real question over whether to pull the book. 'A lot of people like to read books that they relate to, that are about them, but its super important to know that not every community is made up of the same people,' she said... You do your best to make sure everyone is represented. Not just whos the loudest.'"

At Book Riot, Kelly Jensen leads her must-read weekly censorship news column with a look at Senate Bill 2 in Connecticut, which would offer grant funds to public libraries in support of the freedom to read. "Such bills will not end the onslaught of book bans," Jensen warns. "What they do, though, is offer opportunities for libraries to protect themselves one step at a time and ensure that the majority of peoplewho time and time again emphasize seeing book bans as inappropriate and unpopularwill have their libraries represent them. Moreover, these bills aid in rallying for more legislative action in other states and municipalities to protect the right to read." We're also happy to say that Kelly Jensen is part of the U.S. Book Show's Libraries Are Essential morning program on book bans.

 You do your best to make sure everyone is represented. Not just whos the loudest. 

In Iowa, the Gazette reports that Juno Dawson's This Book is Gay has been returned to Iowa City school libraries two months after it was temporarily removed following bomb threats were called in to a local junior high school. "The bomb threatswhich investigators determined were not crediblewere part of a nationwide effort to cause disruption and panic in schools and draw attention to the availability of This Book is Gay in school libraries," the article notes, adding that "Iowa City school administrators decided to send the book through the reconsideration process because of the 'unique events' of the bomb threats." The three member committee voted to return the book to the library and the district superintendent "supported the recommendation of the committee."

The Colorado Times Recorder has an eye-opening report on some recent book bans in the community involving a school administrator. "Academy School District 20 in Colorado Springs has removed three books from school libraries after receiving a letter from members of a conservative activist group that claims the books meet the legal definition of obscenity, according to emails obtained by a Colorado Open Records Act Request," the article states. In response, the report reveals, the district superintendent sent an email to principals "authorizing" them to pull the books without due process.

"'I am writing to let you know that this email authorizes you to remove the books identified in the letter you received earlier this week prior to waiting for a formal challenge to be filed. A principal has the authority to determine the materials that reside in the library of the school and I want you to know you have my support in making that decision.'" the superintendent wrote to school principals, according the report. The books reportedly include Push by Sapphire, Identical by Ellen Hopkins, and Lucky by Rachel Vail.

The Daily Beast weighs in on how two candidates won library board seats in Idaho this week. "Right-wing culture warriors wielded slanderous campaign literature and a fear-mongering video in Tuesdays election to unseat two moderates and secure a majority on a library board in rural northern Idaho," the article notes.

The Christian Science Monitor has a look at a day in the life of a Missouri library in Jefferson City, a half-mile from the state capitol, where conservative lawmakers in the House recently attempted (and failed) to defund the state's public libraries. "Educational tablets, fishing poles, and tackle boxes are available for checkout here in the childrens section. And last year, the library started working with local agencies to connect community members with help for energy bills, health care, food, and financial matters," the article notes.

From Gothamist, protests continued this week in New York City as potential budget cuts to city libraries loom. "Libraries across the five boroughs still face a budget shortfall of more than $36 million for the upcoming fiscal year based on Mayor Eric Adams budget proposal," the article notes. "Library leaders said this would hamper weekend operations and eliminate Sunday service altogether, as well as threaten other operations, including mobile libraries and services for newly arrived migrants."

This is going to be good: ALA has announced that the great Judy Blume will open the upcoming ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, in conversation with Simon & Schsuter's Justin Chanda. "Blumes books have been mainstays on ALAs Most Challenged Books lists over the years. Yet despite facing censorship challenges, she has fearlessly advocated for intellectual freedom," an ALA release notes. "It's not only the books currently under fire that concern me. It's the books that will never see the light of day. The unwritten stories. The unread treasures. All silenced by the specter of censorship," Blume says. "Ultimately, it is the young readers who suffer the most." The ALA Annual Conference is set to run from June 22-27.

EveryLibrary hosted a webinar this week with U.K.-based library advocate Tim Coates, author of the Freckle Report, which, now in its fourth year, uses a mix of proprietary survey data and government data to assess the state of libraries. Coates has generated controversy in the past for his views that U.S. library leaders are not doing enough to counter a steep decline in gate counts and circulation over the last decade-plus. But whether you agree with his conclusions or not, the data is worth discussion, especially coming out of the pandemic.

"The April 2023 survey shows that public libraries supply about 25% of all reading materials, now in equal portion of print to digital," notes EveryLibrary's John Chrastka, who hosted the webinar. In addition, the April 2023 survey showed a 70% jump in library visits over September 2022. We're also happy to have John as part of the Libraries Are Essential morning program on book bans. (Though he could easily have joined the afternoon panel on digital trends as well!)

U.C. Berkeley has announced that University Librarian Jeffrey Mackie-Mason will retire in 2024. Among his many accomplishments, Mackie-Mason was part of the negotiating team that got a transformative open access deal done with Elsevier in 2021. In a 2021 Q&A, Mackie-Mason spoke of that agreement's importance: "Open access publishing is fundamental to what we do and to our mission. Were a public research university, and our research is largely funded by public dollars, from residents of California and the U.S. So, we feel an obligation to make the results of our research available to those worldwide who will benefit from our advances, without having to pay to read them. Were trying to help the world; thats why we do research. The Elsevier effort is so important because we accomplished 100% open access and did so with the largest publisher of our research."

And finally this week, some good news from Minneapolis, where the Star Tribune reports that local school administrators are "aiming to bring licensed librarians back, bucking a national trend of slashing the positions from payrolls" during tight budget times. "District leaders have earmarked more than $4 million in their proposed budget to ensure that next fall, each city school has at least one half-time librarian, now called library media specialists. It would mean a big increase from the 28 now employed in the district's 60-some schoolshalf the number the district had in 2010," the article states. "'Equity means ensuring every student has equal access to age-appropriate materials and the chance to learn crucial research skills,' said Aimee Fearing, the district's senior officer of academics. 'We can't just leave that to chance.'"

The Week in Libraries is a weekly opinion and news column. News, tips, submissions, questions or comments are welcome, and can be submitted via email. Previous columns can be viewed here.
This week, we discuss what can be done to address domestic extremism; managing Medicaid reductions; workers in the Los Angeles homeless response sector; the effects of Florida's Don't Say Gay law; U.S. peacetime policy toward Russia; and what's next for the Arctic Council.

Photo by Reginald Mathalone/Reuters Time for an Extremism Moonshot? Last weekend, in a commencement address at Howard University, President Biden said it's time for Americans to stand up against the poison of white supremacy, calling it the most dangerous terrorist threat facing the nation. RAND's Marek Posard and Jack Riley recently wrote about the importance of addressing white supremacy and other forms of domestic extremism. Extremism is like cancer, they wrote. There is, at present, both a need to depoliticize the issue  and for bold investments in policies that would prevent it from metastasizing. The creation of such policies would rely on a clearer definition of extremism, a better understanding of why people become attracted to extremist activities, and having the right support systems in place. Adopting this approach at a scale similar to that of Biden's cancer moonshot could help federal agencies diagnose extremism in its earliest stagesand ensure that this cancer on American democracy stays in remission.

Photo by Kameleon007/Getty Images Managing Massive Medicaid Reductions Before the pandemic, Medicaid enrollees in most states could suddenly become ineligible if their incomes rose above a qualifying threshold in a given month. COVID-19 public health emergency policies temporarily halted these requirements. But those policies are now expiring, forcing as many as 15 million people off the Medicaid rolls. Policymakers have several options to manage this coverage disruption, says RAND's Christine Eibner, including by limiting Medicaid eligibility redeterminations to once a year, rather than monthly.

Photo by shironosov/Getty Images Workers in L.A.'s Homeless Response Sector Don't Earn a Living Wage A new RAND study finds that workers at Los Angeles County homeless service agencies often do not earn a living wage. These workers are employed at nonprofits that provide supports such as child and family services, health care, and job skills training. Study lead Lisa Abraham points out that earning such low wages may lead to housing insecurity among workers themselves. The findings suggest that pay increases are dependent on government and philanthropic funders covering the costs.

Photo by Octavio Jones/Reuters The Effects of Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' Law The Florida Board of Education recently expanded the scope of the state's Parental Rights in Education law, the so-called Don't Say Gay bill, which restricts classroom discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation. Findings from recent RAND research suggest these restrictions lead to fear and anxiety among students and educators alike. Further, the conflict over politicized issues in schools is linked to lower educator well-being and increased intentions to leave the profession.

Photo by Everett Collection/Alamy Stock Photo Future U.S. Peacetime Policy Toward Russia What should U.S. policy toward Russia look like in the long term, in the years after the war in Ukraine ends? A new RAND report draws potential lessons from four historical case studies in which a stronger state adopted a less-hardline approach to its weaker rival. The key takeaway: Limited use of these less-hardline policies can produce some durable gains without emboldening the rivalbut these approaches tend not to stabilize rivalries over the long term.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said that empowering nation states and joint Arab action are needed to address crises facing the Arab World.

In his speech at the 32nd Arab Leaders Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday, President El-Sisi said It is evident to anyone with insight that preserving the nation-state and supporting its institutions is an absolute necessity for the livelihood and future of peoples and their capabilities.

The Egyptian president added that it was never acceptable for the hopes of the Arab nations to remain hostage to chaos and external interventions, which only exacerbate instability and hinder efforts to resolve crises amid challenging circumstances facing the region.

He stressed that relying on Arab collective efforts, self-capabilities and integration among the Arab countries is key to formulate decisive solutions to our issues.

The Egyptian President said the concept of joint Arab action should also extend to dealing with global crises and coordinating our efforts to reform the global economic governance system.

At the heart of this system are financial institutions and international development banks, which should be more responsive to the challenges of the developing world.

He said adding that it was essential to consider that the state of international polarization now threatens the "globalization" system, which was once celebrated by the world.

It necessitates eliminating double standards in the application of international law, he added.

Comprehensive peace in ME

"We have followed with sadness and pain how some of the Arab crises have escalated over the past period, particularly the irresponsible escalation by Israel in the Palestinian territories, most recently in the Gaza Strip," the Egyptian president said.

"While Egypt reiterates its continued efforts to stabilize the calm, we warn that the continued management of the conflict, militarily and security, will have serious consequences for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples alike."

"It may be appropriate to reaffirm today our commitment to the strategic option of achieving comprehensive and just peace through the Arab Peace Initiative on the basis of the resolutions of international legitimacy and demanding that Israel ends the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian State along the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital," El-Sisi stressed.

Sudan, Libya, Yemen

The Egyptian president also urged a quick resolution to the crisis in Sudan, Libya and Yemen.

"A new crisis in Sudan is foreshadowing - if we do not cooperate to contain it - a prolonged conflict and catastrophic consequences for Sudan and the region," the president said.

He added that the continuation of crises in Libya and Yemen requires the activation of joint Arab action to resolve those issues, in a manner that is more pressing than ever.

Welcoming Syria back

The Egyptian president also welcomed the return of Syria into the Arab League as a step toward finding a settlement to the crisis in the country and ending the suffering of its people.

He stressed that the return of Syria to the Arab fold marks a practical activation of an Arab role in finding a resolution to the Syrian crisis according to international references, including Security Council resolution 2254.

"Egypt will support in all sincerity and honesty all real efforts to push forward joint Arab action," El-Sisi added.

"Joint Arab work is the ideal way to safeguard our interests and provide collective security for our peoples," he said.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


In depth, the Rights Management paper seeks to understand how content companies manage their content rights while Content Monetisation looks at the approaches media companies and their technology partners are using to maximise monetisation of video content. Content Protection explores best practices when it comes to thwarting illegal consumption. The series of papers - enabled by sponsors including Ateme , Fincons Group, Friend MTS, Rightsline, Veset, and Vimond and contributing sponsors Backlight, Deluxe, Extreme Reach and Knox Media Hub - found all three areas to be interlinked.The study revealed that with ever changing distribution media, content companies are performing more content deals and generating a greater volume of rights information to be managed. THE DPP added that building a strong rights model and integrating it into business workflows was now a critical enabler to maximising content monetisation.That said, the paper also concluded that there was no single perfect strategy to maximising revenue from content. It argued that even though new monetisation options like FAST and shoppable TV can be very valuable, they dont work for everyone. The call to action was that each media company must therefore define its own strategic approach, which will rarely involve every possible monetisation option, nor rely solely on one.Looking at content protection, the paper noted that most viewers simply want to access great content in a convenient way and as a result, theres been a professionalisation of piracy, with new platforms emerging that offer a range of pirated content in one place. In such an ever-changing piracy landscape, the DPP stressed that owners of high value content need to take advantage of the wide range of innovative tools available to trace and thwart content theft.For this series, we chose three topics which are clearly adjacent to one another. But it was nonetheless surprising to see just how interlinked they all are, said DPP CTO Rowan de Pomerai, one of the authors of the series. As media companies look to optimise revenue and profit generation, they need a strong understanding of their rights position, and the ability to exploit those rights most effectively while avoiding content theft.
A generation ago, it was rare for a physician to treat a case of childhood diabetes. Today, 30% of teens have pre-diabetes.

In the 1960s, the childhood obesity rate was under 5%  today, more than 20% of children are clinically obese and according to the CDC, the greatest increase in Type 2 diabetes among children was seen in Black, Hispanic, and minority youth.

These unhealthy trends will cost the US government trillions in future healthcare expenses, but  most importantly  these trends are decimating our most treasured resource: the brains, bodies, and lives of our children. Patients with obesity experience double the average medical costs of normal-weight Americans, and obese individuals have a 50 to 100% increased risk of premature death compared to individuals with a healthy weight. But what many dont realize is that the rates of these unhealthy trends are going up at the exact time we are spending trillions of dollars to treat them.

Its no secret what is contributing to these trends: unhealthy desserts, snacks, and sugary beverages. According to a recent study, 184,000 worldwide deaths yearly could be attributable to obesity from sugar-added beverages alone. These drinks, especially in excess, are detrimental to our metabolic health  and many studies tie them to increased rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Shockingly, soft drinks are not only allowed on SNAP  but they are also the #1 item purchased. In total, 10% of all SNAP funding goes to sugary drinks. This amounts to a direct government transfer of more than $10 billion dollars to fund what is likely making Americans unhealthy. Our government funds many wasteful projects  but this takes the cake  no pun intended!

For lower-income Americans, SNAP is our countys chief nutrition program, but with the current levels of government-subsidized junk food, the program really shouldn't have nutrition in its name. Today, much of our nutrition debate focuses on the health inequality of lower-income and minority Americans, while glossing over the root cause of the disparityunhealthy government-funded food. SNAP is re-authorized every five years in the Farm Bill, and this year as the Farm Bill comes up for debate, the question every lawmaker should be asked is a thought provoking, bipartisan, and moral one: Should our government use taxpayer dollars to fund unhealthy food that is likely increasing the chronic disease and doctors visits of our children?

In previous Farm Bill debates, the soda industry has pulled out all the stops to maintain billions of government dollars going to sugary drinks. These soda companies have paid Civil Rights groups such as the NAACP and the Hispanic Federation and argued that curbs on soda are even racist. In recent years, soda companies have also funneled money to dozens of public health groups to confuse the impacts of sugary drinks on health. When the Farm Bill was debated in 2013, soda companies spent $16.2 million lobbying on the SNAP issue alone.

The newest Farm Bill is being finalized in the Agriculture Committee now, and the industry is using every tactic in the toolkit to ensure government funding flows to sugary drinks  and right now, it is working. If funding non-nutritious food holds, the Farm Bill will enshrine tens of billions of dollars from the U.S. Treasury to spend on food that actually could cause more harm than good.

Lets be clear, we are not calling for unhealthy foods to be banned by the federal government  we believe in free markets. But funneling billions of dollars to subsidize unhealthy food or beverages for children, and, in turn, increasing the risk of diabetes, is not an example of the freedom we all hold dear, or a responsible use of taxpayer dollars. Instead, this is an example of a rigged market, government corporate cronyism, and a dereliction of our duty to children.

Parents are tired of seeing the harrowing health trends among our children, and taxpayers should be outraged that our government is funding the root cause. There is one simple action that would improve the lives of millions of children and save billions of dollars in downstream health costs, and one that we should have a bipartisan rallying cry for.

As the Farm Bill comes up for renewal, we hope that we can all agree on a simple, bipartisan solution that will save the lives of kids: no SNAP funding for sugar-added beverages and non-nutritious foods.

Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. is the current Chairman of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and related agencies subcommittee on Appropriations. He represents Marylands First Congressional District.

Calley Means is co-founder of TrueMed, which enables patients to use Health Savings Accounts to purchase food that reverses disease.
Property details:

Here's a small parcel of rural land in Sharp County, Arkansas. It's located near Highland, AR. This is a beautiful area with plenty of opportunities for outdoor recreation. It's not far from water. You're bidding for the full price of the property, not payments. Winning bid gets the deed. If you want this, please bid now. It won't be relisted here. Parcel # 412-00078-000 Legal description (per the deed) : Section: 28 Township: 19N Range: 05W Acreage:0 Lot: 1 Block:7 City HIGHLAND Addition: VALLE...

Price: $ 535 Seller State of Residence: Arkansas Type: Homesite, Lot Property Address: Highland, Arkansas City: Highland State/Province: Arkansas Location: 722**, Little Rock, Arkansas

You will be redirected to eBay



Nearby Arkansas
Property details:

Hilton The Charter Club of Marco BeachMarco Island, Florida All images in this listing are general images of the resort and do not necessarily reflect the actual resort or units. Please perform your own due diligence Item Description Marco Island, the largest of the Ten Thousand Islands leading to the Florida Everglades, is a tropical paradise nestled between the Gulf of Mexico and pristine natural wetlands. From its ideal beachfront setting, The Charter Club of Marco Beach delivers a vaca...

Price: $ 4,750 Seller State of Residence: Florida Property Address: 700 S Collier Blvd Number of Bedrooms: 2 Number of Bathrooms: 2 Zip/Postal Code: 34145 City: MARCO ISLAND State/Province: Florida Location: 341**, Marco Island, Florida

You will be redirected to eBay



Nearby Florida
Kaity Biggar

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 05/19/2023



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.

winner Kaity Biggar has officially returned to work as a nurse although she boasts nearly 300 followers on Instagram and could work as an influencer.Kaity, who won Zach Shallcross ' heart on 's 27th season, took to TikTok earlier this week and posted a video of herself at work in a hospital."When you're on back to back 12hr shifts and see people enjoying their life outside," Kaity wrote over footage of herself looking tired at work in a gray sweatshirt.Kaity captioned her post, "When all you want to do is enjoy a nice warm, sunny day, and not have to work! #nursing #travel #travelnursinglife #fyp #thebachelor #foryoupage #work #nursinghumor."While Kaity didn't exactly seem happy about her work situation, many fans commented with praise and pride considering the blonde beauty actually returned to her normal job after appearing on ."So nice seeing people go back from the show and go back to their jobs not just going on the show to become influencers. And an ER nurse," one person wrote.Other fans thanked Kaity for her commitment to nursing and wrote how she is "a real one" and "one of us."And another TikTok user noted how it's "refreshing" to see a woman stick to her career after finding fame on reality television.Kaity's post received almost a million views in one day, and she responded to many of the comments with heart and smiling emojis.Zach and Kaity got engaged on 's Season 27 finale, which aired in March on ABC.Zach, who was living in California while filming , officially moved back to Austin, TX, on April 6. Kaity, meanwhile, was already living in Austin prior to competing on .Kaity and the tech executive, however, have not moved in together yet. Their separate leases end in the summer, which is when they plan to start living together.Last month, the couple spoke to their local Austin Monthly magazine about how they just "wanted to get back to normal" after the show."We wanted to do our jobs and get back into that normalcy as much as we can. You can just go to L.A. and then try to pursue that, which is totally fine. But for us, we love Austin. We love everything that's going on here, and I think a lot of other people recognize that too," Zach explained.And Kaity said she was "looking forward" to resuming her passion as a nurse at the end of April."I love the hospital I work at and the people are incredible. Like Zach said, we're not really trying to be in the limelight; we're just honestly trying to be normal," Kaity shared.Kaity and Zach gushed about how they love watching movies, eating ice cream, going to good restaurants, and just making each other laugh. They were, however, excited about getting outdoors more and doing activities on the water.Kaity and Zach recently released engagement photos on social media, and they appear to be very happy together. The pair hope to wed in 2025 and eventually welcome children On 's 27th season, Zach proposed marriage to Kaity in Thailand after he rejected Gabi Elnicki in second place.When Gabi was walking up to Zach to learn the fate of their relationship, she expressed to the cameras how she had a feeling that she knew what was about to happen. Gabi's intuition apparently told her that she was going to have her heart crushed.Gabi previously said on the "Click Bait with Bachelor Nation" podcast that there's a good reason why she chose not to self-eliminate from Zach's season when she was well aware that Zach was going to pick Kaity as his winner at the Final Rose Ceremony."I thought about my friendship with Kaity , and I hesitated saying this, but I think it is important to know, like, why I did stay," Gabi said in late March."I thought about my relationship with Kaity, and if I were in her shoes. And it was clear, Kaity was the choice. Kaity had been the choice. But if I had left, she could've felt like she was the choice by default. And she was truly the choice."Gabi therefore wanted Kaity to have her moment -- a beautiful engagement free of doubts, reservations and insecurities."I never wanted her to feel like, 'Well, Gabi left, and so he had to choose me,'" Gabi explained to Joe Amabile on his podcast."Because no, he was always choosing Kaity. The only reason I would've left is because I knew he was choosing Kaity, but I didn't want her to feel any kind of doubt when he proposed to her and she watched it all back."At the Final Rose Ceremony, Zach told Gabi that he wasn't "fully" able to make his final decision until the night before when he was in bed, but Gabi argued, "You've known . You've known."Zach later told host Jesse Palmer on After the Final Rose that he knew he was going to choose Kaity during their last-chance date in Thailand.Even though Gabi said she saw her elimination coming, she admitted in her final words on finale that she felt "humiliated" by the breakup.Zach starred on after having his own heart broken by Rachel Recchia on ette's nineteenth season last year. She ousted him in third place after Fantasy Suites.Interested in more news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
Russia on Friday said it banned entry to 500 Americans, including former president Barack Obama, in response to sanctions imposed by Washington.

"In response to the anti-Russian sanctions regularly imposed by the Biden administration... entry into the Russian Federation is closed for 500 Americans," the foreign ministry said, adding that Obama was among those on the list.

On Friday, the United States added hundreds more companies and individuals to its sanctions blacklist as it broadened efforts to choke off Russia's economy over the Ukraine offensive.

"Washington should have learned a long time ago that not a single hostile step against Russia will be left unanswered," the foreign ministry said.

Among those listed were television hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers.

CNN anchor Erin Burnett and MSNBC presenters Rachel Maddow and Joe Scarborough were also included.

Russia said it blacklisted senators, congressmen and members of think tanks "involved in the spread of Russophobic attitudes and fakes" and the heads of companies that "supply weapons to Ukraine."

In the same statement Russia said it had denied consular visit to detained US journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested in March on claims of spying.

The refusal was triggered by a refusal from Washington to issue visas to journalists travelling to the United Nations with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in April.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Videos

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
Olyn Gee, 75, had always wanted to go to the University of Georgia. However, financial circumstances before HOPE or Zell Miller scholarships w
Olyn Gee  like Gee-wiz, as he says  is a 68-year-old political science major at the University of Georgia who decided to return to college after living a full life and fulfilling part of the universitys motto, to inquire into the nature of things.
Indias climate change goals are turning combustible. On the one hand, a protracted dispute between the government and manufacturers over subsidies threatens to slow the pace of electric vehicle (EV) sales.

On the other hand, repeated assertions by different arms of the government over banning sales of new fossil fuel-fired vehicles have queered the pitch for energy investments.

Before we address the issue of the recommended diesel vehicle ban in the recent report on energy transition, issued months before the next round of global climate talks begin in Dubai in November, lets look at whats at stake.

It is important to note, however, that the government is yet to accept the report, the oil ministry clarified in a tweet on May 8.

Consultations with various stakeholders on the report are yet to be initiated.

Diesel in India is a $60-billion business  excluding transport costs, taxes, margins and levies  based on the oil ministrys $94 a barrel diesel price for April.

A record 86 million tonnes of the fuel was sold in FY23.

At last count, the business grew 12 per cent last financial year from a year earlier, according to oil ministry data.

In other words, the business is booming, with the future for the fuel looking exceedingly bright on the back of Indias 6-7 per cent economic growth.

Most Indian refineries, especially the state-run ones, are designed to produce middle distillates such as diesel and jet fuel. Indian refiners produced 114 million tonnes of diesel last financial year out of the total plant capacity of 252 million tonnes.

Demand for diesel touched an all-time high of 1.96 million barrels per day in April.

Indias overall oil demand in calendar 2023 may increase by 6 per cent above 2019 levels, before rising to about 12 per cent in 2024, said J Y Lim, oil analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Murmurs of a ban on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles began in 2017, when transport minister Nitin Gadkari first raised the prospect of a ban on sales of new fossil-fuel fired vehicles by 2030.

This was based on a Niti Aayog policy document of the period that recommended phasing out transport fuel-based rickshaws by 2023, two-wheelers by 2025, and complete 40 per cent electrification in private transport by 2030.

After protests by the oil ministry and automakers, which were facing slowing sales, Gadkari, in 2019, dismissed the notion of any ban.

In subsequent years, he reiterated that the government would not stop sales of ICE vehicles, but will encourage adoption of EVs, and the use of alternative fuels like ethanol, bio-LNG and green hydrogen.

But the new energy transition policy document, prepared by a top level committee, discusses a ban again.

Diesel-driven four-wheelers may be eliminated as soon as possible, said the energy transition report. Therefore, a ban on diesel-powered four-wheelers in all million-plus cities and all towns with high pollution has to be enforced in five years, i.e, by 2027, it added.

The 328-page document was prepared by the Energy Transition Advisory Committee (ETAC), headed by Tarun Kapoor, former secretary, petroleum ministry, and an advisor in the PMO.

ETAC has among its members Subhash Kumar, ex-chairman, ONGC, and executive directors from state oil companies.

The report was ready in February, officials said, and is now on the petroleum ministry website.

ETAC also suggested that by 2030, city buses, which are not electric, should not be added and diesel buses for city transport should not be added from 2024 onwards.

Long-distance buses will have to be a mixture of electric with battery swapping and CNG/LNG, and delivery vehicles in cities to be only electric from next year onwards.

These recommendations came even as demand for diesel rose 8.6 per cent in April from a year earlier, and gasoline use rose by 3 per cent during the period.

Of greater concern is the fact that the bulk of recommendations on diesel relate to transportation.

The role of transport in diesel usage has grown to 81 per cent in 2021 from 70 per cent in 2013.

Trucks and buses constituted 62 per cent of diesel use in 2021 from 38 per cent in 2013.

If you throw in private transport then three-fourths of diesel demand come from these segments, which are threatened by plans for a rapid absorption of EVs into the Indian transport ecosystem (see chart).

India will transition to clean fuel public transport in 10 years, the report said.

In the coming decade, 75 per cent of the city delivery vehicles can be electric in all the million-plus cities and other specific cities, and EVs may be promoted as the optimal solution to phase out ICE two- and three-wheelers by 2035.

At one place, the report says that with the agriculture and manufacturing sectors dependent heavily on road logistics, diesel demand from this sector is expected to continue its growth.

It also points to a lack of alternatives in the heavy vehicles sector.

The energy density of lithium-ion batteries and resultant weight of batteries are not conducive for heavy vehicles in long-haul applications, and the current charging times are high, which significantly reduces vehicle utilisation times.

Given the current limitations of electric buses, the impact on diesel demand is expected to be marginal in the near term, the report said.

For medium and heavy trucks, electrification is expected to be a more gradual trend, said Kinjal Shah, vice-president & co-group head  corporate ratings, ICRA.

Lighter trucks would see faster adoption trends, with e-commerce and logistics players exploring e-LCVs for their requirements. ICRA expects penetration in the LCV segment to reach 4-6 per cent by financial year 2025 and 25 per cent by FY2030.

Whatever the numbers, one thing is clear: For the foreseeable future, diesel is likely to drive Indias economy.
Chinese fashion e-commerce platform Shein is expected to make a second entry into India and has tied up with Reliance Retail for this, according to a source in the know.

Photograph: Dado Ruvic/Reuters

The source said as part of the tie-up, Shein would source goods from India for its global operations.

Also, the manufacturing of its products could happen in the country and they could be exported.

According to media reports, it has received Indian regulatory clearance as well for its partnership.

The fashion ecommerce player had to exit the country in 2020 after the government cracked down on several Chinese sites operating in India.

Over 200 Chinese applications were banned in India due to geo-political tensions between China and India.

Due to this ban, many famous e-commerce and gaming sites and apps like TikTok and PUBG could not be accessed.

After leaving the country, it did make a comeback and indirectly entered the country by selling apparel through e-commerce site Amazon in 2021.

The US-based e-commerce firm had announced it would sell Sheins apparel in the country ahead of its Amazon Prime Day through a banner on its site in July 2021.

Shein was earlier named ZZKKO and was founded in China in 2008 by Chris XU, an entrepreneur and search engine optimisation specialist and is currently headquartered out of Singapore.

Indias revenue in the apparel segment is projected to reach $7.145 billion in 2023 and is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2023-27) of 8.77 per cent, according to the data by Statista.

The Chinese e-commerce company had first entered the Indian market in 2017.

Globally, due to Shein catering to fast fashion and its pricing, it competes with the likes of H&M and Zara.
'For our traditional membership base, it would be an access to disruptive ideas,' FICCI President Subhrakant Panda tells Asit Mishra/Business Standard.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/ Rediff.com FICCI President Subhrakant Panda.

After rescheduling a few times, industrialist Subhrakant Panda makes himself available for a lunch meeting on a Friday.

Though he had time on Thursday as well, that's the one day of the week when he practices vegetarianism. And since the president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry digs seafood, a Thursday lunch was ruled out.

We're meeting at the House of Ming, the Chinese restaurant at the Taj Mahal hotel, a venue he has chosen while lamenting the lack of good Japanese diners in central Delhi.

At 52, Panda is among the youngest presidents of FICCI.

He took over from Hindustan Unilever Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Mehta in December last year.

A hard-nosed businessman, he is also the MD of Odisha-based Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Ltd (IMFA), a leading producer of ferrochrome, which also operates captive mining and power generation facilities.

How does he balance the dual roles, I ask.

"I used to go to Bhubaneswar for at least a week every month. Those Odisha trips have definitely been affected," he says.

Now, he conducts a monthly review of IMFA's operations and focuses more on growth and diversification. "But then I have always left the company's day-to-day operations to the management team."

Panda has been active in FICCI for over two decades and has climbed up the ladder.

He was the first chairman of the FICCI Odisha state council and is now the first businessman from the state to head the industry body.

FICCI follows a presidium concept of leadership: The person in the executive council serves as vice-president, senior vice-president and president for one year each.

Panda says he revamped the FICCI committees by subsuming many under one overarching panel.

"The terms of the chairs and the state councils are all co-terminus with the president's, so you don't want to lose any time of your one-year tenure."

Panda's childhood was spent in Bhubaneswar (Stewart School) and Delhi (Delhi Public School, RK Puram) before he headed to the US for a degree in finance and operations management from Boston University.

He initially intended to stay on and work in the US for a couple of years after graduating in 1993 but came back and joined the family business.

"The commodity business is cyclical, and it was going through a downturn at that time," he says.

"Not that I had any illusions that I would contribute significantly from the word go, but I thought if you join a business when it is in a tough phase, you learn much more."

Panda's parents, Bansidhar Panda and Ila Panda, had founded IMFA in 1961.

Bansidhar Panda had worked as a research scientist in the US and on assignments for the British government before returning to Odisha to establish IMFA.

The Bansidhar and Ila Panda Foundation, the CSR initiatives of IMFA headed by Panda's wife Shaifalika (they met at Boston University), confers the prestigious Sarala award for Odia literature.

As we realise we haven't ordered food yet, Panda poses a question I often encounter: How can an Odia be vegetarian? But he quickly adds that there's nothing wrong with being vegetarian.

After weighing the options, he chooses golden fried prawns over baked crab meat.

I opt for assorted mushroom cheese-stuffed dimsums. Panda also orders the sweet corn crab meat soup and I go for Ming's lemon soup.

For the main course, I pick mixed assorted greens and burnt ginger fried rice, and Panda chooses shredded chicken with ginger and chilly.

Everyone in his family, he says, loves Japanese food and believes they were all Japanese in a past life.

Does he miss Odia food in Delhi? "Not at all, I have a very good Odia cook," he says.

"If I am eating at home, lunch normally is Odia food, which includes a lot of seafood, some meat or chicken. A few years ago, I decided to go off meat on Thursdays; it's more of a self-control thing. Left to myself, I can eat seafood from breakfast to dinner."

Panda's favourite Odia dish is the quintessential Pakhala, or watered rice. "I love Pakhala with all its accompaniments. That is usually reserved for the weekend because it is very difficult to do any work after having Pakhala."

The appetisers and soup are served together.

The server explains which sauce pairs best with which appetiser.

Panda is the youngest of four siblings. He has two sisters and an elder brother, the politician Baijayant Panda (better known as Jay Panda) who is the Bharatiya Janata Party's national vice-president.

IMFA's ownership is divided equally among the four siblings, though the youngest Panda runs the show and the elder one sits on the board "but is not involved in the business at all".

I scan the menu to order another plate of dimsum. Panda suggests lotus root and water chestnut dimsum and I gladly agree.

Panda says he's working on three priorities during his one-year presidency: "One is to reach out to the SME sector to understand how aware and prepared it is on digitalisation and sustainability. The idea is to see how FICCI, with its broad outreach and membership base across the country, can help in bridging the gaps for SMEs."

He pauses, and digresses from the subject. "You've been smart in what you ordered. I've ordered heavy stuff... But the golden fried prawns are the signature dish here."

And then he continues: "The other thing we are focusing on is start-ups, and trying to get them into FICCI's ecosystem. The point is to work out a method for curated start-ups to socialise with our membership base."

For the start-ups, this would mean market access, mentorship and funding, he says. "For our traditional membership base, it would be an access to disruptive ideas."

His third priority is the North East region.

FICCI is going to organise a connectivity summit on the theme of border area economic development during his presidency.

At this point, he gets a call from his daughter, who is studying in the US, and asks me to turn the recorder off for a while.

Lunch is served as he explains the opportunities for India due to the China-Plus-One strategy.

I have another question ready, but I hold it as we prioritise savouring our meal over talking geopolitics.

After munching in silence for a while, I bring up the pending economic reforms such as FDI in multi-brand retail and inventory-based e-commerce models.

I notice Panda becoming defensive for the first time.

"These are complex issues. In certain areas, there is a possible need for a calibrated approach to reforms; [there're] a lot of issues and counter-issues, which have to be considered. Let's see how it plays out."

For dessert, Panda suggests date pancakes with ice cream, a quick option I am happy with.

I ask him the obvious: his interest in politics, considering that his brother is deep into it? "I don't think politics is my cup of tea. Somebody has to focus on the business, and I like what I am doing. I can't imagine [having] anything to do with politics anytime in the future."

Has the fact that his brother belongs to the Opposition party in Odisha affected their business? "We are not a typical combination where he benefits from the business and I benefit from the political connection," he says. "The two have been kept apart, and that's the way it ought to be."

As we wrap up, he says, "Hope you'll focus on FICCI more than anything else."

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
'Their conduct is as if they have come to arrest some dacoit.'

'They behave with everyone in this manner, whether it's Manish Sisodia, Anil Deshmukh or anybody else.'

'It is as if they are ambassadors of god and we are satans.'

'This is solely due to the sections in some laws like the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.'

This is a cruel law. In fact, the death penalty is better.'

IMAGE: Enforcement Directorate officers take Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut to the ED office in Mumbai in connection with the alleged Patra Chawl land scam, July 31, 2022. Photograph: Sahil Salvi

Sanjay Raut has been a Shiv Sena member of the Rajya Sabha since 2004.

Raut is also the executive editor of Saamana, the Shiv Sena's daily newspaper.

In the first of a multi-part interview with Rediff.com Senior Contributor Neeta Kolhatkar, Raut reveals the reasons for his arrest in July 2022.

"They (BJP leaders) were angry with me because they felt I was the person from the Shiv Sena who was interested in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. I was seen as the main person who was driving a coalition against their party."

When you were arrested, were you mentally prepared? Did you see a narrative being planned against you?

Yes, absolutely. I was confident this government would arrest me. Prior to this, they had tried to drag my name in various matters.

The government got false witnesses, placed false evidence and made members of the Bharatiya Janata Party say things against me.

The BJP created a separate team to damage my reputation and get me arrested. But I stood against them because I have been firm about one thing.

I may be a politician, a Rajya Sabha member, but most important, I am the editor of a leading newspaper.

If I inspire others to fight back, then I should also do the same.

I cannot afford to bow before these people and if I were to do so, how would I set an example to the public?

When finally the government got nothing concrete against me, they dug out a loan taken 14 years ago.

I had revealed all these details in the affidavit which I filed at the time of my Rajya Sabha nomination.

IMAGE: Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut with party chief Uddhav Thackeray, right, at a press conference over the statement made by then Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Thackeray's Matoshree bungalow, November 24, 2022. All Photographs: ANI Photo

Why do you think you were targeted by the government?

There were political developments taking place in Maharashtra at that time.

First, they were angry with me because they felt I was the person from the Shiv Sena who was interested in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, the tri-party alliance between the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena.

BJP leaders from Maharashtra and Delhi had informed their central leadership that I was the leader who wanted the MVA alliance.

I was seen as the main person who was driving a coalition against their party.

IMAGE: Sanjay Raut waves to his supporters outside the ED office in Mumbai. Photograph: Sahil Salvi

Do you remember the day you were arrested? Can you describe how it unfolded for you?

Of course, I remember it distinctly. The previous night someone told my brother, who is an MLA, something big is cooking and the authorities are going to act.

We had just returned from the Ayodhya yatra and I had money donated by people.

I had kept the bills and cleared the account to the last paisa of all the donors and the amount they had contributed.

In fact, even Eknath Shinde's name was in this list of donors; he too had contributed.

This wasn't my money. My brother told me not to keep this money in the house.

I protested, why should I not? I hadn't stolen this money, they were contributions made by people and I was to submit this Ayodhya yatra accounts to the party.

I insisted it should remain in the house. Later the agency made an issue of this, saying they had found Rs 10 lakhs (Rs 1 million) in my house.

There was a paper of minute accounts on top of this money; I had kept it together.

I keep accounts of every paisa that is collected for party activities.

Then at 7 am Sunil (Raut, his brother) knocked on my door. We live in a joint family. He informed me that the ED (Enforcement Directorate) team had come home.

Now, these ED officers behave as if it is their father's property.

They don't bother about their conduct in front of women folk. They forcibly enter and ransack the premises.

I told them to wait as I had to go about my activities and bathe.

I woke up the family. Then they (the ED team) demanded to search the house. I told them to go ahead and asked if they had a search warrant.

They went to every nook and corner, went on the terrace. One man was asked to even search inside our water tank!

They wanted to check if we had stashed money inside our water tank. They looked under the staircase.

I have been an MP for 22 years and my brother has been a legislator for two years from this constituency. Most of all, I am an editor.

We have some status. Their conduct is as if they have come to arrest some dacoit or criminal.

They behave with everyone in this manner, whether it is Manish Sisodia, Anil Deshmukh or anybody else.

It is as if they are ambassadors of god and we are satans.

This is solely due to the sections in some laws like the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).

This is a cruel law. In fact, the death penalty is better.

You completely disregard the prestige a person has earned over many years.

They (the ED team) moved around like they owned our house, and these are lower ranked officers.

They show their authority here, but I have seen in court, they have no standing.

I told them I know you have come to arrest me, do it, but leave my family members, don't harass them.

I told them I will go with them at that moment.

They promptly informed me they didn't have an order to arrest me at that time.

I told them I am aware you will get this order at 4 pm.

I told them leave my mother who is aged.

I told them to leave my wife and two young daughters because they were upset.

IMAGE: Former Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray greets Savita Rajaram Raut, Sanjay Raut's mother, and other family members, at their residence in Mumbai, August 1, 2022, the day after Sanjay Raut was arrested. Photograph: ANI Photo

They barged into my mother's prayer room, searched the drawers, ransacked the tins where we store flour and food grains.

Prior to that, those who had been given contracts for my daughter's marriage, they saw the receipts of the florists, the lady who drew mehendi.

These ED officers went to the homes of these professionals and asked them how much we paid them.

Is this how agencies function in a democracy? I asked them to take me immediately, but they arrested me at 5 pm.

These officers kept telling me to speak to a 'higher level'.

I said I would not speak with anyone.

I told them if they have found any evidence, then record it.

Despite that if they want to arrest me, then do it, I am prepared to go to jail.

I will not speak to anyone. By then, thousands had congregated outside my house.

They (the ED team) got upset and instructed me not to answer any call.

I dismissed their authoritarian attitude. I told them I was still inside my house ani shahanpana karayacha nahi (There was no need for them to throw their weight around).

You haven't still shown my arrest warrant. They said they were searching my house.

I said, go ahead, who has stopped you. My supporters gathered and tried to prevent my arrest, but I went happily with the ED officers.

I had categorically told them to take me before late night because I sleep by 10.30 pm. They finally showed my arrest at midnight.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
Lebanon on Friday received an Interpol notice for the country's embattled central bank governor who failed to show up in Paris earlier in the week for questioning in a key corruption case, officials said.

France, Germany, and Luxembourg are investigating the governor, Riad Salameh, and his associates over myriad financial crimes, including illicit enrichment and the laundering of $330 million.

A French investigative judge on Tuesday issued an international arrest warrant for Salameh after he did not answer summons for questioning in Paris.

However, Lebanon is unlikely to comply with the Interpol notice and arrest and hand over Salameh to French authorities. Under the country's laws, Lebanon does not extradite its own citizens. In 2020, it received two Interpol red notices for tycoon Carlos Ghosn, who faced financial misconduct charges in Japan. Ghosn remains in Lebanon.

The Lebanese Interior Ministry confirmed receiving the Interpol Red Notice, but did not comment on possible actions against Salameh. The judicial officials who spoke to The Associated Press about the notice did so on condition of anonymity to discuss the case.

Salameh denies allegations of corruption, and maintains that he amassed his wealth through his previous job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch, inherited properties, and investments. He said he would only resign if convicted of a crime.

On Friday, Salameh reiterated that he intends to appeal the Interpol notice because he did not receive the summons for questioning in Paris in person, according to the rules and laws.

The Central Bank returned the summons, which had arrived while Salameh was absent from the bank, according to judicial officials.

I am introducing an appeal to cancel the notice, Salameh told the AP.

The 72-year-old governor has held his post for almost 30 years, but says he intends to step down after his current term ends in July.

The three European governments in March 2022 froze over $130 million in assets linked to the probe. During a visit to Lebanon in March, the European delegation questioned Salameh about the Lebanese central banks assets and investments outside the country, a Paris apartment, which the governor owns, and his brother Raja Salamehs brokerage firm Forry Associates Ltd.

Once hailed as the guardian of Lebanons financial stability, Salameh since late 2019 has been heavily blamed for Lebanons financial meltdown. Many say he precipitated the economic crisis, which has plunged three-quarters of Lebanons population of 6 million into poverty.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


'He was directly involved in the rarest of rare crimes -- the killing of an IAS officer.'

IMAGE: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with Anand Mohan Singh at his son MLA Chetan Anand's engagement in Patna, April 24, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Uma Krishnaiah, the slain IAS officer G Krishnaiah's wife, is reluctant to remember the barbaric incident when her husband was lynched.

But after the Bihar government released former MP Anand Mohan Singh, convicted and sentenced to life in the case, she expressed her pain and hope for justice.

Uma, who teaches chemistry at a college in Hyderabad, says soon after the Bihar government decide to release Anand Mohan Singh, she decided to challenge the decision in court.

Anand Mohan Singh was released on April 27, 2023 after Nitish Kumar's government amended the prison rules to facilitate it.

In 2007, the Patna high court had sentenced Anand Mohan Singh to death.

The court pronounced the verdict 13 years after a mob led by the husband-wife duo of Anand Mohan and Lovely Anand shot at and then stoned to death Krishnaiah, the Gopalganj district magistrate, on a national highway near Muzaffarpur.

Later, the court converted the death sentence to a life term.

Krishnaiah, a 1985 batch Indian Administrative Service officer, who belonged to a poor Dalit family in Andhra Pradesh, was dragged out of his vehicle and killed by Anand Mohan's henchmen in Vaishali district when he was on the way to Patna to attend a meeting.

According to the police investigation report, after being attacked and beaten to near death, Krishnaiah was also shot.

The police officials reportedly said Krishnaiah's vehicle was intercepted by a mob led by Anand Mohan.

The mob was protesting the killing of Kaushalendra Shukla, a leader of Anand Mohan's Bihar People's Party.

Uma Krishnaiah spoke to Rediff.com Senior Contributor M I Khan about her crusade for justice.

You had opposed Anand Mohan Singh's release.

It was wrong on the Bihar government's part to release Anand Mohan Singh, convicted and serving a life sentence in jail.

His place is in jail. He should be sent back to jail because he deserves it.

I don't know the rules and procedures under which he was released.

But what I know is it was something that should not happened.

I have read that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar changed the prison manual to ensure his release for vested political interest. This is disgusting.

If any political party gives Anand Mohan Singh a ticket to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, it will be a direct attack on our democratic values.

The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Bihar government on Anand Mohan Singh's premature release.

I am optimistic of justice from the Supreme Court. Whatever order the court gives in the case it will be acceptable to us.

It was not a good thing to release him. He was directly involved in the rarest of rare crimes -- the killing of an IAS officer.

It will encourage criminals and gangsters across the country.

I repeatedly urged the government not to release him.

Bihar government officers claim Anand Mohan Singh was released according to the rules and there is nothing unusual in it.

If it was so, why did the state government amend the prison manual? Why did the government ignore our plea not to release him on the ground that it will sent a wrong message to society and administrative officers working in the field?

How can a known criminal be given a good character certificate by the concerned government department and leaders of the ruling parties and Opposition?

He was painted as a man having good conduct in the jail.

It was widely reported that objectionable items were recovered from his cell in the Saharsa jail during raids in the last fifteen years.

Besides, it was reported how he violated rules in and outside jail while serving his sentence.

Ahead of his release, Anand Mohan Singh claimed his family and yours were badly hit for no fault of either.

It is ridiculous. The district court to the apex court found him guilty and convicted him for the crime.

As far as my family is concerned, he snatched our happiness and our dreams. Can you imagine even today how badly we were affected?

Killing of a young IAS officer was a serious issue that devastated us. I have not forgotten that day.

We struggled a lot because both of us were from poor families.

After my husband was killed in December 1994, it forced me to get a job as a college teacher in February 1995, to manage the family. My daughters were minors.

IMAGE: Uma Krishnaiah, slain IAS officer G Krishnaiah's wife, holds a photograph of her late husband while speaking to the media in Hyderabad, April 25, 2023, a couple of days before Anand Mohan Singh, who was sentenced to life in prison for her husband's murder, was released by the Bihar government. Photograph: ANI Photo

Do you want him to spend the rest of his life behind bars?

His release will encourage criminals and gangsters across the country.

I repeatedly urged the government not to release him.

Did his son, a Bihar MLA, and his wife, a former MP, approach you after his release?

No, not at all. We won't allow them to visit us. Why should they come to meet us? There is nothing to talk with them.

A major part of my life is already over and whatever remains I want to be in peace.

Do you want to say anything to Anand Mohan Singh's family?

No use saying anything to them. They know very well what is good or bad, right or wrong.

His son must be aware what kind of father he is having. He should not follow his father's footsteps. That is all I want to tell him.
Former Narcotics Control Bureau zonal director Sameer Wankhede on Friday alleged before the Bombay high court that the "draft complaint" in the 2021 drugs-on-cruise case named actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan as an accused, but it was later replaced and Aryan's name was dropped.

IMAGE: Former Narcotics Control Bureau zonal director Sameer Wankhede at the Bombay high court for a hearing on the Aryan Khan case in Mumbai, May 19, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

The Indian Revenue Service officer made the claim in his petition before the HC seeking to quash an FIR registered by the CBI against Wankhede for allegedly seeking a bribe of Rs 25 crore from Khan for not implicating his son in the alleged drug bust.

A vacation bench of Justices Sharmila U Deshmukh and Arif S Doctor, after recording Wankhede's undertaking that he would appear before the CBI on Saturday, directed the agency not to take any coercive action (like arresting him) till May 22.

Among other things, his petition also provided transcriptions of phone chats with Shah Rukh Khan during the period Aryan was in NCB custody.

It cited Khan as pleading with Wankhede to be kind to his son and praising the officer for his "uprightness".

The petition, filed through advocate Rizwan Merchant, claimed that after concluding the investigation in the case, a draft complaint was prepared by the department legal advisor, where charges were proposed against Aryan Khan among others.

But this draft complaint never came to be filed on record and was replaced by another draft complaint prepared from outside, Wankhede alleged.

It made apparent "the evil design of dropping the name of a particular accused from prosecution," it added.

The Narcotics Control Bureau, eventually, named 14 people in its charge sheet but let off Aryan due to "lack of sufficient evidence".

Gyaneshwar Singh, then NCB deputy director who headed the NCB's team which conducted an inquiry against Wankhede, falsified records to claim that he was not involved in the supervision of Aryan Khan case and Wankhede had acted independently, the plea alleged.

Advocate Merchant also argued that the CBI searched his client's house for 14 hours in his absence and took away his phone, slippers and "even undergarments."

The petition cited Wankhede's purported phone chats with Shah Rukh Khan to claim that they nowhere suggest that any bribe had been demanded.

"Please show some kindness my man. Love srk I can only plead and beg you as a father. Please," the superstar said in one chat, as per the petition.

It also claimed that Khan deplored political meddling in the case.

CBI lawyer Kuldip Patil submitted that the accused was not cooperating with the investigation.

If he cooperates, he might not be arrested, but the discretion to arrest an accused lies with the investigating officer, the lawyer said.

Wankhede's lawyer said his client was present in court and ready to give an undertaking that he will cooperate.

The court then recorded Wankhede's undertaking that he will attend the CBI office at Bandra Kurla Complex here at 11 am on Saturday.

The CBI shall not take any coercive action till May 22, the next date of hearing, the HC said.

Aryan Khan was arrested by the NCB on October 3, 2021, following the alleged drug seizure on board the Cordelia cruise ship here.

He was granted bail by the high court after three weeks as the anti-drugs agency failed to substantiate its charges against him.
The Centre on Friday promulgated an ordinance to create a National Capital Civil Service Authority for transfer of and disciplinary proceedings against Group-A officers from the DANICS cadre.

IMAGE: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal being garlanded by his cabinet ministers Kailash Gehlot and Saurabh Bhardwaj during the celebrations after the verdict of Supreme Court over Delhi government and LG row, in New Delhi, May 11, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

The ordinance comes a week after the Supreme Court handed over the control of services in the national capital to the Delhi government, excluding those related to police, public order and land.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the Centre was planning to bring an ordinance to overturn the apex court verdict.

The ordinance said that "there shall be an authority to be known as the National Capital Civil Service Authority to exercise the powers conferred on, and discharge the functions assigned to it".

The authority will comprise the chief minister of the government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi as its chairperson, along with the chief secretary and the principal home secretary, who will be the member secretary to the authority, it said.

"All matters required to be decided by the authority shall be decided by majority of votes of the members present and voting. All recommendations of the authority shall be authenticated by the member secretary," the ordinance said.

The National Capital Civil Service Authority will meet at a time and place as the member secretary decides with the approval of the chairperson of

the authority, as and when required, it said.

"The central government, in consultation with the authority, shall determine the nature and the categories of officers and other employees required to assist the authority in the discharge of its functions and provide the authority with such officers and employees, as it may deem fit....

"Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, the National Capital Civil Service Authority shall have the responsibility to recommend the transfers and postings of all the Group 'A' officers and officers of DANICS serving in the affairs of the government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi but not officers serving in connection with any subject matter," it read.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party in the national capital called the ordinance a "deception" with the Supreme Court that on May 11 in its verdict put the control of bureaucrats working with the Delhi government, excluding those related to police, public order and land, under the elected government.

Public Works Department minister Atishi said the Centre's ordinance is a "clear cut case of contempt of court".

"The Modi government has gone against the unanimous decision of the Supreme Court's constitution bench. The court had directed that the elected government be given powers to take decisions independently, as per its will, as per the principles of democracy," she said.

"But the Centre's ordinance is a reflection of the (Narendra) Modi government being a graceless loser. The Centre's sole motive to bring this ordinance is to snatch powers from the Kejriwal government," she said.

Alleging that the Centre does not care for the people's mandate or for the directive of the apex court, she said it will bypass the elected government of Delhi.

"It is clear that the Modi government fears Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. We vehemently condemn this cowardly act of the Centre," Atishi said.

AAP chief spokesperson and Services Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said the Centre had "deceived" the people of Delhi.

"This has never happened in the history of the country. This is deception committed with the Supreme Court and the people of Delhi who have chosen Kejriwal thrice to be the CM. He doesn't have any powers but the LG, who has not even been chosen but forced upon people, will have powers and through him the Centre will keep tabs on the work happening in Delhi. This is contempt of court," he said.

Abhishek Singhvi, who is the Delhi government's counsel in the services matter, said that the new ordinance needs close examination.

"The new ordinance re #NCT wl hv to be closely examined. But clearly, it is the act of a bad, poor & graceless loser. Doubtful if ctal principles cn be diluted by ordinances/acts. Greater doubt whether parl as a whole wl at all approve it. #LG #NCT #homeministry #goi #bjp (sic)," Singhvi, a Congress leader, said in a tweet.
China is trying to legitimise its claim over Tibet through museums, and cultural institutions in the region, according to Tibet Rights Collective.

IMAGE: People stand in front of the embassy of China during a demonstration to protest with Tibetan flags against China's oppression, in Berlin, on March 10, 2023. Photograph: Annegret Hilse/Reuters

China is trying to promote a particular Chinese narrative about Tibetan history and culture.

According to Tibet Rights Collective, the so-called Tibet Museum in Lhasa city claims to be a '36 meters high building with 1,100 windows and exhibitions on Tibetan folk culture, customs of living, eating habits of Tibetans, costumes, textiles, and residential areas'.

The Tibet Museum officially opened on October 5, 1999, to mark the 50th anniversary of 'The PRC's Economic Reform in Tibet'.

The museum's exhibition narratives tried to highlight that the modernisation of Tibet has accelerated after the 17-point Treaty was signed in 1951 between Tibet and China, and to reinforce the historical legitimacy of handing Tibet over to China, according to The Tibet Rights Collective.

It displayed collections of artefacts, including official documents and gifts exchanged between Chinese Han Dynasty officials and Tibetan leaders.

The Communist Party of China (CCP) in 2021 launched a 'memorial hall' to 'display the photos and items from the serfdom era'.

The Potala Palace, the erstwhile winter palace of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has also been converted to a museum.

With nearly 800 sensors placed around the palace, multiple monitoring tools, and nine kilometres of fibre optic cables installed inside, the sacred space of Tibetans has been reduced to a spectacle.

Meanwhile, concerned about the situation of Tibetan women in Tibet, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has questioned China on the matter, reported Tibet Rights Collective.

The Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which is in charge of overseeing the Convention's implementation, has taken a keen interest in Tibetan women's rights and well-being.

In a recent meeting, CEDAW members focused on China's treatment of Tibetan women and asked for clarity on a number of topics.

The majority of the committee's inquiries focused on gender equality, healthcare and educational access, political engagement, and the protection of religious and cultural rights for Tibetan women living in Tibet, according to Tibet Rights Collective.
China on Friday said it will not attend the planned G20 tourism working group meeting in Jammu and Kashmir next week, asserting that it is firmly opposed to holding such meetings in the "disputed territory".

Photograph: Umar Ganie for Rediff.com IMAGE: National Security Group commandos conducting search operations at Lal Chowk in Srinagar in view of the upcoming G20 summit.

China is a close ally of Pakistan.

India will host the third G20 tourism working group meeting in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, from May 22 to May 24.

The G20 meeting in Srinagar is a "big opportunity" for Jammu and Kashmir to showcase its true potential, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday.

Singh said such an international event taking place in Srinagar would send a positive message in the country and across the globe.

China firmly opposes holding any form of G20 meetings on disputed territory, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing in Beijing in response to a question.

We will not attend such meetings, he added.

Islamabad and Beijing have previously made unwarranted references to the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

India has previously rejected the statements from Beijing and Islamabad on Jammu and Kashmir.

"We have consistently rejected such statements and all parties concerned are well aware of our clear position on these matters. The Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union territory of Ladakh are and always will be integral and inalienable parts of India. No other country has a locus standi to comment on the same," the ministry of external affairs has remarked before on comments by Pakistan and China.

India and China are also locked in a lingering border standoff in eastern Ladakh for three years.

The bilateral relationship came under severe strain following the deadly clash in Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh in June 2020.

India has maintained that the bilateral relationship cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border area.
Hoardings slamming dissident Congress leader Sachin Pilot have come up at parts of Jodhpur, asking him why he was 'silent' on the alleged Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society scam in Rajasthan.

IMAGE: Congress leader Sachin Pilot addresses supporters during the 'Jan Sangarah Yatra' in Ajmer. Photograph: ANI Photo

The development comes amid a power tussle between Pilot and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

In 2020, Pilot had led a failed revolt against the Gehlot government after which he was removed from the posts of party state unit president and deputy chief minister.

The hoardings have photos of Pilot and Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Jodhpur and Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and a line 'Why are you silent on Sanjivani scam Pilot ji? People want an answer'.

Chief Minister Gehlot has been repeatedly accusing Union Minister Shekhawat of being involved in the scam, a charge rejected by the BJP leader.

The Union minister has also filed a complaint before a Delhi court accusing Ashok Gehlot of defaming him with remarks on the scam.

The hoardings also had the photos of District Congress Committee-North organising secretary Kush Gehlot, district spokesperson Bhakar Ram Bishnoi and District Congress Committee-South secretary Lalit Kumar Gehlot.

When asked about the hoardings, Bishnoi said Pilot has been raising issues of the previous government and has even held a march but he is silent on the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society scam issue.

Pilot on May 11 had launched a 125-kilometre 'Jan Sangharsh Yatra' from Ajmer to Jaipur to raise the issue of corruption during the previous BJP regime led by Vasundhara Raje and cases of paper leaks in government recruitment exams.

On the hoardings, the name and positions of Bishnoi and the other two Jodhpur Congress District Committee functionaries was printed along with their photos on the hoardings.

"Pilot never raised the issue of the Sanjivani scam. Neither did he speak about the issue from any public platform ever nor dropped any post on social media about it. So, people want to know why he is silent on this issue, which has affected lakhs of people," he said.

Bishnoi also said, "Pilot holds Jan Sangharsh march and holds a public meeting in Bhankrota and on the same day, Shekhawat heaves praises on him. We want to know what is the relation between them."

In the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society, thousands of investors allegedly lost Rs 900 crore.

Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group has been investigating the case since August 2019.
Will the new Congress government implement the five 'guarantees' that helped it in part to wrest power from the Bharatiya Janata Party in toto or will they now add a "conditions apply" clause?

IMAGE: Congress supporters in Bengaluru celebrate the party's victory in the Karnataka assembly elections, May 13. 2023. Photograph: PTI Photo

All eyes now seem to be on this, as the Siddaramaiah-led government assumes office on Saturday.

During campaigning for the May 10 assembly elections, Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, repeatedly assured the voters that these five guarantees would be approved in the maiden cabinet meeting on the first day of coming to power.

The 'guarantees' found resonance with voters, particularly with women, and played a key role in the party's resounding victory, political analysts noted.

The Congress, which bagged 135 seats in the 224-member assembly, ousted from power the BJP, which won in 66 constituencies, while the Janata Dal-Secular managed to win only 19 seats.

Some BJP leaders have alleged that implementation of the 'guarantees' would push the state into bankruptcy, and have also claimed that the Congress would not honour its pre-poll promises fully.

These guarantees are: 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti); Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi); 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya); Rs 3,000 every month for unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 for unemployed diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years (YuvaNidhi); and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti).

Key Congress leaders said earlier this week that the implementation of the five 'guarantees' may cost the state exchequer an estimated Rs 50,000 crore annually.

Leaders of the BJP and JD-S have also said they are watching keenly if the Congress would honour its promises fully.

Speaking to reporters before flying to Delhi on Friday, Congress state president D K Shivakumar said, "In the first cabinet meeting on the very first day we are going to implement all our guarantee schemes. We will keep our promises. You should witness this great historical moment."

When asked whether there will be conditions attached, he said he will not speak now but people will be informed about the decision once it is implemented.

"This is not D K Shivakumar or Siddaramaiah's guarantee. It is the Congress party's guarantee. We will do what we have spoken," he asserted.

Speaking to PTI, former Union Minister M Veerappa Moily said: "We are a responsible party. Responsible Congress leaders have evolved them (the guarantees), fully knowing their implications. We will be in a position to implement them."

According to the Congress's manifesto drafting committee vice chairman Professor K E Radhakrishna, these schemes will not cost more than Rs 50,000 crore annually in a state whose annual budget is around Rs 3 lakh crore.

He said the 'Gruha Lakshmi' scheme offering Rs 2,000 to every woman head of the family would apply for BPL families only, and not for all.

According to some Congress leaders, the 'Gruha Jyothi', Yuva Nidhi' and Shakti' schemes too are likely to be restricted to BPL families.

A senior bureaucrat said these schemes, if implemented in its actual form without any condition, will "stress" the state's economy. "Even if conditions are applied, it will burden the state economy," he added.

A retired bureaucrat who had helmed the city civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike said these schemes can be implemented only when there are strict austerity measures.

"There should be severe austerity measures, control on unnecessary expenditure, leakage prevention measures, curb on bogus bills, pre-audit of every public work and check on '40 per cent commission'. This apart, the Lokayukta should be given more powers to raid officers involved in wrongdoings," he said.

Social activist Kathyayini Chamaraj said instead of giving money as freebies, people should be empowered by skilling and training them.

According to her, the Congress, which introduced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, can introduce Urban Employment Guarantee scheme and pay money to women heads of families as well as unemployed graduates and diploma holders.
Kiren Rijiju on Friday assumed charge as Earth Sciences Minister and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving him an opportunity to handle various portfolios.

IMAGE: Former Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju addresses the media on taking charge as the Union Minister of Earth Sciences at Prithvi Bhavan, in New Delhi on Friday. Photograph: ANI Photo

Rijiju, who was removed as law minister on Thursday, refused to answer questions about his previous ministry contending that they were no longer relevant and that he looked forward to serve in the Earth Sciences Ministry.

"Don't ask questions related to the previous ministry as they are no longer relevant," Rijiju said to questions whether he was removed as law minister for his frequent run-ins with the judiciary.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrityunjay Mohapatra and Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor Vishwajit Sahay were present when Rijiju assumed charge as the Minister of Earth Sciences.

Senior officers of the ministry, including Secretary M Ravichandran, were away in Diu for the G-20 Research and Innovation Initiative Gathering (RIIG) Conference.
Opposition parties targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday over the Reserve Bank of India's announcement on the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation, with the Congress saying the move was "typical of our self-styled vishwaguru" and his method of "first act, second think".

Image used for representational purpose only. Photograph: Jayanta Dey/Reuters

The Congress also said demonetisation has come a full circle and added that the Rs 2,000 note was a "band-aid to cover up the foolish decision of demonetising" Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

Left parties, including the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India-Marxist, and the Aaam Aadmi Party also attacked the government over the issue.

A Congress MP said it was the beginning of a second demonetisation "disaster", in an apparent reference to the demonetisation exercise of November 8, 2016, when the legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes was withdrawn by the Modi government.

"Typical of our self-styled Vishwaguru. First act, second think. 2,000 rupee notes introduced with such fanfare after that singularly disastrous 'Tughlaqi firman' of Nov 8 2016 are now being withdrawn," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter, targeting the prime minister.

Senior Congress leader and former Union finance minister P Chidambaram said a few weeks after demonetisation, the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) were forced to re-introduce the Rs 500 note and he will not be surprised if the Centre re-introduces the Rs 1,000 note as well.

"The Rs 2000 note is hardly a popular medium of exchange. We said this in November 2016 and we have been proved correct. The Rs 2,000 note was a band-aid to cover up the foolish decision of demonetising Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes which were popular and widely exchanged currencies," he said on Twitter.

The Congress leader said that "a few weeks after demonetisation, the government/RBI were forced to re-introduce the Rs 500 note". "I shall not be surprised if the government/RBI re-introduced the Rs 1,000 note as well. Demonetisation has come full circle," he said.

"Rs 2,000 note was never a 'clean' note. It was not used by the vast majority of the people. It was used only by people to keep their black money, temporarily," the former finance minister said.

In a tweet in Hindi, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said, "First he said that by bringing 2,000 note, corruption will stop. Now they are saying that by banning 2,000 note, corruption will end. That's why we say, PM should be educated... He doesn't understand. The public has to suffer."

On the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) withdrawing Rs 2000 notes from circulation, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that it "virtually reverses the 2016 demonetisation, grandly announced by Modi as the answer to India's problems of black money, corruption, terrorist funding, and promoting digital economy". He said it is a dismal failure on all counts.

"Modi made DeMon disaster criminally crippled crores of livelihoods, claimed hundreds of lives, destroying the informal economy and MSMEs that contribute most to employment generation and GDP growth," he said on Twitter.

Yechury also claimed that cash in circulation is up 83 per cent since demonetisation and said that "corruption is legalised and grown manifold".

"Karnataka massively rejected '40 per cent commission sarkara' in recent elections. Condemnable terrorist attacks continue to claim innocent lives," the Left party leader said.

"Modi destruction of our economy and loot of national assets must be resisted and defeated. Crony corporate communal nexus must be rejected. Unite in struggles to safeguard our secular democratic republic," he said.

The TMC also said on Twitter, "BJP demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in 2016, disrupting the lives of Indians everywhere! They claimed that the introduction of Rs 2,000 note would curb the flow of black money. Seven years later, they are withdrawing it from circulation. Yet another Modinomic masterstroke?".

CPI leader Binoy Viswam tweeted, "Tuglakhs control the financial sector of the country. They have withdrawn the Rs 2,000 notes. They may argue that this shows the strength of the economy under Modi."

"Are they dare enough to bring out a white paper on Indian economy after the demonetisation," he asked.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the "ghost" of November 8, 2016, has come back to haunt the nation once again.

"The greatly propagated move of demonetisation continues to be a monumental disaster for this nation. The PM sermoned the nation on the benefits of the new 2,000 notes, today when the printing is stopped what happened to all those promises," he asked.

"The government must explain its motive for such a step. The government continues its anti-people and anti-poor agenda. Hope the media questions the government on such a drastic measure and not attribute it to 'chip shortage' in the world," Khera said in a tweet.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore tweeted, "Second Demo disaster starts .. M = Madness."

The RBI on Friday announced withdrawal of Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation, and existing notes in circulation can either be deposited in bank accounts or exchanged by September 30.

The Rs 2,000 denomination bank note was introduced in November 2016, primarily to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes that were in circulation at that time.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hold bilateral talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Saturday evening, people familiar with the matter said.

Photograph: ANI Photo

It will be the first in-person meeting between the two leaders after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year and is taking place over a month after Ukrainian First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova visited India.

Modi is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks on Saturday with his Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio, French President Emmanuel Macron and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh among others.

The meeting between Modi and Zelenskyy has been scheduled following a series of discussions between senior diplomats of India and Ukraine.

The prime minister arrived in Hiroshima on Friday to attend the annual summit of the G7 grouping in the first leg of his three-nation tour that will also take him to Papua New Guinea and Australia.

The Ukrainian president is also attending the G7 summit following an invitation by Japan, the current chair of the powerful grouping.

Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council Oleksiy Danilov said that Zelenskyy would attend the summit.

"We were sure that our president would be where Ukraine needed him, in any part of the world, to solve the issue of stability of our country," he said on national television Friday.

"There will be very important matters decided there, so physical presence is a crucial thing to defend our interests," Danilov said.

Dzhaparova visited India last month, in first high-level trip to India from Ukraine after the conflict began in the eastern European country.

During her visit, Dzhaparova handed over a letter to Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi. The letter was written to Modi by Zelenskyy.

Since the Ukraine conflict began, Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as Zelenskyy a number of times.

In a phone conversation with Zelenskyy on October 4 last year, Modi said there can be "no military solution" and that India is ready to contribute to any peace efforts.

In a bilateral meeting with Putin on September 16 last year in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, Modi said, "Today's era is not of war" and nudged the Russian leader to end the conflict.

India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.

In New Delhi, Dzhaparova had said that India is a global leader and can help in addressing key global challenges and promoting peace including in her country.

Dzhaparova said Zelenskyy will be happy to address the upcoming G20 summit, which is being hosted by India in September in its capacity as the chair of the grouping.

The Ukrainian president had addressed the Bali summit of G20 last year through video conference.

G7 comprises the US, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan. Japan, the current chair of the grouping, invited India and seven other countries to the summit.

All the G7 countries are also members of the G20 grouping. India is holding the presidency of the G20.

India has been focusing on ensuring consensus for a joint communique at the G20 summit in September. The G20 also comprises Russia and China.
The final statement of the 32nd Arab League Summit in Jeddah reaffirmed the need for unity to achieve security and stability in the Arab region.

The final statement  the Jeddah Declaration  covers over 32 issues facing the Arab world, beginning with the Palestinian cause, the Syrian crisis and Lebanon's political deadlock. It also touches on Iran, the environment, cybersecurity and economic and social matters.

It also expresses the complete rejection of armed militias in the region, and stressed the importance of presenting a unified Arab front on regional and international issues.

The declaration affirmed the centrality of the Palestinian cause to Arab nations and the Arab identity of occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine. It upheld Palestines right to full sovereignty over all territories occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem. It also stressed the importance of activating the Arab Peace Initiative.

It also urged Lebanese authorities to swiftly elect a president, form a government and implement economic reforms to overcome the countrys stifling crises.

As Syria returns to the Arab fold, the declaration pledged to uphold Syria's sovereignty, territorial integrity and stability. It called for intensifying efforts to help Syria out of its crisis and end the suffering of the Syrian people.

The Arab leaders expressed full solidarity with preserving sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity in crises-hit Sudan, Libya and Yemen.

The statement affirmed continued support for the legitimate government in Yemen led by the Presidential Leadership Council headed by Rashad Al-Alimi, and backed strengthening its role.

It also vowed support for the Somali government's comprehensive war against terrorism, especially Al-Shabaab.

It stressed the UAE's absolute sovereignty over the Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa islands, which Iran seized in 1971.

The declaration praised the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran reached in Beijing to resume diplomatic ties, reopen missions, and activate security and economic cooperation.

Finally the statement condemned the incursion of Turkish forces into Iraqi territory and called on Turkey to withdraw its forces unconditionally.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Amid the reports of him being upset over the denial of the deputy chief ministerial post, Karnataka Congress MLA G Parameshwara on Friday said that it is time to forget the 'individual aspirations' and there is a need to 'look forward' with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections coming.

IMAGE: Former deputy CM of Karnataka, G Parameshwara. Photograph: ANI Photo

"This is the time when we all have to work together. This is the time when we should forget our individual aspirations. This is the time when we should fulfil the promises made to people...As I said, the party is supreme. So, we need to look forward. There is the 2024 Lok Sabha election. We have to consider those things as well," Parameshwara said.

"People are asking. Aspirations are plenty. But those aspirations cannot be fulfilled at once. I think in the long term everything will be settled and everyone will be taken care of..." he added.

When asked about the Dalit community's demand for him to be given the Deputy CM post, he said, "That is always there. Somebody will demand something, but that doesn't mean that it happens. That is why I said, some amount of sacrifice is required. So, it's okay. No problem."

Earlier on Friday, Parameshwara said that 'sacrifice' has to be made at 'some point'.

"That is okay. We all have to sacrifice at some point in time. It is a good thing happening," he added, being asked about him not being given the CM or Deputy CM post.

Congress on Thursday officially announced the name of the chief ministerial and deputy chief ministerial face, thus ending days of suspense. Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar was chosen to be chief minister and deputy chief minister respectively.
Several Palestinians were hurt after Israeli police opened fire and used tear gas against them while they were participating in a protest on Gaza Strip's eastern border with Israel, reported Al Jazeera.

IMAGE: Palestinians take part in a protest against the holding of the annual flag march in Jerusalem, which marks Jerusalem Day, at the Israel-Gaza border fence east of Gaza City on May 18, 2023. Photograph: Mohammed Salem/Reuters

The protest occurred following a so-called 'flag march' by far-right Israelis on Thursday in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem.

On Thursday, hundreds of Palestinians took part in the protest that had been scheduled by the Palestinian factions in response to the Israeli march.

The protest in Gaza denounced the Jerusalem 'flag march' and demanded a stop to Israeli raids on the Al Aqsa mosque complex.

Israeli authorities stated that after Palestinians threw explosives at the fence separating Israel and Gaza, its officers opened fire, according to Al Jazeera.

Violence has occurred in recent years as a result of the event, which is commemorated yearly to mark the occupation and annexation of East Jerusalem.

After unrest broke out following Israeli soldiers' storming of the Al Aqsa mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam, and the deportation of Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah district, both in East Jerusalem, the march was rerouted in 2021, reported Al Jazeera.

Last week, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) carried out retaliatory strikes in the Gaza Strip that it claimed were directed at two underground Islamic Jihad rocket launchers as a result of missile alarms that had been heard in southern and central Israel.

After five days of intense fighting, Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad somehow agreed to a ceasefire, which was brokered by Egypt, said The Times of Israel.

The fighting resulted in the death of 33 Palestinians, including at least 13 civilians. Two people in Israel were killed by rocket fire.

While the calm brought a sense of relief to Gaza's more than 2 million people and hundreds of thousands of Israelis who had been confined to bomb shelters in recent days, the agreement did nothing to address the underlying issues that have fuelled numerous rounds of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip.
A Special Investigation Team on Friday began probe into the alleged attempt by a group of people from another religion to force their way into the famous Trimbakeshwar temple in Maharashtra's Nashik district.

IMAGE: A view of Trimbakeshwar temple. Photograph: ANI Photo

SIT chief Sukhwinder Singh visited the Shiva temple, one of 12 jyotirlingas in the country, examined relevant CCTV camera footage and met the temple's trustees.

A first information report has been registered on a complaint lodged by a temple official against four persons under Section 295 (injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult a religion) of the Indian Penal Code after the May 13 incident.

I met some people and will meet some more people. I will listen to their views, see related documents and accordingly a decision will be taken, Singh told reporters in Nashik.

Earlier this week, Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered the setting up of an SIT to probe the incident.

The police had said that the group that arrived at the entrance of the temple on the night of May 13 included local people.

Prima facie, they requested temple authorities to allow them to perform the ritual of offering dhoop (incense) to the deity from the entrance steps as per a decades-old tradition.

The temple guards, however, stopped them, leading to a row.

Subsequently, some Hindu organisations demanded that action be taken against the group for trying to enter the temple, claiming that non-Hindus are not allowed to enter it.

Members of the Sakal Hindu Samaj also sprinkled 'gomutra' (cow urine) on the steps as a 'purification' ritual.

Meanwhile, in an interview to a news channel, a devotee at the nearby Gulab Shah Wali Dargah said that in view of the controversy, the tradition of offering incense will be stopped from next year.
Opposition unity is all to be showcased in the swearing-in of Congress leader Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister of Karnataka on Saturday, as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin and a host of leaders will descend on this southern state in a coming together of the non-Bharatiya Janata Party bloc ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

IMAGE: Preparations are underway for the oath-taking ceremony of the Karnataka CM-designate Siddaramaiah, at Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium, in Bengaluru, May 19, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Even as the grand old party seeks to promote opposition unity ahead of the hustings next year, Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, however, would be conspicuous by her absence at the event at Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

The party, however, would have a representation in the event but the ruling party in Karnataka saw her absence as a "dampener."

Besides Kumar, those who have confirmed their presence include Stalin, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and National Conference President Farooq Abdullah, according to Congress sources.

Congress president M Mallikarjun Kharge has also invited leaders of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, Peopele's Democratic Party, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Communist Party of India, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Revolutionary Sociality Party, Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Rashtriya Lok Dal, Kerala Congress and Indian Union Muslim League for the ceremony, the sources said.

However, the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala criticised the Congress for not inviting the state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan to the swearing-in ceremony, saying the move shows the grand old party's immature politics and weakness.

Congress's move has proved that it cannot carry out the mission of bringing together the secular democratic forces of the country against the BJP's "fascist" politics, LDF convenor EP Jayarajan said in Kannur in Kerala.

"Now, what anti-BJP stand is the Congress party going to adopt in the country?" he asked, speaking to reporters. Congress leads the opposition United Democratic Front in Kerala.

West Bengal CM Banerjee has designated TMC deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar for the programme.

"Banerjee skipping the event has come as some kind of a dampener, especially after her recent statement that in 2024 Lok Sabha elections, her party will support the Congress where it is strong", a Congress leader said.

Wherever the Congress is strong, let them fight. We will give them support; there is nothing wrong (in that). But they also have to support other political parties, Banerjee said recently.

Her statement came soon after Congress emerged triumphant against the BJP in the southern state bagging 135 seats in the 224-member Assembly.

Nitish Kumar, who has also been stressing on opposition unity to take on the BJP next year said he has been invited by the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for the swearing-in ceremony.

"It (Karnataka assembly poll) was an important election. Also, I have an old friendship with him (Siddaramaiah). I will be going tomorrow," he told reporters in Bihar's Darbhanga on Friday.

Kumar asked journalists to hold their horses upon being repeatedly asked about a meeting of opposition leaders, which Mamata Banerjee has asked him to hold in Bihar.

"Let me come back from the function tomorrow. We will take a call in due course," said the Janata Dal-United supremo, who had hinted that the meeting could be held after the election in the southern state.

Speaking to PTI, senior Congress leader and former Union Minister M Veerappa Moily said: "It (the swearing-in ceremony) could also be launchpad for the opposition unity and demonstration of strength and solidarity".

Political analyst Ramakrishna Upadhya said the assembly elections win in Karnataka "is a shot in the arm for the Congress after losing so many elections. The victory is indeed a morale booster for Congress and assert itself ahead of the 2024 elections".

Senior journalist and political observer Vishweshwar Bhat told PTI: "It (invitation to opposition leaders to attend the ceremony) is a brilliant move by the Congress in its efforts to restore its pan-India presence. The Congress is also sending signals from Karnataka for opposition unity.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee will not be attending the swearing-in ceremony of Congress leader Siddaramaiah as the Karnataka CM and has designated party leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar for the programme, a Trinamool Congress leader said.

IMAGE: Karnataka CM-designate Siddaramaiah being felicitated by Deputy CM-designate D K Shivakumar during state Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting, on Thursday. Photograph: ANI Photo

Banerjee had received an invitation from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to participate in the event on May 20 in Bengaluru.

'The CM designate of Karnataka Mr Siddaramaiah & his other colleagues called to personally invite @AITCofficialChairperson & Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for swearing-in tomorrow. She conveyed her best wishes & designated @kakoligdastidar#TMC Deputy Leader in LS to attend ceremony,' TMC Rajya Sabha party leader Derek O' Brien tweeted.

The presence of the TMC chief at the swearing-in programme of Siddaramaiah is considered crucial for opposition unity, especially after her recent statement that in 2024 Lok Sabha elections, her party will support the Congress where it is strong.

"Wherever the Congress is strong, let them fight. We will give them support; there is nothing wrong (in that). But they also have to support other political parties," Banerjee said recently.

Her statement came soon after Congress scored an emphatic victory over the Bharatiya Janata Party in the southern state.

In the May 10 elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, the Congress scored a victory by bagging 135 seats, while the ruling BJP secured 66 seats.
Despite the Supreme Court allowing screening of the movie The Kerala Story in West Bengal, no cinema hall has as yet agreed to show the controversial film which was earlier banned by the state government fearing "communal disturbances".

IMAGE: A poster of the film The Kerala Story. Photograph: Courtesy @adah_sharma/Twitter

Satadeep Saha, distributor of the film in Bengal, told PTI on Friday that none of the single screens and multiplexes in the state have come forward to show The Kerala Story as yet, including theatres owned by his family.

"We have asked the hall owners and multi-plex authorities that they can go ahead with the screening since there is no hurdle in showing Kerala Story now. But till now no one has picked up the move for release here. May be they don't want to antagonise anyone," Saha told PTI.

However, the regional head of Inox Amitabha Guha Thakurata told PTI, "We are waiting for (state) government's formal orders."

Director of the movie, Sudipto Sen at a press conference on Friday claimed he has been told by several hall owners that they have been threatened "by certain quarters" and asked not to screen the film.

Sen, who was speaking at a press meet here accompanied by the film's female lead Adah Sharma, claimed an estimated 1.5-2 crore people have already watched the movie all over the country, within two weeks after its release.

The Kerala Story which was released in theatre halls on May 5, claims that women from Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and recruited by the terror group Islamic State.

The West Bengal government had earlier banned the movie claiming it feared communal disturbances if it was screened.

However, the Supreme Court overturned the ban on Thursday and allowed its screening with a disclaimer that the movie was a "fictionalised version" and there was no authentic data on claims on the number of women who converted to Islam.

"We don't want to be embroiled in any controversy. I call upon Hon'ble chief minister Mamata Banerjee to kindly see the film herself and decide if it poses any threat to communal harmony or law and order disturbances," Sen said.

He said people should be allowed to decide whether they want to watch the film or not.

"I am a Bengali, the production designer is a Bengali. We are shocked and disappointed that such a thing is happening in Bengal."

"If security is not being provided to the theatre owners despite the SC order, we feel outraged, shocked," the movie director said.

He pointed out how TMC leader Mahua Moitra had flagged the banning of a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and TMC had spoken of freedom of opinion on that issue.

"Now where has the issue of artistic freedom gone? Can there be two sets of yardsticks in two situations?" he asked.

Producer Vipul Shah addressing the press virtually from Mumbai, hinted if the film is not shown in theatres in the state, the movie company may again move the court.
India is fully prepared and committed to protecting its sovereignty and dignity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday and asserted that the future development of the India-China relationship can only be based on mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets as he is being welcomed on his arrival, in Hiroshima, May 19, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Responding to questions over the India-China standoff in eastern Ladakh, Modi in an interview with the Japanese publication Nikkei Asia, also emphasised that peace and tranquility on the border are essential for normal bilateral ties among the neighbours.

'India is fully prepared and committed to protect its sovereignty and dignity," the prime minister said while stressing his country's respect for sovereignty, the rule of law and the peaceful resolution of disputes.

He also made it clear that "the future development of the India-China relationship can only be based on mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests" and noted that "normalising" the ties would benefit the wider region and the world.

India-China ties have been fraught since the Galwan clashes in June 2020.

Both sides have been periodically holding meetings to defuse the crisis at the border but a lasting solution has eluded them so far.

On Pakistan, the publication quoted him as saying that India wants "normal and neighborly relations."

"However, it is incumbent upon them to create a conducive environment free from terrorism and hostilities. The onus is on Pakistan to take necessary steps in this regard," he said.

Speaking about the Indian economy, he noted that it has been one of the world's fastest-growing.

"Our progress is evident, as we have risen from being the tenth largest economy in 2014 to now being the fifth largest globally... While it is true that global headwinds pose challenges to growth, we have built a strong foundation in recent years, which positions us favorably," he said.

On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Modi said India's position on the matter "is clear and unwavering."

"India stands on the side of peace and will remain firmly there. We are committed to supporting those who face challenges in meeting their basic needs, especially in the face of rising costs of food, fuel, and fertilizers. We maintain communication with both Russia and Ukraine," Modi said.

"Cooperation and collaboration should define our times, not conflict," he told Nikkei Asia.

The prime minister is on a three-nation trip to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia.

Earlier, Modi arrived in the Japanese city of Hiroshima to attend the annual summit of the G7 grouping and the third in-person Quad leaders' meeting.

During the interview, he also said he will amplify the voices and concerns of the Global South, a reference for developing countries, at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima.

Referring to global changes and challenges in areas such as energy, digital technology and supply chains, he said, "I will emphasise India's role as a reliable partner in addressing these challenges" and added that India's experience would "resonate strongly at the meeting."

On India's ties with Japan, he said both countries shared values of democracy, freedom and the rule of law have naturally brought them closer.

India, which is not a G-7 member, was invited by host and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

"We now see a growing convergence in our political, strategic, security, and economic interests," he told the publication.

Asked about the issue of United Nations reform amid India's long and sustained bid for a permanent seat on the Security Council, Modi spoke of the "limitations" of global governance institutions that remain "confined to outdated mindsets."

"These deficiencies have become evident in addressing contemporary challenges such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, terrorism, and financial crises," he said.

"The credibility of the UNSC and its decision-making process will always be questioned if it continues to deny representation on a permanent basis to the world's largest democracy, as well as entire continents like Africa and Latin America."
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the order of the Calcutta high court handing over the probe into incidents of violence during Ram Navami celebrations in West Bengal to the National Investigation Agency.

IMAGE: Vehicles set on fire by miscreants during clashes between two groups, at Kajipara in Howrah district, March 30, 2023. Photograph: PTI Photo

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and KV Viswanathan deferred the hearing on the plea of the West Bengal government challenging the high court order till after the summer vacation.

"We have not stayed the high court order and will take up the matter after summer vacation in the month of July, the bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for NIA.

The anti-terror probe agency has registered the case following a high court order.

During the hearing, senior advocates Abhishek Singhvi and Gopal Sankaranaraynan, representing the West Bengal government, said the high court has in its order referred to only one FIR related to the Chandan Nagar incident.

"We have instructions that the court may allow the probe of Chandan Nagar FIR to be done by NIA but rest five FIRs be allowed to be investigated by the state police," Sankaranaraynan said.

Singhvi said the NIA cannot be brought in for ordinary cases of violence unless it affects the country's security or sovereignty.

He said the NIA has a clear bar and it cannot be brought in just because someone says bombs might have been used in an incident.

"Either summoning of police officials by the NIA be stayed or the high court order be stayed till this court has adjudicated the appeal of the state government finally," he said.

The bench told Singhvi and Sankaranaraynan, "Assuming that the high court has referred to one FIR but all these incidents are part and parcel of the same transactions. Police used tear gas to control the situation and the high court has applied its mind that there is enough material to refer it to the NIA."

The bench said pursuant to the direction of the high court, investigation has been transferred and it is not a case where this court stultifies everything.

Mehta said the NIA has registered a case and, when the probe agency wrote to the state government to hand over the papers, it was told to wait for the decision of the apex court as it has challenged the order of the high court.

"Kindly clarify the position as we have registered the case," he urged the bench.

CJI Chandrachud said the apex court has not stayed the order of the high court.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and PS Patwalia, appearing for top state BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, said the NIA has registered a case, and even if the high court order is stayed, the investigation will go on.

The bench then deferred the hearing post summer vacation from May 22 to July 2.

On Thursday, the West Bengal government assailed the high court order transferring the probe to the NIA, saying no explosives were used and the direction was passed on a "politically-motivated" PIL filed by the leader of the opposition in the state assembly Suvendu Adhikari.

Singhvi has submitted the state police did not find any instance of use of explosives which could have warranted NIA's involvement in the investigation.

"There were no incidents involving the use of bombs. The police have looked into all the aspects and registered the FIRs," he said, adding in all six FIRs were lodged.

The bench pointed to the FIR the high court order had referred to in its order which said bombs were hurled.

"Use of explosives is a scheduled offence for which the National Investigation Agency (NIA) can be called in to investigate. The high court has recorded in its order that the police has deliberately omitted invoking the Explosive Substances Act in the FIRs registered in connection with the incidents of violence," the top court has said.

Singhvi said after the high court order, state police officers are being called by the NIA for questioning. He sought the HC order to be stayed.

On April 27, the Calcutta high court had ordered a probe by the NIA into the incidents of violence at Shibpur in Howrah and Rishra in Hooghly district during and after the Ram Navami celebrations.

The order was passed on a PIL by Adhikari and three other petitions seeking an NIA probe into the violence at these two places.

It had directed the state police to ensure all FIRs, documents, materials seized and CCTV footage be handed over to the NIA within two weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the order.

"In the cases on hand, we prima facie find that there has been a deliberate attempt on the part of the concerned police not to register any offence under the provisions of the Explosives Substances Act," the high court had said in its order.
Karnataka chief minister-designate Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar arrived in New Delhi on Friday to discuss with the party's high command the names of ministers to be inducted into the new cabinet and the allocation of portfolios.

IMAGE: DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo

They will also invite the party's top brass for the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday.

A meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Thursday formally elected Siddaramaiah as its leader, following which he staked claim with the Governor, who invited him to form the government.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar would take oath as the chief minister and deputy chief minister respectively along with a few ministers at 12.30 pm on Saturday at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.

"We want to invite our leaders, we want to invite Rahul ji, Sonia ji, Kharge ji and Priyanka ji for the ceremony. They gave their sweat, direction (to the campaign), so I wanted to invite them personally. Later, we are discussing the cabinet formation," Shivakumar told reporters after arriving in New Delhi.

Asked how many Opposition leaders would attend the swearing-in, Shivakumar said, "That we have requested our AICC president to take care of, for us, first is the Congress president and the Gandhi family, we are here to invite them personally."

He asserted that the promises made by leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi to the people of Karnataka will be fulfilled in the first Cabinet meeting.

The two leaders had arrived to a grand welcome in Bengaluru after the Congress announced on Thursday morning that Siddaramaiah would be the chief minister and Shivakumar his deputy following hectic parleys over three days.

Earlier, before leaving for Delhi, Shivakumar said fulfilling the promises made to the people is the first priority.

"Cabinet, people, all those things we will let you know later, we will not do anything leaving you (media), there is no need for any speculation. We will work unitedly," he said.

The first challenge that Siddaramaiah is expected to face is putting in place a Cabinet with the right combinations that will strike a balance in having representatives from all communities, regions, factions and also from among the old and new generation of legislators.

With the sanctioned strength of the Karnataka Cabinet being 34, there are too many aspirants for ministerial berths.

Stating that the voice of the people will be the voice of the government of Karnataka, Shivakumar said, "All our national leaders are coming (for the swearing-in ceremony). On the first day, in the first cabinet, we will implement all our 'guarantees', we will keep up our promise."

Several national leaders have been invited for the swearing-in ceremony and most of them are coming, he said.

Shivakumar also invited leaders of the BJP and JD(S) for the event, stating that as public representatives, they too are part of the government machinery.

Earlier, the deputy CM-designate also visited Kanteerava Stadium, the venue of the ceremony and inspected the preparations there.

The Congress has promised to implement 'guarantees' like 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), Rs 3,000 every month for graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years (YuvaNidhi), and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti), on the first day of assuming power in the state.
Siddaramaiah, who hails from the shepherd Kuruba caste, holds the record for presenting the highest number of Budgets in Karnataka -- 13 so far.

He has often spoken about how he was mocked in 1994 before he presented his first Budget. 'Some people asked, "Can he count sheep?",' Siddaramaiah told a regional news channel.

IMAGE: Siddaramaiah, then leader of the Opposition in the assembly, being detained during a protest in Bengaluru, March 4, 2023, against Karnataka's Bharatiya Janata Party government over alleged corruption. Photograph: ANI Photo

On October 10, 2019, Govind Karjol of the Bharatiya Janata Party, newly-appointed deputy chief minister, was talking to a bunch of journalists near the legislator's entrance of the Karnataka assembly, when he heard that Congress legislative party leader Siddaramaiah was heading that way.

Karjol, a five-time MLA, decided to wait, and as soon as he glimpsed Siddaramaiah, walked up to the former chief minister with folded hands to inform him about his new assignment.

With a pat on Karjol's back and an arm around his shoulder, Siddaramaiah wished him well and told him it was richly deserved.

In the corridors of the Vidhana Soudha, many such anecdotes abound about the veteran leader, who is revered as perhaps the most approachable senior by almost all the MLAs.

It was this ability to connect with MLAs big and, especially, small on both sides of the aisle, and his vast experience that ensured that Siddaramaiah, who hails from the shepherd Kuruba caste, won the support of the Congress's new legislators after its decisive victory in the elections, a senior Congress MLA said.

And so, exactly 40 years after he first entered the Karnataka assembly, the Congress leader is set to become the chief minister for the second time. He is only the second person in Karnataka's history to complete a full five-year term.

Should he complete three years in the post, he will be the longest serving chief minister, and if he finishes the term at the head of the government, he will be the first person to do so in the state's history.

Over the past four decades, the 75-year-old first-generation graduate and lawyer has remade himself into an expert in political management and budget making.

All about numbers

Siddaramaiah holds the record for presenting the highest number of Budgets in Karnataka -- 13 so far -- and is likely to retain the finance portfolio like last time.

He has often spoken about how he was mocked in 1994 before he presented his first Budget. 'Some people asked, "Can he count sheep?",' Siddaramaiah told a regional news channel.

A senior bureaucrat, who was part of the previous Siddaramaiah administration, said the former chief minister very strictly abides by three principles in the budget-making exercise: The fiscal deficit must not exceed 3 per cent of gross state domestic product (GSDP); the debt-to-GSDP ratio must not exceed 25 per cent; and there has to be a revenue surplus.

"Except for some core welfare schemes that he introduced, he is willing to listen to concerns aired by the finance department," the bureaucrat said.

The IAS officer said Siddaramaiah's approach is deliberative, and he holds extensive consultations with departments and a wide array of stakeholders, particularly eliciting contrarian views.

"He is present in every one of those meetings over the whole month of the budget making process," the officer said.

Challenges ahead

In its election campaign, the Congress announced five guarantees for voters -- Rs 2,000 a month to each woman who heads a household; unemployment assistance of Rs 3,000 per month for graduates and Rs 1,500 per month for diploma holders; 200 units of free electricity to all households; 10 kg of foodgrain free for every person in a BPL household; and, free bus travel for women.

The party has promised to implement these measures in the first Cabinet meeting. A senior Congress leader said the party has estimated that the total cost could be around Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion).

The bureaucrat quoted above said the guarantees would be hard to implement at one shot, considering the immense cost. "They might be introduced in a phased manner," he added.

The party will bank on these schemes to reduce the BJPs tally in the Lok Sabha elections next year. The saffron party won 25 of the 28 seats in the state in 2019.

Besides, Siddaramaiah also has his task cut out in managing intra-party disagreements, which were visible over the past three days, when both he and Congress Karnataka chief D K Shivakumar jostled for the top spot. He switched to the Congress from the Janata Dal-Secular in 2006, and has been viewed by old Congress leaders as an outsider.

There is also the matter of the caste census that the party has promised to release. The Congress had conducted the census during its previous term, but did not release it because of pressure from the dominant Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities, whose numbers it had apparently reduced, according to a leaked report.

Indeed, state leaders of the party blamed a backlash from these two dominant groups for its poor performance in the 2018 elections.

Siddaramaiah has called that election the most disappointing one in his career, because he lost in one of the two seats he contested, despite introducing a slew of welfare measures.

He is looking to rectify that and cement his legacy this time, a close aide of his said.
The death toll from Cyclone Mocha has reached 145 in Myanmar, its junta said Friday, with most of the dead from the persecuted Rohingya minority.

Related Cyclone Mocha death toll rises to 60 in Myanmar

Mocha brought lashing rain and winds of 195 kilometres per hour (120 miles per hour) to Myanmar and neighbouring Bangladesh on Sunday, collapsing buildings and turning streets into rivers.

The storm churned up villages, uprooted trees and knocked out communications across much of Myanmar's Rakhine state.

The region is home to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who live in displacement camps following decades of ethnic conflict.

"Altogether 145 local people were killed during the cyclone," a statement from Myanmar's junta authorities said.

The number included four soldiers, 24 locals and 117 "Bengalis", it added, using a pejorative term for the Rohingya.

Widely viewed as interlopers from Bangladesh, Rohingya are denied citizenship and access to health care in Myanmar, and require permission to travel outside of their townships.

A Rohingya village leader previously told AFP that more than 100 people were missing from his village alone following the storm.

Another leader based near the Rakhine state capital of Sittwe told AFP that at least 105 Rohingya had died around the city, with counting still ongoing.

Flights Resumed

Media reports that 400 Rohingya had died were "not true", the junta's statement said, adding that action would be taken against the outlets that published the figure.

The junta has arrested scores of journalists and closed outlets deemed critical of its rule since the military staged a coup that ousted an elected government more than two years ago.

Junta-backed media reported Friday that naval ships and the air force had brought in thousands of bags of rice, while thousands of electricians, firefighters and rescue workers had been deployed across Rakhine.

Normal flight service had resumed at Sittwe airport on Thursday, according to newspaper the Global New Light of Myanmar.

Some international aid groups, including the United Nations World Food Programme, were working on the ground in Sittwe this week, AFP correspondents said.

A junta spokesman did not respond to questions on whether UN agencies would be granted access to displacement camps outside Sittwe that house Rohingya.

"Offers from the international community for providing aid have been accepted," state media said Tuesday.

"But relief and rehabilitation tasks must be done through existing united strength," said the Global New Light of Myanmar.

A military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017 sent hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing into neighbouring Bangladesh, with harrowing stories emerging of murder, rape and arson.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who was head of the army during the crackdown, has dismissed the term Rohingya as "imaginary".

In neighbouring Bangladesh, officials told AFP that no one had died in the cyclone, which passed close to sprawling refugee camps that now house almost one million Rohingya.

Cyclones, the equivalent of hurricanes in the North Atlantic or typhoons in the Northwest Pacific, are a regular and deadly menace on the coast of the northern Indian Ocean where tens of millions of people live.

Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta in 2008, killing at least 138,000 people.

A previous junta regime faced international criticism for its response to that disaster. It was accused of blocking emergency aid and initially refusing to grant access to humanitarian workers and supplies.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Reuters Photographer Kim Soo-hyeon captures glimpses of boys who are experiencing the lives of Buddhist monks by staying in a temple for three weeks as novice monks, as they enjoy a ride at the Everland amusement park in Yongin, South Korea.

All photographs: Kim Soo-hyeon/Reuters

Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
Tens of thousands of people gathered in the Serbian capital Belgrade on Friday, amid growing concern at rising levels of violence following two mass shootings that killed 18 people this month.

The rally marked the third major "Serbia against violence" protest in recent weeks, which has brought thousands to the streets calling for the resignation of top officials.

"We are in shock, disbelief and we are angry," protester Jelena Mihajlovic told the crowd gathered in front of the parliament on Friday. "And a question echoes with all of us -- what kind of country are we leaving for our children?"

The protests are some of the largest rallies to rock Serbia since mass demonstrations triggered the fall of former strongman Slobodan Milosevic more than two decades ago.

The demonstrators want the government to revoke the broadcasting licences of television channels promoting violent content, and a ban on pro-government newspapers that stir tensions by targeting political dissidents.

They have also called for the resignation of the interior minister and the head of the intelligence service.

On Friday, members of the pro-European opposition stormed out of a special session of parliament, accusing the ruling party and its allies of aiming to "silence the rally" rather than address the issues raised by the demonstrators.

"We don't want to be a part of that ... we will join the citizens in the protest," Zoran Lutovac, the president of the Democratic Party, told reporters.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has dismissed the protests as a "political" stunt.

He scheduled a separate demonstration for his own supporters next week that he has billed as "the biggest gathering in Serbian history".

Vucic's close ally Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has also accused "foreign intelligence services" of stirring unrest after the shootings to destabilise Serbia.

Following the shootings, Vucic has vowed to "disarm" Serbia with an ambitious plan that would crack down on legal and illicit firearms.

Serbia has the highest level of gun ownership in Europe, with roughly 39 out of 100 people owning firearms, according to the Small Arms Survey research group.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Brattleboro resident Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, seen here circa 1899, was one of the most popular authors of the 19th century.
In this week's Vermontitude podcast, host Peter "Fish" Case chats up Bob Audette, a longtime reporter with the Brattleboro Reformer. Vermontitude Episode 28: Maple Valley concerts and a tale of two Starks
Misbah Abdul-Kareem talks to his defense attorney Mimi Brill during an arraignment at Windham County Superior Court/Criminal Division in March.
You are the owner of this article.
BRATTLEBORO  Two Vermont State Troopers were ordered Monday to appear in Vermont Superior Court in Brattleboro next week to face charges in c
BERLIN  Brittany Plucas, 29, and her boyfriend will likely sleep in her car when they have to leave the Hilltop Inn on the first of June. The
The United States on Friday promised $103 million for Sudan and neighboring countries to support displaced people as a month of war between rival generals triggers a humanitarian crisis.

Samantha Power, chief of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), announced the new assistance on a visit to Chad, which before the latest fighting was already the host of some 600,000 refugees, mostly from Sudan.

USAID said it was committing $50 million to address needs inside Sudan as well as $22 million for South Sudan, $17 million for Chad and $6 million for Egypt.

In Chad, the assistance will go through the UN's World Food Programme to provide food and cash assistance to more than 135,000 people, including newly arrived refugees from Sudan.

The United Nations said Wednesday that $3.03 billion would be needed to provide urgent aid for Sudan as well as for the more than one million people expected to flee into neighboring countries this year.

USAID noted that Chad was already "stretched thin." South Sudan has been coping with its own internal humanitarian disaster.

"The conflict in Sudan forces humanitarian partners across the region to make difficult choices about how to address compounding needs with limited resources," a USAID statement said.

"The United States urges other donors to help us address critical funding gaps."

Sudan descended into war on April 15 in a conflict between the army and a powerful paramilitary unit as they rejected a plan to merge under a promised transition to civilian rule.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have been leading mediation in hopes of reaching another at least temporary ceasefire to allow in assistance.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Photographer / Multimedia Editor

Has been working as a photojournalist since 2007, before moving into newspapers, he worked with an NGO called Project HOPE. He then went to work for the Press and Sun-Bulletin in New York, and then in New England working for the Brattleboro Reformer.
Washington announced this week that it will send more military to the Gulf in response to Iran repeatedly seizing tankers passing the strategic Strait of Hormuz. White House Spokesperson John Kirby told a news briefing this week, the Department of Defence will be making a series of moves to bolster our defensive posture in the Arabian Gulf.

The US Navys Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said it was working with regional allies to increase the rotation of ships and aircraft patrolling the Strait of Hormuz. Irans unwarranted, irresponsible and unlawful seizure and harassment of merchant vessels must stop, the Fifth Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper said in a statement carried by Reuters. A spokesperson from the US militarys Florida-based Central Command, which oversees American forces in the Middle East, said the United States was discussing options with regional partners.

In the space of a single week, Iran had seized two tankers in the area, claiming that it also forced an American submarine to surface last month while entering Gulf waters, which the Americans denied.

Iran maintains that the seizure of the tankers is justified, and reiterates lawful justifications for the measures taken by the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against the tankers. Earlier this month, the official news agency IRNA cited Tehrans Public Prosecutor as saying that the oil vessel had been impounded by the IRGC Navy following a complaint by a plaintiff and on a judicial order.

But the US Fifth Fleet said in a statement that the Greek-owned tanker, going by the name of Niovi, was sailing from Dubai towards Fujairah, a port and oil terminal in the United Arab Emirates, when it was stopped by the IRGC naval units on 3 May.

Six days before that incident, Irans Navy seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Sea of Oman. The Iranians claimed the oil tanker, named Advantage Sweet, had been involved in a maritime accident with an Iranian fishing craft, which resulted in the injury and disappearance of a number of its crew. Tehran said that, after the collision, the oil tanker attempted to flee the scene in a serious breach of international laws and regulations, which require the provision of medical treatment and supply of proper and sufficient medicine to seamen in case of sickness or injury.

Last month, Iranian Navy Commander Shahram Irani told state television that Irans navy forced a US submarine to surface as it entered the Gulf, but the United States Navys Fifth Fleet denied that any such incident had taken place. Reuters quoted Commander Timothy Hawkins at the time saying: A US submarine has not transited the Strait of Hormuz today or recently.

Many in the region, notably the Israelis, are not impressed with the American response to Iranian provocations, according to the Israeli media. Though the intended military build-up might be a two-toned message from the Americans  standing up to Iran and supporting Arab Gulf allies  it has not had the expected effect. In fact, it is seen as too little too late for an impact on the regions perception of the American role to register.

Saudi commentator Abdul-Aziz AlKhames told Al-Ahram Weekly, that wont change the mood in the Gulf. People are asking where the Americans were when they were needed. The Americans are talking about the Iranians arming the Houthis in Yemen now? And this military build-up in the Gulf looks like an attempt to sabotage the Saudi-Iranian detente. This view is shared by some analysts who blame the Americans for stalling the political process to end the war in Yemen. Others see current developments as a delayed response to increased Chinese influence in the region.

Israeli commentator Amos Harel wrote in Haaretz this week that the US is not winning the trust of Israeli leadership when it comes to policy on Iran. He notes that the events of recent years led the Gulf states to look for alternative paths. If America wont attack Iran, it will be wise to mitigate the tension with Tehran. And if all recent US administrations  from Barack Obama to Trump and Biden  are seeking to reduce their military presence in the Middle East and focus their interests on the competition with China and with Russia, a more cautious line needs to be taken between the great powers and ties need to be strengthened with China.

The change in the Gulf based on anticipating waning American interest in the region is probably irreversible  at least for now. Sending more warships or other arms to the Gulf or carrying joint patrols with Gulf partners is unlikely to make much difference. Countries in the region were not exclusive in their bond with the United States; strengthening ties with other powers like China and Russia and reconciling with Iran. Even their normalisation with Israel is driven by the same perception of American disengagement with the region, as American commentator Max Boot wrote this week in The Washington Post: It was actually the signing of the Abraham Accords in the summer of 2020 that signalled the emergence of a post-American order in the Middle East.

Almost all the countries in the region have already concluded that they need to carve a new path on their own and to move away from reliance on active American involvement.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 18 May, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


TORRINGTON  State police said they were able to stop a Waterbury driver seen going the wrong way on the highway early Friday after multiple witnesses called 911.

State police and Litchfield County dispatchers began receiving 911 calls for a car headed the wrong way on Route 8 around 1:30 a.m., state police said. The driver was reported to be heading south in the northbound lanes of the highway near Exit 43 in Torrington.

"One of the callers advised dispatchers that they had observed the wrong-way vehicle turn around and reported that the vehicle had begun traveling in the correct direction on Route 8 northbound" near Exit 44, state police said in a news release.

State police said the witness gave them a description, and said the car had gotten off Route 8 north at Exit 44, but then got back on the southbound side of the highway.

The driver was then seen "traveling in an erratic manner, swerving across the travel lanes" on the southbound side, state police said.

Troopers were able to pull the driver over on the southbound side of the highway near Exit 41.

State police said the driver, identified as 67-year-old Michael Wiggins, of Waterbury, "exhibited signs of possible impairment." He failed field sobriety tests and was charged with driving under the influence, failure to drive in the proper lane and driving the wrong way on a divided highway, the agency said.

State police said Wiggins was released on $1,000 bond and is scheduled to appear before a judge in state Superior Court in Torrington on June 2.

"We thank the members of the public who did not hesitate to call 911 to report this incident," state police said in a statement. "As always, we ask that anyone who observes a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction please keep a safe distance away and call 911 as soon as possible, as this is a true emergency."

The incident follows a series of fatal wrong-way crashes in Connecticut. In January, state Rep. Quentin "Q" Williams, D-Middletown, was killed after his car was struck by a wrong-way driver along Route 9 in Cromwell. The 27-year-old wrong-way driver was also killed in the crash.

Crash data tracked by the University of Connecticut shows there have been two fatal wrong-way crashes so far this year in Connecticut. In 2022, there 13 fatal wrong-way crashes, up from the 10 reported in 2021 and seven in 2020, the state figures show.
ABOARD THE USS PAUL HAMILTON IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ (AP)  The Mideast-based commanders of the U.S., British and French navies transited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday aboard an American warship, a sign of their unified approach to keep the crucial waterway open after Iran seized two oil tankers.

Tensions in the Persian Gulf have been volatile since Iran's nuclear deal with world powers collapsed, following the U.S.' unilateral withdrawal five years ago. The incredibly rare, joint trip by the three navy chiefs aboard the USS Paul Hamilton, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, saw three fast boats of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard approach the vessel at one point.

Guardsmen stood by uncovered machine guns on their decks, while sailors aboard the Paul Hamilton similarly stood by loaded machine guns as others shot photographs and video of the vessels. An Associated Press journalist also accompanied the allied naval commanders.

While the Guard kept its distance from both the Paul Hamilton and the passing British frigate HMS Lancaster, their presence showed just how tense passage for vessels can be in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of global oil supplies passes.

Iran has seized or attacked 15 ships in the last two years. Eight seizures and seven attacks," Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, who oversees the U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet, told the AP. "So the shipping industry is mindful of what the security posture looks like in the region. We have the ability to positively impact that influence and thats what were doing now.

Cooper said Iran's Guard ships Friday came within 1,000 yards (915 meters) of the Paul Hamilton, which is based out of San Diego.

The U.S. has viewed securing the Middle East's waterways, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, as key since then-President Jimmy Carter's 1980 speech vowing to use military force to protect American interests in the wider Persian Gulf. While focused then on the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, the Carter Doctrine's vow to allow the free movement of Middle East oil now pits the U.S. against Iran, which has seized a series of oil tankers since the collapse of its nuclear deal with world powers.

Last week, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists that America planned to make a series of moves to bolster our defensive posture in the Persian Gulf, while criticizing Iran's recent seizures of tankers. Cooper said the joint trip on the Paul Hamilton represented part of that push, with the aim of having more coalition ships passing through the strait on a regular basis.

"The volume of commerce that flows through the Strait of Hormuz  it is critical to the worlds economy, he said.

For its part, Iran long has bristled at the American presence in the region. After Kirby's remarks, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani issued a lengthy statement accusing the U.S. of creating and intensifying instability and insecurity in the Persian Gulf region for decades with its interventionist and destructive policies.

However, Kanaani also specifically mentioned the U.S. seizing and confiscating some Iranian oil cargoes in international waters. The suspected American seizure of the Suez Rajan, a tanker linked to a U.S. private equity firm believed to have been carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil off Singapore, likely sparked Tehran to recently take the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Advantage Sweet. That ship carried Kuwaiti crude oil for energy firm Chevron Corp. of San Ramon, California.

There was no immediate reaction in Iranian state media nor from the Guard about the Paul Hamilton's trip from the Persian Gulf out through the strait to the Gulf of Oman. However, it was unlikely the Iranians immediately knew that the American, British and French commanders had been aboard the vessel, though at least one Guard member aboard the fast boats was studying the Paul Hamilton with a pair of binoculars.

Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the trip.

On the trip through the Strait of Hormuz, at least one Iranian drone watched the Paul Hamilton. Meanwhile, an U.S. Navy Boeing P-8 Poseidon also was overhead. U.S. forces also routinely fly drones in the region as well, while a Navy task force also has put some drones out to sea.

Securing the Strait of Hormuz has been a challenge since the Carter Doctrine  and deadly. The so-called 1980s Tanker War involved American naval ships escorting reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers through the gulf and the strait after Iranian mines damaged vessels in the region. The U.S. Navy even fought a one-day naval battle against Iran at the time, as well as accidentally shot down an Iranian commercial airliner, killing 290 people.

Former President Donald Trump's decision to unilaterally withdraw from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers sparked new challenges from Iran in the region. Tehran seized tankers, while the Navy also blamed Iran for again using mines against shipping. The Trump administration came up with its Sentinel program, which also involved it and partner nations escorting ships in the region. But tensions with Europe after the nuclear deal's collapse didn't see a wide buy-in with the program.

This renewed effort under President Joe Biden does not appear to involve escorting individual ships, but trying to put more allied forces in the region. Already, the U.S. has brought A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and a submarine in the region to try to deter Iran.

America also could bring more ships into the Persian Gulf. The end of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the war in Ukraine and American concern over China's expansion in the South China Sea, has halted routine carrier deployments in recent years.

For now, Cooper pointed to the presence of his British and French colleagues  Commodore Philip Dennis, the commander of the United Kingdom Maritime Component Command, and Vice Adm. Emmanuel Slaars, the joint commander of the French forces deployed in the Indian Ocean  as a sign of the resolve of America and its partners.

This is part of our increase in presence in the region, which was described by the White House last week, and thats now in execution, Cooper said.

___

Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
MAG Silver Corp. (NYSE:MAG) (TSE:MAG) (FRA:MQ8) is a Canadian exploration and development company focused on becoming a top-tier primary silver mining company, by exploring and advancing high-grade, district scale, silver-dominant projects in the Americas. Their principal focus and asset is the Juanicipio Property being developed in Joint Venture partnership with Fresnillo PLC. Juanicipio is located in the Fresnillo Silver Trend in Mexico, the world's premier silver mining camp. The company is currently developing the surface and underground infrastructure on the property to support a 4,000 tonnes per day mining operation, with the operational expertise of their JV partner, Fresnillo plc. Mag Silver has an aggressive exploration program in place targeting multiple highly prospective targets across the property.
From Al-Ahram Weekly archives: Fifty years of dispossession 1948-1998*

Issue: 20 August 1998

August 1948: The fighting between us and our enemies in Palestine has stopped in implementation of the truce. However, the reality is that not a day goes by without the outbreak of an armed clash somewhere along the front. The Egyptian forces had divided Palestine in two across a line extending from immediately south of Jerusalem to the coast north of Asdod. The Zionists were in a panic over the fate of over 30 Zionist settlements in the south of Palestine which had been completely cut off by Egyptian forces.

Jewish forces had tried to break through the Egyptian ring surrounding the settlements, but without success. They were forced to seek other means to send in provisions to the settlements. At times they dropped supplies from planes and, at others, they tried to smuggle through convoys at night. Many of these convoys were ambushed by Egyptian forces. I recall that, one night, a brave but silent young officer, with only a handful of soldiers, attacked a large convoy carrying water and food. As the convoy was passing near Al-Faluja, the courageous young man confiscated its contents. These provisions, particularly the dry biscuits, served to sustain Al-Faluja until the end of their blockade. This young but silent officer was Captain Hassan El-Tuhami.

The eastern sector from the south of Jerusalem to Bethlehem was occupied by the forces of the martyr Ahmed Abdel-Aziz. These forces, referred to at times as "light forces", and at others as "commandos", were made up mostly of volunteers. His sector witnessed continual skirmishes virtually throughout the truce. At one point, the barbed wire barriers put up by the two sides were almost on top of each other. In fact, I saw stretches where the barbed wire of both sides was attached to the same poles. This is why there was perpetual tension in this sector.

By the middle of August, under the supervision of the truce observers, we finished drawing up the demarcation lines for the truce and delineating the sectors along the front. But no sooner had we finished this task than the Jews mounted a series of attacks against the no-man's land. In Jerusalem, they occupied the Red Cross-controlled area and took down the international organisation's flags. They also occupied some buildings near this area. I cannot forget Colonel Ismail Sherin's tireless efforts in drawing up the truce lines in conjunction with the UN observers. He spent days walking dozens of miles with the observers in the Central Sector, which was inaccessible to light vehicles.

The Jewish assault had international repercussions. The subject was brought before the Security Council. Resolutions were passed, but these were no more effective than the paper they were written on. The Jews protested that the Egyptian forces, volunteers in particular, had occupied Jabal Al-Mukabbir, and refused to withdraw from the area they occupied unless the Egyptians withdrew from that strategically vital position. Their aim, of course, was to occupy Jabal Al-Mukabbir without having to give anything in exchange.

From that position, they would threaten the only line of communication between Egyptian forces, southern Jerusalem and the Jordanian forces in old Jerusalem. In the midst of the commotion, General Riley contacted the Egyptian, Jordanian and Israeli governments, which agreed to convene a conference, chaired by him and attended by representatives from the military forces of these governments. Riley set the day of the meeting -- the day on which Abdel-Aziz was killed, and the place -- the no-man's land between the Jordanian and Jewish lines in Jerusalem. The meeting was to be held in the former British consulate building.

These instructions reached the Egyptian forces, which were in the field in Al-Majdal. The forces were under the general command of General El-Mawawi, whom I served as a chief of staff. The Commander-in-Chief summoned me, gave me the relevant papers for the conference and told me to represent him. His instructions to me were clear. Egyptian forces would not give up one inch of the land they had won through the sacrifice of many lives. The Commander-in-Chief also implied that Colonel Ahmed Abdel-Aziz would be attending the conference in his capacity as commander of the sector under dispute.

I got to work right away. I transmitted by code the Commander-in-Chief's instructions to Ahmed Abdel-Aziz. The night before the meeting, I took a jeep from Al-Majdal. Riding with me was Captain Mohamed El-Wardani, who had arrived in the field only a few hours before, and had expressed his desire to accompany me in order to get an idea of the front. I followed a roundabout route that took all night. I had wanted to pass by Bir Al-Sab', where I had some work to do, first. I arrived in Bethlehem in the morning, about half an hour late. I discovered that Ahmed Abdel-Aziz had already left for the conference in the company of Major Hassan Fahmi Abdel-Meguid. In Jerusalem, Abdel-Aziz met up with the delegation and General Riley, and together they crossed the truce lines on foot under UN flags. The Jewish delegation crossed at the same time. Both sides had agreed to a cease-fire while the delegations made their way to the meeting place.

When I learned of these arrangements, I was bewildered. How was I going to get to the meeting? I went from Bethlehem to old Jerusalem, where I sought out the Jordanian command. I asked them where the delegations had crossed, and they sent an armoured car along with me to show me the place.

My problems were only just beginning, however. How were El-Wardani and I supposed to cross the street separating the Jewish and Jordanian forces in order to get to the building where the conference was being held? Even if I could ascertain that I would not be hit by a Jordanian bullet, how could I guarantee that the Zionists would not shoot me? The distance we had to cross was no more than 50 yards. I contemplated running, knowing that "speed is the best armour against gunfire." However, I looked up at the many nooks and crannies in the buildings around us and realised that we did not stand a chance if we took the risk. At such close quarters, even a brick would do us in. Then too, our running would arouse suspicion.

Suddenly, I had a flash of inspiration. I went over to General Riley's car, took off the UN flag and waved it over our heads as we very slowly and uncomfortably crossed the street. It took no more than half a minute to cover the distance, but it seemed like an entire lifetime.

The conference building was filled with journalists of all nationalities. In the assembly room, General Riley was sitting in the seat assigned to the chairman. Commander Abdallah Al-Tel was there, at the head of the Jordanian delegation. The Israeli delegation was headed by the deceitful Colonel Dayan. Originally Polish, Dayan had fought in World War II on the Russian front, where he lost an eye. He was wearing a black patch. Ahmed Abdel-Aziz was speaking furiously.

I took Major Abdel-Meguid aside and asked him what had happened. I learned that the Egyptian side was acting contrary to the instructions of the Commander-in-Chief with regard to some details in the talks, and that Abdel-Aziz had not yet been apprised of these details. I went up to Colonel Abdel-Aziz and whispered to him the Commander-in-Chief's instructions. Discussions in the room involved the creation of a neutral zone that might include Jabal Al-Mukabbir. This would mean that the volunteer forces under the courageous Senegalese commander Abdallah Al-Ifriqi would have to withdraw from that area. Al-Ifriqi was standing a short distance away, shouting that he would refuse to carry out any order to leave his position, even if it came from the Egyptian command.

As for Abdel-Aziz, he thought that this concession would be countered by a withdrawal of Jewish troops from an important site under their control. He may have been right. But my job was to implement El-Mawawi's instructions, in which I had faith. When I explained to Abdel-Aziz the point of view of the Commander-in-Chief, he too agreed and asked me to explain the instructions to those attending.

The meeting ended at about 3.00 in the afternoon. It had produced several resolutions. Jewish forces were to withdraw from the areas they had occupied within 24 hours. There would be an immediate cease-fire along the entire front. A third resolution called upon the concerned governments to consider the creation of a neutral zone and, as I recall, to give their responses within a week.

We returned to Bethlehem about half an hour before sunset. There we met Kamaleddin Hussein, who was known as Abu Kamal. We had not had a bite to eat all day. El-Wardani, the driver and I went to get the jeep. I asked for permission to leave. I wanted to get to the general command in Al-Majdal that night.

I tried to think of a way to force the Jews to respect the resolutions. Only force would be effective. I wanted to explain this to the Commander-in-Chief. But even if I was able to convince him, he would have to convince Cairo, and perhaps even the Palace, where the most minor official had more authority in running the campaign in Palestine than the Commander-in-Chief himself. Even if he convinced everyone, we would still need time to transport the necessary arms, particularly artillery, in order to back up any operation in that sector. But we only had 48 hours, of which three hours were taken up by the craggy road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.

Abdel-Aziz had asked me several times to spend the night in their camp. I explained to him why I felt I had to get back to command quickly. He insisted on accompanying me. That is when fate played one of its tricks. Abdel-Aziz's men, particularly Kamaleddin Hussein, were against his traveling that night. They feared the Zionists would mount a major assault. Still, he insisted on accompanying me. There was really no need for him to come with me. But I could sense what was on his mind. The relations between him and the Commander-in-Chief were a bit strained.

I took Abdel-Meguid aside and told him that I would only tell the Commander-in-Chief the final results of the conference. I had no intention of getting into matters that would only complicate relations between El-Mawawi and Abdel-Aziz.

Perhaps it was fate that caused Abdel-Aziz to sit next to me. I was driving, because I preferred to drive. El-Wardani had moved into the back seat with the driver. We took off into the night. As the darkness closed in around us, we felt we were entering an unfamiliar world. We were driving through an area fraught with tension because of the thirty colonies cordoned off by Egyptian forces. We had 150 miles to go. I knew that night's password -- "Gaza".

We managed to pass the danger zone between Hebron and Beit Jebrein. Soon we were in a sector controlled by Palestinian irregulars. We passed through one check point after another. As soon as they found out who we were, they let us pass, wishing us a safe journey.

All went smoothly until we approached a village called Iraq Al-Manshiya, located about two kilometres east of Al-Faluja. From about 600 yards off, I heard the sound of a gun fire and I saw the flash of the gun from the trenches around the village. At the same time I heard Ahmed Abdel-Aziz groan. Throughout the trip, Abdel-Aziz had been speaking to me in low tones, so that our comrades in the back seat could not overhear. I slammed on the brakes, bringing the jeep to a stop after a metre or two. I turned onto the shoulder of the road. We jumped out of the car and threw ourselves down on the ground. Abdel-Aziz was writhing in pain.

After a few moments, we heard the sound of small artillery fire from the village defense line. Fortunately, we were a good distance away. We stayed on the ground, protected by the irregularities of the landscape. The driver was lying next to the jeep, flashing the headlights on and off in order to signal the garrison that ours was not an enemy vehicle. At the same time, I tried to find out how badly Abdel-Aziz was injured. He was covered in blood. I told the driver to turn the jeep around in the direction of Beit Jebrein, which was about 20 kilometres away, even though I knew the village did not have a doctor.

The garrison began to fire flare-bombs, preparing to launch mortar bombs and, perhaps, artillery fire. The driver hesitated, but began to move when I repeated my harsh command. He jumped into the car. I heard the sound of the motor turning; then it stopped. He jumped out of the jeep and said that it was stalled. I felt that my head was about to explode. If all we had to do was save our lives, we could have walked to Beit Jebrein easily. But we could not leave behind that courageous commander, as he lay writhing in agony, exposed to such imminent danger. How could we carry him that distance? In addition, he was already beginning to lose consciousness.

The shooting had to stop. Then we would be able to take him to a place where he could be treated. We had to save his life, if his life was destined to be saved.

Our voices were not loud enough to be heard at the garrison. One of us would have to get close enough in order to shout out the password. I was the only one who could do that. El-Wardani had seen enough for his first day in the field. I crawled forward about 400 metres on my hands and knees. Then I shouted out the password, identified myself and shouted out the names of the soldiers' commanders. I heard a voice ordering me to stand up and raise my hands. I obeyed. The voice ordered me to approach. I did as ordered. It took some effort to put one foot in front of the other. At every moment, I expected a gun shot to end this ill-fated day. After the soldiers had convinced themselves of my identity, I took them back to where the wounded commander was lying. We put him in the jeep and pushed it all the way to the village. There we transferred him to another jeep and drove to Al-Faluja. The trip took a quarter of an hour. A doctor was waiting for us. Death had intervened before he could act, however.

The doctor told us that Abdel-Aziz would have died anyway, even if he had made it to the operating table. Later I learned that the reason the garrison had been so hasty in opening fire was that, only minutes before we arrived, they had had an encounter with a Jewish convoy seeking to break through the lines in order to reach the besieged settlements. The Egyptian forces had just repelled the convoy when our jeep arrived. As they had no idea we would be passing this way, they thought our jeep was an enemy vehicle and opened fire.

I called up the Commander-in-Chief from the office of the late El-Sayed Taha and told him what happened. He had told me not to complete the trip until morning. Needless to say, we did not sleep a wink that night.

Early the next morning, I reported to General Command. My nerves were frayed from having spent two days without sleep and having traveled more than 800 kilometres. El-Mawawi greeted me in a fury. "Why did he leave with you?" he shouted. "Why didn't you wait?" The only answer I could offer was: "Fate".



This article was first published in Al-Ahram Weeklys special pages commemorating 50 years of Al-Nakba, the Palestinian catastrophe when Israel was created on 15 May 1948. These pages, published in 1998, were part of a year-long series of articles documenting the history and nature of the Arab-Israeli struggle, as well as that of Palestinian dispossession and exile.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India's focus is to serve as a bridge between different voices for a constructive and postive agenda, in an interview with Japanese publication Nikkei Asia. The Prime Minister's comments came on May 18 before he left for Japan's Hiroshima to take part at the G7 summit from May 19-21. "As a member of the Global South, our interest in any plurilateral setting is to serve as a bridge between diverse voices and contribute to a constructive and positive agenda," he said.

The Prime Minister also vowed to "amplify the voices and concerns of the Global South" nations at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima.

G7 Summit

During the interview at the Prime Minister's Office in New Delhi, PM said that he will be discussing global issues and the challenges in the G7 Summit. He said, "I will emphasise India's role as a reliable partner in addressing these challenges."

India has been invited to the G7 Summit by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has repeatedly expressed his determination to strengthen ties with the Global South or developing world. He said, "We now see a growing convergence in our political, strategic, security, and economic interests."

PM Modi said, "We engage with a wide range of friends and like-minded partners around the world based on our national interests." He added, "The Quad countries' collective focus is on "fostering a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region."

PM on Russia-Ukraine war

Asked whether India can play a mediator role in the Russia-Ukraine war issue, PM Modi said his country's position on the Ukraine conflict "is clear and unwavering."

He said, "India stands on the side of peace, and will remain firmly there. We are committed to supporting those who face challenges in meeting their basic needs, especially in the face of rising costs of food, fuel, and fertilizers. We maintain communication with both Russia and Ukraine."

PM Modi on UNSC's credibility

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the credibility of the United Nations Security Council and its decision-making.

He said, "The credibility of the U.N. Security Council and its decision-making process will always be questioned if it continues to deny representation on a permanent basis to the world's largest democracy, as well as entire continents like Africa and Latin America."

India's relation with China and Pakistan

He also spoke about India's relationship with two of its closest neighbours, China and Pakistan.

He spoke about India's relationship with China and said, "India is fully prepared and committed to protect its sovereignty and dignity." He added, "Peace and tranquility in the border areas are essential for normal bilateral ties with China."

He appealed for mutual respect and said, "The future development of the India-China relationship can only be based on mutual respect, mutual sensitivity, and mutual interests."

About Pakistan, PM Modi said, "New Delhi wants "normal and neighbourly relations." He added, "However, it is incumbent upon them to create a conducive environment free from terrorism and hostilities. The onus is on Pakistan to take necessary steps in this regard."
On the 75th anniversary of the Nakba  the Palestinian Catastrophe  Al-Ahram Weekly republishes the 1998 special pages commemorating 50 years of Palestinian dispossession and the creation of Israel on 14 May 1948.

The Nakba began the day after, on 15 May 1948. It has been marked every year since, as it continued to shape and influence the Arab consciousness and the regions political landscape, like no other in our modern history.

Little has changed as we look back at Al-Ahram Weeklys year-long project which documented the history of the Nakba 25 years ago. Israels settler colonialism, inherent in its structural violence, continues till this day.

The expulsion and dispossession of more than 700,000 Palestinians 75 years ago by Zionist militias, through genocide and ethnic cleansing, has failed, however, to eliminate the indigenous people of Palestine.

Today they are more than seven million in the diaspora and 5.3 million in the West Bank, Gaza and inside the 1948 borders of Israel.

Despite, or because of, Israels apartheid regime and war machine which sees Palestinian causalities as political gains or collateral damage, Palestinians have held on to their national identity.

Recent polls reveal that the majority of Palestinians, while espousing statehood and liberation, have lost faith in both the two-state solution and their political leadership. Instead, they support resistance against the Israeli occupation.

While the optics might have changed over 75 years, the nature of the conflict has not.

This is reflected in the testimonies, accounts and reflections of the writers, intellectuals and figures who marked the Nakbas 50th anniversary on the pages of Al-Ahram Weekly in 1998 and whose words are still relevant till this day.

Edward Said, the acclaimed Palestinian professor of English literature questions how are we to say that we will coexist with a state that still has not declared its boundaries and still describes itself, not as the state of its citizens, but as the state of the whole Jewish people entitled to the entire land of Israel?

Meanwhile, Palestinian historian Saleh Abdel-Jawad describes the tactics employed by Israel since 1948 to expel the indigenous population have given way to a policy he calls "sociocide." That is the gradual undermining of the communal and psychological structures of Palestinian society in order to compel the Palestinians to leave by other means.

Salim Tamaris haunting account of his visit his birthplace, the once thriving Palestinian city of Jaffa, occupied by Zionist militias in 1948, is piercing. The prominent Palestinian sociologist describes a city abandoned and now being rejuvenated by Jewish gentrification seeking abandoned Arab houses, or pushing houses to be abandoned. And where he finds his grandfathers house occupied by two Jewish Moroccan families.

A 1984 interview by Egyptian novelist and academic Radwa Ashour with Nagi El-Ali, the prominent Palestinian cartoonist, takes us back to his familys expulsion from Galilee, at the age of 11, where he ended up in refugee camp in south Lebanon.

The young, barefoot Hanzala he explains was a symbol of my childhood. He was 11-years-old when I had left Palestine and, in a sense, I am still that age today.

Highlights from Al-Ahram Weeklys special Nakba coverage in 1998 include an interview with prominent Egyptian journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal who covered the 1948 war, among other compelling testimonies from that time.

The weeklys staff also embarked on a yearlong journey in Al-Ahram newspapers microfilm archives to unearth the papers coverage as 1948 unfolded.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The NIA on Friday arrested two close associates of Canada-based listed terrorist Arsh Dhalla when they arrived at the airport here from the Philippines, the agency said.

Amritpal Singh alias 'Ammy' and Amritk Singh, both from Punjab, were nabbed early this morning by a team of the agency on their arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport from Manila, where they were living, a spokesperson of the NIA said.

The official said non-bailable arrest warrants were issued against them by the NIA Delhi Court in a case related to unlawful and violent activities of banned organisations in India.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said its investigations have revealed that the accused had entered into a criminal conspiracy to raise funds for banned terrorist organisation Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and also smuggle arms, ammunition and explosives for it from across the border.

"They also have several criminal cases registered against them in Punjab. The NIA had registered a suo moto case on August 20 last year under various sections of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act," the spokesperson said.

The official said the accused had been working for individual designated terrorist Dhalla to promote violent criminal activities of the KTF in the country.

"In association with another notorious wanted accused Manpreet Singh alias 'Peeta', they had been involved in smuggling weapons from Pakistan and recruitment of youth to carry out acts of violence and terror in the country at the behest of the KTF," the spokesperson said.

The official said they were also part of an extortion racket for raising funds for the banned outfit.

"The accused used to identify extortion targets, including businessmen, and then threaten them into parting with huge amounts. In case the identified targets refused, their homes and other premises would be fired at by the accuseds' India-based associates," the spokesperson said.

The official said the arrests were part of the NIA's continuous crackdown on individual terrorists and terrorist outfits engaged in a criminal conspiracy to smuggle terrorist hardware such as arms, ammunition and explosives, and raise funds for carrying out terrorist acts on Indian soil.
The president of Pakistan has expressed his concerns related to the May 9 incident, when the people of Pakistan came onto the streets after the arrest of Imran Khan. Pakistan President Arif Alvi stated that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan ought to publicly denounce the May 9 events, reported Geo News. It is to be noted that the president is also Khan's close aide. The statement by the president comes during an interview with the Pakistan-based news channel, Geo News.

Pakistan President Alvi on May 9 Mayhem

While talking about the incident and the current unrest in Pakistan, the president advocated for prosecuting miscreants responsible for the May 9 events. Further, Alvi added that the PTI chairman has not opposed General Asim Munir, the COAS of the Army. Alvi went on to say that Imran Khan has denounced the attacks in which the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi was also a target and demanded an investigation into the incidents by the Supreme Court.

According to Dawn, Pak president Dr Arif Alvi has revealed that he had written a letter to the army chief, where he expressed his grief over May 9 riots and attacks on military installations amid protests over PTI chief Imran Khans arrest. Further, he has stressed that the May 9 unrest in Pakistan should not only be condemned but action should also be taken against them. Taking to Twitter, Imran Khan wrote, "An immediate inquiry needs to be held on the police firing on unarmed protesters killing at least 25 and injuring hundreds."

An immediate inquiry needs to be held on the police firing on unarmed protesters killing at least 25 and injuring hundreds.



In France despite protesters hurling petrol bombs at the police, not once were they fired upon by the police



Under the smokescreen of arson, which any pic.twitter.com/HXh0aJUfA7  Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 18, 2023

Meanwhile, Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir said that "planned and orchestrated tragic incidents" of May 9, the day military installations were attacked, will never be allowed again at any cost, according to ARY News. The army chief during his visit to Sialkot Garrison said: "No one will be allowed to disrespect our martyrs and their monuments. They are a source of inspiration and pride for the rank and file of the Armed Forces, Law Enforcement Agencies, Government officials and the people of Pakistan."
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took to Twitter on Friday and wrote that that the ideology of Pakistan is far more credible and powerful than PTI Chairman and former Pakistan PM Imran Khans impure and selfish ambitions".

"Ever since the shameful, tragic and tragic events of May 9, I have been thinking about their negative impact and implications. The more I think about this dark day, the more I feel outraged that we have become enemies of the ideology of Pakistan itself," the Pakistan premier tweeted.

9                                                                 Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) May 19, 2023

"After dividing the people, Imran Niazi (Imran Khan) indulged in trying to humiliate the state institutions. When all his efforts to get the government failed, he attacked the state of Pakistan with his hate speech and agitations. He probably had no idea that the ideology of Pakistan was far more credible and powerful than his impure and selfish ambitions. God willing, he will definitely face failure," he concluded.

Imran Khan allows police search of home for suspects

On Friday, Imran Khan stated that he would permit a police search of his residence regarding accusations that he was sheltering individuals sought after for their involvement in the recent unrest occurring during protests against the government, organised by his followers.

Amid approximately 100 pending legal cases against him, Khan, the prominent opposition leader, made an appearance in a court in his hometown of Lahore. He sought safeguards against potential arrest in various terrorism-related cases that authorities have brought up against him, marking another challenge he is currently confronting.

Following his arrest in a corruption case in the capital, Islamabad, last week, Imran Khan expressed strong disapproval of the several days of violence that unfolded. His supporters engaged in destructive acts targeting public property and military installations. In the clashes that ensued between his followers and the police nationwide, a minimum of 10 individuals lost their lives.

The unrest finally ceased when Pakistan's Supreme Court intervened and ordered the release of Imran Khan. The police had been pursuing Khan on charges of instigating violence among his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party supporters. However, Khan refutes these allegations, asserting that he was already in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau, facing a corruption case, at the time when the clashes broke out.

During his appearance before an anti-terrorism court in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, Imran Khan adopted a conciliatory stance. The judge granted him temporary protection from arrest in three terrorism cases, extending until early June.

Yes, I condemn it, Khan told reporters at the Lahore court, speaking of the rampage. There is no Pakistani who will not condemn the violence.

Following Imran Khan's release from arrest and his subsequent return to Lahore, the police cordoned off his residence, claiming that he was harboring approximately 30 to 40 suspects associated with the violent incidents in his upscale Zaman Park residence.
The official death toll from the powerful cyclone that struck Myanmar has burgeoned to at least 145, including 117 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority, state television reported Friday.

It said the figure applied to the western state of Rakhine, where Cyclone Mocha did the most damage, but did not say how many storm-related deaths there have been in other parts of the country.

The accounting of casualties from the cyclone has been slow, in part due to communication difficulties in the affected areas and the military governments tight control over information. The military government has said that unofficial death tolls surpassing 400 are false, but in the absence of independent confirmation, uncertainly remains about the actual extent of casualties and destruction.

Mocha made landfall near Sittwe township in Rakhine state on Sunday afternoon with winds of up to 209 kilometers (130 miles) per hour before weakening inland. The cyclone, the nations most destructive in at least a decade, brought widespread flash floods and power outages, while high winds tore roofs off buildings and crumpled cellphone towers.

Millions of people live in the path of the cyclone and a massive effort is now underway to clear debris and provide shelter to those whose homes have been damaged or destroyed, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Thursday. Coastal Rakhine took the heaviest hit from the cyclone with severe impacts across the northwest and some damage in Kachin (state) also reported.

Fridays report on MRTV state television said four soldiers and 24 local residents in Rakhine, in addition to the 117 Rohingya, had been killed, blaming the deaths on people refusing to evacuate their homes despite warnings from the authorities before the storm hit.

The authorities evacuated 63,302 of the 125,789 Rohingya sheltering in 17 camps in 17 townships including Sittwe, starting last Friday, MRTV said.

Its reports identified the Rohingya as Bengali, the official designation given to the minority group to suggest they are illegal immigrants.

Rohingya have lived in Myanmar for generations, but they are not recognized as an official minority in Myanmar and denial citizenship and other basic rights.

The Rohingyas caught in the storm lived mostly in crowded displacement camps, to which they were moved after losing their homes in a brutal 2017 counterinsurgency campaign led by Myanmar security forces. Their ramshackle housing on low-lying land was battered Sunday by a storm surge.

More than 700,000 other Rohingya fled in 2017 to refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh, which also had damage from the cyclone but reported no deaths.

OCHAs report did not give a death toll for the storm but said casualties and missing people were still being documented, including internally displaced people.

Theinn Shwe, a teacher from Headway education center for the Rohingya community in the camps, said Friday that the bodies of at least 116 people from 15 camps and villages, including 32 children and 46 women, had been given burial rites. He said that reports that some had declined to evacuate were correct.

Although the authorities have provided some food and shelter assistance, there is still the need for more, he said, adding that aid from international organizations and private donors has not yet arrived.

If the authorities give travel authorization to international organizations as soon as possible, the Rohingyas here will get help quickly. If the travel authorization is limited, the people here are likely to suffer more, Theinn Shwe said.

OCHA said there is an urgent need for fuel to ensure the running of key public services, notably health and water treatment.

Clean water supplies are a concern. Other critical needs include shelter, food aid, medical supplies, and healthcare services. In flooded areas, concerns persist about the spread of waterborne disease and the movement of landmines, a legacy of decades of civil conflict in Myanmar.

Unimpeded humanitarian access to affected populations in the impacted areas is critical, it said.

Rakhine state spokesperson and attorney-general Hla Thein said Thursday that there were no restrictions on local or international organizations sending aid, an assertion that could not be independently confirmed.

A previous military government was badly discredited when it delayed the acceptance of outside aid in 2008, when Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar with a storm surge that devastated populated areas around the Irrawaddy River delta. At least 138,000 people died and tens of thousands of homes and other buildings were washed away.

Stare media this week had carried extensive coverage of domestic efforts to provide disaster relief by the current military government, which came to power in 2021 by seizing power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. It is engaged over much of the country in warfare against armed resistance forces opposed to military rule.

Several nations, including India, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States have already earmarked monetary or material assistance to aid in recovery from Sunday's cyclone.

Three Indian navy ships carrying relief material reached Yangon, Myanmars largest city, on Thursday and a fourth ship was to arrive Friday, said Indias External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Yangon is southeast of the cyclone-hit area and has a major international port.

The ships are carrying emergency food items, tents, essential medicines, water pumps, portable generators, clothes, sanitary and hygiene items, Jaishankar said in a message posted on Twitter.
The US Supreme Court has given a major relief to social media companies on Thursday, reported the Washington Post. The families of people killed in terrorist bombing attacks in Istanbul and Paris sued Twitter, Facebook, Google and YouTube. In the case, the families claimed that the companies had violated the federal Anti-Terrorism Act, which specifically allowed civil damage claims for aiding and abetting terrorism. It would be the first test case that has involved immunity from lawsuits granted to internet platforms for the content they publish online. This decision by the US supreme court has come in two separate cases, one against Twitter, and the other against Google.

US court gives immunity to social media companies

In the case against the social media firms, the families have alleged that these firms have passively provided platforms to terrorists for communication; by recommending ISIS videos to those who might be interested, the internet platforms have been seeking to get more viewers and increase their ad revenue, even though they knew that ISIS was using their services as a recruitment tool. However, on Thursday, the US SC rejected those claims. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for a unanimous court, the families never allege that, after defendants established their platforms, they gave ISIS any special treatment or words of encouragement." Further, he added, Nor is there reason to think that defendants selected or took any action at all with respect to ISIS content (except, perhaps, blocking some of it)." The narrowly focused rulings sidestepped requests to limit Section 230, according to Washington Post. Section 230 is a legal provision that protects social media platforms from lawsuits over offensive, harmful or violent content posted by their users, regardless of whether companies incentivise or promote those posts. It has emerged as a lightning rod in the politically polarised debate over the future of online speech. According to Columbia University law professor Timothy Wu, who specialises in this area of the law, "Thursday's decision was 'less than hopeful' for those who wanted the court to curb the scope of the law known as 'Section 230'." Further, he added, "Even the Biden administration had looked to the court to begin the task of 230 reform".
The rotation will bring in new commanders showing even less restraint in targeting civilians to please the junta.

Protesters step on posters of Myanmar's junta leader Min Aung Hlaing during a rally to mark the second anniversary of the militarys 2021 military coup, outside the Embassy of Myanmar in Tokyo, Feb. 1, 2023.

Holed up in his palace in Naypyitaw, Myanmar Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, must be apoplectic.

Over two years since seizing power in the Feb. 1, 2021 coup, the military has still not consolidated power. Despite vowing to crush the opposition, the junta leader had to acknowledge recently that 132 of Myanmars 330 townships42 percentwere not under government control.

The shadow opposition National Unity Government, their Peoples Defense Forces (PDFs), and allied ethnic resistance organizations, have held their own and enjoy overwhelming popular legitimacy.

The militarys supply lines, through the once safe ethnic majority Bamar heartland, are increasingly vulnerable and casualties are mounting.

Residents flee Inn Sa in Sagaing region, Myanmar, after junta troops raided and burned nearly the whole village on April 21, 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist

The exasperation of the leadership is palpable and manifest in several key ways.

First, the military has increased its attacks on civilians in an attempt to terrorize them into submission through collective punishments and reprisals. The military is waging a scorched earth campaign and has arsoned over 65,000 homes, 48,000 in Sagaing alone.

The regime has stepped up their use of air assaults, a glaring admission that they are unable to deploy troops on the ground. And when they do, they will often dragoon civilians to serve as human shields.

Second, the regime has increased their reliance on pro-military militias and death squads.

Third, so desperate to defeat the NUG this year, the military increased its own budget by 51 percent, despite the moribund economy and diminished revenue streams.

Fourth, the regime has increased its cash rewards for members of the PDFs to surrender with their weapons. These offers are clearly caveated and do not amount to blanket immunity, but the expenditures do factor in the soaring rates of poverty caused by the juntas mismanagement.

Myanmar army soldiers march during a parade to commemorate the countrys 78th Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw, March 27, 2023. Credit: Associated Press

Fifth, when things are going badly, the military leadership tends to micromanage.

In February, Min Aung Hlaing met with the leadership of the Western Command in Rakhine. The following month, he made an inspection tour of the headquarters of the Northwest Command that is overseeing the campaigns in Sagaing and Chin States.

The previous month, the junta placed 14 townships in Sagaing, five in the Magway region, and four in Chin state under martial law.

These trips outside of Naypyitaw are all the more notable because Min Aung Hlaing rarely leaves the fortress capital, and he travels with a small army of bodyguards..

Thats no profile in courage compared to the NUGs acting president, Duwa Lashi La, who has made multiple trips to visit front line troops.

Light Infantry Divisions

But an unappreciated sign of frustration is the rotation of commanders in the face of battlefield losses and failed offensives.

Myanmars military is divided into 14 different Regional Commands and six Bureaus of Special Operations.

Myanmars military is smaller than often reported, roughly 150,000 soldiers, with the air force and navy adding 50-60,000 more personnel. Yet only 70,000 are frontline troops.

Smoke and fire are seen at the Myanmar armys Mel Kha Hta camp along the Thanlwin River on the Myanmar-Thailand border, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. Credit: Mekong News

The majority of kinetic operations are conducted by 10 Light Infantry Divisions (LIDs), which should be about 20,000 men in total, divided into roughly 100 battalions.

The Light Infantry Battalions are the shock and awe troops. They are the best armed and equipped, the most mobile, and by far the most lethal. They are operating at a decreased levels. According to Ye Myo Hein, the majority of these are under 150 men each, well below the already lowered 200-man floor.

They are the troops that the regime has relied on to achieve its strategic goals, including the 2017-2018 ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya. Today the 99th LIDs such as the Ogre Column in Sagaing do the bulk of the scorched earth operations against civilians.

The majority of forces are territorial, and deployed in static and defensive positions, where they are increasingly surrounded and harassed by PDFs and EROs. Their resupply of food, munitions, and fuel is increasingly perilous and sporadic.

Estimates of the current strength of LIDs, given a conservative casualty rate of 15 percent, is around 16-17,000 men. Recruitment has slowed and the operational tempo for the troops is unsustainable.

All of this compounds poor battlefield performance and the frustration of the leadership.

Even fewer restraints in targeting

One of the most important indicators of the regimes frustration is rotation of operational commanders.

Between February 2021 and July 2022, only two of the 14 regional military commanders were rotated. In August 2022, five were replaced. Since then, four more others were rotated out, including Major General Myat Thet Oo, the Southeastern Commander in March 2023. Two other lieutenant generals, Khin Hlaing and Thant Hlaing who oversaw operations in Karen and Sagaing States were sacked in February-March 2022.

Since October 2022, three commanders of the six Bureaus of Special Operations, all lieutenant generals, have likewise been rotated out.

At the operational level, there have been fewer rotations in the past six months than expected. The 11th LID commander was promoted to be the commander of the Southeast Regional Military Command. But the heads of the 44th and 77th were transferred to non-operational billets. The commander of the 88th LID had a horizontal transfer to the 77th.

Part of this is the annual reshuffle, though the tempo has increased in the past six months.

Almost all of these officers moved on to non-operational positions including at the Myanmar Economic Corporation or the Defense Services Technological Academy. The junta is careful to make sure all get soft landings.

Arakan Army fighters remove weapons from a Myanmar army truck after a clash with junta troops in Rakhine states Maungdaw township, July 18, 2022. Credit: Screengrab from Arakan Princess Media video

Issues around the rotation of operational level leaders are compounded by battlefield losses, which are not insignificant. Between January 2023 and mid-May, 20 mid-level officers were killed, including four colonels, six lieutenant colonels, and 10 majors, based on open source reporting.

While a sign of frustration, the rotation of commanders is bad news for Myanmars people. The replacements will be even more sycophantic and slavish to the State Administrative Council leadership. Zealotry and a desire to prove themselves will lead to even fewer restraints in targeting.

While the NUG has outperformed militarily, its incumbent that the regimes colonels and one-star generalsthe people who actually have to execute the war and who are not getting their cut of the windfall of plundered wealth that the leaders of the SAC are taking for themselvesrealize that the war cannot be won.

The rotation of commanders should be a further reminder, not just a sign of the leaderships exasperation.

Zachary Abuza is a professor at the National War College in Washington and an adjunct at Georgetown University. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Defense, the National War College, Georgetown University or Radio Free Asia.
Undated photo of veteran dissident Wang Aizhong. A court in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Thursday jailed Wang for three years after he retweeted foreign media reports on Chinese social media platforms.

A court in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Thursday jailed veteran dissident Wang Aizhong for three years after he retweeted foreign media reports on Chinese social media platforms.

The Tianhe District People's Court handed down the jail term after finding Wang guilty of "picking quarrels and stirring up troubles," a charge frequently used to target peaceful critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

The court found that Wang had "used social media platforms to quote and repost false reports in the foreign media about China's political system."

Wang, 46, also stood accused of "adding false information that seriously damaged China's image" and of causing "serious public disorder," it said.

Police threw a security cordon around the court building, with plainclothes and uniformed officers patrolling nearby streets, and took Wang's wife Wang Henan to attend the trial, escorted by state security police, she told Radio Free Asia.

"One man and two women from the state security police sent a special car to meet me downstairs from our apartment and take me to the court," Wang Henan said. "The two women watched me the whole time."

She described the sentence handed to her husband as "a joke."

"It's an absolute joke, and we totally refuse to accept it," she said. "His lawyers have argued all along that Aizhong is innocent, because nothing that he said added up to a crime."

A way of keeping me quiet

Wang Henan said she was prevented from attending the pretrial conference with her husband and his defense team, despite not having seen him in two years.

"They don't want me to know too much about the process and content of the trial," she said. "It's a way of keeping me quiet and stopping me from posting something publicly."

"They also want to torture me psychologically because I love Aizhong, and I haven't seen him for two years," Wang Henan said.

Outside the courtroom, police were stationed on nearby sidewalks in a bid to prevent Wang's supporters from showing up for him.

"There are plainclothes police officers dotted along more than one kilometer from the court gates, all the way to the subway entrance," a Guangzhou resident who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals told Radio Free Asia.

"I'm guessing there are about 70-80 of them in total, and seven or eight of them are currently surrounding me," he said. "One of them asked to see my ID ... then I was told to leave immediately or I would be taken to the police station."

Fellow rights activist Liang Yiming said Wang's online comments had always been very moderate, and that had only been exercising his constitutional right to freedom of speech.

"Take the pandemic in Wuhan," Liang said. "Wang Aizhong once called on them to disclose the number of deaths, but the authorities felt that this would cause panic."

"They don't like people to be so proactive, but we as citizens have the right to question them, or why would we pay our taxes and fund a government that just does whatever it wants," he said.

Guangzhou protests

The length of Wang's sentence likely means he will be released in May 2024, after time already served is deducted from the sentence. The family has indicated that it supports him in appealing the sentence.

Wang was initially detained at his home in Guangdong's provincial capital, Guangzhou in May 2021, and his apartment searched by police, who confiscated reading materials and computer devices.

He had been a key activist during protests in Guangzhou in January 2013 that were sparked by the rewriting of a New Year's Day Southern Media Group editorial calling for constitutional government.

Activists, journalists, and academics faced off with the authorities for several days after the Southern Weekend newspaper was forced to change a New Year editorial calling for political reform into a tribute praising the Chinese Communist Party.

The protest was one of the first overt calls by members of the public for political freedom since large-scale pro-democracy demonstrations were crushed in a military crackdown in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989.

He was later detained in 2014 on suspicion of the same charge, shortly before the 25th anniversary of the June 4, 1989, Tiananmen massacre.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
Teachers say the proposed measures are disproportionate and spark fears over future political monitoring

The Safe City Hong Kong website included this example of CCTV in use in a classroom.

Hong Kong police are calling for surveillance cameras to be installed in school and university classrooms and public spaces, prompting fears among teachers and students.

The proposal, on a new security website called Safe City Hong Kong, is among several good practices for schools, including installing perimeter fencing of at least 2.8 meters (9 feet) in height, security guard booths and infrared motion sensors around their perimeter, as well as electric fencing and taut-wire tripping systems.

The proposals are the latest examples of the Communist Partys encroachment on civil liberties in Hong Kong under a new security law.

In mainland China, there is already a widespread culture of political informants in schools and universities, and there are concerns that this could soon spread to Hong Kong, where a hotline taking reports of national security law breaches received 400,000 calls last year.

Facial recognition and other high-tech access systems were also on the list of upgrades, along with increased vetting of security guards, the website showed.

While more commonly seen measures like decent lighting and closed-circuit TV in parking lots and the recording of visitor details are also listed, teachers who spoke to RFA Cantonese on condition of anonymity expressed concerns that the measures were out of proportion to the threats faced by schools in Hong Kong.

While teachers said schools do face problems like theft and bullying, high-tech measures like voice and facial recognition technology didn't seem proportionate, reasonable or transparent.

"They will be able to monitor you while teaching at all times, which means you will need to be careful at all times," one teacher said, adding that there are privacy concerns, giving that students need somewhere private to change their clothes.

Monitoring instruction, engagement

The move comes after calls by pro-Beijing politicians in 2021 for surveillance cameras to be installed in classrooms to monitor the content of classes and interactions between teachers and students.

Liberal Party member Tommy Cheung told a legislative committee meeting in that year that through installing CCTV cameras we can objectively monitor the teachers classroom environment."

Then Education Secretary Kevin Yeung responded by saying that schools wishing to install closed-circuit TV and other monitoring equipment would need to comply with government guidelines and privacy requirements, and communicate with parents and other stakeholders in advance.

Some of the recommendations posted on the Safe City Hong Kong website. Credit: RFA screenshot





Yeung also told the Legislative Council that the government had no plans to install surveillance cameras to monitor teachers, amid widespread mistrust of and opposition to the move.

Around the same time, schools were being forced to deliver a new and more patriotic social education program to replace Liberal Studies, which the ruling Communist Party blamed for the participation of large numbers of young people in recent waves of pro-democracy protests dating back to 2009.

From debate to memorization

Teachers told Radio Free Asia that where students were once asked to debate topics from more than one perspective, they are now being told to memorize swathes of government-approved content by rote.

Neither the Hong Kong Police, the Education Bureau nor the Office of the Privacy Commissioner had responded to requests for comment by the time of writing.

The imposition of the national security law on the city from June 30, 2020, ushered in an ever-widening crackdown on all forms of dissent and political opposition.

Dozens of former lawmakers are standing trial for "subversion" for taking part in a democratic primary, and the closure of the pro-democracy teachers' union after it was described as "a malignant tumor" by pro-Beijing media.

Meanwhile, hundreds of young people jailed for taking part in the mostly peaceful 2019 protest movement have been sent for "re-education" and military-style bootcamp training.

The Chinese Communist Party revealed plans in February 2021 to expand the work of its Young Pioneers children's organization to Hong Kong, Macau, and the democratic island of Taiwan, as well as further "cultivating" the nation's children at home.

The Central Committee has said the work of the Young Pioneers is a "strategic" and "fundamental" part of its rule.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
Experts say the launch site will be ready in June or July.

This picture taken on May 16, 2023 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 17, 2023 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un [top, 2nd R] and his daughter, Ju Ae [top, R], meeting with the Non-permanent Satellite Launch Preparatory Committee and inspecting a military reconnaissance satellite, at an undisclosed location in North Korea.

North Korea is preparing to launch a spy satellite that it claims will bolster its defensive capabilities, state media reported, boasting that its launch would be  a clear stride forward in military science and technological development.

Satellite imagery of the likely launch site of a rocket that would put it into orbit suggests that it will be ready in June at the earliest, experts told Radio Free Asia.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, reported that Kim Jong Un inspected the preparatory committee for the satellite launch on Tuesday.

The more desperately the U.S. imperialists and south Korean puppet villains escalate their confrontational moves against the DPRK, the more fairly, squarely and offensively the DPRK will exercise its sovereignty and just right to self-defense to deter them and defend the country, the agency reported Kim as saying, using the acronym for the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. (KCNA deliberately does not capitalize the word south in South Korea on its English website.)

The news of Pyongyangs military satellite plans comes just weeks after a summit between South Koreas President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden, where the two sides agreed to increase security cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment to extended deterrence in response to the North Korean nuclear threat.

KCNA reported that the satellite was ready for mounting after it passed an assembly inspection and tests for its durability in the vacuum of space.

Pyongyang, we have a problem

Although the report said Kim had approved the future action plan of the preparatory committee, which suggests that a launch is imminent, the launch site is not quite ready for a rocket that would be able to put it in Earths orbit, satellite imagery revealed.

The Sohae Satellite Launching Station, located in Tongchang-ri on the countrys northwestern coast, is currently under construction.

Though the station has an existing launch site, images from U.S. imaging firm Planet Labs showed work on a 470-meter (510-yard) tunnel and a road that would connect the old site with a new launch site, and a pier.

Also visible are new buildings, a new launch pad, and accommodations for construction workers.

The images indicate that construction is accelerating there: exposed soil on an April 30 image gives way to a finished concrete surface on May 16, and a box-shaped structure replaces a flat surface in about the same period of time.

In addition, movements presumed to be related to launch preparations have been observed in images of the launch site.

Based on the imagery, a launch wont be possible until June or July, Bruce Songhak Chung, a researcher at the South Korea-based Korean Institute for Security and Strategy, told RFAs Korean Service.

Chung, who often analyzes satellite imagery of North Korea as part of his research, said that the boxlike structure has a role in the process of loading the satellite onto a rocket.

Even if you mount a satellite, there's a lot of fuel injection and other work to do. It doesn't look like its at that phase yet, he said. We have to wait and see..

TEL launch

There is also a possibility that the satellite could be launched from the back of a TEL (transporter erector launcher) truck, said Martyn Williams, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Stimson Center.

They could do a TEL launch at any time, said Williams. But we think they are going to use Sohae. In that case it will not be this week.

Pictures of a model of the satellite released by KCNA indicate that it would allow Pyongyang to take images comparable to those of commercial imagery firms, Joseph S. Bermudez, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, told RFA. Most commercial satellite imagery has a resolution of between 2 and 5 meters.

I guess [the satellite] seems about 60 centimeters by 60 centimeters by 80 centimeters and from 75 to 100 kg, said Bermudez. It seems very similar to Planet Labs'.  If it's successful and 'there's a big if', it should probably have a resolution of less than 3 meters."

Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
Junta says 100 Rohingya died from Cyclone Mocha, but others have counted more than 400.

People carry the body of a Cyclone Mocha victim during a funeral near the Basara Rohingya camp in Sittwe, Rakhine state, Myanmar, on May 16, 2023.

Myanmars junta says that 100 Rohingya died from last weekends Cyclone Mocha  and that news outlets that say its higher will be sued.

The shadow National Unity Government, made up of former parliamentarians and opponents of the military, which took control of the country in a 2021 coup, puts the number at 455  more than four times higher.

Reports by media that more than 400 were killed were baseless and have frightened the public, a junta statement Friday said. We will take action against those media using existing laws.

The storm that hit the coast of Rakhine state and parts of Bangladesh last weekend, flooded villages and battered camps where displaced Rohingya have lived for years.

Authorities evacuated the Rakhine population before the storm and accommodated 63,302 of the 125,789 Rohingyas from 17 refugee camps who needed to be evacuated, the junta statement said.

Those who died in the storm were people who didnt comply with the authoritys evacuation procedure and remained in their homes on their own accord, the military said.

Radio Free Asia reported earlier this week that many people couldnt evacuate because emergency shelter centers quickly became overcrowded.

Some 130,000 Rohingya have lived for more than a decade in internally displaced persons camps in and around Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine.

The deaths of so many villagers from the storm was a result of their poor living standards in restricted camps near the seashore, Rohingya activists told RFA. Many villagers werent properly informed of the coming cyclone, they said.

Two Rohingya villagers told RFA that it has been difficult to collect every dead body that was washed into the sea after the storm struck the coast.

The junta said Friday that 18 army officers would be assigned to each township to oversee rehabilitation work for the 18 townships in Rakhine and Chin state that were affected by the storm.

In those areas, transportation infrastructure and some telephone networks have been out of service, and there are still areas where food, medicine and shelters haven't arrived.

NUGs statement on Wednesday said more than 42,000 acres of agricultural land in four states and regions were destroyed by the storm.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
Myanmar police and troops are searching for nine Peoples Defense Force members who were among 10 that escaped from a prison in Myanmars Bago region, the junta said Friday.

Its information group said that nine men and one woman escaped from Taungoo Prison. One was shot dead by guards.

The jailbreak took place Thursday afternoon after the prisoners were taken from their cells to go on trial, according to a Peoples Defense Force member who declined to be named.

Ten prisoners were brought to court in the prison and they grabbed guns from the prison guard who came along with them and ran away, he said.

They breached the prison walls and fought [against their pursuers].

One prisoner was shot dead as the two sides exchanged fire, the PDF member confirmed.

RFA asked to speak with the nine prisoners still at liberty but the defense force declined, citing the need to protect them.

A prison guard was also believed to have been killed, according to Tun Kyi, a member of the Former Political Prisoners Society.

Some of the junta-affiliated Pyu Saw Htee were working together with the prison authorities to provide security, but we could say that this operation was successful, he said.

A sergeant was reportedly killed. A revolver and a G3 rifle were taken.

Nearly 22,500 political activists have been arrested since the February 2021 coup according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, another group of former political prisoners, operating from Thailand.

More than 18,000 are still being held in prisons across Myanmar.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.
But Chinas repression of Uyghurs is ignored, rights groups say.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) presides over a signing ceremony on the sidelines of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xian, China, May 18, 2023.

UPDATED at 4 P.M. EDT on 05-19-2023

China wrapped up its first summit with leaders from five Central Asia nations on Friday with several agreements to boost trade, investment and security ties.

President Xi Jinping pledged an initial US$3.8 billion to the region in financing support and grants and said the government would encourage Chinese-funded businesses to set up shop in the five countries, creating jobs and development.

The China-Central Asia relationship is steeped in history, driven by broad actual needs, and built on solid popular support, Xi said in his keynote speech. Our relations are brimming with vigor and vitality in the new era.

In particular, China signed a comprehensive strategic partnership with neighboring Kyrgyzstan, which promised to support Beijing in maintaining security and stability in Xinjiang, where 11 million mostly Muslim Uyghurs live under increasingly oppressive Chinese control through detention in re-educations camps, torture and forced labor.

China and Kyrgyzstan agreed to jointly combat the "three forces of terrorism, extremism and separatism," including "East Turkistan terrorist forces, a reference to the Uyghurs preferred name for their homeland.

Turning a blind eye

Human rights groups and Uyghur advocates said leaders from the five Central Asian nations turned a blind eye to Chinas repression of the Uyghurs  as well as Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbek and Tajiks  living in the northwest Xinjiang region, despite sharing similar religious and cultural values.

The World Uyghur Congress, or WUC, said it strongly condemned the prioritizing of economic and trade relations to serve Chinese expansionism and influence in Central Asia over curtailing the ongoing genocide of Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples.

Central Asian governments have followed suit on the brutal treatment and intimidation the Chinese government displays against Uyghurs and other Turkic people, WUC President Dolkun Isa said in a statement released Wednesday.

These neighboring countries have failed to live up to their commitments and to save Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Uzbek, Kyrgyz and Tajiks from the ongoing genocide being committed against them, he said.

Sanitizing Chinas image

China is eager to expand its influence in the region through trade, investment and diplomatic engagement.

Central Asia has become so critical for China that Ma Xingrui, the Communist Party secretary for Xinjiang, met with top leaders from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in March.

The mostly Muslim Xinjiang region has ethnic, religious and business ties to Central Asia, making it ideal for Beijings outreach to nations seen as necessary for increasing trade, ensuring energy security, and maintaining stability in Xinjiang.

Ilshat Hassan Kokbore, a political analyst based in the United States and vice chairman of WUCs executive committee, said China strengthening its relations with the Central Asian countries, to do its bidding in international fora with regard to the ongoing Uyghur genocide.

This includes sanitizing Chinas image, providing diplomatic cover for the atrocities or promoting Chinas narrative that there is no genocide, he said.

Xinjiang re-education camp survivor Gulbahar Jelilova, a Uyghur businesswoman from Kazakhstan who had been involved in cross-border trade for 20 years until 2017, said that no Kazakh official or minister asked her about her ordeal or the reason for her detention.

I was so disheartened by them that I left Kazakhstan and moved to Turkey, said Jelilova, who was detained on accusations of aiding terrorism while on a business trip to Xinjiang and put into three different camps over a period of 15 months beginning in May 2017.

Jelilova said she opposed a new visa regime which allows Chinese tourists a 30-day entry into Kazakhstan because many will go there but never leave after their visas expire, and will not allow Uyghurs from Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan to visit their homelands.

Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

The story was updated to include information about the outcome of the summit and China's comprehensive strategic partnership with Kyrgyzstan.
For years the Kremlin-connected businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin operated largely in the shadows, amassing a fortune on government catering and other contracts while also quietly running a notorious "troll factory" in St. Petersburg that spearheaded Moscow's efforts to influence foreign elections.

But in recent months, as his ostensibly private Wagner mercenary group has borne the brunt of the fierce fighting in and around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, Prigozhin has stepped out into the limelight. His company released videos showing him personally visiting prisons to recruit convicts to fight in Ukraine and purportedly touring the battle-scarred streets of Bakhmut.



His frequent, bluntly worded press releases and unrestrained, profanity-laced criticism of senior Russian officials and military brass have become something of a personal trademark, prompting some to speculate he harbors political ambitions that could even include challenging President Vladimir Putin.



In a video released around the time Russia was marking the May 9 Victory Day holiday, Prigozhin stood in front of a pile of corpses he said were those of Wagner fighters and accused senior Russian military leaders of causing their deaths through incompetence. Prigozhin has been particularly cutting in his criticism of the chief of the General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who has long been considered one of Putin's closest advisers.



Igor Girkin, also known as Strelkov, the former Federal Security Service operative and Russian military veteran who played a key role in the Russia-directed anti-Kyiv uprising in parts of eastern Ukraine beginning in 2014, said in a podcast last month that "the struggle for the Kremlin after Putin has begun."



"Some serious forces stand behind Prigozhin," he added.



'Just A Guy With A Couple Of Restaurants'



Prigozhin, 61, is a native of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), like Putin, and owes his rise to power to his personal relations with the president. He has been called "Putin's chef" for his role catering Kremlin events. While still a teenager, he was arrested for the first time. In 1981, he was sentenced to 12 years in a Soviet prison after he was convicted of robbing apartments with a gang of accomplices. He was released from prison in 1990, a year before the collapse of the U.S.S.R., after serving nine years.

He likely met Putin for the first time in the early 1990s when he was trying to get into the casino business and Putin, an official in the St. Petersburg city government, was chairman of the supervisory board for gambling.



Russian investigative journalist Andrei Zakharov told RFE/RL that Prigozhin's power in Russia today most likely still stems directly from Putin.



"He has been carrying out special assignments for Putin for some time now," Zakharov said, mentioning the Internet Research Agency -- the troll factory used to conduct campaigns to influence opinion and elections in the West -- and Wagner, which has supported Kremlin aims in Ukraine since 2014, in Syria, and in several African countries.



"He is used to solving problems in ways not normally used by Putin's insiders," Zakharov added.



But he said Prigozhin's position is not secure.



"I have long urged people not to exaggerate his significance," Zakharov cautioned. "If the state turns off its support tomorrow, he is just a guy with a couple of restaurants in St. Petersburg and nothing more. Everything he owns, all the Wagner money, the troll factory -- all of it is paid from government contracts. He is a man who is completely dependent on the state."



Ukrainian political analyst Leonid Shvets agrees that the most important thing about Prigozhin is his connection to Putin.

"Prigozhin is able to do things that only someone protected by Putin himself could do," Shvets told RFE/RL's Russian Service, mentioning the scathing epithets he has used in speaking of Gerasimov and Shoigu, as well as the way he rode roughshod over Russian prisons to get thousands of convicts released for service in Ukraine.



"Vladimir Vladimirovich has given him carte blanche," he added, referring to Putin. "Putin loves to conduct special operations inside of special operations."



'Anything Could Happen'



In one of his recent diatribes against Russia's military leaders, Prigozhin used coarse wording that many interpreted as referring to Putin, who is the "supreme commander-in-chief" of the armed forces. Prigozhin later said he was not talking about Putin, but his remarks nonetheless raised the question of whether he might someday step across the Kremlin's red lines.



A recent report saying leaked U.S. intelligence documents indicate that Prigozhin offered to give Ukraine information about Russian troop positions if Kyiv withdrew its forces from Bakhmut has also raised questions about his loyalties.



Shvets said he is certain that Putin would quash any ambitions Prigozhin might have to succeed him.



"As soon as Putin senses this," he said, something would befall Prigozhin similar to the radioactive polonium attack that killed former FSB officer and Putin critic Aleksandr Litvinenko in 2006 or the near-fatal nerve-agent poisoning that struck opposition politician Aleksei Navalny in August 2020. "Anything could happen."

Shvets speculated that Putin needs a person who can "bite at the heels of officials and officers who don't please him."



"Putin needs someone to call Shoigu and Gerasimov idiots," he said.



Although this could reflect badly on Putin, who put these people in their posts, that is a risk the president can afford, Shvets said.



"It is important for Putin that there be a person to bite the heels of Gerasimov and Shoigu or whomever else he points to," Shvets said.



Mark Galeotti, a Russia specialist and honorary professor at the University College London's School of Slavonic and East European Studies, wrote in The Spectator that Prigozhin's behavior is typical of "Putin's style of managing the elite."



"A culture of mutual suspicion, cannibalistic competition and opportunistic self-interest has kept Putin in power for more than two decades," Galeotti wrote, although the practice is risky in wartime when "the need is for unity, discipline and mutual support."

Liberal St. Petersburg politician Maksim Reznik added in an interview with RFE/RL that Prigozhin may also play a scapegoat role as Russian officials seek to lay blame for battlefield shortcomings both now and going forward.



"What we are seeing now is a search for those guilty for defeats," Reznik said. "Both Prigozhin and those who stand at the pinnacle of power understand this perfectly well."



The Sledgehammer



In November 2022, a Wagner-connected social-media channel published a video showing a mercenary who allegedly defected to the Ukrainian side being murdered with a sledgehammer. Prigozhin later praised the men for punishing the "traitor." In February, a similar video was published. Both videos echo a 2017 video in which Russian mercenaries tortured and killed a Syrian Army deserter.



Although the gruesome videos have appalled most of the world, the sledgehammer image has become an integral part of the Prigozhin brand and, more importantly, symbolic of the brutal shift that Russian political culture has undergone since Putin invaded Ukraine. In a stunt seemingly straight out of a mafia movie, Prigozhin sent a sledgehammer daubed in fake blood and packed in a violin case to the European Union just as the bloc was adopting a resolution designating Russia a state sponsor of terrorism.

In December 2022, unidentified masked individuals threw sledgehammers onto the grounds of the Finnish Embassy in Moscow. The same month, law enforcement officers reportedly intimidated a teenager in Arkhangelsk by wielding sledgehammers while searching her residence. In January, Duma Deputy Sergei Mironov posted a photograph of himself holding a sledgehammer, which he said was a gift from Wagner.



It has become a symbol of Russia's obsessive search for "traitors" and "enemies" both at home and abroad. It also symbolizes the reductionism that Putin's Russia has experienced: One is either wielding the sledgehammer or being battered by it.



"The sledgehammer is brilliant," Shvets said. "Horrible, but brilliant. You can just buy one in a store and hand out this horrifying gift."



Reznik described Prigozhin as "the most organic embodiment of all the demons of Putin's fascist regime."



"The things that Prigozhin is doing, all of his demonstrative acts connected with the sledgehammer and such things demonstrate that we are seeing the clearest illustration of the death throes of dying Putinism," Reznik told RFE/RL.

Written by Robert Coalson based on reporting by RFE/RL Russian Service correspondent Yelena Rykovtseva
The European Unions former high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Catherine Ashton, has defended the blocs initial response after Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, but acknowledged we did not know then what we know now and said subsequent policy did not sufficiently prioritize what was happening in Ukraine.

She also urged Balkan neighbors Serbia and Kosovo to get round the table and find answers to lingering differences preventing normalized relations between Belgrade and Pristina, a full decade after the so-called Brussels agreement that she helped forge.

In an exclusive interview with RFE/RLs Balkan Service, Ashton underscored the Western Balkan countries eventual suitability for EU membership and the added challenge of Russian engagement in the region.

We were always aware of Russias influence and engagement in the Western Balkans, she said. The events in Ukraine have brought that more into view.

Ashton was the EUs first-ever high representative, serving as the blocs chief foreign and security policy coordinator and envoy from 2009-14.

Russia covertly occupied the Crimean Peninsula and annexed it in 2014 in a move overwhelmingly rejected by the United Nations, and a simmering conflict waged by Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine escalated into a full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022.

The European Union and the United States led a sanctions push particularly after the downing of a Malaysian airliner over eastern Ukraine in July 2014 to punish Russia, the ruble, and perceived proxy fighters in Ukraine.

But critics have accused the West of underestimating the threat to international order and UN-recognized borders for years from Russian President Vladimir Putin, particularly in what Moscow regards as its near abroad.

We did react at the time, imposing sanctions on Russia and trying to get negotiations moving, Ashton said. Hindsight is always difficult. We did not know then what we know now; however, in the intervening years, what was happening in Ukraine was not as high on the agenda as it should have been, in my opinion.

Ashton published her memoirs -- titled And Then What? Inside Stories Of 21st-Century Diplomacy -- in February.

Speaking to RFE/RL, she drew a sharp distinction between the challenge of China, which has grown considerably for European policymakers, and the situation with Russia.

Chinese President Xi Jinping asserted a no-limits partnership with Russia weeks before Russias all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Beijing has urged peace but declined to directly criticize Moscow publicly.

I hope that we will see more effort put into developing a strategic approach to China that recognizes the connections and the concerns, Ashton said. I recall that China played a role with the rest of the P5+1 in the Iran [nuclear] negotiations, and my hope would be that China would seek to play a positive role in the multilateral system we need to take care of.

In the former Yugoslavia, Ashton was essential to an apparent breakthrough in Brussels in 2013 that provided a road map toward normalized relations between Serbia and its majority ethnic Albanian former province, Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008.

A decade later, Belgrade still refuses to recognize Kosovar sovereignty while blocking its membership in international institutions.

Serbias populist President Aleksandar Vucic has leveraged regional might to pursue closer relations with Moscow and Beijing, and outsiders accuse him of increasingly authoritarian leadership that damages Serbians desire for EU membership.

Kosovos prime minister, Albin Kurti, has toughened Pristinas stance on a number of bilateral issues since taking over in 2020, pledging reciprocity, and is frequently critical of Western attempts at mediation.

Ashton played down a question about Washington and Brussels vying for influence in the Balkans, saying that its not about who has more power, its about the power of working together.

She conceded that there is concern across the [Balkan] region that the EU is not as enthusiastic as it was once for enlargement. Yet there is no question that the countries of the Western Balkans belong inside the EU.

But there is a lot to be done by those countries who want to be part of the EU, and some of the lack of enthusiasm is because of the lack of progress being made by those who want to be members, she said. It is not an easy journey, but a journey well worth making.

Ashton stressed democracy, human rights, and rule of law as central guiding principles and part of the ongoing dialogue.

Among the lessons of her diplomatic years, Ashton stressed to RFE/RL the need for compromise and good negotiators whose drip, drip efforts enable solutions.

It is not just the role of the EU to push forward with the Western Balkans, it is also down to each country to determine that it will make the changes necessary to deal with all the issues that are necessary to become a member of the EU, she said. So I hope we will see more done by everyone to address these challenges.
Hundreds gathered at the main airport in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 19 to protest the return of direct flights from Russia. A ban had been unilaterally imposed by Moscow in 2019 after a wave of anti-Kremlin protests in Georgia. It was lifted on May 10 by President Vladimir Putin, who also signed a decree allowing Georgian nationals to enter Russia without visas. Georgian opposition activists protested against any warming of relations with the Kremlin because of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the 2008 war against Georgia.
4

Loshkarova, who was found unconscious by police in her Warsaw apartment during her seventh month of pregnancy after a friend raised the alarm, said she is deeply grateful for the UN-backed milk bank.

It is such a great help both for the baby's health and for the psychological comfort of the mother. When a baby is born prematurely, it is always very stressful, because something has gone wrong, she said.
The oldest records showing kissing as an element of romance date back 4,500 years, a full millennia earlier than previously believed, researchers said Friday.

The new study, published this week in the magazine Science, found that it was probably widespread even in the ancient world.

It presents evidence that "lip kissing was documented in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt" from at least 2500 BC.

Troels Pank Arboll said he and co-author Sophie Lund Rasmussen had started examining how the spread of diseases could be affected by the introduction of the practice of kissing on the lips as a romantic expression.

Arboll is an assyriologist -- a specialist in Ancient Near East studies -- at the University of Copenhagen; Lund Rasmussen is a biologist at the University of Oxford.

They found that most recent studies cited a source from India, dated around 1500 BC, as the earliest reference to "sexual-romantic kissing".

"I knew there was earlier material from ancient Mesopotamia," Arboll, who studies cuneiform writing on ancient clay tablets as part of his work, told AFP.

Although the evidence had already been collected in the 1980s, "apparently the information was never adopted in other fields", he added.

In the thousands of ancient cuneiform texts available they found relatively few references to romantic kissing.

Nevertheless, they added, "there are clear examples illustrating that kissing was considered an ordinary part of romantic intimacy in ancient times".

The texts studied implied "that kissing was something that married couples did" but also that "the kiss was regarded as part of an unmarried person's sexual desire when in love", they wrote.

The researchers differentiated between "friendly-parental kissing" and "romantic-sexual kissing".

While the former appears to be ubiquitous across time and geography, the latter is "not culturally universal".

Search Keywords:

Short link:


I'm Steve Gutterman, the editor of RFE/RL's Russia/Ukraine/Belarus Desk.

Welcome to The Week In Russia, in which I dissect the key developments in Russian politics and society over the previous week and look at what's ahead. To receive The Week In Russia newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Russia tries hypersonic missile attacks in Ukraine and treason accusations at home. And in the battle for Bakhmut, the "culture of mutual suspicion, cannibalistic competition, and opportunistic self-interest" President Vladimir Putin has created to maintain power is backfiring, an analyst says.

Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week and some of the takeaways going forward.

Missile Offense

For the past 15 years or more, Putin has repeatedly warned the West about missiles Russia had built or was developing, frequently saying they could penetrate any missile defense system, and urging the United States and NATO to hear his grievances and heed his stated security concerns.

One of the missiles Putin has frequently mentioned is the Kinzhal, whose name means dagger. In an annual state-of-the-nation speech in March 2018, shortly before he secured his current term, Putin boasted about that system and others and said the West must "listen to us now."

In the annual address a year later, he rattled off the names of at least five missile systems, including the Kinzhal, and asked whether U.S. policymakers could count -- then answered his own question.

"I'm sure they can," he said. "Let them count the speed and the range of the weapons systems we are developing."

Despite rising tension between Russia and the West and Russia's involvement in the wars in Syria and in Ukraine's Donbas region, such warnings had a strange dissonance to them, ringing wrong to some ears. The Cold War was over, after all, and the United States had no designs on Russia despite Putin's insistence that it was out to "hold Russia back" from successful development, at the very least.

Fast-forward to 2023, and Russia is using missiles including the Kinzhal in its war on Ukraine -- a war of aggression that Putin, who massively escalated the Donbas conflict by launching the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has nonetheless tried to cast as a defensive war against Western countries that he baselessly asserts are bent on tearing Russia apart.

And in the event, the Kinzhal may not be living up to the hype.

Ukraine said its air defenses intercepted six Kinzhal missiles fired by Russian aircraft during one of the biggest aerial assaults in months early on May 16. And while Moscow dismissed that claim and asserted that a Kinzhal had hit a Patriot missile battery -- one of at least two provided by the United States and Germany, according to reports -- the Pentagon said on May 18 that it "has now been fixed and is fully back and operational."

The conflicting claims left questions, but Russia has fired Kinzhal missiles before and the hypersonic weapon does not appear to be a game-changer. It may end up being an example of the way Russia's offensive -- from the first few weeks of the invasion, when Moscow's forces were stopped outside Kyiv and failed to push President Volodymyr Zelenskiy from power, subjugate Ukraine, or win any concessions from its government -- has fallen short of expectations in the Kremlin.

Battle For Bakhmut

The Kinzhal strike this week was part of a series of major aerial attacks on Kyiv and other cities -- part of a Russian campaign that has killed thousands or tens of thousands of Ukrainians, including many in areas where Putin claims to be trying to protect the lives of Russian-speakers, as heavy fighting persisted on the ground along front lines in the east and south -- particularly in and around Bakhmut, a once-thriving city in the Donetsk region that has been virtually destroyed in many months of fierce fighting.

The Russian forces' failure to take Bakhmut so far is almost certainly another example of the offensive not living up to Putin's expectations, and it has brought tension between rivals close to the Kremlin bubbling up to the surface -- mostly in the form of diatribes from Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and the top military brass.

Once nearly silent but now wildly outspoken, Prigozhin has also come close to criticizing Putin -- but has used wording that enables him to deny it.

And now, indications that Prigozhin may have offered Kyiv information about regular Russian Army positions in exchange for a Ukrainian retreat from Bakhmut shows how "Putin's style of managing the elite has proven dangerously dysfunctional when transplanted to the battlefield," author and analyst Mark Galeotti, an expert on Russia's military and security agencies, wrote in The Spectator on May 15.

"A culture of mutual suspicion, cannibalistic competition, and opportunistic self-interest has kept Putin in power for more than two decades. It has allowed him to play individuals and interests against each other and forced the members of his court constantly to seek his ear and favor," Galeotti wrote. "In war, though, the need is for unity, discipline, and mutual support -- something the Ukrainians are displaying and the Russians clearly lack."

'Become Russian Or Suffer'

While most of the attention is focused on the fighting, reports from Russian-occupied territory behind the front lines are chilling.

Ukrainian officials displaced from Russian-occupied parts of the Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions say Russia is forcibly removing civilians from towns and settlements close to the front as Ukraine gears up for a long-anticipated counteroffensive.

And in Russian-held parts of those two regions as well as Donetsk and Luhansk, in the east, the occupation authorities are using threats and pressure to persuade residents to accept Russian ID documents, Human Rights Watch said -- meaning Russian citizenship.

Those who do not do so by July 2024 "will be considered foreign nationals in their own country," the New York-based organization said in an article titled Become Russian Or Suffer. "This means they could be forced from their homes and deported -- an egregious violation of international law."

Additionally, the Russian State Duma approved legislation paving the way for Moscow to stage elections later this year in the Russian-occupied portions of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson regions -- votes that would have no legitimacy internationally and are sure to be condemned by Kyiv and the West if they take place.

In Crimea, 79 years after Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's government forced the Crimean Tatars out of their homeland in 1944, persecution that began after Russia occupied and seized control over the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula persisted.

And in Russia, meanwhile, the state's clampdown on its own citizens continues.

Scapegoating Science?

In an open letter published on May 15, scholars at a scientific institute in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk said that three leading physicists there had been arrested on treason charges in the past year.

The signatories said they were certain their colleagues are innocent and suggested that if the state treats scholars who participate in conferences, deliver reports, and share open-source information abroad, Russian science is headed for "catastrophe."

Separately but relatedly, the chairman of the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences said on May 18 that Russia had "lost 50,000 people" in the sciences in the last five years.

"Now, when everyone is talking about technological sovereignty and the future depends on science-intensive technology, the issue is that Russia as a state is missing those who can do this," said Valentin Parmon, who is also vice president of the academy.

The letter also mentioned Dmitry Kolker, who was arrested last summer at a Novosibirsk clinic where he was being treated for late-stage pancreatic cancer and died two days later, after being transferred to the Lefortovo prison in Moscow and then to a hospital. Kolker, 54, was being investigated on suspicion of treason for purportedly sharing state secrets with China.

Attorneys and activists say the number of treason cases opened so far this year by the Federal Security Service (FSB) is unprecedented in modern Russian history.

But the clampdown has focused heavily on Russians who have criticized the war on Ukraine.

On May 17, a Moscow court sentenced activist Mikhail Kriger, who was arrested in November 2022 over Internet posts condemning the invasion, to seven years in prison after convicting him of justifying terrorism and inciting hatred.

In a statement in court ahead of the verdict, Kriger said that he had been accused of "allowing myself to dream publicly of Putin's hanging," and that he did indeed hope to live to see that happen.

"With Putin there are rivers of blood, without Putin there is no bloodshed," he said.

After the judge pronounced the sentence, Kriger, a native of the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, sang a song in Ukrainian and voiced confidence that Putin, a KGB officer in the Soviet era, would be out of the Kremlin before his prison term is over.

"I think that rotten KGB louse won't last in power for seven years," he said.

That's it from me this week.

NOTE: The Week In Russia will next appear on June 2.

If you want to know more, catch up on my podcast The Week Ahead In Russia, out every Monday, here on our site or wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts).

Yours,

Steve Gutterman
U.S. President Joe Biden told leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized countries that Washington was prepared to work with its allies to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, according to White House sources, even as G7 nations announced fresh sanctions against Russia for its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials confirmed on May 19 that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is due to personally attend the G7 meeting in Hiroshima following his surprise visit to the Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia.

Multiple Western news agencies cited top U.S. administration officials as saying that Biden told his G7 counterparts that training on the F-16 fighter jets -- which are far more effective than the Soviet-era jets Kyiv currently has -- would take place in Europe and likely start in the coming weeks.

The training will begin even before decisions are made on when, how many, and which nations will provide the jets for Ukraine, according to U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he welcomed Washington's move on the training of Ukrainian pilots and tweeted that Britain will work together with the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs."

Denmark's Defense Ministry said it "will now be able to move forward for a collective contribution to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s."

Kyiv has urged the West to step up supplies of military aid, including deliveries of the more-sophisticated F-16 fighters, as it prepares for its widely anticipated counteroffensive.

On the sanctions front, the G7 leaders said in a joint statement that the fresh sanctions will impact "exports of industrial machinery, tools, and other technology that Russia uses to rebuild its war machine."

The statement said the group would continue to work to diminish Russian revenues from its trade in metals and diamonds.

A U.S. announcement said Washington was slapping new sanctions on Moscow to increase costs for Russia and those that help it conduct its war against Ukraine.

The United States will continue to take actions against Russia until it ends its brutal and illegal war against Ukraine. The United States is implementing commitments made at the G7 Leaders Summit to increase costs for Russia and those who support its war effort, a statement said.

"Among others, these commitments include further disrupting Russias ability to source inputs for its war, closing evasion loopholes, further reducing reliance on Russian energy, squeezing Russias access to the international financial system, and keeping its sovereign assets immobilized.

Earlier in the day, Britain announced new sanctions against 86 Russian citizens and legal entities aimed at advanced military technologies and imports of diamonds to cut Moscow's "sources of income."

G7 leaders said that their support for Ukraine will not waver" as they vowed to stand together against Russias illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.

In Ukraine, a senior security official said Zelenskiy would attend the G7 summit in person.

"Very important things will be decided there and it is therefore the presence of our president that is absolutely essential in order to defend our interests," Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, told state television.

Zelenskiy will attend the gathering on May 21, the third and final day of the summit, according to two unnamed Ukrainian officials involved in the arrangements for the G7 cited by Reuters.

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 in Ukraine, click here.

Meanwhile, Zelenskiy arrived on May 19 in the Saudi city of Jeddah to attend an Arab League summit.

He told the gathering that "we are pushing the occupiers out of our lands...we will never submit to any foreigners or colonizers."

"Even if there are people here at the summit who have a different view on the war on our land -- calling it a conflict -- I'm sure that we can all be united in saving people from the cages of Russian prisons," Zelenskiy said.

Al-Hadath TV, a Saudi-owned TV station reported that Zelenskiy traveled to Jeddah on a French government plane.

Russia has continued to batter Ukrainian cities with air and missile attacks amid an apparent stalemate in the fierce fighting for the control of the eastern city of Bakhmut.

Kyiv was again targeted by Iranian-made drones overnight -- the 10th attack since the start of the month -- but all of them were destroyed by the capital's air defenses, Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv military administration, said on May 19.

"With such tactics, the Kremlin is trying to exhaust our air defense, as well as to psychologically influence the civilian population," Popko said.

Separately, Ukrainian air defense said on May 19 that it had shot down 16 drones and one cruise missile overnight, without specifying the location.

WATCH: A team of RFE/RL journalists joined Ukrainian troops as they began attacking near Bakhmut on May 11 and fitted a soldier with a bodycam to record a firsthand view of battle.

Russia carried out 39 missile strikes and 39 air strikes as well 50 salvoes from rocket systems across the Ukrainian front line over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian military said early on May 19.

In Washington, a Pentagon spokeswoman said that a Patriot missile-defense system damaged in a Russian air strike on Kyiv several days ago was repaired.

"What I can confirm is that one Patriot system was damaged, but it has now been fixed and is fully back and operational, Sabrina Singh told a news briefing.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, CNN, and AP
The Korea Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday finally gave the green light to Korean Air's takeover of ailing Asiana Airlines on condition that the flag carrier relinquishes certain routes.

The decision came about a year after Korean Air applied for approval.

The FTC cited monopoly concerns over 26 of the two flag carriers' 65 overlapping international routes -- five to North America, six to Europe, five to China, six to Southeast Asia, one to Japan and three to Oceania and other regions.

For instance, the two carriers' combined share of the overlapping routes to North America would be 78 to 100 percent.

The FTC ordered Korean Air to relinquish some slots if any newcomer seeks to claim them over the next decade. Until then, Korean Air is obliged to limit airfare hikes and maintain the number of flights, quality of service and mileage terms.


Korean Air is another step closer to taking over ailing Asiana Airlines as the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority gave the green light to the planned merger of the two flag carriers.

The takeover has already been approved by Korea's own Fair Trade Commission and 11 countries including China and Australia. But the EU and Japan have yet to approve it after demanding some changes to allay monopoly concerns.

A Korean Air staffer said, "The remaining merger authorization process is expected to be completed in the first half."

Korean Air has proposed measures to quell monopoly concerns, but there are fears that Korea's airline industry could take a hit if some overlapping flight slots and routes are ceded to foreign carriers in order to get the merger approved.

For example, Korean Air offered to cede Asiana's slots on the Incheon-London route to Virgin Atlantic. Korean Air has 10 slots a week at London's Heathrow Airport and Asiana seven.

The EU has now started the second phase of its approval process. Together Korean Air and Asiana account for 60 percent of markets in Paris, Frankfurt, Rome and Barcelona, so there is a strong chance that the flag carriers may hand over some of their routes to European airlines. They also have overlapping routes to New York, San Francisco and other U.S. cities.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday invited President Yoon Suk-yeol to the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in May.

Presidential spokesman Lee Do-woon told reporters that the invitation is seen as a "positive outcome of the Korea-Japan summit" last week in Tokyo.

Korea, Japan and the U.S. are apparently in talks to hold a three-way summit on the sidelines of the G7 meeting.

Kishida, who is visiting New Delhi, said the leaders of Korea, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Morocco, Vietnam, and the Cook Islands as well as the heads of the International Monetary Fund and OECD have been invited to the G7 Summit.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk said, "Through our government's participation in the G7 Summit, we expect to expand solidarity and cooperation with member countries that share universal values and to take part in efforts to resolve the complex and unprecedented global crisis."
LIVING like Lulu became a motto for those around her in the months before Lulu Blundells death at 19  and her life continues to inspire others with a new Teenage Cancer Trust campaign.

Touching words from the Rotherham teenager are included in a moving short film from the charity to launch Talk About Dying.

Meanwhile, her family are determined to take the 95,000 Lulu raised for TCT over the 100,000 milestone this year in her memory.

Lulu was diagnosed with Ewings sarcoma in 2019, aged 15. After eight months of intense chemotherapy  24 hours a day for seven days every fortnight  and after having a leg amputated, she was told she was cancer-free.

Last April, while studying at Newcastle University, she had pain in her shoulder, which was initially dismissed as a sporting injury.

But after a CT scan, Lulu received the devastating news that she had tumours in her shoulder, ribs, and chest  and that her cancer was terminal.

Mum Carolyn said: There was a lot more to Lulu than her cancer.

She had a lust for life, for people, and a spontaneity that was infectious. If she wanted to do something, she did it.

Lulus specialists said that further chemo could buy her a little bit more time but thats not what she wanted. She didnt want to spend any of the time that she had left in a hospital bed.

Danielle, her Teenage Cancer Trust Nurse, and NHS staff working at the charitys units in Newcastle and Sheffield, went above and beyond to make sure she could do the things she wanted in the time she had left, like go to Glastonbury.

She went with her friends on a ton of pain relief.

It was all arranged so that she could store and take it in the first aid tent.

Had she become really unwell, she wouldnt have had to go to A&E  a named contact at the local hospital had been briefed about her whole history and was on hand if needed.

Last summer also saw Lulu visit Magaluf with friends, Amsterdam with boyfriend Paddy, and enjoy family trips to London, Northumberland and Manchester.

The Run With Lulu 5km event in September 2022 added 21,000 to the amount she raised. She crossed the finish line on her prosthetic with a broken shoulder blade.

Weeks later a scan showed the cancer had spread more quickly than expected and, by December, Lulu was unable to leave her house.

We didnt think shed make it to Christmas, said Carolyn. But she wanted to show Robin, her oncology consultant, that shed get to 2023, and she made it to New Years Day.

People say they are changed after seeing how she lived, especially in the last six months of her life.

They got that tattoo they always wanted or booked a holiday. Living like Lulu has become a bit of a mantra for so many.

Lulu died at home with her family and loved ones, and the new campaign includes online resources to help young people talk about receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis.

Carolyn said: During her treatment and when it was found Lulus cancer was terminal, we had so many difficult conversations as a family, and Teenage Cancer Trust and her team helped facilitate those.

Discussing the arrangements for her to die at home, helping her choose the spot where she wanted to be buried, and talking about her plans for the celebration she wanted after her death was so hard, we needed that support.

We will never stop grieving for Lulu but knowing that she was able to express what she wanted and being able to fulfil those wishes brings us some comfort.

TCT chief nurse Dr Louise Soanes said: We are so thankful to Lulu and her family for their fundraising and sharing their story, which will help so many other young people with cancer.

We are proud that our incredible nurses and youth support teams work every day to support young people and their loved ones in this situation, because talking about dying is important, and no wishes or worries any young person has towards the end of their life have should go unspoken.

Carolyn added: If sharing Lulus story and our fundraising helps another young person or their family then we can take some comfort from that.

q Visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/carolyn-blundell3 to donate to the familys appeal and for more on the campaign, see www.teenagecancertrust.org/talkaboutdying.

Lulus words from the film, called Lulu: Forever 19

FOR the last three months Ive been living, breathing and feeling probably most peoples worst nightmare.

Im sure everyone who follows me vaguely knows I was diagnosed with cancer when I was 15. I went through chemo and had my leg amputated, and on January 20, 2020, I was cancer free!

Two-and-a-half amazing years later  full of laughs and smiles  and unfortunately, I found out my cancer has come back in four spots, and I have made the decision not to go through chemo; rather be on palliative care and keep all my pain under control until we no longer can...

Despite being told I have relapsed, and now being terminally ill, Ive laughed and loved harder than I ever have in my life the past few months.

Happiness can be found in any situation at any point, and a pinch of kindness will never go amiss; behind closed doors someone might need you to be their ray of sunshine.

Every single nurse, therapist, social worker that has worked alongside me has been my little ray of sunshine.

Time and time again through chemo, remission and relapse they have saved my life whether that be physically or mentally...

I hope after reading this Ive inspired you to do the things you said you were going to do tomorrow  make the people around you smile, and stop worrying about the things that dont need worrying about.

Life is too short.

A SPONSORED fitness class from 9am on Saturday, June 3, will help add to the fundraising total.

The event at Maltbys Full Life church is being organised by instructor Rachel Walker and Jess Willey, who taught Lulu and became a family friend.

Donations can be made at the same justgiving.com as above.
A MAN has been charged with 11 child sex offences  including four rapes  by the investigators looking into child grooming and sex abuse in Rotherham.

Adam Ali faces four counts of rape, three of indecent assault and four of unlawful sexual activity with a child against the same victim, who was aged between 12 and 14 at the time.



National Crime Agency officers working on Operation Stovewood prosecuted Ali as part of their wide-ranging probe into allegations of historic abuse in the borough.

Ali (42) appeared before Sheffield Magistrates' Court today and was remanded in custody until his next appearance at Sheffield Crown Court on June 16.



Ali, formerly of Rotherham, was arrested by NCA officers yesterday at his home address in Greenwich, south London.
Keeping values and priorities

(rbc.ru) - On May 23, Norilsk Nickel's management will present the main results in the field of sustainable development for 2022, which will be commented on by representatives of the regions where the company operates, as well as by the scientific and expert community.

The Company confirms its commitment to the principles of sustainable development. Nornickel maintains a high level of social responsibility, consistently continues to implement key environmental projects designed to reduce environmental impact and develops interaction with local communities in the regions where it operates.

Key topics:

- Strategy for increasing the level of industrial safety and labor protection.

- Status of implementation of a comprehensive strategy in the field of ecology and climate change.

- Social and economic development of the regions of presence and reduction of the impact on local communities.

- Interaction with local communities and indigenous peoples of the North.

- Contribution to the implementation of national projects in Russia.

The discussion will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

Moderator - Kirill Tokarev, Editor-in-Chief and host of the RBC TV channel
New SC Justices Prashant Kumar & KV Viswanathan

KV Viswanathan will become the Chief Justice of the country in August 2030

NEW-DELHI: Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and former senior advocate KV Viswanathan have taken oath as judges in the Supreme Court. Both were administered oath by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud on Friday. The Supreme Court collegium had recommended both the judges on May 16. The Center had approved their appointment on May 18.

With this, the quorum of 34 judges has been completed in the Supreme Court. It is being reported that KV Viswanathan will become the Chief Justice of the country in August 2030. Viswanathan will head the Supreme Court of the country till 24th May 2031 i.e. more than 9 months.

Advertisement

Notably, Viswanathan was born on 26 May 1966. He completed his law degree from Bharathiar University, Coimbatore. He joined the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in 1988. After practicing in the Supreme Court for more than two decades, he was appointed as a senior advocate in 2009.

It is worth noting here that Justice Prashant Mishra was born in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh. He received his LLB degree from Guru Ghasidas University. Apart from practicing in the Raigarh District Court, he advocated for a long time in the Jabalpur and Bilaspur High Courts. In 2005, the Chhattisgarh High Court stamped his name as a senior advocate. He has also been the Chairman of Chhattisgarh State Bar Council for 2 years. After being appointed Advocate General in 2007, he was made a High Court judge on 10 December 2009. Two years ago, he was promoted as the Chief Justice from a senior judge.
Faridkot Central Modern Jail

8 Mobile Phones Recovered from Faridkot Central Modern Jail, Police Registers FIR

FARIDKOT: More digital gadgets have been recovered from Faridkot Central Modern Jail during search. Atleast 8 mobile phones have been recovered during a surprise search conducted by the jail administration in the barracks of the jail.

The jail administration has registered cases against accused at police station. On the complaint of the Assistant Superintendent of Jail, Shivam Tej Singla, the police have recovered one mobile phone each from Jail Inmate Sukhdev Singh, Rahul and registered a case. Other Mobiles phones were recovered from Bathrooms of the Jail.

Advertisement

Notably, imprisoned gangsters or other jail inmates used these gadgets to operate their networks from inside the jail. This has become a major matter of concern for the administration.




Zira Liquor Factory

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) report was in our favour: Company

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has sought a response from the Punjab government on the release of raw materials from the Zira liquor factory. Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan, scheduling the hearing of the case on May 24, sought an answer as to whether the raw material has been taken out of the factory or not.

Earlier, the High Court had accepted the demand to bring out the combustible substance ethanol kept in the factory while giving relief to the company. The company has filed an application and asked that no coercive action or order to close the factory should be issued against them during the pendency of the petition.

Advertisement

The company has asked in the application that a way to export the ethanol made in the factory should be given. Currently, there is a large amount of ethanol in the factory. It has nothing to do with pollution. The presence of large quantities of combustible materials in a factory can pose a danger to the area at any time.

The Company claimed that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) report was in their favour. More than Rs 300 crores have been invested to set up the factory. The company has all necessary licenses and permits. In such a situation, the Punjab government should be restrained from taking strict action against them.

On another petition filed by the company, Science, Technical and Environment Department Secretary of Punjab Govt, Dr. Sumer Singh Gujjar said in the court that after considering all the documents, the company will be given an opportunity to present its side. After this, a decision will be taken in two weeks whether the company meets the environmental standards or not. A petition was filed by the company and it was said that they meet the prescribed criteria, so they should be allowed to work.


Cyclone 'Mocha' in Myanmar

Region is in urgent need of shelter, clean water, food aid and health care services: UN

BANGKOK: At least 54 people have died and more than 1.85 lakh buildings have been severely damaged since the devastating Cyclone Mocha hit Myanmar late last week. Cyclone Mocha, which formed in the Bay of Bengal last Sunday, hit western Myanmar's Bangladesh and Rakhine State, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to the region.

Due to the cyclone that hit near Sittwe Township of Rakhine State, strong winds are blowing in the area with a speed of about 209 km per hour. However, it weakened into a tropical cyclone moving towards the interior of the country on Monday. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said homes and infrastructure had been largely destroyed in Rakhine State.

Advertisement

He said the region is in urgent need of shelter, clean water, food aid and health care services. The UN office said that there are growing concerns about the spread of water-borne diseases in flood-affected areas. Rakhine state is at the center of the decades-long ethnic conflict in Myanmar. The impact of the cyclone was also felt in the northwestern part of the country, where a large number of houses either collapsed or were washed away, the UN office said. Strong winds and rain also caused heavy damage to camps for displaced people in Kachin state.
For Representation Purpose Only

Huge hike in the death penalty was recorded in Iran and Saudi Arabia

NEW-DELHI: Year 2022 was the darkest year in terms of death penalties in the last five years. Last year, 883 people were sentenced to death, which is 53 percent more than in 2021. As per a report, during 2022, 883 people were sentenced to death around the world, which is 53 percent more than in 2021 and the most in five years. Amnesty International's annual report said that the huge hike in the death penalty was reported in Iran and Saudi Arabia. Asia has also seen such a large increase in the death penalty.

According to Amnesty's report, 70 percent of the total death sentences reported in the Middle East and North Africa. In Iran, where 576 people were executed in 2022. This is 83 percent more than in 2021 when 314 people were hanged. Out of these 255 cases were related to drugs while 279 persons were found guilty of murder.

Advertisement

In Saudi Arabia, the death penalty tripled in 2022 compared to 2021 and 196 people were hanged there. This is the highest number in the last 30 years. 85 people were sentenced to death for terrorism-related offences, more than nine times the previous year. Apart from this, 57 persons were sentenced to death for drug-related offences, while no person was sentenced to death under this crime in 2021.

Compared to 2021, Kuwait, Myanmar, Palestine, Singapore and the US also recorded huge hike in the number of death sentences in 2022. During the year 2021, 579 people were sentenced to death in 18 countries, while in 2022, 883 people were sentenced to death in 20 countries. This is not a comprehensive figure because countries such as China, North Korea and Vietnam do not make public the number of death sentences. According to Amnesty, 112 people were sentenced to death in Indonesia in 2022, 94 percent for drug-related crimes, which do not qualify as "the most serious crimes" under international law.

Indonesia has the death penalty for crimes such as murder, terrorism and drug trafficking, and the death penalty is carried out by firing squad. Before 2022, in 2016, four people were shot in the crime of drug trafficking. Three of them were Nigerian citizens and one was Indonesian. Currently, 450 people have been sentenced to death in the country and are awaiting execution. There are also 88 foreign nationals from 18 countries.

Advertisement

Last year, 169 people were sentenced to death in Bangladesh, the most in the Asia-Pacific region. This was followed by India, where 165 people were sentenced to death. Pakistan ranks third in the region with 127 people executed. Last year, 18 people were sentenced to death in the United States of America, while in 2021, 11 people were sentenced to death. However, in the 20 countries of the world where the death penalty is announced, USA was at the bottom.

China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Singapore have sentenced 325 people to death in drug-related cases, more than double the number in 2021, the report said. Amnesty said the number of countries that have abolished the death penalty now stands at 112, including Papua New Guinea. Apart from this, Malaysia has also taken important steps to abolish the death penalty in several crime cases.

Notably, In the last ten years, 2022 proved to be the year with the fourth highest death penalty. In 2015, a maximum of 1,634 people were sentenced to death. In 2016, 1,032 people were sentenced to death and in 2017, the number was recorded at 993.
The EU has thrown a last-minute hurdle in the way of Korean Air's takeover of Asiana Airlines for fear that it would create a monopoly on certain routes.

As a result of review, the European Commission is concerned that the transaction may "reduce competition in the provision of passenger transport services on four routes between [Korea] and France, Germany, Italy and Spain... [and] reduce competition in the provision of cargo transport services between all of Europe and [Korea]."

Korean Air and Asiana Airlines had already secured the green light from 11 countries including China, Korea and the U.K., but approval from Japan, the U.S. and EU is pending.

The European Commission voiced concerns about the overall impact the merger could have on flight services in the region. Korean Air and Asiana Airlines "compete head-to-head in carrying passengers and cargo between the [European Economic Area] and [Korea]. Together, they would be by far the largest carriers of passengers and cargo on these routes and the merger may remove an important alternative for customers. The merger may therefore lead to increased prices or decreased quality of passenger and air transport services," it said.

The EU's final decision is expected on Aug. 3.
Alcoholic drinks maker C&C Group Plc (CCR.L) said that David Forde will step down as Chief Executive Officer of the company. He will cease to be a Director with immediate effect but will be available to help ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities.

Patrick McMahon, Group CFO, has been appointed Group CEO with immediate effect.

Ralph Findlay, Chair, has been appointed Executive Chair to support the management transition as Patrick McMahon will also retain his responsibilities as CFO until a new CFO is appointed, the process for which will commence shortly.

C&C said it currently expects a one-off impact of about 25 million euros associated with Enterprise Resource Planning system disruption in fiscal year 2024, reflecting the cost associated with restoring service levels and lost revenue.

Excluding the impact on Matthew Clark and Bibendum, C&C is currently performing in line with management expectations for fiscal year 2024 and the Board is confident in the Group's medium and long-term strategy and prospects.

C&C re-affirmed the guidance given in its pre-close Trading Statement of 23 March 2023. Specifically, the Group expects to report operating profit of 84 million euros. C&C's strong free cash flow generation, together with increased balance sheet strength will also enable a re-instatement of dividend payments to shareholders, with respect to fiscal year 2023.

The Group will issue fiscal year 2023 results on Wednesday, 24 May 2023.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Disney has canceled its plans to develop a new employee campus in Florida and to relocate thousands of employees in an apparent feud with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, reports said citing a memo to employees.

Josh D'Amaro, chairman of Disney's parks, experiences and products division, said the decision was taken amid changing conditions.

The media and major will no longer be moving forward with the construction of its employee campus in Lake Nona, Florida, which was scheduled at a cost of around $1 billion. The company will no longer be asking its more than 2,000 California-based employees to relocate to Florida.

However, in his memo, D'Amaro reiterated that the company still plans to invest $17 billion in Florida over the next 10 years. Disney, which currently employs more than 75,000 people in the state, also plans to add around 13,000 jobs in a decade.

The decision for new Florida campus was scrapped amid issues between the company and DeSantis partly due to the company's special district and development plans.

As per reports, the issues with DeSantis arose after the company publicly criticized a Florida bill, dubbed "Don't Say Gay", which limits discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms.

Following this, DeSantis targeted Disney's special district, formerly called the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which has allowed the company to effectively self-govern its Orlando parks' operations for many years.

Though the district was left intact, it was renamed as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, and its five-member board was replaced with people selected by DeSantis. The new board also voted to undo the company's development contracts signed to secure its investments.

Following this, Disney in late April had filed its lawsuit against the state, accusing a targeted campaign of government retaliation, and has since updated it to include newly passed legislation targeting its monorail system.

Disney noted that the company is Florida's largest taxpayer, and has created thousands of indirect jobs, bringing around 50 million visitors to the state every year.

While announcing the plan for the new Florida campus in July 2021 by former CEO Bob Chapek, Burbank, California -based Disney had expected to relocate a division from California, mainly Imagineering, which works with Disney's movie studios to develop theme park attractions.

The campus was originally slated to open in 2022-2023, but was later deferred to 2026.

Amid the relocation requirement, some employees left the company, or transitioned to other posts, while some have already moved to Florida. D'Amaro said those who already relocated to Florida may be able to move back to California.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Higher Canadian and U.S. futures and firm commodity prices amid optimism about U.S. debt ceiling deal, point to a positive start for the Canadian market on Friday.

U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hope to finalize a deal on the debt ceiling after Biden returns from the Group of Seven meeting in Japan on Sunday.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told top bank executives that a failure to raise the debt ceiling would be "catastrophic" for the financial system.

Data on Canadian retail sales for the month of March is due at 8:30 AM ET.

Despite staying weak almost the entire session on Thursday, the Canadian market ended flat with stocks rallying smartly in the final hour. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index settled at 20,297.09, up 0.66 points, recovering from a low of 20,170.95.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday, as hopes that lawmakers in Washington will avert a first-ever U.S. default offset worries about China's uneven economic recovery.

European stocks are up firmly in positive territory as investors indulge in some brisk buying, shrugging off hawkish rhetoric from Fed speakers and remaining hopeful that the U.S. will avert a catastrophic debt default.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $1.08 or 1.5% at $72.94 a barrel.

Gold futures are gaining $6.70 or 0.35% at $1,966.50 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.112 or 0.47% at $23.745 an ounce.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Abbott (ABT) announced the FDA has approved the company's TactiFlex Ablation Catheter, Sensor Enabled, an ablation catheter with a flexible tip and contact force . Used to perform an ablation procedure to treat atrial fibrillation, the TactiFlex catheter can result in reduced procedure times and better safety when compared to the company's previous generation catheters.

The TactiFlex catheter is designed to be used with Abbott's EnSite X EP System, which allows physicians to identify areas in the heart that require ablation. The TactiFlex catheter uses a tip design with a laser-cut pattern that flexes when in contact with the heart wall.

The TactiFlex catheter is approved for use in Europe, Japan, Africa and Australia.

For More Such Health News, visit rttnews.com.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Professor George Openjuru, Vice-Chancellor of Gulu University and Chair of the Uganda Vice-Chancellors Forum

By Nwabisa Moyo

Community Engagement is not a new concept, as it has played a significant role in society over the years. However, its formalisation as a core function of universities is relatively recent. Community engagement helps universities to contribute to the socio-economic development of local communities. The Community Engagement Learning Symposium, held from 9 to 11 May 2023 and organised by Rhodes University Community Engagement (RUCE) division, had a stimulating group of keynote speakers and many thought-provoking presentations from Community Engagement representatives (academics, students and community partners) based on the four themes of the Symposium.

On the third day of the Symposium, Professor George Openjuru, the Vice-Chancellor of Gulu University and Chair of the Uganda Vice-Chancellors Forum, was the final keynote speaker whose topic was the Status and Significance of Higher Education Community Engagement in Africa. His presentation highlighted the development role of universities in the context of local communities. Universities had a dual social responsibility function- to their students and to the local communities.

Prof Openjuru stated that universities' strong relationship with communities and their commitment to community engagement was imperative. He said, "Many universities in a number of African countries were established as a response to community needs and to contribute to solving some well-defined community problems."

Prof Openjuru added that Community-University Engagement is not new in Africa. As an example, he said that community engagement started at Makerere University in 1953. Since then, such engagements have entered into and continue to exist in many African universities. The concept of Community University Engagement emphasises the importance of universities working together with their surrounding communities to address local challenges.

These partnerships between communities and universities provide research opportunities that address pressing social issues. They facilitate the co-creation of knowledge, which is mutually beneficial. Partnership relationships hold importance in society because it helps to identify burning issues within communities, improve the university curriculum, ensure students' employability, and promote social justice and sustainable development.

Additionally, Community-University Engagement can be used to enhance the relevance of academic research, ensuring that it is more responsive to community needs and concerns. Prof Openjuru stated, "If the university and the community are to exist organically, it means that the university must be immediately relevant to the community."

Prof Openjuru emphasised that graduates must be encouraged to give back to their communities upon attaining their degrees. He said, "Our graduates must be able to develop our society, not to leave our society or communities. They should know how or try to improve our local communities."

Prof Openjuru further stated that universities are meant to advance people and communities, ensuring a sense of improvement within them. Although the idea of Community University Engagement has existed for many years, its relevance never ceases. Each year, the partnerships between universities and communities become more significant, as this remains one of the best ways to ensure the improvement of community well-being.

Source: Communications
2024 Toyota Tacoma Limited and TRD Sport get the companys logo on their grille, while TRD Pro and Trailhunter feature old-school TOYOTA lettering

Tacoma entered its 30th year in USA recently and to commemorate three decades of rugged reliability, Toyota will launch its new Tacoma later this year. 2024 Toyota Tacoma features a brand-new design language and famed TNGA-F platform underpins it. For markets like India and a few ASEAN nations, variations of this new Tacoma will launch as Fortuner SUV and Hilux pickup truck.

Toyota is launching four variations of Tacoma. The luxurious Limited trim with chrome grille and wheels (most likely to be Fortuner in India), TRD Sport, the hardcore TRD Pro and trail-worthy Trailhunter. Toyota will launch them in the USA later this year and other markets will get them later.

2024 Toyota Tacoma Debuts  Best Tacoma yet?

The all-new design language looks mean and burly. Far more burlier than outgoing Tacoma. 2024 Toyota Tacoma will go head-to-head with other mid-size pickup trucks like Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon, Nissan Frontier Pro and Ford Ranger (SUV version is Endeavour). Only Frontier and Ranger offer V6 engine options.

Tacoma offers a hybrid powertrain branded I-Force Max like on a Tundra, but coupled with an in-line 4 motor. Speaking of the hybrid powertrain, new Tacoma comes equipped with a 2.4L turbocharged in-line 4 engine, paired with a 1.9 kWh battery and a 48 bhp electric motor.

Buyers can choose between a manual transmission and an 8-speed automatic. Even though Tacomas 326 bhp is less than Rangers 405 bhp, the former makes 630.45 Nm, which is more than Rangers. RWD with an LSD (Limited Slip Diff) is standard with base SR and SR5 trims.

4WD models get a two-speed transfer case (high and low range ratios), TCS, and LSD. Top spec I-Force Max powertrain gets full-time 4WD and a center locking diff as well. Off-road credentials include a 33.8-degree approach angle, a 23.5-degree departure angle and a 25.7-degree breakover angle.

Rugged dependability with macho design

Exterior design is very macho on 2024 Toyota Tacoma. A large gaping grill is flanked by sleek and stylish headlights. There is a Lexus LC500-like plastic trim below headlights and bumpers have sleek fog lights and a bash plate. TRD Pro is the most hardcore and Trailhunter is geared towards adventurous audiences, facilitating expeditions.

On the inside, an 8 infotainment touchscreen and 7 instrument cluster is standard. But higher trims come with a 14 touchscreen infotainment screen with a 12.3 instrument cluster. Qi wireless phone charger, digital rearview mirror, suspended and stabilized driver seat, 10-speaker JBL system with a removable JBL Bluetooth speaker, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are notable elements.

Toyota is offering different suspension for different models. For example, TRD Pro gets Fox shocks, while TRD Off-road gets Bilstein ones, TRD Sport gets TRD tuned ones and Trailhunter gets Old Man Emu shocks from ARB. 2024 Toyota Tacoma can tow around 3,000 kg and its payload capacity is 775 kg.

Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 ADAS suite is onboard too along with Crawl Control feature which is basically cruise control in off-road situations. We can see the Tacoma Limited being the face of standard Fortuner SUV and Hilux pickup. While TRD Sport or TRD Pros face might translate into a GR-Sport model in the future. TKM might launch new gen Fortuner and Hilux in India in 2024 or beyond.
The mid-rise Millennium Hilton Hotel in downtown Seoul will be razed and replaced with a 38-story twin skyscraper that could block the scenic view of Mr. Nam if the developer has its way.

IGIS Asset Management, which owns the Hilton, recently submitted plans to Jung District Office seeking to demolish the 23-story steel-and-glass block and replace it with a 38-story building now that height restrictions have been eased.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, IGIS proposes in turn to create more green space in the city. The city now eases height limits for builders who take part in metropolitan efforts to green the capital's concrete wastes.

But the hotel sits atop a 30 m hill, which means the new building will stand 180 m tall. IGIS claims the hotel is already sprawled out horizontally and blocks a substantial part of Mt. Nam, so building a structure with a gap between two wings would improve views of the mountain.
President Yoon Suk-yeol will hold yet another meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the G7 summit this weekend in Hiroshima, according to the presidential office on Thursday.

The two leaders only met in Seoul two weeks ago but seem to be getting along swimmingly. Yoon is also likely to hold a trilateral summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and Kishida at the event.

As agreed, Yoon and Kishida will pay their tribute to Korean victims of the atomic bombing of the city at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

A diplomatic source said, "The two countries will strengthen security and economic cooperation and boost personnel exchanges now the two leaders have resumed shuttle diplomacy."
Danielle is a freelance culture journalist focusing on music, food, wine, hospitality, and arts, and founder-playwright of Yeah No Yeah Theatre company, based in San Diego. Her work has been featured in FLAUNT, Filter Magazine, and San Diego Magazine. Born and raised in Maui, she still loves a good Mai Tai.

Follow Danielle Allaire Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
Oceanside agreed this week to set some rules for flying drones in public places, the result of recent incidents, including one that injured a beachgoer.

We just want to establish some protocols so we can be sure people are safe, police Lt. Aaron Doyle told Oceanside City Council members at a meeting Wednesday.

The rapid spread of remotely piloted aircraft has some cities looking for ways to control them. Poway was one of the first cities in the area to set limits in 2015, and San Diego adopted its regulations in April. The Federal Aviation Administration also sets regulations for drones, but those rules are administrative and cant be enforced by local police.

Advertisement

Oceansides proposal would require operators to get a permit before flying drones over the beach, the pier and a few other places. Among other restrictions, it would require drones to remain within the operators line of sight, outside the flight path of any occupied aircraft, and only operate during daylight.

Oceanside City Council members unanimously supported the proposal, which would be effective 30 days after a second presentation to the council expected later this year.

Three incidents over the summer prompted Oceanside police to request the ordinance, Doyle said.

A drone fell onto a beachgoer causing minor injuries in July after the pilot lost sight of his flying machine and it crashed into a palm tree near the city pier, he said. Another narrowly missed a young girl on the beach in August after the operator lost control.

Perhaps the most serious problem occurred in June, Doyle said. City and county firefighters were battling an 85-acre blaze near the border of Oceanside and Camp Pendleton. Crews in aircraft delivering water drops on the fire spotted a drone in their flight path, and all aerial operations had to cease for about one hour until it was gone.

Not only does the delay hinder firefighting efforts, but a mid-air collision between a remotely operated drone and an occupied aircraft could have tragic results, with fatalities and extensive property damage, the lieutenant said.

The proposed ordinance also prohibits drones over occupied schools, or to transmit visual images or audio recordings of anyone who has a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Drones must remain within the line of sight of the operator without the use of binoculars or other vision-enhancing devices, and cannot approach any closer than 25 feet to any person but the operator or an assistant.

Also, the ordinance requires a pre-approved, one-time city permit to operate a drone over the beach, the pier, the City Hall complex or police and fire stations. The cost of the permit is expected to be about $150, but Councilwoman Esther Sanchez said the amount should be less.

Some beautiful videos have made with drones over Oceansides pier, mission and beaches, Sanchez said, and she wants to encourage people to make more of them. Posted on the internet, the videos can boost the citys image and help attract tourists to the area.

Councilman Jerry Kern said the cost of the permit should be enough to recover the citys costs for regulating the activity, and that the amount can be adjusted later, if necessary.

The technology is moving so rapidly, were playing catch-up, Kern said.

The proposed regulations should not prohibit the average person from flying drones they receive as gifts or buy for hobbies, Councilman Jack Feller said.

This does not prohibit a guy who gets a drone from flying it in his cul de sac, Feller said.

Violators of the ordinance could be subject to fines of $1,000 for each violation, and could have their drone impounded as evidence.

philip.diehl@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @phildiehl
Two North Korean families have defected to South Korea by taking the perilous journey in a fishing boat across the Northern Limit Line, the de factor sea border.

This is the first time since July 2017 that North Koreans have defected across the sea.

Military authorities here said on Thursday they spotted a fishing boat approaching the NLL in the West Sea on the night of May 6. Around midnight, they sent troops to intercept it as it crossed the NLL and began approaching Yeonpyeong Island. Ten North Koreans including children were found on board.

They reportedly told military authorities they were not lost but were defecting intentionally and were taken to the capital region for questioning.

A Unification Ministry official told reporters that routine questioning is underway to verify their intentions.

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration has emphasized the principle of accepting all North Korean defectors, in stark contrast to the former administration, which forcibly repatriated two North Korean fishermen in 2019 who were blindfolded and struggled desperately against their return to the North.
Johnny Depp poses for portrait photographs for the film 'Jeanne du Barry', at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 17, 2023.

Just a year ago, the image of Johnny Depp smiling and waving atop the Palais steps at the Cannes Film Festival would have been unthinkable to most  including to Depp, himself.

When you hit the bottom, you hit the bottom, you hit the bottom, then you find the basement to the bottom, Depp told The Associated Press the day after Jeanne du Barry, in which he stars as King Louis XV, opened Cannes.

This time last year, Depp was immersed in a libel trial he brought against Amber Heard, his ex-wife, based on a 2018 Washington Post op-ed piece in which she referred to herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. A British court had ruled in 2020 that a tabloid labeling Depp a wife beater were substantially true. Soon after the ruling in the U.K., Hollywood had largely cut ties with Depp, jettisoning him from both the Fantastic Beasts and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises.

When it all went down, confusion is a good word. Befuddled. Because it does almost reach the Bugs Bunny experience, Depp says now. You say to yourself: Is this my life? What happened?

Some greeted Depps feting in Cannes with similar degrees of befuddlement.

A Virginia jury eventually ruled that Heard had defamed Depp on three counts and awarded him $15 million in damages. In a countersuit, Depp was found guilty of one charge of libel and Heard was awarded $2 million. Depp may have won in court, but public opinion remains divided on the actor who was once one of the most bankable stars in movies  with many supporters of abused women and the #MeToo movement wondering if sexual assault victims would be more reticent to come forward if they might be sued for defamation.

Outside the premiere of Jeanne du Barry in Cannes, fans grasped for autographs and signs read Viva Johnny! On social media, the reception was more fraught. Supporters of Heard rallied around the hashtag #CannesYouNot, arguing that Cannes  which has been criticized for welcoming men accused of misconduct  shouldnt have invited Depp.

If you support Cannes, you support predators, posted Eve Barlow, a journalist and friend of Heard. Heard herself hasnt commented on Depps Cannes premiere.

Depp has seldom spoken in public since the trial, but he granted an interview with the AP on Wednesday after a day of interviews with mostly French media. (Depp remains very popular in France where he has sometimes lived and where the film industry is contending with its own #MeToo reckoning.) He was eager to cast his own battles in the light of Hollywood scandals of the past.

Never boring but unpleasant, curious years. Escapades. Rumors. Accusations, Depp said. I read far too much about Fatty Arbuckle but I didnt see any (Buster) Keaton coming my way to save my ass.

One of the things that kept going in my head was Hunter, he continued, invoking longtime mentor Hunter S. Thompson. I could hear his voice: Buy the ticket, take the ride.

I dont think Marlon would have survived, Depp said, referencing Brando. I dont think he came close to going through something like this. Had he been alive to watch this happen, he would have gone sideways. He would have killed somebody.

One thing thats been unclear was if Depp had any remorse for how the trial  a bitter and often theatrical legal battle played out in front of cameras  unfolded. Depp became a hero to some right-wing critics of so-called cancel culture. Asked if he had any misgivings about the supporters he attracted, Depp responded:

I did notice that people actually opened their mouths about it. At that time, that was brave.

Not for a moment will I regret anything unless Ive done something horrible to someone, which I havent, Depp added. Im not going to regret being taken down a strange road for that period of time because I learned so much more about myself.

Jeanne du Barry, directed by the French filmmaker and actor Maiwenn, is Depps first film in three years. Maiwenn stars as Jeanne Vaubernier, a working-class woman who becomes Louis XVs mistress. Depp speaks French in the film, which doesnt yet have U.S. distribution. Maiwenn, too, is a controversial figure. She recently admitted to assaulting prominent French journalist Edwy Plenel at a cafe, yanking his hair back and spitting in his face.

Its not the only business Depp has in Cannes. Hes seeking financing for Modi, a biopic of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani that he hopes to shoot this fall, with Al Pacino attached. Depp, who will perform next week at a London tribute for the late Jeff Beck, a close friend, also recently renewed his contract with Dior in a $20 million deal.

I dont know the image of Johnny Depp in the U.S., Cannes director Thierry Fremaux said Monday. If Johnny Depp had been banned from acting in a film, or the film was banned, we wouldnt be here talking about it.

And theres been plenty of conversation generated by Depps appearance in Cannes, even in reviews havent been good. Times Stephanie Zacharek called it less a comeback than a tepid lurching into a very small spotlight. But the overall reception has been warm. Depp, who said he lives 45 minutes away, was taken aback by the thrall.

I didnt know what planet I was on, he said, smiling.

Speaking to reporters in the festival press conference, Depp mocked the idea that he has many critics, likening anyone who protested his presence in Cannes to some species, some tower of mashed potatoes, covered in the light of a computer screen, anonymous, with apparently a lot of spare time.

Sitting on a terrace overlooking the Cannes Croisette later, Depp appeared relaxed and jovial, though his thoughts remained fixed on his legal battles with Heard.

Youre not powerless but youve been postponed, he said of how he felt before the trial. At that point, I just thought: F--- it. Ive been lucky. Ive been around for a long time. Ive made a lot of films. Thats, I suppose, my legacy. Alright. I can live with that. I didnt do anything wrong. But he said after years of swimming through that horrible molasses, he came out much stronger.

Depp said in the press conference that he has no further need for Hollywood. In the interview, he said he remains intent on making more films but outside the studio system. At the same time, Depp rejected that he was ever really a movie star in the first place.

Thats the last thing to call me, he said. For 20 years they never mentioned that until Pirates 1. Oh, hes a movie star now! We like him!

Many have portrayed Depps Cannes return as an attempt to win back moviegoers after a thoroughly revealing trial. Depp says hes not trying to convince anyone of anything. To him, theres no such thing as an unsullied movie star.

You mean peoples obsession that everybody must be Doris Day? Even Doris Day wasnt Doris Day. They have to know that, Depp said. And Rock Hudson certainly wasnt Rock Hudson. I can only try to offer that I feel like might be interesting or different.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition
Organelles -- the bits and pieces of RNA and protein within a cell -- play important roles in human health and disease, such as maintaining homeostasis, regulating growth and aging, and generating energy. Organelle diversity in cells not only exists between cell types but also individual cells. Studying these differences helps researchers better understand cell function, leading to improved therapeutics to treat various diseases.

In two papers out of the lab of Ahmet F. Coskun, a Bernie Marcus Early Career professor in the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, researchers examined a specific type of stem cell with an intracellular toolkit to determine which cells are most likely to create effective cell therapies.

"We are studying the placement of organelles within cells and how they communicate to help better treat disease," said Coskun. "Our recent work proposes the use of an intracellular toolkit to map organelle bio-geography in stem cells that could lead to more precise therapies."

Creating the Subcellular Omics Toolkit

The first study -- published in Scientific Reports, a Nature portfolio journal -- looked at mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that have historically offered promising treatments for repairing defective cells or modulating the immune response in patients. In a series of experiments, the researchers were able to create a data-driven, single-cell approach through rapid subcellular proteomic imaging that enabled personalized stem cell therapeutics.

The researchers then implemented a rapid multiplexed immunofluorescence technique in which they used antibodies designed to target specific organelles. By fluorescing antibodies, they tracked wavelengths and signals to compile images of many different cells, creating maps. These maps then enabled researchers to see the spatial organization of organelle contacts and geographical spread in similar cells to determine which cell types would best treat various diseases.

"Usually, the stem cells are used to repair defective cells or treat immune diseases, but our micro-study of these specific cells showed just how different they can be from one another," said Coskun. "This proved that patient treatment population and customized isolation of the stem cells identities and their bioenergetic organelle function should be considered when selecting the tissue source. In other words, in treating a specific disease, it might be better to harvest the same type of cell from different locations depending on the patient's needs."

RNA-RNA Proximity Matters

In the next study published this week in Cell Reports Methods, the researchers took the toolkit a step further, studying the spatial organization of multiple neighboring RNA molecules in single cells, which are important to cellular function. The researchers evolved the tool by combining machine learning and spatial transcriptomics. They found that analyzing the variations of gene proximity for classification of cell types was more accurate that analyzing gene expression only.

"The physical interactions between molecules create life; therefore, the physical locations and proximity of these molecules play important roles," said Coskun. "We created an intracellular toolkit of subcellular gene neighborhood networks in each cell's different geographical parts to take a closer look at this."

The experiment consisted of two parts: the development of computational methods and experiments at the lab bench. The researchers examined published datasets and an algorithm to group RNA molecules based on their physical location. This "nearest neighbor" algorithm helped determine gene groupings. On the bench, researchers then labeled RNA molecules with fluorescents to easily locate them in single cells. They then uncovered many features from the distribution of RNA molecules, such as how genes are likely to be in similar subcellular locations.

Cell therapy requires many cells with highly similar phenotypes, and if there are subtypes of unknown cells in therapeutic cells, researchers cannot predict the behavior of these cells once injected into patients. With these tools, more cells of the same type can be identified, and distinct stem cell subsets with uncommon gene programs can be isolated.

"We are expanding the toolkit for the subcellular spatial organization of molecules -- a 'Swiss Army Knife' for the subcellular spatial omics field, if you will," said Coskun. "The goal is to measure, quantify, and model multiple independent but also interrelated molecular events in each cell with multiple functionalities. The end purpose is to define a cell's function that can achieve high energy, Lego-like modular gene neighborhood networks and diverse cellular decisions."

This research is funded by Regenerative Engineering and Medicine at Georgia Tech, as well as the NSF Engineering Research Center for Cell Manufacturing Technologies (CMaT).
To study ocean currents, scientists release GPS-tagged buoys in the ocean and record their velocities to reconstruct the currents that transport them. These buoy data are also used to identify "divergences," which are areas where water rises up from below the surface or sinks beneath it.

By accurately predicting currents and pinpointing divergences, scientists can more precisely forecast the weather, approximate how oil will spread after a spill, or measure energy transfer in the ocean. A new model that incorporates machine learning makes more accurate predictions than conventional models do, a new study reports.

A multidisciplinary research team including computer scientists at MIT and oceanographers has found that a standard statistical model typically used on buoy data can struggle to accurately reconstruct currents or identify divergences because it makes unrealistic assumptions about the behavior of water.

The researchers developed a new model that incorporates knowledge from fluid dynamics to better reflect the physics at work in ocean currents. They show that their method, which only requires a small amount of additional computational expense, is more accurate at predicting currents and identifying divergences than the traditional model.

This new model could help oceanographers make more accurate estimates from buoy data, which would enable them to more effectively monitor the transportation of biomass (such as Sargassum seaweed), carbon, plastics, oil, and nutrients in the ocean. This information is also important for understanding and tracking climate change.

"Our method captures the physical assumptions more appropriately and more accurately. In this case, we know a lot of the physics already. We are giving the model a little bit of that information so it can focus on learning the things that are important to us, like what are the currents away from the buoys, or what is this divergence and where is it happening?" says senior author Tamara Broderick, an associate professor in MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and a member of the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems and the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society.

Broderick's co-authors include lead author Renato Berlinghieri, an electrical engineering and computer science graduate student; Brian L. Trippe, a postdoc at Columbia University; David R. Burt and Ryan Giordano, MIT postdocs; Kaushik Srinivasan, an assistant researcher in atmospheric and ocean sciences at the University of California at Los Angeles; Tamay Ozgokmen, professor in the Department of Ocean Sciences at the University of Miami; and Junfei Xia, a graduate student at the University of Miami. The research will be presented at the International Conference on Machine Learning.

Diving into the data

Oceanographers use data on buoy velocity to predict ocean currents and identify "divergences" where water rises to the surface or sinks deeper.

To estimate currents and find divergences, oceanographers have used a machine-learning technique known as a Gaussian process, which can make predictions even when data are sparse. To work well in this case, the Gaussian process must make assumptions about the data to generate a prediction.

A standard way of applying a Gaussian process to oceans data assumes the latitude and longitude components of the current are unrelated. But this assumption isn't physically accurate. For instance, this existing model implies that a current's divergence and its vorticity (a whirling motion of fluid) operate on the same magnitude and length scales. Ocean scientists know this is not true, Broderick says. The previous model also assumes the frame of reference matters, which means fluid would behave differently in the latitude versus the longitude direction.

"We were thinking we could address these problems with a model that incorporates the physics," she says.

They built a new model that uses what is known as a Helmholtz decomposition to accurately represent the principles of fluid dynamics. This method models an ocean current by breaking it down into a vorticity component (which captures the whirling motion) and a divergence component (which captures water rising or sinking).

In this way, they give the model some basic physics knowledge that it uses to make more accurate predictions.

This new model utilizes the same data as the old model. And while their method can be more computationally intensive, the researchers show that the additional cost is relatively small.

Buoyant performance

They evaluated the new model using synthetic and real ocean buoy data. Because the synthetic data were fabricated by the researchers, they could compare the model's predictions to ground-truth currents and divergences. But simulation involves assumptions that may not reflect real life, so the researchers also tested their model using data captured by real buoys released in the Gulf of Mexico.

In each case, their method demonstrated superior performance for both tasks, predicting currents and identifying divergences, when compared to the standard Gaussian process and another machine-learning approach that used a neural network. For example, in one simulation that included a vortex adjacent to an ocean current, the new method correctly predicted no divergence while the previous Gaussian process method and the neural network method both predicted a divergence with very high confidence.

The technique is also good at identifying vortices from a small set of buoys, Broderick adds.

Now that they have demonstrated the effectiveness of using a Helmholtz decomposition, the researchers want to incorporate a time element into their model, since currents can vary over time as well as space. In addition, they want to better capture how noise impacts the data, such as winds that sometimes affect buoy velocity. Separating that noise from the data could make their approach more accurate.

"Our hope is to take this noisily observed field of velocities from the buoys, and then say what is the actual divergence and actual vorticity, and predict away from those buoys, and we think that our new technique will be helpful for this," she says.

This research is supported, in part, by the Office of Naval Research, a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, and the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science at the University of Miami.
Climate change is likely to abruptly push species over tipping points as their geographic ranges reach unforeseen temperatures, finds a new study led by a UCL researcher.

The new Nature Ecology & Evolution study predicts when and where climate change is likely to expose species across the globe to potentially dangerous temperatures.

The research team from UCL, University of Cape Town, University of Connecticut and University at Buffalo analysed data from over 35,000 species of animals (including mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, corals, fish, cephalopods and plankton) and seagrasses from every continent and ocean basin, alongside climate projections running up to 2100.

The researchers investigated when areas within each species geographical range will cross a threshold of thermal exposure, defined as the first five consecutive years where temperatures consistently exceed the most extreme monthly temperature experienced by a species across its geographic range over recent history (1850-2014).

Once the thermal exposure threshold is crossed, the animal is not necessarily going to die out, but there is no evidence that it is able to survive the higher temperatures  that is, the research projects that for many species there could be an abrupt loss of habitat due to future climate change.

The researchers found a consistent trend that for many animals, the thermal exposure threshold will be crossed for much of their geographic range within the same decade.

Lead author Dr Alex Pigot (UCL Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research, UCL Biosciences) said: It is unlikely that climate change will gradually make environments more difficult for animals to survive in. Instead, for many animals, large swaths of their geographic range are likely to become unfamiliarly hot in a short span of time.

While some animals may be able to survive these higher temperatures, many other animals will need to move to cooler regions or evolve to adapt, which they likely cannot do in such short timeframes.

Our findings suggest that once we start to notice that a species is suffering under unfamiliar conditions, there may be very little time before most of its range becomes inhospitable, so its important that we identify in advance which species may be at risk in coming decades.

The researchers found that the extent of global warming makes a big difference: if the planet warms by 1.5C, 15% of species they studied will be at risk of experiencing unfamiliarly hot temperatures across at least 30% of their existing geographic range in a single decade, but this doubles to 30% of species at 2.5C of warming.

Dr Pigot added: Our study is yet another example of why we need to urgently reduce carbon emissions to mitigate the harmful effects climate change is having on animals and plants, and avoid a massive extinction crisis.

The researchers hope that their study could help with targeting conservation efforts, as their data provides an early warning system showing when and where particular animals are likely to be at risk.

Co-author Dr Christopher Trisos (African Climate and Development Initiative, University of Cape Town) said: In the past weve had snapshots to show the impact of climate change, but here we are presenting the data more like a film, where you can see the changes unfold over time. This shows that for many species the risk is a bit like everything, everywhere, all at once. By animating this process, we hope to help direct conservation efforts before its too late, while also showing the potentially catastrophic consequences of letting climate change continue unchecked.

The researchers say that this pattern of abrupt exposure may be an inevitable feature of living on a round planet  because of the shape of the Earth, there is more area available to species in environments near the hot end of what they are used to, such as in low-lying areas or near the equator.

A previous study by the same lead authors found that even if we stop climate change so that global temperatures peak and start to decline, the risks to biodiversity could persist for decades after.* In another analysis similar to the current study, they found that many species facing unfamiliar temperatures will be living alongside other animals experiencing similar temperature shocks, which could pose grave risks to local ecosystem function.**

The study was supported by the Royal Society, the Natural Environment Research Council, the National Science Foundation (US), the African Academy of Sciences and NASA.

* https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2022/jun/biodiversity-risks-persist-well-beyond-future-global-temperature-peak

** https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/apr/climate-change-could-cause-sudden-biodiversity-losses-worldwide
Once again, the Popocatepetl volcano in Mexico has become active, emitting massive ash clouds that led to the closure of schools in 11 nearby villages. Phys.org reported that local residents and scientists, equipped with a network of sensors, cameras, and advanced technology, are meticulously observing every tremor and eruption of the volcano.

The country's National Center for Disaster Prevention reported multiple "moderate" explosions occurring at Popocatepetl, which is renowned as one of the country's most active volcanoes. This activity has drawn the attention of researchers, who are constantly monitoring the volcano's behavior and gathering data to better understand its patterns and potential risks.

Experts Closely Monitoring El Popo's Volcanic Activity

For nearly three decades, Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano, affectionately known as "El Popo," has been consistently emitting toxic fumes, ash, and incandescent rocks since it awakened from a long period of dormancy in 1994. Located 45 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of Mexico City, the volcano poses a visible and closely monitored threat to the area's 22 million residents.

With the potential to disrupt air traffic and blanket the city in choking ash, the volcano is the most prominent and watched hazard in the region. To closely monitor its activity, six cameras, a thermal imaging device, and 12 seismological monitoring stations are positioned around the volcano's summit, relaying continuous data to a command center in Mexico City.

A team of 13 scientists from various disciplines takes shifts at the command center, which operates 24/7. As Phys.org reported, the team's primary focus is to provide advance warning of impending ash clouds, as this allows people to take necessary precautions. Unlike earthquakes, a volcanic eruption often provides longer warning times, making the behavior of Popocatepetl relatively predictable.

The command center analyzes data from seismographs, which detect internal tremors in the volcano, indicating the movement of hot rock and gas within its vents. Additionally, they monitor gas levels in nearby springs and at the summit, as well as wind patterns that help predict the direction in which ash could be carried.

According to Reuters, the recent intensification of the volcano's activity has prompted Mexican authorities to cancel in-person classes for over 100,000 students in towns surrounding Popocatepetl. Concerns about falling ash and harmful gas inhalation have led to a temporary shift to online classes and the possibility of large-scale evacuations if the situation worsens.

READ ALSO: Kilauea Volcanic Eruption Finally Ceased After 61 Days; USGS Confirms Lava No Longer Flowing

El Popo's Volcanic Activity This Week

The Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History Global Volcanism Program is one of those closely monitoring El Popo's activity this week. On their website, it reported data from Mexico's Centro Nacional de Prevencion de Desastres (CENAPRED) and various satellites. Below are the following El Popo's activities this week:

May 9-16, CENAPRED reported daily steam, gas, and ash emissions, as well as minor-to-moderate explosions at Popocatepetl volcano.

Plumes from the emissions primarily drifted in the southeast (SE), east-southeast (ESE), and east-northeast (ENE) directions.

Minor explosions occurred on multiple days at various times, with some notable instances on May 9 to 15.

Ashfall was reported in nearby areas, including Tlalmanalco and Tetela del Volcan, between May 9 to 10, and in Nealtican, Huejotzingo, and Domingo Arenas on May 13.

The volcano's network detected ash plumes rising to altitudes of 6.1-7.3 km (20,000-24,000 ft) above sea level, drifting east and southeast, as observed by satellite images.

The Alert Level remained at Yellow, Phase Two, indicating a middle level of volcanic activity on the three-color scale.

CENAPRED advised people to respect the 12 km exclusion radius and avoid ascending the volcano.



RELATED ARTICLE: Popocatepetl Erupts Twice Sending Smoke And Ashes In Mexico

Check out more news and information on Volcanic Eruption in Science Times.
A member of a health brigade fumigates a street to prevent the spread of dengue in the San Juan de Lurigancho district in Lima, on May 11.

Since 2022, Latin America has seen a significant increase in cases of dengue, and dengue-related deaths, compared to previous years. According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), climate-related factors have caused it to spread in multiple countries in the south, center and north of the continent.

The mosquito that spreads dengue, Aedes aegypti, has been in the Americas for five centuries, since ships transported enslaved people from Africa to the New World on a voyage that lasted a little more than two months. The insect matures from an egg to a mosquito over seven to 10 days and lives up to a month. Today, it spreads fatal diseases in Latin America and part of the United States, including dengue, yellow fever, sika and canine dirofilariasis. Dengue was first identified by the Swahili people in Eastern Africa, who describe it as an attack similar to cramps or chills. It is characterized by high fever and muscle pain that can be fatal.

The PAHOs epidemiological report indicates that a variant of the insect, the Aedes albopictus or tiger mosquito, also exists in the Southern Cone, Central America and part of Mexico and the southern United States. This species has some resistance to insecticides and chemicals, according to the observations of specialists from the Medical Entomology department of Japans National Institute of Infectious Diseases.

How is dengue spread?

It is contracted through a bite from a female mosquito. By extracting blood from humans, the insect feeds its eggs, which it lays in places with standing water in containers like buckets, cups, planters, flower vases and water dishes for pets. During its life cycle, the mosquito can lay up to five dozen eggs.

How can dengue transmission be prevented?

The PAHOs recommendations to prevent dengue include eliminating potential egg-laying sites from homes and common areas; reorganizing trash collection services; and defining the areas of high risk to prioritize those with crowds of people, including schools, transportation terminals, hospitals and health centers.

In addition to those suggestions, federal governments, including that of Colombia, recommend the use of repellent on uncovered body parts; wearing long sleeves and long pants; using mosquito nets at home; refilling unused septic tanks or drains; picking up trash and keeping open spaces clean.

Brazil

Cases of dengue in Brazil have proliferated since December 2022. Two factors contributed to its spread: last years heavy rains and the increase in temperatures caused by climate change. The latest data from the Ministry of Health indicate that, in 2021, there were more than 1.4 million cases in the country, leading to 980 deaths.

The Ministrys projections for this year are worse: it could reach more than 1,000 deaths, almost three per day.

Most of the cases are concentrated in the center-west and southern regions, according to Infodengue, an alert system based on hybrid data generated through analysis of social networks, climate and epidemiological data. The states with the highest rates of contagion are Sao Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso and Amazonia.

Argentina

One of the Argentine governments key health goals is the elimination of dengue. By mid-May 2023, according to official data, 39 people had died from dengue. The authorities, through the National Administration of Drugs, Food and Medical Devices, approved the use of the vaccine against the disease.

The vaccines active ingredient is made by the Japanese laboratory Takeda, which has the patent on Riopan. Two doses will be administered over a period of three months to everyone over four years old, whether or not they have previously contracted the disease.

The vaccine, according to the Japanese laboratory, is named TAK-003 or Qdenga. It protects against all of the viruss serotypes with an effectiveness of up to 80%.

Until a little more than a month ago, when its last epidemiological report was published, Argentina had registered 56,324 cases of dengue. 92% of cases occurred in 13 of its 23 provinces. As in neighboring countries, the increase in temperatures is a contributing factor. The country currently faces a heat wave that could be the longest it has experienced in over a century.

Bolivia

Bolivia is also a focal point for Latin Americas dengue epidemic. In Santa Cruz de la Sierra, a city to the southeast of La Paz, the Andean countrys capital, 11 dengue deaths had been registered by February of this year, including three babies.

At that time, citizens demanded that Luis Arces government declare a health emergency, which it did not do.

Mexico

Mexico is not an exception when it comes to the spread of dengue. The Mexican government, which has an actively updated calendar that tracks cases of the disease, had documented 2,420 active cases for the week of May 8, including three deaths. The same report details that only 10 of the countrys 32 states have not reported cases: Aguascalientes, Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Mexico City, Mexico State, Guanajuato, Queretaro, Tlaxcala and Zacatecas.

If the virus attacks the circulatory system and causes shock and internal bleeding, it can cause death in hours. Dengue acts very quickly, said Luis del Carpio, a virologist and internist, in an interview with EL PAIS. He added that the diseases mortality rate has increased as it becomes more resistant and spreads to regions where it did not previously exist.

The weekly report indicates that all possible serotypes exist in Mexico. 85% of confirmed cases are in Quintana Roo, Yucatan, Veracruz, Guerrero, Tabasco and Chiapas, which have a climate that is apt for mosquitos.

What is happening with dengue in the Southern Cone, Central America and the Andean region?

Since 2007, the epidemic has grown in South America, starting in Paraguay and extending to neighboring nations including Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Now, 16 years later, Chile has also issued health alerts in seven of its states, as it detected the insects last week.

According to the PAHOs latest epidemiological report, the Southern Cone had around 84.65 cases for every 100,000 residents. The Andean region had 78.55 cases for every 100,000, and Mexico and the Central American isthmus reported 18.77 cases per 100,000 residents.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition
Members of the Group of Seven visit the Peace Memorial Park as part of the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima on May 19, 2023.

Leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies vowed Friday to tighten punishments on Russia for its 15-month invasion of Ukraine, days before President Volodymyr Zelenskiy joins the Group of Seven summit in person on Sunday.

Our support for Ukraine will not waver, the G7 leaders said in a statement released after closed-door meetings, vowing to stand together against Russias illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. Russia started this war and can end this war, they said.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, confirmed on national television that Zelenskiy would attend the summit.

We were sure that our president would be where Ukraine needed him, in any part of the world, to solve the issue of stability of our country, Danilov said Friday. There will be very important matters decided there, so physical presence is a crucial thing to defend our interests.

Zelenskiy announced Friday that he had opened a visit to Saudi Arabia, where Arab leaders were holding a summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putins nuclear threats against Ukraine, along with North Koreas months-long barrage of missile tests and Chinas rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal, have resonated with Japans push to make nuclear disarmament a major part of the G7 summit. World leaders Friday visited a peace park dedicated to the tens of thousands who died in the worlds first wartime atomic bomb detonation.

After group photos near the citys iconic bombed-out dome, a wreath-laying and a symbolic cherry tree planting, a new round of sanctions were unveiled against Moscow, with a focus on redoubling efforts to enforce existing sanctions meant to stifle Russias war effort and hold accountable those behind it, a U.S. official said. Russia is now the most-sanctioned country in the world, but there are questions about the effectiveness of the financial penalties.

The U.S. component of the actions would blacklist about 70 Russian and third-country entities involved in Russias defense production, and sanction more than 300 individuals, entities, aircraft and vessels, said a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the announcement.

The official said the other G7 nations would undertake similar steps to further isolate Russia and to undermine its ability to wage war in Ukraine. Details were to emerge throughout the weekend summit.

The G7 nations said in Fridays statement that they would work to keep Russia from using the international financial system to prosecute its war, would further restrict Russias access to our economies and would prevent sanctions evasion by Moscow.

They urged other nations to stop providing Russia with support and weapons or face severe costs.

The European Union was focused on closing loopholes and plans to restrict trade in Russian diamonds, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, told reporters Friday.

The UK also announced new sanctions that freeze the assets of 86 people and organizations connected to Russias energy, metals, defense, transport and financial sectors.

We need to give Ukraine the tools now to successfully defend itself and regain full sovereignty and territorial integrity. We should provide Ukraine the necessary military and financial support. And we have to do this as long as it takes, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, wants nuclear disarmament to be a major focus of discussions, and he formally started the summit at Hiroshimas Peace Memorial Park. The visit by world leaders to a park dedicated to preserving reminders of Aug. 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, provided a striking backdrop to the start of the summit. An estimated 140,000 people were killed in the attack, and a fast-dwindling number of now-elderly survivors have ensured that Hiroshima has become synonymous with anti-nuclear peace efforts.

Honestly, I have big doubts if Mr. Kishida, who is pursuing a military buildup and seeking to revise the pacifist constitution, can really discuss nuclear disarmament, Sueichi Kido, an 83-year-old hibakusha or survivor of the Nagasaki explosion, told The Associated Press. But because they are meeting in Hiroshima, I do have a sliver of hope that they will have positive talks and make a tiny step toward nuclear disarmament.

Biden, who scrapped plans to travel on to Papua New Guinea and Australia after his stay in Japan so that he can get back to debt limit talks in Washington, arranged to meet Saturday on the G-7 sidelines with leaders of the so-called Quad partnership, made up of Japan, Australia, India and the U.S.

The four originally had been scheduled to meet in Australia as part of Bidens effort to revitalize relationships in the Indo-Pacific.

On Thursday night, Kishida opened the global diplomacy by sitting down with President Joe Biden. Kishida also held talks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The Japan-U.S. alliance is the very foundation of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region, Kishida told Biden. Japan, facing threats from authoritarian China, Russia and North Korea, has been expanding its military but also relies on 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan and U.S. military might.

We very much welcome that the cooperation has evolved in leaps and bounds, Kishida said.

Biden said: When our countries stand together, we stand stronger, and I believe the whole world is safer when we do.

As G7 attendees made their way to Hiroshima, Moscow unleashed yet another aerial attack on the Ukrainian capital. Loud explosions thundered through Kyiv during the early hours, marking the ninth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the city after weeks of relative quiet.

The United States has frozen Russian Central Bank funds, restricted banks access to SWIFT  the dominant system for global financial transactions  and sanctioned thousands of Russian firms, government officials, oligarchs and their families.

The Group of Seven nations collectively imposed a $60 per-barrel price cap on Russian oil and diesel last year, which the U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday defended in a new progress report, stating that the cap has been successful in suppressing Russian oil revenues. Treasury cites Russian Ministry of Finance data showing that the Kremlins oil revenues from January to March this year were more than 40% lower than last year.

The economic impact of sanctions depends largely on the extent to which a targeted country is able to circumvent them, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report. So for the past month, U.S. Treasury officials have traveled across Europe and Central Asia to press countries that still do business with the Kremlin to cut their financial ties.

The challenge is to make sure the sanctions are painful against Russia, not against ourselves, said Michel. Its very clear that each package is more difficult than the previous one and requires more political effort to make a decision.

G7 leaders and invited guests from several other counties are also expected to discuss how to deal with Chinas growing assertiveness and military buildup as concerns rise that it could try to seize Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict. China claims the self-governing island as its own, and its ships and warplanes regularly patrol near it.

In a bit of dueling diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting the leaders of the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for a two-day summit in the Chinese city of Xian.

The leaders are due to discuss efforts to strengthen the global economy and address rising prices that are squeezing families and government budgets around the world, particularly in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The G7 includes Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition
The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, is eager to explain the actions he took on Wednesday, when he dissolved the countrys National Assembly and called early legislative and presidential elections. Five months ago, another South American president, Perus Pedro Castillo, also announced the dissolution of congress in a televised address. The move, made hours before Castillo was to face a third no-confidence vote, represented a kind of improvised coup detat  and saw him end up in prison. Lasso stresses that what has happened in Ecuador this week is very different. He has triggered article 148 of the countrys constitution, a provision known as muerta cruzada, or mutual death. It gives him the power to dissolve congress if there is a serious political crisis. On a table next to where he is sitting, there is a print-out of the terms of the article. Lasso holds it up several times during our interview, even reading one of its paragraphs in full at one point. Its his way of saying that what he has done is legal.

Lasso believes he had good reason for his decision. He sees himself as a victim of persecution by certain factions that have sought to have him removed from office four times in two years. A day before dissolving congress, the president appeared in the National Assembly to defend himself amid an impeachment process initiated against him over alleged embezzlement. At that point, he already knew that the following day he would strike a blow that would halt the trial, sending lawmakers home before they could vote on his potential removal. Lasso denies that it was a move designed to sidestep impeachment; rather, he says, it was the countrys only way forward.

Sitting in his office on Thursday, the slightly built Lasso, who favors a blazer and jeans, looks as calm as ever. He has barely slept over the past two days, but he says he feels better now than at any point in the last five months. He will no longer have to contend with an opposition-led congress and, governing by decree, aims to do in six months what he had planned to do in two years. Ecuadors security situation is as fragile as it has ever been, but the president insists that his measures are beginning to bear fruit, with homicides down over the past month. He wants to keep on working on that as the country prepares for another election, just two years after he came to power.

Lasso refuses to be drawn on whether hell run for the presidency again, saying that this is not the time to think about that. However, he seems to suggest that hes likelier not to seek re-election, telling EL PAIS: Id really like to see my grandchildren grow up in person, rather than in photos or videos on WhatsApp.

Question. What will you do as president in the coming months?

Answer. Ill govern Ecuador with a particular focus on four issues: citizen security, health, education and infrastructure. Well try to do in six months what we had intended to do in two years.

Q. Youre a staunch defender of democracy, and the National Assembly is a pillar of the Ecuadorian democratic system. Do you feel comfortable ruling by decree?

A. Lets make one thing clear right from the start: you dont get to rule by decree all on your own. The terms of article 148 of the constitution clearly say that I can issue economic emergency executive orders, nothing else, and that they have to be approved by the Constitutional Court. So Im not governing on my own. The Constitutional Court acts as a counterbalance to the executive branch.

Q. Ahead of the snap ballot that youve called, wont the electoral process be distorted by a build-up in which there is no Congress as counterweight to you as president?

A. This is Ecuadors first experience of the application of article 148, which allows the president to dissolve the National Assembly. Ill be honest with you: the regime in Ecuador is a presidential regime, and this article, 148, corresponds more to a parliamentary regime. Theres a kind of hybrid there. Ive never liked it, but I had no option but to apply it in the face of the gridlock caused by part of the National Assembly, leading to a political crisis without a solution.

Q. Who is behind what you consider to be a political persecution?

A. In my two years in government, there have been four attempts to remove me from office. I dont want to believe that this has happened because my government has confiscated 420 tons of drugs in two years  five times the amount confiscated by the two previous governments in the 15 years before my administration. And I also dont want to believe that Ive been facing a political trial because Ive fought against corruption when it comes to insurance, when it comes to an assault on the national polices social security system; or because Ive fought against corruption in the oil industry and against those who seek to control state companies as if they were their own personal assets.

Q. Are you saying that there are links between drug trafficking and the Ecuadorian political world?

A. Thats what Im saying. Unfortunately, in the 15 years before my government, a kind of relationship between politics and drug trafficking was formed.

Q. Can you point the finger at a particular political group?

A. Im not going to do that. Obviously, when the time comes Ill do so with evidence to back that up, not just a statement based on the experience I have of this issue.

Q. Do you feel supported?

A. I did it [dissolved Congress] because I felt supported by public opinion, by the citizens of this country.

Q. Do you feel a greater degree of support now than in February, when a majority of voters rejected your proposals in a referendum?

A. I think so. The level of gridlock in the National Assembly, and the way it was behaving, was something that we couldnt have envisioned.

Q. Do you believe you would have lost the impeachment vote?

A. The decision I made goes beyond an analysis of that. I went to the National Assembly on Tuesday, I fronted up, I defended myself and I offered clear arguments. Firstly, were talking about contracts signed under the previous government, not mine. Secondly, were talking about a report by the comptrollers office about contracts signed under the previous government, not mine. And in the report, there is no recommendation that the contracts should be suspended; it limits itself to making three technical recommendations that I applied, and that as a consequence saw the [state oil transportation] company Flopec go from losing $50 million a year to earning $180 million. State companies are autonomous  they dont allow for the interference of the president of the Republic. They are governed by their own administrator. A crime has been invented that doesnt even exist in Ecuadors criminal code: embezzlement by omission. In other words, embezzlement through not having acted when I had no reason to act, because theyre independent companies.

Q. When you defended yourself in the National Assembly on Tuesday, did you already know that you were going to dissolve Congress the following day?

A. I had to do that [go to Congress]. I owed it to myself, to my family, to my supporters and to every citizen of Ecuador. I couldnt trigger muerte cruzada before appearing in Congress, because that would have looked very bad. I wanted to carry out the process to the letter: go to Congress to defend myself, face the whole country, and then make the decision I made.

Q. Is it a way of sidestepping your impeachment trial?

A. I was confident about the votes Id get: the opposition didnt have enough votes to remove me from office. But this isnt a question of votes. Its a question that goes beyond that: Ive chosen to govern for six months in purgatory, rather than governing for two years in hell.

Q. What day did you know that you were going to apply article 148?

A. Its a hugely significant decision. Its not like choosing between vanilla or chocolate ice cream. Its a decision that affects 18 million Ecuadorians, that affects Ecuadors international relations. Its something that Ive had in my head pretty much throughout my tenure. Why? Because of the attempts to remove me from office.

Q. Are you going to run in the next elections?

A. Thats a subject that Im not thinking about for now. My priority is to work on the security of the Ecuadorian people. Were making progress on the security situation in the province of Esmeraldas, which has been the countrys most violent province in recent years. Weve now gone a month with practically no violent deaths. The state of emergency has worked, the support of the armed forces has worked, and the message of declaring organized criminal groups as terrorists has really frightened them.

Guillermo Lasso, shows during the interview, a banner with articles of the Ecuadorian Constitution. Ana Maria BUITRoN

Q. Were you to run for president, would you win the election?

A. Im not going to speculate about scenarios that Im not currently thinking about.

Q. But you must have discussed it with those closest to you.

A. Of course. With my children, with my wife Id also really like to see my grandchildren grow up in person, rather than in photos or videos on WhatsApp. So yes, of course. Ive dedicated nearly 15 years of my life to politics and, well, its demanding. In this job, you work 17 hours a day. On Tuesday, I started at 7am and didnt go to bed until Wednesday at 11pm.

Q. Februarys local elections in Ecuador saw strong support for Correismo, the political movement built around former president Rafael Correa. Arent you giving it a greater chance of returning to power by calling early elections?

A. No. In a sense, this is a call to the political class, to the tendency that I represent, for a kind of national agreement that allows us to preserve democracy, to preserve liberal democratic principles and humanist policies like the ones that weve applied in the first two years of my government.

Q. Correa also considers himself a victim of political persecution. What are your thoughts on his situation?

A. To be honest, its such an old subject now that, in a way, the time for analysis of the issue has expired.

Q. But his name is still current.

A. Names dont expire, but political careers do.

Q. Do you think his political career is over?

A. He cant take part in electoral processes, because he has a conviction against him.

Q. So Correa doesnt decide candidates or pull the strings in his party from exile in Belgium?

A. Without doubt. Were not going to deny that he remains politically active, contributing to his partys success in the mayoral elections in Quito and Guayaquil [in February].

Q. Earlier in this interview, you claimed that the impeachment process against you was a reaction to the increased confiscation of drugs. But isnt it also true that the presence of criminal groups has risen in Ecuador?

A. No. What weve done is attack their economic structure and discourage them. Weve worked with the Ecuadorian and Colombian armed forces in the border region and have managed to pretty much deactivate 110 cocaine laboratories with a capacity to produce 2,500 tons a year. Its not that there are new groups  on the contrary. The actions taken by this government have discouraged drug trafficking on Ecuadorian soil.

Q. In response, the country is witnessing its worst ever wave of violence.

A. Is witnessing? No, weve improved things substantially. There can be no doubting that in August or September 2021, after I had come to power and we began taking a strong stance in terms of drug confiscation, these transnational criminal groups realized that in Ecuador there was a government that was going to face up to them in the way we have.

Q. Do you accept that you have made mistakes over the course of these two years?

A. My government, like any other in the world, isnt perfect. Ive made mistakes when it has come to communication. Thats something were now correcting. It was a consequence of focusing on action: on delivering results over communicating these results. And in politics, what isnt communicated doesnt exist.

Q. Its said that there are no good governments with bad communication.

A. Ive unquestionably experienced that first-hand.

Q. Is it striking to you that you have dissolved Congress, yet nobody has taken to the streets in protest?

A. At this moment in time, I dont find it very striking, because the National Assemblys reputation had deteriorated to the point where its approval rating fell to 2% or 3%. If you do an online poll, youll find that the dissolution of Congress has an approval rating of 73%. Whats being seen on social media is a reflection of whats happening on the streets, where there is absolute normality.

Q. Before going into politics, you were a banker for many years. Is it harder than you expected to make changes to the country?

A. In economic terms, Ecuador has a structure of fuel subsidies that is equivalent to 3.5% of its gross domestic product, close to $4 billion. Its difficult to make changes because of the social impact of these subsidies. Theyve somehow become generalized and arent focused on the most vulnerable sections of society. Thats a change that is really difficult to make.

Q. Youre a self-made man, becoming a successful banker despite being born into a family of modest resources. How did you amass a fortune that led you to have 14 financial enterprises in Panama and the United States? [This was revealed in the Pandora Papers, a global investigation coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), in which EL PAIS participated and the newspaper El Universo took the lead in Ecuador.]

A. What you say isnt true. I have never had any such enterprises anywhere in the world. Where I am a shareholder, and I made that clear in my declaration of assets when I took office, is the Banco de Guayaquil. How do you come to have such assets? By working very hard from the age of 15. A friend of mine said to me: Youre very lucky in life. And I replied: Yes, the harder I work, the luckier I get.

Q. Do you fear leaving office with the feeling that you havent completed the job?

A. These last few weeks have been weeks devoted to reflecting on whether or not to make the decision to trigger article 148 of the constitution. My conscience is clear; weve achieved a lot.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition
On May 10, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered final judgments against Chicago Crypto Capital LLC ("CCC"), its owner, Brian Amoah, and former salesman Elbert "Al" Elliott, whom the SEC previously charged with violations of the federal securities laws.

According to the SEC's complaint, from August 2018 through November 2019, CCC, Amoah, and Elliott acted as unregistered brokers and conducted an unregistered offering of BXY tokens, illegally raising at least $1.5 million in proceeds from approximately 100 individuals, many of whom had no experience investing in crypto assets. The complaint alleged that each of the defendants made materially false and misleading statements in the offer, purchase, and/or sale of BXY tokens, including about the custody and delivery of BXY, the markup charged by CCC, the delivery of account statements, CCC's liquidation of an investor's BXY, their personal investments in BXY, and the financial and management problems occurring at BXY's issuer, Beaxy Digital Ltd., in late 2019. The complaint further alleged that some of these investors never received their BXY tokens, and all those who invested paid an undisclosed markup on their BXY tokens.

The judgments, entered on the basis of default, enjoin CCC, Amoah, and Elliott from violating Sections 5 and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Sections 15(a) and 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The judgments also permanently enjoin CCC, Amoah, and Elliott from participating, directly or indirectly, including, but not limited to, through any entity they control, in any offering of crypto asset securities; provided, however, that such injunctions shall not prevent them from purchasing or selling any crypto asset security for their own personal accounts. In addition, Amoah is barred from acting as an officer or director of a public company. The judgments order Amoah and CCC to pay jointly and severally disgorgement of $935,599.65, plus prejudgment interest of $136,087.10; and Elliott to pay disgorgement of $21,777.64, plus prejudgment interest of $3,167.66. The judgments also impose civil penalties of $1,339,368 on CCC, $245,553 on Amoah, and $133,938 on Elliott.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Peter Senechalle and Devlin N. Su, with assistance from Craig McShane, and was supervised by Amy Flaherty Hartman, of the SEC's Chicago Regional Office. Robert M. Moye and Messrs. Senechalle and Su led the litigation.
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against Daniel E. Levin, from Dallas-Fort Worth, with acting as an unregistered broker-dealer.

According to the SEC's complaint filed on May 9, 2023, Levin solicited investors to purchase approximately $2.6 million worth of units in a fund he controlled, the CRP Fund, which in turn owned units in funds run by GPB Capital. Levin allegedly violated the requirements of the broker-dealer registration provisions by soliciting those funds from at least 27 investors from 2017 through 2018, without being registered. The complaint further alleges that Levin was required to register with the SEC and maintain a brokerage license, which he failed to do.

The complaint, filed in the Northern District of Texas, charges Levin with violating Section 15(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Levin, without admitting or denying the allegations, consented to a bifurcated settlement, agreeing to be permanently enjoined from violations of the charged provision, with monetary relief in an amount to be determined by the court at a later date upon motion of the SEC. The settlement is subject to court approval.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Shannon Keyes and Lindsay S. Moilanen of the SEC's New York Regional Office, and was supervised by Sheldon L. Pollock. The litigation will be led by Ms. Keyes and David Stoelting.
Guerre au Mali :  Les blesses sont pris en charge a l'hopital Principal de Dakar , Me Sidiki Kaba

Lannonce vient detre faite par le ministre des forces Armees. En effet, dapres Me Sidiki Kaba, " les Nations unies ont decide que les blesses de la guerre au Mali soient soignes a l'hopital Principal de Dakar", informe le ministre.





Lors de l'inauguration du service d'orthopedie-traumatologie ce vendredi 19 mai 2023, Me Kaba renseigne par la meme occasion que 28 professeurs de plusieurs specialites officient a l'hopital Principal de Dakar.








The Ukraine war is entering a phase that is expected to be decisive. The eyes of the world are on the imminent counteroffensive from Kyiv, which has been stockpiling NATO-supplied armaments, and Ukraines present and future of Ukraine will depend on what gains the armed forces are able to make in the big push. Both the government of Volodymyr Zelenskiy and its western allies are fully aware of this, as is the Kremlin. With the stakes so high, the European Union is concerned that if the counteroffensive fails the support of the United States  which is mired in a period of high tension in domestic politics and with the 2024 presidential elections on the horizon  will begin to wane.

Kyivs allies continue to rummage through their depleted arsenals while keeping an eye on Washington, which continues to refuse to cross the red line of supplying fighter jets to Ukraine. The longed-for coalition to provide the Ukrainian Air Force with modern warplanes has not yet got off the ground, despite increasing pressure from the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and other European nations. This week, following a visit by Zelenskiy, London and Paris went a step further by setting up training programs for Ukrainian pilots, which for the moment will be purely theoretical and will not involve access to the aircraft, thus eliminating one of Washingtons arguments for not delivering F-16s: the lack of readiness of the Ukrainian Air Force to operate them. As things stand, the U.S. has not authorized flight training on F-16s, which is required for Ukrainian pilots to do so even if the aircraft belong to the air forces of European countries.

The U.K., which recently sent precision-guided, long-range missiles to Ukraine, sees the coalition to deliver fighters more as a sign to Russia than Kyiv. The case of the fighters is similar to the formation of the tank coalition, which Germany and the United States were both reluctant to join but ended up leading. Whats really important here is to signal to Russia that we as nations have no philosophical principle objection to supplying Ukraine capabilities that it needs depending on what is going on, on the battlefield, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said Wednesday.

Washington, however, is more in favor of providing other types of weapons that can be deployed immediately, without the need for training to be provided, in view of the counteroffensive. Several diplomatic sources believe that if Ukrainian troops maintain their momentum, Washington could agree to issue re-export licenses for the F-16s it sold to countries such as the Netherlands, which has already stated that, together with Denmark and Belgium, it could provide a hundred fighters to Ukraine.

More information Five maps explaining the possible staging points for Ukrainian counteroffensive

Washington and Brussels have adopted different levels of support for Kyiv, both committing to supporting the war effort for as long as necessary. However, while the United States has led the way in military support, providing $36.9 billion since the beginning of the Russian invasion, according to State Department figures, the European Union has established a long-term framework for the relationship. Brussels has declared Ukraine a candidate country to join the EU and is gradually assimilating Kyiv into a de facto union through treaties and agreements, which include the disbursement of military aid.

The EU has provided Ukraine with total support of 72 billion ($77.7 billion), according to European Council figures. Of this, slightly more than half has been in the form of financial assistance, with 15.3 billion earmarked for military, diplomatic and defense aid. The issue of accession, although there is no timeframe in place, is an important part of the equation, according to a senior European diplomat, while contributing to the security of its eastern neighbor is also a way of reinforcing the EUs own security, said Orysia Lutsevych, head of the Ukraine Forum at the Chatham House think tank in London. These points were raised a few weeks ago at a meeting between European and U.S. diplomats, at which Washington made it clear that support for Kyiv is not a blank check and that both the counteroffensive and the EU maintaining an upward path in contributing to the backstop are crucial to preserving unity and keeping U.S. support flowing.

Trump says U.S. has done enough for Ukraine

Zelenskiys government is also concerned about the possibility of losing support and has tried to temper expectations about the gains the counteroffensive might achieve. The Joe Biden administration has shown no signs of fatigue in its support, but at the same time it is aware that the aid sent to Kyiv has to be seen to be making an impact. After 15 months of war, the arsenals of Kyivs allies are increasingly depleted and financing to keep Ukraines war effort afloat is similarly becoming less flexible. Overdependence on the United States is a risk, notes Lutsevych. Alleviating it means increasing defense spending and investing in production to replenish the materiel sent to Ukraine. A poll run by Ipsos and the University of Maryland in April indicated that 46% of U.S. citizens believed that Washington should maintain its support for Ukraine for only one or two years, while 38% said the White House should remain committed to Kyivs cause for as a long as is necessary.

Polls also show that within the first group there is a large majority of Republican voters, or more precisely of supporters of Donald Trump supporters, says veteran researcher Bruce Stokes of the German Marshall Fund, which specializes in transatlantic relations. A few weeks ago, Trump said during an interview with CNN that the United States had already done too much for Ukraine while accusing the EU of barely lifting a finger, providing a clue as to what may happen in the coming months as the former president attempts to secure the Republican nomination to run for the Oval Office again. The U.S. doesnt like to see itself associated with the losing side. At the moment, Ukraine has not found itself at that point but there are fears that if the counteroffensive is not as successful, U.S. public support will suffer, adds Stokes.

The war in Ukraine will be a point of contention during the presidential election campaign, Stokes notes. Even if the fighting ends later this year or there is some kind of ceasefire agreement, the multi-billion-dollar reconstruction of the country  as well as who will pay for it  will be another issue on the agenda.

There is some consensus among the military analysts and intelligence sources consulted that the war is unlikely to end this year. And if the Ukrainian counteroffensive stalls, time may run in favor of Russia and of an increasingly assertive China, which is benefiting from the Kremlins dependence, notes a Western diplomat. Neither would such a scenario favor the West, as it may shake the support even of Kyivs staunchest allies. That could translate not only into dwindling military aid reaching the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but also into pressure for Zelenskiys government to negotiate with Moscow over a diplomatic end to the war.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition
Germany was lauded last year when the government decided to return the famous Benin Bronzes to Nigeria. These metal pieces had been looted by European colonizers at the end of the 19th century, eventually ending up in museums. Berlin thus became a model for the rest of the Western capitals that own and exhibit usurped colonial art, which subsequently found themselves pressured to follow the same path.

Today, however, Germany has expressed concern about the final fate of some of the greatest artistic treasures in Africa. The news broke that the pieces  sculptures made between the 13th and 18th centuries with various materials, mostly brass, but collectively known as bronzes  were going to pass into private hands. This has generated an enormous stir that transcends cultural circles, turning into a fierce political discussion.

Swiss ethnologist Brigitta Hauser-Schaublin has categorized the return of the Berlin Bronzes to Nigeria as a fiasco, for having been carried out without conditions. There was no means of ensuring that the pieces were going to be placed in the public domain and exhibited in a museum. The future of the pieces is now unknown, since outgoing Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has signed a decree that transfers ownership of objects from the historic kingdom of Benin (not to be confused with the country of Benin) to Oba Ewuare II: the principal heir of the former royal family.

This decree was published in Nigerias official gazette on March 23, but it had gone unnoticed by German public opinion, until the ethnologist raised the alarm in an explosive column in the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper. We can now clearly see how frivolously the agreement about the transfer of property between Germany and Nigeria was drawn up, the expert laments.

The order grants the Oba (king) possession of all works of art that were looted from the royal palace in Benin by British troops during a punitive expedition in 1897, to the exclusion of any other person or institution, according to the text of the decree, as reported by the Nigerian newspaper This Day. For now, it is unknown what the Oba will do with the works of art  if he will exhibit them, and if so, where and how. Apparently, he has announced that he will build his own museum to house them.

The ethnologist regrets that the Nigerian president is transferring assets  including those that, until the summer of 2022, were owned by Germany  to a private individual or to a private autocratic institution.

A public good thus becomes exclusive private property, she warns. What was intended to be a return of cultural heritage to the Nigerian people to heal the wounds of the past has ended up becoming a gift to a royal house.

Last Friday, the heated debate moved to the Bundestag  the German Parliament  where the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the extreme right Alternative for Germany (AfD) criticized the restitution, calling it a failure due to the lack of conditions imposed on the return of the pieces. However, the coalition government  made up of Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals  defended the process. The government assures the public that it has done the right thing, as well as pointing out another nagging question that is part of this debate: whether meddling in the decisions of a plundered country is not merely another form of colonialism.

The [Benin Bronzes] were returned with the aim of repairing a historical error: the illegal acquisition and possession of these objects, said a spokesperson for the administration. No conditions were imposed it is now the sovereign state of Nigeria that will decide who legally gets to keep them and how they are to be made available to the Nigerian people. Insinuating that these bronzes will disappear  never to be seen again  just because Germany no longer exercises control over them, but Nigeria does, is a way of thinking that we hoped to have left in the past, the government spokesperson emphasized.

Why are they so obsessed with whats going on with the Benin Bronzes? asks Nigerian artist Victor Ehikhamenor. In his opinion, the current debate is disrespectful and insulting.

Europe has no right to tell us how to deal with our own affairs, he told Deutsche Welle. Meanwhile, experts such as Nigerian historian Oluwatoyin Sogbesan argue that, since the kingdom that owned the treasures no longer exists, the Oba  as a representative of the Edo ethnic group  is the true heir.

Souleymane Bachir Diagne  director of the Institute of African Studies at Columbia University  also believes that Nigeria should be able to decide on the future of the Benin Bronzes. I agree with the report by Beatrice Savoy and Felwine Sarr (authors of The Restitution of African Cultural Heritage) that restitution is an international procedure, which means that the objects [must be] returned to African nation states, he told EL PAIS in an email. They can decide to put them in regional museums but it has to be their decision.

In Berlin, many are saddened by the idea that the pieces are probably not going to be exhibited in the museum that was destined to house them: the German government has already contributed the equivalent of $4.3 million to the construction of this facility. Last December, Germany sent a high-level delegation  led by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock  to the Nigerian capital of Abuja to oversee the delivery of the artworks. Baerbock took it for granted that the Benin Bronzes would be displayed in the future Edo Museum of West African Art, which is set to be built in Benin City, the capital of the former Edo kingdom. The experts who led the negotiations with the African country also believed this to be the case, as they told EL PAIS last year. Until recently, the website copy of the future museum noted that it was going to become the home of the largest collection of Benin Bronzes in the world. The phrase has now disappeared.

According to Nigerian media, there is a personal conflict at play behind the transfer of the art. This involves the Oba and the governor of the Benin region, Godwin Obaseki, one of the most ardent defenders of the museum project. Obasekis grandfather appears to have served under the British as interim regent after the destruction of Benin City in 1897 and during the removal of the current Obas ancestor. His supporters accuse the governor of continuing to collaborate with opponents of the royal family.

The controversial decree has not yet entered into force, according to the information available to the German government. Nigerias National Commission for Museums and Monuments has tabled amendments to address this issue. Berlin trusts that the royal house of Benin shares the objective of involving the societies of origin  that is, ensuring that the public have access to the artifacts following their restitution. Germany and Nigeria committed to this in the joint declaration of July 1, 2022. Naturally, we maintain this position, the German government spokesperson stresses.

German museum collections housed more than 1,100 bronzes, dating back more than a century after they were purchased from British collectors. After a long process, institutions from all over the country, local and regional authorities and the federal government agreed to return all of them. Last year, Germany and Nigeria signed an agreement, according to which around two-thirds of the works will be moved back to the Nigerian state. A third part will remain on permanent loan within German museums. In all cases, ownership has been transferred to Nigeria.

The ethnographic museum  recently inaugurated in the Humboldt Forum  reflects the new German conception of the ownership of looted heritage. Instead of the 200 pieces that the museum used to display in its previous location, the Humboldt now only shows 40  the ones that Nigerian experts chose to leave on loan. The opening of the galleries that house these collections was delayed by several months, until the agreement with Nigeria for the return was finalized and it was possible to redesign the way in which the Benin Bronzes were to be presented. The pieces on display are now accompanied by abundant material that contextualizes where they came from and how they ended up in Berlin in the first place.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition
It was six minutes past five in the afternoon, Flor de Lis, a 23-year-old Dominican, recalls vividly. Seven years have passed since she arrived at the paradisiacal beach of Barahona after a friend deceived her into going there, but she remembers everything as if it were yesterday. On that day in 2015, at that precise moment, her happy childhood turned into a living hell. What was supposed to be a day of swimming in the Dominican town of Boca Chica (just over half an hour from Santo Domingo) like so many other days before, became half a year of abuse, rape, beatings and other mistreatment. Her friend, a recruiter for a sex trafficking ring, abandoned her in front of a bar and a stranger told her why she was really there. You were brought here so that you could sleep with men for money and give them drinks, the stranger told Flor at 5:06 p.m.

But Flor de Lis face will not be the image tourists see when they search the internet for the Dominican Republic as a vacation destination. Instead, gorgeous beaches and all-inclusive resorts will appear. But Flor and many others like her  young girls and teenagers to have sex with  are a lure for numerous visitors from within and outside the country. Flor de Lis was not at that bar alone, and such bars with nearby hotels are common in the country. She was sexually exploited at a brothel owned by a politician; 10 other minors and six adults were there with her in the same situation, forced to have sex with both Dominican nationals and foreigners, lawyers, officials, serious people that you see around or at a meeting without knowing all the harm they have caused.

The sexual exploitation of minors occurs in every corner of the Dominican Republic. Alba Rodriguez, director of Save the Children

The government does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons, but it is undertaking significant efforts, says the latest annual baseline report on this problem, prepared by the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic. Inconsistent with international law, the [2003 Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons] law required a show of force, fraud, or coercion to constitute a child sex trafficking offense and therefore did not criminalize all forms of this crime, the authors explain. That law has been under review since 2019, but last February, the Comprehensive Law on Trafficking in Persons, Exploitation and Smuggling of Migrants bill was withdrawn from the approval process in the National Congress because, according to its detractors, it opened the door to the indiscriminate entry of undocumented Haitian immigrants, by recognizing the right of foreign survivors of sex trafficking to not be deported. The bill also sought to manage their regular permanence in the country and provided for family reunification.

Girls play in Callejon 10 [Alley 10] in La Cienaga, one of the most disadvantaged and poorest neighborhoods in Santo Domingo. Miguel Lizana (AECID)

The tabled bill would be a step forward in acknowledging and protecting survivors in the Dominican Republic. It eliminates the requirement for minors to demonstrate coercion in order to be recognized as victims of trafficking, explains Alba Rodriguez, the director of Save the Children in the Dominican Republic. In the proposed law, consent would not be considered valid it would never constitute a reason for exemption from criminal, civil or administrative responsibility for the perpetrators or accomplices. The bill also develops prevention and institutional support mechanisms for the survivors in more detail than the previous one. While the Dominican Republics legislation is from two decades ago, sex trafficking rings evolve much faster in their recruitment and exploitation strategies, deploying new technology to avoid detection, such as using online vacation rental platforms to offer their selection of girls. They no longer even need to have a fixed location that the police can monitor; all they require is a cell phone to be able to connect with clients and deliver the girls to their door.

Flor de Lis was very young  a teenager  when she was separated from her family. She didnt know where she was. And I had to do it. I was far from home. I was abused a lot. I didnt want to be with the clients, and they beat me; and when I had sex with a client, they took my money, they wouldnt let me make a phone call, they wouldnt let me go out. Sometimes they didnt even give me food because I didnt want to sleep with the men. She cant and wont hold back the tears as she recalls what happened to her. She was forced to sleep with about eight men a day. She was beaten if she refused to perform fellatio, if she failed to excite the man on duty, raped with various objects, nearly beaten to death with pipes, forced to drink and take drugs to endure all that violence every day.

They destroyed your life because they only thought about their own pleasure. They told you that if you didnt do something right, or if you didnt get on top of them, they were going to beat you, fuck you or do something worse. Sometimes they would take you to the mountains and throw you down, and they would beat you and rape you there without even saying anything to the man in the bar, because thats the only way they wanted to do it.

Flor de Lis, a survivor of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation, talks with Luz Del Alba Antonio Rojas, who helped Flor when she was rescued, at Save The Children's headquarters in the Dominican Republic, where the psychologist now works. Miguel Lizana (AECID)

The sexual exploitation of minors occurs in every corner of the Dominican Republic, says Rodriguez. In Sosua, Boca Chica, behind any grocery store in Santo Domingo, in the industrial zones, she says. A report by the U.S. embassy in the Dominican Republic reaches the same conclusion: It happens in the streets, in the parks and on the beaches. Traffickers use catalogs to sell victims to potential customers, using private homes, rented apartments and extended-stay hotels to house the victims.

Society has normalized sex with minors, but it remains invisible in communities, neighborhoods, families, says Rodriguez. There is a widespread belief that girls and teenagers cause these situations and seek out these relationships with adults. That gets in the way of protecting minors who, by definition, can never give consent because they are minors. Such arguments explain why the sexual exploitation of girls is hardly ever reported, adds Major Julio Balbuena Valenzuela, the deputy chief of Dominican National Polices Department of Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Persons. People thought that they were rebelling [running away].

But in Flor de Liss case, her father reported her disappearance. Indeed, Flor was the only one of the 11 minors who were being prostituted at that same brothel whose parents alerted the authorities. When Flor tricked a client (and relative of the brothel owner) into letting her call her aunt, she could only say that she was fine; as a result, the gentleman locked her in a room, but it was enough time for the investigators to trace the phone call.

Some Spanish and Dominican clients arrived, and they didnt give me anything to drink; they only asked me questions, they talked on the phone and signaled to each other, they looked at each other, she recalls. Then one day, when the owner grabbed her arm, one of those men stood up and said: Dont move. Flor de Lis, dont move, your father sent us to rescue you. When she heard her real name, the one that had been stolen from her, she knew that those gentlemen dressed as customers knew who she was. I almost fainted. I just thought, Thank God, hes a policeman. They were all taken to social services, and the brothel was shut down, to the chagrin of many neighbors who protested violently in front of the bar. The local press reported that community members were upset about what they considered to be the unfair singling out of a respected local politician.

The corruption and complicity of officials in human trafficking crimes continued to be a concern and impedes law enforcement activity US Embassy in the Dominican Republic Annual Trafficking Report

Emotion wells up in Flor de Lis as she describes the undercover operation. Valenzuela explains that this represents progress in the fight against sex trafficking. Undercover officers allow the police to investigate trafficking from the inside and rescue the victims. In cases where no complaint is filed, or it is withdrawn sometimes because of threats, other times because the traffickers pay the families to desist  the police can gather enough evidence to support the case and prosecute the perpetrators. There are convictions, but they are not exemplary, he laments. Nor was it in the case of Flor de Lis, who says that the friend who recruited her and her exploiters (the bar owner and the pimp) remain free and continue to do the same thing. As Flor says, they are powerful people. Everything can be bought here, she says.

The corruption and complicity of officials in human trafficking crimes continued to be a concern, preventing law enforcement activity during the year, the U.S. embassy report says. The government did not report the status of a 2017 sex trafficking case involving police officers and members of the military.

In 2021, 29 sex trafficking victims were officially recorded, six adults, 21 girls and two underage boys

In 2021, 29 sex trafficking victims were officially recorded, including six adults, 21 girls and two underage boys. The majority (24) of the victims were Dominicans; there were also three Haitians and two Colombians. As for investigations and prosecutions, the 2022 annual study (the latest available) reveals that there were 68 investigations into trafficking cases, involving 89 implicated persons, the previous year. A total of 98 people were prosecuted in relation to a total of 55 cases of sex trafficking, forced labor and pimping, the document details. In 2021, there were six convictions  four for sex trafficking and two for pimping.

Wounds that heal but leave a scar

In the absence of a new law, the Dominican government, with the support of UNICEF, prepared guidelines for action in human trafficking and migrant smuggling cases that affect children and adolescents. But no matter how many protocols and declarations of intent are made, Flor de Lis trusts almost no one. A friend deceived her, a politician prostituted and raped her; for six months, many respected men violated her. When she finally escaped that hell, she was taken to a National Council for Children and Adolescents center, where she received help, but she needed additional support from the NGO International Justice Mission (MIJ). They took me to the doctor, did tests, gave me medicine. Thank God I didnt have any [sexually transmitted] diseases, she said. Then, she met psychologist Luz del Alba Antonio Rojas, who was working at MIJ at the time (the organization no longer works in the Dominican Republic) and is now a project coordinator at Save the Children. Flor calls her an angel.

The psychologist says that Flor de Lis has already experienced the stages of recovery that survivors typically undergo. The first step is accepting and acknowledging that they were trafficked. Many are not even aware of it. Therapy helps them stop having nightmares, learn to trust others and establish normalized relationships with other people. When they come out of the exploitative situation, they are a shell of a human being. They have to work on their self-esteem for years, and they may never fully recover it. For that, they need professional help, which they do not always get, and which depends, to a large extent, on NGOs.

A neighbor tricked Flor de Mayo (an assumed name) into working as a waitress. She was kidnapped, raped on one occasion and witnessed the sexual exploitation of a dozen minors. She was able to escape and rescued some of them. Miguel Lizana (AECID)

That was the healing process for Flor de Mayo (an assumed name), 40, another survivor who was tricked into sex work when she was offered a job as a waitress in her city. Instead, she was kidnapped, raped on at least one occasion and witnessed the exploitation of young girls. That was in 2009, when she was already an adult and the mother of four. But it was only recently that she realized that what happened to herand the minors she rescued when she decided to run away and take them with herwas the crime of sex trafficking. She has not had therapy and still finds it difficult to tell her story, which is full of silences, vulnerability, abuse, need and desperation. She fears being recognized as a victim and requests anonymity.

Now able to share her story, Flor de Lis was also left with physical scars. After giving birth to her baby girl, who is now five years old (Flors relationship with her daughters father has already ended), by cesarean section, she was unable to breastfeed her daughter because of an infection in her breasts. Then, Flor was told that she would not be able to have any more children. She says that she is not resentful; she just wants a happy life. She wants to work in whatever [job] she can get to support her little girl. But she also demands more public support for survivors. They make promises to us, but they dont deliver. There is only one shelter specifically for sex trafficking victims; it has a 24-person capacity. Social services do not always help minors for the necessary amount of time because, in this conservative Catholic society, people believe that these sexualized girls will be a bad influence on the rest of the children, the director of Save the Children says.

Support network

The director of the NGO notes the need to go further in preventing sex trafficking in the first place. Flor de Lis and other survivors, including boys, have organized a network. They not only support each other, but also help the organizations to do the work of raising awareness in Dominican communities so that girls do not fall for the lies of recruiters, who take advantage of the vulnerability of adolescents and adults in desperate situations.

To strengthen the socioeconomic stability of these girls and women and their families, as well as involve Dominican institutions, security forces and the hotel sector in this fight, the Spanish Agency for Development Cooperation - which provided the logistical support to prepare this report - will allocate 600,000 from 2018 to 2025; Spains autonomous communities and municipalities will provide another 437,500 between 2020 and 2023.

In the entire country, there is only one shelter specifically for the survivors of sex trafficking and exploitation, and it has only 24 places

Save the Children will be one of the organizations in the Dominican Republic that puts some of these funds toward the comprehensive protection of girls, adolescents and women against trafficking in tourist areas of the Dominican Republic, the director explains. In addition to working with at-risk girls for the development of self-protection skills, access to complaints and restitution of rights, they will also include men and work on issues [related to] new masculinities and equality. Because you cant change reality if you dont address the root cause, Rodriguez says.

Her program plans to continue working with the hotel sector, which represents 25% of the countrys GDP. The sex tourist comes because the supply already exists in the country, Rodriguez explains. In turn, sex tourism contributes to perpetuating this criminal practice. David Llibre, the president of the countrys Association of Hotels and Tourism (Asonahores), emphasizes that the organizations members are committed to fighting this scourge. One of the rules they strictly enforce is that no child can be checked into a hotel by anyone other than their parents. But digital platforms dont have this type of control to keep guests from entering the rooms with girls for the purpose of abusing them, he notes.

In cases of the sexual exploitation of minors, WhatsApp chats and social media are used to lure children, the US embassy notes in its analysis. Rodriguez mentions another trick that sex traffickers use: We know that they pay the families to stay in the hotels and, once they clear the check-in hurdle, they switch rooms to sleep with the minors. But the big hotels and resorts are not the main problem, she says; rather, its the services that are offered all around them: excursions, transportation, leisure... and sex with girls.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition
A handout picture released by the Colombian army shows a soldier with a dog checking a pair of scissors found in the forest in a rural area of the municipality of Solano, department of Caqueta, Colombia, on May 17, 2023.

Manuel Ranoque was the governor of the indigenous reservation of Puerto Sabalo, a remote Colombian community in the middle of the Amazon jungle that can only be accessed by air or by river. The site has a small dirt runway, where only the most daring pilots attempt to land. Locals in Puerto Sabalo were shocked when Ranoque, a man of great standing in the community, disappeared overnight without a trace. No one knew where he was; it was as if the ground had swallowed him up. The most striking part of his disappearance was that he left his entire family behind. For weeks, the community chatted and gossiped about what had happened. Then, just as he was beginning to fade from memory, the man called his family and asked them to meet him as soon as possible, saying there was no time to lose. So on May 1  19 days ago  his wife and their four children boarded a single-engine plane, specialized in extreme flights, heading towards a new life.

The father told them: Come quickly, quickly, quickly. Thats why my niece and the children got on that plane. He is to blame, says Fidencio Valencia, the uncle of the mother, Magdalena Mucutuy, by phone. He believes they should never have boarded the Cessna 206, which was piloted by a man who had previously been a taxi driver. The mystery of Ranoques disappearance came to light: he had been threatened by guerrillas. Believing his life was at risk, Ranoque fled the community, ending up in the city of Villavicencio, in the Eastern Plains. He was hoping to meet his family in the city, and from there they would travel together to Bogota, where they would start from scratch. But the plane never reached its destination.

The flight left Araracuara and was supposed to land in San Jose del Guaviare. It is believed that there are still isolated indigenous communities on that route. Halfway into the trip, when the plane was flying over Caqueta, over the Apaporis River in the middle of the Amazon jungle, the pilot, Hernando Murcia Morales, radioed in an engine failure. Communications cut out, and nothing more was heard from the plane. It was found two days ago. It had crashed into some trees. The corpses of the three adults were found inside the aircraft and near the debris. On Thursday, their bodies were handed over to forensics experts. However, the children were not found. Colombian authorities are hopeful that they survived the crash and are wandering the jungle until they run into civilization or are found.

A soldier and a dog take part in a search operation for child survivors from a Cessna 206 plane that crashed in the jungle. COLOMBIAN AIR FORCE (via REUTERS)

The childrens names are Lesly Jacobo Bonbaire (13 years old), Solecni Ranoque Mucutui (nine years old), Tien Noriel Ronoque Mucutui (four years old) and Cristian Neryman Ranoque Mucutui (11 months old), and all of Colombia is on edge as it awaits news of their fate. Colombian President Gustavo Petro mistakenly announced that the four children had been found alive, and had to correct himself hours later. He had been misinformed by an official institution. Since then, Petro has been closely following the case, saying that finding the children as soon as possible is the countrys top priority. For now, the story of what happened to the children is fragmented and incomplete.

The seventh person on board the plane was indigenous leader Herman Mendoza Hernandez, who was married and had a daughter. It is said that he was worried about Magdalena and so decided to accompany her on her trip from Araracuara, a community that was formed around an Amazonian prison that is the source of troubling memories. The closest place to the site of the crash is Cachiporro, a community on the river. Pablo Martinez, who knows the area, explained that the town once had a small school and an airstrip for light planes. He says that communication is mainly via radio, through devices connected to solar panels. Locals in Cachiporro have been helping to search for the missing children, in cooperation with Colombias military forces.

The site where a footprint was found (bottom right, at the edge of the stream). HANDOUT (AFP)

The mission to find the children is called Operation Hope, and involves more than 100 soldiers, trained for high-impact operations. For the past 13 days, they have been combing the jungle, inch by inch. On loudspeakers, they play audio of the childrens grandmother calling out to them in Uitoto, their native language. At night, an Air Force ghost plane drops flares to illuminate the area.

So far, the soldiers have found a babys bottle and recent footprints near a pipe. According to sources in the area, there is hope that the children survived, as they are familiar with the jungle and its resources. But the search has been made even more difficult by the rain, which wipes tracks.

The plane carrying the children had previously crashed in Vaupes, in July 2021. There were no deaths, but the aircraft was destroyed. An aeronautical source who wished to remain anonymous said that the plane was repaired without consulting the manufacturer (Cessna) because the restoration was cheaper that way. The plane was manufactured in 1982, in the United States, and almost 40 years later, in 2019, it was brought to Colombia. According to the source, the aircraft suffered structural damage in the 2021 accident and did not undergo the necessary revisions to make it safe to fly. It shouldnt have been flying, explains the source. In this area of Colombia, around 40 small companies operate as air taxis. They are not commercial flights, but rather charter flights. The trips are typically made in precarious planes that cannot fly for longer than six hours straight.

Photograph of the plane after the July 2021 accident. EL PAIS

These small planes are usually the last resort for fast travel for the residents of the Orinoquia and Amazonia regions. It was how the Ranoque family hoped to reach their new life. But the aircraft crashed on the way, and the mystery of the whereabouts of the four children has still not been solved. The answer is hidden in the depths of the jungle.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition
Heart disease is just not sexy, reflects cardiologist Carolyn Lam. It is not fashionable. It is not talked about. Despite being the first cause of death in the world, both in men and women, people do not regularly monitor their blood pressure or sugar levels, even if those variables can influence cardiovascular risk, warns the specialist, who talked with EL PAIS during a symposium on heart failure organized by the pharmaceutical company Bayer in Barcelona, Spain.

Lam, the director of Womens Heart Health at the National Heart Center of Singapore, highlights the lack of awareness of these ailments, especially among women: it often happens, she explains, that women do not even accurately identify the symptoms of a heart attack, which can be different from those of men; aside from chest pain (which they may or may not experience), women also suffer from neck pain or tightness in the jaw.

Question. We tend to associate cardiovascular diseases more with men.

Answer. Yes. But we should change that. It is just as much a womans disease. One in three women die of heart disease and stroke, but also one in three men. Its the top killer for both, men and women. But we keep ignoring the women, which must change.

Q. Is the scientific community aware of the differences between sex and gender in this type of disease?

A. We dont know everything, but we know a lot more. And by the way, when you said sex and gender  that is exactly correct. Sex is biological sex, hormones. Gender also plays a part. Gender is our social rules. For a long time there was a misconception that women are protected from heart disease because of estrogen, because of our sex hormones. Why did we think that? Because in the younger age groups, its true that men get more heart disease. But as we go, older women also, especially after the menopause, also get heart disease and in fact can overtake the men. But if we only look at the younger women and the younger men, we get this wrong idea. We have learned, but it was from assumptions.

Just like in the movie Yentl, the woman, in order to be taken seriously, had to look like a man. Thats the problem with symptoms. Its almost as if we need to experience it like a man and describe it like a man before we are taken seriously. Bernadine Healy, MD, used the term Yentl syndrome in 2001 to draw attention to the paradox of adverse outcomes for women with ischemic heart disease, as well as underdiagnosis and undertreatment of women. Yentl syndrome is the different mechanism of action that heart attacks tend to follow in women compared to men. This is a problem because much of the medical research has focused primarily on the symptoms of heart attacks in men, and many women have died due to misdiagnosis because their symptoms present differently.

Q. Are the symptoms not the same?

A. Men often feel chest pain, central chest pain. A woman can also have chest pain, but more often than in the men, its non chest pain but jaw pain, jaw tightness. Many people think it is actually toothache, or they keep saying theyre tired, or they feel it in the stomach or the back. And women rationalize it: instead of saying, Oh, something is not right, they go, Oh, I ate too much, Im too stressed. I dont know, it must be menopause. Men get chest pain and say, I think its the heart, I better see a doctor. Women say, I think I need to go to a spa.

Q. Is it a matter of education, then? When faced with pain, there will be a bias and women will be told that it is anxiety or some mental health problem.

A. Thats the problem. The men will come [to consultation] and say: I have chest pain. Please check my heart. The women will come and say: Oh, sorry to disturb you. I think Im stressed because my son has an exam and my dad... They apologize; they dont say it is the heart.

Q. What is the doctors responsibility in this regard?

A. I think we are all responsible. The doctors need to remember that women can have heart disease and can have different symptoms, but the patients also need to feel entitled to have heart disease and help the doctor understand that this is serious. I think we just all need to come together. It starts when youre younger. I grew up with my mother, who is a doctor. She was always chasing my father so that he would check his cholesterol, check his blood pressure. Check, check, check. But never her. We take care of everybody, and we imagine that we are protected, but we are just as vulnerable.

Q. The scientific community has long known about these gender differences. Has anything changed in recent years?

A. I think that a lot has improved. There have been attempts to make women aware of our own risk. So that is good. Another thing thats been impeding progress is the fact that we dont have enough women in clinical trials.

Q. Why is that?

A. They dont prioritize themselves. Sometimes its very hard to get women to come to the trials, so [they] are always underrepresented. And then, you know, our earliest trials were all men. They only studied male mice, because they didnt want the complications of the pregnancy or whatever, so they didnt even study female mice. How can we go on like that, systematically excluding women? Now things have improved: for example, our heart failure trials now have 40% [or] 50% women.

Carolyn Lam, a cardiologist from the National Heart Center of Singapore, pictured recently in Barcelona, where she attended a symposium on heart failure. MASSIMILIANO MINOCRI

Q. Are there any medical treatments or procedures whose efficacy in women is not known because the trials were done in men?

A. Yes, there are unfortunately quite a few examples where there is a difference. In heart failure, theres a drug called digoxin, its very old, but we didnt realize until much later that there is a sex difference in the response: the same dose gets higher levels of the drugs in women than men, and it is associated with toxicity and more deaths in women compared to men. And there are some medications that we simply give women the doses that we know in men.

Q. What is the consequence of these types of inequalities? Being a woman, am I more likely to die than my male partner, for example?

A. Yes. Our data still shows that with a heart attack, a woman has a higher risk of dying than a man. And a woman still receives less invasive therapies. And a lot of the medications that we have, they are less likely to receive them than men. There are many, many reasons.

Q. Such as?

A. For example, a woman who has a heart attack could have small vessel disease. Not the big vessels, but the small vessels. And with the small vessels you cannot put a stent. And sometimes [the small vessel disease] is missed and undertreated. Another reason is that women who suffer a heart attack can be older than the men. Youve got more of the other things, like hypertension, high blood pressure and so on. However, we adjust for age, and we still find women with a heart attack do worse than a man.

Q. What needs to be done to close this gap?

A. What we are doing right now: trying to educate the public is extremely important. A woman must recognize her own risk. No excuses. So just as much as the boyfriend, the father, the brother, everybody else needs to take care, know their numbers, we must know our own. Do you know your blood pressure? Do you know your cholesterol? These are all risk factors for heart disease.

Q. Cardiologist Valentin Fuster told EL PAIS: We live in a consumer society that deprives us of what is important, which is quality of life. He also said that cardiovascular risk factors are a mirror of life. What do you think?

A. Yes, I think cardiovascular disease is largely a lifestyle disease. Thats a good and a bad thing. The bad thing is that its so sad that its something we actually do to ourselves. We clog our own arteries with fat and smoke and problems. We dont take care of what nature has given us. But the good part is that it is modifiable. If it is a lifestyle disease, it means we can try to do something about it. Stress management is very, very important these days. The womans heart-brain connection is even stronger. Stress can literally give you a heart attack. Its called broken heart syndrome. So part of it is our stress management; we need to have good mental health.

Q. But does this only happen to women?

A. It happens to women and men, but that that connection between the emotions and stress and heart disease is very strong in women. There is this syndrome, as I said, called broken heart syndrome, where a woman hears a very bad piece of news, and she has a heart attack  not because the arteries are filled with fat, but because the stress makes the arteries literally constrict, and they get a heart attack even when the arteries are clear. It happens predominantly in postmenopausal women, and much more than men.

Q. Does sleep influence cardiovascular health?

A. Yes, sleep is often ignored, but its a very important part of a good lifestyle management. When we are sleep-deprived for hours, our whole body is in a state of adrenergic high. And it affects a lot, it actually affects our metabolism and our eating patterns as well. Its a very bad downward spiral: your stress hormones are very high, and it causes you to want to eat unhealthy things. Then the stress makes your blood pressure go up. You can get high blood sugar as well. So, you know, it is very, very important. For our rest, our peace, our mental health.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition
Incels are involuntary celibates who find it difficult to relate to women and develop an aversion to them that translates into misogyny and, sometimes, violence.

On April 25, a 32-year-old user of a dreary Internet forum ascended. But Komesarj, as he calls himself, didnt die or go to heaven. He merely had sex with a woman for the first time and moved on to a new status, or ascended, according to the internet subculture to which he used to belong.

Komesarj used to be an incel (an abbreviation for involuntarily celibate, as this misogynistic community describes itself), but he recently made it with a really cute 19-year-old [sic] girl (he describes himself as ugly and bald). The story was brought to the publics attention in a viral tweet: BREAKING NEWS: the incel community is having a nuclear meltdown because one of its leaders finally got laid, a user named Laney wrote in a tweet that has garnered almost 120,000 likes.

What exactly is an incel? A Google search yields the following definition: a member of an online community of young men who consider themselves incapable of attracting women and take a hostile view of women and sexually active men. In an online exchange with EL PAIS, the anti-fascist writing collective Proyecto Una (Project One)  the mission of which is to form feminist alliances online  refers to an older tweet that remains true today: being a virgin is different from being an incel. One is a social condition, the other political.

On the incel.is forum, where Komesarj originally published his farewell post to the incel community, the tone of the messages resembled expressions of congratulations to a perennial opposition candidate who has finally won an election. Only when word got out that Komersaj had lost his virginity did the matter take on serious overtones, including accusations of betraying the movement. His friends in the forum are happy for him, while others dogpiled [an organized torrent of online hate] on him when the story went viral, says Arsenio Cuenca, who researches the intersection between the extreme right and technology at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris.

Cuenca says Komersajs case is emblematic: Masculinist communities are supportive communities where the main interest is not to hate women or learn how to seduce them but to have a network. In his own way, the former incel.is forum moderator confirmed the sociologists thesis in his farewell message: Every time I felt sad (...) I looked at all the messages you sent me and kept going. I felt like Goku and you gave me your strength.

But the fact that incels form a community of support does not mean that they think of collective solutions to their problems as, say, a trade union would. Quite the opposite. As Simon Copland, a researcher at the Australian National University who specializes in the so-called manosphere  the network of masculinist websites, blogs and forums that includes (but is not limited to) incels  explains, There is a very real complaint about society and about the position of men in it. But since they blame society for everything, they have decided that society is not the solution. Copland concludes that theirs is a really unhelpful individualistic, neoliberal approach.

Poor men

If the general public is given to discourses of self-help and self-improvement  as philosopher Eudald Espluga analyzed so well in his now classic No seas tu mismo: apuntes sobre una generacion fatigada [Dont Be Yourself: Notes on a Fatigued Generation]  that is also true in the specific case of men. The boom in narratives of self-fulfillment has become a publishing phenomenon; they have racked up thousands of reviews on Goodreads. The authors are self-styled gurus of seduction. These prophets of flirting preach that, with sufficient effort, any loser can become an alpha male. In her ethnography of the universe of these gurus  Alpha Male. Seduire les femmes pour sapprecier entre hommes [Alpha Male: Seduce Women to Be Appreciated by Men]  anthropologist Melanie Gourarier wonders whether the rhetoric of the crisis of masculinity will be a means for promoting the return to the old gender order.

Komesarj represents several phenomena within the manosphere. In addition to the incel.is forum, in which he no longer participates, the former incel also moderates looksmax.org, a forum dedicated to the art of enhancing ones appearance, known as looksmaxxing. This buzzword is nothing more than the self-help narratives translation into a set of tangible techniques that will supposedly help one stop being an incel.

I exercised, ate healthy, and generally just tried to be social and active, Komesarj explained in his farewell message. And this has been my main endeavor for five months. In looksmaxxing, both the objective of becoming an alpha male who can have sex with women and the process of reaching that goal reaffirm masculinity. It is said that rituals like freezing cold showers and intermittent fasting reinforce the practitioners masculinity. The groups fixation on Chads  prototypical sexually active alpha males  also reflects this obsession with appearance.

The Chads facial bone structure  strong jawlines and cheekbones  represents the ideal that looksmaxxers want to achieve. How? Through dubious techniques like mewing, which consists of pressing ones entire tongue against the roof of ones mouth. The practice is supposed to help define the jaw more. More worrisome is bonesmashing, or shattering the bones, which involves micro-cracking the cheekbones or chin with a hammer so that, according to its proponents, when the bones are re-soldered, they will appear more robust.

Much worse than a joke

As ridiculous and laughable as the incels and allied specimens may seem to us, someone willing to hit his own face with a hammer is no joke. It should be noted that Komesarj, who at this point in the reading might seem sympathetic, is as politically problematic as most incels: he uses racist slurs, makes transphobic remarks and calls women a succession of holes.

Copland reminds us that ridiculing incels has the potential to erase the violence they can inflict, and in recent years we have seen many misogynistic attacks around the world. For example, before fatally plowing his van into 10 people and injuring 16 others in Toronto, Alek Minassian posted on Facebook that the incel rebellion [had] begun. His post referred to Elliot Rodger as an inspiration. Rodger murdered six people in Isla Vista, California. In the 141-page manifesto he left behind, Rodger explained his desire to punish women for rejecting him and sexually active men for leading better lives than he did.

In 2021, Jake Davison shot and killed five people in Europe. Ultimately, the crime was not classified as a terrorist attack, but the English YouTuber posted videos from the incel culture he shared with Komesarj. For example, both subscribe to the ideology of the black pill, a fatalistic and deterministic derivation of the idea of the red pill as a sort of curse that haunts unattractive men.

In light of these events, the liberal New America think tank and the Institute for Research on Male Supremacism, which researches masculinist ideology, have compiled a series of recommendations for tackling this type of violence. The document advocates differentiating between the terms incel and misogynistic incel. While the former simply refers to involuntarily celibate people and may even include women, the latter refers to an ideology and a movement that professes a strong belief in so-called male supremacism.

It is worth noting that the notion of male supremacism is, like so many things, a specter. For example, Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro did not physically desecrate the U.S. Capitol and Brazils Planalto Palace, respectively. But each could end up facing penalties for having harangued their followers into committing such outrages. The Proyecto Una collective refers to the concept of stochastic [randomly determined] terrorism: massacres are just the tip of the iceberg; there are leaders who whip anyone who will listen to them into a frenzy.

Organized hatred

Content creator and actively feminist comedian Ana Polo, who has a podcast called Oye Polo [Hey, Polo], knows a lot about these misogynistic men. Polo has been the victim of several hate campaigns, but she remembers one of them  led by a far-right Youtuber whose name she will not mention  as particularly harsh: There is a sort of vassalage (....) of loyalty to ones king. All those people who came to insult me were like his troops. The consequence? They have expelled me from the public space that is the internet (...) Thats exactly what they want, to keep us quiet. And they end up getting that.

Polos fellow podcaster Andrea Gumes (Tardeo and Ciberlocutorio [Cyber Parlor]) has had better luck so far, but she knows that the manosphere also has a target on her back. In my case, I feel that I create digitally from a controlled zone, a small bubble secured by a podcast that reaches whoever wants to [hear it] and short-range social media. If Tardeo were on the air on an FM radio station at 9 a.m., that bubble of false protection would burst, she says. Indeed, that already happened, albeit on a smaller scale, when Ciberlocutorio made the leap to TikTok: The algorithm didnt have us very well situated, and when we talked about divorced man energy, it opened the door for all the divorced people in Spain to see our video. It wasnt [a] pleasant [experience], but I cant say it was devastating, either.

The fact that a podcast intended for a young and feminist audience crossed paths with misogynistic divorcees is par for the course online. On the internet, nothing is what it seems. Just ask Rolling Stone magazine journalist Miles Klee, who threw his duffle bag over his shoulder and set off into the bowels of the manosphere to investigate the Komesarj story. He ended up discovering that Twitter user @user9263372017p  allegedly Komesarjs brand-new girlfriends account  had been created only a day after Komesarj announced that he was no longer an incel. That seems suspicious, doesnt it?
Efavirenz is an antiretroviral medication commonly used to treat the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and has helped save millions of lives in sub-Saharan Africa. But it has also caused serious psychiatric disorders in patients, including depression, paranoia, suicidal thoughts and more. While these complications are occasionally seen in AIDS patients of European and Asian origin, we now know that Black Africans are genetically more susceptible to these adverse effects.

The reason for this higher susceptibility is found in an African variant in the CYP2B6 enzyme related to metabolism of efavirenz (EFV) that occurs in half of the sub-Saharan population. Its presence leads to slow absorption and elimination of the antiretroviral, which increases toxicity and triggers potentially harmful psychiatric effects.

One way of avoiding this risk is to reduce the dose  less of the active ingredient is administered when there is a high probability of impaired metabolism of EFV. Another option is to use theoretically safer antiretrovirals such as dolutegravir. This is what Botswana, South Africa and some other countries did in 2019, following a World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation.

Nicola Mulder, a professor of computational biology at the University of Cape Town (South Africa), cites EFV as an example of how much ethnic factors matter when administering medications. Genetic differences between populations can have a tremendous impact on treatments, sometimes posing significant health problems, she said. What works for Europeans doesnt necessarily work for Africans, said Ann Daly, a professor of pharmacogenetics at the University of Newcastle, in the U.K.

Pharmacogenetics, a term coined in 1959 by Friedrich Vogel, can be defined in several ways, but it all boils down to humans responding differently to the same drug. This is because of immutable traits, genetic hallmarks embedded in our DNA that are with us for life.

Millions of drugs come into Africa and we have no idea what might happen. We may face serious public health problems in the future Pedro Gil, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm

Millions of drugs come into Africa and we have no idea what might happen. We may face serious public health problems in the future, said Pedro Gil, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm (Sweden). While Western countries get plenty of information about drug effects based on extensive trials, this is not so in Africa. This happened with EFV, which was later found to have a high incidence of adverse mental health effects in sub-Saharan Africa.

Gil says the same has happened with some malaria programs that administer amodiaquine, a prophylactic drug widely used against seasonal malaria in the Sahel. It was found to cause severe stomach upset in 30% of children in countries like Mali. The root of that problem was once again genetic. Because of the stomachaches, many mothers to stop giving the pill to their children, said Gil, causing a loss in confidence in this drug and maybe future drugs as well.

Pharmacogenetics enables precision medicine  personalized treatments adapted to a patients individual characteristics. This approach helps physicians choose medications and modulate dosages with microscopic precision and almost no error margin.

When pharmacogenetics is approached from a broader ethnic or population perspective, it only aims to establish averages. It can provide valuable information on a patients probable response to a drug based on ethnicity, but is not as precise as rigorously personalized medicine. Its advocates argue that this approach enables mass drug distribution to be fine-tuned to a specific population since its not feasible to do genetic tests on every patient.

A woman taking antiretroviral HIV medication pills in Nairobi, Kenya. Donwilson Odhiambo (SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)

Patients with sub-Saharan origins are doubly neglected. They participate minimally in the clinical trials of new drugs and also in the test groups of the pharmacogenetic research that has proliferated in recent decades. In 2020, a meta-analysis (an analysis of multiple studies) dove into hundreds of published studies on potential genetic correlations in 300 drugs. People of African origin were only included in 15 of the drug studies and almost half of these were American descendants of slaves.

The lack of reliable information leads sub-Saharan Africans to take medicines based on blind faith. They must trust that the response expected in Caucasian (and, to a lesser extent, Asian) populations will also apply to them. Ultimately, they are forced to rely on recommendations from Western laboratories and research centers.

Frances Adiukwu, a psychiatrist and researcher at the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria, told us the problem forced her into a trial-and-error process with patients. She says people in her country with serious pathologies like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are very reluctant to see a psychiatrist. They usually go first to a shaman or pastor. When they finally come here and see us continually changing medications and dosages, they lose faith in the system, she said. The disease then gets worse and the patients condition deteriorates. About 60% of people in northern Nigeria have fast metabolisms, said Adiukwu. Perhaps the logical thing would be to start treatments with high doses.

In Europe, there is little genetic diversity and a lot of money. In Africa, there is little money and a lot of diversity Innocent Assimwe, University of Liverpool (U.K.)





Last year, Adiukwu scoured the scientific literature on pharmacogenetics in psychiatry. Her search yielded 2,550 results between 2020 and 2022. Fewer than 40 studies mentioned African populations. This irked her enough to contact the top experts in the field to see what could be done about the dearth of research. Getting no response, she wrote an article for The Lancet, the worlds highest-impact medical journal. I felt I had to do something, to do my bit, she said.

Another facet of drug safety and efficacy in sub-Saharan Africa is the regions immense genetic diversity. Gabon alone has more diversity than the entire European Union. While people from Portugal and Finland may look very different, they are almost clones from a pharmacogenetic perspective, said Gil.

Innocent Assimwe, a Ugandan researcher at the University of Liverpool Center for Personalized Medicine (U.K.), neatly sums up the problem: In Europe, there is little genetic diversity and a lot of money. In Africa, there is little money and a lot of diversity. The conclusion seems obvious  there is very little research on ethnic differences in drug response where its most needed. Assimwe says this profound asymmetry in the pharmaceutical industry reflects colonialist thinking. If a drug is safe for whites, its safe for Blacks.

Assimwe extensively analyzed the ethnic factor in studies on warfarin, the worlds most widely used anticoagulant, and found a clear pattern of Caucasian bias. The evidence from the existing research on warfarin is useful for patients of European origin and, to some extent, patients from parts of Asia. But they are of little use to those with African ancestry or the indigenous peoples of Latin America.

PCR equipment can also be used for genetic testing, which is a very useful pandemic byproduct for genotyping the sub-Saharan ethnic melting pot

Pedro Gil has found a ray of light in all this darkness: genotyping the sub-Saharan ethnic melting pot with a focus on the variants that most influence drug metabolism. This ambitious undertaking is no longer an impossible dream because of Covid-19. The technology transfer of the last few years is an incredible opportunity, he said. In a twist of fate, the equipment for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing can also be used for genetic testing, a fortuitous outcome of the pandemic.

Still, PCR testing machines have limitations, says Assimwe. They can genotype according to certain variants, but cant discover new ones that may be important for understanding how Black populations respond to drugs like warfarin. The technology needed to dive into the labyrinths of the human genome (with its complex puzzles of polymorphisms, alleles and other technicalities) is much more expensive, says Assimwe.

The H3Africa project was launched in 2010 to focus on genotyping the African continents populations while searching for new variants. Funded by donors from the U.S. and U.K., the project established a collaborative research network with the shared mission of narrowing the gap between Africa and the global genetic-health revolution. So far, it has genotyped 50,000 Africans from 30 countries, a modest number considering the continents overwhelming DNA heterogeneity.

The H3Africa project will shut down shortly when its funding dries up. Professor Nicola Mulder, who has been coordinating the projects bioinformatics work, is confident that the collaborative research will carry on somehow. We are considering various options, including becoming an NGO.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition
Financial markets' focus at the end of the week would continue to be on the US central bank.

Another raft of top officials was scheduled to deliver remarks starting from 1345 BST with New York Fed boss, John Williams.

He would be followed by Fed Governor Michelle Bowman at 1400 BST.

At 1600 BST meanwhile, Fed chairman Jerome Powell would join his predecessor, Ben Bernanke, on a panel in Washington to discuss monetary policy.

In the background, the ongoing negotiations around the US government's debt ceiling were likely would not be far from investors' minds.

Worth noting, perhaps, some analysts had begun to speculate with the possibility of a deal being announced at the weekend.

On home shores, just past midnight consultancy GfK was to release the results of its consumer confidence survey for May.

And at 1045 BST, the Bank of England's Jonathan Haskel would deliver a speech on "new directions in the measurement of productivity".

Across the Channel, the market spotlight would be on factory gate prices in Germany for the month of April which were due out at 0700 BST.

Overseas, investors would be waiting on national core consumer price figures for April in Japan.

Friday 19 May

INTERIMS

Titon Holdings

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

AB Dynamics, Seneca Growth Capital Vct, Seneca Growth Capital Vct B

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

JPMorgan Japan Small Cap Growth & Income, Primary Health Properties

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Consumer Confidence (EU) (15:00)

Producer Price Index (GER) (07:00)

ANNUAL REPORT

Dillistone Group

SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Me Group International

AGMS

Bank of Georgia Group, Permanent TSB Group Holdings (CDI), Sancus Lending Group Limited NPV

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

GFK Consumer Confidence (00:01)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Alpha Group International, Drax Group, Dunedin Enterprise Investment Trust, Genel Energy, Howden Joinery Group, JPMorgan US Smaller Co. Inv Tst, Jupiter Fund Management , Kenmare Resources (CDI), Luceco , Man Group, Rotork, Spirax-Sarco Engineering, Videndum

FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE

Sampo OYJ
European stocks gained on Thursday, riding an upbeat Wall Street session on hopes that a deal to resolve the US debt ceiling dispute was close.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.43% to 465.99, with all major bourses higher.

Germany's Dax added 1.33% to 16,163.36, alongside a 0.64% move to the upside for the French Cac-40 to 7,446.89, although Spain's Ibex 35 was only 0.02% higher at 9,213.10.

"European markets got off to a strongly positive start to the day in early trading, with the DAX pushing up to its best levels this year, as it looks to retest the record highs set at the back end of 2021;" said CMC Markets UK chief market analyst Michael Hewson.

"The afternoon session has seen a modest retreat from the highs of the day, with US markets initially acting as a drag, before pulling higher on comments from House Republican Kevin McCarthy that a debt ceiling deal could be on the floor of the house by next week."

In equity news, shares in UK telecoms giant BT Group slumped 5% as the company announced plans to cut 55,000 jobs by 2030.

Shares in Future tanked 16% after the media group lowered its full-year expectations on the back of 'challenging' market conditions.

Volkswagen gained 2% on the carmaker's plans to overhaul its core brand to increase efficiency and returns.

Deutsche Bank added 3% after it agreed to pay $75m to settle a lawsuit by women who say they were abused by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, and accused the German bank of facilitating his sex trafficking.

British luxury fashion brand Burberry fell even as it reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter sales.

Aston Martin rallied after Chinese auto group Geely committed to invest 234m in the luxury car maker, to become its third-largest shareholder.

Several markets, including those in the Nordics and Switzerland, were closed for Ascension Day.
A young woman was dancing in a nightclub in Madrid this November when she was approached by a woman dressed from head to toe in expensive designer labels and who had obviously had cosmetic surgery. The woman told her that she was very pretty and offered her a job as a model at private parties. All she had to do was go to exclusive events, hang out with the guests and then leave. It seemed easy. So she accepted. It was easy money for a 16-year-old girl. They arranged to meet a few days later at a house where she was supposed to provide her services, not far from the nightclub. There, she realized something was off. When she realized that this was not what she had been sold, she managed to hide and call the police to report that she was being held hostage in a house. Officers went to the address she gave them and rescued her. They discovered that she had been abducted by a sexual exploitation network. And that she was not the only one.

In addition to this minor, there were three others who told a similar story. They had received offers in nightclubs or through social networks. Many of them had been asked to attend a kind of job interview in which their qualities as luxury escorts were assessed. For the evaluations, they were all told to go to the same place: the ringleaders house. It was the home of the woman who had approached the 16-year-old girl and her husband. They lived in a high-end apartment in the Tetuan district (Madrid, Spain), where rent was 3,500 ($3,769) a month and for which they had advanced four monthly payments. They paid for the apartment by sexually exploiting women, according to the police, which has arrested the couple and six other members of the scheme. Through their investigation, authorities have discovered up to 18 women enslaved by the organization that had been operating in Madrid for at least a year.

The girls went to the houses voluntarily, thinking they were going to parties or private events. They arrived with a suitcase to stay several days and what they found was that for the first three weeks they were not allowed to leave the house, explains Tomas Santamaria, chief inspector of the Madrid office of the Border and Immigration Force (BPEF) and the forces human trafficking liaison. Those were the rules: three weeks. The teenager who triggered the investigation into this organization had just arrived at the house, so they had not yet taken her cell phone and that is the reason why she was able to call for help.

The woman who lead the trafficking organization at the time of her arrest.

From the moment the girls set foot in the houses, they became part of an online catalog in which they were offered as a product. College girl, silky skin, affectionate, 24-hour alcohol. The person who managed the appointments was the woman who recruited the girls in nightclubs. She would receive calls from clients on one number and then pass on what she had agreed with them to her employees on another phone, Santamaria said. It could be a minimum service of 60 ($64.62) for sex or the complete package with what they considered the best girls  especially two of them  in a house call for more or less time and with drugs included. The one Ive got now has bought an hour with the girl and candy (cocaine), the woman is heard saying in a wiretap. The offer could be customized as much as the customer wanted. There were some who called [for services] three or four times a week, notes the chief inspector.

At the beginning, the girls, all very young, received 50% of what the men paid  an amount that decreased with different excuses. Many of them were trapped in the network because the suspects threatened them with an alleged debt they had accumulated and also with being reported, as some of them were in Spain undocumented. One of them had been taken from the Mediterranean coast and trafficked to Madrid.

This case is a clear example of the new trends of sexual exploitation in Spain. The criminal networks have left public places and recruitment is now done through the networks themselves, and these organizations need far fewer members to control the girls, Santamaria sums up. The transfer of this kind of slavery to private homes makes the work of investigators extremely difficult, as they have to gather evidence for months to get permission from judges to enter and search private property. This is not like 20 years ago, with operations where we were arresting 100 people. There were those who watched the girls in the street, other security guards who prevented other gangs from entering their territory, people who moved the girls, and those who kept the accounts. Now, with one person on each floor, they have everything under control, explains the chief inspector.

From their luxury home, the Venezuelan couple at the top of the organization supervised the houses. Thanks to video surveillance systems purchased over the internet for just 30 ($32.32), the couple had a 24-hour view of what was going on in each of their houses. They watched the women when they came in, when they left, how long they spent with each man, and if there was anyone staying longer than the time hed paid for, the officer notes. Agents have found that the more trust the victim develops with her client, the more likely the exploited woman is to ask for help to get out of the situation. It is not uncommon for clients themselves to report the exploitation of a victim to the police.

The couple hardly ever stopped by the houses, except to collect money from time to time or to replenish the store of narcotics paid for by the men who contacted the organization. The group controlled five apartments: a villa in Arturo Soria, three houses in Tetuan and an apartment in Puente de Vallecas (Madrid). Between them, they got around in their BMW X6, a vehicle valued at 100,000 ($177,770), when they were not on vacation in exclusive destinations or dining in expensive restaurants. A life of luxury supported by a network of exploitation.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition
The organic vegetable box company Riverford is to become 100% owned by its staff after its founder, Guy Singh-Watson, agreed to sell his remaining 23% stake for almost 10m. Singh-Watson, who sold nearly three-quarters of the company to employees in 2018, will take a 9.8m payment over five years and immediately hand full control to a trust on behalf of its 900 staff who each receive an annual profit share and participate in the running of the business.  Guardian

Asda is planning to cut pay for about 7,000 workers in stores close to London by about 5% despite the surge in the cost of living in Britain. The UKs third biggest supermarket, which was bought by the billionaire Issa brothers and private equity firm TDR Capital in 2020, said it was in consultation about removing a 60p an hour supplement from workers at 39 stores sited outside the M25 but near to the capital.  Guardian

The Bank of England has told the Treasury that it is planning to reject Revolut's application for a banking licence, after a two-year campaign by Britain's most valuable fintech company. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the arm of the Bank responsible for licensing, informed the Government in March that it planned to issue a statutory warning notice to Revolut within a few weeks.  Telegraph

Up to 1 billion will be invested in the microchip industry over the next decade as part of the governments long-delayed semiconductor strategy  a fraction of the tens of billions being invested by the US and the EU. Publishing its plans for boosting production of the crucial electronic components, the Department for Science, Industry & Technology acknowledged that the UK would never be a superpower in the sector because of the expense of building semiconductor factories, known as fabs.  The Times

The investor revolt at The Restaurant Group intensified yesterday when the hedge fund leading the rebellion accused the Wagamama operator of excluding certain shareholders from key information ahead of next weeks annual meeting. Oasis Management Company, which has used its 12.3 per cent to take issue with TRGs remuneration, financial performance and other concerns, has written to Ken Hanna, the quoted companys chairman, expressing its deep concern regarding the equal treatment of shareholders.  The Times
The Spanish power grid on Tuesday tasted an appetizer of the renewable energy banquet that is expected to flourish in the coming years. For nine hours, between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., the generation of green electricity was more than enough to cover 100% of Spanish peninsular demand, a milestone that had already been reached on previous occasions, but not for such a prolonged period. The achievement  which was backed up by figures sent to EL PAIS by the state electricity provider Red Electrica de Espana (REE)  took place, moreover, on a typical weekday, when the consumption pattern is higher, and not on a holiday or at the weekend, when demand falls sharply.

A huge drive in the installation of renewables  especially photovoltaics  is enabling Europes fourth-largest economy to cover an increasing part of its electricity needs with renewable energy, something that not only substantially reduces the countrys carbon footprint but also applies downward pressure on prices during daylight hours. Above all, it increases the incentives  both environmental and economic  to invest in storage and to electrify transport, industry, and heating, which are intensive in oil or natural gas consumption.

The fact that for a good part of Tuesday the Sun, wind and water generated more electricity than was demanded by companies and households in mainland Spain (in the Balearic and Canary Islands archipelagos, fossil generation is always greater) does not mean that nuclear, gas  whether combined cycle or cogeneration  and coal-fired plants stopped feeding energy into the system altogether. What it means is that, in that time slot, clean sources produced enough to cover all domestic needs. This apparent dissonance is explained both by exports to France, Portugal and, to a much lesser extent, Morocco and Andorra, and by the consumption of pumped hydro plants, which expend energy during the cheaper hours and generate when prices are higher, and whose data is not included in the figures provided by the REE.

Tuesdays renewable record was made possible by the confluence of exceptional photovoltaic and wind production. Not only because of the weather  it was a day of sunshine, wind and moderate temperatures, the most favorable conditions for both technologies to perform at their best  but also because of the strong increase in their total generation capacity in recent times, both in large installations and in the form of self-consumption. In the latter case, that of rooftop solar panels, the impact is twofold: they add supply by injecting their surpluses into the grid and reduce demand when there is sunshine.

What is relevant is that this is not something cyclical, but on the way to being structural, both because of the fall in demand and, above all, because of the increase in photovoltaic generation, says Natalia Fabra, a professor of economics at the Carlos III University in Madrid and author of the Spanish proposal for the reform of the European electricity market. There are many lessons to be learned from what happened on Tuesday: the importance of interconnections, because, with the ones at our disposal today, discharges cannot be used; the importance of storage; the need to accelerate electrification, which is lagging far behind; and the need to bring demand into the central hours of the day, which is when renewables produce more.

It is also noteworthy that the milestone of 100% green electricity coincided with the temporary inactivity of three of Spains seven nuclear reactors two for refueling and one due to a temporary electrical anomaly. That meant that renewables had more room, explains Xavier Cugat, project manager at a photovoltaic company who is at the origin of the statistic. The nuclear closure schedule is not only carried out well, but it is also conservative: at the rate at which we are installing renewables, it could even be brought forward. What will provide more flexibility is hydropower and, within hydropower, pumping, adds the expert.

By 2030, Spain will have three fewer nuclear reactors and it turns out that renewables are solving the problem on their own, says Pedro Fresco, former director of Energy Transition in the Valencia region. Not only is nuclear power contributing less but Spains waterfalls, another of the countrys biggest sources of electricity, are being severely hit by the drought, which is reducing productive capacity in many areas. It is true that it is a one-off, and at a time of very good solar and wind production, but with very little water and with hydroelectric power at a technical minimum... even so, we are covering 100%. Where will we be in three years, when we will have between 10 and 15 gigawatts more of photovoltaic and another five of wind? There is a huge window of opportunity for hydrogen and electric cars, especially in the central hours of the day, adds Fresco. But we need strategies to take advantage of it.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition
Disney Star Network announced sustaining its streak of breaking viewership records for Indian Premier League (IPL) on television with 2.1 crore new viewers tuning in to watch the 'rivalry week' or Week 6 of the ongoing 2023 season.

With the additions of new viewers, the tally of total live broadcast viewership has gone up to 47.14 crore after 57 games, which is the highest in IPL history at the same stage, the company said in a media release.

The seven matches in Week 6 crossed a peak concurrency of three crore with the MI vs RCB match registering a peak concurrency of 4.7 crore, the highest for week 6. The broadcaster also witnessed a y-o-y growth of more than 44 per cent in Weekly TVR (Week 6), compared to the last edition.

The Rivalry Week was a special initiative by Disney Star to brand Week 6 of Tata IPL 2023 as a "must watch" week with key rivalries between the most popular teams and teams from the North & South.

"Disney Star is building the highly anticipated 'Race To The Playoffs', from 23rd May 2023, through a host of initiatives across live coverage, programming, and fan engagement. The league is at its competitive best with 5 teams still fighting for the remaining three Playoff spots, with Gujarat Titans already qualified," the release further said.
Here are the top 10 stocks that could be in focus in today's trade:

ITC

ITC Ltd has outperformed analyst expectations with a 21.4% surge in standalone net profit for the March quarter, on the back of stronger cigarette sales and softening commodity prices. The company, known for its Gold Flake cigarettes and Bingo chips, reported a net profit of Rs 5,086.86 crore for the quarter ended 31 March, up from Rs 4,190.96 crore a year ago. The figures topped the Rs 4,868 crore predicted in a survey by Bloomberg analysts. Quarterly operating revenue rose 6.57% from Rs 16,426 crore a year ago to Rs 17,506 crore. Revenue, too, beat Street estimates of Rs 16,721 crore.

InterGlobe Aviation

InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, which operates IndiGo reported a profit of Rs 919.2 crore, a record for the March quarter, as air travel boomed. Total income during the quarter rose 78% from a year earlier to Rs 14,600 crore, the low-fare airline said, citing robust demand and high other income, including interest income on savings, compensation from engine makers and viability-gap funding received from the government. The March quarter of FY22 was impacted by weakened travel sentiment amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. As a result, the company reported a loss of Rs 1,681.8 crore and a total income of Rs 8,207.5 crore during the period.

Nexus Select Trust

Nexus Select Trust REIT Ltd will debut at the bourses today. The initial public offer (IPO) has been subscribed 5.45 times on day 3 as per cumulative data from the exchanges. the non-QIB portion (NII, HNIs, retail and corporate) or other investors portion was subscribed 6.22 times, and Qualified Institutional Investors or Institutional investors portion was subscribed 4.82 times on Day 3. The IPO consists of a fresh issue for Rs 1,400 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) for up to Rs 1,800 crore. At the upper price range of 100, the IPO is worth Rs 3,200 crore.

Reliance Industries

Shein is set to re-enter India as soon as this month by partnering with one of the countrys largest retail businesses, Reliance Retail, according to people familiar with the matter, in a bid to tap Indias growing consumer market and diversify its China-centric supply chain. The Indian government has approved a partnership between the online fashion retailer and the retail unit of the conglomerate, the people said. With this agreement, Shein is likely to source fabrics from small businesses in India, the people said, which could help Shein to diversify its supply chain beyond China.

Bata India

Footwear major Bata India Ltd on Thursday reported a 4.5% jump in standalone net profit for the three months ended 31 March 2023. The company reported a profit of Rs 65.55 crore compared to Rs 62.7 crore reported in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. The footwear retailer reported a 17% jump in quarterly revenue from operations to Rs 778.5 crore. In fiscal 2023, Bata India drove aggressive network expansion with over 2,050 stores in close to 700 cities; of this, franchise and shop-in-shops constitute over 37% of its retail network.

Nazara Technologies

Nazara Technologies' subsidiary NODWIN Gaming on Thursday announced that it has signed a definitive to raise $28 million crore from new and existing investors. The majority of these funds will be channelized towards growing the gaming and esports ecosystem of Nodwin by expanding and incubating newer IPs, growing its emerging market footprint and for strategic acquisitions that drive value to the network. All existing investors of Nodwin Gaming, which includes Nazara, KRAFTON, Inc. and JetSynthesys will join new incoming investors in this funding round, said Nazara Technologies in its filing.

United Spirits

United Spirits Ltd reported a 7.3 per cent rise in standalone net profit to Rs 204 crore for the quarter ended March 2023. This is against a net profit of Rs 190 crore in the year-ago period. The revenue from operations declined by 25 per cent to Rs 5,783 crore in the March quarter as against Rs 7,732 crore in the last fiscal. The total income declined to Rs 5,799 crore for the period under review as against Rs 7,749 crore in the year-ago period, said United Spirits in a regulatory filing.

REC

Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) is set to significantly expand its loan book under the renewable energy (RE) portfolio, aiming for Rs 2.4 lakh crore by the financial year 2030. REC, a key player in energy sector project financing, has been actively contributing to Indias renewable energy goals and has taken various initiatives to accelerate the implementation of RE projects in the country. The companys foray into the non-power infrastructure sector has been instrumental in its growth and development, with Rs 85,735 crore in sanctions coming from the infrastructure and logistics segment.

Gland Pharma

The generic injectable-focused pharmaceutical company, Gland Pharma Ltds reported net profits at Rs 78.68 Crore during Q4, saw a sharp decline of 72% over Rs 285.90 Crore reported in the year-ago quarter. The net profit was also impacted by a one-off expense worth Rs 56.46 Crore towards an impairment loss. The companys revenue from operations at Rs 785 Crore was down 29% year-on-year during Q4. The company attributed this decline to a shutdown in the production line during the quarter at its Pashamylaram (Telangana) Penems manufacturing facility due to line upgradation.

Tata Elxsi

Tata Elxsi Ltd reported a 26% year-on-year rise in its net profit for the fiscal's fourth quarter ended March (Q4FY23) to Rs 201.5 crore. The Tata Group company had reported a profit of Rs 160.01 crore in the year-ago period. The company's revenue from operations for Q4FY23 rose 23% on year to Rs 838 crore from Rs 681.7 crore. Sequentially, it rose 2.5% from Rs 817.7 crore. The IT company's total income for Q4FY23 rose 23.4% on year to Rs 863.6 crore from Rs 699.8 crore in Q4FY22.
South African wicket-keeper batter Heinrich Klaasen's attacking century (104 off 51) propelled Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to 186/5 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Match No. 65 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. After Klaasen, Harry Brook (27 off 19) was the second-best scorer for SRH. Both Klaasen and Brook stitched a quickfire stand of 74 runs for the fourth wicket.

Put in to bat first, Sunrisers Hyderabad were off to a slow start as RCB pacers Mohammed Siraj and Wayne Parnell kept the openers Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi on a tight leash. SRH got some momentum in Parnell's second over with the openers hitting the pacer for 16 runs. However, New Zealand spinner Michael Bracewell dismissed both openers in his first over to put a halt to the scoring rate.

Abhishek (11) got out while playing a cut shot while Tripathi (15) could only loft his shot to short fine-leg for a catch, leaving SRH at 28/2 after 4.3 overs. In-form Heinrich Klaasen then came to the party and hammered Shahbaz Ahmed for 16 off his first over, as SRH ended the Power-play with 49-2.

The decision from SRH management to send the in-form batter Klaasen up the order paid dividends as he continued his aggressive approach which resulted in a flurry of fours and sixes. On the other hand, skipper Aiden Markram was enjoying the show from the other end and happily playing the second fiddle as SRH raced to 81/2 after 10 overs.

In the very next over, Klaasen hit leg-spinner Karn Sharma for a six and took a few singles to complete his half-century in just 24 balls. RCB desperately needed a wicket and it was Shahbaz Ahmed, who broke the 76-run stand by removing Markram.

Despite taking Markram's wicket, RCB didn't get any respite and new batter Harry Brook also looked in fine touch from the very first ball, which he faced. Brook, who made a comeback to the side after missing a few games, played some classy shots to get sixes and boundaries. On the other hand, Klaasen was in no mood to stop and took the RCB bowlers to the cleaners with SRH reaching 133/3 after 15 overs.

The decision to bring Shahbaz in the 17th over by captain Faf Du Plessis backfired as both Klaasen and Brook clobbered him for 19 runs. Parnell gave big relief to RCB by conceding just 7 runs in his over. Klaasen eventually smashed a poor delivery by Harshal for a straight six and got his ton off 49 balls.

However, Harshal had the last laugh as he bowled a dipping yorker to dismiss Klaasen. Siraj, who was playing on his home ground, then bowled an excellent over, giving just 4 runs and taking the wicket of Glenn Phillips, to keep Sunrisers to 186-5 in 20 overs.
Virat Kohli's excellent century (100 off 63) and Faf du Plessis' fine fifty (71 off 47) outclassed Heinrich Klaasen's hundred and led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to a thumping eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Match No. 65 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. With this win, RCB jumped to the fourth position in the table having 14 points in 13 matches and boosted their Playoff chances. On the other hand, SRH remained at the bottom of the table with just four wins in 13 games.

South African wicket-keeper batter Klaasen's maiden IPL century (104 off 51) propelled Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to 186/5 in 20 overs. After Klaasen, Harry Brook (27 off 19) was the second-best scorer for SRH. Both Klaasen and Brook stitched a quickfire stand of 74 runs for the fourth wicket. On the other hand, Michael Bracewell was the most successful bowler for RCB with his superb 2-13.

Chasing 187 to win, openers Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis gave RCB a flying start, scoring 64/0 after 6 overs. It was Kohli, who started the show for RCB, hitting four boundaries in the first two overs bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Abhishek Sharma. Natarajan bowled a decent over to concede just 7 runs. However, both Du Plessis and Kohli went after Kartik Tyagi, hammering the young pacer for four boundaries in an over. During the process, Faf miscued his shot but Glenn Philips couldn't get a hold of the ball.

Both Kohli and Faf pierced the gaps with surgical precision and kept on picking boundaries at their will as RCB were moving strongly in the run chase. With runs flowing from both ends, SRH skipper Markram was forced to make frequent bowling changes. Against debutant Nitish Kumar, spinner Mayank Dagar, openers were a bit cautious but they kept the score-board ticking to take RCB to 95/0 after 10 overs.

Philips came to bowl the 12th over and both Kohli and Faf completed their respective fifties in that over and RCB were cruising towards the title. It seemed like RCB brought their clinical best to the business end of the tournament courtesy Kohli and Du Plessis, who continued their batting carnage as the chasing team were 150/0 after 15 overs.

Nothing was going in SRH's favour as Virat brought his fantastic century after a long wait of four years. It was Kohli's sixth hundred in the IPL, drawing level with Chris Gayle and he stitched a massive opening partnership of 172 runs with Faf du Plessis. In the very next delivery after his century, Kohli got out to Bhuvneshwar in the fifth ball of the 18th over but he had done more than enough for his side. Though Du Plessis was dismissed by Natarajan in the next over, the likes of Glenn Maxwell (5 not out) and Michael Bracewell (4 not out) took RCB over the victory line with four balls to spare.

Earlier, put in to bat first, Sunrisers Hyderabad were off to a slow start as RCB pacers Mohammed Siraj and Wayne Parnell kept the openers Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi on a tight leash. SRH got some momentum in Parnell's second over with the openers hitting the pacer for 16 runs. However, New Zealand spinner Bracewell dismissed both openers in his first over to put a halt to the scoring rate.

Abhishek (11) got out while playing a cut shot while Tripathi (15) could only loft his shot to short fine-leg for a catch, leaving SRH at 28/2 after 4.3 overs. The in-form Heinrich Klaasen then came to the party and hammered Shahbaz Ahmed for 16 off his first over, as SRH ended the Power-play with 49-2. The decision from SRH management to send the in-form batter Klaasen up the order paid dividends as he continued his aggressive approach which resulted in a flurry of fours and sixes.

On the other hand, skipper Aiden Markram was enjoying the show from the other end and happily playing the second fiddle as SRH raced to 81/2 after 10 overs. In the very next over, Klaasen hit leg-spinner Karn Sharma for a six and took a few singles to complete his half-century in just 24 balls. RCB desperately needed a wicket and it was Shahbaz Ahmed, who broke the 76-run stand by removing Markram.

Despite taking Markram's wicket, RCB didn't get any respite and new batter Harry Brook also looked in fine touch from the very first ball, which he faced. Brook, who made a comeback to the side after missing a few games, played some classy shots to get sixes and boundaries. On the other hand, Klaasen was in no mood to stop and took the RCB bowlers to the cleaners with SRH reaching 133/3 after 15 overs.

The decision to bring Shahbaz in the 17th over by captain Faf Du Plessis backfired as both Klaasen and Brook clobbered him for 19 runs. Parnell gave big relief to RCB by conceding just 7 runs in his over. Klaasen eventually smashed a poor delivery by Harshal for a straight six and got his ton off 49 balls. However, Harshal had the last laugh as he bowled a dipping yorker to dismiss Klaasen. Siraj, who was playing on his home ground, then bowled an excellent over, giving just 4 runs and taking the wicket of Glenn Phillips, to keep Sunrisers to 186-5 in 20 overs.

Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 186/5 in 20 Overs (Heinrich Klaasen 104, Harry Brook 27; M Bracewell 2-13) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 187/2 in 19.2 overs (Virat Kohli 100, Faf du Plessis 71; T. Natarajan 1-34) by eight wickets.
70 crores (equivalent to $8.51 million) in a Series A round led by IvyCap Ventures, and Alteria Capital also participated. The startup said that the funds would be used for expanding operations in India from its current presence in just three cities. It aims to spread to more than 15 cities by March 2024. Agraga, a digital logistics startup, raised around70 crores (equivalent to $8.51 million) in a Series A round led by IvyCap Ventures, and Alteria Capital also participated. The startup said that the funds would be used for expanding operations in India from its current presence in just three cities. It aims to spread to more than 15 cities by March 2024.

Agragas primary goal is to develop connections with asset partners including warehouses, client departments, and transporters, and to expand its technology so that it can provide end-to-end solutions globally. Moreover, the startup also aims to resolve the challenges related to deliveries with various intermediaries.

Venkatesh Narayanaswamy and Anoop Raghavan co-founded the logistics firm, which debuted in 2021. It offers many services such as rail and road transport, warehousing, ocean and freight, insurance, customs, and finance. Moreover, the startup is said to have a digitally equipped ecosystem along with partner integration, data analysis, product curation, and optimizing supply chains so that it could provide adaptable solutions which could cater exclusive needs of every customer.

As of now, the startup claims to have 200 customers in the enterprise and MSMEs sector. Apart from this, there are 500 digitally connected partners. Agraga plans to expand its cross-border and contract logistics business into the developing markets of the SEA and ISC regions. The startup also aims to achieve this goal by offering a start-of-the-art digital ecosystem to the MSMEs and enterprises. This would enable them to take their logistics operations to a different level.

Vikram Gupta, founder and managing partner of IvyCap Ventures commented on the investment. He said that Agragas platform leverages technology to provide a streamlined, transparent, and most of all, cost-effective approach to the supply chain ecosystem. He added that there is excitement because of this vision as it is believed to transform the global logistics industry.

Narayanaswamy, one of the co-founders, said that the Indian government is targeting to increase its exports to USD 2 trillion by 2030. Therefore, to achieve this aim, technology is important, and Agragas advanced technology would be of great help. He continued by saying that Agragas delayered supply chain offers considerable cost savings, and that the companys streamlined procedure reduces the amount of coordination and monitoring required of its clients

Lastly, he said that Agraga can offer sustainable solutions to thousands of MSMEs as it continuously broadens its national and international presence while maintaining a low-touch business approach. And their ultimate goal is to provide a top-notch experience to all of their partners and customers while generating long-term value for all of our stakeholders.
Porter, Indias tech start-up has announced its first overseas expansion with services in Dubai. The expansion comes under the companys plans to explore the GCC regions and the Indian subcontinents.

The startup raised $100 million in series E funding and is backed by investors including Tiger Global, Sequoia and Lightrock India. With its expansion in this region, the company will provide a platform to ensure hassle-free deliveries through its LCVs and two-wheelers, addressing the gap in intracity logistics requirements for small package delivery for both personal and business requirements.

Porter has more than 20,000 customers currently on board and plans to make an investment of $6 million in the UAE for the next three years. The company is also looking to bolster operation in these cities and further increase customer acquisition twofold.

Pranav Goel, CEO & Co-Founder, Porter said, We are thrilled to enter UAE as our first overseas market. Dubai being a global business hub, acts as an excellent facilitator for organisations that aim to establish their footprint in the region. We are thankful for all the business-friendly policies and infrastructure that the region has to offer and we expect to scale our business exponentially in the market. We further plan to invest USD 50 million into international expansion over the next 5 years. The expansion in UAE will catalyze the holistic growth of intra-city logistics ecosystem globally while also benefitting the local economy. We, at Porter are also actively focusing on generating employment opportunities for driver-partners and offering economical and efficient solutions backed by technology to the customers.

We are happy with the response that our platform has received and our learnings from the Indian market will help us in accelerating our growth in the UAE. Our model helps to bring efficiency into the system by addressing issues such as lower utilisation of vehicles, unavailability of the right vehicle type and the high cost for customers. This expansion should help provide a logistics solution for businesses as well as offer consumers direct control over their deliveries, said Ankit Dwivedi, AVP  International Business, Porter.
KYODO NEWS - May 19, 2023 - 16:38 | World, All

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Friday against U.S. interference in the internal affairs of other countries in a meeting with the leaders of five Central Asian nations in the ancient city of Xian coinciding with the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima.

Xi stressed the importance of standing "firm against external attempts to interfere in domestic affairs of regional countries" in a speech at the first in-person summit of China and the Central Asian countries, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. His remarks were apparently directed at the United States.

The leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan agreed to officially inaugurate biennial summits to deepen cooperation. The next summit will be held in Kazakhstan in 2025.

The meeting was apparently aimed at countering the three-day G-7 summit that opened Friday in the western Japan city, where the leaders are expected to issue a strong warning against Beijing's military assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific. U.S. President Joe Biden is among the leaders participating in the event.

On Wednesday, Yang Yu, minister of the Chinese Embassy in Japan, conveyed his serious concern to Takehiro Funakoshi, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, about "the negative China-related trends" of the G-7 summit, according to the embassy.

Yang urged Japan to "promote a balanced handling" of China-related issues at the summit and stop making the gathering "a political performance of anti-China containment."

Comparing the China-Central Asia summit and the G-7 meeting, the Global Times, a tabloid affiliated with China's ruling Communist Party, said in an editorial Thursday that there was a stark contrast between "the clean stream of multilateralism" injected in Xian and "the geopolitical sewage" discharged in Hiroshima.

The paper claimed the Xian summit is aimed at promoting mutual respect and equality, while the G-7 gathering demonstrates "the imperial arrogance" and "Washington supremacy."

Related coverage:

Japan, France agree on close cooperation in issues regarding China

G-7 leaders set to mention importance of voicing concerns to China
Indias fastest-growing coffee chain, Nothing Before Coffee (NBC), currently has 35+ stores throughout India; offering an exclusive opportunity for people across regions to enjoy high-quality, flavourful brewed coffee & beverages at economical prices.

NBC, a takeaway beverage specialty chain, is all set to embark upon its franchising journey in the Indian market in collaboration with Building Brands For Tomorrow (BBFT). NBC has signed an exclusive collaboration agreement with BBFT, a leader in restaurant franchising and startup growth consulting. BBFT has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in helping restaurants and retail businesses acquire investors and expand their footprints through franchising. Through this partnership, BBFT will accelerate the overall expansion of Nothing Before Coffees franchise network in India.

"At Nothing Before Coffee, we strive to provide an authentic and affordable coffee experience for all. Our vision is to become the household name for coffee and beverage cafes in Tier 2 cities of India and beyond, offering a convenient and delicious coffee experience. We are proud to have created an environment where people of all ages can come together and enjoy our offerings without feeling intimidated by the complexities of coffee. We believe in the power of coffee to bring people together, and we're excited to share that with our customers," said Akshay Kedia, founder & CEO of Nothing Before Coffee.

"Nothing Before Coffee has its footprints spread in both Tier-1 & Tier-2 cities of India and currently operates in 8 states, with 35 outlets, in high footfall hubs in a systematic radius of 3-4 Kilometers between each outlets, including National Capital Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Indore, Surat, Nagpur, Raipur, Kota, Bikaner, Ajmer, Jodhpur, Bhilwara, Bhilai, Raichur, Ganganagar to name a few. The coffee chain plans to open 50+ stores in India over a 12-month period.

Rohit Singh, founder and CEO of Building Brands For Tomorrow (BBFT), said: NBC is excited about the collaboration, as it will enable them to leverage the expertise of BBFT to achieve their business objectives. The partnership will also foster a culture of continuous growth, ensuring that Nothing Before Coffee remains at the forefront of the restaurant & F&B industry.
India's leading venture capital (VC) firms huddled in startup hub Bengaluru earlier this week to engage in discussions covering a wide range of topics- from investment strategies to corporate governance lapses and the establishment of sustainable, long-term companies as the worlds third-largest startup ecosystem is going through one of the worst periods of funding winter.

Sequoia Capital India, one of the countrys most-aggressive startup investors, organised a gathering at its Bengaluru office in Indiranagar, bringing together partners from prominent homegrown early-stage VC firms like Accel, Lightspeed, Matrix Partners, Fireside Ventures, Blume Ventures, Prime Venture Partners, A91, Stellaris and Orios Venture Partners, among others, according to several people familiar with the matter.

The discussions commenced in the evening at approximately 5:30, followed by a convivial dinner and drinks session, providing an opportunity for partners from these VC firms to network, the people said, requesting anonymity. Shailendra Singh, the managing director of Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia, was also present at the gathering, the people added.

It was a long-due industry catchup and Sequoia happened to be the host, said one of the people quoted above.

It was a forum for partners to interact and share their learnings. They also talked about collective goals and priorities. A lot of focus was also on AI (artificial intelligence) and SaaS (software-as-a-service), where partners discussed how to build global SaaS companies that also provide good exit opportunities for VC firms, the person added.

Interestingly, during its earnings presentation last week, SoftBank Group Corp, one of the largest late-stage investors in India, also discussed its plans to bet big on AI and the technologies built on AI. Furthermore, partners at the gathering also engaged in conversations centred around the state of corporate governance matters within Indian startups and explored strategies for early-stage VC firms to implement effective checks that promote adherence to unquestionable business practices, a second person quoted above said.

Topics like whether VCs should hold board seats at startups and for how long were also discussed. People also were talking about installing best practices for audit committees, the person quoted right above said.

The timing of the gathering of VCs to address concerns such as corporate governance lapses and accounting practices is crucial, especially considering that certain Indian startups have faced scrutiny in the past 15 months due to allegations of misconduct, accounting discrepancies, and fraudulent behaviour. Companies like BharatPe, Trell, Zilingo, and GoMechanic have found themselves embroiled in controversies surrounding alleged misconduct and fraudulent practices.

Moreover, the discussions come at a time when VCs have become extremely conservative due to worsening macroeconomic headwinds. Funding to Indias startup ecosystem, currently the third-largest in the world, has dropped more than 60 percent in 2023 to $10 billion so far versus the same period of 2022, according to data from Tracxn Technologies. Some of Indias most-aggressive VC investors have also gone extremely slow on investments. Sequoia Capital India, for instance, has participated in just 11 deals as of the first week of May versus 28 in the same period of 2022.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- A former NYPD police officer was sentenced to nearly three years in prison Thursday in Brooklyn federal court, stemming from an alleged bribery scheme.

Michael Perri, 34, was sentenced by United States District Judge Rachel P. Kovner to 33 months of imprisonment and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine for conspiring to use interstate facilities to commit bribery.

Co-defendants James Davneiro, 44, and Giancarlo Osma, 40, NYPD police officers with the 107th Precinct, were both sentenced to prison for the same offense earlier this year. Davneiro will spend one year in prison, while Osma got a 14-month sentence.

Michael Perri, after retiring from the NYPD, conspired with two police officers to betray their oaths and the public with promises of easy money, and, as a result, they have all been sentenced to prison for their corruption, said United States Attorney Breon Peace. This office will vigorously investigate and prosecute public servants and their associates who exploit their positions of power for private gain.

According to court filings, Perri orchestrated a scheme to pay thousands of dollars in bribes to co-defendants Davneiro and Osma to benefit an automobile repair and tow trucking business he had started after retirement from the NYPD.

Beginning in May 2020, Davneiro and Osma responded to automobile accidents and directed the damaged vehicles to Perris business -- instead of using the NYPDs Directed Accident Response Program (DARP).

To ensure that no particular business receives favored treatment, NYPD officers are required to use a computer system that randomly selects a licensed tow trucking business. Davneiro and Osma bypassed DARP and directed damaged vehicles to Perri in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribe payments paid by Perri, according to a press release.

Davneiro, and Osma continued to participate in the scheme until May 2021, when they were arrested. In total, the duo steered at least 73 vehicles damaged in automobile accidents to Perri, resulting in total profits of more than $150,000. In exchange, Perri paid Davneiro and Osma more than $50,000 in bribes.

Perri has already paid the government over $158,000 in forfeiture.
A group of thieves stole more than 20 purses  valued at $120,000  from a Dior store in New Jersey, according to a report.

The incident occurred at the Mall at Short Hills at around 10:45 p.m on Monday. Four men walked into the store and took 25 purses off the wall, Millburn police told NJ.com. The store is located on the malls upper level.

Employees ran to a back room for safety and called for help, police officials said. The thieves sped off in a black SUV.

Anyone with information is asked to call Millburn Police at 973-564-7001.
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!
Listed asset manager MA Financial has expanded its platform with the acquisition of the dAlbora marina portfolio worth $225 million, that will seed its newest fund in the growing alternative asset investment arena.

Under the deal, the ASX-listed group has bought Australias largest marina network consisting of 10 premium locations across Australias eastern seaboard, including the iconic Rushcutters Bay, The Spit and Cabarita Point in Sydney Harbour, and two marinas adjacent to the Melbourne CBD.

The Spit marina in Sydneys Mosman, now owned by MA Financial.

The launch of the new fund, MA Marina, reflects the groups push into the alternative asset sector, which is gaining traction as traditional sectors such as office are facing the significant headwinds of rising vacancy rates and rental pressure for landlords.

Childcare centres, pubs, agriculture, healthcare and life sciences are among a myriad of businesses that are termed alternative investments, and make up the estimated $235 billion market.
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 After more than half a century of scorching sun, torrential rain and fallout from fireworks and bushfires, are the tiles on the Sydney Opera House looking a little less white? And what about mould, lichen, dirt, dust, chips, cracks and bird poo on top of the worlds most famous set of sails? These are questions building operations manager Dean Jakubowski is asked often, including on top of the A2 sail  the buildings largest  when this masthead spends a day with him. Sydney skyline is seen from the top of the A2 shell. Credit: Dylan Coker People think when they come on site on a dull day that the sails arent so white, says Jakubowski, a former carpenter who now gets to abseil all over Australias best-known building for a job. But that was absolutely intentional. A rooftop visit is a rare honour, and comes 60 years after work began on stage two of the building  the roof and tiles. Opera House building operations manager Dean Jakubowski makes his way through the passage to the crawl space leading to the top shell of the sails on section A2. Credit: Dylan Coker Like peeking underneath a haute couture garment, on the way up we get a glimpse of the fine craftsmanship in parts of the building the public never sees.

Advertisement

We scale spiral staircases made from original brushbox timber up to the catwalk above the Concert Hall ceiling to the crown of the building. We then shimmy up the spine of the largest sail through a confined space; a claustrophobics nightmare. Inside, a privileged few who have come this way before have graffitied their names on the concrete cavity beneath the tiles. Workman Domenico Quaranta was here in 1964 and former Opera House Trust chair Joseph Skrzynksi in 1997. Swimmer Sam Riley and the 2000 Olympic torch relay and the Jackie Chan stunt team in 2016. Opera House building operations manager Dean Jakubowski and height access specialists Morgan Pugh and Dean Gillies prepare to inspect the shell of the sails on section A2, which includes the famous buildings highest point at 68 metres above sea level. Credit: Dylan Coker Not only do we get a birds-eye view of the city, the harbour and the 14 shells of the Sydney Opera House, we also get a close-up view of the tiles on top, and the tools  some of them drawing on video game technology  used by the maintenance team to keep the building shipshape. Sydney Opera House building operations manager Dean Jakubowski and height access specialist Dean Gillies work on the shell of the sails in the early morning light. Credit: Dylan Coker If you look closely at the pattern you can see that we have got gloss and matte tiles, Jakubowski says. He says the lichen atop the building is not removed in order to retain the character of the building. Its the same situation for mould on the sealant between cracks in the tiles, which actually helps protect the concrete beneath. Theres the odd tiny crack or chip, but any bird poo has been washed off by rain.

Advertisement

The self-cleaning tiles never get a scrub down by anything but the elements. Danish architect Jorn Utzon planned it that way, the spherical shape of the shells allowing for good drainage so that cleaning would not be necessary. The 4228 chevron tiles required to cover the shells were produced in a factory set up under the Monumental Steps. Tiles were placed face down in one of 26 chevron-shaped beds, each with a base shaped to match the curve of the roof. Credit: Dylan Coker He worked on the tiles, made from clay with a small percentage of crushed stone, for three years with Swedish company Hoganas. In the early 1960s, more than 1 million Sydney Tiles were shipped from Sweden. Some 940,840 cover the building now and the remainder are in an off-site storage facility. Its not known exactly how many tiles are left or, indeed, how many Sydney bathrooms may sport some spares souvenired by workers in the 1960s. A lady in Rozelle contacted me once when parts of her 120-year-old house were about to be demolished, telling me the previous owner had tiles that were used in the construction of the Sydney Opera House, Jakubowski says. She said she did not want to throw them in the tip, as the last thing she would want to do would [be to] throw away part of Sydneys history. I jumped at the chance to replenish our supply. A small pallet of 250 tiles was delivered, which was welcome given they are no longer in production. Every five years Jakubowski and a team of six take six days to abseil all over the building to hand-test each tile.

Advertisement

Its pretty painstaking work, like using a glockenspiel and tapping every single tile, Jakubowski says. Like the musicians who work below the sails, a good ear is required to pick the higher-pitched drummy sound of a cracked or faulty tile. Since he started work here in 2006, only 50 tiles have needed replacing; 12 in this most recent tile test, 14 and 24 in previous tests. Building operations manager Dean Jakubowski and height access specialist Dean Gillies abseil down the eastern side of the A2 shell. Credit: Dylan Coker When you are talking close to a million tiles, it is a bit of a testament to the people who built it, Jakubowski says. The Opera House tile-check method is the same used in home bathrooms, explains Szymon Stec, a civil engineer and qualified abseiler who knows the buildings external engineering like the back of his hand.

Advertisement

Like in your bathroom when a tile debonds from the building  if you tap it, it sounds hollow  the same principle is used for the Opera House, he says. Obviously we use slightly different tools, with our spring-loaded hammer, which, when it taps, doesnt break the surface. You have to be very careful with the heritage site. Stec heads the 18-strong Sydney Opera House team at Arup  the consultant engineering company that has worked on the building since 1957. It was founded by Dane Ove Arup, who contacted his countryman Utzon to help construct the building the day after his winning design for the international competition was chosen from 233 others. Stec has worked climbing all over the Opera House for 10 years. The first time you do it you take a lot of selfies because you are on the Opera House but then you kind of realise it is just work. The Sydney Opera House under construction in April 1966. Credit: SMH

Advertisement
Lee met me for lunch at XOPP by Golden Century while visiting Sydney from her home near Byron Bay for the opening of her latest exhibition. The show, Lindy Lee, A tree more ancient than the forest it stands in, features new sculptures in steel, bronze and wood, and works on paper at Sullivan+Strumpf in Zetland until May 27. Loading Earlier this year, she collaborated with the Carla Zampatti label: Lees Rain and Fire drawings on paper were converted to prints used for the collection, while Lee and her team burnt and pierced silk to create an artwork for the launch runway show. Later this year, she is due to unveil Being Swallowed by the Milky Way at the Queens Wharf development in Brisbane. The eight-metre, 8000-kilogram bronze sculpture is dotted with tiny holes and promises to appear as a shimmering, light-filled galaxy of silver and gold stars at night. Last year was also busy, with two pieces of public art bearing the Lee imprimatur  one in Sydney and one in Hong Kong.

The former was One Bright Pearl, a ball two metres in diameter made of mirror-polished stainless steel commissioned by Woollahra Council for one of its public parks. Loading The latter was the Eye of Infinity at the Peak Tram Central Terminus in Hong Kong, a stunning eight-metre cast-bronze sculpture shaped like an eye and perched vertically on one end. Last year, Lees The Spheres featured on Brisbanes Art Boat at the Brisbane Festival, accompanied by musical interpretation. Next year is the scheduled installation of Ouroboros at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, a 13-tonne, four-metre sculpture of recycled metal that Lee promises will become a beacon for the gallery, pulsing with light and energy. An ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail.

It is quite a list, and Lee is animated as she describes the art not just in words but with her hands and face as well. But not everyone is enamoured with the Australian art worlds current fashion for commissions rather than the tried-and-true method of a curator buying an existing artwork. Artist Lindy Lee describing her artwork over a lunch at XOPP by Golden Century. Credit: Janie Barrett The $14 million price tag of Ouroboros for the National Gallery has particularly raised eyebrows, given it is a public institution that needs to be seen to spend public money wisely. It was recently in the news for its leaky roof, though to be fair, galleries usually have separate budgets for building maintenance and art acquisition. This mastheads art critic, John McDonald, called the move a scandalous abuse of public funds.

He is a generally a critic of the trend for art museums to bet big on commissions of work they have not yet seen and cannot control. He is also scathing of the way many public art commissions seem to follow trends  he described the Woollahra Council decision as vapidly conformist, asking: Is Lindy now the only sculptor in Australia? Loading Lee says the debate is painful for her personally but acknowledges it is necessary and important. She says the $14 million price tag has been independently audited and reflects the actual cost of materials and labour. A team of 130 people are working on the project full time, and Australia is gaining expertise in working with stainless steel. These huge commissions are not just about the object, its also all the other activity to create it and the more we have these ripple effects, the richer our culture becomes, Lee says.

The commissions also pay tribute to the life of the artist, to recognise that what youre doing is valuable, and to encourage you to keep doing it. Lee says there is a role for both acquisitions and commissions but when it comes to the scale of an Ourorobos, it would never exist without a commission to fund it. These huge commissions are not just about the object, its also all the other activity to create it and the more we have these ripple effects, the richer our culture becomes. Lindy Lee The teamwork and industrial processes required for projects of this magnitude also raise questions about the role of an artist: how much actual making is needed before someone can rightly be called a sculptor rather than a designer? Clearly, Lee could not make a 13-tonne sculpture like Ourorobos alone in her studio. She says she is as hands-on as possible: she comes up with the concept, draws the design, a factory makes a scale model, she works on the model with her collaborators, and it gets rescanned for final production.

While Lee trained as a painter, she has turned increasingly to sculpture because of her interest in materials and their material presence. Lee was born in Brisbane in 1954, growing up with a Chinese face in a white Australia. She felt for years she did not belong here, though she found later that she did not belong in China either. She feels Australian now and says we should celebrate how the nation has embraced its growing diversity. Racism makes me furious but things have changed so much, Lee says. We should reflect our success and be proud of it. She lived for many years in Sydney before moving to the Byron Bay area with Scott-Mitchell a few years before the COVID-19 pandemic. The mud crab with ginger and shallot. Credit: Janie Barrett She loves the natural beauty of the northern rivers but feels deprived of great Chinese food, so likes to treat herself when she visits the city. XOPP is a first for both of us.

Our location at Darling Square, on the edge of Chinatown and Darling Harbour, is fitting given that when Lee was starting out as an artist in the early 1980s, the Darling Harbour area was colonised by artist collectives. Darling Harbour was this derelict place and we would literally set up shows for the weekend and invite people because no one was here, she says. It was a wonderful training ground. You dont have those kind of spaces in Sydney any more. I let Lee order the food, signalling my love of seafood and confirming that Im up for crab. The XO pipis, the namesake of XOPP. Credit: Janie Barrett As well as the mud crab cooked with ginger and shallot, she orders the wok-fried pipis in XO sauce that the restaurant is named for. (XOPP equals XO pipi, geddit?)

She also orders fresh jumbo oysters, and a plate of spinach cooked with lots of garlic. The oysters are indeed enormous and come in an awkward set of three, so we joke that well have to fight for the third one. Naturally, theres tea: we go for chrysanthemum as a change from jasmine. Lee wanted coffee  she confesses she is absolutely exhausted by the relentless pace of her life  but there is none. The bill at XOPP She shares that she has been feeling so frazzled she was out buying stockings when she thought shed lost an artwork for the exhibition, only to find it safely back at her hotel room. It turns out Zen practice cant compensate for a crammed schedule, only make you more aware of its effects. Fortunately, the food and the tea is revitalising as well as delicious, and the owner chips in a discount. Despite her apologies for being tired, Lee seems perfectly articulate and thoughtful.

Over two hours, we canvas everything from Sydney Modern (she likes it but wants to see how it can be used for changing exhibitions) to artificial intelligence (she worries that it is another layer of unreality, and we are becoming untethered from our material existence in the world). It is notoriously hard for artists to make a living and Lee believes it is even harder now because of the cost of living and housing. She notices young artists feel pressure to plan a career in the arts rather than just to develop artistic vision and craft. Lee herself is finally making a good living as an artist, having only quit teaching a few years ago. Ive been working as an artist for over 40 years and its like everything is now coming together, she says. It might seem corny, but I remember reading about something Michelangelo said when he was 80, that now at last Im ready to start, the apprenticeship is over.
By Tomoyuki Tachikawa, KYODO NEWS - May 19, 2023 - 23:20 | All, G7, World, Japan

The Group of Seven leaders pledged Friday to boost sanctions on Russia to further undermine the country's "capacity to wage its illegal aggression" against Ukraine, hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was reported to be set to attend the G-7 summit in person.

The latest commitment in a G-7 statement released in Hiroshima, a western Japanese city devastated by a U.S. atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, came as concerns linger that Russia may use a nuclear weapon in its war in Ukraine launched 15 months ago.

The G-7 leaders, who began a three-day summit the same day, agreed that their nations will join hands to clamp down on schemes that allow Russia to circumvent the punitive measures through third-party countries, according to the statement.

The leaders also said the G-7 states will urge Russia to "immediately" and "unconditionally" withdraw its troops from its neighbor, promising to "make every effort" to bring a "lasting peace in Ukraine as soon as possible."

The summit kicked off with a historic joint visit to a museum dedicated to documenting the world's first nuclear attack.

Zelenskyy will visit Hiroshima to participate in the summit, Japanese and U.S. government sources said Friday, in a surprise move that could prompt the G-7 leaders to unite further to support the Eastern European nation.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida invited Zelenskyy to the G-7 summit during his trip on March 21 to Ukraine. If realized, Zelenskyy's visit to Japan would be the first since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

At the summit, the G-7 countries also agreed to uphold and strengthen the free and open international order based on the rule of law against the backdrop of China's increasing military assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region.

As this year's G-7 chair, Kishida, who represents a Hiroshima constituency, has said he will be presenting his vision of a world without nuclear weapons.

On Friday morning, Kishida welcomed the G-7 leaders at the Peace Memorial Park, where the museum is located. It marked the first time for G-7 heads to visit there together, including those from the group's nuclear powers -- the United States, Britain and France.

Through the events at the park, the G-7 "affirmed its commitment toward realizing a world free of nuclear weapons" and reconfirmed its stance that any threat or use of nuclear weapons by Russia is "unacceptable," Japan's Foreign Ministry said in a press release.

Japan is hosting the G-7 summit, which also involves Canada, Germany, Italy plus the European Union, for the first time in seven years, following the one it held in the Ise-Shima area of the central prefecture of Mie.

At the outset of the meeting in Hiroshima, Kishida said the G-7 needs to join hands to avoid "division and confrontation" and achieve a "cooperative international community," vowing to strive to bolster engagement with partners sharing the same values.

The agenda for the first day included the global economy, digital technology, the security situation in the Indo-Pacific region and nuclear disarmament.

With China not ruling out the possibility of using its military might to reunify self-ruled democratic Taiwan with the mainland, the G-7 states emphasized opposition to any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force or coercion.

The G-7 heads, meanwhile, confirmed the importance of dialogue with China to prevent any emergency in nearby waters, Kishida told reporters later Friday, with Sino-U.S. tensions escalating recently.

The G-7 members shared the view that stability in the Taiwan Strait is essential for regional peace, he said.

Kishida also said the G-7 leaders reached an agreement on how to advance nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, stressing that they mapped out an outcome document on the issue.

The G-7 will call on nuclear nations to disclose their capabilities to ensure transparency and continue trying to reduce the number of weapons, while positioning the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as the foundation for disarmament, Kishida said.

The NPT came into effect in 1970. The treaty designates five nations -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- as authorized possessors of nuclear arsenals, prohibiting other countries from acquiring them.

As for the world economy, the G-7 affirmed the significance of building reliable supply chains, with alarm rising about China's tighter grip on critical components that has jeopardized the national security of other major powers.

Among other key topics at the G-7 summit were risks associated with generative artificial intelligence, which can utilize vast amounts of data from the internet and other sources to generate text, images, or other media in a human-like way.

The G-7 leaders agreed that their countries will formulate the group's policy on generative AI by the end of this year. Responses to the fast-developing technology, featuring applications such as AI chatbot ChatGPT, have varied among member nations.

Related coverage:

Japan PM eager to aim for nuclear-free world at G-7 Hiroshima summit

Profile of leaders to participate in G-7 summit
Leo the zebra shark lies in the arms of scientists at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium as they place him into a sling and roll him over so that his smooth grey underbelly is exposed. Dr Michael Grimas steady hand holds a needle to Leos fin and withdraws blood, which is then placed into a vial.

The precious cargo will be sent to the US on dry ice to see if Leo, the two-metre shark, has the right genetics to save his species.

Leo the zebra shark undergoes DNA testing at Sydney Aquarium to see if he has the right genetics to be part of a breeding program. Credit: Janie Barrett

The aquarium is part of the worlds first re-wilding of the globally endangered shark species. It has three adult zebra sharks that are part of the program, with scientists hoping Leo boosts their breeding shark numbers to four.

The conservation initiative  called the StAR Project  is a multinational initiative, with 60 conservation groups, aquariums and government agencies working together, led by ReShark, to boost zebra sharks in the Indo-West Pacific region.
Advertisement

Eating outJust open French dip and cheesy birria bagels on the menu at Brooklyn Boys cosy new Surry Hills cafe The snug new site, which has just eight indoor seats and 12 outside, will be serving bagels with exciting schmears, fillings and dipping sauces from top chefs around town. Scott Bolles May 12, 2023 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Brooklyn Boy Bagels unveils its new cafe and bagel bar in Surry Hills on Friday, May 19. Theres more than bricks and mortar to get excited about, as BBB has also collaborated with chefs to pimp up its bagels. The French dip bagel comes with a bowl of broth for dipping into. Isaac Price Media Each month, BBB owner Michael Shafran will bring in a different chef to create a signature special. Well start with a French dip bagel from Leonard Grunbaum at Lenny Briskets, he says.

Advertisement

Rare roast beef dipped in broth with horseradish cream and fried eschalots. Michael Shafran with a rainbow bagel from Brooklyn Boys. Supplied Second on the menu will be a lamb birria bagel from Chicos Mexican Bar and Grill in Kirribilli, available from mid-June, which Shafran describes as beyond good. A Jalapeno bagel is fried, loaded with cheese and luscious lamb, and served with a savoury dipping sauce. Over coming months Bar Copains Morgan McGlone, Soul Dinings Daero Lee, Adam Wolfers (ex-Gerards Bistro, Brisbane) and Michael Rantissi (Kepos Street Kitchen) will also turn their hands to innovative bagel schmears.

Advertisement

The snug new site at 74 Reservoir Street has just eight indoor seats (plus another 12 outside) and is designed by Varvara Sellies from Sisu Interiors. Shafran has installed a red neon sign and some of fanciest tiling youll see in a cafe and bagel bar. Its in a food-lovers part of Surry Hills, with Single Origin on the strip and Firedoor around the corner. Brooklyn Boy Bagels, which are available at Harris Farm, has chalked up 10 years making what are widely considered among the best bagels in Sydney. The New York-raised Shafran says that mainly comes down to the corners many bakers cut. The fermentation, not boiling, using cheaper products, Shafran says while pointing out a new flour hes switched to despite it being more expensive. Brooklyn Boy and Chicos birria bagel with sauce. Supplied

Advertisement

Aside from bagels, hes also putting a rotating soup line-up on the menu. Matzo ball soup will definitely be one of them, he says. The coffee comes from Barrel One Coffee Roasters, and hes tossing around a few novel beverage ideas. My team mentioned a Boston cream coffee to channel a Boston cream pie [but Im] still working on that one, he says. Im all for it, but coming from New York, Id have to put an asterisk with F--- Boston on the menu, in honour of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. Open Mon-Fri 7am-3pm; Sat 8am-3pm. Shop 1, 74 Reservoir Street, Surry Hills, brooklynboy.com.au

Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up
Diversity and freedom, he was given to declaring, were the bedrocks of democracy. As minister for posts and telecommunications from 1977 to 1980, Staley set about changing the law to allow a multitude of voices the freedom to be heard over the airwaves. He knew his conservative colleagues in the Liberal Party would be horrified at unleashing politically unreliable and probably radical views into the ether, and in competition with commercial interests, too. He simply ignored them. I did one or two naughty things because I knew it would be controversial if I took it to cabinet, Staley chuckled during a filmed interview last year with John Martin, former president of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia.

Without informing other ministers, Staley wrote to Fraser declaring that community broadcasting was in accordance with party policy and therefore did not need to be considered by the cabinet. He came back and gave me a tick, so that was a fantastic breakthrough, said Staley. The result was the Broadcasting Amendment Bill of 1978. Staley said he believed fostering community broadcasting was among the most important things I ever did. Radio Ettamogah was to become one of the first community stations in Australia, beating by several months even the arrival of commercial FM  Eon FM and Fox FM in Melbourne, Triple M and 2Day FM in Sydney, FM104 in Brisbane, SAFM in Adelaide and 96FM in Perth. All very well to have a licence, of course. But who was going to present the first show when the licence kicked in at midnight?

Thursday night before the Easter long weekend was burbling along in fine style at Maudies Wine Bar, a popular establishment in Alburys main street. Journalists, actors from the Murray River Performing Group and assorted others were happily indulging in what was known as a quiet little drink. Amid the revelry, a message was delivered. Could I put down my glass and race out to the Radio Ettamogah studio  a broken-down old house on the outskirts of town near an area called Ettamogah, at the foot of One Tree Hill? Loading And so, having scooped up an armful of vinyl records on the way, I found myself among an excited group of technicians and volunteers led by a veterinarian and force of nature named Don Tynan, who had put everything on the line for this moment: the arrival of community broadcasting.

As the big studio clock clicked past midnight, one of the gathering, possibly Tynan or a technician named David Orames, announced that 2REM was on the air. And then it was over to me. I slipped on Pink Floyds new album, The Wall, and dropped the needle. Is anybody out there? boomed into the night. That impromptu show turned into a weekly late-night gig playing music you didnt hear on the commercial stations. After a while, quite a few listeners actually were out there. These days, on 2REM-FM and more than 450 other community stations, millions of Australians are tuning into a vast array of programs, from classical, country, jazz and alternative forms of music, to yarn-telling and commentary of all sorts.

Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have their own stations. Community-run radio all over the place gives voice to culturally and linguistically diverse, faith-based and music-based communities, and brings words to those who cannot read. Tony Staley, who steered the Broadcasting Amendment Bill of 1978 through the Fraser government and created community radio as we know it today. A survey by McNair Ingenuity Research Pty Ltd found in 2017 that more than 5 million Australians tuned into community broadcasts every week. And yes, there are radical voices, too. Plenty of them.
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 If Scott Morrison is proud of his legacy and determined to defend it it further reaffirms how detached from reality modern conservatives have become (All eyes on Morrison as he inches towards exit, May 19). On all objective criteria Morrison was our worst ever PM - trashing Australias international reputation and obstructing action on climate change, while going missing back home when the going got tough. Chris Roylance, Paddington (QLD) Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison departs Question Time at Parliament House this year. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen The photo of Morrison, left foot forward, striding out the door, made me smile and wonder: where to now? We know hes not going to put out a fire. Brother Stuart Robert has waved goodbye to federal politics via a limp letter of farewell, so, yes, maybe Brother Morrison wont be far behind (Robert resigns, triggering byelection, May 19). The photo is a sliding-door moment. The present and future intersecting. As Tom Gleeson says on Hard Quiz when a male contestant is booted off the show, thumbing towards the exit, There he goes. The door closes. And rest of the show goes on. Peter Skrzynecki, Eastwood There is a common theme to Morrisons actions. From Turnbull betrayal, holidays in Hawaii, the blokey image, grandstanding (Chinas Covid culpability and AUKUS) and multiple ministries, his self-interest is paramount. And so, he also remains in parliament, a millstone to his party with no apparent purpose other than a sinecure until he can market himself to a well-paid position that mollifies his ego. Rowan Godwin, Rozelle The question isnt when Morrison will quit politics  its why he hasnt already. Theres a simple answer. Given his employment history, no-one in Australia is prepared to risk him in the sort of job he imagines hes entitled to. Gary Stowe, Springwood Unemployable? Possibly. At least in continuing as an MP the only risk is that his electorate gives him the heave. In the Sutherland Shire? Unlikely. David MacKintosh, Berkeley Vale Whatever else his shortcomings, Morrison has to be given credit for not being a destabilising influence in his party. Unlike previous leaders from both sides of politics, he has avoided speculation about a leadership challenge  a luxury which Peter Dutton might do well to consider as he charts a course for the federal Liberals. Philip Cooney, Wentworth Falls

Advertisement

Is Morrison really mentoring younger colleagues while on the backbench? Best laugh Ive had all day. If thats true, then the Libs and their new Scomobots can spend the next 20 years in the political wilderness, with my blessing. Patrick McGrath, Potts Point No-one safe around under trained and over-armed police When I was a psychiatric nurse in the late 1960s, we were taught how to restrain an out of control psychotic patient by four nurses, each holding the corner of a blanket, pulling the blanket over the patients head and holding on until some sedation could be quickly administered. The ongoing reports of police using violent measures to subdue disturbed people is becoming more and more alarming and distressing (Dementia patient, 95, allegedly Tasered by police while in care, May 19). Surely, the police could be taught more reasonable methods for dealing with innocent, but unwell people instead of the ludicrous, uncalled for methods presently used. Heather Johnson, West Pennant Hills That two strong police officers were unable to grab a knife off a 95-year-old female dementia patient without Tasering her doesnt seem real. And she was using a walking frame! I struggle for words. Bizarre? Incredulous? Idiotic? Phil Johnson, Dee Why Absolutely disgusting. Police unable to subdue an elderly lady over 90 years old without a Taser. Welcome to old age and old age care. Excessive use of force is a crime. Michael Pieterse, Sydney I eagerly await a full report on the alleged Tasering of a walker and knife wielding 95-year-old retirement home inmate. Are we descending into the morass of US-style policing where excessive force to arrest a distressed person becomes common practice in law enforcement? Ken Osborne, Bowraville

Advertisement

Clare Nowland, 95, was allegedly Tasered by NSW Police at Yallambee Lodge, an aged care facility in Cooma. How could a 95-year-old nursing home patient with dementia simultaneously use her walking frame and carry a knife? I have difficulty in imagining how anyone could do both at the same time. How could the police be so insecure that they saw the need to Taser this woman multiple times? Surely, no-one is safe in nursing homes, nor are they safe when under trained and over-armed police are around. John MacKay, Asquith The person who decided some years ago to change the NSW Police Service into the NSW Police Force did a great disservice to this state. Words matter. Maureen Partridge, Baulkham Hills Go Ashley! I applaud Ashley Beeby for taking a risk in her work experience as a young 15-year-old, and following her interests in school subjects (I got an ATAR of 95. Now Im a heavy-vehicle mechanic, May 19). Choosing your passion over a conventional high ATAR path takes courage, to do that in a male dominated trade even more so. Through your dual passion of writing, I hope you can share your story with young people and their parents, making them aware that its possible to turn your interests not only into a job, but a profession which ignites you. As a parent of a child who also chose an unconventional path, Im cheering you on. Sharon McGuinness, Thirroul Ashley Beeby has learnt at a young age what most of us take years to understand and some never grasp. That is, life is much more rewarding and enjoyable if you pursue a career in something you are interested in rather than something that is deemed by others to be more prestigious. Congratulations to her and may she have a long and successful career. Roger Yandle, North Rothbury

Advertisement

Go Ashley! May your career choice, writing and mentoring bring encouragement, hope, and joy to many others. Sue Dyer, Downer (ACT) Executive government wording comes with problems The discussion on whether a tactical decision should be made to remove the Voice to executive government from the wording of the referendum proposal and, if the referendum is successful, to then introduce it by legislation (Campaign at point of No return, May 19) has been suggested in good faith by supporters of the Voice, but it comes with two significant problems. When the tactic becomes widely known, it will appear as some sleight of hand and will be condemned by the opposition. Even more seriously, if the manoeuvre were to succeed, any legislation enabling a Voice to executive government could be repealed by any future Coalition government. The leadership of First Nations peoples has requested that the wording, as is proposed, should be added to the Constitution. We should honour that request and work to make it a reality. Grahame Hackett, Bowral As support for the Indigenous Voice appears to be dropping, I find the arrogance and callous insensitivity of those who oppose it quite breathtaking. Many Australians are the descendants of original settlers who plundered the land and destroyed the lives and culture of the original owners who had lived here for over 60,000 years. Generations of new Australians followed the early settlers, and have also enjoyed successful lives in a warm and bountiful country. We newcomers set up mechanisms by which we can have access to a voice through which we can seek answers to our societal problems and, in time, have them addressed. We are being looked after. But who is caring for the needs of Indigenous Australians? Where is their voice? To deny them an equal right to their own, which would be co-operative, might be called un-Australian. Now I am ashamed and embarrassed to think it is ... Australian. Corin Fairburn, Bass Illustration: Simon Letch Credit: Your correspondent asks why it is necessary to enshrine an Indigenous advisory body, known as the Voice, in the Constitution (Letters, May 19). The answer to this question is that any such advisory body established by one federal government could be immediately abolished by an incoming government of the opposite persuasion as it would not be obligated by constitutional law to consult Indigenous people on legislation that specifically affects them. This has occurred in the past and, given the Coalitions current view on the Voice, would no doubt happen again. Dennis Metcalf, Drummoyne

Advertisement

Perform reform As Waleed Aly suggests, the stage three tax cuts need to be seen in the context of overall tax reform (Our real tax problem is the unfair burden on the worker, May 19). Instead, most commentators view them in isolation and so think they are either bad or good. But without wider reform, we will very soon need stage four, and stage five, and more if the average worker is not to incur a greater share of the tax burden. David Rush, Lawson Lumbering giant According to the Trade Minister, Chinas lifting of the ban on timber imports is a great outcome for the forestry industry (China lifts timber trade restrictions, May 19).

Though this seems to be a positive sign in an important relationship, in fact, it is alarming. Deforestation is a dangerous contributor to global warming as well as a driver of extinctions. Australia has the dubious honour of being a leader in deforestation, having destroyed 50 per cent of forest cover since European settlement. A large group of Australians, including many of the quiet, cute, vulnerable arboreal species, would object to forestry if they could. Koalas, gliders of all kinds, tree kangaroos and our unique bird species are not generally considered as their populations shrink along with their habitat. Penny Rosier, North Epping Exhaustion point The studies linking air pollution to health problems (Pollution linked to ADHD in children, May 19) should alone be reason enough to get rid of fossil-fuel transport, even without considering this pollution in relation to climate change. Its fair to say Planet Earth is exhausted. Dennis OHara, Wanniassa (ACT)

Advertisement
The Tasering of a 95-year-old woman suffering from dementia in a southern NSW care facility has tragically cast attention on the appropriate use of force by NSW Police officers.

Clare Nowland, a resident with dementia at the Yallambee Lodge aged care facility in Cooma, was in hospital on Friday night with life-threatening injuries after staff called NSW Police in the early hours of Wednesday to the 40-bed facility where the great-grandmother had lived for more than five years. They found her carrying a steak knife while using a walker. A senior constable deployed his Taser after she walked toward him and failed to drop the knife, according to police. Her family said she was Tasered in the back and chest and suffered head injuries, including a fractured skull and brain bleed, when she fell over during the altercation. She was in Cooma District Hospital on Friday night in a critical condition.

Clare Nowland, inset, was allegedly Tasered by NSW Police at Yallambee Lodge, an aged care facility in Cooma.

The use of a Taser on a 95-year-old woman seems inexplicable. The seemingly brutal use of force by the NSW Police against such a frail assailant has rightly shocked the nation. For the people of NSW, it has also prompted the kind of disbelief and disquiet at heavy-handed police behaviour that erupted in 2012 after Brazilian student Roberto Laudisio Curti died after being Tasered in the Sydney CBD. He had used LSD. Three of the four policemen charged as a result of his death were cleared of assault charges.

Following that death, police procedures were tightened, and officers were told never to use Tasers on people who were elderly, had a disability, didnt weigh much, or at risk of further injury, such as a brain injury, if they fell. Several of these rules appear to have been broken in Cooma.
Back in the 1950s, when senior constable and later chief commissioner Mick Miller wanted illegal gambling venues observed, his squad came up with several original tactics. They once dressed as abattoir workers carrying bins of offal next to an SP headquarters in western Melbourne. On another occasion, one stood alone in a suit carrying flowers near a Spring Street target, pretending to be waiting for a date. When the girl didnt show, he sadly placed the flowers in the bin but was able to report on the movements in and out of the building for a later raid. When deputy prime minister Jim Cairns was a Victorian policeman (the first with a tertiary degree), he was assigned to follow people the chief commissioner didnt like, including annoying reporters. In November 1936, he was in a shootout with murderer and armed bandit Bill Cody. Gentleman Jim, an avowed pacifist, got his man without putting a bullet in him.

A few years ago, as part of a super-secret Australia Federal Police operation, they followed a would-be hitman on the way to a job, ready to grab him before he pulled the trigger. The crook had an anonymous-looking older sedan for the job  too old, as it turned out, as it broke down not once but twice on the way, meaning he missed his moment. In the early 1980s, there was a series of small explosions at the homes of crooks recently acquitted in courts, with some witnesses identifying a yellow Ford Cortina in the vicinity. In a strange coincidence, the surveillance branch was using a similar vehicle, which means, of course, some mad bomber must have had an identical car (cough, cough). Mr Sin, Abe Saffron, at Sydneys Roosevelt Nightclub, 1951. Credit: Nine Media When the tales of corruption in New South Wales were getting to mammoth proportions, Victoria Police quietly slipped over the border to confirm a few things. The information on hand was that crime boss Abe Mr Sin Saffron was paying $750 per club to local police and $5000 a week to senior police. This was only a slice of the protection racket, with deputy commissioner Bill Allen in charge of the purse. Allen was as rotten as (vegans look away) a chop.

The mail was that once a week, Allen would leave headquarters and head to Parliament House to divvy up the takings. Sure enough, as Victoria Police watched, Bill left right on time and headed up Macquarie Street to feed the crooks. NSW Deputy Commissioner Bill Allen: as rotten as a chop. Credit: Robert Pearce While physical surveillance remains a key component of investigations, the electronic version is all the rage now. Think of the massive An0m sting that allowed the Australian Federal Police and international partners to download 27 million messages from crooks who thought they were using a super-safe app. There was a time when police illegally bugged telephones. NSW cops were the best, running a truckload on crooks that discovered corrupt relationships with politicians, lawyers and judges. They were eventually published as The Age tapes. Federal police had their own tapes and, after a hastily organised barbecue in Sydney, sent the tapes and transcripts to the bottom of the harbour, leaving the secrets to sleep with the fishes.

Victoria had a smaller unit known to a handful as the Broom Closet. The information from the tapes was laundered to appear as if it came from informers. The Closet was shut once senior police learned of its existence. Many years later, police would drop stories in the media to excite phone chatter from crooks. When we wrote a story relating to a particular drug dealer, a police officer rang to say the suspect must be a Naked City fan. That Saturday morning, a homeless person tried to sell the dealers phone to a St Kilda pawn shop. Apparently, on reading the column, the target had thrown his phone in a bush. One crook only ever talked while walking his dog, so police bugged the pets collar. The subsequent tape contained much slobbering, grunts and the odd bark, presumably from the dog.

Snitches: changing sides Crooks are sometimes made offers too good to refuse to become secret informers. Brian Latch, known as Mr X, was an informer in the 1960s. When a respected journalist ghosted his book, Latch dobbed him into the Tax Department for working an extra (unclaimed) shift at a newspaper. A hitman who worked for now deceased drug dealer Carl Williams was turned because Williams had short-changed him and expected the killer to plead guilty. When Williams was asked to look after the hitmans elderly mother, he sent her a paltry $1500. The hitman made statements to police and forced Williams to plead guilty to multiple murders. In 2010, Williams own plans to snitch hit a hitch when he was murdered with the stem of an exercise bike seat in Barwon Prison. When well-known NSW armed robber Raymond John Denning was arrested at the Doncaster Shoppingtown about to pull a job, he decided to change sides and become an informer. At one hearing, an unimpressed ex-colleague threw a large bone on the ground, saying: Theres your lunch, you dog. He died of a drug overdose six weeks after his prison release in what police believe was a hotshot.

Nick Cecil as The Great Pretender. Credit: Nick Cecil One of the most successful snitches was a professional musician who was a trusted insider in Tony Mokbels drug empire. He not only provided information to police but bugged phones for the syndicate leaders, eventually sucking the guts out of the rings computer, providing police with rock-hard evidence of drug transactions. Rumour has it he received a $1 million reward and was relocated with a new identity and now, in all probability, is playing the saxophone with a cruise ship band working out of Venezuela. Spies: actors without a script To be an undercover cop, you have to be prepared to be hated. Crooks see it as the ultimate betrayal: you befriend them before turning them in. Nearly 27 years ago, police launched Operation Barkly, an ambitious operation to infiltrate the Bandidos bikie gang. Two cops, given the names Wes and Alby, lived as bikies for 13 months and were involved in 30 drug deals in three states. They were so convincing, one was promoted to secretary-elect of the Ballarat chapter.
Well-connected former powerbroker Kempton Cowan has pleaded guilty to almost a dozen charges of possessing and transmitting child abuse material after fronting Perth Magistrates Court.

The 56-year-old former longtime boss of Joondalup Health Campus pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing child abuse material, seven counts of acquiring child porn and one count of soliciting child abuse material on Friday, more than a year after WA Police raided his Mosman Park home.

Kempton Cowan. Credit: Nine News

WA Police discontinued two charges against him, including one for using a carriage device to access child porn and another for causing child pornography material to be transmitted using a carriage service.

Cowan is facing a lengthy jail term over the offences, which each carry a maximum penalty of 15 years jail.
What a difference an election cycle makes. Before the 2019 poll, Chris Minns  then the humble MP for Kogarah and Labors water spokesman  sent a letter to the Berejiklian government urging it to stop a 19-storey overdevelopment above Kogarah train station.

Kogarah had been inundated with major residential developments right along the rail corridor, Minns complained, and it was wrong to force residents to deal with the negative externalities of such an increase in population.

You dont see the mayor of New York saying Manhattans full, we cant have any more buildings, were done: Premier Chris Minns at the Heralds Sydney 2050 Summit. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

Fast-forward to 2023 and the all-new Premier Minns is leading the charge against NIMBYism. We have to get more comfortable with the idea of going up, he told the Heralds Sydney 2050 Summit on Monday. Sydney cant grow by adding another street on the western fringe every other week.

Minns said it was the governments job to explain that infrastructure cannot expand endlessly to accommodate sprawl, and that the best way to protect open space was to have tall buildings that dont encroach upon much-loved parks.
Last weeks note was devoted to exploring how the federal budget lockup  a ritual in which journalists and editors are shut away for six hours on budget day  is now primarily an exercise in public relations management.

I had some great feedback to the note from readers, who praised the Herald for its daily role in calling out spin and efforts to conceal the publics right to know.

Today I want to discuss a much more outrageous exercise in media management  this time from the NSW Police.

Our state was shocked by news this week that a senior constable with 12 years experience Tasered 95-year-old Clare Nowland, a resident at the Yallambee Lodge aged care facility in Cooma.

Clares family say the great-grandmother, who has dementia, was Tasered in the back and chest on Wednesday morning after she was found with a steak knife while using her walker. Clare suffered life-threatening head injuries  including what one person familiar with the family claimed was a fractured skull and brain bleed  when she fell over during the altercation. She is fighting for her life in Cooma District Hospital.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The week of May 09, 2023, witnessed a gathering of several Justice Ministers from various countries in the Kingdom at the Symposium on "Human Factors vs Technology" held on the island of Aruba. This significant event, aimed at fostering discussions on crucial and strategic matters concerning general security, was coordinated by the steering committee "Information Coordination," led by Mr. Juni Nicolaas, Chief of National Security in Aruba.

Distinguished speakers at the Symposium included Mr. S. Hato, Minister of Justice of Curacao, and Mr. R. Tjon, Minister of Justice of Aruba. Their valuable insights shed light on the importance of investing in technology as well as human resources to effectively combat crime.

The symposium facilitated a platform for stakeholders in the local and regional justice chain, including chiefs of police from all countries in the Dutch Caribbean, RST, and representatives from semi-public and private sectors, to come together and exchange ideas.

During the event, the Chief Commissioner of Police of Sint Maarten Mr. C. John delivered a compelling presentation on utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI). His demonstration highlighted the advantages and disadvantages of AI implementation.

He also emphasized the need to analyze and use the vast amounts of data available strategically. His presentation also delved into the practices of data collection by big businesses through cookies, underlining the significance of sharing intelligence among different organizations for the overall security and well-being of communities.

The Chief Commissioner of Police of Sint Maarten delivered a significant proposal to the government of Sint Maarten, highlighting the importance of harnessing big data. The recommendation stressed the need to commence dialogues on the effective utilization of big data, not only to strengthen safety and security measures but also to foster the development of strategic plans that would drive economic growth for the country.

Acknowledging the vast possibilities offered by big data, the Chief Commissioner underscored its relevance in formulating holistic strategies for the advancement of Sint Maarten. By harnessing the power of data analytics, the government can make informed decisions and design comprehensive plans that address the various needs of the country, leading to overall progress and prosperity.

The Symposium on "Human Factors vs Technology" in Aruba served as a catalyst for valuable conversations and collaboration among stakeholders, fostering a collective approach to address security challenges. It reinforced the importance of investing in both technological advancements and human expertise to ensure effective crime prevention and control.

KPSM Press Release.
KYODO NEWS - May 20, 2023 - 04:59 | All, World, G7, Japan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join discussions with leaders of the Group of Seven major industrialized democracies in Japan's Hiroshima, officials said Friday, as the multilateral forum seeks to put more pressure on Russia to end its war against its neighboring country.

While confirming the plan, Ukrainian presidential office chief Andriy Yermak also said Zelenskyy will meet bilaterally with U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the three-day summit through Sunday, Ukrainian media reported.

Zelenskyy left Saudi Arabia's Jeddah on Friday after attending the Arab League Summit, the country's state-run media said. U.S. and British media reported Zelenskyy will arrive in Hiroshima on Saturday evening and attend a G-7 session the following day.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, confirmed on state television that Zelenskyy will attend the summit in person.

Danilov said that the president's "physical presence" at the gathering is essential for Ukraine to defend its national interests.

It will be Zelenskyy's first trip to Asia since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February last year. He has recently traveled to Italy, Germany, France and Britain for talks with their leaders, stepping up calls for more support for Ukraine as its soldiers need more equipment ahead of a planned counter-offensive.

"It's important for the G-7 leaders to hear directly from them about conditions on the ground," White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Hiroshima, without confirming Zelenskyy's planned trip.

"He was always supposed to participate. It's certainly that participation in whatever form it takes shows that the G-7 takes seriously our mutual commitments to Ukraine's self-defense," Kirby said.

The development comes just a day after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the chair of the G-7 summit, told reporters that Zelenskyy would participate in the discussions online on Sunday and would not be part of a session dedicated to the Ukraine war on Friday for domestic reasons.

When Kishida made a surprise visit to Kyiv on March 21, he said that Zelenskyy had promised to participate online in the summit.

The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, as well as the European Union, are now in the western Japan city that was devastated by a U.S. atomic bombing in 1945, amid lingering fears that Russia could use nuclear weapons in the ongoing war.

Some countries which do not belong to the grouping and are seen as being reluctant to side with Ukraine, such as India and Brazil, have also been invited to Hiroshima as guests.

"Our support for Ukraine will not waver. We will not tire in our commitment to mitigate the impact of Russia's illegal actions on the rest of the world," the leaders said in a statement on Ukraine after finishing talks on the first day of the summit.

The G-7 leaders agreed to roll out more measures meant to curtail Russia's ability to wage its war against Ukraine.

Related coverage:

Ukraine president to attend G-7 summit online on May 21: Japan gov't

G-7 to roll out steps aimed at hurting Russia's ability to wage war
Osisko Development reports exploration results at Trixie and outlines 2023 drill program at Tintic Project

Osisko Development Corp. (NYSE: ODV, TSXV: ODV) (\Osisko Development\ or the \Company\  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/osiskodevelopmentcorp/ ) is pleased to announce new 2023 underground diamond drilling (\DD\) results at its 100%-owned Trixie test mine (\Trixie\), within the Company\-s wider Tintic Project (\Tintic\ or the \Tintic Project\) and to provide an overview of the ongoing 2023 exploration program at Tintic, located in the historic East Tintic Mining District in central Utah, U.S.A. In addition, the Company is also reporting the remaining DD and reverse circulation drilling (\RC\) results from its 2022 exploration program.

Chris Lodder, President of Osisko Development, commented, \The underground diamond drilling results from this year\-s drill campaign continue to generate targets and understanding of the epithermal veins and breccias at Trixie. High-grade gold and silver is observed in the footwall of the T2 and T1 zones, as both disseminated and vein mineralization. As these initial results indicate, the drillholes are intersecting all zones within the deposit area and continue to build upon the exploration successes achieved in 2022. We are also excited to launch our initial drill campaign to target copper porphyry potential at Tintic, which is slated to begin in Q3 2023.\

DRILL ASSAY HIGHLIGHTS

This news release includes assays from 22 DD holes and 20 RC holes (refer to Tables 1 and 2). Select assay highlights include:

23.49 grams per tonne (\g/t\) gold (\Au\) and 58.79 g/t silver (\Ag\) over 1.37 meters (\m\) in hole TUG-625-106 (0.69 troy oz per short ton (\oz/t\) Au and 1.71 oz/t Ag over 4.50 feet (\ft.\)

19.54 g/t Au and 58.54 g/t Ag over 1.98 m in hole TRXU-DD-23-001 (0.57 oz/t Au and 1.71 oz/t Ag over 6.5 ft.)

43.44 g/t Au and 40.63 g/t Ag over 0.91 m in hole TRXU-DD-23-003 (1.27 oz/t Au and 1.19 oz/t Ag over 3.00 ft.)

62.82 g/t Au and 231.46 g/t Ag over 6.86 m in hole TRXU-DD-23-003 (1.83 oz/t Au and 6.75 oz/t Ag over 22.5 ft.) including

o 191.00 g/t Au and 707.00 g/t Ag over 1.07 m (5.57 oz/t Au and 20.62 oz/t Ag over 3.50 ft.) and

o 117.00 g/t Au and 393.00 g/t Ag over 1.68 m (3.41 oz/t Au and 11.46 oz/t Ag over 5.50 ft.)

49.11 g/t Au and 255.00 g/t Ag over 1.07 m in hole TRXU-DD-23-003 (1.43 oz/t Au and 7.44 oz/t Ag over 3.5 ft.)

7.95 g/t Au and 26.12 g/t Ag over 7.32 m in hole TRXU-DD-23-005 (0.23 oz/t Au and 0.76 oz/t Ag over 24.00 ft.)

10.67 g/t Au and 38.51 g/t Ag over 4.27 m in hole TRXU-DD-23-005 (0.31 oz/t Au and 1.12 oz/t Ag over 14.00 ft.)

28.70 g/t Au and 98.15 g/t Ag over 1.52 m in hole TRXU-DD-23-016 (0.84 oz/t Au and 2.86 oz/t Ag over 5.00 ft.)

7.67 g/t Au and 13.43 g/t Ag over 11.58 m in hole TRXU-DD-23-018 (0.22 oz/t Au and 0.39 oz/t Ag over 38.00 ft.) including

o 35.07 g/t Au and 19.47 g/t Ag over 1.07 m (1.02 oz/t Au and 0.57 oz/t Ag over 3.50 ft.)

20.30 g/t Au and 155.00 g/t Ag over 1.52 m in hole TRC121 (0.59 oz/t Au and 4.52 oz/t Ag over 5.00 ft)

DRILL RESULTS SUMMARY

In 2022, the Company completed 28 surface RC drill holes near Trixie totalling approximately 8,753 m (28,718 ft.) and 66 underground DD holes in the 625 level at Trixie totalling approximately 2,985 m (9,796 ft.). Assays have now been received for all 2022 holes.

The high-grade intercepts disclosed in this news release were targeting all domains of the current Trixie mineral resource estimate (\Trixie MRE\) (see Figure 2 and 3).

The T1 domain consists of Tintic quartzite-hosted mineralization constrained within the footwall of the T2 and between the T2 and 75-85 structures. The Mineralization observed is both disseminated and in a series of discrete high-grade fissure veins.

o Hole TRXU-DD-23-003 intersected 62.82 g/t Au and 231.46 g/t Ag over 6.86 m including higher grade samples of 191.00 g/t Au and 707.00 g/t Ag over 1.07 m and 117.00 g/t Au and 393.00 g/t Ag over 1.68 m.

o Hole TRXU-DD-23-005 intersected 7.95 g/t Au and 26.12 g/t Ag over 7.32 m in the T4 stockwork and fissure veins and further downhole intersected 10.67 g/t Au and 38.51 g/t Ag over 4.27 m in the 75-85 polymetallic vein.

These drilling results will provide valuable infill data to improve our understanding and the confidence level of the mineralized zones defined in the Trixie MRE and to support a future mineral resource update.

The RC drilling was initially designed to explore ~600 m to the northeast of Trixie. Subsequent RC holes were planned along strike to test north of the T2 zone, and further to the south to explore for mineralized structures to be followed up with underground core drilling.

o Several of the exploration holes intersected anomalous precious metal values including 0.21 g/t Au and 142.0 g/t Ag over 1.52 m and 0.27 g/t Au and 40.53 g/t Ag over 16.76 meters in hole TRC053A, drilled 250 m north of T2, and potentially showing mineralized systems along strike.

o Hole TRC121 intersected 20.3 g/t Au and 155.0 g/t Ag over 1.52 m within the T4 zone.

2023 EXPLORATION DRILLING PROGRAM

The 2023 exploration program consists of an initial ~5,000 m (16,400 ft.) of underground exploration and delineation drilling of the current Trixie MRE. Additional drilling is also proposed to determine the extents of the known mineralization.

To date, the Company has completed 35 DD holes totalling approximately 3,226 m (10,584 ft.). The drilling is targeting all known mineralized domains and extending into the footwall to the west to test for parallel mineralized zones. Assay results have been received for 19 DD holes, as disclosed herein. Results for the remaining holes are pending. Currently there are two underground diamond drill rigs in operation at Trixie conducting exploration activities.

Approximately 75% of the 1,390 m (4,550 ft.) of the Trixie portal and underground decline ramp has been completed to date. The Company anticipates completion of the decline ramp to the main 625 level by Q3 2023, which is expected to significantly improve underground access for exploration drilling.

During 2022, the exploration team completed an extensive review and compilation of historical data on the Tintic Project. 3D models of historical mine development, drilling, geochemical and lithological data were integrated and, as a result, a number of high sulphidation epithermal Au-Ag targets were identified at North Lily and Eureka Standard.

Copper-molybdenum-gold porphyry targets were identified at Big Hill with the integration of historical drilling, surface geochemistry, geophysics and alteration mineralogy that defined a lithocap approximately 2 km in strike length and 1 km wide indicative of a potential porphyry. A strong geophysical and geochemical target was also identified to the West and depth below Trixie.

An initial program of surface diamond drilling is planned to test the Big Hill porphyry target and is anticipated to commence in Q3 2023. Drilling is also recommended for the Eureka Standard and North Lily targets and will be a part of the Companya?s ongoing exploration efforts.

A 3D model of the compilation and targets at Tintic is available by accessing the Companya?s VRIFY page at: https://vrify.com/decks/12801. The Tintic Project exploration presentation on the Companya?s website provides a high-level overview of each target.

About Trixie

The Trixie test mine is one of several gold and base metal targets within the larger Tintic Project consisting of >17,000 acres of patented mining claims and mineral leases within the historic East Tintic Mining District of Central Utah, U.S.A. The T2 and T4 structures at Trixie show multi-ounce gold grades associated with high sulphidation epithermal mineralization, structurally controlled and hosted within quartzites. The T2 structure mineralization consists of native Au, and rare Au-Ag a rich telluride minerals with quartz. The T4 is a mineralized stockwork zone is located in the hanging wall of the T2 and is comprised of Au-Ag rich mineralization in host rock quartzite with quartz-barite-sulphosalt stockwork veining. Mineralization reports consistent multi-ounce gold grades along the entire strike length.

Information relating to the Tintic Project and the Trixie MRE is supported by the technical report titled \NI 43-101 Technical Report, Initial Mineral Resource Estimate for the Trixie Deposit, Tintic Project, Utah, United States of America\, dated January 27, 2023 (with an effective date of January 10, 2023) prepared for the Company by independent representatives of Micon International Limited (the \Tintic Technical Report\). Reference should be made to the full text of the Tintic Technical Report, which was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 a Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (\NI 43-101\) and is available electronically on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and on EDGAR (www.sec.gov) under Osisko Development\-s issuer profile and on the Company\-s website at www.osiskodev.com.

Qualified Persons

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Maggie Layman, P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration of Osisko Development, and a \qualified person\ within the meaning of NI 43-101.

Quality Assurance (QA) a Quality Control (QC)

True width determination is estimated to be approximately 0.3 m to 2.4 m (1 to 8 ft.) wide for the T2 structure and approximately 3 m to 25 m (10 to 80 ft.) for the T4 mineralized stockwork zone located in the hanging wall of the T2 structure.

All drill core and exploration samples are dispatched to SGS Laboratory for offsite sample preparation and analysis. Samples are assigned a unique sample ID. All geological and sampling information is entered into Datamine Fusion database. Core is sawn in half and half is sampled. Certified standards and blanks are inserted into all sample dispatches. Samples are collected by Old Dominion Transportation and dispatched to SGSa?s Laboratory in Burnaby. Sample submission forms accompany the samples, and digital copies are emailed to SGS.

All sample preparation is completed by SGS, including drying, crushing, and pulverizing of samples. Analytical assays include gold by 30 gram fire assay with AAS finish (GO_FAA30V10), and gold overlimits by fire assay with gravimetric finish (GO_FAG30V). Multielement analysis (including silver) is by four-acid digest with ICP-AES/ICP-MS finish (GE_ICM40Q12). The pulps are returned to Osisko Development and coarse rejects are disposed after 90 days. Assays are reported to Osisko Development and then loaded into Datamine Fusion. QA/QC samples are checked, and assays are merged with sample information for future reporting.

About Osisko Development Corp.

Osisko Development Corp. is a premier North American gold development company focused on high-quality past-producing properties located in mining friendly jurisdictions with district scale potential. The Company\-s objective is to become an intermediate gold producer by advancing its 100%-owned Cariboo Gold Project, located in central BC, Canada, the Tintic Project in the historic East Tintic mining district in Utah, U.S.A., and the San Antonio Gold Project in Sonora, Mexico. In addition to considerable brownfield exploration potential of these properties, that benefit from significant historical mining data, existing infrastructure and access to skilled labour, the Company\-s project pipeline is complemented by other prospective exploration properties. The Company\-s strategy is to develop attractive, long-life, socially and environmentally sustainable mining assets, while minimizing exposure to development risk and growing mineral resources.

For further information, please contact Osisko Development Corp.:

Sean Roosen

Chairman and CEO

Email: sroosen@osiskodev.com

Tel: +1 (514) 940-0685

Philip Rabenok

Director, Investor Relations

Email: prabenok@osiskodev.com

Tel: +1 (437) 423-3644

In Europe:

Swiss Resource Capital AG

Jochen Staiger

info@resource-capital.ch

www.resource-capital.ch

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS

Cautionary Statement Regarding Test Mining Without Feasibility Study

The Company cautions that the decision to commence small-scale underground mining activities and batch vat leaching at the Trixie test mine has been made without the benefit of a feasibility study, or reported mineral resources or mineral reserves, demonstratingA economic and technical viability, and, as a result there may be increased uncertainty of achieving any particular level of recovery of material or the cost of such recovery. The Company cautions that historically, such projects have a much higher risk of economic and technical failure. Small scale test-mining at Trixie was suspended in December 2022, if and when test mining re-commences there is no guarantee that production will continue as anticipated or at all or that anticipated production costs will be achieved. The failure to continue production may have a material adverse impact on the Company\-s ability to generate revenue and cash flow to fund operations. Failure to achieve the anticipated production costs may have a material adverse impact on the Company\-s cash flow and potential profitability. In continuing current operations at Trixie after closing, the Company will not be basing its decision to continue such operations on a feasibility study, or reported mineral resources or mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability. The Company cautions that mining at Trixie could be suspended at any time.

Cautionary Statement to U.S. Investors

The Company is subject to the reporting requirements of the applicable Canadian securities laws, and as a result reports information regarding mineral properties, mineralization and estimates of mineral reserves and mineral resources, including the information in the Technical Reports, the Financial Statements, MD&A and this news release, in accordance with Canadian reporting requirements, which are governed by NI 43-101. As such, such information concerning mineral properties, mineralization and estimates of mineral reserves and mineral resources, including the information in the Technical Reports, the Financial Statements, MD&A and this news release, is not comparable to similar information made public by U.S. companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (\SEC\).

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained in this news release may be deemed \forward-looking statements\ within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and \forward-looking information\ within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These forward-looking statements, by their nature, require Osisko Development to make certain assumptions and necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. Words such as \may\, \will\, \would\, \could\, \expect\, \believe\, \plan\, \anticipate\, \intend\, \estimate\, \continue\, or the negative or comparable terminology, as well as terms usually used in the future and the conditional, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Information contained in forward-looking statements is based upon certain material assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection, including management\-s perceptions of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments; the utility and significance of historic data, including the significance of the district hosting past producing mines; future mining activities; the unique mineralization at Trixie; the potential of high-grade gold mineralization on Trixie; the results (if any) of further exploration work to define and expand mineral resources; the ability of exploration work (including drilling) to accurately predict mineralization; the ability to generate additional drill targets; the ability of management to understand the geology and potential of Trixie; the ability of the Company to expand mineral resources beyond current mineral resource estimates at Trixie; the timing and ability of the Company to complete upgrades to the Trixie MRE (or any subsequent MRE) (if at all); the timing and resumption of test mining activities at Trixie; the information and the scope of the contemplated Trixie MRE (and any subsequent MRE); the impact of the Trixie MRE; the ability of the Company to complete its exploration objectives in 2023 in the timing contemplated (if at all); the ongoing advancement of the Trixie decline; the deposit remaining open for expansion at depth and down plunge; the ability to realize upon any mineralization in a manner that is economic; as well as other considerations that are believed to be appropriate in the circumstances, and any other information herein that is not a historical fact may be \forward looking information\. Material assumptions also include, management\-s perceptions of historical trends, the ability of exploration (including drilling) to accurately predict mineralization, budget constraints and access to capital on terms acceptable to the Company, current conditions and expected future developments, results of further exploration work to define or expand any mineral resources, as well as other considerations that are believed to be appropriate in the circumstances. Osisko Development considers its assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available, but cautions the reader that their assumptions regarding future events, many of which are beyond the control of Osisko Development, may ultimately prove to be incorrect since they are subject to risks and uncertainties that affect Osisko Development and its business. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks relating to capital market conditions and the Company\-s ability to access capital on terms acceptable to the Company for the contemplated exploration and development at Tintic; the ability to continue current operations and exploration; regulatory framework and presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; the ability of exploration activities (including drill results) to accurately predict mineralization; errors in management\-s geological modelling; the ability to expand operations or complete further exploration activities, including drilling; property and stream interests in the Tintic Project; the ability of the Company to obtain required approvals and permits; the results of exploration activities; risks relating to exploration, development and mining activities; the global economic climate; metal and commodity prices; fluctuations in the currency markets; dilution; environmental risks; and community, nongovernmental and governmental actions and the impact of stakeholder actions. Readers are urged to consult the disclosure provided under the heading \Risk Factors\ in the Company\-s annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2022, as well as the Financial Statements and MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2022, which have been filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under Osisko Development\-s issuer profile and on the SEC\-s EDGAR website (www.sec.gov), for further information regarding the risks and other factors applicable to the exploration results. Although the Company\-s believes the expectations conveyed by the forwardlooking statements are reasonable based on information available as of the date hereof, no assurances can be given as to future results, levels of activity and achievements. The Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by law. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

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. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.
Maple Gold outlines VMS-Focused exploration targeting and summer field program

Maple Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX-V: MGM) (OTCQB: MGMLF) (FSE: M3G)A (\Maple Gold\ or the \Company\  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/maple-gold-mines-ltd/ ) is pleased to provide an update regarding property-wide volcanogenic massive sulfide (\VMS\) targeting and plans for a summer field program at the Douay and Joutel Gold Projects (\Douay\ and \Joutel\, respectively) located in QuAbec, Canada, which are held by a 50/50 joint venture (the \JV\) between the Company and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited. The Company is also planning VMS exploration work at its 100%-owned Morris Project (\Morris\) located approximately 30 kilometres (\km\) east of the town of Matagami in Morris Township, QuAbec.

The JV\-s primary focus remains on testing resource expansion targets at Douay and testing prospective near-mine extension targets in the Telbel mine area at Joutel. However, the Douay and Joutel projects each have demonstrated potential for gold and base metals VMS mineralization, as is illustrated by a series of targets previously defined by field mapping and geophysical surveying across the combined 400 kmA property package (see news from July 19, 2022). Under the terms of the JV agreement, the partners agreed to jointly fund C$500,000 in exploration on VMS targets on the western portion of Douay (see news from February 3, 2021). A

Summary of VMS-focused exploration and corporate initiatives:

The Company\-s mapping, sampling and top of bedrock drilling during 2018 identified six (6) priority target areas for potential base metals and gold-rich VMS mineralization (see press release November 14, 2018).

The Company subsequently appointed Dr. GArald Riverin, a recognized VMS expert with 40+ years of experience in the Abitibi Greenstone belt, to its board of directors and Technical Advisory Committee (see news from June 9, 2020).

In late 2021, the JV consolidated two (2) inlier claim blocks covering 22 claims and 12.3 kmA of ground in the central portion of Douay in an area deemed prospective for zinc and copper mineralization (see news from October 19, 2021).

Also in 2021, the Company acquired 100% of Morris and completed preliminary ground geophysics and lithogeochemical sampling. In 2022 and 2023, the Company completed deep penetrating pulse electromagnetic (\PEM\) surveys that outlined a 3 km long conductive zone adjacent to a favorable rhyolite unit.

In 2022, the JV completed a regional airborne magnetic and electromagnetic (\Mag-EM\) survey to support exploration drill targeting, which identified 55 targets within four (4) primary target areas prospective for pyritic gold and VMS mineralization (see news from July 19, 2022). After geophysical review, sixteen (16) of these targets were selected for priority follow-up (see Figure 1).

In 2023, the Company appointed Paul Harbidge, CEO of Faraday Copper Corp., an emerging U.S. copper developer, to its Technical Advisory Committee to further strengthen the Company\-s technical group and support gold and base metals exploration (see news from February 7, 2023).

The JV has recently hired Dr. Marina Schofield, an expert in volcanology, structural geology and VMS systems, to lead the Company\-s VMS exploration efforts.

\We have methodically built a pipeline of prospective gold and base metals VMS targets across the large >400 kmA Douay-Joutel property package and have expanded our technical expertise in order to systematically evaluate and advance a VMS-focused exploration program,\ stated Matthew Hornor, President and CEO of Maple Gold. \The past-producing high-grade Estrades zinc-gold mine is located just over 11 km to the west of Douay-Joutel and the same geologic horizon that hosted that mine appears to continue onto the western portion of the Douay property. Further to the southeast, historical regional exploration drilling along the Joutel Deformation Zone, east of the historical Eagle-Telbel deposits, has also returned anomalous zinc and gold values. We look forward to completing further cost-effective field work this summer to bring the highest priority VMS discovery targets to a drill-ready stage.\

VMS Targets and Associated 2023 Summer Exploration Plans:

The Douay-Joutel property straddles the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone, which is geologically underlain, from south to north, by predominantly intermediate to felsic tuffs of the Joutel-Raymond Grp, the basinal sediments of the Harricana Grp and the predominantly mafic volcanic sequence forming the Cartwright Hills Grp, followed by further basinal sediments of the TaAbi Grp. Although the geological model for Eagle-Telbel is still evolving, gold mineralization is associated with mixed sedimentary and pyroclastic horizons hosting abundant iron carbonate and semi-massive sulfide (pyrite) at the top of the volcanic package that hosts the past-producing Joutel/Poirier VMS mining camp. The main VMS target horizons occur laterally along the Eagle-Telbel Mine Horizon, as well as along multiple interflow horizons within The Cartwright Hills Grp, which include the interpreted eastern extension of the Estrades horizons.

The Joutel Targets (see Figure 2 above) include several EM anomalies within ~2-5 km of the historical Eagle, Telbel and Eagle West deposits that have very limited drilling. These deposits are associated with the Harricana and Joutel Deformation Zones and appear as discrete conductive zones aligned along a well-defined northwest trend. The Mag-EM survey indicates possible similar structures extending more than 9 km further to the east in this area where historical drilling intersected anomalous gold (\Au\) and zinc (\Zn\) in several holes. Hole M-94-078 (also known as McClure 93-2 showing) cut 0.81% Zn over 0.6 metres (\m\); hole JO-12-05 cut 6.1 g/t Au over 1.5 m, as well as 0.55% Zn over 4 m further downhole, including 0.88% Zn over 1m.A A A A

Planned work to advance VMS targets at Douay and Joutel is expected to include compilation of existing data, including review of historical drill logs, followed by field work including lithogeochemistry and initial follow-up ground EM surveys to support bringing highest priority VMS target areas towards a drill ready stage.

Separately, planned work at Morris is expected to include detailed lithogeochemical sampling to establish the full extent of strong VMS related hydrothermal alteration identified in 2021 and identify promising portions of the 3 km long conductor identified by ground geophysics in 2022 and 2023 (see Figure 3). Morris is located approximately 30 km east of the Matagami VMS mining camp and hosts the Watson Lake rhyolite unit which forms the footwall of all the VMS mines at Matagami.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical data contained in this press release was reviewed and prepared under the supervision of Fred Speidel, M. Sc., P. Geo., Vice-President Exploration of Maple Gold. Mr. Speidel is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Speidel has verified the data related to the exploration information disclosed in this press release through his direct participation in the work.

About Maple Gold

Maple Gold Mines Ltd. is a Canadian advanced exploration company in a 50/50 joint venture with Agnico Eagle Mines Limited to jointly advance the district-scale Douay and Joutel gold projects located in QuAbec\-s prolific Abitibi Greenstone Gold Belt. The projects benefit from exceptional infrastructure access and boast ~400 km2 of highly prospective ground including an established gold resource at Douay (SLR 2022) that holds significant expansion potential as well as the past-producing Eagle, Telbel and Eagle West mines at Joutel. In addition, the Company holds an exclusive option to acquire 100% of the Eagle Mine Property.

The district-scale property package also hosts a significant number of regional exploration targets along a 55 km strike length of the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone that have yet to be tested through drilling, making the project ripe for new gold and polymetallic discoveries. The Company is well capitalized and is currently focused on carrying out exploration and drill programs to grow resources and make new discoveries to establish an exciting new gold district in the heart of the Abitibi. For more information, please visit www.maplegoldmines.com.

ON BEHALF OF MAPLE GOLD MINES LTD.

\Matthew Hornor\

B. Matthew Hornor, President & CEO

For Further Information Please Contact:

Mr. Joness Lang

Executive Vice-President

Cell: 778.686.6836

Email: jlang@maplegoldmines.com

In Europe:

Swiss Resource Capital AG

Jochen Staiger & Marc Ollinger

info@resource-capital.ch

www.resource-capital.ch

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 PRESS RELEASE.

Forward Looking Statements:

This press release contains \forward-looking information\ and \forward-looking statements\ (collectively referred to as \forward-looking statements\) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation in Canada, including statements about exploration work and results from current and future work programs. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions, uncertainties and management\-s best estimate of future events. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company\-s expectations and projections. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to Maple Gold Mines Ltd.\-s filings with Canadian securities regulators available on www.sedar.com or the Company\-s website at www.maplegoldmines.com. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Trillium Golda?s Field Work on Confederation Belt Reveals Strong Affinity to Red Lakea?s Major Structural Trends

A newly discovered spatial relationship of Balmer affinity rocks on Trilliuma?s Confederation Belt suggests the Cochenour-Gullrock Trend and associated unconformity continues from Red Lake across the northern portion of the Confederation Belt.

Consistent anomalous to high-grade gold results spatially associated with these structures have allowed the Company to refine and develop meaningful high-priority drill targets.

Historical gold mineralization (e.g., 1.58 g/t over 7.6 m, and 13.33 g/t Au grab sample from Panama Zone) occurs within similar rock types, stratigraphy, and along the Panama Lake North Trend, a possible extension or splay of Kinross Golda?s LP Fault.

Primitive-mantle normalized trace element plots illustrate similarities between the Great Bear project and the Panama Lake property, suggesting high potential for gold discovery.

Core photos from the Panama Lake property show remarkable textural and geochemical resemblance to Kinross Golda?s Great Bear project.

Trillium Gold Mines Inc., (TSXV: TGM, OTCQX:TGLDF, FRA:0702) (aTrillium Golda or the aCompanya- https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/trillium-gold-mines-inc/) is pleased to provide an update from the lithogeochemistry, structural and stratigraphic studies over its approximate 570 sq km Confederation Belt project in Red Lake, Ontario. The project encompasses one of the largest contiguous land positions ever assembled in the Red Lake mining district, bound by the same geological trends that have defined the Red Lake Mining District as a world-class mining jurisdiction.A

The results from the Companya?s field work strongly suggest structural, stratigraphic, and litho-geochemical similarities along or adjacent to the eastern extensions of both the LP Fault, associated with Kinross Golda?s Great Bear project, and the Cochenour-Gullrock Fault, associated with Evolution Mininga?s Red Lake Mine (Fig. 1).

aViewed in conjunction with the resampling of historical core for gold, the technical findings from the field work add degrees of confidence supporting Trilliuma?s exploration model that these significant gold-bearing structures continue through the Confederation Belt propertya, remarked Russell Starr, President & CEO of Trillium Gold. aMoreover, the consistency in the anomalous to high-grade gold occurrences spatially associated with these structures have also opened up opportunities to refine and develop meaningful high-priority drill targets.aA

To the southeast on the Panama Lake property, trace element lithogeochemistry has identified strong similarities between the metavolcanic rocks from the Panama Zone with the Felsic Domain of the Great Bear project. The mafic volcanic rocks also show a strong similarity to high-Fe basaltic rocks from the Great Bear projecta?s Mafic Domain (Fig. 2). A Primitive-mantle normalized trace element plots illustrate similarities between the Great Bear project and the Panama Lake property, suggesting high potential for gold discovery.

Trilliuma?s re-logging of historical core of the Panama Zone from mid-2022 through to early 2023 shows remarkable textural similarities to core seen at the Great Bear project (Fig. 3). The Panama Zone historical gold mineralization (e.g., 1.58 g/t Au over 7.6 m, and 13.33 g/t Au grab sample) occurs within similar rock types and stratigraphic horizon along the Panama Fault North Trend, a potential eastern extension or splay of the LP Fault.

An airborne electromagnetic lineament coincident with the gold-bearing Panama Zone shows the Panama Zone and Panama Fault North Trend continuing to the northeast where recently completed enzyme leach soil surveys identified multiple overlapping anomalies for arsenic, nickel, zinc, silver, and chromium (Fig. 4). Arsenic in soil is a strong pathfinder candidate for gold mineralization based on historical geochemistry work performed on drill holes completed by Benton Resources in 2019 and a baseline soil line completed over the Panama Zone by Trillium in 2022.

In the central part of the Confederation Belt project along the Cochenour-Gullrock (Red Lake Mine) Trend, trace element analyses in mafic volcanics and associated rocks from historical drill core have identified similarities between Red Lake-associated Balmer assemblage volcanic rocks (Fig. 5). This newly discovered spatial relationship of Balmer affinity rocks adjacent to Confederation assemblage rocks suggests that the Cochenour-Gullrock Trend and associated unconformity continues from Red Lake across the northern portion of Trilliuma?s Confederation Belt project (Fig. 1). Gold results of up to 0.99 g/t in recently analyzed historical core, and up to 1.56 g/t from historic assays, occur proximal to the Cochenour-Gullrock Trend and to the unconformity over several kilometres (Fig. 1) as reported in Trilliuma?s news release of February 7, 2023 (please refer to the Companya?s website at www.trilliumgold.com).

The technical information presented in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Samuel Lewis, P.Geo of Trillium Gold Mines Inc., as defined by NI 43-101.

About Trillium Gold Mines Inc.

Trillium Gold Mines Inc. is a growth focused company engaged in the business of acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties located in the Red Lake Mining District of Northern Ontario. As part of its regional-scale consolidation strategy, the Company has assembled one of the largest prospective land packages in and around the Red Lake mining district in proximity to major mines and deposits, as well as along the Confederation Lake and Birch-Uchi greenstone belts.A In 2022 the Company closed a number of acquisitions effectively extending its contiguous land position over more than 100 km of favourable structures on trend with Kinross Golda?s Great Bear project and Evolution Mininga?s Red Lake Operation. In addition, the Company has interests in highly prospective properties in Larder Lake, Ontario.A

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

This news release contains forward-looking information, which involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectations.

Forward-looking information is based on managementa?s reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses and opinions, which are based on managementa?s experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, but which may prove to be incorrect.A Such factors, among others, include: impacts arising from the global disruption caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, business integration risks; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of gold or certain other commodities; change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (Incl. environmental hazards, industrial accidents); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (Incl. the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); and title to properties.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Figure 1: Map showing Trillium Gold\-s Confederation Belt project and all currently known gold occurrences. Green ovals represent areas discussed in this news release.

Figure 2: Stratigraphy and lithogeochemical comparison between the Great Bear project [Kinross Gold] (left) and Trilliuma?s Confederation Belt Panama property (right). Primitive-mantle normalized trace element plots illustrate similarities between the Great Bear project and the Panama property, suggesting high potential for gold discovery.

Figure 3: A comparison of Panama Lake core photos illustrating lithological and textural similarities to rocks from the Great Bear project [Kinross Gold]. Great Bear project core photos obtained from Voluntary National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report; prepared for Kinross Gold, Nicos Pfeiffer, John Sim, Yves Breau, Rick Greenwood, and Agung Prawsono.

Figure 4: Map showing the recently completed enzyme leach soil survey anomalies within a folded region along the Panama North Fault Trend, 1.5 km northeast of the gold-bearing (e.g., 1.58 g/t over 7.6 m, and 13.33 g/t Au grab sample) Panama Zone, highlighting an excellent target for future work.

Figure 5:A Primitive mantle normalized trace element plot of recently analyzed historical drill core from Trilliuma?s Fredart area compared with the Balmer assemblage from the Red Lake greenstone belt (Sanborn-Barrie et al., 2001). Lithogeochemical drill core samples were collected from historic drill holes G1, G2, G3, G4 drilled 1970. Information on these drill holes can be found in assessment files 52K15NW0036, 52K14NE0026, and 52K14NE0207. New analysis of these volcanic rocks of tholeiitic magmatic affinity show trace element similarities to Balmer assemblage mafics. This supports the presence of major structures and unconformity on this portion of Trilliuma?s property, and is interpreted to signify newly added gold potential.

A
Renewable energies learn to swim

Green energy can be generated not only on land, but also on water.

Recently, the official launch of a floating solar power plant was announced in the Lausitz region of Brandenburg. It is located on an artificial lake and covers an area of about 16 hectares. It is said to be the largest floating solar plant in Germany. Operations are scheduled to begin in 2024. Approximately 51,000 solar modules are installed, and this is expected to provide electricity to more than 8,000 households. Floating bodies and pipes anchored in the ground stand for stability. This immediately brings to mind the (true) story of Rose Island. An engineer had created a platform in the sea off Rimini in a similar way. It became a micronation in 1968. It was demolished and the UN then moved the limits of territorial waters from six to twelve nautical miles off the coast. There is a film \The Rose Island\ worth seeing, based on this true story.

But back to the floating, energy-promising buildings of the present and future. The wind power industry is also looking to the water. At WindEurope in Copenhagen, a small Irish company caused a stir. It was about a floating foundation on which wind turbines are built. These are supposed to generate up to 15 megawatts of power, while large wind turbines on land only manage about 5 megawatts. A fantastic idea, after all, the wind over the sea is more constant and stronger than on land. With offshore wind power, there is often the problem that a sea near the coast can be very deep, and normal offshore wind turbines have to be anchored to the seabed (usually at a maximum depth of 60 meters). Know-how and raw materials are needed like steel, zinc, nickel, copper. Electricity storage systems need lithium, the raw material that will experience increasing demand.

For example, Lithium owns Century Lithium  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/century-lithium-corp/  at its Clayton Valley Lithium Project in Nevada.

In new technologies in the field of lithium anodes and lithium metal, Li-Metal  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/li-metal-corp/  is one of the significant companies.

Current corporate information and press releases from Li-Metal (- https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/unternehmen/li-metal-corp/ -) and Century Lithium (- https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/unternehmen/century-lithium-corp/ -).

In accordance with A34 WpHG I would like to point out that partners, authors and employees may hold shares in the respective companies addressed and thus a possible conflict of interest exists. No guarantee for the translation into English. Only the German version of this news is valid.

Disclaimer: The information provided does not represent any form of recommendation or advice. Express reference is made to the risks in securities trading. No liability can be accepted for any damage arising from the use of this blog. I would like to point out that shares and especially warrant investments are always 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 errors, especially with regard to figures and prices. The information contained herein is taken from sources believed to be reliable, but in no way claims to be accurate or complete. Due to court decisions, the contents of linked external sites are also co-responsible (e.g. Landgericht Hamburg, in the decision of 12.05.1998  312 O 85/98), as long as there is no explicit dissociation from them. Despite careful control of the content, I do not assume liability for the content of linked external pages. The respective operators are exclusively responsible for their content. The disclaimer of Swiss Resource Capital AG also applies: https://www.resource-capital.ch/en/disclaimer/
KYODO NEWS - May 19, 2023 - 15:28 | All, Japan, G7, World

The Japanese and French leaders agreed on Friday to deepen bilateral collaboration in the security and economic fields and work closely on issues related to China, with Beijing's military and economic clout increasing in the Indo-Pacific region.

During their talks in Hiroshima, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and French President Emmanuel Macron affirmed that they will keep imposing severe economic sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine while powerfully supporting Kyiv, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The bilateral talks took place on the fringes of the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, western Japan, which began the same day. How the G-7 should address China will be a key agenda item there.

The meeting came after Macron stirred controversy for calling on Europe not to be a "follower" of either the United States or China, cautioning against being drawn into a crisis over Taiwan amid the two countries' rivalry, in a media interview last month.

Communist-led China regards the self-ruled democratic island as its own territory to be eventually reunited with the mainland, and has been increasing military pressure on it.

The two leaders also pledged to promote cooperation in cyberspace and outer space, civilian nuclear energy and in supporting startups such as by sending 100 Japanese entrepreneurs to France in the next five years, the ministry said.

Earlier in the day, Kishida met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The two agreed to further expand cooperation in economic security and other fields, building on outcomes of the two nations' first intergovernmental talks involving leaders and key ministers in Tokyo in March, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

With Kishida and Scholz being this year's and last year's G-7 chairs, the Japanese prime minister said he hopes to work with the German leader to steer the group's discussions toward maintaining and strengthening the international order based on the rule of law.

The two leaders particularly agreed on the importance of aligning with emerging and developing "Global South" states. Many of them have not sided with the United States and its allies over Russia's war in Ukraine.

Kishida also met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and they welcomed "steady progress" of the two nations' action plan toward realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific region, according to the ministry.

Announced last October, the action plan includes the launch of negotiations on signing a bilateral agreement for sharing security intelligence that should be reached "as soon as possible."

Kishida on Thursday held bilateral talks with U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Black holes are some of the strangest and most fascinating objects in space. They're extremely dense, with such strong gravitational attraction that not even light can escape their grasp.

The Milky Way could contain over 100 million black holes, though detecting these gluttonous beasts is very difficult. At the heart of the Milky Way lies a supermassive black hole  Sagittarius A*. The colossal structure is about 4 million times the mass of the sun and lies approximately 26,000 light-years away from Earth , according to a statement from NASA.

The first image of a black hole was captured in 2019 by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration. The striking photo of the black hole at the center of the M87 galaxy 55 million light-years from Earth thrilled scientists around the world.

Related: White holes: What we know about black holes' neglected twins

Black hole FAQs answered by an expert

We asked theoretical astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan a few commonly asked questions about black holes.

Priyamvada Natarajan Social Links Navigation Theoretical Astrophysicist Chair of the Department of Astronomy, Joseph S. and Sophia S. Fruton Professor of Astronomy and Professor of Physics, Yale University.

How do black holes form? Black holes are expected to form via two distinct channels. According to the first pathway, they are stellar corpses, so they form when massive stars die. Stars whose birth masses are above roughly 8 to 10 times mass of our sun, when they exhaust all their fuel  their hydrogen  they explode and die leaving behind a very compact dense object, a black hole. The resulting black hole that is left behind is referred to as a stellar mass black hole and its mass is of the order of a few times the mass of the sun. Not all stars leave behind black holes, stars with lower birth masses leave behind a neutron star or a white dwarf. Another way that black holes form is from the direct collapse of gas, a process that is expected to result in more massive black holes with a mass ranging from 1000 times the mass of the sun up to even 100,000 times the mass of the sun. This channel circumvents the formation of the traditional star, and is believed to operate in the early universe and produce more massive black hole seeds.

Who discovered black holes? Black holes were predicted as an exact mathematical solution to Einstein's equations. Einstein's equations describe the shape of space around matter. The theory of general relativity connects the geometry or shape of shape to the detailed distribution of matter. The black hole solution was found was by Karl Schwarzschild in 1915, and these regions  black holes  were found to distort space extremally and generate a puncture in the fabric of spacetime. It was unclear at the time if these corresponded to real objects in the universe. Over time, as other end products of stellar death were detected, namely, neutron stars seen as pulsars it became clear that black holes were real and ought to exist. The first detected black hole was Cygnus-X1.

Do black holes die? Black holes do not die per se, but they are theoretically predicted to eventually slowly evaporate over extremely long time scales. Black holes grow by the accretion of matter nearby that is pulled in by their immense gravity. Hawking predicted that black holes could also radiate away energy and shrink very slowly. Quantum theory suggests that there exist virtual particles popping in and out of existence all the time. When this happens, a particle and its companion anti-particle appear. However, they can also recombine and disappear again. When this process occurs near the event horizon of a black hole, strange things can happen. Instead of the particle antiparticle pair existing for a moment and then annihilating each other, one of them can get by gravity and fall into the black hole, while the other particle can fly off into space. Over very long timescales, we are speaking about timescales that are much much longer than the age of our universe, the theory states that this trickle of escaping particles will cause the black hole to slowly evaporate.

Are black holes wormholes? No black holes are not wormholes. Wormholes can be thought of as tunnels that connect two separate points in space and time. It is believed that the interior of black holes could contain a wormhole, the puncture is spacetime, that could offer a portal to another point in spacetime potentially even in a different universe.

First black hole discovered

Albert Einstein first predicted the existence of black holes in 1916, with his general theory of relativity. The term "black hole" was coined many years later in 1967 by American astronomer John Wheeler. After decades of black holes being known only as theoretical objects.

The first black hole ever discovered was Cygnus X-1, located within the Milky Way in the constellation of Cygnus, the Swan. Astronomers saw the first signs of the black hole in 1964 when a sounding rocket detected celestial sources of X-rays according to NASA. In 1971, astronomers determined that the X-rays were coming from a bright blue star orbiting a strange dark object. It was suggested that the detected X-rays were a result of stellar material being stripped away from the bright star and "gobbled" up by the dark object  an all-consuming black hole.

How many black holes are there?

At the center of the Milky Way lies a supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). (Image credit: NASA/UMass/D.Wang et al., IR: NASA/STScI)

According to the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) approximately one out of every thousand stars is massive enough to become a black hole. Since the Milky Way contains over 100 billion stats, our home galaxy must harbor some 100 million black holes.

Though detecting black holes is a difficult task and estimates from NASA suggest there could be as many as 10 million to a billion stellar black holes in the Milky Way.

The closest black hole to Earth is dubbed "The Unicorn" and is situated approximately 1,500 light-years away. The nickname has a double meaning. Not only does the black hole candidate reside in the constellation Monoceros ("the unicorn"), its incredibly low mass  about three times that of the sun  makes it nearly one of a kind.

Related: How many black holes are there in the universe?

Black hole images

The Event Horizon Telescope, a planet-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes forged through international collaboration, captured this image of the supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy M87 and its shadow. (Image credit: EHT Collaboration)

In 2019 the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration released the first image ever recorded of a black hole. The EHT saw the black hole in the center of galaxy M87 while the telescope was examining the event horizon or the area past which nothing can escape from a black hole. The image maps the sudden loss of photons (particles of light). It also opens up a whole new area of research in black holes, now that astronomers know what a black hole looks like.

In 2021, astronomers revealed a new view of the giant black hole at the center of M87, showing what the colossal structure looks like in polarized light. As polarized light waves have a different orientation and brightness compared to unpolarized light, the new image shows the black hole in even more detail. Polarization is a signature of magnetic fields and the image makes it clear that the black hole's ring is magnetized.

Following the release of the first image of a black hole in 2019, astronomers captured a new polarized view of the black hole. (Image credit: EHT Collaboration)

In May 2022, scientists revealed the historic first image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy  Sagitarrius A*.

Related: The 1st photo of the Milky Way's monster black hole explained in images

What do black holes look like?

Black holes have three "layers": the outer and inner event horizon, and the singularity.

The event horizon of a black hole is the boundary around the mouth of the black hole, past which light cannot escape. Once a particle crosses the event horizon, it cannot leave. Gravity is constant across the event horizon.

The inner region of a black hole, where the object's mass lies, is known as its singularity, the single point in space-time where the mass of the black hole is concentrated.

Scientists can't see black holes the way they can see stars and other objects in space. Instead, astronomers must rely on detecting the radiation black holes emit as dust and gas are drawn into the dense creatures. But supermassive black holes, lying in the center of a galaxy, may become shrouded by the thick dust and gas around them, which can block the telltale emissions.

Sometimes, as matter is drawn toward a black hole, it ricochets off the event horizon and is hurled outward, rather than being tugged into the maw. Bright jets of material traveling at near-relativistic speeds are created. Although the black hole remains unseen, these powerful jets can be viewed from great distances.

The EHT's image of a black hole in M87 (released in 2019) was an extraordinary effort, requiring two years of research even after the images were taken. That's because the collaboration of telescopes, which stretches across many observatories worldwide, produces an astounding amount of data that is too large to transfer via the internet.

With time, researchers expect to image other black holes and build up a repository of what the objects look like. The next target is likely Sagittarius A*, which is the black hole in the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. Sagittarius A* is intriguing because it is quieter than expected, which may be due to magnetic fields smothering its activity, a 2019 study reported. Another study that year showed that a cool gas halo surrounds Sagittarius A*, which gives unprecedented insight into what the environment around a black hole looks like.

ESO's black hole anatomy diagram shows what a black hole looks like and labels the different components. (Image credit: ESO)

Types of black holes

So far, astronomers have identified three types of black holes: stellar black holes, supermassive black holes and intermediate black holes.

Stellar black holes  small but deadly

When a star burns through the last of its fuel, the object may collapse, or fall into itself. For smaller stars (those up to about three times the sun 's mass), the new core will become a neutron star or a white dwarf. But when a larger star collapses, it continues to compress and creates a stellar black hole.

Black holes formed by the collapse of individual stars are relatively small but incredibly dense. One of these objects packs more than three times the mass of the sun into the diameter of a city. This leads to a crazy amount of gravitational force pulling on objects around the object. Stellar black holes then consume the dust and gas from their surrounding galaxies, which keeps them growing in size.

Supermassive black holes  the birth of giants

Small black holes populate the universe, but their cousins, supermassive black holes, dominate. These enormous black holes are millions or even billions of times as massive as the sun but are about the same size in diameter. Such black holes are thought to lie at the center of pretty much every galaxy, including the Milky Way.

Scientists aren't certain how such large black holes spawn. Once these giants have formed, they gather mass from the dust and gas around them, material that is plentiful in the center of galaxies, allowing them to grow to even more enormous sizes.

Supermassive black holes may be the result of hundreds or thousands of tiny black holes that merge. Large gas clouds could also be responsible, collapsing together and rapidly accreting mass. A third option is the collapse of a stellar cluster, a group of stars all falling together. Fourth, supermassive black holes could arise from large clusters of dark matter. This is a substance that we can observe through its gravitational effect on other objects; however, we don't know what dark matter is composed of because it does not emit light and cannot be directly observed.

Intermediate black holes

Scientists once thought that black holes came in only small and large sizes, but research has revealed the possibility that midsize, or intermediate, black holes (IMBHs) could exist. Such bodies could form when stars in a cluster collide in a chain reaction. Several of these IMBHs forming in the same region could then eventually fall together in the center of a galaxy and create a supermassive black hole.

In 2014, astronomers found what appeared to be an intermediate-mass black hole in the arm of a spiral galaxy . And in 2021 astronomers took advantage of an ancient gamma-ray burst to detect one.

"Astronomers have been looking very hard for these medium-sized black holes," study co-author Tim Roberts, of the University of Durham in the United Kingdom, said in a statement. "There have been hints that they exist, but IMBHs have been acting like a long-lost relative that isn't interested in being found."

Research, from 2018, suggested that these IMBHs may exist in the heart of dwarf galaxies (or very small galaxies). Observations of 10 such galaxies (five of which were previously unknown to science before this latest survey) revealed X-ray activity  common in black holes  suggesting the presence of black holes of from 36,000 to 316,000 solar masses. The information came from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, which examines about 1 million galaxies and can detect the kind of light often observed coming from black holes that are picking up nearby debris.

Binary black holes: double trouble

Artist's illustration of a supermassive black hole with a companion black hole orbiting around it. (Image credit: Caltech-IPAC)

In 2015, astronomers using the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detected gravitational waves from merging stellar black holes.

"We have further confirmation of the existence of stellar-mass black holes that are larger than 20 solar masses  these are objects we didn't know existed before LIGO detected them," David Shoemaker, the spokesperson for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC), said in a statement. LIGO's observations also provide insights into the direction a black hole spins. As two black holes spiral around one another, they can spin in the same direction or the opposite direction.

There are two theories on how binary black holes form. The first suggests that the two black holes in a binary form at about the same time, from two stars that were born together and died explosively at about the same time. The companion stars would have had the same spin orientation as one another, so the two black holes left behind would as well.

Under the second model, black holes in a stellar cluster sink to the center of the cluster and pair up. These companions would have random spin orientations compared to one another according to LIGO Scientific Collaboration. LIGO's observations of companion black holes with different spin orientations provide stronger evidence for this formation theory.

"We're starting to gather real statistics on binary black hole systems," said LIGO scientist Keita Kawabe of Caltech, who is based at the LIGO Hanford Observatory. "That's interesting because some models of black hole binary formation are somewhat favored over the others even now, and in the future, we can further narrow this down."

Black hole facts

If you fell into a black hole, theory has long suggested that gravity would stretch you out like spaghetti, though your death would come before you reached the singularity. But a 2012 study published in the journal Nature suggested that quantum effects would cause the event horizon to act much like a wall of fire, which would instantly burn you to death.

Black holes don't suck. Suction is caused by pulling something into a vacuum, which the massive black hole definitely is not. Instead, objects fall into them just as they fall toward anything that exerts gravity, like the Earth.

The first object considered to be a black hole is Cygnus X-1. Cygnus X-1 was the subject of a 1974 friendly wager between Stephen Hawking and fellow physicist Kip Thorne, with Hawking betting that the source was not a black hole. In 1990, Hawking conceded defeat.

Miniature black holes may have formed immediately after the Big Bang. Rapidly expanding space may have squeezed some regions into tiny, dense black holes less massive than the sun.

If a star passes too close to a black hole, the star can be torn apart.

Astronomers estimate that the Milky Way has anywhere from 10 million to 1 billion stellar black holes, with masses roughly three times that of the sun.

Black holes remain terrific fodder for science fiction books and movies. Check out the movie "Interstellar," which relied heavily on Thorne to incorporate science. Thorne's work with the movie's special effects team led to scientists' improved understanding of how distant stars might appear when seen near a fast-spinning black hole.

Additional resources

Dive deeper into the mystery of black holes with NASA Science. Watch videos and read more about black holes from NASA's Hubblesite. Discover more about black holes with the National Science Foundation.

Bibliography

Hubblesite: Black holes: Gravity's relentless pull interactive : Encyclopedia. STScI Home. Retrieved May 6, 2022.

NASA. Imagine the universe! NASA. Retrieved May 6, 2022.

Boen, B. ( 2013, August 29 ). Supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*. NASA. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
Pacific isles fear becoming theatre for US-China rivalry



Hiroshima, Japan, May 19 (AFP) May 19, 2023



A Pacific Islands leader on Friday called on the United States and China to not bring "adversarial competition" to the region, as the rival powers intensify their bids for influence.

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown -- invited to represent the region at a Group of 7 summit in Hiroshima -- told AFP that increased superpower interest in the Pacific was welcome, but could not come at any cost.

In recent years, China has dramatically ramped up its economic, political and military footprint in the strategic ocean region.

Beijing has snapped up mines and ports across the Pacific and inked a secretive security pact with the Solomon Islands that allows China to deploy troops to the country.

The United States fears that a Chinese military foothold in the South Pacific could outflank its facilities on Guam, and make defence of Taiwan more complicated.

The self-ruled, democratic island lives under constant threat of an invasion by China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory to be seized one day -- by force if necessary.

US President Joe Biden has said the United States would defend the island in the event of a Chinese invasion.

Washington has opened or reopened a string of Pacific Island embassies and deployed a steady stream of envoys to court island leaders.

"We welcome that engagement into the region," said Brown, who currently chairs the Pacific Island Forum, a region-wide bloc.

He hailed a White House summit between Biden and Pacific Island leaders last year, but added: "What we don't want to see is our region being an area of adversarial competition by our development partners. We want our region to be an area of collaboration."

"I think it's important to understand that what our development partners may see as areas of national security, are not necessarily what we see as national security priorities," he said.

"For us, national security priorities are economic security, they are climate security."

Many Pacific Island nations are debt-burdened, low-lying, vulnerable to rising sea levels and exposed to ever-stronger storms, droughts and floods fuelled by climate change.

Brown said he would call on leaders of G7 wealthy democracies to help combat urgent climate challenges.

"The Pacific Island countries are at the forefront of the impacts of climate change, a large proportion of it caused by the G7 countries."

Brown said a reduction in carbon emissions was a worthy long-term goal, but that there are more pressing needs.

"For us in the Pacific, we're already facing those climate impacts now. So the focus for us is on adaptation measures and financing for adaption."

"We need to find a way to come up with financing solutions that fit the Pacific's needs and priorities," he told AFP.

"We've all got a common enemy that we have to fight and that's climate. For every dollar we put into other areas, we're losing out on an ability to combat the impacts of climate change."

Brown added that Pacific Island leaders were disappointed that Biden cancelled a meeting with them in Papua New Guinea next week, but that it was "understandable" due to a US domestic budget dispute.
KYODO NEWS - May 19, 2023 - 20:56 | World, All, 3/11 Fukushima

A South Korean delegation will visit the disaster-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant next week to assess the safety of Japan's planned release of treated radioactive water into the sea, the government said Friday.

The 21-member delegation, led by Nuclear Safety and Security Commission chief Yoo Guk Hee and including 20 experts, will arrive in Japan on Sunday for a six-day visit and hold a meeting with relevant Japanese institutions on Monday, according to the Office for Government Policy Coordination.

They will inspect relevant facilities at the Fukushima Daiichi plant on Tuesday and Wednesday and hold another meeting based on the inspection results on Thursday, Park Ku Yeon, the first deputy chief of the office, told a press conference.

"We plan to come up with more necessary measures for the safety and health of our people through the inspection," Park said as he briefed on the results of working-level talks with Japan held on Wednesday.

Senior Foreign Ministry officials of the two countries also met last week to work out details of the inspection, which was agreed upon during a meeting of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida earlier this month amid improving bilateral ties.

Concerns linger in South Korea over the potential impact of the treated water on the ocean environment, despite Japan's pledge to discharge the water in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure its safety.

Water that has become contaminated after being pumped in to cool melted reactor fuel has been accumulating at the complex, devastated by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 2011, and has also mixed with rainwater and groundwater at the site.

The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., the operator of the crippled complex at the time, had been considering ways to safely dispose of the water amid strong opposition to the plan from local fishermen and neighboring countries such as South Korea and China.

About 1.33 million tons of treated water was stored on the plant's premises as of late April and is edging closer to the capacity of 1.37 million tons, according to TEPCO.

Related coverage:

South Korea set for 4-day Fukushima plant visit to assess water release

Gov't to pitch safety of Fukushima water release to South Korea experts

Japan, South Korea leaders to cooperate on security amid North Korea threat
KYODO NEWS - May 19, 2023 - 02:07 | All, G7, World, Japan

Japan is arranging to include in a statement for the upcoming Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima a mention of the importance of directly expressing concerns to China, a diplomatic source said Thursday.

The G-7 leaders, like in previous annual summits, are also expected to highlight the necessity of peace and stability over Taiwan, a self-ruled island Beijing views as its own territory, while opposing any "unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion," the source said. Japan is the group's chair in 2023.

As for Russia, which launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the G-7 leaders are likely to show their commitment to maintaining strict sanctions on Moscow as well as addressing schemes to evade or circumvent such measures through third-party countries, the source added.

The three-day G-7 summit is scheduled to kick off on Friday, with the global security situation deteriorating amid China's growing military assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region and Russia's threats to use nuclear weapons against its neighbor.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has reiterated that it is significant to continue communicating well with Beijing to avoid any contingency in areas including the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea, with Sino-U.S. tensions intensifying.

China regards Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.

At the summit in the western Japan city that was devastated by a U.S. atomic bomb in 1945, the G-7 is expected to refer to the need for early ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the immediate start of talks on the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty in either the leaders' communique or a separate statement focusing on nuclear disarmament.

The second treaty would prohibit the production of materials for use in nuclear weapons. China and some other nations are believed to be increasing their production of military-usable plutonium.

The G-7 communique, meanwhile, is also likely to vow efforts toward promoting trustworthy artificial intelligence as issues stemming from generative AI such as ChatGPT have captured public attention recently, the source said.

It will also touch on Japan's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency on its planned discharge of treated radioactive water into the sea from the disaster-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant, amid fears about potential negative effects.

In a separate document focusing on Ukraine, the G-7 leaders may also pledge to take every measure to bring permanent peace to the Eastern European country.
N early two in three workers in the UK think the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) will take away more jobs that it will create, but many fewer are worried about their own prospects, a new study has suggested.

In a poll taken earlier this month before BT said it might lose around 10,000 workers to AI by the end of the decade, 62% of working Britons said that robotics and AI would take over more jobs than they create.

The YouGov survey of 1,169 people found that 8% said more jobs will be created than lost, while 14% said it would be around the same. The survey was carried out between May 5 and May 9.

Yet despite these results, only 22% of people surveyed said they were worried about the impact of robotics and AI on their future careers.

White collar workers whose job security was founded on their knowledge of complex processes and ability to integrate information from various sources quickly to make decisions will be displaced in large numbers

It comes as businesses, academics and governments are trying to come up with a response to how work might look in the age of AI.

On Friday Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the technology could bring great benefits to society, but that it needs guard rails.

A report published recently by the White House suggested that in future AI might be able to take over a wide range of non-routine tasks, unlike past automation which impacted mainly routine roles.

It cited a 2020 study which showed that the most-exposed occupations could include clinical laboratory technicians, chemical engineers, optometrists and power plant operators.

Joseph Fuller, a professor at Harvard Business School said it will take some time for companies to understand how to use AI, but when they do there will likely be widespread cuts to white collar jobs.

White collar workers whose job security was founded on their knowledge of complex processes and ability to integrate information from various sources quickly to make decisions will be displaced in large numbers, he said.

However, his Harvard colleague Edward McFowland III said that AI will change how people do their jobs, but the doomsday scenario where it replaces everyone is still far off.

The advent of the calculator didnt make math less important, but it did change what mathematical skills became important to organisations and, importantly, how we taught math in schools, he said.

It became less important for engineers building rockets at Nasa, for example, to solve complex math problems in their heads. The ability to structure a problem or goal as a set of mathematical equations that the calculator could solve became more important.

He said the way people are trained should be used to complement AI, helping them to feed in the right information and questions and spotting mistakes in its output.

Some experts argue that AI has existed for many years and has been changing the way people work for a long time.

Customers and workers already interact with chatbots at their banks, or the algorithms which drive delivery or taxi apps.

In a 2020 study, researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University and Boston University looked into job descriptions posted between 2010 and 2018 in the US.

They found companies that had been exposed to AI had removed some tasks from job descriptions, but these were instead replaced by new tasks.

We do not detect any negative relationship between AI exposure and employment or wage levels at more aggregated levels, the authors added, but cautioned that this could be because the technology is still in its infancy.

A 2022 review of academic literature by researchers at Macquarie University in Australia warned that current social systems are organised around people having full-time employment and systems of social protection such as health and pension coverage could be put under even more stress if AI changes this.
O il and gas tycoons, Russias biggest fintech and the owner of the company behind the AK-47 are among those listed as part of a fresh wave of sanctions as the UK ramps up its economic offensive against Russia.

A further 86 individuals and entities have been added to the governments list of financial sanctions targets, which seek to penalise businesses and individuals connected to Russias capacity to fund and wage its war on Ukraine, with a focus on organisations involved in energy, metals, defence, transport, and financial sectors.

A suite of senior members of Russian natural has giant Gazprom take up the lions share of the new list, alongside Alan Lushnikov, a former Russian Deputy Minister for Transport, who owns a majority stake in the Kalashnikov weapons manufacturer, as well as neobank Tinkoff, which had over 20 million customers in 2021.

Tinkoffs parent company, TCS Holdings, was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2013 and grew to reach a market cap of over 10 billion before its shares were suspended from the exchange last year. Its founder, Oleg Tinkov, previously controlled a stake worth billions of pounds and was added to UK sanctions last year. He sold his stake to Russian Billionaire Vladimir Potanin, who is also on the sanctions list.

He reportedly lives in London with his family and last year said he had renounced his Russian citizenship, writing on a social media post: I cant and wont be associated with a fascist country that started a war with their peaceful neighbour and killing innocent people daily.

The European Union had already applied economic sanctions to Tinkoff bank in February.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: Putin and his supporters must  and will - pay the price for their illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Thats why through todays new sanctions we are increasing the economic pressure on Putin making it harder for him to wage his illegal war and inflict untold suffering on innocent Ukrainians.
T esco chair John Allan will step down after the companys AGM next month, the supermarket giant revealed today, after he was accused of inappropriate behaviour last week.

He had been head of Tescos board since 2015.

According to a report in the Guardian earlier this month, four women had come forward to accuse Allan of inappropriate behaviour.

Allan vigorously denied  three of those claims, but admitted to the other, relating to comments made about a female staff member at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) while he was president of the lobby group. Tesco said Allann unreservedly apologised for those comments.

One of the allegations was that he had touched the bottom of a staff member at the Tesco AGM in 2022. Tesco said it instigated an extensive review of the allegation, which has not identified any evidence or complaints in relation to John.

In his statement upon leaving, which was not part of Tescos own announcement of his departure, Allan again denied the claims made against him.

It is with regret that I am having to prematurely stand down from my position as chair of Tesco Plc following the anonymous and unsubstantiated allegations made against me, as reported by the Guardian, he said. These allegations are utterly baseless, as the internal procedures undertaken by Tesco prove.

Tesco undertook an extensive internal review which included inviting Tesco employees and ex-employees to come forward on an anonymous basis if they had concerns about my conduct.

Tesco also conducted outreach to those who attended the meeting where the incident allegedly happened, and video footage of the meeting has also been reviewed. There is no evidence of any wrongdoing at that time or at any stage of my chairmanship at Tesco and I remain determined to prove my innocence.

Senior independent director Byron Grote will become interim chair. He said: John has made a valuable contribution to Tesco during his eight years as Chair. He has successfully led the board through the turnaround and Covid whilst helping to rebuild the business.

While we have received no complaints about Johns conduct and made no findings of wrongdoing, these allegations risk becoming a distraction to Tesco. On behalf of the board, I thank him for his substantial contribution to the business. We are well advanced in our search for a new Chair and will make an announcement in due course.

Tesco added that it had already begun succession planning because Allan had been due to step down soon anyway. Stewart Gilliland will lead the process to find his permanent replacement.

Allan was paid 687,000 in fees plus a further 8,000 for expenses last year, during which he attended five of Tescos six board meetings, plus a combined 10 meetings of board subcommittees.

He was president of the CBI from 2018 until 2020. The CBI and its leadership have been subject to a number of allegations of misconduct in recent months. Its director general Tony Danker stepped aside in March because of these claims.

Tesco chairs dipped slightly after the announcement, to 267.6p.
T he problem for politicians answering a question about whether something  taxes, spending or in this case immigration  is too high is that, if they answer yes, the next question will inevitably follow: so what level should it be?

Rishi Sunak fell into this trap today, after he said that immigration to Britain is too high but declined to commit to lowering it significantly before the next election.

The prime minister, like a number of his predecessors, has managed to reach the top of politics without being especially adept at thinking on his feet. Just watch his obvious discomfort following a moderately left-field question from Skys Beth Rigby. But in this case, Sunaks hesitation is more serious because it reveals a tension at the top of government.

Higher levels of immigration lie at the heart of the Conservatives economic policy. Jeremy Hunt has called immigration very important. Indeed, higher levels of migration were a key factor behind the Office for Budget Responsibility upgrading its output forecasts by 0.2 per cent  its biggest-ever upward revision to potential growth that can be attributed to government policy. Though for context, it expects Brexit to reduce long-run productivity by 4 per cent. Which is more.

At the same time, immigration is a delicate political issue for the government. First, there is small boats. Then the 2019 Conservative Manifesto, which pledged to reduce the overall number of migrants. Yet, as chief political correspondent Rachael Burford notes, figures due to be released next week are expected to show net migration soar to more than 700,000.

Now, this is partly a one-off, with intake higher due to the Ukraine and Hong Kong visa schemes, which together represent around 300,000 people. And the government will point out that, unlike when Britain was a member of the EU, it now has a greater say on who can come to this country.

But Sunak knows that numbers will not fall immediately. The UK is reliant on foreign healthcare workers to staff the NHS and students to fund its universities  though a crackdown on visas for family members of students is looming.

The home secretary, Suella Braverman, is clearly unhappy with current levels of immigration and keen for the press and party members to know about it. Yet she can be outmanoeuvred by the Treasury. On the other hand, a rift between Number 10 and 11 would prove far more serious and destabilising for the functioning of government.

The reality is this: until the prime minister can figure out another way to boost GDP, and as long as it remains politically viable, he will continue to tolerate higher levels of immigration, because that is one of the few levers of growth his government has managed to locate. When put like that, perhaps Sunaks original answer wasnt so bad.

In the comment pages, Emily Sheffield says we need a muscular BBC to fight the coming tide of AI disinformation. I write about how Ive become hooked on the no mans land in our memories  the time after history stops but before experience begins. While Simon English calls Nationwide a building society to treasure, but suggests it could be kinder to wannabe members.

And finally, from Fran Lebowitzs West End show to Richmond Park and  on the advice of her daughter  how going blonder means having more fun: Jerry Hall does My London.

Have a lovely weekend.

This article appears in our newsletter, West End Final  delivered 4pm daily  bringing you the very best of the paper, from culture and comment to features and sport. Sign up here.
Review at a glance









H is hat is back. His whip is back. His ophidiophobia  thats fear of snakes  is back. And, briefly, as the film begins, so is Indiana Joness youth. Nevertheless, for all the unremitting action, this is a finale that, like its protagonist, is definitely showing its age.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny opens with Harrison Fords great adventurer back in war-torn Germany, fighting those pesky uber-looting Nazis and  thanks to the de-ageing CGI used by Martin Scorsese in The Irishman  Ford is miraculously young again. The de-ageing is less troublesome than some of the other CGI, which is at times risibly rough.

But has director James Mangold also miraculously returned the franchise to the youthful splendour of Raiders of the Lost Ark? No, but there are enough elements in this final instalment that certainly catapult it above its ill-judged predecessor Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Mangold has filched many beloved Indy tropes and jam-packed them into his film. First of all, of course, is Harrison Ford. Age might have withered him, but he is still a charismatic leading man and he still looks like he can pack a punch.

There are Nazis; a cute little orphan boy; a feisty Girl Friday, Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge); a sexy enemy, Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) and a bookish but brave professor (Toby Stephens). There are red lines plotting routes on a map, familiar faces from previous adventures, and a preposterous story that takes us on a madcap ride from Nazi Germany to 1960s New York, Tangiers and Syracuse.

And when I say madcap ride, I am not kidding. Indiana Jones spends a lot of his time leaping either on oroff a train, a boat, a horse, a tuk-tuk or a Fiat 500. There is no form of transport that he doesnt fight on or chase Nazis with.

All of this accompanied by that familiar Indiana theme and its often the music buoying the film along during these relentless action sequences. Friends and foes are dispatched before weve got to know them, and everybody is a killer in the making.

Despite taking place in the late 1960s with men landing on the moon and David Bowie on the radio, this film seems redolent of the past. Waller-Bridge looks the part: sporting jodhpurs and a bob, she has the look of Katherine Hepburn in her heyday.

She has also brought a little Fleabag notoriety with her: no handsome man can escape her attention, her eyebrow raised like a sexual antenna when one arrives into her orbit.

Unlike a Hepburn-Grant screwball comedy, though, the film is short of any real zingers, the script often clunky and frankly offensive, with Indy at one point saying: Youre German, Voller. Dont try to be funny. The screenplay (by Mangold and Jez Butterworth) does, however, provide a few big laughs.

Yet it would be churlish to be too harsh on the final episode of this franchise. There are some genuinely moving scenes as we see this fantastic character finally getting ready to hang up his hat for the last time. Thanks, Indy, its been quite a ride.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny screened at the 76th Cannes Film Festival; the UK release date is June 28
B ritpop fans have been fiercely speculating about an Oasis reunion since the moment the band dramatically split back in 2009.

Led by the infamously fractious siblings Liam and Noel Gallagher, Oasis were one of the most successful bands in the UK at their peak. After 1994s Definitely Maybe became the fastest-selling debut in British history at the time, classic follow-ups (Whats the Story) Morning Glory? and Be Here Now also earned their own places in the record books.

The band also jostled with rivals Blur in an entertaining 1995 chart battle now remembered as the Battle of Britpop, and played to a quarter of a million fans at their pair of Knebworth gigs the following year. Incredibly, one in 20 people in the UK applied to secure precious tickets for those era-defining shows.

And once again reunited with his own band Blur  who release new album The Ballad of Darren on July 21  Damon Albarn says he feels certain that Oasis will return.

I can guarantee theyre going to reform, the musician told The Sun. In fact, Ive put money on it.

Theyre brothers and it would be wonderful to see them reconcile, he added.

Damon Albarn has put money on old rivals Oasis reforming / Steve Gullick

The Gallagher brothers, meanwhile, have said a number of conflicting things about the possibility of a reunion over the last fourteen years. The band famously split in public fashion right before they were slated to play the French festival Rock en Seine in 2009, after years of on-stage bust-ups, walk-outs, and tension between the bandmates. Its with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight, Noel wrote on the day of the planned Rock en Seine show in a statement. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.

Four years after quitting, in 2013, Noel shut down speculation again in an interview with Rolling Stone. We are split up. Youve heard that, havent you? he said, before adding: if there is a reunion, I wont be in it.

Three years later, Liam began regularly referring to his brother as a potato, and also claimed that his bandmate would be a no-show at the premiere of 2016s Oasis documentary Supersonic because he was probably eatin tofu while havin a face peel.

The rift deepened following Liams claims that Noel refused to play a tribute concert at Old Trafford in 2017, held in honour of the 22 victims killed by the terror attack at Manchester Arena. Play your tunes for the kids you sad f**k, he tweeted.

More recently, however, the brothers views seem to have softened slightly. In 2021, Noel Gallagher responded to rumours that he had been offered 100 million for an Oasis reunion. Ill do it for 100 million, he said, before adding: There isnt 100m in the music business between all of us.

Id do it for FREE responded Liam, writing on fan page Oasis Mania, which was quite sweet really.

This year, meanwhile, Liam responded to a fan on Twitter who asked about the possibility of a reunion: Its happening, he wrote.

Noel also seemed more open to the idea, admitting that he is getting along brilliantly with his sibling at the moment and can no longer rule it out. You should never say never, [but] it would have to take an extraordinary set of circumstances. Thats not to say that those circumstances would never come about.

Well just have to wait and see whether they decide not to look back in anger
 Is this all sounding a bit deep? asks Don Letts. Were supposed to be talking about f***ing jeans here, arent we? Letts is quite right. The ostensible reason the legendary DJ/ film-maker is sitting in front of me today is to discuss his involvement in the 150th anniversary of Levis 501s (more on which in a moment). But the thing about talking to Don Letts is that Don Letts has a lot to say on a lot of topics  all of it funny, fascinating and profound. This is, after all, a man who was at the forefront of 1970s punk, reggae, film and fashion. A London icon whose relevance has only grown with the passing decades; a man who has holidayed with Johnny Rotten, given style tips to Bob Marley (more on that in a moment, too) and worked with everyone from The Clash to Massive Attack. As such, a simple chat about f***ing jeans can get very deep very fast.

Within minutes of our interview starting, weve segued into Letts memories of his south London childhood and how hes seen the capital change in his 67 years. London now... It scares the shit out of me, he says, with a shake of his head. Because if you aint got money, itll f***ing kill you, man. All I see is glass and chrome and I dont know who theyre making this shit for. Its becoming this economically walled city, and if you havent got a reasonable bank account, you cant come to the party. People are being pushed to the outskirts and Im wondering: wheres it going to end? Im an all of us or none of us kind of guy, so its frightening.

Letts is London born and bred. His parents were part of the Windrush generation that came over from Jamaica in the Fifties, initially encouraged by the same politician  Enoch Powell  who would go on to demonise them in his infamous Rivers of Blood speech in 1968. I was 12 when [Powell] gave that speech, Letts recalls. And he didnt just polarise politics, he polarised the playground, too. Suddenly [at school], it wasnt Youre our mate, Lettsy, it was, You Black bastard, go home. It was really sad. Thats why, at my age, you look at the bigger picture and despair at the way humans fall for the same tricks again and again. By which I mean the general rise were seeing towards the Right, globally. Like, come on, guys. Wake up! He breaks off, grinning beneath his trademark tam hat: Were getting too deep again! Get me back on the Levis thing!

Ah yes, the Levis thing. So, rather incredibly, 2023 marks the 150th birthday of the brands iconic 501 jeans, and Letts has had a hand in curating the 501 Experience  a free pop-up landing in Shoreditch this weekend, packed with bass-heavy tunes and immersive installations. The first time I embraced the 501 was through the skinhead movement, Letts remembers. I would have been 13 or 14. The skinheads used to bleach them, or sit in the bath so theyd shrink to fit  that was the lick! Jamaicans loved them, too, he adds, because they were versatile, stylish and durable. Nothing ages like a f***ing pair of Levis.

Clothes have always been important for Letts, but he sees a crucial distinction between fashion and style. Fashion comes and goes, he tells me. But as a child of Jamaican descent, Im into style. Growing up, thats all we had. Look at the people getting off the Windrush [boat]  look how they were dressed! Thats what we brought to the UK: the bassline and a bit of flavour.

By the mid-1970s, Letts was disseminating both of these things across the capital as manager of ultra-hip Chelsea clothing store Acme Attractions. You had Acme at one end of the Kings Road, and Vivienne [Westwood] and Malcolm [McLaren]s shop, Sex, at the other, he recalls. Members of the nascent Sex Pistols and The Clash would bounce between the two  but more people would hang out at mine because I had a better soundtrack and cheaper clothes, Letts laughs.

The Jamaican dub he pumped through the Acme speakers was pivotal in turning many London punks on to reggae  though he initially had less luck getting the Rastas to embrace punk. Bob Marley, a frequent Acme visitor through- out the 1970s, was wholly unimpressed when Letts rocked up one evening wearing that staple of every punks ward- robe: bondage trousers. He told me to bugger off! Letts chuckles. His exact words were: You look like a bloodclart mountaineer! But I stood my ground  which wasnt easy as he was surrounded by yes men. I said: Bob, these white guys have got something! Theyre like-minded rebels! Then, three months later, a more informed Bob Marley wrote the song Punky Reggae Party  so I got the last laugh there.

Bob said I looked like a bloodclart mountaineer in bondage trousers

Marley wasnt the only big name Letts helped convert to the punk scene. In the late 1970s, none other than Martin Scorsese requested a private screening of Letts superb 1978 documentary The Punk Rock Movie. He particularly tuned into The Clash, Letts remembers. He was interested in punks dynamic: young people trying to find their voice and place in society. But Im such a fan I could hardly say anything to him. All I said was, Thanks, Marty. Only a few people can shut me up like that: him, Jack Nicholson... What happened with Jack? Oh, we were sharing a pizza in LA once, in the 1980s. I made some inane comment about olives. He groans at the memory. Why would you offer any dialogue in the presence of Jack Nicholson? Just sit back and bathe in his glory!

This, you see, is the problem with trying to stay on topic with Don Letts  the anecdotes rain in from all sides, each one spiralling off into five others. As our conversation draws to a close, we touch on everything from his 1978 trip to Jamaica with ex-Sex Pistol John Lydon (The Jamaicans knew John was public enemy number one in England  you couldnt get bigger kudos than that!) to the Coronation. I didnt see it, actually, I was DJing in Margate, Letts laughs. But Ive got no bone [to pick] with Charles. My man talks to plants. Anyone who talks to plants is damn good by me. The institution [of the monarchy], though... thats something else.

King Charles? Anyone who talks to plants is damn good by me

As someone who has been open about his own youthful mistreatment at the hands of police, I wonder what he made of the arrests of anti-monarchy protesters on the day. He sighs: The thing about the cops is: we kind of f***ing need them. Left to their own devices, people are kind of rude, so [the police] are necessary. But theyve got out of hand. You give a young man a uniform: youve got a problem. And thats the thing: its men. The problem is this man madness: the disrespect for the opposite sex and everyone in between. Women have been demonised all the way back to religion and childrens fairy tales  its so rooted in our culture. So, as men, weve got to try to level the playing field and be better people. We cant be dicks all our lives... He tails off, exhaling through puffed cheeks: Oh no. Weve got into the deep stuff again. We have indeed. With Don Letts, its impossible to stick to the shallows.

The 501 Experience, free until 21 May, 11 Dray Walk and Dray Walk Gallery, 91 Brick Lane, E1
I m standing in a fourth-floor room at Christopher Paul Jones Harley Street phobia clinic, rocking back and forth as the world-renowned hypnotherapist asks me to tell him how old I was the very first time I felt the rage that rises in my chest every time a motorbike roars past me in the street.

At the beginning of our session, I described to Jones what I long assumed to be the trigger for my phobia of engine sounds: having my phone nicked by two motorbike muggers in Shoreditch several years ago. But half an hour later  standing in front of him with my eyes closed  I find myself reaching for an earlier memory, around the age of 13, when a motorbike crashed into the side of our car on a family holiday in Italy.

Im going to ask your unconscious mind for a yes or no signal, Jones says softly. If it was to find new ways to feel safe and protected without holding onto fear and trauma, would it be willing to do that now?

I focus hard on letting my subconscious rather than my conscious do the talking, as Jones and I practiced earlier in the session, and find my body slowly rocking me forward onto my tip toes. Good, says Jones, smiling because he can see how alarmed I am to feel my body rocking towards him of its own accord. Lets unpack that.

If youre wondering why Im here, you clearly havent seen me in the moments after a motorbike has revved up close to me from behind. Spoiler: its not pretty  and its not only made me something of a laughing stock among my friends, but an unsustainably anxious pedestrian as I go about life in our wonderfully chaotic, engine-filled capital city.

The good news is I recently discovered that my affliction has a name: misophonia (hatred of sound), and according to a study by Kings College London, as many as one in five people struggle with it significantly. Perhaps you have it yourself, if you suffer a negative emotional reaction (in my case: pure rage) when you hear someone eating loudly or clicking their pen on repeat.

Jones, one of the UKs leading hypnotherapists who claims to count Hollywood A-listers among his successful clients, doesnt solely deal with misophonia cases like mine. His USP is curing any phobia, whether its a fear of spiders, public speaking or his most common case, a fear of flying  the most famous being a woman who cried all the way down from Scotland for a BBC documentary (presumably it made better TV to fly her down there), had one session with Jones and flew back a healed woman, supposedly feeling totally neutral about the previously horrifying fact that she was flying in a tin can through the sky. (Another client claims she was healed so much she actually wished her next flight would last longer).

I watched the episode myself and felt sceptical, though admittedly rather jealous. Could I too be healed in one session? Which is how I came to find myself sitting in Jones calming blue Harley Street therapy chair one spring afternoon, delving into the psychology lessons I wished Id had at school.

Fear isnt something you catch like a cold; its actually something we do, is the first of Jones teachings that takes me by surprise. What? Surely Im not choosing to feel scared every time a Harley Davidson screams past me on my pedal home from work?

But as Jones continues, the psychology makes sense. If everything Ive ever done really is stored in my subconscious as Jones says, then of course my subconscious still associates that noise with the mugging and the car crash  and of course it tenses up as a way of protecting me. My phobia isnt random or silly: its a safety mechanism; a survival response to a set of triggers. Jones job, then, is to find those triggers and help me remove the emotional charge that comes with them.

Unfortunately, the process isnt as straightforward as Jones swinging a pocket watch in front of my eyes and telling me Im-not-scared-of-motorbikes-anymore, as a friend theorises the night before. But in some ways, that classic hypnosis stereotype isnt entirely unjustified. Jones, a snake-phobe himself in a past life, did ask me to follow a moving light with my eyes (a supposedly mainstream psychology technique called eye movement desensitisation) and he did repeat positive phrases at me during the session, but not in a bearded-man-telling-me-Im-sleepy way; in a practical way that involves giving me some nifty little tricks to use whenever I do come across the noise in the future.

Parts of Jones tried-and-tested method do feel a little woo-woo for me at times, like stroking my own arms and speaking from my subconscious. But other parts feels closer to classic talking therapy. Can I remember a time when I didnt feel this way? Does my mind still link engine noises to mugging? And (the hardest one): can I teach Jones how to feel that anger I feel himself?

Jones smiles knowingly at this one, aware of just how difficult it is to describe my aversion to engine sounds like its some sort of a 10-step process anyone can learn. So Im strangely taken aback when I step out onto Oxford Street just 90 minutes and find myself smiling too  smirking, even  at those same motorcyclists Ive spent the last two hours moaning about.

The reason Im smiling this time is because I have a trick up my sleeve: Jones has spent the last half-an-hour training my brain so that every time I clench my fist Im taken to a more carefree moment last summer, laughing to the point of crying with friends in the sea. At this stage, its hard to tell whether Im smiling because of the memory itself or the fact that Im proud of myself for remembering to use the new superpower hes taught me. But in many ways I suppose it doesnt matter. The trick works. Im smiling at the sound of an engine, not looking to punch the person nearest to me in the street.

A few days after my session with Jones, I remark to my sister about how lovely it is weve not seen a single motorbike for half a day. She tells me weve passed at least 10, some growling so loudly she feared for my stress levels. Astounded and strangely determined not to be fixed of years of anger so quickly, I return to Jones  can my motorbike phobia really be cured in one session? He assures me it can. You can love dogs all your life but if a dog suddenly rips your hand off, you learn to hate dogs pretty quickly, he explains. The brain works incredibly quickly with enough negative stimulus. So it also works incredibly quickly with enough positive stimulus, too.

Another hypnotherapist, Rachel Farnsworth, tells me she fixes the majority of clients traumas or phobias in the first session, from one who cured herself of 20 years of panic attacks in two hours to another who used hypnotherapy to healed her psoriasis, having tried every medication and talking therapy under the sun. The subconscious is very powerful, she says. Hypnotherapy is just about learning about yourself and then empowering yourself to feel like the sparkly diamond of potential that you are, rather than an onion wrapped in trauma.

I cringe slightly when Farnsworth brings up trauma. Its become something of a loaded word since the therapy boom of recent years and Id certainly never have described my mugging or car crash incident in that way until now. But trauma or not, Jones has helped me to acknowledge that both incidents were still triggering emotional responses in me. Given that those responses were coming up almost daily, tackling the association my subconscious has made with them is probably no bad thing.

The question now is: what to tackle next. Jones says its common for clients to stumble across other traumas once theyre in the room with him, and I quickly find myself listing other phobias Im yet to tackle: my fear of spiders (standard); my misophonia for train announcements (yes, really). I might want to trim my nails a little before the next session though, or my poor palms might struggle to survive the summer. (christopherpauljones.com)
F or design-minded Londoners, no postcode offers better bang for your buck than EC1.

Once the heart of the citys clock making tradition, village-like Clerkenwell is home to more than 130 furniture showrooms and 200 architecture practices  said to be the highest concentration in Europe.

Perhaps its little wonder that Londons creatives congregate at this ancient network of greens and grand churches, converted warehouses and atmospheric crypts.

And from May 23  25 the area will flex its design muscle with the 12th edition of Clerkenwell Design Week, offering exhibitions, talks and events in a smidge over two square miles.

Kirkby Design will be showing new fabrics at The Order of St John / Kirkby Design

For designers and brands its a chance to open new showrooms and launch the latest products, while visitors will get a walkable hit of cutting-edge creativity and access to some remarkable historic buildings hidden in plain sight.

This is no haute trade fair, so expect a relaxed mood (and crowds spilling out of showrooms on late night Wednesday). Stick to the hot pink signage and you cant go far wrong.

In the spotlight

Case Furniture will show Robin Days Forum collection / Case Furniture

If your first instinct is to sit down, head for Conversations at Clerkenwell  a packed programme of talks under a covered pavilion in Spa Fields.

Morag Myerscough, Yuri Suzuki and Philippe Malouin are the big hitters, but a colour forecast with Pantone and a dissection of the Soho House aesthetic are sure to be popular. Tickets are 7.50 and should be booked ahead.

Fans of mid-century masters should make a beeline for architecture firm Groupworks base on Clerkenwell Close, where Case Furniture are showing a selection of pieces by British hero Robin Day.

Amin Tahas tour of the controversial building swiftly sold out, but exhibition visitors should still get an eyeful of the Stirling Prize-nominated structure.

Then theres Danish brand Mater, who will present Brge Mogensens 1958 Conscious Chair 3162 in Matek, their patented waste material. Its the first time that a piece by the modernist has been relaunched in a different material  which design buffs will know is a big deal.

Domus will be launching a new tile collection with Brit designer Yinka Ilori / Domus

Further in-store highlights include the unveiling of Skagerak by Fritz Hansen, the Danish firms first outdoor furniture collection, three new designs by Palomba Serafini Associati at Ideal Standard and a mood-boosting collaboration between tile brand Domus and Yinka Ilori. Given hes doing the window display, itll be hard to miss.

While youre strolling between showrooms, dont miss a scattering of street installations. A mushroomy must-see is PLP Architectures mycelium creation in St Johns Square, which is set to challenge public perception of this once-fringe material.

Just around the corner at the Yotel on Clerkenwell Road, a 23-strong gang of BA Product Design students from London Metropolitan School of Art will present group exhibition Colours of London, a collection of sculptural totems inspired by the city.

Think carefully before voting on your favourite  the winning student will have their colour palette mixed as tester pots by Mylands.

Need a breather? Grade II-listed Old Sessions House acts as a kind of hub for the festival, and registered visitors can wander at will between stylish lounges and bars.

Architecture magazine ICON is hosting talks here as part of its 20th birthday celebrations  tickets for Tom Dixon or rising star Mimi Shodeinde are 25.

Registered visitors can make themselves at home at Old Sessions House / Felix Speller

Five shows you shouldnt miss

Platform, Cowcross Street

This base for bright young things has swapped the House of Detention for a new venue on Cowcross Street. You wont know the names, but thats the whole point  many of these designers will be on their Clerkenwell debut. Dont miss Make Reliefs solid cork and recycled plastic side tables, or a starkly simple foldable chair by Kostas Synodis.

British Collection, Crypt on the Green, Clerkenwell Close

Descend into the crypt below St Jamess Church for this showcase of established British talent. Wood is well-represented between heritage names like Ercol and industry favourites Benchmark and Another Country. Sebastian Cox will launch his first ever lounge chair, while Curiousa will lend drama with its Derbyshire-made lighting.

Curiousas new Wave chandelier will be part of the British Collection / Curiousa

Design Fields, Spa Fields, Skinner Street

A home for international brands that dont have their own base in Clerkenwell, highlights here include covetable freestanding kitchens from Italys Very Simple Kitchen and chairs made from recycled fishing nets and Carlsberg kegs by Danish brand Wehlers.

Light, House of Detention, Sans Walk

A subterranean Victorian prison is the suitably murky setting for this riot of illumination, which brings together experimenters like Lladro, showcasing a colourful new collection by Luca Nichetto, with affordable lighting from the likes of Spark & Bell and Houseof. Spanish brand Bioo will be ready to demonstrate the Luxx, a first-of-its-kind design operated via human contact with a living plant.

Elements, St Johns Square

Home to all things hardware, this pavilion on St Johns Square is one for the renovators. Rub elbows with architects on their lunch break as you browse the latest handles, taps and toggles, like Dowsing & Reynolds new range of combination switches. Teams are on hand to advise on the technical bits.

See the full programme and register for free at clerkenwelldesignweek.com
H undreds of thousands of homes could be added to the edge of London if Keir Starmer relaxes green belt planning rules, experts have predicted.

The Labour leader this week set out plans to give councils more power to approve residential development in the protected zones around UK cities.

The Metropolitan Green Belt was introduced in the mid-twentieth century in a bid to prevent urban sprawl. It now covers an area approximately three times the size of London.

Following the Labour leaders announcement this week, housebuilders and planning experts told Homes & Property that relaxing tight controls on green belt development could add thousands of much-needed homes to the capitals housing stock.

Nick Whitten, head of UK living and residential research at property specialists JLL, said not all of the metropolitan green belt was idyllic rolling countryside.

Much of it is shrubland that wraps around London either side of the M25, he said. London itself totals around 160,000ha of built environment; the Green Belt is more than 500,000ha.

Even releasing just a small percentage of that green belt could open the door to building tens of thousands of new homes.

New homes for key workers

Jamie Ratcliff, executive director at housing association Network Homes, said the capital needed many more homes.

While the green belt was designed to protect from urban sprawl, it means that too many people are forced to commute through it in order to live in a home they can afford, he added.

It makes no sense to protect petrol stations and aggregate stores at the expense of these people making valuable contributions to Londons economy.

Zarin Mahmud, researcher at think tank the Centre for London, said Starmers recognition of the need for more local housing power was encouraging.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said there were examples when the green belt could be built on (Yui Mok/PA) / PA Archive

Londons local authorities know the housing needs in their areas best, she said. We need them to have a greater say in the type and placement of housing in their communities.

Ms Mahmud added: We know the effects of Londons housing crisis already  families increasing dependence on the private rented sector to find somewhere to live, issues with overcrowded, unsuitable accommodation and soaring rents.

Building more new homes would reduce the risk of many households, including Londons key workers, being pushed out of the city entirely. This is crucial for Londons future.

Where should green belt development happen?

The Home Builders Federation said 140,000 homes could be built on Londons periphery if just one per cent of the green belt was developed.

Derelict sites near stations

"There are huge swathes of green belt land made up of waste or scrubland with little ecological value and which could never be described as beautiful," said a spokesperson for the developer body.

"It includes many previously used or derelict sites within the green belt that could be redeveloped with housing  including sustainable locations near to train or Tube stations. Policy makers ultimately need to decide whether neglected warehouses and underused car parks are more important than housing for young Londoners."

Crossrail 2

Ben Simpson, director at planning consultancy Lichfields, said "significantly more than 100,000 homes could be built on the metropolitan green belt if the right infrastructure was put in place.

"Previous proposals around Crossrail 2 envisaged the potential to deliver up to 150,000 new homes outside the main built-up area of the capital," he said.

"Those broad locations would therefore have been north-east of London in the Upper Lea Valley as well as south-west of London around Chessington.

Although the follow-up to the Elizabeth Line has been on hold since the pandemic decimated transport funds, Simpson said this or other schemes could eventually come forward to serve new development.

"The question is where can improvements to capacity best be made to allow significant volumes of new development to be serviced, and how does that fit with the quality and availability of land in the green belt?"

Growing green belt towns

David Fell, senior analyst at estate agents Hamptons, said the metropolitan green belt had created urban sprawl in home county towns such as Aylesbury, Chelmsford and Crawley.

Relaxation of the green belt opens up the possibility of both an expansion of London itself, alongside [growth of] the towns in the green belt outside the capital, which havent seen much development since the Second World War, he said.

But he added: Politically the expansion of London within its current boundaries is probably the more likely option. The profile of outer London has changed over the last decade, with more renters than there used to be, alongside a rise in support for housebuilding.

London could end up the size of LA

But relaxing planning rules on the green belt is not necessarily the vote winner the national Labour party might hope.

The once safe Tory seat of Chesham and Amersham famously turned Lib Dem in a by-election in 2021, a change attributed in part to the then-governments proposed planning reforms.

London mayor Sadiq Khan said he was committed to protecting Londons green belt.

It serves a number of vital functions, including mitigating the impacts of the climate crisis and protecting green spaces that Londoners rely upon, said a spokesperson for the mayor.

The mayor believes that where building is allowed on the green belt it should be very limited and the London Plan is clear that green belt boundaries should be changed only in exceptional circumstances.

Sarah McMonagle, head of external affairs at countryside charity CPRE said the green belt was rightly protected.

It is the vital countryside next door to millions of Londoners, she said. It also helps stop urban sprawl. If we didnt have the green belt, London could end up being the same size as Los Angeles.

Thats why the government should introduce a genuinely brownfield land first approach to new housing so we can recycle our previously developed land and build affordable homes near to the infrastructure and amenities people need. In exceptional circumstances, national planning policy does allow some development.

What we mustnt do is squander our green belt with developments of large executive homes that ordinary people cant afford.

Mr Starmer told the BBC this week: "We are going to back the builders not the blockers."

He added: "The planning rules don't work, we need to give local areas more control about where building takes place and to create development corporations as the vehicle to drive housebuilding.

"We all want to protect the green belt. [But] we have to face the fact we already build on bits of it. In Maidstone, houses were built on a playing field rather than a car park that was technically in the green belt.

"We would say to local areas, notwithstanding that it's the green belt, if it is a car park or similar land that doesn't affect the beauty of our countryside, we'll change the planning rules and give you the powers to [allow development]."

The Labour leader claimed that his measures would help tackle soaring rents, by increasing residential supply, and promised more housing policy "in a few weeks' time".
KYODO NEWS - May 19, 2023 - 23:42 | World, All, Japan, G7

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Korean atomic bomb victims in Japan on Friday as part of his three-day visit to Hiroshima to attend the Group of Seven summit.

Yoon's meeting with some 20 atomic bomb victims was the first of its kind by a sitting South Korean president.

"I'd like to apologize on behalf of the government and the country as a South Korean president for your home country not having been here with you while you were going through such sadness and pain," Yoon said at the event.

As Yoon spoke of his plan to jointly visit a cenotaph for Korean atomic bomb victims at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sunday, he promised it will be "a chance to memorialize the Korean victims, while pledging to open up an era of peace and prosperity of the two countries."

Yoon also vowed to support the victims, stressing they must be able to get help even when not in their home country.

Many Koreans were killed in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, as they were forced to work for Japanese firms during wartime. It is estimated that about 70,000 people from the Korean Peninsula were exposed to the blasts and 40,000 died, but no official investigation has been held so far.

The victims welcomed South Korea being invited to the G-7 summit and appreciated Yoon for bringing improvement in bilateral ties with Japan, which have been strained for a while, according to the presidential office.

Lee Do Woon, spokesman to the presidential office, said in an earlier briefing that Friday's meeting shows Yoon's commitment to solving historical issues while seeking improvement in relationships for the future generations of both South Korea and Japan.

The atomic bomb victims living in South Korea also headed to Hiroshima in hopes of meeting with Yoon but were unable to do so.

Jeong Won Sul, chairman of the Korea Atomic Bombs Victim Association, expressed deep regret, saying that the president has ignored the victims who came all the way to Hiroshima.

Related coverage:

G-7 summit latest occasion in history of leaders visiting Hiroshima

South Korea's Yoon to visit Hiroshima for 3 days from May 19 for G-7 talks
Feeling the squeeze lately? Dont worry, so are Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, given that the millionaire residents of No 10 Downing Street lost an estimated 200 million from their net worth. Theyre just like us!

Murty, 43, and Sunak, 42, are among the richest people in Britain, but it was revealed this week that their net worth has fallen considerably after Murtys shares in her fathers company, Infosys, decreased in value. According to the Sunday Times Rich List, over the past 12 months the couples wealth has fallen at a daily rate of more than half a million pounds a day.

The couple originally entered the Sunday Times Rich List in 2022, when Sunak was still chancellor, with an estimated combined wealth of 730 million. However, since shares in Infosys, where Murty has a stake of around 1 per cent, lost nearly a quarter of their value, the couple are now estimated to be worth around 529 million, almost a 30 per cent decrease.

That said, the pair arent exactly struggling  they are still the wealthiest couple to have ever graced Downing Street, largely thanks to Murtys tech company based-wealth. But how much is Murty really worth, and how did she get so wealthy? Heres the skinny on her family fortune.

Akshata Murtys net worth

Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty / Simon Walker/No 10 Downing Street

The majority of Akshata Murtys net worth comes from Infosys, her familys tech company, which is valued at around $63 billion (51 billion).

Infosys was co-founded by Murtys father, NR Narayana Murthy, in 1981 with an initial capital of $250. Since 2015, Murty has owned just over 0.9 per cent of the Bangalore-based group  a stake that was worth an estimated 690 million last year, according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2022.

The lists compilers estimated last year that the holding should have delivered at least 54 million in dividends over the seven and a half years leading up to the publishing date of the list (August 2022), including 11 million in 2021 and a 6.7 million payout announced last month.

However, the value of shares in Infosys has decreased in value by about 25 per cent, making Murtys 0.93 per cent stake worth a lot less  481.2 million at the time of compilation, which is down 208.8 million on last year.

How did Akshata Murty become so wealthy?

Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty have a combined wealth of about 530 million / PA Wire

As well as the benefits accrued by her fathers business, Murty is also a canny businesswoman in her own right.

After she attended college in the US (private liberal college Claremont McKenna College in California) Murty got her start working for Deloitte and Unilever. Then she took a break to complete her MBA at Stanford University, which is where she met a certain Prada-wearing future prime minister.

The pair married within four years, and meanwhile Murty joined a Dutch clean technology incubator fund in San Francisco where she worked as marketing director during 2007, though she left quickly to start her own fashion label, Akshata Designs. The company was not a success and collapsed within three years.

Akshata Murty on the first day of the G7 summit in Hiroshima / Alice Hodgson/No 10 Downing St

A year later, in 2013, she became the director of venture capital fund Catamaran Ventures and helped to launch its London branch with a little help from Mr Rishi Sunak. The firm was considerably more successful than Akshata Designs, though Sunak had to sell his shares to his wife when he became the MP for Richmond in 2015.

As well as Catamaran Ventures and her Infosys wealth, Murty is also a shareholder in at least six other companies, including Jamie Olivers Pizzeria, Bloom & Wild, Wendys restaurants in India and New & Lingwood, a mens apparel store, which measures Etonians for tailcoats and silk dressing gowns.

Rishi Sunaks net worth

Rishi Sunak with Akshata Murty during a reception to celebrate the British Asian Trust at the British Museum in London / Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The prime minister is not only head of the government but hes also richer than Elton John. In March it was revealed that Sunak has also had an income of more than $6 million over the past three years and made 1.97 million last year alone. His salary is 156,000.

The couple also have four homes across the UK and in California, worth an estimated $18.3 million, including a 19th century-listed mansion in North Yorkshire and an oceanfront penthouse in Santa Monica. So that 200m loss aint sounding so bad now.
Being a woman in No 10 is no walk in the park: from Carrie Johnsons rented frocks to Theresa Mays leopard-print kitten heels, each element of every outfit is thrust under the microscope.

The interest in Akshata Murtys wardrobe is unique, however, given she and her husband, prime minister Rishi Sunak, are worth 529 million, ranking 275th on The Sunday Times Rich List today. A step out of place equates to a barrage of headlines blasting their extreme wealth.

Case in point: the stories written when Murty stepped out on the school run wearing 570 chain slippers by London-based designer JW Anderson last Feburary. Or when she paired her Gucci leather sneakers, also 570, with a smart blazer for the VIP opening of Frieze art fair in October.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, center right, and his wife Akshata Murty disembark their plane as they arrive at the airport, in Tokyo, Japan, ahead of the G-7 Summit / AP

It makes sense, then, that her first six months in Downing Street have been sartorially defined by safety. Now, that looks to be shifting. Yesterday, as she disembarked an aircraft in Japan for the G7 summit in Hiroshima, she introduced a shock of colour and looked sensational. Alongside her husband in a traditional grey suit, Murty opted for pop fuschia with a 95 cashmere jumper from Chinti & Parker, and bright green trousers, which are 165 at ME+EM.

It marks the beginning of a more adventurous approach to dressing, something that Murty has long been a fan of. The daughter of the Indian software billionaire N. R. Narayana Murty, she founded her own, short-lived eponymous fashion brand in 2011, telling Vogue India at the time: Ever since I was a little girl I have always loved clothes. My mother, a no-nonsense engineer, was always baffled why I would spend so much time creating different outfits from my wardrobe. Ive collected an eclectic mix of whimsical things that I find on the streets of Mumbai and Los Angeles, as well as staples from Gap and American Apparel. I layer them with funky pieces from vintage stores and the occasional Alexander Wang dress  I love his casual and fun, lightweight jersey dresses.

Akshata Murthy and Rishi Sunak attend the Frieze Art Fair 2022 VIP Preview in Regent's Park / Dave Benett/Getty Images

Despite an interest in designer labels, her first lady wardrobe has instead been defined by modest brands and high street prices. No better was this displayed than over the Coronation, where a number of high profile appearances called for a host of looks.

It appears she enlisted the help of PR Isabel Spearman, who was seen at No 10 days before King Charles ceremony. Spearman previously assisted Samantha Cameron with styling, when her husband was in power.

The first in a string of outfits worn at the beginning of May was to greet First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska. Murty made a nod to the war torn country by wearing a blossom printed pale blue shirt from Ukrainian label Sleeper, with statement coffee-coloured slacks. The following day she received Jill Biden at home in a contrast print 325 silk dress from Rixo.

First Lady Jill Biden of the United States meets Akshata Murty, wife of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at number 10 Downing Street / Getty Images

For the Coronation itself, Murty was one of the best dressed guests in her soft blue, jacquard dress by London based designer Claire Mischevani. It was an absolute pleasure to dress Mrs Murty, for such a momentous, British occasion, the designer told The Standard. As an independent British brand, it means so much to see our pieces worn to such occasions. The following day it was back to Boden, as she opted for a heart print shirt from the brand, which she paired with another bold set of slacks  this time, in vivacious red  and swapped heels for more sensible, black leather shoes.

In general, Murty tends to avoid high heels, it was reported in her Tatler cover feature last December. The story goes that she swapped them out for flats on meeting Sunak at Stanford University in 2004,  so as not to emphasise his more modest height.

Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty attend King Charles III Coronation / Getty Images

Kalyani Chawla, who is an Indian PR maven and former Vice President at Christian Dior Couture, has been impressed by Murtys style evolution. I love her understated practical elegance, she says. She can afford the best brands but chose H&M to enter her new role as the PMs wife. Old money brings in that certain I-cant-be-botheredness which is more obvious than someone who styles every outing aware of paparazzi!

Akshata Murty at the G7 Summit in Japan / Alice Hodgson / No 10 Downing St

Her parents are truly revered for their philanthropy and charity work and are so very under the radar, Chawla continues. Akshatas quiet, non fussy personality shows perfectly through her wardrobe.
A ir pollution is harming our brain health, mental health and leading to an increased risk of dementia, according to a report from InSPIRE  a UK policy and research consortium.

The research stated that action should be taken to reduce exposure to pollution, with brain health to be included in net zero strategies.

Here are the key details.

What does the evidence say?

The research has been under way for 20 years. It started with the discovery of brain changes in pet dogs in the heavily polluted Mexico City, and revealed that these changes can begin in young puppies.

Over the past five years, evidence has mounted. For example, a study from Spain revealed that air pollution can hinder childrens brain development and performance in tests.

Then, when research was undertaken on 1,700 Londoners, it revealed those exposed to air pollution had increased mental health problems.

Speaking to the Guardian, Professor Frank Kelly of Imperial College London, a former chair of the UK Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution, said: Dementia is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, global challenge for health and social care in the 21st century. Recognition that air pollution might accelerate the decline in cognitive function and contribute to the development of dementia came as a surprise when such an association was first postulated.

Logic suggested that air pollution would affect our lungs, then research found that circulatory diseases were also affected by poor air quality. It didnt take long for researchers to ask if other organs like the brain were affected as well.

Last year, Kellys committee, which comes under the Department of Health and Social Care, reviewed 69 studies and found it was likely that air pollution increased cognitive decline in elderly people, as well as increasing the risk of developing dementia.

It is thought brain health damage accumulates slowly from the air pollution people breathe each day.

What needs to be done to tackle the problem?

The report demanded an audit of the policies that exist at the moment, to fast-track actions that reduce our exposure to air pollution throughout our lives. These include low-pollution school zones and the development of dementia-friendly communities. It also suggested that health, and specifically brain health, should be part of net zero strategies.

Professor Brian Castellani of the University of Durham, the director of the report, told the Guardian: A major step change is improving urban life, for example road congestion, green spaces, indoor air quality, ultra-low emission zones, biking and pedestrian lanes, as well as tackling health and economic inequalities.

We also need policies to recognise that even legal limits of air pollution can be harmful and potentially worsen the situation of people living with dementia, neurodegenerative disease or early life brain health issues.
B lack and ethnic minority children accused of crimes are more likely to be refused bail by police in London than white youngsters, new figures reveal.

Campaigners called the Met Police data shocking, saying the decision increases the likelihood of magistrates remanding teenage defendants in custody for months until trial.

Of 953 10 to 18-year-olds detained post-charge in the year to October last year, 473 suspects were black (49.6 per cent) and 181 white (18.9 per cent). In total, people from ethnic minorities made up 73.3 per cent of those held in custody for a first appearance before the courts. Black people account for 13.5 per cent of Londoners, Asians 20.7 per cent and whites 53.8 per cent.

Scotland Yard said the ethnicity of a person plays no part in this decision and the figures show a slight decrease in the percentage of ethnic minorities detainees when compared to 2020 and 2021.

But Penelope Gibbs, director of campaign group Transform Justice, said: The figures are shocking. The depressing thing is the Met havent changed their practice of detaining children who are either black or from other ethnic communities.

Theres a problem here that starts with stop-and-search, who the police choose to arrest and then detain post-charge. They have the option of letting a child out on bail, so the Met needs to explain this disproportionality or reform.

Police refusing to bail children increases the likelihood of the court imprisoning them on remand. Baroness Caseys review of the Met, ordered in the wake of Sarah Everards murder, found the force is institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic.

Commander Nick John, in charge of criminal justice at the Met, said: The detention of a person under 18 after they have been charged with a criminal offence and awaiting a court appearance is one that is closely scrutinised.

Factors that will be considered are the severity of the offence, the welfare and personal circumstances of that individual, and the safety of those linked to the investigation or the individual. The ethnicity of a person plays no part in this decision.
A BMW driver who fired a gun at two pedestrians in a road rage incident in south-west London has been jailed for nearly 14 years.

Shocking CCTV footage released by police on Friday captures the moment William Solhotra, 35, shot at the strangers in broad daylight in Mitcham.

Shortly before 3pm on July 2 last year Solhotra, driving a silver BMW, got into an argument with the two men who had just crossed the street, before he fired a shot at them.

No injuries were reported, and all three men left the scene before police arrived.

Met Police officers were scrambled to the scene, where they found a shell casing.

Met Police

Four days later, on July 6, specialist firearms officers then stopped Solhotra as he was driving his car from the Crawley area back to London.

Officers searched the BMW and found the gun inside an Emprio Armani bag, which CCTV captured him wearing just minutes before the incident.

His phone was also seized, which helped place him at the scene at the time of the shooting.

Solhotra, of London Road in Mitcham, was arrested and taken into custody, before being charged by police.

He was later convicted at court of two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, and possession of ammunition. He had pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class A, B and C drugs.

Police found the gun inside Solhotras bag / Met Police

On Friday, he was jailed for 13 years and six months at Kingston Crown Court.

Detective Constable David Leend, investigator, said: This scene unfolded in broad daylight on a summers day in front of scores of onlookers and motorists. Solhotra got into a dispute with the two men in a suspected road rage incident.

He was in possession of a lethal weapon and thought nothing of firing at the two men, with absolutely no regard for them, or the other people who were going about their business.

Despite extensive searches, including multiple hospital checks, those two men have never been identified. It is sheer luck that no one was injured, or worse; this could easily have been a very different investigation.

Im pleased that the sentence received today reflects the gravity of Solhotras offence. Anyone else who is concerned in the use of illegal firearms can be assured that they too could find themselves behind bars.
D etecives have launched a murder investigation after a man was stabbed to death in a cul-de-sac close to a nursery in west London.

The victim, whose age has not been released, was knifed repeatedly and died at the scene after a large disturbance on Reynolds Road, Hayes at 6.50pm on Thursday.

Police are still tring to contact the victims next of kin, Scotland Yard said.

Detective Superintendent Figo Forouzan, from the local policing team in west London, said: This is an incredibly sad incident that will understandably cause concern in the community. Id like to reassure the public that we will carry out a thorough investigation to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.

A post-mortem examination will take place in the coming days.

There have been no arrests and enquiries are ongoing.

A spokesperson for Met Police said: Police were called to reports of a disturbance involving a number of men.

Police, London Ambulance Service (LAS) and Londons Air Ambulance attended and found a male with multiple stab wounds.

The force added: Despite treatment from medical professionals, the man sadly died at the scene.

Work is ongoing to trace his next of kin.

At this early stage no arrests have been made.

A crime scene is in place at the location and urgent enquiries are ongoing.

A London Ambulance spokesman added:We were called at 6.52pm yesterday (18 May) to reports of a stabbing on Reynolds Road, Hayes.

We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, a medic in a fast response car, an incident response officer and a clinical team manager. We also dispatched Londons Air Ambulance.

Sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, a person was pronounced dead at the scene.

A Section 60 Order granting police additional stop and search powers has been authorised, surrounding the area until 10.45am on Friday.

Anyone with information that could assist detectives is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 6840/18May. To remain anonymous contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
A 21-year-old terrorist has admitted plotting a gun attack in Londons Hyde Park.

Edward Little planned to buy a gun to kill a Christian preacher and her camera crew at Speakers Corner as well as any police or soldiers in the area at the time, it was alleged.

He was on his way into London in a taxi with thousands of pounds in cash when he was stopped and arrested last September 23.

Earlier this year, he denied preparing to commit acts of terrorism but changed his plea and admitted the charge on Friday at the Old Bailey.

Little, from Pelham Street, Brighton, entered his guilty plea by video link from Belmarsh jail.

The prosecution has asserted Little researched targets including Christian preacher Hatun Tash, military figures and members of the Metropolitan Police.

But defence lawyer Tom Godfrey said Little only accepted targeting the preacher.

As part of his preparations Little had looked up different guns and their capabilities and arranged to buy one for 5,000.

As he set off on September 23 last year, Little agreed to pay the taxi driver 300 to take him to Lewisham, south London, saying money was no problem.

He asked to stop at a mosque to pray but said he would do it in the cab after being told there was none on route.

When arrested, he was carrying a rucksack with 5,000 in cash, a passport and two mobile phones.

Police later found an encrypted chat on one phone, setting out his attack plan and the gun purchase.

Little declined to answer questions in police interviews but his mood changed when he was shown a YouTube view of the preacher.

He launched himself from his chair across the table at an officer, swinging repeatedly with his fists before being restrained.

He went on to admit assaulting the officer at Newbury Police Station last September 28 and was sentenced to 40 weeks in prison.

The sentence was reduced on appeal for eight months in prison.

At a previous hearing at the Old Bailey, Judge Richard Marks said Little has an absolutely shocking previous record.

The defendant had been convicted of 14 offences on seven separate occasions, including for robbery, having a knife and drug dealing, dating back to 2017.

Little was due to stand trial on July 10 for the terrorism offence before pleading guilty at the hearing before Mr Justice Baker.

Prosecutor Duncan Penny KC asked for time to consider the defendants basis of plea in relation to his targets.

Mr Justice Baker adjourned sentencing until July 21 and remanded Little into custody.
A student who went on the run after stabbing a grandmother in the neck has admitted murdering her.

Alexander Carr, 33, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court via a videolink from prison to admit murdering Michelle Hanson in late November or early December.

The 47-year-old was a much-loved grandmother who was found dead at her home in Brady Street, Sunderland, having suffered suspected stab wounds.

An appeal was made to find Carr and he was arrested 18 days later in Islington, north London, armed with a hunting knife, and he had been living in a tent pitched on an embankment near Upper Holloway railway station.

Carr was named as the prime suspect as he was the last person to be seen with the mother-of-three at her flat, where investigators found discarded knives and forensic evidence linked to the defendant.

He was a student at the University of Sunderland, is from Wearside, and had links to London and several parts of the North East.

During the search for him, police said he was thought to have some survival skills and could have been hiding outdoors.

At the brief plea hearing at court, it was said that Carr suffered personality disorders at the time of the murder.

Judge Paul Sloan KC told Carr only a life sentence was possible, but he will set the minimum term the defendant must serve behind bars at a hearing on June 16.

While Carr was on the run, Ms Hansons daughter Shannon Brown paid tribute to her mother and appealed for the publics help in tracing him.

She said: As a family, we are all devastated by what has happened.

My mam was a caring, kind and loving person.

She would never hurt anyone, even if someone did something to hurt her, she would forgive them because she always saw the good in people.

She always got on with things and never gave up.

Its heartbreaking for us as a family to know we will never see her again.

Outside court, senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Barr said: Firstly I would like to praise the bravery and strength shown by Michelles family throughout these proceedings.

Not only have they had to come to terms with the tragic loss of their mam and grandmother, but they also played a role in helping us to locate Carr, who was desperately trying to evade arrest.

His despicable actions speak volumes.

Carr murdered Michelle and then fled down south and went into hiding so he could not be held accountable.

That arrogance and lack of remorse has been difficult for Michelles family to come to terms with, and we are thankful he is now behind bars, facing a life sentence for his actions.

We know nothing can bring Michelle back but we hope today can serve as the first step towards the closure her family deserve.

No one should have to lose a loved one in such horrific circumstances and as a Force, we are committed to tackling all types of violence, and ensuring perpetrators are brought to justice.
F our people have been arrested on suspicious of corporate manslaughter following the death of a worker who fell through a roof near Wembley Stadium.

Reza Alipour, 41, died at the scene despite receiving first aid from the emergency services.

He had fallen from height while employed at a building owned by a fine art and antique buyer.

Metropolitan Police detectives have launched a homicide investigation.

Officers are appealing for anyone to come forward with information on Mr Alipours death at Latif House in First Way, Wembley at 2.30pm on Thursday, May 11.

A 45-year-old man was arrested for alleged corporate manslaughter last week Friday.

The following day, two other men and a woman were detained for the same offence.

All have been bailed pending further enquiries until August.

Scotland Yard said: Officers attended along with the London Ambulance Service and Londons Air Ambulance. Despite their efforts, a 41-year-old man died at the scene.

His next of kin have been informed.

The death is being treated as unexplained and a post-mortem examination is due to take place.

Detectives from the Mets Specialist Crime Command are leading the investigation and enquiries are ongoing.

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: We sent numerous resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, a medic in a fast response car, an incident response officer and a clinical team manager. We also dispatched Londons Air Ambulance.

Sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, a man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Brent Council confirmed the building is privately owned by a company known as Latif Group. The firm, trading as Latif International, did not respond to requests for comment.

The Health and Safety Executive added: We are aware of an incident and making enquiries with the Metropolitan Police led investigation.

Anyone with information should call police via 101, quoting CAD 4369/11May.
C roydon Council is expected to introduce a ban on drinking in public in Thornton Heath after long-standing complaints of people getting drunk and causing a nuisance in the street.

But what about the rest of the capital? Heres what you need to know.

Can you drink in public in London?

There is no general prohibition on drinking in the street; however, certain offences relating to alcohol may be committed in public places.

Councils can use public spaces protection orders to restrict the consumption of alcohol in a public space where it is associated with anti-social behaviour, which is what is happening in Thornton Heath.

If under 18s are caught drinking alcohol in public places, police can take away alcohol and fine them.

Why is Croydon Council issuing a drinking ban?

According to a report by Croydon Council, Thornton Heath was one of the boroughs crime hotspots in 2022, which justifies the ban.

The introduction of a permanent public space protection order (PSPO) will give police more powers to confiscate cans of booze and open bottles.

Sam Khasanov, the manager of the restaurant Blue and Orange in the High Street, told MyLondon that he would fully support the zone being established in Thornton Heath.

He said: We think over the years the Thornton Heath area has degraded because we are located here every day we see peoples behaviour. There are people sitting all day and drinking. There are a lot of betting shops in Thornton Heath now and the more shops like this the more antisocial behaviour you get.

We need to see more police officers on the street, we rarely see any. Families cant walk with kids because there are a lot of people with beers walking without their tops and smoking weed in the street.

Another local businessman, who remained anonymous, said women are dissuaded from walking in the area.

He explained: Its always been a problem round here, people always sit outside the shops getting drunk and making a nuisance. I feel sorry for women who say they hate walking past down there people who are drunk at two in the afternoon.

I think I would support [the PSPO], you dont want to walk down the street feeling intimidated, it has been happening for years now.

Back in 2020, there was a previous PSPO but it lapsed.

A council report said: This was due to a perceived reduction in ASB and a lack of recorded evidence that it was being used at the time.

The report added: This will provide another tool for police and council officers to make our public spaces free from antisocial behaviour and stop ongoing harassment and disorder. We will work with the police to ensure use of the power is recorded throughout the lifespan of the PSPO should it be implemented.

There needs to be a six-week public consultation before the PSPO can be introduced by Croydon Council.

It is thought that the councils cabinet is expected to approve this consultation on Wednesday May 24.
KYODO NEWS - May 20, 2023 - 00:05 | All, Japan, G7, World

The Group of Seven leaders on Friday made an unprecedented joint visit to a museum in Hiroshima documenting the devastation caused by a U.S. atomic bomb in 1945, signaling at the outset of their three-day summit their commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons.

The visit by the leaders, including those from nuclear powers the United States, France and Britain, was a long-awaited event for atomic bomb survivors who hope that getting to know the consequences of a nuclear attack will add fresh impetus to stalled efforts to abolish nuclear arms.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is chairing the summit and represents a Hiroshima constituency, has set nuclear disarmament as a key agenda item at a time when the risks of nuclear weapons use remain high amid Russia's nuclear blackmail in its war in Ukraine and China's rapid nuclear forces buildup.

"We felt the reality of the atomic bombing and shared a sobering moment that will be etched in our hearts," Kishida told reporters later. "It was historic from the viewpoint of showing our resolve for a world free of nuclear weapons."

On a rainy morning, Kishida and his wife Yuko greeted his G-7 counterparts as they arrived one by one at the city's Peace Memorial Park by car and walked along a red carpet to enter the nearby Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, with some accompanied by their spouses.

U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were the last to enter the museum building, which displays artifacts from the atomic bomb victims and survivors. The Kishidas walked along with the American couple, clad respectively in a dark suit and dark dress.

Inside the museum, Kishida explained the exhibits to his G-7 counterparts and they listened to the stories of 85-year-old atomic bomb survivor Keiko Ogura, according to the Japanese government. Ogura is one of the few survivors, known as hibakusha in Japan, who can speak in English.

Biden is the second U.S. sitting president to set foot in Hiroshima. Barack Obama was the first to do so in 2016, after attending a G-7 summit in central Japan, but such high-profile visits have been sensitive in the United States where many believe the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan were necessary to end World War II quickly.

French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were making the first ever visits to Hiroshima by incumbent leaders of their nations.

Possibly reflecting the controversial nature of the issue, the media was not allowed to follow the G-7 leaders inside the museum, and windows were covered so that the interior was not visible from outside.

Takuo Takigawa, the museum's director, also did not disclose details of the visit, but he told a press conference that the leaders were able to appreciate at first hand the scale of destruction of an atomic bomb. "With atomic bomb survivors aging, it was a very significant opportunity to hear directly from them," he said.

The leaders from the G-7, which consists of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union, spent about 40 minutes inside the museum.

After leaving the museum, the leaders walked to a cenotaph for the atomic bomb victims in the park, and laid floral wreaths.

Through the events at the park, the G-7 "affirmed its commitment toward realizing a world free of nuclear weapons" and reconfirmed its stance that any use of nuclear weapons by Russia is "inadmissible," the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a press release.

Takigawa told the press conference that he wants each of the leaders to "deliver a message of peace."

He voiced his hope that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also visit the museum amid growing speculation that he will make a trip to Japan to attend the G-7 summit, during which support for Kyiv has also been high on the agenda

All of the G-7 leaders signed the museum's guestbook, according to a Japanese government source.

Posting a photo of the G-7 leaders laying wreaths at the park, Macron tweeted, "Contributing to the duty of memory of the Hiroshima victims. Acting together for peace."

Sunak also tweeted, saying it was "deeply moving to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park which holds such significance."

"This Summit carries the weight of history and it's important that we learn from the past, including from its darkest moments," he added.

The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and a second one on Nagasaki three days later. Around 210,000 people -- mostly civilians -- are estimated to have died as a result of the attacks by the end of 1945. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15 of the same year, bringing an end to World War II.

Japan remains the world's sole country to have suffered atomic bombings. But, while aspiring to rid the world of nuclear weapons, the Asian country, surrounded by China, Russia and North Korea, also relies on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for protection.

The Hiroshima museum holds about 100,000 relics, photos and other items in its collection, including burnt and tattered clothing, charred lunch boxes and human hair that fell out due to radiation exposure. Some 500 items are on display in the main building, which focuses on conveying the horror of the attack.

A diplomatic source said the G-7 leaders saw some of the permanent exhibitions in the main building, which included photos capturing the destruction in the aftermath of the dropping of the atomic bomb.

In 2016, Kishida, then foreign minister, hosted G-7 foreign ministerial talks in Hiroshima, and took his counterparts to the museum. They also laid wreaths at the park's cenotaph.

But there had been no instances in which G-7 leaders have visited the museum together.

In 2016, Obama, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his stated intention to seek a world without nuclear weapons, delivered a speech at the park and met with representatives of atomic bomb survivors.

He also visited the museum, but only viewed some symbolic exhibits that were brought to the lobby, with his stay lasting for about 10 minutes. Biden was vice president during the Obama administration.

Related coverage:

Biden not to issue apology in Hiroshima for U.S. use of atomic bomb

A-bomb survivor Thurlow urges G-7 to pledge no nuke use in summit
O ver 246,000 people in London and the South East took part in research in 2022-23, new figures show, as a consultant urged Londoners to sign up for clinical trials to help save lives.

Data from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) showed a total of 246,771 volunteers took part in NIHR-supported health and care research across London and the South East during the period.

Research helps the NHS to develop better treatments and improve medical diagnosis.

Professor Andrew Shennan OBE, a Co-Clinical Director of the NIHR CRN South London and Consultant Obstetrician at Guy's and St Thomas', has urged Londoners to take part in clinical trials to help mould treatments for future generations.

Research only makes discoveries that improve and save lives because of the thousands of people who take part each year. I call on even more Londoners to volunteer to shape the future of healthcare for the next 75 years and beyond!

Patients told of how research had helped change their lives to mark International Clinical Trials Day on Saturday.

Mercy Njoku, 55, from Lambeth, took part in the HEAL-COVID trial at Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation from February 2022 until February 2023. Her long Covid meant she couldnt return to work for six months due to extreme tiredness.

The trial sought to identify treatments that could benefit people hospitalised with Covid-19 and later discharged with their recovery.

She signed up for the trial while in hospital.

Ms Njoku said: Research gives us hope. I had regular monthly calls from the HEAL-COVID research team, where they checked in about my recovery. The research nurse, Sara, encouraged me and pushed me to keep going. Her support meant a lot to me, and she celebrated every small milestone and success..

The HEAL-COVID trial was the first time I took part in research directly, and I would do the same again in the future to help others.

Ms Njoku took atorvastatin, a blood-thinning drug, daily and had monthly follow-up phone calls with a nurse where she answered a series of questions about her Covid-19 recovery as part of her involvement in the trial.

My message to other people with long COVID is: there is hope. You can recover, stay positive and take things one step at a time! I'm feeling great and proud that I can do normal things like going out to the shops again, she added.

Antoinette Martins son Raffy, aged 11 months, took part in the HARMONIE study at Barts Health NHS Trust into Respiratory Syncytial Virus, the biggest cause of hospitalisation of very young children in the world. The virus affects 90 per cent of children before the age of two.

Ms Martin, a trainee GP who lives in Mile End, wanted to protect Raffy after her daughter Eden was hospitalised by RSV last year.

She said: In the winter of 2021, Eden developed a cough. By the fifth day of having the cough, she was getting worse, really trying hard to breathe and going blue. We drove her to the Royal London Hospital, and the team put her on oxygen straightaway. She was unwell for another five days before she came home.

The team looking after her at the Royal London Hospital was fantastic. They really took the best care of her.

Ms Martin said of the trial: I heard about it from a group of doctor friends. It was really easy to take part. I filled in an online form, and within a day or so, the study team had already contacted me.

We arranged a study visit, and this took place a couple of weeks ago. Raffy received the vaccine, which is great. He was monitored for 30 minutes afterwards, and then we could go home. The study team was really friendly.
R ishi Sunak has talked up Ben Wallace as widely respected by international allies as the Defence Secretary confirmed his interest in becoming the next secretary general of Nato.

Speaking ahead of the G7 summit in Japan on Thursday, the Prime Minister said Mr Wallace is focused on his current role supporting Ukraine right now.

Mr Wallace confirmed his interest in succeeding Jens Stoltenberg at the top of Nato when his term expires in September, saying the job would be fantastic.

The Prime Minister did not say whether he would support Mr Wallaces bid for the role, during an interview with ITV News Seifukan tea house in Hiroshima.

But Mr Sunak said: I know hes widely respected by his peers for the role that he has played.

Hes focused right now on supporting Ukraine. Hes doing a great job of that.

Mr Wallace indicated his eagerness over the role during a trip to Berlin for talks on Ukraine with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius.

It's not for me to decide. It's for all the other allies

Mr Wallace told German dpa news agency: Ive always said it would be a good job. Thats a job Id like.

But Im also loving the job I do now. I mean, to be Defence Secretary of the British Government at a time of reform and investment, just like Boris Pistorius (Germanys minister of defence).

He added that secretary general of the transatlantic alliance is a fantastic job and Nato is an incredibly important part of all our securities.

But its not for me to decide. Its for all the other allies, he added.

The race for the top job has been heating up, with Mr Stoltenberg indicating he will not seek a further extension after nearly a decade in the role.

Nato member states typically decide on the alliances next chief behind the scenes.

Mr Wallace would have to overcome the opposition of those said to be pushing for a woman or someone from eastern Europe.

France would reportedly prefer an EU candidate.

If the Defence Secretary did succeed, it could trigger a by-election in his Wyre and Preston North seat.

It is set to be carved up under a planned shake-up of Westminster constituencies later this year.

The appointment of Labour MP George Robertson as Nato chief in 1999 led to a by-election in his Hamilton South constituency, south west of Glasgow.
T he UKs semiconductor industry will receive 1 billion in investment over the next decade as ministers look to ensure the country is not reliant on China for technology advancements.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the funding, forming part of the national semiconductor strategy, would help build our competitive edge on the global stage.

The announcement of the 20-year plan comes after Mr Sunak used a G7-related trip to Japan to agree a partnership on semiconductors with Tokyo as part of efforts to reduce the reliance on Beijing for the supply of the essential microchips.

Britain and its Western allies are taking an increasingly hawkish stance towards Chinese technology, including in their communication networks and surveillance equipment, over fears President Xi Jinpings national security laws could force the Far East countrys tech giants to hand over foreign data to the ruling Communist Party.

Semiconductors underpin the devices we use every day and will be crucial to advancing the technologies of tomorrow

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said that almost every piece of technology depends on semiconductors, with the tiny chips found in mobile phones, computers, ventilators and power stations.

Officials said they also will underpin future technologies, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and 6G.

The UK Government strategy will focus on areas of design, compound semiconductors  set for use in driverless vehicles and future smartphones  and in research, which will be supported by the countrys higher education sector.

A sum of 200 million will be invested in 2023-25 to improve industry access to infrastructure, fund more research and development, and facilitate greater international co-operation.

The 1 billion over the next decade will aim to grow the domestic sector, mitigate against supply chain disruption and protect Britains national security, the department said.

Unveiling the strategy on Friday, the Prime Minister said: Semiconductors underpin the devices we use every day and will be crucial to advancing the technologies of tomorrow.

Our new strategy focuses our efforts on where our strengths lie, in areas like research and design, so we can build our competitive edge on the global stage.

By increasing the capabilities and resilience of our world-leading semiconductor industry, we will grow our economy, create new jobs and stay at the forefront of new technological breakthroughs.

Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Chloe Smith said: Semiconductors are the beating heart of all electronic devices, from powering our phones and cars to medical equipment and innovative new technologies like Quantum and AI which will make a real difference to all of our lives.

Britain is already a world leader when it comes to researching and designing semiconductor technology  our new strategy will double down on these core strengths to create more skilled jobs, grow our economy, boost our national security and cement the UKs status as a global science and technology superpower.

Lucy Powell, Labours shadow digital, culture, media and sport secretary, said the scale of ambition in the strategy would likely be met with disappointment after years of delay.

She said: This failing Conservative Government is still not clear what role they will play in developing capacity and resilience in the UKs semiconductor capabilities.

Rather than the 1 billion headline, the reality is 200 million over the next three years  significantly less ambition than our competitors.

Following the listing of (British semiconductor company) ARM in the US, this strategy offers little assurance we can maintain and grow an industry vital for growth and national security.

Mr Sunak created the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which is behind the strategy announcement, earlier this year as part of a Whitehall shake-up as he looked to focus his administration on technological advances.
N ew sanctions will help ensure Vladimir Putin pays a price for his brutal war in Ukraine, the Prime Minister said on Friday.

During a meeting of the G7 in Japan, Rishi Sunak announced Russian diamond imports to the UK will be banned, alongside Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel. Support for Ukraine was top of the agenda at the summit in Hiroshima, which President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to make a surprise appearance at over the weekend.

We believe in democracy, freedom, the rule of law, Mr Sunak told the BBC.

Its right that we stand up for those things. Im hopeful and confident that our partner countries will follow as they have done when weve done this previously. That will make the sanctions more effective, ensure that Russia pays a price for its illegal activity.

The Russian diamond industry was worth 3.2 billion in exports in 2021, but Downing Street conceded that direct imports have been low since the UK sanctioned state-owned miners Alrosa last year. There has been uncertainty whether the EU will go as far as the UK on diamonds, with the trade particularly lucrative for Belgium.

Mr Zelensky is expected to join the G7 summit in person on Sunday. The Ukrainian presidents visit could potentially bring him into contact with Indias Narendra Modi and Brazils Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who have not opposed the Russian invasion like their western allies.

It would be an opportunity for him to build stronger links with the Indian prime minister, who has remained neutral, and the Brazilian president, who the US has accused of parroting Russian propaganda.

It follows Mr Zelenskys tour of European capitals in which he shored up support for an expected Ukrainian counter-offensive. It included meeting Mr Sunak at Chequers on Monday.

Mr Sunak warned that the UK is not going away as he announced Britain is also planning to target 86 more people and companies connected to Putin.

They include some who were actively undermining the impact of existing sanctions, the Government said.

Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Britain has targeted more than 1,500 individuals and companies. More than 18 billion of Russian assets have been frozen under the sanctions regime.

It means about 275 billion that would have gone to the Russian presidents war chest has been immobilised, No 10 said. Both the US and the EU have announced similar sanctions. US president Joe Biden set out plans to ban Russian diamonds and vodka last year.

Britain said it will target companies connected to the theft of Ukrainian grain and the shipment of Russian energy in the new wave of sanctions against the Kremlin. The Foreign Office said the new sanctions are part of a crackdown on shady individuals and entities connected to the theft and resale of Ukrainian grain.

Russias sovereign assets will also remain immobilised until it agrees to pay for the damage its air strikes have caused to its neighbouring country.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: Putin and his supporters must  and will  pay the price for their illegal invasion of Ukraine. Thats why through todays new sanctions we are increasing the economic pressure on Putin, making it harder for him to wage his illegal war and inflict untold suffering on innocent Ukrainians.

We will continue to increase this pressure and crack down on all emerging forms of circumvention until Ukraine prevails and peace is secured.

Our support for Ukraine is, and will remain, resolute for as long as it takes.

Companies targeted in the latest wave of sanctions include Umatex, which produces composite materials based on carbon fibre for Rosatom that could be used for military purposes, and

Triniti, which has its research and development into laser physics directly funded by the Russian Federations State Defence Order. Trinitis lasers have been installed on tank chassis to dazzle the optics of aircraft and disrupt precision weapons, the FCDO said.

Oleg Romanenko, a lead official at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station who has allegedly been colluding with the Russian government, along with 13 members of the Gazprom-Neft board of directors and five involved in Transneft, has also been designated.

Igor Altushkin, the billionaire oligarch who owns the Russian Copper Company, has also been sanctioned.
R ishi Sunak has issued a warning to Vladimir Putin that were not going away as world leaders at the G7 summit in Japan broadcast they are not wavering in their support for Ukraine.

The Prime Minister said on Friday the Russian president needs to understand the Western allies are steadfast in supporting Volodymyr Zelenskys resistance against the invasion.

My message to Putin is straightforward. Were not going away, Mr Sunak told Sky News during a round of interviews at Hiroshimas Seifukan tea house shortly before the summit kicks off.

Britain is banning Russian diamonds in a new wave of sanctions to pressure Russia that will also prohibit imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel.

Rishi Sunak visits the Shukkeien Garden in Hiroshima / AP

There has been uncertainty whether the EU will go as far as Britain on diamonds, with the trade particularly lucrative for Belgium, but Mr Sunak said he is hopeful and confident allies will follow.

Having signed a new defence and security pact with Tokyo, Mr Sunak will visit the A-bomb dome ruin with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, to reflect on the atomic devastation in the Second World War.

Talks between G7 allies, including US President Joe Biden and Frances Emmanuel Macron, will centre on military and economic support for Ukraine as they seek to show a united front.

Mr Sunak told Sky: Russia needs to know that we and other countries remain steadfast in our resolve to support Ukraine, not just in the here and now with the resources it needs to protect itself, but for the long term as well.

He added to ITV News: They cant just outlast us in this conflict.

One of the common topics of conversation Ill be having and have been having with my fellow leaders is about the longer-term security agreements that we put in place in Ukraine, to deter future Russian aggression.

The UK is also preparing new individual sanctions against 86 people and companies to apply further pressure on the Russian president and his supporters.

The diamond export industry was worth more than 3 billion to Russia in 2021, but No 10 conceded direct imports have been low since the UK sanctioned state-owned miners Alrosa last year.

Britains move will add pressure on any hesitant allies to follow suit.

Mr Sunak told the BBC: Im hopeful and confident that our partner countries will follow as they have done when weve done this previously, that will make the sanctions more effective, ensure that Russia pays a price for its illegal activity.

Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty are welcomed by Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko Kishida at the Peace Memorial Park during the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan / PA

The three-day summit  also including Germany, Italy and Canada  will also include talks on economic stability and the security of Taiwan in the face of Chinese aggression.

Mr Sunaks official spokesman said: Guarding against economic coercion is something that the Prime Minister is pushing for.

On Sunday, Mr Sunak will meet his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, who is attending the summit as a guest.

Mr Modi, who has been close to the Russian president, has remained neutral on the Russian invasion, calling for peaceful dialogue to end the war.

The Prime Minister told reporters travelling with him in Japan that he has seen positive steps from India in its stance and stressed the need to keep up the dialogue.

One thing we have to keep doing is talking to countries like India and also Brazil, that is going to be in that second part of the summit which is a good thing, Mr Sunak told reporters.
T he Tory leader of Harrow council was under fire on Friday after it was revealed he helps run a Facebook group where members celebrated the destruction of cameras policing the Ultra Low Emission Zone expansion.

Paul Osborn is an administrator of the Harrow say no to Ulez expansion page, along with a number of other councillors and senior local Tory Party figures.

Several posts in the group, which has 1,500 members, have celebrated masked vigilantes tearing down the cameras, which will be used to monitor the clean air zone when it expands to outer London boroughs in August.

Transport for London has reported 96 allegations of criminal damage to Ulez cameras.

One post linking to a news story about the destruction was captioned well done and a commenter added: This is not vandalism, the is re-establishing our freedom of movement and rights as Londoners. I applaud all the people who are acting on our behalf.

.

Another said: When politicians do not act on the wishes of the public, the public can and do turn against their rulers. In the UK we have been tolerant for too long.

Others accused London Mayor Sadiq Khan of visiting terrorists and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer of being connected to Jimmy Savile.

Labour MP for Harrow West Gareth Thomas said: The leader of Harrow council is... facilitating a platform through which criminality is being celebrated.

For a public servant to give succour to those who commit or endorse vandalism is not only deeply irresponsible but outright dangerous.

.

Shortly after the Standard asked Harrow council about the posts, Councillor Matthew Goodwin-Freeman, a moderator in the group, said comments encouraging the removing or defacing of cameras cannot and will not be allowed.

He posted an update to the group rules, adding: We must challenge Sadiq Khans Ulez through proper channels: the Judicial Review in July, petitions, at the ballot box etc. Encouraging vandalism/illegal activity (however jokingly) does not help the Groups cause and just wont be accepted.

The posts have been deleted. A Tory Party spokesman told the Standard: Obviously, the Conservative Party does not encourage vandalism.
B ritain said it will target companies connected to the theft of Ukrainian grain and the shipment of Russian energy in a new wave of sanctions against the Kremlin.

The UK said it will continue increasing the economic pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin until peace in Ukraine is restored.

The Government will sanction 86 individuals and entities, freezing the assets of those involved in key streams of revenue.

Putin and his supporters must  and will - pay the price for their illegal invasion of Ukraine

The designations cover companies connected to Russias nuclear state company Rosatom, as well as organisations linked to the countrys wider defence, energy, metals, transport and financial sectors.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the new sanctions are part of a crackdown on what it describes as shady individuals and entities connected to the theft and resale of Ukrainian grain.

Russias sovereign assets will also remain immobilised until it agrees to pay for the damage it has caused in Ukraine, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.

The latest announcement widens a package, in which Britain promised to ban Russian diamonds and metals, announced earlier on Friday at the G7 summit in Japan.

Mr Cleverly said: Putin and his supporters must  and will  pay the price for their illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Thats why through todays new sanctions we are increasing the economic pressure on Putin, making it harder for him to wage his illegal war and inflict untold suffering on innocent Ukrainians.

We will continue to increase this pressure and crack down on all emerging forms of circumvention until Ukraine prevails and peace is secured.

Our support for Ukraine is, and will remain, resolute for as long as it takes.

Companies targeted in the latest wave of sanctions include Umatex, which produces composite materials based on carbon fibre for Rosatom that could be used for military purposes, and Triniti, which has its research and development into laser physics directly funded by the Russian Federations State Defence Order.

Trinitis lasers have been installed on tank chassis to dazzle the optics of aircraft and disrupt precision weapons, the FCDO said.

Oleg Romanenko, a lead official at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station who has allegedly been colluding with the Russian government, along with 13 members of the Gazprom-Neft board of directors and five involved in Transneft, has also been designated.

Igor Altushkin, the billionaire oligarch who owns the Russian Copper Company, has also been sanctioned.

As the third largest producer of copper in Russia, Altushkin and his business have allegedly continued to play a key role in a sector of strategic significance for Mr Putins military machine.

The UK has also banned Russian metals including aluminium, nickel and copper.

Individuals accused of being linked to the systematic theft of Ukrainian grain, which is widely reported to be shipped out of occupied territories packaged as Russian goods, have also been sanctioned.

This includes the State Grain Corporation and its director Nikita Busel.

As part of Fridays wave of sanctions, some 20 defence executives and companies equipping both the Russian armed forces and Wagner group have been designated.

These include:

 Alan Valerievich Lushinkov and Vladimir Nikolaevich Lepin, directors of JSC Concern Kalashnikov, which produces an estimated 95% of all firearms in Russia

 JSC BMZ, which has produced anti-personnel and anti-tank mines used by the Russian armed forces in Ukraine

 JSC Motovilikhinskiye, a minority subsidiary of Russian defence conglomerate Rostec which manufactures howitzers used by Russian forces in Ukraine.

As part of the bid to isolate Russia from the global finance system and thwart its military capability, five banks have also been sanctioned, including JSC Dom RF and Metallurgical Investment Bank.
V olodymyr Zelensky is expected to join the G7 summit in Hiroshima in person as Rishi Sunak and allies seek to turn up the pressure on Russia.

The Ukrainian president will attend the summit in Japan on Sunday, it is understood, as the Prime Minister warned Vladimir Putin were not going away.

It will potentially bring Mr Zelensky into contact with Indias Narendra Modi and Brazils Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who have not opposed the invasion like their western allies.

Mr Zelensky has met many western politicians recently, including Mr Sunak in Chequers on Monday.

But it would be an opportunity for him to build stronger links with the Indian prime minister, who has remained neutral, and the Brazilian president, who the US has accused of parroting Russia propaganda.

Attending G7  the group that Russia was expelled from over its 2014 annexation of Crimea  would also be a new display of solidarity.

Earlier, Mr Sunak announced Britain is banning Russian diamonds in a new wave of sanctions to pressure Russia that will also prohibit imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel.

There has been uncertainty whether the EU will go as far as Britain on diamonds, with the trade particularly lucrative for Belgium, but Mr Sunak said he is hopeful and confident allies will follow.

Having signed a new defence and security pact with Tokyo, Mr Sunak visited the A-bomb dome ruin with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, to reflect on the atomic devastation in the Second World War.

Talks between G7 allies, including US President Joe Biden and Frances Emmanuel Macron, will centre on military and economic support for Ukraine as they seek to show a united front.

Mr Sunak told Sky: Russia needs to know that we and other countries remain steadfast in our resolve to support Ukraine, not just in the here and now with the resources it needs to protect itself, but for the long term as well.

He added to ITV News: They cant just outlast us in this conflict.

One of the common topics of conversation Ill be having and have been having with my fellow leaders is about the longer-term security agreements that we put in place in Ukraine, to deter future Russian aggression.

The UK is also preparing new individual sanctions against 86 people and companies to apply further pressure on the Russian president and his supporters.

The diamond export industry was worth more than 3 billion to Russia in 2021 but No 10 conceded direct imports have been low since the UK sanctioned state-owned miners Alrosa last year.

Britains move will add pressure on any hesitant allies to follow suit.

Mr Sunak told the BBC: Im hopeful and confident that our partner countries will follow as they have done when weve done this previously, that will make the sanctions more effective, ensure that Russia pays a price for its illegal activity.

The three-day summit  also including Germany, Italy and Canada  will include talks on economic stability and the security of Taiwan in the face of Chinese aggression.

Mr Sunaks official spokesman said: Guarding against economic coercion is something that the Prime Minister is pushing for.

On Sunday, Mr Sunak told reporters travelling with him in Japan that he has seen positive steps from India but that they needed to keep the dialogue open with Mr Modi and Mr da Silva.

One thing we have to keep doing is talking to countries like India and also Brazil, that is going to be in that second part of the summit which is a good thing, the Prime Minister said.

India is being represented at the G7 summit because it is the current G20 chair, while Brazil has been invited as a guest.
The YouGov survey on behalf of Action on Smoking and Health, which included 2,656 participants, showed that they often opted for disposable vapes bought from corner shops.

The data will be used to support calls for the Government to take measures to address childrens access to vapes.

But, what is the vaping age limit and what are the health impacts of vapes? Here is what we know.

What is the vaping age limit in the UK?

In the UK, it is illegal to sell vapes and e-cigarettes to anyone under 18. Also, according to the Tobacco and Related Product Regulations 2016, vapes have to be child-resistant and have warnings on their packaging.

And, advertising is restricted to protect young people from the promotion of vaping products. This means that no advertising is allowed in print, broadcast, online and other electronic media. However, vapes are allowed to be displayed in retail outlets and there is no ban on giving out free vape products to people of any age.

A review commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care, which was published in June 2022, recommended that the loophole allowing free vaping samples to be given out should be closed, vapes packaging images and descriptions should be restricted to not appeal to children, and a review on vape flavourings should be carried out.

These sorts of preventative measures have been taken in other countries. For instance, Canada has restricted particular flavours that appealed to children and New Zealand has limited the types of retailers that can sell flavoured vapes.

Is vaping legal across the globe?

Following the World Health Organizations advice to ban or regulate vapes, around 40 nations have made the decision to make vapes completely illegal. For instance, vaping products are completely banned in Argentina, Brazil and Nepal.

In Australia, only those with a doctors prescription can use vapes with nicotine. Otherwise, they could be fined and even be sent to jail .

What are the health impacts of vaping?

The NHS notes that while vapes are found to be less harmful than cigarettes, the long-term risks of vaping remain unclear.

Similarly, not enough studies have been done on the impact of vaping around other people.

Why is vaping bad for the environment?

Vaping has a substantial impact on the environment. A Material Focus study showed that 1.3 million vapes are thrown away every week, which adds up to 10 tonnes of lithium per year. That is equivalent to the batteries of 1,200 electric vehicles.

Disposable vapes contaminate waterways and soil, putting animals lives and plants at risk. Some vaping scents attract foxes and other animals, leading to them chewing on discarded vapes.

Plus, the lithium-ion batteries are a fire hazard when they are not recycled properly as they can ignite when crushed in a refuse vehicle or at a waste-processing plant.
By Magali Beuchat, KYODO NEWS - May 19, 2023 - 11:59 | Feature, All, World

Asian tourists flocking to a pier in the small village of Iseltwald near Interlaken, central Switzerland, which features in a hit South Korean drama have caused a stir among the locals and caught the regional authorities off guard.

On an overcast Saturday morning in late April, a bus traveling from the Interlaken mountain resort to Iseltwald is filled with tourists, mainly from Asia, who have come to snap photos and take selfies on the pier, a famous location in the 2019 blockbuster series "Crash Landing on You."

To handle the influx of guests, the government has set up a payment gate on the famous pier.

After arriving in Iseltwald, all head straight for the dock, the location of the romantic drama's most iconic scene.

"Today it's okay...over Easter it was terrible," laments Raphael Streich, one of the bus drivers.

"Buses leaving Iseltwald in the late afternoon are most often completely packed. Locals wanting to get on in-between stops on the way to Interlaken often have to wait for the next one," he says.

Since last July, the bus company operating the line has boosted daily trips from 16 to over 20, sometimes increasing them up to 30 per day over Easter holidays. As the boom continues, the company aims to increase the number of daily bus trips.

The uptick in Asian tourists is a sensitive topic in the village. The authorities at Iseltwald have refused to answer questions from the media about the impact of the series' global popularity on the area, with staff at hotels, restaurants and local shops also tight-lipped about the bustling crowds.

Local authorities introduced bus parking restrictions in March and set up gates in May for paid access to the dock and the public toilet.

Tourists who wish to have their photos taken on the dock must fork out about 5 Swiss francs (roughly $5.5) to enter.

On its website, Iseltwald also requests that tourists "respect the quiet atmosphere (of the village) by maintaining a low volume and staying in public areas."

"The view on the lake is amazing," Fae Masaoy, 24, from Singapore, says after waiting more than 30 minutes to snap photos on the pier.

Masaoy, a "Crash Landing" fan, was on a trip across Italy and Switzerland with her mother and two brothers. They visited Iseltwald two days prior but due to it being "too foggy" at that time, they decided to return.

"Crash Landing on You" has seen huge commercial success with domestic audiences in South Korea, as well as in other Asian countries.

The series is a love story about Yoon Se Ri, an eccentric businesswoman from the South who accidentally paraglides over the nation's northern border, where her fate becomes romantically intertwined with a North Korean army officer.

Some of the most romantic scenes were filmed in Iseltwald, including around Lake Brienz and the glacier area of Jungfraujoch. For many, an episode featuring Captain Ri Jeong Hyeok, Yoon's love interest, playing the piano on the pier is among the most memorable in the series.

The tourists visiting the pier are of all ages, hailing from Thailand, India, South Korea and several other countries.

Taking photos a few steps from the crowds, Kat Javier, a 33-year-old from the Philippines, said she had not expected such a long queue to access the pier, but said it was well worth it. "The water is so clean, this is fabulous," she said.

A resident going about his business in front of his house, which overlooks the port, said he was there when the film crew from South Korea shot the scenes. "No one thought it would have such an impact on the village," he said.

Iseltwald, which has around 420 inhabitants, traditionally attracts holidaymakers from Britain, Germany and France, who mainly come to enjoy its nature and serenity, he explained, adding that such tourists might now avoid the location in search of more peaceful holiday destinations.

However, the man in his 50s thinks little is to be gained from the local government making money by controlling access to the pier. "It would be best for the pier to disappear," he said.

Some villagers argue that the local economy benefits little from the day-trippers, who rarely purchase anything while at the site.

A waiter at a local restaurant, who did not want to comment on the surge in tourists for fear of causing trouble, said he nonetheless thought the tranquility of the village had been "disturbed" by the increase.

He also acknowledged, however, that some "Crash Landing" fans do come to eat and drink at his restaurant while waiting for the bus to bring them back to Interlaken.

Interlaken's local tourist board says that the municipality has been a popular destination with Asian tourists for years.

Marcel Imhof, 59, is a cook who works in Interlaken. He moved to Iseltwald three years ago.

He believes the authorities have been overwhelmed by the situation, adding that it is a shame they have not taken the opportunity to bolster local infrastructure and better welcome the guests to the picturesque village on the shore of Lake Brienz.

Valerian Geffroy, a senior researcher at the Swiss University of Lausanne, says Switzerland typically has few issues with over-tourism, unlike other European cities such as Barcelona in Spain, Venice in Italy and Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

In Switzerland, Geffroy says that the city most concerned about tourism placing an increasing burden on locals is Lucerne, a city located in the center of the country and a place chiefly visited by day-trippers from Asian countries. Locals often complain about traffic congestion and tourist shops sprouting up over the old town.

Still, Geffroy thinks that the boom in day-trippers to Iseltwald might be short-lived and could lose steam after a few years.

Switzerland Tourism, the country's national tourism organization, has called the rapid return of tourists from Southeast Asia to Switzerland after the COVID-19 pandemic "remarkable," showing a mere 3.2 percent decrease in inbound tourism in 2022 compared with before the pandemic in 2019.

The organization promoting Switzerland as a tourist destination expects 2023 to be the "year of the Asian tourists," with guests from Japan, South Korea, and, to a smaller extent, China, to be back visiting the homeland of the famous child fiction character Heidi.

Although it is unclear whether Iseltwald will feature in the future as a prominent Swiss tourism destination, in the short term, the large queues forming at Iseltwald's pier look set to grow longer still.

Related coverage:

FEATURE: Anime "Slam Dunk," "Suzume" locations in Japan a magnet for tourists

FEATURE: Manga drawings preserved on "washi" for generations to come
Posting to her Instagram, Mrs Johnson said: New team member arriving in just a few weeks.

Ive felt pretty exhausted for much of the last eight months but we cant wait to meet this little one.

Wilf is [very] excited about being a big brother again, and has been chattering about it non-stop. Dont think Romy has a clue whats coming... She soon will!

The former prime minister and his wife already have two children together: Romy, aged one, and Wilfred, aged three.

Mr Johnson, who resigned from his post in 2022, has plenty of practice with newborns and the latest edition is his eighth child.

He has four children with his ex-wife Marina Wheeler and one with former mistress Helen Macintyre.

However, his exact number of children remains in doubt as a possible eighth child was once alluded to in court documents.

The Standard takes a look at Mr Johnsons past relationships and what his children are up to now.

Lara Lettice Johnson is Boris Johnson's eldest child / Getty Images for Academy of Art

Lara Lettice

Lara Lettice, 27, is the oldest of Boris Johnsons four children with his barrister ex-wife Marina Wheeler. The pair married in 1993 after his divorce from his first wife Allegra Mostyn-Owen.

Lara was educated at Bedales School, followed by the University of St Andrews where she earned a degree in Latin and Comparative Literature.

She went on to become a successful fashion and arts journalist, working as features editor at SHOWStudio and later writing for Tatler and Vogue.

In September 2021, she appeared on the front cover of Tatler - modelling Rigby & Peller shapewear as part of a feature about body positivity.

Boris Johnson's son Milo outside the Foreign Secretary's official residence at Carlton Gardens, central London / PA

Milo Arthur

Milo Arthur Johnson, 25, is the former PMs second child with Ms Wheeler.

He keeps his life private but is reported to have attended Westminster School and later the School of Oriental and African Studies. He graduated in 2014, according to The Sun.

Marina Wheeler (far left), is pictured alongside her and Boris four children Cassia (second from left), Milo (third from left), Lara (second from right), Theodore (far right) / Getty Images

Cassia Peaches

Cassia Peaches Johnson, 23, is the Mr Johnsons third child with Mrs Wheeler.

Little is known about her personal life.

Theodore Apollo

Theodore Apollo, 21, is the former PMs fourth and youngest child with Mrs Wheeler.

The details of his personal life are not known.

Boris Johnson with his now wife Carrie Symonds / PA

Stephanie Macintyre

Stephanie Macintyre is Mr Johnsons fifth child who he fathered while he was Mayor of London in 2009.

He had previously denied being her father after having an affair with art consultant Helen Macintyre.

However, the Court of Appeal in 2013 ruled it was in the public interest for the details of his extra marital affair to be known.

During their ruling, the three judges involved suggested there may have been a second child from Mr Johnsons affair. No details are known about the alleged second child.

In an interview with NBC in September 2021, Mr Johnson said he had six children.

Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas

Wilfred, a boy, was born on April 29, 2020.

He is Mr Johnsons first child with his now wife Carrie.

Boris Johnson is usually coy about his private life and does not discuss his children in public.

Asked by LBCs Nick Ferrari in 2019 how many children he was father to, Mr Johnson replied: I love my children very much but they are not standing at this election.

I am not going to put them onto the pitch in their election campaign when I think what people want to hear is what my plans are for the country, what this government is determined to do and how we are going to take this country forward.

That is the way all parties should be judged.

Romy Iris Charlotte

Romy is the second child that Boris Johnson has had with his wife Carrie.

She was born on December 9, 2021, at the University College London hospital.

Her first name was first revealed to reporters by Mr Johnson during a visit to a vaccination centre in Kent.

Later, Carrie shared their childs full name on Instagram in a post.

She wrote: Romy after my aunt, Rosemary. Iris from the Greek, meaning rainbow. Charlotte after Boris' late mum whom we miss so much."

Adding: Wilf has been stroking Romy's hair, giving big kisses and playing with his matchbox cars right next to her crib, just in case she feels like joining in too.
A woman in her 80s remains in critical condition after a collision with a police motorcycle that was escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh.

The shocking incident happened last Wednesday at the junction of Cromwell and Warwick roads in west London.

Grandmother Helen Holland, 81, was rushed to hospital and is still fighting for her life after the accident.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which investigates complaints against officers in England and Wales, has opened an inquiry.

The woman, who is in her 80s, sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital, where she remains in a critical but stable condition, said the IOPC on Friday.

Its regional director Amanda Rowe added: "While some witnesses to the collision have been identified, its important that as part of our inquiries we speak with anyone who witnessed or recorded any part of this incident to help us establish the full circumstances."

Witnesses said Helen was carrying shopping bags as she approached the traffic lights at the dangerous junction at about 3.20pm.

She stepped into the road to see around an electrical box when she was hit by a police officer on a motorcycle, they added.

The force of the collision threw her across the road. There were no other casualties.

Buckingham Palace said the Duchesss thoughts and prayers were with Helen and her family. They said the Duchess was grateful for the swift response of emergency services and she promised to keep abreast of developments.

The police have also made a referral to the Directorate of Professional Standards, which investigates officers conduct.

The Duchess, a full-time working member of the royal family, joined in events over the coronation weekend including the concert, where she was seen dancing to Lionel Richie.
E dinburgh Zoos giant pandas will return to China later this year after special farewell events in their Scottish home.

Yang Guang and Tian Tian arrived in December 2011 under a 10-year agreement which was extended for two years due to the pandemic.

The two bears could leave as early as October, with details due to be confirmed later.

The zoo says new experiences and events will be available to book for members of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) from this week.

David Field, RZSS chief executive, said: We were thrilled to extend Yang Guang and Tian Tians stay at Edinburgh Zoo, especially as the pandemic made it much harder for people to visit and would have prevented our giant panda keepers from travelling to China to help the pair settle into their new homes.

As the UKs only giant pandas, they have been incredibly popular with visitors, which has helped to connect millions of people to nature as well as raising vital funds for wildlife conservation.

Through a new range of events and experiences, we will be providing as many opportunities as possible for people to say goodbye and to celebrate the tremendous impact these two charismatic bears have had on our communities, helping to create a world where nature is protected, valued and loved.

Panda magic moments will be popular, with our members, patrons and giant panda adopters having the opportunity to meet and feed Yang Guang.

Other experiences available to everyone will include panda talks and brunch events.

The funds raised will help us to save wildlife from extinction, including species in Scotland such as the wildcat and pine hoverfly, chimpanzees in Uganda and giant armadillos in Brazil.

Despite efforts to breed the two pandas, female Tian Tian has not produced a cub during her time in Edinburgh.

She was believed to be pregnant in August 2017 but her hormone levels and behaviour later returned to normal.

Mr Field added: By collaborating with partners in China and welcoming Yang Guang and Tian Tian to Scotland, we have had many successes for over the past 11 years in terms of technique exchanges, scientific research and public engagement.

We are also very proud of the contribution we have made to giant panda breeding research alongside our partners at the University of Edinburgh and our findings have been of real benefit to international efforts to protect the species.

After the pandas leave, we will decide on a new species, with a crucial factor being how we can support conservation in the wild.
J ust days after Rishi Sunak said legal migration to the UK is "too high" and is "considering a range of options" to bring down the number of arrivals, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has confirmed that the latest available figures show migration levels are already at a record high.

The prime minister told the BBC last week that plans of action are being considered to help him deliver on a central 2019 Conservative general election pledge.

Speaking to Chris Mason at the G7 summit in Japan, Mr Sunak did not put a number on the acceptable figure.

What I would say is were considering a range of options to help tackle numbers of legal migration and to bring those numbers down - and well talk more about that in the future, the prime minister said.

So I dont want to put a precise number on it. What I can tell you is the numbers are high and we do want to bring them down.

Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, has said that the prime minister has lost control: The Conservatives chaotic approach means that work visas are up 119 per cent, net migration is more than twice the level ministers were aiming for, and the asylum backlog is at a record high despite Sunak promising to clear it this year.

But exactly how many people are migrating to the UK and whats causing it?

How many people migrate to the UK each year?

Rishi Sunak walks around Hiroshima where the G7 conference is being held / AP

Migration figures of people coming into the UK are released every June and the figure Mr Sunak was originally commenting on is almost a year old.

Now, the ONS has stated that total net migration in the 12 months to June 2022  the difference between the number of people moving to the UK and the number leaving the country  stood at an estimated 504,000, up sharply from 173,000 in the year to June 2021.

Further figures, due to be released on May 25, will go on to cover the 12 months to December 2022 and are likely to reflect the ongoing impact of these factors.

Nonetheless, its estimated that a total of 1.1 million people were estimated to have migrated to the UK in the year to June 2022, the majority of which  704,000  are from outside the EU.

By contrast, 560,000 people were estimated to have migrated from the UK in the same period, almost half of them  275,000  going back to the EU.

The imbalance meant that, while far more non-EU nationals were likely to have arrived in the UK than left during these 12 months, the reverse was true for EU nationals, with more leaving than arriving.

The rise was driven by a series of unprecedented world events, according to the ONS, including the war in Ukraine, the end of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, the resettlement of Afghan refugees, the new visa route for British nationals from Hong Kong, and students arriving from outside the European Union.

The ONS described this collection of factors as unique, while Mr Sunak had also previously said that helping out migrants fleeing war was something the country should be proud of.

Pushed on what would be an acceptable level of migration, the prime minister said it depends on how the economys doing at any particular time and the circumstances were facing.
B rits flying to the UK this summer could be caught up in a wave of strikes planned by Spanish airlines.

The Spanish Union of Airline Pilots (Sepla) is proposing a series of walkouts this summer amid an ongoing dispute with Spains Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (MITMA).

They are fighting back against the ministrys abusive minimum services rules which has reportedly meant that 90 per cent of flights have been forced to go ahead during ongoing industrial action.

Sepla members at airline Iberia Regional Air Nostrum have been striking amid a wage dispute.

But their action has been affected by MITMAs minimum service rule, which Sepla has branded disproportionate and excessive, and has meant the majority of flights have continued to go ahead.

According to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, Sepla is now considering more widespread strike action, which could halt flights to both Spain and the Balearic Islands this summer.

The walkouts could involve pilots at Easyjet and Ryanair, along with Jet 2, Swiftair, Plus Ultra, Norweigan, Eurowings, and Evelop, according to the newspaper.

Seplas website says it represents almost 7,000 pilots of all airlines based in Spain.

A Sepla spokesperson said the union is studying new measures to defend itself against the abusive application of minimum services by the MITMA.

It says the minimum services rule violates the constitutional right to strike of workers in the airline industry.

Among these measures, the secretary of Sepla, Javier Fernandez-Picazo, has highlighted that the possibility of a nationwide one to two hours halt in services by the pilots of all airlines is under consideration, inviting the Ministry of Transport to reconsider and apply the recommendations of the National Court on the issue, said the union.

Carlos Sanchez, chief delegate of Air Europa at Sepla, has [announced] mobilisations of the pilots will not stop and foresees new stoppages in the summer if the Air Europa management continues to refuse to listen to the legitimate labour and salary demands of the workers, says Sepla.
J ade Jagger has left court in Ibiza after admitting to crimes of resisting arrest and wounding and accepting a fine of 1,400 euros (1,215)

The 51-year-old jewellery designer learned her fate on Friday after striking a plea bargain deal with prosecutors following hours of behind-closed-doors negotiations between lawyers.

She has also been ordered to pay 695 to a police officer she injured during a scuffle in Ibiza Town on Wednesday evening.

Her 31-year-old boyfriend Anthony Hinkson was handed a four-month prison sentence after admitting to a crime of assault.

He is understood to have been allowed to leave court a free man because jail terms of two years or less are normally suspended in Spain for first-time offenders.

The pair, who said nothing as they left court separately, had been taken to court in a police van early on Friday morning following two nights in police cells following their arrests on Wednesday night.

They were held on suspicion of committing a crime which in Spain is known as atentado contra la autoridad and covers actions such as violently resisting arrest up to assaulting a police officer.

It carries a prison sentence of between one and four years in Spain.

During the morning it was confirmed a police union had decided to privately prosecute the pair in an action running parallel but separately to the state prosecution.

Judge Maria Luisa Bustillos ruling following a negotiated settlement means both prosecutions now end.

An official at the Balearic Islands High Court, speaking as a spokesperson for the judge, confirmed: Court of Instruction Number One in Ibiza, acting as a duty court, has held a speedy trial following a plea bargain deal against A.W and J.J who were arrested on Wednesday in Ibiza.

The judge has convicted A.W of a crime of assaulting a police officer and handed him a four-month prison sentence.

The same judge has fined JJ for a crime of serious resistance and a minor offence of wounding.

The fine for the first offence is 10 euros daily over four months and for the second it is a 20-day fine at 10 euros a day.

JJ must also compensate her victim with 800 euros.

The ruling brought to an end a turbulent three days for the couple.

They were arrested around 9pm on Wednesday outside a trendy Ibiza Town eatery called La Oliva and formally questioned by detectives on Thursday after a night in a police cell.

They spent around eight hours in court in custody on Friday before being allowed to leave after admitting wrongdoing and accepting sentences which could have been far harsher if they had been convicted after refusing to strike deals.

Jaggers defence lawyer declined to comment after the hearing.

Police did not formally name the jewellery designer or Mr Hinkson, or release an official statement about the incident which led to him being pinned to the ground and arrested before his girlfriend was held.

But a well-placed source said shortly after Wednesday nights incident, before Fridays court hearing: Police arrested two people, a man and a woman, in Ibiza.

Around 9pm on Wednesday there was a police intervention as a result of a call from a restaurant about a man they said was behaving violently with customers and workers.

The man had gone by the time police arrived.

People at the restaurant including staff and a manager and a couple of customers told officers he had been aggressive towards them and they had refused to serve him any more drinks and he left.

A man in the street then approached the police patrol cars outside and told them there was a man threatening passers-by.

When officers approached him he began to insult them in English with increasing aggressiveness, refusing to identify himself and being very hostile.

They tried to calm him down several times and he ended up hurling himself at police and assaulting one of them and he had to be arrested.

Thats when a woman appeared who was very aggressive and hurled herself at a police officer, pushing him and insulting him.

Police managed to calm her down and then call an ambulance for the man who was very aggressive and in a bad way and attacked health professionals and police again when the ambulance arrived.

At that moment the woman enters the scene again, squaring up to an officer before allegedly pushing and punching that officer.

She was then also arrested.

Other Spanish reports naming Jade Jagger as the woman arrested said she had allegedly scratched a police officer.

Video footage showing the arrest of Mr Hinkson, who has been dating Mick Jaggers daughter for several weeks, subsequently emerged.

Witnesses said he had been behaving erratically and had gone into a clothes shop opposite La Oliva where he bought an expensive dress he then gifted to a waitress at the restaurant before the subsequent street altercation.

Earlier on Friday police union SUP, which represents more than 20,000 affiliate members, confirmed it was taking its own legal action against Jagger and her boyfriend.

It said in a statement: We are tired of seeing how assaults on police go virtually unpunished.

SUP will present a private legal action against Mick Jaggers daughter for allegedly assaulting a National Police officer in Ibiza.

The female police officer hurt in the scuffle with Jagger is said to have suffered a sprained wrist.

Sources confirmed she was currently off work because of the injury.

Jagger stayed silent as she left court via a side door before getting into a van with blacked-out windows.
S cientists have developed a device that allows amputees to feel warmth in their phantom hand.

MiniTouch consists of a small sensor placed on an amputees prosthetic finger and electrodes that mimic sensations on the residual arm.

The electrodes on the amputated arm are able to relay the temperature of the object being touched by the finger sensor, giving the illusion that we are cooling down, or warming up, missing fingers.

The researchers said their findings, published in the journal Science, could allow amputees to have temperature-sensing technology built into their prosthetic limbs, without the need for invasive technology.

The team said they developed MiniTouch after unexpectedly discovering that amputees somehow are able to feel temperatures in their missing hand.

Dr Solaiman Shokur, a neuroengineer and scientist at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, said: We discovered a new mechanism that we call the thermal phantom sensation.

In an able-bodied person, if something hot or cold is placed on the forearm, that person will feel the objects temperature directly on their forearm.

But in amputees, that temperature sensation on the residual arm may be felt in the phantom, missing hand, the researchers said.

Dr Shokur said: (During the tests) we were expecting for them to tell us, with eyes closed, where they felt it (temperature sensations) on the stump, and if it was hot or cold.

Instead, they pointed into a drawing of a hand that they had in front of them and they told us I feel it there.

We asked them several times What do you mean by that, I feel it there? and then they clarified that they felt it into their phantom missing hand.

So this discovery was crucial for us to develop a neurotechnology that could integrate the prosthetic hand of patients.

The team said they were able to successfully test their bionic technology in 17 out of 27 patients.

MiniTouch uses information about an objects heat conducting properties to determine how hot or cold it is.

The scientists said they found that small areas of skin on the amputated arm are able to project temperature sensations to specific parts of the phantom hand, like the thumb, or the tip of an index finger.

They also discovered that these temperature sensations between the residual arm and the projected phantom one is unique to each patient.

Fabrizio Fidati, an amputee from Italy, who took part in the study, said: Warmth is the most beautiful feeling there is like when we need warmth, we use a hot water bottle.

He added: So far, prostheses have mainly been designed to have simple everyday movements, to help you in your everyday life.

But integrations of sensations of hot and cold, in my opinion, also serves to improve social interactions.

When shaking hands with people, warmth is fundamental.

Study participant Francesca Rossi, also from Italy, added: Temperature feedback is a nice sensation because you feel the limb, the phantom limb, entirely.

It does not feel phantom anymore because your limb is back.
D isney has revealed that it has scrapped its plans to invest nearly 806 million to build a new corporate campus in Florida amid the companys feud with Governor DeSantis.

The plan would have seen 2,000 employees relocate to the Disney-owned complex at Lake Nona, Orlando.

According to the BBC who have seen an internal email sent to Disney employees, the decision was the result of considerable changes that have taken place since their plans were first shared two years ago and new leadership within Disney.

In response, Mr DeSantis office has said: Disney announced the possibility of a Lake Nona campus nearly two years ago. Nothing ever came of the project, and the state was unsure whether it would come to fruition,

Given the companys financial straits, falling market cap and declining stock price, it is unsurprising that they would restructure their business operations and cancel unsuccessful ventures.

But why are Disney and DeSantis feuding and what have the feuds consequences been? Here is everything we know.

Why are Disney and DeSantis at war?

The feud began in February 2022 with a row over an LGBT bill that barred sexual orientation and gender identity conversations in schools until third grade across Florida.

After the bill thats been widely referred to as the Dont Say Gay law, Disney revealed that it would be suspending its political donations to the state and support organisations that are against the law instead.

Ron DeSantis' 'Don't say gay' law: Florida expands classroom ban to all grades

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was angered by Disneys move and said: Disney and other woke corporations wont get away with peddling their unchecked pressure campaigns any longer. If we want to keep the Democrat machine and their corporate lapdogs accountable, we have to stand together now.

The fact that Disney is one of Floridas biggest private employers meant that Disneys stance put real pressure on the local government.

In return, in April 2022, the Florida government announced that it would be stripping Disney of its special tax status in the state secured by the Reedy Creek Improvement District, an organisation founded by Walt Disney himself back in 1967 that gave Disney the right to manage its own infrastructure, construction, utilities, and fire station.

DeSantis also shared that he wanted to rename the area to be called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which would be managed by a board of supervisors. And, he added, he was thinking of building a new state prison near the Disney World complex.

However, just before DeSantis came into power the previous Disney-allied board had signed off on a long-lasting development agreement that limited how much control the government could have over the company and its district. The 30-year development agreement meant Disney can build high-density projects, buildings of any height, and sell development rights without needing anyones approval.

The agreements royal clause that dates back to 1692 in Britain stated that the declaration shall continue in effect until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, King of England, living as of the date of this declaration.

This has meant that the only things the government can try to control are the roads and basic infrastructure in Disneys district.

Recently, in April 2023, Governor DeSantis passed a new bill that would require rides and monorails at Walt Disney World to be inspected by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. And, Disney filed a lawsuit against DeSantis and his oversight board on April 26, accusing them of using their political power to retaliate.
A n intact Russian drone has reportedly been discovered in woodland by a Ukrainian soldier.

A video shared online appeared to show the relatively unscathed object being found on a forest floor in countryside near Luhansk, in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

I was able to capture this new Russian drone relatively unscathed, said the guardsman of the 31st Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, in a post on social media app Telegram by Ukraines Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Therefore, I consider the hunt to be successful, and interesting data from this drone was transferred to the relevant authorities of the Defence Forces of Ukraine.

The drone is thought to be a type typically used for aerial reconnaissance and short-range surveillance.

The discovery comes as Rishi Sunak said on Friday that new sanctions will help ensure Vladimir Putin pays a price for his brutal war in Ukraine.

During a meeting of the G7 in Japan, Rishi Sunak announced Russian diamond imports to the UK will be banned, alongside Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel.

Support for Ukraine was top of the agenda at the summit in Hiroshima, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to make a surprise appearance at over the weekend.
T he head of the Wagner Group has admitted his private mercenary group wont be able to take Bakhmut in the coming days despite months of fighting.

Wagner Group forces have been spearheading the assault on Bakhmut which Moscow sees as a crucial part of taking the rest of the Donbas region.

Despite a prior recruitment drive to bolster numbers, the groups founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has become increasingly critical of the Russian war effort, revealed his troops had stalled in their pursuit to retake the town.

Bakhmut has still not been taken, Prigozhin said in a voice message posted on Telegram.

Bakhmut is unlikely to be taken either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

There is a quarter known as the Airplane - it is like an impregnable fortress from a bed of multi-storey buildings in the southwest of Bakhmut, where incredibly heavy battles are going on.

Previously, Prigozhin has accused Russias military of not doing enough to support his private army and even released a video criticising certain elements of the Kremlins war machine.

Earlier this month, Prigozhin had also threatened to withdraw troops following a bust up with the Russian army.

"I am appealing to the top leadership of the Ministry of Defence - publicly - because my letters are not being read," Prigozhin said this week.

"Please do not give up the flanks," he said, addressing Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff.

The appeal came as Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukrainian ground forces, said his forces had carried out the first successful offensive operation in the town.

Meanwhile Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed a summit of Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia before what a senior official said would be a trip to Japan for a meeting with the leaders of the world's most powerful democracies - where he is expected to continue calls for military aid including fighter jets.

Although yet to sanction the delivery of jets to Ukraine, western leaders including Rishi Sunak endorsed plans to train Ukrainian pilots on US-made F-16 planes.

During a summit with Mr Zelensky at Chequers in the week, the Prime Minister confirmed the provision of hundreds of air defence missiles and further unmanned aerial systems, including attack drones which have a range of over 125 miles.

Downing Street said the weapons were critical in helping the country defend against the relentless bombardment of their national infrastructure by Vladimir Putins army.

At the time Mr Zelensky said new fighter jets very important topic for us, because we cant control the sky and that he and the Prime Minister spoke about it and I see that in the closest time you will hear some, I think, very important decisions, but we have to work a little bit more on it.

The meeting comes after Britain last week agreed to provide Storm Shadow precision missiles to Ukraine  the first long-range cruise missile in the countrys arsenal  on top of the 2.3billion worth of military support the UK pledged last year.
KYODO NEWS - May 19, 2023 - 18:31 | World, All

Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss called on democratic countries around the world to support Taiwan, which has been facing pressure from China, as she met with the island's leader Tsai Ing-wen on Friday.

"What has been achieved here in Taiwan must be protected. And the international community and international free democracies must support you in your endeavors," Truss told Tsai at the presidential office in Taipei, also noting there has been "an increasing struggle between democracies and autocracies."

The former British leader is on a five-day visit to the island through Saturday. Thanking Truss for her support, Tsai said that by acting in solidarity, democracies around the globe can increase their strength.

"This will allow us to extend and broaden the reach of our values of freedom and democracy," the president said. Taiwan will "walk shoulder to shoulder" with Britain along the path of freedom and democracy "as we seek to make even greater contributions to prosperity around the world," Tsai added.

On the economic front, Truss expressed her desire to "see the development of an economic NATO" where like-minded countries can work together "to challenge coercion by authoritarian regimes."

Britain is "very clear" that peace and stability need to be maintained in the Taiwan Strait, Truss said.

Taiwan is a major producer of advanced semiconductors and is a chip industry powerhouse. China considers the self-ruled democratic island part of its territory and has indicated it seeks to reunify it with the mainland by force if necessary.

Tsai said Taiwan and Britain have enjoyed fruitful cooperation across a range of sectors in recent years, adding that she hopes for further collaboration and exchanges in supply chain resilience and cybersecurity, as well as in emerging scientific and technological fields.

China criticized Truss's Taiwan visit by saying the shortest-serving prime minister in British history is using Taiwan to grab attention for her own selfish political interests.

Truss resigned over a political crisis caused by her economic plans after a stint of some 40 days in office last year.

Related coverage:

FOCUS: China wary of new G-7 pressure, seeks to highlight rifts

Japan, Britain to deepen ties on security, technology amid China rise
T he US has said it will support plans to provide US-made F-16s to Ukraine and also back training Ukrainian pilots to fly them, in a significant move ahead of a much anticipated counter-offensive against Russia.

A senior White House official said President Biden had told G7 leaders in Japan of the decision which will also include the provision of training for other advanced aircraft.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has lobbied for fighter jets for months including on visits to the UK, said the decision would greatly enhance our army in the sky... I count on discussing the practical implementation of this decision at the #G7 summit in Hiroshima.

The UK, Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark also welcomed the move which some military analysts have dubbed game changing as Ukraine seeks to ensure Russia has no air superiority.

US approval for the scheme will allow other nations to export their F-16s. This is because the US legally has to approve the re-export of equipment purchased by allies.

REUTERS

The US official said the country would support a joint effort with our allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s, to further strengthen and improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force.

He added: As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them.

The move by the US will be viewed as a major breakthrough for the air capabilities of Ukraine, which has repeatedly lobbied its Western allies to provide jets to help in its fight against Russia.

Mr Zelensky welcomed what he described as a historic decision, adding that he looked forward to discussing the practical implementation of the plan at the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

It is not expected that pilots will train in the US but the blessing of President Biden unlocks the possibilty of European countries with the US made F-16s handing them over for Ukraines war effort. They require the assent of the US to re-export military hardware.

Zelensky has welcomed the move / SPA/AFP via Getty Images

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also backed the move, tweeting: The UK will work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs.

Denmark has announced it too will now be able to support the training of pilots, but did not confirm whether it would send any jets to Ukraine. Denmarks air force has 40 F-16s, around 30 of which are operational.

The US had repeatedly rejected Ukraines pleas for the jets, instead focusing on providing military support in other areas.

The Ukrainian leader is expected to travel to Japan to meet G7 leaders, with his office confirming on Friday that he was due to meet Mr Biden in Japan in the coming days.

G7 leaders in Hiroshima / PA

Training on the US-made jets will take place in Europe and will require months to complete.

The US hopes to begin the training, which will be conducted on fourth-generation fighters including F-16s, in the coming weeks.

Ukraine is seeking the jets, made by Lockheed Martin , as it presses on with its biggest advance for months against invading Russian troops before a planned counter-offensive.

Ukraine, which does not possess any Western-designed jets, says the F-16s are far more effective than the Soviet-era fighters it still uses. Poland and Slovakia have handed over 27 MiG-29s to Ukraine. First built in the 1970s, F-16s can travel at twice the speed of sound and can engage targets in the air or on the ground.

Western governments have been wary of leaving their own countries undefended by giving away too much equipment.

AFP via Getty Images

Some Nato member countries have also expressed their worries that handing jets to Ukraine would be viewed as escalating the war, risking a direct confrontation with Russia.

Ukraines President received pledges earlier this week from Britain and the Netherlands to help build a jets coalition, although leaders from both countries stopped short of saying they will send planes. The UK does not use F-16s.
O n the same day G7 leaders met in Hiroshima, the Arab League summit brought together leaders in the Middle East with Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Ukrainian president was in the Saudi Arabia capital, Jeddah, to appeal for support for his country as the war with Russia continues.

Most of us are here for the sake of peace and justice, he said. We do not have missiles as our enemy has. We have less air power; we do not possess numerous killer drones that Iran supplies to Russia. We do not have that much artillery, but we do stay strong because we do have truth on our side.

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, vice-president of UAE and deputy prime minister, is received by Prince Badr Bin Sultan / Reuters

He will be hoping to get Arabian leaders onside as Kremlin forces continue to attempt to make ground in Ukraine.

In Jeddah, there was also one premier coming in from the cold. Bashar al-Assad attended the event on Friday, making it the first time Syria has been represented since 2011.

Saudi Arabia came out strongly against Mr Assad soon after Syrias civil war broke out in 2011 but has more recently changed tack along with many Arab countries represented at the summit  despite objections by the West and many Syrians who see him as a war criminal.

Reuters reported that Mr Assad lined up for the Leagues family photograph, he shook hands with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. They then spoke to Tunisian president Kais al-Saeid and the UAEs Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during the Arab League summit in Jeddah / Reuters

Qatars Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, however, who in 2018 called the Syrian president a war criminal, did not greet Mr Assad at the beginning of the function.

It marks a new dawn for the group of nations, which has been meeting for more than 60 years. But what is the Arab League?

What is the Arab League?

The Arab League conference / KUNA/AFP via Getty Images

Since 1945, countries in the Arab-speaking world have held an annual conference to discuss their shared interests and support of each other. It is always held in one of the member countries.

The league itself says the purpose is to draw closer the relations between member states and coordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries.

When the league began it had only six nations but these days has 22, with Syria rejoining for the meeting in Saudi Arabia.

The member states are: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

In addition, Armenia, Brazil, Eritrea, India and Venezuela have the opportunity to participate but cannot take part in votes.

UAE's Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan meets Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky / UAEs ministry of presidential affairs

What have been the successes and failures of the Arab League?

For years, the league concentrated on economic programmes but went on to establish educational programmes and a cultural organisation.

It has also helped give representation to Palestine despite the state not being universally recognised although the Arab-Israeli conflict has led to rifts emerging between member states. The Arab spring events of 2011 also caused problems for the league.

The Arab League has been noted by some critics for its lack of kinship between its members.

Michael Barnett and Etel Solingen wrote in their book Crafting Cooperation: In its existence the Arab League has achieved a relatively low level of cooperation.

Although the league has had a measure of influence in socialising some Arab elites, it has fallen short in changing state preferences, in forcing significant adjustment of prior policies, or in achieving a pan-Arab blueprint to guide their collective behaviour.
V olodymyr Zelensky has accused some Arab leaders of turning a blind eye to Russias invasion ahead of his expected appearance at the G7 summit in Japan.

It is thought the Ukrainian president will arrive in Hiroshima on Sunday in a bid to secure further military support for a planned counter-offensive.

Zelensky was in Saudi Arabia for an Arab League summit.

Of the Arab League nations, only Syria has openly supported Russias invasion.

But other members have sought to preserve good relations with Moscow.

Mr Zelensky said: Unfortunately, there are some in the world and here among you who turn a blind eye to those [prisoner of war] cages and illegal annexations.

Im here so that everyone can take an honest look, no matter how hard the Russians try to influence, there must still be independence.

The Ukrainian leader also told the meeting in Jeddah that his country was defending itself from colonisers and imperialists.

Host nation Saudi Arabia has supported a UN resolution calling for Russia to withdraw its troops and pledged $400m in humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

However it has rejected imposing sanctions on Russia and painted itself as neutral in the conflict.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman renewed his offer for Saudi Arabia to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv to end the fighting at the summit.

The country helped broker a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine last year..

Syria meanwhile has only just been readmitted to the Arab League - its leader Bashar al-Assad told the summit there was an historic opportunity for the region to reshape itself without foreign interference.

Mr Zelensky also took aim at Iran, which is not a member of the Arab League, for supplying Shahed drones to Russia. Iran denies supplying drones for the conflict.

The Ukrainian leader is expected to travel from Saudi Arabia to the G7 summit, although his office has not confirmed the visit.

The G7 summit kicked off on Friday with a renewed condemnation of Russia and an announcement of further sanctions.

The group of seven nations, made up of the US, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan, represent the worlds richest democracies. This year, eight other countries including Australia and India have also been invited.

In the past few days Zelensky has visited Italy, Germany, France and the UK, where he nailed down promises of military support. He also continues to push allies to provide advanced fighter jets to Ukraine, but so far no country has committed to directly providing them.
University living costs make up a sizable chunk of student debt and while many teenagers choose to move away from home and live on campus, it is not the only way to do it.

Students in London are more likely than those elsewhere to commute from home to university each day, saving thousands of pounds on rent, energy bills and food costs.

At City University, for instance, 80 per cent of students travel daily into class. Institutions are increasingly focusing on this group and looking at ways to make their lives easier. Queen Mary University student union has a dedicated Commuter Students Society so young people can connect with others on their route and find a travel buddy.

The University of Law has 16 campuses around England, which means you can study locally. Predominately law-focused, there are also undergraduate courses in business, criminology and psychology.

The university tries to ensure fuller days of teaching, rather than lecturers and seminars dotted throughout the week, freeing up days for part-time work or other commitments. The university also offers a two-year accelerated law course, wiping out a whole year of tuition fees and living costs.

Our flexibility is one of our great strengths, says Abi Pritch-Williams, senior access manager at the University of Law. Because we have campuses all over, students can pick where they want to be and dont have to live in student accommodation if it doesnt suit them or they cant afford it. As a result we have a very diverse intake and students from underrepresented backgrounds.

Prospective students will know that money will be tight. But all universities have scholarship and bursary schemes that can provide vital funds to keep your head above water.

Some are based on financial need but not all. At Newcastle University, for instance, a mixture of competitive and means-tested scholarships are on offer to undergraduates, particularly in science, technology, engineering and maths.

According to UCAS, less than a third of freshers apply for bursaries or scholarships because many presume they are not eligible but it is well worth checking university websites for the criteria and speaking to student finance offices.

All universities have scholarship and bursary schemes that can provide vital funds to keep your head above water

A scholarship from the Dr Ateh Jewel Education Foundation enabled Peach James to study cosmetic science at University of the Arts London (UAL). The graduate from Redbridge, in east London, was one of 12 student recipients of a scholarship, funded by companies that want to drive diversity within their business area. Procter & Gamble and Olay are supporting the foundation with funding and a mentoring programme aimed at helping aspiring black and mixed-heritage students to get a foothold in STEM careers within the cosmetics industry.

Not only has the fund allowed me to connect and network with people at university and in industry who I otherwise wouldnt have crossed paths with, it also allowed me the financial freedom to explore my interests without having to worry about cost, says Peach.

Now in its second year, the foundation aims to support a further 14 students in participating universities to achieve their full potential and career dreams.

It is one of a number of funding pots that have become available in recent years for undergraduates from ethnic minority backgrounds. Cardiff University, in collaboration with the Cowrie Scholarship Foundation, launched new scholarships for financially disadvantaged black British students last year, covering tuition fees and provide funding to cover maintenance and living costs.

It is also worth seeking out financial support packages from external organisations and charities. The Royal Television Society offers bursaries for students starting courses related to TV production, journalism and digital innovation, while the Law Society Diversity Access Scheme has funds for young people who are the first in their family to attend higher education, among other criteria.

For an increasing number of students, getting a job during term time is necessary to stay afloat. From babysitting to bar work, the part-time job market looks pretty healthy in the post-Brexit era. Sites such as Studentjob can fix you up with local vacancies in a variety of industries. Demand is also booming for students to sign up as tutors to work on childrens Covid catch-up programmes.

Imogen White, a third-year undergraduate at the London School of Economics, found her part time role on reception at her halls of residence on the LSE jobs website. Her wages make an enormous difference to what she can do, as well as her peace of mind.

While balancing the demands of a degree course with a job can be tricky, Imogen found her work responsibilities helped to give structure to her day and set deadlines.

I had to get up at 7am to be at my shift between 8am and 2pm and I knew that the time afterwards had to be spent doing my university work or I knew it wouldnt get done, she said.

Part-time or temporary work may be vital to your bank balance, but it is also a way to improve your CV and develop the skills, experiences and confidence that graduate employers are looking for.

The Evening Standard Step Up Expo takes place from 30 June 1 July 2023 at London Olympia - for more information and tickets click here
T heres a lengthy list of unwanted issues that accompany perimenopause and menopause, from disrupted sleep and hot flashes to a low mood and foggy concentration.

But one symptom thats not as well known or discussed is hair loss, which effects an estimated 50 per cent of women. Occurring alongside the natural thinning out of hair as we get older, the two aspects are intertwined, meaning that the hormonal causes of losing hair are difficult to detect on their own.

However if your hair is feeling thinner, your ponytail isnt as chunky or your scalp seems more visible around the age of 51  the average age of menopause, although the perimenopause period beforehand can last about five years  then changes in hormone levels could likely be a factor.

Most women find that their hair loses volume and length around menopause, explains leading British trichologist, Anabel Kinglsey. This can be attributed to both natural age-related factors and hormonal changes. Menopause causes oestrogen levels to decrease and oestrogen is a hair-friendly hormone that helps keep your hair in its anagen (growth) phase for longer. This decrease in oestrogen levels can lead to a reduction in the size of hair follicles and a decrease in hair growth.

In addition, the decrease in oestrogen can also cause an increase in androgens (male hormones) in the body, which can contribute to hair loss in women. You may also find that your hair breaks more easily because the new hairs that your follicles produce gradually become finer. Finer hair is naturally more fragile.

Pre-menopause, you can expect to lose between 60 and 100 hairs every day through normal processes such as brushing and washing. But as hormone levels start to fluctuate and the growth cycle is disrupted that number rises, contributing to hair feeling thinner and becoming less dense as hair sheds quicker than it can be replaced.

Meanwhile, the scalp becomes drier too as the drop in oestrogen means oil glands are less productive, making the skin there more prone to dryness and itching. Scalp health has a profound influence on the growth of your hair, advises Kingsley. Weekly targeted scalp masks and daily scalp toners are great in this instance, while the use of a weekly pre-shampoo conditioning treatment is also a good way to restore strength and manageability to strands. Shampoos and conditioners wont treat hair loss, but a well-formulated volumizing duo can do wonders for the appearance of fine, limp and lacklustre hair. Ultimately, you want to optimize each possible factor that can affect your hair growth cycle, such as health, nutrition, thyroid function and stress levels, as well as scalp health and the condition of the hair itself.

From scalp treatments that have lasting results when you make a long term commitment to hairstyling thickeners that offer a temporary quick fix, these are our pick of the best to help combat menopause-related hair loss.

Virtue Flourish Mask For Thinning Hair Virtue With a whipped cream texture that feels weightless when applied, this three-minute mask cares for the scalp while it helps bolster new and existing lengths for a well-rounded approach to hair loss, particularly during menopause. Its packed with a unique mix of proteins that keep the scalps delicate microbiome healthy, repair damage to help strengthen strands and also improve elasticity to reduce breaking and hair fall by boosting its flexibility. Added natural extracts include beetroot to infuse hair with hydration and red clover flower, said to help with healthier hair growth by targeting the follicles directly. Used twice a week, the result is a fuller, shinier look as well as enhanced softness without making the hair or scalp feel coated. Buy now  67 , Sephora {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Philip Kingsley Density Scalp Preserving Drops Philip Kingsley Massaged daily into the scalp, this nourishing, exfoliating formula helps prolong the hairs life cycle, slowing down thinning and making the hair on the scalp grow and appear more dense over time. Caffeine helps stimulate the scalp, while the botanical active saw palmetto is thought to reduce hair loss, creating an optimal scalp environment for healthy hair growth and to preserve the hair thats already there. The pipette applicator makes applying the right amount of serum accurately along partings easy and it feels cooling and refreshing on the skin  a welcome benefit if youre prone to hot flashes during perimenopause or menopause. Buy now  45 , Cult Beauty {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Vichy Dercos Energising Scalp Shampoo Vichy Suited to both dry and oily scalps, this fresh-scented shampoo is formulated to use as a six-week treatment course. Leave the easy-to-lather foam on for one minute and allow the patented ingredient Aminexil work to boost blood flow to the hair follicles, helping to prevent hair loss and promote re-growth at the same time. With Vichys hydrating thermal spa water, plus strengthening vitamins B3, B6 and Pro-vitamin B5, hair is nourished and strengthened, encouraging it to break off less on your brush and maintain its density where its thinning. After styling, hair looks more bouncy too. Buy now  12.50 , Boots {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Leonor Greyl Tonique Vivifiant Leonor Greyl Sitting between a treatment mist and a light styling product, this tonic is sprayed into the roots of towel-dried locks and massaged in for 60 seconds to feed hair and scalp with nutrients. Vitamin-rich seaweed extract, strengthening plant proteins and hydrating mimosa are absorbed into the scalp to help keep skin healthy and nourished encouraging growth, as aloe and morninga seed extract soothe and help protect hair. This lightweight fluid gives hair a thicker, fuller look once its been styled, which is impressive and offers a touch of hold too. Plus the delicate scent of peaches and passion fruit is almost as pretty as perfume if you like to fragrance your hair. Buy now  23.50 , Net-A-Porter {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Uklash Hair Growth Serum UKLASH Once youve mastered applying this serum (it can feel too fluid to pump directly onto the scalp in a manageable way), it gives visibly noticeable and lasting growth results when used daily over three to six months. Packed with vitamins and active ingredients including a pea sprout extract that helps shorten the telogen resting phase of the hair growth cycle and strengthen hair follicle stem cells, it improves hair health, thickness and density. All three results are a fantastic boost for those noticing menopause-related hair loss. The formula is vegan and fragrance-free, wont make the scalp or hair feel greasy and quickly reduces the amount of breakage you see on your hairbrush or down shower drain. Buy now  39.99 , Uklash {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Viviscal Hair Thickening Serum Viviscal Renowned for supplements that support hair health, the Viviscal range also now includes clinically formulated haircare products to take a two-pronged, inside and out approach to bolstering locks. This leave-in serum is packed with biotin and keratin, the natural building blocks of hair, to coat each strand and give a denser-looking and thicker feeling finish when hair is thinning due to age plus menopause. The clear fluid spreads easily and glides through lengths, as a duo of marine collagen and seaweed extract boost the strength of fragile and snap-prone hair. Applied to damp or dry locks, the finish on styled hair is full and shiny as well as frizz-free. Buy now  20.89 , Amazon {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Philip B Scalp Booster Pre-Wash Philip B This warming and stimulating golden liquid is formulated for appliction to a dry scalp before washing hair to help reactivate hair follicles, boost hair growth and also prevent hair loss. The hero ingredient is Redensyl, a patented active that stimulates growth factors in the scalp, adding volume to the hair shaft and increasing fullness and suppleness, while improving shine and texture. To break down any coating on the scalp, salicylic acid gives gentle exfoliation while citrus extracts dissolve sebum, allowing the formula to be distributed more evenly and penetrate better. To be used every two days and left on for up to 20 minutes until the self-heating sensation has cooled, this pre-wash does require dedication. But with almost three quarters of testers in a clinical trial of Redensyl noting a thicker look and feel to their hair after three months, its worth making the commitment. Buy now  82 , lookfantastic {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Grow Gorgeous Intense Thickening Hair & Scalp Mask Grow Gorgeous Swap this buttery rich treatment in for your regular conditioner once or twice a week and the 10-minute mask will aid enhancing hair and scalp health, while visibly increasing thickness. The nutrient-rich actives that combine to make it effective include caffeine, biotin and amino acids which improve hair density, shea butter and coconut oil to nourish and boost suppleness. Theres also hyaluronic acid that infuses locks with moisture for a soft, shiny finish once dry. To tackle flatness, pea peptides have been added to create a conditioning film around lengths that help add body too. Its an intensely rich formula, but rinses away without any heavy residue and is a fantastic soother for a dry, itchy scalp as well as hair loss during menopausal hormone shifts. Buy now  25 , Cult Beauty {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Charles Worthington Thicker & Fuller Densifying Shampoo and Conditioner Charles Worthington While allowing time for hair loss regrowth treatments to kick in, this thickening duo is the ideal accompaniment for daily care during menopause. The shampoo uses vitamin E beads and marshmallow flower to care for the scalp and help reduce the amount of fine hair that breaks off, while the conditioner also includes keratin plus the ranges PLEX-REPAIR system that works on protecting and restoring the core of each hair to improve strength. Used together, theres a noticeable thickening effect immediately without adding any weight, encouraging fine and deflated styles to look fuller and healthier as well as making hair feel softer and smoother to touch. Shop the conditioner (7.99) here. Buy now  7.99 , Boots {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Moroccanoil Thickening Lotion Moroccanoil Combining a volumising and conditioning treatment in one, just a little of this creamy lotion gives the impression of fullness and lift without any stickiness or stiffness. The formula is enriched with polymers and quinoa proteins that plump and strengthen strands to create a scaffold that adds body, while vitamin-rich argan oil infuses hair with softness and makes it more manageable so its less likely to break when you brush it. The instant benefits are ideal for menopausal hair loss sufferers that need the kind of quick confidence boost that can come via the illusion of thick and lustrous locks with better bounce. Buy now  20.85 , lookfantastic {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}}
H oliday season is finally here.

Whether youre jetting off to the south of France, travelling to the Caribbean or just planning a trip to Cornwall, if one things for sure, beachwear is a necessity for any sun-drenched destination.

Wherever you go, theres nothing easier than throwing on a stylish, easy-to-wear beach set that instantly looks as though youve made an effort - with none required. Paired with your favourite sandals, sunglasses and swimwear, a two-piece will make you look great, and feel even better.

The best part? Youll be ready for anything the day has to throw at you, from wandering through the local town to going for a gorgeous three-hour lunch, or simply laying by the pool with a book. You could even wear some designs to dinner, saving you all-important sunbathing time when you head straight from the beach to the bar.

With the range of on offer, your fits are guaranteed to be IG-ready from the moment you land. You could opt for a statement cutout set a la Louisa Ballou, channel a bohemian vibe with Zimmermanns handcrafted two-pieces or even keep it relaxed with a pared-back linen shirt-and-trouser combo from Arket.

Find your new holiday companion in our cherry-picked edit below - then all thats left to do is soak up the vitamin D (after youve applied SPF, of course).

Keep scrolling for the best.
A fter the birth of your baby, it will feel like there is little to no time to actually do anything for yourself, especially in the early days.

And if you do want to do things like shower or cook - were only talking the basics here - and youre on your own at home... then what do you do with your baby? Ideally, you want somewhere safe, soothing and comfortable for your little one to sit while you do you just for a few seconds.

Enter, the baby bouncer or rocker. Essentially, they are a comfortable, chair-like product where you put your baby down and it can - hopefully - amuse itself for short periods of time. Some models come with toy attachments, music and even vibration settings to really keep them occupied.

There is a lot of choice on the market, and when looking at which model you want to buy, you will need to take various things into consideration.

One - price. You can pick up a new bouncer for 30 - or ten times that. This is something to bear in mind as some babies do not take to bouncers, which not ideal if you have just spent 300 on a top-of-the-range bouncer. Two - aesthetics. Not all of these bouncers are the prettiest things in the world, and it tends to be that the more functions they have - i.e. toys, noise - the less gentle they are on the eye. And three - function. Do you really need an all-bells-and-whistles bouncer that will (potentially over) stimulate your baby? Or are you happy with a more simple design?

Sadly, you wont know if your baby will take to a bouncer and whether it really does need a top-of-the-range one until you put your baby in. I would suggest you give your baby a bouncer test run, either in a friends or pop into a store if they will allow it. You can then see if they scream the place down... or love it. If the latter is the case, a bouncer will be a life-saver.

Best baby bouncers at a glance:
B ritish actor Stephen Tompkinson has described his Educating Rita co-star Jessica Johnson as a shining light who looked after him during his grievous bodily harm investigation and trial.

The DCI Banks star was accused of punching a drunk man in the head, who fell to the ground and broke his skull, after finding him and a friend drinking and making noise at the bottom of his driveway in the early hours of May 30 2021.

The 57-year-old was cleared by a jury of inflicting GBH earlier this month at Newcastle Crown Court.

On Friday, he appeared on ITVs Lorraine in his first televised interview since the trial, recalling the incident which he said could have been investigated a lot sooner and dealt with there and then rather than waiting two years.

He credited his Educating Rita co-star Johnson as inspiring him to get through the ordeal with her strong attitude after she experienced a traumatic incident.

Jess was amazing, he said. And frankly, my problems went into a top hat six weeks later when Jesss parents were sitting in stationary traffic in Durham.

A lorry driver behind them, who we then found out was sexting on his phone on an adult dating hook-up site, didnt see the traffic, hadnt stopped and ploughed into them at 56 miles an hour killing them instantly, and the driver of the car in front, and injured people in other vehicles.

Lorry driver Ion Onut was jailed for eight years and 10 months at Durham Crown Court last July after admitting three counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

Tompkinson explained that he and Johnson were performing Educating Rita at the time and because it had been stopped a couple of times during Covid, Johnson decided to continue performing.

He said: She went into this incredible mode, I dont know how she did it and a few weeks later attended the double funeral of her mum, stepdad and was then back on stage that night in Kingston-upon-Thames.

So if you ever needed an example of strength and a shining light, she has been that throughout and looked after me through this.

Ill never be able to thank her enough, he added.

Tompkinson said she had also helped him in the run-up to the tour of his new play Stumped, which will see him star as playwright Samuel Beckett, helping him get the flow with the dialogue.

Earlier this month a jury found the actor not guilty of causing grievous bodily harm after deliberating for just under two hours.

Tompkinson told chat show host Lorraine Kelly: You have to wonder was it worth bringing (to court).

They were trying to prove a punch that never happened. There was no evidence on my hand, on the guys face. He was just incredibly drunk and he fell.

Lorraine airs weekdays at 9am on ITV1 and ITVX.
D avid Beckham said he was very excited to meet the King at a prestigious fashion award ceremony in London, claiming he is a huge royalist.

The former England captain presented Charles with a jar of honey, made in his own beehive, claiming it would be rude not to at the event hosted by the British Fashion Council.

He added that he had been a secret fan of fashion for years and always tried to dress different as a youngster.

The King visited the 180 Studios art gallery in the Strand to present the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.

Before meeting him, Beckham, ambassadorial president at the BFC, said: Obviously its been a big few weeks for His Majesty and the family but we are all very excited about being here today.

PA

It will be a pleasure to meet our King today. I have always been a huge royalist and I was brought up to love the royal family.

Fashion secretly has been a part of my life for many years  even when I was a young boy I always liked to dress in things that were different and different hair styles as youve seen over the years.

He added that it was a huge honour to encourage and inspire young designers who benefit from the BFCs scholarships.

Being part of the BFC over the years has been a huge honour for me to help encourage, inspire and inform these incredible creatives, especially over the last couple of years, he said.

Its been so challenging for them in their industry, so to see them adapt proves how inspired they are.

After the event, Beckham embraced the awards recipient, Sierra Leone designer Foday Dumbuya, in his design workshop, saying he had made his first Unicef trip to the country in 2008 as it really needs a spotlight.

Mr Dumbuya, who moved to London at the age of 12, said he shared a common ground with Beckham as he hoped to inspire a generation of boys from Sierra Leone after the country was torn apart by war in the late 90s.

PA

He said: As a kid, I remember him coming to Sierra Leone, the way that ignited kids who loved David Beckham.

It put Sierra Leone on the map, so we do have a common ground in a way.

As a global ambassador he inspires people to think they can do anything. For that young kid watching him on TV, he gets to connect to him and believe he can achieve whatever hes achieved.

It is telling stories about London, Sierra Leone, West Africa  for me its about how we bring those stories to life.

In a tearful speech after receiving his award, Mr Dumbuya said: Things like this dont happen to people where Im from.

This award is for all young British and Sierra Leone kids who continue to dream  please dont stop dreaming.
H arrison Ford was caught giving his wife of 13 years Calista Flockhart a loving look in the background of one of her glamorous Cannes pictures.

In one social media picture, the Ally McBeal star, 58, is seen posing in her fabulous full-length black gown by Zuhair Murad that she wore to the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on Thursday night.

In the background of the snap  posted by stylist Elizabeth Stewart  was Ford, 80, looking dapper in a tux while seemingly checking out his wife.

The couple  who married in 2010  later held hands on the red carpet as they posed for photos alongside Fords co-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

Ford told reporters ahead of the movie screening: I was very proud of it. You dont make a film for yourself, you make it for an audience. This is the first time Ive seen it with a proper audience and it was very gratifying."

Dial of Destiny, which is set for release on June 30, also stars Mads Mikkelsen and Antonio Banderas, and was directed by James Mangold.

It will be the last time Ford will play the intrepid explorer after first taking on the character in 1984 blockbuster Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

However, the night was not without a hitch  with an awkward seating gaffe involving Ford and Flockhart taking place inside the Palais des Festivals.

Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford on the Cannes red carpet / Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP

Rather than sitting beside Ford, Flockhart was put behind her husband for the screening.

Video of the awkward moment shows Ford telling his wife: Youre right behind me, before adding: Well thats the way it is.

Pregnant Karlie Kloss and actor Gemma Chan also attended the glittering premiere.
E mma Watson has reportedly split from Sir Philip Greens son Brandon after 18 months together.

The pair first sparked rumours in September 2021 after they were pictured disembarking a helicopter in Battersea, London.

Although they never officially confirmed their relationship, the Harry Potter star, 33, and the tech founder, 29, had reportedly met each others parents and went on holidays together including a romantic break in Venice last August, where the two appeared to confirm long-standing romance rumours.

However, it wasnt meant to be for them  despite their romance previously being described as serious  as an insider told MailOnline that they parted ways around Christmas time.

The Standard has contacted Emma Watsons rep for comment.

More recently, Watson sparked rumours in March that she had reunited with her ex-boyfriend Brendan Wallace after they both attended a Taylor Swift concert in Las Vegas.

Brandon Green pictured with sister Chloe in 2014 / Dave Benett

The Little Women actress was previously linked to the entrepreneur in 2018 after images emerged of the pair on a romantic break in Mexico.

Aside from Wallace, she was also romantically linked with Glee actor Chord Overstreet, Californian businessman Leo Robinton, Brendan Iribe, and William Mack Knight.

Elsewhere, Watson opened up about her self-imposed break from acting  and whether or not she could be tempted to return after a four-year hiatus from the big screen.

The British actress shot to fame as a child star playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films for 10 years.

Since then, she has started in blockbusters including Disneys Beauty and the Beast live-action remake, Perks of Being A Wallflower and The Bling Ring.

She was last seen on screen in Greta Gerwigs Little Women back in 2019 and she says the experience made her reevaluate the direction in which her life was going.

I wasnt very happy if Im being honest. I think I felt a bit caged, she told the Financial Times in March. The thing I found really hard was that I had to go out and sell something that I really didnt have very much control over.

To stand in front of a film and have every journalist be able to say, How does this align with your viewpoint?

It was very difficult to have to be the face and the spokesperson for things where I didnt get to be involved in the process.

That does not mean to say she will never step in front of a camera again. Watson said she would be open to the idea if the role was right.

She explained she did not want to fracture herself into different faces and people, adding: I dont want to switch into robot mode any more.
J ohn Cena has said that he violated Dwayne Johnsons trust when he publicly feuded with him over a decade ago.

The former wrestlers had a long-standing rivalry in the ring but were firm friends behind the scenes until The Rock left WWE for his acting career in 2012.

In response to his departure from the organisation, Cena said at the time: This is what happens when idiots have confidence.

Now reflecting on the fallout, Cena said: Its all in good fun and its all for the business, but youre supposed to have trust with each other and I violated his trust.

Its only when we started the build-up to New York that I got to look at myself in the mirror deeper and say I was wrong.

The 46-year-old remorsefully said he regretted airing his grievances with Johnson publicly instead of talking to him personally.

Cena spoke about his regret over publicly feuding with The Rock / PA Wire

He told Josh Horowitzs Happy Sad Confused podcast: Instead of going like, Hey man, Id like to try to do this thing to hook you back in and maybe we can collaborate and really make it big.

I was just like, Eff this, Im calling this dude out. This is a moment. You gave me an opening. Im going to kick the door in.

Not only did I hope that he would understand my perspective, but a year later I could admit that my perspective was wrong We couldve done it with everyone working together and playing nice and that was my fault.

Now having perspective on the situation, Cena admitted he understands why [Johnson] got upset and explained that his actions caused a lot of bad vibes between them.

The Fast X star added: I just got selfish and wanted a main event marquee match because it would better what I thought was the business. That was short-sighted and selfish. It worked!

But it worked at the cost of two people who communicated and almost put it in jeopardy. There was a moment where there was a lot of bad vibes between us and rightfully so.

The Sisters actor said that while he and The Rock made for great on-screen rivals, that came at the cost of our friendship, which he added now is in a really good place.

Johnson previously addressed the truth behind their rivalry during a recent appearance on The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon.

The 51-year-old shared: We had a great rivalry. In the world of wrestling, its fictionalised, its a show, but heres the thing. Our rivalry was, it was so real. We had real problems with each other.
P regnant Scarlett Moffatt has had to pull out of filming ITV2 show CelebAbility due to sickness, according to reports.

The former Gogglebox star, 32, is believed to have been halfway through shooting the upcoming seventh series of the hit Iain Stirling-fronted panel show when she got struck down by a sick bug.

Rather than cause disruption to filming, the Country Durham-born personality decided to step down as team captain with Katherine Ryan, Pete Wicks, Snoochie Shy, Will Best, and Donna Preston drafted in to replace her.

Moffatt, who is currently expecting her first child with boyfriend Scott Dobinson, is said to have been gutted about having to pull out.

Scarlett Moffatt is said to be gutted about having to pull out of filming / Instagram

Fortunately, it wasnt anything to do with her pregnancy  she just picked up a bug and is fine now, but because the series shoots on a really fast schedule over a couple of weeks, it meant she had to step down from the rest of the series, an insider told The Sun.

She will still be seen on screen for the first few episodes of the run, then she will disappear.

The source added: Scarlett was really sad not to have been able to complete filming but if the show gets renewed for an eighth series, she will definitely be back.

The Standard has contacted a representative for Scarlett Moffatt for comment.
I TV have announced a new Coronation Street Experience, offering fans access to replica sets, historic props and costumes from the long-running soap.

The exhibition is set to open on June 10 and will be open seven days a week.

Visitors will have the opportunity to take a seat in Roys Rolls  the cafe owned by Roy Cropper  or stand behind the bar at The Rovers Return.

The Coronation Street Experience will complement ITVs award-winning 90-minute tour, which launched in 2014 and has attracted fans from all over the world.

Guest experience manager Neil Currie said: We know that fans of Coronation Street want to get up close to some of the props and sets that they see on screen, be it Deirdres infamous glasses or inside The Rovers Return.

The new exhibition gives us the chance to extend the weekend tour experience as it will be included for every visitor.

Having this kind of exhibition floor also gives us the chance to constantly update and change things alongside the programmes on air stories, once a storyline has played out on your TV screen, well be updating the props and costumes along the way.

Were thrilled to be able to offer fans of Coronation Street an even more immersive experience with the launch of the Coronation Street Experience and cant wait for our first guests to arrive.

In addition to the replica sets and original props, the tour itself has evolved to include access to new sets such as Weatherfield Precinct, letting visitors discover even more secrets from the show.
M ichael J Fox shocked Whoopi Goldberg when he revealed that he turned down the chance to star alongside her in the movie Ghost.

The former actor-turned-activist, 61, was a guest on US panel show The View to promote his new Apple TV+ documentary Still about his battle with Parkinsons disease.

During the chat, Fox and Goldberg, 67, discussed their long-lasting friendship, with Goldberg asking if there were any acting roles that he regretted turning down.

There was a chance to work with you that I missed, Fox replied, which clearly caught the Sister Act star by surprise.

They talked to me about Ghost early on. I said, Itll never work. I said, Whoopis great, but itll never work. And then it was great and huge, and Im a f***ing idiot!

Whoopi Goldberg was clearly shocked / The View / ABC

Goldberg starred opposite Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze in the 1990 romantic drama, which was the highest-grossing film that year and, at the time of its release, the third highest-grossing film of all time.

He didnt clarify whether he was in the running for Swayzes role or another part.

Canada-born Fox was an in-demand Hollywood star when he was diagnosed with early onset Parkinsons disease at the age of 29.

He has since dedicated his life to finding a cure and helped raise over two billion dollars for the cause.

Fox remains optimistic about finding a cure, recently saying: I feel its closer than its ever been.

Appearing on ITVs Lorraine, he explained: I think weve found this biomarker which is huge, identifying the disease and therefore being able to treat it earlier.

It was a gigantic breakthrough  we didnt expect to make it this soon. We were working on it for a long time, ten years ago we talked about it.
E uropes telecoms providers have released a proposal today calling for tech giants Meta, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple to be made to pay their fair share towards 5G and super-fast fibre broadband internet services across the continent.

More than 160 European mobile operators and telcos, including Orange, Deutsche Telekom, and Vodafone, are warning that they could have to raise internet prices for consumers if tech giants dont help foot the bill.

If content providers make up at least 5 per cent of internet traffic, they need to pay network fees, the telcos say in the proposal. Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Google, Apple and Netflix contribute more than 50 per cent of all internet traffic.

The next generation of tech  everything from connected cars, to home automation, to virtual reality and the metaverse  will rely on high-speed mobile networks, Michael Witts, director of communication for GSMA, which represents the mobile industry, tells the Standard.

But that costs money and its only fair that the companies that benefit most, from the access to consumers that we give them, help pay the cost.

Would telcos block Facebook and Google, when their customers are paying good money to access that content?

The GSMA says 174bn (151.1bn) will need to be spent on European networks by 2030 to help them keep up with the rest of the world. In 2021, total annual investment by European telecom companies amounted to 56.3bn.

Meta, the owner of Facebook, and Google, disagree. They say telcos shouldnt be allowed to charge both consumers and content providers, because it goes against the whole point of the internet as an open place where people can freely send and receive information.

Allowing selected telecom operators to charge twice for the same infrastructure... will harm net neutrality, the structure of the open internet, as well as consumers without any guarantee of more investment in networks, Metas VP for public policy Markus Reinisch wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.

Independent technology analyst Ian Grant says the row is going to impact us badly: It's terrible for consumers because the big tech guys are going to do one of two things: they will build their own networks, or they're going to raise the prices for advertising and search, which means you will be paying more to buy goods online.

Will we have to pay more for internet in the UK?

According to Ofcom, one in five broadband customers and around one in ten mobile customers, said they had a reason to complain about their service or provider in 2022 / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Right now, we dont know. While this is a European issue, UK telecoms industry insiders have told the Standard that they are watching the situation closely.

Last year, regulator Ofcom considered whether UK telecoms companies should be allowed to charge content providers for carrying their internet traffic.

An Ofcom spokesman told The Standard: We have not yet seen sufficient evidence that this is needed. However, we did propose changes to our guidance that we believe would enable telecoms providers to innovate and manage their networks more efficiently.

The dream of 5G is that one day people will be able to walk around playing graphic-intensive virtual-reality video games on their mobile phones and that there will be artificially-intelligent self-driving cars that constantly connect to the internet to keep people safe.

However, this requires much more powerful and reliable mobile internet and fibre-optic broadband services than we have today.

Vodafone, one of the UK and Europes largest mobile operators, told the Standard that Europe urgently needs a connectivity update. And BTs chief technology officer Howard Watson told CNBC in March that it was considering charging network fees.

5G was meant to bring faster speeds and new exciting uses of technology like virtual reality, but many people say right now they can hardly tell the difference / Paul Barrna / AFP via Getty Images

Companies extracting the most value from telco investment in network infrastructure, such as large digital content generators creating the most traffic, should make a fair and proportionate contribution to the costs of developing telecoms networks, said a Vodafone spokesman.

We need faster, wider rollouts of 5G and fibre networks  requiring billions of euros in investment  to ensure consumers and businesses can continue benefiting from the latest digital services.

Rolling out 4G and 5G has cost operators billions of pounds, but mobile networks are already becoming congested and 5G speeds are going down, the GSMA has found, due to an exponential growth in people using them to stream high-definition videos and for gaming.

Mobile operators are expected to ensure their networks are always able to handle internet traffic, The Standard understands, even when there are sudden spikes in network traffic, such as a large number of people streaming a live sporting event to their phones.

This means building an even larger network with much more capacity. Its like planning a party, but you dont know how many people are going to show up  you just have to guess.

Are tech giants likely to pay?

If the likes of Facebook, Google, Amazon and Microsoft wont pay for 5G, will the telcos block our access to these apps and websites? / PA Wire

Europes telcos need to get money from somewhere, says Brian Washburn, a telecoms analyst with research firm Omdia, but he doesnt think they have much leverage against the tech giants.

Would telcos block Facebook and Google, when their customers are paying good money to access that content? asks Brian Washburn, a telecoms analyst with research firm Omdia.

It's largely wishful thinking on the part of the operators.

In fact, Mr Grant says analysts who research network capacity found European telcos have more than enough bandwidth to run 5G networks. He thinks the telcos are overstating the problem and their finances.

Mr Grant believes mobile operators just really want a slice of the huge amount of money that the tech giants get from providing content services.

He thinks the row might also have something to do with the prices telcos charge to connect the tech giants data centres to their networks, which has led to Microsoft and Google building their own fibre networks.

Im completely unsympathetic towards the telcos as they have abused their monopolies over the last 40 years and exploited the competition, says Mr Grant.

And Im unsympathetic towards big tech as they have exploited the tech regime mercilessly [to pay very little tax], and this is one reason why we don't have Europes own version of Google and Amazon.

The solution, according to Mr Grant, would be for the EU to tax the tech giants on their actual sales. Another idea is for mobile networks to offer new technologies like edge services  needed for autonomous cars  at a premium price, says Omdia's Mr Washburn.

One can always ask, he says. The answer might still be no, but you're always free to ask for money.
N asa has found a planet around the size of Earth beyond our solar system which may be covered with volcanoes.

Using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite alongside data from the retired Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers found the planet which they are calling the LP 791-18 d.

Bjorn Benneke, a co-author on the paper published in the scientific journal Nature, said: [The planet] is tidally locked, which means the same side constantly faces its star.

The day side would probably be too hot for liquid water to exist on the surface. But the amount of volcanic activity we suspect occurs all over the planet could sustain an atmosphere, which may allow water to condense on the night side.

Nasa has said the planet orbits around a red dwarf - a burning out star towards the end of its life - around 90 light years from Earth.

LP 791-18 d is located in the southern constellation Crater.

Jessie Christiansen, a research scientist at NASA, said: A big question in astrobiology, the field that broadly studies the origins of life on Earth and beyond, is if tectonic or volcanic activity is necessary for life.

In addition to potentially providing an atmosphere, these processes could churn up materials that would otherwise sink down and get trapped in the crust, including those we think are important for life, like carbon.

TESS is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer mission led and operated by MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and managed by NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center.

Spitzers observations of the system were among the last the satellite collected before it was decommissioned in January 2020.

The entire body of scientific data collected by Spitzer during its lifetime is available to the public via the Spitzer data archive, housed at the Infrared Science Archive at IPAC at Caltech in Pasadena, California.
A group of social media influencers who create content on TikTok have joined forces to sue the US state of Montana for banning the controversial app from January 2024.

On Wednesday, 17 May, Montanas governor Greg Gianforte signed into law the first-ever US state-level ban of the app, which claims to have more than 150 million users in the country alone.

The five TikTok users argue in their legal filing that the new Montana law violates their First Amendment rights, relating to protections of the freedom of speech and the guarantee of freedom of expression.

Montana has no authority to enact laws advancing what it believes should be the United States foreign policy or its national security interests, nor may Montana ban an entire forum for communication based on its perceptions that some speech shared through that forum, though protected by the First Amendment, is dangerous, the filing states.

Montana can no more ban its residents from viewing or posting to TikTok than it could ban the Wall Street Journal because of who owns it or the ideas it publishes.

Banning TikTok from iOS and Android app stores

There are several key things to note about Montanas ban on TikTok.

The first is that the ban only takes effect from 1 January 2024, and theres nothing to stop you from using the app if you already have it installed on your mobile phone.

The only way to enforce this ban is for the law to prohibit Apple and Google from offering the TikTok app for download on the iOS and Android app stores. So, its more that these companies will get fined if the state sees new downloads of the app  no authority is going to come check your phone.

This decision currently only affects citizens in Montana, so if you were to cross state lines and travel to somewhere else in the US, you could still download the app.

You could also use technological methods to evade the ban, such as buying a prepaid SIM card from another state or changing your location so it looks like you reside somewhere else, using a VPN app.

If a whole country were to ban TikTok, like India did in June 2020, this would make it a bit harder for you to download the app and you wouldnt be able to post, as the connection to TikToks servers would be cut.

However, you could still use the aforementioned technological methods to change your location.

Why and where is TikTok use being banned?

The TikTok app on the App Store on an iPhone screen (PA) / PA Wire

Questions have been asked about TikTok and its parent company ByteDances ties to China over the last two years by the US government.

Earlier this year the US, EU and the UK banned the TikTok app from all government devices.

Despite assurances from ByteDance that its servers are based in North America and that it is not allowing the Chinese government to spy on users or steal their data, the rumblings of discontent have only steadily grown. The company itself moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020.

In November, ByteDance was forced to admit that it has staff in 10 different countries including China who were able to access data in UK and EU user accounts, as part of doing their jobs.

But the firm emphasised that there are robust security controls and approval protocols in place to protect the data, and the methods used are recognised under the GDPR  the EUs General Data Protection Regulation.

In San Francisco state court, there is also an ongoing lawsuit from former ByteDance employee Yintao Roger Yu, who claims he was unfairly dismissed from his job as head of engineering for its US operations.

In the legal filing, he claims that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had a special office within the company, known as the Committee, from which the Chinese government could access data and influence what content was shared or removed from the platform.

The Committee maintained supreme access to all the company data, even data stored in the United States, the legal complaint says.

ByteDance has strongly denied Mr Yus allegations, saying they are baseless.
T he British mastermind behind a 100 million spoofing operation has been jailed for 13 years.

Tejay Fletcher, 35, was the founder of the notorious website iSpoof.cc, which allowed criminals to disguise their phone numbers in order to swindle victims.

Scammers paid a subscription to use a programme that let them appear as though they were phoning victims from major banks, including Barclays, NatWest and Halifax.

The shady online store was smashed last year in the UKs biggest fraud sting, with over 100 criminals arrested on suspicion of fraud.

But, how exactly did iSpoof.cc work, and how did criminals access its services? Read on to find out about the infamous website that was once synonymous with phone scams.

What was iSpoof?

The website was created in December 2020, according to the Metropolitan Police, and at its peak had 59,000 users, with up to 20 people per minute targeted at one point by callers using its technology.

iSpoof allowed users to purchase subscriptions to disguise their phone number so it looked as if they were calling from a trusted source. This process is known as spoofing, and can also apply to scam texts that appear to be from a reputable sender, such as a business.

Criminals posed as representatives of banks including Barclays, HSBC, Santander, First Direct, Lloyds, Halifax, Natwest, TSB and Nationwide.

They then tried to con unsuspecting people into handing over money or providing sensitive financial information, such as one-time passcodes to bank accounts.

On messaging app Telegram, iSpoof promoted itself to criminals as a state-of-the-art system for handling auto-calls, complete with convincing hold music and call centre background sounds.

The scam calls, along with other features offered through the site to obtain passwords and PINs, were used to empty the victims bank accounts.

The website earned around 3.2 million in cryptocurrency Bitcoin, with the lions share of around 2 million ending up with its founder Fletcher, said prosecutor John Ojakovoh.

How many people were scammed by iSpoof?

At its peak, as many as 20 people every minute were being targeted by callers using technology bought from the site, the police said.

All told, 200,000 people in the UK alone are thought to have fallen victim to scams facilitated by iSpoof, with many more across the world.

In the 12 months until August 2022, around 10 million fraudulent calls were made globally via iSpoof, with around 3.5 million of those made in the UK. Of those, 350,000 calls lasted more than one minute and were made to 200,000 individuals.

The majority of victims (40 per cent) were in the US, followed by Britain (35 per cent). People in Australia and Europe were also targeted.

One victim lost 3 million, but the average loss among the 4,785 people who had reported being targeted to Action Fraud was 10,000.

How was iSpoof taken down by the police?

The Mets Cyber Crime Unit began investigating iSpoof in June 2021 under the name of Operation Elaborate.

As part of the international operation, investigators infiltrated the site and began gathering information from its servers. They also traced Bitcoin records, initially focusing their efforts on Brits who had spent at least 100 on the site.

A wave of UK arrests followed with details of other suspects passed onto law enforcement agencies including Europol, the Dutch police, and the FBI, among others.

By late 2022, a wave of arrests had been carried out, including the sites founder Fletcher, helping to bring iSpoof to its knees.
KYODO NEWS - May 19, 2023 - 20:33 | G7, All, World, Travel/Tourism

The leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations visited a small island in Hiroshima Bay containing a world heritage shrine and sat down to a working dinner at a traditional hot-spring inn there at the end of the first day of their summit Friday.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other leaders arrived at Miyajima Island, a popular tourist destination in the Seto Inland Sea, on a cruiser, while U.S. President Joe Biden arrived separately in a helicopter.

The leaders posed for the traditional summit family photo before the large "torii" gate of the Itsukushima Shrine. "Gagaku" music traditionally performed there was played as they listened to a briefing on the history of the shrine, which, according to its website, was established on the site in 593.

Their working dinner was held at Iwaso, an inn that dates back to 1854. Earlier in the day before they sat down for talks in the afternoon they made a historic joint visit to the Hiroshima Peace Park that commemorates the lives lost to the atomic bomb attack on the city by the United States on Aug. 6, 1945.

Itsukushima Shrine was registered by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as a World Cultural Heritage site in 1996.

In 2016, then-Foreign Minister Kishida similarly brought his G-7 counterparts to the island during their meeting in Hiroshima, and they enjoyed a traditional music performance at the shrine.

Following attacks on Kishida and a former Japanese leader in the last year, security has been tight at the annual summit. As part of the measures, Miyajima Island has been closed off to all but residents and authorized personnel, with its reopening set for Saturday afternoon.

Related coverage:

G-7 vows to boost sanctions on Russia before Zelenskyy visit to Japan

G-7 leaders make unprecedented group visit to Hiroshima A-bomb museum

Profile of leaders to participate in G-7 summit




So the current cold war spinoff between China and the United States over the independence of Taiwan has moved on to pandas. After spending 20 years at the Memphis Zoo, Le Le died recently of heart failure and his spouse, Ya Ya, has been returned to Shanghai looking ill. Unkind and likely untrue media hype in China caused an online Welcome Home Ya Ya campaign to muster 340 million reads. Chinese citizens are being led to believe Americans are mistreating their beloved bears, maybe intentionally.

Started by President Richard Nixons wife, Pat, Panda Diplomacy, in which China loans these giant bears to zoos around the world, has been operating for 50 years. But make no mistake, these gnawing, yawning lug nuts are hardly loaners. They are rentals and high-end at that. China charges zoos $1 million per year, per panda and you have to take two. If they mate, and usually theyre so damn lazy they cant be bothered, its an additional $600,000 for the cub.

Currently, China has placed about 60 pandas in various zoos around the world. Thats quite a chunk of change  $60 million, not counting the kids. And according to the standards set by China, all zoos like the one in Memphis must spend about $16 million to build the intricately designed and climate-controlled enclosure as well as plant 10 acres of bamboo.

So why do zoos spend millions of dollars to lease giant pandas from a country that gladly sends them anywhere in the world?

Because they appear cute to human beings. Cute, cuddly and adorable. But to fellow animals who have to forage for food and kill or be killed, pandas are a bunch of deplorable deadbeats surviving only by their good looks.

I hate pandas. Theyre not even real bears. A real bear like a grizzly out in British Columbia or Alberta will attack and maul a hiker and then drag most of him into a cave to keep him company during the winter hibernation.

A real bear like the black bear wildlife officers found passed out on the lawn of a cabin at Baker Lake, Washington will knock down a door, break into a fridge and drink  its documented, they have the empties  36 cans of Rainier Beer. Officers became aware of this situation when the U.S. Geological Sonar Laboratory in Kilauea, Hawaii detected loud, rumbling outbursts indicating that the Mount Rainier volcano was erupting again. Turns out those explosions were a series of beer farts let loose by the black bear lying on the lawn at Baker Lake.

Panda bears do absolutely nothing but eat, sleep and crap. If scientists designed a bear spray repellent exclusively for pandas  it would be cologne. And man, could these creatures use a dab or two of that stuff behind their ears and thighs! I knew they pooped a lot but  40 pounds a day, each, on average! And every 15 to 20 minutes  its as if zookeepers are feeding them nothing but six-day-old burritos and bars of Ex-Lax. Wow! I mean besides pooping, when do they find the time  to do absolutely nothing?

Every 15 to 20 minutes! The world has never seen anything like that except when that Secret Service guy whispered in President George W. Bushs ear that the second tower just hit the ground and America was under attack.

So real bears eat mostly berries and people, while pandas consume only bamboo, which produces 83 per cent waste material and requires five guys with shovels standing in the panda pen, 24-7. Pandas sleep 12 hours a day, sleeping half their lives away.

Pandas dont really like each other, growling at each other when they cross paths. Theyre also lousy breeders. The male isnt very good at sex and the female is quite picky about partners, a bad combination that recently cost Johnny Depp and Amber Heard their marriage.

No, pandas are not bears. They dont eat meat because in order to do so, they might have to chase something. Therefore they are not, as they are listed, carnivores.

So please support my petition to the World Wildlife Fund For Endangered Species to first drop their panda mascot and then redesignate giant pandas from the category of Carnivorous Mammal to Chinese Giant Panda. Category: Teddy Bear. Species: Stuffed Animal Toy.

Seriously, theyre deadbeats. Stupid, clumsy and sleeping their lives away  pandas are giving sloths a bad name.

For a comment or a signed copy of humour columnist William Thomas The Legend Of Zippy Chippy, email: williamjthomas@gmail.com.



SHARE:
Sherri Darlene said the racism in Niagara is no secret to members of the Black community.

Darlene has lived in Niagara since she was two years old, and said shes been subjected to racism and has been traumatized by it her whole life.

Its in my community, at my schools, at my jobs. It's never gone away, she said. I just got followed around the store four days ago and I literally had to turn around and say, you know that I can see you and I know that you're following me, right?

According to a report presented to the Niagara Regional Police Services Board on April 27, between Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2022, there were a total of 41 reported hate-motivated incidents in Niagara, with 19 of them targeting people for their race/nationality.

Based on race, the black community was the most frequent group to be subjected to hate/biased incidents, primarily through the use of racial slurs or graffiti, the report reads.

Most of the high-profile incidents, such as the vandalism of Harriet Tubman Public School, and the vandalism of a Caribbean restaurant, have happened in St. Catharines.

While the total number of incidents has nearly doubled since 2021, and quadrupled since 2020, the report suggests the increase could be because police have increased their outreach.

The NRPS #StopHateNiagara campaign introduced pamphlets for dissemination to further connect to the community to assist in ensuring these types of occurrences are captured, the report said. The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Unit invested time and effort in educating the community on hate/bias-related incidents and have encouraged police reporting.

This information is important to consider, said Tamari Kitossa, professor of sociology at Brock University.

As Canadians generally report their discomfort with racism over the last 30 years, we also have increased reporting and or incidents of hate, he said. It's virtually impossible to parse whether the increase in hate reported incidents is either a function of an actual objective, absolute increase, or because people are more comfortable to reporting it because there is more discomfort with racism in Canada. Both things are possibly happening simultaneously.

Since starting Future Black Female in June 2022, Tapo Chimbganda has been on the receiving end of trolls on social media.

Future Black Female often receives comments asking, why bring race into it?

But Chimbganda said its important to have spaces for Black people specifically, because historically, they have not been welcomed into other places.

Chimbganda started Future Black Female in response to her own journey, and finding common ground with other Black girls.

(I felt I always needed) to work three times harder to prove that I belonged there, she said. When encountering new faces, my first thing is are they going to treat me like a fellow human being with the same dignity and respect? Or is this going to be traumatic for me?

Having lived in Niagara on and off for much her life, Chimbganda said the region is often treated as predominantly white.

As long as you're thinking that way, you're not seeing anybody else, she said. You're not including anybody else. You're not planning, allocating resources, hiring all of that.

So where do we go from here? Kitossa suggests its up to everyone as individuals to evaluate their actions.

I think the way to begin this is for individuals to accept ethical and moral responsibility, rather than treating this as an issue of systemic racism, there's no such thing as the system. There are only individuals that are doing things and they believe that they can get away with it because it's culturally accepted and tolerable, he said.

Darlene said part of being an active ally is putting out the little fires in your area.

Find out what you're passionate about, she said. Whether you're a CEO of a company or you're just a cashier at a retail store. You can be an active ally and it doesn't need to be huge or confrontational.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: After seeing the police report that the black community was still the main target of hate-motivated incidents in Niagara, reporter Abby Green wanted to speak with members of the community about their experiences with racism in Niagara.

SHARE:
A 27-year-old Grimsby man has been arrested after a Niagara Regional Police child pornography investigation.

Officers from the NRP internet child exploitation unit began an investigation in April, looking into the sexual exploitation of children that led to a home in Grimsby.

Police said a suspect was arrested Wednesday and charged with possession of child pornography and accessing child pornography.

Police encourage people to report suspicious internet activities relating to child exploitation online at www.cybertip.ca, where safety tips can also be found.

SHARE:
The city will explore a voluntary registry for Hamilton residents  and councillors  who want to host people who are homeless.

Im trying to find compassionate solutions for folks, Coun. Matt Francis said after a long discussion about encampments Wednesday at city hall. Im not suggesting this is going to solve the problem.

But it could add another tool in our tool belt. Thats as simple as that.

Francis gained support for his motion, seconded by Coun. Tammy Hwang, on a 10-3 vote that directs staff to report back on the idea.

Theyre to examine the feasibility, financial impacts and potential liability of a registry for advocates, members of council and residents to host someone whos homeless as identified by housing support staff.

Such a registry offers a practical and cost-effective approach to expanding available housing options for people who are homeless, the motion reads.

The idea draws inspiration from a program in Oshawa that involves faith groups and social-service agencies, Hwang noted. I think theres an opportunity for us to look at innovative models.

But some city politicians expressed concerns that a registry could put people at risk, notably women, gender-diverse and Indigenous people who are homeless.

Im very cautious about putting those individuals in a place of harm without knowing what would be on the registry and how that matching would be done, Coun. Maureen Wilson said.

Franciss proposal is rooted in the spirit of community love, Coun. Brad Clark said. Lets look after our brothers and sisters.

But he noted trepidation over potentially matching hosts who have no professional expertise with people who have severe mental-health and addiction issues.

Some of the folks that are living in encampments, even our own staff, have some very serious challenges dealing with, and we want to make sure that we dont put either party at risk.

Francis agreed safety concerns are incredibly important but emphasized the motion calls for a staff report to probe such questions.

Coun. Cameron Kroetsch, however, argued the proposal is tokenizing the serious issue of homelessness and suggests individuals can solve it. I dont think thats possible.

Moreover, it conjures up previous remarks by former councillor Terry Whitehead about driving encampment residents to peoples houses to host them, Kroetsch added.

It sends the wrong message. It could send a message that I dont think youre intending to send, he told Francis.

City manager Janette Smith said staff couldnt commit to reporting back on the registry by a specific date due to their existing workload.

Earlier Wednesday, council told staff to seek public feedback on an encampment protocol that would allow for up to five tents pitched in clusters but with a series of restrictions.

As well, theyre to study and report back on how sanctioned encampments could operate.

SHARE:
This week, the Governor Generals clothing budget hit the headlines. The expenses in question date back to January 2017, which encompasses both Mary Simon, who has been Governor General since July 2021, and her predecessor, Julie Payette. Together, the two expensed $88,000 for clothes.

According to a document from the office of the secretary to the Governor General, the nearly 200 items Simon and Payette expensed range from $18.95 white gloves for Simon to wear to a Platinum Jubilee event in London to a $3,000 black velvet dress with silk lining for Payette. Theres Payettes $160 Canadian Olympic jacket; a $475 lilac organza trench that Simon wore for the televised 2022 Canada Day celebration.

The clothing budget for a Governor General is $130,000 over five years (reduced from $200,000 in 2021), with a limit of $60,000 in the first year that gradually drops to $10,000 in the final year. There is no clothing allowance for the Prime Minister or cabinet, nor the Prime Ministers spouse.

Even though Simon and Payettes expenses came in well below budget, the sticker shock is real, and I fully understand the outrage over this use of taxpayer money. Most of us, myself included, think three times before we spend our money on fashion. This is a time of financial constriction, when inflated housing, food and fuel costs are causing us to tighten our belts.

But this is a big job with a lot of formal dress requirements. The Governor General carries out the duties of head of state on behalf of the sovereign; its the oldest continual institution in our country. They represent the King in Canada, act as Commander-in-Chief of the military, summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament, read the throne speech and give royal assent for parliamentary bills to become laws.

The job entails attending many official functions, including events like Queen Elizabeth IIs funeral and King Charles IIIs coronation. It means meeting heads of diplomatic missions, senior public servants, military officials, election officials and viceregal representatives. Each of these requires a suitable outfit  for day, afternoon or evening in many different weather situations. The document of clothing expenses notes that prior to being appointed Governor General, Simon had retired from public life and donated all her business attire and formal wear to charity.

I can relate to the particular stress around procuring the appropriate outfit for a high profile occasion. When I was the editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine in the early 2000s, I often went to functions and galas three times a week to represent the brand I helmed. It was exhausting. It was also expensive. I did have a clothing allowance, as part of my contract, but it did not nearly cover the number of items I needed. That made my wardrobe a large part of my household budget at a time when two young children were the economic priorities. It sounds elitist, I know, worrying about fancy clothes, but when you are not an heiress and you still have to go to regular formal events for your job, there is a real economic cost.

Im not here to argue for or against having a Governor General as our head of state. But we do have one, so here's the question: do we want this role to only go to a rich person, who can afford to pay their own way? I personally do not: I hope we hire the best person for the job, and give them the tools they need to do it.

I interviewed legendary Canadian image maker and media consultant Gabor Apor earlier this week for an upcoming story. Apor is the guy who put Ontario premier David Peterson in his signature red tie. In the conversation  which did not include discussion of expense accounts for public servants  he said this about Mary Simon: She achieves a fantastic balance in her style by always integrating Indigenous pieces with her outfits.

Simon, Canadas first Indigenous Governor General, has supported Indigenous fashion designers since she was inaugurated. She walked down the Senate chamber to the rhythm of an Inuit drum, wearing a navy dress and jacket by Inuk designer Victoria Okpik, who incorporated symbolic beadwork by Northern Quebec artisan Julie Grenier into the design. The new Governor General wanted the beadwork to represent traditions of Indigenous Peoples across Canada. Representation matters, and Canadian artists deserve to be paid.

On Simon, Apor also added, and she has a great haircut. This is worth noting because dressing for a formal event, particularly for women, does not end at the clothes. Haircuts are an expensive part of all our budgets  particularly for women, who are also expected to invest in blowouts or hairstyling for formal events, not to mention manicures, makeup and other grooming services  and this an integral part of our public-facing presentation.

Women are always judged far more harshly than men for what we wear every day, let alone for formal dress occasions, when men can just slip on the same dark suit each time and switch up the tie. And women in the public eye have to be careful about the number of times they rewear an outfit: get the ratio right and they are applauded for being sustainably minded, get it wrong and they are just lazy, showing up in the same dress all the time.

If you average out the expenses being scrutinized here, it comes to less than $15,000 a year on clothes. There are many things to complain about in this timeline, but the clothing expenses of the Governor General  which came in well under budget  are just low-hanging fruit.

Leanne Delap is a Toronto-based freelance contributor for the Star and The Kit, where she writes about style and culture. Reach her via email: leannedelap@hotmail.com

SHARE:
EDMONTONAlberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley and UCP Leader Danielle Smith squared off in a head-to-head election debate Thursday night filled with political jabs over health care and leadership.

Aside from a few well-landed shots, both leaders seemed to emerge from the highly anticipated debate relatively unscathed.

Health care, affordability and the economy were central themes during the debate and are top-of-mind issues for Albertans. Voters are set to go to the polls on May 29 in an election thats been neck and neck. The two leaders are perhaps the first in Alberta to appear without at least one other party leader on the stage with them during a provincial debate.

On Thursday, trust also became a point of tension between the two leaders and thus came one of Notleys more salient remarks about halfway through: Ive been in office since 2008, I have never actually breached the conflict-of-interest legislation. Ms. Smith cannot say the same.

Notley was referring to a report released just hours before the debate. The provinces ethics commissioner found that Smith violated the Conflicts of Interest Act when she had an offside conversation with the attorney general, and breached a fundamental pillar of democracy by speaking with an alleged criminal about his case.

Smith retorted that one of Notleys MLAs had breached privacy law after hacking into a government COVID-19 vaccine portal.

Notley asked if Smith wanted to continue comparing members of their respective parties: Seriously, I do not think youre going to win that one, she said.

It had been a day of crisis management for the UCP. Smith was forced to release a statement saying that if Jennifer Johnson  a United Conservative candidate who compared transgender children in schools to feces in cookies  is elected, she will not sit as a member of caucus in the legislature.

Smith has faced the dredging up of many controversial comments she herself made, some of which shes had to apologize for.

But during the debate, Smith said the NDP wanted to show grainy videos of things I said while I was on radio as a way to deflect from the partys previous record in government.

Well, said Notley, actually, we had high-definition 18 months ago when those videos of you arguing for people to pay for their health care came out.

For Smiths part, she spent time attacking Notleys previous record in government.

I am running on my record. Ms. Notley is running away from hers, Smith said.

Smith said Notley was afraid to run on her NDP governments record from 2015 to 2019 because Albertans were unhappy with it, especially when it came to the carbon tax and economic downturn.

The UCP leader also slammed Notley for not including a carbon tax in her 2015 election platform: Talk about deception, did you remember her running on a carbon tax in the last election? I sure didnt, and that increased the cost of everything.

Notley shot back that Smith was the one who couldnt be trusted because of her past musing over the years about further private options in Alberta.

Why are you not running on the thing that you believe? Notley said.

Why are you not being honest with Albertans? Why arent you making the argument that you think having them pay more is what you want? Because youve said it in video, in papers, in speaking tours, in the legislature, for over a decade.

Smith has pledged to uphold the Canada Health Act and protect public health care, despite her years of advocating for private payment options.

Meanwhile, Smith went after the NDPs plan to raise the provinces corporate tax by three points from eight per cent to 11 per cent to pay for platform promises. Smith said that would scare off corporations and hurt jobs.

We will still, under our plan, have lower corporate taxes than (Saskatchewan Premier) Scott Moe, than (Ontario Premier) Doug Ford, said Notley in response. But what well also have is the money to invest in our education system, something thats been horrifically starved under the UCP.

Smith and the UCP also say the NDP wants to bring in an emissions cap on oil and gas that would stymie production. Smith said the NDP wants to get to net-zero emissions by 2035 in a way that would hurt the economy.

Smiths party has pledged a more careful approach of getting to net zero by 2050 and has vowed not to let Ottawas net-zero plan hurt Albertas economy.

Smith accused Notley of not standing up to Ottawa: If we want to have a realistic plan, a practical plan, we have to fight back against Ottawa. This, this candidate will not.

I know Ms. Smith youre keen on fighting, responded Notley. You want to fight with Ottawa, you want to fight with the media, you want to fight, frankly, with your former self. Its actually quite exhausting.

In their closing remarks, both admitted to being imperfect leaders and asked Albertans to give them their vote.

Smith went first: My commitment to each of you, if re-elected, is to serve you with everything I have and to the best of my ability, however imperfect that may be at times.

It seemed to be a nod to the controversial statements that have surfaced during the campaign.

Im carefully listening to you and my UCP caucus, because whatever I may have said or thought in the past while I was on talk radio, Albertans are my bosses now.

Notley followed with her own closing remarks and asked, who do you trust to build a better future?

When it comes to Smith, every day is a new drama, Notley said. You just dont need to put up with this.

You may not always agree with me, and I may not have always gotten it right, but I say what I mean and I mean what I say.

Read more about:

SHARE:
By Peter Masheter, KYODO NEWS - May 19, 2023 - 22:42 | All, G7, Japan, World

Atomic bomb survivors and activists gave a cautious welcome to the Group of Seven leaders' historic Hiroshima Peace Park visit on Friday and summit being held in the western Japanese city, with some hoping that the events will serve as a turning point in efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.

G-7 heads, including U.S. President Joe Biden, came together for the first time as one to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, where they spent around 40 minutes and met a survivor, while also offering flowers at a cenotaph to victims of the atomic bombing in the peace park. The attack killed some 140,000 people in the city by the end of 1945.

"It felt like a dream come true," said Keiko Ogura, 85, after meeting the leaders at the museum and urging them to experience the reality of the bombing "through my eyes and my heart."

A prominent atomic bomb survivor and campaigner who has been an English interpreter for peace activities for decades, Ogura said she felt the leaders had seriously engaged during the visit.

It was the first time for leaders of the nuclear-possessing states Britain and France to tour the museum and the second by a sitting U.S. President.

Toshiyuki Mimaki, head of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, questioned whether the leaders had "been able to see everything we wanted them to" in under an hour. But he expressed hope they would "describe the horrors when they return to their home countries."

Toshiko Tanaka, an 84-year-old who was exposed to the bomb at age 6, said she hoped the visit "might make the leaders realize the problems of relying on nuclear weapons for security, and serve as a crossroads to even a slight change in their approaches."

Amid heightened nuclear tensions worldwide since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has made realizing a "world without nuclear weapons" a central theme.

His position as a lawmaker representing Hiroshima has been instrumental in bringing the meeting to the city.

Hiroshi Takakusaki, a 79-year-old representative of the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, said that "holding the G-7 this year in Hiroshima is by itself significant."

"Japan as a country can show leadership toward nuclear disarmament. That is our greatest wish," Takakusaki said.

A Kyodo News survey of atomic bomb survivors conducted earlier this year found that while 88.3 percent of respondents approved of the choice to host the summit in the city, more than two-thirds also said they did not think the summit would produce any tangible progress toward the prime minister's stated goal.

In the run-up to the summit, multiple groups representing survivors and anti-nuclear activists had called on the government to ensure the leaders met people with experience of the bombing while it is still possible.

Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry figures as of the end of March 2022 show there were 118,935 officially confirmed atomic bomb survivors, or hibakusha, with an average age exceeding 84 years old.

The leaders' stay inside the museum was significantly longer than the 10 minutes spent by then President Barack Obama when he became the first sitting U.S. head of state to visit in 2016.

But the government was cagey about details of what had taken place inside, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, saying that "preparations were made to ensure leaders saw important exhibits in keeping with the museum's main themes."

A diplomatic source said the G-7 leaders saw some of the permanent exhibitions in the main building, which included photos capturing the destruction in the aftermath of the dropping of the atomic bomb.

Referring to the leaders' trip to the museum and their meeting with Ogura, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said that he felt "our wish has been granted."

Yuna Okajima, an 18-year-old local resident who established a petition with a friend urging the G-7 to engage "earnestly" with the city's nuclear history, said the grim expressions from leaders including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as they left the museum suggested it had been "several times more effective" than Obama's brief tour.

"But time isn't everything, and I hope we will see change. I want to keep my focus on whatever small moves there might be toward concrete change," the university student and campaigner added.

And while the visit was received positively for its symbolism, not all hailed the summit.

Multiple demonstrations have been held against the summit, including a protest last Sunday attended by 200 people. Amid widespread security measures on the day of the visit, one of the protests' organizers, 63-year-old Naruaki Kuno, is calling on people to show their opposition wherever during the visit.

He said Kishida's choice of Hiroshima as the venue while he continues to back the U.S. nuclear deterrence policy showed that he was going ahead with the event "despite having no intention of realizing a world without nuclear weapons" and that as long as the leaders of Britain, France and the United States possess nuclear weapons, they "should not enter Hiroshima."

Related coverage:

G-7 leaders begin talks in Hiroshima amid Russian nuclear threat

Japan PM eager to aim for nuclear-free world at G-7 Hiroshima summit

Profile of leaders to participate in G-7 summit
A Canadian coal miner is facing legal action in an American court over levels of a contaminant from its mines in U.S. waters.

Teck Coal Ltd. is one of three defendants in a request for judicial review brought by environmental groups from Montana and Idaho.

The groups charge that Montana state authorities illegally struck down a regulation that set limits for selenium in Lake Koocanusa, a reservoir that crosses the international border.

The selenium, which is toxic to fish, originates in Tecks coal mines in British Columbias Elk Valley.

Court documents filed in Montana say Montanas Board of Environmental Review and Lincoln County Commissioners exceeded their authority when they rolled back selenium limits set by state and federal agencies.

They did so after being petitioned by Teck.

A similar request for judicial review has also been filed by a Montana state environmental agency.

The long-running dispute has involved the Canadian federal government as well as the U.S. Senate and White House, which wants Canada to join an investigation into the contamination.

Teck has paid millions of dollars in fines over the issue, although it says it is now capturing almost all the selenium from its mines.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 18, 2023.

SHARE:
ST. JOHNS, N.L. - A bitter standoff that shut down Newfoundland and Labradors lucrative snow crab fishery for nearly six weeks came to an end on Friday.

The union representing inshore fishers and plant workers announced its negotiating team had reluctantly signed a deal with the group representing seafood processors to start the fishery. The deal guarantees prices would not fall below $2.20 a pound  the price fishers were protesting in the first place.

Nobody on the committee is happy to be signing this deal today, Greg Pretty of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union said in a news release. Harvesters hoped the market situation would improve over the last several weeks. Those hopes did not materialize, and without a doubt, the committee was backed into a corner.

Crab season opened in most areas on April 10, but fishers kept their boats tied up to protest the $2.20-a-pound offering, which they said was too low to make a living. But the Association of Seafood Producers held fast, saying market conditions had plummeted from last years highs, when crab prices for harvesters opened at $7.60 a pound.

Snow crab is Newfoundland and Labradors most valuable seafood export, accounting for more than half  $883 million  of the $1.6 billion generated by the provinces fisheries in 2021.

Fridays deal guarantees crab fishers a minimum of $2.20 a pound for their catch, as well as incremental price hikes to $2.75 a pound if the market improves, the union said. The price will be re-evaluated if reports from Urner Barry  a meat and seafood market information agency  show snow crab selling for more than US$6 a pound.

As the stalemate dragged on, the union accused processors of being in a cartel, while the processors association claimed the union used bullying and intimidation tactics to prevent those who wanted to fish from untying their boats. In communities with fish plants that would have normally been processing crab for the past weeks, workers were unemployed and left worrying that they wouldnt get enough hours to qualify for unemployment insurance after the fishing season.

The union said it is lobbying for changes to this years unemployment insurance qualifications so workers wont be penalized.

Our members are facing a significant reduction in earnings this year, and they must receive commitment that financial help will be there to help them make it to next season, said Fridays release.

Shortly after the union announced the agreement, the provincial government issued a news release saying the deal was the culmination of a meeting that day between the union, the processors association and Premier Andrew Furey, who thanked the two parties for working together.

Our government recognizes this has been a challenging time for the hard-working people who power Newfoundland and Labradors significant crab fishery, Furey said in the release, which was co-signed by the fishers union and the Association of Seafood Producers.

The release said police will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Jeff Loder, the associations executive director, said he was pleased and relieved about the deal.

Its been a troubling few weeks faced with much uncertainty, but we are confident that we can still have a successful fishery, with public safety top of mind, Loder said in the release.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2023.

SHARE:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus first official visit to South Korea was significant on multiple fronts: he inked new deals on youth mobility and supply chains for critical minerals, addressed the countrys National Assembly and reportedly tried to salvage a high-stakes deal with auto giant Stellantis during the state dinner.

But all that news, at least in South Korea, seemingly paled in comparison to a now-viral moment featuring Trudeau and Kim Jin-pyo, South Korean National Assembly speaker.

At a photo op ahead of a Wednesday meeting between the pair, the prime minister assumed an unusually wide stance while shaking hands with the South Korean politician.

Kim, who is noticeably shorter than Trudeau, could be seen standing on his tiptoes before Trudeau widened his stance, bringing his head down to Kims level. Delegates from both countries erupted in laughter at the gesture, which was later identified by commentators as a manner legs pose.

Popular among Korean celebrities, the stance is a sign of respect and a way to accommodate for an individuals tall height.

In Korean culture, its disrespectful for someone younger to look down at an elder, explained Youngmi Lee, a Korean-Canadian who has lived in Canada for more than four decades and followed Trudeaus trip to South Korea.

In my view, I think our prime minister did his best to try to be on the same eye level, she said. There are many ways that do the manner legs, but I guess some of his aids showed him pictures of the different kinds.

The moment was widely talked about among Korean media. He got the attention of Koreans, for sure, said Lee.

While Lee said she believes Trudeau did his best representing Canada during this trip, she is somewhat disappointed that it took the prime minister this long to make his first official visit to the Asian nation. She said she wished Trudeau spent more time in previous years developing bilateral relations with South Korea.

During his three-day visit, which began Tuesday and concluded Thursday, Trudeau also met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Trudeau is now in Hiroshima, Japan until Sunday. He is expected meet with fellow G7 leaders.

Read more about:

SHARE:
MITROVICA, Kosovo (AP)  A new mayor has been sworn in in northern Kosovo after a vote in April that was boycotted by the ethnic Serb minority which dominates the area.

Erden Atic, who is from the Bosnian minority, took up his post in the northern, Serb-dominated part of the divided city of Mitrovica on Friday, calling on citizens to cooperate.

We shall work for all citizens of Mitrovicas northern commune, without any discrimination, said Atic, who represents the Self-Determination Movement, or Vetevendosje! of Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

A Kosovar police presence and officers from the European Union rule of law mission, or EULEX, were seen in the area. The ceremony was held peacefully.

Local elections were held last month in four Serb-dominated communes in northern Kosovo after Serb representatives left their posts last year in protest at the establishment of the association, which would coordinate work on education, health care, land planning and economic development at the local level.

With Kosovos ethnic Serbs demanding autonomy, Kosovar Albanians fear that may turn into a new ministate like Srpska Republika in Bosnia.

A 2013 Pristina-Belgrade agreement on that plan was later declared unconstitutional by Kosovos Constitutional Court, which ruled that it wasnt inclusive of other ethnicities and could entail the use of executive powers to impose laws.

Only 3.57% of the voters took part in the snap election in April.

Fearing a flare-up of tensions, the five Western powers  the U.S., France, Italy, Germany and the U.K.  called on the newly elected Albanian officials not to use force to take over the offices or public buildings.

All parties should refrain from the use of force or actions that inflame tensions or promote conflict, they said in a statement.

The chief Serbian negotiator for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, described Atics mayoral inauguration as unacceptable and an occupation orchestrated by Kurti.

Serbias President Aleksandar Vucic talked to EU mediator Miroslav Lajcak Friday. Vucic was cancelling part of his schedule to hold a series of discussions focusing on Kosovo.

Vucic warned Lajcak of all the consequences of Kurtis behavior and provocations that could turn into a new crisis and that they want to expel the Serbian people and provoke a war, said Petkovic.

Local Kosovo Serb politicians in the north warned the ethnic Albanian authorities to stop alleged repression of Serbs by June 1 or face an unspecified response.

Washington and Brussels have stepped up efforts to help solve the dispute, fearing further instability in Europe as the war rages in Ukraine.

Both Serbia and Kosovo have been told they must normalize relations to advance in their intentions to join the EU. The two sides have tentatively agreed to back an EU plan on how to proceed, but tensions continue to simmer.

The conflict in Kosovo erupted in 1998 when separatist ethnic Albanians rebelled against Serbias rule, and Serbia responded with a brutal crackdown. About 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, died. NATOs military intervention in 1999 eventually forced Serbia to pull out of the territory.

Washington and most European Union countries have recognized Kosovo as an independent state but Serbia, along with Russia and China, has not.

___

Semini reported from Tirana, Albania, and Jovana Gec contributed from Belgrade.

SHARE:
HONG KONG (AP)  A Hong Kong court rejected an activist publishers latest effort Friday to use a British lawyer to defend him against national security charges as Beijing tries to crush a pro-democracy movement.

Jimmy Lai, the 75-year-old founder of the now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily, faces up to life in prison if convicted. In November, the citys top court approved Lai hiring veteran lawyer Timothy Owen for the case, but the citys national security authorities blocked that.

Lai and most of Hong Kongs leading pro-democracy activists were arrested after Beijing imposed a national security law on the former British colony following massive anti-government protests in 2019. The political saga over Lais choice of lawyer is widely seen as part of the citys crackdown on dissidents after the protests.

On Friday, Judge Jeremy Poon rejected Lais request to overturn the committee for safeguarding national securitys decision. Poon ruled courts have no jurisdiction over the committee under the security law.

The political row over Lais lawyer began in November when the government voiced objection to it and asked Beijing to step in soon after the top court gave its approval.

Chinas top legislative body didnt directly rule whether foreign lawyers who do not normally practice in the city could handle national security cases. But it said the power to decide belongs to the citys leader and the committee.

Critics said Beijings intervention damaged the citys judicial independence, which was promised to the city when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

The committee concluded that allowing Owen to represent Lai would likely pose national security risks and advised the director of immigration to refuse any new work visa applications by Owen that involve representing the media tycoon in the case. The director of immigration said his department would act in accordance with that advice.

Lais lawyers filed an application in April for judicial review, asking the court to quash the committee and directors decisions. They argued that the committees duties relate to matters of general policy and coordinating major works and significant operations.

There is no power or jurisdiction to determine specific questions arising from cases, let alone overturn judicial decisions, they wrote in the application.

Robert Pang, one of Lais lawyers, insisted in an earlier hearing that the committee had overstepped its powers, saying the court had the power and the duty to ensure that the law was properly applied.

But Poon ruled Friday that the decision is fully within the committees power under the security law, as interpreted by the interpretation, and the supervisory power over the committee is reserved to Chinas central government exclusively.

The courts dont hold power over such matters because they clearly fall outside the courts constitutional competence assigned to them, he wrote.

Lais trial, originally scheduled to begin Dec. 1, was postponed until September as the city awaited Beijings decision.

He is accused of conspiring with others to call for sanctions or blockades, or engage in hostile activities against Hong Kong or China. He also faces a charge of collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security, and a separate sedition charge under a colonial-era law that is increasingly used to crush dissent.

Lai was sentenced to five years and nine months for a separate fraud case in December.

As of Tuesday, more than 100 publishers and editors around the world  including 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureates Dmitry Muratov and Maria Ressa  have signed a joint statement calling for his immediate release, according to the Reporters without Borders, which coordinated the move.

But the government, without naming any groups, condemned what it called wrongful attempt to interfere with the citys judicial proceedings under the pretext of press freedom. It insisted the prosecution of Lai was completely unrelated to the issue of press freedom.

Last week, Hong Kong lawmakers also passed an amendment to a law granting the citys leader the power to bar overseas lawyers from handling national security cases. Critics said the changes will leave defendants with even fewer choices when they look for legal representation in some of the citys most controversial cases.

The National Security Law criminalizes acts of succession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces. It has led to the arrests of many prominent democracy activists and damaged faith in the future of the international financial hub.

Read more about:

SHARE:
CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  An 88-year-old Australian doctor held captive by Islamic extremists in West Africa for more than seven years has been freed and has returned to Australia.

Ken Elliott was safe and well and was reunited with his wife and their children on Thursday night, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said.

Im very pleased to advise that Dr. Ken Elliott, whos been held hostage in Western Africa for some seven years, has been reunited in Australia with his family, Wong told reporters in Sydney.

Elliott and his wife were kidnapped in Burkina Faso, where they had run a medical clinic for four decades. Jocelyn Elliott was released three weeks later.

We wish to express our thanks to God and all who have continued to pray for us, Elliotts family said in a statement released by Wongs department.

We express our relief that Dr. Elliott is free and thank the Australian government and all who have been involved over time to secure his release, the family statement said.

Wong said no ransom was paid to secure Elliotts freedom, but no other details on his release were disclosed. Media reported he was reunited with his family in Perth, the west coast city where he is from.

At 88 years of age, and after many years away from home, Dr. Elliott now needs time and privacy to rest and rebuild strength, the family added.

The militant group behind the kidnapping, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, rose to prominence in large part through kidnap-for-ransom operations targeting foreign aid workers and tourists.

On the day the Australian couple were kidnapped  Jan. 15, 2016  30 people were killed in an extremist attack in Burkina Fasos capital Ouagadougou. Al-Qaidas North Africa wing claimed responsibility for that attack and other high-profile strikes in West Africa months earlier, including killing 20 people in an attack on a hotel in Malis capital Bamako.

The Elliotts were kidnapped near the northern Burkina Faso town of Djibo, near the border with Mali and Niger.

Jocelyn Elliott was freed in neighboring Niger. Nigers then-President Mahamadou Issoufou had worked with Burkina Faso intelligence services to secure her release, his office said at the time.

Australia had not paid ransom to secure Ken Elliotts release, Wong said.

The Australian government has a clear policy that we do not pay ransoms, Wong said.

What we have done over the last seven years is ensure that we worked with other governments and local authorities in relation to Dr. Elliott, she added.

SHARE:
TALLINN, Estonia (AP)  While the world awaits Ukraines spring battlefield offensive, its leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has launched a diplomatic one. In the span of a week, hes dashed to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France and Britain to shore up support for defending his country.

On Friday, he was in Saudi Arabia to meet with Arab leaders, some of whom are allies with Moscow.

President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, was in the southern Russian city of Pyatigorsk, chairing a meeting with local officials, sitting at a large table at a distance from the other attendees.

The Russian president has faced unprecedented international isolation, with an International Criminal Court arrest warrant hanging over his head and clouding the prospects of traveling to many destinations, including those viewed as Moscows allies.

With his invasion of Ukraine, Putin took a gamble and lost really, really big time, said Theresa Fallon, director of the Brussels-based Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies. He is an international pariah, really.

It was only 10 years ago when Putin stood proudly among his peers at the time - Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and Shinzo Abe  at a Group of Eight summit in Northern Ireland. Russia has since been kicked out of the group, which consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States, for illegally annexing Crimea in 2014.

Now it appears to be Ukraines turn in the spotlight.

There were conflicting messages from Kyiv whether Zelenskyy would attend the G7 in Japan on Sunday. The secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council said on national television the president would be there, but the council later walked back those remarks, saying Zelenskyy would join via video link. The presidents office would not confirm either way for security reasons.

But whether in person or via video, it would be of great symbolic and geopolitical significance.

It conveys the fact that the G7 continues to strongly support Ukraine, said Nigel Gould-Davies, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Its a visible marker of the continued commitment of the most highly industrialized and highly developed countries in the world.

It also comes at a time when the optics are just not in the Kremlins favor.

Theres uncertainty over whether Putin can travel to South Africa in August for a summit of the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Moscow has long showcased the alliance as an alternative to the Wests global dominance, but this year it is already proving awkward for the Kremlin. South Africa, the host of the summit, is a signatory to the ICC and is obligated to comply with the arrest warrant on war crimes charges.

South Africa has not announced that Putin will definitely come to the summit but has been planning for his possible arrival. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed an inter-ministerial committee, led by Deputy President Paul Mashatile, to consider South Africas options with regard to its ICC commitment over Putins possible trip.

While it is highly unlikely the Russian president would be arrested there if he decides to go, the public debate about whether he can is in itself an unwelcome development whose impact should not be underestimated, according to Gould-Davies.

Then there are Moscows complicated relations with its own neighbors. Ten days ago, Putin projected the image of solidarity, with leaders of Armenia, Belarus and Central Asian states standing beside him at a Victory Day military parade on Red Square.

This week, however, the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan flocked to China and met with leader Xi Jinping at a summit that highlighted the erosion of Russias influence in the region as Beijing seeks to make economic inroads into Central Asia.

Xi is using the opportunity of a weakened Russia, a distracted Russia, almost a pariah-state Russia to increase (Chinas) influence in the region, Fallon said.

Putins effort this month to shore up more friends in the South Caucasus by scrapping visa requirements for Georgian nationals and lifting a four-year ban on direct flights to the country also didnt appear to go as smoothly as the Kremlin may have hoped.

The first flight that landed Friday in Georgia was met with protests, and the countrys pro-Western president has decried the move as a provocation.

Zelenskyys ongoing world tour can be seen as a success on many levels.

Invitations from other world leaders is a sign they think Ukraine is going to come out of the war in good shape, said Phillips P. OBrien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Otherwise, it simply wouldnt be happening, he said. No one would want to be around a leader they think is going to be defeated and a country thats going to collapse.

By contrast, the ICC warrant might make it harder for leaders even to visit Putin in Moscow because its not a good look to visit an indicted war criminal, Gould-Davies said.

European leaders promised him an arsenal of missiles, tanks and drones, and even though no commitment has been made on fighter jets  something Kyiv has wanted for months  a conversation about finding ways to do it has begun.

His appearance Friday at the Arab League summit in Jeddah, a Saudi Arabian port on the Red Sea, highlighted Kyivs effort to spread its plight for support far and wide, including in some countries whose sympathies are with Russia.

In addition to Zelenskyy, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also welcomed Syrian President Bashar Assad at the summit after a 12-year suspension  something analysts say aligns with Moscows interests.

Anna Borshchevskaya, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute who focuses on Russias policy in the Middle East, called it another testament to the fact that Russia is not isolated globally for its invasion of Ukraine, that the Middle East is one part of the world where Russia is able to find avenues to avoid global isolation  both ideological isolation but also economic isolation.

She added that Zelenskyy and his government deserve credit for in recognizing that they need to reach out more to improve their diplomatic efforts in this part of the world and other parts of the world where the Russian narrative resonates.

Kyiv could expect that this is the beginning of a larger shift in perception that could eventually translate into potential support, Borshchevskaya said.

Similarly, the Ukrainian presidents participation in the G7 summit is a message to the rest of the world, to Russia and beyond, and the so-called Global South, Gould-Davies believes.

There is a concern in the West over the extent to which some major developing economies  Brazil, South Africa and, to a degree, India  are not criticizing, not condemning Russia and indeed in various ways are helping to mitigate the impact of sanctions on Russia, he said.

Collectively, economically, they matter. So there is, I think, this felt need for a renewed diplomatic campaign to bring some of these most important states into the kind of the Western way of looking at these things, Gould-Davies said.

___

Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London and Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa, contributed.

___

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Read more about:

SHARE:
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Pentagon has overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine by at least $3 billion  an accounting error that could be a boon for the war effort because it will allow the Defense Department to send more weapons now without asking Congress for more money.

The acknowledgment Thursday comes at a time when Pentagon is under increased pressure by Congress to show accountability for the billions of dollars it has sent in weapons, ammunition and equipment to Ukraine and as some lawmakers question whether that level of support should continue.

It also could free up more money for critical weapons as Ukraine is on the verge of a much anticipated counteroffensive  which will require as much military aid as they can get. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously said the offensive was delayed because they did not yet have everything they needed.

The error was caused when officials overvalued some of the systems sent to Ukraine, using the value of money it would cost to replace an item completely rather than the current value of the weapon. In many of the military aid packages, the Pentagon has opted to draw from its stockpiles of older, existing gear because it can get those items to Ukraine faster.

During our regular oversight process of presidential drawdown packages, the Department discovered inconsistencies in equipment valuation for Ukraine. In some cases, replacement cost rather than net book value was used, therefore overestimating the value of the equipment drawn down from U.S. stocks, said Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.

She added that the mistake hasnt constrained U.S. support to Ukraine or hampered the ability to send aid to the battlefield.

A defense official said the Pentagon is still trying to determine exactly how much the total surplus will be. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the comptroller has asked the military services to review all previous Ukraine aid packages using the proper cost figures. The result, said the official, will be that the department will have more available funding authority to use as the Ukraine offensive nears.

The aid surplus was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

To date the U.S. has provided Ukraine nearly $37 billion in military aid since Russia invaded in February 2022. The bulk of that has been in weapons systems, millions of munitions and ammunition rounds, and an array of trucks, sensors, radars and other equipment pulled from Pentagon stockpiles and sent quickly to Ukraine.

Members of Congress have repeatedly pressed Defense Department leaders on how closely the U.S. is tracking its aid to Ukraine to ensure that it is not subject to fraud or ending up in the wrong hands. The Pentagon has said it has a robust program to track the aid as it crosses the border into Ukraine and to keep tabs on it once it is there, depending on the sensitivity of each weapons system.

There also is a small team of Americans in Ukraine working with Ukrainians to do physical inspections when possible, but also virtual inspections when needed, since those teams are not going to the front lines.

In late February, the Pentagons inspector general said his office has found no evidence yet that any of the billions of dollars in weapons and aid to Ukraine has been lost to corruption or diverted into the wrong hands. He cautioned that those investigations are only in their early stages.

Read more about:

SHARE:
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  Late last year, with the Virginia State Police under scrutiny after authorities said a former trooper kidnapped a 15-year-old California girl and killed three members of her family, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced he had requested a full investigation by the states watchdog agency.

But due at least in part to a previously existing mutual agreement between state police and the watchdog, state police appear to have simply investigated the matter themselves, according to a policy document obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request.

A memorandum of understanding between state police and the Office of the State Inspector General, the watchdog agency tasked with investigating waste and rooting out inefficiencies in state government, says that in nearly all cases, VSP retains responsibility for the oversight and conduct of internal investigations of its personnel.

The memorandum makes an exception for allegations against the superintendent or deputy superintendent of the state police, which would be handled by OSIG.

Questions about the investigation into the Austin Lee Edwards matter have swirled after reporting from the Virginia Mercury and Richmond TV station WRIC noted that OSIG never produced an official report. Instead, when media outlets sought the findings, the watchdog agency produced only a letter written by State Police Superintendent Gary Settle to the inspector general, leading to questions about what seemed to be an inconsistency in what Youngkin asked for and what was produced.

That Settle letter, which news outlets covered in early January, said a background investigator failed to check Edwards mental health history and missed a judges order that would have disqualified Edwards from state police employment. The letter characterized the human error in the case as an isolated incident.

Authorities have said Edwards  who had moved on to a job with the Washington County Sheriffs Office in southwest Virginia  posed online as a 17-year-old boy while communicating with the 15-year-old girl in California, a form of deception known as catfishing.

On Nov. 25, Edwards, 28, killed the girls mother and grandparents, then set fire to their home in Riverside, a city about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of downtown Los Angeles, according to police. Edwards died by suicide during a shootout with San Bernardino sheriffs deputies the same day. The girl was rescued.

On Wednesday, surviving relatives of the family filed a notice of intent to sue with Washington County and the Commonwealth of Virginia, documents that raised additional questions about the hiring process.

In the notice filed with the state, lawyers for an aunt and sibling of the teen allege Virginia State Police were grossly negligent in hiring Edwards as a state trooper in January 2022.

On his application to become a state trooper, Edwards disclosed that he had voluntarily checked himself into a mental health facility in 2016. In response to that disclosure, state police ordered Edwards to undergo a mental health evaluation, which he failed, the attorneys allege in the notice.

The Virginia State Police deliberately buried the results of this mental health examination, did no further examination into this aspect of Edwards application, and hired him, the notice states.

The attorneys also allege that at the time he was hired by state police, Edwards did not have the legal right to own or possess a gun because under Virginia law, anyone who is held on a temporary detention order and later admitted to a treatment facility is prohibited from buying or possessing a firearm until that right is restored by a court.

The attorneys say Edwards displayed his law enforcement badge and service weapon in order to get into the Riverside home by falsely claiming he was conducting a law enforcement investigation.

They also describe in graphic detail how the girls mother and grandparents were killed, saying Edwards slit her mothers throat and asphyxiated the girls grandparents, who both were found hogtied and with bags over their heads.

A separate notice of intent to sue was filed with Washington County in late March by a Virginia firm representing the estates of the victims. The existence of the notices was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

With regard to the Virginia investigation, state officials in recent weeks have repeatedly declined opportunities to clarify the questions that arose about the probe or the final work product.

Youngkins office, which pledged transparency when the governor first said publicly that hed asked for the probe, declined to answer questions from the Mercury, including about whether the governor did or did not formally ask for an investigation, the online outlet reported.

Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter later told AP that the governor requested OSIG to look into the matter and under their purview they deemed the proper investigatory measures.

State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller likewise did not respond to questions from AP, and OSIG officials refused to comment beyond the agencys response to APs public records requests.

In an email earlier this year when AP first sought the Settle letter, the agency told AP that it had coordinated the investigation with Virginia State Police in accordance with the memorandum of understanding, which is mandated by state law.

The investigation was independently and appropriately conducted in accordance with OSIGs long-established procedures, Michael Westfall, the state inspector general, wrote in that email.

Settles December letter did not address the issue of Edwards gun rights or any kind of failed mental health evaluation. Nor did a March 2 letter by Settle to OSIG, which reiterated changes VSP says it has taken to address the problems its own review raised, including updating its policy manuals and developing written training for background investigators pertaining to mental health histories.

Geller said she could not comment on pending litigation and did not respond to questions about what was known about the status of Edwards gun rights when he was hired or whether he failed a mental health evaluation ordered by state police.

SHARE:
BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will pay an official visit to China from May 21 to 24, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced on Friday. 
OTTAWA - Firefighting foams, cosmetics and food packaging that contain cancer-causing forever chemicals could be limited or outright banned in Canada following a federal government risk assessment of the products that inches closer to declaring them toxic.

Only diamonds should be forever, not human-made substances that are polluting our environment, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said Friday, as his department released a draft report on PFAS chemicals.

PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of more than 4,700 chemicals used in dozens of products including lubricants, water and dirt repellents, textiles, foams and packaging.

The draft report says there is growing evidence that the chemicals carry significant health risks to humans.

Multiple studies on PFAs report varying health-related impacts from repeated and cumulative exposure to PFAS chemicals, including increased rates of cancers such as kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid problems, infertility, skin issues and impaired vision.

Because they dont break down easily, they have been dubbed forever chemicals  and they are accumulating in concentration as more and more continue to be used.

Their use is so widespread that they are now found all over the place: in our water, our soils, our wastewater, our landfills and even the bloodstreams of people and animals.

Environment Canada has previously designated specific subsets of PFAS chemicals as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, because of the risks they pose to humans or the environment.

But Cassie Barker, the toxics program manager at Environmental Defence, said that just meant companies turned immediately to other PFAS options that pose the same risks.

We need a comprehensive approach and this is a good start, she said.

We need to turn off the tap on all PFAS. Its the only way to get off this contamination path.

Barker said this is the first time Environment Canada has looked at an entire class of chemicals, not just individual substances.

The report notes the reason for that was, indeed, to address the concerns that unregulated substances would be substituted for those added to the toxics list  and that reviewing and regulating each one individually would take more time than is available to stop the threat they pose.

Owing to the extreme persistence of these substances, impacts on the environment are expected to increase if entry to the environment continues, the report says.

It says PFAS should be designated as toxic under the act because they have or may have immediate or long-term harmful effects on the environment or its biological diversity.

Another 60 days is now needed to await public comment on the findings, after which Environment Canada can move on recommending how the government should proceed.

That could include regulating some or all products containing PFAS, from limits on their use right to outright bans.

Canada would be following Europe and some U.S. states in regulating the use of PFAS or some products. Over the winter, Europe agreed to ban PFAS except in essential uses with no alternatives.

Neil McMillan, an Ottawa firefighter and director of science and research with the International Association of Fire Fighters, said he welcomes the reports specific reference to the risks of PFAS-containing foam used to fight fires involving combustible fuels.

His association has been advocating to ban the foam for years, and has convinced many fire services and airports to do so on their own.

But McMillan said firefighters are exposed to PFAS in many other ways, including in all of the gear they put on when they go out on a call.

The safe alternatives are there, he said in an interview. Some exposures are unavoidable. But the ones that are avoidable should be engineered out of the system.

McMillan said PFAS exposure and risks is the number 1 topic within health and safety that fellow firefighters raise with him.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2023.

Read more about:

SHARE:
Codex Aureus, the most famous and important illuminated medieval western manuscript located in a Romanian collection, at the Batthyaneum Library in Alba Iulia, central-western Hunedoara County, entered the UNESCO List, becoming part of the Memory of the World fund, announced, Thursday evening, the National Library of Romania, on the institution's Facebook page.

Known generically as the Codex Aureus, being written in gold ink, the over 1,200-year-old manuscript appears in the inventory over time under five or six different names, hence the speculation that it would not have been classified.

The Codex Aureus or the Gospel of Lorsch is half of a Latin Tetraevangelion on parchment, made at the order of Charlemagne, probably at the Schola Palatina in Aachen, in the year 810.

The manuscript written entirely in gold ink is also famous for the exceptional quality of the ornamentation: 202 pages decorated with polychrome friezes, 12 pages of illustrated biblical canons, 3 full-page paintings, two of which representing the portraits of the evangelists Matthew and Mark, an illuminated frontispiece and two other pages with ornamental writing, as revealed by the presentation made on the website of the National Library of Romania. Moreover, here it can also be browsed digitally.

It is not known when and how the Carolingian manuscript was unfolded in two. The other half, the Gospels according to Luke and John, are in the Vatican. One of the covers is also in Rome, the second one is in a museum in London.

In the middle of the 18th century, the first part of the manuscript belonged to the library of the archbishop of Vienna, Christoforo Migazzi, from where, by purchase, in 1782, it became the property of bishop Batthyany and thus arrived at Alba Iulia.

The manuscript is stored in the room called Treasury, in fact an armored room, being kept under special conditions and periodically checked from the point of view of its preservation.

Along with the Codex Aureus, the Biblioteca Documenta Batthyaneum houses the most valuable collection of Western medieval manuscripts in Romania, as well as the largest collection of incunabula.AGERPRES
DNA starts criminal investigation against 24 employees with Nadlac Border Police for corruption.

The prosecutors of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) - the Timisoara Territorial Service have ordered the initiation of criminal action against 24 people, an inspector within the General Directorate of Fiscal Antifraud and 23 employees with the Border Police, for crimes of bribery and influence peddling, committed in simple and continuous form, told Agerpres.

The orders of the prosecutors show that in the case there are data and evidence that outline the state of facts.

Thus, between May 2022 and January 2023, the 23 mentioned defendants, as police staff at the Nadlac I and II border crossing points, repeatedly claimed and received various sums of money between 50 euros and 600 euros from people who carried out passenger transport activities from the Republic of Moldova to European Union countries and vice versa, without ordering the legal measures for non-compliance with the periods of stay in the European Union by non-EU citizens, shows a DNA Timisoara press release issued on Friday for AGERPRES.

On May 12, 2022, one of the police staff, in exchange for 100 euros, allegedly allowed the exit of a Romanian citizen, a minor, without the consent of his parents or legal representatives.

At the same time, in the periods August 10 - October 29, 2022 and April 6-7, 2023, the defendant Matei Marius Gheorghita, as an inspector within the General Anti-Tax Fraud Directorate, with control duties at the Nadlac II Border Crossing Point, allegedly also received from a person the total sum of 1,200 euros to traffic the influence he claimed to have over the Romanian and Hungarian border police to allow her to transit illegally the Romanian-Hungarian border with objects that were part of the movable national cultural heritage (paintings, statuettes).

In the case, criminal proceedings are also being conducted against other persons.

The defendants were informed of the procedural quality and the accusations, in accordance with the provisions of art. 309 Criminal Procedure Code.

In the case, the prosecutors benefit from the support of the General Anticorruption Directorate.
The third edition of Romanian Creative Week (RCW), the most important event dedicated to the Romanian creative industries, takes place in northeastern Iasi from May 19 to 28, during which more than 100 events are organized, signed by 1,000 Romanian creatives and foreigners, exhibitions, fashion and visual arts shows, concerts, a film festival and a dance festival, conferences and workshops on innovative themes.

The festival starts on Friday, with a series of openings, which take place in the Palace of Culture, Braunstein Palace, Unirii Square, and in other central locations that the citizens of Iasi can visit in the following period, to admire the works of talented artists from Romania and from abroad.

Now in its third edition, Romanian Creative Week is organized by the Federation of Creative Industries Employers (FEPIC), the only nationally representative employers' federation active in the Creative Industries sector in Romania. Founded in Iasi, in 2011, FEPIC has organized over 50 national and international promotion actions of the Romanian creative industries.AGERPRES
ForMin Aurescu, US officials discuss Ukraine war developments.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu welcomed received on Friday US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard R. Verma, and US Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Jessica Lewis, accompanied by US Ambassador to Romania Kathleen Kavalec, told Agerpres.

According to a Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) press release sent to AGERPRES, the consultations addressed developments regarding Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the coordinated support that Romania and the US offer to the neighbouring country on all levels, as well as to strengthen Moldova's resilience.

Minister Aurescu underlined the substantial progress made in the last year by the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the US, highlighting the role of Romania as a predictable and reliable partner of Mashington.

"From the perspective of Romania's priorities on the bilateral agenda, the head of the Romanian diplomacy mentioned the importance of continued coordination at the transatlantic level, strengthening regional resilience, cooperation in the area of defense, continued implementation of energy projects and access to the Visa Waiver Program. He thanked the US for its contribution to strengthening NATO's Eastern Flank by substantially increasing the US military presence in Romania," the release reads.

He also underlined the importance of the progress achieved in 2022 in the implementation of the Cernavoda power plant project and the Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMR) project in Doicesti, achievements with an impact on the strengthening of the Romanian-US bilateral cooperation in the area of new technologies, with potential also at regional level.

Regarding the situation in Ukraine, the head of the Romanian diplomacy highlighted the significant support provided by Romania to the neighbouring country and stressed that Bucharest will continue its multidimensional support efforts for Ukraine as long as necessary.

The Romanian Head of Diplomacy also mentioned Romania's intensive outreach efforts to third countries, highlighting recent bilateral discussions with counterparts from India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, on the sidelines of the EU Ministerial Forum on the Indo-Pacific region he recently attended, as well as discussions with African states.

Regarding the situation in the Republic of Moldova and the bilateral and multilateral support still needed for this state, Minister Aurescu underlined Romania's "essential" contribution to ensuring Moldova's energy security and the joint cooperation projects in this area.

"He also highlighted the importance of the measures adopted at the European Union level to support the authorities in Chisinau, including the new sanction regime proposed by the Romanian Foreign Minister and recently created, as well as the EU civilian mission also recently established. Coordination on sanctions was agreed. Minister Aurescu also also praised the US efforts to increase Moldova's resilience. He also highlighted Romania's constant and firm support for the common European path of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova," according to the press release.

Minister Aurescu also presented the need to implement the decisions of the NATO Summit in Madrid and Romania's objectives for the Vilnius meeting, with a focus on strengthening forward defence on the Eastern flank.

The Department of State delegation presented the US perspectives on the topics discussed, stressing the importance of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the US, as well as Romania's regional leadership role, the MAE said.

The US representatives also reiterated the US firm commitment to strengthening resilience in the region, including to the Republic of Moldova, stressing that the US has significantly increased its assistance to this country, including for its energy security.

At the same time, the US officials underlined their strong support for Romania's progress on the Visa Waiver file.

They also mentioned the US interest in strengthening bilateral Romanian-American cooperation in the Black Sea region, welcoming Romania's expertise and its substantial contribution to the development of the US Black Sea Strategy.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will come to Romania on a state visit between May 24 - 26, at the invitation of President Klaus Iohannis, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bucharest informs, pointing out that Steinmeier's scheduled trips to Bucharest, Sibiu and Timisoara honor the multiple bilateral relations, the good cooperation and close partnership between Germany and Romania within the EU and NATO, as well as the countries' joint support for Ukraine.

The federal president will be accompanied by the Minister of State for Europe and Climate at the German Federal Foreign Office Anna Luhrmann, as well as by a delegation of lawmakers, representatives of the business environment and culture representatives.

On May 24, the German head of state will be received in Bucharest with military honors by President Klaus Iohannis. After a round of talks, the two statesmen will hold a joint press conference. Next, the German president has scheduled political talks with Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca and then, at the Palace of Parliament, with Senate acting President Alina Gorghiu and Chamber of Deputies Speaker Marcel Ciolacu. A meeting with representatives of the business community is also on his agenda.

On the second day of the visit, the President Steinmeier will be in Sibiu together with his counterpart Klaus Iohannis, for talks at the City Hall, as well as with representatives of the Germans' Democratic Forum in Romania. Also, the two will visit the 'Samuel von Brukenthal' National College in Sibiu and the fortified church in Cristian. Later, President Steinmeier will travel to Timisoara, where he will host a concert at the Timisoara Philharmonic, as part of the city's 2023 European Capital of Culture program.

On the last day of his Romanian stay, the federal president will visit downtown Timisoara together with mayor Dominic Fritz.

"A city tour will help the German president gain insight into the historical, economic and cultural importance of Timisoara, and also learn more about the coexistence of various local ethnic groups and religious communities," the cited source said.

He will also visit the 'Nikolaus Lenau' Theoretical High School and meet with representatives of the German and Jewish minorities.

"The state visit of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier marks a culminating moment in our close partnership. It underlines our deep and long-standing friendship with Romania, as well as our special interest in taking this friendship even further. The breadth of our bilateral relations is reflected in the close political exchanges, in the intense economic relations with Germany, which is Romania's most important trading partner, as well as in the cultural exchanges and those with the civil society. In this regard, the German minority in Romania and the Romanian communities in Germany play an important bridging role. Especially in the difficult times of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, it is important that we, in Europe remain united and stand by Ukraine. We are particularly grateful to have such an excellent and reliable partner as Romania. The state visit of the federal president is also an expression of this gratitude," German ambassador to Romania Peer Gebauer notes. AGERPRES
Ministry of Education: Education units must communicate to parents information about course of teaching activities.

Education units must permanently communicate to parents the necessary information about the course of teaching activities, possible program reorganizations or changes in the ability to supervise pupils during their presence in the school premises, informs the Ministry of Education, in the context of the general strike, told Agerpres.

The institution specifies that it makes every effort to ensure that the educational process continues and that students are safe in the educational units.

Also, the Ministry of Education mentions that it is taking all the measures foreseen by the legal framework, which fall within its competence, to avoid triggering a general strike starting on May 22, 2023.

"We are concerned and we are taking the necessary steps to protect the pupils' right to education. Today we had a videoconference with the county school inspectorates, during which we presented them with the general framework of the social dialogue and told them to constantly monitor the way educational activity is unfolded at the level of the counties, communicating permanently with all the actors involved in the educational process. In this endeavor, we also count on the responsibility of the directors of each educational unit," the release states.

The education unions have announced that they will start a general strike on Monday, May 22. According to the president of the Federation of Free Trade Unions in Education (FSLI), Simion Hancescu, the general strike is supported by 71% of the union members.

"According to the law, the strike is done by the union members, we have nothing to do with the others. We refer to the union members, that is, out of 145,000 FSLI members, there are 105,000 who go on strike," he explained.
Oliver Stone and Michel Franco, TIFF22 special guests.

US director, screenwriter and producer Oliver Stone is one of the special guests of the 22nd Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF), where he will receive the Transilvania Trophy for Lifetime Achievement and where Mexican director Michel Franco is expected to be part of the jury, told Agerpres.

"The two filmmakers join names such as Geoffrey Rush and Timothy Spall, who have already announced their presence in Cluj-Napoca. Controversial and polarising, Oliver Stone is one of the most prominent Hollywood figures of the 1980s and 1990s. He has won three Academy Awards, two as director for Platoon (1986) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989), and one for screenplay for Midnight Express (director Alan Parker) (1979)," says a press release sent by TIFF organisers on Friday.

Oliver Stone will be present at the Nuclear Now screening on Thursday June 15 and at the screening of Natural Born Killers on Saturday June 17, when he will have a dialogue with the audience.

"Awarded at Cannes for the dramas After Lucia (2012), Chronic (2015) and April's Daughter (2017), and winner of the Silver Lion in Venice for the terrifying New Order (2023), Mexican Michel Franco will also be present at TIFF22, where he will be part of the jury of the official competition. Director, screenwriter and producer, he has quickly established himself on the international scene as one of the most original voices of contemporary Latin America: 'I no longer try to impose an aesthetic on a film. At the beginning of my career I had more rules, but now I'm very relaxed. I had more cinematic references, and now I don't have any. I borrow more from books than films. In a way, the aesthetics of my films are very close to my way of being'," the press release reads.

TIFF takes place from June 9 to 18 and is organised by the Association for the Promotion of Romanian Film and the Transilvania Film Festival Association.
The Ministry of Education announced on Thursday the launch of the call for projects for the purchase of electric minibuses for students, with financing through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The total PNRR financial allocation for the purchase of electric minibuses is 250 million euros, without VAT, the quoted source states.

According to the Ministry of Education, the goal pursued by this call aims to improve the transport conditions for students, especially for those from isolated areas with low population, by providing electric school minibuses, friendly to the environment and with low energy consumption.

This measure aims to facilitate children's access to education, by protecting the environment, also contributing to the European Union's objective of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% until 2030, the institution states.AGERPRES
CARACAS, May 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. sanctions against Venezuela are undermining women's rights, a Venezuelan official said Thursday at a UN meeting.

The unilateral coercive measures of the United States "have a direct impact on the lives and rights of the women who suffer them," said Diva Guzman, Venezuelan Minister of People's Power for Women and Gender Equality, when addressing the 85th session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, being held in Geneva, Switzerland.

The sanctions "make it difficult" to develop and implement policies to promote gender equality, said Guzman, denouncing them as a "tool of neo-colonialism" to violate "sovereignty, self-determination, non-intervention, and the universal and indivisible guarantee of human rights."

Venezuelan government institutions have promoted the "active participation" of women with "democratic values," Guzman told the committee, which is made up of independent experts that monitor the implementation of a UN convention to eliminate discrimination against women. 
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

ZELL, Mo.  St. Joseph Catholic Church is the focal point of this small town in rural Ste. Genevieve County, which still resembles the village German immigrants left nearly two centuries ago. Built by ancestors of some of the current members, it has long been an anchor and meeting place in unincorporated Zell.

And yet on a recent night, with its future in question, parishioners did not gather on the hallowed ground of the white stone campus.

They said they werent allowed to.

Instead, lay leaders, as well as representatives from a handful of other rural parishes in the area, met right across the parking lot from St. Joseph, at the volunteer fire department. It smelled of exhaust fumes lingering from a big truck that pulled out to accommodate them.

We need to come up with viable alternatives, said Matt Blumenfeld, 38, one of 17 people seated at a long table inside.

Without any priests present, theyd come to strategize responses to St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanskis final All Things New restructuring plan, which, after a year and a half of speculation and headlines, will be formally unveiled next weekend. Rozanski has said prudent decisions need to be made to better evangelize in an era of fallen church attendance and fewer priests.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis has said that it wants about 1,800 households grouped together some way, which, considering existing church attendance, would require a lot of square miles in rural areas. Some small parishes feel like they have a bulls-eye on their backs, even though their finances, buildings and attendance are solid.

They believe they have something special that needs to be protected, not suppressed.

But they think their voices arent being heard by the archdiocese.

And so members of St. Joseph, which draws about 225 people to weekend services, went out and gathered more than 170 signatures to designate Blumenfeld as their procurator. That way, he said at the meeting, he can speak officially and quickly on behalf of congregants, should an appeal be needed to stave off closure or a decision from the archdiocese that would effectively close the parish, such as removing their resident pastor and cutting off access to other clergy.

Blumenfeld said hed been in contact with a canon lawyer and sent an official letter to Rozanski, calling for more time to refocus and reengage Roman Catholics who havent come back to church since COVID-19 and news of the clergy sex abuse crisis breaking open in 2002.

As he awaited answers from the archdiocese, Blumenfeld said hed been considering the realities of relying on a lay parish life coordinator or deacon to run things day-to-day. Hed entertained the idea of finding a priest on his own who could be vetted by the archdiocese. Perhaps a friend of another priest he knows in Virginia, originally from Uganda, could come over and help.

It would be a role reversal for St. Joseph, which produced nine priests and 21 nuns.

Why dont they consider changing the model for the priests, instead of changing the model for all the parishes? Blumenfeld said. We need missionaries in this country. We used to send a lot of people overseas. Now we are the ones in need.

Close The Rev. Henry Purcell, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Zell, Mo., hurries back to the rectory on Thursday, May 4, 2023, before the start of a Confirmation ceremony Mass. St. Louis Auxiliary Bishop Mark Rivituso Confirmed 11 youth from several rural parishes in Ste. Genevieve County. St. Joseph Catholic Church in Zell, Mo., is one of the longest continually running churches in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The parish, dating to 1847, is one of several in rural Ste. Genevieve County facing possible consolidation from the "All Things New" restructuring initiative. St. Joseph Catholic Church in Zell, Mo., seen atop a hill from Interstate 55 on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, is one of the longest continually running churches in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The parish, dating to 1847, is one of several in rural Ste. Genevieve County facing possible consolidation from the "All Things New" restructuring initiative. Kimberly Basler, left, Mary Beth Kreitler and Brandon Basler, choir members at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Zell, Mo., confer after playing a hymn on Thursday, May 4, 2023, during a Confirmation ceremony Mass at the Ste. Genevieve County parish. Gunner Gegg, 8, chases his little sister, Georgie, 4, around the yard of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Zell, Mo., on Thursday, May 4, 2023, near its cemetery, before the start of their sister's Confirmation ceremony Mass at the Ste. Genevieve County parish. Maia Rottler, 12, Katelyn Roth, 9, Kate Fischer, 12, and Jacob Rottler, 9, leave the sacristy at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Zell, Mo., on Thursday, May 4, 2023, to be servers in a Confirmation ceremony Mass at the Ste. Genevieve County parish. Parishioners exit St. Joseph Catholic Church in Zell, Mo., on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at the conclusion of a Confirmation ceremony Mass at the Ste. Genevieve County parish. Photos: St. Joseph Catholic Church in Zell, Missouri St. Joseph Catholic Church in Zell, Missouri is one of the oldest parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Louis dating back to 1847. The congregation there is one of several historic Ste. Genevieve County parishes now contemplating its fate as the All Things New reconfiguration plan is implemented. Photos by Christian Gooden, St. Louis Post-Dispatch The Rev. Henry Purcell, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Zell, Mo., hurries back to the rectory on Thursday, May 4, 2023, before the start of a Confirmation ceremony Mass. St. Louis Auxiliary Bishop Mark Rivituso Confirmed 11 youth from several rural parishes in Ste. Genevieve County. St. Joseph Catholic Church in Zell, Mo., is one of the longest continually running churches in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The parish, dating to 1847, is one of several in rural Ste. Genevieve County facing possible consolidation from the "All Things New" restructuring initiative. St. Joseph Catholic Church in Zell, Mo., seen atop a hill from Interstate 55 on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, is one of the longest continually running churches in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The parish, dating to 1847, is one of several in rural Ste. Genevieve County facing possible consolidation from the "All Things New" restructuring initiative. Kimberly Basler, left, Mary Beth Kreitler and Brandon Basler, choir members at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Zell, Mo., confer after playing a hymn on Thursday, May 4, 2023, during a Confirmation ceremony Mass at the Ste. Genevieve County parish. Gunner Gegg, 8, chases his little sister, Georgie, 4, around the yard of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Zell, Mo., on Thursday, May 4, 2023, near its cemetery, before the start of their sister's Confirmation ceremony Mass at the Ste. Genevieve County parish. Maia Rottler, 12, Katelyn Roth, 9, Kate Fischer, 12, and Jacob Rottler, 9, leave the sacristy at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Zell, Mo., on Thursday, May 4, 2023, to be servers in a Confirmation ceremony Mass at the Ste. Genevieve County parish. Parishioners exit St. Joseph Catholic Church in Zell, Mo., on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at the conclusion of a Confirmation ceremony Mass at the Ste. Genevieve County parish.

The archdiocese, which oversees the Catholic experience in St. Louis and 10 surrounding Missouri counties, said early on in the All Things New process that being unable to produce its own priests was a sign of weakness. Considering future projections, one of its first publicized restructuring models had Ste. Genevieve Parish, in the town of Ste. Genevieve, absorbing all seven rural parishes in the county. That plan was poorly received, which some believe helped change the narrative.

Parish is no longer the main metric. Now its pastorate, a more squishy term, some at the meeting believed.

Currently, the archdiocese says some individual parishes may be their own pastorate, perhaps with some adaptations to church services due to priest availability, which seems most likely for large, suburban parishes. In another scenario, the archdiocese says two or more parishes would remain financially independent but become a new pastorate under one pastor or pastoral team, which seems likely for some rural and urban churches.

Only after we have discerned which communities ought to come together as a new pastorate can we begin the case-by-case examination of which structure is most prudent for each existing parish, the archdiocese says. No matter the chosen structure, some worship sites may no longer be used in the future.

Reporting signals those decisions will be hard to accept in Ste. Genevieve County, one of the most Catholic areas of the archdiocese.

Under the latest restructuring model, Our Lady, Help of Christians in Weingarten, Sts. James and Philip in River aux Vases and Sacred Heart in Ozora would still be with Ste. Genevieve Parish, which seats 960. Others  St. Joseph in Zell, St. Agnes in Bloomsdale and St. Lawrence in Lawrenceton  would be grouped together.

Nothing against Bloomsdale. Id rather stay here in Zell. Our roots are here, said Paul Flieg, 59, a farmer whose family name dates to at least 1869 in town records.

Its a sacred building on sacred ground, added his wife, Mickey, 50.

Their 17-year-old son, Dennis, who was killed in a tractor accident in 2013, is buried in the church cemetery, which also motivates them to fight for St. Joseph.

Joe Young, 66, of St. Agnes, said he had two canon lawyers on retainer and had spoken to several others. He shared a variety of documents with the group, including one that says a lack of priests isnt just cause to close a parish. Even though the archdiocese has one of the best ratios of priests per number of Catholics in the country, he encouraged everyone present to continue to work on their action plans to stay intact.

Time is getting short, he said.

Changing history

And yet time goes back the farthest here.

Ste. Genevieve, the oldest permanent European settlement in Missouri, was founded around 1740 by French-Canadians, including some who migrated from Illinois Country, just across the Mississippi River. Traders and explorers were drawn to the area by salt springs and lead.

They brought Catholicism with them. So did many of the German immigrants, who later came up the Mississippi River, primarily from New Orleans. Some were drawn to the town of Ste. Genevieve; most settled in surrounding farming communities like Zell.

Barbara McClurkin, author of Seventy-Five years of German Immigration to Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri: 1800-1875, said in a telephone interview that many traveled in large groups from the same regions in Germany, like Baden, which borders France along the Rhine River.

Most of them came hoping to establish a new Germany, she said. They brought their culture very much with them.

They built and supported churches that remain today.

The demographics and the dynamics have not changed in Ste. Genevieve County, for all intents and purposes, McClurkin said. The social and family contacts are still there. And they are still very much connected to those churches.

Throughout history, there have been various strategies to serve Catholics in remote Ste. Genevieve County that often included priests riding a circuit. The Rev. John Rothensteiner wrote in his 1928 history of the St. Louis Archdiocese, a two-volume set, that there were more than half a dozen towns in the area whose churches branched off from the old mother parish in Ste. Genevieve.

For instance, parishes in Bloomsdale, Lawrenceton and French Village, just across the border in St. Francois County, formed a ragged outline of an isosceles triangle, he wrote. At various times, the three churches were administered as one parochial entity that was united under the pastorship of one priest. In 1882, the priest lived in Bloomsdale, but visited his two missions of Lawrenceton and French Village in rotation every Sunday morning for the purpose of saying mass and performing the other functions of his pastoral office.

After a year of such strenuous missionary labor, Rothensteiner noted, the priest was transferred to Ste. Genevieve. His replacement lasted about four years in the same arrangement. Then Lawrenceton had a series of eight resident priests who also served the spiritual needs of St. Anne Catholic Church, 5 miles down the road in French Village.

During that era, Rothensteiner reported, Lawrenceton had 40 families, about the same as it has today  though families are much smaller. They lost their resident pastor in 1967. The priest at St. Agnes in Bloomsdale has kept them going since. Once a week, he drives 7 miles to Lawrenceton to celebrate Mass at St. Lawrence early Sunday morning, then rushes back.

Does the pope know?

Pershing Carron would like the same arrangement to continue in Lawrenceton, which, by his count, has 11 people in town, with dozens more off in the hills.

The Navy veteran is spry for 90. He sings in the choir. He rings the bell tower and watches over the grounds. He grew up there. He moved back with his wife in the 1990s, after raising a family in St. Charles and retiring from McDonnell Douglas as a machinist.

It always had a tender spot in my heart, he said.

His great-grandfather helped establish the original church, dedicated in 1872. Forty-five years later, the community persevered to rebuild after a tornado destroyed the church in 1917.

Now, Carron doesnt think St. Lawrence can overcome what he described as a global churchs failure to modernize.

I hate to go into all this, but part of it originates in Rome, he said. The first thing: Is the pope so oblivious that all of this is going on?

He said the lack of priests reflects a lack of awareness at the Vatican.

The pope says we cant have women for pastors. We cant have married people for pastors. And who knows more about family life than a husband and wife? he said. When are we going to take our blinders off and see what the real world is about?

As is, he said, St. Lawrence only has a couple families with children these days and hasnt had a baptism in a while. But its a devoted flock. Financially, the congregation is in decent shape. They still pay tuition for their youths to attend Catholic schools in Bloomsdale.

And Carron said the brick church doesnt have any major flaws. Nor do the outbuildings, used to host a famous annual fried chicken feast  though not last year. On recent days, the grass was freshly cut, with mulch spread nice and tidy around the base of trees. The cemetery also looked well taken care of.

I truly feel, and Id hate to see this, that this church will be shut down, said Carron, out in the graveyard, where his ancestors are buried. Our problem is, if it closes, what do you do with a building like this?

Continued presence

Bob Palmer isnt Catholic, but as president of Bloomsdale Bank, which dates to 1914, he and the board of directors have faced similar obstacles regarding branch offices.

Consolidation may be cheaper, he said, but not better.

Its that sense of community in a Zell, a Bloomsdale, and Ozora that people want to be a part of, Palmer, 65, said from his desk. Youve got to be where the people are.

And available. His office door was open. He takes random calls.

If you want to call Bloomsdale Bank, just pick up the phone, he said. If you want to talk to the president of the bank, just ask for him.

Residents around Ozora have had that kind of access for more than 20 years at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

Father knows everybody by name  Sister, too, said Tom Otte, 63, who lives on a century farm where he grew up. They get along with everybody. Its unreal.

The Rev. Jim Schaefer, 93, and Sister Agnes Marie Keena, 80, came to Sacred Heart from St. Norbert Catholic Church in Florissant more than 20 years ago. They are both active.

I love what I am doing, and I feel like I am making a difference  and I still have the energy, said Sister Agnes.

She had previous stints in Dubuque, Iowa; Wichita, Kansas; Chicago; Kansas City; and St. Louis, where she was raised. She described the Sacred Heart congregation as alive in Christ.

People know each other. They talk to each other. They dont just leave and go on their merry way. They are interested in what people are doing, she said. I never thought Id like rural. I love this. The people. You really are part of their families.

She said she has written Rozanski about her concerns for the parishioners.

I was positive, but I dont feel they are being listened to, she said. I wish he wouldnt have gone down this road. I wish hed gone a little slower.

Sister Agnes served as a school principal in the archdiocese for 47 years. When enrollment fell to 15 students at Sacred Heart elementary, it closed in 2014.

The people decided, she said. That makes a difference. It was hard, but people understood. (Now), its almost like they are imposing closure.

If the church is going to die, she prefers a natural death.

People are more prepared, she said.

But she said Sacred Heart still has a lot of life left in the 140 families that go there.

Most of them grew up here, she said. Their young kids are staying here, to farm, to take care of the land. We dont have many that move away.

Toni Grass, one of her former students, was an exception. She left to join a Roman Catholic religious order. In her early 30s, shes serving in Canada as Sister Rose Catherine.

Ottes son, Tommy, also got away. Hes an auditor in St. Louis. This fall, he hopes to enter Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in Shrewsbury to pursue becoming a priest in the St. Louis Archdiocese.

In a telephone interview, Tommy Otte, 23, recalled hearing Sacred Hearts bell tower from the pasture lands of his family farm. Because its a small parish, he said, everyone is counted on to participate in different ways. For him, that included being an altar server, singing in the youth choir and playing trumpet for Christmas Eve Mass every year.

He said church involvement, and being one of five students in his elementary school class, had a lot of impact on his spiritual life and eventual pursuit of the priesthood.

Especially Father Jim and Sister Agnes being around since I was born until now, he said. Their continued presence.

Growing rift

St. Joseph in Zell has served as an unofficial hub of the rural parishes in Ste. Genevieve County since a cornerstone was laid in 1845.

Its one of the longest continually running churches in the archdiocese.

While lay leaders from various congregations spoke calmly at their recent meeting at the firehouse in Zell, some parishioners were more raw.

Theres blood, sweat and tears in this area that no one will understand, Sharon Werner, 67, said of generational investment into the church and school.

Werner said she grew up in Zell, one of eight siblings. When her parents didnt want them to understand, they spoke in German. Her grandparents were neighbors. Three of her uncles from Zell became priests.

Its home, she said.

But she may find a different denomination. The threat of consolidation angers her too much.

If I wanted a mega church, I could find one, she said. Its real easy.

Her husband, Dennis, 68, agreed. He used to be an altar server at St. Lawrence when he was a boy. He said the lay deacon should be leaned on more to keep St. Joseph open.

That archbishop could send some hosts down here, he said of sacramental bread used for Holy Communion.

Angst over the situation has already significantly cut into their weekly offerings.

Rather than make financial donations to the archdiocese, which might be working to shut St. Joseph down, Mickey Flieg said a few parishioners are making direct payments to cover church utilities and other bills.

Its still tithing, but its not going to the archdiocese, she said.

Cheryl Bauman, 56, a retired elementary school principal who also served on a Catholic school board in the area, said its the people who have built and supported St. Joseph for generations.

They just need to leave us alone, she said. If the archbishop is truly listening to the parishioners, and he truly has their best interest at heart, things will stay the same.

Bauman said she has personally tried to reach Rozanski by telephone to express her concerns but hasnt gotten through. She said if he could prove that consolidating would save more souls, shed be on board. She fears the opposite.

Hes setting us up for hell if he goes through with this, she said. People are going to fall through the cracks.

Originally posted at noon Thursday, May 18.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

NEW YORK  Currently, many of New York Citys most sought-after reservations are at elegant, not to mention pricey, sushi counters. These omakase, or chefs choice menus, range from minimalist, traditional Japanese style meals, where the fish is simply brushed with soy sauce, to more creative offerings with powerful garnishes such as caviar and kimchi. In Japan, the pairing of choice is generally green tea or sake.

But in New York, high-end Japanese restaurants increasingly believe that wine and spirit pairings should be an option, too. Its important enough that new sushi spots like Joji at One Vanderbilt and Kotaru in Midtown West have installed beverage directors to help guide customers. Many places now offer expanded by-the-glass wine options. (Spoiler alert: If youre looking for one wine that pairs well with almost every sushi order, its Champagne.)

Some of the wine lists are extensive. At the Michelin-starred Sushi Noz on the Upper East Side, there are almost 1,000 options, ranging from funky juras from France to fancy bubbles. Beverage director Gene Sidorov explains that the restaurants goal was to become not only a sushi- but a wine-lovers destination. Around 90% of the list is dedicated to wine; the remainder is sake. Sidorov adds that wines provide a more diverse and unique beverage pairing option to accompany chef Nozomu Abes dishes, which are often inspired by global travels. For instance, his signature grilled langoustine in bouillabaisse was created after a trip to Spain.

While Nozs list is far-ranging, others are directed. When the stylish omakase spot Noda moved to the Flatiron District a year ago, beverage director Jonathan Adler introduced a Champagne-only drinks pairing, which includes five different pours. Adler believes its the optimal accompaniment because the wines effervescence allows the taste of the fish to linger harmoniously with the flavor of the Champagne.

A specific sushi beverage pairing depends on a number of factors: the type of seafood; if its been aged and, if so, for how long; whether its been seasoned with soy sauce; whether its been garnished with fiery wasabi. But there are some overall guidelines that can help ensure that you arent ruining the pricey fish thats about to be handed to you. Bloomberg Pursuits chatted with drink experts at some of New Yorks most acclaimed sushi parlors for their best pairing alternatives to ubiquitous sake.

Fatty tuna like chu-toro or o-toro

The pairing: Dry rose Champagne or a floral shochu such as SG KomeWhy: A deeply flavored rose Champagne is a wonderful accompaniment to fattier sushi, especially luxurious o-toro. Louis Andia, general manager at Nakaji on the Bowery, prefers an aged Champagne (his pricey recommendation is a Dom Perignon rose). He says the fishs unctuousness stands up to the tannins, while the acidity cuts the fattiness. Alternatively he recommends shochu, the Japanese grain liquor, in particular one which will have notes of yeast and melon.

Shellfish like ebi (shrimp) or scallop (hotate)

The pairing: An herbaceous French sauvignon blanc, such as Pascal JolivetWhy: A well-chilled glass of sauvignon blanc, says Sushi of Gari manager Tomomi Hiroishi, is the best pairing for sweet shellfish. Hes especially keen on French Sancerre, like the one made by Pascal Jolivet, which has notes of berries and green fruits, but it isnt so strong that it overpowers the sweetness of an option such as shrimp.

Lean and mild-flavored fish, like ika (squid) or kinmedia (golden eye snapper)

The pairing: Champagne, preferably a blanc de blancs, such as Champagne Larmandier-Bernier or Krug grand cuvee Why: A nonvintage Champagne with subtly nuanced flavors works with the delicate taste of leaner fish. Nodas Adler says that the chardonnay grapes in a blanc de blancs provides wonderful acidity and minerality to allow the flavors of the nigiri, and its delicate taste, to shine through.

Semifatty fish, like kanpachi (amberjack) or hamachi

The pairing: Champagne, preferably an aged one such as Veuve Clicquot La Grand Dame Why: The effervescence, acidity and full-bodied nature of an aged Champagne pairs well with the buttery and velvety texture of fish with a bit of richness. Benjamin Shiau, general manager and sommelier of Kotaru, says the ideal sparkling pairing should also have a yeasty, briochelike aroma with some stone fruit, too.

Roes, like uni or ikura (salmon roe)

The pairing: A nutty-tasting Champagne, such as Vilmart & Cie. or Chartogne-Taillet Why: Sushi Nozs Sidorov believes that creamy uni goes well with an especially textural and savory Champagne. He says to look for one thats savory and not too acidic with oxidated flavors that will balance the uni while still carrying its salty minerality.

Oily fish, like saba (mackerel) or aji (horse mackerel)

The pairing: A high-acid sauvignon blanc, like Villa Russiz Superiores CollioWhy: To contrast the richness of the fish, Hisanori Yamamoto, vice president of Icca in Tribeca, suggests a fruity wine with enough acidity to offer contrast. Youll appreciate the way the wines acidity cuts through the oiliness of the saba, creating a perfect match, he says.

Sweet seafood, like unagi (freshwater eel) or anago (sea eel)

The pairing: An acid-forward rose from France, such as Domaine Tempier BandolWhy: Junxi Chen, head sommelier at the new Joji that opened in Midtown in partnership with chef Daniel Boulud, recommends drinking a rose with enough acidity that can balance out the fatty flavor and texture of eel. Look for one thats rich and savory, yet full of bright red fruit and resinous herbs, like Domaine Tempier Bandol.

Tamago (rolled omelet)

The pairing: Whisky, such as the Macallan Rare CaskWhy: Tamago is the traditional ending for most omakase meals. So Takuya Kubo, head chef of Sushi Ginza Onoderas New York outpost, suggests concluding with a high-proof spirit such as a good whisky. He believes that one with smoky notes will accentuate the eggs natural sweetness. Kubo particularly likes the Macallan Rare Cask because of its deep flavors of raisin and chocolate.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

(CNN)  Just a week after her return to the United States Senate after a roughly three month absence, questions continue to swirl around Sen. Dianne Feinstein and her mental capacity to serve in the worlds greatest deliberative body.

The 89-year-old Democrat had been recovering from shingles at home in California, and had been absent from the Hill since February.

Her long-awaited return on May 10 not only meant that the Senate Democratic Caucus would be at full attendance  since both Feinstein and Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman had been absent for much of the spring  but that the one-seat margin Democrats held on the powerful Judiciary Committee would be reconstituted to help advance President Joe Bidens judicial nominations.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer greeted the frail Feinstein personally upon her return, when she was wheeled into the Capitol for a vote accompanied by staff on and off the floor. Schumer said Feinstein was exactly where she wants to be, ready to do the things she loves the most  serving the people of California. First elected to the Senate in 1992, she is the longest-serving woman senator in US history.

But questions quickly sprang up on whether Feinstein, though present, would really be able to resume her demanding job. In a statement released by her office last week, Feinstein said that she is still experiencing some side effects from shingles and her doctors have advised her to work a lighter schedule as she returned to the Senate. During her arrival at the Capitol for votes, she appeared confused and was heard asking staff, Where am I going?

And in an interaction with reporters Tuesday, as reported by the Los Angeles Times and Slate, Feinstein appeared confused by questions about her absence, saying, I havent been gone. Ive been here, Ive been voting. Please, either know or dont know. It is not clear if Feinstein was referring to just the past week since her return or referring to the past several months while she was recovering at home.

Feinsteins office was asked for comment but indicated the senator did not have one at this time.

Fellow Democrats remain unwilling to discuss Feinsteins ability to serve, saying only they are glad to have a colleague back in the chamber.

Im happy shes returned, and thats all Im going to say about it, Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono told CNN.

Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, who replaced Feinstein as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said, We certainly hope that Feinstein will be able to serve the remainder of her term in the chamber, but demurred when asked if he is confident that she can serve.

I cant be the judge of that. But I will tell you that she has to make that decision for herself and her family as to going forward, but were happy to have her back, he said. Were monitoring her medical condition almost on a daily basis. Our staff is in touch with her staff.

The top Republican on the panel, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said of Feinstein, Shes a dear friend. As a friend, you can see shes hurting.

Other Republicans echoed that sentiment, wishing Feinstein well, but reluctant to weigh in on her mental acuity.

I have a lot of respect for Dianne Feinstein. Shes been great to work with. Shes a great committee member, North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis told CNNs Manu Raju, but said that I havent had the chance to speak with her, so I couldnt really comment on it.

If you just take a look at anybody that spent ten months with a chronic case of shingles, that has a huge impact, I dont care how old you are, but again I just havent spoken with her, he said.

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn said that he is not qualified to render a diagnosis, but criticized some Democrats for calling on her to resign.

That seems a little harsh to me. I think that decision ought to be made by Senator Feinstein, he said.

Questions about a Senators health, and whispers about their fitness to serve, are not new. In the past decades, the median age of the Senate has ticked increasingly upward, with the 118th Congress median age at 65.3 years, according to the Pew Research Center.

The current Senate has multiple members in their eighties, including Feinstein, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley. Another 41 Senators are at least sixty-seven years old, the official retirement age in the United States.

In recent years, there have been prolonged absences by members of the Senate, notably Arizona Sen. John McCain, who battled brain cancer and was absent from the Senate almost eight months, but never faced calls from his colleagues to resign his seat.

The late Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran was also out for several weeks with lingering health issues in the fall of 2017, and faced questions about his metal fitness, appearing frail and pale when he returned. The then-chairman of the influential Senate Appropriations Committee, told reporters that he was fit to serve, and said at the time that he planned to run again in 2020, saying its up to the people to decide. I think I am.

But the 79-year old Republican needed to be guided by staffers to a Senators Only elevator to find his way to the Senate floor. Cochran resigned from the Senate the following March.

I regret my health has become an ongoing challenge, Cochran said in a statement announcing the end of a four-decade long career in the Senate. I intend to fulfill my responsibilities and commitments to the people of Mississippi and the Senate through the completion of the 2018 appropriations cycle, after which I will formally retire from the U.S. Senate.

It is unclear if Feinstein will be given the same gentle off ramp afforded to her colleagues.

On November 2020, Feinstein relented to pressure from other Democrats to give up the chair of the Judiciary Committee. In November 2022, under similar pressure, she announced that she would not want to serve as the Senate Pro Tempore, a high-ranking constitutional position granted to the longest-serving member of the Senate majority. Feinstein also announced the following February that she would not run for re-election in 2024. Her February 16, 2023 votes on the Senate floor would prove to be her last ones for months.

Criticisms for Feinsteins long absence started in earnest in April when fellow California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna tweeted, its time for @SenFeinstein to resign. We need to put the country ahead of personal loyalty. Feinsteins office pushed back on the criticism, arguing that there had not been a significant delay in advancing and confirming judicial nominees.

After Fetterman and McConnell  who was injured in a fall and spent nearly two weeks in a rehabilitation facility  returned to the Senate, but Feinstein did not, it prompted more questions about the impasse created by her absence and Feinstein asked Schumer to temporarily replace her on the Judiciary Committee. Schumer proposed that Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin take her spot, but Senate Republicans blocked the effort, saying the move would allow judicial nominees they opposed to advance.

The-CNN-Wire

 &  2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

MILAN (AP)  Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi was discharged on Friday from a Milan hospital, nearly a month and a half after he was admitted with a lung infection.

Berlusconi waved at journalists from behind a closed window as his car drove away from the San Raffaele Hospital. He arrived shortly later at his villa in the suburb of Arcore.

The 86-yeaer-old three-time former premier and media mogul has been treated for chronic leukemia, in addition to the lung infection that landed him in the hospital on April 5.

Berlusconis Forza Italia Party is part of Premier Giorgia Melonis right-wing coalition, but he currently has no cabinet posts. He holds a seat in the senate.

Meloni, who is in Japan for a Group of Seven summit, greeted Berlusconi's return home with a social media message, telling Berlusconi, We are waiting in the field to fight many battles together.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Pierce Brosnan has attempted to write about himself many times, but its through painting that the artist truly feels he can fully express himself.

(The artwork) is biographical. Ive tried to write the memoirs, and its so boring. Its just having to dig into the head and the heart and the memory of life. And so these paintings definitely have a history of who I was, where I was, when I was, said the actor.

Brosnan is publicly unveiling his most vulnerable role yet, hosting his first solo art exhibition  which runs through May 21 in Los Angeles. Titled So Many Dreams, its a collection of paintings and drawings that the actor created between the 1980s and present day.

Painting isnt a new pandemic hobby or venture that the actor is just now tackling head-on. Although best known for playing James Bond and starring in other classics, Brosnan began pursuing the visual arts as a young boy living in Ireland.

He would later move to the United States, landing where he would land the lead role on NBCs Remington Steele, which made Brosnan into a global household name and one of the most coveted actors in Hollywood.

I found myself living here, and I was strongly influenced by the L.A. artists of the early 80s. I had a certain desire and wish and a want to paint. I had the money to afford the art supplies, the canvas, the brushes, Brosnan said. I bought all these wonderful, wonderful art supplies, and they just ended up in a cupboard.

It wasnt until 1987, when Brosnans late wife, Australian actor Cassandra Harris, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer that Brosnan would dust off his painting supplies and began to use the art form as an emotional release and comfort for him and Harris.

One night, I got up, and I just started painting. I started painting with my fingers, said Brosnan, recalling how he would would paint while Harris recovered from chemotherapy treatments. She died in 1991, but the actor has kept that first work, titled One Dark Night and it hangs in the exhibit.

Primary colors stretch across a smudged black painted canvas and one can almost see the frustration and release that Brosnan must have felt. I went to the canvas to explore that dark rage, that kind of fractured pain that I had. But the color came out. And so the color balance to whatever that inner life was, he said.

While pops of bright colors factor prominently in Brosnans art, he says he doesnt wish to categorize his collection.

Someone else can categorize it. Its not up for me to define it. Its the audience. Its they who want to criticize or celebrate the work, he said.

Brosnan credits his wife, journalist and documentarian Keely Shaye Brosnan, for giving him the courage and push to publicly display his art.

Many of Brosnans paintings are a result of drawings that he creates while chatting on the phone.

My wife, Keely, bought these pads that sit by the phone with her initials, my initials. And soon as I am on a phone call, or Im doing business, and I have a morning of calls. The pad is there, and the drawings just happen. They just show themselves, so they have a mystery.

A wall of the exhibit features the drawings, many of which are faces that pop into his mind or photographs that he comes across. I look at that, and I think, who is this person. Who is this man? What is the meaning of these images, said the actor.

Brosnans first solo exhibit, thanks to a push from Keely and perfectly timed around the actors 70th birthday on Tuesday, is a celebration of his work and the dreams hes fulfilled during his time.

Its my own birthday gift to myself to have the courage to say, come and see my artwork, he said. I still have so many dreams. I have fulfilled coming to America. Creating a career for myself was a big dream and a gamble, and it paid off. So Many Dreams is a love story. Its a love story of women who have influenced my life and my children and the art form that I make as an actor, he added.

The exhibit has helped Brosnan see the totality of his work and he says he can now work my way out of the weeds and trying to define it and trying to grow as an artist, as a painter.

Brosnan wants to branch out into other art forms, ceramics, pottery, sculpture and even wood carvings.

This is definitely a transitional moment in my life as an actor, as an artist ... and that fills me with an exhilaration of expectations and desires and wants. And we shall see where the wind takes us.

But Brosnan does have one solution to his failed attempts at writing a memoir.

I think a book of paintings would be nice. It would be a coffee table book with a painting and then 500 words or more about that period in time, that person. That kind of that appeals to me.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

ST. LOUIS  It passed by a wide margin with little debate or dissent. The moment offered barely a hint of the long, difficult effort to achieve simple fairness at city lunch counters.

The occasion was the St. Louis Board of Aldermen's 20-4 vote on May 19, 1961, to ban racial discrimination at restaurants, diners, taverns, theaters and other places of public accommodation. Mayor Raymond R. Tucker praised the vote as a "significant step forward." If the four aldermen who voted against it spoke out, the City Hall reporters didn't consider the quotes worth using.

But it had been too long in becoming ordinance. Seven years earlier, the board voted 17-10 to protect the notion that business owners could refuse service for reasons of race or creed. Since World War II, the city's small bloc of black aldermen had been proposing a public-accommodations bill so that blacks could sip coffee and eat hamburgers alongside whites. Every year but 1954, when it was voted down, the idea would "die in committee."

Peaceful sit-ins at local lunch counters wore down the old attitudes. But the demonstrators had to do a lot of sitting, sometimes in jail. On July 8, 1944, black and white women with the Citizens Civil Rights Committee went to the busy lunchrooms in the big downtown department stores. The blacks were refused service. When whites passed food to their black friends, the lunchrooms closed for the day.

In the 1950s, Catholic, Jewish and mainline Protestant leaders urged aldermen to end segregation. So did Jordan Chambers, a longtime political leader referred to in the newspapers of the day as the "negro mayor of St. Louis." But hotelkeepers and restaurateurs said it would drive away business. In 1955, William Flori, a leader of the Tavern Owners' Association, pleaded, "We've got enough trouble in our taverns the way it is."

Within a few years, protesters were taking seats at Pope's Cafeteria downtown, the F.W. Woolworth's in midtown and Howard Johnson's at 3501 North Kingshighway. William L. Clay Sr., then a freshman alderman (and future congressman), was among those arrested in a lengthy series of sit-ins at the HoJo's in 1959. Some protesters were high school students.

Mayor Tucker said the city wouldn't prosecute blacks seeking "fair treatment," although he stopped short of condoning mass protests.

In October 1960, Pope's and five other downtown cafeterias relented. The Greater St. Louis Restaurant Association followed suit one month later, paving the way for an aldermanic change of heart. When the roll was called May 19, five aldermen who had opposed it in 1954 joined the new majority.
Bissell said deputies contacted Helms' fishing buddies, who told police they hadn't gone fishing with him that day but told them where he would usually go when he was alone.

Deputies found his truck and boat trailer parked on Big Woods Trail near a lake, about nine miles south of De Soto, Bissell said.

A police dog tracked his scent down to the water and police located his body in the lake just after midnight Wednesday.

The medical examiner's office said it would take 8-12 weeks to determine how Helms died, but police do not suspect foul play. Bissell said his death was not connected to the fatal fire in De Soto that happened around the same time Wednesday.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

ST. LOUIS COUNTY  Police on Friday arrested a teenage murder suspect who is charged with killing a Berkeley woman and injuring two people earlier this month.

Emonne Dillon, 19, is being held in the St. Louis County jail on $500,000 cash bail. Dillon lives in the 8500 block of Red Fir Drive in Berkeley.

St. Louis County prosecutors charged Dillon on Thursday with first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree assault and other felonies.

On May 2, officers found Jayla Farr, 21, lying in a driveway in the 10400 block of Halls Ferry Road. The two surviving victims  an 18-year-old woman and a 14-year-old boy  were found inside a home.

Farr lived in Berkeley on Abbott Drive.

Witnesses told police they saw Dillon shoot the three victims, and continue firing shots into the home, according to court documents.

Police had been called to the home on Halls Ferry Road just before 9:30 p.m. that night after several people got into a fight. St. Louis County police Sgt. Tracy Panus said the teenage boy was treated for minor injuries, and the woman was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Dillon was charged with unlawful use of a weapon in April 2022 in St. Louis County. According to court records, he twice failed to show up in court for a hearing. A judge issued an arrest warrant for Dillon after his second failure-to-appear April 24, 2023. Nine days later, Farr was slain.
UNITED NATIONS, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The UN warned Thursday that insufficient global progress in disaster risk reduction is jeopardizing the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and called for more concerted efforts to address the issue effectively.

"Our world is at a defining point in history. As we review our journey halfway to 2030, we must acknowledge that progress has been weak and insufficient," UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told the General Assembly on Thursday.

Representatives of countries are gathering at the UN headquarters in New York to review progress on implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction -- a landmark 2015 agreement to reduce damage, losses and deaths from natural and man-made hazards by the end of the decade.

As countries did not meet climate and sustainable development commitments, natural disasters that could have been prevented have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions to be uprooted, mainly women, children, and other vulnerable groups, said Mohammed.

The situation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the "triple crisis" of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, the rising cost of living, skyrocketing inequality and the Ukraine crisis, she added.

The high-ranking UN official continued to note that further threats stem from structural governance omissions within the banking and global financial systems, while scientists warn of cascading and irreversible impacts of global warming.

"Addressing these challenges means changing our response to risk through systemic thinking, collaborative action, and the smart, agile deployment of responses to prevent, manage and mitigate global risks," she said.

For General Assembly President Csaba Korosi, the midterm review was the "last chance before 2030 to collectively change course," underscoring the critical need for action.

Korosi noted that recent events, such as the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria, as well as the devastating Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar and Bangladesh, have demonstrated that "disasters know no borders."

Addressing disaster risks and bolstering resilience have become "a priority for all countries," irrespective of their geographic location, he added.

Reflecting on the progress made since the adoption of the Sendai Framework in 2015, Korosi acknowledged that the international community's efforts have not kept pace with the urgency of the current situation, calling for "a fundamental reevaluation" of the decision-making processes and systems.

He emphasized the need to align global actions with the finite nature of natural resources and to account for the true costs of the choices of countries.

Korosi also stressed the importance of shifting away from profit-driven approaches and towards "inclusive and sustainable development."

Mami Mizutori, the head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, noted that it has not been all storm and strife since 2015.

For example, she said, a growing number of governments have established or upgraded national loss accounting systems, and there has been a significant increase in the number of countries with national strategies for disaster risk reduction.

However, progress remains unequal. Risks that become disasters continue to disproportionately impact the world's least developed countries, small island developing states, landlocked developing and African countries, as well as middle-income countries, Mizutori said.

With risks left unattended and disasters outpacing our capacity to manage, the consequences for individuals, communities, and ecosystems are becoming increasingly severe, said Mizutori, noting that "the imperative to realize the outcome, goal and targets of the Sendai Framework is more important today than ever before."

This point was further emphasized by Mustafa Kemal Kilinc from Turkiye, who survived the devastating earthquake in February that killed upwards of 50,000 people.

"I am here today because our building did not collapse. This is because our contractor had applied high standards to make our building earthquake resistant," said the 23-year-old university student.

"We cannot predict natural disasters. But we can certainly be prepared whenever and wherever they happen," he said. "I hope that as a result of your work, there will be fewer disaster victims like me around the world." 
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

St. LOUIS  Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Friday appointed Gabe Gore, a civil attorney with deep civic connections here, to rebuild a city prosecutors office in disarray following the abrupt resignation of Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner earlier this week.

Gore, 54, has been a partner at the high-powered and politically connected Dowd Bennett law firm for years, served on the Ferguson Commission following protests over the 2014 death of Michael Brown and worked as an assistant U.S. attorney prosecutor in the 1990s.

We believe Mr. Gore is a qualified and experienced leader our great city of St. Louis needs for this new day and this historical opportunity for change, Parson said at a St. Louis courthouse Friday.

Gores appointment comes at the end of a chaotic week in the city courts. Gardner abruptly resigned on Tuesday, about two weeks earlier than expected, leaving the office without a permanent leader. Parson tapped his general counsel to serve as an interim circuit attorney until he could appoint a replacement and asked Missouri Attorney General Andrew Baileys office for help handling cases.

Gore will take over an office that has roughly a third of the staff attorneys as when Gardner took office in 2017 with a fraction of the experience. He will grapple with cases that have been repeatedly delayed due to understaffing, a backlog that still hasnt been cleared since the COVID-19 pandemic, and thousands of charges submitted by police that havent yet been reviewed.

Gore pledged to focus on growing a dedicated staff while fostering relationships with the community and regional leaders.

Working together, I am confident that we can build a prosecutors office here that is one of the highest performing in the country, he said.

Leaders throughout the region, including business groups, law enforcement and both Democratic and Republican politicians, applauded Parsons choice.

Gore did not divulge his political affiliation on Friday but has donated almost exclusively to committees supporting Democrats in the past two decades. He was also identified as a Democrat when he was appointed to the board for his alma mater, Missouri State University. Parson said Gore would return seriousness to the office and bring back law and order.

Gores last day at Dowd Bennett will be next Friday, and he will be sworn in as circuit attorney the following week. He will serve out the remainder of Gardners term, which ends Jan. 1, 2025, but he said he has not decided if he will run for reelection.

That is not something Im focused on right now, he said.

Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, a longtime ally of Gardner who in recent months said Gardner needed to do some soul-searching to decide if she wanted to be circuit attorney, said Gore has her support.

If he decides to run, I would absolutely (vote for him), she said. Ive known Gabe for a long time.

Gore grew up in Detroit before moving to St. Louis at 14. He graduated from what is now Missouri State in 1991 where he was a track and cross-country athlete and got his law degree from the University of Chicago in 1994. He had future President Barack Obama as a professor, according to an article on Missouri State Universitys website.

Gore clerked for Judge John R. Gibson in the U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit and then worked starting in 1995 as a federal prosecutor under his current law partner and then U.S. Attorney Ed Dowd.

Dowd and Gore were tapped in 1999 by former U.S. Sen. John Danforth, a Republican, to work on the federal investigation into the 1993 government raid on the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas.

Gore became a partner at the high-powered Bryan Cave law firm in 2005. In 2008, he was rumored to be on the list of people to succeed outgoing U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway.

Gore joined Dowd at his Dowd Bennett firm in 2010 and handled multiple high-profile cases, including a case in which he successfully defended Anheuser-Busch against claims from a female former executive that she was paid less than her male counterparts.

He was also part of a team of attorneys that represented former Republican Gov. Eric Greitens during a lawsuit claiming the governor violated the states open records law by using an app that deleted text messages.

Dowd said in an interview that Gore is a great lawyer in every respect.

Hes very intelligent and a quick study, and hes got common sense, Dowd said. He knows how to put the law together with the facts and come up with a very persuasive argument  whether its to a judge or jury.

In 2014, Gore served on the Ferguson Commission in the wake of uprisings over the police killing of Brown. He said at the time his hope was that the outcome of the unrest will be that we grow stronger and more connected as a community. Gore was also a founding board member of KIPP charter schools and has served on Missouri State Universitys board.

Parson, a Republican, selected Gore on Thursday out of 18 applicants.

He brings an abundance of legal experience, experience as a prosecutor, managerial leadership, and common sense beliefs in law and order that would be critical in the effective restructure of this office, Parson said Friday.

Parson said he did not care about Gores political affiliation and was impressed that he was willing to leave his lucrative role at Dowd Bennett to become circuit attorney.

To give up that and to be able to do this says a lot for the character of somebody, Parson said. Hes putting the city of St. Louis before a high-profile law firm and money.

Parson added that Gore and his wife, Nicole Gore, also a lawyer, raised children in St. Louis and still live in the city today.

Mr. Gore has a tall task ahead of him, but we are confident he is the right man at the right time to do right by the people of St. Louis, Parson said.

Erin Heffernan of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

Kim Gardner abruptly resigns, Parson appoints temporary replacement in St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner announced Tuesday she would resign immediately  two weeks earlier than expected.

Kim Gardner tried to grant Wesley Bell all powers of her office before abrupt resignation The order would have given Wesley Bell the full powers of the Circuit Attorney's Office, but no judge had signed it when Kim Gardner resigned.

Messenger: Itll take help across boundaries to solve the homicide problem in St. Louis It takes cops, social workers, prosecutors and medical pros working together to treat a public health crisis. In St. Louis, the homicide problem also will take working across city and county boundaries.

Problems from Kim Gardners tenure stretch into first day without her in St. Louis courts New faces swept in to help mop up St. Louis courts on Wednesday, the first day in six years Kim Gardner was not the top prosecutor in the city. But court proceedings remained largely the same.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

ST. LOUIS  The head of a new city government division created to investigate police misconduct and complaints in the jail has resigned over transparency concerns.

Matthew Brummund, an ex-FBI agent serving as commissioner of the citys Division of Civilian Oversight, confirmed his resignation as commissioner to the Post-Dispatch on Thursday. His letter, obtained by the Post-Dispatch, states his last day is May 31.

When asked if the resignation was due to well-documented concerns by jail board members about transparency and access issues, Brummund said, Completely.

The Division of Civilian Oversight was established last summer to increase accountability and trust between officers and the community. It took over control of two existing civilian groups: one for the jail, and one for city police, both of which have subpoena power. The boards, heavily promoted by Mayor Tishaura O. Jones when the division was established, are intended to review complaints for officer misconduct and use-of-force incidents.

Jail board members have complained for months that jail commissioner Jennifer Clemmons-Abdullah has kept them from accessing records and other information to which theyre entitled, and she has kept them from touring the facility to investigate complaints. Previously, the Post-Dispatch reported how Clemons-Abdullah tried to sidestep the states public records laws to keep some records, such as the facilitys use-of-force reports a secret.

Mayor Jones did not return a request for comment Thursday.

Brummund outlined his concerns in his resignation letter, obtained by the Post-Dispatch.

I believe that the Detention Facility Oversight Board will not be allowed to effectively function as an oversight body as it was intended, and that even if the current objections  were resolved, new objections would take their place, Brummund wrote. I hope I am proven wrong, as I still believe in the importance of Civilian Oversight in bridging the divide between law enforcement and our community.

The chair of the jail board, Janis Mensah, said Brummund was the divisions most supportive ally in improving the conditions at the jail.

Mensah also previously stated in a meeting that they were forcibly removed by one of the jails staff when they tried to visit the jail this month during a scheduled visit.

I am deeply ashamed to see such a capable and qualified director forced out. Mayor Tishaura Jones, Interim Director of Public Safety Charles Coyle, and Warden Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah have made it clear that the lives of those inside the jail are not their priority, Mensah wrote in a statement. We all deserve more, and we will get it.

Mike Milton, a jail board member appointed last year by Mayor Jones, said Brummunds resignation was disappointing and he had no faith in the citys civilian oversight and accountability efforts.

Matthew was a champion for us and, its even more clear that the city has no interest in this board performing its mandate, Milton said.

While jail board members pleaded with Mayor Jones in recent months to intervene and help the jail board obtain access to records, the other plank of the Division of Civilian Oversight  the police board  has not met at all since the Division of Civilian Oversight was established.

City police unions filed a lawsuit the day after Jones signed the bill. The suit was dismissed in March, and the board was slated to resume meetings in June, said police board member Bradley Arteaga.

But they now worry that Brummunds resignation will delay things further.

This hit us out of nowhere, Arteaga said. Its a shame because we do work hard at what we do  and now we are going to get pushed back again for however long it takes to find a new commissioner.

Stephen Rovak, another police board member, said there wasnt much to say.

I have no idea where the board is going to go, or whether there will be a board, Rovak said.

Alderman Shameem Clark-Hubbard, who sponsored the bills creating the Division of Civilian Oversight and fought for its validity against the police unions, was unaware of Brummunds resignation when contacted on Thursday. She said she needed to convene with Brummund and city officials for more information on what happened and how to move forward.

Working to ensure the jail board members do not resign would be a priority for the citys public safety committee, said Alderman Rasheed Aldridge. After being elected last year following his tenure as a state representative, Aldridge is now vice chair of the citys public safety committee.

We need that extra set of eyes, said Aldridge. I think its healthy for us to ensure we have a strong police force outside of just the departments eyes.

Jail board member the Rev. Darryl Gray said an emergency meeting has been scheduled for Monday evening to discuss the jail boards future.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

ST. LOUIS  A nationwide class action lawsuit was settled this week by two car manufacturers blamed for an unprecedented surge of auto thefts that began last year in St. Louis and across the country.

Kia and Hyundai will pay more than $200 million for about 9 million vehicles that lack a standard anti-theft security device, allowing thieves to break into and drive off in many models of the cars in less than 90 seconds. The size of the car manufacturers' total payout will depend on how many eligible drivers apply for repayment.

Owners can receive up to $6,125 for out-pocket-damages, including the total loss of their car. They're also eligible for up to $3,375 for personal property, insurance-related expenses and other expenses such as alternative transportation.

Car owners can fill out a form at www.hbsslaw.com/cases/hyundai-kia-usb-car-theft-defect to determine if they're eligible.

Rates of stolen Kias and Hyundais exploded in the St. Louis region last year  a trend also seen nationally because of a viral TikTok video that shows how to break into and drive off in many 2011-21 models of the South Korean-made vehicles using just a screwdriver and a USB charging cable. The method can be used on some models of those cars because manufacturers did not install engine immobilizers, an electric anti-theft security device that prevents most vehicles from being started unless a code is transmitted from the vehicles smart key.

The surge in thefts put a strain on local resources, and police tied stolen cars to violent crimes including shootings and deadly hit-and-runs. St. Louis officials in March followed other municipalities across the country and filed a federal lawsuit, separate from the class action lawsuit, against the manufacturers.

Erin McGowan, an associate St. Louis city counselor, told the Post-Dispatch on Friday she could not comment on the status of that lawsuit because the city cannot discuss pending litigation.

As part of Thursday's class-action settlement, a software upgrade will be automatically installed when an eligible car is brought into a dealership for any kind of maintenance or repairs, according to the four law firms representing the plaintiffs in the case.

Only some models of Kia and Hyundai are eligible for the upgrade. Owners of cars that aren't eligible but also don't have engine immobilizers can receive reimbursement of up to $300 to pay for the installation of a glass breakage alarm, other anti-theft systems or steering wheel lock.

We believe this settlement offers comprehensive, welcome relief for the class that will serve as a lesson to automakers to not overlook such integral, basic safety features, said Roland Tellis, an attorney with the law firm Baron & Budd, in a statement.

The two car manufacturers, owned by the same parent company, said on Thursday in a statement they appreciated the opportunity to "provide additional support" to car owners.

The number of Kias and Hyundais stolen in St. Louis in 2022 (3,958) surpassed the number of all cars stolen in 2021 (3,874). In all, 7,393 cars were reported stolen in 2022 in the city, a 91% increase from the previous year.

So far this year, rates have remained high in the St. Louis area but have dipped significantly from last year's peak. St. Louis police have reported 1,089 stolen Kia and Hyundais in the city through the end of April. This time last year, that number was 147, as thefts did not begin to increase until May 2022.

Police have tied the stolen cars to violent crimes, including shootings and deadly hit-and-runs, as well as damage to city property, including fire hydrants, street signs and traffic signals.

In a response to St. Louis officials' letter threatening a lawsuit, the companies insisted they were not responsible for the ballooning theft rates.

And as theft rates persisted, car insurance companies began to take action, as well. Progressive and State Farm late last year began declining to open new policies on Kias and Hyundais altogether in some parts of the U.S., including the St. Louis region, while drivers with existing plans were stuck paying increasingly high premiums.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

CLAYTON  A St. Louis County man was found guilty Thursday of murdering his ex-girlfriends new boyfriend after a trial that included dozens of threatening texts and accounts of the defendant slipping out of handcuffs and leading police on a 30-minute chase after the killing.

A jury found Christopher Bolden, 32, guilty of the lesser offense of second-degree murder along with four other weapons offenses after about three hours of deliberation Thursday. Prosecutors had charged Bolden with first-degree murder in the killing of 24-year-old Antonio Green, of Maplewood.

Prosecutors argued in the trial that Bolden shot Green when Bolden found Green with his ex-girlfriend and mother of his two children about 11:25 p.m. April 20, 2021, in a car outside a Spanish Lake home.

On the day of the killing, Bolden tried to call his ex 103 times and sent her a series of threatening texts, according to evidence admitted by prosecutors in the case.

Once I see you, Im hurting you, he texted the woman within an hour of the killing.

He did exactly what he said he was going to do, prosecutor Brianna Baldwin said in closing arguments Thursday. He showed up and he killed someone.

Defense attorney Michael Hufty admitted that Bolden shot Green, but asked the jury for reduced charges by arguing the shooting was done in self-defense.

Theres no plan, theres no pre-meditation, Hufty said.

Prosecutors presented video surveillance and cellphone records tracking Bolden on the day of the shooting.

He left work at Dave & Busters arcade in Maryland Heights shortly before 11 p.m. and went to the home in the 1100 block of Scott Avenue where he found his ex with Green.

Bolden then opened the back seat of the car, fired at least three shots and killed Green before turning the gun on his ex. He told the woman to say sorry, prosecutors said. She did and ran into the house before Bolden fled the scene in an Enterprise rental car.

Police tracked the rental to Bolden, and he was later arrested driving the car in Montgomery County, Illinois. But before he was booked, Bolden slipped out of handcuffs, discarded the murder weapon and led police on a 30-minute chase before he was arrested again.

Hufty in opening statements admitted that his client fled police.

Its almost like a Houdini routine, he said, describing the escape as the act of someone who is desperate.

Police interviews with Bolden played at trial showed he gave contradicting stories to St. Louis County police investigators. He first told them he killed Green to protect his childrens mother. He then admitted that wasnt true. Hufty argued at trial that Bolden shot Green because he saw Green grab at his waistband and worried he might have a gun.

Hufty also presented messages of arguments over money between Green and Bolden that included Green telling him to break bread or get dead.

Baldwin argued Bolden was guilty of first-degree murder, which requires jurors to find that a killing stems from cool reflection, no matter how brief.

He had raged out for days, Baldwin said of the fights between the two men. The mother of your child dating someone else is not grounds to kill someone.

Hufty said Thursday he was satisfied with the jury finding the lesser charge of second-degree murder in the case.

It confirms my faith in the jury system, he said.

The jury on Thursday also found Bolden not guilty of an additional weapons charge.

Greens parents said before the verdict Thursday that it was painful to sit through the trials self-defense arguments. They said Green had challenges in life, including chronic pain from a lifelong sickle cell disease that limited his ability to work, but was trying to get his life together and had gotten his own apartment when he was killed.

My two other sons are traumatized by this. My son was very loved, Greens mother, Semiko Latimore, said. This man is not the giver of life. How can he just take it?

Bolden is set to be sentenced in July in the case.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

EAST ST. LOUIS  Investigators with the Illinois State Police were searching Friday for a gunman after one person was shot and critically injured in a vehicle.

Trooper Jayme Bufford with the Illinois State Police would not say if the victim is a man or woman. Bufford also didn't release the victim's age.

The victim was discovered shot in a vehicle after 4 a.m. at State and 81st streets in East St. Louis. The person's injuries are life-threatening, Bufford said.

The State Police's Public Safety Enforcement Group is handling the investigation.

Learn about homicide victims and regional trends with this database Learn about homicide victims and regional trends with this database from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

ST. LOUIS  A suspect surrendered to police shortly after killing a 53-year-old man at a home in the Dutchtown neighborhood in south St. Louis, authorities said.

Charles Murphy, 53, was gunned down just after 9 p.m. at his home in the 5000 block of Virginia Avenue. Murphy died at the scene.

A 25-year-old man was at the house when officers arrived and surrendered to them, police said.

Police have not disclosed a motive for the shooting.

Learn about homicide victims and regional trends with this database Learn about homicide victims and regional trends with this database from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

ST. LOUIS  City aldermen on Friday condemned state lawmakers push to restrict transgender health care for minors as a disturbing assault on human rights and the practice of medicine.

Aldermen said Republican legislators proposal for a four-year ban on gender-affirming puberty blockers and hormone therapy would hurt everyday people trying to live their lives in peace, and pledged to do everything they can to defend affected residents.

We love you, said Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, of Old North St. Louis, and we will always fight for you when our Legislature will not.

Alderman Shane Cohn, of Dutchtown, said his resolution was the beginning of a larger effort to back trans residents. He said he and Alderwoman Daniela Velazquez, of Shaw, are working with advocates to determine what else can be done to help.

Kansas City officials have declared their city a sanctuary for gender-affirming care, directing city employees to refuse or deemphasize enforcement of any criminal or administrative penalties coming from the state.

But Cohn said some advocates in St. Louis are skeptical about how much that would really help.

The proposed law, which Gov. Mike Parson is expected to sign, does not contain criminal penalties. Instead, it subjects doctors, clinics and other providers of transgender health care to civil lawsuits from patients, and disciplinary action against their licenses.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Wrong lesson

After using a racial slur repeatedly in front of students, a teacher at Glendale High School in Springfield, Missouri, has resigned. Thats appropriate. Whats not appropriate is the schools suspension of the student who recorded it on her cellphone. Sophomore Mary Walton, 15, began recording after the teacher, who has not been publicly identified, began using the N-word in class during a conversation with other students.

Two of my classmates were talking and he just kind of got in their conversation, Walton told the Springfield News-Leader. He said something like Why are you allowed to say it and I am not? (Which, of course, isnt the airtight argument that white people who make it always seem to think it is.)

The teachers suspension and subsequent resignation appeared to be the end of the story  until the school told Walton she, too, was suspended for three days, the strongest punishment available under the schools disciplinary code for improper use of electronic devices in class. In a statement, the school said it has zero tolerance for the teachers conduct. That apparently goes for the student who exposed it as well.

Those snippy foreigners from Puerto Rico

Humberto Marchand did what a lot of his fellow Americans do when they want to rent a car. He went online, chose his car and prepaid to secure the rental. When Marchand reached his destination, the New Orleans international airport, he presented his drivers license and asked for his car. But the desk attendant demanded to see his passport because his license said he is from Puerto Rico. No matter how much Marchand tried to educate her about Puerto Ricans status as a U.S. citizens, she wouldnt budge.

Nor would Marchand. She threatened to call the cops. Marchand welcomed it, thinking that an officer steeped in the law would set her straight. No such luck. The cop was just as ignorant as the attendant. The officer even threatened to call the border authorities on Marchand.

Hertz initially backed its employee until some smart person somewhere did some reasearch. The company then came back with a statement saying that it accepts Puerto Rican drivers licenses from our customers renting in the U.S. without requiring a valid passport. Hertz said it apologized and refunded Marchands money.

As if Dianas death wasnt enough

Will those nut-case photographers not be satisfied until they achieve the same result with Harry and Meghan as they did with Harrys mother, Princess Diana? Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has long had a problem with paparazzi tracking his every movement. They did the same thing to Diana in 1997 after her divorce from then-Prince Charles. A crazed car/motorcycle chase through the streets of Paris ended with a crash that killed Diana and her companion at the time, wealthy businessman Dodi Fayed.

This week, Harry and his wife, Meghan, were leaving an awards ceremony in New York when paparazzi began tailing their car. The couples driver tried to give them the slip, but it didnt work. Even the New York City police got involved. According to the couples spokesperson, there were multiple near collisions that put the couple in danger as well as pedestrians.

Even if their account was slightly exaggerated, the lesson shouldve been learned a long time ago. Risking lives for a blurry photo simply isnt worth it. Let Harry and Meghan live in peace.

A Strange World called Florida

How ridiculous is Floridas new dont say gay law? This ridiculous: A Florida teacher who showed a Disney movie to some of her fifth-graders while their classmates were finishing standardized testing was put under state investigation because one of the characters in the animated film is gay.

The law prohibiting classroom discussion of LGBTQ issues  one of a series of transparently demagogic initiatives that Gov. Ron DeSantis has championed to promote his presidential aspirations  initially applied only up until the third grade but was recently expanded to include all students up to seniors in high school. Teacher Jenna Barbee says she didnt realize that when she showed Disneys Strange World to her fifth-graders.

The fact that one of the characters in the 2022 animated sci-fi flick is a gay character is a minor aside to the plot. But a parent who happens to be a local school board member complained. In theory, Barbee could have lost her job  though she had previously submitted her resignation anyway, due to the politics and the fear being spread in Florida schools by DeSantis policies, she told The Washington Post.

Tops in killing their own citizens

Executions around the world have reached a five-year high as some of the most oppressive and authoritarian governments double down on killing citizens as a way of instilling fear and ensuring no one steps out of line. Also joining that list is the worlds leading democracy, the United States of America, which did its part to help bump up the global toll to 883 known executions in 2022, according to a Amnesty International.

The top three countries were Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which accounted for 90% of all executions. China might have beaten them all, but its hard to tell because Beijing treats execution information as a state secret.

Iran, quelling dissent after authorities beat to death a woman for refusing to wear a hijab, showed an 86% increase in executions. Saudi Arabia doesnt just kill but actually dismembers recalcitrant people who dare to bruise the fragile egos of its royal family leadership.
People holding banners protest against the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima, Japan, May 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Guang)

Japan's military buildup in recent years often relies on diversionary tactics to shroud its intentions. However, the pretexts cannot conceal the country's own motives much longer from its increasingly aggressive behavior.

TOKYO, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Some Japanese decision-makers often tout the rhetoric of "pacifism," but a recent media kerfuffle has revealed how this "belief" is contradicted by Japan's assertive actions towards bolstering its defense and military ambitions.

Days before the Group of Seven Hiroshima summit, Japan's Foreign Ministry took issue with the headline used by the Time magazine for an interview with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, protesting that there were discrepancies between the headline and the contents of the article.

The digital issue of the article initially bore the headline "Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is turning a once pacifist Japan into a military power." In response to Tokyo's fluster, the U.S. magazine replaced the headline now reading that Kishida "is giving a once pacifist Japan a more assertive role on the global stage."

Meanwhile, Time has not changed the copy on the cover of the May 22-29 print edition, which features Kishida's photo along with text that reads "Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wants to abandon decades of pacifism -- and make his country a true military power."

Japan's military buildup in recent years often relies on diversionary tactics to shroud its intentions, such as hyping up the so-called "China threat." However, such pretexts cannot conceal the country's own motives much longer from its increasingly aggressive behavior.

In recent years, the Japanese government has lifted the ban on the right to collective self-defense, approved revisions to three national security documents for large-scale military expansion and ramped up weapon deployment in its remote southwestern islands. Meanwhile, it is chiming with some Western forces to form cliques and instigate military confrontation in the international community.

The alarming actions of the Japanese government contravene Japan's constitutional commitment to an exclusively defense-oriented policy and pacifism.

Historically, Japan once went down the wrong path of militarism, committed aggression and crimes against humanity, and brought untold disasters to the region and the world. Now the wrong and dangerous military expansion the Kishida government is seeking has heightened the vigilance of neighboring countries.

In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned on Japan's revision of three major security documents, calling it the Kishida government's "categorical rejection" of the concept of peaceful development upheld by his predecessors and a "return to the track of unscrupulous militarization." This shift, the ministry noted, would "inevitably raise new security challenges and lead to heightened tensions in the Asia-Pacific region."

The Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea pointed out that the Kishida government attempts to turn Japan into an "aggressive military power," and slammed Tokyo's adoption of the new security strategy for bringing a serious security crisis to the Korean Peninsula and East Asia.

The Kishida government claims to safeguard regional security, but in fact it provokes confrontation by constantly colluding with the United States and some other Western countries in an attempt to promote its own military expansion and to create an Asia-Pacific version of NATO.

Tokyo's pushback on the Time magazine shows that the headline really has hit the mark. The words of some Japanese politicians have increasingly struggled to mask their deeds of military expansion, revealing a troubling shift away from the country's post-war path of peaceful development.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina made it official Friday: He's running for president.

Scott, the Senate's only Black Republican, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring his intention to seek his party's nomination in 2024. His candidacy will test whether a more optimistic vision of Americas future can resonate with GOP voters who have elevated partisan brawlers in recent years.

The deeply religious 57-year-old former insurance broker has made his grandfathers work in the cotton fields of the Deep South a bedrock of his political identity. Yet he rejects the notion that racism remains a powerful force in society, and he has cast his candidacy and rise from generational poverty as the realization of a dream only possible in America.

Scott, who last month formed an exploratory committee allowing him to raise and spend money while weighing a White House campaign, has scheduled a formal announcement on Monday at Charleston Southern University, a private Baptist college and Scotts alma mater, in his hometown of North Charleston.

Scott already has scheduled TV ads to begin airing in the early voting states Iowa and New Hampshire early next week, the most significant advertising expenditure by a potential or declared candidate in the early stages of the 2024 nominating campaign.

Scott tries to focus on hopeful themes and avoid divisive language to distinguish himself from the grievance-based politics favored by those leading the GOP field, such as former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who hasn't yet entered the race but is expected to do so soon.

The senator refuses to frame his own life story around the countrys racial inequities. He insists that those who disagree with his views on the issue are trying to weaponize race to divide us, and that the truth of my life disproves their lies.

During a February visit to Iowa, which holds the first GOP presidential caucuses, Scott spoke of a new American sunrise rooted in collaboration.

I see a future where common sense has rebuilt common ground, where weve created real unity, not by compromising away our conservatism, but by winning converts to our conservatism, he said.

But Scott has his limits. During that same trip, he railed against political correctness in much the same fashion as Trump and DeSantis.

If you wanted a blueprint to ruin America, youd keep doing exactly what Joe Biden has let the far left do to our country for the past two years, he said. Tell every white kid theyre oppressors. Tell Black and brown kids their destiny is grievance, not greatness.

Scott speaks often about his hardscrabble roots. He was raised by a single mother who worked long hours as a nurses assistant to provide for him and his brother after her divorce from their father. Scott, who describes himself as a lackluster student, graduated from Charleston Southern University with a political science degree before opening an insurance business.

Scotts faith is an integral part of his political and personal story. Describing himself as a born-again believer, Scott often quotes Scripture at campaign events, weaving his reliance on spiritual guidance into his stump speech and using "Faith in America to describe his series of political appearances before joining the race.

On many issues, Scott aligns with mainstream GOP positions. He wants to reduce government spending and restrict abortion, saying he would sign a federal law to prohibit abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy if elected president.

But Scott has pushed the party on some policing overhaul measures since the killing of George Floyd, and he has occasionally criticized Trumps response to racial tensions. Scott called it indefensible after Trump retweeted a post  that he later deleted  containing a racist slogan associated with white supremacists.

In the days that followed Trumps widely criticized response to a 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Scott said Trumps principles had been compromised and that without some introspection, it will be hard for him to regain ... moral authority.

Throughout their disagreements, though, Scott has maintained a generally cordial relationship with Trump, saying in his book that the former president listened intently to his viewpoints on race-related issues.

A potentially more awkward rival for Scott will be Nikki Haley, Trump's former U.N. ambassador who helped fuel Scott's political rise when she was South Carolinas governor and appointed him to the Senate in 2012.

In filing the seat that had been held by Republican Jim DeMint, Scott became the first Black senator from the South since just after the Civil War. In a 2014 special election to serve out the remainder of his term, Scott became the first Black candidate to win a statewide race in South Carolina since the Reconstruction era.

He easily won reelection last year and had long said his current term, which runs through 2029, would be his last.

As a senator, Scott has been a go-to Republican voice on issues including policing and was the GOPs chief negotiator on legislation that ultimately stalled in 2021. He has also spoken on the Senate floor about his personal experiences as a Black man in America.

I have felt the anger, the frustration, the sadness and the humiliation that comes with feeling like youre being targeted for nothing more than just being yourself, Scott said in 2016, recounting how he was pulled over seven times in a year. He was once stopped by a U.S. Capitol Police officer who recognized the Senate lapel pin that Scott was wearing  but did not recognize Scott.

Scott rejects the notion that the country is inherently racist and has repudiated the teaching of critical race theory, an academic framework that presents the idea that the nations institutions maintain the dominance of white people.

Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country, Scott said. Its backwards to fight discrimination with different types of discrimination. And its wrong to try to use our painful past to dishonestly shut down debates in the present.

Scott believes parents should have more oversight over what their kids learn in public schools about race, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Scott has twice addressed the Republican National Convention  in 2012 as a first-term congressman and in 2020 as a senator. At the last GOP convention, he praised Trump for building the most inclusive economy ever and for supporting funding for historically Black colleges and universities.

After Bidens White House victory, Scott was tapped to give the GOP response to the new presidents first address to Congress.

Others in the GOP 2024 race include entrepreneur and Woke, Inc. author Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and radio show host Larry Elder. DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are among those who are expected to announce campaigns soon.

If Scott is successful, he would be the first Black person to win the Republican presidential nomination and the second elected to the presidency, following Barack Obama in 2008.

Scott frequently mentions that his family made it from cotton to Congress in one lifetime  a reference to his grandfather who left grade school to pick cotton in the Deep South.

Associated Press writer Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.
May 19, 2023: The Philippines major organized threat is now external, in the form of Chinese claims on many small Filipino islands and large areas of the South China Sea that have long been under Filipino control and recognized as Filipino by treaty and reaffirmed by a 2016 international court ruling against recent Chinese claims. The Philippines is not alone because China claims to control most of the South China Sea.

The South China Sea is one of those ocean areas close to land that are called a sea because it is a distinct area. The South China Sea is actually part of the Western Pacific Ocean. The northern boundary is South China while the western boundary is the Indochinese Peninsula. The eastern boundary consists of Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (the islands of Luzon, Mindoro and Palawan). The southern boundary is Borneo, eastern Sumatra and the Bangka Belitung Islands. The Gulf of Thailand and the Gulf of Tonkin are also part of South China Sea.

This South China Sea covers an area of around 3,500,000 square kilometers (1,400,000 square miles). Thats about a third the size of China or the United States. The South China Sea has distinct outlets to the rest of the world. The principles ones are Taiwan Strait to the East China sea, the Luzon Strait to the Philippine Sea and the Strait of Malacca to the Indian Ocean. In the last half- century, the South China Sea has become a throughfare for most of the international commerce between the booming East Asian economies of China, South Korea and Japan and the Middle East and Europe via the Suez Canal. This is why China wants to control the South China Sea.

Filipino claims are not the only ones China has to deal with before they can actually claim and exercise control over the South China Sea. The Filipino opposition was considered the easiest to brush aside but that plan failed when the Philippines fell back on its mutual defense treaty with the United States and the Americans agreed to cooperate, even though Chinese forces were not actually attacking any of the main Filipino islands and population centers. The Philippines finds itself part of a growing anti-China coalition dedicated to preventing China from exercising control over the South China Sea. This coalition now includes South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia and Vietnam as well as the United States, Australia and several NATO nations with navies and lots of trade passing through the South China Sea. To China this coalition is seen as an obstacle, not a defeat.

Domestic Disturbances

During the last year the decline in rebel (communist and Islamic) continued. These groups no longer make the headlines because there are only about a hundred of these rebels still active and their main activity is avoiding detection by the army and police. During the last two years t he NPA (New Peoples Army) rapidly fell apart after several senior leaders killed or captured some of them with over fifty years NPA experience. Many were found because of tips from local civilians. Most of the political violence in the Philippines since World War II has come from communists, who were present but not very active before World War II. The communists became a major part of the armed opposition fighting the brutal 1942-45 Japanese occupation. After independence in 1946 leftist rebels continued fighting, trying to establish a communist dictatorship. That proved difficult to do. A major reorganization took place in the 1960s, resulting in the creation of the NPA in 1969. The new communist rebel organization adopted the Chinese Maoist long term strategy. That was not very successful despite lots of economic and social problems they could promise to fix if they were in charge. Enthusiasm for a "communist solution" went sharply downhill after the collapse of the Soviet Union and its East European communist allies between 1989 and 1991. That massive failure of communist states left the NPA much weaker ideologically and vulnerable to subsequent amnesty programs. A decade ago, NPA leaders admitted that they had only a small fraction of their peak (in the 1980s) strength of 26,000 armed members. There were some serious attempts to reverse the decline in popularity. NPA gunmen were instructed to behave better around civilians and the NPA were found giving some civilians, especially health or aid workers, cash compensation of a few hundred dollars each for wounds received during NPA attacks on soldiers or police. The government increased its efforts to provide medical care for such victims of NPA violence, the NPA tried to compete and found they couldnt afford it. Many NPA members arrested recently were wanted for banditry and similar crimes.

Information on the location of NPA camps, weapons storage sites or covert supporters is now regularly obtained from local civilians or NPA members that surrendered. Because of that more NPA camps are being attacked, weapons storage sites seized and key supporters arrested or killed, even in traditional strongholds like Bukidnon and Negros Occidental provinces.

Philippine Islamic terrorist activity, mainly in the Moslem south, is rapidly disappearing. The autonomous Moslem regional government plays a role in that, encouraging Moslems to resist, not aid the remaining Islamic terror groups. The government offers amnesty to those who surrender and are not accused of serious crimes like murder or kidnapping. This has played a major role in reducing the number of Islamic terrorists still active to about fifty. Since the autonomous Moslem Bangasamoro area was created in 2014, diehard separatist groups like BIFF, ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) and Abu Sayyaf were treated as outlaws in Bangasamoro and continually lost support and members since 2014, but are still around though not nearly as actively as they were before 2014. Bangasamoro security forces cooperate with the army to find and shut down these outlaw groups. Since 2014 this joint effort has largely eliminated Abu Sayyaf, BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters) rebels and several smaller Islamic terrorist groups. These groups have not disappeared, but have become much less active because of declining membership. With only a few dozen member left there are not enough to form active groups for carrying out attacks or kidnapping for ransom.

May 16, 2023: Near the northern border of the South China Sea (off Okinawa) a Chinese carrier task force carried out a live fire exercise employing a destroyers and frigate that were part of the carrier escort group. China has two operational aircraft carriers with a third on the way.

May 14, 2023: In the south (Surigao del Sur province) three NPA gunmen died when they encountered an army patrol and opened fire. There has been less NPA activity in the province during the last year. There arent many NPA members left in the province and they avoid encounters with the army. For over a year now the NPA tactics in the province concentrate on non-violent activities that restrict attacks to politicians seen as corrupt. In several cases armed NPA men raided homes of candidates and stole weapons. The homes raided are those of candidates that refused demands for extortion. This less-violent (than usual) NPA effort to influence the 2022 May elections. These NPA tactics are a result of declining membership and increasingly effective efforts by the military to defeat NPA violence. The NPA is trying to rebuild support in rural areas and reduce the number of tips sent via cell phones to security forces reporting NPA activity.

May 13, 2023: In order to make it clear to China and anyone else traveling through Filipino portions of the South China Sea, the Philippines is placing navigational buoys within its EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone), starting with five buoys, each featuring a Filipino flag, in areas around the Spratly Islands.

May 9, 2023: At Clark Air Base Filipino and U.S. Air Force personnel underwent joint training for the 9th day. These exercises will continue for three more days. Another round of this training will take place in July.

May 8, 2023: The navy put two more Israeli-made FAIC (F ast-Attack Interdiction Craft) offshore patrol boats into service.

May 3, 2023: In the south (Negros Occidental province) soldiers sought to arrest a famer suspected of being an NPA member. The farmer was armed and fired on the soldiers before he was shot dead. Two soldiers and a civilian bystander were wounded. Several hundred other civilians temporarily left their homes until the fighting was over. Negros Occidental used to have several active NPA groups but losses to the army and declining popular support for the communist group have reduced NPA member ship to a few armed individuals who are holding out for a return of the group to active operations. Nationwide there are believed to be only two active NPA armed groups still active. Another twenty formerly active NPA groups are dormant, each with only a few individual members still armed but not active. NPA has lost popular support and, like communism in general, is seen as a failed cause.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / Brigadier Gold Limited (the "Company") (TSXV:BRG)(FSE:B7LM)(USA:BGADF) is pleased to share its plans to complete a geoscientific data compilation program for its Nemaska2 Lithium Property ("Nemaska2"), James Bay, Quebec. Of particular focus are the results of historical exploration programs conducted on the recently added "Extension" mineral claims at Nemaska2. The Company anticipates the findings of the data compilation program will assist with ongoing field work that is set to begin.

The historical data compilation as well as the exploration programs at Nemaska2 will be carried out by the Company's technical partner Gologica Groupe-Conseil ("Geologica") of Val D'or Quebec.

Spring 2023 Exploration Program

The focus of the program is to confirm and further delineate pegmatite outcrops mapped and sampled in historical government work at Nemaska2 with a particular focus on the ~20 white pegmatite outcrops, each approximately 1,000 square metres in size. Particular attention will be applied to discover the possible existence of pegmatite dykes or other favorable structures. Subject to ground conditions including snowpack, Phase-1 fieldwork is forecast to commence June 1, 2023. The Company anticipates this initial program will delineate targets for a mid- summer inaugural drill program.

"We are excited as we initiate our Phase-1 work program at Nemaska2, alongside our reputable exploration partner, Geologica", stated Robert Birmingham, President, and CEO of Brigadier Gold. "Compiling and analyzing historical data from previously completed exploration at Nemaska2 is expected to add crucial information we expect will aid in focusing on the highest value targets on our property."

Nemaska2 may be one of the most conveniently located properties in the region for access, logistics and infrastructure, which will allow Brigadier to conduct its exploration programs and publish results in an efficient and timely manner.

With the recently closed private placement the Company is fully funded to carryout Phase-1 exploration at Nemaska2.

Historical Exploration

The Quebec government has previously carried out a large sampling program and also an airborne magnetometric survey over Nemaska2 which shows the presence of several low magnetic anomalies likely corresponding with fractures or shear zones within the granitic Valiquette Pluton. These structures are generally favourable to the formation of pegmatites and other metals. The presence of pegmatites recognized during the regional reconnaissance mapping, anomalous values of Li and Cs in regional till sampling, and the presence of a major lithium deposit (Whabouchi Deposit) in the area, are all elements favourable to the existence of mineralization sought by the Company.

More information can be found in the National Instrument 43-101 technical report filed by the Company under its SEDAR profile on March 14, 2023

About Nemaska2 Lithium Project

Nemaska2 consists of 162 map-designated mining titles (Nemaska2 and Nemaska2 Extension) covering a total area of 8,300 hectares and is located in northern Quebec, approximately 160 kms east of James Bay, near the community of Nemaska. Neighbouring Nemaska2 are claims held by Li-Ft Power, Brunswick Exploration, Dios Exploration, Critical Elements Lithium, and ~23 kilometres to the east lies Nemaska Lithium's Whabouchi Project.

Qualified Person

Mr. Garry Clark, P. Geo., a member of the Company's Board of Directors, a "Qualified Person" under NI 43-101, has reviewed the technical contents of this news release and has approved the disclosure of the technical information contained herein.

For further information, please contact:

Brigadier Gold Limited

www.brigadiergold.ca

Robert Birmingham, Chief Executive Officer

[email protected]

(604) 424a8131

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 Information Cautionary Statement

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". Forward-looking statements include those relating to the timing, initiation and completion of data compilation and its usefulness in guiding future exploration and drilling programs. 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 Company's ability to complete all payments and expenditures required under its mineral property option agreements; and other risks and uncertainties relating to the actual results of current exploration activities; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with adjacent properties and the Company's expectations; operational risks and hazards inherent with the business of mining (including environmental accidents and hazards, industrial accidents, equipment breakdown, unusual or unexpected geological or structural formations, cave-ins, flooding and severe weather); environmental and regulatory requirements; availability of permits, possibility of equipment breakdowns and delays, exploration cost overruns, availability of capital and financing, general economic, political risks, market or business conditions, regulatory changes, timeliness of government or regulatory approvals and other risks involved in the mineral exploration industry, and those risks set out in the filings on SEDAR made by the Company with securities regulators. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities legislation.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

SOURCE: Brigadier Gold Limited

View source version on accesswire.com:
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / Europacific Metals Inc (previously Goldplay Mining Inc) (TSXV:EUP), (the "Company" or "Europacific") is pleased to announce the Company has filed a Technical Report for the Portuguese Borba 2 Project entitled, "Geology and mineralization of the Borba 2 copper-gold property, Alentejo, Portugal", (the "Technical Report"). The Technical Report was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). The Technical Report was prepared by Marcelo Pereira, EurGeol, of Geologia e Geotecnia, Consultores Lda, a Portuguese geological consulting group.

The 32,851 ha Borba 2 concession in southern Portugal contains several mineral deposits, the most prominent of which is the Miguel Vacas open pit copper deposit which produced approximately 1 million lbs of copper from the oxide zone of a shear zone in schists at least 2000 meters along strike and 10 to 20 meters in width. The historic open pit covers a relatively short strike length and is 30 meters deep. Thirty four holes have been drilled below the oxide zone and have encountered copper sulfides in the steeply dipping shear zone, however the holes are too widely spaced and poorly sampled to generate a resource.

Other mineral deposits in Borba 2 concession include Mostardeira, Bugalho, and Mocicos which are in general quartz-chalcopyrite-gold veins. A fifth separate deposit, Amagreira, has gold values up to 4.5 g/t gold in a volcanic tuff horizon.

Exploration Potential

Distinct types of mineralization exist over the Borba 2 concession. The both oxide and sulfide copper exists at Miguel Vacas, while gold and copper potential occurs in four other underexplored mineralized zones.

Dr. Chris Osterman, President and CEO of EuroPacific Metals commented: "This report summarizes the history of the extensive BORBA 2 concession. The potential for a near term copper oxide operation exists at Miguel Vacas coupled with underlying sulfide copper. The Almagreira prospect shows the potential for a broad epithermal (Carlin type?) hydrothermal gold system over a large area. The two historic smelter operations near Mostardeira show an area that received a great deal of attention in the late 1800's but little modern exploration since then on what appear to be orogenic gold copper veins. EuroPacific Metals sees a great deal of exploration synergy in a highly mineralized area as Europe looks to develop metals in a dependable, stable economic environment."

1. Miguel Vacas- Past Producing Copper Mine

The copper mine last operated in 1986 and has produced at an average grade of 1.2-1.4% Cu. The mine is located on a cupriferous metallogenic sub-province (Pb-Zn paragenetic association) with polyphase mineralization hosted by an epithermal breccia and vein-type structures in a major shear zone (Alpine age?). Historical near surface drilling (60 to 71.63m) intercepted 1.79 % Cu over 11.63 m including 2.29% Cu over 7.30 m. Non-compliant in-house resource estimation was completed by Rio Narcea in 2007 based on 20 historical holes and estimated:

Oxide ore (from 0 to 80m depth): 1.1 Mt @ 1.23% Cu.

Sulphide ore (from 80m to 250m): 4.4 Mt @ 1.24% Cu

The readers should not rely on any historical estimates. The Company and the QP has not done sufficient work to classify historical estimate as a current resource. Company is not treating the historical estimate as a current resource. Additional work including drilling will be required to verify and upgrade historical estimates. The project remains open for exploration. This mineralized system is open in all directions and at depth.

2. Mostardeira Copper-Gold Mine

This Cu-Au mine area, located approximately 2 km south of the town of Estremoz represents a wide WSW-ESE shear zone that is developed for at least 700 m along strike and is open into both directions. This shear zone has been historically mined for Cu and Au with most of the mining works concentrated along a thin high-grade Cu zone ( 200 g/t Ag and 3.98% Cu from 177m (Hole MM1); 1m grading 5.72 g/t Au, 78.9 g/t Ag from 43.7m (Hole MM2); 0.5m grading 0.84 g/t Au, 27.1 % Ag, 3.89 % Cu from 26.3m and 1m grading 6.8 g/t Au, 12.8 g/t Ag from 40.5m (Hole MM2A); 0.7m grading 5.28 g/t Au, 1 g/t Ag from 100.6m, and 1m grading 1.26 g/t Au, 18.5 g/t Ag and 1.14% Cu from 114.3m (Hole MM3).

The project is open for exploration.

3. Bugalho Copper-Gold Mine

This mine was registered in 1866 has operated intermittently until around 1900. There are records for a total of 9 mine levels down to a total depth of 200m. Mineralization Includes three main veins that have been mined in the past: Vein 1 (main vein) - N50E/80 NW, up to 1.2 m thick, mined over 800m along strike; Vein2 - NS/50 E, average 1.3m thickness; Vein 3 - NS/90; no records on thickness. The mineralization is from a wide NE-SW trending anastomosing shear zone that can be mapped on 5 km along strike. Dump samples of silicified and sheared acid tuffs from the Bugalho mine area assay up to 10.97 g/t Au, 5.36% Cu and 20 g/t Ag. No drilling was done in this zone to date.

4. Almagreira Gold Prospect

This area has been identified by Rio Tinto during the early eighties and limited trenching and drilling have indicated the presence of gold mineralization associated with clay-sericite-silica alteration zones associated with a ENE-WSW fracture zone and represents an epithermal system (Carlin type?) identified in this sector hosted by brecciated acid volcanics and dolomites. More recent drilling by a JV between Rio Narcea Gold Mines and Kernow Resources carried out a limited campaign (834 m in 6 holes) in the main prospect area. Highlights comprise an interval of 5.45 m grading 1.53 g/t Au, including 2.47m grading 2.44 g/t Au from hole PAM-01. The highest individual value obtained came from a gossanous quartz-dolomite altered marble grading 5.77 g/t Au over an intercept of 0.75m. Hole PAM-02 intercepted an interval of 2m grading 3.7 g/t Au. The mineralized zone coincides with sections of intense silica-carbonate alteration with several massive gossan zones and localized fresh sulphide dissemination (chalcopyrite and pyrite).

This Technical Report can be accessed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.europacificmetals.ca.

Qualified Person

Jose Mario Castelo Branco, P.Geo., Vice President Exploration, is a "Qualified Person" for the purposes of NI 43-101, and he has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this news release.

About Europacific Metals Inc

Europacific Metals Inc. is a Canadian public company listed on TSXV and in US on OTCQB. The Company holds brownfield gold, and copper-gold projects located in Portugal. The Company is focused on exploration in highly prospective geological settings in Europe and Eurasian jurisdictions.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Chris Osterman"

CEO

For further information please contact:

Europacific Metals Inc.

Mr. Chris Osterman, Chief Executive Officer

Suite 650 - 1021 West Hastings Street

Vancouver, BC V6E 0C3

E: [email protected]

www.europacificmetals.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to the exploration potential of the the Company's properties. Generally forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "anticipate", "will", "expect", "may", "continue", "could", "estimate", "forecast", "plan", "potential" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties relating to, among other things, results of future exploration and development activities, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of materials and equipment, timeliness of government approvals, changes in commodity prices and unanticipated environmental impacts on operations. Although the Company believes current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered are appropriate and that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct or enduring. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward-looking statements that are contained or incorporated in this press release. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

SOURCE: Europacific Metals Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 18, 2023 / NEXGENRX INC. ("NexgenRx" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its interim financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023, with revenues growing to $3,458,619, an increase of $284,743 (or 8.97%) over the same quarter in 2022. The Company's cash position also remained strong at $1,264,334. The Company also held its annual and special meeting of shareholders today, at which all proposed resolutions were approved, including the election of a new director, Mr. Dave Bennett.

Q1 Results

In addition to increasing total revenues for Q1, the Company also experienced a healthy growth in recurring revenues. Total operating expense was $315,482 or 13.98% higher compared to same period prior year, attributed to I.T. implementation expenses and compensation adjustments. Management continues to carefully monitor and control all operating expenses. The Company has emphasized keeping its costs low, plus looking for further cost-reduction opportunities, and these efforts have shown their value in the Company's ability to generate an EBITDA of $519,061 and additional shareholder value.

New Director

The Company is pleased to welcome Dave Bennett to the Board, following his election by shareholders at today's annual and special meeting. Mr. Bennett is a seasoned senior executive and actuary with more than 30 years' experience working in the life insurance and wealth management industries. Most recently, he was at The Equitable Life of Canada, where he led the Group Benefits business for six years. Prior to that, he was the Chief Financial Officer of the company, responsible for all financial oversight, strategic planning and corporate business development. He also has extensive experience in strategy, with time spent at McKinsey & Co, and led the Mergers and Acquisitions function at Manulife. Mr. Bennett attained his ICD.D in 2022 and has served on a number of not-for-profit boards such as Grand River Hospital, the Waterloo District School Board, and as the Chair of an independent school. He also has considerable experience working with boards as management, having been accountable to the Audit and Pension committees of Equitable Life's Board of Directors for 7 years, and leading strategic reviews.

Ron Loucks, President and CEO, stated "Let me start by welcoming Dave to our Board. We are extremely fortunate to be able to add someone of Dave's caliber and experience to our team and we all look forward to working together with him as we continue work towards further growth and prosperity for NexgenRx and its shareholders." Regarding financial results, Mr. Loucks continued, "The strength of our operating model, together with the agility of our leadership teams, allowed us to end Q1 with solid results that were in line with our objectives to protect our financial position and maintain our margin. The World Health Organization has officially announced that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency, marking a symbolic end to the coronavirus pandemic that changed the world in so many ways. This message sets a positive tone for the first quarter as we have a strong sales pipeline that we expect to be able to capitalize on with more frequent face-to-face interactions with our prospective clients."

About NexgenRx

NexgenRx is Canada's only independent full-service Third-Party Administrator and Technology Solutions Provider, offering proprietary full front-end, eligibility, enrolment, hour bank and mobile access capabilities, together with state-of-the-art claims adjudication and full provider network coverage. These combined capabilities allow NexgenRx to provide Plan Sponsors, sophisticated administration and health benefit technology applications in a cost-effective SaaS (Software as a Service) Model.

NexgenRx is committed to building partnerships with organizations looking to exceed the expectations of their clients and plan members and deliver superior administration and claims processing solutions at a competitive cost. More information on NexgenRx can be found at www.nexgenrx.com.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. The Company cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: uncertainty as to whether the Company's strategies and business plans will yield the expected benefits; availability and cost of capital; the ability to identify and develop and achieve commercial success for existing and new products and technologies; the level of expenditures necessary to maintain and improve the quality of products and services; changes in technology and changes in laws and regulations; continued development and enhancement of the Company's proprietary software technology; cyber security risks and the other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's annual Management's Discussion and Analysis, as filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The Company undertakes no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in the Company's expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on 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 the release.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Ronald C. Loucks

NexgenRx Inc.

President and CEO

416.695.3393 x801

Kelly Ehler CPA, CA

NexgenRx Inc.

Chief Financial Officer

416-695-3393x803

SOURCE: NexgenRx Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:
AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of a (Excellent) of Compagnie francaise dassurance pour le commerce exterieur (la Compagnie) (France), Coface North America Insurance Company (CNAIC) (USA) and Coface Re SA (Coface Re) (Switzerland), which are subsidiaries of Coface SA (Coface), the non-operating holding company of the Coface group. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Cofaces balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, favourable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings of la Compagnie and CNAIC consider their strategic importance to the Coface group as key operating entities. Coface Re is strategically important to the group as its sole intragroup reinsurer.

Cofaces balance sheet strength assessment is underpinned by consolidated risk-adjusted capitalisation at the strongest level, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). AM Best expects the groups risk-adjusted capitalisation to remain at the strongest level prospectively, supported by good internal capital generation. Offsetting factors include significant operating leverage, driven by the groups factoring business, and a high dependence on reinsurance, although the risks associated with this dependence are moderated by the groups well-diversified, high credit quality reinsurance panel.

The group achieved strong results in 2021 and 2022, reporting net income of EUR 224 million and EUR 283 million, respectively, driven by benign claim experience. Technical performance is supported by significant and consistent positive prior-year development, driven by the groups conservative reserving methodology. AM Best believes the groups prospective performance may be subject to volatility, driven by the uncertain global operating environment. However, the group is able to take prompt risk-mitigating actions on non-performing business when required.

Cofaces favourable business profile assessment is underpinned by its leading position in the global credit insurance market, which is characterised by high barriers to entry. The group has made consistent investment in its pricing tools and data management capabilities, allowing it to maintain its competitive advantage. Although the group is largely a mono-line insurer, its exposures are well-diversified by geography and industry. Fee-based services and factoring businesses in Poland and Germany also provide some diversification.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Bests Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Bests Credit Ratings, Bests Performance Assessments, Bests Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Bests Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2023 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005322/en/

Pierre Tournier

Associate Director

+31 20 308 5423

[email protected]

Christopher Sharkey

Associate Director, Public Relations

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159

[email protected]

Dr. Mathilde Jakobsen

Senior Director, Analytics

+31 20 308 5427

[email protected]

Al Slavin

Senior Public Relations Specialist

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5098

[email protected]

Source: AM Best
GLENDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The graduating classes of Arizona Virtual Academy (AZVA) and Insight Academy of Arizona (ISAZ), online public schools serving students throughout the state, will soon toss their caps in the air at commencement ceremonies on May 22.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005335/en/

Both schools will host in-person graduation events at the Glendale Civic Center at 5750 W. Glenn Dr. AZVAs ceremony, which will honor 269 graduates, will take place at 11 a.m. ISAZs event will celebrate 234 graduates and is scheduled at 3:30 p.m. Both events will be livestreamed on Facebook.

These ceremonies are an opportunity to shine a light on our students and acknowledge their hard work and successes, said Charles Woods, MEd, executive director of AZVA and ISAZ. Our graduates have inspired us with their efforts in the classroom and in their communities. Some have overcome incredible odds to get here. Many have achieved exceptional academic feats. We are beyond proud of all of them, and while its hard to say goodbye, we cant wait to see where they go from here.

Added Erica Young-Jackson, MS, EdD, career readiness education administrator, So many of these students have maximized the opportunities available at our schools, particularly in career readiness and technical education. Many of them are graduating with professional certifications in high-demand industries and a jump-start on their careers, while others have already made significant progress toward college degrees. They are all ready to make their mark on this world.

Arizona Virtual Academy

Among the highlights of AZVAs 2023 graduating class, 50 students will graduate with a cumulative grade point average above 3.5, recognized with the Cum Laude scale. In addition, 49.5% of seniors report acceptance to trade schools, colleges, and universities nationwide as well as several branches of the military. Many students are headed straight into the workforce or will continue at positions they have held throughout high school. Collectively, the class of 2023 reports $190,000 in college scholarships. They have already completed more than 86 concurrent college courses and earned 46 professional certifications through AZVAs career and technical education (CTE) program.

AZVAs 2023 valedictorian, Roman Celik, has a weighted GPA of 4.439. Salutatorian, Aidan Miyagishma, graduates with a weighted GPA of 4.11.

Insight Academy of Arizona

ISAZs 2023 class includes 234 students. The school offers unique support and flexibility for seventh- through 12th-graders who have confronted barriers in their education, ensuring these students earn their high school diploma and are well-prepared for future careers. Ten members of the class of 2023 are graduating with a 3.5 cumulative GPA or better, with 56% heading to trade schools, colleges, universities, and military service. ISAZs graduates report $55,000 in college scholarships, while many of them are prepared to join the workforce right out of high school; 95 students are graduating with professional CTE certifications.

ISAZs 2023 valedictorian, 11th-grade student, Ashley Alvarez Guzman, graduates with a weighted GPA of 4.05. Salutatorian, 11th-grader Shadia Manassra, has a weighted GPA of 4.03.

Woods will serve as the keynote speaker for both commencement ceremonies.

AZVA and ISAZ students benefit from a robust online curriculum and attend live virtual classes taught by state-certified teachers. The schools meet the needs of diverse student populations through innovative uses of technology, effective teachers and instruction, and partnerships with families and community.

They are also the first and only online schools in Arizona offering state-approved career and technical education (CTE) programs. Students can elect to receive training and work toward professional certifications in a variety of high-demand pathways including business, health and human services, information technology, visual art and design, agriculture, hospitality and tourism and more.

AVZA opened in 1995 and serves students from kindergarten through 12th grade. ISAZ, which launched in 2012, is an online junior high and high school serving students in seventh through 12th grades.

About Arizona Virtual Academy

Arizona Virtual Academy (AZVA) is an AdvancED-accredited, full-time online public charter school that serves Arizona students in kindergarten through 12th grade. As part of the Arizona public school system, AZVA is tuition-free and provides families the choice to access the curriculum and tools provided by K12, a Stride Company (NYSE: LRN). Stride offers learners of all ages a more effective way to learn and build skills for their future. For more information visit azva.k12.com.

About Insight Academy of Arizona

Insight Academy of Arizona (ISAZ) is an AdvancED-accredited, full-time online public school that serves Arizona students in grades 7-12. As part of the Arizona public school system, ISAZ is tuition-free and provides families the choice to access the curriculum and tools provided by K12, a Stride Company (NYSE: LRN). Stride offers learners of all ages a more effective way to learn and build skills for their future. For more information about ISAZ, visit insightaz.k12.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005335/en/

Ken Schwartz

Senior Manager, Corporate Communications

[email protected]

Source: Stride, Inc.
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Asset Value Investors (AVI) submitted shareholder proposals to NC Holdings (TSE: 6236, NCHD) addressing key issues contributing to NCHDs poor performance, low valuation, inefficient balance sheet and uncertain outlook.

AVI put forward eight proposals including the following:

Election of Mr. Jiro Yasu and Mr. Philip Partnow, who have knowledge and experience of the capital market, as external independent directors Establishment of a Strategic Review Committee to evaluate the NCHDs strategic alternatives in the best interests of all shareholders Increase of the annual remuneration limit of the stock compensation plan for directors to JPY 150 million with TSR and ROIC targets Payment of a year-end dividend equivalent to a dividend payout ratio of 70%

A presentation outlining AVIs arguments and full shareholder proposals are available at AVIs dedicated website: www.enhancingNCHD.com

Joe Bauernfreund, CEO of AVI, stated: AVI is committed to a purposeful dialogue to benefit all shareholders of its investee companies. We have been seeking ways to bring NC Holdings value closer to its intrinsic value through friendly and constructive dialogue in private with NC Holdings management for two years since 2021. It is regrettable that, despite these efforts, management has not proactively listened to our recommendations, and we feel the situation is unlikely to improve. Having exhausted our attempts to keep our suggestions private, we have now unfortunately, had to exercise our right to make shareholder proposals.

We hope shareholders will see the benefit of our proposals, and if approved, that the Board of Directors will work with the Strategic Review Committee and utilise the capital markets expertise of our two proposed directors to realise the best interest of all shareholders.

- End-

About Asset Value Investors (AVI)

AVI is an investment management company established in London, United Kingdom, in 1985, and AVI has invested in Japanese equities for more than 20 years. AVI manages AVI Global Trust (Total Gross Assets: approximately JPY190bn (1.2bn)), AVI Japan Opportunities Trust (Total Gross Assets: approximately JPY31bn (0.19bn)), etc., as of 31 March 2023. AGT and AJOT are public companies whose shares are listed and traded on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230517005648/en/

Kaz Sakai

[email protected]

Asset Value Investors Limited

Source: Asset Value Investors
More than $1.6 million in scholarships and awards were presented at the 2023 Canada-Wide Science Fair awards ceremony at Edmonton Convention Centre

EDMONTON, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nearly 900 people gathered in Edmonton at the 2023 Canada-Wide Science Fair awards gala to celebrate the curiosity and ingenuity of Canadian students and announce the fairs top winners. A total of 220 students shared more than 1.6 million in scholarships, awards, and prizes with the top awards in Discovery and Innovation going to Elizabeth Chen (Edmonton) for a project on alternative cancer treatments and Arushi Nath (Toronto), with a project on planetary defense. Arushi, who also won best project award at last years CWSF, becomes the first back-to-back best project award winner since 1989 - 1990.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005196/en/

Edmonton, Alberta  Best project award winners and platinum award winners during the awards ceremony on Thursday May 18, 2023, at the Edmonton Convention Centre. From left to right: Jamie Parsons board chair of Youth Science Canada, Arushi Nath, Elizabeth Chen, Moulik Budhiraja, Katelyn Wu, Yurui Qin, Noah Bryan and Andrei Marti. Photo credit: Youth Science Canada.

Canadian students are as inquisitive and creative as ever, says Reni Barlow, executive director at Youth Science Canada. Getting back together in person to view these projects and meet the students was an exhilarating experience. Congratulations to all the finalists and those who supported them along their journey of exploration. This years event demonstrates yet again the important role that youth play in developing innovative knowledge and solutions that will help future generations.

Top winners selected by over 238 judges include:

Best Project Awards

Best Project: Discovery

Elizabeth Chen from Edmonton, Alberta, for Optimization of CAR-T Cell Therapy using RNA-Sequencing Analysis for Biomarker Identification.

Link to project

Best Project: Innovation

Arushi Nath from Toronto, Ontario, for Developing algorithms to determine asteroids physical properties and success of deflection missions.

Link to project

Platinum Awards - Discovery

Best Junior (grade 7/8)

Andrei Marti from Saanichton, British Columbia, for Sweet Scores.

Link to project

Best Intermediate (grade 9/10)

Noah Bryan from Richmond Hill, Ontario, for The Phage Takes Centre Stage for Water Quality Testing!

Link to project

Platinum Awards - Innovation

Best Intermediate (grade 9/10)

Yurui Qin from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for A Novel Approach to Using Artificial Intelligence to Aid the Hearing Impaired.

Link to project

Best Senior (grade 11/12/Cegep)

Moulik Budhiraja and Katelyn Wu from Waterloo, Ontario, for Nail Braille: A Novel Approach Towards Braille Education.

Link to project

Some 396 student finalists showcased a total of 340 projects at the fair which has attracted more than 7,000 visitors to the Edmonton Convention Centre in the first two days of public viewing, and more than 10,000 online visitors. The Canada-Wide Science Fair and STEM Expo continue in person, Friday May 19, at the Edmonton Convention Centre until 2:30 p.m. MDT. Projects will remain online for public viewing after the event has concluded.

The 62nd edition of the Canada-Wide Science Fair will take place in Ottawa at Carleton University from May 11-17, 2024.

The public is invited to meet the best project and platinum award winners on Friday, May 19 at 10:00 a.m. MDT. The panel discussion will also be broadcast live at https://www.facebook.com/ysc.sjc/live.

Members of the media are also invited to participate.

Winners will also be made available to media throughout the week of May 22, 2023, by contacting Dalia Esposito at [email protected].

Photos and video from the Canada-Wide Science Fair are available here: CWSF 2023 photos and video. The complete list of Canada-Wide Science Fair award recipients will be available at youthscience.ca after 6:30pm MDT.

About Youth Science Canada

Youth Science Canada fuels the curiosity of Canadian youth through STEM projects. A registered charity incorporated in 1966, YSC delivers on its mission through national programs including mySTEMspace, the National STEM Fair Network, Canada-Wide Science Fair, STEM Expo, Team Canada representation at international fairs and Smarter Science professional development for teachers. Through these programs, YSC provides direct support to the more than 500,000 students who do STEM projects in any given year. For more information, visit youthscience.ca.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005196/en/

For more information:



Dalia Esposito

Torchia Communications

[email protected]

Cell: 514-984-4122

Sean Cotnam

Torchia Communications

[email protected]

Cell: 416-560-9815

Source: Youth Science Canada
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Generational Group, a leading full-service business advisory firm for middle market, privately held businesses is pleased to announce that it was one of the sponsors of the recent record-setting 2023 Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) DealMAX annual meeting.

Held in Las Vegas from May 8th to May 10th, the premier ACG annual event drew record attendance, with more than 800 private equity professionals at the conference. According to ACG, DealMAX attendees consistently account for nearly one third of total U.S. Private Equity deals and represent over $400 billion in investable capital.

Founded in 1954, the ACG is the largest M&A deal-making community in the world, with a mission of driving middle-market growth. ACGs global network operates through 59 regional chapters worldwide and comprises more than 100,000 middle-market professionals who invest, own and advise growing companies.

ACG delivers on its mission to drive middle-market growth by bringing these professionals together and giving them the resources to navigate the industry landscape. The annual DealMAX meeting in Las Vegas (formally called Intergrowth) is the ACGs largest event.

Generationals DealForce Software Platform Featured in Meetings and Presentations

Generational was a Growth Leader sponsor of the event and its team had a full schedule packed with meetings with active buyers and hundreds of visitors to its booth. DealForce, Generationals proprietary online buyer platform was showcased at the event.

DealForce continues to gain momentum and wide popularity among the investment community and now boasts over 30,000 registered buyers. The DealForce user-friendly interface allows buyers across the globe to find the best investment opportunities in the middle market.

Lisa Lippe Smith, Generationals Vice President, M&A Marketing & Buyer Services, stated, DealMAX was by far the most active, well-attended ACG event I have ever participated in. The level of buyer interest in our clients was unprecedented. The contacts we renewed and the new ones we made will pay great dividends in the long run for our clients.

Generationals Chief M&A Officer, Brenen Hofstadter stated, At this years ACG DealMAX conference, we met more active industry buyers, and leaders from private equity holding companies than ever. We see a clear trend emerging: Buyers are hungry for high quality add-ons to accelerate their growth.

We really appreciate the tremendous event that ACG hosts each year, Hofstadter added. It was very encouraging to see the significant level of attendance, and we look forward to working with the buyers we met and helping to find the perfect fit for these buyers in our client base.

About Generational Group

Generational Equity, Generational Capital Markets (member FINRA/SIPC), Generational Wealth Advisors, Generational Consulting Group and DealForce are part of Generational Group, which is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

With more than 350 professionals located throughout 16 offices in North America, the companies help business owners release the wealth of their business by providing growth consulting, merger, acquisition, and wealth management services. The Generational suite of advisory services includes strategic growth consulting, exit planning education, business valuation, value enhancement strategies, M&A services, and wealth management.

The M&A Advisor named Generational Equity Investment Banking Firm of the Year three years in a row, Valuation Firm of the Year in 2020, and North American Investment Bank of the Year in 2022 as well as Consulting Firm of the Year. For more information, visit https://www.genequityco.com/ or the Generational Equity press room.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005371/en/

Carl Doerksen

972-342-0968

[email protected]

Source: Generational Group
Uzbekistan and China have jointly preserved and restored the ancient city of Khiva, a shining pearl on the ancient Silk Road in Central Asia. It marks an important cultural cooperation project between the two countries. #GLOBALink

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
TSUBAME4.0, which will be fully operational in spring of 2024, will deliver 20 times more accelerated compute performance than its predecessor to accelerate AI-driven cutting-edge research and convergence science

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) today announced that it was selected by Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) Global Scientific Information and Computing Center (GSIC) to build its next-generation supercomputer, TSUBAME4.0, to accelerate AI-driven scientific discovery in medicine, materials science, climate research, and turbulence in urban environments.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005248/en/

TSUBAME4.0 (Photo: Business Wire)

Tokyo Tech is one of the worlds leading universities in science and technology. With the TSUBAME4.0 supercomputer, users will have the ability to train more AI models and run applications in computational science and analytics, simultaneously, to augment research efforts and improve productivity.

TSUBAME4.0, which was procured under the Japanese government procurement rules and was awarded to HPE Japan, will be fully operational in spring of 2024. The system will be based in a newly constructed facility in Tokyo Techs Suzukakedai campus.

TSUBAME4.0 will be built using HPE Cray XD6500 supercomputers, which provide maximum performance and specialized capabilities to run modeling and simulation workloads required for complex scientific research. The HPE Cray XD6500 supercomputers are also highly dense and purpose-built to support accelerated compute that is optimized to power AI, analytics, and image-intensive applications.

TSUBAME has been supporting our research on cyclic peptide drug discovery, which is anticipated to become the next-generation medicine, said Professor Yutaka Akiyama, School of Computing, Tokyo Tech. TSUBAME has always been our partner in the daring challenges of achieving worlds first. It has been supporting reproduction of biophysical phenomena with hundred-fold larger simulations, and through exhaustive calculation on hundreds of cases has generated quantitative proof of predictive ability. With the significantly accelerated TSUBAME4.0, we look forward to its support in realizing intelligent drug discovery through large-scale molecular simulation and fusing it with deep learning technology in generating predictive models.

TSUBAME4.0 will achieve a theoretical peak performance of 66.8 petaflops at 64-bit double precision. Additionally, the system will reach 952 petaflops at 16-bit half-precision, delivering 20 times more accelerated compute performance than TSUBAME3.0, its predecessor. TSUBAME4.0 will provide significantly higher performance to address the computational demands of many users, serving as a supercomputer for everyone.

National research centers across the globe rely on supercomputing to drive science, engineering, and AI initiatives to understand complex phenomena and accelerate innovation, said Justin Hotard, executive vice president and general manager, HPC, AI & Labs, at HPE. Tokyo Tech is a powerful example of an organization that continues to invest in supercomputing and opens it to a broader community to enable cutting-edge research and new capabilities in AI. We are proud to continue our collaboration with Tokyo Tech and NVIDIA to build TSUBAME4.0, which features HPE Cray supercomputing innovation to deliver the massive performance required to augment Tokyo Techs ongoing scientific and AI-driven missions.

Since the launch of TSUBAME1.0 in April 2006, the TSUBAME supercomputers have provided computing resources to global industry, academia, and government organizations as everyones supercomputer. GSIC of Tokyo Tech is the first university to adopt GPU-enabled supercomputers1, has gained recognition for delivering one of the most advanced, cutting-edge supercomputer centers in the world.

About TSUBAME4.0

TSUBAME4.0 will be built with HPE Cray XD6500 supercomputers, consisting of 240 nodes, and equipped with two 4th Gen AMD EPYC processors, four NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs, and 768 GiB of main memory. TSUBAME4.0 hardware and software are designed to leverage and augment the current TSUBAME3.0 capabilities as a GPU-based supercomputer with enhanced usability through various software enhancements.

NVIDIAs computing platform drives acceleration at every scale for AI and HPC, said Ian Buck, vice president of HPC and Hyperscale Computing, NVIDIA. Tokyo Techs TSUBAME4.0 supercomputer, which will be built by HPE and powered by NVIDIA H100 GPUs, NVIDIA Quantum-2 InfiniBand and our AI and HPC software, will empower researchers and scientists to tackle some of the worlds most complex challenges and drive breakthroughs that can benefit society as a whole.

The TSUBAME4.0 configuration is similar to the existing TSUBAME series, which involves the x86_64 CPUs and CUDA compatible GPUs. This will enable the continued use of existing program assets and the fast-paced adoption of cutting-edge computational science and technology.

1 TSUBAME 1.2 is the first supercomputer to adopt GPUs. Source: https://www.nvidia.com/content/pdf/sc_2010/theater/matsuoka_sc10.pdf

About Tokyo Institute of Technology

Tokyo Tech stands at the forefront of research and higher education as the leading university for science and technology in Japan. Tokyo Tech researchers excel in fields ranging from materials science to biology, computer science, and physics. Founded in 1881, Tokyo Tech hosts over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students per year, who develop into scientific leaders and some of the most sought-after engineers in industry. Embodying the Japanese philosophy of monotsukuri, meaning technical ingenuity and innovation, the Tokyo Tech community strives to contribute to society through high-impact research. https://www.titech.ac.jp/english/

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) is the global edge-to-cloud company that helps organizations accelerate outcomes by unlocking value from all of their data, everywhere. Built on decades of reimagining the future and innovating to advance the way people live and work, HPE delivers unique, open and intelligent technology solutions as a service. With offerings spanning Cloud Services, Compute, High Performance Computing & AI, Intelligent Edge, Software, and Storage, HPE provides a consistent experience across all clouds and edges, helping customers develop new business models, engage in new ways, and increase operational performance. For more information, visit: www.hpe.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005248/en/

Eri Yagihashi

[email protected]

Source: Hewlett Packard Enterprise
VIENNA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Vice Admiral John A. Lockard, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Chairman of the Board of Directors at Navy Federal Credit Union, has announced his retirement from the board. VADM Lockard served on the Navy Federal board for 30 years, and for the past 29 years, has chaired the board and its executive committee. Appointed as a volunteer official in 1991, VADM Lockard was elected to the Board of Directors in 1993 and immediately became Secretary of the Board. Within the year, he assumed the role of Chairman, a position he has held ever since.

Under VADM Lockards chairmanship, Navy Federal grew and flourished. During his tenure, the credit unions membership rose from 1.4 million to 12.7 million. Lockard championed Navy Federal's field of membership expansion to all Department of Defense employees in 2008. He also supported the establishment of Navy Federal's Pensacola, Florida campus in 2002 and its ongoing development as a home for 10,000 employees as part of Navy Federals 23,000-strong workforce. VADM Lockard also ensured an ongoing commitment to the credit union's mission and goals by leading the selection process of the past three Navy Federal President/CEOs: Brian McDonnell in 1996, Cutler Dawson in 2004 and Mary McDuffie in 2018.

Before joining Navy Federal, VADM Lockard had a distinguished 36-year career of naval service, and later as an executive for the Boeing Company Integrated Defense Systems Division, retiring as the Chief Operating Officer of the division. For his exemplary work, Lockard received the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award in 2014, the Defense Credit Union Council 2019 Hall of Honor Award and the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) Volunteer of the Year Award in 2020.

Edward R Cochrane, Jr., a board member since 2011 and Second Vice Chairman and member of the executive committee since 2014, has been elected as Chairman. He has served on the Financial Strategy and Investment Committee since 2007 and served on the Planning, Risk and Strategic Direction committee since 2014. Mr. Cochranes career assignments include Associate Director of the Office of Budget for the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, as well as Director of the Investment and Development Division and Business and Civil Resources Division in the Office of Budget for the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Mr. Cochrane is a graduate from Georgetown University (BA) and Syracuse University (MPA).

"Chairman Lockard has been an inspiring leader throughout our history at Navy Federal. He retires after more than 30 years of service, leaving a legacy of passionate support for credit unions, Navy Federals mission of member service and employee growth and development. He has been a role model of leadership for me and countless others throughout his decades of service, said Mary McDuffie, President and CEO at Navy Federal. He will be greatly missed, but we know Chairman Cochrane will continue in his footsteps.

In announcing his retirement, VADM Lockard noted, I am grateful for the opportunity to have served on and led the Board. I have eternal admiration for the members and employees of Navy Federal Credit Union. There is not a day that the knowledge I have received in interacting with the members and employees has not exceeded the time I have invested. I leave with high confidence that the members of Navy Federal are in the best hands to receive the highest possible value from their credit union.

Navy Federal Credit Union: Established in 1933 with only seven members, Navy Federal now has the distinct honor of serving over 12 million members globally and is the worlds largest credit union. As a member-owned and not-for-profit organization, Navy Federal always puts the financial needs of its members first. Membership is open to all Department of Defense and Coast Guard Active Duty, veterans, civilian and contractor personnel, and their families. Dedicated to its mission of service, Navy Federal employs a workforce of over 23,000 and has a global network of 357 branches. For more information about Navy Federal Credit Union, visit navyfederal.org. Federally insured by NCUA. Equal Opportunity Employer.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005247/en/

Mike Rudin

Corporate Communications

[email protected]

Source: Navy Federal Credit Union
Drivers from Peoria, St. Louis, Louisville, Nashville take part in 12th Annual St. Jude Corvette Drive

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Patients, their families and employees celebrated the 12th Annual St. Jude Corvette Drive today, an epic road trip that starts in Peoria, Ill. and cruises through St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital in Memphis before turning back. Along the way, the fleet was joined in Dyersburg, TN by drivers from St. Louis, Louisville and Nashville who then all headed to Memphis together.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005437/en/

St. Jude patient Viktor watches as Corvettes pass by from Peoria, Ill., St. Louis, MO, Louisville, KY and Nashville, TN. (Photo: Business Wire)

This event not only brings smiles to all those who wave it through but also goes towards supporting the lifesaving mission of St. Jude: Finding cures. Saving children. Over the past 12 years, the St. Jude Corvette Drive has raised $1.9 million toward research and treatment by St. Jude. This years drive raised $340,000, surpassing last years donation of $230,000.

Over the years, the there-and-back-again event has grown to include more cities and drivers inspired by the events camaraderie and community, with more than half of this years drivers returning from years past. For the first seven years, the drive only included Peoria drivers  St. Louis was added in 2019 and Louisville in 2020. This year the drive added Nashville to the lineup. The round trip mileage for each trek is: 900 miles for Peoria, 548 miles for St. Louis, 712 miles for Louisville and 384 miles for Nashville.

For more information or to make a donation visit stjudedrives.org

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005437/en/

Ree Nicholas

[email protected]

Source: St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital
Sensor Maker Integrates LiDAR Model on High-Fidelity Autonomous Vehicle Simulation Platform

SHENZHEN, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- RoboSense, a world-leading provider of smart LiDAR sensor systems, today announced it is now connected to the NVIDIA Omniverse ecosystem, using the development platform based on Universal Scene Description (USD) to accelerate the development, testing, and validation of its sensor technology.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005153/en/

RoboSense Joins NVIDIA Omniverse Ecosystem RoboSense's second-generation smart solid-state LiDAR model is integrated into NVIDIA DRIVE Sim, built on Omniverse, enabling physically based, high-fidelity sensor simulation. (Graphic: Business Wire)

RoboSense's second-generation smart solid-state LiDAR model is integrated into NVIDIA DRIVE Sim, built on Omniverse, enabling physically based, high-fidelity sensor simulation. With this integration, autonomous vehicle developers can directly access state-of-the-art LiDAR for development and testing. (Video: RoboSense LiDAR Model in NVIDIA DRIVE Sim)

DRIVE Sim is a reference application built on NVIDIA Omniverse, the connecting fabric between software ecosystems. It combines NVIDIAs core technologies to deliver digital twin environments for developing and testing autonomous driving systems. With DRIVE Sim, developers can perform diverse and repeatable testing scenarios at a large scale, accelerating development and reducing cost.

As part of the Omniverse ecosystem, RoboSense will use the simulation platform to test and validate its new LiDAR systems - as well as provide ADAS developers access to highly accurate simulation models.

RoboSense's M-Series LiDAR is the world's first second-generation smart solid-state LiDAR to achieve mass production for automotive applications. It is currently the LiDAR with the most designated partnerships worldwide and has been implemented in a variety of vehicle models including the GAC Aion LX Plus, GAC Aion Hyper GT, SAIC IM LS7, SAIC IM L7, Lotus Eletre, XPeng G9, XPeng P7i, Great Wall WEY Mocha DHT-PHEV, Great Wall Motor WEY DHT-PHEV, and Chery Exeed STERRA ES, STERRA ET.

The M-Series LiDAR features a revolutionary two-dimensional MEMS scanning architecture, with unique GAZE function that can dynamically switch scanning modes and change scanning patterns based on the scenario, improving vehicle perception in complex environments. Based on RoboSense's leading patented technology, the M-Series LiDAR delivers point-cloud with outstanding quality, helping to address corner cases in autonomous driving perception.

By joining the NVIDIA Omniverse ecosystem, RoboSense enables developers to create complex road environments with high physical accuracy using its LiDAR model on the DRIVE Sim platform. The M series LiDAR model offers the flexibility to simulate its performance in beam control, custom scan patterns, and resolutions, which can then be used to generate synthetic datasets for training and validation of autonomous driving solutions.

Mark Qiu, co-founder and executive president of RoboSense, said, The global automotive industry is undergoing a massive transformation, with ADAS and LiDAR markets continuing to gain traction. Leveraging the NVIDIA Omniverse ecosystem, RoboSense LiDAR technology and industry experience can be applied in a wider field, providing strong support for the development and verification of autonomous vehicles. RoboSense will work with NVIDIA to fully leverage the advantages of LiDAR technology, continuously improve the perception capabilities of autonomous vehicles, and achieve more efficient, safer, and smarter autonomous driving applications. We are committed to promoting the development of the global automotive and autonomous driving industries.

Zvi Greenstein, a general manager at NVIDIA, said, NVIDIA Omniverse is an open platform that includes leading LiDAR models from manufacturers worldwide. RoboSense's outstanding technical strength and customer base help strengthen our ecosystem and will accelerate the development and validation of autonomous vehicles while bringing more flexibility to developers.

About RoboSense

RoboSense (Suteng Innovation Technology Co., Ltd.) is a world-leading provider of Smart LiDAR Sensor Systems. With a complete portfolio of LiDAR sensors, AI perception and IC chipsets, RoboSense transforms conventional 3D LiDAR sensors with comprehensive data analysis and interpretation systems.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005153/en/

Grace Ye

[email protected]

Source: RoboSense
GENEVA, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Under the directive of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, signed today a $39 million multiyear contribution agreement with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The grant will support the fight to end global pandemics and strengthen health and community systems.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005339/en/

SFD signs a $39 million multiyear contribution agreement with Global Fund (Photo: AETOSWire)

The agreement was signed by H.E. Mr. Sultan Al-Marshad, CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development, and Mr. Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund, in the presence of H.E. Ambassador Abdulmohsen bin Khothaila, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations in Geneva.

Announced during the Global Fund's 7th replenishment, which observed a substantial 30% increase from the previous conference, this agreement bolsters Saudi Arabia's standing as the 19th largest donor to the Global Fund. Having already pledged US$ 162 million and contributed US$ 123 million since 2003, the Kingdom continues to secure critical funding for resources and tools to combat these infectious diseases.

Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund, stated: "We are grateful for the generous support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over the past 20 years. The signing of this agreement will ensure that the Global Fund can continue to finance and support programs that aim to prevent, treat, and care for people affected by HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria in more than 100 countries worldwide. This agreement demonstrates the critical importance of our partnership with the Saudi Fund for Development and sets the stage for even greater collaboration in the years to come."

Sultan Al-Marshad, CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development, stated: "Our purpose today is one that is both timely and critical, given the health challenges the world is currently facing, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. These circumstances underline the necessity for a strong and resilient global health system. It is in response to these challenges that the Kingdom and its leadership is committing to support global health initiatives and drive long-term equitable development while safeguarding people's health. By targeting diseases such as AIDS and Malaria, we aim to help improve the lives of countless individuals, and communities.

*Source: AETOSWire

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005339/en/

Nawaf Alajroush

SFD

00966506110244

Source: Saudi Fund for Development
TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), together with Manila-based think tank, the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), and civil society organisations across Southeast Asia, backed by the Climate Change Commission of the Philippines, called for urgent and significant delivery of Paris climate commitments to help communities, especially the most vulnerable, survive and thrive amid the climate crisis.

As a climate vulnerable region, adaptation remains our response anchor, with mitigation as a co-benefit. We must act on climate change for our long-term resilience and development. We need powerful regional voices in the Global Stocktake (GST), and we hope to achieve that through this collaboration, said Angelo Kairos dela Cruz, Executive Director of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), during the launch of the Southeast Asia (SEA) Hub of the Independent Global Stocktake (iGST) on 16 May.

The GST was established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to assess the worlds collective progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, which was adopted in 2015 with 196 countries committing to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Led by IGES and ICSC, with support from the ClimateWorks Foundation, the iGST SEA Hub aims to champion a purposive GST through empowering non-state actors (NSAs), including scientists, campaigners and other civil society representatives, to connect their actions with the GST process.

Representatives from Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Timor Leste and Lao PDR, who are now established members of the Hub, gathered from 16-18 May, 2023 to lay down their action plans for Southeast Asia. The region has been at the forefront of impacts for decades, and its critical sectors, including rice production, food security, energy, forestry and marine ecosystems, continue to be threatened by climate change.

The Climate Change Commission supports the iGST SEA Hub to ensure that most, if not all, perspectives are captured in the stocktaking process. The Philippines hopes that Southeast Asian countries can further strengthen their convergence and synergies on climate actions towards attainment of our shared vision of a sustainable and climate-resilient future, said Secretary Robert Borje, Vice Chairperson and Executive Director of the Commission, in his keynote address.

Each Global Stocktake is a two-year process, and is conducted every five years. This year marks a critical juncture for global climate negotiations, as the first GST will conclude in the upcoming UN climate conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in November. UNFCCC Associate Programme Officer Tamaki Takao also emphasised the importance of the third technical dialogue in June this year, which will serve as the venue to contribute final inputs before the culmination of the first GST.

Countries are expected to update their climate pledges and increase international cooperation based on GST outcomes, to ultimately deliver stronger, more ambitious climate action across the globe.

NOTES TO THE EDITOR

The Independent Global Stocktake (iGST) is a consortium of civil society actors working together to support the Global Stocktake (GST) process. iGST aims to enhance the transparency and accountability in the GST by incorporating independent scientific and technical knowledge from non-state actors, generating momentum for ambitious climate action. Apart from Southeast Asia, iGST also has regional hubs in West Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

The iGST SEA Hub was officially launched on 16 May 2023, followed by a series of workshops from 16-18 May, with the aim of establishing a framework for the Hub. For more information, visit icsc.ngo/igst-sea-hub.

ABOUT

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) is a Japan-based think tank that specialises in environmental policy and sustainable development. IGES works towards promoting sustainable societies by conducting policy-oriented research, providing recommendations, and facilitating dialogue among various stakeholders.

The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) is a Manila-based climate and energy policy group advancing climate resilience and low-carbon development.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230518005394/en/

Yuri Katsuike, IGES: [email protected] +81 807 410 1620

Anton Onato, ICSC: [email protected], +63 995 991 2230, +63 917 149 5649

Source: Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- STEER Technologies Inc. (STEER or the Company) (TSXV: STER) (OTCQX: STEEF), an integrated ESG technology platform, would like to provide an update that, further to its press release dated May 3, 2023, Staff of the Ontario Securities Commission (the OSC) today held a Tribunal Hearing related to its Settlement Agreement (the Agreement) with STEER and proceeded to approve said Agreement so as to serve the public interest.

The Agreement resolves issues primarily relating to the Companys continuous disclosure between April 2020 and January 2021 (the Material Time) and specifically resolved (i) six news releases issued by the Company during the Material Time that did not contain adequate disclosure regarding the capabilities and consumer readiness of its COVID-19 digital contact-tracing platform, TraceSCAN, (ii) that the Company failed to correct forward-looking information contained in a news release after it had become clear that the information was inaccurate, (iii) that the Companys corrective news release prepared on OSCs request as part of Continuous Disclosure Review in April, 2021, did not achieve the intended effect of clarifying the development stages of TraceSCAN throughout 2020 and (iv) that the Company did not explain the change in the anticipated TraceSCAN V2 release in its Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) for the three months ended March 31, 2021. Moreover, the Agreement resolves issues relating to the Companys relationship with Medtronics Online Solutions Ltd. (Medtronics), specifically the fact that STEER did not take steps to stop an entity directly related to Medtronics from releasing overly promotional content about STEER before and during STEERs relationship with Medtronics. STEER acknowledges that engaging in the conduct described above resulted in non-compliance with Ontario Securities Law and conduct contrary to the public interest.

STEER and its management are committed to meeting corporate disclosure standards and regret that they did not satisfy such standards during the Material Time. As a result of the inquiry by OSC Staff, the Company has already taken steps to improve its continuous disclosure. Under the terms of the Agreement, the Company will take several additional steps to comply with its continuous disclosure requirements.

Pursuant to the Agreement, STEER has agreed to pay an administrative penalty in the amount of $300,000, institute a number of requirements of its Disclosure Committee, submit its disclosure policies, governance framework and quarterly reviews of disclosure practices to a review by a consultant acceptable to the OSC, and pay the costs of the OSC investigation in the amount of $40,000. Moreover, Sayan Navaratnam, STEERs CEO and Chairman of the Board during Material Time, has agreed to pay an administrative penalty in the amount of $75, 000, complete a course on disclosure issues satisfactory to the OSC, be prohibited from becoming or acting as a director of a reporting issuer, other than STEER and its affiliates, for three years, and pay the costs of the OSC investigation in the amount of $15,000; Suman Pushparajah, STEERs COO and leader of Facedrive Health, a division which oversaw the development of TraceSCAN, has agreed to make a voluntary payment to the OSC in the amount of $50,000, be prohibited from certifying an interim or annual filing until he has completed the course on disclosure issues satisfactory to the OSC, be prohibited from becoming or acting as a director of a reporting issuer, other than STEER and its affiliates, for two years, and pay the costs of the OSC investigation in the amount of $15,000; and Junaid Razvi, the Chair of STEERs Disclosure Committee, as well as Director, Vice President and Corporate Secretary of STEER during the Material Time, has agreed to pay an administrative penalty in the amount of $40,000, complete a course on disclosure issues satisfactory to the OSC, be prohibited from becoming or acting as a director of a reporting issuer, other than STEER and its affiliates, for two years, and pay the costs of the OSC investigation in the amount of $15,000.

Below is a summary of actions STEER has already taken in response to the inquiry by the OSC. In connection with the OSCs review of STEERs continuous disclosure, the Company voluntarily took the following actions before entering into the Agreement:

hired internal legal counsel;

created a special committee of independent directors to investigate and review circumstances related to disclosure issues raised by the OSC during the Continuous Disclosure Review;

revised its existing disclosure policy, including by having external legal counsel review all of its continuous disclosure;

changed the composition of its Disclosure Committee to include its internal legal counsel.

We are pleased to reach this agreement with the OSC. The measures announced today demonstrate our commitment to fulsome and balanced disclosure. We would like to note that, while the Material Time occurred over two years ago, while STEER was a much younger company that was trying to innovate during a global health crisis, we take full responsibility for the Companys disclosure shortfalls and are determined to institute all necessary measures to ensure compliance moving forward. With this matter behind us, we can direct all our focus to STEERs exciting future, said Suman Pushparajah, CEO of STEER.

About the Company

STEER is an integrated ESG technology platform that moves people and delivers things through subscription and on-demand services. The Companys goal is to build a one-of-a-kind ecosystem that aggregates conscientious users, through a series of connected offerings, and enables them to buy, sell, or invest with the same platform, STEER. The Companys offerings generally fall into two categories: subscription-based offerings led by its flagship electric vehicle subscription business, STEER EV, and on-demand services incorporating delivery, Restaurant Supply Business, Delivery-as-a-Service (DaaS) and rideshare businesses. The Companys platform is also powered by EcoCRED, its big data, analytics and machine learning engine which seeks to capture, analyze, parse and report on key data points in ways that measure the Companys impact on carbon reductions and offsets.

For more about the Company, visit www.steeresg.com.

Suman Pushparajah, CEO

[email protected]

STEER

100 Consilium Pl, Unit 400

Scarborough, ON

Canada M1H 3E3

www.steeresg.com

Forward-Looking Information

Certain information in this press release contains forward-looking information, including with respect to the upcoming hearing involving the Capital Markets Tribunal. This information is based on managements reasonable assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to us and are made as of the date of this press release. Actual results and the timing of future events, such as those pertaining to the date of the hearing and the Tribunals review of the Settlement Agreement, may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information as a result of various factors. Information regarding our expectations of future results, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities or the markets in which we operate is forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not facts but instead represent managements expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events or circumstances. Many factors could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements or future events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In particular, statements pertaining to the timing, terms and completion of the hearing, STEERs expectations regarding the upcoming hearing constitute forward-looking information.

See Forward-Looking Information and Risk Factors in the Companys Annual Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A) for the year ended December 31, 2022 (filed on SEDAR on May 1, 2023) for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements and other risks. Readers are urged to consider the uncertainties, risks and assumptions carefully in evaluating the forward-looking information and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information. The Company has no intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation and regulatory requirements.

The TSXV has in no way passed upon the merits of the Agreement and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005420/en/

For further information:

Company Contact: Suman Pushparajah, [email protected]

Media Contact: Maria Verbytska, [email protected], Tel: 1-888-300-2228

Source: STEER Technologies Inc.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman told shareholders Friday that the company will likely appoint its next CEO in the next 12 months.

Gorman, 64, said the board has identified three strong candidates to succeed him and that he will become executive chairman once a new CEO is chosen.

Shares of Morgan Stanley slipped about 1% to $83.84 in morning trading.

COMMENTS:

STUART COLE, HEAD MACRO ECONOMIST, EQUITI CAPITAL, LONDON:

"Gorman has been at MS for a long time now, and was very much behind the purchase by MS of E*Trade Financial Corp and Eaton Vance Corp, both of which have been very successful for MS. Under his leadership MS stock has been one of the best performing financials, so I expect investors will be disappointed he is leaving and will see him as a hard act to follow."

JOHN GUARNERA, SENIOR CORPORATE ANALYST AT RBC BLUERAY ASSET MANAGEMENT:

"James Gorman has taken a lot of effort to bolster the leadership ranks and to train and promote potential successors there. He's been pretty clear in terms of establishing a bench that would be there to be able to support him when and if he chose to leave. So, I don't anticipate any major change in strategic direction, and I would think that the transition would be relatively orderly.

PHIL BLANCATO, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, LADENBURG THALMANN ASSET MANAGEMENT, NEW YORK:

"I would applaud James Gorman here for taking the right time to step down. The guy has done an excellent job navigating the bank. It's a company that has done quite well for itself in the midst of a time when other banks have not."

ART HOGAN, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, B RILEY WEALTH, BOSTON:

"James Gorman has done a masterful job of transforming Morgan Stanley into the model that most major banks want to be, with a focus on asset management, financial advisors, and a road map to get to $10 trillion in assets under management."

KIM FORREST, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, BOKEH CAPITAL PARTNERS, PITTSBURGH:

"It has really been a great performing stock and I think it's largely because of Gorman's focus on the new world of how things are done. His focus on deals was good, but also on enabling trades, that is something that they really set out to capture as a market. Building out their wealth management division has been a real boon to the company and they bested Goldman in that practice."

(Reporting by Ankika Biswas, Jaiveer Shekhawat, Vansh Agarwal, Shashwat Chauhan and Khushi Singh)
London, UK, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alterna Network, a Layer-1 blockchain revolutionizing the industry, proudly announces its platform's launch, delivering unparalleled independence, security, speed, and cost-effectiveness for blockchain users worldwide. With a community-driven approach and a commitment to innovation, Alterna Network is set to reshape the landscape of cryptocurrency and blockchain applications.

Alterna Network operates independently as a Layer-1 blockchain, ensuring transaction finalization without relying on external networks. Once consensus is reached among its validators, transactions become valid and irreversible. This freedom from intermediaries empowers users to interact with the platform in diverse and unrestricted ways, fostering a truly decentralized ecosystem.

The platform has attracted a vibrant and enthusiastic community from various regions, actively engaging through social media platforms. The official Alterna Network website serves as a valuable resource, providing information and a link to the fastest-growing Telegram group. The community shares a strong belief in the importance of a blockchain platform that fosters innovation, making transactions and application development seamless.

Alterna Network stands out for its commitment to transparency and security. Every transaction processed on the network is visible to all users simultaneously, ensuring accountability and minimizing the likelihood of fraudulent activities. This transparent approach fosters trust within the network and enables easy tracking and verification of all transactions.

With a focus on lightning-fast transaction speeds, Alterna Network incorporates a layer-2 solution directly into its Layer-1 infrastructure. Collaborating with experienced blockchain experts, Alterna Network aims to achieve stability in transaction speeds. The platform aspires to surpass transaction throughput benchmarks set by Ethereum and Solana, targeting an impressive 3.5 million transactions per second (TPS), enabling swift and efficient blockchain interactions.

While striving for high transaction speeds, Alterna Network remains dedicated to maintaining stable and affordable gas fees for all users. Its competitive advantage lies in offering fast transactions at cost-effective prices. By prioritizing affordability, Alterna Network ensures that users can benefit from enhanced transaction speeds without incurring exorbitant fees.

To support ongoing innovations and the growth of the Alterna Network, the network encourages participation from a diverse pool of validators. Anyone can become a validator by holding or staking 0.1% of the total supply. This inclusive approach enables community members to actively shape the future of Alterna Network, fostering a decentralized and collaborative ecosystem.

Alterna Network, with its independent operation, high-security standards, lightning-fast transaction speeds, cost-effective gas fees, and community-driven initiatives, stands as a powerful Layer-1 blockchain empowering users and opening up opportunities for advancements in cryptocurrency and blockchain-based applications. With its dedicated community and commitment to excellence, Alterna Network is poised to make a lasting impact in the blockchain world.

For more information about Alterna Network, please visit https://alternanetwork.org

About Alterna Network

Alterna Network is a Layer-1 blockchain platform that operates independently, providing security, speed, and cost-effectiveness for users worldwide. With a strong emphasis on community-driven innovation, Alterna Network aims to revolutionize the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. For more information, visit https://alternanetwork.org.

Website | Twitter | Telegram | Medium | DEXTools | CoinMarketCap

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.

Jonathan Reichental support(at)alternanetwork.org

Source: Alterna Network
London, UK, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With the new development, ChatCrypto is set to revolutionize the cryptocurrency market with its recent seed funding round. The platform managed to sell out its seed round within 24 hours from its beginning. The platform offers powerful technology in the field of AI and continues to captivate investors and enthusiasts alike.

Chatcryptos AI face Morpheus; Morpheus is a AI face of chatcrypto that makes people and community grow like a rocket speed

ChatCrypro offers a strong technological foundation and strives to revolutionize secure communication for the global community. The investors attracted enthusiasm in purchasing CCAIT tokens, recognizing the potential of ChatCrypto to shape the future of the AI market within the crypto space. The platform provides exceptional services in the seed round and solidifies its position as a leader in the AI market within the crypto space. The platform focuses on integrating AI into its ecosystem. By harnessing the power of AI, ChatCrypto is able to offer advanced features, enhance user experiences and improve the overall security of its platform.

With the seed round sold out in record time, ChatCrypto intends to gear up for additional funding rounds. It attracts investors and serves as a testament to a platforms robust technology. By leveraging the AI algorithm and machine learning capabilities, ChatCrypto aims to deliver cutting-edge features and services that meet the evolving needs of its users.

In addition, ChatCrypto gives transparency and ethical AI practices. It also provides data privacy by taking proactive steps to ensure the users that the ChatCrypto platform is secure. It includes strong data protection measures, as well as working to promote diversity and inclusivity within the community.

Furthermore, with its impressive growth, ChatCrypto is poised to make a significant impact in the AI industry. The platform moves forward with its seeds round and will constantly innovate and utilize the latest technology and will be more secure.

About ChatCrypto:

ChatCrypto is a blockchain company that aims to revolutionize the cryptocurrency market by introducing cutting-edge technology and the latest innovations. The company continues to advance and secure additional funding. Its innovative approach to AI-driven communication solutions is set to make a lasting impact in the crypto space.

Website | Telegram | Twitter

Disclaimer: The information provided in this press release is not investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is highly recommended that you practice due diligence (including consultation with a professional financial advisor) before investing or trading securities and cryptocurrency.

Salmon James CHATCRYPTO Pr(at)chatcrypto.ai

Source: ChatCrypto
This photo, taken on March 31, 2023, shows an exterior view of the China-aided Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Photo by Michael Tewelde/Xinhua)

ADDIS ABABA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Thursday said its recently launched Digital Transformation Strategy is set to revolutionize and strengthen public health systems in Africa.

With the increasing penetration of mobile phones and other digital technologies in Africa, there is a unique opportunity to harness this potential and improve health outcomes for all Africans, the Africa CDC said in a statement issued on Thursday.

It recognized the power of technology in improving healthcare outcomes, especially in low and middle-income countries.

The Digital Transformation Strategy launched in March in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, has two main strategic objectives -- making Africa CDC an informatics-savvy institution and positioning the Africa CDC to support African Union (AU) member states in strengthening their public health systems.

Doctor Xing Hongbin (3rd R) diagnoses a patient at Halibet Hospital in Asmara, Eritrea, on May 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

"The digital transformation strategy represents a critical milestone in our mission to improve public health in Africa," the statement quoted Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, deputy director general of the Africa CDC, as saying.

Ouma said as the Africa CDC spearheads the implementation of the New Africa Public Health Order, the AU's specialized healthcare agency is committed to leveraging technology to strengthen its response to public health emergencies and to build resilient health systems across the continent.

To achieve its aspirations, the Africa CDC has developed 10 flagship initiatives, ranging from connecting all of Africa's health facilities, promoting homegrown HealthTech innovation and including more women in the fast-growing digital health sector.

"Africa's growing digital native population combined with increased penetration of digital technologies and literacy present a historic opportunity to rethink how health interventions are designed and delivered," said Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Africa CDC's chief digital advisor. 
In accordance with the initiative and decision of the Board of LITGRID AB, Extraordinary General Meeting of LITGRID AB shareholders is convened on 12 June 2023, 10:00 am (company code 302564383, registered address at Karlo Gustavo Emilio Manerheimo st. 8, Vilnius). The meeting will be held at the premises of the Company, room 229. The beginning of shareholders' registration: 12 June 2023, 9:30. End of shareholders' registration: 12 June 2023, 9:55.

The record date of the Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders has been set for 5 June 2023. The right of participation and voting in the Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders can be exercised only by the persons who remain shareholders of LITGRID AB by the end of the record date of the Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders.

The agenda and proposed draft resolutions of the General Meeting of shareholders:

1) Regarding election of independent board member of LITGRID AB.

Proposed draft resolutions:

1.1. To elect Andrius Semeskevicius as the independent board member of LITGRID AB until the end of the cadency of LITGRID AB board.

1.2. To authorize the CEO of LITGRID AB on behalf of LITGRID AB to sign the standard terms and conditions of a Board member on activities in the Board of LITGRID AB, approved by the shareholders meeting on 20 of April 2022, with the newly elected member Andrius Semeskevicius of the board of LITGRID AB.

1.3. To authorize the CEO of LITGRID AB (with the right of sub-authorization) to notify the Register of Legal Entities of the Republic of Lithuania about the recalled board member and election of the new member of the Board, to register the changed data in the Register of Legal Entities of the Republic of Lithuania, and to perform any other related actions.

The shareholders may familiarize themselves with the Draft Resolutions of the General Meeting of Shareholders and supplementary material thereof, also with the implementation of the shareholders rights on the Central Database of Regulated Information www.crib.lt and at Companys website www.litgrid.eu.

The shareholders of the Company, whose shares are entitled to at least 1/20 of the total number of votes, shall have the right to supplement the agenda for the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders. The proposal to supplement the agenda shall be submitted in writing and sent by registered mail or delivered to the head office of the Company to the address: Karlo Gustavo Emilio Manerheimo st. 8, LT-05131 Vilnius (the Head Office). Draft Resolutions on the proposed issues or, when it is not mandatory to adopt resolutions, explanatory notes on each proposed issue of the agenda of the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders must be presented alongside with the proposal. The agenda will be supplemented if the proposal is received not later than on 26 May 2023.

The shareholders entitled to at least 1/20 of the total number of votes shall have the right, at any time before the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders or during the Meeting, to propose in writing new draft resolutions on the items put on the agenda of the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders. Such a proposals must be executed in writing and sent to the Company by registered mail or delivered to the Head Office of the Company. The proposal submitted during the course of the Meeting must be executed in writing and handed over to the Secretary of the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders.

The shareholders shall have the right to submit questions to the Company in advance, but not later than on 6 June 2023, in relation to the issues on the agenda of the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on 12 June 2023. Questions must be executed in writing and delivered to the Company by registered mail or to the Head Office of the Company. The Company will not present any answer to the question submitted by a shareholder personally to him in the case relevant information is available on the Companys website www.litgrid.eu.

Any shareholder shall be entitled to authorize a natural or legal person to participate and vote in his name at the General Meeting of Shareholders. The proxy of the shareholder must present the document confirming the persons identity and the certified Power of Attorney issued and valid in accordance with the law, which must be delivered to the Head Office not later than before the end of the registration of the attendees of the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders. During the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, the proxy exercises the same rights as the shareholder he is representing should. The form of the Power of Attorney to represent at the General Meeting of Shareholders is available on the website of the Company: www.litgrid.eu.

On the issues on the agenda of the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, the Shareholders may vote in writing by filling in a General Ballot Paper. On the shareholders request, the Company, not later than 10 days before the day of the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, will send a General Ballot Paper by registered mail free of charge or submit it in person against signature to the shareholder. The shareholder or his proxy must undersign the filled in General Ballot Paper. If the General Ballot Paper is signed by a person who is not a shareholder, a document certifying his right to vote must be appended to the filled in Ballot Paper. The duly filled in General Ballot Paper must be delivered to the Company by registered mail or submitted against signature at the Head Office not later than before the end of registration of the attendees of the General Meeting of Shareholders. The form of the General Ballot Paper is available on the website of the Company: www.litgrid.eu.

On the day of convocation of the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Shareholders the total number of shares was 504 331 380. All these shares grant voting right.

Information referred to in Articles 262 of the Law on Companies of the Republic of Lithuania shall be available on the website of the Company: www.litgrid.eu. Information about the additions to the agenda, as well as decisions made by the general meeting shall be also available on the Central Database of Regulated Information www.crib.lt.

ANNEXES:

Voting ballot; Power of Attorney form.

More information:

Jurga Eivaite

Communications Project Manager

+370 613 19977

[email protected]

Attachments
DANVERS, MA, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DemandScience, a leading B2B demand generation company that makes marketing and sales easier by enabling organizations to find the right prospects faster and target in-market buyers, today announced that experts from DemandScience and Google are teaming up to present a case study on lead generation strategy at the Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo 2023.

The speaking session will take place on Monday, May 22 at 11:45 a.m. Mountain time in Adam's Ballroom B at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center.

Presentation details:

Title: DemandScience: Lead Gen Strategy from Scratch with Googles Steve Armenti

Speakers: Steve Armenti, Group Marketing Manager, Global Demand Generation, Google

Stacy McMaster, Vice President of Global Customer Experience, DemandScience

Maia Wells, Director of Content and Brand Messaging, DemandScience

Abstract: How do you build a lead gen strategy from scratch? Just ask Steve Armenti, Global Demand Generation Manager at Google. Steves approach to crafting an effective, full-funnel plan can drive business results for any company that is investing in demand generation. Want to know how he does it? Join Steve, along with DemandScience experts Stacey McMaster and Maia Wells as they discuss the keys to optimizing lead gen success: ABM-focused content syndication with strategic guidance from DemandScience.

The Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo 2023 offers attendees the opportunity to advance their thinking as strategic leaders, and bring their marketing vision to life with the best mix of insight and research-backed sessions to cut through the hype and delve deeper into areas that drive results.

In addition to registering for the DemandScience solution provider session with Google on Monday, May 22, Symposium attendees are encouraged to visit Booth #103 throughout the event where they will have the opportunity for face-to-face discussions with the DemandScience team.

Gartner and Marketing Symposium/Xpo are registered trademarks of Gartner, Inc. or its affiliates in the U.S.

About the Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo

Gartner analysts will discuss the key issues facing CMOs during the 2023 Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo, taking place in Denver, CO May 22-24, 2023. This conference provides marketing leaders actionable advice about the trends, tools and emerging technologies they need to deliver business results. Gartner analysts address the biggest opportunities, challenges and priorities marketers face today, including data and analytics, customer experience, content marketing, customer insight, marketing technology (martech) and multichannel marketing. Follow news and updates for the event Twitter and LinkedIn using #GartnerMKTG.

About DemandScience

DemandScience is a leading B2B demand generation company that makes marketing and sales easier by enabling organizations to find the right prospects faster and target in-market buyers. The DemandScience Live Data Factory uses innovative technologies to deliver accurate data with relevant intent signals, helping organizations accelerate the buyers journey from top-of-funnel to conversion. Founded in 2012, DemandSciences products, data and leads benefit more than 1,500 customers worldwide. With offices in 7 countries and 800+ employees, DemandScience is #5 on Fortune Magazines list of the best workplaces in advertising & marketing.
TAMPA, Fla., May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE: HCI), a holding company with operations in homeowners insurance, information technology services, real estate, and reinsurance, will participate in the Truist Securities Financial Services Conference in New York, NY on May 23, 2023.

HCI Group Chief Financial Officer Mark Harmsworth and TypTap Insurance Company President Kevin Mitchell will hold one-on-one meetings with institutional investors throughout the day.

For additional information, please see the HCI Group investor website or contact Gateway Group at [email protected].

About HCI Group, Inc.HCI Group, Inc. owns subsidiaries engaged in diverse, yet complementary business activities, including homeowners insurance, information technology services, insurance management, real estate, and reinsurance. HCIs leading insurance operation, TypTap Insurance Company, is a technology-driven homeowners insurance company. TypTaps operations are powered in large part by insurance-related information technology developed by HCIs software subsidiary, Exzeo USA, Inc. HCIs largest subsidiary, Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Inc., provides homeowners insurance primarily in Florida. HCIs real estate subsidiary, Greenleaf Capital, LLC, owns and operates multiple properties in Florida, including office buildings, retail centers and marinas.

The company's common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "HCI" and are included in the Russell 2000 and S&P SmallCap 600 Index. HCI Group, Inc. regularly publishes financial and other information in the Investor Information section of the companys website. For more information about HCI Group and its subsidiaries, visit www.hcigroup.com.

Company Contact:Simon RosenbergInvestor RelationsHCI Group, Inc.Tel (813) 405-5261[email protected]

Investor Relations Contact:Matt GloverGateway Group, Inc. Tel 949-574-3860[email protected]

Source: HCI Group, Inc.
OTTAWA, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the Government of Canada works to resettle at least 40,000 Afghan refugees by the end of 2023, Helmets to Hardhats (H2H) is collaborating with Aman Lara and local building trades unions across Canada to provide recently resettled Afghan nationals with opportunities in the skilled trades.

For many Canadian newcomers, finding and securing well-paying, meaningful employment is a critical yet difficult step in their resettlement journey. That is why Helmets to Hardhats, a national non-profit organization typically dedicated to supporting transitioning military members, Veterans, Cadets, Reservists and military family members into opportunities in the skilled trades, has expanded their program eligibility to include resettled Afghan nationals. Helmets to Hardhats believes that because of their sacrifices and support of the Canadian military, it is our turn to assist them. Helmets to Hardhats is easing the transition into Canadian society with career and apprenticeship opportunities in the unionized construction industry.

Helmets to Hardhats provides direct and meaningful connections to ensure that Afghans interested in joining the skilled trades can break into the industry with little to no stress and no cost to the career seeker. The inclusion of Afghans into the Helmets to Hardhats program is aiding their successful transition into Canadian life by providing financial stability, earn-while-you-learn training opportunities, and access to health benefits and pension plans.

Helmets to Hardhats works directly with Canadas 14 Building Trades Unions to find our clients careers in over 60 different trades and occupations. Aman Lara is also supporting Helmets to Hardhats in connecting Afghan refugees to well-paying careers in the skilled trades. Currently, Helmets to Hardhats is working closely with:

Aman Lara: a non-profit organization that evacuates vulnerable people from nations in crises. They communicate directly with vulnerable clients throughout the evacuation process and assist in their resettlement upon arrival in Canada. Aman Lara has been vital in spreading awareness of the opportunities and benefits within the skilled trades to resettled Afghans and their families.

a non-profit organization that evacuates vulnerable people from nations in crises. They communicate directly with vulnerable clients throughout the evacuation process and assist in their resettlement upon arrival in Canada. Aman Lara has been vital in spreading awareness of the opportunities and benefits within the skilled trades to resettled Afghans and their families. Carpenters Regional Council: is composed of 31 affiliated Local Unions of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, representing members from Ontario to British Columbia. Many of their Locals are now employing Afghan nationals through the Helmets to Hardhats Program and are supported by their Veteran Liaison, Michael Humphries.

is composed of 31 affiliated Local Unions of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, representing members from Ontario to British Columbia. Many of their Locals are now employing Afghan nationals through the Helmets to Hardhats Program and are supported by their Veteran Liaison, Michael Humphries. Canadas Building Trades Unions (CBTU): is the national voice of over half a million Canadian construction workers--members of 14 international unions who work in more than 60 different trades and occupations. CBTU is committed to representing all workers in the unionized construction industry, building a diverse workforce and ensuring all workers are treated equally.

These organizations are filling critical labour shortages while providing sustainable employment and developing a diverse and inclusive skilled trades workforce. Over the last 18 months, many of the Local Unions of the Carpenters Regional Council have provided work opportunities for Afghan refugees and their family members since they arrived in Canada, including Local 27 and Local 675 in the GTA and Local 1946 in London, ON.

Helmets to Hardhats will continue collaborating with Canadas Unions and like-minded organizations to assist additional Afghan nationals in finding and retaining stable careers in the skilled trades.

Quotes

I am pleased to see that the collaborative efforts of H2H are leading to Afghans registering with H2H and entering the workforce within weeks. Helmets to Hardhats is proud to refer resettled Afghan refugees to employment opportunities within the skilled trades across Canada. Joe Maloney, Founder and Executive Director of Helmets to Hardhats Canada

Good-paying jobs are key to ensuring newcomers can build a prosperous new life in Canada. This collaboration between Helmets to Hardhats, Aman Lara and many trade unions across the country is a great example of how Canadians are stepping up to welcome Afghans and provide meaningful opportunities. It is through programs like this that we support valuable skills, help build rewarding careers and contribute to Canadas strong economic future.The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

The Carpenters Union is proud to partner with Helmets to Hardhats to provide career opportunities in the skilled trades to those that are most in need. Resettled Afghan interpreters that worked with the Canadian Armed Forces have experienced extreme turbulence since being forced to flee their homes. We know that these refugees are an integral part of our veteran community and any assistance we can provide in securing employment for them goes a long way. We are committed to ensuring they have all the support they need as they continue their transition to life in Canada.Michael Humphries, Veteran Liaison Representative for the Carpenters Regional Council

Canadas Building Trades Unions is proud to continue to support Helmets to Hardhats and to provide lifelong, rewarding career opportunities in the skilled trades to resettled Afghan refugees. We are committed to opening opportunities in the skilled trades to equity-deserving groups, including new Canadians and are working to ensure the construction industry strives to be more inclusive and breakdown barriers to entry to grow our skilled trades workforce while addressing labour availability across the industry.Sean Strickland, Executive Director, Canadas Building Trades Unions

Aman Lara is proud to be part of this collaborative effort with Helmets to Hardhats and trade unions across Canada, providing meaningful employment opportunities in the skilled trades to recently resettled refugees. This project contributes to the growth and diversification of Canadas skilled workforce and supports our clients in establishing themselves in their new home. We are committed to this initiative and believe that it will have a positive impact on our clients resettlement journey.Jon Feltham, Program Director, Aman Lara

Mr. Humphries has been amazing in helping me find work after I came to Canada. My life in Afghanistan was very dangerous, so I am grateful to be here working here and earning money to support my family. I did not know what I would do if I did not find work, but Mike has always been there for me and made sure I got a job. Afghan interpreter working with Local 675 of the Carpenters Regional Council

Contact information:

Aidan Strickland, Director of CommunicationsHelmets to Hardhats Canada[email protected]

Source: Helmets to Hardhats Canada
Paisley, United Kingdom, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In House First Aid Training has recently announced a range of in-house first aid training courses, such as emergency first aid at work, first aid annual refresher, emergency first aid for schools, first aid at work, basic life support and medical emergencies response training for businesses and schools within the UK.

These courses are led by a qualified instructor and involve a mixture of theoretical and practical learning, with hands-on activities designed to help attendees understand and remember important first aid techniques, including CPR and how to appropriately respond to minor burns and cuts, as well as sprains, eye injuries, allergies, and fainting.

The instructor-led courses include the trainer visiting the premises to teach attendees life-saving skills and emergency response procedures in a welcoming, supportive, and engaging environment.

Essential Skills for Workplace Safety

The courses provided by In House First Aid Training are suitable for workplaces, schools, and community groups, as it enables staff to learn directly from an experienced professional in a familiar setting.

Some of the first aid courses offered include:

Emergency First Aid at Work

First Aid Annual Refresher

Emergency First Aid for Schools

First Aid at Work

Basic Life Support

Medical Emergencies Response Training

In House First Aid Training ensures that the first aid training that its instructors provide is specifically tailored to the unique needs and requirements of the various employee groups in attendance. For example, certain industries may require specialised first aid training, such as construction, manufacturing, or catering environments.

Additionally, depending on the size of the group and the physical characteristics of the training room, In House First Aid Training will make sure certain precautions are taken to ensure a conducive and safe learning environment. For instance, learners should be seated at least 1.5m apart, and tables or suitable items should be provided for writing during assessments. The assessment room should also be free from noise and disturbances so that learners can concentrate effectively.

In House First Aid Training encompasses various instructor-led methods that cater for different employee groups, considering their unique needs and circumstances, such as the size (of the employees attending the course), the industry that the company belongs to, existing knowledge of the participants, and the demographic of the attendees.

By adhering to these differences, In House First Aid Training ensures that the training its instructors provide is tailored to the companys specific needs and that staff will be better equipped to apply their newfound knowledge and skills in real-life situations.

In House First Aid Training endeavours to create an optimal and safe learning environment for each of the courses it offers, where participants can develop valuable first aid skills to protect and aid their co-workers in times of emergency.

More information

To find out more about In House First Aid Training and its range of in-house first aid training courses, such as emergency first aid at work, first aid annual refresher, emergency first aid for schools, first aid at work, basic life support and medical emergencies response training for businesses and schools within the UK, please visit the website at https://inhousefirstaidtraining.org.uk/.

Source: https://thenewsfront.com/in-house-first-aid-training-announce-range-of-in-house-first-aid-training-courses-for-businesses-and-schools-in-the-uk/

In House First Aid Training Unit 6, Murray House, 17 Murray Street, Paisley Renfrewshire PA3 1QG United Kingdom 0808 164 2780 https://inhousefirstaidtraining.org.uk/

Source: In House First Aid Training
VANCOUVER, British Columbia and AUSTIN, Texas, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inspire Semiconductor Holdings Inc. (TSXV: INSP) (InspireSemi or the Company), a chip design company that has built a technology foundation to deliver revolutionary accelerator performance, today announced it has closed the first tranche of its non brokered private placement of units (Units) as previously announced by the Company in its press release dated April 13, 2023 (the Private Placement).

The Company further announced that it expects to enter into an agreement to amend the terms (the Amendment) of a short-term unsecured loan agreement (the Loan Agreement) as announced and further described by the Companys press release dated March 7, 2023.

Closing of First Tranche of Private Placement

Each Unit consists of (i) an unsecured convertible debenture in a principal amount of C$1,000 and (ii) 95 proportionate voting share purchase warrants. A total of 1,139 Units were sold. Total proceeds raised as part of the first tranche of the Private Placement were C$1,139,000.

All securities issued pursuant to the closing of the first tranche of the Private Placement are subject to resale restrictions pursuant to applicable securities law requirements until September 20, 2023.

The Company expects to close additional tranches of the Private Placement. Please refer to the Companys press release dated April 13, 2023 for further information. The amount remaining for issuance pursuant to the Private Placement considering the first tranche closing and the Amendment is now C$1,827,000.

The Private Placement is subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Amendment of Loan Agreement.

Pursuant to the Amendment the existing loans made under the Loan Agreement will have the same terms as the securities issued in the Private Placement, such that the lenders under the Loan Agreement will be issued Units.

There is currently US$760,000 (the Outstanding Principal) outstanding under the Loan Agreement. The Company proposes to issue a number of Units equal to the nearest C$1,000 in respect of the Outstanding Principal as converted to Canadian dollars at the Bank of Canada Daily Rate on the date the Amendment is executed. Any excess Outstanding Principal will be repaid to the lenders by the Company in cash.

Each Unit will be as described above and as further described in the Companys press release dated April 13, 2023.

Following the completion of the Amendment, the Company does not intend to draw on any further funds pursuant to the Loan Agreement.

All securities issued pursuant to the Amendment will be subject to resale restrictions pursuant to applicable securities law requirements comprised of a hold period of four months plus one day from the closing.

The Amendment is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Pursuant to the Amendment, if completed, Units will be issued to one or more individuals who are considered insiders by virtue of their being directors or officers of the Company and the issuance of Units to them will be considered a related party transaction pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101  Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101). The Company will rely on the formal valuation exemption in section 5.5(a) of MI 61-101 and upon the minority approval exemption in section 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 on the basis that, at the time the Amendment is agreed, neither the fair market value of the Amendment, nor the fair market value of the consideration therefor, insofar as it involves related parties will exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization as determined in accordance with MI 61-101.

A material change report may not be filed at least 21 days before the execution of the Amendment. The Company believes the shorter period is reasonable and necessary in the circumstances to allow the Company to complete the Amendment at the same time as any further tranches of the Private Placement.

About InspireSemi

InspireSemi is an Austin-based chip design company that has built a technology foundation that delivers revolutionary performance, energy efficiency, versatility, and a thriving open software ecosystem. This enables us to address multiple diversified, uncorrelated markets of High- Performance Computing (HPC), AI, and blockchain. Led by an accomplished team with a proven track record, it has a unique and strongly differentiated accelerated computing solution compared to existing approaches for these markets

For more information, visit https://inspiresemi.com/Follow InspireSemi on LinkedIn

Investor Relations Contact Phil Carlson/Scott Eckstein KCSA Strategic Communication [email protected]

Company Contact John B. Kennedy, CFO (737) 471-3230[email protected]

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (forward-looking statements). Statements concerning InspireSemis objectives, goals, strategies, priorities, intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations and estimates, and the business, operations, financial performance and condition of InspireSemi are forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates, or believes or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements formed in the future tense or indicating that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will (or other variations of the forgoing) be taken, occur, be achieved, or come to pass.

Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information regarding: (i) the business plans and expectations of the Company including expectations with respect to production and development; and (ii) expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. Forward-looking information is based on currently available competitive, financial and economic data and operating plans, strategies or beliefs as of the date of this presentation, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of InspireSemi, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors may be based on information currently available to the Company including information obtained from third-party industry analysts and other third-party sources, and are based on managements current expectations or beliefs. Any and all forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflect managements expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Forward-looking information reflects managements current beliefs and is based on information currently available to them and on assumptions they believe to be not unreasonable in light of all of the circumstances. In some instances, material factors or assumptions are discussed in this news release in connection with statements containing forward-looking information. Such material factors and assumptions include, but are not limited to: (i) statements relating to the business and future activities of, and developments related to, the Company after the date of this press release; (ii) expected satisfaction of all closing conditions in connection with the Private Placement, including receipt of final approval from the TSX Venture Exchange; (iii) expected completion of the Private Placement upon the terms contemplated herein and, in any event, on terms that are no less advantageous to the Company; (iv) expectations for other economic, business, regulatory and/or competitive factors related to the Company or the technology industry generally; (v) the risk factors referenced in this news release and as described from time to time in documents filed by the Company with Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at www.sedar.com; and (vi) other events or conditions that may occur in the future. Although the Corporation 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 to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date of this news release and, other than as required by law, the Corporation disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information except as otherwise required by applicable law.

Neither the TSX Venture nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

THIS PRESS RELEASE SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN, NOR SHALL THERE BE ANY SALE OF THESE SECURITIES IN ANY STATE OR JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFER, SOLICITATION OR SALE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL PRIOR TO REGISTRATION OR QUALIFICATION UNDER THE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY SUCH STATE OR JURISDICTION.

Source: Inspire Semiconductor Holdings Inc.
Anaheim, CA, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LiveWire Ergogenics Inc. (OTC: LVVV), a company focused on acquiring, managing, leasing, and licensing special purpose real estate properties and operations conducive to producing high-quality, handcrafted, and organically grown cannabis specialty products for medical and recreational adult-use, sun-grown in California, today announces financial results for the first quarter of the year ending March 31, 2023. This is the fifth consecutive profitable quarter after having generated a net profit for the full year of 2022.

Q1 2023 Financial Highlights

Net Profit was $179,300, an increase of 1,436% compared to $11,668 in Q1 2022

Sales amounted to $378,519, compared to $408,519 in Q1 2022

Assets increased to $6,580,360, an increase of $308,457 in Q1 2022

Our Assets exceeded our Liabilities by $2,248,206.

Bill Hodson, CEO of LiveWire, states, Our flagship property, Estrella Ranch in Paso Robles, California, the worlds first Estate Grown Weedery, is home to the largest cultivator in San Luis Obispo County, CA - Estrella River Farms. Our expert cultivation team produces quality sun-grown cannabis at Estrella River Farms under the ideal micro-climate in the Estrella District Appellation, in the heart of Californias wine country. As the cannabis market continues to evolve, consumers have become more educated and gained more experience with cannabis; they demand quality, taste, convenience, efficacy, and affordability delivered by a legal and credible producer. The Estrella Weedery branded sun-grown specialty products, cultivated in Paso Robles, meet these demands perfectly.

Mr. Hodson continues, Despite the turbulent market conditions of the past year, with several Multi-State Operators leaving California and a number of operators not renewing their licenses, we have established a solid model for a successful and efficient cultivation operation. We have remained steadfast in our commitment for our subsidiaries and affiliates to deliver only the highest quality products and services to customers while expanding the operations at Estrella River Farms and Makana Ola Farms in Humboldt, CA. Our strictly implemented low-overhead and highly efficient business model has generated a net profit for Q1, 2023, the fifth consecutive profitable quarter, and a profit for the full fiscal year of 2022.

With approximately 20,000 beautiful plants currently thriving under the California sun, we are confident that Estrella River Farms will be a top performer in 2023. We understand that investing in cannabis is not for the faint of heart, but we believe that those who dare to take the leap will reap the rewards. We believe that our business model and the improving general market conditions represent a promising opportunity for experienced and somewhat risk-tolerant investors in the sector. There is an emerging consensus among the experts that undervalued cannabis stocks of well-managed companies, such as ours, are primed for a strong return on investment. Join us on our journey towards delivering the best sun-grown California cannabis to customers while continuing to expand our operations with caution and, at the same time, remain focused on producing a good return on investment for our shareholders.

The Livewire Estrella Ranch Weedery

Estrella Ranch is a historic ranch property in Paso Robles, the center of California wine country. Together with its subsidiary Estrella Ranch Partners, Livewire has transformed this stunning property into the world's first "Estate Grown Weedery," with three acres of high-end, organic sun-grown cannabis products. Estrella Ranch is the central hub for all Livewire operations in California and plans to eventually develop it into the ultimate Cannabis tourist and education destination. Estrella Ranch shares valuable resources as needed with Livewires subsidiary Makana Ola Farm in Humboldt, California, the birthplace of California's cannabis cultivation. Makana Ola cultivates under a well-guarded secret of unique marijuana horticulture with a long tradition of quietly growing amongst the giant redwoods. The Livewire Estate Grown Weedery cultivation process focuses on the cost-effective production of the best quality organic-style, sun-grown cannabis in California while generating the smallest possible carbon footprint using as few of California's energy resources as possible. Visit https://estrellariverfarms.com.

About LiveWire Ergogenics Inc. Livewire focuses on acquiring, managing, and licensing well-qualified cannabis real estate locations to produce high-quality cannabis-based products for statewide distribution in California. This includes developing and licensing organic-style grown cannabinoid-based specialty products and services to create the high-quality "Estrella Weedery" brand. Our products are cultivated by Livewires subsidiary/affiliate companies Estrella Ranch Partners, Estrella River Farms, and Makana Ola Farms, and manufactured, tested, and distributed through several well-established companies in California. LiveWire Ergogenics does not produce, sell, or distribute products that violate the United States Controlled Substances Act. For more information about LiveWire Ergogenics, visit www.livewireergogenics.com. For non-material updates, follow LiveWire Ergogenics on Twitter @livewireLVVV, or go to www.stockwatchindex.com/livewire-ergogenics.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All forward-looking statements, predictions, and projections are inherently uncertain as they are based on current expectations and assumptions concerning the successful execution of planned events or the Company's general future performance. Readers are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements, which are only predictions and speak only as of the date hereof. In evaluating such statements, prospective investors should carefully review various risks and uncertainties identified in this release, the Company's Social Media postings, and matters set in the Company's SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements.

Source: LiveWire Ergogenics, Inc
POMPANO BEACH, Fla., May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Point Blank Enterprises (Point Blank), a worldwide leader in the production of soft and hard body armor and aviation protective solutions, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Safe Incorporated (Safe) in Tempe, AZ. Point Blank is currently one of the premier sources of rotary-wing ballistic armor systems in the world, with over 50 years of experience providing highly engineered and innovative protection solutions to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).

Safe products and solutions Safe, Inc. (safeinc.us) focus on improving crashworthiness and seating design and protection of pilots and crew of U.S. DoD and NASA aerospace platforms. Safe is a cutting-edge product development, engineering, and technology research firm with a core focus on safety. From delivering innovative designs of energy-absorbing, crashworthy hardware to solving challenging problems in air, sea, and ground transportation, Safe is supporting a growing list of clients including: the U. S. Navy, U. S. Army, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NASA, Lockheed Martin, the Federal Transportation Administration, and others.

Dr. Stanley P. Desjardins, the Founder and CEO of Safe, stated, This combination is a win-win for both companies and our combined customers. It provides in one company the talents of some of the best and most successful ballistic armor developers and producers with an incredibly experienced and innovative crashworthy seat development team. We look forward, as a combined team, to providing our customers with the most advanced and effective products available.

The advanced engineering team at Safe will enhance the capabilities of Point Blank and add resources to the growing dynamic engineering team that has been providing the most advanced armor systems in the world. Mike Archibald, Division President of Point Blank, said, We will leverage Safes advanced Aerospace Engineering capabilities to access the non-ballistic pilot and crew safety and protection segment. Safes products and systems are proven to improve pilot and crew crash survivability, fatigue, and overall safety on U.S. DoD and NASA platforms.

About Point Blank Enterprises, Inc.Point Blank Enterprises, Inc. (PBEI) is a leading provider of high-performance protective solutions, including bullet, fragmentation, and stab resistant apparel and related accessories. Through its key brands, Point Blank Body Armor, Protective Products, PARACLETE, The Protective Group (TPG), Advanced Technology Group (ATG), First Tactical, and Gould & Goodrich (G&G), the Company ranks as the largest global supplier of ballistic armor systems and systems integrator in the world. The Companys ballistic solutions have been credited with saving countless lives for the most important customers in the world, including the U.S. Armed Forces, Department of Defense, Federal Government and law enforcement, corrections, and security personnel, both domestically and abroad. For more information on our Company, please visit our website at www.pointblankenterprises.com.

Point Blank Company Contact:

Michael ForemanPoint Blank Enterprises, Inc.Tel: 407-448-6139Email: [email protected]

Source: Point Blank Enterprises
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Inc. (TSX SWP) (Swiss Water or the Company) is pleased to announce the following voting results of the Companys Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, which was held on Thursday, May 18, 2023.

Election of Directors

The Director nominees listed in the Management Information Circular for its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders were elected as Directors of Swiss Water. Voting results for individual Directors elected were as follows:

Votes For Votes Against Nominee Number Percentage Number Percentage Roland W. Veit 1,814,344 97.32% 49,923 2.68% Robert B. Johnston 1,766,136 94.74% 98,131 5.26% Donald J. Tringali 1,802,924 96.71% 61,343 3.29% Nancy L. McKenzie 1,766,327 94.75% 97,940 5.25% Alan C. Wallace 1,790,675 96.05% 73,592 3.95% Justin C. Jacobs 1,780,590 95.51% 83,677 4.49% Frank A. Dennis 1,643,927 88.18% 220,340 11.82%

Appointment of Auditors

MNP LLP was appointed as auditors with 91.92% voting support.

Company Profile

Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Inc. is a leading specialty coffee company and a premium green coffee decaffeinator that employs the proprietary Swiss Water Process to decaffeinate green coffee without the use of solvents such as methylene chloride. It also owns Seaforth Supply Chain Solutions Inc., a green coffee handling and storage business. Both businesses are located in the city of Delta, British Columbia, Canada.

Additional Information

A more detailed discussion of Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Inc.s recent financial results is provided in the Companys Management Discussion and Analysis filed on SEDAR www.sedar.com and on Companys website https://investor.swisswater.com/financial-information/.

For more information, please contact:

Iain Carswell, Chief Financial OfficerSwiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Inc.Phone: 604.420.4050Email: [email protected]Website: investor.swisswater.com

Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain statements in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, such statements may include such words as may, will, expect, believe, plan and other similar terminology. These statements reflect managements current expectations regarding future events and operating performance, as well as managements current estimates, but which are based on numerous assumptions and may prove to be incorrect. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, risks related to processing volumes and sales growth, operating results, the supply of utilities, the supply of coffee, general industry conditions, commodity price risks, technology, competition, foreign exchange rates, construction timing, costs and financing of capital projects, a potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and general economic conditions. The forward-looking statements and financial outlook information contained herein are made as of the date of this press release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Except to the extent required by applicable securities law, Swiss Water undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change in managements expectations or in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those described herein.

Source: Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Inc.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ZEFIRO METHANE CORP. (the Company, Zefiro, or ZEFI) is pleased to announce that it has acquired a majority ownership stake in Plants & Goodwin, Inc. (P&G), a third-generation family business with more than 100 employees that specializes in oil and gas plugging and abandonment operations in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. Zefiro expects this acquisition to position the Company to realize a strategy that includes being an integrated abandonment company for the oil and gas industry, decommissioning harmful abandoned wells as well as measuring, quantifying, and abating methane emissions, which affect the earths ecosystem in addition to the local communities in which orphaned and abandoned wells are located. With millions of such wells across the United States, in 2022 the Department of the Interior allocated USD $4.7 billion in funding to help plug orphaned oil and gas wells1.



By making this acquisition, Zefiro becomes a boots-on-the-ground player for the abatement of emissions in the oil and gas industry in the United States. As a first mover in combining well-plugging with the origination of offsets, Zefiro will be able to quantify the amount of emissions its well-plugging projects have prevented long-term (as verified by third-party registries), allowing high-quality carbon credits to be brought into the market by Zefiros offset commercialization group, which consists of team members who formed J.P. Morgans carbon trading desk in 2008.

Based in Pennsylvania (where the first U.S. commercial oil well was drilled in 18592), P&G was founded in 1970 by Paul Plants and George Goodwin as a provider of turn-key solutions for onshore natural gas exploration and production in the Marcellus and Utica basins. P&G provides vertically integrated solutions for plug and abandonment operations, upstream workover, well completions, and cementing services. Additionally, P&G owns all of its cementing equipment, transportation assets, and construction machinery.

In connection with this acquisition, Luke Plants will succeed his father, Steve Plants, as P&Gs Chief Executive Officer, bringing P&G into its third generation of family executive leadership. Steve Plants will remain with P&G as President of Abandonment Operations.





For more than 50 years, P&G has been providing services in the oil and gas industry to include plug and abandonment operations, upstream workover, well completions, and cementing services. More information about P&G can be found on its website by clicking here , or by watching P&Gs corporate video by clicking on the thumbnail above or clicking here .

Readers using news aggregation services may be unable to view the media above. Please access SEDAR or the Investor Relations section of the Companys website for a version of this press release containing all published media.

Zefiro Chief Executive Officer Curt Hopkins commented, We are excited about making P&G part of the Zefiro family as we pursue our mission to reduce methane at the wellhead. Over more than 50 years of operation, P&G has established a robust arsenal of equipment and a top-tier team of personnel who can complete oil and gas wells efficiently and promptly in accordance with industry standards and safety regulations. As a family business P&G has earned its stellar reputation throughout the Appalachian region, and we look forward to working together to generate long-term value and impact.

P&G Chief Executive Officer Luke Plants commented, Nowadays, end-of-life well operations are about far more than just finishing the job for oil and gas companies. Plugging wells has a very far-reaching impact now that we know more about what happens when wells are left orphaned and abandoned. Not only do the carbon and methane emissions from these wells cause damage to the earths atmosphere, they can also be harmful to nearby communities. It is a mistake to believe that inactive oil and gas wells are merely holes in the ground. The gases they emit can get into residential homes, contaminate the water supply, and even cause explosions. We are thrilled about joining Zefiro to uncover new value from our well-completion projects and enhance the commercial viability of solving the emissions problem which is complex and far-reaching, and affects countless millions of Americans lives.

Zefiros Founder & Chairman Talal Debs, PhD., said, Zefiros strategy is to integrate real (physical process) innovation with new forms of capital, through the environmental credit markets; the result will be a new kind of enterprise. By enlisting veteran operators like Plants & Goodwin, we are taking the first big step to making our unique vision a reality.

Sources

1 - Biden-Harris Administration Releases Final Guidance on New Orphaned Well Program (U.S. Department of the Interior), April 12, 2022

2 - How the American Oil Industry Got Its Start (TIME Magazine), August 27, 2015

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,

ZEFIRO METHANE CORP.

Curt Hopkins

Curt Hopkins, CEO

For further information, please contact:

Zefiro Investor Relations

1-800-274-ZEFI (1-800-274-9334)

[email protected]

About Zefiro Methane Corp.

Zefiro develops methodologies to reduce methane emissions by plugging orphaned and abandoned oil/gas wells, while originating carbon credits. Under executive leadership to include the former carbon market team at J.P. Morgan, Zefiro actively deploys crews to decommission wells throughout the United States. With unprecedented global demand for carbon offsets as corporations and institutions work towards net-zero targets, Zefiro is strategically aligning with industry leaders for a greener future.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as seeks, believes, plans, expects, intends, estimates, anticipates and statements that an event or result may, will, should, could or might occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements regarding the Company, the Companys business, the industry in which the Company operates, the Companys opportunities, strategies, competition, expected activities and expenditures as the Company pursues its business plan, the adequacy of the Companys available cash resources and other statements about future events or results. The forward-looking information reflects managements 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. 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 timeframes or at all. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include: (i) adverse general market and economic conditions; (ii) changes to and price and volume volatility in the carbon market; (iii) changes to the regulatory landscape and global policies applicable to the Company's business; and (iv) other factors beyond the control of the Company. The Company operates in a rapidly evolving environment where technologies are in the early stage of adoption. 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 forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions, including assumptions regarding general market conditions, the availability of financing for proposed transactions and programs on reasonable terms, and the ability of outside service providers to deliver services in a satisfactory and timely manner. The forward-looking information included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Statement Regarding Third-Party Investor Relations Firms

Disclosures relating to investor relations firms retained by Zefiro Methane Corp. can be found under the Company's profile on http://sedar.com .

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/be0537f5-8d35-4988-861b-f43503bcedaa
This photo taken on May 16, 2023 shows an exhibition hall of the China-Central & Eastern European Countries (CEEC) Expo in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

At the China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province, the Babits Winery, known for its Hungarian noble rot wine, enthralled wine enthusiasts with its unique brewing process and rich history.

by Geza Molnar

SZEGI, Hungary, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The fungus acts as a natural climate control system, if it is too dry, the fungus gives back humidity, but if it is too moist, it absorbs it, Laszlo Babits, the owner of Babits Winery's family wine cellar, told visitors about Hungarian wine.

With a centuries-old legacy in viticulture and winemaking in Hungary's Tokaj-Hegyalja region, the Babits family's winery spans 30 hectares of first-class vineyards, producing a diverse range of wines, from the dry Furmint to the esteemed Aszu, known as the finest of their collection.

While the Babits wine cellar has a rich history in Hungary, it has also established a foothold in the Chinese market.

For over a decade, Babits Winery has been exporting its wines to China through cooperation with Wink Wine, one of the largest Hungarian wine importers and distributors in China, where the winery has gained immense popularity among wine enthusiasts.

"I really believe in the Chinese market, the past period shows that they really like our taste," Babits said.

At the China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province, the Babits Winery, known for its Hungarian noble rot wine, enthralled wine enthusiasts with its unique brewing process and rich history.

Babits expressed his enthusiasm for the Chinese market and the warm reception they have received from Chinese consumers. The wines on display represent the entire range of the region, including Furmint, Tokaj Aszu, and Yellow Muscat, each crafted with a label tailored specifically for the Chinese market.

"The entire range of Tokaj-Hegyalja is going out, and it includes award-winning wine, so I hope that what is recognized in Europe will also be loved in China," he said, noting Babits Winery aims to further strengthen its presence in the Asian country through participation in the expo.

The positive feedback and enthusiasm from Chinese consumers motivate Babits to explore new opportunities and expand the winery's reach in the Chinese market.

Babits sees his winery's involvement in the expo as a significant step in developing its Chinese market, and he firmly believes in the market's potential. He cites the growing interest in Hungarian wines among Chinese tourists visiting the Tokaj-Hegyalja region and the positive feedback received through distributors.

"A lot of Chinese visit Hungary, Tokaj-Hegyalja, and our wines are also sent through distributors, the feedback is very good," he said.

His plans for the future entail tapping into the vast potential of the Chinese market. The Babits Winery aspires to build upon its current success and capture the hearts of Chinese consumers with its exquisite wines.

As Babits sets his sights on exploring the Chinese market, he is embarking on a journey filled with excitement and anticipation.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) chief executive James Gorman intends to step down from his role in the next 12 months and take on the position of executive chairman, according to reports.

Gorman is said to have told shareholders on Friday at the firm's annual meeting that "it is the board's and my expectation that it will occur at some point in the next 12 months."

"That is the current expectation in the absence of a major change in the external environment," he added.

Morgan Stanley shares have dipped around 0.5% following the news.

Gorman is the current Chairman and CEO of the bank. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, he held a succession of executive positions at Merrill Lynch before joining MS in February 2006. He then went on to become its chief executive in January 2010 and Chairman in January 2012.

By Sam Boughedda
Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - May 18, 2023) - Altiplano Metals Inc. (TSXV: APN) (WKN: A2JNFG) ("Altiplano" or the "Company") further to the Company's press release dated May 1, 2023, the Company announces that there will be a further delay in the filing of its annual audited financial statements for the financial year ended December 31, 2022 required pursuant to Part 4 of National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations (the "Instrument"). The delay is due to the auditors' assessment of the time required for the remaining audit procedures, and the auditors' review process. However, the auditors have confirmed that they now have the required documentation to complete the audit. Both the Company and its auditors continue to work diligently towards the completion and filing of the annual audited financial statements.

The Instrument required that the Company's audited financial statements and MD&A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 be filed by May 1, 2023. The Company and its auditor are in the process of completing the associated audit work to complete the audited financial statements. The Company expects that the audited financial statements and MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2022 will be completed and filed on or before May 31, 2023 (the "Required Filings").

In connection with the anticipated delays in making the Required Filings within the time periods mandated by the Instrument, the Company made an application for a Management Cease Trade Order ("MCTO") under National Policy 12-203 Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203") to the Alberta Securities Commission, as principal regulator for the Company, and the MCTO was issued on May 3, 2023. The MCTO restricts all trading by the Company's CEO and CFO in securities of the Company, whether direct or indirect. The issuance of the MCTO will not affect the ability of persons who are not directors, officers or insiders of the Company to trade their securities. The MCTO will remain in effect until the Required Filings are filed or until it is revoked or varied.

The Company confirms that it intends to satisfy the provisions of the alternative information guidelines described in NP 12-203 by issuing bi-weekly default status reports in the form of a news release for so long as it remains in default of the requirement to make the Required Filings. The Company has not taken any steps towards any insolvency proceeding and the Company has no material information relating to its affairs that has not been generally disclosed.

About Altiplano

Altiplano Metals is a growing gold, silver, and copper company focused on the Americas. The Company has a diversified portfolio of assets that include an operating copper/gold/iron mine and a state-of-the-art operating copper/gold and iron processing facility in the final stages of completion. Altiplano is focused on creating long-term stakeholder value through developing safe and sustainable production, reinvesting into exploration, and pursuing acquisition opportunities to complement its existing portfolio. Management has a substantial record of success in capitalizing on opportunity, overcoming challenges and building shareholder value. Altiplano trades on the Toronto Venture Exchange trading under the symbol APN and the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol A2JNFG.

Altiplano is part of the Metals Group of companies. Metals Group is an award-winning team of professionals who stand for technical excellence, painstaking project selection and uncompromising corporate governance, with a proven ability to capitalize on investment opportunities and deliver shareholder returns.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

/s/ "John Williamson"

Chairman

For further information, please contact:

Alastair McIntyre, CEO

[email protected]

Tel: (416) 434 3799

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the (TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify any historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and the issuer is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The Farellon mine was previously in production dating back to the 1970's with a reported historical production (to a depth of 70 m) yielding approximately 300,000 tonnes at an average grade of 2.5% copper and 0.5g/t gold. This material was processed locally and sold to ENAMI. Altiplano is relying upon past production records, underground sampling and related activities and current diamond drilling to estimate grade and widths of the mineralization to reactivate production. The decision to commence production on the Farellon deposit is not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability and there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with any production decision. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and title and delays due to third party opposition, changes in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, 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. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's continuous disclosure filings that are available at www.sedar.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/166729
Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2023) - E-Power Resources Inc. (CSE: EPR) is pleased to announce that the company is presenting a live virtual corporate update hosted by Red Cloud Financial Services on May 23rd, 2023 at 200p ET.

We invite our shareholders, and all interested parties to register for the webinar and participate in the live Q&A session at the end of the presentation moderated by Red Cloud.

The replay will be emailed out to all webinar registrants proceeding the event and will also be available on the Red Cloud website.

For more information and to register: https://redcloudfs.com/rcwebinar-epr/.

We will discuss the Companys plans including the purpose of its upcoming drill program on the Tetepisca Property, located in the Tetepisca Graphite District, in the North Shore Region of Quebec. Management will present the Companys latest corporate presentation. We will also cover E-Powers plans for the remainder of 2023 and into 2024. Following the presentation, there will be time for a Q&A session. The webinar will be hosted by Mining Analyst David Talbot of Red Cloud Securities.

Commodities to be covered: Graphite

About E-Power Resources Inc

E-Power Resources Inc. is an exploration stage company engaged principally in the acquisition, exploration, and development of graphite properties in Quebec. Its flagship asset, the Tetepisca Graphite Property, is located in the Tetepisca Graphite District of the North Shore Region of Quebec, approximately 215 kilometers from the Port of Baie-Comeau. For further information, please refer to the Company's disclosure record on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) or contact the Company by email at [email protected].

About Red Cloud Financial Services Inc.

Red Cloud Financial Services Inc. is a comprehensive capital markets platform that provides a full range of unconflicted corporate access and media related services. Offering these services as a unified platform provides the ultimate value proposition for junior resources companies in their efforts to broaden their capital markets presence.

About Red Cloud Securities Inc.

Red Cloud Securities Inc. is an IIROC-regulated investment dealer focused on providing unique comprehensive capital market services and innovative financing alternatives to the junior resource sector. The company was founded by capital markets professionals with extensive experience in the junior mining industry.

For further information:

E-Power Resources Inc

James Cross, President and CEO

4387013736

[email protected]

For additional information contact [email protected] or visit:

www.redcloudfs.com

www.facebook.com/RedCloudFinancialServices

www.twitter.com/RedCloudFS

www.linkedin.com/company/red-cloud-financial-services-inc

www.youtube.com/c/RedCloudFinancialServicesInc

www.instagram.com/redcloudfs
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2023) - Forum Energy Metals Corp. (TSXV: FMC)(OTCQB: FDCFF) ("Forum" or "the Company") announces that, further to its news releases of April 17th and April 28th, 2023, it has closed its non-brokered private placement and raised an additional $937,432 through the issuance of 3,254,320 units ("NFT Units") at a price of $0.10 per NFT Unit and 5,100,000 flow through units at a price of $0.12 per flow through unit (the "Final Tranche").

Each NFT Unit is comprised of one common share and one common share purchase warrant (a "NFT Warrant"). Each NFT Warrant is exercisable to purchase one common share at a price of $0.15 per share until May 19, 2025. Each FT Unit is comprised of one flow through common share and one common share purchase warrant (a "FT Warrant"). Each FT Warrant is exercisable to purchase one non-flow through common share at a price of $0.16 per share until May 19, 2025.

In connection with the Final Tranche, Forum paid finders fees of $45,360 and issued 453,600 finder warrants at a price of $0.10 for a term of two years expiring May 19, 2025. All securities issued are subject to a four month hold period expiring September 20, 2023. Forum raised a total of $1,461,032 and issued 12,867,654 NFT Units and FT Units in this financing. Insiders participated in 380,000 NFT units and FT Units.

Proceeds raised from the issuance of the FT Units will be used by Forum to incur Canadian Exploration Expenses on its Canadian uranium and critical mineral properties in Saskatchewan and Nunavut and will be used as deemed appropriate for qualifying expenses for the critical mineral exploration tax credit (CMETC). Proceeds raised from the issuance of the NFT Units will be used for general working capital.

About Forum Energy Metals

Forum Energy Metals Corp.(TSXV: FMC)(OTCQB: FDCFF)is a diversified energy metal company with uranium, copper, nickel, and cobalt projects in Saskatchewan, Canada's Number One Rated mining province for exploration and development, a strategic uranium land position in Nunavut and a strategic cobalt land position in the Idaho Cobalt Belt.

For further information: https://www.forumenergymetals.com/

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Forum's actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include but are not limited to: uncertainties related to the historical data, the work expenditure commitments; the ability to raise sufficient capital to fund future exploration or development programs; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; changes commodity prices, litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological or operational difficulties or an inability to obtain permits required in connection with maintaining or advancing its exploration projects.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Richard J. Mazur, P.Geo.

President & CEO

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.

For further information contact:

Rick Mazur, P.Geo., President & CEO

[email protected]

Tel: 604-630-1585

Not for distribution to United States Newswire Services or for dissemination in the United States

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/166845
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2023) - ProRechas recently announced it is back in business. One of the oldest and most well-recognized audio sites on the Internet, ProRec, has revived once again under the leadership of its new owner, Talal Khan. Launched in 1998 by Rip Rowan and later under Brent Randall's leadership, the site published several viral pieces, including Over the Limit.





Figure 1 In the realm of audio education, ProRec's audio engineers shape comprehensive, insightful audio tutorials, delivering a harmonious blend of technical expertise and pedagogical finesse.

Talal, who bought ProRec from its original owner, has been diligently putting in efforts to ensure the website changes its status to thriving rather than surviving since last year. As more engineers and producers adapt to digital audio, the blog is positioned with diverse DAW tutorials and buying guides that focus on studio equipment from well-known manufacturers.

Since its inception, the blog has empowered readers with content written by industry professionals, providing genuine and engaging information to its readers. ProRec's articles have been referenced by audio production technical schools worldwide. "I wish ProRec continued success in covering the latest music production technologies and developments in the years to come," said Talal Khan, the new company owner.

The company focuses on leading-edge computer-based recording technology. ProRec has diverse technical staff comprised of audio engineers who are well-versed in all aspects of audio and have experience with a wide array of studio equipment.

"I am based in New York. I run the site with an amazing team who have worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry. We cover challenging audio handling and troubleshooting topics, as well as write product reviews that provide first-hand knowledge. Our narrow focus enables us to target the rapidly growing recording market segment closely," added Talal Khan.

About ProRec

ProRec is the brainchild of Rip Rowan, one of Dallas's most acclaimed music producers. He was the Editor in Chief for over a decade before the website was passed on to Brent Randall in the early 2000s. Talal Khan has taken the vision ahead with great passion and commitment.

Pro Rec has over 20 years of experience in the field. The company is committed to excellence. The company offers information and resources for pro and semi-pro PC recording enthusiasts.

A growing number of engineers and producers are moving into digital audio, which is why ProRec offers a variety of DAW tutorials and buying guides focused on well-known studio equipment. It provides readers with authentic and engaging content written by industry stalwarts.

Name: Talal Khan

Organization: ProRec

Email address: [email protected]

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/166504
Hokolite is a prominent illumination company that has recently released an update to its camping lantern, incorporating high-performance rechargeable lithium batteries.

Chino, California--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2023) - Hokolite, a prominent illumination company, has introduced a new update to their camping lantern, incorporating high-performance, rechargeable lithium batteries. The innovative update reduces environmental pollution caused by disposable batteries while providing an extended battery life to the lantern. Hokolite continues to focus on environmentally responsible materials and manufacturing technologies to deliver high-quality, sustainable products.

Hokolite's camping lantern with rechargeable batteries offers extended hours of eco-friendly illumination for outdoor enthusiasts.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/166741_c6e4265644985bf8_001full.jpg

With a vision to create exceptional products that do not require excessive packaging to mask their quality, Philip, the owner of Hokolite, proudly stated, "We consistently utilize imported Cree LED and Nichia SMD LED to enhance the efficiency of our lighting fixtures while reducing heat emission. Meeting customer needs and making a positive environmental contribution has remained our priorities for the past 16 years."

Incorporating lithium batteries is just one of the many significant steps forward for the company. Hokolite is dedicated to new product development. When asked about their development plans, Philip responded, "We will continue to seek and adopt environmentally responsible materials and manufacturing technologies, invest resources in research and innovation, and enhance product performance to deliver high-quality products to every customer while protecting the environment."

The incorporation of rechargeable batteries is not only eco-friendly but also brings many benefits to the product. With an extended battery life, Hokolite's camping lantern will offer more extended hours of light and comfort for outdoor enthusiasts.

Hokolite's new update comes in response to increasing demand for eco-friendly, high-performance, and reliable outdoor lighting solutions. Their range of products includes headlamps, camping lanterns, spotlights, work lights, and motion sensor lights, among other lighting solutions, all matching different outdoor activity needs.

The update to Hokolite's camping lantern is poised to set a new standard for outdoor illumination and commitment to environmental sustainability. The forward-thinking and innovative development of the product demonstrates that Hokolite is committed to global efforts on climate change and environmental conservation.

About Hokolite

Hokolite is a California-based illumination company specializing in the use of sustainable materials for personal outdoor and indoor DIY lighting tools and solutions. Their aim is to create unique lighting products that are environmentally sustainable, highly efficient, and practical for all customers. Their efforts are in line with the global concern and efforts to combat climate change.

For more information, visit Hokolite's website at www.hokolite.com

Contact Info:

Name: Philip Shen

Email: [email protected]

Organization: Hokolite

Website: https://hokolite.com/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/166741
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Mellissa Campbell Duru has been named Deputy Director for Legal and Regulatory Policy in the Division of Corporation Finance. Ms. Duru most recently was a Special Counsel at Covington & Burling LLP and previously spent more than 15 years in various SEC roles.

"Im pleased to welcome Mellissa back to the SEC in this important new role," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. "Mellissa's wide-ranging experience will be an asset to the Commissions work to ensure that investors have the fair, full, and truthful disclosure they need to make informed investment decisions."

"Im so excited to welcome Mellissa back to the agency as a Deputy Director," said Erik Gerding, Director of the Division of Corporation Finance. "She will bring her deep experience within the Division and around the Commission as well as from private practice to help us serve the public and our statutory mission. Mellissas policy expertise and legal skills will enable her to help lead our legal and regulatory policy efforts as we continue our rulemaking agenda and ongoing dialogue with the public."

"Its an honor to return to the SEC and work again with such talented and dedicated professionals," Ms. Duru said. "I look forward to our work ahead and developing data-driven and pragmatic policies and rule recommendations to the Commission."

At Covington & Burling, Ms. Duru worked in the Securities & Capital Markets practice, advising clients on securities regulation, capital markets transactions, and strategic corporate governance planning. She also served as a Vice Chair of the firms Environmental, Social, and Governance practice. Ms. Duru served at the SEC from 2004 to 2021, including as a Counsel to then-Commissioner Kara Stein, Special Counsel in the Division of Corporation Finances Office of Mergers and Acquisitions, and Cybersecurity Legal and Policy Advisor in the Division of Examinations. During her tenure, she also served as an SEC Brookings Institute Legislative Congressional Fellow in the Office of U.S. Senator Jack Reed. She began her SEC career in the Division of Corporation Finances Disclosure Review Program.

Ms. Duru earned a bachelors degree with first class honors from McGill University, and a law degree from Harvard Law School.
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2023) - Vash Media Inc., a digital media management company, has completed 10 years of branding services to a wide range of local, national, and international businesses in various industry sectors. The company was founded by Aanchal Vash while pursuing her undergraduate degree and has been helping different companies in solidifying their digital brand and online presence since then.





Aanchal Vash





So far, the company has offered its service to several businesses including, but not limited to, EQFootprints, Office Pub & Grill, Veere, GloProNet, American Alumni Association, University of Toronto and many more.

On reaching the 10th year of a successful journey, the founder of Vash Media Inc. congratulated the team members behind the milestone and said that their goals and values remain the same as they were back in 2012.

"Seeing our clients smile as they see their digital presence grow brings us so much joy. We at Vash Media love to add value and see people succeed. I dedicate these 10 years of success to my team and clients, who both are a manifestation of our values and utmost dedication," said a message from the founder.

An internet-based business, Vash Media Inc. offers all kinds of branding services. The branding agency has categorized services for existing businesses to newly-starting ones. From creating the business's logo to establishing a full-fledged brand, Vash Media Inc. has attempted to make itself count as a one-stop solution for thought leaders and industry experts.

About Vash Media Inc.

Vash Media Inc. is a full-service, impact-driven branding agency that provides services from setting up, rebranding, and growing digital presence. The company has recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and remains committed to its goals and values for the future. Working under the motto of "Helping You Be Seen," the branding agency has garnered significant success over a decade and has helped numerous clients achieve their marketing targets.

For more information, please visit:

Website: https://www.vashmediainc.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vash-media-inc/about/

Aanchal Vash:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aanchalvash/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aanchalvash/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aanchalvash

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/166513
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2023) - Wedgemount Resources Corp. (CSE: WDGY) (OTCQB: WDGRF) ("Wedgemount" or the "Company"), announces it has closed the non-brokered private placement announced May 11, 2023, by issuing 5,375,000 units (each a "Unit") at CAD$0.17 per Unit for gross proceeds of CAD$913,750 (the "Offering"). Each Unit entitled the holder to receive one (1) common share in the capital of the Company (each a "Common Share") and one (1) transferable Common Share purchase warrant (each a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one (1) Common Share at CAD$0.30 until May 19, 2025, subject to an accelerated expiry provision, whereby in the event the closing price of the Company's Common Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "Exchange") exceeds CAD$0.60 for a period of 20 consecutive trading days, at the Company's election, the period within which the Warrants are exercisable, will be reduced and the holders of the Warrants will be entitled to exercise their Warrants for a period of 30 days commencing on the day the Company provides notice, any outstanding Warrants not exercised during the 30 day period will expire (the "Accelerated Expiry Provision").

In connection with the Offering, the Company paid finder's fees of CAD$36,652, equal to 7% of the total proceeds raised by eligible finders, and issued 215,600 finder warrants (each, a "Finder Warrant"), equal to 7% of the number of Units sold by eligible finders. The Finder Warrants are exercisable at $0.30 until May 19, 2025, subject to the Accelerated Expiry Provision.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for general working capital purposes.

All securities issued under the Offering, including securities issuable on exercise thereof, are subject to a hold period expiring September 20, 2023, in accordance with the rules and policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange and applicable Canadian securities laws.

About Wedgemount Resources Corp.

Wedgemount Resources is a junior natural resources company focused on maximizing shareholder value through the acquisition, discovery and advancement of natural resource projects in North America.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

WEDGEMOUNT RESOURCES CORP.

Mark Vanry, President and CEO

For more information, please contact the Company at:

Telephone: (604) 343-4743

[email protected]

www.wedgemountresources.com

Reader Advisory

This news release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking information", including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements made in this news release include the proposed use of the proceeds of the Offering. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, availability of funds, personnel and other resources necessary to conduct exploration or development programs, successes of the Company's exploration efforts, availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such information will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRESERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITHTHIS RESTRICTION MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF U.S. SECURITIES LAWS.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/166697
New Education and On-The-Job Training Tools Debut

NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION SHOW: BOOTH 5334

CHICAGO , May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In addition to tasting and experiencing the latest culinary trends, attendees at the 2023 National Restaurant Association show May 20-23 can learn how to find, train and retain skilled candidates for culinary positions by visiting leading workforce solutions partner, Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, debuting at booth #5334.

Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/9154851-auguste-escoffier-school-of-culinary-arts/

According to the National Restaurant Association, 500,000 new foodservice jobs will be added in 2023 and 87 percent of operators say they will likely hire staff if there are qualified applicants available. Unfortunately, more than 79 percent also say it's difficult to fill open positions .

Escoffier designed its education-focused workforce development solutions to connect employers and recruiters with its national resources of culinary candidates. The Escoffier Works initiative focuses on education and training to help create a stronger, more skilled workforce. Escoffier Works can offer employers a suite of specialized culinary upskilling (training and continuing education) tools designed to help find, develop and keep talented staff.

"We're in a unique position to offer employers tailored on-the-job training and education tools and help build in-house programs," said Denise Sullivan , Escoffier's vice president of Enterprise Solutions.

Escoffier Connect, Works' specially-designed technology platform, provides partners access to an extensive job board and Escoffier's network of culinary-focused candidates, including graduating students completing their externship requirement. Employers in hospitality, restaurant, food management, healthcare and senior living industries are starting to take advantage of Escoffier's options.

"We continue to hear firsthand about the recruiting and retention benefits of connecting employers to our talent pool through Escoffier's proprietary tools," added Sullivan. According to Angry Cactus , Escoffier's Work and Learn option incorporates education and training to help create an environment for success for both the employer and student.

According to a recent Gallup survey, upskilling opportunities are a powerful attraction tool for employers, and one employees seek. More than 65 percent of workers surveyed believe employer-provided upskilling is important when looking for a new job and 61 percent said upskilling opportunities are an important reason to stay at their job. A whopping 75 percent of workers who participated in an upskilling program said it helped advance their careers.

Escoffier Works includes a broad range of customizable education and training tools, including online courses, on-the-job training resources, and professional development modalities. "These tools can help employees enrich their career path and give employers valuable resources to leverage for staff development and retention," added Sullivan.

For more information about Escoffier Works, visit, https://www.escoffier.edu/works/

For more information about Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, visit https://www.escoffier.edu/ .

Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts (Escoffier) is the largest culinary school brand in the U.S. (based on comparable student population data currently reported in IPEDS) .

It is the only U.S. accredited institution, available through its Boulder campus, to offer 100 percent online culinary degrees which include culinary classes and real-world industry externships. Ranked in the top 10 culinary schools in the United States by USA Today and number one in the world by Chef's Pencil , the school's professional programs offer the proven combination of a classic and contemporary approach to modern industry skills training as well as sustainability-centered and business-focused curriculum. Escoffier is a Great Place to Work-Certified institution, a Newsweek Top Online Learning School and its Boulder (includes online programs) and Austin campuses are designated as Military Friendly Schools .

Click for more information on Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts accreditations and degree and diploma programs .

MEDIA CONTACT: Patti Thomas / [email protected]

AUGUSTE ESCOFFIER SCHOOL OF CULINARY ARTS CONTACT: Brian Watt / 844.914.2682 / [email protected]

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/auguste-escoffier-school-of-culinary-arts-works-initiative-connects-employers-with-skilled-talent-pool-to-help-recruit-train-and-retain-staff-301830055.html

SOURCE Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts
Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, takes a group photo with the representatives attending a gathering marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the China Islamic Association in Beijing, capital of China, May 19, 2023. Wang on Friday met with leading members of the China Islamic Association and congratulated them on the 70th anniversary of the association's establishment. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Huning on Friday met with leading members of the China Islamic Association and congratulated them on the 70th anniversary of the association's establishment.

Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, met the members at a gathering held in Beijing marking the association's anniversary.

He took a group photo with all the representatives attending the gathering, and extended greetings to Islamic personages and all Muslims in China.

Wang commended the association's work in leading Islamic personages and Muslims in following a path that adapts to socialist society and actively participating in socialist modernization. He added the association has contributed its wisdom and strength to the country's prosperity and national rejuvenation.

Wang called on the Islamic community in China to guide Islamic personages and Muslims in carrying forward the fine tradition of being patriotic, cultivate in them a growing sense of identity with the motherland, the Chinese nation, the Chinese culture, the CPC, and socialism with Chinese characteristics, and forge a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.

He also called on the association to further promote the localization of Islam in China, the cultivation of religious personnel, and the management of religious affairs in accordance with the law. 
BTC Inc. and Bitcoin Magazine CEO, David Bailey , Adds His Name to Bitcoin History by Signing the $48M Prius at Bitcoin2023

MIAMI , May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bitcoin2023 witnessed a remarkable moment as David Bailey , CEO of BTC Inc. and Bitcoin Magazine, added his signature to the infamous $48M Prius, joining the ranks of Bitcoin legends such as Tone Vays, Andreas Antonopolous, David Ripley , Rassah, Samson Mow , Lyn Ulbricht , Johnny Dollar , Pepnardo, Eryka Gemma , Scott Talon, Bruce Fenton , and more.

The $48M Prius, known as the First Bitcoin Car, is currently up for auction on Scarce.City , and the bidding will close this Saturday, May 20th , at 11 pm ET .

This iconic car gained its name after Bitcoin pioneer Rassah sold 1,000 BTC in 2013 to acquire the car (then, only valued at $22,000 ). Coindesk then picked up the story in 2019, and at the time of publication, Bitcoin's peak value had the car valued at $48M .

The car is on display at Bitcoin2023, which runs from Thursday, May 18th , to Saturday, May 20th . Interested bidders can participate in the online auction on Scarce.City , with the opportunity to own this historic artifact of the Bitcoin revolution.

In a tribute to the Bitcoin movement and its champions advocating for a decentralized future, the $48M Prius is being signed by esteemed Bitcoin OGs worldwide. This act further solidifies the car's status as a living legend and a symbol of Bitcoin's remarkable journey.

David Bailey , the CEO of BTC and Bitcoin Magazine, expressed his enthusiasm, stating "This [car] is an important piece of Bitcoin history. As far as I can remember, it was the first real, serious purchase with Bitcoin. It wasn't just a pizza from Papa Johns , it was substantial. This car was the original Lambo for Bitcoin."

David then went on to say that he'd like to own the car himself and would preserve it in a Bitcoin museum.

Since 2013, the Prius has been to over 30 Bitcoin events and transported hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash from early Bitcoin ATMs. To Bitcoin enthusiasts and the broader Bitcoin community, the First Bitcoin Car represents the turning point of digital currency, launching it from simply an idea into an accepted store of value.

And while the famous "Bitcoin Pizza" is long gone, the Prius remains a tangible, integral part of Bitcoin "firsts."

As a special bonus, all bidders will receive an exclusive auction NFT after placing their first bid, to be distributed post-auction. The winning bidder of the auction will also receive a commemorative 1 of 1 NFT, along with the honor of adding their signature to this significant piece of Bitcoin history. All NFTs will be minted via counterparty on the Bitcoin blockchain.

For more information about the auction and to participate, please visit FirstBitcoinCar.com .

To see videos of Bitcoin legends signing the car you check out our Twitter

Media Contact:

Kyle

Media Manager, Team Project Prius

[email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bitcoin-legends-make-their-mark-on-the-first-bitcoin-car-the-48m-prius-301829853.html

SOURCE Auction of the First Bitcoin Car
Bridgestone announces company-first dedicated EV replacement tire designed for North America's top-selling premium electric vehicles, targeting all Tesla models and Ford Mustang Mach-E.

New Turanza EV tire debuts Bridgestone ENLITEN technology, which is engineered to help optimize all-season performance, provide longer wear life, and allow for the incorporation of renewable and recycled materials in tires. 1

Grand touring EV tire features Bridgestone's first-ever use of new PeakLife polymer, a next-generation polymer technology that enhances tread resistance to wear, aiding in enabling extended tire life.

LONG BEACH, Calif. , May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) today held the world debut of its new Turanza EV grand touring tire, the company's first-ever replacement tire designed specifically for premium electric vehicles and the first to feature Bridgestone ENLITEN technology. Launching immediately at tire retailers nationally, the new Bridgestone Turanza EV grand touring tire was purposefully designed to account for the unique vehicle dynamics of EVs, providing excellent tread life, minimal ride noise and confident wet handling to complement the electric vehicle experience. Designed, developed and manufactured in North America , the initial five sizes include fitments for Tesla Model 3, Model S, Model X, Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E, with 13 additional sizes launching in early 2024.

The Bridgestone Turanza EV tire is the first replacement market tire in North America to feature ENLITEN technology, which is engineered to help optimize all-season performance, provide longer wear life, and allow for the incorporation of renewable and recycled materials in its tire products.1 This revolutionary core technology focuses on:

Next-generation tread compound designed with wear life and all-season performance, including wet performance, in mind.

designed with wear life and all-season performance, including wet performance, in mind. New structural components that help provide balanced ride comfort, excellent steering feel and controlled noise.

that help provide balanced ride comfort, excellent steering feel and controlled noise. Increased efficiency for both ICE and EV platforms through rolling resistance and wear optimization. 2

for both ICE and EV platforms through rolling resistance and wear optimization. Supporting an increased use of renewable and recycled materials 3 such as:

such as: Recycled carbon black from end-of-life tires

black from end-of-life tires

Synthetic rubber derived from recycled plastic bags and bottles



Renewable soybean oil



Rice Husk Silica derived from rice husks, which gives a meaningful purpose to a typically discarded byproduct of rice harvesting

Bridgestone plans to grow and evolve ENLITEN technology and design features to deploy across its entire product line in the future. A new ENLITEN technology debuting on the Bridgestone Turanza EV is PeakLife, a next-generation polymer technology that enhances tread resistance to wear, aiding in enabling extended tire life.

Developed by Bridgestone engineers and scientists at the company's Americas Technology Center in Akron, Ohio , the PeakLife polymer proceeded from the research and development phase to in-market product application in less than two years to prioritize significantly improving the Turanza EV's wear capabilities. By creating an extensive network of unique bonds between the innovative polymer and reinforcing particles, the tread on tires with PeakLife technology can last longer,2 helping to reduce the need for new tires and easing the mobility ecosystem's consumption of raw materials. Bridgestone PeakLife technology focuses on improved wear resistance,4 which can help extend tread life, and is engineered to deliver lower levels of rolling resistance4 to help increase vehicle fuel efficiency.

"With the accelerated progress toward an electrified vehicle fleet, we're thrilled to launch a tire that is designed to help drivers get the best overall experience from their electric vehicles, including ride comfort, all-season driving performance and excellent wear life," said Riccardo Cichi , President and Chief Sales Officer , Bridgestone Americas. "We are also excited to introduce ENLITEN, which marks a major pivot in how we approach tire technology and design to deliver both exceptional dynamic performance and increased use of renewable and recycled materials."

Additional key engineering features of the Bridgestone Turanza EV grand touring tire include:

Maintain Long Mileage Range : The Bridgestone Turanza EV tire is designed to help maintain a long mileage range per charge without sacrificing tread life or premium performance. Bridgestone Turanza EV tires extend energy efficient performance with low rolling resistance made possible by Bridgestone's ENLITEN tire technology.

The Bridgestone Turanza EV tire is designed to help maintain a long mileage range per charge without sacrificing tread life or premium performance. Bridgestone Turanza EV tires extend energy efficient performance with low rolling resistance made possible by Bridgestone's ENLITEN tire technology. Sustainable Longevity: The new Bridgestone Turanza EV tire delivers an exceptional 50,000-mile limited warranty 5 thanks to its next-generation tread compound featuring new PeakLife polymer technology that enhances tread wear to overcome the load and torque challenges that historically lead to premature wear out in EVs. 6

The new Bridgestone Turanza EV tire delivers an exceptional 50,000-mile limited warranty thanks to its next-generation tread compound featuring new PeakLife polymer technology that enhances tread wear to overcome the load and torque challenges that historically lead to premature wear out in EVs. Whisper-Quiet Ride: With QuietTrack technology embedded in the tread design, the Bridgestone Turanza EV tire reduces road noise for a quiet, comfortable ride.

With QuietTrack technology embedded in the tread design, the Bridgestone Turanza EV tire reduces road noise for a quiet, comfortable ride. Wet Road Ready: With wet braking and handling that's on par with selected leading OE touring tire,7 drivers of electric vehicles with Bridgestone Turanza EV tires can enjoy confident control on wet roads from a tire that also offers excellent tread wear.

Consistent with Bridgestone's sustainability goals, which include the use of 100% renewable and recycled materials by 2050, the Turanza EV tire incorporates 50% renewable and recycled materials.8 Bridgestone Turanza EV tires are manufactured using synthetic rubber8 associated with recycled plastic, helping keep more used plastics out of landfills and the environment.

The new Turanza EV tire is manufactured at Bridgestone's passenger car tire production facilities in Wilson, North Carolina , and Monterrey, Mexico , where significant new investments were made to accommodate the use of ENLITEN technology, including new rubber mixing and tire construction tools and technologies.

Bridgestone's development of the Turanza EV aligns with the Bridgestone E8 Commitment, which consists of eight Bridgestone-like values starting with the letter "E" (Energy, Ecology, Efficiency, Extension, Economy, Emotion, Ease and Empowerment). By developing an electric vehicle replacement tire, Bridgestone is delivering on its "Energy," "Ecology" and "Ease" commitment.

1 The combination of ENLITEN technology attributes applicable to a specific tire product may vary. Results may vary depending on proper tire and vehicle maintenance, road conditions and driving habits.

2 Based on internal testing. Results may vary by specific tire product and depending on proper tire and vehicle maintenance, road conditions and driving habits.

3 Recycled means material that has been reprocessed from recovered [reclaimed] material by means of a manufacturing process and made into a final product or into a component for incorporation into goods or services. Includes circular-based mass balance materials. Renewable means material that is composed of biomass from a living source and that can be continually replenished. Synthetic rubber is ISCC Plus certified allocated using the mass balance approach.

4 Compared against prior polymer technology based on internal testing. Results may vary depending on specific tire product, proper tire and vehicle maintenance, road conditions and driving habits.

5 Conditions apply. See Bridgestonetire.com/warranty for details.

6 Based on comparative rolling resistance of Bridgestone Turanza EV tires and Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack tires 235/45R18 size tires. Actual on-road mileage range may vary.

7 Based on comparative wet braking and wet lap time testing of Bridgestone Turanza EV tires (size 255/45R19) and Continental ProContact RX tires (size 255/45R19) on a 2023 Telsa Model Y. Results may vary depending upon proper tire and vehicle maintenance, road conditions and driving habits.

8 20% natural rubber; 18% recycled (circular) synthetic rubber; remaining recycled (circular) carbon black. ISCC-certified circular butadiene rubber, styrene butadiene rubber and carbon black allocated using the ISCC mass balance approach. For more details about ISCC, please go to: https://iscc-system.org.

About Bridgestone Americas, Inc.:

Bridgestone Americas, Inc. is the U.S. -based subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, a global leader in tires and rubber, building on its expertise to provide solutions for safe and sustainable mobility. Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn. , Bridgestone Americas employs more than 45,000 people across its worldwide operations. Bridgestone offers a diverse product portfolio of premium tires and advanced solutions backed by innovative technologies, improving the way people around the world move, live, work and play.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bridgestone-turanza-ev-grand-touring-tire-for-electric-vehicles-makes-world-debut-at-electrify-expo-301829255.html

SOURCE Bridgestone Americas, Inc.
WASHINGTON , May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As the school year wraps up for summer, attention is being drawn to the issue of GBV on college campuses. GBV covers a wide range of misconductverbal and physical actions, sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape, among other forms. For college women, sexual violence is more prevalent than other kinds of crimes. 25% of college women are sexually assaulted while in college; and 59% experienced harassing behavior.

In order to help combat GBV on college campuses, eGirl Power, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, has partnered with the Center for Public Safety in DC to create the Center of Public Safety for Women (CPSW).

Notably, the use of the word "violence" does not limit GBV solely to misconduct covered by criminal laws. For example, many sexual harassment cases are civil matters that do not implicate criminal statutes. But any GBV experience can have a traumatic effect on survivorsregardless of how that misconduct is categorized under applicable laws.

The start of the next school year will mark the beginning of the notorious "red zone" on college campuses, when 50% of campus sexual assaults occur between mid-August and late November. This has been recognized as due to fraternity and sorority rushes, and with freshmen students more impacted at a time when they are still developing their social networks.

It's not just women who are affected. LGBTQ+ college students are also statistically more likely to be impacted by sexual violence, which affects more than: 25% of bisexual students, 18% of asexual, queer or questioning students, 15% of gay or lesbian students, and 22% for those who select more than one category. Heterosexual men are impacted by GBV too, but at much lower rates of 4-6%.

Title IX is a powerful tool for students who want to combat sexual violence on college campuses. Under Title IX, discrimination on the basis of sex can include sexual harassment, rape, and sexual assault, as well as other forms of gender-based discrimination. This landmark law prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded educational programs, and requires covered schools to respond to and investigate reports of such incidents on their campuses or facilities.

However, there is a wide chasm between what schools and students report. For example, in 2015, 89% of campuses reported zero rapes, but in that same year, other data indicated that approximately 23% of undergraduate women reported surviving rape or sexual assault.

Complicating matters, just 20% of female survivors in college report their assault to the police, compared with 32% of college-age women who are not students.

As affirmed by the U.S. Department of Education, "Due to underreporting officially reported sexual assaults represented only a minority of sexual assaults that occurred." In fact, government data collection suggests GBV incidents are on average less than 1%. Left to the official data, campus decision makers may likely think that there's not that big of a problem. When in reality, underreporting masks the problem.

As stated by Gabbi, Chair of the #StopGBV Executive Team, "it is important to destigmatize the conversation about GBV in order to put an end to it." To achieve these goals, the team is working to "Educate, Empower and Elevate college students to bring awareness and create change," shared Hana, another #StopGBV Executive Team member who is helping to lead this effort.

To what degree is GBV an issue on your campus?

For any student who wants to understand more about GBV and how to fight against it, especially within the context of higher education, sign up for a free #StopGBV Webinar with CPSW.

Contact:

Chris Lee

202-269-5855

[email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/combating-gender-based-violence-gbv-through-social-justice-on-college-campuses-as-led-by-cpsw-301829491.html

SOURCE CPSW
- New investigational data evaluating Fexuprazan in a Korean clinical trial program for healing erosive esophagitis (EE) regardless of food intake, and in a Chinese pivotal clinical trial program for the treatment of EE

SEOUL, South Korea and CHICAGO , May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Daewoong Pharmaceutical (CEO Lee Chang-jae and Jeon Sengho) announced on the 19th that they set up a booth at the Digestive Disease Week 2023 (DDW 2023) held in Chicago, USA and revealed new clinical data through two poster sessions demonstrating the efficacy and safety of Fexuclue (active ingredient name: Fexuprazan) on patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

DDW is the world's largest conference where over 10,000 doctors, researchers, and gastroenterology experts are gathered from all around the world and share their recent studies and clinical practices. Throughout the conference, in addition to two poster sessions, Daewoong have a physical presence located at booth #4729, where the representatives of the company presented on-site to provide medical information regarding Daewoong's Fexuprazan and were able to make active scientific and academic exchanges with gastroenterologist from all over the world based on clinical trial results.

On May 7th local time, Daewoong Pharmaceutical had two poster sessions, which were an investigator initiated trial (IIT) conducted in South Korea to compare the healing rates of a mucosal breaks by Fexuprazan before and after food intake, and a pivotal phase 3 clinical trial conducted in China to assess the efficacy and safety of Fexuprazan in treating the EE.

The IIT led by Sung In-Kyung, a professor of gastroenterology at Konkuk University, assessed the efficacy and safety of Fexuprazan in patients with erosive esophagitis. The study compared the outcomes of patients who took the investigational product once a day before and after food intake. The study found no significant difference in healing rates between the group that took the investigational product before and after food intake. The ability to administer Fexuprazan irrespective of food intake provides potential differentiation from most PPIs.

Professor Sung In-Kyung who oversaw the clinical trial said, "In this study, Fexuprazan is the first P-CAB agent to demonstrate equal effectiveness regardless of food intake, enabling convenient administration. At two and four weeks, Fexuprazan has shown the potential to provide a faster and stronger in suppressing the production of gastric acid than PPIs. We anticipate that the investigational use of Fexuprazan will exhibit excellent efficacy in other conditions resulting from excessive gastric acid secretion."

Additionally, the randomized controlled phase 3 clinical trial that was conducted in China focusing on erosive esophagitis compared the healing rates of mucosal breaks observed through upper endoscopy over an eight-week period, which served as the effectiveness evaluation index. The study revealed that the percentage of mucosal healing rate by 8 weeks in the Fexuprazan group was 97.3% (145 out of 149 people) and that in the Esomeprazole group was 97.9% (143 out of 146 people). It demonstrates that Fexuprazan is non-inferior to Esomeprazole, which serves as an active comparator drug. Furthermore, a safety evaluation was carried out to assess adverse drug reactions, and the results were similar between Fexuprazan: (19.4%) and the active comparator drug, Esomeprazole (19.6%). No unexpected serious adverse reactions were observed, indicating its safety profile.

Dr. Xiao Yinglian, the presenter of the phase 3 clinical trial in China , and a professor at Sun Yat-sen University, said, "Fexuprazan has several advantages over PPIs. It starts working within just one day and shows equal effectiveness regardless of food intake. P-CAB drugs will gradually take the place of PPIs, and Fexuprazan has the potential to lead the transition".

Aside from the poster presentations at DDW 2023, Daewoong successfully held a special event outside of the traditional DDW session, "Fexuclue Reception Night" held in Chicago, USA on May 8th (local time). At Fexuclue Reception Night, about 70 key opinion leaders from around the world, including executives from Korean and overseas digestive societies, actively discussed the features of P-CAB including Fexuprazan as well as the treatment guideline for GERD using P-CAB.

Lee Chang-jae , CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical said, "We had the opportunity to showcase the potential effectiveness of Fexuprazan to doctors and researchers specializing in gastrointestinal diseases at the world's largest conference, DDW 2023 during the presentation of study results related to the erosive reflux disease that can be treated by Fexuprazan", adding "We have plans and ongoing clinical trials in and out of the country, aiming to expand the range of diseases that can be treated by Fexuprazan. We will concentrate our resources on gathering data that can demonstrate the efficacy of Fexuprazan and developing various formulations to enhance the value of Fexuprazan."

About Fexuprazan

Fexuprazan is investigational new drug in the United States of America . Outside the United States of America , Fexuprazan is known with a brand name of Fexuclue for GERD treatment. Fexuclue is an approved prescription drug for the treatment of GERD in South Korea , Chile , Ecuador and the Philippines . Fexuclue is registered trademarks of Daewoong Pharmaceutical. Any other trademarks referred to in this press release are the property of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the current beliefs and expectations of Daewoong Pharmaceutical's management. These statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) Regulatory and governmental approvals: The approval process for pharmaceutical products is subject to extensive regulations and may involve uncertainties and delays. Any failure to obtain necessary approvals or the occurrence of delays in the approval process could adversely affect Daewoong Pharmaceutical's business and results of operations; and (2) Clinical trials: The success of Daewoong Pharmaceutical's products depends on the results of clinical trials. The results of early clinical trials may not be indicative of the results of later-stage or larger-scale clinical trials.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/daewoong-pharmaceutical-presents-new-clinical-data-of-fexuprazan-at-digestive-disease-week-2023-301829434.html

SOURCE Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. , May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Encompass Health Corp. (NYSE: EHC) today announced it plans to build a freestanding, 50-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Concordville, Pennsylvania . The hospital will be located on Baltimore Pike within Concord Township .

The hospital will serve patients recovering from debilitating illnesses and injuries, including strokes and other neurological disorders, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations and complex orthopedic conditions. In addition to 24hour nursing care, the hospital will offer physical, occupational and speech therapies to restore functional ability and quality of life. Care will be provided by highly specialized nurses, therapists and physicians.

The hospital will feature private patient rooms, a spacious therapy gym with advanced rehabilitation technologies and an activities of daily living suite, dining room, pharmacy and therapy courtyard.

"We are excited to expand our inpatient rehabilitation services to Delaware County , as we identified this as an underserved area," said Pat Tuer , president of Encompass Health's Northeast region. "The hospital will provide our patients with high-quality, compassionate and individualized care close to home, helping patients regain the strength and function needed to return to the community at their highest level of independence."

The hospital will become part of Encompass Health's national network of rehabilitation hospitals, and it will be Encompass Health's 10th hospital in Pennsylvania .

About Encompass Health

Encompass Health (NYSE: EHC) is the largest owner and operator of rehabilitation hospitals in the United States . With a national footprint that includes 157 hospitals in 37 states and Puerto Rico , the Company provides high-quality, compassionate rehabilitative care for patients recovering from a major injury or illness, using advanced technology and innovative treatments to maximize recovery. Encompass Health is ranked as one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For and Modern Healthcare's Best Places to Work in Healthcare. For more information, visit encompasshealth.com, or follow us on our newsroom, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release which are not historical facts, such as those relating to the likelihood, timing and effects of the completion of this hospital project, are forward-looking statements. In addition, Encompass Health may from time to time make forward-looking public statements concerning the matters described herein. All such estimates, projections, and forward-looking information speak only as of the date hereof, and Encompass Health undertakes no duty to publicly update or revise such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates based upon current information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Encompass Health's actual results or events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors. While it is impossible to identify all such factors, factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated include, but are not limited to, the regulatory review and approval process, any adverse outcome of various lawsuits, claims, and legal or regulatory proceedings that may be brought by or against the Company; the possibility this project will experience unexpected delays; the ability to successfully complete this project consistent with Encompass Health's growth strategy, including realization of anticipated revenues and avoidance of unforeseen exposure to liabilities; disease outbreaks, including the speed, depth, geographic reach and duration of the spread; the actions to be taken by Encompass Health in response to disease outbreaks; changes in the regulation of the healthcare industry at either or both of the federal and state levels; competitive pressures in the healthcare industry and Encompass Health's response thereto; the hospital's ability to maintain proper local, state and federal licensing; potential disruptions, breaches, or other incidents affecting the proper operation, availability, or security of Encompass Health's information systems; Encompass Health's ability to attract and retain nurses, therapists, and other healthcare professionals in a highly competitive environment with often severe staffing shortages and the impact on Encompass Health's labor expenses from potential union activity and staffing shortages; changes, delays in (including in connection with resolution of Medicare payment reviews or appeals), or suspension of reimbursement for Encompass Health's services by governmental or private payors; general conditions in the economy and capital markets; and other factors which may be identified from time to time in Encompass Health's SEC filings and other public announcements, including Encompass Health's Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2022 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2023 .

Media contact:

Danielle Hall | 205-970-5912

[email protected]

Investor Relations contact:

Mark Miller | 205-970-5860

[email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/encompass-health-announces-plans-to-build-a-50-bed-inpatient-rehabilitation-hospital-in-concordville-pennsylvania-301829950.html

SOURCE Encompass Health Corp.
HINGHAM, Mass. , May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hollywood Agency, an integrated public relations and communications agency servicing both consumer and B2B brands, has announced the promotion of Steve Saleeba to Vice President of Media Relations. A member of the agency's senior leadership team since his hiring in March of 2021, Saleeba has demonstrated ongoing success advancing the agency's media relations efforts, refining the strategic direction and strengthening the team's approach.

"Media relations is a vital tenet of our agency, and Steve has been essential to growing this capability," said Darlene Hollywood, founder and principal of Hollywood Agency. "His constant, meticulous study of the space and his creative positioning of clients as part of the conversation drives our entire team's understanding and process."

Prior to Hollywood Agency, Saleeba spent more than a decade as a television news producer in Boston , followed by seven years at Elevate Communications. A seasoned PR executive and Peabody Award-winner, Saleeba's creativity combined with his understanding for spotting media trends and his extensive network of journalist relationships across local, regional and national media have landed countless high-impact media placements for clients on a global scale.

The agency also announced the expansion of its digital marketing team with the hiring of Marissa Lalli as Performance Marketing Director. Lalli brings with her more than a decade of content development, data-driven digital, social and ecommerce success, having worked at Solomon McCown, MullenLowe, Havas, The Boston Bruins and most recently, Mightier.

About Hollywood Agency

At Hollywood Agency, a nationally recognized integrated communications firm, We Make Brands Famous. With a focus on partnering with compelling brands whose culture and values mirror its own, Hollywood Agency works with innovators in the consumer goods and services, B2B and non-profit industries. Named one of the fastest-growing private companies in Massachusetts twice, Hollywood Agency has earned more than 50 industry awards. To learn more, visit hollywoodagency.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Media Contact:

Stacy Clougherty

[email protected]

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hollywood-agency-elevates-steve-saleeba-to-media-relations-vice-president-and-adds-marissa-lalli-as-performance-marketing-director-301829798.html

SOURCE Hollywood Agency
BROOKFIELD, Wis. , May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hydrite, an integrated manufacturer and supplier of chemicals and related services, was recognized as a 2023 Top Workplaces award winner by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for creating high employee experience and exceptional workplaces. Hydrite has won Top Workplaces six other years in the past.

The Top Workplaces award is based on employee feedback gathered through a third-party engagement survey. The survey assesses an organization using several factors, including 15 research-based culture drivers and three statements that measure employee engagement.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is the publisher for the Top Workplaces in the Milwaukee / Southeast Wisconsin region. Participating Counties include Dodge , Jefferson , Kenosha , Milwaukee , Ozaukee , Racine , Sheboygan , Walworth , Washington , and Waukesha .

"Winning a seventh Top Workplaces award is the ultimate compliment to being named 2023 Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year," Hydrite Chief Human Resources Officer Dan Sager said. "Manufacturer of the Year is essentially based on results. A Top Workplaces award is based on how those results are achieved  by highly engaged and dedicated individuals. Manufacturers are underrepresented on Top Workplaces lists which makes this an extraordinary honor for the People of Hydrite."

Hydrite President Kevin Honkamp commented, "We are proud to be recognized as a Top Workplace in Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin where competition for talent is intense. Our strong culture remains key to what makes Hydrite a great place to work. It is a testament to the words of my grandfather R.C. Honkamp , 'All of this is possible with the excellence of our people, Hydrite's greatest asset.' It is an honor to receive this year's 2023 Top Workplaces award."

As a company with a strong commitment to their employees, Hydrite stands by their core values and expectations which focus around Integrity, Innovation, Quality, People, and Responsible Growth.

About Hydrite Chemical Co.

Hydrite, established in 1929, is family owned and operated. Hydrite is one of the largest independent providers of chemicals and related services in the US. Headquartered in Brookfield, Wisconsin , Hydrite has manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and laboratories located in Illinois , Wisconsin , Iowa , Indiana , California , and Texas with nearly 1000 employees in more than 25 states.

Hydrite offers expertise in chemical manufacturing and distribution, food and dairy sanitation, organic processing, liquid sulfites, foam control and water treatment chemistries. Hydrite's dedicated chemists, engineers, and technical service staff have extensive knowledge and experience to solve challenging formulation problems and provide creative solutions. www.hydrite.com

Contact:

Judy Allen

262-792-1450

[email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hydrite-named-winner-of-2023-top-workplaces-award-301828564.html

SOURCE Hydrite
Former and present Hyundai engineers and designers commemorate the Pony Coupe Concept restoration in the birthplace of the original's design and debut in 1974

The restoration represents the company's historic past, present success and future mobility vision, shown alongside the innovative Pony Coupe Concept-inspired N Vision 74 concept

Hyundai Motor to enter the Pony Coupe Concept-inspired N Vision 74 'Rolling Lab' into the concept car competition at the upcoming Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este

COMO, Italy and SEOUL, South Korea , May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor Company today celebrated the restoration of the Pony Coupe Concept at Hyundai Reunion held at historic Villa Pliniana in Lake Como, Italy .

Hyundai Motor collaborated with Italian design firm GFG Style, notably its father and son founders Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro to rebuild the influential 1974 Pony Coupe Concept that young Giorgetto created for Hyundai's debut at the 1974 Turin Motor Show.

At the event, Hyundai Motor also showcased its N Vision 74 concept, which was inspired by the Pony Coupe Concept. These two vehicles represent a shared lineage between the company's past and future, illustrating the continuation of its ambition to be innovative and daring.

"Despite the poor industrial environment in the 1970s, my grandfather and Hyundai's Founding Chairman Ju-young Chung poured his heart and soul into rebuilding Korea's economy and improving the lives of its people after the devastating Korean War. He finally realized his vision of making Korea a country capable of developing its own vehicles with perfection," said Euisun Chung , Executive Chair of Hyundai Motor Group. "I express my sincere gratitude to everyone from both Italy and Korea who played a critical role in the success of Pony."

Hyundai Reunion, a heritage brand platform that reflects on Hyundai Motor's past and its future direction, has brought together all the designers and engineers involved on N Vision 74 and the original Pony Coupe Concept, including Giorgetto Giugiaro and former Hyundai Motor President Chung Goo Lee , for the celebration.

"In the age of electrification, a key condition for Hyundai Motor Company to become a leader in future mobility will be our ability to remain faithful to the unshakable values we inherited," said Jaehoon Chang , President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company. "Moving forward, through Hyundai Reunion and other heritage communication initiatives, we will continue to leverage our past as a unique vector for our future innovation."

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/inaugural-hyundai-reunion-celebrates-rebirth-of-hyundai-motors-pony-coupe-concept-301829356.html

SOURCE Hyundai Motor Company
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. , May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Laugh Factory Hollywood and nonprofits Black Women Lead and Women's March Los Angeles are holding a special all-women's march on Sunday, May 21 at 2 p.m. in solidarity with Iranian women in the struggle for life and freedom.

Notable celebrities will speak at the event, including Tiffany Haddish and many more.

"Every day, innocent young girls in Iran are being slaughtered simply because they are standing up for their rights. So far we know over 500 people that have been killed, but we don't know how many others have been executed. So many women on Mother's Day cried out for help for their children who were killed or incarcerated," said Laugh Factory Owner Jamie Masada , an Iranian American. "On Sunday in Los Angeles , women will be marching for them, and for the future of all women and girls in Iran .

"Black Women Lead, Laugh Factory Hollywood and Women's March Foundation stand in solidarity with the women of Iran , who seek to replace the current regime with one that respects democracy, equality, accountability and human rights," Masada said.

Marchers are asked to bring a single red rose to dedicate to those who have been lost and the 19,600 political prisoners who have been behind bars in Iran .

The event organizing committee has no affiliation to any political party, religion or special interest groups.

Event Details:



Time: Gathering at 2 p.m.



Location: Laugh Factory Hollywood

8001 Sunset Blvd. , Los Angeles, CA 90046



Suggested attire: White

The Laugh Factory  8001 Sunset Blvd. , Hollywood, CA 90046  www.laughfactory.com

Contact: Greg Waskul at (818) 926-0079 or [email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iranian-womens-solidarity-march-sunday-may-21-at-2-pm-at-laugh-factory-hollywood-301829756.html

SOURCE Laugh Factory
NASA's Sustainable Human Landing System Will Land Crew on the Moon for Artemis V

DENVER , May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is on the team that has won a contract from NASA to develop and demonstrate a human landing system for the Artemis program under the agency's Human Landing System program. The goal of the program is to rapidly develop a sustainable human lunar lander and perform a crewed demonstration flight to the lunar surface for Artemis V.

Led by Blue Origin, the National Team that will develop and build the lander also includes Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic and Honeybee Robotics.

"Congratulations to Blue Origin on this achievement. Lockheed Martin is excited to be part of Blue Origin's National team and we are looking forward to building humanity's first Cislunar Transporter," said Kirk Shireman , vice president of Lunar Exploration Campaigns at Lockheed Martin Space. "We value Blue Origin's thoughtful approach to developing human-rated flight systems and are thrilled to be part of a diverse team that combines innovation, deep experience and a strong industrial base."

NASA's Artemis program is redefining how we explore deep space, and a sustainable human landing system program is key to extending our human presence away from Earth in a long-term way, which will greatly add to our scientific knowledge of the solar system.

As a principal partner on Blue Origin's National Team, Lockheed Martin brings to the lunar lander effort more than 50 years of experience in space exploration  from developing the Orion spacecraft, to supporting numerous planetary robotic missions, to developing the space shuttle's external fuel tank. Additionally, Lockheed Martin and National Team partners are drawing on their extensive supplier base, engaging strategic small and mid-sized businesses across the country in the development of the landing system.

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, and @LMSpace to learn more about the latest technologies, missions and people driving the future of space.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lockheed-martin-on-blue-origins-national-team-selected-to-develop-human-lunar-lander-301829928.html

SOURCE Lockheed Martin
UNITED NATIONS, May 18 (Xinhua) -- UN peacekeepers have chased armed rebels from several villages in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a UN spokesman said on Thursday.

Villagers raised warnings over the last few days the rebels were in several villages of Djugu territory in Ituri province, said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "UN peacekeepers immediately deployed to the areas, prompting the assailants to flee the scene."

There was no immediate word on casualties.

Haq identified the rebels as members of CODECO.

The CODECO members are a loose association of militia groups called the Cooperative for Development of the Congo.

The spokesman said peacekeepers from the UN mission in the DRC, known as MONUSCO, also engaged with communities around Djugu, notably internally displaced persons and youth leaders. It is part of efforts to strengthen protection and early warning mechanisms.

The MONUSCO peacekeepers launched a Joint Assessment and Engagement Mission to Bweremana, close to the town of Sake, in North Kivu province, Haq said.

He said the program follows population displacement caused by another armed rebel group, the M23, displacing the population in Masisi territory.

The spokesman said the peacekeepers met with civilians and local leaders to understand their needs and protection concerns better.

On Monday, the secretary-general's special representative, Bintou Keita, visited Kalehe territory in South Kivu province to see the damage caused by recent torrential rain and heavy flooding, he said.

"She expressed her condolences and solidarity with the government and the affected populations," Haq said. "More than 450 people died in the floods and many more are missing, according to official estimates." 
Acquisition will accelerate global expansion of Serverfarm's portfolio and drive innovation to better serve customer requirements

BOSTON and LOS ANGELES , May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife Investment Management ("Manulife IM"), on behalf of Manulife Infrastructure Fund II* and its affiliates, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Serverfarm, a data center owner and operator. The significant investment by Manulife IM, together with support from existing shareholders, will provide capital to Serverfarm to continue its expansion across North America , Europe , and Israel to capitalize on attractive market opportunities.

Serverfarm currently operates a portfolio of eight data centers across North America , Europe and Israel that aggregate more than 1.5 million gross square feet and 125MW of IT capacity, and it has secured additional land for future data center developments.

"Avner and the Serverfarm team have built a high-quality data center portfolio and growth platform that is well-positioned to capitalize on the strong secular tailwinds in the data center market," said Recep Kendircioglu, global head of infrastructure, Manulife Investment Management. "We are excited about the company's future and our ability to support Serverfarm through its next phase of growth on behalf of our clients."

"Partnering with Manulife Investment Management, an investor that shares Serverfarm's vision for growth and customer service, will allow us to effectively address the next wave of demand from our existing and new customers," said Avner Papouchado , Founder and CEO of Serverfarm. "Our new relationship with Manulife Investment Management provides Serverfarm with additional expertise and new capital to execute on a number of attractive development opportunities and give our customers a long-term growth runway."

The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023 after the satisfaction of customary closing conditions including the receipt of certain regulatory approvals.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is serving as lead financial advisor, TD Securities (USA) LLC is serving as financial advisor, and Dentons US LLP and Alston & Bird LLP are serving as legal counsel to Serverfarm.

TAP Advisors LLC is serving as financial advisor, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is serving as legal counsel to Manulife Investment Management.

About Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the global brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto , our extensive capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 19 geographies. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com.

About Serverfarm LLC

Serverfarm is an established multi-regional data center platform that provides data center solutions to key hyperscale, webscale, technology & network customers. These data center solutions include Colocation, Data Center Design, and IT Infrastructure Management, through Serverfarm's proprietary InCommand DMaaS technology. For more information, visit https://www.serverfarmllc.com/.

* Manulife Infrastructure Fund II is closed and no longer open for subscription



View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/manulife-investment-management-signs-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-a-controlling-interest-in-data-center-platform-serverfarm-301829520.html

SOURCE Manulife Investment Management
Largest witness unlawful detention case in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS , May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- May Jung Law , a leading civil rights law firm, announced today that it has reached a $700,000 settlement with the City of Minneapolis in a landmark unlawful detention case on behalf of the Vue family.

The groundbreaking settlement marks the largest witness unlawful detention case in the State of Minnesota , if not the country.

On Dec. 15, 2019 , Chiasher Vue, a Hmong refugee, was shot and killed by the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). Police officers held Vue's four children, the case's plaintiffs, for over five hours in the back of locked and unheated patrol cars, forced to hear radio traffic authorizing the use of deadly force against their father and ultimately the barrage of bullets that killed him. Video recordings capture over dozens of screams and cries to be released and the MPD's denials.

The Vue plaintiffs were transported to MPD headquarters, and then locked in separate interrogation rooms  all of which was without a legal basis and against their will. MPD held them for more than five additional hours in interrogation rooms and were never told that their father had been killed hours earlier.

The settlement comes in the wake of the MPD's policy changes regarding witness detention, enacted through Special Order SO22-027 in November 2022 . This order explicitly prohibits every single unlawful action that was inflicted upon the Vue Plaintiffs, signaling a step towards progress and accountability within law enforcement practices.

"We hope that the MPD and other law enforcement agencies throughout the country understand that upholding fundamental constitutional requirements is neither discretionary, optional, nor contingent upon an individual's race, ethnicity, or language capabilities," said Je Yon Jung , partner at May Jung Law. "It is our fervent hope that the policy changes implemented by the MPD will endure as more than temporary measures or mere lip service."

For more information about May Jung Law Firm, go to www.mayjung.com.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/may-jung-law-announces-700-000-settlement-with-minneapolis-police-department-over-unlawful-detention-of-vue-family-301829550.html

SOURCE May Jung Law Firm
Hosting Call on Thursday, May 25th at 5 pm ET

TORONTO and DALLAS , May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Perimeter Medical Imaging AI, Inc. (TSXV: PINK) (OTC: PYNKF) (FSE: 4PC) ("Perimeter" or the "Company")  a commercial-stage medical technology company  announced it will report its first quarter 2023 financial and operating results after the close of U.S. financial markets on Thursday, May 25, 2023 .

Conference Call/Webcast Information :

Date: Thursday, May 25, 2023



Time: 5:00 pm Eastern Time



Dial-In Number: 1-877-704-4453



International Dial-In: 1-201-389-0920



Conference ID: 13738979



Audio Webcast: Register here (listen-only)



Presenter: Jeremy Sobotta , Chief Executive Officer





The conference call will also be broadcast live online through a listen-only webcast , which will be posted on the Investors section of the Company's website . The webcast will be archived on the Company's investor relations webpage for at least 90 days. A telephonic playback of the conference call will be available for 14 days after the conference call by calling 1-844-512-2921 or 1-412-317-6671 from abroad and referencing conference ID 13738979. The above listed dates and times are subject to change.

About Perimeter Medical Imaging AI, Inc.

Based in Toronto, Canada and Dallas, Texas , Perimeter Medical Imaging AI (TSX-V: PINK) (OTC: PYNKF) (FSE: 4PC) is a medical technology company driven to transform cancer surgery with ultra-high-resolution, real-time, advanced imaging tools to address areas of high unmet medical need. Available across the U.S. , our FDA-cleared Perimeter S-Series OCT system provides real-time, cross-sectional visualization of excised tissues at the cellular level. The breakthrough-device-designated investigational Perimeter B-Series OCT with ImgAssist AI represents our next-generation artificial intelligence technology that is currently being evaluated in a pivotal clinical trial, with support from a grant of up to US$7.4 million awarded by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. The company's ticker symbol "PINK" is a reference to the pink ribbons used during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

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.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. In this news release, words such as "may," "would," "could," "will," "likely," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate," and similar words and the negative form thereof are used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information may relate to management's future outlook and anticipated events or results and may include statements or information regarding the future financial position, business strategy and strategic goals, competitive conditions, research and development activities, projected costs and capital expenditures, research and clinical testing outcomes, taxes and plans and objectives of, or involving, Perimeter. Without limitation, information regarding the potential benefits of Perimeter S-Series OCT, Perimeter B-Series OCT, and Perimeter ImgAssist are forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times at or by which, any particular result will be achieved. No assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur. Forward-looking information is based on information available at the time and/or management's good-faith belief with respect to future events and are subject to known or unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond Perimeter's control. Such forward-looking statements reflect Perimeter's current view with respect to future events, but are inherently subject to significant medical, scientific, business, economic, competitive, political, and social uncertainties and contingencies. In making forward-looking statements, Perimeter may make various material assumptions, including but not limited to (i) the accuracy of Perimeter's financial projections; (ii) obtaining positive results from trials; (iii) obtaining necessary regulatory approvals; and (iv) general business, market, and economic conditions. Further risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, those applicable to Perimeter and described in Perimeter's Management Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2022 , which is available on Perimeter's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. Perimeter does not intend, nor does Perimeter undertake any obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking information contained in this news release to reflect subsequent information, events, or circumstances or otherwise, except if required by applicable laws.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/perimeter-medical-imaging-ai-announces-conference-call-and-webcast-to-discuss-first-quarter-2023-financial-results-and-provide-corporate-update-301829050.html

SOURCE Perimeter Medical Imaging AI, Inc.
Milestone Achievement to Service Leading Pet Retail Franchise Brands, Create Hundreds of Jobs in the Community

ORANGEBURG, S.C. , May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pet Supplies Plus, the nation's leading, full-service pet retail company, celebrated the grand opening of their state-of-the-art distribution center on Friday, May 19 . Located at 122 Palmetto Commerce Parkway in Orangeburg , the new center is a milestone achievement for the franchise company and for South Carolina . Present at the grand opening celebration were: Chris Rowland , President and CEO of Pet Supplies Plus; Johnnie Wright , Sr., Chairman of the Orangeburg City Council; Kenneth Middleton , Chairman of the Orangeburg County Development Commission, among others. The grand opening included a ribbon cutting ceremony, remarks from Rowland and Wright, and had more than 100 people in attendance.

The new 534,700 square-foot distribution center is part of the company's $54 million investment that was announced last summer, further expanding its distribution capabilities across the Southeast. With over 700 store locations across 42 states combined, the new distribution center will service Pet Supplies Plus stores as well as its recently acquired company, Wag N' Wash stores.

"Opening our fourth distribution center in the U.S. is a pivotal moment for our brand, and one our team and the community of Orangeburg alike is thrilled about," said Chris Rowland , President and CEO of Pet Supplies Plus. "While we grow on a national scale, we prioritize being engrained in each community we're a part of. This will remain evident with the distribution center as we provide hundreds of jobs to those in South Carolina ."

As Pet Supplies Plus continues to grow at rapid rates across the country, the distribution center will fill a crucial role in fulfilling consumer's needs in stores. While a pivotal growth point for the franchise, Orangeburg County and South Carolina overall will also reap benefits. Once fully staffed, the distribution center will create more than 275 full and part-time jobs. For those interested in learning about career opportunities at Pet Supplies Plus, visit https://www.petsuppliesplus.com/about-us/careers.

"We are excited to celebrate the newest addition to Orangeburg County with the grand opening of the Pet Supplies Plus distribution center," added Johnnie Wright , Sr., Chairman of the Orangeburg City Council. "We are grateful to Pet Supplies Plus for selecting our community and the Shamrock Commerce Park for their newest distribution center and for creating great employment opportunities for our citizens. We look forward to having the brand become a part of our community."

Founded in 1988, Pet Supplies Plus, a subsidiary of Franchise Group, Inc., is the largest independent pet store in the United States , offering customers a wide selection of natural pet foods, goods and services. Located in 42 states, Pet Supplies Plus and Wag N' Wash have over 700 retail stores across the country.

About Pet Supplies Plus

Your neighborhood Pet Supplies Plus has everything you need for your furry, scaly and feathery friends. Our shelves are stocked with the right products, including a wide selection of natural and made in the USA products. Easily find all their favorites at prices you love, whether you shop with us in store or online using free curbside pickup, same-day delivery or Autoship. To help keep your pets happy and healthy, pet prescriptions can be filled online and delivered directly to your door. As the nation's largest independent pet store with nearly 700 locations in 42 states and counting, we make shopping local simple. For more information visit www.petsuppliesplus.com.

About Wag N' Wash

Wag N' Wash Natural Pet Food & Grooming, a full-line dog grooming and self-wash specialty retail destination, has a mission to recognize, promote and foster the positive impact that companion pets and their humans have on each other. Wag N' Wash provides full-service grooming, self-wash facilities, baked dog treats, natural food, supplements, and toys. In 2020, Wag N' Wash was ranked on Denver Business Journal's Colorado-Based Franchisors List, Franchise Times Top 200+ List and Included on Franchise Gator's Top 100 Franchisees List for the third year. Today, there are 25 Wag N' Wash locations open across the nation. To learn more about Wag N' Wash, please visit https://www.wagnwashfranchising.com/.

About S.C. Department of Commerce

As South Carolina's leading economic development agency, the Department of Commerce works to recruit new businesses and help existing business grow. S.C. Commerce has recruited world-class companies to South Carolina such as BMW, Boeing, Continental, Giti Tire, LPL Financial Holdings, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Samsung, Toray and Volvo Cars and also supports startups, small and existing business, innovation and rural development initiatives. S.C. Commerce partners with the S.C. Technical College System via readySC to support workforce training and recruiting, and with the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce, which provides worker training and employment opportunities within the state. With a strong international footprint, the Palmetto State has consistently been among the top in the nation for attracting jobs through foreign direct investment on a per capita basis  recognized by multiple economic development publications for its pro-business climate. For more information, visit www.SCcommerce.com.

For more information, please contact: Merle Johnson , Executive Director

Orangeburg County Development Commission

125 Regional Parkway , Suite 100

Orangeburg, SC 29118

www.OCDC.com

Phone: 803.536.3333

Fax: 803.534.1165

Email: [email protected]

Media Contact: Marisa Beaumont , Fishman Public Relations, (847) 945-1300 or [email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pet-supplies-plus-celebrates-the-grand-opening-of-new-distribution-center-in-orangeburg-county-south-carolina-301829828.html

SOURCE Pet Supplies Plus
CHANGSHA, China , May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SANY Heavy Industry ("SANY", SSE: 600031), a leading global heavy machinery manufacturer, recently held a signing ceremony during which the company reached a strategic partnership with Guangxi Shenglong Metallurgical Co Ltd (Shenglong Metallurgical). Liang Linhe, Chairman of SANY Heavy Truck, and Lin Nengjing, CEO of Shenglong Metallurgy, signed the strategic cooperation agreement on behalf of their respective companies.

Shenglong Metallurgical CEO Lin Nengjing and Sany Heavy Truck Business Group Chairman Liang Linhe attended and jointly signed a strategic cooperation agreement. Heralding a new phase of the pair's cooperation, the event also marked the completion of an RMB 90-million ( USD 12 million ) procurement deal which saw SANY deliver thirty-five EV550 electric tractors, fifty electric dump trucks, and a battery swapping station to Shenglong Metallurgical  a milestone that propelled their collaboration to unprecedented heights.

As one of the largest iron and steel manufacturers, Shenglong Metallurgy is one of China's Top 500 enterprises and the world's Top 50 steelmakers, with its annual crude steel production ranking 35th around the globe. In recent years, the company is accelerating its green initiative to facilitate China's push towards its carbon neutrality and peak target, placing a stronger emphasis on sustainability and low-carbon development as it is beefing up its green logistics capacity.

The delivery of SANY's electric equipment greatly bolstered Shenglong Metallurgy's endeavor to decarbonize its logistical network, which hit a new record as the largest procurement deal for electric logistics vehicles that Guangxing's steel industry has ever seen.

Speaking of his excitement for the deepened collaboration with SANY, Ke Xueli, Chairman of Shenglong Metallurgy, highlighted the shared goal of the two companies to further electrify the logical scene of Fangchenggang City, the hometown of the steel giant, jointly empowering the city's and national steel industry to drive towards green transformation while achieving high-quality development.

Chairman Xiang Wenbo of SANY stressed the significance of this cooperation in aligning with China's decarbonization targets, as well as its role in promoting green manufacturing and sustainable development. This came after SANY was honored by Forbes China as one of the "Top 50 Sustainable Industrial Enterprises 2022" and recognized as a green development pioneer by the industry for its remarkable sustainable efforts.

SANY's latest achievements in green production, product innovation, low-carbon manufacturing, supply chain sustainability, and employee and community empowerment are also featured in 2023 ESG Inspiration Cases of Forbes China , a corporate ESG listing that give accolades to companies that made exceptional accomplishments in environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and corporate governance.

SANY Heavy Industry's factory in Changsha has also been named one of the Lighthouse factories by the World Economic Forum (WEF), making it the second heavy industry facility owned by SANY to receive this prestigious title. In response to the market headwinds, the factory adopts an automated production model powered by AI technological and Industrial IoTs in an effort to achieve intelligent manufacturing (IM) transformation. The new model allows the company to establish a digitized manufacturing system for heavy equipment that increases its labor productivity by almost 100 percent. The result is a 123 percent boost in production capacity and a 29 percent reduction in manufacturing cost per unit.

For more information about SANY Group, please visit www.sanyglobal.com or follow us on Facebook or YouTube to learn more.

About SANY

SANY Group's core businesses are design, manufacturing, sales, and support of heavy-duty engineering equipment. SANY Heavy Industry is China's largest and the world's 3rd-largest engineering machinery manufacturer, the efforts to add a new electric product portfolio makes SANY stand out in today's digital world and is also part of its sustainable solutions.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sany-heavy-industry-and-shenglong-metallurgical-establish-strategic-partnership-to-drive-green-transformation-in-steel-industry-301829209.html

SOURCE SANY Group
TIANJIN, China , May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 18 , the opening ceremony of the 7th World Intelligence Congress and World Summit on Intelligent Technology Innovation and Cooperation was held at the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Tianjin). Wan Gang , Vice Chairman of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, delivered a keynote report. Chen Min 'er, Secretary of Tianjin Municipal CPC Committee, delivered a speech. Singaporean Minister for National Development, Mr. Desmond Lee Ti-Seng, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Mogilev Region of Belarus , Anatoly Mikhailovich Isachanka, His Majesty's Trade Commissioner for China (HMTC), Mr. John Edwards , Chinese Minister of Education, Mr. Huai Jinpeng , and Minister of Science and Technology, Mr. Wang Zhigang delivered speeches as well. Zhang Gong , mayor of Tianjin, presided the ceremony.

Wan Gang pointed out in his keynote report that the development of China's artificial intelligence has been firmly grasping the main line of "enabling the substantial economy and supporting social development"; through the traction through application and demand, the opening of the innovation system, the leading role of the platform, the collaborative innovation among industry, academia, research and application, a research and development system and application ecology with Chinese characteristics has been formed, empowering the industrial upgrading and social progress, leading all fields of economy and society to leap from digitalization and networking to intelligence.

Chen Min 'er pointed out that President Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the development of artificial intelligence and digital economy. With the theme of "Intelligence: Extensive Development Space. Sustainable Growth Driver", the World Intelligence Congress will encourage all participants jointly to discuss new issues in the smart era and plan a new blueprint for the smart cooperation. Tianjin is willing to use the congress as a medium to exchange new ideas and technologies, further strengthen the interaction of science and technology, industrial cooperation and project implementation, seek a broader development space, more sustainable growth driver, and share the new opportunities of digital economy development.

Mr. Desmond Lee Ti-Seng commented that this year's congress has brought together like-minded professionals from all around the world to discuss experiences and innovative solutions related to artificial intelligence. Singapore will take the 15th anniversary of the development and construction of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco -city as an opportunity to deepen its cooperation with Tianjin in the sustainable development and smart city construction, strengthen exchanges and mutual understanding, as well as open a new chapter of cooperation.

Isachanka said that the World Intelligence Congress is an important platform for scientists and entrepreneurs to discuss the frontier trends in the development of artificial intelligence, gathering the world's best representatives in the field of intelligence, and Tianjin is the concentration of artificial intelligence industry. He hopes to exchange and share experience as well as knowledge in the field of artificial intelligence in order to promote cooperation between the two sides to achieve more practical results.

A series of activities such as projects signing, parallel forums, smart technology exhibition, competitions and smart experience will be held during the 7th World Intelligence Congress, and nearly 500 enterprises listed on the Forbes Top 500 both domestic and abroad and well-known technology enterprises will take part in the exhibition, making every effort to build an international event with gathering of innovative resources, leading industrial development and better smart experience.

ContactFan Yingming

Tel: 0086-13702005832

E-mail: [email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2081427/World_Intelligence_Congress_1.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2081426/World_Intelligence_Congress_2.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2081425/4045527/World_Intelligence_Congress_Logo.jpg

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-7th-world-intelligence-congress-opened-in-tianjin-301829754.html

SOURCE World Intelligence Congress
From Content Moderation to Content Creation: Tim Boucher Transforms Online Toxicity into AI-Driven Artistry - 100 Volumes of Dystopian Sci Fi Offer a Glimpse into the Future of Digital Storytelling

TORONTO, May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In our digital age, web platforms and content moderation significantly impact our lives, yet the people behind these thankless tasks remain largely unknown. One exception is Canadian-American artist and author Tim Boucher , a former content moderator for a major social media platform. Boucher transformed his five-year experience dealing with online toxicity into a unique form of art and stress relief, reinventing literary boundaries in the process. A revival of Golden Era sci-fi story anthologies, his books combine artificial intelligence with pulp sci-fi and conspiracy fiction tropes, showcasing the transformative and restorative power of creativity.

Boucher's collection of 100 AI Lore books stands out for its unique use of AI-generated images, text, and intricate world-building, immersing readers in an evolving narrative landscape that spans across volumes and universes. This innovative approach challenges conventional storytelling and invites readers to reconsider the human imagination, the role of AI in the arts, and the future of fiction.

Originally developed as a personal refuge from the harsh realities of a job that left him with symptoms of mild PTSD, Boucher's fantasy universe has since grown into an ambitious exercise in world-building. Incorporating AI into his work has enabled him to create larger, more intricate sci-fi and fantasy worlds, giving life to 100 volumes that blur the line between truth and fiction, and AI and human, in a near future alternate reality dystopia where AI has taken control of the planet following a series of climate catastrophes.

Boucher's innovative work has caught the attention of a global audience, with his AI-generated images going viral on social media and instigating fact checks from reputable news outlets like Reuters and France 24. His novel approach to AI-driven fiction has been recognized by CNN and Newsweek, with his detailed world-building receiving praise from the Literary Review of Canada  all contributing to a broader discourse on the future of authorship in a quickly changing digital world.

As we increasingly intertwine our realities with technology, Boucher's unique approach to AI-augmented storytelling offers a fascinating exploration of creativity, resilience, and the transformative power of art and literature to heal the human spirit. His work not only serves as a testament to overcoming adversity but also as a beacon for the future direction of digital storytelling.

MORE INFO:

Books: https://lostbooks.gumroad.com/

Blog: https://timboucher.ca

About Lost Books, AI Publisher

Tim Boucher is a former content moderator, AI artist, and Creative Director of Lost Books, an AI publisher in Canada .

Press Contact

Tim Boucher

(718) 487-9911

https://lostbooks.ca

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/triumph-over-toxicity-how-a-former-content-moderator-is-reinventing-sci-fi-with-ai-lore-books-301829195.html

SOURCE Lost Books, AI Publisher
The Vice President's visit highlights the national nonprofit's impact serving 1 million children annually across the United States .

LOS ANGELES , May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Los Angeles where she toured the Baby2Baby headquarters and warehouse, also meeting with mothers to discuss maternal healthcare and support for families. The visit included the announcement of a new Baby2Baby pilot program alongside the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to distribute Newborn and Maternal Supply Kits made up of essential goods and critical maternal health items.

Baby2Baby is a non-profit organization that provides children living in poverty with diapers, formula, clothing, and the basic necessities that every child deserves, serving more than one million children across all 50 states. One in three families in this country struggle to provide diapers to their children. Since 2020 Baby2Baby has seen a 500% increase in diaper requests, with requests for 1.3 billion diapers this year alone.

During the tour, Baby2Baby Co-CEOs Norah Weinstein and Kelly Sawyer Patricof walked Vice President Harris through the facility to view their mass diaper distribution system, the range of critical items they distribute including formula, car seats, cribs, clothing, backpacks and school supplies and their disaster relief program. HHS Assistant Secretary for Children and Families January Contreras joined them to showcase the Newborn and Maternal Supply Kits.

"At Baby2Baby, we have distributed more than 300 million diapers and basic essentials over the past 12 years, and yet this is just a fraction of the need that exists," said Baby2Baby Co-CEOs, Norah Weinstein and Kelly Sawyer Patricof . "The Vice President's visit offered us an important opportunity to share the needs of mothers and children around the country, and continue to discuss shared solutions."

"The disparities in maternal and neonatal health care in this country are staggering  and unacceptable. The pilot program with Baby2Baby provides much needed supplies to mothers and their newborns," said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra . "The Biden-Harris Administration will continue to use every lever available to address the disparities in our health care system and provide whole-person care to pregnant people and their families. This is another strong example of government working in partnership with leaders in the community to solve problems for the American people."

Baby2Baby and HHS will first distribute 3,000 of the Newborn and Maternal Supply Kits across Arkansas , Louisiana , and New Mexico  three states experiencing deep levels of family poverty  via hospitals and community-based partner organizations. The kits consist of more than 20 items including diapers and wipes, clothing, hygiene items, blankets and thermometers as well as items to support new mothers, including postpartum pads, lotion, cold packs, breastfeeding supplies and carriers.

"The partnership between Baby2Baby and the U.S Department of Health and Human Services comes at a moment where the demand for essential goods for infants and families continues to rise," Baby2Baby Co-CEOs, Norah Weinstein and Kelly Sawyer Patricof further shared. "We want to ensure that new moms have everything they need to get their babies' lives started off on the right track. When we can provide these critical items, not only can mothers pay their rent and put food on the table, but it helps their mental health by alleviating the stress of meeting their children's most basic needs."

Following the pilot program implementation, the goal is to expand this effort, to significantly increase the number of American families receiving these Newborn and Maternal Supply Kits.

About Baby2Baby: Baby2Baby is a $70 million national non-profit organization that provides children living in poverty with diapers, formula, clothing, and the basic necessities that every child deserves, serving more than one million children across all 50 states. Led by Co-CEOs Kelly Sawyer Patricof and Norah Weinstein , the organization has distributed over 300 million items over the past 12 years  more than any organization of its kind  to children across hospital networks, underserved school districts, and federal agencies addressing poverty, disaster response, and other areas of need. The organization's success has been propelled forward by its industry-leading model that is redefining what it means to operate a non-profit with a seamless integration of impact, innovation, and influence, which earned them recognition as the #1 non-profit on Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies List. To learn more about Baby2Baby, please visit www.baby2baby.org and follow them on Instagram at @baby2baby .

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vice-president-kamala-harris-tours-baby2baby-headquarters-in-los-angeles-301830037.html

SOURCE Baby2Baby
SYDNEY (Reuters) -A 95-year-old grandmother who Australian police tasered at a retirement home is in critical condition as the homicide squad join a high-profile investigation into the incident, police said on Friday.

Police were called to the Yallambee aged care home in Cooma, about 300 km (186 miles) southwest of Sydney, on Wednesday after staff found resident, Clare Nowland, outside her room holding a steak-knife, New South Wales police assistant commissioner Peter Cotter said.

Two officers spoke with Nowland for several minutes but when she failed to drop the knife and approached them, one fired a taser, knocking her to the ground.

"At the time she was tasered, she was approaching police but it is fair to say at a slow pace," Cotter said during a press conference. "She had a walking frame, but she had a knife."

Nowland, who suffers from dementia, had wandered the facility for several hours and taken the knife from the kitchen.

She is in a critical condition in hospital, fading in and out of consciousness, sparking a public uproar over the incident.

"The use of a taser when a kind word was all she needed ... she was confused which is what happens with people who have dementia, she needed kind words and assistance and help. She didn't need the force of the law," community advocate Andrew Thaler told Reuters.

The officer who fired the taser was off duty pending a "level 1 critical incident investigation", a category police reserve for exceptional cases where injuries lead to death or imminent death. The homicide squad is involved.

"If a threshold is met where it changes from being a departmental issue to being a criminal issue, we are certainly mature and transparent enough as an organisation to do what has to be done," said Cotter.

Body cameras recorded the encounter but it was not in the public interest to release the footage because of the investigation, he said.

(Reporting by Lewis Jackson and Stefica Nicol Bikes; Editng by Robert Birsel)
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy from an auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, U.S. January 12, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

By Jeff Mason

HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) -Democratic negotiators told President Joe Biden on Friday that they are making "steady progress" in talks with Republicans aimed at avoiding a U.S. default, according to a White House official.

Biden received an update on the talks with aides to Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Friday morning in Japan, where he is traveling for the Group of 7 (G7) summit, officials said.

"The presidents team informed him that steady progress is being made," according to one of the officials, who declined to be named.

"The president directed his team to continue pressing forward for a bipartisan agreement and made clear the need to protect essential programs for hardworking Americans and the economic progress of the past two years as negotiations head into advanced stages. He remains confident that Congress will take necessary action to avoid default."

Republicans have refused to vote to lift the debt ceiling past its $31.3 trillion limit unless Biden and his Democrats agree to spending cuts in the federal budget.

The U.S. government may default on some debts as early as June 1 unless Congress votes to lift the debt ceiling, and economists fear the country will slide into a recession.

Biden cut his trip to Asia short and now plans to return home on Sunday to finish the negotiations, eliminating stops in Papua New Guinea and Australia aimed at countering China's influence in the region.

In the meantime, White House adviser Steve Ricchetti, budget director Shalanda Young and legislative adviser Louisa Terrell are leading discussions for the administration.

A similar 2011 standoff over the debt limit led to a historic downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, sparking a sell-off in stocks and pushing the government's borrowing costs higher.

The current deadlock has rattled investors, sending the cost of insuring exposure to U.S. government debt to record highs. A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday found that three-fourths of Americans fear a default would take a heavy toll on families like theirs.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday sent a congratulatory message to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the rotating president of the Council of the Arab League (AL), on the convening of the 32nd AL Summit in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

Noting that the Arab League has long been committed to building a stronger Arab world through unity, and advancing peace, stability and development in the Middle East, Xi said that he is glad to see that Arab countries have continuously taken new steps and made new achievements on the path of unity and self-improvement.

The Chinese president expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia, which has, as an important force in a multi-polar world, made positive contributions to strengthening solidarity and coordination among Arab countries and maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East.

The traditional friendship between China and the Arab countries has spanned thousands of years and been growing ever stronger as time goes by, Xi stressed, noting that in recent years, the strategic partnership between the two sides has been developing continuously and achieved fruitful results, which has become a model of South-South cooperation and mutual benefit.

The first China-Arab States Summit was successfully held in Riyadh in December last year, Xi noted, adding that the leaders of China and Arab countries unanimously agreed to make all-out efforts to build a China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era, strengthen solidarity and coordination, promote their respective national rejuvenation, advance regional peace and development, and uphold international equity and justice. That is an epoch-making milestone in the development of China-Arab relations, he stressed.

Looking to the future, Xi said, China is ready to work with Arab countries to carry forward the spirit of China-Arab friendship, implement the outcomes of the first China-Arab States Summit, bring the China-Arab strategic partnership to a higher level, and continue to write new chapters in China-Arab friendship. 
FILE PHOTO: Senator Fernando Collor de Mello speaks during a vote session on the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia, Brazil, May 11, 2016. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's supreme court voted on Thursday to convict former President Fernando Collor de Mello on corruption and money laundering charges.

Six of the court's 10 judges voted to convict Collor, 73, who was impeached in 1992 on corruption charges.

While Thursday's vote meant his conviction was certain, the remaining four judges will vote on Wednesday when the session resumes. At that time, the justices will also decide on Collor's sentence, which could include jail time.

The latest charges against Collor are an outgrowth of the so-called Car Wash probe which sent dozens of politicians and business leaders to jail, including several former presidents.

The Brazilian prosecutor's office accused Collor of having received around 30 million reais ($6 million) in bribes from a subsidiary of state-run oil company Petrobras.

The former president's lawyers told local media G1 that Collor "did not commit any crime" and expressed confidence that he would ultimately be exonerated. Collor himself could not immediately be reached for comment.

($1 = 5.0033 reais)

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators are asking Microsoft's rivals what kind of customer data they are required to provide to the U.S. tech giant as part of their Azure cloud contracts, six months after a trade group complained about its cloud computing practices.

Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE), whose members include Amazon, alleged last November that Microsoft's new contractual terms imposed on Oct. 1 together with other practices were harming the European cloud computing ecosystem.

In a questionnaire sent to cloud providers seen by Reuters, the European Commission asked recipients for a list of contractual clauses requiring these companies to report information about their European customers to Microsoft.

"The Commission has received several complaints regarding Microsoft, including in relation to its product Azure, which we are assessing based on our standard procedures," a spokesperson for the EU executive said.

The EU competition enforcer wanted to know about the frequency of the reporting, the period for which the data is requested, the format of the reporting and whether the information is sent directly to Microsoft or to an auditor.

Recipients, who were given until this week to respond, were asked whether there were contractual, actual or threatened consequences for not complying with these clauses.

The EU watchdog asked if Microsoft may have used the information to go directly to the recipients' customers.

Microsoft, hit by more than 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in EU fines in the previous decade for various antitrust violations, declined to comment.

It has made an offer to CISPE in a bid to settle the issue and talks are ongoing, according to a person familiar with the matter.

($1 = 0.9084 euro)

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
Indian Deputy Minister for Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in New Delhi, India, May 19, 2023. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

By Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's government plans to take action against Alphabet Inc's Google after an antitrust watchdog last year found the group to have abused its market position by indulging in anti-competitive practices, a top IT minister told Reuters.

India's antitrust body in October fined Google $275 million in two cases, which involved abusing its dominant position in the Android operating system market, and pushing developers to use its in-app payment system.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the federal deputy minister for information technology, told Reuters in an interview at the IT ministry in New Delhi that such findings are "serious" and cause "deep concern" to India's federal government, which will take its own action against Google.

"The ministry has to take action," Chandrasekhar said. "We have thought through it. You will see it in the coming weeks. Certainly it's not something that we will leave and push under the carpet."

The minister declined to specify what sort of policy or regulatory action the government could take.

Chandrasekhar, who is one of the highest-ranking officials in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration, said the issue "is worrisome, not just for us, it's worrisome for the entire digital ecosystem in India".

Google did not respond to a request for comment on the minister's remarks. Asked if he had held talks with Google on the issue, Chandrasekhar said "there is no need for any discussion. There is a finding of a court."

While the payments case is still under appeal, an Indian tribunal in March said in response to a legal challenge that the Competition Commission of India's findings of Google's anti-competitive conduct in the Android market were correct.

The comments by the minister come against a backdrop of growing tension between Indian companies and Google.

India's competition watchdog has begun another inquiry into Google after Tinder owner Match Group and many startups alleged that a new service fee system Google uses for in-app payments breaches the competition commission's October decision.

Google has previously said the service fee supports investments in the Google Play app store and the Android mobile operating system, ensuring it can distribute it for free.

Following the Android antitrust order in India, Google was also forced make sweeping changes to how it markets its mobile operating system in the country, even though it warned "no other jurisdiction has ever asked for such far-reaching changes".

About 97% of India's 620 million smartphones run on Android, and the company counts India as a critical growth market.

Other companies such as Apple and Amazon also face cases against them for potential anti-competitive practices in India. Chandrasekhar said the government was keen to take steps to ensure India's digital economy is protected.

"We dont want it to be growth in a way that distorts consumer choice or free competition," he said.

"We will certainly be looking into what the government needs to do to prevent anybody, including but not limited to Google, from abusing their market power or market dominance."

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil; Editing by Jan Harvey)
FILE PHOTO: A surveillance camera is seen in front of an office building, where the office of Capvision is located, in Shanghai, China, May 9, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song

By James Pomfret and Engen Tham

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Some Hong Kong-based staff with U.S. consultancy Mintz Group have left the city after the firm's Beijing office was raided by Chinese police in March, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

Investigations by Chinese authorities into Mintz, as well as U.S. management consultancy Bain & Co and mainland consultancy Capvision Partners, have sent a chill through companies that deal with China, with many unclear where red lines stand as Beijing prepares to introduce stricter anti-espionage laws in July.

Moving people swiftly out of Hong Kong underscores how the crackdown in China has unnerved some companies in the global financial hub, many of which are still navigating a national security law Beijing imposed on the city in 2020.

The relocations over the last couple of months are meant to be a temporary measure to ensure staff safety, given the uncertainty of the Chinese police probe, the sources said, and involved around half a dozen employees including investigators and the head of the Hong Kong office.

One source with direct knowledge of the matter, and four other sources briefed by Mintz employees, said the firm had engaged in corporate due diligence work examining the possible use of forced labour in supply chains linked to China's Xinjiang region up until this year.

Reuters could not ascertain whether the Chinese police probe was triggered by Mintz's work on Xinjiang. But at least two other senior executives at international due diligence firms operating in China told Reuters authorities had explicitly warned them off such work in recent months.

One of the sources who has dealt with Mintz in a business capacity said several of the Hong Kong-based Mintz employees are now in Singapore, and there is no plan for them to return to Hong Kong until the probe by Chinese authorities is over.

No one was present when Reuters visited the Hong Kong office of Mintz during business hours, with the doors locked and lights off. A building management office employee said Mintz was still paying rent on its office but two employees at neighbouring offices said no one had been seen in the Mintz premises in the past few months.

Several Mintz staff profiles have been removed from Mintz's website, according to a Reuters review of archived versions of the site. It was not clear the roles of all those that had left.

Mintz declined to comment.

Confirming the raid at its Beijing office in late March, Mintz at that time said it had closed its operations there and that it was ready to work with the Chinese authorities to "resolve any misunderstanding that may have led to these events".

XINJIANG 'OFF LIMITS'

While Chinese authorities have not detailed the scope of the investigation against Mintz, the office raid and detentions of five mainland Chinese staffers, including the head of Mintz's Beijing office, have rattled the professional advisory service industry within China, with ripples now being felt in Hong Kong.

As a global financial centre, Hong Kong has a deep pool of professional services talent, including in corporate investigations, with international firms including Kroll, Control Risks, McKinsey and FTI based there.

In recent years, following the enactment of a China-imposed national security law in 2020, the United States has revised its risk assessment for U.S. citizens in Hong Kong, highlighting the heightened risks of arrest, detention, expulsion or prosecution.

Chinese and Hong Kong authorities reject Western criticism of the national security law, saying human rights are respected and all countries, including the United States, need such laws.

China's Public Security Bureau gave no response to Reuters requests for comment. The Ministry of State Security could not be reached for comment.

China's State Council Information Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

The Hong Kong government said it did not comment on individual business decisions.

A spate of laws and regulations enacted during President Xi Jinping's rule - including laws on cybersecurity, personal information protection, data security, as well as the upcoming anti-espionage law that will ban the transfer of any information related to national security - have complicated the landscape for compliance.

Two due diligence executives with international firms and extensive dealings in China said Chinese security officials periodically arranged meetings in recent years to issue explicit warnings on areas to avoid in corporate investigations.

"They would tell us exactly what areas are off-limits," said one executive. "Xinjiang was one of these."

Rights groups accuse Beijing of abuses against mainly Muslim Uyghurs in the western region of Xinjiang, including the mass use of forced labour.

The U.S. has compiled a list of companies it is sanctioning for using forced labour in Xinjiang and has passed a law that puts the onus on companies to prove that goods sourced there are free from forced labour.

China denies abuses in Xinjiang, a major cotton producer and supplier of materials for solar panels.

Mintz's Asia head, Randal Phillips, a former senior CIA official, co-authored an article carried on the firm's website last year on "sanctions due diligence" under the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act, specific to Xinjiang, which has since been removed.

Phillips wrote "for some suppliers, public records and questionnaires may be sufficient; for others, independent verification, on-the-ground investigation and interviews with industry sources may be called for."

Phillips declined to comment.

(Reporting by James Pomfret in Hong Kong, Engen Than in Shanghai and Hong Kong Newsroom; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
FILE PHOTO: Plastic letters arranged to read "Sanctions" and solider toys are placed in front of Russia's flag colors in this illustration taken February 25, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

By Daphne Psaledakis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom issued fresh sanctions on Russia on Friday over its invasion of Ukraine.

Here are the main sanctions, announced during a G7 summit in Japan.

U.S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT SANCTIONS

The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 22 people and 104 entities with touchpoints in over 20 countries or jurisdictions.

It took action to prevent Russia's evasion of sanctions to attempt to acquire goods needed by its military-industrial complex, including targeting a Liechtenstein-based Russian intelligence services procurement network and Netherlands-based procurement agent, and a procurement network tied to U.S.-sanctioned Radioavtomatika LLC.

The Treasury Department also took action aimed at preventing Russia from finding new ways to acquire advanced materials, technology and military and industrial equipment, including by imposing sanctions on companies in Finland, Estonia and Poland.

In an effort to limit Russia's future extractive capabilities and energy revenue, the department targeted Russian energy educational institutions and energy-related research institutes as well as drilling and mining equipment companies.

Other actions included additional measures in relation to Russia's financial services sector and sanctions on the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation.

U.S. sanctions authorities were also expanded to more sectors of the Russian economy, including architecture, manufacturing and construction, the Treasury said.

Additionally, the Treasury implemented a requirement for Americans to report any property in their possession or control in which Russia's Central Bank, National Wealth Fund or Ministry of Finance has an interest.

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SANCTIONS

The State Department also targeted almost 200 individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft and imposed sanctions on Polyus and the Russian business of its peer, Polymetal - the largest gold producers in Russia.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday's action also targeted an international network that procures components for the Russia-based entity responsible for the manufacture of the Orlan drone, which Russian forces and their proxies are using in Ukraine.

The State Department also designated two Iranian shipping companies, a port operator and a maritime service provider it said were part of deepening ties between Russia and Iran.

Washington took aim at 18 entities involved in expanding Russia's future energy production and export capacity.

Subsidiaries of Russia's state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom were targeted, though Washington has not imposed sanctions on Rosatom itself.

The State Department also imposed sanctions on an international network tied to military-related procurement and sanctions evasion, targeted multiple entities and people in the metals and mining sector and imposed sanctions on defense industry entities, among others.

Sanctions were also imposed tied to the Wagner mercenary force, advanced technology, the deportations and transfers of Ukrainian children, Russian government officials and elites as well as grain theft.

U.S. COMMERCE DEPARTMENT ACTION

The Biden administration halted the export of wide range of consumer goods to Russia on Friday and added 71 companies to a Commerce Department's list that bars suppliers from selling them U.S. technology without a hard-to-obtain license.

The new curbs on Russia targeted items that can be used to help Russia's military, including items used in daily life like clothes dryers, snow plows and milking machines which the U.S. thinks could be repurposed to support Moscow's war machine.

The targeted companies include 69 Russian entities, one from Armenia and one from Kyrgyzstan.

The companies include aircraft repair and parts production plants, gunpowder, tractor and automobile factories, shipyards and engineering centers in Russia.

UNITED KINGDOM SANCTIONS

Britain published plans to ban imports of Russian diamonds, copper, aluminium and nickel on Friday and announced a new wave of sanctions against Russia, targeting companies connected to the alleged theft of Ukrainian grain.

Britain is sanctioning 86 individuals and entities as part of a new crackdown on what it called "shady individuals and entities" connected to the theft and resale of Ukrainian grain, something Russia has been accused of and has denied.

The sanctions also target companies connected to Russia's state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom, and the owner of Russian Copper Company, Igor Altushkin.

CANADA ACTION

Canada announced sanctions on 17 individuals and 18 entities linked to Russian companies that provide military technology and know-how to Russia's armed forces, family members of listed persons, and members of the Kremlin elite; and sanctions on 30 individuals and 8 entities involved in Russia's ongoing human rights violations, including the transfer and custody of Ukrainian children in Russia.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Simon Lewis in Washington and Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Don Durfee and Alistair Bell)
FILE PHOTO: Volkswagen is pictured during the 63rd Annual General Meeting of Volkswagen AG in Berlin, Germany May 10, 2023. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

(Reuters) - Some Western companies have agreed to sell their Russian assets or hand them over to local managers as they take action to comply with sanctions over the Ukraine conflict and deal with threats from the Kremlin that foreign-owned assets may be seized.

The moves, part of a broader corporate exodus from Russia, are likely to prompt concerns that Russian companies and institutions are snapping up prize assets at bargain prices.

Below are some of the companies by sector that have secured deals to sell their businesses in Russia:

AUTOS

CONTINENTAL AG

The car parts manufacturer said on May 22 it has sold its Russian tyre plant to Russian holding company S8 Capital.

MICHELIN

The French tyre maker said on May 26 it was selling its Russia Tyre Manufacturing Company and Camso CIS in Russia to Power International Tires, a tyre distributor in the country.

It did not give details on the sale price.

RENAULT The French carmaker sold its majority stake in Avtovaz to the Russian state in 2022, reportedly for only one rouble but with a six-year option to buy it back.

VOLKSWAGEN

The German carmaker said on May 19 it has completed the sale of its Kaluga production plant and its local subsidiaries to Art-Finance LLC, supported by autodealer group Avilon.

BANKS

SOCIETE GENERALE The French bank sold its Russia business Rosbank in May of last year to Russia's Interros Capital, taking a 3.1 billion euro ($3.38 billion) hit.

ENERGY

BASF

The German chemicals group said in January it would take a 7.3 billion euro writedown as its Wintershall Dea energy business pulls out of Russia. BASF owns 67% of the voting rights in Wintershall, with the rest being held by Letter One, a holding company controlled by Mikhail Fridman.

SHELL

The British energy and petrochemical company last year completed the sale of its Russian retail and lubricants business to Russia's Lukoil.

Russia's government has approved the sale of Shell's former 27.5% stake in the Sakhalin-2 energy project to Russian energy firm Novatek for 94.8 billion roubles, a government order showed on April 12.

FOOD & BEVERAGES

AB INBEV

The brewer said on April 22, 2022 it would sell its non-controlling stake in its Russian joint venture AB InBev Efes, taking a $1.1 billion impairment charge.

CARLSBERG

Carlsberg, the Western brewer most exposed to Russia, said last year it expected a writedown of about 9.9 billion Danish crowns after announcing a sale of its business in the country.

Carlsberg said it expects to have found a buyer and signed an agreement by June.

MINING

KINROSS

The Toronto-based miner in June last year sold all of its Russian assets to the Highland Gold Mining Group for $340 million in cash, half of the previously announced price.

RESTAURANTS & RETAIL

AMREST

The restaurant operator said on May 15 it has completed the sale of its KFC restaurant business in Russia to Smart Service for 100 million euros.

AUTHENTIC BRANDS GROUP

The Russian business of Authentic Brands Group-owned Reebok has been taken over by Turkey's FLO retailing, Kommersant daily reported in May of last year.

INDITEX

Russian government had approved a deal for Spain's Inditex to sell its Russian business to a UAE-based buyer. Inditex had more than 500 stores in the country and agreed to sell them in October.

MCDONALD'S CORP

The U.S.-based restaurant chain sold last year its business in Russia after more than 30 years of operating in the country, taking a charge of $1.28 billion.

OTHERS

HENKEL

The consumer goods company said in April it has sold its business in Russia for around 600 million euros to a consortium of local financial investors.

HUHTAMAKI

The Finnish maker of packaging for food and beverages sold its operations in Russia in September for 151 million euros to Espetina Ltd, a company belonging to the owner of McDonald's former restaurants in Russia.

IMPERIAL BRANDS

The British tobacco group announced the transfer of its Russian business to investors based in Russia in April 2022.

MAERSK

The shipping and logistics group has agreed to sell its two logistics sites in Russia to IG Finance Development Limited.

In August last year, Maersk sold a 30.75% stake in Russian port operator Global Ports Investments to Russia's largest container operator Delo Group.

SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC

The French electrical equipment maker closed the sale of its operations in Russia to local management in September last year.

STORA ENSO

The Finnish forestry firm has completed its exit from Russia with the sale of three corrugated packaging plants to local management, it said on May 16, 2022.

YIT

The Finnish builder completed the sale of its businesses in Russia to Etalon Group in May 2022.

(Compiled by Augustin Turpin, Agnieszka Gosciak, Matteo Allievi, Tristan Veyet and Praveen Paramasivam; Editing by Jane Merriman, Christina Fincher and Milla Nissi)
FILE PHOTO: The Federal Bureau of Investigation seal is seen at FBI headquarters before a news conference by FBI Director Christopher Wray on the U.S Justice Department's inspector general's report regarding the actions of the Federal Bureau of Investigat

By Zeba Siddiqui

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. court found that the FBI improperly searched for information in a U.S. database of foreign intelligence 278,000 times over several years, including on Americans suspected of crimes, according to a ruling released on Friday.

The decision by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court was released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

The searches occurred in the course of U.S. crime investigations including the Jan. 6 Capitol riots and protests after the 2020 killing of George Floyd, the court said.

The intelligence database stores digital and other information on individuals. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows the FBI to search without a warrant communications of foreigners abroad including their conversations with Americans.

The court ruling found the FBI violated rules around the use of the database, created under Section 702 of the FISA Act with its searches.

Specifically, the court found that searches as part of probes into crimes between 2016 and 2020 violated the rules because there was "no reasonable basis to expect they would return foreign intelligence or evidence of crime", although the FBI believed this was "reasonably likely," the decision said.

The revelations came as U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is trying to garner congressional support to keep surveillance powers under Section 702, which is set to expire later this year.

The ODNI said the FBI tightened its procedures in mid-2021 and 2022. "As a result, these compliance incidents do not reflect FBIs querying practices subsequent to the full deployment of the remedial measures," the office said.

An FBI spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in San Francisco and Christopher Bing in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish construction giant Ferrovial said on Friday that none of its investors took an option to divest after a majority of its shareholders approved a plan to move the holding's headquarters to the Netherlands from Spain.

"We are not aware of any shareholder exercising the right of separation," the company said on the last day for investors to sell their shares if they disagreed with the plan.

Dissenters were given an option to sell their shares back to the company for 26 euros each.

The decision to move its jurisdiction to Amsterdam sparked a public spat with the government, which accused Ferrovial and its Chairman Rafael del Pino of disloyalty to Spain, and warnings from officials that it would be closely scrutinised by the tax agency.

During the shareholder vote in April, a minority, who included the chairman's brother, voted against the plan.

Leopoldo del Pino was listed as the company's fifth-largest investor, according to sources familiar with the shareholder vote, adding that his holding represented 5.5% of the voting shares at the meeting.

The company said at that time that the proposal got 93.3% approval at its annual general meeting, while 5.8% voted against.

Ferrovial's board described the proposed move as an "expeditious" way to apply for a U.S. listing, while sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that potential access to the U.S. government funding for the energy transition and other subsidies had influenced the decision.

Ferrovial reported last week a 39% rise in first-quarter core earnings, mainly due to higher tolls and a strong recovery in mobility in North America, where it has two-thirds of its business and is looking to expand.

(Reporting by Corina Pons; editing by Charlie Devereux and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators hold the Syrian opposition flag as they gather during a protest against Arab normalization with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and the Arab League's reintegration of Syria, in the rebel-held city of Azaz, Syria May 19, 2023. R

DAMASCUS/ATMEH, Syria (Reuters) - As some Syrians welcomed President Bashar al-Assad's return to the Arab League on Friday, others expressed dismay that Arab states had welcomed back a leader they blame for death and destruction during 12 years of brutal civil war.

The diverging views reflect deep splits in a nation shattered by the conflict that has killed more than 350,000 people, with swathes of territory still held by rebels opposed to Assad even as Arab states bring him in from the cold.

"I am happy to see such meetings restarting between Arab leaders, and I hope they will be useful for the Arab world, and for Syria specifically," said Naim Ibrahim, speaking in Damascus, Assad's seat of power.

But in the rebel-held north, a refuge for Syrians who fled Assad's rule from all over Syria, Abu Ahmad Maasaran said Arab states had welcomed back a "terrorist" who had used all kinds of weapons to destroy homes and force people to flee.

"What kind of Arab countries put their hands in his? His hand is dirty, how do you dirty your hands?" he said, speaking at a camp for displaced Syrians in the northwestern town of Atmeh near the Turkish border.

Arab states including Saudi Arabia - the host of Friday's summit - once backed rebels fighting Assad but have gradually changed policy towards the country, where the government beat back rebels with fire power from Russia and Iran.

Though the main frontlines have been largely frozen for years, humanitarian needs are at a record high, with 14.6 million in need of aid last year, before the scale of the crisis was exacerbated by an earthquake in February.

In Damascus, university student Wael Hmeideh said he hoped Syria's return to the Arab League would be good for the country.

"We hope the return of Syria to the Arab league, or the return of Arabs to Syria, plays a role to solve the crisis and conflict in the country, and end the Syrian war," he said.

But Mustafa Abu Khaled, speaking at the camp for displaced people in Atmeh, said Arab states had invited Assad to sit with them after his regime had "killed a million children, a million fathers, a million young people".

"Let him release our prisoners and return us to our homes before they think of returning (Assad to the Arab League) and reconcile with him," he said.

(Reporting by Reuters TV in Damascus and Khalil Ashawi in northwest Syria; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Nick Macfie)
FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks to the media at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, May 14, 2023. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

By John Irish and Sakura Murakami

HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) -Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy held talks with India's Narendra Modi on Saturday and was due to meet other "Global South" leaders at a Group of Seven (G7) summit aimed at broadening support for his country in its war against Russia.

The three-day G7 meeting in the Japanese city of Hiroshima has already agreed new sanctions on Russia and measures to stand up to what it called China's economic coercion, drawing the ire of Moscow and a complaint to the summit host Japan from Beijing.

Flown in from an Arab League summit on a French government jet, Zelenskiy, wearing his customary olive green fatigues, was warmly greeted by G7 leaders and held talks with Modi as part of a series of meetings with non-aligned countries in attendance.

Zelenskiy said on the Telegram message app that the two discussed Ukraine's needs concerning mobile hospitals and the removal of land mines and that he had invited India to join Ukraine's peace formula.

Modi's Twitter account posted a photo of the two shaking hands, noting he had told Zelenskiy of India's readiness to continue humanitarian help for the people of Ukraine and its backing for "dialogue and diplomacy" to seek peace.

Modi, whose country forms the so-called BRIC group alongside Brazil and China, has not distanced itself Russia. Its oil deals with Russia are seen as undermining Western sanctions by allowing Russia to continue benefiting from energy revenues.

India's fuel purchases from Russia were not discussed in Saturday's meeting, India's foreign secretary, Vinay Kwatra, told reporters. New Delhi says it is defending its own interests in buying Russian oil.

A French presidential source told reporters Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva would also meet Zelenskiy in Hiroshima.

European officials said it was crucial that Zelenskiy came in person first to Friday's Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia and now to the Hiroshima gathering so that he could outline Ukraine's view of how the war with Russia can be ended.

"I think this is a unique opportunity to (have) exchanges with a lot of countries from the south and express your situation, express a message and share a view," French President Emmanuel Macron said.

"I do believe it can be a game-changer."

RUSSIAN, CHINESE IRE

G7 nations - the U.S., Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada - are grappling with the challenges posed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and tensions with China, including over Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its own.

On Friday, the leaders announced new measures aimed at hitting the Russian economy and promised further military support, including backing by U.S. President Joe Biden for Ukrainian pilots to be trained to fly F-16 fighter jets.

Worried by the outsized role China now plays in supply chains for everything from semiconductors to critical minerals, the G7 issued a communique that set out a common strategy towards future dealings with the world's second-largest economy.

They warned that countries attempting to use trade as a weapon would face "consequences", in a signal to Beijing over practices Washington says amount to economic bullying.

"We are not decoupling or turning inwards. At the same time, we recognise that economic resilience requires de-risking and diversifying," they said. "A growing China that plays by international rules would be of global interest."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that the decisions taken by the G7 showed they were bent on what he called the "double containment" of Russia and China.

"The task was set loudly and openly - to defeat Russia on the battlefield, but not to stop there, but to eliminate it as a geopolitical competitor," Lavrov said.

A Chinese foreign ministry statement accused the G7 of interfering in its internal affairs, including Taiwan. It said it had lodged stern representations with summit host Japan.

"It is important to remind the G7 that the days when a few Western countries colluded to manipulate the world are over," China's embassy in Japan said in a statement later in the day.

The summit is intended to win consensus among the world's rich democracies on a range of issues, political and economic.

The G7 acknowledged differences on how to manage the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, saying that "the common vision and goal of trustworthy AI may vary" but calling for consensus on global technical standards.

While they reaffirmed existing net-zero emissions targets in the fight against climate change, they said in their communique that investment in the gas sector could be temporarily appropriate as countries phase out reliance on Russian energy.

A month ago, a communique after a previous G7 meeting noted that fossil fuel subsidies were "inconsistent" with the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

"Faced with the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels, what leaders have brought to the table represents an endorsement of new fossil gas," Tracy Carty, Global Climate Politics Expert at Greenpeace International, said in a statement.

(Reporting by Katya Golubkova and John Irish, Jeff Mason, Sakura Murakami, Andreas Rinke, Kentaro Sugiyama and Trevor Hunnicutt in Hiroshima; Kantaro Komiya and Chang-Ran Kim in Tokyo; Ryan Woo in Beijing; Olena Harmash in Kyiv; Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Krishn Kaushik in New Delhi; Writing by David Dolan and Mark John; Editing by William Mallard, Simon Cameron-Moore and Hugh Lawson)
NEW DELHI, May 19 (Xinhua) -- India's central bank on Friday announced it will withdraw rupees 2,000 currency notes from circulation.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), however, added that the 2,000 rupee notes will continue to be legal tender until Sept. 30.

The RBI has advised banks to stop issuing rupees 2,000 denomination banknotes with immediate effect.

The RBI first printed the rupees 2,000 note in November 2016 after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a surprise televised address to the nation announced the withdrawal of currency notes of rupees 500 and 1,000 from the country's financial system.

The controversial move on Nov. 8, 2016, known as demonetization, took 86 percent of the currency out of circulation overnight from India. The announcement triggered panic among the public, who queued outside banks and ATMs to exchange the banned currency notes and withdraw cash.

The move turned out to be a nightmare for the poor and middle class.

The government had defended scrapping high-value currency notes, saying the measure was meant to root out illegally hoarded cash and to crack down on corruption and terror financing.

The government later introduced new rupees 500 and 2,000 denomination notes.

Critics said the widely known move of demonetization badly hurt India's cash-dependent economy. Small businesses and manufacturers suffered losses because of the move, thus bringing on an economic slump and financial chaos for tens of millions of ordinary cash-dependent Indians for months together.

Nine months after demonetization, RBI data revealed that 99 percent of demonetized currency was back with the banks.

In January this year, the country's top court upheld the legality of the decision. 
HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - Group of Seven (G7) leaders on Friday said they had ensured that Ukraine had the budget support it needs for this year and early 2024 as they renewed their commitment to provide financial and military support in its fight against Russia.

"Today we are taking new steps to ensure that Russia's illegal aggression against the sovereign state of Ukraine fails and to support the Ukrainian people in their quest for a just peace rooted in respect for international law," they said in a statement at the G7 leaders' summit, which kicked off in the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Friday.

Leaders of the G7 - the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada - are meeting in the Japanese city as the conflict in Ukraine and widening concerns about China's growing international might are front and centre.

The G7 said members said they are "engaging" with other nations to avoid the flow of their goods and technology into Russia through third countries, an issue that has become a bigger concern for members, including Europe.

The G7 members want to crack down on any circumvention of sanctions that would give Russia a revenue boost.

(Writing by Chang-Ran Kim and David Dolan; Editing by Toby Chopra)
By Krishn Kaushik

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, India's foreign ministry said on Friday, their first meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

News of the meeting came hours after Modi left New Delhi for Hiroshima, where he will be the most Russia-friendly of global leaders assembled for a summit that is expected to put fresh pressure on Moscow and tighten sanctions against it.

India is invited to the summit as a guest and Modi's meeting with Zelenskiy is set for Saturday evening, the ministry said.

Ukraine's First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Emine Dzhaparova, who visited New Delhi in April, said Ukraine wanted India more involved in helping resolve its conflict with Russia.

"India stands on the side of peace, and will remain firmly there," Modi said in an interview with Nikkei Asia published on Friday, without referring to his meeting with Zelenskiy.

"We maintain communication with both Russia and Ukraine. Cooperation and collaboration should define our times, not conflict," Modi said.

New Delhi has refused to condemn its old ally Russia for the war in Ukraine and has increased its trade with Moscow to a record high, driven largely by the import of Russian oil.

Several Western leaders have criticised India's proximity to Russia as they try to isolate Moscow.

New Delhi says it is defending its own interests in buying Russian oil. It has also expressed its frustration at what it says is the world's preoccupation with the war in Ukraine when urgent action is needed to address global debt and poverty.

India has advocated a diplomatic solution to the conflict while Modi, in comments seen as mildly critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin, told him during a meeting in September that now was not an era of war.

Modi has spoken to both Putin and Zelenskiy by phone several times since the invasion, urging both to use dialogue and diplomacy to resolve their differences.

(Writing by YP Rajesh, Editing by William Maclean)
FILE PHOTO: A view of the exterior of the JP Morgan Chase & Co. corporate headquarters in New York City May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar

By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) -A judge said on Friday he would decide by the end of the month whether a JPMorgan Chase & Co lawsuit should proceed against a former executive who it accuses of entangling the bank with late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan spoke after a one-hour hearing over whether to let the largest U.S. bank sue Jes Staley, its former private banking head.

JPMorgan wants Staley to cover some or all damages it might face in lawsuits brought by Epstein's accusers and the U.S. Virgin Islands over its ties to Epstein.

The lawsuits accuse the bank of aiding in Epstein's sex trafficking by keeping him as a client from 1998 to 2013, the last five years after he pleaded guilty to a Florida prostitution charge.

Had Staley "observed his obligations, Epstein would not have been a client," said Leonard Gail, a lawyer for JPMorgan.

Staley, who later served as Barclays Plc's chief executive, has expressed regret for befriending Epstein but denied knowing about his crimes.

He has accused JPMorgan of using him as a "public relations shield" for its own supervisory failures," and that others at the bank were aware of Epstein's misconduct.

"They are not purely passive," Staley's lawyer Stephen Wohlgemuth said on Friday.

The cases are slated for an Oct. 23 trial.

Rakoff has said JPMorgan could be liable if Epstein's accusers can prove that Staley had firsthand knowledge that Epstein, who was known to socialize with prominent politicians and business leaders, ran a sex-trafficking venture.

Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. New York City's medical examiner called the death a suicide.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Grant McCool)
FILE PHOTO: Ducks are seen in a field in Bourriot Bergonce, southwestern France, January 7, 2017, after France ordered a massive culling of ducks in three regions most affected by a severe outbreak of bird flu as it tries to contain the virus which has b

By Sybille de La Hamaide

PARIS (Reuters) - France's largest poultry producer, LDC, warned on Friday that an upsurge in bird flu cases in the southwest might lead to the virus spreading to the country's major producing regions that were ravaged by it last year.

Avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, killed hundreds of millions of birds globally last year, disrupting supplies. Though there have been no documented cases of human-to-human transmission, countries must prepare for any change in the H5N1 virus's behaviour, the World Health Organization has said.

France, the European Union's second largest poultry producer and worst-hit EU country in the latest outbreak, has recorded new cases on duck farms in the southwest, prompting the government to reinforce sanitary measures last week.

"We are not at all reassured," LDC Chief Executive Philippe Gelin told Reuters in an interview.

He feared that duck producers who culled birds in the southwest could be tempted to recoup output in large poultry-producing regions, notably Vendee, several hundred kilometres north, where ducks are being farmed at lower density levels than before last year's outbreaks.

"We must avoid the transport of live animals," he said. "The risk is that what we have put in place to fight the virus in Vendee be rendered ineffective by some overproduction or even a return to normal (levels) of duck production in that region," he said.

France's bird flu crisis started in the southwest last year before spreading north to regions including Vendee, which has recorded a third of all French farm outbreaks since August 2022.

Bird flu is transmitted by infected faeces or direct contact with contaminated feed, clothing and equipment, or through the air.

Ducks are very receptive to it and remain asymptomatic for many days, increasing the risk of transmission.

France is due to begin vaccinating ducks against the virus this autumn. While Gelin welcomed the programme, he warned that there was still no certainty that importing countries would accept vaccinated birds or their products.

"Everyone is waiting for the first country to start vaccinating, either to do the same or not to, in order to win market shares," he said.

Brazil, the world's largest poultry exporter, recorded its first-ever bird flu case on Monday.

(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; editing by John Stonestreet)
FILE PHOTO: The logo of mining and infrastructure firm Grupo Mexico is pictured at its headquarters in Mexico City, Mexico, August 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ginnette Riquelme

By Valentine Hilaire and Noe Torres

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Mexican Navy on Friday took over a section of railway in southern Mexico operated by a unit of Grupo Mexico , and shares in the mining and infrastructure company fell by more than 4% after the expropriation.

Calling the move "surprising", the transport unit Grupo Mexico Transportes said the Navy had occupied its facilities at the Coatzacoalcos-Medias Aguas section at 6 a.m.(1200 GMT), and that it was weighing up its options.

Earlier, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's government issued a decree ordering a "temporary" takeover of around 120 kilometers (75 miles) of the firm's network in the area due to its importance to a major infrastructure project.

Known as the Inter-Oceanic Corridor, the project centers on modernizing the rail link between Mexico's Pacific and Gulf coasts on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to create a trade route the government hopes will compete with the Panama Canal.

Grupo Mexico Transportes will keep providing services under supervision of the armed forces, it said.

The section "expropriated" is about 1.1% of the 11,137 km run by Grupo Mexico's transport division, analysts at brokerage Vector said in a client note. The unit generated 20.3% of the parent company's revenues in the last 12 months, they said.

Grupo Mexico, owned by tycoon German Larrea, has been closing in on the acquisition of U.S. Citigroup Inc's retail banking operations in Mexico.

The government decree declared the section was of "public utility", citing an expropriation law stating such measures could only be taken in exchange for compensation to the affected party.

A day earlier, Mexico's Supreme Court struck down a government order declaring key infrastructure projects matters of national security. The court said the measure violated freedom of access to information rights. Hours later, the government hit back with a new decree declaring various flagship projects including the Inter-Oceanic Corridor areas of national security.

The government has allocated a swathe of public works to the armed forces, including a contract for a key section of the "Mayan Train", another of the president's projects aimed at developing Mexico's poorer south.

Shares in Grupo Mexico were down by more than 4% on Friday afternoon, a drop mirrored by Grupo Mexico Transportes' stock.

(Reporting by Valentine Hilaire and Noe Torres; Editing by Dave Graham, Alistair Bell and David Gregorio)
A view of the damage caused by Cyclone Mocha in Sittwe, Myanmar in this handout image released May 17, 2023. Partners Relief and Development/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) - Myanmar's military-controlled media said on Friday 145 people were killed when Cyclone Mocha hit the country this week, in stark contrast to reports from rights groups and residents who fear hundreds may have died.

The impoverished western state of Rakhine bore the brunt of the storm that on Sunday tore down houses, communication towers and bridges with winds of up to 210 kph (130 mph), and triggered a storm surge that inundated the state capital Sittwe.

The junta said in a statement that as of May 18 a total of 145 people had been found dead, including 91 in camps for internally displaced people. Earlier this week it had said three people were killed by the storm.

Reuters could not independently verify the number of casualties.

Some residents contacted by Reuters said earlier this week that more than 400 people had been killed and many more were missing, adding that the survivors were struggling with a lack of food and medical supplies.

Rakhine has a large population of Rohingya Muslims - around 600,000, a persecuted minority that successive governments in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar have refused to recognise.

"Relief groups of respective states...are working on rescues and rehabilitation work along with charity civil society groups," the junta said in the statement shared on its Telegram channels and on Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV).

However, the United Nations and other non-governmental organisations said relief efforts were stalled as they awaited permission from the junta to deploy personnel and much-needed food, water and medical supplies to the affected regions.

Storm-damaged bridges and roads blocks uprooted trees were also holding up aid, the international agencies said.

Some 400,000 people were evacuated in Myanmar and Bangladesh ahead of the cyclone making landfall, as authorities scrambled to avert heavy casualties from one of the strongest storms to hit the region in recent years.

(Reporting by Reuters Staff; writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; editing by Mark Heinrich)
FILE PHOTO: People wearing protective face masks walk amid concerns over the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Pyongyang, North Korea May 15, 2020, in this photo released by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS

SEOUL (Reuters) - Defectors who fled North Korea early this month decided to do so because of the country's strict COVID-19 controls, South Korea's spy agency said on Friday.

The group of North Koreans, nearly 10 people, crossed the border by ship on the night of May 6, crossing the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea, news agency Yonhap reported.

"The defectors testified that they used to watch South Korean TV and admired South Korean society. Then social controls became tougher due to COVID and they grew tired of the North Korean regime," the National Intelligence Service (NIS) told Reuters, confirming the Yonhap report.

The spy agency declined to elaborate, citing concerns over exposing the identities of the defectors and compromising the safety of their families in the North.

The number of North Koreans defecting to South Korea has plunged in recent years as Pyongyang imposed stricter border controls during the COVID pandemic.

Only 67 people fled the North for the South last year compared with 1,047 in pre-COVID 2019, according to the Unification Ministry, which handles affairs with Pyongyang.

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Tom Hogue)
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Netherlands is banning inland vessels from discharging toxic fumes from July 2024, Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Mark Harber announced this week.

The ban will cover seven types of substances including carcinogenic benzene, gasoline and mixtures of petroleum and benzene.

Countries along the river Rhine agreed in 2017 to jointly introduce such a ban while sailing. The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg have ratified the convention, while Germany and France have not.

Dutch researchers at the Erasmus University Rotterdam concluded earlier this year that The Netherlands does not have to wait and is even "required to regulate floating degassing to protect the right to life and the respect for private and family life of its residents, as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights".

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout; editing by Jason Neely)
FILE PHOTO: Passersby walk past an electric monitor displaying Japan's Nikkei share average and recent movements outside a bank in Tokyo, Japan, March 22, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato

By Kevin Buckland

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's stock benchmark rallied on Friday to the highest since August 1990, the country's "bubble" era, driven by a confluence of positive factors from strong earnings to an economy showing signs of revving up and optimism over a U.S. debt ceiling deal.

The Nikkei benchmark index jumped as high as 30,924.57 before closing the day up 0.77% at 30,808.35, a seventh straight winning session.

The broader Topix, which had reached the post-bubble milestone on Tuesday, extended its climb to as high as 2,171.37, before ending with a more modest 0.18% gain to 2,161.69.

Japan's stock rally has been powered by an overall very strong earnings season, a weaker yen underpinned by views that the Bank of Japan will keep stimulus for longer and an economy that is starting to show signs of a post-COVID consumption revival.

Foreign buying thanks to increased investment by Warren Buffett and a push for better corporate governance by the Tokyo Stock Exchange have provided additional impetus.

The Nikkei's final push to a 33-year peak drew momentum from rising optimism that U.S. lawmakers can reach a debt ceiling deal and avert a catastrophic default.

"Long-term fundamentals might have begun changing in Japan, and foreign investors do not want to miss this opportunity," said Masayuki Kichikawa, chief macro strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.

"As long as any U.S. slowdown is mild, the current level of Japanese equities in not overvalued. There is still room for a further rise."

Among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry sectors, precision machinery led with a 1.43% rise, followed by services, up 1.35%, and machinery, which rose 1.08%.

Uniqlo store operator Fast Retailing was the biggest gainer by index points on the Nikkei, contributing 74 points with a 2.19% rally.

Office equipment company Ricoh was the biggest percentage gainer, jumping 7.69% on news it was considering joining forces with a Toshiba unit to develop and manufacture copiers and printers.

The prospective deal is another example of how corporate reforms - including business portfolio restructuring - are taking hold in Japan, justifying the rally, said Jamie Halse, who manages an A$500 million ($340 million) Japan-focused fund at Platinum Asset Management in Sydney.

"We're seeing foreigners return to buying in Japan, and we haven't seen that kind of buying since 2013," at the start of co-called Abenomics, he said. "It's very early innings in the reform process," Halse added. "It's still cheap."

Despite that optimism, the market is flashing some warning signs.

Chip stocks started the day strongly following a rally for U.S. peers, but then erased those gains or even turned sharply lower. Advantest surged 3.35% initially, but ended the day as the Nikkei's worst performer, sliding 2.86%.

Financial shares fell the most among the TSE's 33 industry groups, retreating 1.56% after hitting a two-month peak on Thursday.

"Investors are going to spend today thinking hard about whether this Nikkei rally will continue," said Kazuo Kamitami, a strategist at Nomura Securities.

"The word 'overheated' is going to be very much front of mind."

(Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
By Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea accused the U.S. and South Korea of ramping up "nuclear blackmail" with joint military drills, pledging to take corresponding action against what it called "warmongers' madness," state media KCNA said on Friday.

U.S. and South Korean forces have been staging an intensified series of annual springtime exercises since March, including air and sea drills involving a U.S. aircraft carrier and heavy bombers.

North Korea has reacted angrily to the exercises, calling them a rehearsal for invasion.

"Their plot to crush us militarily is another clear indication that the enemy warmongers' madness has reached a point where it cannot be overlooked," KCNA said. "The frantic nuclear war fuss among U.S. and puppet warlike bellwethers is bound to trigger corresponding responses".

Pyongyang would continue to develop its weapons programmes, KCNA said, calling it a "legitimate right of a sovereign state to have more powerful means of self-defence" to fend off "serious situations and prospective threats".

North Korea has been stepping up military activity in recent months, unveiling designs for new, smaller nuclear warheads, firing an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the U.S. and testing what it called a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone.

This week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a military satellite station, saying successfully launching a spy satellite is an "urgent requirement of the prevailing security environment".

Kim has said he prioritised a spy satellite programme as part of efforts to advance surveillance technology to improve the country's ability to strike targets in a crisis.

The reclusive country in December conducted what it called an important "final phase" test for a spy satellite and said it would complete preparations for the launch by April.

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Che Xueling, general manager of an export company at Horgos, a border city in Xinjiang that used to be a trading post along the northern route of the ancient Silk Road, has been heartened by the profound changes the city and her business are undergoing.

"In earlier years we exported sundry goods through the dirt roads," Che recalled. In recent years, thanks to the burgeoning cooperation between China and Central Asia as well as improved customs clearance and simplified procedures, things have changed. "Now all kinds of Chinese-made vehicles are exported to Central Asian countries through the wide tarmac road at the port," said Che.

In the first three months of the year, Che's company has exported more than 1,000 commercial vehicles worth some 30 million U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, in the first quarter, the port of Horgos handled 1,833 freight trains connecting China with European and Central Asian countries, registering a record-high increase of 8.4 percent year on year.

The growth of Horgos and the boom of Che's business epitomize the ever-closer relations between China and the five Central Asian countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, where the ancient Silk Road passed through.

With their joint efforts over the past years, especially since 2013 when China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the age-old trade route that embodied the spirit of cooperation, mutual learning and mutual benefit has revived and grown into a path of common development, bringing tangible benefits to the region and the world at large.

REVIVED ANCIENT SILK ROAD

In history, the Silk Road had been a vital corridor connecting the East and West since some 2,000 years ago. Its name was derived from the lucrative trade in Chinese silk carried along the route. Ten years ago, during his Kazakhstan visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed that China and Central Asia join hands to build a Silk Road Economic Belt to boost cooperation.

"It is important that we continue to set the pace for Belt and Road cooperation and deliver on the Global Development Initiative. We should fully unlock our potentials in traditional areas of cooperation such as economy, trade, industrial capacity, energy and transportation. And we should forge new drivers of growth in finance, agriculture, poverty reduction, green and low-carbon development, medical service, health, and digital innovation. We should work together to ensure that our community features win-win cooperation and common progress," Xi said Friday while delivering a keynote speech at the China-Central Asia Summit held in the city of Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Xi's inspiring visions and strategic guidance have helped revitalize the ancient route and injected impetus into China-Central Asia cooperation.

Over the past decade, trade between China and the five Central Asian countries has maintained robust growth momentum. The latest official figures showed that last year, trade between the two sides reached a historic high of 70.2 billion U.S. dollars. In the first three months of this year, their trade surged 22 percent year on year.

Agriculture is a major area of cooperation between China and Central Asian countries. A great variety of Central Asian agricultural products have entered the Chinese market, including camel milk from Kazakhstan, honey from Kyrgyzstan, dried fruits from Tajikistan, cotton from Turkmenistan, and cherries from Uzbekistan. Last year, China's imports of agricultural, energy and mineral products from these countries jumped over 50 percent.

Central Asia is also an important energy supplier to China. China received 30 percent of its natural gas imports through the China-Central Asia pipeline in 2022.

In addition to these traditional fields of cooperation, China and Central Asian countries are working together to promote new patterns in trade and investment, giving priority to innovation and green development.

Maksat Abilgaziev, 33, is a Kazakh born and raised in Zhanatas, a run-down town in the country's south that was once a thriving center of phosphate mining and fertilizer production.

In 2020, Abilgaziev quit his electronic engineering job at a local phosphate mine, and became a wind power engineering trainee at the Chinese-built Zhanatas wind farm, one of the largest of its kind in Central Asia.

"Our Chinese friends have brought equipment, investment, technology and experience to Kazakhstan. They have also cultivated clean energy talents in our country. The wind power projects have created jobs and tax revenues for Zhanatas, bringing the town back to life," said Abilgaziev, whose income has more than doubled in three years.

Meanwhile, modern technology has further energized trade between China and Central Asia. Official figures showed that in 2022, the cross-border e-commerce trade between the two sides has increased by 95 percent year on year, with nearly 300 Central Asian enterprises selling quality products on Chinese e-commerce platforms.

ENHANCED INTERCONNECTIVITY

The first passenger flight route between Xi'an and Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan, was officially launched on Saturday.

Gulshada Urazalieva, an independent Uzbek analyst, said that the opening of flights between Xi'an and cities of Central Asia is of great significance, as they will promote economic and cultural exchanges between China and the region.

The world needs an interconnected Central Asia, Xi stressed at the summit, adding that blessed with unique geographical advantages, Central Asia has the right foundation, condition and capability to become an important connectivity hub of Eurasia and make unique contributions to the trading of goods, the interplay of civilizations and the development of science and technology in the world.

In addition to launching more direct flights to connect their cities, China and Central Asian countries have also planned and implemented multiple infrastructure projects within the framework of the BRI.

In September 2022, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on the Kyrgyz section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, making significant headway in the construction of a transport corridor in the Eurasian continent.

Meanwhile, the China-Europe freight trains through Central Asia, the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Frontier Cooperation Center, and the China-Kazakhstan International Logistics Base in the eastern Chinese port of Lianyungang have all helped open the door to global markets for Central Asian countries.

The projects have not only promoted commercial activities among the six countries, but also brought people living in the region closer through cultural and people-to-people exchanges. At present, there are five Confucius Institutes established in Kazakhstan, providing Chinese language training for over 3,000 people each year, while four universities in China have opened institutes on Kazakhstan studies and two have added the Kazakh language as a major. By the end of 2021, the cumulative number of international students studying in each other's countries had reached 15,100.

Another exemplar of people-to-people exchanges between China and Central Asia is the Luban Workshop in Dushanbe, a Chinese vocational workshop program training talents in Tajikistan. The workshop, officially going into service in November 2022, is the first of its kind in Central Asia.

"China's Luban Workshop is recognized as an international vocational education brand worldwide. We believe that Luban Workshop will be of great help to Tajik Technical University in training talents in measurement, green energy and heating," said Shahriyor Sadullozoda, vice rector of Tajik Technical University.

TOWARD SHARED FUTURE

For villagers living in Kara-Oi on the northern shore of Issyk-Kul Lake, Kyrgyzstan, irrigation was once a headache. The old irrigation system built decades ago could not meet the growing water demands.

"Water is not enough. Constant queues, it is very difficult to get water in a timely manner," said Evgeny Yakovlev, a farmer who needs to water his field at least three times a day in summer.

To solve the water problem in Kara-Oi and villages alike, the Kyrgyz government initiated a project in May 2018 allocated from a Chinese grant to reconstruct the country's irrigation system.

Under the project, a reservoir was built by China Railway No.5 Engineering Group Co., Ltd in Kara-Oi with a capacity of 470,000 cubic meters of water. A total of 330 hectares of undeveloped land were put into operation, and the water supply was increased on an area of over 1,000 hectares.

"Before, it was very difficult with water ... Now it's better. We are grateful to the builders," said Arstanbek Zhundubaev, head of the Water Users Association of Kara-Oi.

It is heartwarming episodes like this one that have formed a stirring symphony of Chinese and Central Asian people supporting each other to pursue common prosperity and achieve a brighter future.

Central Asia is not only geographically adjacent to China, but also very closely connected with China, especially in the fields of economy, trade, finance and credit, said Kubanychbek Taabaldiev, a Kyrgyz political scientist and professor of international relations at Ala-Too International University.

"Central Asia is located along the ancient Silk Road, and all countries in the region have participated in the Belt and Road Initiative in different ways," he said. "All countries in the Central Asian region are implementing bilateral projects with China, which benefits all parties."

The BRI has been very fruitful since it was first proposed by China in Kazakhstan, said Timur Kuvatov, director-general and editor-in-chief of Kazakhstan Today News Agency.

Reviving the visions and spirits embodied in the ancient Silk Road will promote international development and trade and economic ties, as well as peaceful relations among countries, he said, adding that deeper Belt and Road cooperation has great significance for all the people living in the region and the whole world.

"Let us work closely together to pursue common development, common affluence, and common prosperity, and embrace a brighter future for our six countries!" Xi urged at the summit. 
FILE PHOTO: A selection of injector pens for the Wegovy weight loss drug are shown in this photo illustration in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Jim Vondruska/Illustration/File Photo

By Jennifer Rigby

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Taking Novo Nordisks new obesity drug may help reduce the risk of heart disease as well as boosting weight loss, according to new research from the United States.

After a year of taking semaglutide, marketed as Wegovy, patients risk of suffering from conditions like a heart attack or a stroke over the next ten years dropped to 6.3% from 7.6% when measured by a commonly used calculator, researchers at the Mayo Clinic found.

The results, which were presented this week at the European Congress on Obesity in Dublin, are among the first indication that the weight loss induced by the new GLP-1 agonist drugs like Wegovy also brings heart health benefits  something scientists expected, but do not yet have much comprehensive data to prove.

The study was only done among 93 patients, and the researchers said that more and larger studies were needed to see if the risk reduction score actually meant less illness and death long-term.

Novo is expected to release results from its 5-year SELECT trial looking into the health impact of its injectable drug, particularly around heart disease, later this year. Investors, governments and insurers alike are keenly watching the data.

It is extremely important, because we know obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, Dr Andres Acosta, one of the researchers, told Reuters.

So the question is, with medications that are 15% [average weight loss], can we really start improving cardiovascular risk and say people are dying less?

The risk was calculated using the American College of Cardiologys calculator, based on data including blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The team assessed the risk before the patients  mainly white women, with a mean BMI of 39.8, but no history of heart disease  started the drug as well as after one year of taking it.

The research was peer reviewed by the congress organisers, the European Association for the Study of Obesity, but the full paper is not yet available. The study was not funded by Novo.

(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby, Editing by Louise Heavens)
International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan visits the site of a residential building damaged by a Russian missile strike late November, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Vyshhorod, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, February 28, 2023. REUT

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has issued an arrest warrant for the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor who in March prepared an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges, Russian media reported on Friday.

The British prosecutor, Karim Khan, was added to the Interior Ministry's wanted list, Russian media said, citing the ministry's database.

Moscow opened cases against Khan and three ICC judges on March 20, days after the order for Putin's arrest.

The ICC warrant orders the arrest of Putin and Russia's ombudsman for children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, for war crimes charges relating to the abduction of Ukrainian children.

Russia and Putin deny any war crimes during the invasion of Ukraine, saying they are victims of Western aggression and lies.

(This story has been corrected to say 'prosecutor' instead of 'judge' in the headline and paragraph 2)

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
FILE PHOTO: Former U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during the Sandy Hook Promise Benefit in New York City, U.S., December 6, 2022. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado

(Reuters) -Russia's foreign ministry on Friday said former President Barack Obama was among 500 U.S. citizens who would be banned in response to the latest round of sanctions announced by Washington.

The ministry also said Russia had refused the latest U.S. request for consular access to detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in March on suspicion of spying.

This move was triggered by the U.S. refusal last month to give visas to media traveling with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the United Nations, it said in a statement.

"Washington should have learned a long time ago that not a single hostile attack on Russia will go unpunished," it added.

Earlier on Friday the United States announced punitive measures against more than 300 targets, aiming to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and intensifying one of the harshest sanctions efforts ever implemented.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
Ukrainian servicemen use a searchlight as they search for drones in the sky over the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 19, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

By Pavel Polityuk

KYIV (Reuters) - Russia launched a new wave of overnight air strikes on Ukraine early on Friday, setting ablaze several buildings in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's hometown and seriously wounding a 64-year-old woman, Kyiv said.

Moscow has stepped up its campaign of long-range attacks in the last month, shifting from a winter tactic of targeting energy infrastructure with weekly strikes to much more regular attacks that often come during the night.

"Several explosions occurred in (the central Ukrainian city of) Kryvyi Rih. The enemy hit a private industrial enterprise. Several buildings caught fire at once," the president's office said in a statement.

Air raid sirens blared across the capital and most of the country as people slept. In Kyiv, the night sky was lit up as air defences searched for drones.

The Ukrainian military said it had shot down three of six cruise missiles, and 16 of 22 attack drones that were fired. The figures implied an unusually high proportion of the Russian missiles and drones attacks had not been intercepted.

Ukrainian authorities offered little detail about what had been struck except for the damage in Kryvyi Rih, the steel-producing city where Zelenskiy grew up.

"A 64-year-old woman was injured. She was hospitalised in a serious condition," the president's office said. "The enemy attack caused a fire in the administrative building. It has already been extinguished."

A 45-year-old man also received light injuries, it said.

Kyiv attributes the recent increase in the frequency of air strikes to Moscow's concerns about an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive aimed at recapturing land occupied by Russia in the south and east.

Ukrainian authorities do not report hits on critical infrastructure or military facilities. Russia reports its air attacks as successful strikes on its intended targets.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Timothy Heritage)
FILE PHOTO: A man uses a phone below a Samsung sign, during the GSMA's 2023 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

(Reuters) -Samsung Electronics will not change the default search engine on its smartphones from Google to Microsoft Corp's Bing any time soon, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Samsung has suspended an internal review that explored replacing Google with Bing on its web-browsing app, which comes pre-installed on the company's smartphones, according to the report.

Google and Samsung did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Microsoft declined to comment.

A sizable part of the revenue earned by search-engine companies comes from their long-term partnerships with phone makers such as Apple Inc and Xiaomi.

Google earns an estimated $3 billion in annual revenue from the Samsung contract, according to an April 16 report by the New York Times.

Samsung considering a potential shift to Bing was first reported last month and had weighed on Alphabet's shares at the time.

The integration of OpenAI's artificial intelligence technology into Microsoft-owned Bing has driven people to the little-used search engine and helped it compete better with market leader Google in page visits growth, according to data from analytics firm Similarweb.

(Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
FILE PHOTO: Slovak businessman Marian Kocner is escorted by a security officer for a public hearing at the Slovak Supreme Court as he and Tomas Szabo appear on charges of ordering and carrying out the murders of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his

By Robert Muller and Jan Lopatka

(Reuters) -A Slovak court on Friday cleared a businessman for the second time of orchestrating the 2018 murder of an investigative journalist, in a case that had shaken the country and triggered mass protests against graft.

Marian Kocner was alleged to have ordered the killings of Jan Kuciak, 27, and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova, a crime over which four other people, including Kocner's associate Alena Zsuzsova, have been sentenced.

Kocner, 60, has repeatedly pleaded not guilty, and said in closing remarks in the trial last week: "I am not a saint but I am not a murderer."

But journalists at the trial reported that the victims' families walked out of the Specialised Criminal Court in Pezinok in protest after the judge cleared Kocner, in a verdict streamed live by news website

The court had reached the same verdict in 2020, citing a lack of evidence, but the Supreme Court ordered a retrial. The new verdict can again be appealed.

Kuciak and Kusnirova's deaths sparked mass protests in the European Union country that forced long-time leader Robert Fico to step down as prime minister, ushering in a new government in 2020 that had campaigned on cleaning up corruption and sleaze.

However, the coalition that defeated Fico's Smer party has fallen after years of infighting and Smer now leads opinion polls ahead of an early election on Sept. 30.

HIRED HITMAN

Kuciak and Kusnirova were shot dead at their house outside Bratislava by hired hitman Miroslav Marcek, who was handed a 23-year sentence in 2020. Two others were also convicted that year.

Zsuzsova, 48, was found guilty for her part in planning the murders, as well as the intended killings of three prosecutors, and given a 25-year sentence on Friday.

"I absolutely don't understand this. Zsuzsova found guilty, Kocner innocent," Kuciak's father, Jozef Kuciak, said on SME's live broadcast outside the court.

"Shame on our judiciary," added Kusnirova's mother, Zlatica Kusnirova.

Kuciak had investigated relations between politicians and business, including the Italian mafia. According to evidence presented at the trial, Kocner had verbally threatened Kuciak, who had probed his business practices.

The case tried on Friday also involved accusations Kocner had ordered the murders of three prosecutors which were not carried out. Kocner was sentenced to 19 years in 2020 in an unrelated fraud case and has been serving that sentence.

Reporters Without Borders called Friday's verdict a "debacle".

"The verdict leaves a bitter taste," it said in a statement. "Full justice has not been served."

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Robert Muller in Prague; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Andrew Cawthorne and John Stonestreet)
FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows the storage tanks for treated water at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan February 13, 2021, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Picture taken February 13, 2021.

TOKYO (Reuters) - A team of around 30 South Korean experts will visit Japan during May 22-25 to inspect facilities related to water release from the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, Japan's foreign ministry said on Friday.

The visit was agreed during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to Seoul earlier this month as his counterpart, South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol, is seeking to improve relations with Japan after years of tensions.

Japan plans to release the water from Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima plant, which was destroyed during the 2011 nuclear disaster, into the sea sometime "around this spring or summer, raising concerns in neighbouring countries.

(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
By Riham Alkousaa

BERLIN (Reuters) - As Syrian President Bashar al-Assad addressed Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Friday, a group of Syrian refugees was in Germany learning to use international law to prosecute war criminals  which they hoped to apply to him someday.

"Every Syrian who suffered from this regime could represent a lawsuit and we will file these lawsuits. Even if the whole world stands with him, we will bring him to justice," said Houaida Muhi Aldeen, a 49-year-old Syrian living in France and a former political detainee in Syrian prisons.

Muhi Aldeen and other workshop attendants are among millions of Syrians displaced by the 12-year war. They found Assad's reintegration into the Arab League after more than a decade of isolation frustrating, but not surprising.

"This is the goal of this (normalization) step, to sow despair and frustration among Syrians," said Anwar al-Bunni, a lawyer helping prosecute Syrians suspected of war crimes in Germany.

Al-Bunni said the poor human rights and democracy records of Arab leaders made Assad's return par for the course, and that Gulf support for rebels ultimately played into Assad's hands by radicalising opposition groups that in turn suppressed democratic activism within their own ranks.

As the 2011 Syrian uprising shifted towards armed insurgency and later a civil war, Qatar and Saudi Arabia were major sponsors of that insurgency, arming an array of groups that were fighting to topple the Iran-backed president.

The 12-year-long war killed over 350,000 Syrians and forced more than 14 million to flee their homes, of which almost a million sought refuge in Europe.

Arab normalisation with Assad would make it more difficult for Syrian refugees to return, said Muhi Aldeen. Her husband disappeared at the hands of the government in 2014, she said.

"I would say two words, which we took as an oath: We would die rather than being ruled by al-Assad and we won't return as long as al-Assad is there," Muhi Aldeen said.

For Akil Hosain, 39, a Syrian journalist in France, the Arab League is a symbol of the pre-Arab Spring era, therefore Assad's readmittance comes as no surprise.

"Our surprise was that this step came in a very bold way, on the verge of audacious, if we could say," Hosain said.

But a warming Arab leadership to the Syrian president does not concern many Syrians in Europe of a similar rapprochement from the West as there are legal obstacles, lawyer Al-Bunni said.

"For Europe ... charging al-Assad and 60 people of his retinue for committing crimes against humanity ... is a legal obstacle, not just political, against rehabilitating criminals," he added.

Last year under the principle of universal jurisdiction that allows for the crimes to be addressed legally in some third-party states, a German court jailed after a trial a Syrian ex-intelligence officer for life for crimes against humanity, handing down the first conviction for state-backed torture committed during Syria's civil war.

(Additional reporting by Fanny Brodersen; Editing by Maya Gebeily and Grant McCool)
Likely Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) speaks at a campaign town hall meeting at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., May 8, 2023. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/Fil

By Gram Slattery and Jason Lange

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican U.S. Senator Tim Scott has entered the 2024 presidential race, according to a filing with the U.S. election regulator on Friday, in what amounts to a long-shot bet that a message of unity and optimism can still appeal in a party where many voters are hungry for a bare-knuckled fight.

The impoverished child of a single mother and the only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate, Scott often points to his personal story as proof that America remains a land of promise.

On the campaign trail, his sunny disposition presents a major contrast with other declared and prospective candidates, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who have portrayed the U.S. as a declining nation in need of rescuing from a corrupt, leftist elite.

As a Black conservative, Scott is a rarity in a country where politics are sharply divided along racial lines. Some 92% of Black voters backed Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, while 55% of white voters backed Trump.

Scott often called out Trump when he was president for making racially insensitive comments and blocked several of his judicial nominees for that reason as well. At the same time, the South Carolina senator has accused Democrats of exploiting racial tensions for partisan gain.

While Scott has described being the victim of racial prejudice, he has repeatedly insisted that America is not a racist country.

Scott enters the race with his work cut out for him.

Only about 2% of Republicans plan to vote for him in the primary, according to polling averages, and his national name recognition remains low. Over half of Republicans plan to vote for Trump and about a fifth favor DeSantis, who is expected to jump into the race in the coming days.

Still, Scott's chances may be stronger than they appear on paper.

He is well-known and liked in his home state of South Carolina, which plays a crucial role in the Republican nominating contest as it is only the third state to cast its ballots.

Scott also has a strong rapport with donors. Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle, has been a consistent backer and is planning to keep his weight behind the senator for the foreseeable future, according to people close to both men.

Andy Sabin, a metals magnate and Republican donor, told Reuters earlier this month he was switching his allegiance to Scott from DeSantis amid concerns about DeSantis' electability.

COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATISM

While Scott has a solidly conservative voting record in the Senate, he has attempted to portray himself as unusually compassionate.

He says he struggled in school until the owner of a fast-food franchise gave him his first job at age 13 and encouraged him to work and study. Before entering politics, Scott worked in insurance and real estate.

Among the policies he has supported are the creation of "opportunity zones" to boost blighted communities and a tax credit program which helps low-income families with children.

In 2020, he was tapped by Republican leaders to develop police-reform legislation, after several high-profile police killings of Black people spurred nationwide protests.

However, bipartisan talks collapsed the following year after Democrats said his proposals were inadequate, and he said they were more interested in scoring political points than reaching a compromise.

On the stump, Scott has shied away from discussing police reform in recent months, and many Republican primary voters are ambivalent or hostile to efforts to increase oversight over law enforcement.

Scott's entrance into the race puts him in direct competition with Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, who launched her campaign in February.

Both South Carolina natives are appealing to a similar pool of donors and elected officials for support, and both candidates likely need to win their home state in order to have a shot at securing the nomination.

(Reporting by Jason Lange and Gram Slattery; Additional reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Daniel Wallis)
Ukrainian servicemen of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade 'Edelweiss' engage in fighting near Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, in this screen grab taken from a social media video released on May 19, 2023. 10th Mountain

By Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey

NEAR BAKHMUT, Ukraine (Reuters) -Ukraine said on Friday it had repelled attacks by Russian forces trying to recapture land they had lost around the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, where Kyiv says it has inflicted heavy Russian casualties.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian Wagner private army that is leading the assault on the city, said in a Telegram message that "heavy, bloody battles" were continuing and claimed his men were close to completing the capture of Bakhmut itself.

He has though made over-optimistic military assessments in the past and Reuters was unable to verify his account.

A Ukrainian mortar unit near the city told Reuters it had advanced this week, but was facing heavy fire from Russian forces who appeared to have significant strength in manpower and stocks of ammunition.

"The fire was intensive this week. Our forces pushed forward a little, stopped near the canal. It's hard to push them (the Russians) out of there," said a soldier with the call sign Medvid, which means "bear" in Ukrainian.

The unit's troops said they were firing around 100 mortar rounds a day at Russian positions. They said their location could not be disclosed.

Ukraine says it has made small advances this week on the flanks of the city in the industrial Donbas region even as Wagner has inched closer to capturing the city itself.

Deputy Ukrainian Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said the Russian forces had gained some ground inside Bakhmut but did not control the city.

"Extremely fierce fighting continues in the area of Bakhmut. The enemy cannot win with quality, so he tries with quantity," she said in a Telegram post. Russia had boosted its number of troops and amounts of ammunition, she said.

"The rate of our troops' advance in the suburbs of Bakhmut today is somewhat reduced. At the same time, the enemy is unable to regain lost positions - our soldiers repel all enemy attacks in this area," she said.

Moscow regards its assault on Bakhmut as an important part of a campaign to capture the rest of the Donbas region.

(Reporting by Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey; Additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk and David Ljunggren; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Timothy Heritage and Grant McCool)
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (L) shakes hands with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at a welcome ceremony prior to the 32nd Arab League Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 19, 2023. The 32nd Arab League Summit kicked off in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Friday with the participation of Arab leaders to discuss regional and global issues that are crucial to the region's stability. (Saudi Press Agency/Handout via Xinhua)

JEDDAH, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The 32nd Arab League Summit kicked off in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Friday with the participation of Arab leaders to discuss regional and global issues that are crucial to the region's stability.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attended the summit for the first time since his country was suspended from the Arab League after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

Algerian Prime Minister Ayman Benabderrahmane delivered the opening speech before handing over the rotating presidency of the Arab League to Saudi Arabian Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Al Arabiya TV reported.

Benabderrahmane highlighted the recent crisis in Sudan, calling on all parties to resort to dialogue to end the crisis and avoid further escalation in the country.

He also underlined the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, urging the international community to put an end to the Israel's settlement expansion.

After receiving the presidency of the Arab League, the Saudi crown prince announced the beginning of the summit, welcoming Syria's return to the Arab League.

He hoped that the return of Syria to the Arab League would pave the way to the end of the crisis in the country.

He welcomed the agreement reached between Sudan's warring parties last week and reiterated the need for dialogue to end the crisis.

Noting that the Palestinian cause remains the Arab's "pivotal cause," the crown prince said the Kingdom wouldn't allow transforming the region into a zone for conflicts. 

Leaders attending the 32nd Arab League Summit pose for a group photo in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 19, 2023. The 32nd Arab League Summit kicked off in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Friday with the participation of Arab leaders to discuss regional and global issues that are crucial to the region's stability. (Saudi Press Agency/Handout via Xinhua)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends the Arab League summit, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia May 19, 2023 in this screengrab from a video by Saudi TV/Handout via REUTERS

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged countries attending an Arab League summit on Friday to support his peace initiative for ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

Zelenskiy, making his first trip as president to Saudi Arabia, said in an address that delegates would each receive the text of the 10-point peace plan, and asked them to work with Ukraine directly without intermediaries.

"I invite all of you who respect peace to join the implementation of the peace formula and thus, to reduce enmity, wars, suffering, and evil," Zelenskiy said in English.

"Russia is weak, we beat it when it had more weapons in their hands. Its aggressiveness does not come from strength but from the understanding that the time of empires has passed."

Zelenskiy said that a good example of how the Ukrainian peace formula could benefit others was the Black Sea Grain Initiative which allowed Ukraine, an important grain exporter, to continue supplies including to Arab League countries.

The United Nations and Turkey brokered the deal last July to help tackle a global food crisis aggravated by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The agreement was extended by another two months this week.

In addition to food security, Zelenskiy's peace plan includes a condition for Russia to withdraw all its troops from Ukrainian territory, calls for the release of all Ukrainian prisoners of war and seeks the restoration of "radiation safety" at a nuclear power plant occupied by Russia.

Zelenskiy thanked Saudi Arabia for helping secure the release of some prisoners of war, and called for moves to protect the Ukrainian Muslim community -- a reference to Crimean Tatars in the Crimea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

"Even if there are people here at the summit who have a different view on the war on our land in calling it a conflict, I am sure we can all be united in saving people from the cages of Russian prisons," he said.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the summit his kingdom was ready to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.

(Reporting and writing by Olena Harmash, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Jack Douglas Teixeira, a U.S. Air Force National Guard airman accused of leaking highly classified military intelligence records online, appears wearing an orange jumpsuit, where the judge accepted his request to waive his right to a preliminary hearing i

By Tim McLaughlin

WORCESTER, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Superiors of the U.S. Air National Guardsman accused of leaking military secrets offered him intelligence-related training even after they admonished him twice for his handling of classified information, according to a memo disclosed this week by U.S. Justice Department attorneys.

Before his arrest in April on espionage charges, Jack Douglas Teixeira, 21, was offered a cross-training opportunity as an entry-level "fusion analyst," an Air Force specialty that determines the value and implications of gathered intelligence.

The offer, which Teixeira declined, came after his superiors suspected him of ignoring a cease-and-desist order given a month earlier on deep diving into intelligence information, according to an Oct. 27 Air Force memo filed in his court case.

Teixeira will appear on Friday in federal court, where a judge is expected to rule on whether he can be released from detention while he awaits trial on charges he violated the Espionage Act. The FBI arrested Teixeira on April 13 at his home in Massachusetts.

As a low-level airman, Teixeira had broad access to military secrets at the Massachusetts Air National Guards 102nd Intelligence Wing.

In September, one of his superiors saw him taking notes on classified information and shoving a piece of paper into his pocket. He received a warning, and was admonished again a month later after asking detailed questions at a briefing, according to the Justice Department.

Attorneys with the Justice Department argue that Teixeira cannot be trusted to live at home with his father. At a detention hearing last month, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadine Pellegrini told the judge it would be hard to imagine that Teixeira would not seek to make himself available to others who want the secret information he is accused of stealing.

Even after his warnings last year, Teixeira bragged online in early January that he had broad access to top secret information.

I have stuff for Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iran and China, Teixeira said on social media, according to prosecutors. A month earlier, he told the social media group: All of the shit Ive told you guys Im not supposed to.

(Reporting By Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies during a U.S. House Committee on Financial Services hearing on the Annual Report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S. May 12, 2022. Saul Loeb/Pool

By Doina Chiacu and David Lawder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told bank CEOs on Thursday that more mergers may be necessary after a series of bank failures, CNN reported on Friday, citing two people familiar with the matter.

A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment on the meeting with CEOs of the largest U.S. banks beyond a statement issued afterwards that reaffirmed the strength and soundness of the U.S. banking system.

The meeting with more than two dozen executives convened by the Bank Policy Institute came as the banking sector is endeavoring to shake off several weeks of turmoil spurred by the sudden failure of Silicon Valley Bank, which led to regulators seizing two more collapsing institutions and backing uninsured depositors in an effort to tamp down fears of broader contagion.

The Treasury readout did not mention bank mergers, but CNN quoted sources as saying that consolidation was discussed.

Yellen told Reuters in an interview in Japan last week that pressures on U.S. regional bank earnings may lead to more concentration in the sector and regulators will likely be open to such mergers.

But the report that she gave a similar message directly to bank CEOs, alongside news that talks over the U.S. debt ceiling were at an impasse, had a significant impact on markets on Friday. "That's why the market took an initial knee-jerk move," said Michael James, managing director of institutional equity trading at Wedbush Securities. Two-year Treasury yields initially dropped by some 11 basis points on Friday after the report, while benchmark 10-year yields fell by about five basis points. Shares of regional banks also fell, with the KBW Regional Banking Index down 2.8% and shares of PacWest Bancorp, Zions Bancorp, Western Alliance Bancorp, KeyCorp and Comerica Inc down between 1.8% and 4%.

Other factors weighing on shares included news that Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives and President Joe Biden's administration had paused talks on raising the $31.3 trillion debt ceiling. The U.S. government may default on some debts as early as June 1 unless Congress votes to lift the debt ceiling.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also hinted on Friday at a potential pause in rate hikes amid more balanced risks in the economy.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and David Lawder; additional reporting by Sinead Carew in New York; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Paul Simao)
Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)

Registration No. 333-268478

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT NO. 1

(To the Prospectus dated April 3, 2023)

Granite Ridge Resources, Inc.

123,671,585 Shares of Common Stock

10,349,975 Shares of Common Stock issuable

upon the exercise of Warrants

This prospectus supplement supplements the prospectus, dated April 3, 2023 (as supplemented or amended, the Prospectus) of Granite Ridge Resources, Inc. (the Company or Granite Ridge), which forms a part of our registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-268478). This prospectus supplement is being filed to update and supplement the information in the Prospectus with the information contained in our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 19, 2023. Accordingly, we have attached the Current Report to this prospectus supplement.

The Prospectus and this prospectus supplement relate to (i) the issuance by us of up to an aggregate of 10,349,975 shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value (the Granite Ridge common stock) that may be issued upon exercise of warrants to purchase Granite Ridge common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share (the Granite Ridge warrants) and (ii) the offer and sale from time to time by the selling securityholders named in the Prospectus (the Selling Securityholders), or their permitted transferees, of up to 123,671,585 shares of Granite Ridge common stock

Granite Ridge common stock and Granite Ridge warrants are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols GRNT and GRNT WS, respectively. On May 18, 2023, the closing price of Granite Ridge common stock was $6.00 per share and the closing price of Granite Ridge warrants on May 18, 2023 was $0.6198 per warrant.

This prospectus supplement should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus and is not complete without, and may not be delivered or utilized except in connection with, the Prospectus, including any amendments or supplements thereto. This prospectus supplement is qualified by reference to the Prospectus, including any amendments or supplements thereto, except to the extent that the information in this prospectus supplement updates and supersedes the information contained therein. If there is any inconsistency between the information in the Prospectus and this prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in this prospectus supplement.

We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company as those terms are defined under applicable federal securities laws, and as such, are subject to certain reduced public company reporting requirements.

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before buying any securities, you should carefully read the discussion of the risks of investing in our securities in Risk Factors beginning on page 10 of the Prospectus.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus supplement or the Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Prospectus Supplement dated May 19, 2023.

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 19, 2023

Granite Ridge Resources, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware 001-41537 88-2227812 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.)

5217 McKinney Avenue, Suite 400 Dallas, Texas 75205 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

(214) 396-2850

(Registrants telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

x Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)  Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered Common stock, par value $0.0001 per share GRNT New York Stock Exchange Warrants to purchase Common Stock, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share GRNT.WS New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company x

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. 

Item 8.01 Other Events.

On May 19, 2023, Granite Ridge Resources, Inc., (Granite Ridge or the Company), announced the commencement of an exchange offer (the Offer) and consent solicitation (the Consent Solicitation) relating to its outstanding warrants to purchase shares of common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the Common Stock), which warrants trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GRNT.WS (the Warrants). The Company is offering to all holders of the Warrants the opportunity to receive 0.250 shares of Common Stock in exchange for each outstanding Warrant tendered by the holder and exchanged pursuant to the Offer. Concurrently with the Offer, the Company is also soliciting consents from holders of the Warrants to amend that certain Warrant Agreement, dated as of September 15, 2020, by and between Executive Network Partnering Corporation, a Delaware corporation (ENPC), and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent (Continental), as amended on March 24, 2021, by and between ENPC and Continental, and as assigned pursuant to the Assignment, Assumption and Amendment Agreement, dated as of October 24, 2022, by and between Granite Ridge, ENPC and Continental (as amended and assigned, the Warrant Agreement) to permit the Company to require that each Warrant that is outstanding upon the closing of the Offer be exchanged for 0.225 shares of Common Stock, which is a ratio 10% less than the exchange ratio applicable to the Offer (such amendment, the Warrant Amendment).

The Offer and Consent Solicitation are being made pursuant to a prospectus/offer to exchange, dated May 19, 2023 (the Prospectus/Offer to Exchange), and Schedule TO, dated May 19, 2023 (the Schedule TO). The Offer and Consent Solicitation will expire at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on June 16, 2023, or such later time and date to which the Company may extend. Pursuant to the terms of the Warrant Agreement, all except certain specified modifications or amendments require the vote or written consent of holders of at least 50% of the outstanding Warrants. Parties representing approximately 51.3% of the outstanding Warrants have agreed to tender their Warrants in the Offer and to consent to the Warrant Amendment in the Consent Solicitation, pursuant to a tender and support agreement. Accordingly, because the holders of more than 50% of our outstanding Warrants have agreed to consent to the Warrant Amendment in the Consent Solicitation, if the other conditions described in the Offer and Consent Solicitation are satisfied or waived, then the Warrant Amendment will be adopted.

On May 19, 2023, the Company issued a press release announcing the commencement of the Offer and Consent Solicitation. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Important Additional Information Has Been Filed with the SEC.

Copies of the Schedule TO and Prospectus/Offer to Exchange will be available free of charge at the website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) at www.sec.gov. Requests for documents may also be directed to D.F. King & Co., Inc. at (212) 269-5550 (for banks and brokers) or (800) 967-7635 (for all others) or via the following email address: [email protected] A registration statement on Form S-4 relating to the securities to be issued in the Offer has been filed with the SEC but has not yet become effective. Such securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective.

This announcement is for informational purposes only and shall not constitute an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell the Warrants or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any shares of Common Stock in any state in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful before registration or qualification under the laws of any such state. The Offer and Consent Solicitation are being made only through the Schedule TO and Prospectus/Offer to Exchange, and the complete terms and conditions of the Offer and Consent Solicitation are set forth in the Schedule TO and Prospectus/Offer to Exchange.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this Current Report on Form 8-K may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and generally relate to future events or the Companys future financial or other performance metrics. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as believe, may, will, potentially, estimate, continue, anticipate, intend, could, would, project, target, plan, expect, or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company advises caution in reliance on forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include various factors beyond managements control, including but not limited to general economic conditions and other risks, uncertainties and factors set forth in the sections entitled Risk Factors and Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements in the Prospectus/Offer to Exchange, and other filings the Company makes with the SEC. Nothing in this communication should be regarded as a representation by any person that the forward-looking statements set forth herein will be achieved or that any of the contemplated results of such forward-looking statements will be achieved. All forward-looking statements in this Current Report on Form 8-K are based on information available to the Company as of the date of this filing. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

*Filed herewith

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

GRANITE RIDGE RESOURCES, INC. Date: May 19, 2023 By: /s/ Luke C. Brandenberg Name: Luke C. Brandenberg Title: President and Chief Executive Officer

ATTACHMENTS / EXHIBITS

EXHIBIT 99.1
UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 6-K

Report of Foreign Private Issuer

Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the month of May, 2023

Commission File Number 1-15106

PETROLEO BRASILEIRO S.A.  PETROBRAS

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Brazilian Petroleum Corporation  PETROBRAS

(Translation of Registrant's name into English)

Avenida Henrique Valadares, 28  19th floor

20231-030  Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Federative Republic of Brazil

(Address of principal executive office)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

Form 20-F ___X___ Form 40-F _______

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Yes _______ No___X____

Petrobras on letter from the Ministry of Mines and Energy



Rio de Janeiro, May 19, 2023 - Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras informs that it has received Official Letter No. 386/2023/GM-MME, through which the Ministry of Mines and Energy ("MME") requests that Petrobras, within its rules of governance and in compliance with strict legality, reiterate the request for licensing of the activity with the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Natural Resources ("IBAMA"), making all necessary efforts to meet the conditions and prove the adequacy of the project for the safe and sustainable exploration of the area.

The MME points out that, besides the strategic importance of sustainable exploration of the equatorial margin, considering the aspects related to energy security and maintenance of the country's self-sufficiency in oil, the issue is fundamental from the social point of view, since it proposes to leverage the development of some of the states with the lowest HDI in the country, through the collection of government takes and the creation of jobs and income for its population.

Finally, the MME requests to evaluate the possibility, within the strictest legality, observing the rules of governance and the interests of the Company, of keeping the rig and the resources destined to the well mobilized, for an additional time that will allow the discussions with IBAMA to advance for the licensing of this important activity in the scope of the exploration and production policy for oil and natural gas in the country.

As communicated on May 18, 2023, Petrobras remains committed to the development of the Brazilian Equatorial Margin, recognizing the importance of new frontiers to ensure the country's energy security and the resources needed for a fair and sustainable energy transition and reinforces that it met all the requirements foreseen in the licensing process.

Petrobras will analyze the MME requests, from a legal standpoint and within its governance rules, so that its competent internal instances may evaluate potential legal and economic risks arising from the request.

Material facts will be timely disclosed to the market.

www.petrobras.com.br/ir

For more information:

PETROLEO BRASILEIRO S.A.  PETROBRAS | Investors Relations

email: [email protected]/[email protected]

Av. Henrique Valadares, 28  9 th Floor  20231-030  Rio de Janeiro, RJ.

Phone: 55 (21) 3224-1510/9947 | 0800-282-1540

This document may contain forecasts within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), and Section 21E of the Securities Trading Act of 1934, as amended (Trading Act) that reflect the expectations of the Company's officers. The terms: "anticipates", "believes", "expects", "predicts", "intends", "plans", "projects", "aims", "should," and similar terms, aim to identify such forecasts, which evidently involve risks or uncertainties, predicted or not by the Company. Therefore, future results of the Company's operations may differ from current expectations, and the reader should not rely solely on the information included herein.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Date: May 19, 2023

PETROLEO BRASILEIRO S.APETROBRAS



By: /s/ Sergio Caetano Leite

______________________________

Sergio Caetano Leite

Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer
UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

SCHEDULE 13D

Amendment No. 1

Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

TG Venture Acquisition Corp.

(Name of Issuer)

Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share

(Title of Class of Securities)

87251T109

(CUSIP Number)

Tsangs Group Holdings Limited

Room 6801, 68th Floor, The Center, 99 Queens Road Central

Central , Hong Kong

+85223613919

(Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person Authorized to Receive Notices and Communications)

May 19, 2023

(Date of Event Which Requires Filing of this Statement)

If the filing person has previously filed a statement on Schedule 13G to report the acquisition that is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing this schedule because of Rule 13d-1(e), 3d-1(f) or 13d-1(g), check the following box. 

Note: Schedules filed in paper format shall include a signed original and five copies of the schedule, including all exhibits. See Rule 13d-7 for other parties to whom copies are to be sent.

* The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting persons initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information which would alter disclosures provided in a prior cover page.

The information required on the remainder of this cover shall not be deemed to be filed for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Act) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes).

SCHEDULE 13D

CUSIP No. 87251T109

1 Name of reporting persons I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NOS. OF ABOVE PERSONS (ENTITIES ONLY) Tsangs Group Holdings Limited 2 Check the appropriate box if a member of a group* (a)  (b)  3 SEC use only 4 Source of funds* WC 5 Check box if disclosure of legal proceedings is required pursuant to Item 2(d) or 2(e)  6 Citizenship or place of organization Hong Kong

Number of shares beneficially owned by each reporting person with 7 Sole voting power 1,710,816 (1) 8 Shared voting power 9 Sole dispositive voting power 1,710,816 (1) 10 Shared dispositive power

11 Aggregate amount beneficially owned by each reporting person 1,710,816 (1) 12 Check box if the aggregate amount in row (11) excludes certain shares*  13 Percent of class represented by amount in row (11) 39.95% 14 Type of reporting person* CO

(1) Representing 1,710,816 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (Common B Common Stock), automatically convertible into shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (Class A Common Stock) on one-for-one basis, subject to certain adjustments, upon the consummation of an initial business combination of the Issuer.

1 Name of reporting persons I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NOS. OF ABOVE PERSONS (ENTITIES ONLY) Pui Lan Patrick Tsang 2 Check the appropriate box if a member of a group* (a)  (b)  3 SEC use only 4 Source of funds* WC 5 Check box if disclosure of legal proceedings is required pursuant to Item 2(d) or 2(e)  6 Citizenship or place of organization Ireland

Number of shares beneficially owned by each reporting person with 7 Sole voting power 1,710,816 (2) 8 Shared voting power 9 Sole dispositive voting power 1,710,816 (2) 10 Shared dispositive power

11 Aggregate amount beneficially owned by each reporting person 1,710,816(2) 12 Check box if the aggregate amount in row (11) excludes certain shares*  13 Percent of class represented by amount in row (11) 39.95% 14 Type of reporting person* IN

(2) Mr. Patrick Tsang, our CEO, is the sole owner, sole director and managing member of Tsangs Group Holdings Limited and therefore holds voting and dispositive control over the securities held by Tsangs Group Holdings Limited.

Explanatory Note

This Amendment No. 1 (this  Amendment ) amends and supplements the Schedule 13D filed on February 15, 2022 (Original Schedule 13D ) by the Reporting Persons relating to the Common Stock of the Issuer. Information reported in the Original Schedule 13D remains in effect except to the extent that it is amended, restated or superseded by information contained in this Amendment. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Amendment have the respective meanings set forth in this schedule.

The purpose of this Amendment is to update the Reporting Persons current percentage ownership in the Issuer, which has increased since the Original Schedule 13D.

Item 1. Security and Issuer.

Securities acquired: Class B Common Stock, $0.0001 par value (Class B Common Stock), convertible into Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value (Class A Common Stock). Issuer: TG Venture Acquisition Corp. (the Issuer) 1390 Market Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, California 94102

Item 2. Identity and Background.

(a) This statement is filed by Tsangs Group Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong corporation (Tsang Group) and Pui Lan Patrick Tsang (Tsang, with Tsang Group, t he Reporting Persons). The Reporting Persons are the holder of record of approximately 39.95% of the Issuers outstanding Common Stock based on the number of common stock outstanding as of May 18, 2023 (including Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock on as converted basis).

(b) The principal business address of Tsang Group is Room 6801, 68th Floor, The Center, 99 Queens Road Central, Hong Kong , Hong Kong and the principal business address of Tsang is 1390 Market Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, California 94102.

(c) Tsang Group is primarily involved in investment and Tsang is the manager of Tsang Group.

(d) During the past five years, none of the Reporting Persons or to the knowledge of the Reporting Persons, the persons identified in this Item 2, has been convicted in a criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations or similar misdemeanors).

(e) During the past five years, none of the Reporting Persons or to the knowledge of the Reporting Persons, the persons identified in this Item 2, has been a party to a civil proceeding of a judicial or administrative body of competent jurisdiction and as a result of such proceeding was the subject to a judgment, decree or final order enjoining future violations of, or prohibiting or mandating activities subject to, federal and state securities laws of findings any violation with respect to such laws.

(f) Tsang Group is a company incorporated in Hong Kong.

Citizenship of Tsang: Ireland.

Item 3. Source and Amount of Funds or Other Consideration.

The information set forth in Items 4 and 5 of this Schedule 13D are hereby incorporated by reference into this Item 3.

Item 4. Purpose of Transaction.

On March 22, 2021, Tsang Group purchased 1,800,816 shares of the Issuers Class Common Stock (the Founder Shares) for an aggregate purchase price of $16,207.35 pursuant to a securities subscription agreement.

On November 2, 2021, Tsang Group transferred 90,000 Founder Shares to the independent directors of the Issuer.

Depending on prevailing market, economic and other conditions, the Reporting Persons may from time to time acquire additional shares of Common Stock or engage in discussions with the Issuer concerning future acquisitions of shares of its capital stock. Such acquisitions may be made by means of open-market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, direct acquisitions from the Issuer or otherwise.

On April 30, 2023, the Issuer and its sponsor entered into an agreement (the Non-Redemption Agreement) with Bulldog Investors, LLP (Bulldog) and Phillip Goldstein (Goldstein and, together with Bulldog, the Investors) in exchange for certain shareholders agreeing not to redeem shares of the Companys Class A common stock sold in the Companys IPO (the Public Shares) at the Issuers April 27, 2023 special meeting (the Special Meeting). The Non-Redemption Agreement provides for, among other things, the sponsor to pay approximately $105,000 to those participating shareholders in exchange for them agreeing to hold and not redeem certain Public Shares at the Special Meeting.

H olders of 10,164,304 shares of the Issuers Common Stock exercised their right to redeem their shares (and did not withdraw their redemption), which represents approximately 88% of the shares that were part of the shares that were sold in the Issuers IPO, for a cash redemption price of approximately $10.39 per share, or an aggregate redemption amount of $105,619,702. Following such redemptions, approximately $13,879,535 will remain in the trust account and 1,335,696 shares of Common Stock will remain issued and outstanding. Accordingly, all of the obligations of the parties to the N on-Redemption Agreement were fulfilled. Following the redemption, due to the decrease in the number of shares issued and outstanding, the Reporting Parsonss ownership percentage increased.

The Reporting Persons are aware of the contemplated business combination with The Flexi Group Limited, a business company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Islands (Flexi), The Flexi Group Holdings Ltd, a business company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Islands and a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of Flexi (PubCo), The Flexi Merger Co. Ltd, a business company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Islands and a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of PubCo (Target Merger Sub), and Flexi Merger Co. LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of PubCo (SPAC Merger Sub) , pursuant to which among other things, (i) Flexi will merge with and into Target Merger Sub, upon which the separate existence of Target Merger Sub will cease and Flexi will be the surviving corporation and a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of PubCo, and (ii) TGVC will merge with and into SPAC Merger Sub (the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement, including the mergers, the Flexi Business Combination), upon which the separate existence of SPAC Merger Sub will cease and the Issuer will be the surviving corporation and a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of PubCo .

Except as set forth in this Item 4, none of the Reporting Persons has any plans or proposals that relate to or would result in: (a) the acquisition by any person of additional securities of the Issuer, or the disposition of securities of the Issuer; (b) an extraordinary corporate transaction, such as a merger, reorganization or liquidation, involving the Issuer or any of its subsidiaries; (c) a sale or transfer of a material amount of assets of the Issuer or any of its subsidiaries; (d) any change in the present Board or management of the Issuer, including any plans or proposals to change the number or term of directors or to fill any existing vacancies on the Board; (e) any material change in the present capitalization or dividend policy of the Issuer; (f) any other material change in the Issuers business or corporate structure, including but not limited to, if the issuer is a registered closed-end investment company; (g) changes in the Issuers charter, by-laws or instruments corresponding thereto or other actions which may impede the acquisition of control of the Issuer by any person; (h) causing a class of securities of the Issuer to be delisted from a national securities exchange or to cease to be authorized to be quoted in an inter-dealer quotation system of a registered national securities association; (i) a class of equity securities of the Issuer becoming eligible for termination of registration pursuant to Section 12(g)(4) of the Exchange Act; or (j) any action similar to any of those enumerated above.

The Reporting Persons may, at any time and from time to time, formulate other purposes, plans or proposals regarding the Issuer, or any other actions that could involve one or more of the types of transactions or have one or more of the results described in clauses (a) through (j) of Item 4 of Schedule 13D.

Item 5. Interest in Securities of the Issuer

(a) The aggregate number and percentage of common stock beneficially or directly owned by the Reporting Persons is based upon a total of 4,282,345 shares of common stock outstanding as of May 18, 2023(including Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock on as converted basis) upon the closing of the initial public offering of the Issuer and full exercise of over-allotment option. The Reporting Persons beneficially own 1,710,816 shares of Class B Common Stock, representing approximately 39.95% issued and outstanding shares of common stock (including Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock on as converted basis).

(b) The beneficial ownership of the Reporting Persons is 1,710,816 shares of Class B Common Stock), representing approximately 39.95% issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock.

(c) Other than as described herein, the Reporting Persons have not effected any transactions in the Common Stock during the 60 days preceding the date of this report.

(d) Not applicable.

(e) Not applicable.

Item 6. Contracts, Arrangements, Understandings or Relationships with Respect to Securities of the Issuer.

The information set forth in Items 4 of this Schedule 13D are hereby incorporated by reference into this Item 6.

SCHEDULE 13D

CUSIP No. 87251T109

Item 7. Materials to be Filed as Exhibits.

SCHEDULE 13D

CUSIP No. 87251T109

SIGNATURES

After reasonable inquiry and to the best of our knowledge and belief, we certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.

Date: May 19, 2023

Tsangs Group Holdings Limited By: /s/ Pui Lan Patrick Tsang Name: Pui Lan Patrick Tsang Title: Managing Member Pui Lan Patrick Tsang /s/ Pui Lan Patrick Tsang

* The Reporting Person disclaims beneficial ownership of the Common Stock except to the extent of his/her pecuniary interest therein.

May 19, 2023
AUSTIN, Texas  The wife of an Army officer claims she was at her home at Fort Cavazos with her daughter while her husband was away training when Col. Jon Meredith came to her house, groped her and made unwanted sexual advances toward her, according to court documents released Friday.

Meredith, 47, was arraigned Monday on two counts of abusive sexual contact and two counts of conduct unbecoming of an officer, according to Lt. Col. Jennifer Bocanegra, spokeswoman for the 1st Cavalry Division. Meredith was fired as commander of the divisions 1st Brigade Combat Team in October amid a criminal investigation into his actions.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday before military judge Col. Maureen Kohn in the 3rd Judicial Circuit at Fort Cavazos, according to the online court docket. The colonel will now face a court-martial scheduled for Aug. 14.

Col. Meredith looks forward to addressing the pending allegations in the case, and we understand everyone is entitled to a fair and unbiased process, said Sherilyn Bunn, Merediths civilian attorney who is a former Army lawyer.

Meredith is accused of going to the home of the victim, who is a civilian, on July 23 while the womans daughter and another person were present, according to a charge sheet detailing the allegations against the colonel.

Meredith knew the womans husband was away at a field training exercise and did wrongfully grope [the womans] inner thigh and crotch, kiss her repeatedly on the mouth, and tell her he wanted to [expletive] her, according to the document.

All names apart from Merediths are redacted from the document.

The division first confirmed the colonels criminal investigation in March, when Merediths wife Col. Ann Meredith was fired from her job as commander of the 89th Military Police Brigade, also at Fort Cavazos.

In a post to her personal Facebook page, Ann Meredith said she was fired because she sent a text message that was seen as interfering with the investigation into her husband.

She will not face criminal charges, or a court-martial, and the administrative disciplinary action taken against her is complete, said Lt. Col. Tania Donovan, spokeswoman for III Corps and Fort Cavazos. She is now performing duties for the Military Police School.

Robert Capovilla, a former Army lawyer who now works primarily as a defense attorney for service members, said in the military justice system prosecutors can charge one count of abusive sexual contact for each unwanted touch even if the touching occurred within the same interaction. In this case, Meredith is charged with one count of touching the womans breast and another for touching her inner thigh and the area around it.

The charge of abusive sexual contact comes with a maximum prison sentence of seven years, dismissal from the service and forfeiture of pay, according to the Army judges manual.

The colonel is not under any form of confinement and has continued to receive $12,725 each month in pay, according to the charge sheet.

It is unusual to see a colonel face a court-martial, but it does happen, Capovilla said.

By and large, the Army does a very good job of promoting the right people, he said. The second reason you don't see a lot of it is because there's not a lot of [colonels] walking around in the Army. It's a very select group of officers that make it to that rank in their careers.
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea  Four educators and school employees from U.S. military bases in South Korea were recognized for going above and beyond to impact the lives of their students during an emotional ceremony here on Friday.

Roughly 200 people attended the gathering at Paik Auditorium inside the headquarters of U.S. Forces Korea as the command honored educators from the Department of Defense Education Activity-Pacific West.

DoDEA-Pacific West is responsible for educating approximately 7,000 students from 12 schools in South Korea and Guam. DODEA, as a whole, operates 160 schools in seven states, 11 foreign countries and Puerto Rico, according to its website.

Sarah Mayer of Osan Middle High School was named the districts teacher of the year for implementing technology in the classroom to create innovative lessons that are highly engaging and challenging for her students, according to her award.

Mandy Schwerdt-Johnson of Humphreys High School was named principal of the year for being organized and managing her time and her staff efficiently while still working tirelessly, according to her award.

Juliana Wish of Humphreys West Elementary School was named school level/support staff employee of the year for contributions ranging from streamlining registration processes to automating rotations for substitute teachers.

Seong Yeon Park was named office-level employee of the year for managing 43 commercial buses and 24 government buses that take students to and from school.

The role of teachers has always been the key to building a brighter tomorrow, said USFK commander Gen. Paul LaCamera, who oversees approximately 28,500 U.S. troops in South, told the gathering.

Our DODEA schools have an amazing reputation and thats because of you and your commitment, LaCamera said. The military depends on you  to take care of our children so that we can take care of our mission.

LaCamera paused as he became visibly emotional.

While the ceremony recognizes just a few of our educators, I speak for all the service members, civilians and families saying, We appreciate everything that you do, he said. If you cant tell, its a little near and dear to my heart.

DODEA-Pacific Wests teachers have a reputation for being resilient and kind, district superintendent Jacob Sherwood said at the ceremony.

I see that they all go above and beyond to serve our students, he told Stars and Stripes. They really try to put students at the center of what we do.

Sherwood recalled how a kindergarten student was left out as his classmates picked their partners for a classroom activity.

It became visibly obvious that this kindergartener had become upset, Sherwood said.

The teacher sprang into action and became the students partner.

You can tell his face went from near tears to a beaming smile, Sherwood said. And thats what we do on a daily basis.
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan  Actors with gory mock injuries co-starred in a three-day drill that simulated a large-magnitude earthquake that inflicted mass casualties at the home of the U.S. 7th Fleet south of Tokyo.

But top billing went to emergency workers from U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka, which coordinated the training Wednesday through Friday alongside Navy Region Japan, the American Red Cross, the Japan Self-Defense Forces and other organizations.

The emphasis was on medical treatment and triage, hospital spokesman Gabriel Archer told Stars and Stripes by email a day before the training kicked off.

On Wednesday, hospital executives established an emergency headquarters and coordinated their response, while actors assumed the roles of victims with serious burns and bloody lacerations.

Medical personnel continued training on Thursday, with hospital staff and members of the Air Force's 374th Airlift Wing used helicopters to fly simulated casualties from a seaside helipad to U.S. Army Camp Zama roughly 30 miles away.

The drill tests the hospital staff's response to a major disaster, as well as their ability to work with their American and Japanese partners, Archer told Stars and Stripes by email Tuesday.

The focus of this exercise is to increase emergency preparedness and to test the ability to respond to large-scale disaster events, he said.

Other participants included health and risk management company International SOS; the 374th Medical Group and 459th Airlift Squadron from Yokota Air Base; and the BG Crawford F. Sams U.S. Army Health Clinic; and U.S. Army Medical Department Activity-Japan from Camp Zama.
NAPLES, Italy  The Justice Department is seeking the passport of a Navy Reserve officer awaiting trial on bribery, money laundering and other federal charges related to allegations he wrote fake recommendation letters for Afghan nationals seeking to live in America.

Federal prosecutors say Cmdr. Jeromy Pittmann, 54, violated pre-trial conditions of release when he moved from Italy to Germany in September without their permission.

That action violates conditions set by the court in March 2022 that allowed Pittmann to retain his passport and continue working for the U.S. government at Naval Support Activity Naples while he awaited trial, the DOJ said in a document filed Tuesday in New Hampshire U.S. district court.

The Justice Department is asking Judge Landya McCafferty to amend those conditions and require Pittmann to turn over his passport to the court or his attorney.

It also wants Pittmann to report weekly to a probation office and get approval from the U.S. District Attorneys Office before traveling outside of Germany, according to the court filing.

McCafferty earlier this month ordered Pittmann to appear in person at a June 26 pre-trial conference.

The United States continues to have concerns about whether (Pittmanns) release conditions are sufficient to assure his appearance in court, prosecutors said in the filing. In addition to appearing to now reside in Germany, (Pittmann) appears to no longer maintain a residence in the United States.

The trial was to begin on Tuesday but was rescheduled for July 18 after McCafferty granted a request by Pittmanns attorney to no longer represent him, according to court records.

Two other defense attorneys also have withdrawn from the case.

Pittmann, who has served as a Seabee reservist for 20 years, including time in Afghanistan, was accused in March 2022 of receiving thousands of dollars for writing fraudulent recommendation letters vouching for Afghan citizens seeking a Special Immigrant Visa through the State Department, according to court records.

He was indicted in November on conspiracy, bribery, false writing and money laundering charges.

According to the indictment, Pittmann conspired with others from about February 2018 to at least March 2021 to write false letters, saying he had supervised the visa applicants while they worked as translators for U.S. Army and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

In the letters, Pittmann claimed the applicants lives were in jeopardy from the Taliban and that based on his personal knowledge they were not a threat to national security, according to prosecutors.

In return, Pittmann received money, including $2,000 transferred to his bank account in July 2018 as payment for a fake invoice he created to hide the transaction, the indictment alleges.

German authorities notified the U.S. in March 2023 that Pittmann had been in Germany for about six months, the DOJ said in Tuesdays court filing.

He resigned from his position at NSA Naples in July and asked at least twice to travel to Germany. Those requests were rejected, court documents show.

It wasnt clear where Pittmann was living in Germany or if he was working for a new employer.
ARAXA, Brazil, May 19 (Xinhua) -- "Chinese speed" is greatly facilitating fruitful China-Brazil cooperation in new and advanced materials, Brazilian experts and businessmen say.

"China today has the most advanced laboratories in the world for technology development and almost infinite number of highly qualified people in the area of batteries, so we are able to transform the ideas in a very fast way into a product and validate this product with final clients," said Rogerio Ribas, head of battery products of Brazilian Metallurgy and Mining Company (CBMM), in a recent interview with Xinhua.

The CBMM, headquartered in the city of Araxa, the Minas Gerais state, is a global leading supplier of niobium products and technology that are applied in a number of industries, including infrastructure, transport, aerospace, health and energy.

Niobium is a chemical element that is used in alloys including stainless steel. Through various applications, niobium makes the materials more resistant, durable, safer, lighter and less corrosive.

For decades, niobium products have been mainly applied in the steel industry. In China, the CBMM helped establish a welding center to research and develop the welding technology for China's steel industry.

"We have a lot of projects in China not only with the steel industry, but also with the end users, in order to provide value to the whole chain," said Marcelo Scuccuglia, commercial director of the CBMM.

In the past few years, the CBMM started business initiatives in the battery sector, in which it develops niobium products and applications in lithium batteries, in order to increase electronic conductivity, operating voltages, chemical stability, energy density, safety, ionic activity, and to lower operating temperature and reduce the time for charging.

"We have several projects in China that partner with Chinese cathode and anode producers, battery manufacturers, universities, R&D centers in terms of niobium technologies for lithium batteries," said Ribas.

He applauded the "Chinese speed" that transforms a business idea into a commercial reality, and attributed the successful bilateral cooperation to quality infrastructure for R&D access as well as China's clear development goal of electrification.

"It has built an atmosphere that greatly facilitates technological development related to electrification in China," said Ribas.

Tiago Amaral, manager of environment and technological support of the CBMM, believed that China's economic development has helped "all the industries and the whole market" as it "opens doors for new technologies to be adopted."

Amaral used to travel frequently from Brazil to China for technological support. He echoed Ribas in terms of the "Chinese speed" that "adopts new technologies in a very innovative and quick way."

He considered it "fundamental" for the CBMM to have partners in China that adopt "the technology and the best practice" with them and are open to listening and jointly develop the partnerships.

Currently, around 90 percent of the CBMM's business revenue generates from its niobium products in the steel industry, and the Brazilian company has decided to shift more attention to non-steel sectors, such as battery and high-performance applications.

Amaral pointed out that China is the world's major steel producer and consumer, and that the niobium technology fits very well in this aspect as well as the new trend of electric vehicles.

"All these applications will complement each other in order to bring a better result for both countries," he said. 
Kandahar province, Afghanistan, Dec. 29, 2008: Staff Sgt. Jeff Ackerman, 41, of Houston, peers through a pair of binoculars, looking at a possible bomb site near the village of Mama Karez, as 1st Lt. Dan Grant, 25, of Cocoa Beach, Fla., and an Afghan interpreter look on. Soldiers with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment had moved into a nearby camp to try and disrupt Taliban activity in the area.

Check out Drew Browns story on Company A here.
QUITO, Ecuador  A day after he dissolved the National Assembly, averting his looming impeachment but triggering new elections this year, Ecuadoran president Guillermo Lasso said he has no plans to run in them - and doesn't care who replaces him.

"My goal is not to prevent someone from returning to Ecuador," he told The Washington Post in an interview Thursday evening. He was referring to the party of his leftist rival Rafael Correa, the country's longest-serving democratically elected president and still an influential leader here.

Instead, he told The Post, he plans to use his last months as one of Latin America's few remaining center-right presidents to advance executive orders focused on security, health, education and infrastructure. Among them: a decree, to be announced as soon as next week, that would boost protections for security forces who use their weapons to defend themselves and others.

The 67-year-old former banker steered this South American nation 0f 18 million into new territory this week with his declaration Wednesday of a muerte cruzada - roughly, "mutual death." The constitutional measure, which he invoked days before the legislature was to vote on his removal on embezzlement charges, allows him to send lawmakers home and rule by decree for up to six months. Then new elections must be held.

Lasso rejects the charges against him as politically motivated; supporters call them bogus. He's the first Ecuadoran president to invoke muerte cruzada, which effectively cuts his four-year term in half. It was added to the constitution when Correa was president.

The move was seen by some as a last-minute effort to avoid impeachment, a calculation that the votes were stacked against him in the political trial. But Lasso told The Post he had decided on the muerte cruzada days earlier, and followed through after making sure he had the support of the military.

Intelligence authorities said the president had received information that the opposition lacked the votes needed to impeach him. But Lasso, fed up with an opposition-led assembly that has succeeded in blocking most of his agenda, decided to dissolve it anyway. He applied the measure, he wrote in his declaration, to address the "grave political crisis" in an assembly whose members were unable to perform their functions properly.

"What was fundamental was to provide an exit to this political crisis," Lasso told The Post. He described the move as an "act of generosity for the country, to shorten a presidential term to achieve the common interest of Ecuadorans ... and not see this embarrassing spectacle of fighting between politicians."

Ecuador's constitutional court upheld Lasso's declaration Thursday, rejecting six lawsuits aimed at blocking it. The electoral court said it would hold early legislative and presidential elections as soon as Aug. 20, with a potential runoff presidential election in October. Lasso said his party plans to nominate a candidate.

Speaking in a wood-paneled room of the presidential palace after the most chaotic day in Ecuadoran politics in years, the president appeared notably at ease and upbeat in a jacket, sweater and jeans. He sought to minimize concerns that the months ahead could bring mass protests, or that his leftist opponents could win the elections and punish him.

He had said before his impeachment trial opened Tuesday that he would declare a muerte cruzada if he believed lawmakers had the votes to remove him. Leaders of Ecuador's powerful Indigenous movement, credited with playing a key role in ousting three previous presidents, said they would respond to the move by staging street demonstrations. But by Thursday evening, there had been no substantial protests. And Correa, who called Lasso's move unconstitutional on Wednesday, appeared to be trying to capitalize on it Thursday.

"You know what? Despite his lies and contradictions, Lasso is right: We are experiencing internal commotion," the former president tweeted Thursday. "Let's go to those elections and sweep them at the polls."

Simon Pachano, a political scientist at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences in Ecuador, argued Lasso made the decision primarily to avoid his impeachment. He pushed back on the president's claims that he simply isn't interested in running for office again.

"It seems to me that he has no chance of winning," Pachano said, and Lasso knows it. "I think he's a sort of skilled poker player. He never shows emotions."

Elected in 2021, Lasso was to have served through 2025, when he would have been eligible to run for one more four-year term.

He said he received support on Wednesday from several foreign allies, including the United States. After his declaration, U.S. Ambassador Michael J. Fitzpatrick said the United States "respects Ecuador's internal and constitutional processes" and "will continue working with the constitutional government, civil society, the private sector and the Ecuadoran people."

Lasso rejected the idea that Ecuador is the latest Latin American country to experience democratic backsliding. But it's difficult to ignore several recent incidents in the region - ranging from Brazil, where supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed the capital in January in an effort to reverse his election loss, to El Salvador, where President Nayib Bukele has suspended key civil liberties to crack down on gangs, to Guatemala, which has chased away anticorruption prosecutors and this week succeeded in shutting an investigative newspaper down.

Peru's Pedro Castillo, facing impeachment in December, tried to dissolve that country's legislature and rule by decree, but he lacked the constitutional authority or the political support needed to succeed. He was removed from office and arrested that day.

The crises in Peru and Ecuador, though they developed in very different contexts, demonstrate a breakdown in political representation, said Alberto Vergara, a political scientist at the University of the Pacific in Peru. Both countries have suffered dramatic fragmentation in political parties, producing legislatures that have proved unwieldy and unpredictable.

But Ecuador's crisis extends far beyond its national assembly. Once seen as relatively peaceful compared to its neighbors, the country is now suffering spiraling drug trafficking and gang violence.

Lasso has issued a state of emergency in several parts of the country, at times echoing Bukele's strategy in El Salvador. In April, Lasso allowed civilians to possess and carry guns for self-defense.

And next week, he told The Post, he plans to pass an executive order to give "more confidence, tranquility and security to our law enforcement, so that they can use their endowed weapons to protect innocent citizens and also themselves."

Lasso said it wasn't easy to cut his presidency short. But he is convinced that his successors, if faced with a similar political crisis, should not be afraid to do the same.

"I would recommend it to any future president of Ecuador," he said.
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan  The men and women who patrol the flight line and housing areas of this airlift hub in western Tokyo are experiencing a change in their mission, according to a senior enlisted leader.

Air Force security forces, or defenders, once concentrated on counterterrorism, but the emphasis today is on threats from state powers.

When I started in 2003, the mission was counterterrorism, Master Sgt. Jose Romero, day-shift flight chief for the 374th Security Forces Squadron, said Tuesday during the annual Police Week at Yokota. Now, the mission is shifting to peer or near-peer threats like Russia and China. The leaders of our career field are changing the way we train and operate to meet that threat.

Security forces may include infantry skills in addition to the base security and law enforcement training they already receive, Romero said.

Police Week is organized on most Air Force installations worldwide as an avenue to interact with on-base communities and recognize the airmen that spend their days and nights providing security and law enforcement.

The squadron paid tribute with a 3.1-mile ruck march Tuesday in memory of fallen members of Air Force security forces and exercised their career skills during a fire team challenge Wednesday.

There have been about 38 defenders that have passed away since Vietnam, Romero told Stars and Stripes.

Many installations across the Air Force stage a memorial event during the week, and most focus on the 14 defenders that have fallen since 9/11, he said.

During the fire team challenge, teams of four competed at stations that simulated situations security personnel may respond to, including emergency first aid, moving a casualty and advancing cover-to-cover as a team.

The fire team competition and memorial ruck march allow defenders to develop skills they need as their career field begins changing its operating procedure, Romero said.

The Yokota squadron closed out police week on Thursday with a retreat and memorial ceremony where they paid respects to defenders, law enforcement officers and special agents who died in service to their country.

Every day, you put on your weapons, you put on your gear, and you say, You are safe, base commander Col. Andrew Roddan said during the ceremony. You are the helping hand responding to the community.
Group of Seven leaders found a brief patch of sunshine for their traditional family photo on Friday at a summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, but the mood at the meeting is somber as Russia's invasion of Ukraine nears its sixteenth month.

The conflict in Ukraine has resurrected fears about the buildup of nuclear arsenals, riven by Russian President Vladimir Putin's periodic threats to use them in his invasion. That is all the more poignant for G-7 leaders given the site of their meeting is the city on which the U.S. dropped a nuclear bomb in the dying days of World War II.

After talks on ways to further support Ukraine and punish Russia, the leaders traveled to the Itsukushima Shrine, on an island in an inland sea near Hiroshima, for a walk around the site and to take their family photo. A broad, vermilion-hued structure that stretches out over the water, the shrine rang with the sound of Japanese traditional musicians as the leaders gathered near the water's edge.

It had rained most of the day, but as they posed the sun had come out and was slowly setting over the water behind them.

President Joe Biden missed some of the tour, arriving for the final moments with the shrine's chief priest. The U.S. leader has been a low-key presence at the summit so far, spending time also on the phone with his advisers back home as he seeks to avert a crisis over the U.S. debt ceiling.

Earlier Friday the leaders gathered in a rainy Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima to lay identical white wreaths and plant a tree, remembering the victims of the bombing of 1945.

Photos from G-7 meetings can provide a glimpse into the relationships between leaders. Some embrace effusively, others stay more at arms length. Sometimes two leaders get absorbed in discussion, almost forgetting the others are there. Each summit reflects the geopolitical dynamics at the time. But there is one thing the photos from these summits have in common - not a lot of women.

Here's a look at some other G-7 family photos in recent years:

The German Alps

The G-7 summit in 2022 was held very much in the shadow of Russia's invasion of Ukraine just months earlier. Putin's war dominated the discussions including penalties on Russia and aid for the government in Kyiv. While it was unusually warm and sunny, the mood was sober and the leaders united in their condemnation of Putin for his actions.

The British Seaside

The summit the previous year in the British region of Cornwall was by contrast a more jovial affair. The Covid-19 pandemic was still raging but it was the first time some of the leaders had met in person in a while, and they clearly enjoyed catching up.

The meeting risked being overtaken at one point by an odd Brexit-related dispute between the U.K. and France over ... sausages. But behind the scenes some business was being done: A long time later it emerged the U.S., U.K. and Australia had struck a deal on the Cornish beaches to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.

The Canadian Mountains

Compared with the Cornish sunshine, the 2018 summit in Canada was a testy one, even as the leaders attempted a collective show of cooperation in their family photo.

In reality, tensions were high as leaders sparred with then-U.S. President Donald Trump on trade policy. They huddled late into the night to hash out a statement they could all agree to, producing some iconic images in the process.

But then Trump ripped up the communique on his way out: He told U.S. officials not to endorse the statement and accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of being dishonest on trade issues, unleashing Twitter posts saying the U.S. would look at tariffs on automobiles he said were "flooding the U.S. market."
TOKYO  Replacing squadrons of F-15 Eagles on Okinawa with rotating contingents of more advanced fighters will allow U.S. forces to disperse and survive if a war with China breaks out over Taiwan, a Japanese security expert said Thursday.

Fighter swaps was one topic that Takuya Matsuda, a research fellow with the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies, touched on during a public forum at Fussa Citizens Hall, just outside the gates of Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo.

Two F-15C/D squadrons at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa  nearly 50 fighters  are being phased out over two years and replaced by rotating squadrons of aircraft from as far away as Germany and Alaska. The inventory of replacements thus far includes F-22 Raptor stealth fighters and F-16 Fighting Falcons.

Chinas force of hundreds of missile launchers with the ability to strike Okinawa factors into the decision to retire Kadenas two permanent F-15 squadrons, Matsuda said.

Kadena demonstrates U.S. commitment to defense of the first island chain, he said.

The first island chain includes Taiwan, Okinawa and the Philippines and separates the East and South China Seas from the Pacific Ocean. Military strategists believe that Chinas goal is to push American and allied forces out of both seas.

Many people instinctively criticized the plan to withdraw the F-15s from Okinawa, Matsuda said.

For example, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Leaf, a former deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, said withdrawing the Eagles sent China the wrong message.

It is a lack of commitment in their minds, he said Nov. 16, after the Air Force announced the plan. In terms of deterrence its a net negative. That element cant be undone by saying we are going to rotate, or the planes are more capable.

However, Matsuda noted Kadenas proximity to a potential combat zone near Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province that must be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Resilience comes into play, he said.

Scattering forces away from Kadena in a conflict heightens their ability to recover from an attack, fight on and deprive China of a quick and decisive victory, Matsuda said.

In Ukraine, Russia sought such a decisive victory but was unable to capture the countrys capital, Kiev, last year, he said.

The U.S. and Japan could turn a Taiwan conflict into a war of attrition and increase the costs for China, Matsuda said.
HIROSHIMA, Japan - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to attend the Group of Seven nations summit in person this weekend, significantly amplifying his warnings about Russia's potential to escalate the war in Ukraine by visiting Hiroshima, the site of nuclear destruction in World War II.

Zelenskyy, who has displayed a knack for understanding symbolism and capturing the world's attention, has been pressing for more Western support for planes and military equipment, and earned new commitments for billions of dollars in additional military support during his recent trips to Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom - all G-7 members.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday that Zelenskyy was scheduled to attend virtually during the leaders' meeting on Sunday, but the Ukrainian leader is now set to come to Hiroshima for the summit, according to people familiar with the plans. It is not yet confirmed which day he will attend.

The Financial Times first reported the news of Zelenskyy's visit.

Zelenskyy's first post-invasion trip out of Ukraine was in December, when he made a secret visit to Washington to meet with President Biden at the White House and deliver an address to Congress. Zelenskyy's trip this weekend would be his first to Asia since the invasion.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is one of the top items on the agenda at the gathering this weekend.

Biden had initially set out on a three-country swing through the Indo-Pacific aimed at countering China's growing influence and economic expansion throughout the region. But Zelenskyy's in-person visit - combined with Biden having to cancel stops in Papua New Guinea and Australia to fly home to deal with an ongoing debt crisis - are in the near term likely to overshadow the U.S. president's efforts to focus the world's largest democracies on countering China.

Ahead of Biden's arrival in Japan, U.S. officials said support for Ukraine would be a major focus of the economic summit.

"There will be discussions about the state of play on the battlefield," Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security adviser, told reporters aboard Air Force One. "There will be discussions about the state of play on sanctions and the steps that the G-7 will collectively commit to on enforcement in particular, making sure that we are shutting down evasion networks, closing loopholes in the sanctions so that the impact is amplified and magnified in the months ahead. And the U.S. will have a package of sanctions associated with a G-7 statement that will center on this enforcement issue."

Gathering here Friday, world leaders kicked off their summit with a symbolic visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, paying respects to the victims of the United States' atomic bombing in 1945 by planting a cherry blossom tree grown from one that survived the nuclear attack.

The leaders also met privately with Keiko Ogura, a survivor of the bombing, known as hibakusha.

Ogura, 85, lived 1 1/2 miles away from the hypocenter of the blast as an 8-year-old in 1945. In 1984, she founded Hiroshima Interpreters for Peace, a group that translates the testimonies of A-bomb survivors into English and advocates for a nuclear-free world. Her late husband was the director of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has raised global fears over the potential use of nuclear weapons, as President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have repeatedly hinted at a willingness to deploy them. Moscow in February suspended its participation in New START, the last major arms control treaty with the United States, and top Russian officials have warned of a growing risk of "nuclear apocalypse."

The leaders of the world's largest economic powers also announced new sanctions on Russia, attempting to punish the country for the invasion, as the G-7 summit was dominated by the war for the second year in a row.

The new measures from the United States will expand the number of entities who can be sanctioned for dealing with Russia. "We will continue to expand export controls to make it even harder for Russia to sustain its war machine," a senior administration official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity ahead of the formal announcement.

"This involves extensively restricting categories of goods key to the battlefield, and also cutting off roughly 70 entities from Russia and third countries from receiving U.S. exports by adding them to the Commerce blacklist," the official added.

The new package will also include upward of 300 new sanctions against individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft.

"These will go after circumvention. These will go after financial facilitators, as well as future energy and extractive capabilities of Russia and other actors helping to support the war," the official said. "This will include designations across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia."

Japan's prime minister hopes that by hosting the summit in Hiroshima, a place forever associated with nuclear attack, he will be able to reaffirm the G-7's support for a "world free of nuclear weapons.""With regards to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, we agreed to work closely with G-7 and other like-minded countries, and continue to impose strict sanctions against Russia and provide strong support for Ukraine," Kishida told reporters.

The Washington Post's Julia Mio Inuma contributed reporting from Hiroshima, Japan.
HIROSHIMA, Japan  President Joe Biden on Friday endorsed plans to train Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, according to two people familiar with the matter, as he huddled with leaders of the world's most powerful democracies on plans to toughen punishments on Russia for its 15-month invasion of Ukraine.

The Group of Seven leaders were convening in Hiroshima, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is to join them on on Sunday in his farthest trip from his country since the war began last February.

The leaders heard for the first time of Biden's backing of training Ukrainian pilots on advanced fighter jets, as a precursor to sending the jets to Ukraine.

The G7 leaders also set out new sanctions on Moscow as well as plans to enhance the effectiveness of existing financial penalties meant to constrain President Vladimir Putin's war effort.

"Our support for Ukraine will not waver," the G7 leaders said in a statement released after closed-door meetings. The vowed "to stand together against Russia's illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine."

"Russia started this war and can end this war," they said.

The F-16 training is to be conducted in Europe and will likely begin in the coming weeks. But Biden told the leaders that decisions on when, how many, and who will provide the fourth-generation fighter jets for Ukraine to use in battle will be made in the months ahead while the training is underway.

That's according to the who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Biden's private conversations with allies.

Zelenskyy has consistently called for the supply of Western fighter jets to bolster his country's defenses against Russia's invasion, but has until now faced skepticism from the U.S. that they would turn the tide in the war. Now, as Ukraine has bolstered its air defenses with a host of Western-supplied anti-aircraft systems, officials believe the jets could become useful in the battle and essential to the country's long-term security.

Separately, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, confirmed on national television that Zelenskyy would attend the summit.

"We were sure that our president would be where Ukraine needed him, in any part of the world, to solve the issue of stability of our country," Danilov said Friday. "There will be very important matters decided there, so physical presence is a crucial thing to defend our interests."

Zelenskyy announced Friday that he had opened a visit to Saudi Arabia, where Arab leaders were holding their own summit.

European allies in recent weeks have warmed to the notion of sending fighter jets to Ukraine, as have elements of Biden's Cabinet, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has emerged as a staunch advocate within the administration. Under export licensing rules, the U.S. needed to sign off on any allied effort to train Ukrainian pilots or to provide them with the jets.

The announcement Friday came as the U.S. and its allies also announced a series of actions meant to tighten restrictions on already-sanctioned people and firms involved in Russia's war effort. More than 125 individuals and organizations across 20 countries were hit with U.S. sanctions. The financial penalties were primarily focused on sanctions evaders connected to technology procurement for the Kremlin. The Commerce Department also added 71 firms to its own list.

Additionally, new reporting requirements were issued for people and firms that have any interest in Russian Central Bank assets. The purpose is to "fully map holdings of Russia's sovereign assets that will remain immobilized in G7 jurisdictions until Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine," a Treasury statement reads.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Friday sanctions "will further tighten the vise on Putin's ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions."

Putin's nuclear threats against Ukraine, along with North Korea 's months-long barrage of missile tests and China's rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal, have resonated with Japan's push to make nuclear disarmament a major part of the G7 summit. World leaders Friday visited a peace park dedicated to the tens of thousands who died in the world's first wartime atomic bomb detonation.

After group photos near the city's iconic bombed-out dome, a wreath-laying and a symbolic cherry tree planting, a new round of sanctions were unveiled against Moscow, with a focus on redoubling efforts to enforce existing sanctions meant to stifle Russia's war effort and hold accountable those behind it, a U.S. official said. Russia is now the most-sanctioned country in the world, but there are questions about the effectiveness of the financial penalties.

The G7 nations said in Friday's statement that they would work to keep Russia from using the international financial system to prosecute its war, would "further restrict Russia's access to our economies" and would prevent sanctions evasion by Moscow.

They urged other nations to stop providing Russia with support and weapons "or face severe costs."

The European Union was focused on closing loopholes and plans to restrict trade in Russian diamonds, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, told reporters Friday.

The U.S. plans to expand its sanctions authorities on Russian architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, and transportation firms, according to Treasury.

The UK also announced new sanctions that freeze the assets of 86 people and organizations connected to Russia's energy, metals, defense, transport and financial sectors.

"We need to give Ukraine the tools now to successfully defend itself and regain full sovereignty and territorial integrity. We should provide Ukraine the necessary military and financial support. And we have to do this as long as it takes," EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, wants nuclear disarmament to be a major focus of discussions, and he formally started the summit at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park. The visit by world leaders to a park dedicated to preserving reminders of Aug. 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, provided a striking backdrop to the start the summit. An estimated 140,000 people were killed in the attack, and a fast-dwindling number of now-elderly survivors have ensured that Hiroshima has become synonymous with anti-nuclear peace efforts.

"Honestly, I have big doubts if Mr. Kishida, who is pursuing a military buildup and seeking to revise the pacifist constitution, can really discuss nuclear disarmament," Sueichi Kido, a 83-year-old "hibakusha" or survivor of the Nagasaki explosion, told The Associated Press. "But because they are meeting in Hiroshima I do have a sliver of hope that they will have positive talks and make a tiny step toward nuclear disarmament."

Biden, who scrapped plans to travel on to Papua New Guinea and Australia after his stay in Japan so that he can get back to debt limit talks in Washington, arranged to meet Saturday on the G-7 sidelines with leaders of the so-called Quad partnership, made up of Japan, Australia, India and the U.S.

The four originally had been scheduled to meet in Australia as part of Biden's effort to revitalize relationships in the Indo-Pacific.

As G7 attendees made their way to Hiroshima, Moscow unleashed yet another aerial attack on the Ukrainian capital. Loud explosions thundered through Kyiv during the early hours, marking the ninth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the city after weeks of relative quiet.

The United States has frozen Russian Central Bank funds, restricted banks' access to SWIFT -- the dominant system for global financial transactions -- and sanctioned thousands of Russian firms, government officials, oligarchs and their families.

The Group of Seven nations collectively imposed a $60 per-barrel price cap on Russian oil and diesel last year, which the U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday defended in a new progress report, stating that the cap has been successful in suppressing Russian oil revenues. Treasury cites Russian Ministry of Finance data showing that the Kremlin's oil revenues from January to March this year were more than 40% lower than last year.

The economic impact of sanctions depends largely on the extent to which a targeted country is able to circumvent them, according to a recent Congressional Research Service repor t. So for the past month, U.S. Treasury officials have traveled across Europe and Central Asia to press countries that still do business with the Kremlin to cut their financial ties.

"The challenge is to make sure the sanctions are painful against Russia, not against ourselves," said Michel. "It's very clear that each package is more difficult than the previous one and requires more political effort to make a decision."

G7 leaders and invited guests from several other counties are also expected to discuss how to deal with China's growing assertiveness and military buildup as concerns rise that it could could try to seize Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict. China claims the self-governing island as its own and its ships and warplanes regularly patrol near it.

In a bit of dueling diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting the leaders of the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for a two-day summit in the Chinese city of Xi'an.

The leaders are due to discuss efforts to strengthen the global economy and address rising prices that are squeezing families and government budgets around the world, particularly in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The G7 includes Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union.

Associated Press writers Adam Schreck and Mari Yamaguchi in Hiroshima, Japan, Raf Casert in Brussels, Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.
KYIV, Ukraine  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a summit of Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Friday before what a senior official said would be a trip to Japan for a meeting with the leaders of the world's most powerful democracies.

Zelenskyy has in recent months made foreign trips to shore up diplomatic support for Ukraine's fight against Russia's full-scale invasion almost 15 months ago and solicit more military support.

He earlier this week returned from a three-day trip to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

Ukraine and Russia are squaring up for a major and potentially decisive phase of the war as Kyiv prepares an expected counteroffensive. The conflict has been bogged down in a war of attrition in recent months amid bad weather.

Zelenskyy's office said he was invited to attend the Arab League summit in Jeddah, where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before holding other bilateral meetings.

They discussed Zelenskyy's peace plan, the security situation in Ukraine and possible investments in the reconstruction of the country, a presidential statement said. Zelenskyy also invited Prince Mohammed to visit Ukraine.

Zelenskyy urged leaders at the summit to resist Moscow's influence and consider his peace proposals, which include the withdrawal of the Kremlin's forces from occupied areas of Ukraine.

"I'm more than sure that none of you will agree to surrender a third of your country to the invaders," Zelenskyy said in English.

"Another priority is the protection of the Muslim community of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said. "Crimea was the first to suffer from the Russian occupation, and most of those who suffer repression in occupied Crimea are Muslims."

Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev accompanied Zelenskyy on the visit.

Zelenskyy will later travel to a Group of Seven summit in Japan, where leaders of the world's most powerful democracies aim to step up punishment on Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council.

However, Danilov's office later posted a statement backtracking on his announcement and saying Zelenskyy would appear at the G-7 summit via video. Zelenskyy's movements are kept secret for security reasons.

Meanwhile, Russian forces kept up their long-range bombardment of Ukrainian targets while drones reportedly damaged train lines behind their front line.

About 430 feet of railway track were damaged and trains were halted for hours after an explosion derailed eight cars of a freight train carrying grain in Russia-occupied Crimea, Russian state media reported Friday.

Thursday's blast prompted renewed suspicions about possible Ukrainian saboteur activity behind Russian lines.

Train traffic was also halted in northern Crimea on Thursday night after a drone hit a railway track near the town of Dzhankoi, Russia's Baza Telegram channel reported.

Sergei Aksyonov, the Kremlin-appointed head of Crimea, said in a separate post that four Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight in the peninsula's north. Aksyonov claimed there was no damage or casualties.

Russia overnight fired cruise missiles, drones and artillery at targets across Ukraine, killing two civilians, officials said Friday.

The attacks included an air assault on Kyiv for the second straight day and the 10th time in three weeks. The Kremlin's forces also took aim at central, eastern and southern Ukraine, and the western Lviv region near the border with Poland.

Russia launched 22 Iranian-made Shahed drones and six Kalibr cruise missiles during the night, the Ukrainian Air Force said. It said air defenses downed 16 drones and three missiles.

The Russian shelling killed two civilians and wounded nine others in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, said its governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko.

The missile attacks that have intensified recently aim to "disrupt Ukraine's plans and preparations for active military operations during the spring-summer campaign," according to a statement from Ukraine's intelligence agency, published on Telegram.

The targets are Ukraine's military control points and barracks, supply routes and the places where ammunition, equipment, fuel are stored, it said.

On Friday, the United Nations said operations to ship Ukrainian grain were "partially restarting," two days after Russia gave a green light to extend the deal for two months. The U.N. also urged a swift return to the previous tempo of ship arrivals and departures from all three Black Sea ports and inspections of their cargo.

U.N. associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay said the Joint Coordination Center, which includes representatives from the four parties involved in the deal  Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations -- approved the registration Friday of six new vessels to participate in the grain shipments. Nine applications to participate remain pending, she said.

No ships are currently loading at any of the three ports, Tremblay said, but inspection teams from the center checked and cleared three new vessels Friday to proceed to the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk.

Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON  For months, Western allies have shipped billions of dollars worth of weapons systems and ammunition to Ukraine with an urgency to get the supplies to Kyiv in time for an anticipated spring counteroffensive.

Now summer is just weeks away. While Russia and Ukraine are focused on an intense battle for Bakhmut, the Ukrainian spring offensive has yet to begin.

Last week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it's been delayed because his country lacks enough Western weapons to succeed without suffering too many casualties. Weather and training are playing a role too, officials and defense experts say.

Officials insist the counteroffensive is coming. Preliminary moves by Ukraine to set the conditions it wants for an attack have already begun, a U.S. official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

A look at the factors delaying the counteroffensive and the preparations both sides are making in anticipation of it starting soon.

WEATHER

A big part of the delay is the weather. It's taken longer than expected for Ukraine's frozen ground to thaw and dry, due to an extended, wet, cold spring, which has made it difficult to transition into an offensive.

Instead, the ground has retained a deep mud that makes it more difficult for non-tracked vehicles to operate.

The mud is like a soup, the official said. "You just sort of sink in it."

TRAINING

In the past few months, tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been trained by the U.S. and allies for the fight. But the final Ukrainian battalion the U.S. is currently training is just finishing its course now.

This final class brings the total number of Ukrainians the U.S. has trained for this fight to more than 10,700. Those forces have learned not only field and medical skills but advanced combined arms tactics with the Stryker and Bradley armored fighting vehicles and Paladin self-propelled howitzers. It also includes highly skilled forces who were trained to operate the Patriot missile defense system.

According to U.S. Army Europe-Africa, more than 41,000 additional Ukrainian troops have been trained through programs run by more than 30 partner nations.

Soon a new phase will begin: The U.S. will start training Ukrainians on Abrams tanks at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. But the Ukrainians won't wait for the tank training to be finished before they launch their counteroffensive, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told reporters in late April.

WEAPONS ARRIVALS

In just the past five months alone, the U.S. has announced it would send more than $14 billion in weapons and ammunition to Kyiv, most of which is being pulled from existing stockpiles in order to get the supplies to Ukraine faster. NATO and Western allies have responded too, pledging billions in tanks, armored vehicles and air defense systems.

But a lot of that gear still hasn't arrived, said Ben Barry, a former British intelligence official who is now the senior land warfare fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

For example, of the approximately 300 tank systems pledged  such as the Leopard 2 tanks promised by countries including Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany  only about 100 have arrived. Of the 700 or so pledged fighting vehicles, such as British Marauders and U.S. Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, only about 300 have arrived, he said.

Ukraine will also need enough ammunition on hand to sustain a higher tempo fight once the counteroffensive begins, When it comes to the ammunition needed, Ukraine's chief military logistician will also have a strong say in when the army is ready to launch, Barry said.

In just one munition  the 155mm howitzer round  Ukraine is firing between 6,000 and 8,000 rounds per day, Ukrainian parliamentary member Oleksandra Ustinova told reporters in April.

COUNTEROFFENSIVE CLUES

Both Russia and Ukraine are taking steps in anticipation of the counteroffensive.

Russia has approximately 200,000 troops along a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) battle line, dug in using the same type of trench warfare tactics used in World War I, a Western official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.

These troops are not as highly trained as Russia's initial invading force, which sustained heavy casualties. But they are defended by ditches, minefields and dragon's teeth  above ground triangle-shaped concrete barriers that make it difficult for tanks to move.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has begun shaping operations, such as targeting Russia's forward lines with long-range artillery fire. That may indicate that Ukraine is about to push forward on that location  or it could be a decoy to draw Russia's attention from its actual planned first strike, the official said.

When Ukraine does try to punch through those lines  whether in a limited area or a complex campaign carried out in multiple locations  that will be the likely indicator the offensive has begun, both Barry and the Western official said.

Barry said when Ukrainian brigades start crossing into Russian-held territories and try to attack the first line of Russian defenses, "that's going to be a dead giveaway I think."

Associated Press reporter Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.
Middle Eastern leaders welcomed President Bashar al-Assad at a regional summit on Friday, representing a major triumph for the once-shunned Syrian leader as he seeks to shut the door on a decade of bloody civil war.

Syria's return to the Arab League after an 11-year suspension - another step in the country's regional reintegration following a prolonged exile over its brutal handling of political uprising - also highlights the stark gap between the United States and some of its closest Middle Eastern partners on an issue that once united them.

The Biden administration, like European allies, has vowed to maintain its policy of isolation and pressure against Assad, whose campaign to crush dissent that began amid the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011 has resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of people and displacement of half his country's population.

U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive diplomatic discussions, said they have consulted with Middle Eastern leaders about their steps to embrace deeper ties with Syria. They say the Biden administration supports those countries' overall goals in Syria, including diminishing the influence of shared adversary Iran.

"There has been disagreement on the tactics and sequencing," one senior official said. "But there is generally alignment on ultimate objectives," including the understanding that Washington intends to keep tightly in place sanctions that prohibit companies and countries from doing business with Damascus.

Despite early hopes that the rebellion would make way for a more open, democratic Syria, Assad has outlasted scores of his opponents and clawed back territory with the help of economic and military aid from Moscow and Tehran. He now boasts nominal control over nearly two-thirds of the country, according to U.S. estimates, with the remnants of the Islamic State severely diminished.

The rapprochement reflects a recognition in Middle Eastern capitals that, despite earlier efforts to cultivate a formidable opposition to Assad, the U.S.-led policy of replacing the Syrian leader failed, having set the stage for the rise of the Islamic State and the expansion of Iranian military power on NATO's borders.

But analysts say the disconnect over Syria between Washington and key partners - including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates - also highlights the shifting dynamics in U.S.-Middle Eastern ties, as Arab leaders accuse the United States of neglecting the region in favor of a focus on competition with China and Russia.

Aaron David Miller, a former State Department official now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that while the notion of America's abandonment of the Middle East was overblown - the Pentagon maintains major bases in Bahrain and Qatar, among other places - the growing U.S. focus on "great power competition," in addition to political upheaval in Washington and increased autonomy in fossil fuels, had the effect of prompting many regional nations to hedge their bets.

"The signals that we have sent in any number of ways compel smaller powers who were dependent on us, who looked to us for support and leverage, to readjust," he said.

The evolving dynamics mirror the challenges President Biden has faced in building support for his campaign to isolate Moscow over the war in Ukraine among major developing nations like Brazil, South Africa and Pakistan, and in the Middle East, as those countries weigh U.S. priorities against China's expanded clout and Russia's attempts to court nations frustrated by the West's liberal democracies.

U.S. officials privately concur with many Arab nations' conclusion that the effort to transform Syria, begun under the Obama administration, yielded little. The United States, along with several Gulf nations including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, supported initiatives early in the war to train and arm rebels seeking to overthrow Assad. Those lost momentum as larger, more powerful extremist groups gained ground and Russia plunged into the war in 2015, throwing a powerful lifeline to Assad.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman opened the summit in the Red Sea city of Jiddah saying he hoped Syria's return would bring stability to the region.

Assad, in his own televised address, lauded what he described as a "historic opportunity to rearrange our affairs with the least amount of foreign interference."

He said he hoped the summit would represent a new stage of action by Arab states "for solidarity between us, for peace in our region, and for growth and prosperity rather than war and destruction," he concluded.

Assad's government has been accused of horrific crimes, including the repeated use of chemical weapons on civilians and frequent targeting of hospitals, schools and other protected sites.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise appearance at the summit, calling for Middle Eastern support for his country's campaign to repel the invasion launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2022.

For Assad, Russian military aid has been central in his campaign to bomb opposition areas and cling to power despite the years-long challenge to his rule.

U.S. officials stressed that Syria's return to the Arab League, an initiative led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, does not constitute a regionwide normalization with the Assad regime but rather a continuation of a trend that began in 2018, when Bahrain and UAE resumed diplomatic relations with Syria. Just this month, Saudi Arabia agreed to reopen its embassy in Damascus.

U.S. officials downplayed the suggestion that Assad's appearance among fellow leaders in the Arab League, which has limited practical power, represents a transformative moment for the Middle East. They reject the idea that rapprochement with Syria, over U.S. protests, is linked to the perception, widely shared across the Middle East, of a diminished American role in the region.

"This doesn't mean the rise and fall of U.S. influence," a second senior official said. "It means different countries, including partners of ours, have evaluated the situation and they've decided to take a different approach to get after the problems. That happens in every administration, around the globe, on a variety of issues."

Officials said they don't expect Arab nations to test U.S. sanctions, which are designed to prohibit major investment.

Some Arab nations have been less supportive of deepening ties. Qatar, which has feuded with other Gulf states in recent years, said it disagreed with Syria's re-inclusion in the Arab League but would not pose an "obstacle" to a move backed by regional powers.

U.S. officials say they worked with Arab countries to come up with a list of demands on Assad, but they remain skeptical he will deliver. In addition to checking Iran's influence and containing Syria's export of captagon, an illegal stimulant, neighboring countries hope to arrange the return of some of the millions of Syrian refugees whose long stays have strained their economies.

The administration's commitment to a severe Syria policy was reinforced this month by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), who recently introduced a bill that would strengthen the sanctions and prohibit the U.S. government from recognizing the Assad regime.

William F. Wechsler, a former Pentagon official who heads Middle East programs at the Atlantic Council, said that while the Biden administration had communicated its disapproval of steps to rehabilitate Assad's tie to Middle Eastern partners, it was also evident that Syria is no longer an American priority.

Arab nations "are accurately judging the U.S. position on normalization, which is the United States doesn't want to have its fingerprints on it, doesn't want to support it, but the United States is not going to do anything to prevent it from happening," he said.

U.S. officials say the growing rapprochement will have little effect on the ongoing U.S. counterinsurgent mission in northeast Syria, where hundreds of U.S. troops remain stationed to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State. They say Assad's weakened military is not capable of pressing into those areas, which are controlled by Syrian Kurdish forces.
Tourists take photos at the Erlangjian scenic spot of Qinghai Lake in northwest China's Qinghai Province, May 18, 2023. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China.

In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)

Tourists have fun at the Erlangjian scenic spot of Qinghai Lake in northwest China's Qinghai Province, May 18, 2023. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China.

In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)

Brown-headed gulls rest at Qinghai Lake, Gangcha County of northwest China's Qinghai Province, May 17, 2023. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China.

In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Li Zhanyi)

This photo taken on May 17, 2023 shows a view of the Qinghai Lake seen from Gonghe County of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Qinghai Province. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China.

In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)

This aerial photo taken on May 17, 2023 shows a view of the Qinghai Lake seen from Gonghe County of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Qinghai Province. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China.

In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Xie Tongqiang)

A yacht harbor is pictured at the Erlangjian scenic spot of Qinghai Lake in northwest China's Qinghai Province, May 18, 2023. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China.

In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)

Tourists pose for photos at the Erlangjian scenic spot of Qinghai Lake in northwest China's Qinghai Province, May 18, 2023. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China.

In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)

This aerial photo taken on May 17, 2023 shows a view of the Qinghai Lake seen from Gonghe County of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Qinghai Province. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China.

In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Li Zhanyi)

This photo taken on May 17, 2023 shows a view of the Erlangjian scenic spot of Qinghai Lake in northwest China's Qinghai Province. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China.

In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)

Brown-headed gulls fly above the Qinghai Lake in Gonghe County of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Qinghai Province, May 17, 2023. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China.

In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)

Black-necked cranes are pictured at Qinghai Lake, Gangcha County of northwest China's Qinghai Province, May 17, 2023. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China.

In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Xie Tongqiang)

This aerial photo taken on May 16, 2023 shows a view of the Qinghai Lake seen from Gonghe County of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Qinghai Province. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China.

In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)

This aerial photo taken on May 18, 2023 shows a view of the Erlangjian scenic spot of Qinghai Lake in northwest China's Qinghai Province. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China.

In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  Iran on Friday executed three men accused of deadly violence during last year's anti-government protests despite objections from human rights groups.

Mizan, the judiciary's website, announced the executions of Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi, without saying how the deaths were carried out. Authorities say they killed a police officer and two members of the paramilitary Basij group in the city of Isfahan in November during nationwide protests.

Rights groups say the three were subjected to torture, forced into televised confessions and denied due process.

The protests erupted last September after the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by the country's morality police for allegedly violating its strict Islamic dress code. The demonstrations rapidly escalated into calls for the overthrow of the theocracy that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The demonstrations have largely subsided in recent months, though there are still sporadic acts of defiance, including the refusal of a growing number of women to wear the mandatory Islamic headscarf, known as the hijab.

Iran has executed a total of seven people in connection with the protests. Rights groups say they and several others who have been sentenced to death were convicted by secretive state security courts and denied the right to defend themselves.

"The prosecution relied on forced 'confessions,' and the indictment was riddled with irregularities that reveal this was a politically motivated case," Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, said of the three executed on Friday.

The group said Kazemi had called a relative and accused authorities of torturing him by flogging his feet, using a stun gun and threatening him with sexual assault.

London-based Amnesty International also criticized the cases.

"The shocking manner in which the trial and sentencing of these protesters was fast-tracked through Iran's judicial system amid the use of torture-tainted 'confessions', serious procedural flaws and a lack of evidence is another example of the Iranian authorities' brazen disregard for the rights to life and fair trial," said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Iran launched a heavy crackdown on the protests, portraying them  without evidence  as a foreign-backed conspiracy. The protesters said they were fed up after decades of repression and poor governance. Iran's economy has been in a tailspin since the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement and restored crippling sanctions.

Robert Malley, the U.S. envoy for Iran, had spoken out against the imminent execution of the three men, calling it "an affront to the human rights and basic dignity of all Iranians" that showed the government "has learned nothing from the protests."

"The United States will continue to stand with the Iranian people. We are coordinating closely with our allies and partners to expose and confront the Iranian regime's unremitting human rights abuses," Malley tweeted on Thursday.

The European Union condemned the executions "in the strongest possible terms" and called on Iran to abolish the death penalty.

More than 500 people were killed during months of protests, including dozens of members of the security forces. Some 19,000 people were arrested, though many have since been released.

Iran is one of the world's leading executioners. At least 582 people were executed in 2022, up from 333 the previous year. The surge in executions, including for drug violations and vague charges of "enmity against God" and "spreading corruption on earth," has drawn criticism from U.N. officials and human rights activists.
TEL AVIV - An Israeli minister officially tasked with fighting antisemitism defended Twitter CEO Elon Musk, saying that Israel did not view the tech mogul's recent comparison of Jewish financier George Soros to a comic book supervillain as antisemitic.

The minister's tweet came just days after Israel's Foreign Ministry said that antisemitic conspiracy theories and the phrase "The Jews" trended on Twitter after Musk's comment, which they said "reeked of antisemitism."

Late on Thursday, Israel's minister of diaspora affairs, Amichai Chikli, tweeted nearly the exact opposite. "As Israel's minister who's entrusted on combating anti-Semitism, I would like to clarify that the Israeli government and the vast majority of Israeli citizens see Elon Musk as an amazing entrepreneur and a role model.

"Criticism of Soros - who finances the most hostile organizations to the Jewish people and the state of Israel is anything but anti-Semitism, quite the opposite!" he added.

The contrast highlights Israel's split view of Soros, with some saying that his critics employ classic antisemitic tropes to delegitimize him, and conservatives who say his liberal politics cause damage to Israel and to the Jewish people.

On Monday, Musk sparked a Twitter storm after accusing Soros - the Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor and liberal billionaire philanthropist - of hating humanity and seeking "to erode the very fabric of civilization."

"Soros reminds me of Magneto," Musk tweeted late Monday, likening the financier to an evil Marvel comic book character who is portrayed as a Holocaust survivor seeking to replace humans with mutants as the world's dominant race. The character is based, according to its creator, on former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin.

Musk's comments came three days after Soros's investment fund reported having sold all its stock in Tesla, Musk's electric car company.

It also coincides with growing outrage over what critics say is Musk's gross mismanagement of the social media platform that has enabled the proliferation of antisemitism and other forms of hate speech. Since Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion last October, antisemitic tweets have at least doubled and accounts created to disseminate vitriolic content have risen threefold, according to an analysis by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a nonpartisan think tank, and CASM Technology, a start-up that researches disinformation and hate speech online.

Online vitriol against Soros has risen alongside Israel's far-right in recent years. Many say Soros's support for J Street, the moderate pro-peace lobbying group; B'Tselem, the human rights group; and other liberal groups in Israel and the Palestinian territories aims to delegitimize Israel. Many right-wing Israelis also accuse Soros of antisemitism.

Netanyahu has for years drawn criticism for his strategy of politicizing the Holocaust and has been accused of turning a blind eye to antisemitic incidents when they are endorsed or propagated by political allies abroad, especially in increasingly illiberal democracies like Hungary and Poland.

In 2017, in what was viewed as an attempt by Netanyahu to curry favor with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Israel's Foreign Ministry backed an Orban billboard campaign blaming Soros for Europe's immigration crisis.

Once again, there were split messages from Israel, with its ambassador to Hungary initially criticizing the campaign because it "evokes sad memories but also sows hatred and fear," referencing the complicity of Hungarian nationals in the deportation of 500,000 Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust. Hours later, the Foreign Ministry said that Soros "continuously undermines Israel's democratically elected governments."

Days later, Yair Netanyahu, the prime minister's son, posted a doctored meme showing Soros dangling a globe in front of a reptilian creature. The meme was shared widely on antisemitic conspiracy theory news sites and social media groups. It was retweeted by former Ku Klux Klan leader and Holocaust denier David Duke.

The neo-Nazi Daily Stormer website also congratulated the meme, calling Yair "a total bro."
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia  Smiles, a handshake and what Tunisian President Kais Saied called a "historic meeting" with the long-ostracized Syrian leader Bashar Assad.

The talks between the two presidents, held before the start on Friday of the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia, buried memories, and perhaps the legacy, of the Arab Spring which started in Tunisia 12 years ago. That series of uprising gave the North African country its first taste of democracy as protests rolled across the region, including in Syria.

"Today, I am absolutely convinced of Tunisian support for Syria," a statement from Saied's office said after what it called the "historic" meeting.

Tunisia, reborn after its 2011 revolution which toppled autocratic ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was among the fiercest critics of Assad. But Saied has largely trampled the gains of Tunisia's revolution since his 2019 election, notably by assuming near full powers after suspending the legislature in 2021 then dissolving it in his crackdown on corruption and dissent.

Tunisia resumed diplomatic relations with Syria in April, and Assad's presence at the Arab League summit sealed Syria's return to the club of Arab nations.

The official TAP news agency showed photos of him and Assad greeting each other with smiles, a warm hand shake and a sit-down for serious talks. Assad was invited to the residence where the Tunisian president was staying in Jeddah, the Saudi Arabian city hosting the summit.

Syria was kicked out of the club of Arab nations in 2011 at the start of its brutal civil war. That was months after Tunisia's revolution.

"We stand together against the movement of darkness," Assad said, apparently referring to extremist groups that came to dominate the Syrian opposition as his country's war ground on, and militants groups there drew a large number of recruits from Tunisia.

In an interview with Tunisian television, Assad said that the North African country "used to be a platform to propagate the (Islamist) mindset."

"After my meeting with Kais Saied, I am now convinced that the Arab people hasn't changed and Tunisia is the same," he was quoted as saying by the Radio Mosaique.

Among numerous figures jailed in Saied's crackdown is Rached Ghannouchi, head of the moderate Islamist party that triumphed in Tunisia's first free elections in October 2011. Ghannouchi was also speaker of the parliament that Saied dissolved.
TALLINN, Estonia  While the world awaits Ukraine's spring battlefield offensive, its leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has launched a diplomatic one. In the span of a week, he's dashed to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France and Britain to shore up support for defending his country.

On Friday, he was in Saudi Arabia to meet with Arab leaders, some of whom are allies with Moscow.

President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, was in the southern Russian city of Pyatigorsk, chairing a meeting with local officials, sitting at a large table at a distance from the other attendees.

The Russian president has faced unprecedented international isolation, with an International Criminal Court arrest warrant hanging over his head and clouding the prospects of traveling to many destinations, including those viewed as Moscow's allies.

With his invasion of Ukraine, "Putin took a gamble and lost really, really big time," said Theresa Fallon, director of the Brussels-based Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies. "He is an international pariah, really."

It was only 10 years ago when Putin stood proudly among his peers at the time - Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and Shinzo Abe  at a Group of Eight summit in Northern Ireland. Russia has since been kicked out of the group, which consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States, for illegally annexing Crimea in 2014.

Now it appears to be Ukraine's turn in the spotlight.

There were conflicting messages from Kyiv whether Zelenskyy would attend the G7 in Japan on Sunday. The secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council said on national television the president would be there, but the council later walked back those remarks, saying Zelenskyy would join via video link. The president's office would not confirm either way for security reasons.

But whether in person or via video, it would be of great symbolic and geopolitical significance.

"It conveys the fact that the G7 continues to strongly support Ukraine," said Nigel Gould-Davies, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "It's a visible marker of the continued commitment of the most highly industrialized and highly developed countries in the world."

It also comes at a time when the optics are just not in the Kremlin's favor.

There's uncertainty over whether Putin can travel to South Africa in August for a summit of the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Moscow has long showcased the alliance as an alternative to the West's global dominance, but this year it is already proving awkward for the Kremlin. South Africa, the host of the summit, is a signatory to the ICC and is obligated to comply with the arrest warrant on war crimes charges.

South Africa has not announced that Putin will definitely come to the summit but has been planning for his possible arrival. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed an inter-ministerial committee, led by Deputy President Paul Mashatile, to consider South Africa's options with regard to its ICC commitment over Putin's possible trip.

While it is highly unlikely the Russian president would be arrested there if he decides to go, the public debate about whether he can is in itself "an unwelcome development whose impact should not be underestimated," according to Gould-Davies.

Then there are Moscow's complicated relations with its own neighbors. Ten days ago, Putin projected the image of solidarity, with leaders of Armenia, Belarus and Central Asian states standing beside him at a Victory Day military parade on Red Square.

This week, however, the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan flocked to China and met with leader Xi Jinping at a summit that highlighted the erosion of Russia's influence in the region as Beijing seeks to make economic inroads into Central Asia.

Xi is using the opportunity "of a weakened Russia, a distracted Russia, almost a pariah-state Russia to increase (China's) influence in the region," Fallon said.

Putin's effort this month to shore up more friends in the South Caucasus by scrapping visa requirements for Georgian nationals and lifting a four-year ban on direct flights to the country also didn't appear to go as smoothly as the Kremlin may have hoped.

The first flight that landed Friday in Georgia was met with protests, and the country's pro-Western president has decried the move as a provocation.

Zelenskyy's ongoing world tour can be seen as a success on many levels.

Invitations from other world leaders is a sign they think Ukraine is "going to come out of the war in good shape," said Phillips P. O'Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Otherwise, "it simply wouldn't be happening," he said. "No one would want to be around a leader they think is going to be defeated and a country that's going to collapse."

By contrast, the ICC warrant might make it harder for leaders even to visit Putin in Moscow because "it's not a good look to visit an indicted war criminal," Gould-Davies said.

European leaders promised him an arsenal of missiles, tanks and drones, and even though no commitment has been made on fighter jets  something Kyiv has wanted for months  a conversation about finding ways to do it has begun.

His appearance Friday at the Arab League summit in Jeddah, a Saudi Arabian port on the Red Sea, highlighted Kyiv's effort to spread its plight for support far and wide, including in some countries whose sympathies are with Russia.

In addition to Zelenskyy, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also welcomed Syrian President Bashar Assad at the summit after a 12-year suspension  something analysts say aligns with Moscow's interests.

Anna Borshchevskaya, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute who focuses on Russia's policy in the Middle East, called it "another testament to the fact that Russia is not isolated globally for its invasion of Ukraine, that the Middle East is one part of the world where Russia is able to find avenues to avoid global isolation  both ideological isolation but also economic isolation."

She added that Zelenskyy and his government deserve credit for "in recognizing that they need to reach out more to improve their diplomatic efforts in this part of the world and other parts of the world where the Russian narrative resonates."

Kyiv could expect that "this is the beginning of a larger shift in perception that could eventually translate into potential support," Borshchevskaya said.

Similarly, the Ukrainian president's participation in the G7 summit is "a message to the rest of the world, to Russia and beyond, and the so-called Global South," Gould-Davies believes.

There is a concern in the West over the extent to which some major developing economies  Brazil, South Africa and, to a degree, India  "are not criticizing, not condemning Russia and indeed in various ways are helping to mitigate the impact of sanctions on Russia," he said.

"Collectively, economically, they matter. So there is, I think, this felt need for a renewed diplomatic campaign to bring some of these most important states into the kind of the Western way of looking at these things," Gould-Davies said.

Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London and Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa, contributed.
ABOARD THE USS PAUL HAMILTON IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ (AP)  The Mideast-based commanders of the U.S., British and French navies transited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday aboard an American warship, a sign of their unified approach to keep the crucial waterway open after Iran seized two oil tankers.

Tensions in the Persian Gulf have been volatile since Iran's nuclear deal with world powers collapsed, following the U.S.' unilateral withdrawal five years ago. The incredibly rare, joint trip by the three navy chiefs aboard the USS Paul Hamilton, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, saw three fast boats of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard approach the vessel at one point.

Guardsmen stood by uncovered machine guns on their decks, while sailors aboard the Paul Hamilton similarly stood by loaded machine guns as others shot photographs and video of the vessels. An Associated Press journalist also accompanied the allied naval commanders.

While the Guard kept its distance from both the Paul Hamilton and the passing British frigate HMS Lancaster, their presence showed just how tense passage for vessels can be in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of global oil supplies passes.

"Iran has seized or attacked 15 ships in the last two years. Eight seizures and seven attacks," Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, who oversees the U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet, told the AP. "So the shipping industry is mindful of what the security posture looks like in the region. We have the ability to positively impact that influence and that's what we're doing now."

Cooper said Iran's Guard ships Friday came within 1,000 yards (915 meters) of the Paul Hamilton, which is based out of San Diego.

The U.S. has viewed securing the Middle East's waterways, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, as key since then-President Jimmy Carter's 1980 speech vowing to use military force to protect American interests in the wider Persian Gulf. While focused then on the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, the Carter Doctrine's vow to allow "the free movement of Middle East oil" now pits the U.S. against Iran, which has seized a series of oil tankers since the collapse of its nuclear deal with world powers.

Last week, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists that America planned to make "a series of moves to bolster our defensive posture" in the Persian Gulf, while criticizing Iran's recent seizures of tankers. Cooper said the joint trip on the Paul Hamilton represented part of that push, with the aim of having more coalition ships passing through the strait on a regular basis.

"The volume of commerce that flows through the Strait of Hormuz  it is critical to the world's economy," he said.

For its part, Iran long has bristled at the American presence in the region. After Kirby's remarks, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani issued a lengthy statement accusing the U.S. of "creating and intensifying instability and insecurity in the Persian Gulf region for decades with its interventionist and destructive policies."

However, Kanaani also specifically mentioned the U.S. "seizing and confiscating some Iranian oil cargoes in international waters." The suspected American seizure of the Suez Rajan, a tanker linked to a U.S. private equity firm believed to have been carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil off Singapore, likely sparked Tehran to recently take the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Advantage Sweet. That ship carried Kuwaiti crude oil for energy firm Chevron Corp. of San Ramon, California.

There was no immediate reaction in Iranian state media nor from the Guard about the Paul Hamilton's trip from the Persian Gulf out through the strait to the Gulf of Oman. However, it was unlikely the Iranians immediately knew that the American, British and French commanders had been aboard the vessel, though at least one Guard member aboard the fast boats was studying the Paul Hamilton with a pair of binoculars.

Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the trip.

On the trip through the Strait of Hormuz, at least one Iranian drone watched the Paul Hamilton. Meanwhile, an U.S. Navy Boeing P-8 Poseidon also was overhead. U.S. forces also routinely fly drones in the region as well, while a Navy task force also has put some drones out to sea.

Securing the Strait of Hormuz has been a challenge since the Carter Doctrine  and deadly. The so-called 1980s "Tanker War" involved American naval ships escorting reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers through the gulf and the strait after Iranian mines damaged vessels in the region. The U.S. Navy even fought a one-day naval battle against Iran at the time, as well as accidentally shot down an Iranian commercial airliner, killing 290 people.

Former President Donald Trump's decision to unilaterally withdraw from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers sparked new challenges from Iran in the region. Tehran seized tankers, while the Navy also blamed Iran for again using mines against shipping. The Trump administration came up with its Sentinel program, which also involved it and partner nations escorting ships in the region. But tensions with Europe after the nuclear deal's collapse didn't see a wide buy-in with the program.

This renewed effort under President Joe Biden does not appear to involve escorting individual ships, but trying to put more allied forces in the region. Already, the U.S. has brought A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and a submarine in the region to try to deter Iran.

America also could bring more ships into the Persian Gulf. The end of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the war in Ukraine and American concern over China's expansion in the South China Sea, has halted routine carrier deployments in recent years.

For now, Cooper pointed to the presence of his British and French colleagues  Commodore Philip Dennis, the commander of the United Kingdom Maritime Component Command, and Vice Adm. Emmanuel Slaars, the joint commander of the French forces deployed in the Indian Ocean  as a sign of the resolve of America and its partners.

This is "part of our increase in presence in the region, which was described by the White House last week, and that's now in execution," Cooper said.
WASHINGTON  An optimistic President Joe Biden declared Wednesday he is confident the U.S. will avoid an unprecedented and potentially catastrophic debt default, saying talks with congressional Republicans have been productive. He left for a G-7 summit in Japan but planned to return by the weekend in hopes of approving a solid agreement.

Bidens upbeat remarks came as a select group of negotiators began meeting to try and hammer out the final contours of a budget spending deal to unlock a path for raising the debt limit as soon June 1. That is when the Treasury Department says the U.S. could begin defaulting on its obligations and trigger financial chaos.

Im confident that well get the agreement on the budget and America will not default, Biden said from the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

Democrat Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have traded blame for a debt-ceiling impasse for weeks. But Biden said of the latest White House session with congressional leaders that everyone came to the meeting, I think, in good faith.

McCarthy was upbeat, too, though contending Biden had given ground. The president said the budget talks were still separate from the debt limit issue, but the speaker said Biden had finally backed off his refusal to negotiate.

Biden said that every leader at Tuesdays Oval Office meeting  Vice President Kamala Harris, McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.  agreed the U.S. must not default on its obligations.

It would be catastrophic for the American economy and the American people if we didnt pay our bills, Biden said. Im confident everyone in the room agreed  that were going to come together because theres no alternative. We have to do the right thing for the country. We have to move on.

He said he would be in constant contact with White House officials while at the summit in Hiroshima. He is canceling stops in Australia and Papua New Guinea that were to follow so he can return to Washington on Sunday.

Biden and McCarthy tasked a handful of representatives to work swiftly to try and close out a final deal. They include Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president; legislative affairs director Louisa Terrell and Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young for the administration, and Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., a close McCarthy ally, for the Republicans.

Agreement by the negotiators would still leave any deal needing approval by Democratic Senate and Republican House.

Democrats are upset about the possibility of new work requirements for some recipients of government aid. And Republicans want much tougher budget restraints than the Democrats support.

The positive comments by Biden and McCarthy suggest they believe they can gain the backing of their parties lawmakers.

McCarthy was flanked Wednesday on the Capitol steps by some of the most conservative Republicans from the House and Senate in a feisty show of support.

The national debt currently stands at $31.4 trillion. An increase in the debt limit would not authorize new federal spending; it would only allow for borrowing to pay for what Congress has already approved.

The contours of an agreement have begun to take shape, but the details of spending cuts and policy changes will make or break whether the divided Congress can strike a bipartisan deal with the White House.

In exchange for lifting the debt limit to keep paying the bills, newly majority House Republicans are trying to extract steep budget caps of no more than 1% growth a year over the next decade, alongside bolstered work requirements.

Negotiators are preparing to claw back some $30 billion of unspent COVID-19 aid, now that the government has lifted the pandemic emergency. And they are working on a potential agreement for permit changes that would speed the development of energy projects that both Republicans and Democrats want, though the details remain daunting.

But Democrats are not at all willing to accept the 10-year cap on spending that Republicans approved in their own House bill, and the Democrats are instead pushing for a shorter window of budget cuts.

Biden is facing fierce blowback from progressive Democrats after he opened the door to tougher work requirements. But he insisted Wednesday any new work requirements would be of no consequence and that hes not willing to impact health programs, presumably referring to Medicaid.

Asked about that, the Republicans behind McCarthy  who support more work requirements on Medicaid, food stamps and cash assistance programs  broke out in laughter at the Capitol.

The Republicans scoffed aloud as helicopters with the presumably departing Biden flew overhead.

McCarthy, who depended on Donald Trumps backing to become the new speaker, still has work to do to keep his narrow House majority in line for any final deal, particularly among the hardline Freedom Caucus conservatives who almost blocked his election earlier this year for the gavel.

Former President Trump has encouraged Republicans to do a default if they dont get everything they want from Biden.

Bipartisanship is needed, Schumer said Wednesday. Its the only way to go.

As backup on Wednesday, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries launched a process that would force a vote on raising the debt limit.

Its a cumbersome legislative discharge procedure, but Jeffries urged House Democrats to sign on to the measure in hopes of gathering the 218 majority backers including Republicans needed to put it in motion.

Emerging from the White House meeting, I am hopeful that a real pathway exists to find an acceptable, bipartisan resolution that prevents a default, Jeffries said in a letter to colleagues.

However, given the impending June 1 deadline and urgency of the moment, it is important that all legislative options be pursued in the event that no agreement is reached.
SANTA FE, N.M.  Videos released Thursday of this week's deadly rampage in northwest New Mexico recorded a voice said to be the shooter urging police to "kill me" and officers rushing toward the 18-year-old gunman before fatally shooting him outside a church.

"He is yelling on the Ring footage, 'Come kill me,'" Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said of Beau Wilson, the high school senior who authorities say killed three older women during the attack.

"He's making a stand, he has opportunities to run off, he does not use those opportunities," Hebbe said. "So yes it's my belief that ultimately in his head, he has made the decision that he is going to stand and fight it out until he is killed."

Three older woman were killed Monday by the shooter, including a mother and daughter who happened to be driving through the neighborhood. The victims were identified as longtime Farmington residents Gwendolyn Dean Schofield, 97, her 73-year-old daughter, Melody Ivie, and 79-year-old Shirley Voita.

At least six other people were wounded in the shootings, which sent waves of grief rippling through the community of 50,000 people. They included two police officers, who have been released from medical care as they recover.

Hebbe's comments mirrored an account from witness Candi Brammell, who lives next to the church and told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that the gunman seemed to be egging police on, saying: "Come on!"

Brammell said she couldn't believe what she was seeing as Wilson opened fire. Within an instant, he was exchanging shots with the police and then was down in the grass.

Wilson lived with his father in a home that contained an arsenal of weapons and ammunition, apparently legally owned, according to law enforcement authorities. He bought an assault-style rifle last year after he turned 18.

On Monday, police say, he began shooting indiscriminately with the rifle from the front porch area of the home.

The first person hit was Voita, a retired school nurse who was driving by. Video released by police showed her car rolling down the street with the door open after she managed to get out.

Video also showed the path of a vehicle carrying Schofield and Ivie, who stopped to help. Schofield was a teacher her entire career, and Melody followed in her footsteps by running a preschool for 40 years.

"They see something in the road, which turns out to be (Voita), and they're in the process of pulling over" when another hail of gunfire erupts, Hebbe said, narrating the images. "At that time we believe all those rounds are fired from (the rifle)."

Police say Wilson soon dropped the weapon into some bushes even though it still held more live ammunition.

Wilson then walked down the street for about a quarter mile, spraying bullets indiscriminately using two pistols. He discharged a .22-caliber gun and then depleted rounds from a 9-mm weapon in the final shootout with police, during which he let off at least 18 rounds.

He wore what appeared to be a modified protective vest with steel plates, but authorities say he discarded the vest before the shootout with police.

Police body camera video showed the perspective of one officer walking and running down the middle of the residential street, readying an assault rifle in one hand while barking commands into a radio in the other. On the run, he takes cues from a local resident and a dog runs beside them.

That video is later partially obscured, but a shadow on the ground shows the officer bracing in firing position for the final confrontation.

"I have eyes on the suspect. He's walking south. He's wearing all black," an officer tells dispatchers in another video segment.

He then yells, "Farmington police! Let's see your hands!"

A police car speeds by with flashing lights and sirens.

Video from the body camera of Sgt. Rachel Discenza showed her pointing her handgun toward where the suspect was standing. Amid an exchange of gunfire, she falls to the ground, and says: "I'm shot."

She struggles unsuccessfully to get up, and a fellow officer uses her belt as a tourniquet.

"We got one hit. Get me a medic here for sarge," he yells.

In the grass in front of the church, officers rush to the suspect after the gunfire subsides, telling him not to move. One officer cuffs him, while another says, "Subject is down. He is secured."

A note was later found in the pocket of the discarded vest that said, "If your reading this im the end of the chapter.

The gunman's body was left in the grass for a time as investigators worked the scene, and it was unclear then how many times he was shot.

Police said earlier this week that they couldn't say how many gunshot wounds the victims had suffered and were waiting on the medical investigator's report, which had not been made public as of Thursday.

Neighbor Bryan Brown, who was among those who ran to render first aid, told AP that Voita had gunshot wounds to the leg and the head.

Relatives of the three slain women said each left an indelible mark that will continue to shape the lives of others.

"In immeasurable ways, this heart-wrenching incident has impacted not only our family, but those of the Voita and Wilson families," the Schofield and Ivie family said Thursday in a statement. "We have a shared grief and ask for continued prayers and privacy as we embody the faith, grace and love of our mother and grandmother and embark on a path of healing and forgiveness."

Police have been probing for motivations behind Monday's rampage, which took place the day before Wilson was due to graduate from high school, amid some indications from relatives of prior mental health issues.

Efforts were underway by authorities to access medical and school records that might shed light on his mental history.

Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque and Snow reported from Phoenix.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 89, returned to Washington last week after having suffered more severe health complications from her shingles diagnosis than were previously disclosed.

Feinsteins shingles triggered encephalitis, which is inflammation of the brain, as well as Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which causes facial paralysis, according to Feinstein spokesman Adam Russell, who added that the senator has since recovered from the encephalitis complication. The additional health issues, stemming from the case of shingles that hospitalized the six-term senator in February, were first reported by the New York Times.

Feinstein (D-Calif.) returned to the Senate last week after facing pressure to resign from a few members of Congress and California progressive groups, who complained her months-long absence was slowing judicial confirmations and imperiling the Democratic agenda.

Feinstein returned in a wheelchair and was greeted outside the Capitol by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who later said that he planned to move forward on many more judges with her vote in the coming weeks.

Although her return has resolved Democrats math problem on close votes, her condition has raised concerns that she might not be up for the demands of the job.

The pathbreaking senator has withstood multiple rounds of calls for her resignation even before her recent illness, as unflattering anecdotes emerged about her memory lapses and her perceived cognitive decline, as well as her visible reliance on aides in public-facing aspects of her job.

This week, that picture worsened, as she faced questions from reporters from her wheelchair as she appeared to be struggling with her vision and memory. She sounded confused in responding to one group of reporters about her weeks-long absence, saying Ive been here and insisting that she hadnt been gone from the Capitol, according to the Los Angeles Times. And on Thursday, Feinstein denied she had been diagnosed with encephalitis, characterizing it as a really bad flu, in a brief hallway interview with CNN.

Her office later clarified that Feinstein misspoke in the interview because her doctors had not used the term encephalitis with her during her treatment.

When discussing the shingles complications with her doctors, they often spoke in broader terms when describing the complications, rather than always using medical terminology, Russell said in a statement.

Her aides said last week she would be working a lighter schedule as she continued to suffer some complications from the shingles, including vision and balance trouble, and she has missed a few votes since her return.

Feinstein is not running for reelection but has said she plans to serve out the remainder of her term. Her allies and former aides say Feinstein never wavered in her desire to return to Washington and in her disinterest in resigning in recent weeks.

If she does step down, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has said he would appoint a Black woman to her spot, which could scramble the California Senate race to replace her, dominated by Democratic Reps. Adam B. Schiff, Barbara Lee and Katie Porter. Lee, a Black woman, would have an advantage in the primary if Newsom were to tap her as Feinsteins replacement  a fact that has led to public sparring between allies of different candidates over Feinsteins fate.

Its a sad situation, said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who supports Lee and has previously called on Feinstein to resign. I wish people just would put politics aside and talk to her about stepping down. That is the morally right thing to do and the right thing for our nation. (Khanna added that he wanted Feinsteins friends and family to convince her to step down.)

But Feinsteins allies have pushed back on calls for her to resign, with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who backs Schiff in the primary, suggesting those calls are sexist.

Pelosis eldest daughter, Nancy Corinne Prowda, has also been accompanying Feinstein throughout her illness in San Francisco and now back at the Capitol, and has been friends with the senator for decades, according to Feinsteins office. Prowdas position at Feinsteins side has led some to suggest Pelosi is supportive of Feinstein remaining in her role to boost her preferred candidate, Schiff. Its an accusation Pelosi firmly denied Thursday.

Speaker Emerita Pelosi and Senator Feinstein have been friends since long before their service in Congress  and their friendship is personal, not political, Pelosis spokesman Aaron Bennett said in a statement. Anyone who knows Senator Feinstein knows that her service in the Senate is entirely her own decision, and Speaker Emerita Pelosi would never suggest otherwise.

Republicans blocked a proposal to allow Feinstein to be temporarily replaced on the Judiciary Committee during her months-long absence, putting more pressure on Feinstein to return while a few judges languished in the committee.

Democrats celebrated Feinsteins return last week, given her vote is often crucial to push through the priorities of their narrow majority in the Senate. Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the Judiciary Committee who has complained that her absence hamstrung his committee at a crucial time, expressed his relief on May 12 that she was back. Her return also takes pressure off Schumer, who now can count on Feinsteins vote when needed for close confirmations  even if her health troubles appear to be lingering.

Im back in Washington, voting and attending committee meetings while I recover from complications related to a shingles diagnosis, the senator said in a statement. I continue to work and get results for California.

Feinstein has been a towering figure in California for more than five decades, entering politics in 1969 when she was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and later becoming the first female mayor of San Francisco. Since winning her Senate seat in a special election in 1992, Feinstein has been reelected five times, tangling with the intelligence community in her determination to release information about the governments clandestine use of torture and playing a key role in the passage of the now-expired assault weapons ban.

Shes resisted calls to step aside from some Democrats before, including when she ran for reelection at 85 years old in 2018. But she has also slowly relinquished some of her Senate roles since then. She stepped down as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee when she was on track to become the first woman to chair the powerful panel. And last year, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) became president pro tempore of the Senate, a position third in line to the presidency given to the most senior senator of the party in power, after Feinstein declined to take the title.

When she announced earlier this year that she would retire at the end of her term, Senate colleagues regaled her legacy with high praise, calling her a legend, a titan, and, in the words of President Biden, her former Senate colleague, one of the very best.

Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which causes chickenpox in childhood but can hide out in peoples nerve cells and reactivate years later. Feinstein has received the shingles vaccine, her office said previously.

A Danish study found that encephalitis related to the varicella-zoster virus occurred mainly in elderly and immunocompromised people, and risk factors for a poor outcome included advanced age.

A full spectrum of recovery is possible, ranging from complete recovery to lingering symptoms. These almost always improve with time, said Anne Louise Oaklander, a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, who said it was impossible to know a patients case without examining them firsthand. She said in general, young and healthy people tend to be the most resilient.

Felicia Chow, a neuro-infectious disease specialist at the University of California at San Francisco, said that diagnosing encephalitis in shingles is tricky and that to truly understand Feinsteins case, more information is needed on the severity of encephalitis and how quickly treatment was started. Identifying the encephalitis early usually leads to better outcomes.

She also said that a range of outcomes were possible for patients, but that age and preexisting cognitive issues could put a person at higher risk of lingering neurological impairment. Just given her age alone, the outcomes and potential neurological issues after an infection like that are a lot higher risk for ongoing neurological impairment, Chow said.
QORQANYA, Syria  U.S. military officials are walking back claims that a recent strike in Syria killed an influential al-Qaida figure, following assertions by the dead mans family that he had no ties to terrorists but was a father of 10 tending to his sheep when he was slain by an American missile.

Lotfi Hassan Masto, 56, whose family identified him as the victim of a Hellfire missile attack on May 3, was a former bricklayer who lived quietly in this town in northwest Syria, according to interviews with his brother, son and six others who knew him. They described a kind, hard-working man whose whole life was spent poor.

The operation was overseen by U.S. Central Command, which claimed hours after the strike, without citing evidence or naming a suspect, that the Predator drone strike had targeted a senior Al Qaeda leader. But now there is doubt inside the Pentagon about who was killed, two U.S. defense officials told The Washington Post.

We are no longer confident we killed a senior AQ official, one official said. The other, offering a slightly different view, said though we believe the strike did not kill the original target, we believe the person to be al-Qaida. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss preliminary determinations of an ongoing investigation into the incident.

In the weeks since the attack, U.S. military officials have refused to identify publicly who their target was, how the apparent error occurred, whether a legitimate terrorist leader escaped and why some in the Pentagon maintain Masto was a member of al-Qaida despite his familys denials.

In a statement, Michael Lawhorn, a spokesman for Central Command, said officials are aware of reports of a civilian casualty and continue to assess the outcome.

Centcom takes all such allegations seriously and is investigating to determine whether or not the action may have unintentionally resulted in harm to civilians, Lawhorn said Thursday.

Typically the Pentagon will widen such investigations if enough credible evidence of civilian harm emerges, raising questions in this case about whether the information used to authorize the attack has held up to scrutiny.

Last year, facing accusations the military had covered up past instances of errant airstrikes that killed innocent people, the Biden administration vowed to take steps it said would reduce such risks while promising greater transparency when unintended killings do occur. Investigations conducted by multiple media outlets, including The Post, have revealed how flawed intelligence and what the military calls confirmation bias have led to disaster, including a 2021 strike during the U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan that officials initially declared had resulted in the death of a suicide bomber but instead killed 10 Afghan civilians, including 7 children.

The Post provided four terrorism experts with details about Masto and where he lived, and asked them to survey online discussions among jihadists after the strike for any talk about the attack in Qorqanya. None found references indicating Masto was affiliated with a terrorist group. And each said it would be very unusual for al-Qaida  particularly a senior leader  to operate in any meaningful way near the area, which is controlled by a rival group that split from the organization years ago and now considers al-Qaida an adversary.

The drone strike occurred near Mastos home and chicken farm. The Post shared those coordinates with one of the U.S. defense officials, who said the location is near a known area of interest to al-Qaida but declined to specify which building or buildings were of concern to the United States. Mastos neighbors told The Post that terrorists do not live or operate near the home.

It is unclear whether American commanders overseeing the strike realized Masto lived close by, and whether his homes proximity to the known area of interest to al-Qaida was a factor in their belief that he was a militant.

The Post obtained images showing Mastos face before and after his death and provided those to Central Command. Officials there have not said whether they believe he is the man killed in the strike. Two facial recognition experts who reviewed the imagery said they were confident it showed the same person, with one experts analysis reaching 90 percent certainty. A third found inconclusive results.

The strike

Details about what transpired before and after the U.S. attack were gathered from interviews with Mastos family and neighbors and images provided by the Syrian Civil Defense, a humanitarian response group often referred to as the White Helmets which responded to the strike location within minutes.

Mastos neighbors described his routines of drinking tea with family and friends, tending to his animals and leaving home mostly to pray at his mosque. He was a traditional Muslim, they said, and did not own a phone.

The morning of May 3 was unremarkable, his son Hassan said. Masto gathered with family at about 7:30 a.m. We had breakfast that morning like there was nothing wrong. We had breakfast and everything was fine, and then he went to herd his sheep, the son recalled.

Masto took a break after a few hours outside near his home to have tea with his brother. They parted ways around 11:30 a.m., and he returned to his animals as they grazed in a rolling field of shrubs, twisting trees and rock outcroppings.

An MQ-9 Predator drone soared overhead, tracking Mastos footsteps through the field. Such aircraft had been surveilling the area for nearly two weeks, neighbors said. The Hellfire missile hit him not far from where he had tea with his brother just 20 minutes earlier.

The explosion sent a pillar of smoke into the bright blue sky, raising alarm in the town.

A local resident contacted the White Helmets through an emergency number, and a team of first responders arrived within 10 minutes. At least one wore a video camera on his helmet.

The previously unpublished video, which was provided to The Post, shows a dozen people standing nearby as the aid workers arrive. Most stare in shock. Some cry.

The video shows two men attempting to pull one of Mastos sons, Muhammed Masto, away from his fathers severely disfigured body as another man covers it with a shirt. Mastos wife identified her husbands remains to the White Helmets, a spokesperson said, who then took the body to a hospital in town.

Video and images published online show sheeps corpses intermixed with fragments from the missile.

Terror experts skeptical

Typically, when al-Qaida leaders are killed, sympathizers announce their deaths online as a celebration of martyrdom, said Jerome Drevon, a senior analyst on jihad and modern conflict with the International Crisis Group. If the victim was a lower level member of the organization, groups may not announce their death, he said, but people close to them will, often saying how they were connected to the group. In this case, Drevon said there was nothing.

Rita Katz, executive director of SITE Intelligence Group, which closely tracks online activity of jihadist organizations, did not find anything online that suggested Masto was active with or tied to al-Qaida. None of the posts Katz reviewed cast doubt on Mastos civilian status, she said.

Very quickly after this strike, the White Helmets came out and identified the individual with his name and his profession. Locals came forward to say, this guys always been a farmer. Hes never had any political activities; hes never had any affiliation with armed groups, said Charles Lister, the director of Syria and Countering Terrorism and Extremism at the Middle East Institute. The pace and breadth of such push-back was actually quite unusual.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a militant group that controls the de facto local government and military force in Syrias Idlib Province, visited the site later in the day and removed missile components. A spokesperson for the group, also known as HTS, told The Post the victim was a civilian. The group did not respond to additional questions or requests for comment.

HTS, a U.S. designated terror group, was affiliated with al-Qaida but broke ties in 2016 and has since removed anyone from the area who does not agree with their viewpoints, the experts said.

Even if a few al-Qaida leaders are still on the ground in Idlib province, Drevon said, they literally cant act since HTS has forbidden them from conducting any military activities. All of them are surviving underground or living on the run. They know well that HTS can arrest them at any time.

In interviews, Mastos family and longtime neighbors said the accusation of an al-Qaida affiliation struck them as bizarre.

He was born here and died here, said a neighbor who called himself Abu Zaid.

Mastos brother was more pointed. If they claim that hes a terrorist, or that they got someone from al-Qaida, he said, theyre all liars.

Kelly and Horton reported from Washington, and Piper reported from London. The Washington Posts Sarah Dadouch in Beirut, Cate Brown in Washington and Nilo Tabrizy in New York contributed to this report.
AUSTIN, Texas  A former battalion commander at Fort Polk will face a court-martial next month for abusive sexual contact and mistreating a subordinate, the Army post in Louisiana said Friday.

Lt. Col. Jon-Paul Depreo, 42, was fired as commander of the 46th Engineer Battalion in January 2023 for a loss of trust and confidence in his judgment and ability to command, said Shelby Waryas, Fort Polk spokeswoman.

Following a criminal investigation, Depreo on May 4 was referred to a military trial for one count of abusive sexual contact, one count of maltreatment of a subordinate, and two counts of conduct unbecoming of an officer for his alleged actions, Waryas said. She did not provide further information.

An arraignment and trial are scheduled for June 26 and Depreo will plead guilty to some or all the charges, according to the Armys online court docket. No judge or attorney names were listed on the docket.

Depreo took command of the engineer battalion June 17, 2021, according to the unit.

His time in command overlapped almost a month with the units previous top enlisted soldier, Command Sgt. Maj. Jeremy Compton, who was fired later in June 2021 amid his own criminal investigation. He is now awaiting a court-martial for charges of distributing child pornography, adultery and sharing explicit photographs of himself while in uniform.

The cases of Depreo and Compton are not related, Waryas said.

Compton, 45, allegedly committed his crimes between August 2020 and June 2021, according to court documents. Originally scheduled for a jury trial on May 30 with a plea of not guilty, the online court docket now shows Compton will plead guilty to some or all the charges on June 1.
NEW DELHI, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday left for a three-day visit to Japan to attend G7 Summit, said an official statement issued by the prime minister's office.

"I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them. I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 Summit," Modi said in a statement prior to his departure.

After Japan, Modi will also visit Papua New Guinea and Australia, said the statement.

This will be the first-ever visit by any Indian Prime Minister to Papua New Guinea, according to the statement. 
Fogarty has 54 previous convictions, including a conviction for murder for which he is serving a life sentence

A convicted murderer who tried to murder another man during a shooting on Dublin's northside in 2019 has been jailed by the Special Criminal Court for 15 years.

Sentencing Bernard Fogarty at the non-jury court today, presiding judge Mr Justice Tony Hunt said the organised hit on Mark Ivers warranted a headline sentence of 20 years, but Fogarty's "wise course of action" in pleading guilty would see a deduction of five years.

Last March at Fogarty's sentence hearing, the non-jury court heard that the defendant was the balaclava-clad gunman who tried to murder Mark Ivers during the shooting in Donaghmede.

Bernard Fogarty (35) with an address at Cromcastle Court, Kilmore, Coolock, Dublin 5, had pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Mr Ivers at Streamville Road, Donaghmede, Dublin 13, on September 6, 2019.

Fogarty has 54 previous convictions, including a conviction for murder for which he is serving a life sentence.

In December of last year, judges at the Special Criminal Court convicted both Fogarty and Robert Redmond of the gun-murder of father-of-five Barry Wolverson, who died after spending more than a year in a coma. They were both given the mandatory life sentence for the murder.

Both men were also found guilty of assault causing harm to Gerard Wildman, who was also shot during the same attack at around midday on January 17, 2020.

Before delivering the sentence today, Mr Justice Hunt said that Fogarty had pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Mr Ivers in Donaghmede last February. What had emerged from the event, the judge said, was an organised attempted murder which the court was all too familiar with and that the evidence in the case bore all the normal hallmarks of that type of crime. "The evidence is entirely typical of a crime of this type," he added.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Hunt said the court must compose a proportionate sentence which marries the culpability and gravity of the offence.

Having regard to the gravity of the offence, the judge said the maximum sentence was life in prison.

He said the headline sentence must reflect the culpability of the defendant and set it at 20 years imprisonment.

The judge said that barrister Seamus Clarke SC, defending Fogarty, had identified a few things that could be said in favour of his client and that the court was bound to take those matters into account.

Mr Clarke previously pointed out that Fogarty had a history of drug and alcohol misuse. He said his client had entered a guilty plea to the attempted murder of Mr Ivers, and asked the court to be as lenient as it could.

In mitigation, the judge noted that the significant mitigating factor in a case as complicated as this was the defendant's guilty plea and that a plea in such circumstances had very considerable value. He said: "Mr Fogarty is undoubtedly entitled to normal credit for the wise course of action he took".

Mr Justice Hunt also referred to Fogarty's previous convictions and current circumstances, pointing out that today's sentence may not affect the defendant's duration in custody. However, the judge said that "a different body" might come to consider an application he may make in a different case. "Bearing all that in mind, we will apply a discount for his wise course of action," he added.

Mr Justice Hunt, sitting with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Alan Mitchell, sentenced Fogarty to 15 years imprisonment. The presiding judge said that there was no convincing reason why that sentence should not date from today's date.

Sean Gillane SC, prosecuting, informed the court that the accused went into custody on this matter on July 12 2021. However, Mr Justice Hunt said there was no good reason why there should be any backdate in the case.
Timothy Schofield, 54, was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019

The paedophile brother of TV presenter Phillip Schofield has been jailed for 12 years after being convicted of child sex offences.

Timothy Schofield, 54, was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child, after a trial at Exeter Crown Court in April.

Schofield, a civilian police worker from Bath, Somerset, told the jury while giving evidence that he had watched pornography with the boy who he insisted was over the age of 16 at the time.

He claimed they had masturbated while sitting apart and denied performing sexual acts on the teenager.

However, the jury found Schofield guilty on all counts with a majority of 10-2 after more than five-and-a-half hours of deliberation.

Avon and Somerset Police later dismissed Schofield, who had been suspended from his job at the force's headquarters in Portishead after being arrested and charged, without notice.

Mrs Justice Cutts, sentencing Schofield at Bristol Crown Court on Friday, told him: "You exploited his innocence at this stage of his life for your own sexual gratification.

"It was wrong on every level for you to behave as you did.

"He felt forced to do what you wanted, trapped and unable to escape. He felt he couldn't tell anyone and did not do so for many years.

"You took away his ability to be the teenager he should have been - carefree, relaxed, happy. It is clear to me that you became utterly obsessed with him."

She added: "Your actions and behaviour have had a devastating impact on the boy.

"In doing what you did, you thought only of yourself.

"I have not heard a single word of remorse from you, only self-pity."

The judge, who imposed a sexual harm prevention order on Schofield and barred him from working with children, commended the courage of the boy for reporting the abuse.

After sentencing Schofield, she said: "I sincerely hope that the boy and his family find a way to move forward from the dreadful events and I commend him for his bravery."

In a victim personal statement read to the court by Robin Shellard, prosecuting, the boy said he felt "numb to life" following the abuse.

He said: "Before Tim was arrested, I felt I had no freedom. I often felt panic, stress and fear. I felt like I was trapped in a loop of fear and anxiety of the abuse happening again.

"It was only after Tim was arrested that I felt safe. It was only after Tim was arrested that I felt free - free to be me, free to be happy, free to be relaxed."

The boy added: "I feel more blunt, I feel more bitter, I feel numb to life. I know I should feel really happy or really sad but I don't have the ability to emotionally connect to what is happening."

Representing Schofield, Peter Binder said his client had no previous convictions and had mental health issues.

"To his eternal shame, he completely lost any semblance of a moral compass," Mr Binder told the court.

"Described by his closest friend as a broken man following his arrest, the signs are he was really broken long before that."

During the trial, jurors heard that Schofield told his elder brother Phillip in September 2021 that he and the complainant had watched pornography together.

TV star Phillip Schofield

In a written statement read to the jury, Phillip Schofield described how his brother came to his home in London and they spent several hours talking and eating a meal before he went to do the washing up.

The TV star told how his brother said "You are going to hate me for what I am about to say", with him assuring him there was nothing he could say that would do that.

Mr Schofield said in the statement: "Then he said that he and (the boy) had time together and that last year they had watched porn ... and (masturbated).

"I turned and said, 'What did you just say?' He said it was last year and we were alone together. Tim said it was just this once. I told him it should never happen again.

"I said, 'F***, stop'. I shouted at Tim that he had to stop. I didn't want to know any of the details but he made it sound like a one-off.

"I said, 'I don't want you to tell me any more'. I said, 'You've got to stop, just never do it again. Regardless how that happened, it must never happen again'."

In a statement released by his lawyer after the guilty verdict, the This Morning host said: "My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family. I hope that their privacy will now be respected.

"If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my brother, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family.

"These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother."

Timothy Schofield was convicted of three counts of causing a child to watch sexual activity, three of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, three of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and two of sexual activity with a child.

Speaking outside Bristol Crown Court following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Keith Smith of Avon and Somerset Police described Schofield's offending as "sickening".

Schofield was arrested, interviewed and charged within 48 hours of the offences being reported to the force in December 2021.

He was dismissed without notice during a misconduct hearing held after his criminal convictions and will now be placed on a national barred list preventing him from working in law enforcement in the future.

Det Insp Smith said: "The victim in this case has shown remarkable bravery in disclosing the horrific offences committed against them, and their support of the police investigation and court process has been invaluable.

"We hope their courage and determination will encourage other victims of sexual abuse to come forward and speak to the police, no matter how long ago the offences were committed."

He said the offences committed by Schofield were not connected to his employment with the police but the fact he was a member of police staff will be "of great concern" to the public.

"It's important to stress that before the allegations were made to the police in December 2021, there were no prior complaints or allegations made about this defendant, and his former colleagues have been horrified by the offences he's now been convicted of," Det Insp Smith added.

"But we want to be absolutely clear, we're on a mission to root out all those who betray the standards and values we're committed to uphold. The public must be able to trust police officers and staff, and protecting this bond of trust is our priority.

"Finally, we want to thank all those who supplied us with information and evidence in support of our investigation, which has ultimately enabled us to achieve justice for the victim in this case."
He had told gardai he had come to Dublin for a short time and intended to return to Lanzarote.

A FATHER-of-three was caught red handed driving a car that had more than 1m worth of cannabis stored inside, it is alleged.

Derek Landers (41) appeared in Dublin District Court today charged over the seizure yesterday.

He was granted bail at 80,000 and remanded in custody until he is able to take it up.

Mr Landers, living in Lanzarote but with an address at Park Terrace, Dungarvan, Co Waterford, is charged with possession of cannabis with intent to sell or supply.

The incident is alleged to have happened at Promenade Road, Dublin 1.

Garda Eoghan McGowan told Judge Bryan Smyth he arrested the accused yesterday and brought him to Store Street garda station, where he was charged at 11.25pm.

Objecting to bail, he said the case involved some 54kg of cannabis herb with an estimated street value of 1,080,000.

It was very likely a further more serious charge would be brought in the case, the court heard.

It was alleged the accused was caught red handed driving the vehicle that the drugs were stored in.

Gardai were concerned that Mr Landers was a flight risk. He lived in Lanzarote in Spain with his partner and three children, having moved there 20 years ago.

He had told gardai he had come to Dublin for a short time and intended to return to Lanzarote.

A follow-up search was carried out at the address he provided in Waterford but no belongings of his were found there and it was clear to the gardai he no longer resides at that address.

The accused had told gardai that he resided with friends while in Dublin, Gda McGowan said.

He had travelled to Ireland using a passport card and his passport was in Lanzarote.

Applying for bail, defence solicitor Tony Collier said the accuseds parents lived in two different counties and he was welcome to stay with his mother in Cork.

Mr Landers had been working and paying taxes in Lanzarote where he lived with his partner and children. However, he now intended setting up residence in Ireland and his family were going to return from Lanzarote to join him.

Judge Smyth granted bail in the accuseds own bond of 1,000, with no cash lodgement. He also required a court-approved independent surety of 80,000, half of which is to be lodged in cash.

Under conditions, Mr Landers must surrender his passport, live at an address in Ireland approved by the gardai, observe a night time curfew, sign on daily at a garda station and provide a contact phone number.

He was remanded in custody to Cloverhill District Court on May 26, with consent to bail.

Mr Collier asked the judge to reduce the independent surety, saying the accused did not have access to anyone with that amount of money.

The judge refused, saying while the value of drugs was substantial, he was not just basing his decision on this. He said it was a very serious matter with an element of flight risk.

The accused has not yet entered a plea to the charge.
XI'AN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday charted the course for China-Central Asia cooperation in the new era at a milestone summit with leaders of five Central Asian countries.

The China-Central Asia Summit, which runs from Thursday to Friday, was attended by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan.

Xi made an eight-point proposal ranging from expanding economic ties to strengthening cultural exchanges and safeguarding regional peace in his keynote address at the summit in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

China is ready to take the summit as an opportunity and work closely with Central Asian countries to ensure the China-Central Asia cooperation is well planned, effectively implemented, and steadily advanced, Xi said.

To strengthen cooperation mechanisms, China proposes to establish meeting and dialogue mechanisms in industry and investment, agriculture, transportation, emergency management, education, and political party affairs, Xi said.

More trade facilitation measures will be rolled out and bilateral investment agreements will be upgraded to bring trade volume to a new height, Xi said.

As to enhancing connectivity, China will boost cross-border freight volume, support the construction of a cross-Caspian Sea international transport corridor, accelerate the upgrade of ports, develop China-Europe freight train hubs, and encourage businesses to build overseas warehouses in Central Asian countries, Xi said.

In terms of energy cooperation, China proposes to build a China-Central Asia energy development partnership, accelerate the construction of Line D of the China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline, increase oil and gas trade, develop energy cooperation across the industrial chain, and boost cooperation in new energy and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

China is ready to promote green innovation cooperation with Central Asian countries, Xi said, citing soil treatment, water-efficient irrigation, and the establishment of high-tech businesses and information technology parks in Central Asia.

To bolster development capacity, China will formulate plans for cooperation with Central Asian countries in reducing poverty through science and technology, Xi said. Chinese-funded businesses will be encouraged to create more local jobs. China will provide 26 billion yuan (about 3.72 billion U.S. dollars) of financing support and free assistance to Central Asian countries.

With regard to cultural exchanges, China will invite Central Asian countries to participate in the Cultural Silk Road program, build more traditional medicine centers, and promote the launch of special trains for cultural tourism, Xi said.

Xi stressed that China is ready to help Central Asian countries improve their law enforcement, security, and defense capacity building in an effort to safeguard regional peace. Efforts should also be made to make good use of the mechanism of coordination among Afghanistan's neighbors and jointly promote peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

China is willing to strengthen exchanges with Central Asian countries in modernization concepts and practice, synergize development strategies, and make joint efforts to promote modernization of the six countries, Xi said. 
Mr Burke must pay in addition to around 80,000 in fines he has already amassed for defying a court order restraining him from going to the school premises

The High Court has found Wilsons Hospital School behaved lawfully when it suspended schoolteacher Enoch Burke last August.

The decision leaves Mr Burke facing a six-figure legal bill, as the court said its provisional view was that he should pay the schools costs.

In a ruling delivered today, Mr Justice Alexander Owens also awarded the Co Westmeath school 15,000 in damages for trespass, which Mr Burke must pay in addition to around 80,000 in fines he has already amassed for defying a court order restraining him from going to the school premises.

The judge also dismissed a counterclaim the teacher had against the school in which he sought declarations that the disciplinary process against him was an unlawful interference with his constitutional rights.

The teacher has also claimed that a report prepared by the then school principal Niamh McShane was compiled in breach of natural justice and otherwise than in accordance with an administrative circular governing disciplinary sanctions.

The ruling came after a four-day hearing in March during which Mr Burke ended up being excluded from the courtroom.

Mr Justice Owens said Mr Burke had been excluded for being disorderly and in persistent contempt of court.

The decision leaves Mr Burke facing a six-figure legal bill. Pictured, Mr Burke outside the school. Photo: Gerry Mooney

The judge said that during the hearing Mr Burke was repeatedly contacted and advised that he was welcome to resume participation if he gave an undertaking to abide by the rulings of the court, but he chose not to respond or to make his intentions clear.

Mr Burkes dispute with the school had its roots in a request by Ms McShane in May of last year that teachers call a transgender child by a new name and by their preferred pronouns.

Mr Burke, an evangelical Christian, objected and publicly challenged Ms McShane at a chapel service and after a school dinner.

These events prompted the principal to compile a report for the board of management, which ultimately decided to put Mr Burke on paid administrative leave on August 22 last.

Despite being suspended, the teacher continued to show up for work, even when the school secured a court order restraining him from doing so.

He spent 108 days in prison for contempt of court and resumed his almost daily visits to the school following his release.

He was dismissed in January. However, he is separately appealing his sacking to a tribunal, which will finally sit now that the High Court proceedings have concluded.

In a 16-page ruling, Mr Justice Owens said the school's decision to suspend the teacher was "rational and reasonable".

The court heard evidence of Mr Burke's behaviour at a school event in June, when he publicly voiced his objections to "transgenderism", and at subsequent meetings held in August 2022 where his behaviour had been discussed.

Ms McShane had acted in good faith in the manner in which she had compiled a report that led to the disciplinary process against Mr Burke, the judge said.

She was "fully within her rights to express her views" about Mr Burke's conduct at the school event and at staff meetings.

There were serious concerns expressed about how Mr Burke might act towards the student in question as well as the student body, and he had a case to answer to the school's board, the judge said.

Mr Burke had been given an opportunity to address the claim that he had engaged in gross misconduct, but did not avail of it, and was aware of the school's serious concerns about his future behaviour in the school, the judge said.

The judge also rejected claims that the process was procedurally flawed, and unlawful.

In relation to Mr Burke's refusal to stay away from the school following his suspension, the judge said that once the board terminated his right to attend at the school he could only return if he "persuaded the board to take him back.

Mr Burke had defied court orders and the board by attending at the school following his suspension.

Mutual trust and confidence had broken down between the parties as a result of the teacher's actions.

No court would force an employer to provide work for an employee when this essential feature of employment is absent, he said.

"Locked out" employees, the judge said, are not entitled to "sit in", and cannot return until an employer accepts resumption of the worker's services as part of an employment relationship.

Employees involved in disputes may feel they have "right on their side", and have been treated badly by employers, he said.

However, this does not mean such employees have "a given right to trespass on or cause nuisance to enjoyment of an employer's premises.

No employment purpose can be fulfilled by a suspended employee turning up at a workplace and no term can be implied from a contract of employment that gives any employee a right to enter a workplace from where they have been suspended.

While the judge gave his provisional view on costs, he said any party that wished to make submissions on the issue could do so at a future date.
He also has three charges for providing false or misleading information in passport applications

A GARDA sergeant has been charged with multiple counts of breaking data protection laws by disclosing private information on individuals from the Pulse computer system.

Garda Sergeant Thomas Bowe, 51, of Naas Garda station, in Co. Kildare, appeared before Judge Treasa Kelly at Dublin District Court today accused of 21 offences.

He faces 18 counts under section 145 of the Data Protection Act. The charges are allegations of disclosing personal details on various individuals on the Pulse system without authorisation at Naas Garda station on various dates in 2019 and 2020.

He also has three charges for providing false or misleading information in passport applications at the Irish Passport Service in Balbriggan, Co. Dublin, in September 2017, from September 13, 2017 to June 12, 2019, and in January 2020. They are contrary to the Passports Act.

It follows an investigation gardai attached to the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI).

Garda Superintendent Cormac Brennan told the court that the accused was arrested at 9.39 am on Friday and charged at Kilmainham station in Dublin. The judge heard he replied, Not guilty, and Why did you take so long to bring those charges before the court?.

There was no objection to bail subject to conditions, including an order to refrain from contacting several individuals whose names were on a list handed into court but not read out.

Defence solicitor Damien Coffey said his client consented to the condition.

Judge Kelly heard the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has directed a trial on indictment in the Circuit Court. There was no objection to his bail, which was set in his bond of 500.

There were two co-defendants, each facing a single charge under the Passport Act: Andrew Cash, 55, of Whitechurch Heights, Rathfarnham, Dublin and William Connors, 29, Ryland Wood, Bunclody, Co. Wexford.

Detective Sergeant Padraic Jennings and Detective Feidhlim McKenna told the court Mr Cash and Mr Connors made no reply to the charges.

Mr Cash is accused of providing false information in a passport application on June 6, 2019, and Mr Connors was charged with the same offence on January 22, 2020. The two men were also granted legal aid, and have been ordered not to contact Mr Bowe as a condition of bail.

The DPP has given the same direction about their trial venue.

Judge Kelly remanded them all to appear again at the district court on June 30 to be served with books of evidence.
It brings the number of cartel operatives sentenced to prison to well over 60 on charges from murder to money laundering.

Left to right: Anthony Glynn, Bernard Fogarty and Gerard Mackin were all jailed at the Special Criminal Court

THREE men who worked for the Kinahan Cartel were given prison sentences today in the Special Criminal Court in separate cases.

It brings the number of cartel operatives sentenced to prison to well over 60 on charges from murder to money laundering.

Thug Gerard Mackin who had pleaded guilty to a charge of money laundering was given three and a half years having been caught with 4,780 in Limerick.

Known as acting as hired muscle for Daniel Kinahan, the Belfast native had previously been convicted of nailing a mans foot to the floor in an extortion attempt in the city.

Judge Tony Hunt said that while the sum involved was not a lot his previous conviction adds context to why he was handling the cash.

He told Mackin he has to serve his sentence and get on with his life and get himself out of the criminality he got himself into.

Another gun for hire for the Kinahan organisation, Bernard Fogarty, already serving life for the murder of Barry Wolverston, got 15 years for his attempted murder of Mark Ivers.

The previous heard how Fogarty had emerged from a car wearing a boiler suit and balaclava and brandished a weapon outside Ivers house at Streamville Road, Donaghmede in September, 2019

The victim was hit by bullets in his leg and abdomen.

In December of last year, Fogarty and Robert Redmond were convicted of murdering of father-of-five Barry Wolverson, who died after spending more than a year in a coma.

Also in court today was the brother of trusted Kinahan Cartel lieutenant Douglas Glynn, Anthony Glynn, who was given five years for his part pat in running a massive drugs and ammunition warehouse.

The 54-year-old who had an unblemished record was linked to the stash of 1.4 million worth of cocaine and 335 bullets of different calibre.

The Glynns were caught when new technology allowed gardai to crack two encrypted phones found in Douglas Glynns house in April 2017.

That search came about after garda stopped the plot to have Estonian hitman Imre Arakas kill James Mago Gately at the height of the Hutch Kinahan feud.

Douglas Glynn has already been convicted for the running the gangland warehouse and for his part in the plot to kill Mago Gately by placing a tracking device on his car in Newry.

Douglas had been one of the Kinahans most trusted men still in Ireland at the that time and had been tasked with organising the attempt to kill Gately.

Previously unknown as a Kinahan operative Douglas had drawn his brother into working for the gang by using him to communicate with another man.
The 40-year-old was extradited from Alicante in Spain last December and pleaded guilty to laundering 4,780 as the proceeds of criminal behaviour

A notorious Limerick criminal with a previous conviction for nailing a man to a kitchen floor has been jailed for three-and-a-half years after being caught with money and two phones that were the proceeds of crime.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt at the Special Criminal Court said that Gerard Mackin handled the money "in the context of some form of serious organised criminality in the Limerick area".

While the sum of money, 4,780, was "at the lower end of the scale" the judge said the circumstances were not and Mackin's previous conviction for assault causing harm is "relevant to this case in that it explains the background against which the proceeds of crime in this case were handled".

In mitigation, the judge considered Mackin's early guilty plea and lack of sophistication in how he implicated himself when questioned by gardai about the money.

He set a headline sentence of four years and eight months and reduced that to three years and six months after taking into account the mitigating factors. He backdated the sentence to December 5, 2022 when Mackin first went into custody.

At a hearing last March Mackin accepted through his lawyers that he had made poor choices and intended to turn his life around with his family in Spain when he is released from prison.

The Belfast native with a previous address at Rhebogue Road in Limerick, was once the first person convicted of a Belfast murder by a Dublin court before his conviction was quashed and a retrial collapsed.

The 40-year-old was extradited from Alicante in Spain last December and pleaded guilty to laundering 4,780 as the proceeds of criminal behaviour at Rhebogue Road in Limerick, on April 17, 2019.

Mackin had pleaded guilty before the three-judge court to knowing or believing, or being reckless as to whether property, 4,780, was the proceeds of criminal conduct, did handle, acquire and/or possess the said property contrary to Section 7 of the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act of 2010.

Gerard Mackin

Detective Garda Stephen Ahern previously told the court that he arrested Mackin at Dublin Airport on December 5 last in relation to a European Arrest Warrant issued on April 7, 2022.

At the hearing in March Detective Sergeant Padraig O'Dwyer told prosecution counsel Fiona Murphy SC that two gardai on patrol had observed an Opel Insignia car suspiciously parked outside Mackin's house on April 17, 2019. Gardai had a conversation with the driver of the vehicle and he was searched.

Det Sgt O'Dwyer said the driver was found to be in possession of 4,780 in cash, an Aquaris phone and an iPhone wrapped in bubble wrap and tied together with elastic bands.

The driver spoke to gardai and said he was self-employed and that the money belonged to him. A cautioned memo was later taken from the driver of the car.

On that date, the court heard that Mackin came out of his house and conversed with gardai telling them that the money belonged to him. Mackin informed gardai that the driver of the car was going to Belfast the next day and that the money was to be given to his [Mackin's] fiancee.

Mackin produced a receipt from a credit union showing that he had a loan for 10,000. A search was carried out on the driver of the Insignia and Mackin but nothing of evidential value was found.

Mackin was later arrested and taken to Henry Street Garda Station, where he was interviewed on a number of occasions and denied the offence of money laundering.

During his fourth interview Mackin told officers that he had seen gardai outside his house and from his experience of gardai in the past "I said, put that money up for safekeeping in case you coming for me".

When asked about the Aquaris phone, which the court heard is used to communicate privately, Mackin told detectives that it had been left in his house and he had picked it up.

Mackin said the 4,780 was made up of a deposit by him to his previous landlord. Ms Murphy said a statement was taken from the landlord, who said the denominations were in 50 notes but that the money seized had been in 20 notes.

Mackin was then released and a file was sent to the DPP.

It is the prosecutions case, said Ms Murphy, that the money in the package was "not derived from a deposit" but was the proceeds of crime.

Counsel said the guilty plea was entered by Mackin in circumstances where he accepts the circumstances of the seizure and his guilt for the offence of money laundering. She said the view of gardai is that Mackin was engaged in criminality at the time of the offence.

The court heard that Mackin has one previous conviction for assault causing harm.

When directions were issued by the DPP to charge Mackin with money laundering, the accused had moved to Spain and a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) was issued. Mackin, the court heard, consented to his surrender and has been in custody since his arrest in Spain on December 5 2022.

Defence counsel Ronan Kennedy SC said there "is little enough to be said for the offence itself" and that obviously any money laundering offence is serious but the sum of money involved in the case fell at the lower end of the scale.

Mr Kennedy asked the court to take into account that his client had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. He said that Mackin was in a long-term relationship with his partner since 2005 and they had two children together.

In his submissions, Mr Kennedy said that Mackin and his family decided to move to Spain in September 2021 where the defendant found employment working in a building firm. "Things were going well until his past came back to haunt him and he was then arrested on foot of a EAW," he said. The court heard he went into custody in Spain on December 2, 2022.

Counsel asked the court to take into consideration that Mackin has never met his eight-week old son because of his surrender and that he has been incarcerated since then. "That is a source of very significant upset and regret to him that he wasn't present for his son's birth. His absence has also caused particular hardship to his partner in the last number of weeks," he added.

In mitigation, Mr Kennedy said actions speak louder than words and that the manner in which his client met the case was instructive. "He came home to Ireland to face the music and wipe the slate clean," he said, adding that Mackin had not made an application for bail.

In terms of the future, counsel said that Mackin would be on the first flight back to Spain when he is released from prison as he intended to build a new life there with his family and does not intend to return to this jurisdiction, certainly in the short-term.

Furthermore, the lawyer said Mackin intended to turn his life around when he is released from prison. "He is a person who has had an opportunity to look back on his past behaviour and readily accepts he made poor choices in the past and is determined to make a go of it when he serves his sentence," he stated.

The barrister said the defendant was born into a family where alcohol was "rife" and had taken positive steps in recent years to deal with this by having an implant inserted in 2020.

Ms Murphy, prosecuting, said the court needed to look at three matters namely the amount of money involved, the circumstances in which the money was moved and how it was obviously of relevance that the defendant was found with other items.

In January 2011, Mackin's retrial for the murder of Edward Burns, a taxi driver and 36-year-old father-of-five, dramatically collapsed at the Special

Criminal Court after the State entered a 'nolle prosequi' [a decision not to prosecute]. Several of Mackin's supporters who were in court applauded and cheered while members of the victim's family openly wept.

The chief prosecution witness refused to give evidence at the trial after telling a Belfast High Court judge he was threatened that if he gave any evidence, he would be shot dead.

Mackin had pleaded not guilty to the murder at Bog Meadow, Falls Road, Belfast on March 12, 2007.

It was the second trial of Mackin after a 2008 conviction - which made Mackin the first person convicted in a Dublin court for an alleged murder in Belfast under a rarely-used cross border anti-terrorism law - was quashed by the Court of Criminal Appeal and a retrial ordered.

In July 2013, another nolle prosequi was entered against Mackin at the non-jury court on a charge of IRA membership and demanding money with menaces on behalf of the INLA in Co Monaghan on May 18 and 21, 2012.
A male youth injured in the course of the incident was taken to Waterford University Hospital for treatment to a serious injury.

A youth was arrested after a student was allegedly attacked with a blunt-force object in a Waterford city secondary school earlier this month.

It was reported that the alleged assault happened when one student attacked another student during school hours and on school property.

The student was taken to University Hospital Waterford that day for treatment of head injuries sustained during the incident.

A statement from Gardai said: Gardai are investigating an alleged assault that occurred on the 5th May 2023 shortly before 11am at a premises in Waterford city.

A male youth injured in the course of the incident was taken to Waterford University Hospital for treatment to a serious injury.

A second male youth has since been arrested and detained in a Garda Station in the South-East under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, before being released without charge for a file to the JLO.

As the incident involves young persons, no further details are available.

Investigations are ongoing.
All of the pupils involved in the incident have now been identified by gardai, with sources saying that arrests will be made as part of a co-ordinated operation.

A still from the viral video showing the attack on the boy in Navan

Specially-trained gardai are set to interview the boys involved in the violent assault of a 14-year-old schoolboy in Navan, Co Meath, this week.

Gardai have confirmed they are treating Mondays attack, which left the teenage boy with serious facial injuries, as a hate crime.

All of the pupils involved in the incident have now been identified by gardai, with sources saying that arrests will be made as part of a co-ordinated operation.

The teenage boy was attacked by fellow students as he made his way home from school on Monday afternoon.

Specialist gardai from the Garda Youth Diversion Programme are now expected to interview the suspects, who are all juveniles.

The boys would then be issued with a formal caution and their future behaviour would be supervised.

A senior source said that this option is being actively considered at the moment.

Garda juvenile liaison officers (JLOs) work with children who have committed offences and liaise with their families and victims about their behaviour as part of the Garda Youth Diversion programme.

If gardai go down this line in this case and it is deemed suitable for the programme, a formal caution will be given to the suspected offenders and their future behaviour will be supervised, the source said.

The assault did not happen on school grounds but occurred as the teenager was walking across a nearby green.

Beaufort College in Navan has confirmed it has initiated significant disciplinary procedures against a number of pupils in relation to the attack.

School psychologists were also supporting pupils in a school yesterday amid concern about the impact of the incident on the schools almost 800 pupils.

Representatives of the school patron body have also visited the housing estate where the assault took place.

Senior ministers have said they were horrified by the very violent assault, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar condemning the nasty individuals who shared videos of the shocking incident online.

Mr Varadkar contacted the teenagers family to offer his support yesterday.

He called on the parents of those involved in Mondays assault to act and take responsibility for what happened.

Im really appalled at what we saw happening in Navan there the other day, he said in Dublin. It seems to me that young man was targeted, essentially because hes different, and was subjected to a very violent assault.

And whats worse still is people felt the need to video it, and then put online.

It takes a particular type of person to post pictures and videos of people with the purpose of humiliating them, a particularly nasty type of individual does that type of thing.

And then to see bystanders not only not trying to help, but actually joining in. So it was particularly hard to watch.

My sympathies go to the young man and his family, Im going to reach out to them myself today.

Justice Minister Simon Harris said he spoke to the childs mother on Wednesday night. It was a moment that stopped us all in our tracks as we saw this image. I was quite horrified. I think the people in this country were horrified, Mr Harris said.

I think we like to think we have gotten to a better place as a country.

I took the opportunity [on Wednesday] evening to speak to the teenage boys mum and just to convey my horror and my solidarity and to inquire, most importantly, as to his wellbeing.

Id have more to say on the matter other than I am conscious that there is a live garda investigation under way that does need to run its course. But I know the whole country is sending our best wishes to that young teenage boy for a speedy recovery.

An Garda Siochana is appealing to anyone who has information about the assault to contact Navan garda station at 046 9079930.
They added that they are aware of a video circulating on social media of this incident

Gardai investigating the assault on a teenage boy in Navan, Co Meath, have made three arrests this morning.

Gardai say the three male juvenile teens were arrested in the Navan area and are being detained at Garda stations in the Meath region.

Gardai are continuing to investigate the assault of a teenage boy which occurred in Navan on Monday, May 15, gardai said in a statement.

Following this incident, a male juvenile teen attended Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda where he received treatment for serious facial injuries.

Gardai have today arrested three male juvenile teens in the Navan area for alleged offences under Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1999. All three are currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at Garda Stations in the Meath Region.

Gardai added that they have appointed an FLO (Family Liaison Officer) who continues to liaise with the victim and the victims family.

They added that they are aware of a video circulating on social media of this incident and out of respect for the victim in this case, would request that people refrain from sharing this video.

Gardai are continuing to appeal to any person with information on the assault to contact Navan Garda Station at 046 9079930, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station, the statement adds.

Senior ministers have said they were horrified by the very violent assault, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar condemning the nasty individuals who shared videos of the shocking incident online.

Mr Varadkar contacted the teenagers family to offer his support yesterday.

He called on the parents of those involved in Mondays assault to act and take responsibility for what happened.

Im really appalled at what we saw happening in Navan there the other day, he said in Dublin. It seems to me that young man was targeted, essentially because hes different, and was subjected to a very violent assault.

And whats worse still is people felt the need to video it, and then put online.

It takes a particular type of person to post pictures and videos of people with the purpose of humiliating them, a particularly nasty type of individual does that type of thing.

And then to see bystanders not only not trying to help, but actually joining in. So it was particularly hard to watch.

My sympathies go to the young man and his family, Im going to reach out to them myself today.

Justice Minister Simon Harris said he spoke to the childs mother on Wednesday night. It was a moment that stopped us all in our tracks as we saw this image. I was quite horrified. I think the people in this country were horrified, Mr Harris said.

I think we like to think we have gotten to a better place as a country.

I took the opportunity [on Wednesday] evening to speak to the teenage boys mum and just to convey my horror and my solidarity and to inquire, most importantly, as to his wellbeing.

Id have more to say on the matter other than I am conscious that there is a live garda investigation under way that does need to run its course. But I know the whole country is sending our best wishes to that young teenage boy for a speedy recovery.
An Taoiseach said officials will be in touch with those involved in the blockade, adding that the objective is to engage with the local community

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said nobody has the right to veto other people coming into a community, as he promised more engagement with the locals in Clare blockading homes being used by asylum seekers.

Some furious locals blockaded the road to three holiday homes at the Magowna House Hotel with tractors and a silage bale when 34 international protection applicants arrived in Inch where the State had arranged accommodation for them.

They say they are not anti-immigrant and are instead concerned about the suitability of the accommodation and the lack of communication from the Government.

Leo Varadkar

An Taoiseach said officials will be in touch with those involved in the blockade, adding that the objective is to engage with the local community.

To answer their questions, to give them reasonable assurances and we hope at the end of that that would allow the blockade to be lifted and for us to provide accommodation for those in need, he said, according to Newstalk.

Mr Varadkar said it was important not to dismiss concerns that local communities have but added peoples right to housing trumped locals' worries.

Sometimes local communities have genuine concerns, he said.

Thats why well make sure theres information and theres communication but also making it very clear that nobody has the right to veto other peoples coming into your community - no matter who they are.

Meanwhile, with three new centres for international protection applicants due to open in Dublin in the coming weeks, Mr Varadkar said he hopes there will be a more positive reaction.

I was really encouraged by the cross party response from all four TDs in Dun Laoghaire, all saying that they understand that this is a crisis and in a crisis never let the perfect be the enemy of the good, he said.

All four TDs are welcoming - or at least accepting - of the need to find accommodation for people urgently because we cant have people on the streets.

Yesterday, Integration Minister Roderic OGorman rejected the concerns of Government backbench TDs and senators as he insisted asylum-seekers would be accommodated at the centre in Inch, Co Clare.

Local coalition politicians have refused to condemn the protest and backed the views of their constituents. Some politicians have also called for an end to the blockade.

Mr OGorman said the blockade outside the former Magowna House Hotel and reports of protesters boarding buses to count the numbers of asylum-seekers were entirely unacceptable.

I accept people and recognise absolutely that people have the right to protest. I think in terms of the blockade, that goes far beyond what I think is acceptable, it is interfering with peoples ability to be accommodated, he said.

Often I know people have preconceptions about international protection applicants. I think often when they meet after accommodation has been established for a while, I think those preconceptions fall away.

He said reports of protesters boarding a bus leaving the accommodation centre and counting the number of people on board were absolutely unacceptable.
Conversations will be had but we do need quickly to move to the removal of the blockade now  the time and space was given

The reason for the blockade at the Magowna House Hotel in Inch by locals opposed to asylum seekers being housed there, no longer exists, Co Clare Senator Timmy Dooley has said.

Senator Dooley said that locals have met with Government representatives and had their concerns listened to and now its time to remove the blockade.

I never supported the idea, but I understood where people were coming from, he told Newstalk Breakfast,

Conversations will be had but we do need quickly to move to the removal of the blockade now  the time and space was given.

This morning, Minister for State for Integration Joe OBrien informed the Inch residents in Clare that over the next four weeks, no new additional International Protection (IP) applicants will be brought to Magowna House.

Magowna House

Senator Dooley said the next step for the community is engagement and dialogue with asylum seekers.

Working with the asylum seekers as well to ensure that there isn't a them and us in the community, he said.

[Its] picked up from social media and elsewhere where every minor indiscretion by an asylum seeker is amplified and highlighted on social media.

The message abroad is that the asylum seekers are a marauding bunch of young men wielding swords and attacking  awful stuff.

Senator Dooley added that the compromise made the Government did not make it look weak.

The purpose being put forward by some of the locals was the need to continue the blockade because they were afraid more was coming, he said.

The operator of the business at the time said there will be no more coming because the property is not ready to take any more and that will take at least a month.

In my conversations with the group that were there and with the owner, they said Well, we need to get that from the Government.

Meanwhile, Dublins People Before ProfitSolidarity TD Eugene Gino Kenny said the roadblocks and rhetoric around the asylum seekers in Clare is just not helpful at all.

The vast majority of time asylum seekers have been into the community across the country, people have invited them in with welcoming arms, he said.

Thus far, Ireland has welcomed nearly 100,000 people and that's unprecedented.

A protest in Deputy Kennys constituency of Clondalkin was reported following the announcement that the area would house asylum seekers.

They have a right to protest  I disagree with them, he said.

Our own people went across the world and sometimes they didn't meet that welcome.
Micky Cassidys Punk as F*uk tells the stories of ordinary people whose lives were transformed by the Seventies music revolution in Belfast

Punk has become so sexy its being claimed by people who were never there, says the author of a new book.

Micky Cassidys Punk as F*uk tells the stories of ordinary people whose lives were transformed by the Seventies music revolution in Belfast.

At the time Northern Ireland was an ugly bastard of a place in the grip of the Troubles, says the author, and the music became a uniting force.

The ripples are still being felt with bands like The Outcasts currently on a world tour and the hit film Good Vibrations, which is back as a stage show in Belfast before heading for New York.

But not everyone who claims to have been there ever set foot in the hallowed Harp Bar, the sticky centre of punk in Belfast in the four years when the scene burned brightest, from 1978 to 1982, spawning Stiff Little Fingers, Rudi and The Undertones.

There were only a few hundred of us but there are so many people who are claiming they were there, says Micky.

It would make them about 12 years old at the time. Its become fashionable again to be a punk.

Mick Cassidy as a punk

He wanted to share the impact of punk on the people who were at the heart of it and asked some of the original followers to share their experiences, including Joan Murphy, Yvonne Cowan, Colin Fletcher and Andy Mulholland.

I didnt want to just name check the bands because thats been done, says Micky.These are the people who were at ground level whose story needed to be told.

I missed the start of punk by about six months and the whole thing just happened over a couple of months. This place was ripe for it because living here was brutal. It was custom built for punk.

Punk was an attitude, and it was no big deal if you couldnt play music, it was just about getting up there with your mates.

He says the music and the culture never got the recognition it deserved for overcoming sectarian divisions at the height of a violent civil war, and for embracing equality.

It would never have happened without the punk girls because they had all the skills we needed. They knew the hairdressing and the clothes making and the window dressing.

They were as equal as we were and that was a novel idea at the time. It was a male-dominated society but in punk we were all equal and it was the first youth culture that happened in.

The 63-year-old electrician from Belfast reveals punks literally suffered for their art, surviving physical violence at gigs in Ireland, England and France.

As a roadie during the height of punks fame he found the anti-sectarian message often didnt translate at gigs outside Northern Ireland.

Dublin was the first one, but we also had trouble in Paris and Bristol because we were Irish, says Micky. The Provos were dropping bombs and we were the public face of it. Some outrage would happen and at the gig that night the bottles would be flying. It was a lot to deal with, and we were a mixed bunch of both religions.

The movement started to fade in Northern Ireland when skinhead bands elbowed into the Harp Bar, the only pub which welcomed punk bands and fans.

But the music and the attitude never died.

Its rebellious music, like reggae. Its anti-state, and everyone loves an underdog. Its a mindset.

Punk is sexy, says Micky.
People visit Patan Museum during International Museum Day in Lalitpur, Nepal on May 18, 2023. (Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua)

Hong Kong, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Museums held various activities to celebrate this year's International Museum Day (IMD) under the theme of "Museums, Sustainability and Well-being" across the Asia Pacific.

The International Council of Museums has organized the IMD on May 18 each year or around this date since 1977, promoting the fact that museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.

A woman takes photos at Patan Museum during International Museum Day in Lalitpur, Nepal on May 18, 2023. (Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua)

Children visit the National Museum of Myanmar in Yangon, Myanmar on May 18, 2023. (Photo by Myo Kyaw Soe/ Xinhua)

Children visit the National Museum of Myanmar in Yangon, Myanmar on May 18, 2023. (Photo by Myo Kyaw Soe/ Xinhua)

People visit a museum in Lahore, Pakistan on May 18, 2023. (Photo by Sajjad/Xinhua)



A six feet tall idol of Lord Ganesha made from automobile scrap parts, is on display at International Museum Expo 2023 in New Delhi on May 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Stringer)

Photo shows newly found artifacts at the Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum in Siem Reap province, Cambodia. (Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum/Handout via Xinhua)

People visit Patan Museum during International Museum Day in Lalitpur, Nepal on May 18, 2023. (Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua)
Update 9.40pm The National Advisory issued following the magnitude 7.7 earthquake near southeast of Loyalty Islands at 2.57pm NZT on May 19 is cancelled.

NEMA has been advised by GNS Science that tsunami wave activity has been observed at New Zealand coastlines over the course of this evening.

This activity has now significantly abated, enabling NEMA to issue this cancellation.

NEMA advises that some strong and unusual currents may still continue overnight and urges caution in affected beach and marine areas.

Update, 7.30pm: People have been warned to stay out of the sea around much of New Zealand's coastline after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck near the Loyalty Islands on Friday afternoon.

The warning has been issued by the National Emergency Management Agency - Nema, which says strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges would continue for several hours on Friday night, and the threat must be regarded as real until the tsunami activity advisory is cancelled.

Strong currents and surges can injure and drown people. There is a danger to swimmers, surfers, people fishing, and anyone in or near the water close to shore.

Nema produced a map showing areas that are under threat of tsunami activity. Image: Nema.

People in or near the sea in the following areas should move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, marinas, rivers and estuaries:

The west coast of the North Island from Cape Reinga to Whanganui including the west coast of Auckland, Manukau Harbour and New Plymouth.

The east coast of the North Island from Cape Reinga to Tolaga Bay including Whangarei, Great Barrier Island, the east coast of Auckland, Waiheke Island, Waitemata Harbour, Tauranga, Whakatane and Opotiki.

The west coast of the South Island from Farewell Spit to Milford Sound including Westport, Greymouth and Hokitika.

Whanganui is expected to be the last place in New Zealand to be affected, with the first tsunami waves expected to arrive in the area about 8.30pm, although Nema cautioned that was provisional.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says waves less than 50cm were measured off Lenakel, a port town in Vanuatu. Smaller waves were measured elsewhere off Vanuatu and off New Caledonia.

Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office advised people to evacuate from coastal areas to higher grounds. The office says people should listen to their radios for updates and take other precautionary measures.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre also said small waves were possible for Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Guam and other Pacific islands.

An official from Vanuatu's Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department told Stuff the office had received calls from residents there who said they had felt shaking. The office had warned villagers on the southern islands to seek higher ground

New Zealand is about 2300km away from the Loyalty Islands, which are near New Caledonia, about 150km off its east coast.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) says the earthquake at 2.57pm struck at a depth of 38km.

Update, 5.25pm: A warning to expect "strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore" has been issued by Nema after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck southeast of the Loyalty Islands at 2.57pm Friday afternoon.

Strong currents and surges can injure and drown people. There is a danger to swimmers, surfers, people fishing, and anyone in or near the water close to shore.

People in or near the sea in the following areas should move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, marinas, rivers and estuaries.

AREAS UNDER THREAT: The West Coast of the North Island from CAPE REINGA to WHANGANUI including the West Coast of Auckland, Manukau Harbour and New Plymouth.

The East Coast of the North Island from CAPE REINGA to TOLAGA BAY including Whangarei, GREAT BARRIER ISLAND, the East Coast of Auckland, Waiheke Island, Waitemata Harbour, Tauranga, Whakatane and Opotiki.

The West Coast of the South Island from FAREWELL SPIT to MILFORD SOUND including Westport, Greymouth and Hokitika.

ADVICE FOR PEOPLE IN AREAS UNDER THREAT:

STAY OFF THE BEACHES AND SHORE AREAS

People on boats, liveboards and at marinas should leave their boats/vessels and move onto shore. Do not return to boats unless instructed by officials.

There is no need to evacuate other areas unless directly advised by local civil defence authorities. Coastal inundation (flooding of land areas near the shore) is not expected as a result of this event.

Nema is advising people to:

Move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, marinas, rivers and estuaries.

Do not go to the coast to watch the unusual wave activity as there may be dangerous and unpredictable surges.

Listen to local civil defence authorities and follow any instructions.

Share this information with family, neighbours and friends.

The first tsunami activity causing these strong currents and surges was expected to reach New Zealand in the areas around North Cape at approximately 5pm New Zealand Standard Time and 5.45pm Chatham Islands Standard Time. This may be later and the first tsunami activity may not be the most significant.

Strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges will continue for several hours and the threat must be regarded as real until this Advisory is cancelled.

This National Advisory has been issued following an assessment of information available. The situation may change as new information becomes available. Listen to the radio or TV for updates, or check www.civildefence.govt.nz

Update, 4.24pm: A warning of tsunami activity has been issued by Nema after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck near the Loyalty Islands on Friday afternoon.

We expect New Zealand coastal areas to experience strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore following a magnitude 7.7 earthquake southeast of Loyalty Island at 2.57pm," says a National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) spokesperson.

Strong currents and surges can injure and drown people. There is a danger to swimmers, surfers, people fishing, and anyone in or near the water close to shore.

People in or near the sea in the following areas should move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, marinas, rivers and estuaries.

Areas under threat:

The West Coast of the North Island from Cape Reinga to Whanganui including the West Coast of Auckland, Manukau Harbour and New Plymouth.

The East Coast of the North Island from Cape Reinga to Tolaga Bay including Whangarei, Great Barrier Island, the East Coast of Auckland, Waiheke Island, Waitemata Harbour, Tauranga, Whakatane and Opotiki.

The West Coast of the South Island from Farewell Spit to Milford Sound including Westport, Greymouth and Hokitika.

Advice for people in areas under threat:

STAY OFF THE BEACHES AND SHORE AREAS

People on boats, liveboards and at marinas should leave their boats/vessels and move onto shore. Do not return to boats unless instructed by officials.

There is no need to evacuate other areas unless directly advised by local civil defence authorities. Coastal inundation (flooding of land areas near the shore) is not expected as a result of this event. We are advising people to:

Move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, marinas, rivers and estuaries.

Do not go to the coast to watch the unusual wave activity as there may be dangerous and unpredictable surges.

Listen to local civil defence authorities and follow any instructions.

Share this information with family, neighbours and friends.

The first tsunami activity causing these strong currents and surges may reach New Zealand in the areas North Cape at approximately 5pm pm May 19 2023 New Zealand Standard Time and 5.45pm Chatham Islands Standard Time. This may be later and the first tsunami activity may not be the most significant.

Strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges will continue for several hours and the threat must be regarded as real until this Advisory is cancelled.

This National Advisory has been issued following an assessment of information available. The situation may change as new information becomes available. Listen to the radio or TV for updates, or check www.civildefence.govt.nz

Estimates of expected earliest wave arrival times:

Note: These times are provisional and based on the best information available. Arrival times may be as much as one hour later and may be adjusted in subsequent messages.

Location Earliest Wave Arrival Time Auckland East 6:42 pm 19 May 2023 NZST Auckland West 6:00 pm 19 May 2023 NZST Bluff No information Dunedin No information East Cape No information Gisborne No information Great Barrier Island No information Greymouth No information Jackson Bay No information Kaingaroa Chatham Islands No information Lottin Point (East Cape) 5:40 pm 19 May 2023 NZST Lyttelton No information Marlborough Sounds No information Milford Sound No information Mount Maunganui 6:03 pm 19 May 2023 NZST Napier No information Nelson No information New Plymouth 6:45 pm 19 May 2023 NZST North Cape 5:00 pm 19 May 2023 NZST Picton No information Port Tauranga 6:16 pm 19 May 2023 NZST Stewart Island No information Timaru No information Waitangi Chatham Islands No information Whanganui 8:32 pm 19 May 2023 NZST Wellington No information Westport No information Whangarei 6:02 pm 19 May 2023 NZST

This map shows affected areas. Strong currents and surges can injure and drown people. People in or near the sea in these areas should move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, marinas, rivers and estuaries. More info at https://t.co/ccVFYR8001 pic.twitter.com/klTgDFHh4C  National Emergency Management Agency (@NZcivildefence) May 19, 2023

Earlier, 4pm: Civil Defence is assessing whether there is a tsunami threat for New Zealand after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake southeast of the Loyalty Islands.

In a tweet at 3.40pm on Friday, Civil Defence says if a tsunami was generated it wasnt likely to arrive in New Zealand for at least an hour.

The National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) and scientific advisors are still assessing the situation. It said it would issue an update as soon as possible.

The earthquake was a magnitude 7.7.

The Loyalty Islands are near to New Caledonia, approximately 150km off its East Coast.

The US National Tsunami Warning Center issued an alert for coasts within 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of the epicentre which lay between Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

Nema said only messages issued by it represented the official warning status for New Zealand.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) says the earthquake had a depth of 38 km.
Lung cancer cases rise among non-smokers The disease is affecting an increasing number of women and young people who were not considered as high risk

Solange Vazquez Compartir Copiar enlace

WhatsApp

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Telegram

The news that we have a tumour always comes as a tremendous blow. We suddenly find ourselves in a cloud of disbelief, especially if it is a type of cancer we never thought would affect us, but we are told it has.

Lung cancer, which is becoming increasingly prevalent, is one of them.

"This illness is affecting more women, more non-smokers and younger patients nowadays," warns Dr Margarita Majem, who is the vice-president of the Spanish association for research into lung cancer in women (ICAPEM).

Time is of the essence

The problem with this change of profile - lung cancer is being contained in men but cases among women have not stopped increasing for years - is that as the cases are unexpected they are detected later than they should be.

And, with all cancers, time is of the essence in tackling the disease and, in this particular case, is particularly essential.

The Data 30% of women who are diagnosed with lung cancer do not smoke. Cases among young people are also on the increase.

"It is important to warn people about this, to prevent them being diagnosed too late," says ICAPEM.

Why has there been this change in the profile of lung cancer patients, when until recently they were almost exclusively mature male smokers?

"The fact is that the health authorities have focused so much on persuading people to give up smoking and on checking smokers because of their enormous risk of getting lung cancer, that they have not paid as much attention to the causes of the illness. But after smoking, it appears that the principal risk comes from radon gas, air pollution, asbestos and even genetic causes which are currently being researched," the association says.

Also, if someone smokes and gets lung cancer, that is nearly always assumed to be the cause and other possibilities are not explored further.

Between 3% and 14% of lung cancer deaths are related to radon Radon is second only to smoking as a cause of lung cancer, including in people who have never smoked a cigarette in their lives. And in smokers, the risk increases exponentially. "The World Health Organization estimates that between 3% and 14% of deaths from lung cancer are related to radon," warns Vivessinradon.org, a project developed by the Institute of Geoenvironmental Health. "The threshold below which exposure to radon does not pose a risk is unknown," says Jose Miguel Rodriguez, the head of the programme. Where is this radon? It is a carcinogenic gas which is produced naturally in the subsoil, especially in areas where there is granite (Galicia, Extremadura, parts of Madrid and Castilla y Leon), and it filters into the atmosphere through cracks in the ground. It normally dilutes in the air, but if it enters buildings due to porous materials or cracks in basements and foundations, it can concentrate and become a risk for people who live or work there. This is why measuresments need to be carried out. The Vivessinradon platform is calling for this to be done, and it also wants legal measures to protect the population to be implemented more rapidly.

Unpleasant surprises

The failure to look more deeply into causes other than smoking is leading to some unpleasant surprises. If a woman who does not smoke, or a young person, develops the first symptoms of lung cancer, it is possible that they will ignore them and not go to a doctor. And if they do go, the doctor may not be alarmed or order tests until it is serious and, on many occasions, by then it is too late.

The truth is that detecting lung cancer early in people who do not smoke is difficult, because the first signs of the illness can be confused with an ongoing infection, for example. These could be weight loss with no apparent cause, a persistent cough (sometimes with traces of blood), a feeling of constant fatigue, pain in the chest, a whistling sound when breathing... and that is why ICAPEM is calling for work on prevention, which focuses mainly on smokers, to be expanded. And the association's findings are backed up by the figures.

Lung cancer is now the third most common tumour among women in Spain, increasing by around four per cent a year, with almost the same increase in mortality. In fact, it is now the third cause of death among women in this country (it accounts for 12 per cent of total deaths from tumours).

It is estimated that last year between 8,500 and 9,000 women were diagnosed with lung cancer in this country.

The fact that cases are also increasing among young people - although lung cancer is still prevalent among mature adults - and women has given rise to a worrying reality:

"The numbers are still low but it is becoming more frequent for women who are diagnosed with lung cancer to be pregnant, and of course their condition means there are limitations on the treatment they can be given," say scientists at ICAPEM.
150 years helping the vulnerable people of Malaga Spanish Red Cross. On this important anniversary, the provincial branch of the Cruz Roja is proud of always taking the path most needed, from healthcare to social work

Cristina Pinto Malaga Compartir Copiar enlace

WhatsApp

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Telegram

A century and a half of caring for the most vulnerable people in the province. Always beside the most needy in the places where most never set foot. From the wars of the late 19th and 20th centuries to the latest health and economic crises of just two years ago. From hospital care, maritime rescue, and drug addiction to migration crises.

"In Malaga, the path of the Cruz Roja [the Spanish Red Cross] has followed in the footsteps of the city," said the president of this institution for Malaga province, Luis Utrilla, in a conversation with SUR for the organisation's 150th anniversary. He also talked of his book Un Sueno Cargado de Futuro, (a dream full of the future), which includes all the key events in which the Cruz Roja has championed the needs of the most disadvantaged groups in the province.

"At the end of the 19th century, the Cruz Roja was with those wounded in the colonial wars in Cuba and Puerto Rico; in the 20th century, the task was to care for all those affected by, and wounded in, the Rif war; then several floods in the Guadalmedina area; then a drought similar to the current one that caused severe famine in inland towns; the consequences of the tragic first world war and the first Spanish 'flu pandemic with more than 6,000 deaths in Malaga..." This is how Luis Utrilla listed just some of the events in which this institution has been involved and where "state institutions never reached".

There were key moments in history in which the Cruz Roja was the greatest provider of healthcare: "In those years of wars and crises the main job was to care for the sick because, under state healthcare, patients could not be treated beyond the local cottage hospital, and that is why our organisation dealt with so many illnesses," he recalled.

Ampliar Volunteers of the organisation, rescuing children who arrived via small boats at Malaga port SUR

Healthcare was the core work of the organisation, but towards the end of the 1960s the nature of that work began to change: "We stepped back a little from our involvement in healthcare, conflict and catastrophe, to start attending to wider social issues; at that time it was a new thing, yet now it seems to us that it has always been there ..... this changed our perspective, so in the '80s we began to address drug addiction with the arrival of heroin in Malaga, something that caused serious havoc in the population," stated Luis Utrilla.

He has headed up the organisation for eight years.

"In the late '90s and early 2000s we dedicated ourselves to economic crises and the problems of the boat people and we have had successive immigration crises since then. In 2012 we handled more than 12,000 people landing on our coast... Now we have two care centres for immigrants and refugees in Malaga," he said.

And now, in 2023, they celebrate their 150th anniversary and continue with their main task: "Getting to deal with those areas that the state institutions cannot reach," stressed the president of Malaga's Cruz Roja.

Right now they have some sixty programmes active in the province of Malaga and dedicated to the most vulnerable people in terms of employment, drugs and other addictions, victims of domestic violence, support for children and the elderly, among others.

"We have more than 25,000 members throughout the province and more than 6,000 volunteers, who are the heart and soul of the institution," said Luis Utrilla.

Those thousands upon thousands of people who at some point have worked with the Cruz Roja are the essence of the organisation, the main people responsible for the fact that each good deed has been completed and every bit of aid has reached those in need of it.

"Our work is always collective because, fortunately, we have always been somewhat anonymous, we are remembered more for the job being done than the individuals who actually did it," stressed the president, who announced that around 85,000 people throughout the province are currently receiving help.

"That's an important number of the population for whom we continue to work like those thousands of Malaga folk who have gone before us and who have made Malaga a little more humane," concluded Luis Utrilla, with pride in his voice for the work of this organisation.
Police reopen case of former girlfriend of Paula's alleged killer who disappeared in Torremolinos in 2014 Sibora, an Albanian woman, vanished without a trace in the Costa del Sol resort almost ten years ago, but she was never found despite extensive searches

Juan Cano / Irene Quirante Malaga Compartir Copiar enlace

WhatsApp

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Telegram

The man who allegedly murdered a woman in La Carihuela on Wednesday this week was also the last person who had contact with another woman before she vanished in 2014.

A 28-year-old mother-of-three, Paula, was allegedly stabbed to death by her ex-partner at their apartment in Torremolinos on 17 May. The man, Marco G, an Italian national, was detained after a manhunt involving a large number of police officers was mounted in the area.

Now, it can be revealed that the same man was the ex-boyfriend and last person who had contact with Sibora Gagani, a 22-year-old Albanian woman who vanished without a trace in the summer of 2014 in the same Costa del Sol resort.

Split from partner

She had moved to the area three years earlier with her boyfriend and worked as a waitress.

Just before her disappearance, Sibora broke up with her partner and moved to a small flat in Calle Hoyo, where she lived alone.

The last person she had contact with was her boyfriend. Police found that they last spoke via WhatsApp on 7 July. From then on, her phone stopped giving a signal and she was never heard from again.

Police have now reopened Sibora's case following Marco Gs arrest.

The news of Sibora's disappearance was widely reported in Italy, as her family in Rome appealed to newspapers and television media in a bid to find her.

Unsuccessful search

National Police considered her a high-risk disappearance and searched unsuccessfully for Sibora in hospitals, airports, prisons and even in forensic institutes.

Now, alarm bells have gone off when the officers, upon checking the identity of Marco G after his arrest for Paula's alleged murder, detected that he was Sibora's boyfriend in the past.

Sources close to the investigation confirmed to SUR that homicide agents are reviewing Siboras case.

Devastated friends of Paula told SUR on Thursday, 18 May that she had been abused by Marco G during their relationship.

Paula worked in the hospitality sector, and was remembered as a vital and loving woman, a hugger and completely devoted to her work. Her hope was to regain control of her life.
Support for people affected by dementia in the Axarquia The Alcaucin Community Association is starting a regular coffee morning for English speakers living with the condition, and their carers

Jennie Rhodes Compartir Copiar enlace

WhatsApp

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Telegram

A regular coffee morning is starting at the church room in Puente don Manuel on Monday 29 May for English speakers who are caring for people with dementia, or who have signs that they may have dementia.

The group has come about thanks to the support of the Alcaucin Community Association (ACA), which raises funds through its secondhand shop in Puente don Manuel.

Alzheimer and Dementia Support Group Costa del Sol. Based in Mijas Costa and supported by Age Care. Find them on Facebook Alzheimer and Dementia Support Group Costa del Sol.

La Cala de Mijas Lions' Club. Support group for people with Dementia and Alzheimers in La Cala de Mijas. Website www.lacalalions.org/alzheimers-group

The inspiration behind starting the coffee mornings came from Alcaucin resident, Eunice Bowles-Roberts, whose husband was diagnosed with vascular dementia around eight years ago.

Just prior to the start of the pandemic, Eunice started sending a newsletter to English-speaking residents in Alcaucin, with information on Spanish laws that affect foreign residents, to links to articles in local media and a what's on guide and anything else she came across that she thought might be of interest. Eunice says that demand for the newsletter "grew very quickly" and she soon had a mailing list of 1,000 people across different villages in the Axarquia.

Then in September 2020 she set up an online support group for carers of people with dementia. "Like everyone, I had a lot more free time at the start of the pandemic and I started looking up information as my husband's dementia was getting worse," Eunice explains. "I knew a number of other people in Alcaucin who were also affected, so I started doing a lot of research and set up a separate mailing list with a newsletter just with information to the carers," she adds.

Eunice provides information about how to help people with dementia, "how to" guides and points them in the right direction to access further help. She says that for non-Spanish speakers, accessing the right help in Spain is a problem and often people "don't want to admit" that they think that a loved one might have dementia.

Eunice soon had volunteers offering to provide support and advice, as well as people who had lost loved ones to dementia and were interested in offering support based on their own experience and wanted to be able to help in some way.

Games and activities

After the lockdowns, Eunice explains she started to meet people in the group on a one to one basis starting an opportunity for carers to meet and share experiences. But it was when Gill Hayes, who manages the ACA shop, offered to help to get a group together, that the idea of starting the regular coffee morning came about.

Gill and Eunice both say that the idea is to organise activities for people to do, as well as having the opportunity to meet up for a coffee. "I use different games and activities to help my husband, so I can take those with me and we have local nurses and other volunteers with mental health experience who have volunteered to help," explains Eunice.

She and Gill believe that there are currently no other similar groups or support networks in English in the Axarquia area. However, Eunice is in contact with support groups in Mijas Costa.

The Alzheimer and Dementia Support Group Costa del Sol is supported through Age Care Mijas Costa and meets on the first and third Monday of each month in Calahonda at the Baptist church, and on the second Thursday of each month in The Bar, Calle Cuesta Marzo in Alhaurin el Grande.

La Cala de Mijas Lions' club also offers a support group for carers of people with Alzheimer's/Dementia and they meet on the third Monday of every month at Bar Tuta at the Jardin Botanico.

The first meeting of the Axarquia support group is taking place on Monday, 29 May at 10.30am at the church room at El Cruce in Puente don Manuel.

For further details of the Alcaucin coffee mornings email: spanishcottage@hotmail.co.uk.

To find out more about dementia and caring for people with the condition visit: Dementia UK: www.dementiauk.org; Alzheimer's Society: www.alzheimers.org.uk; UK National Health Service (NHS): www.nhs.uk/conditions/dementia/about; Alzheimer's Association (alz.org) Spain (in English): www.alz.org/es/dementia-alzheimers-spain.asp.
The blue dragon: the curious creature returning to the Spanish coastline after 100 years Its scientific name is Glaucus atlanticus and it is a gastropod that does not have a shell, but has developed a unique defence against predators

The blue dragon was last seen in 1925 before several were spotted in 2021.

The blue dragon was last seen in 1925 before several were spotted in 2021. SUR

Alberto Flores / Carlos Valdemoros Compartir Copiar enlace

WhatsApp

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Telegram

After 100 years, the blue dragon is returning to the Spanish coastline.

Several of the curious creatures were spotted during the summer of 2021 on the coast of Alicante, a century after their last sighting in the Balearic Islands in 1925. They had also been seen in Ibiza in 1705, according to botanist Johann Philipp Breyne.

Professor in the Zoology department of the University of Granada, Luis Sanchez Tocino, said the blue dragon, whose scientific name is Glaucus atlanticus, is a gastropod that does not have a shell, but has developed a unique defence against predators.

While some similar animals develop defend themselves by generating small calcium carbonate spines, or secreting substances they use as a repellent against predators. But in the case of the blue dragon, it does not use any of these.

"Its defence system is based on the stinging cells of the animals it feeds on. They store them in their digestive system and act when they need to defend themselves," Sanchez said.

To do so, it feeds on different animals such as the Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia physalis), the blue button jellyfish (Porpita porpita) or the sea sail (Velella velella).

The size of the blue dragon is between 20 and 30mm and stands out for its flattened body. It lives just below the surface, which is where its prey is, while it uses its colour to go unnoticed by its predators.

Ampliar Its scientific name is Glaucus atlanticus and it is a gastropod that does not have a shell. SUR

"Its blue colour means that from the air it can be mistaken for the colour of the sea, while below it is silver, making it difficult to distinguish from the sun's rays against the light," Sanchez pointed out.

He advised people to avoid them and not bother them if spotted, but said contact with them is harmless for people due to their small size. However, care should be taken if you have sensitive skin or suffer allergies.

Several experts suggested the latest sightings of the blue dragon could be a result of global warming and rising sea temperatures. But the marine zoology expert did not believe this: "It already appeared in the Balearic Islands in 1914, so I don't think it has anything to do with climate change, he said.

He pointed out that it could have more to do with sea currents, which help drag and move the blue dragon: "A few years ago, many Portuguese caravels appeared, so it is most likely that they were accompanied by blue dragons".
Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian addresses a media briefing held by the Chinese Embassy in Canberra, Australia, May 18, 2023. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)

CANBERRA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- China stands ready to work with Australia to act on their leaders' common understandings of keeping the bilateral relationship on the right track and developing the relationship from a strategic, long-term perspective for its sustained, sound and steady development, Chinese ambassador has said.

While addressing a media briefing held by the Chinese Embassy in Australia on Thursday, Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian said to achieve these goals, three things matter.

"First, politically, we should practice mutual respect," he said.

"Building China-Australia relations of the new age requires us to respect each other's social systems and development paths, respect each other's core interests and major concerns, and respect each other's right to development."

Second, economically, the two countries should pursue mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, he said.

"Practical cooperation between our two countries has brought high-quality goods and services to China and promoted the rapid growth of the Australian economy in return," Xiao said.

Third, the two countries should properly handle conflicts and differences, said the Chinese ambassador.

"It is normal for countries to have differences on some issues, while we could still work with each other, view and handle our differences in a proper manner," he said.

"China and Australia have far more common interests than differences, which means, for the benefit of the two countries and our people, we should continue to carry out practical cooperation in all fields and at all levels, expand consensus and narrow differences through constructive dialogue so as to constantly improve, maintain and develop bilateral relations and add new substance to the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Australia."

Xiao said that China is willing to advance cooperation with Australia in both traditional fields such as energy, trade and agriculture as well as emerging fields including climate change, clean energy, green economy and green infrastructure, etc.

Xiao also briefed the updates on a Chinese deep-sea fishing vessel that capsized in the central Indian Ocean on Tuesday.

He thanked the Australian side for their cooperation and humanitarian spirit in the search and rescue work, and expressed hope that the relevant departments will send more rescue forces. 
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.
Rochester, N.Y.  After 124 years of manufacturing in Rochester, the Hickey Freeman clothing brand will no longer be made there.

The high-end suit brand has been manufactured in Rochester since 1899. Since 1912, it has been produced at a factory on North Clinton Avenue.

But the brands current owner, a company called Peerless, has decided to move production to Mexico, according to WHAM in Rochester. The North Clinton factory will remain open and no jobs will be cut.

The facility will produce suits under a new label called Rochester Tailored Clothing. It will also continue producing clothing for other brands, including Brooks Brothers and Todd Snyder, WHAM said.

Hickey Freeman will be made in Mexico starting after June 1, according to RochesterFirst.

A factory official told WHAM that local leaders negotiated with Hickey Freemans owner for months, but couldnt reach a deal to keep production in Rochester. Hickey Freeman production accounted for about 25% of the factorys work.

The facility will open a new downtown factory store Memorial Day weekend at the corner of South Union and Broad streets. The factory employs 205 people, according to WHEC in Rochester.

Hickey Freeman previously had a store at Destiny USA in Syracuse. It was one of the first tenants announced for the malls expansion in 2011, but it closed in 2015.

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598
Syracuse, N.Y.  A man woke up in his bedroom Thursday to people knocking on his door and screaming that his house was on fire.

A 911 caller reported hearing an explosion around 3:08 p.m. followed by flames coming from the back of 214 Bassett St. on the citys Westcott neighborhood, according to Onondaga County 911 Center dispatches.

Vinat Horakeri said his smoke alarms werent set off and that he only woke up because people alerted him. He said they came from a summer school across the street.

Horakeri, 26, said he quickly left the house but went back inside for his keys. He said he saw dark smoke pouring into the house from the back door.

In about 30 minutes, firefighters knocked down the flames that were contained to the back of the house, said Capt. Matthew Craner, a spokesperson for the Syracuse Fire Department.

The house had significant fire damage to the back of the first and second floor, Craner said. Three people were displaced from the fire, he said.

The American Red Cross has offered them assistance, Craner said. No one was injured.

Investigators are determining what caused the fire.

Staff writer Fernando Alba covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, question or comment? Reach him: Email | Twitter or at 315-690-6950.
Geneva, N.Y.  A man died after he was hit by two cars on a road in the Finger Lakes Thursday, deputies said.

The 45-year-old man was in the road at 8:55 p.m. on Route 14 south of Packwood Road in Geneva, according to a news release from the Ontario County Sheriffs Office. He was wearing dark clothing, deputies said.

The man was hit by a Honda SUV and then a 2016 Toyota Corolla, deputies said. He was pronounced dead at the scene, deputies said.

The road was closed for several hours while deputies investigated and reconstructed the accident, they said.

Staff writer Rylee Kirk covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, photo, question or comment? Reach her at 315-396-5961, on Twitter @kirk_rylee, or rkirk@syracuse.com.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- A group of activists and community members gathered outside the Onondaga County office building Friday afternoon after County Executive Ryan McMahon issued an order banning migrant transfer to the county.

Around 25 people chanted and spoke out against the executive order McMahon announced in a news conference Thursday.

Migration is beautiful, said Kayla Kelechain, a representative of the New York Immigration Coalition. It is part of the fabric of New York State.

The executive order blocks local motels and other properties from temporarily housing migrants arriving in New York City looking for places to resettle after seeking asylum.

Salle Curran, a representative for the Volunteer Lawyers Project of Onondaga County, said Friday that the migrants are not coming to the United States on a whim. They have valid claims for asylum after fearing for their lives in their home countries, she said.

McMahon earlier this week said the county does not have the resources to support a surge of migrants. Onondaga County is at least the 10th county in the state to take action to try to prevent migrants from being bussed Upstate from NYC.

Jessica Maxwell, the executive director of the Workers Center of Central New York, pointed out that migrant workers -- many of whom work on farms -- are an essential part of the Central New York economy and help provide the resources we need.

We depend on immigration. These are not systems where it is charity, Maxwell said. They sustain us as much as we sustain them.

Kelechain echoed that sentiment by saying the county should be investing in Black, brown and immigrant communities.

Yvonne Griffin, a member of the Central New York Chapter of Citizen Action of New York, called for the existing Black and brown communities in Syracuse and the county to stand up in solidarity to support migrants seeking safety throughout the state.

The people who are coming here deserve our compassion, respect and care, Griffin said. Syracuse might not be a wealthy city, but we know how to look out for each other.

The New York Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn earlier emergency orders in Rockland and Orange counties. The two counties had issued executive orders barring hotels from making rooms available to migrants.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said state officials are considering whether to temporarily house some migrants on SUNY campuses,

Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at ahayes@syracuse.com.
To the Editor:

I was very grateful to see the article exposing how New York hospitals are treating low-income patients (SUNY Chancellor weighs in on Upstate, other NY hospitals high rate of suing over unpaid bills, May 18 2023).

I am a cancer survivor and I owe tens of thousands of dollars to Roswell and Upstate for cancer treatment. My insurance has paid thousands to Roswell and Upstate, 80% of whatever the bills were. The rest of it is my responsibility but 20% of the $60,000  the cost of my first surgery at Roswell  is still a lot of money.

The stress from facing these hospital bills further ruined my health and the medical debt has ruined my credit score. I havent been able to get a decent car to get to my medical appointments because of the hospital bills in collections. Before all the medical bills, I had excellent credit.

I qualify for financial assistance but I cant get it because the application asks for documents I dont have. It shouldnt be so hard to access resources that are supposed to help patients, especially here in New York, where all hospitals are required to provide financial assistance to patients like me who just cannot afford to pay. If you cant afford the bills, you cant afford the bills.

Medical debt is not like taking out a mortgage or business loan; no one goes looking for it. Being sick should not result in a lifetime of financial ruin. We need the hospitals to stop suing patients and lawmakers to protect us from the high costs of healthcare. One huge step would be to pass the Fair Medical Debt Reporting bill to remove medical debt from our credit reports and the Ounce of Prevention bill to simplify the financial assistance application. Central New York is a medical debt hotspot and we need our local representatives to use their power to protect patients.

Donna CeCartel

Syracuse

Also on Syracuse.com: Ask Amy: Cancer survivor struggles to find acceptance in social situations
UN General Assembly President Csaba Korosi speaks at a General Assembly high-level meeting on middle-income countries at the UN headquarters in New York, on May 11, 2023. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

Addressing disaster risks and bolstering resilience has become "a priority for all countries," irrespective of their geographic location, UN General Assembly President Csaba Korosi said.

UNITED NATIONS, May 18 (Xinhua) -- President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), Csaba Korosi, on Thursday expressed grave concerns over the escalating impact of disasters worldwide, revealing that the known number of people affected by disasters has surged by 80-fold since 2015.

At the opening segment of a high-level meeting on the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, Korosi emphasized the interconnectedness of disasters and "the urgent need for collective action."

Korosi noted that recent events, such as the earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria, as well as the devastating Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar and Bangladesh, have demonstrated that "disasters know no borders."

Addressing disaster risks and bolstering resilience has become "a priority for all countries," irrespective of their geographic location, he added.

Reflecting on the progress made since the adoption of the Sendai Framework in 2015, Korosi acknowledged that the international community's efforts have not kept pace with the urgency of the current situation. The shocks triggered by unattended risk, further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts, and climate change, have wreaked havoc worldwide. Millions of people have been displaced, supply chains disrupted, and profound inequalities exposed within the global financial system.

To reverse this trajectory, Korosi called for "a fundamental reevaluation" of the decision-making processes and systems. He emphasized the need to align global actions with the finite nature of natural resources and to account for the true costs of the choices of countries.

People walk past a collapsed building that was damaged during the earthquake in Adiyaman, Turkiye, Feb. 18, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Korosi also stressed the importance of shifting away from profit-driven approaches and towards "inclusive and sustainable development."

The midterm review of the Sendai Framework presents a crucial opportunity for collective action. Korosi urged participants to adopt "planet-smart and people-centered" strategies, emphasizing the measurement of prosperity beyond traditional GDP metrics.

Furthermore, Korosi challenged decision-makers to integrate risk assessment into all aspects of governance and investment. "Long-term perspectives" should be prioritized over short-term decision-making, and the global financial system should value resilience and address disaster risk more effectively.

Korosi concluded by calling for the engagement of those most affected by disasters, highlighting the importance of reversing inequality and vulnerability trends.

He emphasized that anticipating risks, preparing, preventing, and responding rapidly are vital steps towards building "a resilient future." 
Thank you for reading!

Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.
Lets get something straight: if someone had time traveled to 1995 and told me that AMD might be able to save the laptop market from Apple with their chips in 2023, I would have immediately asked them how many drinks they had consumed.

After all, the late 1990s was a far different time and space for the PC industry. Intel was the undisputed king of the industry  particularly in the desktop area, as laptops were a relatively nascent market  and its company-owned foundries allowed it to release new processors on a cadence that was not only impressive but also kept competitors such as AMD at bay.

As someone who worked at Compaq as part of the team that qualified and marketed AMD processors for its Presario consumer brand PCs as a hedge against Intels impregnable pricing strategy, in my experience, AMD had a reputation as easy to work with  but a Keystone Kops knack for bad, sometimes abysmal, execution.

How quickly things changed after CEO Lisa Siu arrived on the scene at AMD in 2012.

New AMD Chips Might Challenge Apple Silicon

Apple rocked the PC world when it began to ship its own chips, dubbed Apple Silicon, in late 2020. Numerous technology publications and industry pundits were immediately impressed with these new chips performance and battery life, especially compared to x86 designs from both AMD and Intel.

Because Apple owns the entire hardware and software stack that allows the company to optimize its macOS for heightened performance, Mac desktops, and laptops quickly became hot, in-demand items. While Windows PCs continue to own a high market share (approximately 58% vs. 30% for macOS), Apple sales have steadily increased over the past few years.

However, the Windows laptop market may be getting a boost. Recently, AMD unveiled a new laptop CPU for thin and light devices that, according to the company, outperforms Apples M2 model from a year ago. Is this a true victory for AMD, or is the company selectively focusing on specific performance metrics that distort the real story?

Some Important Background

A few months back, Intel released its Core i9 13980HX, a notebook CPU  a charitable description, at best  that it audaciously claimed outperforms Apples companys current fastest processor, the M2 Max. Although the precise claims of performance victories in certain areas were technically valid, many limitations were attached to such assertions.

First, the Intel processor was a highly unusable notebook chip since it lost all of its performance advantages the millisecond it went on battery and devoured watts like a person lost in the desert dying of thirst. Moreover, it produced a ton of heat that required fans to run at full capacity whenever a notebook performed anything strenuous. Finally, at almost seven pounds, it wasnt exactly svelte.

Nevertheless, it outperformed the M2 Max for a few popular but specialized processor-intensive applications with a more potent video card and constant plugged-in use while wearing noise-canceling headphones. Although the concessions were too considerable to be a severe temptation for most Apple consumers, Intel wriggled to get one of its CPUs onto the same playing field.

This type of misstep has resulted in Intel inadvertently conceding that Apples M-series is the de facto industry leader with its continued advancement in desktop and mobile computing, power and chip efficiency, and integrated graphics capability. Except for dedicated gaming rigs, Macs became far quicker than any Windows PC in daily usage, starting with the first M1 machines.

Its AMDs Time To Step Up to the Plate

The newest member of AMDs Ryzen 7 family, the 7840U, is the chip the entire PC industry appears to be buzzing about.

It is immediately apparent that this chip is a far more credible competitor than Intels 13980HX. Unlike Intels disingenuous notebook characterization, the 7840U is truly a processor specifically made for thin-and-light laptops. As a result, it must produce less heat and operate more effectively, and thats just for openers.

Since AMD only introduced this new chip at the end of April, no production machines have yet to use it in real-world testing, which is a crucial point. Despite this, AMD recently posted a series of vague benchmarks that it says demonstrate greater performance over Apples basic M2 processor, which is used in the Mac mini, MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and two iPad Pro versions.

AMD Ryzen 7840U vs. Apple M2

Frankly, it is still unknown if the 7840U can sustain this ostensibly impressive performance on batteries and how much battery it uses for comparable workloads because there isnt a real system to test this on.

The highly generic descriptions of the significant areas of comparison, the narrow differences between the two chips in all but two categories, and the absence of details and sourcing for any of the findings give rise to concerns that must be validated in real-life testing.

AMD Ryzen 7 7840U, part of the Ryzen 7040U Series, benchmark performance versus Apples M2 (Chart Credit: AMD)

Even if we accept AMDs statements on their merit, a closer examination reveals that the company only asserts distinct advantages in two of the six areas that its marketing team chose as proof of its superiority. The other four outcomes may be essentially tied within the benchmark test margin of error.

Without question, real-world testing on actual devices can differ significantly from marketing department benchmarks. Still, based on these and other early findings, there is some evidence that it appears AMD has credibly  if only partially  challenged Apples M2 hegemony and has significantly defeated Intels Core i9 13980HX, which raises even more questions about how far Intel is behind.

With that in mind, the Ryzen 7 7840U is a fully integrated laptop chip that appears to compete with the base M2 processor and maybe the M2 Pro in some areas. Thats a considerable accomplishment.

Even though benchmarking suite scores are competitive, there are other things to consider, as games forced to play on the Intel Core i9 13980HX laptop referenced above experienced a dramatic performance plunge when forced to operate on battery power.

Closing Thoughts

Its too early to declare AMDs 7784u as the new heavyweight champion that favorably competes with or even exceeds what Apple has accomplished with its M2.

From a reputational standpoint, AMD recognizes the stakes here. We should presume that AMD measured the metrics for their comparison table under the laptops optimal circumstances: while connected to AC power and without considering factors like heat and battery consumption. From my viewpoint, that approach seems perfectly rational.

But lets be clear. My interactions with AMD tend to confirm that the company is working overtime to produce the best-performing silicon. In my discussions with AMD executives, they are not dismissive of Apples engineering capability (unlike Intel).

The post-pandemic PC market is currently in a growth funk, unlikely to change for several quarters. Companies like HP, Dell, and Lenovo have produced some of the most beautiful laptop designs seen in years. However, without best-in-class chips, consumers and corporate customers may be willing to consider non-Windows alternatives despite generally higher prices for Apple products.

If AMDs 7840U turns out as advertised, it will give the Windows laptop space a much-needed jolt of adrenalin. No one likes for any company, including Apple, to operate without competition, and AMDs work here could be music to customers ears.
TechSpot is celebrating its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust

Why it matters: MicroLED is an emerging display technology promising to offer better performance and higher pixel density than miniLED or OLED, but manufacturing challenges keep it from reaching widely-available products. One startup has introduced a new solution that could speed up microLED adoption.

Los Angeles startup Q-Pixel has introduced a new microLED process enabling pixel densities exceeding 5,000 pixels per inch. The company aims to solve manufacturing problems that have kept microLED technology out of most consumers' hands.

MicroLED displays can achieve higher pixel densities, faster response times, greater energy efficiency, and longer lifespans than OLED screens. However, microLED requires precise manufacturing processes, making the technology cost-prohibitive.

The most tangible microLED applications are currently for screens on opposite extremes of the size scale. Apple is supposedly preparing a microLED-based Apple Watch, and Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute revealed a 2,000 PPI microLED display for AR applications late last year. Meanwhile, companies like Samsung and C Seed have showcased 100-inch+ microLED TVs costing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Last month, laptop-sized microLED demonstrations from AUO exhibited attractive perks, albeit with profound drawbacks. They could display impressive anti-glare functionality or brightnesses reaching 2,000 nits but with resolutions limited to 720p.

Q-Pixel calls its solution Polychromatic RGB microLED. It achieves full-color tunability across a single four-micron pixel. The company claims that, unlike single-color LED, Polychromatic RGB circumvents the need for pick-and-place assembly, an essential aspect of LED manufacturing. This advancement could significantly reduce costs, streamline production, and minimize the occurrence of dead pixels.

The method's results sound similar to findings MIT researchers published in February. They proposed a process involving growing vertically stacked ultrathin red, green, and blue membranes to achieve multiple colors in a four-micron pixel. Like Q-Pixel, the researchers reached a density of over 5,000 PPI. Q-Pixel says it cooperates with leading research institutes worldwide, so its solution could be the commercialization of MIT's idea, but the company calls Polychromatic RGB microLED proprietary technology.

The company suggests that the technology addresses other longstanding microdisplay design bottlenecks without going into detail. Q-Pixel promises Polychromatic RGB will apply to microLED displays ranging from TVs over 100 inches to phones, tablets, PCs, smartwatches, and VR/AR lenses.
New York City public schools lifted a ban on the AI tool ChatGPT after banning its usage on school networks and devices in January over concerns about safety and accuracy. Officials held discussions with tech industry leaders to talk about the platforms' potential for schools.

(Photo : NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)

Illustration picture shows the ChatGPT artificial intelligence software, which generates human-like conversation, Friday 03 February 2023 in Lierde.

Lifting ChatGPT Ban

Artificial Intelligence tool ChatGPT will no longer be banned in New York City public schools. According to a report from Bloomberg, New York City Public Schools Chancellor David Banks announced the move on Thursday. The school system is now exploring its power and risks after discussion with experts.

The department also consulted their most trusted experts and city-wide educators about this effort, and many of them had already started teaching about the future and ethics of the technology. Additionally, they will continue to gather information from tech industry leaders to assist all schools in using AI tools effectively.

While he said that the school system's initial caution about the AI tool was justified, he conceded that the reaction was a "knee-jerk fear" that led to not recognizing the technology's possibility and possibility of generative artificial intelligence, and its ability to support the school, educators, and its students.

Going Forward with AI

Because of this move, NYC's school system is now making an effort for educators by giving them resources and real-life examples of successful AI implementation to improve their administrative tasks, communication, and teaching for their students. A toolkit of resources will also be offered for educators to use as they initiate discussions about AI in their classrooms.

As per his released op-ed on the education website Chalkbeat, this decision is important for the chancellor as he continues to ensure every student can read proficiently which will prepare them for well-paying jobs and provide quality schools that are safe, welcoming, and supported by both the community and the government.

Banks stated, "New York City Public Schools will encourage and support our educators and students as they learn about and explore this game-changing technology while also creating a repository and community to share their findings across our schools."

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine supported this effort, saying that the change in policy will encourage educators and students in learning technology as a preparation for the youth in the future.

Also Read: ChatGPT Privacy Guide 2023: Here's How to Remove Your Sensitive Data From AI Chatbot

Previous Ban

Due to the potential misuse and concerns raised by the educators of the city, ChatGPT was placed on New York City's list of restricted websites in public schools.

While it did not prohibit the use of technology entirely, NBC News reported that it required schools to request access for staff and students. YouTube, Netflix, and Roblox are the other websites that share this previous classification.

NYC Department of Education Deputy Press Secretary Jenna Lyle stated in January that the tool does not help students to build critical thinking and problem-solving skills, but rather leads them to cheat.

Related Article: ChatGPT Is Banned in NYC Schools Amid Worries of Cheating, Misinformation

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Employees have been ordered by Apple to not use ChatGPT and other external AI tools as it develops its own similar technology and concerns over the leak of confidential data. Apple joins other companies like JPMorgan Chase, Verizon, and Amazon.

(Photo : Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 20: An Apple employee helps a customers shop for the new iPhone 11 at Apple's flagship 5th Avenue store on September 20, 2019 in New York City. Apple's new iPhone 11 goes on sale today at the grand re-opening of the 5th Avenue store.

Restricting Apple Employees from Using AI Tools

Apple has restricted its employees from using ChatGPT and other external artificial intelligence tools. According to a report from Reuters, employees using these tools could lead to leaking confidential data, hence why the company opts to develop its own similar technology and ordered a ban on the usage of external models.

ChatGPT, created by OpenAI and backed by Microsoft, is a chatbot that has the ability to answer questions, write essays, and perform other tasks in human-like ways. Aside from this, employees were told to not use Microsoft GitHub's Copilot which automates the writing of software code.

In order for these tools to enable continued improvements, the data sent by the users will be obtained by the developer. Through this process, an organization can unintentionally share proprietary or confidential information. Apple is known for its security measures that guard information about its future products and consumer data.

Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook also recognized how artificial intelligence has huge potential in the tech industry, which makes sense if the company develops its own AI tool. While he remains interested in the technology, Cook cautioned to be thoughtful in approaching it.

Other Companies Restricting AI Tools Usage

Wall Street Journal reported that a number of companies and organizations have begun using it for everything, from writing emails and marketing materials to coding software. Now that they saw the risk of using the models in the workplace, several companies implemented restrictions that Apple followed.

Among the companies that barred their employees from using external AI tools are JPMorgan Chase and Verizon. Amazon urged its engineers to use its own internal AI tool rather than using ChatGPT for coding assistance.

Samsung also ordered a ban on the usage of different AI tools in the workplace as per the company's newest policy after discovering employees accidentally leaking sensitive data by uploading a code to ChatGPT.

As per the company, "While this interest focuses on the usefulness and efficiency of these platforms, there are also growing concerns about security risks presented by generative AI."

Also Read: Apple Employees Express Skepticism on Launching Its Mixed-Reality Headset

New York City public schools also banned its usage on school networks and devices last January over concerns about safety and accuracy. NYC Department of Education Deputy Press Secretary Jenna Lyle even stated that the tool does not help students to build critical thinking skills as the tool rather helps them to easily cheat in school activities.

Related Article: Apple CEO Tim Cook Addresses Growth of AI, Potentially Coming to More Products

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The renowned space rocket that is bound for Mars did not exactly come back to the surface in one piece after its actual test flight to orbit last month, and SpaceX looks to test another prototype known as Ship 25. The company recently announced that the new rocket is coming to the suborbital launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas, for its static fire test.

SpaceX is looking to warm up before another test flight in the coming months, one that would determine its readiness for another flight to orbit.

(Photo : SpaceX)

SpaceX's Starship is Now on the Suborbital Launch Pad in Starbase

The latest Starship prototype, Ship 25, has arrived at the suborbital launch pad located in Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas. This eagerly anticipated development signals the company's determination to overcome setbacks and advance toward its goal of achieving orbital flight capabilities.

Ship 25 represents a significant step forward for SpaceX, following the unfortunate loss of its predecessor in April. The initial ship's untimely demise during its orbital flight attempt served as a valuable learning experience for the company.

Drawing upon the lessons learned, SpaceX has made design improvements and implemented modifications to ensure the success of its future prototypes.

For now, the company is looking into a static fire test for six of the Raptor engines underneath the rocket. There are as many as 33 Raptors strapped on the bottom of the rocket, but not all would be fired on its upcoming test day.

Read Also: SpaceX Taps NASA's Former Human Spaceflight Head Kathy Lueders to Oversee Starship

Will SpaceX's Ship 25 be a Successful Rocket to Fly and Return?

The primary objective of Ship 25's presence at the Starbase launch pad is to undergo a static fire test. This critical test involves igniting all six Raptor engines of the rocket while it remains firmly grounded. The purpose is to evaluate the performance and reliability of the engines and the associated systems, as well as gather crucial data to inform future design iterations.

The static fire test is an essential precursor to a full-fledged launch attempt, allowing SpaceX engineers to meticulously assess the rocket's readiness for flight.

It is yet unknown what SpaceX's engineers and Musk have changed on this new prototype, but it is rooting for success and readiness for an actual flight in the future.

SpaceX Starship and the Massive Aspirations Riding on It

While there are not yet any promising feats that the Starship brought to the world apart from reaching orbit last April and then exploding into thousands of pieces, SpaceX and its CEO's promise claimed that it will be the most powerful rocket in the world. The goal is Mars, not just to reach the neighboring planet, but also to bring humans to its surface.

Musk previously said that it is not absolute on the Starship's orbital flight test last April, but its goal is to see the rocket reach orbit and give them massive data on the spacecraft.

Ship 25's arrival at the Starbase launch pad signifies SpaceX's determination to overcome past setbacks and build upon its successes. The outcome of this critical test will not only determine the immediate fate of the prototype but also shape the trajectory of SpaceX's ambitious Starship program.

Related Article: Starlink Expands to Schools, Particularly in Remote Areas in the Philippines' Pangan-an Island

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
DAR ES SALAAM, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Hyenas have killed at least 24 people in five years in Karatu district in Manyara region in northern Tanzania, a Member of Parliament said on Friday.

Cecilia Pareso, the MP on women special seats, told the House in the capital Dodoma that 24 people were killed in Endamarariek ward in the district, located between Lake Manyara National Park and the Ngorongoro conservation area.

The lawmaker urged the government to take urgent measures to control the hyenas from wreaking more havoc in the area.

In response to concerns raised by the lawmaker, the Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Mary Masanja, said the ministry hunted the hyenas in Endamarariek ward from 2019 to 2022 and killed seven of the wild animals, and destroyed 11 of their habitats.

Masanja said the ministry was continuing to crack down on clans of hyenas in different parts of the country before they caused disastrous consequences. 
Ukraine's pilots can learn F-16 fighter jets faster than what Pentagon recently predicted.

(Photo : JOAQUIN SARMIENTO/AFP via Getty Images)

A US Air Force F-16 aircraft flies near the Rionegro Airport during military drills between the Colombia and the United States Air Forces in Rionegro, Antioquia department, Colombia on July 12, 2021.

Colin Kahl, a top Pentagon policy official, claimed that if Ukrainian soldiers are trained to fly F-16s, it would take them 18 months to learn.

This time frame he shared in February is comparable to the time it would require to export fighter jets to Ukraine.

But, a leaked Air Force document revealed that Ukrainian pilots could master F-16 jets faster than 18 months.

Ukraine's Pilots Can Master F-16 Jets Faster Than Pentagon's Prediction

According to Business Insider's latest report, Yahoo News acquired an Air Force document revealing how fast Ukrainian pilots can master F-16 fighter jets.

(Photo : KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)

A Belgian F-16 jet fighter takes part in the NATO Air Nuclear drill "Steadfast Noon" (its regular nuclear deterrence exercise) at the Kleine-Brogel air base in Belgium on October 18, 2022. - NATO on October 17, 2022 launched its regular nuclear deterrence drills in western Europe, after tensions soared with Russia over President Vladimir Putin's veiled threats in the face of setbacks in Ukraine.

Also Read: Northrop Grumman's Anti-radiation Missile Achieves 5th Consecutive Successful Test

The Air Force assessment detailed an F-16 training activity involving two of Ukraine's pilots.

The aircraft flyers were trained at the Morris Air National Guard Base, which is located in Tucson, Arizona.

The Air Force document stated that the Ukranian pilots exceeded the U.S. expectations throughout 11 and a half hours.

During the nine F-16 simulations, the two Ukranian airmen were able to learn the ins and outs of the fighter jet.

In conclusion, the Air Force assessment claimed that Ukranian pilots can master the American-made fighter jet in just four months.

This is shorter compared to the estimated 18 months of training claimed by Kahl.

Will Ukraine Finally Receive F-16s?

Pentagon's previous training period prediction is one of the major reasons why Ukraine hasn't received the fighter jets yet.

However, with the newly leaked Air Force assessment document, this reason could be ruled out.

This May, numerous European leaders, as well as some top German and U.K. officials, are pressuring the U.S. government to send F-16s to Ukraine.

On Thursday, May 18, the Biden administration already signaled that it could allow the export of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

In other stories, China's next-gen radar, which could detect all kinds of air threats, was revealed.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force successfully operated an MQ-9 Reaper drone on a regular highway for the first time.

For more news updates about F-16s and other defense aircraft, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: UK, Dutch Leaders Join Forces to Help Ukraine Gain New F-16 Fighter Jets

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The alert kidnapping of Eya lifted, the girl has not been found

"A step towards denationalization of the economy": Russian politicians and scientists on the adoption of the law "On Cooperation in the USSR"

Suspicion of cheating in Abitur exams: That's why it's so difficult to convict AI cheaters

The tiny workshop that drives the residents of Chamberi crazy with its more than 30 varieties of 'cheesecakes'

The mother of young Eya, abducted by her father, on her way to Denmark

Sweden is becoming smoke-free, dinosaurs were survivors and Charles Darwin was afraid of his pious wife: The reading recommendations of the week from the science editorial team of SPIEGEL. (Copy)

"The Voice": surprise on the set, Florent Pagny resumes his hit "Chanter" with the talents, despite his illness

Ukrainian counterattack. When was it planned? Did he exhaust the Russian forces?

Experts and scholars discussed: how to deal with the pandemic in the post-epidemic era? - China News Network video

Bear infestation increases in June every year Proper management of food waste and fruit trees Ministry of the Environment

Roglic snatches the pink jersey from Thomas and is on the verge of overall victory

To watch.. This is how Dortmund's dream of winning the Bundesliga title collapsed

Head of World Taekwondo: the participation of Russians in the World Cup will be a good example of supporting athletes

Ice Hockey World Championship: Germany wins against the USA and is in the final

Germany beat the United States and made it to the final of the 2023 Ice Hockey World Cup

Luton Town Football Club: First a moment of shock for captain, then promotion to the Premier League

He became the most decorated club with the title. Saint-Germain crowned the French league title for the 11th time in its history

How far is it from artificial intelligence entering thousands of households?

"More than ever before": Ver.di has had around 100,000 new members since the beginning of the year

China Securities Regulatory Commission: There are more than 5000,<> A-share listed companies, which play a role as a "ballast stone" in many ways

Foreign Ministry: Hungary and Serbia did not turn to Russia with proposals for the construction of an oil pipeline

High-quality Development Research TourVisit the location of Asia's largest fabric market How can traditional industries innovate and go overseas?

Heat pumps and their alternatives: how to plan your new heating system

Fixed income aspires to be the new goose that lays the golden eggs

The electricity companies fear that the end of the Government's anti-crisis measures will unleash new delays in electricity billing

Ergonomics, reliability and convenience: the Kalashnikov concern has modified the AK-12 assault rifle, taking into account the experience of the NWO

Three events that could affect the war in Ukraine right now

Turkish presidential election run-off election on the 28th, increasing presence as an intermediary in the situation in Ukraine

A lawyer admits that he used ChatGPT for a brief and it invented legal precedents

(Focusing on China's high-quality development) The rural revitalization road of the land of fish and rice: Jiangsu's modern pastoral construction is underway

Senegal: many tensions around the "caravan of freedom" of the opponent Ousmane Sonko

The history of the kiss may be older than the man himself

Gemma Pinto: everything you need to know about Marc Marquez's new model girlfriend

Everything failed in Rodrigo's suicide: "When we realized it was too late"

The Mawa approached the east of Luzon in the Philippines with little change in intensity or a slight increase

The Infanta Sofia celebrates the confirmation with King Felipe as godfather and with the whole invited family

The bodies of a woman and her 3-year-old son are found in a house in Las Gabias (Granada)

Ukraine says it is "ready" to recover its territory and multiplies attacks on Russian logistics

Fixed income aspires to be the new goose that lays the golden eggs

 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.
Sun Jing (R) and Shi Jinfang rehearse puppet play of Kunqu Opera at a park in Qidu Town, Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 18, 2023. Kunqu, with a history of hundreds of years, is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2001.

In Qidu Town of Suzhou, there is a unique form of Kunqu Opera called "Kunqu Puppet" which features actors presenting performance with puppets on the stage.

In order to inherit the traditional "Kunqu Puppet", Sun Jing, Shi Jinfang and Shi Xiaoming were selected by local authority to study Kunqu Opera performance in an opera school while they were still middle school students in 2004. At the opera school, they first learned the art of Kunqu Opera performance before moving on to puppet handling. After graduating in 2009, they began to perform "Kunqu Puppet" at the cultural station in Qidu Town and have performed over 280 puppet plays of Kunqu Opera for more than 70,000 spectators so far.

"Due to a shortage of manpower, some traditional plays can no longer be performed," Sun Jing said, "and our goal is to establish a demonstration base for this old art form to attract young people to know and learn about the traditional culture." (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Sun Jing (L) and Shi Jinfang perform puppet play of Kunqu Opera in Qidu Town, Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, May 17, 2023. Kunqu, with a history of hundreds of years, is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2001.

In Qidu Town of Suzhou, there is a unique form of Kunqu Opera called "Kunqu Puppet" which features actors presenting performance with puppets on the stage.

In order to inherit the traditional "Kunqu Puppet", Sun Jing, Shi Jinfang and Shi Xiaoming were selected by local authority to study Kunqu Opera performance in an opera school while they were still middle school students in 2004. At the opera school, they first learned the art of Kunqu Opera performance before moving on to puppet handling. After graduating in 2009, they began to perform "Kunqu Puppet" at the cultural station in Qidu Town and have performed over 280 puppet plays of Kunqu Opera for more than 70,000 spectators so far.

"Due to a shortage of manpower, some traditional plays can no longer be performed," Sun Jing said, "and our goal is to establish a demonstration base for this old art form to attract young people to know and learn about the traditional culture." (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

Sun Jing (L) and Shi Jinfang perform puppet play of Kunqu Opera in Qidu Town, Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, May 17, 2023. Kunqu, with a history of hundreds of years, is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2001.

In Qidu Town of Suzhou, there is a unique form of Kunqu Opera called "Kunqu Puppet" which features actors presenting performance with puppets on the stage.

In order to inherit the traditional "Kunqu Puppet", Sun Jing, Shi Jinfang and Shi Xiaoming were selected by local authority to study Kunqu Opera performance in an opera school while they were still middle school students in 2004. At the opera school, they first learned the art of Kunqu Opera performance before moving on to puppet handling. After graduating in 2009, they began to perform "Kunqu Puppet" at the cultural station in Qidu Town and have performed over 280 puppet plays of Kunqu Opera for more than 70,000 spectators so far.

"Due to a shortage of manpower, some traditional plays can no longer be performed," Sun Jing said, "and our goal is to establish a demonstration base for this old art form to attract young people to know and learn about the traditional culture." (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

Children interact with puppets at a kindergarten in Qidu Town, Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 20, 2023. Kunqu, with a history of hundreds of years, is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2001.

In Qidu Town of Suzhou, there is a unique form of Kunqu Opera called "Kunqu Puppet" which features actors presenting performance with puppets on the stage.

In order to inherit the traditional "Kunqu Puppet", Sun Jing, Shi Jinfang and Shi Xiaoming were selected by local authority to study Kunqu Opera performance in an opera school while they were still middle school students in 2004. At the opera school, they first learned the art of Kunqu Opera performance before moving on to puppet handling. After graduating in 2009, they began to perform "Kunqu Puppet" at the cultural station in Qidu Town and have performed over 280 puppet plays of Kunqu Opera for more than 70,000 spectators so far.

"Due to a shortage of manpower, some traditional plays can no longer be performed," Sun Jing said, "and our goal is to establish a demonstration base for this old art form to attract young people to know and learn about the traditional culture." (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

Sun Jing (R) and Shi Jinfang perform puppet play of Kunqu Opera for children at a kindergarten in Qidu Town, Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 20, 2023. Kunqu, with a history of hundreds of years, is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2001.

In Qidu Town of Suzhou, there is a unique form of Kunqu Opera called "Kunqu Puppet" which features actors presenting performance with puppets on the stage.

In order to inherit the traditional "Kunqu Puppet", Sun Jing, Shi Jinfang and Shi Xiaoming were selected by local authority to study Kunqu Opera performance in an opera school while they were still middle school students in 2004. At the opera school, they first learned the art of Kunqu Opera performance before moving on to puppet handling. After graduating in 2009, they began to perform "Kunqu Puppet" at the cultural station in Qidu Town and have performed over 280 puppet plays of Kunqu Opera for more than 70,000 spectators so far.

"Due to a shortage of manpower, some traditional plays can no longer be performed," Sun Jing said, "and our goal is to establish a demonstration base for this old art form to attract young people to know and learn about the traditional culture." (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

Sun Jing (L, front) and Shi Jinfang perform puppet play of Kunqu Opera in Qidu Town, Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, May 17, 2023. Kunqu, with a history of hundreds of years, is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2001.

In Qidu Town of Suzhou, there is a unique form of Kunqu Opera called "Kunqu Puppet" which features actors presenting performance with puppets on the stage.

In order to inherit the traditional "Kunqu Puppet", Sun Jing, Shi Jinfang and Shi Xiaoming were selected by local authority to study Kunqu Opera performance in an opera school while they were still middle school students in 2004. At the opera school, they first learned the art of Kunqu Opera performance before moving on to puppet handling. After graduating in 2009, they began to perform "Kunqu Puppet" at the cultural station in Qidu Town and have performed over 280 puppet plays of Kunqu Opera for more than 70,000 spectators so far.

"Due to a shortage of manpower, some traditional plays can no longer be performed," Sun Jing said, "and our goal is to establish a demonstration base for this old art form to attract young people to know and learn about the traditional culture." (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Shi Xiaoming (L) and Shi Jinfang arrange puppets in Qidu Town, Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 19, 2023. Kunqu, with a history of hundreds of years, is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2001.

In Qidu Town of Suzhou, there is a unique form of Kunqu Opera called "Kunqu Puppet" which features actors presenting performance with puppets on the stage.

In order to inherit the traditional "Kunqu Puppet", Sun Jing, Shi Jinfang and Shi Xiaoming were selected by local authority to study Kunqu Opera performance in an opera school while they were still middle school students in 2004. At the opera school, they first learned the art of Kunqu Opera performance before moving on to puppet handling. After graduating in 2009, they began to perform "Kunqu Puppet" at the cultural station in Qidu Town and have performed over 280 puppet plays of Kunqu Opera for more than 70,000 spectators so far.

"Due to a shortage of manpower, some traditional plays can no longer be performed," Sun Jing said, "and our goal is to establish a demonstration base for this old art form to attract young people to know and learn about the traditional culture." (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

Sun Jing (R) and Shi Jinfang perform puppet play of Kunqu Opera in Qidu Town, Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, May 17, 2023. Kunqu, with a history of hundreds of years, is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2001.

In Qidu Town of Suzhou, there is a unique form of Kunqu Opera called "Kunqu Puppet" which features actors presenting performance with puppets on the stage.

In order to inherit the traditional "Kunqu Puppet", Sun Jing, Shi Jinfang and Shi Xiaoming were selected by local authority to study Kunqu Opera performance in an opera school while they were still middle school students in 2004. At the opera school, they first learned the art of Kunqu Opera performance before moving on to puppet handling. After graduating in 2009, they began to perform "Kunqu Puppet" at the cultural station in Qidu Town and have performed over 280 puppet plays of Kunqu Opera for more than 70,000 spectators so far.

"Due to a shortage of manpower, some traditional plays can no longer be performed," Sun Jing said, "and our goal is to establish a demonstration base for this old art form to attract young people to know and learn about the traditional culture." (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

Sun Jing (R) and Shi Jinfang rehearse puppet play of Kunqu Opera at a park in Qidu Town, Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 18, 2023. Kunqu, with a history of hundreds of years, is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2001.

In Qidu Town of Suzhou, there is a unique form of Kunqu Opera called "Kunqu Puppet" which features actors presenting performance with puppets on the stage.

In order to inherit the traditional "Kunqu Puppet", Sun Jing, Shi Jinfang and Shi Xiaoming were selected by local authority to study Kunqu Opera performance in an opera school while they were still middle school students in 2004. At the opera school, they first learned the art of Kunqu Opera performance before moving on to puppet handling. After graduating in 2009, they began to perform "Kunqu Puppet" at the cultural station in Qidu Town and have performed over 280 puppet plays of Kunqu Opera for more than 70,000 spectators so far.

"Due to a shortage of manpower, some traditional plays can no longer be performed," Sun Jing said, "and our goal is to establish a demonstration base for this old art form to attract young people to know and learn about the traditional culture." (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Sun Jing (R) and Shi Jinfang rehearse at a dance room in Qidu Town, Wujiang district of Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 19, 2023. Kunqu, with a history of hundreds of years, is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2001.

In Qidu Town of Suzhou, there is a unique form of Kunqu Opera called "Kunqu Puppet" which features actors presenting performance with puppets on the stage.

In order to inherit the traditional "Kunqu Puppet", Sun Jing, Shi Jinfang and Shi Xiaoming were selected by local authority to study Kunqu Opera performance in an opera school while they were still middle school students in 2004. At the opera school, they first learned the art of Kunqu Opera performance before moving on to puppet handling. After graduating in 2009, they began to perform "Kunqu Puppet" at the cultural station in Qidu Town and have performed over 280 puppet plays of Kunqu Opera for more than 70,000 spectators so far.

"Due to a shortage of manpower, some traditional plays can no longer be performed," Sun Jing said, "and our goal is to establish a demonstration base for this old art form to attract young people to know and learn about the traditional culture." (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Sun Jing (L) and Shi Jinfang prepare to rehearse puppet play of Kunqu Opera at a park in Qidu Town, Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 18, 2023. Kunqu, with a history of hundreds of years, is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2001.

In Qidu Town of Suzhou, there is a unique form of Kunqu Opera called "Kunqu Puppet" which features actors presenting performance with puppets on the stage.

In order to inherit the traditional "Kunqu Puppet", Sun Jing, Shi Jinfang and Shi Xiaoming were selected by local authority to study Kunqu Opera performance in an opera school while they were still middle school students in 2004. At the opera school, they first learned the art of Kunqu Opera performance before moving on to puppet handling. After graduating in 2009, they began to perform "Kunqu Puppet" at the cultural station in Qidu Town and have performed over 280 puppet plays of Kunqu Opera for more than 70,000 spectators so far.

"Due to a shortage of manpower, some traditional plays can no longer be performed," Sun Jing said, "and our goal is to establish a demonstration base for this old art form to attract young people to know and learn about the traditional culture." (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Sun Jing and Shi Jinfang perform puppet play of Kunqu Opera in Qidu Town, Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, May 17, 2023. Kunqu, with a history of hundreds of years, is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2001.

In Qidu Town of Suzhou, there is a unique form of Kunqu Opera called "Kunqu Puppet" which features actors presenting performance with puppets on the stage.

In order to inherit the traditional "Kunqu Puppet", Sun Jing, Shi Jinfang and Shi Xiaoming were selected by local authority to study Kunqu Opera performance in an opera school while they were still middle school students in 2004. At the opera school, they first learned the art of Kunqu Opera performance before moving on to puppet handling. After graduating in 2009, they began to perform "Kunqu Puppet" at the cultural station in Qidu Town and have performed over 280 puppet plays of Kunqu Opera for more than 70,000 spectators so far.

"Due to a shortage of manpower, some traditional plays can no longer be performed," Sun Jing said, "and our goal is to establish a demonstration base for this old art form to attract young people to know and learn about the traditional culture." (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Sun Jing (C), Shi Xiaoming (R) and Shi Jinfang pose for a group photo after rehearsal in Qidu Town, Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 19, 2023. Kunqu, with a history of hundreds of years, is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2001.

In Qidu Town of Suzhou, there is a unique form of Kunqu Opera called "Kunqu Puppet" which features actors presenting performance with puppets on the stage.

In order to inherit the traditional "Kunqu Puppet", Sun Jing, Shi Jinfang and Shi Xiaoming were selected by local authority to study Kunqu Opera performance in an opera school while they were still middle school students in 2004. At the opera school, they first learned the art of Kunqu Opera performance before moving on to puppet handling. After graduating in 2009, they began to perform "Kunqu Puppet" at the cultural station in Qidu Town and have performed over 280 puppet plays of Kunqu Opera for more than 70,000 spectators so far.

"Due to a shortage of manpower, some traditional plays can no longer be performed," Sun Jing said, "and our goal is to establish a demonstration base for this old art form to attract young people to know and learn about the traditional culture." (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

Sun Jing (1st R) and Shi Jinfang (1st L) teach children to control puppets at a kindergarten in Qidu Town, Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 20, 2023. Kunqu, with a history of hundreds of years, is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2001.

In Qidu Town of Suzhou, there is a unique form of Kunqu Opera called "Kunqu Puppet" which features actors presenting performance with puppets on the stage.

In order to inherit the traditional "Kunqu Puppet", Sun Jing, Shi Jinfang and Shi Xiaoming were selected by local authority to study Kunqu Opera performance in an opera school while they were still middle school students in 2004. At the opera school, they first learned the art of Kunqu Opera performance before moving on to puppet handling. After graduating in 2009, they began to perform "Kunqu Puppet" at the cultural station in Qidu Town and have performed over 280 puppet plays of Kunqu Opera for more than 70,000 spectators so far.

"Due to a shortage of manpower, some traditional plays can no longer be performed," Sun Jing said, "and our goal is to establish a demonstration base for this old art form to attract young people to know and learn about the traditional culture." (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

Sun Jing and Shi Jinfang rehearse puppet play of Kunqu Opera at a park in Qidu Town, Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 18, 2023. Kunqu, with a history of hundreds of years, is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2001.

In Qidu Town of Suzhou, there is a unique form of Kunqu Opera called "Kunqu Puppet" which features actors presenting performance with puppets on the stage.

In order to inherit the traditional "Kunqu Puppet", Sun Jing, Shi Jinfang and Shi Xiaoming were selected by local authority to study Kunqu Opera performance in an opera school while they were still middle school students in 2004. At the opera school, they first learned the art of Kunqu Opera performance before moving on to puppet handling. After graduating in 2009, they began to perform "Kunqu Puppet" at the cultural station in Qidu Town and have performed over 280 puppet plays of Kunqu Opera for more than 70,000 spectators so far.

"Due to a shortage of manpower, some traditional plays can no longer be performed," Sun Jing said, "and our goal is to establish a demonstration base for this old art form to attract young people to know and learn about the traditional culture." (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Sun Jing (L) and Shi Jinfang teach children to control puppets at a kindergarten in Qidu Town, Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 20, 2023. Kunqu, with a history of hundreds of years, is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage in 2001.

In Qidu Town of Suzhou, there is a unique form of Kunqu Opera called "Kunqu Puppet" which features actors presenting performance with puppets on the stage.

In order to inherit the traditional "Kunqu Puppet", Sun Jing, Shi Jinfang and Shi Xiaoming were selected by local authority to study Kunqu Opera performance in an opera school while they were still middle school students in 2004. At the opera school, they first learned the art of Kunqu Opera performance before moving on to puppet handling. After graduating in 2009, they began to perform "Kunqu Puppet" at the cultural station in Qidu Town and have performed over 280 puppet plays of Kunqu Opera for more than 70,000 spectators so far.

"Due to a shortage of manpower, some traditional plays can no longer be performed," Sun Jing said, "and our goal is to establish a demonstration base for this old art form to attract young people to know and learn about the traditional culture." (Xinhua/Li Bo)
SEOUL, May 19 (Xinhua) -- South Korea has reported 11 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) cases for the past 10 days, leading the authorities to raise its alert level to the highest, Yonhap news agency said Friday.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs was quoted as saying it had confirmed an additional FMD case at a beef cattle farm in Cheongju city, about 110 km south of the capital Seoul.

Since the first FMD outbreak here in four years on May 10, the number of such cases has increased to 11, including nine in the Cheongju city and two in Jeungpyeong county, adjacent to the city.

The authorities sent officials to the farm to take quarantine measures and conduct an epidemiological investigation, while all the cattle raised at the farm planned to be culled.

To prevent the spread of the highly transmissible viral disease, the agriculture ministry heightened its FMD warning level by two notches to "serious," or the highest of its four-tier system, in nine cities and counties including Cheongju and Jeungpyeong. 
Participants race down the street during the Cloverdale Bed Race in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, May 18, 2023. The traditional community event returned for its 44th year on Thursday, when participants teamed up to compete head-to-head on the street with their modified beds. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua)

Participants race down the street during the Cloverdale Bed Race in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, May 18, 2023. The traditional community event returned for its 44th year on Thursday, when participants teamed up to compete head-to-head on the street with their modified beds. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua)

Participants race down the street during the Cloverdale Bed Race in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, May 18, 2023. The traditional community event returned for its 44th year on Thursday, when participants teamed up to compete head-to-head on the street with their modified beds. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua)

Participants race down the street during the Cloverdale Bed Race in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, May 18, 2023. The traditional community event returned for its 44th year on Thursday, when participants teamed up to compete head-to-head on the street with their modified beds. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua)

Participants race down the street during the Cloverdale Bed Race in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, May 18, 2023. The traditional community event returned for its 44th year on Thursday, when participants teamed up to compete head-to-head on the street with their modified beds. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua)

Participants race down the street during the Cloverdale Bed Race in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, May 18, 2023. The traditional community event returned for its 44th year on Thursday, when participants teamed up to compete head-to-head on the street with their modified beds. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua)
Louisiana Senate President Page Cortez, R-Lafayette, left, and House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, left, sing along with the national anthem before La. Gov. John Bel Edwards addressed members of the House and Senate in a joint session to kick off the 2023 regular legislative session, Monday, April 10, 2023 at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge, La. In foreground are Secretary of the Senate Yolanda Dixon, left, and Clerk of the House of Representatives Michelle Fontenot, right.
Food Safari at Royal Zambezi Lodge

Experience the Delights of an African Food Safari at Royal Zambezi Lodge.

Along the scenic banks of the Zambezi River in Zambia, the Royal Zambezi Lodge is a luxurious safari lodge situated within the picturesque Lower Zambezi National Park. This exclusive destination offers visitors a remarkable opportunity to embark on an unforgettable African food safari adventure, immersing themselves in the captivating flavors and breathtaking scenery of Zambia.

At the Royal Zambezi Lodge, the African food safari experience revolves around locally sourced and sustainable ingredients, tantalizing the taste buds while showcasing the rich sights, sounds, and landscapes of the region. As part of this exceptional culinary journey, guests can indulge in the expertise of Callie-Anne Gavazzi, renowned as the African food cooking queen and renowned host of the safari cooking show, "Callie-Anne Cooks: Into the Wild."

Joining forces with Callie-Anne, you will create lasting memories and develop a profound love for Zambian cuisine. The African food safari at Royal Zambezi Lodge presents a unique opportunity to delve into the rich culture of African cuisine and explore the outdoors from a fresh perspective. Discover the art of cooking over an open fire in the wild, immersing yourself in the traditions and contemporary techniques of outdoor culinary practices that truly exemplify the essence of Africa's culinary heritage.

Your expert food safari chefs will showcase the transformative power of locally sourced ingredients, expertly crafting delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus right before your eyes in the heart of the Zambian wilderness, alongside the tranquil banks of the Lower Zambezi River. Indulge in a range of delectable treats during your Royal Food Safari, including continental or full cooked meals featuring local delicacies, accompanied by refreshing local drinks, teas, and coffees.

Picture yourself savoring Amarula coffee, feasting on eggs and freshly baked bread, relishing Southern African wines, enjoying sundowner drinks paired with hors d'oeuvres, and savoring delectable fish and chicken dishes. These culinary delights can be savored at private tables or by the warm glow of an open campfire.

To partake in the African food safari experience, a minimum four-night stay at the Royal Zambezi Lodge is required, with a package cost of $2860 USD. This package includes the exclusive services of a private safari chef and guide dedicated to you and your group throughout your stay, as well as a personalized recipe book featuring the highlights of your Zambian culinary adventure.

Beyond the remarkable food safari, the Royal Zambezi Lodge offers an array of additional amenities to enhance your safari experience. Indulge in relaxation at the lodge's spa or take a refreshing dip in the infinity pool overlooking the Zambezi River. Families will appreciate the dedicated kids' corner, which is supervised by private security guards. For fishing enthusiasts, the lower Zambezi River offers excellent opportunities to catch trout, Tiger fish, bream, and chessa fish.

Wildlife enthusiasts can embark on thrilling game drives and river safaris, encountering elephants, hippos, crocodiles, and a myriad of bird species in their natural habitat. Cultural visits to nearby villages provide insight into the local communities and their vibrant way of life. The accommodation at the Royal Zambezi Lodge has been thoughtfully designed to provide unparalleled comfort and luxury within the remote and natural surroundings.

The lodge boasts spacious and elegant safari suites, each featuring panoramic views of the river and surrounding wilderness. These well-appointed suites offer modern amenities such as en-suite bathrooms, private decks, and air conditioning, ensuring a restful retreat after each exhilarating day. The Royal Zambezi Lodge offers an extraordinary blend of food safaris, luxury, adventure, and wildlife encounters in one of Africa's most awe-inspiring settings.
The Lazy Man's Awakening

The Lazy Man's Awakening teaches us the value of diligence, community, second chances, and personal growth. It encourages us to recognize the opportunities presented to us, appreciate the support we receive, and actively work towards becoming better versions of ourselves.

The Lazy Man's Awakening.

The Lazy Man's Fate.

As the Elders say, in a small rural village in the center of Ghana, near the city of Kumasi there lived a man named Kwame. Kwame was known throughout the village as the laziest man anyone had ever encountered. He spent his days lounging beneath the shade of trees, dreaming of a life of ease and luxury. Despite his indolence, he had managed to capture the heart of the village beauty, a kind and hardworking woman named Ama.

The Unfortunate Incident.

One sunny morning, Kwame decided to venture into the fields to check on his crops. As he strolled absentmindedly, his attention diverted by idle daydreams, he failed to notice the treacherous path ahead. Suddenly, he tumbled into an old, dilapidated well. Bruised and disoriented, he managed to climb out, but exhaustion soon overtook him, and he collapsed at the well's edge.

The Pronouncement of Death.

Word of Kwame's mishap spread swiftly through the village. When a group of villagers discovered him unconscious by the well, they presumed the worst. Filled with sorrow, they carefully carried his lifeless body back to the village, where the news of his demise spread like wildfire. The village mourned their beloved lazy man, preparing for a grand funeral to bid him a final farewell.

A Miraculous Awakening.

Two days later, the village gathered to pay their respects to Kwame. As friends and family wept by his open casket, a sudden gasp resonated through the crowd. Kwame's eyes flickered open, and he rose from his coffin, alive and well. Shock and disbelief filled the air, as the once-dead man stood before them. The village erupted in jubilant celebration, embracing Kwame with both relief and astonishment.

The Transformation.

Kwame's remarkable resurrection left everyone in awe, and he himself was filled with newfound gratitude and purpose. The experience had transformed him, and he resolved to change his ways.

Determined to repay the village for their unwavering love and support, Kwame embraced diligence and hard work. He became an industrious member of the community, lending a helping hand wherever he could.

Ama, recognized the remarkable change in him. Impressed by his transformation, she married him, and together they flourished. Kwame's dedication and perseverance brought prosperity to their household and inspired others to find purpose in their own lives.

Transformative nature of second chances.

And so, the tale of the lazy man's awakening became a fable passed down through generations, reminding all who heard it of the power of redemption and the transformative nature of second chances.

Kwame's miraculous awakening represents the idea of second chances. It shows that even when we have made mistakes or wasted opportunities, it is possible to redeem ourselves and make positive changes in our lives.

His experience in the well led him to reevaluate his life and recognize the value of hard work and dedication. It underscores the transformative power of self-reflection and the potential for personal growth.
Self-storage company Howzit My China is expanding, snapping up the former Kodak building and Carlton & United Breweries office in Abbotsford for $19 million.

Howzit My China director Gayle Sachs said the location presents a unique opportunity. The company is hoping to build a new state-of-the-art self-storage facility at the site, which is surrounded by apartments, many of which are too small to fit their occupants belongings.

A cluster of buildings in Abbotsford fetched $19 million.

Storcad director Javier Rezzonico, who is involved in the project, said Howzit My China had been looking for a suitable building in the area for some time.

The existing building is a simple conversion to self-storage, and the approved permit enables a ramp-up to 500 storage units quickly. With approvals in place and ready to go, this facility and the land next door will expand to 1200 units in no time, Rezzonico said.
Qantas has unveiled a swath of additional services to New York, Tokyo and Los Angeles, as well as two new international routes from Brisbane from October, as part of a push to expand international capacity which is expected to lower fares.

The carrier has committed to lease two Airbus A330s from Finnair to help the airline meet its goal of returning to 100 per cent of pre-COVID-19 international flying capacity by March 2024. The agreement to lease the aircraft stipulates Qantas will also use Finnair pilots and cabin crew  known as wet leasing  for the first two years of the four-year arrangement.

There is still a mismatch between supply and demand for international flying: Outgoing Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce. Credit: Rhett Wyman

The decision was met with outcry from Qantas pilots who accused the carrier of poor fleet planning and outsourcing the spirit of Australia.

Qantas chief Alan Joyce said the boost to the network will add hundreds of thousands of seats in time for summer, and give the carrier time to train an additional 300 pilots and cabin crew to takeover crewing the services. He also said ongoing supply chain issues continue to affect the aviation industrys recovery, but the additional flights would put downward pressure on airfares.
Artists perform during an art performance that marks the opening of the year of culture and art of the peoples of China and Central Asia as well as the China-Central Asia youth arts festival in the Tang Paradise in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

In recent years, China and Central Asian countries have deepened mutual political trust and beneficial cooperation, blazed a trail in good-neighborly friendship and win-win cooperation, and become a model for building new international relations, said Akkan Suver, head of the Istanbul-based Marmara Group Strategic and Social Research Foundation.

ISTANBUL, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The China-Central Asia Summit is a source of "ample opportunities" for the prosperity and peace of the region, said Akkan Suver, head of the Istanbul-based Marmara Group Strategic and Social Research Foundation.

"This meeting, which will be at the heart of the historical Silk Road, is actually a new source of hope for the prosperity and peace of the region. It is a new beginning. This is how I consider it," Suver told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The two-day summit kicked off on Thursday in Xi'an, capital of China's northwestern Shaanxi Province, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road.

"As we are about to end the first quarter of the 21st century, it is difficult to predict from today what we will encounter in the future. But we are sure of one thing: rising Asia is a fact," Suver observed.

In recent years, China and Central Asian countries have deepened mutual political trust and beneficial cooperation, blazed a trail in good-neighborly friendship and win-win cooperation, and become a model for building new international relations, he said.

"Now the world's slogan is: live together, work together... It (the summit) is an opportunity for people to come side by side, know each other, get in contact through their language, religion, and export and import products."

He recalled President Xi Jinping's remarks last year at the Virtual Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations Between China and Central Asian Countries.

This poster shows an electronic screen displaying information about the China-Central Asia Summit at the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda scenic area in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 16, 2023. (Xinhua)

"No matter how the international landscape may evolve or how developed China may grow, China will always remain a good neighbor, a good partner, a good friend, and a good brother that Central Asian countries can trust and count on," Xi said at the virtual summit.

Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, Suver said the initiative has been making an outstanding contribution to regional and international economy and trade.

"Beyond being a trade route and a line connecting Asia to Europe and Africa as a historical and cultural value, the Belt and Road Initiative has opened the door to an extraordinary historical and cultural richness that bears traces of cultures, religions, and races living in the region," the expert pointed out.

"The Belt and Road Initiative realized through capital convergence, monetary and science integration, infrastructure networks, especially the improvement or restoration of railways and ports, is the project of an era," he said.

"I think the Belt and Road Initiative, whose foundations were laid 10 years ago, will be the key to achieving peace, trade, and prosperity in the future of our world." 
Advertisement

Eating outJust open Eau de Vie 2.0 brings whisky lockers, foie-rero rocher and speakeasy vibes to new Sydney CBD home The new Eau de Vie opens in a George Street basement, just below sister restaurant The Sanderson. Scott Bolles May 19, 2023 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

The rebirthed Eau de Vie opens in the Sydney CBD this weekend, joining the citys fever for back-lane bar action and reimagined vol-au-vents. More on those vol-au-vents later. The new Eau de Vie is a confusing tangle of a George Street address and Wynyard Lane entrance. Speakeasy Group chief executive Sven Almenning, head chef of The Sanderson and Eau de Vie James Green, and Speakeasy Group managing director Greg Sanderson at The Sanderson. Dominic Lorrimer Easy to get to but difficult to find, says co-owner Sven Almenning. The saying has become something of a mantra for his Speakeasy Group. The original Eau de Vie was tucked away at the back of the Kirketon Hotel in Darlinghurst.

Advertisement

When the lockout laws and then the pandemic hit, Almenning says he and business partner Greg Sanderson saw the writing on the wall for the area. They couldnt negotiate a new rent deal, so they walked. Eau de Vies foie-rero rocher is a sweet-savoury play on Ferrero Rocher balls. Dominic Lorrimer You want to be surrounded by other venues, people now come to the city to go out, he says. And they have CBD experience with their Eau de Vie satellite venue in Melbourne. Part of a two-in-one hospitality play, Eau de Vie opens in the basement on Saturday, May 20, while sister restaurant, The Sanderson, opens above it the week after. Eau de Vie deliberately taps the moody essence of the Darlinghurst original. Its a more grown-up version, but still focuses on the speakeasy vibe, Almenning says.

Advertisement

A mix of booths and bar stools inhabit a dark space of leadlight fittings. Theres a cute nook booth, and a whisky room decorated with bottle lockers. Customers can buy a bottle and store it there. Weve already sold half of them, Almenning says. EDV classics such as the Espresso Zabaione and Smokey Rob Roy have survived the journey to the city, with the bars owner particularly excited by the addition of a display case of cheese and charcuterie. The private room with whisky lockers at Eau de Vie. Dominic Lorrimer Head chef at The Sanderson, James Green, also oversees the food menu at Eau de Vie. He finds it difficult to pick out favourites, but points to the scallop crudo with taramasalata and radish, and lamb croquettes with saffron aioli, as good places to start.

Advertisement

A sweet-savoury foie-rero rocher is perfect for finishing a meal or pairing with a dessert cocktail. Arancini with smoked scamorza, pear and red wine caramel at Eau de Vie. Dominic Lorrimer The dish is an obvious play on Ferrero Rocher balls, and is made from a foie gras ganache with a hazelnut centre thats rolled in chocolate and hazelnut pieces and served on top of shiny chocolate foil. And the vol-au-vents? With everywhere from Porcine to Monopole giving the 1970s staple menu exposure, Eau de Vie brings a clever twist to the filled pastry classic with a shiitake vol-au-vent with creamed leek and ricotta salata. Open Tue-Sat 4pm-2am.

Advertisement

Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up
The ABC will seek to rely in part on a new public interest defence to fight a defamation suit brought against it by former federal Liberal political staffer Bruce Lehrmann over a National Press Club address by Brittany Higgins.

Lehrmann filed Federal Court defamation proceedings against the national broadcaster in April, two months after he filed separate actions against Network Ten and News Corp.

Brittany Higgins spoke at the National Press Club last year. Credit: James Brickwood

He is suing the ABC for broadcasting the Press Club address by Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins on February 9 last year, and publishing a related YouTube video. If it proceeds to trial, the case will test the defences available for live broadcasts.

In a defence filed in court and released publicly on Friday, the ABC denies it defamed Lehrmann. In the event the court finds it did so, it will seek to rely on a series of defences, including public interest and innocent dissemination.
It is 12 months since Anthony Albanese claimed victory for Labor in the federal election, and by most measures the new government has made a solid start. Polls show that it is more popular than when it was elected, and the prime ministers understated style and the sure hands of his senior ministers appear to have made inroads into Albaneses ambition to rebuild faith in the political process.

Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses first year has been about laying foundations. Credit: Jessica Hromas

As Albanese tells The Ages David Crowe in an interview in these pages today to mark the milestone, it has been a busy year. But the prime minister makes it clear that he is playing a long game intended to entrench Labor as the natural party of government in the minds of Australians. The first year has been about laying foundations.

The challenges for the government in the next 12 months suggest those foundations will need to be strong. The favourable political conditions that afforded Albanese a rare extended honeymoon are shifting, and Labors commitment to its agenda will be tested by gathering forces from the left and the right.

Albanese came to power in May 2022 with no great affection from the electorate. Labor won government with just 32 per cent of the primary vote. This was not so much an election as a rejection of the Coalition. Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison had become fatally unpopular with voters, and the Coalitions intransigence on issues such as climate change and an integrity commission condemned it to defeat after nine years in power.
An experienced police officers decision to deploy a Taser on a frail 95-year-old woman during an incident at an aged care home in southern NSW is likely in breach of police procedures on the use of the potentially-lethal weapon.

Clare Nowland, a much-loved grandmother, was in a critical condition in hospital after she was hit by the Taser and fell, knocking her head, in the early hours of Wednesday.

A critical incident investigation of the highest level is under way as Clare Nowland fights for life in hospital, Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter said.

Nowland, a dementia patient who weighs 43 kilograms, was carrying a serrated steak knife she had obtained from the kitchen of Yallambee Lodge aged care home in Cooma, and had left her bed and been walking around the home for some time before the incident.

Emergency services received a call about 4.15am along the lines of ... Clare having a knife in her possession, NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter told reporters on Friday.
A mother of two who stole the identity of the pilot killed in the Sea World helicopter tragedy in a bid to dodge a traffic ticket has had her fine doubled in court.

Stephanie Louise Bennett wept as she pleaded guilty to fraud by dishonestly inducing a person to act and one count of obtaining or dealing with anothers identity to commit an indictable offence in Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Friday.

Outside court, Bennett sobbed quietly as her lawyer apologised for the distress and hurt she inflicted on the pilots grieving family.

The 33-year-old confessed to using Ash Jenkinsons identity after she was caught using her mobile phone behind the wheel on December 15.
The decision by US President Joe Biden to cancel his trip to Australia, scuppering plans for the eagerly anticipated Quad leaders meeting in Sydney, has led to a chorus of voices admonishing the US for being unreliable and lacking commitment in the Indo-Pacific.

There are even accusations that the president has diminished and damaged the institution of the Quad and handed China a huge public relations and strategic win. The current impasse on the debt ceiling will no doubt feed the narrative that American democracy and power are in terminal decline, even if it has been used as a negotiation tactic by both sides of US politics for some years.

Diplomatically, Beijing might well try to make something of Bidens decision to cancel the trip. But we shouldnt overplay what just happened. If international relations and strategic policy is based primarily on whether heads of state attend foreign summits, then China would really be in trouble. Xi Jinping abandoned all international travel from February 2020 until September 2022. Clearly, China is still a major power despite the presidents self-imposed isolation.

In this case, the optics are certainly unfortunate, and the Albanese government has lost an opportunity to augment Australias standing in the region. But strategic policy, and the Quad specifically, is about much more than leaders meeting face to face. The US has not lost its leadership because Biden decided to skip Australia for now. The Quad will go from strength to strength because there is a strategic need and appetite for it, and Xi Jinping will not be breathing a sigh of relief.
The business sector and unions have united to oppose the Andrews governments overhauled WorkSafe compensation scheme which will hike premiums and cut extended benefits for people stressed or burnt out.

Premier Daniel Andrews and WorkSafe Minister Danny Pearson on Friday announced businesses would pay an average 1.8 per cent of payroll, up from 1.27 per cent, to fund changes to the fundamentally broken scheme.

WorkSafe Minister Danny Pearson announced reforms to the system on Friday. Credit: Luis Ascui

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra said businesses could not afford the extra tax, while Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari said stress and burnout should not be excluded.

When business and unions stand together you know this is a matter of importance, Guerra said, while also agreeing WorkSafe needed urgent reform.
Writing under the pseudonym Philaleth  an abbreviation of Philalethes, the truth teller of Greek mythology  Moore suggested it was time to conciliate and compensate the natives for being dispossessed of their country and having to suffer the impacts on their culture and lives that British settlement had wreaked upon them. Moores 1833 letters anticipate both the 1992 decision of the High Court of Australia in Mabo nearly 160 years later, and the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart calling for A Voice, Treaty, and Truth some 185 years later. In his first letter published in the Perth Gazette on July, 13, 1829, Moore did not hold back. First, he referred to what a learned commentator on the laws of England had written in analysing the title by which individuals claim exclusive possession to land under English law, namely, that it was a title derived from the natural right arising from prior occupancy. Then he cited what the same learned commentator had written about the recognition of native title under English law over the ages:

Upon the same principle [of prior occupancy] was founded the rights of migration, or sending colonies to find out new habitations, when the mother country was overcharged with inhabitants  But how far the seizing of countries already peopled, and driving out or massacring the innocent and defenceless natives, merely because they differed from their invaders in language, in religion, in customs, in government, or in colour; how far such a conduct was consonant to nature, to reason, or christianity, deserved well to be considered by those, who have rendered their names immortal by thus civilising mankind. Highlighting British colonial law and policy elsewhere in the world, especially in North America, in failing to treat native peoples equitably and justly, Moore concluded this first letter to his fellow settlers, including the Governor, with the hope the day is not far distant, when they shall be enabled to carry into operation, matured plans of effectual conciliation. Mabo, in one fell swoop, achieved what Australian parliaments and government policies had never been able to achieve since settlement. Credit: Fairfax In the second letter, using his trademark, forthright, truth-telling style, Moore asked: How few of us deigned to bestow even a thought upon the existence of a people whom we were about to dispossess of their country Did it never occur to us then, that in thus extending the dominion of Great Britain, in thus acquiring a territory for our country whilst seeking a fortune for ourselves, we were about to perpetrate a monstrous piece of injustice, that we were about to dispossess unceremoniously the rightful owners of the soil.

In his third letter Moore extolled the example of the settlement of the tribe of the Mississaguas in Upper Canada, in which the idea of conciliating the natives had been advanced on the grounds of justice and equity alone. Surely, Moore suggested, self-interest in achieving good relations with the natives was a further sound reason for conciliating. As we know from our post-1829 Western Australian history, despite the strongly expressed views of Moore then, and those of like-minded settlers and their successors expressed over the ensuing decades, conciliation was never truly considered, and Indigenous peoples continued to be marginalised in the new and expanding colony of Western Australia. After 1834, following the massacre of many members of the Murray River tribe near Pinjarra, the pattern of local WA government policy towards the Indigenous peoples, had been well set for the period of colonial expansion ahead. Conciliation was not a tool in the official toolkit. Under growing colonial law and policy, Indigenous peoples were barely recognised except in laws designed to control their very existence. The idea that they held native title over their traditional country or might be accorded a say in the making of the laws and policies impacting their lives was simply unthinkable, and met with the sneers and ridicule Moore had experienced when advocating the policy of conciliation to his fellow settlers and the local Government.

With federation and the coming into operation of the new Australian constitution from January 1, 1901, Indigenous peoples remained as invisible to officialdom within the new Commonwealth as ever. The new constitution did not recognise them, except in provisions such as section 127 and 51(26) avoiding engagement with them. These exceptions were removed from the constitution at the successful 1967 referendum and Indigenous people officially became part of Commonwealth reckoning and lawmaking. While a makarrata, or treaty, movement developed in the late 1970s along with a land rights movement, the treaty movement slowed to a halt and the land rights movement, at a national level, ceased altogether during the early years of the Hawke Labor government in the face of entrenched opposition from the resources industry and state governments in Western Australia and Queensland. Then, in 1992, the High Court of Australias decision in Mabo momentously swept aside not only the political inaction of the preceding few decades but also the legal theory that Australia was a desert uninhabited land where the native title of Indigenous peoples could not be recognised. Federal Court Justice Michael Barker, right, shakes hands with David Stock after the Nyiyaparli won a native title claim over about 40,000 square kilometres of the Pilbara in 2018. Credit: Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation

Instead, the High Court found Australias common law did indeed recognise the continuation of native title following settlement. George Fletcher Moore was vindicated. Mabo, in one fell swoop, achieved what Australian parliaments and government policies had never been able to achieve since settlement. It recognised the Indigenous peoples of the Torres Strait and the Australian continent as the ancient prior inhabitants of these lands. It recognised they were the possessors of laws and customs that bound them to their countries. It recognised Indigenous peoples, as both citizens of Australia and as First Nations people could, by the rule of law, obtain orders confirming their possessory rights to their traditional countries. Mabo led to the passage of the Native Title Act 1993, but it also loosened the shackles that had for so long, since settlement, constrained Australians from formally recognising in our constitution the status of Indigenous peoples as the First Nations of Australia and seeking to conciliate a mature, post-colonial settlement with them. At the forthcoming referendum, we have the opportunity to support the recognition in our foundation document, the Commonwealth constitution, Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders as our First Nations people, and to accord to them a constitutional right they have been denied since settlement by the British, to make representations to lawmakers and governments about laws and policies that impact their lives and cultures and that may assist in reversing the impact of colonialism on past and present generations.
There is some pride because he is a prime minister from Hiroshima, says 33-year-old Kanae Utsumi who works at the Hiroshima Jogakuin University, one of the oldest universities in this grey and resilient city, now plastered with the corflutes of its local leader. Loading The LDP is defined by old men descended from other old men, but in this crowd Kishida, despite his pedigree, is seen as a relative reformer. The former banker who wants to establish a new form of capitalism declared this month he wanted to realise a society where diversity is respected. He moves quickly, says Izumi, referring to his crackdown on religious groups that courted votes for the LDP. He is not just putting politicians first. Some voters are sceptical. I think the LDP needs votes. So, theyre trying to make policies that would like to help them get the votes they need, says 40-year-old human resources manager Maho Yamamoto, referring to Kishidas push to get more women into senior corporate roles. He is just okay.

Japanese prime ministers do not typically have a long time in the sun. Since 1989, the average length of a prime ministers tenure has been two years. Kishida does not intend to waste the only G7 in Asia for the next seven. Its a rare opportunity for him to demonstrate some leadership, says Christopher Johnstone, a former director for East Asia under US President Joe Biden and the Japan chair at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. Hiroshima resident Maho Yamamoto Credit: Christopher Jue Kishidas political standing has largely recovered from scandals over the Olympics, Abes assassination, and the treatment of women that have beset the Liberal Democratic Party over the last year. Recent polls have his cabinet support rate back at around 50 per cent. His predecessor Yoshihide Suga left office in 2021 with a record-low approval rating of 26 per cent. Thats quite a recovery from where it was about a year ago, and I think hes developed sort of a reputation for steady competence, says Johnstone.

But he is also likely to face an election later this year and is now in the midst of Japans largest defence buildup since World War II, making the pacifist country the worlds third-largest military spender. The contradiction has become so sensitive to the government that Japans Foreign Ministry asked Time magazine to alter a profile headline of Kishida last week that said he wanted to make his country a true military power. Time relented, changing it to taking Japan taking a more assertive role on the global stage but the general thrust of its assessment was spot on. Japan is building up its military because it is facing a more severe security environment than at any time in the past seven decades. The G7s membership, the United States, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Canada - means it is inevitably focused on Europe and North America. This year the next two largest advanced economies, Australia and South Korea have also been invited. One common Asian thread runs through each of their concerns, a deepening split between advanced and developing economies, security across the Taiwan Strait, nuclear proliferation and economic coercion  China. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was visiting a port in Wakayama in central Japan when an apparent smoke bomb was thrown at him. Credit: Kyodo/AP

Japans view about China is we have been attentive to Chinas recent external posture or military development, which has caused serious concern to Japan as well as the international community, says Kishidas cabinet secretary for public affairs Noriyuki Shikata. Shikata chooses his words carefully. Tokyo has taken signs from Beijing that it is showing some momentum for dialogue but the overall direction of Kishidas priorities for the G7 are clear  to reduce the risk of conflict with China, encourage other countries to diversify away from Beijing and re-establish alliances with old adversaries such as South Korea to maintain a G7-led international order. Loading This is a once in seven-years opportunity for Japan to really spotlight issues of concern in the Indo-Pacific, and certainly Chinas rise in revisionist behaviour is at the top of that list, says Johnstone. China got out of the blocks early last week by directly appealing to those that are not part of what is seen elsewhere as an exclusive group.

The international rules that G7 may talk about at an upcoming summit in Japan are Western rules that draw ideological lines and rules of a small clique that put the US first and are dominated by the G7, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. The G7s push into the developing world has been a decade too slow, now it has been caught on the hop in south-east Asia, Africa, Latin America, and parts of the Pacific. In Africa, Japanese foreign direct investment in 2021 was US$6 billion. Chinese total infrastructure investments reached US$155 billion over the past two decades. The G7 is sensitive to criticism that it has neglected many of these parts of the world because it is true. Kishida is determined to rectify it. Japans Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, front left, walks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in November. Credit: getty This has been a major theme for the Japanese government of late where Japan believes that both China and, to a lesser degree, Russia, are making inroads with economic assistance and anti-West messaging, says Johnstone.

It is not the only relationship driven more by geopolitics than altruism. In early May Kishida visited Seoul for a meeting between the two democratic East Asian rivals. It was the first formal bilateral in the South Korean capital in 12 years. The next will be in Hiroshima with US President Joe Biden this weekend. But the most significant meeting may not be inside the stuffy halls of the G7. Yoon and Kishida will visit a small memorial at Hiroshima that honours Korean victims of the atomic bombing, a gesture that decades of Japanese politicians - including Abe and Kishidas ancestors - may have found difficult to reconcile with their denial of Japanese crimes in colonial Korea. The Yasukuni Shrine is viewed by some other countries as a symbol of Japanese wartime agression. Credit: Getty Notably, the Japanese leader opted to send ritual offerings rather than visit the Yasukuni Shrine in April, a site feted by his predecessors and regarded by Koreans as a symbol of Japanese wartime aggression.

Kishida has not been driven to this by guilt, but by the increasingly vital role that relations between Seoul and Tokyo will play in managing and crisis in the Asian region driven either by China or nuclear-armed North Korea. Obviously, we are stepping up our cooperation between Japan and [South] Korea in light of the security threats and challenges coming from North Korea and Japan and [South] Korea going to be working on Indo-Pacific cooperation projects in the future, said Shikata. The shift has also been spurred by Russias invasion of Ukraine which has given the G7 a renewed purpose after years of vague communiques. Sixty per cent of Hiroshima was destroyed. Credit: Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Kishida recognised from the beginning that a robust global response to Russian aggression was critical to deterrence in Asia, said Johnstone.

Kishidas famous line at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last June, that Ukraine today could be East Asia tomorrow, I think speaks to the mindset here. Central to that fear is Taiwan, where Kishidas family made its first fortune in the as Kimono and timber merchants in the 19th century and where its Meji-era red brick department store still stands. Today, Beijing claims Taiwan as its own despite almost no public support for unification with the mainland. It has repeatedly threatened to take it by force. For Kishida, who visited Taiwan several times before becoming prime minister, the future of the democratic island is personal. It is also becoming increasingly perilous. In August, when Beijing fired missiles over the island, five landed in Japans exclusive economic zone. Hiroshima resident Kanae Utsumi Credit: Christopher Jue The warheads might have been conventional but Kishida sees nuclear threats hovering over the horizon.

Under the current very severe international security landscape, especially in Asia, Japan is facing that the countries that are surrounded by the countries which possess nuclear weapons, said Shikata. Loading On Thursday afternoon the Atomic bomb memorial was surrounded by police as leaders motorcades began to carve through Hiroshima. 140,000 died here and in Nagasaki, after the US dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities in 1945. In Hiroshima, we had a tragedy, and I worry the same thing will be repeated, says Utsumi. Kishida told Time that his earliest memories were of sitting on his grandmothers knee and listening to stories of horrific suffering. Many hundreds of thousands more relatives have similar memories.
Technicians from China Railway Electrification Engineering Group Co., Ltd inspect the equipment before power transmission at a substation of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia, May 18, 2023. Power transmission by overhead catenary system (OCS) along the whole line of Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) was conducted successfully on Thursday. (Photo by Jiao Hongtao/Xinhua)

JAKARTA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Power transmission by overhead catenary system (OCS) along the whole line of Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) was conducted successfully on Thursday.

The OCS power transmission refers to the process of converting the high voltage of local power grids along the HSR into 27.5 kV single-phase power frequency alternating current through railway traction substations, and then transmitting it to the OCS above the HSR line to provide energy for the operation of HSR trains.

Power transmission is a big test for OCS in electrified railways and the last crucial step before integrated commissioning and tests.

The traction power supply system of the HSR is designed and constructed in accordance with China's technologies and standards. Core equipment, such as OCS, substation and power microcomputer protection system, and AC/DC system, are manufactured in China.

The high-speed line, a landmark project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, connects Indonesia's capital Jakarta and another major city Bandung.

With a design speed of 350 km per hour, the railway will cut the journey between Jakarta and Bandung from over three hours to around 40 minutes. 

Technicians from China Railway Electrification Engineering Group Co., Ltd conduct electrical inspections along the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia, May 18, 2023. Power transmission by overhead catenary system (OCS) along the whole line of Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) was conducted successfully on Thursday. (Photo by Jiao Hongtao/Xinhua)

Technicians from China Railway Electrification Engineering Group Co., Ltd inspect the equipment before power transmission at the Walini substation of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia, May 18, 2023. Power transmission by overhead catenary system (OCS) along the whole line of Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) was conducted successfully on Thursday. (Photo by Jiao Hongtao/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on May 19, 2023 shows the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway after electrification in Bandung, Indonesia. Power transmission by overhead catenary system (OCS) along the whole line of Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) was conducted successfully on Thursday. (Photo by Jiao Hongtao/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on May 19, 2023 shows the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway after electrification in Bandung, Indonesia. Power transmission by overhead catenary system (OCS) along the whole line of Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) was conducted successfully on Thursday. (Photo by Jiao Hongtao/Xinhua)
Gil Pratt Top Toyota Scientist Warns Against Ditching Gasoline

SEE ALSO: Gil Pratt: Hydrogen vs. Lithium-Ion Batteries & Why We Need Both

SEE ALSO: Former Toyota President Akio Toyoda Said "The Enemy is Carbon, Not Internal Combustion Engines, Motorist Choice Is The Future"...The TACH Position For 25 Years!

SEE ALSO: Auto Makers Finally Side On Reality, Choose Truth Over Politics - Enough With The EV's Already

By Nicholas Takahashi and Craig Trudell

Toyota Motor Corp.s top scientist warned that transitioning to electric vehicles too quickly could lead drivers to hold on to old gas guzzlers and called for hybrids to be given a longer leash ahead of a Group of Seven leaders summit in Japan.

Subsidies and restrictions targeting certain powertrains could make EVs attractive for customers who can afford it, but for others it might have the opposite effect, Gill Pratt, Toyotas chief scientist and chief executive officer of the Toyota Research Institute, told reporters in Hiroshima on Thursday.

Its an oft-repeated argument by the worlds No. 1 carmaker: the transition to fully electric vehicles will take longer than people expect, and that a multipronged approach embracing hybrids and alternate fuels will be better for the environment and the auto industry. Thats drawn criticism and fueled concerns that Toyota is giving Elon Musks Tesla Inc., Chinas BYD Co. and other battery-EV rivals an unsurmountable lead.

Eventually, resource limitations will end, but for many years we will not have enough battery material and renewable recharging resources for a BEV-only solution, Pratt said.

Battery materials and renewable charging infrastructure will eventually be plentiful, he said. But it will take decades for battery material mines, renewable power generation facilities, transmission lines and seasonal energy storage facilities to scale up.

While Toyota and other Japanese carmakers pioneered hybrid technology, they have been slow to ramp up EV output. Several have promised to rapidly expand EV production in the next few years, but did so without elaborating on how and when they intend to phase out hybrid or gasoline-powered cars.

Battery electric vehicles are an extremely important option, Akio Toyoda, chair of both Toyota and the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, said during a briefing Thursday.

Throughout his 14-year tenure as Toyotas CEO, which ended in April, the grandson of the companys founder was both lauded and criticized for his belief in an approach that involved selling BEVs alongside cars powered by hybrid or traditional internal combustion engines.

Critics say Toyodas strategy doesnt square with the carmakers goal to halve emissions by 2035 and become carbon neutral by the middle of the century, an assertion that he has refuted.

The goal is to do something about global warming, Toyoda said. The mutual enemy is carbon dioxide.

Koji Sato, the new Toyota CEO who took over in April, said that by 2026 Toyota will sell 1.5 million BEVs annually and roll out 10 new fully electric models. The worlds largest vehicle manufacturer sold 38,000 BEVs in the fiscal year that ended in March.

That figure will reach 200,000 in the current fiscal year, Toyota Chief Financial Officer Yoichi Miyazaki said in May, and Toyota will build a BEV factory and invest 3.1 trillion ($22.5 billion) to make it happen.

In April, G7 environment and energy ministers pledged to reduce vehicle emissions by 2035 but stopped short of announcing any deadlines or interim goals after a meeting in Hokkaido, Japan.

Sandy Munro: Toyota's Grand BEV Misdirection
if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi...
Blog Archive May (7) April (5) March (9) February (5) January (6) December (16) November (7) October (12) September (4) August (1) May (2) April (3) March (1) February (6) January (4) December (2) November (1) October (5) August (7) July (7) June (9) May (11) April (13) March (6) February (11) January (25) December (14) November (7) October (9) September (15) August (4) July (9) June (17) May (17) April (9) March (6) February (32) January (37) December (39) November (19) October (28) September (30) August (30) July (18) June (16) May (27) April (24) March (19) February (13) January (26) December (24) November (39) October (37) September (51) August (36) July (29) June (32) May (58) April (38) March (31) February (38) January (27) December (31) November (53) October (56) September (86) August (40) July (47) June (54) May (91) April (82) March (69) February (78) January (52) December (77) November (78) October (111) September (120) August (128) July (126) June (154) May (175) April (198) March (220) February (172) January (102) December (91) November (114) October (94) September (110) August (116) July (133) June (85) May (2) April (43)
MANILA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte resigned Friday as a member of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the ruling political party in the House of Representatives.

Duterte, who serves as the party's chairperson, did not state the reason for her "irrevocable" resignation.

"I am here today because of the trust of the Filipino people ... This cannot be poisoned by political toxicity or undermined by execrable political powerplay," Duterte said without giving more details.

"I am grateful to all the party members for the support that also once demonstrated that unity is possible to advance our shared dreams for our fellow Filipinos and our beloved country," Duterte added.

Duterte's decision was made after the former president and incumbent lawmaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is also chairperson emeritus of Lakas-CMD, was downgraded from senior deputy speaker to deputy speaker of the House of Representatives.

The deputy speakers are the second highest-ranking officials of the House of Representatives. There are nine deputy speakers in the lower House, including Arroyo. 
TAIYUAN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- During this year's May Day holiday, Yemeni student Al-Sayaghi Waleed Mohammed Saleh Ahmed and his Chinese friends experienced the ancient way of transferring money in China's earliest bank in the Pingyao ancient city, north China's Shanxi Province.

"There are numerous cultural relics in China's ancient cities which have intrigued me to learn more about the country's past," the Yemeni said.

China has dozens of well-preserved ancient cities. In recent years, these historical sites have become new darlings of curious tourists with thriving culture and tourism industries newly developed.

Xinzhou ancient city in Shanxi, with a history of more than 1,800 years, boasts over 500 stores, many of which are time-honored, able to provide various services related to cultural relics, including catering, accommodation and sightseeing.

During the five-day May Day holiday this year, Xinzhou ancient city received more than 400,000 visitors, raking in revenues of approximately 15 million yuan (about 2 million U.S. dollars). Nearly 40 percent of the tourists were from other provincial-level regions.

"The tourist flow never ends. During the peak season, tourists queuing up for dinner easily crowded the courtyard of my restaurant," raved Wang Guodong, who runs a restaurant in Xinzhou ancient city.

Friday marks this year's China Tourism Day. Multiple ancient city scenic spots in China have tapped into local cultural resources amid this year's tourism boom.

Lijiang ancient city in southwest China's Yunnan Province now hosts regular celebrations on traditional festivals, including the renowned Torch Festival, providing a festive atmosphere full of local characteristics for visitors.

Cultural elements are the major magnets attracting visitors to ancient cities. As an important carrier of the country's intangible cultural heritages and traditional culture, ancient cities have stepped up their cultural preservation and restoration efforts alongside their booming tourism development.

An ancient county in Taiyuan, the provincial capital of Shanxi, has established 12 independent institutes for research and study on traditional cultural heritages such as movable-type printing, local opera and shadow puppetry, in its bid to better inherit and develop the ancient arts and crafts.

Liu Sai from east China's Shandong Province and his family have been to many ancient cities in Shanxi during vacations. "The quaint environment, intangible cultural heritage exhibitions and on-site experience activities allow my kids to learn about and be touched deeply by China's traditions," Liu said.

Last year, to promote the protection of cultural relics, the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) issued a document on encouraging and supporting social forces to participate in protection and utilization of cultural architecture.

"With this document, we can better protect and develop historical relics in the ancient city," said Su Yawei, manager of the Taiyuan Ancient County scenic area. The ancient county plans to introduce social capital investment of 240 million yuan to continue its construction of a large-scale restoration center for cultural relics.

Geng Yeqiang, professor at the School of Economics and Management at Shanxi University, said that ancient cities, as carriers of local culture and economy, can form a cultural tourism circle during its protection and development. The process can effectively boost local economic growth and cultural relics preservation.

"Meanwhile, cultural relics protection departments, the tourism sector as well as social capital and the like should strengthen their cooperation to promote the development of this emerging economic model," Geng added.

"When a modern city embraces its old past, not only the local culture and history can be passed on, but the tourism boom can also be better channeled," Su said. 
TOKYO, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government is digging in its heels. When it comes to sugarcoating its nuclear-contaminated wastewater dump, no chance is too small for Tokyo.

Preliminary farming started last year in seawater at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to show water safety. A small group of chefs, restaurateurs and retailers was invited this March for a special tasting event of made-in-Fukushima food. Even the upcoming Group of Seven summit is about to witness Japan wooing its allies to trust ingredients from the prefecture.

The trickery is too crystal clear to miss: The self-serving Japanese government has attempted to shush objections at home and abroad and okay a dumping plan both perilous and irresponsible.

Chief among worries is the contaminated water itself.

After suffering core meltdowns, the nuclear plant has been generating massive amounts of radiation-tainted water. Substances like tritium, a radioactive byproduct of nuclear reactors, are hard to filter. Added to the risks are traces of ruthenium, cobalt, strontium and plutonium isotopes in the wastewater.

In this regard, the Pacific faces immense pollution due to Japan's reckless and shameless actions. Estimates have showed that if contaminated water from Fukushima is released into the ocean, it will only take seven months for it to reach the shores of South Korea's Jeju Island, and to touch as far afield as the U.S. West Coast in several years' time.

Besides, Japan's headstrong decision-makers have proceeded with its unpopular plan without having enough science-based and professional discussions and full communication with the public. Their irresponsible move has undoubtedly sparked a huge outcry both at home and abroad.

In April 2021, the Japanese government announced its controversial plan to release diluted wastewater into the sea, claiming the release is "the most realistic" solution, which is absolutely not. Although neighbouring countries have voiced concern, the government refused to change its mind and said in January that the discharge will start "in the spring or summer."

With the deadline for the dumping plan looming, hundreds of the Japanese people on Tuesday gathered at multiple locations in Tokyo to protest against the government's scheme, demanding immediate suspension.

According to a recent poll, more than 43 percent of people in Japan are against the ocean discharge and over 90 percent of people believe that this move will lead to negative effects. If the Japanese government is unable to convince its own people, how can it expect any trust from the international community?

Moreover, the Japanese government has chosen to take a shortcut that puts economic interest above everything else.

Instead of hammering out a better plan to tackle the issue, the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the crippled plant's operator, just claimed the space is running out and they will release more than a million tons of water into the sea, which showed a reckless disregard for the alternative options proposed by the public.

In fact, experts from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and non-governmental organizations have suggested other disposal options, including vapor release, hydrogen release, geosphere injection or underground burial.

If Tokyo or TEPCO is determined to address the lack of storage, they will certainly find a safe and responsible option. Surprisingly yet sadly, the company said it would be too time-consuming to negotiate with the local government and landowners.

The Pacific Ocean does not belong to Japan. If Tokyo insists on such perilous, toxic nuclear wastewater discharge plan, it will leave another indelible mark of sin on its history due to its irresponsible behavior. Enditem

(Zhang Yiyi, Qian Zheng in Tokyo, and Yoo Seungki in Seoul also contributed to the story.)
OTTAWA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Canada announced new sanctions against Russia on Friday.

According to a news release on the prime minister's website, Canada is imposing new sanctions on 17 individuals and 18 entities linked to Russian companies that provide military technology and know-how to Russia's armed forces, family members of listed persons, and members of the Kremlin elite.

The news release said other sanctions on 30 individuals and 8 entities are involved in human rights violations.

Since 2014, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 2,500 individuals and entities in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. Many of these sanctions have been undertaken in coordination with Canada's allies and partners. 
Commentary: To protect our children and democracy, we need a commonsense approach to social media reform
JEDDAH, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The 32nd Arab League Summit concluded on Friday in the Saudi city of Jeddah by adopting the Jeddah Declaration, which calls for Arab unity to solve regional issues, Al Arabiya TV reported.

The declaration welcomed Syria's readmission to the Arab League (AL), vowing to intensify pan-Arab efforts to help Syria tackle its crisis.

It underlined the Arab Peace Initiative to solve the Palestinian issues, urged for the de-escalation of tensions in Sudan, called for the election of a new Lebanese president and the required reforms to lift Lebanon out of its crisis, and supported initiatives to promote security and stability in Yemen.

The declaration rejected foreign interference in the domestic affairs of Arab countries and "categorically reject all support for the formation of armed groups and militias outside the scope of state institutions."

At a press conference to brief on the summit, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud was quoted by Al Arabiya TV as saying that the Jeddah Declaration will reinforce joint Arab work.

The minister affirmed that the Palestinian cause remains the Arab's pivotal cause, expressed hope that Syria's return to the Arab fold would contribute to ending the Syrian crisis, and called on the Sudanese warring parties to resort to dialogue to put an end to the current armed clashes.

AL Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit highlighted the success of the Jeddah summit in achieving its goal, expressing hope that the summit would be a beginning for the Arab countries to grasp their fate in their own hands.

The 32nd Arab League Summit kicked off in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Friday with the participation of Arab leaders to discuss regional and global issues that are crucial to the region's stability.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attended the summit for the first time since his country was suspended from the Arab League after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

In the summit, Algerian Prime Minister Ayman Benabderrahmane handed over the rotating presidency of the Arab League to Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. 
Kilchoman to build rum distillery on Barbados

Kilchoman Distillery has announced planning permission has been received to build a rum distillery on Barbados.

Nine acres of land as well as a mansion house were purchased in the Paris of St Phillip back in the August 2021, with plans to erect buildings to house the distillery as well as a mill and cask warehouse. Sugar cane will be purchased from the surrounding fields, to be crused on site and used to produce the rum from sugar cane juice and syrup.

Production of the rum will be from two copper pot stills, with the site also hosting the maturation and bottling of the spirit.

Kilchoman founder Anthony Wills is teaming with former Mount Gay managing director Frank Ward, who is consulting the project. The brand have developed a network of distributors around the world and will use these to distribute its rum.

Wills commented on the announcement: This is an exciting development for Kilchoman and we look forward to sharing more news as the project takes shape.

19 May 2023 - Bradley Weir

Share this story
3M Fires Company Executive for Inappropriate Conduct Weeks After Promotion

The logo for 3M appears on a screen above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 24, 2017. (Richard Drew/AP Photo)

WASHINGTON3M has fired prominent company executive Michael Vale due to inappropriate personal conduct and violation of company policy, the maker of Post-it notes, industrial coatings and ceramics announced.

Vale was promoted to group president and chief business and country officer just last month. Vale worked at 3M for more than 30 years, according to an April 25 press release announcing his promotion, which said he would report to Chairman and CEO Mike Roman.

The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company announced on Monday that Vale was terminated on May 12. 3M did not specify many details surrounding the executives termination but noted that his inappropriate conduct and violation of policy was unrelated to the companys operations and financial performance.

According to 3Ms Monday announcement, the company took immediate action after verifying the violation.

3M has initiated a search to find a replacement for Vale, the company said.

When contacted by The Associated Press on Monday, 3M declined to comment further.

Vales termination arrives just weeks after 3M announced that the company would be cutting thousands of jobs as part of restructing actions.

When announcing first-quarter results in April, 3M said that these actions were expected to impact about 6,000 positions worldwide, in addition to the reduction of 2,500 manufacturing roles announced in January.

For the first quarter, 3M reported earnings of $1.76 per share. Sales totaled $8 billion for the period.
5 TikTok Creators Sue Montana Over Statewide App Ban

The download page for the TikTok app is displayed on an Apple iPhone in Washington on Aug. 7, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Five TikTok content creators have filed a lawsuit against Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, challenging the states recent ban on the popular Chinese-owned video platform.

Samantha Alario, Heather Dirocco, Carly Ann Goddard, Alice Held, and Dale Stout, represented by their legal team, argue that the ban violates their constitutional right to free speech, even if the speech is considered dangerous. They also dispute Montanas national security justification for the ban.

Montana has no authority to enact laws advancing what it believes should be the United States foreign policy or its national security interests, the lawsuit states (pdf), nor may Montana ban an entire forum for communication based on its perceptions that some speech shared through that forum, though protected by the First Amendment, is dangerous.

The lawsuit draws a parallel, arguing that just as it would be inappropriate to ban the Wall Street Journal because of who owns it or the ideas it publishes, prohibiting access to TikTok is unjust and unreasonable.

Alario uses TikTok to promote her small business that designs and sells sustainable swimwear, according to the lawsuit. DiRocco, a Marine Corps veteran, claims to derive a substantial portion of her income from the app, which she says she uses to connect with other veterans and to create content on topics including comedy, makeup, and mental health.

The lawsuit claims that Goddard, who lives in Custer, has tripled her familys income by sharing videos of life on their ranch, while Held and Stout, who both live in Missoula, share videos of outdoor adventures and humorous videos, respectively.

Montana Lists Several Justifications for Ban

Senate Bill 419 (pdf) was signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte on Wednesday. The legislation outlines several justifications for banning TikTok in Montana.

It highlights concerns that China, as an adversary of the United States and Montana, could exploit the platform to gather information for corporate and international espionage purposes, including real-time physical locations of public officials, journalists, and individuals unfavorable to the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

The bill also references warnings from the FBI and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding potential threats to U.S. national security posed by TikTok, such as the potential sharing of user data, like browsing history and location, with the Chinese regime.

In late 2022, such security concerns were heightened amid media reports that staff of ByteDance used the companys access to TikTok user data to improperly track U.S. journalists.

Montanas concerns extend to privacy issues, as TikToks access to user data raises apprehension about the protection of personal information.

The bill further points out TikToks alleged failure to remove and potentially promote dangerous content that encourages minors to engage in risky activities, posing a threat to the health and safety of Montanas residents.

It lists examples of such activities, including but not limited to throwing objects at moving vehicles, consuming excessive medication, engaging in self-harm, inducing unconsciousness through oxygen deprivation, and participating in other harmful actions.

Some of the alleged harmful actions cited in the bill include pouring hot wax on a users face, attempting to break an unsuspecting passerbys skull by tripping him or her into landing face first into a hard surface, placing metal objects in electrical outlets, swerving cars at high rates of speed, smearing human feces on toddlers, licking doorknobs and toilet seats to place oneself at risk of contracting coronavirus, attempting to climb stacks of milkcrates, shooting passersby with air rifles, loosening lug nuts on vehicles, and stealing utilities from public places.

TikTok has a user base of more than 150 million Americans. According to TikTok itself, the majority of its users are adults. However, the app is incredibly popular among teenagers as well. Research conducted by the Pew Research Center reveals that 67 percent of U.S. teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 use TikTok. Out of this group, 16 percent report using the app almost constantly.

Governor Says Ban to Protect Privacy and Data

Gianforte emphasized the need to protect Montanans private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the CCP. He said the CCP is using TikTok to spy on Americans, violate their privacy, and collect their personal, private, and sensitive information.

Today, Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect Montanans private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party, he said in a statement Wednesday.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen told Fox News that he anticipated legal challenges to the ban. He indicated that seeking resolution through the federal courts was a part of their strategic approach to the matter.

The lawsuit marks one of the initial legal challenges to Montanas ban and is anticipated to be closely monitored as federal authorities contemplate a potential nationwide ban on TikTok. While the ban is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024, legal proceedings could potentially delay its implementation.

At the time the bill passed through the Montana legislature, TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said that if the legislation is signed into law, the company would mount a legal challenge on the grounds of its constitutionality.

The Epoch Times has reached out to TikTok for further comment.

Mimi Nguyen-Ly contributed to this report.
Accused New Zealand Hostel Arsonist Appears in Court

A general view of the scene after a fire at Loafers Lodge in Wellington, New Zealand on May 16, 2023 (Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

A man accused of starting the fatal Loafers Lodge hostel fire in New Zealand has appeared in court.

The 48-year-old man appeared in Wellington District Court on May 19, charged with two counts of arson.

He has been granted name suppression and remanded in custody for a month.

Local media report the man appeared in a black hooded jumper and made gestures toward the media before declaring his innocence.

Someone else done it, he said, according to the NZ Herald, before pointing towards his lawyer, Doug Ewen, and telling him he was fired.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail.

At least six people were killed in the Wellington hostel fire.

Police have been interviewing survivors and reviewing CCTV evidence from the blaze.

The investigation into the fire is ongoing, and police have not ruled out further, more serious charges about the deaths at the scene, a police statement read.

Acting Wellington District Commander Dion Bennett said police were not seeking anyone else about the fire.

Alongside the homicide investigation, police continue to work on recovering bodies from the charred building.

There have been six confirmed deaths from the fire, with Insp Bennett saying earlier in the week that his gut feeling was that the death toll could climb.

Chief coroner Anna Tutton said she would work with police and other specialists to identify the dead.

This identification process can be lengthy and complex, requiring a careful and methodical approach to ensure there are no mistakes, Judge Tutton said.

Victims will be treated with dignity and respect as we work through this challenging process.

Insp Bennett said the scene investigation would be painstakingly slow, taking several days, as disaster victim identification (DVI) officers attend to the work.

Debris is stacked up to a metre high in places.

Police had not updated the number of missing people since Wednesday when they said fewer than 20 people were unaccounted for, a tally that includes the six confirmed dead.

More than 100 people were in the 92-bed facility, described on its website as Wellingtons most convenient and affordable accommodation option.

No victims have been named.

The building was recently used to house 501 deportees from Australia.

It complied with New Zealand safety regulations  which do not require sprinklers  and recently received its annual building warrant of fitness.

The government said it would review regulations for high-density accommodation following the fire, New Zealands worst in many years.
Aussie Business Groups Say Federal Labors Workforce Reforms Will Have Ramifications for Economy

Business groups that oppose federal Labors proposed same job, same pay labour-hire laws say the proposal would contribute to workforce shortages, increased food prices, and the winding back of working conditions.

Under the Fair Work Amendment (Same Job, Same Pay) Bill 2021, all workers employed through labour-hire companies will receive the same wage as employees employed directly. Employers may also face the prospect of more than $4 million in fines if they are found to breach workplace laws, such as incorrect employer records and consultation over rosters.

In a submission (pdf) to the governments consultation paper, the Business Council of Australia (BCA) warned that the proposed reforms would deliver significant, complex, confusing, and unproductive changes to Australias workplace relations system.

Labour hire represents a legitimate model which many businesses use to access essential labour. It enables them to meet fluctuating demands, acquire skills and expertise that they may not have within their own workforce and because they may not have in-house recruitment expertise necessary to quickly source labour to meet demands, the statement reads.

It will fail to recognise that many host employer arrangements have evolved to reward the skills and experience of a long-standing workforce, and this recognition will be undermined if those arrangements are applied to external workers without those attributes. There is an innate unfairness in these reforms.

Meanwhile, Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said while some companies have legitimate uses for labour hire, particularly with a seasonal and surge workforce, some other companies are deliberately using cowboy labour-hire firms to exploit casual workers in order to undermine job security and undercut wages.

Theyre using a loophole, which the former Liberal and National government refused to close, which is causing a race to the bottom on wages, Burke said.

Union Body Says Employers Caught Out Pushing Wages Down

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has said that employers have been caught using labour-hire to push down wages.

Two people working alongside each other doing the same job should get the same pay. It is hard to get simpler or fairer than that, ACTU secretary Sally McManus said, reported The Australian.

Some big businesses have used labour hire as a way of driving down wages and have used loopholes in the laws to do this. Big business is upset that this has been exposed.

According to the bills explanatory memorandum, labour hire providers that profit from wage arbitration where lower-cost labour is sourced have distorted the labour market and undermined the enterprise bargaining system.

The wage arbitrage business model has given rise to substantial worker exploitation and inequities, leading to the introduction of statutory labour-hire licensing systems in Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT.

Many labour-hire companies do the right thing, so there are workers in the industry who are paid their legal entitlements, including, where applicable, the casual loading. This means in some instances these workers are paid more than their directly employed counterparts.

However, Ai GroupAustralias peak national industry associationsaid in its submission (pdf) that the proposed laws represent an unfair attack on labour-hire businesses that comply with workplace laws and that provide legitimate labour-hire services.

Thousands of small and medium-sized businesses that supply services to larger businesses would be forced to increase the remuneration they pay to their employees in order to comply with the Same Job, Same Pay requirement. This would substantially increase their costs, Ai Group said in its statement.

It would be naive to assume that these businesses would be able to fully recoup those cost increases from their clients through charging higher prices for their services.

Similar concerns were also echoed by the Australian Resources and Energy Employer Association (AREEA), which said in a submission (pdf) that the proposed legislation would see operations close, jobs lost, regional communities adversely impacted, and state and federal tax and royalty revenues forgone.

It is unrealistic to expect labour-hire arrangements to operate with insurmountable levels of red tape, defeating the purpose of engaging labour hire in the first place, being flexibility and choice.

Business Chief Say Proposal Sends Wrong Message

Meanwhile, BCA chief executive Jennifer Westacott said that while Australia is at a time where businesses need to innovate and have the flexibility to grow, the proposed bill sends the wrong message.

To keep delivering better living standards and revenues to government, businesses need the capacity to scale up, change course and do new things, Westacott said, reported The Australian Financial Review (AFR).

As its being proposed, Same Job Same Pay would make rewarding workers who work hard or choose to upskill more difficult.

It could also put pay rises at risk by undermining enterprise bargaining.

Additionally, AREEAs chief executive Steve Knott has accused the government and ACTU of introducing the Marx-inspired same job, same pay policy, which demonises labour hire employers, reported The Australian.

Knott said labour-hire employees in the energy and resources sector typically earn more than $130,000 annually.

The campaign slogan focus here has been to perpetuate the myth that well-paid labour hire employees are somehow disadvantaged and seek to give unions a relevant platform with such workers, Knott said.
Aussie Journalist Stan Grant Quits ABCs Flagship Program Citing Ongoing Racial Abuse

A supplied image of Stan Grant talking about his new book The Queen is Dead at the Melbourne Writers Festival in Melbourne, Australia on May 6, 2023. (AAP Image/Supplied by Andrew Guo, Atticus Media)

Indigenous Australian journalist Stan Grant is stepping down from his role as host for the Australian Broadcasting Corporations (ABC) Q&A program following claims of ongoing racial abuse.

Grant said he received a stream of abuse and criticism after he was invited to contribute to the broadcasters coverage of the coronation of King Charles III in early May.

He said he was sorry that some monarchists were offended by the programs coverage.

During the coronation coverage, I spoke of Yindyamarra (respect) for those who support the monarchy even as I confront the darkness of colonisation and empire, he wrote in an ABC op-ed.

I pointed out that the crown represents the invasion and theft of our land. In the name of the crown, my people were segregated on missions and reserves. Police wearing the seal of the crown took children from their families. Under the crown, our people were massacred.

I speak truth with love because that is who I am. If I did not offer Yindyamarra, my ancestors would be ashamed of me. They would also be ashamed of me if I did not speak up for justice.

The veteran journalist, who became a full-time host for the Q&A program in August 2022, said not one ABC executive offered support over the public backlash.

Not one ABC executive has publicly refuted the lies written or spoken about me. I dont hold any individual responsible; this is an institutional failure, Grant said.

He added that he wanted no part of social media because he and his family were regularly targeted with abuse.

This is not new. Barely a week goes by when I am not racially targeted. My wife is targeted with abuse for being married to a Wiradjuri man, he said.

I dont even read it, yet I cant escape it. People stop me in the street to tell me how vile it is. They tell me how sorry they are. Although I try to shield myself from it, the fact it is out there poisons the air I breathe.

Response From the ABC

ABC News director Justin Stevens said in a statement that the public broadcaster had lodged a complaint with Twitter over the racist abuse targeting Stan.

Over many months, but particularly in recent days, Stan Grant has been subject to grotesque racist abuse, including threats to his safety, Stevens said.

It is abhorrent and unacceptable.

Stan is one of Australias best and most respected journalists and broadcasters. The ABC stands by him and condemns the attacks directed towards him.

However, Grant said that while he valued the friendship of Stevens, he said Stevens is attempting to change an organisation that has a history of racism.

I was not the producer nor presenter of the coronation broadcast, yet every newspaper article accusing the ABC of bias has carried my image. I am writing this because I will not have people depict me as a person of hate, Grant said.

Steven said Grant took on the tirade of criticism, particularly in the usual sections of the media that target the ABC.

Reporting on his contribution to the panel discussion has been unfair, inaccurate and irresponsible, he said. It has contributed to fuelling horrendous personal and racial abuse.

The ABC Ombudsman will investigate editorial complaints about the coverage, according to the customary process.

Stevens said any threats made to Grant will be referred to the police.

Monday, May 22, will be Grants final time hosting ABCs flagship program. Grant has announced a temporary leave of absence with no set return date.
TEHRAN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Russia on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand tourism cooperation, according to Iran's official news agency IRNA.

The MoU was inked by Ali Asghar Shalbafian, Iranian deputy minister of cultural heritage, handicrafts, and tourism for tourism affairs, and Dmitry Vakhrukov, the deputy minister of economic development of Russia, on the sidelines of the 14th International Economic Forum "Russia-Islamic world" held in Kazan, Russia.

Under the MoU, related Iranian and Russian ministries will jointly push forward the implementation of a visa-free agreement signed in 2017 for granting visa waivers to tour groups from the two countries.

The MoU is also aimed at, among other things, enhancing bilateral tourism cooperation and boosting tourism exchange between the two sides, including the exchange of tourism experts, as well as experiences and information sharing.

Shalbafian said at the signing ceremony that Russia could become a high-priority tourism market for Iran.

Vakhrukov, for his part, expressed hope that Iranian tourists could be granted visa-free entry to Russia as of summer, noting that Iranian citizens are able to obtain electronic visas for traveling to Russia starting from June 22. 
Bank of America Gave FBI Access to Jan. 6 Bank Records Without Customers Knowledge: Whistleblowers

A customer uses an ATM at a Bank of America branch in Boston on Oct. 11, 2017. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Whistleblowers told Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee that Bank of America gave Jan. 6 connected bank records to the FBI without customers knowledge or consent.

In their testimony, whistleblowers claimed that the FBI had become enveloped in politicization and made several claims of serious abuses over an extended period of time.

Among those abuses, whistleblowers said that Bank of America (BOA) had transferred information to the FBI on transactions that took place in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Customers were not informed of this data transfer.

Firearm Owners Targeted

Those who used their Bank of America accounts to purchase a firearm were reportedly bumped to the top of the list handed over to the FBI.

In a report released on May 18, Republicans revealed whistleblower testimony from retired FBI Supervisory Intelligence Analyst George Hill, who made the allegations.

The Bank of America, with no directive from the FBI, data-mined its customer base, Hill testified, saying that this data mining comprised transactions made between Jan. 5, 2021, and Jan. 7, 2021. Specifically, they targeted transactions made in Washington or nearby counties in Maryland and Virginia.

Investigators asked Hill, Its anyone who used a Bank of America either debit or credit card to conduct a transaction?

Right, Hill replied. Any transaction. To buy a hot dog. Doesnt matter.

Hill then confirmed that those who had purchased a gun at some point in time, any time were bumped to the top of the list given to the FBI.

This list was provided without any legal process to the FBI?

Correct, Hill replied.

So my understanding of the [FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide] and amateur assessment based on law is that, you know, if a citizen sees a crime in commission, theres nothing wrong with injecting that and opening up a case. But, to my knowledge, using a debit card in the District [of Columbia] does not provide adequate predication for the investigation of a crime.

He alleged that there was no legal process asking for [the information] and that Bank of America had acted entirely on its own accord.

Hill also said that the flag for firearm purchases wasnt limited to purchases made in Washington and the surrounding area but applied to any firearm purchased anywhere at any point in time using a Bank of America account.

Hills claims were corroborated by the current Special Agent-in-Charge of the Boston FBI office, Joseph Bonavolonta.

Asked whether he was aware of the information received from Bank of America, Bonavolonta replied in the affirmative.

Bonavolonta testified that the lead was sent to the Boston office without any directive attached.

Inauguration Data

Bank of America also sent information on purchases related to Inauguration Day hotel stays or plane tickets, Bonavolonta revealed.

He testified, In the body of the lead, there was information that was provided by Bank of America following a certain number of criteria that, in essence, aggregated a list of individuals that were supposedly living in the New England area who either had potentially made certain credit card purchases for hotel reservations or plane tickets, or potential purchases at gun stores, in and around January 6.

He revealed that in addition to this Jan. 6 data, the bank also sent the FBI info on travel and lodging fees planned for the inauguration date, January 20, in that timeframe.

Bonavolonta said that after thorough analysis, it was clear that the FBI could do nothing with the material, and he said he pursued no further investigations on the basis of the material.

In their concluding commentary on the report, House Republicans called the testimony highly alarming.

The FBI seemingly worked with a major financial institution to receive, without legal process, financial records about Americans  This invasion of the privacy of American citizens is highly concerning.

The latest allegations of FBI misconduct come amid a push to impeach FBI Director Christopher Wray spearheaded by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) over continuing concerns that the FBI has become weaponized for partisan purposes.

Bank of America did not return an inquiry from The Epoch Times by press time.
Blinken Replacing Biden on Papua New Guinea Visit Amid Push to Counter Beijing

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a press conference at State Department in Washington on April 11, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Papua New Guinea (PNG) in lieu of President Joe Biden, whose trip was canceled due to the United States debt limit talks, next week amid efforts to counter Chinas rising influence in the Pacific.

Biden contacted PNG leader James Marape on May 18 to inform him that he had to return to Washington after the G7 summit in Japan to attend meetings with Congressional leaders on averting a potential default, the White House stated.

He told Marape that Blinken would attend the U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum summit in PNGs capital Port Moresby on his behalf and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the renewed partnership with Pacific island nations.

Biden also invited Marape to Washington for a second U.S.-Pacific summit later this year, during which they will discuss issues including trade and economic ties and maritime security.

His canceled trip, originally scheduled for May 22, would have marked the first by a sitting U.S. president to PNG. Biden also had to scrap a planned meeting with leaders of the Quadwhich includes India, Australia, and Japanin Sydney, Australia.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Quad leaders would instead convene on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, this week.

President Joe Biden (C) and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) arrive at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni on May 18, 2023, in Iwakuni, Japan. Biden arrived in Japan to attend the G7 summit, which will take place in Hiroshima. (Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)

The blocking and the disruption thats occurring in domestic politics in the United States, with the debt ceiling issue, means that, because that has to be solved prior to June 1otherwise there are quite drastic consequences for the U.S. economy, which will flow on to the global economyhe understandably has had to make that decision, Albanese said.

Biden has been negotiating with top Republicans and Democrats to secure Congressional authorization to raise the federal governments $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and avoid default before the end of May.

US-Papua New Guinea Ties

The State Department said Blinken would visit PNG from May 21 to 22 for talks with Pacific Islands Forum leaders on cooperation in addressing climate issues and advancing inclusive economic growth in the region.

Its unclear whether Blinken will discuss the U.S.-PNG Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) during his visit. In February, PNG sent a delegation to Honolulu for talks with U.S. officials to establish a mutual understanding of core issues regarding the DCA.

Washington said the DCA would serve as the foundational framework for enhancing security cooperation and bilateral relationship, including boosting the capacity of the PNG Defense Force and maintaining security in the Pacific region, once the agreement is finalized and signed.

The United States has sought to boost its engagement in the Pacific region after Beijing signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands last year, which many countries in the region fear could allow Beijing to station troops, weapons, and naval ships on the strategically important island.

Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said last year that PNG has faced similar pressure from Beijing to consent to a security agreement like the Solomon Islands.

Do you think theres not the same pressure going on in Papua New Guinea that there is in the Solomon Islands? Of course there is. That is happening in all of those countries, Morrison told reporters.

Beijing has previously shown interest in the PNG autonomous region of Bougainville, reportedly offering US$1 billion in infrastructure investment that would come under its Belt and Road Initiative. Bougainville is on course to achieve independence from PNG by 2027.

In February 2021, a leaked document revealed plans by a Hong Kong-based company WYW Holding Limited to transform PNGs Daru Island, which is located close to Australia, into an industrial, seaport, and commercial zone. But Marapes government denied getting the proposal, according to multiple reports.

Daniel Y. Teng contributed to this report.
Border Sheriffs Skeptical as Illegal Immigrant Crossings Drop After End of Title 42

A Customs and Border Protection officer keeps watch as immigrants are transported from a makeshift camp between border walls between the U.S. and Mexico in San Diego on May 13, 2023. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

GUADALAJARA, MEXICOThe White House has been touting a drop in illegal immigration at the U.S.Mexico border after Title 42 border restrictions ended last week. Still, sheriffs along the border have not been convinced the decrease in illegal crossings will last.

Since May 12 the U.S. Border Patrol has experienced a steady decrease in daily encounters, with our daily average since May 12 just over 4,400 including less than 4,000 encounters each of the last two days. This represents a decrease of 56 percent or less than half of the average encountered in the lifting of Title 42 when the border patrol encountered an average of 10,100 individuals each day, said Blas Nunez-Neto, the assistant secretary for Border and Immigration Policy at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday during a virtual press conference.

Title 42, a pandemic-era immigration policy, allowed U.S. Border Patrol agents to remove illegal immigrants on public health grounds and was anticipated to create a spike in illegal immigration when it expired. However, Nunez-Neto said that spike never manifested as Title 8, a more restrictive immigration policy, was immediately put in place afterward.

Under Title 8, illegal immigrants who are captured and deported are banned from entering the United States for at least five years. And if they enter again illegally, they could face jail time.

Sheriffs Doubtful

But sheriffs along the U.S.Mexico Border arent convinced that the decrease in illegal immigrant crossings will stick.

We are always hopeful when anything happens along these lines. Are we looking [at] a continuation of this reduction [in illegal crossings]? We dont know, Clint McDonald, executive director of the Southwestern Border Sheriffs Coalition, told The Epoch Times. Im hearing from our sheriffs across the southwestern border that they are seeing reductions in the most major areas and we still have some rural areas that are staying steady. But we dont know at this point that it will stay this way, we are hopeful but were not optimistic that it will.

The Southwestern Border Sheriffs Coalition is composed of sheriffs from 31 counties along the U.S.Mexico border from Texas to California. McDonald says many of his sheriffs are not optimistic that illegal immigrant crossings will continue to drop, due to past experience and because of a complete lack of transparency from the Biden administration with border sheriffs.

The total lack of communication with Washington is one of the big issues we have, I realize that they are taking a victory lap about this but we dont know whats going on we are not in that loop, he said. This is the first administration Ive worked with that I havent had someone inside the White House I could contact so we dont know whats going on we dont have that first-hand information anymore so its hard to get a grasp on whats happening.

Republican Governors React to Drop in Illegal Crossings

Despite the drop in illegal border crossings, Republican governors continue to criticize the Biden administrations handling of the immigration crisis.

In a letter written to other governors on Tuesday, asking them to send additional law enforcement personnel to the border Texas Governor Greg Abbott argued the end of Title 42 would have been a lot worse if Texas did not deploy more ground forces to the border including a new tactical border unit and more National Guard troops.

These efforts helped Texas hold the line against the influx of illegal crossings and criminal activity following the end of Title 42 expulsions, with widespread media coverage and recognition of our efforts in areas like Brownsville and El Paso. Even as the Biden Administration pulled Border Patrol agents off the line in areas like McAllen, the State of Texas held strong thanks to our brave, hardworking Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers, Abbott wrote.

Without the historic efforts Texas has deployed to respond to President Bidens derelictions of duty, the end of Title 42 expulsions would have been significantly worse. Because of Texas surge in border security strategies and resources, including miles of additional razor wire barriers, illegal border encounters decreased significantly from last weeks highs.

In response to Abbotts letter, 24 Republican governors pledged to support the efforts of Texas to secure the southwestern border.

The federal governments response, handling the expiration of Title 42, has represented a complete failure of the Biden Administration. While the federal government has abdicated its duties, Republican governors stand ready to protect the U.S.Mexico border and keep families safe, the governors said in a joint statement.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also announced he would be sending 1,100 law enforcement personnel to Texas to assist Abbott in securing the TexasMexico border.

The impacts of Bidens Border Crisis are felt by communities across the nation, and the federal governments abdication of duty undermines the sovereignty of our country and the rule of law, said DeSantis. At my direction, state agencies including law enforcement and the Florida National Guard are being deployed to Texas, with assets including personnel, boats, and planes. While Biden ignores the crisis he created, Florida stands ready to help Texas respond to this crisis.

Nunez-Neto responded by saying the actions by Texas and Florida were motivated by political reasons and that DHS has not left border states to fend for themselves.

There is outstanding coordination taking place at the local level each and every day. We have seen, however, at times that Gov. DeSantis and [Texas Gov. Greg Abbott] take actions that are being done really for purely political reasons and that do not involve the kind of coordination that we really need to see at the border, he said.

Despite End of Title 42 Migrants Continue March to Border

The end of Title 42 may have created a political firestorm in the United States, but for migrants still making the journey to the U.S.Mexico border its hardly been noticed.

I still plan on going to Tijuana to see if I can make it into California, Pedro Diaz, who crossed illegally from Guatemala into Mexico, told The Epoch Times in Guadalajara. If they kick me out I will just go back and try again, many of us will do the same.

Diaz said that he knows hundreds of Guatemalans that are planning or are already making the trip to the United States, sometimes in groups and sometimes alone.

I always travel alone, he said. It is dangerous but I am doing this for my family and it is easier to move by yourself.

When asked if he knew about Title 8 and how the U.S. border policies were now more restrictive Diaz responded by saying they will let me back in, they let everyone in. It is known.
California Authorities Warn Motorists Against Illegal Street Racing and Takeovers

Vehicles drive over tire skid marks from other drivers doing burnouts and "donuts" on Bellevue Ave as area residents protest an increase in street racing takeovers and the latest Fast and Furious movie being filmed in the Angelino Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, on Aug. 26, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

LOS ANGELESAuthorities May 18 announced a safety campaign in the Southland and statewide to combat illegal street racing and takeoversactivities that have turned deadly on multiple occasions for participants and spectators.

The campaign, in advance of the release of the latest Fast and Furious movie, was discussed at a Thursday morning news conference where authorities displayed wrecked vehicles, along with images of people whose deaths were related to the illegal activities.

Our freeways, railways, and bridges have been shut down illegally, causing in some cases, folks not being able to make it to the emergency room, and in others just being flat-out late for work, said California Highway Patrol (CHP) Deputy Commissioner Troy Lukkes.

These illegal and dangerous activities put peoples lives at risk, damage public and private property, and in some cases even resulted in the death of innocent people, Lukkes said.

Lukkes said that since 2015, incidents involving speed and speed contests have quadrupled around the state.

Additionally, over a five-year period, these illegal activities have resulted in 264 crashes, Lukkes said. Of those 264 crashes, 30 of them have resulted in fatalities, and 124 have resulted in injury that we have documented.

A California Highway Patrol vehicle in Orange, Calif., on May 22, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

To combat the problem, the CHP has been working with local law enforcement organizations, along with community-based groups, such as the organization Street Racing Kills, Lukkes said.

Among those on hand at the news conference were Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, and Lili Trujillo Puckett, founder of Street Racing Kills.

This is not just a law enforcement issue; this is a community issue that endangers livesyoung and old, innocent as well as those that are engaged in this reckless activity, Moore said. The message today is clear: street racing and sideshows are dangerous. They result in death and serious injury, not only to the participant, but also to the spectators and community members.

The popularity of movies such as the Fast and Furious series  we believe is likely the influence [on] copycats, because of the movies glamorizing this very dangerous activity, Moore said. Movies like this are fantasy.

Luna noted that there is also an economic cost accompanying the criminal costs of illegal street racing and takeovers.

Lili Trujillo Puckett, founder of Street Racing Kills, speaks alongside local residents and supporters of the group during a protest on the increase in street racing takeovers in Los Angeles, on Aug. 26, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Were going to tow or impound your cars, Luna said. Parentsits going to have an impact on you. Parentstalk to your kids  where youre having to pay thousands of dollars to get those vehicles out. We warned youyou have to stop doing this; youre impacting peoples lives negatively, and its costing some lives as well.

Lili Trujillo Puckett spoke of her 16-year-old daughter, who was killed in 2013 while being driven home by an 18-year-old man who engaged in a street race with a co-worker.

He crashed [while] going over 80 miles an hour, and Valentina ended up hanging from the window, Puckett said. She died at the scene. She died in the middle of the night on the cold asphalt.  She was covered with a white sheet, taken to a coroners office, and put in a refrigerator with no clothes on. Sixteen years old in a refrigerator. And she became a number; she became a body; she no longer had a name. She was killed just by the thrill of speed.

Authorities warned that it is not only illegal to participate in a street race or takeover, but also to attend and watch such activities. Anyone seeing a street race or takeover in progress was urged to call 911.
California Legislatures Block Bill That Would Hold Oil Companies Liable for Health Problems

California legislatures blocked an environmental bill that would have held oil companies liable for the health problems of people who live close to oil wells on Thursday.

The bill, authored by Sen. Lena Gonzalez, would have required oil companies to pay up to $1 million to people who have cancer or other health problems associated with the well.

Today, we missed a key opportunity to advance legislation that would hold polluters accountable and prevent further harm to families who are just trying to stay healthy and have a better quality of life, Gonzalez said in a statement.

Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that bans drilling new oil wells within 3,200 feet (975 meters) of sensitive areas like homes and schools. But the law hasnt taken effect because the oil industry qualified a referendum on the 2024 ballot, asking voters to overturn it.

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks in the rotunda of the California State Capitol in Sacramento, on March 28, 2023. (Courtesy of the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom)

Its one thing for Big Oil to make record profits as they rip off Californians at the pump. Its quite another to push to continue harmful drilling near daycares and schools, and our homes. Greedy oil companies know that drilling results in more kids getting asthma, more children born with birth defects, and more communities exposed to toxic, dangerous chemicalsbut they would rather put our health at risk than sacrifice a single cent of their billions in profits, Newsom said in a statement at the time.

Kayla Karimi, staff attorney at the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, says its time for oil companies to take responsibility for the harmful toxins being exposed to neighboring communities.

Oil and gas wells have plagued our marginalized California communities for far too long, and it is past due for these owners and operators to take responsibility for the health harms they have caused California residents. We strongly believe in Senator Gonzalezs bill, and we are very disappointed in the Appropriations Committees failure to pass SB 556. Our communities deserve to live in an environment that does not give them cancer, pregnancy complications, or respiratory issues, and this bill would have moved us toward that reality, Karimi said in a statement.

Kara Greene, a spokesperson for the Western States Petroleum Association, which opposed the bill, said it would have been unfair to oil and gas companies and done more harm than good.

The billions of dollars and the fiscal mess that this bill would have caused to the State and local governments from their own liabilities, the fiscal responsibility of inherited wells, and the cost to the court system would be substantial, Greene said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the Center for Biological Diversity sued California oil regulators for approving new oil and gas wells in Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo counties close to homes, beaches, and important habitats without conducting the required environmental review.

Rubberstamping new oil drilling sites without proper environmental review continues environmentally racist policies that add to the health harms residents have been facing for years, Jan Victor Andasan, a community organizer with East Yards Communities for Environmental Justice, said in a statement. Frontline communities are already overburdened with a multitude of pollution sources in neighborhoods like West Long Beach, from oil production sites to goods-movement operations. People in many working-class Black and Brown communities are simply trying to breathe, and to do that, they need agencies to practice thorough, thoughtful review.

Liz Jones, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversitys Climate Law Institute, called oil companies actions illegal.

State regulators are neglecting their duty to protect the public from these dangerous oil and gas projects, Jones said in a statement. Putting new wells near homes, beaches, and dwindling habitat for wildlife is the exact opposite of public safety. Its not only outrageous but illegal for CalGEM to approve these wells without a scrap of new environmental review.

California is also aiming to achieve carbon neutrality, meaning the state will remove as many carbon emissions as it releases by 2045. The state Air Resources Board has approved rules to limit pollution from cars, trucks, lawnmowers, and trains.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
CBP Is Using Sophisticated AI Tool to Monitor Americans Social Media Activity

Meant to screen travelers, Babel X can monitor large swaths of data in near real-time

A traveler uses a mobile app for expedited passport and customer screening at Miami International Airport in Miami, Fla., on March 4, 2015. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is using an artificial intelligence (AI) data collection tool to collect information from social media activity that can in some cases be linked to individuals social security or drivers license numbers, according to a CBP document describing the software tool. The document was obtained by Vice magazines tech site Motherboard via a Freedom of Information Act request, and described in a May 17 report.

The CBP document describes the open-source AI tool, dubbed Babel X, which was developed by Babel Street, a U.S. company focused on intelligence gathering. Babel Streets top leadership and board of advisors include tech industry experts, veteran military leadership, and former intelligence officers.

CBP is a federal agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). CBP submitted the document, termed a Privacy Threshold Analysis (PTA), to DHS to continue to pilot the use of Babel Streets Babel X platform.

The date when the PTA was filed is not listed; however, the DHS privacy office approved the document on Dec. 14, 2020. The end date for the PTA is listed as Sept. 25, 2023. According to the DHS website, PTAs expire after three years or when changes occur.

Screening for Derogatory Info

The PTA describes Babel X as a multilingual tool that gathers publicly available information, including social media activity. Designed for use by the intelligence community and law enforcement, the sophisticated tool allows CBP to screen travelers, including U.S. citizens, refugees, and people seeking asylum.

Babel X is geo-enabled, analyzes texts, and can monitor web activity on the public, dark, and deep webs. The dark web is a portion of the internet that is not indexed by search engines and functions on a different software infrastructure. It is often used for organized criminal activity.

The Babel X platform can search for keywords or phrases on more than 52 social media websites, in millions of web addresses, and in 200 languages, allowing users to enter English terms and return foreign language results.

CBP says it uses the tool to detect information that is derogatory or could show a threat to national security or CBP personnel.

The document mentions Locate X, another software that can find the location of a person using geolocation data. Also sold by Babel Street, Locate X allows users to draw a digital fence around a specific area, pinpoint mobile devices within that area, and see where those devices have traveled, going back months, according to an article from Protocol.

Some parts of the document were redacted after the mention of Locate X, and because of this, no more information could be found on the use and legality of Locate X.

Monitoring Large Tracts of Data in Near Real-Time

According to the CBP submission, Babel X makes sense of large tracts of multi-lingual data in near real-time. Users identify themes, entities, and categories, as well as detect relationships, within the cloud-based platform. Babel users can explore the data through a wide range of analytical lenses to include geospatial, temporal, link analysis, public records search and topics of interest.

The use of Babel X is supposedly focused on refugees/asylees, the document says.

The information collected may include a persons name, date of birth, address, email address, phone number, social media usernames, content, images, IP address, domain information, social security number (SSN), drivers license number, employment history, and location data based on geolocation in public posts.

According to the PTA, social security numbers are not required to conduct queries on the platform, however, CBP may conduct social security number queries on a case-by-case basis. CBP is not proposing to collect SSNs directly from individuals as part of this effort, it says, but from commercially available sources, in furtherance of its statutory law enforcement and border security responsibilities.

While queries are stored indefinitely in the Babel X software, query results are not stored by the vendor but by CBP.

Personally identifiable information (PII) obtained by the software is shared with other U.S. government agencies, according to the document.

An Ever-Expanding Social Media Dragnet

Regarding the legality of all this, the document concludes by listing several initiatives that are legally covering Babel Xs use, such as the DHS/CBP/PIA-058 Publicly Available Social Media Monitoring and Situation Awareness Initiative and ESTA, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, designed for foreigners visiting the United States.

CBPs use of Babel X cannot be found on the CBPs website. However, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police mentions its monitoring with Babel X on its official website.

The U.S. governments ever-expanding social media dragnet is certain to chill people from engaging in protected speech and association online, Carrie DeCell, senior staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute, told Motherboard.

DeCell called CBPs use of the advanced social media surveillance technology especially concerning in connection with existing rules requiring millions of visa applicants each year to register their social media handles with the government. As weve argued in a related lawsuit, the government simply has no legitimate interest in collecting and retaining such sensitive information on this immense scale.

Bennett Cyphers, a special advisor to digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Motherboard in an online chat The data isnt limited to public posts made under someones real name on Facebook or Twitter.

Cyphers added, Most of the people whose location data is collected in this way likely have no idea its happening.

Legal Justification: Privileged

Homeland Security needs to come clean to the American people about how it believes it can legally purchase and use U.S. location data without any kind of court order. Americans privacy shouldnt depend on whether the government uses a court order or credit card, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told Motherboard in a statement.

DHS should stop violating Americans rights, and Congress should pass my bipartisan legislation to prohibit the governments purchase of Americans data.

CBP has told Congress that the legal justification for its warrantless tracking is privileged, reported a Motherboard article dated Oct. 23, 2020.

CBP paid Babel Street more than $2.7 million to Babel X in 2019, and $265,000 in 2020, according to online procurement records, Vice reported.

Eighty-four percent of U.S. national security agencies have partnered with Babel Street, the companys website says.

The Epoch Times reached out to CBP for comment.

The Babel X link on Babel Streets website currently displays a page not found message.
Chinese Regime Fines Talk Show Firm $2 Million for Mocking Chinese Military

A television set shows a Chinese talk show beneath a photo of Chinese leader Xi Jinping in a home converted into a tourist homestay in Zhaxigang village near Nyingchi in the region of Tibet, on June 4, 2021. (Mark Schiefelbein/File/AP Photo)

Chinas communist regime fined a mainland Chinese talk show company around $2 million and suspended its performances indefinitely this week after a comedian was reported by audience members for mocking Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) and the regimes military slogan.

Observers pointed out that its becoming harder for talk show hosts and comedians to survive in China under the ruling Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) increasingly restrictive censorship.

An audio clip of Chinese stand-up comedian Li Haoshis May 13 performance went viral recently on Chinese social media, in which he said:

I adopted two stray dogs, they were wild dogs picked up from the mountains near my home. When I saw these two dogs for the first time, they were chasing squirrels like fired cannonballs, so 8 large characters flashed in my mind, Excellent style of work, able to win battlesvery good.

To listen to the partys command, have an excellent style of work, and be able to win battles is the slogan CCP leader Xi Jinping introduced in 2013 to encourage the Chinese military.

Li, whose stage name is House, saw his comments reported by a number of audience members on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, with some netizens commenting that his remarks were an insult to the PLA.

A view of the Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media Co. Fun Factory stand-up comedy club in Shanghai, China on May 17, 2023. (Wang Gang/VCG via Getty Images)

Both Li and Xiaoguo (Fun Factory)the talk show he works forpublicly apologized for the joke on May 15. However, since then the Chinese militarys social media account Jun Zhengping, the official account of the Army of the Western Command, and official media such as Beijing Daily, Peoples Daily, and Xinhua News Agency have published articles criticizing Li for overstepping the mark.

On May 17, the Beijing Bureau of Culture and Tourism issued a statement on its WeChat account accusing the Shanghai comedy company Xiaoguo (Fun Factory) and its host Li Haoshi of changing the content of the performance without authorization during the May 13 performance, and claiming the host seriously insulted the PLA.

The bureau confiscated 1.325 million yuan ($188,700) of what it termed illegal gains and imposed a fine of 13.35 million yuan ($1.9 million) on the company. All Fun Factory performances in Beijing are suspended indefinitely.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Bureau of Culture and Tourism also suspended the companys performances in Shanghai.

On the same day, the Beijing Chaoyang police issued a notice saying that they are investigating Li Haoshi for seriously insulting the PLA, which had had a bad impact on society.

According the BBCs Chinese-language edition, Li was taken away by the police on Thursday morning, May 18.

Fun Factory issued a statement saying that it will comprehensively rectify its performance business nationwide, and terminated its contract with Li.

All performances on Fun Factorys app have been removed. Lis accounts on Chinese social media platforms have also been deleted.

Dancing With Shackles On

Citizen journalist Huang Ziyin told The Epoch Times on May 16 that under the CCPs autocratic rule, it is impossible to have a true comedy culture on Chinese talk shows. Thats why talk shows, an artistic form, find it hard to survive in China. Because if you are not careful, you will cross the red line of the party.

In mid-February, Chi Zi (Wang Yuechi), a well-known mainland stand-up comedian, was also banned by the CCPs Central Propaganda Department for making fun of sensitive topicssuch as Chinas COVID-19 control policyduring his North American tour.

Huang said: Under censorship and self-censorship, these stand-up comedians cant create hilarious jokes, and stand-up comedies will not flourish. The same is true for works in the Chinese TV and film industry. Whether the content or form of expression, the path is getting narrower and narrower, because the space given by the political system is shrinking.

Chinese stand-up comedian Li Haoshi (House). (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Chen Weijian, the editor-in-chief of Beijing Spring, an overseas monthly magazine dedicated to the promotion of human rights, democracy, and social justice in China, told The Epoch Times on May 16 that while Li Haoshi was reported for insulting the military, his true misconduct was in his accidentally mocking Xi Jinping. Li was then accused by Little Pinks (a Chinese term for pro-communist Chinese) of insulting the great leader.

Chen believes that in China, artistic performances such as talk shows may be difficult to perform in future. Under the authoritarian environment of the CCP, the development of Chinese talk shows in recent years is like dancing with shackles on, and the official media has repeatedly warned them that telling jokes should be moderate.'

Little Pinks Assist CCP In Its Censorship

Citizen journalist Ning Jing spoke to The Epoch Times on May 16. The most frightening thing is those Little Pinks who have made grave accusations against the comedian on social media, Ning said. They dont know that they are depriving others of their right to speak and express themselves, and at the same time they are also depriving themselves of their own right to speak in the future, as well as depriving future generations of Chinese peoples right to speak freely.

They also help the CCP patrol every corner like the internet police, and then report others without any qualms. The Cultural Revolution is about to return, not only in real life, but also on the internet. Hard times are coming to the Chinese people, and they may soon be back to the era of holding Maos quotations and Little Red Book in their hands.

Mainland artist Tong Yimin told The Epoch Times that under the CCPs censorship environment, not only talk show performers, but all artists and intellectuals find themselves in a fearful environment, devoid of creative space and freedom.

Chinese comedian Guo Degang performs crosstalk, a traditional Chinese comic talk show, in Changchun in Chinas Jilin Province, on March 9, 2008. (China Photos/Getty Images)

In the past, companies or groups such as Fun Factory and the cross talk (traditional comedy double-act) company Deyun Club have been continuously suppressed by the authorities.

The CCPs censorship and control has stifled social creativity and innovation. Penalties on actors and companies have restricted the creation and development of literary workers and artists, and hindered the diversity and prosperity of cultural creation, Tong said.

Li Yun and Luo Ya contributed to this report.
Climate Protesters Disrupt Democrats, Financiers, Big Tech at Energy Summit

Clouds form above the U.S. Capitol on the National Mall in Washington on March 28, 2021. (Al Drago/Getty Images)

The Politico Energy Summit on May 18 revealed a growing fissure between the Biden administration and the left wing of its base, as the president seeks to position himself as a centrist ahead of the 2024 election.

As Citis Val Smith spoke during a panel discussion, a protester piped up to demand that Smiths bank divest from fossil fuels.

A group called Stop the Money Pipeline took credit for the action on Twitter.

We cannot continue business as usual. There are no jobs on a dead planet, they wrote, describing Citi as a significant funder of fossil fuel projects.

The Epoch Times has contacted Politico to confirm the account from Stop the Money Pipeline.

Climate protesters disrupted the White House Correspondents Dinner in April. The protests organizer asserted that President Joe Biden is guilty of ecocide, citing the partial approval of the Willow oil project earlier this year.

Activists with the group Extinction Rebellion block traffic during a climate change protest in downtown Vancouver on Oct. 18, 2019. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck)

Climate Defiance, the group that led the actions at the White House Correspondents Dinner, also participated in the Politico summit protests, according to its social media posts.

Smith defended the protesters after she was interrupted.

Im glad that they were able to have their voices heard, but I also think we have an important message to get through today, she said.

Money and Political Influence

Politicos summit was at the Schuyler in Washington.

The event brought together high finance, corporate America, and the Democratic Party, including political insiders such as Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.).

Smith was heckled while speaking with Microsofts Melanie Nakagawa, Department of Energy Loans Program Office Director Jigar Shah, and Forbright Banks John Delaney.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm tours the Strategic Petroleum Reserve site at Bayou Choctaw in Louisiana on May 24, 2022. (Jonathan Bachman/Reuters)

Delaney, reportedly worth over $230 million in 2015, was previously a Democratic representative from Maryland. He also ran for president in 2020.

Smith repeatedly stressed that her institution gets pressure from all sides.

Citi is also the worlds most global bank, she said, telling the panel that jurisdictions and interest groups across the planet all seek to influence the banks operations.

Delaney said the ongoing debt ceiling fight between Democrats and Republicans is utterly pointless and a complete waste of time.

Not that the fiscal trajectory of the country is not worthy of a lot of consideration. It is, and its troubling and concerning, but obviously the debt ceiling has nothing to do with that, he said.

Delaney also suggested that the Securities and Exchange Commissions recent climate disclosure rule could easily be overturned.

Former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) speaks at an event in Las Vegas on Nov. 17, 2019. (Bridget Bennett/AFP via Getty Images)

Nakagawa called the rule a really good signal regardless of whether it takes effect.

She drew attention to the European Unions Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, in effect as of January 2023. It mandates greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for 2030 and 2050 from many companies where appropriate, among many other sustainability reporting requirements.

Thats something that is top of mind for many companies today, who are looking at what their disclosure requirements are going to be, what theyre reporting onand thats already there, she said.

The moderator, Politicos Debra Kahn, asked participants whether they expected the not that great economy to impact the current green push.

When it comes to our sustainability commitments, Microsofts still very committed to be carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste, all by 2030, and are bullish on the investments that were making, Nakagawa said.

Shah, of the Department of Energy, said many of the loan requests he has received are not as vulnerable to large macroeconomic trends as venture capital.

The U.S. Department of Energy building in Washington, D.C., on July 22, 2019. (Alastair Pike/AFP via Getty Images)

Those projects are funded by equity from pensions, insurance companies, [and] large sovereign wealth, he said.

Shah told Kahn that those capital flows were unaffected by the rest of the overall macro market.
CNN Parent Company CEO Makes Surprise Comment After Trump Town Hall

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a CNN Town Hall with CNNs Kaitlan Collins at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., on May 10, 2023, in a still from video. (CNN/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

The CEO of CNNs parent company responded to recent criticism against his network by saying that it needs to show both sides in order to rebrand.

David Zaslav, the chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, told a media conference Thursday that CNN needs to shift from a left-leaning network to show both sides of every issue in what appears to be a response to critical comments from the political left about the channel hosting a townhall featuring former President Donald Trump.

Our view is theres advocacy networks on either side. We have the best journalists in the world. We need to show both sides of every issue, Zaslav said, according to Mediaite. CNN should be the place that people come for the best version of the truth and for journalism, he added, echoing recent public statements made by CNN CEO Chris Licht.

Within the network, some of the CNN pundits, including media reporter Oliver Darcy, criticized the network publicly for hosting the Trump event. And now, CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour, a longtime critic of Trump, criticized the networks management via Darcy in a report published Thursday.

I still respectfully disagree with allowing Donald Trump to appear in that particular format, the anchor said, according to Darcys article. I would have dropped the mic at nasty person, but then thats me, she said, referring to a term Trump used during the event earlier this month to describe anchor Kaitlan Collins during an exchange. She did not address why Trump may have used the term.

Kevin Tober, a news analyst at NewsBusters, told The Epoch Times last week that he believes Collins was snarky and childish in the event, describing her as constantly interrupting the former president and talking back.

But Licht reportedly told staffers during the networks morning editorial call the next day that covering Donald Trump is messy and tricky and that were going to do it fairly, toughly and aggressively, as Kaitlan did, according to audio obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

Meanwhile, Collinswho previously worked as a Daily Caller reporterwas recently promoted to CNNs primetime lineup after the Trump town hall. She is taking the 9 p.m. timeslot that was left vacant when CNN terminated former anchor Chris Cuomo amid allegations that he assisted his brother, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, deal with a multitude of crises while he was still in office. Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing and launched a lawsuit against his former employer.

President and CEO of Discovery Communications David Zaslav, in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 8. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

But Zaslav signaled that the apparent change at CNN may be due to advertising and suggested some brands dont want to be associated with left-wing politics. He noted that the network has a digital audience of about 150 million.

But advertisers are interested in CNN again. They dont want to be part of an advocacy network, Zaslav said Thursday, according to Variety. Weve had meeting after meeting and they say, Were with you.

CNNs ratings in recent months have also suffered. On May 12, Anderson Cooper, the host of the 8 p.m. time slot, was on duty for a second hour at 9 p.m. He reached an audience of just 293,000, causing CNN to slip behind the conservative Newsmax network and host Chris Plantes Right Squad in viewership, according to Nielsen.

On May 15, CNN averaged just 454,000 viewers in the time slot, compared to Rachel Maddows 2.41 million viewers on MSNBC and Sean Hannitys 1.97 million on Fox News, Nielsen reported. The network also clocked its lowest ratings week in nine years in January.

During the Trump administration, CNN took a markedly left-wing slant under the previous CEO Jeff Zucker. A number of CNN reporters, including former CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta, became publicly confrontational towards Trumpleading the former president to often denigrate the network, Acosta, and other staffers as fake news.

Last year, CNN saw a management shakeup after the merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery, becoming a new company headed by Zaslav. Soon after the merger, Licht was named as CNNs chief executive and Zucker departed.

Trump, in the interim, has weighed in multiple times on CNN and other cable news channels since the town hall. The former president has suggested that CNN place more of its focus on him and his campaign, adding that by doing so, it will boost the networks ratings over Fox News.

Since the 2020 election, Trump has been often critical of Fox and recently criticized the network for making a poor business decision by allowing former host Tucker Carlson to leave the network. Late last month, Fox confirmed in a news release that it and Carlson would be parting ways, although few details have been provided.

A replacement show, Fox News Tonight, has failed to generate anywhere close to the ratings that Carlson once drew, according to Nielsen. The show, which Fox News described as temporary, has a rotating cast of hosts, including Brian Kilmeade, Lawrence Jones, Kayleigh McEnany, and now Will Cain.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
Colorado Man Once Charged in Missing Wifes Presumed Death Denies Involvement

Barry Morphew leaves a Fremont County court building in Canon City, Colo., with his daughters Macy (L) and Mallory (R) on April 19, 2022. (Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette via AP)

DENVERA man once charged with murder in the presumed death of his missing wife denied having anything to do with her disappearance in an interview broadcast this week.

In the interview with Good Morning America aired on Monday, Barry Morphew said authorities in Colorado have been wrong to focus on him as the person responsible for the death of Suzanne Morphew, who disappeared three years ago on Mothers Day.

Theyve got tunnel vision and they looked at one person, and theyve got too much pride to say theyre wrong and look somewhere else, he said, sitting between his adult daughters, who have defended him.

Prosecutors dropped charges against Morphew last year just as he was about to go on trial after a judge barred them from calling most of their key witnesses for repeatedly failing to follow rules for turning over evidence in his favor. That included DNA evidence linked to sexual assault cases in other states that raised the possibility of a different person being involved.

At the time, prosecutors said they wanted more time to find Suzanne Morphews body. They have said he is still a suspect as recently as last month, when Morphews lawyers announced they had filed a complaint asking that the prosecutors be disciplined for allegedly intentionally withholding evidence in effort to convict him.

This month, Morphew filed a $15 million lawsuit against prosecutors and investigators, accusing them of violating his constitutional rights.

District Attorney Linda Stanley did not immediately return a phone call or email seeking comment.

The charges against Morphew were dismissed without prejudice, so prosecutors can still decide to bring charges against him again. Morphew said he realizes thats a possibility, since he said he was innocent the first time he was arrested.

But I dont have anything to worry about. Ive done nothing wrong, Morphew said.
* Underscoring the importance of a "stable," "prosperous," "harmonious" and "interconnected" Central Asia, Xi's vision in his keynote speech at the summit injected confidence and wisdom into the development of mutually beneficial relations among the six countries, and the endeavor to build an even closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future.



* Ten years into Belt and Road cooperation, China and Central Asian countries have made historic achievements. In 2022, trade volume hit a record high of 70.2 billion U.S. dollars, an over 100-fold increase since diplomatic ties were established about three decades ago.

* As the ancient Silk Road bore witness to interactions between China and Central Asia through the trade of merchandise and flow of ideas, cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two sides are still thriving today.

XI'AN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday expounded on how to build a China-Central Asia community with a shared future featuring mutual assistance, common development, universal security, and everlasting friendship, when he delivered a keynote speech at the China-Central Asia Summit held in the northwestern Chinese city here.

The event, which ran from Thursday to Friday, was attended by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. It is the first in-person gathering among heads of state of China and five Central Asian countries since China established diplomatic ties with them 31 years ago.

Underscoring the importance of a "stable," "prosperous," "harmonious" and "interconnected" Central Asia, Xi's vision in his keynote speech at the summit injected confidence and wisdom into the development of mutually beneficial relations among the six countries, and the endeavor to build an even closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and leaders of five Central Asian countries plant six pomegranate trees that represent close China-Central Asia solidarity and cooperation after the first China-Central Asia Summit in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)





COOPERATION FOR COMMON DEVELOPMENT

Historically, the ancient Silk Road, starting in Xi'an, had been a vital corridor connecting the East and West since the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.) about 2,000 years ago.

Such historical and geographic connection has been further strengthened in the modern age, as Xi proposed the idea of building an "economic belt along the Silk Road" in Kazakhstan in 2013, which, combined with the proposal of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, eventually became the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Ten years into Belt and Road cooperation, China and Central Asian countries have made historic achievements. In 2022, trade volume hit a record high of 70.2 billion U.S. dollars, an over 100-fold increase since diplomatic ties were established about three decades ago.

During Friday's summit, Xi called on the six countries to continue taking the lead in Belt and Road cooperation and to promote the implementation of the Global Development Initiative.

He also called for efforts to fully unleash cooperation potential in traditional areas such as trade, industrial capacity, energy and transportation, and to foster new growth drivers in areas such as finance, agriculture, poverty reduction, low carbon, health and digital innovation.

Officials from Central Asian countries and global observers said the China-Central Asia cooperation will be a boon for the prosperity of the region and the world.

A China-Europe freight train loaded with raw materials of liquorice, a Chinese medicinal herb, which departed from Turkmenistan, arrives at Xi'an international port in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Aug. 31, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

Considering the summit "very significant" for the development and modernization of the Central Asian states, Guzel Maitdinova, director of the Center for Geopolitical Studies at the Russian-Tajik (Slavonic) University, said the event will promote the synergy between the BRI with the national development strategies of the Central Asian countries.

Akkan Suver, head of the Istanbul-based Marmara Group Strategic and Social Research Foundation, described the meeting as "a new source of hope for the prosperity and peace of the region" and "a new beginning."

Saeed Chaudhry, director of Pakistan's Islamabad Council for International Affairs, said Central Asian countries see China as a big source of development and progress, with their close cooperation and connectivity always based on mutual respect, good-neighborly friendship, solidarity, and mutual benefit.

Chaudhry said he is confident that the increasingly close cooperation in multiple fields would bring a golden era of China-Central Asia relations in the near future for the welfare of the people in the region.





SECURITY AT THE HEART

The world needs a stable Central Asia. The sovereignty, security, independence and territorial integrity of Central Asian countries must be upheld; their people's choice of development paths must be respected; and their efforts for peace, harmony and tranquility must be supported, Xi said when addressing the summit.

Stressing the need to uphold universal security, the Chinese president said the six countries should act on the Global Security Initiative, stand firm against external attempts to interfere in domestic affairs of regional countries or instigate color revolutions, remain zero-tolerant to the three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism, and strive to resolve security conundrums in the region.

His remarks were widely echoed by experts in the region and beyond.

Against the backdrop of global upheavals, this summit contributes to strengthening security and stability in the region, said Nurzhan Kasmalieva, head of the international department of Kyrgyzstan's Kabar state news agency.

In recent years, the cooperation between China and Central Asia in security and other fields has been further strengthened. For example, in the process of combating extremist terrorist activities, China has carried out close cooperation with law enforcement agencies and judiciary institutions in Central Asia.

Ahmed al-Saeed, chairman of Egypt's Bayt Al-Hekma Cultural Group, said, "China is developing an approach to security and development that is in line with the common interests of both sides, which is a great success for President Xi's diplomacy."





CLOSER PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE BONDS

As the ancient Silk Road bore witness to interactions between China and Central Asia through the trade of merchandise and flow of ideas, cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two sides are still thriving today.

For the sake of upholding the "everlasting friendship," Xi underlined the importance for the six countries to implement the Global Civilization Initiative, carry forward their traditional friendship, and enhance people-to-people exchanges.

Flight attendants conduct safety inspections before the first passenger flight of the Xi'an-Urumqi-Ashgabat route takes off in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Shao Rui)

He also declared a series of measures China will take to strengthen dialogue between civilizations, including providing government scholarships for Central Asian countries and opening special train services for cultural tourism in Central Asia.

Experts from the region said that Xi's vision will bring a great opportunity for relevant parties not only to maintain regional security and prosperity, but also to strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

Maitdinova, the scholar at the Russian-Tajik (Slavonic) University, said that high-level interactions are being observed not only in the political field, but also in the cultural and humanitarian sphere, mentioning that thousands of Tajik students study in China, many of whom have become successful entrepreneurs, translators and engineers.

People-to-people exchanges have also been extended to the field of cultural heritage preservation.

Citing the restoration project of Uzbekistan's ancient city of Khiva as a prominent example, Abdullayev Masharib Saydamatovich, deputy director of the Center for Promotion of Science at the Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, said that he believes cultural cooperation between both sides will continue, and joint restoration work will become an important direction for their future cooperation. (Video reporters: Chen Changqi, Liang Aiping, Wu Hongbo, Sun Zhenghao, Li Shuting, Liu Chunhui, Yin Jiajie, Li Yaguang, Mei Yuanlong, Huang Aiping, Wu Hao, Hong Ling, Liu Bin, Yin Bogu, Qian Cheng, Yin Zhelun, Yuan Bingzhong, Sun Chengbin, Li Zhongfa, Sun Zhiping, Sun Bo, Mi Ligong, Chu Guoqiang, Lyu Xinhui, Du Rui; video editors: Ma Ruxuan, Li Qin)
Confronting: 95-Year-Old Grandmother Tasered by Police, Now Hospitalised

A supplied image obtained on May 19, 2023, of Clare Nowland. A NSW Police officer has been taken off active duty after a 95-year-old woman suffering from dementia and on a walking frame was tasered at a nursing home. (AAP Image/Supplied)

A 95-year-old grandmother suffering dementia has been tasered by police and is now in hospital.

The incident occurred in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) and has been described as confronting by the NSW Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter.

On the morning of May 17, staff at Yallambee Lodge in the regional town of Cooma called the police to attend to Clare Nowland.

Nowland, who uses a walking frame and weighed just 43 kilograms (94.7 pounds), had taken a serrated, steak knife from the kitchen.

Negotiations commenced with Clare to essentially drop the knife. For whatever reason, Clare did not do that, the assistant commissioner told reporters on May 19.

Cotter said Nowland was alone in a room with police negotiating at the doorway when she approached them with the knife in hand at a slow pace.

A senior male constablewith 12 years of experiencedeployed the taser on Nowland causing her to fall and hit her head.

She is now at Cooma Base Hospital and is in critical condition.

The assistant commissioner spoke carefully and deliberately about the issue saying the matter was subject to a very live and very serious investigation and that the homicide squad was also involved.

The reason why we carry weapons, and equipment is clearly for the principle of self-defence, he said.

[The taser] is there as a piece of equipment to defend yourself and if someone elses life is in dangerwhere you think have a genuine fear or threat of being physically overpowered [and] where there is a violent confrontation occurring. Those facts have to be real, he added.

Cotter would not be drawn on whether the officers actions were justified.

Subjectively I cant transport myself into the mind of the officer or officers, he said.

The officer in question is now off active duty.

Reaction From the Community

Andrew Thaler, a friend of Nowlands family, said the states Police Commissioner Karen Webb should meet with the family face-to-face.

Detectives have told them there is body camera footage and that its confronting to watch, he told AAP on May 19.

Its a big family  the commissioner might be better to be there to help them deal with it and to make an account (of police actions).

He was critical of the police officers handling of the situation.

To allege she was brandishing a knife is the most absurd thing  was she making toast, was she hungry? I think its a lie, he alleged. The police should never have been called.

Meanwhile, the NSW Council for Civil Liberties said police should not use tasers on vulnerable people suffering serious mental conditions.

Surely, there must be more appropriate ways to deal with non-compliant people who are suffering, said President Josh Pallas.

While president of People with Disability Australia, Nicole Lee, said she understood why the police response to questions on the matter was reserved but admitted it was a little bit dehumanising and a little unempathetic.

The police have responded in the way wed expect them to respond, she said in comments obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald.

The Snowy Monaro Regional Council, which operates the Yallambee Lodge, said staff at the facility had followed procedure.

Council are supporting our staff, residents, and families during this difficult time, the council said in a statement.

Yallambee Lodge is a 40-bed facility designed for people who can no longer look after themselves, according to the councils website.

Nowlands family have asked for privacy.

AAP contributed to this report.
Scholar Tells Inquiry How COVID Policies Could Harm Childrens Emotional and Social Development

Parents drop off their children at a school in Vancouver on Sept. 9, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck)

A scholar citing research from professional literature told the National Citizens Inquiry in Ottawa how COVID-19 policies such as masking and lockdowns could impact the emotional and social development of infants and children.

[Children] are at risk for failed developmental milestones, disrupted social-emotional interaction, and risk for reduced capacity for emotional and behavioural regulation, Keren Epstein-Gilboa, a former university lecturer with a Ph.D. in developmental psychology, said on May 18.

The National Citizens Inquiry (NCI), which describes itself as a citizen-led and citizen-funded initiative that is completely independent of government, has been holding hearings in various locations across the country. It is examining how the COVID-19 pandemic measures put in place by all levels of government impacted Canadians in the categories of health, fundamental rights and freedoms, social well-being, and economic prosperity.

According to Epstein-Gilboa, when developing COVID-19 policies, the developmental milestones of childrenwhich are the behaviours that mark stages of typical growthwere not taken into account. For example, she cited research that showed face-to-face interaction is crucial for the proper development of infants, but said facial masking interrupted this process.

We have to learn, and how do we learn if we dont see each others faces? And what we dont want is a hidden face, limited interaction and connection, because the interactional components are stifled, she said.

Epstein-Gilboa cited the Still Face Experiment, where after three minutes of interaction with a non-responsive expressionless mother, children will withdraw and show negative emotions. The experiment, which has been repeatedly replicated, shows how the behaviour and feelings of parents can impact the development of children.

Now think of this. What happens to our infants and some of our young children during the past three years, who didnt see faces for hours and hours? Epstein-Gilboa asked.

The scholar emphasized that the level of impact on children depends on the balance between the risk factors introduced by COVID policies and the protective factors applied. Children werent all impacted the same way, she said, as children with adequate protective factors were able to develop appropriately.

The impact of masking on childrens social and psychological development is still being debated by scientists. While the U.S. Centres for Disease Control has said the limited available data indicates no clear evidence that masking impairs emotional or language development in children, some psychiatrists and speech therapists have raised concerns with the impacts of face masks on children.

Impact on Learning

Epstein-Gilboa said that during the concrete stage of developmentwhere children become more logical and sophisticated in their thinkingthey are unable to see the nuances in rule-following. So at the concrete stage, a rule is a rule. So if you dont wear a mask, and its a rule, youre bad, she said.

A teacher told me that one day, she saw a child at the end of the school day who was hiding and didnt want to go home. She said to her, Why are you crying? And she said Because my grandparents are coming to get me, and Im afraid Im going to kill them, Epstein-Gilboa said.

Epstein-Gilboa said children also require scaffoldingor supportive activities provided by educators or more competent peersin order to support them as they grow throughout life. But she suggested that school closures prevented children from receiving adequate scaffolding.

You cant just put something on the computer online and expect a child to learnthey need someone to support them, she said.

Health Canada did not respond to the Epoch Times request for comment.

Editors note: This article was updated on May 20 to reflect the capacity in which the scholar addressed the inquiry, and add more details from the presentation.
Delta CEO Warns More Government Regulations Could Raise Ticket Prices

Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Airlines, delivers remarks during an opening ceremony of Delta's new terminal at LaGuardia airport in N.Y.C., on Oct. 29, 2019. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines, revealed Wednesday that government regulations recently unveiled by the Biden administration could lead to higher ticket prices.

Last week, the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced plans for new rules that would require airlines to compensate passengers and cover expenses for meals and hotel rooms should flights be delayed or canceled within the control of the air carrier.

During an interview on CBS Mornings, Bastian said its common business logic for commercial airliners to increase ticket prices if the government imposes an additional layer of regulation on the industry.

Theres no question if theres another layer of government regulation and cost thats introduced into the system, itll eventually find its way back into ticket prices, he said.

When asked if Delta is considering lobbying against the DOTs proposition to mandate the industry to compensate travelers, Bastian said it would be premature to comment on the matter since no rules have been finalized yet, noting Delta already offers compensation to passengers in the event of disruption.

We havent even seen what they are yet, so its premature to be out giving specific comments, he said. But  this is something we already do. At Delta, we already pay compensationthis last year hundreds of millions of dollars for customers.

We do it  because its great service, he added. You know if something goes awry, Deltas going to be there for you.

In addition to unveiling plans for new regulations, the DOT also recently expanded an online dashboard designed to improve customer service by highlighting which types of compensation, if any, airlines guarantee.

According to the dashboard, Delta provides free rebooking and covers the cost of meals, hotels, and transportation when delays or cancellations within the carriers control results in passengers waiting three hours or more.

However, the company does not offer compensation in the form of cash, travel vouchers, or frequent flyer miles. In fact, none of the 10 major U.S. airlines mentioned in the dashboard offer cash compensation. The only airlines providing vouchers or frequent flyer miles as a form of compensation are JetBlue and Alaska Airlines.

Proposed Airline Rules

DOT announced in a statement on May 8 that the aim of the new rules would be to require airlines to provide compensation beyond a ticket refund and to cover expenses that consumers incur when the airline is at fault for a delay or cancellation.

When an airline causes a flight cancellation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill, said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. This rule would, for the first time in U.S. history, propose to require that airlines compensate passengers and cover expenses such as meals, hotels, and rebooking in cases where the airline has caused a cancellation or significant delay.

The department made clear on a government website that no U.S. carriers have agreed to provide cash compensation for delayed or canceled flights under carriers control. However, it did ask carriers last year whether they would agree to pay at least $100 for delays of at least three hours caused by airlines.

President Joe Biden, joined by Buttigieg, said at a news conference on May 8 that the law currently only requires airlines to refund customers their ticket costs, but not meals, hotels, and transportation when passengers are left in limbo.

President Joe Biden speaks as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg looks on at an announcement of new airline regulations in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington on May 8, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

If your flight is very delayed or canceled and the airline could have prevented that fromyou deserve more than just beinggetting the price of your ticket, Biden said. You deserve to be fully compensated. Your time matters. The impact on your life matters.

However, it could still take months or years to write and finalize the proposed rules, and some carriers privately question whether the department has the legal authority to mandate compensation for delays. A July 2021 proposal to require airlines to refund consumers fees for baggage that is delayed, or onboard services like Wi-Fi that do not work, are still not finalized.

As mentioned by Biden, there is currently no legal requirement for airlines to compensate Americans for delayed or canceled flights, but the European Union and some other countries require compensation of up to $663 for most significant delays.

Airline-caused cancellations include flights scrubbed for mechanical issues with the plane or lack of a crew.

Reuters contributed to this report.

From NTD News
DeSantis Reminds Public Universities of Uncomfortable Truth About He Who Pays the Piper

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds up three just-signed bills related to higher education in the stateincluding one that bans diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practicesat New College in Sarasota on May 15, 2023. (Courtesy of the Florida Governor's Office)

Commentary

He who pays the piper calls the tune is a familiar proverb. Wiktionary tells us it means that The person paying for something is the one who gets to say how it should be done.

Its difficult if not impossible to argue against its wisdom. Whats the alternative? I suppose it would be something like, You cough up the money, and I get to decide how its spent whether you like it or not. That strikes me as eminently unreasonable, unfair, domineering, arrogant, and dictatorial, but its precisely the position that some academics with a sense of entitlement are assuming in Florida.

The Washington Post reports that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis just signed into law a bill that stops the states public colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The report quotes the governor as declaring that DEI is better viewed as standing for discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination.

DeSantis is exactly right. DEI is a virtue-signaling fad that justifies speech police on campuses and in businesses. At its worst, it empowers academics and administrators to impose their twisted agendas on other people while wrapping themselves in moral superiority. Thats my personal opinion with which you, the reader, may disagree but its also not the point of this essay. The bigger issue, in the context of the Florida law, is who gets to decide whether DEI should be policy at public universities.

An Orlando Sentinel story on the bill cites an academic on the question: The government has no role in banning or censoring subject matter in higher education. Another remarked to The Washington Post, Its basically state-mandated censorship, which has no place in a democracy. (I have my problems with the God of democracy, but isnt democracy where majorities get to decide the rules, and didnt DeSantis just win in a popular landslide?).

Bear in mind that the new Florida law applies to public colleges and universities, that is, institutions of higher education that the state of Florida created and subsidizes. It doesnt apply to private institutions. It might also be worth noting that most public colleges and universities these days dont include viewpoints when they promote diversity. They are, all too often, one-view-fits-all monopolies when it comes to intellectual perspectives.

So, what the two academics are saying, in essence, is this: Once we get taxpayer money (essentially at gunpoint, since you go to jail if you dont pay your taxes), we get to do what we want with it. Neither those who pay the bill nor their elected representatives who forked over the money get to tell us how we spend it. In other words, even highway robbery is OK if were the beneficiaries of it; nobody else gets a say.

And of course, those academics would probably be delighted if even more loot fell from the sky into their entitled laps.

I dont care how many PhDs follow your name. If youre so self-focused and sanctimonious to declare an inviolable right to other peoples money, you need to go back to school and learn about the piper.

Do I like the notion of politicians telling teachers what they can and cannot teach? No, I dont. Nor do I like the notion of teachers demanding my money and behaving indignantly when I, through elected representatives, decide I dont care for what theyre selling.

Theres an inherent problem in this matter that begs for only one solution. The problem is that when governments subsidize anything with taxpayer money, unresolvable disagreements will inevitably arise. Not so in free markets: If I dont like one restaurant, I dont have to pay for it, end of story. The solution, then, is freedomfreedom to choose what you want, to pay for what you want, and not to pay for what you dont want.

In a free society, you dont get to take money from somebody at gunpoint and complain when the victim says, No thanks. DeSantis should instruct Florida colleges and universities as follows: If you want complete autonomy to do whatever you want, then fine. Well stop subsidizing you. You will then be free to raise your revenues in other waysessentially from willing customers, investors, donors, or whomever. Or do what just about everybody else must do when revenues declinecut your costs.

Researchers have shown that at Georgia Tech here in my state, there are 3.2 times as many DEI staff people as history professors. Sorry, Georgia Tech, thats not what I thought I was paying for. If my legislators and governor decide to spend my money in other ways more pleasing to me, youll just have to eat it.

Its ironic that some of the very same academics who want to foist unwanted policies on unwilling citizens are also the first to decry as fascist anyone with a different opinion. But forcing people to pay for your personal agenda is at the very core of what fascism is all about.

To those who demand money from others but freak out when accountability is introduced to the exchange, I say, quit your whining and grow up. At the very least, if you feel strongly about the matter, then go work for a private school or start your own.

He who pays the piper has every right to call the tune.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
IN-DEPTH: Despite Denials, Experts Say Fentanyl-Laced Marijuana Is a Growing Problem

Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana for adults as of April. And while marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, 88 percent of adults think it should be legalized for medical and recreational use, according to an October 2022 Pew Research Center surveya significant increase from 1999s 31 percent.

Additionally, 55 million Americans currently use marijuana, and 45 percent of the population has tried it at least once, according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics.

But as attitudes and state laws change regarding marijuanaand as its use increasesreports of marijuana laced with substances such as the synthetic opioid fentanyl are also increasing.

One of the trends that we saw secondary to the pandemic was individuals stopped reporting opioid use as their primary drug of choice, and it seems to be replaced with marijuana and methamphetamine, Teresa Russell, director of criminal justice outreach in Dayton, Ohio, told The Epoch Times. Russell works with the county jail and community health and treatment facilities.

Russell explained that when someone is booked into the jail and needs to detox, theyre asked about drugs theyve taken and must take a urine drug screen. Russell said its becoming increasingly common for someone to say theyve only used marijuana but then test positive for fentanyl.

Teresa Russell, treatment coordinator at the Montgomery County jail, in Dayton, Ohio, on Oct. 30, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

They genuinely dont know that [opioids are] in there, Russell said. They have no idea whats actually being put inside their substances. Thats an ongoing trend of what were seeing.

When explicitly asked whether marijuana is being laced with fentanyl and showing up on drug screens, Russell confirmed thats what shes seeing.

We hear that not just from my team here in the jail from our intake screens, but were hearing that from our outreach partners.

NORML, a nonprofit public-interest advocacy group pushing for the legalization of marijuana, is quick to downplay the issue of fentanyl-laced marijuana.

Rarely a week goes by without police or other public officials warning about so-called fentanyl-laced weed. Upon closer inspection, however, theres little if any truth behind these sensational claims, NORMLs site reads.

Its controversial, Russell said of fentanyl-laced marijuana, but I have urine drug screens that show it.

Russell isnt the only one sounding the alarm on what she believes is a growing issue.

Cases

On Feb. 10, two students at North Mac High School in Illinois were found to be in possession and under the influence of marijuana, and two field tests administered by the Virden Police Department found that the marijuana was positive for fentanyl.

Kyle Hacke, superintendent of North Mac, said in a statement: We are fairly certain our students did not know they were ingesting fentanyl. Fentanyl-laced drugs  continue to show up in small communities like ours nationwide. We implore you to speak with your children and take necessary steps to combat this danger.

On Nov. 17, 2022, police in Leeds, Alabama, charged Jose Ingnacio Medina-Estrada with murder after he allegedly sold marijuana that was laced with fentanyl. The buyerwho believed he was only purchasing marijuana, according to LPD Chief Paul Irwinimmediately died as a result.

This needs to serve as a notice to all individuals who are purchasing drugs. Drugs can take your life immediately or will control you and eventually destroy your life and everything you care about, Irwin said.

Fentanyl, firearms, and cash confiscated by DEA Los Angeles. (Courtesy of DEA Los Angeles)

On Oct. 20, 2022, the Summerville Police Department in South Carolina released a statement via Facebook that reads, The Summerville Police Department has seized Marijuana that has tested presumptive for Amphetamines and Fentanyl. The laced Marijuana was seized during two apparent drug overdose investigations and it is possible the laced Marijuana played a factor in the overdoses. We are asking the community to stay safe and to be careful.

On Nov. 18, 2021, the Connecticut State Department of Public Health (DPH) issued a press release that stated there were 39 overdose incidents involving fentanyl-laced marijuana in 2021. However, upon further forensic analysis, only one of those cases could be confirmed to involve fentanyl-laced marijuana.

In its dismissal of fentanyl-laced marijuana, NORML points to the Connecticut case and the forensic analysis. However, the article NORML cites also states: Chris Boyle, a spokesperson for DPH, said a full analysis has now revealed at least 30 of the 39 overdoses were among patients with histories of opioid use.

Anything bought off the street, including cannabis, has the potential to contain other substances, one of those being fentanyl, Boyle told the media. CT DPH has documented evidence, from not just the State Police Forensics Lab, but from the DEA lab as verification of the seized drug sample, that cannabis was contaminated with fentanyl.

Increasing Prevalence

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), fentanyl is a synthetic opioid thats primarily manufactured in countries such as China and then smuggled into the United States via Mexico.

Fentanyl is being mixed in with other illicit drugs to increase the potency of the drug, sold as powders and nasal sprays, and increasingly pressed into pills made to look like legitimate prescription opioids, the DEA states.

There is significant risk that illegal drugs have been intentionally contaminated with fentanyl.

Thats something Howard Barker, director of community relations at New Life House, a sober-living program for men in California, is seeing firsthand. Barker told The Epoch Times that hes seeing a trend with fentanyl-laced marijuana that he first witnessed with cocaine.

I remember the first few times years ago that we started seeing overdoses happen with things like cocaine, and fentanyl was cut into things like cocaine, and were like: Theres no way. Why would you ever put fentanyl in cocaine?

I have been doing this professionally for over a decade, and I didnt believe it. I said, That doesnt even make sense logically. You know, if a user is going to get cocaine and go up, the last thing they want to do is go down.

Its similar with cannabis. If you have someone going for cannabis, and theyre hoping to smoke weed, the last thing they want to do is use one of the most potent opiates on the planet. But thats whats happening.

Cannabis samples at Calalyst Cannabis in Santa Ana, Calif., on Feb. 18, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Dealers have found that because of how addictive fentanyl is, and how potent it is, they start putting it in these other substances, and its very, very cheap to do, and theyre able to, one, get more bang for their buck, two, potentially hook users, and, three, find themselves in a position where the folks that like it are coming back for more.

Barker added that although a majority of street dealers arent cutting marijuana with fentanyl, its still a growing problem.

The problem with fentanyl is that its really Russian roulette, he said.

So even if the majority of the time youre buying weed on the streets youre not getting weed laced with fentanyl, if theres even that small chance that it could happenand you happen to be the person that gets itthe old scary horror stories about drug abuse, you do it one time, and youre going to die, that didnt really use to be true 20 years ago, unfortunately, those cliches have become true.

In addition to New Life House, recovery centers nationwide are trying to raise awareness about the growing prevalence of fentanyl-laced weed.

Authorities around the country are responding to opioid overdoses daily, and fentanyl is increasingly being found in counterfeit prescription opioid pills, meth, and cocaine. Now, thats extended to marijuana, The Recovery Village warned.

Although marijuana is probably less likely to be intentionally laced with other psychoactive substances than many other illicit drugs, this situation does occur. It is more likely to occur in cases where individuals who are selling a drug illicitly are attempting to bulk up the product and get more profits or when very low-quality cannabis is laced with some other drug to enhance its psychoactive effects, the American Addiction Centers stated.

1st Drug

We were really lied to as a society, said Barker, whos been in recovery for years and previously voted to legalize marijuana.

And thats why this stuff has just been pushed through time and time again, state by state by state, without resistance. And now were seeing that theres just a lot of unintended consequences that nobody was aware of. Whether we were deliberately misinformed or whether we just didnt have the data. But now that the data has come out, weve chosen not to act because theres too much money behind [legalizing marijuana].

Joints in the 1970s had 13 mg of THCthe psychoactive component in marijuanaand a near-equal amount of CBDwhich is touted for its potential in treating seizures. Most joints in Colorado today contain 1825 mg THC, with much less CBD. (David McNew/Getty Images)

Regardless of what the mainstream media will tell you, cannabis is a gateway drug. I have tremendous amounts of anecdotal evidence from being in this industry for a long time to support that. Talk to anyone with substance abuse issues and ask them what the first substance they used that kind of broke down the taboos and exposed them to that world, and 99.99 percent of them are going to say cannabis.

For the 12-month period that ended in October 2022, the FDA reported more than 101,750 fatal overdoses in the United States, many due to illicit fentanyl.

The DEA didnt respond by press time to multiple requests by The Epoch Times for comment about the prevalence of fentanyl-laced marijuana.

For Help

SAMHSA National Helpline

1-800-662-HELP (4357)

Samhsa.gov
Disney Scraps Plans to Build $900 Million Florida Campus Amid DeSantis Feud, Cites Changing Business Conditions

Guests are seen at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, in a file photo. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in a Feb. 24, 2022, photo. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP; Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Disney is canceling plans to build a nearly $900 million corporate campus in Lake Nona, Florida, citing changing business conditions.

Josh DAmaro, chairman of Disneys parks, experiences, and products division, announced the decision to scrap plans to build the campus, which would have housed roughly 2,000 employees, in an email to workers on May 18.

The email was shared on social media and widely reported.

Given the considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions, we have decided not to move forward, DAmaro said. This was not an easy decision to make, but I believe it is the right one. As a result, we will no longer be asking our employees to relocate.

DAmaro noted that employees who had already relocated to Florida will be spoken to individually by senior management regarding a potential move back to Burbank, California, where Disney is headquartered.

It is clear to me that the power of this brand comes from our incredible people, and we are committed to handling this change with care and compassion, he said.

DAmaro added that the company still plans to invest $17 billion in Florida over the next 10 years and create an additional 13,000 jobs.

I hope were able to do so, he wrote.

Disney currently employs more than 75,000 people in the state.

Josh DAmaro, chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products (center front right) and Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort (center front left), pose with Disney cast members for a photo in front of Cinderella Castle, July 11, 2020, prior to the phased reopening of Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (David Roark)

Florida Has Long Been Home

DAmaro initially announced Disneys plans to construct the corporate campus, located roughly 20 miles from the giant Walt Disney World theme park resort, in July 2021 in order to take advantage of roughly $570 million in tax breaks.

The campus, which would house employees, including its Imagineers who design theme park rides, relocated from its California headquarters and was expected to open by the end of 2022 or early 2023 but was later delayed to 2026.

The company was expected to splash out as much as $864 million on the project, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

With more than 60,000 Cast Members, Imagineers, and employees, Central Florida has long been home to many of our businesses including the Walt Disney World Resort and most of our Disney Signature Experiences team, DAmaro said at the time. It is also where members of other DPEP businesses reside, including Consumer Products, Games and Publishing, and Walt Disney Imagineering, and serves as the hub for many support functions that assist our segment and the entire company.

Plans to scrap the construction come amid Disneys ongoing legal battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, initially sparked by former CEO, Bob Chapeks criticism of the states Parental Rights in Education Bill, or HB 1557, dubbed by critics as the Dont Say Gay bill, which was signed into law by DeSantis on March 28.

The law bans instruction of gender identity and sexual orientation in public schools for kindergarten through third grade. Dinsey has voiced opposition to the bill.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis arrives at the Foreign Office to visit Britains Foreign Secretary in London on April 28, 2023. (Alberto Pezzali/AP Photo)

DeSantis Says Disneys Move Unsurprising

DeSantis, who is expected to soon announce that he will seek the 2024 Republican nomination for U.S. president, later moved to strip Disney of its long-standing self-governing power status in Florida, including its tax exemptions and the right to avoid state regulatory reviews and approvals, through legislation passed by lawmakers, arguing that the company should not receive special treatment in the state.

DeSantis appointed a new board of supervisors. However, shortly before the planned takeover by DeSantis appointees, Disney found a way to strip the new board of many of its powers by entering into development and restrictive covenant agreements with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc.

The Florida Republican and Disney have been locked in a fierce legal battle since.

Commenting on Disneys recent announcement, DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern told the Washington Post: Given the companys financial straits, falling market cap, and declining stock price, it is unsurprising that they would restructure their business operations and cancel unsuccessful ventures.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said during the companys second-quarter earnings call on May 10 that it lost four million subscribers in the second quarter, bringing the total to 157.8 million, down from 161.8 million in the previous quarter, marking continued declines seen in the last quarter of 2022.

Newsom Weighs In on Disney Decision

However, the company reported (pdf) revenue of $21.8 billion in the recent quarter, up 13 percent year-over-year.

California governor Gavin Newsom weighed in on Disneys latest announcement on Twitter, writing Thursday: Turns out, bigoted policies have consequences. Thats 2,000+ jobs that will be welcomed back with open arms to the Golden State. Thank you for doing the right thing, Disney.

Elsewhere, Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings called the announcement unfortunate.

It is unfortunate that Disney will not be moving forward with the construction of the Lake Nona campus. However, these are the consequences when there isnt an inclusive and collaborative work environment between the state of Florida and the business community, Demings said in a statement. We will continue to work closely with our valued partners at Disney.

Elsewhere Florida Sen. Joe Gruters, a former chairman of the state Republican Party, called Disneys decision a huge loss.

I hope we can put this conflict behind us and get back to a more normal working relationship with a company thats been one of our best business and tourism partners that weve had over the last 50 years, Gruters said in a statement to The Associated Press. Two thousand jobs and a billion dollars worth of investments into our state, I would say thats a serious blow. The market is much better at dealing with companies rather than heavy-handed government.

The Epoch Times has contacted Disney for comment.
Dont Call It a Budget

The majority of our California legislature and our governor are true believers that an ever-increasing government presence in our lives is the answer to all of our problems. (Pickadook/Shutterstock)

Commentary

Call it a joke, call it smoke and mirrors, call it a sales job, call it stupidity, call it whatever you want but please dont call it a budget. Anyone who thinks the latest version of California spending and income figures projected for 20232024 by our governor is a budget should really go back to school and learn what a real budget is, what it is used for, and how it is composed, funded, and put into action.

One of the big problems that we Californians face today is that apparently there are many residents in our state who dont know what a budget is or what it is used for, and they couldnt care less.

A governmental budget is a detailed outline and dedicated plan of action put forth once a year by our elected representatives that defines governmental operations in terms of expenses. It is a very effective administrative tool that is used by our leaders to allocate resources, direct personnel, and implement and fund public programs. It is not only required by law but is also a wonderful way for the public to gauge the effectiveness and transparency of those in elected office.

In California, the budget presented every year must be balanced, meaning expenditures must be equal to income. As stated earlier, this is a wonderful way for the governor and legislature to be held in check and accountable, but if we dont know what we are holding them in check for, or understand the hidden and ongoing costs behind so many public programs that are put into action, then we are nothing more than sitting ducks to be taken advantage of by those who exploit public funds for political expediency.

We really have no one to blame but ourselves when we are faced with budgeting deficits, because we continually elect people into public office who dont care about, understand, or respect the fiduciary responsibilities that a realistic and honest budget promises to the taxpayers.

I am not going to overwhelm you with facts and figures and numbers like so many articles about budgeting do, but try to help you understand how budgets are formed, what they are used for, and how they can be helpful or misused by politicians in todays world.

There are four basic budget methods used today by local governments:

1. Incremental: This process takes the prior years figures and adds or subtracts a percentage to obtain the current years budget. In government especially, this process is likely to increase inefficiencies because department heads know that they can grow their budget each year by the given percentage without seeking ways to economize.

2. Activity-based budgeting: This is a top-down type of budgeting method whereby after targets or programs are first identified, the revenue is then sought after to support those targets. The negative of this approach is obvious, as it relies heavily on the salesmanship of those who are promoting a specific activity, is not necessarily bound to a public need, and lacks a track record to evaluate.

3. Value proposition budgeting: This method ties everything being proposed in a budget to a projected value that the supporters or the public at large might see as acceptable. This approach also relies heavily on salesmanship and a reliance that those who are pushing for it really know what they are talking about, as often there is a lack of any track record to evaluate.

4. Zero-based budgeting: This approach starts with the assumption that all departmental budgets must be rebuilt or justified from scratch or zero every budget cycle and aims to insure that all expenditures are essential to the mission of that particular department. Over recent decades, this approach seems best suited for government operations where the handling of public monies in the most responsible manner is of primary concern. It is most effective when analyzing programs that have been in existence for a period of time, and by its nature it assures that there is at least some justification for the allocation of earmarked funds.

Although the State of California has occasionally engaged in zero-based budgeting when the public has demanded such, the basic approach utilized in budgeting today is the incremental method, with a mixture of activity-based and value-proposing methods thrown in to pass pet programs devised by those who want to save us from our own doom. This approach essentially uses the current departmental level of funding as a base amount to be adjusted by change proposals, and it allows new and untested programs to be funded initially without regard to future sustainability or costs.

Herein lies the problem, as it is the least accountable method that could be used, especially when analyzing subsequent years expenditures.

For example, when Gavin Newsom was mayor of San Francisco, his signature program of providing Care not Cash for the homeless was widely acclaimed and voted in by a benevolent public that was led to believe that finally there was a solution to the growing homeless problem at that time. Little did the public know that the Care to be provided instead of cash would wind up costing the city (the taxpayers) some 10 to 20 times the amount of cash no longer dispensed!

This was despite the public being warned by a few of us on the Board of Supervisors at that time that the real costs associated with this Trojan horse of a political program would not solve the homeless problem, but in reality would become a magnet for the homeless population from all over the country seeking care, and it would require a budget in subsequent years that could not be sustained.

Look at San Francisco today. It is a city whose homeless population is totally out of control, and its leaders still havent figured out why. Newsom and his monied and nonprofit supporters left Dodge without being held accountable, knowing that he pulled off one of the biggest con jobs in that citys history.

The point is that the initial budget approved for the program did not include what it would actually cost the taxpayers once in action.

It is important to understand just how these different methods of budgeting have been utilized in allowing our governor and his misguided legislature to accomplish what no other administration in the history of California has done, and that is to blow much-bragged-about and ballyhooed historic budget surpluses over a two-year period.

This included a $47 billion surplus in the 20212022 budget cycle, a $55 billion surplus in the 20222023 budget cycle, and what is now a projected $33 billion deficit in the 20232024 budget of today! This is absolutely incredible!

I know this is hard for some of you to believe, but you cant buy this type of incompetence in todays labor market in the private sector, and here we are in reality paying for it with our hard-earned tax dollars and in a time when there are so many people in need and so many demands on government.

I cant help but think that somebody is playing fast and loose with the numbers that were included in our budgets of those years, or that perhaps the surpluses were just fantasies made up to project good governance at that time (election time?). Whatever the discrepancy is between now and then, you the taxpayers are being played by a bunch of electeds who have absolutely no regard for any accounting of your tax monies as long as they are allowed to use the budget methods that they have been using for the past many years.

They promise one thing about the costs of a program but do not consider including the necessary costs to maintain the program in follow-up years. That is precisely why our budgets can fluctuate so much from year to year.

On the other hand, if there really was a $100-million-plus surplus less than two years ago that has suddenly changed to a $33 billion deficit today, then it really is high time we changed our leaders because of their gross incompetence, or changed the method of budgeting because it allows for such a false reading.

The incremental, activity-based, and value proposition budgeting methods have allowed our leaders to destroy such a magnificent gift as a monster surplus into a deficit nightmare! Either our leaders are playing games with the numbers or the budgeting process is flawed.

Why and how does this happen?

The majority of our California legislature and our governor are true believers that an ever-increasing government presence in our lives is the answer to all of our problems. Their progressive policies are solidly rooted in programs that are designed to cost more and more for every year that they are in existence. Their programs are like a cancer that feeds upon itself for its very existence.

Our leaders are not really that dumb, and it would be shortchanging them to assume so. They want this to happen to our way of life. They want us to be dependent on them for all our needs. In short, it is the most practiced form of a power grab.

How this happens is very easy in a budget process that eschews accountability at all levels and allows politicians to pander to voters with feel-good programs without ever addressing the long-term costs or consequences of such programs. Maybe it is time to employ zero-based budgeting.

Incremental budgeting is always best for those who believe that big government is the answer to all our problems. Incremental budgeting allows government operations to grow at a given percentage every year without true oversight because that is what it is designed to do.

Our governor is enthralled with new and innovative cliche-sounding programs of which I am sure he doesnt even know the true impact. People, especially the young and politically naive who like to think that they are part of something new and exciting, go along with it.

Newsom is a good salesman who incorporates activity-based and value proposition methods with his incremental budgeting in his never-ending cycle of exercising control over the lives of Californians. (This is a good spot to tune in on a wonderful documentary called Leaving California: The Untold Story, produced by California Insider. See LeavingCaMovie.com.)

Newsom and the majority of state legislators have made a habit of this type of budgeting activity in recent years. The modus operandi for any rank politician who wants to climb the political ladder has been to devise a phony but good-sounding program, sell it to the voters, and then use the name recognition to run for higher office without ever considering the true costs or benefits to society and without being held accountable.

This all sizzle no steak approach to governance is exactly what the radical Left is all about in their quest to remake America into a socialist state. Make no mistake about it, thoughNewsom is no socialist, but an opportunist who seeks the monied reins of power to achieve his dreams of occupying the White House.

The programs coming forth from him in the near future will sound more reasonable and appeal more to the middle ground, but they will still need to be funded by a funny money type of budget process. So keep alert and analyze whats coming.

The only question that remains is whether he can do it quickly enough to avoid the ensuing backlash in California.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Election Interference Concerns Met With Shrugged Shoulders, Tory Campaign Manager Testifies

The Parliament Hill Peace Tower is framed in an iron fence on Wellington Street in Ottawa on March 12, 2020. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

A campaign manager for the Conservative Party in the last federal election has heavily criticized processes put in place by the Liberal government to defend against interference, saying concerns he raised were met with indifference.

Political parties cannot formulate public policy under threat that they are going to possibly lose ridings based on foreign influence, because of at least a perception of a weak security infrastructure, said Walied Soliman, chair of law firm Norton Rose Fulbright Canada.

Soliman, who was the campaign co-chair for the Conservative Party in 2021, said while testifying before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC) on May 18 that he had raised two specific issues with the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force.

Soliman was one of two Conservative Party appointees who were given security clearances to interact with SITE, which draws members from departments and agencies with security mandates. The other was Tausha Michaud, a former chief of staff to former Conservative Party Leader Erin OToole, who also testified before the committee.

Soliman said he asked SITE how parties were supposed to know if there was a candidate or fundraiser who posed a risk, and given initial reports of problems in multiple ridings, if it had identified any risk to the 2021 election.

On both those questions, I increasingly felt that we were not taken seriously, he told MPs.

After the election, and before the new government was sworn in, we spent more time providing everything we had to the task force and appropriate security channels. We were met with more shrugged shoulders, and I felt indifference.

Soliman said that during the final call with SITE, he told them that he felt the security establishment had failed the process. He made similar comments on Twitter back in February, in reaction to a Globe and Mail report on Beijings strategy to interfere with the elections.

Liberal MP Ryan Turnbull challenged Solimans claims by referencing the previous testimony of National Security and Intelligence Advisor (NSIA) Jody Thomas to the committee.

Thomas said on March 1 that Soliman had been provided a very detailed response back to him on or about October 22, 2021, indicating that the allegations were being taken very seriously but that we did not see evidence in the intelligence to support the claims he presented.

Soliman told Turnbull that he was a little bit surprised by Thomass comments, saying he has no record of any written response. He added he had reached out to Thomas to clarify things and said he learned that her comments were related to a videoconference with her staff.

They were not in connection with any written comments. However, I was not satisfied with the conclusions of the security establishment at that time.

Soliman added that he accepts Thomas made the comments in good faith, and that the two have agreed to further discuss the matter in private.

But there was no written response, he asserted.

Rosenberg Report

Soliman and Michaud also criticized another elections integrity mechanism, which was meant to review the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol. The intent of the protocol is to inform the public whether a threat to the integrity of the elections emerges.

Former senior public servant and former head of the Trudeau Foundation Morris Rosenberg conducted the review of the protocol and published his findings on Feb. 28.

His assessment was that the mechanism had generally worked well but he made a number of recommendations for the government, such as to improve communications on different matters.

The section of his report on briefings by security agencies provided to political parties says that party representatives were pleased with the thoroughness of the briefings and the openness of the NSA representatives. They appreciated the opportunity to ask questions.

Conservative MP Michael Cooper asked the witnesses how that section of the report could be reconciled with their testimony.

I think youd have to ask [Rosenberg], answered Soliman.

As one of the two party representatives to SITE, Michaud said she had not talked to Rosenberg and Soliman said he could not recall having done so.

Rosenberg told the Commons ethics committee on May 2 that he had talked to the Conservatives.

The PROC has been studying foreign interference in Canada since November, and its activities on the matter have increased in intensity due to the national security leaks in the media painting a picture of extensive meddling by the Chinese regime.

The committee was also recently tasked by the House to investigate Beijings targeting of Conservative MP Michael Chong, and a motion adopted on May 16 is calling a new list of witnesses to testify, such as ministers, heads of security agencies, and even the Chinese ambassador.
Energy Commissioner Warns of Major Threats to Power Grid

With a hotter than usual summer projected, federal agencies are warning utilities of an "elevated risk" of power outages across two-thirds of North America between June and September. (Carlos Giusti/AP Photo)

Hope is powerful, however, it wont keep the air conditioner on when summer temperatures soar and demand for electricity skyrockets, causing an overburdened electrical grid to grind to a halt.

Yet, that seems to be the Biden administrations plan in addressing warnings that nine North American regional electrical grids face an elevated risk of power outages this summer, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Mark Christie says.

I take it as, We hope we can through the summer. We think we have a chance if the weather is normal, he said during a May 18 FERC meeting. We hope we get all good news this summer.

Christie was critiquing the U.S. Department of Energys (DOE) Office of Energy Policy & Innovation and Office of Electric Reliability responses to the North American Electric Reliability Corp.s (NERC) annual summer reliability assessment that forecasts brown-outs and black-outs across two-thirds of North America between June and September if there are wide-area heat waves, drought, and wildfires.

NERC, a not-for-profit public-private entity thats staffed with industry representatives, provides the DOE and state regulators with reliability assessments of the electrical grid from Canada to northern Mexico.

The commission is a subsidiary of FERC, which regulates transmission, pipelines, and interstate wholesale prices of electricity and natural gas.

The FERC board consists of five appointed members, with one seat currently vacant. There are two Democrats, including Acting Chair Willie Phillips, and two Republicans, including Christie, who took office in 2021 after being nominated by then-President Donald Trump in 2020.

California Independent System Operator announced a statewide electricity Flex Alert urging conservation to avoid blackouts in El Segundo, California on Aug. 31, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Nonsynchronous Problem is the Solution

In its assessment, NERC cites the changing resource mix driven by Bidens goal to decarbonize the U.S. electrical grid by 2035 as spurring a disjointed transition to renewable energies, such as wind, solar, and nuclear from coal, oil, and natural gas.

With electricity demand increasingits projected to increase by at least 50 percent by 2050fossil fuel plants are being retired more quickly than they are being replaced by plants generating electricity from renewable green sources, fostering fears of shortages that could see electricity prices soar.

Youve heard me say, and youve heard me say often, reliability is job one, and that is our focus of many of the orders we have today including the NERC assessment, Phillips said.

The NERC assessment and other FERC programs address the rapidly changing resource mix, but added he is concerned about the projected addition over the next decade of an unprecedented proportion of nonsynchronous resources.

Those resources include solar, wind, and hydropower, which are nonsynchronous because they produce different amounts of electricity depending on conditions. Too much reliance on nonsynchronous renewable energy generation can decrease overall grid stability, NERC maintains.

Nevertheless, the DOE agencies plan to remedy summer storm and heat wave shortfalls is adding more nonsynchronous energy to the resource mix.

Energy industry analyst James Burchill of the Office of Energy Policy & Innovation told the commission that a warmer-than-average summer [is] expected this year with the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Agency forecasting a 50- to 70-percent chance of higher than normal temperatures this summer in most parts of the country.

Burchill said aggregate net power generation this summer is expected to increase to 1,167 gigawatts (GW) from 1,138 GWs last summer primarily from solar and wind generation that has been added or will begin service.

An additional 4 GWs of energy storage capacity has been added nationwide for the second year in a row, making battery storage the fourth-largest type of capacity addition to the grid by the end of summer 2023, he said.

Resource additions outpaced retirements, with rapid growth in storage capacity, which should suffice in supplementing base grid generation, Burchill said. NERC maintains this should be adequate under normal operating conditions.

Tracking recent trends, he said, much of the added capacity this summer will likely come from wind, solar, natural gas-fired (plants), and battery storage projects while retirements will most be coal-fired.

Giant wind turbines near Interstate 10 are powered by strong prevailing winds near Palm Springs, California. (David McNew/Getty Images)

Good News Fueled by Wind, Sun, Hope

John Moura, NERC director of reliability, offered a less rosy outlook, telling the commission the assessment found that new resource additions will meet that [normal] demand, but the loss in capacity from retirements is increasing the risk of electricity shortages during wide-area heat waves and other extreme weather conditions.

All areas meet reliability criteria and have adequate resources for normal demand. However, we also found more areas are likely to have energy risks during the more extreme scenarios that we assess, he said.

Wind energy, in particular, is a concern, Moura said.

When low-wind factors are factored in generation in peak demand is not sufficient.

New wind and solar are not one-for-one replacements of retiring fossil plants, Commissioner Allison Clements said. They are not intended to create a reliable grid in isolation.

She said that properly accrediting the ability of all resource types during shortages is critical to reliability, which is what the NERC assessment recommends and what is happening.

It is important that we avoid jumping to conclusions, though, before we collectively kick the tires on the assumptions in this report, Clements said, highlighting upcoming industry forums in Portland, Maine, and Austin, Texas, as opportunities for experts to find solutions, such as grid-enhancing technologies.

Fossil fuel plant retirements are one important piece of a larger reliability puzzle and solving that puzzle starts with an analysis of all the pieces, she said.

Phillips, who was heckled by climate change activists in his opening remarks and as the meeting concluded, said that despite concerns over summer outages, I think there is some good news here. Were seeing things trending in the right direction over the last year.

Thats not what Christie said hes seeing.

The long-term trends, I dont think are good news, he said. I think we have some major, major threats facing the reliability of the grid. The long-term trend is we are losing dispatchable generation at a rate that is unsustainable and it is going to have negative consequences in the future.

But theres the wind, the sun, and the hope that it all works out, Christie said.

If wind doesnt show up, there is insufficient dispatchable generating capacity, he said. So, we hope it does.
Ex-Biden Nuclear Official Sam Brinton Arrested as Fugitive From Justice

Samuel Brinton, a former Biden administration nuclear waste official was arrested in Montgomery County, Maryland, on Wednesday night as a fugitive from justice.

A Montgomery County arrest record shows Brinton was arrested in Rockville.

Montgomery County Police assisted in the arrest of Sam Brinton, Shiera Goff, a Montgomery County Police Department spokesperson, said in a statement to Fox News. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police are lead on this.

Brinton, who identifies as non-binary, had served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy; a job overseeing nuclear waste policy. Brintons tenure with the Office of Nuclear Energy lasted from June 19 to Dec. 11, 2022.

Brinton was placed on leave in November after being charged with stealing luggage. By Dec. 12, the Department of Energy (DOE) confirmed Brinton was no longer employed with the department. Brinton avoided jail time in two separate criminal cases in Nevada and Minnesota, but was ordered to pay restitution and enter a pretrial diversion program.

It is not clear why Brinton was considered a fugitive from justice during Wednesday nights arrest.

Brinton was arrested at approximately 10 p.m. last night in their home on College Parkway, Goff told Fox News. They are being held in the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit on a no-bond status as they await an extradition hearing. Thats all of the information we have on our end.

NTD News reached out to lawyers who represented Brinton in his Nevada and Minnesota cases, but neither responded by the time this article was published.

Brintons arrest could jeopardize his status in the pretrial diversion program. Such programs typically require participants to stay out of trouble and abide by other conditions and those who violate the diversion program terms could end up back in court.

Who is Sam Brinton?

Brinton, who has a Master of Science Degree, had been in charge of spent nuclear fuel and waste disposal at the Office of Nuclear Energy. According to hiring documents obtained by The National Pulse through the Freedom of Information Act, Brintons position entailed having a top-secret Q clearance and receiving a $178,063 annual salary.

Prior to his DOE role, Brinton had been a drag queen and an LGBTQ+ activist. Brinton had also spoken on college campuses about kink and had advocated puppy dog BDSM fetish roleplay for students, The National Pulse reported.

Brintons Past Legal Troubles

Brinton was initially arrested and charged in October of last year, following allegations he had stolen a womans blue Vera Bradley suitcase from the baggage claim area at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport on Sept. 16. News of the charges broke in November.

Just weeks after the first luggage theft allegation emerged, he was charged in a second luggage theft incident. Brinton was caught on camera taking luggage belonging to another person at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, in July 2022.

Brinton faced a felony theft charge in Nevada but pleaded no contest to misdemeanor theft on April 12, according to court records. Judge Ann Zimmerman ordered Brinton to pay $3,670 in restitution to the victim and stay out of trouble, according to court records.

One week after the Nevada case, Brinton again avoided jail time in Minnesota through a pretrial diversion program. As part of the decision, Brinton was also ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation and write a letter of apology to the owner of the stolen luggage, among other requirements.

From NTD News
Mozambican Minister of Education and Human Development Carmelita Namashulua (C) receives a batch of school supplies from Bai Pengyu (L), president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the country, in Maputo, Mozambique, May 18, 2023. (Photo by Israel Zefanias/Xinhua)

MAPUTO, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Mozambique's Ministry of Education and Human Development has received a batch of school supplies donated by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the country (MCCC), which will be allocated to primary schools and pupils in three districts in the northern province of Cabo Delgado plagued by terrorism.

These supplies, including school desks and chairs, school bags, stationery, and student clothing, were purchased through fundraising by the MCCC member enterprises.

Speaking at the handover ceremony in the national capital of Maputo on Thursday, Mozambican Minister of Education and Human Development Carmelita Namashulua said the government still faces significant challenges in the reconstruction of social infrastructure and the restoration of school activities in the conflict-torn northern region.

She expressed her appreciation for the support from Chinese enterprises in helping Mozambique respond to the challenges.

"Our schools where our children study have been attacked by terrorists, and the children were left without school facilities or supplies and cannot study properly. The children not only lost their classrooms, but also lost all their stationary: books, notebooks, and pencils," said Namashulua.

"We are sure that with this mobilization, we will be able to contribute to improving the teaching and learning conditions of our children," said the minister.

According to the minister, Cabo Delgado Province has a total of 1,006 schools, of which 802 are in operation and the rest are closed due to terrorism, and a total of 101 schools have been destroyed and burned down during the terrorist attacks.

"We encourage Chinese-funded enterprises in Mozambique to actively fulfill their social responsibilities and promote the friendship between China and Mozambique through concrete actions that enhance mutual understanding and trust between the two peoples," said Chinese Ambassador to Mozambique Wang Hejun.

In his speech, Bai Pengyu, the president of the MCCC, called for more enterprises and individuals to support Mozambique's education cause. He expressed his expectation that the traditional friendship between the two peoples can be passed down from generation to generation and continue flourishing.

The turmoil in parts of Cabo Delgado Province has been ongoing for over five years, with the extremist group Islamic State claiming responsibility for some of the attacks.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, the conflicts have resulted in the displacement of one million people and the loss of 4,000 lives. 
Ex-Biden Nuclear Official Sam Brinton Arrested in Third Luggage Theft Case

Former Biden administration nuclear waste official Samuel Brinton was arrested on Wednesday in connection with a luggage theft incident at the Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. The arrest marks the third time Brinton has come into legal peril over stolen luggage at an airport.

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police executed a search warrant May 17 in Montgomery County, Maryland, in connection with allegations of stolen property in luggage from Reagan National Airport that was brought to the departments attention in February 2023, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Police spokesperson James Johnson said in an emailed statement to NTD News on Friday.

Johnson said Brinton, 35, of Rockville, Maryland, was taken into custody Wednesday pending charges of Grand Larceny.

NTD News initially reported the arrest on Thursday, after a record from Montgomery County, Maryland listed Brinton as a fugitive from justice. A Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) spokesperson initially said the department assisted MWAA Police who lead the arrest on Wednesday evening, but additional details about the reason for the arrest werent immediately available.

Brinton had faced extradition to neighboring Virginia, but Maryland court records showed Brinton voluntarily waived the extradition issue on Thursday.

The February 2023 luggage theft incident at Reagan National Airport (DCA) comes after Brinton was charged with stealing a passengers luggage at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, in July 2022 and stealing another passengers luggage at the baggage claim area of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport on Sept. 16, 2022. Brinton would have already been dealing with courts and lawyers from the two prior luggage theft incidents when the DCA luggage theft incident occurred.

NTD News has contacted two different attorneys who represented Brinton in these prior cases, but neither has responded.

An attorney is not yet listed in Brintons latest case.

Who is Sam Brinton?

Brinton, who has a Master of Science Degree, was appointed as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy. The position entails managing spent nuclear fuel and waste disposal policy for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

According to hiring documents obtained by The National Pulse via the Freedom of Information Act, Brintons position entailed having a top-secret Q clearance and receiving a $178,063 annual salary.

Brinton, prior to the DOE role, had been a drag queen and an LGBTQ+ activist. Brinton had also spoken on college campuses about kink and had advocated puppy dog BDSM fetish roleplay for students, The National Pulse reported.

Brinton was placed on leave in November after being charged in the first luggage theft case. By Dec. 12, the DOE confirmed Brinton was no longer employed with the department.

Brinton Previously Avoided Prison

Brinton had faced up to 15 years in prison for the first two luggage theft cases, but had avoided incarceration.

Brinton faced a felony theft charge in Nevada but pleaded no contest to misdemeanor theft on April 12, according to court records. Judge Ann Zimmerman ordered Brinton to pay $3,670 in restitution to the victim and stay out of trouble, according to court records.

A week after the Nevada court ruling, Brinton again avoided prison time in Minnesota through a pretrial diversion program with the Hennepin County attorney. As part of the decision, Brinton was also ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation and write a letter of apology to the owner of the stolen luggage, among other requirements.

Brintons arrest could jeopardize his status in the pretrial diversion program. Such programs typically require participants to stay out of further legal trouble and abide by other conditions. Those who violate the diversion program terms could end up back in court. Pretrial diversion guidelines listed by the Hennepin County attorney specify that new felony charges or charges for similar offenses are grounds for termination from the program and a return to court.

From NTD News
EXCLUSIVE: McCarthy Holds Most of the Cards in Debt Ceiling Negotiations, Gingrich Says

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks to the press after meeting with President Joe Biden and other leaders at the White House in Washington on May 16, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has the upper hand in negotiations with President Joe Biden on raising the debt ceiling and cutting federal spending, according to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Gingrich said that the Houses passage of the Limit, Save, Grow Act on April 26 was a key moment in breaking the stalemate Biden and McCarthy.

It gave [Republicans] the ability to say that they had the one bill that would avoid a default. And then when 43 Senate Republicans, including [Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell, signed a letter saying they would not vote for cloture for a debt ceiling that was not approved by McCarthy, that really shifted the whole balance of power, Gingrich, a contributor to the publication, told The Epoch Times on May 19.

Biden and McCarthy initially met to discuss the debt ceiling on Feb. 1. Both described the meeting in positive terms. However, the president then refused to meet again until May 9.

For weeks, Biden said he would not negotiate over the debt ceiling because that would call the full faith and credit of the United States into question. He called on Congress to pass a clean debt ceiling increase. The president also said he would not discuss Republican demands for spending cuts until they produced a budget proposal.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), in Washington on Oct. 24, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

I think the Biden administration thought the Republicans would fail in the House, Gingrich said. They thought that the Dont let us default argument would work, and they wouldnt have to do anything.

That changed when McCarthy guided the Republican caucus to pass the Limit, Save, Grow Act by a single vote in an almost evenly divided house.

All of a sudden, theyre in a world where, in fact, McCarthy has most of the cards. And [Democrats] have to negotiate directly with McCarthy, which is what theyre now doing, Gingerich said.

Thats pretty amazing.

Workable Deal Likely

Despite complications that have emerged over the last two days, Gingrich believes an agreement will be reached and that it will pass both houses of Congress.

I think they will get to a deal, Gingrich said. I think it will be largely what the House Republicans want.

The House Freedom Caucus released a statement on May 18 urging McCarthy to use every leverage to get the Limit, Save, Grow Act signed into law. The group also appeared to advocate breaking off negotiations. There should be no further discussion until the Senate passes the legislation, the statement concluded.

Also on May 18, a group of 11 senators led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) signed a letter urging the president not make an agreement with McCarthy too easily. The group said Biden canand shoulduse the 14th Amendment to avoid either defaulting on the nations debts or acquiescing to what they see as unacceptable Republican spending cuts.

Neither effort is likely to unravel any deal Biden and McCarthy might strike, according to Gingrich.

Are they literally going to vote for default against the president? Gingrich asked about Senate Democrats. Or are they going to grumble and complain?

Gingrich predicted that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) would support any debt-ceiling deal made by the president. As for the House, Gingrich questioned the likelihood of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) opposing the president.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, on July 29, 2021. (Andrew Harnik/AP Photo)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on May 9 that any agreement made by Biden and McCarthy would pass the Senate on a bipartisan basis.

In 1995, Gingrich led negotiations with then-President Bill Clinton over raising the debt limit. At that time, Republicans were calling for a reduction in the size of the federal government.

Talks Ongoing

Negotiations on raising the debt ceiling and provisions of the Limit, Save, Grow Act were suspended on May 19 when negotiators reached an impasse.

We decided to press pause because its just not productive, Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), the lead negotiator on the Republican side, told reporters, adding that Bidens negotiators were being unreasonable right now.

In response to that news, former President Donald Trump urged GOP negotiators to push through, echoing the sentiments of the House Freedom Caucus.

Republicans should not make a deal on the debt ceiling unless they get everything they want (Including the kitchen sink), Trump wrote on Truth Social. Thats the way the Democrats have always dealt with us. Do not fold!!! Trump wrote on Truth Social on May 19.

Both the president and the speaker have said they believe a deal can be reached soon.

McCarthy said on May 18 that negotiators are in a much better place, adding, I can see now where a deal can come together.

He also said he expects to bring a deal to the House next week.

On May 18, Biden told reporters, Im confident that well get the agreement on the budget, that America will not default.
FBI Improperly Used Surveillance Program to Spy on Jan. 6 Suspects

FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks during a press conference at the Justice Department in Washington, on Jan. 26, 2023. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

The FBI abused its surveillance powers while spying on suspects in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol and Black Lives Matter protesters, a federal court said in a newly unsealed ruling.

FBI agents violated standards the agency developed for the Section 702 program, which enables spying on Americans and others, more than 278,000 times, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court said in the 2022 ruling, which was made public for the first time on May 19.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act enables agencies like the FBI to collect information like emails without warrants from foreigners, even if theyre in the United States, and bars intentionally targeting Americans.

The FBI developed its own standard for Section 702 searches, stating that queries must be reasonably likely to retrieve foreign intelligence information, as defined by FISA, or evidence of a crime, unless otherwise specifically excepted.

But FBI agents have been violating the standard, the court has found, with the newest ruling disclosing hundreds of thousands of abusive searches in addition to those already known.

The abusive searches include multiple improper queries targeting suspected or confirmed Jan. 6 suspects.

In one instance, an analyst searched for information on 13 people suspected of being involved in the Capitol breach. The analyst said she ran the queries to determine whether these individuals had foreign ties, but the Department of Justices National Security Division (NSD) concluded the queries were not reasonably likely to retrieve foreign intelligence information or evidence of crime, the newly unsealed ruling states.

In another case, widespread searches that in total consisted of more than 23,000 separate queries looked for information on presumed Americans to see whether the people were being used by a group involved in the breach.

The queries were run against unminimized Section 702 information to find evidence of possible foreign influence, although the analyst conducting the queries had no indications of foreign influence related to the query terms used, the court said. NSD assessed there was no specific factual basis to believe the queries were reasonably likely to retrieve foreign intelligence information or evidence of crime from Section 702 information.

Other Improper Searches

The new ruling, released by the Office of Director of National Intelligence, also revealed that FBI personnel improperly surveilled a congressional campaign.

An analyst conducted a so-called batch query, or a widespread query, for over 19,000 donors to the campaign. The analyst claimed the campaign was a target of foreign influence, but NSD officials found sufficient evidence for queries for just eight of the people who were queried.

In another instance, a batch query was conducted on 133 people who were arrested in connection with civil unrest and protests between approximately May 30, and June 18, 2020, the time period during which people, primarily Black Lives Matter members and supporters, were protesting and rioting over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The query was run to determine whether the FBI had any counter-terrorism derogatory information on the arrestees, but without any specific potential connections to terrorist related activity known to those who conducted the queries,' the court found. NSD said the queries violated the FBI standards, but the FBI disagreed, claiming there was a reasonable basis to believe these queries would return foreign intelligence due to citations that were redacted.

Additional 2020 violations included queries using variations of political activist groups involved in organized protests; 697 queries using identifiers on scheduled visits to a place or person that were redacted in the ruling; searches for at least 790 defense contractors that the FBI was considering requesting cooperation from; and at least 330 queries conducted using identifiers of employees of a company whose name was redacted, with the FBI claiming it might recruit the employees as sources.

Multiple queries were run without obtaining an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, another violation of the law.

Changes

Critics said the newly released information highlights a pattern of abuse.

Chris Wray told us we can sleep well at night because of the FBIs so-called FISA Reforms. But it just keeps getting worse, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told The Epoch Times via email.

Wray is the FBIs director.

Many of the improper searches were conducted before the FBI began overhauling the system. Officials have said the changes include strengthening training, ramping up auditing, and revising guidance on the querying standards.

The FBI told The Epoch Times via email: As Director Wray has made clear, the errors described in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courts opinion are completely unacceptable. As a result of the audits that revealed these instances of noncompliance, the FBI changed its querying procedures to make sure these errors do not happen again. These steps have led to significant improvement in the way we conduct queries of lawfully obtained Section 702 information. We are committed to continuing this work and providing greater transparency into the process to earn the trust of the American people and advance our mission of safeguarding both the nations security, and privacy and civil liberties, at the same time.

Those changes have led to a drop in queries, according to data released in April.

Still, four percent of a sample of queries carried out in the second half of 2021 and the first quarter of 2020 violated the standards, the FBIs own watchdog reported recently, and members of Congress are considering whether to reauthorize the law that grants the spying powers.

The FBI has shown a penchant for spying on all Americans without a warrant. The opinion describes shocking abuses of the FBIs Section 702 powers, and Congress should respond by ending this unconstitutional surveillance, Aaron Mackey, the Electronic Frontier Foundations free speech and transparency litigation director, told The Epoch Times via email.

U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras said in the newly released opinion the surveillance court is encouraged by the amendments to the FBIs querying procedures and that they appeared to be having the desired effect.

Nonetheless, compliance problems with the FBI.s querying of Section 702 information have proven to be persistent and widespread, he added. If they are not substantially mitigated by these recent measures, it may become necessary to consider other responses, such as substantially limiting the number of FBI personnel with access to unminimized Section 702 information.

Mark Tapscott contributed to this report.
Is the FBI engaging in retaliation against whistleblowers? That was the topic of a House hearing Thursday, as three former agents testified.

President Joe Biden is in Japan for the Group of Seven Summit. What does he say as a debt ceiling crisis is looming at home?

U.S. lawmakers are traveling to London to discuss countering Chinese aggression after House subcommittees held multiple hearings on the topic over the past 24 hours.

Its National Police Week, and one of our guests explores with us the challenges that police officers face in the aftermath of the defund the police movement.

Congressman Mike Collins (R-Ga.) joins us to discuss a bill he authored, which passed the House with unanimous support. Its about protecting law enforcement from dangerous opioids.
Jerome Powell, chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and Ben Bernanke, former chair of the Board of Governors, speak about monetary policy at 11:00 a.m. ET on May 19 at the Thomas Laubach Research Conference hosted by the Federal Reserve.
PG-13 | 2h 21m | Action, Comedy | May 19, 2023

WellI didnt want to like it.

I basically hate these Fast and Furious movies; I cant stand the whole dumb-as-a-bag-of-hammers concept: A bunch of car-mechanic criminals, basically, save the world via stunt-driving, all while being surrounded by Brazilian girls in thong bikinis. And then they all gather around a picnic table and extol the virtues of family, while drinking Corona beers by the case.

Theres a book Id like to recommend at this time: its called Dumbing Down America: The War on Our Nations Brightest Young Minds. Perhaps youve heard of it? Fast and Furious franchise mastermind Vin Diesel is cited therein as Public Enemy Number One. I just made that up. But it might as well be true.

But see, this is what happens: the F&F franchise hits you relentlessly with a scatter-shot blast of dude-and-bro stuff that, if youre a dude/bro, you probably like on some level. On many levels. They cover a wide range of dude things; throw a whole bunch of bro stuff up against the wall and see what sticks. And in my case it goes something like this:

Uggghh, not another one of these  oh wait a minute  thats a nice 1970 Dodge Charger R/T right there. I love vintage Dodge Chargers! Hmmm!  I love all these 70s muscle cars, actually. And look at the fabulous super cars on display tooI love fabulous super cars! And look at all the beautiful women. I love beautiful women! And look at all these big, hilarious tough guys, like The Rock. I like The Rock! Oh, and theres the guy who plays Jack Reacher on Netflix. I like Jack Reacher, too! Jack Reachers very funny! And theres funny Jason Statham and funny John Cena.

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) with his 70 Dodge Charger, in Fast X. (Peter Mountain/Universal Pictures)

Oh, and look! Theres big, tough, Harley-Davidson-riding, funny Jason Momoa doing a villain role dressed all in billowy purple satin, driving a matching custom paint-job lavender Chevy Impala with Cragar mags, that matches his purple, lavender, and fuchsia fingernail polish, and doing a kind of campy, gay interpretation. Which is a hilarious choice for him to make and he steals the entire movie with it. I like macho Jason Momoa stealing the whole stupid car and thong bikini movie with hysterical feigned swishy-nessI guess Im having fun now!

See? This is how they get you. And if it can happen to a cynical film critic like me, trust me, it can just as easily happen to you too. So if you dont like the concept of these movies, the way I dontdont go. Its a giant waste of time. But unfortunately, a little bit fun too.

Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa) with his lavender 66 Chevy Impala, in Fast X. (Universal Pictures)

What Goes On

As mentioned, its got all the usual elements: fast, sexy cars, Brazilian beachwear, completely impossible computer-generated stunts that our dumbed-down society has now grown to think might be actually possible, and of coursefamily. It might be missing a plot that makes any kind of sense, but then, all of the so-called plots in this franchise are merely excuses to parade all the dude-and-bro stuff. So Fast X has that.

Yes, you guessed correctlythat right there would be a photo of two helicopters spearfishing a muscle car, and then hoisting it off the highway, in Fast X. (Peter Mountain/Universal Pictures)

Now, the deal with Jason Momoas Dante Reyes: Its revealed that his father (Joaquim de Almeida) was killed by the Fast and Furious boys 12 years ago. We also come to find out Dantes a psycho, having been in juvie, psych wards, and prisons. And as mentioned, hes a rather flamboyant fellow.

Dante wants to destroy everything Dominic loves. The path to this destruction involves lots of fast and furious car chases through Sao Paulo, Rome, and a small Portuguese village. Theres plenty of kicking, punching, and submission grappling moves, involving, most notably, Cipher (Charlize Theron) versus Letty (Michelle Rodriguez).

Tess (Brie Larson, R) pointing a shotgun in a bar, in Fast X. (Peter Mountain/Universal Pictures)

The whole gang is here: Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Jordana Brewster, Brie Larson, and so on. Rito Moreno makes an appearance as Doms grandma. Bringing up the rear is the eternally young Dame Helen Mirren.

The Rock may or may not show up, and, in the same way there was once a link-up between the Fast and Furious muscle-car franchise, with Jason Stathams Tranpsorter super-car franchise, if you stay for the post-credit-roll scene, you may find theres a hook-up with yet another, giant franchise. (Hint: Which franchise started the whole post-credit-roll scene thing in the first place?)

(LR) Michelle Rogriguez, Sung Kang, Vin Diesel, Nathalie Emmanuel, Leo Abelo Perry, Rita Moreno, Jordana Brewster, Ludacris, and Tyrese Gibson in Fast X. (Peter Mountain/Universal Pictures)

So Many Stars, So Little Sense

Never known for its scintillating dialogue, Fast X belongs, entirely, to Jason Momoa. This may be the movie where it became apparent that Momoa finally nailed his acting wheelhouse. Although hes a huge, scary-looking brute of a man, and exceedingly intimidating when hes just standing there, he doesnt actually do menace believably. He tries it here a couple of times, and the whole audience snickers. The only time he was truly menacing was as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones. But thats because we didnt know him yet.

Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa) in Fast X. (Giulia Parmigiani/Universal Pictures)

If you follow Momoa on Instagram, which I do, because he likes all the stuff I like, i.e., Harley-Davidsons, rock climbing, weight-lifting, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, bass guitar a la rock band Primuss Les Claypool, metal band Metallica, acting, filmmaking, and until recently, ex-wife Lisa Bonetyou discover hes a giant goofball. Dangerous, to be sure, but like a big kid who cant believe he actually succeeded in becoming a famous actor. Hes hilarious. So the revelation that his big bruiser self is primarily good at comedy, and watching him having a gleeful blast playing an effeminate baddieis rather fun, actually.

Im giving it 3 stars for how it bludgeoned me into submission with the delights of the bro and the dude  but mostly I still hate it.

Fast X debuts in theaters worldwide Friday, May 19.

Movie poster for Fast X. (Universal Pictures)

Fast X

Director: Louis Leterrier

Starring: Vin Diesel, Jason Momoa, Michelle Rogriguez, Jason Statham, John Cena, Brie Larson, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren, Nathalie Emmanuel

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Running Time: 2 hours, 21 minutes

Release Date: May 19, 2023

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
R | 1h 55m | Thriller, Action | May 12, 2023

The Mother, on Netflix, is a dark action thriller starring Jennifer Lopez as a nameless former assassin, forced out of retirement in order to protect the daughter she gave away at birth. Does that whole premise make you snicker?

The Mother (Jennifer Lopez) is out to prevent special forces operatives from kidnapping her daughter, in The Mother. (Eric Milner/Netflix)

Its easy to forget Jennifer Lopez is an accomplished, impressive A-list movie star, even though she nailed the crime genre early on with 1998s Out of Sight. She broke into show business as one of the dancing Fly Girls on In Living Color, before earning global superstardom via her dance-centric music videos.

She can move, she can sing, and she does comedy like falling off a log. The reason its hard to remember shes very good is because her filmography contains such excruciatingly heinous stinkers like The Boy Next Door, and Gigli. Unfortunately, while not horrible, the ridiculously titled The Mother also swims down more towards the murky depths of Lopezs filmography pool.

What Happens

The Mother opens with Lopezs extremely pregnant, nameless character sequestered in an FBI safe house, with frustrated agents interviewing her about a pair of dangerous arms dealers. Its one of those scenes where the agents dont heed the talented killers warnings about imminent danger. One ends up very dead; she saves the others life, and then is forced to flee, leaving her new daughter behind in a hospital ward. This sequence right here already joins The Boy Next Door in off-the-charts lack of credulity.

FBI agent Cruise (Omari Hardwick) and The Mother (Jennifer Lopez) discussing how he will look out for her daughter, in The Mother. (Eric Milner/Netflix)

Before she disappears though, The Mother makes a deal on the side with FBI agent Cruise (Omari Hardwick), who will watch her daughter and contact her if anything goes wrong. Twelve years later, The Mother, living in Alaska, gets that unwelcome message that there is an imminent threat against her daughter Zoe (Mexican child actress Lucy Paez).

And so Mothers child is delivered to her, at the rather romantic-looking, rustic cabin in the Alaskan outback that she lives in, with nice pine trees and wolves and such, so Zoe can undergo wilderness survival, sniper craft, and knife-fighting technique montages, in preparation for the inevitable encounter with that shadowy arms dealer who is so bent on revenge that hes mobilizing at least one platoon of snow-camod special forces operatives on snowmobiles to do a snatch-and-grab, to the tune of, like, a billion dollars. Hes so incredibly motivated one might wonder if  thats his daughter too?

Adrian (Joseph Fiennes) has a serious grudge against The Mother (Jennifer Lopez), in The Mother. (Eric Milner/Netflix)

Worth a Watch?

The Mother opens on a fairly engaging note. Stakes are established, and Lopezs performance is fairly believable, although her model-y face, in a sniper milieu  perhaps not so much? But no matterthe law of showbiz is that actors look good, so we pay good money to go look at them. I was drawn in and invested for a few minutes. Make it 20 minutes.

The Mother (Jennifer Lopez) taking aim at special operatives intent on kidnapping her daughter, in The Mother. (Eric Milner/Netflix)

The movies got mostly thin characters and thin conflicts. People recite the title characters biography to each other like shes a kids ghost story or a legend, which is a tactic straight out of the John Wick, and, more recently, Sisu, playbook.

The usually top-shelf Gael Garcia Bernal is completely wasted as another silly arms dealer spouting silly lines like, You sold your soul to the devil, how do you look so good? Bad guys demonstrate their evilness by knocking nuns off their feet in the street.

The Mother (Jennifer Lopez, L) teaches her daughter (Lucy Paez) sniper stalking skills, in The Mother. (Doane Gregory/Netflix)Ana Carballosa/Netflix

The best part about The Mother is the relationship between The Mother and her estranged daughter Zoe during the, uh, education of a junior assassin portion of the film. They have believable mother-daughter chemistry. Whats not believable whatsoever, is the Mother conducting a brutal interrogation, hitting a gangster repeatedly in the face with barbed wire wrapped around her fist, and then waterboarding him. Because she (with her model-y face) was in Afghanistan in the 2000s, dontcha know.

The Mother (Jennifer Lopez) and her daughter Zoe (Lucy Paez), in The Mother. (Doane Gregory/Netflix)

The Mother is the second straight-to-streaming Jennifer Lopez action movie this year, following the egregious Prime Video action comedy Shotgun Wedding. The latter at least capitalized on Lopezs comedic talents, and used them to accompany her movement skills. Jennifer Lopez has the goods to do a Liam Neeson-like, late career segue into action hero mode, but it would appear she needs a new agent and/or manager to help arrest the piling-up of bad movie vehicles that waste her prodigious talent and keep us from remembering shes a big talent.

The Mother is streaming on Netflix now.

Movie poster for The Mother. (Netflix)

The Mother

Director: Niki Caro

Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Fiennes, Lucy Paez, Omari Hardwick

MPAA Rating: R

Running Time: 1 hour, 55 minutes

Release Date: May 12, 2023

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
G-7 Leaders Announce New Sanctions Against Russia as Zelenskyy Invited to Hiroshima Summit

Ukrainian president is anticipated to make a trip to Japan to attend summit on Sunday

(L-R) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida walk out of the Peace Memorial Museum to a flower wreath-laying ceremony in the Peace Memorial Park as part of the G-7 Leaders' Summit, in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 19, 2023. (Franck Robichon/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

HIROSHIMA, JapanThe war in Ukraine takes center stage at this years Group of Seven (G-7) Summit, with leaders introducing new sanctions to continue tightening the screws on Russia as they begin their three-day meeting in Hiroshima.

We will further restrict Russias access to our economies, the leaders said in a statement released on May 19.

Theyve agreed to broaden G-7 efforts to restrict exports of all items critical to Russias aggression, including industrial machinery, tools, and other technology that Russia uses to rebuild its war machine.

We will starve Russia of G-7 technology, industrial equipment, and services that support its war machine. We will continue to shield agricultural, medical, and humanitarian products from our restrictive measures and make every effort to avoid potential spillover impacts on third countries, the group said.

This would be the most comprehensive set of sanctions and export control measures ever imposed on a major economy, according to the White House.

The group also agreed to strengthen its coordination to prevent and respond to third parties supplying weapons to Russia, and pledged to take action against third-country actors that materially assist Russias war.

The annual summit of the worlds most advanced democraciesthe United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Canadais taking place from May 1921.

During the summit, the G-7 leaders will demonstrate unity, strength, and commitment in reaction to Russias aggression, a senior White House official told reporters on May 18 ahead of the summit.

Our commitment to continue tightening the screws on Russia remains as strong as it was last year, the official said.

The G-7 leaders plan to further disrupt Russias ability to source inputs for its war, shut evasion loopholes, limit reliance on Russian energy, and further restrict Moscows access to the international banking system. In addition, Russias sovereign assets will remain frozen until the war is over.

Each member of the G-7 will declare new sanctions and export restrictions to increase economic pressure on Russia.

The United States will continue to tighten export controls on Russia, the official said.

Among other things, this involves extensively restricting categories of goods key to the battlefield and also cutting off roughly 70 entities from Russia and third countries from receiving U.S. exports by adding them to the Commerce blacklist. Moreover, we will announce upwards of 300 new sanctions against individuals, entities, vessels, and aircraft.

Following Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the G-7 nations agreed to gradually reduce their dependency on Russian energy.

European Council President Charles Michel, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pose for a group photo after laying flower wreaths at the Cenotaph for Atomic Bomb Victims in the Peace Memorial Park on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 18, 2023. (Franck Robichon  Pool/Getty Images)

At the G-7 Summit in Germany a year ago, the leaders agreed to adopt a strategy of capping the price of Russian oil to choke off the Kremlins revenue.

This is working. Russias revenues are down. Global oil and gas prices have fallen significantly, benefiting countries around the world, the leaders said in the G-7 statement.

The U.S. Treasury Department released a report on May 18 explaining the progress made on the price cap.

Following the implementation of the price cap policy, Russias oil revenues have fallen substantially compared to both pre-war levels and the elevated level at the onset of the war, the report stated.

This decline in revenue has occurred despite Russias exporting roughly 5 to 10 percent more crude oil in April 2023 compared to March 2022.

Zelenskyy Expected at Summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to join the summit discussions in person, according to a Ukrainian official.

Very important things will be decided there, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, told state television, according to Reuters.

President Joe Biden (R) walks next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) as he arrives for a visit in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 20, 2023. (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images)

He said Zelenskyys presence was absolutely essential in order to defend our interests.

Zelenskyy has always participated in previous G-7 leaders engagements on Ukraine, the White House official said, but declined to comment on the format or the time of the meeting.

On the first day of the summit, leaders attended a wreath-laying, family photo, and tree-planting ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum to honor those who died in the city 78 years ago in the atomic bombings. After that, the leaders took part in a working lunch.
G-7 Summit to Push for Global Supply Chain De-Chinaization, Expert Says

(L to R) U.S. President Joe Biden, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau take part in a working lunch session as part of the G-7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 19, 2023. (Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images)

The Group of Seven (G-7) finance leaders recently pledged to increase global supply chain diversification, with an expert describing the move as de-Chinaization.

The G-7 Finance Ministers meeting in Niigata, Japan, ended on May 13, laying the groundwork for the G-7 Leaders Summit in Hiroshima from May 19 to 21.

According to a Reuters report, the G-7 leaders are set to discuss concerns about Chinas use of economic coercion in its dealings abroad as part of their joint statement at the upcoming G-7 Summit, citing an unnamed U.S. official.

The statement will reportedly include a section specific to China that lists a range of concerns.

As a central component of the summits overall communique, the statement also is expected to be accompanied by a broader written proposal on how the seven advanced economies will work together to counter economic coercion from any country, the report said.

The G-7 includes the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Canada. Additionally, the European Union is a non-enumerated member.

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during their bilateral meeting in Hiroshima ahead of the G-7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 18, 2023. (Stefan Rousseau/WPA Pool/Getty Images)

The G-7 countries, which account for one-third of the worlds economic activity and one-third of the worlds economic activity, have close economic and trade ties with China.

China is the worlds largest exporter and a key market for many companies from the G-7 nations.

RISEResilient and Inclusive Supply-chain Enhancement

At the G-7 Finance Ministers Meeting, the countries agreed to launch a new scheme to diversify global supply chains by the end of 2023 at the latest.

The scheme, dubbed RISEResilient and Inclusive Supply-chain Enhancementwould offer aid to low- and middle-income countries, enabling them to play a more significant role in the supply chain of energy-related products.

The move aims at reducing the countries dependence on China in many strategic areas, such as enabling them to refine and process minerals and manufacture parts locally.

Diversification of supply chains can contribute to safeguarding energy security and help us to maintain macroeconomic stability, according to a final draft of their communique seen by Reuters.

It stressed that the G-7 would work to ensure that foreign investment in critical infrastructure does not undermine the host countries economic sovereignty, the report said.

As the rotating presidency of the G-7 this year, Japan also invited non-G-7 countries, including South Korea, India, and Brazil, to attend the expanded supply chain meeting.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (2nd R) and Japans Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki (2nd L) hold their meeting during the G-7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting at Toki Messe in Niigata, Japan, on May 13, 2023. (Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images)

Shi Shan, a China expert and current affairs commentator, spoke to The Epoch Times about what this growing emphasis on supply chain diversification will result in.

This G-7 meeting is a major change in the structure of the global economy, Shi said on May 14. This change sets new rules for the direction of the global economy for at least the next 30 years, and its impact will be significant, he said.

This change in the global supply chain is, of course, the de-Chinaization.

Shi said the discussion surrounding restructuring the global supply chains this time includes developed countries and developing and emerging economies.

This is going to have a big impact on the next few decades, and China is to stay out of it, he said.

The core theme of the G-7 meeting is not to exclude China but to achieve the separation of key technologies and raw materials for major products from China.

According to Shi, this supply chain restructuring covers two main elements: to reduce Chinas monopolization in critical raw materials; to prevent high-tech and precision manufacturing, including mechanical and chemical precision manufacturing, from being placed in China.

In other words, China can continue participating in the global supply chain, but [under the new G-7 scheme] it can only produce the middle and lower reaches of products, such as low-tech and ordinary consumer goods, Shi said.

The latest technologies, such as higher-end semiconductors, will soon be out of Chinas reach.

Middle-Income Trap

Shi said the new G-7 scheme prevents China from transforming its economy and upgrading its industries in the future, creating a so-called middle-income trap for the nation.

At this stage, [Chinas] labor force, resources, land, and the market for low-cost commodities have peaked. If its economy wishes to continue to grow, it must upgrade its industries, which means high-tech and precision manufacturing. The G-7s decision to restructure the industrial chain has essentially blocked this path.

Shi added that Beijing has learned over the past few years that it can no longer get technology from the United States, so it turned to countries such as Germany, France, and Japan. But now Japan has fully aligned with the U.S., and only France and Germany remain.

But if the European Union agrees to this overall plan, the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) will now face a big problem.
General Motors Recalls 668,000 SUVs Due to Anchor Bars That May Prevent Child Seats Being Installed

A GM logo is shown at the General Motors Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant in Hamtramck, Mich., on Jan. 27, 2020. (Paul Sancya/AP Photo)

DETROITGeneral Motors is recalling more than 668,000 small SUVs in the United States because owners may not be able to hook child seats to the anchors.

The recall covers certain 2020 to 2023 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain SUVs.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted on its website Thursday that the rear-seat lower anchor bars may have had too much powder coating. That could make them too thick and prevent a child seat from being installed.

GM says no crashes or injuries have been reported.

The automaker is asking owners to install child seats using the seat belts until the latches are repaired. Dealers will inspect the anchors and replace the finish if necessary.

Owners will be notified by letter starting June 26.
MAPUTO, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The Mozambican government estimates that natural disasters have cost the country 1.3 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) over the last 20 years, according to a report by the state news agency AIM.

The most devastating natural shocks to the economy were cyclones, floods, and severe droughts, as well as the most recent health crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, said the AIM report released Thursday night.

"As everyone knows, Mozambique is one of the countries most affected by natural disasters which, according to the most recent estimates, caused losses estimated at 1.3 percent of GDP over the last 20 years," said the report, quoting Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Carla Louveira as saying during an economic forum on the prospects for investment and financing for the economy.

The government estimates that in 2020 alone, COVID-19 negatively affected economic growth by 3.6 percent, reducing the employment rate by 1.9 percent, read the report.

The armed insurgency in Cabo Delgado province in the north, which has been exerting great fiscal pressure, also contributed to the contraction of the economy during the referred period. The insurgency ended up delaying the normal course of liquefied natural gas projects, and affected the commerce, accommodation, and mining sectors, according to the report.

Despite the adversities, the government expects an expansion of public investment for the coming years, influenced by the easing of restrictions on external financing with a new program by the International Monetary Fund, said the report.

Since 2022, there has been a notable positive evolution, with the country recording a real GDP growth rate of 4.1 percent, above the average level for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, which was 3.8 percent, reflecting the dynamics and recovery of the economy, said Louveira.

The deputy minister said that the economic prospects for the medium term are positive, with an average growth rate of around 6.4 percent per year, thanks to the consolidation of economic recovery strongly influenced by the implementation of gas projects. 
Georgia Prosecutor Signals Possible August Timeline for Indictments in Trump Probe

The prosecutor investigating whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally interfered in Georgias 2020 presidential election appeared to suggest on May 18 that any grand jury indictments in the case are likely to come in August.

In a letter (pdf) to Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis advised that the majority of her staff would be working remotely on July 31 and most days during the first three weeks of August for safety purposes.

I respectfully request that judges not schedule trials and in person hearings during the weeks beginning Monday, August 7 and Monday, August 14, Willis wrote, requesting that judges who planned to proceed with in-person hearings notify her office so her staff could prepare.

Thank you for your consideration and assistance in keeping the Fulton County Judicial Complex safe during this time, she added.

Copied on the letter were 20 other county officials.

Security Concerns

Willis latest communication follows an April 24 letter (pdf) she sent to Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat requesting heightened security and preparedness in the coming months due to the upcoming announcement of charging decisions in her 2020 election investigation.

Open-source intelligence has indicated the announcement of decisions in this case may provoke a significant public reaction, the district attorney noted in that letter. We have seen in recent years that some may go outside of public expressions of opinion that are protected by the First Amendment to engage in acts of violence that will endanger the safety of our community. As leaders, it is incumbent upon us to prepare.

At that time, Willis indicated that the announcement of charges would come between July 11 and Sept. 1. The new letter seems to indicate a narrowing of that timeline.

Investigation

The district attorneys investigation centers on a January 2021 phone call during which Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to investigate claims of voter fraud in the states 2020 election.

Willis has been investigating whether that call and the post-election actions of other Trump allies amounted to unlawful election interference.

The special purpose grand jury in the case was discharged in January and purportedly recommended indictments in the case. And while the names of those recommended for indictment have yet to be released publicly, according to Emily Kohrs, the foreperson of the grand jury, multiple indictments were recommended.

It is not a short list, Kohrs told The New York Times in February as part of her controversial media tour after the grand jury was discharged.

Citing that tour, Trumps legal team filed a motion in March to quash the special grand jurys report and preclude its use in the case.

In the same motion, Trump also sought to disqualify Willis from prosecuting the case, holding that she had a conflict of interest and had engaged in prosecutorial misconduct.

Witch Hunt

The Georgia probe is just one of four criminal investigations the 45th president is facing as he vies for a second presidential term.

In addition to federal investigations into his handling of classified materials and his conduct following the 2020 election, Trump is also fending off charges for alleged falsification of business records in New York.

In all four cases, Trump has maintained his innocence, holding that they are just an extension of the Democrats ongoing political witch hunt aimed at keeping him out of the White House.

From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democratsthe enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Countryhave been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement, Trump said in a March 30 statement.

I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden, Trump added. The American people realize exactly what the radical left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it.

Katabella Roberts contributed to this report.
Google May Delete Your Gmail Account: Heres How to Stop It

Tech giant Google announced that it will delete any accounts that have been inactive for at least two yearsincluding Gmail and YouTube accounts.

Googles policy of deleting accounts will start in December 2023, and it will include Google accounts including YouTube, Google Docs, Google Meet, Google Calendar, Google Photos, and Gmail. The company said it will send out several warning notices to users and will conduct the purge of inactive accounts in several phases.

The policy only applies to personal Google Accounts, and will not affect accounts for organizations like schools or businesses. This update aligns our policy with industry standards around retention and account deletion and also limits the amount of time Google retains your unused personal information, according to the post.

The firm said that those inactive accounts are more likely to be hacked or compromised in some way and may have used old passwords that have since been compromised. Older accounts, it said, are much more likely not to have two-factor authentication in use, which Google said makes the data less secure.

These accounts are often vulnerable, and once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector for unwanted or even malicious content, like spam, Google said in a May 16 bulletin, adding that it is going to roll this out slowly and carefully, with plenty of notice.

We will take a phased approach, starting with accounts that were created and never used again, it continued.

Gmail, one of the most popular email services in the world, is estimated to be used by at least 1.8 billion people worldwide. As for YouTube, the service has more than 2.6 billion monthly active users worldwide, data show. Its not clear how many Google accounts are inactive.

How to Keep an Account Active

According to the Mountain View, California-based search giant, one way to keep a Google Account active is to sign in once every two years at the least. If one has signed into the account or any of the servicessuch as YouTube or Gmailin recent days, the account is considered active and wont be flagged for deleting.

Other activity will also be considered, including sending or reading an email via a Gmail account, using Google Drive in some way, watching a video on YouTube, downloading a Google Play app, using Google Search, or using the Sign In feature.

But in the notice, Google said that users should back up their data and information associated with a Google Account.

A woman walks below a Google sign on the campus in Mountain View, Calif., on Sept. 24, 2019. (Jeff Chiu/AP Photo)

We encourage users to provide a recovery email at sign-up. Its important to make sure this recovery email in your account settings is up-to-date, the firm said. We also offer a variety of free tools to help manage your account and provide options to backup your data. You can download and export your data to other platforms through our Takeout feature, which has been available for over a decade. Similarly, Inactive Account Manager allows users to decide what happens to their account and data when it becomes inactive for a period of up to 18 months.

Google also said that users with a subscription set up via a Google account like Google One are also considered account activity, meaning those accounts will be spared from deletion.

Additionally, it said, we do not have plans to delete accounts with YouTube videos at this time.

Google didnt say what it will do with account names after the accounts are deleted. The company also is following Twitter chief executive and owner Elon Musk recently confirming plans to purge dormant Twitter accounts and re-use the account names.

Were purging accounts that have had no activity at all for several years, so you will probably see follower count drop, wrote Musk, who did not say when the purge will start, on Twitter on May 8.

New Password Changes

Earlier this month, Google also announced it would roll out a new policy around passwords, opting to ultimately replace them with passkeys. That came after Apple announced it would be switching to passkeys and will eventually remove passwords entirely.

Of course, like any new beginning, the change to passkeys will take time. Thats why passwords and 2SV will still work for Google Accounts. We look forward to helping people, and others in the industry, take this next leap to make signing in easier and safer with Google, the company said in a post. Google has said that the passkeys are more secure than passwords and resist phishing or brute force attacks.

The passkey technology, it claimed, will allow billions of users to sign into its websites and apps in the same way they unlock a device. While in the post, Google also suggested that passwords will likely eventually be phased out for accounts.
Chronic pain poses a significant public health crisis, affecting about 50 million Americans, with 20 million unable to work due to its debilitating severity. To alleviate their suffering, millions are prescribed antidepressant medications.

However, a recent comprehensive review of studies reveals that many prescriptions for antidepressants used to manage chronic pain lack adequate and reliable evidence to support their effectiveness. Moreover, the potential risks associated with their usage remain poorly understood.

How Antidepressants Are Supposed to Work to Relieve Pain

Antidepressant drugs are typically prescribed for treating depression, but theyre also used for pain relief, especially for chronic pain conditions. Although the exact mechanism by which antidepressants alleviate pain is not fully understood, various theories have been proposed.

While many mechanisms of action are theorized, including specific activity and action anywhere between the peripheral and central nervous system, these drugs may be effective by restoring some degree of normal nervous system function to baseline, Dr. Kevin Zacharoff, a chronic pain and substance use expert, Clinical Instructor, and the Course Director of Pain and Addiction at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, told The Epoch Times.

It is possible that these drugs are effective by restoring some degree of normal nervous system function to baseline.

One potential explanation is the elevation of certain neurotransmitter levels in the spinal cord, potentially reducing pain signal transmission.

Antidepressants may also enhance the activity of neurotransmitters like serotonin and norepinephrine, which play a role in regulating pain perception. By increasing the levels of these neurotransmitters, antidepressant medications could modify pain signaling pathways in the nervous system.

Zacharoff emphasized that antidepressants are typically prescribed as an adjunct pain treatment. This means medications which can be used to enhance the effects of pain medications, treat concurrent symptoms, and provide analgesia for other types of pain, he said. In this context, which would generally mean in addition to more traditional medications, such as opioid analgesics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or acetaminophen, he added.

Zacharoff also said that patients with chronic pain might experience varying degrees of coexisting anxiety, depression, or other mental health symptoms that could potentially benefit from the inclusion of an antidepressant in their pain management plan.

Dr. Timothy B. Sullivan, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwell Health at Staten Island University Hospital, suggests that in certain cases, an antidepressant may be prescribed for pain instead of conventional opioids or NSAIDs. Due to their potential for inadvertent misuse, as well as intentional misuse, opioids should be used sparingly, especially in the setting of chronic pain, he said. The problems associated with long-term addiction to opioids has been clearly highlighted in the literature and in the media.
Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voiced support on May 18 for Pfizers maternal RSV vaccine even after several expressed concerns over premature births.

Outside experts on the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee unanimously said data from two trials run by Pfizer were sufficient to support the vaccine being effective at preventing RSV disease in infants. They also voted 104 in the affirmative when asked if the data from the trials were sufficient to demonstrate the safety of the vaccine.

The votes set up FDA clearance for what would be the first maternal vaccine for the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

Pfizers vaccine, a recombinant protein subunit shot, targets the RSV A and RSV B subgroups in a 120 microgram dose that would be given to pregnant women in the second or third trimester. The goal would be to relay antibodies against RSV to fetuses, conferring protection that is supposed to last through the first year of life.

The vaccine was 81.8 percent efficacious through 90 days after birth against severe lower respiratory tract illness due to RSV. The efficacy dropped to 69.4 percent after another 90 days.

For any RSV-positive medically attended lower respiratory tract illness, the vaccine started at 57.1 percent efficacy and dropped to 51.3 percent over the same timeframe, according to data from a phase 3 trial that included about 3,500 vaccinated pregnant women.

The efficacy for medically attended lower respiratory tract illness from any cause was just 2.5 percent at 180 days and 5.1 percent at 360 days.

FDA staffers said in a briefing document that the trial showed successful vaccine efficacy, and the advisers seconded that view with their unanimous vote.

But multiple experts expressed concerns about the risk of the vaccine causing premature births, a risk found in a similar product made by GlaxoSmithKline that prompted the company to halt testing in 2022.

In Pfizers trial, there were more premature deliveries in the vaccinated arm than the placebo arm5.7 percent in the former versus 4.7 percent in the latter.

That is hanging over this program, Dr. Paul Offit, one of the FDAs advisers, said during Thursdays meeting.

The FDA declined to comment on the issue during the meeting, though staffers wrote in a brief that there was potential uncertainty regarding premature births.

Pfizer executives said Pfizers vaccine has important differences from the GlaxoSmithKline one, including the way theyre stabilized. They also acknowledged that there was an overall significant difference in preterm births between the arms but said the difference was not statistically significant and was driven primarily by data from sites in South Africa.

I think we need to place all of this in context. As youve already heard, the overall results show no statistically significant difference. The results are driven by the upper- and middle-income countries with the high-income countries not showing this difference, Dr. William Gruber, Pfizers senior vice president for vaccine clinical research and panelists, told panelists. And as youve heard from us, as well as the FDA, theres the real opportunity, then, to look at this during the period of pharmacovigilance, when we have larger numbers of women being vaccinated, to determine whether or not there is, in fact, any sort of a signal.

But the evidence to this point provides no real support when we take the totality of it based on the Pfizer vaccine for an increased risk of prematurity, and we can investigate that, again, post-approval, he added later.

The quote drew criticism from Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), a doctor who criticized a similar comment made about Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine.

Most drugs carry side effects. When considering maternal vaccinations, significant complications such as severe premature births or even pre-term and neonatal deaths may be present. The notion of vaccinating populations to determine whether or not there will be any side effects leads to a mistrust in the FDA, public health, and the medical community, Murphy told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.

Dr. Iona Munjal, a Pfizer senior director for vaccines, noted during the meeting that there were more deaths in the placebo group. When you look at poor outcomes like death or poor neonatal outcomes in our study, we dont see those poor outcomes, she said. And this is probably due to the fact that most of the infants are born very near term and not proximally related to the vaccine.

A colorized scanning electron micrograph shows human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) virions shedding from human lung epithelial cells. (NIAID via The Epoch Times)

RSV

RSV peaks in the United States during the winter, with very low levels during the summer and fall. It primarily affects children under the age of 1, though it also impacts older children. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 100 to 300 children die each year from RSV, though a death certificate review for the 12 years ending in 2016 identified just 478 in that population, including 315 younger than age 1.

Approximately 68 percent of infants are infected before they turn 1, panel members heard, and U.S. officials say the vaccine would help curb a major reason for hospitalization.

The vaccine and others like it are designed to overcome the shortcomings of previous efforts  [and] represent structural immunology and molecular engineering over empiric vaccinology against a respiratory virus that exacts its heaviest disease burden in the youngest and older adults, Dr. David Kaslow, the director of the FDAs Office of Vaccines Research and Review, told the panel.

The Pfizer vaccine efficacy for hospitalizations due to RSV was 67.7 percent at 90 days but dropped to just 33.3 percent at 360 days, according to the trial data.

Only one RSV vaccine is currently available in the United States. It is only for adults aged 60 and older.

Votes

Many panelists said they were convinced by the high efficacy data, despite concerns about the premature births.

If the vaccine actually lives up to the data that weve seen today, I can guarantee that many infants and their parents will breathe easier in the coming years, Dr. Jay Portnoy, one of the members, said.

Some said theres a need for a vaccine.

If theres anything real there, we want to make sure we are aware of this. But this really does address a real, real strong need; there isnt another option here for prevention, Adam Berger, one of the panelists, said. And it really could save a lot of lives. So I do think a lot of this is going to lie on the postmarketing requirements.

The FDA lists required studies for drug and vaccine manufacturers to carry out in letters of authorization and approval.

Others echoed Pfizer in asserting that observational data, or looking at outcomes in women who receive the vaccine after it is cleared, would clear up whether premature birth is a side effect.

Observational studies, as we go forward will fairly quickly give us an answer. If there is a problem there, Dr. Arnold Monto, another member, said. We learned how to bite the bullet and get things out during the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine approvals.

Dr. Henry Bernstein, another member, said he had reservations due to not wanting another situation like the quick removal of a rotavirus vaccine following a spike in cases of intussusception, a life-threatening condition. Intussusception following vaccination was not statistically significant until it was more widely used, he said.

While all members said the efficacy data support licensure, Offit, Bernstein, Holly Janes, and Dr. Hana El Sahly said the safety data were not sufficient.

If youre in any sense risking premature births with this vaccine, I think therell be a big price to pay. And so I just dont feel we have enough data to be reassuring, Offit said.

There was too much uncertainty, Janes added. And Im uncomfortable with the notion of kicking the can down the road  toward post-marketing surveillance studies. I think its a bit different to rely on surveillance studies to sort of confirm what appears to be a safe product whereas here, I think the signals are such that the post-marketing surveillance data would be asked to refute what is sort of a potential hypothesis here, and I think thats a higher bar.
According to a study conducted in Spain, 40 percent of meat products sold in supermarkets contain bacteria resistant to multiple drugs. In light of this, doctors in Japan recommend that consumers educate themselves on the risks of consuming contaminated meat, opt for organic meat products that are free of antibiotics whenever possible, and avoid thawing meat more than once to ensure its safety.

Drug resistance occurs when bacteria undergo mutations that render previously effective antibiotics useless. When bacteria develop resistance to multiple antibiotics, they are called multidrug-resistant bacteria. Multidrug-resistant bacteria, also known as superbugs, can be transmitted from animals to humans through the food chain and are among the worlds leading infectious disease killers.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that drug-resistant diseases claim the lives of at least 700,000 people every year. Unless this issue is addressed, it could lead to the deaths of approximately 10 million people annually by the year 2050. This will have severe economic consequences similar to those experienced during the 2008 global financial crisis.

Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Found in 40 Percent of Supermarket Meat

During the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases annual meeting in April 2023, a team of Spanish researchers revealed their study findings. The research indicated that antibiotic resistance is rapidly increasing on a global scale. However, data regarding the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in food are not widely accessible due to commercial sensitivity.

In 2020, researchers at the University of Santiago de Compostela-Lugo analyzed 100 meat products (25 each of chicken, turkey, beef, and pork) randomly selected from a supermarket in northwestern Spain.

According to the research, 73 percent of meat products contained E. coli within acceptable food safety limits. However, nearly half contained multidrug-resistant and/or potentially pathogenic E. coli.

Out of the 100 products that were tested, 40 were found to contain multidrug-resistant E. coli. This E. coli can produce an enzyme called extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL), resistant to antibiotics such as penicillins and cephalosporins. The percentage of positive samples of ESBL-producing E. coli varied among different meat species, with turkey having the highest percentage (68 percent), followed by chicken (56 percent), beef (16 percent), and pork (12 percent).

Extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC), responsible for most urinary tract infections, is found in 27 percent of meat products. Urinary tract infections are the leading cause of adult sepsis and the second most common cause of meningitis in newborns. Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), which can also cause urinary tract diseases, is present in 6 percent of meat products. In comparison, 1 percent contain E. coli carrying the MCR-1 gene, which is resistant to colistin, the last line of defense for treating infections caused by bacteria resistant to other antibiotics.

The researchers recommend a routine evaluation of the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in meat products. Dr. Azucena Mora Gutierrez, one of the researchers, advises consumers to take necessary precautions such as maintaining the cold chain from the supermarket to home, cooking meat thoroughly, storing it properly in the refrigerator, and sterilizing knives, cutting boards, and cooking utensils used for raw meat. This will prevent cross-contamination and help consumers enjoy meat without risks.

Factors That Cause Bacteria to Grow in Meat

Most microorganisms can thrive in meat. Therefore, when animals are slaughtered, the raw meat is vulnerable to bacterial contamination from their intestines. In 2016, according to the Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health in Tokyo, Japan, food poisoning incidents occurred in several cities, including Tokyo. The cause was determined to be the consumption of frozen meat that had not been thoroughly cooked at home. Bacteria that cause food poisoning usually survive freezing but die when heated. Therefore, meat should be cooked thoroughly until the color inside changes completely.

Dr. Jay Cheng, a surgeon at the University of Tokyo, told The Epoch Times that it is essential for buyers to be cautious about the possible contamination of meat and to prioritize food safety, particularly for vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems. He suggests that understanding the meat grading system, taking note of the expiration date and storage conditions, selecting the appropriate type of meat, and verifying the meats slaughter date are all important factors to consider.

Cheng further explained that to prevent the growth of bacteria, the food will be frozen at a low temperature. However, the external temperature increases during thawing, allowing bacteria to multiply rapidly. Although the low-temperature environment of the refrigerator can inhibit bacterial growth when the food is refrozen, it cannot eliminate any already-grown bacteria. When the food is thawed again, the number of bacteria will double. To ensure safe consumption, it is recommended to divide the food into smaller portions and thaw only what is needed. Avoid thawing the food twice after refreezing.

Cheng recommends buying organic meat without antibiotics to reduce the intake of antibiotics in meat, thus reducing the risk of developing drug resistance.
In Cannes, Rust Is Looking for Buyers and Alec Baldwin Has a New Project

Alec Baldwin attends The Roundabout Gala 2023 at The Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York on March 6, 2023. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

A year and a half after the fatal shooting of its cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, the Alec Baldwin Western Rust is back on the market at the Cannes Film Festival, shopping for international buyers.

Last month, Rust resumed shooting in Montana to finish the independently financed production that shut down following Hutchins death in October 2021. Matthew Hutchins, her widower, is serving as an executive producer on the film as part of a settlement over a wrongful death lawsuit.

The Cannes film market, which is in centered in the Palais des Festivals but has no relation to the official festival lineup, is where Rust was first formed as a production in 2000. Goodfellas, a sales company formerly known as Wild Bunch International, is handling sales.

Rust still lacks North American distribution.

New Mexico prosecutors dropped criminal charges against Baldwin in April. Involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin were abandoned three weeks after a new prosecutor team took over the case, though the same charge currently remains for weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. Assistant director David Halls has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.

Now, producers are seeking buyers for a film synonymous with Hutchins on-set death. Director Joel Souza was also wounded.

This is an unprecedented film in regards to the circumstances, producer Ryan Donnell Smith told The Hollywood Reporter. Were trying to keep realistic expectations but shepherd this in the best way we can.

Baldwin, though, has booked another film circulating the Cannes market. The actor is to join the cast of Kent State, a dramatization of the 1970 killing of four students by the National Guard protesting the Vietnam War on the Ohio college campus. In the film, written and to be directed by Karen Slade, Baldwin is to play Robert I. White, Kent States then-president.
IN-DEPTH: Abortion Emerges as a Defining Issue for 2024 Presidential Hopefuls

Candidates try to balance politics and morality in abortion debate

Pro-life and pro-abortion activists hold signs with opposing views during the 50th annual March for Life rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Jan. 20, 2023. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The 2024 presidential election marks the first since the U.S. Supreme Court decided to return abortion authority to the states last year. Since then, it has been a free-for-all. A patchwork of laws restricting or protecting abortion dots the nation, spawning legal challenges in many cases.

Thus, Americas next president will be thrust into refereeing an emotional tug of war over the legality and morality of abortion.

But to win the presidency, each candidate faces a formidable challenge. While consulting their consciences about a life-or-death issue, they must also consider political reality. Each must appease their conservative or progressive bloc of supporters. Yet none can afford to alienate independents whose votes could mean the difference between victory and defeat on Election Day.

In the current climate, voters who used to care little about the abortion issue might be motivated to make it a much higher priority, said Michael New, assistant professor of practice at The Catholic University of America.

I think it creates both opportunities and challenges for both political parties, he told The Epoch Times.

In recent days, pro-abortion Democrat President Joe Biden and pro-life Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a presumed Republican presidential hopeful, both directed abortion-related barbs at the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, former President Donald Trump.

And Republican candidate Nikki Haley told a TV interviewer that neither party has enough votes to pass a federal abortion law, so it would be unrealistic and divisive to discuss it further.

Republican presidential candidate and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley greets voters at a town hall event in Bedford, N.H., on April 26, 2023. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

DeSantis, Trump Spar

After his CNN town hall appearance on May 10, Trump drew fire from the left and the right on the abortion issue.

Trump, who often responds straightforward to questions, tiptoed around the topic. Repeatedly asked whether he would sign a federal abortion ban, Trump gave no direct answer. Instead, he made comments such as: We want to do whats right for everybody.

He did denounce radical people who want unrestricted access to abortion, even in late-stage pregnancies. Repeating a position he has maintained for years, Trump said he believes that abortions should be allowed in certain circumstances. Those include pregnancies involving rape, incest, or life-endangering health conditions.

On May 15, a Florida-based publication, The Messenger, quoted Trump saying that he thought that many pro-lifers would consider Floridas new six-week abortion cutoff too harsh.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a GOP reception in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on May 13, 2023. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

He has to do what he has to do, Trump said, referring to DeSantis. If you look at what DeSantis did, a lot of people dont even know if he knew what he was doing. But he signed six weeks, and many people within the pro-life movement feel that that was too harsh.

In a retort to Trump during a news conference, DeSantis said he stood by his decision to approve The Heartbeat Protection Act. The law forbids abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Around that time, or sooner, many fetuses heartbeats can be detected.

DeSantis, who is expected to announce his candidacy soon, declared: Protecting an unborn child when theres a detectable heartbeat is something that almost, probably, 99 percent of pro-lifers support. He said he was proud to sign the law, and he knocked Trump for refusing to answer whether he would sign a similar measure.

New said he viewed Trumps abortion position as evolving, while DeSantis has locked himself into a stance favoring an abortion ban at six weeks of pregnancy.

Trump has not really expressed clear support for any kind of federal legislation just yet. Now, that may change, New said. But that does create an opening for DeSantis, and it may create an opening for other Republican candidates to snare pro-life votes.

Mission Impossible?

During his CNN appearance, Trump said he would negotiate abortion restrictions, so that people are happy.

In a later interview with Newsmax, Trump said that, Were in the position now where we can get something that the whole country can agree with.

Abortion is a non-negotiable issue for about one-quarter of U.S. voters, according to the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). Those voters say they will only vote for a candidate who shares their views on abortion, PRRIs 50-state survey released earlier this year shows. Only 20 percent of voters give abortion little weight.

I dont think President Trump can find legislation that will make everybody happy with this issue. Thats impossible. People disagree, New said.

Earlier this month, NARAL Pro-Choice America stated that a research firm found an overwhelming majority of voters reject the argument that banning abortion at 15 weeks is a compromise on abortion rights. Formerly known as the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, NARAL has a political action committee that ranks as one of the wealthiest single-issue political action committees, according to Brittanica.com, and has been credited with supplying crucial support for close races.

Further, NARAL said, 73 percent of voters, including a majority of 2020 Trump voters and three out of four independents, believe things have gone too far. As of early May, 19 states have eliminated or restricted abortion, NARAL said.

New cautioned against putting too much weight on abortion polls; the results, he said, are very sensitive to how theyre worded.

Then-President Donald Trump shows a signed executive order to reinstitute a policy barring any recipient of U.S. assistance from performing or promoting abortions abroad with money they receive from non-U.S. sources in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Jan. 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Killing Roe v. Wade

PRRI and other surveys have found that about half of Americans disagree with the Supreme Courts decision to overturn the landmark abortion case, Roe v. Wade.

That 1973 ruling classified a womans decision to abort a pregnancy as a constitutionally protected right up until the point when a fetus was viable enough to live outside the womb. But last year, in Dobbs v. Jackson, the court, by a 6-3 vote, ruled: The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision.

During and after his CNN town hall, Trump took credit for appointing three conservative justices who helped tip the scales in the Dobbs decision.

Amy ODonnell, spokeswoman for Texas Alliance for Life, told The Epoch Times that Trump deserves credit for his work in the pro-life arena.

It is important to recognize that President Trump made great gains in the pro-life movement and kept his promises as far as advocating for the protection of life, she said. So we have to just pause and show our gratitude for that. He definitely prioritized life in his first presidency.

In a May 15 Truth Social post, Trump wrote: After 50 years of failure, with nobody coming even close, I was able to kill Roe v. Wade, much to the shock of everyone, and for the first time put the pro-life movement in a strong negotiating position over the radicals that are willing to kill babies even into their ninth month, and beyond.

Without me, there would be no six weeks, 10 weeks, 15 weeks, or whatever is finally agreed to. Without me, the pro-life movement would have just kept losing. Thank you, President Trump!!!

Warning From Biden

Biden, running for president against Trump, used that post as ammunition.

On his personal Twitter account, Biden posted a screenshot of Trumps statement and wrote: Thats about as clear as it gets. Donald Trump and MAGA [Make America Great Again] Republicans are responsible for killing Roe v. Wade. And if you vote for them, theyll go even further.

Bidens tweet was viewed 9 million times within a day after it was posted; more than 81,000 people indicated they liked it.

But Bidens opinion didnt sit well with Mindy Robinson, who describes herself as an independent journalist, and anti-government libertarian.

She responded, in part: Go further than allowing the people in different states to [choose] for themselves on what to do about the topic? Yeahow awful.'

President Joe Biden addresses the nation at the White House following the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, in Washington on June 24, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Throughout his administration, Bidens office has issued statements describing abortion as a necessary type of health care.

Last July, following the Dobbs decision, the White House released a statement denouncing it.

Fundamental rightsto privacy, autonomy, freedom, and equalityhave been denied to millions of women across the country, with grave implications for their health, lives, and wellbeing, the White House said. This ruling will disproportionately affect women of color, low-income women, and rural women.

President Biden has made clear that the only way to secure a womans right to choose is for Congress to restore the protections of Roe as federal law, the statement said.

In the meantime, Biden signed an executive order protecting access to reproductive care services, and instructed the Department of Health and Human Services to protect and expand access to abortion care, including access to abortion pills, the statement said.

Democrats Versus Republicans

However, Bidens position appears likely to play well with Democrats, based on PRRIs findings.

When party affiliation is factored into the abortion debate, the differences between Republicans and Democrats appear stark.

Only about one-third of Republicans favor keeping most abortions legal; that number has remained relatively steady for more than a decade.

In contrast, support for abortion among Democrats has increased 16 percentage points since 2010; last year, 87 percent of Democrats favored abortion in most cases, the PRRI survey said.

Abortion attitudes of both Trump and Biden have shifted over the years, too.

In 1982, near the beginning of his longtime political career as a Democrat, Biden had voted in favor of an amendment that sought to overturn Roe. At the time, Biden said it was a difficult decision because of religious affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church, which staunchly opposes abortion. However, Biden voted the opposite way against the same amendment a year later, USA Today reported.

In 1999, Trump stated that he was very pro-choice. But he also said he was disquieted over abortion procedures. He viewed abortion as a personal decision between women and their doctors and wished it would stay out of politics, according to Ballotpedia.org.

However, Trump said he later spoke to doctors he respected, causing him to conclude that he would support a ban on so-called partial-birth abortions, performed late in pregnancy, Balletopedia said.

By late 2015, Trump was calling for defunding of Planned Parenthood, which provides many abortions. He also said he wanted to consider looking at overturning Roe.

The Epoch Times sought comment from Planned Parenthood and several other pro-abortion groups, but received no response by press time.

Concerns Among Pro-life Leaders

Trumps recent remarks have caused pro-life leaders to worry about a possible change in his stance again.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, says Trumps CNN town hall highlighted the importance of the abortion issue in the 2024 election cycle.

He calls the Trump administration the most pro-life in our history. In a May 11 blog post, Perkins lauded Trump for a 2016 presidential debate against Hillary Clinton, when he graphically described the brutality of the abortion procedure. He also cited Trumps appointment of the three conservative Supreme Court justicesNeil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaughas a signal achievement.

Members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 23, 2021. Seated from left: Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. Standing from left: Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett. (Erin Schaff/Pool/Getty Images)

But Perkins was deeply concerned after a Trump spokesman recently said that the former president believes abortion should be decided at the state level.

Perkins also disliked that some Republicans were glad to see the end of the fictional constitutional right to abortion, but some seemed more glad to kick the life issue back to the states than take any further action.

A former Louisiana state lawmaker who crafted pro-life legislation, Perkins said that, to him, personhood in the womb is not just a state issueit is the most profound of all human rights issues. It merits federal considerationand protection.

Perkins and other pro-life leaders met with Trump in Miami to discuss these concerns. Mr. Trump reaffirmed his commitment to protecting children who can feel pain and are actually sucking their thumb in their mothers womb. His horror at late-term abortion and the incredible idea that some so-called unwanted children could be left to die after birth remains unchanged, Perkins said.

I deeply appreciate the pro-life, pro-family policies that President Trumps administration advanced, Perkins said. He said he would not be endorsing any candidates in the primary but would work with Trump and all other candidates on issues impacting faith, family, and freedom.

ODonnell said: The Texas Alliance for Life would like to see a candidate who would like to see every state in the United States look like Texas, where life is protected from conception, on. But at a bare minimum, anybody that we endorse must at least be for a 15-week protection of life law that is a federal law across the United States. And thats just something that were going to look for before we put forward any endorsement from our organization.

ODonnell acknowledged that, ideally, while many pro-life advocates favor an all-out abortion ban, when it comes to protecting life, one of the things that weve learned in Texas is that we have to make incremental gains.

The first time we try to advance a law may not be the first time that that law passes. But we believe that were making some progress, that were planting seeds. And then were going to keep making the effort until it does pass, she said.

Our track record has shown that that approach has brought us tremendous pro-life gains in our state. And I believe that that will happen at the federal level as well, ODonnell said.

Not Sole Factor

Some pundits describe abortion as a wedge issue that Democrats can use to differentiate themselves from Republicans; they could then use this issue to attract votes from Republican-leaning voters who are not strongly against abortion.

But others dispute whether abortion wields as much political sway as it once did.

In a pre-Dobbs Politico article last year, Sarah Isgur, a Harvard University law school graduate and former Justice Department spokeswoman during the Trump administration, acknowledged that a prediction she made in 2021 was wrong. She thought Republicans would see political backlash over abortion. Instead, Republicans saw near-universal gains across the country, she wrote.

Sarah Isgur at the Glamour & Facebook Launch of Womens Initiative for 2016 Election at POV Lounge in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2016. (Kris Connor/Getty Images for Glamour)

After 50 years of abortion politics sorting voters, maybe there is nobody left to lash back, Isgur said.

Perhaps the vast majority of voters who care deeply about abortion or other issues may have already changed their party affiliation to align with each partys increasingly firm stance on abortion, she suggests.

If Democrats do push hard on the abortion issue, they risk off-putting Latino and black Democratic voters, who are already more conservative than white Democrats on many social issues, including abortion, Isgur said.

Besides, PRRI points out: While many people have passionate beliefs about abortion, a slim majority of voters52 percentsay abortion is just one of many important factors influencing how they cast their ballots.
Japan, France Agree to Coordinate Closely on China Issues

French President Emmanuel Macron (C) is welcomed by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and First Lady Yuko Kishida during a visit to the Peace Memorial Park on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 19, 2023. The G-7 summit will be held in Hiroshima from May 1922. (Franck Robichon/Pool/Getty Images)

The leaders of Japan and France agreed on Friday to strengthen their bilateral economic and security cooperation and pledged to coordinate closely on issues related to China.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and French President Emmanuel Macron held talks ahead of a G-7 leaders summit in Hiroshima, Japan, during which they exchanged views on the situation in East Asia.

Both sides affirmed their commitment to coordinate closely in addressing issues related to China, as well as dealing with North Koreas nuclear and missile threats, the Japanese foreign ministry stated.

The two leaders pledged to keep imposing sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine and providing strong support for Ukraine. They seek to uphold a free and open international order based on the rule of law.

They also pledged to advance cooperation in cyber, space, and civil nuclear energy. Both sides agreed to implement joint military training and send 100 Japanese entrepreneurs to France over five years.

This followed Kishidas previous meeting with Macron in France earlier this year, during which he expressed Japans intention to launch joint military drills with the European nation.

As unilateral attempts to change by force the status quo in the East and South China Sea intensify and the security environment becomes increasingly tense, we wish to continue to cooperate with France, Kishida said at the time.

Japan has signed reciprocal access agreements (RAA) with Australia and the United Kingdom, which will create frameworks to facilitate military cooperation, such as making the entry of foreign personnel and equipment easier for the visiting force.

The French government had also expressed hopes to establish RAAs with Japan to enhance military cooperation and exchanges.

I also hope that we will be able to pursue the bilateral roadmap defined together, which has now been finalized, which will allow us to make our bilateral cooperation even stronger for the years to come, Macron said ahead of talks with Kishida.

Japan approved three key defense documents last year, including the National Security Strategy, which refers to China as its greatest challenge. The country seeks to have the ability to counterattack, a move widely seen as a departure from its post-war constitution.

The Japanese government said it would also stockpile spare parts and other munitions, expand transport capacity, and develop cyber warfare capabilities.

The sweeping, five-year plan, once unthinkable in pacifist Japan, will make the country the worlds third-biggest military spender after the United States and China, based on current budgets.

Kishidas government is concerned that Russia has set a precedent to encourage the Chinese regime to attack Taiwan, threatening nearby Japanese islands, disrupting supplies of advanced semiconductors, and putting a potential stranglehold on sea lanes supplying Middle East oil.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi previously conveyed to Beijing his concerns over Chinas intensification of military activities around Japanparticularly near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands that the Chinese regime also claims as its ownand Chinas cooperation with Russia.

Alexander Zhang, PA Media, and Reuters contributed to this report.
Johnstons Advice on Public Inquiry About Foreign Interference Expected Tuesday

Former governor general David Johnston appears before a Commons committee reviewing his nomination as elections debates commissioner, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Nov. 6, 2018. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

Special rapporteur David Johnston is expected to release his decision next Tuesday on whether the federal Liberals should hold a public inquiry on foreign interference.

The recommendation is anticipated to be included in an initial report about how the government should proceed with allegations that Canadas last two federal elections were subject to meddling by other countries.

Opposition parties calls for a public inquiry into Chinese meddling have grown louder throughout the year amid a series of media reports shedding light on Beijings alleged attempts to influence the 2019 and 2021 elections.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tapped the former governor general to assess the extent and impact of such interference in Canadas electoral process, including by reviewing the response to threats in the past two elections.

The government said Johnston has been given access to relevant documents, records and classified information, and security services are providing the information he needs for the investigation.

Johnstons first report is set to be publicly released at 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday, and he has been tapped to release a more-detailed final report by the end of October.
Lawmakers Press Pentagon for Answers Over Terrorist Attack in Afghanistan That Killed 13 US Troops

House Republicans are demanding answers from the Pentagon months after the terrorist attack at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2021 that killed 13 U.S. troops and at least 169 Afghan civilians.

It comes after a former Marine who survived the Aug. 26, 2021 bombings testified to Congress in March that he was told not to fire at the suspected suicide bomber on the day, prior to the attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport.

House lawmakers said in a letter (pdf) to Pentagon officials on Thursday: Marine Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews, a sniper badly wounded in the explosion, testified that his sniper team believed they identified the suicide bomber responsible for the attack earlier in the day.

According to his testimony, Sergeant Vargas-Andrews and his team did not eliminate the threat due to their leaderships uncertainty as to who held the authority to approve or deny engagement.

The letter was signed by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. It was addressed to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Battlefield decisions are often made in a cloud, but in honor of the lives lost and those still living following that terrible day, it is incumbent we learn whether events were avoidable and if uncertain procedures, broken lines of communication, or worse, contributed to the lack of engagement, wrote Rogers and McCaul.

Questions

The two asked Austin and Milley a series of questions and requested documents related to the events of the day to provide Congress a better understanding of these events. They want answers by June 2.

Lloyd and Milley are being asked to describe in detail how authorities responded to Vargas-Andrewss sniper teams request to engage the suspected bomber. The Pentagon officials were asked to fully detail each step authorities took in considering the request, the outcome, and the reason for any decisions.

The bombings took place at or near the Abbey Gate, which sits on the eastern side of the airport, late on Aug. 26 local time. One bomb went off at the gate before at least one other exploded near the Baron Hotel, situated a short distance from the gate.

Among other requests, Pentagon officials were asked to produce [a]ll documents and communications referencing or relating to the events at Abbey Gate on Aug. 26, 2021. This includes all communications about the identity of the suspects behind the attack, as well as all video, audio, and photographs of the events around the area.

U.S. Marine Corps. Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 8, 2023. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Testimony

Vargas-Andrews said in his March 8 testimony that prior to the Kabul attack, intelligence had apparently disseminated a description of a suspected suicide bomber and his companion.

Vargas-Andrews said that he and another service member had, prior to the bombing, spotted two men who fit those descriptionsan impression that was confirmed by others at the airport.

When he tried to get permission to fire on the suspected suicide bomber, his battalion commander couldnt confirm if he had permission, according to Vargas-Andrews. The man in question ultimately disappeared into the crowd.

To this day, we believe he was the suicide bomber, he testified.

Separately, Pentagon officials said on Feb. 5 that the Kabul bombing was not preventable and that leaders on the ground followed the proper measures.

Afghan evacuees queue before boarding one of the last Italys military aircraft C130J during evacuation at Kabuls airport, Afghanistan, on Aug. 27, 2021. (Italian Ministry of Defence/Handout via Reuters)

Afghanistan Withdrawal

ISIS-K, a branch of the terrorist group ISIS, claimed responsibility for the Kabul airport attack. The deaths of 13 U.S. troops there mark the first U.S. military combat-related deaths in Afghanistan since February 2020.

In response to the bombing, the U.S. military launched a drone strike on Aug. 28, 2021, that it claimed had killed a member of ISIS-K. But the strike actually killed at least 10 innocent civilians, including seven children.

It came amid a rush to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan ahead of the Aug. 31, 2021 deadline, marking an end to a nearly 20-year-long war that American occupation in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

By Aug. 30, 2021, the troops withdrawal was complete, and more than 120,000 people were evacuated from Afghanistan during the effort, including U.S. citizens, Afghan allies, and other vulnerable Afghans.

Amid the withdrawal, Afghanistan was taken over by the Taliban terrorist group, on Aug. 15, 2021.

Nathan Worcester contributed to this report.
LUANDA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Manuel Homem, the governor of Angola's Luanda Province, has said that Luanda needs more education and healthcare infrastructure to meet the growing population's needs and ensure that people have the necessary living conditions.

According to Homem's speech on Thursday at the Oscar Ribas University in Luanda, Angola has a high birth rate, and Luanda is among the regions where the rate is rapidly increasing.

Luanda Province, home to the national capital city of Luanda, has the highest population concentration in the country, with over 9 million people residing in an area of 18,826 square kilometers, according to an update released last year by Angola's National Institute of Statistics.

Luanda Province needs over 1,200 schools to accommodate 1.5 million children currently not enrolled in the education system, the governor said, emphasizing that despite having over 3,747 schools in Luanda, the number is still insufficient to meet the demand.

The existing healthcare infrastructure in Luanda is also inadequate, Homem said, adding that he plans to expand healthcare facilities to over 200 units in the next five years.

Regarding access to water and basic sanitation, he considered it the "greatest challenge" as the water distribution capacity in Luanda is currently at 30 percent, "far below the requirements," and that the basic sanitation infrastructure only covers 3 percent, meaning that the drainage ditches built to address water runoff needs are still minimal.

Homem said a budget of 356 billion Angolan kwanzas (about 659 million U.S. dollars) was allocated for Luanda this year, but the province requires four times more funding to address its numerous needs. 
For six years, Americans have demanded accountability for the FBIs unlawful investigation of Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign. Trump voters and others determined to preserve our political system put their faith in prosecutor John Durham. This week he delivered his reporta spectacular disappointment for anyone expecting real accountability.

In this special live edition of Over The Target, Lee Smith speaks with Devin Nunes and Kash Patel, whose congressional investigation first exposed FBI crimes and abuses committed during the TrumpRussia probe. Today, they deliver their verdict on Durhams report.
Health warnings on cigarette packages started in 1969 after the release of a report from the U.S. surgeon general about risks related to smoking. Now, the surgeon generals office has found something as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes per day: loneliness.

The recently released 82-page report, Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation, takes a troubling but hopeful look at whos lonely and why it matters. The report offers recommendations that individuals can try right away to feel more connected, such as disconnecting from excessive social media use and spending less time in front of screens and more time in front of people. The report pulled information from many studies.

Loneliness is more than just a bad feeling. It harms individual and societal health, according to the report. Its associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death. The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to smoking up to 15 cigarettes per day and is even greater than obesity and physical inactivity.

Large population studies have documented that among initially healthy people tracked over time, those who are more socially connected live longer, while those who experience social deficits, including isolation, loneliness, and poor-quality relationships, are more likely to die earlier, regardless of the cause of death, according to the report.

The harmful consequences of a society that lacks social connection can be felt in our schools, workplaces, and civic organizations, where performance, productivity, and engagement are diminished. Given the profound consequences of loneliness and isolation, we have an opportunityand an obligationto make the same investments in addressing social connections that we have made in addressing tobacco use, obesity, and the addiction crisis, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy wrote in the studys introduction.

He called for building more connected lives in a more connected society.

Failure to connect with others will bring increased risk to personal and collective health, ultimately causing society to splinter and divide until we can no longer stand as a community or a country, Murthy said.

We are called to build a movement to mend the social fabric of our nation. It will take all of usindividuals and families, schools and workplaces, health care and public health systems, technology companies, governments, faith organizations, and communitiesworking together to destigmatize loneliness and change our cultural and policy response to it, he wrote. Each of us can start now, in our own lives, by strengthening our connections and relationships. Our individual relationships are an untapped resourcea source of healing hiding in plain sight. They can help us live healthier, more productive, and more fulfilled lives. Answer that phone call from a friend. Make time to share a meal. Listen without the distraction of your phone. Perform an act of service. Express yourself authentically. The keys to human connection are simple but extraordinarily powerful.

Most at Risk of Loneliness

Anyone can experience loneliness and isolation, but some people are at higher risk. Theyre those with poor physical or mental health, those with disabilities, those struggling financially, those who live alone, single parents, and younger and older populations, according to the report.

While the highest rates of social isolation are found among older adults, young adults are almost twice as likely to report feeling lonely than those older than 65. The rate of loneliness among young adults has increased every year between 1976 and 2019.

Adults with lower incomes are more likely to be lonely than those with higher incomes. Sixty-three percent of adults who earn less than $50,000 per year are considered lonely, which is 10 percent higher than those who earn more than $50,000 per year.

Other groups with a heightened risk include individuals from ethnic and racial minority groups, LGBT individuals, rural residents, victims of domestic violence, and those who experience discrimination or marginalization.

Diminishing Traditional Values

Many traditional indicators of community involvement, including religious groups, clubs, and labor unions, show declining trends in the United States since at least the 1970s. According to the study, in 2018, only 16 percent of Americans reported feeling very attached to their local community.

Membership in organizations that have been important pillars of community connection has declined significantly. Research produced by Gallup, the Pew Research Center, and the National Opinion Research Centers General Social Survey shows that since the 1970s, religious preference, affiliation, and participation among U.S. adults have declined. In 2020, just 47 percent of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue, or mosque. Thats down from 70 percent in 1999. Its the first dip below 50 percent in the history of the survey question.

Religious or faith-based groups can be a source for regular social contact, serve as a community of support, provide meaning and purpose, create a sense of belonging around shared values and beliefs, and are associated with reduced risk-taking behaviors, the report reads. As a consequence of this decline in participation, individuals health may be undermined in different ways.

Family size and marriage rates have been in steady decline for decades. The percentage of Americans living alone has also increased from decade to decade. In 1960, single-person households accounted for only 13 percent of all U.S. households, according to the report. In 2022, that number more than doubled to 29 percent of all households.

The reasons people remain single, have smaller families, and live alone are varied, but these changes contribute to more social disconnection and fewer supports to draw upon in times of need.

A fraying of the social fabric can be seen more broadly in society, according to the report; trust in each other and major institutions is at near-historic lows. Polls conducted in 1972 show that roughly 45 percent of Americans felt they could reliably trust other Americans. That proportion shrank to roughly 30 percent by 2016.

Social Media Makes Us Less Social

Social media does have benefits. It can foster connection by providing opportunities to stay in touch with friends and family, offer support groups and information about social participation for those with disabilities, and create opportunities to find community.

The benefits are as familiar as the harms listed in the report. Social media displaces in-person engagement, monopolizes our attention, reduces the quality of our interactions, and diminishes our self-esteem. This can lead to greater loneliness, fear of missing out, conflict, and reduced social connection.

For example, frequent phone use during face-to-face interactions between parents and children or between family and friends creates distraction and reduces conversation quality. This lowers self-reported enjoyment of time spent together in person, the report states.

Social media, smartphones, virtual reality, remote work, artificial intelligence, and assistive technologies changed how we live, work, communicate, and socialize.

Nearly all teens and adults younger than 65 years of age96 to 99 percentand 75 percent of adults 65 and older say they use the internet. Americans spend an average of six hours per day on digital media, and 1 in 3 U.S. adults aged 18 and older report that theyre online almost constantly.

The percentage of teens aged 13 to 17 who say theyre online almost constantly has doubled since 2015.

When looking at social media specifically, the percentage of U.S. adults 18 and older who reported using social media increased from 5 percent in 2005 to roughly 80 percent in 2019.

Among teens aged 13 to 17, as of 2022, 95 percent reported using social media, with more than half reporting that it would be hard to quit social media.

Fewer Friends

The number of close friendships has also declined over several decades. Among people not reporting loneliness or social isolation, nearly 90 percent have three or more confidants. Yet 49 percent of Americans in 2021 reported having three or fewer close friendsonly 27 percent said that in 1990.

Social connection declined more during the COVID-19 pandemic, with one study finding a 16 percent decrease in network size from June 2019 to June 2020 among participants.

Not only are social networks getting smaller, but levels of social participation are also declining.

Measures of social exposure from 2003 to 2020 found that social isolationdetermined by average time spent aloneincreased as follows:

2003: 285 minutes per day; 142.5 hours per month spent alone.

2019: 309 minutes per day; 154.5 hours per month spent alone.

2020: 333 minutes per day; 166.5 hours per month spent alone.

It amounts to an increase of 24 hours per month spent alone.

During this time, social participation in various relationships declined. The amount of time respondents engaged with friends socially in person decreased as follows:

2003: 60 minutes per day; 30 hours per month spent with friends.

2020: 20 minutes per day; 10 hours per month spent with friends.

Thats 20 fewer hours per month engaging with friends. For young people aged 15 to 24, time spent in-person with friends reduced by nearly 70 percent over almost two decades, from roughly 150 minutes per day in 2003 to 40 minutes per day in 2020.

COVID-19

Many of us felt lonely or isolated in a way we had never experienced before. We postponed or canceled meaningful life moments and celebrations like birthdays, graduations, and marriages. Childrens education shifted onlineand they missed out on the many benefits of interacting with their friends, the report reads. Many people lost jobs and homes. We were unable to visit our children, siblings, parents, or grandparents. Many lost loved ones. We experienced feelings of anxiety, stress, fear, sadness, grief, anger, and pain through the loss of these moments, rituals, celebrations, and relationships.

Frontline workers had different experiences than those who could work from home.

Parents managing their own work and their childrens online school had a different experience than single young people unable to interact in person with friends.

One survey shows that by April 2021, 1 in 4 individuals reported feeling less close to family members than they did at the beginning of the pandemic. But at the same time, about 1 in 5 said they felt closer to family members. This may mean that the pandemic exacerbated existing family dynamics of connection or disconnection, the report states.

People Need People

Social connection is connected to human behavior, such as nutrition, sleep, and physical activity. Its tied to psychological processes such as the sense of meaning, purpose, feelings of stress, safety, or hopefulness.

The report makes five broad recommendations:

1. Strengthen social infrastructure in local communities: Invest in local institutions that bring people together.

2. Enact pro-connection public policies: Consider social connection when writing policy.

3. Mobilize the health sector: Train health care providers and assess patients.

4. Reform digital environments: Establish and implement safety standards and support the development of pro-connection technologies.

5. Deepen our knowledge: Increase public awareness.

The report recommends that workplaces put in place policies that protect workers ability to nurture their relationships outside work, including respecting boundaries between work and nonwork time, supporting caregiving responsibilities, and creating a culture that supports these policies.

Recommendations for parents include investing in their relationships with their children by recognizing that strong, secure attachments are protective and a good foundation for other healthy relationships. And modeling healthy social connection, including constructive conflict resolution; spending time together; staying in regular contact with extended family, friends, and neighbors; setting time aside for socializing away from technology or social media; and participating in community events.

Recommendations for individuals include minimizing distraction during conversation to increase the quality of the time spent with others.

Dont check your phone during meals with friends, important conversations, and family time. And look for ways to serve and support others, either by helping your family, co-workers, friends, or strangers in your community or by participating in community service.

Reflect on how you approach others in conversation and actions. Ask yourself, how might kindness change this situation? What would it look like to treat others with respect? How can I be of service? How can I reflect my concern for and commitment to others?
Long-Rumored 2024 GOP Presidential Candidate Officially Files Paperwork to Run

Sen. Tim Scott makes filing with the Federal Election Commission ahead of rumored Monday announcement

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) speaks to members of the media at Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 23, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) filed paperwork to run for president in 2024 ahead of a potential announcement, according to records published by a federal agency on Friday.

Scott filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), essentially guaranteeing that he is preparing to enter the Republican primary for 2024. A principal political committee, Tim Scott for America and several other political committees were named in Scotts filing.

Its not officially clear when or if Scott will launch his 2024 campaign, but reports have indicated that an announcement will come Monday, May 22. An unnamed official with Scotts campaign told The Hill that he will also roll out a $6 million advertising campaign in the meantime.

This campaign is built to win and has the resources and messenger to deliver a Republican nomination and ultimately the White House, an individual described as a senior Scott official told The Hill.

Scott, who last month formed an exploratory committee allowing him to raise and spend money while weighing a White House campaign, is scheduled to make an announcement on Monday in his hometown of North Charleston regarding his decision on a presidential bid, his campaign also told The Associated Press.

Scott has been traveling to early voting states including Iowa, which holds the leadoff caucuses, and New Hampshire, host of the first-in-the-nation primary. Hes also campaigning in his home state, which holds the first Southern primary next year.

Several major Republican 2024 challengers have already launched formal White House bids, including former President Donald Trump, businessman Vivek Ramawamy, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and radio host Larry Elder. There have been indications that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will enter the race, but none have so far made formal announcements.

But polls have shown that Trump, who is facing multiple investigations as well as criminal charges in Manhattan, is by far the No. 1 GOP candidate. A recent RealClearPolitics aggregate of polls shows that 56 percent support Trump, 19 percent support DeSantis, about 6 percent back Pence, 4 percent back Haley, 3.5 percent back Ramaswamy, 2 percent back Scott, and 1.3 percent support Elder.

While Scott is trailing in the polls so far, he does appear to have one major advantage. He would start a bid with more campaign dollars than any of his 2024 rivals, or roughly $22 million that he can automatically convert from his U.S. Senate campaign account to a presidential campaign, reported the AP. The figure is the most any candidate in history has had when beginning a campaign for president, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Possible Campaign Messaging

Scott, who is black, has criticized Trump for comments that he claimed were racist while Trump was in office, including a statement he made in late 2020 to news outlets that Trump need[ed] to correct comments he made during a debate with Joe Biden. Scott alleged Trump did not explicitly condemn white supremacists, saying: White supremacy should be denounced at every turn. I think the president [Trump] misspoke, and he needs to correct it.

Amid the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots, Scott backed what he described as a police overhaul bill that included a number of sweeping changes. That bill, which failed in the Senate, for example, would have reformed hiring practices by providing more resources to ensure the makeup of police departments more closely matches the communities they serve, according to a Scott news release issued at the time.

And earlier this year, Scott made a statement on the floor of the Senate after the death of Tyre Nichols, a black man, allegedly at the hands of five black Memphis police officers. He said that senators should agree on simple legislation about an overhaul of policing after the JUSTICE Act didnt get enough support in the Senate.

Similarly, Scott has accused Democrats of exploiting racial tensions to gain politically. Last year, Scott also said that the United States is not a racist country following the mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket and decried what he believes were attempts to point fingers at their political opponents and not the shooter.

Some Republican donors, meanwhile, also appear to favor Scott, according to a Reuters report published Monday. Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle and one of the richest people in the world, reportedly is planning to help Scotts campaign and has backed Scotts initiatives in the past.

Andy Sabin, the owner of a metals company and longtime Republican donor, told Reuters earlier this month that he is plotting to back Scott instead of DeSantis amid recent concerns about DeSantis electability.

During a town hall event in May, Scott expressed confidence that he can beat Biden during a 2024 general election, saying that the president is incompetent and has been coopted by the radical left in his party.

He ran as a uniter, hes become a divider. You look at his policy positions. You look at the last State of the Union, what he said was that I am going to do what the radical left of my party wants me to do, Scott said during the event.

Scotts national profile was raised when he delivered the Republican response to Bidens State of the Union address in early 2021, giving him the televised platform to speak to the country.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Man Found Dead Inside Burning Car in Los Feliz Area

LOS ANGELESA man was found dead May 18 inside one of three parked cars that caught fire in the Los Feliz area, also damaging an adjacent two-story residence.

The fire was reported at 1:12 p.m. Thursday in the 2000 block of North Edgemont Street, with flames initially affecting three vehicles, according to Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The flames extended into the adjacent two-story residence, which sustained damage to the rear of the structure, Humphrey said. Several other structures were also briefly threatened before crews pushed back the fire.

As crews were fully extinguishing the flames, the remains of a man were found inside one of the vehicles, Humphrey said. It was unclear if the man died in the fire or by other means.

A positive identification of the deceased, as well as the specific cause, time, and manner of his death, will be determined by the Coroners Office, Humphrey said in a statement.

The cause of the fire, which was knocked down within an hour, was under investigation.
Man Gets 80 Years for Decade-Long Sex Attacks on Girl in Orange County

SANTA ANA, Calif.A 51-year-old man was sentenced May 17 to 80 years to life in prison for sexual assaults on a girl he was related to from when she was 5 to 17 years old in Santa Ana, Anaheim, and Lake Elsinore.

Pablo Amaya Posada was convicted April 19 of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child with a foreign object, two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a childoral copulation with force or fearand two counts of forcible lewd acts on a child, all felonies.

The victim came forward to police in 2019, alleging Posada had attacked her multiple times while she lived with him, starting in November 1997 and continuing through 2009, according to police testimony in Posadas preliminary hearing.

The abuse continued through moves from Santa Ana to Anaheim and then to Lake Elsinore, according to police.

Whenever the girl threatened to tell someone about the attacks, Posada said he would kill her or a family member, police said.
Mark Gietzen, Longtime Conservative Republican, Dies in Plane Crash at 69

WICHITA, Kan.Mark Gietzen, a longtime conservative Republican and pro-life activist in Kansas, has died in a plane crash. He was 69.

The Kansas Republican Party said in a Facebook post that Gietzen, of Wichita, died Tuesday evening in Nebraska.

He was flying a single-engine Cessna 172 Skyhawk when it crashed in a field near ONeill, Nebraska, about 190 miles northwest of Omaha, according to the Federal Aviation Administrations crash log. Gietzen was the only person on board and the log said the plane crashed in unknown circumstances.

Jim Howell, a county commissioner in Sedgwick County, Kansas, which includes Wichita, told The Wichita Eagle that Gietzen had flown to Nebraska to visit his mother.

Gietzen grew up in the Bismarck, North Dakota, area and served in the U.S. Marines before coming to Kansas in the late 1970s to work for aircraft manufacturer Boeing Corp. He became chair of Sedgwick County GOP after Summer of Mercy pro-life protests in Wichita in 1991 and recruited pro-life activists into the party.

A fellow pro-life activist, Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, described Gietzen as irreplaceable.

Newman told The Eagle: He was the hardest-working guy I know in the pro-life movement.
Mastermind Behind iSpoof Scam Site Jailed for 13 Years

Tejay Fletcher made 2 million in 2 years and owned 230,000 Lamborghini

An undated image of Tejay Fletcher, who was sentenced for the iSpoof banking fraud scam at Southwark Crown Court in London on May 18, 2023. (Crown Prosecution Service)

SOUTHWARKA cyber criminal who ran a website which enabled fraudsters to trick 200,000 people around the worldmany of them elderlyout of 100 million has been jailed for 13 years and four months.

Tejay Fletcher, 35, was the co-founder and administrator of iSpoof, a website which became a fraud shop for scammers who defrauded around 43 million out of British residents and millions more from people in the United States and elsewhere.

Last month Fletcher pleaded guilty to making or supplying articles for use in fraud, encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence, possessing criminal property, and transferring criminal property.

Software tools provided by iSpoof allowed criminals to mask their own phone numbers and trick victims into thinking they were being contacted by genuine staff from banks, tax offices or even fraud departments, who would ask for their account details or bank card details in order to steal cash.

Sentencing him at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, Deputy Circuit Judge Sally Cahill, KC, said, For all the victims it was a harrowing experience.

A screen grab from the iSpoof website, as it looked on March 7, 2022. (The Way Back Machine)

The court heard iSpoof was created by Fletcher and another man, Bruno Bilaver, in December 2020 and operated until November 2022.

Bilaver left in July 2021 and Fletcher ran iSpoof alone until he was arrested.

At one point iSpoof had 59,000 users, who paid for criminal software which would allow them to generate phone numbers, known as spoofing.

Spoofers Besieged Unwitting Victims

At its peak, spoofers were calling 20 people per minute using technology such as IVR and Telepin bought from the site.

Prosecutor John Ojakovoh said, This is a case which concerns the facilitation of fraud on an industrial scale through iSpoof, which provided tools for fraudsters to besiege unwitting members of the public with spoof calls which appeared to be from genuine phone numbers of organisations, such as a bank.

He said the spoofers used iSpoofs tools to trick individuals into thinking they were calling from banks or fraud departments.

Ojakovoh said, One facility allowed them to intercept OTP (one-time password) which banks ironically introduced to try and improve security and this technology was bypassing that.

He said another tool which tricked victims into entering new card details by claiming the information held by a trusted organisation was out of date was a particularly dastardly exploitation of peoples busy lives.

Ojakovoh said Fletcher ran a Telegram channel called The iSpoof Club in which he marketed new features and encouraged spoofers to escalate their frauds.

He read out one message which Fletcher posted on the Telegram channel on Aug. 27, 2021: Good morning spoofers. Team iSpoof would like to wish you a great day getting those dollars.

The Metropolitan Polices Cyber Crime Unit launched Operation Elaborate and, working with the FBI, Eurojust, and law enforcement authorities in the Netherlands and Ukraine took down the website in November 2022.

British police had persuaded the Dutch authorities to hack into the websites servers in the Netherlands and this allowed them to listen in to the phone calls which were made by scammers.

Fletcher was arrested at his girlfriends home in Clapton, east London. Detectives raided his luxury apartment in Canning Town and confiscated computer equipment and hard drives which linked him to iSpoof.

A screengrab of a video of Metropolitan Police officers arresting Tejay Flecther, as part of Operation Elaborate, in east London in November 2022. (Metropolitan Police)

Fletcher was also in possession of large amounts of Bitcoin, a form of cryptocurrency which scammers had used to pay him for the services of iSpoof.

He charged between 150 and 5,000 per month and the police said at its peak the website was generating 20 cold calls per minute.

Ojakovoh said software sold through iSpoof earned 3.2 million in Bitcoin and the lions share of 2 million was earned by Fletcher.

Forty percent of those who were targeted were in the United States, 35 percent were in the UK and the remainder were in a variety of other countries.

The biggest single loss by one individual was 3 million and 4,785 people who contacted Action Fraud lost an average of 10,000.

Fletcher Lived Lavish Lifestyle

Ojakovoh told the court Fletcher lived a lavish lifestyle in a luxury rented apartment, owned three high-end vehicles, including a Lamborghini worth 230,000 and a Range Rover worth 90,000. Fletcher also had an 11,000 Rolex watch and an Audemars Piguet watch which turned out to be fake.

His lawyer, Simon Baker, KC, said: He does not pretend for a moment that he did not know fraud was being perpetrated but his role was one of two steps removed from the fraud. He was insulated from the reality of what was being done. He knew there were victims but he didnt know who they were and what was being said to them. They were in the abstract.

Baker said he was only forced to confront the reality in April this year when he read for the first time statements which had been written by some of the victims.

Kate Anderson, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said, Fraud is not a victimless crime and the cost to the many victims in this case has not just been financial, it has also had a huge emotional impact, causing extreme distress and devastation to those affected, many of whom had their life savings stolen from them.

Fletcher pleaded not guilty to two counts of possession of articles for use in frauds, relating to sets of banking details found on a laptop, and a count of failing to comply with a section 49 notice, contrary to section 53(1) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, all of which were ordered to lie on file.

The CPS intends to launch separate proceedings to seize Fletchers assets.

Asked by The Epoch Times if the co-founder of iSpoof, Bilaver, faced prosecution, Ojakovoh said, He does not live in the jurisdiction.

PA Media contributed to this report.
Mexico Finds 49 Migrants Who Had Been Kidnapped From Bus

Migrants stand on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border, on the banks of the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on March 29, 2023. (Fernando Llano/AP Photo)

MEXICO CITYMexicos army said Thursday that troops have found 49 migrants, including 11 children, who were kidnapped from a bus earlier this week.

Defense Secretary Gen. Luis Cresencio Sandoval said 650 police and army troops were involved in the search for the migrants, who disappeared Tuesday.

The last 33 of the migrants were found early Thursday in an area where another mass kidnapping of migrants occurred in April. Sandoval said none of the abductors had been arrested, nor were two bus drivers found yet.

The migrants said a drug cartel abducted them when their bus stopped at a gas station in northern Mexico.

Sandoval did not identify the cartel responsible for the kidnapping, but acknowledged the Gulf cartel and others gangs operate in the area, where the northern states of San Luis Potosi and Nuevo Leon meet.

He also did not rule out the possibility that more migrants may be found, because there wasnt a clear accounting of how many were on the bus to start with.

Sandoval said the biggest concern was to find the bus drivers. In past cases, drivers have sometimes been beaten or killed by kidnappers. In other cases, drivers have been found to be in league with the abductors.

The migrants had been traveling north toward the U.S. border in a bus from the southern state of Chiapas on Tuesday when the vehicle, passengers and drivers were abducted.

Nine migrants were found Tuesday near a highway in the state of Nuevo Leon; 40 more were found wandering roads or taking shelter in houses between Wednesday and early Thursday.

Sandoval said the migrants included 19 Hondurans, 14 Haitians, seven Venezuelans, six Salvadorans, two Brazilians, and one Cuban.

Bus company officials first reported the abduction on Tuesday, and told local media they had received demands for $1,500 apiece to release the migrants.

It was the second group of migrants to have disappeared in an area around the northern city of Matehuala.

That was the same area where about 20 people were abducted from vans in April. The April abduction led police to mount a massive search by air and landand they found not only the 20 migrants they were looking for, but about 80 more migrants being held against their will, apparently by the same gang.

In early May, a government report said over 2,000 migrants were kidnapped by smuggling gangs and drug cartels in 2022. Mexicos national immigration agency said authorities had freed 2,115 migrants of all nationalities kidnapped by gangs in 2022.

Gangs and cartels appear to be increasingly charging migrants fees to cross Mexico, and then kidnapping them for ransom. There has been a string of such mass migrant abductions in Mexico in recent months.
Miracle in Cancer Survival: Former Fashion Designer Becomes Passionate Private Chef After Leukemia Recurrence

What would you do if, one day, someone told you that you had only three months to live? (Shutterstock)

What would you do if, one day, someone told you that you only had three months to live as you just turned 30? While everyones answer may differ, quitting was not an option for fashion designer Garlic Chan.

Garlic was a young, thriving fashion designer who went through a life-or-death crossroad 17 years ago.

At the peak of his career, Garlic Chan and Mr. Death brushed against each others shoulders several times.

In the past 17 years, Garlic Chan not only felt the love from his family and the luck of being alive but also became a dedicated private chef, studying nutrition religiously to share his health secret with others.

Vegan Slipper Toast with Japanese-style grilled mushrooms, tofu, and tomato by Garlic Chan (Courtesy of Garlic Chan)

The Watershed of Big 30

I was a Greater China regional fashion brand manager before I was 30. I made good money, about US$7,000 per month, with a career that allowed me to travel to different places for business. Garlic recalled the past.

Everything seemed a smooth sail until he turned 30.

Garlic got sick.

As his health declined, Garlic visited his doctors office for an examination. He did not expect the news of only having three months to live.

It was Leukemia.

Leukemia is a blood cancer affecting the bodys ability to fight infection.

On the day the doctor told Garlic about his diagnosis, everything became foggy. I was devastated for three hours. Then I thought to myself that I must get a haircut.

As he sat in his silken robe, Garlic looked at himself in the mirror; slowly, he took off his glasses, and his vision became a blur, just as his mind was.

He sat woodenly in the salon to calm his nerves and contemplate how to tell his wife.

Life Without a View

After his diagnosis, the first thing Garlic did was quit his work and arrange his funeral and post-death matters.

Life was no longer what he knew.

He was preparing to depart from Earth as he thought his end must be near, when a new drug was discovered that could treat leukemia, but it is very costly and with severe side effects, such as liver cirrhosis and edema.

Despite the side effects from medications, Garlic was thankful he could be alive. He thought his life was about to end, but then a window of hope appeared.

After recovering from blood cancer, Garlic became more conscious of his health and food choices, which later became an important cornerstone of his career.

Garlic Chan becomes more conscious of his food choices post-leukemia. One of the dishes he created is a Taiwanese-style sponge gourd soup with vermicelli and dried seafood. (Courtesy of Garlic Chan)

Do What You Love

Garlic worked endlessly and tirelessly to develop someone elses passion and business before his diagnosis.

During his recovery, Garlic realized it should be time to fulfill his dreams: creating his own fashion brand to display his creativity in textiles.

So Garlic opened a boutique in Tsim Sha Tsui where he sold clothing designed by him or other independent local fashion designers.

His fashion boutique also had a cafe corner, offering a space for shoppers to rest while enjoying a cuppa and some gourmet food from Garlics recipe books.

Health Is Wealth

Garlic started studying nutrition and how to eat healthier. He enjoyed experimenting with different food combinations and test-driving new recipes with his customers. His interest in cooking and nutrition grew to a new height.

Good times did not last. Garlics vision deteriorated due to leukemia. Graphic design became an eyesore for him. Coupled with rent hikes, the blood cancer survivor quit fashion again and focused on nutritional health.

He found a place in Quarry Bay to start a private kitchen, where he could continue researching nutrition and organize private dinner and coffee events.

A French-style seafood and vegetable soup by Garlic Chan. (Courtesy of Garlic Chan)

A view of Quarry Bay, Hong Kong. (TM Chan / The Epoch Times)

Garlic experienced leukemia re-occurrence, and his doctor repeatedly informed him about how little time he had.  But hopes often flickered with glimpses of miracles.

Garlic has no clue how much time he has left in this life. It is hard to imagine that it has been 17 years since Garlic was first diagnosed with blood cancer.

Making promises is a snag when you dont know your best-sell-by date.

But, cooking in his private kitchen is a possible promise, I dare not promise our guests anything long term, but I can promise them a meal now.

Come What May

Garlic neglected his family in the past as he was hardly home due to long work hours and busy traveling schedules.

Since his diagnosis, Garlic has become more appreciative of the time he gets to spend with his family. He only opens his private kitchen from Fridays to Sundays. Other times, it is by appointment only so he can reserve the time for his family.

He was particularly appreciative of his wife, who is a medical worker. She was always there caring for him whenever he was hospitalized, about four times a year. Thanks to the good doctors, he is still alive.

In the face of repeated deadly health threats, Garlic has become composed and more open to sharing his experience with others. He hopes that he can encourage more people to face life more positively.

Garlic firmly believes there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

Some people may have given up long ago if they were in Garlics situation. It may sound

cliche but no one knows what the future holds. So why not hang out just a little longer?

The dawn will eventually and always rise.

New Found Love in a Hopeful Place

Garlic and his family moved to Bournemouth, the United Kingdom. The picture depicts Bournemouth Beach. (Courtesy of Garlic Chan)

Garlic, like many Hongkongers, witnessed the downhill battle for freedom and the rule of law in Hong Kong during the 2019 Anti-extradition Protests and the devouring tears of One Country, Two Systems by the Chinese Communist Party. Unsure of the future, leaving Hong Kong was not an option but a necessity for his children.

The Chan family followed foot. He loves the sea, so he and his family settled in Bournemouth, a beach town in on the South coast of England, in August 2022.

Garlic felt right at home with the warm climate and the endless sight of the ocean.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Four months after his migration, Garlic surprised himself by being alive in another country.

He wrote something to remind himself his life became a canvas of miracles,I cannot imagine being here if you asked me six months ago.

It is a miracle, I know, that I have been able to move and settle in the UK with my family in under six months, and that I am able to communicate with locals with the limited English I know when I was not even an eloquent speaker in my own language.

Once easily lost around my own neighborhood, I am now a master rider of UK buses.

Once socially anxious, I now adapt to any gathering like a chameleon.

Once a lazy bug, I am moving at the speed of light in the eyes of my neighbors.

Once sleepless, I arrive in dreamland as soon as the moon hangs.

Taking the first step is always hard, but if you dont take it, you will never know what awaits you on the other end. So strive bravely. When you stop forcing and start going with the flow, you will be surprised how many obstacles suddenly ease in and fade.

The sunset in Bournemouth, United Kingdom. (Courtesy of Garlic Chan)

Once Garlic arrived in the UK, he continues to work as a private chef in his new environment, cooking on the house or inviting guests to his home for private tastings and selling homemade sauces when conditions permit. Most recently, he picked up a job as a server in a hotel to learn Western table manners and British dining flare.

He also plans to apply for a local catering license to open a restaurant.

Whether in Hong Kong or the United Kingdom, he is grateful for everything and everyone around him. He tries to live purposefully daily with his love for food and cooking.

Many past events were inevitable for Garlic. No one can predict or manipulate what will happen, so he accepts gracefully whatever may come.

Today, Garlic learns to be grateful for everyone around him.

Leukemia has made Garlic more openly affectionatehe is not holding back from giving encouragement and praise after surviving his blood cancer.

Garlic is overjoyed to view such a calming view whenever he works at the hotel. (Courtesy of Garlic Chan)

##
Montana Governor Defends Statewide Ban on TikTok: I Wish It Was Broader

Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) speaks during the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree lighting ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 6, 2017. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte defended the decision to ban the Chinese-owned app TikTok, saying he wishes the restriction could be broader to include other apps owned by U.S. adversaries.

The ability of the Chinese Communist Party to use TikTok to spy on Americans is well documented. Thats why Im pleased that we banned the application here in Montana, Gianforte said on Fox Newss America Reports aired on May 18.

I wish the bill actually was broader. I would have liked to have picked up other social media apps that [are] owned by foreign adversaries, but this is a good step in the right direction.

Gianforte signed the bill into law on May 17 prohibiting Montana residents from using the app. The bill would make it illegal for Google and Apples app stores to offer Montana users the download option.

TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter described the bill as unlawful, arguing the ban is an infringement of peoples First Amendment rights.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also said the government has no right to impose a total ban on communication platforms like TikTok.

Asked about ACLUs criticism, Gianforte said, Theyre just wrong.

The governor stated the Montana Constitution has very broad protection for individual privacy which he claimed TikTok violated.

I mean, spying on Americans, enough ofis enough. Were not going to let foreign adversaries surveil the people of Montana.

The Epoch Times reached out to TikTok for comment and has not received a response as of press time.

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, a video-sharing platform with 150 million users in America, is founded and owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed security concerns about the viral app that could hand over American users data to the Chinese authorities, given Chinas intelligence law that compels any organization or citizen to support, assist, and cooperate with security and intelligence agencies when asked.

A former ByteDance executive alleged that Chinese officials had access to all company data, including those stored in the United States, according to a wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court on May 12. A ByteDance spokesperson told The Epoch Times they plan to vigorously oppose what the company described as baseless claims and allegations in the complaint.

TikTok is facing growing calls to ban the app nationwide. A bipartisan bill that would empower the Biden administrations ability to ban TikTok and other foreign-owned technologies has been endorsed by the White House. A co-sponsor of the bill, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), flagged TikTok as a national security threat due to its ties to the CCP. Warner told NTD that the CCP could manipulate news on the platform and use pro-Beijing misinformation to shape the thinking of young Americans.

More than half of U.S. states banned TikTok on government-owned devices, but Montana is the first to enact a complete ban on the app.

The Republican governor suggested he wanted to go further. Gianforte agreed with the Fox News host that he wishes the restriction could cover more foreign-own platforms, such as WeChat, a Chinese-owned messaging app, and CapCut, a less-known TikTok sibling for video editing that is gaining ground in the United States.

The issue with TikTok and these other applications owned by foreign adversaries is that theyre able to steal data about Americans and ship it back for nefarious purposes, Gianforte said.

Its not what the app does, Its where the personal data goes, he continued.

Its a national security issue. Its a violation of the Montana privacy clause in our constitution. Were pleased were the first state in the country to outright ban the application,

Again, I wish it was broader. I wished it picked up the Russian apps and the other Chinese apps.

TikTok advertisement in Union Station, Washington, Feb. 17, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

Legal Challenge

Montanas statewide ban, set to take effect from Jan. 1, 2024, is facing challenges in court.

Five TikTok content creators are suing Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen to overturn the ban.

They argued in the legal complaint, filed in federal court in Missoula on May 17, that the ban restricted their constitutional right to free speech.

Montana has no authority to enact laws advancing what it believes should be the United States foreign policy or its national security interests, nor may Montana ban an entire forum for communication based on its perceptions that some speech shared through that forum, though protected by the First Amendment, is dangerous, the lawsuit stated.

Gianforte told Fox News he had expected a legal challenge, and was prepared to defend the move.

We have looked at it from all facets and we believe we are going to stand up and protect the people in Montana, Gianforte said.

I think thats what the American people want and we have taken decisive action to do so.
CAIRO, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Major museums in Egypt welcomed visitors with a range of special events and activities on International Museum Day on Thursday.

Free narrated tours led by curators and sign language tours of certain collections were offered at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in the capital Cairo.

The museum announced that, in cooperation with professional intermediary interpreters, it prepared to offer the sign language guide twice a month as a regular service.

The move would make NMEC "the first museum in Egypt to provide such service," said Azza El-Sayed Rezk, a curator and education supervisor of NMEC.

Themed "Museums, Sustainability and Wellbeing," this year's museum day called on museums worldwide to become key contributors to the well-being and the sustainable development of their communities, said the International Council of Museums on its webpage dedicated to the annual event.

"It's not a memorial day as much as a moral and ethical directive for the future vision of museums," Maissara Abdullah Hussein, NMEC's deputy director of antiquities, told Xinhua.

Changes in decades of functions and values show that "a museum is no longer just a place for exhibiting artifacts. It has become a scientific, educational, and cultural institution, which plays a big social role," Hussein said next to a slideshow introducing NMEC's history.

In downtown Cairo, the iconic Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC), which houses the largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities in the world, offered free curator's narration and talks to raise awareness of how museums benefit societies.

Speaking of the transfer of pieces to Cairo's newly-established museums to enrich their collection, EMC's Director General Ali Abdel-Halim said such an outreach effort would not affect EMC's popularity.

Over 20 royal mummies have been transferred to the NMEC and a collection of famous King Tutankhamun to the recently-built Grand Egyptian Museum, but EMC's visitors' turnout, which varies between 10,000 and 12,000 daily, has been quite good, he said.

"It is the mother of Egypt's archeological museums," he noted. 
Motorcyclist Killed in Escondido Crash Identified as San Diego Fire Captain

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department posted a picture of Fire Capt. Derrin Austin on their social media on May 17, 2023. (Courtesy of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department)

A man who was killed in Escondido, California, when the motorcycle he was riding went off a road and struck a light pole has been identified as a longtime captain in the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, authorities said May 17.

The 55-year-old Derrin Austins most recent assignment was at the San Diego International Airport Fire Station, according to a statement posted by the fire department on Instagram. Austin joined the department in 1990 and had served as a captain since 2002.

Derrin was known as a devoted friend and colleaguea man who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it, the statement read.

The single-vehicle crash was reported at around 10 p.m. on May 14 in the 600 block of North Escondido Boulevard just north of Washington Avenue, according to the Escondido Police Department.

Arriving officers found Austin unresponsive and began CPR, police said. Paramedics rushed him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The cause of the fatal crash is still being investigated, according to authorities.

Besides his role at the fire department, Austin served in the U.S. Naval Construction Forcealso known as Seabeefor nearly 30 years.

One of his Navy colleagues says Derrin valued those he supervised and provided mentorship as well as making sure they had what they needed to be successful at work, the statement read.

The Fire-Rescue Department said that they are working with Austins family to plan a memorial to honor him.

Anyone with information about the crash was asked to call Officer Jake Houchin at 760-839-4704.

City News Service contributed to this report.
Amid Committee Probe, Some MPs Hesitant to Disclose Cases of Colleagues Targeted by Foreign Interference

Liberal and NDP MPs have raised concerns about a new motion tabled by Conservatives in committee seeking documents related to threats by foreign actors faced by elected officials, saying it could draw unwanted attention to them.

Conservative MP Michael Cooper tabled a new motion on May 18 in the House of Commons Standing Committee for Procedure and House Affairs (PROC), as part of the committees unanimous mandate received from the House to investigate threats by Beijing faced by MP Michael Chong.

Coopers motion states the government should provide the committee with the 2021 assessment from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that mentions Chinese regime activities against MPs. The Globe and Mail reported on the leak of the document on May 1, which triggered a chain of events.

A national security source told the Globe that Chong had been specifically targeted. The prime minister and the minister of public safety say they were never briefed on the matter, even though the assessment had been received by the Privy Council Office (PCO), whose core function is to advise the prime minister.

Coopers motion also seeks to obtain all the records related to the distribution of the CSIS assessment to PCO and other departments. He also wants the parliamentary law clerk to receive unredacted versions of the documents and apply redactions he judges are warranted.

Cooper said Chong, MPs, and Canadians deserve to know how the government knew about the activities of Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei against Chong, yet didnt inform him. Zhao, who also reportedly spied on Chinese dissidents in Canada, was declared persona non grata on May 8.

NDP MP Rachel Blaney, who typically has the swing vote on the committee with the Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois usually siding together on the foreign interference issue, expressed support for increasing accountability, but she raised some concerns.

I appreciate that in the motion [Cooper] said the member from Wellington-Halton Hills [Chong] and other members. I think its very clear that one of those other members is somebody that I also have partnership with in our caucus, said Blaney.

She said there needs to be a balance between accountability and protecting national security, because we dont want any of these people that have already faced challenges to be put in an uncomfortable position.

Blaney was probably referring to NDP MP Jenny Kwan, who spoke with the Globe and Mail last week about CSIS recently reaching out to brief her.

I hope in the in-person meeting that they will disclose what they have learned, when they learned it, and what it means in practical terms, Kwan said after meeting with CSIS virtually as she currently has COVID-19. No sensitive information was shared due to communications not being secure, the Globe reported.

Kwan, like Chong, has been an outspoken critic of the Chinese regime, but unlike Chong, she does not have any family members in Hong Kong or China, she told the Globe.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said after the Globe story broke on May 1 that he told CSIS to brief MPs on threat information even if it doesnt meet a typical threshold.

Liberal MP Sherry Romanado echoed MP Blaneys concerns about naming other MPs who have been targeted by Beijing and who may not want their names out there, for that kind of information to get out.

We have a duty also to respect the privacy of some of these MPs who may also be concerned about having their names as possible targets, she said.

The meeting was adjourned after Romanado spoke, and no vote was held on Coopers motion.

A previous motion tabled by Cooper to call a number of witnesses to committee on the Chong affair, including Chinese Ambassador Cong Peiwu, was adopted by the committee on May 16.
Nashville Cover-Up Escalates: Tennessees Governor Must Cancel Special Session

Commentary

I was doing my usual Thursday morning stint on Tennessee Star Report radio when host Michael Patrick Leahy read aloud the latest news from the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) regarding the ongoing controversy concerning the dreadful slayings of six people, three of them 9-year-olds, at the Covenant School, which has become something of a national scandal.

The Epoch Times Chase Smith has done an admirable job of reporting the content of the police statement, although suffice it to say that Leahy and I both were stunned at the extent of what appeared to us as an enduring and expanding cover-up.

The most important parts of the claims by MNPD Assistant Chief Mike Hagar were that the investigation of the fatal shootings by Audrey Hale is still an active, ongoing criminal investigation and an open matter that wouldnt be concluded for 12 months.

This although the sole perpetrator, Audrey Hale, is herself dead, shot in the midst of her heinous crimes on March 27, approaching two months ago. (I misgender Hale as her, although Hale identified and dressed as a male. Call me old-fashioned, but unlike a certain new Supreme Court justice, I understand our sexes to have been determined for the 300,000 years of homo sapiens, and probably before, by the immutable X and Y chromosomes in the 30 trillion to 40 trillion cells in our bodies.)

As for the 12 months, in government speak that often expands to 24 or even 36 months and, most likely of allin the grand tradition of the FBI, which may be calling the shots here anywayto never.

Meanwhile, without public access to the manifesto and other documents, not to mention the most important of all, the toxicology report (Ill explain), Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee will convene a special session of the Tennessee General Assembly on Aug. 21 to, in the official word of TN.gov., strengthen public safety and preserve constitutional rights.

Covers its bases, no? Sounds good. But whats really behind this is an attempt to push through Lees version of a so-called red flag law and probably some form of gun control, both of which most of those who voted for him would never subscribe to and neither of which has ever been shown to be effective.

Indeed, with gun control, as in Chicago, its arguably the reverse: the more control, the more corpses.

At the same time, the two activist assemblymen who caused the original mishandled ruckus in the Assembly are apparently planning to raise the ante in August with yet-greater demonstrations that benefit no one but themselves.

But its worse. This is all being done, as I indicated, without the public knowing what really happened. In the case of the hidden toxicology reportwhich the police want us to believe hasnt yet been finished after all this timethis could be lethal.

Many are justifiably upset over what may or may not be in the manifesto. More rumors are flying around this city than country music star Morgan Wallen has hits. And Im not against protecting some of the privacy concerns involved here.

But whatever happened or didnt happen, none of it, past or present, justifies Audrey Hales rage killings.

We live in a time when transgenderism is metastasizing faster than any of us could have believed possible even a few years ago. Its only a slight exaggeration to say every other family has a child suddenly thinking that the normal growing pains of adolescence mean that they have gender dysphoria and that changing their sex is the solution to a happy life.

Briefly putthats insane.

Its become a national, even international, insanity that leads almost always to an excruciatingly unhappy life. Witness Audrey Hale.

Before we can figure out what to do, we absolutely must know what the transgendered Hale or her physicians put in her body that generated so much rage that she could kill six people and evidently want to kill many more.

Is it testosterone? At what dosage? What about antidepressants, which many are now saying have significant negative side effects or create unintended outcomes?

Forget AK-47s. These or other medications that are being given almost willy-nilly may be the real murder weapons.

Does Lee know Hales medical history? If so, why doesnt he tell us before urging his Assembly to enact legislation? Isnt he concerned that others may act out in the manner of Hale, whether in Tennessee or the other 49 states? What happened in Nashville could have happened anywhere.

I dont want to speculate further here, but I can tell you this: The left seems currently in love with the transgender movement. Its their latest cause celebre, no matter how many lives it destroys.

Lee should think about that too. Why does the FBI seek to control the flow of this kind of information as theyre now known to have done with TrumpRussia collusion?

The answer may be in a new kind of Durham Report. Who will do it?

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
NDP Leader Rachel Notley and UCP Leader Danielle Smith Square Off in Election Debate

NDP Leader Rachel Notley (L) and UCP Leader Danielle Smith shake hands before a debate in Edmonton on May 18, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Jason Franson)

During the hour-long leaders debate on May 18, UCP Leader Danielle Smith touted her partys record during her seven months in office, while NDP Leader Rachel Notley focused on the theme of trust and criticized the UCP governments tenure.

The central topics covered in the debate between Smith, who is vying for reelection, and Notley, premier from 2015 to 2019, were affordability, health care, the economy, relations with Ottawa, and a wild card round taken from public submissions.

I know youre keen on fighting, you want to fight with Ottawa, you want to fight with the media, you want to fight, frankly, with your former self. Its actually quite exhausting, said Notley.

Smith countered, Ms. Notley didnt stand up. When [Prime Minister] Justin Trudeau cancelled Northern Gateway, she didnt stand up. When Energy East pulled the plug, she didnt stand up. When they brought in a tanker ban off the west coast for our product, and she didnt stand up. When the no more pipelines bill was passed

At that point, Notley interrupted Smiths time and began talking over her, which set the tone for much of the debate.

CTV News Erin Isfeld, one of two media moderators for the event, had initially told both leaders not to talk over one another.

Each time Notley interrupted Smith, Smith stopped talking until Notley ceased or the moderators invited her to speak again.

Smith had many pages of notes and took some notes during the debate, but seemed to be speaking largely without notes. Notley also relied on notes.

Both leaders were asked, What can government do to bring down the actual cost of utilities going forward?

What we absolutely have to do is find a way to reduce those costs, said Notley. Going forward, we have to find a way to keep those costs lower.

Smith responded to the same question. The first thing is that we have to build a power grid based on it being reliable and affordable, as opposed to based on ideology. We have a federal government that is propped up by the NDP that has put a war on natural gas, she said. Our power grid here is almost 90 percent natural gas. And yet we have a federal government that wants us to be able to be completely abated on natural gas by 2035. That is the commitment that Ms. Notley has signed on to. She wants to achieve that. Thats going to cost $52 billion and increase our power bills 40 percent.

The YouTube chat was open to the public during the debate, with supporters for both parties sparring back and forth with comments.

Opening Remarks

With less than 12 days until election day, the rules for the debate were simple. Each leader had one minute for opening remarks, and 10 questions were asked, with both Smith and Notley offered 45 seconds to respond. After each segment, there was a brief open debate.

Smith went first with opening remarks.

This election, Albertans have a choice between a UCP government that has lowered taxes, balanced the budget, and returned Alberta to its place as the economic powerhouse of Canada, said Smith.

She said the province cannot afford a return to an NDP government that hiked taxes, drove out jobs and investment, and almost bankrupted our province. She highlighted the UCP platform of cutting personal income taxes with a new 8 percent tax bracket, continuing a freeze on fuel taxes until the end of 2023, hiring more police officers, and monitoring violent offenders out on bail with ankle bracelets.

She repeated the UCPs promise that there will be no out-of-pocket charges for a family doctor.

Notley began her introduction by thanking firefighters and mentioning Albertans displaced by wildfires. This election is about trust, and its about leadership. You know you cant trust Danielle Smith, said Notley.

Notley promised to create jobs and diversify for the future.

I wont raise your taxes, I will cap your bills. I wont fund a war room, I will fund an emergency room. And I wont ever make you pay to see a doctor. Ill protect our health care, protect our mountains, and protect your pension, said Notley.

Each leader was asked what steps they will take to deal with the affordability crisis and the rising cost of living affecting Albertans.

Smith said the UCP provided $600 affordability payments, and offered rebates on fuel taxes and electricity to offset the federal carbon tax. She promised more going forward.

Notley said the NDP would put a cap on car insurance and help families reduce their utilities.

Health Care

Both leaders were asked what their creative and transformative approaches to health care would be if elected.

Smith said a UCP government will continue to invest in health care and mental health addiction without out-of-pocket fees to see a doctor.

The UCP leader said that when she was elected, she talked to frontline doctors, nurses, and paramedics and has already begun implementing their ideas.

Its working. Hospital wait times are down. EMS response times are down. We have effectively ended red alerts for EMS in both of our major cities, ambulances in rural [communities] are staying in rural and were reducing surgical wait times.

Notley responded to the same question. Weve put forward a reasonable, practical solution, she said.

The answer is to get more Albertans access to a family doctor. By doing that with our costed plan, we can take the pressure off of our emergency rooms, off of our surgical wait times, off of our ambulances.

Economy

Both leaders were asked how they would fund new spending and stay on budget while the price of oil often sits below budget projections.

Smith replied first, stating a UCP government will not shift away from petroleum products.

We believe that we are going to reduce emissions, not that we are going to reduce oil and natural gas, said Smith.

With all of the exciting things that are happening with carbon capture, utilization, and storage, and all the green technology, we can continue to have a robust, vibrant oil and natural gas sector for years to come, said Smith.

She spoke of the need to find more opportunities: having bitumen be used more for asphalt so it reduces the amount of emissions; having LNG export, which creates a brand new stream of income for us. We know that as long as we keep our energy industry strong, were going to keep Albertas economy strong.

There was actually some elements of what Ms. Smith said that I actually agree with. You know, I want to create jobs producing energy, I want to create jobs upgrading our energy, and I want to create jobs reducing emissions, and reducing emissions is absolutely the focus, responded Notley on her turn.

Both Notley and Smith were asked what specific actions their party would take to move toward net zero emissions.

We need to come up with a made-in-Alberta plan that includes practical, achievable emissions limits, and then we need to find and incent the investment. We have to compete with the U.S. and the Inflation Reduction Act to get that investment, said Notley.

Smith said Notley wants an emissions cap. That needs to be very close to what the federal government is proposing. The federal government is proposing a 42 percent emissions cap reduction by 2030, which we know is a de facto production cap. And if we have a production cap, that means that were going to reduce the overall amount of revenues, said Smith.

Where do you think Justin Trudeau got the idea for Just Transition and for an emissions cap and for a carbon tax? said Smith.

He got it from Ms. Notley when she was premier. And shes going to continue to implement the same kind of policies, and shes going to walk in lockstep with Justin Trudeau on making sure that they get implemented, and thats only going to harm our economy, stated the UCP leader.

Education

The leaders were asked how they would address higher enrollment in schools, teacher burnout, and bigger class sizes.

We have had so much disruption in our education system in the last three years. One of the first things I wanted to do is restore stability to the learning environment for our kids, said Smith.

We know one of the most difficult things that our young people are facing is social anxiety and mental health, said the UCP leader. She said her party is spending more money on education than in its history.

We have invested in complexity, funding for classrooms, so that school boards can decide what the best use of that is, whether hiring more teachers or having education assistants or other psychologists, and were going to make sure that we continue to build more schools. Weve built or modernized 106 new schools and were going to keep on doing that, said Smith.

I have watched for four years with great alarm what the UCP has been doing to our school system, responded Notley.

I imagine a 6-year-old child in grade one, in a class that unfortunately has 28, 29, 31, 32 children in it. And she puts her hand up to get help. And she waits for a minute, two minutes, three minutes, and nobody comes. So she puts it down, and it happens a few more times, and she stops trying.

We have a plan to fix this, and I look forward to talking more about it, said Notley.

Later in the debate, Notley said her party has a plan to hire 4,000 teachers to try and catch up over the next four years as well as 3,000 more educational assistants.

Both women were asked what policy they agree with from their opponents platform.

Notley said she agreed with the UCPs Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation and the UCPs expanded funding of the film and TV tax credit.

Smith said she was very proud of both UCP initiatives that Notley listed and stated that both political parties agree with primary care team practices that would see family doctors work alongside nurse practitioners and nursing aids to improve health care.

Controversy

Notley brought up the March 18 ethics commissioner report, released the same day of the debate.

The ethics commissioner found on May 18 that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith contravened a section of the Conflicts of Interest Act in her conversation with Minister of Justice Tyler Shandro, in relation to criminal charges faced by Calgary street pastor Artur Pawlowski following a speech he gave at the Coutts border protest in 2022.

The report also concluded there was no evidence that Smith or any staff in the premiers office contacted prosecutors, or tried to influence Coutts and COVID-related criminal prosecutions, as CBC News had alleged in a series of articles earlier this year.

Ms. Notley, the NDP, and the CBC lied for months, saying that I was calling Crown prosecutors and my staff were calling Crown prosecutors, and it wasnt true. And that is what the ethics commissioner found, responded Smith.

I need to be able to talk to my justice minister. Im looking forward to advice on how to be able to do that more constructively in the future. And I think thats important for us to be able to get those kinds of rules set out, Smith said.

In a statement on May 18, Smith said she had always stated I wanted to find a path of amnesty for those charged with non-violent COVID-related offences and violations during the pandemic.

During the debate, Smith noted the NDP had an MLA who hacked the health care system and was never disavowed by Notley.

Final Remarks

The debate ended with each leader offered 90 seconds for closing remarks.

Smith went first.

I first want to say how much of an honour its been to be your premier for these last seven months. Ive been overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of Albertans that I meet every single day. These last three years have been difficult for all of us. And now the wildfires are testing our resolve as a people once more.

But I know that together we will overcome every challenge we face, whether theres a pandemic, flood, fire, or economic headwinds, we will take care of one another, and we will move our province forward to a better future.

My commitment to each of you if reelected, is to serve you with everything I have, and to the best of my ability, however imperfect that may be at times. I will continue to focus on growing and diversifying our amazing economy, making life more affordable and our communities safer, and improving health care for all Albertans.

And Im carefully listening to you and my UCP caucus because whatever I may have said or thought in the past while I was on talk radio, Albertans are my bosses now. And my oath is to serve you, and no one else.

I love this province and everything it stands for. We are a land of entrepreneurs and innovators, of pioneers and farmers, of families and communities, a place where the best and brightest come from every corner of the world to join us in building one of the greatest places on earth to live, and work, and raise a family. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. And good night.

Notley then gave her closing remarks.

Tonight, ask yourself, Who do you trust to build a better future? Who will focus on the things that actually matter to you?

Now, Ms. Smith has spent her entire career campaigning for Albertans to pay out of pocket for basic health care. Shes also campaigned to pull Alberta out of the Canada Pension Plan, something that would create huge instability in your retirement.

Today, she was found to have broken the law by interfering with our justice system. This is just not how our province should be run. Every day is a new drama. You just dont need to put up with this. Enough is enough.

So my offer to you is stable, predictable, thoughtful leadership that you can count on. Its time to get back to the things that matter to people.

I will make life more affordable, capping car insurance and lowering your utilities. I will support our entrepreneurial spirit by cutting to zero small business taxes and creating more jobs.

And because Im passionate about making sure your family has health care that you always need without paying for it, I have a balanced costed plan to make sure you get a family doctor. So that is a better future for Alberta.

Now, you may not always agree with me, and I may not have always gotten it right. But I say what I mean, and I mean what I say. If I am premier again, I will work daily to earn your trust and to focus on your priorities. Thank you.
Nevada Governor Vetoes Gun Control Bills Amid Clash With Democrat-Majority Legislature

A man looks at a display of rifles at the Rock River Arms booth during the 35th annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo issued his first set of vetoes since taking office and rejected a trio of firearms-related bills on May 17.

I will not support legislation that infringes on the constitutional rights of Nevadans, Lombardo said in a statement. As I stated in my letters, much of the legislation I vetoed today directly conflicts with legal precedent and established constitutional protections. Therefore, I cannot support them.

On his campaign website, Lombardo says he supports the right of all law-abiding citizens to own a firearm if they so choose. The website also expresses his support for the right to build a firearm for personal use, and vowed to veto any legislation that would take away that right.

Democrat leaderswho hold a veto-proof supermajority in the state Assembly and are one vote away from that in the Senatesaid they would continue to press for gun-control legislation with or without (Lombardos) cooperation.

Vetoed Legislation

AB354 would have prohibited people in most cases from possessing a firearm within 100 yards of the entrance to a location that they know or reasonably should know is a polling place. It also would add language to strengthen restrictions on ghost guns, which are untraceable.

AB355 would have banned people under 21 years old from possessing any semiautomatic shotgun or center-fire rifle and referenced Californias ban on the sale of semiautomatic rifles to adults under the age of 21.

AB 355 is presumably intended to decrease gun violence in communities across the statean admirable goal, Lombardo wrote in his veto letter to Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (pdf). However, last year, in Jones v. Bonta, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down as unconstitutional Californias ban on the sale of semiautomatic rifles to adults younger than 21. In a 2-1 panel decision, the court found that the Second Amendment protects the right of young adults to keep and bear arms, which includes the right to purchase them.

SB171 was set to prohibit a person from purchasing, owning, or possessing a firearm if they have been convicted of a hate crime or attempted to commit a hate crime involving violence in the past 10 years.

When it comes to these types of misdemeanor crimes, SB 171 would go much further than existing law by depriving individuals of their Second Amendment right to bear arms, Lombardo wrote in his letter to state Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (pdf). Moreover, the limited nexus between certain misdemeanor offenses and gun violence makes it untenable to pass a law that immediately puts the defendants Second Amendment rights in jeopardy. This would effectively open the door to more laws restricting others convicted of gross misdemeanors from owning firearms to protect their homes and families.

Democrats Respond

Democrat Assembly Majority Leader Sandra Jauregui said the bills would better protect the state from gun violence and accused the governor of prioritizing partisan politics over residents safety.

Richard Thomson, vice president of programs for the Firearms Policy Coalition, praised the governor for protecting Americans Second Amendment rights.

FPC and our members applaud Governor Lombardo for his siding with history and individual rights, Thomson said in a statement. We are pleased that not only did the Governor veto these unconstitutional and immoral measures, but that the years of effort of our members, supporters, and litigation team contributed to the decision. The tide continues to turn toward individual liberty and respect for fundamental rights.

Democrat leaders said on May 16 they would consolidate Lombardos school safety bill, inviting him to pitch the measure as an amendment to a similar bill that theyre pushing. Lombardos school-choice proposals, with various mechanisms for providing public funding to help students access private schools, have also received an icy reception from Democrats.

Lombardos office threatened to ax the state budget if his priorities arent addressed.

If a budget is not approved by July 1, state services, including schools and state agencies, may shut down.

If he follows through and stakes out an extremist position, he will have to explain to Nevadans why their kids schools are not opening on time, public safety services are reduced, and other essential state services are shut down, Cannizzaro said in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
New Hampshire Republicans Sink Own Partys Parental Rights Bill

The New Hampshire State House in Concord, in an undated file photo. (Zack Frank/Shutterstock)

A group of New Hampshire Republicans tanked their own partys parental rights bill in a House floor debate on May 18 because they said they believe children have a constitutional right to privacy from their parents.

We all agree parents have constitutional rights, said Rep. Dan Hynes (R-Hillsborough). You know who also has constitutional rights  children. One persons rights cannot be infringed upon by another.

Hynes also argued that language in the Bill of Parental Rights invites government intrusion in the private lives of children.

He was among three Republicans who brought forward amendments to eliminate specific language that school officials be required to give a truthful answer to parents if they asked if their children were undergoing any kind of gender transition at school.

Several Republicans testified against the proposalsby their own fellow party membersto gut the parental rights bill.

One of them, Rep. J.R. Hoell (R-Merrimack) said that concerns about violating childrens privacy were moot, since teachers were already mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse.

Hoell added there was already a process in place for any concerns that a child was being abused at home.

If they fundamentally believe that sharing information with the parent will harm the child, they already have an obligation, he said.

Hoell also questioned how the same legislature that passed a bill several years ago prohibiting minors from going to a suntan salon, now was concerned about infringing upon a minors constitutional rights.

This body decided that something as mundane as getting a suntan was worth government getting involved in, said Hoell. What we are talking about today is something that children are far more impacted by than a suntan.

Rep. Jason Osborne (R-Rockingham) caused a brief upheaval when he complained that a move by Travis OHara (R-Belknap) to table the bill as amended was forcing parents to accept that school is a mysterious and secretive black box where they deposit their children and have no right to know what happens inside that box.

I know that this will send a message to parents that they must continue until the next election when they can replace their representatives, he said.

The angry reaction to Osbornes comments swelled to a point where House Speaker Sherman Packard (R-Rockingham) had to bang his gavel and call for order.

The efforts of Republicans in favor of the parental rights bill, however, were not enough. The amendments to remove the disclosure requirement to parents was adopted by a 198 to 187 vote with 193 Democrats and 192 Republicans out of the 400-seat House in attendance.

Melissa Blasek, executive director of Rebuild New Hampshire, which promoted the Bill of Parental Rights, told The Epoch Times that the group of Republican lawmakers basically left the bill utterly meaningless since all they left in it were already existing laws.

Its incredibly frustrating that enough Republicans did not see fit to affirm that parents have a right to know what happens to their own children, said Blasek.

Blasek, a former House member, said her frustration was heightened by results of a statewide survey released in February that showed that 80 percent of New Hampshire residents believed parents should have an overriding say about health decisions schools make involving students.

The survey also showed 69 percent of Granite Staters polled believe parents should have the right to know what is being taught to their children in schools.

Rep. Mike Bordes (R-Belknap), among the Republicans who favored removing the parental rights components of the parental rights bill, said he was worried about forcing school guidance into ratting out students.

I used to go to my guidance counselor and discuss situations that I didnt necessarily want one my parents to know, said Bordes. Guess what, if this bill goes out with those lines in it, our guidance counselors will have to rat out students.

In all, eight Republicans voted with House Democrats to scrub the if asked, must tell language from the bill.

Along with OHara, Hynes, and Bordes, they include Aidan Ankarberg (R-Strafford), David Bickford (R-Strafford), Jess Edwards (R-Rockingham), Joseph Guthrie (R-Rockingham), and David Nagel (R-Belknap).
Newsom Proposes Raising Californians Electricity Consumption Tax to Investigate Big Oil

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks in the rotunda of the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., on March 28, 2023. (Courtesy of the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom)

California Gov. Gavin Newsoms recently passed law to hold big oil accountable faces more pushback in the state Legislature as lawmakers decide how to pay for its implementation.

The governor told Californians in a video posted in January that they wont pay a cent for his new law to punish oil companies for last years record-high gas prices. However, in his revised budget submitted on May 12, the governor is proposing increasing the states electrical energy surchargea tax paid by the states electricity consumers based on the amount of consumption in Californiaby $6 million per year to fund the new program.

California state Sen. Brian Dahle, a Republican, on May 17 questioned a representative from the states finance department on the proposed tax increase, which would fund more than a dozen new positions at the California Energy Commission responsible for figuring out if oil refineries are charging too much.

Why are we paying electricity rates to go after oil producers, or to fund the positions, when it should come out of the general fund? Dahle asked during a Senate hearing. At the end of the day, why are [electricity] ratepayers on the hook?

Low-income, disadvantaged folks are paying those bills.

The representative didnt answer the question.

In the May state budget revision, Newsom is asking for $5.9 million from the electrical energy surcharge for 14 new positions at the commission to establish the oversight division, and $1 million for the states air resources board to create a plan to eliminate fossil fuels from transportation. Another $286,000 from the Occupational Safety and Health Fund would pay for one new position to analyze and manage oil refinery turnaround and maintenance schedules.

A spokesman for Newsom said the new law shouldnt be blamed for the proposed surcharge increase, since the proposal has been considered several times amid the commissions ongoing deficit.

The change to the California Energy Commission (CEC) funding proposal would have been the same whether or not the gasoline price gouging law was enacted as this is the third time this proposal has been presented given the CECs ongoing structural budget deficit, spokesman Daniel Villasenor told The Epoch Times in an email. It is incorrect to say that ratepayers will pay more because of the gasoline price gouging law.

Administered by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the electricity surcharge was first imposed in 1975 and has been funding programs approved by the energy commission.

In 2023, Californias electricity customers are paying $0.0003 per kilowatt-hour. For an average customer, that amounts to about $1 per month.

Penalty Might Lead to Higher Prices at Pump: Industry Expert

The law establishes a new oversight division inside the CEC to analyze trends in the petroleum supply chain and pricing.

For decades, oil companies have gotten away with ripping off California families while making record profits and hiding their books from public view, Newsom said in March after the legislation passed the Senate. With this proposal, California leaders are ending the era of oils outsized influence and holding them accountable.

According to the law, the commission will be allowed to set a maximum profit margin for oil refining and penalties on oil companies for exceeding it.

Oil companies will also be required to report daily operations, detailed shipping information, contracts, agreements, forecasts, and other sometimes-confidential market data that will include how much they pay for each gallon of crude. These reports will be required weekly, in some cases. Companies face fines of up to $500,000 for reporting delays.

Industry experts said in March that the oil profit penalty, if imposed, will likely lead to higher prices at the pump.

Price caps, taxes, and tax-like penalties do not increase supply or reduce prices, but instead can have the opposite effectless investment, less gasoline supply, and ultimately higher costs for Californians, Western States Petroleum Association President Catherine Reheis-Boyd said in a statement in response to the laws passage.

Californias Growing Deficit

When lawmakers rushed to pass Newsoms Senate Bill 2 to punish oil companies in March, the bills language was vague on how the state would pay for its implementation when it takes effect at the end of June.

The governors revised budget also projects a major deficit of $31.5 billion$9 billion more than previous estimatesfor fiscal year 202324, which begins on July 1.

This is a $31.5 billion challenge, which is well within the margin of expectation and well within our capacity to address, Newsom said on May 12 when he announced the revision, which includes a series of funding reductions and delays.

Californias personal income tax base also shrank by $29.1 billion after more than 332,000 taxpayers moved out of the state from 2020 to 2021, according to a recent report by the IRS.
In Georgia, the Atlanta prosecutor investigating former President Donald Trump has asked local judges to clear their calendars, in what could be a hint of a potential indictment.

The Pentagon says it overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine, and the accounting error may have freed up $3 billion of additional aid for Ukraine.

Group of Seven (G-7) countries announced more sanctions on Russia Fridayin what the United States says will be the largest set of sanctions ever imposed on a major economy. Meanwhile, Ukraines president is scheduled to travel to Japan to attend the G-7 meeting.
Not Rated | 6 episodes | Thriller, Spy Drama | May 19, 2023

Romanias Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu refused to participate in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. That should probably count for something but, in general, he was just standoffish enough to annoy Moscow, but not sufficiently independent to prompt any action. He was basically the paranoid psychopathic equivalent of Yugoslavias Marshal Tito.

Nevertheless, it would make sense that the KGB would want to keep close eyes on Ceausescu (Claudiu Bleont) and his Lady Macbeth-like wife, Elena (Elvira Deatcu). That was the job of Victor Godeanu (Alec Secareunu), the fictional head of Romanian counter-intelligence and a KGB mole. As the dangers of exposure grow, Godeanu requests asylum from the United States rather than his Soviet masters, in writer-creators Adina Sadeanu and Kirsten Peters six-episode Spy/Master.

CIA officer Frank Jackson (Parker Sawyers, L) and Victor Godeanu (Alec Secareunu), in Spy/Master. (HBO Max)

Both Ceasescus completely trust Godeanu, but that means most of his colleagues in Romanias intelligence agency, the Securitate, resent his influence. Godeanu also oversees a smuggling operation on the side, because that was the only way he could afford to give his beloved daughter Ileana (Alexandra Bob) the opportunities he thought she deserved, while living in a socialist state. Unfortunately, when one of his couriers is arrested, Godeanus bureaucratic enemies follow the connections back to him.

Spies and Counter-Spies

Fortuitously, the Ceausescus dispatch Godeanu to Bonn, Germany, where negotiations for the repatriation of ethnic German Romanians have stalled. German negotiator Ingrid Von Weizendorff is a major reason why. Unbeknownst to West Germany and the CIA, Von Weizendorff (Svenja Jung) is a double agent for the East German Stasi. She is also Godeanus former lover, who is privy to his secret KGB loyalties.

Godeanu understands this trip represents his best opportunity to defect, but the potential implications for his daughter trouble him greatly. In contrast, he has little concern for his less-than-loving wife, Adela (Andreea Vasile).

Godeanu hand-selects the local CIA officer Frank Jackson (Parker Sawyers), because of his hard-charging cowboy reputation. Jacksons maverick tendencies almost ended his career, but bringing in a big fish like Godeanu should put him back on the fast track. Yet, Jimmy Carters reluctance to approve any covert operation, out of fear it could destabilize the delicate Camp David peace negotiations between Israel and Egypt, jeopardizes Godeanus plans.

Von Weizendorff (Svenja Jung) is a double agent for the East German Stasi, in Spy/Master. (HBO Max)

Spy/Master is more than a traditional spy-vs-spy Cold War thriller. It is a case of spy-vs-spy-vs-spy-vs-spy, when the Stasi complicates the KGB-Securitate-CIA battle to take possession of Godeanu and the secrets in his head, with its own agenda. The depiction of rivalries within the Warsaw Pact and inside the Ceausescu regime is rarely seen so explicitly in other espionage dramas.

Ruthless Characters

The writing is smart but somewhat cynical, presenting Godeanu as a jaded survivor instead of principled rebel against a corrupt system. Secareanu portrays him as such a slippery anti-hero, so that viewers can never feel fully comfortable with his hardboiled persona or place total confidence in his motives and intentions, but that makes him a fascinating character.

(LR) Alec Secareunu, Alexandra Bob, and director Christopher Smith on the set of Spy/Master. (HBO Max)

Ironically, American actor Parker Sawyers is best known for playing Barack Obama in Southside With You, but his character, Jackson, would be much more at home working for Reagans hawkish CIA director, William Casey. Sawyers looks ultra-slick going about Jacksons spycraft, but he still projects a steeliness the agency could probably use today.

Bleont is creepily neurotic as the deranged, Napoleonic-like Nicolae Ceausescu, while Deatcu plays Madame Ceasescu with stone-cold ruthlessness that is scarily true to the historical record. Plus, Ana Ularu provides a ferociously intense nemesis worthy of the resourceful Godeanu as Carmen Ularu, the Romanian field operative out to trap him.

There is a lot of intricate plotting worthy of John le Carre in Spy/Master, but series director Christopher Smith always keeps the action easy to follow. It helps that English often serves as the lingua franca for this shadowy spy world. It is also a vivid, richly detailed period production, recreating the dubious patterns and fabrics of 1978 Romania and West Germany.

Throughout all six installments, there is absolutely no nostalgia for communism, either as an ideal or in practice. As presented in Spy/Master, it is a debatable question of which was more brutal: the KGB, the Securitate, or the Stasi.

However, Carter (never seen on-screen) and his appointees also take plenty of hits for their short-sighted fecklessness. Although not precisely based on a true story (it takes inspiration from several episodes of Cold War history), the series is staunchly faithful to the eras social and geopolitical dynamics.

Spy/Master is far more cerebral than Bond movies, but it is still bingeably grabby. Each suspenseful episode escalates the stakes, while keeping viewers hooked. Highly recommended for fans of realistically grounded espionage thrillers.

Spy/Master tells a story about Romanias spy agency during the Cold War. (HBO Max)

The movie is presented predominately in English.

Spy/Master starts streaming on HBO Max on May 19.

Spy/Master

Director: Christopher Smith

Stars: Alec Secareanu, Claudiu Bleont, Svenja Jung, Parker Sawyers, Ana Ularu

Running Time: 6 episodes

MPAA Rating: Not Rated

Release Date: May 19, 2023

Rating: 4 out of 5
Opposition MPs Call on Minister to Testify on Reported Delayed Wiretap Authorization on Michael Chan

Cabinet Minister Bill Blair says article containing the allegation is 'factually incorrect'

President of the Queens Privy Council for Canada and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair rises during question period in the House of Commons in Ottawa on April 25, 2022. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Opposition MPs are calling on Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair to appear at committee at the earliest possible opportunity over a new report alleging he took months to approve surveillance measures against an important Liberal Party-connected figure in Toronto.

Canadians need to know why it took so long for the Minister to sign off on this, when it could have been done in a matter of days, opposition MPs on the House of Commons Procedure and House Affairs Committee (PROC) wrote in a May 19 letter to committee chair Liberal MP Bardish Chagger.

The letter signed by MPs from the Conservative Party, Bloc Quebecois, and NDP highlights that the committee is about to start its study of Beijings targeting of Tory MP Michael Chong. The committees study was spurred by the leak of a 2021 assessment by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) on the targeting of Chong and had already intended to hear from Blair.

Today, we learnt that Mr. Blair signed off on a surveillance warrant for former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister Michael Chana known close associate of Mr. Zhao and his colleagues at Beijings consulate in Torontothe previous month, says the letter, referring to the CSIS assessment. Chinese consular officer Zhao Wei was declared persona non grata on May 8 for his reported activities against Chong. He was also reportedly spying on Chinese dissident communities.

The letter from the MPs follows a new report published in the Globe and Mail on May 19 based on information provided by a national security source. It says that before the 2021 federal election, CSIS had made an application to obtain warrant powers against their subject of investigation, Chan.

The Globe reported that CSIS had sought a judicial application against Chan in early 2021, but Blair, who was then the minister of public safety, waited until June before signing on it.

In a statement issued later on May 19, Blair said Globes reporting is factually incorrect.

I will not and cannot comment on specific cases, however, during my time as Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness all warrant applications were reviewed with due diligence. They were signed expeditiously, Blair said.

No warrant application ever took as long as four months for approval. The signing of a warrant under the CSIS Act is a very serious matter and further operational questions should be directed to CSIS.

Allegations

Chan, currently the deputy mayor of Markham, has been tracked by CSIS due to his ties to the Chinese communist regime, the Globe has reported.

Hes also described by the Globe as a Liberal Party kingpin in the Greater Toronto Area, supporting candidates at the federal level. The Globe previously reported that CSIS had warned the party about his involvement in campaigns, including that of International Trade Minister Mary Ng.

Chan did not respond to an Epoch Times request for comment. He told the Globe that CSIS has never discussed their concerns with me but continues to unjustifiably harass, intimidate, threaten, and frighten my friends and acquaintances.

In their letter to the committee chair, the opposition MPs also requested that Chan be called to testify before PROC.

Warrant powers can authorize the most intrusive measures, such as performing covert entries, planting bugs, and intercepting communications.

Blairs office did not return a request for comment by publication time.

The national security source reportedly told the Globe that some within CSIS suspected the delay was due to Chan being a main organizer and fundraiser for the Liberal Party.

Online reports show that Blair campaigned alongside Chan in the same year ahead of the 2021 federal election.

A report from August 2021 on the Canadian Chinese Media News website shows him in a picture standing next to Chan at a rally to support then-Liberal MP Han Dongs re-election in the Don Valley North Riding in Toronto. Blair, a former chief of the Toronto Police Service, represents the Toronto riding of Scarborough Southwest.

Dong was re-elected but he has since left the Liberal caucus after national security leaks reported by Global News said he was involved in Beijings interference activities. He has since sued Global for defamation. Dong has not returned multiple requests for comment from The Epoch Times.

Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos, an outspoken critic of the Chinese regime, used the latest allegation to renew calls for a public inquiry into foreign interference.

Pro-tip for the made up special rapporteur whose report is due Tuesday: Nothing short of a full public inquiry will suffice, Housakos posted on Twitter.

Former governor general David Johnston was appointed rapporteur on foreign interference by the prime minister in March amid a steady flow of leaks in the media depicting widespread Chinese meddling in Canada.

He is due to make recommendations to the government next week, which could include holding an inquiry. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would abide by such a recommendation.
ISLAMABAD, May 19 (Xinhua) -- One civilian was killed and 21 others including policemen and civilians injured in firing and explosion in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, police said.

The incident happened in a busy market area in Tank district of the province where militants hurled a hand grenade at a police vehicle causing 19 civilians and two policemen injured, district police officer Waqar Ahmad told media.

"The militants also sprayed bullets at the vehicle and in the retaliatory attack one terrorist got injured while others fled the scene," the police officer said.

The injured terrorist was arrested by police, who also launched a search operation in the area following the incident to catch the fleeing attackers, police said.

The injured people were shifted to a nearby hospital, and several of them are in critical condition after receiving bullet injuries, the officer said.

No groups or individuals claimed responsibility for the attack. 
Oxford Chief Wades into University Trans Row Over Free Speech Threat

Pro-vice chancellor Martin Williams has urged students to 'encounter and confront difficult views'

An Oxford University chief has waded into a trans row that has rocked the institution.

Professor Martin Williamsone of Oxfords pro-vice-chancellorssaid students must encounter and confront difficult views after attempts to ban a gender-critical speaker from a university event.

Leading feminist Kathleen Stock has been invited to speak by members of the Oxford Union at an upcoming debating event, but her scheduled appearance received a student backlash.

She was accused by some students as being transphobic over her gender identity views which include that it is fiction to claim trans women are women.

Attempts to deplatform the philosopher were condemned in an open letter signed by more than 40 of Oxfords dons including evolutionary biologist Professor Richard Dawkins.

In one of the most significant interventions by academics in recent free speech controversies, the 44 scholars with a range of different political beliefs, Left and Right said universities should be places where contentious views can be openly discussed.

The letter, published in The Telegraph on Wednesday, said the academics condemn the student unions decision to sever ties with the Oxford Union after it refused to withdraw an invitation asking Stock to speak.

Now Williams, one of the universitys leading members, has spoken out about the row in an attempt to preserve free speech.

Free Speech Alive

In a letter published in the Telegraph on Friday, Williams said the university does not support the deplatforming of individuals.

We do not allow the no-platforming of any lawful speech but also support the right of students, staff, and societies to protest and challenge speakers at events, as long as they do so within the law and our policies, he wrote.

Students should be free to decide whether to join a society or club.

While we understand there are concerns held by the Student Union about the Oxford Union, the university is actively encouraging the two organisations to discuss the issues.

Williams also clarified that Oxford Union, a debating society independent of the university, had not been banned from attending the freshers fair.

Oxford Universitys Student Union said it would ban the debating society, made up mostly of members from the institutions student body, from its freshers fair, accusing it of having a toxic culture of bullying and harassment.

That position has now been reversed after the university reminded student union trustees of its free speech policy.

The student union had said its actions were not related to Stocks appearance.

Williams added: The university and its colleges host hundreds of events each term and we will continue to invite a wide range of speakers. Despite what some may have been led to believe, freedom of speech and expression is alive and well at Oxford.

Professor of philosophy at the University of Sussex, Kathleen Stock, poses with her medal after being appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to higher education a investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, London, on July 14, 2022. (Victoria Jones/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Protest Planned

Stock, who quit her job as a lecturer at the University of Sussex in 2021 after being targeted by activists over her views on gender identity, said she still plans to take part in the event.

The academic thanked fellow scholars for their support, writing on Twitter: Grateful to the Oxford faculty who signed an open letter standing up for the Unions right to invite me, and have others hear me speak.

Stock told The Telegraph that it was heartening to see the academics commitment to standing up in public against authoritarian tendencies.

She is due to give her talk at Oxford Union on May 30, with a protest planned by students opposing her invite.

The Oxford Union, which describes itself as the last bastion of free speech, said students will be able to challenge Stock at the event.

In a statement issued last month, the Oxford University LGBTQ+ Society called for Stocks invitation to speak to be rescinded as it claimed she was transphobic and trans-exclusionary.

It also accused Oxford Union of disregarding the welfare of the societys members under the guise of free speech.

Responding on Twitter at the time, Stock said the societys statement contained several falsehoods, was probably defamatory and made it look utterly ridiculous.

A coalition of Oxford organisations and activists will hold a Trans+ Pride event in the city centre on May 30, which will include a rally and march which will culminate outside the Oxford Union where Stock is due to speak.
Police: Arrest in NY Over Death of Man Pushed Onto Baltimore Subway Tracks

NEW YORKA man accused of pushing another man onto the tracks at a Baltimore subway station, electrocuting him, has been arrested in New York, police said.

Investigators found Joseph White, 39, of Baltimore at a hotel in the South Ozone Park neighborhood of Queens on Wednesday and arrested him, police said in a news release. White will be charged with first-degree murder after he is extradited to Baltimore, police said.

White pushed Christopher Foster onto the subway tracks at the Shot Tower station in downtown Baltimore on April 12, police said.

Detectives called to the station that day found medics rendering aid to Foster, who died on the scene. Their investigation revealed Foster had been standing near the edge of the platform when he was pushed from behind, fell onto the tracks and was electrocuted, police said.

It was not immediately clear whether White had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Police Officer Charged Over Leaking Information to Proud Boys Leader

Members of the Proud Boys, including leader Enrique Tarrio (C), at a rally in Washington, on Nov. 14, 2020. (Hannah McKay/Reuters)

A Washington police officer has been charged with obstruction of justice and making false statements after leaking information to the leader of the Proud Boys group, according to charging documents released on May 19.

Officer Shane Lamond, 47, was in regular contact with Enrique Tarrio, the Proud Boys leader, for nearly two years, during which time he provided confidential details about an investigation into the Dec. 12, 2020, burning of a Black Lives Matter banner, authorities said.

Someone called in an anonymous tip saying that you claimed responsibility for it, Lamond told Tarrio in a message on Telegram, according to the documents.

Tarrio noted that he did claim responsibility for the act on social media. I want to see it play out, Tarrio said.

Im curious to see what happens too, Lamond said, adding that he would check with criminal investigators to check if they have you on video.

Tarrio then messaged other Proud Boys members that we got the jump on the narrative for the banner burning from my contact at DC Metro.

Lamond later told Tarrio that the FBI was not part of the investigation and that he had conveyed to investigators that what happened was not a hate crime. He also said he didnt think investigators had images of Tarrio burning the flag. On Jan. 4, 2021, Tarrio said a warrant for his arrest had been signed. He attributed the information to his source. Moments earlier, Lamond had sent a message on Telegram that automatically deleted after 10 seconds.

Lamond told at least one superior that Tarrio was a source but did not inform personnel handling the banner burning investigation that he had conveyed information about the investigation or that Tarrio admitted to involvement in the act, according to the charging documents.

Lamond could not be reached. He was set to be arraigned on Friday on one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements.

Lamond was placed on administrative leave in February 2022 and Metropolitan Police Department personnel cooperated with federal investigators during the probe into the officer, a Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email.

We understand this matter sparks a range of emotions, and believe the allegations of this members actions are not consistent [with] our values and our commitment to the community, the spokesperson said. This is only part of the process, and upon conclusion of the criminal proceedings, our agency will complete an internal investigation into this incident. Our intentions are to remain transparent while affording a fair process to the involved member.

Tarrio ultimately pleaded guilty to charges related to carrying gun magazines in Washington and burning the Black Lives Matter banner. He served several months in prison. He was arrested again over charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. Tarrio and other Proud Boys were convicted on May 4 on multiple charges, including seditious conspiracy, and face decades of imprisonment.

More Info

Lamond asked Tarrio before Jan. 6 if he planned to attend the rally in Washington that day. Tarrio said he would be in the city on Jan. 6, though he did not go there after all.

Following the breach, Lamond and Tarrio exchanged more messages.

I think I could have stopped this whole thing, Tarrio said, according to the charging documents.

I dont know, bro. You know its [expletive] bad when [person 6] was the voice of reason and they wouldnt listen to him, Lamond said. He appeared to be referring to InfoWars host Alex Jones.

Yeah but I have guys I can line up  he doesnt, Tarrio said. Lol.

That is true, Lamond wrote. Yesterday was a total [expletive].

Tarrio later messaged Lamond to say he knew of a woman whose home Maryland police went to. I have someone you guys might be looking for, Tarrio said. Let me know if shes on your list. Ill have her turn herself in.

Lamond checked and said the girl was not on the list.

Looks like the feds are locking people up for rioting at the Capitol, Lamond wrote to Tarrio the following day. I hope none of your guys were among them.

So far from what Im seeing and hearing were good, Tarrio said.

Great to hear, Lamond wrote. I cant say it officially, but personally I support you all and dont want to see your groups name or reputation dragged through the mud.

False Statements

Federal investigators in June 2021 interviewed Lamond about his communications with Tarrio. During the interview, Lamond made several false statements, authorities say.

For instance, when asked whether Tarrio would fish for information, Lamond said not really.

He never really asked me questions about what we were doing or anything, Lamond was quoted as saying. It was more one-sided with just him telling me what their plans were.

Lamond also acknowledged he spoke to Tarrio in the wake of the banner burning investigation but falsely claimed that he was trying to find out without tipping him off to the MPD investigation.

Lamond also said that he did not tip Tarrio off to the arrest warrant.

Lamond faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
Russia Has Intent and Ability to Target Undersea Infrastructure Warns Defence Secretary

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace during a press conference with Norwegian defence minister Bjorn Arild Gram, at Permanent Joint HQ in Northwood, on May 18, 2023. (James Manning/PA Media)

There is no doubt Russia has the intent and the ability to target undersea energy and communication lines, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said.

He made the comments as Britain agreed with Norway to increase cooperation on undersea capabilities, including countering threats to undersea infrastructure.

At a press conference alongside Norwegian Defence Minister Bjorn Arild Gram at the Northwood military base on Thursday, Wallace said Moscow has a specific naval programme designed to both look at and potentially sabotage or attack critical national infrastructure belonging to its adversaries.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace (R) during a press conference with Norwegian Defence Minister Bjorn Arild Gram, at Permanent Joint HQ in Northwood, on May 18, 2023. (James Manning/PA Media)

Russia has a number of submarines and other pieces of equipment and spy ships and everything else specifically designed for that purpose, he told reporters.

So whether we are talking about Nord Stream, whether we are talking about our own infrastructure, that is an area that is vulnerable and needs to be protected.

He added: What we can say without doubt is Russia has the intent and the capability to target the Wests critical national infrastructure. We have to have the intent and the capability to defend it.

Nord Stream Blasts

In September 2022, several unexplained underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and newly-built Nord Stream two pipelines that link Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea.

The blasts occurred in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark and both countries say the explosions were deliberate, but have yet to determine who was responsible. The two countries and Germany are investigating the incident.

Gas bubbles from the Nord Stream 2 leak reaching the surface of the Baltic Sea in the area shows a disturbance of well over one kilometre in diameter near Bornholm, Denmark, on Sept. 27, 2022. (Danish Defence Command/Handout via Reuters)

Moscow has blamed the explosions on Western sabotage, but both the United States and Ukraine have denied having anything to do with the attacks.

At Thursdays press conference, neither Wallace nor his Norwegian counterpart would comment on whether Russia was linked to the Nord Stream explosions.

Undersea Threats

The two defence chiefs signed a statement of intent to increase cooperation in countering undersea threats.

In a statement, Wallace said Britain and Norway are heightening their joint capabilities to protect Western critical national infrastructure on the seabed.

The attack on the Nord Stream pipeline has determined even closer collaboration across our collective assets to detect and defend against subsea threats and ensure continued North Atlantic security, he added.

The two nations agreed to increase cooperation to improve their ability to detect submarines, counter mine threats, and generally enhance North Atlantic security.

The agreement also bolsters the development of better technology to protect shared interests in the North Sea while streamlining the process for other allies to join their activity, according to the Ministry of Defence.

They have already jointly increased security patrols in the region where the unexplained blasts occurred.

From July, the Royal Navys new multi-role ocean surveillance vessel RFA Proteus will go to sea to help protect critical infrastructure, Wallace said.

NATO Warning

Following the Nord Stream blasts, NATO significantly increased the number of ships patrolling the North and Baltic seas, and established a Critical Undersea Infrastructure Protection Cell to improve cooperation with industry, capitals, and experts.

NATOs intelligence chief David Cattler warned earlier this month that Russia may sabotage undersea cables to punish Western nations for supporting Ukraine.

There are heightened concerns that Russia may target undersea cables and other critical infrastructure in an effort to disrupt Western life, to gain leverage against those nations that are providing security to Ukraine, he told reporters in Brussels.

On May 4, the Polish government approved draft legislation that would allow the military toin exceptional situationssink an enemy ship targeting a key gas pipeline from Norway via the Baltic Sea.

Warsaw said a permanent base for coast guard units would be established in Swinoujscie port, where a terminal for importing liquefied natural gas is located.

PA Media and Reuters contributed to this report.
Senators Propose Special Oversight Agency for AI, Big Tech

A response by ChatGPT, an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, is seen on its website in this illustration taken on Feb. 9, 2023. (Florence Lo/Reuters)

Two Democrat senators introduced legislation on May 18 that would create an expert federal agency to provide regulation of digital platforms, specifically artificial intelligence.

Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) introduced the Digital Platform Commission Act, which aims to establish a dedicated federal agency responsible for regulating digital platforms.

In a press release announcing the legislation, the lawmakers outlined the main goals of the proposed act, which are to protect consumers, promote fair competition, and serve the public interest.

Theres no reason that the biggest tech companies on Earth should face less regulation than Colorados small businessesespecially as we see technology corrode our democracy and harm our kids mental health with virtually no oversight, said Bennet in a press release sent to The Epoch Times.

Technology is moving quicker than Congress could ever hope to keep up with. We need an expert federal agency that can stand up for the American people and ensure AI tools and digital platforms operate in the public interest.

The announcement also cited concerns rising about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and social media, prompting the senators to propose the creation of a Federal Digital Platform Commission.

This agency would have the authority, jurisdiction, and resources needed to develop and enforce rules for an industry that, according to the lawmakers, has operated without significant oversight up to this point.

The senators hope to address the growing demand for effective governance and control in the digital platform realm.

Big Tech has enormous influence on every aspect of our society, from the way we work and the media we consume to our mental health and well-being, said Welch.

For far too long, these companies have largely escaped regulatory scrutiny, but that cant continue. Its time to establish an independent agency to provide comprehensive oversight of social media companies. Im proud to join Sen. Bennet to introduce this important and much-needed legislation.

Currently, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission oversee digital platforms, but the lawmakers raised concerns about a lack of expertise and resources for effective regulation.

The newly introduced legislation would create a specialized federal agency, following the examples of agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This agency would focus on regulating digital platforms and have a stated goal of ensuring consumer protection and promoting fair competition.

Bennet has been involved with multiple pieces of legislation concerning technology and AI, including the Oversee Emerging Technology Act, which he introduced last week, and the ASSESS AI Act, which he introduced last month.

The Epoch Times did not immediately receive a response from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as to his possible support for the measure. However, the lawmaker recently spoke out supporting efforts to move forward comprehensive AI legislation.
SoftBanks Farewell to Alibaba Marks End to the Jack Ma Era

Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of China's Alibaba Group, speaks during a news conference in Chiba, Japan on June 18, 2015. (Yuya Shino/Reuters)

Japanese tech investment giant SoftBank Group and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba are nearing the end of their long partnership. SoftBank had effectively sold or financed its entire remaining stake in Alibaba, chief financial officer Yoshimitsu Goto told reporters after the group announced its performance on May 11.

As for the portion of Alibabas shares that SoftBank still previously held, Goto said the company had financed the shares with cash through financial instruments such as prepaid forward contracts and other means. This means that SoftBank has actually sold these shares but has the right to buy them back at a later date.

According to SoftBank, over 23 years, its 7.4 billion yen investment in Alibaba turned into 9.7 trillion yen. Based on the current exchange rate, the investment of $54.5 million turned into $71.5 billion.

When Alibaba Was Unknown

SoftBanks support of Alibaba for over two decades created an era for Alibaba and the Chinese internet.

Masayoshi Son, SoftBanks chief executive, first backed Alibaba in 2000 when SoftBank Group invested $20 million in it when it was a small, unknown company less than a year old.

It is widely rumored that Son made the decision within minutes of meeting Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba.

In 2004, SoftBank made an additional investment in Alibaba. After several rounds of adjustments, it holds as much as 34.4 percent of Alibabas stock. With SoftBanks longtime support, Alibaba not only became Chinas e-commerce leader but one of the worlds largest technology companies.

Japans SoftBank Group Corp Chief Executive Masayoshi Son attends a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, Nov. 5, 2018. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

Alibaba was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 19, 2014, with an opening price of $92.7. At its peak in 2020, Alibabas stock hit an all-time high of $317 a share, and SoftBanks stake was valued at over $200 billion. SoftBank only partially reduced its stake since Alibaba went public.

Crackdown on Chinese Tech Companies

As a result of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)s crackdown on Chinese tech companies over recent years, technology stocks moved into a bear market. Alibabas share price has been on a downward slide since late 2020 after a planned listing of its affiliate Ant Group was halted by the CCPs regulators.

In mid-April, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing showed SoftBanks remaining stake in Alibaba was only 3.8 percent. SoftBank has sold down its stake in Alibaba in a near-liquidation fashion. Documents provided to The Financial Times by The Washington Service, a data provider, show that over the past 14 months, SoftBank has reaped an average of $92 per share from the forward sale of 389 million Alibaba shares.

The average earnings per share are not only well below the all-time high of Alibabas stock price but also below its opening price on the day of its initial public offering in 2014. In other words, SoftBanks return on its investment in Alibaba for more than eight years is close to zero.

SoftBank said that Alibabas deal reflected its shift to a defensive mode in response to a more uncertain business environment.

We are bolstering our financial stability by increasing our liquidity on hand by raising cash.

A woman walks past an Alibaba sign outside the companys office in Beijing on April 13, 2021. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

The SoftBank sell-off comes at a critical time for the Japanese group, which is planning to list another of its investments, Arm, a British chip design company.

Meanwhile, SoftBank reported a record annual investment loss of 5.3 trillion yen ($39 billion) on its Vision Funds on May 11.

Times Have Changed

The Alibaba of today is very different from the Alibaba of Jack Mas era. On March 28, Alibaba announced that it plans to split into six business groups, each of which will operate independently and may go public.

Each business group will have its own CEO and board of directors, implementing a CEO responsibility system under the leadership of a board of directors.

Alibaba Group will become a holding company, with Zhang Yong in charge. The move marks the final unraveling of a business empire that Ma spent more than two decades building.

Dreams of an Alibaba Economy

Ma once envisioned an Alibaba economy, in which subsidiaries and affiliates worked closely together. Since Ant Groups listing was halted, however, this concept has barely been mentioned within the company.

Ma stepped down as Alibabas chairman in 2019 and continued to serve as a board member. A year later, he was no longer even an ordinary group director.

During the CCPs several years of clampdown on Chinas internet companies, Ma had largely kept a low profile, spending much of his time overseas.

In Alibaba Groups most recent annual report released in July 2022, Ma was listed only as a partner of Alibaba.

Jack Ma, then CEO of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, speaks during his visit at the Vivatech startups and innovation fair in Paris on May 16, 2019. (Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images)

Ma once said that founding Alibaba was the biggest mistake he had ever made.

My biggest mistake was that I made Alibaba. I never thought this thing would change my life, Ma, then Alibaba CEO, said at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, in June 2016.

I was just trying to run a small business, yet it grew so big and brought about so much responsibility, as well as so much trouble.
Dear Dr. Chloe, How Can I Get Over My Ex and Potentially Stop Experiencing This Type of Pain Ever Again?
Steady Progress on Debt Ceiling Talks, White House Informs Biden in Japan

President Joe Biden arrives for a bilateral meeting with Fumio Kishida, Japan's prime minister, ahead of the Group of Seven leaders summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 18, 2023. (Kiyoshi Ota/Pool/Getty Images)

Debt ceiling talks are showing steady progress, according to the White House late on Thursday, amid a looming June 1 federal default deadline.

President Joe Biden is currently in Hiroshima, Japan, for the Group of Seven (G-7) Summit.

He received an update Thursday morning from his designated negotiating team, as they continue trying to reach a bipartisan agreement with Republican lawmakers over a framework for the budget, according to a White House official.

Steady progress is being made in the negotiations, the presidents team informed the White House official. The phone call lasted 20 to 30 minutes, according to press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

In the phone call, Biden directed his team to continue pressing for a bipartisan agreement, and made clear the need to protect health care programs for Americans, the White House official said. Biden remains confident Congress will reach an agreement to avoid default.

The latest update from the White House on Thursday came hours after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters, I see the path that we could come to an agreement, adding, I think we have a structure now.

The negotiatorsincluding Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president, and Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), and unnamed members of McCarthys staffare still in talks over the spending caps, and the amount and duration of an increase or suspension to the debt limit, according to McCarthy.

The working group has met daily since May 16.

Since January, Biden has had a standoff with McCarthy over raising the nations $31.4 trillion debt ceiling.

Republicans, who control the House by a 222213 majority, have been pushing for future spending cuts in exchange for a deal with Democrats to raise Congresss self-imposed debt limit.

Meanwhile, Biden had refused to negotiate over the matter, saying that it would jeopardize the full faith and credit of the United States.

In April, the House passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion, enough to last for about one year, while limiting federal spending, strengthening work requirements for some recipients of federal benefits, clawing back unspent COVID-19 relief funds, and loosening restrictions on drilling for oil and gas.

While continuing to say he would not negotiate concerning the debt ceiling, Biden has been willing to negotiate on other provisions of the GOP bill. He has signaled a willingness to consider some changes to work requirements, but stood firm on the health care programs.

Im not going to accept any work requirements thats going to impact on medical health needs of people, Biden said on Wednesday.

The U.S. Treasury has indicated it will be unable to stay under the limit after about June 1. This means the U.S. government wont be able to pay its bills if the debt limit isnt lifted. Economists have said this is likely to trigger a recession.

Biden is set to return to Washington, D.C. from Japan on Sunday. He was originally scheduled to visit Australia and Papua New Guinea, but canceled the trip to be back for debt limit talks.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Papua New Guinea in lieu of Biden next week, amid efforts to counter Chinas rising influence in the Pacific.

Lawrence Wilson contributed to this report.
Supreme Court Dismisses Republican States Title 42 Case as Moot

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, on May 12, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a suit brought by a group of Republican attorneys general, who sought to keep in place the emergency Title 42 measure implemented by the Trump administration, which expired last week.

The high courts Thursday ruling (pdf) ended Title 42, the emergency measure that the Trump administration implemented in March 2020 as a reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, and concluded a legal saga between Republican states and the Biden administration that lasted months before the measure expired on May 11.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations used Title 42 to expel illegal immigrants.

Legal Battle on Border Policy

The case goes back to January 2021, when a group of illegal immigrants seeking asylum in the United States filed a class-action lawsuit in the D.C. District Court against the Biden administration, arguing that the government did not have the authority to expel them under Title 42.

In November 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled (pdf) in favor of the illegal immigrants, declaring Title 42 illegal, as well as all memos issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suspending the right to introduce certain persons into the United States.

But Sullivans ruling clashed with a May 2022 ruling (pdf) by the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, which sided with a group of Republican statesagainst the Biden administrationin issuing a nationwide injunction allowing Title 42 to stay.

Following Sullivans ruling, the states went to intervene in the Washington case and sought to defend Title 42 in the D.C. Court of Appeals. After the appeals court denied the states motion to intervene, the states then submitted an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.

The high court, in a 54 vote, granted (pdf) the states request in December 2022 and allowed Title 42 to remain in effect.

The high courts Thursday ruling removed the case from the courts calendar and instructed a lower court in Washington, D.C. to dismiss the case as moot.

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (Melina Mara/Pool/Getty Images)

The one-paragraph unsigned order did not go into the justices reasoning for dismissing the case as moot, but shadowed closely a brief filed in February by Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the lawyer representing the U.S. government in the Supreme Court. Prelogar wrote in that brief (pdf) that absent other relevant developments, the end of the public health emergency will (among other consequences) terminate the Title 42 orders and moot this case. The court signaled its Thursday move when it canceled oral arguments on this case, originally set for March 1, days after Prelogars February brief.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that she would have dismissed the Supreme Courts December 2022 decision allowing Title 42 to stay in place as improvidently granted, indicating that she thought the court made a mistake in granting a review of the states case.

In a seven-page statement attached to the courts one-paragraph order, Justice Neil Gorsuch echoed Jacksons note and that the high court took a serious misstep when it effectively allowed the stateswhich he called nonpartiesto manipulate our docket to prolong an emergency decree designed for one crisis in order to address an entirely different one.

The current border crisis is not a COVID crisis, Gorsuch wrote. And courts should not be in the business of perpetuating administrative edicts designed for one emergency only because elected officials have failed to address a different emergency.

We are a court of law, not policymakers of last resort.

The Greatest Intrusions on Civil Liberties

Gorsuch did not stop at commenting on the case at hand, and instead took the opportunity to reflect on a broader problem that he sees threatens to leave Americans with a shell of democracy: the expansion of executive power during the pandemic.

Executive officials across the country issued emergency decrees on a breathtaking scale. Governors and local leaders imposed lockdown orders forcing people to remain in their homes. They shuttered businesses and schools, public and private. They closed churches even as they allowed casinos and other favored businesses to carry on, Gorsuch wrote, adding that violators were threatened with civil and criminal sanctions.

Along the way, it seems federal officials may have pressured social-media companies to suppress information about pandemic policies with which they disagreed, he wrote on a side note.

The result of these executive actions beginning in March 2020, Gorsuch wrote, may amount to the greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country.

He lamented the apparent inaction of the legislative branchstate legislatures and Congressin response to these executive decrees and how the judicial branch, which was bound to protect our liberties addressed a fewbut hardly allof the intrusions upon them.

In some cases, like this one, courts even allowed themselves to be used to perpetuate emergency public-health decrees for collateral purposes, itself a form of emergency-lawmaking-by-litigation, Gorsuch added.

The conservative justice warned that an important lesson from the pandemicand the governments reactionis that fear and the desire for safety are powerful forces, and, citing Aristotle, noted that even the ancients warned that democracies can degenerate toward autocracy in the face of fear.

Make no mistakedecisive executive action is sometimes necessary and appropriate, he added. But if emergency decrees promise to solve some problems, they threaten to generate others.

And rule by indefinite emergency edict risks leaving all of us with a shell of a democracy and civil liberties just as hollow.
Suspect in Fatal Stabbing of Cash App Founder Pleads Not Guilty

Nima Momeni, charged with murder in the killing of Cash App founder Bob Lee, enters the courtroom at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco on May 18, 2023. (Paul Kuroda/The Standard via AP, Pool)

SAN FRANCISCOTech consultant Nima Momeni pleaded not guilty Thursday to a murder charge in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee on the streets of San Francisco.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Victor Hwang ordered Momeni, 38, kept in jail without bail, saying he posed a public safety risk if released. Momeni, who appeared in an orange sweatshirt and pants, did not speak, and his attorney Paula Canny entered the plea on his behalf.

The case has drawn national attention, partly given Lees status in the tech world. Lee was found with three stab wounds, including one to the heart, shortly after 2:30 a.m. April 4 and was taken to a hospital where he later died. He was found in the Rincon Hill neighborhood in downtown San Francisco, which has tech offices and condominiums but little activity in the early morning hours.

Lee, 43, created Cash App, a mobile payment service, and was the chief product officer of the cryptocurrency MobileCoin. He was mourned as a loving father of two who made friends wherever he went.

Prosecutors have not provided a motive but say Momeni stabbed Lee after a dispute related to Momenis sister, who appeared in court Thursday alongside their mother.

Nima Momeni, charged with murder in the killing of Cash App founder Bob Lee, enters the courtroom at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco on May 18, 2023. (Paul Kuroda/The Standard via AP, Pool)

Assistant District Attorney Omid Talai argued Thursday to detain Momeni without bail, saying that the defendant drove Lee to a secluded spot and used a knife that was part of a unique kitchen set belonging to his sister. Police recovered a knife with a 4-inch blade at the scene.

Talai said that analysis showed Momenis DNA on the handle of the knife and Lees DNA on the bloody blade and no evidence that Lee had touched the handle, contradicting Cannys claim of self-defense for her client.

But Canny said that Momeni did not drive Lee to a secluded spot with the aim of killing him. Instead, she said, Lee directed him to pull over after calling an Uber because the two had argued. The last time Momeni saw Lee, Canny said, Lee was standing upright and walking away.

People can have a fight and not know that somebodys been mortally wounded, she said in court, later adding, Every one of us, including my client, is heartbroken that Bob Lee died.

Canny said Momeni has strong ties to the community and needs to stay and fight the charges or else face deportation to Iran, which would separate him from the two people he loves most, his mother and sister. Momeni is not a U.S. citizen.

Outside the courtroom, Canny described the encounter as a cross between self-defense and accident. There was no premeditation deliberation.

San Franciscos District Attorney Brooke Jenkins rejected that idea in speaking to reporters after the arraignment. We believe that we have the murderer of Mr. Lee, and thats Mr. Momeni, she said.

Nima Momeni was 14 when his mother took the children to the United States, fleeing Iran and a husband who had inflicted years of abuse and violence on the family, his mother wrote in a letter submitted to the court in support of her sons pre-trial release.

She said her son was generous and kind, pitching in financially when she enrolled in college to become a dental hygienist. He taught himself about computer technology.

Momeni was arrested last month at his home in Emeryville, which is across the bay from San Francisco.

An unnamed friend of Lee told homicide investigators they had been hanging out and drinking with Momenis sister the day before the stabbing, prosecutors said in a motion to detain Momeni without bail.

The friend said Momeni later questioned Lee about whether his sister was doing drugs or otherwise engaging in inappropriate behavior and Lee said she had not.

The friend and Lee later parted ways, and surveillance video showed Lee entering the posh Millennium Tower downtown, where Momenis sister Khazar lives with her husband, prominent San Francisco plastic surgeon Dino Elyassnia. Video footage then showed Lee and Momeni leaving the building together shortly after 2 a.m. and driving off in Momenis car.

Momeni faces 26 years to life if convicted.

By Janie Har
ULAN BATOR, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Strong winds, and heavy dust and snow storms are sweeping large parts of Mongolia, and causing poor visibility on roads, the country's weather monitoring agency warned Friday.

The strong winds and dust storms are hitting the eastern provinces of Sukhbaatar and Dornod as well as the provinces of Dundgovi, Dornogovi, Govisumber and Umnugovi, with a wind speed up to 26 meters per second, the agency said.

In addition, the central part of the country, including the national capital Ulan Bator, and the eastern province of Khentii are now experiencing strong winds, snow storms and a sudden air temperature drop.

Strong winds, and dust and snow storms started on Thursday in northern parts of the country. Roofs of several buildings and power lines were taken down by the winds and storms in the northern province of Selenge, said the country's National Emergency Management Agency on Friday.

The volatile weather is expected to continue in the coming few days across large parts of the country, the agency said, warning the public, especially nomadic herders and drivers, to take extra precautions against possible disasters.

Mongolia has a harsh continental climate as strong winds, dust and snow storms are common. 
Ted Cruz Calls for Investigation Over Bud Light Marketing to Dylan Mulvaneys Under-21 Followers

Bud Light beer cans sit on a table in right field during the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Md., on Sept. 19, 2019. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has called on Anheuser-Busch and the Beer Institute to investigate the marketing relationship with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney whose social media followers are primarily under 21.

Cruz, along with Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), on Wednesday, sent a letter to Brendan Whitworth, CEO of Anheuser-Busch and chairman of the Beer Institute, requesting the Beer Institute launch an investigation into the recent and ongoing marketing partnership with the Mulvaney (pdf).

Anheuser-Busch needs to answer questions about their advertising partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, Cruz wrote on Twitter. Mulvaneys content is directed at a younger audience. Why would Anheuser-Busch promote their product to people who cannot consume it?

Mulvaney, who has more than 10 million followers on TikTok, and nearly 2 million on Instagram, posted a series of videos advertising Bud Light and showing off a personalized beer can.

The Beer Institute must examine whether your company violated the Beer Institutes Advertising/Marketing Code and Buying Guidelines prohibiting marketing to individuals younger than the legal drinking age, the letter reads.

The social media personality gained notoriety for chronicling his gender transition, which he dubbed 365 Days of Girlhood.

This month, I celebrated my day 365 of womanhood, and Bud Light sent me possibly the best gift evera can with my face on it, Mulvaney said on April 1.

The partnership sparked outrage from Bud Light drinkers and conservatives who accused the company of promoting transgender ideology. Bud Light sales have tanked in the wake of the partnership as many have boycotted the brand, and Anheuser Busch stock was recently downgraded by an HSBC analyst.

Last month, Whitworth said in a statement that the company never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.

What Else Does the Letter Say?

The five-page letter outlines the senators concerns and calls on Anheuser-Busch to end its relationship with Mulvaney.

Cruz and Blackburn said Mulvaneys series titled Days of Girlhood which received over 750 million views in less than 100 days should have been the first red flag to Anheuser-Busch that it was entering into a partnership with an individual whose audience skews impermissibly below the Beer Institutes proscribed guidelines, the letter states.

The use of the phrase Girlhood was not a slip of the tongue but rather emblematic of a series of Mulvaneys online content that was specifically used to target, market to, and attract an audience of young people who are well below the legal drinking age in the United States, the letter continued.

The senators say Mulvaneys video content clearly presents a faux, pre-pubescent girl persona targeting a young audience.

One of Mulvaneys videos shows the transgender influencer dressed as a small child while lip-syncing, I am Eloise, I am six. Cruz and Blackburn pointed out that the video garnered more than 7.1 million views and aired less than two weeks before the Bud Light partnership.

The video called Day 100 of being a girl, shows Mulvaney giving away cash and merchandise to teen girls. It was viewed more than 11 million times.

Still, another video that had more than 9.6 million views features Mulvaney pandering to teen developmental issues when he recorded a TikTok pining about 30,000 people want to be my first kiss as a girl.'

Finally, the senators pointed to a fourth video of Mulvaney shopping for Barbie dolls at a Target store.

Mattel, the maker of Barbie, has, according to market analysts, a clearly demarcated target for [the] Barbie doll [consisting of] young girls 3-12 years of age' the letter said.

The letter also points to comments made by Alissa Heinerscheid, the beer makers former VP of marketing, who was reportedly responsible for the marketing flub.

I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light. And it was, this brand is in decline. Its been in decline for a very long time. And if we do not attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand, there will be no future for Bud Light, Heinerscheid said on an episode of Apples Make Yourself at Home podcast.

The senators compared the Mulvaney partnership to the now illegal marketing campaigns of cigarette makers.

The Mulvaney/Bud Light campaign is starkly similar to the discredited and now illegal marketing campaigns of cigarette manufacturers that used youth-flavored advertising tools such as Joe Camel in an attempt to develop early brand loyalty with children who were legally prohibited from smoking cigarettes, the letter said.

Cruz and Blackburn said the evidence is overwhelmingly clear that the marketing campaign with Mulvaney violates the standards required by the Beer Institute.

They urged the Anhauser-Busch to immediately review all of their influencer relationships and sever any and all ties with persons or online personas that violate the standards, including the relationship with Mulvaney.

If the beer maker fails to take the steps outlined, the senators asked that the Beer Institute find Anhauser-Busch in violation of the guidelines and order them to sever their relationship with Mulvaney.

Anheuser-Busch did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times request for comment.
The Big Tech Spy Hunt

From China to Russia, Iran, and South Korea, economic espionage grows

Visitors look at the J-16D electronic warfare variant of the Chinese military's J-16 airplane during 13th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, also known as Airshow China 2021 in Zhuhai, southern China, on Sept. 29, 2021. (Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

Commentary

The United States and South Korea are getting tougher on technology leaks. The two countries have extensive tech industries to protect. Most important is their technological lead, along with the Netherlands, in small and powerful computer chips used for economic and military applications around the world.

Countries that steal these technologies include China, Russia, and Iran. As U.S. adversaries, they could use them against us and our allies.

On May 16, the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed five related cases investigated by its new Disruptive Technology Strike Force.

Two of them, both in California, include the alleged theft of source code by Chinese nationals for delivery to competitors in China.

On May 5, a senior technology engineer was arrested for alleged theft of metrology software which is used in smart automotive manufacturing equipment, the DOJ said in a press release. The tech could help China build nuclear submarines and military aircraft.

The other case is of a Chinese national and former Apple engineer who allegedly stole thousands of documents containing the source code for software and hardware pertaining to Apples autonomous vehicle technology, according to the DOJ.

He escaped back to China the same night in 2018 that FBI agents searched his home and discovered the documents. It is unclear why the FBI didnt immediately arrest the suspect and why it has taken this long to bring charges.

A third case, in New York, involved a sanctioned Chinese procurement network established to provide Iran with materials used in weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles, the DOJ said. The defendant is a Chinese national who allegedly used a front company to try to provide Iran with isostatic graphite, used in the rocket nozzles and reentry vehicle nose cones of intercontinental ballistic missiles. He is at large in China.

French officials arrested a Greek national in a fourth case for alleged links to Russian intelligence and acquiring 10 different types of controlled technology for illegal export to Russia.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace (2nd L) with: David Newman (L), the principal deputy assistant attorney general for National Security at U.S. Department of Justice; Michael Driscoll (2nd R), the assistant director-in-charge of the FBIs New York field office; and David Sundberg (R), the assistant director-in-charge of the FBIs Washington field office, at a DOJ press conference announcing arrests and charges against multiple individuals alleged to be working in connection to the Chinese regime, at the U.S. Attorneys office in New York on April 17, 2023. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

As alleged, while ostensibly operating as a defense contractor for NATO and other ally countries, the defendant and his Aratos Group were double-dealing, helping to fuel Russias war effort and their development of next-generation weapons, U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said.

The Aratos Group operates defense and technology companies in Greece and the Netherlands, which, as NATO countries, can import some controlled U.S. tech. Since 2017, Aratos has allegedly smuggled tech to Russia that can be used in military applications, including quantum cryptography and nuclear weapons testing, as well as tactical battlefield equipment by Russian nuclear and quantum research facilities and intelligence services, according to the DOJ.

Two other Russian nationals were arrested in Arizona in a fifth case for allegedly lying and using front companies and foreign bank accounts to attempt to ship export-controlled aircraft parts to sanctioned Russian commercial airlines.

As the United States has increased the pressure on economic spies, those from China have gone elsewhere to get similar technologies. In South Korea, for example, confirmed leaks of core technologies increased from 3 in 2017 to 10 in 2021, according to the Financial Times. In the first quarter of 2023, there have already been three such leaks from large automotive, display, and semiconductor companies. Headhunters from China operate front companies and lurk outside South Korean chip fabrication plants in an attempt to poach talent. On offer are salaries three to four times existing incomes.

The chip industry is so important that Seoul now monitors the foreign travel of its semiconductor engineers. Arrests for tech leakage have increased dramatically, but only about 6 percent result in convictions. South Korean authorities are also concerned about tech leakage to U.S. companies through joint ventures.

How many of these leaks are illegal and can be proven in a court of law is another matter. But they increase the temperature and concern about foreign nationals from adversary countries with access to sensitive U.S. and allied technologies and data.

Perhaps in retaliation, China is also increasing the heat on U.S. and Japanese companies with access to sensitive Chinese business data. Reports emerged on May 18 that Chinas spymaster, Chen Yixin, is in charge of investigating U.S. due diligence companies operating in China.

The result will be increased business risk and decoupling from China by not only U.S. companies but also the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and other allies. Although the Chinese Communist Party appears unfazed by the risk of decoupling, now adopted by many G-7 countries under the more moderate term de-risking, it will likely hurt Chinas innovation economy going forward.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
TikTok Pushing Dumbed Down Content to Western Teens Warns Peer

Video app feeding more educational clips to Chinese youth than western counterparts, claims Baroness Martha Lane Fox

The TikTok startup page is displayed on an iPhone in Ottawa on Feb. 27, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

TikTok is feeding Western teens dumbed down content while providing Chinese youth with educational and motivational videos, the president of the British Chambers of Commerce has claimed.

Baroness Martha Lane Foxa former Twitter board membersaid the video sharing app was eroding ambition and motivation by bombarding Western young people with addictive content.

According to the Telegraph, Fox said TikTok owner Bytedance pushed maths, science and the brilliance of going into space and invention on sister app Douyinwhich targets the companys China market.

Douyin users under the age of 14 are also shielded with strict measures to prevent them from gorging on videos.

Children are limited to 40 minutes each day between 6am and 10pm in the apps youth mode. Videos also include a five-second break between clips.

In the UK, TikTok introduced an optional time limit of 60 minutes per day for teens aged between 13 and 18. The function can be easily disabled.

Speaking at Londons Mindgym summit on Thursday, Fox said the app was promoting makeup tutorials to American children to dumb down the content.

It is eroding something about ambition and motivation with what you can sit scrolling through, she said.

Ban

However, the peer, co-founder of online travel site Lastminute.com, stopped short of calling for a UK ban on the app.

I dont think it should be banned, but I think we should be very careful, the Telegraph reported.

Separating the ownership structure properly feels right.

According to the newspaper, TikTok said the claims were simply untrue.

The Epoch Times has contacted the social media app for comment.

The peers criticism comes amid a growing backlash against TikTok, accused of being a potential spying and espionage tool for the Chinese government.

On Wednesday, Montana became the first state in the United States to completely ban the video-sharing app.

The states Republican governor signed a measure that is more sweeping than any other states attempts to curtail the social media app.

The measure, which is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024, is expected to be challenged legally and will serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America that many national legislators have envisioned.

Today, Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect Montanans private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party, governor Greg Gianforte said in a statement.

TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter argued that the law infringes on peoples First Amendment rights and is unlawful.

We want to reassure Montanans that they can continue using TikTok to express themselves, earn a living, and find community as we continue working to defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana, Oberwetter said in a statement.

More than half of U.S. states and the federal government have a similar ban.

An AFP collaborator poses for a picture using the smart phone application TikTok in Paris on Dec. 14, 2018. (-/AFP/Getty Images)

Beijing Anger

Some lawmakers, the FBI and officials at other agencies are concerned that the video-sharing app could be used to allow Chinas regime to access information on American citizens or push pro-Beijing misinformation that could influence the public.

TikTok argues it does not share data with China.

However, Beijings intelligence legislation requires firms to help the Communist Party when requested.

Regulators in America have warned TikTok it will be banned in the United States unless it financially separates from its China-headquartered parent company.

In March the UK Government announced it was banning the app on government phones, citing a risk to sensitive data.

Beijing reacted angrily with the Chinese embassy in the UK describing it as a move based on its political motive rather than facts and said it will ultimately harm the UKs own interests.

The TikTok ban applies to government corporate devices within ministerial and nonministerial departments but not personal devices.

Scotland also introduced a similar ban weeks later.

PA Media contributed to this report.
Trump Says He Would Reach Great Deal on Abortion If Elected

Former President Donald Trump speaks during an event at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Fla., on April 4, 2023. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump said on May 16 that he would be able to reach a deal on abortion that the whole country can agree with if he were reelected to the White House.

Were in a position now where we can get something that the whole country can agree with, and thats only because I got us out of the Roe v. Wade, where the pro-life people had absolutely nothing to say, Trump told Newsmax TV, without providing details on the aforementioned deal.

When asked to elaborate, the former president indicated that he had put pro-life states in a very powerful negotiating position.

Nobody thought it was possible to do what I did with Roe v. Wade and now, because of what I did, we have a very powerful negotiating positionmore powerful, frankly, than the other side, Trump said.

He added, But on pro-life, I will tell you, what I did on Roe v. Wade, nobody elsefor 50 years theyve been trying to do it. I got it done. And now were in a position to make a really great deal, and a deal that people want.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June last year following a 63 vote. Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the courts majority opinion, said that Roe was egregiously wrong from the start, and that it is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the peoples elected representatives.

Three of the six justices who ruled in favor of the state of Mississippi in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, the Supreme Court case that overturned Roe, were appointed by TrumpNeil Gorsuch in 2017, Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, and Amy Coney Barrett in 2020.

Todays decision, which is the biggest WIN for LIFE in a generation, along with other decisions that have been announced recently, were only made possible because I delivered everything as promised, including nominating and getting three highly respected and strong Constitutionalists confirmed to the United States Supreme Court, Trump said in a statement last year, following the overturning of Roe.

DeSantis Criticism

Trump also continued his criticism of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his recently signing into law a ban on abortions after six weeks, with exceptions for cases involving such circumstances as rape or incest.

Now DeSantis, or Ron DeSanctimonious, as I call him, he came out with the six weeks. Other people agree with it. And a lot of people dont, Trump said.

In an interview with The Messenger published on May 15, Trump made similar criticisms of Floridas new ban.

He has to do what he has to do, Trump said. If you look at what DeSantis did, a lot of people dont even know if he knew what he was doing. But he signed six weeks, and many people within the pro-life movement feel that that was too harsh.

On Tuesday, DeSantis responded to Trumps criticism, and said the ban has widespread support.

Protecting an unborn child when theres a detectable heartbeat is something that almost 99 percent of pro-lifers support, the Florida governor said. As a Florida resident, you know, he didnt give an answer about, Would you have signed the heartbeat bill that Florida did, that had all the exceptions that people talk about?

DeSantis is considered Trumps main rival for the Republican nomination in 2024. The Florida governor has not officially launched a presidential bid, but is expected to make his decision soon.

According to a poll by National Research Inc. that queried 500 likely New Hampshire Republican primary voters from May 15 to May 17, Trump picked up 39 percent of support, leading second-placed DeSantis by 21 percentage points.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu was third with 17 percent of support, followed by biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at six percent, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at three percent.
Trump Says What Took Place at House Weaponization Panels FBI Whistleblower Hearing Very Sad

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the Mar-a-Lago Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., April 4, 2023. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump responded to the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Governments FBI whistleblower hearing on Thursday, describing it as very sad and decrying what took place.

The House panel convened a contentious hearing with three FBI whistleblowers aimed at examining abuses seen at the Bureau and how the FBI has retaliated against whistleblowers.

The hearing focused on suspended FBI agents Marcus Allen, Garrett OBoyle, and Steve Friend, who claimed whistleblower status. Despite the protection the status should provide from retaliation, they testified about enduring significant abuse after sharing information with Congress.

The proceedings on Thursday were disrupted by Democrats on the panel who repeatedly raised objections, taking issue with the fact that suspended FBI agent Marcus Allen had declined to talk to them before the hearing but had done so with Republican members.

Very sad watching what took place today in Congress regarding Whistleblowers and the FBI. There has never been a time like this in our Country, the complete weaponization of Justice, Trump wrote on his Truth Social account late Thursday night.

I am a victim also, but the real victim is the United States of America, he continued. Congress must use its purse strings to straighten it out, before it is too late! MAGA 2024.

The hearing lasted around four hours, with intermittent debates over Allens meeting with Republicans prior to the hearing.

Republican members of the panel pushed back against Democrats complaints over not having access to a transcript of Allens prior remarks, arguing that as a whistleblower, Allen had the right to determine who could receive the transcript.

Democrats argued that the panels chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), was required to share the transcript under House rules but faced opposition from Republicans in a party-line vote.

Republicans on the panel pointed out that FBI whistleblowers didnt feel safe with Democrats, given a history of leaks that led to reports in the media that had to be retracted.

Ranking member Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) delivers opening remarks during the first 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)

Not Comfortable Meeting With the Democrats

The procedural objections began early, with Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands), the panels ranking member, interrupting the first opening statements of Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wy.) to complain about not having access to a transcript of Allens prior conversation with Republican members of the panel.

Just as a point of order, we have learnedthat Mr. Allen did meet with you and might have testimony that was transcribed. And I understand that he was not comfortable meeting with the Democrats, but hes comfortable being here today in this open forum, Plaskett said.

Jordan, who acknowledged having a transcript of Allens comments, responded to Plaskett, saying, That will be up to Mr. Allen.

His response prompted protest from Plaskett and other Democrats, but the chairman said, [Allen] saw what you did to Mr. Friend and others, the false information you gave the press.

Jordan noted that Democrats on the panel were free to ask Allen any question during the hearing, which lasted four hours.

But the panels Democrats repeatedly came back to the transcript issue throughout the hearing, arguing the chairman was obligated to share it with them under House rules.

Democrats leaked the committees first subpoenas. Democrats leaked and mischaracterized whistleblower testimony, forcing several news outlets to correct their stories, a subcommittee spokesman previously told The Epoch Times.

Democrats issued a report attacking these whistleblowers and disparaging their character, the spokesman continued. Simply put, whistleblowers are not comfortable speaking to Democrats because of their record of slandering whistleblowers.

Read More House Weaponization Panel Hears FBI Whistleblowers Amid Democrat Delaying Tactics

From left to right: Suspended FBI special agent Garret OBoyle, former FBI agent Steve Friend, and suspended FBI agent Marcus Allen during a hearing in Washington on May 18, 2023. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The three FBI agents-turned-whistleblowers informed Congress that the bureau established a potential violence tag for pro-life pregnancy centers after the Supreme Court returned authority to decide the abortion issue to the states in June 2022.

They also disclosed that agents were pressured to record interactions with accused domestic terrorists as multiple cases instead of individual cases and that the Department of Justice approved the surveillance of parents protesting school board policies, such as on transgender issues.

Each of the witnesses in attendance at the hearing experienced not only suspension but also endured further acts of retaliation.

OBoyle told the subcommittee he was sad, disappointed, and angry to have to testify about the weaponization of the FBI and DOJ.

Weaponization not only against its own employees but against those institutions and individuals that are supposed to protect the American people, he said. I am here today because, even though I am wrongfully suspended from my duties, I remain duty bound to the American people to perform my small role in rectifying these small issues.

Mark Tapscott contributed to this report.
Tucker Carlson Crushes Fox News in Latest Favorability Ratings

Fox News host Tucker Carlson discusses "Populism and the Right" during the National Review Institute's Ideas Summit at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, D.C., on March 29, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The popularity gap Tucker Carlson enjoys over Fox News among conservatives has widened sharply in the wake of his departure from the network, with a new poll putting Carlsons net favorability rating a whopping 63 points over Fox.

According to the survey from consulting agency Change Research, Carlsons net favorability rating among Republicans stands at +59.

By contrast, Fox News favorability rating among the same demographic is at -4, with the difference being 63 points in favor of the firebrand former host of Tucker Carlson Tonight, which was the most-watched cable news show in the United States.

Carlson parted ways with Fox in late April, with neither side issuing details about why he left, whether he was fired, or if he remains under contract.

Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times on the polling numbers.

People pass by a promotion of Fox News host Tucker Carlson on the News Corporation building in New York on March 13, 2019. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

Freedom to Tell the Fullest Truth

Carlson announced on May 9 that he would bring his show to Twitter, calling it the last big remaining nonpartisan platform in the world where our national conversation incubates and develops.

His remarks, made in a video on Carlsons Twitter account, were in part a nod to the efforts of Elon Musk since taking over the social media giant to allow more free speech and eliminate political bias, especially against conservative views.

The best you can hope for in the news business at this point is the freedom to tell the fullest truth that you can. But there are always limits. And you know that if you bump up against those limits often enough, you will be fired for it, Carlson said in the video in what could be seen as a hint at the context of his departure from Fox.

In the video, Carlson decried the news media for being misleading in every story that matters every day of the week, every week of the year.

Bastion of Free Speech

Nicholas Fondacaro, associate editor of the conservative media watchdog NewsBusters, told The Epoch Times that Carlsons mission, like Musks, is about free speech.

Carlson seemed earnest in his announcement video that he believes Twitter is the last bastion of free speech, likely because Elon Musk has made it clear that ensuring free speech was his priority when purchasing the platform, he told The Epoch Times. Musk has, by most accounts, talked the talk and walked the walk.

Musk clarified in a Twitter post that Carlson had not signed any contract with Twitter to broadcast his show on the platform and that the former Fox host would need to follow the same rules that apply to all Twitter users.

On this platform, unlike the one-way street of broadcast, people are able to interact, critique and refute whatever is said, Musk said. And, of course, anything misleading will get @CommunityNotes.

I also want to be clear that we have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators, he continued.

Rewards means subscriptions and advertising revenue share (coming soon), which is a function of how many people subscribe and the advertising views associated with the content, Musk continued.

I hope that many others, particularly from the left, also choose to be content creators on this platform, the Twitter chief added.

Musk later called on former CNN anchor Don Lemon to do his show on Twitter in what could be seen as an attempt on Musks part to encourage a broad array of views on the platform.

Have you considered doing your show on this platform? Musk said in a May 10 reply to Lemons April 24 post announcing that CNN had fired him. Maybe worth a try. Audience is much bigger.

Don Lemon (L) at the 2023 Center Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street in N.Y.C., on April 13, 2023. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images); Elon Musk (R) smiles at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, Calif., on June 13, 2019. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

Ratings Shakeup

After Carlsons exit, Fox News 8 p.m. hour suffered a dip in ratings after creating a replacement program for Carlsons show called Fox News Tonight.

Other Fox primetime shows, including the 9 p.m. one currently held by Sean Hannity and Laura Ingrahams programs, have also seen their ratings drop.

Fox News Tonight drew 1.3 million total viewers and 136,000 demographic viewers, according to Nielsen ratings.

In March, Carlson averaged more than 3 million viewers each night. Part of Carlsons popularity, especially among conservatives, was likely bolstered by his coverage of never-before-seen footage from the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol breach that he said challenged mainstream narratives that the incident was a violent insurrection.

Fox said that the newly minted show, which the network said was temporary, features a rotating cast of hosts.

Last week, Trump-era press secretary Kayleigh McEnany hosted the show, and this week, Foxs Will Cain has had the hosting duties.

No decision has been made on a new primetime line-up and there are multiple scenarios under consideration, a Fox News spokesperson told The Epoch Times on Wednesday.

Jack Phillips and Jackson Richman contributed to this report.
Twitter Blames Microsoft For Data Misuse in Potential Future Conflict Over AI

The shadows of people holding mobile phones are cast onto a backdrop projected with the Twitter logo in an illustration picture taken in Warsaw, Poland, on Sept. 27, 2013. (Kacper Pempel/Reuters)

Twitter is accusing Microsoft of misusing its API data access in a move that could foreshadow a potential conflict over the data access of AI systems.

In a May 18 letter (pdf) to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Twitter said that Microsoft may have been in violation of multiple provisions of the Twitter Developer Agreement for an extended period of time. Such violations include excessive or abusive use of Twitter APIs, using it for unauthorized uses and purposes like sharing data with government agencies, and utilizing the APIs for expressly prohibited use cases.

For years, Microsoft has used Twitters standard developer APIs free of charge in order to benefit from Twitters data and services in key Microsoft products that generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue for Microsoft annually.

But in April, Microsoft stopped using these APIs after Twitter began charging for the access. Microsoft refused to pay even a discounted rate for continued access to Twitters APIs and content, the letter said.

Until then, Microsoft is said to have operated eight separate Twitter API apps that provided data and functionality to at least five Microsoft products and servicesXbox One, Ads, Bing Pages, Power Platform, and Azure.

Twitters letter comes as companies with large swathes of data attempt to stop AI systems from free or cheap access to such data. As big tech firms race to build AI models, data ownership is increasingly becoming a conflict point.

Artificial intelligence systems require large sets of data for training purposes. Much of this data is freely taken from online sources like Twitter and Reddit. Data from such social media sites are extremely useful for training AI due to the informal conversations they contain.

Data owners are either seeking to stop AIs from accessing their content or fairly charging companies behind the AI for such access.

In April, Musk threatened to sue Microsoft as it trained illegally using Twitter data, apparently referring to data used in training chatbots like Open AIs ChatGPT and Microsofts Bing.

Im open to ideas, but ripping off the Twitter database, demonetizing it (removing ads), and then selling our data to others isnt a winning solution, Musk said in an April 20 tweet.

Earlier in December, Musk had blocked OpenAIs access to Twitter data. Even though OpenAI was paying $2 million annually for the access, the billionaire believed the amount was unfair. In April, Reddit announced putting its API access behind a paywall.

Microsofts Violations

In its letter to Microsoft, Twitter pointed out that there were rate limits on the use of its APIs, which the agreement expressly prohibits developers from circumventing or exceeding. In addition, using APIs in a manner that exceeds reasonable request volume or constitutes excessive or abusive usage is also prohibited.

Despite these limitations, the Microsoft Apps accessed Twitters APIs over 780 million times and retrieved over 26 billion tweets in 2022 alone. Indeed, for one of the Microsoft Apps, Microsofts account information outright states that it intends to allow its customers to go around throttling limits, the letter said.

Twitter blames Microsoft for using APIs for unauthorized uses and purposes. The agreement requires that Microsoft discloses and obtains approval for how it will use the Twitter API for each Microsoft app. Yet Microsoft did not identify any use case for six of the eight Microsoft Apps that it continued to operate until last month.

Twitter insists that a few Microsoft Apps appear to have engaged in expressly prohibited use cases. For instance, Microsofts Azure Logic Apps supplied Twitter content to several Microsoft endpoints which referenced a government entity.

This violated the agreement as Twitters rules prohibit retrieval of its data for any government-related entity without first identifying such end users and informing about the same to Twitter. However, Microsoft did not notify Twitter about these matters, the letter claims.

Several of the Microsoft Apps were also used in Microsoft applications that include automation capabilities, including Power Platform and Ads. Per the terms of the Agreement, Microsoft was obligated to comply with Twitters Automation Rules in its operation of these apps, Twitter said.

Yet Microsofts API requests for these apps include Twitter actions that are subject to certain restrictions on automation, including retweets and direct messages.

Twitter is asking that Microsoft agree to a compliance audit in accordance with the Developer Agreement. The audit is to be conducted on eight Microsoft Apps through April 2023. The company gave Microsoft a June 7 deadline to respond to the letter.

The Epoch Times reached out to Microsoft for comment.
U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Amgen in Patent War

In a closely watched patent battle, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously ruled against California-based drugmaker Amgen, affirming a lower courts decision that Amgens French rival Sanofi didnt infringe on patents on a cholesterol-lowering antibody drug.

The long-running feud involves two rival drugs: Praluent, developed by Sanofi and New York partner Regeneron and greenlit by the FDA in July 2015, and Amgens Repatha, which won federal approval just a few weeks later. Both drugs are monoclonal antibodies that help lower bad LDL cholesterol by blocking a protein called PCSK9.

Amgen sued Sanofi and Regeneron in 2014 over alleged patent infringement. Amgen won the initial trial in 2016, driving Sanofi to the brink of ending Praluent sales in the United States. However, in 2019, a Delaware judge threw out the jury verdict and invalidated Amgens patent claims. Eventually, Amgen was able to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.

The argument boiled down to a legal standard known as enablement, which states that a patent must contain enough detail so that a skilled person in the field may use the claimed invention without undue trial and error.

In this case, Amgen insisted that its patent application met the standard because it provides all the information needed for a biochemist to make a PCSK9 blocker. On the other side, Sanofi argued that Amgens patent claim, which covers thousands of possible antibodies binding to the PCSK9 protein, goes well beyond what the company has actually invented.

In Thursdays ruling, the high court unanimously agreed that Repatha fell short of the enablement standard.

The specification must enable the full scope of the invention as defined by its claims. The more one claims, the more one must enable, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the majority opinion (pdf).

To illustrate his point, Gorsuch cited an 1895 case in which inventors of an electric lamp with an incandescing conductor made of carbonized paper claimed that Thomas Edison infringed their patent because a lamp he created used bamboo as a conductor.

[The U.S. Supreme Court] sided with Edison because the rival inventors, rather than confining their claim to carbonized paper, made a broad claim for every fibrous and textile material, Gorsuch wrote. That broad claim might have been permissible if the inventors had disclosed a quality common to fibrous and textile substances that made them peculiarly adapted to incandescent lighting, but they did not.

Similarly, the court found that Amgen has failed to enable all that it has claimed, even allowing for a reasonable degree of experimentation.

[Amgen] freely admits that it seeks to claim for itself an entire universe of antibodies, the opinion read. Still, it says, its broad claims are enabled because scientists can make and use every undisclosed but functional antibody if they simply follow the companys roadmap or its proposal for conservative substitution. We cannot agree.

Regeneron, which oversees the sale of Praluent in the United States, applauded the decision. The company praised the court for pushing back what it called an attempt to radically change the legal standards for patents.

This Supreme Court decision protects access to this medicine and defends our industry and others against overreaching patent claims that cover an entire therapeutic category and could have a chilling effect on bringing life-saving medicines to people in need, Leonard Schleifer, the companys chief executive, said in the statement.

Amgen said in a statement that the company is disappointed in the outcome but will continue to fight for patent laws and policies that provide meaningful patent protection needed to foster breakthrough innovation.

As of 2022, Repatha remains the better seller of the two drugs, reaching $688 million in U.S. sales in the financial year of 2022. By contrast, Praluent only generated $130 million domestically for the company during the same period.
UK Unveils 1 Billion Semiconductor Strategy

A closeup of a silicon wafer on display at Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institution in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Sept. 16, 2022. (Annabelle Chih/Getty Images)

The UK government has unveiled its semiconductor strategy, which it said would secure the countrys position as a global science and technology superpower.

But the long-awaited policy paper was met with mixed reactions, with some companies calling it flaccid and lacking in ambition.

Under the 20-year plan, the government pledged around 200 million ($248 million) by 2025 and up to 1 billion ($1.2 billion) over the next decade to boost domestic capabilities.

The strategy also includes plans to attract and nurture talent, strengthen ties with major chip-manufacturing countries, and help businesses navigate supply chain risks and national security laws.

Most of the 1 billion will be spent on encouraging research and innovation, with parts of the money to be used to boost relevant subjects in schools and international collaboration projects.

The amount of investment is dwarfed by United States 42 billion ($52 billion) incentive packages and the European Unions 37 billion (43 billion) state aid to encourage domestic manufacturing.

The UK government said it will announce plans by the autumn on how to support the competitiveness of its domestic manufacturing sector and keep evaluating future needs for domestic manufacturing, but the strategy is mainly focused on more advanced compound semiconductors, research and development, and chip design.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak departs 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Ministers Questions at the Houses of Parliament, in London, on April 26, 2023. (Stefan Rousseau/PA Media)

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement: Our new strategy focuses our efforts on where our strengths lie, in areas like research and design, so we can build our competitive edge on the global stage.

By increasing the capabilities and resilience of our world-leading semiconductor industry, we will grow our economy, create new jobs and stay at the forefront of new technological breakthroughs.

Supply Chain Risks

Semiconductors, commonly known as microchips, are essential components of all things modern from cattle tags, smartphones, and cars, to medical equipment, power stations, and weapon systems.

Owning to the complexity of semiconductor manufacturing, chip fabrication can cost upwards of 10 billion, and the whole process of making themfrom mining minerals and designing the chips, to the making and packagingis scattered around the world.

Most advanced semiconductors are produced in Asia, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and South Koreas Samsung leading the charge.

A man walks past a company logo at the headquarters of the worlds largest semiconductor maker TSMC in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Jan. 29, 2021. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)

Concerns over semiconductor supply chain security were brought to the fore after a global shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic hit many downstream industries including the automotive sector. Geopolitical tensionsparticularly anxieties over a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan and Beijings ambition of technological dominanceare also prompting countries to mitigate supply chain and national security risks.

To help improve the industrys access to infrastructure, the government said its short term plans include a pilot programme to support new start-ups, a campaign to attract foreign talent, and investment in teachers in subjects such as maths and physics.

The paper also included medium- and long-term goals including supporting research centers to recruit and train talent, expanding the UKs compound open foundryecosystem, improving access to chip design tools or IP and prototyping facilities for silicon, and exchange programmes with allies including Japan.

To mitigate risks of another supply chain shock, the government said it will talk to companies to better identify risks and publish guidance to help smaller businesses that depend on semiconductor components to understand where the potential risks are and measures they can take.

The government vowed to work with Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and the United States on supply chain resilience and transparency and to help preserve freedom of navigation through the Indo-Pacific region to deter Beijings blockade in areas such as the Taiwan Strait.

Regarding risks to national security, the document set out plans to address supply chain risks to critical industries such as health care, defence, and telecoms.

The government also said it would increase transparency when banning foreign investments or exports using national security laws, to help business navigate the rules, but will continue to make decisions on a case by case basis as new technologies and threats emerge.

Fundamental Challenges Not Addressed

Americo Lemos, CEO of chip maker IQE, said in a statement that the strategy rightly focuses on the areas where the UK is a global leader, such as the manufacturing of advanced compound semiconductors sitting at the heart of future technologies.

Simon Thomas, CEO and founder of Paragraf, which describes itself as the only company in the world capable of manufacturing graphene to mass produce semiconductor chips, said the strategy, although welcome, is quite frankly flaccid and a long way from addressing the needs of UK chipmakers.

It doesnt address any of the fundamental challenges British chipmakers face, he said in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times.

Noting the strategy is ultimately not about the money, Thomas said the governments spending commitment is nothing but a rounding error in this industry.

The strategy should be a plan on how the government will remove the barriers for growth resulting in an environment where British semiconductor businesses can flourish, he said.

From what weve seen so far, while not addressing any of the fundamental challenges British chipmakers face, the strategy continues the trend of this Conservative administration proclaiming superlatives like becoming a technology superpower without defining what superpower actually means or delivering a plan of how we will even begin to reach this objective.

Amelia Armour, partner at Amadeus Capital Partners, which invests in semiconductor start-ups, also said the the governments ambitions were lacking.

She told the Financial Times the scale of investment is disappointing compared to the EU and the United States.

The initial commitment of 200 million wont achieve much unless its used in a very targeted way, she said.
University of California Could Provide Illegal Immigrant Students With Job Opportunities

Students walk on the campus of University of CaliforniaLos Angeles (UCLA) in Los Angeles, Calif. on March 11, 2020. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

The University of California is moving closer to potentially employing illegal immigrants in various roles across its campus system after its Board of Regents agreed in a May 18 meeting to convene a working group on the issue.

In a closed board session, officials discussed the Equitable Student Employment Opportunities (pdf) measure before proceeding to vote on the matter in an open session.

An executive summary of the measure states that the university is committed to providing equitable access to high-quality higher education for all of its students regardless of immigration status.

University employment is an important component of student life and well-being for many students, offering opportunities for academic growth, and preparing them to flourish in their chosen careers, it adds.

The summary states that many students at the university depend on employment to support themselves and their family members while studying, and that in return, such employment also provides valuable service to the university.

The University has assessed whether it would be appropriate to adopt a policy that would authorize the employment of student employees regardless of immigration status. This assessment has included a review of legal theories that might be asserted in support of a new equitable access to employment policy. The Board of Regents is considering a range of alternative plans for possibly implementing such a policy, the executive summary states.

The University proposes to move forward with steps toward exploring a policy to authorize the hiring of University students without regard to immigration status, by approving the Regents policy, it adds.

A student crosses the University of CaliforniaIrvine campus in Irvine, Calif., on Sept. 25, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Next Steps to Be Discussed

Following Thursdays meeting, the board agreed to create a working group that will consider the next steps when it comes to employing immigrant students, which will include discussing relevant issues and developing an implementation plan and legal strategy.

A decision on the matter will be made by the end of November, officials said.

The president of the university has also recommended that the board adopt the new policy on Equitable Student Employment Opportunities, according to the summary.

The move comes in response to an advocacy campaign from illegal immigrant student organizers at the university who were joined by professors from the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law and the UCLA Labor Center.

They launched the Opportunity for All campaign in October calling for thousands of illegal immigrant students at the university to be granted equal access to on-campus opportunities.

According to campaigners, there are approximately 44,326 illegal immigrant college students in California that do not have equal access to on-campus opportunities including work-study jobs, paid internships, student leadership positions in campus organizations, and teaching assistant positions, among others.

If the universitys 10-campus system were to allow students who do not have legal status and work permits to work on campus, it would make it the first to skirt the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA).

Under that act, employers are banned from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants who lack federal work authorization to work in various positions across the United States.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) speaks during a news conference in El Cajon, Calif. on Sept. 26, 2019. (Gregory Bull/AP Photo)

Advocates Argue Move Is Legal

However, Opportunity for All campaigners argue that an analysis of the law by CILP found that it does include state entities like the University of California.

CILPs analysis shows that because the University of California is an arm of the state, it faces no legal restriction on hiring undocumented workers, campaigners said in October. This means that the University of California can authorize the hiring of the most qualified applicant for all educational employment positions, regardless of immigration status.

Commenting on the latest decision by the board, CILP called it a big win and a testament to the power of undocumented student organizing.

However, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) expressed concern over the plan in a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom this week, pointing out that the Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized federal law preempts state or local immigration actions.

The court has repeatedly made clear that IRCA leaves no room for states to adopt their own immigration employment measures, nor can they conflict with the federal laws objectives and purposes, Issa wrote in the letter, Fox News reported.

Additionally, the lawmaker raised concerns that the universitys move to hire illegal immigrants could result in the loss of federal funding which in turn could have a significant impact on students attending the university.

Rather than devote scarce time and resources to thisparticularly during an historic and worsening state budget crisisuniversity leadership should focus on better ways to reduce administrative overhead, rebuild core studies, reinstate a healthy atmosphere of free speech on campus, and regain the public trust in what was once the hallmark of our nations finest systems of higher education, Issa said.

The University of California, which educates around 295,000 students, already offers an array of services to illegal immigrant students including financial aid, legal advice, and academic and emotional support, according to its website.

The Epoch Times has contacted the University of California for comment.
TOKYO, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Some Japanese decision-makers often tout the rhetoric of "pacifism," but a recent media kerfuffle has revealed how this "belief" is contradicted by Japan's assertive actions towards bolstering its defense and military ambitions.

Days before the Group of Seven Hiroshima summit, Japan's Foreign Ministry took issue with the headline used by the Time magazine for an interview with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, protesting that there were discrepancies between the headline and the contents of the article.

The digital issue of the article initially bore the headline "Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is turning a once pacifist Japan into a military power." In response to Tokyo's fluster, the U.S. magazine replaced the headline now reading that Kishida "is giving a once pacifist Japan a more assertive role on the global stage."

Meanwhile, Time has not changed the copy on the cover of the May 22-29 print edition, which features Kishida's photo along with text that reads "Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wants to abandon decades of pacifism -- and make his country a true military power."

Japan's military buildup in recent years often relies on diversionary tactics to shroud its intentions, such as hyping up the so-called "China threat." However, such pretexts cannot conceal the country's own motives much longer from its increasingly aggressive behavior.

In recent years, the Japanese government has lifted the ban on the right to collective self-defense, approved revisions to three national security documents for large-scale military expansion and ramped up weapon deployment in its remote southwestern islands. Meanwhile, it is chiming with some Western forces to form cliques and instigate military confrontation in the international community.

The alarming actions of the Japanese government contravene Japan's constitutional commitment to an exclusively defense-oriented policy and pacifism.

Historically, Japan once went down the wrong path of militarism, committed aggression and crimes against humanity, and brought untold disasters to the region and the world. Now the wrong and dangerous military expansion the Kishida government is seeking has heightened the vigilance of neighboring countries.

In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned on Japan's revision of three major security documents, calling it the Kishida government's "categorical rejection" of the concept of peaceful development upheld by his predecessors and a "return to the track of unscrupulous militarization." This shift, the ministry noted, would "inevitably raise new security challenges and lead to heightened tensions in the Asia-Pacific region."

The Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea pointed out that the Kishida government attempts to turn Japan into an "aggressive military power," and slammed Tokyo's adoption of the new security strategy for bringing a serious security crisis to the Korean Peninsula and East Asia.

The Kishida government claims to safeguard regional security, but in fact it provokes confrontation by constantly colluding with the United States and some other Western countries in an attempt to promote its own military expansion and to create an Asia-Pacific version of NATO.

Tokyo's pushback on the Time magazine shows that the headline really has hit the mark. The words of some Japanese politicians have increasingly struggled to mask their deeds of military expansion, revealing a troubling shift away from the country's post-war path of peaceful development. 
US Countering Transnational Repression With Multi-Faceted Strategy, Says State Department Official

Scott Busby, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the U.S. Department of State, at a Press Conference in Cambodia. (U.S. Embassy in Cambodia)

The U.S. government is targeting transnational repressiona tool authoritarian regimes use to silence dissent overseas with a multi-faceted strategy, a hearing has been told.

The strategy, outlined at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) hearing on Transnational Repression of Freedom of Religion or Belief on May 10, seeks to counter foreign attempts to restrict fundamental freedoms on U.S. soil.

Perpetrators include communist China, Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, which also happen to be among the worst violators of the freedom of religion or belief, according to Scott Busby, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the U.S. Department of State.

Governments in these countries increasingly seek to silence, intimidate, and threaten members of religious communities, spiritual practitioners, and outspoken religious freedom advocates, both within and outside their borders, he said.

Their actions go from physical intimidation and online threats to influencing and coercing foreign governments to cooperate with their human rights violations.

In particular, the Chinese regime pressures foreign governments to return members of ethnic and religious minority groups. If forced to return, many of these individuals will likely be subjected to torture, arbitrary detention, and other human rights abuses, said Busby.

A manhunt was underway for 20 ethnic Uyghurs from China who made a daring escape from an immigration detention center in Sadao district, Songkhla Province in Thailand on Nov. 21, 2017. In 2015, the Thai government forcibly sent back to China 109 Uyghur men and boys, who were never heard from again, said Human Rights Watch. (Tuwaedaniya Meringing/Getty Images)

Suppressed religious groups in China include Uyghur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, and Falun Gong practitioners. Their adherents routinely suffer human rights violations, including imprisonment, forced labor, torture, and even forced organ harvesting.

Secret Chinese Police Station in New York

The U.S. integrated approach involves interagency coordination consisting of sharing information, raising awareness, and providing resources to victims.

As an example, Busby mentioned the FBIs recent arrest of two individuals charged with operating a secret overseas police station in New York City on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

They were accused of conspiring to work as agents and taking orders from the regime in order to track down and silence Chinese dissidents living in the United States.

One of the individuals confessed to having participated in counterprotests against Falun Gong, a spiritual group brutally persecuted by Chinas communist regime since 1999, said Busby. The indictment cited information from the 2021 U.S. State Department Report on International Religious Freedom, he noted.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) speaks at a press conference and rally in front of the America ChangLe Association highlighting Beijings transnational repression in New York City on Feb. 25, 2023. A now-closed overseas Chinese police station is located inside the association building. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

The police station is believed to be one of more than 100 overseas stations operated by the Chinese regime in 53 countries, according to Safeguard Defenders, a Spain-based nonprofit.

Another focus of the U.S. strategy is to hold perpetrators accountable and deter transnational repression by imposing visa restrictions, as well as economic and financial sanctions.

As an example, Busby mentioned that, last year, the U.S. State Department announced imposing visa restrictions on Chinese officials responsible for repressive acts against ethnic and religious minorities inside China and abroad, including in the United States.

The strategy also involves educating on transnational repression by incorporating the topic in the annual U.S. Department of State Human Rights Report and providing proper training in governmental agencies and departments, as well as local law enforcement, he added.

Finally, the strategy also includes building resilience of groups targeted by transnational repression. This will be done by implementing listening sessions in order to comprehend their necessities and come up with solutions, as well as engaging with affected communities, often marginalized due to their ethnic or religious identity.

To conclude, Busby quoted Uzra Zeyas, former Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, remarks on the CCPs transnational repression during the 2022 Congressional testimony on transnational repression:

It is the most sophisticated form of repression that exists in the world today. It is pervasive, it is pernicious, and it presents a threat to the values we hold dear as Americans and the integrity of the rules-based international order.
US Investors Funding China-Based Companies That Steal American IP

An employee makes a chip at the Jiejie Semiconductor Company in Nantong, in eastern China's Jiangsu province, on March 17, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

WASHINGTONU.S. investors are funding China-based companies that steal intellectual property from American companies, experts say.

China-based companies that replicate stolen IP in critical technologies like semiconductors are even more likely to be funded by U.S. investors, because they become subsidized by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to Derek Scissors, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

On the Chinese side, if you become successful at stealing IP, you become subsidized and [thus] more attractive to American investors, Scissors said during a House Indo-Pacific Subcommittee hearing on May 18.

American money and technology should not be allowed to help [China] become better at coercing our allies and us in harming our interests.

Scissors cautioned that the United States was effectively encouraging Chinas communist regime to become a better predator of IP due to its failure to place restrictions on investments in Chinese companies that steal from American companies, including those engaged in the manufacture of products banned from export to China.

The most notable example is Chinese companies that steal the IP necessary to help develop advanced semiconductors. These semiconductors are now banned from being sold to China, Scissors said, but there are no restrictions to prevent Americans from funding Chinese companies that build them in China with stolen technology.

If we dont let the Chinese buy it here because were protecting the technology, we should not allow American funding to develop it in China, Scissors said. That is not a sensible action on our part.

US Legal System Not Adequate to the Task



Alon Raphael, CEO of FemtoMetrix, described how his company was victimized by multiple Chinese nationals who infiltrated the company and stole vast troves of proprietary data, with which they then created a new company in China.

The three Chinese who engaged in the scheme included a vice president of the company and another employee who had been hired at his recommendation.

It was later discovered that the three employees had been able to steal thousands upon thousands of files from each of their departments and then combine them to essentially replicate FemtoMetrixs software, which is used in the creation of advanced semiconductors.

The three formed their own company in China, Weichong Semiconductor, going so far as to use FemtoMetrixs slides (still featuring the FemtoMetrix logo) during presentations to potential investors.

I have not done business with China, but apparently China has done business with me, Raphael said to the committee.

The American legal system is not designed to address deliberate international thefts of this kind and is not adequate to the task.

Raphael added that his company is trying to pursue legal action against Weichong. The China-based company, however, suddenly developed very deep pockets and hired one of the worlds most expensive law firms out of Britain. This possibly suggested that it is receiving funding from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China as a single-party state.

Whats more, Raphael said, even if FemtoMetrixs litigation is successful and Weichong is banned from selling their copied products overseas, nothing will prevent the company from continuing to develop the highly sought-after technology for the CCP.

Weichong is not an outlier but an exemplar for the theft of American intellectual property, Raphael said.

Scissors suggested that the Biden administration appeared reluctant to use all of the tools at its disposal to counter the threat from China and truly combat the continued theft of American IP.

The Biden administration has been extremely hesitant in its responses in my view, Scissors said. We choose not to respond to Chinese coercion. We have the capability to do so.
US Military Reassessing Whether It Killed Civilian Or Senior Al-Qaeda Leader

A General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) performs a fly-over during the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, on July 14, 2022. (Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images)

The family of a retired bricklayer living in northwest Syria has claimed he was killed in a May 3 airstrike, calling into doubt a U.S. military report claiming they had killed a senior Al-Qaeda leader.

On May 3, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) published a statement claiming its forces conducted a unilateral strike in Northwest Syria targeting a senior Al-Qaeda leader. The CENTCOM statement did not identify the suspected Al-Qaeda leader, but the military command said, We will provide more information as operational details become available. No additional details followed.

On the same day that CENTCOM disclosed the strike, residents in the northwest Syrian town of Qorqanya alerted the Syrian Civil Defense organizationotherwise known as the White Helmetsto the body of Lotfi Hassan Misto. On May 3, the White Helmets posted on Twitter that Misto had been killed by an unidentified drone while he was leading a flock of sheep to graze on the outskirts of the town. The remains of multiple sheep were also found near Mistos body.

Mistos neighbors told The Washington Post that they had observed what they believed were MQ-9 Reaper drones surveilling the field where Misto was killed for weeks beforehand. The MQ-9 Reaper, also known as the Predator B, is an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) capable of conducting airstrikes with weapons like the AGM-114 Hellfire II air-to-ground missile.

Photos posted online after the May 3 strike showed missile fragments. One unverified photo shared by a Syrian journalist showed a scrap of metal plating with a warning label. The warning label is similar to some that have been photographed on the Hellfire II missile used by U.S. forces.

CENTCOM spokesman Michael Lawhorn has since told The Washington Post that they are aware of reports of a civilian casualty, and are continuing to assess the situation.

CENTCOM takes all such allegations seriously and is investigating to determine whether or not the action may have unintentionally resulted in harm to civilians, Lawhorn told The Washington Post on Thursday.

NTD News reached out to CENTCOM with additional questions, but the command did not respond by the time this article was published.

CENTCOM has yet to name the senior Al-Qaeda leader they believed they had targeted in the May 3 strike.

Civilian Casualties

Civilian casualties have occurred throughout the Global War on Terrorism.

A November 2021 report by The New York Times revealed that as many as 70 civilian noncombatants were killed by a U.S. airstrike in March of 2019 as U.S. and coalition forces fought to seize the ISIS stronghold of Baghouz in eastern Syria. The New York Times report indicated military officials had not investigated the 2019 airstrike. The Pentagon subsequently ordered a fresh review of the incident.

In the closing days of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, U.S. forces botched another airstrike. CENTCOM had originally reported the strike had targeted an ISIS member who posed a threat to evacuation operations at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, but subsequent evaluations revealed the strike had actually killed 10 innocent Afghan civilians. The Pentagon ultimately concluded the incident was a tragic mistake, and determined that no military troops or officials would face disciplinary action for the incident.

In August of last year, the Pentagon announced a new mechanism to mitigate and respond to civilian injuries and deaths during U.S. military operations. The mechanism, known as the Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan establishes a center to develop and incorporate civilian harm mitigation practices into military operational planning and doctrine. The plan was described as a means of improving accountability and transparency to civilians harmed by military operations.

From NTD News
US, Taiwan Reach Deal on 1st Part of 21st Century Trade Pact

Flags of Taiwan and United States are placed for a meeting between U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce speaks and with Su Chia-chyuan, President of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, Taiwan, on March 27, 2018. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

WASHINGTONThe U.S. and Taiwan reached agreement on the first part of their 21st Century trade initiative, covering customs and border procedures, regulatory practices, and small business, the U.S. Trade Representatives office said on Thursday.

After the initial agreement of the U.S.Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade is signed, negotiations will commence on other, more complicated trade areas including agriculture, digital trade, labor and environmental standards, state-owned enterprises, and non-market policies and practices, USTR said.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement that the deal strengthens U.S.Taiwan relations and demonstrates they can work together to advance trade priorities for their populations.

We look forward to continuing these negotiations and finalizing a robust and high-standard trade agreement that tackles 21st Century economic challenges, Tai said.

Taiwans Office of Trade Negotiations in a statement called the agreement historically significant and said Taiwan aimed to finalize negotiations on all remaining issues by the end of the year.

The pact is not expected to alter goods tariffs, but proponents say it will strengthen economic bonds between the U.S. and Taiwan, open the Chinese-claimed island to more U.S. exports, and increase Taiwans ability to resist economic coercion from China. Democratically governed Taiwan strongly rejects Chinas sovereignty claims.

China has reacted furiously to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wens recent engagements with high-ranking U.S. politicians, including an April meeting with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Announcement of the trade pact comes just ahead of planned meetings between Chinas commerce minister, Wang Wenta, and USTR Tai and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

The bilateral talks commenced last August, after the Biden administration excluded Taiwan from its larger pan-Asian trade initiative, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

USTR said the text on customs and trade facilitation will reduce red tape for U.S. firms to export products to Taiwan, allowing for electronic filing of customs forms and online payment of duties and fees, cutting waiting times for vessels.

The texts on good regulatory practices and services regulation seek to streamline operating licenses for firms seeking to operate across borders and promote fair competition opportunities, USTR said.

The trade agency added that anti-corruption texts are based on those in the U.S.MexicoCanada Agreement on trade and address money laundering, denial of entry for foreign public officials. The small- and medium-sized enterprises text aims to facilitate cross border investment and finance in the sector, USTR said.

By David Lawder
Veteran Public Affairs Commentator Quits Writing Politics, Citing Risks of Hong Kong Jail

Tim Hamlett, former associate professor of journalism at the Baptist University of Hong Kong, a public affairs commentator for the Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP), and contributor to most of Hong Kongs English media outlets, wrote an opinion piece, Why I am giving up writing about Hong Kong politics, published on May 12, 2023, in his blog as well as HKFP.

Hamlett attributed this decision to the dangerous times in Hong Kong for people who do not share our governments high opinion of itself and to his lack of interest in experiencing the inside of a Hong Kong police cell.

In his article of about 800 words, he wrote, Nowadays, the government has its own facts and its own version of history. Any expression which does not actively subscribe to both is to be contested and condemned, quoting the Secretary for Security, Chris P.K. Tangs recent speech, You cant use misleading accusations to vilify the government the government must speak up, clarify and condemn and give the citizens the right to know.

It sounds very nice, in theory, but the practice is that comparatively harmless cartoonists and writers face a constant flow of official abuse, he added, betting with confidence that the Hong Kong Journalists Association would meet official clarification and condemnation of its many sins and errors, culminating in the claim that the government welcomes criticism, due to JAs comments this week in regards to Ming Pao axing a long-running cartoon column: Backed by abundant resources and public power, the Hong Kong government repeatedly targeted a mere [cartoonist], reflecting that Hong Kong cannot tolerate critical voices.

The targeted cartoonist is Wong Kei-kwan, pen-named Zunzi, who published a well-known comic column under the same name in the local Chinese-language newspaper Ming Pao, dedicated to local politics and current affairs. After increasingly being singled out and scrutinized by CCP newspapers here, Ming Pao announced the killing off of the popular column last week.

Hongkongers saddened to see the 40 years old column go, recalled in interviews with the local edition of the Epoch Times, how the comic column has been highly and widely appreciated, like the edition on Hong Kongs handover to CCP in 1997 depicting Hong Kong as the bride in an arranged marriage where Deng Xiaoping was the father, Margret Thatcher was the mother. Hong Kong was married off to a piece of paper, The Sino-British Joint Declaration. The column was seen as recording decades of the citys public affairs, even becoming a welcomed tool used by school teachers in later years for relevant subjects such as Liberal Studies (now replaced) to inspire students on diverse thinking.

Legal intimidation through other channels also continues unchecked, Hamlett continued, citing the sudden closure of Transit Jam, a website devoted to transport and planning matters, after being attacked by one of the Liaison Offices poodle papers; the effective ban of its student union by Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) for allegedly exaggerated, unfounded and biased descriptions of past events; the scolding of a reporter in a press conference last week for referring to the 2019 anti-extradition social movement the 2019 protests rather than apparently the only acceptable phrase nowblack violence. Hamlett thus sees the risks increasing for himself as well, quoting an old song, Ten green bottles hanging on the wall and I do not aspire to be the last one, he said.

And the need to tiptoe through a legal minefield is only part of the problem. Hamlett believes writing comments on public affairs is only reasonable when two parties participate in a dialogue. If one participant in the group erupts into angry shouting whenever criticized, you cant have a conversation. Therefore, he concluded that there is no longer any point in writing about local politics as our politics are no longer conducted in public.

Hong Kong Free Press received anonymous intimidation letters in 2017, accusing it of spreading hatred and separating Hong Kong and mainland China. Three of these letters were sent directly to Hamletts home. The threats explicitly mentioned that Tim Hamlett and Tom Grundy (founder and editor-in-chief of HKFP) were wanted by the police.
Victorian Parliament Hosts Drag Queens in Response to Community Outrage

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews (left) and Minister for Roads Luke Donnellan are seen in front of the M80 ring road in the city's north-east in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 22, 2018. . (AAP Image/Julian Smith) NO ARCHIVING

State leader Premier Daniel Andrews has gone on the political offensive in the culture wars inviting five cross-dressers to Parliament House in response to the cancellation of drag storytime events across Melbourne.

On May 17, the drag queens were hosted by the Victorian Labor premier and Minister for Equality, Harriet Shing, to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia.

Nobody shows up quite the way that a drag queen does, Shing told reporters and members of the LGBT community and their children.

When the morning teas werent going ahead and the story times werent going ahead, I thought, well, lets get five [drag performers] and see if we cant make Parliament more extravagantly sequined than its ever been, she said reported The Age newspaper.

The drag queens read storybooks to the children as the states leaders watched on.

Premier Digs In on LGBT Rights

Premier Andrews has taken a strong stance on the drag queen storytime issue after community members reacted negatively to the events, forcing their cancellation across several taxpayer-funded libraries.

Its a reminder that progress isnt a straight line. Its a constant fight, a constant struggle, Andrews said in a Twitter post.

We want you to remember this. People who are driven by hate will always be overcome by people driven by love. In Victoria, you can be whoever you want to be, he added.

The government also pledged $1.85 million (US$1.23 million) to Rainbow Health Australia for inclusion training to service organisations and $700,000 in grants to the LGBT community.

The states opposition backed the events complaining that they did not receive an invitation.

Daniel Andrews needs to stop playing politics with IDAHOBIT, as it belittles the importance of equality and ensuring that all Victorians feel respected, included and loved, opposition equality spokesman James Newbury said in comments reported by The Herald Sun.

On the same day, 79 local councils across Victoria raised the rainbow flag while also holding meetings to discuss the alleged targeting by right-wing fringe groups of the drag storytime events.

This week, three events were either cancelled or moved online after Victorian Police advised organisers of potential safety threats.

On May 18, a drag storytime event at the Woodleigh School in the Mornington Peninsula was cancelled, according to The Guardian, while one event at the Eltham Library a day earlier was moved online.

The wonderful Eltham Library have been forced to move their Drag Storytime online due to Victoria Police advice, the Rainbow Community Angels group wrote on Facebook.

About two weeks earlier, the Monash City Council cancelled a drag storytime event at the Oakleigh Library after large-scale community protests at a local council meeting.

In response to the parliamentary event, Victorian Senator Ralph Babet said it was nothing more than a distraction from the state of Victorias budget.

This government has blown out our debt to a dangerous level. Our states debt is expected to grow beyond $165 billion (US$109 billion) by 2025-26, more than Queensland, New South Wales, and Tasmania combined! he told The Epoch Times in a statement.

Babet also defended the protest actions against drag storytime while calling on the Victorian Liberal Party to do the same.

These parents are not bigots, they are civilised citizens who believe in protecting our most vulnerable children from adult themes, he said. Since drawing a line in the sand to protect children from sexualised content, my office has been inundated with support from mums and dads right across the state.

The Victorian Liberals are classic LINOs: Liberals In Name Only, he said. Their silence is deafening, and their leader John Pesutto clearly lacks the conviction necessary to take on Daniel Andrews.

Drag Storytimes Prevalent Across Australia But Facing Push Back

Drag storytime events have popped up all around Australia, sparking a strong response from local communities.

In January 2020, students from the University of Queenslands Liberal National Clubheaded by Wilson Gavinprotested such an event at the Brisbane Square council library located in the CBD.

Yet local council member, Vicki Howard, criticised the group calling them narrow-minded and reiterating that the Club no longer had an affiliation with the states opposition Liberal-National party.

This is a very successful event that has been held four times in Brisbane over the past two years, and staging this event reflects the values of Brisbane City Council, she wrote on Facebook.

In August 2022, councillors from both sides of the aisle stood by the events in response to a petition from the Australian Christian Lobby that garnered 7,000 signatures opposing drag storytimes for kids.

Meanwhile, in Adelaide in March, death threats were issued against staff at the Mount Gambier Library over a drag storytime event featuring Dolly Diamond.

Threats to any member of the community are unacceptable, and any acts of violence will be responded to accordingly, said South Australia Police, in comments obtained by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

In the same month, the CEO of the City of Bayswater in Perth stood by drag performer Cougar Morrison after protest flyers were dropped in the area surrounding the Maylands Library, where Morrison was set to perform.

While in Sydney, protestors in February rallied outside an event in the citys Northern Beaches at the Manly Library while holding signs that read: Drag Queens are not for kids and Protect little kids from sexualisation and adult themes.
Visa System Loophole Sees Fake Students Flood in to Work Illegally

Students walk around Sydney University in Sydney, Australia, on April 6, 2016. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Criminal groups are taking advantage of Australias weak education visa and immigration systems to flood the country with fake students to work illegally, including in the sex industry.

A review by Christine Nixon, the former Victoria police chief, revealed that immigration policies relating to vocational education should be reviewed immediately as they have been widely abused, and the government may need to overhaul the working visa system.

If the real, unstated reason that Australia has such a generous and poorly regulated education visa system was to bring in low-skilled workers, a broader review of Australias working visas is needed, Nixon said in the review.

Educational Agents Need Regulation

The review found that educational agents, paid by tertiary institutions to bring 75 percent of foreign students to Australia, were completely unregulated.

Unlike the United States and some other countries, Australia lacks a scheme to register and regulate these agents, which are paid by institutions to recruit students from overseas.

While the previous Australian administration also tried to regulate them, the potential cost was an obstacle.

Students walk around the University of New South Wales campus in Sydney, Australia, on Dec. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

The Australia Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), which oversees vocational education institutions, including 800 colleges that teach all qualified international students, is also focused on achieving quality education outcomes rather than deterring and disrupting visa exploitation.

It is found that 15 percent of student visa holders in the vocational education system dropped out of their courses and did not re-enrol in other courses.

They were able to stay and work in Australia despite breaching key conditions of their visas.

The federal budget announced last week estimated that international students would account for half of this years record net migration forecast of 400,000. The budget also contains at least $50 million (US$33.1 million) in new funding to deal with border security gaps exposed by smuggling people.

As Australias biggest export industry after mining, education is worth more than $40 billion a year and provides employment for 250,000 Australians. The surge in student visa applications has raised concerns in the industry about the behaviour of unscrupulous educational agents.

A Closed Loop Criminal Network

The review highlighted a criminal organisation in the sector that employed discredited education agents and immigration agents united through family ties and business co-ownership to bring in fake students. They also own or control the vocational education colleges that these students attend.

This basically created a closed-loop criminal network targeting sex trafficking.

The networks services are likely being used to enable at least 128 sex workers to maintain student visas without having to attend classes or complete course requirements, reads the report.

Former Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon leaves the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants at the Fair Work Commission in Melbourne on Dec. 18, 2019. (David Crosling/AAP Image)

In some cases, the sex workers knew they were in Australia illegally and had paid education agents between $4,000 and $5,000 to get here. These agents, in turn, pay the providers to cover their attendance and course progress.

Many visa applications contain applicant signatures digitally lifted from a scan of the applicants passport and appear on documents that provide consent for third parties including [registered migration agents] and legal practitioners to act on the applicants behalf, the report said.

A 2019 parliamentary committee recommended greater scrutiny and oversight of educational agents, yet few of the recommendations were adopted. The Nixon report said the government must look again at regulating educational agents, both inside and outside the country.

Immigration agents, which are key channels for foreigners to enter Australia, had undergone only limited identity and background verification, according to Nixon.

For the first time, she proposed mandatory comprehensive background checks for immigration agents to prevent unscrupulous agents from entering the lucrative yet lightly regulated industry.
House Republicans took to the podium on May 17 to condemn the Biden administrations negotiation of global pandemic agreements that they say will grant additional power to the World Health Organization (WHO) and centralize authority in an organization they say failed the American public during the COVID pandemic.

Shortly thereafter, on May 19, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a report to member nations stating that, while the re-emergence of epidemic-prone diseases continues to accelerate, the WHOs mandate regarding health emergencies must extend beyond pandemics to include hunger, poverty, ecological degradation, climate change, and social and economic inequalities.

The Director General wrote that member nations must establish a global architecture for health emergency preparedness, prevention, response, and resilience (HEPR), which includes global governance, financing and HEPR systems.

But GOP lawmakers disagreed with the WHO.

International law does not trump our Constitution, Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) said at a Capitol press conference. Biden cannot force Americans to follow laws and regulations not passed by our own federal government.

The World Health Organization pandemic treaty is very vague, it affects our sovereignty, and it could be exploited to tell Americans what kind of health care they need in the event of a global pandemic, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said. The public forum was organized by Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and included 18 House members.

Ambassador Pamela Hamamoto, on behalf of the United States, is currently negotiating terms of the WHO Pandemic Accord, which is scheduled to be signed by the 194 WHO member nations in 2024, as well as amendments to International Health Regulations (IHRs), also under the auspices of the WHO. In sum, these negotiations are intended to produce legally binding treaties and agreements that will coordinate a united response among member nations during a health emergency, with much of the decision-making authority vested in the WHO.

According to these agreements, the WHO would have the authority to, for example, declare when a pandemic is in effect and to coordinate medical supply chains to ensure equitable distribution among member nations. The agreements also speak to global coordination between the WHO and national health authorities like the CDC to set health policies, and coordination among governments on issues like fighting misinformation.

Failing Upwards

The preamble to the zero draft of the WHO Pandemic Accord states that this treaty is necessary because of the catastrophic failure of the international community in showing solidarity and equity in response to the coronavirus disease. But critics say that the WHOs failures during the past several years are a reason to reduce its authority, rather than give it more.

The World Health Organization is one of the most corrupt, incompetent and, after COVID-19, the most thoroughly discredited institutions on the global stage, Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) stated. And yet, one of Joe Bidens first things that he did was to bring the United States back into this corrupt organization.

On July 6, 2020, former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the WHO and moved to cut off U.S. funding. Biden reversed this order immediately upon taking office.

Calling for the United States to withdraw from the WHO once again, House Republicans this week charged that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has undue influence in the WHOs affairs.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee issued a report on the CCP and its relationship with the World Health Organization with regard to COVID, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said. They said its beyond doubt that the CCP actively engaged in a coverup designed to obfuscate dates, hide relevant public health information, and suppress doctors and journalists who attempted to warn the world.

The WHO, Biggs said, responded to the CCPs coverup by praising the CCP for their transparency  and repeatedly parroted CCP talking points.

Republicans have introduced legislation this year in Congress, including the WHO Withdrawal Act that would end U.S. membership in the WHO, and the No Taxpayer Funding for the World Health Organization Act that would end Americas financial contributions to the WHO.

Greatest Intrusions on Civil Liberties in Peacetime History

Negotiations with the WHO, which are taking place under a veil of secrecy, come in the wake of the COVID pandemic, which left many Americans concerned about government abuses of authority under the mantra of public health and safety.

Enumerating government abuses throughout the COVID pandemic, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote on May 18 in his opinion regarding Title 42 emergency decrees that since March 2020, we may have experienced the greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country.

Gorsuch stated: Executive officials across the country issued emergency decrees on a breathtaking scale. Governors and local leaders imposed lockdown orders forcing people to remain in their homes. They shuttered businesses and schools, public and private. They closed churches even as they allowed casinos and other favored businesses to carry on. They threatened violators not just with civil penalties but with criminal sanctions too. They surveilled church parking lots, recorded license plates, and issued notices warning that attendance at even outdoor services satisfying all state social-distancing and hygiene requirements could amount to criminal conduct. They divided cities and neighborhoods into color-coded zones, forced individuals to fight for their freedoms in court on emergency timetables, and then changed their color-coded schemes when defeat in court seemed imminent.

Federal executive officials entered the act too  They deployed a public-health agency to regulate landlord-tenant relations nationwide. They used a workplace-safety agency to issue a vaccination mandate for most working Americans. They threatened to fire noncompliant employees, and warned that service members who refused to vaccinate might face dishonorable discharge and confinement. Along the way, it seems federal officials may have pressured social-media companies to suppress information about pandemic policies with which they disagreed.

Operating in Secrecy

While the WHOs Pandemic Accord and IHR amendments promote causes like equity and inclusion, they do not prioritize personal civil liberties, such as freedom of speech, assembly, privacy, religious faith, and having a vote in policy decisions, which are all central to Americas founding documents. For example, the current public draft of the IHR amendments, which states how the regulations will be implemented, has deleted the phrase with full respect for the dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons and replaced it with based on the principles of equity, inclusivity, coherence and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities of the States Parties, taking into consideration their social and economic development.

An attorney who is involved in drafting the WHO documents told The Epoch Times he believes this amendment was rejected during negotiations, but that claim cannot be confirmed because subsequent revisions to the IHRs are no longer available to the public. In April, delegates from the United States agreed with a Chinese proposal that new IHR drafts would not be shared with the public.

Hamamoto stated at the time that at this stage, I have some concern about sharing the draft to all stakeholders given where we are in the process. In response, several nonprofit organizations and health experts wrote a letter to Health & Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Secretary of State Antony Blinken protesting the secrecy of the negotiations.

The attempt to create a veil of secrecy now surrounding the substantive and technical text-based negotiations on the WHO pandemic treaty sets a dangerous precedent for norm-setting at the multilateral level, the letter states. It also undermines trust in the process at a time when attacks on the WHO and on the pandemic accord are increasing.

While the U.S. Constitution requires Senate approval for international treaties, the zero draft of the WHO Pandemic Accord includes a clause that the accord will go into effect on a provisional basis as soon as its signed by delegates to the WHO and would, therefore, be legally binding on members without being ratified by legislatures. The amendments to the IHRs do not require Senate approval and would also be legally binding on the United States.

Other U.S. Representatives who spoke out this week against efforts to empower the WHO included Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Brian Babin (R-Texas), Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), Thomas Tiffany (R-Wis.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), Mary Miller (R-Ill.), Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.), and Clay Higgins (R-La.).

Speaking alongside the House lawmakers, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) also criticized the WHO for what she said was its agenda to sexualize children.

The WHO published international sexual education standards for children that included recommendations to teach infants-to-4-year-olds about the right to explore nakedness and teach 4-to-6-year-olds about early childhood masturbation, Luna said. What parent, what taxpayer thinks that this is normal? Frankly, if youre supporting this, I think youre a pervert and you need to stay completely away from children.

Last week, two British newspapers reported on the WHOs European guidelines on child sexuality, which stated that sexuality education starts from birth. The WHO guidance, the reports state, encourages early childhood masturbation at ages 0-4 years old.

A WHO representative reportedly defended the guidelines, saying they reflect established psychological facts. The UK government, however, rejected the WHOs narrative.

The UK Government does not recognize this WHO guidance and we dont agree with its recommendations. We have not distributed or promoted it to schools, a government spokesperson stated.
No more taxpayer funds for Wuhans infamous lab. That seems to be the message after the National Institute of Health (NIH) quietly removed the lab from its list of foreign research facilities that qualify for support. The Wuhan Virology Institute is among the suspected sources of COVID-19. The United States has sent grants to the lab over the years, funding studies on bat coronavirus.

Topics in this episode:

Wuhan Virus Institute Cut from U.S. Taxpayer Funds Montana to Become 1st U.S. State to Ban TikTok Biden Vetoes Bill to Restore Tariffs on Solar Panels House Committee on CCP Holds Hearing on How to Counter the CCPs Economic Aggression Blinken, Austin, Raimondo Testify on China Beijing Envoy: No Panacea to Resolve Ukraine War G7 to Kick Off Summit, China High on the Agenda China Is Ready to Fill Gaps America Left: Rep. James

China in Focus is sponsored by Preserve Gold. Click here to claim your $200 and 1% cash-back in free gold and silver*: http://offers.preservegold.com/ntd
CAs are enablers for successful SFT compliance, E-verification





Business Bureau

Sandeep Kumar Salunke, Director, Income Tax (I&CI), while speaking at the interactive meet organised by the Nagpur Branch of WIRC of ICAI here recently, said that chartered accountants are enablers for successful SFT Compliance and E-verification.

He spoke about SFT and E-verification Scheme 2021 an d informed the participants that I-T department will reach out to Chartered Accountant for successful implementation of SFT Compliance and E-Verification scheme. At the outset, CA Sanjay M Agrawal, Chairperson Nagpur Branch, welcomed the dignitaries. Dr Kaumudi Patil, Additional Director, and Manish Banerjee, Assistant Director of Income Tax, Intelligence and Criminal Investigation (I&CI), spoke about the scheme in detail. CA Akshay Gulhane, Vice-Chairperson , coordinated the session and CA Dinesh Rathi, Secretary, proposed the vote of thanks. CA Swaroopa Wazalwar, Treasurer, CA Deepak Jethwani, MCM, CA Trupti Bhattad, MCM, and CA Sandeep Jotwani, Past Chairman were also present.
SYDNEY, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) announced on Friday that a tsunami warning is currently in place for Lord Howe Island, after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck southeast of the Loyalty Islands at 02:57 GMT on Friday.

The BOM warned that for the marine environment of Lord Howe Island, there is the possibility of dangerous rips, waves, and strong ocean currents, and some localized overflow onto the immediate foreshore, which are expected to commence after 4:15 p.m. local time on Friday and persist for several hours.

While evacuations are not necessary for marine threat areas, the BOM urged people in these areas to get out of the water and move away from the immediate water's edge.

The weather authority also noted that an eight-centimeter tsunami wave has been observed in New Caledonia. 
Frankenstein AI





By Anjan Roy

SOME of the most successful practitioners and developers of Artificial Intelligence are now calling for its regulation by the Government. These creators of the strikingly advanced AI systems are underlining immediate need for global regulation. That the fears of AI generated materials could go berserk are based on principally two fears. The fundamental scepticism is that the systems so far developed are suspected to have hidden mental powers which are not properly understood by even their creators. This is like the Frankenstein fear, in which the product of the scientific research and effort comes alive with a mind of its own. If that happens, then, maybe, that mind could be more capable than the human mind and act independently.

Secondly, the systems developed are so powerful and versatile, so fast and productive that they could churn out oceans of material and flood the Internet. They could so faithfully replicate materials that it could be well nigh impossible to detect a fake from a real and original. For example, so far, only accomplished artists could produce copies and replicas of renowned fakes of great artists. But even after their best efforts, the copies could be detected from the original by art connoisseurs because of their knowledge of the techniques of the real artists. Now, AI experts claim, the AI systems could generate copies which replicate even the defects and peculiar shortcomings of the real artists. A Lenardo da Vinci of an AI system would look as convincing as the original ones, including the warts and all. That is so deplorable, that some great artists should be derided in this manner. But AI systems could be a threat to society at large by producing fake news and sinister political or social contents for the Internet which can trigger large scale violence or disturbances. The floods of materials, constructed by AI systems would be scarcely recognised as fake and motivated creations of evil minds and wrong doers by the public. Countries could go up in flames or societies could be convulsed in violence, experts anticipate.

It is against this background that some of the most informed minds in the field are rising against their own creations. Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, the company which had created the models ChatGPT 4 which showed path-breaking capabilities for creating human like texts and responses to mere text commands, now wants control over AI. The entire world was stunned by the performance of two AI models, released by Microsoft and Google respectively, which surprised even the experts by their abilities to produce human like responses and written texts. One of the models had successfully cleared the extremely difficult law examinations of the US bar, among the achievements, in a surprisingly short time. People struggle for years to clear the exam. But now the chief executive of OpenAI, the software development company which had created the ChatGPT 4 system, had urged immediate Government intervention to regulate future researches into AI systems. He told a US Senate Committee today that if the large language models LLMs that was behind the ChatGPT4 system could go wrong, it could go seriously wrong.

The first of these really concerned voices was that of Geoffrey Hinton. Two weeks back, Geoffrey Hinton, who was the pioneer creator of AI systems, had quit Google, where he was leading the companys path-breaking initial efforts at creating the machine learning technology, left the company to take advocacy. He felt that it was time to globally co-ordinate and regulate the new AI researches for creating advanced system which approximates mimicking human intelligence. An AI generative model had produced paintings by Van Gogh which was difficult to differentiate from original ones. Geoffrey Hinton of Toronto University had started his initial researches into artificial intelligence twenty years back with two of his graduate students. Much later his systems came to be known and described as neural network. This is because his systems worked in the same manner as the human brain.

Hintons works eventually led to the development of what we have seen recently  ChatGPT4 or other systems. But now, the models developed are showing some streaks of their own intelligence and thinking, according to some experts. Hinton believed that artificial intelligence was an existential threat to humans. This is because the new AI systems have the potential to becoming more intelligent than humans. Hinton recently said that the kind of intelligence we are creating is different from human intelligence.

He feared that if some bad actors picked these systems and could modify them into something sinister. He feared that these loads of artificial texts produced by the AI systems could be used by dictators and such power grabbers to mislead people and influence voting. Similarly, materials could be produced to create a political atmosphere than desirable by relaxing these GPT produced articles or items. However, the problem lay in global co-ordination for regulations of these researches. The question is will all countries agree on the same norms for control and will all States agree to regulations. Will all countries abide by regulations which could be developed for the sector? It is the same kind of question which arises in DNA research. Will scientists get down to creating genetically modified bases for super achievement  a genius scientist or a super sportsperson. It is like playing God.
COMPULSION





THE element of situational compulsion behind the Governments decision to shelve indefinitely the planned phased withdrawal of Army from Jammu and Kashmir cannot be missed. Thanks to the increased terrorist activity in the region in the past some time has forced the Government to defer the earlier decision in that regard. This shows the uncertain nature of the situation in J&K despite the fact that the Government had hoped to have an improvement in the situation following the abrogation of Special Status to J&K. Obviously, the Governments calculations appear to have gone wrong. Of course, the abrogation of Special Status has had its positive effect on Jammu and Kashmir -- which has been converted into a Union Territory. The most important effect of the abrogation was the opening up of the socio-economic situation in the region. Educational institutions, markets, business and general social life started showing betterment. Political situation also started showing improvement, in the sense separatist politics got a setback and the political community imagined the times when there would be elections in the region. The massive investment the Government did in J&K also created a sense of promise that the region would soon reach the national developmental par.

However, it must be said unfortunately that these positive developments actually became the trigger for an increased terrorist activity in the region -- with a clear view to create disturbance in social mind. Terror masterminds across the border got active and stepped up terror activities with a view to pushing the region back to a disturbed condition.

The Security Forces have been fighting terror in J&K relentlessly and are eliminating terrorists by the dozen, yet, in the process, the Security Forces are losing many of their bravehearts as well. But then it is a war and the country has to sacrifice its bravehearts who put up a fight against the enemy. But such a situation also calls for changed strategies -- which is what the Government appears to have done. It has extended the expanded presence of the Army in Jammu and Kashmir by deferring its earlier decision to effect a phased withdrawal of forces.

There is little doubt that this ia a very major step the Government has taken -- which we welcome wholeheartedly. For, even when the news was doing the rounds that the Government may withdraw the Army in a planned and phased manner from J&K, we had expressed our serious reservations about the proposed move. We had insisted then that the situation in Kashmir did not call for such a step, and had argued that if the common people there had no objection to the large presence of the Army, then the Government should have no business to start the withdrawal process. Of course, the Governments purpose was obvious -- to give the impression of normalcy in J&K following the abrogation of Special Status. Hence its effort.

However, the terror masterminds across the border had other ideas -- of stepping up of terrorism in J&K and create a sense of scare in the society and in the Government. Though there is no scare as such at any level, the Government appears to have decided to continue with the large presence of the Army in J&K. At least for some time, the Army will have a large presence in the region and combat terrorism in full force. This is, obviously, a temporary decision and the Government will return to its phased withdrawal plan once the situation gets back to normal levels. The common people in the country have a full faith in the Governments measures and feel that it is only a matter of time when terrorism would be defeated decisively.
Election preparations: FLC workshop for EVM and VVPAT machines held





Staff Reporter

The FLC workshop for EVM and VVPAT machines was conducted at Hotel Kalchuri Residency for the upcoming assembly elections, on Thursday. Collectors, District Election Officers, Deputy District Election Officers and EVM Supervisors from 21 districts across four divisions of the State participated in the one-day workshop. Anupam Rajan, Chief Electoral Officer of the State inaugurated the workshop by lighting the lamp. He emphasized the purpose and significance of the workshop in his address. During the workshop, S Sundar Rajan, the EVM Director from the Election Commission of India, delivered a power point presentation on the technical and administrative security of EVM and VVPAT machines.

Additionally, O P Sahni, Additional Secretary of the Election Commission, Lalit Mittal and Satish Kumar, Additional Chief Electoral Officers and Pramod Shukla, State Deputy Chief Electoral Officer also gave detailed information about preparation of EVM and VVPAT machines for the ensuing Assembly elections.
Indian Navy deploys P8I aircraft to help search op of Chinese fishing vessel that sank in Indian Ocean





BEIJING,

TWO people from the Chinese fishing vessel which sank in the central Indian Ocean were confirmed dead while China on Thursday appreciated the help from a host of countries in the region, including India, who responded to its call for search and rescue operations for the remaining 37 missing sailors. Two people were confirmed dead after the Chinese deep-sea fishing vessel Lupeng Yuanyu 028 capsized in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, Chinas Ministry of Transport said on Thursday.

The Indian Navy said it deployed a P-8I maritime patrol aircraft to help in the search and rescue of a Chinese fishing vessel. The P8I aircraft carried out multiple and extensive searches on Wednesday despite adverse weather and located multiple objects possibly belonging to the sunken vessel, the Navy said. So far 10 vessels, including three Chinese navy ships and one foreign ship, are carrying out on-site search and rescue work, and more ships will arrive. The capsized vessel had 39 people on board, including 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesian and five Philippine mariners.

Countries such as Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Maldives and the Philippines have extended emergency assistance and sent sympathies for the Chinese boat and crew, he said, providing an update about the search operations.

The operation has been commended from various quarters in China and abroad. The Chinese Government sincerely appreciates the help from those countries, he said.
JMC team demolishes illegal portion of shops at Baldevbagh





Staff Reporter

The Jabalpur Municipal Corporation (JMC), on Thursday razed the unauthorized portion of shops which were hindering on-going construction of fly-over at Baldevbagh. The anti-encroachment department and building department of the JMC conducted the drive following the directions of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The Municipal Corporation reportedly gave sufficient time all concerned shopkeepers to vacate the building, following the court order issued on June 1.

The demolition was done in the part of the building which was obstructing construction of fly over, a long-standing issue for the Municipal Corporation due to opposition from the shopkeepers. Despite claims from the shopkeepers that they were not given any notice, the anti-encroachment and building branch of the JMC conducted the drive by showing courts order to shopkeepers.

During the drive, senior officials had heated exchange of words with the shopkeepers and some public representatives who also reached the spot to support the shopkeepers. However, due to presence of heavy police force, the situation remained under control and the drive completed without any untoward incident. CSP Kotwali Prabhat Shukla, SHO Anil Gupta, Manish Tadse from Building branch and Sagar Borkar, Laxman Kori and others from anti-encroachment department were present during the drive.
LRAC expresses satisfaction over pace of five Cgarh-centric projects





Staff Reporter

Raipur,

A crucial 4th review meeting of Local Research Advisory Committee (LRAC) of Model Rural Health Research Unit (MRHRU), being operated under mentorship of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Research In Tribal Health (NIRTH), Jabalpur, deliberated upon the five key research projects, which are presently running in Chhattisgarh. Dr Arvind Neral, Chairman, LRAC, who presided the crucial review meeting, The review meeting held at the Conference Hall of Community Medicine Department of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru Memorial Medical College (Pt JNMMC) here in Raipur, was well attended by Director of mentor ICMR Jabalpur, Dr Aparup Das and Dr. Jayanti R. Ghate, Assiatant Professor, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Raipur and Co-chairperson of LRAC, Dr Illi Mahapatra. Dr Jyoti Jaiswal, Professor Obs./Gynaec, Dr Surbhi Dubey Associate Professor Psychiatry and PG Students were also present. Earlier, Dr Tanu Anand, Scientist of ICMR New-Delhi had joined this meeting virtually and made preliminary welcome remarks.

The meeting reviewed and analysed all five running research projects. The pace and progress of all the Chhattisgarh-centric research projects is quite satisfactory. All the principal investigators will complete these projects by the end of July 2023, an elated Dr Arvind Neral, Chairman, LRAC, told The Hitavada, while sharing partial inputs of the ongoing researches reviewed in the meeting. During the meeting, according to Dr Neral, Director of mentor ICMR Jabalpur, Dr Aparup Das informed that establishment of a well-equipped research institute of MRHRU in Chhattisgarh at Jheet, Patan Block of Durg District is almost in its final stage. He also encapsulated how ICMR is initiating, helping and funding the research projects related to tribal and rural health issues.

Dean Pt JNMMC Dr Tripti Nagaria and Scientist Dr Neha Singh submitted a new research project to study the feto-maternal outcome of pregnant women exposed to nicotine (tobacco in any form). The LRAC has asked the duo to submit this project after incorporating few suggestions, Dr Neral informed. He further informed that Dr Jayanti R Ghate, Additional Professor AIIMS Raipur is working as Principal Investigator in a research project to compare prevalence of New LifeStyle Medical Problem- Metabolic Syndrome in tribal and non-tribal population of Chhattisgarh. Dr Nirmal Verma, Professor Community Medicine and Dr Shubhra Agrawal Gupta, Associate Professor also presented a progress report of their research focussed on Assessment of health-related quality of life of individuals with Sickle Cell Disease attending Community Health Centre, Jheet. Similarly, Dr Kamlesh Jain, Professor Community Medicine gave a presentation on his research project based on Epidemiology and Co-morbidity in Chronic Kidney Disease in Devbhog and Mainpur Blocks of Gariaband District. Dr LVKS Bhaskar, Professor at Guru Ghasidas Unviversity, Bilaspur is working in a research project to find out Molecular Epidemiology and Correlation between Sickle Cell Disease and Malaria in Patan Block, Durg. Deputy Director DHS Dr Dharmendra Gahwai is trying to find Phychological burden of Covid-19 in population of Jheet in his research. In his absence, Scientist Dr Ravindra of ICMR informed the progress of this project. At the end of the meeting, the attendees collectively felt the need of Pre-natal Diagnostic facilities to diagnose hereditary diseases including Sickle Cell Disease during pregnancy for prevention of these diseases in next generations, Dr Neral added.
My son is innocent: Mother of Corporal Nikhil Shende





Special Correspondent

LEELA Murlidhar Shende, mother of Corporal (Cpl) Nikhil Shende, who was allegedly attempted to be ensnared by Pakistans Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) in a honeytrap said, My son is patriot and innocent in the matter which is being probed by the Anti-Terrorism Squad.

A native of Nagpur, Cpl Nikhil Shende is presently posted at Indian Air Force (IAF) Station in Bengaluru. His name appeared on the record of the ATS during the probe after the arrest of Dr Pradeep Kurulkar, Senior Scientist, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in an espionage case, a few days ago. Cpl Nikhil Shendes mother said that her son did BA II year and joined the IAF in 2015. He was first posted to Bengaluru and then transferred to Patna. He was again transferred to Bengaluru. Leela Shende said her son was an excellent athlete and won medals and trophies in various competitions. I came to know that he is being quizzed by the ATS from my brother-in-law after some newspapers published the news, she added. She said that she and her entire family were confident that her son would never indulge in such anti-national activities.

DRDO scientist Dr Kurulkar was honey trapped by one Zara Das Gupta at the behest of Pakistani intelligence agencies. The ATS investigating the case had told a Special Court in Pune that Pakistans ISI had also attempted to ensnare Cpl Nikhil Shende in a honey trap. He was also quizzed by senior IAF officers and his statement was also recorded in the court. However, Cpl Shende was not so far implicated as an accused in the case. Investigations revealed that the messages sent to Kurulkar and Cpl Shende originated from Pakistani IP addresses.
SC to hear plea of Muslim side against HC orderon determining age of shivling at Gyanvapi





NEW DELHI :

THE Supreme Court agreed to hear on Friday a plea challenging the Allahabad High Court order of conducting a scientific survey, including carbon dating, to determine the age of aShivling which was said to have been found at the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala took note of the submissions of senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the Gyanvapi mosque management committee, and agreed to list the plea for hearing on Friday. The Allahabad High Court has passed an order pending the appeal, the senior lawyer said. The High Court, on May 12, ordered determination of the age of the structure claimed to be a Shivling in the mosque inVaranasi using modern technology. It set aside an October 14 order of theVaranasi District Court that rejected a plea for scientific investigation, including carbon dating, of the structure found in May 2022 during a court-mandated survey of the Gyanvapi mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

Following the High Court order, a local court at Varanasi on May 16 agreed to hear a plea for a survey by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) of the entire Gyanvapi mosque premises. Accepting the petition filed by lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, who represents the Hindu side, District Court Judge A K Vishvesh asked the Gyanvapi mosque committee to file its reply to the plea by May 19. The court fixed the next hearing in the matter on May 22. Prior to this, the High Court, on May 12, directed the Varanasi district judge to proceed, in accordance with law, on the application by the Hindu worshippers for conducting a scientific probe of the Shivling. The High Court order had said no harm should be done to the structure, which the Hindu petitioners claim is a Shivling. However, the mosque authorities say it is part of a fountain in thewazu khana, where ablutions are performed before namaz. The High Court passed the order on a revision petition filed by Laxmi Devi and three others challenging the Varanasi court order. The High Court had obtained a report from various institutions, including the IITs in Kanpur and Roorkee and Birbal Sahni Institute of Lucknow, before ordering for determination of the age of the structure.

The report says direct dating of the structure is not possible and the age can be ascertained with proxy dating of materials, which can correlate with the establishment of the lingam if there is any. This needs a thorough study of the materials surrounding the lingam, it adds. The report also suggests the dating of some organic materials below the surface can ascertain the age but it needs to be established that they are related to the structure. The court considered suggestions of Prof Javed N Malik of Department of Earth Sciences, IIT Kanpur. Prof Malik suggested that to understand the buried material and structure it would be essential to undertake a detailed subsurface survey through Ground Penetrating Radar (GRP).
Traces of British-Era Railway unearthed in Borai Likhma village





By Manoj Sharma

KONDAGAON,

Historic trace of a railway line operated by the British colonial rulers has come to light in Borai Likhma village, near Kondagaon. The railway line, which once connected Likhma to Raipur, spanned a distance of 70 kilometers. Even today, remnants of this railway connection can be observed in the village, offering a fascinating glimpse into the regions past. Local residents Sadhuram (82) and Punaram Samrath (70) revealed that during the British colonial period, wooden balls crafted from sal wood were transported from Borai Likhma to Raipur to be used in laying railway tracks. The tracks stretched from Raipur to various destinations including Dhamtari, Achhota, Dugli, Kerigaon, Nagri, Maude, Sakra, Gehna Biyar, and ultimately reached Likhma.

Regrettably, as time passed, the tracks were uprooted by the local populace, and the path is now occupied by a dirt road. Nevertheless, echoes of history can still be found along this route, with wells and coal mounds serving as enduring relics. In earlier times, the ancestors of the local residents earned wages ranging from 15 to 20 paise per day for their laborious tasks of loading wooden balls onto the trains, supplying water from the wells, and loading coal onto the trains.

In recent years, a survey was conducted to connect Rawghat to Jagdalpur, passing through Narayanpur, Orchha, Kibaibalenga, Benur, Kondagaon, Kopabeda, Dahikonga, and Bhanpuri. Land acquisition has been successfully completed in Kondagaon for this purpose, and compensation has been provided to those affected by the project. Exciting news arrived as Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnav recently granted permission to extend the broad gauge line that previously ran from Raipur to Likhma, via Dhamtari, Kurud, Megha Dugli, Pendra, Sakra, Nagari, Farida, and Borai, all the way to Kondagaon.

The railway line has already been laid from Rawghat to Antagarh, and a survey has been conducted to connect it further to Jagdalpur via Narayanpur, Kokodi, Kondagaon, and Dahikanga. With the latest permission granted, the rail network will now connect Kondagaon to Raipur, passing through Borai Likhma and Makdi in Kondagaon. This ambitious extension has the potential to bring tremendous growth to Kondagaon, elevating it to the status of a prominent city. Providing an update on the proposed construction work, Charlie Thakur, Sub-Divisional Officer Revenue - Rawghat, revealed that around 15 villagers in Kondagaon district might be affected by the project. Thus far, a total of 63.24 hectares of land has been acquired for the railway project, and compensation amounting to Rs 16,07,86,124 has been disbursed to 319 villagers. However, there are still nine people awaiting the settlement of their pending payments. The unearthing of this British-era railway line in Borai Likhma village not only sheds light on the region's historical significance but also paves the way for a new era of connectivity and development. As plans for the railway extension materialize, Kondagaon and its residents eagerly anticipate the transformation that awaits them, as their town evolves into a key hub of progress and prosperity
Youth kills herdsman for sodomising him

Staff Reporter

KORADI Police arrested a youth for killing a herdsman after the latter allegedly sodomised him at village Khapri in the small hours of Thursday. The deceased, Ghanshyam Ganpat Sirsam (45) was a native of village Vijaypani, taluka Kurai, district Seoni, Madhya Pradesh.

Cops took accused Sandeep Chandrabhan Gondane (23), a resident of village Khapri, Koradi, into custody. Naresh Divtuji Dehure, a resident of Waregaon, taluka Kamptee, owns a dairy farm at village Khapri. He had employed Sirsam to look after the cattle. After grazing the cows and buffaloes, Sirsam used to sleep in the cattle shed. Gondane often visited the cattle shed to meet Sirsam. In the small hours of Thursday, Gondane came to meet Sirsam.

Both consumed liquor. Sirsam allegedly sodomised Gondane and started abusing him. Gondane lost his temper. He killed Sirsam after hitting some heavy and blunt object on his head and ran away. Dairy farm owner Dehure, who was on a morning walk, noticed Sirsams nude body lying in a pool of blood and informed the police. Staff from Koradi Police arrived at the spot and sent the body to Mayo Hospital for post-mortem. Following a complaint lodged by Gautam Yograj Barmate (45), Koradi Police registered a case under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code against Gondane.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

NORWALK  While Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega and his government have tossed religious orders, charities and civic groups out of the country, the work of the Norwalk/Nagarote Sister City Project goes on uninterrupted, with the focus on a local fundraiser this weekend.

For 37 years Norwalk has embraced Nagarote, with a partnership between residents of both cities. The relationship focuses on developing a sustainable community and breaking the cycle of poverty for the most disadvantaged children and youth in the Nicaraguan city.

We stay out of the politics and stay out of whatever is going on with the government, said Tom Kretsch, president of the Norwalk/Nagarote Sister City Project. Were an independent nonprofit, and we stay neutral.

In its latest move, Nicaragua last week ordered the Red Cross to close its operations in the country. According to Associated Press reports, Ortega accused the Red Cross of attacks on peace and stability in the country during anti-government protests in 2018.

The government does check up on our sister city project, Kretsch said. They have no problem with it, and weve been able to keep the program alive all these years. In Nicaragua, the project is managed and operated by Nicaraguan volunteers and Miguel Salinas is the project manager. The real concern is the need to raise money every year to help pay for projects and programs.

The Norwalk/Nagarote Sister City Project has an annual operating budget of $140,000. Kretsch hopes to raise $20,000 at the Taste of Latin America Fiesta fundraiser from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Sunday at a private home in Westport.

The connection with Nagarote as a sister city came about in 1986 when then-Norwalk Mayor Bill Collins and a group of mayors took a tour of Nicaragua. Collins was moved by the poverty he saw in the country, especially in the town of Nagarote, and how it impacted children.

Collins, Tish Gibbs and Virginia Auster worked together with officials in Nagarote to form a sister city relationship, with a focus on improving living conditions for the children. Collins and Gibbs have died. But at age 99 Auster is still active in the organization.

We have a community center in Nagarote, and our focus recently was to create a preschool there, Kretsch said. We started a first grade and second grade, and it has made an impact for kids at that level. But kids were not succeeding at the preschool level, and we wanted to improve that for them."

The preschool is getting started, "thanks to a grant from Meals A Day, part of a foundation in Canada. We plan to start a third grade for the kids next year, he said.

Other programs include a teen after-school program, computer and English classes, college scholarships, elementary and high school scholarships, a reforestation project, tutoring program and support for a community farm.

A big reason for the longevity of the sister city connection is due to the residents of Nagarote and the hard work of the sister city project staff in Norwalk, Kretsch said.

"The parents have really bought into what we have been trying to do for them, he said. The parents and sister city staff in Nagarote, who are all Nicaraguans, have been so engaged and committed to what goes on that it makes everything work well.

Until the pandemic, Norwalk sent a delegation to Nagarote each year to spend a week and oversee projects and programs. The visits stopped in 2020 due to COVID-18.

Joan Parris, a volunteer who got the preschool started, went to Nagarote in 2022 with a friend to represent Norwalk, signaling the return of a Norwalk presence in Nagarote.

We are all so passionate about this project, Kretsch said. Its important to give back and help our own community locally. Its also important to support things globally.

We hope our project can keep going, creating opportunities for the Nagarote people and help them rise out of their level of poverty.

The Taste of Latin America Fiesta fundraiser on Sunday evening in Westport will include music by the Carmine Marino Duo, wine tastings, tapas and an auction. Tickets are $75, $125 and $150. To RSVP and for more information email Joan Parris at joanct@optonline.net.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP)  Saudi Arabia hosted an Arab League summit on Friday in which Syrian President Bashar Assad was welcomed back after a 12-year suspension and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to rally support against Russia.

Russian airstrikes have left a swath of destruction across both countries, but in Syria they came at Assad's invitation and helped him cling to power through years of grinding civil war. Other Arab states have deepened ties with Moscow while remaining largely neutral on the Ukraine war.

The odd pairing of the two leaders in the same forum is the result of a recent flurry of diplomacy by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is pursuing regional rapprochement with the same vigor he previously brought to the kingdom's confrontation with archrival Iran.

In recent months, Saudi Arabia has restored diplomatic ties with Iran, is ending the kingdoms yearslong war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen and led the push for Syrias return to the 22-member Arab League.

The Saudi crown prince welcomed both Assad and Zelenskyy to the Red Sea city of Jeddah, expressing support for whatever helps in reducing the crisis between Russia and Ukraine." He added that the kingdom, which brokered a prisoner exchange last year, is ready to exert efforts for mediation."

Addressing the summit in English, Zelenskyy appeared to invoke the Arab world's own troubled history of invasion and occupation, saying Ukraine "will never submit to any foreigners or colonizers.

He took a swipe at Iran for supplying attack drones to Russia and spoke about the suffering of Muslim ethnic Tatars living under Russian occupation in Crimea. He also accused some in the hall of turning a blind eye to Russia's violations.

The visit comes amid a whirlwind of international travel by the Ukrainian leader, but until now he has mostly visited allied countries.

Saudi Arabia pledged $400 million in aid to Ukraine earlier this year and has voted in favor of U.N. resolutions calling on Russia to end its invasion and opposing the annexation Ukrainian territory. But it has resisted U.S. pressure to increase oil production in order to squeeze Russia's revenues.

Assad, a close ally of both Russia and Iran, said he hoped the summit would mark a new stage of Arab solidarity" that would bring peace "instead of war and destruction. He added that Arab countries should reject external interference" in their affairs.

A collective statement issued at the conclusion of the summit rejected any illegitimate foreign presence in Syria and supported the eventual return of Syrian refugees. It also condemned Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people, called on Lebanon to overcome its political paralysis and encouraged dialogue in Sudan, where rival generals have been battling one another for more than a month.

In recent years, Assad's forces have recaptured much of Syria's territory from insurgents with crucial military aid from Russia and Iran. Saudi Arabia was a major sponsor of the opposition at the height of the war but pulled back as the insurgents were eventually cornered in a small pocket of northwestern Syria.

Saudi Arabias push to bring Syria back into the fold is part of a broader shift in the kingdoms approach to regional politics, says Torbjorn Soltvedt, a leading Mideast analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

The previously adventurist foreign policy defined by the Yemen intervention and efforts to confront Iran are now being abandoned in favor of a more cautious approach, he said.

Assads first official meeting on Friday was with his Tunisian counterpart, Kais Saied, who is waging his own crackdown on dissent in the birthplace of the Arab Spring protests that swept the region in 2011.

We stand together against the movement of darkness, Assad said, apparently referring to extremist groups that came to dominate the Syrian opposition as the civil war ground on, and which drew large numbers of recruits from Tunisia.

The Saudi crown prince later welcomed each leader to the summit, including a smiling Assad. The two shook hands and kissed cheeks before the Syrian leader walked into the hall.

There are some Arab holdouts to Damascus' rehabilitation, including gas-rich Qatar, which still supports Syria's opposition and says it won't normalize bilateral relations without a political solution to the conflict. Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, attended the start of the summit but walked out before Assad spoke, a Saudi official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release details of the proceedings.

Western countries, which still view Assad as a pariah over his forces aerial bombardment and gas attacks against civilians during the 12-year civil war, have criticized his return to the Arab fold and vowed to maintain crippling sanctions that have hampered reconstruction.

Years of heavy fighting involving Assad's forces, the opposition and jihadi outfits like the Islamic State group left entire villages and neighborhoods in ruins. The conflict killed nearly a half million people and displaced half of the countrys pre-war population of 23 million.

American lawmakers advanced bipartisan legislation this week that would bar any U.S. federal agency from recognizing or carrying out normal relations with Syrias government as long as its led by Assad, who came to power in 2000 after the death of his father. The legislation would also plug holes in existing U.S. sanctions targeting Assad.

The White House National Security Council said Friday that the administration opposes the legislation. It fears the additional measures would make it unduly difficult to provide humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people  who are suffering because of the actions of the Assad regime.

The administration remains committed to a roadmap to peace drafted more than a decade ago. But several rounds of talks held over the years between Assad's government and the opposition went nowhere, and he has had little incentive to compromise since Russia entered the war on his side.

Arab leaders appear to be focused on more modest goals, like enlisting Assad's help in countering militant groups and drug traffickers, and bringing about the return of Syrian refugees.

___

Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
Vic Eng / Hearst Connecticut Media Group

The Child & Family Guidance Center's Champions for Children Gala was held at The Inn at Longshore in Westport on Thursday, May 18. The gala honored Connecticut Senator Tony Hwang and benefited the Child & Family Guidance Center's mental health, substance use and family support services.

Were you SEEN?
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  Tech consultant Nima Momeni pleaded not guilty Thursday to a murder charge in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee on the streets of San Francisco.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Victor Hwang ordered Momeni, 38, kept in jail without bail, saying he posed a public safety risk if released. Momeni, who appeared in an orange sweatshirt and pants, did not speak, and his attorney Paula Canny entered the plea on his behalf.

The case has drawn national attention, partly given Lee's status in the tech world. Lee was found with three stab wounds, including one to the heart, shortly after 2:30 a.m. April 4 and was taken to a hospital where he later died. He was found in the Rincon Hill neighborhood in downtown San Francisco, which has tech offices and condominiums but little activity in the early morning hours.

Lee, 43, created Cash App, a mobile payment service, and was the chief product officer of the cryptocurrency MobileCoin. He was mourned as a loving father of two who made friends wherever he went.

Prosecutors have not provided a motive but say Momeni stabbed Lee after a dispute related to Momenis sister, who appeared in court Thursday alongside their mother.

Assistant District Attorney Omid Talai argued Thursday to detain Momeni without bail, saying that the defendant drove Lee to a secluded spot and used a knife that was part of a unique kitchen set belonging to his sister. Police recovered a knife with a 4-inch (10-centimeter) blade at the scene.

Talai said that analysis showed Momeni's DNA on the handle of the knife and Lee's DNA on the bloody blade and no evidence that Lee had touched the handle, contradicting Canny's claim of self-defense for her client.

But Canny said that Momeni did not drive Lee to a secluded spot with the aim of killing him. Instead, she said, Lee directed him to pull over after calling an Uber because the two had argued. The last time Momeni saw Lee, Canny said, Lee was standing upright and walking away.

People can have a fight and not know that somebodys been mortally wounded," she said in court, later adding, Every one of us, including my client, is heartbroken that Bob Lee died.

Canny said Momeni has strong ties to the community and needs to stay and fight the charges or else face deportation to Iran, which would separate him from the two people he loves most, his mother and sister. Momeni is not a U.S. citizen.

Outside the courtroom, Canny described the encounter as a cross between self-defense and accident. There was no premeditation deliberation.

San Francisco's District Attorney Brooke Jenkins rejected that idea in speaking to reporters after the arraignment. We believe that we have the murderer of Mr. Lee, and thats Mr. Momeni," she said.

Nima Momeni was 14 when his mother took the children to the U.S., fleeing Iran and a husband who had inflicted years of abuse and violence on the family, his mother wrote in a letter submitted to the court in support of her son's pre-trial release.

She said her son was generous and kind, pitching in financially when she enrolled in college to become a dental hygienist. He taught himself about computer technology.

Momeni was arrested last month at his home in Emeryville, which is across the bay from San Francisco.

An unnamed friend of Lee told homicide investigators they had been hanging out and drinking with Momeni's sister the day before the stabbing, prosecutors said in a motion to detain Momeni without bail.

The friend said Momeni later questioned Lee about whether his sister was doing drugs or otherwise engaging in inappropriate behavior and Lee said she had not.

The friend and Lee later parted ways, and surveillance video showed Lee entering the posh Millennium Tower downtown, where Momeni's sister Khazar lives with her husband, prominent San Francisco plastic surgeon Dino Elyassnia. Video footage then showed Lee and Momeni leaving the building together shortly after 2 a.m. and driving off in Momeni's car.

Momeni faces 26 years to life if convicted.
EDWARDSVILLE  A new contract appears to be within reach for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and its faculty and staff after the latest negotiation session Thursday.

The apparent final sticking point? Compensation.

"We made some good progress on the working conditions part and will probably be able to close it soon," Ed Navarre, president of the SIUE Faculty Association, told the Intelligencer on Thursday evening via email. "With that one and a couple of other items nearly finished, it leaves salary as the major issue.

"The salary part remains challenging," he added. "But we have plans to meet next week, so there is an increasing pace of bargaining. Overall that's a good sign because it suggests real interest in settling the whole contract.

"How the administration responds to our counter on salary next week will tell us a lot about how flexible they are willing to be," Navarre said.

The administration has said it will not comment further on negotiations.

In a previous statement, SIUE said: "University administrators do not comment on the details of ongoing contract negotiations. We will continue to negotiate in good faith and with the long term financial health of the institution as the top priority.



"SIUE is committed to ensuring that negotiations reflect available resources and that the University will be able to meet its future obligations. With the strategic plan as the guide, SIUE remains laser-focused on enrollment, improving graduation rates and sustainable growth."

Representatives for the administration and union have tried to hammer out a new contract for nearly a year. The current faculty pact expired on June 30, 2022.

Other university and faculty contract talks in Illinois have resulted in walkouts but were then resolved. Multiple state university unions went on strike this spring when contract negotiations faltered, including Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Chicago State University, and Governors State University in University Park.

All of those systems resolved conflicts and signed new contracts.
BEIJING (AP)  Chinese authorities say 11 people were killed in a road accident Friday along the China-Vietnam border, including nine Vietnamese citizens.

The incident highlights the persistence of human trafficking in the mountainous border region, where there has long been a trade in agricultural goods and workers coming from Vietnam to the relatively poor Chinese province of Guangxi.

One of the other victims was Chinese and the nationality of the other has yet to be determined, according to the social media account of the local Jingxi county government.

They were among 14 people aboard an off-road vehicle that overturned and fell into a gully, the government said.

It said the incident was related to human smuggling.

The survivors included the Chinese driver, a Chinese assistant and two Vietnamese citizens, all of whom are being questioned, the government said.

Limited job opportunities in parts of Vietnam have prompted some of its citizens to seek their fortunes in countries where wages are higher, including in marginally better-off parts of China, where they work on farms and in factories and where some women have been lured into forced marriages.

In 2019, the bodies of 39 young Vietnamese were found in a container truck in southeastern England in an apparent people-smuggling tragedy.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam  Fri, May 19, 2023 07:53 8 5fceed71997e5776a1634d25dc6d05ce 1 Archipelago Batam,Riau-Islands,pig,agriculture,animal-husbandry,african-swine-fever,virus,Singapore Free

The Agricultural Quarantine Agency has limited the local supply of pigs following a finding of the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus in Batam. Pig exports to Singapore from Batam are temporarily suspended.

Office head Aris Hadiyono said the limitation was intended to control the spread of the ASF virus, even though it is not contagious to humans.

We are currently limiting the supply of pigs for local needs, Aris told The Jakarta Post on Monday, without providing further details of the restriction.

Earlier this month, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) reported that the Indonesian veterinary authority had notified the organization of an ASF incident on a pig farm on Bulan Island in Batam.

The ASFs finding was first detected in a batch of livestock from the island by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in April. The SFA later announced the suspension of live pig imports from Bulan Island on April 20, which went into effect on April 23.

The Agriculture Ministry has revoked the ASF-free certificate for PT Indo Tirta Suaka (ITS), which operates the farm.

According to Aris, the Agricultural Quarantine Agency is conducting strict supervision on the pig farm.

Together with the company, we are also working to ensure the implementation of biosecurity and limit the mobilization of people entering and leaving Bulan Island, he said.

He added that they were also reorganizing and cleaning out the cage compartment.

Aris also said the company's ASF-free certificate, which would allow it to resume export, would be reinstated upon the decision by the Riau Agricultural Office, the Agriculture Ministrys Animal Husbandry Directorate General and the Agricultural Quarantine Agency.

The ITS farm occupies 1,500 hectares in Batam and manages some 240,000 pigs. The company typically sells pigs to Singapore at about US$1.5 per kilogram.

According to the SFA, live pigs from Bulan Island make up about 15 percent of Singapore's total pork supply. (dre/gev)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post) Denpasar  Fri, May 19, 2023 06:54 9 d5259e4d93052b0e76bee70b056ce3a9 1 Archipelago bali,police,crime,murder Free

The Denpasar Police have arrested two Indian nationals on charges of murdering an Indonesian man and assaulting another Indian national on Saturday. The suspects were apprehended at Ngurah Rai International Airport as they were apparently trying to flee the country.

The two 21-year-old suspects allegedly murdered a 39-year-old Indonesian national following a series altercations at the victims house on Jl. Tukad Bilok in Sanur Kauh.

The two foreigners had been staying at the victims house at his invitation since May 10.

On Saturday, nearby residents found a 40-year-old Indian national bleeding in front of the house. They then found the Indonesian victim dead on the floor of the house.

Residents reported the incident to the authorities, who apprehended the suspects several hours later at the airport.

We are still investigating the motive for the incident, said Denpasar Police chief Sr. Comr. Bambang Yugo Pamungkas. The initial investigation found that it happened when they were playing a gambling card game and started mocking each other.

The suspects were charged with murder and assault under Articles 338 and 351 of the Criminal Code, respectively. If found guilty, they face a maximum of 15 years in prison.

On April 5, local police arrested a United States national after he allegedly assaulted an employee and damaged property at a cafe in Denpasar.

Denpasar Police said the 37-year-old American had attacked a female employee with a knife.

We received information that several other people also sustained minor injuries, a police spokesperson said.

The man was reportedly at Diamond Cafe on Jl. Tukad Badung at around 11 p.m. on April and was served by an Indonesian waitress.

Around half an hour later, he allegedly took out a folding knife from his pocket, threatened the waitress not to leave him and cut the womans left foot. The woman fled and sought help from the other employees.

The suspect then, according to eyewitness accounts, chased after the woman, went on a rampage and was arrested shortly thereafter. The police said he was very drunk.

Officers confiscated a folding knife and a combat knife from the US national. He could face a maximum 12 years in prison for assault under the Criminal Code and could also face charges under the 1951 Emergency Law for unlawful possession of a sharp weapon, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. (dre)

Topics : bali police crime murder
ISLAMABAD, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has said that the Pakistani government has been striving to enhance women's participation in the workforce for national growth.

The minister made the remarks on Thursday when chairing a meeting here, stressing that required goals of national development and prosperity could not be achieved without the active participation of women, who constituted almost 50 percent of the country's total population.

He said economic development depended on providing women with maximum education and employment opportunities, while acknowledging that Pakistani women are achieving a greater success in almost every field.

Iqbal said that there is a need to provide more opportunities and encouragement to women.

He said that the incumbent government has been taking special measures for women to progress, prioritizing equal education and employment opportunities for women.

University campuses are being set up even in remote areas to impart education to girls and multiple programs have been prepared in the information technology and industrial sectors, besides allocating 50 percent of the loan fund for women, he said.

In the upcoming federal budget, the minister said special measures are also being taken for women's development and economic empowerment. 
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, May 19, 2023

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has appointed Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD the interim communications and information technology minister following the arrest of incumbent minister Johnny G. Plate.

President Jokowi announced the decision shortly before boarding the presidential aircraft to fly to Japan for the G7 summit.

"The replacement [for Johhny] will be the coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister," Jokowi told reporters.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Putu Ayu Novita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, May 19, 2023

Gender equality has been a critical issue throughout recent history, and it continues to be so today. One challenge to women's progress that still persists is the gender gap in the digital world, where the tech industry has traditionally been a male-dominated field that deprives women of access to digital technologies and opportunities.

One of the most significant barriers to gender equality is the lack of access to education and training for women and girls, particularly in developing countries. In many parts of the world, girls are less likely to attend school than boys, and women are less likely to receive vocational training and higher education.

The gender gap in education is significant in low-income countries, where girls' enrollment rates in primary school stand at 78 percent, as against the worlds average of 88 percent, and only 31 percent in secondary school, compared to the global average of 66 percent, according to the World Bank. This lack of access to education and training limits their opportunities for employment and career advancement, thus perpetuating gender inequality.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Putu Ayu Novita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, May 19 2023

Gender equality has been a critical issue throughout recent history, and it continues to be so today. One challenge to women's progress that still persists is the gender gap in the digital world, where the tech industry has traditionally been a male-dominated field that deprives women of access to digital technologies and opportunities.

One of the most significant barriers to gender equality is the lack of access to education and training for women and girls, particularly in developing countries. In many parts of the world, girls are less likely to attend school than boys, and women are less likely to receive vocational training and higher education.

The gender gap in education is significant in low-income countries, where girls' enrollment rates in primary school stand at 78 percent, as against the worlds average of 88 percent, and only 31 percent in secondary school, compared to the global average of 66 percent, according to the World Bank. This lack of access to education and training limits their opportunities for employment and career advancement, thus perpetuating gender inequality.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam  Fri, May 19 2023

The Agricultural Quarantine Agency has limited the local supply of pigs following a finding of the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus in Batam. Pig exports to Singapore from Batam are temporarily suspended.

Office head Aris Hadiyono said the limitation was intended to control the spread of the ASF virus, even though it is not contagious to humans.

We are currently limiting the supply of pigs for local needs, Aris told The Jakarta Post on Monday, without providing further details of the restriction.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Adhi Priamarizki (The Jakarta Post) Singapore  Fri, May 19 2023

The legal division of the Indonesian Military (Babinkum TNI) has suggested several changes to Law No. 34/2004 on TNI. Although the TNI commander has not yet approved the proposal, the suggested points have sparked a heated debate as some showcase the militarys opposition to the idea of military professionalism and reforms that mandate military focus on defense matters and uphold civilian supremacy.

Among other amendments, one states a military soldier who is accused of committing a crime shall be tried in the Military Court.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Aditya Hadi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, May 20 2023

Indonesian manufacturers differ widely in how they deal with local heritage in marketing their products. Some stick with Indonesian wording for their brands, even for international offerings, as in instant noodles Indomie and herbal syrup Tolak Angin.

Others opt for words that sound more familiar to a global audience and that may help them expand overseas. Eiger outdoor equipment, Terry Palmer towels and Silver Queen chocolate bars are examples of this category.

Yet others prefer to use names that connect their products to a certain city or region of Indonesia, and none do that more than PT Agrinesia Raya, producer of food brands Lapis Bogor Sangkuriang, Bolu Susu Lembang, Bakpia Kukus Tugu Jogja and Bolu Malang Singosari.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Andrew Beatty and Jack Moore (Agence France-Presse) (The Jakarta Post) Hiroshima, Japan/Port Moresby  Sat, May 20 2023

A Pacific Islands leader on Friday called on the United States and China to not bring "adversarial competition" to the region, as the rival powers intensify their bids for influence.



Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, invited to represent the region at a Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, told AFP increased superpower interest in the Pacific was welcome, but could not come at any cost.



In recent years, China has dramatically ramped up its economic, political and military footprint in the strategic ocean region.



Beijing has snapped up mines and ports across the Pacific and inked a secretive security pact with the Solomon Islands that allows China to deploy troops to the country.



The US fears a Chinese military foothold in the South Pacific could outflank its facilities on Guam, and make defense of Taiwan more complicated.



The self-ruled, democratic island lives under constant threat of an invasion by China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory to be seized one day, by force if necessary.



US President Joe Biden has said the US would defend the island in the event of a Chinese invasion.



Washington has opened or reopened a string of Pacific Island embassies and deployed a steady stream of envoys to court island leaders.



"We welcome that engagement into the region," said Brown, who currently chairs the Pacific Island Forum, a region-wide bloc.



He hailed a White House summit between Biden and Pacific Island leaders last year, but added: "What we don't want to see is our region being an area of adversarial competition by our development partners. We want our region to be an area of collaboration."



"For us, national security priorities are economic security, they are climate security."

Many Pacific Island nations are debt-burdened, low-lying, vulnerable to rising sea levels and exposed to ever-stronger storms, droughts and floods fueled by climate change.



The increased attention being paid to Pacific governments has seen aid, loans and construction project windfalls flow into their coffers to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.



When the US secretary of state travels through Papua New Guinea's capital next week to meet the leader of the South Pacific nation, it will be on a six-lane highway built by China.



Antony Blinken will be dispatched to meet Pacific leaders at a summit on Monday in the place of Biden, who had planned a historic visit spurred by Beijing's growing regional clout.



On a brief stop in Port Moresby, the top US diplomat will pass sites including a Chinese-built national courthouse, bus stops with Mandarin signs and even Chinese supermarkets.



The rivalry between the US and China has brought them to loggerheads in the Pacific, and their jostle for influence has been a boon for islands like resource-rich and strategically located Papua New Guinea.



"Pacific governments are relishing their place in the sun," said Gordon Peake, a senior adviser for the Pacific Islands at the US Institute of Peace.



"'Friends to all, enemies to none' is the informal foreign policy mantra of most Pacific nations and they're sticking to it, to great net effect."



Yet Pacific concern about American neglect is real.



Last year Fiji's acting prime minister told Blinken island nations felt like "small dots" to Western leaders flying to meetings where they "spoke about us, rather than with us".



Washington and its Pacific allies Australia and New Zealand have since stepped up, fearful China will capitalize and mirror its actions in the South China Sea where it has turned several outcrops into military outposts.



That Western alarm has given cautious and self-aware politicians from Fiji to Micronesia an easy opening, with eager world powers dropping financial and diplomatic incentives into their laps.



"There is little doubt that they will accept benefits from China and, particularly, Western powers falling over one another in attempts to secure influence," said Australian National University professor Ronald May.



In the last year the US has announced new embassies in Tonga and Kiribati, reopened its mission in the Solomon Islands and hosted an unprecedented Pacific summit at the White House.



It has agreed new deals with Micronesia, Palau and Papua New Guinea, the last of which gives American troops access to its ports and airports.



China has also won influence in the region, striking a secretive security deal with the Solomons, the details of which have not yet been revealed, and building the host stadium for this year's Pacific Games in the capital Honiara, as well as university dorms and a medical center.



Beijing sought a sweeping trade and security deal with Pacific nations last year but it was rejected, signaling the islands' wish to not give too much sovereignty away.



Chinese President Xi Jinping's government has plowed ahead regardless of setbacks, striking several bilateral deals with Kiribati and Tonga and steadily growing its reach.



Beijing claims it is just a development partner, asserting its great power status with aid that benefits the region.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR  Get Rating) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at Citigroup from $200.00 to $140.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, The Fly reports. Citigroups target price would suggest a potential upside of 53.26% from the companys current price.

NBR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. 888 reissued a maintains rating on shares of Nabors Industries in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Nabors Industries from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nabors Industries from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Nabors Industries in a report on Thursday, January 19th. They set a hold rating for the company. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Nabors Industries from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and cut their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $155.00.

Get Nabors Industries alerts:

Nabors Industries Stock Performance

NYSE NBR opened at $91.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.40. The company has a market capitalization of $871.48 million, a P/E ratio of -6.10 and a beta of 2.76. Nabors Industries has a 12-month low of $85.35 and a 12-month high of $193.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $110.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.07.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nabors Industries

Nabors Industries Company Profile

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Nabors Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Nabors Industries by 165.9% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 226 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in Nabors Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Nabors Industries by 89.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 565 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Nabors Industries by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 793 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. 71.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

(Get Rating)

Nabors Industries Ltd. engages in the provision of platform work over and drilling rigs. It also provides performance tools, directional drilling services, tubular running services, and innovative technologies. It operates through the following business segments: U.S. Drilling, Canada Drilling, International Drilling, Drilling Solutions, and Rig Technologies.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Nabors Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nabors Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS  Get Rating) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $125.00 to $131.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, The Fly reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschafts price objective would suggest a potential upside of 33.13% from the stocks previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Thursday. They set a hold rating on the stock. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 24th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. They issued an outperform rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $116.50.

Get Advanced Drainage Systems alerts:

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Up 11.0 %

Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock opened at $98.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.73, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.38. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 12-month low of $75.02 and a 12-month high of $153.36. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $83.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.64. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Insider Buying and Selling

Institutional Trading of Advanced Drainage Systems

In other news, CAO Kevin C. Talley sold 22,006 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.67, for a total transaction of $1,973,278.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,588,503.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link . 9.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 478 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.46% of the companys stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc engages in the manufacture of thermoplastic corrugated pipe, which provides a suite of water management products and drainage solutions for use in the construction and infrastructure marketplace. It operates through the following segments: Pipe, Infiltrator, International, and Allied Products & Other.

Read More

Receive News & Ratings for Advanced Drainage Systems Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Advanced Drainage Systems and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Everest Re Group, Ltd. (NYSE:RE  Get Rating) has been given an average recommendation of Moderate Buy by the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $410.60.

Several analysts recently weighed in on RE shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Everest Re Group from $435.00 to $445.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Everest Re Group in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. They set a market perform rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James raised their price objective on Everest Re Group from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Everest Re Group in a research report on Thursday. They set a buy rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Everest Re Group from $455.00 to $468.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 10th.

Get Everest Re Group alerts:

Everest Re Group Stock Performance

NYSE:RE opened at $377.50 on Friday. Everest Re Group has a twelve month low of $244.57 and a twelve month high of $394.99. The stock has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $365.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $352.47.

Everest Re Group Announces Dividend

Everest Re Group ( NYSE:RE Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 1st. The insurance provider reported $11.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $12.48 by ($1.17). Everest Re Group had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 5.34%. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $10.31 EPS. Everest Re Groups quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Everest Re Group will post 44.54 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 31st will be paid a $1.65 dividend. This represents a $6.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Everest Re Groups dividend payout ratio is presently 39.15%.

Institutional Trading of Everest Re Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Everest Re Group by 10.9% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 47,460 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $14,302,000 after purchasing an additional 4,665 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in Everest Re Group by 14.5% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,437 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Everest Re Group by 42.2% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,437 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in Everest Re Group by 6.6% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 5,268 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC raised its position in Everest Re Group by 46.2% in the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 18,334 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $5,526,000 after purchasing an additional 5,797 shares during the period. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Everest Re Group

(Get Rating)

Everest Re Group Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of reinsurance and insurance services. It operates through the following segments: Reinsurance, and Insurance. The Reinsurance segment writes property and casualty reinsurance and specialty lines of business, including marine, aviation, surety, and accident and health business, on both a treaty and facultative basis, through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies primarily within the U.S.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Everest Re Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Everest Re Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
LONDON, May 18 (Xinhua) -- British multinational telecommunications holding company BT on Thursday announced its plan to cut up to 55,000 jobs by 2030, about 40 percent of its global workforce.

Such layoffs are partly due to BT's adaptation to new technologies including artificial intelligence, the company said.

The company's total labor force, including both employees directly employed by BT and non-employees supplied by third parties, will be reduced from 130,000 to between 75,000 and 90,000 during the 2028-2030 financial years, the company said in its financial report on Thursday.

New technologies will take a bigger role in areas like call handling and network diagnostics, making work less labor intensive, BT said. The company has also started the construction of national full-fiber and 5G networks, and fewer workers will be needed once the rollout is completed.

"By continuing to build and connect like fury, digitize the way we work and simplify our structure, by the end of the 2020s BT Group will rely on a much smaller workforce and a significantly reduced cost base," BT Chief Executive Philip Jansen said.

BT's revenue for the year to the end of March was 20.7 billion British pounds (about 25.7 billion U.S. dollars), down 1 percent with the growth in BT-owned broadband provision firm Openreach more than offset by decline in the other units. Its reported profit before tax was 1.7 billion pounds, down 12 percent.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said on Thursday the job cut "is no surprise." The introduction of new technologies along with the completion of the fiber infrastructure build replacing the copper network was always going to result in lower labor costs for the company in the coming years, the union noted.

It, however, has "made it categorically clear to BT that we want to retain as many direct labor jobs as possible and that any reduction should come from subcontractors in the first instance and natural attrition," the CWU added.

Also on Thursday, Prospect union, which represents thousands of managers at BT, said it was "deeply concerned" by the scale of the cuts. Announcing such a huge reduction in this way will be very unsettling for workers, who did so much to keep the country connected during the COVID-19 pandemic, it noted.

The BT announcement came just two days after telecoms firm Vodafone decided to cut 11,000 jobs, about a tenth of its global workforce, over the next three years.

"Our performance has not been good enough. To consistently deliver, Vodafone must change," Vodafone Group Chief Executive Margherita Della Valle said. "We will simplify our organization, cutting out complexity to regain our competitiveness." (1 British pound = 1.24 U.S. dollars) 
Molson Coors Beverage (OTCMKTS:TAP-A  Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 18th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.41 per share on Thursday, June 15th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. This is a boost from Molson Coors Beverages previous quarterly dividend of $0.38.

Molson Coors Beverage Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of Molson Coors Beverage stock opened at $63.30 on Friday. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $64.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.44.

Get Molson Coors Beverage alerts:

Molson Coors Beverage Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Recommended Stories

Molson Coors Beverage Company manufactures, markets, and sells beer and other malt beverage products under various brands in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It offers flavored malt beverages, craft, and ready to drink beverages. The company was formerly known as Molson Coors Brewing Company and changed its name to Molson Coors Beverage Company in January 2020.

Receive News & Ratings for Molson Coors Beverage Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Molson Coors Beverage and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
AmerisourceBergen Co. (NYSE:ABC  Get Rating)  Research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q4 2023 EPS estimates for shares of AmerisourceBergen in a note issued to investors on Monday, May 15th. Zacks Research analyst I. Bandyopadhyay now anticipates that the company will earn $2.80 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.82. The consensus estimate for AmerisourceBergens current full-year earnings is $11.89 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for AmerisourceBergens Q1 2024 earnings at $2.65 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $2.76 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $12.20 EPS.

Get AmerisourceBergen alerts:

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of AmerisourceBergen from $184.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of AmerisourceBergen from $182.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of AmerisourceBergen in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of AmerisourceBergen from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of AmerisourceBergen in a research note on Thursday. They issued a strong-buy rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AmerisourceBergen currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $181.62.

AmerisourceBergen Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE ABC opened at $174.82 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.13. AmerisourceBergen has a 12 month low of $135.14 and a 12 month high of $175.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $162.71.

AmerisourceBergen (NYSE:ABC  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $63.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $60.40 billion. AmerisourceBergen had a net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 809.53%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.22 EPS.

AmerisourceBergen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 11th. AmerisourceBergens payout ratio is presently 24.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. sold 292,792 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.77, for a total value of $50,000,089.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,366,388 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,697,978,078.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. sold 292,792 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.77, for a total value of $50,000,089.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,366,388 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,697,978,078.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven H. Collis sold 10,499 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $1,574,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 257,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,695,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 326,213 shares of company stock valued at $55,412,200. 20.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AmerisourceBergen

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of AmerisourceBergen by 7.7% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,002,190 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,121,122,000 after buying an additional 499,465 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of AmerisourceBergen by 4.7% during the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 195,263 shares of the companys stock valued at $31,264,000 after buying an additional 8,721 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AmerisourceBergen during the first quarter valued at approximately $440,000. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in shares of AmerisourceBergen by 10.8% during the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,730,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of AmerisourceBergen by 1.7% during the first quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 41,687 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,673,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.79% of the companys stock.

AmerisourceBergen Company Profile

(Get Rating)

AmerisourceBergen Corp. engages in the provision of pharmaceutical products and business solutions that improve access to care. It operates through the Pharmaceutical Distribution Services and Other segments. The Pharmaceutical Distribution Services segment distributes an offering of brand-name, specialty brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to healthcare providers, including acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, and long-term care and alternate site pharmacies.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for AmerisourceBergen Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AmerisourceBergen and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Spire (NYSE:SR  Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the utilities providers stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on SR. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Spire from a buy rating to a hold rating and raised their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Mizuho cut their target price on Spire from $73.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Friday, May 12th. TheStreet upgraded Spire from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Spire from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Get Spire alerts:

Spire Price Performance

SR stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $67.70. 39,532 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 265,096. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.06. Spire has a one year low of $61.52 and a one year high of $78.86. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Spire Dividend Announcement

Spire ( NYSE:SR Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $3.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $887.98 million. Spire had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 9.69%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 27.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Spire will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 5th. Investors of record on Monday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 9th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. Spires payout ratio is presently 61.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spire

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,642,947 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $526,293,000 after purchasing an additional 434,669 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Spire by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,755,246 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $473,813,000 after purchasing an additional 130,331 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Spire by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,411,808 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $337,318,000 after purchasing an additional 136,434 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Spire by 70,596.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,264,392 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $293,646,000 after purchasing an additional 4,258,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in Spire by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,350,580 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $148,082,000 after purchasing an additional 60,351 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.86% of the companys stock.

About Spire

(Get Rating)

Spire Inc operates as a public utility holding company, which provides natural gas service through its utility operations while engaging in non-regulated activities. It operates through the Gas Utility and Gas Marketing Business segments. The Gas Utility segment includes the regulated operations of Laclede Gas Company and Alabama Gas Corporation.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Spire Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Spire and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Waddell & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 21.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,854 shares of the financial services providers stock after acquiring an additional 1,593 shares during the period. Waddell & Associates LLCs holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC now owns 4,062 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 20,673 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $854,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 41,097 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,697,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA now owns 6,395 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,387 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $579,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.24% of the companys stock.

Get Wells Fargo & Company alerts:

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 24th. Barclays cut their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $54.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Friday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $49.45.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

In related news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 34,698 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.27, for a total transaction of $1,605,476.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,590 shares in the company, valued at $906,429.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website . 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NYSE WFC traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $39.92. The companys stock had a trading volume of 11,505,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,667,957. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.90. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $35.25 and a 52 week high of $48.84. The stock has a market cap of $149.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.12.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.08. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.93% and a return on equity of 10.07%. The firm had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $20.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Companys revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 4th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Wells Fargo & Companys dividend payout ratio is presently 34.38%.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified, community-based financial services company. It is engaged in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage products and services, and consumer and commercial finance. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth & Investment Management.

Featured Articles

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Wells Fargo & Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wells Fargo & Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The establishment by Shandong Port Group Co., Ltd (SPG), one of China's leading port operators, of its first European branch has been warmly welcomed here.

"Welcome to Rotterdam," said Anita van der Laan, a senior manager of the Port of Rotterdam authority while delivering a speech at a recent launching ceremony of the SPG's first European branch.

She described the opening of the SPG's first European branch as "an important milestone in the history of our port."

Headquartered in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, the SPG operates four major ports in China -- Qingdao Port, Rizhao Port, Yantai Port and Bohai Bay Port.

With 337 container routes and 84 sea-rail intermodal train services, the port group maintains connections with over 180 countries and regions worldwide.

The investment by SPG in Rotterdam would bring economic benefits to the region and would also enhance ties between China and Europe, van der Laan said, adding: "I am confident that our relationship will thrive and prosper."

Wilbert Lek, managing director of Rotterdam Partners, an investment and promotion agency of the city of Rotterdam, joined van der Laan in welcoming SPG.

The Chinese company's ports and Rotterdam share "a lot of similarities," he said, highlighting potential areas of cooperation, such as energy transition, reducing carbon footprint and promoting a circular economy.

By working together, they aim to "create a better world for our future and our children," he said.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, SPG Chairman Huo Gaoyuan explained that his company chose Rotterdam as the location for its first European branch because of the numerous advantages the city has to offer.

SPG established its first overseas branch in Singapore in February.

Jasper Eggebeen, senior manager overseeing supply chain solutions at the Holland International Distribution Council, also congratulated SPG on establishing its first European branch.

Eggebeen said his organization was eager to collaborate with SPG in assisting more Chinese companies in setting up their European supply chains. 
The Consul General of India, Lagos, Chandramouli Kern, spoke on the importance of a good economy that improves the standard of living of the citizens and empower them to have more money to purchase cars.

He spoke at the opening ceremony of a three-day West Africa Automotive Show in Lagos, attended by many Indian companies,

He said, We have the parent body of the automotive company manufacturing association, and they have brought more than 20 of their members. And apart from that, other Indian companies are participating in this exhibition.

Like Nigeria, we are also a very populous country, with economic development, the economy has been diversified such that people have more money in their pockets and they are having cars and they are changing cars. All these are good for automotive companies.

Ngozi Emechebe, the President of Auto Spare Parts & Machinery Dealers Association, Lagos State branch, said the coming of auto dealers into auto shows in Lagos would help support business growth for members of the association who were major importers of automotive spare parts.

Emechebe said, To procure a visa to travel to foreign countries is not easy, but through this exhibition, our members will come here to meet the manufacturers directly and discuss their areas of interest.

At the end of the day, a relationship has commenced, and what we are looking forward to is brought here to Nigeria. We are grateful to the organisers, and Im happy to be here to witness what I saw.

The Exhibition Manager, Georgina Lloyd, also said more than 156 exhibitors globally were participating in the automotive show, and that Nigeria was chosen for the exhibition because of its economic advantages and other factors.
While sitting in the office reception, we engaged in a discussion about the conflict in Sudan when Aysha suddenly asked about the educational disparities between the Northern and Southern parts of the country. Curious, I inquired about the reason behind her question, and she mentioned the controversy surrounding it on social media. I smiled affectionately in response.

Education in Northern Nigeria holds significant importance and has undergone various transformations throughout history. The region has a rich educational heritage deeply rooted in Islamic traditions and the quest for knowledge.

Islamic education has been a cornerstone of learning in Northern Nigeria for centuries. Quranic schools, known as Almajiri schools, have played a crucial role in providing basic religious education to young children. Students in these schools focus on memorizing and reciting the Quran, gaining a strong foundation in Islamic principles and teachings. The system often involves a teacher-student relationship, with students living with their teachers and receiving both religious and practical instruction.

Historically, Islamic scholars and centers of learning in Northern Nigeria have attracted students from across the region and beyond. Cities like Kano, Sokoto, and Maiduguri have been renowned for their vibrant intellectual and educational environments. Scholars from Timbuktu and other parts of the Muslim world have taught in these centers, contributing to the dissemination of knowledge and the development of Islamic scholarship.

As I sipped my tea, memories of my conversation with Mallam about the educational disparities between the North and South resurfaced. The history of Islam in West Africa dates back to the 8th century A.D. when it reached the Savannah region. The spread of Islam led to commercial connections with North Africa, which facilitated the introduction of new elements of material culture and intellectual development. The Sudan region became renowned for its literacy and scholarship.

Islam was embraced in Kanem by Umme Jilmi, a ruler, during the 11th century. Correspondence with Tunisia and the establishment of a college and hostel in Cairo for scholars from Kanem-Borno region further strengthened Islamic knowledge. In the 14th century, Borno's capital was relocated to N'gazaragamu by Ali Ghazi. The true Islamization occurred during the reign of Mai Idris Alooma, with the establishment of Islamic schools called Madrasahs.

Hausa land embraced Islam in the 14th century through traders and scholars. Mosques were built, and Islamic teachings were introduced. Scholars from Timbuktu arrived in Kano during the reign of Muhammad Rumfa to teach and preach Islam. Muhammad Rumfa even sought the counsel of scholars on governance matters, resulting in the renowned book "The Obligation of the Princes" written by Al-Mughili.

Arabic played a significant role in West Africa as the classical language, primarily due to its connection to the Qur'an. In Nigeria, Arabic and Islamic teachings were intertwined in Qur'anic schools, especially in the North. The spread of Western education in Nigeria began with Christian missionaries in the mid-19th century. Their primary objective was to convert Africans to Christianity and educate catechists.

Initially, Western education focused on religious teachings and preparing individuals who could read, write, and interpret the Bible. As commerce and colonial administration grew, the purpose of Western education expanded to include training minor administrative personnel and middle-class clerical assistants. However, its influence in the North was limited due to the dominance of Islam and the Quran.

Before Muslims in the North realized the political and administrative benefits of Western education, Southern Christians had already made significant progress. The colonial administration restricted the activities of Christian missionaries to the South and non-Muslim areas of the North. This historical circumstance, combined with the religious basis of Western education, led to the uneven spread of educational attainment between the North and South, resulting in socio-political consequences.

Our conversation continued until Mallam suggested that I should rest and emphasized the importance of extensive reading to understand our history. He recommended A. Babs Fafunwa's book, which extensively covers this topic. Feeling enlightened by this newfound knowledge, I left his room and returned to mine, making a cup of tea as the night still held its youthful allure.

But, I reflected Over time, Northern Nigeria has witnessed efforts to bridge this educational gap. Government initiatives and collaborations with non-governmental organizations have aimed to increase access to quality education, particularly in formal Western education. Schools and educational institutions have been established to provide a broader curriculum, encompassing subjects beyond religious studies.

On the other hand, The Southern region has a higher concentration of universities, colleges, and specialized institutions compared to the North. This has contributed to the region's reputation as an educational hub, attracting students from within Nigeria and other parts of Africa.

Education in Southern Nigeria has witnessed advancements in various areas, including infrastructure, teacher training, and curriculum development. The region has seen the establishment of prestigious institutions known for their academic excellence and research contributions.

However, challenges persist in the education sector. Access to quality education remains an issue in some rural and economically disadvantaged areas. Issues such as inadequate funding, overcrowded classrooms, and a shortage of qualified teachers can impact the quality of education.

Efforts are being made to address these challenges and ensure inclusive education in Southern Nigeria. Government initiatives, partnerships with international organizations, and community-driven interventions aim to improve access to education, particularly for marginalized groups, such as girls and children from low-income backgrounds.

The region's commitment to education is evident in the growing awareness of the importance of education for personal development, social mobility, and national progress. Southern Nigeria continues to prioritize investment in education as a means to empower individuals, foster innovation, and contribute to the overall development of the region and the country as a whole.

Finally, for us in the North, challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, limited resources, and socio-economic factors continue to impact education in the region. However, there have been notable advancements in recent years. Efforts to promote girl-child education, vocational training, and adult literacy programs have gained traction, aiming to ensure inclusivity and empower individuals with knowledge and skills.

*Sumayya Abubakar is a development worker, she is an educationist, and peace builder. She is the lead of Plateau based Muryar Fulani Peace Initiative Network Inc. She runs a schools system for marginalised populations in Plateau state, North central of Nigeria and can be reached at [email protected]
Islamabad: Former Pakistan player Shahid Afridi has once again spewed venom on the Kashmir issue. Afridi compared Kashmir to Palestine and said, look what Israel has done to Palestine. Along with this, Afridi praised the Pakistani army and said that he has appealed to the people to support him.

           #SamaaTV #ShahidAfridi #PakArmy pic.twitter.com/g3LMVHXUiV

 SAMAA TV (@SAMAATV) May 17, 2023

Talking to the Pakistani media, Shahid Afridi has said that till date I have not understood that the role of politicians is to progress the country. Why can't our country become sustainable? Looking at the condition of this country, my children ask, 'Papa, what is happening in the country?' Afridi further said that 'how long will we keep fighting with each other. We ourselves are enemies of this country. Pakistani army has made great sacrifices for this country. Why don't politicians accept this? If there is no army of Pakistan then what is freedom, ask the Palestinians, ask the Kashmiris. We have to stand with the army.'

He said, 'If there is oppression on anyone, I will definitely speak for him. He said that I have talked about the situation in Kashmir from the beginning. Praising Yasin Malik, Afridi said, 'India constantly tries to suppress the voice of those who criticize against human rights abuses. They cannot reduce the efforts of Yasin Malik. Let us tell you that last year also Afridi had made a poisonous tweet on Kashmir. He often spews venom against India and gives statements in support of his army. Yasin Malik, whom he has now praised, is a terrorist, who has killed many people and has confessed on TV about the murder of 4 Indian Air Force officers. However, even after this former PM Manmohan Singh had invited Yasin Malik to the Prime Minister's residence and met him warmly, now the Modi government has jailed him.

In the highly developed defence industry, India is now in position to become a superpower

Congress raised the demand to ban Hindu Mahasabha, know what is the matter?

Uproar over celebration of Godse Jayanti in Gwalior, police stopped the program
Jakarta: Sam Rainsy, a prominent member of Cambodia's opposition, called the upcoming general election "fake and sham" on Friday after the nation's sole opposition party was disqualified from the contest this week.

The Candlelight Party was disqualified by the election commission on Monday because, according to the election body, it had not submitted the proper registration documents. This decision has drawn criticism because it could threaten the country's democracy and political freedoms in Southeast Asia.

The July election will be a "fake and sham election for the simple reason that there will be no opposition," claimed Rainsy, the self-exiled former opposition leader, adding that Cambodia was "in effect a one-party system".

Also Read: Plans to expand trilateral development partnership between India and Germany

Speaking at a conference on press freedom in Southeast Asia in the Indonesian capital.

Rainsy pleaded with democratic nations to reject the legitimacy of the election in Cambodia and the tenured Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Unable to be reached right away for comment was a spokesperson for the Cambodian government.

Also Read: Gendarmes open fire as a car rushes the Vatican gate; the driver is taken into custody

The election will be free and fair, the ruling Cambodian People's Party declared earlier this week, adding that more than ten other parties have registered.

Also Read: A man is in court on arson charges after a fifth body is discovered in a burned-out hostel in New Zealand

The opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party, which Rainsy co-founded, has been reborn as the Candlelight Party. In 2017, the Supreme Court disbanded that party as part of what was criticised as a larger campaign against Hun Sen's detractors.
Car catches fire amid morning rain in Rawai

PHUKET: Police are currently investigating the cause of a fire that damaged a black station wagon on Wiset Rd, just south of Chalong Circle, this morning (May 19).

accidentsSafetytransport

By The Phuket News

Friday 19 May 2023, 04:54PM

The Rawai Municipality Fire Department reported on Facebook that emergency workers were alerted to the car fire at 9:07am. One fire engine with municipal firefighters was dispatched to the scene.

Having arrived at the scene, right at the entrance to PPAO Mueang Phuket School on Wiset Rd northbound, emergency workers found a black station wagon parked on the side of the road. Smoke was emanating from beneath the vehicles bonnet.

The Rawai Municipality Firefighting Service did not disclose the duration it took to extinguish the fire. Photos from the scene show no significant damage to the vehicle.

Authorities have not yet identified the suspected cause of the incident. No injuries were reported.
More senators back Pitas bid to be prime minister

BANGKOK: A growing number of senators are rallying behind Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrats bid for prime minister, citing the peoples mandate shown in Sundays election and the MFPs increased chance of forming a government.

politics

By Bangkok Post

Friday 19 May 2023, 08:49AM

Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat holds a press conference with leaders of seven other potential coalition parties to announce their agreement to form the new government yesterday (May 18). A growing number of senators are rallying behind Mr Pitas bid for prime minister. Photo: Nutthawat Wicheanbut

Senator Sathit Limpongpan has pledged support for a government coalition which manages to secure more than 250 House seats, or half of all the seats at stake. He joins at least 14 other senators reportedly gearing to back Mr Pitas bid to become prime minister, reports the Bangkok Post.

An MFP-led alliance has so far gathered 313 seats from eight parties as it works to build a government bloc. The next step is to win at least 376 votes in the 750-seat parliament, which comprises 500 MPs and 250 senators.

To make up for the shortfall, the alliance will need to tap into parties outside the bloc and senators.

Concerns were mounting as the MFP had been fiercely critical of inter-bloc parties, calling them pro-dictatorship, as well as the coup-appointed Senate. But some members from the Democrat Party, which is not part of the MFP-led coalition, have said they were lobbying to back Mr Pita for the premiership in the spirit of preserving democracy.

Mr Sathit said he has listened to the MFPs policies and found them to be clear enough to support.

Senator Prapasri Suchanthabut has also indicated she would throw her support behind Mr Pitas bid for the premiership.

Wanchai Sornsiri, an outspoken senator, denied opposing Mr Pitas bid, saying he was misunderstood.

He vowed to elect anyone able to muster more than half of the votes in the House of Representatives as premier.

However, Mr Wanchai insisted he could not speak for other senators who might have doubts over Mr Pita or the MFP, although he thought any unsettling issues could be talked through before the premiership election in the next two to three months.

A major sour point several senators have with the MFP is the partys stance to amend or repeal the hyper-sensitive Section 112 of the Criminal Code, or the lese majeste law.

Senator Direkrit Jenklongtham said he would respect the peoples mandate and congratulated Mr Pita for the MFPs election success after grabbing 151 out of 500 House seats on Sunday.

He said if possible, Mr Pita should clarify the MFPs stance on Section 112 and spell out whether the party intends to change or cancel the law altogether.

If it plans to amend it, the party must explain how it will go about it, he said. The Senate might also invite Mr Pita to give an explanation, he added.
No technical faults found with Phuket speedboat

PHUKET: An inspection of the Phuket speedboat Thanathip Marine 555, which slammed into a channel marker in Chalong Bay on Wednesday, has found no technical issues that may have caused the accident.

tourismSafetyaccidents

By The Phuket News

Friday 19 May 2023, 10:15AM

Phuket Marine Office Chief had ordered an inspection of the boat, explained a report by Phuket Info Center last night (May 18).

The inspection was conducted by regional marine office inspector Adul Raluekmoon and fellow technicians at an unnamed shipyard in Chalong, said the report.

Present for the inspection were officers from the Chalong Police and Phuket Tourist Police.

Mr Adul said that from questioning mechanics and guides, there was no indication that something was wrong before the accident. Everything was normal without any signs to say there would be an accident, he said.

The engine part is normal. Then we looked at the controls and steering. Whether turning left or right or in normal position, all worked normally. But we found a crack in a vent for hydraulic oil, he added.

All other parts of the boat are normal. There are only traces of damage caused by the collision, Mr Adul said.

In determining the cause of any accident, we mainly look at the ships hull, the ships controller and the weather. The preliminary inspection of the ships hull did not find any abnormalities, Mr Adlu explained.

As for the weather at that time, the sea was normal, the rest is with the boat operator, who must be asked what happened at that time that resulted in the accident. We also need to question other circumstantial witnesses, such as the tourists and guides on the boat.

Therefore, the exact cause [of the accident] cannot be concluded at this time. We must wait to collect all the evidence first, Adul said.

In total, 35 people were injured in the accident, with Phuket Tourist Police releasing the names of the injured yesterday.

Among those injured were the boat captain, who suffered a broken leg, and the boat driver, named in the injury reports as Satit Maschai.

The boat, operated by A Time Nature Tour Co, was returning to Phuket from Phi Phi Island after a tour of nearby islands when it struck the channel marker at speed late Wednesday afternoon.

Following the accident Phuket Governor Nartong Woonciew at Vachira Phuket Hospital Wednesday night confirmed that in addition to the B15,000 mandatory insurance coverage required under the Boat Act, A Time Nature Tour Cos insurance provider, Thai Pattana Insurance Co, is providing up to B500,000 per injured passenger for medical expenses.
Patong local election to affect Bangla area

PHUKET: Patong Municipality has announced a local election that will affect the popular nightlife district of Bangla Rd and the surrounding area.

politicsalcoholtourism

By The Phuket News

Friday 19 May 2023, 12:17PM

Only two candidates will contest the council seat, which covers the heart of Patong. Images: ECT Phuket

The election, to be held on June 11, will be to elect a new representative for Patong Municipality Constituency 3, which covers the heart of the busy tourism town.

The election is necessary as Patong City Council member Sanakorn Shin has resigned, effective April 18, explained Wipa Chanthong, Election Director at Patong Municipality.

The Phuket office of the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT Phuket), has confirmed only two candidates approved to contest the council seat: Siripong Kijdamnern, 47, a resident of Nanai Rd, Patong; and Chokchai Sanguanwong, 48, a resident of Phet Kut Rd, Patong.

Under election law, any election, even local council byelections, invoke a ban on the sale of alcohol in the voting district from 6pm the night before the election through to 6pm the day of the election.

However, Patong officials have yet to issue any clarification on whether this will be applied for this local election, considering the nature of the area affected.

The election notice described the boundary of the election area, which starts along the Patong beachfront and reaches back as far as Nanai Rd.

Starting at the intersection of Thaweewong Rd (the beach road) and Phra Baramee Rd, the boundary continues east along Phra Baramee Rd to the intersection of Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd.

From there it continues south along Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd to the Sai Nam Yen intersection, then travels east along Sai Nam Yen Rd to Nanai Rd.

The boundary then continues south along Nanai Rd to Khlong Thor Sung, which flows beside Nanai Rd, and continues along the canal until it reaches 50 Pi Rd. From there it continues south along 50 Pi Rd until it reaches the boundary with Chalong subdistrict, then continues west until it reaches the boundary with Karon subdistrict.

From there, the boundary returns back to the Patong beachfront and continues north along the shoreline to the starting point intersection of Thaweewong Rd with Phra Baramee Rd.

The roads to be affected by the election were listed as:

Thaweewong Rd Muen Ngoen Rd Rat-U-Thit 200 Pee Rd, except house numbers 21-93/4 (odd numbers) Soi Rat-U-Thit 200 Pee Soi Rat-U-Thit 200 Pee 2 Sirirat Rd Prachanukroh Rd Ruamjai Road Bangla Rd Phet Kut Rd Phang Muang Sai Kor Road (Phra Metta Rd*), only house numbers 1-197/1 (odd numbers) Phang Muang Sai Kor Road*, only house numbers 2-234/4 (even numbers) Nanai Rd, only house numbers 100-280 (even numbers) Nanai Rd, only house numbers 121-257/2 (odd numbers) Soi Nanai 2 Chalerm Prakiat Rd Had Patong Rd Sawatdirak Rd

* The road commonly called Phang Muang Sai Kor Road was renamed Phra Metta Rd after its completion in 2014.
Unified G7 hits Russia with new sanctions

HIROSHIMA: The United States and its G7 allies rolled out new sanctions against Russias war machine today (May 19), targeting Moscows lucrative diamond trade and more entities linked to the invasion of Ukraine.

RussianUkrainepoliticseconomics

By AFP

Friday 19 May 2023, 09:07AM

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (2nd left) and her husband Heiko von der Leyen pose for a photo with Japans Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (left) and his wife Yuko Kishida at the Peace Memorial Park as part the G7 Leaders Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, today (May 19). Photo: AFP

Leaders from the Group of Seven wealthy democracies are meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, with Russias US$4-5 billion annual trade in diamonds in the crosshairs.

Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago has prompted waves of sanctions that have helped plunge his country into recession and drained the Kremlins war chest.

The G7 is now looking to tighten the screws further, strengthening existing sanctions, closing loopholes and subjecting more Russian firms and their international partners to punitive restrictions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to address the summit over the weekend by videolink, with hosts Japan tamping down speculation he could make a last-minute, in-person appearance.

Washington got the ball rolling on more sanctions early today, with a senior US administration official saying 70 more entities from Russia and other countries would be placed on a US blacklist.

And there will be upwards of 300 new sanctions against individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft, the official said.

As the G7 weighs how to collectively choke Russias trade in diamonds - including high-tech methods of tracing - Britain announced its own ban on Russian diamonds.

London said it was also targeting imports of aluminium, copper and nickel.

As todays sanctions announcements demonstrate, the G7 remains unified in the face of the threat from Russia and steadfast in our support for Ukraine, said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The G7 is likely to stop short of an outright ban on Russian diamonds, at least for now. But according to officials, the summit will signal a determination to act.

Russian diamonds are not forever, said EU Council President Charles Michel. We will restrict trade in Russian diamonds.

EU member state Belgium is among the largest wholesale buyers of Russian diamonds, along with India and the United Arab Emirates.

The United States is a major end-market for the finished product.

Economists are divided about just how much G7 and other sanctions have hurt the Russian war effort.

The Russian economy contracted 2.1% in 2022, a trend that continued early this year.

But Moscow has adapted quickly, introducing strict capital controls, diverting trade to allies like China and reportedly borrowing evasion techniques from much-sanctioned countries like Cuba, Iran and North Korea.

The International Monetary Fund has projected a modest 0.7% economic rebound in 2023.

G7 leaders will also use the summit to woo invited leaders from India and Brazil, two regional powers that have sometimes been reluctant to criticise Moscow, or China.

Peace park visit

Talks will officially open this afternoon after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida takes leaders to Hiroshimas peace park memorials and museum, where they will see evidence of the suffering and devastation caused by the 1945 atomic bombing of the city.

In a moment heavy with symbolism, they will lay wreaths at the Hiroshima cenotaph, which commemorates the estimated 140,000 people killed in the attack and its aftermath.

Kishida, who comes from Hiroshima, has tried to move nuclear disarmament up the agenda.

I hope that here in Hiroshima, the G7 and leaders from elsewhere will show their commitment to peace, which will be remembered in history, he said yesterday.

However, there is little appetite to reduce stockpiles at a time when Moscow has made thinly veiled threats to use the weapons, and while North Korea is stoking fears of a new nuclear test with a barrage of missile launches.

Eighty-two-year-old Masao Ito survived the bombing as a small child. If given the chance, he said, he would warn leaders: As long as there are nuclear weapons in the world, there is a possibility that your city could become like Hiroshima.

Is that really something you are willing to accept?

China de-risking

Apart from Ukraine, China will dominate the three days of meetings.

There the focus will be on diversifying crucial supply chains away from China and insulating sectors from economic coercion.

But European countries insist that doesnt mean breaking ties with China, one of the worlds largest markets.

Not a single country is pursuing decoupling, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters in Hiroshima.

However, we want to organise global supply relations, trade and investment relations, in such a way that the risks are not increased by dependence on individual countries, he said.
In an earlier article, I noted that the first Heffernan Street bridge in Guelph, built in 1881, had begun to break down under strain from winter weather. By 1894, citizens had begun to complain of its decrepit and dangerous condition, and to advocate for a replacement.

In 1896, the decision was made to replace it. There was much dispute at council over the nature and cost for the replacement. Some thought that an inexpensive wooden bridge would do the trick. In the end, tenders were requested for a span with stone footings and abutments with a modern, iron superstructure. Local builder Henry Benallick won the contract for the stonework while the Canada Bridge and Iron Company of Montreal won the contract to build the ironwork in la belle province and then ship it and install it in Guelph.

The construction process involved some unusual drama. In July, Benallick refused to execute the contract for the stone foundations. The reason was apparently that the Guelph Light and Power Company would not open the sluices at Alans dam and lower the water level of the Speed River so that workers could access the riverbed. One reason given was that the Board of Health would not permit it. If so, it may be that the board still subscribed to the theory, widely held up to the 20th century, that bad smells were a cause of disease. Draining the river would expose all the garbage and refuse dumped there and expose residents to their sickening smells.

Whatever the reason, the matter was apparently ironed out. Local builder Thomas Irving was given the contract instead, and the river was drained so that his masons could get to work. It was reported that, on account of cool weather and quick work, there was no offensive smell.

The arrival of the iron superstructure from Montreal was also in suspense. The bridge companys plans were disrupted when its entire plant burned to the ground. However, it turned out that Guelphs bridge had already been made. Once the companys workers had finished a job in Rockwood, they would proceed to Guelph and commence operations.

Some Guelphites simply could not wait. Even as the bridge was being built, several youths found amusement by fastening a rope across the piers and swinging across the gap, hand over hand like monkeys. At least two missed their grip and dropped into the river. Workers rescued them, finding they were none the worse for their ducking.

Work was completed on Oct. 29, 1896, and Guelph had a handsome new Heffernan Street footbridge.

While the appearance of the first Heffernan Street footbridge remains obscure, the second bridge was copiously recorded by photographers. Few could resist pictures of its graceful, catenary arches reflected in the waters of the Speed River on a calm summer day. Also, its proximity to St. Georges church meant that pictures taken from the eastern shore of the river could include both significant local structures. Postcards showing the bridge were a common item for sale in Guelph stores during the Edwardian era.

Esthetically and functionally, the second Heffernan Street bridge seemed highly satisfactory. However, it suffered one fatal flaw, which was that its western end abutted the two tracks and nearby switchyard of the Guelph Junction Railway (GJR). This juxtaposition meant that pedestrians crossing to downtown sometimes had to dodge trains en route, clearly an unsafe situation.

By 1909, the national Board of Railway Commissioners had taken note and ordered the situation corrected before the GJR could be upgraded. Although only a teenager, the Heffernan Street bridge had to go.

When the bridge was demolished in 1913, the Taylor-Forbes Company purchased part of it and erected it just downstream from the CPR trestle bridge next to its plant (now the site of Metalworks condos). This was done so that employees would stop using the dangerous trestle link to walk to work.

In the meantime, a third Heffernan Street bridge rose in its place, but that is a story for another occasion.

SHARE:
WATERLOO  Three men from Kitchener are facing criminal charges in connection to a home invasion earlier this month.

On May 1, Waterloo Regional Police were called to the area of Bluevale Street North and Lincoln Road in Waterloo for the report of a home invasion where intruders broke in and demanded personal belongings from those inside.

During the break-in, a victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries after they were assaulted and sprayed with bear spray. Police believe the home invasion was a targeted incident.

A 25-year-old Kitchener man was arrested on May 2 and charged with robbery, break and enter, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, assault with a weapon, and administer a noxious substance.

On May 12, a 30-year-old Kitchener man was arrested and charged with robbery, break and enter and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.

On May 18, investigators searched a home near Carnaby Crescent and Holborn Drive in Kitchener. There they seized a variety of pills including suspected morphine, nabilone, amphetamine, oxytocin and hydromorphone. Identity documents, ammunition and cash was also seized.

A 23-year-old Kitchener man was arrested and charged with robbery, break and enter, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and disguise with intent. He also faces charges in connection with the search of the Kitchener home, including six counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a prohibited weapon, weapons dangerous, and possession of identity documents.

Police said this investigation remains ongoing and anyone with information can contact police at 519-570-9777 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

SHARE:
KITCHENER  The federal and provincial governments are pledging $5.5 million toward a supportive housing project at a downtown Kitchener church.

Hamilton-based charity Indwell will receive the money to help build 41 supportive housing units at St. Peters Evangelical Lutheran Church on Queen Street North.

The housing project will prioritize people who are waiting for housing from the Region of Waterloos housing list.

Federal Housing and Diversity and Inclusion Minister Ahmed Hussen and provincial Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark were in Kitchener Friday to make the announcement at the church.

The money  the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative  provides funding to repair, regenerate and expand community housing so tenants can live in a home that is affordable.

The federal and provincial governments also said they were investing $46 million to support the construction of 267 new affordable housing units across the province. The federal government is pledging about $30 million, while the provincial governments share is about $15 million.

The apartments at the church are expected to be ready by 2024. The church remains on the property.

SHARE:
Riyadh: Prior to Friday's historic Arab League summit, the president of Djibouti praised Saudi Arabia for its support of his nation and called for regional cooperation in the face of mounting difficulties.

President Ismail Omar Guelleh issued a warning in an interview with the newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, citing the fighting in Syria, Libya, and Somalia as some of the major challenges facing the Arab world, in addition to recent Israeli attacks against Islam and Christianity in Jerusalem.

"We hope that the Arab summit hosted by Saudi Arabia will result in recommendations and decisions that help to resolve critical issues and challenging circumstances faced by the Arab world, while maintaining unity and solidarity among Arab brothers," Guelleh said.

Also Read: Indonesia increases trade with Egypt to gain access to a larger African market

Unquestionably regrettable, he added, is the lack of an Arab state and its distance from Arab consensus and decisions. Since the start of the crisis, the Syrian file has been the focus of numerous negotiations on an international and regional level.



In accordance with the aspirations of the Syrian people and in support of efforts to reach a political settlement that puts an end to the suffering of our Syrian brothers and sisters, we are convinced that a political solution is the only way to resolve the Syrian crisis.

We applaud these initiatives and the strides made towards ending Syria's political isolation, which will lessen suffering and fulfil the aspirations of the Syrian people for security and stability.

According to Guelleh, the inclusion of Syrian President Bashar Assad at the Jeddah summit on Friday represents a natural reintegration. He continued, "The Arab world is not isolated from geopolitical changes, and it is natural for any Arab country to cooperate with any bloc, whether economic or military, if it sees its interest in it, provided it does not contradict common Arab action and the principles of the international community."

Also Read: Philippines supports safeguards for Kuwaiti workers

The president praised Saudi efforts in the field and mentioned the Red Sea as another area of concern for maritime security.

In 1956, Saudi Arabia was one of the first nations to establish the Jeddah Charter, a common security regime for the Red Sea. Djibouti plays a crucial role in efforts to maintain security, stability, protect maritime navigation, and fight terrorism because of its location at the Bab Al-Mandab Strait's entrance.

One of the first nations to ratify the Charter of the Council of Arab and African States bordering the Red Sea was Djibouti in January 2020.

However, Guelleh claimed that the situation in Sudan, where more than 800 people have died as a result of violence since April 15, is the most urgent one.

"We closely monitor the developments and events affecting Sudan with great concern, and we express our full readiness through our membership in numerous continental and regional organisations to do everything within our power to preserve the stability and unity of dear Sudan and to further the interests of its kin-loving people," he said. We are prepared to begin active mediation within the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

In fact, the presidents of Kenya, South Sudan, and the Republic of Djibouti have been asked to visit Sudan, and negotiations to start mediating are still ongoing.

"However, the three presidents' trip to Khartoum is contingent upon the end of hostilities and the upkeep of the ceasefire. We anticipate that the group's initiative will help in the search for a quick fix to the crisis, which has been getting worse since mid-April. We also applaud Saudi Arabia and the US for mediating to bring about the Jeddah Agreement to safeguard civilians.

The president of Djibouti commented on the tensions surrounding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam by saying, "Our vision regarding the Renaissance Dam issue is clear and unwavering, and it strives to reach an agreement that results in a satisfactory resolution for all parties concerned.

"We are hopeful that this crisis will be resolved, and we think it won't have any bearing on relations between Arab and African nations. Therefore, the concerned nations must come to an agreement on an equitable distribution of the Nile's waters so that everyone can profit from it. All nations ought to be united by the Nile rather than divided by it.

Guelleh praised the "deeply rooted relations" between Djibouti and Saudi Arabia and thanked the Kingdom for its assistance to his nation.

He continued, pointing out the Djibouti-Saudi Commission's function as a general framework for bilateral cooperation and as a businessmen's advisory council between the two nations. Saudi support has continued in political, economic, educational, and other fields.

Also Read: In preparation for the G7 summit, world leaders have prepared new sanctions against Russia for the war in Ukraine

Guelleh claimed that Saudi assistance also includes humanitarian work in Djibouti, where Saudi infrastructure is being built in the port city of Obock in the country's north through KSrelief to house a sizable number of Yemeni refugees.

The King of Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were thanked by the president of Djibouti for their contributions to a number of international and regional arenas.
Now Im in the hippo's mouth again, feet out of one side of his mouth, arms, head and shoulders outside the other I figured if I held onto the tusk that was boaring through me, my flesh wouldn't tear so much when he shook me about.
A stretch of Governors Road, from Main Street to approximately 100 metres west of Ogilvie Street, will see temporary road segment closures and turning bans during road, bridge and sewer rehabilitation between June and November 2023.

A tentative start date of June 7 has apparently been set, according to a capital project map on the citys website, but city staff did not confirm details of scheduling and traffic impacts by deadline. The project is supposed to be complete by Nov. 30, 2023.

City of Hamilton spokesperson Norm Miller said although a pre-construction meeting with the contractor was held May 1, there are still some actions to be taken before the schedule is finalized.

On Monday, May 15, spokesperson Antonella Giancarlo said staff confirmed June 7 was the approximate start date.

Additional details related to traffic control, closures, etc. are expected from the contractor in the coming weeks, Giancarlo said.

The project was awarded to low bidder Seawaves Development Services on March 23 for the price of $4,043,943.50. The bid was approximately $128,000 below the citys budget.

While the contractor will not be permitted to permanently close the impacted section of Governors Road for the duration of the project, temporary closures and turning restrictions will be implemented.

As previously reported, left turns from Governors Road onto Ogilvie Street will be banned for at least part of the construction project. There could also be temporary closures of road segments  Governors Road from Main to Ogilvie, and Governors Road from Ogilvie to 100-metres west of Ogilvie.

The tender states the contractor shall not work on, or impede traffic on, Governors Road at Ogilvie Street during peak traffic periods  considered to be weekdays 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.

The project was originally planned for 2022, but was delayed due to required Bell utility relocation and the budget increased.

According to a report to the April 4, 2022 public works committee, the Governors Road bridge was priority 17 for rehabilitation of 82 bridges inspected across the city.

The bridges Jan. 8, 2021 inspection recommended major rehab in less than one year, including replacement of the approach wearing surface within a year, and replacement of barriers, drains, sidewalk, utility piers and repair of abutments and deck top.

According to the tender, the project includes supply and installation of sewer, water mains, water valves, roadway, curb and sidewalk reconstruction, trunk sanitary sewer rehabilitation and bridge rehabilitation.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: We wanted to learn more about the impact of planned road and bridge rehabilitation in the area of Ogilvie Street to Main Street.

SHARE:
Organizer Katie Grantham, Will Harper, Sienna Vermeer and Ainslie Strutt at Yorkview Elementary Schools 2023 Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.





Small but mighty Yorkview Elementary School raised $8,367 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation with its 2023 Jump Rope For Heart event.

Thats more than 200 per cent over the schools target, and $17 more than last years total, all with just 170 students  fewer than the 180 enrolled last year, at the Thursday May 11 event.

The schools 2023 total puts it among the top 13 highest fundraising schools in Canada, and No. 1 in Hamiltons two school boards.

It continues a legacy of Yorkviews ongoing support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation through Jump Rope for Heart that has raised more than $74,000 in 14 events.

Yorkview first participated in 1986, and in the past eight years has only been stalled by the pandemic.

They continue to increase their fundraising amount year over year, which is impressive, said Heart and Stroke spokesperson Kim Rupnarain.

Organizer and Grade 3-4 Yorkview teacher Katie Grantham said the result is all the more impressive as it was achieved with fewer students than last year.

We set out to raise $4,000 and our community blew us out of the water again, Grantham said. Our entire school participated all afternoon, 170 kids plus all the staff jumping.

Grantham said Yorkview teacher Monica Caldwell-Puppa, who brought Jump Rope for Heart back to the school in the 1990s and ran it until Grantham took over in 2016, is retiring after 30 years at the school.

Fundraising for the event has become a personal mission of mine, Grantham said.

She said her son had surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto 10 years ago at the age of one week to repair a congenital heart defect.

Donations can be made for the remainder of the school year to Heart and Strokes Jump Rope for Heart through Yorkviews fundraising page at: https://jumpropeforheart.crowdchange.ca/23788.

SHARE:
OTTAWA - The federal government has finalized agreements with Visa and Mastercard that will see small businesses pay lower credit card transaction fees, it announced Thursday.

The government said Visa and Mastercard have agreed to reduce domestic consumer credit interchange fees for in-store transactions to an annual weighted average interchange rate of 0.95 per cent.

Domestic consumer credit interchange fees for online transactions will be dropped by 10 basis points, resulting in reductions of up to seven per cent.

The reduced fees will apply to small businesses with an annual Visa sales volume below $300,000 or an annual Mastercard sales volume below $175,000.

The federal government estimated the changes will help 90 per cent of credit card-accepting businesses in Canada by reducing interchange fees by up to 27 per cent.

The reductions, which will come into effect in fall 2024, are expected to save eligible Canadian small businesses about $1 billion over five years.

The agreements also include commitments from Canadas large banks to protect reward points.

The new agreements secured with Visa and Mastercard will make credit card transactions fairer for small businesses, which have less bargaining power than larger merchants to negotiate lower rates, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a press release announcing the changes.

With lower interchange fees, small businesses will save money that they can use to grow their businesses and create more good jobs.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) reacted positively to the announcement, calling it a big win for small businesses.

Nearly three quarters of the associations members will benefit from the rate reductions, CFIB president Dan Kelly said in a statement.

However, the organization is calling for the reductions to be implemented sooner than the fall of 2024, and for the government to ensure other card brands such as American Express take similar measures.

But an association representing small and medium grocers saw the fee-reduction announcement as a broken promise.

Because of the thresholds set out by the government, not a single small or medium grocer in the country will see their interchange fees reduced, the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers said in a statement.

The organization said meaningful reductions in interchange fees for grocers could help manage rising food prices, especially in the rural or remote communities, where these grocers are often the only supermarket.

Senior vice-president Gary Sands said his associations members have been waiting more than two years for Thursdays announcement, but called the resulting announcement baffling and a joke.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 18, 2023.

Read more about:

SHARE:
The clock is ticking on an impending pilot strike at WestJet and its Swoop subsidiary, threatening the long weekend travel plans of thousands of passengers.

The Air Line Pilots Association served the airline a strike notice after talks between the company and the union representing some 1,800 pilots hit an impasse.

WestJet preemptively cancelled more than 100 flights on Thursday ahead of the looming strike deadline of 5 a.m. ET on Friday.

The airline said it will continue to operate its regional services, including its fleet of 47 planes at WestJet Encore and WestJet Link. Regional pilots are not involved in the current bargaining.

But WestJet flights on major routes such as Calgary-Vancouver and Toronto-Calgary could be grounded if the stalemate between the union and the company isnt resolved in the coming hours.

Here are five things to know about the WestJet and Swoop pilot strike:

How do I know if my flight is affected?

The strike is expected to impact WestJet and Swoop flights early Friday morning.

WestJet says passengers with a delayed or cancelled flight can expect to receive an email from the airline  provided their contact information is on file.

Passengers can update their contact information or make changes to their trip on WestJets website using a reservation code and the last name on the booking, the company said.

They can also call the WestJet contact centre at 1-888-937-8538 to make changes to their itinerary, though wait times could be lengthy.

For WestJet Vacation bookings , the company says changes can also be made online or by calling 1-877-737-7001.

The airline says customers who cancel their vacation can expected to receive a refund to the original form of payment within 30 days. Sunwing flights are not affected.

Can I get a refund or make changes to my flight?

Either.

WestJet is offering refunds to passengers who cancel flights scheduled until May 21, and free changes to bookings within the same period.

In the event of a delay or cancellation, customers will be refunded or re-accommodated, as applicable, the airline said.

WestJet says any change or cancellation request must be made more than two hours prior to departure.

The company says any portion of travel paid with WestJet dollars will be returned to the account.

What are my rights?

Regulations entitle passengers to a rebooking within 48 hours of a cancellation or a delay longer than three hours, according to the Canadian Transportation Agency.

If the airline cant meet those obligations, the passenger can opt for a refund or alternate travel arrangements, free of charge, on any airline travelling on a reasonable route from the same airport.

It could also be from a nearby airport, and the carrier must transport you there, the agency website states.

Additional compensation for out-of-pocket costs like meals and hotels may be also be owed, according to the Air Passenger Rights advocacy group.

What about Swoop flights?

Swoop passengers can expect similar notifications and allowances for rebooking and cancellations as WestJet passengers.

The low-cost carrier says flexible changes can be made on flights between May 19 and 21.

Swoop says travellers with eligible flights can make a one-time change to their flight for free and no difference in fare price. In the case of WestJet, a difference in fare may apply, the company said.

The airline recommends travellers check travel advisories and the status of their flight before heading to the airport.

Can I make a new booking?

New reservations may be temporarily limited to minimize future disruptions, WestJet said.

Passengers are now unable to make online bookings for WestJet flights on major routes such as Calgary-Vancouver and Toronto-Calgary until Tuesday.

Bookings on Swoops website also seem limited until Tuesday.

Flair Airlines said it was creating contingency plans to service more destinations with flight frequencies should the WestJet pilots strike continue for an extended period.

Air Canada issued a statement saying it was operating its normal schedule.

The airline said it would make its best efforts to accommodate WestJet customers, but that seats are limited.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 18, 2023.

Read more about:

SHARE:
A cross-party group of federal lawmakers is backing a call for climate-focused rules on how Canadas banks, insurers and pension funds invest their money.

We have to do more, said Ryan Turnbull, the Liberal MP leading a new push to bring the financial system in line with the commitment Canada has made to reduce its carbon emissions and keep global warming below 1.5 degrees.

Turnbull held a joint news conference on Thursday, along with MPs from the NDP, Green and Bloc Quebecois parties, to highlight a private members motion he made earlier this month calling for the government to use all legislative and regulatory tools at its disposal to align Canadas financial system with the Paris Agreement.

This government has ramped up its spending to encourage investment in green initiatives and technology: this springs federal budget included the promise of roughly $80 billion in refundable tax credits over the next 10 years, and Ottawa committed up to $13 billion in subsidies to get Volkswagens new electric-vehicle battery factory built in St. Thomas, Ont.

But alongside those incentives for green investment, there have also been growing calls for rules aimed at Canadas financial system.

The countrys major financial players have been under pressure to disclose their investing practices, to account for continued stakes in fossil fuels (many big investors make the argument that they can influence the companies responsible for major emissions to transition to a green future), and to come up with concrete plans to transition to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

On Thursday, the MPs were joined by Sen. Rosa Galvez, who introduced the Climate-Aligned Finance Act (CAFA) in the Senate last year. But that bill has been stalled at the second-reading stage despite broad calls to move it to a committee hearing for further debate.

CAFA would, among other things, impose new climate disclosure rules and require banks and other federally regulated institutions to develop transparent plans to meet federal emissions targets.

The science is clear. The solutions are there. We have hope that our financial institutions will rise to the climate challenge, but we know that hope is not a strategy, Galvez said Thursday. Regulations are necessary because we have to give a clear signal to the finance world.

Turnbulls motion, which has so far been seconded by 13 MPs, does not explicitly support Galvezs legislation.

But he said Thursday that it should be taken as a sign to both the government and to other parties that we need to start to have these debates and conversations in preparation for what I hope will be a successful passage through the Senate of Sen. Galvezs bill.

After that, he said, the House of Commons could begin its own work on examining Galvezs bill.

Turnbull, who is the MP for Whitby, Ont., is not part of the federal cabinet, but Julie Segal said the cross-party support for Turnbulls initiative is groundbreaking. (No Conservatives have seconded it to date.)

Segal, who is senior program manager of climate finance at Environmental Defence and also spoke at the news conference, said it is crucial to tackle what remains the biggest gap in Canadas climate policy.

Regulation is the essential solution to mobilize the financial sector for a safe climate and a functioning, more affordable economy, she said. So, this motion is very much a kickstarter.

Read more about:

SHARE:
WestJet continued to ramp up operations on Friday in an effort to restore the long weekend travel plans of thousands of passengers upended by flight cancellations before the airline reached a last-minute deal with its pilots.

Travellers stuck at airports expressed frustration with cancellations and delays, while others took to social media with stories of ruined vacations.

WestJet warned that the full resumption of operations will take time, and encouraged travellers to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport.

WestJet and the Air Line Pilots Association announced a tentative deal to avoid the job action early Friday morning after eight months of negotiations.

Bernard Lewall, head of the Air Line Pilots Associations WestJet contingent, said the union achieved its main goals: better pay, job security and work-life balance.

We did receive significant wage increases, he said in an interview. Weve secured our futures through job protection ... and weve had improvements to our work-life balance.

Aviation expert John Gradek called it a landmark agreement, saying it will set the standard for labour negotiations going forward.

What youre seeing is a tectonic shift starting to appear in terms of the way in which union and management labour relations are going to evolve in Canadian aviation, said Gradek, a former Air Canada executive and head of McGill Universitys aviation management program.

The union will likely apply the same approach in bargaining with other airlines, he said.

The pilot wage rate in Canada is going to go up, theres no doubt about it, Gradek added.

But he said pilot wages rising likely wont lead to higher prices for consumers, because of competition from ultra low-cost carriers.

While the tentative agreement avoided a strike, many travellers were still confronted by cancelled flights and foiled holiday plans.

WestJet cancelled 231 flights from Thursday through Saturday, topping the global list two days in a row, according to flight tracking service FlightAware.

The shutdown affected dozens of routes within Canada and to the U.S. and overseas, while flights at the WestJet Encore regional service and the WestJet-owned Sunwing Airlines were unaffected.

At Torontos Pearson Airport, WestJet travellers described cancelled and delayed flights, mainly to Central and Western Canada.

Tommy Gilligan was set to be on flight to Calgary early Friday for a family wedding and holiday in Banff, Alta.

They told us at 4:30 in the morning that it was going to be delayed, and now they just cancelled it, the 65-year-old from Burlington, Ont., said.

My wife pulled some strings and were on a six oclock flight tonight. Im not happy right now  my whole familys waiting for us.

The strike-related scheduling chaos with Canadas second-largest airline is  totally ridiculous and not one bit fair to us, Gilligan said. I dont think Ill use WestJet after this weekend.

Other travellers shared his frustration with the airlines handling of the situation, while also expressing support for the pilots.

Diran Adenugba, 44, was at the airport for a flight home to Saskatoon, the final leg in his return journey from Atlanta. His original flight was scheduled to leave Thursday evening, but was cancelled after WestJet grounded planes ahead of the strike deadline.

I was rescheduled to fly out this morning at 9 a.m., Adenugba said. I got here to find out that flight was cancelled yet again.

He was rebooked on an afternoon flight to Saskatoon via Winnipeg, and said he has his fingers crossed he will get out of Toronto on Friday.

Still, despite the inconveniences, Adenugba remained sympathetic to the grievances of pilots.

Im not a pilot, he said. But if I were in their shoes, Id want my demands to be met.

Travellers will likely blame the labour dispute and ensuing flight disruptions on WestJet, not the pilots, Gradek said.

The airline was concerned about the value of the brand and their market share, he said. WestJet basically said, Lets cut our losses.

Still, the bill for hundreds of cancelled and delayed flights will be in the millions for WestJet, Gradek said.

WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said the agreement with the pilots provided meaningful improvements to job security and scope, working conditions and wages.

We appreciate we were able to arrive at a deal, however, recognize the impact on our guests and we sincerely appreciate their patience during this time, he said.

Meanwhile, Lewall with the union said the deal involves both financial and lifestyle gains for pilots.

The latter includes the ability for pilots to reschedule, trade or drop so-called deadheads  when an airline requires a pilot to commute to a different airport than where they live to start their duty.

The union also secured the right to find a pension for the pilots, he said.

Were pretty excited about the whole package, Lewall said, noting that the contract will help solve many of WestJets pilot attraction and retention issues.

The deal will be developed into a tentative agreement over the coming days, with a roughly one-week voting period to follow shortly thereafter, he said.

Even though it was a very contentious time, last night after the agreement we all got together, shook hands and had a drink together, Lewall said. The interactions with the company were always very professional, and never heated, so Ive got to tip my hat to the company.

 With files from Kiernan Green in Toronto and Christopher Reynolds in Montreal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2023.

Read more about:

SHARE:
Google has unveiled a delectable new doodle celebrating poutine, the iconic Quebecois dish beloved across Canada.

Internet users who opened the tech companys search engine Friday were greeted with an animated illustration of the comfort food paired with a smiling, dancing fork. Clicking on the doodle directed users to a search page with information about the dish, which features french fries and cheese curds topped with brown gravy.

The special Google doodle, only visible in Canada, comes on the ninth anniversary of the word poutine being added to the English Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

Though poutine originated in Quebec, its precise origin story is debated, Google noted in a page describing the doodle.

Several restaurant owners in the province claim to have invented it, the company explained. One restaurant owner stumbled upon the surprising trio of white cheese curds, brown gravy, and double-fried russet potatoes because they observed customers adding a side of cheese curds on top of their gravy fries.

Another restaurateur in Quebec was asked by a customer to add cheese curds to a bag of fries, and the owner responded, It will make a mess! The mess began to intrigue him and he started to serve the fries and cheese curds together topped with gravy to keep them warm.

The earliest evidence of the word poutine being used in an English publication came in 1982, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, though historical accounts of the dish itself date to several decades earlier.

Its unclear whether the dish started as just fries and cheese curds, with the gravy added later, or whether all three ingredients were present from the beginning, the dictionary added.

Also disputed is the origin of the word. Some claim poutine is related to the English word pudding, while others say it comes from the Quebecois slang word for mess.

But since poutine debuted  wherever and whenever that may have been  it has flourished in popularity both in Canada and abroad. Many chefs have added their own spin to the classic dish, with some topping the fries with smoked meat, seafood and even foie gras.

Googles new poutine doodle joins more than 5,000 doodles created by the company for its home pages around the world. The company routinely makes fun changes to its logo to celebrate noteworthy events and anniversaries.

Read more about:

SHARE:
SYDNEY, N.S. - Police in Cape Breton say a man is facing 21 charges after they seized seven firearms, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, and police clothing and equipment believed to be from the RCMP and Ontario Provincial Police.

Cape Breton Regional Police issued a statement Friday saying officers were dispatched on May 11 to investigate a domestic disturbance in Sydney, N.S., adding that the 30-year-old suspect fled the scene.

Police say he was arrested the next day in Millville, N.S., northwest of Sydney.

Investigators later obtained search warrants for two residences in Millville, where they seized the firearms, ammunition and police paraphernalia, including an authentic RCMP uniform, two peak caps, a Mounties Stetson and two OPP Stetsons and other OPP gear.

The suspect, who is from Millville, was scheduled to appear in Sydney provincial court on Friday.

He is facing numerous charges, including possessing police articles without authorization, pointing a firearm, discharging a firearm, assault with a weapon, careless storage of a firearm and flight from police.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2023.

Read more about:

SHARE:
Jakarta: Following an official visit to Cairo on Thursday, Indonesia's trade minister announced that the country is stepping up its trade relations with Egypt as a conduit for exports to other African nations.

This week, Zulkifli Hasan headed a business delegation to the nation of North Africa as Jakarta looked into the export potential of non-traditional African markets.

According to Hasan, "(Egypt) is a gateway nation to access other African countries." The trip to Egypt was easy and productive because it improved ties between the two nations.

Also Read: Russia launches 30 cruise missiles at targets in Ukraine; according to Ukraine, 29 were shot down

Hasan met with Egypt's Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir during his visit, and the two signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint trade committee with the goal of fostering trade ties.

Hasan stated that Indonesia wanted the committee's meetings to begin as soon as possible so that the two nations could "start identifying and discussing bilateral issues."

We both concurred that breakthroughs are needed because bilateral trade isn't yet operating at its best.

Additionally, we decided that the JTC would serve as the starting point for discussions about an Indonesia-Egypt PTA, which we hope will further strengthen trade ties between our two nations.

Also Read: US announces'significant' new sanctions against Russia at G7

By lowering or eliminating the tax duties on particular goods, a preferential trade agreement would increase trade.

Palm oil, coffee beans, and coconut oil were Indonesia's main exports to Egypt last year, accounting for the majority of the $1.57 billion in two-way trade between the nations.

According to Hasan, the country of North Africa had a high demand for coffee beans, making the market a potential one for Indonesian exporters to expand into.

With an approximate 7% market share, Indonesia is the second-largest producer of coffee in Asia, behind Vietnam.

Also Read: Scams involving fake shamans and "magic money" target Indonesians

Businesses from Egypt and Indonesia also signed tentative agreements with a potential value of more than $865 million during Hasan's visit.
VANCOUVER - The British Columbia government warned Friday that a return to more seasonal spring conditions is raising the risk of lightning-caused wildfires heading into the long weekend, after a prolonged hot and dry spell across much of the province.

The forecast for Fort St. John, in wildfire-embattled northeastern B.C., showed a risk of thunderstorms starting Friday night and stretching into Saturday.

Forrest Tower, a fire information officer in the region, told a briefing Friday that its difficult to predict at an early stage where any precipitation or lightning could hit, and how the weather might affect current wildfires.

As we get closer into these offshore weather systems moving into B.C., thats what is going to be affecting local weather here, then well have a better idea of the specific area and what that will mean in terms of precipitation and lightning.

In the southern Interior, Environment Canada said there was a risk of a thunderstorm in the Kamloops area on Saturday, with a chance of showers through Monday.

The province has said a transition to cooler, wetter weather is expected on Sunday.

Smoke was expected to continue to cause poor air quality and reduced visibility throughout eastern B.C. along the boundary with Alberta over the weekend.

Wildfire activity this season has so far been concentrated in northeastern B.C., where the Peace River Regional District issued an evacuation order Friday for properties in a rural area on the east side of Highway 97 north of Fort St. John.

The district said the Donnie Creek wildfire is threatening the area used primarily by industry. The blaze that had been mapped as 500 square kilometres in size on Thursday has since been updated to span nearly 1,200 square kilometres.

B.C. fire information officer Paula Walbauer said Friday that multiple fires in the area had merged into the Donnie Creek blaze, contributing to its larger size.

The district lifted an evacuation order for 850 properties in rural areas north of Fort St. John Thursday night, but residents must be ready to leave again on short notice.

An evacuation order remained in effect for the settlements of Buick Creek, Murdale and Mile 70 north of the city, where the 215-square-kilometre Stoddart Creek wildfire is burning about 25 kilometres away.

Mike Watkins, the director for the emergency operations centre for the regional district, said 446 properties remain under an evacuation order and 1,064 are on alert.

The BC Wildfire Service website listed just over 70 active wildfires in B.C. on Friday.

A statement from the province urged people to be prepared for wildfire and heat this long weekend by having an emergency plan in place.

Since April 1, more than 200 wildfires have burned over 1,350 square kilometres, largely within the Prince George Fire Centre. Of those fires, 85 per cent were human-caused and preventable, the government said.

Large, open burning has been banned across the province in an effort to prevent human-caused wildfires.

All open fires, including campfires, are prohibited as of Friday throughout the Prince George Fire Centre. The area spans much of northeastern B.C., including Fort St. John, and is where all four out-of-control wildfires are located.

Campfires elsewhere in the province have to be confined to 0.5 metres in height and 0.5 metres in diameter, with water kept on hand to douse the flames.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2023.

Read more about:

SHARE:
Toronto Public Health issued 21 conditional passes to restaurants, cafes, bakeries, bars and grocery stores from May 11 to May 17.

May 17

Durbar Indian Cuisine at 2469 Bloor Street West received a conditional pass with four major infractions:

Fail to protect food from contamination or adulteration

Fail to provide handwashing stations with adequate supplies (hot and cold water)

Maintain potentially hazardous foods at internal temperature between 4 C and 60 C

Mechanical equipment not maintained to provide sufficient chemical solution rinse

Encore Hakka Restaurant at 3685 Keele Street received a conditional pass with two major infractions:

Fail to protect against breeding of pests

Store potentially hazardous foods at internal temperature between 4 C and 60 C

Gong Cha at 567 Yonge Street received a conditional pass with eight major infractions:

Fail to ensure equipment surface cleaned as necessary

Fail to maintain handwashing stations (liquid soap and paper towels)

Fail to maintain records of pest control measures taken

Fail to obtain food from source subject to inspection

Fail to protect food from contamination or adulteration

Use handwashing station other than for handwashing of employees

Fail to equip sanitary facility with single service towels or dryer

Fail to provide equipment for cleaning and sanitizing utensils as required

The Old House at 3 Glen Watford Drive received a conditional pass with three major infractions:

Fail to protect food from contamination or adulteration

Fail to remove wastes when necessary to maintain sanitary condition

Use utensils not of sound and tight construction

May 16

Nando's Peri Peri Chicken at 15 William Kitchen Road received a conditional pass with two major infractions:

Fail to ensure equipment surface cleaned as necessary

Fail to ensure food handler in food premise is clean

May 15

Freshii- Lower Level at 200 Bay Street received a conditional pass with two major infractions:

Fail to maintain handwashing stations (liquid soap and paper towels)

Store potentially hazardous foods at internal temperature between 4 C and 60 C

Galleria Supermarket at 865 York Mills Road received a conditional pass with two major infractions:

Maintain potentially hazardous foods at internal temperature between 4 C and 60 C

Use food equipment not in good repair

Jason's Bakery at 352 Oakwood Avenue received a conditional pass with one major infraction:

Fail to protect against breeding of pests

Khau Gully at 1987 Yonge Street received a conditional pass with six major infractions:

Fail to maintain handwashing stations (liquid soap and paper towels)

Fail to protect against harbouring of pests

Fail to protect food from contamination or adulteration

Fail to provide thermometer in refrigeration equipment

Sanitize utensils in quaternary ammonium compound solution of less than 200 ppm

Use equipment not free from cracks in contact with food

Lemongrass at 1630 Bayview Avenue received a conditional pass with three major infractions:

Fail to maintain handwashing stations (liquid soap and paper towels)

Fail to remove garbage when necessary to maintain sanitary condition

Mechanical equipment not maintained to provide sufficient chemical solution rinse

Owl Of Minerva at 5324 Yonge Street received a conditional pass with one major infraction:

Refrigerate potentially hazardous foods at internal temperature above 4 C

Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea at 672 Yonge Street received a conditional pass with five major infractions:

Fail to maintain handwashing stations (liquid soap and paper towels)

Fail to maintain records of pest control measures taken

Fail to protect food from contamination or adulteration

Fail to sanitize utensils as often as necessary

Handwashing stations not conveniently accessible by food handlers

May 12

Irish Rose Pub at 1095 Weston Road received a conditional pass with two major infractions:

Fail to protect food from contamination or adulteration

Use handwashing station other than for handwashing of employees

Kabul Express at 126 Dundas Street East received a conditional pass with one major infraction:

Fail to protect food from contamination or adulteration

Mabel's at 323 Roncesvalles Avenue received a conditional pass with two major infractions:

Fail to protect against harbouring of pests

Mechanical equipment not maintained to provide sufficient chemical solution rinse

May 11

Benin Cafe at 359 Albion Road received a conditional pass with two major infractions:

Fail to maintain handwashing stations (liquid soap and paper towels)

Fail to protect against breeding of pests

Firkin On The Danforth at 2055 Danforth Avenue received a conditional pass with two major infractions:

Fail to protect against harbouring of pests

Use multi-service articles not in good repair

Jian Bing Club at 5418 Yonge Street received a conditional pass with two major infractions:

Sanitize utensils in chlorine solution of less than 100 ppm of available chlorine

Store potentially hazardous foods at internal temperature between 4 C and 60 C

Sashimi Island at 635 College Street received a conditional pass with three major infractions:

Fail to maintain handwashing stations (liquid soap and paper towels)

Fail to protect against harbouring of pests

Use handwashing station other than for handwashing of employees

Tokyo Bakery at 4385 Sheppard Avenue East received a conditional pass with one major infraction:

Fail to ensure equipment surface cleaned as necessary

Wal-Mart at 2245 Islington Avenue received a conditional pass with one major infraction:

Fail to protect against harbouring of pests

A conditional pass is issued when at least one infraction presents a significant health risk, and a closure is ordered when at least one infraction presents an immediate health hazard. Both outcomes trigger an additional inspection within 48 hours. Failure to comply with Torontos DineSafe program can result in fines, court summons and other enforcement action.

Miss a DineSafe roundup? Find out which restaurants recently made the list

About this story

This story was automatically generated using open data from the City of Toronto. The Toronto Star has no role in collecting, reviewing or analyzing this data, and makes no representations or endorsements about any food premises, or the products or services offered by a food premise. Readers should review any municipal disclaimers located at the citys open data portal.

SHARE:
A violent crash in Brampton on Tuesday is under investigation by Peel Regional Police and the forces Major Collision Bureau.

Police said the two-vehicle collision happened at the intersection of Mountainash Road and Countryside Drive, around 10:30 p.m., and sent two women to hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries.

Police added that, according to home surveillance footage of the crash circulating online, a dark Audi was seen travelling at excess speed and the driver collided into a left-turning vehicle.

The Audi was being driven by a 21-year-old man from Brampton. He was arrested and held in custody pending a bail hearing.

The driver has been charged with dangerous operation causing bodily harm, driving under suspension, racing a motor vehicle and operating a motor vehicle without insurance.

Peel police officers said they are reviewing evidence and investigating the possibility that another vehicle may be involved.

Investigators are asking anyone who may have been in the area and witnessed the crash or has dash cam footage to contact the Major Collision Bureau at 905-453-3311. Information may also be left anonymously by calling Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or visiting peelcrimestoppers.ca.

MH Mahdis Habibinia is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Reach her via email: mhabibinia@thestar.ca

Read more about:

SHARE:
The divorce is underway, and its going to be a messy one.

And the big question is how Peel Regions 1.5 million residents will fare when the negotiations are settled.

Residents say the provinces hasty decision to dissolve Peel Region and create three new stand-alone municipalities of Caledon, Brampton and Mississauga brings with it concerns that dividing the joint assets and services will leave taxpayers on the hook with higher taxes and fewer services.

And they question why the decision was made so quickly to dissolve a 50-year-old municipality which manages services like garbage collection, waste and wastewater, public health, policing and social services.

This is what (Mayor) Bonnie (Crombie) wants, and this is what Hazel wanted, and so really Mississauga is beholden to the queen who controls us even in the afterlife, said Mississauga resident Rahul Mehta referring to the legislation tabled by the province called the Hazel McCallion Act after the citys former long-time mayor. Its not a surprise that no public consultation was done. It was so unilateral.

Peel Region was created in 1974, under the Bill Davis government, to share resources between the three municipalities to enable growth and offset the cost of the infrastructure needed to support development.

The province said they will appoint a transition board of five people to help divide the assets and services in Peel, and ensure a fair outcome for the three municipalities that prioritizes the preservation of front-line services and workers, respect for taxpayers and government efficiencies.

The dissolution will take place by Jan. 1, 2025.

However, at a testy press conference Thursday, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown both took jabs at each others narratives on what kind of financial compensation will be needed to balance the books, indicating that the next three years of negotiations could be long and intense.

Mississaugas mayor jubilant over news of impending independence

Crombie started off her late afternoon press conference with jubilation and a promise to residents to keep them informed over the transition phase and even over-communicate if she has to.

But Mississauga resident Rahul Mehta said it was too little too late, and felt the decision was made without any real consultation with residents.

I cant believe the public wasnt engaged in any process here ... short of a few surveys that asked, Do you want the city to separate with the limited information we have given you? I dont have an issue with us being a single-tier municipality, but Im shocked at the way its being done.

Mehta said that one of his main concerns is how the division of region-controlled community programs and social services will impact those who rely on them. I dont see a future for residents of this city, when our population is already declining, no plans for affordable housing to be built by the province or the city, and now the one authority which could build social housing, Peel Housing, and we dont know whats going to happen to it.

This is going to be more burden on residents and taxpayers, he said. Us becoming independent will likely cost more and its always going to come back to the most vulnerable.

Brampton wants compensation in the breakup

Fair compensation is top of mind for both Brampton residents and politicians  most of who were not expecting, nor in favour of, the independence announcement.

At the Thursday press conference, Brown spoke about how the city is owed billions of dollars in compensation for money paid to the region by taxpayers who funded Mississaugas growth  an assertion challenged by Crombie.

Regional Coun. Michael Palleschi questioned how the creation of independent boards  touted as an option by Mississauga politicians  to manage all the utilities, services and programs would create more efficiency. If you want to have all these boards, you might as well put them all together and have the Region of Peel. And then who controls those boards? Who sits on them?

Brampton resident Jaskaran Sindhu said, like councillors, residents are finding the news tough to digest.

This is a clear political win for Mississauga. The worry for Bramptonians is that we are going to be left carrying a lot of costs that should have been shared with the region, in a way that was done for Mississauga over decades.

Sandhu said that you cant ignore the fact that historically Brampton has not gotten a fair deal, when it comes to funding for health care and social services. He says residents fear that the future outcome will mean poor services for a higher rate of tax.

Sandhu calls this the most impactful legislation passed by the province in relation to Brampton in recent history, the implications here are huge and its shocking given the impact it will have on us, that more consultation wasnt done with the community.

Caledons mayor confident we will be taken care of

Resident Cheryl Connors said there are obvious questions around how Caledon will able to survive as an independent city. With only 70,000 residents, how are we going to take on the cost of building roads, infrastructure and services like paramedics? she said.

If we have to bear all this cost, the town would go bankrupt, she said.

But at the press conference Thursday, Caledon mayor Annette Groves said that while the decision was unexpected and not the towns preferred option, shes sure the province did not make it lightly.

We are confident that we will be taken care of in this process, said Groves, adding that the town is expected to grow to 300,000 over the next two decades.

But Connors questions how the decision to separate was made.

Whats the actual business case for separating these three municipalities at a time when we do have an affordability crisis, theres so many big issues and big problems ... and we are going to spend money dissolving the regional government? How did this become a priority? This is not the right time.

What does it mean for Peel Regions employees and police force?

Theres also uncertainty about what will happen to the 6,700 people who work at Peel Region, and some 10,000 Peel police officers.

Regional Chair Nando Iannicca called the news a difficult time in Peels proud history. For nearly 50 years, we have provided strong value-for-money for taxpayers and served the people in our community, he said in a statement. There have been disagreements about governance, but all partners involved continue to respect and value the services Peel delivers to the residents, vulnerable in society and businesses we serve, he said.

He also reassured there would be no service interruptions. We will continue to serve the people in Peel as this transition happens.

Mayor Groves also asked the province to look out for Peel region staff in the process, saying it must be difficult to know that in just 19-months, they could be out of a job.

Correction  May 19, 2023: The dissolution of Peel Region will create three new stand-alone municipalities of Caledon, Brampton and Mississauga, not Caledon, Peel and Mississauga as previously reported.

Noor Javed is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering city news with interest in 905 municipal politics. Follow her on Twitter: @njaved

Read more about:

SHARE:
Ontarios highest court has dismissed the appeals of two men convicted of the first-degree murder of Allan Lanteigne, who was beaten to death in the front foyer of his Ossington Avenue home on March 2, 2011.

Demitry Papasotiriou and his one-time lover, Michael Ivezic, were convicted by a jury on June 3, 2018, after a lengthy trial at Superior Court.

Papasotiriou, a disbarred lawyer who was married to Lanteigne, was later released on bail pending appeal. On Friday, he was taken into custody to begin serving a life sentence, a police source said.

Ivezic, who beat Lanteigne to death with a heavy object, has remained behind bars since his conviction.

Both men raised multiple grounds of appeal. Papasotiriou argued Ivezics conduct during the trial deprived him of his right to a fair trial. Ivezic wanted his conviction overturned for several reasons, including a claim that certain evidence shouldnt have been admitted.

Writing for the three-judge panel of the Ontario Court of Appeal, Justice David Doherty said he was dismissing the appeals, noting the prosecution had presented a formidable case pointing to Mr. Ivezic as the murderer, including his DNA beneath Lanteignes fingernails.

And while the Crowns case against Papasotiriou was far from overwhelming, Doherty said he was satisfied, after reviewing extensive summaries of the evidence, that it was open to the properly instructed jury to convict him.

Doherty commended the trial judge, Justice Rob Goldstein, for maintaining an even-handed control of the proceedings throughout the trial and ensuring Ivezics conduct didnt cause harm to Papasotiriou.

During the trial, Ivezic took the stand and denied killing Lanteigne, saying he had been computer shopping with his son, who did not testify. Nor did Papasotiriou, who was in Greece at the time of the murder.

The Crown argued Papasotirious motive was money. He was the beneficiary of a $2 million life insurance policy on Lanteignes life as well as his survivor pension benefits. Lanteigne worked in the accounting department at the University of Toronto and regularly did catering jobs.

Ivezic, who was married with kids when he began an affair with Papasotiriou, stood to benefit indirectly when he and Papasotiriou became a couple after Lanteignes death.

Two months after the murder, Ivezic left his family and flew to Athens to live with Papasotiriou.

SHARE:
A leading mayoral candidate says if elected hell work to defeat Premier Doug Ford and his Progressive Conservative government unless Ford stops bullying Toronto.

Coun. Josh Matlows vow, made in an interview with the Star, is an escalation of his past promise to fight the interventionist premier if Ford continues using provincial laws and edicts to actively harm Canadas biggest city.

It reflects Fords growing presence in the mayoral race, both as a cheerleader for his favourite candidate  Mark Saunders, the citys former police chief  and as a target for candidates including Matlow and ex-councillor Ana Bailao.

Doug Ford a bully of Toronto, says Josh Matlow

Matlow said: Toronto is facing unprecedented budget pressures and at every turn Doug Ford, rather than being a friend of Toronto, he has been a bully of Toronto.

Its time for Doug Ford to meaningfully work with Toronto demonstrate that as premier of Ontario he will actively be a friend to our city. If he doesnt then Im going to actively work to replace him. We need to get real about this.

The TorontoSt. Pauls councillor cited provincial interventions by Ford, a former Etobicoke councillor and failed 2014 mayoral candidate, including a law that drastically reduced fees the city can charge developers, controversial Ontario Place redevelopment plans and paving parts of the Greenbelt that help feed the city.

Doug Ford has warned Toronto to not elect a lefty

Ford vowed to stay out of the mayoral election, but has warned Torontonians to not elect a lefty like Matlow or former NDP MP Olivia Chow. He has repeatedly expressed his admiration for Saunders who ran for Fords party in the last provincial election and later got a $700-a-day job advising him on Ontario Place.

This week Ford outright rejected Bailaos promise to get him to upload Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway costs to help rescue the citys finances.

Im not going to jump into the mayoralty election or her trying to drag me into it, Ford told reporters Monday in Mississauga. But at the end of the day, we arent taking the Gardiner or the DVP, simple as that. They need to take responsibility for that asset.

Bailao, who as former mayor John Torys housing advocate worked with Ford and federal officials on affordable housing initiatives, has since sharpened her attacks on the premier.

Ana Bailao doesnt rule out working to defeat Doug Ford

In an interview, she didnt rule out working to defeat Fords government if she becomes mayor and he continues interventions with the city that have included slashing the size of city council and overriding local zoning authority.

The people who vote municipally are the same people that vote provincially, said the former Davenport representative. He will also have byelections and elections. Toronto needs a better deal with a different fiscal framework 

When the premier inserts himself into the election and I dont think thats right, Im going to speak up  I think its clear that Doug Ford wants to run city hall and I dont think the voter of Toronto want that, Bailao said.

Ana Bailao dismisses Doug Fords rejection of Gardiner upload

She rejected Fords highway upload rejection, saying that as councillor she overcame a similar determination from him and his then-mayor brother Rob to sell off all Toronto Community Housing Corporation single-family houses. Bailao led a working group that got mortgages refinanced and got funding from other governments to free up TCHC repair funds and drastically reduce the number of homes sold.

Every candidate in this election is dancing around this issue but I know that I can negotiate, said Bailao, whose campaign team includes Ford adviser Nick Kouvalis.

Saunders has said that he would stand up for Toronto, but it serves nobody to take an aggressive, adversarial approach to intergovernmental relations.

Olivia Chow critical of Doug Fords Ontario Place plans

Chow has criticized Ford plans including the Ontario Place revamp and moving Science Centre programming to the waterfront site but has not targeted the premier as vehemently or directly as Matlow and Bailao.

On Thursday, Chow told the Star that Ana Bailao hitting Ford hard got her absolutely nowhere. Her Gardiner idea, uploading, got shot down immediately.

She said that as mayor, if we have citizens at our back  he has no choice but to listen to us and act accordingly.

City Councillor Brad Bradford has tweeted: Torontos next Mayor cant be a rubber stamp for Queens Park. But has said as mayor he would focus on shared priorities with the provincial and federal governments.

Former Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter has said she has a good relationship with Ford and that he has pledged to work with her if shes elected mayor, but that she would always be a champion for Toronto.

There are 102 people running for mayor of Toronto. The byelection is June 26.

With files from Robert Benzie and Ben Mussett

David Rider is the Stars City Hall bureau chief and a reporter covering city hall and municipal politics. Follow him on Twitter: @dmrider

Read more about:

SHARE:
Ontarios chief coroner has announced an inquest into the 2016 death of Soleiman Faqiri, a mentally ill man in crisis who died after he was beaten, restrained and pepper-sprayed by correctional officers inside an Ontario jail.

Its a long time coming, Yusuf Faqiri, Soleimans older brother, told the Star on Thursday night.

Though it will be painful, and follows three police investigations without charges being laid, Faqiri said his family plans to participate in the inquest that is scheduled to begin Monday, Nov. 20  nearly seven years after Soleimans death.

Along with shedding light on the circumstances of how Soleiman died and systemic gaps in Ontarios correctional system, Faqiri said he hopes it will show that his brother was more than his mental illness.

My brother wasnt just a statistic. He was a human being. He was a brother. He was a son. He was an uncle. I want his story to be heard.

Since Soleiman died while in custody at the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, an inquest is mandatory. (A previous inquest announced in November 2017 did not proceed.) A decision has not been made whether the inquest will be held virtually or in-person.

Coroners inquests in Ontario involve a public hearing before a five-person jury that must provide a non-binding verdict on whether the death in question can be attributed to natural causes, an accident, a homicide, a suicide or if a conclusion could not be determined.

Juries are prohibited from making any finding of legal responsibility. Juries can also make recommendations to prevent future deaths.

Soleiman, who had schizophrenia and had been repeatedly apprehended under the Mental Health Act, died on Dec. 15, 2016, while awaiting a mental health assessment in solitary confinement. The 30-year-old had been arrested earlier that month on charges of aggravated assault, assault and uttering threats.

In the nearly seven years since Soleimans death, the three police investigations  one by the Kawartha Lakes Police Service and two by the Ontario Provincial Police  found no grounds to lay charges.

The most recent OPP investigation, which wrapped up last year, was spurred by a 2021 report from Ontarios chief forensic pathologist, Dr. Michael Pollanen, that found Soleimans death was caused by officers beating, pepper spraying and restraining him face-down.

A report prepared by the Kawartha Lakes police, and obtained by the Star in 2018 through a freedom of information request, said 20 to 30 officers were involved in restraining Soleiman after he allegedly displayed aggressive behaviour and spat at the guards in the hallway near his cell.

According to the Kawartha Lakes report, Soleiman was later left alone handcuffed in his cell. He had died by the time paramedics arrived.

A coroners report in 2017 found he suffered more than 50 injuries, including a bruised laceration on his forehead and multiple bruises and abrasions on his face, torso and limbs from the three-hour confrontation with correctional officers.

Faqiri believes the inquest will finally answer questions, including why his brother had not been transferred to a hospital days earlier, why his family wasnt able to visit, and what Soleiman experienced during his 11 days in custody.

What was my brother going through? Faqiri said.

He hopes the inquest serves as a wake up call to Canadians and Ontarians that jails are not the place for Canadians suffering from mental illness, as well as what he views as a double standard in criminal accountability involving law enforcement.

With files from Gilbert Ngabo, Alyshah Hasham, Tom Yun and Fatima Syed

SHARE:
A number of suspects are facing charges after two victims were kidnapped in Brampton last February.

Peel police said that on February 15, two people in their early 20s attended a Brampton home where they were held against their will. They were later released.

On Thursday morning, police carried out several search warrants in Brampton and Georgetown in connection to the kidnapping. The search led to the arrests as well as the seizure of a handgun, ammunition and vehicles.

Eight individuals were arrested and are facing a range of charges including kidnapping, robbery and possession of a firearm.

Police are urging anyone with information to contact them at 905-453-2121, extension 2233.

Ana Pereira is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @anabpereira

Read more about:

SHARE:
TORONTO - The lawyers for a man accused of killing an Ontario Provincial Police officer and injuring two others are disputing the characterization of the shooting in Bourget, Ont., as an ambush.

Alain Bellefeuille, 39, is charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder in a May 11 shooting that left OPP Sgt. Eric Mueller dead.

At the time, OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said that Mueller and two other officers were ambushed and shot when they responded to a report of a disturbance at a home in Bourget, east of Ottawa.

This was not an ambush, Bellefeuilles lawyers, John Hale and Cassandra Richards, said in a statement on Friday.

We trust that the public  including potential jurors  will remain open to the possibility of an alternate account of events.

The statement said that Bellefeuille neither requested nor expected the police to show up at his home in the middle of the night.

It said Bellefeuille was falling asleep in his bed, with the lights off, when police arrived and that he only called 911 for help after the incident.

The lawyers said they will not be commenting further and that any other information about his actions that day will be reserved for trial.

Mueller, a 42-year-old father of two, was described as an exemplary officer by his colleagues and those who paid their final respects at his funeral this week. He is the 10th police officer to be killed on the job in Canada since September 2022, and the fifth to be fatally shot in Ontario during the same time period.

The Special Investigations Unit, Ontarios police watchdog, is investigating after the OPPs forensic team discovered evidence that one of the surviving officers shot his gun at some point after they arrived on scene.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May, 19, 2023.

SHARE:
The suspect in the stabbing death of a 40-year-old father in broad daylight near Yonge-Dundas Square last week has been identified.

Toronto police previously said officers were called to the area of Victoria Street and Dundas Street East around 1:50 p.m. on May 12. Police said there was an altercation between two men, which sent the victim to hospital with critical injuries. The suspect fled the area; the injured man died in hospital.

Police previously identified him as Toronto resident Richard Sasaki. Speaking to the Star this week, his partner, Mira Jones-Sasaki, described him as a father who adored his four kids and looked out for others before himself.

I want justice for Richard, she said. He didnt deserve this and its not fair that the people who loved him are now suffering. My life and my daughters life will never be the same.

Last week, investigators said the suspect may have been in the area for some time prior to the altercation and may have been interacting with others in the area.

On Friday, police announced that 29-year-old Danyal Khan, of no fixed address, is facing a charge of second-degree murder.

Police ask anyone with information about the case to contact them at 416-808-7400, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.

Richard was one of the most generous and caring people I have ever known. If he had something someone wanted and he was able he would give it to them. Violence solves nothing, Jones-Sasaki added.

SHARE:
Manila: On Thursday, the Philippine government defended the safeguards it has put in place for migrant workers in Kuwait amid a diplomatic impasse over a ban on new hires' entry.

Over 200,000 Filipinos, mostly women, are employed in Kuwait, which last week stopped issuing new visas to anyone who did not already have a residence permit, including tourists, students, and businesspeople.

Eduardo de Vega, an undersecretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs, suggested earlier this week that the ban may have been in response to Kuwait delaying the deployment of domestic helpers from the Philippines after the murder of a Filipina maid in January.

Also Read: Russia launches 30 cruise missiles at targets in Ukraine; according to Ukraine, 29 were shot down

This week, a government delegation was in Kuwait to clarify the situation and address any bilateral labour disputes, but no progress was made during the discussions.

They are adamant that we are breaking their law. As a result, nothing has changed. Future conversations will be necessary, De Vega told reporters in Manila.

"A long-term solution is what we seek... A long-term solution of this nature won't be reached in a single conversation.

In order to persuade another country to hire Filipino workers, he continued, it would be "dishonourable" to disregard Philippine laws that require embassy-run shelters for migrant workers.

"The Filipino people have more dignity than that," De Vega remarked.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Migrant Workers released a joint statement in which they stated that the delegation from the Philippines had "expressed its full respect for Kuwaiti laws and profound appreciation for the hospitality of its government and people."

The delegation explained that all actions taken by the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine government are solely to ensure the safety and welfare of our own nationals on matters relating to services provided to our migrant workers, the statement said.



"Under international law and conventions, consular offices have a well-established duty to provide protection to a country's citizens abroad."

According to Department of Migrant Workers data, there were more than 24,000 instances of abuse and violation of Filipino workers in Kuwait last year, a sharp increase from the 6,500 cases in 2016.

Also Read: US announces'significant' new sanctions against Russia at G7

The burning remains of Jullebee Ranara, 35, were found on a Kuwaiti desert in late January. This was not the first such incident, which prompted the Philippine government to investigate the circumstance.

Following the murder of a Filipina maid, whose body was discovered in a freezer at an abandoned flat, the Philippines banned the deployment of temporary workers to Kuwait in 2018.

Also Read: Scams involving fake shamans and "magic money" target Indonesians

Another such ban was put in place in January 2020 following the execution-style torture of a Filipino domestic helper by her Kuwaiti employer. After the employer was found guilty of murder and given the death penalty, the ban was lifted.
York Regional Police are investigating after a robbery took place on Thursday at Pacific Mall in Markham.

Police tweeted that at around 4 p.m., officers were in the area of Steeles Avenue and Kennedy Road. No injuries were reported at that time, according to police.

A spokesperson from York Regional Police told they Star they did not have more information to release at this time.

A reddit user said their girlfriend was working at the mall when the robbery happened and heard gunshots being fired. They shared a photo of several police cruisers parked at the entrance of the mall as well as screenshots of text messages being exchanged between them during the lockdown.

Please be safe, the message read, to which she replied, yes bb Im trying  there is nothing else I can do, while reportedly hiding behind a counter.

Video shared on TikTok Thursday showed York police officers in front of a jewelry store inside the mall, and a large number of police cruisers outside.

Ana Pereira is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @anabpereiraa

Read more about:

SHARE:
Plan your trip before youre in your car: The Ministry of Transportation has scheduled 13 closures in Peel on May 19, 2023 for roadwork on Highway 10, Highway 401, Highway 403, Highway 410 and Queen Elizabeth Way.

Highway 10 northbound between Collingwood Avenue / Highwood Rd, Brampton and Highway 9 South Jct, Caledon: one alternating lane closed until May 26 at 4:30 a.m.

Highway 401 eastbound between Mississauga Road and Mississauga Rd, Mississauga: one right lane closed until May 19 at 5 a.m.

Highway 401 eastbound express between Credit River and Credit River, Mississauga: one left lane closed until May 19 at 5 a.m.

Highway 403 westbound between Matheson Boulevard and Matheson Blvd, Mississauga: one right lane closed until Aug. 31 at 5 a.m.

Highway 403 westbound express between Matheson Boulevard and Matheson Blvd, Mississauga: one left lane closed until Sept. 4 at 5 a.m.

Highway 403 westbound transfer at Matheson Blvd, Mississauga: all lanes closed until Dec. 3 at 6 a.m.

Highway 410 southbound between Valleywood Boulevard / Hurontario St, Caledon and Mayfield Road, Brampton: one left lane closed until May 19 at 2:30 p.m.

Queen Elizabeth Way Fort Erie bound between Highway 10 / Hurontario and Mississauga Road, Mississauga: two alternating lanes closed until May 19 at 6 a.m.

Queen Elizabeth Way Fort Erie bound between Highway 10 / Hurontario and Mississauga Road, Mississauga: two alternating lanes closed until May 19 at 6 a.m.

Queen Elizabeth Way Fort Erie bound on-ramp at Mississauga Road, Mississauga: all lanes closed until Aug. 1 at 11:59 p.m.

Queen Elizabeth Way Toronto bound between Dixie Road, Mississauga and East Mall, Toronto: two alternating lanes closed until May 21 at 5:30 a.m.

Queen Elizabeth Way Toronto bound between Erin Mills Parkway / Southdown Road and Credit River, Mississauga: two alternating lanes closed until May 19 at 5 a.m.

Queen Elizabeth Way Toronto bound between Erin Mills Parkway / Southdown Road and Highway 10 / Hurontario, Mississauga: two alternating lanes closed until May 19 at 5 a.m.

Have further to travel? Highway closures for planned roadwork outside Peel

About this story

This story was automatically generated using open data from Ontario 511. These closures are scheduled for short-term or emergency repairs and maintenance of provincial highways around Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. The disruptions may be intermittent or ongoing and can change due to weather, emergencies and other factors.

SHARE:
Good morning. This is the Friday, May 19 edition of First Up, the Stars daily morning digest. Sign up to get it earlier each day, in your inbox.

Heres whats open and closed in Toronto this Victoria Day long weekend. Plus, the latest on Peel Region, the Alberta election and the Christie Pits Riot.

DONT MISS:

Peel Region is splitting up  now comes the battle about money

Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga are headed for divorce, and its going to be messy, Noor Javed writes. Now that premier Doug Ford has confirmed the cities will become stand-alone municipalities in 2025, Peel residents say the hasty decision raises concerns around residents being left to pay higher taxes for fewer services. And some are questioning the rush to dissolve a 50-year-old municipality that manages services like garbage collection, public health, police and social services. Heres what we know about the breakup and why Brampton and Caledon are concerned.

Word from Mississauga: The sun is shining on Mississauga and Hazel is looking down on us and very grateful that we have fulfilled her legacy, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said at Queens Park of the former longtime mayor Hazel McCallion.

Another angle: Its not a surprise that no public consultation was done. It was so unilateral, said one Mississauga resident.

Danielle Smith violated the Conflicts of Interest Act and breached a fundamental pillar of democracy

Albertas ethics commissioner has found UCP Leader Danielle Smith breached a fundamental pillar of democracy when she spoke with an alleged criminal about his case, and violated the Conflicts of Interest Act when she spoke to Albertas justice minister and attorney general about it. In doing so, she tried to interfere with the independence of the justice system in her role as premier, the investigation found. Kieran Leavitt reports on what else is detailed in the scathing report.

Context: A controversial street pastor faced charges of mischief and breaching a release order over his role at the Coutts, Alta., border blockade set up against public health measures in February 2022. He was found guilty of the charges earlier this month after a judge said he incited protests. Smith had spoken to the attorney general about the case, and to the accused, just weeks before his trial.

Meanwhile: The election debate between Smith and Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley saw jabs thrown over leadership, affordability and health care.

A shameful chapter of Torontos history plays out in a city park

Ninety years ago, Christie Pits was the backdrop for a racist mob armed with bricks, bats, lead pipes and a banner with a swastika. While Canadas largest race riot is taught to Grade 10 students, a live interactive theatrical production  The Riot at Christie Pits presented by The Hogtown Collective  offers students in Grades 8 and 10 across the GTA an experiential learning opportunity in the park. Isabel Teotonio reports on the lessons the show provides and the history that led up to the shameful moment.

Context: The 1933 riot occurred during the Great Depression, when immigrants were scapegoated for economic hardships and blamed for taking jobs. At that time, antisemitism was socially accepted in Canada (this remained true until the 1960s when new laws were introduced), and Jews were prohibited from owning land, employers refused to hire them and universities limited their enrolment.

Watch for: The production runs until June 16, with performances from Tuesday to Friday, at 10 a.m. and 1:15 p.m.

By the numbers: Jewish, LGBTQ and Black communities were the most common victims to hate crimes in 2022, Toronto police say.

WHAT ELSE:

A First Nation is suing the provincial and federal governments over land it says an 1850 treaty promises.

Torontos mayoral hopefuls are sharpening their attacks on bully Doug Ford as his presence in the race grows.

Will Mitzie Hunters grand Scarborough subway plans help put her mayoral bid on the right track?

Mark Saunderss legacy and mayoral campaign on law and order are troubling for Toronto.

Health Canada is recalling this brand of enoki mushrooms over a possible listeria contamination.

The Competition Bureau is suing Cineplex for misleading ticket prices with online fees.

WestJet and its pilots have reached an 11th-hour deal, avoiding a strike.

Kaytranada collabs with Amine for a pristine party album, Anohni and the Johsnons returns  and more in our guide to the weeks best music

Summer job postings are down. Heres where youre most likely to find work.

POV:

The truth about Doug Fords health care plan? Its far more expensive than we knew

CLOSE-UP:

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES: A fire in Hay River is seen from an air tanker on Sunday. With the wildfire season off to a brutal start, heres a look at the blazes hitting communities across Canada  and how people are coping.

Thank you for reading First Up. You can reach me and the First Up team at firstup@thestar.ca

Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.

Read more about:

SHARE:
UNITED NATIONS (AP)  The U.N. envoy charged with trying to protect children caught in conflicts is in Moscow, where she is reported to be meeting Russias childrens rights commissioner, who is charged with war crimes for deporting children from Ukraine.

Human Rights Watch strongly criticized Virginia Gambas reported meeting with Maria Lvova-Belova, saying the Russian commissioner should be behind bars and not meeting with senior U.N. representatives.

Its hard to imagine any circumstance that would justify Gamba meeting with a suspected war criminal, when there are clearly other officials she could meet with instead, Balkees Jarrah, associate director of the groups International Justice Program, said.

U.N. associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay did not confirm that Gamba was meeting with Lvova-Belova while in Moscow. Pressed on whether there was anyone else Gamba could meet with, Tremblay replied: Her role is really to do everything she can to improve the protection of children impacted by armed conflict and preventing violations that could be committed against them.

The spokesperson also would not say whether Gamba was discussing the return of Ukrainian children, telling reporters that details will be included in her report to the U.N. Security Council, which is expected in early July. Gamba was in Ukraine last week to meet with officials there before traveling to Moscow.

In March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Lvova-Belova and Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing them of abducting children from Ukraine.

The deportation of Ukrainian children following Russias Feb. 24, 2022, invasion is an emotional issue not only for the families but for millions of Ukrainians and their global supporters.

An Associated Press investigation published in October on Lvova-Belovas involvement in the abduction of Ukrainian children found that an open effort to put Ukrainian children up for adoption in Russia was well under way.

The exact number of Ukrainian children taken to Russia has been difficult to determine. A statement posted on Twitter by Ukraines U.N. ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, on April 5 said more than 19,500 children had been seized from their families or orphanages and forcibly deported.

In April, Lvova-Belova addressed an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council by video link. Western ambassadors boycotted the meeting, which had been called by Russia.

She told the council that the children were taken for their safety and Moscow was coordinating with international organizations to return them to their families. She said Russia had taken in more than 5 million Ukrainians, including 700,000 children  all with parents, relatives or legal guardians except for 2,000 from orphanages in Ukraines eastern Donbas, where fighting has been intense.

By early April, she said, about 1,300 children had been returned to their orphanages, 400 were sent to Russian orphanages, and 358 were placed in foster homes. She insisted there had been no adoptions.

After visiting Ukraine, Gamba commended the Kyiv government for measures it has taken to protect children, who she said are disproportionately affected by the war.

Children have been killed or maimed, their schools and hospitals have been attacked and the unbearable levels of violence they are experiencing daily is leaving deep scars that will last for a lifetime, she said in a statement on May 14.

Read more about:

SHARE:
CAIRO (AP)  In a symbolic gesture, Sudans top army general on Friday fired a paramilitary leader  his former ally turned deadly rival  as the deputy of the countrys governing body, state media reported.

Clashes broke out between the Sudanese army and a rival paramilitary force, the Rapid Support Forces, after their leaders failed to agree on the terms of a deal handing power over to a civilian government last month.

The dismissal by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan of RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo from the Sovereignty Council comes as the fighting between the two generals threatens to unleash a raging civil war in the African country.

The monthlong conflict has already killed at least 705 people, the World Health organization said Friday.

The firing, reported by the state SUNA news agency, is unlikely to affect the battlefield where the warring sides appear locked in a stalemate and unwilling to end the hostilities. The paramilitary forces did not immediately comment.

The combat has been most acute in the Sudanese capital and in the western Darfur region.

In South Darfurs regional capital of Nyala, intense fighting between the army and RSF forces flared up Thursday killing at least 18 civillians, the Darfur Bar Association said, a legal group focusing on human rights.

Last weekend, more than 280 civilians were killed when RSF and other affiliated militias stormed the city of Geneina, also in the Darfur region, and clashed with armed residents, the Sudan Doctors Union said.

Last week, the two sides signed a U.S.-Saudi brokered pact vowing to better protect civilians caught in the crossfire. International efforts are underway to try and build a lasting truce.

Burhan appointed Malik Agar, a once prominent leader of the Sudan Revolutionary Front, a rebel movement in Sudans southern Blue Nile State, to replace Dagalo, SUNA said.

The United Nations and rights groups have accused Sudans warring sides of human rights abuses. The army has been blamed for bombing residential areas and hospitals, while the RSF was condemned for looting, attacking civilians and turning civilian houses into operational bases.

The head of the Sudanese delegation at Fridays Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia urged other Arab countries to help end the crisis. Ali Osman, who is representing Burhan, warned that if the war continues it will have damaging regional repercussions. According to the U.N., at least 220,000 people have already fled Sudan to neighboring countries.

___

Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Read more about:

SHARE:
WARSAW, Poland (AP) 

An aide to Polish President Andrzej Duda said Friday that the object that entered Polands airspace last year and was found in April was a Russian-made rocket.

The aide, Pawel Szrot, said on Radio RMF FM that the nose of the rocket had been found and that its peculiar because its made of concrete. Its being examined by experts.

Szrot said it was Russian technology and most probably intended to give weight to the nose and allow the projectile to try to confuse Ukraines air defense systems in trying to repel Russian attacks.

The nose of the rocket contained no explosives, Szrot said.

Polands defense officials had been facing questions about an object that crash-landed on Polish territory in December and whose parts were found by a civilian in the woods near the city of Bydgoszcz in April.

The matter of air security while there is a war in neighboring Ukraine became especially sensitive in Poland after two Polish men were killed when a missile landed in eastern Poland in November. Western officials said they believed a Ukrainian air defense missile went astray as Ukraine tried to repel a large-scale attack by Russia.

SHARE:
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Iran on Friday executed three men accused of deadly violence during last years anti-government protests despite objections from human rights groups.

Mizan, the judiciarys website, announced the executions of Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi, without saying how the deaths were carried out. Authorities say they killed a police officer and two members of the paramilitary Basij group in the city of Isfahan in November during nationwide protests.

Rights groups say the three were subjected to torture, forced into televised confessions and denied due process.

The protests erupted last September after the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by the countrys morality police for allegedly violating its strict Islamic dress code. The demonstrations rapidly escalated into calls for the overthrow of the theocracy that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The demonstrations have largely subsided in recent months, though there are still sporadic acts of defiance, including the refusal of a growing number of women to wear the mandatory Islamic headscarf, known as the hijab.

Iran has executed a total of seven people in connection with the protests. Rights groups say they and several others who have been sentenced to death were convicted by secretive state security courts and denied the right to defend themselves.

The prosecution relied on forced confessions, and the indictment was riddled with irregularities that reveal this was a politically motivated case, Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, said of the three executed on Friday.

The group said Kazemi had called a relative and accused authorities of torturing him by flogging his feet, using a stun gun and threatening him with sexual assault.

London-based Amnesty International also criticized the cases.

The shocking manner in which the trial and sentencing of these protesters was fast-tracked through Irans judicial system amid the use of torture-tainted confessions, serious procedural flaws and a lack of evidence is another example of the Iranian authorities brazen disregard for the rights to life and fair trial, said Diana Eltahawy, Amnestys deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Iran launched a heavy crackdown on the protests, portraying them  without evidence  as a foreign-backed conspiracy. The protesters said they were fed up after decades of repression and poor governance. Irans economy has been in a tailspin since the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement and restored crippling sanctions.

Robert Malley, the U.S. envoy for Iran, had spoken out against the imminent execution of the three men, calling it an affront to the human rights and basic dignity of all Iranians that showed the government has learned nothing from the protests.

The United States will continue to stand with the Iranian people. We are coordinating closely with our allies and partners to expose and confront the Iranian regimes unremitting human rights abuses, Malley tweeted on Thursday.

The European Union condemned the executions in the strongest possible terms and called on Iran to abolish the death penalty.

More than 500 people were killed during months of protests, including dozens of members of the security forces. Some 19,000 people were arrested, though many have since been released.

Iran is one of the worlds leading executioners. At least 582 people were executed in 2022, up from 333 the previous year. The surge in executions, including for drug violations and vague charges of enmity against God and spreading corruption on earth, has drawn criticism from U.N. officials and human rights activists.

SHARE:
SARASOTA, Fla. (AP)  Hundreds of New College of Florida students, family members and friends gathered at an off-campus art gallery Thursday evening for an alternative commencement in defiance of state officials working to change the character of the traditionally progressive school.

The ceremony preceded Fridays official graduation on the tiny public liberal arts colleges Sarasota campus, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The college, which had less than 700 students enrolled this year, has become the focal point of Gov. Ron DeSantis to rid higher education in the state of what the Republican governor calls left-leaning woke indoctrination on campuses ahead of his expected presidential candidacy. Sarasota is located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Tampa.

The governor and his allies say New College, a progressive school with a prominent LGBTQ+ community, is indoctrinating students with leftist ideology and should be revamped into a more conservative institution.

New College became nationally known this year after the governor appointed a group of conservatives to its board of trustees. Among the DeSantis appointees first moves was to eliminate the New Colleges diversity, equity and inclusion office. Earlier this week, DeSantis signed a bill into law at the school that blocks public colleges from using federal or state funding on diversity programs.

The takeover has led to pushback among students at New College, long known for its progressive thought and creative course offerings that dont use traditional grades.

SHARE:
Justin Trudeau was back in the future this week. The Canadian prime minister paid homage to the worlds first use of nuclear weapons.

He said they should never be used again. Then he and fellow great powers made it easier to do so.

This is all taking place at Hiroshima, site of the first use  in war  of an atomic bomb.

The Americans dropped that bomb back in 1945. The U.S. was at war back then. When it came to taking out its enemies, no one bothered with the niceties.

It was only later that Hiroshima, with its fused death sculptures and poisonous gamma rays became the symbol of everything that is wrong with the nuclear age.

Now nuclear weaponry is just another form of death. Russia threatens to use it to heat up the Cold War. So too NATO. The North Atlantic alliance reserves the right to be the first to use nuclear weapons in a war.

Canada is signing onto the extended version of the Cold War. It is confronting Russia in Europe. And it is joining the U.S.-led alliance that is taking on China in Asia.

That is the significance of Trudeaus visit this week to Seoul. The Korea gambit is not just a trade mission. It is a security mission as well, one that promises to tie Canada into the Great Game taking place in Korea, Japan and China.

In that sense, the Trudeau visit to Seoul has little to do with Canada-Korea trade. Rather it is a new front in the reinvigorated Cold War.

It is only the weird irony of celebrating the Hiroshima atomic bombing  weird because there is nothing great or good about the 1945 nuclear attack on Japan.

Indeed, the most significant development since the Hiroshima bombing is that the great powers have made it easier to touch off a nuclear conflict.

Thats because every tiny country involved in the Russia-Ukraine war has access to NATOs entire fleet of weaponry.

If even the most minor NATO member is drawn into the war, the spectre of widespread nuclear warfare becomes a possibility.

Similarly, if China or North Korea becomes involved in nuclear war, Canada will be drawn in through the web of alliances that it is now carefully weaving.

And that means every significant country in Asia, from China to North Korea will be tied into Canadian security interests.

Whether we want to be or not.

SHARE:
Six and the City: An early mayoral short list, May 15

Its not everyday that I spot a typo in my morning Star, but in the description of candidate Mark Saunders being a favourite of Doug Ford, Edward Keenan wrote Ford loves nothing more than running Toronto from Queens Park. Heres the typo: the word should be ruining.

Ford is bursting with bad ideas for our city. He still regards city council as his baby, and when it looked like he couldnt have it, he made a decision that was the opposite of King Solomons when two women were arguing over which was the mother of a baby, namely, he cut that baby in half, making the jobs of individual councillors all but impossible.

As for the article, CMHA seeks ad ban, as a psychiatrist who worked with many young people with addictions, I am fuming at the extent of those flashy ads for gambling that are everywhere. Ford sees this province as his casino. Against this backdrop, I am certain that when Ford pushed his strong mayor plan, he was betting on one of his three toady candidates to win this race.

Dr. Ron Charach, Toronto

SHARE:
New Delhi: Iran and India are actually interested in oil trade, as both countries are significant players in the global energy market. Iran has vast oil reserves and has historically been a major exporter of crude oil, while India is one of the world's largest importers of oil.

However, there could be certain factors that may impact the oil trade between Iran and India. These factors include geopolitical tensions, international sanctions, and economic considerations.

For instance, Iran has faced various economic sanctions imposed by the international community, including restrictions on its oil exports, due to concerns over its nuclear program and regional activities. These sanctions have limited Iran's ability to engage in unrestricted oil trade with countries like India.

Also Read: Asian stocks rise after Wall Street on expectations for a US debt deal

Moreover, India, like other countries, may diversify its energy sources and reduce its dependence on oil imports from a single country. India has been actively pursuing alternative energy sources and diversifying its oil suppliers to ensure energy security and reduce vulnerability to geopolitical risks.

While both Iran and India maintain an interest in oil trade, the dynamics of international relations and changing energy landscapes can influence their engagement in this sector.

percentage of Oil trade of Iran and India before covid

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Iran and India had a significant amount of oil trade. At that time, Iran was one of the largest suppliers of crude oil to India. Prior to the imposition of sanctions on Iran, India used to import a substantial portion of its oil requirements from Iran. In fact, Iran was India's third-largest oil supplier before the sanctions came into effect.

Also Read: India internet retailing to reach USD 60-bn GMV by 2020

The exact percentage of oil trade between Iran and India before COVID-19 is not readily available, but it is worth noting that Iran's share in India's oil imports varied over time. In recent years, it ranged between 8% to 12% of India's total oil imports.

It is important to mention that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on global oil demand and trade patterns. The pandemic led to a decrease in oil consumption and disrupted global supply chains, resulting in fluctuations in oil trade between countries, including Iran and India.

In the past, India and Iran have entered into long-term agreements for oil trade, usually spanning several years. These agreements outline the volume of oil to be supplied by Iran to India and the duration of the contract. The specific timing of these agreements can vary, but they generally cover a period of three to five years.

Also Read: Sterling continues to decline following Bailey's speech

It is important to note that the timing and duration of oil trade agreements can be influenced by various factors, including changes in market conditions, political developments, and international sanctions. These factors can lead to adjustments or disruptions in the timing of oil trade between India and Iran.
Toronto Star columns include a note at the end telling readers who the authors are and their affiliations.

This includes freelance writers.

Aside from the obvious purpose of identifying the author, these taglines also help our readers gain a better understanding of the ties  and yes, leanings or biases  freelance opinion writers may have to entities such as business and finance, education, government, politics, health care, tech, the non-profit sector.

This week there was a torrent of criticism and accusations, much of it on social media, levelled at the Star and one of our long-time freelance opinion writers over lack of disclosure.

Jaime Watt, a well-known Progressive Conservative strategist and executive chairman of Navigator Ltd., penned a column on congestion and public transportation infrastructure in our city.

Watt concluded that politics is getting in the way of traffic relief and vital infrastructure in Toronto and whats needed is to appoint a czar to oversee these things.

But by early Monday morning the emails to the Star  and my office specifically  started coming in.

I would like to express my absolute dismay at the Stars lack of disclosure in Watts article, complained reader Tristan, who added the column had a clear political slant. Tristan said that would be acceptable, were it not for the fact that Watt is an advisor to Toronto mayoral candidate Brad Bradfords campaign, a detail not pointed out in the article, including the end note.

Tristan called the column a troubling misstep by the Star, adding: disclosure is a vital pillar of the free press.

Winston, another reader, asked: What is the value of this degree of publicity that was effectively given away to one candidate?

This seems to me to be a failure of transparency and in conflict with the Stars journalistic standards, wrote Larissa.

A bit of background is required here. In late February, we reported that Bradford, while mulling a run for Toronto mayor had named Watt as an advisor.

Watt is the founder of Navigator, a firm offering several services including crisis management, lobbying, PR and polling. It has represented numerous clients. (Full disclosure: Torstar, the parent company of the Star, has in the past used Navigators services).

In early April, Bradford, now a mayoral candidate, announced that if elected he will appoint a congestion relief commissioner who would end traffic chaos and be responsible for coordinating all construction work, including city-led capital projects, private development and transit projects, news that was covered by media including the Star.

When Watts opinion column ran this week with the transportation czar idea, it seemed to many readers that Watt was promoting Bradfords platform. The fact Watts role as an advisor to Bradford wasnt mentioned here fuelled suspicions the Star and or Watt were hiding something.

Its important to say that after looking into the complaints from our readers and digging into what happened, my associate Brian Bradley quickly amended Watts column the same day to add an end note to clarify Watt is an advisor to Bradford and an explanation alerting readers to the amendment.

I wrote a clarification that ran in the following days print edition, noting that Watts affiliation should have been mentioned.

But what went wrong here? For answers, I reached out to Watt, as well as Scott Colby, the Stars opinion editor, who edits his column.

Colby said when he received the column, there was a message from one of Watts staff members asking for his thoughts on adding a disclaimer line at the end about Watt having informally advised the Bradford campaign.

Before I line edited the column, I quickly read it over to consider the need for a disclaimer line. I knew Watt had advised Bradford as he explored running for mayor, Colby said.

Colby said that in his view Watt did not endorse a specific candidate in the column.

He didnt even mention any candidates. The column was about the transportation crisis in the GTA and Watts solution was to appoint a traffic czar. I read it as being open advice to all candidates, Colby added.

Colby clearly erred and he acknowledges that now.

Colbys role includes screening dozens of opinion submissions received daily for factual errors, tone, appropriate language, fair comment, libel, slander and more.

Without the benefit of hindsight, some decisions are inevitably better than others, Colby said, adding he wishes he could have a do-over on the Watt piece.

Watt agrees that a series of things went wrong in this case.

When I wrote the piece I was not aware the (Bradford) campaign had taken a position, he said.

Had I known Bradford had an idea similar to ours (the czar) theres no question I would have disclosed that.

Watt explained how his idea is different from Bradfords, but to me this amounted to more of a distinction without a difference.My hunch tells me Watt likely heard about Bradfords transportation commissioner announcement from April and simply forgot.

Watt says going forward, especially during election periods, if I have given any advice to any campaign I would be inclined to put that in the footnote of my column, regardless of what Im writing about. I think thats just safer because people might interpret different things in different ways.

Flubs were made on both sides here.

The lessons?

Colby offered this: opting for complete transparency, even if it doesnt seem necessary in the moment, is never a bad decision.

Donovan Vincent is the Stars Public Editor and based in Toronto. Reach him by email at publiced@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @donovanvincent

SHARE:
Does Pierre Poilievre even believe some of the things hes saying these days? Does he expect the rest of us to believe them, or do they come pre-discounted with a sort of wink-wink dont-take-this-seriously message already built in?

The question arises in the wake of the Conservative leaders sorties this week into a couple of serious policy areas  bail reform and drug policy.

On bail reform, the Trudeau government on Tuesday produced a bill, C-48, that responds to the get-tough-on-crime mood sweeping the country by making it harder for people charged with some offences to be freed on bail while they await trial. The key measure introduces a so-called reverse onus requirement for those charged with an offence involving violence who have been convicted of another violent offence within the previous five years.

Its hard to argue with that, but in practice the bill probably wont do much to stop violent crime and it certainly doesnt address the causes of the kind of random street violence that has been spreading fear in so many cities. But its almost exactly what the premiers and territorial leaders, most of them conservatives of various stripes, asked for in January and its been welcomed by police associations as well.

It would seem like a no-brainer for Poilievre to join that chorus, maybe while gloating that the Liberals have been forced to take a harder line on bail. But he went a lot further. He offered a guarantee that repeat violent offenders wont be released  jail, not bail for them, he said.

Nice slogan, but if you actually take it at face value it would mean tossing the Charter rights of accused people out the window.

It would mean ignoring a little principle called the presumption of innocence, the basis of our legal system since  pretty much forever. That comes along with things like the right to a fair trial and the right not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause (thats Section 11(e) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms  look it up).

The government can impose limits and conditions on that right (see: reverse onus), but it cant just abolish it. So the idea that a Poilievre government could guarantee that certain people will be denied bail is legally illiterate. It would be unconstitutional, and the courts would certainly say so. Poilievre surely knows that, or at least his advisers do, so he cant seriously expect us to believe that particular promise.

Likewise his outrageous claim that the Liberal government is killing people by allowing provinces to set up safe consumption sites and prescribe safer supplies of opioids to addicts.

Study after study has shown those policies have saved thousands of lives by allowing access to pharmaceutical-grade drugs rather than having addicts rely on black-market drugs tainted with deadly toxins that lead to overdoses and deaths. Likewise, safe consumption sites have reversed thousands of overdoses, saving more lives.

The argument that governments should be putting money into treating addiction rather than permitting access to safer alternatives is a false choice. Obviously the answer is to do both; people caught in the grip of opioid addiction must at least be kept alive if theyre to have any chance of accessing treatment services  inadequate as they are.

Again, Poilievre must surely know all this. But there he was in the Commons this week, claiming that people are dying because the policies of the prime minister are killing them. His evidence for such an incendiary charge: one story in the National Post that found addicts have sold government-supplied opioids to buy fentanyl on the street.

Perhaps its naive to expect political leaders to stay within nodding distance of the facts when attacking their opponents. Exaggeration, rhetorical excess and sheer BS have always been staples of partisan debate.

But Poilievre is carving out new territory here, at least by Canadian standards. He seems to have untethered himself completely from the verifiable facts on some pretty important issues, and is inviting the rest of us to join him on that journey. Either that, or its just a big joke and hes hoping well all go along with it.

SHARE:
Go back to the early 1990s, when a young Mitzie Hunter  who was born in Jamaica, and then lived in Pickering, and had been living with her parents near Kennedy and Ellesmere in Scarborough since about the time shed started attending Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute  was graduating. She planned to become the first member of her family to go on to university. It was something her parents always expected for her. Thats why we moved here, so you can do whatever you want in life, she says of their attitude.

My choices were York, or U of T Scarborough, Hunter says. Which given her circumstances  as someone whod be continuing to live at home, and who could not drive  was no choice at all. My mom said, How are you going to get to York? Its two hours each way. She said, U of T (Scarborough campus) is one bus right up the road. Thats how my choice was formed. And its where her future was formed, too.

It worked out for her  now, at age 51, she has an MBA, has been an entrepreneur, non-profit and government agency executive, a provincial cabinet minister and, until this month, was the deputy leader of the Ontario Liberal party. But after all the roads that opened up for her once she got to university, the constriction of choices she faced in getting there  in literally travelling to the classroom  sticks with her all these years later.

Hunter tells me this recently over a portobello burger at an upscale pub downtown, by way of explaining how she views the need to unite this big, sprawling, often bitterly divided city, the reason she says she is running for mayor. The investments that we need to make in the city need to be connected with those choices for young people, wherever they are in the city, she says. If they feel disconnected, or if were not taking care of the root issues, were not going to go very far.

If you were looking for an explanation for her long-standing (and controversial) positioning of herself as a subway champion for Scarborough, theres your origin story. And if you were at all confused by her recent embrace not only of Doug Fords planned-but-not-yet-budgeted Sheppard subway extension east to Scarborough Town Centre, but also of a western extension of that line to Downsview, look no further. From Downsview, a rider could connect to the northbound Line 1 going to York.

It is going to change the opportunities. And its going to unify our city. And our city is going to feel more connected, she says.

Shes talking a lot about home in Scarborough with me  she now lives in the Guildwood neighbourhood she has represented provincially  but she thinks of running for mayor as coming full circle, back home to municipal issues where she says things began for her. Early on, running her own company, she worked on projects like the Olympic bid under Mel Lastman, and bringing tech connections to what was then an abandoned warehouse district in Liberty Village.

She went on to executive positions at Toronto Community Housing Corporation and Goodwill, and to be CEO of the civil-sector booster group CivicAction (where former mayor John Tory was chair). And then, of course, she was Minister of Education, and many thought a potential leader of the Liberal party. But she says the city is where her heart is. Its so natural for me because its where I spent so much of my time thinking about how to make it better. I want to be part of that solution. I want to bring a different way of thinking about our city and preparing for the future.

What no candidate had time to prepare for was the campaign itself. No one expected the job to be available this year.

When Tory resigned in a hurry in February and a bunch of names started being circulated as potential candidates, the usual backroom rainmakers and kingmakers quickly sorted themselves into various camps. Ana Bailao drew much of Torys old team  and many prominent Liberal councillors and city labour unions endorsed her early. Some famous conservatives lined up behind Brad Bradford, many key Doug Ford organizers joined Mark Saunders. A long list of leftish community activists backed Josh Matlow, and the NDP city organizers drafted Olivia Chow.

In all that, and despite her resume and recent high profile in the provincial Liberal party, Hunter wound up looking, at least from the outside, not to be benefitting as much from a frontrunner-style organizational machine.

She shrugs. Im sure when the commitments were made, I wasnt in the race at all, Hunter says of the council endorsements. But Im in now, and Im ticking up, and Ive got that momentum, and Im excited about that.

It may be just a tick, but recent polls are moving in the right direction for her. The first month or so, Hunter consistently placed sixth among the six highest-profile candidates, with average support in the Stars poll tracker of about five per cent in early May. But within the past two weeks, some polls have showed her inching up, with a rolling average that put her ahead of Bradford and Bailao as of May 15.

Is there a chance she could catch on? Its hard to tell. She seemed a little unexpectedly stilted  reading from scripts rather than speaking off the cuff  in a recent debate and a podium campaign announcement I attended. Its a contrast to how she spoke to me over lunch, sharing stories and observations and laughing  a side of her shed be wise, I think, to let voters see more. (She seems to already know that: People need to know me as Mitzie, as me, the person that I am, she said.)

Shes positioning herself on the progressive end of the political spectrum, where the competition is already fierce between Chow and Matlow.

But shes trying, holding media availabilities and pushing policy positions out almost every day. When I went out to see her earlier this month, she stood on a midtown sidewalk unveiling a plan for housing that included an ambitious new city-run housing agency to build and manage affordable rentals and home-ownership units. That announcement came with an almost excruciatingly detailed booklet breaking down the number and type of units planned and the projected price points and financing structures of each.

Hunter says that housing policy is the centrepiece of her campaign. She talks about a woman she met recently at an event. She broke down in tears. She said, My family and I, we cant afford to stay here, and we love this city. But we dont see a way to raise our family here, Hunter says.

As constricted as Hunter herself felt back when she faced a choice that was no choice of where to go to university, today she sees people feeling they have no choice that involves staying in Toronto at all. A division in Toronto that leaves people feeling outside, or forced out altogether. Thats the challenge she thinks she is the one to help solve. Its so everybody in this city sees themselves as part of this city, she says.

SHARE:
Bertrand Russell continued his seething attack on the USA for her imperialist intentions and exploitative policies. He spent a number of years in the USA and gave countless TV interviews.

To name a few, there was one in early October 1963, with John Freeman, one in early April 1964, in which Robert Bolt was the interlocutor, another in 1967 with him, and one in September 1965 with Ralph Miliband. Russell got so annoyed with the policy of the British Government on Vietnam that he resigned from the Party in 1965 and tore up his Labour card.

This annoyed many members of the Labour Party in the Parliament. Many charges were laid down against him. But none of these incidents deterred him from making statements against both the British and American governments. Rather, he spent a lot of time in London towards the end of 1966 in order to open the preparatory meetings of the War Crimes Tribunal.

Hundreds of people visited him each day ~ morning, afternoon, and evening ~ to talk to him. On 13 November 1966 in his speech to the first meeting of the members of the War Crimes Tribunal, he vehemently criticized USAs involvement in Vietnam War in the following words: Why is this War being fought in Vietnam?

In whose interest it is being waged? We have, I am certain, an obligation to study these questions and to pronounce on them, after thorough investigation, for in doing so we can assist mankind in understanding why a small agrarian people have endured for more than twelve years the assault of the largest industrial power on earth, possessing the most developed and cruel military capacity. Russell was shocked to discover that the United States conducted war on Vietnam with unprecedented cruelty using new methods of torture. He concluded, after careful examination of the great body of the facts that he and his colleagues had amassed, that the war must be ended quickly and that the only way to end it was to support the North Vietnamese and the liberation front unequivocally.

They feared that so long as the war continued it would be used by America as an excuse for escalation which was likely to end in a general conflagration. Therefore, Russell set up the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign, which brought together those groups which saw the Vietnam War as flagrant aggression by the worlds mightiest nation against a small peasant people.

Russell delivered the opening address to the founding of the Solidarity Campaign in June 1966 which sent speakers all over the country together with the Foundations photographic exhibition on the war, and formed a nucleus of support in Britain for the International War Crime Tribunal. Slowly and gradually the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation set up its branches in several countries: Argentina, Australia and New Zealand, France, India, Italy, Japan, Philippines and the United States. Russell himself admitted that he soon became aware that it was not only Stalins dictatorship which was ruthless ~ America was no less in any way.

The fanaticism of Americas anti-Communism, combined with its constant search for markets and raw materials, made it impossible for any serious neutral to not regard America and Russia as equally dangerous to the world. The essential unity of American military, economic, and Cold War policies was increasingly revealed by the sordidness and cruelty of the Vietnam War.

Russell thus repeatedly warned the developing nations against the impending danger of developed nations economic and strategic policies, and how they exploited developing nations for their own development, leaving behind depleted soils, worked-out mines, ravaged forests, and a trail of ecological destruction, all of it cloaked under the veneer of careful, calculated and high sounding moral philosophy.

He emphasized that the White North was steadily expanding its material goods and had reduced the worlds peoples to the status of unskilled or semiskilled workers who merely work to meet the industrial needs of advanced societies. Moreover, the developed nations also spread false propaganda about the economic systems of the North being the most viable, and therefore ones that the south should follow for their economic growth and development.

Russell observed: Two men have been supreme in creating the modern world: Rockefeller and Bismarck. One in economics, the other in politics, refuted the liberal dream of universal happiness through individual competition, substituting monopoly and the corporate state, or at least movements towards them. Rockefeller is important through his purely practical grasp of the type of organization that would enable him to grow rich.

In Russells opinion, both of them were responsible for destroying the liberal thread of happiness of all inhabitants of the planet Russell categorically mentioned in this book that He (Bismarck) had to convert the nation he had to make nationalism Conservative instead of Liberal, militaristic instead of humanitarian, monarchical instead of democratic.

Russell makes an insightful comment by saying that though the white North is divided into capitalist and socialist sectors, both are one and same and express their solidarity when they have to confront the south.

This solidarity is both economic and political. The above views, comments and critiques of American and the Western World make Russell stand on a very different footing from his contemporaries. He was no doubt a liberal thinker, but unlike many others, a strong critic of some of the liberal assumptions. He questioned the very institution of private property.

Most of the contemporary thinkers vouched for productivity and capacity for technical improvement, economic security, distributive justice but none of them stood up for advancement of creativity rather than mere possessiveness. Russell, on the contrary, treated the last one as the most important of all (See, Principles of Social Reconstruction & Political Ideals).

He was the one who favoured a liberal society based on decentralization rather than on centralization, participation in place of centralism, industrial democracy in place of industrial bureaucratization, controlled individualism with a balance of individual freedom with collective good, cultivation of creative impulses and a sense of citizenship and social cooperation. In view of the above, Russell can be undoubtedly regarded as an architect of social reconstruction, who was deeply troubled to see the incompatibility between the claims of equal human development and the existing class inequalities of power and wealth and humans being treated as mere consumers and appropriators.

What he actually strove for is the transformation of human life from a nexus of conflicting possessive desires to a centre for a realization of creativity, the elevation of the dignity of labour, and the transformation of social institutions into ones that nurture individuals benign impulses.

The best socio-political order for Russell was that unleashes an individuals creative potential and enables him to lead a life of spirit. Erich Fromm, one of the greatest political philosophers of the present times, has rightly said that Russell was not a priest but a prophet.

A prophet is one who speaks entirely out of the inner need to tell his vision and does not have any narcissistic motivation to prove himself a leader or savior. Prophets always lived what they preached. They did not seek power, but avoided it.

They saw the truth and they felt the responsibility to tell it; they did not threaten, but they showed the alternatives with which man was confronted. It is not that a prophet wishes to be a prophet; in fact, only the false ones have the ambition to become prophets.

(The writer is former Professor and Head of Department of Political Science, Benares Hindu University)
The Indian state, for all its sub-optimal functioning over the decades, has exhibited a consistent ability to contain armed, state-seeking secessionists ~ right from 1947, and across political dispensations. Has this curbing of secessionist activity resulted in egregious rights violations? On occasion, yes. But that is the nature of the beast known as hard power; the modern democratic states constitutional monopoly over violence with appropriate checks and balances is an unexceptionable notion. Indeed, it is the premise on which the legitimacy of the nationstate rests.

But when to use hard power, and how, is the key. These are some of the issues thrown up by the inter-community violence that has seared Manipur over the past month. While the violence has abated, the fissures between the Meitei and Kuki communities run deep. Make no mistake ~ as the ethnic cauldron simmers in Manipur, Indias northern neighbour will be tempted to stoke the fires in the North East. The Kuki community, which inhabits the hilly regions of Manipur (as do the Naga tribes that comprise close to 15 per cent of Manipurs population), has upped the ante and is demanding a separate state be carved out on ethnic lines. The Meitei, the majority community in Manipur and settled mainly in the Imphal Valley, have dug their heels in against this demand.

Both state and central governments have rejected the Kuki statehood demand too. The Kuki argue that the recent violence, arson, looting, and forced migration makes living alongside the Meitei within Manipur untenable. But the majority community counters this by asserting that a large proportion of those identifying as Kuki are illegal immigrants from Myanmar who need to be detected and deported. The Nagas, mainly belonging to the Tangkhul tribe and especially dominant in the Ukhrul district of Manipur, also oppose the Kuki demand for a separate state.

The Naga narrative has long been that thousands of people belonging to the Kuki-Chin-Mizo-Zomi ethnic group have infiltrated into Manipur from Myanmar and settled on lands that traditionally belong to Naga tribes. Also in the mix is the Meitei demand for Scheduled Tribe status which has picked up momentum. The N. Biren Singh government, in what security experts agreed was an ill-advised move, withdrew from the suspension of operation (SOO) agreements with the Kuki National Army and the Zomi Revolutionary Army. The government claimed that the two militant outfits had led the protests against the proposal to grant ST status to the Meitei community and were instrumental in provoking the attacks on the Meitei living in the Kukidominated Churachandpur district. State police personnel, despite individual acts of courage, have proven incapable and/or unwilling to take on those indulging in violence and are divided along ethnic lines themselves.

Public trust in the law enforcers is low across communities. As a first step to restoring normality, the Central Police Organisations or Assam Rifles could be tasked with law and order maintenance with the proviso that simultaneously an overhaul of the state police will be undertaken under expert guidance. On this, there can be no compromise. Secondly, as has been suggested by many, a truth and reconciliation commission needs to be established at the earliest with all stakeholders having a voice. We can do it now, or repent at leisure.
A photo exhibition and seminar is being held at the Indian Museum titled Imprints of Indian Culture in Vietnam to mark the 133 birth anniversary of former President Ho Chi Minh.

The event is being organized by the ministry of culture and Indo-Vietnam Solidarity Committee. Prem Kapoor, vice-president of Indo-Vietnam Solidarity Committee said the friendship between India and Vietnam is more than 2,000 years old. It started with maritime trade by Indian traders.

The trade continued for many years. Many of the traders, mostly Hindu, settled in Vietnam. Once they settled there, they started building temples for worshiping and even took with them priests and people for their security.

They established Hindi kingdoms there, which existed for 1,200 years or so. Later, they had clashes with the local communities, which captured the Hindu kingdoms. As a result the Hindus assimilated with the local people. They are called Chams.

This link is unknown to many of the Indians. To erase this ignorance, we are organising this week-long exhibition, said Mr Kapoor. The Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculptures in Vietnam contains many artifacts of Hindu gods and goddesses. Pictures of these will be on display here. The seminar will have scholars discuss the imprints of Indian culture in Vietnam.

Mr Kapoor hoped that Indian tourist numbers, very less now, will increase many fold with the starting of many direct flights between the two countries. Ambassador of Vietnam to India Nguyen Thanh Hai was also present on Thursday. He extensively spoke about the rich history India and Vietnam share and the mutual admiration that has flourished over centuries.

The ties that bind us are woven by fabrics of friendship. Bengal is a land of heroes. Many Indian heroes were born here. The streets of Kolkata reverberated with the slogan tomar naam, amar naam Vietnam Vietnam (your name, my name Vietnam Vietnam). That was really touchy and Vietnamese people can never forget, said the Ambassador.

He also mentioned the special relation between the two leaders Ho Chi Minh and Mahatma Gandhi and the fact that even Buddhism was introduced in Vietnam by Indian Buddists.
NATO to discuss sending jets, Zelenskyy on Crimean Tatar meml day, Beijing envoy in Kyiv 19 May, 02:55 PM

Your slice of the headlines in Ukraine. Daily. Friday, May 19, 2023

 NATO to discuss supplying Western jets to Ukraine in June

Defense ministers of NATO member states will discuss the potential transfer of Western jet fighters to Ukraine at a meeting in June, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with Spiegel on May 18.

 What is happening around Ukraines counteroffensive

Video of day

We see some strategic perspectives, but eventually, the course of those strategic perspectives is laid out in individual tactical steps.

 Former Wagner mercenary in Norway now wants to go back to Russia

Andrey Medvedev, a Russian citizen and former member of Russias Wagner Group private military company, who fled to Norway and sought political asylum there a few months ago, now wishes to return to Russia, Reuters reported on May 18.

 Ukraine already procuring drones capable of flying 1,000 kilometers, says Shchyhol

Ukraine is already in the process of acquiring long-range drones with the ability to fly up to 1,000 kilometers, Yuriy Shchyhol, Head of State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine (SSSCIP), said in an interview with Radio NV on May 18.

 Higher Council of Justice signs off on arrest of former Supreme Courtchief Knyazev

The Higher Council of Justice has consented to the arrest of Vsevolod Knyazev, the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who is suspected of accepting a bribe of $2.7 million, Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne reported on May 18.

Ukraine marks Vyshyvanka Day on May 18. The vyshyvanka, an embroidered shirt, has been an integral part of every Ukrainians wardrobe for many years. However, modern vyshyvankas differ from those worn by Ukrainian ancestors.

Chinese diplomatic envoy Li Hui, in Kyiv to pursue peace efforts in ending Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has received a brief on the security situation in the country from Ukrainian presidential chief-of-staff Andriy Yermak, the presidential press service reported on May 18.

 Crimean Tatars faced annihilation 79 years ago, but nation endured and will live freely  Zelenskyy

Crimean Tatars faced annihilation 79 years ago, but the nation persevered and will thrive in freedom, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on May 18, when Ukraine observes the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Crimean Tatar People, commemorating the mass deportation organized by the Stalinist regime in spring 1944.

 Freight train derailed after huge blast rocks railway in occupied Crimea

A freight train in occupied Crimea derailed near the town of Bakhchisaray early on May 18, pro-Russian Telegram channel Baza has claimed. Reportedly, the derailment was caused by a large explosion.

 Crimea  The echoes of Europes unspoken genocide are becoming too loud to ignore  opinion

Revisiting the blackest pages of history, 18 May stands as a solemn reminder of a genocide not often discussed  that of the Crimean Tatars, writes Iris Molenaar, in a new opinion for NV.

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
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday inspected countrys first elevated highway from an interchange of the Dwarka Expressway near Khedki Daula Toll in Gurugram to Dwarka in New Delhi.

Gadkari was accompanied by Union Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation and Planning (Independent Charge) and Gurugram MP Rao Inderjit Singh; Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and Civil Aviation VK Singh; and Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. Delhi MPs Parvesh Verma and Ramesh Vidhuri were also present.

With the commencement of this expressway, the connectivity between Gurugram and Delhis IGI Airport will be improved, as well as the project will have four categories of road transport, which are tunnels, underpasses, flyovers and flyovers overpass. The length of this road is 18.9 km in Haryana region and 10.1 km in Delhi region, Gadkari said.

Rao Inderjit Singh said this is a big gift of the government for the residents of Gurugram.

With the opening of this expressway, the road infrastructure will get a new expansion not only in Gurugram but also in the NCR region. The people living in the new sectors of this area will also be benefitted, Singh said.

The construction of the Dwarka Expressway is in progress in four sections. The first section is in Delhi region from Shiv Murti in Mahipalpur to Bijwasan (5.9 km), the second is from Bijwasan Railway Over Bridge (ROB) to Delhi-Haryana border in Gurugram (4.2 km), the third in the Haryana region from Delhi-Haryana border to Basai ROB (10.2 km) and Fourth is from Basai ROB to Khedki Daula (cloverleaf interchange) (8.7 km).

Around Rs 2,507 crore will be spent on the construction of the first section in Delhi, Rs 2,068 crore on the section, Rs 2,228 crore on the third in the Haryana region, and Rs 1,859 crore on the construction of the fourth section.

61 per cent of the first section in the Delhi region, 82 per cent of the second, 94 per cent of the third, and 99 per cent of the fourth section in the Haryana border have been completed. The work in both the sections of Haryana region will be completed by next month.

Eight-lane access-controlled Dwarka Expressway is being built at a cost of about Rs 9000 crore.

There is also an eight-lane 34-meter wide elevated road on a single pillar of nine kilometers in length, which is the first elevated road of its kind in the country.

In Haryana, this expressway will meet at Pataudi Road (State Highway-26) near Harsaru and Farukhnagar (State Highway-15A) near Basai. Apart from this, it will also cross the Delhi-Rewari rail line near Sector-88 (B) of Gurugram and Bharthal. The expressway will also connect Sector-88, 83, 84, 99, and 113 to Dwarka Sector-21 along with the proposed Global City in the Gurugram district.
In wake of budget airline Go First going for insolvency resolution proceedings due to financial difficulties, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday expressed concern over the situation, acknowledging that it is not favourable for the industry.

Talking to reporters here, he emphasised that while Go Firsts financial challenges impact the civil aviation sector, it is the responsibility of each company to address their individual issues.

He assured that the Ministry remains committed to supporting airlines in overcoming any underlying problems they may face.

Meanwhile, Go Airlines has extended the suspension of flight operations till May 26.

Earlier, on May 10, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted the voluntary insolvency petition filed by the airline and appointed Abhilash Lal as the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP).

The Principal Bench of NCLT, New Delhi also declared a moratorium for the company and directed the suspended Board of Directors to cooperate with the IRP.

The NCLT has also ordered the suspended management to deposit Rs 5 crore for the IRP to meet the immediate expenses to be adjusted by the Committee of Creditors (COC) to be formed soon.

It had also ordered the company from retrenching any of its employees.

Blaming global aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney of not providing spare engines for defective ones resulting in the grounding of nearly half of its fleet, Go First Airlines had approached the NCLT with a petition for resolution on May 2.

In reaction, Pratt & Whitneys spokesperson in a statement said: Go Firsts (Go Airlines brand) allegations that Pratt & Whitney is responsible for its financial condition are without merit. Pratt & Whitney will vigorously defend itself against Gos claims, and is pursuing its own legal recourse.

The airline had approached the NCLT to retain its aircraft from being repossessed by the lessors. With the bankruptcy cover, the lessors have to petition the NCLT.

It was also reported rival airlines have started talking with the airport authorities to take over the slots occupied by Go Airlines.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Friday accused the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government of trying to save Cabinet Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak against whom a man has filed a complaint of sexual abuse for 10 years.

In a statement, Sirsa said the government is trying to portray that the complainant was not available to depose before SIT. He, however, said the complainant has already given his written statement to the special investigation team (SIT) probing the case.

The BJP leader said that in this statement, the complainant has said it should be considered as a complaint against Kataruchak who was abusing him since 2013. Sirsa said the complainant was out of Punjab because of fear that the minister would get him and his family members implicated in the false cases or get them murdered if they entered Punjab.

Sirsa said the complainant has also sought security for himself and his family because he was getting threatening calls since the video of his abuse by Kataruchak had gone viral. He claimed that these videos were genuine and should be considered as evidence against Kataruchak.

The BJP leader said the complainant has told SIT that he was ready to depose before it via videoconferencing or he can also give a statement physically in Delhi at any place where his security should be ensured.

He said it was shocking to note that instead of acting on appeal of the victim, Bhagwant Mann government was spreading lies that the victim and his family had gone into hiding and were not available to police. Sirsa asked the Punjab Chief Minister to sack the minister immediately from Cabinet and order police action against him as per law of the land.
The BJP in Maharashtra has set a target to achieve 51 per cent vote share in Lok Sabha and assembly polls, state party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule has said.

Bawankule interacted with the media here after a meeting of state executive here on Thursday. BJP chief JP Nadda attended the meeting. Bawankule said the meeting was attended by all leaders and party workers.

During the meeting, we resolved to work towards getting 51 per cent vote share in Maharashtra. I am hopeful that after this meeting, our leaders and party workers will go back with new energy to prepare for the upcoming Loksabha assembly and local body elections in the state. We have set a goal to get 51 per cent total vote share and more than 200 seats out of total 288 assembly seats, he said.

He said BJP and Shiv Sena under the leadership of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will contest the election on all 48 Lok Sabha seats and 288 assembly seats.

Our fight is against Congress NCP and Uddhav group. We have kept a target of 51 per cent vote share in the state under MahaVijay2024 mission. We will reach out to voters through Ghar Chalo Sampark Abhiyaan, he said.

Maharashtra will face assembly polls after Lok Sabha polls in 2024.

Addressing the meeting, Nadda said that the party is an instrument of change.

People have a lot of expectations from us, and we are instruments of change.

Therefore, we need to live up to the expectations and aspirations of the people. For this, PM Modi has given seven sutras to us, he said.

The meeting, which was held at Punes Balgandharv Rang Mandir Auditorium, assumes significance in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha, Assembly and local body elections of various cities including Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, and Navi Mumbai in the State.

Nearly 1,200 delegates, including the partys district-level office-bearers, attended the high-level meeting.
The Kashmir Cyber Police has registered an FIR against those from abroad spreading rumours against the upcoming G20 meeting in Srinagar.

Media persons and members of the civil society in Kashmir and Jammu have been receiving telephone calls from the United Kingdom against the G20s Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar from 22 to 24 May.

The cyber police said it has taken cognizance of case FIR 11/2023 of Police Station Cyber Crime Kashmir and investigation is underway.

Citizens are requested that all such calls may be reported to Police. Cyber Police Kashmir has taken cognisance of this and investigations are going on, police said.

The Kashmir cyber police on Friday issued an advisory against some suspicious ISD and virtual phone numbers through which rumours are being spread against the upcoming G20 Summit. The advisory cautioned people against these phone numbers that are being used to spread anti-national messages and rumours about the prestigious meeting.

The general public is advised to remain cautious towards some suspicious telecommunications and not to respond to any of the following numbers +44 7520 693559, +447418343648 and +447520693134 ,+44 7418 343648 or any ISD number/virtual numbers which are spreading rumours regarding the upcoming G20 event, J&K Police said in a statement on Friday.

Police said if any person has any grievance or query related to the matter, the cyber police station or any nearby police station and police post can be contacted.

Meanwhile, men of the National Security Guard (NSG), para-military forces and police searched hotels, lodges and other commercial establishments in Srinagars Lal Chowk and Residency Road.

The MARCOS, marine commandos of Indian Navy, conducted security drills in the Dal Lake on the banks of which the meeting will be held in a convention center.

Security forces also searched houses of some jailed separatists where suspicious movement was reported.

Three trouble-shooters in North Kashmirs Baramulla have been detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

Senior superintendent of police, Reasi district, Amit Gupta held a Subsidiary Multi-Agency Centre (SMAC) meeting to discuss the present security and share information between different agencies.

Besides police, the meeting was attended by Army and para-military officers. Colonel Sanjeev Shrivastava SSO Station Head, CO IR 1st Bn RC Kotwal, Nisar Mohamad CO 126 BN CRPF, Lt. Colonel Sunil Kumar Sharma MI Reasi Military Station, SS Mishra A/C 6th BN CRPF, Manish Kumar Sinha DCIO/IB, Ashok Kumar IB Reasi, Ashiq Hussain Shah CID CI, Altaf Hussain DI CID SB Reasi and Sunil Kumar DSB Reasi participated in the meeting.

Threadbare discussion was held on present security scenario and G20 Summit, in view of recent terror attack in district Rajouri and its spillover effects in Reasi, law and order situation, under currents, movement and presence of terrorists, present dynamics and revival of militancy, surveillance over OGWs, surrendered terrorists, missing youths and their presence in POK and keep check on radicalization of youth in society.
The CPI-M has criticised the Congress for not inviting Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to Siddaramaiahs swearing-in ceremony as Karnataka Chief Minister on 20 May.

Saturdays ceremony in Bengaluru will have the presence of at least nine chief ministers, including MK Stalin of Tamil Nadu and Nitish Kumar of Bihar. But Pinarayi Vijayan and Delhi Chief Minister Aravind Kejriwal were not invited for the ceremony.

Three leaders from non-Congress parties in Kerala have been invited to the swearing-in ceremony of the Congress chief minister and other ministers in Karnataka. While CPI-M leader and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was left out, three people from non-Congress parties were invited. LDFs Kerala Congress Mani wing leader Jose K Mani, Indian Union Muslim League president Sadikhali Thangal and RSP leader NK Premachandran were invited.

CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI General Secretary A Raja have also been invited.

Senior CPI-M leader and former minister AK Balan called the act of not inviting the Kerala chief minister political indecency. He said some leaders of Congress from Kerala are behind it. They dont want unity of the Opposition against the BJP, he said.

LDF Convenor E P Jayarajan said Congress action proved that it cannot carry out the mission of bringing together the secular democratic forces of the country against the BJPs fascist policies.

Speaking to media persons in Kannur, Jayarajan asked, What anti-BJP stand is the Congress party is having now in the country.
The Chaudhary Charan Singh International (CCSI) airport will be starting the Haj operations from May 21. The first flight will depart with 298 passengers from Lucknow to Medina at 12 noon and the second flight with a similar number of passengers will depart at 3:05 pm on the same day. Special arrangements have been made at Lucknows CCSI Airport for the convenience of Haj pilgrims.

Sharing information on Haj operations, CCSI Airport spokesperson said here on Friday that this year, CCSI airport will be handling more than double the number of Haj passengers at around 11,500 as compared to 5,500 in 2022. In addition, around 2,500 passengers from Varanasi will be coming to Lucknow and will be travelling from the CCSI airport. For the convenience of passengers, we have allocated a special gate for entry into Terminal-1 and a help desk to complete last-minute formalities of Haj pilgrims. The airport is working with all the concerned stakeholders to ensure passengers leave safely for Haj pilgrimage.

A separate baggage screen facility has been created in coordination with Immigration, CISF and Customs officials. We are also closely working with the state Haj Committee for movement of Haj passengers, the spokesperson added.

In the security hold area of Terminal-1, separate areas are earmarked for religious activities by Haj passengers, which include separate wazu khana and namaz sections for male and female pilgrims respectively.

The airport will handle over 45 flights from May 21 to June 6 and over 14,000 passengers are expected to travel from Lucknow airport to Medina. The special flights for Haj will be operated by Saudia Airlines.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday lands in Hiroshima, Japan to attend the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in the first leg of his three-nation visit during which he will also visit Papua New Guinea and Australia.

He will attend the G7Summit under the Japanese Presidency at the invitation of Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan. India has been invited as a guest country for the G7 summit. The broad terms of the G7 summit preferences regarding their outreach with the invited guest countries are nuclear disarmament, economic resilience and economic security, regional issues, climate and energy and food and health and development. During his visit, PM Modi is likely to have a series of bilateral meetings including with Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to unveil a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Hiroshima.

Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said on Friday that there is a plan for Quad leaders meeting in Hiroshima. The Quad meeting, which was scheduled to be held in Australia, was cancelled after US President Joe Biden deferred his visit due to the crucial debt-ceiling talks in Washington.

In his departure statement, PM Modi said his presence at the G7 Summit is particularly meaningful as India this year holds the G20 Presidency. G7 Summit will be held in Japans Hiroshima from May 19-21.

I will leave for Hiroshima, Japan to attend the G7 Summit under the Japanese Presidency at the invitation of Mr. Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan. It will be a pleasure to meet Prime Minister Kishida again after his recent visit to India for the India  Japan Summit. My presence in this G7 Summit is particularly meaningful as India holds the G20 Presidency this year, the statement said.

I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them. I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 Summit, he added.

(With Inputs from ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to leave for a six-day tour to Japan, Papua New Guinea, and Australia starting today.

He will travel to Japan to attend the G7 Summit scheduled to be held in Hiroshima from May 19-21. PM Modi in a statement released before his departure, said that he will leave for Japan to attend the G7 Summit at the invitation of Japanese PM Fumio Kishida. He said that his presence at the G7 Summit is particularly meaningful as India this year holds the G20 Presidency.

I will leave for Hiroshima, Japan to attend the G7 Summit under the Japanese Presidency at the invitation of H.E. Mr. Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan. It will be a pleasure to meet Prime Minister Kishida again after his recent visit to India for the India  Japan Summit. My presence in this G7 Summit is particularly meaningful as India holds the G20 Presidency this year, PM Modi said in a statement released by the Prime Ministers Office (PMO).

I look forward to exchanging views with the G7 countries and other invited partners on challenges that the world faces and the need to collectively address them. I would also be holding bilateral meetings with some of the leaders attending the Hiroshima G7 Summit, he added.

Sharing details regarding his visit to Japan, PM Modi in a tweet said, Leaving for Japan, where I will be joining the @G7 Summit in Hiroshima. Looking forward to a healthy exchange of views on diverse global subjects.

In the statement released by Prime Ministers office, PM Modi said that after concluding his visit to Japan, he will travel to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

He further said, This will be my first visit, as also the first-ever visit by any Indian Prime Minister, to Papua New Guinea.

PM Modi said that he will jointly host the 3rd Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit) with his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape on May 22. He stated that he is grateful that all 14 Pacific Island Countries (PIC) have accepted the invitation to attend the Summit.

He further said, FIPIC had been launched during my visit to Fiji in 2014, and I look forward to engaging with the PIC Leaders on issues that bring us together, such as climate change and sustainable development, capacity building and training, health and well-being, infrastructure and economic development.

In his departure statement, PM Modi said, Apart from the FIPIC engagements, I look forward to my bilateral interactions with Papua New Guinea Governor General Sir Bob Dadae, Prime Minister Marape and some of the other PIC Leaders participating in the Summit.

PM Modi in a tweet stated, After the Japan visit, will be in Papua New Guinea to take part in the FIPIC Summit, a vital forum to boost multilateral cooperation. There will be productive deliberations on subjects such as sustainable development, climate change, healthcare and more.

After his visit to Papua New Guinea, PM Modi will travel to Sydney, Australia at the invitation of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. In the statement, PM Modi stated, I look forward to our bilateral meeting, which will be an opportunity to take stock of our bilateral ties and follow up on our first India-Australia Annual Summit held in New Delhi in March this year.

During his visit, he will interact with Australian CEOs and business leaders. PM Modi will also interact with the Indian community at a special event in Sydney, according to the statement.

PM Modi in a tweet stated, I will be in Australia, where I will be holding talks with my friend, PM @AlboMP. This visit will further cement the India- Australia friendship. I also look forward to interacting with the vibrant Indian community and meeting top Australian CEOs.

Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said that PM Modi will speak at G7 sessions with partner countries on subjects such as peace, stability and prosperity of a sustainable planet; food, fertiliser and energy security; health; gender equality; climate change and environment; resilient infrastructure; and development cooperation. He will also hold bilateral meetings with some of the participating leaders on the sidelines of the G7 Summit.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday issued an ultimatum to the encroachers of government land to vacate the encroachments by 31 May or face the action.

In a statement on Friday, Bhagwant Mann said the state government is committed to freeing the land from illegal encroachments. He said during the tenure of the successive governments in the state, the affluent people had illegally encroached upon precious government land by violating the norms, which is unwarranted and undesirable.

He, however, said from day one, after assuming the charge of office, his government had adopted a zero tolerance policy towards illegal encroachments.

The chief minister informed that the state government has so far freed more than 9,000 acres of government land from the illegal encroachers. He said this momentum will be continued further and every inch of government land under illegal encroachment will be vacated by all means.

The CM said a massive anti-encroachment drive by the state government will be started from 1 June to remove these encroachments. He said no one, howsoever affluent he might be, will be spared during this drive to be started in larger public interest.

Mann said people residing on such land, if any, should not worry as they will not be dislocated during the drive.

Later, Punjab Rural Development And Panchayat Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said the state governments target is to vacate 6,000 acres of land by 10 June this year. Dhaliwal said that last year 9030 acres of land was freed from encroachment, the average market value of this land is around Rs 2709 Crore.

He said many people have been encroaching on government lands for 30 years and if such people still have not vacated the land after the appeal of the chief minister, then the state government will take strict legal action against them.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said during the previous SAD-BJP and Congress governments, influential people violated the rules and encroached on expensive government lands, causing huge economic losses to the state.

AAPs chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang said no one will be spared in this campaign of the government, no matter how influential they may be. He also made it clear that no action will be taken against the poor and needy people who have built houses on panchayat or government lands and the land will not be taken back from them.
In a favorable development for tourists and local stakeholders, Ladakhs Tourism Department has declared that domestic tourists can now travel to the 12,000 ft high Siachen Base Camp without any permit.

The Tourism Department was for the past two years pursuing the matter with the Ladakh based 14 Corps of the Indian Army. The 14 Corps has communicated that visit to the civil tourist facility near the Siachen base camp does not require any authorisation or NOC, said a notification.

The 20,062 ft high Siachen Glacier is the worlds highest battlefield between the Armies of India and Pakistan.

People of Nubra in particular and all tourism related stakeholders of Ladakh in general were demanding the opening-up of Siachen Base Camp for tourists.

The notification said that domestic tourists and visitors do not need any permit to travel to the civil tourist facility near Siachen Base Camp. However, the environmental fee collected by the District Administration is to be paid.

Siachen Base Camp is approximately 6 hours drive north from the town of Leh via one of the highest vehicle-accessible passes in the world, Khardung La at 17,582 feet.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday held a meeting with US President Joe Biden in which the two leaders concurred on continuing to work closely together in addressing issues related to China and also confirmed the importance of cooperating with China on shared challenges.

The two leaders exchanged views on regional issues, on the basis of the recognition that any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force in the Indo-Pacific region, especially in East Asia, must not be tolerated, a statement released by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Biden is currently in Japan to attend the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

The two leaders concurred on continuing to work closely together in addressing issues related to China. The two leaders also confirmed the importance of cooperating with China on shared challenges. Furthermore, the two leaders reiterated the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues, the statement said.

The two leaders exchanged views on security cooperation between US and Japan and concurred to continue to cooperate for further strengthening deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-US alliance on the basis of the outcomes of the Japan-US Security Consultative Committee and the Japan-US Summit meeting in Japan.

Joe Biden and Fumio Kishida reaffirmed the critical role that US extended deterrence plays in ensuring the security of Japan and the peace and stability of the region. Biden welcomed improvement in the ties between Japan and South Korea, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The two leaders concurred on continuing to work closely together between Japan and the US as well as among Japan, the US and North Korea towards the complete denuclearization of North Korea as per the UN Security Council resolutions in strengthening regional deterrence, including security cooperation between Japan, US and South Korea and responses at the UNSC.

Kishida also asked for continued understanding and cooperation of the US for immediate resolution on the abductions issue.

The two leaders agreed to continue imposing sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine in close coordination with the G7 and other like-minded nations, the statement said.

Biden and Kishida confirmed the importance of engagement and supporting the Global South.

The two leaders agreed to coordinate closely to demonstrate to the world the G7s unwavering solidarity in addressing the issues of the international society and the region.

Biden and Kishida shared the recognition that US engagement in the economic order of the region is becoming increasingly important and had a discussion on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). Kishida conveyed Japans views and efforts on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The two leaders shared the importance of promoting and protecting critical technologies.

The two leaders welcomed a planned signing of partnerships between Japanese and US universities and companies in the quantum and semiconductors sector and agreed on expanding cooperation into the areas of biotechnology and artificial intelligence. Biden and Kishida shared the importance of working together towards strengthening energy security. The two leaders agreed on further materializing economic security cooperation through the Japan-US Economic Policy Consultative Committee.

Kishida called the Japan-US alliance as the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the statement released by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He stated that Japan is working closely with one of the US leading universities Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to conduct a feasibility study to create a Global Startup Campus in central Tokyo.
World leaders warn China and North Korea on nukes as Ukraine's Zelenskyy travels to G7 summit

Leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies warned China and North Korea against building up their nuclear arsenals, pivoting to major northeast Asian crises ahead of the arrival later Saturday of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Bill Donlevy poses with his wife Patti, left, and daughter Chreib during a special tribute Attleboro Cambodians held for the Donlevys in 2017.
A historical marker dedicated to Elizabeth Gurley Flynn in Concord, N.H., was removed this month just two weeks after it was unveiled because the woman being honored had been a member of the Communist Party.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

ALTON  The Miles Davis Committee will once again host the annual Miles Davis Jazz Festival now in its 18th year.

The Miles Davis Jazz Festival will be 6-8 p.m. Saturday, June 3, at the Post Commons, 300 Alby St., in Alton, led by Mastery of Ceremony Jared Hennings, who also will perform.

Tickets cost $30 per person and are available at Post Commons or through the Miles Davis Committee Chairman Lee Barham at 618-799-9157.

The headliner is Porch Cafe and opening act is the NGK Band.

The Jazz Festival has provided an excellent musical showcase for local jazz artists to the delight of Riverbend jazz enthusiasts, Barham said.

Also at the festival, the committee will award four college-bound students with $500 scholarships:

 Victor Humphrey, of Godfrey, is an Alton High School senior who plans to major in accounting, and minor in music and Spanish at Saint Louis University, Chaifetz School of Business, Honors Program.

 Aniayah Collins, of Godfrey, is an Alton High School senior who plans to major in architecture at Tuskegee University.

 Paige Masterson, of Hazelwood, Missouri, is a Marquette Catholic High School senior who plans to major in accounting and business. She has applied at Lindenwood University, Maryville University, University of Missouri St Louis and Westminster College.

 Kennedy Stephens, of Alton, is an Alton High School senior who plans to major in civil engineering. She has applied and been accepted to several colleges, including Howard University, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Saint Louis University and Missouri University Science and Technology.

Hennings will open the 18th annual Miles Davis Jazz Festival and lead a moment of silence for two former committee members James Killion Jr. and Evert Loy.

The first act will be a performance by NGK Band, followed by intermission and food service. Then the Miles Davis 2023 Award winners will receive their student scholarships.

The second act will include a performance by Porch Cafe.

"We want to thank everyone for your continuous support," Barham said. "We look forward to seeing you there."




SPRINGFIELD  The Illinois Senate gave final passage Thursday to a bill that places limits on how gun manufacturers and retailers can market their products, subjecting them to civil lawsuits under the states Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act for any violations of those standards.

One of the key components of this is to prevent marketing to children, said Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, the bills chief sponsor in the Senate. He held up an ad from the company Wee 1 Tactical, maker of the JR-15 rifle, a gun that resembles an AR-15 rifle but is smaller and lighter, making it easier for children to fire.

Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, holds up an ad from the company Wee 1 Tactical, maker of the JR-15 rifle, a gun that resembles an AR-15 rifle but is smaller and lighter, making it easier for children to fire. He showed the photo during debate on a bill that places limits on how gun manufacturers and retailers can market their products. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)

This is how people are marketing guns to our children, he said. I don't think the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act should allow that unchecked.

House Bill 218, dubbed the Firearms Industry Responsibility Act, would subject gun manufacturers, retailers and others involved in the firearms industry to civil liability if they market any firearm, accessory, or component to people under the age of 18. They could also be held liable if they market weapons in a way that appears to support or encourage unlawful militia activity.

Gun manufacturers and retailers also could be held liable if they knowingly create, maintain, or contribute to a condition in Illinois that endangers the safety or health of the public by conduct either unlawful in itself or unreasonable under all circumstances, including failing to establish or utilize reasonable controls.

Reasonable controls would include procedures to prevent the sale of weapons to straw purchasers or to people who are prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms.

Senate Minority Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, called that provision overly broad and said the measure would likely be challenged in court.

Senate Minority Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, is pictured on the Senate floor Thursday during debate on a bill that places limits on how gun manufacturers and retailers can market their products. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)

That portion of this proposal is a drastic overreach, he said. It is very broad in nature and lacks any of the guidance that a gun dealer would need, or a manufacturer for that matter, to actually comply with this act.

But Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who pushed for the bills passage, said the measure is needed to hold the firearms industry accountable.

No single industry should be given a free pass to engage in unlawful, unfair or deceptive conduct, he said in a statement after the Senate vote. The Firearms Industry Responsibility Act clarifies my offices ability to use the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, which is a tool to hold businesses accountable for fraudulent or deceptive practices through civil litigation.

The Senate passed the bill 34-22. It passed the House on May 10 by a vote of 71-40. It will next be sent to Gov. JB Pritzker who said in a statement Thursday that he intends to sign it.

Gun violence is a public health epidemic, and those who encourage unlawful use of a firearm or target sales of firearms to minors worsen the scourge of gun violence in our communities, he said. This legislation finally protects Illinoisans from predatory actions by the firearms industry.
Description

EHP Resort & Marina's Sunset Harbor is debuting a contemporary Japanese and sushi menu, encouraged by the overwhelming success of last years specialty sushi items. A celebration of Japanese flavors and umami tastes, the new menu at Sunset Harbor will include items like Fresh Toro Sashimi paired with house kimchi, Baked King Crab Hand Roll, Miso Black Cod and Selections of Japanese A5 Wagyu. This weekend from 4-7pm, enjoy $10 frozen Sake Sangria or Rose and enjoy 1 appetizer on us (choose between Crunchy, Raw and Chilled and Our Style menu items)

*Valid while supplies last. Friday (5/19) and Saturday (5/20). One appetizer per table
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

WASHINGTON (AP)  The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee says he is pausing an effort to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress now that the State Department offered to let him review a classified cable from U.S. diplomats in Kabul sent shortly before the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, agreed Thursday to review the July 2021 communication that reportedly warned the U.S. about the potential fall of Kabul via a special dissent channel. State Department officials have used the classified messaging platform for decades to issue warnings or express contrarian views directly to senior agency officials.

McCaul accepted the condition to view the document with the names of those who signed it redacted. The same offer was made to the top Democrat on the panel, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, but McCaul urged State to grant access to all other committee members also.

The State Department did not immediately return a request for comment.

McCaul had been threatening to schedule a committee vote next week to hold Blinken in contempt of Congress if he did not release the documents to lawmakers. If it passed, the contempt resolution would go to the House for a vote, and Republicans hold a slim majority there.

In light of this invitation, I will pause efforts to enforce the Committees subpoena pending my review of the documents, McCaul said in a letter to Blinken. Please note, however, that the subpoena remains in full force and effect, and the acceptance of this accommodation does not waive any of the Committees rights regarding the subpoena."

The State Department had previously briefed McCaul on the substance of the cables, but the Republican chairman said he was not satisfied.

I want to see the original content, and I also want to see the secretarys response, McCaul told reporters, adding that reading the cable would provide insight into the diplomats' state of mind in the embassy at the time, and any dissenting views. "To have 23 dissenters is very significant.

The agency has argued that it has been trying to provide Congress with appropriate information on the cable while also protecting its employees.

McCaul has battled with the Biden administration over gaining access to the messages as part of a larger GOP investigation into what went wrong as the Taliban swept back to power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

At least 123 dissent channel cables have been sent since 1971, according to the National Security Archives at George Washington University. The vast majority of those have remained classified, and the State Department has long objected to efforts to force their release.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 John Badman|The Telegraph Show More Show Less 2 of 5 John Badman|The Telegraph Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 John Badman|The Telegraph Show More Show Less 5 of 5









ALTON  Authorities say a man on Thursday allegedly set fire to the house where he was living in the 3000 block of Watalee Street in Alton.

Firefighters were called to the house fire at about 1:10 p.m. Thursday, arriving to find one room of the house engulfed in flames and the home's resident reportedly sitting on the porch as flames rolled from a window.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Erica Conway Harriss Show More Show Less 3 of 3





SPRINGFIELD  Two area lawmakers are unhappy with a new bill they say allows appointed, part time commissioners of the Metro East Sanitary District to receive fulltime benefits.

Approved on a 38-18 party-line vote in the Illinois Senate on Thursday, House Bill 476 was unanimously approved by the Illinois House on May 4. It now awaits action by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  Police shocked a 95-year-old woman with a stun gun as she approached them using a walker and carrying a steak knife in an Australian nursing home, sending her to the hospital in critical condition after her head hit the floor.

The extraordinary police takedown of Clare Nowland, who has dementia, on Wednesday prompted a high-level police internal investigation.

It also has sparked debate about how New South Wales state police use stun guns, which are widely known as Tasers after a major manufacturer. They are a less lethal option than firearms but have occasionally proved more dangerous than other policing options.

Police said Nowland received her injuries from striking her head on the floor, rather than directly from the stun guns debilitating electric shock.

Two police officers went to Yallambee Lodge, a nursing home in the town of Cooma that specializes in residents with higher care needs including dementia, after staff reported that Nowland had taken a serrated steak knife from the kitchen.

Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter declined to say whether he thought a police officer with 12 years' experience used excessive force by firing a stun gun at Nowland, who is 1.57 meters (5 feet, 2 inches) tall and weighs 43 kilograms (95 pounds).

Cotter said police engaged in negotiations with Nowland for several minutes and used the stun gun when she approached the doorway where the officers were standing.

At the time she was tasered, she was approaching police. But it is fair to say at a slow pace. She had a walking frame. But she had a knife. I cant take it any further as to what was going through anyones mind, Cotter told reporters.

Nicole Lee, president of the advocacy group People with Disability Australia, said she was shocked by the police response.

Shes either one hell of an agile, fit, fast and intimidating 95-year-old woman, or theres a very poor lack of judgment on those police officers and there really needs to be some accountability on their side, Lee said.

Family spokesperson Andrew Thaler said Nowland's dementia waxes and wanes.

The question will be, how was it appropriate to use this level of force on a 95-year-old woman? Thaler was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald.

Cotter described video from the two police officers body cameras of the incident as confronting footage. But he said the video was part of an internal police investigation and it would not be in the public interest to be releasing that.

Cotter said the police officer who fired the stun gun was currently not in the workplace," but it was unclear whether the officer was suspended.

Nowland, a great-grandmother, made headlines in 2008 when she went skydiving to celebrate her 80th birthday.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

ROME (AP)  The floods that sent rivers of mud tearing through towns in Italys northeast are another drenching dose of climate change's all-or-nothing weather extremes, something that has been happening around the globe, scientists say.

The coastal region of Emilia-Romagna was struck twice, first by heavy rain two weeks ago on drought-parched ground that could not absorb it, causing rivers to overflow overnight, followed by this week's deluge that killed 14 and caused damages estimated in the billions of euros.

In a changing climate, more rain is coming, but its falling on fewer days in less useful and more dangerous downpours.

The hard-hit Emilia-Romagna region was particularly vulnerable. Its location between the Apennine mountains and the Adriatic Sea trapped the weather system this week that dumped half the average annual amount of rain in 36 hours.

"These are events that developed with persistence and are classified as rare,'' Fabrizio Curcio, the head of Italy's Civil Protection Agency, told reporters.

Authorities on Friday said that 43 towns were impacted by flooding and landslides, and that more than 500 roads had been closed or destroyed.

Antonello Pasini, a climate scientist at Italys National Research Council, said a trend had been establishing itself: An increase in rainfall overall per year, for example, but a decrease in the number of rainy days and an increase in the intensity of the rain in those few days when it rains, he said.

Italys north has been parched by two years of drought, thanks to less-than-average snowfall during the winter months. Melting snow from the Alps, Dolomites and Apennines normally provides the steady runoff through spring and summer that fills Italy's lakes, irrigates the agricultural heartland and keeps the Po and other key rivers and tributaries flowing.

Without that normal snowfall in the mountains, plains have gone dry and riverbeds, lakes and reservoirs have receded. They cannot recover even when it rains because the ground is essentially impermeable and the rain just washes over the topsoil and out to the sea, Pasini said.

So the drought is not necessarily compensated for by these extreme rains, he said, Because in northern Italy, the drought depends more on snow being stored in the Alps than on rain. And in the last two years, we have had very little snow.

Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said the new normal of extreme weather events in the Mediterranean requires Italians to adapt and Italy to rethink its flood protections nationwide. He cited a fierce storm-triggered landslide last fall on the southern island of Ischia, off Naples, that left 12 dead.

We cant just pretend that nothing is happening, he said Thursday. Everything must change: the programming in hydraulic infrastructures must change, the engineering approach must change.

He said those changes were necessary to prevent the types of floods that have left entire towns swamped with mud after two dozen rivers burst their banks.

The key going forward is prevention, he said, acknowledging thats not an easy sell due to costs.

We are not a nation inclined to prevention. We like to rebuild more than to prevent, he told Sky TG24.

Italy is far from alone in lurching from dry to deluge. California and the United States West sloshed their way from a record-setting megadrought to at least a dozen atmospheric rivers dousing the region with so much rain that a long-dormant lake reappeared.

Scientists say flash floods of the kind seen in Germany and Belgium two years ago, which killed more than 220 people and caused billions of euros in damage, will become more likely as the planet warms.

The rainiest events seem to be in many places getting rainier, Princeton University climate scientist Gabe Vecchi said Thursday.

In 2021, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scientific panel said it was established fact that humans' greenhouse gas emissions had made for more frequent and intense weather extremes. The panel called heat waves the most obvious, but said heavy precipitation events had also likely increased over most of the world.

The U.N. report said there is robust evidence that record rainfall and one-in-five, one-in-10 and one-in-20 year type rainfall became more common since the 1950s.

___

Borenstein contributed from Kensington, Maryland.

____

Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about APs climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
SimonSkafar / iStock.com

Electric vehicles (EVs) have long captured the American imagination, but until recently, they have always been the wave of the future. High upfront costs along with a host of obstacles  including vehicle range and the lack of sufficient chargers  have long stymied the widespread implementation of EVs. But this is all changing rapidly.

New Car Market: Prices Are About To Plummet Due To Oversupply

Read: How To Build Your Savings From Scratch

Electric vehicle prices are falling rapidly, thanks in part to increased production and technological advances, and both federal and state incentives are making these types of cars even more affordable than ever. Heres a look at the states that currently have the best electric vehicle incentives, based on data from the U.S. Department of Energys Alternative Fuels Data Center and the states themselves.

Colorado

Starting in 2023, Colorado lowered its EV credits a bit, but it still offers some of the best electric vehicle incentives in the country. Credits are the smallest for light-duty EVs, at $1,500 for leases and $2,000 for purchases, but they reach as high as $5,000 for leases and $8,000 for purchases of heavy-duty electric trucks.

As of now, these credits are slated to expire as of Jan. 1, 2026.

Connecticut

Connecticuts CHEAPR program, which stands for Connecticut Hydrogen and Electric Automobile Purchase Rebate Program, offers rebates up to $9,500 for the purchase or lease of a new, eligible hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, all-electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Residents who participate in a state or federal income-qualified program may be eligible for an additional rebate, Rebate Plus, worth between $1,125 and $7,500.

Maryland

Maryland offers excise tax credits of up to $3,000 for qualified EV and fuel cell electric vehicle purchases. The cost of the vehicle cannot exceed $50,000. Until June 30, 2023  unless extended  the state will also rebate up to 40% of the cost of acquiring and installing electric vehicle supply equipment, otherwise known as a charging station.

More: 8 Electric Cars You May Regret Buying

Rebates can reach as much as $700 for residential installations or $5,000 for businesses, nonprofits, workplaces, multi-unit dwellings, or state or local government entities.

California

Californias Clean Vehicle Rebate Project provides rebates to residents who purchase or lease new eligible vehicles. Those with lower incomes may also get enhanced amounts. Specifically, rebate amounts are $750 for zero-emission motorcycles, $1,000 for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, $2,000 for electric vehicles and $4,500 for fuel cell electric vehicles.

Income limits are as follows, except for FCEVs:

$135,000 for single filers

$175,000 for head-of-household filers

$200,000 for joint filers

Rebates are increased by $2,5000 for those with incomes less than or equal to 400% of the federal poverty level.

Massachusetts

Under the Massachusetts MOR-EV program, residents can receive $1,500 for a new plug-in hybrid electric vehicle or $3,500 for a new battery for a fuel cell electric vehicle. Vehicles purchased after Nov. 22, 2022 must have a sales price of $55,000 or less and be registered and retained in Massachusetts for at least 36 months.

Fleet purchases of up to 10 vehicles by businesses or nonprofits in Massachusetts can also qualify.

New York

New Yorks Drive Clean Rebate Program provides up to $2,000 for eligible electric vehicle purchases. The amount of the rebate is based on vehicle range and price, as follows:

Range greater than 200 miles, $2,000 off

Range of 40 to 199 miles, $1,000 off

Range of less than 40 miles, $500 off

Vehicle MSRP greater than $42,000, $500 off

More than 60 car models qualify for the Drive Clean Rebate.

Special Note: Oregon and New Jersey

Oregon and New Jersey used to have some of the best EV credits in the nation. However, due to an unprecedented surge of buyer demand, both of these states have opted to temporarily suspend their credits in 2023.

For example, Charge Up New Jersey suspended its credits on Apr. 17 after paying out more than $35 million in EV incentives, at up to $4,000 per vehicle.

Oregon followed the same model, temporarily suspending its Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate Program on May 1, 2023, after paying out as much as $7,500 to qualifying households. The suspension is expected to last until Mar. 2024, when additional funding is anticipated to arrive.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 6 States With the Best Electric Vehicle Incentives
65% of Workers Want an Emergency Savings Plan Perk  These 10 Companies Will Help Match Your Funds

Hispanolistic / Getty Images

Saving for emergencies is a tremendous challenge for Americans. According to a recent poll conducted by CNBC and Momentive, 53% of Americans say they dont have an emergency fund. Unsurprisingly, many Americans are also not positioned well for retirement.

Im a Financial Planning Expert: Here Are 5 Things You Should Never Spend Money on If You Want To Be Rich

More: 3 Signs Youre Serious About Raising Your Credit Score

But Americans arent sitting idly by, and want their employers to step up and help out. A new survey from MFS Investment Management found that 65% of workers say they will need to save at a higher rate for their long-term future; 55% say that if given $1,000, they would add it to their emergency savings.

And theyre looking at their employers to help cough up the cash.

Matching ones emergency savings plan is not exactly commonplace, but there are a number of companies that will help contribute to your rainy day funds. Lets have a look at which ones are rising to the occasion.

Starbucks

In 2022, Starbucks announced that in partnership with Fidelity, it was launching My Starbucks Savings, a new way to help eligible partners save for emergencies. All eligible U.S. partners are now able to contribute a portion of after-tax pay on a recurring basis directly from their paycheck to a personal savings account. Starbucks will contribute $25 and $50 credits at key saving milestones  up to a total of $250.

BlackRock, ADP, Best Buy, Self Financial, Truist and Varo

Investment firm BlackRock announced in 2021 that it was building on its $50 million philanthropic Emergency Savings Initiative. Participants include the following companies: ADP, Best Buy, Self Financial, Truist and Varo.

As participants, these companies agreed to launch an effort addressing emergency savings within a year of joining and to share anonymized data of results with BlackRock. In return, the companies nabbed access to the expertise BlackRock provides through partners including Common Cents Lab, Commonwealth and Financial Health Network.

Take Our Poll: What Are You Worth to Your Company?

Learn: Heres How Much Money Experts Say You Should Have in Your Savings Account If Youre in Your 50s

Kroger, Levi Strauss and SunTrust Banks

The Wall Street Journal reported in 2019 that Kroger, Levi Strauss and SunTrust Banks were all stepping up to offer their employees an emergency savings benefit.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 65% of Workers Want an Emergency Savings Plan Perk  These 10 Companies Will Help Match Your Funds
In the digitally driven world, more and more customers are turning to eCommerce stores for their shopping needs. Against this backdrop, D2C brands have brought a wave of comfort and ease for customers, skyrocketing sales in the eCommerce market segment.

This creates a compelling need for D2C brands to recreate optimised packaging experiences.

Founded by Neeraj Maheshwari and Gaurav Daga, AG Poly Packs is a leading B2B packaging solutions provider in India, has tapped into innovation to deliver highly functional consumer packaging solutions in the D2C space. Established in 1997, the company now provides packaging solutions to FMCG giants  WOW, Mamaearth, and many more, distinguished by its in-house manufacturing moulds.

Focus on brand distinctiveness.

With almost three decades of experience, AG Poly Packs has carved a niche by setting up expansive facilities in North India. The facilities have 70 versatile Plastic moulding machines and a new R&D and innovation centre to make in-house moulds and designs to cater to a large customer base.

Predominantly, conventional packaging firms and distributors supply to a limited number of industries due to restrictions in moulding. However, AG Poly Packs leverage the capabilities of its manufacturing facilities to offer a new product range at an unprecedented pace, keeping it ahead of its competition. Since the company manufactures Bottles with HDPE / PET Resin and Also produce Caps & Pumps, It facilitates client with complete solutions for their needs.

Apart from this, AG Poly Packs masters Part design and have an in-house facility; in the New Innovation Centre, the part is designed by a team of one of the most experienced people in the industry. The Bottle Rapid prototype can be produced within 12 to 18 hours of finalising the Drawings, and pilot tooling takes around three weeks, all within its facility premises as its core strength. It helps new-age D2C brands get hands-on, fulfilling their packaging commitments; by the above action, we can achieve higher speed and maintain confidence as mould is not developed outside the AG Group.

Talking about sustainable offerings, Neeraj Maheshwari, Jt. Managing Director of AG Poly Packs said, Urban customers are pivoting more towards sustainability and eco-living. They are more concerned about the sustainability supply chain, which influences their purchase decisions. That is where we at AG Poly Packs bring sustainable solutions for D2C brands to reshape their offerings and shift to consumer sentiments, wearing a sustainability badge.

Embracing sustainability and customer centricity

Present-day consumers have higher expectations about the packaging disposal of their products. Since D2C brands are rooted in sustainability, brands are increasingly looking for consumer-centric strategies revolving around customer expectations. AG Poly Packs integrates the basic model of reducing plastic through the reusable approach of PCR (Post-consumer Recycle Plastic).

Brands are now coming up with ideas for Mono- Material systems and developing mono-material all inside and outside. These brands use aluminium to preserve the products inside and maintain their quality. For instance, if a regular packet of chips is laminated with a different layer of plastic along with a metal layer, it is non-recyclable for the circular economy.

As a significant step towards achieving sustainability in packaging, AG Poly Packs educates people to use PCR wherever possible, and there are a few products that can be used easily, like hand wash, detergent and anything which is disinfecting product initially.

In line with this, the packaging giant is also developing a facility for making flexible tubes in Himachal Pradesh which is planned to be operational from August 2023. The facility is fully equipped with Swiss machines, recognised as one of the best machines available in the world for making tubes used in face wash, creams, scrubs, etc.

The business growth and plans

Recognised as a packaging industry pioneer, the internally funded AG Poly Packs is expanding its footprints in a series of developments. It plans to establish a manufacturing facility in the Western part of India alongside its state-of-the-art facility in Himachal Pradesh.

Though the company was operating profitably in the market, with the emergence of D2C brands, it has recorded a turnover of Rs. 201 Cr. Currently, AG group company will establish a facility to produce 35 lakhs tubes per month and is projecting to grow its capacity to around 70 lakhs (7 million tubes) in a month.

We are expanding fast with a customer base of over 4500 companies, already moving on the trajectory to add more customers in the next six months. Similarly, we have a workforce of about 600, both direct & contractual workers, while we plan to add 50 more to the headcount in 2023, added Neeraj.

AG Poly Packs has built a strong portfolio of customers across the globe. Apart from catering to domestic players, it exports its packaging products in the Middle East region, including Qatar, Sri Lanka and Nepal, achieving about 2.5% turnover from exports with a growth projection of 15% by 2025.
As the same-sex marriage debate rages in India with many eagerly awaiting the Supreme Courts decision, couturier Mayyur Girotra is quietly but creatively making a statement. His latest collection Aikya is his first luxury pret line that is debuting at an exclusive showcase that will kickstart Pride month.



The collection is a fusion of western silhouettes with Indian embroidery and techniques. Girotra says it blends colours and emotions that represent the LGBTQIA+ community worldwide. For the showcase, the designer has collaborated with Google and the Indus Google network Employee Resource Groups by being a concept partner for runway representation that includes various gender identities and sexual orientations.

Shilpa Maniar, Leader of the Indus Google Network in New York says they are excited about the collaboration and hope to extend the conversation beyond conventional boundaries. The collection will be showcased to celebrate New York Pride 2023 on June 2 at Ave  Soho NYC agianst a backdrop of historic photographs of queer people from India.

Excerpts from the interview:

Tell us about your new collection Aikya.

It has been going on since the last two-four months. It is all about South Asian communities celebrating pride, but we wanted to keep the language of the brand intact which is traditional embroidery, non-binary, gender fluid fashion. Every garment of mine on the runway is gender fluid. This collection is luxury pret but acceptable in all forms. Aikya means unity and it is dedicated to pride.

How is your gender fluid collection different from other gender fluid lines coming up?

My collection is all about Indian traditional culture, arts, embroideries, traditional heritage based mirror works, resham, Kashmiri aari work; very boho chic yet speaks in the light of India.



Do you also hope to make a statement through your collection in the light of the marriage equality debate?

My statement has always been clear. You have the right to love and marry whomever you want to. It is a personal choice and love cannot be defined. Gender fluidity has been there since humanity. Vedas and shastras, too, talk about it. How this positioning has arrived with us going to court is not clear but love has to win and will win. All my collection screams LGBTQIA because I am all about pride. I come from a Punjabi family and have gone through hell as a closeted, confused kid. I have seen so many lavender marriages happening because of family pressure. Things are changing in the metros but what about small cities where there is no education and many do not know what they are dealing with. There is a long way to go. I feel proud and soulful about this collection and I am attached to every piece.



On your collaboration with Google.

The team loved my work. One of the leaders from Google network contacted me and was very supportive. They gave me full freedom of to conceptualise the show and runway and it was a very smooth sailing.

With so many Indian designers going global, how has the perception of India changed on the runway?

India is centrestage now. A lot of international brands are getting embroideries done here, archiving our stuff, using mood boards with Indian concepts. I retail from New York, New Jersey and California and live between New York and India and have many international clients now. Many like to pair my lehengas with crop tops or jackets and sport a very boho chic look. Men like to wear my short kurtas with denims. My designs are no longer restricted to Indian or South Asian communities.



Are there any international collaborations on the cards?

Nothing is closed as such but something good should come up hopefully.

What is your next collection about?

It is going to be out in September. It is the Indian wedding couture and I am working on it. The collection is inspired by my trip to Istanbul and Cappadocia in Turkey. I had initially gone there for three days but then extended it for 12 days and ended up archiving everything and making mood boards. So, in my next collection, from the design inspirations to fabrics, everything has its inspirations from Turkey.
State-owned Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs)Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), Bharat Electronics (BEL) and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limitedoccupied the top three slots in terms of the value of defence production for Financial Year 2022-23 as Indias total defence production crossed the Rs 1 lakh mark milestone for the first time.



An official source told THE WEEK on condition of anonymity that HAL, BEL and MDL occupied the top three slots in that order with the three top highest production values for 2022-23. HAL totaled about Rs 24,000 crore, BEL about Rs 6,000 crore and MDL about Rs 6,000 crore.



A defence ministry official release said, The value currently stands at Rs 1,06,800 crore and it will go further up once the data is received from the remaining private defence industries. The current value of defence production in FY 2022-23 is a rise of more than 12 per cent over FY 2021-22, when the figure was Rs 95,000 crore.



The defence production value is calculated by totaling the production values of the nine DPSUs, private companies and the new seven government-owned professionally managed corporate entities that were formed on June 16, 2021, by restructuring 41 Ordnance Factories (OFs).



Originally the 41 Ordnance Factories (OFs) were under the administrative control of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) operated under the defence ministry.



The restructuring of the OFB was done to enhance autonomy, improve accountability, competitiveness and efficiency besides deepening specialisation in the product range.



Indias defence industry is in the middle of a transformation with a number of policy reforms being undertaken to achieve ease of doing business, including the integration of MSMEs and start-ups into the supply chain.



These measures have given a boost to the defence industrial manufacturing ecosystem in the country and generated tremendous employment opportunities, the release added.



There has been an almost 200 per cent increase in the number of defence licenses issued to the industries in the last 7-8 years by the government.



At the moment, the public and private share in Indian defence production is about 80 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.



Notably, HAL and BEL also figure in SIPRIs (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) 2021 Top 100 list of the worlds defence companies that was released in December 2022. While HAL ranked 42nd, BEL was placed at 63rd place. Both companies had benefited from major orders placed by the Indian armed forces in recent years.
In a groundbreaking finding that has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of cancerous brain tumors, a team of scientists from the San Francisco Medical Centre at the University of California has discovered a crucial link between cancerous cells and healthy brain cells. This connection leads to hyperactivity within the tumor and contributes to rapid cognitive decline and mortality among patients.

The team, led by Saritha Krishna, an esteemed Indian researcher, also identified a commonly used anti-seizure medication that effectively reduces the hyperactivity of tumor cells and even halts their growth. Their findings, published in the prestigious scientific journal "Nature," provide a new avenue for targeted therapies and offer hope to patients battling brain cancer.

The research sheds light on the communication between healthy brain cells and cancerous cells, which can be manipulated to slow down or even halt tumor growth. This discovery is especially significant for patients diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most fatal form of adult brain cancer.

During awake-brain tumor surgery, Krishna and her colleague, Shawn Hervey-Jumper, conducted a study to investigate previously unknown mechanisms by which brain tumors infiltrate and modify brain circuitry, leading to a decline in cognitive function in glioma patients. They monitored brain activity in real-time and found that when patients performed language tasks, tumor-infiltrated brain regions were activated, extending beyond the known language areas of the brain.

Scientists manipulate neuronal connections to halt tumor growth

This unexpected finding demonstrated that cancer cells have the ability to hijack and restructure connections in surrounding brain tissue, inducing hyperactivity and accelerating cognitive decline, ultimately reducing patient survival rates. To gain further insights, the team extensively characterized the connected tumor cells using brain organoids, small bundles of neurons derived from human stem cells, as well as mouse models engrafted with human glioblastoma cells.

Their experiments revealed a crucial role played by a protein called 'thrombospondin-1' in neuronal hyperexcitability. Encouragingly, the researchers found that gabapentin, a commonly used anti-seizure medication, successfully reduced this hyperexcitability and halted tumor growth.

This groundbreaking discovery holds tremendous potential for the development of more effective treatment methods for glioblastoma, an exceptionally lethal disease. The newfound understanding of how cancer cells manipulate brain circuitry paves the way for the development of drugs and neuromodulation techniques that can disrupt neuronal connections with cancer cells, effectively halting tumor growth.

Saritha Krishna, the lead author of the paper and a native of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, expressed her optimism, stating, "This research opens up new possibilities for treating glioblastoma and other brain cancers. By targeting the hijacked brain circuitry, we can develop innovative therapies to improve patient outcomes and extend survival rates."

While further research and clinical trials are needed to fully translate these findings into effective treatments, this breakthrough represents a significant step forward in the fight against brain cancer. With continued dedication and collaboration, the scientific community moves closer to transforming the lives of brain cancer patients worldwide.
The opposition trained its guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Reserve Bank of India's decision on Friday to withdraw 2,000 currency notes from circulation, with some of the leaders comparing it to demonetisation.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the move is "typical of self-styled Vishwaguru.

"Typical of our self-styled Vishwaguru. First Act, Second Think (FAST). 2000 rupee notes introduced with such fanfare after that singularly disastrous 'Tughlaqi firman' of Nov 8 2016 are now being withdrawn," he said in a tweet.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore tweeted, "Second Demo disaster starts .. M = Madness."

Former Union finance minister P Chidambaram claimed that the Rs 2,000 note was a "band-aid" to cover up the "foolish decision" of demonetising Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

"As expected, the government/RBI have withdrawn the Rs 2,000 note and given time until September 30 to exchange the notes. The Rs 2,000 note is hardly a popular medium of exchange. We said this in November 2016 and we have been proved correct."

The Rs 2,000 note was a "band-aid" to cover up the "foolish decision" of demonetising Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes which were popular and widely exchanged currencies, he said.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Alka Lamba claimed that it probed, the demonetisation will prove to be the biggest scam of the century. "In the name of attacking black money by discontinuing 1000 rupee notes and issuing 2000 rupee notes, Prime Minister Modi only made the work of his fugitive capitalist friends easier - before demonetisation, friends (brothers) would have to run away with the country's money in double sacks. It would have been a problem," India Today quoted her as saying. "After demonetisation and the issue of Rs 2000 notes, the work of friends became easy. The work was done in half. Now neither fugitive friends will come, nor black money will come back and now, even the 2000 rupee note is going to disappear from the market," she added.

"This whole concept of starting the circulation, stopping the circulation of notes, or issuing of new notes, was started by PM Modi and the economy suffered due to this... I don't know what will be the pros and cons of this step but I hope the decision was taken by the experts," AAP leader and Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said.
Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc.

Detroit, Michigan, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc., (the Company) (OTCPK:AITX), a global leader in AI-driven security and productivity solutions today announced the deployment of the first of three artificial intelligence powered large language models to enhance investor engagement and provide simplified access for investors due diligence and fact-checking as it relates to $AITX.



The Company revealed its plans to utilize advanced OpenAI Large Language Model technology across its various online platforms in a press release on May 4, 2023. GPT, short for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is a powerful AI language model developed by OpenAI. GPT-4, the latest version, is known for its exceptional ability to understand and generate human-like text, making it ideal for a wide range of applications.

The initial deployment is located on the Companys website aitx.ai. On the site, visitors will engage with RADDOG performing the duties of chat moderator and curator of all requested, publicly available, Company information.

This should be a valuable and helpful tool for investors, followers and all interested parties, looking for reliable data on AITX, said Steve Reinharz, CEO of AITX. Ensuring easy access to company information is a responsibility we take seriously, and this AI chatbot will help considerably. It will be fascinating to see how it gets better in the coming months as we start giving it transcribed weekly videos and more data.

In the near future, the Company will be rolling out additional GPT solutions including:

Sales and Prospect Aid (SPA): SPA will offer an intelligent, AI-assisted platform for RAD's sales team, accelerating the sales process and enhancing customer relationships using existing resources. By providing real-time support and tailored solutions, SPA could empower AITX sales representatives to close deals more efficiently and effectively.

Technical Troubleshooting and Support (TTS): TTS is a powerful AI-driven technical assistance platform designed to provide instant, accurate solutions to the technical challenges that RAD's clients may face. With TTS, the Company aims to minimize downtime and maximize productivity for its clients.

Reinharz added Its foreseeable that every company, every website in the future will be supported by these advanced AI tools. We are pleased to be one of the first to fully implement these to the benefit our of investors, clients, and followers.

AITX's embrace of GPT technology serves as a testament to the Company's unwavering dedication to leading the charge in AI-driven solutions. Moreover, the implementation of GPT technology is projected to elevate customer satisfaction by delivering enhanced capabilities and tailored experiences. Furthermore, AITX's pioneering approach sets the stage for continuous innovation and breakthroughs in the ever-evolving AI industry.

AITX, through its subsidiary, Robotic Assistance Devices , Inc. (RAD), is redefining the $25 billion (US) security and guarding services industry through its broad lineup of innovative, AI-driven Solutions-as-a-Service business model. RAD solutions are specifically designed to provide cost savings to businesses of between 35%-80% when compared to the industrys existing and costly manned security guarding and monitoring model. RAD delivers this tremendous cost savings via a suite of stationary and mobile robotic solutions that complement, and at times, directly replace the need for human personnel in environments better suited for machines. All RAD technologies, AI-based analytics and software platforms are developed in-house.

RAD has a prospective sales pipeline of over 35 Fortune 500 companies and numerous other client opportunities. RAD expects to continue to attract new business as it converts its existing sales opportunities into deployed clients generating a recurring revenue stream. Each Fortune 500 client has the potential of making numerous reorders over time.

CAUTIONARY DISCLOSURE ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The information contained in this publication does not constitute an offer to sell or solicit an offer to buy securities of Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc. (the Company). This publication contains forward-looking statements, which are not guarantees of future performance and may involve subjective judgment and analysis. The information provided herein is believed to be accurate and reliable, however the Company makes no representations or warranties, expressed or implied, as to its accuracy or completeness. The Company has no obligation to provide the recipient with additional updated information. No information in this publication, including the deployment of artificial intelligence powered large language models, should be interpreted as any indication whatsoever of the Company's future revenues, results of operations, or stock price.

About Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions (AITX)

AITX is an innovator in the delivery of artificial intelligence-based solutions that empower organizations to gain new insight, solve complex challenges and fuel new business ideas. Through its next-generation robotic product offerings, AITXs RAD, RAD-M and RAD-G companies help organizations streamline operations, increase ROI, and strengthen business. AITX technology improves the simplicity and economics of patrolling and guard services and allows experienced personnel to focus on more strategic tasks. Customers augment the capabilities of existing staffs and gain higher levels of situational awareness, all at drastically reduced cost. AITX solutions are well suited for use in multiple industries such as enterprises, government, transportation, critical infrastructure, education, and healthcare. To learn more, visit www.aitx.ai , www.stevereinharz.com , www.radsecurity.com , www.radgroup.ai , and www.radlightmyway.com , or follow Steve Reinharz on Twitter @SteveReinharz .

###

Steve Reinharz

949-636-7060

@SteveReinharz




Amid the India-China standoff in eastern Ladakh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday, said India is fully prepared and committed to protecting its sovereignty and dignity, and emphasised that peace and tranquility on the border are essential for normal bilateral ties among the neighbours.

In an interview with Japanese publication Nikkei Asia, Modi said,"the future development of the India-China relationship can only be based on mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests", and noted that "normalising" the ties would benefit the wider region and the world.

He stressed on his country's respect for sovereignty, the rule of law and the peaceful resolution of disputes.

India-China ties have been fraught since the Galwan clashes in 2020. Both sides have been periodically holding meetings to defuse the crisis at the border but a lasting solution has eluded them so far.

On Pakistan, the publication quoted him as saying that India wants "normal and neighborly relations."

"However, it is incumbent upon them to create a conducive environment free from terrorism and hostilities. The onus is on Pakistan to take necessary steps in this regard," he said.

Speaking about the Indian economy, he noted that it has been one of the world's fastest-growing.

"Our progress is evident, as we have risen from being the tenth largest economy in 2014 to now being the fifth largest globally... While it is true that global headwinds pose challenges to growth, we have built a strong foundation in recent years, which positions us favorably," he said.

On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Modi said India's position on the matter "is clear and unwavering."







"India stands on the side of peace and will remain firmly there. We are committed to supporting those who face challenges in meeting their basic needs, especially in the face of rising costs of food, fuel, and fertilizers. We maintain communication with both Russia and Ukraine," Modi said.

"Cooperation and collaboration should define our times, not conflict," he told Nikkei Asia.

The Prime Minister is on a three-nation trip to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia.

Earlier, Modi arrived in the Japanese city of Hiroshima to attend the annual summit of the G7 grouping and the third in-person Quad leaders' meeting.












Ee baari nirdhara, bahumatada BJP sarkara (It is a majority BJP government this time). Prime Minister Narendra Modis slogan for the 2023 Karnataka polls reverberated in the streets of Bengaluru. The saffron partys most popular leader had set out to fight the mounting anti-incumbency against the Basavaraj Bommai government. But in vain. The results stunned the saffron brigade into silence even as the Congress swept to victory with 135 seats, while the ruling party finished a distant second with 66 seats. The only saving grace is that its votes share has remained intact at 36 per cent.

The BJP's humiliating defeat is a wakeup call to the saffron party that is bracing for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Bommai, who won the Shiggaon seat for the fourth time, said he solely was responsible for the defeat. I accept peoples mandate with humility. There could be many reasons for the defeat. We will introspect to identify our shortcomings. The BJP is not an election-oriented party and is committed to nation building. We will continue our work, while we prepare for the Lok Sabha polls next year, Bommai said.

He criticised the Congress for blaming the BJPs poll debacle on Modis ineffective campaign. The Congress has lost elections across the country. This defeat is not Modis defeat as he is a national leader and was here only to campaign for the party.

As many as 13 sitting ministers were defeated hinting that anti-incumbency was at play, while the Congresss five big poll guaranteesRs 2,000 per month to women heads of families, 200 units of free power, Rs 3,000 per month to graduates, Rs 1,500 to diploma holders, 10kg free rice per person per month to every BPL family and free bus travel for womendealt a death blow to the BJP even in its traditional bastions, like the Lingayat belt. The party won only 16 of the 50 seats in Kittur Karnataka, 14 fewer than last time, and five seats in central Karnataka against 23 in 2018.

Insiders point to the leadership vacuum that plagues the state BJP and the over reliance on the "Modi magic", for its loss. Lingayat strongman B.S. Yediyurappa is the lone mass leader in the party. The BJP, which has been accused of playing Lingayat politics, has made several bids to broadbase the leadership. It appointed three deputy chief ministersDr Ashwathnarayana (Vokkaliga), Govind Karjol (dalit) and Laxman Savadi (Gaaniga Lingayat)and elevated Nalinkumar Kateel, who belongs to the numerically small but significant Bunt community. Bommai, a Sadar Lingayat, was picked as the successor to Yediyurappa. However, the party is yet to get a popular face to lead it in the state.

The defeat has brought the focus back on the need for grooming local leadership and the quality of candidates. Many newbies lack ideological commitment to the party and that is threatening to change the composition and the nature of the BJP. It gave tickets to 75 new faces but only 14 managed to win. In a bold move, the party denied tickets to 18 sitting MLAs and some senior leaders who had previously enjoyed power and position. However, it failed to tackle the rebellion post ticket distribution which cost the party dearly. It lost loyalists and influential leaders like Savadi, which caused a huge dent in the Lingayat votes. Savadi won the Athani seat in Belagavi on a Congress ticket after BJP put up party hopper Mahesh Kumathalli a second time. He also helped the Congress bag two more seats in the district.

Another major blunder by the BJP was the decision to focus on new territories like Old Mysuru while failing to sense the undercurrents in its traditional bastions like Kittur Karnataka, where the exit of Lingayat leaders like Savadi and Jagadish Shettar (Banajiga) had split the Lingayat vote. In Old Mysuru, the BJPs aggressive pursuit ensured a triangular fight. But D.K. Shivakumars silent campaign projecting himself as the next chief minister shifted the Vokkaliga votes from the JD(S) to the Congress, decimating Deve Gowda's party to 19 seats.

The BJPs hindutva plank helped energise the cadres in the coastal districts but failed to galvanise support elsewhere. The party had hoped to cash in on the Bajrang Dal debate triggered by the Congress manifesto hinting at banning the outfit. But the communal polarisation helped Congress consolidate the Muslim votes. The Congress elevating dalit leader Mallikarjun Kharge as its president helped the party garner dalit support.

Many sitting MLAs who had been elected multiple terms, like K.G. Bopanna and Appachu Ranjan from Kodagu, Assembly speaker Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri in Uttara Kannada, were given tickets despite them facing anti-incumbency. They lost. A significant number of defectors from other parties, too, lost. Party loyalists, however, feel that it could be a blessing in disguise. Many workers have slogged for years, but are still on the sidelines. They need to be rewarded as this is not party of the dynasts but of the ordinary workers, said a leader.

Introducing new faces is a good start as it helps remove deadwood and prepares young leaders for a long haul, according to a senior BJP leader. In Udupi district, for instance, all five seats were won by the BJP and four candidates were fresh faces. The flip side to the exercise is the party failing to quell rebellions in many districts by disgruntled leaders that led to the loss of even winnable seats. In Puttur, the party replaced sitting MLA Sanjeev Matandoor and chose Asha Thimmappa Gowda, a former zilla panchayat, president over Arunkumar Puttila, who was a ticket aspirant in 2018, too. Puttila contested as an independent which led to a split in the BJP votes and the Congress candidate Ashok Kumar Rai won the seat.

The assembly results have shown Karnataka moving towards bipolar polity with the poor showing by the JD(S). Moreover, the poor show in the assembly polls may not affect the BJPs performance in the Lok Sabha elections. While the party was reduced to 40 seats in the 2013 assembly elections, a year later it won 17 of the 28 Parliament seats.

Again in 2018, the BJP won only 104 seats in the assembly elections, but it won 25 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The party hopes that the lessons learnt from the assembly poll debacle and another round of Modi blitzkrieg will help it in the general elections next year.
Opposition unity is all to be showcased in the swearing-in of Congress leader Siddaramaiah as chief minister of Karnataka on Saturday, as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his Tamil Nadu counterpart M.K. Stalin and a host of leaders will descend on this southern state in a coming together of the non-BJP bloc ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Even as the grand old party seeks to promote opposition unity ahead of the hustings next year, TMC supremo and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, however, would be conspicuous by her absence at the event at Sree Kanteerava Stadium. The party, however, would have a representation in the event but the ruling party in Karnataka saw her absence as a "dampener."

Besides Kumar, those who have confirmed their presence include Stalin, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and National Conference President Farooq Abdullah, according to Congress sources.

Congress President M. Mallikarjun Kharge has also invited leaders of JMM, RJD, Shiv Sena, SP, PDP, CPI(M), CPI, MDMK, RSP, CPI(ML), VCK, RLD, Kerala Congress and IUML for the ceremony, the sources said.

However, the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala criticised the Congress for not inviting the state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan to the swearing-in ceremony, saying the move shows the grand old party's immature politics and weakness.

Congress's move has proved that it cannot carry out the mission of bringing together the secular democratic forces of the country against the BJP's "fascist" politics, LDF Convenor E P Jayarajan said in Kannur in Kerala.

"Now, what anti-BJP stand is the Congress party going to adopt in the country?" he asked, speaking to reporters. Congress leads the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala.

West Bengal CM Banerjee has designated TMC deputy leader in Lok Sabha Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar for the programme.

"Banerjee skipping the event has come as some kind of a dampener, especially after her recent statement that in 2024 Lok Sabha elections, her party will support the Congress where it is strong, a Congress leader said.

Wherever the Congress is strong, let them fight. We will give them support; there is nothing wrong (in that). But they also have to support other political parties, Banerjee said recently.

Her statement came soon after Congress emerged triumphant against the BJP in the southern state bagging 135 seats in the 224-member assembly.

Nitish Kumar, who has also been stressing on opposition unity to take on the BJP next year said he has been invited by the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for the swearing-in ceremony.

"It (Karnataka assembly poll) was an important election. Also, I have an old friendship with him (Siddaramaiah). I will be going tomorrow," he told reporters in Bihar's Darbhanga on Friday.

Kumar asked journalists to hold their horses upon being repeatedly asked about a meeting of opposition leaders, which Mamata Banerjee has asked him to hold in Bihar.

"Let me come back from the function tomorrow. We will take a call in due course," said the JD(U) supremo, who had hinted that the meeting could be held after the election in the southern state.

Speaking to PTI, senior Congress leader and former Union Minister M. Veerappa Moily said, "It (the swearing-in ceremony) could also be launchpad for the opposition unity and demonstration of strength and solidarity".

Political analyst Ramakrishna Upadhya said the assembly elections win in Karnataka "is a shot in the arm for the Congress after losing so many elections. The victory is indeed a morale booster for Congress and assert itself ahead of the 2024 elections".

Senior journalist and political observer Vishweshwar Bhat told PTI, "It (invitation to opposition leaders to attend the ceremony) is a brilliant move by the Congress in its efforts to restore its pan-India presence. The Congress is also sending signals from Karnataka for opposition unity.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot met protesting wrestlers at Jantar Mantar on Friday and questioned the delay in ensuring justice for them.



The Congress leader met with Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and others who have been demanding action against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over alleged sexual harassment of wrestlers.



Why is there a delay in justice for those who made us proud, he asked and demanded that the legitimate demands of the wrestlers should be met as soon as possible.



He pointed out that for the past 26-27 days, the wrestlers have been in a lot of pain. Pilot said they are demanding action for the wrongdoing they faced. "We want their voices to be heard and they get justice," he was quoted as saying.



The Congress leader claimed that when youngsters, farmers, and sportspersons are not happy, the country cannot be happy and said justice should be ensured in a time-bound manner.



"We only want an impartial investigation into what the wrestlers have been demanding," he said.



On Thursday, the Congress had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his "silence" over the issue and accused him of trying to save Singh, who is also a BJP MP.



Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet in Hindi: "Sportspersons who have brought laurels to the country by winning medals have been demanding justice for more than four months, but the prime minister is trying to save his MP."



Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala, who hails from Haryana, visited the protesting site on Thursday and expressed solidarity with their demands.



"I extended full support to the daughters and noted wrestlers who have been protesting for the last 26 days at Jantar Mantar demanding justice for the atrocities committed against them. We are with these daughters with our thoughts, words and deeds in this struggle," Surjewala tweeted later.
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Bihar government to produce complete original records with regard to the remission granted to former MP Anand Mohan, who was serving life term in the 1994 murder case of then Gopalganj District Magistrate G Krishnaiah.



A bench of Justices Surya Kant and J B Pardiwala told advocate Manish Kumar, appearing for the Bihar government, that no further adjournment will be granted in the case and directed him to place the complete records for perusal of the court.



It listed the plea filed by the wife of the slain officer challenging the release of Mohan on August 8.



At the outset, Kumar sought some time to file a reply to the plea.



Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Uma Krishnaiah, the wife of the slain officer, said the state government has changed the policy retrospectively and released him in the case.



He urged the bench to direct the state to place entire records of criminal antecedents of Mohan and sought the matter to be listed in the month of August.



The bench recorded that counsel for state government and Mohan have appeared before it and said no further adjournments will be granted.



"Original records with regard to remission to Respondent-4 (Anand Mohan) by order dated April 10, 2023, be placed before the court", the bench said, adding that records with regard to criminal antecedents be also placed before it.



Mohan's name figured in a list of more than 20 prisoners who were ordered to be set free by a notification issued by the state's law department as they had spent more than 14 years behind the bars.



The remission of his sentence followed an April 10 amendment to the Bihar Prison Manual by the Nitish Kumar government whereby the restriction on early release of those involved in killing of a public servant on duty was done away with.



This, the critics of the state government's decision claim, was done to facilitate the release of Mohan, a Rajput strongman, who could add heft to the grand alliance led by Nitish Kumar in its fight against the BJP. Several others, including politicians, benefited from the amendment to the state prison rules.



Krishnaiah, who hailed from Telangana, was beaten to death by a mob in 1994 when his vehicle tried to overtake the funeral procession of gangster Chhotan Shukla in Muzaffarpur district.



Mohan, then an MLA, was leading the procession.
A car driven by someone with apparent psychiatric problems rushed through a Vatican gate Thursday and sped past Swiss Guards into a palace courtyard before being apprehended by police, the Holy See said.



Vatican gendarmes fired a shot at the speeding car's front tires after it rushed the gate, but the vehicle managed to continue on its way, the Vatican press office said in a statement late Thursday.

Once the car reached the San Damaso Courtyard of the Apostolic Palace, the driver got out and was immediately arrested by Vatican gendarmes. The Vatican said the driver was about 40 years old and was in a "serious state of psychophysical alteration".

It wasn't clear if Pope Francis was anywhere near the incident, which occurred after 8 pm at the Santa Anna gate, one of the main entrances to the Vatican City State in the heart of Rome.

Francis lives on the other side of Vatican City at the Santa Marta hotel, where at that hour he would normally be having dinner and retiring to his room.
China on Friday said it will not attend the planned G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Jammu & Kashmir next week, asserting that it is firmly opposed to holding such meetings in the "disputed territory." China is a close ally of Pakistan.

India will host the third G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu & Kashmir from May 22 to May 24.

The G20 meeting in Srinagar is a "big opportunity" for Jammu & Kashmir to showcase its true potential, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday. Singh said such an international event taking place in Srinagar would send a positive message in the country and across the globe.

China firmly opposes holding any form of G20 meetings on disputed territory, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here in response to a question. We will not attend such meetings, he added.

Islamabad and Beijing have previously made unwarranted references to the Indian Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. India has previously rejected the statements from Beijing and Islamabad on Jammu & Kashmir.

"We have consistently rejected such statements and all parties concerned are well aware of our clear position on these matters. The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh are and always will be integral and inalienable parts of India. No other country has a locus standi to comment on the same," the Ministry of External Affairs has commented before on comments by Pakistan and China.

India and China are also locked in a lingering border standoff in eastern Ladakh for three years.

The bilateral relationship came under severe strain following the deadly clash in Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh in June 2020. India has maintained that the bilateral relationship cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border area.
An anti-terrorism court here on Friday approved pre-arrest bail till June 2 to Imran Khan in three terrorism cases filed against Pakistan's former prime minister in the wake of violence that erupted after his arrest on May 9.



Khan, 70, appeared at the Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) amid tight security after he received permission for his vehicle to enter the court premises.

According to a court official, the ATC granted pre-arrest bail to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief till June 2 in three terrorism cases, including the high-profile Jinnah House attack, and directed him to join the police investigation.

Khan assured the court that he would join the investigation, the official said.

Earlier, Khan said everyone is condemning the attack on army installations and demanded a probe into it.

When asked why he had not yet issued a statement condemning the attack on the top military officer's house in Lahore, he replied: I have already done so...who is not condemning the attack on the Jinnah House Lahore? Tell me one person in Pakistan who is not doing it.

He said the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led coalition government wants to eliminate his PTI party from mainstream politics by pitting it against the Pakistan Army.

In a video-link address from his Zaman Park residence here on Wednesday, Khan said Pakistan is heading towards an imminent disaster and it may face disintegration.

The arrest of Khan on May 9 by the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers at the Islamabad High Court premises triggered unrest in Pakistan. For the first time in Pakistan's history, the protesters stormed the army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and also torched a corps commander's house in Lahore.

Police put the death toll in violent clashes to 10 while Khan's party claims 40 of its workers lost their lives in the firing by security personnel.

On Monday the top military brass vowed to bring the arsonists, who attacked the civil and military installations, to justice through trial under relevant laws of the country, including the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secrets Act.

Law enforcement agencies have arrested over 7,000 PTI workers across Pakistan, 4,000 of them from Punjab.

Meanwhile, Lahore police claim to have arrested 14 "terrorists" who were trying to flee from Khan's Zaman Park residence.

"Police have arrested 14 terrorists on Thursday and Friday who were wanted in attack on Jinnah House and Askari Tower," Punjab caretaker information minister Amir Mir said on Friday.

He said some 400 policemen may go into Khan's Zaman Park home to search for more terrorists.

On Wednesday the provincial government had given Khan 24 hours deadline to hand over 30 to 40 terrorists allegedly holed up at his house.

Police have surrounded his home and blocked all roads leading to it.

Khan was ousted from power in April last year after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China and Afghanistan. PTI MZ/MRJ AKJ MRJ 05191428
Embattled former prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday accused the PML-N-led coalition government of trying to score a "technical knockout" against him and eliminate his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party ahead of elections.

"Efforts to eliminate PTI have been under way for over a year now. But all what they are doing is just strengthening the party," Khan told a group of journalists in Lahore at his Zaman Park residence which has been surrounded by Punjab police.

Stating that what the government is doing has never been seen before in the history of the country, 70-year-old Khan said the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government is trying to score a "technical knockout" against him to disqualify his party from contesting elections.

"My arrest... they want to eliminate me and ban the PTI... all this is a part of the London plan," Khan alleged.

"Where Pakistan is standing today, except for free and fair elections, any route you take will lead to its destruction," he said. "The only way out of this swamp are free and fair elections."

Khan has been demanding early national elections since his ouster in April last year after he lost a confidence vote in Parliament.

The current term of the National Assembly will complete its five-year term in August this year. The election commission is preparing to hold general elections by October.

Khan also demanded an independent probe into May 9 riots, claiming that there was an organised conspiracy behind the violence following his arrest in a corruption case.

"Everything was planned. So, I demand that an independent commission is constituted. And let me tell you what will be revealed after its probe. We will give you evidence - how people were made to attack as part of a plan," he said.

On May 9, violent protests erupted after the arrest of Khan. His party workers vandalised a dozen military installations, including the Jinnah House (Lahore Corps Commander house), Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad. The Army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi was also attacked by the mob for the first time.

Police put the death toll in violent clashes to 10 while Khan's party claims 40 of its workers lost their lives in the firing by security personnel.

Khan said there is a plan formed to pit his party against the army. "Their plan is to eliminate the PTI through the army, Khan claimed.

"The PDM is behind this and it is very dangerous for the country," he said. "They can't compete with us in elections and now they want to pit us against the army."

The PDM mostly comprises political parties in the ruling coalition, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Khan also slammed the police action at his residence in his absence, saying his wife was alone at home when an armoured personnel carrier stormed into the house with over 40 policemen.

The police in March had stormed the Zaman Park residence of Khan to arrest him but strong resistance of his party workers thwarted that plan.

Khan's remarks came as a large number of Punjab police personnel surrounded his house and may launch a security operation any time to arrest the "terrorists" allegedly holed up in his residence as the government's 24-hour deadline to hand them over expired.

He was ousted from power in April last year after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China and Afghanistan.
The Lahore Police on Friday obtained a warrant to search former PM Imran Khan's Lahore home. The development comes two days after Punjab's interim government gave a 24-hour ultimatum to hand over 30-40 terrorists that have taken refuge" in the PTI chief's home.



The 'terrorists' are among the protesters who attacked military installations and other government buildings after Khan was arrested on May 9. Khan was arrested on the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in relation to the Al-Qadri Trust case. A search in Khan's home could trigger more violence and unrest in Pakistan.

We have information that there are around 40 terrorists hiding there, so I think we will need some 400 police to search the house," Amir Mir, the information minister of Punjab told Reuters. He however ruled out the arrest of Khan. "We don't have any plans to arrest Imran Khan." Police would search only if Khan permitted them to do, he added, but if not, they would withdraw until the government chalked out the next steps.

Khan, in the meanwhile tweeted, this "unprecedented crackdown and reign of terror" on PTI and its members will not make them bow down before anyone else, except the "Almighty". He has denied sheltering anyone involved in the violent incidents on May 9. Pakistan is currently facing its worst economic crisis, with critical IMF funding needed to avert a balance of payment crisis delayed for months.
OLDWICK, N.J., May 19, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a+" (Excellent) of Royal Bank of Canada Insurance Company Ltd. (RBCICL) (Cayman Islands). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect RBCICLs balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

RBCICLs balance sheet strength assessment of very strong is due to a conservative investment portfolio, and support from consistently favorable operating earnings that enhanced equity growth over the past five years despite the COVID-19 pandemic environment. The companys favorable operating return on equity on a longstanding basis provides significant support to the balance sheet and reflects RBCICLs appropriate underwriting practices in Canadian creditor and U.K. longevity reinsurance products. Well-defined risk limits, targets and procedures to identify and report emerging and ongoing risks, as well as significant stress and sensitivity testing of the companys capital adequacy, have been in place to maintain these positive attributes.

RBCICL is owned ultimately by Royal Bank of Canada, the largest bank in Canada, as measured by market capitalization. RBCICL primarily reinsures creditor life, longevity business and a closed block of life retrocession business. The company formerly wrote property and trade credit reinsurance, which currently makes up an insignificant portion of the overall book of business. AM Best recognizes the solid market position of Royal Bank of Canada but notes the continued competition RBCICL faces from larger international reinsurance organizations in a concentrated marketplace. RBCICLs premium growth has been driven by the longevity product in recent years, with the creditor life product remaining flat. AM Best also notes that premium growth largely depends on the strength of the Canadian and U.K. economies, and any decrease in consumer loan or longevity deal activity could adversely impact the companys assumed premium.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Bests Credit Ratings, Bests Performance Assessments, Bests Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Bests Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2023 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005253/en/

Contacts

Stratos Laskarides

Senior Financial Analyst

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5613

stratos.laskarides@ambest.com

Christopher Sharkey

Associate Director, Public Relations

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159

christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Edward Kohlberg

Director

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5664

edward.kohlberg@ambest.com

Al Slavin

Senior Public Relations Specialist

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5098

al.slavin@ambest.com
With the G7 summit underway at Hiroshima, Japan, the world leaders are planning to impose new sanctions on Russia. In a new round of sanctions, the United Kingdom (UK) has announced a ban on Russian diamonds and imports of metals from Russia including copper, aluminium and nickel in support for Ukraine.

Britain is also targeting an additional 86 members and companies from Russian President Vladimir Putin's military industrial complex, in addition to those involved in energy, metals and shipping industries, read the statement issued by the UK government.

As UK continues to engage with G7 allies to tackle all types of sanctions...they include those supporting the Kremlin to actively undermine the impact of existing sanctions, said the statement.

Even the United States (US) is planning to announce their fresh sanctions on Russia at the summit. US is also urging other G7 countries to impose new sanctions on Russia.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will also issue a warning against complacency in preserving "our ideals and against despotic governments, said the UK government.

"To date we have sanctioned over 1,500 individuals and entities, freezing more than 18 billion euros of assets in the UK, and sanctioned over 20 billion euros of UK-Russia goods trade," said the statement.

One of the top agendas for discussions in the summit is Ukraine war, which has now entered in its 15th month.

The last year's G7 summit also saw Ukraine war dominating the agenda. G7 leeaders was appalled the illegal war of aggression. Financial, military, humanitarian aids were promised by the G7 leaders to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russia's aerial assault on Ukraine is progressing. Officials said that Russian warplanes was seen in the air threatening of air strikes in various regions. Even drone attack was launched by the Russia in Kyiv on Thursday night. However, no causalities was reported so far.

Leaders of Japan, the United States, Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Italy begins their Group of Seven (G7) summit on Friday in Hiroshima.

Zelenskyy to join the summit virtually

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join the G7 summit virtually. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council confirmed on Friday that Zelenskyy would attend the summit.

During his visit to Ukraine in March, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida had invited Zelenskyy to the G7 summit.

PM Modi leaves for Japan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for Japan to attend the G7 summit scheduled to be held from May 19-21.

Modi on Friday said that his presence at the G7 summit is particularly meaningful as India currently holds the G20 presidency.

"Looking forward to a healthy exchange of views on diverse global subjects," Modi tweeted.

"After the Japan visit, will be in Papua New Guinea to take part in the FIPIC Summit, a vital forum to boost multilateral cooperation. There will be productive deliberations on subjects such as sustainable development, climate change, healthcare and more," he said in his tweet.

PM Modi is set to visit Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia for a six-day tour.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise stop at Saudi Arabia on Friday, before heading for G7 summit in Japan. Zelenskyy would address a summit hosted by the Arab League.

Announcing his visit, Zelenskyy tweeted, Beginning my first-ever visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to enhance bilateral relations and Ukraines ties with the Arab world. Political prisoners in Crimea and temporarily occupied territories, the return of our people, Peace Formula, energy cooperation. KSA plays a significant role and we are ready to take our cooperation to a new level.

Zelenskyy said in a tweet that his aim is to enhance bilateral relations and Ukraine's ties with the Arab world. He added he will meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and hold other bilateral talks.

Among other topics, he mentioned were Russia's annexation of Crimea, a peace formula for the war that began after Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022, and energy cooperation.

Zelenskyy said he will present his 10-point peace formula as he seeks to engage as many countries as possible. Another priority is the protection of the Muslim community of Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. Crimea was the first to suffer from Russian occupation, and most of those who suffer repression in occupied Crimea are Muslims.

Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev accompanied Zelenskyy on the visit.

Zelenskyy will later travel to a G7 Summit in Japan where leaders of the world's most powerful democracies aim to step up punishment on Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council.

He earlier this week returned from a three-day trip to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France and the UK where he sought to ensure more weapons supplies. He has also visited Washington since the war began, but he hasn't travelled so far east.

(With PTI inputs.)
~TMA Padosan CSR award acknowledges UST's wide-ranging corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts implemented across a range of sectors~



THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UST, a leading digital transformation solutions company, has been honoured with the Trivandrum Management Association's (TMA) Padosan 2023 CSR Award. At a public event held in Trivandrum, Kerala, UST received recognition for its corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts in Kerala that have been implemented across a broad range of areas. The TMA Padosan CSR award was presented to UST by Arif Mohammed Khan, Governor of Kerala, on May 18, 2023, at the Trivandrum Management Association's annual TRIMA conference which was held at Hotel O by Tamara in Thiruvananthapuram.



Smita Sharma, Global Programme Manager, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility); Sofi Janet, CSR Ambassador, Thiruvananthapuram; and Prasanth Subramanian, CSR Ambassador, Kochi accepted the award on behalf of UST.



UST is dedicated to supporting the areas in which it operates by taking part in CSR initiatives that are intended to have a significant social impact. At the global and national framework level, the UST CSR focus areas are aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and Schedule VII activities of (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014. The company's CSR policy and work focuses on education, health, environment, livelihood, and disaster relief.



UST Welfare Foundation follows the standard process for partnering with credible grassroot level non-profit organizations as implementation partners. UST Welfare Foundation programs also integrate with the employee engagement framework of the company, to ensure the active participation of UST employees and contribution towards result-oriented CSR initiatives. More than 20% of UST's 30,000+ global workforce is actively involved in CSR initiatives, directly enhancing the well-being of communities throughout the world. Special focus is given to inclusive community development and the empowerment of women and differently abled people.



One of the notable global initiatives from UST is the UST Step IT Up programme which has been celebrated for providing accelerated training to women, minorities, and veterans for positions in STEM fields. Additional programmes include efforts to accelerate sustainable living, provide education to the needy, provide assistance in the health sector, promote a greener earth and much more. In Kerala, UST has also successfully implemented programmes like 'Adopt a School' supporting over 4,200 students. UST's CSR strategy is shaped by its Office of Values & Culture (OVC), which is overseen by a Chief Values Officer (CVO). This dedicated team, along with thousands of volunteers, manages CSR campaigns that preserve, strengthen, and scale UST's values and culture.



"We are honoured to receive the TMA Padosan CSR award and look forward to continuing to deliver the great outcomes and service that our clients and community have come to expect. UST is deeply committed to serving local communities while contributing to inclusive growth and social development across the geographies we operate in. This award is a huge source of encouragement for all our associates to double down on their efforts as they continue transforming communities by building an equitable and sustainable planet," said Sunil Balakrishnan, Chief Values Officer, and Global Head of Center Operations, UST.



During the pandemic, UST worked closely with governments, hospitals, relief workers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) across the country to provide medical assistance across the country. UST donated over Rs 10 crore towards supporting COVID-19 relief work in India. The company also encouraged employee contributions to meet the increased demand for medical supplies in vulnerable communities, with UST matching the total amount raised by its associates.



About TMA



The Trivandrum Management Association (TMA) is an affiliate of All India Management Association (AIMA), an apex body of professional managers engaged in promoting Excellence in Management pan-India.



About UST



For more than 23 years, UST has worked side by side with the world's best companies to make a real impact through transformation. Powered by technology, inspired by people, and led by our purpose, we partner with our clients from design to operation. Through our nimble approach, we identify their core challenges, and craft disruptive solutions that bring their vision to life. With deep domain expertise and a future-proof philosophy, we embed innovation and agility into our clients' organizations  delivering measurable value and lasting change across industries, and around the world. Together, with over 30,000 employees in 30+ countries, we build for boundless impact  touching billions of lives in the process. Visit us at www.UST.com



Media Contacts, UST:

Tinu Cherian Abraham / +91-7899045194

Neha Misri / +91-9972631264

media.relations@ust.com



Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1422658/UST_Logo.jpg



(Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PRNewswire and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR

PWR
Srinagar, May 19 (PTI) Skyrocketing airfares have forced many tourists to visit Kashmir by bus this summer.

Due to high demand, a return air ticket from Delhi to Srinagar these days can cost anywhere between Rs 25,000 and Rs 40,000. This makes some holiday destinations abroad such as the UAE, Thailand and Malaysia look cheaper with return air ticket per person costing as low as Rs 18,000.

"We travelled to Kashmir by bus. We could have come by air but tickets were so costly. At such prices, we could go to Dubai as well," Rajesh, a tourist from Gujarat, told PTI.

Varsha Mankwada also took a bus to Kashmir in view the expensive airfares.

"The air tickets were so expensive. To and fro fare was around Rs 25,000. So, we came through travel agency by bus. Comparatively it was reasonable," she said.

Tushar Bhai, hailing from Gujarat, travelled to Srinagar by a flight from Mumbai. "I came here from Mumbai. We planned travel according to our budget but it has cost us dear. From Mumbai to Srinagar, it costs us Rs 16,000 per person," he said.

"We came here to see this beautiful place but we feel it's too expensive to travel to Kashmir. I think we may have got cheaper tickets if we were to travel somewhere else," he added.

Sanjeev, also from Gujarat, had a similar story to tell.

"The ticket cost us Rs 16,000 and they (airline) even don't offer anything complimentary...," he said.

Aashish from Delhi said this fare hike may be due to the peak tourism season.

"We gave a thought to cancel this trip but we are newlyweds. I visited here 2018 in same season as well but that time I didn't feel it was so expensive," he added.

Nikhil said the cost of air tickets should be reduced so that more and more tourists can visit Kashmir.

Some of the tourists said they had booked cheap fares with Go First as early as January but its flights were cancelled after the private carrier filed for insolvency earlier this month.

Manzoor Ahmad Pakthoon, the owner of Silkroute Holidays, said the rise in airfares was badly affecting tourism.

"As far as airfares are concerned, it's badly hitting the tourism sector. We are committed to the packages we have sold but we cannot commit on behalf of the airlines. Due to rising fares, many tourists are cancelling their bookings," he said.

Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo, the president of Nigeen Tourist Traders Association, said the high airfares were affecting the tourism fraternity here.

"We have seen businesses flourishing in the last two years. Hotels, guest houses, houseboats are full and shikara and ponywallas all were happy but unfortunately this airfare hike really affected us in last two months," Wangnoo said.

He said middle-class families prefer to travel to the UAE when airfares to Kashmir shoot up.

"When a family of four or five people cannot afford, they prefer to go to Dubai and other places rather than visit to Kashmir.

"I personally suggest...the Civil Aviation Ministry to take this issue seriously and put some kind of a cap on air fares so that the middle-class tourists can come here," he added.
Moscow, May 18 (AP) One of Russia's largest airlines, with an extensive network throughout Siberia, may have to take a third of its helicopter fleet out of service because of trouble getting parts, the airline's head said Thursday.

The statement by Utair chief executive office Andrei Martirosov at an aviation trade show indicates that sanctions imposed by the West after Russia sent troops into Ukraine are making a dent in Russia's economy.

Russian officials have claimed that the country can find substitutes for foreign parts and other other items.

Of the helicopters in circulation, the fleet may be reduced by 30%. This is mainly due, of course, to engines for both foreign-made helicopters and domestic helicopters, in which the engines are not of domestic production, Martirosov was quoted as saying by state news agency Tass.

Utair is Russia's fourth-largest airline, with both fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter fleet of more than 200 that provides both scheduled service and charter flights, focusing on the extensive oil fields and mining areas of Siberia. (AP)



AMS
Moscow, May 19 (The Conversation) As Russias disastrous war in Ukraine continues, another rant by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the bombastic chief of the paramilitary Wagner group, has laid bare the power struggle at the top of Russias military leadership.

Calling Russian commanders stupid and responsible for criminal orders last week, Prigozhin questioned whether the military could even defend Russian territory.

Upset with the slow delivery of ammunition, Prigozhin had also filmed himself next to the bodies of Wagner fighters, issuing a tirade at Russias defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, and its chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov.

Shoigu! Gerasimov! Where are the fucking shells? Prigozhin demanded.

Look at them! Look at them! he fumed, gesturing at the corpses. You sit in expensive clubs [] your children make YouTube videos [] they [Wagner fighters] died so you could gorge yourselves in your offices!

Astonishingly, Prigozhin even obliquely took aim at Russian President Vladimir Putin himself, referring to the happy grandfather who thought the war in Ukraine was proceeding smoothly.

But what, Prigozhin speculated, if it turns out that this grandfather is a complete asshole? (Some translations have used a different expletive.)

The infighting between Wagner and Russias military has become a soap opera played out in front of a global audience. In the most recent episode, an article in the Washington Post this week suggested Prigozhin had on several occasions made contact with Ukrainian military intelligence.

Citing the Discord Leaks, the story claimed Prigozhin had offered to turn over information about the positions of Russian forces if the Ukrainian military withdrew from the city of Bakhmut, where Wagner fighters have been fighting Ukrainian forces for months.

If the Kremlin accepts that line, Prigozhin will be in serious trouble.

But the deployment of compromising material and misinformation is a common tactic in Eurasia. And while tempers often spill over among Russias competing elites, Putin has previously had little trouble reining them in.

However, the fact he now seems unable (or unwilling) to do so with Prigozhin indicates that his ability to control the Kremlins fiefdoms isnt what it used to be. A weakened Putin, who has deliberately placed himself at the heart of the Russian state with no obvious successor, would raise more serious questions about the future of his regime.

Authoritarian governments control their populations in a variety of ways. Most commonly, they use fear  of the state, and of external and internal enemies  against which only strong leadership can prevail.

But they also need narratives about success, trading on tales of triumph against foreign or domestic evils. Putins Russia has been no exception, repeatedly stretching credibility to claim great successes over Russias woke Western foes.

When things go badly, it becomes imperative to punish scapegoats, deflecting blame from the leader. This is what we are witnessing now, with Russias armed forces and Wagner attempting to pin culpability on one another.

Yet, just as success has its own momentum, so does failure. Thats evident in the fact that the difficult task of turning around Russias military fortunes is rapidly being overshadowed by an enthusiastic search for the guilty.

Whichever group succeeds in dodging official blame depends to a large extent on how influential they are in Russias complex vertical power structure, as well as how valuable their chief figureheads are to Putin.

Assessing the relative weight of different Kremlin clans and their leaders is difficult because they are so fluid and opaque. But it is generally accepted that Prigozhin is an outsider. He lacks a broad power base in Moscow, with few friends among the main courtiers  the heads of Security Council ministries and agencies.

And with an estimated 50,000 fighters  a tenfold increase since Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022  Wagner is dwarfed by Russias regular armed forces, as well as the Rosgvardiya (Putins personal guard), which has over 300,000 personnel.

That would seemingly make it difficult for Prigozhin to dodge the ire of the Kremlin, much less  as some have speculated  directly challenge Putin himself.

That said, both Wagner and Prigozhin remain important to Putin. For all his alleged enthusiasm for purging his underlings, Putin has actually only rarely discarded those close to him.

Prigozhins relationship with Putin dates back to the early 2000s, when his company Concord Catering became the Kremlins partner-of-choice for state banquets. Prigozhin later set up the Internet Research Agency, the infamous troll factory designed to promote Russian misinformation and interfere in elections, especially after Ukraines 2014 Euromaidan revolution.

Prigozhin established the Wagner private military company in 2014, together with the neo-Nazi Dmitry Utkin, a former commander in Russias military intelligence special forces.

From the outset, it was virtually indistinguishable from an organ of the Russian state. Its fighters trained at Russian Defence Ministry bases, its best personnel were veterans of the Russian armed forces and it had a code of honour based on promoting Russian interests everywhere.

By 2022, Wagner had established itself in the Global South, offering security, military training and political propaganda in exchange for lucrative contracts in energy infrastructure, resources and precious metals. And since the invasion of Ukraine, Wagners footprint has grown.

Its now active in Syria, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Libya, Mozambique, Mali, Cameroon and Madagascar, among others.

Reflecting the ruthless martial culture Putin has encouraged in Russia, Prigozhin has proven himself eager to glorify violence.

This was demonstrated by his approving reaction to a brutal video of a Wagner deserter in Ukraine being executed with a sledgehammer. Later, in November 2022, Prigozhin sent a sledgehammer smeared in fake blood to the European Parliament in response to calls for Wagner be placed on Europes list of terrorist groups.

However, Prigozhin ultimately remains beholden to the Russian military, which he relies upon to supply Wagner fighters in Ukraine.

Putins recent appointment of General Sergei Surovikin as liaison between Wagner and Russias armed forces underscores that point  as a military officer, Surovikin can simply delay sending him ammunition, or cease doing so altogether.

The military can also counteract the more lucrative contracts offered by Wagner by restricting his access to new fighters.

This leverage enjoyed by the military seems to have made Prigozhin even more vocal in his criticism of its leadership. It suggests the infighting is also set to continue.

Russias ongoing military melodrama is dangerous for the Kremlin. Put simply, its becoming harder for Putin to dissociate himself from serious errors of judgement.

It was Putins decision to invade Ukraine. Putin ordered Wagner to achieve a breakthrough in Bakhmut. And ultimately, Putin is responsible for choosing the military leaders to oversee the war effort. With Gerasimov taking over from Surovikin in January, Russia has lost or fired well over a dozen generals since it invaded in February 2022.

Like both the Stalinist and Nazi German regimes, which explained away failures as the result of ineptitude subordinates, Russias state media has performed complicated contortions in response to Russias battlefield failures. Many journalists and military bloggers claimed the purity of Putins strategic vision has been let down by military incompetence.

But how can the rot be so wide without Putin having known about it? And if he didnt, then why was he so disconnected from those responsible for carrying out his orders? That creates a paradox, making him either clueless or careless  or both.

Putins advantage is that he retains numerous levers of power over the general population and the elite.

But without a tale of triumph to peddle, he will run out of scapegoats if his security services eventually refuse to be purged. Given the intensity of the unchecked rivalry between them, that may come sooner rather than later.(The Conversation) RUP
Kyiv, May 19 (AP) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Friday he had begun a visit to Saudi Arabia, where Arab leaders are holding a summit.

Zelenskyy said in a tweet that his aim is to enhance bilateral relations and Ukraine's ties with the Arab world.

Among other topics he mentioned were Russia's annexation of Crimea, a peace formula, and energy cooperation. (AP) VM
London, May 19 (PTI) The UK on Friday extended its package of sanctions against Russia with a ban on Russian diamonds, an industry worth USD 4 billion in exports in 2021, as well as imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel and sanctioned 86 more people and entities linked with the country over the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is in Japan for the G7 Summit, said the trade measures and individual sanctions will hit Russian President Vladimir Putins key revenue streams.

During talks with world leaders in Hiroshima  the site of the World War II atomic bombing, Sunak warned against complacency in defending democratic values and standing up to autocratic regimes.

For the sake of global peace and security, we must show that brutal violence and coercion does not reap rewards, said Sunak.

As todays sanctions announcements demonstrate, the G7 remains unified in the face of the threat from Russia and steadfast in our support for Ukraine. We are meeting today in Hiroshima, a city that exemplifies both the horrors of war and the dividends of peace. We must redouble our efforts to defend the values of freedom, democracy and tolerance, both in Ukraine and here in the Indo-Pacific, he said.

The latest announcement follows Sunaks meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a surprise visit to London earlier this week when he confirmed new military aid and stressed the importance of long-term international support for Ukraine.

The leaders discussed Ukraines path to deeper political partnership and increased interoperability with the G7 and NATO allies, Downing Street said.

Putin and his supporters must  and will  pay the price for their illegal invasion of Ukraine. Thats why through todays new sanctions we are increasing the economic pressure on Putin  making it harder for him to wage his illegal war and inflict untold suffering on innocent Ukrainians, said UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

We will continue to increase this pressure and crack down on all emerging forms of circumvention until Ukraine prevails and peace is secured. Our support for Ukraine is, and will remain, resolute for as long as it takes, he said.

The latest set of 86 sanctions target individuals and organisations connected to Russias energy, metals, defence, transport, and financial sectors, which the British government said is aimed at ramping up pressure on Putins remaining revenue and attempts to use these sectors to support the military machine.

The UK Foreign Office said the package builds on the UKs recent sanctions against Russia, including implementing new trade measures to ban every item used on the battlefield to date and designations to crackdown on "financial fixers and oligarch enablers" last month.
Kathmandu, May 19 (PTI) Nepal's Foreign Minister N P Saud on Friday met his predecessors and discussed the possible agenda of the proposed visit of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" to India, sources close to the minister said.

Prachanda's visit to India has been postponed thrice due to internal reasons.

The visit to India would have been his first foreign trip after he assumed charge as Prime Minister for the third time in December last year.

Saud held consultations with ex-foreign secretaries and former Nepalese ambassadors to various countries on Thursday, according to an aide to the foreign minister.

During the meetings, matters relating to water resources, trade, commerce, border, tourism and culture came up, sources said.

Saud was sworn in as Nepal's Foreign Minister last month.

Although the date of the Prime Ministers forthcoming visit to India is yet to be fixed, Prachanda is likely to visit India in June, after Saud presents the budget for the new fiscal year in May-end, sources said.

However, the foreign ministry is yet to officially announce the date and the itinerary of the visit.

Earlier, the government was busy preparing for Prachanda's visit to India between the second and the third week of May.

Prachanda visited India in July last year at the invitation of BJP National President J P Nadda.

He was sworn in as the Prime Minister for the third time on December 26 last year after he dramatically walked out of the pre-poll alliance led by the Nepali Congress and joined hands with opposition leader K P Sharma Oli.
Jeddah, May 19 (AP) Saudi Arabia hosted an Arab League summit on Friday in which Syrian President Bashar Assad was welcomed back after a 12-year suspension and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to rally support against Russia.

Russian airstrikes have left a swath of destruction across both countries, but in Syria they came at Assad's invitation and helped him cling to power through years of grinding civil war.

Several other Arab states have maintained warm ties with Moscow while remaining largely neutral on the Ukraine war.

The odd pairing of the two leaders in the same forum is the result of a recent flurry of diplomacy by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is pursuing regional rapprochement with the same vigour he previously brought to the oil-rich kingdom's confrontation with its archrival Iran.

In recent months, Saudi Arabia has restored diplomatic ties with Iran, is ending the kingdom's years long war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen and led the push for Syria's return to the 22-member Arab League.

The Saudi crown prince welcomed both Assad and Zelenskyy to the Red Sea city of Jeddah, expressing support for whatever helps in reducing the crisis between Russia and Ukraine."

He added that the kingdom, which brokered a prisoner exchange last year, is ready to exert efforts for mediation."

Addressing the summit in English, Zelenskyy appeared to invoke the Arab world's own troubled history of invasion and occupation, saying their nations would understand that Ukraine "will never submit to any foreigners or colonisers. That's why we fight.

He took a swipe at Iran for supplying attack drones to Russia and spoke about the suffering of Muslim ethnic Tatars living under Russian occupation in Crimea.

He also accused some in the hall of turning a blind eye to Russia's violations, without naming them.

The visit comes amid a whirlwind of international travel by the Ukrainian leader, but until now he has mostly visited allied countries.

Saudi Arabia pledged USD 400 million in aid to Ukraine earlier this year and has voted in favor of UN resolutions calling on Russia to end its invasion and opposing the annexation Ukrainian territory.

But it has resisted US pressure to increase oil production in order to squeeze Russia's revenues.

Assad, who remains a close ally of both Russia and Iran, said he hoped the summit would mark the start of a new stage of Arab solidarity to achieve peace, development, and flourishing in our region instead of war and destruction. He added that Arab countries should reject external interference" in their affairs.

In recent years, Assad's forces have recaptured much of Syria's territory from insurgents with crucial help from Russia  which intervened militarily on his behalf beginning in 2015  and Iran.

Saudi Arabia had been a leading sponsor of the opposition at the height of the war but pulled back as the insurgents were eventually cornered in a small pocket of northwestern Syria.

Saudi Arabia's push to bring Syria back into the fold is part of a broader shift in the kingdom's approach to regional politics, says Torbjorn Soltvedt, a leading Mideast analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

The previously adventurist foreign policy defined by the Yemen intervention and efforts to confront Iran are now being abandoned in favour of a more cautious approach, he said.

Assad's first official meeting on Friday was with his Tunisian counterpart, Kais Saied, who is waging his own crackdown on dissent in the birthplace of the Arab Spring protests that swept he region in 2011.

We stand together against the movement of darkness, Assad said, apparently referring to extremist groups that came to dominate the Syrian opposition as his country's civil war ground on, and which drew a large number of recruits from Tunisia.

The Saudi crown prince later welcomed each leader to the summit, including a smiling Assad wearing a dark blue suit. The two shook hands and kissed cheeks before the Syrian leader walked into the hall.

There are some Arab holdouts to Damascus' rehabilitation, including gas-rich Qatar, which still supports Syria's opposition and says it won't normalise bilateral relations without a political solution to the conflict.

Western countries, which still view Assad as a pariah over his forces' aerial bombardment and gas attacks against civilians during the 12-year civil war, have criticised his return to the Arab fold and vowed to maintain crippling sanctions that have hampered reconstruction.

Years of heavy fighting involving Assad's forces, the opposition and jihadi groups like the Islamic State group left entire villages and neighbourhoods in ruins.

The conflict killed nearly a half million people and displaced half of the country's pre-war population of 23 million.

American lawmakers advanced bipartisan legislation this week that would bar any US federal agency from recognising or carrying out normal relations with Syria's government as long as it's led by Assad, who came to power in 2000, following the death of his father.

The legislation would also plug holes in existing US sanctions targeting Assad and mandate Washington create a formal strategy to counter efforts by countries that do normalise relations with his government.

The White House National Security Council said in a statement Friday that the administration opposes the legislation.

It fears the additional measures would make it unduly difficult to provide humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people  who are suffering because of the actions of the Assad regime.

The administration remains committed to a UN Security Council resolution adopted in 2015 that endorsed a roadmap to peace drafted three years earlier.

But several rounds of talks held over the years between Assad's government and the opposition went nowhere, and he has had little incentive to compromise with the beleaguered insurgents since Russia entered the war on his side eight years ago.

Arab leaders appear to be focused on more modest goals, like enlisting Assad's help in countering militant groups and drug traffickers, and bringing about the return of Syrian refugees. (AP) FZH
AMSTERDAM, May 19, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of "a" (Excellent) of Compagnie francaise dassurance pour le commerce exterieur (la Compagnie) (France), Coface North America Insurance Company (CNAIC) (USA) and Coface Re SA (Coface Re) (Switzerland), which are subsidiaries of Coface SA (Coface), the non-operating holding company of the Coface group. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Cofaces balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, favourable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings of la Compagnie and CNAIC consider their strategic importance to the Coface group as key operating entities. Coface Re is strategically important to the group as its sole intragroup reinsurer.

Cofaces balance sheet strength assessment is underpinned by consolidated risk-adjusted capitalisation at the strongest level, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). AM Best expects the groups risk-adjusted capitalisation to remain at the strongest level prospectively, supported by good internal capital generation. Offsetting factors include significant operating leverage, driven by the groups factoring business, and a high dependence on reinsurance, although the risks associated with this dependence are moderated by the groups well-diversified, high credit quality reinsurance panel.

The group achieved strong results in 2021 and 2022, reporting net income of EUR 224 million and EUR 283 million, respectively, driven by benign claim experience. Technical performance is supported by significant and consistent positive prior-year development, driven by the groups conservative reserving methodology. AM Best believes the groups prospective performance may be subject to volatility, driven by the uncertain global operating environment. However, the group is able to take prompt risk-mitigating actions on non-performing business when required.

Cofaces favourable business profile assessment is underpinned by its leading position in the global credit insurance market, which is characterised by high barriers to entry. The group has made consistent investment in its pricing tools and data management capabilities, allowing it to maintain its competitive advantage. Although the group is largely a mono-line insurer, its exposures are well-diversified by geography and industry. Fee-based services and factoring businesses in Poland and Germany also provide some diversification.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Bests Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Bests Credit Ratings, Bests Performance Assessments, Bests Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Bests Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2023 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005322/en/

Contacts

Pierre Tournier

Associate Director

+31 20 308 5423

pierre.tournier@ambest.com

Christopher Sharkey

Associate Director, Public Relations

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159

christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Dr. Mathilde Jakobsen

Senior Director, Analytics

+31 20 308 5427

mathilde.jakobsen@ambest.com

Al Slavin

Senior Public Relations Specialist

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5098

al.slavin@ambest.com
Colombo, May 19 (PTI) Sri Lanka on Friday commemorated the War Heros Day, marking the 14th anniversary of the militarys triumph over the LTTE, which fought a three-decade-long armed conflict for a separate homeland for the minority Tamils.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, the main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, and the military top brass paid floral tributes to the fallen soldiers at the event, which marked the 14th anniversary of the elimination of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Wickremesinghe, the commander-in-chief of the troops, presided over the event, attended by many relatives of the dead.

Marking the armed conflict's anniversary, some 402 military officers and 3,348 personnel of other ranks were promoted to the next ranks, the President's Office said.

The bitterly-fought conflict, which started in 1983, was ended by the island nations military by killing the leaders of the LTTE, which fought for an independent state for Tamils in the countrys North and East.

The armed conflict with the LTTE officially came to an end on May 19, 2003, when LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabakaran's body was found in the lagoon of the northeastern region of Mullaivaikkal.

Some 28,619 soldiers died battling the LTTE, while over 27,000 more were injured, the Ministry of Defence said.

Every year on May 18, while the armed forces celebrate the war victory, the Sri Lankan Tamils mourn their dead during the final phase of the conflict.

The Tamils, who lost a large number of their men and women in the armed battle, commemorated their dead on Thursday at Mullaivaikkal in the northeastern district of Mullaithivu - the scene of the final battle on May 18, 2009.

They said that the government failed to deliver justice to the victims of the brutal civil war.

The Tamils allege that thousands were massacred during the final stages of the war that ended in 2009, a charge the Sri Lankan Army denies.

At least 40,000 Tamil civilians may have been killed in just the final months of the civil war, according to a UN report.

Sri Lanka has been subject to the UN human rights council resolutions since 2013, calling for accountability through international investigations of the incidents of alleged war crimes.

Ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the defence secretary during the final phase of the conflict, is accused of ruthlessly ending Sri Lankas civil war with Prabhakaran's killing in 2009.

The island nation has had a long history of failed negotiations with the Tamils. An Indian effort in 1987, which created the system of a joint provincial council for the Tamil-dominated North and East, faltered as the minority community claimed it fell short of full autonomy.

Wickremesinghe, who took over as the president last year amidst the unprecedented economic crisis and political turmoil, earlier underlined the need to fully implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution to grant political autonomy to the minority Tamils in the country.

The 13A provides for the devolution of power to the Tamil community in Sri Lanka. India has been pressing Sri Lanka to implement the 13A which was brought in after the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement of 1987.
Hiroshima (Japan), May 19 (A) This weekend's summit of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations in Hiroshima provides a rare  and possibly final  chance for survivors of the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to push for nuclear disarmament before a global audience.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has roots in Hiroshima, chose the city in part to highlight nuclear nonproliferation efforts, which have been shaken by Russia's nuclear threats against Ukraine and rising aggression from nuclear-armed China and North Korea.

He greeted leaders from the G7 on Friday at the city's Peace Memorial Park and escorted them as they paid respects to those who died in the attack, visited a museum dedicated to the victims and met with a survivor. On Sunday, Kishida will do the same for leaders from non-G7 guest nations.

Kishida has pledged to act as a bridge between nuclear and non-nuclear states, but some critics say his disarmament goals are hollow. Japan relies on the United States nuclear umbrella for protection and has been rapidly expanding its military.

Sueichi Kido, a 83-year-old survivor of the Nagasaki explosion, said he is skeptical whether the prime minister can convince the leaders of G7 nations  including nuclear states the U.S., the United Kingdom and France  to make real progress in disarmament.

But because they are meeting in Hiroshima I do have a sliver of hope that they will have positive talks and make a tiny step toward nuclear disarmament, Kido said.

Later Friday, the G7 leaders issued a joint statement on nuclear disarmament titled Hiroshima Vision which calls for continued non-use of nuclear weapons, transparency and reductions in nuclear stockpiles. Critics charged that it contained no new actual steps.

The United States conducted the world's first atomic attack on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. It dropped a second bomb three days later on Nagasaki, killing another 70,000. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II.

Kido said he hoped the leaders would spend more time than former U.S. President Barack Obama did in his rushed 2016 visit through the museum, which includes exhibits of mangled buildings and bodies in the aftermath of the attack.

Obama's trip to Hiroshima was the first by a serving U.S. leader.

I earnestly want the leaders to have a firm understanding of what the atomic bombs did to human beings, Kido said. Many people think of the mushroom clouds, but they often don't know what happened to the people under them."

Some survivors expressed disappointment that the leaders met with only one survivor and made no comment about their museum visit.

Kunihiko Sakuma, who was exposed as a 9-month-old baby to radiation from the bombing, said he spent Friday watching TV coverage of the leaders' visit to the museum and felt it was short and superficial.

I have no idea if they understood what we survivors are saying, he said.

He urged the leaders to explain to people in their countries what they learned about the cruelty of nuclear weapons. Each leader should do that so every citizen understands. Otherwise, the real threat of nuclear bombs cannot be understood, he said.

Kishida has been criticized by survivors for his plan to double Japan's defense budget in the next five years. He is looking to fund a military buildup that will strengthen strike capabilities meant to deter China's rising threat.

Japan wants to deepen three-way ties with the United States and South Korea to step up nuclear deterrence. But it also refuses to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons despite repeated requests by atomic bomb survivors that it do so. Kishida says the nuclear weapons ban treaty, which took effect in 2021, is unworkable because it lacks the membership of nuclear states. Instead, he said, Japan needs to take a realistic approach to bridging the gap between nuclear and non-nuclear states in a challenging world.

As a child, Kishida heard about the horrors of the atomic bombing from his grandmother. She was from Hiroshima and her stories left an indelible mark, inspiring him to work toward a world without nuclear weapons, said Noriyuki Shikata, Cabinet secretary for public affairs. He said Kishida's determination has been reinforced by becoming a politician representing the people of Hiroshima.

A path to a world without nuclear weapons has become even more difficult," Kishida told foreign media, including The Associated Press, in April. "But that's why we need to keep raising the flag of our ideal and regain a new momentum.

An estimated 12,705 warheads were in nuclear inventories as of 2022, most of them held by the United States and Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Kido, the Nagasaki survivor, was 5 when he saw a flash in the sky and was buffeted by the blast on the morning of Aug. 9, 1945.

He had burns on his cheek but was reunited with his family at a shelter. When he went outside the next day, charred bodies were everywhere and people were walking around and begging for water with their flesh dangling.

Everything turned black, he said. The town was entirely wiped out.

Kido is among a shrinking number of survivors who can tell firsthand stories about the bombings.

We won't be around much longer. Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will be gone, he said. We all share a strong determination that we should never let anyone else become victims and feel this pain. And the surest way to do it is to make a world without nuclear weapons, to abolish atomic weapons, and not wage war, because nuclear weapons won't be used if there is no war.

Many survivors have lived for decades with lingering sadness, anger, fear and shame in Japan, where victims and their children faced discrimination because people believed radiation sickness was infectious or hereditary.

After decades of silence, some survivors began to speak out with the desperate hope that younger generations would carry on their unfinished work.

It took Kido more than 40 years to join the anti-nuclear weapons movement in Gifu, where he taught history at a local university and learned that there was no organization to help survivors in the prefecture.

Support from young people was the main driving force behind the achievement of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that led to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 to the International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons, said Setsuko Thurlow, a Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor and activist based in Canada.

For many years, atomic bombing survivors have raised the torch of achieving peace by denuclearization. We need younger and stronger hands who can succeed the torch and raise it even higher so its light can be seen from around the world, said Thurlow, who was only 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) away from ground zero in Hiroshima at the time of the bombing. (AP) AMS

AMS
Palghar, May 19 (PTI) The toll in an explosion and fire incident at a tea stall in Nalasopara in Palghar district reached two on Friday after a man undergoing treatment died in a hospital in Mumbai, a police official said.

The explosion and fire had taken place on Wednesday afternoon in Gala Nagar under Achole police station limits, resulting in the death of one man, identified as Rounak Tiwari, on the spot, he said.

"Kisan Jha, who was injured in the incident, died on Friday in a Mumbai hospital. One more person, Shivam Mishra, is being treated for burn injuries. A probe had found iron pipes in the stall, blood stains as well as the gas pipe ruptured," he said.

Meanwhile, Jha's brother Aman told reporters his brother was killed and sought a thorough probe by the police to unearth the truth behind the incident.

"A murder case has been registered. A probe has found there was some fight between the three persons present at the stall at the time of the incident," Inspector Chandrakant Sarode of Achole police station told PTI.
Aurangabad, May 19 (PTI) The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on Friday expelled its Beed district unit chief after he levelled allegations against party's deputy leader Sushma Andhare that she demanded money from local cadres to buy an air-conditioner and furniture for her office.

Along with Appasaheb Jadhav, the Beed district unit chief of the Sena (UBT), the party also took a similar disciplinary action against another local leader Dhondu Patil.

The news about their expulsion was published in Friday's edition of 'Saamana', the mouthpiece of the Thackeray-led party.

In a video message on Thursday night, Jadhav accused Andhare of demanding money from the party workers to install an air conditioner and buy furniture in her office, although Andhare denied the allegation. Jadhav also claimed that he slapped Andhare twice following a quarrel over the issue, but the latter maintained that nothing of that sort took place as he ran away from the spot.

Jadhav said the incident occurred on Thursday night in Beed city, where a rally of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut is scheduled to take place on Saturday.

"We are working for the party, but Sushma Andhare is demanding money from our party workers to install an air conditioner and buy furniture for her office. She is also trying to sell my party post. Therefore, I had a clash with Andhare and slapped her twice."

Reacting to his charges, Andhare, who is also a spokesperson of the party, later said in a Facebook live, "These allegations (levelled by Jadhav) are laughable." She also blamed Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, claiming that this episode was scripted by it.

"A big rally has been planned after a long time in Beed by Shiv Sena (UBT) and these allegations are an effort to malign the upcoming event. A clash erupted between Jadhav and some party workers at the rally ground. Along with the party's local leaders, I went to the spot to resolve the issue, but Jadhav ran away from there," she claimed.

Meanwhile, talking to reporters in Nanded over the Beed episode, party leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut on Friday said, "The incident is unfortunate. Sushma Andhare is a deputy leader of the party. The party has taken cognisance of this incident and disciplinary action has been taken against Appasaheb Jadhav."

The Shiv Sena led by CM Shinde currently shares power with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) is part of the opposition bloc along with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress.
Nanded, May 19 (PTI) Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday launched a month-long programme to expand his partys network in over 45,000 villages in urban civic bodies in the state.



Rao made the announcement while addressing the party cadre training programme in Nanded.



We will go to the over 45,000 villages in Maharashtra and in 5,000 municipal wards in civic bodies, Rao said. He asked party workers to form nine committees at each place, comprising farmers, youth, women, backward classes, tribals and minorities.



From May 22 to June 22, go to five villages in a day. Spend two hours in each village, Rao told BRS workers. He asked party workers to eat with Dalits. Other parties are rich, we are a poor party, he said.



India awaits new leadership. India is fed up with present leaders. Today we are focusing on Maharashtra. Tomorrow you will have to work in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh, he said. "Will the pain of farmers end? I am confident pain of farmers will end under BRS leadership, he said.



Rao spoke of the Telangana model for welfare of farmers. Before I became CM, farmers in Telangana were dying. Today the Telangana model is famous all over the country. Every home in Telangana has tap water, he said.



Rao said BRS is spending crores for buying offices in Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur.
BJP is after everyone in my family, but we are not afraid of them: Mamata Banerjee, after Abhishek receives CBI summons.
Kolkata/ Bankura (WB), May 19 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday lashed out at the BJP , claiming the saffron party was gunning for her partymen and members of her family, using the investigative agencies.

The accusation made at a party rally in Bankura virtually from Kolkata, came after the CBI called her nephew and TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to its office at Nizam Palace here on Saturday in connection with its probe into the school jobs scam.

"BJP is after everyone in our party and my family, but we are not afraid of them," the TMC Supremo said, implying the saffron party was behind the summons issued by the central investigative agency to Abhishek, adding "BJP is afraid of the success of our campaign."

"Till BJP is ousted from the Centre, our fight against its tyranny will continue," Mamata Banerjee thundered.

Banerjee had to step in at the last moment to address the rally virtually from Kolkata, as Abhishek Banerjee, who is presently in the district, had to leave for Kolkata to be able to appear before CBI at 11 am on Saturday.
Patna, May 19 (PTI) Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), Vijay Sampla on Friday said Bihar ranks in the second position in the country in crimes against SC people and it is a matter of concern.

He, however, did not reveal the name of the state which tops the list.

Bihar is at second position in the country, when it comes to crime, including murder, against SCs. The state government has not taken any concrete steps to check crimes against SCs, Sampla told reporters here.

He also did not provide details about the incidents of crimes against SC people in Bihar.

The data provided by Bihar during meetings with NCSC members made it clear that the administration failed to provide benefits of the state and central governments' social, economic and welfare schemes to the SC community, he said after concluding a two-day state-level review meeting.

He said, As per information provided to the commission, several posts for SCs have been lying vacant in the state for the last several years. The state must launch a special drive to fill those posts.

Besides, the performance of Bihar in providing education to students belonging to the SC community has been abysmal, said the NCSC chairman.

Out of the total SC children who enrol in primary schools of the state, only 20 per cent opt for secondary education. This alarming 80 per cent dropout rate among the SC children shows the Bihar government's indifferent and lackadaisical approach towards their education, Sampla said.

Expressing disappointment that the state has only six hostels for SC girls, he asked the state government to set up at least one hostel for such girls in every district in the state.

To a question, Sampla said, The commission has sent notice to the state government asking it to explain the grounds on which Anand Mohan Singh was released.

Gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh, who was serving a life sentence was released from jail last month after being behind bars for 15 years. He was convicted for his role in the 1994 murder of the then Gopalganj collector G Krishnaiah who belonged to the SC community.

The former Bihar MP was released under a jail sentence remission order after the state government's recent amendment of prison rules which allowed the early release of 27 convicts, including him.
Chaibasa, May 19 (PTI) A 10-year-old boy was killed when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by CPI (Maoists) in Jharkhand's West Singbhum district exploded, a senior police officer said on Friday.

The boy, a resident of Banglasai tola of Rengrahatu, had gone to the Rolabrupi Jengagada forest to pluck kendu leaves when the IED planted by Maoists to target security personnel on anti-Maoist operation exploded on Thursday evening killing him, said Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Shekhar.

Security personnel including district police and CRPF rushed to the spot and recovered the body with the help of villagers and sent it for post-mortem in Sadar Hospital, Chaibasa, he said.

Describing the incident as "a cowardice act by the Maoists in desperation", the SP said anti-Maoist operation is going on uninterrupted.

Five villagers including two elderly women had been killed in Maoist-planted IED explosion in the district since January this year.

The Maoists had planted IEDS to target security forces as the district police along with CRPF, Cobra and Jharkhand Jaguar launched a massive operation against the banned outfit from January this year following an input that top Maoist leaders including Misir Besra, who carry a reward of Rupees one crore on his head, were active in core Kolhan area of the district.
New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) Southwest monsoon has advanced over Southeast Bay of Bengal, Nicobar Islands and South Andaman Sea on Friday, setting the stage for the four-month rainy season crucial for the country's farm economy.

Earlier this week, the weather office said the onset of monsoon over Kerala, marking its entry into the mainland, would be slightly delayed than the usual date of June 1.

"Southwest Monsoon has advanced into some parts of southeast Bay of Bengal, Nicobar Islands and South Andaman Sea today," the India Meteorological Department said.

Conditions are favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into some more parts of south Bay of Bengal, Andaman Sea and Andaman & Nicobar Islands during next 3-4 days, it said.

On Tuesday, the weather office had said that the onset of monsoon over Kerala is likely to be on June 4 with a model error of four days.

The monsoon arrived in Kerala on May 29 last year, June 3 in 2021, June 1 in 2020, June 8 in 2019 and May 29 in 2018.

Agriculture contributes around 15 per cent to India's 3.5 trillion dollar economy and a good monsoon helps recharge aquifers and reservoirs besides watering the farms.

The emergence of the El Nino weather pattern has raised concerns over monsoon rainfall in 2023.

El Nino, which is the warming of the waters in the Pacific Ocean near South America, is generally associated with the weakening of monsoon winds and dry weather in India. The El Nino conditions this year follow three consecutive La Nina years. La Nina, which is the opposite of El Nino, typically brings good rainfall during the monsoon season.
American Airlines and JetBlue must abandon their partnership in the Northeast, federal judge rules

FILE - A JetBlue Airbus A320 taxis to a gate on Oct. 26, 2016, after landing, as an American Airlines jet is seen parked at its gate at Tampa International Airport in Tampa, Fla. The two airlines must abandon their partnership in the northeast United States, a federal judge in Boston ruled Friday, May 19, 2023, saying that the government proved that the deal reduces competition in the airline industry. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

American Airlines and JetBlue Airways must abandon their partnership in the northeast United States, a federal judge in Boston ruled Friday, saying that the government proved the deal reduces competition in the airline industry.

The ruling is a major victory for the Biden administration, which has used aggressive enforcement of antitrust laws to fight against mergers and other arrangements between large corporations.

The Justice Department argued during a trial last fall that the deal would eventually cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin wrote in his decision that American and JetBlue violated antitrust law as they carved up Northeast markets between them, replacing full-throated competition with broad cooperation.

The judge said the airlines offered only minimal evidence that the partnership, called the Northeast Alliance, helped consumers.

The airlines said they were considering whether to appeal.

We believe the decision is wrong and are considering next steps," said American spokesman Matt Miller. The courts legal analysis is plainly incorrect and unprecedented for a joint venture like the Northeast Alliance. There was no evidence in the record of any consumer harm from the partnership.

JetBlue spokeswoman Emily Martin said her airline was disappointed, adding, We made it clear at trial that the Northeast Alliance has been a huge win for customers.

The Justice Department, meanwhile, hailed the ruling.

Todays decision is a win for Americans who rely on competition between airlines to travel affordably, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

The partnership had the blessing of the Trump administration when it took effect in early 2021. It let the airlines sell seats on each others flights and share revenue from them. It covered many of their flights to and from Boston's Logan Airport and three airports in the New York City area: John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty in New Jersey.

But soon after President Joe Biden took office, the Justice Department took another look. It found an economist who predicted that consumers would spend more than $700 million a year extra because of reduced competition.

American is the largest U.S. airline and JetBlue is the sixth-biggest overall. But in Boston, they hold down two of the top three spots, alongside Delta Air Lines, and two of the top four positions in New York.

The Justice Department sued to kill the deal in 2021, and was joined by six states and the District of Columbia.

It is a very important case to us ... because of those families that need to travel and want affordable tickets and good service, Justice Department lawyer Bill Jones said during closing arguments.

The trial featured testimony by current and former airline CEOs and economists who gave wildly different opinions on how the deal would affect competition and ticket prices.

The airlines and their expert witnesses argued that the government couldnt show that the alliance, which had been in place for about 18 months at the time, had led to higher fares. They said it helped them start new routes from New York and Boston. And most importantly, they said, the deal benefitted consumers by creating more competition against Delta and United Airlines.

The judge was not persuaded.

Though the defendants claim their bigger-is-better collaboration will benefit the flying public, they produced minimal objectively credible proof to support that claim, he wrote. Whatever the benefits to American and JetBlue of becoming more powerful  in the northeast generally or in their shared rivalry with Delta  such benefits arise from a naked agreement not to compete with one another.

Hanging over the trial was JetBlue's proposed $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit Airlines, the nation's largest discount carrier. In March, while Sorokin was mulling his decision, the Justice Department sued to block that deal too, arguing that it would reduce competition and be especially harmful to consumers who depend on Spirit to save money.

JetBlue has countered that acquiring Spirit will make it a bigger, stronger low-cost competitor to Delta, United, Southwest  and American  which together control about 80% of the domestic U.S. air-travel market.

The government's lawsuit against the JetBlue-Spirit deal is pending before a different judge in the same Boston courthouse.
Baghpat (UP), May 19 (PTI) Rashtriya Lok Dal president Jayant Chaudhary on Friday said his party's alliance with the SP will continue while a decision on a possible tie-up with the Congress will be taken only after consultation with other opposition parties.

The RLD leader launched the party's 15-day 'samrasta abhiyan' from here during which he will tour several villages to spread the message of harmony in the run-up to the 2024 general elections. The campaign will conclude on June 3 at Chandpur, Bijnor.

"There is an alliance with the Samajwadi Party and it will continue. Regarding an alliance with Congress, the opposition parties will think about it," the RLD president told newspersons here.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has already supported West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee's assertion that her party will support the Congress where it is strong in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Supporting Banerjee's statement for opposition unity at the national level, Yadav had recently said the party which is strong in a state should contest elections there.

The SP aligned with the Congress for the 2017 UP Assembly polls but faced a crushing defeat as the BJP won 312 of the 384 seats contested by it in the 403-member house.

Since then, the SP has maintained distance from the Congress in the state even though it did field any candidate against the party in Rae Bareli and Amethi in the previous Parliamentary polls.

The Congress too reciprocated and did not field a candidate against Dimple Yadav in the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll last year.

Jayant Chaudhary credited party workers for the "success" in the recent civic body elections in Uttar Pradesh, saying neither he nor any other "big" leader campaigned for the polls.

Though none of the opposition parties won any of the 17 mayoral seats, the SP and RLD won posts in the nagar parishads and nagar panchayats.

He congratulated the party candidates who won the civic elections and asked them to respect everyone, including those who did not vote for them.

"Give respect to all. Take everyone along and ensure development," he said.

The RLD president said according to the 2011 census, 28 per cent of people live in cities which means development did not take place in the villages.

That's why people are migrating to cities. In such a situation, the responsibility of providing basic facilities to the local bodies increases, he said.

He said he was sure that like his grandfather and former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh and father Ajit Singh, former Union minister and founder of the RLD, he too will receive the blessings of the people of Baghpat.

Baghpat is in Jat-dominated western Uttar Pradesh which is considered to be an RLD bastion.

Highlighting the significance of the 'samrasta abhiyan', he said the country needs to be united.

"There is no such thing as Hindu-Muslim and we all are one and live in one country," he said.

The 'samrasta abhiyan' was launched by Ajit Singh and he addressed a series of 'sammelans' in different districts of western UP as part of the campaign. After his death in May 2021, Jayant Chaudhary decided to continue the campaign.
Pithoragarh (Ukhand), May 19 (PTI) More than 60 wildlife photographers from all over the country gathered recently at Abbott Mount, a picturesque hamlet in Champawat district, as part of a three-day event to gaze at stars and capture on camera the world of rare Himalayan birds.

The photographers attending the 'Astro Week' engaged in stargazing through their telescopes in the night and strove to capture the avian beauties on their cameras during the day, the organisers said. The event was held from May 16 to May 18.

Abbott Mount is situated at an elevation of 1,981 metres in the Lohaghat sub-division of Champawat.

Besides being home to rare Himalayan birds, Abbott Mount also offers a panoramic view of the majestic Himalayan range.

"The event, aimed at giving Abbott Mount a new identity as a skygazing and bird-watching destination, was organised under the guidance of Champawat District Magistrate Narendra Singh Bhandari," Champawat's Tourism Development Officer Arvind Gaur said.

"We could photograph rare Himalayan birds like Hill partridges and Himalayan shrike-babbler besides 40 other avian species found in the ridge of Abbott Mount," said Mohammad Asif one of the bird watchers on his return from the sojourn.

The 60 nature lovers who came for the event also ended up identifying more than 450 species of birds such as the white-throated lumping bird and striated laughing thrush, found at that altitude, Gaur said.

Bhandari said the event will be held again close to the onset of winter as the view of the Himalayan peaks from Abbott Mount at that time of the year is "crystal clear."

"If we could organise such a programme in the months of October and November and continue for over 4 or 5 years, the region will gain prominence as a hub of bird tourism. Alongside that other tourist activities such as angling, rafting, and boating could also be promoted in the region," the DM said.
New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has said the appellate tribunal under the senior citizens welfare law should make all efforts to ensure that the provision mandating its to decide matters within one month is implemented in its true spirit to the extent it is practical.

Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 was enacted to ensure that senior citizens and parents of vulnerable age are not unnecessarily deprived of their shelter and its Section 16 (6) therefore casts an obligation upon the appellate tribunal i.e. Divisional Commissioner to pronounce its order in writing within one month of the receipt of an appeal.

"It is not far to see as to why such a provision was inserted by the legislature. The preamble of the Act itself makes it clear that the said Act is only for the purposes of ensuring that senior citizens and parents, who may be in a vulnerable age and stage of their lives, are not unnecessarily deprived of their shelter. In all probability it is with the aforesaid and above noble cause that the aforesaid Act containing benevolent provisions was promulgated," the court said in a recent order.

"No doubt that the Sub-Section 6 of Section 16 of the Act places an obligation upon the appellate tribunal to pronounce its order in writing within one month of the receipt of the appeal, the appellate tribunal should make all efforts to ensure that the said provision is implemented in its true spirit to the extent it is practical, the court stated.

The petitioner in the present case sought directions from the court for early disposal of her appeal before the appellate tribunal against an order passed by the sub-divisional magistrate concerned.

The court disposed of the petition and requested the appellate tribunal to take up the appeal as soon as practically possible and dispose of the same in accordance with the provisions of Section 16 of the Act, preferably within next three months.
New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) Protecting the rights and personal liberty of citizens became a hallmark of Supreme Court judge Justice K M Joseph, who came down hard on hate speeches and delivered a landmark verdict on appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners to maintain the "purity" of elections.

The elevation of Justice Joseph, son of former apex court judge Justice K K Mathew, from the Uttarakhand High Court to the top court in 2018 had run into rough weather and was marred by controversy due to the protracted stand-off between the government and the judiciary.

Joseph, as the chief justice of the Uttarakhand High Court, had struck down the imposition of President's rule in the state in 2016 after the dismissal of the Congress government then helmed by Harish Rawat.

Justice Joseph will demit office on June 16, after a tenure of over four years and 10 months as a judge of the top court.

He was accorded a warm farewell on Friday since today is his last working day before the apex court closes for summer vacation on May 22.

In a measure of how dear was the cause of personal liberty to him, a bench headed by Justice Joseph had said although the State is tasked to prevent crime and maintain security, personal liberty should not be the collateral and none should suffer incarceration without legal authority.

A Justice Joseph-led bench had also said it is the bounden duty of State to ensure that lives and property of its citizens are protected at all times.

Taking a serious view of hate speeches, an apex court bench headed by him had said these will end the moment politics and religion are separated and politicians stop using religion in politics.

In April this year, a bench headed by Justice Joseph had directed all states and union territories to register cases against those making hate speeches even without any complaint, terming such speeches a "serious offence" capable of affecting the secular fabric of the country.

A path-breaking verdict delivered by a five-judge constitution bench headed by him was the one which ruled that appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners will be made by the President on the recommendation of a committee comprising the prime minister, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and the CJI to maintain the "purity of election".

Another constitution bench headed by Justice Joseph recently upheld the validity of amendment acts of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka which allowed bull-taming sport 'Jallikattu', bullock-cart races and buffalo racing sport 'Kambala', saying they are "valid legislations".

He was also part of a bench which had in November 2019 given a clean chit to the Modi government in the purchase of 36 fully loaded Rafale fighter jets from French company Dassault Aviation, rejecting the plea for registration of an FIR by the CBI for alleged commission of cognisable offence in the deal.

The top court had rejected the pleas seeking a review of the December 14, 2018 verdict in which it had said there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the procurement of 36 fighter jets.

In November last year, a bench headed by Justice Joseph had allowed activist Gautam Navlakha, who was then lodged in Navi Mumbai's Taloja prison in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case, to be placed under house arrest owing to his deteriorating health.

While hearing a plea seeking formation of a renaming commission for restoring the original names of ancient, cultural and religious places in the country renamed by "barbaric invaders", Justice Joseph had said he is a Christian but still very fond of Hinduism.

Speaking at the valedictory function of the Constitution Day celebrations at the Supreme Court on November 26 last year, he had said it is the legitimate right and duty of every citizen of the country to prevent the Constitution from being abused.

Born on June 17, 1958, he had enrolled as an advocate in January 1982 in Delhi.

He was appointed as a permanent judge of the Kerala High Court on October 14, 2004 and was later transferred to the Uttarakhand High Court and assumed charge on July 31, 2014 as its Chief Justice.

Justice Joseph was elevated as a judge of the apex court on August 7, 2018.

His name was recommended for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court by the collegium headed by then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on January 10, 2018.

In April 2018, the government had returned the recommendation for reconsideration on the ground that he lacked seniority.

The collegium, in May 2018, in-principle reiterated the decision to recommend Justice Joseph's name for elevation to the apex court. The recommendation was sent to the government in July 2018.
JAMES MAIN, Wheeler, Baseball, Sophomore; Main doubled and drove in three wins in a victory against Putnam. Main was 2 for 3 and earned the win in relief. He allowed two hits and struck out three over the final three innings.

EMMA LOGEL, Stonington, Girls Lacrosse, Sophomore; Logel scored 11 goals in a pair of Stonington games. She finished with eight in a win against Ledyard and had three in a loss to East Lyme.

CHRISTIAN DEJOUR, Westerly, Track, Junior; Dejour finished first in two sprints at the Class C championship. Dejour won the 100 in a time of 11.07 and was first in the 200 in 22.34.

IAN DUNHAM, Chariho, Golf, Junior; Dunham shot two sub-40 rounds for the Chargers. He was the medalist in a pair of wins against Westerly and Narragansett with a 38. He shot 37 in wins against South Kingstown and Middlebridge.

Vote

View Results




Mrs. Perry Binet is a mother of two boys with Glycogen Storage Disease (GSD) untyped, a rare metabolic liver disease that causes hypoglycemia and other issues.

Tzvis and Srulys condition prevents their liver from converting carbohydrates into energy, or from storing sugar for future use. There is no cure for this disease. However, corn starch, an extended-release sugar, is the only treatment that sustains blood sugar levels and metabolic stability. The boys need specifically dosed corn starch feeds precisely every three hours to keep them from becoming hypoglycemic. Mrs. Binet, and her husband Moti, took care to do this, of course, around the clock, because skipping or delaying a feeding can result in extreme medical complications.

Mrs. Binet learned that a Dexcom device, which is a small device that automatically and continuously checks sugar levels, alerting a connected phone with any emergencies, could help with her sons challenges.

Denial after denial, Mrs. Binet was told that insurance does not, will not, and could not cover her sons Dexcom devices, because insurance only covers it for Type 1 diabetics, a condition her sons did not have.

After multiple denials and persistence with all levels of insurance hierarchy, the Binet family was inexplicably approved for the Dexcom device for one of their children. Mrs. Binets focus turned to advocacy. While our family was ultimately successful in receiving it, many other families are not as lucky. They either fight a losing battle or give up, she said. We shouldnt need to wait for a child to die to pass a law in their name. We know that this is an issue and we know how we can help fix it.

In Albany, as part of Agudahs advocacy trip yesterday, Mrs. Binet had the opportunity to share her story and her passion with lawmakers and their staffs, advocating for a much-needed law that would mandate insurance coverage of Dexcom glucose monitoring machines for people with forty-five other conditions who are not diabetic.

Mrs. Binets story was only one of many that led Agudath Israel to convene a special advocacy trip to Albany, on behalf of the special needs and special education communities. The Agudah has been advocating for these communities for many years through its Project LEARN division. This mission was an opportunity to bring an exclusive focus to the specific issues facing these communities.

Agudahs advocacy group comprised over twenty parents and advocates who spent the day in the Capitol meeting with lawmakers and government officials. Throughout the meetings parents shared their personal experiences with lawmakers who were clearly impacted by the commitment that was shown and by the challenges the special needs community face.

Some children, like Tzvi and Sruly, need lifesaving medical equipment. Others suffer from a shortage of service providers. This was another focus of Agudahs advocacy in Albany yesterday.

One of the obstacles keeping people from becoming Direct Service Providers (DSPs) is that every provider needs to be fingerprinted for every agency they work for. That means that if a provider  who has already been fingerprinted for multiple other agencies  is asked to temporarily fill in as a provider for a different agency, he or she cannot do so until they are again fingerprinted, and receive the results, which can take several weeks.

A simple solution has been proposed for this issue: Provide all agencies with access to the central state database. Once a person is fingerprinted for the very first time, any agency would be able to check the database and ascertain that the prospective provider has a clean record. This would help families with children who have special needs access the care they require.

Agudahs representatives, and the parent and community advocates, discussed this issue, as well as others, with the representatives they met, who included Senators Joseph Addabbo, Simcha Felder, Peter Harckham, and Shelley Mayer, and Assemblymembers Simcha Eichenstein, Aileen Gunther, Andrew Hevesi, Helene Weinstein, and David Weprin, and staff from the offices of Senators John Liu and Jessica Scarcella-Spanton and Asemblymembers Stacey Pheffer Amato and Chris Eachus. A special thanks to Assemblymember Nily Rozic for hosting this important group. The delegation also met with Terry Prat, Assistant Counsel to the Governor; Alyson Grant Tarek, Assistant Secretary for Human Services and Mental Hygiene; and Michael Mastroianni, Assistant Secretary for Education.

This visit to Albany was special. The feelings expressed by the parents and advocates clearly made an impact on our legislators, said Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, director of NY government affairs.

It was an amazing experience to be able to bring parents to Albany to share their stories directly with lawmakers, said Miss Tova Wacholder, director of YahalomNY, Agudahs resource center for families of children with special needs. We appreciate the parents who made the effort to meet with our legislators in Albany. When government officials hear reports directly from them, it is so much more meaningful.

I am very appreciative to the Agudah for organizing this important mission, a direct line of communication between parents, advocates, and legislators, said Yehuda Gelman, CEO of Highway of Hope, who joined the Agudah in Albany yesterday. I am confident that these meetings will lead to real change for many families.




The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with Google, Twitter and Facebook in lawsuits seeking to hold them liable for terrorist attacks. But the justices sidestepped the big issue hovering over the cases, the federal law that shields social media companies from being sued over content posted by others.

The justices unanimously rejected a lawsuit alleging that the companies allowed their platforms to be used to aid and abet an attack at a Turkish nightclub that killed 39 people in 2017.

In the case of an American college student who was killed in an Islamic State terrorist attack in Paris in 2015, a unanimous court returned the case to a lower court, but said there appeared to be little, if anything, left of it.

The high court initially took up the Google case to decide whether the companies legal shield for the social media posts of others, contained in a 1996 law known as Section 230, is too broad.

Instead, though, the court said it was not necessary to reach that issue because there is little tying Google to responsibility for the Paris attack.

We therefore decline to address the application of Section 230 to a complaint that appears to state little, if any, plausible claim for relief, the court wrote in an unsigned opinion.

The outcome is, at least for now, a victory for the tech industry, which predicted havoc on the internet if Google lost. But the high court remains free to take up the issue in a later case.

The Court will eventually have to answer some important questions that it avoided in todays opinions. Questions about the scope of platforms immunity under Section 230 are consequential and will certainly come up soon in other cases, Anna Diakun, staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said in an emailed statement.

Google general counsel Halimah DeLaine Prado said an email that the company will continue our work to safeguard free expression online, combat harmful content, and support businesses and creators who benefit from the internet.

A lawyer for the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, who was killed in Paris, expressed disappointment at the outcome, but pledged to fight on. We lawyers see this decision as just another hurdle we need to navigate. It took decades to topple Big Tobacco, well eventually rein in reckless and greed driven Big Tech as well, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner wrote in an email.

The families of victims in both attacks asserted that the internet giants did not do enough to prevent their platforms from being used by extremist groups to radicalize and recruit people.

They sued under a federal law that allows Americans injured by a terrorist attack abroad to seek money damages in federal court.

The family of a victim in the bombing of the Reina nightclub in Istanbul claimed that the companies assisted in the growth of the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the attack.

But writing for the court, Justice Clarence Thomas said the familys claims fall far short of plausibly alleging that defendants aided and abetted the Reina attack.

In the Paris attack, Gonzalez family raised similar claims against Google over her killing at a Paris bistro, in an assault also claimed by the Islamic State. That was one of several attacks on a June night in the French capital that left 130 people dead.

The family wants to sue Google for YouTube videos they said helped attract IS recruits and radicalize them. Google owns YouTube.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that most of the claims were barred by the internet immunity law.

The Supreme Courts decision in October to review that ruling set off alarm at Google and other technology companies. If we undo Section 230, that would break a lot of the internet tools, Kent Walker, Googles top lawyer, said.

Yelp, Reddit, Microsoft, Craigslist, Twitter and Facebook were among the companies warning that searches for jobs, restaurants and merchandise could be restricted if those social media platforms had to worry about being sued over the recommendations they provide and their users want.

(AP)




As he prepares to launch his 2024 bid for the presidency, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is beginning to make pointed contrasts between himself and former president Donald Trump, who is currently the frontrunner for the GOP nomination.

In a call with donors and supporters on Thursday, DeSantis said there are only three credible candidates in 2024  and only two have any shot of winning.

You have basically three people at this point that are credible in this whole thing, DeSantis said. Biden, Trump, and me. And I think of those three, two have a chance to get elected president  Biden and me, based on all the data in the swing states, which is not great for the former president and probably insurmountable because people arent going to change their view of him.

The corporate media wants Trump to be the nominee, DeSantis asserted, pointing to the attacks on him the media is trying to amplify.

Illustrating his advantage with voters, DeSantis recalled an encounter he had with one in Iowa.

You know, Trump was somebody, we liked his policies but we didnt like his values. And with you, we like your policies but also know that you share our values, DeSantis said the voter told him.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




The day after the conviction of the heinous Elad terrorists, Limor Chabakuk, the almanah of Yonatan Chabakuk, Hyd, spoke to Ynet about her feelings when the sentences were announced and what her six-year-old son has endured since witnessing his fathers brutal murder.

Limor was present in the courtroom when the verdicts were announced. I was afraid I would fall apart, it was extremely difficult to be in their presence. But I overcame my fears. I felt like I wanted to look at them in their eyes and show them that they didnt break me and were going on with life.

My child was there during the attack, he saw his father being slaughtered. They ruined our life. I came and cried out my pain.

The first moment, when they entered the courtroom, I fell apart and cried. It doesnt make sense that my husband is under the ground and theyre breathing and smiling. Thats what went through my head.

Limor described the difficulties her six-year-old son has endured. Its been a year of him describing his fathers last moments, of him showing me on his body how his father died, describing to me the severe wounds. How Abba went to sleep and died, what Abba said in his last moments. Its not simple.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
By Rajesh Kumar Singh and Allison Lampert

CHICAGO (Reuters) -American Airlines pilots have agreed in principle on a new contract that boosts their pay by 21% in 2023, sources told Reuters on Friday, ahead of a busy summer travel season, after years of negotiations with the largest U.S. carrier.

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents over 13,000 pilots at Texas-based American, said on Friday it will move forward with completing contractual language before presenting the contract to its board for an approval.

However, the union did not share contract details.

American did not quantify the contract value but said it provides pay and profit sharing that match the top of the industry with improved quality-of-life provisions.

Under the tentative agreement, American pilots would get a 21% pay increase in 2023, a pay increase of 5% in the second year and 4% a year during the following two years of the deal, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The sources said the contract lasts four years with pay rates comparable to those secured by pilots at Delta Air Lines.

Pilots would also get an additional 3% raise in 2027 when the proposed contract becomes amendable, added the sources who spoke under condition of anonymity as the details are not yet public.

American's contract includes improvements on scheduling, a critical issue for pilots seeking better work-life balance in a profession that often requires them to be away for days from their families, they said.

The previous contract came up for renewal in 2020. Last year, the pilots turned down an offer that included a 19% pay hike over two years.

Industry officials say Delta's pilot contract has become a new benchmark for contract negotiations in North America. It is fueling demands for higher wages at Canadian carriers, whose pilots want to narrow the pay gap with their U.S. counterparts.

American had estimated that matching Delta's deal would cost it about $8 billion over four years.

Delta's pilots in March ratified their contract which includes over $7 billion in cumulative increases in pay and benefits over four years.

It underscores pilots' bargaining power as airlines rush to boost staff numbers ahead of what is shaping up to be a busy summer travel season.

American, Delta, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines are estimated to hire about 8,000 pilots this year.

Analysts at Jefferies estimate the United States is short about 10,000 pilots. This supply-demand gap is projected to last until 2027.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh and Allison LampertEditing by Nick Zieminski, Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Richard Chang and Aurora Ellis)




An Op-ed By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com

What would have happened if CNNs chief international anchor, Christaine Amanpour, would have reported that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in a shootout?

Join me. Join me for an exercise.

We are in Memphis, Tennessee. It is Thursday evening, April 4th, 1968. At 6:05 PM, Martin Luther King is shot while standing on a balcony outside of room 306 at the Lorraine Motel. An ambulance rushes King to St. Josephs Hospital, but it is too late. The doctors pronounce him dead at 7:05 PM.

But, let us imagine that instead of Doug Stone or Brian Sullivan reporting, it is Christiane Amanpour from CNN that is reporting on the event, Amanpour declares, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. died this evening in a shootout between Dr. King and 40-year-old James Earl Ray.

In other words, let us imagine that she did then what she did on CNN earlier this month in 2023. When reporting on the vicious and cowardly murders of the British-Israeli Dee sisters and their mother, Amanpour said  live on CNN air, that the Dee sistersMaia, 20, and Rina, 15 were killed in a shootout.

In the murder of the Dee family, there was, of course, no shootout. It was a cold-blooded and cowardly murder just like that of Dr. King. The difference being that James Earl Ray shot one bullet, whereas the Paelstinian murders shot twenty bullets into them.

Had Amanpour have used this terminology for the murder of Dr. King, CNN would have fired her instantly. Instantly.

They would also have made her apologize immediately.

But here, after the cowardly murder of 48 year-old Lucy Dee, 20 year old Maia and 15 year old Rina  there is no apology and no firing. Who murders innocent women? Who calls their cold-blooded murder a shootout? But CNN is silent.

A CONDEMNATION IS NEEDED HERE

Christiane Amanpour should be condemned.

She should be condemned by the University of Rhode Island where she got her BA in journalism. Its president Mark Parlange should condemn this major journalistic failure.

She should be condemned by the Center for Public Integrity for her utter lack of public integrity  an organization upon which she serves as a board member. Craig Newmark,a fellow board member and founder of Craigslist should be recruited to push this along.

She should be condemned by the International Womens Media Foundation for her callous attitude toward the murder of women  where she also serves as a board member.

Group after group has asked them to retract, to apologize, but there is nothing. Nothing. Jewish life is so cheap in their anti-Semitic eyes, that they choose to ignore it. And, apparently, they are getting away with it. According to Camera, when the New York Times reported on the story, not only was it buried, but the NYT never even mentioned the names of the sisters, Maia and Rina Dee. Not only did the paper not name the mother, Lucy Dee, but it didnt report on her subsequent death.

Until Amanpour apologizes, she should be condemned by and from the entire country  from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire to the mighty mountains of New York. Until CNN does something, they should be condemned from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania to the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. From the curvaceous slopes of California to the Stone Mountain of Georgia and from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee this evil should be denounced.

Perhaps we can even say that we have an obligation to pressure CNN and Amanpour to apologize.

In seventeenth century Poland, a Jew was brutally murdered outside of Cracow. The police refused to take the case and the question was whether there was an obligation to actually pay the police to take on the case. The author of the first Tzemach Tzedek, Rav Menahem Mendel Krochmal, a student of the Bach who lived in Cracow (1600s) wrote in a responsa (#111) on this question. Rabbi Krochmals answer was an unequivocal yes.

Rav Krochmal also understands the idea of finding and punishing the murderer, when its cost is significant, as a communal obligation and one where there is a tangible financial obligation incumbent upon us to ensure that police and judicial justice be applied.

According to camera.org, in 2023 alone, nineteen people were killed in Arab attacks. Eighteen of them were civilians. A third of that number were pairs of young siblings: Asher and Yaakov Paley, aged 8 and 6, murdered in February. Hallel and Yagel Yaniv, aged 22 and 20, gunned down two weeks later. And now, the Dee sisters.

It is these types of falsehoods perpetuated by Christiane Amanpour and the like, that creates an environment where such murders are acceptable. We should reach out for condemnations.

The author can be reached at [email protected]
Some 43 years have passed since BT was hived off from the Royal Mail ready for a more dynamic future as an independent, private sector company.

Anyone tuning into the latest reports from BT and the Royal Mail is entitled to ask what went wrong.

Many privatisations, water is a prime example, have failed to turn out as the godparent of the policy, Margaret Thatcher, would have hoped.

Successive BT chief executives have struggled with a blancmange layer of bureaucracy which made change at the telecoms giant so formidable.

The Royal Mail is dogged by post-Thatcherite militancy from the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which has driven successive chief executives to distraction. Simon Thompson is the latest to go, after a bruising reign.

Lacking intelligence: BT, chief executive Philip Jansen wants to slash 55,000 jobs and turn to AI technology to run the telecom giant

At BT, chief executive Philip Jansen, who values his work-life balance, has decided to become Britains first artificial intelligence apostle. He is proposing to take a meat axe to the workforce, slashing 55,000 jobs, some 40 per cent of staff, by 2030.

By then, one suspects, he will have long retreated to Cornwall and a slice of the jobs being divested will be replaced by AI.

Consumers already having to deal with BTs often unhelpful, impenetrable, inflexible customer service and rapacious billing (contracts which have to be paid long after service has been removed) might find this a little scary.

Doubtless, it will be explained to those facing the scrapheap that being replaced by AI and losing their careers and livelihoods is a terrific benefit to the human race.

What has spurred Jansen into action is not clear but one suspects activist Patrick Drahi, who spent 2.2billion on acquiring an 18 per cent cent stake, may be a factor.

Certainly, steps are needed to be taken to revive a stagnant share price.

However, the 5 per cent slump in latest trading hardly signals tremendous confidence that a corner is being turned.

So, four years after taking the helm, Jansen is assuring everyone that New BT (a phrase familiar to the Labour lexicon) will be a leaner and brighter business.

How does Jansen or anyone else involved in the AI experiment know? Amid the hoopla there are known knowns.

Free cash flow at the telecoms concern was at the bottom end of the 1.3billion target. Revenues fell to 20.7billion but were above forecast.

Meanwhile, the great project to bring the UK full fibre to the door lumbers on, way behind many overseas competitors including South Korea and Spain.

That is hardly going to advance Rishi Sunaks project to make Britain the next Silicon Valley.

Spare us the corporate speak and give Britain the broadband and mobile signal which actually works in central London.

Snail mail

Which brings us to the Royal Mail. There is no doubt that dealing with the CWU and modernising the sorting and delivery services has been a decade-long nightmare which defeated the indefatigable Moya Greene and the entrepreneurial Rico Back.

Nevertheless, for the management to blame a 1billion loss, after writedowns, just on posties is a bit rich.

Proprietor International Distributions Services argues that it swung to loss due to industrial action by unionised staff. A fairer account might have highlighted management culpability.

Royal Mails clumsy negotiating sacrificed the reliability of the universal postal service.

Just 73.7 per cent of first class deliveries arrived on time in 2022-23 (20 full points below the official 93 per cent target), which triggered an Ofcom investigation.

Amid terrible industrial relations, missed targets, whopping losses and management mayhem, we are assured by chairman Keith Williams that it is on a clear path towards a more profitable Royal Mail. Sure!

Licence tussle

The reported stand-off between the Treasury and the Bank of England over giving fintech pioneer Revolut a banking licence is a proxy battle relating to Government post-Brexit ambitions.

The Bank is super-cautious about offering the pathway to a licence while its accounts are still being finalised with auditors BDO and amid concerns about financial stability after the failures of Credit Suisse, SVB and First Republic.

Jeremy Hunt and the Treasury are on a mission to relaunch Britain as a tech and financial services superpower.

Bank regulator Sam Woods, who heads the Prudential Regulatory Authority, is right to tread carefully.
One of Chinas biggest car makers has doubled its stake in Aston Martin in a vote of confidence in the UK motor industry.

Geely spent 234million raising its holding to 17 per cent, making it the third-largest shareholder in the British company behind a consortium led by Aston chairman Lawrence Stroll and Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund, which bought Newcastle United FC in 2021.

Geely, which owns Lotus and Volvo, snapped up around 42m shares from Strolls group at 335p each and a further 28m new shares at the same price.

Aston Martin shares rose 12.5 per cent, or 28.8p, to 260p.

Stake: Geely, which owns Lotus and Volvo, spent 234m raising its holding in Aston Martin to 17%, making it the third-largest shareholder in the British company.

The agreement promises to create a long-term partnership and supply materials to the car brand, a favourite of James Bond.

The move raises 95million for Aston, which has had a bumper year as demand for luxury goods remains resilient despite economic pressures on consumers.

It said this month that revenues climbed nearly a third in the first three months of 2023 to 295million, while losses narrowed to 74.2million.

Victoria Scholar, analyst at Interactive Investor, said: This is a welcome development at a time when there are growing concerns about the Brexit trade deal for UK auto manufacturing.

Vauxhall owner Stellantis this week sounded the alarm over potential tariffs on exports of electric cars to the EU.

It warned it may have to close UK factories, costing thousands of jobs, because of rules that dictate 45 per cent of electric vehicle parts should originate in the UK or EU to qualify for free trade.

But with a shortage of batteries in Britain and on the Continent, car makers warn this is increasingly difficult.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: Its something that car manufacturers across Europe, not just in the UK, have raised as a concern.

As a result of that, we are engaged in a dialogue with the EU about how we might address those concerns when it comes to auto manufacturing more generally.

But the looming crisis has failed to dissuade Geely. Chairman Li Shufu, known as Eric Li, said: Our decision to increase our shareholding in Aston Martin reflects our confidence in the growth prospects, its technologies and management team.

Geely owns European brands including Swedens Volvo and Norfolk-based Lotus and has tried to buy Aston several times, including a rival bid to Stroll in 2020 and again last summer.

It bought a 7.6 per cent stake last September and some could perceive its latest grab as an advance towards another takeover approach.

But Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, questioned whether this would be publicly or politically palatable following other foreign takeovers.
A UK tech tycoon controversially extradited to the US says it is taking a tremendous toll  and warned his fate could face any British businessperson.

Mike Lynch, founder of software firm Autonomy, is awaiting trial on fraud charges related to the 9billion sale of his firm to US giant Hewlett Packard in 2011.

Lynch is the latest victim of what critics say is a really terrible one-sided treaty with the US, agreed by Tony Blairs Labour government in 2003.

He is in San Francisco for a trial which could result in a 20-year jail term.

In a letter to friends, seen by the Mail, Lynch described how he was handcuffed last week for his flight from the UK.

Trial: Mike Lynch, founder of software firm Autonomy, has been charged with fraud related to the 9bn sale of his company to American giant Hewlett Packard in 2011

After arrival in the US, stringent bail conditions were imposed. He spent a night in custody and was moved to temporary accommodation, unable to leave except to see lawyers.

Lynch said: This is the reality of extradition to the US, and one that could face any British businessperson.

Critics of the treaty, signed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, say it has disproportionately affected British white collar criminals.

David Davis, the Tory former shadow home secretary who has taken up the case, has warned that it means an entrepreneur can be seized from our shores.

He said three times as many had been sent to face trial in the US as had gone the other way.

HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP How to choose the best (and cheapest) stocks and shares Isa and the right DIY investing account

Lynchs wife Angela Bacares and two children have remained in Britain. The businessman wrote: The pressure of taking on a fight of this magnitude takes a tremendous toll on me, and on my family.

He added: As I leave Angela and the girls behind, I ask you to put your metaphoric arms around them. Their ordeal is no easier than mine and it is for them that I keep fighting.

Lynchs treatment stands in contrast to that of Anne Sacoolas, the US diplomat who killed teenager Harry Dunn in a UK road accident.

An attempt to extradite her was rebuffed and she was handed a suspended sentence via videolink while staying put in the US.

Lynch, 57, ran out of avenues of appeal against extradition last month.

A UK judge ruled in 2022 that Lynch had defrauded Hewlett Packard by inflating the value of Autonomy.

Lynch had said HP did not know what it was doing with Autonomy, and was out of its depth in understanding his technology.
Deutsche Bank is to pay 60million to settle a lawsuit by women who say they were abused by late financier Jeffrey Epstein and accused the German bank of facilitating his sex trafficking.

Epstein was a client from 2013 to 2018. He died in 2019 in jail while awaiting trial for sex trafficking, in what was called a suicide.

David Boies, one of the accusers lawyers, said Epsteins abuse could not have happened without the collaboration and support of many powerful individuals and institutions.

Abuse claims: Jeffrey Epstein (pictured) was a Deutsche Bank client from 2013 to 2018. He died in August 2019 in jail while awaiting trial for sex trafficking

We appreciate Deutsches willingness to take responsibility.

JP Morgan faces similar but larger lawsuits by accusers and the US Virgin Islands, where the financier had a home.

Epstein was a JP Morgan client from 1998 to 2013, when he allegedly trafficked women and girls. Court papers have outlined details of it allegedly ignoring Epsteins activities.

JP Morgan is separately suing Jes Staley, a former private bank chief who was friendly with Epstein, to help cover losses it faces.
Royal Mail tumbled to an annual loss of more than 1billion following a miserable year in which it was hammered by strikes.

The delivery firm reported a loss of 1.04billion for the 12 months to March 26 have made a profit of 250million the previous year. Revenues slumped 13 per cent to 7.4billion.

It caused parent company International Distributions Services (IDS) to post a 71million loss, down from a 758million profit a year earlier.

Sister business GLS saw a tepid performance, with profits falling 9.5 per cent year-on-year to 296million.

The company reiterated calls for the Government to reform the Universal Service Obligation (USO) laws that require it to deliver letters six days a week.

Can't deliver: Royal Mail reported a loss of 1.04bn for the 12 months to March 26 have made a profit of 250m the previous year. Revenues slumped 13% to 7.4bn

IDS chairman Keith Williams said urgent changes to the USO were essential to help rebuild Royal Mail and boost the business after reports it could save as much as 250million per year if deliveries were cut to five days.

The grim figures came after thousands of posties walked out on strike for 18 days last year amid a dispute over pay and planned changes that the firm insisted were needed for it to compete with rivals.

The industrial action by the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents around 115,000 workers, caused Royal Mail to warn it was losing more than 1million per day and that it could call in administrators if the situation did not improve.

A deal was finally struck last month and included a 10 per cent pay rise for staff and a profit-sharing scheme for two years. CWU members are now set to vote on whether to approve it.

HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP How to choose the best (and cheapest) stocks and shares Isa and the right DIY investing account

But the chaos claimed beleaguered chief executive Simon Thompson, who last week announced he would leave at the end of October after only two years in the role.

IDS blamed the loss at Royal Mail squarely on industrial action, adding it had suffered a 539million hit by writing down the value of the UK business as a result of the strikes.

The firm said the problems overshadowed attempts to right-size Royal Mail, which included slashing 10,000 jobs.

IDS said the deal with the CWU would cost it 600million over the next two years, although this would be broadly covered by cuts elsewhere.

It aims to return to profit by 2025 as agreed changes to the business begin to feed through. I said before that we had reached a crossroads.

Now that we have a negotiators agreement with CWU that will shortly go out to ballot, and thanks to the good progress made on our five-point plan to stabilise Royal Mail, our destination is coming into sight, Williams said.

There is now a clear path towards a more competitive and profitable Royal Mail, delivering improved services.

But investors seemed less convinced as IDS shares slumped 6 per cent, or 13.3p, to 208.9p.

Analysts at broker Liberum said there were doubts about the business being able to offset the cost of its deal with the CWU.

But they added that there was an excessive optimism about the value of the UK business and that IDS had yet to set out a convincing strategy to return Royal Mail to profitability.
Brookfield Asset Management has been given until the start of next month to make a 'put up or shut up' offer for payments business Network International Holdings.

A month ago, the Canadian private equity group submitted a 400 pence per share bid valuing the Dubai-headquartered payments firm at 2.1billion.

The proposal tops a 387p per share offer from Francisco Partners Management and CVC Capital Partners, which Network has said it was 'minded to accept.'

Deal on table: A month ago, Canadian private equity group Brookfield Asset Management submitted a 2.1billion takeover bid for Network International Holdings

Both parties now have until 5pm on 1 June to declare a firm intention to make a concrete bid or walk away after Brookfield announced on Friday that the City's Takeover Panel has agreed to extend the deadline by which to do so.

Founded in 1994 to provide payment processing facilities for Emirates Bank, Network operates across Middle Eastern and African countries, such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria.

According to its website, the company employs about 1,750 people and processed almost 1 billion transactions and over $42billion of payments for more than 150,000 merchants in 2021.

It was the largest payments business in the Middle East when it debuted on the London Stock Exchange four years ago in what was the UK capital's largest technology firm flotation since Worldpay.

However, its share price has slumped since then due to plunging profits and revenues during the early stages of the pandemic and a short-selling attack by investment group ShadowFall.

Takeover interest in the company comes amidst a widespread frenzy for London-listed businesses by foreign investors taking advantage of cheaper valuations and a depreciating pound.

On the same day that Network confirmed Brookfield had made an approach, Sureserve, a social housing energy services provider, said it had agreed to a 214.1million takeover by Cap10 Partners.

THIS IS MONEY PODCAST Should we stop dragging people into taxes originally designed for the rich?

Telemedicine services provider Medica Group, property fund Industrial REIT and veterinary drugmaker Dechra Pharmaceuticals are among the next major British companies at risk of falling into overseas hands.

Struggling e-commerce retailer THG and oilfield engineering consultancy John Wood Group were also being targeted by Apollo Global Management.

But last week, both firms announced that the US private equity giant was no longer pursuing them.

London-listed businesses acquired during the past two years include fashion brand Ted Baker, supermarket chain Morrisons, and Aveva, which was purchased by French conglomerate Schneider Electric.

Network International shares closed 0.2 per cent down at 364.2p on Friday, although they have still surged by about two-thirds in the last 12 months.
GUD (OTCMKTS:GUDHF  Get Rating) and Trelleborg AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:TBABF  Get Rating) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, earnings and risk.

Dividends

GUD pays an annual dividend of C$0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Trelleborg AB (publ) pays an annual dividend of $2.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.8%. GUD pays out 85.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Trelleborg AB (publ) pays out 29.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Trelleborg AB (publ) is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Get GUD alerts:

Institutional and Insider Ownership

16.5% of GUD shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.0% of Trelleborg AB (publ) shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets GUD N/A N/A N/A Trelleborg AB (publ) N/A N/A N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares GUD and Trelleborg AB (publ)s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

This table compares GUD and Trelleborg AB (publ)s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio GUD N/A N/A N/A C$0.42 14.55 Trelleborg AB (publ) N/A N/A N/A $7.66 3.39

Trelleborg AB (publ) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than GUD, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for GUD and Trelleborg AB (publ), as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score GUD 0 1 0 0 2.00 Trelleborg AB (publ) 0 2 1 0 2.33

GUD currently has a consensus target price of C$9.95, indicating a potential upside of 62.05%. Given GUDs higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe GUD is more favorable than Trelleborg AB (publ).

Summary

Trelleborg AB (publ) beats GUD on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About GUD

(Get Rating)

GUD Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and importation, distribution, and sale of automotive products, pumps, pool and spa systems, and water pressure systems in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, South Korea, France, and the United States. It operates through Automotive, Auto Pacific Group, and Davey segments. The Automotive segment offers automotive and heavy-duty filters for cars, trucks, and agricultural and mining equipment; and fuel pumps and associated products for the automotive after-market. The Auto Pacific Group segment manufactures and markets towing, trailering, functional accessories, and associated products for the automotive aftermarket and original equipment manufacturer customers. The Davey segment provides pumps and pressure systems for household and farm water; water transfer pumps; swimming pool products; spa bath controllers; and pumps and water purification equipment. The company was incorporated in 1958 and is based in Altona North, Australia.

About Trelleborg AB (publ)

(Get Rating)

Trelleborg AB engages in the development of polymer technology system. It operates through the following segments: Trelleborg Industrial Solutions, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions, Trelleborg Wheel Systems. The Trelleborg Industrial Solutions segment provides fluid handling solutions, industrial antivibration solutions and niche applications in sealing systems. The Trelleborg Sealing Solutions segment includes precision seals for industrial, aerospace, and automotive applications. The Trelleborg Wheel Systems business area offers wheels and wheel systems for high load materials handling vehicles such as tractors, forklift trucks, and agricultural and forestry machinery. The company was founded by Henry Dunker in 1905 and is headquartered in Trelleborg, Sweden.

Receive News & Ratings for GUD Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for GUD and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC  Get Rating)  Equities research analysts at William Blair reduced their Q3 2023 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Ameresco in a report issued on Monday, May 15th. William Blair analyst T. Mulrooney now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.63 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.68. The consensus estimate for Amerescos current full-year earnings is $1.80 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Amerescos FY2024 earnings at $2.58 EPS.

Get Ameresco alerts:

Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.01). Ameresco had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The company had revenue of $271.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $231.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 42.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Ameresco Price Performance

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. EF Hutton Acquisition Co. I lowered their target price on shares of Ameresco from $86.00 to $80.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Ameresco from $59.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler upgraded Ameresco from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and upped their price target for the company from $57.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Ameresco from $76.00 to $64.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Ameresco from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $64.07.

Shares of Ameresco stock opened at $43.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.45, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.21. Ameresco has a 12 month low of $39.62 and a 12 month high of $76.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Spencer Doran Hole sold 5,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.72, for a total value of $213,600.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 41.88% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameresco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Ameresco by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 62,062 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $3,055,000 after purchasing an additional 4,394 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameresco during the 1st quarter valued at about $714,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Ameresco by 122.3% during the 1st quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 33,118 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,630,000 after acquiring an additional 18,221 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in Ameresco by 1.3% during the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 92,371 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $4,546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Ameresco by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 656,063 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $32,291,000 after buying an additional 15,006 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.50% of the companys stock.

Ameresco Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Ameresco, Inc engages in the provision of energy services, including energy efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, asset sustainability, and renewable energy solutions for businesses and organizations throughout North America and Europe. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Regions, U.S. Federal, Canada, Non-Solar Distributed Generation (DG), and All Other.

Read More

Receive News & Ratings for Ameresco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ameresco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW  Get Rating) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,666 shares of the utilities providers stock after buying an additional 634 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.s holdings in Pinnacle West Capital were worth $1,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PNW. State Street Corp grew its position in Pinnacle West Capital by 18.4% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,911,753 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $539,808,000 after buying an additional 1,072,235 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Pinnacle West Capital by 29.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,537,942 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $276,313,000 after buying an additional 808,207 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Pinnacle West Capital by 34.9% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,497,267 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $96,589,000 after buying an additional 387,701 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Pinnacle West Capital by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,338,202 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,041,714,000 after purchasing an additional 241,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Pinnacle West Capital by 158.9% during the 3rd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 365,750 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $23,595,000 after purchasing an additional 224,493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.21% of the companys stock.

Get Pinnacle West Capital alerts:

Pinnacle West Capital Stock Down 0.4 %

PNW stock opened at $78.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Pinnacle West Capital Co. has a 1 year low of $59.03 and a 1 year high of $81.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.32. The firm has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.46.

Pinnacle West Capital Announces Dividend

Pinnacle West Capital ( NYSE:PNW Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.06). Pinnacle West Capital had a net margin of 10.33% and a return on equity of 7.50%. The business had revenue of $944.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $808.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Pinnacle West Capital Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 1st will be paid a $0.865 dividend. This represents a $3.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 28th. Pinnacle West Capitals payout ratio is presently 84.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PNW. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $74.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Pinnacle West Capital from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $69.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group upgraded shares of Pinnacle West Capital from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price target for the company from $77.00 to $80.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $74.64.

Pinnacle West Capital Profile

(Get Rating)

Pinnacle West Capital Corp. is a holding company, which engages in providing energy and energy-related products. It offers regulated retail and wholesale electricity businesses and related activities, such as electricity generation, transmission and distribution through its subsidiary, Arizona Public Service Co The company was founded on February 20, 1985, and is headquartered in Phoenix, AZ.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Pinnacle West Capital Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Pinnacle West Capital and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
After two years of grousing that no one wants to work anymore, America's employers might have a new line of complaint: No one wants to move.

After steadily falling for decades, the rate of Americans moving for work fell to a record low of just 1.6% in the first three months of the year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

"This is the lowest quarterly result that we've seen, among all the job seekers we've worked with, since 1986," the company's senior vice president, Andrew Challenger, told CBS MoneyWatch.

Challenger is an outplacement firm, meaning it's hired by companies that are conducting mass layoffs to help those workers find new employment. In the 1980s and '90s, a third of the workers surveyed by Challenger said they regularly moved to take a new job, but that figure has been dropping for years.

The trend is evidence of a decline in the dynamism of the U.S. economy, experts say, while also undercutting the historic narrative of Americans as a population of pioneers and risk-takers boldly venturing into new terrain in pursuit of opportunity.

!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r
StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. (NYSE:ASR  Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the transportation companys stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ASR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, March 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, March 3rd.

Get Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste S. A. B. de C. V. alerts:

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. Stock Performance

Shares of ASR stock opened at $290.98 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $293.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.16. The stock has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.08. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. has a 1 year low of $179.01 and a 1 year high of $314.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a current ratio of 3.25.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. Cuts Dividend

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. ( NYSE:ASR Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 23rd. The transportation company reported $4.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.69 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $369.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $364.55 million. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. had a return on equity of 22.41% and a net margin of 39.70%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. will post 20.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 30th will be paid a $5.6528 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 26th. This represents a yield of 2.7%. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V.s payout ratio is currently 39.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASR. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 17.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 39,482 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $8,749,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 13.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,090 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 7.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 766 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 3.4% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,059 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $1,538,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 10.0% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 360,238 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $79,830,000 after acquiring an additional 32,860 shares during the last quarter. 15.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SA de CV is a holding company, which engages in the operation, maintenance, and development of airports It operates through the following segments: Cancun, Aerostar, Airplan, Villahermosa, Merida, Holding and Services, and Other. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste S. A. B. de C. V. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste S. A. B. de C. V. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO  Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the utilities providers stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $107.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $117.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $124.71.

Get Atmos Energy alerts:

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $116.11 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $16.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.19. Atmos Energy has a one year low of $97.71 and a one year high of $121.92.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

Atmos Energy ( NYSE:ATO Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 5th. Investors of record on Monday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 19th. Atmos Energys payout ratio is currently 50.86%.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 390 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.50, for a total value of $45,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,584 shares in the company, valued at $303,620. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 390 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.50, for a total transaction of $45,825.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $303,620. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 12,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.54, for a total transaction of $1,431,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 217,668 shares in the company, valued at $24,931,692.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,030,858 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,836,444,000 after buying an additional 422,653 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,649,229 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,533,627,000 after purchasing an additional 912,138 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,772,352 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,287,188,000 after purchasing an additional 527,261 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,789,870 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $987,630,000 after purchasing an additional 303,965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,542,396 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $398,023,000 after purchasing an additional 485,903 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.03% of the companys stock.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Atmos Energy Corp. engages in the provision of natural gas services. It operates under the Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage business segments. The Distribution segment is involved in regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations. The Pipeline and Storage segment includes pipeline and storage operations of Atmos Pipeline-Texas division and natural gas transmission operations.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Atmos Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Atmos Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG  Get Rating) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,716,122 shares of the insurance providers stock after purchasing an additional 233,610 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.91% of MGIC Investment worth $35,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTG. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 38.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,458,631 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $141,715,000 after acquiring an additional 2,904,381 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 242.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,969,037 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $50,882,000 after acquiring an additional 2,809,973 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,980,396 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $486,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,137,706 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 610.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,568,033 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $20,102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347,201 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 98.6% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,744,588 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $22,680,000 after acquiring an additional 866,358 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.95% of the companys stock.

Get MGIC Investment alerts:

MGIC Investment Stock Performance

NYSE MTG opened at $15.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.60. MGIC Investment Co. has a 1-year low of $11.38 and a 1-year high of $15.76.

MGIC Investment Announces Dividend

MGIC Investment ( NYSE:MTG Get Rating ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The insurance provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $284.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $291.89 million. MGIC Investment had a return on equity of 18.77% and a net margin of 72.70%. MGIC Investments revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that MGIC Investment Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 11th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 10th. MGIC Investments dividend payout ratio is currently 14.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Roth Capital reiterated a buy rating on shares of MGIC Investment in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of MGIC Investment in a report on Thursday. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Compass Point upgraded shares of MGIC Investment from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $18.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MGIC Investment presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $16.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at MGIC Investment

In other news, Director Gary A. Poliner sold 8,296 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.92, for a total transaction of $115,480.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,821 shares of the companys stock, valued at $122,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MGIC Investment Company Profile

(Get Rating)

MGIC Investment Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of mortgage insurance, other mortgage credit risk management solutions, and ancillary services. The company was founded by Max Karl in 1957 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, WI.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for MGIC Investment Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for MGIC Investment and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. decreased its stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN  Get Rating) by 28.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 585 shares of the construction companys stock after selling 231 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.s holdings in Lennar were worth $53,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Lennar during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 96.9% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 508 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Lennar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Lennar by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 820 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.68% of the companys stock.

Get Lennar alerts:

Insider Activity at Lennar

In other news, CFO Diane J. Bessette sold 9,289 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $958,253.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lennar Trading Up 1.1 %

LEN opened at $115.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.51 billion, a PE ratio of 7.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.43. The firms fifty day moving average price is $107.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 7.82 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Lennar Co. has a 12-month low of $62.54 and a 12-month high of $116.18.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 15th. The construction company reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.99 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 21.18%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 26th were given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 25th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Lennars dividend payout ratio is presently 9.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on LEN. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Lennar in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. They set a market perform rating for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Lennar from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Lennar from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 16th. JMP Securities restated a market outperform rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, March 16th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on shares of Lennar from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, March 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $105.21.

Lennar Profile

(Get Rating)

Lennar Corp. engages in the provision of real estate related financial and investment management services. It operates through the following segments: Homebuilding East, Central, Texas, and West, Financial Services, Multifamily, and Lennar Other. The Homebuilding East, Central, Texas, and West segment constructs and sells homes primarily for first-time, move-up, and active adult homebuyers primarily under the Lennar brand name.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Lennar Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Lennar and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Manchester Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM  Get Rating) by 19.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,648 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 3,024 shares during the quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLCs holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $1,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P increased its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 81.1% in the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 222,422 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $30,321,000 after buying an additional 99,636 shares during the period. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $2,455,000. LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 35.6% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 37,300 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $5,085,000 after acquiring an additional 9,800 shares during the last quarter. Wsfs Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 70.8% in the first quarter. Wsfs Capital Management LLC now owns 4,221 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 1,749 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lumature Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1,451.4% in the first quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,770 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 3,527 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.89% of the companys stock.

Get JPMorgan Chase & Co. alerts:

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on JPM. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $152.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 17th. Odeon Capital Group raised shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $157.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an outperformer rating in a research report on Monday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $157.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, CEO Daniel E. Pinto sold 113,640 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.93, for a total transaction of $15,447,085.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 566,665 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $77,026,773.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink . In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, CEO Daniel E. Pinto sold 113,640 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.93, for a total transaction of $15,447,085.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 566,665 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $77,026,773.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink . Also, Vice Chairman Peter Scher sold 1,240 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total transaction of $167,424.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,083,461.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have sold 136,578 shares of company stock valued at $18,543,247 in the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock opened at $139.50 on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 52 week low of $101.28 and a 52 week high of $144.34. The companys 50 day moving average price is $133.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $407.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.10.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.69. The company had revenue of $38.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $35.77 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 16.02%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 5th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.s payout ratio is 29.52%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Company Profile

(Get Rating)

JPMorgan Chase & Co is a financial holding company, which engages in providing financial and investment banking services. The firm offers a range of investment banking products and services in all capital markets, including advising on corporate strategy and structure, capital raising in equity and debt markets, risk management, market making in cash securities and derivative instruments, and brokerage and research.

Read More

Receive News & Ratings for JPMorgan Chase & Co. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for JPMorgan Chase & Co. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Concerns over the potential for employees to mishandle and leak confidential company data have led technology giant Apple to restrict the use of ChatGPT by "some employees," according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

Apple joins rival tech giant Samsung in prohibiting employee use of OpenAI's ChatGPT artificial intelligence platform. OpenAI just released an official ChatGPT app on the iOS store for Apple iPhones on Thursday. The Wall Street Journal reviewed an internal document and spoke to people familiar with Apple's decision.

The tech firm's concern did not end with OpenAI's wildly popular chatbot but also included Microsoft's recently released software programming assistant, Github Copilot.

Fearing Leaks, Samsung Bans Employees From Using ChatGPT

Apple has made its own strides into artificial intelligence, starting with its Siri virtual assistant for iPhones in October 2011. In March, Apple acquired WaveOne, a California-based startup that develops AI algorithms for video compression. It's one of many AI-centric companies that Apple has acquired over the years.

During a second-quarter earnings call, however, Apple CEO Tim Cook urged caution with handling artificial intelligence. I do think its very important to be deliberate and thoughtful in how you approach these things, he said.

Earlier this month, Samsung reportedly prohibited employees from using ChatGPT due to fears that they were feeding OpenAI's platform sensitive corporate information that competitors could potentially harvest.

Samsung warned that data sent to AI platforms like ChatGPT, Googles Bard, and the ChatGPT-infused Bing are stored on external servers and could be difficult to retrieve or delete. Samsung threatened employees with potential termination for violating the policy.

Apple and Samsung join a growing list of companies and global governments restricting or prohibiting ChatGPT's use, including JPMorgan Chase, Verizon, Northrop Grumman, and Amazon.

In April, OpenAI released a series of updates to ChatGPT that enabled better privacy controls after officials in Italy, Germany, France, and Canada voiced concerns. Italy went so far as to ban ChatGPT before the privacy updates were implemented later that month, leading to the bans reversal.

Meet the Dudes Using AI Chatbots to Get Real Dates

On Thursday, U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Peter Welch introduced the Digital Platform Commission Act to create a federal agency responsible for regulating artificial intelligence and digital platforms. The move came after a panel of AI expertswhich included OpenAI CEO Sam Altmancalled for regulation and federally enforced safety standards.

Technology is moving quicker than Congress could ever hope to keep up with," Bennet said in a statement. "We need an expert federal agency that can stand up for the American people and ensure AI tools and digital platforms operate in the public interest."

Apple did not immediately return Decrypt's request for comment.
COLUMBUS, Ga., May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Aspirion, a leading technology-enabled healthcare revenue cycle management ("RCM") provider for complex claims and revenue integrity, announced today that it has acquired FIRM Revenue Cycle Management Services, Inc. ("FIRM RCM"), a trusted partner to hospital systems in the recovery of denied, unpaid, and underpaid medical insurance claims. As part of the announcement, the FIRM RCM team will continue to be led by Nancy Momcilovic. Simultaneously, Joseph Cook, Principal, will retire from active management following the completion of the acquisition. The acquisition closed on May 18, 2023.

Aspirion

"We are thrilled to welcome FIRM RCM to the Aspirion family," said Amy Amick, CEO of Aspirion. "FIRM RCM has been built upon an incredible commitment to client excellence and robust subject matter expertise which is the backbone for the exceptional value they bring to their clients. This core fiber to the company's DNA aligns extremely well with Aspirion's. We know together we can help bring even greater value to the market."

"FIRM RCM is excited to join forces with Aspirion," said Nancy Momcilovic, Esq. President of FIRM RCM. "Aspirion's expertise and reputation in revenue cycle management are unparalleled, and we believe that together, we can create even more value for our healthcare clients. We carefully selected Aspirion to partner with given our aligned values and culture, and the shared strength of our teams. We are excited to be able to leverage their advanced technologies over time to bring even greater value to our clients."

"The combination of Aspirion and FIRM RCM demonstrates Aspirion's commitment to investing in high-growth companies positioned to address the increasingly complex financial challenges of the US healthcare system," said Richard Thomas, Chairman of the Board of Aspirion.

This acquisition marks Aspirion's sixth successful transaction in the past five years, further bolstering the range of services available to its clients. In addition to its mergers, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships, Aspirion maintains a strong record of client retention, expanding services within existing clients, and acquiring new clients, all of which underscore the significant value Aspirion brings to the healthcare market.

For more information on Aspirion, please visit www.aspirion.com.

About Aspirion

Aspirion, headquartered in Columbus, Ga., helps hospitals and physicians recover otherwise lost claims revenue via overturning denials and underpayments, resolving aged AR, and effectively collecting complex claims including motor vehicle accident, workers' compensation, Veterans Affairs and TRICARE, and out-of-state Medicaid. Aspirion's experienced team of healthcare, legal, and technical professionals combined with industry-leading technology platforms help ensure providers receive their Complex RCM revenue so that they can focus on patient care. The Company serves clients across the United States, including half of the ten largest health systems in the country.

About FIRM RCM

FIRM Revenue Cycle Management, Inc. is an attorney-driven company that utilizes clinicians and case, contract, and statutory law to assist hospitals in recovering denied, unpaid, and underpaid medical insurance claims. Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, we are dedicated exclusively to healthcare, and we provide services to hospitals from coast to coast.

Media Contact

Erin Haynie, Vice President, Marketing

Aspirion

erin.haynie@aspirion.com

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aspirion-announces-acquisition-of-firm-revenue-cycle-management-services-inc-301829198.html

SOURCE Aspirion
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2023 / Aton Resources Inc. (TSXV:AAN) ("Aton" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has now commenced a 10,000m programme of reverse circulation percussion ("RC") exploration drilling at its 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession ("Abu Marawat" or the "Concession"), in the Eastern Desert of Egypt (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Geology and prospect plan of the Abu Marawat Concession

"I am very pleased to be able to announce that Geodrill have now started on our highly anticipated regional RC exploration drilling programme" said Tonno Vahk, Interim CEO. "We are delighted to finally be in a position to get out and drill some of our regional targets for the first time at Abu Marawat. We have no doubt that we have one of, if not the most prospective package of gold exploration projects in Egypt. The team on the ground has worked hard to get this programme together, and are very excited to be finally starting drilling at some of these great targets. We are absolutely confident that the results of the drilling will speak for themselves in the coming months."

2023 Abu Marawat RC drilling programme

Aton signed a contract with Geodrill's Egyptian branch, Geodrill for Leasing and Specialized Services Freezone LLC, for 10,000m of RC drilling at the Abu Marawat Concession in April 2023 (see news release dated April 20, 2023). Geodrill's X900 multi-purpose drill rig arrived at the West Garida prospect on May 18, 2023, and commenced drilling on the first hole of the programme, WGP-006 (Figure 2). The powerful X900 multi-purpose rig carries a 1200cfm/430psi onboard compressor, and an additional service unit equipped with a 1200cfm/430psi auxiliary compressor and 1800cfm/900psi booster pack. The X900 rig has a rated RC depth capacity of 400m.

Drilling has commenced at the West Garida prospect (Figure 1), which is only 3 km away from the Company's Hamama West deposit. A short programme of 19 holes has been planned at West Garida, for a total of 1,370 metres to follow up on a previous drill intersection of 41.7 g/t Au, 263 g/t Ag and 2.08% Pb over a 1m interval (see news release dated September 1, 2022). Mineralisation at West Garida is associated with narrow high grade quartz veins.

Figure 2: Collaring off the first hole WGP-006 at West Garida, 18 May, 2023

After the completion of the West Garida programme the rig will then be mobilised to the Abu Gaharish prospect (Figure 1), where a temporary exploration camp has been erected to service the drilling. Drill pad construction is almost finished at the prospect, and is expected to be completed in the coming days. Abu Gaharish is located approximately 16km east northeast of the Company's main exploration camp at Rodruin, and is accessed by rough desert tracks. A provisional programme of 28 holes has been planned for a total of 4,040 metres at Abu Gaharish. The Company believes that Abu Gaharish is an analogue of the world-class Sukari deposit, approximately 200 km south of Abu Marawat, and where artisanal miners have recently exploited a highly prospective structural system consisting of numerous mineralised veins and structures along a c. 3 km strike length on the southeastern margin of the Gaharish granite pluton. Aton has carried out extensive surface sampling at Abu Gaharish with samples grading up to 157 g/t Au (see news release dated October 28, 2021).

A further programme of 17 holes for a total of 3,600m has been designed at the Semna prospect, which will be drilled after Abu Gaharish, and where drill access road and pad construction is also well advanced. Semna is located approximately 10 km northwest of Abu Gaharish (Figure 1). The Semna area has a long history of gold mining, during both ancient and modern times, dating back as far as the Old Kingdom period, over 4,500 years ago. Semna was exploited by 2 British companies between 1904 and 1906, who reported that Semna had the widest vein mined during the British phase of mining in Egypt in the early 20th century, reaching up to 6m in width in places. The British reported mining grades of over 2 ounces per ton. Reports from the British Mining Journal from 1905 indicated that some pillars from the ancient Pharaonic era stopes assayed up to 5.5 ounces per ton gold. Mineralisation is associated with at least 4 sub-parallel structures at Semna, and Aton has returned channel sampling intercepts including 5.17 g/t Au over an interval of 9.7m at surface, and individual channel samples grading up to 18.05 g/t Au (see news release November 22, 2017).

Further drilling programmes are being developed to also test the Zeno, Sir Bakis and Bohlog areas (Figure 1) in the current RC programme.

About Aton Resources Inc.

Aton Resources Inc. (AAN:TSXV) is focused on its 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession ("Abu Marawat"), located in Egypt's Arabian-Nubian Shield, approximately 200 km north of Centamin's world-class Sukari gold mine. Aton has identified numerous gold and base metal exploration targets at Abu Marawat, including the Hamama deposit in the west, the Abu Marawat deposit in the northeast, and the advanced Rodruin exploration prospect in the south of the Concession. Two historic British gold mines are also located on the Concession at Sir Bakis and Semna. Aton has identified several distinct geological trends within Abu Marawat, which display potential for the development of a variety of styles of precious and base metal mineralisation. Abu Marawat is 447.7 km2 in size and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure; a four-lane highway, a 220kV power line, and a water pipeline are in close proximity, as are the international airports at Hurghada and Luxor.

Qualified person

The technical information contained in this News Release was prepared by Javier Orduna BSc (hons), MSc, MCSM, DIC, MAIG, SEG(M), Exploration Manager of Aton Resources Inc. Mr. Orduna is a qualified person (QP) under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

For further information regarding Aton Resources Inc., please visit us at www.atonresources.com or contact:

TONNO VAHK

Interim CEO

Tel: +1 604 318 0390

Email: info@atonresources.com

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions; by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Aton Resources, Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/755975/Aton-Announces-the-Start-of-a-10000m-RC-Exploration-Drilling-Programme-at-Abu-Marawat




More than half of the worlds large lakes and reservoirs have shrunk since the early 1990s, chiefly because of climate change, intensifying concerns about water for agriculture, hydropower and human consumption, a study published on Thursday found.

A team of international researchers reported that some of the worlds most important freshwater sources  from the Caspian Sea between Europe and Asia to South Americas Lake Titicaca  lost water at a cumulative rate of around 22 gigatonnes per year for nearly three decades. Thats about 17 times the volume of Lake Mead, the United States largest reservoir.

Fangfang Yao, a surface hydrologist at the University of Virginia who led the study in the journal Science, said 56% of the decline in natural lakes was driven by climate warming and human consumption, with warming the larger share of that.

Climate scientists generally think that the worlds arid areas will become drier under climate change, and wet areas will get wetter, but the study found significant water loss even in humid regions. This should not be overlooked, Yao said.

Scientists assessed almost 2,000 large lakes using satellite measurements combined with climate and hydrological models.

They found that unsustainable human use, changes in rainfall and run-off, sedimentation, and rising temperatures have driven lake levels down globally, with 53% of lakes showing a decline from 1992 to 2020.

Neary 2 billion people, who live in a drying lake basin, are directly affected and many regions have faced shortages in recent years.

Scientists and campaigners have long said it is necessary to prevent global warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celisus (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change. The world is currently warming at a rate of around 1.1C (1.9F).

Thursdays study found unsustainable human use dried up lakes, such as the Aral Sea in Central Asia and the Dead Sea in the Middle East, while lakes in Afghanistan, Egypt and Mongolia were hit by rising temperatures, which can increase water loss to the atmosphere.

Water levels rose in a quarter of the lakes, often as a result of dam construction in remote areas such as the Inner Tibetan Plateau.

SOURCE: REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: The logo of AMP Ltd, Australia's biggest retail wealth manager, adorns their head office located in central Sydney, Australia

(Reuters) -Troubled Australian wealth manager AMP Ltd will pay a court-mandated penalty of A$24 million ($16.3 million) for billing dead clients for insurance and financial advice, effectively drawing the curtains to a scandalous saga dating back to 2018.

The allegations first came to light when a public inquiry exposed systemic wrongdoing at the company, including charging fees for advice that was never given, taking insurance premiums from the accounts of dead clients and conspiring at the board level to deceive regulators.

These revelations rocked the firm - leading to the exit of its chairperson and CEO, clients fleeing in troves and the company's market value shrinking.

The Federal Court has found four companies that are or were part of the AMP Group in breach of the law when charging life insurance premiums and advice fees from the superannuation accounts of more than 2,000 deceased customers, the country's corporate regulator Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said on Friday.

Two of these companies - AMP Life and AMP Financial Planning were ordered to pay a combined penalty of $24 million for the breaches.

"Customers, and their beneficiaries, expect financial services providers to have the proper systems in place to ensure, once notified, deceased customers are no longer charged. These systems were inadequate, and customers were let down," said ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court.

"This misconduct represents a fundamental breach of trust between a customer and their financial services provider."

The penalty handed down was fully provisioned for by the company in its financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2022. Shares of the firm were up 0.7% at A$1.0875.

"AMP apologises to all beneficiaries of those affected by this matter. When we identified the issue in 2018, we reported it to the regulator and worked hard to remediate the estates of affected customers as promptly as possible," AMP Group General Counsel David Cullen said.

($1 = 1.4743 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Harish Sridharan and Riya Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Uttaresh Venkateshwaran and Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will attend the Group of Seven (G7) Hiroshima summit this weekend, Ukrainian and Western officials said, putting fresh pressure on Russia against the backdrop of a city synonymous with the horrors of nuclear war.

Zelenskiy will attend on Sunday, two officials involved in the G7 summit said, declining to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

His presence and his calls for greater support in the war with Russia will add urgency to deliberations as leaders of the worlds rich democracies look to crack down on Russias circumvention of sanctions.

They are expected to announce new sanctions against Russia and closer collaboration in countering Chinas growing influence.

Very important things will be decided there, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defence Council, told state television.

He said Zelenskiys attendance was absolutely essential in order to defend our interests.

The Ukrainian president is expected to arrive in Japan on Saturday evening, one of the sources said. The White House declined to comment.

The members of the G7  the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Italy  are expected to debate strategy on a more than year-long conflict that shows no sign of easing.

Germany has seen its exports to countries bordering Russia surge in the first quarter, fuelling concerns that re-exports from those neighbouring states are helping Russia dodge sanctions.

EMOTION AND COMPASSION

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in Japans lower house of parliament, said he chose the city for the summit to focus attention on arms control.

Hiroshima, and another Japanese city, Nagasaki, were destroyed by U.S. nuclear attacks 78 years ago that ended World War Two.

School children presented the G7 leaders with wreaths and they then solemnly placed them at the citys peace memorial.

They also met with a hibakusha, an atomic bomb survivor.

With emotion and compassion, it is up to us to contribute to the duty of remembrance of the victims of Hiroshima and to act in favour of peace, the only fight that deserves to be waged, French President Emmanuel Macron wrote in a memorial book.

Having emerged as the worlds richest nations after World War Two, the G7 democracies have become increasingly challenged by an ascendant China and unpredictable Russia.

Britain will announce a ban on Russian diamonds and imports of metals from Russia including copper, aluminium and nickel in support for Ukraine, it said in a statement.

It will also target an additional 86 people and companies from Putins military industrial complex, in addition to those involved in the energy, metals and shipping industries, it said.

European Council President Charles Michel said Europe would also restrict sales of Russian diamonds.

Officials were still hashing out the details of their final announcements on Russia as well as debating precise language on China, according to people from four of the nations involved.

The United States is set to add 70 entities to its export blacklist, and to expand its sanctions authority to 300 entities as well as new sectors of the Russian economy, a senior U.S. administration official said.

Russia has said it is ready to use its nuclear arsenal to defend its territorial integrity if necessary.

SOURCE: REUTERS
The 30% excise tax that President Joe Biden has proposed for Bitcoin miners? "That isn't going to happen," said Sen. Cynthia Lummis.

She was speaking to Chamber of Digital Commerce founder and CEO Perianne Boring during a fireside chat at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami. Boring had just brought up the possible tax and how it might affect not only Bitcoin mining, but also have unintended consequences for the countrys national security.

Lummis went on to say that miners can mine anywhere, adding that opportunities in this sector exist all over the world.

She said, however, that allowing Bitcoin mining to proliferate in the states is not only a matter of national security, but also an issue of energy security.

MicroStrategy Looking at Bitcoin Ordinals for App Development, Says Michael Saylor

Touting that Wyoming has large mining, oil and gas industries, alongside significant amounts of solar and wind production, Lummis told the crowd at the conference that Bitcoin miners are well positioned to make use of the state's excess energy.

Bitcoin is cleaning up the environment," she said.

According to the Wyoming Senator, however, it hasnt been an easy mission to convince lawmakers about the benefits of Bitcoin mining.

One of the things that is holding back our ability in Congress to legislate in this area is the fear that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are being used for criminal activities, Lummis said, adding that there are also issues at the state level. One example, she said, is Texas decision to cap miners ability to earn energy credit.

These remarks come amid a Biden administration report at the start of May on the effects of imposing a 30% excise tax on cryptocurrency mining operations in the United States. It concluded that the tax would be in the best interest of American communities and the environment.

Bitcoin 2023 Attendees in Miami Blame Bear Market Vibes for Lower Attendance

The so-called Bitcoin Senator remarked that the current infrastructure billwhich includes the Digital Asset Mining (DAME) taxdefines brokers in such a way that includes miners. If approved, that would require miners to send tax data to the IRS. Thats left the industry feeling like theres a complete disconnect between it and U.S. lawmakers, said the senator on Friday.

The panel ended with Lummis urging bitcoiners to participate in groups that advocate for the worlds largest cryptocurrency as part of the U.S. economy, adding that they should contact their representatives.

Andre Beganski contributed to this report.
The first councillors have been elected in the Northern Ireland local government elections.

Counting began at centres across Northern Ireland at 8am on Friday morning after voters cast their ballots across the 11 council areas on Thursday.

Sinn Feins Gary McCleave was the first to be elected at Lisburn and Castlereagh Council, securing a seat in the Killultagh district electoral area (DEA).

His election was swiftly followed by the DUPs Thomas Beckett and Claire Kemp of the Alliance Party in the same DEA.

Sinn Feins Geraldine McAteer is the first councillor elected in Belfast. She was elected in the Balmoral district electoral area with 2,037 votes. pic.twitter.com/lLmVAup2r3  Rebecca Black (@RBlackPA) May 19, 2023

By around lunch time, the overall picture included Sinn Fein leading the way with 18 councillors elected, followed by the DUP with 10, Alliance with four and the UUP with one.

In Belfast, sitting Lord Mayor Tina Black was among the first elected.

Her Sinn Fein colleague Geraldine McAteer was the first councillor to be elected to the capitals council in the Balmoral district electoral area (DEA).

A short time later, Ms Black, along with DUP candidates Frank McCoubrey and Nicola Verner, were elected in the Court DEA.

Visiting the Lisburn and Castlereagh count centre on Friday morning, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson appeared upbeat at the early stage of counting.

He indicated his party was polling well in the area, and would hold its seats in four district electoral areas (DEA) that are being counted so far, and hoped to potentially gain a seat in two DEAs.

The Alliance Party is polling well in some of areas too, Sinn Fein have done well where you might expect them, so I think the pattern so far in Lisburn and Castlereagh is DUP holding its ground, Alliance perhaps making some gains, perhaps at the expense of the Ulster Unionist Party, and Sinn Fein perhaps making one or two gains at the expense of the SDLP, he told the Belfast Telegraph.

Our vote has gone up in some areas in Lisburn and Castlereagh but its too early to tell if we will make a gain. I think we were targeting a gain in a couple of areas but we havent seen the results yet for those two areas.

Alliance leader Naomi Long visited the count at Belfast City Hall on Friday morning but did not make any comment to media.

Counting is under way at all 11 count centres.

The elections use the single transferable vote system where voters rank candidates in order of preference.

Some 462 council seats are being contested at this years election.

Northern Irelands 11 councils are responsible for setting rates, planning and waste collection as well as leisure services and parks.

It is the first electoral test for the parties since last years Assembly elections and takes place against the backdrop of the Stormont stalemate, with the powersharing institutions not operating as part of a DUP protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Sinn Fein leader Michelle ONeill said the election was an opportunity for voters to re-affirm last years assembly election, while DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson asked unionist voters to unite behind the party to get back to winning ways.

The Stormont assembly has not been operational for more than a year due to the DUPs boycott of the powersharing institutions in protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements.

At last years assembly election, Sinn Fein overtook the DUP to become the largest party at Stormont for the first time.

The republican party will be hoping to replicate that result following the count on Friday and Saturday.

Sinn Fein currently has 105 councillors and put forward 162 candidates in this election.

The DUP is currently the largest party in local government with 122 councillors, and ran 152 candidates.

Sir Jeffrey has pledged that his party will stand firm over any return to Stormont until political and trading concerns around the Windsor Framework are addressed.

The Alliance party, who became the third biggest party at the last Assembly election, will hope to build on the 53 councillors they secured at the last local election in 2019.

The cross-community party fielded 110 candidates in 78 out of the 80 district electoral areas.

The Ulster Unionist Party ran 101 candidates, and will be hoping to secure numbers after losses in previous Assembly and local government elections.

The UUP currently has 75 councillors.

A party also hoping to maintain numbers is the SDLP, who have seen losses in previous elections. The party currently has 59 councillors and ran 86 candidates in this election.

Council elections present an opportunity for smaller parties who have little or no representation in the Assembly to secure a voice in local government.

The TUV ran 46 candidates, the Green Party 37, Aontu 19 and People Before Profit fielded 16.

Belfast City Council is the largest local government area in Northern Ireland with 60 councillors to be elected.
A Dublin court has ruled that a Co Westmeath schools decision to suspend Irish teacher Enoch Burke from his position last year was lawful.

The High Court gave a provisional ruling that the costs incurred by Wilsons Hospital School should be paid by Mr Burke, and that he should pay 15,000 euro in damages for trespass that took place following his suspension.

The board of management of Wilsons Hospital School and Mr Burke had been in a legal dispute stemming from incidents over a request from the schools then-principal to address a student by a new name and the pronoun they.

Mr Burke, an Evangelical Christian, argued that his suspension was unlawful and went against his right to express his religious beliefs.

In March, the High Court heard that the board of management had listened to arguments from Mr Burke and had a 40-minute discussion before making the unanimous decision to place him on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a disciplinary hearing.

The court heard that there was concern about further protests from Mr Burke, and was also told that he continued to attend the school after the decision on August 22 was taken.

Witness testimonies were heard without Mr Burke or a legal representative for him being present in court to argue his case, after the judge ordered him not to attend in person unless he complied with the courts authority.

In assessing the claim of whether the schools board complied with its contractual obligations to Mr Burke in suspending him, Mr Justice Alexander Owens decided it had.

The evidence establishes that answer to this question is yes, he ruled.

The board is entitled to a declaration that the decision on August 22 2022 to put Enoch Burke on paid administrative leave was lawful.

The judge said there was no evidence that any relevant matter was not duly considered or that any irrelevant matter was taken into account by the board in arriving at this decision.

He also ruled that despite legal restrictions facing the board, the decision-makers knew enough about the allegations and the relevant issues to make a valid decision on whether or not to suspend Enoch Burke.

He also said that the schools apprehension that he would engage in harmful and disruptive conduct if permitted to teach in the school was rational and reasonable.

The judge also ruled that subsequent behaviour by Mr Burke, though relevant to injunctive relief and damages, can have no bearing on the boards decision on August 22.

The board was restricted to considering what was known at the time it made its decision to suspend him, he said.

The judge said that Mr Burke did not have the consent of the board or the school to be on school grounds after he was suspended, and despite being asked to leave, he refused to go.

His repeated attendance on school premises was trespass, the judgment stated.

It went on to say that Mr Burke should pay damages to the board for trespass, and that significant aggravating features meant that it was proper to award more than nominal damages.

These relate to continuing trespass and deliberate disruption caused by entering school premises during school hours, it said.

This court is assessing damages for this trespass at 15,000 euro.

The judge said that this award was in addition to any daily fines currently being imposed for breaches of existing High Court orders  namely a High Court order imposing a daily fine of 700 euro for each day Mr Burke breaches a court order barring him from attending the Co Westmeath school.

The judgment also made a provisional decision that the legal costs for the case should be paid by Mr Burke.

This courts provisional view on costs is that costs of the board in this action should be paid by Enoch Burke.

Costs should be awarded to the successful party. This award of costs should include any costs in the cause or reserved costs of interim and interlocutory orders and of other applications which have been left over for the trial judge to decide on.

It should also include any costs of the board relating to compliance with court directions as to exchange of witness statements, legal submissions and discovery.

This court proposes to make no order as to the costs of the board on the counterclaim, beyond such costs as are properly allowable for any notice for particulars and the reply and defence to counterclaim.
[May 18, 2023] GridX and Sense Partner to Deliver New Value to Consumers from Smart Meters

GridX, the leading enterprise rate platform provider to modern utilities, and Sense, the leader in real-time home energy intelligence, today announced a partnership that will translate smart meter data into meaningful benefits for customers and the grid. The integrated solution will give customers more insight into, and control over, energy usage and costs in real time. GridX and Sense are backed by Energy Impact Partners (EIP) and highlighted their innovative collaboration at the EIP Annual Meeting today. According to Guidehouse, the global penetration of smart meters will climb from approximately 44% at the end of 2020 to 56% by the end of 2028, resulting in over 1.2 billion devices globally. However, utilities have struggled to make sense of and capitalize on the data these meters have provided. That is poised to change with next-generation meters now being deployed. Using grid edge intelligence to identify where and when energy is consumed in the home, and applying real-time pricing signals, it's now possible to unlock and reveal the best clean energy choices for consumers. This not only helps stabilize the grid, but it also saves custoers money and reduces their carbon footprint.



"The evolution of smart meters into a grid edge application platform enables real-time device level intelligence. This is instrumental in understanding how consumers are using energy and Sense is the established leader in providing this intelligence through embedded software in the latest generation of smart meters. And now, the partnership with GridX has solved the energy cost part of the equation," said Chris Black, CEO GridX. "Increasingly, the problem isn't how much energy we all use, it's when we use it. The price of energy changes radically throughout the day, so understanding where you are using energy is no longer enough...you must understand how much it costs when you use it." Electric vehicles (EVs) provide a compelling example of this approach in practice. EVs are growing in popularity but it's difficult to know if a customer has purchased one. With Sense, the presence of a new EV is identified quickly after it's plugged in, allowing owners to immediately understand the impact to their energy use. With that knowledge, Sense can engage the customer through their mobile app and use GridX's real-time localized, dynamic pricing data to show how EV charging will impact their bill, suggest different rates, and provide pricing insights down to each device. Sense can provide this visibility to utilities as well, allowing them to optimize grid infrastructure investments by shifting EV charging out of the peak, which also saves the customer money on their bills.

"Sense is empowering people to make their homes more efficient and helping to reduce the infrastructure spend required to decarbonize," said Mike Phillips, CEO, Sense. "By adding a scalable solution for dynamic pricing information, we can now encourage even greater consumer action - including the adoption of automated controls of key loads, helping us achieve our decarbonization goals and ensuring everyone is enrolled in the optimal rate. This partnership with GridX brings together the ideal combination of solutions that will change the way utilities optimize the grid and help people better use energy in their homes." About GridX, Inc. GridX partners with utilities and energy suppliers to transform their businesses and accelerate the clean energy transition. The company's Enterprise Rate Platform helps these organizations to develop new products and business models to achieve their clean energy goals; quickly operationalize new offerings in their billing and settlement processes; and better engage with their customers for broader program adoption. GridX's platform is used by leading utilities, retail energy suppliers and energy ecosystem OEMs to serve more than 25 million homes and businesses. For more information, visit www.gridx.com. About Sense Sense's mission is to reduce global carbon emissions by making homes smarter and efficient. We empower people to care for their homes and families while contributing to a cleaner, more resilient future. Founded in 2013 by pioneers in speech recognition, Sense uses machine learning technology to provide real-time insights on device behavior, even for those devices that are not "smart." Customers rely on Sense for a wide range of uses including monitoring their home appliances, determining whether they left appliances running and identifying how to reduce their energy costs. Sense is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. To make sense of your energy, visit www.sense.com. . View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230518005666/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 18, 2023] Leading Accounts Payable Platform Alii CEO Chamil Fernando Recognised as Australia's Most Influential CEO for 2023

CEO Monthly has awarded fast growing tech company, Alii, CEO as the Most Influential CEO 2023  Australia (Accounts Payable Software) award on the back of phenomenal growth and success. MELBOURNE, Australia, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alii, CEO, Chamil Fernando, has been honoured with the prestigious Most Influential CEO 2023 - Australia award in the accounts payable business category by CEO Monthly in recognition of the remarkable growth and transformative impact he has had on Alii and the business sector in Australia. Since taking over the reins in 2021, Alii has experienced unprecedented growth, propelling the company from relative obscurity to becoming one of the most talked-about organisations in the region. Under Fernando's leadership, Alii has grown over 400% in just over 12 months including a successful Pre-Series A capital round. Alii's transformation has been remarkable, marked by numerous achievements and milestones over the last two years. The platform providing a fully automated end-to-endaccounts payable automation solution with invoice fraud detection has enabled the company to quadruple its client base in less than 12 months due to the overall efficiencies and time-saving benefits. Under Fernando's guidance, the company has successfully rebuilt its product, established a robust ecosystem of integration and solution partners, and continue to receive praise and recognition from several satisfied clients.



Fernando's remarkable journey to becoming the Most Influential CEO 2023 - Australia (Accounts Payable Software) by CEO Monthly is a testament to the extensive experience in executive roles and his exceptional ability to transform businesses within a short timeframe. He attributes Alii's success to critical elements such as having a quality product, fostering a positive company culture, promoting gender balance and equality, developing leadership capabilities, and providing a safe environment for team members to learn and grow. Fernando's leadership capabilities are widely recognised and have garnered praise for his outstanding contributions to the company's rapid transformation. Mr Fernando shared, "Alii team members have played a crucial role in the company's success, as it is built on great company culture and values. This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire Alii team. We have fostered a culture of collaboration, innovation, and customer-centricity that has propelled our growth and success. I am immensely proud of what we have achieved, and I am excited about the future of Alii."

This global recognition alongside other influential CEO's and businesses further strengthens Alii's brand and its comprehensive solution offering as the company continues to grow and evolve. With a modern cutting-edge technology used by leading organisations and a steadfast commitment to diversity, inclusivity, and innovation, Alii is poised to reach even greater heights in the future under Fernando's influential leadership. About Alii Technology Alii is the privately owned technology company behind the proprietary software platform that digitises and automates procure-to-pay and accounts payable operations. With a mission to provide an all-inclusive solution to automate the accounts payable process and allow for inbuilt fraud detection, Alii is used today by leading education institutions, law firms and enterprise organisations across Australia and New Zealand, already helping to safely process more than 1, 000, 000 invoices annually. With fraud detection and customised workflows and approvals, Alii provides the platform for businesses to engage with a dynamic accounts payable and procure-to-pay automation process to save time, improve visibility and protect the organisation from the risk of fraud. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/leading-accounts-payable-platform-alii-ceo-chamil-fernando-recognised-as-australias-most-influential-ceo-for-2023-301828456.html SOURCE Alii Technology Group Pty Ltd

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
FILE PHOTO: A view of a brine pool of a lithium mine on the Atacama salt flat

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chilean state miner Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, said on Friday it had created two subsidiaries to run a newly mandated lithium business amid a government plan to increase state control over the industry.

The government instructed Codelco in April to begin talks with companies running lithium mining operations in Chile's Atacama salt flats as part of a new lithium strategy that will see the state take majority stakes in all "strategic" projects.

As well as talks with the world's two largest lithium miners, Albemarle and SQM, Codelco has also been tasked by President Gabriel Boric's government with developing new alliances.

In a statement Codelco said a new subsidiary, Salares de Chile SpA, would operate its lithium activities while another, Minera Tarar SpA, would focus on the Atacama salt flats and possible partnerships with private firms operating there.

Maximo Pachecho, the current chair of Codelco's board of directors, was named chairman of both companies, with Eduardo Bitran, who had led negotiations over contracts with Albemarle and SQM some years earlier, as vice-president.

Economy Minister Nicolas Grau said in an interview with Reuters that the government expects to close negotiations with the existing Atacama miners before March 2026, when the current government's term comes to an end.

On Thursday, SQM said it expected to begin talks with Codelco in the coming weeks.

(Reporting by Fabian Andres Cambero; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Jan Harvey)
[May 18, 2023] First Lady Dr. Jill Biden visits Bethel, reinforcing importance of closing digital divide

Dr. Biden, Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland and Rep. Mary Peltola hold event in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region of Alaska, the heartland of Yup'ik culture ANCHORAGE, Alaska, May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- First Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden visited Bethel, Alaska, on Wednesday, and highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration's historic investments in broadband connectivity through the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). IIJA programs and funding are closing the digital divide in Alaska and throughout the nation. At an event held at Bethel High School, Dr. Biden heard remarks from local, regional and Tribal leaders about the importance of connectivity for health care, education and culture as well as the positive impact broadband projects will have on the region's economy. "The funding is going directly to Bethel Native Corporation because you know what your communities need, and I love the name that you've chosen for it," said Dr. Bden. "An Airraq isn't the story itself. It's a tool that helps us tell it. A simple string that becomes a thing of beauty with the creativity and joy and hope we bring to it. The connections of this community are already deep. But with Airraq, you will be able to bring them to life in new ways."



With Ana Hoffman and Bethel Native Corporation in the lead, Bethel and nine other Y-K Delta communities are set to receive 2.5 gig (2,500 Mbps) internet speeds in the coming years through the federally funded AIRRAQ fiber project. Several other Alaska providers also received funding to connect communities across the state. "Investments made through IIJA and the Biden-Harris Administration will have a profound impact on the Y-K Delta and communities throughout the nation," said Hoffman. "The Yup'ik people have lived and thrived here, in one of the most-challenging climates on earth, for generations, maintaining a vibrant culture, strong traditions and enduring values. There are many other communities Dr. Biden could have visited. We are honored she chose ours to demonstrate the importance of investment in connectivity to close the digital divide. I appreciate the way the community came together to address all of the unique logistics needed to accommodate this visit."

About BNC

Bethel Native Corporation is respected as a business leader with offices in Bethel, Anchorage and the lower 48. Bethel's companies engage in many diverse lines of business including government contracting, construction, logistical support, environmental remediation and commercial real estate. Learn more about BNC at https://bethelnativecorp.org View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-lady-dr-jill-biden-visits-bethel-reinforcing-importance-of-closing-digital-divide-301829160.html SOURCE Bethel Native Corporation

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] Australia's Most Influential CEO for 2023

MELBOURNE, Australia, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sri Lankan born, Chamil Fernando, CEO of Alii, has been honoured with the prestigious Most Influential CEO 2023 - Australia award in the accounts payable business category by CEO Monthly in recognition of the remarkable growth and transformative impact he has had on Alii and the business sector in Australia. Since taking over the reins in 2021, Alii has experienced unprecedented growth, propelling the company from relative obscurity to becoming one of the most talked-about organisations in the region. Under Fernando's leadership, Alii has grown over 400% in just over 12 months including a successful Pre-Series A capital round. Alii's transformation has been remarkable, marked by numerous achievements and milestones over the last two years. The platform providing a fully automated end-to-end accounts payable automation solution with invoice fraud detection has enabled the company to quadruple its client base in less than 12 months due to the overall efficiencies ad time-saving benefits. Under Fernando's guidance, the company has successfully rebuilt its product, established a robust ecosystem of integration and solution partners, and continue to receive praise and recognition from several satisfied clients.



Fernando's remarkable journey to becoming the Most Influential CEO 2023 - Australia (Accounts Payable Software) by CEO Monthly is a testament to the extensive experience in executive roles and his exceptional ability to transform businesses within a short timeframe. He attributes Alii's success to key elements such as having a quality product, fostering a positive company culture, promoting gender balance and equality, developing leadership capabilities, and providing a safe environment for team members to learn and grow. Fernando's leadership capabilities are widely recognised and has garnered praise for his outstanding contributions to the company's rapid transformation. Mr Fernando shared, "Alii team members have played a crucial role in the company's success, as it is built on great company culture and values. This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire Alii team. We have fostered a culture of collaboration, innovation, and customer-centricity that has propelled our growth and success. I am immensely proud of what we have achieved, and I am excited about the future of Alii."

This global recognition alongside other influential CEO's and businesses further strengthens Alii's brand and its comprehensive solution offering as the company continues to grow and evolve. With a modern cutting-edge technology used by leading organisations and a steadfast commitment to diversity, inclusivity, and innovation, Alii is poised to reach even greater heights in the future under Fernando's influential leadership. About Alii Technology Alii is the privately owned technology company behind the proprietary software platform that digitises and automates procure-to-pay and accounts payable operations. With a mission to provide an all-inclusive solution to secure and automate the accounts payable process and allow for inbuilt fraud detection, Alii is used today by leading education institutions, law firms and enterprise organisations across Australia and New Zealand, already helping to safely process more than 1, 000, 000 invoices annually. With fraud detection and customised workflows and approvals, Alii provides the platform for businesses to engage with a dynamic accounts payable and procure-to-pay automation process to save time, improve visibility and protect the organisation from the risk of fraud. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/australias-most-influential-ceo-for-2023-301829025.html SOURCE Alii Technology Group Pty Ltd

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] UrbanPiper Enables Merchants to Go Live on ONDC Through Partners uEngage and Bitsila

BENGALURU, India, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UrbanPiper, the leading SaaS platform for restaurants and food businesses, is pleased to announce that it is now enabling merchants to go live on ONDC, India's open network for digital commerce established by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade of the Government of India. UrbanPiper has collaborated with uEngage and Bitsila to enable merchants to sell directly on ONDC. This move will provide a transparent and efficient e-commerce ecosystem that benefits all stakeholders in the food business. UrbanPiper's platform offers various features like omnichannel online order management, menu management & inventory management which help restaurants and food businesses manage their operations efficiently. Ashish Saxena, UrbanPiper India Head of Business, said, "We are thrilled to partner with uEngage and Bitsila to bring the benefits of our platform to ONDC. Our technology will enable merchants to sell on ONDC in a way that is easy, efficient, and cost-effective, and we are excited about the opportunities this will create for our customers." Merchants will now be able to benefit from the efficiencies of the UrbanPiper platform while expanding their reach through ONDC. Merchants can be quickly onboarded onto ONDC and start selling their products and services on the network. This will help busiesses increase sales, streamline operations, and reduce costs.



T Koshy, MD & CEO of ONDC said, "UrbanPiper's platform, coupled with uEngage and Bitsila's expertise, will enable merchants to sell directly on ONDC, thus paving the way for enhanced operational efficiency." "Over the past four years, uEngage has created a very extensive SAAS tech platform for restaurants and provided them with two major benefits  ownership of data and reduced commissions. With ONDC, we just have a bigger ocean! uEngage is looking forward to joining forces with UrbanPiper to enable its large pool of restaurants on ONDC at lowest seller app side commissions" said Sameer Sharma, Founder of uEngage

Dasharatham Bitla, Bitsila Founder & CEO, said, "This is a huge leap forward for the entire F&B ecosystem & we are very excited to bring in a huge transformation through our partnership with Urbanpiper. With Bitsila, restaurants can now instantly get listed on 10+ e-commerce platforms and generate more than double the revenue at less than half the commission, thus making the business more profitable and sustainable." ONDC is a significant step towards the government's vision of building an open, transparent and reliable e-commerce ecosystem for India. UrbanPiper aims to provide restaurant operators with the best possible opportunities to grow their businesses sustainably, and this partnership is another step in that direction. About UrbanPiper UrbanPiper is the leading SaaS platform for restaurants and food businesses, providing various services to help manage operations more efficiently. UrbanPiper helps businesses of all sizes, from the smallest of restaurants to the largest of chains worldwide, grow their in-store and online commerce. Right from helping restaurants automate workflows across online delivery platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato, to building and deploying self-branded websites and apps, and managing walk-in customers and dine-in experiences, UrbanPiper is the preferred choice for over 30k+ restaurants across the world. About ONDC Incorporated on 31st December 2021, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a Section 8 company, is an initiative of the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce, Government of India to create a facilitative model that revolutionises digital commerce, giving greater thrust to penetration of retail e-commerce in India. ONDC is not an application, platform, intermediary, or software but a set of specifications designed to foster open, unbundled, and interoperable open networks Media Contact: Kaushal Raj

[email protected]com

+91-9711774349 Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2080464/UrbanPiper_Partnered_With_uEngage_and_Bitsila.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/urbanpiper-enables-merchants-to-go-live-on-ondc-through-partners-uengage-and-bitsila-301828939.html

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] Money20/20 Europe Presents the Champions of Change



London, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Money20/20, the worlds leading fintech show, regarded as the place where money does business, is unveiling Money20/20 Europes Champions of Change who will be taking their stages at RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre on June 6-8th. Seven influential fintech leaders are presenting or moderating sessions as part of the Champions of Change program this year. Dr. Ruth Wandhofer, Executive Director and VC partner at Gauss Ventures, Maria Prados, Head of Vertical Growth at Worldpay, and Mary Agebsanwa, Fintech Growth Lead at investment technology provider Seccl are three fintech leaders moving the industry with impact and wider purpose. Moderating sessions and speaking at Money20/20 Europe will elevate Seccls presence. Seccl exists to help people invest and invest well. We are a regulated custodian and investment technology provider that powers leading fintechs and advice firms to run their own investment platform, ultimately supporting them to get to market fast and at low cost. Money20/20s audience of decision makers and senior leadership is exactly where we want to be, allowing us to have productive conversations in an efficient amount of time. said Mary Agbesanwa, Fintech Growth Lead at Seccl.

Maarten Stolk, Co-founder and CEO of Deeploy, a company providing businesses with a responsible AI platform for high-risk AI use cases is also a proud champion of change in fintech.

Responsible and explainable AI becomes increasingly important with AI being used in more high impact cases. Its a topic that requires awareness and education and I feel honored to moderate and bring attention and transparency to Explainable AI at Money20/20 Europe. Deeploy is a company that essentially makes sure that AI can be used in regulated risk AI cases rebuilding the underlying infrastructure and platform for data teams to safely deploy AI models. Money20/20 is the one leading industry event in Europe where key players in the financial industry are coming together for both business opportunities and inspiration, said Maarten Stolk, Deeploy Co-founder and CEO of Deeploy.

Money20/20 is also honored to welcome Gerrit Sindermann, Deputy Executive Director at Green Digital Finance Alliance. GDFA is a nonprofit an a catalyst of next generation green digital finance.





At GDFA, our mission is to drive financial innovation for climate, nature, and biodiversity challenges across the global ecosystem. Money20/20 Europe is a great platform for helping us shape the green digital finance landscape globally. I feel honored to not only moderate sessions with some of the leaders in this space but also collaborate on the program content development. I look forward to inspiring conversations  on and off stage  and very much hope to spark enthusiasm for green digital finance among the conference audience, said Gerrit Sindermann, Deputy Executive Director at Green Digital Finance Alliance.



Joanne Dewar, Vice Chair for Global Processing Services and Money20/20 VIP speaker will be moderating a panel on financial inclusion named Future of Credit With Affordability in Mind.

I am honored to be a Champion of Change at Money20/20 Europe. Were seeing the role of open banking and open finance having an impact on financial inclusion. Were also noticing that the role of AI and machine learning have a role to play in harnessing the future possibilities for those that arent fully included in the financial world and look forward to elevating these important topics at the show. Im of course also excited to make connections face-to-face and meet dear friends from the industry," said Joanne Dewar, Vice Chair of Global Processing Services.

Aydan Al-Saad, Creator at the startup European Income, a company giving businesses the ability to make fair compensation decisions is a true Champion of Change.

Money20/20 Europe enables us to reach a broader, more impactful audience. Advocating topics like financial transparency and the gender wage gap provides insights to companies to make educated compensation decisions and something I truly believe the audience will actively take part in. Ravio is disrupting the compensation space by giving businesses the ability to make fair compensation decisions by accessing real-time data. I couldnt be more excited to lead this important dialogue on the powerful stage that Money20/20 offers, said Aydan Al-Saad, Head of UK at Ravio & Content Creator at Aydan.

The Champions of Change is a team of influential, passionate thinkers with impact and purpose beyond the norm leading and disrupting everything from green finance, financial inclusion and explainable AI. We are so excited for our speakers to take their stages in Amsterdam and share their stories and leadership with the world,  said Tracey Davies, Global President at Money20/20. About Money20/20

Founded in 2011, Money20/20 creates destination shows where the most innovative people in payments, fintech, and the broader financial services industry connect. Famed for their high-impact networking, the USA edition, held in Las Vegas (23-25 October 2023), and the Europe edition, held in Amsterdam (6-8 June 2023), are regarded as unmissable by financial services professionals. Money20/20 is the space where the industry's smartest visionaries and innovators come together to create the future of money. Money20/20 is an Ascential show. www.money2020.com. Follow Money20/20 on Twitter for show developments and updates. You can also find us on LinkedIn at Money20/20. Contact: [email protected] About Ascential

Ascential delivers specialist information, analytics, and ecommerce optimisation platforms to the world's leading consumer brands and their ecosystems. Our world-class businesses improve performance and solve problems for our customers by delivering immediately actionable information combined with visionary longer-term thinking across Digital Commerce, Product Design, and Marketing. We also serve customers across Retail & Financial Services. With more than 2,500 employees across five continents, we combine local expertise with a global footprint for clients in over 120 countries. Ascential is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Media Contact: Contact: [email protected]

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] UnionPay Cardholders Enjoy 5% Savings for Train Tickets Purchase via LCR App

VIENTIANE, Laos, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UnionPay International (UPI) and Laos-China Railway Company Limited (LCR) celebrate the enablement of UnionPay on Laos-China Railway Company Limited (LCR) App with an instant discount, exclusive for UnionPay Cardholders only. Campaign period is from now to 15 August 2023, UnionPay Cardholders receive 5% discount per transaction when they successfully purchase LCR train tickets on the LCR App using their UnionPay card. Each UnionPay Cardholder is entitled up to two discounts per day, and a maximum of 15 discounts for the campaign period. Terms & conditions apply, first come first served. On 13 April 2023, UnionPay announced that LCR App has been enabled with UnionPay, providing Cardholders with more convenience when purchasing tickets via the LCR App. UnionPay serves the world's largest customer base, and is the preferred international payment brand in Laos with over 80% market share. "We run this promotion to reward UnionPay cardholders to use the LCR App for their online ticket purchase with their UnionPay Debit and Credit Cards. UnionPay always strives to design benefits with our Cardholders in mind," said Arthur Liu, Laos and Vietnam Country General Manager, UnionPay International. "We will continue to participate in such projects to pave the way in digital payment for Laos people." "We are pleased to partner with UnionPay to offer the bet ticketing experience for our customers. We developed this App to improve our customers' experience, and we hope that this promotion and educational video will encourage our customers to purchase their tickets through the LCR App as it is flexible, convenient and secure," said Zhang Jiantao, Chief Accountant of Laos-China Railway Company Limited.



Together with the launch of this promotion, UnionPay will also share a video to educate cardholders on easy steps to bind their UnionPay cards onto the LCR App. For more information on this promotion and educational video see below:

Promotion offer: https://www.unionpayintl.com/cardholderServ/serviceCenter/merchant/614320014147?type=1 Educational video: https://www.unionpayintl.com/en/mediaCenter/newsCenter/marketUpdate/3015259.shtml About UnionPay International (UPI) UnionPay International focuses on the international business of UnionPay, a global payment network that serves the world's largest Cardholder base. Collaborating with over 2,500 partners globally, UnionPay acceptance now covers over 70 million merchants in 181 countries and regions. Outside Mainland China, UnionPay is accepted at over 38 million merchants and 1.76 million ATMs. As a company with a global acceptance network and a wide range of world-class payment services, UnionPay is committed to providing access to value and secure payment solutions that are tailored to the needs of the local market, to enable choice and ease of payment for consumers and businesses alike. In Laos, UPI work with a large number of partners to provide ATM, POS acceptance and card issuance services. Bank of China, BCEL, Indochina Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, JDB, LDB, and Phongsavanh Bank issue a huge range of payment cards. In Laos, UnionPay is the number one international payment brand and is widely accepted at both merchants and ATMs. For more information, visit www.unionpayintl.com. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/unionpay-cardholders-enjoy-5-savings-for-train-tickets-purchase-via-lcr-app-301829352.html SOURCE UnionPay International

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] 133rd Canton Fair Sum-up: Oriental Yuhong's Harvest

BEIJING, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 5, 2023 (Beijing time), the 133rd China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) came to an end. After three years of waiting, traders gathered in full bloom again, with buyers from 229 countries and regions participating in the Canton Fair. Oriental Yuhong (SZ 002271) followed the Beijing Trade Mission to join the grand event. With the theme of "Building Nationally, Growing Globally", it made an eye-catching appearance at Hall 9.3, Area B, attracting many overseas buyers. After gaining a domestic foothold, Oriental Yuhong has gradually developed overseas markets. As the company's globalization strategy progresses, Oriental Yuhong has spread its reach to 136 countries and regions, constructing various overseas projects such as railroads, highways, industrial parks, and public infrastructure. In addition to accumulating a good reputation, the company accelerates the internationalization of Chinese brands through its professional strength. Oriental Yuhong exhibited at he Canton Fair to showcase its quality products, technology, and comprehensive strength. In addition, it aimed to establish interaction with global customers and promote the rapid development of its international business.



On April 15, Ding Yong, Director of the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau, and Zhao Qizhou, Director of the Beijing International Trade in Services Center, led an inspection team to visit Oriental Yuhong's booth. They learned about Oriental Yuhong's participation, the exhibits' advantages and application scenarios over the years. They encouraged Oriental Yuhong to seize opportunities, utilize the Canton Fair platform, win more orders, seek new opportunities, and explore the international market. During the exhibition, Oriental Yuhong received visitors from 20 countries and regions, including Dubai, Armenia, the Philippines, the United States, Pakistan, Canada, Nepal, Lebanon, Mongolia, and Vietnam. Combined with on-site mock-ups, it gave in-depth elaboration on its development concept of "building materials system solution service provider" for global buyers, fully demonstrating its fruitful achievements in the process of high-quality development.

To accelerate the online and offline integration, Oriental Yuhong cooperated with Made-in-China.com for the first time to jointly carry out live-streaming reporting, presenting itself to more online audiences. As globalization deepens, Oriental Yuhong has continuously innovated and cultivated development momentum. It empowers building material technology and segmented solutions with professional strength. It keeps perfecting its software and hardware strength, and core competitive advantage. It wholeheartedly provides more professional, people-oriented, and more efficient service support and guarantee for overseas customers and engineering projects with faster response speed and more efficient quality and services. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/133rd-canton-fair-sum-up-oriental-yuhongs-harvest-301829373.html SOURCE BEIJING ORIENTAL YUHONG WATERPROOF TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] Appier was awarded the 'Best Talent Acquisition Team'

Appier's talent-driven approach: Empowering growth in the competitive AI market through strong recruitment and retention efforts TAIPEI, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Appier, a leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to power business decision-making, is proud to announce that it was awarded the 'Best Talent Acquisition Team' and was also recognized as a 'Best Employer Brand' finalist at the recent 2022 LinkedIn Talent Awards. These two recognitions in Taiwan are a strong testament to Appier's commitment to talent recruitment and engagement. The LinkedIn Talent Awards recognize companies leading the future of work by demonstrating remarkable adaptability, innovation, and creativity throughout one of the most challenging years for talent. The awards celebrate companies that effectively harness LinkedIn's potential to attract and retain top talent. The 'Best Talent Acquisition Team' award honors talent acquisition teams that excel in using the Recruiter platform for recruitment and engagement with potential candidates. The 'Best Employer Brand' award acknowledges companies that have a strong online presence and exceptional talent engagement, including high company page views, significant follower growth, and engaging content that resonates with current and prospective employees. The award also considers the level of talent engagement with company posts, measured by likes, comments, and shares. Being recognized as a finalist signifies a standout commitment to nurturing a thriving talent community and sets Appier apart as a leader in talent acquisition and employer branding. Appier is proud to foster an environment where there is no glass ceiling, and professionals are empowered to experience accelerated growth in their careers. With a strong focus on high-valued domain knowledge and experiences, Appier provides its employees with opportunities to gain lasting skills that can propel their careers forwad. Under a global working environment, employees at Appier face global customers and partners, contributing to a diverse and enriching work experience. Quick decision-making processes allow employees to directly influence product, technology, policy, and process, fostering a culture of innovation and empowerment.



"We believe that AI is the emerging technology that will revolutionize every sphere of industry and human life, setting a new standard for the way we approach tasks and beyond," said Dr. Chih-Han Yu, CEO and Co-Founder, Appier. "In the post-pandemic era, we are gearing up for strong business performance and subsequent organizational growth by recruiting technology and MarTech professionals across various roles. Our commitment to transforming the marketing industry through AI adoption, talent cultivation, and technological upgrading continues to drive our pursuit of expansion and overall growth in the MarTech industry." Appier's core values of open-mindedness, direct communication, and ambition have fostered an inclusive culture where colleagues are encouraged to communicate effectively and set ambitious goals. With a unique business model that positions it as a leading AI SaaS company, Appier attracts exceptional talent from around the world. The company reinforces its focus on talent through initiatives like Ask Me Anything (AMA) and Happier Hour sessions, welcoming both industry veterans and newcomers to join in driving its growth and shaping the future of AI and MarTech.

Alongside its commitment to providing excellent opportunities for AI and MarTech professionals, Appier actively promotes diversity and inclusion within its workforce, recognizing the value of diverse perspectives and unique talents. Appier is proud to embrace equity & foster an inclusive environment in the tech and business sectors. The company is dedicated to providing a supportive and inclusive work environment where all employees, regardless of gender, can thrive and contribute to the company's success. Appier's commitment to talent recruitment, retention, and gender diversity sets it apart in the competitive AI-SaaS market, and it continues to lead the way in fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. Appier continues to recruit engineers and MarTech professionals, including software engineers, product managers, Machine Learning scientists, data analysts, business development, account management and customer success managers, as well as local sales representatives and partnership and marketing professionals, to align with the strong demand from customers and its overall product innovation pipeline. About Appier Appier (TSE: 4180) is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that uses artificial intelligence to power business decision-making. Founded in 2012 with a vision of democratizing AI, Appier now has 17 offices across APAC, Europe and US, and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Visit www.appier.com for more company information and visit ir.appier.com/en/ for more IR information. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/appier-was-awarded-the-best-talent-acquisition-team-301829416.html SOURCE Appier

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] Another Hisense HD60 Ultrasound Installation at Vaal Radiology, South Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hisense, a manufacturer and provider of high-performance electronics and medical devices, has recently installed the Hisense Ultrasound HD60 at Vaal Radiology, a medical imaging center in Vereeninging, South Africa. This color Doppler ultrasound system is ideal for various ultrasound applications including general abdominal, vascular, and small parts. "Hisense has established itself as a reliable brand globally through its R&D and clinical evaluations. The installation of the HD60 at Vaal Radiology is testament to the growing demand for Hisense's cutting-edge, high-resolution, ultrasound devices in South Africa," said Ronele Prince of Hisense. Designed to provide clinicians with clearer, higher resolution imaging, the HD60 ultrasound system boasts advanced imaging algorithms and a GPU parallel architecture, which allow for faster processing of acoustic data and more precise imaging. Equipped with AI technology and comprehensive application packages, this system is the idal tool for radiology ultrasound applications such as the abdomen, small parts, vascular, and more.



The Hisense Ultrasound HD60 is used in over 30 hospitals in China, facilitating over 50,000 diagnoses. In January 2022, Hisense received the SAHPRA license for the device in South Africa. In April 2022, Hisense secured its first order for a batch of Ultrasound HD60s in South Africa, marking a major milestone towards becoming a key player in the medical equipment sector. Hisense has international certifications such as European Union CE MDR and American FDA, which have given the company access to the global medical device market. The company, through its ultrasound and medical display products, has a presence in many countries across the globe including the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Indonesia, Thailand, Germany, Zimbabwe, Ghana as well as South Africa positioning it for continued growth in and beyond these regions.

Hisense is dedicated to delivering excellent products and services to its customers while fulfilling its healthcare mission. The company's drive to innovate and enhance its offerings is unwavering. Through its state-of-the-art technology and continuous R&D, Hisense is proof of the scientific and technological strength of Chinese brands to users worldwide. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/another-hisense-hd60-ultrasound-installation-at-vaal-radiology-south-africa-301829438.html SOURCE Hisense SA Sales Holdings (Pty) Ltd

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023]

This Week in Tech News: 10 Stories You Need to See

A roundup of the week's most newsworthy technology industry press releases from PR Newswire, including AI-powered learning tools and a new AI-guided travel show.

NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering the business technology industry stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

Read more of the latest business technology releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNtech on Twitter.

Can't-Miss Earnings

In addition to these popular releases, several must-read earnings reports crossed the wire this week, including the quarterly results for Wix, Sonata Software, and Spark Networks.

Catch up on all the latest earnings reports here.

Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News

These are just a few of the recent press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists.

Once they're signed up, reporters, bloggers and freelancers have access to the following free features:

Customization: Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more.

Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more. Photos and Videos: Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story.

Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story. Subject Matter Experts: Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles.

Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles. Related Resources: Read and subscribe to our journalist- and blogger-focused blog, Beyond Bylines, for media news roundups, writing tips, upcoming events, and more.

About PR Newswire and PR Newswire for Journalists

For more than 65 years, PR Newswire has been the industry leader with the largest, most comprehensive distribution network of print, radio, magazine, television stations, financial portals and trade publications. PR Newswire has an unparalleled global reach of more than 200,000 publications and 10,000 websites and is available in more than 170 countries and 40 languages.

PR Newswire for Journalists (PRNJ) is an exclusive community that includes over 20,000 journalists, bloggers and influencers who are logging into their PRNJ accounts specifically looking for story ideas. PR Newswire thoroughly researches and vets this community to verify their identity as a member of the press, blogger or influencer. PRNJ users cover more than 200 beats and verticals.

For questions, contact the team at [email protected].

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/this-week-in-tech-news-10-stories-you-need-to-see-301829081.html

SOURCE PR Newswire
[May 19, 2023] DFJ Bitcoin Obtains MSB Registration Again and Expands Formal Service Scope Worldwide

TAOYUAN, Taiwan, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Two years after it obtained the MSB Registration administered by FINTRAC, DFJ Bitcoin now obtains the MSB Registration administered by FinCEN, which means that it can legally conduct cryptocurrency business in the US and around the world under the supervision of local governments. In this regard, the security of assets and information is greatly guaranteed, making DFJ Bitcoin more attractive to global investors. The MSB Registration represents the recognition of platform compliance and allows the digital asset management platform to carry out currency transfer services. This Registration enables DFJ Bitcoin to conduct digital currency transactions in a secure and compliant way and expand its service scope in the US, so that users' needs can be better met and more diverse services can be available. The US is the largest country of immigrants today, contributing to a mature financial system. Immigrants are an inalienable part of diverse and prosperous communities in the US, with thousands of investors and cross-border businessmen in all communities. Therefore, there exist huge demands for financial services and great interest in investment, and the establishment of digital currency platforms in the US makes these transactions possible. DFJ Bitcoin can also meet the remittance, trading and cross-border payment requirements of global investors and enterprises. Conducting business within the regulatory ramework of the US market can protect the blockchain assets of global users and make their assets easier to control, thus ensuring the circulation and exchange of digital assets as well as the preservation and appreciation of digital assets.



Due to the MSB Registration's supervision responsibility for registered enterprises and members, DFJ Bitcoin must also comply with anti-money laundering regulations, reduce possible fraudulent behaviors on the platform, guarantee the authenticity of transactions and the security of user assets, and truly fulfill ethical and social responsibilities, such as ensuring social and economic stability and safeguarding public interests. As a government-licensed platform, DFJ Bitcoin is superior to other non-compliant platforms in the market in terms of credibility, security, compliance, etc. DFJ Bitcoin complies with the Hyperledger Fabric that provides various frameworks, tools, standards and guidelines for blockchain application development. The Hyperledger Fabric consists of frameworks such as Indy, Burrow, Fabric and Sawtooth and tools such as Cello, Quilt and Caliper.

These tools and frameworks enable blockchain developers to build blockchain applications that optimize and enhance processes across various industries. Take the Hyperledger Fabric for example. It is used in a range of businesses in different industries to simplify the process, improve productivity, boost growth, and ensure the security of user assets and data, Therefore, DFJ Bitcoin is also known as the "most trusted partner" by the market. DFJ Bitcoin has also been committed to the compliance development of exchanges and actively participating in the global compliance process. In the future, DFJ Bitcoin will provide more compliant digital asset financial services around the world. Company: DFJ INVESTMENT LIMITED Contact Person: parkerli Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.bitcoin-dfj.vip/ Telephone: (098) 108 2402 City: 335 No. 449, Section 2, Yuanlin Road, Daxi District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan, 335 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/dfj-bitcoin-obtains-msb-registration-again-and-expands-formal-service-scope-worldwide-301829453.html SOURCE DFJ INVESTMENT LIMITED

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Chinas economy is growing again. So why are investors getting out?

Until a few weeks ago, Chinese shares were among the best-performing in the world over the previous six months as investors bet on the countrys economic recovery after the lifting of pandemic restrictions.

But since April 18, when China released figures on its first-quarter economic output, stocks of Chinese companies around the world have lost about $540 billion in value, according to CNN calculations. Investors trimmed their exposure to China amid economic uncertainty in the country, rising geopolitical tensions and Beijings crackdown on international consulting firms.

The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index has lost more than 5% since April 18. Hong Kongs Hang Seng (HSI) Index has also shed 5%. And the Shanghai Composite Index and the Shenzhen Component Index have fallen 3% and 6.5% respectively. During the same period, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 4%.

The selling is not limited to equities. The Chinese yuan, a barometer of investor sentiment, has tumbled over 2% in the past month. On Wednesday, the yuan sank below 7 to the US dollar in offshore trading, breached that key level for the first time this year. The currency weakened further on Friday, hitting its lowest level in nearly six months.

The sun sets over Shanghai's Lujiazui Financial District on May 8, 2023 - VCG/Visual China Group/Getty Images

Investors remain skeptical [about China] for two primary reasons. First, the recovery has not been robust, said Brock Silvers, chief investment officer for Hong Kong-based Kaiyuan Capital.

Another concern for global investors is the countrys fundamental investability, he said, referring to geopolitical and Chinese policy risks.

Relations between the United States and China have become increasingly tense over the past few months. Washington has ramped up sanctions against key Chinese industries, including chipmaking. Beijing has displayed a growing distrust of foreign companies, cracking down on international consultancies and expanding the countrys counter-espionage law last month.

Unfortunately after two decades of mutual benefit, global tensions have risen between China and the US, said Michael Kelly, global head of multi-asset at PineBridge Investments, a New York-based asset management firm.

Patchy recovery

Chinese stocks began a sharp rally in late October on hopes that the country would exit its costly zero-Covid policy. In early December, Beijing ditched the stringent restrictions, which resulted in a quick rebound in economic activity.

But despite solid consumption-led growth of 4.5% in the first quarter, recent economic data point to an uneven recovery in the worlds second largest economy.

On Tuesday, China released a batch of economic data for April, which largely disappointed investors. Nomura and Barclay lowered their forecasts to 5.5% and 5.3%, respectively, after the data release. But UBS and Goldman Sachs maintained their growth projections, which are 5.7% and 6% for the year.

The consumer price index rose by just 0.1% in April, the slowest pace in more than two years. The producer price index, which measures factory-gate prices, declined by 3.6%, marking the biggest contraction in three years, and underscoring the risk of deflation.

Imports plunged 7.9% in April, reinforcing signs of feeble domestic demand. As for employment, the jobless rate for 16- to 24-year-olds hit a record high of 20.4% in April.

Chinas faltering real estate sector, formerly the economys main driver, remains a major worry, said Silvers. Over the past few decades, the sector has accounted for as much as 30% of Chinas GDP.

On Wednesday, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that new home prices rose by just 0.3% in April, after 0.4% in March, suggesting that the pent-up demand may be fading after the end of pandemic restrictions. Before February, home prices had been in a historical decline for about 18 months.

Anti-spy crackdown

Even as leaders have sought to woo back foreign investment, a campaign against consulting and due diligence firms has unnerved business people.

Last month, Beijing updated its counter-espionage law, which expanded the list of activities that could be considered spying. Over the past few months, officials have launched a series of raids on consultancies, including Capvision, Bain & Company and Mintz Group.

They accused Capvision, which is based in Shanghai and New York, of helping to leak sensitive military information to foreign forces. The authorities have also announced a nationwide investigation into whether the consultancy industry has been used for espionage.

Beijings moves to reduce foreign access to domestic information and business intelligence make equity investment in China more challenging, said Neil Thomas, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institutes Center for China Analysis.

The enhanced focus on national security in economic policymaking is a typical example of how Xis leadership is creating political risks that are making it harder for foreign firms to do business in China.

Fund managers and analysts say the crackdown makes it much tougher for foreign investor to get routine information about Chinese companies that would normally factor into their decision making.

At the same time, Beijing has restricted overseas access to some Chinese data sources, such as Wind, a database that provides key financial data.

Closing shop

Some funds and research firms are shutting up shop.

Forrester Research, a US tech-focused research and advisory firm, plans to cut the majority of its China analysts, according to media reports. In a response to CNN, Forrester said that it was shutting its China office as part of a global restructuring.

The unsteady economy, along with our ongoing product transformation, are the key drivers for the change, a spokesperson said. The size of the companys China business is not material in relation to its global revenue and it would service its clients in China through its global research team, the spokesperson said.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, one of the worlds largest pension funds, has closed its Hong Kong-based China equity investment team.

We will no longer have country-focused stock-picking teams based in Asia, resulting in the departure of five of our colleagues in our Hong Kong office, said Dan Madge, a spokesperson for the pension fund, in a statement to CNN.

Some investors, however, are convinced Chinese will bounce back.

While there is no doubt that a large correction has taken place in Chinas stock market  one also needs to keep in mind that this follows China previously leading most major stock markets off the October lows, said Kelly at PineBridge Investments.

The more cracks appear in Western economies, the more global investors will need to put money into Chinese assets, he added.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
[May 19, 2023] MediaWallah Releases Architecture(), a Fully Configurable and Transparent Identity Suite

NEW YORK, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MediaWallah, the identity by design provider to the worlds premier brands, publishers, platforms and agencies, today announced the launch of the Architecture() Identity Suite, a new kind of identity portfolio that gives companies total control over identity management.

With the rise of composable tech, companies are designing entirely new data stacks and workflows built on interoperable data warehouses  and the shift to a first-party data ecosystem creates wholly new demands for companies using identity, explained Nancy Marzouk, Founder and CEO, MediaWallah. In that new identity era, companies dont need standardized packages. Theyre looking for configurable tech to architect the right solutions to their unique requirements. Thats why were pleased to formally launch the Architecture Identity Suite: a new kind of identity portfolio that gives companies total control over identity management. Architecture provides extensive flexibility to help every customer reconcile, manage data, and build their own data solutions as they see fit. In a field as complex and sensitive as ours  where every customer comes with its own unique infosec and informatics requirements  you need an identity partner thats wholly adaptable and transparent, explained Kashish Gupta, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Composable CDP provider Hightouch.Thats why MediaWallahs configurable Architecture Identity Suite is a game-changer. It gives companies unprecedented control to lead in the next era of data-driven consumer engagement.



MediaWallah designed Architecture to empower companies to create identity graphs and tailored identity infrastructure for their workflow, information, and security needs. The highly configurable Suite is designed for brands, publishers and data companies to manage identity independently across every channel, partner and platform today and through the future of identity. Architecture gives companies the tools to manage identity end-to-end:

Onboard and share to specific, advanced security standards: Resolve sensitive data at scale directly in secure environments for transparency collaboration and insights.

Optimize identity resolution for better data governance, targeting, and analytics: Companies get linkage data with flags so important information like data quality and validation can be used to manage governance, accuracy and scale.

Build ultra-impactful audiences: Use omnichannel identity for record-level crosswalks between data sets to assess audience overlap and understand ways the third-party data can deliver even more precise, accurate targeting.

Enable data with transparency: Build your own proprietary match table  without needing to rely on opaque third-party party IDs  to resolve to known individuals for activation, targeting, measurement and analytics, across cookieless, CTV, mobile-based identifiers and more. To learn more about MediaWallah Architecture, go to MediaWallah.com/Solutions. About MediaWallah With MediaWallah, companies can unlock the full value of their data to drive lasting growth. The worlds most innovative companies trust our identity-by-design solutions and services, powered by the vastly configurable Architecture() Identity Suite, to help them build sustainable identity graphs and tailored identity infrastructure for their advanced workflow, information, and security needs. Contact:

Emily Riley

[email protected]

914-300-1128



[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] HeySara and OCBC Bank are Helping SMEs Go Digital at a Fraction of the Cost

TMCnet News Next-gen corporate compliance and cloud accounting company HeySara - in a move to facilitate digital head-starts for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - has officially joined forces with Singapore's financial services corporation OCBC Bank. This is a global-minded move that places more attention on mature business growth.



With this in-the-works partnership, HeySara is providing their report-filing, deadline-reminding, document-filing Digital Secretary Solutions (along with their ease-of-use and cost-effective cloud services and software) to OCBC Bank. In 2023, digitized corporate services like these (including accounting and real-time tax assistance, as well) are important. Notably, said services involving HeySara and OCBC Bank are also part of Start Digital initiative first launched by Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), where business both in the country and abroad are being further prioritized. Start Digital, which was launched in 2019 (shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic), has been extended in order to support SMEs in building real digital capabilities; i.e. easy-to-deploy answers to SME challenges.

As a modern-grounded company, HeySara combines both its "digital technology and human touch to the entirety of the customer experience." So, given this OCBC Bank partnership, HeySara's user-friendly services will be offered via the new "HeySara-OCBC Start Digital Packs." (e.g. secretarial, accounting, HR and website-hosting services) For specific pricing information, look here. "We are thrilled to be collaborating with OCBC to offer these Start Digital Packs to SMEs," said Ng Su Kai, HeySara's founder. "We believe our all-inclusive packages and affordable solutions will certainly help small businesses take their first-but-important step towards digital business transformation with greater confidence and ease."





Edited by Alex Passett



[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] Robocast Defeats Netflix's Attempt to Invalidate Robocast Patent Covering its Playlist Technology

Robocast, a leading innovator in playlist technology, announced today that it has successfully defended its U.S. Patent No. 7,155,451 B1 (the "'451 Patent") against an inter partes review (IPR) challenge filed by Netflix before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The PTAB issued a decision on May 11, 2023, denying institution of inter partes review of key claims of the '451 Patent, which covers a method and system for automated browsing of media content. The PTAB found that Netflix failed to demonstrate that it was reasonably likely to prevail in proving that any of the challenged claims were unpatentable over the prior art relied on by Netflix. The decision strengthens Robocast's patent position in the playlist technology space. Some of the key facts and benefits of the PTAB's decision are: The PTAB declined to institute inter partes review of any of the claims of the '451 Patent challenged in the petition.

The PTAB found that Netflix "is not reasonably likely to prevail in showing that" any of the challenged claims is anticipated by or would have been obvious over any of the prior art raised by Netflix.

The PTAB's decision is not appealable. "We are very pleased with the PTAB's decision, which further validates Robocast's pioneering inventions and confirms its strong patent position in the playlist technology space," said Steven J. Rizzi, Esq. who led the team from McKool Smith in the IPR proceedings. "This is a significant victory for Robocast, as they continue to pursue their infringement claims against Netflix and YouTube in federal court." McKool Smith was recognized by IAM as having the highest win rate for patent owners before the PTAB in 2022.



Robocast is represented by McKool Smith and Cantor Colburn in the IPR proceedings and the related district court litigation. Robocast has asserted the '451 Patent and two other patents from the same family against Netflix and Google/YouTube in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware after having previously successfully asserted the '451 Patent against Microsoft and Apple. About Robocast

Robocast develops and licenses playlist technology for online media consumption. Robocast's patented technology allows users to create, share, and enjoy personalized playlists of web content with minimal user input. Robocast's vision is to revolutionize the way people browse and discover online media. To find out how Robocast can help you create, share, and enjoy personalized playlists of web content, visit www.robocast.com or contact [email protected] today. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230518005679/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] Landmark Victory: KPM Analytics Prevails in Trade Secret Misappropriation Trial

WESTBOROUGH, Mass., May 19, 2023 /CNW/ -- KPM Analytics, a global leader in scientific instrumentation and machinery, focused primarily on analyzing critical quality parameters in the food and agricultural industries, is gratified to announce a resounding victory in a recent jury trial concerning trade secret misappropriation claims. In the United States District Court, the jury, after an extensive examination of the evidence, returned a unanimous verdict in favor of KPM. With it, KPM was awarded multiple millions of dollars in financial damages. The lawsuit, KPM Analytics North America Corporation vs. Blue Sun Scientific, LLC, The Innovative Technologies Group & Co., Ltd., Arnold Eilert, Robert Gajewski, Rachael Glenister, and Irvin Lucas (Civil Action No. 21-CV-10572-MRG), involved allegations of trade secret theft and misappropriation against KPM. Following a rigorous 12-day trial in May 2023, the jury agreed with KPM's assertions, underscoring the importance of respecting and upholding intellectual property laws. The jury's unanimous verdict in favor of KPM is a testament to the strength of the evidence presented and the credibility of its claims. This verdict reaffirms KPM's commitment to defending its assets and innovations. It also underscores the company's belief in the power of law to protect innovators and ensure fair competition in the marketplace. "We are pleased with the outcome of the trial, which reinforces the value of our unique industry knowledge developed over decades and the significance of protecting it," stated Brian Mitchell, CEO of KPM Analytics. "This verdict sends a clear message that intellectual property theft will not be tolerated." KPM would like to extend its gratitude to the dedicated legal team, Sunstein LLP and Morse Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, PC, expert witnesses, and all those involved in the two-year long case, whose unwavering support and diligent efforts were instrumental in achieving this significant victory. The verdict serves as a reminder that KPM will not tolerate the misappropriation of its trade secrets and will take all necessary legal measures to safeguard its valuable intellectual property. As an industry leader, KPM remains committed to advancing scientific solutions that analyze key parameters for food, agriculture and other critical applications. With this successful outcome, KPM can confidently focus on continuing to serve our customers with innovative technologies, secure in the knowledge that its trade secrets are protected by law. About KPM Analytics?

KPM Analytics is a global leader in scientific instrumentation and machinery, focused primarily on analyzing critical parameters within the food, feed, agriculture, and environmental sectors. We provide a comprehensive range of products and services to uniquely solve our customers' problems. Our product brands are AMS Alliance, Bruins Instruments, CHOPIN Technologies, EyePro System, Process Sensors, Sensortech, Sightline Process Control, Smart Vision Works, and Unity Scientific. Each has a long history of delivering advanced and reliable analysis solutions to ensure product quality and optimize process efficiency, with customer service at the center of everything we do. Visit www.kpmanalytics.com to learn more.







Media contact: Melanie Scott?

[email protected]?

314.704.0053

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/landmark-victory-kpm-analytics-prevails-in-trade-secret-misappropriation-trial-301829741.html SOURCE KPM Analytics

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of TD Reinsurance (Barbados) Inc.

AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a+" (Excellent) of TD Reinsurance (Barbados) Inc. (TD Re) (Barbados). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The ratings reflect TD Re's balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. TD Re is a life and general insurance reinsurer that ultimately is owned by The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Bank). TD Re principally reinsures credit insurance policies underwritten by third-party life insurance carriers on consumer loans originated by TD Bank's Canadian retail branches. The company also has reinsured homeowners and private passenger auto insurance with a 25% quota share agreement with another TD Bank subsidiary since 2017. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic environment, TD Re maintained its high return on equity from favorable underwriting results and a favorable risk-adjusted capital position through its fiscal year-end 2022. The company also continues to maintain multiple high quality investment portfolios that are managed to match the specific liability profiles of the business it supports. These strengths are offset partially by a dependence on Canadian consumer loan originations for growth and the competitive reinsurance environment. Due to fewer face-to-face transactions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, creditor premiums have trended lower, although a strategic focus of the parent has been to digitize banking services to suport sales growth. Furthermore, while earnings have been favorable for the general insurance line of business to date, the homeowners and private passenger auto lines of business are considered riskier and more capital-intensive than the creditor business.



This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best's Credit Ratings, Best's Performance Assessments, Best's Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best's Ratings & Assessments. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2023 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005327/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] 2023 China Pinghu (Japan) Investment Environment Seminar Held in Tokyo

SHANGHAI, May 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, the 2023 China Pinghu (Japan) Investment Environment Seminar was successfully held in Tokyo. Zhou Junbo, Deputy Secretary of the Pinghu Municipal Party Committee and Mayor, personally introduced the investment environment of Pinghu City. Under the theme of "Five Ones," Zhou Junbo presented five key elements of Pinghu's urban environment to the participants: a lotus flower, a port, a group of enterprises, a way of life, and a set of policies. Firstly, the lotus flower symbolizes the Li Shutong Memorial Hall, a memorial hall built by Pinghu in memory of Li Shutong, a pioneer in Sino-Japanese cultural exchange. Inspired by Li Shutong's spirit of "being serious, brave, and diligent," Pinghu has consistently ranked among the top 50 cities in terms of comprehensive strength, and its business environment is among the top 20 nationwide. Secondly, a port represents an oriental gateway. As a preferred location in central China, Pinghu's annual cargo throughput at its port has successfully exceeded 100 million tons, and its container throughput ranks 83rd globally.



Pinghu also boasts a group of foreign-invested enterprises and has established stable trade relations with more than 170 countries and regions. It is one of the most concentrated areas for foreign investment in China, currently hosting 525 foreign-funded enterprises, including 114 Japanese-funded enterprises, covering various industries such as automotive components, advanced equipment manufacturing, new materials, and biomedicine.

Pinghu has a preferential, systematic, and precise industrial policy and talent policy system, with a focus on supporting the development of industries such as new energy vehicles, optoelectronic communication, high-end CNC machine tools, and biomedicine. Additionally, Pinghu provides high-quality labor protection policies to facilitate and support the development of businesses and talents in the city. During the investment environment seminar, the signing ceremony for a new project by Pinghu Konda Zhi Precision Technology Co., Ltd. was successfully held. Konda Zhi plans to invest $50 million in a new lens module project, which will provide critical component support for popular industries such as intelligent connected vehicles, robots, and drones. Zhou Junbo sincerely invites entrepreneurs to come to Pinghu to personally experience the unique charm and investment value of this city. Website: http://www.pinghu.gov.cn/col/col1229456430/index.html Contact name: Zhang Ping Contact Email: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/2023-china-pinghu-japan-investment-environment-seminar-held-in-tokyo-301829790.html SOURCE Pinghu Municipal People's Government

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] North Island Credit Union Presents 2023 Innovation in Education Impact Award to High Tech High School

** Classroom of the Future Foundation's Innovation in Education program recognizes San Diego County school initiatives modeling the future of K-12 education ** ** North Island Credit Union receives CFF's 2023 Business Champion of the Year Award at Annual Event ** SAN DIEGO, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As the Premier Sponsor of the Classroom of the Future Foundation (CFF), North Island Credit Union recently presented the organization's prestigious 2023 Innovation in Education Impact Award to High Tech High School for its Students Offshore: Urban Oyster student scientist climate change study program. In recognition of the award, North Island Credit Union provided High Tech High School with $10,000 to expand its innovative student scientist project that studies and monitors oysters and sea water to measure and document climate change. Encompassing student field work and data analysis, the grant will be used to expand the research program by increasing the frequency and quality of testing. Also during the event, the credit union received CFF's 2023 Business Champion of the Year Award, recognizing its commitment to supporting the organization's work in creating innovative learning environments in San Diego County public schools. "We congratulate the outstanding educators at High Tech High School for receiving CFF's Impact Award, which is well-deserved recognition of their exciting Urban Oyster student scientist program," said North Island Credit Union President/CEO Steve O'Connell. "This unique program provides hands-on learning and research opportunities for thesestudent scientists as well as connects them with the environment, educates the public, and provides professional mentorship opportunities. We also want to thank CFF for honoring the credit union with the Business Champion Award; we continue to be inspired by the important work CFF is doing in our shared commitment to support our education community and students."



High Tech High School Biology Teacher Kalle Applegate Palmer said, "I am thrilled that our project was selected as the Classroom of the Future Foundation's Impact Award recipient. The students designed and are implementing original scientific experiments to understand the impact of human activity on oyster populations on human-made structures, and are writing about their findings with the hopes of publishing in scientific journals. I am are optimistic that the Impact Award recognition will encourage students and inspire innovative approaches to integrating student scientists into local research initiatives." The CFF annual Innovation in Education Awards program honors innovative classroom programs, educators, and students in San Diego County schools that model the future of K-12 education. Following an intensive application and selection process, four classroom programs are recognized for their ability to get students excited about learning and enhance outcomes through the effective use of technology. The Impact Award is given to the program that exceeds all others in its ability to impact students and teachers. A complete list of 2023 CFF Innovation in Education Award recipients is available here.

"Innovation isn't only about technology," said San Diego County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Paul Gothold. "It's about identifying and addressing the barriers in our existing systems so every child can gain the skills needed to thrive. It's connecting our students to engaging learning that will support them now and into their future, and our community partner North Island Credit Union is amplifying the efforts of exemplary programs in our region through the annual Innovation in Education Awards." In its fifth year as Premier CFF Sponsor, North Island Credit Union has provided $20,000 annually to support the organization's mission. Since 1997, CFF has united business, community, and educational leaders to create innovative learning environments in San Diego County public schools that prepare students to thrive in a competitive, global society. About North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union

California Credit Union is a federally insured, state chartered credit union founded in 1933 that serves public or private school employees, community members and businesses across California. With more than 170,000 members and assets of over $4.5 billion, California Credit Union has 24 branches throughout Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties. The credit union operates in San Diego County as North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union. California Credit Union offers a full suite of consumer, business and investment products and services, including comprehensive consumer checking and loan options, personalized financial planning, business banking, and leading-edge online and mobile banking. Please visit northisland.ccu.com for more information or follow the credit union on Instagram or Facebook @northislandcu. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/north-island-credit-union-presents-2023-innovation-in-education-impact-award-to-high-tech-high-school-301829858.html SOURCE North Island Credit Union

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] CyrusOne Announces CFO Transition

Today CyrusOne announces that Chief Financial Officer Katherine Motlagh will step down from her role effective June 1, 2023. Michael Schafer, the Company's Senior Vice President, Finance, will assume the role of interim CFO upon Motlagh's departure. "On behalf of the entire CyrusOne team, I would like to thank Katherine Motlagh for her leadership and many contributions to our company, including helping the company navigate the pandemic, her role in the historic take-private, and navigating the current challenges of the capital markets. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors," said Eric Schwartz, President and Chief Executive Officer of CyrusOne. "We are fortunate to have a bench of talented leaders at CyrusOne. Michael Schafer, who joined the company in 2013, will bring his steady leadership and deep knowledge of our company to the CFO role, supporting our continued execution as we conduct a search for our next CFO." Mr. Schaffer has nearly three decades of progressive experience in corporate finance and curently leads our investor reporting, FP&A, and treasury functions, as well as being a key member of our capital markets team. The Company has commenced an internal and external search to identify a permanent CFO.



About CyrusOne CyrusOne is a leading global data center developer and operator specializing in delivering state-of-the-art digital infrastructure solutions across the globe. With more than 50 high-performance mission-critical facilities worldwide, the Company ensures the continued operation of digital infrastructure for nearly 800 customers, including approximately 200 Fortune 1000 companies.

CyrusOne's leading global platform of hybrid-cloud and multi-cloud deployments offers customers colocation, hyperscale, and build-to-suit environments, which help enhance the strategic connections of their essential data infrastructures and support the achievement of sustainability goals. CyrusOne data centers offer world-class flexibility, enabling clients to modernize, simplify, and rapidly respond to changing demands. Combining exceptional financial strength, a broad global footprint, and continued investment in key digital gateway markets, CyrusOne provides the world's largest companies with long-term stability and strategic advantage at scale. For more information, please visit cyrusone.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005362/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] B.C. Premier David Eby Celebrates World-Leading B.C. Tech Innovation at D-Wave

B.C. Premier David Eby and Jobs, Economic Development, and Innovation Minister Brenda Bailey visited the Burnaby headquarters of D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) today to celebrate the latest breakthroughs in quantum computing and gain a deeper understanding into how the innovative technology can be applied to today's societal and business challenges. D-Wave also announced a new quantum training program with B.C.-based Quantum Algorithms Institute (QAI) to accelerate the development of a quantum-ready workforce. QAI brings together industry, academia and government to harness British Columbia's reputation as a leader in quantum computing. The visit comes following the release of the Province's new StrongerBC: Future Ready Action Plan, which positions technology as a key growth area and looks to businesses to foster innovation and integrate technology to improve the way services are delivered. D-Wave, a leader in quantum computing systems, software, and services, and the only company in the world building both quantum annealing and gate-based quantum computers, has been advancing quantum science since its inception at UBC in 1999. The company recently achieved a significant scientific milestone demonstrating that its system's use of quantum delivers a speedup over classical for an important class of hard problems. We believe that D-Wave's quantum technology is well suited to solving complex optimization problems, many of which are faced by the Province today. From electrical grid reliability to optimization of transportation and emergency response, today's quantum computing technology can be used to develop new and innovative solutions to drive efficiencies. "D-Wave is a B.C. innovation success story, driving the global race to solve the complex problems of today and tomorrow through quantum computing while creating jobs and opportunity here at home," said Premier David Eby. "I am impressed by these technological advancements and encouraged to see firsthand that applications on D-Wave technology can help with a wide range of critical challenges including climate change, supply chains and energy." The new D-Wave and QAI joint training program will provide hands-on quantum computing training and experiential learning to B.C. researchers and students working on some of the most complex and challenging questions facing society. The program will provide access to D-Wave's leading quantum computing technologies and help B.C. grow and retain top talent by building up a quantum-ready workforce who may ultimately be end users of the technology. The training program will be piloted over a two-year period and serves as a building block in supporting B.C. quantum innovation effort and building a quantum-knowledgeable and ready workforce. "British Columbia and D-Wave have long been at the forefront of global quantum innovation and developing the highly skilled workforce that drives it," said Mark W. Johnson, senior vice president at D-Wave. "We are excited to host Premier Eby and Minister Bailey today to provide them a behind-the-scenes look at our technology, discuss real-world applications of quantum, and highlight our newest training program with the QAI to build a quantum-ready workforce." "One aspect of our Future Ready Action Pla is aimed at building the workforce for emerging technologies, like quantum computing," said Minister Bailey. "Our government is taking action to ensure emerging tech businesses like D-Wave continue to have access to a highly skilled and diverse talent pool. We need to train the workforce to be quantum ready now to ensure we can realize the benefits of this promising technology."



"QAI is excited to partner with D-Wave to increase the number of people working with quantum technologies and provide practical, hands-on skills training and access to quantum hardware for students and researchers," said Louise Turner, CEO of the QAI. "The partnership between QAI and D-Wave provides an opportunity to build on the objectives of the Future Ready Action Plan and expand B.C.'s internationally recognized quantum computing workforce. QAI works with B.C. companies to help them realize the advantages of this high-potential technology across a range of industries, including healthcare, transportation and logistics and the natural resource sector." About D-Wave Quantum Inc.

D-Wave is a leader in the development and delivery of quantum computing systems, software, and services, and is the world's first commercial supplier of quantum computers-and the only company building both annealing quantum computers and gate-model quantum computers. Our mission is to unlock the power of quantum computing today to benefit business and society. We do this by delivering customer value with practical quantum applications for problems as diverse as logistics, artificial intelligence, materials sciences, drug discovery, scheduling, cybersecurity, fault detection, and financial modeling. D-Wave's technology is being used by some of the world's most advanced organizations, including Volkswagen, Mastercard, Deloitte, Davidson Technologies, ArcelorMittal, Siemens Healthineers, Unisys, NEC Corporation, Pattison Food Group Ltd., DENSO, Lockheed Martin, Forschungszentrum Julich, University of Southern California, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.

About the Quantum Algorithms Institute

The Quantum Algorithms Institute was established in British Columbia in 2020 to address the challenges and opportunities presented by the advent of commercial scale quantum computing. QAI is a collaboration between the BC government, BC's academic community of universities and quantum experts, and BC's growing sector of quantum computing companies. These groups and QAI are working with non-quantum companies across industries in BC and Canada to build experience in the real-world application of quantum solutions. We aim to increase quantum literacy in the Canadian economy and grow the quantum talent pool available for BC's quantum industry sector. Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which statements are based on beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "project," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We caution you that these statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us and our projections of the future, which are subject to a number of risks. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the results and impact of the new quantum training program with QAI. We cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this press release will prove to be accurate. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, among others, various factors beyond management's control, including general economic conditions and other risks, our ability to expand our customer base and the customer adoption of our solutions, and the uncertainties and factors set forth in the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in D-Wave Quantum Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as factors associated with companies, such as D-Wave, that are engaged in the business of quantum computing, including anticipated trends, growth rates, and challenges in those businesses and in the markets in which they operate; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against us; risks related to the performance of our business and the timing of expected business or financial milestones; unanticipated technological or project development challenges, including with respect to the cost and/or timing thereof; the performance of the our products; the effects of competition on our business; the risk that we will need to raise additional capital to execute our business plan, which may not be available on acceptable terms or at all; the risk that we may never achieve or sustain profitability; the risk that we are unable to secure or protect our intellectual property; volatility in the price of our securities; and the risk that our securities will not maintain the listing on the NYSE. Furthermore, if the forward-looking statements contained in this press release prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In addition, you are cautioned that past performance may not be indicative of future results. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not place undue reliance on these statements in making an investment decision or regard these statements as a representation or warranty by any person we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. The forward-looking statements in this press release represent our views as of the date of this press release. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we have no current intention of doing so except to the extent required by applicable law. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005058/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] Eascra Biotech Research Blasts Off with Ax-2 Launch

BOSTON, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Research from Eascra Biotech will be onboard Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2), a private crew mission to the International Space Station set to launch Sunday May 21 from Kennedy Space Station. Eascra is investigating space manufacturing of its Janus Base Nanoparticles (JBNp), an entirely new type of therapeutic delivery platform that mimics DNA. Eascra Biotech co-founders Yupeng Chen and Mari Anne Snow, executive director Gary du Moulin, and Anne Yu, post-doc lab worker, will be at Kennedy Space Center for the launch. The science team packed everything and turned it over to NASA for loading this week, said CEO Snow. We're set up for a secure communication link with the International Space Station (ISS), and we hope to have space-related science back in our hands by the first week of June. Manufacturing in Space May Help Treat Arthritis With many potential treatment options to pursue, Eascra has opted to focus first on arthritis. On earth, in a lab, Dr. Chen and his team combined JBNps with RNA, stopped cartilage degradation and preserved it. Arthritis is a painful condition affecting one in four Americans and has no known cure. Its a $65B market gowing at 8.7% annually.



Manufacturing in low gravity will accelerate our market entry by bolstering the structure of the JPNs, making potentially life-saving discoveries possible through stronger products, says Eascra Biotech CEO, Mari Anne Snow. The goal is to both build efficient in-space manufacturing processes and investigate the effects of low gravity conditions on our mRNA therapeutic delivery platform. About Eascra Biotech

Eascra Biotech focuses on the development of DNA-inspired Janus base nanostructures to create a family of safe, versatile, and temperature-stable nanomaterials for biomedical applications, enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of drug treatments for a variety of chronic conditions and medical needs. Eascras novel family of Janus base nanomaterials provide highly effective solutions for: mRNA and gene editing delivery systems with minimal toxic side effects.

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine for orthopedic applications.

Accelerated biomedical research and drug testing on simulated tissues-on-chips.

Learn more. About Axiom and Ax-2 Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) will be Axiom Spaces second all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), marking another pivotal step toward Axiom Station, the worlds first commercial space station and successor to the ISS. The Ax-2 mission is targeted for launch in early May 2023 and will be the first private space mission to include both private astronauts and astronauts representing foreign governments, as well as the first private mission commanded by a woman. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Ax-2 crew aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once docked, the Axiom Space astronauts plan to spend 10 days aboard the orbiting laboratory implementing a full mission comprised of science, outreach, and commercial activities.

Media Contact: Bobbie Carlton Carlton PR & Marketing LLC [email protected] 781-718-7619

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
KOMOTINI, Greece, May 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 17, China Energy Europe Renewable Energy S.A. (CEERE) and the No. 11 Komotini Primary School of Greece co-organized New Energy into Campus activities in a bid to stimulate the local youth's interest in clean energy and understanding of Chinese energy corporation via practice curriculum and interactive communication, thus deepening the friendly exchanges with Greek people and local youths, and showing the image of Chinese enterprise that embraces green development.

New Energy into Campus activities

During the activity, specialists from CEERE introduced new energy knowledge to teachers and students. The atmosphere on site was lively and cordial with youths interacting with specialists on the operating principle and trouble shooting of wind turbine. A competition of wind turbine model assembling was set up with 80 students being divided into seven groups to complete the model assembling. Children cheered with excitement, watching small wind turbines assembled by themselves slowly rotate as if generating real power.

Li Zao, general manager of China Energy Europe Renewable Energy S.A., signed a Donation Agreement with Marinos Konstantinidis, the principal of Komotini No.11 Primary School, to donate teaching facilities and learning packages to the school and the students. Mr. Konstantinidis stated that the school will make full use of the teaching facilities to enrich teaching format and improve teaching quality and educational management. The students who received the learning packages in person expressed their gratitude in Chinese.

At the interaction session, the chorus by the students of Komotini No.11 Primary School and Chinese children aroused warm response from the audience. To extend gratitude for China Energy's contribution to local new energy industry, teachers and students performed two songs, "My Thrace" and "On the untouched Mountain of Thrace" on site; representatives gave in return an original album of paintings and showcased the finished LEGO wind turbine model.

New Energy into Campus activities with the theme of New Energy, New Hope and New Future have been held for two consecutive years, aiming to improve the local youth's understanding of green and clean energy, encourage a lifestyle that is green, resource-saving and low-carbon, so as to contribute youth power to improve the environment. As this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, China Energy Investment Corporation(CEIC), the world's largest company in wind power industry, has upheld and acted on the Belt and Road Initiative. With its engagement in Greek energy transition and social development, CEIC has adopted creative measures to carry out cultural integration for further enhancing China-Greece people-to-people connectivity and exchanges and mutual learning.

Thrace wind power project of CEERE is the first wind power project invested by China in Greece. With a total installed capacity of 78.2MW, it generates about 160GWh of green electricity per year, which can meet the annual electricity consumption needs of 30,000 households in Greece, making a positive contribution to optimizing the energy mix, promoting energy conservation and emission reduction in Greece. While focusing on business, CEERE vigorously fulfills its social responsibilities such as local education, medical care and development of municipal administration, and enhance communication with Generation Z, striving to foster a China-Greece cultural integration platform.

Metios Christos, Regional Governor of Eastern Macedonian and Thrace, Xiao Junzheng, Ambassador of China to Greece, Ioannis Karanis, Mayor of Komotini attended the activity and delivered speeches. Wang Guangqun, Chairman of Guohua Energy Investment Co., Ltd. China Energy (GEIC) delivered a speech via video link. Relevant officials of the education department of Eastern Macedonian, Thrace and Rodopi, and more than 100 teachers and students participated in the activity. Youth employees of GEIC in Beijing joined the activity online.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/china-energy-investment-corporation-brought-new-energy-into-campus-in-greece-301829463.html

SOURCE Europe Renewable Energy
[May 19, 2023] Silver Lake to Make 600M Strategic Investment in TeamSystem

TeamSystem, a leading provider of business software solutions to companies and accountants in Italy and Spain, announced today that Silver Lake, a global leader in technology investing, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 600 million minority stake in the company from Hellman & Friedman (H&F). H&F will remain the majority shareholder in TeamSystem following close of the transaction. This strategic investment from Silver Lake marks a significant milestone for the Company as it continues to drive the digital transformation of businesses and their accountants in Italy and Spain. TeamSystem's innovative software platform - with solutions ranging from core business applications to financial technology and AI tools - has revolutionized business processes, empowering clients to streamline operations, drive efficiency and accelerate growth. Since the time of H&F's initial investment in TeamSystem in 2016, the number of customers served by the company has grown from 200 thousand to approximately 1.8 million today. Commenting on the investment, Federico Leproux, CEO of TeamSystem, said: "We are pleased to welcome Silver Lake as a strategic partner. We believe this partnership will unlock even greater potential for TeamSystem as the company continues to expand its product offering to help digitise the Italian and Spanish economies - and beyond. We are also delighted to continue our partnership with Hellman & Friedman, which has been our trusted partner for over seven years." Christian Lucas, Co-Head of EMEA at Silver Lake, said: "We are excited to partner with TeamSystem as it continues to transform the Italian software industry. Management's strong commitment to technological leadership, customer-centric approach, and drive for best-in-class innovation are qualities we value highly and have invested behind consistently in support of cloud software leaders across Europe, making TeamSystem an ideal fit for Silver Lake. We look forward to working closely with Federico and he full team in partnership with Hellman & Friedman to drive further growth and deliver exceptional value to its customers."



Blake Kleinman, Partner at Hellman & Friedman, added: "We are thrilled to welcome Silver Lake as an investor in TeamSystem as we set our sights on the next phase of growth for the business. We have been impressed by TeamSystem's performance since our initial investment in 2016. Federico Leproux and his team have done an outstanding job to strengthen TeamSystem's offering and more than triple the company's revenues. Our investment in TeamSystem which started over seven years ago is a great example of H&F's approach to long-term value creation. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Federico and his outstanding management team." The transaction is expected to close around end of the year, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Evercore acted as financial adviser to H&F and TeamSystem.

About TeamSystem TeamSystem is an Italian technology company with market-leading digital solutions enabling companies and professionals to run their businesses. The Group - which has a 40-year track record - reported a turnover of approximately 700 million in 2022. TeamSystem serves 1.8 million customers through proprietary Cloud platforms. For more information, visit www.teamsystem.com. About Silver Lake Silver Lake is a global technology investment firm, with more than $95 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital and a team of professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia. Silver Lake's portfolio companies collectively generate more than $282 billion of revenue annually and employ approximately 713,000 people globally. About Hellman & Friedman Hellman & Friedman is a preeminent global private equity firm with a distinctive investment approach focused on a limited number of large-scale equity investments in high quality growth businesses. H&F seeks to partner with world-class management teams where its deep sector expertise, long-term orientation and collaborative partnership approach enable companies to flourish. H&F targets outstanding businesses in select sectors including software & technology, financial services, healthcare, consumer & retail, and other business services. Since its founding in 1984, H&F has invested in over 100 companies. The firm is currently investing its tenth fund, with $24.4 billion of committed capital, and has over $85 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2022. Learn more about H&F's defining investment philosophy and approach to sustainable outcomes at www.hf.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005386/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] Calithera Biosciences Announces Update on Complete Liquidation and Dissolution

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Calithera Biosciences, Inc. (OTC: CALA) (the Company) announced that it intends to hold a special meeting of stockholders on or about June 29, 2023 (the Special Meeting), for the purpose of approving the Companys Plan of Complete Liquidation and Dissolution (the Plan of Dissolution). In January 2023, the Company announced its intention to commence an orderly wind down of the Companys business and operations. The Company continues to expect that its existing capital resources together with the net proceeds from the sale of its assets will enable it to meet its remaining liabilities and obligations with sufficient reserves. In January 2023, the Company also announced that in light of the liquidation preference of its Series A convertible preferred stock, even if all of the Companys assets were converted to cash or cash equivalents, the Company did not anticipate that the liquidation preference will be satisfied and therefore no liquidating distributions were expected to be made to the holders of its common stock. In April 2023, the Company repurchased all outstanding shares of its Series A convertible preferred stock for $4.0 million in cash and the grant of a contingent value right, entitling Takeda Ventures, Inc. as the former holder of its Series A convertible preferred stock (Takeda), to all the remaining proceeds from the sale of the Companys assets (not to exceed $31.0 million), after establishing a reserve, which will be used to pay all expenses (including operating expenses up until the filing of a certificate of dissolution) and other known, non-contingent liabilities and obligations, and will include reasonable provision for future expenses of liquidation and contingent and unknown liabilities as required by Delaware law. In connection with the repurchase, Takeda agreed that if the holders of the Companys common stock approved the Companys Plan of Dissolution at the Special Meeting, then the Company could distribute $0.40 per share in a liquidating distribution to the holders of common stock prior to any future distribution to Takeda pursuant to the contingent value right. Based upon the number of shares of common stock outstanding as of May 1, 2023, if the Plan of Dissolution is approved, approximately $2.0 million will be distributed to the holders of common stock. If the holders of common stock do not approve the Companys Plan of Dissolution at the Special Meeting, then the Company will not make any liquidating distribution to the holders of common stock pursuant to its agreement with Takeda, and the Company expects that all proceeds rom the sale of the Companys assets after establishing an appropriate reserve, will ultimately be distributed to Takeda pursuant to the contingent value right.



IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION In connection with the proposed Plan of Dissolution, the Company intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), a proxy statement and other relevant materials. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING DECISION, INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT, ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO, ANY OTHER SOLICITING MATERIALS AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE PLAN OF DISSOLUTION AND RELATED MATTERS OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE IN THE PROXY STATEMENT WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE BECAUSE IT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT CALITHERA BIOSCIENCES, INC. THE PLAN OF DISSOLUTION AND RELATED MATTERS. Shareholders may obtain a free copy of the proxy statement and the other relevant materials (when they become available), and any other documents filed by the Company with the SEC, at the SECs website at http://www.sec.gov.

Participants in the Solicitation Calithera and its executive officers and directors may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from its shareholders with respect to the proposed Plan of Dissolution and related matters, and any other matters to be voted on at the special meeting of shareholders. Information regarding the names, affiliations and interests of such directors and executive officers will be included in the proxy statement (when available). Additional information regarding such directors and executive officers is included in Calitheras Annual Report on Form 10-K, which was filed with the SEC on March 31, 2023. Information regarding the persons who may, under SEC rules, be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies of Calitheras shareholders in connection with the Plan of Dissolution and related matters and any other matters to be voted upon at the Special Meeting will be set forth in the proxy statement (when available). These documents are available free of charge as described in the preceding section. Forward Looking Statements Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as may, will, expect, anticipate, estimate, intend, poised and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions, or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For example, all statements Calithera makes regarding the proposed dissolution pursuant to the Plan of Dissolution, timing of filing of the certificate of dissolution and holding of the Special Meeting to approve the Plan of Dissolution, the amount and timing of liquidating distributions, if any, in connection with the dissolution, the amount of planned reserves, and similar statements are forward-looking. All forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions by Calitheras management that, although Calithera believes to be reasonable, are inherently uncertain. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that Calithera expected. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the availability, timing and amount of liquidating distributions; the amounts that will need to be set aside by Calithera; the adequacy of such reserves to satisfy Calitheras obligations; potential unknown contingencies or liabilities, including tax claims, and Calitheras ability to favorably resolve them or at all; the amount of proceeds that might be realized from the sale or other disposition of any remaining assets; the application of, and any changes in, applicable tax laws, regulations, administrative practices, principles and interpretations; the incurrence by Calithera of expenses relating to the dissolution; the ability of the board of directors to abandon, modify or delay implementation of the Plan of Dissolution, even after shareholder approval; and the uncertain macroeconomic environment. These statements are also subject to a number of material risks and uncertainties that are described in Calitheras most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 31, 2023, as updated by its subsequent filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it was made. Calithera undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. CONTACTS:

Stephanie Wong

[email protected]

650.870.1063



[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] Ministers Champagne and Ng meet with North American counterparts, industry and universities on building continental semiconductor supply chain

WASHINGTON, May 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, concluded a two-day visit to Washington, D.C., where they took part in the first-ever North American semiconductor conference. Alongside Gina Raimondo, United States Secretary of Commerce, and Raquel Buenrostro, Mexico's Secretary of Economy, the ministers explored ways to strengthen and secure the semiconductor supply chain in North America. This two-day trilateral conference, organized by the Semiconductor Industry Association and Arizona State University, brought together senior industry executives, universities and government representatives. Together, they discussed adapting policies and increasing investments in semiconductor supply chains across North America, as well as developing the workforce to support this critical sector. Before leaving Washington, D.C., Minister Ng and Minister Champagne also held a bilateral meeting with Secretary Raimondo to discuss topics of mutual interest, including semiconductors, supply chain resilience, critical minerals and artificial intelligence. Quotes "Canada will work with the U.S. and Mexico to spur investments that promote secure and resilient continental semiconductor supply chains, creating good jobs here in North America. By working together with our North American neighbours, we are ensuring our economic and national security. Today, we are starting to write a new chapter in the history of semiconductors in North America, and Canada is committed to playing an important role in building continental semiconductor supply chain resiliency."

 The Honourable Francois- Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry



"Semiconductors are increasingly present in our everyday lifein the cars we drive, the phones we use and the national defence systems that protect usand Canada is at the table as a leader. We play an important role in the global semiconductor supply chain, with our resources, world-class products and talented people. Our government is committed to strengthening that role by working closely with our partners in the U.S. and Mexico to ensure the growth and competitiveness of the North American semiconductor sector and supply chain. This is key to creating good jobs, showcasing Canadian innovation and driving economic prosperity across Canada."

 The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development Quick facts

As agreed at the last North American Leaders' Summit in January, Canada is committed to working with Mexico and the U.S. to boost regional competitiveness, forge stronger regional supply chains and promote targeted investments.

is committed to working with and the U.S. to boost regional competitiveness, forge stronger regional supply chains and promote targeted investments. Canada is well integrated into global semiconductor supply chains and possesses outsized strength in niche areas of the semiconductor value chain that support many international markets.

is well integrated into global semiconductor supply chains and possesses outsized strength in niche areas of the semiconductor value chain that support many international markets. Canada has a comparative advantage in the manufacturing of specialized microelectronics, including compound semiconductors and advanced sensors, and it is home to some of the only advanced packaging capabilities in North America .

has a comparative advantage in the manufacturing of specialized microelectronics, including compound semiconductors and advanced sensors, and it is home to some of the only advanced packaging capabilities in . Canada is also one of the most resource-rich countries on the planet, producing more than 60 minerals and metals used in many applications across key industries. In addition, Canada has reserves or production capacity for many minerals. Associated links FACT SHEET: Key Deliverables for the 2023 North American Leaders' Summit Stay connected Find more services and information at Canada.ca/ISED. Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media.

Twitter: @ISED_CA, Facebook: Canadian Innovation, Instagram: @cdninnovation and LinkedIn SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] Inovalis Real Estate Investment Trust Announces Approval of Normal Course Issuer Bid

Inovalis Real Estate Investment Trust ("Inovalis REIT" or the "REIT") (TSX: INO.UN) announced today that the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") has approved the REIT's intention to make a normal course issuer bid ("NCIB") for a portion of its trust units ("Units") as appropriate opportunities arise from time to time. The board of trustees of the REIT believes that the purchase by the REIT of a portion of its outstanding Units may from time to time be an appropriate use of available resources and in the best interests of the REIT and its unitholders. Pursuant to the NCIB notice filed with the TSX, the REIT intends to acquire up to a maximum of 3,047,058 of its Units, or approximately 10% of its public float as of May 12, 2023, for cancellation over the next 12 months. As of May 12, 2023, the REIT had 32,781,062 issued and outstanding Units. Purchases under the NCIB will be made through the facilities of the TSX or through alternative Canadian trading systems and in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements at a price per Unit equal to the market price at the time of acquisition. The number of Units that can be purchased pursuant to the NCIB is subject to a current daily maximum of 23,274 Units (which is equal to 25% of 93,099, being the average daily trading volume during the last six months), subject to the REIT's ability to make one block purchase of Units per calendar week that exceeds such limits. All Units purchased under the NCIB will be cancelled upon their purchase. The REIT intends to fund the purchases out of its available resources. The REIT may begin to purchase Units onMay 25, 2023 and the NCIB will terminate on May 24, 2024, or such earlier time as the REIT completes its purchases pursuant to the NCIB or provides notice of termination.



In connection with the NCIB, the REIT has established an automatic securities purchase plan (the "Plan") with its designated broker to facilitate the purchase of Units under the NCIB at times when the REIT would ordinarily not be permitted to purchase Units due to regulatory restrictions or self-imposed blackout periods. Under the Plan, before entering a self-imposed blackout period, the REIT may, but is not required to, ask the designated broker to make purchases under the NCIB within specified parameters. Outside of the pre-determined blackout periods, Units may be purchased under the NCIB based on the discretion of the REIT's management, in compliance with TSX rules and applicable securities laws. The REIT may elect to suspend or discontinue its NCIB in accordance with certain conditions set forth in the Plan. The Plan will be effective on May 25, 2023. About Inovalis REIT

Inovalis REIT is a real estate investment trust listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada. It was founded in 2013 by Inovalis and invests in office properties in primary markets of France, Germany and Spain. It holds 13 assets. Inovalis REIT acquires (indirectly) real estate properties via CanCorpEurope, authorized Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) by the CSSF in Luxemburg, and managed by Inovalis S.A. About Inovalis Group Inovalis S.A. is a French Alternative Investment fund manager, authorized by the French Securities and Markets Authority (AMF) under AIFM laws. Inovalis S.A. and its subsidiaries (Advenis S.A., Advenis REIM) invest in and manage Real Estate Investment Trusts such as Inovalis REIT, open ended funds (SCPI) with stable real estate focus such as Eurovalys (for Germany) and Elialys (Southern Europe), Private Thematic Funds raised with Inovalis partners to invest in defined real estate strategies and direct Co-investments on specific assets Inovalis Group (www.inovalis.com), founded in 1998 by Inovalis SA, is an established pan European real estate investment player with EUR 7 billion of AuM and with offices in all the world's major financial and economic centers in Paris, Luxembourg, Madrid, Frankfurt, Toronto and Dubai. The group is comprised of 300 professionals, providing Advisory, Fund, Asset and Property Management services in Real Estate as well as Wealth Management services. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005353/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] CARESPAN PROVIDES STATUS UPDATE FOR FILING ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

VANCOUVER, BC, May 19, 2023 /CNW/ - CareSpan Health, Inc. (TSXV: CSPN) (the "Company" or "CareSpan"), is providing an update with respect to the expected timeline for filing its audited annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022, the related management's discussion and analysis and certificates of its CEO and CFO (collectively, the "Required Documents") and its previously announced management cease trade order ("MCTO") issued by the Company's principal regulator, the British Columbia Securities Commission (the "BCSC"), on May 3, 2023. The Company and its auditors continue to work diligently to file the Required Documents as soon as they are available and the Company presently anticipates being able to complete and file the Required Documents on or around May 29, 2023. As previously announced, pursuant to the MCTO, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company may not trade in securities of the Company until such time as the Company files the Required Documents and the BCSC revokes the MCTO. The MCTO does not affect the ability of other shareholders of the Company to trade in securities of the Company. Pursuant to the provisions of the alternative information guidelines specified in NP 12-203, the Company confirms hat, as of the date of this news release: (a) there have been no material changes to the information contained in the default announcement issued on May 3, 2023 (the "Default Announcement") that would reasonably be expected to be material to an investor; (b) there have been no failures by the Company to fulfill its stated intentions with respect to satisfying the provisions of the alternative reporting guidelines under NP 12-203; (c) there has not been, nor is there anticipated to be, any specified default subsequent to the default which is the subject of the Default Announcement; and (d) there is no other material information concerning the affairs of the Company that has not been generally disclosed.



About CareSpan Health CareSpan is a healthcare technology and services company that has developed and deployed a unique, proprietary integrated digital care platform, the CareSpan Clinic-in-the Cloud that creates easy access to care for the underserved. With a patient-centric approach focused on improving health outcomes, CareSpan uses sophisticated digital tools and capabilities to improve patient outcomes in primary care, chronic care, urgent care, and mental health. In addition to the integrated digital care platform, CareSpan has built and deployed a business support infrastructure for its professional networks, American-Advanced Practice Network and AmericanMedPsych Network. American-Advanced Practice Network harnesses the clinical capabilities of Nurse Practitioners to address the shortage in primary and chronic care in the country. American-MedPsych brings together providers to tackle shortages mainly in mental health.

Clinic-in-the-Cloud is a trademark of CareSpan USA Inc., a subsidiary of CareSpan Health, Inc. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: "Rembert de Villa"

Rembert de Villa

Chief Executive Officer For more information, visit: www.carespanhealth.com The TSX-V and its Regulation Services Provider have not approved the contents of, nor taken responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of, this press release. SOURCE CareSpan Health, Inc.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 19, 2023] STANLEY BLACK & DECKER 96 HOUR DEADLINE ALERT: Former Louisiana Attorney General and Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Remind Investors With Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. - SWK

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, the former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until May 23, 2023 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE: SWK), if they purchased the Company's shares between October 28, 2021 and July 28, 2022, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. What You May Do If you purchased shares of Stanley 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]ksfcounsel.com), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-swk/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action by overseeing lead counsel with the goal of obtaining a fair and just resolution, you must request this position by application to the Court by May 23, 2023.



About the Lawsuit Stanley and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On July 28, 2022, the Company released its Q2 2022 results disclosing that "significantly slower demand in late May and Junedrove the majority of the challenges we faced this quarter" including that net income for the quarter had plummeted from $459.5M in the year-earlier quarter to $87.6M, and that it was cutting its 2022 earnings per share guidance by nearly half. On this news, shares of Stanley plummeted over 16%, from a closing price of $117.45 per share the evening prior, to a closing price of $98.58 per share on July 28, 2022 on heavy trading volume. The case is Rammohan v. Stanley Black & Decker, inc., et al., No. 23-cv-00369. 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/20230519005432/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Interesting . . .

Local news highlights a recent sale but forgets about public drama that pretty much tanked the biz not so long ago.



Moreover . . .

Employee complaints were a big part of the sticky situation.



Here's the cover story amid the decline of local journalism . . .



"Betty Raes is still going to offer its signature flavors and Shatto only has plans to expand the business. All employees that are currently at Betty Raes will stay and Shatto plans to open more locations across the region and make the product more accessible at grocery stores, restaurants, and making the ice cream truck available for neighborhood, corporate, and family events."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Matt Shatto purchases Betty Rae's Ice Cream from owner Alec Rodgers A scoop of Brown Butter Pecan at Betty Rae's. // Photo by April Flemming Matt Shatto (Vice President of Shatto Milk) is personally assuming ownership of the rapidly growing Betty Rae's Ice Cream parlors, which includes the two shops in Waldo and the River Market as well as the Betty Rae's Ice Cream Truck.

Shatto VP buys Betty Rae's in sweet business deal KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Two "Made in KC" brands are combining and it's going to be sweet. Betty Rae's Ice Cream is expected to soon be offered in grocery stores and a new owner says he plans to open new store locations.

Developing . . .


At the end of the day we take a moment to round up recent news regarding police action, ongoing cases and the longstanding effort to curb rising crime.



Check TKC news gathering . . .

Kansas City police: 2 shootings happened in span of 20 minutes of each other Two shootings happened in less than 20 minutes in Kansas City, Mo., late Thursday afternoon. Police said the first happened at 4:45 p.m. at 31st and Wayne. Just over 15 minutes later, police investigated a shooting at 35th and Troost. Both victims are expected to survive, according to police.

KCMO man charged in shooting Wednesday night in Lee's Summit park KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Kansas City, Missouri, man is accused in a shooting Wednesday night that injured three people at a popular Lee's Summit park. The Jackson County Prosecutor's Office charged Antonio Harris, 25, with unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. The gunfire happened at about 10:30 p.m.

Kansas City man sentenced in federal court for armed robbery of pizza delivery driver A Kansas City man was sentenced to 12 years and three months in federal prison for his involvement in an armed robbery that turned into a shootout with police. A federal judge sentenced Samuel M. David, 20. David and his sister, Rochelle E. David, were charged with robbing two pizza delivery drivers.

KCPD looking for man who hasn't been heard from since May 3 KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department is looking for a missing 28-year-old man who hasn't been heard from since May 3. The police said that Timothy Blake last had contact with his family that day and that his last location is unknown.

'I hope it's enough': Mother of Lenexa double murder-suicide victim speaks as Kansas strengthens stalking law LENEXA, Kan. - The mother of Mikey Williamson, one of the victims in a high-profile double murder-suicide in February 2022 in Lenexa, is sharing her son's story with KSHB 41. She's never spoken publicly about the incident until now.

KC police looking for man not seen since Tuesday KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Kansas City, Missouri, police are looking for a missing man who hasn't been since since Tuesday. The police said Bryant C. Harris, 35, was last seen that evening in the 9800 block of Wornall Road. At that time, he was wearing a black coat, black t-shirt, gray sweatpants and gray Reeboks.

KCPD Partners With Community, Law Enforcement Agencies To Reduce Violent Crime "This week the FBI is working in lockstep with our local, state, and federal partners as part of the Violent Crime Reduction Initiative," said FBI Kansas City Division Special Agent in Charge Charles Dayoub.

Developing . . .


Because we don't want to end up in Guantanamo Bay . . . We're not gonna offer much opinion about this noteworthy rhetorical attack against law enforcement . . . But there's no point in denying that the sentiments represent a growing faction of conservative discourse.



Check the deets from a local Republican blog . . .



Americans should feel outraged  outraged, that they were lied to for years by their own government. They were lied to by the media, Hawley said in an interview with The Heartlander Thursday.



Hawley was reacting to the release of the John Durham report that painstakingly details how Hillary Clintons disinformation campaign against 2016 presidential rival Donald Trump became the FBIs Russia collusion hoax and a sham multimillion-dollar Mueller probe built on a lie made out of whole cloth.



It was the Democrat Party that used the FBI to try to rig the 2016 presidential election, Hawley said. Thats the Durham report. Thats what we learned. Hillary Clinton used the FBI, and the FBI leadership gladly went along with it to lie to courts in order to get wiretaps on Trump associates; to try and spy on the Trump campaign; and then to create what we now know was a 100% false narrative, that Trump was somehow colluding with Russia.



Theres no basis for that, as Durham has found. There is no basis for that, as the Mueller report found. And yet, the Democrats and the FBI worked together to try to influence the election.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
The Interior Ministry on Friday released basic information for voters in Sunday's national elections, ANA reports.

Information is also available in English on its site, at https://www.ypes.gr/en/elections/national-elections/parliamentary-elections/information-for-the-voters.

All Greek citizens aged 17 or more are entitled to vote unless their rights have been deprived. Voting is mandatory unless a citizen is over 70 years of age or living abroad.

Information on where a voter is casting their ballot can be found through the Interior Ministry's site https://www.ypes.gr/ and the link "Mathe pou psifizeis" (Learn where you're voting; the site is in Greek only). Voters may also call the Ministry at 213-1361500 and 213-1313800 on a 24-hour basis, both Saturday and Sunday.

An ID will be required once the election officials locate the voter's name on electoral rolls - the Greek police ID, a passport, a driver's license, or a personal health booklet of all insurance funds. A digital ID (through https://wallet.gov.gr Voters https://wallet.gov. ) is also acceptable. Voters are handed a set of ballots, they go into the curtained booth, select the ballot they want, and use a cross (+) to mark their ballots on the left or right side of a name (it is invalidated if on both sides), then place it in the envelope given, and seal it, dropping it in the ballot box and getting their ID returned.

Voters with disabilities will be given priority in waiting queues, while they may be escorted by one person or the local elections official.

Greece has 59 voting districts. The number of crosses a voter can write is limited depending on the region.

Results of voting are reported live on the Interior Ministry's site (https://ekloges.ypes.gr) for every voting center. Parties must collect a minimum of 3% of the total votes to gain a seat in Greek Parliament.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC-BY-SA Copyright: Barcex
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called for the "brethren in Central Asia" to unite against attempts to divide them in the face of unprecedented turmoil and build themselves as the bridge connecting Asia and Europe.

"The world needs a harmonious Central Asia. Brotherhood is better than all wealth," Xi said in a keynote speech delivered on the second day of the inaugural China-Central Asia Summit in Xian, attended by the leaders of five countries in the region.

"Ethnic conflicts, religious strife and cultural divisions are not the main theme of Central Asia. Unity, tolerance and harmony are what the people of Central Asia seek," he said, adding that "no one has the right to create discord and confrontation in Central Asia, let alone seek political self-interest from it".

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.

"The sovereignty, security, independence and territorial integrity of Central Asian countries must be safeguarded, the development path chosen independently by the Central Asian people must be respected, and the efforts of the Central Asian region to work for peace, harmony and tranquillity must be supported," Xi said.

With its "unique geographical advantage", Central Asia could "become an important interconnection hub in Asia and Europe".

Xi pledged to expand trade and economic cooperation with Central Asia and said Beijing would deepen connectivity in the region and expand energy cooperation, among other things, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Leaders pose for a group photo at the inaugural China-Central Asia Summit, from left: Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President Sadyr Japarov from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Turkmenistan's President Serdar Berdymukhamedov, and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev from Uzbekistan. Photo: Reuters alt=Leaders pose for a group photo at the inaugural China-Central Asia Summit, from left: Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President Sadyr Japarov from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Turkmenistan's President Serdar Berdymukhamedov, and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev from Uzbekistan. Photo: Reuters>

China hopes to speed up construction of the Line D natural gas pipeline and expand the scale of oil and gas trade with the region, he said.

Xi also announced that China will provide 26 billion yuan (US$3.7 billion) in financial support to aid the development of Central Asian nations.

Xi said the summit - the first in-person meeting of its kind since Beijing established diplomatic relations with the five newly independent countries in 1992 - opened up new prospects for cooperation with Central Asia.

"The relations between China and Central Asian countries have profound historical origins, extensive practical needs, and a solid foundation of public opinion, and they are full of vigour and vitality in the new era," he said.

Xi said China is willing to help Central Asian countries bolster their law enforcement security and defence capabilities "to independently maintain regional security", adding that China would promote the "peaceful reconstruction" of Afghanistan.

Xi also called for joint efforts to boost strategic trust and strengthen security ties between China and Central Asia.

"We will resolutely oppose external forces interfering in the internal affairs of regional countries and staging 'colour revolutions', maintain zero tolerance for the 'three forces', and work to resolve the regional security dilemma," he said, referring to terrorism, separatism and religious extremism.

The summit, in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, coincided with the Group of Seven meeting in Japan, where leaders from the advanced economies - including the US, Canada, Germany and France - are expected to discuss ways to counter China's "economic coercion".

The leaders agreed on Friday to set up a formal mechanism to hold a China-Central Asia meeting every two years, with Kazakhstan to host the next one in 2025.

Beijing views Central Asia as a critical frontier for expanding trade and energy security. The region is also regarded as crucial to maintaining stability in Xinjiang, where the treatment of Uygur Muslims has been among the most contentious issues between China and the West.

In recent months, efforts to strengthen ties with the region included Xi's first trip abroad since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, with visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in September.

On Thursday, Xi held a series of one-on-one meetings with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. All expressed support for greater Chinese engagement in the region, including under the flagship Belt and Road Initiative.

Yu Jun, deputy director general of the Chinese foreign ministry's Department of European-Central Asian Affairs, flagged on Tuesday that the leaders of the six nations are expected to sign a slew of important political documents on areas including economy, trade and connectivity.

Trade between China and the five Central Asian countries has increased significantly since Beijing launched its belt and road plan in 2013. The combined volume reached US$70.2 billion last year, up 40 per cent year-on-year, according to Chinese customs data.

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.
On the Cannes red carpet, stars are having fun with fashion. Heres our pick of the best dressed
'Organized crime': Police raids in Oakville, Toronto, Hamilton and Thorold lead to more than 470 kg of drugs and multiple guns
China will help Gabon to diversify its oil-dependent economy and build a green "belt and road" strategy to make the Central African nation a model for cooperation in addressing climate change.

The announcement by Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday came after he met Gabon's visiting president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Under the agreement, China will help build key infrastructure and encourage Chinese investment in Gabon's forestry, fishery, digital economy and industrial estates.

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.

China will "support Gabon in realising economic diversification and industrial upgrading", Xi said as the two countries agreed to upgrade relations to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership - the highest level of bilateral relations for China.

"China is willing to work with Gabon to promote the steady and long-term development of the China-Gabon comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership," Xi added.

A joint statement released after the meeting said China and Gabon agreed to increase the level of bilateral trade.

"China will actively study the possibility of more Gabonese products entering the Chinese market," the joint statement said.

China is Gabon's largest trading partner with two-way trade reaching US$4.55 billion in 2022 - up by more than half year on year, according to Chinese customs data. Gabon is heavily dependent on its oil and minerals, with crude petroleum and manganese ore contributing 83 per cent of the country's revenues.

Gabon, a tiny country on the Central African west coast with a population of just over 2 million people, also exports various wood products, but the government wants to diversify its economy by attracting more investment into its forestry and tourism industries. Gabon's mature oilfields have seen a steady production decline - from a peak of 370,000 barrels per day in 1997 to about 190,000 barrels per day now.

Xi said China would help promote the construction of green infrastructure through the Belt and Road Initiative to create a model for South-South cooperation to address the effects of climate change.

China and Gabon hold high level meetings at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: AP alt=China and Gabon hold high level meetings at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: AP>

South-South cooperation refers to a framework among developing countries in the global South that allows them to collaborate in specific areas such as agricultural development, resources and climate change.

Gabon belongs to a small league of countries that absorb more carbon dioxide than they emit, making them "carbon sinks".

Gabon's government says high carbon emitters such as the United States, China and many European countries should offset their carbon emissions by paying it to keep its forests intact.

Gabon's former president, Omar Bongo Ondimba, predicted a future without oil and implemented drastic measures to strike "a balance between conservation and exploitation of timber".

The measures included the creation of 13 national parks and the cancellation of many forest concessions.

When Ondimba, the country's second president, died in 2009, his son Ali Bongo was elected. His first act was to ban the export of timber logs, restricting exports to only processed wood.

Meanwhile, Gabon has started attracting tourists to its national parks with eco-tourism villages while offering visitors the chance to see exotic wildlife in its natural habitat.

Central to Gabon's forest economy are a dozen Chinese companies that own forest concessions and more than 30 others that process the wood. The companies tend to control the entire supply chain - from felling trees to transforming them into timber products.

The companies, which operate across more than 6 million hectares (15 million acres), account for more than half of Gabon's total commercial logging area, controlling about 40 per cent of concessions.

Xi said China appreciated Gabon's role in coordinating Africa's response to global climate change by leading environmental protection in Africa, and as the head of the African team of the United Nations climate change negotiations.

"The two sides agreed to deepen cooperation in the field of environmental protection and actively explore South-South cooperation in addressing climate change. China will provide Gabon with a batch of South-South cooperation material assistance," the joint statement said.

President Bongo, who arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a four-day visit, thanked China for providing assistance to Gabon, which he said played an important role in the country's economic diversification and industrialisation.

"Chinese enterprises are welcome to participate in the construction of industrial estates in Gabon," Bongo said, adding that his country would provide a good environment for Chinese enterprises.

The two leaders oversaw the signing of bilateral cooperation agreements on investment, agriculture, housing and urban construction and climate change.

Dr Cornelia Tremann, a representative for the Senegal and Gabon China Africa Advisory, said that while Gabon was a relatively small, economically insignificant country for China compared to other African nations, it was a middle-income country with extremely strong economic and political ties to France.

She said that as China sought to expand its presence in francophone Africa beyond its strong ties with the "big ones" like Ivory Coast and Senegal, Gabon remained an important partner.

"Gabon is positioning itself at the forefront of the climate and energy transition in Africa," Tremann said, adding that it sought to transition from a carbon-based economy to a green economy by leveraging vast natural resources for carbon trading and conservation efforts.

She said that since China was also seeking to position itself as a leader in climate change technology and investment, the two nations were matched well.

"China has been making a concerted effort to engage smaller African countries as well as the more politically and economically powerful ones, so Gabon makes sense here too," Tremann said.

David Shinn, a specialist in China-Africa relations at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, said Gabon was moderately important to China.

"It is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2023 and tends to vote with China on controversial issues before the United Nations," Shinn said.

China was arguably more important for Gabon, which exported more than US$1 billion worth of oil to China annually, he said.

"Gabon is one of the relatively few African countries that has a significant trade surplus with China," Shinn said.

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 National Security Minister says he's "not involved in any form or manner of approval of 
(Bloomberg) -- A major port in China is stepping up checks on older vessels, snarling some cargoes and highlighting concerns around the steady expansion of a fleet of aging ships ferrying Russian oil around the globe.

Most Read from Bloomberg

In recent weeks, at least two tankers that are more than 20 years old spent almost a month waiting to make deliveries of crude into the worlds largest importer, including one from Russia, as the stricter checks in Shandong province hamper deliveries.

The supertanker Titan was detained when it arrived at the port of Qingdao for several fire-safety issues, including oil accumulation in its engine room, according to a database of inspections in the Asia-Pacific region. The vessel has since been released and left Qingdao, according to tracking data. Its unclear whether the Titan was able to unload its cargo in China.

Another old tanker thats carrying Russian oil, the Ocean Peri, has been waiting near the same port for almost a month.

Both vessels have had difficulty unloading at Qingdao as the local maritime authority is carrying out heightened safety scrutiny of foreign ships that are more than 15 years old, according to people familiar with the matter.

Read more: UN Maritime Agency Raises Concerns About Shadow Tanker Fleet

Restrictions on Russian oil have prompted a surge in purchases of old tankers by undisclosed buyers, many of them older ships that would in years gone by have often been candidates for the scrap heap. Ports often filter arriving vessels by age when deciding which ones to inspect, potentially ensnaring those coming from Russia and other sanctioned regions such as Iran and Venezuela.

Enhanced Scrutiny

Senior shipping-industry figures have been voicing concern about the risks posed by inexperienced ship owners and operators, which are often subject to less rigorous safety regimes and are registered in more relaxed regulatory environments. Insufficient documentation as well as inadequate safety checks at origin ports have raised the concern of Chinese maritime authorities, the people familiar with the scrutiny said. Calls to the media office of the Shandong Maritime Bureau werent answered.

If China were to insist on vessels arriving at its ports having industry-standard insurance cover, Russian cargoes would have to be purchased at $60 a barrel or less to comply with the Group-of-Seven price cap on the countrys crude shipments. Vessels found to be in safety violations will need to reapply for their certificates before entering the port areas, and it remains unclear how long that will take and how many more older ships will be affected.

The Titan is sailing under the flag of Cameroon and doesnt have such cover from the International Group of P&I Clubs. Ocean Peri is sailing under the flag of Palau and also lacks industry-standard insurance.

China is resuming more robust maritime safety checks after Covid Zero policy got dismantled, the people familiar with the checks added.

--With assistance from Sherry Su and Alaric Nightingale.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Denmark has expressed willingness to train Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 fighter aircraft.

The relevant statement was made by Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Good news from our Danish friends and partners. Denmark is ready to train Ukrainian pilots to operate the F-16 fighter jets, Stefanchuk wrote.

In his words, Denmark will soon start discussing a specific training plan for Ukrainian pilots, and this will be a priority task.

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expressed gratitude to Danish Defense Acting Minister Troels Lund Poulsen for this decision.

A reminder that U.S. President Joe Biden earlier assured the leaders of the Group of Seven nations that the United States would support an effort to train Ukrainian pilots on advanced aircraft, including F-16s.

Photo: Ruslan Stefanchuk, Facebook
Portugal has joined an air coalition being formed for Ukraine and is ready to provide training for Ukrainian pilots and engineers.

The relevant statement was made by the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

During his visit to Lisbon, Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba held talks with Portugals Foreign Affairs Minister Joao Gomes Cravinho and National Defence Minister Helena Carreiras.

The head of Ukrainian diplomacy briefed his Portuguese colleagues on the situation on the battlefield and outlined Ukraines needs in terms of effective defense and counteroffensive operations.

Portugal showed leadership by joining the tank coalition. Considering the intensification of Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and villages, it is critically important that Ukraine has the ability to knock Russia out of the Ukrainian sky, Kuleba emphasized.

In this regard, Kuleba expressed gratitude to the Government of Portugal for its decision to join the air coalition by providing training for Ukrainian pilots and engineers on the Western-type fighter jets.

The Portuguese side also confirmed their intent to continue supporting Ukraine on its path towards EU membership.

Kuleba and Cravinho coordinated positions in the context of preparations for the NATO Summit in Vilnius. Kuleba stressed the importance of making a political decision by the leaders of the Alliance to determine an algorithm for Ukraines accession to NATO.

Additionally, the two ministers discussed the issue of holding Russia and its leadership accountable for the crimes against Ukraine, namely the creation of an International Special Tribunal over Russias crime of aggression.

According to the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Kuleba paid special attention to President Zelenskys Peace Formula as the way of establishing a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, and expanding the circle of support for this formula, namely through the involvement of the Global South nations.

Photo: Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry
As part of cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Netherlands has allocated EUR 40 million to support the EBRDs operations in Ukraine.

The relevant statement was made by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the government of the Netherlands continue to work together to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, the report states.

During the EBRD Annual Meeting and Business Forum 2023, the Netherlands, a founding member of the EBRD and solid partner, made EUR 40 million in grants available to support the EBRDs operations in Ukraine.

According to the EBRD, this follows a previous contribution of EUR 72 million in grant support to an EBRD loan which benefits Ukraines electricity transmission company, Ukrenergo.

This is helping the energy provider to ensure urgent repairs to infrastructure which has been heavily bombed during Russias war on the country, the EBRD noted.

Furthermore, the Netherlands provided EUR 25 million in guarantees to support private companies that operate in critical parts of Ukraines agricultural sector, including farming, food processing, transport and imports.

From the very start, the EBRD has strongly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It provided vital support in an immediate and wide-ranging response, channelling finance and assistance where it is most needed.

The EBRD continues to disburse funds to clients, supporting trade finance, energy security, food security and the private sector, and providing vital infrastructure and liquidity to municipalities.

The Netherlands is part of a growing group of donors that have responded through the EBRD and provided financial and technical support to meet Ukraines most urgent needs during the war.

The EBRD is supporting Ukraine and its real economy at a time when the country needs it most. The Bank has committed to providing EUR 3 billion of financing over 2022 and 2023 in partnership with international donors to help keep Ukraines businesses and economy functioning.

In 2022, the EBRD deployed EUR 1.7 billion in support of Ukraine, as well as mobilised EUR 200 million directly from partner financial institutions.

A reminder that Norway provided NOK 1.5 billion (about EUR 130 million) to support the EBRDs operations regarding the reinforcement of Ukraines energy security.
Manipulation of online ads is one of the tools regularly used by Russian propaganda to create fakes

Russian telegram channels and a number of media outlets have recently reported that Ukraine has allegedly started selling ambulances for spare parts, which were donated by Dutch volunteers to support a counteroffensive. The propagandists tried to confirm this with screenshots from the online classifieds service OLX. According to the post, this topic was allegedly raised on social media by volunteers who had transferred vehicles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. To confirm this, the authors reminded that two weeks ago, several dozen Mercedes ambulances of this model were sent to Ukraine from the Netherlands.

This is a fake. According to the website of the company https://avto-svit.in.ua/, which created the online ad on OLX for the sale of ambulances for spare parts, it has been specializing in car disassembly for years. This can be verified using the Wayback Machine digital archive. Even before the full-scale invasion, the company was selling used parts for buses.

In addition, in a comment to Ukrinform, the company's representative and the author of the OLX ad assured that the entrepreneurs had not received any cars from volunteers or the military. And the car pictured in the ad, which was used by propagandists, was driven to Ukraine 2.5 years ago.

In turn, the Zeilen van Vrijheid Foundation is engaged in active volunteer work in the Netherlands. It was founded in early March 2022. Zeilen van Vrijheid purchases and delivers ambulances and medical supplies to civilian healthcare facilities and military units in Ukraine. This foundation recently sent another convoy of ambulances to Ukraine.

In a comment to Ukrinform, a representative of Zeilen van Vrijheid assured that the ambulances sent to Ukraine by the foundation are provided to hospitals or military units, and that selling them for spare parts is out of the question.

Manipulating online ads is one of the tools propagandists use to create fakes. A few months ago, they tried to create a public opinion that an ambulance donated by Poland was being resold in Ukraine. Also, by faking an online ad, the Russians replicated the fake that men in Ukraine are massively buying plaster casts for their arms and legs and do not go out without them, hiding from mobilization. And the Russians' fabrication of false online announcements that Polish hotels have a new service - accommodation without Ukrainians - was aimed at creating tension between the peoples of Ukraine and Poland.

Dmytro Badrak
Moldova wants to become a member of the European Union as soon as possible because of the threat from Russia and hopes for a decision to start negotiations in the coming months.

The President of Moldova Maia Sandu said this in an interview with AFP, Ukrinform reports.

As noted, for Sandu, EU membership is the only guarantee that Moldova will not become Russia's next target.

"Of course, nothing compares to what is happening in Ukraine, but we see the risks and we do believe that we can save our democracy only as part of the EU. We do believe that Russia will continue to be a big source of instability for the years to come and we need to protect ourselves," she said.

Sandu accused Russia of organizing a coup to attempt to seize power in Moldova. She called on Moldovans, who, according to polls, are overwhelmingly in favor of the country's accession to the European Union, to hold a rally in support of the EU on Sunday.

"The Ukraine war made things black and white. So it's very clear what the free world means, and what the authoritarian world means, for all of us," Sandu said.

Read also: Moldova announces complete rejection of Russian gas

Regarding Transnistria, Sandu said that Chisinau is fighting for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, and "we've been calling on Russia to withdraw its illegally stationed troops."

"We need a geopolitical opportunity to be able to solve the conflict," Sandu said

Sandu, who has begun the process of seceding from the Russian-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States, emphasized: "What kind of relations can you have with a regime which kills innocent people in the neighbouring country?"

According to her, Moldova is ready to cooperate only with "democratic countries, with countries which respect the territorial integrity of other countries, which respect the international rules based system."

The president also noted that Moldova is not yet reconsidering its position of neutrality.

"But there are discussions in our society about whether neutrality protects us and if at some point people will change their view, of course we will reconsider this decision. In the meantime, we are trying to consolidate the defence sector of Moldova and we are counting on our friends" President of Moldova said

As reported, Moldova will host the second summit of the European Political Community on June 1.

Photo: tv8.md
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk has started his official visit to the Kingdom of Denmark.

The relevant statement was made by Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Copenhagen. Denmark. I have started my official visit and have already held a meeting with my colleague, the Speaker of the Folketing of the Kingdom of Denmark, Sren Gade. The first and foremost thing that was discussed during the conversation was weapons for Ukraine, Stefanchuk wrote.

In his words, among other things, the parties also discussed the supply of missile defense and air defense systems, artillery, ammunition, heavy military equipment, tanks and aircraft, including the F-16 fighter jets.

Modern fighter aircraft, such as the F-16, will help us change the rules on the battlefield and the course of warfare dramatically. I urged Denmark to join the formation of an air coalition. Also, our request is drones of all types, Stefanchuk added.

Additionally, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada and the Speaker of the Folketing discussed Ukraines future NATO membership. Stefanchuk called on the Danish Parliament to consider the possibility of adopting a resolution or a statement in support of Ukraines accession to the Alliance.

I also hope to hear the voice of the Folketing in support of our Euro-Atlantic integration prior to the Vilnius Summit! After all, it is extremely important for Ukraine to hear in July in Vilnius the modality, logistics and time frame of Ukraines accession to NATO, Stefanchuk stressed.

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expressed gratitude to Denmark for comprehensive military, financial and humanitarian assistance.

Photo: Ruslan Stefanchuk, Facebook
On Friday, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, is undertaking a working visit to Portugal.

This is stated in the statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, reported by Ukrinform.

According to it, the head of the Ukrainian diplomacy will hold negotiations with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Joao Gomes Cravinho and the Minister of Defense Helena Carreiras

The key topics will be providing Ukraine with new military assistance, President Zelensky's Peace Formula, coordination ahead of the NATO Summit in Vilnius, the establishment of a Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression, progress towards EU membership, and Ukraine's recovery.

Read also: Dmytro Kuleba confident that aviation coalition definitely formed this year

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is currently prioritizing the achievement of consensus among partners regarding Ukraine's accession to NATO, the provision of modern aircraft to Kyiv, and the implementation of new stringent sanctions against Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has held meetings with the heads of delegations of the United Arab Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman and the State of Kuwait.

The talks took place as part of the president's visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to participate in the Arab League summit, Ukrinform reports, citing the press service of the head of state.

During the negotiations with Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the head of state informed him about the situation at the front and Ukraine's repelling Russia's full-scale aggression.

Both parties paid special attention to the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and the possibility of involving as many countries as possible, including the UAE, in this process.

The participants in the meeting also discussed global food security and the work of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

According to the report, both parties agreed to exchange delegations to achieve concrete results and cooperation.

Read also: Zelensky invites Arab League states to join Ukrainian peace formula

In addition, topical issues of trade, economic and investment cooperation between the two countries were discussed.

During a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman, Special Representative of the Sultan at International Forums Asaad bin Tarik Al Said, the parties discussed the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula.

The president emphasized the importance of supporting Ukraine's peaceful efforts by the countries of the region.

The parties discussed bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Oman and possible future contacts.

During the negotiations with Crown Prince of the State of Kuwait Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the head of state expressed gratitude to Kuwait for its consistent support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine against the background of countering full-scale Russian aggression, which was repeatedly confirmed in the course of voting for the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly.

Zelensky emphasized the prospects for practical cooperation between Ukraine and Kuwait in a number of humanitarian issues. He thanked Kuwait for supporting Ukraine in the energy sector. Both parties agreed to enhance cooperation in these areas.

Photo credit: Office of the President of Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani have discussed possible ways of Iraq's participation in the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula.

Zelensky said this on his Telegram channel, according to Ukrinform.

"At the meeting with Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani I thanked [him] for Iraq's solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, a firm position in supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state, the principle of inviolability of borders and compliance with the norms of international law," he wrote.

He thanked Iraq for supporting Ukraine within the framework of international organizations, in particular, the resolutions of the UN General Assembly.

The president also invited the prime minister of Iraq to visit Ukraine to discuss important areas of interstate cooperation.

Zelensky earlier held meetings with the heads of delegations of the United Arab Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman and the State of Kuwait.
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, and his wife Peng Liyuan, forth right, pose for a photo with Central Asian leaders at the Ziyun Tower in Xi'an in northwester China's Shaanxi Province, Thursday, May 18, 2023. Chinese leader Xi Jinping promised to build more railway and other trade links with Central Asia and proposed jointly developing oil and gas sources at a meeting Friday with the region's leaders that highlighted Beijing's growing influence. (Ding Haitao/Xinhua via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

BEIJING (AP)  Chinese leader Xi Jinping promised to build more railway and other trade links with Central Asia and proposed jointly developing oil and gas sources at a meeting Friday with the regions leaders that highlighted Beijings growing influence.

The two-day China-Central Asia Summit in the western city of Xian came as President Joe Biden and other leaders of the Group of Seven major economies met in Japan. It reflected Beijing's efforts to develop trade and security networks centered on China, which resents U.S. domination of global affairs.

China is making economic inroads into Central Asia, including with its Belt and Road Initiative to build railways and other trade-related infrastructure. That has eroded Russian influence over former Soviet republics that look to the world's second-largest economy as an important market and source of investment.

We need to expand economic and trade ties, Xi said in a speech to leaders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

In a swipe at Western leaders, Xi called for the region to resolutely oppose external interference" and attempts to instigate color revolutions, a reference to movements that overthrew leaders in countries such as Ukraine and Georgia.

China accuses the West of abetting agitation against the ruling Communist Party in the western region of Xinjiang, home to predominantly Muslim ethnic minority groups that have ties to Central Asia.

The Chinese leader promised to increase cross-border trade by developing highways and rail lines and encouraging China's trading companies to set up warehouses in Central Asia. He promised to simplify import procedures.

Xi proposed establishment of a China-Central Asia partnership to develop oil and gas sources. He said Beijing wants to speed up construction of an additional pipeline to supply Central Asian gas to China's energy-hungry economy and to promote nuclear power.

Xi promised Chinese help for Central Asian governments to strengthen security and defense and to fight terrorism. He promised to jointly promote peace in Afghanistan.

Beijing earlier announced plans for a regional anti-terrorism center to train Central Asian security forces.

Xis government sees political Islam as a threat and is accused of detaining some 1 million people in Xinjiang in what Beijing says is a campaign to stop extremism.

We should remain zero-tolerant to the three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism, Xi said.
Gov. Spencer Cox answers questions during his monthly news conference at the the Eccles Broadcast Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, May 18, 2023. | Rick Egan

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox was one of 24 GOP governors to recently sign a letter supporting Texas immigration policies, though he could not say whether the state would be sending resources and personnel to the U.S.-Mexico border, like Idaho and Florida.

The Utah governor had strong words for Congress Thursday during his monthly PBS Utah press conference, telling reporters that states shouldnt have to send resources to the southern border but are forced to because Washington, D.C., has abdicated their responsibility around immigration for the last 40 years.

States should not be trying to fix this. The constitution is very clear that immigration is a federal issue. But states have to step in because these imbeciles in Congress cant get their crap together to do something that everybody knows needs to be done, Cox said. And that is to protect the border, and to fix legal immigration. And all they want to do is get reelected by pointing fingers at each other, and they divide us, and they do it on purpose, and its embarrassing, and they should all get fired.

Related

Cox has been both a passionate advocate for refugees and a supporter of hardline immigration policies, including keeping Title 42 in place. He said he expects to have conversations in the coming days about how to support Texas.

We had National Guard at the border last year, so weve kind of taken our turn down there and other states are taking their turns as well, so we will be having those conversations to see whats needed as we look now with the change in law, Cox said.

The change in law presumably means the end of Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that allowed border authorities to turn away asylum seekers at the border on the grounds of public health.

Title 42 expired one week ago, and despite fears that a surge of migrant crossings would follow, Department of Homeland Security officials in a recent media briefing said that unauthorized entries along the U.S.-Mexico border have dropped to roughly 4,400 per day after hitting 10,000 earlier in the month.

While immigration officials say its still too soon to tell if that downward trend is an abnormality or here to stay, advocates note that Title 42 actually incentivized repeated attempts to cross the border because it did not penalize multiple crossings. Now, under the Biden administrations new policies, migrants will be deported rather than expelled, which can be a criminal offense and could be a deterrent.

In a letter to states asking for assistance, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott cautioned that the end of Title 42 jeopardized our nations security but also said the reduction in migrant crossings was because of Texas surge in border security strategies and resources, including miles of additional razor wire barriers.

Abbott also applauded Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is sending National Guard troops to the border, and Idaho Gov. Brad Little, who deployed the Idaho State Police for a monthlong mission to prevent the smuggling of people and illicit drugs.

Cox reiterated Thursday that he supports Texas policies, which in addition to adding razor wire, includes deploying the new Texas Tactical Border Force, apprehending 376,000 undocumented migrants and busing asylum seekers to Democrat-run cities. The state has spent over $4.5 billion on these efforts, according to Abbotts letter.

Cox said these efforts resemble a decadeslong failure by both Congress and the White House to act, telling reporters that the Biden administration has done a terrible job of enforcing border security, but so have lots of administrations.

Its hard to blame any single administration when really this problem lies at the feet of Congress, the Utah governor said.

One possible solution is fixing the complex legal immigration system which Cox says ends up pushing people to go through the back door instead of the front door.

We do need more immigrants in our country. We have so many job openings right now, in the state of Utah and other places, that cant be filled. Its actually hurting our economy that we cant have good people that want to live here, come here, Cox said.
The Texas Senate has passed SB 18, authored by Senator Brandon Creighton. The bill would ban Read moreTexas Legislature advances plan to phase out academic tenure
(Bloomberg) -- First the crypto lenders imploded, then the industrys second-largest exchange collapsed. Next to go were the crypto-friendly banks. In the latest blow, major trading firms  the players responsible for the markets plumbing  are now retrenching.

Most Read from Bloomberg

As Jane Street Group, Jump Trading and other major firms pull back from crypto trading in the US amid heightened regulatory scrutiny, the market is quickly becoming less liquid, less mainstream and less attractive to institutional investors. Thats leaving the new landscape of digital-asset trading looking a lot like the crypto industry of the not-too-distant past: funkier, scrappier, riskier.

They brought real gravitas and legitimacy to an industry that was kind of on the fringes and made it feel more mainstream, more secure, said Michael Safai, co-founder of London-based Dexterity Capital, a proprietary high-frequency crypto-trading firm. Among the firms trying to fill the void, theres a bunch of other shops out there like us, that are small that you probably have never heard of.

The pullback of major market makers is likely to sideline big investors over concerns about the greater risk of moving prices through large orders, according to Noelle Acheson, former head of market insights at Genesis Global Trading Inc. and author of the Crypto Is Macro Now newsletter. That can spur a downward spiral, she said, with market makers needed before demand is created, but demand needed before market makers are willing to come back in.

Comparing to a year ago, its a very different market now, Acheson said. Market maturity is very much influenced by market liquidity, by diversity of offerings, by diversity of service providers  and, on all of those fronts, the crypto market has taken a few steps back.

Jane Street and Jumps retreat is already having an impact on liquidity and price stability in crypto markets. Bitcoin trading volume plunged to about $4 billion a day on average last week, compared to $20 billion in March, according to data from Coin Metrics Inc.

The impact can be seen in particular on Binance.US. In early May, Bitcoin prices on the trading platform at one point reached more than $600 higher than the consensus price on other exchanges. Market makers normally profit by arbitraging prices across exchanges, removing price differences on the same asset among different platforms. And Bitcoin liquidity on US exchanges has slumped 50% since the beginning of the year, according to data provider Kaiko.

Since early May, wallets identified as Jumps have been withdrawing capital without making fresh deposits on Binance.US, according to analytics data from Arkham Intelligence Inc.

The decrease in market makers, a critical component of vibrant trading activity, has raised concerns about the overall robustness of the market in the short term, analysts at Coin Metrics wrote.

Binance.US didnt respond to a request for comment. Representatives for Jump and Jane Street declined to comment.

Read More: Closer Look at Bitcoin Rally Suggests Depth of Demand Deceptive

The moves by the two firms come amid industry turmoil that began almost a year ago. The blowup of the Terra and Luna coins led to the shutdown of hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and crypto lenders Celsius Network LLC and Voyager Digital Ltd. Then came the collapse of Sam Bankman-Frieds empire, including the FTX exchange and his Alameda Research hedge fund. Within months, Silvergate Capital Corp. and Signature Bank fell apart too, making it harder for crypto firms to open bank accounts and access US dollars.

US regulators, meanwhile, have turned up the heat on the industry through enforcement actions, and market makers want to avoid being ensnared in the heightened scrutiny.

Jane Street and Jump are among the biggest US trading firms, a group of powerful but typically low-profile firms that underpin the equity and options markets. The two companies ventured into crypto in the runup to the industrys two-year bull market that ended in late 2021. Jumps digital-assets unit, Jump Crypto, and Jane Street attracted scrutiny as they were among the trading firms looked into by US prosecutors in a probe of the failed TerraUSD stablecoin project. Neither firm was accused of wrongdoing.

Jane Street is scaling back its crypto ambitions globally because regulatory uncertainty has made it difficult for the firm to operate the business in a way that meets internal standards, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News this month, and Jump Crypto is pulling back from the US market for the same reason, two people familiar with the matter have said. Both firms are still making markets, though on a smaller scale, the people said.

Read More: Jane Street, Jump Pull Back Crypto Trading Amid US Crackdown

Jane Street was seen as a liquidity provider of last resort in crypto, offering prices quoted on most major crypto exchanges and by brokers for Bitcoin, Ethereum and even meme coins. It was one of several Wall Street quant firms, along with DRW Holdings, Susquehanna International Group and Hudson River Trading, that marched into the digital-assets industry in the past few years. Some of them bought stakes in crypto startups, made deals with token projects and dabbled in decentralized finance  a crypto Wild West where computer codes execute transactions automatically.

A number of Jane Street alumni went on to crypto-focused firms. Bankman-Fried worked at the company before leaving to start Alameda in 2017.

Institutional lending was also a big source of trading volume, but lending has dropped off following the bankruptcies of Celsius Network, BlockFi and Genesis Global Capital.

The market has lost a lot of over-the-counter liquidity providers in the past year, and a lot of that liquidity was provided by people operating through leverage, said Chris Zuehlke, a partner at DRW and global head of Cumberland DRW, the digital-assets unit of Chicago-based trading house founded by Don Wilson.

No Layoffs

Cumberland is among the firms stepping up as some other big players retreat. Another is Wintermute Trading Ltd., which has increased its headcount to more than 80 employees, up 30% from a year ago. The London-based crypto market maker is expanding its business to trade more traditional instruments related to crypto, such as exchange-traded products and futures listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Eurex, as well as over-the-counter trading.

We are one of the very few companies out there that didnt scale down magnificently and didnt do any layoffs, Wintermute Chief Executive Officer Evgeny Gaevoy said in an interview.

Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd., the crypto financial-services firm founded by Michael Novogratz, is also positioning itself to take advantage as others pull back.

Coming out of 2022, theres a lot of shifting sand broadly in crypto  you saw some of the largest players historically in the space either blew up or are significantly impaired, said Jason Urban, global head of trading at Galaxy. We were the beneficiary of that.

The company recently built a trading team in Hong Kong to capture offshore growth. Indeed, with the pullback of bigger players and heightened regulatory scrutiny in the US, the crypto industry is poised to be dominated by smaller firms and much of the activity is likely to happen overseas, in countries such as South Korea, Australia and Switzerland, said Safai of Dexterity Capital, one of the beneficiaries of the retrenchment by Jane Street and Jump.

We are able to step in and provide some of that liquidity and fill some of these gaps that have been left behind, Safai said. But I dont have Jumps balance sheet, Jane Streets balance sheet, and missing that liquidity in the market is bad for pricing and its bad for everybody. We hope somebody will step up and fill the gap.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
PRESS RELEASE

The first border liaison office was opened on the Uzbek-Turkmen border

Tashkent, May 11, 2023 - the official opening of the border liaison office (BLO) at the border checkpoint (BCP) "Alat" (Uzbekistan) on the Uzbek-Turkmen border took place.

The BLO was established by the Regional Office of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Central Asia in cooperation with law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the support of the Government of Japan.

During the opening ceremony of the BLO, the representatives of the participating parties signed handover reports on the equipment donated to the BCP Alat. The total amount of equipment donated to the Alat checkpoint was US$130,000.

Under the current conditions, border liaison offices have proven themselves as a tool for developing and strengthening interagency and cross-border cooperation, as well as exchanging information to effectively detect and suppress smuggling across the border, said Lt. Col. Bakhodir Kutlimuratov, Head of the Department of the Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the Bukhara region in his welcome speech.

The importance of enhancing efforts to respond to transnational organized crime, border control and cross-border cooperation, as well as counter-narcotics capacity building was also reaffirmed at the Foreign Ministers Meeting of the Central Asia plus Japan Dialogue last December. I am confident that the Project significantly contributed to enhancing the capacity of border crossing points, regional cross-border cooperation, and closer communication among law enforcement agencies. I am delighted to observe that we have made steady progress on effectively countering the illicit drug trafficking,- said H.E. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Uzbekistan Mr. Takashi Hatori in his speech.

As part of the Project to enhance cross-border cooperation by strengthening the capacity of border liaison offices, border checkpoints are being equipped with modern technical equipment, including X-Ray and inspection complexes. Along with this, the human resource capacity of law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Uzbekistan is being increased, which contributes to the improvement of border and customs control, said Olim Narzullaev, Director of the National Information and Analytical Center on Drug Control of the Republic of Uzbekistan, I am sure that the effective implementation of this project will contribute to the promotion of cooperation in security issues reflected in the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development for the period up to 2030, of which the Republic of Uzbekistan is a full-fledged participant.

Ashita Mittal, UNODC Regional Representative for Central Asia, congratulated national partners on the opening of the first BLO on the Uzbek-Turkmen border and expressed the hope that this initiative will serve to further development of effective cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and ultimately lead to improved border security.

The establishment of such offices provides basis for the creation of an appropriate mechanism, through which the border agencies of neighboring countries will be able to exchange strategic information related to drug trafficking, both at the bilateral and cross-border levels. UNODC will continue to strengthen the capacity of BLOs in Central Asia under the UNODC Programme for Central Asia 2022-2025 in order to enhance cross-border cooperation, including on the Uzbek-Turkmen border, said Yusuf Kurbonov, UNODC International Programme Coordinator in Central Asia.

The establishment of BLOs at a number of border checkpoints in Central Asia contributes to the formation of a basis for further effective interagency and cross-border cooperation, as well as the exchange of information to effectively counter transnational organized crime. At the same time BLOs promote the growth of legitimate international trade. To date, 22 BLOs have been established on the Tajik-Afghan, Uzbek-Afghan, Tajik-Uzbek, Kyrgyz-Tajik, Kyrgyz-Uzbek, Kyrgyz-Kazakh and Kazakh-Uzbek borders.

The establishment of Alat BLO is funded through the contribution from people of Japan, under UONDC Initiative for Enhancing Regional Cross-Border Cooperation by Strengthening the Capacity of Border Liaison Offices in Central Asia.

Russian version
May 19 2023

A former nursing home at Church Hill, Edinburgh, is to be converted into six private apartments by Strathedin Properties.

CM Architects have been instructed to oversee the transformation, which will retain the symmetry of the listed front facade by positioning an associated new build extension to the rear.

As part of the works, the original room proportions of Strathmore House will be reinstated and all surviving cornices and fireplaces will be retained in situ.

A three-storey dressed buff sandstone block will stand alongside, meeting the main building with recessed aluminium windows and spandrel panels.

A new boundary wall formed from local stone will also be erected.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

JEDDAH, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 19th May, 2023) His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, said the UAE supports all efforts to promote stability and peace in the region.

During the 32nd Arab Summit held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, His Highness Sheikh Mansour stressed that the best way to ensure development and prosperity in the Arab region is through cooperation.

He also expressed his gratitude and appreciation to King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and King of Saudi Arabia, and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, for their hospitality and excellent preparations for the summit.

He then conveyed his appreciation to Algeria for its work as president of previous Arab summits and the Secretariat-General of the Arab League for preparing the summit.

His Highness Sheikh Mansour said that despite the regions challenges, some hopeful developments could lead to the resolution of local conflicts, affirming the importance of building on related accomplishments.

He congratulated Syria for returning to its place among friendly countries during the summit, hoping it would get through its current difficulties and achieve stability and prosperity.

He also appealed to Arab countries to capitalise on positive developments to reinforce their cooperation and establish economic and developmental collaborations.

His Highness Sheikh Mansour called on the Sudanese people to solve their issues through dialogue and compromise to overcome the countrys crisis, expressing his gratitude for Saudi Arabias role in facilitating talks in Sudan and helping end the political deadlock.

His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed had left Jeddah after he participated in the 32nd Arab League Summit.
(@FahadShabbir)

Berlin, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th May, 2023 ) :When Rafael Nadal announced on Thursday that injury would prevent him taking part in this year's French Open for the first time in 19 years, it triggered bitter sweet memories for Lars Burgsmuller, his first ever opponent at Roland Garros.

Back in 2005, when Nadal's remarkable 14 titles on the Parisian clay were still in the future, the German faced the Mallorca native in the first round.

Burgsmuller, then aged 29 and the world number 96, lost 6-1, 7-6, 6-1, but pushed 18-year-old Nadal to a tiebreak in the second set.

The German, who had already played Nadal the year before at Indian Wells when he was just 17, losing 6-2, 6-3, told AFP he "was not so enthusiastic" when he found out who he would face.

"Let's just say I'd heard from all sides that he was the next big thing," Burgsmuller, 47, said from his home in Essen, where he now works as a radiologist.

"Of course, at such a big tournament you hope for an easier draw, especially at the beginning.

"At the moment when I lost the match, you can see why I wasn't so excited." The German said that while he was disappointed with the outcome at the time, he realised he was witnessing something special in the making.

"You have to acknowledge without any envy that he just somehow plays in another league," Burgsmuller said.

He counts the memory alongside his matches against Roger Federer and his Wimbledon clash with Andre Agassi as career highlights, alongside his win at the ATP event in Copenhagen 2002.

In the 17 years since their meeting, Nadal has amassed those record 14 French Open titles and lost only three of 115 matches.

Although he was convinced of the Spaniard's talent, he admits to being surprised Nadal went on to win the tournament at his first attempt.

"I felt that he was playing well and would have a great future, but that he would go from 0 to 100 so quickly and win the French Open, I honestly did not expect that.

"I don't know if he expected it himself or if anyone else did." - 'Full throttle' - Burgsmuller said Nadal gave "full throttle" from start to finish in their match.

"It makes no difference whether it's 0:0 or later on... he plays the first ball just like the last ball.

"You have the feeling you have to win every rally three times to get the point.

"I caught myself in moments where I thought 'OK, I've got the point', and then somehow he gets it past you -- and it really hurts you.

"That's his strength, even from difficult situations from the corners to somehow hit fantastic balls anywhere on the court." - 'Beyond the pain barrier' - Nadal's powerful game has carried him to a record 22 Grand Slam titles, equal with Novak Djokovic, but it has also taken a punishing toll on his body.

The Spaniard told reporters on Thursday his inability to recover from a hip injury in time for the French Open was "not a decision I made, it's a decision my body made." "I need to stop for a while." Like Nadal, Burgsmuller also battled injuries in his career and has followed how the Spaniard has faced setbacks along the way.

As a doctor, Burgsmuller said "you can certainly say that it does not make sense" to play through injury pain, but it was "ultimately up to the athlete to decide".

Burgsmuller said he hoped Nadal would still add to his French Open total in his final appearance next year, but feared the ongoing impact of injuries put that out of reach.

"It's never nice to see someone who is somehow battered and injured, who needs to push themselves beyond the pain barrier -- someone who is on the verge of maybe giving up or not even competing.

"A two-week Grand Slam is already incredibly exhausting for the body."
Copenhagen, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th May, 2023 ) :Denmark will help train Ukrainian pilots on the US-made F-16 fighter jet, the country's defence minister said Friday, after Washington said it would back such an initiative.

The Scandinavian country "will now be able to move forward for a collective contribution to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s", said acting Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.

Denmark will make a priority of working with its allies to support the scheme, he added, hailing Biden's decision to approve the plan.

Lund Poulsen did not say if Denmark would be among those countries delivering the fighter jets to Ukraine.

Denmark's airforce has some 40 F-16s, around 30 of which are operational. It recently began taking delivery of the more recent F-35 fighters.
Noumea, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th May, 2023 ) :New Caledonia lifted its tsunami warning to citizens after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck on Friday in the Pacific Ocean southeast of the territory.

The quake was detected some 340 kilometres east of Vao city in New Caledonia, a French Pacific territory, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

In New Caledonia, the police had evacuated the coast and tsunami sirens had been activated.

Tsunami waves of one-to-three metres (six-to-nine feet) above tide are possible along some coastal areas of Vanuatu, according to the Honolulu-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

In Vanuatu, waves of just under half a metre above tide level were reported at Lenakel, while slightly smaller waves were observed or predicted for several other islands, the Honolulu-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

Anna Erick, who runs a beachfront hotel on Tanna island in Vanuatu, told AFP she decided to head to higher ground with her children after unusually big waves began to crash on a nearby beach.

She said the waves were about knee-high and although she had decided to evacuate out of precaution, others were still watching the waves.

Others on Vanuatu were unaware of any emergency.

John Nicholls, owner of the Rockwater Resort, also on Tanna, said he could see no unusual waves at the beach and had no idea a quake had been detected.

An AFP correspondent on New Caledonia said people evacuated one beach after warning sirens sounded.

The tsunami warning centre warned of possible smaller tsunami waves of 0.3-1.0 metres in New Caledonia, Fiji, Kiribati and New Zealand.

A hotel receptionist in the New Caledonia capital Noumea told AFP she had felt no shaking from the tremor.

A travel agent on the island of Ile des Pins on the eastern edge of the New Caledonia archipelago said she had also not felt the tremor or heard any evacuation warning.

"Everybody is still on the beach and in the restaurants," she said.

The Australian bureau of meteorology said there was "no land threat to the Australian mainland or Australian territories".

Earthquakes are common along the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Earlier this month, an earthquake in Japan killed one person, injured dozens more and destroyed several buildings.

And in April, an evacuation order was issued to coastal dwellers on a remote Philippine island after a 6.2-magnitude quake struck in the ocean off the archipelago, triggering a tsunami warning, though there were no reports of damage.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Beijing, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th May, 2023 ) :Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will visit China from May 23 to 24, Beijing's foreign ministry and the Kremlin said on Friday.

"At the invitation of Premier Li Qiang of the State Council, Russian Federation Prime Minister Mishustin will pay an official visit to China from May 23 to 24," foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a statement.

Confirming the visit, the Kremlin said: "Russian-Chinese cooperation in trade and economic spheres will be discussed." "Particular attention will be given to the industry, energy, transport infrastructure and agriculture," it added, saying several bilateral agreements were expected to be signed.

Mishustin will also visit Shanghai during his visit, where he will speak at a Russian-Chinese business forum, the Kremlin said.

Russia and China have close relations, with President Xi Jinping visiting Moscow in March and saying ties were "entering a new era".

And while China says it is a neutral party in the Ukraine war, it has been criticised for refusing to condemn Moscow for the invasion.

Chinese envoy Li Hui visited Kyiv this week, where he told Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and other officials that "there is no panacea to resolve the crisis".
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th May, 2023) A summit of the League of Arab State (LAS) will take place in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on Friday.

Leaders of 22 member states will gather for talks on a variety of topics, including security, energy and economy.

Besides, the top level meeting is expected to discuss both regional and international issues, as well as define prospects for future cooperation.

Syrian President Bashar Assad will also attend the summit to represent his country after a 12-year suspension of membership. The Syrian leader is expected to negotiate investments needed for the country's reconstruction with Arab partners.
US President Joe Biden has informed the Group of Seven (G7) leaders that the United States will support the efforts together with its allies to train Ukrainian pilots to operate F-16 fighter jets, CNN said on Friday, citing a senior Biden administration official

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th May, 2023) US President Joe Biden has informed the Group of Seven (G7) leaders that the United States will support the efforts together with its allies to train Ukrainian pilots to operate F-16 fighter jets, CNN said on Friday, citing a senior Biden administration official.

The official said the training of Ukrainian pilots will start in Europe in the coming months.

"Our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide the jets, how many we will provide and who will provide them," the official said.
Greenpeace said it is forced to close its office in Russia after the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said on Friday that it recognizes the activities of Greenpeace as undesirable in the country

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th May, 2023) Greenpeace said it is forced to close its office in Russia after the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said on Friday that it recognizes the activities of Greenpeace as undesirable in the country.

"We express our categorical disagreement with the decision of the prosecutor general's office. This decision makes it illegal for any Greenpeace activity to continue in Russia. Therefore, the Russian office of Greenpeace is forced to close," the organization said in a statement, published by its office in Russia.
Ikea launched the first iteration of what will be an annual home accessories collection dedicated to traditional craftmanship Thursday.

Mavinn features 20 handmade items from seven social businesses. Located across Asia, these partnersSaitex, Spun, Doi Tung, Classical Handmade Products, Ramesh Flowers, Industree P.T. and Rangsutraprovide long-term job opportunities for people from vulnerable groups, Ikea said.

More from Sourcing Journal

The collection includes baskets, rugs, a lampshade, an apron, bags, cushion covers and a wall organizer and was made with cotton, over-run materials from denim production and natural fibers. Most materials were sourced locally in Bangladesh, India, Thailand and Vietnam, where Ikeas partners are located, the Swedish home furnishings retailer said.

One of our goals with this collection has been to create a diverse collection of handcrafted items that someone who enjoys walking at a local crafts market would like, Ikea designer Maria Vinka said. We have a beautiful collection with handcrafted items, a natural appearance with contrasts using embroidery and colorful splashes. That is something I think our customers will really appreciate.

Mavinn follows a similar collection released last summer. Vardandev included bath towels, storage pieces, bowls, baskets and plantersall created in partnership with socially conscious businesses in Asia that are working to build opportunities for marginalized groups. All five companies from last years Vardande collection participated in Thursdays Mavinn release, with Industree P.T. and Rangsutra being the two newcomers.

A pillow in the Mavinn collection.

Though Ikea has collaborated with social businesses since 2012today, the efforts have expanded to more than 11 partner companiesthe Mavinn collection was developed more recently, during the pandemic. Forced to pull back on travel, Ikeas designers were forced to adapt, Vinka said.

When working with our social business partners, we take a very collaborative approach to understand their specific techniques and strengths, to get the most out of their crafts and create a diverse collection, Vinka said. Due to the pandemic, we had to adapt and shift our work to digital. So, all our sewing, braiding and weaving had to be done in front of a laptop camera.

Future Mavinn collections will have their own unique characteristics. Moving forward, Ikea plans to keep many of the partners from the debut collection, while also introducing new social businesses, Vinka said. Future collections will see Ikea experiment with new contrasts, patterns and textures, she added.

Click here to read the full article.
ROME (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th May, 2023) Italy will send 3,400 servicepeople using 30 aircraft throughout 2023 to strengthen the NATO eastern flank, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said on Thursday.

"The Defense Ministry will continue participating in initiatives being implemented by NATO in the eastern flank: the commitments here are significant, providing for a total of 3,400 in military personnel throughout 2023, which in equipment means 600 units, five maritime and about 30 airborne units," Crosetto told a joint session of the parliamentary foreign affairs and defense committees, as quoted by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

The minister added that the military plans to deploy a warship "with air and missile defense capabilities in the Baltic Sea as a contribution to strengthening the Polish and Euro-Atlantic airspace."

Italian soldiers will participate in 43 missions abroad, including nine NATO missions, 13 missions of the European Union, and seven United Nations missions, the cost of which will amount to 1.3 billion Euros ($1.4 billion), Crosetto added.
The terms and conditions of training programs for Ukrainian pilots to operate F-16 fighter jets will be defined in the coming weeks, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th May, 2023) The terms and conditions of training programs for Ukrainian pilots to operate F-16 fighter jets will be defined in the coming weeks, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Friday.

Earlier in the day, US President Joe Biden told G7 leaders that Washington would support allies' training programs for Ukrainian pilots, CNN reported, citing a senior administration official. The source said the training would begin in Europe in the coming months.

"Together with my British, Danish and Belgian colleagues we welcome the news that the United States stands ready to approve the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.

The modalities will be worked out in the coming weeks," Rutte tweeted.

He added that Ukraine can count on the unwavering support of the Netherlands and other partners.

On Monday, the United Kingdom said it would begin training Ukrainian pilots this summer and continue negotiations with other nations to supply jets to the conflict-torn country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak discussed the creation of a coalition of countries willing to supply Kiev with fighter jets. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the country would eventually "get everything."
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th May, 2023) The United Kingdom has announced new sanctions, targeting 86 entities and individuals connected to Russia's energy, metals, defense, transport, and financial sectors, the UK Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

"The UK has today (Friday 19 May) announced a new wave of sanctions against Russia, targeting businesses and individuals connected to Russia's capacity to fund and wage the war. The 86 designations target individuals and organisations connected to Russia's energy, metals, defence, transport, and financial sectors - ramping up pressure on Putin's remaining revenue and attempts to use these sectors to support the military machine," the ministry said in a statement.

The sanctions list now includes companies Russian state nuclear agency Rosatom, producing advanced materials and technology, including lasers, eight more companies associated with the production of metals in Russia and five financial institutions.

"The Foreign Secretary has also announced, consistent with our laws, that Russia's sovereign assets in our jurisdictions will remain immobilised until Russia agrees to pay for the damage it has caused to Ukraine," the statement read.

London has also introduced sanctions against Oleg Romanenko, the head of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, 13 members of the Gazprom Neft board of directors, five members of the Transneft board of directors, Kalashnikov Concern's president and director general, Alan Lushinkov and Vladimir Lepin, respectively, among others.
UTSA Top Scholar Kathryn Wilson, who is earning her bachelors degree in global affairs with minors in psychology and intelligence and security studies, will be moving to Washington D.C. for a full-time position as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. Department of Defense. Wilson was also named a Millennium Fellow in 2020 and served as one of two campus directors overseeing the UTSA project.

Avery Justus, who is receiving his bachelors degree in computer science, will start a full-time position as a software engineer at H-E-B. Justus joined the Honors College staff as a student employee the summer before his first semester at UTSA. He remained on the colleges staff throughout his time at UTSA and was able to incorporate his passion for coding to take on the invaluable role of webmaster for the college. In addition to working part-time for the college and completing all requirements to graduate from the Honors College, Justus completed multiple internships with H-E-B.

Three remarkable seniors, Samantha Oviedo, Tristan Pepper and Joshua Chaj Ulloa, share the unique distinction of having been selected for the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow Program during their time at UTSA. They are all also part of the UTSA ESTEEMED program.

Oviedo, who is earning her bachelors degree in biochemistry, was named a Goldwater Scholar in 2022 and a NSF Graduate Research Fellow this spring. She will enter the doctoral program in chemical and biological sciences at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, starting in the fall. As a Hispanic first-generation college student in the sciences, and the daughter of parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico, Oviedo is breaking barriers and paving the way for other young students to get involved in research. A few of her other accolades include serving as president of the American Chemical Society Student Chapter at UTSA and receiving the 2022 College of Sciences Deans Fund for Excellence Award.

Pepper, a UTSA Top Scholar who is earning his bachelors degree in biomedical engineering, was named a Millennium Fellow in 2020, a Goldwater Scholar in 2021 and a NSF Graduate Research Fellow this spring. He will enter the Ph.D. program in biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University in the fall.

In Fall 2021, Peppers team  which also included fellow Top Scholar seniors Yohannes Akiel and Dylan Watson  took second place in the Big Rowdy Idea, a student business plan competition at UTSA. This spring, Pepper, Akiel and another senior Top Scholar Josh Klopfenstein, were on the team that won first place at UTSAs inaugural Draper Data Science Business Plan Competition.

Chaj Ulloa, a first-generation college student earning his bachelors degree in chemical engineering, was also named a Goldwater Scholar in 2021 and a NSF Graduate Research Fellow this spring. He will be starting a Ph.D. in the joint medical and electrical engineering program at the California Institute of Technology starting this fall. Like Wilson, Chaj Ulloa was also named a 2020 Millennium Fellow and served with her as a campus director.

During his time at UTSA, Chaj Ulloa served as an undergraduate research assistant in the Advanced Biophotonics and Nanotechnology Laboratory. He also completed summer research fellowships at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to name a few.

Other Honors College graduates will be starting full-time positions at companies like Accenture Federal Services, Apple, BlackRock, Dell Technologies, Ernst & Young, General Motors, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Randolph Air Force Base. Others will be pursuing graduate studies at institutions like Rice University, Umea University in Sweden, University of Texas at Austin, and UT Health San Antonio. Others have their sights set on attending medical school, law school, or working in the public and nonprofit sectors.

In addition, this graduating class includes three students  Madeline Morales, Eliesha Perez and Axa Soria  selected to the Fulbright Student Program. Administered by the U.S. Department of States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the initiative offers graduating college seniors a scholarship to continue their studies, conduct research or teach English in more than 140 countries.

Each graduating class of Honors College students astounds us with all they have accomplished and how much they have grown since their first year at UTSA, said Jill Fleuriet, interim dean of the UTSA Honors College. The Class of 2023 includes extraordinary talent, and we are so proud and humbled that the honors experience at UTSA has played a supporting role in preparing them to chart their path and change the world.

The UTSA Honors College will celebrate its graduating scholars during a special Honors Stole & Laurel Celebration at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 19 at the UTSA Main Campus.
DHL Supply Chain could lay off as many as 152 employees at two logistics warehouses in the Houston area by June 30. (Photo: DHL)

DHL Supply Chain and GXO Logistics are laying off workers in Texas as a result of both companies losing customers.

DHL is laying off 80 Houston-area employees after a customer ended its contract.

A DHL Supply Chain customer made the decision to terminate its contract with DHL and move the business to a new logistics provider, the company said in an email to FreightWaves. As such, 80 warehouse associates will be affected from our Missouri City and Sugar Land facilities.

Missouri City and Sugar Land are near Houston.

While DHL said it is laying off 80 workers at this time, the company could let go of as many as 152 employees, depending on the outcome of negotiations with the customer, according to filings with the Texas Workforce Commission.

It is important to note that since this [Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act] notice has been issued, we are in active dialog with our customer which may impact the outcome of our business, DHL said. We will work to support the impacted employees to explore opportunities with the new provider or within DHL Supply Chains operational footprint.





DHL Supply Chain is a division of Germany-based Deutsche Post DHL Group.

Also announcing layoffs is GXO Logistics, which will let go of 105 workers at a logistics operation in Fort Worth by the end of June, according to state filings.

Were ceasing operations with one of our customers in Fort Worth; as a result, impacted employees will have the opportunity to transfer to GXO sites nearby that serve other customers, a GXO spokesperson told FreightWaves.

GXO Logistics is a contract logistics provider based in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Click for more FreightWaves articles by Noi Mahoney.

More articles by Noi Mahoney

Mexican government urges Texas to halt truck inspections at border

Truckers threaten to boycott Florida over migrant crackdown

Canadian town wins another court battle against illegal trucking operation

The post DHL Supply Chain, GXO Logistics lay off workers in Texas appeared first on FreightWaves.
Tax Obligations for Non-Resident Property Owners in Vietnam

In this article, Dezan Shira and Associates tax expert, Thang Vu, outlines the tax reporting obligations of foreigners who own rental properties in Vietnam.

Housing Law number 65/2014/QH13 took effect in 2015, permitting foreign citizens and investors to purchase property in Vietnam.

Under this law, due to certain restrictions on ownership as well as leasehold land periods, most properties purchased by foreigners are rented out on a long-term basis or used as serviced apartments.

As a foreigner who owns a rental property in Vietnam, it is important to understand your tax reporting and remittance obligations to avoid complications with the tax authorities.

Additionally, it is important to note that there are potential tax exemptions or reductions available for foreign owners of rental properties in Vietnam depending on their home country. Some tax jurisdictions even treat rental income from overseas as tax-free income.

Paying tax on rental income in Vietnam

Firstly, it is important to note that as a foreigner who owns a rental property in Vietnam, you are subject to the same tax regulations as Vietnamese citizens. This means that you will be required to register for and pay taxes on your rental income in Vietnam if your annual aggregated rental income exceeds the 100-million-VND tax-free threshold (approximately US$4,300 per year or US$355 per month).

Example: Mark is an Australian resident who purchased a property in Vietnam in June 2022. He has rented this property out since July 2022 for 15 million VND per month. Although the total rental income earned by Mark for the period July 2022 to December 2022 was 90 million VND, which was below the tax-free threshold, Mark would need to declare and pay tax for this property because his actual annual rental income would be 15,000,000 VND per month or multiplied by 12 months, 180,000,000 million VND per year.

So, what should Mark do to meet his tax obligations in Vietnam?

The first step is to obtain a tax code number (more commonly known as a tax ID). A tax code is a unique identification number assigned to taxpayers in Vietnam. You can obtain a tax code by applying to the local tax office where the investment property is located. This application process can be done via the online tax portal (https://canhan.gdt.gov.vn). However, note that you will need to submit signed hard copies of the application directly to the tax office to activate the tax code in order to submit tax declarations online. Once the unique tax code is obtained and registered for online tax filing, you can start making tax declarations and remittances.

Taxpayers can opt to declare and pay taxes on rental income at the time they occur, or on a quarterly or annual basis. Typically, only lessors who lease serviced apartments via Airbnb or holiday homes declare tax when it occurs due to the irregular nature of their income.

Tax obligations on rental income comprise 5 percent Value-Added Tax (VAT), 5 percent of Personal Income Tax (PIT), and Business License Tax (BLT). The lessor does not need to do anything regarding the BLT, instead, the tax authority will assess the submitted dossiers and advise on BLT amounts payable.

Schedules of fees for Business Licence Taxes

Amount (VND) Annual rental income (VND) 300,000 100 million to 300 million 500,000 300 million to 500 million 1,000,000 500 million and above

PIT and VAT can be declared and paid using form 01/TTS, which is filed via the aforementioned online tax portal. At the time of publishing this article, taxpayers were experiencing tax remittance issues via the online portal. Therefore, it may be easier to submit the tax form online and go to a nearby bank branch and request assistance with tax remittances.

Frequently asked questions about owning a property in Vietnam as a foreigner

Is it true that tax responsibilities for foreigners with respect to owning an investment property are the same as those of local owners? I hear that foreigners and non-residents are subject to a flat PIT rate of 20% in Vietnam.

The flat PIT rate of 20 percent applies to non-resident individuals who earn employment and contracting income in Vietnam. Non-residents, who earn rental income from investment properties in Vietnam, are subject to the same tax obligations as local property owners. This was confirmed by Official Letter no.5262/TCT-DNNCN issued by the General Department of Taxation of Vietnam on December 11, 2020.

I am not a resident for tax purposes in Vietnam and my home country has a Double Tax Treaty with Vietnam. Can I claim tax exemption on rental income from my investment property in Vietnam?

FIND BUSINESS SUPPORT In Vietnam, companies face a number of tax challenges but we can help. Learn more 

You will need to specify your home country so that we can carry out an appropriate assessment. Vietnam currently has approximately 80 double taxation agreements (DTA) with other countries. Rental income is often covered in Article 6 of most DTAs, and they usually stipulate that income from immovable properties is taxed in the country where the property is situated. However, measures for double taxation elimination may be applied, which enable the tax paid to be used as tax credits to offset tax payable in the home country.

It should be noted that the elimination of double taxation under DTAs only applies to the income tax portion and is capped at the actual tax paid.

Lets use the above example to illustrate how Mark can benefit from the DTA between Australia and Vietnam. Mark earns a total rental income of 180,000,000 million VND from renting his investment property in Vietnam for the period from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023. His tax obligations for this period will be a BLT of 300,000 VND, VAT of 9 million VND, and PIT of 9 million VND. Under the DTA between Australia and Vietnam, Mark will be able to offset 9 million VND of PIT paid in Vietnam against his tax payable on the apportioned foreign rental income in his individual tax return in Australia for the 2023 financial year.

I dont speak Vietnamese and dont know how to do a tax registration and declaration in Vietnam. Im not even in Vietnam at the moment. Who is empowered to help me with this?

You can entrust someone in Vietnam to carry out tax compliance procedures on your behalf. It can be either your property manager, your lessor, or a professional tax consultant.

You will, however, need to complete a power of attorney. For a power of attorney in Vietnam to be legally effective, it must be:

Signed by both of you and the authorized personnel and witnessed by a notary, if you are physically in Vietnam; or

Signed by you and legalized by the Vietnamese Consulate in your home country, then sent to Vietnam and certified by a local notary, if you are living in your home country.

I purchased a condo in Ho Chi Minh a few years ago but have not been issued a certificate of ownership yet. Why is this happening and what can be done to accelerate the process?

Unfortunately, certificates of ownership for foreign investors have been a controversial issue in Vietnam due to conflicting regulations between Vietnamese government agencies. This is particularly true in Ho Chi Minh City where there have been a significant number of properties sold to foreigners.

The Real Estate Association has been consistently pushing the Peoples Committee of HCMC to issue certificates of ownership to foreign owners in accordance with the 2014 Housing Law, but to date, the issue remains unresolved.

At the moment, Hanoi is the only city in Vietnam that issues certificates of ownership to foreign homeowners. Foreign homeowners in HCMC and other provinces of Vietnam will have to wait patiently. You can, however, join forces with other homeowners and put pressure on project owners to keep following up with the relevant authorities.

If such delays are significant and are causing you financial or legal difficulties, you may need to consider selling the property. However, it is important to seek legal advice before doing so to ensure that you comply with all legal requirements and protect your interests.

What are the key points for me, as a foreign investor, to consider before buying a property in Vietnam?

Most foreign investors are interested in investment properties that can be leased out, so the return on investment is probably going to be the most important factor. On the other hand, there are a lot of things for you to consider from a tax and legal perspective before making the decision to buy:

Foreign ownership restrictions: In Vietnam, there are restrictions on foreign ownership of land. Foreigners can only buy and own apartments and condominiums for a maximum period of 50 years, after which ownership rights can only be renewed for another period of 50 years.

In Vietnam, there are restrictions on foreign ownership of land. Foreigners can only buy and own apartments and condominiums for a maximum period of 50 years, after which ownership rights can only be renewed for another period of 50 years. The propertys legal status: As mentioned above, delays in certificate of ownership issuance have caused frustration for a lot of individual property owners in Vietnam. In addition to these delays, many property owners have lost faith in the real estate market and project owners in particular. As a result, many have decided to dispose of their properties to minimize losses. Some project owners have not even been able to sign purchase contracts with their property purchasers due to incomplete licensing and tax requirements. Without the original purchase contract and certificate of ownership, the legal transfer of property ownership is technically impossible.

As mentioned above, delays in certificate of ownership issuance have caused frustration for a lot of individual property owners in Vietnam. In addition to these delays, many property owners have lost faith in the real estate market and project owners in particular. As a result, many have decided to dispose of their properties to minimize losses. Some project owners have not even been able to sign purchase contracts with their property purchasers due to incomplete licensing and tax requirements. Without the original purchase contract and certificate of ownership, the legal transfer of property ownership is technically impossible. Taxation: As mentioned above, owning a property in Vietnam can come with tax obligations. You will need to register for a tax code and pay taxes on rental income earned. In addition, you may also be subject to capital gains tax if you sell the property in the future. Tax compliance is important because you will need to provide commercial banks with evidence of tax remittance before they allow income earned in Vietnam to be transferred overseas.

As mentioned above, owning a property in Vietnam can come with tax obligations. You will need to register for a tax code and pay taxes on rental income earned. In addition, you may also be subject to capital gains tax if you sell the property in the future. Tax compliance is important because you will need to provide commercial banks with evidence of tax remittance before they allow income earned in Vietnam to be transferred overseas. Property management: If you plan to rent out your investment property, it is important to consider property management when you are not in Vietnam. This includes finding reliable property management services to handle tenant communication, maintenance, and rent collection. It is also important to ensure that the property is properly insured against any potential damages or losses.

If you plan to rent out your investment property, it is important to consider property management when you are not in Vietnam. This includes finding reliable property management services to handle tenant communication, maintenance, and rent collection. It is also important to ensure that the property is properly insured against any potential damages or losses. Financing: As a foreigner, it may be difficult to obtain financing from Vietnamese banks for the purchase of a property. You may need to seek financing from international banks or finance companies that are willing to lend to non-residents. It is important to research and compare different financing options before deciding to proceed.

In any case, you should always get in touch with a professional real estate consultant who can assist you with the decision-making process. You should also engage a professional lawyer to assist you with any legal aspects related to the negotiation and purchase processes.
An Australian doctor held captive by al-Qaida-linked extremists for more than seven years in West Africa has been released, the Australian government said Friday.

Kenneth Elliott, 88, is safe and well and has been reunited with his wife, Jocelyn, and their children, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said.

The couple were seized in January 2016 from Djibo, near Burkina Faso's border with Mali, where they had operated a 120-bed clinic for more than 40 years.

Jocelyn Elliott was freed after three weeks. Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb then said it had kidnapped the couple and would release the woman unconditionally because of public pressure and guidance from leaders not to involve women in war.

"At 88 years of age, and after many years away from home, Dr. Elliott now needs time and privacy to rest and rebuild strength. We thank you for your understanding and sympathy," his family said in a statement.
As Greece gears up for uncertain parliamentary elections Sunday, the country's media landscape is as polarized as ever and press freedom remains in crisis, experts say.

Against a backdrop of political tension and hemorrhaging media freedom, Greeks will vote May 21 to fill all of parliament's 300 seats for the next four years. The election  which analysts say is unlikely to bring about an outright winning party in the first round  is among the country's most unpredictable in years.

This election will also take place against a backdrop of general frustration with the Greek government  in particular, frustration over issues of rule of law and government spying, polarized media and a slow-moving justice system that doles out unduly lenient punishments, analysts told VOA.

"The rule of law includes an independent judiciary and an independent media landscape. And at this point, it seems that both are problematic," Greek freelance reporter Matthaios Tsimitakis told VOA from Athens.

To Tsimitakis, the plight of press freedom is intimately linked to broader threats facing the rule of law in Greece.

The upcoming elections in Greece will be a big test for Greek democracy and the Greek political system on whether it can ensure political stability in the aftermath, according to Thanos Dimadis, executive director of the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the United States.

"I am afraid that the lack of political unity and extreme polarization fed by the opposition political parties may result in a new circle of political instability in the country, which can create a dangerous cocktail along with its fragile economy, the inefficient judiciary system, and the partisanship of the media," Dimadis, who previously worked as a journalist in Greece, told VOA.

For the second consecutive year, Reporters Without Borders this month ranked the birthplace of democracy last in the European Union in terms of press freedom. The press freedom group ranked Greece 107 in the world out of 180 countries in terms of media freedom.

In an emailed statement, Greeces Washington embassy said, For Greece, free and independent media constitute a foundation of peaceful, inclusive and resilient societies; journalists and media professionals speak truth to power and hold those in power accountable.

Greece attaches high priority to the protection and promotion of media freedom and the safety of journalists and media actors at the national and international levels, the statement continued.

"The Greek media has always been partisan," said Nick Malkoutzis, co-founder of the Greek think tank MacroPolis.

The media landscape is heavily tilted in favor of the ruling conservative New Democracy party, Malkoutzis said. The three main parties are the ruling New Democracy party, the main leftist opposition Syriza party, and the socialist party Pasok.

"It's certainly been the case over the last few years that Greeks have really low trust in their media," Malkoutzis added.

"The vast majority of the Greek society does not care  unfortunately  for the status of the freedom of the press in the country because," Dimadis said, "people dismiss media and journalists as partisan elements affiliated with the parties in the left and the right of the political spectrum."

But the relatively niche issue of media freedom is connected to broader questions of rule of law that Greek people do care about, experts on Greek politics and media freedom told VOA.

In 2010, Greek reporter Socrates Giolias was shot and killed outside his house. More than a decade later in 2021, another prominent Greek journalist named Giorgos Karaivaz was shot and killed outside his home in an Athenian suburb.

At the end of April, two brothers were arrested on suspicion of having helped to carry out the hit on Karaivaz, but little progress has been made in either investigation.

"It's completely outrageous that two years later, no one has been brought to justice," Tsimitakis said about the killing of Karaivaz.

Greeces Washington embassy told VOA that Athens has been doing everything to shed light on Karaivazs brutal assassination.

The Minister of Citizen Protection of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Panagiotis Theodorikakos, has repeatedly emphasized that no criminal act will remain unsolved and this certainly applies to the assassination of a journalist, the embassy statement continued.

Meanwhile, the Greek government has also come under fire for its use of spyware to target more than a dozen journalists and politicians.

Even though these are serious problems, press freedom isn't weighty enough to have a real impact on the outcome of the elections  in part because press freedom is a political issue in Greece, mainly because of what it means for Greece's international reputation, some analysts said.

"Journalists murders and journalists under surveillance  is not really beneficial to the image of the country," said Attila Mong, who covers Greece at the press freedom group the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Chrysanthos Tassis, a Greek political scientist at the Democritus University of Thrace, said that "freedom of the press is a very critical issue that helps to provide an alternative political agenda."

A lot more is at stake than whether a second round of elections will need to take place later in the summer.

"Greece faces a problem of democracy and of freedom of the press," Tassis said. "I think it's in critical condition."
Britain has called for reform of the European Court of Human Rights, as the government attempts to push through new legislation that would allow asylum seekers arriving on small boats to be immediately sent to Rwanda for processing and resettlement, with no right to appeal.

Last June, judges at the court imposed a last-minute injunction preventing the first flight from taking off. The European Court of Human Rights is the judicial body of the Council of Europe, a human rights organization with 46 member states, and it is not part of the European Union.

There has been a sharp rise in the number of migrants arriving in small boats on Britain's shores from France in recent years. The government hopes the prospect of being sent to Rwanda, with no right to return to Britain, will dissuade many migrants from making the dangerous journey across the English Channel. It also asserts the policy will lead to the dissolution of human-smuggling gangs.

'Stop the boats'

British authorities have detected almost 7,000 migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats so far this year. The total for 2022 exceeded 45,000.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly pledged to, in his words, "stop the boats." Last year, Sunak's predecessor Boris Johnson signed a deal with Kigali that would see an unspecified number of migrants flown there for processing, asylum and resettlement with no right to appeal. Britain has already paid Rwanda $150 million under the agreement.

Prime Minister Sunak pledged this week to push ahead with the plan.

"It is, of course, a shared challenge. Many countries in Europe are experiencing what we are experiencing at home, and I want to work together with others to help solve it and to stop the boats," Sunak told reporters at a meeting of the Council of Europe in Iceland Tuesday.

"Part of my approach is to put new laws in place in the U.K., that's our 'stop the boats' bill. It's novel, it's ambitious, but I believe it is compliant with our international obligations," Sunak added.

Injunction issued

Judges at the European Court of Human Rights disagree. Just as the first plane was about to take off for Rwanda on June 14 last year with dozens of migrants on board, the court issued what's known as a "Rule 39" injunction  blocking the flights on the grounds that they likely breach the Council of Europe's Convention on Human Rights, to which Britain is a signatory.

In response, the British government has introduced new legislation that would override European court decisions. The law is currently being debated in Parliament.

At the Council of Europe meeting this week in Iceland, Sunak said he would try to persuade European partners to reform the court itself.

"We want to make sure that the European Court is always conducting itself in a way which is fair, which is effective, which is transparent," he said.

European relations

But Europe is not in the mood to meet Britain's demands after its exit from the European Union, says Camino Mortera-Martinez, a Brussels-based analyst with the Center for European Reform.

"I'm not necessarily sure that they will go the extra mile to go and enter into reform of yet another European institution to please Mr. Sunak and his hardline government, when it comes to migration," she told VOA.

Some members of Sunak's Conservative party want Britain to quit altogether the Council of Europe and its convention on human rights. The last country to leave the organization was Russia, which was expelled last year after its invasion of Ukraine.

"Faced with the threats of 'right, give us what we want, or we just leave the European Convention of Human Rights and the Council of Europe,' the answer could very well be, 'well, go ahead and be a pariah state, just like Russia is,'" Mortera-Martinez told VOA. "I think it would be a mistake for Britain to do that at the moment, especially, as I say, given that we have a war next door [in Ukraine]."

'Nervous breakdown'

About a quarter of the migrants arriving on small boats in 2022 were Albanian. Britain has deported more than 1,000 back to their home country. The Albanian prime minister last month criticized Britain for singling out his country's citizens.

"[Britain is] going through a nervous breakdown as a country, so we have to understand them," Prime Minister Edi Rama said at a policy forum in Greece on April 30. "We have to understand them. They have lost a lot of points of reference, and they are really in a bad, bad place."

Britain did not respond to the comments.
Britain this week called for reform of the European Court of Human Rights, after judges there blocked flights carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing. There has been a sharp rise in the number of migrants arriving in small boats on Britains shores  and the government believes the policy of sending them to Rwanda will dissuade many from making the dangerous journey. But as Henry Ridgwell reports, many analysts say Britains European allies have little appetite for reforming the court.
Officials in Cameroon have shut down markets in an attempt to stop a wave of cholera infections spreading through all 10 regions of the central African state.

The government says more than 20,000 people have been infected, but the figures may be higher as a majority of the country's 26 million people do not go to hospitals for treatment. Some hospitals are overwhelmed with cholera patients.

Sanitation workers on Friday washed and disinfected toilets, pits and septic tanks at Acacia market in Yaounde's Sixth district.

The market sees at least 5,000 merchants and buyers each day, but district officials say it has been sealed to stop cholera from spreading.

Catherine Mubah Tatah is one of the district's workers.

"When the Ministry of Public Health announced on April 19 that there was a resurgence of cholera, we immediately started telling civilians to boil water before drinking, clean or disinfect their toilets regularly, stop defecating in open spaces and in the bush and to wash all fruits before selling and before consuming the fruits. The fast spread of the disease is an indication that a majority of Cameroonians are not respecting basic cholera prevention steps, said Tatah.

Tatah said ongoing heavy rains in Yaounde trigger floods that cause breakdowns in the sanitation system and contaminate the environment and water sources.

The Cameroon government says the Mfoundi, Etoudi and Mokolo markets in the capital were also sealed this week to stop the cholera spread.

The government says men between the ages of 21 and 35 years, who constitute a majority of traders, are the most affected by the ongoing wave of infections.

The present wave has affected more than 20,000 people and killed several dozen since April 17, according to the government. Cholera treatment centers like the Djoungolo hospital in Yaounde say they are overwhelmed by an influx of patients.

The government of the central African state says the real number of infections and fatalities may be higher as humanitarian workers are not able to visit more remote towns and villages.

Humanitarian groups say about one-third percent of Cameroon's 26 million people visit hospitals when they are sick. A majority prefer to go to African traditional healers.

Andjembe Essola is the highest government health official along Cameroon's eastern border.

Essola says cholera has also been spreading in Cameroons East region that shares a border with the Central African Republic since April 27, when the first cases were detected from travelers that came to the region from Yaounde. Essola says the government is taking measures to ensure that the disease does not reach congested C.A.R. refugee camps.

The government and humanitarian agencies are cleaning the refugee camps, providing clean drinkable water and educating civilians to wash their hands regularly and stop open air defecation.

Cameroon's Public Health ministry says all 10 of the countrys regions have reported the spread of cholera, a bacterial infection that causes severe diarrhea and dehydration, usually spread by eating or drinking contaminated food or water. It can be fatal if not treated in hospitals.

Humanitarian groups say poor and unreliable water supplies in all Cameroonian towns and villages contribute to regular cholera outbreaks.
During a two-day summit this week in its Silk Road city of Xian, China promised more investment, enhanced security and development assistance to Central Asian states Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which thanked Beijing for building infrastructure networks in the region, boosting trade and understanding their challenges.

"The world needs a stable, prosperous, harmonious and inter-connected Central Asia," Chinese President Xi Jinping said. China is ready to help Central Asian countries strengthen law enforcement, defense  and jointly promote peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

Addressing a group of leaders increasingly dependent on Beijing, Xi urged them to resist "external attempts to interfere in domestic affairs  or instigate color revolutions and admonished zero tolerance for terrorism, separatism and extremism.

Xi also pledged nearly $4 billion in financing and grants for Central Asia, whose regional trade with China reached $70 billion in 2022  $31 billion of which transacted between China and oil-rich Kazakhstan alone.

Xi also pledged to accelerate the construction of Line D of the China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan running through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

The summit also announced progress toward a China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, which is still only on paper.

We have already been moving to the practical stage with our Chinese and Kyrgyz partners, said Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Echoing other Central Asian presidents participating, Mirziyoyev underscored mutual trust, respect and interests.

Today, Central Asia is different  it is united and strong, open to dialogue and full-scale partnership, he said.

Like Washington, Beijing expresses steadfast support for these countries sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. Without mentioning Russian aggression and its war in Ukraine and a direct reference to Americas role and ideals, Xi promoted his country as a more reliable and generous partner for Central Asia.

U.S. stance on authoritarian regimes

George Krol, a former U.S. ambassador to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, said the U.S. does not want to see the region moving more into the arms of China and its northern neighbor, Russia.

In his analysis, this is one of the reasons why Washington is not as critical of authoritarian rulers in Central Asia, despite the Biden administrations assurances to advance democratic rule and counter such regimes.

It's in a way part of the pattern of engagement with Central Asia, which is not on its own merits so much as how it is perceived through the prism of other policies, such as toward Beijing, Moscow and next-door Afghanistan.

Krol agrees with other analysts who say it reflects a realpolitik approach that acknowledges one does not want to make an enemy out of these governments when you need them.

With 36 years as a diplomat, mainly focusing on authoritarian former Soviet states, Krol said the U.S. is incapable of changing these political cultures.

America has no secret formula, as we can see in our politics, he said. Change, disruptive politically and socially, should come from within, not outside.

Krol said the Central Asian public is more concerned with stability. Presidents of the two key countries, Uzbekistans Mirziyoyev and Kazakhstans Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, have been pushing reform agendas endorsed by Washington.

They ultimately want to be viewed as popular and legitimate in the eyes of the majority, he said.

Mirziyoyev and Tokayev have raised expectations by admitting systemic issues and guaranteeing the rule of law. Tightly controlling the media, both are often criticized for overpromising and underdelivering.

Krol points to the difficult neighborhood in which they lack the luxury of experimenting.

But the biggest enemy of Mirziyoyev and Tokayev can be their own bureaucracy and justice system failing to respond to their population.

What will happen in the ensuing years is critical, Krol emphasized.

Will they manage to continue to have the support of more people, or will their reform agenda be seen more and more as window dressing? he said.

How do Central Asians view China?

Several people living and working in Central Asian nations spoke to VOA about their impressions of Chinese investment and whether they detect a contest for influence in the region.

Saida Sayip from Kyrgyzstan told VOA that commerce with China is crucial.

I hope the railway linking us with Uzbekistan and China becomes a reality, she said.

Turkish-trained Sayip said she sees little Chinese influence in education and health care, sectors mostly relying on foreign support.

Like many in the region, Sayip worries about water and energy security.

Our resources must be preserved for our consumption. And we need a proper infrastructure to export them if we have extra, she said.

For Muhabbat Mamirova from Uzbekistan, China is not hot or a polarized topic like the U.S. and Russia.

We are aware of Beijings economic power, but there is not much fascination with this nation. Mamirova, engaged in gender empowerment and social development projects, does not yet detect the cultural effect of China.

When I talk with Chinese-educated people, I dont sense the kind of an attachment the American-educated have towards the country of study. Young people focus more on American ideals. We arent curious about China as much as we are about the West, she said.

Perhaps we dont care because the Chinese system is like ours? Mamirova added. We view the relationship with China as mostly political.

Biologist Bakhtiyor Sheraliev, who earned his Ph.D. in China, described its posture in Central Asia as subtle.

It does not seem aggressive or superior like Russia, but remember, we owe much of our external debt to Beijing, he said. I spent more than six years in China. I know how powerful it is. I would argue that most people here see some threat in China. Rather vague fear, but we feel it.

Sheraliev said he thinks Central Asia states need a long-term strategy toward Beijing.

China is a vast market, but as hard as it is, we must strive to be equal partners, he said. Our region doesnt need yet another big brother like Russia.
May 18 marks a painful anniversary for Crimeas Tatars, descendants of nearly 200,000 victims of a mass deportation by Soviet authorities over a three-day period in 1944. Among those sent to Uzbekistan and Siberia were the grandparents of actor Akhtem Seitablayev, activist Alim Aliev, and a member of the World Congress of Crimean Tatars, Nedim Useinow. They shared their stories with reporter Lesia Bakalets in Warsaw.
Neris Arruaz held her 2-year-old in one arm and a small red bag on the other with a few diapers inside. She has come to the social service organization Ayudandoles A Triunfar, in the border city of Matamoros, Mexico, to ask for a few more.

Arruaz, her husband and two small children are from Cuba. They arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border in April and are not sure when they will be able to present themselves at a port of entry. In Cuba, she was an accountant and her husband was a veterinarian.

As Cubans, Arruaz and her family are part of one of the demographics with the highest increases in encounters along the Southern border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

In the past, most of the migrants entering the U.S. or apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border were coming from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

In the last few months, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have noticed a change. Now the majority are fleeing Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti. CBP data shows that some are even coming from as far away as China and Afghanistan. On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security reported removing migrants from more than 30 countries.

Adam Isacson of the Washington Office on Latin America, a nonprofit human rights group, shared his insight on Twitter about that CBP migrant data. He said there were no "giant shifts" among the number of migrants apprehended between ports of entry from February to April. Except for Venezuela where 1,451 migrants were encountered in February, 3,313 in March, and 29,656 in April.

"... [Venezuelan] citizens seemed undeterred by possible Title 42 expulsion into Mexico. Or were misinformed. Or both," he wrote.

Isacson also noted "a bit more diversity of countries" at the ports of entry.

U.S. officials say between February and April, the U.S. Border Patrol has also encountered migrants from Brazil, Colombia, India, Romania, Russia, and Turkey.

Carlos Navarro, a pastor at the Baptist Church of West Brownsville, Texas, told VOA that it is not just a trend in nationalities, there are different social backgrounds at the border.

"Not only all kinds of nationalities, but different backgrounds, social backgrounds, people with degrees, engineers, medical doctors, lawyers, architects," he said.

Navarro and the people in his church run a program to welcome and serve migrants seeking asylum.

"I mean, you can tell that for them to leave their country, being professionals, is because something is not good for them," he said.

Title 42 no more

The public health measure known as Title 42, put in place at the border during the pandemic, officially ended May 11. It allowed border officers to quickly expel some migrants back to Mexico or their home countries.

Now, migrants at the border are being processed under Title 8, the U.S. law covering immigration. It allows migrants to seek asylum or other relief in the United States if they fear persecution at home.

"This is a long-standing immigration enforcement authority that multiple administrations, Republican and Democratic alike, have used to process individuals," U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters in late April. "It carries stiff consequences for irregular migration, including at least a five-year ban on reentry and potential criminal prosecution for repeated attempts to cross unlawfully."

Under the law, U.S. immigration officials have sent thousands of people who have crossed into the U.S. without authorization back to Mexico or their home country.

Many at the border say they want to follow the rules but that it is very difficult to come to the United States.

A Chinese migrant, who didn't want to give his name, told VOA he was a small-business owner in China. He fled the economic aftershocks of China's COVID-19 lockdowns to try his luck at America's southern border.

"You have to pay wages to others, and you also have to take care of yourself. There's a lot of pressure now. So, I want[ed] to come here through formal procedures. But on the one hand, the U.S. does not allow us to come, and on the other, China does not allow us to go. We are forced to do it this way; we have no other means," he said.

Farah, a Haitian migrant who also did not want to share her real name, said her family of five has been waiting for a chance to cross into the U.S. for the past three months.

"Be patient with us. We've come from really far," she said. "And things are going really wrong in our country. They're killing innocent people. So we're unable to go back to our country."

Farah, her husband and children were staying at a shelter in the Mexican border municipality of Reynosa. The family is trying to get an appointment using the CBPOne app, a mobile app launched by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in October 2020, in order to present themselves at a port of entry and comply with the latest asylum restrictions.

Migrants crossing between ports of entry are being quickly removed under Title 8 and are ineligible for asylum unless they can prove they asked for asylum in another country on their way to the United States.

Those who did not ask for protection in a previous country but used CBPOne for an appointment will not be subjected to this ban.

According to federal court documents, 22,284 out of 29,287 migrants who arrived at ports of entry from February to April, had a CBPOne app appointment. The top 3 nationalities with CBPOne appointments were Haiti, Mexico, and Venezuela.

Arruaz and her family have yet to get an appointment, and the CBPOne app on her phone now shows a recurring "system error" message.

Along the U.S.-Mexico border, migrants have been applying daily for the 1,000 slots available on the app. Migrants and immigration advocates say it is plagued by glitches.

"The story is always the same: there is no appointment available.  It's always the same and we're desperate," she said. "We don't know what to do."
On May 17th a VOA reporter on Chads border with Sudan heard gunfire and explosions and witnessed bodies, casualties, and even stray bullets coming across the border from the town of Tendelti, Sudan, about 900 meters away. Observers say concerns are growing that the intense violence in Sudans Western Darfur region could spread to neighboring countries. Meanwhile, Chad's police chief told VOA he is urging citizens to remain calm. Henry Wilkins reports from Koufroun in Chad. Warning: This report contains graphic and disturbing images. Camera: Henry Wilkins Video Editor: Henry Wilkins
It's common for many investors, especially those who are inexperienced, to buy shares in companies with a good story even if these companies are loss-making. 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. A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW). Now this is not to say that the company presents the best investment opportunity around, but profitability is a key component to success in business.

Check out our latest analysis for Illinois Tool Works

How Quickly Is Illinois Tool Works Increasing Earnings Per Share?

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. Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. Illinois Tool Works managed to grow EPS by 9.5% per year, over three years. That's a good rate of growth, if it can be sustained.

It's often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. While we note Illinois Tool Works achieved similar EBIT margins to last year, revenue grew by a solid 7.8% to US$16b. That's progress.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.

The trick, as an investor, is to find companies that are going to perform well in the future, not just in the past. While crystal balls don't exist, you can check our visualization of consensus analyst forecasts for Illinois Tool Works' future EPS 100% free.

Are Illinois Tool Works Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It's said that there's no smoke without fire. For investors, insider buying is often the smoke that indicates which stocks could set the market alight. Because often, the purchase of stock is a sign that the buyer views it as undervalued. Of course, we can never be sure what insiders are thinking, we can only judge their actions.

First things first, there weren't any reports of insiders selling shares in Illinois Tool Works in the last 12 months. But the really good news is that Independent Director David H. Smith spent US$308k buying stock, at an average price of around US$222. Purchases like this can offer an insight into the faith of the company's management - and it seems to be all positive.

On top of the insider buying, it's good to see that Illinois Tool Works insiders have a valuable investment in the business. We note that their impressive stake in the company is worth US$207m. We note that this amounts to 0.3% of the company, which may be small owing to the sheer size of Illinois Tool Works but it's still worth mentioning. This should still be a great incentive for management to maximise shareholder value.

Should You Add Illinois Tool Works To Your Watchlist?

One positive for Illinois Tool Works is that it is growing EPS. That's nice to see. Better yet, insiders are significant shareholders, and have been buying more shares. These factors alone make the company an interesting prospect for your watchlist, as well as continuing research. It's still necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Illinois Tool Works , and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. So if you like the sound of Illinois Tool Works, you'll probably love this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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
Shipwreck enthusiasts have cause for celebration because the Titanic ocean liners infamous wreck can now be visualized like never before.

Deep-sea researchers have completed the first full-size digital scan of the Titanic, showing the entire wreck in clarity and detail. Researchers say it is the largest underwater scanning project in history.

Unveiled on Wednesday, the 3D scan was the result of a six-week expedition to the North Atlantic wreck site in summer 2022, during which researchers used two remotely operated submersibles  named Romeo and Juliet  to map the entire shipwreck and the surrounding 3-mile debris field.

The researchers took more than 700,000 images from every angle to create a virtual, exact 3D reconstruction.

Its an absolutely one-to-one digital copy, a twin, of the Titanic in every detail, Anthony Geffen, head of documentary maker Atlantic Productions, told The Associated Press. Atlantic Productions is making a documentary about the project.

The scan, which enables the ship to be seen as if the water has been drained away, may also reveal more details about the ships ill-fated trip across the Atlantic in 1912.

An estimated 1,500 people died when the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage from England to New York.

Richard Parkinson, founder of the deep-sea exploration firm Magellan, believes that the data amount to 10 times more than any underwater 3D model ever tried before.

Magellan carried out the scan project in partnership with Atlantic Productions.

The depth of it, almost 4,000 meters, represents a challenge, and you have currents at the site, too  and were not allowed to touch anything so as not to damage the wreck, Magellans Gerhard Seiffert, who led the planning for the expedition, told the BBC.

And the other challenge is that you have to map every square centimeter  even uninteresting parts. Like on the debris field, you have to map mud, but you need this to fill in between all these interesting objects, Seiffert said.

After the expedition in the North Atlantic, researchers spent seven months rendering the large amount of data they collected. A documentary about the project is set to come out next year.

Geffen said he hopes the scan will help researchers better understand what happened to the Titanic.

All our assumptions about how it sank, and a lot of the details of the Titanic, come from speculation, because there is no model that you can reconstruct or work exact distances, he told The Associated Press. Im excited because this quality of the scan will allow people in the future to walk through the Titanic themselves.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and the BBC.
President Zelenskyy makes a stop in Saudi Arabia on his way to Japan to meet with the G7. At the G7 increased sanctions against Russia are on the table, but negotiations still continue. A look at the battle in Bakhmut plus Crimean Tartars; expelled by the Soviets decades ago, now looking to return.
Campaigning ahead of Greeces national elections Sunday ends Friday, leaving at least 17% of voters undecided. Gallup polls predict a tight race, with Greeces largely disaffected youth holding the key to the outcome. VOA looks back on the monthlong campaign and the unprecedented scramble by political leaders for those votes.

At the age of 17 and a junior in high school, Evelina Androulaki says, she is ready to cast her vote for the first time.

We have had heated talks at home, and I have decided on the party I will vote for Androulaki says.

While she refuses to divulge her choice, Androulaki is the exception.

Sundays vote will see about 500,000 young voters aged between 17 and 20, taking their first trip to the ballot box.

And while opinion polls show incumbent, conservative prime minister Kyriakos Mistotakis winning the race, a close, second-place finish by his main leftist rival, Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the Syriza party, may push the country into a period of political uncertainty, with repeated rounds of elections until a majority or coalition government is formed.





The uncertain outcome has both top contenders actively pursuing young voters, hoping to sway them to tip the scales in their favor.

To that end, both contenders have brushed aside traditional modes of campaigning, resorting to TikTok videos instead, speaking to popular bloggers, featuring on YouTube and engaging in more relaxed interviews, showing a fuzzy and appealing side of themselves.

Winning over Greeces youth is a challenge. Analysts say younger voters must be convinced not just informed, as political analyst Vangelis Papadimitriou explains.

This is a generation that has largely been ignored, he says. They feel the entire political establishment has turned its back on them. As a result of the social and financial upheaval that has gripped the country, Greeces youth lack a vision for the future, he says.

Greeces economy is forecast to grow by over 2% this year and unemployment has eased to around 10%. However, 1 in 4 young workers remain jobless, more than double the European Union average.



Mitsotakis rose to power four years ago, promising to bring back a flood of young Greeks who had fled the country in the wake of a brutal recession. Most though have stayed away, with many still aching to flee.



To stop the exodus, Mitsotskis is now promising to hike minimum monthly salaries to around $1,600. He promises significant tax breaks and even $200 vacation bonuses for those who turn 18.



Tspiras, however, dominates the young vote. And while his promises of higher wages, lower prices and an end to extremely competitive university entry exams sound appealing, a large chunk of Greek youth vote remain unconvinced, according to opinion polls.



The key, he says, is to get them to vote. If they do, the Syriza party is bound to win.
Hundreds of political books have been pulled from Hong Kong libraries in a move that analysts say is part of an ideological drive to purge harmful influences from the city that was once the bastion of freedom in Asia.

This week, Hong Kong media reported that a number of books related to the 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen pro-democracy movement in Beijing, along with books by authors seen as pro-independence or pro-democracy, can no longer be found in libraries.

After implementation of a national security law in 2020, authorities also banned an annual candlelight vigil for Tiananmen victims, which for decades was the only one allowed on Chinese soil.

A Thursday search of Hong Kong Public Libraries catalog yielded no result on titles related to the 1989 crackdown. Searches of some keywords such as 1989 pro-democracy movement or June 4, 1989 yielded no result while Tiananmen, revolution yielded mainland Chinese titles unrelated to the event.

The latest removals came after government auditors instructed the leisure and cultural services department, which operates Hong Kongs libraries, to step up efforts in examining library materials for safeguarding national security.

The audit commission report, published last month, said Hong Kong Public Libraries had began to review books for potential breaches of national security law in 2021 and had recently completed a preliminary review that focused on authors and publishers who had allegedly published books on Hong Kong independence.

Whenever content found to have violated the Hong Kong national security law or other laws, lending services would be suspended, it said of the 2 million titles in the citys libraries. It said the review was continuing, with no end date.

A number of books by well-known opposition figures such as Jimmy Lai and Joshua Wong -- now both in custody -- had already been purged from public libraries earlier. This week, titles by veteran cartoonist Wong Kei-kwan - some dating back to the 1990s - were found to have been removed from public libraries after his 40-year column was axed by Ming Pao, a respected Chinese-language newspaper.

Ming Pao, which has been monitoring public library collections in the past few years, reported that about 40%, or 195 titles, of politically themed books, magazines and videos available at the end of 2020 have been removed, with 96 taken off the shelves during the past year. It said a number of documentaries, including those produced by the public broadcaster RTHK, were also absent. Many books by political scientists and pro-democracy politicians disappeared as recently as May 10. As of late April, 46 items related to Tiananmen were still available, but now there is one left.

On Thursday, Hong Kongs top leader and former police chief John Lee said his government has a duty to foster correct values in society. Public library books cannot breach the law and contain unhealthy ideologies, he said.

In 2021, Security bureau chief Tang Ping-keung had said the cultural and media sectors were an emerging source of national security threats, as activists use them as platforms to push soft resistance.

Implemented in 2020 to stamp out the monthslong anti-government protests, the national security law lays out penalties as severe as life imprisonment for crimes including secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. It has mostly been used to target freedom of expression, with about 70% of some 240 arrests related to alleged speech crimes.

The Chinese Communist Party, since the 1940s, before it took power, has always stressed that the arts must serve the party. Under the current leadership, it increasingly tightened control on the media and the cultural sectors to ensure they adhere to the official narrative.

Those who stray are punished. Five speech therapists were jailed last year for 19 months for producing seditious publications in the form of childrens books that depicted sheep trying to defend their village from wolves. Two were arrested this year for possessing them.

Chen Daoyin, a political scientist formerly with the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law who is now living abroad, said the authorities are reconstructing Hong Kong peoples political and historical memory.

He added that the purging of books that are dissonant with the official narrative is part of Chinas broader plan to impose its ideology among Hong Kongers. The authorities want them to identify with Chinas governance and historical legitimacy, he said.

According to the most recent World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders, Hong Kong ranks 140th out of 180.
Some 700 people were evacuated from four small towns in western Spain owing to a wildfire fanned by strong winds that have charred some 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres), officials said Friday.

More than 400 firefighters, including 50 agents from the armys Military Emergency Unit, are battling to bring the fire under control in Las Hurdes, a hilly area west of Madrid.

Officials suspect the fire, which began Wednesday night, was started intentionally as they say two separate blazes erupted almost simultaneously.

The president of the surrounding region of Extremadura, Guillermo Fernandez Vara, said the person responsible "knew very well what they were doing" to cause the most damage by starting the blaze at night, making it more difficult to extinguish.

Many wildfires in Spain are believed by police and officials to be started intentionally. The reasons why are said to vary.

Fernandez Vara said the problem Friday was not a lack of means to fight the blaze, but the winds.

"With 60 kph (40 mph) winds, it's difficult to predict how it will evolve," he told reporters, adding that the pine trees in the area were virtual "cans of gasoline, flame throwers."

Some 267,000 hectares (666,000 acres) burned last year in Spain, making 2022 its worst year of fire destruction since 1994, government statistics say. That was three times the national average for the past decade.

According to the European Union's Copernicus satellite observation service, Spain accounted for 35% of all burnt land in European wildfires last year.

Spain recorded its hottest and driest April ever last month and nearly 30% of the country is now in a drought "emergency" or "alert."
As leaders of the Group of Seven richest democracies kick off their summit Friday in Hiroshima, Japan, with a visit to the city's Peace Memorial  a massive outdoor monument that captures the devastation caused by the atomic bomb  they pledged their commitment to "achieving a world without nuclear weapons with undiminished security for all."

The leaders met a bomb survivor and laid wreaths at a cenotaph honoring the victims, in sight of the Genbaku Dome, the only structure left standing following the attack by U.S. forces in August 1945 that killed 140,000 people by the end of the year.

The first G-7 leaders' document focusing on nuclear disarmament calls out Russia for its "irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, undermining of arms control regimes, and stated intent to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus," and China for "accelerating build-up of its nuclear arsenal without transparency."

The leaders reaffirm their goal toward a "complete, verifiable, and irreversible abandonment" of North Korean nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. They urge Iran to "cease its nuclear escalation."

Adding to the urgency of disarmament and the somber backdrop, the presence of a leader who personifies the threat of World War III. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be attending the G-7 summit in person on Sunday, a Ukrainian official confirmed.

Summit host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose family is from Hiroshima, chose the venue to highlight the dangers of nuclear weapons amid North Korean ballistic missile tests, Iran's accelerating uranium enrichment activities, China's rapid military buildup and Russia's threat to deploy tactical nuclear weapons.

"I believe the first step toward any nuclear disarmament effort is to provide a first-hand experience of the consequences of the atomic bombing and to firmly convey the reality," Kishida said prior to the summit.

Ahead of the summit, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged G-7 leaders to adopt a nuclear weapon no-use policy and for nuclear weapons states to declare they will not use them "in any circumstance"  an unlikely prospect, amid heightened tensions involving nuclear powers.

Under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the United States, Russia, France, China and the United Kingdom are defined as nuclear weapons states  those that have built and tested a nuclear explosive device before January 1, 1967. India, Pakistan, and North Korea have declared they possess nuclear weapons, while Israel is believed to own them.

Extended deterrence

Nuclear disarmament is a challenging thread for Kishida to weave amid Tokyo's desire for stronger U.S. deterrence. In their meeting Thursday, Biden reaffirmed to Kishida Washington's "extended deterrence commitment using the full range of U.S. capabilities."

Those capabilities include nuclear weapons, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told VOA on Friday.

While Biden wants to abide by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, Kirby said, it is important that the U.S. nuclear umbrella benefiting treaty allies, including Japan and South Korea, remains in place, credible, and modernized.

Kirby would not confirm whether the administration intends to broaden a nuclear deterrence deal it signed in April with Seoul, to include Tokyo.

The deal, called simply the Washington Declaration, affirms that Seoul would not pursue its own nuclear weapons program in return for a more muscular U.S. presence in the region and a greater decision-making role in U.S. contingency planning in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack.

"Similar logic can also apply to Japan," said Ken Jimbo, former adviser to Japan's Defense Ministry who now teaches at Keio University, pointing to greater security challenges facing the country.

While Japan and the U.S. want global disarmament to be the ultimate goal, Jimbo told VOA, strengthening nuclear extended deterrence in the region is an important priority for both.

Biden, Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol are planning to meet on the sidelines of the summit. South Korea is not part of the G-7 but has been invited by Japan to discuss common concerns, including Pyongyang's nuclear threat.

Given Japan's push for disarmament at the summit, however, it's unlikely an extension of the Washington Declaration will be raised in Hiroshima, said Sheila Smith, a Council on Foreign Relations expert on Japanese foreign policy.

"A more realistic expectation is that President Yoon, President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida were going to talk about integrated missile radar systems and a more practical, pragmatic agenda for trilateral security cooperation," Smith told VOA.

She noted that a continued momentum of improvement in the trilateral relationship would also be a very good political signal to Beijing that it can't divide U.S. allies in the region.
The URL has been copied to your clipboard

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

Leaders of the world's most powerful democracies are gathering in Hiroshima, Japan. Ahead of a key election Sunday in Greece, politicians are vying for votes from a younger generation. The United Nations warns of a dire situation crisis for children in Afghanistan.
New developments:

Air raid alerts were declared throughout Ukraine early Friday, with some areas reporting explosions.

The U.S. overcounted the total of U.S. military aid provided to Ukraine by about $3 billion, a senior defense official and a military official said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba discussed "ways to stop Russian aggression" in talks with Chinese envoy Li Hui, Ukraine said.

Air raid alerts were declared across Ukraine early on Friday, local time, with some areas reporting explosions.

Ukraine's military said on Telegram that Russian aircraft were in the air and there was a threat of strikes from hypersonic Kinzhal missiles to all regions.

Ukraine's military added that central regions were at risk from drone attacks. Explosions were reported in other cities, including in the central city of Krivyi Rih.

Ukraine's far western regions were left out of the warnings at first, but officials later extended them to the entire country.

Earlier Friday, the country's military warned of possible missile strikes in the southern regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv.

Amount of aid overcounted

Meanwhile, the U.S. has overcounted the total amount of U.S. military aid provided to Ukraine by about $3 billion, a senior defense official and a military official told VOA, an accounting error that could soon eliminate concerns the administration would need to ask Congress for more money to keep Kyiv in the fight this spring.

The Department of Defense was counting the cost incurred to replace the weapons given to Ukraine when calculating its aid package estimates, while it should have been totaling the cost of the systems actually sent, the officials said.

For example, if the U.S. provided an M777 Howitzer to Ukraine and replaced that loss to U.S. stocks with a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, the Pentagon had been using the cost of the replacement HIMARS when calculating the total amount of aid given to Ukraine. According to officials, the Pentagon should have been using the cost of the M777, not the cost of its replacement, when calculating aid package costs.

The Pentagon is now reevaluating the estimates for all 37 Ukrainian military aid packages and expects the cost difference to provide the Department of Defense with "a little more than $3 billion" in congressional-approved funds for additional military support. This could potentially raise the amount of remaining funds that the Pentagon has available to aid Ukraine through September 30, 2023, from more than $6 billion to more than $9 billion.

Missile attacks

Earlier Thursday, Ukraine said that Russia launched another 30 cruise missiles across the country overnight, with one of them getting through its air defenses, killing one person and wounding two others in an industrial building in the southern city of Odesa.

Ukrainian officials said its forces shot down 29 of the missiles, as well as two exploding drones and two reconnaissance drones.

Some of the missiles targeted Kyiv, making it the ninth attack against the capital since the beginning of May. Even as the head of Kyiv's military administration, Serhiy Popko, said Ukrainian forces shot down the Russian missiles directed at the region, falling debris sparked fires in several areas.

The missile attacks have been a clear Russian escalation ahead of what Ukraine has said will be a counteroffensive aimed at retaking territory held by Russia in the eastern regions of Ukraine.

Train derailment

A pro-Russian transport minister on Thursday reported the derailment of eight train cars carrying grain in occupied Crimea, prompting renewed suspicions about possible Ukrainian saboteur activity behind Russian lines. Crimea Railway said the derailment was caused by "the interference of unauthorized persons" but that there were no casualties. Ukraine officials refuse to comment on possible acts of sabotage.

As the attacks continue, China said its special envoy met earlier this week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss Beijing's peace proposal, although there has been no apparent breakthrough to end the war. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Thursday that the warring parties needed to "accumulate mutual trust" for progress to be made.

China, while claiming neutrality in the conflict, has made no demand on Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine. Zelenskyy has called for the restoration of his country's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian forces, and holding Russian President Vladimir Putin legally accountable for the February 2022 invasion.

Global diplomacy

Group of Seven leaders convening in Hiroshima, Japan, for meetings that start Friday are set to engage with Zelenskyy, the White House said.

"We are anticipating some kind of engagement between G-7 leaders and President Zelenskyy," national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to Anchorage, Alaska, en route to Japan. "The parameters of that are still being worked through."

More than a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, the G-7 meeting will focus on supporting Kyiv's defense and ratcheting up economic pressure on Russia. Sullivan said the summit will focus on sanctions implementation and enforcement, shutting down evasion networks and closing loopholes.

"The U.S. will have a package of sanctions associated with a G-7 statement that will center on this enforcement issue," he said.

VOA's Carla Babb contributed to this report from the Pentagon. VOA's Patsy Widakuswara and Mykhailo Komadovsky contributed from Hiroshima. Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Ukrainian security officials on May 19 said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to travel to Japan to attend a Group of Seven (G7) meeting as Russia continued to batter Ukrainian cities with air and missile attacks amid an apparent stalemate in the fierce fighting for control of the eastern city of Bakhmut.

Kyiv was again targeted by Iranian-made drones overnight -- the 10th attack since the start of the month -- but all of them were destroyed by the capital's air defenses, Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv military administration, said on May 19.

"With such tactics, the Kremlin is trying to exhaust our air defense, as well as to psychologically influence the civilian population," Popko said.

Separately, Ukrainian air defense said on May 19 that it had shot down 16 drones and one cruise missile overnight, without specifying the location.

Explosions were also heard in the western city of Lviv and Kryviy Rih in the southeast. There were no immediate details, but Kryviy Rih Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul, who announced the explosions, urged the city's inhabitants to take precautionary measures.

The latest attacks came as officials in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv said on May 19 that three civilians were killed and 16 others were wounded by Russian shelling the previous day.

Two people were killed and nine more were wounded in Donetsk, according to Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of Donetsk regional administration.

One man was killed and two were wounded in a rocket attack on a village in Kharkiv, regional Governor Oleh Synyehubov said.

On the diplomatic front, a senior Ukrainian official announced that Zelenskyy this weekend will attend the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, where fresh punitive measures against Russia are reportedly being considered.

"Very important things will be decided there and it is therefore the presence of our president that is absolutely essential in order to defend our interests," Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, told state television.

Zelenskyy will attend the gathering on May 21, the third and final day, according to two unnamed Ukrainian officials involved in the arrangements for the G7 quoted by Reuters.

Zelenskyy is on his way to the Arab League meeting in Saudi Arabia, a source familiar with the meeting told Reuters, and will then travel on to the G7 meeting in Japan from the Saudi city of Jeddah on a French government plane.

On the battlefield, Russia carried out 39 missile strikes and 39 air strikes as well 50 salvoes from rocket systems across the Ukrainian front line over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian military said early on May 19.

The main battle front remains in and around the eastern city of Bakhmut, the epicenter of months of fierce fighting whose winner has yet to be decided.

"The enemy continues to focus its main efforts on the Lyman-Bakhmut-Avdiyivka-Maryinka front line, where 29 combat clashes took place over the past day. The hottest battles are being fought for Bakhmut and Maryinka," Ukraine's General Staff said in its early morning report on May 19.

In Washington, a Pentagon spokeswoman said that a Patriot missile-defense system damaged in a Russian air strike on Kyiv several days ago was repaired.

"What I can confirm is that one Patriot system was damaged, but it has now been fixed and is fully back and operational, Sabrina Singh told a news briefing.
Mexican authorities said Thursday that they were trying to locate several hundred people, including U.S. nationals, potentially at risk of developing fungal meningitis after medical treatment near the border.

The announcement came a day after the United States warned that suspected fungal infections had led to severe illness and even death among U.S. residents returning from the Mexican city of Matamoros.

Around 400 people were being traced, including roughly 80 from the United States, according to the health minister of Tamaulipas state, home to Matamoros, which sits across the border from Brownsville, Texas.

"They're going to be located to rule out that they are infected," Vicente Joel Hernandez told AFP.

Two clinics, River Side Surgical Center and Clinica K-3, have been closed following the death of an American and the infection of seven other people, he said.

According to the U.S. government, the affected travelers had medical or surgical procedures, including liposuction, that involved injecting anesthetic into the area around the spinal column.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised canceling any procedure that involves an epidural injection in Matamoros until the problem is resolved.

It urged anyone experiencing symptoms of fungal meningitis after having such an injection in the city to go to a hospital emergency department immediately.

The symptoms include fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, confusion and sensitivity to light, it said, adding that fungal meningitis infections are not contagious or transmitted person-to-person.

Mexico is one of the world's top medical tourism destinations, largely due to U.S. residents crossing the border for everything from dental work to cosmetic surgery and cancer treatment.
Key Insights

Duopharma Biotech Berhad's estimated fair value is RM1.07 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Current share price of RM1.42 suggests Duopharma Biotech Berhad is potentially 33% overvalued

Analyst price target for DPHARMA is RM1.83, which is 72% above our fair value estimate

In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Duopharma Biotech Berhad (KLSE:DPHARMA) by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. This will be done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for Duopharma Biotech Berhad

The Method

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. 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.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM118.2m RM85.7m RM84.7m RM81.0m RM77.0m RM75.9m RM75.9m RM76.8m RM78.2m RM80.0m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ -1.46% Est @ 0.05% Est @ 1.11% Est @ 1.85% Est @ 2.36% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 10.0% RM107 RM70.8 RM63.7 RM55.4 RM47.9 RM42.9 RM39.0 RM35.9 RM33.2 RM30.9

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM527m

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 3.6%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 10.0%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = RM80m (1 + 3.6%)  (10.0% 3.6%) = RM1.3b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM1.3b ( 1 + 10.0%)10= RM500m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is RM1.0b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of RM1.4, the company appears potentially 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

The Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Duopharma Biotech Berhad 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 10.0%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.800. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for Duopharma Biotech Berhad

Strength

Debt is well covered by earnings.

Weakness

Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Pharmaceuticals industry.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Pharmaceuticals market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Malaysian market.

Good value based on P/E ratio compared to estimated Fair P/E ratio.

Threat

Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Paying a dividend but company has no free cash flows.

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Next Steps:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. 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. Why is the intrinsic value lower than the current share price? For Duopharma Biotech Berhad, there are three additional items you should assess:

Risks: We feel that you should assess the 1 warning sign for Duopharma Biotech Berhad we've flagged before making an investment in the company. Future Earnings: How does DPHARMA's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Malaysian stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock 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
After a months-long ordeal fleeing Venezuela, surviving the difficult journey through central America and Mexico to eventually cross the southern U.S. border, asylum-seeker Lismar Pinto arrived by bus at a police station in Chicago, where she stayed on the lobby floor for eight days.

"It was hard, of course, at the beginning, at least for us. We were in a station where there were sexual predators, something like that," she told VOA through a translator. "We arrived with my two grandchildren, a 5-month-old and the other a 5-year-old."

Pinto, who reached the city in late April, is among hundreds of migrants arriving weekly in Chicago, a destination for many like her and her traveling companion, Jose Moran, who hope to start a new life here as their asylum cases wind through the U.S. immigration system.

"The conditions in Venezuela are no secret to anyone, there is no food security, there is no education, there is no health, there are no working conditions," he told VOA through a translator. "It's hard to live there because a salary there is $20 a month. No one can live on $20 a month."

Moran added, "Arriving here in Chicago, we have new possibilities, they are giving us shelter, they help us with food, we have had medical attention, and the children are studying in a school. They are enrolled. So, all of these things have given us a very important change in life."

Chicago continues to cope with a wave of migrants, many from Central and South America, arriving in the Windy City after legally crossing the U.S. southern border, then being transported here, often by bus, from states like Texas. Their arrival has overwhelmed Chicago's police stations, shelters  or "respite centers"  and aid services, forcing city leaders to declare a state of emergency.

"This is a humanitarian crisis," said Michael Rodriguez, an alderperson in Chicago's 22nd Ward, which is home to one of the largest Latino communities in the Midwest. It is one of the first stops where many migrants find temporary assistance.

"Right now, we only have about 2,800 shelter beds in our shelter system, and we are at capacity, so that leaves parks and police stations to temporarily house folks. It's a major challenge and it's costing a significant amount in resources."

Nonprofits have mobilized to provide resources. Among them is New Life Centers, where Matt DeMateo serves as executive director.

"Each one of those steps in the chain, we really walk with emergency food, feeding families, getting clothes, things like that, and there's a strong network in Chicago really wrapped around these families," DeMateo said.

About 9,000 migrants have resettled in Chicago since September of last year. New Life Centers estimates they've helped about one-third of them.

"Families come here with absolutely nothing," DeMateo said. "They come here hungry, tired, have gone through hell and back to get here, and now are looking for new hope and opportunity."

Food provided free of charge from New Life's Pan De Vida grocery store draws hundreds daily, including Jose Molina Povedor, originally from Colombia.

"It is truly a blessing," he told VOA through a translator. "Food is a little scarce, work is scarce, so it is very important here."

Povedor can't legally work in the U.S. until his asylum case is resolved, so he volunteers at Pan De Vida while staying with extended family members already living in the city. "I am waiting for help with my work permit, so that I can work and be a good citizen of the United States," he said.

DeMateo said New Life centers are ramping up efforts to move more migrants from shelters.

"We are one of the main providers on the back side of the whole system where we're placing currently 10 families a day from shelters into apartments, and we're hoping to grow that to 500 families a month from shelters into new apartments," he said.

As the flow of migrants into Chicago continues, city and Illinois state leaders are seeking federal aid to meet the growing needs.
Vietnamese students now make up the fifth-largest group of foreign students in the U.S., according to the 2022 Institute of International Educations (IIE) annual Open Doors report. The report found 20,713 Vietnamese students studied in the U.S. in the 2021-2022 academic year.

But now some Vietnamese universities have recently begun trying to attract U.S. students to study in Vietnam, a goal that is challenging, some education experts told VOAs Khanh An. (May 2023)
More than half of the world's large lakes and reservoirs have shrunk since the early 1990s, chiefly because of climate change, intensifying concerns about water for agriculture, hydropower and human consumption, a study published Thursday found.

An international team of researchers reported that some of the world's most important water sources  from the Caspian Sea between Europe and Asia to South America's Lake Titicaca  lost water at a cumulative rate of about 22 gigatonnes per year for nearly three decades. That's about 17 times the volume of Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States.

Fangfang Yao, a surface hydrologist at the University of Virginia who led the study in the journal Science, said 56% of the decline in natural lakes was driven by climate warming and human consumption, with warming "the larger share of that."

Climate scientists generally think that the world's arid areas will become drier under climate change and wet areas will get wetter, but the study found significant water loss even in humid regions. "This should not be overlooked," Yao said.

Scientists assessed almost 2,000 large lakes using satellite measurements combined with climate and hydrological models.

They found that unsustainable human use, changes in rainfall and runoff, sedimentation, and rising temperatures have driven lake levels down globally, with 53% of lakes showing a decline from 1992 to 2020.

Nearly 2 billion people who live in drying lake basins are directly affected, and many regions have faced water shortages in recent years.

Scientists and campaigners have long said it is necessary to prevent global warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change. The world has already warmed about 1.1C (1.9F).

Thursday's study found unsustainable human use dried up lakes such as the Aral Sea in Central Asia and the Dead Sea in the Middle East, while lakes in Afghanistan, Egypt and Mongolia were hit by rising temperatures, which can increase water loss to the atmosphere.

Water levels rose in a quarter of the lakes, often as a result of dam construction in remote areas such as the Inner Tibetan Plateau.
Nigerian police said Friday that officers had arrested seven suspects in connection with the massacre of dozens of villagers in central Plateau state.

State police spokesperson Alfred Alabo said security operatives had restored calm to the affected Kubwat and Fungzai villages in the remote Mangu district. He said police would continue to monitor the area to try to prevent more attacks.

Witnesses said gunmen invaded Mangu early Tuesday morning and opened fire on villagers. They also burned many houses before security forces arrived.

Residents said more than 100 people were killed, and they blamed ethnic Fulani militias for the bloodshed.

Alabo said that even before the attacks, tensions had been high in the area because of disputes between farmers and herders over grazing land.

In a phone interview with VOA, he said he was not sure of the death toll.

"It's a place that was riddled with crisis," he said. "You can't just be jumping [to conclusions] and be giving figures. They told me over 30 persons at that time, so we'll get more information."

Residents said thousands of people who fled their homes to escape the violence had yet to return to the villages.

But Alabo said the situation had been brought under control. "We have so far been able to calm the situation in that general area," he said. "But we're still monitoring. We have some suspects already in custody presently with Operation Safe Haven."

Communal clashes over scarce grazing land and water resources have plagued Nigeria's central region for decades. Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau states are among the ones most impacted by the disputes.

On Thursday, rights group Amnesty International condemned the killings and called for accountability. Police have promised to continue investigating.

A Plateau state resident, who survived the attack and asked for safety reasons that his name not be used, said security officials arrived too late.

"It was something that I never expected to happen," he said. "Many people were killed. It was a big tragedy, what I saw in that place. About 100 people were killed, many were displaced, and some are in the hospital."

Nigerian authorities are struggling to control a wave of violence across the country.

On Tuesday, police announced they were investigating an attack last week in which gunmen killed 15 people in a farming community in Nasarawa state. Police said those killings appeared to be carried out in retaliation for the death of an ethnic Fulani herder who was attacked days earlier.
Somalia's National Intelligence Agency (NISA) said Thursday that it had seized two illicit shipments of military hardware and explosive materials that were apparently bound for the al-Shabab militant group.

At a news conference in Mogadishu, Somalia's State Minister of Defense Mohamed Ali Haga said the agency found the arms at Mogadishu's port and airport.

"At the port of Mogadishu, NISA personnel discovered a shipment of military hardware and explosive materials concealed within containers posing as authorized business imports," Haga said. "Our forces have [also] seized military equipment at Mogadishu's Aden Ade International Airport."

A statement from NISA said an investigation relating to the illicit shipments led to the arrest of 10 individuals associated with a smuggling network.

"Our agency has been following the activities of these individuals in Somalia and outside Somalia," Haga said. "It has been following their involvement in this smuggling network. Fortunately, all of them are in custody, and none has escaped."

Neither Haga nor NISA gave further details on the components of the seized shipments, where they were from, or the identities of those involved.

Arms embargo

The U.N. Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Somalia in 1992 because of a civil war and factional violence.

The country has an unguarded coastline that's more than 3,000 kilometers in length and open borders.

Following the establishment of a functioning transitional government in 2012, the successive governments have been working to rebuild stability, good governance and other benchmarks that would help the country's arms embargo be eased.

In 2013, the U.N. Security Council unanimously voted to partially lift its ban on selling arms to Somalia for a year.

The resolution allowed Somalia's government to buy small arms to help its security forces develop and fight the Islamist militants, but kept restrictions on heavy weapons.

The remaining sanctions, which require requests for certain weapons to be approved, are renewed annually, despite government objections that al-Shabab still seriously threatens peace and stability in the region, and sanctions are needed to degrade its activities.

The government's stance is backed by Ethiopia and Uganda, both of which have suffered al-Shabab attacks.

The government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has for months been engaged in an offensive against al-Shabab, including efforts to shut down its financial network and a campaign to counter the group's ideology.
Amid Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans efforts to normalize relations with Damascus and his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglus vow to return Syrian refugees to their war-torn country, Syrians in Turkey are watching Turkeys presidential election runoff closely.

In the first round of the presidential election, Erdogan got 49.52% of the votes, while Kilicdaroglu received 44.88%. Because neither candidate passed the 50% threshold, they will meet in the runoff May 28.

Ali Al Mohammad, 33, who left Damascus in 2014 and has held Turkish citizenship since 2018, said he was not happy with the election results, but he was relieved, as he feared a possible opposition win. Mohammad and other Syrians spoke to VOA using pseudonyms, fearing possible retribution.

We [Syrians in Turkey] are all living in constant fear, like, What is going to happen? Who is going to win? And if the opposition is going to win, what will happen to us? Will we be deported?'  Mohammad told VOA.

Largest refugee population

According to the U.N. refugee organization, Turkey hosts the worlds largest refugee population, with almost 3.6 million Syrians under temporary protection and close to 370,000 refugees and asylum-seekers of other nationalities.

During his election campaign, Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of Nation Alliance, made up of six opposition parties including his Republican Peoples Party, has vowed to voluntarily repatriate the Syrian refugees in Turkey within two years if elected. He has also voiced his intent to renegotiate a 2016 migration deal between Turkey and the European Union in which Brussels agreed to provide 6 billion euros to Ankara to prevent refugee crossings onto EU soil.

On the other hand, Erdogan, the head of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has pledged not to expel Syrian refugees and emphasized that Ankara has built tens of thousands of housing units in northwestern Syria to enable their voluntary return.

Now, we have built over 100,000 houses for them in northern Syria, and because of this, the refugees we have now have gradually started moving to those houses, Erdogan said in a televised meeting with young voters on May 11.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced Tuesday that 553,335 Syrians had returned to safe areas, referring to the region held by the Turkey-backed opposition in Syria.

Mohammad called Erdogan the bittersweet option, and he argued that the opposition parties were getting their votes by fueling the rage of the people against the Syrians. Mohammad noted that at least AKP was promising not to force Syrians back to their war-torn country.

How is this willingly going to be done? I do not know. But at least we are not going to be forcibly deported back to Syria, Mohammad said.

Deportations

Kholud Sahin, 30, a Syrian residing in Turkeys southern Gaziantep province with Turkish citizenship, is a pro-Kurdish Green Left Party (YSP) voter in the parliamentary election.

Despite the YSPs support for Kilicdaroglu, Sahin said she was against him because of his anti-Syrian rhetoric and did not want Erdogan to win either.

Erdogan also says, We built villages, and we will send them back. There are already deportations happening now. For two or three years, there has been a spike in deportations that are not in line with human rights, Sahin told VOA, adding that she has heard torture allegations from people deported back to Syria by the Turkish authorities.

In violation of international law Turkish authorities have rounded up hundreds of Syrian refugees, even unaccompanied children, and forced them back to northern Syria, said Nadia Hardman, refugee and migrant rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, in a statement released in October 2022. Turkish authorities deny these allegations.

Last month, HRW alleged that Turkish border guards are indiscriminately shooting at Syrian civilians on the border with Syria, as well as torturing and using excessive force against asylum-seekers and migrants trying to cross into Turkey.

Normalization with Syria

Turkish and Syrian authorities launched reconciliation talks as Russian, Turkish and Syrian defense ministers and intelligence chiefs met in Moscow last December.

On May 10, Ankara and Damascus announced they had agreed to set up a road map to restore ties between Turkey and Syria after the talks between Turkish, Syrian, Russian and Iranian foreign ministers in Moscow.

In a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, the ministers called for more international aid to Syria in the interests of voluntary, safe and dignified refugee returns and postwar reconstruction.

Erdogan also hinted that he would meet with Bashar al-Assad, but Assad conditioned such a meeting on Turkey withdrawing its military from northern Syria.

Syrian refugee Mustafa Ali, 37, said he thought the election result was good for Syrians but noted that some people do not trust Erdogan because of possible normalization with Assad.

There is a huge part of Syrian refugees in Turkey who are saying Erdogan has disappointed them. He says, We will protect you; we will send you to Syria without Assad. And now, he is going to shake hands with Assad, Mustafa Ali told VOA.

He is the one who said, Assad is a criminal. How is he going to shake his hand? Thats why they do not trust him, Mustafa Ali added.
New developments:

U.S. President Joe Biden has endorsed plans to train Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, The Associated Press reports.

Russia has added International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan to its wanted list. Khan prepared an arrest warrant last March for President Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges, Russian media reported on Friday.

The Pentagon has overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine by at least $3 billion, said Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh. The accounting error will allow the Defense Department to send more weapons without asking Congress for additional money.

Russia is targeting Ukrainian military facilities and supplies to disrupt a Ukrainian counteroffensive, Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy head of the Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, told the Ukrainian news portal RBK.

Heavy fighting continues in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, with Ukraine on Friday claiming incremental advances against Yevgeny Prigozhin's Russian paramilitary forces there.

"The enemy is trying to regain what they have lost ... but our forces are repulsing the attacks," Deputy Ukrainian Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said in televised remarks. She noted that Russian forces had "made some progress" inside Bakhmut but said they did not control the city.

"It's very difficult to carry out combat missions there, and every meter [of advance] is like 10 kilometers in other conditions," she said.

Both Russia and Ukraine said the other has sustained heavy losses in the area. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told Ukrainian news portal RBK that Russia has suffered about 70,000 casualties in and around Bakhmut. His assertion could not be independently verified, Reuters said.

Moscow regards its assault on Bakhmut, a city of about 70,000 before Russia's full-scale invasion nearly 15 months ago, as a springboard to capturing the rest of the industrial Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

Training on F-16s

During the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima on Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden endorsed plans to train Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets in Europe in the coming weeks. According to people who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Biden discussed with G-7 allies the training as a precursor to sending fourth-generation fighter jets to Ukraine in the months ahead, AP reports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join the G-7 Summit in Japan on Sunday, either in person or virtually. If he does attend in person, it would be the farthest he has traveled from his country since the war began in February of last year.

The G-7 leaders also laid out new sanctions against Moscow on Friday.

"Our support for Ukraine will not waver," they said in a statement released after closed-door meetings. They promised "to stand together against Russia's illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine."

"Russia started this war and can end this war," they said.

Military facilities increasingly targeted

Russia is increasingly targeting Ukraine's military facilities and munitions supplies to disrupt preparations for a Ukrainian counterattack, a senior Ukrainian military intelligence official said.

After months of attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Russian forces are increasingly training their sights on areas where air defense equipment is located, according to Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy head of Ukraine's Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate.



"Now they have completely different priorities  to disrupt our plans and preparations for active [military] action during the spring-summer campaign," he told the Ukrainian news portal RBK on Friday.

He said the Russians were striking decision-making centers, supply routes and places where large quantities of ammunition, equipment, fuel or troops were concentrated, according to Reuters.

Skibitskyi also said Russian aviation was targeting areas on or near the front line more often than before, echoing Ukrainian fighters' reports that Russian forces were pounding supply lines to try to halt the Ukrainian advances.

Russia did not immediately comment on Skibitskyi's remarks.

Kyiv under fire

Kyiv was again targeted by Iranian-made drones overnight Friday  the 10th attack since the start of the month  but all of them were destroyed by the capital's air defenses, Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv military administration, said Friday.

"With such tactics, the Kremlin is trying to exhaust our air defense, as well as to psychologically influence the civilian population," Popko said.

Separately, Ukrainian air defense said Friday it had shot down six cruise missiles, 16 out of 22 drones and one cruise missile overnight, without specifying the location, RFE/RL reported.

Explosions also were heard in the western city of Lviv and in Zelenskyy's hometown Kryviy Rih in the southeast, seriously wounding a 64-year-old woman.

"Several explosions occurred in [the central Ukrainian city of] Kryvyi Rih. The enemy hit a private industrial enterprise. Several buildings caught fire at once," the president's office said in a statement.

According to RFE/RL, the latest attacks came as officials in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv reported Friday that three civilians were killed, and 16 others were wounded by Russian shelling the previous day.

Two people were killed and nine more were wounded in Donetsk, according to Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of Donetsk regional administration.

One man was killed and two were wounded in a rocket attack on a village in Kharkiv, regional Governor Oleh Synyehubov said.

Patriot system fixed

In Washington, a Pentagon spokeswoman said a Patriot missile-defense system damaged in a Russian airstrike on Kyiv several days ago has been repaired.

"What I can confirm is that one Patriot system was damaged, but it has now been fixed and is fully back and operational," Sabrina Singh told a news briefing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he landed Friday in Saudi Arabia, host of an Arab League summit attended by long isolated Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a close Russian ally.

The previously unannounced visit is Zelenskyy's first to the Middle East since Moscow's invasion in February 2022, giving the Ukrainian leader an opportunity to address leaders in the region that has been far less united in its support of Kyiv than staunch Western allies.

"Arrived in Saudi Arabia. I will speak at the Arab League summit," Zelenskyy said on Twitter, adding he plans to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other leaders.

He arrived in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah one day after Assad, whose government is being readmitted to the Arab League after its suspension in 2011 over the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators that led to civil war.

The summit in Saudi Arabia comes at a time when the world's biggest oil exporter is flexing its diplomatic muscle across the Middle East and beyond.

An Arab League official told AFP Zelenkyy's invitation came from Saudi Arabia, not the bloc. Saudi officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Syria's return

Earlier on Friday, Assad met Tunisian President Kais Saied, Syria's official SANA news agency said, kicking off a series of bilateral talks before the summit is expected to officially open at 2:00 pm (1100 GMT).

"This summit is very important," Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said after reaching Jeddah earlier this week, adding the Syrian delegation was "here to make this summit a success."

Main streets in Jeddah were lined with the flags of Arab League member states including Syria, as Al-Riyadh newspaper declared on Friday it would be "the summit of all summits."

The meeting follows a frenetic stretch of high-stakes diplomacy triggered by the kingdom's surprise Chinese-brokered rapprochement deal with Iran announced in March.

Since then, Saudi Arabia has restored bilateral ties with Syria and ramped up a push for peace in Yemen, where it leads a military coalition against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Riyadh also played a leading role in evacuating civilians from Sudan when fighting erupted there last month, and it is currently hosting representatives of Sudan's warring parties in a bid to hammer out a cease-fire.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become, in the eyes of all observers, the peacemaker and the icon of harmony, calling for an end to differences and the elimination of conflicts," Kuwaiti writer Jawad Ahmed Bukhamseen gushed in an op-ed this week in the private Saudi newspaper Okaz.

Not every country in the region has been eager to mend ties with Assad.

Qatar said this month it would not normalize relations with Assad's government but noted this would not be "an obstacle" to Arab League reintegration.

On Thursday, the emir of Qatar, a fierce critic of the Syrian leader, announced he would lead his country's delegation to Jeddah.

Ukrainian 'kiss of life'

Doha has called for accountability for "war crimes" in Syria, but the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, made no comment on Qatar's expectations for the summit.

While Qatar and some other countries will be represented by their leaders, the president of another Gulf state, the United Arab Emirates, will be absent.

The UAE's Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has sent his brother and vice president, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, to Jeddah instead, official news agency WAM said.

Beyond challenges facing the Middle East, the Arab League summit should also take on issues like the war in Ukraine and "the global economic crisis", Khaled Manzlawiy, the bloc's assistant secretary general for political affairs, wrote on Wednesday in the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

"Indeed, the entire world is undergoing a perilous stage in history as the maps of international relations are redrawn," he wrote, adding that Arab unity can give the region "a voice that is heard not only in the region but also across the globe."

Global preoccupation with Ukraine could amount to "a kiss of life for the League to play its role as a coordinating station for efforts to resolve conflicts in the region," Egyptian analyst Rabha Seif Allam told AFP.

From Riyadh's perspective, a successful summit would involve concrete commitments from Syria on issues including war refugees and the captagon trade, said Torbjorn Soltvedt of the risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft.

Yet Arab League summits "have more often than not been characterized by internal disagreement and indecisiveness," he added.

"The bar for success will therefore be low."
Editor's note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch.

Black Sea grain deal extended for 60 days; wheat prices decline

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the 60-day extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative on Wednesday, a day before it might have expired had Russia made good on its threat to withdraw from the deal. The U.N. chief said the 10-month-old grain deal that has facilitated the export of more than 30 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain and the parallel Memorandum of Understanding with Moscow on its food and fertilizer exports "matter for global food security."

Reuters reported Thursday that wheat prices fell to a two-week low after the grain deal was extended.

Latest in Ukraine: Russia, Ukraine Agree to 60-Day Extension to Black Sea Grain Shipments

Wheat Prices Decline Further After Black Sea Pact Extended

Record heat expected over next five years

The World Meteorological Organization warned Wednesday that global temperatures are likely to surge to record levels over the next five years, affecting health, food security and the environment. The WMO said there is a strong likelihood that temperatures could reach more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for at least one year, and said in the coming 15 to 20 years, that might become more common.

Surge of Record Global Temperatures Expected in Next 5 Years

Report: $1 billion in arms has flowed to Myanmar's military since coup

The U.N. special rapporteur for Myanmar said Wednesday that Myanmar's military has imported at least $1 billion worth of weapons and weapons materials since overthrowing the democratically elected government in February 2021, with Russia as the junta's top supplier. Tom Andrews said that weaponry provided by Russian suppliers has been used to commit probable war crimes and crimes against humanity in Myanmar.

UN Rights Expert: $1 Billion in Arms Flowing to Myanmar Military

Afghan women continue to work for UN agencies, despite Taliban prohibition

The U.N. children's agency representative in Afghanistan says his agency, including its female Afghan staff, continue to work in the country despite a Taliban decree last month banning local women from working for the organization. "I would say that all women of the U.N. in Afghanistan are working," UNICEF's Fran Equiza said Wednesday. He said this applies to UNICEF and other U.N. agencies in Afghanistan.

UNICEF, Afghan Female Staff Delivering Aid Despite Taliban Edicts

Afghanistan faces potentially devastating locust outbreak

Meanwhile, Afghanistan is also facing a potentially devastating locust outbreak that could further worsen food insecurity in the country, where the World Food Program reports 19.9 million people face acute hunger and 6 million are on the verge of famine.

Huge Locust Outbreak Threatens Afghanistan's Wheat Basket

In brief

 American Amy Pope was elected head of the International Organization for Migration on Monday, beating her incumbent boss, Antonio Vitorino of Portugal. Vitorino, who headed the IOM for the past five years, withdrew from the race after a poor showing in the first round of voting. Days before the vote, U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement supporting Pope's candidacy and calling her "an innovative, strategic leader with impeccable qualifications." Washington is the IOM's largest bilateral donor. Pope becomes the first woman to lead the U.N. migration agency in its more than 70-year history.

 The U.N. and its humanitarian partners appealed on Wednesday for $3 billion to help 18 million people this year in Sudan as well as hundreds of thousands fleeing Sudan to neighboring countries. The country has been caught in intense fighting since April 15, sparked by a power struggle between two generals. Overall in Sudan, the U.N. says a record 25 million people  more than half the population  need humanitarian aid and protection.

 On Saturday, the U.N. said that following its request and subsequent discussions, Syria's foreign minister informed U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths that Damascus had decided to allow the organization to continue using the Al Ra'ee and Bab Al-Salam border crossings for an additional three months. The Syrian government opened the two crossings that connect Syria and Turkey in the aftermath of the devastating February earthquakes that struck the two countries. The additional crossings have helped humanitarians get vital supplies to non-government-controlled areas of northwest Syria.

 Cyclone Mocha battered parts of Myanmar making landfall on Saturday. Some 5.4 million people are believed to have been in the path of the cyclone in Rakhine state and in the country's northwest. Humanitarians say they need more cash, full access, expedited travel authorizations, and customs clearances for supplies to deliver aid to people impacted by the cyclone. Before the cyclone hit, more than 17 million people were already in need in Myanmar.

 The World Health Organization is advising consumers against the use of artificial sweeteners for weight control, saying Monday that replacing real sugar with non-sugar substitutes does not present any long-term benefit in reducing body fat in adults or children. WHO said the results of a review also suggest that there could be adverse effects from long-term use of such sweeteners, including an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mortality in adults. WHO said this advice does not apply to individuals with pre-existing diabetes.

Quote of note

"The Afghan women are not going to give up, no matter what."

 Fran Equiza, UNICEF's representative in Afghanistan, to reporters Thursday, speaking of Taliban restrictions on women in Afghanistan and the resilience of Aghan women.

What we are watching next week

The U.N. secretary-general is in Hiroshima, Japan, for the gathering of G-7 leaders. On Saturday, Guterres will speak at a session on addressing multiple crises, where he is expected to call on G-7 nations to deliver financial justice for developing countries, which he says are facing an international system that is unfair and dysfunctional. He will also hold several bilateral meetings with leaders on the sidelines of the summit.
Two U.S. mission employees missing since a Tuesday attack on a U.S. convoy in Nigeria's southeastern Anambra state, have been recovered alive and are under the protection of Nigerian authorities, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria reported Friday.

According to the U.S. State Department, the two employees went missing Tuesday after unknown assailants attacked a convoy of two U.S. government vehicles in the Ogbaru local government area of Anambra state.

In a statement, the State Department said the convoy was carrying nine Nigerian nationals: five U.S. Embassy staffers and four members of Nigeria's police force. They were traveling in advance of a planned visit by mission personnel to a U.S.-funded flood response project in Anambra.

The assailants killed at least four members of the convoy.

In Friday's statement, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria said its personnel were traveling to meet and accompany the two employees home.

The embassy said the motive for the attack is not clear, but they found no indications the convoy was targeted because of its U.S. connections.

The embassy said it continues to work with Nigerian security and law enforcement on this matter, to identify the victims previously found, and to bring to justice those responsible for the attack. They welcome any information the public might have regarding the attack.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters and The Associated Press.
"Never accept death when suffering is owed..."

Unlike previous entries in the Fast & Furious franchise, Fast X doesn't get to merrily drive off into the sunset.

The film, directed by The Transporter and Now You See Me alum Louis Leterrier, is just the first slice of a two-part (and maybe even a three-part) finale meant to close out the blockbuster saga famous for living life a quarter-mile at a time. With that conclusion still a ways down the road, let's take a look at how the (potentially) penultimate outing lays the groundwork for what's to come in Fast 11.

**SPOILER WARNING! The following story contains major plot spoilers for the ending of Fast X!**

Jason Momoa as Dante in Fast X (2023).

Jason Momoa as Dante in Fast X (2023). Photo: Peter Mountain / Universal Pictures

As expected, the denouement of Fast X unfurls in genuine Fast fashion  with plenty of explosions, burned rubber, and grinding metal. We head for the wide open highways of Portugal, where Dom's (Vin Diesel) hope of getting his son to safety crashes down around his ears.

Agency Director Aimes (Alan Ritchson)  who actually seemed like a decent replacement for Luke Hobbs in the absence of Dwayne Johnson  reveals that he's been a bad guy this whole time. Has, in fact, been an ally of the Reyes family since the vault heist in Rio a decade ago. All he had to do was manipulate Dom's blind trust in family to lead the prime target right toward an ambush.

RELATED: First Reactions to Fast X Praise Jason Momoas Scene-Stealing Turn as Joker-Level Villain Dante

Firing a trusty bazooka, Aimes blows the arriving cargo plane carrying Tej (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), and Han (Sung Kang) right out of the sky. The crippled aircraft flies behind a nearby mountain and out of sight.

Things only go from bad to worse once Dante manages to nab Little Brian (Leo Abelo Perry) while the boy fixes a jam atop Jakob's custom cannon car. Dom gives chase, but finds his path blocked by a horde of Dante's goons. Having lived in his older brother's shadow for his entire life, Jakob finally decides to step into the light and sacrifice himself for the greater good. He aims the cannons at the ground and launches his truck into the unfriendly blockade, going out in a blaze of glory. Is he truly dead for good or just pretending?

No time to ponder that mystery for long, because Dom swaps a row of cars for a pair of helicopters brandishing harpoon guns meant to spear his Charger and lift it off the ground via high-tension cables.

clockwise, from left) Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Han (Sung Kang), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), Dom (Vin Diesel), Little Brian (Leo Abelo Perry), Abuelita (Rita Moreno), Mia (Jordana Brewster), Tej (Chris Ludacris Bridges, back to camera) and Roman (Tyrese Gibson, back to camera) in Fast X (2023)

More dangerous behind the wheel of an automobile than any other human being alive, Toretto floods the engine with NOS, uses the burst of speed to crash the helicopters into each other, and turns the flaming wreckage to his advantage. He uses it to run Dante off the road and save his boy in one improvisational maneuver that harkens back to his driving lesson with Little Brian at the start of the movie.

Reunited at last, Dom and Little Brian start to drive across a narrow stretch of pavement spanning a nearby dam when a pair of tanker trucks arrive out of nowhere to block both ends. End of the road. Literally. Well, not for a resourceful Toretto. Dom chooses the road less traveled and drives right off the edge, outracing the explosion from the tankers in the vertical quarter-mile race we've been hearing so much about. The Charger barely outstrips the blast and splashes into the water below.

Dom and Little Brian escape the sinking car and swim to the surface. They seem a little worse for wear, but it's nothing a loving father-son hug can't fix. Awww. They're safe at last. Wait, scratch that. Dante, who leaves nothing to chance, has prepared for every contingency. He's rigged the dam to blow. Damn! "Your suffering is over," he growls. "It's time for you to die." His 10-year revenge mission to strip Dom of his money, reputation, and family has crossed the finish line.

In other words, Dom probably "should've gone for the head."

Vin Diesel in Fast X (2023)

The charges are primed and ready for detonation as the screen suddenly cuts to black, leaving the fate of our heroes unknown. Given how they just drove down a precarious ledge, the term "cliffhanger" has never felt more applicable.

Before the credits begin rolling, however, we briefly pick up with Letty and Cipher in Antarctica. They're all bundled up against the cold and have managed to escaped the confines of the Agency black site prison. But how are they to traverse endless miles of frozen tundra?

Just then, a massive submarine (presumably the one we saw during The Fate of the Furious) erupts out of the ice. The hatch opens to reveal...Gisele Yashar!!! Hell yes, Gal Gadot's character  who gave up her own life in Furious 6 to defeat Owen Shaw  is miraculously back from the dead, which means one thing: someone really needs to tell Han to delete his dating profile real quick.

Fast X opens in theaters everywhere tomorrow, Friday, May 19. Click here to pick up tickets.

Relive a small portion of the Fast Saga with Furious 7 and F9  now streaming now on Peacock. If you want to catch up on the full story, however, click right here for our nifty guide on where to stream the first nine installments (plus Hobbs & Shaw).
In the space of 24 hours this week, a pair of U.S. House committees held hearings exploring the impact of Chinas aggressive use of economic power against the U.S. and its allies, and considered measures the U.S. might take to counter Beijings efforts.

More than half a dozen witnesses told lawmakers about the ways China uses its economic might to coerce smaller countries into providing favorable trade arrangements and to force businesses that want to operate in China to surrender intellectual property, which is then provided to Chinese-owned competitors.

Other witnesses testified that Chinas economic policies are part of Chinese President Xi Jinpings broader ambition to turn China into a globally dominant economic player that will ultimately outweigh the United States on the world stage.

One of the witnesses, Robert Lighthizer, who served as U.S. Trade Representative under former President Donald Trump, captured the tone of both hearings when he said, It is not an exaggeration to say that the Chinese Communist Party has been waging an economic war against the United States for decades.

VOA asked the Chinese Embassy to reply to the allegations detailed in the hearings but did not receive a response.

However, last week, when Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin was asked about G-7 countries' complaints about Chinese economic coercion, he turned the accusation back on the U.S, saying, "If any country should be criticized for economic coercion, it should be the United States. The U.S. has been overstretching the concept of national security, abusing export control and taking discriminatory and unfair measures against foreign companies. This seriously violates the principles of market economy and fair competition."

A naive bet

In a hearing on Wednesday night, the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) convened a hearing titled, Leveling the Playing Field: How to Counter the CCP's Economic Aggression.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, the Republican who chairs the panel, began the hearing with a video that documented efforts by past U.S. administrations, both Republican and Democratic, to welcome the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) into the global economic community, including granting it privileged trade status in the 1990s and early 2000s.

For the last 25 years, both parties largely made the same naive bet on China, that robust economic engagement would lead the Chinese Communist Party to political liberalization, he said. But Beijing saw our quintessentially American optimism as an opportunity to exploit and our treaties and international commitments as rules for thee but not for me.

Well, now the error of wishful thinking is over, he said. The CCPs economic warfare uses any and all available leverage to coerce us and our allies and it's time that we defend ourselves and the free world.

Fundamental questions

The committees ranking Democrat, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, was equally adamant about the need to challenge China on the global stage.

This is the fundamental question: Who will be the economic and innovation leader for the remainder of the 21st century? Will it be America, or the CCP? Krishnamoorthi said.

Stepping in to counter Chinas various forms of economic influence in the world must be pressing priorities for the U.S., he said. The moment to act is not in 10 years or five years or next year. It's now.

In addition to Lighthizer, the committee heard from Roger Robinson, former chairman of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. In his testimony, Robinson claimed that U.S. investors are, in some cases unknowingly, subsidizing Chinese companies by participating in investment funds that contain Chinese corporate debt.

Robinson argued that because Chinese firms are not subject to the same disclosure requirements as firms in the U.S. and other developed countries, they should not be allowed continued access to U.S. capital markets.

A third witness, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, called for immediate action to bolster investment and innovation in key emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, to keep the U.S. ahead of China in some areas and to catch up in others.

Its never too late to stop digging our own grave, he said.

Rejecting economic coercion

On Thursday morning, in a hearing before the Indo-Pacific Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Young Kim opened the hearing with a statement that was highly critical of Chinas behavior towards its neighbors. For example, she accused Beijing of causing the recent crash in Sri Lankas economy by pressuring its leaders to take on excessive debt through its Belt and Road infrastructure-building initiative.

She called on members to recognize the immense economic pressure that the PRC puts on our allies, partners and friends around the world.

The CCP uses debt-trap diplomacy through the Belt and Road Initiative to achieve its political goals abroad, said the Republican lawmaker. So much so that it is willing to crash economies and generate instability as it did in Sri Lanka.

Last month, after Sri Lanka and its creditors launched debt restructuring talks without the participation of China, the country's largest creditor, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wenbin was asked if the absence of his country reflected frustration about Beijing's approach to third-world countries indebted to China. He said, "China calls on commercial and multilateral creditors to jointly participate in Sri Lankas debt restructuring under the principle of fair burden-sharing. We have been in close communication with Sri Lanka and supported Chinese financial institutions in actively discussing debt treatment arrangements with Sri Lanka."

Legislation proposed

Rep. Ami Bera, the ranking Democrat on the sub-committee, pushed back against Beijings claims that the U.S. is trying to isolate China economically, saying, Truth is, we'd like to maintain the status quo, which has lifted all the countries in that region through a rules based order, but we have to respond to Chinese aggression and Chinese economic coercion.

Bera called on Congress to pass a measure that would direct the Biden administration to form an interagency task force to respond to the PRC government's acts of economic coercion and required the evaluation of the impacts on U.S. business and economic performance.

The same bill, he said, would give the president new tools to provide rapid economic support to partners and allies facing economic coercion from the PRC and hold the PRC accountable for its actions.

Intellectual property theft

Thursdays panel heard from Alon Raphael, CEO of FemtoMetrix, a company that makes a set of software tools used in the manufacture of advanced semiconductors. Raphael told the panel that in 2020, three of his companys former employees, all Chinese nationals, covertly absconded with thousands of files and years worth of proprietary information that they used to set up a competing company called Weichong Semiconductor in mainland China.

Weichong has filed for patents in China using FemtoMetrix technology, Raphael said, and has pitched its services to his companys existing customers, sometimes using slide decks that still contain the FemtoMetrix logo.

Weichong is not an outlier, but an exemplar for the theft of American intellectual property, Raphael said.

FemtoMetric has sued Weichong, Raphael said, but has little hope that a result will come quickly, or that a judgment in his companys favor would be enforced by Chinese authorities.

Companies like Weiching have become accustomed to exploiting the court systems slow pace and high cost, he said. Alternative means of addressing such international theft are needed.
Despite accusing Pakistan's powerful army chief of being involved his political troubles, former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan now says he has no problem with the army chief but alleges that the head of the military has a problem with him.

Khan's dramatic arrest May 9 from a court complex in the capital Islamabad led to three days of violent nationwide protests.

From his family home in Lahore, Khan spoke via Skype on Thursday with VOA Pakistan Bureau Chief Sarah Zaman at the VOA bureau in Islamabad after the Supreme Court declared his arrest unlawful.

The following transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.

VOA: What's the situation at your residence in Lahore right now? And what do you fear can happen in the next 24 hours?

IMRAN KHAN, FORMER PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER: What will happen in the next 24 hours? I have no idea.

VOA: Before your arrest, you had said many, many times said that if something happens to you, there will be violence, that your supporters will not spare anyone. Do you and your party leaders take any responsibility for the violence that happened?

KHAN: Absolutely not, and the reason is very simple. Whenever we say there will be protests, there have always been peaceful protests. Now remember, this is my 27th year in politics. Name me one time I've given a statement where I've said that we will indulge in violence. We have always said that we will stay within the constitution, within the law of the land. But protest is a democratic and constitutional right. When they tried to kill me, surely, then there should have been arson and burning and burning down buildings. It didn't happen. The moment the army picked me up, there was always going to be a reaction. When they abducted me, proved by the Supreme Court that it was abduction, unlawful, there was always going to be a reaction.

VOA: You have used aggressive language many, many times. Don't you think that when these kinds of statements come from a leader, that they create a sense of not just anger, but also a sense that if we're angry, and we're upset, we are entitled to go out and do whatever we want?

KHAN: This is not true. Well, then why didnt they do it before? Why haven't they done it for 27 years?

VOA: When I spoke to you mid-March, when authorities had come to serve a warrant to you, and your supporters came out and clashed with the police. When your party repeatedly sends out this call on social media, asking your supporters to come out, what does the party expect?

KHAN: Well, firstly, there is a history background to this. You must know why the supporters have come. First of all, the supporters, they know that the government was behind my assassination attempt. No investigation was done, so.

VOA: But you didnt provide any proof, even to your supporters?

KHAN: How can I provide proof that there's no investigation? This is my democratic, my constitutional right, that if I suspect someone, they should have been investigated, then they can prove their innocence. I wasn't allowed my right to have a proper investigation.

So, you must remember the background behind it, there's a huge amount of suspicion, there's a lot of fear. So, I have time and again said, if you want to come and arrest me, just come up with a warrant and I will give myself up.

VOA: So, when they brought you a warrant in mid-March, why didn't you give yourself up at that time?

KHAN: Because it was illegal. All you're seeing right now, the crackdown on PTI, is to somehow make us so weak that we can't compete in the elections.

VOA: OK, so lately you have openly criticized the army chief. But when your predecessors, when you were in government, and your opponents would criticize the militarys top leadership from meddling in politics, you said that they were committing treason. If their criticism of the army's top leadership was treason, how is your criticism of that leadership any different?

KHAN: You know, so you have to put this in context. Just remember in what context I was talking about, the context was very simple. Nawaz Sharif and his daughter were blaming the army chief, that he was responsible for, for him getting convicted. This was the gist. All ... everyone should know it was a two-year case in the Supreme Court and there was a joint investigation committee, which found him guilty. So, all I was saying is that, you know, just because he was convicted by the Supreme Court, he was blaming the judges, and the army chief. It was in that context, I was speaking. Right now, the reason why I named the army chief was because I was abducted inside the High Court precincts by the army. So, the army cannot act without permission from the number one, this is how the army works. So, that's why I named him.

VOA: But you don't see any difference between the fact that you called one persons criticism treason, but your criticism is not treason. I mean, they had their reasons, you have your reason.

KHAN: You can't compare the two. I mean, to have someone unlawfully abducted, confirmed by the Supreme Court ... the Supreme Court called my abduction unlawful. So, how can you compare that? The same Supreme Court finds the other person was guilty after two years? Remember, it was a two-year investigation that took place. This is what we call moral equivalence by actually equating two different things, you actually make them equal. They're not equal.

VOA: Your relationship with the military, and particularly the top leadership, how do you now expect to repair it?

KHAN: I have no problem. I never had a problem with the army chief. In fact, several times, you know, would hear that he was saying these things about me, which weren't true, I would, I would try to reach out to him to clear [up] the issues. But the problem is from his side, it's not from my side. I mean, why would I, who wants to take on the army of your own country? How can you do that? I mean, no political party. And even if you win, the country goes down. You don't want to weaken your own army. So, let me repeat, the issue is not from my side, it's from his side. And for, for the life of [me], I can't work out what, what is in his mind that he's decided that whatever happens Imran Khan should not come to power.

VOA: Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, thank you very much for speaking with Voice of America.

KHAN: Thank you, thank you.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies in Hiroshima, Japan, Zelenskyy's farthest trip from his war-torn country, as G-7 members pledge to bring "comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine."

Zelenskyy had been expected to address the group by videolink Sunday but Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov, speaking on national television, confirmed Zelenskyy would attend the summit.

"Very important matters will be decided there and therefore the physical presence of our president is an absolutely important thing in order to defend our interests," he said.

Confirmation of Zelenskyy's attendance came as G-7 leaders from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan and the European Union, reaffirmed their "commitment to stand together against Russia's illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine."

In a statement, the group pledged to "mobilize all our policy instruments and, together with Ukraine, make every effort to bring a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine as soon as possible," underscoring that it cannot be realized without "the complete and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops."

New sanctions

G-7 leaders unveiled tough new sanctions designed to close loopholes and go after previously untouched industry sectors. The U.S. sanctions alone would blacklist about 70 Russian and third-country entities involved in Moscow's defense production, in addition to sanctioning more than 300 individuals, entities, aircraft and vessels. The United Kingdom is putting a ban on Russian diamonds, copper, aluminum, and nickel.

Aiming to strengthen cooperation for a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific," G-7 leaders will also focus on countering what the group calls China's "economic coercion," the use of punitive trade practices for political goals.

In a Thursday briefing to reporters a senior administration official said that G-7 leaders are aligned in their goal of "de-risking" or limiting reliance and vulnerability on China, increasing supply chain resilience, protecting sensitive technology and concerns around Beijing's "nonmarket policies and practices."

However, agreeing on a common approach to deal with China will be challenging. The world's second-largest economy and global manufacturing hub is an important trade partner to G-7 members.

Kicking off their meetings, leaders laid wreaths at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to honor victims of the atomic bomb that U.S. forces dropped during World War II, killing more than 130,000.

A group of nonmembers have also been invited as part of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's effort to engage with the Global South. Those nations include Australia, Brazil, Comoros, Cook Islands, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Ukraine and Vietnam.

The summit is overshadowed by a monthslong impasse between the White House and congressional Republicans over raising the debt ceiling to keep the U.S. from defaulting on its obligations.

"These leaders understand how important American leadership is around the world," National Security Council spokesman. John Kirby told VOA in an interview Friday. "And they know that that leadership, that credibility, could be hurt if we default," he said.
Authorities in Zimbabwe Friday started releasing 4,270 prison inmates who were granted amnesty by President Emmerson Mnangagwa earlier this month ahead of general elections.

The development is welcomed because it decongests Zimbabwe's overcrowded prisons.

Pardoned inmates leaving Harare Central Prison Friday did not speak, but joy was written all over many of the prisoners' faces.

Shepherd Mpofu, the acting head of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service, is grateful to President Emmerson Mnangagwa for granting the amnesty and reducing the prison population.

He said previous amnesties have shown that few of the inmates will return.

"In the past amnesties that have been granted, we can tell that only 2% or 3%, they are coming back to prison  those who have benefitted from amnesty," said Mpofu. "So by looking at those numbers to say just 3%, they are returning to prison, they are good numbers to show that our rehabilitation activities that are taking place in prison, they (the inmates) are learning more. What I can say to the society is to accept them when they come out."

The president announced last month  on Zimbabwe's independence day - that he would pardon some inmates convicted of minor crimes.

Edson Chihota, who heads the Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Offenders, an organization that works to rehabilitate prisoners and reintegrate them into society, said many of the released prisoners were forced to commit crimes because of severe poverty.

He welcomes the release of the inmates but said prisons remain overcrowded. He noted that some prisons with a capacity of 17,000 have populations of up to 22,000.

"For us it's something that has been done but does not really alleviate the challenges that are faced by prisons," he said. "We can only say this is meaningful when the number has dropped from 17(000) to 15,000 and below."

Zimbabwe last had a prisoner amnesty in 2020, when the president said it was necessary to decongest prisons during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
MARYLAND - Zimbabwe has received 18 of the 32 helicopters sourced from Russia at a cost of over $320 million amid the countrys crumbling local currency.

According to the state-controlled Herald newspaper, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the helicopters, which were delivered in Harare Thursday, will be used for emergency services, tourism and air policing.

Mnangagwa did not disclose the nature of the deal with the Russian government that is engaged in a fierce war with Ukraine.

He dismissed suggestions that Zimbabwe should not have any form of relations with Russia, noting that some former freedom fighters of the 1960s were trained in that nation.

The West imposed targeted sanctions on Zanu PF officials and some entities tied to the ruling government following claims of human rights abuses and election rigging.

Mnangagwa is quoted by The Herald as saying, The Russian Federation is under sanctions. Zimbabwe is under sanction from the same people for different reasons  Then you are told dont speak to that guy who is under sanctions when I am also under sanctions. You are saying victims of sanctions should not speak to each other. What nonsense!

Critics say Mnangagwas government should, instead of buying expensive helicopters, fix the crumbling local currency and ailing economy.

Zimbabwes dollar is crushing against the greenback as US$1 is now equivalent to ZWL$2,058.32 (official rate) and over ZWL$3,200 in the black market.
Russian-built helicopters arrived in Zimbabwe on May 18 (Thursday) in what authorities say is part of an effort by Russia to strengthen relations between the two countries. Analysts say Russia is rewarding Zimbabwe for not joining with nations seeking to isolate Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
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. Sometimes these stories can cloud the minds of investors, leading them to invest with their emotions rather than on the merit of good company fundamentals. Loss making companies can act like a sponge for capital - so investors should be cautious that they're not throwing good money after bad.

In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior S. A (NYSE:BLX), which has not only revenues, but also profits. While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.

Check out our latest analysis for Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior S. A

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior S. A's Earnings Per Share Are Growing

If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price should eventually follow. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. Over the last three years, Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior S. A has grown EPS by 16% per year. That's a good rate of growth, if it can be sustained.

Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. It's noted that Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior S. A's revenue from operations was lower than its revenue in the last twelve months, so that could distort our analysis of its margins. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior S. A maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 75% to US$178m. That's encouraging news for the company!

In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.

While profitability drives the upside, prudent investors always check the balance sheet, too.

Are Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior S. A Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It's pleasing to see company leaders with putting their money on the line, so to speak, because it increases alignment of incentives between the people running the business, and its true owners. So it is good to see that Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior S. A insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. Indeed, they hold US$17m worth of its stock. That's a lot of money, and no small incentive to work hard. Despite being just 2.3% of the company, the value of that investment is enough to show insiders have plenty riding on the venture.

Does Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior S. A Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

As previously touched on, Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior S. A is a growing business, which is encouraging. For those who are looking for a little more than this, the high level of insider ownership enhances our enthusiasm for this growth. The combination definitely favoured by investors so consider keeping the company on a watchlist. However, before you get too excited we've discovered 1 warning sign for Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior S. A that you should be aware of.

There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a free list of them here.

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
You can practically smell the Black Flies director chain-smoking behind the camera, muttering about spitting in the face of humanity. Photo: FilmNation Entertainment

Starring Tye Sheridan and Sean Penn as a pair of EMTs making their way through an endless gauntlet of violence, cruelty, and blood, Black Flies is the kind of movie that could fuel a years worth of wet dreams for any politicians eager to portray New York as a crime-soaked hellscape. But the film, directed by Jean-Stephane Sauvaire, isnt trying all that hard to be realistic, as evidenced by its stylized passages featuring flashing, kaleidoscopic sirens, inchoate shrieking, and surging Wagner overtures. The film is bleak and depressing even by Cannes standards, but it has just enough of an art-film vibe that its also kind of perfect for Cannes. You can practically smell the director chain-smoking behind the camera, muttering about spitting in the face of humanity.

Based on a 2008 novel by Shannon Burke, Black Flies has a pretty familiar set-up. Wide-eyed rookie Ollie Cross (Sheridan), a young, aspiring doctor eager to get some real-world experience while studying for the MCATs, is matched with the profane and perpetually pissy Rutkovsky (Penn), whos diligent at his job but has been doing it for so long that he feels nothing for those hes supposed to be saving. These men both have pasts, of a sort. Ollie has memories of his mothers suicide, and of his inability to help her. Now, hes doing penance, like some kind of Paul Schrader character, living in a tiny room in a cramped Chinatown apartment. Thats how it starts for a lot of guys, Rutkovsky observes, seeing someone they love draw their last breath. He himself is long past that stage. Hes lost count of his ex-wives (his most recent one is played by Katherine Waterston), and counters the horrors of existence by telling dirty jokes and fantasizing about opening doors on bicyclists. Rutkovsky isnt a particularly well-defined character  hes mostly just a collection of attitudes  but Penn does bring some bitter charm to the part. Few actors are as convincing at being just generally angry at the world.

Despite a repetitive, episodic structure, Black Flies is never boring. Sauvaire films each encounter like a vision of hell. Gang members bleeding out. Addicts passed out on laundromat floors. Abused wives being screamed at by their shithead husbands. Purple babies born to dying moms. Dogs shot for no reason (and then used as props for gruesome practical jokes by the EMTs). The movie wants to rub our faces in the blood and the grime, to traumatize us, and on that level, it often succeeds. But its also sometimes ridiculous. As Ollie and Rutkovsky intubate a 63-year-old meat worker who cant breathe, the director, apparently worried that hes been too tasteful up until now, cuts away to shots of lambs being slaughtered.

Burkes novel, which I havent read, was acclaimed for its terrifying authenticity; the author had spent five years working as an EMT and had based much of it on his real-life experiences. The movie, by contrast, feels purposefully stylized. There are nods to Terrence Malick throughout: Hes thanked in the credits, the Wagner cues are the same ones from The New World, and Sheridan and Penn represent a Tree of Life reunion. That makes for an odd reference point for this kind of material: Malicks cinema is nothing if not compassionate, while Black Flies is mired in the misery of its milieu. Locked into the perspective of its protagonists, the film denies the people around these EMTs their humanity. They dont have names, and they barely have faces. Theyre just body parts and screams.

Obviously, EMTs get called for emergencies; they dont get called for birthday parties. But as these white EMTs make their way through these incessant horrors, Sauvaire unsettles us with the sheer anonymity of the faces around them, mostly belonging to people of color and immigrants. Its tough to watch, and even tougher to take. We sense that this is a structural gambit, designed to pay off later when our heroes will surely be confronted by the fact that these people are, in fact, people. That is exactly what does happen  but when the moment comes, it feels strangely cursory. So much so that one cant help but feel that the directors real interests lie elsewhere, back in the films intense, gore-soaked spectacles of depravity and pain. Theres style and skill to spare in Black Flies, but the movie also feels like a victim of the very numbness and emotional emptiness it seeks to expose.
The director says he is following up his gay-cowboy short with a mysterious film about two women in a very intimate situation. Photo: Loic Venance/AFP via Getty Images

A powerful combination of pouring rain, unchecked queer lust, rabid Pedro Almodovar fandom, and institutional Cannes Film Festival failure made Wednesday afternoons premiere of Almodovars latest, Strange Way of Life, a bit of a shitshow. At the much-anticipated screening of the Spanish auteurs new western  a 31-minute short starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal as ex-lovers who meet back up in the desert for a hot night and a gun duel, 25 years after their torrid affair as young pistoleros  dozens (and perhaps even hundreds) of ticket-holders stood outside for an hour, getting soaked before being turned away at the door. Most of those who did manage to catch the movie (including me) loved it: Its an appropriately melodramatic, sexy little tale of gay desire, regret, and seduction that features erotically charged glances between two of our best actors, moody standoffs with and without pistols, chic Saint Laurent looks, and a post-coital shot of Pascals bare tush.

On Friday morning, the festival relented and added a few more screenings of the short film just before I met Almodovar on a rooftop in yet another rainstorm. Clad in a gray sweatshirt and jeans, Almodovar ordered a cappuccino and chatted about how he was dying to see that evenings screening of Jonathan Glazers Zone of Interest (and also told me hed tried to get the rights to the novel Under the Skin years back, but theyd already been snapped up by Glazer). We talked about the Strange Way of Life screening drama, his upcoming English feature that hes shooting in New York, whether or not Cate Blanchett is angry with him for backing out of directing A Manual for Cleaning Women, how he and Hawke and Pascal all had to mutually adapt to one anothers working styles, and if he purposefully cast his short with actors so absurdly attractive that the premiere looked a bit like, as he joked, a Playgirl cover.

I got an email this morning that youre doing more Strange Way of Life screenings. Did you ask for that to happen?

Yes, I asked for that. Cannes director Thierry Fremaux said to me that he would try, and now its real. I was very sorry for the people outside, and for the journalists. Because it was in the rain, and the French character is very rude.

They are famously rude at this festival. Youve been coming here forever. Has it gotten worse?

They treat me very, very nicely. But I see the way they treat the others. And they are very rude! Now, they are very angry in general in France. They are protesting, and they have a right to, and they have a lot of problems. But the French character is very angry. I studied French when I was a child, but I dont dare to speak any French here. Not a single word. Because they look at you like that [makes an exaggeratedly mean face].

Outside of the kerfuffle, how are you feeling about the reception in general?

The response was great. For a director, this first screening is really important. When you see the movie with so many people, even just to listen to how they breathe, how theyre feeling at different moments. I thought it was not so funny, but they were laughing! Its definitely funny at times, but I felt after I talked with friends who hadnt seen the movie yet, they only knew it was about two gay cowboys, and they didnt expect that type of movie. The sensuality of the movie is more in the words they use, the way they look at each other, and that came across very strongly, so I was very satisfied.

People already want you to make a full-length version, and you wondered about it onstage after. Will you?

They all wanted more. But I deliberately wanted to make something very abstract. To take these two characters, put them in the middle of the movie, and show how men desiring other men react to each other. They are there to fuck, but theres another intention. They give themselves that one night break, but the day after, they come up with their real intentions. The sheriff is extremely cold and hermetic; if he could, hed completely deny what happened, which is a very male reaction to desire. But as for Silva, hes the exact opposite. He really wants. Hes extremely sentimental, and he wants to drive Jake to this romantic relationship and then ask him for this favor. Its a long story, but I wanted it to be very concentrated.

Curiously, all of them think that Ethan Hawke should remain with Pedro Pascal, and theyd live like a couple. But that was not my idea. The character of Ethan is very angry and hes wounded, so hes bound to Pedro temporarily. Theres a kind of peace  hes watching the sunset, the horses  but he isnt going to stay. Immediately after, when he is strong enough to get out of the bed, he would have a big fight with Silva, who would be seriously wounded. Jake would then go to Mexico to look for this crazy guy with a gun. It would be more adventure, and Silva, when he recovered from the fight, would come to look for both of them. But I need a lot of decorations in Mexico for all of that, so I dont think Ill do it. I know how it would go after that, but I wont make it, not for the moment. Im working on something different.

[My next film] will definitely be a movie in English, and its about two women in a very intimate situation.

What are you working on?

My brother, who is around here, has forbidden me to say anything. [Laughs.] But it will definitely be a movie in English, and its about two women in a very intimate situation. Very deep and intense, and dangerous. Its an incubated story in New York, with these two women and one man. I cant say anymore.

When will you film it, this summer?

I wanted to do it in October, but last November we were in New York and the light in the fall in New York is like five hours maximum every day. This is too little time to shoot. And the two leads are busy until August. So were making the locations now and I think well have to wait until March to do it.

You and I spoke for your upcoming book accompanying your Academy Museum exhibit, in which you divide all of your work into themes that repeat throughout your career, like mothers and desire and noir and guilt and pain. Which theme would you slot this new film into?

Its about something very important: death. And friendship, a deep feeling of friendship. Death is one of the protagonists in the film. Life and death are eternal issues in many movies, but this is the first time that I treat the situation like this.

How does your process differ when youre writing in English? Do you write it all in Spanish and then translate it, or start in English?

I write it in Spanish, and then when I finish the script completely, its translated into English and then, once its translated  because I dont want it to sound translated  I give it to an author, a real writer, to make it more common. Sometimes it sounds too literal in translation. Im very insecure about languages. And this is a contemporary movie, so I wanted it to sound contemporary. In Spain, the language is always changing; in ten years, if you compare how we talk now and how we talked before, theres new colloquial language, new expressions to pay attention to. I suppose that happens in English, too.

You recently said that you left the Lucia Berlin A Manual for Cleaning Women adaptation with Cate Blanchett because you werent ready to direct it in English; it was too complicated. What did you learn from making this short in English that now makes you feel ready to do this next English feature?

Theyre really different stories. Not in the sense of whats happening, but in terms of production. The Blanchett movie became a big production, and I didnt think I could do such a big project. Also, it was a period piece, and I am very obsessed with everything thats in front of the camera. Sometimes I take little things from my home or from stores, but for a movie thats a period piece, they have to make everything. And that gave me a lot of insecurity, because I couldnt control it; its not my culture. I felt very weak in front of these things. Most of the movie would be shot in a big studio, and Im an artisan. I do everything with my hands. And in this case, I couldnt.

When I was making this western, I was thinking all the time about the Cate Blanchett project. And I thought that it was taking me to too many places: to Oakland, to San Francisco, to Mexico. Even though wed make the interiors in one studio, it meant a lot of traveling. I had surgery on my back, and I go to L.A. once a year and its really very painful to fly. Half of my back is immobilized by metal and screws, so if I dont find the right angle for 12 hours, I cant sleep. Its silly to say that thats why I cant make a movie, but a movie is very physical. I prepare like an athlete to be in good shape. And this new one is much smaller. It doesnt mean it will be easier. But for me, I can manage it. Because I specialize in working with two or three characters deeply.

I am very sorry for Cate. She was very generous with her house of production, and within the sale. The script is there; they have it, and I wrote it, and I was very glad. But I had to be honest and say that I couldnt do it. It was a pity because I was completely in love with the script and ready to work with Cate, who is great.

But youll work with her again?

I hope so. I dont know if shes very angry or not. I dont know.

You can see her here and ask!

I know, shes here. Im tempted just to give her a call. I want to see how she is reacting. At the beginning she was devastated, but she is intelligent and she understood.

I want to talk a bit about the casting of Strange Way of Life. You first met Pedro Pascal after he did King Lear in New York, right? What was that conversation like?

Yes. I was in town promoting something in New York, but before that, when he was doing Narcos, hed worked with a lot of Spanish actors in Columbia. Theyd send me videos with him, and Pedro was very nice, but nervous: I grew up watching your movies! I hope to see you somewhere. And that place ended up being in New York when he was working with Glenda Jackson on King Lear. We became very close. For this movie, I called him directly and said, Im going to send you a script and you tell me how you see it. He immediately said, This is one of my dreams, to work with you. Thats something actors often tell you. I dont always believe them. But he had told me that two years earlier, and it was true: When I sent him the script, and mentioned that the other actor was Ethan, he said, Oh, I love him. Id really like to work with him. And Ethan was the same. They respect each other very much.

When they came into my office, I said, My God. You are so hot! All of you! We all felt like the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

What kind of work did you do to help them create the chemistry that drives the film?

Fortunately they had immediate chemistry. At the beginning, we had to do a week or so of mutual adaptation. Both of them are not typical Hollywood actors; theyre adventurers. But I could see that they worked differently  American actors, I dont know quite how to explain it, but they prepare characters in a different way than Im used to. I want to always rehearse and theyre both accustomed to that, because they both do theater, but what I see is that American actors dont rehearse a lot. I got this feeling that they did it because I asked them to. So we needed to adapt, the three of us.

How specifically did you adapt?

I explained every single line and what was behind it. Sometimes things arent so obvious as they are in your mind. I wrote a new script, saying exactly what was behind every single line. It was a lot of work to do. But I prefer it. I cannot be misunderstood. And I saw that it was good for them, because they were then much closer to my intentions. Ethan, when he was concentrating, he needed to be in silence. Thats impossible when youre shooting, because there are many people working around you. I understood that  its almost painful to be concentrating when there are people working and talking around you in a language that you dont understand. And Pedro understood everything. He doesnt speak good Spanish. [Laughs.] He couldnt make a movie in Spanish, but he understood.

When we were shooting, they grew up a lot  their performances were much bigger than in the rehearsal. In rehearsals, I tried to get the maximum, but rehearsals are always imperfect. But the difference between rehearsals and the set, they were incredible. We now have a good relationship and we trust each other, the three of us. And I think I will work with them again. I got that feeling.

You made a joke onstage at the premiere about the films younger cast, specifically, being beauties. The whole cast, even down to the sheriffs deputy, is hyperbolically hot. Did you cast it that way purposefully?

Its true. I was, at first, surprised. There were two casting directors looking for young Spanish actors who also speak English. The lighting of a casting video is always awful. You can see the people, but not well, and when they came into my office, I said, My God. You are so hot! All of you! [Laughs loudly.] We all felt like the hunchback of Notre Dame. The casting directors made wonderful decisions. When you see the young actors together, all of them, its like a beauty contest. Some friends of mine afterwards sent me a message: Pedro, this is like the cover of Playgirl.
Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Everette

Anyone whos seen even one of the 11 (11!) Fast & Furious movies can tell you that these supercharged blockbusters arent about cars going vroom. Theyre about family, as well as the Family, the latter referring to the sprawling cast of characters that orbits around Vin Diesels Dominic Toretto. Members drift in and out on the whim of actor availability (and, occasionally, story), but Fast X, now in theaters, is a reminder that Family Is Forever.

That said, at this point the Family is so sprawling its easy to forget that famously memorable leading man Scott Eastwood is technically a member. Even the most fervent of Fast Fans could probably use a refresher now that were 11 movies deep. Going into the first part of the supposed two- (or, if Vin Diesel gets his way, three-) part franchise finale, there are a handful of key characters whom fans should be up to date on (were going to leave Dom out because it feels reasonable to assume anyone buying a ticket to the yet another F&F movie knows who Diesel is playing). Below, you can find some brief background on how they became a part of the Family, the role they play in it, and where they stand as the franchises latest installment revs its engine.

Photo: Universal Pictures

Mia Toretto

Played by: Jordana Brewster

Relation to the Family: Biological  shes Doms younger sister. Shes also the wife of Brian OConnor, played by Paul Walker through the first seven films in the series.

Has she ever been presumed dead?: Nope, but shes sat a couple of installments out  before F9, we hadnt seen Mia since Furious 7, in which her role was relatively minor.

Wait, if shes in Fast X, whos with her kids?: I dunno  Brian, probably?Babysitters exist.

Jakob Toretto

Photo: Everette Collection/Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

Played by: 16-time WWE Champion, five-time United States Champion, four-time Tag Team Champion, two-time Royal Rumble winner, one-time Money in the Bank winner, and star of Scooby Doo!: Wrestlemania Mystery John Cena

Relation to the Family: Hes Dom and Mias estranged (but not anymore!) brother.

Dont you think its weird that they never mentioned having a brother for like nine movies before he showed up?: I do!

Any explanation: No.

Has he ever been presumed dead?: Its kind of tough to say because the origin of Jakobs estrangement from the Toretto family is that he lost in a race to Dom where the stakes were, in pro wrestling terms, Loser Leaves Town and he just left town. I dont know if you could say he was presumed dead but Dom and Mia clearly didnt know if he was still alive for a while. He was though  it turns out hes been working as a black-ops mercenary for years.

Weird family: Weird family!

Photo: Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

Letty Ortiz

Played by: Michelle Rodriguez

Relation to the Family: Shes an OG member, first appearing in the original The Fast & the Furious as Doms ride-or-die. These days the two are married and she serves as a surrogate mother to his son, Brian, introduced in F8.

Has she ever been presumed dead?: Yup. Letty dies off-screen in F4, her murder eventually being revealed as the result of an undercover op she was pulling with Brian (in exchange for Doms legal record being purged). She returned in F6 with amnesia, serving as part of a lethal hijacking unit the Family found themselves pitted up against. Eventually her memory began to return and she rejoined the good guys.

Photo: Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

Roman Pearce

Played By: Tyrese Gibson

Relation to the Family: Romans ties go way back  hes a childhood friend of Brians, first introduced in 2 Fast 2 Furious. Roman sat out for the increasingly less standalone Tokyo Drift (more on that later) and F4 but returned as a crucial member of the heist crew in F5. Hes stuck around  mostly talking a big game and then getting relentlessly clowned on by everyone else  ever since.

Has he ever been presumed dead?: Not yet.

Is he still the problematic friend you just barely put up with?: Yes.

Photo: Universal Pictures

Tej Parker

Played by: Ludacris

Relation to the Family: Like Roman, Tej is an old friend of Brians who first appeared in 2 Fast and later joined up for Fast Five. Hes a wiz mechanic who generally serves as the crews tech guy and has a great love-hate dynamic with Roman.

Has he ever been presumed dead?: Nope.

This is the guy who hacks into government databases in some of these movies, right?: Yeah.

I thought he was just a mechanic?: I mean, hes a mechanic.

Who hacks into government databases?: Yeah.

 Alright: Cool.

This is the guy who went to space, yeah?: Same guy.

In a car?: In a car.

Seems worth noting: I dunno, theres legitimately a chance nobody mentions it in Fast X. These movies have short memories.

Photo: Universal Pictures

Ramsey

Played by: Nathalie Emmanuel

Relation to the Family: The Fam crosses paths with Ramsey in F7. Shes the genius hacker who developed the MacGuffin of that film: the Gods Eye, a program that allows the user to hack into any camera in the world, effectively the key to creating a surveillance state.

Has she ever been presumed dead?: Not yet!

And shes a hacker?: Yeah, shes all about hacking.

Photo: Universal Pictures

Han Seoul-Oh

Played by: Sung Kang

Relation to the Family: We first see Han as a member of the Family in F4, where hes a member of Doms crew in the Dominican Republic. Hes integrated into the larger Family in F5 during the Brazil job.

Has he ever been presumed dead?: *sigh* We doing this? Okay. Yes, Han is presumed dead in both Tokyo Drift (the first Fast film in which he appears) and F6, which technically depict the same event due to the series slightly wonky chronology. Long story short: Tokyo Drift was originally mostly standalone in the franchise, with the only ties to the larger F&F world being a Dom cameo at the end. Han was an instant fan favorite and something of a pet project for director Justin Lin, with a version of the character having appeared in the directors second film, Better Luck Tomorrow. Han dies in a car wreck in Tokyo Drift, hence the Dom cameo  hes in Tokyo to pay respects to an old friend. When Lin came back to direct F4 (and 5 and 6) he brought Han with him, immediately setting up a new chronology for the franchise. Its nowhere near as complicated as some make it out to be  it simply became clear that any F&F movie featuring Han from here on out took place before Tokyo Drift. The timelines finally converged at the end of F6, albeit with a slight retcon: new big bad Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) is revealed to be the driver of the car that killed Han, an act of revenge against the Family for their defeat of his younger brother, Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), in the film. F7 and everything that follows takes place postTokyo Drift (albeit with Doms trip to Tokyo being briefly depicted in the film).

Okay, gotcha: You sure?

Yeah, Im sure. But wait, he came back from the dead in F9?: Yeah, it was a whole thing.

Sounds complicated: Very much so.

Can we do a new character now?: Yeah, calm down.

Deckard Shaw

Photo: Everette Collection/Universal/Courtesy Everett Col

Played by: Jason Statham

Another bald guy?: Yeah but this ones British.

Is he a monarchist?: Unlikely.

Relation to the Family: Growing up did you have a friend who you met because you beat up his brother and sent his brother to prison so he pulled up to a street race in Tokyo and seemed to kill one of your boys as retribution and then chased you around the world trying to beat you to gaining control of a military surveillance program and eventually you had to summon an earthquake to beat him and a few years later you were begrudgingly forced to work together to save the world from a hacker played by Charlize Theron and he really came through in making sure your son (who you didnt even know existed until a few days before) made it out safe so you decided hes cool despite the fact that he for sure murdered your friend and then it turns out he didnt murder your friend because your friend faked his death so now its all truly water under the bridge?

Yeah: Right, so hes one of those guys.

Easy enough. Has he ever been presumed dead?: No, Dominic Toretto literally made a city street collapse on him and he was fine. I think he might be invincible.

So wait, how did Han and Mr. Nobody know that Shaw was going to try and kill him? Like, how did they have the foresight to turn that murder attempt into an opportunity to fake Hans death?: Next question!

Photo: Universal Pictures

Queenie Shaw

Played by: Dame Helen Mirren

Dame Helen Mirren?!: DAME HELEN MIRREN

Relation to the Family: Its hard to say for sure if Queenie constitutes as a Family Member as shes yet to be invited to a cookout, but her now-consistent presence in these movies as an ally of Doms seems to qualify her. Queenie is the mother of Owen and Deckard Shaw, who have since made good on their villainous pasts and now serve as sometimes-reluctant allies to the Family (they have attended a cookout, which does empirically qualify them as Family). We first meet her in F8 and she returns (albeit behind bars) in Hobbs & Shaw. When she shows up in F9 she has a literal girl gang. Like a gang of girls. And they do crime together.

Has she ever been presumed dead?: No, long live Queenie.

Did they finally let her drive in F9?: Yes, thank God.

Think shell do it again in Fast X?: If she doesnt I will be writing a strongly worded letter.

Leysa

Photo: Everette Collection

Played by: Cardi B

Oh for real?: Yeah, for real.

Relation to the Family: Shes part of Queenies gang and helped bust Dom out of a tight spot in F9. They seem to have a history of some sort but its unclear what that history is. Her whole vibe is mostly, I am Cardi B. Which is a great vibe!

And shes back in Fast X?: Apparently so!

Has she ever been presumed dead?: Not to our knowledge. Shes been in these movies for all of, like, twenty seconds. Hoping she doubles it in Fast X!

Little Nobody

Photo: Everette Collection/Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

Played by: Americas sweetheart, Scott Eastwood

Relation to the Family: Hes Mr. Nobodys apprentice in Fate of the Furious and sort of plays the same role that Cyclops does to the X-Men. Hes the guy whose job is to be a lame stiff and tell people to stop doing cool stuff because its against the rules. He and Roman have a fun little back-and-forth due to Roman being super into breaking rules. Roman is a lot like Wolverine in that respect as long as you dont apply any semblance of wider critical thought to that comparison.

Has he ever been presumed dead?: No, but I dont think anybody expected to see him back after the one movie he appeared in so in a sense this is a resurrection.

Santos & Leo

Photo: Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection/Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

Played by: Don Omar and Tego Calderon

Relation to the Family: Santos and Leo first appear in the short film Los Bandoleros, a cool little prison break movie serving as a prequel to the fourth film in the franchise. They joined the crew for the bank heist in Fast Five and have appeared intermittently since. We last saw them at the cookout in F9.

Have they ever been presumed dead?: Nope!

Luke Hobbs

Photo: Everette Collection/Universal/Courtesy Everett Col

Played by: Dwayne The Rock Johnson

Relation to the Family: Government agent assigned to hunt down the Family in Fast Five and reluctantly joins forces with them to beat the bad guys at the end of the movie. Hes folded into the family after that and they work more jobs together, traveling all over the globe and saving it more than once.

Wait: I know, I know.

But I thought: Same, man.

Hes back?: Its a rumor.

Even though?: Even though the long-simmering feud between Johnson and Diesel boiled over years ago, leading Johnson to leave the mainline franchise to try his luck at a Hobbs spinoff with Stathams Shaw? Even though after seemingly smoothing things over and agreeing to an eventual reunion Diesel threw some verbal barbs at Johnson unprompted, leading Johnson to politely state publicly that he would not be returning to the franchise? Yeah.

Do you think this feud has just been total bullshit to build hype for his eventual return to the franchise?: I mean, yes and no. I definitely think the whole thing reeks of pro-wrestling booking and if anything I think its a bit like the Rock/Cena run from 2011-2012 where Cena and Johnson used their very real beef with one another to fuel a long-form story that continued long after theyd settled their beef. This is to say that I absolutely believe that those dudes hate  or at least at one point hated  each other (they literally never occupy the frame at the same time in Fate of the Furious despite sharing scenes, allegedly because they refused to be on set at the same time). Yet, regardless of their feelings toward one another, they have realized that controlling the narrative of that feud and resolving it by way of Hobbs making his grand return to the franchise is (pardon the wrestling pun) money in the bank.

Youve put a lot of thought into this: Yeah.

You dont think its a waste to spend this much time speculating on the marketing potential of the relationship between two big bald actors whom youve never met?: I live my life a quarter-mile at a time.

Related
Greys Anatomy Wedding Bell Blues / Happily Ever After? Season 19 Episodes 19 and 20 Editors Rating 5 stars * * * * *  Previous Next  Previous Episode Next Episode  Photo: ABC/Eric McCandless/ABC

Romance, sex, and a doctor getting chest compressions on the OR floor by the end of the episode? This is a Greys Anatomy season finale right here. I kind of feel bad for people who gave up on the show ahead of season 19 because, if were grading on a curve, Greys Anatomy is delivering. The premiere episode asked the question Can a TV series reboot itself while its still on the air? And this double-episode finale answers, Um, yeah, it can.

Am I being overly effusive because the past two seasons of Greys were some of its worst? Maybe! Am I feeling extra warm and fuzzy because I only now stopped crying about our dear Miranda Bailey winning the Catherine Fox Award after all this time? Definitely! But even so, with its multiple (so many!) professions of love, endearing patients in dire situations, surgeons in dire situations, a kiss in the rain, sexy encounters in on-call rooms, a runaway bride, a man getting punched in the face for that runaway bride, romantic reunions, a dicey plane moment (!!), and THE Meredith Grey returning to announce shes (mostly) figured out how to cure Alzheimers and gonna get her man back, Greys Anatomy hasnt been this good in a while. I am invested. Cherish this time, people! Who knows what season 20 will bring!

The big news coming out of the first hour of this double episode is Lucas and Simone. I mean, has the back-and-forth of I didnt get married and You didnt get married ever been so hot? Objectively, no, it hasnt. And it never will be. It was so hot! Listen, everyone knew Simone was never going to actually marry Trey, but still, it was fun watching it all play out. If, for some reason, you werent convinced this wedding was going nowhere fast after last week, by the time shes racing through the hospital the morning of her wedding to firmly tell Lucas that she doesnt want to lose him but that her wedding is definitely, for real, happening, you had to stop worrying, right?

Even though we all knew Simone should not and would not marry Trey, it took a whole bunch of signs to get her to call it off. Signs like a robin, the thing that has always represented her late mother, dying after flying into the window as Simones getting into her wedding gown. Signs like her zipper breaking and her getting blood on her gown from the thorns in her bouquet of roses. But what really does it is learning from her grandmother that Simones mother was supposed to marry someone else but called it off at the last minute to marry Simones father, who she had only met two months before, but who really saw her. Simone is halfway down the aisle when she realizes this is all wrong! And then she winds up in the hospital, in her gown, looking for Lucas. The longing and the love and the hope in their faces! We were all Tobey the breast-cancer patient telling these two idiots to go be alone together!

Simone and Lucas finally partake in the time-honored Grey Sloan Memorial tradition of sex in the on-call room, and it is steamy and great! Its only after this, and after Trey winds up in the hospital after a minor car accident rushing over to the hospital to talk to the woman who just left him at the altar, and after Trey punches Lucas in the face upon realizing he is a big reason for said altar abandonment, that Simone becomes wracked with guilt. She doesnt regret her decision  shes a different person than who she was when Trey fell in love with her  but she still feels awful for the chaos shes caused. Well, as sure as we were that Simone would never marry Trey, we also are all probably aware that Simone and Lucas arent just going to be smooth sailing from here on out. Look at  well, every other endgame couple in Greys Anatomy history. Still: What a lovely, swoony start to the proceedings.

Simone and Lucas are not the only ones declaring their love for each other and finally getting together. This is a finale, okay? People either need to be breaking up, hooking up, or possibly dying. I dont make the rules, but I do live by them. In that vein: The Link and Jo Couple Watch has officially been upgraded to THIS IS FINALLY HAPPENING.

As the Jo and Sam flirting continues at breakneck speed, Link grows more and more agitated. Even Sam notices how weird and angry his own doctor is being. When he finally gets Jo to explain her history with Link, he immediately comes to the conclusion that everyone else aside from Jo has: Link is clearly in love with Jo. Jo brushes it off, again, but eventually gets so fed up with Link being a sad little bitch boy that she goes and asks him what the hell is going on with him. Theyre outside and its raining, so you know this is going to be good. And it is! It starts with Link getting upset about how hes changed his entire life to be there for Jo and Luna, how he wants to be there for them, and how hurt he was when Jo referred to him as her roommate. She cant believe hes so upset over semantics. Its not semantics, Jo, its love! Im so completely in love with you, how do you not see that? he yells in the rain. I was about to write Its not as cheesy as it sounds, but it is that cheesy! And cheesy is good! She calls him an unbelievable dummy because, guess what? Shes so in love with him too. They kiss in the rain. All is well.

Just kidding, this is Greys Anatomy, nothing is ever simply good and chaos reigns; people making declarations of love and blood pouring out of a human body happening at the exact same time is the foundation of this entire show. Friends, if Simone is going to feel guilty about the chaos that following her heart hath wrought, something tells me Link and Jo are also going to feel a little guilty once they learn that while they were telling each other things that we have known for months, human pancake Sam Sutton suffers an aortic dissection and begins bleeding profusely into his chest. Teddy, Lucas, Mika, and Simone rush him to the OR and just as Teddy  who has ominously been complaining about a toothache all day  is about to cut Sam open to attempt to stop the bleeding, she collapses to the floor. Mika cant find a pulse and begins compressions. None of the attendings are answering their pages, and Lucas cant just let Sam die on the table without trying something. With Simones support, he cuts into Sam, but its of no use. By the time Owen finally arrives, he finds a wild amount of blood on the floor, Sam flatlining, and Teddy being shocked with the defibrillator to no avail. I dont think theyre going to kill Teddy off after everything, but regardless, what a cute lil cliffhanger, right?

The doctors in Seattle arent the only ones having fun: Remember, weve got a planeful of surgeons headed to Boston for the Catherine Fox Awards. Catherine and Webber are joined by Bailey, who is supposed to be presenting the big award; Nick; Winston; and Amelia on Catherines private jet. This plane ride is basically the angstiest booze cruise youve ever seen. Honestly, which part was worse? Winston and Amelia airing out all of their issues and Amelia still only half-assing an apology in front of everyone, or when the plane hits really bad turbulence and they all think theyre going to die for a full minute? I think we all know the answer is the former, and that is saying something since weve all been traumatized by a plane full of doctors going down before.

This almost-crash does a couple of important things for the doctors onboard, but most important at the moment is what it does to Nick. Nick gets off that plane and heads directly to Merediths house. You know this man is ready to tell her he cant live without her! His last grand gesture was DOA, but this! This could be his big moment. Unfortunately, when he arrives at Mers place, a hot man named Michael opens the door and tells him Meredith isnt home at the moment. Sure, we know that this is probably not what Nick obviously thinks it is, but we are watching a prime-time soap opera, not in one. In conclusion: Maybe Nick Marsh should quit it with the grand gestures.

Not long after, Meredith summons all the Grey Sloan doctors to her lab where she is possibly in the throes of a psychotic break but has a great pair of new glasses, so thats fun. She eschews any pleasantries about seeing her old friends, sister, and ex-boyfriend to inform them all that she thinks she has figured out the path to curing Alzheimers, and its basically that all of the research and treatments for Alzheimers have been based on a faulty premise. For decades doctors have been going about it the wrong way, and she has figured out the right way. Reactions are mixed! Webber warns her that getting up and saying that a long-held theory is completely wrong wont be accepted with open arms  she could ruin her reputation and all of her research funding if she presents this without real proof thats been painstakingly tested for years. Hes actually super-angry about her even considering going public with it. I guess hes just being protective, but also, stop, maybe? Amelias immediately out of sorts because what Meredith is saying insults Dereks work. Thats understandable, but if what Meredith is saying is true, Derek would be behind her on it. Nick is the only one who is even a little bit supportive. He calls her out on pretending not to hear him say he loved her, but also reminds her why she came to Boston to do this research. Did you really come all the way here to follow the rules? Because that would piss me off even more, he tells her.

You gotta love Meredith. It seems like shes going to keep a lid on her findings for the time being, especially in front of all the big donors at the Catherine Fox Awards, but the moment one guy mentions his mother being diagnosed with Alzheimers, Meredith flashes back to her own mother dealing with the disease, and then immediately blurts out her new theory. Meredith not being able to help herself is high art, and Im so thankful to witness it.

Speaking of things Im thankful to witness: The big surprise at the Catherine Fox Awards is that none of the aforementioned nominees win and instead, in an unprecedented move, the award goes to Miranda Bailey for her work training doctors in reproductive health care. Its not even surgical innovation, and people have got to be questioning the bias of these awards, but still  what a moment! Last week, when Bailey was giving Owen and Amelia an earful about how shes never been recognized despite all the great, important work shes done, I thought it was a one-off joke! But it is not! And reader, I wept! Do I think it was A Choice to not let Miranda Queen of Speeches Bailey give a thank-you speech and instead, in her shock, just stand at the podium and cry? Sure, but Ill get over it. It was just so nice to see this character reach a new milestone in her career at this point. Bailey forever, etc., etc.

Okay, the awards are nice and all, but lets get back to the more important things: kissing. After the ceremony, in a callback to how Meredith and Nick first got together, Meredith slips a note under Nicks hotel-room door. He finds her in the hallway and they finally have a real conversation. She admits to pretending not to hear him on the phone and tries to explain that she was so overwhelmed by everything and thought she had to just focus on her kids. Its sort of an explanation. Its enough for Nick, who after learning that Michael is just Zolas tutor and nothing more, launches into the speech he wanted to give her at her house. He thought he was going to die on that plane and it made him realize how much he wants to live. I shouldve never let you walk away. I want to live a whole life with love and pain and mess and you, he tells her. Her response is perfectly Meredith: Well, okay then. They kiss. It sounds like well be checking in periodically with Mer, so Im sure well hear more about her Alzheimers research and her life with Nick, but for now it seems like we can assume they live happily ever after. And you know what I say to that? Well, okay then.

The OR Board

 After Maxine almost dies and Kwan disregards her DNR to save her life, Jules is furious. Thankfully, Maxine comes out of it okay, but Jules remains enraged at the position Kwan put her in (if things went south, Jules would have to decide to pull the plug on her favorite person). Of course, shes also enraged because she loves him, which she says! To his face! Its not the appropriate time for them to make out, but man, am I invested in these two working things out.

 Mika and Helm finally kiss! A lot! Theyre cute. Unfortunately, following that big step in their relationship, Helm starts her first day back at Grey Sloan. Things are going to get complicated.

 New Grey Sloan chief of cardio Winston and Maggie have a nice reunion in Boston, too, by which I mean they have a lot of really great almost-divorced sex that calls back to the night they fell in love. Its nice, but their chat about how they always get surgical innovation and sex right and how maybe they can figure out the status of their relationship later is confusing. Long-distance marriage sounds messy!

 The trip to Boston really does a number on Amelia and Webber. Amelia is reeling from the thought of Dereks legacy being tarnished by Merediths new research and asks Webber to find an AA meeting with her. Webber needs one desperately: He admits to Amelia that when he thought the plane was going down, he almost drank Catherines martini, but Bailey knocked it out of his hand before he could. Now its all he can think about. He decides to forgo a meeting to wait around for Catherine, but when Amelia walks away, a waiter arrives with a vodka tonic. Webber is struggling.

 Im going to miss Sam Sutton, who had the unique power to pry all the best hospital gossip out of anyone who came into his room. He was the peoples champion.

 Wait, guys, remember when Simone asks if Lucas can take care of their patient Tobey for her and he responds, Id do anything for you? I had to fan myself.
Key Insights

Progress-Werk Oberkirch's estimated fair value is 26.19 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Current share price of 30.40 suggests Progress-Werk Oberkirch is potentially trading close to its fair value

Peers of Progress-Werk Oberkirch are currently trading on average at a 20% discount

Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Progress-Werk Oberkirch AG (ETR:PWO) as an investment opportunity by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. One way to achieve this is by employing the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. If you 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 Progress-Werk Oberkirch

The Calculation

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. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. 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.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (, Millions) -13.0m -8.00m -3.00m 11.0m 13.0m 14.4m 15.5m 16.3m 17.0m 17.5m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 10.81% Est @ 7.64% Est @ 5.42% Est @ 3.87% Est @ 2.78% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 11% -11.7 -6.4 -2.2 7.1 7.6 7.5 7.3 6.9 6.4 5.9

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = 29m

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 0.2%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 11%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = 17m (1 + 0.2%)  (11% 0.2%) = 157m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= 157m ( 1 + 11%)10= 53m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is 82m. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of 30.4, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

Important Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual 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 Progress-Werk Oberkirch 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 11%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.878. 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 Progress-Werk Oberkirch

Strength

Debt is well covered by earnings and cashflows.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Dividend is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the market.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the German market.

Good value based on P/E ratio compared to estimated Fair P/E ratio.

Threat

No apparent threats visible for PWO.

Next Steps:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Progress-Werk Oberkirch, we've compiled three additional elements you should consider:

Risks: As an example, we've found 3 warning signs for Progress-Werk Oberkirch that you need to consider before investing here. Future Earnings: How does PWO'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. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every German stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock 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
EUR/USD Forecast Video for 19.05.23

Euro vs US Dollar Technical Analysis

The euro fell a bit during the trading session on Thursday as we continue to see the US dollar recover. Ultimately, this is a market that could drop all the way down to the 1.07 level, testing the 200-Day EMA. As risk appetite waxes and wanes, its probably worth noting that the euro may take it on the chin. Furthermore, a lot of the soft data out of Europe has been questionable as of late, suggesting that perhaps the EU is in the midst of some type of slowdown.

On the upside, we have the 50-Day EMA near the 1.09 level, an area that previously had been supported. At this point, it should have a bit of market memory at that level, showing signs of resistance. After all, the market tried to break back above the 50-Day EMA just a couple of sessions ago, but was repudiated quite quickly.

To the downside, the 200-Day EMA does make a certain amount of sense, and that does give us more than 100 pips to aim for. The 200-Day EMA continues to be an area that a lot of traders look to for the overall trend, so with that being the case it does make a certain amount of sense that we would see momentum pick up just a bit. However, if we were to break down below the 200-Day EMA, it opens up a move down to the 1.06 level, and then the 1.05 level. The 1.05 level obviously will attract a lot of attention as it is a large, round, psychologically significant figure, and of course will have represented a fairly steep decline in the market.

What is worth noting is that we have recently turned around near the 50% Fibonacci level for what that is worth. This is the retracement level from the entire move lower, so it obviously has a little bit more in the way of efficacy and meaning at this point. Regardless, its very likely that this market is going to continue to be very choppy and needs to be treated as such.

For a look at all of todays economic events, check out our economic calendar.

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

More From FXEMPIRE:
Formula One Grand Prix cancelled due to floods.

Ferrari has donated 1 million towards relief efforts in Italy's northern Emilia-Romagna region in the wake of the devastating floods that have caused the deaths of at least 14 people.

The funds will go to civil protection authorities engaged in the major relief operation across the region which was battered by floods after more than 20 rivers burst their banks this week following torrential rain.

The luxury car maker, which is based in the region, paid tribute to the "tireless work of local authorities in these hours" and said the donation was "a tangible sign of the solidarity of the entire Ferrari family" in the wake of the "serious environmental disaster".

Ferrari supports the flood-affected community and is donating 1 million euros to the Emilia-Romagna Region's Agency for Territorial Safety and Civil Protection, joining the regional fundraising campaign.#Ferrari #EmiliaRomagna  Ferrari (@Ferrari) May 18, 2023

In times of difficulty, Ferrari has always stood by its community" - Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said in a statement - We wanted to provide a concrete and immediate response to the most urgent needs of the people of Emilia-Romagna."

The move comes a couple of days after the Formula One Grand Prix, scheduled this Sunday in Imola, was called off in view of the disaster.

Formula One organisers said the decision was taken as it was "not possible to safely hold the event for our fans, the teams and our personnel," adding that "it would not be right to put further pressure on the local authorities and emergency services at this difficult time."

Photo credit: Tanase Sorin Photographer / Shutterstock.com
Springsteen comes to Rome amid controversy over Ferrara concert.

Final preparations are underway in Rome ahead of a sold-out concert by Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band at the Circus Maximus on Sunday.

Springsteen faced widespread criticism for going ahead with a concert in the northern city of Ferrara on Thursday, days after the surrounding Emilia-Romagna region was devastated by floods that have led to at least 13 deaths.

The American rock star, 72, was defended by the Ferrara mayor Alan Fabbri who wrote on Facebook: I am sorry if anyone may have thought that Ferrara was insensitive to the tragedy in Romagna just because it did not cancel the concert by The Boss".

Fabbri said that cancelling the concert would have "solved nothing" and caused economic hardship for the area as well as the workers and companies involved in hosting the major event, and the "thousands of tourists from all over the world" who travelled to Ferrara.

Rome gets ready for #BruceSpringsteen

concert in the Circus Maximus this weekend pic.twitter.com/XmWogvYaUF  Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) May 15, 2023

Organisers of the Ferrara concert, which was attended by 50,000 people, came under heavy pressure to cancel the event, particularly after this weekend's Formula One Grand Prix in Imola was called off.

The concert in Ferrara was the first of three concerts by Springsteen, who will perform in Rome on 21 May and Monza on 25 July, as part of a 19-date tour of Europe.

It will be the second time that The Boss has played in the prestigious Roman venue, where he performed in 2016, and the upcoming concert will be his tenth in the Italian capital.

Following news that #BruceSpringsteen is to perform at the Circus Maximus in #Rome on 21 May 2023, we look back to the last time he played in the historic venue, in 2016. pic.twitter.com/NRv51sVFL8  Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) May 25, 2022

The European tour, which began last month in Barcelona and will end in Monza, is the first time that Springsteen and the E Street Band have hit the road together since 2017.

In addition to Springsteen's concert in 2016, the Circus Maximus hosted The Rolling Stones in 2014 and last summer the venue staged sold-out shows by Vasco Rossi and Maneskin.

With around 60,000 people expected at this weekend's concert in Rome, the city has ordered numerous road closures and bus detours in the area around the Circus Maximus.

On Sunday night the city's subways will run until 01.30 however the two nearest subway stations to the concert venue - Circo Massimo and Colosseo - will close at 23.00.

Concert-goers who wish to return home on Sunday night by metro are advised to take the Piramide station.

Photo Virgin Radio
Vatican police fired shot at vehicle.

A man was arrested on Thursday evening after he drove at high speed through one of the gates into Vatican City, forcing his way through two checkpoints and reaching a central courtyard in the sovereign city-state.

The driver, described as aged around 40 and in a confused state of mind, had initially been refused entry at the Porta S. Anna gates as he had no authorisation, the Vatican said.

The man drove away at first before returning to speed through security, forcing a Vatican police officer to fire a shot at the car's front tyres, hitting the fender.

Porta S. Anna, Vatican City. Photo credit: Robson90 / Shutterstock.com.

However the driver continued to speed ahead as far as the San Damaso courtyard where he was arrested and placed in a Vatican prison cell.

The incident occurred at around 20.00, on the opposite side of the Vatican to the Casa S. Marta guesthouse where Pope Francis lives.
Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share

Even for a nation hit by rolling blackouts since 2008, the more prolonged power cuts that have dogged South Africa for months on end have been hard to endure. The problem: the countrys poorly-maintained power stations simply cant keep up with demand. Debt-stricken state utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. is now warning it will only be able to supply electricity for half of the day over the winter. With the governing party in danger of losing its majority in 2024 elections, President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed an electricity minister to spearhead the response to the crisis and the government plans to ramp up purchases of power from private producers. But corruption, red tape and an ongoing exodus of skilled personnel are hobbling efforts to turn Eskom around.

1. Whats gone wrong for Eskom?

A history of deep financial losses and poor planning, plus allegations of mismanagement and corruption, have plagued the utility. It ran into financial trouble in the early 1980s after committing to build plants that werent needed. Then, when White minority rule of South Africa ended in 1994, the company wasnt prepared for the sharp increase in demand as previously neglected areas were connected to the grid. Over the following two decades, Eskom suffered from erratic government decision-making and political interference. The company has had 14 leaders since 2007, much of that turnover coming during the nine-year tenure of South African President Jacob Zuma. A judicial commission found the upheaval at Eskom was an orchestrated attempt by Zumas allies to raid its coffers with his tacit consent. Zuma denies the charge. Eskoms leaders have said the company hasnt been permitted to charge adequate prices to meet its costs. A book written by Andre de Ruyter, who exited as CEO in February, describes how politicians and Eskoms new board have continued to undermine its management and hamper efforts to end the crisis. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, who oversees Eskom, denies the allegations.

Advertisement

2. Whats been the fallout?

The International Monetary Fund predicts that the economy will barely grow this year. Intentional outages imposed by Eskom to reduce demand, often lasting many hours, have affected water services (since pumps cant run without power), food safety (since refrigerators cant stay cold) and the ability of hospitals to provide care. These blackouts  the result of a process known as loadshedding  are sapping business confidence in a country whose biggest industries, such as mining, depend on reliable access to cheap electricity. The central bank estimates that the outages will shave 2 percentage points off South Africas economic growth rate this year.

3. Whats the plan to fix Eskom?

The National Treasury is giving Eskom 254 billion rand ($13.1 billion) in debt relief over three years, which will free up funds for repairs and improving the transmission and distribution system. The bailout unveiled in February was conditional on the utility turning to private partners to help operate its plants and transmission network. The government has also made it easier for companies to build their own power stations by scrapping licensing requirements. Theyll be allowed to sell their surplus output to the grid, while households and business that install their own solar panels will get tax breaks. One challenge: The governing party, the African National Congress, is wary of disrupting the coal industry, not least because mineworkers are a key voting constituency.

Advertisement

4. Is this just a problem for South Africa?

No. South Africas dependence on coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, for four-fifths of its power has implications beyond its borders. When burned, coal emits almost twice as much carbon dioxide as natural gas. Getting countries to shift away from coal is part of the global effort to limit climate change. At the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in 2021, the US, the UK, the European Union, Germany and France offered South Africa $8.5 billion in funding to assist in its transition to more climate-friendly sources of energy. Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has however suggested that coal plants could be operated beyond their planned retirement dates because of the dire energy shortages.

5. Why is coal still king in South Africa?

South Africa has an abundance of coal and 90,000 people are employed at mines that feed Eskom power stations via conveyor belts. After its founding in 1923, Eskom rapidly built coal-fired plants, spurred by the needs of its gold mining industry, the worlds largest. In the 1970s, it began building a new fleet of power stations that operate to this day, along with the only nuclear plant on the African continent. Plans were announced in 2007 to build two giant new coal-fired plants  Medupi and Kusile  that were scheduled to be completed within eight years at a total cost of 163 billion rand. However, the construction process has been plagued by labor unrest, mismanagement and equipment defects, and the likely final price tag has since ballooned to more than 460 billion rand. Production from half of Kusiles six units was disrupted when a duct collapsed and repairs are only scheduled to be completed at the end of 2023.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

2023 Bloomberg L.P.

GiftOutline Gift Article
Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share

The US and Taiwan agreed to boost trade ties, the first tangible results under an initiative announced last year that faces vehement opposition from Beijing and clouds the outlook for a visit to the US next week by a Chinese commerce official. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight The Taiwan initiative isnt a formal free-trade agreement and doesnt address thorny issues such as tariffs, but its part of a broader drive to deepen trade ties amid heightened tensions with Beijing. China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, has denounced the trade talks, saying any move to formalize such ties is a change to the uneasy status quo around Taiwan.

The agreement was announced hours after the Chinese embassy in Washington said Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao is scheduled to meet next week with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ministerial meeting in Detroit.

Advertisement

The planned meetings with Wang come after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan sat down with Chinas top diplomat for two days of talks earlier this month as the two countries sought to ease tensions.

Read More: Top US and Chinese Officials Meet in New Bid to Ease Strain

The question is the extent to which this will irritate the Chinese, and what will they do about it, said Bill Reinsch, a former Commerce Department official in the Clinton administration and now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The initial agreement announced Thursday under the US-Taiwan Trade Initiative will streamline customs, reduce wait times for trucks and vessels and improve regulation, Tais office said Thursday. Tai called it an important step forward in strengthening the US-Taiwan economic relationship.

Advertisement

We look forward to continuing these negotiations and finalizing a robust and high-standard trade agreement that tackles pressing 21st century economic challenges., Tai said in a statement.

Chinas government has repeatedly protested Washingtons deepening bilateral engagement with Taiwan and issued two complaints after the announcement, first from the embassy in Washington and then from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing.

The US move seriously violates the One China Principle under the three joint communiques and goes against the US pledge of maintaining unofficial relations with Taiwan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Wang Wenbin said Friday in Beijing. The US should stop any form of official exchanges, stop signing or negotiating any treaty with implications of sovereignty and of an official nature, and stop sending any wrong signal to Taiwan independence and separatist forces.

Advertisement

The agreement also comes as President Joe Biden is in Japan to meet with leaders of the Group of Seven nations, with a focus on countering Chinas influence.

Read more: Biden, G-7 Partners to Focus on China in Hiroshima Gathering

The Taiwan trade initiative was announced last June, days after President Joe Biden initiated the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for 13 other nations in the region. That deal was designed to counter Chinas influence but didnt include Taipei.

The measures announced Thursday will smooth border procedures and cut red tape, making it easier, faster, and less expensive for US businesses to sell products to Taiwan and Taiwanese customers, the trade representatives office said. The steps on regulatory practices will boost transparency and mechanisms to help small- and medium-sized businesses better understand procedures, it said.

Advertisement

The initiative also will address money laundering, denial of entry for foreign public officials, and strengthened protections for whistleblowers, according to the trade office.

The US has also been pushing to offer Taiwan a better tax deal to facilitate investment in semiconductors and other high-end technology in the US.

Representative Mike Gallagher, the Wisconsin Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said theres strong bipartisan support for a comprehensive Taiwan free-trade agreement and a tax deal, which he called important for economic and national security.

Earlier in the week, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that the Pentagon was crafting a security assistance package for Taiwan using military equipment drawn from US inventory, and subsequently could seek funding to replenish its stockpiles.

Advertisement

This is part of our long-standing commitment to upholding our obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act and other US policies and to doing our part to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, he told a Senate panel on Tuesday.

--With assistance from Dan Murtaugh and James Mayger.

(Updates with Chinese comment from eight paragraph.)

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

2023 Bloomberg L.P.

GiftOutline Gift Article
PARIS (Reuters) -EU industry chief Thierry Breton said on Friday he had recently spoken with TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew and told him there was still a lot to do for the Chinese-owned social network in order to comply with EU rules.

"I told him that, as of now, there is still a lot of room for improvement, in terms of having more content moderation, avoiding excesses, guaranteeing a safe use of data, in particular, the data of our children", Breton told France 2 television.

Various Western countries including Britain, the United States and several European Union member states have already restricted the use TikTok over security concerns.

The EU last month singled out 19 large online platforms, including TikTok, which will be subject to the Digital Services Act (DSA), a set of new online content rules from August.

The rules require the companies to do risk management, conduct external and independent auditing, share data with authorities and researchers and adopt a code of conduct.

A few months ago, Breton had already urged TikTok to bring its business in line with the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA).

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)
Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share

WORCESTER, Mass.  The man charged with murder in the death of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver, whose body was found in a suitcase beside a Massachusetts highway in 2014, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Thursday and was held without bail. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Alberto Sierra Jr., 32, was the former boyfriend of Jeremiahs mother and was arrested on Wednesday, according to the office of Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr.

Prosecutors did not say what led to Sierras arrest. Messages seeking comment were left with his attorney.

Jeremiahs body was found in April 2014 along Interstate 190 in Sterling, about an hour west of Boston, and not far from his familys home in Fitchburg. But the boy was last seen alive in September 2013, and was not reported missing until December of that year.

The case has weighed heavily on the mind of Fitchburg Police Chief Ernest Martineau, who was involved in the intitial investigation.

Advertisement

This case rocked the conscience of the city of Fitchburg, he said outside Worcester Superior Court. At one point, we were Jeremiahs family, 45,000 residents in the city, and we are here today, beginning the process of healing.

The case reverberated across the state, with even then-Gov. Deval Patrick saying he was trying to keep my own rage in check. The boys death also led to three employees of the states child welfare agency getting fired, and spurred reforms at the agency.

Jeremiahs family was being supervised by the state Department of Children and Families. Even before his body was discovered, an investigation found that a social worker with the child welfare agency went months without visiting the familys home  despite reports of abuse and neglect.

The death was not ruled a homicide until February of 2016 when an autopsy by the state medical examiner said that he died of homicidal violence of undetermined causes.

Advertisement

Sierra was convicted in 2017 of assaulting Jeremiahs mother and siblings and sentenced to up to seven years in prison. He was not currently incarcerated when he was arrested Wednesday, the district attorneys office said.

Jeremiahs mother, Elsa Oliver, also pleaded guilty in 2017 to assault and battery and reckless endangerment in connection with her other two children and was sentenced to more than seven years in prison.

Prosecutors dropped charges against both of them in connection with Jeremiahs disappearance and alleged abuse in order to avoid possible double jeopardy claims, prosecutors said at the time.

Sierra is also charged with disinterring a body. He is scheduled back on court on May 25. The investigation into the death is ongoing, prosecutors said.

GiftOutline Gift Article
Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share

A document described by House Republicans as a top-secret memo about surveillance abuse contains talking points focused on discrediting Fusion GPS, the firm that hired a British ex-spy to compile intelligence reports about alleged connections between President Trumps associates and the Kremlin, according to people who have read it. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight It suggests that the former spy, Christopher Steele, lied to FBI agents who interviewed him during their probe of the 2016 election and that this purported lie was included in a successful application for a federal court order to conduct electronic surveillance on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, said these individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the material's sensitivity.

The document was produced by the House Intelligence Committee's GOP majority, which voted Thursday to make it available to the entire House membership, though not to the public. The panel's Democrats all opposed the move.

Advertisement

In a statement issued Thursday, the committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), called the document "profoundly misleading," saying it was "drafted by Republican staff attacking the FBI." He did not discuss the document's contents.

"Rife with factual inaccuracies and referencing highly classified materials that most Republican Intelligence Committee members were forced to acknowledge they had never read, this is meant only to give Republican House members a distorted view of the FBI," Schiff said. "This may help carry White House water, but it is a deep disservice to our law enforcement professionals."

Conservative Republicans are increasingly calling for the document's public release after first declaring it should remain classified. Several have taken to social media, conservative television and radio outlets, and even the House floor, to demand the public be able to see what they've read.

Advertisement

"Americans deserve the truth," said Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the head of the House Freedom Caucus. The hashtag #ReleaseTheMemo trended shortly after Meadows and other House conservatives tweeted it.

According to the website Hamilton 68, which tracks Russian-linked Twitter accounts, #ReleaseTheMemo was the top hashtag being promoted Thursday and Friday by the several hundred accounts the website monitors. And WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy group, offered $1 million in bitcoin to anyone who would share the memo, and directed people to a web address. That URL was the most shared among the Russian-linked accounts, according to Hamilton 68.

"Not surprisingly, the GOP campaign to attack the FBI has been joined by the same forces that made common cause during the Trump campaign  WikiLeaks, Julian Assange and a multitude of online Russian bots are now involved in promoting this effort," the intelligence committee's Democratic members said in a statement Friday.

Advertisement

Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-Tex.), who heads the Intelligence Committee's probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, described the memo as a list of "problems we have discovered with FISA," which is short for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the law governing the collection of foreign intelligence on U.S. soil.

A senior committee official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the talking points, which were based on classified material made available to the committee by the FBI and the Justice Department, mischaracterize the work of the intelligence community and law enforcement "in a way that is damaging as well as false."

One of the document's talking points suggests that the government's application for a wiretap order on Page includes a reference to Steele assuring the FBI he did not speak to reporters about the allegations of collusion between Trump associates and Russia  although Steele later acknowledged in a separate lawsuit that he had talked to reporters before the 2016 election, said the individuals familiar with the document.

Advertisement

Current and former law enforcement officials have said the surveillance application relied on far more information than just Steele's research.

In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Glenn R. Simpson, a Fusion GPS co-founder, said the FBI had other sources offering information about possible Russian interference in the U.S. election who raised concerns similar to Steele's, according to a transcript released this month.

"We all know [the Republicans] are engaged in complete and total warfare against the FBI," said the committee official, who did not discuss the memo's contents. "They're trying to tie all of that to Fusion GPS and Christopher Steele as some unholy seed."

In conservative media, the document has already renewed pundits' calls for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who has taken over the FBI's probe, to shut down his investigation. On Thursday, Sean Hannity opened his Fox News show by declaring the memo's contents would end the probe.

Advertisement

"I have a message tonight for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III: Your witch hunt is now over," Hannity said. "Time to close the doors."

The talking points have nothing to do with Section 702, a controversial surveillance power that Congress just voted to renew, said individuals familiar with the content. But some lawmakers who opposed renewing the program without stronger privacy protections sought to use the document to urge Trump to delay signing the bill into law. "I believe that the information that is contained in the top-secret memo would have been critical to know before the reauthorization," said Rep. Ted Poe (R-Tex.).

On Friday afternoon, Trump rebuked the Section 702 critics, tweeting that he had just signed the renewal. "This is NOT the same FISA law that was so wrongly abused during the election," he said on Twitter, referencing conservatives' claims of surveillance abuse.

The House Intelligence Committee official called such claims irresponsible  a way of poisoning the well of Muellers probe.

David Weigel and Erica Werner contributed to this report.

correction A previous version of this article incorrectly implied that the Hamilton 68 online dashboard tracked the entire universe of Russian-linked propaganda on Twitter. The research project attempted to detect Russian disinformation campaigns on the platform by monitoring several hundred accounts that were selected for their clear connection to Russian influence, according to the dashboards methodology. The article has been corrected.

GiftOutline Gift Article
Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share

Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee have drafted a document they say will counter Republican efforts to discredit the FBI probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign. The panel's top Democrat, Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), intends to ask the panel Monday to allow all House members to read the minority's take on how the FBI and Justice Department handled sensitive information in the Russia investigation. Committee members voted last week to provide lawmakers with access to a GOP memo that suggests federal investigators conducted surveillance in 2016 on people close to President Trump based on bad information procured from a now-famous dossier containing allegations of financial and personal ties between Trump and the Kremlin.

"We need to produce our own memo that lays out the actual facts and show how the majority memo distorts the work of the FBI and the Department of Justice," Schiff said in a telephone interview. If the GOP goes public with its document, he added, Democrats would insist that their memo also be publicized.

Advertisement

Conservative commentators, lawmakers and the president himself are criticizing the FBI. From the FISA memo to a "secret society," here are some of their claims. (Video: Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post, Photo: Win McNamee/The Washington Post)

"I don't support that step," Schiff said, noting his concern that releasing any of this information could have diplomatic and intelligence-gathering repercussions.

Schiff's announcement comes as Republican leaders in both the House and Senate argue with the Justice Department and the FBI over publicizing information related to the dossier written by a British ex-spy, Christopher Steele. The agencies have claimed that its contents are classified.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) attacked the FBI on Wednesday, saying officials are "falsely claiming" that relevant unclassified information is secret.

"It sure looks like a bureaucratic game of hide the ball, rather than a genuine concern about national security," Grassley added, calling on FBI and Justice Department leaders to "begin an orderly process to declassify as much of that information as possible." He was referring to information contained in the GOP memo and its underlying documents.

Advertisement

In a letter sent Wednesday to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), Assistant Attorney General Stephen E. Boyd wrote that it would be "extraordinarily reckless" for the committee to release the memo without first giving the Justice Department and the FBI "the opportunity to review the [GOP] memorandum" and tell panel members "of the risk of harm to national security and to ongoing investigations that could come from public release." A copy of Boyd's letter was obtained by The Washington Post.

Former CIA general counsel Jeffrey Smith said that "to release the report at this stage is an abuse of the process for political purposes and demeans the rule of law."

Democrats contend that the Republican effort to criticize federal law enforcement is a thinly veiled attempt to undermine the probe overseen by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

Advertisement

Grassley said Mueller "should be free to complete his work, and to follow the facts wherever they lead." And though he has not yet seen the House GOP's memo, he surmised he soon would. Members of the Senate would be free to see its contents so long as Trump doesn't object to its release.

Under House rules, the Intelligence Committee can vote to disclose classified information. The president then has five days to block such action. The earliest that process could start is Monday. According to the White House, Trump is inclined to release the memo after it goes through the national security process.

Conservative Republican members of the House Freedom Caucus indicated earlier this week that Trump would support their efforts to publicize the memo's contents. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) surmised, "Since it helps the president so much . . . he would be happy if the public knows about it."

Advertisement

If the Republican memos contents are publicly released, Schiff said, the United States adversaries  particularly Russia  will no doubt be thrilled by the opportunity to pore over its contents. A #ReleaseTheMemo social media campaign that House Freedom Caucus members promoted last week, after discussing their plans with Trump, was one of the hashtags most often shared over the weekend by a set of several hundred Russian-linked Twitter accounts tracked by the German Marshall Funds Hamilton 68 project.

Tom Hamburger, Josh Dawsey and Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report.

correction A previous version of this article incorrectly implied that the Hamilton 68 online dashboard tracked the entire universe of Russian-linked propaganda on Twitter. The research project attempted to detect Russian disinformation campaigns on the platform by monitoring several hundred accounts that were selected for their clear connection to Russian influence, according to the dashboards methodology. The article has been corrected.

GiftOutline Gift Article
For decades, Srichand Hinduja served as the patriarch of a sprawling business empire behind one of the worlds biggest family fortunes with origins dating back more than a century.

His death at age 87 raises questions over wholl assume his role as de facto head of the dynasty, whose legal battles in recent years over control of investments spanning banking, media and energy still threaten to tear apart the once tight-knit group.

Gopichand Hinduja, 83, is now the British-Indian clans oldest member. Credit: Bloomberg

Gopichand Hinduja, 83, is the British-Indian clans oldest member following Srichands death Wednesday in London. He and his two younger brothers  Prakash, 77, and Ashok, 72  fought over the past three years with the patriarch and his daughter, Vinoo, over a letter signed by the four siblings that said assets held by one of them belonged to all.

While the family called a truce on the bitter power struggle in November, it emerged last month theyre still privately haggling on related issues.
Cotter said the incident was captured on the officers body camera and would now form part of a critical incident investigation led by homicide squad detectives. It is confronting footage, Cotter said. It forms a significant and integral part of the investigation and it is not in the public interest to be releasing that. Clare Nowland went skydiving for her 80th birthday. A family spokesman, Andrew Thaler, said Nowland suffered life-threatening head injuries, including a fractured skull and brain bleed, when she fell during the altercation. Her family is reportedly by her side at Cooma District Hospital. Earlier on Friday, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said she shared the communitys concerns after Nowland was Tasered.

Webb said her thoughts are with the family at this difficult time as police investigate what occurred. I understand and share the community concerns and assure you that we are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness, she said. NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter during Fridays press conference. Credit: Kate Geraghty NSW Deputy Premier Prue Car said what occurred was very concerning. Obviously, our thoughts go out to the family of this woman that has gone through a pretty horrific situation, she said.

A spokesman for NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley confirmed on Friday that the homicide squad would be involved in the investigation, which would be subject to an independent review. Critical incidents are declared in cases where police are involved in an incident where a death or serious injury occurs. In most cases where a person is critically injured or killed as a result of police force, the homicide squad will be involved. NSW Police initially released a statement declaring the critical incident on Wednesday, saying only that a 95-year-old sustained injuries during an interaction with police at an aged care facility in the states south today. On Friday, police confirmed emergency services were called about 4.15am on Wednesday to the aged care facility after reports Nowland was armed with a knife.

Officers attached to Monaro Police District attended, along with NSW Ambulance paramedics, and located the woman, still armed with a knife, a police spokesperson said. Police attempted to speak to the woman. During this interaction, a senior constable discharged his Taser, causing the woman to fall and strike her head. Nowland was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to hospital where she remains in a critical condition. Cotter defended the decision of police not to release more information earlier, saying police were always transparent about critical incidents.

We are much better informed today to give an honest and transparent and open position of what occurred on that early morning a couple of days ago, he said. People with Disability Australia president Nicole Lee said she understood police had to be guarded in their response but it was a little bit dehumanising and a little unempathetic. The police have responded in the way wed expect them to respond, she said. Lee said she hoped in future police responded to disability incidents without using any force or practices where the person would be harmed.

Dementia is very challenging and it changes who people are and people can get quite aggressive and that aggression is coming from a place of fear and confusion for the individual whos suffering with the condition, she said. Loading What they need is somebody that can slowly work with them, whilst keeping everybody safe, to be able to bring them back around to reality. Cotter said senior police had been at Nowlands bedside with her family, speaking to them candidly about what they know. He would not comment on her medical history or her prognosis. She is a 95-year-old lady, a frail lady, a much loved lady. She is a resident of a nursing home who [was] receiving the care that she needs. Somewhere along this journey that was interrupted the other evening, he said.

Thaler said Nowland has dementia that waxes and wanes, shes good and bad at times. The family are shocked, the community are shocked ... The question will be how was it appropriate to use this level of force on a 95-year-old woman? Patrick McGrath, the director of community engagement at St Vincent de Paul  the charity where Nowland volunteered locally for 50 years  said she was a tireless worker who provided assistance to people in need in the Cooma area until five years ago. I think theres level of shock and [people are] not quite sure about whats happened, he said. Pat, who has known Nowland his whole life, told 2GBs Ben Fordham on Friday that the family was devastated by what happened.

She was always doing something for the community, always all her life she was active, he said. It doesnt look good. Pat said when Nowland was in her 80s her children paid for her to go skydiving. She wanted to go parachuting, she jumped out of an aeroplane, beautiful person, he said. Snowy Monaro Regional Council, which operates Yallambee, confirmed via social media on Thursday that the incident took place at the facility. Council are supporting our staff, residents, and families during this difficult time, the statement read.
Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock / Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock

Investor Warren Buffett said, Risk comes from not knowing what youre doing. Whether youre new to investing or have hundreds of transactions under your belt, you can often minimize risk by studying  and following  what the worlds most successful investors are doing.

Im a Self-Made Millionaire: These Are the 6 Investments Everyone Should Make During an Economic Downturn

Learn: Demand for Gold is Up. Heres Everything You Need to Know.

With that in mind, you might be wondering what stocks the Oracle of Omaha, Buffett himself, is buying and selling right now.

Capital One Financial

Buffett likes bank holding company Capital One Financial, which offers checking, savings and credit and loan products across the U.S. In the first quarter of 2023, Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway invested in 9,922,000 shares, worth $902.4 million today.

Apple

Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway have exposure in all the FAANG stocks  a stack of tech stocks encompassing Facebook (Meta), Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google. But in the first quarter of 2023, he increased his position in Apple by more than 20.4 million shares.

HP

The technology hardware company HP, with its roots in the printer manufacturer Hewlett Packard, showed a 19% drop year-over-year in the first quarter of 2023, missing predicted revenue marks by $345.6 million to show top line revenue of $13.83 billion.

Buffett has often said, Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful. Therefore, it should be as no surprise that he increased Berkshire Hathaways position in HP. With an investment of 16,476,783 shares in the first quarter, Buffett now owns more than 120.9 million shares of HP.

Stocks Buffett Sold in 2023 (So Far)

Buffett has also said, The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything. The stocks Buffett has said no to, at least to some degree, in 2023, might surprise you.

Amazon

As much as Buffett likes FAANG stocks, he reduced his position in Amazon in the first quarter of 2023, a move that has some analysts scratching their heads, MSN.com reported. Berkshire Hathaway sold 115,000 shares of Amazon in the first quarter of 2023, leaving the investment firm with 10.55 million shares.

Bank of New York Mellon

Buffett, who has said the best holding period for a stock is forever, recently sold off all shares of Bank of New York Mellon. He had owned shares since 2010. The stock is currently trading at 174% of its tangible book value, according to Motley Fool, which could indicate that Buffett felt it was overvalued.

Take Our Poll: Who Has Given You the Best Money Advice You Have Ever Received?

Floridas Retirees Are Fleeing: Heres Where Theyre Going Instead

Watching the actions of Berkshire Hathaway and legendary investors like Warren Buffett may help beginning investors understand some of the safer stocks for long-term investors. Its best to speak with a broker or financial advisor to help you determine your risk tolerance and build a diversified portfolio designed to meet your needs now and in the future.

More From GOBankingRates

Jordan Rosenfeld, Andrew Lisa and John Csiszar contributed to the reporting for this article.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 5 Stocks Warren Buffett Is Buying and Selling Right Now
The death of Clare Nowland after she was allegedly Tasered by a senior police officer has focused attention on the use of force by NSW Police and the oversight of officers. See all 11 stories .

Roberto Curti died after being Tasered 14 times by police officers acting, in the words of the coroner, like schoolboys in Lord of the Flies. He had stolen biscuits during an LSD-psychosis, which led to a police chase. His last moments were spent writhing in pain on Pitt Street as multiple probes of up to 50,000 volts shocked his body. Brazilian student Roberto Laudisio Curti died after he was Tasered 14 times by police. Amid a public outcry, NSW Police were criticised for their vague and confusing rules about when and how Tasers - which incapacitate people with an electric current - should be used. The procedures were tightened, and officers were told never to use them on people who were elderly, had a disability, didnt weigh much, or at risk of further injury if they fell. On Wednesday, a senior constable used a Taser on a woman who fit all of those criteria. She weighed 43 kilograms, stood less than 160cm tall, and was 95 years old. She had dementia. Due to her age, she also had a high risk of bone fractures, head injuries and skin tears from a fall. The threat she posed was questionable, too; she was alone in a small room at her aged care home, moving slowly with a walking frame, and armed with a steak knife.
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 Warwick Teague raced into the emergency room, he expected commotion. Instead, he was struck by the quietness. Six seriously injured children had just arrived at the Royal Childrens Hospital, pulled from the wreckage of a school bus crash on Melbournes western fringe and then ferried in by helicopter and ambulance. Quiet is good, the hospitals director of trauma services thought. It means staff are focused on the job and the pain relief is working. The children had a sense that they were being looked after, Teague says. These are devastating injuries, and visually and mentally upsetting injuries. But behind the lack of noise, there was also adrenaline and meticulous planning. Teague and his colleagues had been preparing for years for an incident like this. Every moment and decision could have a material impact on a childs future and quality of life. They knew what they had to do. As soon as staff were notified by ambulance services shortly after 3.30pm on Tuesday that the most critically injured children from the Exford Primary School bus crash would soon be arriving, they sprang into action. There was a lot to try and get ready as quickly as possible, Teague says.

Advertisement

The hospital began pulling together five teams of surgeons, doctors and nurses. It sourced additional vascular and plastic surgeons from the neighbouring Royal Melbourne Hospital, according to its plan. Once the students arrived at the hospital, the trauma teams set about assessing their devastating injuries. Several had tourniquets that had been applied by paramedics at the crash scene to help stem the flow of blood from their limbs, which had been crushed and severed by the toppled bus. The bus had tipped onto its left side, and many of the injuries were confined to that side of the childrens bodies. The teams of trauma specialists assessed the childrens airways, breathing and circulation. They took blood tests so they could provide the appropriate transfusion. Those who needed surgery were whisked away to theatre and operated on by orthopaedic, plastic and vascular surgeons. This is the worst scale of severe injuries that we have faced in recent times, Teague says. The six children were among the most seriously injured, but more than a dozen in total were taken to the Royal Childrens and Sunshine hospitals after the crash.

Advertisement

Joanne Grindlay, the Royal Childrens Hospitals director of emergency medicine, says she was relieved that most children had been wearing seat belts. Loading This was a school bus with a large number of children on it, she says. We saw nine children here. We didnt see a whole busload of children, which is what we might have seen if they hadnt been wearing seat belts ... a whole lot of children got out and were physically OK and seat belts had a large part to do with that. While many children escaped without physical injures, Grindlay says the incident would have traumatised all the children and their families. Theyll need lots of emotional support. Some of the injured children will need to have ongoing rehabilitation once their initial injuries are managed and obviously psychological support for them and their families. The hospital has also offered confidential support services to all staff who responded to the incident.

Advertisement

Staff werent just responding to the incident within the walls of the hospital. Dr Claire Wilkins, a field emergency medical officer and paediatric emergency physician at the Royal Childrens and St Vincents hospitals, rushed to the site after the crash. She had just arrived at the Royal Childrens Hospital when she was paged about the incident. She supports Ambulance Victoria, brings equipment to patients, makes rapid assessments about who first responders can manage at the site and determines where patients should go. By the time she had arrived, it was a well-organised scene. The Country Fire Authority, State Emergency Service, police and ambulance were already there. Wilkins was there for about two hours and cared for 20 to 30 patients, mostly children with wounds that needed to be irrigated or dressed. Sore limbs that needed to be splinted. Some pain relief, and then prioritising moving people on to a sort of warmer, more comfortable environment, she says.

Advertisement
Tess Hughes was in her bed, in her usual sleeping position, with the covers unruffled.

At first, when her parents, Karen and Simon Hughes, arrived home to Daylesford after a three-week trip to Japan, they didnt want to wake her. They had last messaged their 23-year-old before they took off from Tokyo, to check in with her and ask about the familys dog.

Simon and Karen Hughes lost their daughter, Tess, at 23, to a medical condition that was unknown before it claimed her life in her sleep. Credit: Simon Schluter

She had sent us off and said, Bye, go and have a good time! We came back on a Wednesday morning to find lights on, curtains not up and her car out the front, says Karen, a former nurse.

But it was the end of her working week [as a chef], so we just thought, Oh well, shes still in bed asleep. I actually went upstairs and peeked.
The Chinese government has extended an olive branch to Australia, saying it looks forward to hosting Anthony Albanese as soon as possible in Beijing and lifting a trade ban on $600 million worth of Australian imports, in the latest sign of a thaw in the previously frosty relationship.

Brushing off the forced cancellation of next weeks Quad leaders summit in Sydney, Albanese will arrive in Hiroshima on Friday to meet with the leaders of the worlds seven richest economies and hold a stopgap summit with US President Joe Biden and his fellow Quad leaders.

Speaking before leaving for Hiroshima, Biden rejected claims his inability to travel to Australia for the planned Quad summit was a publicity win for China, which has not been invited to the G7.

No, because were still meeting, he said. We still have four good allies.
A bitter dispute has broken out in the Yes camp over the wording of the Voice to parliament referendum as the Liberal Party takes a leap in its effort to convince Australians to reject the constitutional change.

Voice architect Noel Pearson on Friday launched a personal attack on Indigenous leader Mick Gooda, who had spoken of his fears the referendum would fail, labelling him a bed-wetter who had done little for Indigenous people.

Noel Pearson insists the final language of the referendum is locked in. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Gooda, a former social justice commissioner and royal commission leader, fought back by warning Pearson his bullying undermined the referendum, echoing the private concerns of some Voice advocates who worry Pearsons regular invective is unhelpful.

The dispute erupted as a newly formalised Liberals for No group  run by senators Kerryne Liddle (South Australia), Jono Duniam (Tasmania), and Paul Scarr (Queensland)  launched a co-ordinated drive against the Voice.
The Yes campaign for a Voice to parliament has amassed a formidable war chest of more than $10 million and plans to flood Australia with merchandise to win over unsure voters as it hires a top Liberal to help steer its 7000-strong volunteer army.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is also planning to ramp up his campaigning from late June through a series of high-profile Indigenous festivals and speeches, with the government hoping to draw on popular Labor premiers to lift support in NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.

Liberal operative Simon Frost has joined Dean Parkins Yes23 group to campaign for the referendum. Credit: Chris Hopkins/Alex Ellinghausen

Simon Frost, a former Victorian Liberal Party chief and key adviser to former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, is Yes23s new chief operations officer  tasked partly with using the Yes campaigns financial advantage to increase street-level visibility.

The body has hired state co-ordinators to flood Australia with Yes merchandise, place banners in public places and help manage a network of pro-Voice figures  including leaders like Rachel Perkins and Thomas Mayo  who have begun crossing the country speaking at hundreds of forums at sporting clubs, religious institutions and community halls.
The westernmost Cycladic island is littered with ancient ruins and catacombs and has abundant and beautiful beaches. Cliff-backed Paleohori might be the best, but Plathiena, framed in the limestone outcrops, is lovely. Like overcrowded Santorini, Milos features a giant flooded caldera. Curious volcanic formations, white cliffs banded in coloured rock and dramatic coastlines create some of the Aegeans most striking landscapes. See visitgreece.gr BORNHOLM, DENMARK Credit: Getty This Baltic island, close to the Swedish coast, has been an important trade and naval outpost since the Middle Ages, though rock carvings indicate Bronze Age settlement. Bornholm relies on agriculture, ceramics manufacturing and summer tourists attracted to wild landscapes of moor and forest, dotted with huge glacial boulders. Fishing villages such as picturesque Gudhjem and arty Svaneke hunker under the chimneys of herring smokehouses. See visitbornholm.com LINDISFARNE, UK

Credit: iStock This dot off the Northumbrian coast is otherwise known as Holy Island thanks to its links to early Christianity. Monkish scholarship produced the gorgeous illuminated Lindisfarne Gospels, displayed in e-version in the visitor centre. The ruined priory, moody weather and tidal flats create haunting scenery offset by a pretty Victorian village and 16th-century castle converted into a summer home by architect Edwin Lutyens. See visitnorthumberland.com LANZAROTE, SPAIN Credit: Getty La Palma and Tenerife are the best-known Canary Islands off northwest Africas Atlantic coast, and favoured by European sun-seekers. If you want to combine hedonism with hiking, though, hit Lanzarote, the most scenically dramatic island thanks to volcanic landscapes and lush vegetation. The cliffs at Famara and the road to Yaiza have staggering views. A bonus is the excellent seafood and local cheese and wines. See hellocanaryislands.com

BELLE-ILE, FRANCE Credit: Alamy Brittanys largest island is pounded by waves that create jagged rock stacks, umpteen coves and windswept allure, while the warm Gulf Stream provides green agricultural interiors and a faintly Mediterranean atmosphere. The islands pastel-coloured fishing villages, lighthouses and flower-dappled fields were much painted by artists such as Monet and Matisse. The island also has a whopping fortress built by Louis XIVs military engineer, Vauban. See belleileenmer.co.uk LINDAU, GERMANY Traditional German houses in Lindau, Lake Constance. Credit: iStock

This island, 460 kilometres from the sea in landlocked Bavaria, sits on Lake Constance, which is shared with Austria and Switzerland, draped in vineyards and backed by snowy Alps. The island is dominated by 800-year-old Lindau town, bristling with defensive towers and graced with gabled medieval merchant mansions. A fringe of lakeshore promenades and cafe terraces is the perfect place to soak up alpine views. See bodensee.eu COMINO, MALTA Blue Lagoon, Comino. Credit: Joana Kruse/Alamy Tiddly Comino is this nations third island, wedged between Malta and Gozo and previously a hideout for pirates and plague victims. These days its worn-down limestone landscape is almost empty, but its cliffs, sea caves and startling turquoise waters are utterly lovely. Its most famous landmark is the Blue Lagoon. Clamber up St Marys Tower to inspect the whole island from above. See visitmalta.com LIPARI, ITALY

Credit: iStock The Aeolian Islands off northeast Sicily are best known for volcanic Stromboli, but Lipari makes a great base. Loading The island is cluttered with fishing villages, churches, and random curiosities such as an obsidian quarry, acropolis, significant archaeological park and hot springs. A walk up 600-metre Monte Chirica provides magnificent views over the archipelago, Stromboli booming in the background. See visitsicily.info Brian Johnston has travelled courtesy of numerous tourism offices and travel companies.
Thousands of Australians will soon get a chance to snap up free round-trip flights to Hong Kong, as part of the citys global tourism push, paying only for taxes and fees.

The flights will be available to members of Cathays frequent flyer scheme from Monday, May 29, at 12pm (AEST). Travellers keen to take advantage of the promotion can sign up on the airlines website.

Hong Kong is hoping to woo tourists back with its giveaway of thousands of free flights. Credit: iStock

Prospective travellers should get in quick, after more than 100,000 people hit the Cathay Pacific website on Thursday as the airline released thousands of tickets from the US and Canada. Some waited in online queues for more than an hour to try and secure a flight as the airlines site struggled under the strain, with errors and delays hitting users beyond North America.

More than 6000 free return fares will be offered to Australians, in an effort to help woo tourists and business travellers back to the city following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
What in the World, a free weekly newsletter from our foreign correspondents, is sent every Thursday. Below is an excerpt. Sign up to get the whole newsletter delivered to your inbox.

Hiroshima: It is unseasonably warm in Japan for this time of year. Cherry blossom season has just passed and temperatures are already in the low 30s, a mark usually reserved for the long hot summers.

Cities here are among the worlds densest  which is both a blessing and a curse, driving the extraordinarily vibrant culture of the countrys metropolises, but also turning them into concrete heat islands.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida prepares to welcome leaders of the worlds largest advanced economies to the G7 summit in Hiroshima tomorrow. Credit: Kyodo News via AP

Into this environment will step the leaders of the worlds seven largest advanced economies on Friday for the G7 summit. Six of these leaders are men and all will be sweating in their blue suits. Joining them will be Australias Anthony Albanese, who has been invited to join the elite club as the leader of the eighth-largest advanced economy, and South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol. G7 plus they call it, which is really just an awkward attempt to keep the exclusive branding while inviting some extras to fill out the party.
By Darya Korsunskaya and Alexander Marrow

(Reuters) - As Russia's military spending soars and sanctions squeeze its energy revenues, Moscow faces a battle to keep its budget deficit in check, with few economists now expecting the finance ministry to stick to its promise of a deficit no higher than 2% of GDP.

Defence spending jumped 282% year-on-year in Jan-Feb alone, data showed this week, a shift that has kept Russia's industrial sector ticking along and spawned forecasts for economic growth this year.

Net exporter Russia typically posts budget surpluses, but its Jan-April budget deficit of almost $44 billion is already 17% higher than Russia's target for all of 2023, creating fiscal pressure as Moscow ploughs on with its military offensive in Ukraine.

On top of high spending, Moscow's energy revenue has slumped, down 52.3% year-on-year in Jan-April according to last week's data, with Russian oil and gas subject to Western sanctions and price caps.

Here are some of the ways Russia could wrest back control of its public finances and the challenges and potential obstacles it might face:

CUT SPENDING

On paper, the simplest way to reduce the deficit would be to cut spending.

Data showed that spending, which eased in February and March, was back above 3 trillion roubles in April, similar to January levels when the monthly deficit hit a record 1.76 trillion roubles.

Spending for the remainder of 2023 will need to be lower than in the same period of 2022 to meet Russia's overall 29.1-trillion-rouble ($363 billion) spending target.

That looks especially difficult as Jan-April expenditure has already hit 39% of the total, said Olga Belenkaya of Finam brokerage, who expects a deficit of at least 4-5 trillion roubles this year.

It is also hard to see where the cuts could come from. Defence spending shows no signs of abating, not least when Ukraine is preparing for a long-awaited counteroffensive, and social spending traditionally rises before presidential elections - the next one is just 10 months away.

Furthermore, hefty spending is Russia's main economic growth driver.

"Current optimism in the economy is to a significant degree linked with the state actively spending resources, including on defence," said Dmitry Polevoy, head of investment at Locko-Invest.

"The economy, in our view, is now like a bodybuilder on steroids. Once these steroids are exhausted, it will be far harder for the economy to show growth."

INCREASE DOMESTIC BORROWING

International markets are largely closed to the Russian sovereign, and some have urged Moscow to be braver with domestic borrowing to make up that shortfall.

Oleg Shibanov, a professor at the Russian Higher School of Economics, said that there is room to manoeuvre.

"We have very low government debt and from this point of view, expanding the OFZ (treasury bond) market could live on many more years," said Shibanov.

But CentroCredit economist Evgeny Suvorov said borrowing rates above 10% for long-term financing were too high.

"The main restriction for rapid debt accumulation is its high cost due to persistent uncertainty and extremely high risks," Suvorov said.

RAISE TAXES

"If you are a conservative finance ministry and don't want to borrow much and expensively, then you look for other options," said Renaissance Capital's Sofya Donets. "You can cut other (except for defence) spending if you don't have an electoral cycle, which we do.

"So that leaves the third option - raising taxes."

Russia's government has already announced plans to levy a one-off windfall tax on corporate profits, but other tax rises could follow.

Shibanov expects the tax burden on wealthy Russians to increase first.

"Some of the taxes that will be introduced will likely look like taxes of 'social fairness'," Shibanov said, anticipating experiments with income tax changes to continue.

TAP THE RAINY DAY FUND

The finance ministry spent almost 3 trillion roubles covering last year's deficit from its National Wealth Fund (NWF), which accumulates surplus oil and gas revenues.

The finance ministry has spent 400 billion roubles this year and by law can spend up to 2.9 trillion roubles. By 2024, the finance ministry forecasts available NWF funds could drop to just 1.4% of GDP, the lowest level in 20 years.

Evgeny Kogan, professor at Russia's Higher School of Economics, forecast a year-end deficit of 6 trillion roubles, or 3.9% of GDP, naming domestic borrowing and NWF funds as the way to finance the deficit.

"It is unpleasant, but not tragic," he said.

($1 = 80.0700 roubles)

(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya and Alexander Marrow; Editing by Kim Coghill)
London: The head of the British navy says he cannot envisage the United Kingdom ever permanently deploying an aircraft carrier to the Indo-Pacific after being challenged about Britains minimal presence in the region by Australias former high commissioner to the UK George Brandis.

Admiral Sir Ben Key, First Sea Lord, was speaking at the First Sea Lords Sea Power conference hosted by the Council on Geostrategy at Lancaster House, London.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak inspects a guard of honour onboard the Japanese aircraft carrier JS Izumo at Yokosuka Naval Base on Thursday, ahead of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima. Credit: Getty Images

His comments came before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak  on the first day of his visit to Hiroshima for the G7  unveiled a defence pact with Japan, pledging a second aircraft carrier deployment to the region in 2025.

The prime minister and Prime Minister Kishida agreed on the importance of the G7 having a unified approach on China, recognising the systemic challenge China poses to our collective economic security and regional stability, a Downing Street spokesperson said in a statement.
Washington: Veteran CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour has publicly rebuked her boss over last weeks raucous town hall with Donald Trump, saying the network should not have hosted the event and that she would have dropped the mic once his attacks got personal.

In the latest sign of the ongoing ructions within the organisation, Amanpour also revealed she met network chief executive Chris Licht at CNNs New York headquarters to hear his justification, which led to a very robust exchange of views.

Christiane Amanpour has confronted her boss about his decision to grant Donald Trump a platform on the network. Credit: AP

My management believes they did the right thing, a service to the American people, she said during a speech given to the 2023 graduates of the Columbia Journalism School in New York City on Wednesday night (Thursday AEST).

For me, of course, the fact that the American people voted three times against Trump and Trumpism  2018, 2020, 2022  also speaks volumes. Weve done our duty. We have told the story. We have put that in everybodys awareness and people have had the opportunity to make their choices and they have done.
Factbox-Pilots, airlines seek to strike new contracts ahead of peak travel season Southwest Airlines planes are show at San Diego International airport in San Diego

(Reuters) - North American pilots are pushing for better pay and working conditions during their talks over new employment contracts with company managements. Members at some unions have voted to authorize a strike if a new contract isn't reached.

The aggressive posture comes at a time of pilot shortages and a rise in public support for unions. The following is the status of contract negotiations at various companies:

AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC:

Pilots at American Airlines have reached an agreement in principle on a new contract, their union said on May 19.

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents over 13,000 pilots at the Texas-based carrier, said it will move forward with completing contractual language of the contract before presenting it to its board for an approval.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO:

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) in May said its members at the company approved a strike mandate. It added that 98% of its members participated in the vote and 99% voted in favor of authorizing a strike.

DELTA AIR LINES:

In March, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said that pilots at Delta had ratified a new contract that includes over $7 billion in cumulative increases in wages and benefits over four years.

The new contract, which covers 15,000 Delta pilots, provides a 34% cumulative pay increase, a lump-sum one-time payment, reduced health insurance premiums and improvements in holiday pay, vacation, company contributions to 401(k) and work rules.

AIR CANADA:

Earlier in May, the Air Canada Pilots Association said its members are pressing for "historic" workplace gains and full bargaining with the carrier was likely to start this summer, before the end of their decade-long contract.

WESTJET AIRLINES:

A union representing WestJet's pilots reached a tentative agreement with the Canadian airline late on May 18, averting a strike set to begin as early as the next day that would have led to travel disruptions during the Victoria Day holiday weekend.

UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC:

Last year, ALPA said 94% of the nearly 10,000 United Airlines pilots voted to reject a contract offer.

SPIRIT AIRLINES INC:

In January, ALPA said pilots at Spirit Airlines voted to ratify a new contract.

The union that represents the ultra-low-cost carrier, said 69% of the airline's pilots voted in favor of the new collective bargaining agreement, which offers an economic gain of $463 million, or 27%, over the next two years.

JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORP:

In January, ALPA said pilots at JetBlue Airways Corp have overwhelmingly approved a two-year contract extension.

ALPA, which represents more than 4,600 pilots at JetBlue, said 75% of the pilots voted in favor of ratifying the agreement, which provides for a compensation increase of 21.5% over 18 months as well as other monetary improvements.

FEDEX CORP:

In mid-May, ALPA said that pilots at FedEx Express, a unit of FedEx, have voted "overwhelmingly" in support of a strike.

More than 97% of the union members took part in the vote and 99% of them authorized union leaders to call a strike, if needed.

(Reporting by Amna Karimi and Priyamvada C in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
Warren East is to join Tokamak Energy as a non-executive director at the end of May - PA

The former chief executive of Rolls-Royce has joined the board of a British nuclear fusion start-up.

Warren East is to join Tokamak Energy as a non-executive director at the end of May, the first board role that he has accepted since leaving the British engine-maker last December.

The Oxford-based start-up is developing a cutting-edge reactor in hopes of delivering grid-ready fusion energy by the early 2030s.

Nuclear fusion is the process which powers the sun, by smashing together two forms of hydrogen to form helium and release enormous amounts of energy.

Scientists have been working for decades to replicate nuclear fusion on earth, but have yet to produce more energy than the amount needed to make it happen.

The process in practice is extremely complex and requires vast amounts of heat and pressure.

Often described as the holy grail of energy production, nuclear fusion offers the promise of cheap and abundant clean energy.

Tokamak Energy is among a handful of UK companies now racing to develop commercial nuclear fusion power, driven by the push to replace fossil fuels and tackle global warming.

In February, the Government launched the UK Industrial Fusion Solutions to oversee Britain's goal of creating the world's first and only commercially-viable fusion plant.

Tokamak Energy is building its prototype at the Governments UK Atomic Energy Authoritys fusion centre near Oxford.

Its spherical reactor design uses advanced magnets which can function at exceptionally high temperatures and allow for smaller, more powerful reactors.

The start-up previously created temperatures of 15m degrees celsius in 2018, then broke through the 100m celsius fusion threshold in March 2022.

Tokamak Energy said Mr East will help guide the business as it looks to commercialise its fusion technology.

Mr East said: I am excited to become part of the fusion energy revolution. For our future energy security and net zero transition this is the biggest shift many of us will witness in our lifetime."

The company also hopes to draw on Mr Easts experience growing British chip designer Arm into the worlds leading semiconductor intellectual property company.

Mr East led the Cambridge-based microchip designer as chief executive between 2001 and 2013.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Mr East said that Tokamak Energy has the potential to help establish Britain as a nuclear fusion superpower.

He said: Ive joined them because I think we have the potential to make Tokamak Energy the Arm of nuclear fusion.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
Investing in stocks inevitably means buying into some companies that perform poorly. But long term Frontier Digital Ventures Limited (ASX:FDV) shareholders have had a particularly rough ride in the last three year. So they might be feeling emotional about the 61% share price collapse, in that time. And over the last year the share price fell 59%, so we doubt many shareholders are delighted. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 51% in the last 90 days.

With the stock having lost 18% in the past week, it's worth taking a look at business performance and seeing if there's any red flags.

See our latest analysis for Frontier Digital Ventures

Because Frontier Digital Ventures made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In the last three years, Frontier Digital Ventures saw its revenue grow by 50% per year, compound. That's well above most other pre-profit companies. In contrast, the share price is down 17% compound, over three years - disappointing by most standards. This could mean hype has come out of the stock because the losses are concerning investors. When we see revenue growth, paired with a falling share price, we can't help wonder if there is an opportunity for those who are willing to dig deeper.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

If you are thinking of buying or selling Frontier Digital Ventures stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 3.2% in the last year, Frontier Digital Ventures shareholders lost 59%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 7% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Frontier Digital Ventures , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Australian exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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
Ontarios top court has dismissed an appeal by a man convicted of manslaughter in the 2020 dragging death of a 74-year-old Pelham businessman.

Jason Lusted was sentenced to 18 years behind bars in September 2022 in connection with the death of Earl Clapp.

The 52-year-old appealed the length of his sentence to the Court of Appeal for Ontario and asked the sentence be reduced to 11 years due to errors made by the judge who presided over his guilty plea.

At a hearing held in Toronto on Friday, a three-judge panel dismissed the appeal and upheld the original sentence. Written reasons for the decision are expected to be released in the coming weeks.

Clapps widow Tillie, who attended the hearing, said the family is relieved at the outcome.

Listening to the defence attorney list the reasons why his client deserved a lower sentence was painful and stressful to hear, she said after the hearing.

I am grateful the three judges of the Ontario Court of Appeal were able to see through all of that.

Lusteds lawyer had argued the presiding judge erred in not taking his clients guilty plea and apology into account at sentencing.

His honour failed to take into account my clients remorse as expressed in his speech from the dock, the lawyer said.

Crown attorney Greg Tweney maintained the penalty imposed was a fit sentence.

It couldnt be clearer, in my respectful submission, that the sentencing judge took into account the appellants expression of remorse, he told the panel.

At his sentencing, held in an Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines, Lusted apologized for his selfish and careless decision which claimed Clapps life.

I will live with this guilt for the rest of my life, he said. I am sorry.

Tillie Clapp doubts the sincerity of the apology of the man who killed her husband.

If he were truly sorry, he would have turned away from Earl when he realized Earl was walking down the street, not drive right toward him, she said.

If he were truly sorry, he would have stopped the car after hitting Earl. If he were truly sorry, he would have tried to remove Earl from where he was tangled up in the SUV and called 911.

In the early morning hours of Oct. 2, 2020, court heard previously, Lusted and Matthew MacInnes were on the prowl, searching for a trailer to steal, when they spotted several trailers behind a locked gate at the end of Clapps driveway.

Clapp ran Niagara Farm Metal Products from his one-hectare property and was well known in the community.

Lusted cut the lock, and started using a grinder on a wheel block on one of the trailers.

Niagara Regional Police believe the noise of the power tool likely woke Clapp, who went outside to investigate.

MacInnes, who had remained in the vehicle, warned Lusted that someone was walking toward them, and the offender got back into the SUV and accelerated very quickly down the driveway.

Court was told the defendant made a deliberate right turn in the homeowners direction.

The vehicle struck Clapp, trapping him under the vehicle.

His body was discovered by a passing motorist on Highway 20, almost two kilometres from his home.

MacInnes, a 40-year-old resident of West Lincoln, was sentenced to time served after he pleaded guilty at an earlier date to several charges including attempted theft.

Lusted has served a number of custodial sentences in the past  one of them for his involvement in a high-profile murder case in Hamilton.

In 2006, 27-year-old Billy Mason was escorted from his Hamilton apartment at gunpoint by Lusted and self-described career criminal Jeremy Hall.

The young man was driven to a rural road where he was shot and killed. His body was later burned at a farm.

Lusted, the key witness in the case against Hall, pleaded guilty in 2010 to multiple charges in connection with the murder. He was sentenced to 10 years behind bars.

SHARE:
ST. THOMAS, ONTARIO - Jenna Tranter thought she had finally found rural tranquillity a decade ago when she bought a lush 25-acre farm where she could teach horseback riding, removed from the traffic and noise of a major city.

But she recently learned shed be getting a new neighbour: Volkswagen, Europes largest carmaker, has announced plans to build a massive electric-vehicle battery manufacturing plant in St. Thomas, Ont., a block away from her home.

The German auto giants choice of St. Thomas as the site for its gigafactory was widely cheered  including by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford  and is expected to create up to 3,000 direct jobs, as well as up to 30,000 spinoff jobs at companies supplying the plant.

But not everyone was thrilled.

It is a very sad situation, and we are very angry and upset, said Tranter, standing outside her red brick farm house in the municipality of Central Elgin, which borders St. Thomas and the proposed factory site.

I wanted my own farm and my own space (so) that I could do my own thing  never planned on having the largest EV plant in North America out of my front window.

Volkswagen has said it will invest $7 billion in the project, while the Canadian government has pledged up to $13 billion in subsidies.

The government has hailed the investment as a vital step towards a cleaner economy, saying it will generate around $200 billion in value and transform St. Thomas and surrounding areas.

But neighbours said their concerns about the proposed 1,500-acre site have not been addressed.

Some voiced concerns about Volkswagens plans to manage chemical waste, limit noise pollution and traffic, as well as disruptions from the major infrastructure work needed to support the factory.

Nobody will tell us what these actual plans are and whether they impact my property, Tranter said. If they are going to widen this road, am I going to lose some of my land?

Multiple residents said that several homeowners had already sold plots to make way for the industrial megasite. The Canadian Press visited several sites where homes had been bulldozed on land where the Volkswagen plant is slated to be built.

Tom Martin, whose family has owned 400 acres in the area going back six generations, said he understands the urgency for a cleaner economy, but he questioned the decision to build the plant on prime farmland.

I am not against progress and electric vehicles are the thing that is going to be changing our lives, said Martin, whose farm is expected to be the plants largest direct neighbour. But it would be nice to not use the best ground dirt in southern Ontario.

Martin said he worries that potential widening of the road bordering his farm could destroy a tree line that protects his land from the wind. He said hes not yet had any communication from Volkswagen or municipal authorities about what to expect.

Diane Dubois, Martins wife, said she fears what the factory will mean for her familys long-term future in Central Elgin.

We are going to hang tight and see what happens because we love it here and we have lots of family history here, and we are just hoping that Volkswagen will be good corporate neighbours, she said, sitting on a picnic bench next to her husband, with a vast stretch of green grass behind them.

Another source of controversy is what some in Central Elgin have branded the annexation.

Just 11 days before Volkswagen announced it had chosen St. Thomas, the province passed legislation redrawing the municipal boundary so that the plants entire site would be located in St. Thomas alone.

The province said it redrew the map to help avoid bureaucratic duplication during the building process.

The rapid legislative move, which sparked curiosity before its motive was clear, was a serious concern, said Central Elgin resident Nicole Craven.

We are very excited that there is going to be an upswing in employment and opportunities for the region, she said, but added: We are more concerned with how the things went about and dont feel that there was that transparency needed for the process.

St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston downplayed concerns about the boundary adjustment.

You can find someone who would find something wrong with a sunny day, he said. This is a really huge benefit to all of the people of southern Ontario.

Preston, whose desk features a blue plastic sample of Volkswagens EV battery, said the automaker chose the area partly because of its good hard-working workforce.

St. Thomas has a history of pioneering as an industrial hub, the mayor said.

It connected Ontario to major North American cities like New York and Chicago by railway in the 1800s, attracted automotive manufacturers in the 1900s and has now successfully won the competition to host the plant producing batteries for electric vehicles in the 21st century, Preston said.

As for the size of plant, Preston said it was cause of celebration, not concern.

It will be somewhat difficult to walk from one end to the other, he said. That is how big this facility is and a lot of production coming out of it worldwide for Volkswagen.

PowerCo SE, the Volkswagen subsidiary that manages the automakers battery factories, said last month that it was committed to being a reliable partner for the people in St. Thomas and Ontario.

Rodger Moran, a newcomer to St. Thomas, said the Volkswagen news was great.

This is really good opportunity for a lot of folks ... good paying jobs which (are) desperately needed around here.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2023.

SHARE:
BANGKOK (AP)  The official death toll from the powerful cyclone that struck Myanmar has burgeoned to at least 145, including 117 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority, state television reported Friday.

It said the figure applied to the western state of Rakhine, where Cyclone Mocha did the most damage, but did not say how many storm-related deaths there have been in other parts of the country.

The accounting of casualties from the cyclone has been slow, in part due to communication difficulties in the affected areas and the military governments tight control over information. The military government has said that unofficial death tolls surpassing 400 are false, but in the absence of independent confirmation, uncertainly remains about the actual extent of casualties and destruction.

Mocha made landfall near Sittwe township in Rakhine state on Sunday afternoon with winds of up to 209 kilometers (130 miles) per hour before weakening inland. The cyclone, the nations most destructive in at least a decade, brought widespread flash floods and power outages, while high winds tore roofs off buildings and crumpled cellphone towers.

Millions of people live in the path of the cyclone and a massive effort is now underway to clear debris and provide shelter to those whose homes have been damaged or destroyed, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Thursday. Coastal Rakhine took the heaviest hit from the cyclone with severe impacts across the northwest and some damage in Kachin (state) also reported.

Fridays report on MRTV state television said four soldiers and 24 local residents in Rakhine, in addition to the 117 Rohingya, had been killed, blaming the deaths on people refusing to evacuate their homes despite warnings from the authorities before the storm hit.

The authorities evacuated 63,302 of the 125,789 Rohingya sheltering in 17 camps in 17 townships including Sittwe, starting last Friday, MRTV said.

Its reports identified the Rohingya as Bengali, the official designation used for the minority group to suggest they immigrated to Myanmar illegally.

Rohingya have lived in Myanmar for generations, but they are not recognized as an official minority there and are denied citizenship and other basic rights.

The Rohingyas caught in the storm lived mostly in crowded displacement camps, to which they were moved after losing their homes in a brutal 2017 counterinsurgency campaign led by Myanmar security forces. Their ramshackle housing on low-lying land was battered Sunday by a storm surge.

More than 700,000 other Rohingya fled in 2017 to refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh, which also had damage from the cyclone but reported no deaths.

OCHAs report did not give a death toll for the storm, but said casualties and missing people were still being documented, including internal displaced people.

Theinn Shwe, a teacher from Headway Education Center for the Rohingya community in the camps, said Friday that the bodies of at least 116 people from 15 camps and villages, including 32 children and 46 women, had been given burial rites. He said reports that some had declined to evacuate were correct.

Although the authorities have provided some food and shelter assistance, there is still the need for more, he said, adding that aid from international organizations and private donors have not yet arrived.

If the authorities give travel authorization to international organizations as soon as possible, the Rohingyas here will get help quickly. If the travel authorization is limited, the people here are likely to suffer more, Theinn Shwe said.

OCHA said there is an urgent need for fuel to ensure key public services, notably health care and water treatment.

Clean water supplies are a concern. Other critical needs include shelter, food aid, medical supplies, and healthcare services. In flooded areas, concerns persist about the spread of waterborne disease and the movement of landmines, a legacy of decades of civil conflict in Myanmar.

Unimpeded humanitarian access to affected populations in the impacted areas is critical, it said.

Rakhine state spokesperson and attorney-general Hla Thein said Thursday that there were no restrictions on local or international organizations sending aid, an assertion that could not be independently confirmed.

A previous military government was harshly discredited when it delayed the acceptance of outside aid in 2008, when Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar with a storm surge that devastated populated areas around the Irrawaddy River delta. At least 138,000 people died and tens of thousands of homes and other buildings were washed away.

State media carried extensive coverage this week of domestic efforts to provide disaster relief by the current military government, which seized power in 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. It is engaged over much of the country in warfare against armed resistance forces opposed to military rule.

Several nations, including India, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, have already earmarked monetary or material assistance to help in recovering from Sundays cyclone.

On Thursday, three Indian navy ships carrying relief material reached Yangon, Myanmars largest city, and a fourth ship was to arrive Friday, said Indias External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Yangon is southeast of the cyclone-hit area and has a major international port.

The ships are carrying emergency food items, tents, essential medicines, water pumps, portable generators, clothes, sanitary and hygiene items, Jaishankar said in a message posted on Twitter.

Read more about:

SHARE:
(Bloomberg) -- The sale of Fujitsu Ltd.s majority stake in its air-conditioner manufacturing unit has stalled as the bidders have been unable to agree on a price with the Japanese firm, according to people familiar with the matter.

Most Read from Bloomberg

A rise in the shares of Fujitsu General Ltd. has weighed on the negotiations for the 42% stake, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.

Shares of Fujitsu General slumped as much as 10.3% in Tokyo after the Bloomberg News report. Thats the biggest intraday decline since January 2018. Still the stock was up 40% in the past 12 months, valuing the company at about 355 billion yen ($2.6 billion) and the stake at around $1.1 billion. Fujitsu shares fell 1.8% on Friday.

No final decisions have been made and discussions could resume anytime, the people said. Fujitsu could still look for other suitors for the assets, one of the people said.

Japanese IT firm Fujitsu had been in talks with potential suitors including private equity firms Bain Capital and KKR & Co. and Swedish manufacturer Nibe Industrier AB, Bloomberg News reported in February. Nibe said in March it decided not to go forward with the process of evaluating a potential acquisition of all or a majority of Fujitsu General.

It is true that we are considering various ways to maximize value as an independent business but nothing has been decided at this time, a representative for Fujitsu said, declining to comment on the details. Representatives for Bain, Fujitsu General and KKR declined to comment.

Fujitsu, which in its heyday made everything from laptops and supercomputers to chips, mobile phones and home appliances, has hived off much of its consumer product lineup to focus on communications and information technology systems for businesses. The company had been aiming for a quick sale of its entire stake in the air-conditioner maker as it sheds non-core operations.

--With assistance from Yuki Furukawa.

(Updates share moves to closing levels in third paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Allentown Catholic Diocese is laying to rest a leader.

The funeral mass for former Bishop Edward Cullen is underway at the Cathedral Church of Saint Catharine of Siena.

The funeral mass started right at 11 a.m.

We're told it's a full house inside with archbishops, bishops, schools under the diocese, and community members from all over the state coming to pay their respects.

One by one, people filed into the Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena to lay former bishop Edward Cullen to rest.

He served as the third bishop of the Allentown Diocese for eleven years before retiring in 2009.

He died last week at the age of 90.

"Bishop Cullen was a good man," said Kevin Odonnel, funeral service director. "I liked him."

"He's touched many lives in our parish, in our school, and our diocese," Carolyn Wood said.

Many people attending his funeral mass Friday remember him as a good man who fought for increased protections for children, forged bonds of cooperation with law enforcement, and enhanced care for victims of abuse.

Among the mourners were archbishops, bishops, schools under the 5-county diocese, and community members, all coming from across the state.

"Archbishop Nelson Perez of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will be presiding at this mass of Christian burial," said Matt Kirby, Allentown Diocese. "Bishop Schlert, the current bishop of Allentown, will be the homilist."

And some people had a personal connection with Cullen.

For Carolyn Wood, the former bishop confirmed her two sons. She, her husband, and students from Saint Ignatius Loyola Regional School in Berks County drove more than an hour to pay their respects and say goodbye.

"We're here because Bishop Colin came to us school and our parish to confirm our students in many years in the past," said Carolyn. "And he confirmed my oldest two sons. So he has a special place in our heart."

Pope Francis sent a letter of condolences.

The funeral ended around 12:30 p.m. Cullen will then be buried in the bishop's crypt at the resurrection cemetery in Allentown.
S. WHITEHALL TWP., Pa.  A proposal for what could become an expansive housing development at the intersection of Blue Barn and Chapmans roads was revealed to the South Whitehall Planning Commission on Thursday night.

On behalf of Jaindl Land Co., Hanover Engineering Associates President Charles Unangst presented the proposal, which calls for a total of 78 homes to be built on 89 acres owned by David Jaindl. It shows the land divided into five "tracts" surrounding the intersection.

Tract 1, located northwest of the intersection, calls for five homes on 11 acres of agricultural land. According to Unangst, the line of mature trees at the western edge of this area would not be disturbed by new construction.

Tract 2, located northeast of the intersection, calls for 17 homes on 44 acres of mixed agricultural and wetlands. According to planning commission Chairman David Wilson, developing wetland areas would require the developer to cooperate with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Tract 3, located west of Tract 1, is set aside for sewage and stormwater infrastructure. This area borders Chapmans Road, but not Blue Barn Road.

Tract 4, located southwest of the intersection, calls for 11 homes on 9 acres of agricultural land.

Tract 5, located southeast of the intersection, calls for 45 homes on 25 acres of mixed woodlands and wetlands. This area contains an additional three potential areas for stormwater management.

While the planning commission did not vote or make formal recommendations on Unangst's proposal, some South Whitehall residents voiced concerns about stormwater management and the new traffic Jaindl's development could bring to their area.

Denis Reed, of the 5000 block of Chapmans Road, expressed his desire to see Tract 5's stormwater areas connected to public sewage as opposed to a private septic tank.

"When it rains real hard, water basically gets away on both sides of my place," Reed said. "It's like a river."

Striking a similar chord, Kevin Campbell, also of the 5000 block of Chapmans Road, wanted to ensure the development would not complicate the impervious surfacing issues he has already seen in his backyard.

"There's actually a stream that runs between the properties across the street [from me]," Campbell said. "There's an enormous amount of water that flows through there now. And with more impervious surfacing, I think it's going to increase."

Unangst responded that the proposed management facilities in Tract 5 would reduce the free flow of stormwater in the stream.

Planning commission Vice Chairman Brian Hite called traffic issues the biggest developmental concern, prompting widespread agreement from the public.

According to Hite, Unangst's proposed location for an entrance to Tract 5 would violate a township requirement for intersections to be spaced at least 800 feet apart. Hite said PennDOT would be unlikely to approve the construction of a four-way stop at the Blue Barn-Chapmans intersection to adequately slow speeding drivers on Blue Barn Road.

"I live just east of this project... and people are doing way more than 40 miles an hour," Hite said. "It's a highway, basically."

Radelle Psarsky, of the 2000 block of Blue Barn Road, said the current traffic situation makes her feel like "a prisoner" in her own home, as she struggles to cross the street to retrieve mail and pull out of her driveway at certain times of day. She worries new development could make this problem worse.

"I can't get out of my driveway," Psarsky said. "I now have to make appointments at certain times of the day because of the traffic."

The planning commission also voted unanimously to amend a provision regulating the height of appliances on the building rooftops.

The commission will meet again Thursday, June 15.
EASTON, Pa.  Northampton County Council will consider a gift ban at a future meeting, after delaying consideration of the ordinance Thursday because of suggested changes.

County Executive Lamont McClure proposed the ban in April, citing conflicts between the county's home rule charter  its constitution  and its administrative code. The charter bans employees and elected officials from receiving anything related to county work that is not available on similar terms to the public. The code contains exceptions that a truck could drive through, according to McClure.

Commissioner Ron Heckman (councilmembers are known as commissioners) said he does not object to McClure's proposal, but reflecting upon his Catholic education, he quoted a nun's comment from many years ago: "You know when you've done something wrong."

Good conduct depends on the individual, not a code. The ban was discussed during a meeting of council's governance committee.

"You certainly can't legislate morality," Heckman said. In keeping with the Catholic school theme, he brought up the term "de minimis," Latin for an item of trivial value, such as a pen, plaque or T-shirt an official might receive from a civic group, or an inexpensive meal served at an event.

"De minimis" gifts would be allowed, but defining what is "de minimis" is a problem, Commissioner Lori Vargo Heffner said.

"Nobody has determined where that line is," she said. "$50 or $100? Who decides?"

Vargo Heffner and Heckman both mentioned ArtsQuest, the parent organization of Bethlehem's Musikfest.

"There are a lot of things at ArtsQuest that we get invited to as public officials," she said, while Heckman noted that he is an ArtsQuest member.

On the other hand, "Nobody's taking me to the Super Bowl," Vargo Heffner said.

Enforcement is also an issue, Commissioner Tara Zrinski said.

Council Solicitor Chris Spadoni said a member of the public who questions a benefit to an official complain to the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission. As the discussion went on, he said any number of hypothetical scenarios could be conjured up.

"Every set of circumstances is fact-sensitive and issue-sensitive," Spadoni said.

Commissioner John Brown said the rules in place now have worked, and he did not find value in the proposed amendment.

Heckman said he is concerned that part-time elected officials will be "looking over their shoulder" all the time, and he suggested a more important target.

"If you really want to get into ethics, we should get into campaign contributions," he said.

Spadoni will review potential changes, and the amendment was not voted on at the full council meeting held later Thursday. Vargo Heffner said it will come up at a future meeting.
EASTON, Pa.  Northampton County's home rule charter  its constitution  was approved in 1978.

That was five years before the internet was invented. In 1978, Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" beat "Star Wars" for the best picture Oscar, Pete Rose still played for the Cincinnati Reds and the Bee Gees' album "Saturday Night Fever" ruled the charts.

Northampton County Council discussed Thursday whether the charter needs amendments or a study. A review could lead to a change in government.

Northampton County, like Lehigh County, has nine part-time commissioners and an independently elected executive. Many of Pennsylvania's counties have three full-time commissioners who have legislative and administrative power. Bucks, Montgomery and Schuylkill counties, for example, have three commissioners.

The charter has been amended but contains some 1970s quirks. The term "his" appears more than 200 times, while "her" is absent.

"We keep identifying flaws" in the charter, Commissioner Lori Vargo Heffner said during a meeting of County Council's governance committee Thursday.

Commissioner John Cusick (councilmembers are known as commissioners) brought up several changes considered over the years, such as term limits for the county executive and whether the Northampton County sheriff should be elected, not appointed.

The issue is whether changing the sheriff to an elected post, for example, could be done by amendment or whether the change is so big as to require a study of the entire charter.

"I would like to have an elected official" as sheriff, Council President Kerry Myers said. An elected official would have to report periodically to council.

Council Solicitor Chris Spadoni said that with the many questions raised, council may wish to consider a charter study. Ultimately, changes are up to the electorate: "The voters have the say," Spadoni said.

Vargo Heffner said the issue will be discussed again next month during a governance committee meeting.
Taj (Saran) Singh has a passion for helping others, rooted in his faith.

"Growing up I always felt like I was taught to keep an eye out for those who are struggling and help out," he says.

Now a third-year med student, Singh knew he had the tools to help heal others.

He told 69 News, "I drive to work and I see the dialysis centers everywhere and I was just sad. There's got to be something we can do with students and I think that this may not fix all of it, but I think we can definitely lower the number of chronic conditions."

That's exactly what he set out to do. He and fellow med student Kyle Tio have opened a charity clinic in partnership with St. Luke's to feed, clothe and provide medical care to the underserved population.

"The more I went out to the community and volunteered and stuff, the more I realized that there's definitely a need for it here," says Tio.

The clinic held its grand opening Thursday and is located within the Center for Recovery at 315 Linden Street in Allentown. The medical clinic will run two Thursdays each month from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

John Dillensnyder with Treatment Trends already works at the Center for Recovery and he's excited to add this new medical component, as he knows the people well who walk through the doors.

He says, "they often overuse the emergency room and they shouldn't, so I think this is an opportunity to really get some health care that they might not otherwise."

Singh and Tio hope the clinic does more than just provide care, but helps bridge a gap.

"This is huge for our education, but it's also huge for the community because we can build a bond as a health care provider," says Singh.

He and Tio are not only looking forward to helping the community, but can't wait to see what the people in the community teach them.
NEW HOPE, Pa. - "Wow. Gee, I recognize all that," said May Pang as she walked into New Hope's Arete Gallery. Photos hanging represent days of her life with John Lennon.

"This is the first time you've seen them hanging out?" I said to Pang.

"Like this," she responded.

From a stroll in Walt Disney World in 1974, a cup of Hot and Sour Soup, to a sprawled-out Lennon in the Long Island Sound, Pang captured the candid and contrived of the former Beatle.

"He was a good subject to work with. And John gave me, you know, carte blanche because he actually liked my eye on him. He never liked pictures. He was very particular about his own photographs of himself," she said.

In her documentary "The Lost Weekend, a Love Story," Pang chronicled the pair's 18-month relationship, an affair encouraged by Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono, when she and John were having marital problems.

Pang says between 1973 and 1975 she and Lennon were inseparable.

"In New York City, when John and I got our apartment, the doorbell rang. I asked him who it was, he said go down and check, and the first visitor was Paul and Linda McCartney," she described.

The surprise guests were in stark contrast to the shot Pang captured of John on the phone with lawyers while at Disney World talking about last-minute details of the Beatles breakup. She also got his signature, representing the official end of the Beatles.

"He's the last signature. And you could see an attempt. It's not at the end. It's as he's signing. John Lennon," she said of the shot she's very proud of getting.

"One of my favorites is with Julian. Not a lot of people saw him with his father, he is smiling. Which is a good thing for a kid," she said of the pic between John and Jullian.

As for Lennon's favorite, Pang says it's a 1974 shot in the Catskills, with their friends, two dogs, and John in mid turn back to the camera.

"He liked that one was because of his Aran sweater. He was so proud of his Irish heritage that he goes, that was his favorite sweater. So, he loved it," she described, as they would often go to Ellenville, New York and stay at a friend's cabin.

Their relationship ended when Lennon went back to Ono in 1975. The last time the pair spoke was Memorial Day 1980.

The negatives of the pictures she took sat under her couch for years.

"So, there was a time when you almost tossed them?" I asked her.

"Yes. I kept saying, what am I going to do with these things," she said, adding she has pictures John drew as well.

The more than two dozen prints are now for sale through Sunday at Arete, as Pang is starting a national gallery tour, with the next stop in Northeast Ohio.

"What do you hope people get from these pictures?"

"I want them to see the John I saw," she said.
Leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies warned China and North Korea against building up their nuclear arsenals, pivoting to major northeast Asian crises ahead of the arrival later Saturday of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The focus on Asia at the Group of Seven summit comes as leaders tighten sanctions meant to punish Moscow and change the course of its invasion of Ukraine. Japan said Zelenskyys decision to attend the G7 in person stemmed from his strong wish to participate in talks that will influence his nations defense against Russia. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said President Joe Biden and Zelenskyy would have direct engagement at the summit, a day after Biden announced his support for training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP)  Tens of thousands of people rallied in Serbia's capital on Friday for a third time in a month in protest at the government's handling of a crisis after two mass shootings in the Balkan country earlier this month, even as officials rejected the criticism and ignored their demands.

In a show of defiance, the nationalist right-wing party of autocratic Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic organized a counter-protest in a town north of Belgrade attended by thousands of his supporters.

The opposition protesters in Belgrade were chanting slogans against Vucic, demanding the resignations of two senior ministers and the revocation of broadcasting licenses for two TV networks which, they say, promote violence and glorify crime figures.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and other government officials attended a parliamentary session on Friday focusing on the May 3 and May 4 shootings and the opposition demands to replace the interior minister and the intelligence chief following the carnage that left 18 people dead, many of them children.

The two shootings stunned the nation, especially because the first one happened in an elementary school in central Belgrade when a 13-year-old boy took his father's gun and opened fire on his fellow students. Eight students and a school guard were killed and seven more people wounded. One more girl later died in hospital from head wounds.

A day later, a 20-year-old used an automatic weapon to randomly target people he ran into in two villages south of Belgrade, killing eight people and wounding 14.

Brnabic rejected allegations that the populist authorities were in any way responsible for the shootings. Instead, she accused the opposition of fueling violence in society and threatening President Aleksandar Vucic. Brnabic blasted the opposition-led protests as purely political, saying they were intended to topple Vucic and the government by force.

You are the core of the spiral of violence in this society, Brnabic told opposition lawmakers. You are spewing hatred.

She also said that everything that has happened in Serbia after the mass shootings was directly the work of foreign intelligence services, adding that her government could be changed only by the will of the people in elections and not on the streets.

The opposition gathering Friday evening outside the parliament building in Belgrade, is the third since the shootings. The two previous gatherings drew tens of thousands of people who marched peacefully, only occasionally chanting slogans against Vucic.

Authorities have launched a gun crackdown in the aftermath of the shootings and sent police to schools in an effort to boost a shaken sense of security.

Faced with public pressure, the increasingly autocratic Vucic has scheduled a rally of his own for next week in the capital while suggesting that the entire government could resign and a snap vote be called for September.

He also attended his party's rally Friday in the town of Pancevo that started at the same time as the opposition-led protest in the capital.

In his speech, Vucic mirrored his prime minister's narrative, suggesting the opposition protests had been orchestrated from abroad. He accused his political opponents of trying to take power through violence and destroy Serbia.

There can be no (coming to) power without elections," Vucic told the crowd. I will never serve foreigners.

Earlier in the parliament, Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic, whose resignation is demanded by protesters, defended the police measures in the aftermath of the shootings. He also told parliament that citizens have so far handed over more than 23,000 weapons and over 1 million rounds of ammunition since a one-month amnesty was declared on May 8.

Police could not have known or predicted that something like this would happen, he said of the school shooting, the first ever in Serbia.

Gasic also confirmed media reports that a man who was recently released from a mental hospital fired an anti-tank missile on Thursday at an empty house from a grenade launcher in the town of Ruma, outside Belgrade. No one was injured in the incident, and Gasic said two people were arrested.

Serbia is flooded with weapons left over from the wars of the 1990s, including rocket launchers and hand grenades. Other gun-control measures declared in the wake of the shootings include better control of gun owners and shooting ranges, a moratorium on new licenses and harsh sentences for possession of illegal weapons.

-

Dusan Stojanovic contributed.
Fund manager outperforming 96% of peers bets big on AI with Nvidia and Microsoft but avoids Apple, Alphabet and Meta

PhonlamaiPhoto/Getty Images

A Franklin Templeton fund is outperforming 96% of peers with big bets on artificial intelligence.

Nvidia, ASML Holding, and Microsoft are among the fund's top holdings, according to Bloomberg.

But the fund is avoiding other tech giants like Apple, Alphabet, Meta and Netflix.

A fund manager found that betting big on artificial intelligence stocks while avoiding other Big Tech names has been the key to beating the market.

According to Bloomberg, Franklin Templeton's $158 million FTGF Martin Currie Global Long-Term Unconstrained Fund has outperformed 96% of peers this year.

Its 15% gain also tops the 8% gain in the MSCI All-Country World Index, a benchmark used for tracking equity funds.

The fund's biggest equity holdings include Nvidia, a top maker of AI chips; Microsoft, an investor in ChatGPT parent OpenAI; and ASML Holding, a Dutch semiconductor manufacturer.

"Tech is still attractive as we think the Federal Reserve is done hiking rates, although we don't expect rate cuts," fund manager Zehrid Osmani told Bloomberg. "But you have to look at it through different segments rather than invest across Big Tech."

In fact, the fund is avoiding traditional tech heavyweights such as Apple, Alphabet, Meta, and Netflix. While Alphabet is racing to advance its own AI technology, including a rival chatbot, Osmani said these stocks are more exposed to consumers.

The fund's enthusiasm for AI reflects a broader eagerness among market players, with some of the biggest investing names jumping on the trend. These include billionaire investors such as Stanley Druckenmiller, Bill Ackman, and David Tepper.

Research from Morgan Stanley estimated a $6 trillion investing boom from AI, while Bank of America has predicted a $15.7 trillion boost in the next seven years, as the technology would lead to an "iPhone moment."

Meanwhile, Osmani is staying away from the banking sector, even as investors like Michael Burry snap up shares of regional lenders that sold off heavily in the wake of SVB's collapse.

"Banking is an industry that has high competitive pressures, diminishing barriers to entry, low pricing power and is facing a higher risk of disruption," Osmani told Bloomberg. "All of which leads us to believe that the industry dynamics aren't attractive."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Authorities say a high school student who killed three women in northwestern New Mexico with an indiscriminate spray of gunfire left a cryptic note presaging the end of the chapter and wore a bulletproof vest that he discarded before being shot to death by police. Police in Farmington announced new details of their investigation Wednesday as they search for motivations behind the shooting. Police say 18-year-old Beau Wilson sprayed gunfire as he walked through the neighborhood where he lived with his father before being confronted by police and fatally shot outside a church. Police Chief Steve Hebbe says he was wearing a vest with steel plates and the note was found in his pocket.
HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP)  Leaders of the world's most powerful democracies warned China and North Korea against building up their nuclear arsenals, pivoting to major northeast Asian crises ahead of the arrival later Saturday of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The focus on Asia at the Group of Seven summit comes as leaders tighten sanctions meant to punish Moscow and change the course of its 15-month invasion of Ukraine. Japan confirmed that Zelenskyy's decision to attend the G7 in person stemmed from his strong wish to participate in talks that will influence his nation's defense against Russia.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that President Joe Biden and Zelenskyy would have direct engagement at the summit, a day after Biden announced his support for training Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, a precursor to eventually providing those aircraft to Ukraines Air Force.

World leaders have faced a high-stakes balancing act in Hiroshima as they look to address a raft of global worries demanding urgent attention, including climate change, AI, poverty and economic instability, nuclear proliferation and, above all, the war in Ukraine.

China, the world's No. 2 economy, sits at the nexus of many of those concerns.

There is increasing anxiety in Asia that Beijing, which has been steadily building up its nuclear bomb program, could try to seize Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict. China claims the self-governing island as its own and regularly sends ships and warplanes near it.

The G7 leaders issued a statement warning that China's accelerating build-up of its nuclear arsenal without transparency (or) meaningful dialogue poses a concern to global and regional stability.

North Korea, which has been testing missiles at a torrid pace in an attempt to perfect a nuclear program meant to target the mainland United States, must completely abandon its nuclear bomb ambitions, the leaders said, "including any further nuclear tests or launches that use ballistic missile technology. North Korea cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon State under" international nuclear treaties, the statement said.

The green light on F-16 training is the latest shift by the Biden administration as it moves to arm Ukraine with more advanced and lethal weaponry, following earlier decisions to send rocket launcher systems and Abrams tanks. The United States has insisted that it is sending weapons to Ukraine to defend itself and has discouraged attacks by Ukraine into Russian territory.

Weve reached a moment where it is time to look down the road again to say what is Ukraine going to need as part of a future force, to be able to deter and defend against Russian aggression as we go forward, Sullivan said.

An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity to brief reporters on the deliberations, said Zelenskyy will take part in two separate sessions Sunday. The first session will be with G7 members only and will focus on the war in Ukraine. The second session will include the G7 as well as the other nations invited to take part in the summit, and will focus on peace and stability.

The G7 leaders also used their summit to roll out a new wave of global sanctions on Moscow as well as plans to enhance the effectiveness of existing financial penalties meant to constrain President Vladimir Putins war effort.

Our support for Ukraine will not waver, the G7 leaders said in a statement released after closed-door meetings. They vowed to stand together against Russias illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.

Russia started this war and can end this war, they said.

Zelenskyy has consistently called for the supply of Western fighter jets to bolster his countrys defenses against Russias invasion, but has until now faced skepticism from the United States that they would turn the tide in the war.

Now, as Ukraine has improved its air defenses with a host of Western-supplied anti-aircraft systems and prepares to launch a counteroffensive against Russia, officials believe the jets could become useful in the battle and essential to the countrys long-term security.

Biden's decisions on when, how many, and who will provide the fourth-generation F-16 fighter jets will be made in the months ahead while the training is underway, Biden told leaders.

The F-16 training is to be conducted in Europe and will likely begin in the coming weeks. Thats according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Bidens private conversations with allies.

Zelenskyy said Friday that he had opened a visit to Saudi Arabia, where Arab leaders were holding their own summit.

The latest sanctions aimed at Russia include tighter restrictions on already-sanctioned people and firms involved in the war effort. More than 125 individuals and organizations across 20 countries have been hit with U.S. sanctions. The financial penalties have been primarily focused on sanctions evaders connected to technology procurement for the Kremlin. The Commerce Department also added 71 firms to its own list.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Friday sanctions will further tighten the vise on Putins ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions.

In addition, new reporting requirements were issued for people and firms that have any interest in Russian Central Bank assets. The purpose is to fully map holdings of Russias sovereign assets that will remain immobilized in G7 jurisdictions until Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine, the U.S. Treasury Department said.

Russia is now the most-sanctioned country in the world, but there are questions about the effectiveness.

Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said going into the summit that while G7 countries deserve credit for their sanctions, Russia still maintains capacity to fight this war in the long term.

She added that war's costs are "easily manageable for Russia in the next couple of years at least, and the cumulative effect of sanctions is just not strong enough to radically alter that.

The G7 nations said in Fridays statement that they would work to keep Russia from using the international financial system to prosecute its war, and they urged other nations to stop providing Russia with support and weapons or face severe costs.

World leaders Friday visited a peace park dedicated to the tens of thousands who died in the worlds first wartime atomic bomb detonation. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, wants nuclear disarmament to be a major focus of discussions.

The peace park contains reminders of Aug. 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, a city that has become synonymous with anti-nuclear peace efforts.

Biden, who scrapped plans to travel on to Papua New Guinea and Australia after his stay in Japan so that he can get back to debt limit talks in Washington, arranged to meet Saturday on the G-7 sidelines with leaders of the so-called Quad partnership, made up of Japan, Australia, India and the U.S.

As G7 attendees made their way to Hiroshima, Moscow unleashed yet another aerial attack on the Ukrainian capital. Loud explosions thundered through Kyiv during the early hours, marking the ninth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the city after weeks of relative quiet.

In a bit of dueling diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting the leaders of the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for a two-day summit in the Chinese city of Xian.

The G7 leaders are also to discuss efforts to strengthen the global economy and address rising prices that are squeezing families and government budgets around the world, particularly in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

A U.S. official said the leaders on Saturday would issue a joint communique outlining new projects in the G7's global infrastructure development initiative, which is meant to offer countries an alternative to China's investment dollars.

The G7 includes Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union.

Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Elaine Kurtenbach and Mari Yamaguchi in Hiroshima, Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.
FILE - Daniel Penny leaves Manhattan Criminal Court on May 12, 2023, in New York. Penny, 24, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, appeared in court hours after turning himself in at a police station after prosecutors said they were charging him in connection with the May 1 death of Jordan Neely. Neely's chokehold death on the New York City subway set off a debate about vigilantism, homelessness and public safety. On Friday, May 19, he is being mourned by his family at a church in Harlem.
Manchesters Hope Mill Theatre will stage the world premiere of To Wong Foo The Musical, based on the 1995 film, later this year.

The show is based on To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, written by multiple Tony Award nominee Douglas Carter Beane. The film, which has become a cult-classic, features a cast including Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo, Stockard Channing, Robin Williams and Ru Paul.

Set in 90s New York, it tells the story of three drag queens  Vida, Noxeema and Chichi  who embark on a trip across America to attend the Drag Queen of the Year Finals in Hollywood. When their car breaks down in Middle America, their lives, as well as those in the town, are turned upside down.

The production will open at Hope Mill Theatre on 21 October for a limited nine-week run, with a press night on 26 October.

The new musical has a book and direction by Douglas Carter Beane, with music and lyrics by Lewis Flinn and casting by Sarah Leung CDG. Casting and full creative team is to be announced.

Beane said: When I wrote this story back in the 90s, it was always a theatre show in my mind, and fortunately for me, Steven Spielberg and Beeban Kidron thought it would make a great movie. But, for me it was always the ambition to bring it to the stage and Im so happy its finally happening.

Although the musical continues to be an homage to Drag, 90s New York and the amazing individuals who made it such a vibrant place to be, it is even more politically relevant today than ever before as censorship and condemnation of drag is unfortunately on the rise in the United States.

Artistic director of Hope Mill Theatre, Joseph Houston added: To be working so closely with Doug and having him direct is also a huge honour. To Wong Foo as a piece of work has always been destined to be told on stage and as a musical. Those that know and love the film can expect all of those brilliant one liners, supported by a score that is a little bit club, a little bit country, a little bit musical theatre, but a whole lot of attitude.

Set in 90s New York To Wong Foo The Musical tells the story of 3 Drag Queens, Vida, Noxeema and Chichi, who embark on a trip across America to attend the Drag Queen of the Year Finals in Hollywood. When their car breaks down in Middle America, their lives, as well as those in the town, are turned upside down, in this joyous, heartfelt and high camp musical extravaganza! 3 drags have come to save America, one show tune at a time!

To Wong Foo The Musical is produced by Hope Mill Theatre.
Here's how rich you need to be to be among the wealthiest 1% in the US, UK, and China

You need to have a net worth of $12.4 million to be among the richest 1% of people in Monaco, according to a study by Knight Frank. Pola Damonte/Getty Images

New data from Knight Frank shows how rich you need to be to make the top 1% in 25 countries.

Monaco tops the list. You need $12.4 million to be in the European country's richest 1%.

In the US you need $5.1 million. It's $3.3 million in the UK, $1.6 million in the UAE, and $960,000 in mainland China.

You need to have a net worth of $12.4 million to be among the richest 1% of people in Monaco, according to a new study.

Data from real-estate consultancy Knight Frank's Wealth Sizing Model shows how much net wealth you need to be ranked as part of the so-called "1%" in 25 countries. Monaco, which Knight Frank says has the world's densest population of super-rich individuals, tops the list.

In second place is Switzerland, but it's a big drop from Monaco. You need $6.6 million needed to make the top 1% in the Alpine country.

Australia comes in third, at $5.5 million, followed by New Zealand at $5.2 million and the US at $5.1 million. In the UK it's $3.3 million.

The highest-ranking Asian country is Singapore, where you need $3.5 million to be in the wealthiest 1%, just ahead of Hong Kong at $3.4 million. In Japan you need $1.7 million to make the cut, whereas in mainland China it's $960,000.

In the Middle East, the UAE tops the list. You need $1.6 million to be in the country's richest 1%.

Brazil tops the list for Latin America, with citizens requiring a relatively low $430,000 to be among its top 1%.

Monaco is smaller than Central Park  but it's packed with millionaires

Monaco is only 0.78 square miles in area, making it the world's second-smallest independent state and even smaller than New York's Central Park. The European country is bordered only by France and the Mediterranean Sea. But despite its tiny size, it is densely populated  Monaco had a population of around 39,000 as of December.

Its Mediterranean climate, showcase of glamorous events, and low taxes  including a lack of income tax  have helped the country become an enclave for some of the world's richest people. In 2021 Monaco had the world's highest gross domestic produce per capita at $234,317, according to UN data, putting it ahead of Liechtenstein, at $169,260; Luxembourg, at $133,745; and Bermuda, at $112,652.

Knight Frank previously estimated that by 2026, there would be 255 people living in Monaco worth more than $30 million and close to 40,000 worth more than $1 million.

Read the original article on Business Insider
BOISE, Idaho, May 19, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nate Jorgensen and Susan Morris, top executives at two public, Idaho-based companies, have been named to the board of directors of IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE: IDA) and Idaho Power, effective May 18.

Jorgensen has served as the CEO of Boise Cascade Company since March 2020. Prior to that role, he was the companys chief operating officer responsible for overseeing the Wood Products and Building Materials Distribution divisions. Jorgensen joined Boise Cascade in 2015 after 28 years with Weyerhaeuser, where he served in various leadership roles.

Morris is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Albertsons Companies, a role she has held since January 2018. She leads the companys retail operations, overseeing more than 2,200 stores across 34 states, and has held a variety of leadership roles in her more than 38 years in the retail grocery industry.

"We are thrilled to have these two proven leaders in Idaho industry on our Board," said Lisa Grow, IDACORP and Idaho Power President and Chief Executive Officer. "Nate and Susan will offer valuable insights into how we can continue serving our customers, communities, and shareowners with reliable, affordable, clean energy."

Jorgensen earned a bachelors degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Wisconsin and attended the Tuck School of Business Executive Education Program at Dartmouth University. He serves on the board of directors for the American Wood Council.

Morris is a graduate of Colorado State University with a degree in Social Science/Political Science. She also serves on the board of the J.A. and Kathryn Albertsons Foundation, the Food Marketing Institute, and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Franciscos Salt Lake City Branch Board of Directors.

"Nate and Susan offer a wealth of knowledge and expertise in both operations and leadership, along with strong ties to the Idaho community," said Richard Dahl, Chairman of the Board of IDACORP and Idaho Power. "Their proven records of success while leading Boise Cascade and Albertsons are a testament to the depth of knowledge they will bring to our team."

Background Information

IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE: IDA), Boise, Idaho-based and formed in 1998, is a holding company comprised of Idaho Power, a regulated electric utility; IDACORP Financial, a holder of affordable housing projects and other real estate investments; and Ida-West Energy, an operator of small hydroelectric generation projects that satisfy the requirements of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978. Idaho Power, headquartered in vibrant and fast-growing Boise, Idaho, has been a locally operated energy company since 1916. Today, it serves a 24,000-square-mile service area in Idaho and Oregon. Idaho Powers goal to provide 100% clean energy by 2045 builds on its long history as a clean-energy leader that provides reliable service at affordable prices. With 17 low-cost hydropower projects at the core of its diverse energy mix, Idaho Powers residential, business, and agricultural customers pay among the nation's lowest prices for electricity. Its 2,000 employees proudly serve more than 620,000 customers with a culture of safety first, integrity always, and respect for all. To learn more about IDACORP or Idaho Power, visit www.idacorpinc.com or www.idahopower.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005050/en/

Contacts

Investor and Analyst Contact

Justin S. Forsberg

Director of Investor Relations & Treasury

Phone: (208) 388-2728

JForsberg@idacorpinc.com

Media Contact

Jordan Rodriguez

Corporate Communications

Phone: (208) 388-2460

JRodriguez@idahopower.com
Amedeo Air Four Plus Limited (LON:AA4  Get Rating) shares crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of GBX 43.52 ($0.55) and traded as low as GBX 42.80 ($0.54). Amedeo Air Four Plus shares last traded at GBX 43.30 ($0.54), with a volume of 85,309 shares traded.

Amedeo Air Four Plus Trading Up 0.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of 132.20 million and a P/E ratio of 188.61. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is GBX 43.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 41.06.

Get Amedeo Air Four Plus alerts:

Amedeo Air Four Plus Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 13th were issued a GBX 1.75 ($0.02) dividend. This is a positive change from Amedeo Air Four Pluss previous dividend of $1.50. This represents a yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 13th. Amedeo Air Four Pluss payout ratio is presently 2,608.70%.

Amedeo Air Four Plus Company Profile

Amedeo Air Four Plus Limited specializes in acquiring, leasing and selling aircraft. The fund seeks to use the net proceeds of placings and/or other equity capital raisings, together with debt facilities (or instruments), to acquire aircraft which will be leased to one or more major airlines.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Amedeo Air Four Plus Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Amedeo Air Four Plus and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
CMC Markets plc (LON:CMCX  Get Rating)s stock price crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of GBX 192.71 ($2.41) and traded as low as GBX 180 ($2.25). CMC Markets shares last traded at GBX 181.40 ($2.27), with a volume of 156,359 shares.

CMC Markets Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.86, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 2.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 191.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 222.03. The company has a market capitalization of 508.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 722.40 and a beta of 0.55.

Get CMC Markets alerts:

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David Fineberg acquired 180 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 169 ($2.12) per share, for a total transaction of 304.20 ($381.06). In other CMC Markets news, insider David Fineberg acquired 180 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 169 ($2.12) per share, for a total transaction of 304.20 ($381.06). Also, insider Euan Marshall acquired 164 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 182 ($2.28) per share, for a total transaction of 298.48 ($373.89). Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 464 shares of company stock worth $90,028. Company insiders own 64.83% of the companys stock.

About CMC Markets

CMC Markets plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides online retail financial services to retail, professional, stockbroking, and institutional clients in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Canada, and internationally. The company offers its clients with the ability to trade contracts for difference and financial spread betting on a range of underlying shares, including indices, foreign currencies, commodities, cryptocurrencies, shares and ETFs, and treasuries through its trading platform.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for CMC Markets Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for CMC Markets and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Admiral Group plc (LON:ADM  Get Rating) has been assigned an average rating of Hold from the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 2,201.50 ($27.58).

ADM has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an underweight rating and issued a GBX 1,650 ($20.67) target price on shares of Admiral Group in a research note on Thursday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an underweight rating and set a GBX 2,150 ($26.93) target price on shares of Admiral Group in a report on Tuesday, March 28th. Peel Hunt reaffirmed a hold rating and set a GBX 2,160 ($27.06) target price on shares of Admiral Group in a report on Wednesday, March 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Admiral Group to a hold rating and set a GBX 2,150 ($26.93) price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, March 10th. Finally, Numis Securities reissued an add rating and issued a GBX 2,575 ($32.26) price objective on shares of Admiral Group in a report on Friday, February 24th.

Get Admiral Group alerts:

Admiral Group Stock Performance

ADM opened at GBX 2,236 ($28.01) on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 107.56, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 2,147.45 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 2,129.97. Admiral Group has a 1 year low of GBX 1,691.50 ($21.19) and a 1 year high of GBX 2,373 ($29.73). The stock has a market cap of 6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,840.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.25.

Admiral Group Cuts Dividend

Insider Transactions at Admiral Group

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 4th will be paid a dividend of GBX 52 ($0.65) per share. This represents a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 4th. Admiral Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6,776.86%.

In other Admiral Group news, insider Annette Court purchased 920 shares of Admiral Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 1,999 ($25.04) per share, with a total value of 18,390.80 ($23,037.45). In other news, insider Geraint Jones sold 1,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 1,851 ($23.19), for a total transaction of 21,749.25 ($27,244.46). Also, insider Annette Court bought 920 shares of Admiral Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 1,999 ($25.04) per share, for a total transaction of 18,390.80 ($23,037.45). Corporate insiders own 16.54% of the companys stock.

Admiral Group Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Admiral Group plc provides financial services in the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, Canada, India, and the United States. It offers insurance products, including motor, household, travel, and pet insurance, as well as personal lending products through Admiral loans. The company operates through UK Insurance, International Insurance, Admiral Loans, and Other segments.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Admiral Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Admiral Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Air Canada (TSE:AC  Get Rating) had its target price upped by analysts at Citigroup to C$26.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Stock Target Advisor reports. Citigroups price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.83% from the stocks current price.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on AC. National Bankshares upped their price target on Air Canada from C$18.50 to C$23.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Cormark decreased their price target on Air Canada from C$25.75 to C$23.75 in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Air Canada from C$30.00 to C$31.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Air Canada from C$22.00 to C$23.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Securities cut their price objective on Air Canada from C$28.00 to C$26.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Canada has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$28.81.

Get Air Canada alerts:

Air Canada Stock Down 1.6 %

TSE AC traded down C$0.35 on Friday, reaching C$21.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,670,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,469,472. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$19.26 and a 200 day moving average price of C$19.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 183,588.89. Air Canada has a 1 year low of C$15.57 and a 1 year high of C$23.54. The company has a market capitalization of C$7.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.02 and a beta of 2.42.

Air Canada Company Profile

Air Canada ( TSE:AC Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 17th. The company reported C($0.61) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C($0.20) by C($0.41). The firm had revenue of C$4.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$4.43 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Air Canada will post 2.608284 EPS for the current fiscal year.

(Get Rating)

Air Canada provides domestic, U.S. transborder, and international airline services. It offers scheduled passenger services under the Air Canada Vacations and Air Canada Rouge brand name in the Canadian market, the Canada-U.S. transborder market, and in the international market to and from Canada, as well as through capacity purchase agreements on other regional carriers.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Air Canada Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Air Canada and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Commerce Bank raised its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 742,048 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 5,138 shares during the period. Commerce Banks holdings in Bank of America were worth $24,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 6,772.7% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 756 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the period. WD Rutherford LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1,491.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.34% of the companys stock.

Get Bank of America alerts:

Bank of America Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of BAC traded down $0.30 on Friday, reaching $28.17. 16,739,479 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 54,033,406. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.62. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $26.32 and a 12 month high of $38.60.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

Bank of America ( NYSE:BAC Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.11. Bank of America had a net margin of 21.85% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $26.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 1st. Bank of Americas payout ratio is presently 26.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider Matthew M. Koder sold 105,054 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total value of $3,600,200.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 319,803 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,959,648.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $45.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 3rd. Odeon Capital Group cut shares of Bank of America from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $35.20 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, March 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $36.77.

Bank of America Profile

(Get Rating)

Bank of America Corp. is a bank and financial holding company, which engages in the provision of banking and nonbank financial services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth and Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, Global Markets, and All Other. The Consumer Banking segment offers credit, banking, and investment products and services to consumers and small businesses.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BAC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Bank of America Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bank of America and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Bank of America downgraded shares of Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT  Get Rating) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, The Fly reports. Bank of America currently has $121.00 target price on the real estate investment trusts stock, down from their previous target price of $132.00.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Camden Property Trust from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Camden Property Trust from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Camden Property Trust from $134.00 to $120.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Camden Property Trust from $143.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Camden Property Trust from $135.00 to $134.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Camden Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $133.07.

Get Camden Property Trust alerts:

Camden Property Trust Stock Up 0.2 %

CPT stock opened at $106.95 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firms fifty day moving average is $105.77 and its 200 day moving average is $112.45. Camden Property Trust has a one year low of $97.74 and a one year high of $147.71.

Insider Activity

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

In other news, CEO Richard J. Campo sold 5,337 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.35, for a total value of $588,937.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,234,269.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link . Company insiders own 1.80% of the companys stock.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Camden Property Trust by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,465,588 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,086,264,000 after purchasing an additional 351,965 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Camden Property Trust by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 11,319,751 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,352,022,000 after acquiring an additional 1,758,386 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Camden Property Trust by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,961,282 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,044,341,000 after acquiring an additional 157,326 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Camden Property Trust by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,890,494 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $729,147,000 after acquiring an additional 45,705 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Camden Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $333,911,000. 93.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Camden Property Trust

(Get Rating)

Camden Property Trust operates as a real estate investment trust. The firm engages in the ownership, management, development, reposition, redevelopment, acquisition, and construction of multifamily apartment communities. It focus on investing in markets characterized by high-growth economic conditions, strong employment, and attractive quality of life.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Camden Property Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Camden Property Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Even if it's not a huge purchase, we think it was good to see that Richard Bernstein, the Interim Non-Executive Chairman of Insig AI Plc (LON:INSG) recently shelled out UK49k to buy stock, at UK0.24 per share. However, it only increased their shares held by 1.4%, and it wasn't a huge purchase by absolute value, either.

See our latest analysis for Insig AI

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Insig AI

In fact, the recent purchase by Interim Non-Executive Chairman Richard Bernstein was not their only acquisition of Insig AI shares this year. Earlier in the year, they paid UK0.14 per share in a UK52k purchase. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (UK0.20), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

Richard Bernstein bought a total of 1.39m shares over the year at an average price of UK0.20. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Insig AI is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of Insig AI

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Insig AI insiders own 63% of the company, worth about UK12m. 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 Insig AI Insiders?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. Once you factor in the high insider ownership, it certainly seems like insiders are positive about Insig AI. Nice! 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. For example, Insig AI has 5 warning signs (and 2 which are potentially serious) we think you should know about.

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
Bank of Hawaii Co. (NYSE:BOH  Get Rating) Director Kent Thomas Lucien purchased 1,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.29 per share, for a total transaction of $32,290.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,500 shares of the companys stock, valued at $177,595. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Bank of Hawaii Price Performance

Bank of Hawaii stock opened at $38.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.32, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.97. The stocks 50 day moving average is $47.69 and its 200-day moving average is $67.02. Bank of Hawaii Co. has a 12 month low of $30.83 and a 12 month high of $85.45.

Get Bank of Hawaii alerts:

Bank of Hawaii (NYSE:BOH  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 24th. The bank reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $229.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.67 million. Bank of Hawaii had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 19.01%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Bank of Hawaii Co. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Hawaii Dividend Announcement

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 31st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 30th. Bank of Hawaiis payout ratio is 52.83%.

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bank of Hawaii by 5,563.6% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 623 shares of the banks stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of Hawaii by 160.9% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 647 shares of the banks stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Bank of Hawaii in the 1st quarter valued at about $51,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Bank of Hawaii in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Bank of Hawaii by 128.9% in the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 698 shares of the banks stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. 74.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on BOH shares. TheStreet lowered Bank of Hawaii from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Tuesday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Bank of Hawaii from $83.00 to $60.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. StockNews.com raised Bank of Hawaii to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, May 12th. Compass Point downgraded Bank of Hawaii from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $71.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 24th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on Bank of Hawaii from $76.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $66.25.

About Bank of Hawaii

(Get Rating)

Bank of Hawaii Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Other. The Consumer Banking segment offers financial products and services, including loan, deposit and insurance products, private banking and international client banking services, trust services, investment management, and institutional investment advisory services.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for Bank of Hawaii Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bank of Hawaii and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO  Get Rating) (NYSE:BMO) had its price objective decreased by CSFB from C$147.00 to C$139.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, BayStreet.CA reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. National Bankshares reduced their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$135.00 to C$133.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. TD Securities cut their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$145.00 to C$140.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Fundamental Research set a C$160.30 price target on shares of Bank of Montreal and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$149.00 to C$127.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 9th. Finally, CIBC decreased their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$150.00 to C$145.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$146.09.

Get Bank of Montreal alerts:

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of BMO stock opened at C$119.04 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of C$119.70 and a 200-day moving average price of C$126.13. The firm has a market capitalization of C$83.72 billion, a PE ratio of 5.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.13. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of C$113.47 and a 52 week high of C$138.85.

Bank of Montreal Announces Dividend

Bank of Montreal ( TSE:BMO Get Rating ) (NYSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The bank reported C$3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of C$3.13 by C$0.09. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 40.56% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The company had revenue of C$6.47 billion for the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 13.3034091 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 28th will be issued a $1.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 27th. This represents a $5.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.81%. Bank of Montreals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.61%.

About Bank of Montreal

(Get Rating)

Bank of Montreal engages in the provision of diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company's personal banking products and services include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, personal loans, small business lending, cash management, and financial and investment advice services; and commercial banking products and services comprise business deposit accounts, commercial credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management solutions, foreign exchange, specialized banking programs, treasury and payment solutions, and risk management products for small business and commercial banking customers.

Read More

Receive News & Ratings for Bank of Montreal Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bank of Montreal and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Sit Investment Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in BlackRock Income Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BKT  Get Rating) by 61.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,455,173 shares of the companys stock after selling 3,848,833 shares during the quarter. BlackRock Income Trust comprises approximately 0.8% of Sit Investment Associates Inc.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Sit Investment Associates Inc.s holdings in BlackRock Income Trust were worth $30,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BKT. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock Income Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $98,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in BlackRock Income Trust by 85.4% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 52,630 shares of the companys stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 24,244 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new stake in BlackRock Income Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $385,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in BlackRock Income Trust by 67.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 39,001 shares of the companys stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock Income Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $68,000.

Get BlackRock Income Trust alerts:

BlackRock Income Trust Stock Performance

BlackRock Income Trust stock remained flat at $12.36 during mid-day trading on Friday. The companys stock had a trading volume of 31,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 60,506. BlackRock Income Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.60 and a 1-year high of $14.46. The firms 50-day moving average is $12.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.64.

BlackRock Income Trust Dividend Announcement

About BlackRock Income Trust

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.0882 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.56%.

(Get Rating)

BlackRock Income Trust, Inc is a closed-end investment fund. Its investment objective is to provide total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation. The company was founded on July 31, 1988 and is headquartered in Wilmington, DE.

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BKT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for BlackRock Income Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BKT  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for BlackRock Income Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BlackRock Income Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Blue Barn Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MUFG  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,322 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $69,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. AXA S.A. bought a new position in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.62% of the companys stock.

Get Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group alerts:

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Price Performance

MUFG opened at $6.76 on Friday. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $6.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.39. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.31 and a 1 year high of $7.71. The firm has a market cap of $83.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Company Profile

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in a research report on Thursday. They set a hold rating on the stock.

(Get Rating)

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc operates as a holding company, which provides financial services through its subsidiaries. It operates through the following segments: Integrated Retail Banking Business Group, Integrated Corporate Banking Business Group, Integrated Trust Assets Business Group, Integrated Global Business Group, Global Markets and Others.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Canada Goose (NYSE:GOOS  Get Rating) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at Bank of America from $17.00 to $14.80 in a report released on Thursday, The Fly reports. Bank of Americas price target would suggest a potential downside of 19.13% from the stocks previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut Canada Goose from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Credit Suisse Group upped their price target on Canada Goose from C$30.00 to C$36.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Robert W. Baird cut Canada Goose from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 24th. Cowen decreased their price target on Canada Goose from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Canada Goose from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $27.48.

Get Canada Goose alerts:

Canada Goose Stock Performance

NYSE GOOS traded down $2.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting $18.30. 12,523,658 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,960,605. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.56, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.63. Canada Goose has a 12-month low of $14.51 and a 12-month high of $24.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 2.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $18.87 and a 200-day moving average of $19.02.

Institutional Trading of Canada Goose

About Canada Goose

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James & Associates purchased a new stake in Canada Goose in the first quarter worth $1,061,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Canada Goose in the first quarter worth $286,000. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Canada Goose by 0.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 465,058 shares of the companys stock worth $12,244,000 after acquiring an additional 2,086 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Canada Goose by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,626,615 shares of the companys stock worth $42,828,000 after acquiring an additional 20,326 shares during the period. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Canada Goose in the first quarter worth $949,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.79% of the companys stock.

(Get Rating)

Canada Goose Holdings, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, distribution, and retail of outerwear for men, women, and children. It operates through the following segments: Direct-to-Consumer, Wholesale, and Other. The Direct-to-Consumer segment comprises of sales through country-specific e-Commerce platforms and its company-owned retail stores located in luxury shopping locations.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Canada Goose Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Canada Goose and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:CDPYF  Get Rating) had its price target hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from C$59.00 to C$60.00 in a research report released on Monday, The Fly reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CDPYF. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust to C$54.00 in a report on Monday, February 27th. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust to C$61.00 in a research note on Friday, February 24th. National Bank Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust to C$59.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust to C$60.00 in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust to C$55.00 in a research report on Friday, February 24th.

Get Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust alerts:

Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust Price Performance

CDPYF stock opened at $36.10 on Monday. The companys 50 day moving average is $35.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.31. Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust has a twelve month low of $27.11 and a twelve month high of $39.33.

Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust Increases Dividend

About Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.0903 per share. This is a positive change from Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trusts previous dividend of $0.09. This represents a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 27th. Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trusts payout ratio is presently 39.43%.

(Get Rating)

Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust is an open-ended mutual fund trust, which engages in the management of interests in multi-unit residential real estate properties, including apartments, townhomes, and manufactured home communities. It operates though the Canada and Europe geographical segments.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Capital Square LLC decreased its stake in shares of ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW  Get Rating) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 928 shares of the information technology services providers stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. Capital Square LLCs holdings in ServiceNow were worth $360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NOW. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of ServiceNow by 26.5% during the third quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,953,299 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $1,492,805,000 after acquiring an additional 827,285 shares in the last quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC boosted its holdings in ServiceNow by 51.8% during the third quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 1,694,117 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $639,716,000 after purchasing an additional 577,933 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in ServiceNow by 1.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,866,914 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $6,369,116,000 after purchasing an additional 320,130 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its stake in ServiceNow by 79.6% in the first quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 483,554 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $269,286,000 after acquiring an additional 214,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in ServiceNow by 8.6% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,378,372 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $898,098,000 after acquiring an additional 187,393 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.31% of the companys stock.

Get ServiceNow alerts:

Insider Buying and Selling at ServiceNow

In other news, Director Anita M. Sands sold 1,315 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.75, for a total transaction of $604,571.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,443 shares in the company, valued at $6,640,169.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Anita M. Sands sold 1,315 shares of ServiceNow stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.75, for a total value of $604,571.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,640,169.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lara Caimi sold 2,975 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.58, for a total value of $1,283,950.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 98 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $42,294.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,095 shares of company stock valued at $8,131,910. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ServiceNow Trading Down 0.1 %

NOW has been the subject of a number of research reports. 92 Resources restated a reiterates rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of ServiceNow from $506.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. VNET Group reiterated a maintains rating on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of ServiceNow from $612.00 to $586.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ServiceNow currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $527.70.

NOW stock traded down $0.72 on Friday, reaching $509.45. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,227,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,665,919. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $103.80 billion, a PE ratio of 260.29, a PEG ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $453.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $429.12. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 12-month low of $337.00 and a 12-month high of $521.58.

About ServiceNow

(Get Rating)

ServiceNow, Inc engages in the provision of enterprise cloud computing solutions. The firm delivers digital workflows on a single enterprise cloud platform called the Now Platform. Its product portfolio is focused on providing Information Technology, Employee and Customer workflows. The company was founded by Frederic B.

Featured Articles

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NOW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for ServiceNow Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ServiceNow and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Capstone Copper (TSE:CS  Get Rating) has been assigned a C$8.70 target price by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus in a note issued to investors on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a buy rating on the mining companys stock. Stifel Nicolaus price target would suggest a potential upside of 50.26% from the stocks previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. CIBC boosted their price objective on Capstone Copper from C$6.25 to C$7.25 in a research report on Tuesday, April 4th. Cormark boosted their target price on Capstone Copper from C$6.00 to C$7.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Scotiabank cut their target price on Capstone Copper from C$8.75 to C$8.50 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. National Bankshares boosted their target price on Capstone Copper from C$7.25 to C$7.75 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Capstone Copper from C$6.75 to C$7.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, April 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of C$7.47.

Get Capstone Copper alerts:

Capstone Copper Price Performance

Shares of TSE CS traded down C$0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching C$5.79. 529,147 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,944,101. The firm has a market cap of C$4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 52.64, a PEG ratio of -0.09 and a beta of 2.16. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is C$6.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$5.61. Capstone Copper has a 12 month low of C$2.25 and a 12 month high of C$7.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.99, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.40.

About Capstone Copper

Capstone Copper ( TSE:CS Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 15th. The mining company reported C$0.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of C$0.04 by C$0.04. The firm had revenue of C$491.63 million during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Capstone Copper will post 0.2299465 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

(Get Rating)

Capstone Copper Corp. operates as a copper mining company with focus on the Americas. It owns and operates the Pinto Valley copper mine located in Arizona, the United States; the Cozamin copper-silver mine located in Zacatecas, Mexico; the Mantos Blancos copper-silver mine located in the Antofagasta region, Chile; and 70% of the Mantoverde copper-gold mine located in the Atacama region, Chile.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Capstone Copper Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Capstone Copper and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX  Get Rating) have earned an average rating of Moderate Buy from the twenty analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $194.24.

CVX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Chevron from $193.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Scotiabank raised Chevron from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating and upped their target price for the company from $195.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. UBS Group began coverage on Chevron in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $212.00 target price on the stock. Cowen cut their target price on Chevron from $185.00 to $170.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Chevron in a research report on Thursday. They issued a hold rating on the stock.

Get Chevron alerts:

Chevron Stock Performance

Chevron stock opened at $154.01 on Friday. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $162.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $291.79 billion, a PE ratio of 8.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.43. Chevron has a one year low of $132.54 and a one year high of $189.68.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

Chevron ( NYSE:CVX Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 28th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $50.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.49 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 14.74%. Chevrons revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Chevron will post 14.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 18th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Chevrons dividend payout ratio is currently 32.61%.

Chevron declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 25th that permits the company to buyback $75.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 21.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the companys board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chevron

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rebalance LLC bought a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Chevron by 52.3% in the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 195 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Chevron in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Chevron in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC bought a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 69.37% of the companys stock.

About Chevron

(Get Rating)

Chevron Corp. engages in the provision of administrative, financial management, and technology support for energy and chemical operations. It operates through the Upstream and Downstream segments. The Upstream segment consists of the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas, the liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas, the transporting of crude oil by major international oil export pipelines, the processing, transporting, storage, and marketing of natural gas, and a gas-to-liquids plant.

Read More

Receive News & Ratings for Chevron Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Chevron and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
CI Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM  Get Rating) by 361.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 325,578 shares of the business services providers stock after purchasing an additional 255,073 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc.s holdings in Waste Management were worth $51,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. TD Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 232.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Chiron Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $68,000. 78.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Get Waste Management alerts:

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on WM shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $158.00 to $167.00 in a report on Thursday, April 6th. 51job reiterated a maintains rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $179.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $167.00 to $166.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday. They set a buy rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $176.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

Waste Management Trading Up 0.6 %

In other Waste Management news, CAO Leslie K. Nagy sold 800 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.11, for a total value of $120,888.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,210 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $787,283.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link . Insiders sold 924 shares of company stock valued at $139,918 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the companys stock.

Waste Management stock traded up $0.95 during trading on Friday, hitting $165.95. The company had a trading volume of 393,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,750,637. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $138.89 and a 1-year high of $175.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $162.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.81. The stock has a market cap of $67.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The business services provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.02. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.33% and a return on equity of 33.23%. The company had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. The firms revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 2nd will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 1st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Waste Managements dividend payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

Waste Management Profile

(Get Rating)

Waste Management, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of waste management environmental services. It operates through the following segments: East Tier, West Tier, and Other. The East Tier segment consists of Eastern U.S., the Great Lakes Region, and Canada. The West Tier segment includes the upper Midwest region and British Columbia, Canada.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Waste Management Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Waste Management and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Commerzbank (OTCMKTS:CRZBY  Get Rating) was downgraded by research analysts at Bank of America from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a report released on Friday, Briefing.com reports.

Commerzbank Stock Up 3.6 %

OTCMKTS:CRZBY opened at $10.74 on Friday. Commerzbank has a twelve month low of $5.70 and a twelve month high of $12.75. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $10.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.13.

Get Commerzbank alerts:

Commerzbank Company Profile

(Get Rating)

See Also

Commerzbank AG engages in the provision of commercial banking services. It operates through the following business segments: Private and Small-Businesses Customers, Corporate Clients, and Others & Consolidation. The Private and Small-Businesses Customers segment is comprised of the universal bank services for private and small-business customers, online securities transactions, and asset management.

Receive News & Ratings for Commerzbank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Commerzbank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Hippo (NYSE:HIPO  Get Rating) and RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR  Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Hippo and RenaissanceRe, as provided by MarketBeat.

Get Hippo alerts:

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Hippo 0 1 3 0 2.75 RenaissanceRe 1 3 1 0 2.00

Hippo currently has a consensus target price of $33.88, indicating a potential upside of 78.85%. RenaissanceRe has a consensus target price of $206.80, indicating a potential upside of 6.05%. Given Hippos stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Hippo is more favorable than RenaissanceRe.

Valuation & Earnings

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Hippo $119.70 million 3.69 -$333.40 million ($14.66) -1.29 RenaissanceRe $5.06 billion 1.69 -$1.06 billion ($3.62) -53.87

This table compares Hippo and RenaissanceRes gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Hippo has higher earnings, but lower revenue than RenaissanceRe. RenaissanceRe is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hippo, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Hippo and RenaissanceRes net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Hippo -248.59% -44.09% -17.32% RenaissanceRe -1.61% 11.89% 1.53%

Volatility & Risk

Hippo has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, RenaissanceRe has a beta of 0.43, meaning that its share price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.5% of RenaissanceRe shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.9% of Hippo shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of RenaissanceRe shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Hippo beats RenaissanceRe on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hippo

(Get Rating)

Hippo Holdings Inc. provides home protection insurance in the United States and the District of Columbia. Its insurance products include homeowners' insurance against risks of fire, wind, and theft; and commercial and personal lines of products. The company distributes insurance products and services through its technology platform; and offers its policies online, over the phone, or through licensed insurance agents. It provides care and protection for homeowners, as well as operates an integrated home protection platform. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

About RenaissanceRe

(Get Rating)

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. engages in the provision of reinsurance and insurance services. It operates through the following business segments: Property, Casualty and Specialty, and Other. The Property segment focuses on catastrophe, and other property reinsurance and insurance. The Casualty and Specialty segment deals with casualty and specialty reinsurance, and insurance. The Other segment includes strategic investments, investments unit, corporate expense, capital servicing costs, and non-controlling interests. The company was founded by Neill Alexander Currie on June 7, 1993, and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.

Receive News & Ratings for Hippo Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hippo and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Corrado Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Brookfield Renewable Co. (NYSE:BEPC  Get Rating) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 25,356 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 898 shares during the quarter. Corrado Advisors LLCs holdings in Brookfield Renewable were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Renewable in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Renewable during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Renewable during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Renewable by 176.9% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the companys stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Renewable during the 4th quarter valued at about $94,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.12% of the companys stock.

Get Brookfield Renewable alerts:

Brookfield Renewable Trading Up 0.5 %

BEPC traded up $0.17 on Friday, hitting $35.03. 300,158 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 627,697. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. Brookfield Renewable Co. has a 12 month low of $27.19 and a 12 month high of $42.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of -66.11 and a beta of 1.09.

Brookfield Renewable Dividend Announcement

Brookfield Renewable Company Profile

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 31st will be given a $0.338 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 30th. This represents a $1.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Brookfield Renewables dividend payout ratio is currently -254.72%.

(Get Rating)

Brookfield Renewable Corporation owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy power generating facilities primarily in the United States, Europe, Colombia, and Brazil. It operates hydroelectric, wind, and solar power plants with an installed capacity of approximately 12,723 megawatts. The company was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BEPC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Brookfield Renewable Co. (NYSE:BEPC  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Brookfield Renewable Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Brookfield Renewable and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Capital Square LLC trimmed its position in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI  Get Rating) by 21.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,810 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 3,935 shares during the period. Crown Castle accounts for about 1.8% of Capital Square LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Capital Square LLCs holdings in Crown Castle were worth $2,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Crown Castle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Crown Castle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Crown Castle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 90.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Get Crown Castle alerts:

Crown Castle Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CCI traded down $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $112.95. 846,584 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,038,610. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $126.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $48.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53 and a beta of 0.65. Crown Castle Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $111.35 and a fifty-two week high of $193.95.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

Crown Castle ( NYSE:CCI Get Rating ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.88). Crown Castle had a net margin of 23.81% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Crown Castle Inc. will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. Crown Castles payout ratio is 162.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CCI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $143.00 to $136.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $153.00 to $145.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Thursday. They set a hold rating on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Crown Castle from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Friday, May 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $162.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $155.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crown Castle news, Director Kevin A. Stephens bought 1,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $118.00 per share, for a total transaction of $118,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,819,088. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Christopher Levendos sold 14,472 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.04, for a total transaction of $1,795,106.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,759 shares of the companys stock, valued at $590,306.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin A. Stephens acquired 1,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $118.00 per share, for a total transaction of $118,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,416 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,819,088. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,472 shares of company stock worth $3,012,757 over the last 90 days. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Crown Castle

(Get Rating)

Crown Castle, Inc is a real estate investment trust company, which engages in the provision of access to wireless infrastructure via long-term contacts. It operates through the Towers and Fiber segments. The Towers segment offers access, including space or capacity towers dispersed throughout the United States.

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CCI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Crown Castle Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Crown Castle and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Fortis (TSE:FTS  Get Rating) had its target price decreased by analysts at UBS Group from C$54.00 to C$53.00 in a research note issued on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. UBS Groups target price points to a potential downside of 7.70% from the companys current price.

FTS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Fortis from C$51.00 to C$52.00 in a report on Friday, March 24th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Fortis from C$58.00 to C$65.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. CSFB upped their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$61.00 to C$62.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 15th. Susquehanna Bancshares increased their price target on shares of Fortis from C$56.00 to C$57.00 in a report on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Fortis from C$63.00 to C$66.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of C$58.65.

Get Fortis alerts:

Fortis Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of TSE FTS traded down C$0.84 on Friday, reaching C$57.42. 103,967 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,955,531. Fortis has a 12 month low of C$48.45 and a 12 month high of C$64.94. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is C$58.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$56.15. The company has a market cap of C$27.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 127.94.

About Fortis

Fortis Inc operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 438,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 100,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,485 megawatts (MW), including 53 MW of solar capacity and 252 MV of wind capacity.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Fortis Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Fortis and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Fosun International Ltd purchased a new stake in State Street Co. (NYSE:STT  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,050 shares of the asset managers stock, valued at approximately $469,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of State Street in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of State Street in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. New Hampshire Trust bought a new position in shares of State Street in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Exos TFP Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of State Street in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of State Street in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.41% of the companys stock.

Get State Street alerts:

Insider Buying and Selling at State Street

In other news, EVP David C. Phelan sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.63, for a total transaction of $1,299,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,491 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,279,895.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP David C. Phelan sold 15,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.63, for a total value of $1,299,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,491 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,279,895.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Appleyard sold 6,725 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.42, for a total transaction of $594,624.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,281,471.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

State Street Trading Down 1.7 %

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on STT. Citigroup decreased their price objective on State Street from $93.00 to $82.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of State Street in a research report on Thursday. They issued a hold rating for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of State Street from $80.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of State Street from $91.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of State Street from $97.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $82.21.

NYSE STT traded down $1.17 on Friday, reaching $67.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,015,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,967,902. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $22.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $73.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.24. State Street Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.62 and a fifty-two week high of $94.74.

State Street (NYSE:STT  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. State Street had a net margin of 18.73% and a return on equity of 11.96%. The businesss revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. Analysts forecast that State Street Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

State Street Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 30th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. State Streets dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.29%.

About State Street

(Get Rating)

State Street Corp. engages in the provision of financial services to institutional investors. It operates through the Commercial and Financial, and Commercial Real Estate segments. The company was founded in 1792 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

Featured Articles

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding STT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for State Street Co. (NYSE:STT  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for State Street Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for State Street and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS  Get Rating) insider Jodi J. Benson sold 3,009 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.59, for a total value of $272,585.31. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,215,129.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GIS opened at $88.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.27. General Mills, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.94 and a 1-year high of $90.89. The businesss 50 day moving average is $86.26 and its 200-day moving average is $82.90.

Get General Mills alerts:

General Mills (NYSE:GIS  Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 23rd. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $5.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 24.51% and a net margin of 14.04%. General Millss revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GIS. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 22,026 shares of the companys stock worth $1,492,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of General Mills by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,867 shares of the companys stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 1,828 shares during the period. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its position in General Mills by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 73,176 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in General Mills by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 279,604 shares of the companys stock valued at $18,935,000 after purchasing an additional 6,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in General Mills by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,834 shares of the companys stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.48% of the companys stock.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on General Mills from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, March 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on General Mills from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Monday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on General Mills in a report on Thursday, April 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on General Mills from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on General Mills from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $84.76.

About General Mills

(Get Rating)

General Mills, Inc engages in the manufacture and marketing of branded consumer foods sold through retail stores. The firm operates through the following segments: North America Retail, Europe & Australia, Convenience Stores & Foodservice, Pet, and Asia & Latin America. The North America Retail segment includes grocery stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, natural food chains, drug, dollar and discount chains and e-commerce grocery providers.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for General Mills Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for General Mills and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:GSLC  Get Rating) by 383.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146,918 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 116,552 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned 0.11% of Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF worth $1,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GSLC. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 717,252 shares of the companys stock worth $50,939,000 after purchasing an additional 74,117 shares during the period. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF in the 4th quarter worth about $418,000. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC raised its position in Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 45,219 shares of the companys stock worth $3,211,000 after purchasing an additional 3,915 shares during the period. Gries Financial LLC bought a new position in Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF in the 4th quarter worth about $1,037,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 24,227 shares of the companys stock worth $1,844,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares in the last quarter.

Get Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF alerts:

Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF Price Performance

Shares of GSLC stock opened at $82.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.98. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $80.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.37. Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF has a one year low of $69.51 and a one year high of $85.63.

Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF Company Profile

The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (GSLC) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in large cap equity. The fund tracks an index of US large-cap stocks comprising 4 sub-indexes: value, momentum, quality, and low volatility. The index uses multiple factors to pick stocks, and each sub-index receives equal weight.

Featured Articles

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GSLC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:GSLC  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Guidewire Software (NYSE:GWRE  Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the technology companys stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Guidewire Software from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Guidewire Software from $67.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Guidewire Software from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Guidewire Software in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Guidewire Software from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Guidewire Software currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $83.09.

Get Guidewire Software alerts:

Guidewire Software Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of GWRE traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $80.36. 396,612 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 681,792. The company has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a PE ratio of -40.46 and a beta of 1.27. Guidewire Software has a 52 week low of $52.08 and a 52 week high of $83.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 3.66.

Insider Activity at Guidewire Software

Guidewire Software ( NYSE:GWRE Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 6th. The technology company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $232.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $222.13 million. Guidewire Software had a negative return on equity of 12.63% and a negative net margin of 19.19%. On average, research analysts forecast that Guidewire Software will post -1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other news, insider John P. Mullen sold 11,576 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.17, for a total transaction of $893,319.92. Following the sale, the insider now owns 131,533 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,150,401.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Michael George Rosenbaum sold 5,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.17, for a total transaction of $406,300.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 193,045 shares in the company, valued at $14,897,282.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John P. Mullen sold 11,576 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.17, for a total transaction of $893,319.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 131,533 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,150,401.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,445 shares of company stock worth $2,037,798. Insiders own 0.30% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guidewire Software

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GWRE. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the 4th quarter valued at about $916,572,740,000. Balentine LLC grew its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 5,891 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of Guidewire Software during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,862,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Guidewire Software by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 8,438 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Guidewire Software by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period.

About Guidewire Software

(Get Rating)

Guidewire Software, Inc engages in the provision of technology platform, which comprises software, services, and a partner ecosystem, for the global Property and Casualty insurance industry. Its products include InsuranceSuite, PolicyCenter, ClaimCenter, BillingCenter, InsuranceNow, Analytics, Ecosystem, Guidewire for salesforce, and Guidewire Cloud.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Guidewire Software Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Guidewire Software and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH  Get Rating) Director W Robert Nichols III sold 1,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.02, for a total transaction of $46,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the companys stock, valued at $294,690. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Hilltop Price Performance

NYSE:HTH traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $31.90. The companys stock had a trading volume of 271,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 378,829. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.18 and a fifty-two week high of $34.87. The firms 50 day moving average is $29.85 and its 200-day moving average is $30.49. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33 and a beta of 1.05.

Get Hilltop alerts:

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $353.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $277.55 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 8.09% and a return on equity of 5.65%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

Analysts Set New Price Targets

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 9th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Hilltops dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.78%.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens reissued an equal weight rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Hilltop in a research report on Friday, April 21st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hilltop in a report on Thursday. They set a hold rating on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTH. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Hilltop by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,972 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Hilltop by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,501 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,005,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in Hilltop by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,355 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Hilltop by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,860 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Hilltop by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 64,239 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,928,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.46% of the companys stock.

About Hilltop

(Get Rating)

Hilltop Holdings, Inc engages in the provision of business and consumer banking services. It operates through the following segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment includes business banking, personal banking, wealth and investment management. The Broker-Dealer segment includes the following lines of business: public finance, capital markets, retail, structured finance, clearing services and securities lending.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Hilltop Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hilltop and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
ArcelorMittal S.A. (AMS:MT) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 12% in the last quarter. But that doesn't undermine the rather lovely longer-term return, if you measure over the last three years. The share price marched upwards over that time, and is now 197% higher than it was. So the recent fall in the share price should be viewed in that context. If the business can perform well for years to come, then the recent drop could be an opportunity.

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

View our latest analysis for ArcelorMittal

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

ArcelorMittal became profitable within the last three years. That kind of transition can be an inflection point that justifies a strong share price gain, just as we have seen here.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

We know that ArcelorMittal has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of ArcelorMittal, it has a TSR of 204% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 15% in the last year, ArcelorMittal shareholders lost 8.7% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 2% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with ArcelorMittal , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Dutch exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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
StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN  Get Rating) in a report published on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the insurance providers stock.

Separately, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Horace Mann Educators from $38.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th.

Get Horace Mann Educators alerts:

Horace Mann Educators Stock Down 0.7 %

HMN traded down $0.22 during trading on Thursday, hitting $32.88. 138,394 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 227,872. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -127.31 and a beta of 0.40. Horace Mann Educators has a 12-month low of $30.61 and a 12-month high of $42.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $32.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.68.

Horace Mann Educators Increases Dividend

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 15th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. This is a positive change from Horace Mann Educatorss previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Horace Mann Educatorss dividend payout ratio is currently -507.69%.

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,350 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 246.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,890 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 675.6% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,094 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 1,729.3% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,055 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 2,888 shares during the period.

About Horace Mann Educators

(Get Rating)

Horace Mann Educators Corp. is an insurance holding company, which engages in the provision of insurance and retirement solutions to educators and school employees. It operates through the following business segments: Property and Casualty, Supplemental, Retirement, Life, and Corporate and Other. The Property and Casualty segment focuses on personal lines of automobile and property insurance products.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for Horace Mann Educators Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Horace Mann Educators and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR  Get Rating)s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $112.76 and last traded at $112.40, with a volume of 140264 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $111.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on Ingredion from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ingredion from $115.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. UBS Group upgraded Ingredion from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Ingredion in a research note on Thursday. They issued a buy rating for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Ingredion from $110.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ingredion has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $118.80.

Get Ingredion alerts:

Ingredion Trading Up 1.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.15.

Ingredion Announces Dividend

Ingredion ( NYSE:INGR Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.79. Ingredion had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 6.75%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.95 EPS. Ingredions revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ingredion Incorporated will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 31st. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Ingredions payout ratio is 34.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 1,746 shares of Ingredion stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.61, for a total value of $189,633.06. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,198,918.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 1,746 shares of Ingredion stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.61, for a total transaction of $189,633.06. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,246 shares in the company, valued at $2,198,918.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jorgen Kokke sold 7,119 shares of Ingredion stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.21, for a total value of $713,394.99. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,537 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,661,372.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,866 shares of company stock worth $903,124 in the last ninety days. 1.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Group One Trading L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Ingredion in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Ingredion by 119.5% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 292 shares of the companys stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ingredion by 3,260.0% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 336 shares of the companys stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC increased its stake in Ingredion by 172.3% during the 4th quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 354 shares of the companys stock worth $34,667,220,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new stake in Ingredion during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 85.70% of the companys stock.

About Ingredion

(Get Rating)

Ingredion, Inc engages in the development, production, and sale of food and beverage ingredients, primarily starches and sweeteners. The firm is involved in transforming corn, tapioca, potatoes, plant-based stevia, grains, fruits, gums, and vegetables into value-added ingredients and biomaterials for the food, beverage, brewing, and other industries.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Ingredion Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ingredion and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE  Get Rating) by 38.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,117 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 52,391 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLCs holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $8,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter worth $152,011,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 59.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,275,418 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $564,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589,999 shares in the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 55.0% during the third quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 4,278,419 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $386,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517,876 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 3,801.0% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,320,464 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $119,304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,615 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,570,569 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $232,252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186,666 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.28% of the companys stock.

Get Intercontinental Exchange alerts:

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $108.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $104.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.58. The firm has a market cap of $60.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.93. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.60 and a 12 month high of $113.07.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

Intercontinental Exchange ( NYSE:ICE Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.01. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. Intercontinental Exchanges dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ICE has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Raymond James upped their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $126.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a buy rating and set a $168.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $131.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.80, for a total value of $167,680.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,251,208.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 81,827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $8,511,644.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,203,104 shares of the companys stock, valued at $125,146,878.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.80, for a total transaction of $167,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,481 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,251,208.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,577 shares of company stock worth $8,695,480 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services and technology solutions. It operates through the following segments: Exchanges, Fixed Income and Data Services, and Mortgage Technology. The Exchanges segment includes trading and listing revenue from the global futures network, the New York Stock Exchange and other registered securities exchanges.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Intercontinental Exchange Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Intercontinental Exchange and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Shares of InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE:IHG  Get Rating) have been given an average recommendation of Hold by the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5,466.67.

Several analysts recently commented on IHG shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut InterContinental Hotels Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Peel Hunt cut InterContinental Hotels Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut InterContinental Hotels Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut InterContinental Hotels Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas cut InterContinental Hotels Group from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th.

Get InterContinental Hotels Group alerts:

InterContinental Hotels Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE IHG opened at $68.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.21. InterContinental Hotels Group has a 12-month low of $47.06 and a 12-month high of $72.10. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $67.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.77.

InterContinental Hotels Group Increases Dividend

Hedge Funds Weigh In On InterContinental Hotels Group

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 30th. This is a boost from InterContinental Hotels Groups previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.44. This represents a dividend yield of 1.9%. InterContinental Hotels Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.37%.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of InterContinental Hotels Group by 571.5% in the 1st quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,505 shares of the companys stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 2,983 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of InterContinental Hotels Group by 22.7% in the 1st quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 7,158 shares of the companys stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of InterContinental Hotels Group by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,320 shares of the companys stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of InterContinental Hotels Group by 96.4% in the 1st quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 11,060 shares of the companys stock worth $737,000 after acquiring an additional 5,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of InterContinental Hotels Group by 469.6% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 62,061 shares of the companys stock worth $4,133,000 after acquiring an additional 51,165 shares during the last quarter. 4.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

InterContinental Hotels Group Company Profile

(Get Rating)

InterContinental Hotels Group Plc owns and operates hotels. The firms hotel brands include: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, EVEN Hotels, IHG Rewards Club, Kimpton and HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts. It operates through the following segments: Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa, Americas, Greater China and Central.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for InterContinental Hotels Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for InterContinental Hotels Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund (NYSEARCA:DBC  Get Rating) dropped 0.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $22.64 and last traded at $22.74. Approximately 993,312 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 1,389,222 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.95.

Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund Stock Down 0.9 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.18.

Get Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund alerts:

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DBC. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund by 398.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 26,524 shares of the companys stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 21,199 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund by 11.1% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 11,653 shares of the companys stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund by 103.4% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 147,482 shares of the companys stock worth $3,843,000 after purchasing an additional 74,978 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund by 408.8% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 125,808 shares of the companys stock worth $3,279,000 after purchasing an additional 101,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund by 53.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,420 shares of the companys stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.82% of the companys stock.

Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund Company Profile

Deutsche Bank is a leading global investment bank with a strong and profitable private clients franchise. A leader in Germany and Europe, the bank is continuously growing in North America, Asia and key emerging markets. Deutsche Bank offers unparalleled financial services in countries throughout the world.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (NYSEARCA:CRBN  Get Rating) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 162,523 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1,270% from the previous sessions volume of 11,862 shares.The stock last traded at $151.14 and had previously closed at $151.35.

iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.49. The company has a market capitalization of $892.38 million, a PE ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 0.94.

Get iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF alerts:

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flow Traders U.S. LLC bought a new position in iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $60,983,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF by 1,924.6% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 240,278 shares of the companys stock valued at $32,873,000 after acquiring an additional 228,410 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF by 131.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 52,161 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,606,000 after acquiring an additional 29,599 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF by 121.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,280 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,739,000 after acquiring an additional 22,644 shares during the period. Finally, Aspiriant LLC increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 79,387 shares of the companys stock valued at $11,745,000 after purchasing an additional 15,962 shares during the period.

iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF Company Profile

The iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (CRBN) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target index. The fund tracks an index of stocks from global firms selected for a bias toward lower carbon emissions. CRBN was launched on Dec 9, 2014 and is managed by BlackRock.

Read More

Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:LUMN  Get Rating) has been given a consensus rating of Hold by the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.11.

LUMN has been the subject of several analyst reports. TheStreet lowered Lumen Technologies from a c rating to a d rating in a report on Tuesday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Lumen Technologies from $6.00 to $2.50 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 13th. Citigroup lowered Lumen Technologies from a neutral rating to a sell rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $6.25 to $3.50 in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Lumen Technologies from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Lumen Technologies from $4.00 to $2.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th.

Get Lumen Technologies alerts:

Institutional Trading of Lumen Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LUMN. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Lumen Technologies by 2,331.1% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 10,551 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 10,117 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Lumen Technologies by 356.7% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 10,879 shares of the technology companys stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 8,497 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Lumen Technologies during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. PDS Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Lumen Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new position in shares of Lumen Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lumen Technologies Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of Lumen Technologies stock opened at $2.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.52 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Lumen Technologies has a 52-week low of $2.06 and a 52-week high of $12.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.20.

Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Lumen Technologies had a negative net margin of 9.89% and a positive return on equity of 8.87%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lumen Technologies will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lumen Technologies Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Lumen Technologies, Inc is an investment holding company, which engages in the provision of integrated communications to residential and business customers. It operates through the following segments: Business and Mass Markets. Business segment provides products and services under four sales channels to enterprise and commercial customers.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for Lumen Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Lumen Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Citizens Financial Group Inc RI boosted its stake in shares of M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:MDC  Get Rating) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,539 shares of the construction companys stock after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc RIs holdings in M.D.C. were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Camarda Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in M.D.C. by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Camarda Financial Advisors LLC now owns 29,598 shares of the construction companys stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 9,163 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in M.D.C. by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 623,250 shares of the construction companys stock worth $19,695,000 after purchasing an additional 111,861 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in M.D.C. during the 4th quarter worth about $109,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in M.D.C. by 222.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 373,180 shares of the construction companys stock worth $14,059,000 after purchasing an additional 257,590 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of M.D.C. by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,091,173 shares of the construction companys stock worth $160,881,000 after acquiring an additional 284,105 shares in the last quarter. 82.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Get M.D.C. alerts:

M.D.C. Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of M.D.C. stock opened at $43.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 1.37. M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.04 and a twelve month high of $43.51. The firms 50-day moving average price is $39.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.92. The company has a current ratio of 9.12, a quick ratio of 3.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

M.D.C. Dividend Announcement

M.D.C. ( NYSE:MDC Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The construction company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $887.13 million. M.D.C. had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 16.34%. M.D.C.s quarterly revenue was down 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 9th. M.D.C.s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.72%.

Insider Activity at M.D.C.

In other M.D.C. news, Director David E. Blackford sold 4,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total value of $165,015.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,587 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $754,925.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other M.D.C. news, Director Herbert T. Buchwald sold 8,349 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.20, for a total value of $302,233.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David E. Blackford sold 4,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total transaction of $165,015.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,587 shares in the company, valued at $754,925.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 337,609 shares of company stock valued at $13,923,750. 23.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of M.D.C. in a research note on Thursday. They set a hold rating on the stock. Wedbush reissued a neutral rating on shares of M.D.C. in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of M.D.C. from $30.50 to $27.50 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $27.50.

M.D.C. Profile

(Get Rating)

M.DC Holdings, Inc engages in proving homebuilding and financial services. It operates through the following business segments: West, Mountain, and East. The West segment includes operations in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. The Mountain segment refers to the operations in Colorado, Idaho, and Utah.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MDC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:MDC  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for M.D.C. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for M.D.C. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Science Applications International Co. (NYSE:SAIC  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,599 shares of the information technology services providers stock, valued at approximately $399,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Science Applications International by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,699,458 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $525,321,000 after buying an additional 491,167 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Science Applications International by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,210,623 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $460,775,000 after purchasing an additional 68,359 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Science Applications International by 2.0% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,887,542 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $450,486,000 after purchasing an additional 94,874 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Science Applications International by 0.8% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,783,231 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $337,462,000 after buying an additional 31,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Science Applications International by 68.3% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,035,190 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $179,971,000 after buying an additional 825,670 shares during the period. 76.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Get Science Applications International alerts:

Insider Transactions at Science Applications International

In related news, CEO Nazzic S. Keene sold 26,237 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.37, for a total value of $2,817,066.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 65,680 shares in the company, valued at $7,052,061.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Katharina G. Mcfarland sold 1,193 shares of Science Applications International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.48, for a total value of $129,416.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $847,554.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nazzic S. Keene sold 26,237 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.37, for a total value of $2,817,066.69. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 65,680 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,052,061.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,430 shares of company stock worth $3,589,623 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.12% of the companys stock.

Science Applications International Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Science Applications International stock traded down $1.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $98.48. 94,639 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 295,864. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.57 and a beta of 0.71. Science Applications International Co. has a twelve month low of $79.33 and a twelve month high of $117.94.

Science Applications International (NYSE:SAIC  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 3rd. The information technology services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.41. Science Applications International had a net margin of 3.89% and a return on equity of 25.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. Science Applications Internationals revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Science Applications International Co. will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Science Applications International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 14th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 13th. Science Applications Internationals dividend payout ratio is currently 27.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SAIC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com began coverage on Science Applications International in a research note on Thursday. They set a strong-buy rating on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on Science Applications International from $141.00 to $127.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Science Applications International from $121.00 to $118.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Science Applications International from $90.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Science Applications International from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $113.30.

About Science Applications International

(Get Rating)

Science Applications International Corp. is a provider of technical, engineering and enterprise information technology (IT) services. Its offerings include engineering, systems integration and information technology offerings for large, complex government projects and offer a broad range of services with a targeted emphasis on higher end, differentiated technology services, and end-to-end services spanning the entire spectrum of its customers IT infrastructure.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for Science Applications International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Science Applications International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB  Get Rating) Director Rudina Seseri sold 700 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.40, for a total value of $82,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,736 shares of the companys stock, valued at $205,542.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

M&T Bank Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MTB traded down $0.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $121.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,469,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,836,187. M&T Bank Co. has a twelve month low of $109.36 and a twelve month high of $193.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.78. The stocks 50 day moving average is $120.04 and its 200-day moving average is $143.44.

Get M&T Bank alerts:

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.37 billion. M&T Bank had a net margin of 23.20% and a return on equity of 11.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that M&T Bank Co. will post 17.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 31st. M&T Banks dividend payout ratio is currently 40.28%.

Several analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on M&T Bank from $141.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. UBS Group downgraded M&T Bank from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on M&T Bank from $155.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Citigroup upgraded M&T Bank from a neutral rating to a buy rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $178.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Monday, March 27th. Finally, Argus upgraded M&T Bank from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, M&T Bank has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $165.10.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in M&T Bank by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,153,301 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,811,880,000 after buying an additional 3,945,773 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of M&T Bank by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,607,431 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $2,475,959,000 after acquiring an additional 316,266 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in M&T Bank by 0.8% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,106,150 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,567,102,000 after purchasing an additional 108,068 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in M&T Bank by 1.1% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,994,434 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $955,894,000 after purchasing an additional 87,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in M&T Bank by 0.7% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,985,096 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $954,778,000 after acquiring an additional 55,623 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.10% of the companys stock.

M&T Bank Company Profile

(Get Rating)

M&T Bank Corp. operates as a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking, trust, wealth management and investment services. It operates through the following segments: Business Banking, Commercial Banking, Commercial Real Estate, Discretionary Portfolio, Residential Mortgage Banking, and Retail Banking.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for M&T Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for M&T Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
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. 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. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. With that in mind, the ROCE of Imperial Oil (TSE:IMO) looks great, so lets see what the trend can tell us.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Imperial Oil:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.26 = CA$9.4b  (CA$42b - CA$6.6b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2023).

Therefore, Imperial Oil has an ROCE of 26%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Oil and Gas industry average of 19%.

See our latest analysis for Imperial Oil

roce

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Imperial Oil compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Imperial Oil.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Imperial Oil has not disappointed with their ROCE growth. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 1,130% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. So our take on this is that the business has increased efficiencies to generate these higher returns, all the while not needing to make any additional investments. It's worth looking deeper into this though because while it's great that the business is more efficient, it might also mean that going forward the areas to invest internally for the organic growth are lacking.

In Conclusion...

To sum it up, Imperial Oil is collecting higher returns from the same amount of capital, and that's impressive. Since the stock has returned a solid 75% to shareholders over the last five years, it's fair to say investors are beginning to recognize these changes. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

On a final note, we've found 1 warning sign for Imperial Oil that we think you should be aware of.

If you want to search for more stocks that have been earning high returns, check out this free list of stocks with solid balance sheets that are also earning high 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
StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of NovaBay Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:NBY  Get Rating) in a research report released on Monday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $0.72 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.97 million, a PE ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 2.72. NovaBay Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $0.66 and a 1 year high of $12.64.

Get NovaBay Pharmaceuticals alerts:

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Featured Stories

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc engages in the development and sales of scientifically-created and clinically-proven eyecare and skincare. Its products include Avenova, NeutroPhase, CelleRx, and DERMAdoctor. The company was founded on January 19, 2000 and is headquartered in Emeryville, CA.

Receive News & Ratings for NovaBay Pharmaceuticals Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for NovaBay Pharmaceuticals and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Invitae (NYSE:NVTA  Get Rating) had its price target decreased by Piper Sandler from $1.75 to $1.50 in a research report released on Monday, The Fly reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Invitae in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a sell rating for the company. Raymond James downgraded shares of Invitae from a market perform rating to an underperform rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Invitae from a neutral rating to a sell rating and set a $2.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Invitae has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $3.88.

Get Invitae alerts:

Invitae Stock Performance

Shares of NVTA stock opened at $1.14 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $297.16 million, a P/E ratio of -0.09 and a beta of 1.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.99. Invitae has a 52 week low of $1.05 and a 52 week high of $9.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.68.

Insider Transactions at Invitae

Invitae ( NYSE:NVTA Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 9th. The medical research company reported ($0.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of ($0.41) by $0.04. Invitae had a negative return on equity of 285.28% and a negative net margin of 611.14%. The company had revenue of $117.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $116.57 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.78) earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Invitae will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

In other Invitae news, insider Robert L. Nussbaum sold 26,476 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.20, for a total transaction of $31,771.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 576,431 shares of the companys stock, valued at $691,717.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Invitae news, CFO Yafei Wen sold 43,452 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.99, for a total value of $86,469.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 700,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,393,591.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Robert L. Nussbaum sold 26,476 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.20, for a total value of $31,771.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 576,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,717.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 136,919 shares of company stock valued at $198,630. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Invitae

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Advocates Investment Management acquired a new position in Invitae in the third quarter valued at about $206,000. Credit Agricole S A bought a new position in shares of Invitae during the third quarter worth $25,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Invitae in the 1st quarter valued at $82,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Invitae during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Aries Wealth Management bought a new position in Invitae during the third quarter worth about $31,000. 76.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Invitae Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Invitae Corp. engages in the provision of genetic information into mainstream medical practice. It includes comprehensive panels for hereditary conditions in cancer, cardiology, neurology, pediatric, and rare diseases. The company was founded by Randal W. Scott and Sean E. George on January 13, 2010 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for Invitae Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Invitae and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Loop Energy (OTC:LPENF  Get Rating) had its price target reduced by Raymond James to C$0.65 in a research note released on Monday, The Fly reports.

Separately, National Bank Financial cut Loop Energy from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, March 30th.

Get Loop Energy alerts:

Loop Energy Price Performance

Shares of OTC LPENF opened at $0.51 on Monday. Loop Energy has a fifty-two week low of $0.51 and a fifty-two week high of $2.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $0.66.

Loop Energy Company Profile

Loop Energy Inc develops, manufactures, and supplies hydrogen fuel cells to vehicle and power generation system manufacturers worldwide. The company offers its fuel cell systems for the electrification of light commercial vehicles, transit buses, and medium and heavy-duty trucks. Loop Energy Inc was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Burnaby, Canada.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Loop Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Loop Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Ruffer LLP lessened its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV  Get Rating) by 93.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,000 shares of the airlines stock after selling 491,142 shares during the quarter. Ruffer LLPs holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LUV. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,861,508 shares of the airlines stock valued at $2,000,330,000 after acquiring an additional 638,015 shares during the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 6,044,770 shares of the airlines stock worth $203,527,000 after buying an additional 68,199 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,854,746 shares of the airlines stock worth $222,347,000 after purchasing an additional 104,191 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,503,131 shares of the airlines stock worth $138,912,000 after purchasing an additional 105,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,861,289 shares of the airlines stock valued at $131,047,000 after acquiring an additional 84,212 shares in the last quarter. 74.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Get Southwest Airlines alerts:

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $68.00 to $63.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Southwest Airlines from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Barclays lowered Southwest Airlines from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, March 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday. They set a hold rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $44.71.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $29.51. The stock had a trading volume of 2,594,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,947,367. The companys fifty day moving average is $30.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $28.40 and a 52 week high of $46.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The airline reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.06). Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.99% and a net margin of 2.65%. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.32) earnings per share. Southwest Airliness revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 21st will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 20th. Southwest Airliness payout ratio is currently 72.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other news, EVP Ryan C. Green sold 4,936 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.94, for a total transaction of $147,783.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,361 shares in the company, valued at $789,248.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.32% of the companys stock.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Southwest Airlines Co engages in the operation and management of a passenger airline. The firm also offers ancillary services such as early bird check-in, upgraded boarding, and transportation of pets and unaccompanied minors. It operates in the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LUV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Southwest Airlines Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Southwest Airlines and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH  Get Rating) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,031 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock after selling 154 shares during the period. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLCs holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UNH. O Dell Group LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. O Dell Group LLC now owns 69 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 71 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 192.3% during the 4th quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.31% of the companys stock.

Get UnitedHealth Group alerts:

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE UNH traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $479.95. 860,575 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,347,303. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $446.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.68. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $488.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $502.07. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $449.70 and a 52 week high of $558.10.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

UnitedHealth Group ( NYSE:UNH Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 14th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $6.24 by $0.02. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 27.05% and a net margin of 6.16%. The company had revenue of $91.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.49 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 13th were given a dividend of $1.65 per share. This represents a $6.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Groups payout ratio is presently 30.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,008 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.58, for a total transaction of $488,456.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,359 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,019,764.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Andrew Witty sold 6,160 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.49, for a total transaction of $3,002,938.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,564 shares in the company, valued at $42,199,084.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,008 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.58, for a total transaction of $488,456.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,359 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,019,764.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,852 shares of company stock valued at $4,313,962. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNH. Oppenheimer restated an outperform rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. They set an overweight rating and a $591.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $592.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $617.00 to $627.00 in a report on Monday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $562.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $600.88.

UnitedHealth Group Profile

(Get Rating)

UnitedHealth Group, Inc engages in the provision of health care coverage, software, and data consultancy services. It operates through the following segments: UnitedHealthcare, OptumHealth, OptumInsight, and OptumRx. The UnitedHealthcare segment utilizes Optums capabilities to help coordinate patient care, improve affordability of medical care, analyze cost trends, manage pharmacy benefits, work with care providers more effectively, and create a simpler consumer experience.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for UnitedHealth Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for UnitedHealth Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Shenzhen Investment Holdings Bay Area Development Company Limited (OTCMKTS:SIHBY  Get Rating) declared a dividend on Friday, May 19th, investing.com reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.0377 per share on Friday, July 21st. This represents a yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 23rd.

Shenzhen Investment Holdings Bay Area Development Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS SIHBY opened at $2.26 on Friday. Shenzhen Investment Holdings Bay Area Development has a 1-year low of $1.35 and a 1-year high of $3.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.19.

Get Shenzhen Investment Holdings Bay Area Development alerts:

About Shenzhen Investment Holdings Bay Area Development

(Get Rating)

Recommended Stories

Shenzhen Investment Holdings Bay Area Development Company Limited, an investment holding company, develops, operates, and manages toll expressways and bridges in the People's Republic of China. It operates through GS Superhighway, GZ West Superhighway, and Xintang Interchange segments. The company operates toll expressway projects comprising Guangzhou-Shenzhen superhighway and Guangzhou-Zhuhai West superhighway.

Receive News & Ratings for Shenzhen Investment Holdings Bay Area Development Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Shenzhen Investment Holdings Bay Area Development and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
StockNews.com began coverage on shares of LG Display (NYSE:LPL  Get Rating) in a report published on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the electronics makers stock.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded LG Display from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th.

Get LG Display alerts:

LG Display Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LPL traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $6.20. 104,166 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 201,510. LG Display has a one year low of $4.08 and a one year high of $7.09. The companys 50 day moving average is $5.89 and its 200 day moving average is $5.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Institutional Trading of LG Display

LG Display ( NYSE:LPL Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 17th. The electronics maker reported ($1.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.58) by ($1.34). The firm had revenue of $5.38 billion for the quarter. LG Display had a negative net margin of 17.75% and a negative return on equity of 34.31%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LG Display will post -2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LG Display by 82.7% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 779,380 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $6,438,000 after acquiring an additional 352,719 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in LG Display by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 645,527 shares of the electronics makers stock valued at $2,634,000 after purchasing an additional 12,061 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of LG Display by 20.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 596,321 shares of the electronics makers stock valued at $3,781,000 after buying an additional 101,843 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in shares of LG Display by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 269,952 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $1,722,000 after acquiring an additional 56,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in LG Display by 126.1% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 267,565 shares of the electronics makers stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 149,248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.00% of the companys stock.

LG Display Company Profile

(Get Rating)

LG Display Co, Ltd. engages in the manufacture and sale of thin film transistor and organic light-emitting diode display (OLED) products. Its products include television, commercial, monitor, notebook, mobile, auto, and OLED display. The company was founded on February 28, 1985 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

Read More

Receive News & Ratings for LG Display Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for LG Display and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF  Get Rating) (NYSE:SLF) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have C$79.00 price target on the financial services providers stock, up from their previous price target of C$76.00.

SLF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$71.00 to C$75.00 in a research note on Friday, February 10th. TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$68.00 to C$71.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Sun Life Financial from C$76.00 to C$75.00 in a report on Thursday, April 13th. Evercore boosted their target price on Sun Life Financial from C$73.00 to C$76.00 in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, CIBC lowered Sun Life Financial from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and increased their price target for the company from C$71.00 to C$73.00 in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of C$73.31.

Get Sun Life Financial alerts:

Sun Life Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

SLF opened at C$66.90 on Tuesday. The stocks 50 day moving average price is C$64.01 and its 200 day moving average price is C$64.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 66.33, a current ratio of 8.22 and a quick ratio of 84,866.00. The stock has a market cap of C$39.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.98. Sun Life Financial has a 12 month low of C$52.97 and a 12 month high of C$69.09.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

Sun Life Financial Company Profile

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. This is an increase from Sun Life Financials previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 30th. Sun Life Financials dividend payout ratio is currently 55.28%.

(Get Rating)

Sun Life Financial Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, wealth, and asset management solutions to individuals and corporate clients worldwide. It offers term and permanent life, as well as personal health, dental, critical illness, long-term care, and disability insurance products. The company also provides reinsurance products; investment counselling and portfolio management services; mutual funds and segregated funds; trust and banking services; real estate property brokerage and appraisal services; and merchant banking services.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for Sun Life Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sun Life Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of iShares iBonds Dec 2023 Term Corporate ETF (NYSEARCA:IBDO  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,411 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $35,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of iShares iBonds Dec 2023 Term Corporate ETF in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Parallel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in iShares iBonds Dec 2023 Term Corporate ETF during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in iShares iBonds Dec 2023 Term Corporate ETF by 99.3% during the 4th quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,493 shares of the companys stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,740 shares during the period. Horan Securities Inc. purchased a new position in iShares iBonds Dec 2023 Term Corporate ETF during the 4th quarter valued at $132,000. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in iShares iBonds Dec 2023 Term Corporate ETF during the 4th quarter valued at $307,000.

Get iShares iBonds Dec 2023 Term Corporate ETF alerts:

iShares iBonds Dec 2023 Term Corporate ETF Price Performance

IBDO remained flat at $25.24 during trading hours on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 83,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,647. The companys 50-day moving average price is $25.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.09. iShares iBonds Dec 2023 Term Corporate ETF has a one year low of $24.87 and a one year high of $25.26.

iShares iBonds Dec 2023 Term Corporate ETF Profile

The iShares iBonds Dec 2023 Term Corporate ETF (IBDO) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in investment grade fixed income. The fund tracks a Bloomberg global index of USD denominated, investment-grade corporate bonds maturing between Dec 31, 2022 and Jan 1, 2024. IBDO was launched on Mar 12, 2015 and is managed by BlackRock.

Further Reading

Receive News & Ratings for iShares iBonds Dec 2023 Term Corporate ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares iBonds Dec 2023 Term Corporate ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Ruffer LLP boosted its position in Tim S.A. (NYSE:TIMB  Get Rating) by 62.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,000 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the quarter. Ruffer LLPs holdings in TIM were worth $760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in TIM by 42.9% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 74,065 shares of the companys stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 22,230 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in TIM by 41.3% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 476,740 shares of the companys stock worth $6,913,000 after acquiring an additional 139,387 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its holdings in TIM by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 396,301 shares of the companys stock worth $5,746,000 after acquiring an additional 18,067 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in TIM by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 680,186 shares of the companys stock worth $9,863,000 after acquiring an additional 6,100 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in TIM by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 33,648 shares of the companys stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.64% of the companys stock.

Get TIM alerts:

TIM Stock Performance

TIMB stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.07. The company had a trading volume of 421,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 551,852. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.75. Tim S.A. has a one year low of $10.19 and a one year high of $15.27. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $13.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.24.

TIM Cuts Dividend

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

The business also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.0745 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 28th. TIMs dividend payout ratio is currently 95.31%.

Separately, Scotiabank upgraded TIM from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating in a report on Thursday.

TIM Profile

(Get Rating)

TIM SA (Brazil) engages in providing mobile telephony, internet, and media telecommunication services. It offers modem, tablet, cell phone, and ultra fixed broadband. The company was founded on March 9, 1998 and is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Featured Articles

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TIMB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Tim S.A. (NYSE:TIMB  Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for TIM Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TIM and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
(Bloomberg) -- Ant Group Co.s quarterly profit fell 56% as the fintech giant shifted its focus from expansion to regulatory compliance, and the company saw a decrease in investment gains.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The Hangzhou-based company contributed nearly 3.18 billion yuan ($452 million) in profit to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in the three months ended Dec. 31, a filing showed Thursday. Based on Alibabas one-third stake in Ant, that translates to an estimated 9.6 billion yuan in profit for Ant. That compares with an 83% fall in the previous quarter. Ants earnings lag a quarter behind Alibabas.

The company declined to comment in an emailed statement.

Ant is waiting for a financial holding company license, more than two years after authorities torpedoed its planned initial public offering. The companys valuation was trimmed by Fidelity Investments again to $63.8 billion as of November, far below its peak of $235 billion.

Billionaire Jack Ma, who has largely remained out of public sight in recent years, has said he will cede control of the company amid a broader retreat. He returned to China in March after a long period of staying overseas.

In signs of progress, regulators recently allowed Ants consumer lending affiliate to increase capital. The Communist Party chief of Hangzhou in January praised the company for following its leadership, marking a softening stance toward the firm that was once controlled by Ma.

Ant Chairman Eric Jing highlighted the support private companies are receiving from the government in a February state-media report. He stressed that the country hasnt changed its stance or level of support for the private economy, and that the government expects platform operations to continue to create jobs and compete internationally.

In a filing in July last year, Alibaba reiterated that Ma intends to reduce and thereafter limit his direct and indirect economic interest in Ant Group over time to a percentage that doesnt exceed 8.8%.

--With assistance from Jennifer Ryan.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Travel + Leisure Co. (NYSE:TNL  Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 17th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th will be given a dividend of 0.45 per share on Friday, June 30th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th.

Travel + Leisure Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE TNL opened at $37.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.66. Travel + Leisure has a 52 week low of $33.57 and a 52 week high of $52.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.80.

Get Travel + Leisure alerts:

Travel + Leisure (NYSE:TNL  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $879.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $840.65 million. Travel + Leisure had a net margin of 10.17% and a negative return on equity of 43.00%. The companys revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Travel + Leisure will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

In other news, insider Olivier Chavy sold 2,650 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total value of $99,401.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,411 shares of the companys stock, valued at $465,536.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website . In other news, Director George Herrera sold 2,069 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.53, for a total value of $77,649.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,838 shares of the companys stock, valued at $219,100.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website . Also, insider Olivier Chavy sold 2,650 shares of Travel + Leisure stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total transaction of $99,401.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,411 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $465,536.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders sold a total of 12,619 shares of company stock valued at $477,409 over the last 90 days. 2.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Travel + Leisure in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Travel + Leisure during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Travel + Leisure by 28.3% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,976 shares of the companys stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan Co. acquired a new stake in Travel + Leisure during the first quarter worth approximately $225,000. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Travel + Leisure during the first quarter worth approximately $230,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.54% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TNL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Credit Suisse Group increased their target price on shares of Travel + Leisure from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Travel + Leisure from a buy rating to a hold rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Travel + Leisure in a research report on Monday, April 17th. They set an underperform rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Travel + Leisure from $69.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $50.43.

Travel + Leisure Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Travel + Leisure Co is a membership and leisure travel company, with a portfolio of nearly 20 resort, travel club, and lifestyle travel brands. It operates through Vacation Ownership and Travel and Membership segments. The Vacation Ownership segment is involved in developing, marketing, and selling vacation ownership interests to individual consumers, providing consumer financing in connection with the sale of vacation ownership interests, and providing property management services at resorts.

Featured Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Travel + Leisure Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Travel + Leisure and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Waddell & Associates LLC lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT  Get Rating) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,527 shares of the retailers stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 0.4% of Waddell & Associates LLCs holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Waddell & Associates LLCs holdings in Walmart were worth $2,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. My Personal CFO LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 105.3% in the 4th quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the retailers stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 212 shares of the retailers stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Lipe & Dalton acquired a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.27% of the companys stock.

Get Walmart alerts:

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 852,215 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.26, for a total value of $122,940,535.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 266,841,420 shares of the companys stock, valued at $38,494,543,249.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 563,717 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.26, for a total value of $80,194,380.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 264,873,644 shares in the company, valued at $37,680,924,595.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 852,215 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.26, for a total transaction of $122,940,535.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 266,841,420 shares in the company, valued at $38,494,543,249.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,044,002 shares of company stock worth $2,981,168,308. Insiders own 47.06% of the companys stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT traded down $1.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $149.60. The stock had a trading volume of 5,166,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,171,347. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $117.27 and a twelve month high of $154.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $403.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.48. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $147.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.63.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT  Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 18th. The retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.15. Walmart had a return on equity of 20.45% and a net margin of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $152.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $147.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 8th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 7th. Walmarts dividend payout ratio is presently 53.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $160.00 to $164.00 in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Walmart from $161.00 to $160.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Tigress Financial upgraded Walmart from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $176.00 in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, March 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $164.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $166.03.

Walmart Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Walmart, Inc engages in retail and wholesale business. The company offers an assortment of merchandise and services at everyday low prices. It operates through the following business segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sams Club. The Walmart U.S. segment operates as a merchandiser of consumer products, operating under the Walmart, Wal-Mart, and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands, as well as walmart.com and other eCommerce brands.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for Walmart Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Walmart and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Whitecap Resources Inc. (TSE:WCP  Get Rating) announced a monthly dividend on Wednesday, May 17th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 31st will be given a dividend of 0.048 per share on Thursday, June 15th. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 30th.

Whitecap Resources Trading Up 0.6 %

TSE WCP opened at C$10.05 on Friday. Whitecap Resources has a 52 week low of C$7.70 and a 52 week high of C$12.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of C$10.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$10.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.28. The stock has a market capitalization of C$6.06 billion, a PE ratio of 4.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.33 and a beta of 2.89.

Get Whitecap Resources alerts:

Whitecap Resources (TSE:WCP  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The company reported C$0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of C$0.42 by C$0.10. The firm had revenue of C$1.12 billion during the quarter. Whitecap Resources had a net margin of 33.46% and a return on equity of 26.68%. As a group, research analysts expect that Whitecap Resources will post 1.2300995 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Insiders Place Their Bets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WCP shares. National Bankshares increased their price objective on Whitecap Resources from C$15.50 to C$16.50 in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$13.50 to C$14.00 in a report on Friday, February 24th. ATB Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$16.00 to C$15.00 in a research report on Monday, April 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$15.00 to C$14.50 in a research report on Wednesday, March 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of C$14.91.

In related news, Director Grant Bradley Fagerheim purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$10.14 per share, with a total value of C$101,400.00. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 17,660 shares of company stock valued at $178,651. Insiders own 0.74% of the companys stock.

Whitecap Resources Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Whitecap Resources Inc, oil and gas company, acquires and develops petroleum and natural gas properties in Canada. Its principal properties are located in West Central Alberta, British Columbia, Southeast Saskatchewan, West Central Saskatchewan, and Southwest Saskatchewan. As of February 14, 2022, it had a total proved plus probable reserves of 701,829 thousand barrels of oil equivalent.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for Whitecap Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Whitecap Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX  Get Rating) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 1,689 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,369% compared to the typical volume of 115 put options.

Xerox Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE XRX opened at $14.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $14.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.75 and a beta of 1.67. Xerox has a 52-week low of $11.80 and a 52-week high of $19.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Get Xerox alerts:

Xerox (NYSE:XRX  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The information technology services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.28. Xerox had a positive return on equity of 8.17% and a negative net margin of 2.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Xerox will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Insider Buying and Selling at Xerox

Several research firms have recently issued reports on XRX. TheStreet upgraded shares of Xerox from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Xerox in a research note on Thursday. They set a buy rating on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on Xerox from $15.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Reduce and a consensus price target of $13.00.

In other Xerox news, EVP Jacques-Edouard Gueden sold 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.61, for a total transaction of $156,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,125 shares in the company, valued at $439,031.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xerox

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Xerox by 20.2% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 560,997 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $11,315,000 after purchasing an additional 94,090 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xerox in the 1st quarter worth approximately $604,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Xerox by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 28,887 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 3,654 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Xerox by 24.4% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,232 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Xerox by 12.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,121 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Xerox

(Get Rating)

Xerox Holdings Corporation, a workplace technology company, designs, develops, and sells document management systems and solutions in the United States, Europe, Canada, and internationally. It offers workplace solutions, including desktop monochrome, and color and multifunction printers; digital printing presses and light production devices, and solutions; and digital services that leverage workflow automation, personalization and communication software, content management solutions, and digitization services.

See Also

Receive News & Ratings for Xerox Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Xerox and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
American Airlines and JetBlue must end their alliance, a federal judge said on Friday, ruling that the partnership weakens competition and hurts consumers in the Northeast by reducing their flight options.

The decision is a blow for the airlines, which have said their codeshare agreement helps consumers by creating a stronger competitor in the Northeast to counterbalance the power of Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.

American and JetBlue announced in 2020 they would cooperate on some routes in the northeast in a deal they called the Northeast Alliance. They argued it was a pro-consumer arrangement that allowed them to start 58 new routes from four airports in New York and Boston, add flights on other routes and plan new international destinations.

The partnership went into effect in early 2021, in the last days of the Trump Administration. The deal lets American and JetBlue coordinate schedules and share revenue on many routes to and from New York and Boston.

However, the Department of Justice, joined by six states and the District of Columbia, sued in 2021 to block the alliance, arguing that American and JetBlue are already too powerful in the airline industry, and that the deal would lower choice and drive up prices for flyers. An economist arguing for the Justice Department predicted that consumers would spend more than $700 million more a year if American and JetBlue stopped competing with each other in the Northeast, according to the Associated Press.

"It is a very important case to us ... because of those families that need to travel and want affordable tickets and good service," Justice Department lawyer Bill Jones said during closing arguments, the AP reported.

In a statement, JetBlue said it was "disappointed in the decision" and claimed the deal was "a huge win for consumers."

"Through the NEA, JetBlue has been able to significantly grow in constrained northeast airports, bringing the airline's low fares and great service to more routes than would have been possible otherwise," the company said. "We are studying the judgment in full and evaluating our next steps as part of the legal process."

Sherman Act

On Friday, Leo Sorokin, a federal judge based in Boston, sided with the government, writing that the airlines presented little evidence that their partnership would benefit consumers.

"Though the defendants claim their bigger-is-better collaboration will benefit the flying public, they produced minimal objectively credible proof to support that claim. Whatever the benefits to American and JetBlue of becoming more powerfulin the northeast generally or in their shared rivalry with Delta  such benefits arise from a naked agreement not to compete with one another. Such a pact is just the sort of 'unreasonable restraint on trade' the Sherman Act was designed to prevent," Sorokin wrote.

He ordered the partnership to end within 30 days of the decision.

It's the second legal loss for JetBlue in recent months. In March, the federal government sued to block a proposed merger with Spirit, another low-cost carrier. The $3.8 billion deal would be the largest airline industry merger since Alaska Air bought Virgin America in 2016 for $2.6 billion.
People visit a themed exhibition on the Maritime Silk Road at Fujian Museum in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, May 18, 2023. [Xinhua/Li He]

BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua)  China saw 382 new museums registered in 2022, bringing the total number of museums across the country to 6,565, data from the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) showed on Thursday, which is the International Museum Day.

During the year, Chinese museums saw 578 million visits, with approximately 34,000 offline exhibitions and nearly 230,000 educational activities held.

About 10,000 online exhibitions and over 40,000 online educational activities were held by museums nationwide last year, drawing nearly a billion views, according to the data.

"A modern museum system with various categories and diverse subjects which is universally available to the public has basically taken shape in China," said Li Qun, head of the NCHA.

China celebrates this year's International Museum Day under the theme "museums, sustainability and better lives," with thousands of related activities taking place nationwide.

(Source: Xinhua)
XI'AN, May 19 (Xinhua)  Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday delivered a keynote speech at the China-Central Asia Summit held in the city of Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

The following is the full text of the speech:

Working Together for a China-Central Asia Community with a Shared Future

Featuring Mutual Assistance, Common Development, Universal Security, and Everlasting Friendship

Keynote Speech by H.E. Xi Jinping

President of the People's Republic of China

At the China-Central Asia Summit

19 May 2023

Distinguished Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

I'd like to welcome you all to Xi'an for the China-Central Asia Summit to explore together ways for closer cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries.

Xi'an, known as Chang'an in ancient times, is an important cradle of the Chinese civilization and nation. It is also the starting point of the ancient Silk Road on the east end. Over 2,100 years ago, Zhang Qian, a Han Dynasty envoy, made his journey to the West from Chang'an, opening the door to the friendship and exchanges between China and Central Asia. With their joint endeavor of hundreds of years, Chinese and Central Asian peoples made the Silk Road expand and prosper, a historic contribution to the interaction, integration, enrichment and development of world civilizations. The Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai once wrote, "In Chang'an we meet again, worthy of more than a thousand pieces of gold." Our gathering in Xi'an today to renew our millennia-old friendship and open up new vistas for the future is of very important significance.

Back in 2013, I put forward the initiative of jointly building a Silk Road Economic Belt during my first visit to Central Asia as Chinese president. Over the past decade, China and Central Asian countries have worked closely together to fully revive the Silk Road and actively deepen future-oriented cooperation, steering our relations into a new era.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan highway that runs across the Tianshan Mountain, the China-Tajikistan expressway that defies the Pamir Plateau, and the China-Kazakhstan crude oil pipeline and the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline that traverse the vast desert  they are the present-day Silk Road. The China-Europe Railway Express operating around the clock, the endless streams of freight trucks, and crisscrossing flights  they are the present-day camel caravans. Entrepreneurs seeking business opportunities, health workers fighting the COVID-19, cultural workers delivering message of friendship, and international students pursuing further education  they are the present-day goodwill ambassadors.

The China-Central Asia relationship is steeped in history, driven by broad actual needs, and built on solid popular support. Our relations are brimming with vigor and vitality in the new era.

Colleagues,

Transformations of the world unseen in a century are unfolding at a faster pace. Changes of the world, of our times, and of the historical trajectory are taking place in ways like never before. Central Asia, the center of the Eurasian continent, is at a crossroads connecting the East and West, the South and North.

The world needs a stable Central Asia. The sovereignty, security, independence and territorial integrity of Central Asian countries must be upheld; their people's choice of development paths must be respected; and their efforts for peace, harmony and tranquility must be supported.

The world needs a prosperous Central Asia. A dynamic and prospering Central Asia will help people in the region achieve their aspiration for a better life. It will also lend strong impetus to global economic recovery.

The world needs a harmonious Central Asia. As a Central Asian saying goes, "Brotherhood is more precious than any treasure." Ethnic conflicts, religious strife, and cultural estrangement are not the defining feature of the region. Instead, solidarity, inclusiveness, and harmony are the pursuits of the Central Asian people. No one has the right to sow discord or stoke confrontation in the region, let alone seek selfish political interests.

The world needs an interconnected Central Asia. Blessed with unique geographical advantages, Central Asia has the right foundation, condition and capability to become an important connectivity hub of Eurasia and make unique contribution to the trading of goods, the interplay of civilizations and the development of science and technology in the world.

Colleagues,

At the virtual summit commemorating the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Central Asian countries held last year, we jointly announced our vision of a China-Central Asia community with a shared future. It was a historic choice made for the fundamental interests and bright future of our peoples in the new era. In building this community, we need to stay committed to four principles.

First, mutual assistance. It is important that we deepen strategic mutual trust, and always give each other unequivocal and strong support on issues concerning our core interests such as sovereignty, independence, national dignity, and long-term development. We should work together to ensure that our community features mutual assistance, solidarity, and mutual trust.

Second, common development. It is important that we continue to set the pace for Belt and Road cooperation and deliver on the Global Development Initiative. We should fully unlock our potentials in traditional areas of cooperation such as economy, trade, industrial capacity, energy and transportation. And we should forge new drivers of growth in finance, agriculture, poverty reduction, green and low-carbon development, medical service, health, and digital innovation. We should work together to ensure that our community features win-win cooperation and common progress.

Third, universal security. It is important that we act on the Global Security Initiative, and stand firm against external attempts to interfere in domestic affairs of regional countries or instigate color revolutions. We should remain zero-tolerant to the three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism, and strive to resolve security conundrums in the region. We should work together to ensure that our community features no-conflict and enduring peace.

Fourth, everlasting friendship. It is important that we implement the Global Civilization Initiative, carry forward our traditional friendship, and enhance people-to-people exchanges. We should do more to share our experience in governance, deepen cultural mutual learning, increase mutual understanding, and cement the foundation of the everlasting friendship between the Chinese and Central Asian peoples. We should work together to ensure that our community features close affinity and shared conviction.

Colleagues,

Our Summit has created a new platform and opened up new prospects for China-Central Asia cooperation. China will take this as an opportunity to step up coordination with all parties for good planning, development and progress of China-Central Asia cooperation.

First, we need to strengthen institutional building. We have set up meeting mechanisms on foreign affairs, economy, trade and customs, as well as a business council. China has also proposed establishment of meeting and dialogue mechanisms on industry and investment, agriculture, transportation, emergency response, education, and political parties, which will be platforms for all-round mutually beneficial cooperation between our countries.

Second, we need to expand economic and trade ties. China will take more trade facilitation measures, upgrade bilateral investment treaties, and open "green lanes" for streamlined customs clearance of agricultural and sideline products at all border ports between China and Central Asian countries. China will also hold a live-streaming sales event to further promote Central Asian products, and build a commodities trading center. All this is part of an effort to push two-way trade to new heights.

Third, we need to deepen connectivity. China will strive to increase the volume of cross-border cargo transportation, support the development of the trans-Caspian international transport corridor, enhance the traffic capacity of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan highway and the China-Tajikistan-Uzbekistan highway, and move forward consultations on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. China will seek to modernize the existing border ports at a faster pace, open a new border port at Biedieli, promote the opening of the air transportation market, and build a regional logistics network. China will also step up the development of China-Europe Railway Express assembly centers, encourage capable enterprises to build overseas warehouses in Central Asian countries, and build a comprehensive digital service platform.

Fourth, we need to expand energy cooperation. China would like to propose that we establish a China-Central Asia energy development partnership. We should expedite the construction of Line D of the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline, expand trade in oil and gas, pursue cooperation throughout the energy industrial chains, and strengthen cooperation on new energy and peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Fifth, we need to promote green innovation. China will work with Central Asian countries to conduct cooperation in such areas as improvement and utilization of saline-alkali land and water-saving irrigation, build together a joint laboratory on agriculture in arid lands, and tackle the ecological crisis of the Aral Sea. China supports establishing high-tech firms and IT industrial parks in Central Asia. China also welcomes Central Asian countries to participate in special cooperation programs under the Belt and Road Initiative, including programs on sustainable development technologies, innovation and start-up, and spatial information science and technology.

Sixth, we need to enhance capabilities for development. China will formulate a China-Central Asia special cooperation program for poverty reduction through science and technology, implement the "China-Central Asia technology and skills improvement scheme", set up more Luban Workshops in Central Asian countries, and encourage Chinese companies in Central Asia to create more local jobs. To bolster our cooperation and Central Asian development, China will provide Central Asian countries with a total of 26 billion RMB yuan of financing support and grant.

Seventh, we need to strengthen dialogue between civilizations. China invites Central Asian countries to take part in the "Cultural Silk Road" program, and will set up more traditional medicine centers in Central Asia. We will speed up establishment of cultural centers in each other's countries. China will continue to provide government scholarships for Central Asian countries, and support their universities in joining the University Alliance of the Silk Road. We will ensure the success of the Year of Culture and Arts for the Peoples of China and Central Asian Countries as well as the China-Central Asia high-level media dialogue. We will launch the "China-Central Asia Cultural and Tourism Capital" program, and open special train services for cultural tourism in Central Asia.

Eighth, we need to safeguard peace in the region. China is ready to help Central Asian countries strengthen capacity building on law enforcement, security and defense, support their independent efforts to safeguard regional security and fight terrorism, and work with them to promote cyber-security. We will continue to leverage the role of the coordination mechanism among Afghanistan's neighbors, and jointly promote peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

Colleagues,

Last October, the Communist Party of China successfully held its 20th National Congress, which laid out the central task of realizing the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and advancing rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization. It is a grand blueprint for China's future development. We will strengthen theoretical and practical exchanges with Central Asian countries on modernization, synergize our development strategies, create more opportunities for cooperation, and jointly advance the modernization process of our six countries.

Colleagues,

There is a proverb popular among farmers in Shaanxi Province, "If you work hard enough, gold will grow out of the land." In the same vein, a Central Asian saying goes, "You get rewarded if you give, and you harvest if you sow." Let us work closely together to pursue common development, common affluence, and common prosperity, and embrace a brighter future for our six countries!

Thank you.

(Source: Xinhua)
By Nupur Anand

NEW YORK (Reuters) -As JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon prepares to take the stage for the bank's investor day on Monday, he can expect plenty of questions about its purchase of failed First Republic Bank.

Analysts will seek more details about the deal and JPMorgan's plans to integrate the business into the largest U.S. bank.JPMorgan's succession plans will also be in focus after Morgan Stanley's CEO said on Friday he would step down within a year.

Here are some key themes that investors are watching.

FIRST REPUBLIC

JPMorgan has agreed to undertake $173 billion of the failed bank's loans, $30 billion of securities and $92 billion of deposits after First Republic was shuttered by authorities earlier this month.

Dimon has said he expects blowback from the transaction, according to an interview on Bloomberg TV.

An acquisition of this scale will raise question on integration, execution risks, employee retention among others, analysts said.

"JPM views FRC as more complementary to its mass affluent approach than its ultra high net worth offering," Jason Goldberg, Brian Morton and Matthew Kesselhaut analysts at Barclays said in a note. They expect First Republic to be additive to JPMorgan's consumer and community banking business.

JPMorgan has made 19 acquisitions since 2020 but the last major purchases of this scale were in 2008 during the financial crisis-era takeovers of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual.

SUCCESSION

After Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman's announcement said he plans to step down next 12 months and take on the role of executive chairman, Dimon's succession plan will garner some attention.

Dimon, 67, has been at the helm for more than 17 years. That is longer than Gorman, who at 64 years has been the CEO for 13 years.

The company's proxy statement identified its President and Chief Operating officer Daniel Pinto as a key executive who is immediately ready to step into the role of sole CEO, should the need arise in the near-term.

ECONOMY

JPMorgan is viewed as an economic bellwether. Its executives' commentary is watched closely by financial markets.

Dimon has warned that a failure to raise the U.S. debt ceiling is potentially catastrophic, and the bank has created a war room to tackle the situation with daily meetings.

He and other financial CEOs met Janet Yellen in Washington this week to discuss the health of the banking system and the debt ceiling, a source said.

GROWTH

The country's largest lender emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of turmoil in the banking industry after the collapse of two lenders in March, reporting first quarter profits that beat expectations and an influx of deposits.

The investor day should underscore the notion that Goliath is Winning, Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo said in a note.

JPMorgan is also expected to reiterate its target for return on tangible common equity -- a key metric which measures how well a bank uses shareholder money to produce profit -- of 17%.

"What we may hear about is what this ROTCE could be if a recession hit in '23, which would translate into higher credit costs and potentially rate cuts," wrote Erika Najarian, Robert Placet and Nicholas Holowko, analysts at UBS.

Commentary around deposit growth, strategic opportunities, loan loss provisions, and expenses are some of the other themes that will be keenly watched.

Dimon has said that the bank is unlikely to acquire another struggling lender.

(Reporting by Nupur Anand in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Lananh Nguyen)
Derek Chauvin asks Minnesota Supreme Court to review his murder conviction, weeks after appeals court denied his request for a new trial
You have permission to edit this collection.

Edit Close
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, pictured here during a visit to the United Kingdom on May 15, will travel in person to Japan for the Group of Seven (G7) summit.
Key Insights

Lee Swee Kiat Group Berhad's estimated fair value is RM1.55 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Lee Swee Kiat Group Berhad is estimated to be 50% undervalued based on current share price of RM0.78

Analyst price target for LEESK is RM1.06 which is 31% below our fair value estimate

In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Lee Swee Kiat Group Berhad (KLSE:LEESK) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!

We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for Lee Swee Kiat Group Berhad

Step By Step Through The Calculation

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. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. 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 (MYR, Millions) RM14.3m RM17.9m RM21.3m RM24.0m RM26.3m RM28.4m RM30.3m RM32.0m RM33.6m RM35.2m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 12.46% Est @ 9.79% Est @ 7.93% Est @ 6.62% Est @ 5.70% Est @ 5.06% Est @ 4.62% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 13% RM12.6 RM14.0 RM14.8 RM14.8 RM14.4 RM13.8 RM13.0 RM12.2 RM11.4 RM10.5

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM132m

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 3.6%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 13%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = RM35m (1 + 3.6%)  (13% 3.6%) = RM394m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM394m ( 1 + 13%)10= RM118m

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 RM249m. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of RM0.8, the company appears quite good value at a 50% 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

The Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual 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 Lee Swee Kiat Group Berhad 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 13%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.155. 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 Lee Swee Kiat Group Berhad

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Consumer Durables market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Malaysian market.

Trading below our estimate of fair value by more than 20%.

Threat

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Next Steps:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For Lee Swee Kiat Group Berhad, we've put together three fundamental elements you should consider:

Risks: We feel that you should assess the 2 warning signs for Lee Swee Kiat Group Berhad we've flagged before making an investment in the company. Future Earnings: How does LEESK'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 KLSE 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 Communication Workers Union (CWU) is joining hands with Royal Mail Group to implement a fresh round of revisions in never-ending increased exploitation including at its dedicated parcels arm, Parcelforce Worldwide

On May 10, the CWU announced a delay to the start of the month-long ballot of 115,000 postal workers by a week to May 25 over the pro-company agreement citing the need to create the right environment for the ballot to be conducted, specifically to address failed revisions.

Large parcels in caged trolleys await loading onto delivery vans at a Parcelforce depot [Photo: WSWS]

CWU leaders Dave Ward and Andy Furey are acutely aware that the joint union/management statement on revisions on March 2 to complete the previous round of cost cutting and productivity increases has fed opposition to their sell-out deal to end the 10-month dispute.

The involvement of CWU reps in a re-engagement with management over local revisions ordered by the union executive has nothing to do with safeguarding postal workers. The goal is to police opposition and deepen the CWUs partnership with Royal Mail in a desperate bid to get the Yes vote over the line.

This much can be established from the recent experience of delivery drivers at the London North West Parcel Depot in Acton of Parcelforce Worldwide.

On Monday morning those delivery drivers directly employed by the company, CWU members, were summoned to workplace meetings convened by senior management and the CWU with line managers rounding up workers with as little as 10 minutes notice.

Operations Manager Andy Shaw complained that delivery drivers were only hitting 90 percent of the daily productivity targets and this had to improve to 98 percent. He announced new revisions would go live in a couple of weeks and that delivery drivers would be informed on an individual basis what would happen to their jobs and changes to their post codes and routes.

During one of the short meetings, which lasted around 10 minutes, CWU rep Andy Stedman nodded along with management. He stated that the paid shift allowance of 250 a month was under threat but uttered not one word of opposition. The aim was to browbeat delivery drivers to accept whatever punishing demands are to be extracted through further revisions behind the smokescreen of a consultation exercise.

Delivery drivers at the Acton depot have now been informed the revisions will be trialled for the next two weeks, starting next Monday, confirming that this was already rubber-stamped by the CWU.

As a Parcelforce worker informed his Royal Mail colleagues at the recent Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee meeting last Sunday, some delivery drivers are already having to work from 7.00am to 7.00pm trying to complete their workloads. These involve walking up to 18 miles a day and carrying parcels which can weigh up to 25-30 kilograms. Even this level of backbreaking labour is now deemed insufficient.

Workers democracy trampled on

The CWU has yet to organise any members meeting at the Acton depot in connection with the ballot over the deal that Ward, Furey and the Postal Executive drew up behind closed doors with Royal Mail more than a month ago. But CWU officials are quite prepared to organise a workplace meeting at the behest of management where their members receive a dressing down and are instructed to work harder.

The workplace regime of intimidation is enforced by workers being called in to face management on a one-to-one basis over more punishing demands.

This shows in practice how integrated the union apparatus has become as an extended arm of corporate managementa process which the agreement, through Joint Working Group and Transformation Boards, will enforce the historic attacks on jobs, pay and conditions.

The Parcelforce Worldwide division of the Royal Mail Group directly employs around 6,500 workers at 54 depots around the UK. What happened at the Acton depot is being replicated across the entire workforce.

A May 9 joint letter signed by Aaron Barnes, Managing Director Parcelforce WorldWide, and CWU National Officer Davie Robertson, is titled, RMG and CWU Re-Engagement on Joint Revision Activity in Parcelforce Worldwide.

May 9 Joint letter signed by Aaron Barnes, Managing Director of Parcelforce Worldwide and CWU Assistant Secretary/National Officer Davie Robertson. The letter refers to CWU representatives receiving release time to deploy all revisions at pace in line with the Negotiators Agreement which CWU members have yet to vote on.

Before any member has cast a single vote on the deal proposed to end the national dispute on the surrender terms offered by the CWU leadership, it is being treated as an accomplished fact. The letter states, Following the conclusion of the national negotiators agreement on Business, Recovery, Transformation and Growth it is agreed the following process will apply to immediate revision activity in Parcelforce covered by Appendix 3.

It continues, Given the serious financial and economic challenges facing the business, Parcelforce Worldwide and the CWU will now commit to work together to-reengage in local revision and target to deploy all revisions at pace (emphasis added).

Delivery drivers at Acton wanted to know why they had to accept the cost-cutting exercise. If the business was failing, why was the Parcelforce Worldwide Managing Director rewarded with bonuses and Royal Mail chief executive Simon Thompson leaving with a golden goodbye of at least 680,000.

They will find no answer from CWU National Officer Davie Robertson, who as part of the CWU Postal Executive and lead for Parcelforce, Mail centres and processing, has signed up to the rotten agreement. This sacrifices postal workers terms and conditions to further enrich the shareholders and investors, parroting the line that the company is broke.

Uberization by the backdoor, courtesy of the CWU

On April 21, in its first press briefing on the agreement, the CWU announced to great fanfare that Uberisation is cancelled at Royal Mail, based on freezing the recruitment of owner-drivers at Parcelforce. The deep inroads already accepted over a two-tier workforce means that owners-drivers constitute 20 percent of the workforce in some depots, on inferior terms, paid per item and having to pay their own petrol costs, health and insurance.

The deal also accepts that new entrants across the whole of RMG will be employed on lesser terms. The compulsory Sunday working element is only the first stage. Through its Joint Working Group the CWU has agreed that pay and conditions are to be considered based on the broader labour market and RMGs competitorsAmazon and other sweatshop employers. The CWU will enforce its roll-out as parcel delivery becomes integrated into one 24/7 service across RMG.

The freeze on new owner-drivers is conditional. In Appendix 3, cited by Robertson, this is while considering alternative solutions. The experience at Acton depot makes clear what this means in practice. The benchmark of owner-drivers and agency workers is being used to sweat more labour from those directly employed.

CWU National Officer Davie Robertson attempting to sell the rotten deal on the union Twitter account to members at Parcelforce and Mail Centres [Photo: CWU/Twitter]

The CWU present as some kind of concession that job losses or headcount reduction will be managed first at the expense of owner-drivers and agency workers. The most exploited workers are presented as the enemy, not Royal Mail, which the CWU cosies up to with its agreement to reduce the overall cost base and make RMG more competitive and agile.

The divisions sewn by the bureaucracy must be overcome through workplace organisation encompassing all workers in a unified struggle. Such a perspective can only be built from below in a fight not only against Ward and Furey but to dismantle the top-down union apparatus working lockstep with management, and for the rank-and-file to take control.

Parcelforce Worldwide delivery workers are a smaller section of RMG than their colleagues in Delivery, but their numerical size is outweighed by the position they occupy in the highly integrated international operations of RMG and its parent company, International Distribution Services. They are part of a global network which spans 96 percent of the globe.

As the resolution by the Postal Workers Rank-and File-Committee calling for a No vote explains:

We draw the attention of colleagues to the struggle of Amazon, postal and logistics workers across the UK, Europe, the United States and internationally against the same savage demands for restructuring and increased exploitation. An injury to one is an injury to all.
In a major new milestone in the bipartisan effort to censor the internet and undermine freedom of speech in America, the state of Montana signed into law a ban on the distribution of the TikTok social media app Wednesday.

The law is completely antithetical to the First Amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits the prior restraint of speech. But while the bill is unconstitutional, it is enforceable due to the monopoly exercised by Apple and Google on the market for mobile phone applications. In particular, Apples iOS mobile operating system, which controls almost 60 percent of the US market, does not allow users to load any apps that are not available on the official Apple App Store.

TikTok is the worlds sixth largest social network. Its short video format is overwhelmingly popular with younger people, and it has spawned imitators among every US-based social media network.

While TikTok will remain accessible in Montana as a website, its most important content-creation features, allowing users to quickly make creative and accessible short videos, will be blocked.

Beyond the immediate impact, the Montana law sets the pseudo-legal precedent by which companies can be forced by the US government to carry out mass censorship. While the Montana law targets a specific company on the grounds that it is owned by foreign nationals, the same companiesApple and Googletasked with enforcing the ban on their app stores can, by the same regime, be fined or prosecuted for allowing users to access oppositional political web sites on their Safari and Chrome web browsers.

At the same time, the TikTok ban is part of an escalating campaign of anti-Chinese xenophobia aimed at fueling the war drive of US imperialism in the Asia Pacific. It is part of a series of laws and actions ever more openly targeting Chinese nationals, including bills in Texas, Alabama and Florida that would ban Chinese citizens from buying land in those states.

In justifying the ban, Montanas Republican governor, Greg Gianforte, claimed that it was necessary to protect Montanans personal and private data from the Chinese Communist Party.

Gianforte wrote, One of governments chief responsibilities is to keep its citizensand their personal, private, sensitive information and datasafe and secure. Foreign adversaries collection and use of Montanans personal information and data from social media applications infringe on Montanans constitutionally guaranteed individual right to privacy.

The claims that the Chinese government is gathering data through TikTok are entirely unsubstantiated, rooted in pure ignorance and baseless accusations. What is alleged, nevertheless, pales in comparison to what US companies and the US government have been proven to be doing on a daily basis with the private information of American citizens.

The giant technology companies, closely connected to the state, collect vast amounts of information on a daily basis, with hardly any controls or regulations over how they use it.

In 2013, Edward Snowden revealed that the US government operates the worlds largest illegal domestic surveillance program, digitally copying, analyzing and storing private communications of individuals throughout the world, including US citizens. The US National Security Agencys explicit goal is total information awareness, to collect it all, know it all, process it all, exploit it all.

In 2017, the Democratic Party, with support from broad sections of the Republican Party, initiated a campaign to demand that social media companies censor the internet, based on false accusations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. In response to this campaign, Google carried out a change to its search algorithm designed to suppress alternative viewpoints, leading the search traffic of left-wing, anti-war, and socialist web sites to plunge.

While the TikTok ban in Montana has been spearheaded by Republicans, it is fully in keeping with the policies of the Democratic Biden administration.

At a March congressional hearing, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked by Congressman Ken Buck whether TikTok posed a threat to United States security, to which Blinken replied in the affirmative. Buck added, Shouldnt a threat to US security be banned? To this, Blinken replied, It should be ended one way or another. That same month, the Biden administration officially called for a ban on TikTok unless its parent company, Bytedance, sold TikTok to a US company.

The moves to ban TikTok and undermine the First Amendment right to free speech have proceeded in conjunction with the escalation of the war drive against China.

The Trump administrations 2018 National Security Strategy, which proclaimed the doctrine of great power conflict, asserted that the US competition with China required the seamless integration of multiple elements of national powerdiplomacy, information, economics, finance, intelligence, law enforcement and military. As part of this policy, Trump sought, without success, to ban TikTok.

The Biden administration embraced this doctrine in its 2022 National Security Strategy, calling for the seamless combination of capabilities, integrating the economic, technological, and information domains.

This totalitarian integration of law enforcement and military and the information sphere forms the framework of the US effort to ban TikTok. All aspects of social and economic life are to be brought under state control in the name of great-power competition.

In reality, however, the main target of the censorship regime is not China, but domestic opposition within the population, in particular, efforts by the working class to fight against exploitation and poverty wages.

The bipartisan campaign to ban TikTok, stretching from the governors mansions staffed by fascist demagogues, all the way to the White House, demonstrates that there exists no constituency for the defense of the most basic democratic rights within the US political establishment.

The effort to ban TikTok must be opposed by all class-conscious working people as an assault on their fundamental right to freedom of speech. As workers enter into struggle against poverty wages and workplace exploitation, they must take up the demand to defend freedom of expression and oppose US plans for war with Russia and China.
In a devastating report issued Monday, the Cost of War Project at Brown University estimates that at least 4.5 million people have died as a result of the wars launched by the United States since the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

The research project, which has regularly published estimates on the number of people who are direct casualties of these warsusing fairly conservative estimatesturned its attention in the current report to indirect deaths, those caused by the disruption of agriculture, health care, transportation and the economy as a whole, linked to the wars.

An internally displaced Afghan child looks for plastic and other items which can be used as a replacement for firewood, at a garbage dump in Kabul, Afghanistan, December 15, 2019. [AP Photo/Altaf Qadri]

The staggering total of 4.5 million deaths includes Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and portions of Pakistan affected by the spillover of the war in Afghanistan. Deaths among US soldiers and contractors, including later deaths due to cancers, suicides and other consequences of the wars, are not the focus.

The estimated death toll from recent US wars gives the lie to the claims that the United States has intervened in the war in Ukraine to defend freedom, democracy and human rights. American imperialism is the most violent and bloodstained force on the planet, and the danger is that, if the proxy war against Russia becomes a more generalized conflict, even involving nuclear weapons, the number of dead would quickly surpass even the horrific toll of the past 22 years.

The report is written in neutral and academic language and does not attribute direct responsibility to any single combatant, according to the author, Stephanie Savell, co-chair of the Cost of War Project. The estimates and accompanying anecdotal accounts are nonetheless damning evidence of the responsibility of Washington, under both Democratic and Republican administrations, for the greatest crimes of the 21st century.

Given the impossibility of obtaining accurate demographic figures in the countries studied, several of them still war zones, it was necessary to generate a rough estimate by applying an average ratio of four indirect for every one direct death. This is based on a 2008 study by the Geneva Declaration Secretariat, which found, in a review of all wars from the early 1990s on, that the ratio of indirect to direct deaths ranged from three to 15.

Based on previous studies by the Cost of War Project which estimated total direct deaths from these wars at some 900,000 (a conservative number given that there have been published estimates by The Lancet of 600,000 killed by the Iraq war alone), multiplying that by four gives an indirect total of 3.6 million. Adding the two together gives the final estimate for all deaths, 4.5 million.

Whatever the margin of error for such an estimate, the rough figure is itself appalling. It is an indictment of the colossal human toll of the wars of the 21st century, as President George W. Bush blithely called them when he launched the first two, in Afghanistan and Iraq. Barack Obama continued those two wars and added three more, in Libya, Syria and Yemen, the latter two using proxy forces. Donald Trump and Joe Biden continued all five, in one form or another.

In a modern-day Nuremberg Trial, all four presidents would be in the dock, charged with conducting illegal wars of aggression and responsibility for mass death and suffering.

The sixth of these wars, in Somalia, was actually launched by Bushs father with the initial US intervention in 1992; every US administration since has engaged in air strikes, raids by special operations forces and drone missile strikes, as well as blockades of food and other humanitarian aid to one region or another, or for the whole country. There have also been invasions of the country by US proxy forces from Ethiopia and Kenya.

The Cost of War Project suggests four interrelated primary causes of the mass death amidst and in the wake of these wars:

Economic collapse, loss of livelihood, and food insecurity;

Destruction of public services and health infrastructure;

Environmental contamination; and

Reverberating trauma and violence.

Perhaps the most devastated country is Afghanistan, which experienced 20 years of US occupation and war, following 10 years of guerrilla warfare after the invasion by the Soviet Union, then seven years of civil war until the Taliban seized power, and five years of Taliban rule before the US invasion.

The death rate in Afghanistan for all sections of the population is higher now than at any other time during this dreadful history. According to the report:

Afghanistans economy has collapsed and over half the population now lives in extreme poverty, on less than $1.90 per day. The situation is dire: 95% of Afghans are not getting enough to eat, and in women-headed households that number is 100%. An estimated 18.9 million peoplenearly half the countrys populationwere acutely food insecure in 2022. Of these, 3.9 million children are acutely malnourished or wasting, insufficiently intaking essential nutrients, with serious physiological consequences. One million Afghan children are at risk of death.

For all practical purposes, there is no health care system in the country outside of a few major cities. The report notes: After the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, all foreign funding for healthcare abruptly stopped, and a month later, more than 80% of Afghanistans healthcare facilities were reported to be dysfunctional.

The worst situation is for those newly brought into the world. The study continues, In Afghanistan, approximately one in ten newborn babies died between January and March 2022, over 13,000 in just three months.

As anthropologist Anila Daulatzai, after a visit to Kabul, told the study, In a place like Afghanistan, the pressing question is whether any death can today be considered unrelated to war.

In most of the countries studied, the destruction of agriculture and health care was not an unplanned byproduct of war, but an essential goal of it. In Syria, according to the report:

Various parties, including the governments of Syria, Russia, and the U.S., and militant groups such as the Islamic State and the al-Nusra Front, have bombed hospitals and health facilities.

In Yemen, the US-backed Saudi military bombed farms, food storage facilities, groceries, even fishing boats, in a deliberate effort to starve the population. In Iraq, US bombing targeted health care facilities as well as factories producing medicines.

Iraq had one of the most advanced health care systems in the Middle East. But in the five years after the US invasion, from 2003 on, half the nations doctors left the country, 18,000 in all. With the rise of ISIS and exacerbation of civil war conditions in 2014, another 5,400 doctors left the country. Only a skeleton force remains.

The Cost of War study was able to compile current reports on child malnutrition, based on the reports of aid workers as well as governments. It estimates that currently 7.6 million children are suffering from wasting, or acute malnutrition, in these countries. Half of these are in Afghanistan, many of the rest in Yemen.

In Yemen, the Saudi regime, using bombs and warplanes supplied by the imperialist powers, mainly the United States, and provided targeting information by US and British military officers, has conducted an estimated 24,000 air strikes on a country of 33 million. Of these strikes, the study reported, 7,000 targeted nonmilitary facilities, 8,000 military facilities and 9,000 hit targets that could not be determined.

In Libya, it was the US that spearheaded the bombing of the country, both in the US-NATO war in 2011, which led to the ouster and gruesome murder of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi, and subsequently, as the country collapsed into a protracted civil war, with Islamic militants, some backed by the US, some at odds with it, playing major roles.

According to a Pentagon report, in the city of Sirte, Gaddafis birthplace then controlled by ISIS, the US conducted 500 air strikes from August to December 2016, 300 by drones and 200 by manned aircraft. As Cost of War points out, this was a bombardment more intense than in comparable periods of U.S. air campaigns in Syria and Iraq.

There are countless other consequences of these wars: unexploded ordnance in massive quantities, environmental degradation, widespread PTSD and other mental health issues, the destruction of sewage systems and other infrastructure vital for public health. On the last issue, the report notes: the primary drivers of death amongst Iraqi children under five are lower respiratory tract infections, diarrhea, and measles.

One of the most important consequences of these wars is the displacement of tens of millions of people. The study estimates that 38 million people have been displaced by the post-9/11 wars, the majority of them children (53 percent).

More than half of Syrias pre-war population has been displaced: 5.6 million refugees in other countries, 6.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs, in the jargon of the UN and humanitarian aid groups). There were 4 million IDPs in Afghanistan in 2022, 60 percent of them children. There were 3.6 million IDPs in Yemen in 2019, but few refugees because of the difficulty of escaping across the seas or through Saudi Arabia.

The report ends with a conclusion so tepid and briefan appeal for a change in policies by various governments, including that of the United Statesthat it is clear that the author herself does not believe in it. And for good reason. The only rational response to these devastating facts and figures is to build a revolutionary socialist movement, based on the international working class, to put an end to imperialism and all its crimes.
In the week since the Biden administration lifted Title 42, the Trump-era border policy utilized to deny asylum seekers entry at the US-Mexico border, conditions facing migrants have only worsened.

A US Border Patrol agent leads a line of women to a van as they wait to apply for asylum between two border walls Thursday, May 11, 2023, in San Diego. [AP Photo/Gregory Bull]

An eight-year-old girl died while in US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody in Harlingen, Texas, the agency said Wednesday. The unidentified girl and her family were being detained at a CBP facility when she experienced a medical emergency, the agency said in a news release Wednesday night, without providing details.

Emergency Medical Services were called to the station and transported her to the local hospital where she was pronounced dead, the release said. According to CBP officials, the Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating the girls death, per department protocol.

The childs death comes only days after an unaccompanied Honduran 17-year-old held at a Florida detention center died while under the care of the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement, according to a congressional notice obtained by CNN last week.

Title 42, the Trump-era pandemic public health restrictions that became a key tool officials used to turn back migrants at the border, expired May 11. Title 42 allowed US immigration agents to cite the COVID-19 pandemic to summarily expel hundreds of thousands of migrants without hearing their asylum claims, a flagrant violation of international law. Migrants encountered under Title 42 were either returned to their home countries or sent back to Mexico. Under the policy, authorities carried out more than 2.8 million deportations, according to CBP data.

Immigrant advocacy groups identified more than 13,000 incidents of kidnapping, torture, rape or other violent attacks on people blocked or expelled to Mexico under Title 42 from the time Biden took office.

Since the end of the policy, the Biden administration has increased regular deportations and returns to migrants home countries and Mexico, which recently agreed to accept Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans turned away from the US. Unlike Title 42, formal deportations ban immigrants from reentering the US for at least five years and make them subject to criminal prosecution if they attempt to enter again.

The Biden administration is also planning several changes to federal immigration policy. The Department of Homeland Security previously released a six-point plan that outlined the agencys operations post-Title 42. This includes setting up additional detention facilities along the US-Mexico border and using a fast-track deportation process called expedited removal.

Last week, immigration officials said in a court filing that surging migration coupled with the termination of Title 42 is overwhelming US Customs and Border Protection facilities, risking widespread health and safety risks to migrants, government employees, and the public.

In reality, the number of unauthorized entries along the southern border has dropped by 60 percent to an average of 4,400 per day, after briefly rising to 10,000 last week ahead of the expiration of Title 42 border restrictions, according to officials. A senior US official reported that the Biden administration attributed the sharp drop to increased deportations, tighter asylum rules and efforts by other countries to stop US-bound migrants.

We attribute the reduction in encounters at our border both to the consequences that we have strengthened and put in place for unlawful entry, and the lawful pathways that we have expanded, but also to the actions of our foreign partners, said Blas Nunez-Neto, the Department of Homeland Securitys top immigration policy official.

Nunez-Neto also made reference to efforts by the Mexican and Guatemalan governments, which have dispatched law enforcement and military units to their southern borders at the behest of the United States.

Contrary to the ravings of numerous fascistic figures, including Donald Trump, the Democrats are no friends of immigrants. Nunez-Netos comments prove the Democrats utilized the end of Title 42 to escalate the war against migrants. The Democrats are consciously creating brutal conditions at the border as a form of deterrence.

Despite claims of Republican politicians, the expiration of Title 42 has not led to an upsurge in attempted crossings. Nevertheless, fascist politicians like Texas Governor Greg Abbott continue to whip up a virulent anti-immigrant atmosphere. Abbott announced Thursday that Texas is now busing migrants to Denver, Colorado, the fifth city targeted by Abbott since launching his busing program more than a year ago as part of Operation Lone Star.

Abbotts program began last April when he began transporting migrants to Washington D.C. He later added New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia as drop-off locations. According to official records, the state has sent more than 19,000 migrants to the Democratic-led cities.

The Governors office announced the first group of immigrants shipped to Denver arrived Thursday afternoon in downtown Denver near Civic Center Park.

Until the President and his Administration step up and fulfill their constitutional duty to secure the border, the State of Texas will continue busing migrants to self-declared sanctuary cities like Denver to provide much-needed relief to our small border towns, Abbott said in a statement.

The brutal and anti-democratic policies of both capitalist parties have produced a harrowing scene at the southern border. Enduring extreme heat, hunger and more, some 65,000 migrants are gathered along the border. Reports from the border accuse authorities of corralling migrants into makeshift open-air camps.

The expiration of Title 42 directly coincides with the Biden administrations declaration of an end to the COVID-19 national emergency and the further escalation of the US-NATO war with Russia in Ukraine. The border policys end was a direct consequence of Bidens decision to end the national emergency in order to terminate all financial support for COVID-19 testing and treatment.

As the war in Ukraine develops into what is becoming all but an open conflict between NATO and Russia, the imperialist Western powers are demanding a war economy to facilitate the complete subjugation of Russia by military means. This requires a parallel escalation of the war against the working class, of all nationalities, under conditions of a global rise in workers militancy.
The British government will deny asylum seekers basic housing protections in order to move them from hotels into the private rented sector. Private landlords in England and Wales will be temporarily exempted from regulations covering everything from electrical safety to minimum room sizes.

The announcement follows Home Secretary Suella Bravermans Illegal Migration Bill, which is passing through parliament and imposes blanket denials of the right to asylum and the expansion of internment camps. Barges, ferries and military sites are being refitted for detention. Next month, the first 50 (of up to 500) asylum seekers will be housed on three-storey barge the Bibby Stockholm.

A hotel in Leicestershire used to house asylum seekers [Photo by Crep171166 / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 4.0

According to the Guardian, the Home Office intends to use a total of 10 old cruise ships, ferries and barges for the purpose, with Braverman close to confirming an 1,800-capacity cruise ship to be docked in the Mersey.

Plans are also being made to expand the use of repurposed army barracks like former Royal Air Force base Manston. Designed as a holding centre for 1,000, last October, its 4,000 detainees were suffering from scabies, norovirus, diphtheria and MRSA, as well as being subject to violent abuse. A coroners inquest is still ongoing into one death of an asylum seeker who tested positive for diphtheria.

Currently, more than 50,000 asylum seekers are housed in hotels. With space in barges and military sites still limited, the Conservative government is forcing them into substandard and unregulated accommodation.

Private landlords are required to have a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence from local authorities if they let to more than one household in a single property.

The licences require landlords to obtain an annual gas safety certificate, a declaration from a qualified electrician that electrical fittings are safe, and to provide working smoke alarms for every inhabited storey of the building, plus a carbon monoxide alarm in every inhabited room with a gas or oil heater. If requested, landlords must supply a written declaration of the safety of electrical appliances and furniture. They are obliged to provide all tenants with a written statement of the terms of occupancy.

Regarding living space, bedrooms for one person aged 10 or over cannot be smaller than 6.51 square metres, while those for two or more aged 10 or above must be at least 10.22 square metres. A room for one child under 10 must be at least 4.64 square metres.

These requirements will be shelved for asylum seekers, with landlords allowed to house them for up to two years without a license. The Refugee Action charity pointed out that the proposal means private Asylum Accommodation Service Contract providers, who make millions in profit from public funds, will be exempt from paying HMO licence fees to local authorities, and will not be required to pay for property repairs.

Mary Atkinson of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants told press that the present accommodation for asylum seekers is already substandard, with people seeking sanctuary housed in cramped, windowless rooms smaller than prison cells. Without HMO licences, already traumatised people will be at risk of living in places that are unfit for human habitation.

Polly Neate, of homeless charity Shelter, said the government was putting thousands of people, including children and older people, at serious risk.

The government is overseeing a downward spiral of already dreadful conditions. Asylum seekers in hotels report cramped, overcrowded, unhygienic rooms with extremely unhealthy food and poor-quality healthcare. A Migrant Voice reports tells the story of one person living for a year in a two metre by two metre room with no windows, commenting, His isolation and hopeless and generally dehumanised situation had a devastating impact on his mental health, leading to self-harming and two suicide attempts.

The anti-democratic nature of the governments asylum accommodation plans is mirrored in the method through which the draconian measures are being enacted. The licensing proposal is being presented as a statutory instrument rather than a bill, meaning it will not go to a full parliamentary vote. Instead, it will be presented to a committee of 16-18 MPs for consideration and approval. It received a low-key announcement, being scheduled to coincide with Goves high-profile Renters (Reform) Bill.

Press attention has focused on that bills elimination of so-called no fault evictions. Under Section 21 of the Thatcher governments 1988 Housing Act, landlords can serve an eviction notice on tenants who complain about disrepair rather than fixing the problems. This is routinely being used to evict tenants in order to jack up the rent.

But its elimination is hedged with potential loopholes that allow its continuation by different means. The bill strengthens landlords right to evict tenants for antisocial behaviour, using the governments own catch-all definition of this as any behaviour capable of causing nuisance or annoyance.

Easier eviction for antisocial behaviour was urged by the National Residential Landlords Association, and there was intense lobbying by the Property Research Group established by Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake, the landlord of five properties. Nearly one in five Tory MPs, 68 in total, are private landlords. Braverman is one of five such who make more than 10,000 a year in private rent. 16 Labour MPs, including frontbenchers David Lammy, Emily Thornberry and Lucy Powell, are also private landlords.

The attack on asylum accommodation and strengthening of powers against anti-social behaviour are connected. On waiving HMO license requirements, the Local Government Association (LGA) warned of the increase of substandard buildings and adverse impacts on the safety and wellbeing of asylum seekers. They pointed to a range of negative consequences, including the community cohesion implications of potential antisocial behaviour and increased pressure on public services.

Thousands more a year will find themselves in these dire circumstances as the government accelerates its anti-migrant agenda. At a Council of Europe summit in Iceland, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reached a new agreement on British cooperation with the European Union border force Frontex around critical operational and strategic challenges including the situation in the Channel.

Sunak linked the attack on migrants with the governments push for war against Russia, saying we must also learn the lesson of this warby being prepared to confront threats to our societies before they become too big to deal with. That includes acting on cybersecurity and AI, and it means tackling illegal migration.

The prime minister also met Siofra OLeary, president of the European Court of Human Rights, as part of his campaign to annul the courts Rule 39 orders, which have been used to block the governments deportation flights to Rwanda. The Illegal Migration Bill would allow the home secretary to ignore Rule 39 orders.

At the far-right National Conservatism conference last weekend, Braverman called for further restrictions on legal migration, while Gove blamed migration for the housing crisis.

New housebuilding is drastically below the governments targets, thanks to relaxation of those targets by Gove. Under pressure from Conservative MPs seeking to make it easier for local authorities to refuse planning permission, the minister last year made the annual target of 300,000 new homes voluntary rather than compulsory. Trade body the Home Builders Federation suggests construction will fall to 120,000.

The government is seeking to scapegoat asylum seekers for a wider crisis, and they have the loyal support of the Labour Party. Labours Matthew Pennycook criticised the government proposal by saying it was not bringing down the standards in HMO asylum accommodation to the minimum [presumably considered appropriate], but exempting them entirely. At the same time, he made clear that Labour shares the Tories view of the hotel crisis.

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting has previously insisted, Speeding up claims, deporting people when their claims are unsuccessful, thats the way to tackle the problem with the immigration system instead of spending millions housing people in hotels.
A law banning abortion after 12 weeks of gestation passed in North Carolina along party lines after the General Assembly overrode the Democratic governors veto. The previous law banned abortion past 20 weeks. Governor Roy Cooper warned that the legislation would make it difficult for women to receive reproductive health care and could lead to clinics closing. The law is set to go into effect on July 1.

Cooper stated that the new law will effectively ban many abortions altogether, because of the obstacles that they have created for women, for clinics and for doctors.

In addition to the ban after 12 weeks, the falsely named Care for Women, Children and Families Act introduces other barriers to abortion such as mandatory wait times and follow-up visits, the banning of abortions via prescription medicines like mifepristone (which account for the majority of abortions in the US) past 10 weeks. Abortions between 10 and 12 weeks would have to be surgical, and the few abortions permitted after 12 weeks would have to take place in a hospital.

Exceptions do exist in the law for rape or incest, putting the limit at 20 weeks, and 24 weeks for life-limited fetal anomalies including some physical or genetic disorders, as well as an exception if the life of the mother is at risk.

Abortion access was already limited in the state with only 14 abortion clinics in the state of over 10 million people. This will further complicate womens health in addition to the already difficult situation in regard to obstetrician access and inability to access health care due to poverty. These social conditions have caused maternal death rates to soar in the US, making women four times more likely to die during pregnancy than comparable countries such as Germany, France or Britain, 10 times more likely than Scandinavian countries, and twice as likely as China.

South Carolina, whose state government is dominated by the Republicans, is moving towards a near-total abortion ban at six weeks, down from its previous 22-week abortion limit.

North and South Carolina are, or at least until the passage of the bill, the last two states in the southeastern United States which provided abortion services, serving as an access point for residents of neighboring states. Much of the southern US as a whole has banned or severely restricted abortion already. With the latest bans in the Carolinas, women in the region will be further deprived of abortion rights, especially poor and working class people who can neither afford travel costs nor the risk of losing their jobs as a result of missing working days traveling out of the region.

The critical vote enabling the override was furnished by State Representative Tricia Cotham, who was elected as a Democrat to the 112th district in Mecklenburg County (Charlotte). Cotham announced she was switching parties to Republican in April. Cothams electoral promise to defend abortion she made as a Democrat proved as worthless as the rest of the Democratic Partys electoral promises. At least four Republicans ran on abortion rights platforms which they later repudiated through their vote for the ban. This followed a pathetic campaign by Democrats to appeal to these lawmakers, led by Cooper.

Abortion rights protesters hold up signs criticizing North Carolina state Representative Tricia Cotham, whose party switch from Democrat to Republican gave the GOP a veto-proof supermajority, at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, Saturday, May 13, 2023. [AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum]

Doug Heye, former Republican National Committee communications director, who consulted on three Republican US senate campaigns in the state told The New York Times that the Republicans were feeling this issue out for whats acceptable to the broader public ... Legislatively, theyre on offense, but politically, theyre on defense.

This comment points to the lack of any real popular support and the crucial role played by the Democrats in smothering opposition to attacks on democratic rightssuch as a womans right abortionthat permits such a situation to persist where a widely unpopular far-right party is able to dictate widely unpopular policies.

Indeed, in North Carolina most residents wanted to see the right to abortion stay the way it was or be expanded, with little over a third wanting further restrictions or bans, according to a recent Meredith College poll.

The law follows a Florida de facto ban of abortion after six weekstypically too little time to identify a pregnancymade alongside an expansion of the death penalty. Similarly, a reactionary religious bigot and anti-abortion Texas judge banned the abortion pill mifepristone, with the Supreme Court staying the ban at the request of the Biden administration. It is expected that the case will end up before the same justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, an action which led to the wave of abortion bans that are sweeping the country.

The Democrats are cynically using the overturn of abortion rights by the far-right Republicans, and the overwhelming popular support for abortion rights, to bolster their 2024 elections campaigns.

Forward is the only way ahead, but I know one thing for certain, standing in the way of progress right now is this Republican supermajority legislature that only took 48 hours to turn the clock back 50 years on womens health, Cooper said in a veto rally in Raleigh on Saturday.

Bidens press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre released a perfunctory statement saying the law is a dangerous bill that is out of touch with the majority of North Carolinians and will make it even more difficult for women to get the reproductive health care they need and calling for votes for Democrats that would supposedly facilitate restoring Roe protections.

Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973 by the Supreme Court. Since then, the Democrats have done nothing to codify it into law. Their claim that if elected in 2024 that they will be either willing or able to defend abortion rights is preposterous.

As the World Socialist Web Site explained in its April 10 Perspective statement on the judicial attacks on access to the abortion pill mifepristone:

The response of the White House has been to comply with these judicial outrages, rather than challenging them and exposing the process as illegitimate. Biden and the Democratic Party have no concern over the hundreds of thousands of working class women who will be denied the simplest and least risky procedure for accessing abortion, and who may soon be denied any access at all. The privileged upper middle class layer that constitutes the social basis of the Democratic Party, along with Wall Street and the Pentagon, will be able to access abortion services, through private resources or travel to another country if necessary, regardless of the legal counterrevolution being pursued by the ultra-right in the United States.
Key Insights

Fielmann's estimated fair value is 49.25 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Fielmann's 48.20 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate

Our fair value estimate is 8.5% higher than Fielmann's analyst price target of 45.39

Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Fielmann Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:FIE) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. Before you think you won't be able to understand it, just read on! It's actually much less complex than you'd imagine.

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.

See our latest analysis for Fielmann

The Method

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 start off with, we need to estimate 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.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, 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) 191.3m 205.4m 226.8m 238.0m 246.5m 252.8m 257.5m 261.1m 263.8m 265.9m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x6 Analyst x6 Analyst x6 Est @ 4.98% Est @ 3.56% Est @ 2.56% Est @ 1.86% Est @ 1.38% Est @ 1.04% Est @ 0.80% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 6.3% 180 182 189 187 182 176 168 161 153 145

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = 1.7b

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 0.2%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 6.3%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = 266m (1 + 0.2%)  (6.3% 0.2%) = 4.4b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= 4.4b ( 1 + 6.3%)10= 2.4b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is 4.1b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of 48.2, the company appears about fair value at a 2.1% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

Important Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Fielmann 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 6.3%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.013. 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 Fielmann

Strength

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Specialty Retail market.

Opportunity

Annual revenue is forecast to grow faster than the German market.

Current share price is below our estimate of fair value.

Threat

Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the German market.

Next Steps:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation 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. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For Fielmann, we've put together three further items you should explore:

Risks: Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Fielmann you should be aware of. Future Earnings: How does FIE'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. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every German stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock 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
In a blow to the Australian Labor government and the US-led anti-China campaign throughout the Indo-Pacific region, it was announced on Wednesday that American President Joe Biden has cancelled a trip to Australia.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, left, U.S. President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, at Quad leaders summit Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Tokyo. [AP Photo/Evan Vucci]

Biden was scheduled to participate in a meeting in Sydney next week of the Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue (Quad), which brings together the US, Australia, Japan and India in a de facto alliance directed against Beijing. He is still travelling to Japan for a G7 summit over the weekend. A stripped back sideline meeting of the Quad will be held there.

The reason given for the cancellation is that Biden must be in the US during the crisis associated with the debt ceiling. In its own way, that underscores the historic decline of American imperialism.

Even as it is conducting a proxy war with Russia in Ukraine and preparing for conflict with China, which is viewed as its chief economic threat, US capitalism is roiled by continuous domestic political and economic turmoil that threatens ever greater instability.

As the WSWS has explained, however, the debt ceiling crisis has a largely manufactured character. The issue of the ceiling has emerged every few years for decades. A solution is invariably found. The debt ceiling is being used to lay the foundations for a sweeping onslaught on social programs and the living conditions of American workers, in the interests of the corporations.

Bidens trip to Japan also shows that he is hardly chained to his White House desk amid the debt ceiling negotiations.

The cancellation was not revealed in a delicate, well-choreographed manner, but in a rather brutal fashion that dented Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses standing.

For weeks, Albanese and other senior Labor ministers had been touting the importance of the Quad meeting. It was to underscore Australias increasingly central role in US foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific, and the Labor governments close relations with the Biden administration.

Last Tuesday night at 10:30 p.m., Albanese had announced with considerable fanfare that Biden would address a joint sitting of both houses of the Australian parliament during his visit. But then, the next morning, the entire trip was off.

It appears that major US publications, such as the New York Times, may have been informed of the cancellation before Albanese was. Australian outlets have since reported that Albanese received a phone call from a US functionary who told him the visit was cancelled before 5 a.m. on Wednesday morning. It seems unlikely that the information of the wake-up call was leaked to the press by Albanese or his team.

There are no doubt many reasons for Bidens cancellation. But the way in which it was conducted has the unmistakable air of a snub to the Labor government.

A hint as to some of the factors at play has been provided by coverage in the Australian press. The establishment outlets, deeply plugged into the US and Australian military-intelligence apparatus, have engaged in a great deal of hand-wringing.

The Australian published a revealing article by Peter Jennings, a senior fellow of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) and its former executive director. ASPI is funded by the US and Australian governments, along with the major weapons manufacturers. It functions as the most hawkish mouthpiece of American imperialism in Australia.

Jennings noted the various factors underlying Bidens cancellation. These included the political crisis within the US, the need to manage domestic public opinion at such a time and the presidents advanced age.

He also wrote that The great pity about cancelling the Sydney visit is that the Australia-US relationship could hardly be in a better shape.

As Jennings noted, the Labor government, in office for just a year, has dramatically accelerated Australias frontline role in the preparations for a US-led war against China. Albanese and other Labor ministers have engaged in what they describe as activist diplomacy, aggressively pushing the US line throughout the region and demanding that other nations line up behind Washingtons confrontation with China.

In March, Albanese stood alongside Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in San Diego, as they announced a $368 billion deal for Australia to acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. Dubbed as the apex predators of the ocean, such submarines would conduct offensive operations throughout the Indo-Pacific directed against China.

That is only the centrepiece of a far-broader military build-up. As outlined in Labors Defence Strategic Review (DSR), released last month, the military will shift from nominal defence of the Australian continent to impactful projection throughout the region, in preparation for an armed conflict.

That is fully in line with the US war drive. But figures such as Jennings have persistently raised concerns that the Australian build-up is not proceeding rapidly enough, under conditions where some top US military officials are forecasting a likely conflict with China within the next three years.

Jennings asserted that those frustrations may have been a factor in Bidens cancellation. After promising the biggest defence shake-up in decades, the governments mocked-up version of a public Defence Strategic Review delivered no new funding in the next four years, yet another review of the navys surface fleet and a botched redesign of the army aimed at saving money rather than modernising the force.

Australias closest supporters in Washington will be mystified by this development, Jennings added.

Most notably, he wrote: Washington is constantly assessing whether Australia is really up to the demands that AUKUS co-operation implies. Failing to back our defence rhetoric with funding will have been noted. That type of complacency garners no presidential visits when other priorities are pressing.

Similar insinuations have been made by other commentators, though generally in less explicit terms.

There is no question that the Labor government is being buffeted by powerful forces. It is fully aligned with the US war drive.

But at the same time, a minority wing of the ruling elite continues to voice opposition to AUKUS and the submarine program. This layer is not anti-war. Instead, it is fearful of the consequences of all-out war with the countrys largest trading partner. Its representatives include some of the most prominent national politicians, such as former Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating and leading Labor figure Bob Carr, a former federal foreign minister and the state premier of New South Wales for 10 years.

Previous reports have indicated that Keatings interventions, in particular, have been followed closely in Washington. The Albanese government has dismissed Keatings statements as outdated, but has been unable to silence him or convincingly refute his contentions.

Of more concern is the genuine and widespread anti-war sentiment of ordinary people. The AUKUS submarine announcement, and its massive price tag, provoked substantial shock and anger. For more than a decade, the preparations for war had largely been carried out behind the backs of the population.

To try and suppress these sentiments, the Labor government fraudulently packaged its May budget as an exercise in cost of living relief. Those measures are dwarfed by the more than $50 billion allocated to defence spending next year. But most of the AUKUS-related funding has been deferred into the future, with the government effectively kicking the can down the road.

The plight of imprisoned WikiLeaks publisher and Australian citizen Julian Assange has also become more prominent. This has compelled Albanese to make highly conditional statements indicating that the government desires the Assange case to be brought to a close. Biden is overseeing the attempted US extradition and prosecution of Assange for exposing American war crimes.

Given the countrys geographical isolation and the centrality of the American alliance, visits by US presidents have always been major events in Australian political life.

Canceled visits have also had a significance. In 2010, then US President Barack Obama postponed a scheduled tour of Australia, before canceling it altogether.

The first postponement took place in March and another in June. By the end of that month, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had been ousted in a backroom coup. It took place overnight, behind the backs of the population and even sections of the Labor leadership. The ousting was carried out by Labor and union apparatchiks who were later exposed as confidential informants of the US embassy.

The WikiLeaks cables, which revealed their status, also showed that the US was intensely hostile to Rudds call for Washington to try and reach a modus vivendi with China in the Indo-Pacific. This line was tepid and was not in any way anti-war, but cut across the US preparations for a full-blown confrontation with Beijing. Rudd had also expressed reservations about the Quad.

In 2011, following Julia Gillards instalment as Prime Minister, Obama did visit, announcing the US pivot to Asia, an unprecedented military build-up, from the floor of the Australian parliament. Gillard signed on and announced the establishment of a US marine base in Darwin.

The US-instigated coup against Rudd is never discussed openly, but it no doubt plays on the minds of those walking the corridors of power, including Albanese, who was a cabinet minister in Rudds government.

Albanese has done everything he can to prove that his government will not wobble, as Rudds was perceived to have. But amid an increasingly feverish drive to war, his government and its performance on the military front is, as Jennings indicated, being continuously scrutinised in Washington.
The long simmering political crisis in Pakistan is now boiling over. Terrified that the campaign of ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan for immediate new elections could inadvertently precipitate an explosion of mass working class anger against brutal IMF-dictated austerity, soaring food prices and mass joblessness, the government and military are resorting to dictatorial forms of rule.

Last weeks government-ordered, Army Ranger-executed arrest of Khan on corruption charges precipitated mass protests by supporters of his Islamic populist Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), or Movement for Justice, including widespread attacks on government and military installations.

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks during a news conference at his home, in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, May 18, 2023. [AP Photo/ K.M. Chaudary]

The response of the government and military was savage repression. Internet and social media services were suspended for more than four days, depriving millions of people of their right to information. Army troops were deployed in the national capital, Islamabad, and all four provinces of Pakistan. Thousands were arrested and remain under detention. At least nine people were killed.

Clashes between security forces and Khans supporters continued for four days. They only ended last Friday, after the Supreme Court intervened and declared the PTI heads arrest in the multi-billion rupee Al-Qadir Trust corruption case to have been illegal, and court orders were issued preventing Khans re-arrest either on the original charge or others until May 17.

One week on, the situation remains highly volatile, with the cleavages within the Pakistani political elite and the institutions of the capitalist state only deepening.

The military and government have launched a vendetta against PTI leaders and supporters. Khan has claimed 7,000 PTI leaders and activists have been arrested. Media outlets are citing lower numbers, but agree that the total is in the thousands.

At the conclusion of a special Corps Commanders Conference, presided over by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, it was announced on Monday that protesters alleged to have been involved in the attacks on the military will be tried in military courts. Presided over by military personnel, such courts are closed to the public and media and their rulings cannot be appealed, even to Pakistans Supreme Court.

The militarys press office, the Inter-Services Public Relations bureau (ISPR), issued a statement after the corps commanders meeting that stated, The forum resolved that those involved in these heinous crimes against military installations, personnel and equipment would be brought to justice through trial under the relevant laws of Pakistan, including the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secrets Act.

This blatantly dictatorial measure and the ISPR statement underscore the degree to which the military top brasswhich has long been the countrys most powerful political actor and has substantial economic interestswas rattled by the protesters attacks. The ISPR statement suggested India, Pakistans strategic enemy, had a hand in last weeks events and that they threatened the unity of the armed forces. Commanders at Mondays meeting, declared the ISPR, expressed concern over externally sponsored and internally facilitated orchestrated propaganda warfare unleashed against the army leadership. These efforts are meant to create fissures between the armed forces and the people of Pakistan, as well as within the rank and file of the armed forces.

The coalition governmentwhich goes under the label of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and is led by the two parties that prior to Khans election in 2018 had long dominated Pakistani electoral politics, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and the Pakistan Peoples Partywas quick to endorse dragging anti-government protesters before military courts and the invocation of the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secrets Act.

A National Security Committee meeting on Tuesday, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and attended by top military leaders, endorsed the use of military courts, which under the 1952 Pakistan Army Act can be used to try civilians accused of waging war on the armed forces, attacking military installations or inciting mutiny. The meeting also vowed to arrest, within the next 72, hours all those involved in the attacks, their facilitators and instigators.

On Wednesday, the government gave Khan and the PTI leadership 24 hours to hand over 30 terrorists whom it claimed were hiding out in Khans expansive Lahore residence, Zamran Park. That deadline has now passed.

Police have surrounded Khans residence and late Thursday evening a senior official in Punjabs interim government said police intended to conduct a search of Khans residence Friday.

Meanwhile, the bitter dispute between the government and the Supreme Court, particularly the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Umar Ata Bandial, has intensified. The PDM accuses the CJP of being biased in favour of Khan and giving him special treatment. It was Bandial who organized the three-member Supreme Court bench that ruled Khans seizure by Army Rangers amidst another court proceeding illegal, overturning a lower court ruling that had upheld the arrest.

On Monday, the National Assembly passed a motion authorizing the establishment of a five-member committee to prepare and file cases against Chief Justice Bandial in the Supreme Judicial Council for his misconduct and deviating from his oath of office. Also Monday, the PDM held a sit-in outside the apex court, located in Islamabads high-security red zone, to demand the CJPs resignation. Addressing the PDM supporters, Maryam Nawaz, the prime ministers niece and the daughter of three-time Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said, The decisions of the judiciary are responsible for the destruction of the country. Subsequently she clarified that she was not accusing all judges, but those on the Supreme Court who were facilitating Imran Khan.

The May 15 sit-in coincided with court proceedings regarding a petition moved by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), seeking to revisit another CJP-authored ruling setting the previous day, Sunday, May 14, as the date for Punjab Assembly elections. The national and interim Punjab government ignored that decision, which arose from a case launched by PTI supporters.

With the militarys publicly expressed support, the government is insisting that elections for the two provinces, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, from which the PTI relinquished control over the government earlier this year as part of its campaign for immediate national elections, should be delayed until October so that they can be held in conjunction with the polls for the National Assembly and the other provincial assemblies.

Pakistans political crisis is inextricably intertwined with and rooted in the acute economic and geopolitical crisis that is roiling the worlds fifth most populous country.

The PDM governmentwhich came to power 13 months ago, after Khan and his PTI were ousted through a non-confidence motion, orchestrated by the militaryhas seen its popular support collapse as it implements IMF-demanded austerity measures.

Last year the IMF did allow Islamabad to draw from an emergency bailout loan first negotiated by the Khan-led government. But as of yet, the PDM government has been unable to access an additional $1.1 billion tranche despite months of negotiations and additional austerity and privatization measures, even as Pakistan teeters on the brink of default.

US imperialism, which controls the IMF, has been using the negotiations to press for geopolitical concessions, whether it be providing weaponry to Ukraine, new bases for military operations in Afghanistan, or weakening the longstanding Pakistan-China economic and military-security partnership.

Khan is a right-wing Islamic populist whose ascent to power was aided by the machinations of the military. Its earlier support for Khan is now an open secret, and even the army establishment does not deny this fact. In political circles, it is known as the Imran Khan project.

However, the military top brass and much of the ruling class lost confidence in Khan after he equivocated last year, in the face of a popular outcry, on the imposition of IMF-dictated energy subsidy cuts. They also believe he needlessly antagonized Washington by publicly hailing the Taliban victory in Afghanistan and trying to improve relations with Moscow at the beginning of the Ukraine war.

Since being ousted from office, Khan has been able to rally public support, principally from sections of the middle class ravaged by the economic crisis, by demagogically recasting himself as an opponent of IMF austerity and by criticizing Washingtons bullying of Pakistan and the armys outsized role in the political life.

Following last weeks events, Khan accused current Army chief General Asim Munir of orchestrating his arrest and trying to eliminate him from political life.

In remarks Wednesday, Khan shifted gears. He tried to place blame for the rift between himself and the military top brass on his political rivals in the PDM. The PDM leaders and [former Prime Minister] Nawaz Sharif, who is absconding in London, are least concerned whether the countrys constitution is desecrated, state institutions are destroyed or even Pakistan Army earns a bad name, said the former prime minister. The PTI leader boasted that he has always defended the military, including on the international stage. When I reprimand the army, it is like I am criticising my kids, he claimed.

Sections of the PTI leadership, many of whom served in the government of the US-backed dictator General Pervez Musharraf, are now distancing themselves from Khan. They fear that by so publicly attacking the militarythe bulwark of the rule of the crisis-ridden Pakistani bourgeoisie and the linchpin of its reactionary alliance with WashingtonKhan has overplayed his hand.

The working class has not mobilized and participated in the recent anti-government, anti-military protests. Class conscious workers are aware that all ruling-class parties are anti-democratic, pro-imperialist, and tied to finance capital. These parties have implemented and continue to implement harsh austerity measures dictated by the IMF, have supported imperialist wars in Afghanistan, have fomented Islamic fundamentalism as a tool of Pakistans reactionary geopolitics and as a means to split and intimidate the working class, and have conducted brutal military operations within Pakistan.

While lending no political support to Khan or his PTI, working people must condemn the vicious state repression being unleashed against the anti-government protests and protesters, including the use of military courts. These dictatorial measures will be used to safeguard the crisis-ridden and corrupt capitalist system in the face of working class struggle.

The Biden administration has said next to nothing about the political crisis in Pakistan. But other US figures, such as the notorious one-time US ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, have been conspicuously meddling in Pakistani politics. In recent tweets, Khalilzad has publicly backed Khan, stating, I reiterate my call for the resignation of the current army chief and for setting a date for elections to put things on track.

In the USA, PTI members have been lobbying Congress regarding the political situation in Pakistan. Late last month, US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome paid a visit to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice-President Fawad Chaudhry at his residence, as revealed in a tweet shared by Fawad's wife, Hiba Chaudhry.

The masses resentment and anger towards the government are fueled by decades of mounting economic insecurity and social inequality, now aggravated by soaring food and energy prices, and the continuous devaluation of Pakistans currency. The governments inadequate response to last summers unprecedented flooding, the halt and closure of many import-oriented industries due to the shortage of dollars, and the imminent shutdown of the pharmaceutical industry, which heavily relies on imports, are causing unemployment and hunger to spread like a pandemic. Additionally, the emergence of new variants of COVID-19 and attacks by fundamentalist terrorists are heightening social tensions.

The coming period will become still more explosive as the crisis in the Pakistani state becomes increasingly interconnected with geopolitical crises, such as the US-NATO proxy war in Ukraine against Russia. Tensions are escalating in the Eurasian region, as the US, supported by India, recklessly targets China, particularly in relation to the situation in Taiwan.

The only way forward for Pakistani workers and youth is to base their struggle on the strategy of Permanent Revolution. The most basic democratic rights and social aspirations of working people, including genuine independence from imperialism, can only be realized through the struggle for workers power. The working class must rally the rural toilers behind it in opposition to all factions of the bourgeoisie and forge unity with workers around the world. This requires the building of a revolutionary workers party, a Pakistani section of the International Committee of the Fourth International.
Sri Lankan man covers his face as a municipal worker fumigates insecticide to curb mosquito breeding to try to control dengue fever in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, June 28, 2012. [AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe]

Sri Lankas workers and oppressed masses, struggling to cope with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and brutal austerity measures being imposed by the Wickremesinghe government, are now being hit by a rapidly spreading dengue outbreak.

Health Services deputy director general Dr. G. Wijesuriya told the media last week that dengue fever infections have tripled over the last two years. He warned that the island faced a major increase of the deadly disease in the coming weeks with heavy rains. According to the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA), 15 persons have died from dengue in the first four months of the year.

Wijesuriya pointed out that intensive care units in several hospitals are already overcrowded with dengue patients. 45 dengue-infected children are currently being treated at the Lady Ridgeway Childrens Hospital (LRH), Sri Lankans main childrens hospital. Wijesuriya, who is also the LRH director, said: The majority of these children are in the 5 to 14 year age group and some are suffering from hemorrhagic [cases], a severe form of dengue.

Speaking with the Daily Mirror, Dr Ananda Wijewickrama, senior consultant physician at Sri Lankas Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), warned: At the moment, we are experiencing a [dengue] epidemic. The worry is that it is likely to get worse. Normally, the number of patients tends to increase in June and July but Sri Lanka has already recorded over 34,000 cases. In that context, the worst is yet to come.

Dengue, which is particularly deadly for kids, is spread through mosquitoes. It was first reported in 1965. Since 1989, it has become a semi-permanent epidemic.

Dengue fever symptoms. [Photo: Mikael Haggstrom ]

National Dengue Control Unit director Dr Nalin Ariyaratne revealed that 33,722 dengue infections have been reported in Sri Lanka from January 1 to May 14. The Association for the Prevention of Dengue has identified 59 Medical Officer of Health (MOH) divisions as highly contagious areas with 50 percent of the patients identified in the Western Province, he said.

Twenty-one percent of the Western Province dengue patients are from Gampaha district, with 18 percent and 7 percent respectively from the Colombo and Kalutara districts. The Health Ministry said that although second and third variants of dengue are mainly dominant, the original strain is still spreading, even after 14 years.

It is the highest number of dengue infections since 2017. In that year, 440 died out of 186,101 of those infected. Every hospital in the Colombo area, including the National Hospital and the IDH, were overwhelmed with dengue patients. Limited hospital beds meant that some patients died without having received any treatment. This sort of situation is developing once again.

COVID-19 continues to spread, with many new infections and deaths reported. According to the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry, 150 infections have been recorded and 16 deaths in the last 20 days.

Like their counterparts internationally, the Sri Lankan government has placed profits ahead of lives and abandoned rudimentary safety procedures. According to the countrys highly undercounted official statistics, 672,304 people have been infected and 16,856 have died from COVID-19 in Sri Lanka.

At the same time, malaria, previously eliminated in Sri Lanka, has re-emerged. Institute of National Health science director Thamara Kalubowila recently told the media that the country recorded its first malaria death in April this year, the first in 14 years. There had been 14 malaria infection cases in the first four months of 2023.

On May 9, President Wickremesinghe sent a letter to all the countrys district secretaries instructing them to take all measures necessary to prevent the spread of dengue. Wickremesinghes real concern is that increasing dengue infections will intensify the already rising popular opposition to his government and its social austerity attacks on the working masses.

Notwithstanding Wickremesinghes call for the population to take all measures to prevent dengue, no concrete program has been announced and no money allocated for any such measures.

But under the presidents so-called instructions, thousands of police officers and soldiers, along with health officials, are going house to house in MOH divisions at risk of dengue, identifying mosquito breeding places. Residents are being ordered to prevent these breeding places from developing while being threatened with legal action under dengue prevention laws if they fail to do so.

During the 2017 dengue outbreak, then President Maithripala Sirisena and his prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, took legal action against thousands of people accused of violating the dengue prevention laws.



The purpose of these operations is to help the government to wash its hands of any responsibility for stopping the disease and placing responsibility onto the population. Likewise, the deployment of police and military personnel, under the pretext of dengue prevention, is part of the increasing militarisation of political rule.

The real attitude of the Wickremesinghe government is revealed in its allocation for public health in the 2023 budget. While spending 539 billion rupees for its military-police repressive apparatus, it has allocated a meagre 322 billion rupees for health.

Successive Sri Lankan governments, including the current Wickremesinghe regime, have allocated less than 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to public health. Health, education and other basic social programs were gutted in order to pay for Colombos 26-year communalist war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). These social attacks have intensified under IMF dictates since the 2008 global economic crash.

Sri Lankas public health system is on the brink of collapse with the government hospital network severely understaffed and lacking essential equipment and pharmaceuticals.

According to 2017 figures, the most recent available, there were only 1,720 public health inspectors (PHIs) in Sri Lankai.e., only one PHI for every 13,000 people. A PHI told the World Socialist Web Site that in some parts of the island, the proportion was 1 for every 30,000 people. The minimum World Health Organisation (WHO) standard is 1 to 10,000.

The training of professionals in the public health sector and awareness programs for people has been cut. Other measures, like spraying anti-mosquito larvae and smoking which was conducted by MOH offices and local government bodies, have been almost entirely ended.

The PHI who spoke to the WSWS explained: If you want to control diseases like dengue, you have to implement advanced programs for solid waste management. Parallel programs are needed to provide the people with scientific knowledge on these diseases and their control. And for workers like us to do our duties with satisfaction, we should have decent wages and be freed from oppressively large workloads.
Malaysian Bulk Carriers Berhad (KLSE:MAYBULK) First Quarter 2023 Results

Key Financial Results

Revenue: RM35.1m (down 10% from 1Q 2022).

Net income: RM5.35m (down 37% from 1Q 2022).

Profit margin: 15% (down from 22% in 1Q 2022).

EPS: RM0.005 (down from RM0.008 in 1Q 2022).

All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period

Malaysian Bulk Carriers Berhad shares are down 4.6% from a week ago.

Risk Analysis

You should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Malaysian Bulk Carriers Berhad.

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
Many Student Loan Borrowers Owe More Now Than When They Started Paying  Heres Why

Ridofranz / Getty Images/iStockphoto

When you make monthly payments toward a loan, you expect the balance you owe to go down. For many student loan borrowers, that isnt the case.

Find Out: New Student Loan Forgiveness Rule Simplifies Process  Who Qualifies?

Student Loans: Court Allows $6 Billion in Forgiveness Funds To Proceed for 200,000 Borrowers

Student loan payments were paused in 2020 in response to the pandemic  but by 2021, almost two out of every three student loan borrowers who made voluntary payments during the COVID-19 payment pause ended up owing a larger balance than they originally did, according to a report from the National Consumer Law Center and the Center for Responsible Lending.

Theyre not alone. More and more students now rely on loans to complete their higher education. A report from the Education Data Initiative shows that U.S. student loan debt in April 2023 totals just over $1.7 trillion dollars  a staggering sum. And its not clear if there is any more help coming. The Biden administration has confirmed that the payment pause will end this year, and its separate student loan forgiveness program remains in limbo until the Supreme Court issues a ruling.

Student loan balances can increase for a number of reasons. Here are a few to look out for.

Outstanding Interest

When you take out a loan, you agree to pay it back with interest. But certain options for borrowers have some hidden consequences.

Its important to remember that interest will always accrue over time. And whenever youre left with unpaid interest, it will be capitalized, or added back into the principal amount you borrowed.

Grace Periods

In-school deferment is an often-used option for student loan borrowers. But after graduation, temporary pauses in payments can increase the amount theyre ultimately going to pay.

If you are temporarily unable to make student loan payments, you could apply for a forbearance  a short-term pause on your student loan payments. But during that pause, your loans can still accrue interest.

During a forbearance, you can opt to pay the interest each month before its capitalized. That will keep your total loan cost down. If you are able, set a little money aside in a savings account each week to cover the interest that has accrued on your loan at the end of the month.

Many borrowers opt to stop making payments altogether during forbearance periods. That will increase the original amount they owe. If you rack up some unexpected expenses, consider options that could decrease your monthly payment before requesting a pause on your payments altogether.

Take Our Poll: What Are You Worth to Your Company?

Longer Repayment Plans

Some federal student loan repayment plans do not focus on paying off the principal balance you owe right away.

The Extended Repayment Plan allows you to pay off your loans over a 25-year period rather than the standard 10 years. If you opt for an Extended Graduated plan, your monthly payments will start out lower and increase every two years or so. This option can be helpful for recent grads who are still in the process of applying for jobs, or have less expendable income to start but plan to make more money in the future.

However, in the beginning of the Extended Graduated Repayment Plan, payments are made toward the accrued interest on the loan  not the principal loan itself. Meaning you will end up paying more than you originally borrowed over time.

If you need a lower monthly payment, you can see if you qualify for an Income-Based Repayment or Income-Contingent Repayment Plan. While these plans will still accrue interest over time, they are specifically formatted to be dependent on your income level, and can even provide some interest benefits on subsidized loans.

After making payments for 20-25 years on Income-Driven Repayment Plans, the remainder of your student loan debt could even be forgiven. Youll just be taxed on that remaining balance in the next years tax return.

Negative Amortization

Negative amortization is kind of a last resort in loan repayment. This occurs when you reduce your monthly payment to an amount that is less than the interest youre charged for that month, like the minimum payment on a credit card.

While it may feel like youre running up that hill and making monthly payments, that remaining interest still gets capitalized into your initial balance. Thats why the amount you owe still increases at the end of each month.

But thats not all. That new higher balance youve just accrued comes with higher interest, which could make your monthly payment go up, too. If youre in a tough spot, talk to your student loan servicer about options that could keep your overall balance and monthly payments from increasing significantly.

More From GOBankingRates

James Holbach contributed to the reporting for this article.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Many Student Loan Borrowers Owe More Now Than When They Started Paying  Heres Why
MicroStrategy co-founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said the company isnt just aware of Ordinals, its interested in how the protocol thats set Bitcoins community abuzz could lead to software innovation.

In an interview at Bitcoin 2023 in Miami, Saylor exclusively told Decrypt that the software firm is looking at Ordinals and assessing its potential in terms of application development.

Often used to create NFT-like assets on top of Bitcoin, Ordinals launched in January, and the protocolwhile not embraced entirely by the Bitcoin communityhas created a new wave of experimentation with cryptos oldest coin.

While Bitcoin Fees Soar to Two-Year Highs, El Salvador Pays the Price

One recent innovation in the space leveraging Ordinals is an experimental framework for building tokens on top of Bitcoin. It was pioneered by the pseudonymous on-chain data enthusiast Domo in early March. And since then, thousands of other so-called BRC-20 tokens have been created.

All those transactions have been partlyor entirely, depending on who you askresponsible for elevated transaction fees on Bitcoin. Thats been a boon for Bitcoin miners, who collect transaction fees for their role in securing the network. But lots of members of the community have complained that high fees make it harder for regular people to use BTC as the peer-to-peer electronic cash system that Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, intended it to be.

The discussion surrounding Ordinals is important, Saylor said, because Bitcoin miners have to be successful over the long term. He added that the development of applications building on Bitcoins functionality could also bolster the coins overall adoption, among individuals, firms, and governments.

Saylor didnt specifically say what use cases MicroStrategy could be looking into that tap Ordinals, but he noted the ability to commit data to Bitcoins blockchain that isnt solely related to transactions has many potential applications.

The whole idea of burning a piece of data on the blockchain opens the door to the possibility that I might burn a digital signature, or I might burn a registration, or I might burn a hash of a document, Saylor said.

Michael Saylor: Bitcoin Ordinals Are a Catalyst for Adoption

Touching on corporate security, Saylor mentioned DocuSign, which lets businesses and individuals send and sign agreements securely using the firms electronic signature product. But that makes mega corporations reliant on a proprietary database, Saylor noted.

Right now, enterprises have weak security compared to Bitcoin, Saylor said, adding that innovations using the world's largest cryptocurrency could possibly introduce a new level of security available to firms that doesn't exist right now.

Saylors comments come just a week after he described Ordinals as a catalyst for Bitcoin adoption on the PBD Podcast. Still, he acknowledges that Ordinals have been used for plenty of silly reasons.

"The general consensus is criticize stuff that we think is silly, but don't censor it," he said on Thursday in Miami.

Saylor didn't want to predict "which protocol will win, but he said altering Bitcoin so that it censors certain uses would be wrong. It was a nod to the effort by a group of core Bitcoin developers, including Luke Dashjr, to treat Ordinals as "spam" and filter them out of transactions.

If somebody wants to change the protocol, in order to censor someone else from using Bitcoin, I don't think that's consistent with the values of the community, Saylor said. I do believe in rules without rulers.
(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musks top outside attorney sent Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella a letter Thursday, saying Microsoft had accessed Twitters data for unauthorized purposes.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Microsoft may have been in violation of multiple provisions of its data agreement with Twitter for an extended period of time, Quinn Emanuel attorney Alex Spiro wrote in a letter seen by Bloomberg News.

Microsofts agreement with Twitter includes the obligation to notify Twitter of any modifications to the companys API, or application programming interface, according to Spiros letter. Microsoft uses Twitters API in several products, including Xbox One, Bing Pages, Azure and Power Platform.

But last month, the Redmond, Washington-based company said its social media planning and scheduling tools for advertisers would no longer support Twitter. Musk at the time responded by accusing Microsoft of illegally using Twitter data and threatening a lawsuit.

Microsoft said in an emailed statement it had received Twitters letter and will review the questions. We look forward to continuing our long term partnership with the company, it said.

Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, bought Twitter for $44 billion in October. Since then, he has slashed staff and stiffed vendors amid declining advertising revenue.

The letter, reported earlier by the New York Times, comes as Twitter changes the companys policy to charge businesses for access to its stream of data.

Musk has also publicly criticized Microsofts investment in ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which the billionaire co-founded before leaving in 2018.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Peter Kramer - Getty Images

Netflixs latest documentary, Anna Nicole Smith: You Dont Know Me, explores the turbulent rise and fall of the late Hollywood star. The film uses exclusive footage and interviews to unpack the events that led to Smiths untimely death in 2007.



In her heyday, Smith was known for her modeling campaigns and highly publicized relationships. In 1994, she married J. Howard Marshall, a wealthy oil tycoon. Their union sparked a media frenzy, as people judged their age differenceSmith was 26, while Marshall was 89and the legitimacy of their union.

But to the surprise of many, this was not Smith's first marriage. Before becoming a household name? The model, born Vickie Lynn Marshall, married Billy Wayne Smith at 17 years old. Here's everything we know about her elusive first husband.

Who is Billy Wayne Smith?

Billy Wayne Smith is Anna Nicole Smiths first husband, and the father of their son, Daniel Wayne Smith. The pair met in Mexia, Texas, years before she became a household name. Smith's mother, Virgie Mae Hogan, told the The Daily Mail, that Billy was a sweet young man, very timid and shy. As the story goes, Billy wasnt initially charmed by Smith. According to Hogan, that upset Smith because he didnt pay attention to her. Looking back on their relationship, Smith once said, He drove me crazy. I chased him the way young girls do until I finally got him and married him. By then, of course, I wasnt interested.



How Did Billy and Anna Meet, and When Did They Marry?

Billy and Smith met while working at a fried chicken shack. Anna was a waitress, while Billy was a fry-cook. He was a year younger than Anna, and they both got jobs at the restaurant after dropping out of high school. From there, the young couple eventually dated for a few months. According to People, they married on April 4th, 1985, when Anna was 17 and Billy was 16. After their wedding, they moved into a house behind the chicken shop.



When Did Billy and Anna Have a child?



Anna gave birth to their son, Daniel Wayne Smith, on January 22nd, 1986. Daniel tragically passed away from a drug overdose on September 10, 2006. At the time, he was visiting his mother in Nassau, Bahamas, following the birth of her daughter, Dannielynn Birkhead.

Story continues

Why Did Billy and Anna Get Divorced?

Smith and Billys union was short-lived. They separated in 1987, but didnt officially divorce until 1983. Per The Daily Mail, Anna claimed Billy was too controlling. I wasnt allowed to go out of the house or go to the store, she said. He was so jealous.

In 2017, Annas mother told The Daily Mail that after Daniel was born, Anna began working at Red Lobster. She then quit and became a stripper at Houstons Executive Suite Club. It was there that she met her next husband, the wealthy oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall.



You Might Also Like
FILE - The City of Augusta was named one of five 'Workforce Hubs' in the U.S. on Thursday, serving as a model for President Biden's Investing in America Agenda.

Augusta is among five cities from across the U.S. that have been specially selected for a new presidential plan.

On Thursday, the White House released details on President Biden's Investing in America Agenda which looks to help Americans have access to high quality jobs, and Augusta is serving as a 'Workforce Hub.'

The plan involves catalyzing public and private investments which would boost labor needs. In order to meet the demand, the Biden Administration will partner with local stakeholders in key areas to solidify a diverse and skilled workforce.

It will start with five focus regions this summer which will serve as models for the administration's efforts in other cities. These five regions are the Workforce Hubs, which include Augusta, Phoenix, Columbus, Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

Barbie and Boris: 3 Augusta area salons offering unique vibes, cuts

"Don't think you're done with me:" Former Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver talks cancer fight

The White House's news release described Augusta as a diverse community that is home to Fort Gordon, the Medical College of Georgia and Savannah River Nuclear Solutions.

"The administrations efforts will focus on preparing and creating pathways for people in Augusta and the surrounding areas to access the good-paying jobs created in the clean energy industry, among others," noted the news release.

In a news release issued by Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson, he said he was elated by this announcement and his office will be working to enhance the efforts of this opportunity.

"My administration has begun collaboration with local community partners so we can have a complete vision for progressive workforce development for Augusta and the surrounding regions," Johnson said. "The City of Augusta looks forward to partnering with The White House and regional stakeholders to train a workforce that will be ready and capable to meet the needs and requirements of employers in various industries."

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Augusta is a hub city in President Biden's Investing in America Agenda
Netflix stock hits best close since 2022 as Wall Street remains bullish on ad growth

Netflix (NFLX) shares fell on Friday after soaring 9% on Thursday  its best intraday stock performance since October 2022 and its best closing since April 2022.

The positive swings come after the streamer revealed its ad-based plan, dubbed "Basic with Ads," has 5 million global monthly active users, or MAUs, a metric that Netflix Worldwide Advertising President Jeremi Gorman said "actually matter[s] to advertisers." Netflix launched the plan in November.

The company has yet to reveal actual subscriber figures for the ad tier, or how much revenue it's generated so far. MAUs can include multiple people using the same account.

Still, Wall Street remains bullish, with Wedbush reiterating its Outperform rating and listing the stock on its "Best Ideas" list.

Wall Street remains bullish on Netflix's ad-supported tier

"We think Netflix has reached the right formula with its global content to balance costs and generate increasing profitability, while its ad-supported tier and password sharing crackdown should further boost cash generation," Wedbush analysts Alicia Reese and Michael Pachter wrote in a new note on Friday.

The analysts added those catalysts set up the streamer to "generate significantly more free cash flow than its guidance suggests."

Profitability, margins and free cash flow surpassed Wall Street expectations in Netflix's first-quarter results. The streamer cut its content spend by $1 billion in the quarter compared to the same period last year.

The media giant, which raised its full-year free cash flow projection to $3.5 billion from $3 billion, said it will stay around its $17 billion annual content spend through 2024 but added there's more room to grow.

On the ad front, Wedbush said, "We continue to see significant room for upside as Netflix learns to balance viewership levels with CPM and ad views per hour." CPM, or premium cost per 1,000 impressions, is an important metric for advertisers.

"Netflix should be able to increase Ad [average revenue per user] to the $16 range or higher over time," the note added.

Netflix currently boasts 232.5 million global subscriber base, but the company said ad-based users have more than doubled since early 2023, with more than a quarter of Netflix sign-ups now choosing the ads plan in countries where it's available.

Netflix is still battling an ongoing writers' strike, which could impact content spending and upcoming releases, although the company has said it has enough content banked to weather the shutdown.

The platform is also facing continued backlash surrounding its password sharing crackdown. It previously said the crackdown will hit the US some time this quarter.

Alexandra Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com

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
TIVERTON  The odor of urine and feces outside the Tiverton house told investigators they had a problem even before they stepped through the door.

Inside, they found more than 30 dogs, many of them with matted fur, overgrown nails caked with feces, skin burns from lying in urine.

"We discovered the 34 dogs living in deplorable conditions, accumulated feces and urine, dogs all confined in cages that were too small for them," said Earl Newman, senior special agent for the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Acting on an anonymous tip, the RISPCA, state Department of Environmental Management and Tiverton police and animal control went to the house at 16 Roseland Terrace on Wednesday morning. The dogs and two cats were removed. The house was "found to be uninhabitable" after an inspection by the Tiverton code officer, and the three residents were told to relocate until the home can be cleaned and repaired, the Tiverton police said.

Three men have died by suicide at ACI: Why advocates are pushing to end solitary confinement.

Big seizures burden shelter agencies already at capacity

"We discovered the 34 dogs living in deplorable conditions, accumulated feces and urine, dogs all confined in cages that were too small for them," said Earl Newman, senior special agent for the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The seizure, the third major case in two weeks, puts additional pressure on the RISPCA and other areas shelters which have been dealing with a high number of pet surrenders and abandonments in the wake of the COVID pandemic. The RISPCA announced it would have to close down Thursday and Friday and probably over the weekend so staff members can check and tend to the seized dogs.

"We're beyond full," said RISPCA President and General Agent Wayne Kezirian.

Several other rescue agencies took in some of the dogs seized in Tiverton, but the RISPCA kept 12. "Our folks are all in the kennels tending to the dogs, which all need attention," Kezirian said Thursday. The dogs have fleas, worms, and some have wounds of unknown origin, he said, adding, "Two of the 12 we have might not make it."

Story continues

According to the police, a resident of the house told investigators she was fostering the dogs for animal rescuers out of Texas, but an investigation showed she doesn't have a license from the state Department of Environmental Management to operate a rescue.

Efforts by The Journal to reach the woman were unsuccessful, but information online indicates she was associated with an animal rescue. She has not been charged, according to Newman, but the investigation is continuing.

Newman said he spoke with two agencies in Texas that acknowledged sending the dogs to Rhode Island. Such transfers are regulated for the health and safety of the animals, he said. Among the regulations is one requiring that the facility accepting the dogs be licensed, he said.

Caring for daughter with Rett syndrome: A mother waits 50 years to hear 'I love you, Mom.'

'I think she became overwhelmed'

The Tiverton woman may have felt pressured to take the dogs to save them from being killed in Texas, Newman said. She did manage to place some dogs in homes, he said.

"I think her intentions, at least initially, were good," Newman said. "I don't think she wanted to put these dogs in this position. I think she became overwhelmed."

It's not unusual for people in states with high shelter kill rates to try moving them to states like Rhode Island, according to Kezirian. Sometimes they'll use the prospect of euthanasia to get people to accept the dogs, Newman said.

"I don't in any way doubt these dogs would have been targeted for euthanasia if somebody hadn't taken them," Kezirian said.

It's been a busy few weeks for the RISPCA and other Rhode Island animal rescue agencies. In Warwick on April 20, the RISPCA helped Warwick Animal Control seize 13 cats and two dogs as part of an investigation into a pair of dogs, initially mistaken for coyotes, running loose in the city. That led to the seizure Monday of some 40 dogs, cats and guinea pigs living in "deplorable" conditions in Central Falls, Newman said.

The RISPCA is so full it had to double up some small dogs in kennels, according to Kezirian. He's looking forward to the opening of the RISPCA's new headquarters in Warwick, scheduled for July. It will double the RISPCA's capacity to house animals in need, as the agency will keep its East Providence rescue center open.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Dogs seized in Tiverton kept in 'deplorable conditions'
Formula 1 has announced it will make an immediate 1 million ($1.08m) donation to the flood relief effort in Italy after the environmental disaster that led to the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix being called off.

Torrential rain and severe thunderstorms led to flooding and landslides in Emilia-Romagna this week, following further floods earlier this month. With a number of people having died and thousands having to evacuate their homes at times this week, the race in Imola was called off on Wednesday in order to allow emergency services to focus on support and the clean-up operation.

After Ferrari announced it will make a seven-figure donation to the Emilia-Romagna Regions Agency for Territorial Safety and Civil Protection, F1 has matched that sum.

More Formula 1!

Tsunoda helping with clean-up as de Vries gets aid from McLaren amid floods McLaren calls for F1 cost cap changes to help teams sustainability Canceling Imola was the right call, at the right time

I was born and grew up in the marvelous lands of Emilia Romagna, a place that is living through some of the saddest moments in its history, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said. The situation facing the communities in the region is terrible, but I know that the resilience and passion of the people in the region, like so many across Italy, will prevail through this crisis.

We must do everything we can to support them at this difficult time and that is why we are donating to help support the relief efforts on the ground. My thoughts, on behalf of the entire Formula 1 community, are with everyone affected and we want to thank the emergency services for their incredible work.

As well as the financial contribution, F1 has confirmed that all food and water from Paddock Club, as well as team, circuit and F1 hospitality, has been donated to a group organizing food banks and distribution for those who have been affected by the floods.

Limited team and F1 personnel remain in the region to continue trying to pack-down the Imola paddock ahead of the move to Monaco next week.

Formula 1 will be making an immediate 1m donation to the Emilia-Romagna Region's Agency for Territorial Safety and Civil Protection to support the communities affected by the flooding in the region. To donate please follow this link >> https://t.co/tmhAWJcM4s pic.twitter.com/tQkZN6jz6Y  Formula 1 (@F1) May 19, 2023

Story originally appeared on Racer
The first official teaser trailer for one of the years most anticipated films is here. After forcing sites to subsist on a single production still for almost a year, Apple TV+ finally released the first teaser trailer for Martin Scorseses Killers of the Flower Moon, the first full-length film collaboration between Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio in more than 25 years. The new, extended look at the film is rich in suspense, Indigenous cultures, and oil. In addition to De Niro and DiCaprio, Flower Moon also features a potentially star-making turn from Lily Gladstone, and other Indigenous actors like Tantoo Cardinal and Tatanka Means.

An adaptation of David Granns best-selling 2017 book of the same name, the film focuses on a string of murders in 1920s Oklahoma of wealthy members of the Osage Nation, who had quickly become extremely wealthy following the discovery of oil beneath their land. The trailer begins with an evocative shot of the Osage people celebrating the discovery of the oil, before shifting focus to the arrival of DiCaprios Ernest Burkhart.

The Osage took their name from Missouri and Osage rivers, DiCaprios character says, explaining that the name means Children of the idle waters.

According to a Deadline feature on the making of the film, Scorsese and his two leads agreed early in pre-production that they did not want to serve up a white-savior Western that focused on the heroic deeds of FBI agent Tom White the character DiCaprio was initially slated to play. DiCaprio reportedly suggested shifting the focus of the film to one of the suspects, Burkhart, and he wound up with the role, while Jesse Plemmons came on to olay White. De Niro plays William Hale, the uncle of Burkhart, and a key figure in the films central conspiracy.

Id read the book a few years earlier and the Tom White character was more prominent, De Niro told Deadline. That was right for the book, but Marty and Leos idea to focus on the relationship between Bill and Ernest made sense to me. They wanted to focus more on that dynamic instead of Tom White coming in and saving the day.

Story continues

Scorsese, DiCaprio, and De Niro stress in the Deadline piece that this take on the book is more personal and less about the mystery, though the trailer certainly emphasizes suspense. Working for the fourth time with cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, the film has a cool, muted aesthetic that recalls the pairs previous collaboration on Silence, and a driving score courtesy of Robbie Robertson.

There are many, so many hungry wolves. Can you find the wolves in this picture? DiCaprio narrates, hinting at the uncertainty and paranoia surrounding the killings.

In addition to the Academy Award winners, Flower Moon star Gladstone, a 36-year-old actor of Indigenous descent, is being hailed as the films breakout star and a possible Oscar nominee. Gladstone plays Mollie, the wife of DiCaprios character, and she features prominently in the debut trailer.

Gladstone told The Hollywood Reporter that she came close to quitting acting entirely in the summer of 2020, before Scorsese reached out to her via Zoom. Scorsese had been a fan of her performance in Kelly Reichardts Certain Women. Gladstone and DiCaprio ended up working closely, learning the Osage language for the movie and meeting with members of the community.

They shared personal stories that ended up changing the script and helped us flesh out the characters, Gladstone said.

Killers of the Flower Moon will be released by Paramount Pictures in theaters on October 6, before a streaming release onApple TV+. It will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20.

Originally Appeared on GQ
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a measure Wednesday banning TikTok in Montana, the first state to completely ban the social media app amid concerns about security threats.

The Chinese-owned platform, operated by ByteDance, has raised questions for allegedly harvesting data for those who have the app installed and use it frequently, many also point out its power to spread misinformation rapidly. Several states have pushed legislation to ban the video-sharing app from government-issued devices.

Another state that has been vocal about its distrust for the platform is Florida, with Gov. Ron DeSantis implementing strict laws for government, universities, and public school networks.

TikTok banned in Montana: Montana becomes first US state to ban TikTok over security concerns

DeSantis' war on TikTok TikTok banned in Florida? No, but DeSantis seeks block on government devices, school networks

Will Florida be next to join the TikTok ban? Here's what legislation has been passed so far and what DeSantis has said about a complete block for the popular app:

Will Florida completety ban TikTok?

As of now, there are no plans to completely ban the app but DeSantis has blocked it on government devices and school networks.

In an interview with Piers Morgan for Fox Nation, he confirmed that he would completely ban the app if he could.

"I would. I think so. I think it's a security risk. They are harvesting so much data on our citizens," DeSantis said when asked about it. "There's a whole bunch of other apps and stuff that are out there and, honestly, I've got young kids and I don't want our kids on some of this stuff."

What legislation has DeSantis passed to ban Tiktok?

In February, DeSantis announced his proposal for a digital bill of rights that would ban its use on government-issued devices and block access to the platform on internet services provided by public schools, universities, and government offices.

Story continues

Our Digital Bill of Rights will ensure Floridians are protected from the overreach and surveillance we have seen from Big Tech companies, DeSantis said during a press conference. Todays proposal builds on our efforts to stop Big Tech censorship and combat the malign influence of China through the removal of nefarious platforms like TikTok from any state-supported activity.

DeSantis also signed another TikTok ban earlier this month, approving HB 379 on May 9 to prohibit students from using TikTok on district-owned devices in public schools, as well as block anyone from using the app as a means of promoting school activities.

The bill also allows teachers to prohibit cell phone use entirely in the classroom and requires public schools to provide instruction on the social, emotional, and physical effects of social media.

Where has Florida banned TikTok?

The ban is in effect on millions of state and school-issued devices. Currently, the video-sharing app is blocked at all Florida public universities:

University of West Florida (Pensacola)

Florida State University (Tallahassee)

University of Florida (Gainesville)

New College of Florida (Sarasota)

Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton)

Florida International University (Miami)

Florida A&M University (Tallahassee)

University of South Florida (Tampa)

University of Central Florida (Orlando)

University of North Florida (Jacksonville)

Florida Gulf Coast University (Fort Myers)

Florida Polytechnic University (Lakeland)

What to know about university bans: 8 Florida universities have banned TikTok. Here's what you need to know:

Along with TikTok, TencentQQ, WeChat, Vkontakte, Kaspersky, and Fizz are also included in the ban.

What is the concern about TikTok?

The central focal point around the ban is the growing privacy concerns over how the Chinese owners of TikTok handle user data, especially regarding whether the app could be infiltrated by the Chinese government to spy on its 150 million American users.

Officials in Washington believe that the app could also be used by the Chinese government to spread propaganda to global audiences, and there are concerns about how harmful social media sites could be to younger users in general.

Why does DeSantis want to ban TikTok?

DeSantis has stated he wants "to protect Floridians digital rights and privacy from Big Tech companies by creating a Digital Bill of Rights that focuses on protecting Floridians privacy, protecting minors from online harms, and eliminating unfair censorship," for the Florida legislative session beginning in March, according to a news release.

Where else is TikTok banned?

TikTok has been partially or fully banned in five countries so far, with Afghanistan, India, and Taiwan having enacted complete bans.

The following countries have implemented restrictions:

Afghanistan : Permanent total ban implemented in 2022

Canada : Banned on all government-issued mobile devices

European Union: Banned on European Parliament, European Commission, and EU Council staff devices

India : Permanent total ban implemented in January 2021

Taiwan : Public sector ban implemented in December 2022

United States: Deadline set to remove TikTok from all federal government devices

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Montana bans TikTok, is Florida next? DeSantis hopes so, what we know
Two Florida parents have been arrested on several charges stemming from the hot-car death of their 2-year-old daughter.

Christopher McLean, 32, and Kathreen Adams, 23, were arrested on charges of child neglect and possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia following the death of their toddler on Tuesday, according to the Holmes County Sheriffs Office.

The girl was left in a car outside the couples home in the unincorporated Florida Panhandle community of Prosperity for about 14 hours while McLean and Adams were inside the entire time, the sheriffs office said.

Additional charges expected

Deputies responded to a 911 call about the girl in the car on Tuesday. They arrived within minutes and began trying to resuscitate her but it was too late, and she was pronounced dead soon after.

Initially, Adams told investigators that she had found her daughter unresponsive in the house but they became suspicious immediately, Holmes County Sheriff John Tate said during a news conference.

There have been four hot car deaths so far in 2023 and it's not even summer.

Deputies noticed that the girl felt very hot to the touch. Paramedics found that her temperature was 107 degrees, he said.

We knew something wasnt adding up, while talking to the girls mother, Tate said. It didnt pass the smell test. Common sense tells you that most of the time if youre in a home youre not going to get that hot.

When pressed with further evidence, Tate said Adams admitted that she had picked up both her children from a family member's home and got back around midnight.

"When she got home, along with the baby's dad, the baby was asleep in the car seat, and they decided to leave the child in the car and ultimately did not wake up or did not realize the child was in the car until around 3 p.m.," he said.

Deputies searched the couple's and found methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, and took blood samples of McLean and Adams, Tate said. The result of those tests are pending.

The sheriffs office said additional charges are forthcoming pending the results of the autopsy.

Story continues

The girls 4-year-old sibling was turned over to the Department of Children and Families.

Hot car deaths in 2023

Renly Andreasen is shown playing in the driver's seat of a car in 2020.

Tuesday's tragedy marked the fourth hot-car death in the U.S. so far this year and the second one in Florida, according to Kids and Car Safety, a group trying to educate the public about the problem.

Florida is No. 2 in the country for hot-car deaths involving children, according to the group.

Temperatures in the region where the girl died reached the high 80s on Tuesday, and her temperature at the time she was found was 107 degrees.

The three other hot-car deaths this year happened in Port St. Lucie, Florida on March 6, Atmore, Alabama on Feb. 27 and Spring Valley, New York on May 9. All involved children between 1 and 2 years old, and all are believed to have been left in cars unintentionally, according to Kids and Car Safety.

In 2022, 36 children died in hot cars, an uptick from lower numbers during the pandemic but less than record years in 2018 and 2019. During those years, a combined 107 children died in hot cars, Kids and Car Safety says.

How does this happen?

One of the biggest problems contributing to driving hot car deaths is the fact that many parents don't think it could happen to them, said Amber Rollins, a spokeswoman for Kids and Car Safety.

"People think that there's just absolutely no way under any condition that this could happen, that someone could actually unknowingly leave their child in their car," she said. "They think, 'This must be a monster.'"

"It can happen to anybody,'" she added.

Amber Rollins demonstrates how to use a window breaker to help break out a child from a hot car in Kansas City in June.

Many parents or other loved ones who leave kids in hot cars aren't charged because of a lack of criminal intent. Those who are charged often are found not guilty or eventually have their convictions overturned because the vast majority are tragic accidents.

While more than 70 parents have been charged in hot car deaths in the past five years, it's more difficult to say how many have been convicted. Prosecutors who put out press releases when they charged a parent can just as easily drop them without notifying the public. Many cases simply fade away.

Of the 170 deaths in the past five years, Kids and Cars has only been able to confirm 19 convictions, Rollins said.

"But even if they aren't convicted, it still ruins their lives, reputations, careers, friendships, etcetera," she said. "The ripple effect is hard to quantify."

Prevention

Renly Andreasen sits in his car seat while his mother drives.

Experts say there are a number of ways parents can avoid making the worse mistake of their lives.

For starters, they say there is never a good reason to leave a child alone in a car for any period of time.

Another method is to do a roll call even though it may feel a little silly, Rollins said.

"Anytime you've got multiple children there's always chaos," she said. "Someone's throwing a fit, something is getting spilled, there's so much going on."

Another tip is for parents to create a visual reminder in the front seat that a young child is in the back.

"Put the diaper bag in the front seat." Even better, parents can keep a stuffed animal in the back seat and every time they put their child in the back, they can bring the stuffed animal to the front. "Do it every time and there's much less chance that this could happen to you," Rollins said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida parents charged in hot-car death of 2-year-old daughter
NATICK  A Framingham man has been identified as the person who died after a canoe capsized Saturday evening on Fiske Pond.

Edvania Assis De Miranda, 29, was the victim in the incident, according to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.

On Saturday, a witness called 911 just after 7 p.m. about a small boat that had capsized with two people in distress in the water, Fire Chief Jason Ferschke said.

"Access was difficult due to the location," Ferschke said. "The embankment was extremely steep and in very close proximity to the rail tracks."

Earlier: One man dies, second swims to shore after canoe capsizes on Natick's Fiske Pond

While firefighters tried to access the water from Fiske Pond, the Fire Department's boat was put in the water at Cochituate State Park. The park's main feature is Lake Cochituate, which is made up of three linked ponds, including Fiske Pond.

Firefighters helped one man from the water, who was taken to a local hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening, Ferschke said.

"The male reported his friend was in distress and had not made it to shore," the chief said.

The department called in the Fire District 14 Dive Team, which brought in several divers. The Boston Fire Department also sent a dive team. Also assisting were the state Environmental Police, the Massachusetts State Police, the Natick Police and Department of Public Works and Brewster Ambulance.

Divers located De Miranda shortly after 10 p.m., Ferschke said.

The incident remains under investigation.

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Framingham man died in Natick canoeing accident, DA reports
When some people commit vicious and horrific crimes, their loved ones are shocked. They say they never saw it coming  the killer was a good neighbor, or a loving husband, or a dutiful employee. But in the case of Gary Heidnik, the pastor who raped and tortured six women he imprisoned in the basement of his Philadelphia House of Horrors, there were glaring red flags signaling he would commit such an atrocity one day.

Heidnik, who is the subject of Oxygens special Monster Preacher, had a checkered past and even served prison time for kidnapping before he ever forced six women into his basement pit. However, he only spent a few years behind bars and was soon able to resume life as a wealthy preacher in a North Philadelphia neighborhood where he was well-respected and cruised the streets in a Cadillac. How did this happen when a court psychiatrist even told a judge there was a high probability Heidnik would commit more crimes against women?

RELATED: He Tortured Woman In His Basement Pit  What Happened To Monster Preacher Gary Heidnik After Getting Caught?

Keep reading to find out more about the Monster Preacher...

Who Is Gary Heidnik?

Gary Heidnik G

Gary Heidnik, accused "House of Horrors" killer, is escorted to court. Photo: Getty Images

Heidnik was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1943 to parents who were wealthy but emotionally abusive, according to the Oxygen special.

The whole family was screwed up and weird. My mom told me how their dad beat Gary real bad with a toy wooden airplane because he peed his pants. His dad was an alcoholic, and his mom took poison. They found her in the basement. She was tired of the abuse. They were really sick parents, and they gave their kids some serious problems. Gary and my dad left Ohio at some point, and Im not exactly sure how we wound up in Pennsylvania, Heidniks niece, Shannon Heidnik, told Philadelphia Magazine in 2007.

After high school, Heidnik went on to serve in the army as a medic, but was eventually honorably discharged because of mental illness. Why he was discharged is somewhat up for debate, though some insist he was really mentally ill, while others claim he was faking it to get disability checks.

Story continues

Then they sent him to Germany, and I think he didnt like the assignment, didnt like being in Germany. So he started thinking, How can I beat this? He just stopped obeying orders. He finally got them to give him a medical discharge. Eventually he wound up with 100 percent disability, because he was able to convince the doctors that he was crazy. Hes been faking all his life, Charlie Gallagher, a prosecutor for Philadelphia District Attorneys Office, insisted to Philadelphia Magazine.

RELATED: He Wanted To Have A Perfect Race Of Children: Did Gary Heidnik Ever Have Kids?

John Cassidy, Heidniks best friend in Philadelphia, seemed to endorse the idea that Heidnik truly had a mental breakdown  but did want to take advantage of disability paymments  telling the magazine, He claimed the Army gave him LSD while he was in Germany. Sometime over there, he had a nervous breakdown. A legitimate, real nervous breakdown. And then he said he got this brilliant idea. He said, when he came out of it, why the hell should I come out of it if I can get disability?

After the army, Heidnik got a nursing degree and a job at a veterans hospital but it didnt last long: he was fired for his spotty attendance record and a serious attitude problem. Heidnik wasnt down and out for long, though. He decided to devote himself to God and established The United Church of the Ministers of God in 1971. With his family money and sheer charisma, Heidnik was able to gain a significant following in his neighborhood.

Did Gary Heidnik Have Kids?

What Heidnik wanted more than a vocation, though, was a family. He did eventually father multiple chidren, a daughter named Maxine, in 1978 with his girlfriend at the time, Anjeanette Davidson. Maxine was illiterate and mentally disabled with an IQ of 49, according to Death By Cannibal: Minds With An Appetite For Murder a 2006 book by author Peter Davidson (no relation to Anjeanette). The child was promptly put into foster care.

He also fathered a child with Betsy Disto, a Filipino woman who moved to the U.S. to marry Heidnik in 1985. She gave birth to their son, Jesse John Disto, in September 1986.

Heidnik had a third child, a son named Gary Jr., with Gail Lincow but it's unclear when he was born. He was also put into foster care.

What Did Gary Heidnik Do?

Heidnik was deeply upset by the state's decision to put Maxine into foster care, as shown in the Oxygen special, but he wasnt done with Anjeanette yet. Some time after their daughter was born, Heidnik signed Anjeanettes sister, Alberta Davidson, a 34-year-old woman with the mental capacities of a 5-year-old, out of the institution she lived in. After nine days passed and Heidnik failed to bring Alberta back, the institution got a police warrant, according to Death By Cannibal.

He allowed the first searcher to look around his home, insisting Alberta wasnt there as he had sent her back to the institution on a bus. Police came back a second time, though, and finally located Alberta  she had been placed in a storage room in the basement.

After examining the woman, authorities discovered she had a tear in her vagina indicating recent sexual intercourse and that she had contacted gonorrhea. Heidnik was thus charged with kidnapping, rape, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint, and interfering with the custody of a committed person, among other offenses. He pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a jury trial, according to Davidson.

Heidniks fate was thus in the hands of Judge Charles P. Mirarchi, who had Heidnik examined by a psychiatrist, who issued an ominous warning: there was a high probability Heidnik would commit a similar crime again. However, Alberta was deemed unfit to testify because of her mental disabilities, and without her testimony prosecutors were forced to drop the most serious charges against Heidnik.

Instead, he was found guilty of unlawful restraint, interfering with the custody of a committed person, and recklessly endangering another person. He was given the maximum sentence: three to seven years in the state penitentiary.

If it had been in my power to give him longer, I would have, Judge Mirarchi would later say, Davidson wrote.

Heidnik ended up serving more than four years in custody, bouncing between mental hospitals and prisons, the Associated Press reported in 1987. He was released on parole on March 24, 1983. With prison behind him, Heidnik had one goal in mind.

When he got out, he couldnt find Anjeanette, and he felt society owed him a wife and family, Josefina Rivera, one of the six women later kidnapped by Heidnik, told Philadelphia Magazine.

For more on Heidniks horrifying crimes, watch Monster Preacher on Oxygen.com.

(This story was originally published on January 7, 2021. It was updated May 18, 2023.)
This article originally appeared on Backpacker

This story comes from What You Missed, Outside's daily digest of breaking news and topical perspectives from across the outdoor world. You can also get this news delivered to your email inbox six days a week by signing up for the What You Missed newsletter.

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is on track to reopen on Friday, June 2, the delayed date set by park officials in April after record snowfall blocked off roads and damaged infrastructure. Usually, the North Rim opens on May 15 , and the area welcomes flocks of springtime rim-to-rim hikers and runners.

Due to a break in the North Rim water pipeline, visitor services will be limited, according to a news release. More than 300 feet of the pipeline was damaged in a landslide that was triggered by a winter storm.

Rooms at the Grand Canyon Lodge will not be available until at least July 23. The lodge, which is managed by Aramark, will offer limited food and beverage service starting June 2.

"The decision to suspend overnight accommodations at the Grand Canyon Lodge was not taken lightly and we recognize the inconvenience this has for visitors planning a trip to the North Rim," Grand Canyon National Park superintendent Ed Keable said in the release.

The North Rim Campground will open as scheduled on June 9, with drinking water and toilets available, according to the park service. But public laundry and shower facilities will not open until at least July 23.

Rim-to-rim hikers and runners will have to wait a few more weeks before tackling the arduous 24-mile journey, because the North Kaibab trail will not open on June 2. Officials have extended the trail's closure until at least June 15. The trail, which is closed from north of Cottonwood Campground to the North Kaibab Trailhead, was damaged by rockfall and landslides. During the closure, no hikers will be allowed to pass through the area under any circumstances, officials say. Once the trail is reopened, visitors should also expect intermittent closures to clear remaining debris.

Story continues

The park service is advising that North Rim hikers bring their own food and water, as services are limited and may be subject to change.

As of early April, the Grand Canyon had received over 250 inches of snow since October of last year--about 100 inches more than normal. The extended closure effectively canceled the spring rim-to-rim hiking season and threw a wrench in the plans of Arizona Trail thru-hikers.

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.
indiana jones 5 standing ovation

Footage from the ongoing Cannes Film Festival recently made its way online, showing acting legend Harrison Ford getting emotional during an Indiana Jones 5 standing ovation.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny made its world premiere at the legendary film festival on Thursday. Following the end of the film, the crowd stood and applauded  as is customary at Cannes  leading to the Indiana Jones 5 standing ovation. Standing up to thank them, Ford could be seen getting emotional over the reception, which lasted for about five minutes according to Variety.

Harrison Ford with tears in his eyes during the standing ovation for INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY. pic.twitter.com/mJtRv4wLKk  DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 18, 2023

Alongside premiering the film at Cannes, Ford was also honored there as well. The actor received an honorary Palme dOr for lifetime achievement at the festival. Im very moved by this  Im so grateful to be able to work with artists like Jim, Phoebe, Mads, and Im deeply moved by this honor, Ford said (via THR).

What is Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny about?

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is once again led by Harrison Ford as he reprises one of his most iconic roles as the titular explorer. Joining him as the female lead is Emmy and Golden Globe winner Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The final installment also features the introduction of other franchise newcomers Antonio Banderas, Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Kretschmann, Boyd Holbrook, and Shaunette Renee Wilson.

The long-awaited film is being directed by Oscar nominee James Mangold (Logan) from a new screenplay written with Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, who collaborated on Ford v Ferrari. Mangold took over the directors chair after Steven Spielberg exited his directorial duties for the film. Despite his exit, Spielberg will still remain part of the films production as a producer.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, and Simon Emanuel, with John Williams returning to score the film. It is set to be released in theaters on June 30, 2023.

The post Harrison Ford Gets Emotional, Tears Up During Indiana Jones 5 Standing Ovation appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a dutifully eager but ultimately rather joyless piece of nostalgic hokum. Its the fifth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise, and though it has its quota of relentless action, it rarely tries to match (let alone top) the ingeniously staged kinetic bravura of Raiders of the Lost Ark. How could it? Raiders, whatever one thinks of it as a movie (I always found it a trace impersonal in its 40s-action-serial-on-steroids excitement), is arguably the most influential blockbuster of the last 45 years, even more so than Star Wars.

Back in 1977, George Lucas took us through the looking glass of what would become our all-fantasy-all-the-time movie culture. But it was Steven Spielberg, teaming up with Lucas in Raiders, who introduced the structural DNA of the one-thing-after-another, action-movie-as-endless-set-piece escapist machine. This means that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny isnt just coming after four previous Indiana Jones films. Its coming after four decades of high-priced Hollywood action decadence, from the Fast and Furious series to the Mission: Impossible and Terminator and Lara Croft and Transformers and latter-day Bond films (not to mention the Marvel space operas), all of which owe a boundless debt to the aggro zap of the Raiders aesthetic.

More from Variety

Spielberg and Lucas are still onboard as executive producers, but Spielberg, in The Dial of Destiny, hands off the directorial reins to James Mangold, who has mostly been a gifted mainstream dramatist, though he honed his action chops on The Wolverine and Logan. Mangold knows his way around the fanciful blockbuster artillery. His direction of The Dial of Destiny has a competent craft but not much in the way of exhilaration.

Story continues

Working from a script he co-wrote with Jez and John-Henry Butterworth and David Koepp, Mangold opens the movie with an extended prologue, set in Germany near the end of World War II, in which Indy, played by a deftly de-aged Harrison Ford, attempts to get his hands on the Lance of Longinus (the knife used to draw Christs blood), only to learn that the blade in question is a fake. So instead he sets his sights on the Antikythera, a hand-held contraption of ancient-gold meshed gears that is one half of the dial created by the Greek mathematician Archimedes in the third century B.C. It will be the artifact-gizmo-MacGuffin that hovers over the entire movie. The characters literally never stop talking about it.

In the prologue, Indy is racing to get hold of the device before Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a mad-dog Nazi scientist, can steal it for himself. Mangold does a winning homage to the playful rhythms of early-80s Spielberg, as Indy disentangles his neck from a hanging noose and finds himself in a car-vs.-motorcycle chase, only to wind up, along with his British archaeologist associate Basil Shaw (Toby Jones), dueling with Voller on top of a speeding train.

Have you ever seen an action sequence set atop a speeding train? Weve all seen 10,000 of them, and this one, while efficiently executed, is brought off with just enough CGI that you can see the digital seams. Its worth noting how audacious the action sequences in Raiders of the Lost Ark were, a sensation expanded upon in the darker, spookier, unfairly maligned Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. But by the late 80s, when Spielberg gave us Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, as A-okay as that movie was it was already (except for Sean Connery) a revamp on autopilot. And Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull (2008) was the rehash of the revamp, reducing Indys antics to tepid formula.

The Dial of Destiny at least tosses the series in a new direction, by being the first Indiana Jones movie built around the impressive fact of Harrison Fords age. Hes 80 now, and a vibrant 80, still handsome and lean, with a scruff of gray hair and a slower, more gravelly voice as well as a combative physicality that now feels more rote than compulsive. After Indy and Basil leap off that train into a river and retrieve the Antikythera (though the other half of it must still be found!), the film cuts to 1969, where Indy himself is now a relic: an old man living in a cruddy New York apartment, waking up to his hippie neighbors blasting Magical Mystery Tour, pouring a shot of whiskey into his instant coffee as he glances over his divorce papers.

Mangold sketches in the period well, so that it stands in for the present day  not literally, but as a signifier of the idea that Professor Henry Indiana Jones has been yanked into the modern world. Hes teaching at Hunter College, where hes getting ready to retire and keeps that one-half of the Antikythera stashed in the archaeology stacks. Then his goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), shows up (they havent seen each other for 18 years), announcing that shes an archaeologist too and would like to team up with Indy to locate the other half of the Antikythera.

It turns out that Helena has mercenary motives. And while Phoebe Waller-Bridge, of Fleabag fame, makes her saucy, spiky, and duplicitous in a cheeky way (shes like the young Maggie Smith with a boatload of attitude), we never feel in our guts that Helena is a chip off the old Indy block. So while it feels like the film is setting her up to become the new Indy Jones, I wouldnt bet the farm on that happening.

Voller, the Nazi foe, hasnt gone away. He was drafted into NASA, where he spearheaded the scientific innovations that drove the Apollo moon landing. That, of course, makes him a riff on Wernher von Braun (not to mention all the other ex-Nazis the U.S. tapped to help invent the space program), but Mads Mikkelsen, with his lizard scowl and his shiny metallic hair, doesnt play Voller as a realistic character. Hes a leering megalomaniac out of central casting.

Indy and Helena are going after the Grafikos, the missing other half of the Antikythera, a journey that will take them from New York to Tangier, where Helena tries to unload the piece they already have at an auction for stolen artifacts. Then its on to Greece and Sicily, to caves and ruins and giant wriggling caterpillars. Voller is right behind them, along with three assistants: one (Olivier Richters) gigantic, one (Mark Killeen) who will shoot anybody on sight, and one (Shaunette Renee Wilson) who styles herself like a Black Panther. A chase through a ticker-tape parade for the Apollo 11 astronauts, with Indy leaping onto a police horse and riding it into the subway, is grabby in its very absurdity, and a car chase through Tangier, with Indy driving a three-wheel taxi, has enough comic dash to evoke what we cherish about this series. I laughed out loud when Indy leaps into another 3-wheeler at the very moment the one he was driving gets smashed to smithereens.

But those early high points arent really followed through on. Mostly, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny works by translating Indys old daredevil kick-ass fervor into the pure will with which hes now hunting for the artifact. As the film leaps international locations, the action starts to feel more conventional and less Indiana Jones-y. Did I mention that the reason the Antikythera is so valuable is that it can create fissures in time that will theoretically allow one to time travel? The film actually tests this out, with spectacularly preposterous results. But time travel, in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, is really an unconscious metaphor, since its the movie that wants to go back in time, completing our love affair with the defining action-movie-star role of Harrison Ford. In the abstract, at least, it accomplishes that, right down to the emotional diagram of a touching finale, but only by reminding you that even if you re-stage the action ethos of the past, recapturing the thrill is much harder.

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.
Non-American Tourists Are Sharing The Things They Loved (And Hated) About Visiting The US

If you've ever traveled to a new country, then you've probably identified some aspects of the culture that you loved and others you could do without. Well, redditor u//MickJof started a conversation about the best and worst things they experienced while visiting the US, and lots of travelers chimed in. Here's what some non-Americans said were their favorite and least favorite aspects of life in the States.

1. Love: "American diners and their huge portions of pancakes, bacon, and eggs galore."

u/sobrerovirus Gerenme / Getty Images/iStockphoto

2. Love: "The friendliness. I love the random friendliness in the USA. In the US, it's easy to pick up a conversation with mostly anyone. In my experience, Dutch people are kind but much more reserved in public."

The characters from "Friends" standing in a doorway excitedly

NBC

u/avamomrr

"Americans are very friendly and talkative. I'm from Sweden, where people get super uncomfortable if you talk to a stranger on a bus or even if you sit next to someone when other seats are available."

u/ibleuble

3. Hate: "Tipping! Why the heck do I need to be partly responsible for a proper salary for my servers? Also, it is just annoying to have to calculate the tip every time. It is also annoying that the prices listed almost never contain tax. In my country (and across most of Europe, as far as I'm aware), you pay exactly what is listed as the price. No hidden surprises."

u/MickJof Sdi Productions / Getty Images/iStockphoto

4. Love: "The to-go doggie bags at restaurants. You might be able to take your leftovers with you in certain places in the Netherlands, where I'm from, but it really is not the norm and would surely raise an eyebrow if you asked. In the US, it is normal, and I love not letting food go to waste. Besides, I did pay for my meal, so it's nice to be able to take it with me."

u/MickJof Aleksandr Zubkov / Getty Images

5. Love: "Career flexibility. It seems to me that people change careers frequently in the US. They can be 50 years old and go back to school, study something new, and get a completely unrelated job. In a lot of other places, people just keep at what they're doing forever, and they're miserable their whole lives."

Pam and Jim from "The Office" air high-fiving

NBC

u/edmar10

6. Hate: "Cost of living. It might just be where I have visited in the US, but I find Europe to be a lot more affordable. Granted, I only had to worry about buying food and going out, but still, I found myself a lot more conscious about my spending when I was in the US."

Jerry Seinfeld picking up a check in shock

Netflix

u/dorothy_the_dodo

7. Love: "Portion sizes. I find even as a Canadian that American portions are enormous and can sometimes be three times the size of a meal I would eat at home."

u/Huge-Recognition-366 Kevin Trimmer / Getty Images

8. Hate: "Lack of public transportation. I visited LA recently and found the car-centric culture to be super inconvenient for a tourist. Every time I wanted to see something, I had to research it beforehand and then drive there. In just about any other city I've traveled to, you can just head to the city center and explore on foot or via public transportation. Since I needed access to a car, I couldn't really stop in somewhere for a few beers. I really had to plan out my days."

u/Kelpo Michael H / Getty Images

9. Love: "I really like the diversity in the US. I'm Asian American (visibly East Asian), and the casual and overt day-to-day racism in a lot of Europe exhausts me. Not that the US is perfect, but the racism in Europe is everywhere and not even discussed. Europeans are generally very much in denial about it. I did not have the same experience in the US."

Ali Wong pointing

Netflix

u/accidentalchai

10. Love: "A general attitude of going for it and encouraging new things. Americans are willing to try new things. They start a business, an organization, or a club without fearing the risks. In some countries, when people have this kind of go-getter attitude, others around them pull them down. In the US its celebrated, and I really like that."

Dwight from "The Office" stretching and saying "Let's do this!"

NBC

u/dominashe

11. Love: "Bagels! Give me a New York everything bagel with egg and cheese and a cup of coffee, and Im a happy camper."

u/Alex_Albons_Appendix Ant Dm / Getty Images/iStockphoto

12. Love: "The landscapes. I've been to America many times, and I have to say the diversity in landscapes is incredible. You have deserts a few hours from ski resorts, and huge, modern cities next to thousands of square miles of Great Plains."

u/Bogof_offer James O'neil / Getty Images

13. Love: "The diverse cuisine. If youre willing to look for it, the US has no shortage of great food. Thanks to the cultural diversity, I found a lot of different culinary options as well."

u/Nine-Inch-Nipples Lauryn Ishak / Getty Images

14. Hate: "General feeling of safety. I feel a lot safer in Europe than I do in the US. Gun violence is one difference, but it goes beyond this. In most cities in Europe, I always feel that there are all sorts of people (especially women and older adults) out and about at all times. This makes me feel safer. In large cities in the US, by contrast, I often had locals warn me about certain areas, especially at night."

u/dorothy_the_dodo Kirill Kuznetcov / Getty Images/iStockphoto

15. Love: "The sandwiches. In America, there are so many glorious sandwiches, like the Reuben, piled high with delicious corned beef on nice artisan bread; Philly cheesesteaks; thin-sliced rib-eye, dripping with salty, gooey provolone; and even the po'boy, a stunning creation."

u/Serendiplodocus Gerenme / Getty Images/iStockphoto

16. Love: "The nature! I am Belgian and just returned from a one-month road trip in the US. I'm so jealous of the magnificent nature in the US. I saw so many beautiful sights. I hope every American truly treasures this aspect of life in the States."

u/Jakisirtaki Cavan Images / Getty Images/Cavan Images RF

17. Love: "Customer service, from the people who pack your grocery bag to the valets who park your car to the host who seats you in a restaurant. Everyone in customer service roles in the US performed these tasks while being extremely nice."

Kristin Wiig on "Saturday Night Live" dressed as a Target employee

NBC

u/Sandwichnick

18. Hate: "Lack of hostels. In most American cities, there are no hostels, so you're stuck paying money for Airbnbs or hotels, both of which jack up the price of your trip. In addition, this lack of hostels removes a key social outlet, so travel is lonelier."

u/bacharama Smodj / Getty Images/iStockphoto

19. Hate: "Degree of LGBTQ tolerance. Speaking as a gay person, Europe has more options. I feel safe in most places in both Europe and the US, especially with friends around, but I feel that European cities have more diverse, liberated venues for the LGBTQ community."

JVN from "Queer Eye"

Netflix

u/dorothy_the_dodo

20. Hate: "Lack of biking/walking lanes. I love the bike culture that is common in many European countries, like the Netherlands, and most European cities are extremely walkable compared with the US. I wish the States had more bikeable and walkable places."

u/avamomrr Peter Adams / Getty Images

21. Love: "The cereal selection. You can get breakfast cereal with marshmallows in it. MARSHMALLOWS. I find that fascinating, exotic, and maybe just a bit horrifying."

u/miss-robot Jenniveve84 / Getty Images/iStockphoto

22. Love: "Convenience. Everything is so damn convenient. Shops stay open later, basically everywhere delivers, and the consumer generally has much more choice. This applies to everything from banking to retail. In general in the US, it feels like the customer truly is king."

u/ItsPotato Naomi Baker / Getty Images

23. Love: "American salads. At restaurants, you can order a salad as a main meal, and there's so much choice. Servers always ask if you want to make any changes to what's written on the menu."

beckimckinlay Sbrogan / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Non-Americans, what are your favorite things about traveling to the US, and what are some aspects of life in the States that you don't like? Tell us in the comments!

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
The Bullet Train star revealed she got the food-related neck tattoo while visiting Tel Aviv, Israel

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic;Joey King/Instagram

It appears as though hummus has a special place in Joey King's heart.

In new photos shared to Instagram Thursday, the 23-year-old revealed she got a new tattoo  the word "hummus" inked in Hebrew, per Page Six  while visiting Tel Aviv, Israel.

The lettering on the back of King's neck is accompanied by more ink located on her shoulder blade, seen in the photo she shared.

Artist Ronni Winkler, who was in charge of King's "new favorite tattoo," posted a photo of the branding to his own account.

He thanked the Bullet Train star for trusting his process and "being the sunshine you are." King took the tattooing session like a champ, Winkler wrote, adding that she "sat like a rock" through it.

Joey King/Instagram

Related:Joey King Goes Pretty in Punk with Metallic Pink Bob at 'Bullet Train' Screening

King's carousel also included videos and pictures of her vacation. In one clip, the Kissing Booth actress wears a black bikini and gets her groove on at the beach.

"Me?! Have the time of my life in Tel Aviv?!? Guilty," she wrote in the post's caption.

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.

She also embraced some serious natural curl action on her trip, which is quite the different hairstyle fans usually see her sporting on the big screen.

Throughout her career, King has committed to her characters by shaving her head for her roles in projects including The Act, The Dark Knight Rises and Wish I Was Here. It's a look she would "absolutely" rock again, she once said.

"I think every woman should [shave their head] at least once in their life. I've never felt more free or more in tune with my beauty. I couldn't hide behind my hair," King told Allure in an August digital issue released last summer.

Story continues

Presley Ann/FilmMagic

Related:Joey King Will 'Never Regret' 'Kissing Booth' Movies 'No Matter What Anyone Says'

Admitting that the unconventional cut was met with criticism  "A lot of people said really mean things," she shared  the empowering feeling that came with the shorter 'do outweighed the outside negativity for her.

"I actually felt more confident; I felt very powerful. [Their words] slid off my back," she said. "People like to insert themselves in other people's business when it doesn't actually matter. Me having a shaved head for a project really upsets you that much? I'm doing fine."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.
Editor's note: You got questions? We got answers. Just Askin' is a Tennessean initiative that answers your burning questions about Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Created by our nosy newsroom of Nashville reporters. Got a Just Askin' question for us? Email justaskin@tennessean.com and your question could appear in an upcoming column

Nashville buildings, bridges, thoroughfares and markers are often named after people that achieve exceptional personal success or make lofty contributions to the community.

John Lewis Way is named after the late civil rights activist and Georgia congressman who helped desegregate Nashville's lunch counters. Diane Nash Plaza honors the prolific Freedom Rider who once asked the mayor if it was wrong to discriminate against people based on their race or skin color. The John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge credits the legendary Tennessee journalist and advocate for racial equality. Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Boulevard is named after the most prominent figure of the Civil Rights Movement.

These namesakes and others enhanced Nashville through advances in the arts, civil rights, politics and other significant areas. Oftentimes, these honors occurred after their deaths, immortalizing their Music City legacies.

"It is a huge honor, probably one of the biggest honors that anyone can get here in Nashville," said local historian David S. Ewing, a ninth-generation Nashvillian.

You got questions. We got answers.

Click to email us at justaskin@tennessean.com, and your question could appear in an upcoming column.

But what happens when society rethinks their past actions? That brings us to today's Just Askin' question about the name adorning a Nashville middle school.

Question: Why is a Nashville public school named after John Trotwood Moore, a Southern apologist and proponent of lynching?

Short answer: Apathy and forgetfulness.

Long answer: To answer this reader-suggested question, we first reached out to a couple of representatives in Metro Nashville Public Schools. Spokesperson Sean Braisted directed us to county historian Carole Bucy. Erin O'Hara Block, the school board member for District 8 where the school is located, directed us back to Braisted.

Story continues

Bucy was able to put us on the right track. But first, some background on Moore.

'It was overwhelming': The 1994 deadly school shooting that rocked Nashville

Who was John Trotwood Moore?

Moore, a Nashville-based writer and son of a Confederate veteran, collaborated with U.S. Sen. Robert Taylor on the Taylor-Trotwood Magazine from 1906 to 1911.

During this period, a newspaper editor in Brooklyn, New York, criticized racial segregation. Moore defended the practice, calling it a way to keep "buck negroes" from sexually assaulting white women.

In 1919, Moore was named state librarian and archivist by then-Gov. Albert H. Roberts.

Moore was vocal about his racial theories. In 1922, he told Tennessee's superintendent of Public Instruction:

"The South's greatest glory is this, we have twenty million pure blooded anglo-saxon white people. No other country except England herself, can show a greater percent  these people will be the power which will save this republic from anarchy and disunion."

Rachael Anne Elrod, who represents District 2 on the Metro Nashville school board, has expressed an interest in ensuring the city's public schools are named after people that reflect similar values.

Moore died in 1929, so he's not here to defend his actions.

In 1999, however, the Tennessee Historic Quarterly published "John Trotwood Moore and the Patrician Cult of the New South," a journal article detailing Moore's racial theories.

Fast forward to present day.

J.T. Moore Middle School prides itself on celebrating diversity, displaying compassion and welcoming families from all walks of life. So why is a school that places an emphasis on respecting the dignity of all named after a person who once denied the humanity of 37% of its current students?

The answer could lie with the former owner of the land the school sits on.

50 years later, the name stands

Following the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in 1954 to desegregate public schools, Nashville's public school district embarked on a years-long plan to build new schools across the city. One of those schools was to be located in the Green Hills neighborhood.

In 1967, MNPS purchased property at Arden Place, Moore's former residence, tore down the home and built the middle school. Initially, the school was to be named Green Hills Junior High. Then the Nashville Historical Commission suggested it be named after Moore.

Students then voted, opting to name it John Trotwood Moore Junior High, now known as J.T. Moore Middle School.

Sherrie Martin marches with fellow Nashville teachers in 2019 to demand higher wages. Martin has also been outspoken about the names of some Nashville schools, including J.T. Moore Middle School.

The school opened in 1969.

But if the names of original owners determined the names of public institutions, a lot of Nashville government properties would have different names, right?

So we kept digging.

How can Moore be renamed? Or stay the same?

Is politics to blame? Bureaucratic red tape?

Introducing the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act. Enacted in 2013 by the Tennessee Historical Commission, the state law "prohibits the removal, relocation, or renaming of a memorial that is, or is located on, public property."

This includes public schools.

If MNPS wanted Moore renamed, it would need to petition the Tennessee Historical Commission for a waiver. A name change would require a two-thirds vote.

Still, it appears the biggest hurdle in changing the school's name is much simpler.

Learning from the past

While society's thoughts surrounding race and history continue to evolve, is it possible Nashville forgot about Moore's racist past?

Tim Wise thinks so.

Wise, an author, anti-racism educator and activist, said he didn't know anything about the school's namesake when he was a student there in the early 1980s.

"I didn't think twice," said Wise, who attended seventh and eighth grades at Moore. "I don't think any of us did, and I didn't even think about it for all the years that I was doing this work."

It wasn't until a year and a half ago that Wise out of curiosity began researching Moore.

And now that he knows?

Wise said he believes keeping the name sends a message that tradition and continuity are valued over creating multicultural communities.

"What's more important?" he asked rhetorically. "Staying true to tradition for its own sake, or doing right by all the students in the building by having a name that is one that everyone can actually get behind?"

Ewing agrees. He believes the first step toward a potential name change is explaining Moore's past to the masses.

"Sadly most people don't know the person, or anything about the majority of the schools that are named for people here in Nashville," Ewing said. "The school board has a unique opportunity to honor people that deserve such a recognition, as they have done recently  that's the goal if they were to rename the school, let's find a great (person), hopefully a Nashvillian, that deserves that honor."

Diana Leyva covers breaking and trending news for The Tennessean. Connect with her by email at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on twitter at @_leyvadiana

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville J.T. Moore Middle School is named after a lynching defender
Mollie looks at Ernest as they sit at a dining table in Killers of the Flower Moon

Killers of the Flower Moon's first tension-fuelled trailer has been released  and, based on its footage, we'd be amazed if it's not a shoo-in for next year's Oscars ceremony.

The epic Western crime drama, which arrives in theaters in late 2023 (and on Apple TV Plus at an as-yet-announced date), is the latest big-screen offering from legendary director Martin Scorsese. Given the movie's suspense-riddled vibe, period setting, and all-star ensemble cast, too, it would be surprising if viewers expected this to be anything but a Scorsese-led flick.

Take a look at Killers of the Flower Moon's first teaser below:

Based on David Grann's best-selling novel of the same name, Killers of the Flower Moon tells the tale of the 1920s Oklahoma Murders  also known as the Reign of Terror  which saw numerous members of the wealthy Osage tribe killed in mysterious circumstances. The incident sparked a major FBI investigation, led by J. Edgar Hoover and Tom White, surrounding the possibility of racially-aggravated murders on oil-rich Osage Nation land.

With Scorsese on directing duties, you'd be correct in thinking that a ton of A-list actors are on board for his movie adaptation of Grann's award-winning book. Leonardo DiCaprio has teamed up with Scorsese for the fourth time in the former's career, with the pair working on major hits in The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Shutter Island. Robert De Niro has also joined forces again with Scorsese following The Irishman, one of the best Netflix movies ever made. DiCaprio and De Niro will play Ernest Burkhart and William Hale respectively.

Joining that duo on Killers of the Flower Moon's powerhouse cast are Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad, Love & Death) as White, Lily Gladstone (Billions) as Mollie Burkhart, Brendan Fraser (The Whale) as W.S. Hamilton, Tantoo Cardinal (Wendell & Wild) as Lizzie Q, and John Lithgow (Interstellar, Shrek) asProsecutor Leaward, among many others.

Story continues

Killers of the Flower Moon's screenplay has been penned by Scorsese and Eric Roth (Dune, Munich). The film is believed to have a runtime exceeding three hours, too, so you'll want to plan your toilet breaks accordingly. Regardless, you can expect Killers of the Flower Moon, which arrives in theaters on October 6, to join many other exciting films of 2023 in our new movies guide very soon.

An award-winning return to form?

Martin Scorsese talks to Lily Gladstone in a behind-the-scenes image during Killers of the Flower Moon's production

As iconic and beloved a director as Scorsese is  Marvel fans might not agree with that sentiment, based on his comments about the MCU  it seems surreal that it's been 12 years since he last won an Academy Award.

Yes, you read that right: Martin Scorsese hasn't won a single Oscar for over a decade. The acclaimed director's last triumph came in 2011, when Hugo netted him (and the movie's wider cast and crew) five gongs on the night.

Since then, Scorsese has endured his longest Academy Award drought. His last three films  The Wolf of Wall Street, Silence, and The Irishman  have been cumulatively nominated for 16 Oscars (in 2013, 2016, and 2019), but none of them bagged Scorsese another prize to add to his stuffed awards cabinet. In fact, Scorsese has only won one award at the industry's big three awards events  the Oscars, BAFTAS, and Golden Globes  in the last 12 years. For a director with 54 combined Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globe wins to his name (from 246 nominations, admittedly), that recent award-winning form hasn't been good enough.

So Killers of the Flower Moon potentially presents Scorsese with his best chance yet to end that near-barren streak. Of course, the competition will be as fierce as it's ever been when the 2024 awards season rolls around, so there's no guarantee that Killers of the Flower Moon will a) be nominated, and b) secure any awards.

Still, Scorsese will privately hope that isn't the case. After all, he's working alongside Apple TV Plus  the streaming service that beat his Netflix film The Irishman to Best Picture at the Oscars in 2022 with CODA. By joining forces with the studio that bested him two years ago, then, surely Scorsese and Killers of the Flower Moon are a shoo-in for next year's ceremony? Only time will tell, but we'd expect him to win something.

For more Apple TV Plus-based coverage, read our guides on the best Apple TV Plus movies (which Killers of the Flower Moon should join later this year) and the best Apple TV Plus shows around.
Legal help is coming to renters facing eviction in two of OKC's most vulnerable areas: the 73111 ZIP code in northeast Oklahoma City, and 73119 in the southwest part of the city.

"Right to Counsel" is a pilot initiative of nonprofit Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma Inc., part of its broader effort to prevent evictions and "the disruption of housing instability." It started last month, but Legal Aid started pushing the program this week on social media, asking allies to post about it on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Legal Aid is also asking churches and other organizations to help get the word out that it "may be able to provide you with free assistance if you qualify and live in ZIP codes 73111 or 73119. Do not wait for your eviction hearing. Call as soon as you have problems with your landlord." The number to call is 405-554-INFO (4636).

More: As benefits decrease, more Oklahomans are seeking out food assistance, rethinking how they eat

Example of images used in social media for legal aid assistance offered to renters facing eviction in ZIP codes 73111 and 73119 in Oklahoma City.

'Right to Counsel' is just starting out in OKC's 73111 and 73119 ZIP codes

The program "strives to engage the vulnerable population in advance of an eviction filing" and provide legal assistance "at a stage where more options are available to the client than would be at an eviction hearing," a spokeswoman said.

It only initially is focusing on the 73111 area, from Kelley Avenue east to Bryant Avenue, and from Wilshire Boulevard south to NE 16, and the 73119 area, which is roughly from Newcastle Road east to S Blackwelder Avenue, and from SW 29 south to SW 59, north and east of Will Rogers World Airport.

Example of images used in social media for legal aid assistance offered to renters facing eviction in ZIP codes 73111 and 73119 in Oklahoma City.

More: Polls show Oklahomans would prefer a grocery tax cut

"Each has a significant population vulnerable to a housing instability cascade that all too often culminates in eviction," Legal Aid said.

In eviction cases followed last year by the Oklahoma Access to Justice Foundation, just 4% of renters had an attorney, compared to 51% of landlords," Legal Aid said, citing a report by StreetlightNews.org, a nonprofit housing and criminal justice news site formerly called BigIfTrue.org.

Story continues

Legal Aid said it "believes the ability to engage with potential clients and provide legal assistance ahead of an eviction summons offers a family the ability to make choices from a position of empowerment."

More: Groundbreaking study shows suburban tenants are facing more evictions across the US

Example of images used in social media for legal aid assistance offered to renters facing eviction in ZIP codes 73111 and 73119 in Oklahoma City.

Senior Business Writer Richard Mize has covered housing, construction, commercial real estate and related topics for the newspaper and Oklahoman.com since 1999. Contact him at rmize@oklahoman.com. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Real Estate with Richard Mize.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Legal Aid Services offers Right to Counsel to stem evictions in OKC
Lisa Kudrow welcomed her first and only son Julian Murray Stern in 1998

Steve Granitz/WireImage

Julian Murray Stern is the only son of actress Lisa Kudrow and her husband Michel Stern.

Kudrow and Stern met in France in the '80s and got married in May 1995. On May 7, 1998, they welcomed their son Julian.

Julian grew up on the set of Friends, as Kudrow would often bring him to work with her. However, Julian wasnt always a fan of his mothers work. During a conversation with host Seth Meyers on Late Night With Seth Meyers, the Friends actress shared how her son watched the first few episodes of the hit 90s sitcom while he had COVID and was surprised at how impressive it was.

He called me up and said, 'So I just watched the first two episodes. It's really good, Mom,' " she recounted. "I said, 'Thanks.' He said, 'Can I ask you some questions about that?' I'm like, 'Yes!' I almost started crying. I didn't think that anyone in my family liked that show."

She continued, "He was 5 when we were finished ... but he did start watching when his friends at school started watching. He watched it and he was impressed."

Related:Lisa Kudrow Jokes Her Son Was 'Demeaning' About Her 'Friends' Role After Watching Show for First Time

As he got older, he also developed a love for cinematography. Julian graduated from the University of Southern California in 2021, and he recently wrapped his first TV movie, a project entitled Doomed.



Here's everything to know about Lisa Kudrow's son Julian Murray Stern.

Kudrow was pregnant with him while she was on Friends

Lisa Kudrow Instagram

In the fourth and fifth seasons of Friends, the writers included Kudrows real pregnancy into the storyline as her character, Phoebe, became a surrogate for her brother Frank and his wife Alice. In an interview with PEOPLE, Kudrow recalled some fond memories with her costars from that period of her life.

"The six of us would do a huddle backstage and just say, All right, have a good show, love you love you love you love you.' And when I was pregnant, then they would say, 'Have a great show, love you love you  love you, little Julian!' 'Cause we knew it was a boy and that was his name," she said, adding that it was "so sweet" that her baby was included.



Story continues

He spent a lot of time on the set of Friends when he was young

Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Kudrow would often bring Julian to set with her when he was young. He was so familiar with some of the cast, in fact, that he actually confused his mom with Kudrows costar Jennifer Aniston.

In an interview on Conan, Kudrow explained how her son had a special bond with Aniston.

"He'd fly into her lap," Kudrow said, referring to her son's reaction whenever he saw Aniston. "Well, she's a love bug, and that made sense. And I was always glad for anyone that Julian felt love for and felt from. But then at home, she'd be on TV, and he'd go, 'Mommy!' " she continued.

"I'm kind of analytical so I'm like, 'Is this wishful thinking? Do they have some kind of higher soul connection that I don't have with him?' " she questioned, jokingly adding that she was "happy for them both."

He wanted to be an only child

John Shearer/WireImage

Kudrow and her husband didn't have any more children after Julian and he's thankful for that. From a very young age, Julian told his mom that he didn't want any siblings.

[He] made it clear from the moment he could speak that he didnt want a brother or sister  [and] it just worked out that way anyway  but to this day, hell say, 'Thank you,' " Kudrow told Page Six in 2017.

He's passionate about film

Julian Stern Instagram

Julian appears to be following in his mother's footsteps when it comes to his career path. Julian has experience as both an actor and a cinematographer. In January 2023, he posted about a short film he starred in, Seths Big Break 2, and shared some behind-the-scenes photos of himself working on the set.

A few years prior, in 2019, Julian shared his passion for being behind the camera, posting a funny story about his time on a film set.

"Ok, so one day I walked onto a random film set. I pointed at the camera and said: 'Yo is that the camera Quentin Tarantino used to film with?'  he captioned the post. They said no, but I knew they were lying. I decided to stay on the set and film random stuff. I refused to leave and they tried to stop me from doing a dolly shot.

He went on to add that the experience was worth it because he got to use the camera which was epic.

He has a degree in the cinematic arts

Lisa Kudrow Instagram

Julian is a graduate of the University of Southern California. He earned a bachelor's degree in film and TV production in 2021.

"Happy proud HAPPY. And a little crying. By me not him.. @juls_magewls," Kudrow captioned an Instagram photo of her and her son after the commencement ceremony.

Related:Lisa Kudrow Says She's 'Happy Proud' as Son Julian, 23, Graduates from USC: 'A Little Crying'

He is proud of his moms career

Michael Buckner/Getty

On an episode of Late Night With Seth Meyers, Kudrow shared Julians reaction to watching Friends for the first time as an adult.

"He said, 'It's actually really funny. I mean, the guys are so funny,' " Kudrow recalled. He's like, 'No, I mean you're funny too,' " she continued, adding, "Never in my life have I wanted to tell my own kid, like, 'F--- you!' I mean, I thought it, I didn't say it."

While Kudrow wasnt pleased with this interaction, she did get a sweet nod from her only child on the set of the shows 2021 reunion special, Friends: The Reunion.

"He was able to come to the reunion ... and afterward, he came up to me and he said, 'Can I say that I'm really proud of you?' " she shared on Conan. "That was one of the very emotional things that happened to me."

He has a close relationship with his mom

Michael Tran/FilmMagic

While Julian isn't very active on social media, he has posted tributes to his mom in the past. On Mother's Day in 2019, he shared a post wishing Kudrow a special day.

"I am very late to this but nevertheless, happy Mothers Day, mom! You are the most caring and supportive mother I could have asked for!" he captioned a pair of then-and-now photos of his mom.

He has a great sense of humor

Julian Stern Instagram

Julian seems to have inherited his mom's sense of humor. In 2019, he shared a video of himself on Instagram, standing in front of a Friends Experience location. While Julian seemed excited to check out the place, he jokingly walked in the opposite direction.

"Hey, guys! I'm on the promenade. And, as you can see, things are really popping," Julian said as he walks in front of the Friends location. "And, today, we're going to go somewhere a little special and a little personal to me. We're going to Lids!" he says, walking away from the Friends spot and over to the store across the street.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.
Lori Vallow Indicted on Murder Conspiracy Charges in Arizona for Attempted Killing of Niece's Ex

Lori Vallow Daybell has been indicted on murder conspiracy charges in Arizona related to an alleged botched murder plot that had targeted her niece's former husband.

A Maricopa County grand jury handed down the indictment in connection with the 2019 incident, in which prosecutors say the doomsday cult mom conspired to kill her nieces husband, Brandon Boudreaux, the Associated Press reported. She was initially charged in February 2022, per Fox 10 Phoenix.

The indictment, which is still under seal, was handed down days after Vallow Daybells guilty verdict in the murders of her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua J.J. Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan. Prosecutors say she killed her kids because she believed they'd turned into zombies.

RELATED: J.J. Vallows Grandparents Applaud Idaho Doomsday Cult Mom Lori Vallow Daybell's Murder Convictions

Prosecutors say Vallow Daybell and her late brother Alex Cox had decided that "at least one of them or another would engage in conduct constituting the offense of first-degree premeditated murder" of Boudreaux, who was married to Vallow Daybells niece, Melani Pawlowski, at the time.

Lori Vallow Daybell in court

Lori Vallow Daybell stands and listens as the jury's verdict is read at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho on Friday May 12, 2023. Photo: AP Photo/Kyle Green

On Oct. 2, 2019, Alex Cox allegedly opened fire on Boudreaux near his house after hed returned home from the gym. Boudreaux survived the incident.

Boudreaux testified about the harrowing experience at Vallow Daybells Ada County trial last month.

RELATED: 'Yes, She Was Switched': Jurors Hear Bizarre Text Messages Lori Vallow Allegedly Sent about Her Kids as Trial Nears End

"The Maricopa County Attorney's Office has made the state of Idaho aware of our intent to prosecute the defendant in Arizona for charges stemming from these submittals," the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said in a statement announcing Vallow Daybells indictment, the East Idaho News reported.

Story continues

After the defendant is sentenced and transferred to the Idaho Department of Corrections, at the request of MCAO, the extradition process will begin. The extradition can take from several weeks to several months.

Lori Vallow appears in court.

The indictment marks the second time Vallow Daybell has been indicted in Arizona. Shes already facing murder charges for the 2019 death of her ex-husband Charles Vallow, who was also shot to death by Cox at Vallow Daybells Chandler home. Cox maintained he opened fire in self-defense. He was never charged in direct connection with Charles Vallows death and died of natural causes in December 2019.

Chad Daybell 1

Chad Daybell enters the court during his preliminary hearing in Fremont County on Monday, August 3, 2020. Photo: Post Register/ John Roark/POOL

In addition to the murders of her two youngest children, Vallow Daybell was also convicted of conspiring to murder her current husband Chad Daybell's wife, Tammy Daybell, who also died in October 2019. Lori and Chad were married just weeks later.

Vallow Daybell is still awaiting sentencing in the case. Shes expected to be extradited to Arizona in the coming weeks or months to face the new murder conspiracy charges, according to prosecutors.

Chad Daybell, is also currently awaiting trial on murder charges related to the deaths of J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan. Hes pleaded not guilty.
Update 5/22/23 3:12 p.m. ET:

His side of the story. Alex Rodriguez denied exchanging DMs with Madison LeCroy after she opened up about their alleged relationship during a podcast.

"Her 15 minutes of fame are up, and she is trying get a 16th minute," Ron Berkowitz, a rep for the former MLB player, 47, recently told Entertainment Tonight. "Please stop wasting everyone's time with these false narratives. They were false two years ago and continue to be false."

Original story continues below:

What went down. Madison LeCroy opened up about what really happened between her and Alex Rodriguez during an interview with ex-boyfriend Austen Kroll.

"I'm being fking catfished," the hairstylist, 32, recalled during the Thursday, May 18, episode of the "Pillows and Beer" podcast, explaining what she thought when she first received a message from the former baseball player, 47. "The dude who's dating [Jennifer Lopez] is not in my DMs right now."

The Southern Charm star went on to claim that Rodriguez first asked her whether gyms in her hometown were open amid the coronavirus lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. At the time, the former New York Yankees player was engaged to Lopez, 53.

Madison LeCroy and Alex Rodriguez. Shutterstock (2)

Kroll, 35, offered to fill in some of the gaps in the story. "He kept on FaceTiming you ad nauseam," the TropHop Beers founder claimed. "You were like, 'This motherfker's FaceTimed me three or four times today.' And then he, like, got mad at Madison because she didn't answer when she was on the boat or something. And she was like, 'I'm not at your beck and call.'"

LeCroy, who dated Kroll off and on for two years, didn't deny her ex's version of events. "I told [Alex], I said, 'If you're looking for a side chick, which clearly he was, it wasn't gonna be me,'" the South Carolina native recalled. "I'm wifey material."

The Bravo personality also denied that she ever visited Rodriguez in person. "During that time, I was not flying to Miami," she told Kroll and his cohost, Craig Conover. "People still don't believe me. I swear to God, I've never, ever seen that person."

Story continues

During the Southern Charm season 7 reunion in January 2021, Conover, 34, alleged that LeCroy had been visiting an unnamed man in Florida. You were flying around the country sleeping with men, married men. Ex-MLB players, the Sewing Down South founder said at the time. Thats what you were doing during quarantine.  You flew to Miami to fk an ex-MLB player.

While LeCroy claimed the flights to Miami never happened, Kroll alleged that Rodriguez wanted her to come visit  and sent her numerous travel itineraries from commercial flights. The Winter House star went on to joke that he thinks the former shortstop should have offered to fly her on a private jet instead.

Earlier in the episode, LeCroy revealed that she had never signed a nondisclosure agreement with Rodriguez, despite Shep Rose's claims to the contrary. She simply told her castmates she had so they wouldn't discuss her social media communication with Rodriguez while filming Southern Charm.

After Rodriguez's alleged DMs with LeCroy first made headlines, a source close to the former athlete told Us Weekly that Rodriguez had "never met" the reality star. At the time, reports surfaced that Rodriguez and Lopez, 53, had called it quits over the messages, but the duo denied split rumors in March 2021. One month later, however, they announced the end of their engagement, saying in a statement that they realized they're "better as friends."

Lopez has since moved on with Ben Affleck, to whom she was originally engaged from 2002 to 2004. The duo rekindled their romance in 2021 and tied the knot in 2022. Rodriguez, meanwhile, has been linked to Jaclyn Cordeiro since last year.

Sign up for Us Weekly's free, daily newsletter and never miss breaking news or exclusive stories about your favorite celebrities, TV shows and more!

LeCroy, for her part, married Brett Randle in November 2022 just over one year after getting engaged.
WELLS, Maine  People may not have played bocce on the beach back in colonial times, but if they had, then that would have been their right, according to a group that is asking the Maine Superior Court to rule that the public is allowed to enjoy shores all up and down the states coast.

Earlier this month, Our Maine Beaches filed a motion in Maine Superior Court, seeking a summary judgment ruling that many uses of the states beaches and intertidal lands are legal and allowed under current law.

A summary judgment is a decision by a judge that is based on statements and evidence and results in a case not needing to proceed to trial.

The motion is the latest development in a legal battle in which Our Maine Beaches has challenged the position of some coastal property owners that the intertidal lands they own are private and not for public use.

Attorney Benjamin Ford, of the Portland-based law firm Archipelago, is seen here advocating for his clients during a press conference at Moody Beach in April of 2021.

In its motion, Our Maine Beaches states that language going back to colonial times clearly intended to protect many public uses along the coast.

Benjamin Ford, the attorney representing the group, said that public authorities wanted to permanently protect beaches for everyone when they crafted language and laws more than 300 years ago. Back then, according to Ford, all uses of beaches could be neatly summed up in three words: fishing, fowling and navigation.

Thats what people did back then, Ford said. There was little time for scientific research or even leisure.

Previous story: Lawsuit aims to reclaim Maine private beaches for public access

Ford noted that circumstances change over time and argued that it is just common sense that, as beach usage evolved over the centuries, the laws original intent was always meant to be preserved.

Enter that bocce reference.

Nobody was playing bocce on the beach in 1647, but folks are doing that in 2023, and it is completely legal, Ford said. These lands are owned by the public.

Filed on May 2, the motion lists 36 activities, from scientific research to birdwatching to building sandcastles, and argues that each one is included in a key definition, accepted by the courts, that spells out the publics right to use beaches and intertidal lands.

Story continues

Intertidal zones are stretches of beaches between high- and low-water marks.

Attorneys for the beach property owners could not be reached for comment.

Seafood with magical views': Ultramar, Casa 77 take over Cape Porpoise spot

'A chilling effect' to limit public access to Maine beaches

In April of 2021, Ford stood near a private stretch of Moody Beach in Wells and declared he had filed a lawsuit in Portland that sought to return private beaches along the Maine coast to the public. The plaintiffs included both commercial and recreational beachgoers, and the suit took aim at eight defendants, three of whom own adjacent intertidal properties in Wells: Judys Moody, LLC, OA2012 Trust, and Ocean 503, LLC.

According to Ford, the Ocean 503 property is the northernmost one on Moody Beach. The southernmost property is owned by OA2012 and approaches the Ogunquit line. The property owned by Judy's Moody is located between the two.

Residents Peter and Cathy Masucci, of Wells, are among Fords clients. In his latest motion, Ford described the ways in which the Massucis enjoy the beach, but to a limit. In an interview, Ford said signs warning people that certain intertidal lands are private properties have a "chilling effect" on members of the public.

Those signs, Ford said, prevent "full access" to beaches.

In the summer of 2021, attorneys for the owners of private beaches filed motions to dismiss the case altogether, arguing that the matter had been long settled.

In April of 2022, Superior Court Justice John ONeil granted the motion to dismiss the case, as it pertained to intertidal land owners in Harpswell and Friendship who were caught in a dispute with individuals who were harvesting rockweed on their property for commercial purposes.

But ONeil also gave Ford and his clients a lifeline. When it came to the local defendants, Judys Moody, OA2012 Trust and Ocean 503, the judge only granted their motions to dismiss in part  asserting that they did indeed own their intertidal land but leaving vague the question of what constitutes acceptable public use.

With its latest motion, that is what Our Maine Beaches is asking the court to answer.

"Since the issue is more narrow, I'm hoping the court takes less time," Ford said.

More: Shoreline Explorer suspends summer Ogunquit-Kennebunk trolley service

The Moody Beach case revisited

Ford said his clients want to correct what they believe is a judicial error that the court made regarding land at Moody Beach in the 1980s.

In 1984, homeowners along Moody Beach in Wells accused local and state authorities of failing to treat beachgoers on their private beaches as trespassers. The homeowners asked the court to prohibit the public from using the beach in front of their properties, not only on the dry sand but also the intertidal zone, according to a report on public shoreline access produced by the Maine Sea Grant College Program, the Maine Coastal Program, and the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve.

A sign posted at the Wells/Ogunquit town line marks the boundary between the public and private beach Thursday, April 22, 2021.

Two years later, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the colonial ordinance enacted in the 1640s is part of Maine's common law. That ordinance had acknowledged private ownership of beachfront property as including the intertidal zone, extending all the way to the low-tide mark. It had also recognized the public's right to fish, fowl and navigate on privately owned tidelands, according to the report.

In 1989, in Bell v. Town of Wells, known as the Moody Beach case, the state's top court ruled that the only public rights recognized in intertidal areas are those that were outlined in the colonial ordinance: fishing, fowling and navigating.

That means beachfront property owners along Maine's coasts have property rights all the way down to the low-tide area, except for an easement to allow the public to engage in those three permitted activities.

Benjamin E. Ford, a partner in the new Portland-based law firm Archipelago Law, holds a press conference Thursday, April 22, 2021, at the border of Moody Beach in Wells and North Beach in Ogunquit, after filing a lawsuit that he said aims to reclaim the intertidal zone of Maine beaches for public access. If successful, the case would overturn a decision made three decades ago by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

Ford said Maine courts have addressed a nearly continuous string of cases involving intertidal lands since the 1989 decision.

Each case takes years to fully adjudicate, Ford said. Our courts have better things to do than decide how long a jogger can stop and stretch on the beach before they become a trespasser. Our case asks the court to put that decision back where it belongs  with the people of Maine and those elected to represent them.

Ford said his clients are willing to go all the way to U.S. Supreme Court to defend the restoration of public rights to the shore, and to advance constitutional arguments that the state holds title to the intertidal lands.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Maine private beaches: Group asks court to rule on public access
Eleven, Mike and Will in Stranger Things.

Its safe to say people are not thrilled about Netflixs crackdown on password sharing. When the rules were announced about Netflixs password situation, subscribers were not pleased , and things might get worse. Now, with the streamer set to implement these new guidelines in the United States and the United Kingdom companies who offer bundles with the company are being warned that they should expect some backlash when the initiative officially rolls out.

Netflix will reportedly put this initiative in place by asking customers to set a primary location. This means people who live within a given household can use the same account. However, if an account has someone outside that primary location using Netflix, the account holder will be emailed about it and the interstitials related to it. This notification system will be used in all major markets, including the United States and the UK, and backlash is expected, the Financial Times reported.

The report explained that telecoms groups that partner with Netflix to sell bundled TV content have been meeting with the streamer. This includes UK companies specifically like Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk and BT. They bundle their TV content with broadband, and have reportedly been talking about these emails Netflix will send out, and should be aware that they could receive complaints from customers.

Unsurprisingly, people have not been happy about this crackdown. As the streamer rolled out the password-sharing plan in Canada, New Zealand, Spain and Portugal it was met with a cancel reaction, and the company saw less growth in subscriptions. However, after that first drop-off Netflix saw people adding an extra member to their accounts, and that boost led the company to feel assured that they were taking the right approach, the report claims.

See What's Coming Next

Queen Charlotte and King George smiling at each other.

Everything New And Coming Soon To Netflix

When it comes to how this plan will be rolled out, Netflix has been testing different ways to restrict password sharing , one of which could make a dent in some wallets. About a year ago, the company was charging subscribers to add a sub-member to a profile, which meant they could still be under the same account and bill, but would have their own log-in information.

Then Netflixs password-sharing rules evolved, and as it was tested in Canada, New Zealand, Spain and Portugal, they started asking those with a Netflix subscription to set a primary location. Netflix also launched a profile transfer tool that will help users carry over their profile if they choose to create their own accounts.
A North Texas man was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison Friday for assaulting law enforcement resulting in bodily injury during the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia announced.

His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election, the U.S Attorneys Office said in a news release.

Donald Hazard, 44, of Hurst, was sentenced to 57 months in prison for assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers.

Hazard pleaded guilty to the charge on Feb. 16.

In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Randolph D. Moss ordered 36 months of supervised release. Hazard also must pay a fine of $2,000.

According to court documents, Hazard was the sergeant-at-arms of the Patriot Boys of North Texas, a self-described militia.

In preparation for the riot in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, Hazard gathered protective gear and other supplies including a military-style helmet, knuckle gloves, goggles, body armor and pepper spray, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Make sure you get my face and everything on your news channel. I want the enemy to know exactly who is coming after them, Hazard said in a video that a photographer recorded at the riot.

At around 2 p.m. that day, Hazard was standing under scaffolding that had been erected over the stairs on the northwest side of the U.S. Capitol building. As Hazard and other rioters attempted to climb the steps, they were met by Capitol Police officers.

An officer approached Hazard in order to force him back. Hazard grabbed the officer as he fell and continued to fight. The two fell down the stairs and the officer hit his head and was knocked unconscious. He also had injuries on his head, foot and arm  some of which required surgery.

At another point during the riot, Hazard advanced toward a line of police officers on the west side of the Capitol with pepper spray in his hand.

Story continues

At 2:56 p.m., Hazard entered the Capitol building and was inside for about five minutes. Hazard posted selfie-style videos inside and outside of the Capitol building and made statements including, Were here at the nations capitol and were storming it. Were taking the Capitol. . . This is America baby.

Hazard was arrested on Dec. 13, 2021.

This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Divisions Counterterrorism Section. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Texas assisted in the case.

The case was investigated by the Fort Worth Resident Agency of the FBIs Dallas Field Office along with the FBIs Washington Field Office. The Texas Department of Public Safety, the Hurst Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the U.S. Capitol Police also assisted.

In the 28 months since Jan. 6, more than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 320 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office District of Columbia.

The investigation remains ongoing.
(Bloomberg) -- A severe drought affecting the Panama Canal is forcing container vessels to lighten their loads and pay higher fees, with further increases in the cost of shipping cargo through the canal expected this summer.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The largest vessels will have to reduce their drafts  how low they sit in the water  by carrying less or cutting the weight of their cargoes as of May 24, followed by another decrease that kicks in on May 29. Some major ocean carriers have also announced new fees for goods shipped on the route as of June 1 in response to the canal restrictions.

These measures are likely to result in delays and higher costs for goods that are shipped through the canal, which typically sees 5% of annual global maritime trade pass through its locks.

The canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, has been struggling with water supply shortages since before a 2016 expansion that allowed much larger ships to pass through. It has a protocol of transit fees and weight restrictions that kick in as drought conditions worsen.

Rainfall was less than 50% of normal from February to April near the canal and the lakes that feed it. That amount of rain ties with 2019, which saw the lowest level in two decades, according to Everstream Analytics. And theres no sign of the rainy season that typically starts ahead of summer.

Water levels in Lake Gatun, the largest of two lakes that feed the canal, are projected to hit historic lows by July, restricting ships drafts and how much cargo they can carry.

Starting May 24, Neo-Panamax vessels  the largest ships that transit the waterway  will be allowed drafts of up to 44.5 feet (13.56 meters), down from an already restricted 45 feet, according to canal spokesman Octavio Colindres.

The draft limit will decline again to 44 feet on May 30. While that seems like a minor change, it could translate to 40% less cargo on some containerships. A 50-foot draft is considered normal. During the droughts of 2019 and 2016, the draft limit went as low as 43 feet.

At least four ocean carriers have announced weight limits or imposed container fees between $300 and $500 per box effective June 1 in response to the canals measures. More carriers are likely to follow suit as restrictions ramp up.

The lower-than-usual water levels in the Gatun Lake are causing severe draft restrictions on vessels transiting the Panama Canal, ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd said in an April 30 customer advisory. The notice said shippers from East Asia to North America will have to pay a surcharge on all cargo as of June 1.

Among the Neo-Panamax users of the Panama Canal in April, container vessels made up 45% of traffic, followed by carriers of liquefied petroleum gas, dry bulk and liquefied natural gas.

LNG carriers, which are highly dependent on the canal, are not as affected by the draft changes because the vessels have fewer draft restrictions than those carrying heavier industrial goods or commodities. But any bottlenecks are a cause for worry considering that US LNG export expansions are due to come online in the next five years.

The 44-foot draft restrictions are set to reduce space for most shippers on Neo-Panamax by 40%, according to Nathan Strang, director of ocean freight at Flexport Inc., a freight forwarder. That means it will take more ships to move the same amount of goods, potentially increasing queuing times for vessels waiting to get through.

Some shippers will have to split heavier cargo into two containers instead of one, Strang said, with vessels carrying heavier commodities affected more. These measures could cost importers and retailers using the route an extra $1,500 per container, he said.

If you ship two containers a week at 12 tons each at roughly $3,000 apiece then youll need to ship three containers. So your price per shipment went from $6,000 to $9,000, Strang said. And for shippers who typically move 25 tons per container, theyd now need three or four boxes. Thats a much bigger hit and those shippers simply wont use the canal, he said.

Asia-to-US cargo can take alternative routes through the Suez Canal. Or they can use ports in southern California, which would involve loading containers onto trucks or trains bound for Midwest and East Coast population centers. Strang said some shippers are already considering those options.

The pattern continues to feature below-normal rainfall across Panama in the foreseeable future, said Jon Davis, chief meteorologist at Everstream Analytics. As a result, we expect the lake levels to decrease and the impact on shipping over the canal to get worse.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Sinking Feeling

Bad news for New Yorkers: the Big Apple appears to be sinking a little deeper into the Earth each year, under the unfathomable weight of its iconic skyscrapers.

A new study published in the journal Earth's Future finds that the geological process of subsidence, in which sediments shift and settle, seems to be occurring rapidly in specific parts of NYC, including the just-at-sea-level area of Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn and Queens as well.

Overall, wrote researchers from the United States Geological Survey and the University of Rhode Island, New York is sinking at one to two millimeters per year though in those particular problem areas, the situation seems to be worse.

As with everything else, this sinking doesn't happen in a vacuum. The further New York descends, the more vulnerable it becomes to climate change-related catastrophes, too, with 2012's Hurricane Sandy serving as a cautionary tale.

"New York faces significant challenges from flood hazard; the threat of sea level rise is 3 to 4 times higher than the global average along the Atlantic coast of North America," the team behind the paper wrote. "A deeply concentrated population of 8.4 million people faces varying degrees of hazard from inundation in New York City."

Lower East Side

NYC isn't alone among coastal cities that are sinking more and more each year. In 2021, one of the same researchers from the US Geological Survey found similar results in San Francisco.

"New York is emblematic of growing coastal cities all over the world that are observed to be subsiding," the new paper notes, "meaning there is a shared global challenge of mitigation against a growing inundation hazard."

As it often goes with these sorts of alarm-raising studies, Parsons and his team don't really give much in the way of solutions for the problem, even as they note that more and more people move to coastal urban regions each year.

Story continues

"Globally," the paper concludes, "populations who live in subsiding cities will face rising seas at rates up to four times faster than stable regions."

So yeah, New York is sinking a bit more each year, which sucks for the many millions of people who call it home, not to mention the millions more projected to move to it in the coming years.

More on NYC: NYC's Greenery Eats Up All the CO2 From Its Cars, Trucks and Buses "And Then Some"
Paddington 3: Sony Acquires U.S. Rights to Paddington in Peru

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony Pictures has successfully landed the North American theatrical distribution rights to StudioCanals highly anticipated Paddington 3, officially titled Paddington in Peru. The U.S. rights for first two installments were previously handled by Warner Bros.

Production on the sequel is expected to begin in July 24, which will take place in London and Peru. Its still unclear if Ben Whishaw would be reprising his role as the voice of the titular bear.

Whos Involved in Paddington 3?

Paddington in Peru will be directed by Dougal Wilson in his feature directorial debut after only directing commercials and music video. It is being written by Mark Burton, Jon Foster, and James Lamont (Paddington 1 & 2, The Adventures of Paddington) based on a story by Paul King, Simon Farnaby, and Burton.

Further details about its plot and characters are still being kept under wraps, but the movie will see Paddington getting into sticky situations in deepest, darkest Peru. The film is executive produced by Paul King, Tim Wellspring, Jeffrey Clifford, Anna Marsh and Ron Halpern, with David Heyman, Rosie Alison, and Rob Silva serving as a producers.

Paddington is based on the best-selling and internationally adored series of childrens stories by British author Michael Bond, which have sold more than 35 million copies worldwide and have been translated into over 40 languages.

The post Paddington 3: Sony Acquires U.S. Rights to Paddington in Peru appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
Sussex Countys property reassessments will take a year longer than planned due to staffing shortages at the company conducting the project.

On Tuesday, county officials announced the change in the schedule because of higher-than-expected staff turnover at Tyler Technologies.

PROPERTY TAX PROBLEMS: A quick tour of Delaware's unequal property tax system

Sussex finance director Gina A. Jennings said the countys size, the largest in the state, is also a factor. The land area in Sussex is about 936 square miles, according to the U.S. Census, compared with 586 for Kent and 426 for New Castle. Those figures don't include areas covered by water.

With so many parcels and limited staffing, it is taking considerably longer for our vendor to do the necessary work, said Jennings. We want this done right  accurately and fairly  and the year extension will allow Tyler Technologies to do that.

Over 90,000 properties in Sussex have been visited by Tyler data collectors, about 47% of the total. The data collection started in October 2021 and was scheduled to be finished this July.

The reassessment process was set to be wrapped up in 2024, in time for tax bills to be issued in late summer, ahead of the annual Sept. 30 tax payment deadline.

That timeline has shifted a year, to 2025.

No delays reported in Kent or New Castle counties

Kent and New Castle counties are also using Tyler Technologies to reassess properties, but neither county has reported any changes to the assessment schedule.

Michael McFarlane, appraisal senior project supervisor for Tyler Technologies, confirmed Wednesday that reassessments in New Castle and Kent are on schedule.

HOUSE BILL 62: Property tax reassessments won't be a one-time thing if Delaware lawmakers get their way

In New Castle, the plan is to mail new assessments to property owners starting in November 2024, using these values to calculate new tax bills starting with 2025.

In Kent County, notification of new values is scheduled to be mailed this November, with the assessment appeal filing deadline of March 15, 2024, and the property tax bills going out later in 2024.

Story continues

Why are properties being reassessed in Delaware?

The reassessment project that was triggered by an education funding lawsuit filed against the state and all three counties in 2018 by Delawareans for Educational Opportunity, the NAACP Delaware State Conference Branches and the city of Wilmington.

Education funding relies heavily upon property taxes which are determined by property assessments and tax rates.

PROPERTY TAX LAWSUIT: Wilmington asks to join lawsuit to force New Castle County property tax reassessment

The Delaware Chancery Court ruled in 2020 that property tax systems in each of the state's three counties were unconstitutional, not keeping with Delaware law.

Sussex County uses valuations from 1974, New Castle County from 1983 and Kent County from 1987.

The outdated valuations mean that owners of the same general class of property pay effective rates that are quite different. Owners whose properties have appreciated more pay a lower effective rate than owners whose properties have appreciated less, the court stated.

The case was settled in 2021, with the counties agreeing to conduct property reassessments.

Whats done during a property reassessment?

Data collectors from Tyler Technologies in marked vests with ID cards are visiting each property in the tax records to examine the properties and compare what they see with whats in the tax records. Data collectors may ask residents questions about their home such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms or the year it was built.

The purpose is to get as much information about the property to accurately compute its value.

CIVIL RIGHTS LAWSUIT: Civil rights groups sue Delaware over education funding for low-income, disadvantaged students

After the reassessments, property owners will receive notices about their new assessments and property taxes. Owners have the right to appeal their assessment.

For more information on Sussex Countys reassessment project, see the website empower.tylertech.com/Sussex-County-Delaware.html

For details on Kent Countys reassessment, see the website empower.tylertech.com/kent-county-delaware.html

For New Castle Countys reassessment details, see the website empower.tylertech.com/New-Castle-County-Delaware.html

Reporter Ben Mace covers real estate and development stories. Reach him at rmace@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Property tax reassessment in Sussex County won't finish until 2025
Ohio universities including those in Greater Cincinnati are concerned about the rising likelihood that Senate Bill 83  which would restrict mandatory diversity training, ban professor strikes and restrict financial relationships with Chinese institutions, among other regulations  could soon become law.

The Ohio Senate passed the bill 21-10 on Wednesday. It goes to the Ohio House next. Republican lawmakers said the bill would encourage diversity of thought on Ohio campuses, which they say have gone too far to the left and discourage conservative points of view.

"This legislation is an urgently needed course correction for higher education in Ohio," bill sponsor Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, said Wednesday. "We the Legislature now have the opportunity to change the direction of higher ed if we are willing to be courageous. If we do not act now, I fear we will continue down the path of servitude to a woke agenda from which there may be no return."

Neville Pinto is one of 14 Ohio public university presidents with concerns about Senate Bill 83. He's led University of Cincinnati since 2017.

Both University of Cincinnati and Miami University's presidents wrote to their students and staffs this week using very similar letter templates.

Here's what they said.

University of Cincinnati President Neville Pinto has 'serious concerns' about Senate Bill 83

UC President Neville Pinto sent a message to the university community on Thursday, updating them on the Senate vote. He said the presidents of all 14 public Ohio universities have met with Cirino on multiple occasions "to seek adjustments to the legislation."

Some amendments have been made since the bill's first draft, Pinto wrote. But the version that passed the Senate on Wednesday "continues to raise serious concerns for the future of higher education in our state."

He pointed to a letter he backed alongside other Ohio university presidents and the state's Inter-University Council. It was published the day before the Senate vote and outlined several concerns with the bill including: government overreach, costs of implementation, vagueness and threats to successful diversity, equity and inclusion training programs that set students up to thrive in a modern workforce.

Story continues

SB 83: Ohio State's Board of Trustees issue a statement opposing Senate Bill 83

"Importantly, the presidents shared serious concerns over the prohibition of diversity, equity and inclusion programming and the potential eroding of shared governance on campuses," Pinto wrote to the UC community.

Pinto encouraged anyone sharing his concerns to contact their local legislator with their personal emails rather than with their university emails.

Miami University President Gregory Crawford encourages students to reach out to lawmakers

Miami President Gregory Crawford sent a letter to his school community later Thursday evening. His message is nearly identical to Pinto's in some paragraphs.

Crawford, like Pinto, leaned heavily on information provided in the Inter-University Council letter that was sent to legislators earlier this week. And he encouraged anyone wishing to share feedback with Ohio legislators to do so through their personal emails.

"As the bill moves to the House, we will continue to advocate for free speech in the classroom, diversity of thought, acceptance for all, and supporting faculty," Crawford wrote.

He also provided a detailed list of potential impacts to Miami faculty and students if the current version of the bill is enacted:

University mission statements; diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and practices.

Policies related to intellectual diversity and divisive concepts.

Syllabus requirements.

Faculty workload requirements.

Faculty evaluation and post-tenure review processes.

Partnerships with the People's Republic of China;

Board of Trustees appointments and training.

Endowment agreements.

Campus speakers.

A requirement of an American history/government course or proficiency for all undergraduate students.

Financial reporting.

A prohibition on employees of any state institution of higher education to strike.

"We will continue to work with our IUC partners and state legislators to resolve concerns about Senate Bill 83," Crawford wrote. "As this work continues, Miami remains committed to the success and well-being of our students, faculty, and staff, and we will always advocate for, support, and care for our community."

USA TODAY Network Ohio bureau reporter Anna Staver contributed.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Miami University, University of Cincinnati leaders speak against SB 83
My husband and I visited Beijing and southern China in early 2019. It was memorable in several ways. Our hike on the Great Wall was bucket-list worthy, as was the countrys natural beauty once we got out of the city.

Yet what has stuck with me the most is the government control that pervades so much of Chinese daily life. Its palpably oppressive.

And it was downright dystopian to be forbidden from using wide swaths of the internet, from Twitter to Instagram. Those apps simply dont work there.

Perhaps having experienced what this kind of censorship is like makes me more sensitive to efforts in the United States to curb social media use.

Co-parenting with the government?

Bipartisanship is increasingly rare among our elected officials, so it was positive to see lawmakers come together last month in an effort to protect children.

A group of two Republicans and two Democrats in the Senate introduced the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act. Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Katie Britt, R-Ala, want to shield kids from the negative mental health effects linked to social media.

Who knows what's best for kids? Hint: Biden and Democrats don't think it's parents

Dr. Phil: Want your teen to feel happier and less anxious? Get them off their phone and social media.

The bill would ban children younger than 13 from using social media altogether and would require parental consent for those ages 13 through 17.

Theres a good case to be made for why children  especially young ones  should stay clear of apps like Instagram and TikTok.

But it strikes me that the government is trying to step into the parenting role with this legislation. Parents are already capable of putting restrictions on phone use, and many apps can help them track what their kids are doing online and how much time they are spending on their devices.

Do we really need Congress to serve as a middleman?

Grom Social provides a safe social media environment for kids.

TikTok in the crosshairs

TikTok is the target of much of the angst among U.S. officials, because its owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. There are real security concerns, given the control the Chinese Communist Party has over even private companies  and the fact the Chinese government could be using the app to spy on us or manipulate users through propaganda.

Story continues

This distrust of the Chinese government is the reason I refuse to download TikTok on my phone (not to mention that endless, random videos dont appeal to me).

Yet 150 million Americans do have the app and use it frequently. Shouldnt they have that right?

The app's popularity hasnt stopped the Biden administration from raising concerns, nor members of Congress.

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri has introduced legislation to ban the app nationwide, because of data mining on Americans and potential risks to national security.

Fellow Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, however, has stood up to Hawley over First Amendment concerns.

Its one thing for a ban on federal and state government devices  that makes sense. It seems a step too far, though, to ban it for everyone.

Congress wants to ban TikTok. They have no idea what that means to the rest of us.

Free speech: Can students wear 'Let's Go Brandon' sweatshirts at school? Lawsuit says it's their right.

Montana gets on the TikTok ban bandwagon

Montana lawmakers thought it was a good idea to join the banning fray, and GOP Gov. Greg Gianforte signed legislation Wednesday blocking TikTok statewide. Its the first state to do so.

The law doesnt take effect until Jan. 1, and there will be legal pushback.

Its ironic to hear a TikTok spokesperson say the law infringes on the First Amendment and the ability of Montanans to express themselves, because thats definitely not a right Chinese people are granted. TikTok isnt even allowed in China, although the government has deemed a sister app acceptable.

Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store.

Free speech groups like the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression offer a stronger defense for maintaining access to the app.

A ban would shut down an immensely popular means of communication for the tens of millions of Americans who use the app every day to share and consume information, news, ideas, political advocacy, and creative content, FIRE said in a statement.

USA TODAY columnist Ingrid Jacques

Whether its bans for children or limits on foreign-owned apps, the government should intervene only as a last resort. Otherwise, we start looking too much like governments we dont (and shouldn't) trust.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques

More from Ingrid Jacques:

Trump was right: 'Russian collusion' was a hoax. Good luck regaining public's trust.

Biden wants airlines to pay for cancelling your flight. It's not as good as it sounds.

Are we really still obsessing over what conservative women are wearing? Give me a break.

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is TikTok getting banned in US? Government should stay out of our apps
Note: The following contains spoilers up through Succession Season 4 Episode 8.

Alas Kentucky, alas vanity is a line that sums up Connor Roys presidential ambitions in Succession.

In the HBO drama series eighth episode, titled America Decides, the eldest Roy child was forced to concede in his failed bid for the United States highest office that was doomed from the start. And in normal Roy family fashion  Connor did so with an inflammatory speech:

My fellow Americans, its becoming clear tonight, that as far as we can tell, Mr. Jeryd Mencken will likely be the next president of the United States. And I, for one, wish him well. For although I set out a clear and compelling path, America, in her divine wisdom, has chosen to take another, Connor said. Id like to say to my first running mate, who I will not dignify with a name-check, but had that woman not dropped out, and then had I not had to replace her with another figure, who turned out not to be able to bear the weight of public scrutiny, had I not been betrayed by those two jackrabbits, who knows? Politics of envy. Ugly game. I happen to be a billionaire. Sorry.

But honestly, America, you flunked it. I guess youre gonna have to find some other poor mooks paps to suckle on, he continued. The corrupt bipartisan system zombie marches on. And so I call out to my friends tonight, to my people. I say, Conheads, I salute you. And, America, be afraid, be warned for the Conheads are coming. Thank you. God bless America.

Actor Alan Ruck spoke with TheWrap about Connors wedding getting overshadowed by Logans shocking death, why he chose not to improvise that message to his Conheads and ideas he floated for his character that never made the final cut.

Check out TheWraps full conversation with Ruck below.

Story continues

Also Read:

How HBOs Succession Got That Milwaukee Burned-Ballots Scene Wrong

Episode 8 has multiple standout moments for Connor, from his Alas Kentucky, alas vanity line to his concession speech. What was it like getting to work on this episode and how much of the speech was improvised versus whats on the page?

The language  especially in the insults in this show  its just poetry. A lot of our writers are British and Im sure they all trained in the classics just like the actors. There always seems to be a nod to just beautiful language here and there and I think [alas Kentucky, alas vanity] was just perfect. It was really in character, really self-involved and really fun to say.

And then the speech they just handed to me the day before. I didnt improvise at all on that speech because I read it and it was perfect because I really honestly feel that I would have tried to make Connor less of a dick if I had written it. I would have wanted him to be just basically on planet earth and not just from outer space because hes just so full of himself and hes an asshole telling people basically be warned, the Conhead movement is still alive, and calling people out, talking about my first running mate  that woman  wouldnt dignify her with a name call. It was perfect.

What were your conversations like with Jesse Armstrong regarding Connors arc for this season?

Well, for this season, I dont know that we talked too much about it really. Just that the political thing was going to continue and that the wedding would happen. Other than that, [we] didnt have any big ideas. [Jesse] didnt ask me to do anything specifically, you know. But all these writers, theyre so open. Theres some writers you work with and theyre like, Youre an actor, Im a writer and we do separate things and these guys are always open to listening to ideas that you might have.

During the very first season, I happened to know a little boy who was on the spectrum somewhere and he was continually watching washers and dryers spin their clothes just mesmerized. And we were talking about how Connor might be on the spectrum somehow and could we catch him in a moment somewhere where hes just hypnotized by a washer or a dryer. And we never found a spot for that. But Jesse would listen to any crazy ideas that I had.

Theres an idea  I dont even know if it made it into a script  but he had this idea that one of Connors failed ventures was being a yurt salesman. He had a yurt business in the southwest. Jesse said Connor had been in the business, had put a bunch of money into that and nobody was interested. So, that was the failure. But I dont think that made it into the show.

Also Read:

Succession Director Says Episode 8 Serves as Great Foil to Fox News Partnership With Republicans

What was your reaction to learning Logan was going to die this season?

Most of us found out this past June. We had a call from Jesse and Jesse had already spoken with Brian about it, but then he told the rest of us, a bunch of us anyway, Logans gonna pass away. When? In the third episode. And we were all kind of stunned. Were like, Wow. And then he explained that the events of this particular passage of time are probably only a week to 10 days. Its not that long. So that was interesting.

Why do you think Logan ultimately chose not to go to Connors wedding?

Because he knows things are a little sketchy with the other kids. He wants to nail this deal down. Hes pissed off that the kids got in on Pierce. Hes edgy. I mean, hes a competitor. Its what he does and he doesnt like to be outmaneuvered or out-flanked. So I think this is just historical with Connor. Its like something came up for Connor. Connors graduated from high school, send him a basket.

What was it like getting to explore the background of Connors mother this season?

Well, weve been talking about this from pretty early on and the fact that she had a pill problem and a liquor problem and she was in and out of mental institutions for much of Connors boyhood, and Jesse never said when she died. But the first mention he ever made was like, And shes no longer on the planet. So, weve been talking about it for a long time and then its just fun, whatever little specifics, Jesse and the writers would drop in about her. We never learned her name. Not yet, anyway. So that was fun.

In the second season, Roman is giving me some shit and he talks about my mom being in the nut house and I just say Youve never had it this bad as me. And thats all they touched on it for quite a long time until you found out about the loony cake, really. So this was not a happy boyhood, theres some trauma. Its all fun to explore all that kind of stuff because it just opens you up and you start thinking about different things and it just adds layers.

How have Connors relationships with Logan and his siblings evolved over the course of the series?

I think its roughly the same. The way they treat him, this sort of brusque brush-off, afterthought approach to Connor has been going on since they were probably five years old. Logan, I think, felt quite guilty about Connor. I think he felt guilty sometimes about leaving that boy with that woman, but he just broke and had to have a new life and everything. So I think he showered Connor with money and gifts and all that kind of stuff.

Kendall was calling Connor an idiot or a moron from at least the second episode. And then the different wisecracks from Roman they peppered through there. The one episode we did out at Connors ranch in New Mexico, there was a really nice moment in that where Shiv needs the car keys from me, I think and she says, Look, I love you and it seemed like that was true. Of course, she wanted something from him but she did say she loved him. So I think theyre mixed up. Nobody is happy, nobodys ever satisfied. Theyre all miserable with themselves.

Also Read:

Even Succession Political Consultants Thought That Election Episode Was Chilling and Eerily Prescient (Video)

What has it been like working with Justine Lupe over the course of the series?

Justine is kind of perfect. Shes this beautiful girl and she is wickedly funny. Shes just a beautiful funny woman and a fine actor. We didnt talk about stuff too much. We just kind of tried it out. Maybe wed ask each other like one question or something before we started the scene. But we didnt map stuff out. Sometimes we would work on backstory. Like, what do you think happened where, fill in-betweens in our backstory and stuff like that. But when it came to doing the scene, we just did them and I completely trust her. I just know whatever were gonna do, its gonna be truthful.

Did you always know that Connor and Willa were going to get to the point where they tie the knot?

I didnt really at the outset. I found out that I was going to have a girlfriend who was a former call girl. Adam McKay told me that at an early read through, I think maybe the first episode of the actual first season, so the second episode of the series. He told me then and she came not too long after that. He was like, You have this girlfriend and youre at the hospital as Logan had a stroke and then you start like really making out with your girlfriend, its just not really appropriate. So thats the kind of start we had.

What has it been like working on one of the biggest drama series of our time and returning for the final season?

Well, for me, everythings been positive. It was thrilling, even from the very beginning, it was exciting and there was a little touch-and-go period during the first season where we didnt know whether or not people liked us, the first five episodes or so. We were not panned by the critics, but theyre like, Theres no one to root for. I dont know who the hero is, whatever. And then when people caught on to the tone of our show and what it was actually, then we just kind of went through the roof and weve just been hanging on. Its a thrilling experience to be involved with a show that is so current and so beloved.

What are some of your favorite moments or memories from working on the series?

I had a lot of fun early on in that charity ball episode where you saw Connor in charge of something and what that might look like and just paranoid and harried and flustered and foolish and it was a lot of fun to do.

What will you miss the most about working on Succession?

I think the people. I just love working with this bunch. Were all on the same wavelength, humor-wise certainly. Ill miss Justine, I did most of my scenes with Justine. But Im gonna miss everybody, I love them all. Kieran, Snookie and Jeremy, we came together as a little family.

This has been one of the  it could be the nicest job Ive ever had in all these years. Ive wanted something like this for a very long time and it just kind of fell into my lap. Everything was surprising about this show because the writers are so good. They keep working on that script right up until like the midnight before youre gonna read through it. So it was always surprising, the things that happened, youre never gonna sort of outguess Jesse Armstrong and his team. And then just the crew, everybody just brought their A-game.

Also Read:

Succession Star Natalie Gold Says Ravas Compassion for Kendall Is Starting to Crack
Portuguese F16

The US says it will allow its Western allies to supply Ukraine with advanced fighter jets, including American-made F-16s, in a major boost for Kyiv.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said President Joe Biden "informed his G7 counterparts" of the decision at the bloc's summit in Japan on Friday.

US troops will also train Kyiv's pilots to use the jets, Mr Sullivan said.

Russia said countries would run "enormous risks" if they supplied F-16s to Ukraine, state media reported.

Deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko told state-owned news agency Tass that Western countries were "sticking to the scenario of escalation".

"This will be taken into account in all our plans, and we have all the necessary means to achieve our goals," he said.

Ukraine has long sought advanced jets and President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the move as a "historic decision".

Countries can only resell or re-export American military hardware if the US approves it, so this decision clears the way for other nations to send their existing stocks of F-16s to Ukraine.

Although it seems increasingly likely that Ukraine will eventually receive the advanced jets it so desperately wants, no government has so far confirmed it will send them to Kyiv.

The US and allies had so far "focussed on providing Ukraine with the systems weapon and training it needs to conduct offensive operations this spring and summer", Mr Sullivan told reporters in Hiroshima, saying the moves were part of Washington's "long-term commitment to Ukraine's self-defence".

"As the training unfolds in the coming months, we will work with our allies to determine when planes will be delivered, who will be delivering them, and how many."

Ukraine has repeatedly lobbied its Western allies to provide jets to help in its fight against Russia.

Ahead of Saturday's official announcement, President Zelensky said the jets would "greatly enhance our army in the sky".

Story continues

He said he looked forward to "discussing the practical implementation" of the plan at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, where he arrived on Saturday.

The US had been sceptical about providing Ukraine with modern fighter jets - at least in the near term. Its focus has instead been on providing military support on land.

Some Nato member countries have expressed worries that handing jets to Ukraine would be viewed as escalating the war, risking a direct confrontation with Russia.

Senior US military officials were previously sceptical about the ability of Western-supplied fighter jets to dramatically alter the conflict - there are lots of air defence systems on the ground, and Russia's large air force has struggled to gain air superiority.

In February, President Biden told reporters that he was "ruling out for now" sending advanced fighters to Ukraine.

But Mr Sullivan told reporters that the US had provided weapons to Kyiv as they were needed on the battlefield, and the decision to pave the way for fighter jets indicated the conflict had entered a new phase.

"Now we have delivered everything we said we were going to deliver, so we put the Ukrainians in a position to make progress on the battlefield through the counteroffensive. We've reached a moment where it is time to look down the road, and say what is Ukraine going to need as part of a future force to defend against Russian aggression," he said.

Mr Sullivan also indicated any jets Ukraine received would only be used for defence purposes, and that the US would neither enable nor support attacks on Russian territory.

"The Ukrainians have consistently indicated that they are prepared to follow through on that," he said.

While the change in US policy is significant, training pilots to fly F-16 jets will take time.

Ukraine has more trained fighter pilots than aircraft at present, but even training experienced fighter pilots on a new plane could take up to four months.

Nations will also need to agree to supply the jets.

The F-16 is widely used by a number of European and Middle East nations as well as the US, which still manufactures the aircraft.

The UK, Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark also welcomed the US move.

Mr Zelensky is joining the G7 leaders in Japan

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: "The UK will work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs."

The UK does not have any F-16s in its air force itself.

Denmark has announced it too will now be able to support the training of pilots, but did not confirm whether it would send any jets to Ukraine. Denmark's air force has 40 F-16s, around 30 of which are operational.

Earlier this week, Mr Sunak and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said they would build an "international coalition" to provide fighter jet support for Ukraine.

Mr Sunak said the UK would set up a flight school to train Ukrainian pilots. French leader Emmanuel Macron said his country was willing to do the same but would not provide jets.

Some of the opposition to sending the jets has centred around maintenance issues, with former Nato official Dr Jamie Shea saying they require extensive maintenance after almost every fight.

At the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine was believed to have around 120 combat capable aircraft - mainly consisting of aging Soviet-era MiG-29s and Su-27s.

But officials say they need up to 200 jets to match Moscow's air-power - which is thought to be five or six times greater than Kyiv's.

Mr Zelensky has primarily been asking its allies for F-16s. First built in the 1970s, the jet can travel at twice the speed of sound and can engage targets in the air or on the ground.

While now eclipsed by the more modern F-35, it remains widely in use. Experts say modern fighters like the F-16 would help Ukraine strike behind Russian lines.

Earlier this year some Eastern European countries sent Soviet-era Mig fighter jets to Ukraine.
The youngest Song Coveys quest for love gets off to a rocky start in the series premiere of Netflixs XO, Kitty.

Anna Cathcart reprises her To All the Boys role as Lara Jeans baby sister Kitty, who is now a 16-year-old with a long-distance boyfriend in Seoul. For years, she and Dae (played by Minyeong Choi) have tried to make do with poor-reception Facetimes, but Kitty longs to have her person by her side like her friends. So when she stumbles upon her late mothers belongings, including a mix tape that suggests there was someone before Kittys father and her mothers uniform jacket from KISS (Korean Independent School of Seoul), she takes it as a sign. Kitty applies for the same scholarship her mother had when she studied abroad her junior year of high school, and gets into the program, where Dae is also a student.

More from TVLine

Kitty plays up her desire to get to know her mom, and after some initial hesitation, her dad (Sex and the Citys John Corbett) agrees to let her attend KISS. Did I just let my youngest daughter go to Korea to have sex with her boyfriend? he wonders. Yes, sir, you quite possibly did.

XO Kitty Recap

When Kitty arrives in South Korea, she misses her shuttle and has to navigate the foreign citys public transportation while lugging her suitcase around. Her Korean isnt good, and the people she stops to ask for directions in English are no help. How she still has a smile on her face is beyond me. To top it off, shes struck by a car belonging to Yuri (Gia Kim), a wealthy KISS student and the daughter of principal Jina (Losts Yunjin Kim), who gives Kitty a ride to campus.

Story continues

Kittys mom Eve was friends with Jina at KISS, but when Kitty approaches Jina with an old photo, Jina pretends not to know who Eve Song is. So theres definitely a story there. Speaking of secrets, Yuri is clearly hiding one from her mother, who confronts Yuri about a moment her friend Julianas housekeeper witnessed between the two girls. Yuri plays it off and says shes been seeing someone over the summer that her parents wouldnt approve of, and Juliana (Regan Aliyah) was just covering for her. That seems to appease Jina, who wants to know who is her daughters new mystery boy.

XO Kitty Recap

Meanwhile, Kitty has yet to see Dae or even tell him that shes transferred schools. Instead, she decides to surprise him at the welcome dance (bad idea, girl!), where she meets Daes friends, the sweet Q (Love, Victors Anthony Keyvan) and Min Ho (Sang Heon Lee), a posh student who literally bumped Kitty with his bag at the airport.

At first, Dae is thrilled to see Kitty, wrapping her up in an excited hug. This is the moment Kitty has been waiting for: their first kiss after four years of long distance! But theres something Dae needs to tell her. Just then, Yuri places her hand on Daes and introduces him as her boyfriend. After that bombshell, a devastated Kitty runs off, and Yuri stops Dae from following her.

What did you think of the XO, Kitty premiere? Grade it below, then hit the comments!

Best of TVLine

Get more from TVLine.com : Follow us on Twitter , Facebook , Newsletter

Click here to read the full article.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan in person on Sunday, a trip that will mark one of the farthest distances he has traveled from Ukraine since Russia's invasion.

Zelenskyy's expected appearance at the annual meeting of leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies was confirmed by Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council.

We were sure that our president would be where Ukraine needed him, in any part of the world, to solve the issue of stability of our country, Danilov said Friday on Ukrainian national television. There will be very important matters decided there, so physical presence is a crucial thing to defend our interests."

Neither the summit's host  Japan  nor the U.S. has confirmed Zelenskyy's attendance, though Ukraine's leader did make a surprise visit to a summit of Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Friday, with assistance from France.

President Joe Biden is due to depart the summit on Sunday to return to Washington for debt ceiling talks that have at times that loomed over his overseas trip. He canceled stops in Papua New Guinea and Australia and departed a dinner on Friday before other G-7 leaders to receive a briefing on the budget negotiations.

Because of his canceled trip to Australia, the White House said Biden will meet with other members of the so-called Quad security pact  Australia, Japan and India  on Saturday evening while he is in Hiroshima. Biden will also sit down with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier in the day at a separate function.

G-7 leaders walk to a flower wreath laying ceremony at a Hiroshima memorial for atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima, Japan on May 19, 2023.

Japan is about 5,000 miles from Ukraine. Zelenskyy traveled a similar distance to Washington, D.C. in December last year. The war in Ukraine is one of the top items on the agenda in Hiroshima. Zelenskyy's attendance will come as G-7 countries  the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan  unveiled fresh sanctions on Russia over its invasion.

Story continues

Over the last week, Ukraine's leader has undertaken a diplomatic blitz of Europe, visiting Germany, France, Italy and the U.K. to drum up military and financial support as Ukraine hopes to turn the tide of the war with a heavily signaled impending counteroffensive against Russian forces. Zelenskyy's trip to Japan also comes as peace initiatives led by China and some African countries have been met with skepticism in Kyiv and western capitals.

"Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainian people. We are on our land and (are) fighting for our future, exercising our inalienable right to self-defense," Zelenskyy said in a phone call with China's leader Xi Jinping last month. "There can be no peace at the expense of territorial compromises."

'Ukraine is alive and kicking': Zelenskyy addresses Congress amid cheers, pledges of support

The news of Zelenskyy's trip to Japan came as G-7 leaders gathered Friday morning to lay flowers at a peace memorial in Hiroshima that commemorates the approximately 70,000 people who died when the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the city, effectively setting in motion Japan's surrender and the end of World War II.

Russian President Vladimir Putins nuclear threats against Ukraine, along with North Koreas missile tests and Chinas expanding nuclear arsenal, make nuclear disarmament a major part of the Hiroshima summit.

After a group photo near Hiroshima's distinctive bombed-out dome, G-7 leaders issued a collective statement Friday that said they "remain united in imposing coordinated sanctions and other economic actions to further undermine Russias capacity to wage its illegal aggression."

The Biden administration said it would blacklist 70 entities from receiving U.S. exports and introduce more than 300 new sanctions on individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft that would target financial facilitators and other actors in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

As part of the sanctions, the U.S. said it is working to sever Russia's access to architecture and engineering services. It also introduced sanctions on foreign nationals aiding Russia's intelligence and military divisions and Russian officials accused of helping to facilitate the forced deportation and adoption of Ukrainian children.

Our collective efforts have cut Russia off from key inputs it needs to equip its military and is drastically limiting the revenue the Kremlin receives to fund its war machine," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

Putin wields a nuclear threat: Is it an empty one?

Britain unveiled punitive measures that will block imports of Russian copper, aluminum and nickel. It also banned imports from Russia's lucrative diamond industry.

Australia said it would target Russian companies involved in nuclear research and weapons manufacturing. The European Union was focused on closing the door on loopholes, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, said.

The G-7 statement said that it would action to "further prevent the evasion and circumvention of our (sanctions) measures against Russia," an acknowledgement that Russia has found at least some sanctions workarounds.

G-7 leaders stand near a shrine in Hiroshima, Japan on May 19, 2023.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine's President Zelenskyy to attend G-7 meeting in Japan
U.S. Avenger air defense systems, which are mounted on Humvees and are highly mobile, are now being used to protect major Ukrainian cities and to protect Ukraine's ground forces near the frontline, according to a senior Ukrainian official.

One of Ukraine's most senior commanders also confirmed to ABC News that all 12 Avenger systems promised by the Biden administration are in Ukraine and operational. In November, four short-range Avenger air defense systems were announced as part of a $400 million defense package for Ukraine.

Lt. Gen. Serhiy Nayev, who is in charge of Ukrainian forces stationed along the border with Belarus and Russia, described the Avenger as "a very important boost" for Ukraine's air defenses in an exclusive interview.

PHOTO: In this undated photo, the Avenger is shown in Ukraine. (Oleksiy Pshemyskiy/ABC News)

MORE: Video ABC News Live: Ukraine gains ground in war against Russia

The Avenger has laser and infrared technology to identify and track targets and its dual launchers can carry a total of eight heat-seeking Stinger missiles.

PHOTO: In this undated photo, the Avenger is shown in Ukraine. (Oleksiy Pshemyskiy/ABC News)

ABC News was the first media organization to film an Avenger in a secret location in central Ukraine.

Nayev said the air defense system had already proved to be "very effective" because when deployed they are "constantly on the move" and "ready for the next strike".

The Avenger can be used to intercept helicopters or low-flying aircraft.

PHOTO: In this undated photo, the Avenger is shown in Ukraine. (Oleksiy Pshemyskiy/ABC News)

However, Nayev said the technology was proving adept at intercepting cruise missiles and lethal attack drones at night, or in the day and in any type of weather.

"It's good for the troops [operating the system,] as they feel confident they can hit the target," he said.

PHOTO: In this undated photo, the Avenger is shown in Ukraine. (Tom Burridge/ABC News)

Ukraine's air defenses are again in sharp focus after a barrage of Russian ballistic and cruise missiles struck Kyiv on Monday night, including several hypersonic "Kinzhal" missiles.

Moscow previously claimed the Kinzhal, which means "dagger" in Russian, could not be shot down.

MORE: UK, France pledge military aid to Ukraine as Zelenskyy makes unannounced visit

Story continues

PHOTO: A U.S.-supplied Mine Resistant Infantry vehicle is shown in Ukraine. (Tom Burridge/ABC News)

Ukrainian officials claimed all 25 missiles fired on Monday night were shot down.

However, one of the explosions did cause minor damage to a component of a highly sophisticated Patriot air defense battery, according to a Ukrainian military source and a U.S. official.

The U.S. official said the overall Patriot system was still operational and could be fixed "soon."

Ukrainian officials said their ability to defend Kyiv against an "exceptional" barrage of Russian missiles showed how much their overall defenses had improved.

Nayev told ABC News that the efficiency of Ukraine's air defenses had "increased by 100%" thanks to donated systems from Europe and the U.S.

As well as one highly sophisticated Patriot system and the 12 Avengers, the Biden administration has pledged to supply Ukraine with eight advanced Surface-to-Air NASAMS systems, a Hawk air defense system and other types of radar missiles and guns for air defense.

PHOTO: A U.S.-supplied Mine Resistant Infantry vehicle is shown in Ukraine. (Tom Burridge/ABC News)

Ukraine's European allies have also supplied an array of advanced air defense systems such as Germany's sophisticated IRIS-T as well as the long-range Italian and French made SAMP/T.

For Vitaliy, a commander in Ukraine's Air Force whose unit operates an Avenger system, the technology is a massive leap from old Soviet systems which Ukraine relied on in the past.

Vitaliy, who didn't give his surname for security reasons, and his team recently completed training by American military personnel on the Avenger system in Germany.

With his family based in Kyiv, he thanked the United States for helping Ukraine to protect its skies and the people he loves.

"I only have my family, and I must protect them," he said.

ABC News' Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

US Avenger an 'important boost' for Ukrainian air defense, top commander says originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
(Bloomberg) -- Heavily indebted Petroleos Mexicanos is testing the resolve of even its most ardent supporter, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Most Read from Bloomberg

After channeling some $45 billion to Pemex since coming to office in late 2018 through last year, the president has curtailed aid as he keeps a tight rein on spending. That pushed the oil producer to make two new issues in the past year, cheapening its bonds and leaving the spread on many of the notes over comparable sovereign dollar bonds near the highest levels since the pandemic.

Lea la nota en espanol

Whats more, concern over the governments commitment is only set to grow. While his ruling party is expected to remain in power after the 2024 elections, AMLO  as the president is known  is not allowed to run again, casting doubt on the governments continued support for the state-owned behemoth.

The next president is going to be, at best, a little bit less enthusiastic about the relationship, said Andrew Stanners, an emerging markets fund manager at abrdn in London.

Bonds of the Mexican oil producer are down an average 3.8% this quarter, underperforming a broad gauge of energy firms, which has declined 0.9% over the same period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

While Pemex is one of the cheapest quasi sovereigns out there, Stanners is skeptical the low levels will lure buyers. Is this the new level it should be at because of these tensions? Perhaps.

Stanners isnt alone. Pacific Investment Management Co., one of the worlds biggest bond investors, told Bloomberg last week that it was now keeping its exposure to Pemex limited to shorter-term issues amid concern over eroding government support going forward.

Pemex hasnt always enjoyed unlimited government backing. The prior administration siphoned funds out of the company, adding debt even as production declined as it moved to clear the way to the return of private oil companies into Mexico. The debt load now stands at $108 billion, the most among all the oil majors, but little changed since AMLO came to office.

AMLOs support for Pemex is running up against his refusal to increase the countrys debt burden, which has left the company to sort out how to pay for its extensive liabilities. But some support remains: The government has cut a profit sharing duty to 40% from 54%, effectively providing billions of dollars in support this year and the next.

Aaron Gifford, an emerging-market sovereign debt analyst at T. Rowe Price in Baltimore, said the government still has plenty of levers to pull, including letting the companys tax payments slide. And if Mexico continues to grow, so will the governments capacity to back Pemex, whoever wins the elections.

Theres a bit of a mismatch with what you see in terms of pricing Pemex and the euphoria around Mexico, Gifford said. Everyone talks about Mexico being an EM darling, yet theres this orphaned credit in the complex named Pemex. I dont think you can decouple the two.

--With assistance from Ezra Fieser and Amy Stillman.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
90 Day Fiance debuted on January 12, 2014, on TLC. The show follows couples who are faced with an ultimatum: get married in 90 days before a K-1 visa runs out, or say goodbye forever. Since its debut, the series has spawned a number of spin-offs, but the original version is still going strong. And unlike several other reality shows about relationships, a number of the couples from 90 Day Fiance are still together. Find out who, below.

Season 1 90 Day Fiance couples who are still together

Russ and Paola

View the original article to see embedded media.

These two have been making it work since 2014 and as of 2023, they are still going strong. As one of the fan favorites from season one, Russ and Paola delighted fans when they welcomed their first child together in 2019.

Alan and Kirlyam

View the original article to see embedded media.

Fans were split when Kirlyam left Brazil to move to the United States with Alan, but all these years later it's clear that these two were meant to be. They are now parents to two children and the family lives in North Carolina.

Mike and Aziza

View the original article to see embedded media.

Mike and Aziza have also been living the sweet life with their daughter, who was born in 2019. The family of three currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

Louis and Aya

View the original article to see embedded media.

Things weren't easy for these two at first, but as of 2023 they are still together and living in Indiana with their four sons.

Season 2 90 Day Fiance couples who are still together

Danny and Amy

View the original article to see embedded media.

Danny and Amy faced plenty of opposition when they got married at 23 and 21, but they've proven that things between them were meant to be. These days, the pair have started their own church and their own podcast, "For The Family."

Justin and Evelyn

View the original article to see embedded media.

After welcoming their son, Justin and Evelyn moved to San Jose, Calif., where they still live. They are also proud cat parents.

Story continues

Brett and Daya

View the original article to see embedded media.

Ever since they married in 2015, Brett and Daya have continued to move forward and build their lives together. They live as a family of four with Brett's older daughter as well as the daughter they had together.

Season 3 90 Day Fiance couples who are still together

Melanie and Devar

View the original article to see embedded media.

A lot of fans didn't trust Devar after he quickly proposed to Melanie in Season 3, but at this point the two have more than proven their love. They currently live in Pennsylvania with their daughter.

Fernando and Carolina

View the original article to see embedded media.

Despite their 17-year age gap, Fernando and Carolina have made their marriage work since their time on the series.

Kyle and Noon

View the original article to see embedded media.

Kyle and Noon originally met online and ended up marrying pretty fast, which seemed to upset Noon's mother. These days they still live together in Portland, Oregon, where they share a pet.

Aleksandra and Josh

View the original article to see embedded media.

This couple famously struggled to reconcile their religious differences until Aleksandra surprised everyone and converted to Mormonism. These days they have two children together and live in Louisiana.

Loren and Alexei

View the original article to see embedded media.

These two struggled with bridging the gaps between their American and Israeli cultures, but over time have proven to be a long-term couple that has staying power. The parents of three currently live in Florida.

Season 4 90 Day Fiance couples who are still together

Nicole and Mahmoud

View the original article to see embedded media.

After running into issue after issue in Egypt, Nicole and Mahmoud appeared to try to make life in the United States work. As of 2023, it seems that they are living together in Egypt again.

Gabriel and Isabel

View the original article to see embedded media.

Gabriel and Isabel were up against a lot when they got married, especially as family members of Gabriel's were not supportive of his transition. However, it's clear from the couple's social media accounts that they are still happily married in 2023.

Daniele and Yohan

View the original article to see embedded media.

These two planned to live in the U.S. together after getting married... until Daniele returned to the Dominican Republic. As of 2023, it looks like the couple still live in the country.

Season 5 90 Day Fiance couples who are still together

Elizabeth and Andrei

View the original article to see embedded media.

Elizabeth Potthast and Andrei Castravet met in Ireland and soon after, Castravet moved to Florida to be with his newfound love. They tied the knot in America in 2017, had a child together named Eleanor Louise in 2019, and then threw a second wedding in Andrei's home country of Maldova.

Annie and David

View the original article to see embedded media.

Annie and David had a lot working against thema large age gap, cultural differences and financial problems, namelybut today, the couple is still married. Many people suspected Annie of only pursuing David for a green card, but these two have made it clear that they're in their marriage for the right reasons and are still together in 2023.

Josh and Aika

View the original article to see embedded media.

Fans didn't seem to flock to support Josh and Aika during Season 5 of the show, but that hasn't slowed their flow. The two are still together and appear to have a lot of fun traveling the United States.

Season 6 90 Day Fiance couples who are still together

Olga and Steven

View the original article to see embedded media.

Olga and Steven weren't always their best selves while on 90 Day Fiance, and some fans were happy when they broke up. But the two ended up reconnecting and have been back together since 2021; they're parents to two children.

Season 7 90 Day Fiance couples who are still together

Anna and Mursel

View the original article to see embedded media.

Anna and Mursel are not only still together, they actually welcomed their first biological child together via surrogate in 2022.

Robert and Anny

View the original article to see embedded media.

Robert and Anny have made their marriage last despite having to overcome unspeakable tragedy when they lost their son, Adriel. The two are also mom and dad to their daughter, Brenda, and Anny helps Robert raise his young son Brysonwhose mother is apparently no longer in the picture.

Blake and Jasmin

View the original article to see embedded media.

Their season of 90 Day culminated with them getting married in an intimate ceremony (which included Jasmin's sister, Janet, who just so happened to move to Los Angeles from Finland before Jasmin did). While these two had a lot of people rooting against them in the beginning, several years later they're still going strong and have proved doubters wrong.

Season 8 90 Day Fiance couples who are still together

Yara and Jovi

View the original article to see embedded media.

While Yara and Jovi have faced down divorce rumors in the past, and Jovi has even discussed some of the problems in their relationship, as of May 2023 they are still together and appear to be living in Dallas, Texas.

Brandon and Julia

View the original article to see embedded media.

Julia faced backlash from Brandon's family early in their marriage, but in 2023 the two are still going strong and even bought their first house together in late 2022. In May 2023, Julia revealed on Instagram that they hope to have a baby together.

Season 9 90 Day Fiance couples who are still together

Guillermo and Kara

View the original article to see embedded media.

Kara and Guillermo had a lot of big life moments to overcome early in their season, but by the end of things they had moved past a lot of their problems and were getting ready to celebrate the birth of their first child together.

Emily and Kobe

View the original article to see embedded media.

Emily and Kobe are not only still together, they are parents to two kids and the whole family seems as happy as can be.

Patrick and Thais

View the original article to see embedded media.

Patrick proposed to Thais eleven months after they met in Thailand. The two are still married and welcomed their daughter on Nov. 16, 2022.

Miona and Jibri

View the original article to see embedded media.

Miona and Jibri have been living in Palm Springs, Calif., since they got married in August 2022.

Bilal and Shaeeda

View the original article to see embedded media.

Shaeeda and Bilal have struggled when it came to making decisions together, especially when it comes to whether or not they will have children. As of May 2023, they are still together.

Ariela and Biniyam

View the original article to see embedded media.

Ariela became pregnant with Biniyam's baby while still married to her ex-husband and that didn't stop these twoat all. The two moved to the U.S. in 2021 and are still together in 2023.

Next, All the Love Is Blind Couples Who Are Still Together in 2023
Anderson Cooper

After resounding criticism of CNNs decision to conduct what turned out to be an ultra-MAGA Trump rally billed as a news event, it was seemingly up to Anderson Cooper to try to smooth things over with a furious audience, and it did not go well.

There was a lot of anger during Wednesdays polarizing town hall. Aside from viewers, this anger came from elected officials like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, and prominent members of the press who all criticized the television network for its irresponsible actions giving Trump 70 minutes of unfettered airtime before a fawningly friendly audience of MAGA supporters.

Cooper was criticized online Thursday after defending his networks disastrous New Hampshire town hall event at Saint Anselm College the previous night.

After witnessing the Wednesday night fiasco, the veteran journalist began his primetime show by addressing many peoples reactions.

Despite criticizing Trump as a liar and calling his words disturbing, Cooper urged viewers not to remain in their information silos and ignore the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for 2020 as well as the jaw-dropping laughter Trump gave to victims of sexual abuse and misogyny as he mocked host Kaitlan Collins and E. Jean Carroll, the writer who was awarded $5 million earlier this week by a jury who found Trump liable for sexual abusing and defaming her.



Many of you have expressed deep anger and disappointment, Cooper began. Many of you are upset that someone who attempted to destroy our democracy was invited to sit on a stage in front of a crowd of Republican voters to answer questions and predictably continued to spew lie after lie after lie. And I get it.

Cooper noted that Trump called Collins nasty, as he does frequently when women stand up to him. He also called a Black police officer a thug, a term he often uses to describe Black men.

It was disturbing to hear him speak so highly of QAnon conspirators and insurrectionists who assaulted police officers and our democracy on January 6th, Cooper said. And it was awful to hear him spread ridiculous lies about the election, and it was certainly disturbing to hear that audience, young and old, our fellow citizens, people who love their kids and go to church, laugh and applaud his lies and his continued defamation of a woman who according to a jury of his peers, hes sexually abused and defamed.

Story continues

On the broadcast, Trump repeated his claim that he didnt know Carroll and that she was fabricating the incident. Carroll may sue him again for making the same sorts of statements that led to a jury awarding damages to her.

While on television earlier in the evening, MSNBCs Chris Hayes unknowingly defined Coopers following actions.

Hayes said anybody who defends CNNs actions is probably doing so disingenuously or because CNN employs them.

Many of you think CNN shouldnt have given him any platform to speak, and I understand the anger about that, Cooper said. Giving him the audience, the time. I get that. But this is what I also get: The man you were so disturbed to see and hear from last night, that man is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president.

He added, He hasnt changed, and he is running hard. You have every right to be outraged today and angry and never watch this network again. But do you think staying in your silo and only listening to people you agree with is going to make that person go away?

\u201cCooper: You have every right to be outraged today and angry and never watch this network again. But do you think staying in your silo and only listening to people you agree with is going to make that person go away?\u201d  Acyn (@Acyn) 1683850121

On Twitter, CNN was criticized for several things. As a start, the network did what the mainstream media did in 2015 and 2016 when they legitimized the would-be insurrectionist president by covering his every lie as newsworthy.

Several others said that CNN positioned itself to appeal to a more right-of-center audience following the recent ownership change at the cable network and Tucker Carlsons departure from Fox News.

The online reaction was loud and clear. Many indicated that the well-respected news personality had lost respect and credibility.

Anderson Cooper really embarrassed himself with this statement. Im losing respect for CNN journalists carrying water for their network after making a really terrible editorial decision. Normalizing Donald Trump is dangerous and dishonest, tweeted one person.

\u201c@Acyn Anderson Cooper really embarrassed himself with this statement. I\u2019m losing respect for CNN journalists carrying water for their network after making a really terrible editorial decision. Normalizing Donald Trump is dangerous and dishonest.\u201d  Acyn (@Acyn) 1683850121

Another pointed out why many didnt accept what Cooper was trying to convince his audience of.

This is disappointing. Hed have a point if the town hall featured a real audience. And if Trumps lies were thoroughly addressed, the person wrote.
An anger was having a slow day at a Missouri lake when an unexpected farm animal made an appearance.

All the sudden, a yearling cow heifer came down to drink, John Goad told the Missouri Department of Conservation. I moved down to give her space, and she crawls into the lake about belly deep.

Goad was using a throwline  a fishing line with five or less hooks and with one end attached to a permanent fixture  at Frieda Lake in Crawford County on May 8. And he credits the heifer with what happened next.

Every cast, I caught a fish, he said. The Jefferson City man believes the heifer must have stirred up the lakes bottom and pushed fish toward another area.

One of the fish he caught was a 5-ounce longear sunfish, according to a May 18 news release from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

That sunfish tied Missouris previous longear sunfish alternative record  a 5-ounce fish caught July 3, 2021, at a private pond in Franklin County.

Ive been fishing this lake for around 10 years and Ive caught crappie, bass, bluegill  all pretty good sizes, Goad told state officials. But Ive known there are good sized sunfish for about 7 or 8 years and Ive been trying to catch a record ever since.

He caught his first longear sunfish when he was 5 years old, according to the release.

So Ive been after this for 70 years, Goad said. Catching a record is a really tough deal. For an old guy and a veteran, Ive seen a lot of things, so I was excited about this record.

He plans to mount his sunfish, officials said.

Crawford County is in east-central Missouri.

Man fishing after work at Missouri ditch shoots fish. Its size breaks a world record

Man reels in two fish of identical weight and length  breaking Missouri state record

Anglers big fish with odd name may be a world-record catch, Missouri officials say
Westend61 - Getty Images



"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."



If it feels like mushrooms have traveled from farmers markets and grocery store aisles onto the ingredient lists of multiple buzzy beauty products, youre not imagining this shift.

Though shrooms have been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years for a multitude of reasons, mushroom-infused skincare has only recently hit it big stateside. That could be in response to an increased demand for more natural cosmetics and cosmeceuticalsor to the fact that theres actual science to back up the skin perks of certain fungi.

Mushrooms can offer a whole variety of benefits for the skin, says Dr. Nava Greenfield, M.D., a New York City-based dermatologist at Schweiger Dermatology Group. Studies have suggested they can act as a wound healing agent, an antioxidant, and an anti-inflammatory as well, per Dr. Greenfield.

When it comes to perking skin up and making it look like you turned back the clock, mushrooms and mushroom-derived extracts tend to work on your complexion in two key ways: by hydrating and brightening.

Beta-glucans (found in mushrooms) have skin hydrating properties that support the skin barrier function and could improve redness and irritation, says Dr. Jennifer Chwalek, M.D., a New York City-based dermatologist at Union Derm, adding that some variants may be able to improve uneven pigmentation in the skin (i.e. skin lightening/brightening), although more trials and studies are needed to confirm this.



Ready to level up your beauty routine with functional fungi? Youve come to the right place. Consider this your mushroom-infused skincare product short list.

Whether youre looking to splurge or save, you can let mushrooms work their magic from head to toe. Products were chosen based on our experts recommendations, and I've also flagged some top-rated favorites and new launches, too.

As with anything new youre looking to add to a skincare regimen, you should always patch test a product first to and talk to your dermatologist.

Story continues

Evercalm Redness Relief Serum

For those prone to redness, Dr. Greenfield recommends this serum, which includes soothing white mushroom extract. The product draws upon the calming and redness reducing effects of white mushrooms and has clinical data on its efficacy, she says. Specifically, in a study of 100 men and women conducted by the brand, visible redness was shown to subside somewhat over a seven day period and as quickly as in 30 minutes.

Shop Now Evercalm Redness Relief Serum $60.00 sephora.com REN Clean Skincare

Cosmic Cream

Start and end your day with a dewy finish, thanks to this do-it-all moisturizer that lists Silver Ear mushroom and Reishi among its chief ingredients alongside vitamin E, ashwagandha, and hyaluronic acid (HA). Similar to HA, Silver Ear mushroom is said to have moisturizing properties, while Reishi purportedly protects the skins natural barrier.

Shop Now Cosmic Cream $58.00 sephora.com Moon Juice

Vitamin C Mycelium Glow Brightening Serum

If youre looking to lighten dark spots or improve the overall tone and texture of your skin, Shrooms Mycelium Glow Serum might be a solid bet. The formula contains a blend of four mushroom extractsReishi, Chaga, Cordyceps, and Maitake, in a jojoba oil suspension, says Dr. Chwalek, who consults for the Shroom brand. Jojoba oil has a chemical composition most similar to human skin, she adds.

Shop Now Vitamin C Mycelium Glow Brightening Serum $78.00 shroomskincare.skin Shroom Skincare

Ultra Soothing InvisaMask

Whether you use sheet masks for a quick fix when traveling or weekly as part of your #selfcaresunday ritual, consider adding BioRepublics new Ultra Soothing InvisaMask to your supply. Mushroom mycelia extract in the mask is said to calm irritation, repair, and help restore radiance.

Shop Now Ultra Soothing InvisaMask $37.00 amazon.com BioRepublic

De-Stress Foaming Cleanser

For a gentle face wash thatll soothe the skinrather than strip itlook no further than this Pangea Organics cleanser. Every pump of this gel-to-foam formula packs a little bit of Reishi mushroom to hydrate as it removes makeup, excess oil, and dirt.

Shop Now De-Stress Foaming Cleanser $42.00 amazon.com Pangea Organics

Hydrating Floral Mask

Many of clean beauty guru Tata Harpers eponymous products include Tremella Fuciformis, which is more commonly known as the Snow or Silver Ear mushroom. Take Harpers Hydrating Floral Mask, for example, which can be used up to three times a week. According to the brand, Tremella mushroom in the formula not only helps quench and restore parched skin, but its also high in vitamin D and antioxidants, allowing it to shore up the skins barrier and help smooth fine lines and wrinkles.

Shop Now Hydrating Floral Mask $95.00 sephora.com Tata Harper

Eye Detox Brightening Contour Oil

Puffy undereyes have officially met their match with this luxe oil thats infused with rare Chaga mushrooms; in fact, the brand hand-harvests its supply from birch trees in Maine. Keep the rollerball in your refrigerator, and in the morning, gently dab it around your eye contour area for potential cooling, brightening, and inflammation reduction.

Shop Now Eye Detox Brightening Contour Oil $90.00 saksfifthavenue.com House of GRO

Fresh Dew Snow Mushroom Gel-Cream Moisturizer

This ultra-lightweight hydrator goes on like a gel but finishes like a cream, making it a perfect base for makeup application in the morning. Its also a great step to seal in moisture once you wash your face and neck in the evening, thanks to the Snow mushroom in its formulation. The brand also offers a plumping eye cream in the Fresh Dew Snow Mushroom collection as well.

Shop Now Fresh Dew Snow Mushroom Gel-Cream Moisturizer $22.00 ulta.com Well People

BHA Clarifying Serum

As salicylic, lactic, and glycolic acids in the product are said to attack bacteria to clear the skin and reduce acne marks, the Silver Ear purportedly provides protection against irritation, particularly for sensitive skin types that are also acne prone.

Shop Now BHA Clarifying Serum $49.50 reneerouleau.com Renee Rouleau

Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Mega-Mushroom Relief & Resilience Soothing Treatment Lotion

Reishi and Chaga combine in this liquid lotion thats ideal for anyone who deals with redness or enlarged pores. Shake the bottle, then pour a little bit into your hands to pat it onto dry, clean skin. Meant to function like a calming and soothing essence, be sure to apply this lotion before your serum and moisturizing steps for best results.

Shop Now Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Mega-Mushroom Relief & Resilience Soothing Treatment Lotion $40.00 sephora.com Origins

Electric Flower Serum

Products from the new, mushroom-based luxury skincare brand Neon Hippie boast a proprietary complex of seven different types of shrooms: Chaga, Reishi, Shiitake, Tremella, Trametes Versicolor, Cordyceps, and Coprinus. If youre looking for a hydrating primer thats said to repair while it preps your skin, give it a try.

Shop Now Electric Flower Serum $60.00 neimanmarcus.com Neon Hippie

Dark Spot Corrector

Backed by both an instrumental measure study and an independent consumer perception study of 54 individuals, this fragrance-free treatment serum pairs vitamin C and caffeine with pomegranate stem cells and Shiitake extract to purportedly fade discoloration from hyperpigmentation and post-acne scarring. Specifically, the Shiitake in the formula is said to help to inhibit melanin production.

Shop Now Dark Spot Corrector $29.99 amazon.com Andalou Naturals

Super Multi-Corrective Anti-Aging Face and Neck Cream

This moisturizer isnt new or inexpensive for that matter, but a little bit could go a long way towards glowy, radiant skin. Part of its power lies in its inclusion of Chaga mushroom, which is said to improve the overall evenness of skin tone.

Shop Now Super Multi-Corrective Anti-Aging Face and Neck Cream $76.00 ulta.com Kiehl's

Supercharged Reishi Body Melt

Mushrooms and mushroom extracts can provide nourishment beyond the face, neck, and decollete area. Case in point: Reed + Gwens body melt, a thick, somewhat gritty balm enriched with shea butter, hyaluronic acid, and adaptogenic Reishi extract. Warm it up between your fingers and apply it to dry patchesor all over your bodyto let the Reishi go to town on parched skin.

Shop Now Supercharged Reishi Body Melt $48.00 avocadogreenmattress.com Reed + Gwen

Skin on Skin BC Foundation

This best-selling full coverage formula from YENSA is infused with Shiitake, purporting to not only hide hyperpigmentation on the skin but to treat it a bit, too.

Shop Now Skin on Skin BC Foundation $42.00 nordstrom.com YENSA

You Might Also Like
Why dont more young Americans vote? People (usually older people) will often say its because were apathetic or we just dont care, but thats not true. Young Americans are speaking up about immigration reform, gun violence, climate change, and rights for the LGBTQ+ community. As a 19-year-old Latinx community organizer who has helped thousands of schoolmates and neighbors register to vote, I think there is something else going on. The voter registration process is still too complicated and too inaccessible for young people. Thats why I am part of the movement to streamline voter registration in California and make it a more accessible, efficient, and truly automatic process for people of all ages.

As an immigrant who arrived in the U.S. with my parents when I was seven, I just dont understand why we are the only advanced democracy in the world where the burden to register falls entirely on the individual.

Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA)

Despite recent legislative changes that make voter registration more accessible when people visit their local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), many eligible voters are still left out. In fact, a significant number of people opt out of registering at the DMV for various reasons. Some possible explanations are that people dont want to spend any more time than they have to at the DMV (imagine that!) reviewing eligibility requirements. Others might not fully understand the process or what they are being asked to do. For example, my parents relied on me to understand the voting system after they became citizens because of a lack of information available in their native language. Teaching my parents how to vote before I had any familiarity with the system myself was draining. This is one of the many barriers that prevent younger voters from wanting to go through the process of registering themselves.

Upgrading California's current partial automatic voter registration (PAVR) system to a more streamlined, efficient, secure and accessible Secure AVR (SAVR) model will address these barriers by making DMV registration a more streamlined process. With SAVR, a person provides proof of their voting eligibility during a DMV transaction (for example, a U.S. passport), they are automatically registered to vote. Voters can opt out later by mail, if they desire. Our coalition of grassroots organizations backing this legislation represents young people, people of color, people with disabilities, people who are not yet fully proficient in English, those who are formerly incarcerated, unhoused, housing insecure or geographically mobile. Working together, were urging the state legislature and California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber and Governor Gavin Newsom to make voter registration easier and more convenient for everyone.

Story continues

Fully automated voter registration is already in place in Alaska, Delaware, Nevada, Oregon, Massachusetts, Colorado, and DC, and, in some states, is improving turnout among young people, in particular. This spring, similar bills in Washington , New Mexico, and Minnesota also appeared on governors' desks.

Fully automatic registration is a sure path to expanding the electorate and getting more young people to vote. Research from the Tufts Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) shows that more than eight million young people (who are notably more diverse than the rest of the electorate) became newly eligible to vote in 2022. But CIRCLE found that only 23% of eligible young Americans nationwide cast a ballot in the 2022 midterm elections. By using every tool at their disposal to get more eligible voters registered and to get those registered to the polls, states have the power to change these statistics. According to a report from NextGen Policy, after adopting fully automatic registration, Colorado saw a 173% increase in the rate of 16- and 17-year-olds preregistering to vote at the DMV. (Preregistration allows young people to register early so they will be on the voter rolls for the first election in which they are eligible to vote.)

Today, about 4.7 million California citizens are eligible but unregistered to vote. Thats a higher number than the population of Louisiana. It includes my classmates in college who are too stressed about finals to think about registering or the classmates I knew in high school who do not interact with the DMV. Making it easier for more people to get registered is critical to addressing disparities in voting among Californians, especially among 18-to-24-year-olds, whose turnout rate in the 2020 election was 20 percentage points lower than the rest of our population.

Fully automating the registration process at the DMV is an important step, but we can still do more. Surveys show that young people, in particular, are driving less and less, meaning they may not be visiting the DMV in the first place. That means we should also be exploring other ways to reach young people with automatic forms for voter registration through other government agencies, for example, Medicaid or Medi-Cal as its known in California.

My application for US citizenship was approved this Wednesday, finally allowing me to register to elect leaders who are fighting for pathways to citizenship and reproductive freedom  two issues I care about deeply. As an immigrant, I often feel excluded and overwhelmed reading about social issues that affect me, with the knowledge that I could not vote. Voting serves as a voice for those who cannot use theirs. I want more of my peers to be able to share the excitement and privilege I feel about voting, not seeing it as a chore, but as a powerful tool. Just as important, I want more of my peers to show up at the polls and have more impact and influence on the issues we care about. Because its our California and our country, too. And we deserve an equal voice and equal opportunities to register  and vote.

Stay up-to-date with the politics team. Sign up for the Teen Vogue Take

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue

Want more U.S. government coverage?
Bell's Brewery's Oberon Ale variety packs will start shipping across Michigan by the end of the month.

Like Bell's did with the Two Hearted brand this past winter, the Comstock-based brewing giant said in March it would expand the seasonal Oberon brand with a variety pack, featuring original Oberon Ale plus three variants, two of which have been previous releases at the Bell's Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo. The variety pack was released exclusively at the Eccentric Cafe earlier this month.

The Oberon Variety Pack, featuring original, citrus, cherry and mango habanero flavors, hits Michigan shelves at the end of May.

The 12-can variety pack includes three cans each of:

Oberon Ale (5.8% ABV): Bright, citrusy, wheat ale with spicy hop characters

Cherry Oberon (5.8% ABV): Oberon fused with subtle cherry notes

Citrus Oberon (7.5% ABV): Oberon fused with lemon and orange zest

Mango Habanero Oberon (6% ABV): Oberon fused with mild, tropical mango aromas overshadowed by spicy habanero peppers

Only the citrus Oberon is brand new; the other two flavors were previously special batch releases.

"This is the pack the fans demanded," Carrie Yunker, executive vice president of Bell's, told the Free Press in March.

For subscribers: Bell's Brewery has big plans for 2023. Here are 5 takeaways.

Though supply of the variety pack will be limited, Bell's will ship them to its full distribution footprint across 49 states, and the brewery expects the pack to be available through the end of July or early August.

This move is part of a nationwide trend of top breweries expanding their most popular beer brands by creating "brand families," releasing new flavor variants of their flagship beers, and distributing variety packs for fans to try. Atwater Brewery in Detroit did the same with its flagship Dirty Blonde ale. Short's Brewing Co. in Bellaire also did it with the Huma Variety Pack, and Founders Brewing Co. with its All Day Variety Pack.

Brian Manzullo covers craft alcohol for the Free Press. Contact him: bmanzullo@freepress.com and on Untappd, bmanzullo and Twitter, @BrianManzullo and @SpiritsofDET.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Bell's Oberon Ale variety pack is coming by end of May
This article originally appeared on Outside

The Eastern United States is a true feast for hikers. The full array of options extend from the mountains of the Northeast to the rolling hills of the Mid-Atlantic and the lush forests of the Southeast. The diversity of possible routes is impressive. And though many of these trails are located near some of the most populated cities in the United States, they still offer a distinctly wild experience. Try out a new route today.

New York City

Mild Miles: Staten Island's Greenbelt Blue Trail delivers the kind of thrills you thought you couldn't have within the five boroughs. The 5.4-mile loop boasts steep ascents and rocky terrain while passing through woodlands, over streams, and around ponds. The elevation gain of over 1,000 feet is not nothing: Challenging workouts can be had if you choose to push the pace. Since the trail is easily accessible via public transit, it's a great way to escape Gotham without truly leaving town.

Steep Scrambles: Just an hour north of NYC, the Breakneck Ridge Trail presents a thrilling challenge you didn't think existed so close to the Big Apple. Though the loop is just 4.4 miles, you'll find steep inclines, intense scrambles, and one of the most challenging climbs in the area. Before that, you'll pass by old ruins, beautiful forests, and plenty of hikers. Check out the trail on a weekday to have a few views for yourself. No car? Look for service via Metro-North.

No Time: What more needs to be said about the Central Park Loop, one of the world's best city routes? Just do it if you haven't already. The 6.1-mile loop takes you through the heart of Central Parks lush greenery, and around landmarks like the Bethesda Fountain, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, and the Great Lawn, all underneath skyline views. Of course you'll find a crowd of hundreds of other walkers and runners to pass (or be passed by.) You'll be so enamored of the setting that you won't care if it's the latter.

Story continues

Washington, D.C.

Mild: The Boulder Bridge Loop in Rock Creek Park presents a manageable and fun challenge for hikers--and it's close to the city. The loop is approximately 4 miles and features a mix of paved and unpaved trails, including a stream crossing and a few steep hill climbs (watch out for roots). Along the way you'll capture glimpses of Rock Creek, its surrounding forests, Boulder Bridge, and the National Cathedral (if you're paying close attention). Need a longer challenge? Rock Creek Park's Outer Loop features 10 miles of trail.

Spicy: The Great Falls Park Loop Trail is a 4.5-mile loop that follows the Potomac River yet gets rugged and technical, with steep ascents and descents, narrow paths, and rocky sections. You'll encounter boulder fields and stream crossings, and plenty of history, like remnants of the Patowmack Canal and the historic Great Falls Tavern. This one's not a breeze; expect to be challenged.

Quick & Close: Looking for an epic hike in nature without leaving the D.C. area? The C&O Canal Towpath's 6.3-mile stretch from Georgetown to Bethesda is a killer trail option: easy to navigate and ready for attacking at any speed. You'll be treated to scenic views of the Potomac River and the historic Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. If you go the full distance, you'll hit the turnaround point in Bethesda, where you can take a break in a quaint downtown before heading back to Georgetown for a 12.6-mile round trip. Take the D6 bus to get there.

Atlanta

Light & Fast: It's not a walk in the park (well, it kind of is) but the Stone Mountain Loop Trail presents a manageable challenge for trail runners with its just-right mix of terrain over 5.3 miles. There's plenty to see, from views of the Atlanta skyline to the much-debated Stone Mountain carving to numerous waterfalls. Conquer this granite rock and you'll feel some awe and accomplishment, for sure.

Summit Views: The Kennesaw Mountain Trail near Atlanta is a rewarding trail if you've got the stuff. At 11.6 miles out and back, it offers breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and lush forests. The trail is a mix of dirt, rocks, and roots with steep inclines and declines. You'll encounter several historic Civil War sites along the trail before arriving at the summit, where you can take in a panoramic view of Atlantas skyline.

No Time: The Atlanta BeltLine Trail delivers an engaging urban route via 22 miles of converted railway corridor. Sections through some neighborhoods are paved; some aren't. Short on time? Check out the Eastside Trail, which runs for 2.25 miles from Midtown to Reynoldstown and passes through historic neighborhoods while providing stunning views of the skyline.

Philadelphia

Short & Sweet: Need a quick shot of nature? The Pennypack Trail has the stuff. This 5.5-mile trail winds along the Pennypack Creek and through a lushly forested landscape, with subtle elevation changes and a few more technical sections. The trail is a mix of singletrack and wider paths, with a few stream crossings.

Steep & Spicy: The Wissahickon Valley Park Loop Trail wends for nearly ten heavily wooded miles, part of it through a gorge that's been inspiring artists and writers for centuries. If it was good enough for Edgar Allen Poe and Mark Twain, well... Lace up your hiking shoes and sort your creative challenges out mentally while you're padding over this rocky and hilly technical trail.

Quick & Close: Need a scenic escape without getting in the car? The Schuylkill River Trail will do the trick. The mostly flat trail follows 10.5 miles of the Schuylkill River, making it easy to choose your own distance and pace. Along the way you'll spot historic landmarks like the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Boathouse Row. Better yet, you'll find water fountains and restrooms.

Boston

Light & Fast: With nearly eight miles of moderately challenging terrain, the Middlesex Fells Reservation Skyline Trail will make you forget that you're so close to the city. The well-marked path passes through lush forests and over boulders, and features views of the Boston skyline and surrounding suburbs. Be prepared for muddy conditions if it's rained recently.

Going the Distance: A Northeast classic and one of the oldest multistate hiking trails in the U.S., the Wapack Trail runs 21.5 miles over six small mountains (all under 2,300 feet) between Mount Watatic in Ashburnham, Mass., and North Pack Monadnock in Greenfield, N.H. Ambitious hikers will find rocky terrain, steep climbs, and sweeping views of the New England countryside. Be prepared for a rugged and rewarding point-to-point challenge.

No Time: Lace up and hit the Charles River Path for a scenic, close-to-the-city hike with serious Boston vibes, plenty of access points, and 17 miles of trail that make it easy to choose your perfect distance. Along the paved path, you'll encounter bridges, parks, sweeping Charles River views, plus plenty of bikers and runners. Several MBTA bus routes and train lines line up with the route if you need to get there without a car.

Columbia has been creating innovative apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment for outdoor enthusiasts since 1938. Columbia has become a leading global brand by channeling the company's passion for the outdoors and innovative spirit into technologies and performance products. To learn more, please visit columbia.com.

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.
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Robb Report may receive an affiliate commission.

J. Rieger & Co. just launched a new bottled-in-bond bourbon that was produced entirely in-house at the Kansas City distillery. This release is part of a growing trend among smaller craft distilleries, many of which finally have whiskey old enough to meet the criteria of this highly regulated category.

More from Robb Report

In the whiskey world, the term bottled in bond means that the spirit meets a few specific guidelines set by the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897its at least four years old, bottled at 100 proof, the product of one distillery and one distilling season, and aged in federally bonded warehouses. The original intention of the BIB Act was to regulate whiskey at a time when distilleries and bottlers were adding color and flavor that came from dubious (and sometimes deadly) sources. The BIB designation was an assurance of quality, something that doesnt really apply anymore given how tightly regulated categories like bourbon are. Still, its a designation that still has real and nostalgic value, and one that many small distilleries are giving their whiskey. Its also a sign that they finally have stock thats more than four years old, after initially releasing much younger whiskey in the years after opening.

J. Rieger & Co. opened in 2014, the revival of a distillery that closed during Prohibition. The core whiskey is a blend of sourced and in-house distilled spiritsbourbon, corn whiskey, rye, and a bit of Oloroso sherry from Spain. But the bottled-in-bond bourbon is entirely distilled in-house, as required by law, and at six years old is two years older than it needs to be. This is the second BIB bourbon release from J. Rieger, which also has two BIB ryes in its whiskey portfolio.

Story continues

Its not just craft distilleries releasing BIB whiskeysJack Daniels launched one last year, and other big names like like Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, George Dickel, and Jim Beam all have bottled-in-bond expressions. But theyve all got plenty of whiskey in their warehouses thats at least four years old, which is something the small guys and girls have to work towards. And this is happening all around the country. Washington D.C. distillery District Made just released a BIB bourbon that was distilled in 2015, a very small release of just three barrels out of seven that were filled. In Colorado, Laws Whiskey House just dropped the 2023 edition of its Bottled in Bond San Luis Valley Rye  Batch #4, an annual release that gets a bit older every year. Ohios Watershed Distillery has a four-year-old BIB bourbon available. And in Texas, Still Austin has a new BIB bourbon on the way this summer, the first of four planned whiskeys.

You can find the new J. Rieger Bottled in Bond Bourbon available to purchase from Mash & Grape. And if you want to sample other BIB whiskeys from distilleries big and small, both ReserveBar and Flaviar have pretty good selections to peruse.

Culinary Masters 2023

Dont miss the food event of the year. Register for Robb Reports Culinary Masters now. Or, for more information on Robb Report experiences, visit RR1

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.
Sef Gonzalez loves burgers.

He grew up in a multi-generational Cuban family.

"We ate a lot of Cuban food," he said. "My grandmother fell ill, and my mother would buy us a lot of fast food. To this day, I love burgers."

In 2008, he turned his obsession into a blog, and the Burger Beast was born.

For the Beast, the ideal burger has a thin patty (not to be mistaken for a smash burger ... we'll get to that later), a squishy-soft bun that holds up to the burger's juices, pickle, mustard, onion and cheese.

"I like just a straight-up cheeseburger," he said.

If you like other stuff on your burger, that's fine.

"But some of it is just spectacle, not taste," he said.

Sef Gonzalez, aka the Burger Beast, has made it his life's mission to seek out the best burgers in Florida and beyond.

Gonzalez spent his early career as a retail manager. Now he's all about the burger. More specifically, he wrote "All About the Burger," an almanac-style book published in 2019 that details the history of the humble hamburger and the restaurants that made it famous. He even did a book signing at White Castle headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. (You should know this already, but hamburgers aren't made of ham, they're named after Hamburg, Germany.)

For five years, he ran the Burger Museum in Miami.

Brevard's best burgers: Local chefs share their favorites, from smash burgers to diners

Tourists for a day: We spent an afternoon exploring the renovated Cocoa Beach Pier

More food coverage: What are the best rooftop restaurants, bars in Florida? Our favorites from across the state

These days, in addition to writing the Burger Beast blog, he organizes food events and burger pop-ups like the Hamburger House Party, held March 31 at the Magic City Casino in Miami.

And he eats burgers. Lots of them.

Even when he's at an Asian or Mexican restaurant and he finds a burger on the kids' menu, he can't resist.

"I'm ordering it," he said, "just to see if it's good. Out of 100 burgers like that that I've tried, maybe one has been worth it. But I don't give up hope."

Story continues

He can discuss the different types of burgers at length.

There's the pub or steakhouse burger, which has a thick patty cooked to temperature.

Then there's his personal favorite, the thin patty "like what you would get at an old-school diner."

And finally, the smash burger, made with a ball of beef smashed down on a got griddle until it gets a crust. "A lot of times, you have to scrap it up off the griddle," he said. White Castle claims to have pioneered the technique for its famous sliders.

Hoagie burgers and cheeseburger wraps are tasty dishes, but they're not hamburgers, he said. Neither are patties made with pork or turkey.

"To be a burger it has to be beef," he said.

Then there are mini burgers.

"A slider is a mini burger," Gonzalez said. But all mini burgers aren't necessarily sliders.

"A slider is a smash patty," he said.

In addition to burger research, Gonzalez knows his way around a grill.

"It's something that happened over time," he said. "Dad would bust out the grill, and as a kid, I was always out there helping him. Now, when there's grilling at my parents', I'm the one cooking."

He's learned about different grinds for the beef and how that affects the texture of the burger. And he's experimented with beef blends.

"You can use different parts of the cow to get different flavors," he said. He has a secret blend he uses for all his burgers.

You can find the Burger Beast on Facebook and Instagram, and he publishes lists of his favorite burger joints on his website, but Gonzalez hesitates to call himself an influencer. He's just a guy who really love burgers.

And he's lucky enough to have turned that love into a living.

Follow the Burger Beast at burgerbeast.com.

Suzy Fleming Leonard is a features journalist with more than three decades of experience. Reach her at sleonard@floridatoday.com. Find her on Facebook: @SuzyFlemingLeonard or on Instagram: @SuzyLeonard.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Burger Beast blogger from Miami writes the book on hamburger history
Investors can buy low cost index fund if they want to receive the average market return. But across the board there are plenty of stocks that underperform the market. That's what has happened with the Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) share price. It's up 31% over three years, but that is below the market return. Zooming in, the stock is actually down 8.5% in the last year.

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

Check out our latest analysis for Philip Morris International

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During three years of share price growth, Philip Morris International achieved compound earnings per share growth of 4.5% per year. This EPS growth is lower than the 10% average annual increase in the share price. This suggests that, as the business progressed over the last few years, it gained the confidence of market participants. It's not unusual to see the market 're-rate' a stock, after a few years of growth.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

This free interactive report on Philip Morris International's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for Philip Morris International the TSR over the last 3 years was 55%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

Philip Morris International shareholders are down 3.5% for the year (even including dividends), but the market itself is up 6.9%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 9% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Philip Morris International better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Philip Morris International (at least 2 which can't be ignored) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

But note: Philip Morris International may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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
Imagine someone you know is in the wrong place at the wrong time and is accused of committing a theft. On the advice of their lawyer, they decide to plead guilty. Because its their first offense, the judge decides that if they comply with their sentence, the crime will be erased  or expunged  from their record. In some states, expunging a conviction removes any resulting barriers to getting hired and licensed to work. But in Wisconsin, expungement does not wipe away a conviction. That conviction can still prevent someone from getting a job, even after they serve their sentence.

The Wisconsin Legislature is considering a bipartisan bill that would make it easier for a judge to order that a criminal conviction be completely erased from a persons record. The new law would be an important step to make Wisconsins workforce more inclusive. Common-sense reforms to remove professional barriers, including but not limited to SB 38/AB 37, would benefit the states workers and employers alike, without compromising on consumer protection.

Right now, Wisconsins expungement rules are overly restrictive compared with other states. In addition to not actually removing a conviction from a persons record, only people under 25 years old are eligible for expungement. And Wisconsin is the only state where judges must decide to expunge at the time of sentencing, rather than after the sentence is completed, a 2018 Wisconsin Policy Forum report found.

More: Scapegoating unemployed is tired political trope. Heres what works to fix labor shortages.

Under SB 38/AB 37, judges would face fewer restrictions on when they can order expungements. Whats more, employers and government bodies could no longer consider an expunged offense a conviction to stand in the way of getting a job or professional license.

Allie Boldt

This would make Wisconsins law more like Missouris, where expungement is more widely available and completely restores someones record. Since expanding access to expungements in 2018, Missouri lawmakers are now considering another bill to automatically expunge certain nonviolent offenses. As a Missouri Budget Project analysis points out, expungement makes individuals 13% more likely to be employed and on average see a 23% increase in annual wages. Missouri is considering this bill at least in part to address its workforce crisis.

Story continues

While the expungement reform being proposed in SB 38/AB37 would be an important step forward, there are other key steps we can take to remove inflexible professional barriers for Wisconsin workers with criminal records.

Well-designed professional regulations protect consumers. To be sure, many of us would probably be wary of getting a haircut from someone who had committed a serious offense while engaged in the practice of barbering. However, even well-designed laws can have damaging consequences. Due to racial disparities in our criminal legal system, professional licensing laws tend to disproportionately exclude people of color, who are more likely than white people to be policed, prosecuted and sentenced harshly when convicted. Racial disparity in sentencing is of special concern here in Wisconsin, where Black residents are imprisoned at a higher rate than in any other state.

Wisconsins professional regulations intensify these imbalances by inflexibly restricting or banning people with felony convictions from obtaining the credentials they need for jobs matching their skills. I saw this first-hand as a former credentialing attorney for the state, where I reviewed applications for professional licenses. Those reviews included whether someones conviction record restricted them from obtaining a professional credential, such as a private security guard permit. Under Wisconsin law, a person convicted of a felony cannot qualify for a private security permit, regardless of how much time has passed or other surrounding circumstancesnot even expungement.

Inflexible restrictions like this can lead to unfair outcomes, including for workers coming from states that categorize certain crimes as felonies that Wisconsin considers lesser offenses. For example, at one point, Illinois law considered a retail theft of more than $150 to be a felony. Such a conviction would automatically block someone from getting a Wisconsin private security permit, regardless of how much they had accomplished in the meantime, and even if an employer wanted to hire them for the job. In Madison, this same theft offense could be considered a mere municipal ordinance violation and thus would not automatically prevent someone else from obtaining the exact same permit.

Common-sense laws to remove unfair barriers to work such as these would help grow Wisconsins workforce in the face of our looming labor shortage. That helps workers, businesses, and our state as a whole.

Allie Boldt is Legal Research Director for the State Democracy Research Initiative at University of Wisconsin Law School at the University of WisconsinMadison.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Restrictive rules make it harder to get work after serving sentence
Illustration By Tim Marrs



"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."



North Wilkesboro Speedway was dead. The NASCAR Cup Series hadnt competed at the rural North Carolina track since 1996, and no one else had since a brief revival of late model racing in 2010 and 2011. After that, it became a ghost track like any other: abandoned, with buildings crumbling and weeds peeking through every crack.

But unlike any other ghost track, people couldnt let Wilkesboro go.

One of those people was retired NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., who advocated for years to revive the track. Despite being on the first-ever Cup Series calendar in 1949before it was even called the Cup Seriesand staying for nearly 50 years, new tracks eventually took Wilkesboros place. This weekend, thanks in large part to Earnhardt, it gets that place back for the Cup Series annual All-Star Race.

I'm getting antsy, getting a little anxiety, getting excited, Earnhardt told Road & Track. There are a lot of people who want to save a lot of things that have been left abandoned, but rarely do you see that kind of stuff make a comeback.

Jared C. Tilton

That comeback began on a cold and rainy day in December 2019, when a group led by Earnhardt showed up at North Wilkesboro with farm equipment and weed-eaters. The track needed a major cleanup before it could be scanned and virtually created for iRacing, a simulator used by amateurs and pros alike. At the time, Earnhardt and iRacing framed it as a last-ditch effort to immortalize a dying facility.

It wont be here much longer, as it continues to decay, Earnhardt said in a short film called Bringing Back Wilkesboro . If we can take a scan of the surface and the walls, we can go back whenever we want and recreate the racetrack as it was in any year. Itll be there forever for us to enjoy.

Everything snowballed from there. iRacing built the track for the public, NASCAR ran a virtual schedule during the pandemic with North Wilkesboro on it, and Earnhardt helped lobby for government funding to renovate the track. In late 2021, the state allotted $18 million for it.

Story continues

Still, North Wilkesboro wasnt on the map for Cup racing. Its big return came last August with Earnhardt and the CARS Tour, a late model series he now partially owns. In the race, Earnhardt ran a bright-green Sun Drop No. 3 car, just like he did at Wilkesboro in 1993.



When we had the late model stock race in August, Marcus Smith, the owner of the property, was standing on the front straightaway, Earnhardt told R&T. Seeing the amount of people who were there, and the energy and the vibe and the moodit gave him the confidence, I think, to really try to bring racing back there in a bigger way.

Icon Sportswire

Everybody had talked about missing Wilkesboro. Everyone had said all the right things, but he needed to see a sample of what the future might look like. I don't think any of us really knew that was what we were going to experience that night in August.



Icon Sportswire

The next month, Earnhardt joined Smith to announce NASCARs return to Wilkesboro with the All-Star exhibition race in May 2023. But before it could happen, the track needed a safety overhaul to meet Cup standards.

Its going to be pretty incredible, the difference between the track six months ago and where it is today, Earnhardt said. The racetrack will be modernized. There will be a new SAFER barrier wall , a new catchfence, new paint, new amenities, new grandstands, and improved this and improved that.

All of that stuff is absolutely necessary, but it will visually change what the track is today compared to what it was in August. We just have to remember: We couldn't move forward and have racing at that racetrack with the way it was.

RacingOne

Now that Wilkesboro is back, it faces a new challenge: living up to the nostalgia. (Since R&T spoke to Earnhardt, reality has set in. Parts of the tracks decades-old surface have peeled up and damaged cars , while NASCAR spotters brought up a safety concern : They couldn't see the full track from their viewing stand, so NASCAR had to raise it .)

RacingOne

I hope that nostalgia and genuine happiness that everybody has, that you still feel that when you go there, Earnhardt said. I think that that's certainly a concern of mine, is like: Hey, I don't think we'll ever be able to recreate what happened in August.

In terms of size, we'll be able to pack the place out. But will we have that same emotional experience? I don't know if we'll ever be able to do that again, but were going to try to come close.

RacingOne

Ghost tracksand former ghost tracks, like Wilkesboroare a big passion for Earnhardt, whose Peacock show Lost Speedways tours the country to explore them. Its a way to memorialize tracks with little hope of coming back, since many either get reclaimed by the weeds or bulldozed for real-estate projects.

A recent feature on the show was Texas World Speedway , a gargantuan 2-mile oval being torn down and turned into a neighborhood one chunk at a time. The neighborhood streets are mostly named after NASCAR tracks, including Wilkesboro Drive.

I never got to see that track until we did a Lost Speedways episode on it, Earnhardt said. It was the weirdest thing, sitting there with half of the track in front of you and half of it gone. It was like looking in the refrigerator and seeing a half cake.

For all of his efforts, Earnhardt wont compete in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro. Hes regularly said that six years into retirement, hes too old and out of the routine to compete in the Cup Series.

Instead, Earnhardts returning to his roots. He drove his Sun Drop throwback car in the CARS Tour race at Wilkesboro on Wednesday night, finishing 16th with damage from a wreck.

Jared C. Tilton

It's been fun to do that, because it's a lot less pressure, Earnhardt told R&T. When I was young, racing at the grassroots level, I was terrified. Worried. Worried I wasn't going to get there, worried I wasn't going to make it to the big time. I didnt enjoy it as much as I wanted to, so I'm kind of giving myself this second chance.

Now, I don't have to worry about making it. I don't have to worry about becoming a Cup Series driver. I can go to the track and enjoy it.

The root of NASCARand often, life is nostalgia . We consider the good ol days to be better than the ones to come, without recognizing that eventually, these will be the good ol days too. Wilkesboro was once a lost track, saved only by a yearning for what we lost with it (and some government funding).

Jared C. Tilton

No matter what the future holds, North Wilkesboro came back from the deada reminder that nothing we love is truly gone unless we let it go.

Honestly, I didn't think we'd ever be here, he said. It's been a long process, and it's still a bit surreal. This is actually happening. We're going to have Cup action on that racetrack.



You Might Also Like
The Walt Disney Co. is scrapping plans for a billion dollar office complex in Florida that was set to bring thousands of jobs to the region as the company and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) continue their ongoing feud.

Josh DAmaro, chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, sent an email to employees Thursday notifying them that the company will not be building its new campus in Lake Nona. He said since the announcement of the plans in 2021, the company has undergone considerable changes, including new leadership and changing business conditions, that led to the decision.

While some were excited about the new campus, I know that this decision and the circumstances surrounding it have been difficult for others, he wrote in the letter.

This was not an easy decision to make, but I believe it is the right one, he added. As a result, we will no longer be asking our employees to relocate. For those who have already moved, we will talk to you individually about your situation, including the possibility of moving you back.

The New York Times reported that 1,000 employees were asked to relocate to the new campus and that the project would have brought more than 2,000 jobs to the region. The campus was initially supposed to open next year, but Disney had pushed the move-in date for employees until 2026 over construction delays, the Times reported.

DAmaro wrote that he remains optimistic about the future of Disney, noting that the company has plans to invest $17 billion in Florida and create 13,000 jobs over the next decade.

The companys decision to halt its plans in Florida comes after Disney CEO Bob Iger last week questioned whether Disney should continue to invest in the state. He said in a call to investors that Florida was taking retaliation against its free speech, adding that the ongoing feud is not about special privileges but about speaking out.

Story continues

Im going to finish what is obviously kind of a long answer by asking one question: Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people and pay more taxes or not? Iger asked.

Disney and DeSantis have been in a yearlong battle after the company publicly opposed the states so-called Dont Say Gay law, which prohibits the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation for certain grades. DeSantis then stripped Disney of special status the company had for decades, which gave it self-governing power over the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

Disney sued DeSantis last month after a DeSantis-appointed board voided previous agreements the company made, alleging that the governor is harming the companys business operations.

Jeremy Redfern, a spokesperson for DeSantis, said in a statement to The Hill that it is unsurprising Disney cancelled its plans for a new campus.

Disney announced the possibility of a Lake Nona campus nearly two years ago. Nothing ever came of the project, and the state was unsure whether it would come to fruition, he said.

Given the companys financial straits, falling market cap and declining stock price, it is unsurprising that they would restructure their business operations and cancel unsuccessful ventures, he added.

 Updated at 4:19 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to expand its federal coal ash rule to apply to hundreds of previously exempted disposal sites, increasing protections for local communities living near coal ash.

According to a draft of the new regulations posted in the federal register, the EPA's revised coal ash rule would:

Establish regulations to ensure environmental safety at closed coal ash ponds at closed coal power plants, as directed by a D.C. Court of Appeals in 2018.

Establish "ground water monitoring, corrective action, closure and post-closure care requirements" for all coal ash landfills, including legacy landfills that previously were exempted from the rule.

The additional regulations come as a result of two lawsuits from environmental groups calling for the EPA to apply the rule to exempted coal ash disposal sites.

The United States has burned coal for decades, leaving millions of tons of coal ash to be disposed of or reused. Coal ash is the concentrated waste left after burning coal. It can contain heavy metals as well as elements that emit radiation. If left unregulated, coal ash can enter the environment either through the air or by contaminating ground water, which could potentially come into contact with people.

"Coal ash contains contaminants like mercury, cadmium, chromium and arsenic associated with cancer and various other serious health effects," the EPA said in a May 17 press release. "Todays action delivers protections for underserved communities already overburdened by pollution, reflecting the Biden-Harris Administrations whole-of-government commitment to advancing environmental justice."

The coal ash rule, created after the Tennessee Valley Authority's 2008 Kingston coal ash spill, was the first federal regulation of coal ash disposal. The current rule does not apply to landfills that stopped receiving coal ash prior to Oct. 19, 2015, when the rule took effect. The existing regulations also do not apply to closed coal ash ponds at closed power plants, even though the 2018 court order required the EPA to regulate these sites.

Story continues

Why did the environmental groups sue?

Environmental groups sued the EPA in late 2022 to have the coal ash rule revised to include legacy landfills, and reached a settlement earlier this year. The EPA agreed to review the rule and consider expanding it to include the legacy landfills.

Regarding legacy coal ash ponds, environmental groups sued the EPA in 2016 over the original rule exempting inactive coal ash ponds at inactive power plants from regulation. The D.C. Court of Appeals in 2018 vacated EPA's exemption of legacy coal ash ponds, and required the agency to create regulations for these disposal sites.

The EPA addresses the results of the two lawsuits together in the new proposed regulations, which would increase protections for communities that live near coal ash disposal sites. Federal regulations provide the minimum standard for coal ash disposal sites; states can set stricter regulations of their own.

What do environmental groups think of the proposed regulations?

Earthjustice was involved in both lawsuits that led EPA to expand its existing coal ash regulations.

"This is a really big deal. The Biden administration is standing up for people near a lot of hazardous coal waste sites around the country," Lisa Evans, senior counsel for Earthjustice, said in a press release. "For far too long, a large portion of toxic coal ash around the U.S. was left leaching into drinking water supplies without any requirement it be cleaned up. The EPA is taking significant steps to address a massive loophole that let many coal plant owners off the hook from cleaning up the toxic mess they created. Power plants will finally lose their hall pass to leave coal ash wherever they dumped it."

In the press release, Earthjustice also criticized EPA's proposed rule, however, for not applying to all coal ash sites and for not addressing sites where coal ash was used as fill.

"The EPA should extend federal coal ash regulations to all coal ash disposed at current and retired power plant sites to address immediate threats and prevent further contamination," the press release said.

What does this mean for coal ash disposal sites in Tennessee?

Knox News asked the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation about the impact the proposal would have on coal ash disposal sites in Tennessee, but both are reviewing the rule and its implications.

What we do know is the Tennessee Valley Authority stopped storing coal ash wet and in ponds after the Kingston coal ash spill in 2008. The regulations that likely would be more relevant to communities in TVA's seven-state region would be the changes to include legacy landfills.

TVA previously burned coal in Alabama and continues to burn coal in Tennessee and Kentucky.

In Tennessee specifically, TDEC requires TVA to investigate, assess and remediate all coal ash disposal sites under the state's supervision, meaning the state regulations were already stricter than the federal ones.

While this proposed federal rule update might not change the regulations for TVA's coal ash landfills in Tennessee, it could reaffirm the regulations from TDEC on TVA's landfills.

"We are reviewing the proposed federal rule and how it will apply to our program, but it will not impact our steadfast commitment and efforts to safe, innovative, responsible coal ash management," TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said in a statement to Knox News.

Knox News has reached out to TDEC for a statement about how the rule might impact TVA's operations. The agency is reviewing the proposed rule and had not provided a statement as of publication.

How can I comment on the draft rule?

EPA plans to hold an in-person public hearing on June 28 and a virtual public hearing on July 12.

If a resident would like to speak at the public hearing, the last day to pre-register is June 26 for the in-person hearing and July 10 for the virtual hearing. Residents can pre-register to speak by filling out the form on the EPA's website: https://www.epa.gov/coalash or by reaching out to Michelle Lloyd at 202-566-0560 orLloyd.Michelle@epa.gov.

Residents can send comments to EPA about the proposed regulations by including the following Docket ID in submissions: No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2020-0107

Online at Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/

By mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM) Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20460.

The public comment period will end 60 days after May 18.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: EPA to expand coal ash rule to regulate exempted landfills and ponds
If the furor over Uyghur forced labor in China shows no signs of dying down, thats because it isnt.

If anything, evidence shows that the coercion of persecuted ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is getting stronger, said Adrian Zenz, a senior fellow in China studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.

More from Sourcing Journal

Zenzs latest research, the first of its kind to be published in a peer-reviewed academic journal, demonstrates that Beijing is doubling down on its religious and cultural crackdown against Turkic Muslims, he told Sourcing Journal.

Basically from new internal state documents, we can see how labor transfers, including picking cotton became especially coercive in 2019, even more so than in 2017, he said, referring to state-sponsored efforts to mobilize hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs into work placements, sometimes outside their homeland, in the name of so-called poverty alleviation.

The government, Zenz said, compiled lists of lazy personsand other persons with insufficient inner motivation, some as old as 77, who would need to pick cotton or else face repeated thought education until obvious results were achieved. If those werent forthcoming, there would be severe repercussions, he added.

Zenz said that labor transfers for agricultural harvesting work like cotton picking have persisted through at least 2022 and continue to be strongly emphasized in Xinjiangs official Five-Year Plan for 2021-25.

Its very much an ongoing phenomenon, he noted.

Chinas ruling Communist Party has remained vociferous in its denials that forced Uyghur labor is taking place. It says that the widespread mechanization of cotton production means that the need for manual pickers has greatly decreased.

This isnt quite true, Zenz said. State media reports from 2022, he said, confirm that the highly desired long-staple cotton grown in southern Xinjiang requires a gentler touch and therefore cannot be harvested by machines.

Story continues

But even areas with partial mechanization only create conditions for a different form of forced labor, pulling Uyghur farmers from their land and moving them into strongly surveilled factory environments, where theyre subjected to long work hours, mandatory political indoctrination and evening Mandarin classes, he said.

So instead of harvesting their own fields, those Uyghurs now might be making a shirt or textile or garment in a factory, Zenz said. Mechanization promotes labor transfers.

While the United States is making a good start to tackle the problem by barring the entry of goods made with Xinjiang inputs through the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, Zenz warned that the European Unions broader forced labor proposal will not be effective if it doesnt target Xinjiang specifically. Static standard measures such as the International Labour Organizations forced labor indicators, which take on a snapshot approach, cannot fully capture the dynamics of Beijings state-sponsored oppression against Uyghurs, he said, meaning that inspectors can easily miss red flags.

A protest against the Chinese governments continued zero-Covid policy and strict quarantine measures is held on Dec. 9 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey.

While the motivation for state-sponsored forced labor in Uzbekistans cotton fields was mostly economic, enriching the elite, he said, Xinjiangs labor transfer programs are predominantly designed to control and indoctrinate Uyghurs while reducing their population densities.

Zenz said that the decade-long boycott of Uzbek cotton by global brands resulted in major reforms, essentially ending forced labor in its cotton sector by 2022. When faced with a similar freeze-out in 2021, Beijing publicly lashed out at companies complying with burgeoning Western sanctions. Chinese consumers shunned Adidas, H&M and others en-masse, causing significant damage to many bottom lines.

In Chinas case, calls for poverty alleviation are closely tied to ideas of counterterrorism and social security. The government, in fact, cites the possibility of Islam promoting religious extremism to justify its restrictions on Uyghur practices. As one Kashgar official Zenz quoted in the report put it, its an economic issue as well as a political issue.

And that means that countries will have to come together and be more in for the long term to combat Xinjiang forced labor, Zenz said. Its going to be a more difficult task than it was in Uzbekistan.

Indeed, as geopolitical tensions grow between China and the West, companies will find it increasingly challenging to maintain a balance between two very competing and disparate views on human rights, said Sofia Nazalya, senior human rights analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, at a webinar on Thursday.

Although China does encourage, on paper, businesses to abide by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, it is likely to use this framework as a human rights mouthpiece to demonstrate commitment to social issues, while in turn censoring companies or demanding companies not to report on politically sensitive subjects, she said. And obviously Xinjiang being one but by no means the only issue.

Chinas outsized influence with members of the United Nations Human Rights Council, many of which are involved in its ambitious, not to mention lucrative, Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, has also made it difficult to hold it to scrutiny and account.

When countries such as China [attempt] to obscure [their] human rights record, it really hinders the ability of businesses to gain a transparent picture of the situation on the ground, Nazalya said. So this makes it really vital for companies to be able to access independent, credible and objective sources of intelligence to really understand the global human rights risk landscape.

For Zenz, however, the risks are clear: Uyghurs are continuing to be strong-armed into harvesting cotton against their will.

He said that his report reinforces the need to basically avoid any Chinese cotton because more than 90 percent of it hails from the region. But he cautioned importers to be careful about sourcing cotton textiles from South and Southeast Asia because fibers from Xinjiang could be mixed in, obscuring their origin. To stop this slow genocide in its tracks, there needs to be a containment strategy that creates a significant distance from Xinjiangs supply chains, Zenz said.

Its a growing international situation, not just in the U.S., he added.

Click here to read the full article.
(Photo credit: GoodLifeStudio / Getty Images)

(Photo credit: GoodLifeStudio / Getty Images)

Police arrested a Wisconsin man for stealing French Bulldog puppies from another mans home in Kershaw County.

Thief steals French Bulldog puppies from living room

This unthinkable crime happened a month ago according to WIS News 10. On April 14, dog owner Tyrek Broughton came home to a broken window. When he reviewed surveillance footage from security cameras in his house, he got a better picture of what happened in his absence.

First, a white Dodge Ram scoped out the house around 1:30. A masked man named Phillp Compo exited the vehicle on the front road. He tried the front door and found it locked. Then, he used a shovel to break a window. Finally, he climbed in and located the dogs in the living room.

Compo snatched one of the dogs by the neck and pulled it out of its crate. Then, the thief stuffed the dog into a pillowcase. Compo repeated those actions with another dog.

He took my dogs and put one of them in the pillowcase and they were fighting trying to get away and then he took the other one, Broughton told WIS News 10. As he tried to get out the door, one of my Frenchies got out of the pillowcase and then he grabbed it and shoved him back in the pillowcase.

Compo awkwardly fled with the stolen dogs. The pups are worth $13,000, according to Broughton.

Dog thief apprehended, puppies still missing

Eventually, police tracked down Compo. The authorities arrested him and charged him with stealing the dogs. However, police have not identified or arrested the two accomplices who were seen in the truck along with Compo.

Though Broughton said that Kershaw County is not doing anything, the local Sheriff, Lee Boan, disagrees.

Well, the person, the only person that broke into his house was arrested, Sheriff Boan told the news outlet. I mean if we can identify who drove him to the scene or drove him from the scene or had anything to do with this, we are willing to charge them but the information we have right now is kind of iffy.

Story continues

Broughton claims that one of the accomplices bragged on Facebook about selling the pups for $10,000.

Authorities obtained a search warrant for Compos house in Richland County. No French Bulldog puppies were found. Anyone with information about this incident or the dogs whereabouts should contact the Kershaw County Sheriffs Office.

French Bulldogs in demand

French Bulldogs recently took over as the most popular dog breed in the U.S., an honor previously held by Labrador Retrievers. They are a favorite dog breed of celebrities like Lady Gaga and average Joes alike for their low-maintenance, easy-going nature and adorable looks.

No matter what dog breed you own, learn how to keep your dog safe from pet thieves.

The post French Bulldog Puppies Stolen From Wisconsin Home appeared first on DogTime.
For the last six years, arts nonprofit CEO and president Dennis Scholl has helped shape the careers of hundreds of artists through Oolite Arts residencies, awards and programs.

Now, he wants to focus on shaping his own artistic vision. Scholl is retiring from Oolite Arts sometime this year to pursue his filmmaking and visual arts practice full-time, the organization announced Wednesday morning. Oolite will conduct a national search to find a new CEO.

Throughout his tenure, Scholl spearheaded several initiatives and programs that boosted Oolites profile as a noteworthy arts support organization, like awarding millions of dollars to local artists and leading the purchase of five warehouses in Little River that will become the nonprofits new state-of-the-art headquarters in 2025.

Its always a little scary to introduce profound change into your life. Its a little scary, but I am getting such joy out of being in the studio and making the work and such joy out of pursuing my filmmaking, Scholl said. I decided that this is gonna be my third act, as they say. This is how I want to spend the rest of my life.

Before joining Oolite, Scholl served as vice president for arts at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation from 2009 to 2015. Scholl oversaw the foundations national arts program, awarding grants to cultural organizations totaling close to $200 million.

KNOW MORE: Alberto Ibarguen retiring from leadership role at Knight Foundation

When I was at Knight I worked in all the disciplines, but my undying passion is the visual arts and visual artists, Scholl said in an interview with the Miami Herald. I knew that I was going to get the chance to support those artists and to help them grow, grow their careers, and that has been clearly the biggest joy for me.

Roscoe B. Thicke III, curator Rosie Gordon-Wallace, and Dennis Scholl president and CEO of Oolite Arts in front of Absolute, which expresses the power and beauty of Thickes pregnant friend in a stylized photo shoot.

At Knight, Scholl created the Knight Arts Challenge and Random Acts of Culture before he took over Oolite Arts, formerly known as ArtCenter/South Florida, in Miami Beach at its landmark building on Lincoln Road Mall. One of the nonprofits Lincoln Road buildings was sold for $88 million, creating an endowment for resident artists and a pool of money that would later be used for the Little River location.

Story continues

Dennis came to Oolite Arts at a critical time in our organizations history, the Oolite Arts Board of Directors said in a statement. After selling our main building, which put us on firm financial footing, we needed a visionary to help us create the right programming and find the right home for Miamis artists. He exceeded our expectations, and were excited about Oolites future.

One of Scholls favorite achievements at Oolite was his proposal and launch of The Ellies, the annual visual arts awards named after the nonprofits founder Ellie Schneiderman, who had opened ArtCenter in 1984. Since its inception five years ago, The Ellies have awarded $2.5 million to fund local art teachers and artists projects, exhibitions, public artworks and films.

So much of what we are able to do as a visual artists support organization comes from Ellies foresight. The artists in our community will forever benefit from her initial instinct to help artists help themselves, Scholl told the Miami Herald when Schneiderman died in April 2020.

READ MORE: Arts pioneer Ellie Schneiderman, founder of ArtCenter/South Florida, dies at 80

Scholl was also instrumental in starting Oolites Cinematic Arts Program, a residency that provides $50,000 to South Florida filmmakers to create and screen their works in Miami, and the Home and Away travel residency program.

And Scholl is stepping down just before the completion of what is probably his largest accomplishment at Oolite, the construction of the nonprofits new $30 million headquarters in Little River. The modern Miami campus was designed by Spanish firm Barozzi Veiga and will break ground this fall.

The nonprofits board felt it was important to have a signature building that artists, staff and community members can enjoy, Scholl told the Herald. Instead of renovating an old warehouse, Oolite decided to really go for it, he said. The sprawling, one-story village design of the structure includes 21 free artist studios, rooms for art classes, a print studio, a rooftop, a theater and a gallery triple the size of the Lincoln Road locations exhibition space.

Oolite Arts, a South Florida arts nonprofit, revealed renderings of its new $30 million headquarters. Construction will begin in fall.

Esther Park, the Oolite vice president of programming, admitted that she cried a little when she learned of Scholls departure. Scholl has been a mentor to Park for years, she said.

Scholl used his experience to inject mentorship, funding opportunities, accessibility and networking into Oolites programming for artists to benefit from, Park said. Practically everyone in Miamis art scene  from artists to patrons to curators to gallerists  knows Scholl, she said.

Hes kind of like the granddaddy of the art scene, Park said. He really has his fingerprints in a lot of what Miami is today when it comes to art and culture. I think that is something that needs to be honored and celebrated and reminded.

Though shes sad to see him go, Park said its inspiring to see Scholl take on this new chapter.

Its never too late to do anything, she said. Before he was the arts patron and now being on the other side, that doesnt happen to a lot of people.

From collector to artist

A seasoned arts leader and collector, Scholl lived many lives before reaching this point. Scholl came to Miami when he was 8, and became an accountant after college. After a few years, he decided to study law. On the first day of law school, which was the most important day of my life, Scholl met his wife, Debra.

The couples passion for collecting art bloomed from there, he said. Last year, the Scholls were named Members of the Order of Australia, the countrys preeminent recognition for outstanding service or achievement, for their contributions in championing indigenous Australian artists.

Australian Ambassador to the United States Arthur Sinodinos AO honored Miami arts leaders Dennis and Debra Scholl as Members of the Order of Austrailia for their efforts to collect, donate and promote contemporary aboriginal artwork.

For years, the Scholls have been active in arts patronage and philantrophy. Scholl has sat on boards and executive committees for several major arts institutions, including the Aspen Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami and the Perez Art Museum Miami. Everything changed again when Alberto Ibarguen, the Knight Foundation CEO, brought Scholl on to lead the organizations arts department.

Dennis is one of the most original, independent thinkers Ive worked with  and one of the most enjoyable, Ibarguen said in an email to the Herald. He was a simply brilliant leader in the arts and, from his position at Knight Foundation, was able to leverage or accelerate trends others simply didnt see. He was a collector, a film maker and now an artist. Hold on to your hats, theres always more coming.

Scholl has made a name for himself as a filmmaker focused on documentaries about art and culture, like the 2014 film Deep City: The Birth of the Miami Sound, which traced the citys first Black-owned record label in the early-1960s. Hes won 22 regional Emmy awards and has been featured in over 100 film festivals.

Though filmmaking has been exciting, Scholl said, hes kept another part of his artistic journey under wraps. For the last seven years, hes been quietly working on visual artwork in a studio, sometimes throwing out pieces he didnt think were good enough. Scholl uses historical ephemera to create his work, like the original tabloids broadcasting Marilyn Monroes death, a series of Civil War-era love letters and vintage Hermes scarves.

Artwork by collector and filmmaker Dennis Scholl on display for his exhibition The Texture of My Memory. His work uses historical objects and personal items, like vintage Hermes scarves and Scholls own Emmy awards.

About two years ago, he was invited to show his work in a couple of group shows in Europe. Earlier this year, he had a solo show in Berlin, which lead to even more opportunities for Scholl as an artist. Then came the hard but necessary decision to step down from Oolite in order to prioritize his art and filmmaking, he said.

Now, hes back in the studio working on projects for upcoming shows in the United Kingdom and France and wrapping up Naked Ambition, an upcoming film about Bunny Yeager, a pin-up model who became a legendary pin-up photographer.

Theres nothing more rewarding than that. If youre an artist, you want your work to be seen, Scholl said. But in order to live up to those obligations and to do my best, I need to really be in the studio now.

When it comes to Oolite, Scholl said hes not worried. The nonprofit is in great hands.

The most important thing is that the work will go on, he said. We need to get our funding out into the streets, into the hands of individual artists, and thats not going to change here. Thats in the DNA of Oolite Arts.

This story was produced with financial support from The Perez Family Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
Silhouette of raised arms and clenched fists on the background of the flag of Guinea. The concept of power, conflict.

The internet in Guinea is going dark as citizens prepare to take the street for two days of anti-government demonstrations.

Many of the most popular social media platforms around, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and Signal, have been restricted across the country since Wednesday May 17, UK-based internet watchdog Netblocks has reported.

Citizens should be able to bypass the block by using a VPN service, and recent Google Trends data shows a spike in free VPN and VPN-related search across the region since the disruptions firstbegan.

Graph showing the Google search for the terms VPN and Free VPN in the Replic of Guinea between May 17 and 18

The graph show a spike in search for the term VPN and free VPN in the Republic of Guinea between the evening of May 17 (when the outages began) and the following day. (Image credit: Google Trends)

Guinea social media blackout

"NetBlocks metrics confirm the restriction of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and other social media platforms in Guinea-Conakry on Wednesday 17 May 2023. The measure comes as authorities call in the army to assist police in dealing with protests amid political unrest," wrote NetBlocks.

Other Twitter users, including Guinea-based journalists and other experts, confirmed that, along with the social media blackout, also many Guinean news sites cannot be accessed unless using a circumvention tool.

"This class of disruption can be worked around using VPN services, which are able to circumvent government internet censorship measures," explains NetBlocks.

That's because a VPN is security software able to spoof users' real IP location to trick their ISP to think they're browsing for an entirely different country within seconds. Despite authoritarian governments increasingly cracking down on the use of this tool, this doesn't seem to be the case in the Republic of Guinea so far.

Graph showing social media outages in Guinea on May 17, 2023

The data, showing the disruptions in social media platforms across the Republic of Guinea on May 17, 2023, comes from a sample size of 860 measurements from 18 vantage points across the country. (Image credit: NetBlocks)

Story continues

The social media blackout comes as a means to disrupt the two days of peaceful anti-government demonstrations planned for May 17 and 18 across the capital Conakry and some other biggest cities.

Internet shutdowns during times of political turmoil have, sadly, become a relevant part of authoritarian governments' playbook. The most recent instances come from Pakistan, Sudan and Iran, where authorities repeatedly clamp down on the internet to silence protesters as well as to restrict the information flow in and out of the country.

Previously, on May 11, at least seven people were killed and 32 wounded as anti-riot police officers harshly cracked down on a wave of protests across the region.

This hasn't stopped pro-democracy activists from going ahead with further peaceful rallies, though, to voice their discontent against the military junta which seized power in 2021. The Republic of Guinea is, in fact, one of the many West Africa regions where military governments have been taking power following a wave of coup d'etat since 2020.

Sally Bilaly, a Conakry-based reporter, confirmed to TechRadar that, at the time of writing, access to social media platforms and several news sites is "still impossible" without using a VPN or other circumvention software.

He said: "These are bad signals for our young democracy. The transitional government must allow Guineans to access social media without any restrictions."
Anadolu Agency - Getty Images

The number one question when anyone in Hollywood says that they're finished is: "Are you sure?" Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson just recently returned to the Fast & Furious franchise, Clint Eastwood has starred in four films since Gran Torino, and Michael Keaton put the skin-tight Batsuit back on for The Flash. You can threaten to retire, sure, but you just can't stay away. So, when Harrison Ford announced that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny would be his last appearance as 'ol Indy, Hollywood had to ask: "You sure about that?"

"Is it not evident?" the 80-year-old actor replied during a press conference at Cannes Film Festival, according to People. "I need to sit down and rest a little bit. I love to work, and I love this character, and I love what it brought into my life, and that's all I can say." He added that he's hopeful the new film will "round up the story."

Ford debuted the latest Indiana Jones film at the prestigious annual film festival in France to a rousing, five-minute standing ovation. He was also presented with an honorary Palme d'Or award. "Everything has come together to support me in my old age, and I love the work," he said. "So I just want to work and I want to tell stories, good stories, and I have been so lucky in my life to have that opportunity."

But Ford is also hoping that when he retires the famous film character, the character will be retired along with him. Whatever Disney plans to do with the Indiana Jones series next will be without Ford's involvement, according to the actor, but recasting Indy for a reboot may be off the table.

"Nobody is going to be Indiana Jones," Ford told The Today Show back in 2019. "I'm Indiana Jones. When I'm gone, he's gone. It's easy." He also joked that it was "a hell of a way to tell Chris Pine," adding that he was, "sorry, man." But not just Chris Pine! Ford doesn't want anyone to take up the Indy mantlenot a single one of the Hollywood Chrises. Still, this likely won't be the last time he's asked about returning. For now, let's just celebrate the man.

You Might Also Like
Some of our posts include links to retailers. If you buy something from clicking on one, G/O Media may earn a commission. Because editorial staff is independent of commerce, affiliate linking does not influence our editorial content.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 31: U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) participates in a meeting of the House Oversight and Reform Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on January 31, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Freshman Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett showed up to work on Monday prepared to read her Republican colleagues. During a hearing on Monday about crime, Crockett (D-TX) decided to mention the elephant in the room: Republican Congressman and alleged conman George Santos.

Republican colleagues want to talk about keeping DC streets crime-free, said Rep. Crockett on Monday. They cant even keep the halls of Congress crime free. My freshman colleague has just been indicted on 13 counts. 13 felony counts, right? But have they exhibited any courage to say we will disallow this in our body?

Read more

Despite being indicted for 13 felony counts in New York, Santos is still an active member of the House. In fact, on Wednesday, House Republicans killed a measure to expel Rep. Santos from the legislature. And as we wrote about back in January after Santos web of lies was revealed, GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy rewarded him with a congressional committee seat.

Santos wasnt the only person on Crocketts GOP hypocrisy radar. She opened her remark by reminding her colleagues that the Republican standard- bearer, Donald Trump, was just found liable of sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll.

Im so excited my colleagues across the aisle care about sexual abuse considering that the front-runner right now for the Presidency has just been found liable of sexual abuse, she said. And Im excited because this may mean that some folks will back off from supporting him since we dont support sexual abusers in this chamber.

Story continues

For the record, several notable Republicans were asked about Trump being found guilty (in the civil case), and their reactions ranged from non-answers to outright defenses. GOP Senator Lindsey Graham said, The New York legal system is off the rails after the verdict was announced. And Republican Senator Marco Rubio said, That jurys a joke. The whole case is a joke.

Republicans seem nowhere near ready to back away from the de-facto leader of their party. And if a ruling like the E. Jean Carroll verdict cant sway them, its hard to imagine what would. In the meantime, well all be waiting with bated-breadth for another one of Rep. Crocketts pointed reads.

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.
How the president of Abbot Downing tried to save the Wells Fargo unit for the ultra-rich from being folded

Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf. Reuters

Wells Fargo folded Abbot Downing, which served the bank's wealthiest clients, in late 2020.

Employees have since left in droves, many to work for Abbott Downing's ex-boss Jack Ginter.

Ginter tried to save the brand but was turned down, Insider exclusively reports.

In late 2020, Wells Fargo disbanded Abbot Downing, the unit that catered to the bank's wealthiest clients.

It would have been held up as a crown jewel at any other firm, serving clients with at least $50 million in assets and managing $47 billion. But as part of CEO Charlie Scharf's mission to cut $10 billion in costs, Wells Fargo streamlined its wealth businesses with Abbot Downing as a casualty of that effort.

Since Abbot Downing was folded, there has been a mass exodus, with at least 110 employees out of some 300 leaving Wells Fargo since January 2021, including one team that managed $3.5 billion in assets, according to Insider's research.

This might have been avoided had the bank heeded the advice of the division's then-president, Jack Ginter, Insider can exclusively report.

According to three former employees familiar with the conversation, Ginter floated two options to Jim Hays, who led the bank's brokerage, to save the Abbott Downing brand. The first was to sell Abbot Downing via a management buyout. The second was to spin off the division into a stand-alone business that would be part of Wells Fargo's channel for independent advisors.

The ideas were rejected, the three former employees said. A source close to Hays, who has since retired, said the conversation with Ginter did not happen. Ginter declined to comment. Wells Fargo declined to comment on Ginter but said the reorganization is helping it better serve wealthy clients.

Abbot Downing was folded into Wells Fargo's private bank, which also serves rich clients, but it wasn't a safe haven. For years, Wells Fargo has reorganized its wealth-management businesses to prioritize Wells Fargo's brokerage, which caters to the mass-affluent set, at the expense of Abbot Downing and Wells Fargo's private bank, according to 19 current and former employees who spoke to Insider.

"The name change emotionally pissed me off, but it's not the reason I left," said one former senior executive at Abbot Downing. "The reason I left was the organizational changes and the absolute removal of the specialty focus."

Then-president of Abbot Downing, Jack Ginter attempted to rescue the brand in fall 2020. He has since left to start his own firm, where 30 former Abbot Downing employees now work. Business Wire via AP

Ginter left Wells Fargo in September 2021 to launch a new registered investment advisor the following March. The firm, Callan Family Office is self-financed by 22 partners, all of whom hail from Abbot Downing, according to an interview with Barron's.

Some ex-Abbot Downing employees refer to Callan the "new Abbot Downing" for its focus on the ultra-rich set. Callan manages about $4 billion in assets with an average client size of $100 million, Ginter told Barron's.

"I think many firms speak to the ability to serve this ultra-affluent client base, but very few will really invest the time and the resources to do it," he said. "The large firms are very focused on volume through their business model and through their platform today."

Some staff of Abbot Downing and the private bank said that they understood the economic rationale for curtailing their white-glove services. But they worry that the cost-cutting has gone too far, resulting in Wells Fargo undoing years of progress in attracting wealthy clients. A former wealth advisor compared the reorganization to a car-repair shop pivoting from fixing Ferraris to Toyotas.

"Maybe you're going to make more money this way, but the people that are used to getting their Ferraris fixed are used to a certain service or quality of service and attention to detail. And all that went out the window once you started opening it up to everybody," he said.

Read Insider's full investigation into Wells Fargo's chaotic and painful transformation of its wealth services to the ultra-rich.

Do you work for Wells Fargo's Wealth and Investment Management unit? Are you a current or former client of Wells Fargo Private Bank or Abbot Downing? Contact Hayley Cuccinello at hcuccinello@insider.com or 917 740 5340, which works for phone, text, and encrypted messaging apps like Signal.

Read the original article on Business Insider
It goes without saying that James Mangold is no Steven Spielberg, just as it would be wildly unfair to hold any Hollywood director to that standard. On the contrary, theres something kind of admirable about the fact that Mangold found the chutzpah to close the book on the Bearded Ones signature franchise. What he didnt find was a compelling reason to re-open that book in the first place.

Not only is Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny an almost complete waste of time, its also a belabored reminder that some relics are better left where and when they belong. If only any previous entries in this series had taken great pains to point that out.

More from IndieWire

Back to Mangold for a moment: Its important to note that the failure of his latest movie has much less to do with his talents as a filmmaker than it does with the time at which hes been asked to apply them. Mangold is as worthy an heir to Spielbergs crown as anyone working at the studio level today, and the most electric setpieces in The Dial of Destiny  all of which are crammed into the opening 45 minutes  display the same charismatic flair and competence behind the camera that helped the vastly underrated likes of Knight + Day to punch so high above its weight class. No, the biggest (or at least most evident) difference between Spielberg and Mangold is that one of them would never have allowed himself to make anything this stale, and one of them probably wasnt given any other choice.

Of course, thats partially Spielbergs fault. Or yours. Arriving at a major inflection point in movie fan economics, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull immediately became synonymous with the sacrilegious treatment of beloved Hollywood franchises. That 2008 fiasco made its fair share of Mutt Williams-sized mistakes, but the reflexive outcry over nuking the fridge overshadowed a deliriously well-directed thrill ride that dared to reconcile the contradictory impulses that had defined Indiana Jones from the start: family and adventure.

Story continues

In a clumsy preview of what The Last Jedi would do so masterfully a few years later, Crystal Skull had the courage to inflict meaningful change upon an iconic character, and the blowback was so intense that the most successful filmmaker in Hollywood history was too scared to ever pick up the fedora again. And why should he? That movie left its hero with the happiness that hed never admitted hed always wanted. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny rips it away from him and gives him virtually nothing of value in return.

An empty slog of a movie that only exists to smooth over any of the stray fan complaints that have splintered the franchises audience over the last 15 years, The Dial of Destiny is a globe-trotting adventure movie so safe that even its 80-year-old hero never seems to be in any significant danger (a more accurate Star Wars comp would be The Force Awakens, but that legacy sequel had the luxury of promising something new, whereas this one just devotes itself to untying perfect knots into loose ends).

In hindsight, the worst part is that Mangolds lengthy prologue dares to promise something more, as The Dial of Destiny starts with a de-aged Indy stealing a certain artifact from the Nazis at the tail end of World War II. The tech is still a little wonky here and there  appropriate for a franchise that privileges the finite powers of science over the vagaries of magic  but theres no denying how much fun it is to watch a young Harrison Ford punch a brand-new array of Nazis, and even fight some of them on top of a speeding train alongside fellow archeologist Basil Shaw (Toby Jones). Mangold fills this entire sequence with delicious little gracenotes that help overcome some dark and dodgy CGI; a bit involving a very heavy bomb is worthy of any movie this franchise has ever produced.

The artifact in question is Archimedes Dial, a mathematical tool believed capable of opening fissures in time. Nazi scientist Jurger Voller  a too-obvious Mads Mikkelsen, playing a Wernher von Braun type whos easily the most boring villain Indy has ever had to face  certainly believes in the devices power, and when the story picks up in 1969, hes still desperate to find the missing piece that might allow the jumpstart to fulfill its mysterious purpose. Indy, meanwhile, has no such motivation. His marriage to Marion Ravenwood in shambles and his son out of the picture (feel free to breathe a sigh of relief), Indy is trudging towards retirement as a professor at Hunter College, and the get off my lawn vibes have never been stronger. Nor has his relevance ever been in greater doubt; his students used to blink love notes at him with their eyelids, and now they sleep through class.

The good news is that theres a perky, British-accented brunette in the back of the room who seems fully engaged with the material: Basils daughter, and Indys goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who brings a brilliantly rakish energy to the role, even if the script is never anywhere near as funny as she is). One minute theyre catching up over a few shots, and the next theyre speeding away from Vollers coterie of forgettable henchmen (Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renee Wilson, some really really big guy whose name I dont know) on a worldwide race for the ultimate McGuffin.

Its a race that will take the cast from Tangier to Sicily (among much stranger places) as the lopsided script labors to cross off all the necessary obligations. Theres a fantastic chase between a motorcycle and a horse, a random kid who adds even less to the plot than usual now that Indy is a father figure twice over, and a whole lot of Nazis being punched in the face. And dropped out of airplanes. And smashed into train tunnels. Some things never change, but at least this films easy nostalgia has some meta-textual purpose behind it, as The Dial of Destiny is deeply keyed into a simple idea that explains both its plot and its pitfalls: You cant change the past, but you might be able to revisit it for a while.

That means familiar beats and some fan-servicey cameos. It also means a paralyzing fear to make any choices that might retroactively change something about the franchise or challenge what its iconic hero means to people (it should go without saying that Ford is still Indy through and through, though the tearful speech he gave before the films Cannes premiere was far more emotive and moving than anything hes asked to do in the film itself). Aside from a wild  and wildly inert  climax that might leave purists praying for the days of Irina Spalko and her disembodied alien heads, theres nothing here that might surprise anyone. And thats true in both macro and micro dimensions, to a degree that proves increasingly deadening every time Voller shows up at some location a few minutes after our heroes. My god, Indy gasps at one point. Were witnessing history. But nobody involved in this movie ever dares to make any of their own.

At the end of the day, The Dial of Destiny isnt about adding new layers to Indys legend so much as its about polishing off the ones it already had. Like the relic at the center of this movie  which the self-interested Helena is constantly trying to sell to the highest bidder  the real issue here is about restoring the full value of a cinematic icon before he rides off into the sunset for good. You can feel how desperately Mangold, Ford  and even executive producers Spielberg and George Lucas, the latter of whom would no doubt smile at the silliness of the films grand finale  desperately want Indy to go out on top in the public imagination, and The Dial of Destiny needlessly unearths ancient history in order to make that happen.

Yesterday belongs to us, someone says at one point, and when it comes to Indiana Jones, yesterday always will. The problem is that it already did, and today feels like a complete waste of time.

Grade: C

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Disney will release it in theaters on Friday, June 30.

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.
The social calendar during the Cannes Film Festival is always a dizzying array of black-tie dinners, informal cocktail parties overlooking the stunning French Riviera and exclusive late-night bashes that often dont end before daybreak.

On Thursday evening, The Hollywood Reporter entered the mix with a chic early evening gathering presented by Tage Studios to celebrate the publications Cannes Issue, a jam-packed weekly magazine that featured special sections dedicated to Legends of the Croisette like Ken Loach, Nanni Moretti, Hirokazu Kore-eda and Nuri Bilge Ceylan; an inaugural list of the top 40 Most Influential Women in International Film; and THRs Cannes Rising Stars like Charles Melton and Lily Gladstone.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

The event took over Salama, a lush hideaway that is positioned at the end of Rue Florian, a stones throw from the crush of festival foot traffic. The menu is Moroccan meets Mediterranean flair and the food, vibes and design have made it a major draw in the city since it opened last year. The original outpost is located in St. Tropez, where it remains one of the hottest restaurants in one of Europes hottest summer vacation spots. Salama in Cannes has already this week hosted Steve McQueen for a luncheon to celebrate his documentary Occupied City and will later open its doors to Cate Blanchett and her collaborators on New Boy for a party in partnership with Armani.

Atmosphere inside The Hollywood Reporters Cannes Issue Party held at Salama.

Back to the party: More than 100 guests mixed, mingled and toasted the launch of this years festival while also taking a moment to celebrate the accomplishments of those who found their way into this years pages of THRs issue.

Story continues

Its amazing and actually a bit of a double bravo with The Hollywood Reporter because our company, Elevation Pictures, is having its 10th anniversary at [Toronto International Film Festival] and were being featured in The Hollywood Reporters Banff issue as the number one distributor in Canada. Then, come to find out, that Im also one of the Top 40 International Women in Film is amazing, gushed co-president Laurie May. I am really, really honored.

May continued by saying that being singled out ranks among the other high points of her life, including snagging a spot on the TIFF board and being asked to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Obviously, it also means a lot to be singled out alongside this group of esteemed women; its really important for women to be recognized for the work they do, concluded May. Its also important for people to kick back and take a moment for celebration during a hectic Cannes. Its a perfect party. Brilliant Consulting, which produced this party, does all the best events. It helps that the rain thats been falling the past few days is not here right now. Were blessed with blue skies and the party has great energy, a nice vibe and its nice to see The Hollywood Reporter supporting women and the whole industry.

Views inside THRs #Cannes2023 Issue party at Salama on Thursday evening. pic.twitter.com/OBLJ8HsDh3  Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) May 19, 2023

Steven Beer, Charles Acosta and guest at the The Hollywood Reporters Cannes Issue Party held at Salama.

Scott Roxborough, Gian Marco Sandri and Lorenzo Cecioni.

Claire Havet, Hassen Ouartani and Maria Quiros.

Kayvan Mashayekh and Art Chavez.

Best of The Hollywood Reporter

Click here to read the full article.
Democratic lawmakers are pushing President Joe Biden to invoke his constitutional authority under the 14th Amendment to raise the nations debt limit without an act of Congress.

Biden has said hes considering using it. What is the 14th Amendment, and how likely is Biden to use it? Heres what you need to know:

What is the 14th Amendment and how does it relate to the debt ceiling?

The 14th Amendment touches on many aspects of citizens rights and is commonly known for its equal protection of the laws. The Amendment has appeared in cases such as Brown v. Board of Education, Roe v. Wade, Bush v. Gore and more.

Many legal scholars suggest a clause in the 14th Amendment that says the validity of the public debt, authorized by law ... shall not be questioned could apply to the debt limit.

Legal experts argue that Section 4 of the 14th Amendment allows the Treasury Department to keep borrowing money past the debt limit and that it would be unconstitutional for the U.S. to fail to make payments.

Which lawmakers are for  and against  invoking the 14th Amendment?

In the House, 66 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus called on Biden Friday to choose a solution invoking the 14th Amendment of the Constitution over a bad deal. A few of the lawmakers include Congressional Progressive Causus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Greg Casar (D-Texas).

Surrendering to these extremist demands also sets a dangerous precedent that emboldens Republicans to pursue additional, anti-democratic hostage taking, particularly after their having been told previously that a clean debt-ceiling increase was nonnegotiable, the lawmakers write.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has also said she thinks invoking the 14th Amendment should be on the table and that the grounds for it are legitimate. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said Biden has a clear constitutional command to go around Congress if he must in order to avoid a default on the nations debt obligations. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) called on Biden to use the 14th Amendment, telling MSNBC that he hopes that the president will take executive action if the House refuses to do its job.



Story continues

At least 11 Senate Democrats are urging Biden to invoke what they say is his constitutional authority under the 14th Amendment to raise the nations debt limit without having to go through Congress. Some of the senators include Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.),  who caucuses with Democrats  Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

"Using this authority would allow the United States to continue to pay its bills on-time, without delay, preventing a global economic catastrophe," the senators wrote in a letter to Biden dated Thursday.

Biden earlier this month said hes considering the use of the 14th Amendment as a means to circumvent the debt ceiling, though he cast some doubt on whether it could work.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last week said: Its legally questionable whether or not thats a viable strategy.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is against invoking the 14th Amendment and said, Unconstitutionally acting without Congress [is] not an option.

How likely is Biden to use the 14th Amendment?

Its not looking too likely.

White House officials have privately said that they do not see the 14th Amendment as a viable way to get around debt negotiations. While they think Biden would have the legal authority to pull the trigger if he chose to, they say its not worth the risk of blowing up negotiations with Congress or damaging the worlds faith in U.S. creditworthiness.

They have not ruled it out, one adviser to the White House told POLITICO. But it is not currently part of the plan.

Instead, White House negotiators are advocating for a pact that lifts the debt ceiling into 2025 and caps spending for as little as two years.
Lester Gribetz, a former Bloomingdales vice chairman and for decades a highly respected and talented retail executive immersed in the home furnishings and cosmetics industries, died Thursday morning at his home in Manhattan with his husband by his side. He was 93.

Lester was a special and rare human being, said his husband, Andy Peters, who confirmed Gribetzs passing. His open heart and kind, caring nature captured everyone he came into contact with. He was also a skilled, once-in-a-generation merchant, which guided him from folding towels at Bloomingdales just out of the army to becoming vice chairman of the store.

More from WWD

He was a master merchant with a great eye, said Jack Hruska, the former executive vice president of store design and creative services at Bloomingdales. He loved merchandise and could search and discover great product.

Gribetz was born in the Washington Heights section of New York City and spent most of his life in Manhattan on the Upper West Side. He had several homes over the years in Sagaponack, Shelter Island, and Amagansett, New York as well as in Greensboro, Vermont. His final six months were spent in his apartment of 45 years in The San Remo on Central Park West.

Gribetz joined Bloomingdales in 1953 in the executive training program and he spent most of his career in the companys home furnishings department. He became senior vice president of home in 1977, general merchandise manager of home and cosmetics in 1979 and executive vice president and gmm of home, cosmetics and restaurants in 1980.

In 1989, he was named Bloomingdales vice chairman with added responsibilities for special merchandising projects including private label marketing and the mens division.

During his years at Bloomingdales he worked closely with, among others, two legendary figures there, the late Marvin Traub, who for many years served as chairman and chief executive officer, and Barbara DArcy, the late Bloomingdales fashion director for home. They formed a strong partnership shopping the world for unique goods and elevating Bloomingdales image and assortments.

Story continues

Gribetz left Bloomingdales in 1992 and joined the retailers former chief, Traub, who formed Marvin Traub Associates, which served as a consultant to American Express, Giorgio Armani, Mens Health, Burberry, HSN, Adrienne Vittadini and other clients.

In 2001, Gribetz returned to Bloomingdales as vice president of home furnishings fashion direction, reporting to Joe Laneve, senior vice president and gmm of home. Gribetz subsequently worked for several years as president of Lenox Corp., the tableware brand, president of Dansk, and president of Hartmann, the luggage company.

During the AIDS pandemic, Gribetz worked with Gods Love We Deliver to cook Thanksgiving Turkeys in the Bloomingdales restaurant oven which would be delivered to the home bound and sick while living with AIDS.

A lot of people are interesting but very few people are interested in people. Lester was one of those rare people who was, said Michael Gould, former CEO of Bloomingdales. He was creative and a terrific merchant. He understood fashion as well as how to barrel out the goods. He had enormous impact on the home store. But he was also a great selector of people, and would identify people with great talent who he thought could expand and grow. Thats the real legacy.

Gould recalled an episode when Gribetz wanted to promote a then-young Tony Spring, who was working as an area manager at Bloomingdales in White Plains, New York, to divisional merchandise manager in housewares. Traub said no, thinking Spring was too young to handle the role. Gould, at the time Bloomingdales CEO-in-waiting, went into Traubs office with Gribetz to lobby for Springs promotion, and Traub changed his mind, saying, Tony is young, but if Lester thinks he has that kind of potential, its your call Mike. Spring got the promotion and over the years was promoted several times, rising to CEO of Bloomingdales. Last March, Spring was named president and future CEO of Macys Inc.

The Tony story is an example of a person Lester saw having the talent to achieve, said Gould. Lester was a dear friend.

He was constantly at work, building partnerships. He had more energy than most people I know. Only in the last year he just barely started to slow down, said Hruska. He had this incredible energy that made you feel more energetic. We had a close friendship way beyond our working relationship. He was just so well liked on both sides on the industry, retail and wholesale. Everyone appreciated his zest for life.

At the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Bloomingdales, Gribetz told WWD: What I think the customer told us is they wanted things that were exclusive and well-designed. Price was not the differentiator, it was more the uniqueness of the merchandise. Thats why we traveled all over the world to bring back things that were exclusive to the stores. From my interaction with customers, it was the fact that they could find things that werent distributed everywhere in every department store. Thats what I think was our challenge, to bring back the unique. Thats why we were so successful with the shows, whether that be China or India or Israel. Thats when the store was mobbed for customers looking for the unique and the differentials. During the show days, it was truly the most exciting period of my life to bring back the craft and the uniqueness and the design of most of the countries that most of our customers hadnt traveled to.

Gribetz said he experienced so many unique moments and exciting times at Bloomingdales. It was the most joyous period of my life working in the store because of the day-to-day challenges and the wonderful talent of the people I worked with. If I were to say what gave me the most pleasure was to work with the people who worked for me, who became remarkably successful, whether it be Sue Kronick or Norman Axelrod or Tony Spring, which shows at least I had the talent of choosing good people. They were all just wonderfully talented people who knew the mission and went after it with a vengeance. I think the joy of success was apparent in everybodys mind and was a great experience. It certainly was the highlight of my life.

I met Lester when he was a gmm at Bloomingdales and I was a department manager in White Plains, said Spring. I was immediately struck by his imagination, his ability to inspire people. His knowledge of the business. His curiosity. He had such a great way with people in addition to being a very creative person. He had an infectious enthusiasm for ideas.

Whether it was bringing back a piece of the Berlin Wall, our model rooms on the home floor, or the country promotions, he was in the thick of it all, partnering with Barbara DArcy and Marvin. He lived a phenomenal life, connected with so many people, and made a difference to many generations of retail leaders. He challenged you to think beyond the product. I am lucky enough to have counted him as a mentor and a friend, Spring added.

In addition to his husband, Gribetz is survived by his sister Harriet of Quincy, Florida and many nieces and nephews.

A private graveside service will be held on Monday. A memorial service for a later date will soon be announced. Donations in Lesters name can be made to Gods Love We Deliver in New York City.

Lester Gribetz with Michael Gould at Bloomingdales 59th Street in 2013. Thos Robinson/Getty Images for Bloomingdales

Best of WWD

Click here to read the full article.
The citywide manhunt for a man accused of killing two women has ended after a tip led police to the suspects location, police said.

Jair Romario Martin, 26, was taken into custody in a Tennessee apartment the morning on May 18, according to a tweet from the Knoxville Police Department.

Police said they received a tip that Martin may be inside the apartment and responded with the Knoxville Police Special Operations Squad, which arrested Martin.

Martin is accused of killing 20-year-old Heidi Johnson and 22-year-old Madison Johnson, no relation, in a South Knoxville home on May 13, police said.

Officers received a call about a domestic disturbance at the home and police believed there might have been an armed individual still inside, according to a May 13 Facebook post.

Crisis negotiators came to the home, but after failing to make contact with anyone inside, police entered the house.

Police said they found the two young women dead inside the home, later identified as Heidi Johnson and Madison Johnson.

On May 13, police identified Martin as the suspect, but did not say how he knew the women or how he was connected.

Police told WBIR they believed Martin left the immediate area of the murders on foot.

A manhunt for Martin began, and he was added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations most wanted list on May 17, according to a tweet from the Bureau. Martin was classified as armed and dangerous by officials.

After five days of searching, Martin was captured. He is currently facing two counts of first-degree murder, according to police.

In an obituary for Heidi Johnson, her family said she loved the beach, horses, hiking in nature and dancing.

She had the most beautiful smile and eyes that let others feel love through them, her family said. She was a bright light mixed with a category 5 hurricane. She was a girl who fought through the worst pain and recovered from brain surgery. Heidi acted like she did not have a care in the world, but cared very deeply for those who cared for her.

Story continues

Heidis older sister, Cassidy Johnson, told WATE that reality had not set in that her sister is gone.

He took two beautiful young women away from their families, she told WATE. Ive said it so many times, but it still I dont think it has set in, the fact that this is the reality right now.

Madison Johnsons family has not yet spoken publicly about her death.

Woman stabbed to death while putting air in tire, Michigan cops say. Just ruthless

Woman dies while surfing day after graduating from nursing school, CA family says

Woman had booze-filled day at bars before killing bride in crash, grooms lawsuit says

Woman sees herself in revenge porn on companys Facebook page, SC cops say. Ex charged
A new Guinness World Record has been set by a British man who managed to visit the new Seven Wonders of the World in less than a week, equipped with only a backpack. And the feat is even more impressive considering a childhood diagnosis of a rare condition that could have left him wheelchair bound.

Jamie McDonald, who goes by the apt moniker Adventureman, made the journeywhich took him across nine countries on four continentsin just six days, 16 hours, and 14 minutes. In that time, he visited the Great Wall of China, India's Taj Mahal, the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, the Colosseum in Rome, Rio de Janeiros Christ the Redeemer, Machu Picchu in Peru, and, lastly, Chichen Itza in Mexico.

Covering an expansive 22,856 total miles, McDonald made the jaunt using only public transportation, including 13 flights, 16 taxis, nine buses, four trains, and one toboggan. He also sustained himself primarily on plane food, which is quite honestly a feat on its ownwith the exception of a pizza in Rome.

His itinerary was planned by the travel technology company Travelport, which set out to find out if it could simplify "the world's most complex trip." However, according to Guinness rules, he would have been on his own had he missed any of his connections.

Other rules that McDonald was bound to follow for the trip to be endorsed by Guinness included keeping a logbook with clearly indexed evidence such as receipts and tickets for each step, using accurate professional GPS tracking equipment, and documenting each site with photos, videos, and the date visited. He was also tasked with obtaining a written or recorded statement from an official member of staff, local dignitary, or police officer at each location.

But aside from earning himself the shiny new Guinness title, there was an altruistic motivation behind McDonald's feat.

As a child, he was diagnosed with the rare spinal condition called syringomyelia. McDonald was in and out of hospitals until he was nine, and doctors initially thought he'd be in a wheelchair for his entire adult life. Overcoming the odds was what led him to start taking on these wild challengeswhich included a Forrest Gump-like run across America and spending seven days on a treadmill. He has since raised over 1 million for charity through his Superhero Foundation.
An orca with its dorsal fin visible above the water swims past a sailing boat.

An orca with its dorsal fin visible above the water swims past a sailing boat.

Orcas have attacked and sunk a third boat off the Iberian coast of Europe, and experts now believe the behavior is being copied by the rest of the population.

Three orcas (Orcinus orca), also known as killer whales, struck the yacht on the night of May 4 in the Strait of Gibraltar, off the coast of Spain, and pierced the rudder. "There were two smaller and one larger orca," skipper Werner Schaufelberger told the German publication Yacht . "The little ones shook the rudder at the back while the big one repeatedly backed up and rammed the ship with full force from the side."

Schaufelberger said he saw the smaller orcas imitate the larger one. "The two little orcas observed the bigger one's technique and, with a slight run-up, they too slammed into the boat." Spanish coast guards rescued the crew and towed the boat to Barbate, but it sank at the port entrance.

Two days earlier, a pod of six orcas assailed another sailboat navigating the strait. Greg Blackburn, who was aboard the vessel, looked on as a mother orca appeared to teach her calf how to charge into the rudder. "It was definitely some form of education, teaching going on," Blackburn told 9news .

Reports of aggressive encounters with orcas off the Iberian coast began in May 2020 and are becoming more frequent, according to a study published June 2022 in the journal Marine Mammal Science . Assaults seem to be mainly directed at sailing boats and follow a clear pattern, with orcas approaching from the stern to strike the rudder, then losing interest once they have successfully stopped the boat.

"The reports of interactions have been continuous since 2020 in places where orcas are found, either in Galicia or in the Strait," said co-author Alfredo Lopez Fernandez , a biologist at the University of Aveiro in Portugal and representative of the Grupo de Trabajo Orca Atlantica, or Atlantic Orca Working Group.

Related: Grisly new footage shows orcas attacking a great white shark and eating its liver

Story continues

Most encounters have been harmless, Lopez Fernandez told Live Science in an email. "In more than 500 interaction events recorded since 2020 there are three sunken ships. We estimate that killer whales only touch one ship out of every hundred that sail through a location."

The spike in aggression towards boats is a recent phenomenon, Lopez Fernandez said. Researchers think that a traumatic event may have triggered a change in the behavior of one orca, which the rest of the population has learned to imitate.

"The orcas are doing this on purpose, of course, we don't know the origin or the motivation, but defensive behavior based on trauma, as the origin of all this, gains more strength for us every day," Lopez Fernandez said.

Experts suspect that a female orca they call White Gladis suffered a "critical moment of agony"  a collision with a boat or entrapment during illegal fishing  that flipped a behavioral switch. "That traumatized orca is the one that started this behavior of physical contact with the boat," Lopez Fernandez said.

Orcas are social creatures that can easily learn and reproduce behaviors performed by others, according to the 2022 study. In the majority of reported cases , orcas have made a beeline for a boat's rudder and either bitten, bent or broken it.

"We do not interpret that the orcas are teaching the young, although the behavior has spread to the young vertically, simply by imitation, and later horizontally among them, because they consider it something important in their lives," Lopez Fernandez said.

RELATED STORIES

2 orcas slaughter 19 sharks in a single day in South Africa, eating their livers and leaving them to rot

Orca males are burnouts who let their moms do all the hunting, surprising study finds

Orcas and humpbacks clash in a violent melee of breaching and biting

Orcas appear to perceive the behavior as advantageous, despite the risk they run by slamming into moving boat structures, Lopez Fernandez added. Since the abnormal interactions began in 2020, four orcas belonging to a subpopulation living in Iberian waters have died, although their deaths cannot be directly linked to encounters with boats.

The unusual behavior could also be playful or what researchers call a "fad"  a behavior initiated by one or two individuals and temporarily picked up by others before its abandoned. "They are incredibly curious and playful animals and so this might be more of a play thing as opposed to an aggressive thing," Deborah Giles , an orca researcher at the University of Washington and at the non-profit Wild Orca, told Live Science.
MILAN  Italian retailer 10 Corso Como has appointed Gianluca Borghi chief executive officer, tasked with the expansion of the concept store brand worldwide.

Borghi was previously vice president of retail North America at Montblanc, based in New York. During his career he has held executive roles in retail, digital business and wholesale at Gucci, Pomellato, Boucheron and Rinascente in Paris, Milan and New York. He was most recently a member of the executive committee North America at Montblanc parent Compagnie Financiere Richemont. Borghi succeeds the late Donato Maino.

More from WWD

Finding the manager able to lead 10 Corso Como on its strategic development has been a primary goal and it took a while, and we are delighted that Gianluca Borghi has accepted this new challenge, said Tiziana Fausti, president of 10 Corso Como.

Borghi said he has long admired 10 Corso Como as one of the most iconic players in the luxury, fashion and art industry, expressing his deep affection for its storied heritage and the ambitious plans to accelerate growth of the concept store.

10 Corso Como, founded in 1991 by Carla Sozzani, is located in and identified with the street of the same name in Milan and has contributed to the development of its neighborhood. The address includes the store, a restaurant and cafe, a gallery and a bookshop.

Fausti took over 10 Corso Como in 2020, kicking off a new phase for the store and aiming for international and online expansion. She is the founder of the namesake luxury multibrand store in the Italian city of Bergamo and chair of its parent Holding Exor (not to be confused with the Agnelli familys Exor NV).

Following the opening of a 10 Corso Como pop-up in Tuscanys high-end resort Forte dei Marmi last year, a pop-up is opening on Saturday in Sardinias luxury Forte Village resort.

Story continues

It will carry a selection of accessories and bags, the 10 Corso Como logo collection, the home design collection and a beachwear line. Carryover products will be presented in small exclusive co-branded editions.

10 Corso Como bags.

Forte Village in Santa Margherita di Pula in South Sardinia was established in 1970 by Sir Charles Forte.

Also, 10 Corso Como has partnered with yacht maker Baglietto, which has over the years inspired collections of garments and furniture, on a project open to young creative talents.

In view of its 170th anniversary, which will be celebrated in 2024, the yacht company is launching Officina Baglietto, which aims to identify and train young generations of creatives in the luxury market through four programs dedicated to fashion, jewelry, furnishings and nautical.

The programs will include collaborations with Fausti and 10 Corso Como for the fashion segment; the product design sector is under Nicholas Bewick, architecture art director at studio AMDL Circle; the jewelry is overseen by Rosa Maria Villani, coordinator and in charge of the School of the Art and of the Medal for the Polygraphic Institute and State Mint, and boating involves Francesco Paszkowski, for more than 30 years the reference designer of Baglietto shipyards.

The project is curated by YACademy, the design academy based in Bologna, which is a prestigious post-graduate institute.

The applications for the project will end during October and the project will start in December.

Further developing its food offer, 10 Corso Como is launching two gastronomic projects: a line of pasta, rice and chili oil, as part of the 20-year collaboration with Galateo & Friends, founded by Marco Bonaldo.

The story I tell is my story, its the passion for product and research, the love for fashion, the taste for discovery, said Fausti. I have been involved in fashion for more than four decades, and it seemed the time had finally come to extend the taste for beauty in fashion to the goodness of a pasta, rice and an Italian 10 Corso Como oil.

The new 10 Corso Como gastronomic offer with Galateo & Friends.

The artisanal tagliolini are created from durum wheat semolina and eggs. The paccheris large-format pasta is marked by fresh wheat germ and processed in the Tuscan countryside of Pisa.

Fine Italian Carnaroli rice is produced in the Vercelli countryside, particularly suitable for risottos. There is also an offer of black rice in the Artemide variety produced on ecological farms near Novara.

While the store has carried olive oil with Galateo & Friends before, the Ardente chili oil combines the Ligurian extra virgin olive oil from olives grown in Arma di Taggia, Liguria, near Imperia, with dehydrated whole hot chili peppers.

Best of WWD

Click here to read the full article.
Sicario almost had the same location as Spring Breakers.

Denis Villeneuves 2015 crime drama centered on Mexican drug cartels was almost filmed in Fort Lauderdale, according to cinematographer Roger Deakins. The Oscar winner recalled the filmmakers having to convince producers that it was worth shooting in Mexico City in lieu of Juarez even due to the high cost of insurance.

More from IndieWire

We had to convince some producers to go to Mexico City because they didnt want us to go there for insurance, Deakins said during a panel discussion moderated by Annette Insdorf at the 92nd Street Y.

Deakins wife and collaborator James Deakins added, They wanted Fort Lauderdale.

Deakins continued, I was actually in a production meeting and I said, Has anybody read the script? So anyway, they let us go to Mexico City for a few days. I have to say, the cops in Mexico City were fantastic. We found some of the locations in the morning before we were going to shoot. Theres a scene outside the prison and Denis and I were riding around saying, This prison is fantastic, can we shoot here? And it wasnt until 10 oclock in the morning when we actually got permission and managed to do two shots so thats what we got but it was really worth it.

James Deakins, Roger Deakins, and Annette Isdorf at the 92nd Street Y Vladimir Kolesnikov

Sicario, written by Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan and stars Emily Blunt as an FBI special agent who joins two CIA officers, played by Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro, to take down the leader of a cartel. The film was Oscar-nominated for Best Cinematography and spurred sequel Sicario: Day of the Soldado, helmed by Stefano Sollima. A third film, titled Sicario: Capos, is reportedly in development.

Brolin gave an update on the possible trilogy installment in April 2023, saying, Sicario 3, weve been trying to get that right and get that going, but why hasnt it happened? How long can you wait? A tough movie to get made even though the two made money, and people are asking about it all the time.

Story continues

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.
This weeks FreightWaves Supply Chain Pricing Power Index: 25 (Shippers)

Last weeks FreightWaves Supply Chain Pricing Power Index: 25 (Shippers)

Three-month FreightWaves Supply Chain Pricing Power Index Outlook: 30 (Shippers)

The FreightWaves Supply Chain Pricing Power Index uses the analytics and data in FreightWaves SONAR to analyze the market and estimate the negotiating power for rates between shippers and carriers.

This weeks Pricing Power Index is based on the following indicators:

China syndrome threatens demand forecasts

So as not to bury the lede, this weeks lack of change in the PPI might ultimately prove to be the most exciting stability in quite some time. Unfortunately, such excitement does not arise from any reversal in a demand-side forecast, but rather from a change (albeit one in its early stages) in spot rate activity. Accordingly, and as will be discussed near the end of this column, the PPIs three-month outlook has once again been bumped up to 30.

Tender volumes are well below year-ago levels:

SONAR: OTVI.USA: 2023 (white), 2022 (blue) and 2021 (green)

To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here.

This week, the Outbound Tender Volume Index (OTVI), which measures national freight demand by shippers requests for capacity, ticked down 1.01% on a week-over-week (w/w) basis. On a year-over-year (y/y) basis, OTVI is down 16.3%, yet such y/y comparisons can be colored by significant shifts in tender rejections. OTVI, which includes both accepted and rejected tenders, can be artificially inflated by an uptick in the Outbound Tender Reject Index (OTRI).

Accepted volumes are outpaced by 2021 and 22:

SONAR: CLAV.USA: 2023 (white), 2022 (blue) and 2021 (green)

To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here.

Contract Load Accepted Volumes (CLAV) is an index that measures accepted load volumes moving under contracted agreements. In short, it is similar to OTVI but without the rejected tenders. Looking at accepted tender volumes, we see a dip of 1.37% w/w as well as a fall of 11.9% y/y. This y/y difference confirms that actual cracks in freight demand  and not merely OTRIs y/y decline  are driving OTVI lower.

This week, brutal news came from the container shipping industry, which is of course a major supplier of over-the-road truckload volumes. First off, both the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach posted a 22% y/y decline in Aprils import volumes  a sign of stifled freight flow to a once-hot (though still supreme) market. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, ocean carriers that are titans of container shipping, posted y/y declines in net volume of 66% and 57%, respectively, during Q1. Falling freight rates were largely to blame for these Q1 declines: Hapag-Lloyd saw rates slide 28% y/y, while Maersk suffered a 37% y/y drop in rates.

Any hope for Chinese exports to reverse this dismal state of affairs should be checked by a quick look at port data from 2022. The flow of ocean freight from China last year was restrained by frequent COVID lockdowns and disruptions at the busy Port of Shanghai, leading to a belief that pent-up demand would explode in 2023. But any disruptions in Shanghai were more than compensated by the nearby Port of Ningbo, and current weakness in commodity markets (especially of oil) implies that Chinese manufacturing activity is not exploding as was expected. To be clear, China would love for its manufacturing exports to accelerate right now  the problem is finding willing and/or able buyers stateside.

Markets see broad growth this week:

SONAR: Outbound Tender Volume Index  Weekly Change (OTVIW).

To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here.

Of the 135 total markets, 70 reported weekly increases in tender volume, although freight flow in many of the major markets was relatively stagnant.

Cross-border trade with Mexico is heating up the Texan markets of Laredo and El Paso, which saw respective w/w gains in tender volume of 5.23% and 28.4%. Such gains are indicative of a larger trend among U.S. manufacturers: Given the supply chain disruptions caused by Chinas erratic and abrupt lockdowns, the rising cost of Chinese labor and the general headaches of trans-Pacific shipping, U.S. manufacturers are increasingly opting to nearshore their operations in Mexico.

That said, tender rejections in these cross-border markets are nearly double the national average, which somewhat inflates their OTVI readings. Rejections have risen in part due to Texas recent barrage of truck safety inspections at the border. These inspections, overseen by the states Department of Public Safety (DPS), are ostensibly in place to deter cartel smuggling activity along [the] southern border while increasing the safety of [Texas] roadways, per a December 2022 statement from DPS Director Steven McCraw. Mexicos Secretariat of Economy, meanwhile, has pushed back against these inspections, claiming that they are causing delays between 8 and 27 hours.

By mode: As has been the case for the past few weeks, reefer volumes continue to be a marked disappointment. Seasonality dictates that the influx of spring produce should goose the Reefer Outbound Tender Volume Index (ROTVI) at this time. But, and without beating a dead horse, Californias agricultural sector suffered major disruptions due to late-winter storms, while Texas aforementioned inspections are slowing Mexican produce crossing the border. Accordingly, ROTVI is down 3% w/w.

Dry van volumes, meanwhile, are merely sluggish and unimpressive. In the absence of consumer demand, which would spur volumes from shippers of durable goods and consumer packaged goods, the Van Outbound Tender Volume Index (VOTVI) is going nowhere fast. VOTVI is down 1.06% w/w, slightly underperforming against the aggregate OTVI.

Blitz Week juices rejection rates

Predictably, tender rejections rose as the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliances (CVSA) International Roadcheck (also known as Blitz Week) kept some capacity offline. When capacity tightens during this week, it usually does so because owner-operators have previously amassed a tidy sum from profitable freight and are thus comfortable to sit the week out, avoiding the hassle of truck inspections. If OTRI doesnt change significantly, then that means that there is a significant number of carriers desperate to stay afloat and willing to move loads regardless.

This year, or so I believe, something different happened. Given the sharp, sustained weakness in spot rates, we know that most owner-operators do not have the luxury to sit out Blitz Week  yet OTRI rose anyway. The irony might be that spot freight is so cheap right now that the money is insufficient to incentivize carriers to deal with truck inspections, even though they are staring down insolvency. The downsides  added miles that lead to more maintenance and fuel spending  simply outweigh the meager benefits.

OTRI reveals overabundance of capacity in the market:

SONAR: OTRI.USA: 2023 (white), 2022 (blue) and 2021 (green)

To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here.

Over the past week, OTRI, which measures relative capacity in the market, rose to 2.89%, a change of 36 basis points (bps) from the week prior. OTRI is now 551 bps below year-ago levels, with y/y comparisons becoming only more favorable as the year progresses.

A true testament to the molasses-laden pace of the federal government was seen in the U.S. House of Representatives this week. On Wednesday, the DRIVE Safe Integrity Act, a bipartisan proposal to increase the accessibility of CDL positions for those ages 18-20, was introduced. I myself will wait for safety data from the pilot program to shake out, but it is interesting to note that the trucking insurance industry has no apparent affiliation with or input on this bill. Without some prior agreement with insurance companies, it is more than likely that premiums will skyrocket for carriers employing 18- to 20-year-old drivers.

In any case, capacity is too abundant right now for a new inrush of drivers to make sense, while the last driver shortage was mostly caused by a scarcity of equipment and jobs with attractive wages, not potential employees. Meanwhile, the brokerage sector continues to suffer a hangover from its overhiring bender: C.H. Robinson, a heavyweight 3PL, announced another round of layoffs last week. The layoffs affected roughly 300 workers, compounding the companys November 2022 cut of 650 positions.

Capacity was broadly balanced this week:

SONAR: WRI (color)

To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here.

The map above shows the Weighted Rejection Index (WRI), the product of the Outbound Tender Reject Index  Weekly Change and Outbound Tender Market Share, as a way to prioritize rejection rate changes. As capacity is generally finding freight this week, no regions posted blue markets, which are usually the ones to focus on.

Of the 135 markets, 99 reported higher rejection rates over the past week, though 64 of those saw increases of only 100 or fewer bps.

SONAR: VOTRI.USA (white); ROTRI.USA (green); FOTRI.USA (orange)

To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here.

By mode: Just as it was with volumes, so is it with rejection rates: Reefers are a mode of constant sorrow. Despite the upward pressure offered by Blitz Week, the Reefer Outbound Tender Reject Index (ROTRI) actually fell 22 bps w/w to 2.68%. Other modes saw predictable growth. The Flatbed Outbound Tender Reject Index (FOTRI), though rising 239 bps w/w to 13.8%, failed even to match its levels of eight days prior. The Van Outbound Tender Reject Index (VOTRI) was arguably the winner, pulling up 38 bps w/w from an all-time low to 2.68%.

The Blitzkrieg bump

The main reason for the PPI remaining 25 this week, and for the three-month outlook being bumped up to 30, is the chart below:

SONAR: National Truckload Index, Daily Report.

To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here.

The National Truckload Index (NTI)  a seven-day moving average of national dry van spot rates that includes fuel surcharges and other accessorials  is one of our key metrics tracking the health of the trucking industry. But the daily report of the NTI (NTID), shown above, is simply as it sounds: day-to-day movements of national dry van spot rates. The NTID is typically of less importance than the NTIs seven-day moving average because certain days can throw up random noise that does not reflect the current state of the market.

But Blitz Week, though annual, does reflect the struggle over pricing power between shippers and carriers. That the NTID has established clear upward momentum and has returned to mid-February levels is a sign that carriers are taking advantage of the market. To be sure, the NTI is likely to plateau or even lose some of this weeks gains in the coming weeks, absent any deluge of freight demand from shippers.

These gains are exciting not because they necessarily point to the bottom of the market but because they could indicate growing coordination among a highly fragmented carrier base. Outside of extreme imbalances of supply and demand like the pandemic freight gold rush, pricing power is effectively illusory: dependent less on the number of trucks or loads and more on which carriers are willing to move what at what rates. Given the battering theyve taken over the past year, more carriers are willing to break rank and accept cheap garbage loads in the spot market.

But if carriers collectively stand their ground, then rates have no choice but to rise  stuff still has to move, after all, and it typically moves on a truck. Thus, if carriers do begin to reject cheap freight en masse, they could avoid the bloodiest scenarios in which owner-operators are decimated by bankruptcies and/or absorbed by large enterprise carriers.

Spot rates impossibly fall further:

SONAR: National Truckload Index, 7-day average (white; right axis) and dry van contract rate (green; left axis).

To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here.

To throw cold water on this excitement, nothing of the sort has proven itself out yet. The PPI still remains at 25 and even the slight optimism of my three-month forecast still implies that shippers will firmly hold the reins of pricing. But it is to some relief that this week the NTI rose 3 cents per mile to $2.16. The linehaul variant of the NTI, which excludes fuel surcharges and other accessorials, similarly rose 3 cents per mile w/w to $1.53.

Contract rates have largely been exempt from this drama, since shippers are proving to be much more judicious when locking in long-term rates. The regularity of such loads means that contract shippers desire a set-it-and-forget-it attitude to their freight, which would be at risk if their carriers went bankrupt. So, while shippers have negotiated lower contract rates, they have not driven them to the bottom of the barrel. Contract rates  which exclude fuel surcharges and other accessorials like the NTIL and which are reported on a two-week delay  fell 3 cents per mile w/w to $2.45.

SONAR: RATES.USA

To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here.

The chart above shows the spread between the NTIL and dry van contract rates, revealing the index has fallen to all-time lows in the data set, which dates to early 2019. Throughout that year, contract rates exceeded spot rates, leading to a record number of bankruptcies in the space. Once COVID-19 spread, spot rates reacted quickly, rising to record highs on a seemingly weekly basis, while contract rates slowly crept higher throughout 2021.

Despite this spread narrowing significantly over the first few weeks of the year, tightening by 20 cents per mile in January, it has continued to widen again. Since linehaul spot rates remain 88 cents below contract rates, there is still plenty of room for contract rates to decline  or for spot rates to rise  in the coming months.

SONAR: FreightWaves TRAC rate from Los Angeles to Dallas.

To learn more about FreightWaves TRAC, click here.

The FreightWaves TRAC spot rate from Los Angeles to Dallas, arguably one of the densest freight lanes in the country, continues to distance itself from Aprils floor. Over the past week, the TRAC rate rose 10 cents per mile to $1.97  though still a far cry from its year-to-date high of $2.39. The NTID, which has jumped to $2.42, is handily outpacing rates from Los Angeles to Dallas.

SONAR: FreightWaves TRAC rate from Atlanta to Philadelphia.

To learn more about FreightWaves TRAC, click here.

On the East Coast, especially out of Atlanta, rates rose and are in line with the NTID. The FreightWaves TRAC rate from Atlanta to Philadelphia rose 3 cents per mile w/w to $2.42. A muted but sustained rally has been seen along this lane since Aprils low of $2.27 per mile.

For more information on FreightWaves research, please contact Michael Rudolph at mrudolph@freightwaves.com or Tony Mulvey at tmulvey@freightwaves.com.

The post Puttin on the Blitz appeared first on FreightWaves.
For Bricia Lopez, owner of acclaimed L.A. restaurant Guelaguetza, hosting an asada is the ultimate gesture of love and generosity.

Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva Restaurateur and cookbook author Bricia Lopez and coauthor Javier Cabral at an asada at Lopezas home in Los Angeles.

Carne asada is not just a taco.

In millions of backyards across Southern California, an asada represents more than just meat. It means family, friends, great music, cold drinks, and good times  all centered on the promise of juicy grilled meat and all the fixings. In a city like Los Angeles, where the taco is a way of life, backyard asada culture is as respected as church on Sundays.

Inviting someone to your carne asada is a gesture of love, respect, generosity, and friendship. Its a way of welcoming you and feeding you like family. An asada can be as intimate or as big as youd like it to be. You dont need to celebrate anything but life to gather loved ones and throw an asada.

Related:The Best Grills for Every Outdoor Setup, According to Our Tests

Ill never forget hosting my first asada in my own home. It was a rite of passage, one of the first times in my life I felt like a real adult. I was nervous my marinades wouldnt hold up, that I would run out of food, that my mom would find my salsas bland. Things have changed quite a bit since then. Allow me to walk you through what an asada looks like in my house today.

My asadas almost always begin with a short guest list that will eventually double in size. I begin preparations the night before by marinating the meat, soaking the beans, and making salsas. With hands reeking of garlic and onion, I call it a night and try to get as much rest as possible.

The next day, Ill wake up with a text from my sister saying her boyfriends brother and two friends are in town. Yes, they are also coming to the asada, and I realize that I wont have enough time to marinate extra meat. This is when trusting your local Mexican grocery store is important: Every family has their go-to carniceria (meat market) that they will defend and stay loyal to for having the best marinated beef, pork, and chicken.

Story continues

Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva Elizabeth Lopez, the author's sister, enjoys a plate of Carne Asada ClAsica.

I roll out of bed and, before heading out, put a large pot of beans on the stove to cook. I then drive to my dearest Mexican grocery store and grab a couple of pounds of marinated pollo asado and arrachera (skirt steak), a bag of chicharrones, and extra cheeses. I get home to another text, this time from my brother, letting me know he will be rolling through with a couple of extra homies. Im thankful I grabbed that extra pound of marinated arrachera. I check on my beans; they are perfect. I begin assembling fruit salad, and the chicharrones and cheeseboard, knowing Ill have a few guests trickling in any minute.

Related:7 Mexican Cheeses You Should Know

An asadas start time is more a suggested time of arrival, and everyone has their own notion of when an asada should begin. I like to tell people 2 p.m. Most will begin trickling in between 3 p.m. and as late as 6 p.m. My youngest sister is usually the first to arrive. I like to believe its because she doesnt have any kids, but then again, people who arrive on time to an asada are a species of their own.

Though an asada almost always takes place in an outdoor setting, in my house, it starts in my kitchen. Im never ready for the first guest. They are the ones who see a glimpse of the storm before the calm. I am either reheating my beans, finishing my spread of salsas, or frantically making an agua fresca for the kids. The grill doesnt get started until an hour after the first guest has arrived.



A classic night full of carne asada with friends and family goes like this: A random tio drinks way too much and starts to reminisce about the days when he was younger and how different things were; a primo and a friend go for a walk and return extra giggly and hungry; your niece or nephew will be asleep in a chair somewhere right in front of the thumping speaker; and only your truest friends will stay extra late to help you clean up before they go home.



Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva Restaurateur Bricia Lopez enjoys a glass of Sparkling Mezcal Water at her backyard asada.



A well-prepared asada gathering can be the difference between enjoying your own party or feeling like it was just an extra day of work. Fortunately, a backyard-style carne asada is extremely forgiving. Many of us love and actually prefer the pieces of carne that are well beyond well-done. Burned, even, or what we Mexicans like to refer to as bien doradito (extra crispy).





Hosting and making carne asada gets easier and more streamlined the more you do it. You will eventually start to develop a system and know how long it takes to get the fire started, how late your guests usually are, and how to achieve a foolproof tortilla-to-person ratio along with that meat-per-person ratio (for me, a half pound per person). But always remember: Throwing a carne asada is an act of love.



And yes, you are invited to the asada.



For more asada recipes and advice, pick up a copy of Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling ($40), coauthored by Bricia Lopez and Javier Cabral. Lopez comes from a long lineage of Oaxacan mezcal craftsmen and is a co-owner of Los Angeles renowned Guelaguetza restaurant. Cabral is the editor in chief of the James Beard Award winning publication L.A. Taco.

Recipes

Carne Asada Clasica

Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva

Balanced by intense umami notes from Worcestershire and dark Mexican ale, this asada also gets an underlying sweetness from fresh citrus juice. The savory and acidic marinade tenderizes the beef, while a quick stint on a grill over a hot fire quickly chars the exterior and leaves a perfectly pink center.

:Get the recipe

Salsa Asada de Aguacate

Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva

This creamy and spicy salsa blurs the line between guacamole and salsa verde. Tart tomatillos, lightly charred on the grill, are mellowed by buttery mashed avocados. Serve this versatile salsa dolloped on tacos, to scoop with chips, or as a spread on sandwiches.

:Get the recipe

Frijoles Negros de la Olla con Nopalito

Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva

Creamy black beans, simply seasoned with onion, garlic, and epazote, are a delicious match for meaty, lightly cooked nopal (also called prickly pear) cactus paddles. Lopez tosses nopales with salt to reduce the clear, jelly-like liquid that the vegetable releases.



:Get the recipe

Pollo Yucateco Asada (Yucatan-Style Grilled Chicken)

Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva

Stained red with sweet and peppery achiote (also called annatto) powder, these juicy chicken thighs are deeply seasoned with oregano, orange juice, and warm spices. Starting with whole spices, and toasting them before grinding releases oils and amplifies their flavor.

:Get the Recipe

Fish and Shrimp Ceviche Tostadas

Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva

Studded with tomatoes and carrots, lime juicecured seafood is piled atop fiery habanero crema. The crema can be made in advance, but build the tostadas just before serving to keep them crisp. Use any leftover crema for drizzling on tacos or grilled corn.

:Get the recipe

Sparkling Mezcal Water

Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva

Easily doubled for a party, this cocktail is a refreshing blend of citrus juice, mezcal, and bubbly sparkling water. For the best flavor, Lopez recommends single-origin espadin mezcal.

:Sparkling Mezcal Water

Salsa de Pina Tatemada (Grilled Pineapple Salsa)

Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva

Grilled pineapple is mixed with a pungent, garlicky habanero paste and fresh lime juice for a balanced, bold salsa.

:Get the recipe

For more Food & Wine news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Food & Wine.
One day after Montana Governor signed the first statewide ban on TikTok into law, the measure is already facing a legal challenge. Five TikTok creators are suing in an effort to block the ban from taking effect.

In court filings, lawyers representing the TikTok creators say the ban is unconstitutional and that it violates their First Amendment rights. They also take issue with Montanas supposed national security justification for the ban.

Montana has no authority to enact laws advancing what it believes should be the United States foreign policy or its national security interests, nor may Montana ban an entire forum for communication based on its perceptions that some speech shared through that forum, though protected by the First Amendment, is dangerous, the suit states . Montana can no more ban its residents from viewing or posting to TikTok than it could ban the Wall Street Journal because of who owns it or the ideas it publishes.

In an interview on Fox News, Montanas Attorney General, Austin Knudsen, said that legal challenges to the ban were expected. There are some important issues here that I do think we probably need the federal courts to step in and answer for us here, he said. And that was part of our calculus in bringing this.
A white polar bear wearing a red scarf waved from the passenger's seat of an 18-wheeler as it drove through a ceremonial ribbon to cheers Tuesday in front of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company.

The big rig was one of two that Montgomery's Coca-Cola United had just donated to the Alabama Community College System to help meet rising truck driver workforce demand in Alabama. Those drivers are a key need here and across the state, educators say.

"We've listened to the trucking industry, and we know the need is overwhelming for qualified truck drivers to help meet the increasing demand of the state," Alabama Community College System Vice Chancellor Susan Price said. "The need is great, and today's donation will help expand our ability to allow more students access to real-life training, right in their communities."

Since institutions like Montgomery's Trenholm State Community College began offering the commercial driver's training required to obtain a commercial driver's license, Price said Alabama community colleges have trained over 10,000 truck drivers for the state.

The ribbon is broken as Coca-Cola United donates trucks to Trenholm State Community College for driving classes in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.

Trenholm State President Kemba Chambers said the truck driving program is the largest workforce development program at the school, and it continues to grow.

"Within the last year, we have seen a 25% increase in enrollment," Chambers said. "Because of the huge demand and recognizing the massive number of job openings for truck drivers, the college most recently established a second truck driver location in west Montgomery. With two locations serving the River Region, partnerships, resources and donations, such as this today provided by Coca Cola United States, will enable Trenholm State to enhance and expand our CDL program."

Susan Price Vice Chancellor of Alabama Community College System accepts the staged keys as Coca-Cola United donates trucks to Trenholm State Community College for driving classes in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.

Program alumnus Walter Moses spoke at the gathering Tuesday about the value he found in truck driving. He started working for Coca-Cola United in 2016 in a warehouse job.

"I enjoyed the role, but I wanted more for my career and for my family," Moses said.

Story continues

In the summer of 2022, he enrolled in the training program at Trenholm State, and six weeks later he had his commercial driving license and a new job.

Truck driver Walter Moses speaks as Coca-Cola United donates trucks to Trenholm State Community College for driving classes in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.

"Students just like me will be able to use these trucks," Moses said. "I am proud to be an example of Coca-Cola and the trucks that they are donating today."

Hadley Hitson covers the rural South for the Montgomery Advertiser and Report for America. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser or donate to Report for America.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: With truckers in demand, Coca-Cola United gives big rigs to colleges
Each spring, the City of Rehoboth holds an auction of unwanted municipal equipment, tools and vehicles, as well as unclaimed personal effects (if you know what I mean) left on the beaches and in other public areas.

This is not some run-of-the-mill garage sale; indeed, the city has never succumbed to the idea of a downtown garage. Rather, it is a major event that occupies not only the convention center but spills out onto the surrounding area as well.

Among the items up for auction this year were old beach signs, emblazoned with the injunction: For your safety, please swim in front of the lifeguard. A command that undoubtedly put a crimp in the style of those swimmers who prefer to frolic behind the lifeguard, in the manner of fiddler crabs.

These old lifeguard signs will be up for bid at the April 22 Rehoboth Beach auction.

And, if you were looking for an appropriate place to display your sign purchase, there were two lifeguard stands for sale. You could also take this retro beach look a step further by purchasing one of the iconic boardwalk benches that were available.

The auctioneers warned that the benches were in varying conditions (of disrepair probably should have followed). However, they noted that one of them featured the desirable swing back. So, if you tire of admiring the sign and stand you bought, you can turn your back on it  just dont let the lifeguard see you do that.

Tulips in bloom bring big celebration to Lewes

Another rite of spring is the Tulip Celebration that takes place annually in neighboring Lewes. This year, some 32,000 tulip and spring bulbs were planted in the First Town in the First State, linking it several thousand times over to its Dutch heritage.

The celebration has traditionally been scheduled for the first two weeks of April to coincide with the blossoming of the flowers. However, tulips seem to have a mind of their own, and bloom when the spirit or, more likely, the weather suits them.

Residents and visitors had the advantage of a Tiptoe To The Tulips map, which indicated more than 20 locations where bulbs had been planted last fall.

Story continues

These free maps are not to be confused with an old VHS tape of Tiny Tims 1968 rendition of "Tiptoe Through The Tulips," which is priceless.

From A to Z, or rather from Agave (Restaurant) to Zwaanendael (Museum), attendees were promised a floral display of bold red-, white-, pink-, orange-, and yellow-colored tulips.

One could happily escape the tensions of red vs. blue politics by viewing this rainbow of color.

Given our designation as the Culinary Coast, it should also be noted that tulip petals are edible.

However, they have been remarkably absent from the menus of most local restaurants  even as a garnish during the Tulip Celebration. That was true even when the late, lamented Lewes TWO-LIPS Culinary Week coincided with the celebration.

Kite festival is grounded, but will soar anew

Far older than the tulip extravaganza is the annual Great Delaware Kite Festival. The 55th edition of this spring event was scheduled for Cape Henlopen State Park early in April. Unfortunately, it had to be canceled because the Division of Parks and Recreation (DPR), in its infinite wisdom, decided to schedule the repaving of the beach boathouse parking lot for that same month. That just happens to be the location where most of the festival attendees leave their cars.

The DPR is a division of the DNREC. Earlier this year, the latter thought it was a good idea to open a full-service restaurant in the park, apparently believing that such facilities were an endangered species on the coast.

Talk about first being tarred and then feathered.

While on hold for this year, it is worth noting that the kite festival is one of the oldest in the nation. It was first held in 1969, when the Maharajah of Bharatpur in India challenged the Governor of Delaware to a kite-flying contest. Why he should do that, and why the governor should accept, is lost in the smokey historical haze of the 1960s.

The nature of the 1969 contest was not quite as innocent as one might imagine. According to Betsy Reamer, sand was glued about 15 inches down the kite strings. Each contestant tried to use his sand-covered line to cut his opponents kite string, thus creating an aerial duel of sorts.

Today, the simple act of flying ones kite is enough to garner laurels in such categories as Open Individual Ballet (dont ask), and awards are given to the Most Senior Flyer, Youngest Flyer, and Flyer Furthest from Home. Contrary to popular belief, no prize is bestowed upon the best decorated Radio Flyer.

The festivals top award, so to speak, goes to the kite that flies the highest. Given the story of the Maharajah and the Governor, there should be a caveat that only a kite still under the control of its owner can win this award.

Mike Berger is a freelance writer and retired university administrator with a home in Lewes. Contact him at edadvice@comcast.net.

MORE: Assateague Island announces big changes with new speed limit, two trail reopenings

BEACH PARKING: Beach season is near. Here's your guide to parking at the Delaware beaches for 2023.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Tulips, kites and more: The rites (and wrongs) of spring at the beaches
Senator Dianne Feinstein Returns To The Senate Judiciary Committee

Senator Dianne Feinstein attends a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing at the Hart Senate Office Building on May 11, 2023 in Washington, DC Credit - Kent NishimuraLos Angeles Times via Getty Images

This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIMEs politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox.

The news of ailing Senator Dianne Feinsteins return to Washington this week crackled through Capitol Hill aides messaging apps, journalists note-trading clouds, and donors inboxes. The oldest member of the Senate had come back to work after almost three months away, recovering from illnessesses that werent entirely disclosed during her absence, and she looked markedly older than when she had left. The senior Senator from California was back, but was she really?

Theres nothing Washington likes better than second-guessing, and the Feinstein situation was no different. The 89-year-old icon has made clear, at least for the moment, that she would ignore the merciless drumbeat of calls for her to cede the seat immediately to someone who can discharge the duties more consistently.

As The D.C. Brief wrote last week, Feinstein is giving a masterclass in how to mangle a legacy in what could be its final chapter. And yet, that verdictalong with dozens of others like it emerging from D.C. and around the country in recent daysmay have missed the point.

Heres an updated take that will undoubtedly draw some objections: Feinstein holding the seat until the election next year may be the most responsible thing she can do in case of one possible, albeit unlikely, scenario: a vacancy on the Supreme Court. In indulging her stubbornness, her ego, her paranoiawhatever we want to call itFeinstein may be what stands between a 6-to-3 conservative Supreme Court majority tilting to a 7-to-2 position, or the key to it shifting back to 5-4. Either of those outcomes would be one liberals may regret not having taken more seriously.

Story continues

The reason why Feinstein holds all this power is tied to her seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democrats have an 11-to-10 advantage over Republicans on the panel, giving them zero margin for error in advancing President Joe Bidens nominees for lifetime appointments to federal courts, including the Supreme Court. A tied 10-to-10 vote, at least under the current rules, leaves those nominees potentially stuck in limbo. Whenever shes absent, Feinstein leaves Democrats on the committee with an insufficient 10 votes.

So one might argue that all that is more reason for Feinstein to resign, and let a younger, healthier Democrat take over her spot on the committee. But thats not what would be guaranteed to happen. Even if Feinstein were to leave her seat early, allowing California Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint an interim lawmaker until after the 2024 election, there is nothing ensuring that that successor could be the 11th vote on Judiciary. Committee assignments are part of the start of every Congress, and changes are subject to 60 votes if some lawmakers object and demand a recorded vote. That means 10 Republicans would have to allow Democrats to either send Feinsteins replacement or another lawmaker into that role. There is scant evidence that Republicans would accede to that request.

Need proof? In April, the Senate considered Feinsteins request that she be allowed to step away from Judiciary for a beat, and to allow another Democrat to take her seat. The effort, clearly heading to defeat, wasnt even put to a floor vote. Even in a body known for its cordiality across party lines, Republicans saw the ability to confirm nominees to lifetime gigs in robes and wielding gavels as more important than courtesy to an ailing colleague. Were not going to help the Democrats with that, Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said.

Fellow Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah was even more transparent about his partys intentions: I dont think Republicans are going to lift a finger in any way to get more liberal judges appointed, so whether shes resigned or leaves temporarily from the Judiciary Committee, I think we will slow walk any process that makes it easier to appoint more liberal judges, he said.

Bad juju? Arguably. Good politics? Probably, especially if youre a partisan wearing a red jersey.

By an objective measure, Feinsteins best days are behind her. She made a name for herself as a fierce advocate for her ideals, an independent mind who famously defied the intelligence agencies and a President from her party. Yet Feinstein has been coasting on her reputation for some time. Even her biggest defenders will acknowledge she has missed a beat, and her friendsespecially her female ones, to whom she has been a role model and mentorhave found her brushback frustrating. Her ability to effectively advocate for the state of California is questionable.

Feinsteins choice is hers alone. While the 25th Amendment provides a mechanism from removing an unfit Presidenta process considered by Donald Trumps own Cabinet after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrectionthere is nothing that provides for the ousting of a sitting Senator for incapacitation. Of the 15 Senators in history to be booted from their gigs, 14 of them were Confederate supporters and the final one was for treason. The last time Senators even considered such moves was in 1995, and Sen. Bob Packwood resigned in the face of abuse of power and sexual misconduct allegations. (He later found redemption as a high-powered lobbyist.)

For more than a year, the rumble about Feinsteins age and fitness in the job has been growing. When she was hospitalized in February for shingles, Democrats accepted that they were in a holding pattern until Feinstein could recover and resume her unapologetic pursuit of an agenda she sees as righteous.

But Feinstein, outwardly, hasnt seemed to recover. Her return came via wheelchair, her face frozen, and her mind seemingly distracted. It has now come out that her shingles has spread to her face and neck, leaving her vision and balance impaired. Her face is, for now, paralyzed. Swelling in her brain brought on by post-shingles encephalitis could lead to difficulties walking, talking, remembering, or sleeping.

When she met with reporters on Tuesday, after casting a vote while standing on her own, she appearedat bestconfused. When a reporter asked how she was being welcomed back by colleagues, she said she had never been away. No, I havent been gone, she said. You should follow theI havent been gone. Ive been working, she continued. So working from home, then? No, Ive been here. Ive been voting, she said. Please. You either know or dont know.

Clearly, this is not serving Feinsteins legacy well, at least not at the moment. But there is an argumenta cynical, craven, dark one, to be fairthat can be made that Feinstein is playing the long game. Should an opening on the Supreme Court come to pass, a Feinstein-free Senate may not be able to do anything until 2025. That could push that decision beyond Bidens reach and potentially into the hands of a Republican President should Biden lose his re-election bid. (Remember: Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell held up Barack Obamas pick for the high court, Merrick Garland, for 293 days.) The 2024 Senate map is about as hostile for Democratic incumbents as weve seen in some time, meaning their continued control of the chamber is far from assured, too.

To be clear, no one expects a Supreme Court retirement is imminent. The three Democratic-nominated Justices range from ages 52 to 68, and the six Republican-tapped onesages 51 to 74are expected to stay in office until they can have a GOP President to nominate their successor. The Supreme Courts average age right now is 62 years old, but the unexpected is what roils Washington.

So it comes down to whether Democrats can quiet their churn about a less-than-lion Feinstein in the seat in case they can get a high court pick and Republicans hold the line, or whether they sabotage themselves in pursuit of doing what they see as the right thing. The record here should give Democrats little reason to show swagger.

Make sense of what matters in Washington. Sign up for the D.C. Brief newsletter.
MIAMI -- Asian-American history will be part of the state's school curriculum for the first time in Florida.

The requirement was contained in a bill that was recently signed into lawy by Gov. Ron DeSantis and applauded by local South Floridians.



"Since I'm bi-cultural, I was seen in one culture, which is the Cuban community which I love and we all enjoy, but I think the Japanese side was sometimes missing," said Jose Keichi Fuentes, a member of the Miami-Dade Asian Advisory Board, adding that while growing up he did not really get to learn that much about Asian American history while in school. "Even though my obachan kept pushing that on me and making sure that I understood where I came from and who I was, when you came to Miami that didn't exist, it wasn't the fabric of South Florida."

Fuentes said his mother and grandmother taught him as much as they could about his cultural origins but there were parts of his family's history they didn't speak about in detail, such as the time their relatives were interned in a concentration camp for Japanese Americans that were created by the federal government during World War II.



"Originally I didn't even know my grandmother was interned, or my grandfather was interned," Fuentes said. "It was when my grandfather passed away that I learned more about internment."



He found out later his mother's family all stayed at the Gila River concentration camp in Arizona.



"When the government of Japan bombed Pearl Harbor the immediate knee-jerk reaction was the same in the United States with Japanese Americans, who weren't first generation, who weren't second," he said. "Many were third and some of them were even fighting for the country."



Yet, Japanese Americans were treated as if they were foreigners and traitors.



"It made me realize I had to do more to educate not only myself but Americans, Miamians, Floridians," Fuentes said.



So, he began working with Make Us Visible Florida, an advocacy group to get Asian American and Pacific Islander History into the K-12 curriculum.



"My grandparents were Chinese Lebanese and I think it was so important and so relevant for us to continue the work within the education realm," said State Sen. Ileana Garcia, who is also Cuban and thinks it's also about time. As state senator she helped get support for the bill. "We definitely need to learn from our past mistakes."



The curriculum will be implemented over the next few years, and will teach students about Asian history regarding immigration, civil rights leaders, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II as well as achievements and cultural contributions.



Fuentes' daughter is already out of school, but she hopes one day his grandchildren will be the benefactors of this effort and learn about Asian American history in a classroom.



"I think that it makes them realize that everyone is part of this community," Fuentes said. "And no matter who are or where you came from, your part of South Florida and this great country in which we live."



Story continues

Obama says gun ownership has become an "ideological" and "partisan" issue in America

Zelenskyy meets with Pope Francis in Rome

Israel, Islamic Jihad militants reach ceasefire agreement after days of violence
BlackBerry has everything Apple's Tetris film lacked: human drama grounded in actual history, without the need to spice things up with car chases and fantastical storytelling. On the face of it, the rise and fall of Research in Motion's keyboard-equipped smartphone may not seem inherently compelling. But the brilliance of the film  directed by Matt Johnson, who also co-wrote it with Matthew Miller  is that it makes the BlackBerry's journey feel like a genuine tragedy.

It's driven by two dramatically different people: RIMs co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis, a nebbishy genius of an engineer, and Jim Balsillie, a ruthless and perpetually angry businessman. They struggled on their own, but together were able to rule the mobile industry for more than a decade. And then came the iPhone, which instantly reversed their fortunes.

Like many former titans, RIM fell victim to the innovator's dilemma. As described by Harvard professor Clayton Christensen, it's what happens when large and successful companies are entirely focused on iterating on existing products and appeasing customers. That leaves room for a more nimble newcomer to come along and develop something revolutionary that the incumbents could never have imagined.

In this case, it's Apple's iPhone, which lands like a nuclear bomb in the technology world. The film shows Lazaridis and his engineering team watching Steve Jobs' iconic iPhone keynote in disbelief. Lazaridis is the genius protagonist we've seen come up with the idea of a handheld, keyboard-equipped pocket computer that's efficient enough to run on unused, low-bandwidth wireless signals. Even after BlackBerry takes off, we see him have another stroke of inspiration with BlackBerry Messenger, a service that delivered free messaging to RIM's customers at a time when carriers charged 10 cents per SMS text. It was a brilliant maneuver that made BlackBerry users even more loyal, since BBM wasn't accessible on any other device.

Story continues

Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton in the BlackBerry movie.

Even though he was no stranger to game-changing innovation himself, Lazaridis didn't think the iPhone would work. It was too expensive. It didn't have a physical keyboard. And it was built to gobble up mobile data (something RIM took pains to avoid). Who would want that? Turns out everyone did. While the iPhone was indeed pricey at launch, carrier subsidies made it easier to stomach. Its large screen, (eventual) App Store and revolutionary OS made up for its touch-based keyboard. And it arrived just as 3G networks were rolling out, which gave carriers more of an incentive to charge customers for data instead of cellular minutes. Just as the BlackBerry gave us a glimpse of an always-connected world in 1999, the iPhone promised to put the full power of the internet in your pocket.

Spoilers for real life, I guess: BlackBerry dropped from having 20 percent of the global smartphone market share in 2010 to 0 percent in 2017, according to Statista. For people who weren't around for the company's heyday, the film serves as a valuable history lesson.

Jay Baruchel and cast in the BlackBerry movie.

Crucially, though, it's not just like reading a Wikipedia entry. Johnson tells us exactly who Laziridis and Balsillie are from the very first scenes of the movie. As Laziridis and his RIM co-founder Doug Fregin prepare for a pitch meeting with Balsillie, he can't help but notice a buzzing intercom in the room. It's made in China, which to him is a red flag for bad engineering. So, almost without thinking, Laziridis tears it open and fixes a defective component. Balsillie, meanwhile, spends that time scheming to take the limelight away from a co-worker, simply because he thinks he's smarter than everyone around him.

While that first meeting doesn't go well, it's almost as if Laziridis and Balsillie's lives are destined to intertwine. The engineer needs someone with business smarts to sell his vision, and the business man needs something hot to sell. As played by Jay Baruchel (This is the End, How to Train Your Dragon), Lazaridis is practically a poster child for socially awkward engineers. Glenn Howerton, meanwhile, channels the childish energy of his It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia character to portray Balsillie as a coked-up ball of rage. He may get results, but he also has the uncanny ability to turn every room into a toxic workplace.

BlackBerry succeeds by making us care about Laziridis and his cadre of geeks, and by making Balsillies antics relentlessly entertaining (even when hes being a complete jerk). But whats most impressive is that it gives the story of Research in Motion a compelling dramatic shape: the rise of the genius, the defeat of his enemies (Palms potential hostile takeover of the company is particularly harrowing) and the inevitable downfall. Itll forever change the way you view BlackBerry. And for the tech titans of today, the movie is a textbook example of how quickly you can fall from grace.
Concerts at The Galion featuring Acoustic Super Friends

GALION  Acoustic Super Friends, one of Central Ohios premier acoustic acts, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Galion Community Theatre as part of the 2023 Concerts at The Galion series.

The Messy Bun Cart & Catering will be set up in front of GCT starting at 5:30 p.m. and the concession stand will be open with a selection of local brews from 1803 Brewery and Taproom, some domestic options, plus popcorn, candy and sodas.

Tickets for this concert are $8 and can be purchased at galiontheatre.org/tickets, by calling the box office at 419-468-2662, or at the door the night of the concert.

Heidelberg University named a Collegiate Purple Star campus

TIFFIN  Heidelberg University is among the latest Ohio higher education institutions, both public and independent, to be designated as Collegiate Purple Star campuses. The designation as a Collegiate Purple Star campus recognizes Heidelbergs efforts to support students with military backgrounds.

Heidelberg University is the latest Ohio college to be designated as Collegiate Purple Star campus.

The latest group of 10 Collegiate Purple Star campuses increases to 46 the number of schools that have earned the designation since 2022. Ohio was the first state in the nation to offer these designations, which advance the work already done by Ohios PreK-12 school system to create the Purple Star designation for those schools that worked to become military-friendly.

Criteria for being chosen as a Collegiate Purple Star campus include having a dedicated military/veteran point of contact and/or office on campus, establishing priority registration for veterans and service members, surveying student veterans and service members  along with spouses and dependents  about needs and challenges and allowing for the establishment of student-led groups and organizations for veterans and service members.

ODNR touts fishing in Northwest Ohio

FINDLAY  Northwest Ohios public lakes and reservoirs teem with fish such as yellow perch, largemouth bass and more. Now is the perfect time to grab a fishing pole and try to catch them, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

Story continues

All Ohio residents can fish in public waters for free on June 17-18 during the free fishing weekend.

Ohio has 124,000 acres of inland water, 7,000 miles of streams, 2.25 million acres of Lake Erie water and 481 miles of the Ohio River. At $25 for a resident one-year license, fishing is a cost-effective and accessible outdoor reactional activity. Youth under the age of 16 can fish for free, and all Ohio residents can fish without purchasing a license during Free Fishing Days on June 17-18. All size and daily limits apply during these two days.

Visit the Wild Ohio Harvest Community page at wildohio.gov for information on getting started, fishing opportunities, and delicious recipes.

Upcoming meeting:

 Bucyrus City Schools Board of Education, 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Administrative Office boardroom, 170 Plymouth St., Bucyrus

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Concert at Galion Community Theatre, Heidelberg honor, fishing in Ohio
Next week is poised to be one of the most eventful of the 2024 presidential campaign. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) today filed his official paperwork to run, in advance of his home state launch event Monday. Ron DeSantis is expected to officially kick off his bid later in the week, when he hopes to be the latest Florida governor to declare his candidacy with a shock-and-awe rollout.

And that might not be the end of it. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu told Puck this week theres a 61 percent chance he runs for president . North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is nearing a decision to launch in the next few weeks . Chatter about a possible Chris Christie bid is rising; the former New Jersey governor said in late April hed make a decision in a few weeks .

Theres also Hamlet on the James River, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, another political heavyweight who cant seem to avert his eye from the race.

No seasoned, successful politician runs for president without a theory of the case  a detailed and plausible path to victory. And as more prospective candidates surface, its becoming clearer whats at the heart of those plans: a growing belief within the party that DeSantis is a paper tiger.

At one time, the Florida governor looked to be the candidate best positioned to knock off Trump, en route to finishing off President Joe Biden. DeSantis was Trump without the baggage  and 32 years younger.

He was coming off an epic 2022 reelection victory in the nations third-largest state, marked by Floridas biggest winning margin in 40 years. Officials in both parties did a double take at his robust performance among all Latino groups.

With DeSantis, the GOP could get the same conservative policies as Trump, the same unyielding approach, the same judges, the same trolling of the libs. He was a party leader on Covid. The suburbs would be back in play. So would the five states Biden flipped from Trump in 2020.

But DeSantis Disney jihad and his Ukraine-is-a-territorial-dispute stumble have undermined his aura of competence among donors and the business community. Trumps relentless attacks  none of them answered  and his drum beat of abuse have left the two-term governor bruised. Far from projecting strength, DeSantis suddenly appears to be a candidate whos thrived in a protective cocoon, isolated from media scrutiny, and surrounded by a compliant legislature afraid to test him.

Story continues

On the eve of his launch, DeSantis now confronts the perception that he is a porcelain candidate, glazed and decorative, durable enough, but not really built to withstand the blunt impact of Trumps hammer or the full fury of a united Democratic Party.

Yet the notion that DeSantis is ripe for a takedown is only part of the reason why the presidential race is suddenly looking so enticing. In the three years since Trump lost reelection, there is little evidence to suggest he can win back the White House and much evidence to suggest hell drag the party to defeat with him.

This is what a healthy portion of the GOP political operative class  and the donor class  believes. Most of Trumps primary rivals think it, too. Some of them, like Christie, are willing to say it out loud.

Donald Trump has done nothing but lose since he won the election in 2016. We lost the House in 2018. The Senate and the White House in 2020. We underperformed in 2022 and lost more governorships and another Senate seat, he said in a recent radio interview .

DeSantis says it privately. According to a New York Times report, the governor told supporters and donors in a call Thursday that Trump cant win, pointing to  all the data in the swing states, which is not great for the former president and probably insurmountable because people arent going to change their view of him .

Against that backdrop, its not a bad bet to jump in now under the expectation of filling the role DeSantis was once assumed to hold. But there is a sense of urgency: any new entrants must get in before DeSantis has the opportunity to use his considerable resources to make it a two-person primary with Trump. The clock begins ticking next week.
Federal officials have approved an emergency vaccine to protect the critically endangered California condor from a deadly strain of avian flu that has spread through a population in northern Arizona and southern Utah.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture signed off Wednesday on the emergency use of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, vaccine for condors in an attempt to prevent additional deaths. U.S. Fish and Wildlife describes this strain of avian flu as highly contagious. A pilot study among vultures has already begun.

The service approached the Department of Agriculture about vaccination after a California condor was found dead in late March and then confirmed positive for HPAI at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories. Since then, 20 condors have died and 13 of those were confirmed to have HPAI.

HPAI can spread quickly through bird-to-bird contact, environmental contamination with fecal material, and via exposed clothing, shoes and vehicles, according to an April release on the deaths.

Several condors remain in monitored care at Liberty Wildlife in Phoenix, including a newly hatched chick whose egg was pulled from its contaminated nest before its mother died from the virus.

Biologists at Liberty Wildlife are working to get the birds in care healthy enough for a release back into the wild.

The hope is that they will be able to go back into the wild, said Stephanie Lamb, a veterinarian at Liberty Wildlife. We want to get these birds through this and get them back out into the wild to live their lives the way they are meant to.

Recovering species: Condors take flight near Grand Canyon, but lead ammo could ground the birds

Condors' slow reproduction rate is a concern

An adult California Condor takes flight.

The California condor has been protected as an endangered species since 1967. By 1982 fewer than 25 condors remained in the wild until an effort was launched to capture the remaining birds and start a captive breeding program. By the late 1980s the final bird was captured, making the species extinct in the wild.

Story continues

The first condor was released into the wild in 1995, and the first wild-born condor was welcomed in 2003. In Arizona, the birds soar over the Vermilion Cliffs north of the Grand Canyon and are sometimes seen over the Colorado River and along the Canyon's rims.

The condor has a slow reproduction rate, typically laying only one egg a year, which has left biologists anxious about the effects this strain could have on the vulnerable population and its recovery.

The authorized vaccine is a killed, inactivated version of the virus, and was licensed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Center for Veterinary Biologics in 2016. Since the vaccine has not previously been tested against this strain of the virus in these species, the first step in the vaccination program is a pilot safety study in North American black vultures, a similar species, to investigate if there are any adverse effects before giving the vaccine to the endangered condors.

Vaccine trials have already begun on 20 surrogate vultures in North Carolina.

California condors are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and are highly imperiled, with just over 300 in the wild, said Joanna Gilkeson of U.S Fish and Wildlife Service. HPAI is a newly recognized threat to the species with the recent condor deaths in Arizona. If proven safe, vaccinations may help the service and our partners address this threat and reduce the impact of HPAI to both the free-flying birds and those in captivity.

This emergency use approval is limited to the California condors because of their endangered listing. USDA Agricultural Research Service scientists are continuing to examine vaccine options that could protect U.S. poultry from HPAI.

Conservation groups and wildlife protection organizations have been urging for a fast-tracked vaccine for highly pathogenic avian influenza as the largest outbreak of the virus in U.S. history continues to spread across the country and the world.

Avian flu spreading among chickens and other birds

The highly contagious and deadly strain has been circulating since last year. Avian flu typically does not extend past one season, but this strain has lasted longer, which has alarmed wildlife biologists.

Since early 2022 more than 49 million birds in 46 states have either died as a result of HPAI or have been killed due to exposure to infected birds.

Factory farms have proven to be an ideal breeding ground for this highly contagious strain of avian flu that has already killed billions of chickens and is now rapidly infecting endangered California condors and other wild birds, said Lori Ann Burd, the environmental health director for the Center for Biological Diversity. In just a few weeks this dangerous disease has wiped out over 17 percent of the critically endangered California condors in Arizona and sickened a lot more.

Avian flu & egg prices: High egg prices have Arizonans buying chickens

The Center for Biological Diversity said the rapid approval and deployment of a vaccine is needed to curb this outbreak and protect the condor.

Vaccines have never been approved or used to control HPAI in the U.S. but there has been limited use of specific vaccines to control low pathogenic avian influenza. Implications for an LPAI outbreak are significantly different than that of an HPAI outbreak and the vaccines used in previous outbreaks would not be effective in combatting this current strain.

Jake Frederico covers environment issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to jake.frederico@arizonarepublic.com.

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can support environmental journalism in Arizona by subscribing to azcentral today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: USDA approves avian flu vaccine for imperiled California condors
(Bloomberg) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has lost the confidence of a key constituency.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Five years after ushering in a wave of business optimism that hed revive an economy hobbled by industrial-scale corruption under his predecessor, executives are running out of patience with the 70-year-old leader. Economic stagnation spawned by record daily power outages, rampant crime, disintegrating infrastructure and foreign policy missteps is leading investors to the exits, with the rand fast-approaching a record low of 20 per dollar.

The business communitys growing disaffection with Ramaphosas administration was expected to be a topic of discussion at talks between his deputy, Paul Mashatile, and company executives on Friday evening. The mood going into the meeting was summed up by Investec Plc Group Chief Executive Officer Fani Titi.

We are going nowhere fast, he said in an interview on Thursday. The government is disorganized. Totally disorganized.

Business leaders raised concerns about issues affecting their constituents in their discussions with Mashatile, the presidency said in a statement after the meeting on Friday night.

They urged the government to work with a greater sense of urgency in attending to the energy crisis, crime and corruption, and processing of applications relating to statutory obligations hindering their ability to conduct business effectively, it said.

Dumping Bonds

Foreign investors have sold a net $10.5 billion of South African government bonds this year, adding to $15.9 billion of net sales last year. Non-residents held just 26% of government bonds at the end of April, down from a high of 43% in March 2018, the month after Ramaphosa came to office, National Treasury data shows.

Meanwhile, government borrowing costs have surged. The generic 10-year yield climbed to a three-year high of 12.18% on Friday, compared with about 9.05% in February 2018 when Ramaphosa took office. The rand has lost 39% of its value over the period, the worst performance among major emerging-market currencies after the Turkish lira and Argentine peso. Options traders assign an 85% chance to the rand weakening to below 20 per dollar this year.

Opposition parties level manifold accusations against Ramaphosa: He oversees a bloated executive that includes several ministers whove proven inept or corrupt, but are retained because of their political sway; he consults endlessly on policies, many of which are misguided or never implemented, and fails to act decisively; and hes placed South Africas trade relations with the US and European Union at risk by forging closer ties with Russia and refusing to condemn its invasion of Ukraine.

Ramaphosa is not considered a positive leader by financial markets going forward, said Matt Gertken, chief geopolitical strategist at BCA Research. He is old and suffering from scandals, he failed to implement significant structural economic reforms, he failed to mend divisions in the ruling party and now his credibility will suffer due to his foreign policy, he said.

In a succession of speeches and newsletters, the president has acknowledged the enormity of the challenges confronting the country, while highlighting his administrations attempts to tackle graft and draw foreign investment.

There is continuing confidence and trust between government, business and labor, Ramaphosa said in an interview in Paarl, near Cape Town, on Friday. We are always consulting each other and we all know that the challenges this country faces cannot be solved by each acting alone.

MTN Group Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita and Nedbank Group Ltd. Chairman-designate Daniel Mminele have both warned that South Africa risks becoming a failed state unless its myriad problems are addressed. While most executives have steered clear of openly calling for Ramaphosa to go, that option is increasingly being discussed in business circles.

One CEO who declared shes lost faith in the president is Magda Wierzycka, who heads asset manager Sygnia Ltd.

I had no idea of how wrong I was going to be in endorsing Ramaphosa when he took over as president, she said on Twitter. Instead of trying to turn the country around, the government had displayed apathy, patronage politics had continued, and there had been no change for all South Africans, she said.

Disenchantment with the governments performance extends beyond corporate boardrooms. More than 80% of 1,517 respondents in a survey conducted in March by the Social Research Foundation said the country was moving in the wrong direction. Discontent has manifested in dozens of violent protests, the worst of which erupted in July 2021, when 354 people died and thousands of businesses were looted and destroyed.

Mandela Successor

Expectations that Ramaphosa was the right person to lead the country stemmed from his illustrious political career.

He trained as a lawyer, co-founded the National Union of Mineworkers and played a leading role in negotiating an end to apartheid and drafting the countrys first democratic constitution. After losing out to Thabo Mbeki in the contest to succeed Nelson Mandela as president, he went into business and amassed a multimillion-dollar fortune that made him one of the richest Black South Africans.

Ramaphosa reentered mainstream politics in 2012 when he was elected deputy president of the ruling African National Congress and secured the top party post five years later. He was appointed the nations president after the ANC forced Jacob Zuma to step down after a tumultuous nine years in office, during which key state institutions were hollowed out and the government estimates at least 500 billion rand ($26 billion) of taxpayer funds were stolen.

While Ramaphosa has made some headway in rebuilding the law-enforcement and tax-collection agencies, the coronavirus pandemic dealt a body blow to his efforts to rebuild an already fragile economy. Hes also failed to engineer at turnaround at Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., the state utility that supplies more than 90% of the nations electricity, which has been subjecting the country to rolling blackouts since 2008.

Read more: How South Africas Blackouts Went From Bad to Worse: QuickTake

While Ramaphosa should be the ANCs presidential candidate in next years elections after winning a second term as its leader in December, hes indicated behind closed doors that hes prepared to vacate his post if the partys top brass wants him to, according to three people who are familiar with its internal deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity because they arent authorized to comment. Several opinion polls indicate that the ANC risks losing its outright majority, yet even if it does its likely to retain sufficient support to cobble together a coalition to retain power.

I am in my second term as ANC president and I will be president of the country again after the next elections that the ANC will win, Ramaphosa said when asked if he intends staying on his post.

If Ramaphosa does exit early, his deputy Mashatile would be in pole position to succeed him. Mashatile has billed himself as a much more decisive leader than the incumbent who will do more to boost economic growth and investment, but the business community has yet to be convinced that hed be an ideal replacement, according to two CEOs who declined to be identified.

Mashatile isnt campaigning to get rid of Ramaphosa and will continue to support him, but in the event the president does leave, hes prepared to step into the breach, said two of his close confidants, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.

South Africa doesnt require rocket scientists, Titi said. We require leaders to make simple decisions about moving things forward.

Read more: Rising Political Star Has a Plan to Fix South Africas Economy

--With assistance from Robert Brand, Paul Vecchiatto, Loni Prinsloo and Monique Vanek.

(Updates with statement by presidency after meeting between deputy president and business leaders from fifth paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) launched the BudgetMealGoWhere website on Friday (19 May), allowing members of the public to search for coffee shops with budget meal offerings near their location. (PHOTO: Getty)

SINGAPORE  The Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Friday (19 May) launched a new portal to help members of the public locate HDB coffee shops offering budget meals.

The BudgetMealGoWhere website, launched in collaboration with the Government Technology Agency (GovTech), will allow anyone to search for HDB coffee shops offering budget meals near their location. Users can also view the budget meals and drinks available at these coffee shops.

The website contains a search bar that allows members of the public to insert their postal code, which the website then returns with a list of coffee shops, starting with those located within 2km of the inserted postal code.

More budget meal offerings by 2026

In March 2023, the government announced that all coffee shops leased from HDB would have to offer budget meal options upon their tenancy renewal starting May 2023. All rental coffee shops due for renewal will need to provide four budget meals and two budget drinks as a condition for renewal of their tenancy.

Operators were also encouraged to offer budget meals at prices which are sustainable and competitive to prices of surrounding F&B options.

With this change, the government aims to have budget meals be progressively offered at all 374 HDB rental coffee shops by 2026.

"For a start, about 40 coffee shops are currently listed on the BudgetMealGoWhere website, with more being progressively added," said HDB in a statement.

Participating stalls will display the budget meal decal stickers on their food display signage, indicating the budget meals on offer.

Budget meal decal stickers that indicate that budget meals are on offer. (PHOTO: HDB)

To ease the transition for coffee shop operators and stall holders, HDB said it would be offering a small rental discount of five per cent off the renewal rents  which are market-based  for a period of one year from the time the tenancy is renewed. This will be subject to verification that the new budget meals and drinks have been implemented.

Story continues

HDB also revealed that it had completed 37 new coffee shops in the last five years and will continue to build new ones to serve new HDB developments. Another 34 coffee shops are slated for completion in the next five years.

Members of the public can visit the website here, or access the platform via the LifeSG app and website.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.
The end of third grade is supposed to be marked by parties, cupcakes and notes to beloved teachers  not parental uproar over porn.

But at Sacred Heart, a tiny Catholic elementary school about an hour southwest of Kansas City in Ottawa, Kansas, the past two months have been filled with angry parents, accusatory emails, tears, phone calls and meetings with the schools first-year principal over what might have been six to seven weeks of access to pornography on the third graders unfiltered iPads.

The principal insists the school took measures as soon as it understood the severity of the situation.

I think the most I can say, the principal, Patrick P.J. Greer, told The Star, is that there was a time period where there was some really unfortunate things going on with the use of iPads in our building.  When it became known to me that things were happening at the level they were happening, I took action.

But angry parents maintain they alerted the school at the start of March that some third graders may have been viewing sexually inappropriate content on their iPads, but the school failed to act for weeks. Worse still, they say, is the schools attempt to cast at least partial blame on some of the kids, who are 9 or 10 years old.

Its basically a complete dismissal of accountability, said outraged parent Brian Desch, who, because of this incident, does not plan on re-enrolling his third grade son in the school next year. Theyre just pointing the finger everywhere. I was paying my sons tuition because I bought into the image of, you know, Were going to hold ourselves to a higher standard. Were going to be accountable. Were going to live a moral life filled with integrity and honesty. And I have yet to see where any of that has been displayed with the leaders of that school.

As grandparents, John and Debbie Duncan help care for their third grade granddaughter because of family problems.

Im the reason she was sent to Sacred Heart, said Debbie Duncan, who attended Catholic schools for 12 years. I thought she would be in a more protective surrounding. Not only would he (the principal) not take responsibility, he attacked her. He said I wonder where a child would learn a word like that? The word was porn. I said, I dont know where she got it, but she accessed it at school. All they had to do was type in the word porn on Google. 

Story continues

Its just been one horrible step after another of trying to get somebody to take responsibility.  I dont think the Catholic Church needs any more bad publicity when it comes to issues like this.

The plan for their granddaughter next year: At this point, shes not going back, Duncan said.

Parents notified school about the porn

Part of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, Sacred Heart is a school of 93 preschool to fifth grade students in a town of 13,000. The third grade has 16 students.

An email thread shared with The Star indicates a set of parents notified the principal in March that a child said kids were searching terms for breasts and images had appeared. Rumors of students calling up pornographic images began swirling around the school. The parents again emailed the principal about three weeks later that kids were talking about access to porn.

Three more weeks passed. On April 18, Desch, who works in information technology, said he met with the principal and offered help. He was told that the school had mistakenly let its paid filter protection lapse on the devices. Without the filters  software that blocks certain websites or specific material  the kids could search sexual sites.

I offered my services for free, Desch said. I said, Hey, if you have an issue blocking these things out, give me five minutes per iPad, I can do this for you. He dismissed it.

Six days later, on April 24, nearly seven weeks after the first alert, the school sent out a letter on growing problems with the use of technology in the third grade classroom.

There have been reports of students using the google search engine to look up inappropriate things and pictures, it reads.

But disturbing to some parents was the next line, which they say sounded as if blame was cast at the kids:

Pinpointing and proving which student(s) have been responsible for these actions at the current oversight we have of our student devices has proven difficult.

The letter said the school acquired an Apple account that offered better oversight. The principal updated the devices security, added extra parental locks. Instead of sharing iPads, each student would have their own.

This will be the iPad that they are responsible for, Greer wrote. I will be looking at the use history of each device and they are responsible for what is on that device. They are not to let anyone use or borrow their device.  Some students have approached me with information about who has been looking at these things. I told them to write in a note for me what they know, and I will look over the information.

Further letters outlined more action. The principal sent out two parental guides on dealing with childhood exposure to porn. Greer told parents he was considering bringing in a counselor to help both parents and students process and identify any grief or trauma regarding the event.

Inappropriate online access

Parents are split. Some are still angry and feel the school and church are trying to brush aside a traumatizing event. Others are calling for understanding.

Sarah Smiths father attended Sacred Heart. She attended Sacred Heart. Her daughter, she said, is among the what she believes to be only a small number of students in the class to view any images.

She thinks the school has handled the situation well and, in an email to parents, urged understanding.

Our kiddos have TWO years left at our treasured school  TWO  and then we release them into the wilderness , she wrote. Yes, I know every parent would want to know if their child was exposed to porn in the classroom.  I truly feel this is a time for ALL OF US to come together for our children. Lets stop the secret meetings, full of nothing but negative words regarding our (Sacred Heart School) Staff who care so much for every student at that school  lets LOVE MORE and offer grace to others.

Nationwide debates have raged in public schools, where books have been taken off of library shelves in response to parental complaints over children having access to materials with sexual themes or content regarding gender.

We went to the Nelson-Atkins Museum over spring break, one upset mother told The Star. An Ottawa business owner, she asked to remain anonymous, concerned about how the split among local parents could affect her livelihood. I have no problem with my child seeing Greek statues of naked people at all. None.

There is no question, psychologically, the extensive damage to the development in the brain of children who are exposed to this type of pornography. It undermines their ability to develop a very fundamental part of life.

The diocese is not denying that its safeguards lapsed and the matter was not handled well.

Our school has fallen short in safeguarding our youngsters from this inappropriate online access, Allison Carney, the Archdioceses associate superintendent of schools, told The Star in a written statement. We know that our school families are disappointed and concerned by this incident, but we want them to know that we are working hard to discover what happened here, and we hope what we learn from this situation will help us improve our systems and processes going forward.

In early May, Greer sent a letter saying that all iPads in the third grade had been removed. A psychological counselor was brought to the school. A new online security system has been purchased. He apologized.

The events that occurred leading to this are truly horrible, Greer wrote. That this occurred under my leadership of the school is something that saddens me as someone who is responsible to help keep our kids safe.
Passenger steamer, left, and lake freighter make it into Lake Michigan for the first time, May 10, 1923.

CHARLEVOIX  One hundred fifty years ago, on May 17, 1873, Charlevoix Sentinel editor Willard A. Smith reported that Every boat brings numbers of new settlers for the unoccupied territory in the eastern part of our county.

This was certainly true. Word had gotten out nationwide about what had become available after the federal government opened up so much land for farming and settlement. Thousands of veterans of the Civil War had returned home to find not much opportunity to occupy their hands and minds, and began to heed the advertising for greener pastures that upper Michigan had to offer. The arrival later that year of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad from the south, that would come through Boyne Falls and Petoskey to Mackinac, would allow even faster access to these lands. The Tip of the Mitt was about to experience a population-thus-development explosion. Bear River, now Petoskey, would soon overtake Pine River (Charlevoix) in its growth, with an eventual 400-plus cottages alone in its resort subdivision called Bay View.

That same week, one could get ones teeth fixed! Or maybe just painfully pulled. Dental.Dr. L. Wright, of Yuba (39 miles south of Charlevoix on U.S. 31), an experienced dentist, informs us that he will be in town during the coming week, to do all the work in that line with which he may be favored. Hard to imagine what exactly that experience would be like.

Willard Smith also devoted over a full length column to the importance of the railroad coming to this region. The close observer of human events cannot have failed to notice that they are the means of Providence for the rapid advancement of civilization . . . and this local link (the Boyne Falls-Mackinac track) will be a link in the chain of the general system (of Michigan railroads) that will extend across the continent from ocean to ocean. And what could be better calculated to stimulate production in all branches of labor than to have a demand for every article of market value brought to every neighborhood.

Story continues

In the agricultural districts along railroad lines may be seen business points or stations which often with great rapidity grow into chartered villages and commercial cities, all of which would have remained for a long time unknown had not capital and engineering skill projected and built the railroads. The telegraph follows with swift pace to bestow the latest and greatest improvement of the age in the almost instantaneous transmission of intelligence from State to State, and from continent to continent.

But while we have prophesied luck to others (namely Bear River/Petoskeys prospects for tremendous growth), we recommend patience to the people of Charlevoix. There are many railroad routes pointing to the Straits of Mackinac, and it is very strange if so important a point as Charlevoix should not be found on some of them. Patience, faith, hope and charity are qualities every citizen should possess; without them Providence would hardly deem us worthy objects of its favor and regard. Consequently, knowing and appreciating the good qualities of our citizens, we will venture, while in a prophetical state of mind, to say that within three years from this time, Charlevoix will have a railroad, and that one of the principal lines in the State; that our village will take new courage; that its bounds will be extended, and that its growth and prosperity, thence forward, will be without parallel in its history.

It actually took 19 years for Willards hopes and dreams to come true, but once they did, in 1892, Charlevoix, as he predicted, would never be the same again.

In the same issue, the Traverse Bay Progress news weekly, published in Elk Rapids, congratulated Willard on four years of successful Sentinel publication. Elk Rapids was where his newspaper career began, in his late teens, before he was assigned by a Traverse City editor to come north. The Charlevoix Sentinel has just entered on its fifth volume, and every number carries with it the evidences of prosperity and increasing influence. We number the Sentinel as among the two or three best papers published in this region. Its columns always present matters of interest to the people of this section, and in the development of the Grand Traverse country for which it especially speaks, it cannot play an unimportant part.

The Progress went on to illuminate how these sister newspapers together played such an important role in furthering awareness of our regions qualities and potential, especially each ports easy access to water. We extend to the Sentinel our best wishes for continued success, and bespeak its co-operation in all things pertaining to the promotion of the common welfare. Compare that to the recent reportage of the Cheboygan newspaper editor stealing Willards own words to fill in the blanks in his columns, resulting in verbal thunderbolts of high dudgeon that only Willard knew how to hurl.

Fifty years later, the May 17, 1923 Sentinel reported that the manager of the summertime Belvedere Hotel, I. A. Creamer, had arrived to begin preparations for opening. At the same time, the wind shifted to blow the Lake Michigan ice away from shore, east to west, opening up the lake for the first time that year. . . . thus giving local citizens a fine view of open water on Lake Michigan, the first for several months. The Courier of the same week chimed in with The drifting floes still, however, make the lot of the ship master a hard one, as the accompanying photo of boats gingerly testing the waters, taken May 10, 1923, graphically attest.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Looking Back: Charlevoix's patience rewarded with a railroad
JUAREZ, Mexico  This country's top immigration official said Mexico is closing migrant detention centers in the wake of a deadly fire and plans to open humanitarian shelters instead.

Francisco Garduno faces criminal charges in Mexico that he failed to protect migrants in his custody after a March 27 fire killed 40 migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, Venezuela and other countries. The National Immigration Institute commissioner has remained in his post as he awaits trial.

On Tuesday, Garduno gave reporters a tour of empty offices on the Mexican side of the Ysleta-Zaragoza international bridge that would soon be turned into an albergue provisional, "a temporary shelter," he said, "to replace the one where the accident occurred."

The "accident" was a horrific fire that spun out of control after migrant men  being held behind bars  allegedly lit foam mattresses to protest their detention. Prosecutors claim an immigration official or private security guard sold the men cigarettes and a lighter.

Migrants hold a vigil at the gate of the Mexican migrant facility, where 40 migrants lost their lives after the facility where they were being detained caught fire.

As black smoke bellowed the night of the fire, security camera footage appeared to capture officials and guards walking by the men's cell block door nonchalantly, without attempting to unlock the padlock or rescue the migrants.

Since the fire, inquiries have revealed that officials and guards could not find the keys to unlock the cells in time to free the men.

Francisco Garduno, Mexico's top immigration official, visits the Zaragoza international bridge in Ciudad Juarez on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, as part of a tour with members of the media of the installations that will be accommodated to 'shelter' migrants that are expelled from the U.S. Behind Garduno is Manuel Alfonso Marin Salazar, the top immigration official for the state of Chihuahua who accompanied Garduno.

'All the conditions of security'

Garduno walked through a series of small offices looking over the bridge traffic. The remodeling was in the early stages: broken blinds hung over tinted floor-to-ceiling windows; piles of junk waited to be hauled away.

The new shelter will have space for 80 people, he said, "with all the conditions of security and civil protection." He didn't give a date for its opening.

"I have closed 33 installations, or provisional shelters, or migratory stations," he told reporters. "But we still have 17 more with capacity for nearly 5,000 people. So we aren't left without shelters. But the goal is that no one is held more than 36 hours, as the law requires."

Story continues

More: Mexican president faces protest in Juarez over deadly fire at immigration center

Mexican officials have often used euphemisms to describe their immigration stations.

The federal government operates two migrant shelters  in the traditional context of the term  at its northern border, one in Tijuana and another in Juarez.

A Mexican immigration official accompanies Francisco Garduno, Mexicos top immigration official, during a visit to the Zaragoza international bridge in Ciudad Juarez on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, as part of a tour with members of the media of the installations that will be accommodated to shelter migrants that are expelled from the U.S.

The Leona Vicario shelter in central Juarez is in an old maquila assembly plant and with a capacity to house 1,500 people. Although they are required to respect a curfew, migrants are allowed to leave the shelter for work or medical appointments.

But the station that President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called a "shelter" in the wake of the fire consisted of cells where migrant men and women were locked, in separate blocks, behind bars.

The new shelter won't keep migrants behind bars or locked in, Garduno said.

"We changed the model, immediately after the incident," he said.

Mexico "has always sheltered migrants, because (irregular) migration in Mexico is an administrative offense and we have to have a place to register them, to find out their nationality," he said.

Dig Deeper 'They couldn't find the keys': How 40 migrants died in Juarez fire

Number of migrants at border declines

Several dozen migrants picked up cardboard beds from the walkway outside the INM offices, as an entourage of immigration officials and reporters followed Garduno on his tour.

Some of the migrants said they had spent the night there; a Honduran mother said she hoped to be able to get an appointment through the CBP One app for her family.

"We heard that it worked better at the border," she said.

Migrants are photographed as Francisco Garduno, MexicoOs top immigration official, visits the Zaragoza international bridge in Ciudad Juarez on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, The top official was visiting what will be renovated installations to OshelterO migrants expelled from the U.S. from El Paso, Texas.

Last week, Department of Homeland Security officials said the number of appointments available via the cellphone app were up to 1,000 per day. The app has frequently been overwhelmed by demand, as migrants seek an appointment to make a claim for asylum or another other lawful immigration pathway.

The number of migrants crossing into the U.S. between ports of entry dropped dramatically in the days after border authorities stopped expelling migrants Thursday under the pandemic-era Title 42 rule.

Border authorities in El Paso reported 626 encounters Monday, according to the city's dashboard, after months of reporting over 1,000 migrant encounters nearly every day. The number of non-Mexican migrants returned to Mexico dropped, as well, Garduno said.

Garduno, who resides in Mexico City, is required to sign in at the federal tribunal in Juarez every other Tuesday while he awaits trial.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: After deadly Juarez fire, Mexico shuts some migrant detention centers
A girl who went missing six years ago was found alive in North Carolina on Saturday, and her mother was booked into jail on suspicion of child abduction.

Heather Unbehaun allegedly abducted her daughter, Kayla Unbehaun, after losing custody. The girl was last seen in 2017, when she was 9 years old, in South Elgin, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago. Last week, the pair were spotted at a used clothing shop in Asheville, North Carolina, by an employee who said she recognized the mother and called police.

The employee had recognized the pair from an episode of Unsolved Mysteries, Asheville Police Department spokesperson Samantha Booth told CNN. Photos of the Unbehauns from the Center for Missing & Exploited Children posters were shown at the end of the episode called Abducted by a Parent, which first aired in November 2022.

Heather Unbehaun was taken into custody by Asheville police officers just before 7:30 p.m. on May 13, according to the police department. Kayla, now 15, was taken in by the North Carolina Division of Social Services before reuniting with her father, Ryan Iskerka.

Im overjoyed that Kayla is home safe, Iskerka said in a statement, shared by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, in which he thanked law enforcement agencies. I also want to thank all of the followers on the Bring Kayla Home Facebook page, who helped keep her story alive and were instrumental in spreading awareness. We ask for privacy as we get to know each other again and navigate this new beginning.

A poster updates that the missing girl, Kayla Unbehaun, had been found.

A poster updates that the missing girl, Kayla Unbehaun, had been found.

Unbehaun was booked into jail in North Carolina on a $250,000 secured bond with plans for her to be extradited to Illinois, Asheville police said. However, she was released on bail Tuesday morning.

On Wednesday, she was booked into jail in Kane County, Illinois, where the alleged kidnapping took place, according to jail records.

WLS-TV in Chicago reported that she had returned to Kane County on her own and turned herself in. She has since been released again on a $10,000 bond but was ordered to wear a GPS tracking monitor, the ABC affiliate reported.

Story continues

A booking photo taken of Heather Unbehaun in Kane County, Illinois.

A booking photo taken of Heather Unbehaun in Kane County, Illinois.

Subscribe to our true crime newsletter, Suspicious Circumstances, to get the biggest unsolved mysteries, white-collar scandals and grim cases delivered straight to your inbox every week. Sign up here.

Related...
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix, on Jan. 5, 2023. (Rebecca Noble/The New York Times)

Bipartisan political group No Labels is stepping up a well-funded effort to field a unity ticket for the 2024 presidential race, prompting fierce resistance from even some of its closest allies who fear handing the White House back to Donald Trump.

At the top of the list of potential candidates is Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who has been a headache to his party and could bleed support from President Joe Biden in areas crucial to his reelection.

The centrist groups leadership was in New York this week raising part of the money  around $70 million  that it says it needs to help with nationwide ballot access efforts.

Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times

The determination to nominate a ticket will be made shortly after the primaries next year on what is known as Super Tuesday, March 5, said Nancy Jacobson, the co-founder and leader of No Labels. A national convention has been set for April 14-15 in Dallas, where a Democrat-Republican ticket would be set to take on the two major-party nominees. (Biden is facing two long-shot challengers, and Trump is the Republican front-runner.)

Other potential No Labels candidates being floated include Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and former Gov. Larry Hogan, R-Md., who has said he would not run for the GOP nomination and is the national co-chair of the group. But Manchin has received most notice recently after speaking on a conference call last month with donors.

Were not looking to pick the ticket right now, former Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., a longtime associate of the group, cautioned in an interview Wednesday as he prepared to meet with donors and leaders in New York. Our focus is getting on the ballot.

The drive has already secured ballot spots in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado and Oregon and is now targeting Florida, Nevada and North Carolina. But gaining ballot access nationwide is a challenging and expensive effort, and the group still has a long way to go.

Jacobson called the project an insurance policy in the event both major parties put forth presidential candidates the vast majority of Americans dont support.

Story continues

Were well aware any independent ticket faces a steep climb, and if our rigorously gathered data and polling suggests an independent unity ticket cant win, we will not nominate a ticket, she said.

Caveats aside, the effort is causing deep tensions with the groups ideological allies, congressional partners and Democratic Party officials who are scrambling to stop it. Third-party candidates siphoned enough votes to arguably cost Democrats elections in 2000 (Al Gore) and 2016 (Hillary Rodham Clinton). Republicans say the same thing about Ross Perots role in blocking George H.W. Bushs reelection in 1992.

If No Labels runs a Joe Manchin against Donald Trump and Joe Biden, I think it will be a historic disaster, said Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., who until now has been a strong supporter of the organization. And I speak for just about every moderate Democrat and frankly most of my moderate Republican friends.

People close to Manchin have their doubts he would join a No Labels ticket. He must decide by January whether to run for reelection in his firmly Republican state, where he does see an avenue to return to the Senate.

The states popular Democrat-turned-Republican governor, Jim Justice, is running for the Republican nomination to challenge Manchin, but so is West Virginias most Trump-aligned House member, Alex Mooney, who has the backing of the deep-pocketed political action committee Club for Growth.

If Mooney can knock out Justice, or damage him badly by bringing up the governors centrist record and days as a Democrat, Manchin sees a path to reelection, and no real prospect of actually winning the presidency on the No Labels ticket.

But Manchin is keeping his options open, at least as he raises money under the No Labels auspices.

Lets try to make people come back together for the sake of the country, not just for the sake of the party, Manchin told the groups donors on a recent conference call leaked to the news site Puck this month.

Opponents are mobilizing to stop No Labels. Maines secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, sent a cease-and-desist letter this month to the groups director of ballot access, accusing the organization of misrepresenting its intentions as it presses for signatures to get on the states presidential ballot.

The Arizona Democratic Party sued this spring to get No Labels off the states ballot, accusing it of engaging in a shadowy strategy to gain ballot access  when in reality they are not a political party.

One of No Labels founders, William Galston, a former policy aide to President Bill Clinton, publicly resigned from his own organization over the push. In an interview, he pointed to polling saying that voters who dislike both Trump and Biden  double haters  say overwhelmingly they would vote for Biden in the end. Given an alternative, that might not be the case.

And Democratic members of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a centrist coalition aligned with No Labels that actually does No Labels legislative work, are in open revolt.

I can think of nothing worse than another Trump presidency and no better way of helping him than running a third-party candidate, said Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill.

No Labels has long had its detractors, variously accused of ineffectuality, fronting for Republicans and existing mainly to raise large amounts of money from wealthy corporate donors, many of whom give primarily to Republicans.

But the grumbling criticism took on a more urgent tone when Puck posted a partial transcript of a leaked conference call that No Labels held with its funders. On it, Ryan Clancy, the groups chief strategist, said ballot organizers were at 600,000 signatures and counting, and nearing slots on the ballot in roughly 20 states, with their eyes on all 50.

Manchin joined the call as the closer: The hope is to keep the country that we have, and you cannot do that by forcing the extreme sides on both parties, he said.

Manchins political appeal beyond West Virginia is questionable. The loudest discontent among Democrats with Biden has come from young voters, many of whom are animated by the issue of climate change, and they are not aligned with Manchin on that.

Manchin has repeatedly referred to the climate crisis caused by human activities. Yet Manchin, whose state is a major producer of coal and natural gas and who has earned millions from his familys coal business, has long fought policies that would punish companies for not shifting more quickly to clean energy and has accused Biden of promoting a radical climate agenda.

But Democrats worry. The southwestern suburbs of Pittsburgh abut West Virginia, and it would not take many Democrats bolting to Manchin to hand Pennsylvania to Trump, they warn.

Jacobson, on the leaked conference call, said No Labels had been Pearl Harbored by a March memo from the Democratic centrist group Third Way. The memo was bluntly titled: A Plan That Will Reelect Trump.

It wasnt exactly a sneak attack, Third Ways longtime leader, Matt Bennett, countered in an interview. We are enormously alarmed.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
The COVID-19 pandemic forced Michigan courts, including juvenile courts, to hold most hearings online. Lessons learned: In child welfare cases, the right mix of in-person and online hearings promotes access to justice, cuts delays, saves costs, and protects both children and parents rights more effectively than either approach alone. Now that pandemic restrictions have been lifted, leaving the choice of in-person or virtual hearings up to individual judges, we urge the Michigan Supreme Court to adopt a consistent statewide approach, using the lessons learned from juvenile courts' experience.

While all courts faced difficulties with the leap to online proceedings, juvenile courts were under especially intense pressure. In-person hearings were suspended, but the courts could not simply shelve time-sensitive child welfare cases until the pandemic subsided. In addition to concerns about childrens safety and parents rights, federal funding for states child protection programs is tied to how well state courts meet federal statutory deadlines in child protection cases. And in a March 27, 2020 advisory, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Childrens Bureau made clear that the statutory time requirements could not be waived.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced juvenile court hearings online. Now, the decision to hold hearings online or in person are made by individual judges.

So  with no advance planning, no study groups, and no how-to manuals  juvenile courts nationwide made the seismic shift to holding hearings online. Difficulties quickly emerged: Many low-income and rural participants lacked internet access. Dropped calls, connectivity issues and inexperienced users complicated communications. Parties could not easily confer with their attorneys. Attorneys, used to a physical courtroom, found it challenging to be effective advocates online. Some judges felt that online proceedings did not allow them to really assess a witnesss credibility, especially in termination of parental rights hearings (commonly referred to as the civil death penalty).

Maura Corrigan

But despite the challenges, juvenile courts reported significant benefits from online hearings. Parents, children, foster parents, attorneys, social workers and others could participate more easily, and communications among them improved. Attendance at court hearings also improved, because participants did not have to take time off work or travel to a courthouse. Children were less frightened, more engaged and more forthcoming online than in the unfamiliar atmosphere of a courtroom. Delays were reduced, wait times eliminated. Rural communities enjoyed greater access to legal representation by attorneys who could participate remotely. A national study by researchers Alicia Summers and Sophia Gatowski found the same benefits, with 78% of those surveyed  parents, court, and agency staff  favoring online hearings in child welfare cases.

Perhaps the most significant effect of the movement to online hearings: Courts abandoned the traditional cattle call docket, in which cases are all scheduled for the same time on a given day. In a cattle call, parties, witnesses, and attorneys must wait, sometimes for hours, to have their cases heard. The move to online hearings forced juvenile courts to schedule cases at specific times.

Now, three years after COVID compelled courts to take their proceedings online, we have learned much about what works  and what doesnt  for courts conducting online hearings. At present, Michigan juvenile court judges determine which hearings will be held live and which will take place online  an approach that shows great confidence in Michigans judges, but makes it difficult for attorneys, parents and others to know what to expect. While many counties have retained the benefit of virtual hearings, other large jurisdictions have not, dragging families, lawyers and other professionals into court for short, perfunctory hearings that could easily be conducted on-line. Counties have done so even though many are struggling to find attorneys to represent children and parents, while others labor to retain other child protection professionals who burn out, in part because of time spent in needless hearings.

Vivek Sankaran

Here are three key recommendations for juvenile courts that the Michigan Supreme Court should consider:

Adopt specific rules for child protection cases. Children's cases merit special attention in the rule-making process  and that includes setting clear, consistent, statewide rules for which hearings will be conducted online. Arizona offers an excellent model: The most sensitive and difficult hearings, such as termination of parental rights hearings and other trials, take place in person, while online hearings are held for more routine, non-controversial matters. Judges, attorneys, parents, and others involved know which hearings will be online and which require their attendance in person.

Employ technical bailiffs to bridge the digital divide and promote access to justice. An innovation introduced by Texas judges, technical bailiffs schedule and set up online hearings, help litigants with technology issues, and communicate with participants so they can be better prepared for hearings.

Retain time-specific calendaring. Like scheduling a doctors appointment, court hearings, whether online or in-person, should be set for a specific date and time to appear; the hearing notice should also state the estimated duration of the hearing. Significantly, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges recommended this practice for over 20 years, but time-specific calendaring never really caught on  until the pandemic.

As former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget McCormack has said, COVID was not the disruption we wanted, but it was the disruption we needed. An unexpected silver lining of the pandemic, online hearings can, if used prudently, help juvenile courts deliver justice to the most vulnerable and helpless among us.

Hon. Maura D. Corrigan, a former Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, served as director of the Michigan Department of Human Services from 2011-2015. Prof. Vivek Sankaran, a clinical professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School, directs the law schools Child Advocacy Clinic and the Child Welfare Appellate Clinic.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Opinion: Michigan juvenile court hearings should mix online, in person
Story at a glance

Book publisher Penguin Random House and freedom of speech organization PEN America filed a lawsuit against a Florida school district over its book bans.

The lawsuit, filed in Pensacola district court, comes after the district removed 10 books from school library shelves and restricted access to dozens more.

Most of the removed or restricted books touched on race and LGBTQ identity.

Book publisher Penguin Random House, PEN America, authors and parents filed a lawsuit against a Pensacola, Florida school district Wednesday over its removal of books about race and LGBTQ issues.

The federal lawsuit alleges that the Escambia County School District and the School Board violated the First Amendment by removing 10 books from school library shelves last year and restricting access to over 100 other titles.

Some of those books include All Boys Arent Blue, a memoir about growing up Black and gay, And Tango Makes Three, a childrens book about two male penguins raising a chick together, and When Aidan Became a Brother, a book about a transgender boy helping his family welcome a new baby.

America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.

Other books that have been removed or indefinitely restricted by the school district and board include classics like The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini and Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut.

The lawsuit also alleges that the removals violate the 14th Amendment because the books being removed or considered for removal are disproportionately books authored by non-white and/or LGBTQ authors.

Out of the 154 books removed or restricted in the district, 60 percent touch on themes relating to race, LGBTQ identity or feature prominent non-white or LGBTQ characters, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs, which include five authors of the banned books and parents of two district students, are asking that the titles be returned to library shelves.

Story continues

Books have the capacity to change lives for the better, and students in particular deserve equitable access to a wide range of perspectives. Censorship, in the form of book bans like those enacted by Escambia County, are a direct threat to democracy and our Constitutional rights, Nihar Malaviya, CEO of Penguin Random House, said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Escambia County School District declined to comment about the lawsuit.

Plaintiffs argue that the book removals are part of an effort to censor certain ideas and viewpoints, particularly those about race and sexuality.

The lawsuit alleges that the removal of the books began after one language arts teacher at Northview High School in Century, Florida objected to The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky being studied at district high schools last May.

Chboskys book is a coming-of-age story based on the authors own teen years spent outside of Pittsburgh in the 1980s and explores drugs, sexuality, mental illness and family troubles.

Last year, the instructor challenged the book because of its extreme sexual content descriptions, bestiality and language alert, a local outlet reported.

But the lawsuit alleges that the teacher, Vicki Baggett, only objected to the book after learning that it was a title frequently included on banned book lists and after reviewing a report of the novel via a website called BookLooks.org.

The teacher would later admit that she had not heard of Wallflower prior to her efforts to prevent it from being read in the School District, the lawsuit alleges. Making it clear that the book came to her attention because it was one of the books frequently targeted as a part of a nationwide book-removal movement.

Baggett did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill.

There were 1,269 challenges to over 2,500 books last year, according to the American Library Associations most recent annual book censorship report. That number represents the highest amount of documented book bans since the organization began keeping track in 2001.

The targeted book removals we are seeing in Escambia County are blatantly unconstitutional attempts to silence and stigmatize, said Nadine Farid Johnson, counsel and Managing Director of PEN America Washington and Free Expression Programs. The government should not foster censorship by proxy, allowing one person to decide what ideas are out of bounds for all.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Sundara is a red panda, the newest addition to the Louisville Zoo. Red pandas haven't been represented at the zoo for nearly 40 years, officials said.

In an enclosure with a few trees, some greenery and a carpet of woodchips is where for the first time in nearly 40 years Louisville Zoo visitors will find a small animal from South and Southeast Asia peeping its pointed ears out of a hollow log.

Sundara is a one-year-old male red panda that was moved to Louisville from the Kansas City Zoo, along with handler Jessica Cunningham. He's been in Louisville for just a few weeks, said Dan Maloney, zoo director, and he's settling into his new home.

"We are very excited to have red pandas back at the Zoo and to be sharing this species with Kentuckiana," Maloney said in a release from the zoo.

PHOTOS: Check out the Louisville Zoo's new Wild Lights exhibit

Sundara is a red panda, the newest addition to the Louisville Zoo. Red pandas haven't been represented at the zoo for nearly 40 years, officials said.

Cunningham, assistant animal curator, has worked with Sundara, said to mean "beautiful" in Sanskrit, for a little more than a month. Their paths only crossed a few times in Kansas City, Missouri, but Cunningham knows Sunny D.  as the red panda is called  better than most people. His personality, she said, is "bold" and "courageous."

"He's not usually scared of things," she added.

Cunningham said Sunny D. is trained to do some specific movements, including climbing onto a scale so he can be weighed while he's still growing  red pandas are fully grown around two. Teaching him to touch his nose to a target also helps keepers encourage the red panda to come to them when he needs a check-in.

Sundara's training is meant to help acclimate him to the new environment, Cunningham said. In the wild, red pandas are solitary, tree-dwelling and crepuscular  active at dusk and dawn  the release said. In the wild, though, the animal can be lazy in order to conserve energy, sleeping for up to 17 hours a day.

"Being around humans is not very common at all," she said. "They probably wouldn't be very comfortable around people. Even with other animals, they only see each other during breeding season or rearing their young."

Story continues

Sundara is a red panda, the newest addition to the Louisville Zoo. Red pandas haven't been represented at the zoo for nearly 40 years, officials said.

Sundara was born in captivity, but a red panda's natural environment is found in Himalayan forests from Nepal to Southern China. Their numbers are decreasing, and the animal is listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List, a database of vulnerable animals. The exact population is hard to know, Maloney said, because they live in high-altitude areas in dense forests.

Residential and commercial development, mining and quarrying, logging and tourism are among the many threats to their environment, according to the conservation union.

Sundara officially turns a year old this month and the zoo plans on celebrating his birthday by feeding him plenty of treats.

Visitors can see Sunny D. at the Glacier Run exhibit in the former snowy owl enclosure next to Splash Park.

More: Helen, believed to be world's second-oldest gorilla at 64, dies at Louisville Zoo

The Louisville Zoo, 1100 Trevilian Way, is the top non-profit, paid attraction in the state, the release said. The zoo is "dedicated to bettering the bond between people and our planet by providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for visitors, and leadership in scientific research and conservation education." It's accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and exhibits more than 1,100 animals on 130 acres and represents many different ecosystems, the organization's website said.

Contact reporter Rae Johnson at RNJohnson@gannett.com. Follow them on Twitter at @RaeJ_33.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Meet Sundara: One-year-old red panda and newest addition to the Louisville Zoo in decades
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/Reuters

Royalist is The Daily Beasts newsletter for all things royal and Royal Family. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Sunday.

Friends of the British royal family have mocked Prince Harry and Meghan Markles account of a near catastrophic car chase in New York, after photographs, videos and other participants accounts gave a very differentand much less perilousimpression of the evenings events, with one friend of Prince William quipping, Recollections may vary.

The friend added: I thought they were leaving the royal family for a quieter life. If flashbulbs give Harry flashbacks, I dont understand why he is going to award ceremonies.

Asked if William, whose spokesperson has declined to comment on the incident, would at least take Harrys side on the issue of invasive paparazzi, the friend said: William and Catherine have put up with shit like this in the past. Everyone understands his anger at the photographers, but making hysterical statements doesnt help matters, especially when, as the queen might have said, recollections may vary.

A friend of King Charles, whose office has also said he wont be making a formal comment, told The Daily Beast: Charles will completely understand Harry being upset at being pursued by the paparazzi. He knows how scary it can be. But he has always tried to get Harry to understand that complaining about photographers or the media is pointless. It just makes it all worse.

Harry, Meghans Cabbie and NYPD Play Down Near Catastrophic Car Chase

Indeed, that is exactly what appears to have happened in this case, with the incident redounding badly on Meghan and Harrys credibility. A widespread impression is forming that the couple exaggerated when they described a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi, after they left the Women of Vision awards ceremony at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in midtown Manhattan, where Meghan was being honored.

The Sussexes described what ensued as a relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours.

Story continues

No-one doubts the sincerity of Harrys anxiety, especially given the manner of his mothers death. Few would envy him a life constantly punctuated by photographers jumping out of bushes and following him in cars. He has said that he suffers symptoms akin to PTSD when confronted by camera flashes.

That, however, does not affect the simple truth that a protracted, out of control pursuit through the city simply does not tally with the reality of New Yorks traffic-clogged streets, a point made by the mayor, Eric Adams, who said, I would find it hard to believe that there was a two-hour high speed chase.

A spokesman for the NYPD also appeared to play down the severity of the incident, saying, The NYPD assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard.

So, what did happen after Harry and Meghan left the award ceremony?

CNN reported that Chris Sanchez, who was part of the royal security detail, said Harry and Meghan were followed from the event by a dozen vehicles. Sanchez said hed never seen [or] experienced anything like this, and that the public were in jeopardy at several points. The couple switched cars more than once during the incident, he added.

CNN also reported that Thomas Buda, who runs a private security business contracted to help the couple, corroborated Sanchezs account. Buda told CNN that the couples convoy took a circuitous route from 23rd Street to 96th Street before security brought the couple to the 19th police precinct on East 67th street. From there, the couple were moved to a yellow cab but it ended up circling the block and returning them to the police station.

That this was not a (Netflix) remake of The French Connection was made abundantly clear by comments from taxi driver Sukhcharn Singh who drove the party, which included a security guard, from a police station for a few blocks as they tried to lose the paps.

The driver essentially said it was no big deal and they were never in danger, shrugging: Its New York. However, Singh did say Harry and Meghan looked nervous and scared.

Harry and Meghan were ultimately returned safely back to their NYC base for the evening around midnight, Buda told CNN.

On social media, the pushback to the couple has been brutal after multiple photos and videos showed them trundling through New York in the back of a taxi, with Meghan apparently smiling, a point that was seized on by the photo agency Backgrid, which typically is a big customer for paparazzi shots. In its own statement, Backgrid also accused Prince Harrys security escort of driving in a manner that could be perceived as reckless. The vehicle was seen blocking off streets, and in one video, it is shown being pulled over by the police.

#HarryandMeghanExposed was one of the politer hashtags to be trending on Twitter by Thursday evening.

Security professionals have been quick to criticize the couple for prolonging the alleged chase. Simon Morgan, a former police bodyguard to members of the British royal family, told the Guardian: The chase is taking place because of you, so you ask: can you get to your residence, can you get to your place of safetywe always used to favor a police station can you get to the police station and seek refuge there and let the incident die down? There are different strategies you can use, but playing that cat-and-mouse game is one that is fraught with danger.

A similar point was made by a paparazzi driver filmed by Good Morning Britain who said the pursuit was very tense, and appeared to blame the Sussexes driver. Their driver was making it a catastrophic experience, he told ITV on condition of anonymity. If they were going 80mph, I would probably have been going 20mph behind them and hoping to keep sight of them. So if it was dangerous and catastrophic, it was more than likely based on the person that was driving.

Many questions remain about the incident, but the most pertinent of all may be why Harry and Meghan decided to go public with their alleged ordeal.

A London-based PR executive who has worked for the royals told The Daily Beast: If I had to guess, I would say this is Harry going, This is unacceptable, Im going to say something, and no one having the balls to say, Well, maybe not, sir, that would be really fucking stupid and it is going to totally overshadow everything your wife has been doing tonight, her big comeback. This is what happens when people do their own PR.

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.
If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. And in light of that, the trends we're seeing at Spark New Zealand's (NZSE:SPK) look very promising so lets take a look.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Spark New Zealand is:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.31 = NZ$1.2b  (NZ$4.6b - NZ$687m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

So, Spark New Zealand has an ROCE of 31%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Telecom industry average of 6.4%.

See our latest analysis for Spark New Zealand

roce

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Spark New Zealand 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

Investors would be pleased with what's happening at Spark New Zealand. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 31%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 48%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

On a related note, the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets has decreased to 15%, which basically reduces it's funding from the likes of short-term creditors or suppliers. So shareholders would be pleased that the growth in returns has mostly come from underlying business performance.

What We Can Learn From Spark New Zealand's ROCE

A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what Spark New Zealand has. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.

Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Spark New Zealand (of which 2 are potentially serious!) that you should know about.

If you want to search for more stocks that have been earning high returns, check out this free list of stocks with solid balance sheets that are also earning high 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
Though Russia continues to fail in its attempts to soften Kyiv through air attacks, the Kremlin has fortified its defensive lines on Ukrainian territory with minefields and more than 200,000 troops to present potentially formidable resistance to Ukraines expected counteroffensive.

Russias latest overnight barrage featured 30 missiles fired at different parts of Ukraine early Thursday, including the ninth assault on the capital this month, but 29 of the projectiles were intercepted, Ukrainian officials said. The one that got through killed a civilian and injured two others in the southern city of Odesa.

Early Tuesday, Ukrainian air defenses boosted by Western weapons had downed all 18 missiles Russia launched from air, sea and land, including six of the supposedly unstoppable Kinzhal hypersonic rockets, Ukraines military said.

While Ukraine is establishing its ability to repel air attacks, a large question remains about its ability to recapture territory claimed by Russia, including the four provinces in the east and south illegally annexed in the fall. A Western official who requested anonymity told The Associated Press that Moscows defenses along the 600-mile front line are potentially formidable.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has enjoyed great success persuading allies to contribute advanced weapons to his countrys cause, most recently garnering an arsenal of missiles, tanks and drones on a European tour to bolster the counteroffensives chances against an enemy with dwindling armament.

"All players are well aware of the limited resources and time available to the Russian Federation and #Putin's elite,'' Ukraine presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted Thursday. "The path is unchanged. We will finish it off.''

This satellite image provided by MaxarTechnologies shows the demolished university buildings and the radio tower in Bakhmut, Ukraine, on May 15, 2023.

Developments:

 An explosion caused the derailment of eight train cars Thursday in Russian-occupied Crimea, prompting renewed concerns about possible Ukrainian sabotage behind Russian lines.

Story continues

 The Patriot air-defense battery damaged in Tuesday's Russian attack on Kyiv has been repaired and is working properly, the Pentagon said. Russia had claimed to destroy the system.

 Senior Russian officials who may want to resign during the war are probably being dissuaded by veiled threats of facing trumped-up criminal charges, the British Defense Ministry said in an update.

 A Russian court extended by three months the detention of Robert Shonov, a Russian national who's a former employee of the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok, on charges of cooperating with a foreign state. The U.S. State Department has condemned his arrest.

 Moldova, a former Soviet republic of about 2.6 million people that borders Ukraine, has severed its dependence on Russian gas, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said.

New sanctions aimed at 'tightening the screws' on Russia

A "substantial'' new package of sanctions shows the U.S. is intent on "tightening the screws" on Russia for invading Ukraine, a senior Biden administration official said Thursday.

The latest measure aims to make it harder for Russia to evade sanctions, access the international financial system and continue waging its war. Group of Seven nations, which are meeting in Japan, will also take steps to further reduce their reliance on Russia energy sources, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Biden administration said it would blacklist 70 entities from receiving U.S. exports and introduce more than 300 new sanctions on individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft that the official said would target financial facilitators and other actors in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

 Francesca Chambers

US won't oppose allies providing Ukraine with F-16 jets, report says

The Biden administration, which has resisted calls from the Ukrainian government to provide it with F-16 fighter jets, is hinting it won't stand in the way of European allies supplying them, CNN reported Thursday.

Permission to export the American-made planes to a third country is required because they contain sensitive technology.

Zelenskyy has been lobbying for the warplanes and found a receptive audience in prime ministers Rishi Sunak of Britain and Mark Rutte of the Netherlands, who on Tuesday agreed to put together an international coalition to procure the jets and train Ukrainian pilots. The Dutch have said they would be open to exporting the planes.

West paying for freedom with guns, money, Ukrainians 'with our lives'

Ukraine's much-anticipated spring counteroffensive "cannot determine the course of the entire war," and the West should have reasonable expectations, Natalia Halibarenko, ambassador of Ukraine's mission to NATO, said Thursday.

Halibarenko told Lithuanian media outlet LRT it will probably take several offensives to drive Russian troops out of her country. Military support from the West is increasing, and she acknowledged that her country's success depends heavily on international assistance.

"I understand that a certain fatigue is felt over time, this is normal human nature," she said. "There cannot be that state of constant pressure. We tell Western societies that you help us with money, things, other support, but Ukrainians pay for freedom with their lives, and this should be kept in mind and not underestimated."

1,100 Russians avoiding draft seek asylum in Finland

More than 1,100 draft-age Russians trying to avoid military conscription have fled to Finland and are seeking asylum, some of thousands awaiting determination of their fate in several European countries.

The Finnish Immigration Service says it is awaiting the European Union's position on the asylum requests, Finnish news agency STT reports.

"We haven't been able to issue decisions regarding asylum," said Sanna Sutter, the Interior Ministry's immigration director. He said other Nordic nations also have decided to wait for EU guidance, but the EU has not provided a timeline on the question.

Thousands of Russians have fled since President Vladimir Putin announced the "partial mobilization" of 300,000 people last September. But one soldier, who made global headlines when he fled the war and sought asylum in Norway, says he wants to go back to Russia.

Andrei Medvedev, 26, had fought for Russia's Wagner mercenaries before slipping into Norway in January. A few weeks later he was arrested on charges involving multiple barroom scraps and was sentenced last month to 14 days in a Norwegian jail.

"I hoped that I could find peace and calm here, that I could leave all the politics, the war, the army behind, but somehow I couldn't manage," Medvedev said in Russian on a video translated by Reuters. "We shall see what happens in Russia. If they kill me, OK. If they don't, thanks a lot."

Russians rejecting claims of their country's gains

The leader of Russian mercenary troops and a popular pro-Kremlin blogger both rejected Russian Defense Ministry claims of gains in the crucial battle for the eastern Ukraine city of Bakhmut as the war slogs toward its 15-month mark with little indication an end is near.

Ukraine's military claimed modest gains in areas north and south of the beleaguered, nearly deserted city that once was home to more than 70,000 people. Russian claims of marginal advances were dismissed by the mercenary Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin, who criticized the defense ministry on Telegram for spinning what was actually a retreat.

Russian blogger Rybar agreed, posting on Telegram that Ukraine's "unannounced counteroffensive" is underway with fierce battles that are allowing Ukraine to fulfill an important goal against Russian Federation troops.

"They are forcing the RF Armed Forces to stretch their forces and remove the most combat-ready units from other critical areas, forcing them to be transferred to threatened sectors of the front," Rybar posted. "Now, unfortunately, we are in the position of playing along and are following the lead of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, pulling the most experienced units of the RF Armed Forces into the Bakhmut meat grinder. ... What this threatens in the short term, even a fool will guess."

Kremlin accuses 3 hypersonic missile scientists of treason

Employees at Russia's Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mathematics in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk published an open letter in defense of three of their hypersonic missile scientists  Anatoly Maslov, Alexander Shiplyuk, and Valery Zvegintsev  whom Russian authorities reportedly arrested under suspicion of high treason, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War reports. The scientists says the arrests deter the younger generation from pursuing careers in science, which contributes to a decrease in the quality of scientific research. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin was aware of the letter and that Russian security services were involved in the case.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine updates: Russia fortifies defensive lines with 200K troops
Singapore Airlines will give eligible staff a huge bonus of up to eight months' salary.

That's thanks to a formula based on a deal with its staff union, and the airlines' record profits.

It includes an extra bonus of up to 1.5 months, which senior management won't get.

Singapore Airlines will pay some staff a huge bonus of more than eight months' salary after posting the highest profits in its 76-year history, Bloomberg first reported.

That's thanks to "a long-standing annual profit-sharing bonus formula that has been agreed with our staff unions," a spokesperson for the airline told Insider.

Eligible employees will receive a bonus of 6.65 months based on Singapore Airlines' record profit in the last financial year. The group, which includes the budget airline Scoot, reported an annual net income of $1.6 billion, per Bloomberg.

There's also an additional maximum of 1.5 months' salary  half a month for each of the last three years  as an extra bonus which isn't given to senior management.

The gesture of goodwill is "in recognition of our employees' dedication, hard work, and sacrifices, including pay cuts during the pandemic," the spokesperson said.

In September 2020, its pilots agreed to take pay cuts of up to 60% in a deal which saved about 400 jobs, according to Today, a Singaporean newspaper.

Singapore Airlines reported losses totaling $2.75 billion over the 2020-2022 financial years as the industry was hit by COVID-19, Bloomberg reported.

But by March this year, passenger capacity for the airline group was back up to 79% of pre-COVID levels, the company said.

"The SIA Group's record financial performance for FY2022/23 is a testament to its proactive strategic initiatives, pre-emptive preparation that was made when borders remained closed, and the hard work, dedication, and sacrifices of its employees," it added.

Read the original article on Business Insider
An FBI seal is seen on a wall on Aug. 10, 2022, in Omaha, Neb. | Charlie Neibergall, Associated Press

Three whistleblower FBI agents testified at a committee hearing Thursday, where they backed GOP allegations that the federal agency was being used against conservatives.

Their testimony came just days after special counsel John Durham released a report where he said the FBI should not have opened an investigation into former President Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign, and that it had used partisan-sourced material to justify its investigation.

I am sad, I am disappointed, and I am angry that I have to be here to testify about the weaponization of the FBI and DOJ, said Special Agent Garret OBoyle in his written testimony.

Prior to the hearing, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, spoke at a press conference where he said the whistleblowers helped him compile a report on problems with the FBI, according to Fox News.

If youre a parent attending a school board meeting; if youre a pro-lifer praying at a clinic, or youre a Catholic simply going to mass, you are a target of the government, a target of the FBI, Jordan said.

Stewart: Congress should have oversight over FBI

During remarks at the hearing, Republican Rep. Chris Stewart, who represents Utahs 2nd District, praised the whistleblowers and said he was concerned about the power given to the FBI.

Im telling you that as someone who sat on the Intelligence Committee for years and used to be a defender of the FBI, and to watch their activity over the last few years, I completely believe you, because Ive seen it again and again and again, he said. And probably the most concerning thing Ive seen in Congress is this weaponization of federal agencies.

Stewart also suggested the whistleblowers had to come forward because Congress doesnt have oversight over the FBI.

They should, and they must be able to have oversight by Congress, and they simply dont. And that forces you as whistleblowers to come forward through another vehicle, he said.

Committee lawmakers butt heads

During the hearing Thursday, Rep. Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, asked Jordan whether Democrats could get a transcript of the testimony given before the hearing by whistleblower Marcus Allen, an FBI staff operations specialist. Allen also testified at the hearing Thursday.

Story continues

Jordan declined the request, saying that Allen didnt want to provide his testimony to Democrats and that they arent entitled to his whistleblower testimony.

According to CNN, several Democrats, including Plaskett, questioned whether Allen and other FBI agents should be classified as whistleblowers.

The law has not determined they are whistleblowers. His attorney is just asserting that, she said.

Report: Egregious abuse at the FBI

Before the hearing, the committee released a report detailing whistleblower testimony from several current and former FBI employees.

It says there was egregious abuse, misallocation of law-enforcement resources, and misconduct with the leadership ranks of the FBI.

Testimony given by Former FBI Special Agent Steve Friend and Allen was included in the report. They questioned the recent decision by FBI Acting Assistant Director Christopher Dunham to revoke their security clearances, after he sent a letter to the committee alleging that the two agents had expressed sympathy or didnt do their duties in regard to investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

At the hearing, OBoyle said that FBI agents are afraid to speak out because they see what becomes of whistleblowers; how the FBI destroys their careers, suspends them under false pretenses, takes their security clearances and pay with no true options for real recourse or remedy.

This is by design; it creates an Orwellian atmosphere that silences opposition and discussion, OBoyle added.

Meanwhile, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said that the rot within the FBI originates from the Washington, D.C., field office, per Fox News.

A lot of the rot, the committee has learned, emerges out of headquarters, out of the Washington field office, Gaetz said, adding that officials in this main office pressured other field offices around the country to engage in law enforcement work without predication.

The report concludes by alleging that the FBI is broken under the leadership of Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland. It further states that the federal agency is purging agents who may hold conservative views.

The subcommittee referred the FBIs treatment of the whistleblowers to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel and the inspector general for further review.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Washington, on Nov. 9, 2022. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/The New York Times)

WASHINGTON  Over 25 years as an FBI agent, Timothy R. Thibault reeled in big names while investigating public corruption, sending two Democratic congressmen to prison and overseeing sensitive inquiries into the Clinton Foundation and the former governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, another Democrat.

But now as Republicans and allies of former President Donald Trump work to undermine federal investigations into the former president, they have trained their sights on the little-known Thibault, who played a role in opening the Justice Departments criminal inquiry into Trumps efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss. In their casting, Thibault, who retired last year, is the face of bias and misconduct at the bureau.

Powerful Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, demanded that Thibault testify before their committees. Citing an anonymous GOP official, Jordans panel in a news release last year denounced Thibault as public enemy No. 1.

Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times

But his story is more complicated than Republicans have made it out to be. As an investigator working on high-profile public corruption cases and international terrorism, he was well regarded, eventually rising to one of the most senior positions in the bureaus Washington field office and winning internal awards for his professionalism.

But, in an atmosphere in which Republicans have been seeking evidence of anti-conservative bias within the FBI, he opened the door to intense scrutiny of his record. Republicans have cited several social media posts  including one that seemed to align him with critics of Trump  and his handling of a number of cases that touched on claims by Trump about election fraud and wrongdoing by the Biden family.

A number of current and former FBI agents are siding with the Republicans in seeking to show bias inside the bureau. Some have even joined Jordans committee, including two former counterintelligence agents.

Story continues

Another former agent  who now works for a conservative think tank and sought to solicit information from a right-wing author with links to a former White House strategist for Trump  appears to have leveled complaints against Thibault that Grassley has seized on.

The scrutiny of Thibault has its roots in his management of a public corruption squad that became mired in conflict, including over investigating Hunter Biden, another focus of inquiry by Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Thibault was thrust into the harsh spotlight of politics in May 2022, when Grassley released a letter addressed to the FBI that accused him of partisanship.

The letter laid out his activity on social media, which included expressing support for articles critical of Attorney General William Barr and reposting an article in The Atlantic titled, Donald Trump Is a Broken Man. Grassley also accused Thibault of an anti-Catholic post on Twitter about pedophiles. (Thibault, responding to a Catholic priest denouncing abortion, wrote in his post, Focus on the pedophiles. Thibaults friends say that he was raised Catholic.)

Thibault, his friends and former colleagues say, was an outstanding investigator who is not partisan but knows he displayed poor judgment on social media.

Thibault worked on many cases involving both parties, his former colleagues said. He was the primary agent who successfully investigated former Rep. William Jefferson, a New Orleans Democrat, and Jesse Jackson Jr., a former Democratic congressman from Illinois. Both were convicted.

Former colleagues have also repeatedly acknowledged his work. In 2006, Thibault received an annual award recognizing professional excellence and sterling character. He also earned the attorney generals award for distinguished service for his role in Jeffersons case.

Thibaults lawyer did not respond to emails seeking comment, but his lawyers firm provided a statement last year after Republicans singled out Thibault.

He firmly believes that any investigation will conclude that his supervision, leadership and decision making were not impacted by political bias or partisanship of any kind, the statement said.

The Office of Special Counsel is investigating whether Thibaults posts violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities while on the job.

The FBI declined to comment. Thibault could not be reached for comment.

After focusing on international terrorism from 2018 to 2020, Thibault returned as a top agent, handling criminal matters at the FBIs Washington field office.

There he clashed with three agents who served on a public corruption squad that fell under his supervision at an FBI office in Manassas in northern Virginia. Even before Thibaults return, the members of the squad had been warned by their supervisor that because of previous troublesome comments by the agents, partisanship was unacceptable.

Under Thibault, the squad appears to have fractured over how to handle politically fraught cases.

In one instance, he rejected a request to open an investigation into whether Italian satellites had been used to alter votes in favor of President Joe Biden, a conspiracy theory that Trump peddled, two former law enforcement officials said.

The Justice Department under Trump also believed the theory was baseless. When the White House pressed the department to investigate, the acting deputy attorney general, Richard Donoghue, derided it as pure insanity.

Thibault was also connected to another incident that has drawn attention from Republicans.

Before the election, two agents contacted Peter Schweizer, the president of the Government Accountability Institute, which has received millions of dollars from prominent conservative donors. Schweizer also writes for Breitbart, a right-wing news outlet, and has ties to Steve Bannon, a former White House strategist for Trump.

In an interview, Schweizer confirmed that the two sought information about Hunter Biden, the presidents son, whose foreign business dealings have been the subject of intense Republican scrutiny for years.

Schweizer had recently published a book, Profiles in Corruption: Abuse of Power by Americas Progressive Elite, delving into the financial dealings of the Biden family. The agents, Schweizer said, wanted to know if he could share documents related to Hunter Bidens foreign business ties that he might have gathered for his work. Schweizer said he passed on corporate records and other files.

After The New York Post reported on the younger Bidens laptop in October 2020, Schweizer said he informed the FBI agents that he had a copy of the laptops contents, which were circulating in right-wing circles. But even though the agents had expressed interest, Schweizer said they never followed up, and in the end, I never sent anything to them.

The relationship ended abruptly without any explanation, he added.

The two agents outreach to Schweizer caused tension among the FBI officials in Delaware running the case, who had seized the laptop in late 2019 using a grand jury subpoena, the former officials said.

At least one of the agents was instructed by Thibault to shut down that line of inquiry because of concerns that Thibault had received in a classified briefing about the possibility of the laptop containing disinformation, one of the former law enforcement officials said.

In a news release, Grassley accused Thibault of improper conduct in the investigation into Hunter Biden. Trump, for his part, lashed out on social media, claiming Thibault had been involved in hiding and suppressing from the Public and the Media the Laptop from Hell, before the 2020 election.

In his May 2022 letter to the FBI, Grassley tied Thibault to Bruce Ohr, a former Justice Department official, and his wife, Nellie Ohr, who were portrayed by Trump supporters as pro-Democratic conspiracy theorists out to destroy Trump. The three attended a seminar overseas in February 2016. One of the former law enforcement officials said Thibault did not know the couple.

A person familiar with the matter said one of the agents involved in the outreach to Schweizer, Thomas Olohan, had drafted a lengthy memo accusing Thibault of being biased against Trump. In the memo, Olohan suggested that the fact that Thibault and the Ohrs had attended the same seminar was evidence of bias on the part of Thibault.

The men had clashed after Thibault learned that Olohans daughter  who reports for The Daily Signal, a news site run by the conservative Heritage Foundation  had been writing about someone her father was investigating, two former law enforcement officials said. After Thibault took him off that case, Olohan transferred to another criminal squad before retiring last year.

Olohan now works for the Heritage Foundation, where he is a senior investigative counsel at the groups Oversight Project, according to an internal directory. He did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

In March, the Heritage Foundation sued the Justice Department in federal court seeking FBI records related to Thibaults communications.

Trump and his allies have vigorously attacked the FBIs reasons for opening the Russia investigation, trying to undermine its legitimacy.

And now Grassley has accused Thibault of improperly opening an investigation into Trump and his campaign. Thibault drafted a memo last spring that began the inquiry into efforts to create slates of electors pledged to Trump in states he had lost in 2020, according to the former law enforcement officials.

But under a policy established by Barrs Justice Department in the months before the 2020 election, top FBI and Justice Department officials need to sign off on the memo before investigating any candidate. The rule was meant to avoid influencing the outcome of the race.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
AFRL photo

The U.S. Air Force recently conducted a first-of-its-kind test of the Tactical High-power Operational Responder, also known as THOR. A high-power microwave counter-drone system, the containerized THOR is designed to engage multiple drones at short ranges in a point defense role. This comes as the threat of drones, particularly ones operating in large groups or fully-networked swarms, becomes increasingly urgent around the globe.

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) conducted the demonstration on April 5 at the Chestnut Test Site, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, according to a recent AFRL press release. During the demonstration, Capt. Eric Plummer, a test engineer with AFRLs Directed Energy Directorate (DED), was responsible for aiming the THOR system as it engaged a swarm of multiple targets, the press release reads. This marks a significant moment for AFRLs DED, which has been field-testing THOR for several years now, with the press release describing the demonstration as the first test of this scale in AFRL history. At present, we do not know exactly how many drones or what kind(s) were involved in the demonstration. The War Zone has reached out to AFRL for more details on this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjHGxKb6W1c

The THOR team flew numerous drones at the THOR system to simulate a real-world swarm attack, notes Adrian Lucero, THOR program manager at AFRLs DED. THOR has never been tested against these types of drones before, but this did not stop the system from dropping the targets out of the sky with its non-kinetic, speed-of-light High-Power Microwave, or HPM pulses.

As Lucero indicates, THOR uses high-power microwaves to essentially fry, disable, or disrupt electronic systems on a target. Significantly, THOR can be used against multiple targets at once, making it a potentially invaluable weapon for defense against drone swarms where other close-in defenses  everything from gun systems to lasers  may struggle.

Story continues

Of course, as weve noted in the past, an HPM system's power levels and how it focuses its beam have impacts on its range and ability to engage multiple threats at once. Precise details regarding THORs range are not immediately clear, beyond its engagement of targets at short ranges. We have reached out to AFRL for clarification.

It's also worth noting that while countering drones are the main objective at this time, HPM systems can also potentially be used against low-flying cruise missiles and even land/surface targets.

THOR system. AFRL image

THOR can be set up within three hours and operates using ground power from a 'wall plug.' It also features a user-friendly interface, according to AFRL, designed to require minimal user training. The system stows completely in a 20 foot transport container, which AFRL highlights can easily be transported via a C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft. You can read more about the advantages of highly transportable electronic warfare containers here.

The overall cost of developing the technology supporting THOR amounts to around $18 million dollars, AFRL notes. The THOR program represents a collaboration between AFRL, BAE Systems, Leidos, and Verus Research, an engineering firm based in Albuquerque. THOR made its debut in 2019, after a quick 18-month development cycle.

THOR was extremely efficient with a near continuous firing of the system during the swarm engagement, said Capt. Tylar Hanson, THOR deputy program manager, of the recent demonstration. It is an early demonstrator, and we are confident we can take this same technology and make it more effective to protect our personnel around the world.

A basic graphic showing the THOR system at work. U.S. Air Force image

The road to the recent successful test has not been smooth sailing for AFRL, with notable technological problems during THORs early development. As Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics told a gathering at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in March 2019, THOR was then unable to hit targets that mattered for mission. In late 2020, a prototype THOR system was tested in a real-world setting in Africa, at which point the counter-drone system worked remarkably well, Richard Joseph, the Air Forces chief scientist, said at the time. Other modifications to THOR have been implemented since then. Its unclear when exactly THOR might see widespread use within the Air Force.

Of course, the Air Force isnt the only branch of the U.S. military interested in THOR. The U.S. Army officially announced it was contributing financially to the program in early 2021, with THOR being used as part of an Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High Power Microwave (IFPC-HPM) prototype system that the service plans to field by Fiscal Year 2024.

Leaders from the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office enter the portable control center of Air Force Research Laboratorys Tactical High Power Operational Responder, or THOR, to view the systems drone-killing capabilities, February 11, 2021, at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. U.S. Air Force photo by John Cochran



Initial promise in THORs development led the Air Force to begin efforts for a spin-off program in mid 2021. In early 2022, AFRL awarded Leidos a $26 million contract for the development of the counter-UAS Mjolnir weapon. Mjolnir builds on technology demonstrated in the THOR program, with improvements by AFRL. An initial prototype is expected to be delivered this year.

The Air Force has been experimenting with various anti-drone directed energy weapons, including lasers, in recent years to combat the threats posed by small unmanned aircraft. These have included other high-power microwave counter-drone systems such as Raytheons Phaser, and the Counter-Electronic High-Power Microwave Extended-Range Air Base Air Defense, also known as CHIMERA.

Raytheon's Phaser system. Raytheon

As noted above, other branches of the U.S. military are looking to high-powered microwaves to target drones and drone swarms, too. Electronic warfare capabilities, missiles and guns, and even other drones are also used for counter-drone purposes, as well, as the U.S. military has had to take the issue of anti-drone capabilities more seriously.

Epirus's Leonidas system is also of particular interest and work is being done to integrate the hardware onto a Stryker armored fighting vehicle, which could be a big win for protecting units on the go from drones. The Army, in general, sees Leonidas as a promising system, and a contract worth tens of millions was awarded to Epirus by the service to further evolve the system in January.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lZoSI1LauI

The Navy is also working to bring HPM capabilities to its vessels. While smaller drones would be very hard pressed to sink a warship, they can damage or destroy critical sensors and disable vessels causing a 'mission kill' in which the ship survives. This means the ship can no longer perform its mission, or that its effectiveness is degraded to a state in which it is vulnerable to further attacks. As we pointed out years ago, a swarm attack on a vessel would be very hard to overcome with existing close-in defensive systems that are limited to how many targets they can engage at once, and in terms of magazine capacity.

Indeed, the threat from drones comes in all shapes and sizes. Weaponized commercial designs are increasingly being used by terrorist groups, organized criminal organizations, and other non-state actors, as well as major militaries. While defending against drone attacks is a hard enough prospect, this becomes all the more difficult when groups of unmanned small aircraft are networked together in weaponized swarms.

As The War Zone has highlighted in the past, networked swarms of drones would likely play a key role in a potential future conflict with China, possibly over Taiwan. This is where high-power microwave counter-drone systems, such as THOR, could become particularly useful, with their ability to knock-out large groups and even swarms of drones rapidly with broad disruptive beams. This differs from laser applications which are more limited in their multi-target engagement capabilities. Kinetic solutions, such as missiles and guns, lack magazine depth, which is not an issue with directed energy solutions. Directed energy weapons are also far less expensive on a cost per shot basis.

Of course, high-power microwave counter-drone systems are still likely to be integrated within layered defenses, and are by no means a silver bullet. But, at this time, beyond traditional electronic warfare that is useless against many drones, high-power microwave systems look set to become the best way to drop multiple drones fast at close distances.

With the use of drones by foreign adversaries on the rise, the need to defend against them remains high. This includes protecting troops in the field, ships at sea, and even flightlines at home. The latest THOR test represents an important step forward in advancing the Air Forces ability to counter drones, and drone swarms, in the future.

Contact the author: oliver@thewarzone.com
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Reuters

When the Manhattan District Attorney finally indicted former President Donald Trump in March, Alvin Bragg made the curious decision to not detail Trumps crimes in the official indictmentsomething critics seized on almost immediately to say this was an overblown case.

While previous investigators had wrestled with how to charge Trump with felonies, Bragg overcame that hurdle by essentially charging Trump with 34 misdemeanor counts of faking business recordsthen leveling them up to felonies in a parallel legal document. Under New York law, faking business records is only a felony if its done while committing another crime. In this case, prosecutors say Trump hid his 2016 porn star hush money payment in order to break election laws, therefore the 34 counts of taking business records become felonies.

But according to a source familiar with the Trump legal teams internal discussions, the former presidents lawyers are now exploring how to use that otherwise ingenious move as a weakness to severely power down the case. And Trumps lawyers believe their new tactic could force the DA to reconsider if this is a fight worth having.

Their legal strategy all comes down to a Supreme Court case where a white guy in New Jersey got drunk and shot at a Black familys home in 1994and then managed to get hate crime charges overturned.

Trumps lawyers are eyeing the 2000 SCOTUS decision Apprendi v. New Jersey, which stressed the importance of putting in an indictment all the aspects of a crime that could enhance penalties.

In the Apprendi case, a state judge unilaterally determined that Charles C. Apprendi Jr. was motivated by racial bias when he decided to scare his neighbors. The judge gave him 12 years in prison instead of the 10-year maximum sentence he would have gotten from the charges originally listed in the indictment. But the Supreme Court intervened halfway through his sentence and went as far as overturning New Jerseys hate crime law. The justices noted that the nations founders never really considered the modern justice systems practice of considering elements of a felony or sentencing factors, because traditionally, the basic facts of a case remained the same from indictment to trial.

Story continues

Brian Snyder/Reuters

In other words: if its not in the indictment, it cant be used to tack on any extra jail time.

According to a person with intimate knowledge of the DAs previous versions of this Trump investigation, the Trump team has a creative approach that zeroes in on real flaws in the DAs present caseeven if it ultimately doesnt work.

A preview of this battle is already playing out in court, as the DAs office on Tuesday defended its decision to leave important stuff out of the Trump indictment. But the fight that may soon unfold could take the wind out of the DAs sails.

On April 27, Trumps lawyers formally asked the Manhattan DA to submit a detailed explanation of exactly what crimes Trump actually committed.

Describe the substance of Donald J. Trumps conduct, defense attorney Susan Necheles wrote.

Specify the criminal statute which Donald J. Trump is alleged to have committed or intended to commit to aid or conceal the commission thereof, she added, asking prosecutors to define how exactly Trump broke New Yorks election laws.

On Tuesday, Braggs office responded in a 10-page court filing that largely shut them down, repeatedly saying that Trump is not entitled to the information.

Where an intent to commit or conceal another crime is an element of an offense, the People need not prove intent to commit or conceal a particular crime, prosecutor Becky Mangold wrote, specifically noting that the indictment need not identify any particular crime that the defendant intended to commit or conceal.

The Storm Arrives: NYC Grand Jury Indicts Donald Trump

Braggs office refused to explain why prosecutors decided not to add the alleged election violation in the indictment, allowing Tuesdays court filing to speak for itself.

But the vagueness in the indictment is not a minor issue. Figuring out how to supercharge the otherwise trite misdemeanor charge for faking business records was a major feat for the Manhattan DAs officeand the secondary charge issue was critical to upgrading these misdemeanors into felonies.

A tell-all memoir by a former prosecutor on the Manhattan DAs team, Mark Pomerantz, gives an incredibly detailed account of how difficult it was for the DAs office to bring this particular case, which they dubbed the zombie case. In People vs. Donald Trump, Pomerantz explains how he racked his brain to come up with a way that would convert Trumps deceitful documents into a felony.

They did not amount to much in legal terms creating false business records is only a misdemeanor under New York law, Pomerantz wrote. Falsifying business records can be prosecuted as a felony if the defendant created the records intending to commit or conceal another crime. This statutory language, however, is ambiguous. Does the reference to another crime include federal crimes, or just state crimes?

When Trump was arraigned in criminal court in April, his defense lawyer Joe Tacopina assured reporters this case would never make it to trial. And the Trump teams new potential tactic threatens to downgrade the severity of the case before it ever reaches a jury, which could force the DA to consider whether a case full of misdemeanors justifies an expensive prosecution.

The legal precedent Trumps team is considering is also buttressed by a 1999 Supreme Court decision, Jones v United States, which decided that any fact other than prior conviction that increases the maximum penalty for a crime must be charged in an indictment, submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

If Trumps team successfully uses that defense strategy, it would be an embarrassing defeat for Bragg, who could have just as easily put all the information about the case that was included in the Statement of Facts in the indictment and avoided this whole mess.

Braggs historic criminal casethe first of its kind against a former American presidentlargely rests on the idea that Trump faked mountains of business records when he directed his lawyer to pay off a porn star to keep quiet about his brief sexual affair with her. That ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen, and the porn star, Stormy Daniels, are now key witnesses in the Manhattan DAs case. (The case itself is focused on the long trail of dubious payment records that were designed to hide the hush money payments, which include nearly a dozen invoices for legal services that were really just Trump paying Cohen back for fronting the cash to Stormy Daniels.)

The ideathat formal accusations should be pretty clearly laid out in an indictmentisnt exactly new. It dates back roughly half a millennium, appearing even in a 1678 British treatise called Hales Pleas of the Crown that lays out how any law that brings a higher degree of punishment for a crime must expressly charge it in an indictment with certainty and precision.

DAs Secret Weapon May Be Lawyer Whos Dogged Trump for Years

So it was notable when the DAs office unveiled the Trump indictment in March and effectively sidestepped the entire issue of how these misdemeanors were felonies. Bragg was simply accusing the former president of violating New Yorks election lawsand putting all of those details in the Statement of Facts.

But as much hope as the Trump team seems to be putting in this legal gambit, it may not work.

Karen Friedman Agnifilo, an attorney who served as the chief assistant to the previous DA who started the Trump investigation, said its actually routine for Manhattan prosecutors to keep the indictment simple and leave out the nuts and bolts of the crime.

Im not at all surprised it would never be in the indictment. There are plenty of instances where there are bump-up crimes outside the official indictment, she said. To me, it doesnt seem like its an issue. And I dont even think they had to lay out a statement of facts. Nothing requires that. Thats not always done either.

Agnifilo likened this situation to the way Manhattan prosecutors regularly charge burglars with trespassing but leave details about the actual intended theft outside the indictment. The reasoning, she explained, is that including something in the indictment forces prosecutors to beef up their case.

Thats just one more thing you have to prove. Maybe they dont know they cant prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, she said.

Still, that raises an important question: If Manhattan prosecutors cant prove that Trump committed an election crime, doesnt that hint at a weak case?

To that, Agnifilo noted she wished prosecutors included at least one election-related criminal charge against Trump in the indictment: engaging in a conspiracy to meddle in an election unlawfully. If they had, prosecutors would automatically be able to include at trial evidence about Trumps attempts to suppress Stormy Daniels story and silence a doorman who claimed Trump had fathered an illegitimate child. But now that prosecutors left it out of the indictment, prosecutors will have to argue in court to make this key evidence part of their case at trial.

I think the reason they didnt charge conspiracy is because its a misdemeanor too, and they dont want to compromise, she said. They dont want a misdemeanor.

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.
Elon Musk and Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco. BRITTA PEDERSEN/POOL/AFP/Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

A lawsuit accuses Elon Musk of risking Twitter staff's lives with illegal locks on office bedrooms.

An exec was told locks that would automatically open in case of a fire were too expensive, the suit says.

And the lawsuit says a fire would've been more likely due to noncompliant electrical work and unlicensed space heaters.

A top Twitter manager quit the company after refusing to install locks in the headquarters' bedrooms which contravened building regulations and could risk staff's lives in the case of a fire, a lawsuit says.

Six ex-Twitter employees filed the complaint against Musk and his company in the Delaware District Court on Tuesday.

Joseph Killian, Twitter's former global head of construction design who is also a plaintiff, was told to make several changes to the bedrooms set up for Elon Musk's staff, the suit says.

He was also instructed not to tell city inspectors about these future plans, including en-suite bathrooms, the lawsuit says.

Most notably, that includes adding locks which wouldn't automatically open when the fire suppression system was activated  a violation of California building codes  according to the complaint.

The suit alleges he was repeatedly told to get cheaper, noncompliant ones because the others were too expensive.

Killian argued that this "would put lives at risk" because staff could be stuck in the bedrooms in the case of an earthquake or fire, the complaint says.

He instead quit, and the unsafe locks were added by somebody else, the court filing says.

The suit says the instructions were given to him via Musk's transition team, a group of advisors including Boring Company CEO Steve Davis, who were brought on to help build Twitter 2.0.

The lawsuit accuses Musk of showing "reckless disregard" for "both the law and for the lives and safety of his colleagues and employees."

According to the complaint, a fire in the bedrooms would be more likely due to unlicensed space heaters and noncompliant electrical work Killian was instructed to add.

Story continues

He was told to evade the landlord's lighting-control system because the motion-sensitive lights were annoying people trying to sleep in the bedrooms  but they were necessary to comply with California's energy efficiency Title 24 code  the complaint says.

The landlord rejected this request and Davis' wife  who isn't employed by Musk but slept at Twitter's headquarters  berated Killian, so he hired an electrician to do it instead, according to the suit.

In November, Musk emailed all Twitter staff telling them to commit to working "extremely hardcore" or be laid off. He'd previously told them to expect to work 80 hours a week, and one executive  who was later fired  was pictured in a sleeping bag.

Pictures of the sleeping quarters from December show beds and couches added to conference rooms, but the suit says Davis told Killian to plan for additional changes beyond "just furniture" which went against building codes and permits.

Insider contacted Twitter for comment. The company responded with an automated message that didn't address the inquiry.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ordinarily, if you want to see the Northern Lights, you have to brave the frozen landscapes of the Great White North. On any given day, the aurora are visible within a relatively small oval around the poles, and nowhere else. The frosty environs of the far north and south are hard places to live. Theyre the sorts of places you plan a weeks-long fight against nature itself, like USAs Race to Survive: Alaska, which pits eight teams of two against one another and the Alaskan landscape.

While the winning team will be rewarded with half a million dollars in prize money, the people who live their lives in Earths least comfortable spots are rewarded with one of the most brilliant lightshows on Earth.

SOLAR MAXIMUM AND THE SOLAR CYCLE

The Sun is a massive ball of very hot, very high pressure gas. Most of us know that, but we dont spend a lot of time thinking about what it means. The Sun is also staggeringly, mind-bendingly big. More than 99% of all the mass in the solar system is contained within the Sun. Everything from you and me, the entire Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and everything else in the solar system is made up of the small remainder.

RELATED: Race To Survive: Alaska Survival Guide: How (Not) To Die Of Hypothermia

All of that mass, tens of thousands of planets worth, is mashed together in a sphere 865,000 miles across. That creates a lot of gravity which pulls the Suns material toward the center. Pressure in the core fuses hydrogen atoms together, creating intense heat and outward pressure. The combined influence of those forces  the internal pull of gravity and the outward pressure of fusion  moves electrically charged hot plasma around like a great boiling ocean of fire.

Currents of plasma twist around one another, generating intense magnetic fields which also get all mixed up. Over time, the interactions of the Suns magnetic field drive an increase in solar activity until it reaches what scientists call solar maximum. Then the Suns entire magnetic field flips and the Sun calms down for a little while before ramping up again. The Suns solar cycle plays out over an 11-year period, characterized by a peak and valley of solar activity.

Story continues

We experience that solar activity mostly through an increase in observed sunspots. As solar activity ramps up, especially strong magnetic fields keep some of the Suns heat buried beneath the surface. As a result, portions of the Suns face are cooler (theyre still superhot, around 6,500 Fahrenheit) than the surrounding areas, and appear as black spots. But when magnetic field lines get tangled up near sunspots, they sometimes break away, sending charged plasma into space in a solar flare.

This split image shows the difference between an active Sun during solar maximum (on the left, captured in April 2014) and a quiet Sun during solar minimum (on the right, captured in December 2019).

This split image shows the difference between an active Sun during solar maximum (on the left, captured in April 2014) and a quiet Sun during solar minimum (on the right, captured in December 2019). December 2019 marks the beginning of Solar Cycle 25, and the Suns activity will once again ramp up until solar maximum, predicted for 2025. Photo: NASA/SDO

The current cycle, Solar Cycle 25, went through its solar minimum in December of 2019, when the average number of sunspots was only 1.8 over a 13-month period. When we hit solar maximum, sometime in the next couple of years, sunspots are estimated to average 115 or more, based on comparisons with previous cycles.

SOLAR CYCLE 25 COULD PEAK EARLY

Each new solar cycle gives scientists more information with which to build accurate models of the Suns behavior. But those cycles play out over a long time. A scientist could spend their entire career studying them and only see a handful. While weve been tracking the solar cycle for centuries, weve only got 24 of them in the books, which means that we are necessarily working with incomplete data.

The conventional way to predict the timeline and strength of a particular solar cycle has been to look at the dates and duration between solar minimums. The last four solar cycles have been weaker than the historical average, and scientists have predicted that while solar cycle 25 will be stronger than the previous cycle, it will still be weaker than average. Scientists have also predicted that solar maximum will occur in July of 2025.

BadAstronomyHero

A competing model, however, uses a different metric to make their predictions and has come to some alternative conclusions. Researchers from NASA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research have developed a new method for predicting solar cycle activity, which relies on the moment when the magnetic field from the prior cycle completely diminishes. That moment is known as the terminator, and can happen months or years after solar minimum, during the subsequent solar cycle. Their findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Science, suggest a relationship between the length of a cycle from terminator to terminator and the strength of the next cycle.

So far, their model has more accurately aligned with reality than other models. If that trend continues, we could see solar maximum as early as late 2024, and an average sunspot number as high as 185, placing it above the historical average.

HOW SOLAR ACTIVITY MAKES THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

Once you have an overactive star, throwing plasma-filled temper tantrums toward the atmosphere of a planet, youve got a recipe for aurora. When charged material from the Sun comes into contact with the Earth, most of it gets bounced away, thanks to the Earths own magnetic field. But the field is weakest at the poles, giving solar flares a pathway to the air.

When all of that energy and plasma hits cold gas in the atmosphere, it lights up like a solar powered space rave. Aurorae are visible at both poles and are called the aurora australis when they happen in the southern hemisphere. Moreover, both aurora appear to be mirror images of one another, occurring at the same time on opposite sides of the planet.

Northern Lights from ISS

The spectacular aurora borealis, or the northern lights, over Canada is sighted from the International Space Station near the highest point of its orbital path. The stations main solar arrays are seen in the left foreground. This photograph was taken by a member of the Expedition 53 crew aboard the station on Sept. 15, 2017. Photo: NASA

The most common colors youre likely to see are faint greens and pinks, the result of solar energy interacting with oxygen about 60 miles up. Oxygen significantly higher up sometimes lights up red, while nitrogen gives off blue or purple hues.

WHAT IS THE AURORA FORECAST?

Predicting an individual solar flare and its associated aurora is a difficult endeavor and a developing science. NOAAs Space Weather Prediction Center offers about an hour of advance notice for any impending aurorae, but they cant really see them coming any earlier. Theyre only able to give you that much warning because of space-based instruments at Earths L1 Lagrange Point.

The light from a solar flare travels, of course, at the speed of light, so theres no predicting it. As soon as we see it, its already here. Even if we put an observation post right up next to the Sun, it could only send a message at the speed of light, which wouldnt get here any earlier than the light itself. However, the solar winds and the charged particles move a little more slowly, at a leisurely 500  800 kilometers per second. Once the solar wind hits L1, weve got between 30 and 90 minutes before it hits us. At present, thats the best we can do.

A still image from Europa Report (2013)

Predicting trends is a little easier, thanks to the Suns consistent solar cycle. As we approach the upcoming solar maximum, the number of sunspots, solar flares, and aurorae will increase. And their intensity is likely to increase as well. Stronger flares mean that charged particles can travel further along magnetic field lines and light up the sky at more equatorial latitudes.

During the solar storm of 1859, the Northern Lights were reported as far south as Hawaii and there is some evidence that the Southern Lights have crept even closer to the equator, in recent historical memory. If youre hoping to catch the lights during the upcoming solar maximum, youll want to find a dark spot, clear skies, and keep your eyes on the space weather reports. We dont know exactly when they are coming, but we know they definitely are.

We cant predict the aurora, but we can predict the television schedule. New episodes of Race to Survive: Alaska air every Monday at 11/10c, on USA.
In the past week, Republican lawmakers across multiple states took aggressive aim at reproductive rights, craftily using the legislative process to revive restrictive abortion bans.

In Nebraskas single-chamber legislature on Friday, lawmakers held their final vote and passed L.B. 574, an effort to restrict youth access to gender-affirming health care that now includes an unrelated amendment banning abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy. In an unconventional move, Republicans quickly tacked the ban onto the bill this week after a six-week abortion ban failed in the chamber last month.

Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, slammed the combining of those efforts on Wednesday as twisting the rules to merge two awful bills.

During Fridays debate, several Nebraska Democrats accused Republicans of violating the states single-subject rule, designed to ensure bills have one primary purpose, and derided them for pushing through the amendment without a proper hearing.

The reason the abortion part was added was because the transgender part could not pass without it ... and clearly the abortion bill couldnt pass without the trans bill, because we had to bring it back to life. Its a zombie bill, state Sen. John Cavanaugh (D) charged on the chambers floor Friday.

One bill is being used to induce your vote for the other, which is one of the reasons we have the single-subject rule, he told his colleagues in the legislature.

State Sen. Danielle Conrad (D) raised the same concerns. It is not a compromise, she said. It is a hastily considered restructuring of the original 574.

LB574 - a bill restricting abortion and medical procedures for transgender youth - has passed. Here is the scene from the Capitol rotunda immediately following the vote. pic.twitter.com/ahCTI3zQPb  Nebraska Public Media News (@NebPubMediaNews) May 19, 2023

Republicans said little of their maneuvering during the debate and instead characterized the 12-week abortion ban as a reasonable middle course.

Story continues

Many of us feel that the six-week heartbeat bill was the answer, state Sen. John Lowe (R) said. Were giving up six weeks as a compromise. Were giving up those little children who will never breathe air.

But a 12-week abortion ban in Nebraska, where the procedure is currently banned after 20 weeks of pregnancy, will still have a major effect on many patients, experts have warned. More than 1,000 Nebraska medical professionals have signed a letter opposing the legislation, saying it puts patients lives at risk, and it puts the careers of medical professionals at risk.

And while several Nebraska Republicans noted Friday that most abortions already occur within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, that ignores the current, in-flux landscape of abortion access.

Wait times for appointments have increased at abortion clinics nationwide as several states have put highly restrictive bans on the procedure, and Nebraska, which is near states with stricter abortion timelines, has seen one of the highest percentage increases in the procedure since the fall of Roe v. Wade last year. In reality, many patients will need to become aware of their pregnancies and decide how to proceed far before the 12-week mark.

The bill now goes to Republican Gov. Jim Pillen, who is expected to sign it into law.

Similarly frustrating legislative processes concerning abortion also unfolded in the Carolinas this week.

In North Carolina, Republicans managed to narrowly override Democratic Gov. Roy Coopers veto on a 12-week abortion ban thanks to the partys new supermajority in the state House. They had the numbers necessary because state Rep. Tricia Cotham switched parties in April mere months after running for reelection as a Democrat whod had a history of supporting reproductive rights.

Some call me a hypocrite since I voted for this bill, Cotham said in a lengthy statement following the vote.

An abortion rights supporter's sign slams North Carolina state Rep. Tricia Cotham (R) as a

An abortion rights supporter's sign slams North Carolina state Rep. Tricia Cotham (R) as a "traitor."

She defended the legislation by saying it provides a reasonable timeline for the procedure and ensures patients can still receive life-saving abortions, like she did in 2015. However, several incidents from the past year demonstrate that exceptions for the life of the mother are difficult to apply and often result in hospitals waiting until a patient is at deaths door before agreeing to terminate a dangerous pregnancy.

Meanwhile, Republicans in the South Carolina House passed a six-week abortion ban late Wednesday. After they failed to get it through in the regular session, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster called lawmakers back in for a special session earlier this month  something a South Carolina governor hasnt done in over two decades.

Democrats tried to derail the bills passage by filing more than 1,000 amendments. We are going to make it hurt if they are going to force this on us, state Rep. Beth Bernstein (D) said, according to CNN. But House Speaker Murrel Smith vowed not to adjourn until the six-week ban found approval.

Bring supper, dinner, breakfast, lunch, whatever for days or however long you want to get through amendments, he said last week.

The bill now goes to the state Senate for one more vote.

Related...
Capitol Hill is rushing to regulate artificial intelligence before most members have even a basic understanding of the technology. And as momentum grows, the new AI push appears at risk of getting tangled in the same political fights that have paralyzed previous attempts to regulate technology.

In this weeks high-profile AI hearings, Republicans and Democrats broadly agreed on the need for new AI rules.

But the past several years also saw what looked like consensus on other major tech issues  the need to reform social media liability, rein in giant tech companies and boost kids safety online. Each of those efforts ultimately collapsed, in part due to partisan squabbling over their impact on social media.

Republicans worried that any new rules would lead to increased censorship of conservatives, while Democrats feared theyd open the floodgates for online hate speech and disinformation. Now those arguments are starting to resurface in an entirely new debate.

From the frequent invocation of Section 230 during OpenAI CEO Sam Altmans Senate testimony on Tuesday to a squabble over disinformation and censorship at a separate Senate hearing on the governments use of automated systems, familiar battle lines over social media are at risk of being redrawn as Congress turns its gaze to AI.



The same muscle memory is coming back, said Nu Wexler, a partner at public relations firm Seven Letter and a former Democratic congressional staffer who has worked at Google, Facebook and other tech companies.

A return to the politics of those earlier tech disputes will make it harder for the two parties to come together on AI policy. And even if they can stay united, lawmakers will likely need to look beyond censorship, disinformation, political bias or other issues raised by social media if they want to produce meaningful AI rules.

One reason many lawmakers are viewing AI through a social-media lens, say some on the Hill, is the basic knowledge gap around an extremely fast-moving new technology.

Story continues

Without discussing anybody's names, some members of the House and Senate have no idea what they're talking about, said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the House Science Committee, in an interview with POLITICO on Thursday.

During a Tuesday hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, ranking member Rand Paul (R-Ky.) accused the government of colluding with social media companies to deploy AI systems that would surveil and censor your protected speech.



Paul later told POLITICO he wont work on AI legislation with committee chair Gary Peters (D-Mich.) until the Democrat acknowledges that online censorship is a real problem.

Everything else is window dressing, Paul said. Were fine to work with [Peters] on it, but well have to see progress on defending speech.

In a conversation with reporters after Tuesdays hearing, Peters said he shared Pauls concerns about AI and civil liberties. But he also stressed that AI is a lot broader than just related to potential misinformation and disinformation.

Its a topic that we should consider  but its also a very complicated topic, Peters said.

The mood was less partisan during Altmans testimony before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law. But tech topics that typically spark intense fights were still front and center.

Senators from both parties, including Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), questioned the potential for AI systems to promote online misinformation about elections. Others, including Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and ranking member Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), questioned Altman about Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The provision protects online platforms from legal liability over content posted by users. Attempts to reform the 27-year-old internet law for the modern social media era have repeatedly snarled over partisan disputes around censorship, disinformation and hate speech. And Section 230 might not even apply to AI systems  a notion that Altman repeatedly tried to convey to the senators on Tuesday.

It's tempting to use the frame of social media, but this is not social media, said Altman. It's different, so the response that we need is different.



Lofgren, whose congressional district includes a chunk of Silicon Valley, shares Altmans sense that Section 230 is not really applicable to AI. Apples and oranges, really, she said.

And if lawmakers hope to tackle politically fraught topics like disinformation, Lofgren said a federal data privacy bill would be more effective than new rules on AI. If you want to get into manipulation, then you have to get into how you manipulate, which is really the use and misuse of personal data, the congressmember said.

Wexler said its too early to tell whether congressional efforts to rein in AI will end up trapped by the same partisan gridlock that has derailed meaningful rules on social media. While acknowledging that the warning signs are there, he also pointed to clear areas of agreement  particularly on the need for greater study and more transparency into AI systems.

And while Lofgren thinks Congress should stop conflating social media with AI, she sees few signs of a similar partisan divide  at least for now. Could that emerge? Maybe, she said. But I think everybody realizes this is a technology that could turn the world upside down, and we better figure it out.

Other observers, however, believe its only a matter of time before the political feuds that undercut congressional efforts to unite on other tech issues emerge on AI.

The left will say AI is hopelessly biased and discriminatory; the right will claim AI is just another woke anti-conservative conspiracy, said Adam Thierer, senior fellow for technology and innovation at the R Street Institute, a libertarian think tank.

The social media culture wars are about to morph into the AI culture wars, Thierer said.
Sensor Maker Integrates LiDAR Model on High-Fidelity Autonomous Vehicle Simulation Platform

SHENZHEN, China, May 19, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RoboSense, a world-leading provider of smart LiDAR sensor systems, today announced it is now connected to the NVIDIA Omniverse ecosystem, using the development platform based on Universal Scene Description (USD) to accelerate the development, testing, and validation of its sensor technology.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005153/en/

RoboSense Joins NVIDIA Omniverse Ecosystem RoboSense's second-generation smart solid-state LiDAR model is integrated into NVIDIA DRIVE Sim, built on Omniverse, enabling physically based, high-fidelity sensor simulation. (Graphic: Business Wire)

RoboSense's second-generation smart solid-state LiDAR model is integrated into NVIDIA DRIVE Sim, built on Omniverse, enabling physically based, high-fidelity sensor simulation. With this integration, autonomous vehicle developers can directly access state-of-the-art LiDAR for development and testing. (Video: RoboSense LiDAR Model in NVIDIA DRIVE Sim)

DRIVE Sim is a reference application built on NVIDIA Omniverse, the connecting fabric between software ecosystems. It combines NVIDIAs core technologies to deliver digital twin environments for developing and testing autonomous driving systems. With DRIVE Sim, developers can perform diverse and repeatable testing scenarios at a large scale, accelerating development and reducing cost.

As part of the Omniverse ecosystem, RoboSense will use the simulation platform to test and validate its new LiDAR systems - as well as provide ADAS developers access to highly accurate simulation models.

RoboSense's M-Series LiDAR is the world's first second-generation smart solid-state LiDAR to achieve mass production for automotive applications. It is currently the LiDAR with the most designated partnerships worldwide and has been implemented in a variety of vehicle models including the GAC Aion LX Plus, GAC Aion Hyper GT, SAIC IM LS7, SAIC IM L7, Lotus Eletre, XPeng G9, XPeng P7i, Great Wall WEY Mocha DHT-PHEV, Great Wall Motor WEY DHT-PHEV, and Chery Exeed STERRA ES, STERRA ET.

The M-Series LiDAR features a revolutionary two-dimensional MEMS scanning architecture, with unique "GAZE" function that can dynamically switch scanning modes and change scanning patterns based on the scenario, improving vehicle perception in complex environments. Based on RoboSense's leading patented technology, the M-Series LiDAR delivers point-cloud with outstanding quality, helping to address corner cases in autonomous driving perception.

By joining the NVIDIA Omniverse ecosystem, RoboSense enables developers to create complex road environments with high physical accuracy using its LiDAR model on the DRIVE Sim platform. The M series LiDAR model offers the flexibility to simulate its performance in beam control, custom scan patterns, and resolutions, which can then be used to generate synthetic datasets for training and validation of autonomous driving solutions.

Mark Qiu, co-founder and executive president of RoboSense, said, "The global automotive industry is undergoing a massive transformation, with ADAS and LiDAR markets continuing to gain traction. Leveraging the NVIDIA Omniverse ecosystem, RoboSense LiDAR technology and industry experience can be applied in a wider field, providing strong support for the development and verification of autonomous vehicles. RoboSense will work with NVIDIA to fully leverage the advantages of LiDAR technology, continuously improve the perception capabilities of autonomous vehicles, and achieve more efficient, safer, and smarter autonomous driving applications. We are committed to promoting the development of the global automotive and autonomous driving industries."

Zvi Greenstein, a general manager at NVIDIA, said, "NVIDIA Omniverse is an open platform that includes leading LiDAR models from manufacturers worldwide. RoboSense's outstanding technical strength and customer base help strengthen our ecosystem and will accelerate the development and validation of autonomous vehicles while bringing more flexibility to developers."

About RoboSense

RoboSense (Suteng Innovation Technology Co., Ltd.) is a world-leading provider of Smart LiDAR Sensor Systems. With a complete portfolio of LiDAR sensors, AI perception and IC chipsets, RoboSense transforms conventional 3D LiDAR sensors with comprehensive data analysis and interpretation systems.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005153/en/

Contacts

Grace Ye

media@robosense.ai
After 362 days of deployment, an Oklahoma Army National Guard soldier returned home  much to the surprise of his unsuspecting family.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Kelby Cook chose his sons kindergarten graduation at Washington Elementary School in Washington, Oklahoma, for his long-awaited return. Cook had been deployed in the Middle East since May 2022 as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot.

As the May 18 graduation was concluding, a teacher gave a shout-out to the incredibly brave student Kael Cook, who completed his kindergarten year while his dad was overseas.

The teacher was listing the soldiers accomplishments when Cook rounded the corner of the gymnasium wearing his fatigues.

A shriek can be heard in the video, and a few seconds later Cooks wife was seen sprinting and jumping into her husbands arms. Kael was not far behind.

The heartfelt reunion was shared in video by Washington Public Schools.

362 days later and our soldier is finally home. We did it! the soldiers wife, Lexi Cook, said in a Facebook post. We got the biggest surprise of our lives today when daddy showed up at Kaels kindergarten graduation this morning.

Lexi and Kelby Cook have been married for nine years, and she described the past year as the hardest year in her familys life.

We were faced with so many challenges, but we overcame them all, she said. It was incredibly trying and hard. Im so thankful that my husband made it back home safe to us. It is truly an answered prayer.

The surprise was arranged by Kaels kindergarten teacher, Heather Mann. Lexi Cook described Mann as the absolute best teacher.

The Cook family, Mann said, holds a special place in the teachers heart.

It was a great honor this morning to help ... Cook create a surprise homecoming for his family after our kindergarten graduation, she said in a Facebook post.

Watch Army soldier surprise family at Texas school in heartwarming video. Im home

Watch tearful reunion as Missouri dad returns home from deployment to his young son
HIROSHIMA, Japan  With Russias war on Ukraine nearing a potential inflection point, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to travel to Japan this weekend to address U.S. President Joe Biden and other G-7 leaders, drawing on this citys tragic history as a backdrop for his latest plea to secure more military and financial support.

Although the details of Zelenskyys travel plans remained opaque due to security concerns, the head of Ukraines national defense council, Oleksii Danilov, announced the trip on national television Friday, confirming news reports that he would attend.

Zelenskyy, who has traveled in recent days to the U.K. and other European nations, will fly to Japan after an appearance in Saudi Arabia at the Arab League summit. The spate of travel offered Ukraines president the opportunity to make in-person appeals for additional support and to show that his country, still under attack from Russian forces in the air and on the ground, is stable enough for him to travel abroad.





The news of Zelenskyys visit comes as Biden and other G-7 leaders on Friday reaffirmed their commitment to defend Ukraine against Russia by ratcheting up the Wests economic pressure campaign.

In a joint statement, the G-7 vowed to provide the financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support Ukraine requires for as long as it takes.

The U.S. added 70 entities to its export blacklist and expanded sanctions on another 300 entities and additional sectors of Russias economy. Meanwhile, Britain announced a ban on Russian diamonds and metal imports.

The announcements emerged from a working session on Ukraine that followed a visit by G-7 leaders to Hiroshimas hypocenter, the spot the U.S. detonated an atomic bomb some 78 years ago.

Biden and other leaders visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum before laying wreaths at an outdoor memorial just steps away from the bomb dome, the only structure left standing after the atomic blast and a striking symbol of the most destructive force ever created by man. They also met with an atomic bomb survivor named Keiko Ogura, Japans foreign ministry said.

Story continues

The leaders deepened their understanding of the reality of the atomic bombings and joined their hearts in consoling the souls of lost lives, the Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement. This visit became an opportunity to confirm G-7s commitment to the realization of a world without nuclear weapons.





Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida chose to host the annual meeting of the worlds leading democracies in Hiroshima to affirm the importance of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Moscows saber-rattling over nuclear weapons, Chinas growing hawkishness toward Taiwan and North Koreas revived missile test program are stoking new fears about another nuclear holocaust in our time.

The existing nuclear security architecture is being shaken, said Kyoko Imai, a fellow at the Atlantic Councils Indo-Pacific Security Initiative.

The G-7s rejection of any challenges to that status quo is, Imai continued, not just a message for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, but also for Chinese leader Xi Jinping and North Koreas Kim Jong Un. The war in Ukraine has clearly shown that regional crises have global ramifications, Imai said.

While the G-7 has responded to Russias war in Ukraine with conviction and cohesion, differences have emerged over member countries varying willingness to send more advanced weaponry to Kyiv. Germany, long reluctant about defense posturing and averse to military conflict, just announced 2.7 billion (close to $3 billion) in additional assistance for Ukraine, its largest package since the war began.

Zelenskyy, whose military is under growing pressure to turn the tide on the battlefield in the coming months, has asked Western allies to give it U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, which Washington has thus far been unwilling to provide.

During the G-7 discussion Friday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the circumvention of sanctions by third countries as extraordinary.

There is more and more circumvention of our massive sanctions. Its quite extraordinary to see the trade data and evidence on the ground, she told fellow G-7 leaders, according to her spokesperson.

High tech exports to third countries, from micro-processors and sensors for Russian cruise missiles to chips in military communications equipment, make their way onwards to Russia and end up in weapons used against Ukraine on the battlefield. We must put a stop to this, added von der Leyen.

She again rallied the G-7 leaders to support Zelenskyys peace plan, adding: Peace negotiations that equate the aggressor and the victim must be rejected.
Features/The Vanished Editor

Tammy Ayer has worked at the Yakima Herald-Republic since 2015. This is her fourth newspaper gig. Alongside general assignment reporting and profiles, she writes about the centuries-long crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, focusing on those who have gone missing, been murdered and have died mysteriously on and around the Yakama Reservation. Ayer grew up in Indiana, lived in Florida for 13 years and has a masters degree in history.
Syrah thrives throughout the Pacific Northwest, and it was first planted in Washington state by Mike Sauer at Red Willow Vineyard at the western edge of the Yakima Valley near the foothills of Mount Adams.
Education Reporter

Vanessa Ontiveros is the education reporter at the Yakima Herald-Republic. She grew up near Los Angeles but has happily made Yakima her new home. She is passionate about reporting stories that serve the community and highlight various aspects of the educational system.She also hosts a podcast that discusses local arts education, Yakima Arts Talk, available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. The daughter of two longtime public school teachers, she is always looking to include community voices in her work.
RFA/Latino Community and Lower Valley Reporter

Heyo, Im Jasper. Nice to meet you. I cover a wide variety of news, but I try to focus on the Latino community and the Lower Yakima Valley. I want to sharestories and perspectives from the Yakima Valley. Im interested in economics, labor, geography and the environment, but the most important issues will always be the ones the community cares about. If you have something worth saying, Ill listen and try to write it down. Im a gosei from Northeast Los Angeles and I got my start as a student journalist and editor covering sports in the Bay Area. Im a massive soccer fan and I still love to play. I also love water in all its forms, the word copacetic and trying new things. I want to read more, and I like to cook, but Im not great at either. Have fun out there!
An Alaska Airlines plane taxis on the tarmac at the airport in Yakima, Wash., Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.
The place for all things cold chain.

Hello, and welcome to the coolest community in freight! Here youll find the latest information on warehouse news, tech developments and all things reefer madness-related. Im your controller of the thermostat, Mary OConnell. Thanks for having me!

All thawed out

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Reducing carbon emissions from reefer trucks is catching on south of the border. Mexico Citys air quality is 10 times the World Health Organizations recommended limit, ranking it sixth worst amongst major cities worldwide. Thats not exactly what the country wants for its people, and given increased demand for manufacturing facilities in Mexico, it may get worse.

But in response to the Mexico City governments push for adoption of its Climate Change and Environment Program, MegaFlux has stepped up to work with large fleet owners to reduce total cost of ownership of vehicles that reduce carbon emissions. Switching an entire fleet to electric vehicles is tricky, but MegaFlux is meeting carriers where they are.

For example, vehicle chassis are built for 30 years of use, yet most carriers sell them after five to 10 years. MegaFlux has found a way to retrofit vehicles with electric powertrains. This reduces waste and delivers savings of more than 30% compared to buying a new diesel truck without subsidies.

Large U.S. shippers have jumped on this train. According to a Fleet Equipment article, AB InBev recently unveiled the first all-electric distribution center in the Americas. The [cost of ownership] for MegaFluxs MF18T truck used with AB InBev is expected to have savings of 10% compared to purchasing new diesel trucks. This groundbreaking initiative and its savings demonstrate the potential for large-scale electrification and sets a precedent for other commercial fleets to follow.

As more shippers move to Mexico, reefer EVs will become more prevalent.

Temperature checks

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

DHL Global Forwarding has expanded its temperature-controlled offering with a $1.5 million dedicated pharmaceutical transport facility in Indianapolis International Airport. This facility will cover 30,000 square feet and has direct access to the airport ramp. It will have dedicated service to Brussels. This new route has to be a direct result of the campaign that Belgium has conducted to become the hub for European medicines.

Jumping on the new offering are Siemens and Eli Lilly. Both companies can improve sustainability metrics as the volume of packaging and temperature-controlled containers can be reduced. DHL reduces transportation costs and transit times by using thermal blankets that insulate the cargo.

By locating the new facility near the tarmac at the airport in Indiana, DHL can quickly load containers into the temperature-controlled aircraft to keep products in their required temperature range while using less packaging than perishable-goods shippers often use. Once the goods arrive in centrally located Brussels, theyre easier to distribute throughout Europe.

Food and drugs

(Photo: Blue Apron)

Meal kits have taken over more than just podcast sponsorships. During the pandemic, consumers nationwide began having complete meals delivered to their homes. However, now that the pandemic is essentially over, meal kit companies are looking for new ways to retain consumers as more people are flocking back to restaurants rather than cooking at home.

In a Food Market article, Bloombergs Janine Perri wrote, After 11 months, customer retention among the January 2022 cohort was 15 percent at Blue Apron, 11 percent at Home Chef, 9 percent at HelloFresh SE, and 5 percent at Marley Spoon Inc and Sunbasket.

Blue Aprons Q1 reported revenue dropped 4% year over year for a net loss of $17 million. HelloFresh, on the other hand, saw a new high of $2.2 billion in the first quarter as it focuses on the overall customer experience and the options available to them. Most meal kit companies are struggling to figure out what the profitable post-pandemic future looks like.

Cold chain lanes

SONAR Ticker: ROTVI.GEG, ROTRI.GEG

This weeks cold market is Spokane, Washington. The market has the highest level of reefer outbound tender rejections in the country. The index is at 14.52%, significantly higher than the average, which is 2.72%. When rejection rates are above 10%, that indicates spot rates are elevated above contracted rates. Rates might not be sky-high in Spokane as they would be in a bigger market due to the fact that outbound tender volumes are lower.

Is SONAR for you? Check it out with a demo!

Shelf life

Cold-chain startup Figorr raises $1.5M, backs the rollout of data-driven perishables insurance

Perishable goods transportation market size expected to reach $18 billion by 2027

AI helps fight cancer

The nostalgia is strong for frozen foods

Yogurt, cereal, frozen foods see highest price increases since last year in Q1

Wanna chat in the cooler? Shoot me an email with comments, questions or story ideas at moconnell@freightwaves.com.

See you on the internet.

Mary

If this newsletter was forwarded to you, you must be pretty chill. Join the coolest community in freight and subscribe for more at freightwaves.com/subscribe.

The post Running on Ice: Mexico goes electric appeared first on FreightWaves.
By buying an index fund, you can roughly match the market return with ease. But if you choose individual stocks with prowess, you can make superior returns. Just take a look at Schloss Wachenheim AG (ETR:SWA), which is up 24%, over three years, soundly beating the market return of 7.5% (not including dividends).

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

See our latest analysis for Schloss Wachenheim

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

Schloss Wachenheim was able to grow its EPS at 13% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. This EPS growth is higher than the 7% average annual increase in the share price. So it seems investors have become more cautious about the company, over time. We'd venture the lowish P/E ratio of 11.87 also reflects the negative sentiment around the stock.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Schloss Wachenheim's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for Schloss Wachenheim the TSR over the last 3 years was 35%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that Schloss Wachenheim shareholders are down 14% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 0.9%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 1.5% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. Keeping this in mind, a solid next step might be to take a look at Schloss Wachenheim's dividend track record. This free interactive graph is a great place to start.

We will like Schloss Wachenheim better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on German exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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
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.
Mobilizare impotriva unui urs agresiv in Ulies (Raciu)

"Ne aparam satul Ulies, comuna Raciu, de ursi, va recomandam, ca dupa ce se intuneca, sa nu mai faceti deplasari pe jos!", a transmis vineri, 26 mai, Ciprian Alin Belean, primarul comunei Raciu. "De cateva seri, un urs agresiv a intrat in mai multe gospodarii din satul Ulies producand [citeste mai departe]
Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 22% in the last quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years have been very strong. In three years the stock price has launched 184% higher: a great result. To some, the recent share price pullback wouldn't be surprising after such a good run. The fundamental business performance will ultimately dictate whether the top is in, or if this is a stellar buying opportunity.

So let's assess the underlying fundamentals over the last 3 years and see if they've moved in lock-step with shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for Scorpio Tankers

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

Scorpio Tankers became profitable within the last three years. That kind of transition can be an inflection point that justifies a strong share price gain, just as we have seen here.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

It is of course excellent to see how Scorpio Tankers has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Scorpio Tankers' TSR for the last 3 years was 203%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Scorpio Tankers has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 67% in the last twelve months. Of course, that includes the dividend. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 14%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Scorpio Tankers (including 1 which can't be ignored) .

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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
Hungary will soon release hundreds of foreigners convicted of people-smuggling, allowing them to return home or travel within Europe, HVG reports.

This is made possible by a government decree that entered into force in April, based on which all foreigners who have been convicted of human trafficking and whose deportation was also ordered can request that their sentence be suspended.



In return, the Hungarian state only expects criminals to leave the country within 72 hours, but it is up to them to decide whether they will apply to continue to serve out their sentence elsewhere.



Authorities are not expected to check whether the freed convicts actually leave the country.



The same option is not available to Hungarian citizens convicted of the same offense.



The decision is tantamount to amnesty for those who are members of organised criminal gangs, HVG observes.



This is happening because Hungarian prisons are overcrowded, the weekly adds.



More than 13% of the prison population consists of foreigners, adding up to nearly 2,600 people.
The fresh newsletter for the International Community in Hungary - described by readers as a "Great read each week" - is now available for your interest and use via the link below.

You can see the new edition of the Xpat E-Magazine here:

https://xpatloop.com/newsletters/2023/18-may.html



* First up are New Interviews with top hospitality pro's you may know:

1. Thibaut Drege, General Manager, Four Seasons Hotel Budapest,

2. Sameer Hamdan, Zuhair Awad, Owners, Mellow Mood Group,

3. Karoly Gerendai, Owner of Costes Restaurants in Budapest,

4. Yahya Khadaro, ARZ Exec Chef, InterContinental Budapest,

5. Aniko Horvath, General Manager, Mystery Hotel Budapest,

6. Arne Klehn, General Manager, Budapest Marriott Hotel,

7. Florentin Mochet, Co-Founder, Le Troquet Wine Bar.



* Scroll down for events happening these days + see more in Xpat Calendar:

E.g. Literary & Art Weekend / Abba Show / Strauss's Elektra / Plastic Pick-Up.



* Also below are new Movies & Specials + fresh News, Info & Inspiration:

E.g. Richest Locals Revealed, 'Night of Artworks', Wine & Champagne Fest.



We hope you like what's in it for you.

Best wishes from Team XpatLoop.com


The X Ambassadors perform their new album at the Akvarium Klub.

The X Ambassadors broke into the charts with hits like Unsteady and Renegades and have been churning out new hits at a steady pace ever since. Just like on their latest album Beautiful Liar, on which they give an insight into their childhood fears.



The band has been actively touring for the last six months and finally we don't have to wait much longer to dance to their music: the X Ambassadors will come back to their Hungarian fans at the Akvarium Klub on 8th June.



Source and tickets: livenation.hu
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Saturday was an important day for the city of York, as it marked the grand opening of the largest, all-inclusive playground in the state of Nebraska: Peyton Parker Lane Playground. The playground is named in memory of three children who touched the lives of many: Peyton and Parker Hoffman and Lane McDaniel.

Families came from near and far to witness the ribbon cutting and children of all abilities left with smiles and giggles that could be heard from miles away. It was a day that many wont forget.

Mayor Berry Redfern opened the ribbon cutting ceremony by expressing his appreciation of the collaborative efforts of the Peyton Parker Lane committee volunteers and community members who made this possible for people with all abilities.

One of the great things about being involved with city government is to see an idea turn into a reality and there it is, said Redfern. To these passionate people that had raised this money, had this idea, and made this thing happen... to all of the people and businesses in this community that supported in this effort to make this happen, I thank you all. This is a great addition to York. Its something that kids and people will enjoy for so long. I am just thrilled to live in York, Nebraska.

Crouch Recreations Eric Crouch, who oversaw the construction of Peyton Parker Lane, also spoke to the crowd of people, eagerly waiting for the fun that was ahead. Crouch thanked the committee for allowing him to oversee the project.

Crouch said, Ive really enjoyed working with the community, working with Julie on the design of the playground. Its a beautiful park. I think youre going to love it. I want to thank her and the committee. You have put in so much time and effort and raised a ton of money. This is something that is truly extraordinary. Its going to be an amazing addition to this community. I think youre going to see a lot of people from a lot of parts of the state and out of state, who are going to be using this facility.

Natalie Mackay, founder of Unlimited Play said Peyton Parker Lane Playground is the 84th playground they have opened. Unlimited Play also contributed to planning, designing, and development of the playground. According to unlimitedplay.org, Unlimited Play has collected information from children, parents of children with disabilities, veterans, therapists, and experts to help design playgrounds that will impact communities for generations to come.

Mackay, When Eric said extraordinary, oh my goodness. You are a town of 9,000 people who raised $1.3 million. I have the opportunity to speak all over the nation, and I use your project as an example of what can be done, and I also say please dont think its possible in each and every place. It takes a committee like yours.

Paul Jaekel, who spoke on behalf of the Peyton Parker Lane committee said, This playground does not have to be the end of it. This does not have to be the end of the inclusion. This is just the beginning for York, Nebraska and the surrounding areas for inclusion. Lets continue to love our neighbors this way, people.

The mother of Lane McDaniel, April McDaniel said, they call this project "healing by helping."

This is how we heal when we are dealing with adversity and when we are dealing with loss and I want you to think about that, said McDaniel. When you think about something that knocks you down and maybe shakes you up a little bit, you have a choice. You have a choice to do something great with it or you have a choice to sit back in your pity and be sad about it and do nothing. This is an example of people that came together that have fought through some adversity and loss. Let it be an example to you of what you can do through 'healing by helping.'

Julie Hoffman, mother of Peyton and Parker, said, When April and I stood at York Generals donation of $100,000, I looked at her and said Were not driving this bus anymore, Gods driving this bus. I thank him every day for growing up with two little sisters who had intellectual disabilities who taught me how to be the best mom I could be to Peyton and Parker. They were incredible individuals and they are missed dearly, but because of their lives and how they lived, this playground is here. I poured my heart and soul into this playground and I hope it shows and I hope it creates relationships with all kids of all abilities when they come here.

The ribbon was cut and York Parks and Recreation Director Cheree Foltz shouted Open the gate and go play!

Kids poured into the golden gate from left and right. Those who were in wheelchairs were finally swinging, playing with musical instruments and various playground equipment just as the other children. This was no longer a once in a lifetime moment, but a moment they will get to experience over and over again for years to come.
An international flight from Jeddah to Kuala Lumpur had to make an unscheduled to Chennai on Friday after one of the passengers complained of chest pain, officials said. It is to be noted that the Malaysia-bound flight ad 280 passengers onboard.

Soon after the flight landed following clearance, the passenger was rushed to a nearby government hospital, officials added.
New Delhi: The auspicious occasion of Shani Jayanti this year is being celebrated on May 19. Marking the birth anniversary of Lord Shani, one of the important Navgrahas and as per Hindu mythology - Lord of planet Saturn - the day holds utmost significance for devotees. The day is also known as Shani Amavasya.

WHO IS SHANI?

According to Hindu mythology, Shani Dev is the son of Surya Dev - the sun god. It is believed that each day of the week is dedicated to a deity, therefore, Saturday is ruled by Saturn LordShani Dev. There is a mention of the lord in ancient Puranas, medieval texts and scriptures.

AMAVASYA TITHI 2023

According to the North Indian Purnimant calendar, the Shani Jayanti is marked on Amavasya Tithi during Jyeshtha month whereas as per the South Indian Amavasyant calendar Shani Jayanti falls on Amavasya Tithi during Vaishakha month. The Lunar month name differs but in both these calendars, the date of Shani Jayanti remains the same.

Amavasya Tithi Begins - 09:42 PM on May 18, 2023

Amavasya Tithi Ends - 09:22 PM on May 19, 2023

(according to drikpanchang.com)

This year, it coincides with Vat Savitri Vrat on May 19 which is observed on Jyeshtha Amavasya in major North Indian states in the country.

PUJA RITUALS OF SHANI JAYANTI

On this day (Shani Jayanti) devotees take a bath, wear clean clothes and observe a fast. Later in the day, visit a Shani temple to seek the Lord's blessings. Shani Dev is the god of justice, so whoever works hard, prays with utmost devotion, performs his duties rightfully gets rewarded by the Lord.

All those who suffer from any sort of Shani-related dosha can seek the Lord's blessings by worshipping him on this day. You can also recite Shani Dev mantras and meditate in silence.

You can visit any Shani Temple and offer jaggery and chana (black chickpeas or Gram) to the Lord. Also, black lentils (urad black dal) can be offered to the Lord as well. It is believed that the Saturn God also likes black colour and the mettle Iron (Loha) is associated with him. The devotees can give eatables along with the mettle utensils to the needy also.

Helping the poor and needy on this day can please the Lord and in turn, he will bless you.

WHY FEAR SATURN?

Often there is a sense of fear which is invoked in most people while praying to the lord, as Shani Dev's 'sadhesati' and 'dhaiya' make people dread their fate more. However, we must understand that the Lord is also another name for justice, so each individual goes through whatever Karma he or she has done.

Pray to Shani Dev with a pure heart, mind and soul.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Shani Jayanti!
MP Election 2023: Buoyed by the party's performance in Karnataka, the Congress appears all set to replicate the campaign strategy in other poll-bound states as well. While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) popularised the idea of free electricity to win Delhi and Punjab assembly elections, Congress used the idea successfully in Karnataka. Now, after tasting success with the formula, Congress is planning to frame its campaign on a similar line in Madya Pradesh as well. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Kamal Nath announced to give free electricity to the people of the state. He said that people won't need to pay bills for electricity consumption of up to 100 units.

"I am saying this for the first time. Waiver up to 100 units, half bill up to 200 units," said Kamal Nath. The Madhya Pradesh Congress claimed that the BJP will be wiped out in the state assembly polls. "Kamalnath Ka Sandesh Saaf, 100 Unit Bijali Maaf, 200 Unit Par Bill Half, Ab BJP Ka Supada Saaf (Kamal Nath's message is clear, waiver up to 100 units of electricity, half bill for up to 200 units and BJP will be swept out of power)," tweeted Madhya Pradesh Congress.

   ,

100   ,

200    ,

     pic.twitter.com/vmfn7HmJQe  MP Congress (@INCMP) May 19, 2023

On the lines of Karnataka, Kamal Nath also promised Rs 1,500 per month for women in the state without any pre-conditions. It may be recalled that Congress has promised Rs 2,000 per month for the woman head of the family in Karnataka. Kamal Nath also played the cheaper LPG cylinder card promising to cap the cooking gas cylinder priced at Rs 500 with the state government offering Rs 600 subsidy as per the current domestic LPG cylinder prices. An LPG cylinder costs around Rs 100 at present.

The Congress has also promised to restore the old pension scheme that helped the party win the assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh. Nath also promised a farm loan waiver. Hitting out at the BJP after the saffron party's ouster from Karnataka, Nath said, "After the massive defeat in the Karnataka elections, the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party have lost their balance. During the 18 years of government in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP did not do any work for the people. That's why now before the elections, the leaders of Madhya Pradesh BJP are giving one inconsistent statement after another. The only purpose of these statements is to divert the attention of the people of Madhya Pradesh."

Kamal Nath said the BJP should understand that the people of Madhya Pradesh are intelligent and they are not going to get trapped in the politics of distraction. While the BJP has criticised the Congress for promising freebies, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government has come out with a CM Sikho Kamao Yojana in which unemployed youth will be given skill training and a stipend of Rs 8,000-Rs 10,000 during the upskilling. The BJP government has already started 'Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana' under which each woman in the state will get Rs 1000 per month. Madhya Pradesh will go to polls around December this year.
New Delhi/Lucknow: The Bharatiya Janata Party will hold a massive 'Mahajanajagaran campaign across the country, especially in the poll-bound states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana to mark the completion of nine years of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre. During this month-long campaign, the party will cover all Lok Sabha constituencies. The campaign will start on May 30 and conclude on June 30.

51 Rallies, 396 Public Meetings

PM Modi will kick off the 'Mahajanajagaran campaign with a huge rally on May 30, BJP sources said. The PM is also expected to hold more rallies in the days to come. In total, the party has planned to hold as many as 51 rallies of senior BJP leaders across the country.

The ruling party will also conduct public meetings in 396 Lok Sabha seats, in which the presence of a Union Minister or a national official of the party will be a must. During the special month-long Maha Jansampark Abhiyan, the achievements of the Modi government, its policies and public welfare schemes will be highlighted and the message of good governance will be conveyed to the public

Uttar Pradesh

Similar events will be held in Uttar Pradesh on May 30 to mark the completion of nine years of the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Bharatiya Janata Party's State General Secretary (Organization) Dharampal Singh said that through public relations campaign, the achievements of the Central Government have to be reached the doorstep of every household.

"The workers that in the recently concluded civic body elections, there were historic results in favour of the BJP in the entire state. The credit for this goes to the people of the state and the loyal workers of the party," Singh said.

He further said that public meetings will be organized at the Lok Sabha level from May 30 to June 30 under the Maha Sampark Abhiyan organized on the completion of 9 years of the central government.

"Enlightened and businessmen conferences will also be organized under the campaign," he added. He further said that a senior workers' meeting will be organized in which MPs, MLAs, national office bearers, former office bearers, and state office bearers up to the divisional level will hold a meeting with Tiffin.

"A joint conference of all the seven fronts will also be organized. Along with this, a conference of the beneficiaries of the central and state government has also been planned at the assembly level. Beneficiaries will be invited to this. On the occasion of International Yoga Day, the Yoga Day program is also to be organized at every Shakti Kendra on June 21," he detailed.

A mass contact campaign will be launched by the organization at the booth level under which public representatives and senior leaders are going to do door-to-door public relations and distribute leaflets of historical achievements of the central and state government.

"For the success of the Mahasampark Abhiyan, before May 30, a complete road map has to be prepared for planning and implementation of the plan. For this, district working committee meetings have to be organized in each district on 20 and 21 May and divisional working committee meetings on 22, 23 and 24 May," he said.
Sen. Dianne Feinsteins return to Capitol has been closely watched. Can she still do her job?

For seven months in 1988, Joe Biden was absent from the Senate, recovering from operations to repair brain aneurysms.

The first lasted eight hours. Three months later, a second aneurysm sent him back to surgery.

The Delaware senators convalescence was so guarded that he wouldnt take phone calls from President Ronald Reagan. Colleagues feared that even if he recovered, he wouldnt be the same, according to a Biden memoir and Delaware Today.

Press scrutiny was respectful and scarce. But when the gregarious Biden returned to the Senate, it was pretty much business as usual.

The Washington Post reported he came buoyantly back into his senatorial duties yesterday, greeted at almost every turn by reunions, tributes and the other rites by which the Senate tribe honors the return of a fallen warrior.

Fast forward to 2023.

As Sen. Dianne Feinstein tries to ease herself back into the comfortable, collegial Senate, shes finding an endlessly curious press corps and public.

Can the California Democrat, whose term ends in January 2025, continue to do her job in a world where her every utterance and appearance will be played, replayed and scrutinized? How long will Californians tolerate an ailing, frail senator they remember as the dynamic, savvy San Francisco mayor who became a Washington power broker for a generation?

The roll calls and being present for committee votes are probably the biggest thing right now, and she is doing that. There are other representational activities that she is not doing that could mean it is a bit harder to represent the needs of all Californians, said Christian Grose, academic director of the University of Southern California Schwarzenegger Institute.

Her May 10 return to the Senate, after an three month absence due to shingles, illustrated the huge challenge ahead.

When Feinsteins car pulled up to the Senate entrance that afternoon, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer greeted her and an aide pushed her into the building in a wheelchair. The roughly 50 journalists who watched were instructed to keep about 20 feet away.

The Feinstein watch had begun.

I think Senator Feinstein is facing a high level of scrutiny because her long absence came when she was already facing public reporting by her hometown newspaper (the San Francisco Chronicle) that she was mentally unfit to serve in the Senate, said Gregory Koger, professor of political science at the University of Miami.

Her staff attributed her stay in California to shingles (with little other medical information), which is a painful malady but not ordinarily severe enough to keep someone from their job for two months, so there are a lot of unanswered questions about her capacity to do her job.

Biden and Feinstein

There are some significant differences between now and then, of course. Biden was 45 at the time and returned full of energy. Feinstein turns 90 next month, and her frail condition and memory lapses have been in plain view for some time. Her vote is crucial in a 51-49 Senate. In 1988, Biden was part of a 55-45 Democratic majority.

The biggest difference: The public and press.

There was kind of a moral code that has given way to super aggressiveness, said Ross Baker, professor of American politics at Rutgers University and a veteran congressional observer.

Even if reporters in years past did ask tough questions of ailing elected officials, the public often refrained from calling for their resignation or demanding more personal details.

Today, with cell phones at the ready to record anything and on-line audiences with a seemingly bottomless appetite for content, Feinstein is struggling with a different media culture.

The press is now more visual, more diverse, more critical, said Donald Ritchie, Senate historian emeritus.

Home in the Senate

The Senate is still a place where colleagues refer to each other as the gentleman or gentle lady, and where  unlike the more raucous House  personal attacks are exceedingly rare. Tolerance is as traditional in the Senate as the two spittoons that sit under each leaders desk (one for the Republican leader, one for the Democrat).

Its also a place with a long history of members who missed months, even years, of votes, and returned frail and sometimes confused.

Sen. Carter Glass, a Virginia Democrat, was 87 and had not voted in more than two years when he returned in 1945.

The distinguished senior Senator from Virginia was frail and silent, enfeebled by age and long illness, reported Time Magazine. Last week Virginia newspapers, respectfully but almost unanimously, were urging the aged Senator to retire.

Time found that this week reporters heard that the question of resignation had been put up to him. The man Franklin Roosevelt once called an unreconstructed rebel gave his answer: no. Glass would die a year later, still having cast no votes since becoming ill.

Sen. Clair Engle, a California Democrat, had a brain tumor and was partially paralyzed when the roll was called on breaking a filibuster on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He was able to lift his arm and point to his eye, and was recorded as an aye vote. He died six weeks later.

In 2001, Sen. Strom Thurmond was 98 when he fainted on the Senate floor.

Sen. Bill Frist, a cardiac surgeon, and others attended to the South Carolina Republican, and he was taken to a hospital. Thurmond was released the next day. Earlier in the year, he had suffered what CNN called a variety of low-level but persistent ailments, including stomach upset, back pain, dehydration and exhaustion.

More recently, Sen. Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican, suffered a stroke in early 2012. He was paralyzed on his left side and didnt return to the Senate for a year. He sought re-election in 2016 and lost to Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat.

Sen. John McCain underwent brain surgery in 2017, then returned to the Senate to cast the decisive vote that ended the Trump administrations effort to partially repeal Obamacare. The Arizona Republican stopped voting that December as his health worsened. He died in August 2018.

While four House members, including Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Santa Clara, a leading progressive voice, have have called for Feinsteins resignation, Senate colleagues remained supportive.

Even in a polarized political environment, the Senate remains a collegial institution, Ritchie said.

Feinstein in the 2020s

Feinstein has in recent years been a shadow of the shrewd, confident politician who became a senator in 1992.

She infuriated many Democrats in 2020 after the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett had been whisked through the process with unusual speed after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

After the contentious hearing, Feinstein hugged Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and said This has been one of the best set of hearings that Ive participated in.

With the urging of party Senate leaders, who were concerned not only about the criticism but her ability to lead the committee, Feinstein stepped down from her post as the committees top Democrat. Three years later, she declined to become Senate President Pro Tem, a largely ceremonial position that would put her third in line for the presidency.

But Feinstein still holds powerful positions on the Judiciary Committee and the Appropriations Committee, where key spending decisions are made. And she is still the senior senator representing the state with the worlds fourth largest economy and roughly 10% of the nations population.

When she came back to the Senate May 10, someone shouted a question asking her how she felt. Much better, she said, barely audible.

She didnt speak to the media, instead issuing a detailed statement saying she would pursue a lighter schedule. That means she will participate in floor votes and committee work, depending on whats on the schedule. She declined an interview request with The Bee.

Democrats control 51 seats. In the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democrats have 11 members to the Republicans 10, which means in her absence, its more difficult to move Bidens judicial nominations to full Senate consideration.

She attended the committee meeting last week, arriving late but in time to cast a vote sending three of the controversial judges to the floor.

The Senate has voted 14 times since she returned. She missed one on May 10 and three on Wednesday. All the votes since her return have been noncontroversial, usually involving judicial nominations or executive appointments.

Though she has been in a wheelchair, Feinstein walked while on the Senate floor. She had been diagnosed with shingles on February 26, was hospitalized until March 7, but is still feeling temporary side effects, including vision and balance impairments.

Even a somewhat limited Feinstein is important, said USCs Grose.

Feinstein being back in the work and casting votes on the judiciary committee for judges and engaging in these and other roll calls is a key part of representing her constituents, he said, so her being back to work  even with a light schedule  is representing a large group of her constituents.

And constituent service continues, because, Grose said, as most senators rely on their staff to do this work so I think that can still be done too.

Whats unknown is how much Feinstein can engage with those constituents. That means finding out what is on the mind of Californians, and it may be more challenging for Senator Feinstein to do this kind of work at this time, Grose said.
A Shiv Nadar University student allegedly shot and killed his female classmate on the campus in Greater Noida on Thursday afternoon. According to police, the third-year student also shot himself dead at the boys hostel. The 21-year-old woman was declared dead after reaching the hospital.

Police informed that both were final-year B.A. Sociology students. As per the CCTV footage obtained by police, the duo was seen speaking outside the dining hall. The accused had apparently brought a gift for the woman. When she refused to take it, she was shot by the man.

The man, identified as Anuj Singh, was seen holding a bag which he subsequently opened to take out a gun before shooting the woman.

Police said that the woman, identified as Sneha Chaurasia, was shot at least twice in the chest and abdomen. As the university is shut due to summer vacation, no eyewitnesses to the incident could be found.

They were friends, students often saw them talking to each other. The two first had a conversation, and the accused later pulled out a pistol and fired at the woman, Hindustan Times quoted the investigating officer as saying.

Police received a call from the university between 1:30 pm and 2 pm about a firing incident on the campus. Saad Miya Khan, DCP, Greater Noida, said that the woman was taken to Yatharth Hospital where she was declared brought dead. "We have informed the family and have secured the campus," he added.

Police informed that after killing the woman, the accused went inside his hostel room and killed himself. Reports suggest that a country-made pistol was found in his room. Investigating officials are looking into the origin of the weapon.

A spokesperson from Shiv Nadar University said that they were shocked by the tragic deaths of two of their university students. "The safety and well-being of our kids, staff, and the entire community are our top priorities, he said.

The university official also assured their cooperation with the investigation authorities in every possible way. He also empathised with the affected families and said that they were doing everything to help them during this tough time.
New Delhi: One of the most beautiful women in the world, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, a Cannes regular made her first appearance at the French Riviera red carpet on May 18. She wore a mermaid gown by Roberto Cavalli, accessorised with coral lips and ironed-out straight hair. The giant silver hood that extended into a train made her outfit a bold choice for the OOTD at the red carpet.

Well, while some hailed her extravagant first appearance others trolled her for wearing a huge hoodie couture. Interestingly, the red carpet compere on the official live stream announced, " Not supposed to comment on the outfits but Aishwarya's is very striking." Take a look at her outfit here:

A social media page shared Aishwarya and Urvashi Rautela's pictures and many commented on the looks. One user wrote: Mama shark ashwariya while another one said: Why Aishwarya why???

Netizens were divided over Ash's first-day look at Cannes Red Carpet.

Earlier in the day, Aishwarya was seen in a sequins shimmery green cape gown dress by Valentino. Aishwarya has been representing the cosmetics giant L'Oreal for more than two decades. On the red carpet on Day 1, she was present at the screening of Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny.

Aishwarya is accompanied by her daughter Aaradhya Bachchan to the French Riviera.

This year, other celebs from the Indian contingent include Anushka Sharma, Sara Ali Khan, Aditi Rao Hydari, Mrunal Thakur, Sunny Leone, Esha Gupta, Urvashi Rautela and Manushi Chhillar.


New Delhi: Malaika Arora is one of the finest and fittest actors in the industry today. She takes over the internet as she steps out of her house with her walk, outfit choices and whatnot. The actress made heads turn even last night but then something happened and it shocked the internet.

Malaika was stepping out of a restaurant on Thursday night when a few girls tried to block her way and asked her to give them 'something.' The 'Chaiyya Chaiyya' girl politely refused, but the girls continued to follow her and this incident has gotten the internet worried. A video of the same is now surfacing on Instagram, netizens are calling it 'harassment.'

Fans flooded the comment section of Bollywood paparazzo Viral Bhayani. One wrote, 'This is wrong. These kids shouldn't behave like this.' Another one commented, 'This is not fair. You can't harass someone.' 'These kids always torture each and every celebrities if they really want to sell their stuffs they can sell it anywhere but purposely just for sake of the camera they do such things,' a third user added.

Malla is very active on social media and keeps sharing her jaw-dropping clicks with fans. She indeed does the justice with the quote 'Aging like a fine wine.'

On the work front, Malaika Arora recently appeared in the music video Tera Ki Khayal with Guru Randhawa. She was also seen in her debut show Moving In With Malaika which gave her fans an insight into her personal life. Apart from this, Malaika runs a yoga studio by the name of Diva Yoga centre and often urges people to either take to yoga or hit the gym to keep the body, mind and soul balanced.

On the personal front, Malaika has been in a relationship with Arjun Kapoor for quite some time now. The two often go out on vacations at exotic destinations together and share photos with each other on social media. Recently, they had gone on a trip to Berlin and Austria.
New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday announced that it is going to withdraw Rs 2,000 denomination bank notes from circulation soon, however the central bank has said that the currency notes will continue to remain legal tender till September 30.

How To Change Rs 2,000 Notes: Know The Entire Process And Deadline

RBI has asked the banks to stop the circulation of Rs 2,000 denomination notes with immediate effect, although people who are in the possession of the currency notes can visit their bank branch to exchange the notes.

The Central bank has said that people who have Rs 2000 banknotes in their possession can deposit them into their bank accounts and/or exchange them into banknotes of other denominations at any bank branch up to September 30, 2023. The window to exchange Rs 2000 banknotes would start from 23rd May and the last date to do so is 30th September.

Process To Exchange Rs 2,000 Banknotes: How Much Money Can Be Exchanged At A Time

You can change 10 banknotes of Rs 2000 denomination at a time. This means, you can exchange Rs 20,000 at a time. However, there is no limit on deposit and you can deposit any amount in Rs 2,000 currency notes.

The introduction of the Rs 2000 denomination banknote in November 2016 served largely to quickly address the economy's need for money following the loss of the legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1000 banknotes in use at the time.After sufficient supplies of notes in other denominations became available, the goal of launching Rs 2000 banknotes was achieved. As a result, according to the RBI, printing of Rs 2000 banknotes was discontinued in 201819.
New Delhi: Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme 14th Installment latest update:-- The Central government may very soon roll out the 14th instalment under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM Kisan Yojana) in the next few days, as per media reports.

PM Kisan Yojana 14th instalment: Which farmers will get Rs 4,000 instead of Rs 2,000, check eligibility

So far, the government has released 13 instalments under PM Kisan Yojana. While most farmers will be receiving Rs 2000 instalments for the PM Kisan Yojana 14th instalment, a few are expected to get Rs 4000. According to reports, farmers who didnt receive Rs 2000 in the 13th instalment are likely to get Rs 4000 in the 13th instalment.

Many farmers were not able to complete the process of their verification, owing to which they did not get the money for the 13th installment. However, a large number of farmers have now got their verification process completed. These farmers would now get Rs 4000 instead of Rs 2000.

PM-KISAN 14th Installment: How To Check Name on Beneficiary List

Eligible farmers can easily check their names on the official PM Kisan website. On the homepage of the website, you need to visit the Farmers Corner, followed by clicking on the Beneficiary Status option.

On the next page, you need to enter your details to find out if youre eligible for receiving the benefits under PM Kisan Yoana or not.

PM KISAN Scheme was launched by PM Narendra Modi in 2019, aims to provide income support to all landholder farmer families across the country with cultivable land, subject to certain exclusions. Under the Scheme, an amount of Rs 6000 per year is released in three-monthly instalments of Rs 2000 each directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. While lakhs of eager farmers are waiting for the disbursal of Rs 2,000 in their account, there are several farmers who are not eligible for the PM KISAN Scheme.

Those excluded from the PM-KISAN include institutional land holders, farmer families holding constitutional posts, serving or retired officers and employees of State or Central government as well as Public Sector Undetakings and Government Autonomous bodies. Professionals like doctors, engineers and lawyers as well as retired pensioners with a monthly pension of over Rs 10,000 and those who paid income tax in the last assessment year are also not eligible for the benefits.
In a big decision, the Reserve Bank Of India has banned the circulation of Rs 2,000 currency notes. The big RBI decision means that Rs 2,000 notes are needed to be exchanged or deposited in the bank accounts till 30th September, 2023. In such a situation, people are a bit confused and looking for the easiest ways to exchange their notes near their residences or offices. It was observed that many people were searching the nearest bank branches where they hold the account. For example, many people searched for terms like HDFC Bank Near Me; SBI Near Me; ICICI Bank Near Me; Axis Bank Near Me; Kotak Mahindra Bank Near Me and so on.

However, for people searching for 'Rs 2000 Bank Notes Exchange Near Me' on Google, a few points must be noted:

1. You can visit any bank near you after May 23, and ask for an exchange. It's not necessary to have an account.

2. You can simply visit a nearest branch of the bank where you hold an account, and deposit your money. This way, you will be able to avoid long queues.

3. You can just type the 'bank near me' and walk inside any bank to exchange the currency notes you hold.

4. While you can visit any branch, going to below mentioned banks - as they are the biggest in the country - could be more helpful

Here is the list of the Banks to Exchange Rs 2000 currency near you:

HDFC Bank

State Bank of India

ICICI Bank

Axis Bank

Kotak Mahindra Bank

IndusInd Bank

Yes Bank

Punjab National Bank

Bank of Baroda

Bank of India

How To Change Rs 2,000 Notes

RBI has asked the banks to stop the circulation of Rs 2,000 denomination notes with immediate effect, although people who are in the possession of the currency notes can visit their bank branch to exchange the notes. The Central bank has said that people who have Rs 2000 banknotes in their possession can deposit them into their bank accounts and/or exchange them into banknotes of other denominations at any bank branch up to September 30, 2023.
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has threatened to launch a state-wide agitation against the Yogi Adityanath government to ensure that the Other Backward Castes (OBC) get their due share. Taking serious note of a sharp decrease in the allocation of OBC seats for recruitment to gram panchayat adhikari, Akhilesh said that this was a result of BJP`s anti-reservation mindset.

"The Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UPSSSC) has issued an advertisement which states 9.5 per cent posts of gram panchayat adhikari have been reserved for the OBC. The reservation allotted to OBCs as per rules is 27 per cent. We will not allow the government to deprive the OBCs of their rights. We will launch an agitation soon. BJP`s mindset is becoming a hindrance when it comes to dispensing social justice," Akhilesh said.

Sources said the party leaders were also seriously contemplating moving the high court on the issue and taking the legal battle to the Supreme Court as well if need be.

SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said, "As per the UPSSSC advertisement, of the total of 1,468 posts, 849 have been set aside for the general candidates, 117 for the EWS, 139 for the OBCs, 356 for the SC and seven for ST. As per norms, OBCs should get 27 per cent reservation which comes to around 396 posts when the total vacancies are 1,468. The advertisement says only 9.5 per cent reservation will be given to OBCs which comes to 139 posts. This is unacceptable."
Lahore: Pakistan is heading towards an "imminent disaster" and it may face disintegration, former Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned as he accused the ruling coalition of hatching a conspiracy to pit the army against his party. In a video-link address from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore on Wednesday, the 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief said the only solution to end political instability was to hold elections.

"The PDM leaders and Nawaz Sharif, who is missing in London, are least concerned whether the country's constitution is desecrated, state institutions are destroyed or even Pakistan Army earns a bad name. They are looking for their vested interests of saving the looted wealth alone," he said.

"I am seeing a frightening dream that the country is heading towards an imminent disaster. I appeal to the powers that be to let the elections take place and save the country," Imran Khan said as police surrounded his home.

          !



                                                 pic.twitter.com/UTvIpUuthq  Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 17, 2023

Speaking about the unrest that followed his arrest from the Islamabad High Court premises on May 9, Imran Khan asserted that it was a "pure conspiracy" hatched and executed allegedly on behalf of the ruling coalition and the Punjab caretaker government.

"This is high time that the powers that be should sensibly rethink otherwise the country will face an East Pakistan-like situation," he was quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper.

Defending his criticism of the country's army, Imran Khan said: "When I reprimand the army, it is like I am criticising my kids." "I have repeatedly stated that I do not interfere in state institutions' internal matters. I did not interfere when I had confirmed reports that the former army chief was conspiring against me," he said, claiming some politicians were telling the current army chief that Imran Khan would de-notify him if voted to power.

Strongly reacting to the Punjab government's claim that some 40 terrorists are hiding at his Zaman Park residence, Imran Khan said the government must search the house in a lawful manner after obtaining a search warrant because his own life was also in danger in the presence of terrorists. "But don't make this an excuse to launch a crackdown on the country's largest political party PTI," he said.

Imran Khan said a recent survey revealed that Pakistan's 70 per cent of population was standing with his party - PTI - and the remaining 30 per cent people with all the parties that are part of the ruling coalition.

Following his video-link address, Imran Khan allowed the electronic and digital media representatives access to his residence to see for themselves that there were no terrorists inside Zaman Park.

The media persons, who visited the house, later reported that there were only domestic workers and some policemen inside the house. Earlier in the day, he tweeted: "Probably my last tweet before my next arrest. Police have surrounded my house". He also posted some videos showing police taking positions outside his house.

The arrest of Imran Khan on May 9 by the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers at the IHC premises triggered unrest in Pakistan. For the first time in Pakistan's history, the protesters stormed the army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and also torched a corps commander's house in Lahore.

Police put the death count in violent clashes to 10 while Imran Khan's party claims 40 of its workers lost their lives in the firing by security personnel. On Monday the top military brass vowed to bring the arsonists, who attacked the civil and military installations, to justice through trial under relevant laws of the country, including the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secrets Act.

Imran Khan was ousted from power in April last year after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China and Afghanistan.
Rolls-Royce today announced that it has successfully completed the first tests of its UltraFan technology demonstrator at its facility in Derby, UK. The first tests were conducted using 100 per cent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). This is a historic moment for Rolls-Royce - it is the first time in 54 years that the aero-engine manufacturer has tested a brand-new engine architecture and is proof of what can be achieved when industry and Governments work together. Confirming the capability of the suite of technologies incorporated in the demonstrator is a big step towards improving the efficiency of current and future aero-engines.

After years of hard work by our team and suppliers, our #UltraFan technology demonstrator has successfully completed its first tests. Today we have celebrated with everyone who made it happen. Thank you Baroness @CharlotteV for joining the celebrations. https://t.co/i17dVDZcDL pic.twitter.com/l0Zap0n4Qt  Rolls-Royce (@RollsRoyce) May 18, 2023

UltraFan delivers a 10 per cent efficiency improvement over the Trent XWB, which is already the world's most efficient large aero engine in service. In the nearer term, there are options to transfer technologies from the UltraFan development programme to current Trent engines, providing our customers with even greater availability, reliability and efficiency.

The use of sustainable aviation fuel is increasing across the world among various airlines. Beginning the use of SAF, Vistara became the first Indian airline to operate a commercial, domestic flight with environment-friendly fuel. The full-service carrier used a brand-new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. The aircraft completed its journey between Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport and Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The Boeing aircraft used a blend of 17 percent SAF with 83 percent conventional fuel.

Also read - Children Survive Plane Crash In Columbia, Found Alive In Amazon Forest Weeks After Accident

Also, an Air Asia flight today operated on SAF blend. "Today, I received crew and passengers who took the first commercial passenger flight from Pune to Delhi powered by indigenously produced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). It's the beginning of a new chapter in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Today we have started with 1% blending of SAF in one flight, which will be taken to 1% in all flights by mid-2025," said Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, on receiving the crew and passengers of the flight.
Jeshtha Amavasya, also known as Jyeshtha Amavasya, is an auspicious day in the Hindu calendar. It falls on the no-moon day (Amavasya) in the Hindu month of Jyeshtha, which typically corresponds to May or June. Jyeshtha Amavasya holds significance in Hindu religious traditions and is observed with various rituals and ceremonies. It is believed that performing certain rituals on this day can bring blessings, prosperity, and spiritual benefits.

Jyeshtha Amavasya has a tremendous amount of significance and is considered to be one of the most auspicious days of the Hindu Calender. People across the country perform numerous pujas and spiritual activities for the peace of their ancestors.

Aditi Parnaik Sharma, Tarot card reader of All India Institute of Occult Science, Founded by Gurudev Shrie Kashyap shares about the timings of Jyeshtha Amavasya.

Also read: Vat Savitri Vrat Katha 2023: Know Date, Puja Time, History, And Rituals Of The Hindu Festival

Jyeshtha Amavasya 2023: Date And Time

The auspicious occasion of Jyeshtha Amavasya will be observed on Friday, May 19, 2023. The tithi for the same will begin from 09:42 pm on May 18, 2023, and will go on till 09:22 pm on May 19, 2023.

Infact, Shani Amavasya and Vata Savitri Vrat where-in women pray for their husband's long and prosperous life will also be performed on the same day.

Jyeshtha Amavasya 2023: Rituals

Devotees follow a number of rituals on the auspicious occasion of Jyeshtha Amavasya. Aditi Parnaik Sharma shares the rituals of Jyeshtha Amavasya.

- Devotees visit holy places across the nation to bathe in the rivers, especially the Ganges. The ritual of "the holy dip or Snan" has been carried on for ages or ancient times.

- A holy dip taken on this day removes the negative elements and strengthens the aura of the individual performing the same.

- "Jyeshtha Amavasya" is the day when the auspicious Pitra Tarpan, Pind Daan, donation as well as charity is also performed to eradicate negativity, blockages, and delays in life hence, consumption of alcohol or non-vegetarian food should be strictly avoided during this day.

- Another important aspect to keep in mind is that no new item should ever be bought on this occasion. Money should best be avoided to be borrowed because all this only brings bad luck and hardly helps in any way.

- "Jyeshtha Amavasya " also affects all the different sun signs of the people giving them good as well as bad results owing to their planetary positions and deeds. Therefore it is imperative to abstain from indulging in wrong actions and observing fasts and prayers to God almighty should be encouraged.

- As Shani Dev, the lord of Justice and Karma was also born on the same day, one must make it a point to light a diya with mustard oil under the Peepal Tree. Along with that, The Shani mantra should be chanted on this particular occasion to achieve glory in life.

- This festival is mainly celebrated in some of the northern as well as central states like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, etc.

- Things to be practiced for good health, prosperity, and abundance on the "Jeshta Amavasya" include, waking up early in the morning and taking a holy bath, Offering food and clothes to the needy, praying to the Sun God as well as the Banyan tree.

- For Pitra Pooja, devotees often visit Hardwar, Ujjain, Gaya, Srikala Hasti Temple, and Trimbakeshwar Temple.

The 30th tithi of the Jeshta month, called the "Jyeshtha Amavasya" offers ways and means to rid one's life of the karmic debts of all the previous births. As a remedy, feeding cows, dogs, and crows also makes a lot of difference. The Peepal and Banyan tree as stated earlier, should be worshipped. The red and yellow holy thread should be tied around the aforementioned trees and raw milk should be offered to the same.

In the end, we always get good in return for all the good that we do. Hence, performing all these rituals help us to attract abundance, good health, and a great life. So, make the most of the "Jeshta Amavasya " and bring prosperity to your life, Aditi Parnaik Sharma said.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange is leading efforts to boost the valuation of state-backed banks, urging them to organise more investor relations events, and will ramp up efforts to develop index-based fund products, according to people familiar with the matter, as part of a government campaign to revalue China's listed state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

The exchange's general manager Cai Jianchun outlined the proposals to executives from major publicly traded banks including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and China Construction Bank at a closed-door seminar on Wednesday, said the people who were briefed about the conference. Lifting the valuation of Chinese banks, which trade at a significant discount to the book value on average, was one of the exchange's key tasks this year, the people said, citing Cai.

Cai also urged banks' board secretaries to be more attentive to investor relations and engage frequently with investors by arranging international investor conferences and events featuring company visits by overseas fund managers, the people said.

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.

The Shanghai exchange declined to comment.

ICBC, which has the highest market capitalisation among Chinese banks, trades at a 44 per cent discount to its net asset value. Photo: Reuters alt=ICBC, which has the highest market capitalisation among Chinese banks, trades at a 44 per cent discount to its net asset value. Photo: Reuters>

The exchange's proposals may give a further boost to investors who bet on the initiative by Yi Huiman, the chief of China's stock-market regulator, to establish a new methodology for valuing SOE stocks. The trade has overtaken reopening bets as traders' new darlings, sending shares of financials and telecoms - industries dominated by state players - soaring over the past few months.

A gauge of 43 banks on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges has risen 5.3 per cent this year, beating a 1.9 per cent gain in the benchmark CSI 300 Index, according to data provider Shanghai DZH. Shares of the big five state-owned banks, including ICBC, Construction Bank and Bank of China, have climbed at least 16 per cent in Shanghai this year.

Even after the gains, the Chinese banking sector is still the most distressed industry group, trading at an average of 36 per cent discount to the book value, according to Bloomberg data. ICBC, which has the highest market capitalisation, is 44 per cent below its net asset value.

That compares with the average 7 per cent discount for the US banking industry, which is now roiled by a fear of bankruptcies among regional lenders. JPMorgan Chase, the biggest of the 348 American listed banks, commands a 48 per cent premium to its book value, according to Bloomberg data.

The cyclical nature of the banking industry, its social burdens, the industry's risk exposure to the housing market and corporate transparency were highlighted by fund managers as the key reasons for staying underweight on the stocks, the people said, citing a representative from ICBC who spoke at the seminar on Wednesday. The speaker came to the conclusion after ICBC had conversations with more than 100 institutional investors at home and abroad, according to the people.

The Shanghai exchange was closely watching the valuation of SOEs and the valuation issue was important as banks were the core of the financial industry, the people said, quoting Cai, who also dismissed criticism of SOEs' low efficiency mooted by the West.

Cai said boosting banks' valuation was crucial to support China's weak economic recovery as commercial lenders needed to raise money from the stock market to replenish capital to sustain credit growth required by the regulators, according to the people.

Banks could only boost loan growth by 8.7 per cent at most based on their own existing capital, while the government's target is 10 per cent growth, they said.

Profit growth for listed banks slowed to 2.4 per cent in the first quarter, from 7.6 per cent in 2022, according to Guotai Junan Securities, as falling net interest margins, which contribute the bulk of the industry's earnings, crimped profitability.

The net interest margin fell by 16 basis points from the end of 2022 to 1.84 per cent in the first three months of the year after three cutbacks in the prime loan rate - the benchmark borrowing cost set by China's major commercial lenders - last year, the brokerage said.

"Regulatory bodies and exchanges are not supposed to intervene to lift the valuation of public firms, but in China, market stability and market movement of major state-owned companies are seen as political tasks for the regulators," said Ding Haifeng, a consultant at financial consultancy Integrity in Shanghai.

"The exchange officials seem to be focused on better serving the banks in communicating with the market in the hope the efforts help boost the valuation of the stocks."

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.
Vat Savitri, also known as Vat Purnima or Vat Savitri Vrat, is a Hindu festival celebrated by married women in some regions of India, particularly in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and parts of North India. It is observed on the Purnima (full moon day) of the Hindu month of Jyeshtha, of the Hindu Lunar calendar, which usually falls in May or June. The festival is named after the sacred banyan tree (vat) and Savitri, a woman known for her devotion and determination.

Vat Savitri Date And Puja Timings

This year, Vat Savitri will be observed today, i.e., May 19, 2023. The puja timing for Vat Savitri started at 4:06 am today.

Vat Savitri Vrat Katha

As per reports, there was a king named Ashwapati who ruled over a kingdom and had a daughter named Savitri, who was known for her beauty, intelligence, and virtuous qualities. Savitri was the epitome of devotion and love for her husband. One day, while Savitri was praying in the forest, she saw a young prince named Satyavan, and she decided to marry him. Despite knowing that Satyavan was destined to die within a year, Savitri chose him and got married to him.

After their marriage, Savitri dedicated herself to being a loving and caring wife. She took care of her husband and his parents with great devotion. As the year passed, the day of Satyavan's destined death arrived. On the day of Satyavan's death, Savitri followed him as he went to the forest. She witnessed Yamraj, the god of death, taking Satyavan's soul. Savitri pleaded with Yama not to take her husband's life, but he refused to grant her wish.

Undeterred, Savitri continued to follow Yamraj as he carried Satyavan's soul. Yamraj was impressed by Savitri's devotion and offered her a boon. Savitri insisted that her husband's life be restored. Yamraj was left with no choice but to bring Satyavan back to life.

The Vat Savitri Vrat Katha signifies the extraordinary love and dedication of Savitri towards her husband, as well as her devotion to the inevitability of death. This story is often narrated during the Vat Savitri Vrat festival to married women to seek blessings for the well-being and longevity of their husbands.

Vat Savitri History

The history of Vat Savitri takes us back to an ancient Hindu legend mentioned in the Mahabharata. The story revolves around Savitri, the daughter of King Ashwapati and the wife of Satyavan. According to the legend, Savitri's husband Satyavan was destined to die one year after their marriage. However, Savitri's devotion and determination compelled her to confront Lord Yamraj, the god of death, and request him to spare her husband's life. Through her wit, intelligence, and steadfastness, she convinced Lord Yama to grant her husband's life back. This legend symbolizes the power of a woman's love and dedication towards her husband.

Vat Savitri Rituals:

Vat Savitri is primarily observed by married women who undertake a day-long fast and perform rituals to seek blessings for the well-being and longevity of their husbands. On this day, women wake up early in the morning, take a ritual bath, and dress up in traditional attire. They visit temples, especially those dedicated to Savitri or Satyavan, and offer prayers. The most significant aspect of the festival is tying a sacred thread or 'Raksha' around a banyan tree, as it is believed to represent Lord Satyavan.

Women also observe a partial or complete fast throughout the day, abstaining from food and water. They listen to the story of Savitri and Satyavan, narrated by elderly women or priests, and seek blessings for marital bliss and harmony. It is believed that by observing this fast with utmost devotion, married women can ensure the well-being and longevity of their husbands.

In addition to the fasting and rituals, women may also exchange gifts and celebrate with family and friends. The festival holds cultural and social significance as it highlights the sacred bond of marriage and the reverence given to the institution of marriage in Indian society.

(It's important to note that while Vat Savitri is widely celebrated in certain regions of India, the customs and practices may vary slightly from one community to another.)

(This article is intended for your general information only. Zee News does not vouch for its accuracy or reliability.)
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has praised 4 prominent Gujaratis, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for Indias rising fame across the globe. Speaking in Gujarati at a function organized on the occasion of the completion of 125 years of Delhi Gujarati Samaj on Thursday, Shah said that Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Morarji Desai and Narendra Modi are those four Gujaratis who made significant contributions to the modern history of India.

Shah said that the country got independence due to the efforts of Gandhiji, the country became united due to Sardar Patel, the country's democracy was revived due to Morarji Desai and India is being celebrated across the world due to Narendra Modi. "These four Gujaratis have achieved great things and they are the pride of the entire nation," said the Home Minister.

The Union Home Minister said that during the nine-year tenure of Prime Minister Modi, the country has accomplished many achievements. Shah said that when Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, India's economy was at the 11th place in the world, and today after nine years, the Indian economy is the 5th largest in the world.

Shah said that now many agencies, including the IMF, see India's economy as a bright spot. "Under the decisive leadership of Prime Minister Modi, by conducting surgical and air strikes, India gave a message to the world that no one can tamper with India's borders."

Shah said that in a vast country like India, with 130 crore people, the Covid vaccination drive was completed in a smooth manner. Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, India has become the world's largest mobile producer.

"India is third in the field of startups and fourth in terms of renewable energy production." He said that Prime Minister Modi did the work of abolishing Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir without any reports of violence, and made a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism, as a result of which, there has not been any single major terrorist incident in nine years.

Shah said that Prime Minister Modi has made several efforts to strengthen the internal security and security of the borders of the country. He said that Prime Minister Modi belongs to everyone and everyone belongs to him and this is a matter of pride for all of us.

On completion of 125 years of Delhi Gujarati Samaj, Shah said when an organization completes 125 years of its establishment without expecting anything and by associating many people with it, then it showcases the strength of the organization and the community.

He said that the Gujarati community is present across the country and the world, and has always mixed well in any society, while also serving it.

The Minister also said that along with keeping the Gujaratis living in Delhi connected with their culture and civilization, this organization has done the work of motivating them towards the service of the country and society.

He further congratulated all the people associated with this organization for completing 125 years.
New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) The BJP took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi after an expert panel on the Adani issue stated it cannot find any regulatory failure, saying the Congress leader's speech writers will now have to come up with something more outlandish for him to sustain his "lie machine". While BJP's Amit Malviya targeted Gandhi, senior lawyer Mukul Rohtagi, who represented the Adani Group in the apex court, claimed that the panel's net conclusion is completely in favour of the corporate behemoth. It has found there is no stock price manipulation and there is no real reason to worry, he told reporters.

While noting that a probe by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, is still on, Rohtagi said the conclusion as of now is that the company has done no violation. Malviya, the I-T department head of the party, suggested that Gandhi's another campaign to target the government has come unstuck after his targeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Rafale deal with "chowkidar chor hai" barb.

"The Supreme Court-appointed expert committee informs the court that at this stage, taking into account the explanations provided by Sebi and supported by empirical data, it is not possible to conclude that there has been a regulatory failure around the allegation of price manipulation. Rahul Gandhi's speech writers will now have to come up with something more outlandish, for him to sustain his lie machine," he said.

An expert committee appointed by the Supreme Court said it cannot conclude any regulatory failure around Adani Group's stock rallies, and that Sebi has "drawn a blank" in its probe into alleged violations in money flows from offshore entities into the conglomerate.

Also Read: 'Factually Baseless': Sebi To SC On Allegations Of Probing Adani Since 2016

"At this stage, taking into account the explanations provided by Sebi, supported by empirical data, prima facie, it would not be possible for the committee to conclude that there has been a regulatory failure around the allegation of price manipulation," the panel said in the report submitted to the Supreme Court.

It further said there is a need for an effective enforcement policy that is "coherent and consistent" with the legislative position adopted by Sebi. According to the committee, it also cannot say that there has been a regulatory failure on Sebi's part on minimum public shareholding rules or on related party transactions.
Bengaluru: Karnataka Congress MLA G Parameshwara, who was reportedly upset over the denial of the deputy chief ministerial post, on Friday said that everyone has to make a "sacrifice" at "some point" in time. "That is okay. We all have to sacrifice at some point in time. It is a good thing happening," G Parameshwara said when asked about him not being given the CM or Deputy CM post.

Congress Picks Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar

Congress on Thursday officially announced the name of the chief ministerial and deputy chief ministerial face, thus ending days of suspense. Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar were chosen to be the chief minister and deputy chief minister respectively.

Focus On New Karnataka Cabinet

Both leaders are scheduled to visit the national capital today to discuss the names of MLAs to be inducted into the government. They had returned to Bengaluru yesterday to attend the Congress Legislative Party meeting and staking claim to form government before the Governor. The swearing-in ceremony will be held on May 20.

Demand For Dalit DyCM

Amid the rapid political developments, reports emerged that MB Patil, a Lingayat leader, and G Parameshwara, a Dalit leader, were upset over the denial of deputy chief minister posts. Speaking to ANI over the Dalit community's demand for a Deputy CM post for G Parameshwara, Patil said, "Whoever voted - the Lingayats, the Dalits, the Vokkaligas, the STs, Muslims - all these people have to be given their due share. I am confident our party will do the same. They will give due respect to all these communities and the power will be shared with all communities."

On being asked about the Lingayat community's demand for a Deputy CM post for him, Patil said that he is confident that Congress will give due share to the community. "...Lingayats contesting on BJP tickets have been rejected. So, naturally, when we have come towards Congress, the expectations are high. They want a due share. I am confident that our party will take care of it," he said. "...Why not? I would have been much happier if I got 50 seats," said Patil when asked about the "tussle" arising out of Lingayat and Dalit communities' demand for Deputy CM posts for G Parameshwara and him amid the thumping victory of the party in Karnataka elections.

Karnataka Congress MLA and former State Minister, TB Jayachandra, reacting to reports of MB Patil and G Parameshwara being upset over being denied Deputy CM posts, said, "No, it is a decision of the high command to make DK Shivakumar the only Deputy Chief Minister. So, I don't think other things will rise."

Swearing-In On May 20

According to the Raj Bhavan sources, the swearing-in ceremony will take place on May 20 at 12.30 pm in Bengaluru. After days of deliberation, Congress on Thursday announced that party leader Siddaramaiah will be the next Karnataka Chief Minister and DK Shivakumar will be Deputy Chief Minister.

Top Opposition Leaders Invited

Congress has invited the leaders of like-minded parties to the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister-designate Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar which is scheduled to be held on May 20, said sources.

According to sources, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, who recently met Maharashtra Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar recently in Mumbai, have also been extended an invitation at the swearing-in ceremony.

Sources said that the invitation has also been sent to like-minded opposition parties and their leaders including Hemant Soren, Sitaram Yechuri, Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and Farooq Abdullah, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Among other opposition leaders who have been invited include Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The Gandhi family including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also be present on the occasion.

Chief Ministers of the Congress-ruled states including Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel will also be present.

Shivakumar To Continue As KPCC Chief

Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal has said that Shivakumar will continue as state Congress chief till the Lok Sabha polls. He will be the only Deputy chief minister."DK Shivakumar will continue as the PCC president till the end of parliamentary elections. CM, Deputy CM and a group of ministers will be sworn in on May 20," Venugopal said.

The decision on the next Karnataka Chief Minister came following days of hectic parleys in Delhi after the newly-elected MLAs authorized party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to choose their leader. Both Siddaramaiah, a former Chief Minister, and Shivakumar staked their claims to be chief minister. The party leadership held a series of meetings over the past several days and numerous formulas were mooted before a decision was arrived.
New Delhi: Congress has invited the leaders of like-minded parties to the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister-designate Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar which is scheduled to be held on May 20, said sources. According to sources, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, who recently met Maharashtra Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar recently in Mumbai, have also been extended an invitation at the swearing-in ceremony.

Sources said that the invitation has also been sent to like-minded opposition parties and their leaders including Hemant Soren, Sitaram Yechuri, Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and Farooq Abdullah, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Among other opposition leaders who have been invited include Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The Gandhi family including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also be present on the occasion. Chief Ministers of the Congress-ruled states including Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel will also be present.

Meanwhile, after the announcement of the chief ministerial face for Karnataka, Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Thursday spoke to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot over the phone and will stake claim to form the government today evening, sources said.

Swearing-In On May 20

The Raj Bhavan sources said the swearing-in ceremony will take place on May 20 at 12.30 pm in Bengaluru, for which Congress MLA G Parameshwara went to Raj Bhavan as a representative of the party and met the Governor.

"Karnataka CM-designate Siddaramaiah spoke with Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot over the phone. Siddaramaiah wished him on his birthday and discussed the date for the swearing-in ceremony. The ceremony will be held on May 20 at 12.30 pm. Siddaramaiah today evening will stake the claim to form the Government," sources told ANI.

"Congress MLA G Parameshwara went to Raj Bhavan as a representative of the Congress Party and met Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and gave information about the formation of the government by the Congress Party which has won victory in 135 seats in the 2023 elections," they added.

Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, who were camping in the national capital for days after winning the Karnataka Assembly polls, left for Bengaluru this afternoon. A Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting will be held in Bengaluru today at 7 PM.

After days of deliberation, Congress on Thursday announced that party leader Siddaramaiah will be the next Karnataka Chief Minister and DK Shivakumar will be Deputy Chief Minister.

Shivakumar To Continue KPCC Chief

Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal made the announcement at the party headquarters in the national capital. He said Shivakumar will continue as state Congress chief till the Lok Sabha polls. He will be the only Deputy chief minister. "DK Shivakumar will continue as the PCC president till the end of parliamentary elections. CM, Deputy CM and a group of ministers will be sworn in on May 20," Venugopal said.

The decision on the next Karnataka Chief Minister came following days of hectic parleys in Delhi after the newly-elected MLAs authorized party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to choose their leader. Both Siddaramaiah, a former Chief Minister, and Shivakumar staked their claims to be chief minister. The party leadership held a series of meetings over the past several days and numerous formulas were mooted before a decision was arrived.

Congress bagged 135 seats in the May 10 elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly ousting the ruling BJP, which got 66 seats while the Janata Dal (Secular) secured 19 seats.
Bollywood Actor Shah Rukh Khan purportedly requested former NCB official Sameer Wankhede 'to go soft on his son' Aryan Khan in the now-dismissed drug case, a court document showed today. The document, filed by Wankhede in Mumbai High Court, shows an alleged chat exchange between him and actor Shah Rukh Khan. As per the chats, Shah Rukh Khan could be seen requesting Wankhede to help him and his family in the case Wankhede was heading in the year 2019. "Please man I beg you, there is nothing from my side that is in vested interest," SRK tells Wankhede as per the chat, adding, "

"Please man don't make him pay for these *** and vested people. I beg you man please. It's a larger thing my son and my family I swear play no part in it. I have even refrained from talking to anyone," Shah Rukh Khan adds.

Closer Look At Shah Rukh Khan - Sameer Wankhede's Alleged Chat

Sameer Wakhede: "Dear Shahrukh it pains my heart too by recent developments. No one is happy and from our side no one deliberately wants to put Aryan in troiuble dear trust me on that. There are certain technicalitties in the law. I have also assurred you that will not allow any rubbish person to spoil his case though they are trying a lot. I know where you are coming from emotionally I would only want to tell you one thing here my dear, just have patience. This is going to be over soon."

Shah Rukh Khan: "Insha Allah. But I honestly feel you made the best effort in your official capacity and I did so too as a father. But sometimes our best is not good enough. Patience is paramount. Thank You. Love SRK"

SRK: God bless you. I have to come personally whenever you say and give a hug to you. Let me please know whenever it's convenient for you. Really I have always had the highest regard for your uprightness and now it has increased manifolds. Big respect. Love srk.

Sameer Wankhede: - Sure deal will catch up. Let this get over soon.

Shah Rukh Khan: Yes, please help me in making it soon. Thanks.

Rs 25 Crore Bribe Allegations At Sameer Wankhede

The CBI has accused Sameer Wankhede and others of demanding a Rs 25 crore bribe for not framing Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan in the drugs-on-cruise case. The central probe agency claimed that the deal was closed for Rs 18 crore as a bribe for not framing Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case. The agency has claimed that Wankhede owns huge property disproportionate to his known sources of income.
NEW DELHI: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)`s `Operation Samudragupt`, in which the agency seized drugs worth Rs 12,000 crore, has exposed a major terror conspiracy which was hatched by the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Pakistan`s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Dawood Ibrahim's close aide. It was a joint operation between the Indian Navy and the NCB officials in which a Pakistani national was also held from Kochi, Kerala.

The intelligence agencies have called it a big cocktail of terrorism which includes numbers of terror outfits and ultras. The report states that Pakistan is using D-Company, ISI, LeT, and other terrorist organisations to smuggle drugs into India, aiming to cause extensive harm through narcoterrorism and disrupt the country`s stability.

The name of Hazi Ali, a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim, protected by the ISI, has surfaced during the probe. Hazi Salim`s connection was found with LeT`s terrorist Shazidulla. The report says that Shazidulla has masterminded several terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

The sezied Rs 12,000 crore drug indicates that a major portion of this money was being sent to Pakistan through hawala via Dubai route. Subsequently, the funds were used for terrorism financing. The report of intelligence agencies states that Hazi Salim often holds meetings with Commanders of LeT regarding drug trafficking. The intelligence agencies were able to detect one of the audio calls made by Hazi Salim to LeT Commander after which the former gathered information regarding Hazi Salim`s Dubai trips.

One Pakistan national, who was held during the Operation Samudragupt from Kochi, is currently in judicial custody. On Monday, the intelligence agency could question him.
New Delhi: Amid the India-China standoff in eastern Ladakh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India is fully prepared and committed to protecting its sovereignty and dignity, and emphasised that peace and tranquility on the border are essential for normal bilateral ties among the neighbours. In an interview with Japanese publication Nikkei Asia, Modi said,"the future development of the India-China relationship can only be based on mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests", and noted that "normalising" the ties would benefit the wider region and the world. He stressed on his country's respect for sovereignty, the rule of law and the peaceful resolution of disputes.

India-China ties have been fraught since the Galwan clashes in 2020. Both sides have been periodically holding meetings to defuse the crisis at the border but a lasting solution has eluded them so far. On Pakistan, the publication quoted him as saying that India wants "normal and neighborly relations." "However, it is incumbent upon them to create a conducive environment free from terrorism and hostilities. The onus is on Pakistan to take necessary steps in this regard," he said.

Also Read: PM Modi To Embark On three-Nation Visit Today; 40 Engagements, Meeting With Over Two Dozen Leaders

Speaking about the Indian economy, he noted that it has been one of the world's fastest-growing. "Our progress is evident, as we have risen from being the tenth largest economy in 2014 to now being the fifth largest globally... While it is true that global headwinds pose challenges to growth, we have built a strong foundation in recent years, which positions us favorably," he said.

Also Read: Days After India, Pakistan Rejects US Report On Religious Freedom, Calls It 'Baseless'

On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Modi said India's position on the matter "is clear and unwavering." "India stands on the side of peace and will remain firmly there. We are committed to supporting those who face challenges in meeting their basic needs, especially in the face of rising costs of food, fuel, and fertilizers. We maintain communication with both Russia and Ukraine," Modi said. "Cooperation and collaboration should define our times, not conflict," he told Nikkei Asia.

The Prime Minister is on a three-nation trip to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia. Earlier, Modi arrived in the Japanese city of Hiroshima to attend the annual summit of the G7 grouping and the third in-person Quad leaders' meeting.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a three-nation visit from Friday during which he has over 40 engagements and is expected to meet more than two dozen leaders during his stay in three countries - Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia, according to the official statement released by Prime Minister's Office.

G7 Summit, Japan

During his three-nation visit, PM Modi will participate in the G7 or Group of seven countries Summit in Hiroshima, Japan and then he will co-chair the third Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC III Summit). India, who is attending as a guest at G7 Summit, participation would be structured around three formal sessions. Two of them would be held on May 20 and the third one on May 21, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said during the special briefing.

The two structural sessions on the 20th are the first one that relates to food, health, development and gender equality. The second session is on climate, energy and environment, and the third session on May 21 is titled Towards Peaceful, Stable, and Prosperous World.

Papua New Guinea

The Prime Minister will then travel to Papua New Guinea to host the third Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation jointly with his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape on May 22.

In Papua New Guinea, Prime Minister will begin his bilateral engagements the next day with a call on the Governor General of the Pacific island country, which will be followed by a meeting with Prime Minister James Marape. This will be Prime Minister's first visit to that country during his stay in Port Moraspi, according to Kwatra.

It is a hectic visit for the PM with over 40 engagements lined up. The PM will interact with over 2 dozen world leaders in summits as well as through bilateral meetings, as per PMO's release.

Australia

PM Modi will also meet business leaders, important personalities, scholars, and members of the Indian community. During his Australia visit, the PM will address thousands of members of the Indian diaspora in Sydney along with Australia's PM. The visit has a lot of elements from culture to commerce and diaspora to diplomacy, according to PMO.
A view shows a logo of Shell petrol station in South East London, Britain - MAY JAMES/REUTERS

Shell is facing an investor rebellion over claims the energy giant is scaling back plans to meet its net zero targets.

The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), Britains largest private pension fund, said it will vote against the re-election of Sir Andrew Mackenzie as chairman amid concerns the oil company is not doing enough to reduce its carbon footprint.

A spokesman for USS said: We will vote against the re-election of the chair of the board and the chair of the safety, environment and sustainability committee at Shell due to concerns that the companys plans to decarbonise fall short of our expectations.

We no longer have confidence in Shells overall progress to decarbonise, which seems to fall short of limiting global warming to 1.5C in a Paris-aligned manner.

The pension fund holds less than 0.1pc of Shells shares, according to Bloomberg data.

It comes amid claims that the oil and gas producer has backtracked on its net zero commitments.

Earlier this month, The Church of England said it would attempt to oust Sir Andrew as well as the companys chief executive amid a row over green investments.

The clergys pension board, which manages the Churchs 3bn retirement pot, said it was concerned that the FTSE 100 company has backtracked on promises to switch to clean power after the Ukraine war sent oil and gas prices soaring.

Shell CEO Wael Sawan - CALLAGHAN O'HARE/REUTERS

The USS spokesman added: While Shells 2035 target aligns with a less-than 2C pathway, the companys operating plans dont show how it will achieve this. Were also concerned with the companys continued investment in new oil and gas production.

We see Shells actions as them prioritising short-term gains over long-term goals, which is misaligned with our view as a responsible, long-term investor looking to pay pensions long into the future.

Rival energy company BP faced a small investor revolt at its annual meeting last month, with investors who hold 16pc of the producers shares supporting a motion to force it to adhere to tougher climate targets.

A spokesman for Shell said the company strongly disagrees with organisations that recommend voting against board members re-election.

They added: Our strategy remains unchanged  to become a net zero emissions energy company by 2050 or sooner. And in the last year weve continued to invest in low-carbon energy and made very good progress towards our targets to reduce emissions.

The company has argued that it is ramping up production of climate-friendly energy sources faster than customers are adopting them.

Shell has set a target of reducing its own emissions by 50pc by 2030 and recently announced that it was already over halfway towards meeting that goal.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
NEW DELHI: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s state visit to the US on June 22, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will leave for the country on May 28 and attend several programmes during his visit there, including an event, named `Mohabbat ki dukan` on May 30 in California. A party source said that Gandhi will now be leaving for May 28 instead of May 31.

He will first attend the `Mohabbat ki dukan` programme in California on May 30. During his five-month 3,900 km-long Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Srinagar, Gandhi had been saying `Nafarat ke bazar me, Mohabbat ki dukan khol raha hu` to connect with the masses.

He will also participate in an NRI meet in San Francisco, according to party sources. All the programmes of Rahul Gandhi are being organised by the Indian Overseas Congress, US wing. The party source said that he will also address an NRI meeting in New York on June 4 and also attend a programme at Stanford University.

Earlier this year, Rahul Gandhi visited the UK and participated in several programmes. In a statement last week, the White House had announced that US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an official state visit on June 22.
New Delhi: Actor Alia Bhatt has returned to India after attending the Gucci Cruise 2024 show in Seoul, but the moments from the event are going viral on social media.

The 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' actor attended the Gucci Cruise Show as a global ambassador of the luxury brand in Seoul. Behind-the-scene video of her getting ready for the event went viral in no time.

In the BTS video, Alia can be seen dressed in a white robe inside her hotel room and trying to learn how to say hello in the Korean language.

Alia is next seen practising saying 'annyeonghaseyo (hello)'. She also said 'annyeong (bye)' as she gets ready for the event. At Gucci Cruise 2024 show, Alia wore a little black dress with structured round cut-outs and silver detailing across the bodice. However, it was her mini transparent bag which caught the maximum attention.

A section of the Internet trolled the actor, asking why it was empty and the bag's purpose. The actor knows best how to deal with trolls. She shut them with an epic reply.

Taking to Instagram, Alia dropped a string of images from the Gucci event and captioned it, "yes the bag was empty." "Hahahah caption," a social media user commented.

Last week, Alia was announced as the first Indian global ambassador of the luxury fashion brand, Gucci. Taking to Instagram, the fashion brand shared the news and captioned it, "Alia Bhatt is the House's newest Global Brand Ambassador. To mark the occasion, the actress, producer, and entrepreneur were captured with the Gucci Bamboo 1947 bag."

Alia also took to Insta to share her excitement and feelings with her fans. Sharing the pictures, she wrote, "I'm honoured to represent the house of Gucci not only in India but at a global stage. Gucci's legacy has always inspired and intrigued me and I'm looking forward to the many sartorial milestones we create together @gucci."

Meanwhile, on the film front, Alia will be next seen in Karan Johar's upcoming 'Rocky aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani' opposite Ranveer Singh. The film is all set to hit the theatres on July 28. Apart from that, she also has Farhan Akhtar's next directorial 'Jee Le Zaraa' alongside Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra Jonas in her kitty.
New Delhi: Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who is known for his witty social media posts, has responded to the criticism over the recent helmet controversy where he was reprimanded by the Mumbai Police for violating traffic norms. The actor on Friday shared a photo of himself, standing disappointed near a police jeep and captioned the post writing, "arrested."

Soon after Big B shared the post, social media users jumped to the comment box and shred their funny reactions to his post. A user wrote, "Bhootnath ko koi arrest nahi kar sakta."

Another fans commented, "Don ko pakadna Mushkil hee nahia Naamumkin hai."

A third user chimed in and wrote, "Don..Don..Don.....Don ka intezar toh 11 mulkon ki police kar rahi hai! Lekin Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahin, namumkin hai!"

On Sunday, Amitabh Bachchan shared a photograph with a biker on Instagram and wrote a note thanking the man for offering him a lift and thus helping him reach his destination on time. "Thank you for the ride buddy... Don't know you... but you obliged and got me on time to location of work... faster and in avoidance of the unsolvable traffic jams... Thank you capped, shorts and yellowed T-shirt owner (sic)." In the photo, Amitabh could be seen sitting on the back seat of the bike, wearing a casual bottom paired with a jacket, white shoes and sunglasses.

The actor then released a detailed note in his blog and mentioned, "The impotency of content .. Much made out of the bike picture .. ! How you moving on street with stranger ..? No security ..? You are loved take care ..? And then .. NO HELMET .. !!!!!! The fact of the matter is that this is on location shoot on the street of Mumbai ..It is Sunday .. formal permission taken for shoot at a lane in Ballard Estate .. permission sought for Sunday because all offices are shut and there is no public or traffic .. One lane in the region BLOCKED off by Police permission for shoot .. the lane barely 30-40 meters .. The dress I wear is my costume for the film ..(sic)"

He added, "and .. I am just fooling around by getting on the bike of a crew member .. Not even moving any where, but giving the impression that i travelled to save time ..(sic)".

Talking about his films, Amitabh is currently shooting for 'Section 84', directed by Ribhu Dasgupta. He will also be seen in 'Nag Ashwin's sci-fi movie 'Project K', co-starring Prabhas and Deepika Padukone.
New Delhi: Actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Aparshakti Khurana's father and popular astrologer Acharya P Khurana breathed his last on Friday. According to reports, he was suffering from a prolonged illness and passed away in Punjab's Mohali. The family has released an official statement confirming the news. According to media reports, Acharya P Khurana was suffering from heart problems for some time and was also getting medical treatment for the same.

The statement read, "It's with our deep sadness to inform that Ayushmann and Aparshakti Khurana's father, Astrologer P Khurana passed away this morning at 10:30am in Mohali, owing to a prolonged incurable ailment. We are indebted for all your prayers and support during this time of personal loss."

An India Today report stated that the last rites of the veteran astrologer was held at Manimajra cremation ground in Chandigarh at 5:30 pm on Friday.

Both Ayushmann and Aparshakti often shared photos with their father on social media, thanking him for all the love and support. Ayushmann had also credited him with helping him achieve his dreams.

In 2020, wishing him on his birthday on May 18, Ayushmann had written, "Happy bday to the worlds best father! You gave me the wings, talent and ambition. I wont tell your age to the world. Coz they wont believe it. Jai jai (thats what we say when we do charan sparsh) (sic)."

Acharya P Khurana was quite popular in north India due to his contribution in the field of astrology. He hailed from Chandigarh, Punjab and had written books based on his knowledge on the subject.
New Delhi: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced to withdraw Rs 2,000 currency notes. However, the notes will continue to be legal tender till September 30, says RBI.

In a statement on Friday, the central bank stated: In pursuance of the Clean Note Policy of the Reserve Bank of India, it has been decided to withdraw the 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation. The banknotes in 2000 denomination will continue to be legal tender. To complete the exercise in a time-bound manner and to provide adequate time to the members of public, all banks shall provide deposit and/or exchange facility for 2000 banknotes until September 30, 2023.

2000 Denomination Banknotes  Withdrawal from Circulation; Will continue as Legal Tenderhttps://t.co/2jjqSeDkSk  ReserveBankOfIndia (@RBI) May 19, 2023

RBI has requested banks to provide deposit and exchange facility of Rs 2000 notes until September 30, 2023. In the statement, RBI clarified that exchange facility for Rs 2000 bank notes would be available from May 23.

Exchange of Rs 2000 banknotes into other denominations can be made upto a limit of Rs 20,000 at a time at any bank starting from May 23, 2023. Reserve Bank of India has advised banks to stop issuing Rs 2000 denomination banknotes with immediate effect though banknotes in Rs 2000 denomination will continue to be legal tender.

RBI Introduced Rs 2000 Notes After Denomination

On September 8, 2016, Central government banned old currency notes of valuation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 with the aim to stop black money. Thereafter, the central government brought new notes of the valuation of Rs 500 and Rs 2000.
Vande Bharat is the fastest train in operation in India. The semi-high-speed train is currently operated on 16 routes across the nation. PM Modi has also asked the Ministry of Railways to ensure that the Vande Bharat Express train is reaching every state by June this year. A new development on this has been observed recently in the state of Uttarakhand, as a New Delhi-Dehradun Vande Bharat Express could soon be operational. As per recent media reports, the train is likely to be flagged off on May 29. Also, this will be the first Vande Bharat Express to ply in Uttarakhand.

Delhi-Dehradun Vande Bharat Express: Travel Time

Currently, the train journey from the national capital to the state capital takes almost 6 hours, whereas Vande Bharat will bring down the time to roughly 5 hours. A total of 7 trains operate between Delhi and Dehradun, currently. The list includes - Shatabdi, Janshatabdi, Uttaranchal Express, Mussoorie Express, Dehradun-Indore Express, Ujjaini Express, and Nanda Devi AC Superfast Express. Also, inspections of various stations have been conducted recently by senior officials, and a trial could soon be taking place.

Also read: Railway Minister Confirms Puri-Cuttack Vande Bharat Express, Second In Odisha

Delhi-Dehradun Vande Bharat Express: Stoppages

As for stoppages, the New Delhi-Dehradun Vande Bharat Express is expected to take halts at Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Roorkee, and Haridwar, on its way to Dehradun from New Delhi. Although, no confirmation on stoppages has been shared by Indian Railways, as of now.

Delhi-Dehradun Vande Bharat Express: Fare

Specific details on the fare are yet to be revealed by Indian Railways but reports state that travelling in an AC chair car will cost Rs 915 from New Delhi to Dehradun and vice versa. The fare for the AC executive chair car could be around Rs 1,425.

Also read - Vande Bharat Express Now Operational On 16 Routes in India: Check Full List

Delhi-Dehradun Vande Bharat Express: Timings

While the timetable of the Delhi-Dehradun Vande Bharat Express will be announced soon, it is likely to operate from Delhi at 5 PM, while it will leave from Dehradun at 8 AM in the morning.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target that Vande Bharat should reach almost all the states by June this year.

Speaking with ANI in Howarh, Vaishnaw said, "PM Modi has set a target that Vande Bharat should reach almost all the states by June...Vande Metro is being designed for a distance of less than 100 km and for daily travel of passengers." Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off Odisha's first Vande Bharat train between Puri and Howrah on Thursday.

Also read: Railway Minister Confirms Puri-Cuttack Vande Bharat Express, Second In Odisha

After reaching Howrah by travelling on Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express later on Thursday, Vaishnaw termed the journey extremely comfortable. "The journey was extremely comfortable, and the best part of the journey was interacting with youngsters and passengers," said the Union Minister.

Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation several railway projects worth more than Rs 8000 crore in Odisha via video conferencing on Thursday.

The projects include flagging off the Vande Bharat Express between Puri and Howrah, laying the foundation stone for the redevelopment of Puri and Cuttack railway stations, the dedication of 100 percent electrification of the rail network in Odisha, doubling of the Sambalpur-Titlagarh rail line, a new broad gauge rail line between Angul - Sukinda; the third line connecting Manoharpur - Rourkela - Jharsuguda - Jamga and a new broad-gauge line between Bichhupali - Jhartarbha.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister remarked that the people of Odisha and West Bengal are being presented with the Vande Bharat Express, which is a symbol of modern and aspirational India.

"India's speed and progress can be seen whenever a Vande Bharat Train runs from one place to another," the PM said as he noted that this pace can now be witnessed in the states of Odisha and West Bengal.
London: In a fresh round of sanctions, the UK has announced a ban on Russian diamonds, alongside the military-industrial complex and metals amid the ongoing Ukraine war. An industry worth USD4 billion in exports in 2021, the ban on diamonds comes amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The ban has also been announced on imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel, the UK government said in a statement on Thursday.

Along with these trade sanctions, the UK is also preparing to target an additional 86 members of Putin's military-industrial complex as well as those engaged in vital industries including energy, metals, and shipping, the statement said.

As the UK continues to engage with G7 allies to address all types of sanctions circumvention, they also include those who actively help the Kremlin in its efforts to weaken the impact of current sanctions, it said. As he meets with G7 leaders in Hiroshima, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will also issue a warning against complacency in preserving "our ideals and against despotic governments," the UK government said.

To hinder Russia's war effort, the UK has applied the harshest set of sanctions ever placed on a significant economy, it said. "To date we have sanctioned over 1,500 individuals and entities, freezing more than 18 billion of assets in the UK, and sanctioned over 20 billion of UK-Russia goods trade," the official statement of UK government read.

Along with other G7 leaders, the prime minister is set to visit the A-Bomb dome site at the Hiroshima Peace Park before participating in discussions on global collaboration, the G7 reaction to the Ukraine, Indo-Pacific security policy, and nuclear non-proliferation.

"He will urge the international community to stay the course on Ukraine, ensuring it has the diplomatic, military and economic support it needs, in the interests of international peace and security," the government statement said.

In his meeting with President Zelenskyy on Monday, the Prime Minister confirmed increased military assistance and emphasised the significance of long-term international support for Ukraine, particularly for the country's future in NATO. This announcement comes after that meeting. The leaders talked about Ukraine's road to a stronger political alliance and greater cooperation with G7 and NATO members.

Recently, Russia has considerably increased the number of missile attacks against Ukraine, but it also seems that Ukraine is shooting down more of Russia's missiles.

More US Sanction To Follow

Meanwhile, the United States will also unveil new sanctions to "extensively restrict Russia's access to goods that matter for its battlefield capabilities," a US official said on Friday ahead of a G7 summit in Japan. The United States apparently plans to blacklist about 70 companies and organizations for selling restricted US products to Russia.

"We will continue to expand export controls to make it even harder for Russia to sustain its war machine. Among other things, this involves extensively restricting categories of goods key to the battlefield, and also cutting off roughly 70 entities from Russia and third countries from receiving US exports by adding them to the Commerce blacklist," the official stated.
Sir Richard Branson loses 1.8bn in a year as space flight dreams go sour

Sir Richard Bransons wealth tumbled 40pc due to large losses incurred by his space tourism and satellite ventures - JOE SKIPPER/REUTERS

Sir Richard Bransons wealth has dropped by 1.8bn in a year as the tycoons space flight dreams came crashing back down to earth.

The British billionaire saw the value of his fortune tumble by more than 40pc over the last year, according to the Sunday Times rich list.

The decline was largely due to large losses incurred by his space tourism and satellite ventures, which have failed to get off the ground.

Virgin Orbit last month collapsed into bankruptcy after spending more than $1bn (800m) trying to establish a commercial space launch business.

The companys last mission ended in failure when a rocket launched from a spaceport in Cornwall suffered a technical issue and crashed into the sea.

Virgin Orbit collapsed into bankruptcy last month after spending 800 million trying to establish a commercial space launch business - PA Media/Ministry of Defence

Sir Richard, who lives on a private island in the Caribbean, has also suffered losses elsewhere in his empire, which includes the airline Virgin Atlantic, gym group Virgin Active and bank Virgin Money.

Virgin Atlantic was forced to secure a 1.2bn rescue deal from private investors to keep the airline afloat during the pandemic.

The businessman and his family were worth about 4.2bn last year, according to the Sunday Times, placing him 44th on the list.

But he has now dropped down to 77th position with a net worth of 2.4bn.

The decline is more severe than Sir Richard admitted during an interview with the BBC earlier this month.

He said the pandemic had knocked maybe 1.5bn off his fortune, adding: There was a time where it really looked like we were going to lose everything.

The rich list also revealed that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty have lost 200m as the value of her stake in her fathers company plummeted.

The couples wealth is estimated to be roughly 529m, down from 730m a year earlier.

Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty have seen their wealth drop by a fourth to 529 million - Peter Morrison/AP

Ms Murty owns a small stake in Infosys, the $64bn Indian IT giant founded by her father. The companys shares have fallen by roughly a fifth over the last year.

Gopi Hinduja and his family topped the rich list once again with a wealth of 35bn  up by 6.5bn in the last year and the largest fortune ever recorded in the rankings.

It comes days after his brother SP Hinduja died. The Hinduja Group conglomerate owns companies across the globe spanning sectors from banking and oil and automotives.

Ineos billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe was catapulted into second place with a total wealth of 29.7bn.

The chemicals tycoon, who has launched a bid to buy Manchester United, saw 23.6bn added to his wealth. The lists compilers said this was due to new information about his finances.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
SmartAsset: New Social Security Plan to Raise Full Retirement Age to 70

A group of Senators is working on a plan to shore up Social Security by potentially raising the full retirement age, along with other changes to how Social Security benefits are financed. Here's what you need to know.

A financial advisor can help you create a financial plan for your retirement needs and goals.

How Will the New Social Security Plan Affect Retirees?

Work on the plan, which was first reported by the online news site Semafor, is being led by Senators Angus King, (I-Maine) and Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana). It also would include changes to the way retirement benefits are calculated and the creation of a federally-backed investment fund that would generate revenue to support benefit payments.

The state of Social Security financing is getting a lot of attention now and is expected to get even more as the 2024 elections approach. While the Social Security system isnt in any danger of becoming bankrupt, the trustees who oversee Social Security and Medicare have reported that the surplus in the trust fund used to pay for the plans will run out sometime in 2035.

You should note that payroll taxes supporting the plans will continue to bring in revenue for benefit payments, but those collections would be about 20% short of the total amount needed. At that point, Congress would have to find other revenue or adjust the benefit rules and payroll tax schedules.

The plan being formulated by King and Cassidy would amount to a benefit cut, experts said, by reducing the overall total of Social Security payments collected in a retirees lifetime. Extending the age to start collecting benefits also means that many more workers could die before becoming old enough to collect any Social Security checks.

The Social Security Administration already estimates that one out of every eight of todays 20-year-olds will die before reaching age 67, while Stanford University estimates that 20% of people born in 2015 will die before reaching age 70, for example.

Though some have suggested part of this plan could involve moving the federal retirement age to 70, a spokesperson for Cassidy's office added extra nuance to the matter.

"No final decisions have been made on our proposal, but I can say none of the options change the retirement age for current seniors or anyone within decades of retirement," she said.

Though this phrasing excludes the possibility that the full retirement age could get moved back for those close to retirement, it seems to imply that a change to retirement age for people born after a certain date might be in the cards.

"Were waiting on the president to engage to figure out the final details," said Cassidy's spokesperson. "So that would be a decision for the president...Down the line when the president decides to engage, that is a decision that will need to be made."

How Will the New Social Security Plan Get Funded?

SmartAsset: New Social Security Plan to Raise Full Retirement Age to 70

The King and Cassidy plan would rely on borrowing $1.5 trillion to launch a U.S. sovereign investment fund and produce added revenue for Social Security payments. In years when the fund failed to generate an 8% return, the maximum taxable income and the payroll tax rate would be raised to produce enough money to keep Social Security solvent for another 75 years.

A sovereign fund, which is government-owned, would require the federal government to invest in private companies. This could have the potential to raise several conflict-of-interest questions about the government interfering with private businesses. The size of the proposed fund also could exaggerate movements in the market when trades are made.

As of March 2023, just three publicly traded companies are worth more than $1.5 trillion  Saudi Aramco, Microsoft and Apple.

The plan from King and Cassidy comes just weeks after another Social Security financing plan was put forth by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), which dubbed the Social Security Expansion Act.

That plan would expand benefits by an average of $2,400 a year per person while instituting a tax on some investment income and eliminating the $160,200 current cap on wages taxed to support the Social Security trust fund.

Bottom Line

SmartAsset: New Social Security Plan to Raise Full Retirement Age to 70

The new Social Security plan sponsored by Senators by King and Cassidy could reduce the overall total of Social Security payments collected in a retirees lifetime and extend the age for collecting benefits to 70, which means that more workers could die before becoming old enough to collect any Social Security checks.

According to the Social Security Administration, nearly nine out of 10 people age 65 and older were getting Social Security benefits at the end of 2022. Among elderly Social Security beneficiaries, 12% of men and 15% of women rely on Social Security for 90% or more of their income.

Tips for Retirement Planning

A financial advisor can help you create a retirement plan. Finding a financial advisor doesnt have to be hard. SmartAssets free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If youre ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

The SECURE 2.0 Act made some major changes to your retirement planning in 2023. The sweeping legislation that was signed into law by President Biden will delay required minimum distributions (RMDs), boost catch-up contributions for people ages 60 to 63 and more.

Photo credit: iStock.com/ljubaphoto, iStock.com/katleho Seisa, iStock.com/triloks

The post New Social Security Plan to Raise Full Retirement Age appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.

This piece has been updated to reflect commentary from Sen. Cassidy's office.
TOKYO, May 19, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), together with Manila-based think tank, the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), and civil society organisations across Southeast Asia, backed by the Climate Change Commission of the Philippines, called for urgent and significant delivery of Paris climate commitments to help communities, especially the most vulnerable, survive and thrive amid the climate crisis.

"As a climate vulnerable region, adaptation remains our response anchor, with mitigation as a co-benefit. We must act on climate change for our long-term resilience and development. We need powerful regional voices in the Global Stocktake (GST), and we hope to achieve that through this collaboration," said Angelo Kairos dela Cruz, Executive Director of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), during the launch of the Southeast Asia (SEA) Hub of the Independent Global Stocktake (iGST) on 16 May.

The GST was established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to assess the worlds collective progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, which was adopted in 2015 with 196 countries committing "to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels."

Led by IGES and ICSC, with support from the ClimateWorks Foundation, the iGST SEA Hub aims to champion a purposive GST through empowering non-state actors (NSAs), including scientists, campaigners and other civil society representatives, to connect their actions with the GST process.

Representatives from Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Timor Leste and Lao PDR, who are now established members of the Hub, gathered from 16-18 May, 2023 to lay down their action plans for Southeast Asia. The region has been at the forefront of impacts for decades, and its critical sectors, including rice production, food security, energy, forestry and marine ecosystems, continue to be threatened by climate change.

"The Climate Change Commission supports the iGST SEA Hub to ensure that most, if not all, perspectives are captured in the stocktaking process. The Philippines hopes that Southeast Asian countries can further strengthen their convergence and synergies on climate actions towards attainment of our shared vision of a sustainable and climate-resilient future," said Secretary Robert Borje, Vice Chairperson and Executive Director of the Commission, in his keynote address.

Each Global Stocktake is a two-year process, and is conducted every five years. This year marks a critical juncture for global climate negotiations, as the first GST will conclude in the upcoming UN climate conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in November. UNFCCC Associate Programme Officer Tamaki Takao also emphasised the importance of the third technical dialogue in June this year, which will serve as the venue to contribute final inputs before the culmination of the first GST.

Countries are expected to update their climate pledges and increase international cooperation based on GST outcomes, to ultimately deliver stronger, more ambitious climate action across the globe.

NOTES TO THE EDITOR

The Independent Global Stocktake (iGST) is a consortium of civil society actors working together to support the Global Stocktake (GST) process. iGST aims to enhance the transparency and accountability in the GST by incorporating independent scientific and technical knowledge from non-state actors, generating momentum for ambitious climate action. Apart from Southeast Asia, iGST also has regional hubs in West Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

The iGST SEA Hub was officially launched on 16 May 2023, followed by a series of workshops from 16-18 May, with the aim of establishing a framework for the Hub. For more information, visit icsc.ngo/igst-sea-hub.

ABOUT

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) is a Japan-based think tank that specialises in environmental policy and sustainable development. IGES works towards promoting sustainable societies by conducting policy-oriented research, providing recommendations, and facilitating dialogue among various stakeholders.

The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) is a Manila-based climate and energy policy group advancing climate resilience and low-carbon development.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230518005394/en/

Contacts

Yuri Katsuike, IGES: iges_pr@iges.or +81 807 410 1620

Anton Onato, ICSC: media@icsc.ngo, +63 995 991 2230, +63 917 149 5649
Charlie Javice, the startup founder accused of defrauding JPMorgan, is indicted

FILE PHOTO: JP Morgan Chase & Co. corporate headquarters in New York

By Jonathan Stempel and Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) -The young entrepreneur Charlie Javice has been indicted on charges of defrauding JPMorgan Chase & Co, the largest U.S. bank, into buying her now-shuttered college financial aid startup Frank.

A four-count grand jury indictment made public on Thursday in Manhattan federal court charges Javice with securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy. It also seeks the forfeiture of millions of dollars from her accounts.

Neither the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan nor Javice's lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment.

Javice, 31, who made Forbes magazine's "30 Under 30" finance list in 2019, was arrested on April 3 and charged with duping JPMorgan into buying Frank for $175 million in 2021.

Prosecutors said Javice repeatedly lied about her company to JPMorgan, including by claiming Frank had lined up 4.25 million student customers though the number was closer to 300,000.

The indictment was filed 15 days after prosecutors said they and defense lawyers were in talks "regarding a possible disposition of this case," language that sometimes foreshadows a guilty plea.

In connection with that, prosecutors were granted more time to have Javice indicted by a grand jury.

Javice has denied prosecutors' accusations. She has yet to enter a plea.

Founded in 2017, Frank was marketed as a tool to help simplify college financial aid for students and parents.

JPMorgan has said it learned of Javice's fraud after receiving few responses when it sent marketing materials to people who she claimed were real.

The bank closed Frank in January, and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has called the acquisition a "huge mistake."

JPMorgan separately sued Javice and former Frank chief growth officer Olivier Amar in December in Delaware federal court for fraud, saying they inflated Frank's customer base to induce the bank's purchase.

Javice countersued JPMorgan, saying it owes millions of dollars after firing her "without valid cause" in November.

She and Amar are suing JPMorgan in Delaware Chancery Court to recoup legal fees.

The criminal case is U.S. v. Javice, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 23-cr-00251.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Chris Reese, Chizu Nomiyama and Cynthia Osterman)
The truth is that if you invest for long enough, you're going to end up with some losing stocks. Long term Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE:FIS) shareholders know that all too well, since the share price is down considerably over three years. Regrettably, they have had to cope with a 58% drop in the share price over that period. And the ride hasn't got any smoother in recent times over the last year, with the price 42% lower in that time. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 17% in the last three months. This could be related to the recent financial results - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.

While the stock has risen 5.0% in the past week but long term shareholders are still in the red, let's see what the fundamentals can tell us.

Check out our latest analysis for Fidelity National Information Services

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

Over the three years that the share price declined, Fidelity National Information Services' earnings per share (EPS) dropped significantly, falling to a loss. Extraordinary items contributed to this situation. Due to the loss, it's not easy to use EPS as a reliable guide to the business. But it's safe to say we'd generally expect the share price to be lower as a result!

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Fidelity National Information Services' earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. As it happens, Fidelity National Information Services' TSR for the last 3 years was -55%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

Fidelity National Information Services shareholders are down 40% for the year (even including dividends), but the market itself is up 6.9%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 7% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Even so, be aware that Fidelity National Information Services is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

Fidelity National Information Services is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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 Biden administration has approved the discharge of student loan debt for more than 615,000 borrowers since October 2021 under temporary changes to the public service loan forgiveness (PSLF) program.

The discharged amount totals $42 billion in debt and is a big increase from the previous administrations record, which approved just 7,000 borrowers under the PSLF program or only 2% of PSLF applicants, leading to the basis for the expanded program eligibility.

The changes  known as the PSLF waiver  allowed previously denied borrowers to reapply, expanded who qualifies to apply for forgiveness, and counted payments that were otherwise not eligible for the original program.

The Biden-Harris Administration has worked relentlessly to fix a broken student loan system, including by making sure we fulfill the promise of Public Service Loan Forgiveness for those who have spent a decade or more serving our communities and our country, Miguel Cardona, US Secretary of Education, said in a press release. To date, the Biden-Harris team has kept that promise for more than 615,000 teachers, nurses, social workers, servicemembers, and other public servants by approving a combined $42 billion in student loan debt forgiveness.

In this May 20, 2013 file photo, graduates pose for photographs during commencement at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)

Employees who have worked at least 10 years in the public service jobs with federal, state, local, or certain non-profit organizations are eligible for the public service loan forgiveness (PSLF) program  including military service members who dont qualify for other military loan forgiveness programs.

Under the normal PSLF program, borrowers must work at least 10 years with a qualifying employer and have made at least 120 full on-time payments in a standard payment plan to be eligible. Also, only Direct Loans qualified for PSLF.

But after more than 98% of borrowers who applied for the PSLF program were denied loan forgiveness by the Education Department under former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the American Federation of Teachers among others sued the department for how it managed the program.

The PSLF waiver was enacted as part of the 2021 legal settlement of that lawsuit with the Education Department. The changes it enacted expired October 31, 2022, as part of that settlement.

PSLF Timeline from NBER

Other PSLF improvements

Additionally, the Education Department announced improvements to the PSLF Help Tool that borrowers use to apply for the program.

In the past, borrowers complained about the amount of paperwork, having to mail documents, and the lack of an easy online process.

The PSLF Help Tool now allows borrowers to complete the entire PSLF application process online, and submit e-signatures for themselves and request e-signatures from their employers will significantly decrease processing time, according to the department.

Credit: Getty Images

This will significantly reduce the time it takes for borrowers to get certification from employers, a necessary step for the PSLF eligibility process.

Another major improvement is the ability to digitally track the status of the PSLF form in the My Activity section of borrowers StudentAid.gov account.

FSA is making the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program as easy as possible so all public servants can finally get the loan forgiveness they have earned, Richard Cordray, Federal Student Aid (FSA) chief operating officer, said in the press release. The improved PSLF Help Tool is another step forward to modernize and simplify the process for people who rely on us to carry out the law effectively.

Ronda is a personal finance senior reporter for Yahoo Money and attorney with experience in law, insurance, education, and government. Follow her on Twitter @writesronda

Read the latest personal finance trends and news from Yahoo Money.

Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn.
John Allan - Hannah McKay/Reuters

Tesco chairman John Allan is to step down next month after the supermarket said allegations over his behaviour risked becoming a distraction.

Mr Allan, who had been due to leave as chairman next year, will now quit at Tesco's annual general meeting next month.

The decision follows several allegations in recent weeks over Mr Allan's behaviour, which representatives for the City grandee described the allegations as simply untrue.

Mr Allan is also chairman of housebuilder Barratt Homes, a role he is due to step down later this year. He is set to retire from his board role on September 6. When asked on Friday if it was bringing forward this date, Barratt declined to comment

In claims made in the Guardian, the Tesco chairman was accused of inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour on four separate occasions. This included one incident which was alleged to have taken place at the supermarket's annual general meeting (AGM) last year.

Mr Allan faced accusations that he had touched the bottom of a senior Tesco employee at the meeting. He was also accused of having made inappropriate remarks to two other women on separate occasions between 2019 and 2022, and having touched another woman's bottom.

He denied all but one of the allegations, only admitting to having made comments on a Confederation of British Industry (CBI) worker's appearance in 2019, which he apologised for. At the time, Mr Allan had been president of the CBI.

Mr Allan said: It is with regret that I am having to prematurely stand down from my position as chair of Tesco following the anonymous and unsubstantiated allegations made against me, as reported by the Guardian.

These allegations are utterly baseless, as the internal procedures undertaken by Tesco prove.

There is no evidence of any wrongdoing at that time or at any stage of my Chairmanship at Tesco and I remain determined to prove my innocence.

Tesco chairman John Allan - Geoff Pugh

Tesco on Friday said it had immediately instigated an extensive review into the allegations surrounding its AGM last year, including assessing video footage of the meeting. The supermarket had urged staff internally to come forward if they had concerns over any attendees conduct and, in particular, regarding any incidents which might have taken place at the AGM.

It said it had not identified any evidence or complaints in relation to Mr Allan's behaviour at the AGM, or at all in his tenure as chairman.

Byron Grote, senior independent director at Tesco, has been named as the supermarket's interim chair, whilst a replacement for Mr Allan is found.

Mr Grote, who had previously been leading an internal search for a new chair, said: John has made a valuable contribution to Tesco during his eight years as chair.

While we have received no complaints about John's conduct and made no findings of wrongdoing, these allegations risk becoming a distraction to Tesco. On behalf of the board, I thank him for his substantial contribution to the business.

We are well advanced in our search for a new chair and will make an announcement in due course.

Stewart Gilliland will take over as senior independent director and lead the process to find a replacement chair.

The move by Tesco to accelerate Mr Allan's departure marks a major change at one of Britain's biggest companies.

During his tenure, Tesco has rebuilt its market share while navigating the Covid crisis and soaring inflation. However, the supermarket has recently been facing pressure amid claims of wider industry profiteering.

The supermarket was also expecting to face fierce questioning from shareholders over its culture at its upcoming AGM following the allegations regarding Mr Allan.

Tesco was among the companies to pause its membership of the CBI earlier this year, following allegations of rape and harrassment within the business lobby group.

An independent report into the culture at the CBI found that it had harboured toxic sexual predators.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So when we looked at Tai Sin Electric (SGX:500) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

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. The formula for this calculation on Tai Sin Electric is:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.15 = S$33m  (S$344m - S$126m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

So, Tai Sin Electric has an ROCE of 15%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Electrical industry average of 8.2% it's much better.

See our latest analysis for Tai Sin Electric

roce

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you're interested in investigating Tai Sin Electric's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

So How Is Tai Sin Electric's ROCE Trending?

We like the trends that we're seeing from Tai Sin Electric. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 15%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 28%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

On a side note, we noticed that the improvement in ROCE appears to be partly fueled by an increase in current liabilities. The current liabilities has increased to 37% of total assets, so the business is now more funded by the likes of its suppliers or short-term creditors. It's worth keeping an eye on this because as the percentage of current liabilities to total assets increases, some aspects of risk also increase.

The Key Takeaway

All in all, it's terrific to see that Tai Sin Electric is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. Considering the stock has delivered 38% to its stockholders over the last five years, it may be fair to think that investors aren't fully aware of the promising trends yet. So with that in mind, we think the stock deserves further research.

On a separate note, we've found 1 warning sign for Tai Sin Electric you'll probably want to know about.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high 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
New manufacturing facility and expanded capabilities will enable Singapores science and technology sector to accelerate research, development and manufacturing of critical medicines and vaccines

WALTHAM, Mass. & SINGAPORE, May 19, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, has opened a new sterile drug facility in Singapore that will better enable customers to deliver new medicines and vaccines in the Asia-Pacific market. The new facility also marks a significant milestone and investment in pandemic preparedness for Singapore, which is fast emerging as a biomedical hub in the Asia-Pacific region.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005223/en/

Pictured from left to right, Tan Kong Hwee, Executive Vice President of Singapore Economic Development Board; Sho-Wen Yeo, Vice President and General Manager of Southeast Asia and Taiwan, Thermo Fisher Scientific; Tony Acciarito, President, Asia Pacific & Japan, Thermo Fisher; Png Cheong Boon, Chairman of Singapore Economic Development Board; Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Heng Swee Keat; Michel Lagarde, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Thermo Fisher; Goh Wan Yee, Senior Vice President and Head of Healthcare, Singapore Economic Development Board; G. Selva, General Manager of Sterile Fill Finish Facility, Thermo Fisher; Hrissi Samartzidou, Vice President of Marketing, Pharma Services, Thermo Fisher (Photo: Business Wire)

Established with assistance from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), in alignment with the governments investment in preparedness for future health emergencies, the current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) facility will provide rapid vaccine fill-finish capabilities along with Thermo Fishers end-to-end pharmaceutical development and manufacturing services.

"Singapores strengths in manufacturing and connectivity to the region make us a hub for the production and supply of important pharmaceutical drugs to serve Asias healthcare needs," said Png Cheong Boon, Chairman, EDB. "Thermo Fisher Scientific's fill-finish manufacturing facility will enable end-to-end vaccine manufacturing to be carried out in Singapore. This will strengthen our vaccine supply chain resilience and enhance future pandemic preparedness for our region."

"We are committed to serving as a reliable partner to the Asia-Pacific region and the world," said Michel Lagarde, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Thermo Fisher Scientific. "This new site is an important extension of Thermo Fishers robust sterile fill-finish global network. With this expansion, we are strategically prepared, more than ever, to respond to our customers needs by supporting the accelerated delivery of critical vaccines and medicines to patients."

The new facility includes a high-speed, fully automated aseptic fill-finish line for small and large molecules. This strategic investment in Singapore complements new research capabilities at Thermo Fisher Scientific's Customer Experience Center and Bioprocess Design Center, two other operational lab facilities that showcase the latest bioprocessing, life science, and analytical technologies.

With more than 250 products across diverse fields including molecular biology, genetic analysis and sequencing, chromatography and mass spectrometry, and cell therapy, the Customer Experience Center features an extensive product portfolio for Asia. Additionally, the Bioprocess Design Center provides expertise in bioprocessing and process scale-up to support scientists and engineers with education and customized services to accelerate process development.

Together, these sites allow Thermo Fisher to better enable customers to accelerate their research, as well as develop and commercialize new medicines and vaccines in the Asia-Pacific market.

In total, over 2,000 company employees are contributing to Singapores evolution as a biomedical hub in the Asia-Pacific region.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue over $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them. Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230519005223/en/

Contacts

Media Contact Information:

Erin Morton

Phone: (352) 519-8351

Email: Erin.Morton@thermofisher.com

Media Contact Information:

Wendy Mejia

Phone: (617) 275-6515

Email: wmejia@greenoughagency.com
AsiaVision / Getty Images

Many small-business owners are taught to think big. How quickly can they scale the business? How soon can they start hiring employees? When can they expand to more locations?

See: Why Stealth Wealth Is the Best Way To Handle Your Money

More: How To Build Your Savings From Scratch

Before you start daydreaming about an overnight success narrative involving a massive global footprint, pause and focus on this moment. Entrepreneurs, and lean and bootstrapped small businesses, are advised to think small and reap the benefits that come with adopting this mindset.

Heres how thinking small will grow your small business.

Build a Relationship with Your First Customer

The most meaningful small act a business owner can undertake is building a relationship with their first customer, said Sarah Gonzales, co-owner of RS Gonzales.

You want to understand why, exactly, that brave soul took an extraordinary leap of faith in going with an unknown, Gonzales said. Was it your interpersonal skills or your sales pitch? The way you bundle your product, or your location?

Antoinette Sanchez, owner of Endless Summer Sweets, started her business selling on the weekends at farmers markets before moving into a restaurant space. The farmers market gave her time to get to know her customers, learn more about her products and see what worked best. By the time she was ready to expand, Sanchez said she had worked through mistakes and had a good idea of how to lean into what works best.

Gonzales recommends business owners take the time to be vulnerable with their first customer. Ask them questions and express gratitude for their business. Do the same thing with the second customer and the third. Before long, you will have built a feedback loop creating loyal customers. Youll also receive market insight, a better product or service and even more loyal customers.

Look at Small Numbers

Just like building a relationship with one customer, Hannah Shr, senior program manager at ICA Fund, recommends thinking small with small numbers.

Some of the smallest numbers associated with a small business might be:

An individual transaction

One SKU

A single purchase order

One card swipe

As small as these numbers may look  maybe just a few dollars  Shr said understanding these small costs as drivers of your business unlocks access to larger concepts around your margins, sales and ROI. You can determine your bestselling product or service, how much it costs you to produce, how much you charge for it, the cost of this transaction and what needs to be true for you to cover those transaction costs.

Having a handle on these small numbers is the building block to profitability and ultimately growth, Shr said.

Make Money With AI and Chat GPT: How To Earn $1,000 a Month

Build a Network

Starting small gave Sanchez the time to talk to other business owners. She was able to build a trustworthy network among other like-minded professionals: people who understood the entrepreneurial landscape and could offer support.

Being an entrepreneur can feel really lonely, and it takes time to connect with peers, Sanchez said. Having those networks in place before you grow means you immediately have trusted advisors you can turn to when you hit roadblocks or have questions.

Focus On What Drives Value to Your Business

Your business can pursue many paths, but which paths drive value? Chris Alman  CFP, founder and leader advisor at Equip Financial Partners  said thinking small can help entrepreneurs focus on what drives value in their business.

Alman refers to the expression about being a mile wide and an inch deep. Small businesses that think small will reverse it to be an inch wide and a mile deep.

Thats how you drive value, said Alman, adding building value is also important to an exit strategy. If you arent building value, you dont have a business that can be sold.

Focus On Steps You Can Take Today

Earlier, we talked about a business owner thinking about their long-term vision for their small business. While having this vision is important, Alman said it wont go anywhere unless you execute.

Execution happens daily, Alman said. You need to think small, working backwards from your long-term vision, and focus on the steps you can take today. Its these small, daily tasks being executed daily that leads to huge results.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Thinking Small Will Grow Your Small Business
TikTok logo is displayed on the smartphone while standing on the U.S. flag - Dado Ruvic/REUTERS

TikTok users have filed a lawsuit against the US state of Montana claiming a ban on the Chinese video app is unconstitutional and suppresses free speech.

The legal challenge comes after Montanas governor passed a new law prohibiting locals from downloading TikTok onto their personal phones.

A group of five users including a female military veteran, a stay-at-home mother and a fitness influencer have now sued the state.

They claim the ban is an unlawful prior restraint on expression that violates the First Amendment of the US constitution.

By shuttering an entire forum for communication that Defendant Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen himself admitted is one of the best way[s] to get your free speech out there, the law creates a prior restraint on expression that violates the First Amendment, the TikTokers legal filing states.

In this photo provided by the Montana Governor's Office, Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signs a law banning TikTok in the state - Garrett Turner/AP

Heather DiRocco, an ex-US Marine Corps sergeant, said in court papers that her 200,000 followers contribute a substantial portion of her income thanks to her posts about comedy, makeup and mental health.

Fellow plaintiff Carly Ann Goddard said she tripled her familys income after starting a TikTok account to share clips of her life as the wife of a cattle rancher, with her account having 95,000 followers.

The other three users are Samantha Alario, who uses the platform to sell sustainable swimming costumes, Alice Held, a student who shares footage of her hikes, and Dale Scout, a comedian.

Montanas move marks the first time any Western territory has banned TikTok for personal use, while the lawsuit is expected to set the tone over the apps right to operate in the US.

Around 150m people worldwide use TikTok, which has been downloaded about 2bn times since its launch in 2017.

Under the states ban, TikTok will be fined if it operates within the state, while app store providers such as Google and Apple also face fines if they allow Montana-based users to download it.

In comments made after Governor Greg Gianforte signed the ban into law on Wednesday, a spokesman for TikTok said it would continue working to defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana.

Mr Gianforte had vowed to protect Montanans private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party, echoing widespread official concerns that TikTok can be turned into a surveillance tool.

Governments around the world, including the UK, have already banned TikTok from official devices over fears that China could use the app to steal sensitive information.

National security laws passed in 2020 mean any Chinese company can be forced to secretly cooperate with the countrys spy agencies.

TikTok has consistently denied being an arm of the Chinese government, although chief executive Shou Zi Chew was forced to admit last year that Chinese TikTok staff did have remote access to American users personal data.

US authorities have unsuccessfully tried to ban TikTok before. In 2020 a bid by Donald Trump to block TikTok from the whole of the US was overturned by a federal judge.

The presidents successor Joe Biden appeared to be taking a softer stance on TikTok when he revoked Trump-era executive orders paving the way for a blanket ban in 2021.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
These are the top 10 holdings of Berkshire Hathaway's $325 billion stock portfolio

Markets Insider.

Recent 13F filings revealed big changes to the stock holdings of Warren Buffett's conglomerate.

Berkshire Hathaway sold its entire stakes in US banks like BNY Mellon and US Bancorp, while it bought a new stake in Capital One.

These are the top 10 stocks held in Berkshire Hathaway's $325 billion stock portfolio as of March 31.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway last quarter made a lot of changes to its US stock portfolio, which as of March 31 was worth $325 billion.

The conglomerate sold its long-held stakes in US bank stocks BNY Mellon and US Bancorp, while it took some of those proceeds to buy a new $1 billion stake in Capital One Financial. It also continued to add to its Occidental Petroleum stake, and sold its entire RH position, which sparked a big sell-off in that stock.

With various portfolio changes in the first quarter of the year, Berkshire Hathaway's top 10 holdings of US stocks has shifted, though Apple still represents a near 50% of the portfolio. In fact, the top 10 positions in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio make up a massive 90.2% of its entire portfolio.

That concentration shouldn't be a problem for Buffett, as he has previously said: "Diversification may preserve wealth, but concentration builds wealth."

These are the top 10 stocks held in Berkshire Hathaway's $325 billion US stock portfolio as of March 31.

10. HP Inc.

The Hewlett Packard (HP) logo is displayed in front of the office complex on October 04, 2019 in Palo Alto, California.

The Hewlett Packard (HP) logo is displayed in front of the office complex on October 04, 2019 in Palo Alto, California.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Ticker: HPQ

Position: $3.5 billion

Percent of portfolio: 1.1%

9. Activision Blizzard

activision blizzard logo stage

AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Ticker: ATVI

Position: $4.2 billion

Percent of portfolio: 1.3%

8. Moody's Corp.

Moody's logo on the side of a building

Moody's logoEMMANUEL DUNAND / Staff / Getty Images

Ticker: MCO

Position: $7.5 billion

Percent of portfolio: 2.3%

7. The Kraft Heinz Company

kraft heinz

ool-Aid Man, Mr. Peanut and The Ketchups team up in Times Square to fight global hunger during the kick-off event for the 'Feed Your Family, Feed The World' program, which donates up to 20,000 meals a day to Rise Against Hunger, on April 27, 2017 in New York City.Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Ticker: KHC

Position: $12.6 billion

Percent of portfolio: 3.9%

6. Occidental Petroleum

occidental petroleum

Oil rig pumpjacks, also known as thirsty birds, extract crude from the Wilmington Field oil deposits area where Tidelands Oil Production Company, which is owned by Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Oxy), operates near Long Beach, California July 30, 2013. Occidental Petroleum posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, hurt by lower oil prices in the Middle East and North Africa, where the fourth-largest U.S. oil company is considering an exit. REUTERS/David McNew

Ticker: OXY

Position: $13.2 billion

Percent of portfolio: 4.1%

5. Chevron

Chevron gas station

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Ticker: CVX

Position: $21.6 billion

Percent of portfolio: 6.7%

4. The Coca-Cola Company

person drinking Coca Cola

The "Diet Coke Break" trend on TikTok is gaining popularity among young workers.LightRocket/Getty Images

Ticker: KO

Position: $24.8 billion

Percent of portfolio: 7.6%

3. American Express

Credit cards fill a display at American Express headquarters

Credit cards fill a display at American Express headquartersJohn Moore/Getty Images

Ticker: AXP

Position: $25.0 billion

Percent of portfolio: 7.7%

2. Bank of America

A Bank of America storefront.

A Bank of America storefront.Getty Images

Ticker: BAC

Position: $29.5 billion

Percent of portfolio: 9.1%

1. Apple

citizens pass an Apple store on Nanjing Road Pedestrian street in Shanghai, China, December 16, 2022

An Apple Store in Shanghai, China.CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Ticker: AAPL

Position: $151.0 billion

Percent of portfolio: 46.4%

Read the original article on Business Insider
big tech jeremy hunt

As Revoluts quest for a UK banking licence drags on into its third year, executives at the company have become increasingly frustrated at its lack of progress.

Britains biggest fintech company has sought meetings with ministers amid concerns that the Governments stated aim of becoming a science and technology superpower is not backed up by reality.

Executives including Nik Storonsky, Revoluts founder and chief executive, and Martin Gilbert, its chairman, are expected to meet Treasury officials in the coming weeks to discuss Britains growth agenda. Business secretary Kemi Badenoch will meet with the company next week.

It comes after The Telegraph revealed on Thursday that the Bank of England had informed the Government that it planned to reject Revoluts application. It is understood that Revolut has not been issued a formal notice by the PRA, and the company says the application is ongoing.

Revolut is said to be locked in a disagreement with SoftBank, one of its biggest investors, as it seeks to simplify its ownership structure. The business has been told it must simplify it as a condition of acquiring any banking licence, the Financial Times reported.

However, even in Revoluts best case scenario, the process has taken longer than its chief would have imagined.

Ministers have insisted that any discussion of the companys ongoing banking licence application is off the table. Licences are granted by the Bank of Englands Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which is independent.

However, the gap between the Governments rhetoric on tech and the reality is becoming harder to ignore.

Jeremy Hunt Nik Storonsky - LinkedIn

Everything was falling in place for Storonsky as his rapidly growing banking app Revolut finally put in the paperwork for a licence two years ago. The former Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse banker, who had moved to the UK from Russia at 20, had assembled a heavyweight board including Gilbert, the founder of Aberdeen Asset Management, and Michael Sherwood, the veteran Goldman Sachs executive.

Revolut, founded in 2015, was on the cusp of a giant fundraising round that made it Britains biggest fintech company. The investment bestowed a $33bn (27bn) valuation on the company and earned Revolut a ringing endorsement from then-chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Many of the UKs top start-ups have seemed to lack ambition, selling out to tech giants early on or limiting themselves to local markets.

However, Revolut expanded internationally at a rapid clip. It led a British fintech wave that seemed immune to a challenge from Silicon Valley, which has traditionally struggled to crack finance.

A banking licence  signalling approval from the Bank of England  would be its crowning achievement. Yet the experience has been painful.

You wait for emails or letters for months, Storonsky said earlier this month as he hit out against the PRA. This is not the business environment to operate in the modern world.

The comments came weeks after Revolut published financial accounts that included a qualified opinion from its auditors.

As well as holding up Revoluts plans, the incident has added to an increasingly bitter debate about Britains regulators, and whether their actions conflict with the Governments growth aims.

Sunak pushed for plans that would see ministers able to overrule the Bank of England if they disagreed with decisions.

Meanwhile, Ron Kalifa, the former Worldpay boss, published a Government-commissioned review recommending a relaxation of stock market rules to boost Britains fintech sector.

But instead of opening the doors, regulators have been accused of blocking investment and innovation. Storonskys complaints, in which he also railed against an extremely bureaucratic stock market regulator, are only the latest broadside against Britains watchdogs.

Nikolay Storonsky - Piaras AMAdheach/Sportsfile

Last month, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked Microsofts $69bn takeover of the video game giant Activision Blizzard, provoking claims from Activision that Britain was closed for business.

The Financial Conduct Authority has cracked down on cryptocurrency companies, prompting criticism from the exchange Blockchain.com that its safety first approach came at the expense of innovation.

Its hard to judge regulators based on individual cases, says Dominic Hallas, executive director of the tech lobby group Coadec. But to have one regulator causing issues is misfortune, to have many is much more problematic.

Theres clearly a growing gap between policy intention and delivery that needs addressing.

One fintech executive says: It doesnt feel like its joined up. Youve got one arm of the Government really pushing forward, and a regulator who hasnt used the product theyre supposed to be regulating.

Worryingly, the regulators seen as blocking innovation have become more powerful. Sunak was forced to drop plans to let ministers overrule the Bank of England in November to shore up confidence in Britain after market ructions.

One former senior executive at Revolut said the fintech company had failed to build positive relations with the regulator, in part because of too many staffing changes in key positions.

However, there are also concerns that the PRA has become overly cautious in granting banking licences to companies.

The ex-Revolut executive added: I hear from a couple of other start-ups in the UK seeking [banking] licences, which are far smaller than Revolut, that they are facing challenges.

On the PRA side, they appear to be very, very cautious for reasons I dont understand.

David Jarvis, the chief executive of Griffin, a fintech start-up that recently received a banking licence, says the process is unquestionably challenging but that in Revoluts case you cant really run a regulated business effectively if you go and badmouth the regulator every couple of weeks.

He adds: You dont have a god given right to be a bank.

Other regulators are also becoming more forceful. New competition legislation is giving the CMA powers to rein in tech giants that are deemed to have strategic market status, meaning the authority is likely to intervene more often than it does today.

This week, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt carefully reminded regulators that they should aim not to discourage investment.

We have independent regulators that are not controlled by politicians and therefore they can be confident there will be a level playing field, he said.

I would not want to undermine that at all, but I do think it's important all our regulators understand their wider responsibilities for economic growth.

Hunt said he had had a number of discussions with Revolut and invited the company to come and talk to me.

The business seems to be taking the Chancellor up on his offer. But that is unlikely to make it any easier to win over the regulator.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
(Bloomberg) -- Commodities trader Trafigura Group, which is investigating a $577 million nickel fraud, had an asset freeze extended to the alleged fraudsters wife, saying in a London court that she is not a wholly innocent bystander.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Ginni Gupta, who lives in Dubai, faces the restrictions, after Trafiguras lawyer argued that there is a risk her assets could be dispersed and put out of reach. Gupta, the wife of Prateek Gupta, is not herself a defendant in the companys legal pursuit. The court granted the asset freeze.

Trafigura in February accused Prateek Gupta and the companies connected to him of perpetrating a systematic fraud against it with details that have sent shockwaves through the metals industry. The trading house turned to the court after finding that nickel cargoes it had bought from him in fact contained no nickel. Gupta himself was hit with a $625 million freeze at the time.

The court hearing is a sideshow to the main proceedings, where Trafiguras executives are waiting for Gupta to file his defense to their allegations.

Trafiguras lawyer, David Peters, said Ginni Guptas assets extended to the family home in Dubai as well as Cayman Islands-based investment fund Silver Star SPC. Ginni Gupta has said in a Facebook video that she was the HR head of the familys metal trading businesses.

Ms. Gupta is not alleged to have committed any wrongdoing of any sort, her lawyer Robert Howe said Friday. At the hearing, the judge dismissed his attempt to hold the proceedings in private.

(Adds court decision in second paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
'I was in a trance': A tech executive got scammed out of $450K in a cruel romance grift called 'pig butchering'  here's how it works and what to watch out for

'I was in a trance': A tech executive got scammed out of $450K in a cruel romance grift called 'pig butchering'  here's how it works and what to watch out for

Shreya Datta had been swiping through dating apps for months before she met Ancel Mali, a purported wine trader from France, on Hinge.

After they chatted online for a couple of months, exchanging flirty emojis and selfies, he ended up conning her out of $450,000.

Don't miss

Rich young Americans have lost confidence in the stock market  and are betting on these 3 assets instead. Get in now for strong long-term tailwinds

Here's how much money the average middle-class American household makes  how do you stack up?

This secretary in Illinois built a $7M fortune starting with $180. Here's the one powerful technique that made Grace Groner rich  and can change your life too

I was in a trance, Datta told The Philadelphia Inquirer. I felt like I had met my person.

Datta, a 37-year-old director at a multinational tech company in Philadelphia, explained that Mali convinced her to give trading in crypto a go. He sent her a download link to what appeared to be the app SoFi  complete with two-factor authentication and customer service.

SoFi is a legitimate provider of loans and some banking services in the U.S. and Hong Kong, but is frequently imitated by scammers.

When Datta later tried to withdraw her money from the app, she got a message that she had to first pay a 10% personal tax.

She contacted her brother, who is a lawyer, and with the help of a private investigator, they determined shed been a victim of a crypto investment scam known as pig butchering.

How pig butchering works

The Department of Justice announced in April that it had seized an estimated $112 million linked to pig butchering scams.

The victims in Pig Butchering schemes are referred to as 'pigs' by the scammers because the scammers will use elaborate storylines to 'fatten up' victims into believing they are in a romantic or otherwise close personal relationship, stated an affidavit in support of the Los Angeles seizure warrant, shared by the Department of Justice.

Once the victim places enough trust in the scammer, the scammer brings the victim into a cryptocurrency investment scheme.

The fraudster often reaches out through a dating app, social media site, or Whatsapp. They then spend a lengthy amount of time wooing the victim before encouraging them to invest in fake crypto platforms. The money the victim thinks is being invested is instead directed to addresses and accounts controlled by scammers and their co-conspirators.

The scammers also typically create a fake website or app that shows significant gains when the victim makes their initial investment to trick them into believing the scam is real and the fake cryptocurrency is a good bet. But once the victim puts a substantial amount of money in, theyll find theyre unable to withdraw it.

Sometimes the scam will continue, with fraudsters asking for additional investments, taxes or fees, promising them these payments will allow them to gain access to their accounts.

Read more: 'Hold onto your money': Jeff Bezos says you might want to rethink buying a 'new automobile, refrigerator, or whatever'  here are 3 better recession-proof buys

What to watch out for

While Datta worked a high-paying job and her family was able to bail her out of debt, she still had to sell her car, look for a cheaper apartment, and contend with the emotional repercussions of the experience.

Many victims of romance fraud find themselves with heavy debt and no savings to fall back on. Heres how to avoid putting yourself in a similar situation.

Do your research. Look the other person up online to verify their identity  check for any social media accounts or LinkedIn profiles that can confirm they are who they say they are.

Watch out for love bombing. This is the term for when a suitor creates a heightened sense of emotion or declares strong feelings early on in a courtship. This is a common red flag in romance scams.

Get them on camera. Datta told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Mali made excuses for not meeting her in person, like a business trip in San Francisco and his uncle being terminally ill. He only video chatted with her twice and both times very briefly, not letting the camera remain on his face for too long.

Keep your private details private. Talking about finances too soon or asking for financial or confidential information can be a huge red flag. Do not, under any circumstances, give out your information  you could risk falling prey to identity theft as well.

Be alert for get rich quick schemes. Be wary of anyone who recommends a trading app that supposedly delivers high profits, or tells you about their own big returns. Dont click on any download links to sites or apps they send you, even if they appear legitimate.

As with any investment opportunity, its incredibly important to do your own research first and not put your money into something just because someone you trust recommends it.

What to read next

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
(Bloomberg) -- The US Treasurys window to keep the government from running out of borrowing room continues to narrow as a decline in its cash balance to the lowest since 2021 was offset by a slight uptick in funds available for extraordinary measures.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The Treasury had just $92 billion of extraordinary measures to help keep the governments bills paid as of May 17, the department said in a statement Friday. Thats up from around $88 billion on May 10 and means that a little over a quarter of the $333 billion of authorized measures are still available to keep the government from running out of borrowing room under the statutory debt limit.

At the same time, the Treasurys cash balance fell to $57.3 billion as of May 18, according to data published Thursday. Thats down from from $68.3 billion a day earlier and $140 billion at the end of last week. The Treasurys bank account has been under downward pressure recently because of measures being taken to avoid breaching the $31.4 trillion debt cap.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated to lawmakers earlier this week that her departments ability to avoid breaching the statutory debt ceiling via special accounting maneuvers could be exhausted around early June. She told top bank executives Thursday that a failure to raise the debt ceiling would be catastrophic for the financial system.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthys top debt-ceiling negotiators walked out of negotiations Friday morning, an abrupt reversal from optimistic signals on progress from both sides a day earlier. The Republican teams departure from the closed-door session about an hour after it began Friday morning threw into doubt the status of talks to avoid a US default. One person familiar with the talks said it wasnt a specific issue but ranged broadly across GOP budget-cutting demands.

This is a turnabout from the prior day when politicians in Washington expressed optimism about a deal being imminent, with even McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer making plans for votes in the coming days on a bipartisan deal.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Uber Plans to Give Up a Third of Its Space at San Francisco Headquarters

(Bloomberg) -- Uber Technologies Inc. plans to give up about a third of the space at its San Francisco headquarters, adding to a wave of technology companies downsizing in the city.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The ride-hailing company is in the early stages of subleasing almost 269,000 square feet (24,990 square meters) at its home in the Mission Bay neighborhood, according to a statement. Uber said it doesnt currently occupy the space, which is part of a cluster of four buildings making up the companys headquarters.

This will not change our footprint in the city or impact space available for employees, the company said. We remain committed to our hybrid work approach, which emphasizes in-person collaboration, and continue to welcome employees to our Mission Bay campus.

The move will add to an office glut in San Francisco, which has been battered by remote work and a downturn in the tech industry that fuels the local economy. Employers including Salesforce Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Uber rival Lyft Inc. have looked to unload space in the city. Its office-vacancy rate increased to a record 29.4% in the first quarter, among the worst the country, according to data from CBRE Group Inc.

Read more: Bank Turmoil Collides With Tech Slump in Battered San Francisco

Ubers subleasing plans were reported earlier by CoStar News. Representatives of Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc., the owner of the headquarters, declined to comment.

--With assistance from John Gittelsohn.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Man leaves a branch of the Nova Poshta (New Post) delivery service in Kyiv

Ukrainian firms venture abroad for growth as war hits home Man leaves a branch of the Nova Poshta (New Post) delivery service in Kyiv

By Olena Harmash

KYIV (Reuters) - Almost as soon as Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Ukrainian businessman Rostyslav Vovk realised he needed to look beyond the country's borders to keep his pet food company growing.

The ongoing conflict has prompted several Ukrainian firms to focus abroad to reduce their reliance on a shrinking home market and to tap into the millions of people who have left.

More than 5 million Ukrainians who fled the conflict were registered in Europe as of the start of May, U.N. refugee agency data showed, with Poland hosting over 1.5 million of them.

Ukraine, which had a pre-war population of about 40 million, has seen its domestic economy turned upside down, with corporate investments and growth now rare.

The country's economy shrank by about a third in 2022, its biggest annual fall since independence from the Soviet Union, and only modest growth is forecast for this year.

A resulting drop in consumer spending is being felt in particular in the consumer and services sectors, where senior executives at four firms said they had turned to new markets in neighbouring Poland and Eastern Europe to boost business.

"Regarding our big expansion, which started after the full-scale war, the first destination was Poland," said Vyacheslav Klymov, co-founder of Ukraine's largest private postal operator Nova Post, which was founded in 2001.

"Our choice was to go to Poland, mainly because Poland hosts now the highest number of Ukrainians who fled from the war."

Klymov said that most of Nova Post's clients there were Ukrainian, apart from 10-15% of customers who were Polish, many of them sending parcels to Ukraine.

Andriy Khudo, co-owner and head of the !FST restaurant group, who has years of experience working with partners on projects in Central Europe, agreed the diaspora had helped.

"Before the war we already were in Poland, Romania and Hungary. Then we started a lot of negotiations to attract new and expand existing partnerships," he said.

"We began to open actively in Poland because in this market our brand and our product were already known and popular and it was easiest to accelerate with existing partners there."

In Khudo's bars, including the 'Piana Vyshnia' which means 'Drunken Cherry' in English, Ukrainians are reminded of home.

"We come here because we know this, it's cool," said Tania Krasnik, on a visit from Cologne in Germany where she has lived since the war, to see her friend Hanna Derevianko, 34.

"Today is my birthday. She came from Ukraine and I came from Germany ... and we decided to meet in Warsaw," Krasnik said as the pair sat in high stools by the window, each sipping from a glass of the bar's signature cherry drink.

More than 24,000 companies with Ukrainian capital were registered in Poland, or 25% of all those with foreign capital, the Polish Economic Institute think-tank estimates.

In September, 8.5% of all companies opened in Poland had Ukrainian capital, compared with 0.8% in January 2022.

'NOT VERY EASY'

Some firms are looking further into Europe, and strategies differ.

Khudo and partners have also launched bars in Latvia and are ready to open in the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Estonia - all countries hosting large numbers of Ukrainian refugees.

Andriy Zdesenko, who over 26 years has built his Biosphere Corporation into Ukraine's largest manufacturer of household and personal care products, had been looking to expand already.

The opportunity arose during the war.

"We bought 'Alufix', the Austrian brand. It is known not only in Austria but also in Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovenia," said Zdesenko, who has also bought a Romanian factory and other assets.

"To enter a new market with an unknown name and, moreover, for a Ukrainian company, is not very easy."

Before the invasion in February last year, Ukraine's corporate sector had a mixed reputation abroad, with corruption scandals and questions over transparency damaging its image.

As a result, most Ukrainian companies focused locally or catered for markets in Russia and other former Soviet states.

But war has changed the landscape dramatically.

Early in the conflict, Ukrainian entrepreneurs said they benefited from popular support across many countries.

Vovk, co-owner and CEO of Kormotekh, said Ukraine's leading pet food producer began by selling in the Baltics as retailers looked to replace Russian products.

"The main goal is to grow abroad much faster than we planned for ourselves in the pre-war period," Vovk said.

Kormotekh had expanded sales to 39 countries at the start of 2023, from 19 five years ago. Vovk expects exports to grow from 22% of total sales in 2022 to 30% this year and between 60% and 70% by 2028.

Zdesenko estimates Biosphere's revenues will reach $150 million this year, compared with $102 million in 2022 and expects his Ukrainian business to account for about 60% of total sales, with external operations some 100 million euros in sales within the next three years.

Nova Post's Klymov, meanwhile, plans to invest about 10 million euros to open up to 200 branches across Europe.

Kormotekh has invested in expanding production both in Ukraine and Lithuania.

As businesses in Ukraine battle curfews, Russian shelling, damaged infrastructure, disrupted logistics and stalled production, many are helping civilians and the armed forces by delivering necessities and making donations.

They are also looking to the future, hoping that 'Made in Ukraine' becomes a trusted brand globally.

(Additional reporting by Karol Badohal in Warsaw; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Alexander Smith)
While United Overseas Bank Limited (SGX:U11) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 11% in the last quarter. But don't let that distract from the very nice return generated over three years. After all, the share price is up a market-beating 41% in that time.

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

View our latest analysis for United Overseas Bank

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, United Overseas Bank's TSR for the last 3 years was 65%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that United Overseas Bank shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 1.9% over one year. Of course, that includes the dividend. However, the TSR over five years, coming in at 3% per year, is even more impressive. The pessimistic view would be that be that the stock has its best days behind it, but on the other hand the price might simply be moderating while the business itself continues to execute. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for United Overseas Bank that you should be aware of.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Singaporean exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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
United States Textile and Clothing Import Trends Report 2023 with Insights into the USA's Top Ten Foreign Suppliers

Company Logo

Dublin, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Trends in US Textile and Clothing Imports, February 2023" report from Textiles Intelligence Ltd. has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This 2023 update contains analysis and insight into the USA's top ten foreign suppliers of textiles and clothing in 2022, along with more specific information on US imports of cotton dresses, cotton knitted shirts, cotton non-knitted (woven) shirts, cotton skirts, cotton trousers, cotton underwear, man-made fibre bras, man-made fibre dresses, man-made fibre knitted shirts, man-made fibre skirts and man-made fibre trousers.

The report also includes an outlook for 2023 and beyond, and a statistical appendix containing data on exchange rates and US imports of cotton coats, cotton pile towels, denim trousers, cotton and man-made fibre baby garments, other cotton apparel, and wool coats. In 2022 US textile and clothing imports rose in value to reach a record high for the second consecutive year, and also increased to a second consecutive record high in terms of volume.

Within the 2022 total, US imports of apparel and fabrics rose in volume terms to their highest levels on record. Imports of yarn rose to their third highest level on record although they remained below the levels seen in 2005 and 2006. Imports of made-up textiles, by contrast, declined but they were still at their second highest level on record.

The average price of US textile and clothing imports rose in 2022, reflecting a significant jump in the average price of US clothing imports. However, the average price of US textiles and clothing imports in 2022 was still at its second lowest level on record as the rise followed ten consecutive years of decline.

The average price of US textile imports, meanwhile, declined. In terms of fibre type, man-made fibres continued to dominate US textile and apparel imports as a whole, and man-made fibre products accounted for the largest share of US clothing imports in 2022 for the ninth consecutive year. China remained by far the USA's biggest textile and clothing supplier but its share of total US textile and clothing imports declined in volume terms and in value terms.

Of the other nine supplying countries which ranked among the leading ten, there were double digit increases in US textile and clothing imports from all nine countries in value terms and there were double digit increases in US textile and clothing imports from five of these countries in volume terms.

The fastest growth in value terms was in US textile and clothing imports from Nicaragua, followed by those from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam and Honduras. But growth was more moderate in the case of US textile and clothing imports from India, Mexico and Pakistan.

Who should buy this report?

Manufacturers of fibres, textiles, clothing and chemicals

Textile and clothing machinery manufacturers - spinning, weaving, knitting, sewing and import/export

Textile and clothing brands and retailers like Adidas, H&M etc.

Educational institutions like universities, fashion schools etc.

Business consultancy firms

Textile and clothing trade associations

Government trade bodies

Key Topics Covered:

SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

General trends in US textile and clothing imports

General trends in US textile and clothing import prices

General trends in US textile and clothing imports by supplying country in 2022

Influence of the US economy on imports

Outlook for US textile and clothing imports in 2023

US IMPORTS OF TEXTILES AND CLOTHING BY MAIN CATEGORY: YARNS, FABRICS, APPAREL AND MADE-UP TEXTILES

US IMPORTS OF TEXTILES AND CLOTHING BY FIBRE TYPE

MAJOR SUPPLIERS OF US TEXTILE AND CLOTHING IMPORTS

US textile and clothing imports from China

US textile and clothing imports from Asean countries

South Asia

USMCA countries: Mexico and Canada

CAFTA-DR and CBI countries

US IMPORTS OF TEXTILES

General trends

US imports of textiles by leading supplying countries

US IMPORTS OF CLOTHING

General trends US imports of clothing by leading supplying countries

US IMPORTS OF MEN'S AND BOYS' COTTON KNITTED SHIRTS

General trends

Leading ten supplying countries

Best and worst performers

Highest and lowest import prices

Price movements

US IMPORTS OF WOMEN'S AND GIRLS' COTTON KNITTED SHIRTS

General trends

Leading ten supplying countries

Best and worst performers

Highest and lowest import prices

Price movements

US IMPORTS OF MEN'S AND BOYS' MAN-MADE FIBRE KNITTED SHIRTS

General trends

Leading ten supplying countries

Best and worst performers

Highest and lowest import prices

Price movements

US IMPORTS OF WOMEN'S AND GIRLS' MAN-MADE FIBRE KNITTED SHIRTS

General trends

Leading ten supplying countries

Best and worst performers

Highest and lowest import prices

Price movements

US IMPORTS OF MEN'S AND BOYS' COTTON NON-KNITTED (WOVEN) SHIRTS

General trends

Leading ten supplying countries

Best and worst performers

Highest and lowest import prices

Price movements

US IMPORTS OF WOMEN'S AND GIRLS' COTTON NON-KNITTED (WOVEN) SHIRTS

General trends

Leading ten supplying countries

Best and worst performers

Highest and lowest import prices

Price movements

US IMPORTS OF MEN'S AND BOYS' COTTON TROUSERS

General trends

Leading ten supplying countries

Best and worst performers

Highest and lowest import prices

Price movements

US IMPORTS OF WOMEN'S AND GIRLS' COTTON TROUSERS

General trends

Leading ten supplying countries

Best and worst performers

Highest and lowest import prices

Price movements

US IMPORTS OF MEN'S AND BOYS' MAN-MADE FIBRE TROUSERS

General trends

Leading ten supplying countries

Best and worst performers

Highest and lowest import prices

Price movements

US IMPORTS OF WOMEN'S AND GIRLS' MAN-MADE FIBRE TROUSERS

General trends

Leading ten supplying countries

Best and worst performers

Highest and lowest import prices

Price movements

US IMPORTS OF COTTON DRESSES

General trends

Leading ten supplying countries

Best and worst performers

Highest and lowest import prices

Price movements

US IMPORTS OF MAN-MADE FIBRE DRESSES

General trends

Leading ten supplying countries

Best and worst performers

Highest and lowest import prices

Price movements

US IMPORTS OF COTTON SKIRTS

General trends

Leading ten supplying countries

Best and worst performers

Highest and lowest import prices

Price movements

US IMPORTS OF MAN-MADE FIBRE SKIRTS

General trends

Leading ten supplying countries

Best and worst performers

Highest and lowest import prices

Price movements

US IMPORTS OF MAN-MADE FIBRE BRAS

General trends

Leading ten supplying countries

Best and worst performers

Highest and lowest import prices

Price movements

US IMPORTS OF COTTON UNDERWEAR

General trends

Leading ten supplying countries

Best and worst performers

Highest and lowest import prices

Price movements

STATISTICAL APPENDIX

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/9jjiaj

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




(Bloomberg) -- The US has sanctioned some of Russias biggest gold miners, as it imposes fresh penalties on the countrys metals and mining sector.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Polyus PJSC, the countrys No. 1 gold miner, and Polymetal JSC, the Russian unit of Polymetal International Plc, were targeted, according to a statement Friday from the US Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control. Share and debt holders of Polyus, along with the companys counterparties, have until Aug. 17 to sell their assets and wind down their operations.

Gold from Russia, the worlds second-biggest producer, became taboo after the invasion of Ukraine, and imports were blocked by Group of Seven nations and European Union last summer. That forced Russian miners to re-direct supplies to places like the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Turkey, where there are no restrictions. Sanctions against the companies are likely to deter some of customers in those countries.

The OFAC sanctions were also extended to Polyuss major units, Chief Executive Officer Alexei Vostokov, some other top managers and former CEO Pavel Grachev.

READ: Russian Gold Is in Hands of Obscure Firms as JPMorgan, HSBC Exit

Earlier on Friday, the UK and Australia became the first countries to sanction Polyus.

Polyus was long controlled by the family of sanctioned billionaire Suleiman Kerimov. Just months after Russia invaded Ukraine, Said Kerimov  son of the billionaire and also under penalties now  gave his 46.35% stake in Polyus to the Fund for Support of Islamic Foundations in Russia.

Separately, the OFAC also sanctioned Sergey Malyshev, chief financial officer of Russias biggest miner MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC. The miner itself is free of penalties, even after its billionaire CEO Vladimir Potanin was sanctioned in December.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Anastasiia_New / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Utility bills could soon be easier to pay for many New Yorkers. State lawmakers pushed a package of bills through the Senate to address increased costs for ratepayers. Spectrum News NY1 reported that this new measure came from a legislative review by the Senate Investigations Committee into utility price increases over the last year.

See: Unplug These Appliances That Hike Up Your Electricity Bill

More: Demand for Gold Is Up  Heres Everything You Need To Know

Far too many New Yorkers have difficulty understanding their utility bills, and often the determination of rates is unclear, leaving the consumer frustrated with their utility companies, said Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins in a Senate Majority press release. Additionally, this bill package works to address the affordability of utilities and expand payment plan options to consumers. Id like to thank todays bill sponsors for protecting consumers and working to lessen the economic burden on families across New York.

Under the approved measures, Spectrum News NY1 says that utility companies operating in New York must file their procedure for calculating estimated utility bills with the Public Service Commission and use actual meter readings. Senate Bill S1851A, which addresses estimated utility bills, pointed out that there have been several reports of excessively high swings in monthly bills, often hundreds of dollars in inaccurate costs.

State legislatures also want to create minimum standards for payment plans for eligible customers and lower fixed charges from utility companies in New York. According to a report by the Acadia Center, New Yorkers pay three times as much in fixed charges as they charge residents in nearby states, per Senate Bill S1303. Fixed charges are flat monthly fees that people pay on their utility bills regardless of the energy they use.

Take Our Poll: Are You Concerned About the Safety of Your Money in Your Bank Accounts?

See Our List: 100 Most Influential Money Experts

Spectrum News NY1 reported that lawmakers also want to address times when utility companies misled ratepayers. State Sen. James Skoufis wants to impose quarter-million-dollar fines when power companies demonstrably lie or mislead ratepayers.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Utility Bills: New Proposal To Eliminate Price Surging Gains Momentum  How Much Could You Save?
Webull Corporation

SINGAPORE, May 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Webull Securities (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. ("Webull Singapore"), a subsidiary of Webull Corporation ("Webull"), is proud to announce that it has achieved significant growth and expansion since its launch on 21 May 2022. Webull has over 17 million users globally and is one of the leading online trading platforms in the United States. Webull Singapore has grown its user base significantly in the past year, surpassing 200,000 users by the end of its first year.



"On our first anniversary, we are proud of our achievements, and we would like to express our gratitude to our loyal clients and dedicated staff who have made this milestone possible," said Bernard Teo, CEO of Webull Singapore and Head of Asia-Pacific for Webull. "We will continue to enhance our trading platform and introduce new products to benefit our users."

Webull Singapore's mission is to provide traders with the best trading experience by offering low-commission trading, world class technology, real-time quotes and a wealth of educational resources. The company launched Moneybull, a wealth management tool designed to help customers earn a yield on idle cash, for margin accounts in March 2023, and China-A Shares in April 2023, offering new opportunities for investors interested in the Chinese market. Webull Singapore will unveil its Regular Savings Plan, allowing users to effortlessly engage in dollar-cost averaging for their investments on 21 May.

Webull is constantly pursuing opportunities to expand its business in Asia-Pacific, with new business launches in Australia in December 2022 and Japan in April 2023. Last month, Webull received Approval-In-Principle for a Capital Markets Services Licence in Malaysia. Webull is focused on providing additional investment products and tools for the benefit of its clients and expanding its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Webull trading platform can be accessed on both mobile and desktop. The mobile application can be downloaded through the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, and the desktop application can be downloaded through Webull Singapore's website at https://www.webull.com.sg.

For more information about Webull Singapore, please visit Webull Singapore's website at https://www.webull.com.sg. For media inquiries, please contact pr@webull.com.

About Webull

Webull is a leading digital investment platform built on next-generation global infrastructure. Webull serves tens of millions of users from over 180 countries, providing retail investors with 24/7 access to financial markets worldwide. Users can put investment strategies to work by trading global stocks, ETFs, options and fractional shares, through Webull's trading platform, which is currently available in the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, South Africa and Japan.




This Week in China: Nothing Is Good Enough for Impatient Market

This Week in China: Nothing Is Good Enough for Impatient Market

(Bloomberg) -- Investors in Chinese assets are showing zero tolerance for negative news and setting a high bar for the good.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Patience is in short supply as Beijing sticks to a wait-and-see approach on the economy, taking little notice of calls for more forceful stimulus. While underwhelming growth and corporate earnings may partly explain the deterioration in sentiment, the speed at which bearishness spread across Chinese markets speaks to something more deep-rooted.

The yuan weakened past 7 per dollar for the first time this year, while the MSCI China Index of stocks set a new low for 2023. Even the government-bond rally stalled, with futures halting a seven-week rally.

China is slipping into a confidence trap for consumers, businesses and investors, to borrow a term used by Citigroup Inc. economists this week. Anxiety is elevated after three years of heated tensions with the West, President Xi Jinpings punishing regulatory campaigns and strict Covid-control policies that left a record number of young people unemployed and undermined commerce.

A meaningful policy response looks like the only thing that could provide support for stocks and the yuan at this point  and give companies and consumers long-sought clarity to spend. But such action isnt imminent, as I wrote in my latest Macro View. Stimulus or not, theres no quick fix for poor sentiment.

Heres my roundup of the weeks key developments for China markets:

Burry buys

Michael Burry, the hedge-fund manager played by actor Christian Bale in The Big Short movie, is betting big on two Chinese tech stocks. JD.com Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. have become the largest holdings of his Scion Asset Management and now account for 20% of his stock portfolio.

Michael Burry Doubles Alibaba Stake in Big Bet on China Tech

Chinese Stocks Make Comeback at Sohn HK Hedge Fund Summit

Youth unemployment

The jobless rate for Chinas 16-to-24 year olds has exceeded 20% for the first time since records began. Thats nearly four times the national rate. Youth unemployment will only worsen in the summer when almost 12 million graduates are set to enter the job market.

Chinas Record-High Youth Unemployment Rate Likely to Worsen

Property struggles

Signs of weakness are emerging in the countrys housing market. Price growth slowed to just 0.32% in April, showing more effort is needed to boost demand. Developers have debt worth 12% of gross domestic product at risk of default, Bloomberg Economics estimates.

Chinas Home-Price Growth Slows as Housing Rebound Fizzles

China Faces Property Debt Defaults Worth 12% of GDP, BE Says

Confidence trap

Economic data for April was disappointing across the board, prompting economists to cut their GDP estimates for the year and spurring calls for more stimulus measures. Waning momentum shows the lack of confidence among businesses and consumers may be more entrenched.

Chinas Waning Economic Recovery Spurs Calls for Stimulus

Yuan Slides Past Seven in New Warning Sign for Chinas Economy

Tech earnings

Big Tech earnings are also pointing to weaker-than-expected domestic consumer spending. For Alibaba, domestic commerce shrank 3% in the March quarter and its cloud division recorded its first-ever decline. Tencent Holdings Ltd. earnings missed estimates and even Baidu Inc.s better results did little to lift the stock.

Tencents Sales Rebound Though Concerns Persist on China Outlook

Baidus Revenue Beats After China Recovery Fuels Advertising

Alibaba Breakup Begins With Spinoff of $12 Billion Cloud Arm

No joke

A Chinese comedian lands in hot water after joking about a military slogan created by Xi. Authorities say the performance was harmful to the Peoples Liberation Army and fined his talk show about $2 million. Insulting the military was recently made a criminal offence.

China Fines Talk Show Firm $2 Million After Comic Teases PLA

Chinese Police Arrest Woman Who Defended Comics Military Joke

AI alarm bells

Chinas embrace of artificial intelligence for warfare has touched off alarm bells. Efforts by the US and China to outdo each other are sparking concerns of an AI arms race that could ultimately aggravate any conflict between the two countries. Former Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt said China invests far more in AI for defense than the US does.

China Military AI Use Raises Alarm for Congress, Ex-Google CEO

... and three things to watch for next week

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will lead a government delegation to attend a business forum in Shanghai, which has also invited a group of sanctioned tycoons.

More tech earnings are due. Next up include Kuaishou Technology  TikToks closest Chinese rival  as well as Xiaomi Corp. and NetEase Inc.

A domestic bias among US investors is paying off, with the S&P 500 now faring better than the MSCI China gauge over the past 12 months. American-based funds have remained underweight Chinese equities on average even when the market rallied.

For a deeper dive into where China stands now  and where its going next  sign up to the Next China newsletter.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
WestJet Cargo was spared disruption when the parent company reached a tentative labor deal with its pilots on Thursday. (Photo: WestJet)

WestJet, the second-largest passenger airline in Canada that recently added freighter service in North America, and the union representing 1,850 pilots reached a last-minute agreement in principle Thursday night on a new labor contract, avoiding a strike that would have shut down business.

The tentative agreement between management and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) must still be presented to union membership for a ratification vote. The pilots were ready to walk off the job Friday morning without a deal after nine months of negotiations.

ALPA said the collective bargaining agreement provides better job security, wages and flexible schedules, closing the gap in these areas with their North American counterparts.

When I started at WestJet 18 years ago, it was seen as a career destination, said Capt. Bernard Lewall, chair of the WestJet ALPA Master Executive Council. For the past several years, we have unfortunately been nothing more than a training ground for pilots looking to leave for better opportunities. This contract will change that and make WestJet a career destination once again.

WestJet said it is ramping up operations as quickly as possible after beginning a controlled wind down on Thursday to minimize passenger inconvenience and stranded aircraft.

The WestJet Group is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement that is industry-leading within Canada and recognizes the important contributions of our valued pilots by providing meaningful improvements to job security and scope, working conditions and wages, said CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech.





The resolution is good news for cargo owners that utilize WestJet to move goods. WestJet last month began operating an all-cargo unit with three Boeing 737-800 freighters connecting four Canadian cities, plus Miami and Los Angeles. A fourth freighter is expected to join the fleet this year. WestJet also moves cargo in the holds of passenger jets.

Air Canada adds freighter destination

In related news, Air Canada on Friday operated its first freighter flight into San Jose, Costa Rica, with one of its Boeing 767s. The flights will operate twice per week.

Air Canada has six Boeing 767 freighters in its fleet 18 months after launching a freighter airline. Four of the planes are retired passenger jets that were converted to cargo configuration and two are production freighters from Boeing that entered service this month. Air Canada is adding more destinations as cargo aircraft join the fleet.

The network expansion follows the start of weekly freighter service to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, this month, and the addition of Basel, Switzerland, as a freighter destination last month. Air Canada Cargo also recently added two weekly flights to Miami and Atlanta and one to Liege, Belgium.

The freighter division also flies to Dallas; Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; Lima, Peru; Bogota, Colombia; Frankfurt and Cologne, Germany; Barcelona, Spain; and Istanbul.

Having freighters in addition to passenger service allows Air Canada to provide consistent, year-round capacity to cargo owners.

Click here for more FreightWaves and American Shipper articles by Eric Kulisch.

Contact Reporter: ekulisch@freightwaves.com

RECOMMENDED READING:

FedEx pilots empower union leaders to call a strike

WestJet pilot lockout would halt new all-cargo operation

Amerijet pilots reach tentative labor agreement

The post WestJet averts pilots strike, agrees to new contract appeared first on FreightWaves.
While institutions invested in Summerset Group Holdings Limited (NZSE:SUM) benefited from last week's 6.3% gain, retail investors stood to gain the most

Key Insights

Significant control over Summerset Group Holdings by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions

A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 47% ownership

Institutional ownership in Summerset Group Holdings is 42%

A look at the shareholders of Summerset Group Holdings Limited (NZSE:SUM) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 53% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While retail investors were the group that benefitted the most from last weeks NZ$119m market cap gain, institutions too had a 42% share in those profits.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Summerset Group Holdings, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Summerset Group Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Summerset Group Holdings?

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.

Summerset Group Holdings already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Summerset Group Holdings, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Summerset Group Holdings. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Fisher Funds Management Limited with 7.2% of shares outstanding. Harbour Asset Management Limited is the second largest shareholder owning 5.7% of common stock, and New Zealand Superannuation Fund holds about 5.0% of the company stock.

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.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Summerset Group Holdings

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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 Summerset Group Holdings Limited insiders own under 1% of the company. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own NZ$4.8m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 53% stake in Summerset Group Holdings, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Summerset Group Holdings (including 1 which is a bit concerning) .

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE:RHI) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. Meaning, you will need to purchase Robert Half International's shares before the 24th of May to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 15th of June.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.48 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$1.92 per share. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Robert Half International has a trailing yield of 2.8% on the current share price of $68.58. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

See our latest analysis for Robert Half International

Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Robert Half International paid out a comfortable 31% of its profit last year. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. Fortunately, it paid out only 31% of its free cash flow in the past year.

It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. Fortunately for readers, Robert Half International's earnings per share have been growing at 20% a year for the past five years. Earnings per share have been growing rapidly and the company is retaining a majority of its earnings within the business. This will make it easier to fund future growth efforts and we think this is an attractive combination - plus the dividend can always be increased later.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the past 10 years, Robert Half International has increased its dividend at approximately 12% a year on average. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.

The Bottom Line

Should investors buy Robert Half International for the upcoming dividend? We love that Robert Half International is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. These characteristics suggest the company is reinvesting in growing its business, while the conservative payout ratio also implies a reduced risk of the dividend being cut in the future. Overall we think this is an attractive combination and worthy of further research.

While it's tempting to invest in Robert Half International for the dividends alone, you should always be mindful of the risks involved. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Robert Half International you should know about.

If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top dividend stocks.

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
Montana on Wednesday became the first state in the country to ban TikTok. But experts say you shouldnt expect the measure to survive challenges in the courts.

In addition to the technical difficulties of banning an app in a specific geographic location, the law, SB 419, likely violates Montana residents First Amendment rights.

The ban is a dramatic and unconstitutional incursion on the First Amendment rights of Montanans, Ramya Krishnan, staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute and a lecturer in law at Columbia Law School, told Yahoo Finance. To justify the ban, Montana would have to show that it's necessary to prevent actual harms. And it hasn't done this.

The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2024, would hold companies like Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) liable if they make TikTok available for download in the state. Each violation would cost the companies $10,000 per user and an additional $10,000 for each day the app remains available.

In a statement after signing the bill, Gov. Greg Gianforte said the Chinese Communist Party is using TikTok to spy on Americans, violate their privacy, and collect personal, private, and sensitive information.

The broader problem for Montanas law, experts say, is that its simply too broad.

The legal hurdle is the First Amendment, David Greene, civil liberties director and senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, explained via email. This law, as a restriction on the way Montanans speak and receive speech, will need to be justified by the state as an appropriately narrow and effective way of protecting Montanans personal data. That will be very difficult to do.

Banned in Billings: Fans stand near a TikTok logo during the fourth inning of a baseball game in NYC. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Vague allegations

The US has long accused TikTok of collecting data on Americans and feeding it to the Chinese government. Reasons include, potentially, building a database on American users, storing data to blackmail citizens, or trying to spread disinformation online.

The main fear is that China can use its national intelligence law to force TikTok parent company ByteDance to turn over any data on American users to the Chinese government. TikTok, however, has said it has never shared information with the Chinese government.

To assuage US fears that China can gain access to Americans user data, TikTok is working with Oracle (ORCL) to move all US user data to that companys servers. The cloud provider will also audit TikToks code. But according to Bloomberg, that process is on hold.

Sign up for Yahoo Finance's tech newsletter.

Neither the US government nor Montana has provided concrete evidence that China is siphoning American user data from TikTok. And thats a major problem for the new law. Speculative harms can't justify a total ban on a communications platform, let alone one that is used by...Americans in the state of Montana, said Krishnan.

Even enforcing the ban could prove problematic for Montana. If the state chooses to determine residents locations based on their internet protocol addresses, they could accidentally block citizens of bordering states from downloading TikTok, as well. Montanans could also use virtual private networks to mask their location and download the app anyway.

A privacy law?

Rather than outright banning TikTok, experts say the best way to address concerns that the company is harvesting Americans data is through a national data privacy law. Congress has discussed the topic for years without passing any legislation.

First look at passing a federal privacy lawto ensure that there are specific limits and rules for the road of how any online service, TikTok included, can collect and use and share people's personal information, Emma Llanso, director of the Center for Democracy and Technology's Free Expression Project told Yahoo Finance.

That would be an enormous step forward for people's privacy, and would not require banning any apps whatsoever.

According to Llanso, the government could also put restrictions on how data brokers in the US share Americans information.

They could put limits on that or put a stop to that, and that would be a much more meaningful way to protect the safety and security of people's data from foreign government surveillance, she explained.

Regardless, we wont have to wait long to find out how Montanas ban will fare in the courts. According to Reuters, a group of five Montana TikTok users are already suing the state to block the ban.

The clock is ticking.

Daniel Howley is the tech editor at Yahoo Finance. He's been covering the tech industry since 2011. Follow him @DanielHowley

Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and YouTube

Find live stock market quotes and the latest business and finance news
XRP gains; Lift-off for Space Pepe NFTs; US investor sentiment up on positive debt talks

Bitcoin and Ether prices fell on Friday morning in Asia. After a bullish run, Litecoin joined most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies in recording losses. XRP was the sole winner. It recorded gains following the launch of its new central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform by its issuer Ripple. U.S. equity futures moved higher after a strong rally in regular trading Thursday. Positive earnings reports, debt ceiling talks both played a role.

See related article: Is Tether unmoored  or just dandy?

XRP makes standout gain

Bitcoin fell 1.97% to US$26,852.75 in the 24 hours to 7:45 a.m. Friday in Hong Kong, down 0.67% over the last seven days according to CoinMarketCap data.

The dip back below the $27,000 threshold indicated a return to a bearish trend following gains Thursday. That trend should be short lived, however, said financial analyst Tone Vays during an interview.

I do believe that we have bottomed. We are now in a halving cycle which tends to have Bitcoin go up with less than one year to the halving event.

Halving refers to a pre-programmed reduction of the rate at which new tokens are created, which reduces supply and can drive prices higher.

We have had an extended bear market and its just time for Bitcoin to rise again, Vays added.

Like Bitcoin, Ether fell 0.92% to US$1,804.6. However, it posted gains of 0.29% for the week.

XRP was the sole gainer among the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies. It gained 2.68% to US$0.4607 while adding 9.13% in the last seven days.

Those gains followed an announcement Thursday by Ripple Labs. The payment protocol and exchange network said it is launching a platform for a CBDC as part of Hong Kongs inaugural e-HKD (electronic Hong Kong dollar) pilot program.

The Ripple platform will offer a frictionless end-to-end solution for central banks, governments, and financial institutions to issue their own central bank digital currency, according to a company press release.

Ripple will partner with Taiwan-based Fubon Bank on the project.

The announcement followed further Ripple-related news earlier this week. On Wednesday, a U.S. federal judge denied a motion filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to prevent public access to the so-called Hinman document.

These internal documents relate to former SEC director William Hinmans comments that Bitcoin and Ether are not financial securities. The decision is considered a win for Ripple Labs in its ongoing legal dispute with the SEC. The regulator accuses them of providing unregistered securities.

Elsewhere, most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies traded lower. Solana led the losers. It fell 3.4% to US$20.36, but was up 0.37% over the past seven days.

Litecoin lost ground after a bullish week. It was down 3.37% to US$90.77.

The Bitcoin-like cryptocurrency had seen a surge in recent interest. This was mainly due to congestion and higher transaction fees on the Bitcoin network associated with the current popularity of ordinals. The Litecoin network has also now seen its own surge in ordinal inscriptions.

On the recent popularity of ordinals on the Bitcoin network in particular, Vays identified a solution to the operational issues it raises.

The Bitcoin main chain was not really designed for this kind of purpose, he said. Yes, the Bitcoin blockchain can be used for these kinds of projects. I just wish they were done on the Liquid sidechain.

The layer 2 solution Liquid offers ways to incorporate ordinals and other initiatives on the Bitcoin blockchain without raising transactions fees, he added.

The total crypto market capitalization fell 1.44% in the past 24 hours to US$1.12 trillion. Total trading volume lost 6.46% to US$32.07 billion.

Space Pepe NFTs soar 28270%

The indexes are proxy measures of the performance of the global NFT market. They are managed by CryptoSlam, a sister company of Forkast.News under the Forkast.Labs umbrella.

In the non-fungible token market, the Forkast 500 NFT index rose 0.1% to 3,387.40 points in the 24 hours to 9:30 a.m. in Hong Kong. It was up 0.1% over the last seven days.

Daily NFT sales on Ethereum, the leading blockchain for NFTs, fell 17.31% to US$14.4 million. Sales on the Bitcoin blockchain also lost 11.45% according to CryptoSlam! data to US$6.9 million.

Space Pepes, a Bitcoin NFT collection based on the Pepe the Frog meme, skyrocketed 28270% to US$7.3 million in the last 24 hours leading up to 11:30 a.m. in Hong Kong. The collection topped Cryptoslams NFT collection ranking by sales volume.

Uncategorized Ordinals  Cryptoslams category of Bitcoin Ordinals that are not part of one established collection  rose 140.12% to US$1.9 million over the past 24 hours.

The Mythos blockchain-based DMarket NFT collection ranked second. DMarket consists of online gaming NFTs traded on the game-item marketplace of the same name. It was acquired by blockchain game maker Mythical Games in January this year.

In individual NFT sales, Bored Ape Yacht Clubs #5042 registered the highest price. It sold for US$172,135.

U.S. equities rally; hawkish noises from the Fed

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell | Image: Getty Images

U.S. stock futures traded higher as of 10:45 a.m. in Hong Kong, adding momentum to Thursdays rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edged up 0.074%, while the S&P 500 futures gained 0.17%. The Nasdaq Composite futures added 0.28% after it gained 1.51% during market trading on Thursday.

The three Wall Street stock indexes rose after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy said a bill to raise the countrys debt ceiling could be put to a vote next week. The comments followed positive talks with U.S. President Joe Biden, easing investor concerns that the U.S. could default on its debt.

That scenario, which would have major repercussions for U.S. and global markets, can be avoided if the White House and congress can agree to raise the debt ceiling.

Biden and McCarthy have been actively discussing a solution to the ongoing standoff throughout this week.Biden too has expressed optimism that an agreement can be reached.

Democratic negotiators informed the president Friday that they are making steady progress on debt ceiling talks ahead of his attendance in Japan for the weekends Group of Seven summit.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned earlier this month that the U.S. will start to fail to make its debt payments as early as June 1. Yellen called for fast action on raising the debt ceiling, as she said a debt default would devastate jobs and businesses in the country.

On the relationship between the crisis and crypto markets, Clara Medalie, Head of Research at crypto market data provider Kaiko, told Forkast via email that there was so far little sign of any impact based on recent price movements.This is in large part because the event hasnt yet played out and there remains hope that a deal will be reached before June 1, she added.

Elsewhere, U.S. investors saw positive Q1 earnings results from major U.S. companies.

Walmart, the worlds largest company by revenue, reported 7.6% total revenue growth for the quarter. We had a strong quarter. Comp sales were strong globally with eCommerce up 26%. We leveraged expenses, expanded operating margin, and grew profit ahead of sales, said Walmart President Doug McMillion in the companys earnings report.

California-based tech manufacturer Nvidia stocks jumped nearly 5% on Thursday after the company announced that it partnered with another California-based cloud software company ServiceNow to build AI for enterprises.

On interest rates, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to speak publicly on Friday. He is expected to signpost the central banks latest policy views on inflation and rates.

Other members of the Fed made hawkish comments Thursday. Fed governor Philip Jefferson said the U.S. should wait to assess the full effect of higher interest rates on inflation so far before deciding to rule out further hikes.

Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan also said that it is not yet time to pause interest rate hikes.

U.S. interest rates are now between 5% and 5.25%, the highest since 2006. The Fed meets again on June 14 to decide if another rate hike is necessary. Inflation was at 4.9% in April, lower than expected but still ahead of the Feds 2% target.

The CME FedWatch Tool predicts a 66.7% chance the Fed will leave rates unchanged in June, down from 76.2% a day prior. It predicts a 33.3% chance for another 25 basis-point rate increase.
New York City's public schools reverse their ban on ChatGPT  admitting it had been 'knee-jerk fear'

Yung Wing School, P.S. 124, is one among thousands of schools that will now embrace ChatGPT. Michael Loccisano / Staff/ Getty Images

New York City public schools are lifting the ban they placed on ChatGPT in January.

David Banks, chancellor of the NYC public school system, said the tool caught NYC schools off-guard.

Banks said he's committed to supporting educators and students as they learn about the technology.

The New York City public school system is reversing its ban on ChatGPT.

The NYC Department of Education initially banned the AI bot back in January  less than two months after the tool was released  citing its potential for "negative impacts on student learning, and concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content," Insider previously reported.

Several other school districts across the country placed restrictions on ChatGPT earlier this year, too, including Baltimore County Public Schools, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and Seattle Public Schools.



Now, the NYC school system is saying it's ready to embrace AI in the classroom.

In an op-ed published on Thursday on education news site Chalkbeat, David Banks, the head of New York's public schools, admitted that the bot was banned, in part, out of "knee-jerk fear."

Banks, who's chancellor of the city's Department of Education, contended that the initial response was still "justified" as it allowed the school system time to understand how the tool could enhance education. Banks noted that his team conducted discussions with tech industry leaders and citywide educators as part of this learning process.

"New York City Public Schools will encourage and support our educators and students as they learn about and explore this game-changing technology while also creating a repository and community to share their findings across our schools," Banks wrote.

He added that educators will be provided with a toolkit of resources as they begin discussions and lessons about AI in the classroom. They will also be given "real-life examples" of how AI has been successfully implemented into schools to facilitate administrative tasks, communication, and teaching.

"Our nation is potentially on the brink of a significant societal shift driven by generative artificial intelligence," Banks wrote. "We will also ensure our students are supported by AI's opportunities and prepared for the jobs of today and the future."

The NYC Department of Education did not immediately respond to Insider's request for a comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
(Bloomberg) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is attending a summit of Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Friday, which includes leaders either neutral toward Russias invasion of Ukraine or outwardly supportive of President Vladimir Putin.

Most Read from Bloomberg

He will address the gathering and meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to a post on Telegram.

Zelenskiy arrived in Jeddah aboard a French plane that took off from Poland, according to Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV. Its Zelenskiys first visit to the Persian Gulf since the start of the war in February 2022, and is a stop off on his way to the Group of Seven meeting in Japan.

Al Arabiya showed Zelenskiy in his trademark khaki overalls stepping off the plane to be greeted by Saudi officials. A Saudi military officer saluted the Ukrainian leader before he was whisked away in a sedan.

Among the leaders in attendance is Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, who was propped up by Russian military intervention during his countrys war and remains dependent on Moscows support. Many Western officials and analysts have said that Putins decision to seize Crimea in 2014 was influenced by what he saw as inaction by Western powers in Syria, despite Assad being accused of perpetrating atrocities against his people.

Saudi Arabia is eager to be seen as the regions uncontested economic and political leader. Its increasingly playing the role of conflict mediator.

When it comes to Russia, Saudi Arabia sees OPEC+  an alliance of oil producers led by Riyadh and Moscow  as crucial for the stability of energy markets. Still, it has tried to strike a balanced approach to the war in Ukraine.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan traveled to Kyiv in February, where he met with Zelenskiy and offered more than $400 million in financial support. Both Ukraine and its allies in Europe and the US may be looking to the oil-rich kingdom and other Gulf Arab states as a source of further funding. The Ukraine Recovery Conference will be held in London next month.

--With assistance from Kateryna Kadabashy.

(Updates with details on Zelenskiys arrival.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

For the second year in a row, Spotsylvania School Board members attended a conference with ties to several conservative political groups.

According to the list of payments posted weekly to the Spotsylvania County Public Schools website, the school division paid $500 in March for two registrations to the Virginia School Board Summit.

The summit, which was held March 34, was sponsored by the Noah Webster Educational Foundation  an organization that includes parental engagement and faith and morality among its five core principles. The event was described as being designed to equip advocates for conservative values in education.

Additional sponsors of the summit included the Middle Resolution Policy Network  the policy arm of the Middle Resolution Political Action Committee, which has spent $1.5 million supporting Republican candidates for state and local office since 2009, according to the Virginia Public Access Project  and the Family Foundation, a faith-based organization headquartered in Richmond that advocate(s) for policies based on Biblical principles, according to its website.

The Family Foundation publishes a parental rights report card that ranks members of the state Senate Education and Health Committee based on how they voted on bills supporting anti-CRT education, school library oversight, education savings accounts, charter schools and the expansion of school choice legislation.

The Virginia School Board Summit included presentations on Oversight of Sexual Content in Curriculum and School Libraries and Social-Emotional Learning: Past, Present and Future Implications.

Last May, School Board members Lisa Phelps and April Gillespie attended a Virginia Education Summit sponsored by the Middle Resolution Policy Network, which drew criticism from two other board members who said their requests to attend conferences sponsored by the Virginia School Board Association were denied by then-Chair Kirk Twigg.

In addition to the registration fee for the School Board Summit, the school division paid just under $500 for lodging in Glen Allen for the conference, according to the April 21, 2023, bill list.

Also in April, the school division paid $500 in dues for Gillespie and Phelps to join the School Board Member Alliance, a new professional organization founded to promote governance training for school board members in common sense policies, parental rights, school choice, transparent governance, and fiscal responsibility, according to its website.

Membership in SBMA is by individual, rather than as an entire board, which is how the VSBA operates.

Spotsylvania schools in May paid $435 for two registrations to the annual VSBA conference, which will take place in July.

Earlier this year, the School Board voted narrowly to eliminate the ability of employees to have membership dues in the Spotsylvania Education Association deducted automatically from their paychecks, for the reason that voluntary donations to SEA violate policy that prohibits using school division property to engage in any activity supporting or opposing a candidate for public office or a political party.

According to VPAP, SEA has only ever made one campaign donation: $250 to then-Sen. Edd Houck, a Democrat, in 2008.

SEA is a local branch of the Virginia Education Association, which has a voluntary political arm that has contributed a total of $1.8 million to both Republican and Democratic candidates and groups since 1996.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The Lloyd Moss Free Clinic received its first-ever grant from the Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation, which announced its awarding $775,000 to dental centers and free clinics across the state.

Moss will use its $56,000 award to hire a part-time dental hygienist, said Corie Bacher, grants and development manager at the clinic. Historically, the facility has had to focus on emergency treatments such as extractions and fillings as well as partial dentures. The grant will allow Moss to provide more preventive measures, including treatments and regular cleanings so clients can keep their teeth.

Plus, good oral hygiene often equates to good overall health, Bacher said. Almost three of every four Moss patients have one or more chronic medical conditions which is made worse by poor dental health, she said.

We are overjoyed to receive funding that will enable us to provide preventative hygiene treatments that will not only improve their smile but will help improve their overall health, Bacher said.

Statewide, the grants were awarded to safety-net providers focused on meeting critical oral health needs in Virginia, according to a news release from Delta Dental. They come at a critical time, said Frank Lucia, president and CEO of Delta Dental of Virginia.

More than ever before, our safety-net clinic partners tell us they are facing workforce challenges that are limiting access for the regions most vulnerable patients, he said.

The Piedmont Regional Dental Clinic in Orange County also received a Delta grant which it will use to hire a community health worker focused on oral-health education and reducing barriers to treatment. The clinic will collaborate with schools, free clinics, child care centers and shelters, according to Deltas website, which lists all of this years grant recipients.

Since 2012, the Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation has donated more than $6 million toward oral-health programs for state residents.

At Moss, dental services are provided by dentists and hygienists who volunteer their time as well as through a partnership with the Germanna Community College dental program. Services include oral examinations, x-rays, cleanings, oral cancer screenings, extractions, fillings and limited denture services.

Dental care is offered to all Moss Free clinic patients, according to the Moss clinic website at mossfreeclinic.org/services/dental-care. Existing Moss patients also can call 540/741-3709 to schedule a dental appointment.
TEHRAN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran's foreign minister on Friday urged Taliban to allow the visit of Iranian technical teams to Afghanistan's Kajakai Dam to measure its water level and verify drought claims.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a post on his Twitter page, reacting to Taliban's claims that the low water level of the Hirmand River is the reason for their failure to honor Iran's water rights under a 1973 treaty.

The Hirmand Treaty between Iran and Afghanistan entitled the former to receive 20 million cubic meters of water from the river per year.

On Thursday, the Taliban government issued a statement, saying Iran's frequent requests for water and "inappropriate" comments on media are "harmful," adding it is committed to the 1973 treaty.

This comes as the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) spokesman said Thursday that satellite photos show that the Taliban have made alterations to the river's route, preventing its water from reaching Iran.

The Hirmand River originates in the Hindu Kush Mountains near Afghanistan's capital Kabul and runs 1,126 kilometers south before flowing into Hamoun wetlands, located in Iran's southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan provinces, which Amir-Abdollahian said are suffering from drought. 
Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has been released from a Milan hospital, a month and a half after he was admitted with a lung infection. Berlusconi waved at journalists from behind a closed window as his car drove away from the San Raffaele Hospital. The 86-yeaer-old three-time former premier and media mogul has been treated for chronic leukemia, in addition to the lung infection that landed him in the hospital on April 5.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina made it official Friday: He's running for president. The Senate's only Black Republican has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Committee declaring his intention to seek his party's nomination. His candidacy will test whether a more optimistic vision of Americas future can resonate with GOP voters who have elevated partisan brawlers in recent years. The deeply religious 57-year-old former insurance broker has made his grandfathers work in the cotton fields of the Deep South a bedrock of his political identity. Scott is scheduled to make a formal announcement on Monday in his hometown of North Charleston.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

With more emergency medical calls and fewer volunteer first-responders throughout the nation, Micheal Dwyer hopes the public will watch an inspirational new movie.

Dwyer is a firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for the Arlington Volunteer Fire Department. This weekend, hell be among volunteer firefighters from across the state wholl attend the Nebraska Fire School in Grand Island.

The Nebraska State Volunteer Firefighters Association sponsors the event, which offers training and opportunities for camaraderie.

This year, participants also will get the see a new film, Odd Hours, No Pay, Cool Hat, before its released. The Nebraska Fire School will be one of the first places in the nation to show it. The film is expected to debut in theaters later this summer and Oct. 1 on Amazon.

Dwyer said film showings are planned at the Arlington Summer Sizzle festival as well as in Blair and the Quasar Drive-In in Valley.

The movie is very inspirational, said Dwyer, whos seen the film twice. The quote that Ive heard  and repeated  several times is: It reminded me again why I do this.

Dwyer describes the 92-minute film as a documentary, but also as an entertaining movie. The film features volunteer firefighters from across the country.

It talks about a young lady from northern California, whose whole neighborhood was devastated by a wildfire, he said.

Not wanting this to happen to her community again, she decided to join a volunteer fire department.

The movie features a vignette of a Hasidic Jewish enclave in New York. A young man from that community loved the idea of firefighting. But beards worn by men in that community prevent a firefighting mask from fitting tightly on the wearers face, thus posing the danger of the person breathing in smoke.

The fire department has had the young man do all the fire department-related jobs, except running into a fire.

Hes an incredibly valuable member of that department  not only as a firefighter, but as a liaison with that entire community. Both sides have benefitted so much, Dwyer said.

A Texas man, who struggled when he was young, later found that the fire service helped him be a better person. Now, hes working to pass down what hes learned to his son.

Besides being entertaining, the movie highlights the wonderful service the volunteer firefighters provide to the nation and encourages anyone, who might be interested, to contact their local volunteer fire department, Dwyer said.

Produced in cooperation with John Deere and the National Volunteer Fire Council, the film has been called a game changer for volunteer fire and EMS services that continue to struggle for members, the NVFC said in a prepared statement.

Dwyer and the NVFC note the need for volunteer first responders.

Fire and emergency medical calls in almost all parts of the country are up as much as 20%. At the same time, the numbers of volunteer responders continue to fall.

Call volumes are up, Dwyer said. Numbers of responders are down. Thats not a recipe for success.

Dwyer said volunteer fire and rescue departments have struggled in the last 25 years to maintain responder levels. Some of this can be attributed to dwindling populations in smaller towns.

Thats not true of Arlington and most of the towns in eastern Nebraska, but it is true in central and western Nebraska, Dwyer said. They have a smaller pool to choose from. In addition, the sense of volunteerism isnt quite what it used to be.

Dwyer said Arlington has a number of great young people in its department  including nine new members in the last two years, something thats almost unheard of.

The Arlington department has 31 members, total, about 20 of whom are active and make most of the calls.

Dwyer has served in the Arlington department for 38 years. During his first 20 years of service, Dwyer said 65 to 70 calls was a pretty busy year.

Last year, we did 156 calls, he said. Were slated to be closer to 180 to 190 calls this year.

Most involve emergency medical services calls. Dwyer said about 80% are EMS (rescue) calls, while 20% involve fire calls.

Which is more unbalanced than it has been historically, Dwyer added.

When Dwyer joined the Arlington department in 1983 the percentage was 60% EMS calls and roughly 40% fire calls.

Dwyer said state and national associations and local departments are now in the business of recruiting and retention of first responders.

He noted that paid departments have long had an advantage in recruiting and retaining first responders.

This is because these are paid positions with opportunities for promotions and a good retirement system  as should be the case, he said. Thus many volunteers, who found they loved firefighting and EMS work, were attracted to paid positions.

But in the last two or three years, even paid departments have struggled to find people.

Dwyer noted that some departments are doing well, however. Much of that has to do leadership and a regular recruiting and retention program.

It is a different set of skills than running into a fire or helping somebody stop bleeding, he said of recruiting and retention. Its not a skill that we learn real early and that they teach us in fire school  although they teach it now.

Dwyer said about 1,700 firefighters, instructors and support staff plan to attend the NSVFAs fire school May 19-21. The event offers 29 classes in a host of topics from fire prevention to rope rescue, wildland firefighting and fire investigations.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The cold formality of the letter is seared in Debra Long's memory.

It began "Dear Claimant," and said her 24-year-old son, Randy, who was fatally shot in April 2006, was not an "innocent" victim. Without further explanation, the New York state agency that assists violent-crime victims and their families refused to help pay for his funeral.

Randy was a father, engaged to be married and studying to become a juvenile probation officer when his life was cut short during a visit to Brooklyn with friends. His mother, angry and bewildered by the letter, wondered: What did authorities see  or fail to see  in Randy?

"It felt racial. It felt like they saw a young African American man who was shot and killed and assumed he must have been doing something wrong," Long said. "But believe me when I say, not my son."

Debra Long had bumped up against a well-intentioned corner of the criminal justice system that is often perceived as unfair.

Every state has a program to reimburse victims for lost wages, medical bills, funerals and other expenses, awarding hundreds of millions in aid each year. But an Associated Press examination found that Black victims and their families are disproportionately denied compensation in many states, often for subjective reasons that experts say are rooted in racial biases.

The AP found disproportionately high denial rates in 19 out of 23 states willing to provide detailed racial data, the largest collection of such data to date. In some states, including Indiana, Georgia and South Dakota, Black applicants were nearly twice as likely as white applicants to be denied. From 2018 through 2021, the denials added up to thousands of Black families each year collectively missing out on millions of dollars in aid.

The reasons for the disparities are complex and eligibility rules vary somewhat by state, but experts  including leaders of some of the programs  point to a few common factors:

* State employees reviewing applications often base decisions on information from police reports and follow-up questionnaires that seek officers' opinions of victims' behavior  both of which may contain implicitly biased descriptions of events.

* Those same employees may be influenced by their own biases when reviewing events that led to victims' injuries or deaths. Without realizing it, a review of the facts morphs into an assessment of victims' perceived culpability.

* Many state guidelines were designed decades ago with biases that benefited victims who would make the best witnesses, disadvantaging those with criminal histories, unpaid fines or addictions, among others.

As the wider criminal justice system  from police departments to courts  reckons with institutional racism in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd, compensation programs are also beginning to scrutinize how their policies affect people of color.

"We have this long history in victims services in this country of fixating on whether people are bad or good," said Elizabeth Ruebman, an expert with a national network of victims-compensation advocates and a former adviser to New Jersey's attorney general on the state's program.

As a result, Black and brown applicants tend to face more scrutiny because of implicit biases, Ruebman said.

In some states examined by AP, such as New York and Nebraska, the denial rates for Black and white applicants weren't too far apart. But the data revealed apparent bias in other ways: While white families were more likely to be denied for administrative reasons, such as missing deadlines or seeking aid for crimes that aren't covered, Black families were more likely to be denied for subjective reasons, such as whether they may have said or done something to provoke a violent crime.

In Delaware, where Black applicants accounted for less than half of the compensation requests between 2018 and 2021 but more than 63% of denials, officials acknowledged that even the best of intentions are no match for systemic bias.

"State compensation programs are downstream resources in a criminal justice system whose headwaters are inextricably commingled with the history of racial inequity in our country," Mat Marshall, a spokesman for Delaware's attorney general wrote in an email. "Even race-neutral policy at the programmatic level may not accomplish neutral outcomes under the shadows that race and criminal justice cast on one another."

The financial impact of a crime-related injury or death can be significant. Out of pocket expenses for things like crime scene cleanup or medical care can add up to thousands of dollars, prompting people to take out loans, drain savings or rely on family members.

Nebraska lags behind in payments

While Nebraska's denial rates for Black victims might not be far apart from white applicants, a recent story written by the Flatwater Free Press revealed the state's program lagged behind every nearby state in the number and amount of payments made to help crime victims.





The Nebraska program also takes, on average, nearly half a calendar year to decide on claims, the news organization reported.

The numbers reflect the frustration outlined in a recent legislative report and stories told by advocates fed up with what they view as a broken system.

Iowa approved the applications of almost 5,700 crime victims in the past two years for which data is available, using a mix of state money and federal dollars available to all 50 states.

In that same two-year period, Nebraska approved the requests of 118 victims.

Iowa paid victims $10.4 million. Nebraska: $561,000.

Don Arp Jr., the director of the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, which administers the program, defended it when presented with the Flatwater data.

Arp wrote in an email that comparing Nebraska to other states would not be helpful since each state has its own rules and requirements.

I know our program is serving crime victims well, he wrote.

But advocates said theyre often hesitant to recommend that victims apply, because they believe denial is inevitable. The program denies about half of the applications it receives, most due to incomplete information or an ineligible crime.

Denial based on victim's behavior

After Randy was killed, Debra Long paid for his funeral with money she had saved for a down payment on her first house. Seventeen years later, she still rents an apartment in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Thousands of people are denied compensation every year for reasons having nothing to do with the crime itself. They are denied because of victims' behavior before or after a crime.

Applicants can be denied if police or other officials say they failed to cooperate with an investigation. That can inadvertently harm people who are wary of retribution for talking to police, or people who don't have information. A Chicago woman who was shot in the back was denied for failing to cooperate even though she couldn't identify the shooter because she never saw the person.

And compensation can be denied merely based on circumstantial evidence or suspicions, unlike the burden of proof that is necessary in criminal investigations.

Many states deny compensation based on a vaguely defined category of behavior  often called "contributory misconduct"  that includes anything from using an insult during a fight to having drugs in your system. Other times people have been denied because police found drugs on the ground nearby.

In the data examined by AP, Black applicants were almost three times as likely as applicants of other races to be denied for behavior-based reasons, including contributory misconduct.

"A lot of times it's perception," said Chantay Love, the executive director of the Every Murder is Real Healing Center in Philadelphia.

Love rattles off recent examples: A man killed while trying to break up a fight was on parole and was denied compensation, the state reasoned, because he should have steered clear of the incident; another was stabbed to death, and the state said he contributed because he checked himself out of a mental-health treatment facility a few hours earlier against a doctor's advice.

Long scoured the police account of her son's shooting. She called detectives and pleaded to know if they had said anything to the Office of Victims Services that would have implicated her son in some kind of a crime. There was nothing in the report. And detectives said they hadn't submitted any additional information.

Every chance Long got, she reminded detectives and the state officials reviewing her claim that Randy had never been in trouble with the police. She wanted them to understand the injustice was also being felt by Randy's then-toddler son, who would only know his father through other people's memories.

Long kept information about her son's case in a box near her kitchen. As more than 20 notebooks full of conversations with detectives piled up, Long tucked the state's rejection letter inside a folder so she wouldn't lose it, but also so she didn't have to see it every time she searched for something.

"What plays in their mind is that their loved one wasn't important," said Love of the Philadelphia-based advocacy group. "It takes the power away from it being a homicide, and it creates a portion of blame for the victim."

In recent years, several states and cities have changed eligibility rules to focus less on victims' behavior before or after crimes.

In Pennsylvania, a law went into effect in September that says applicants cannot be denied financial help with funerals or counseling services because of a homicide victim's behavior. In Illinois, a new program director has retrained employees on ways unconscious bias can creep into their decisions. And in Newark, New Jersey, police have changed the language they use in reports to describe interactions with victims, leading to fewer denials for failure to cooperate.

Long, who now works as a victims advocate, was in a training in 2021 when a speaker began praising New York state's compensation program. Long tried to stay quiet and get through the training, but couldn't. She told the group about her experience and the weight of the letter.

Later, an Office of Victims Services employee approached Long and convinced her to reapply, saying the agency had been improved through training and other changes that would benefit her case. A few weeks later, and nearly 15 years after Randy was buried, Long's application was approved and the state sent her a check for $6,000  the amount she would have received back in 2006. She used part of that money to help Randy's son, who is now in college, pay for summer classes.

"It's not about the monetary amount," Long said. "It was the way I felt I was treated."
The job of a state legislator is to pass laws, but in Colorado, some are more effective than others.

To figure out the most and least successful lawmakers of the state's 2023 legislative session, Colorado Politics looked at the bills they prime-sponsored in both chambers and ranked the number of bills passed, percentage of bills passed and percentage of bills with bipartisan sponsorship, according to the Colorado General Assembly's website.

Democrats predictably won big this session after the November election increased their hold over the state legislature to a 69-31 split  the largest Democratic advantage in 85 years. But while Democrats topped the lists for most bills passed, Republicans led in bipartisanship, a reflection of their need to compromise with the supermajority in order to address their legislative agenda. Plus, some categories that were one-party topics last year featured both this year, and vice versa.

On average, each of the 100 lawmakers sponsored nearly 20 bills this year. The House and Senate approved approximately 82% of each legislator's bills, and around 52% received bipartisan sponsorship.

Heres how the top and bottom legislators stack up:

Most bills passed by number

Unsurprisingly, the top three lawmakers on this list are members of the Joint Budget Committee, whose responsibilities include the annual budget package, supplemental funding and about two dozen orbital bills to balance the budget. But unlike last year, JBC members didn't dominate the entire top five. This year, Sens. Faith Winter and Dylan Roberts beat out three JBC members who ranked sixth, eighth and 10th in overall bills passed.

First: Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, D-Arvada  83 bills

Second: Rep. Shannon Bird, D-Westminster  79 bills

Third: Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton  49 bills

Fourth: Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster  45 bills

Fifth: Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Avon  44 bills

Least bills passed by number

This list includes the House lawmakers that lean the furthest right ideologically, dubbed the far-right four: Reps. Stephanie Luck, Scott Bottoms, Ken DeGraaf and Brandi Bradley. The group often clashed with the Democratic supermajority, debating bills for hours, but not pursuing much legislation themselves. Bottoms, DeGraaf and Bradley  and the two Democrats on this list  are all first-year lawmakers. This is Luck's second year in a row topping this list.

First (tie): Rep. Stephanie Luck, R-Penrose; Rep. Scott Bottoms, R-Colorado Springs; and Rep. Ken DeGraaf, R-Colorado Springs  1 bill

Fourth: Sen. Jim Smallwood, R-Parker  4 bills

Fifth (tie): Rep. Tisha Mauro, D-Pueblo; Rep. Bob Marshall, D-Highlands Ranch; and Rep. Brandi Bradley, R-Littleton  5 bills

Most bills passed by percentage

Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, chair of the Joint Budget Committee, also tops this list, passing every one of the 83 bills she introduced this session. Only Democrats achieved this perfect score, including party leaders like House Speaker Julie McCluskie, Senate President Steve Fenberg and House Majority Leader Monica Duran. First-year Reps. Kyle Brown, William Lindstedt and Ruby Dickson also managed to pass all of their bills.

First: Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, D-Arvada  100% of 83 introduced bills

Second: Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Avon  100% of 44 bills

Third: Sen. Tony Exum, D-Colorado Springs  100% of 18 bills

Fourth: Rep. Meg Froelich, D-Englewood  100% of 16 bills

Fifth (tie): House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, and Rep. Lindsey Daugherty, D-Arvada  100% of 15 bills

Honorable mentions: Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder (100% of 13); Rep. Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge (100% of 12); Rep. Kyle Brown, D-Louisville (100% of 11); Rep. William Lindstedt, D-Broomfield (100% of 11); Rep. Ruby Dickson, D-Greenwood Village (100% of 7); and Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver (100% of 7)

Least bills passed by percentage

The far-right four similarly dominated this category. But they are unexpectedly joined by Democrat Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, a leader of the House's progressive caucus. Gonzales-Gutierrez ran for the Denver City Council during the session, winning her race in April. In her last legislative session, Gonzales-Gutierrez had the lowest bill success rate by percentage of any Democrat. Last year, no Democrats were featured on this list.

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.

First (tie): Rep. Scott Bottoms, R-Colorado Springs, and Rep. Ken DeGraaf, R-Colorado Springs  20% of 5 introduced bills

Third: Rep. Stephanie Luck, R-Penrose  33.3% of 3 bills

Fourth: Rep. Brandi Bradley, R-Littleton  50% of 10 bills

Fifth: Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, D-Denver  50% of 12 bills

Most bipartisan sponsorship by percentage

As usual, the minority party swept this category. Holding only 31 seats of Colorados 100-member legislature, it is difficult for Republicans to pass bills without working across the aisle. The Democrat with the most bipartisan sponsorship, Sen. Jeff Bridges, only ranked 20th overall, with 81.6% of his bills having bipartisan sponsorship. Rep. Marc Catlin and Sen. Cleave Simpson have a history of bipartisan legislative success, making this top five last year, as well.

First: Rep. Marc Catlin, R-Montrose  100% of 17 introduced bills

Second: Sen. Jim Smallwood, R-Parker  100% of 5 bills

Third (tie): Sen. Cleave Simpson, R-Alamosa, and Sen. Perry Will, R-New Castle  96.3% of 27 bills

Fifth: Sen. Kevin Van Winkle, R-Highlands Ranch  94.7% of 19 bills

Least bipartisan sponsorship by percentage

Democrats exclusively comprise this list. With a supermajority in the House and a near-supermajority in the Senate, Democrats don't need bipartisan support to pass their bills. However, this list has frequently featured both Republicans and Democrats in the past, including last year. Notably, four of these five lawmakers are House representatives, where Democrats have a stronger majority. Reps. Regina English, Ruby Dickson and Jennifer Parenti are all first-years.

First: Rep. Regina English, D-Colorado Springs  0% of 9 introduced bills

Second: Rep. Ruby Dickson, D-Greenwood Village  0% of 7 bills

Third: Rep. Tammy Story, D-Evergreen  10% of 10 bills

Fourth: Sen. Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge  10.5% of 19 bills

Fifth: Rep. Jennifer Parenti, D-Erie  12.5% of 8 bills

Most contrarian votes by number

A new category this year: Colorado Politics looked at the lawmakers who voted against bills that every other lawmaker in their chamber voted in support of. This happened 57 times this session, with 18 lawmakers at one point being the sole "no" vote on a bill. All of the repeat offenders are included in this list, the bulk of whom are Republicans. Of the 10 unlisted lawmakers who cast contrarian votes only once, six are Republicans and four are Democrats.

First: Sen. Mark Baisley, R-Woodland Park  12 lone "no" votes

Second: Sen. Kevin Van Winkle, R-Highlands Ranch  11 votes

Third: Rep. Stephanie Luck, R-Penrose  10 votes

Fourth: Sen. Paul Lundeen, R-Monument  4 votes

Fifth (tie): Rep. Scott Bottoms, R-Colorado Springs, and Sen. Janice Rich, R-Grand Junction  3 votes

Honorable mentions: Sen. Kevin Priola, D-Henderson and Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver  2 votes
There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isnt. There were several points in my life when I was incapable of recognizing the truth in these words from author John Green  points when I felt helpless, alone and lost. When you are in the deep, dark depths of depression, you can lose track of whats true and whats real. Your emotions  and the illusion of utter desperation your mind creates  take over. In Nov. 2020, I publicly shared how I was treated for clinical depression and anxiety for over seven years. As I explained in Colorado Politics, (T)he culmination of a series of stressors were already colliding with my depression, when I almost jumped off a downtown parking garage on Dec. 31, 2013. In that moment, my depression conquered me, and I became solely focused on the end.

Thankfully, I stopped myself, and family came to help  even if it meant calling the police on a mental health emergency. It set me on a new, better path for my treatment. By September 2018, I was allowed to ween off my meds and no longer needed therapy. I learned there is another side. Ive reached it. If you are struggling with depression, debilitating anxiety or even just a very tenuous time in your life, you can and will get through this. We all will  together.

Together is the operative word. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, reminding us of the importance of destigmatizing mental illness, addressing it head-on and acting on the mental health crisis facing our youth. In doing so, we must recognize the need for a thoughtful and measured approach. I understand why that stigma exists, said Dr. Sheryl Ziegler, a Denver-based clinical psychologist in private practice, on my 710KNUS radio show (April 29). But one of my purposes in life is to really reduce and eliminate mental health stigma. Simply put, when people say, how do you do that? The research shows just by talking about it. You have to talk about it.

The pandemic was a pivotal turning point. We had a very weak and fragile mental health system prior to the pandemic. By May 2020, we officially were in a state of mental health emergency, Ziegler said. There were parents taking their kids to the emergency room  We had ERs that were working as mental health, sort-of, psychiatric wards. Thats not what theyre meant for.

We find ourselves in a paradoxical situation where stigma remains, especially in communities more averse to therapy  but simultaneously, more people need and are seeking help. The system isnt keeping up.

Now, Zieger said, we have incredible wait lists and a shortage of psychologists and psychiatrists. While the crisis is cross-generational, young people are hardest-hit. Kids have not rebounded, Ziegler said. The crisis is now in multiple areas, from the actual kids to the lack of help, and then to the effects on the educational system. From 2007 to 2020, the number of Colorado kids ages 10-19 who died by suicide rose 200%. Then, pandemic school closure policies deprived children of important life experiences and essential social connections. The policies made it worse  without due consideration for the mental health toll. Suicide is now a top-three cause of death among adolescent Coloradans.

Recognizing this sordid state of affairs, elected officials and school districts have taken up mental health. This is welcome. However, we must recognize that schools are about academics first. We cannot overburden a system that isnt meant to service mental health, and parental involvement is critical.

Ken Witt, superintendent of Woodland Park School District in Teller County, is calling to focus on academics  while still guaranteeing counselors in every school and referring students to appropriate supports. He has a point: As student outcomes crater post-pandemic, school districts must redouble their efforts and resources on their core mission  teaching kids. Schools arent meant to be mental health providers. Denver Public Schools has expanded funding for psychiatric support but says there arent enough providers to fill the positions. Shouldnt practitioners provide services independently of districts, and districts refer students/parents if necessary  while ensuring basic supports are there? Nonprofits, and possibly financial need-based government programs, could step in.

School districts have an important role to play in identifying mental health issues. Thats why Ive endorsed school-based mental health screenings, so long as parents can opt their kids out. House Bill 23-1003, which passed the Legislature, establishes such assessments. It initially compromised parental rights by letting students opt back in against their parents wishes  but thankfully was amended to ensure the parental right to opt-out.

As I detailed in February, a fresh body of research underscores the significant link between parental involvement and a childs mental health. One of those studies recommends mental health screenings. But the more school districts take on themselves, the less likely they are to ensure  without a doubt  that parents remain in the drivers seat. At the end of the day, who cares more about the well-being of an individual student than her parents? As a society, we must work collectively to dismantle the stigma around mental health. We must protect vulnerable youths by responsibly addressing the youth mental health crisis  guaranteeing that schools and parents are partners together. In the end, the best way forward will meet critical needs while striking a healthy balance.

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and host of The Jimmy Sengenberger Show Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on News/Talk 710 KNUS.
A suspicious vehicle fire in north Colorado Springs led to a single arrest overnight Thursday, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department.

Police said fire officials with the Colorado Springs Fire Department received reports of a vehicle engulfed in flames near an apartment complex on the 800 block of Vindicator Drive.

Fire officials began to extinguish the blaze when a man stepped in between officials and the vehicle, according to a CSPD blotter entry.

Officials said officers with CSPD were called to assist, and the male suspect was arrested and charged with 4th-degree arson and obstructing a fire fighter. No injuries have been reported, and the suspects reason for igniting the blaze is unknown at this time.
Texas officials shipped their first chartered bus with 41 immigrants to Denver on Thursday.

Officials with the City and County of Denvers Joint Information Center (JIC) disclosed Thursday that this was the first instance in which another state had coordinated and sent immigrants to the Mile High City.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a news release Thursday that this was the first busload, implying others could follow.

Mikayla Ortega, spokesperson for the Denver Office of Emergency Management, said the city was given less than 24 hours notice.

Were trying to ascertain if this is a one-off, Ortega said.

The busload, she said, originated from McAllen, Texas  a border city that extends to the Rio Grande, which forms a 1,255-mile segment of the natural boundary between the U.S. and Mexico.

Texas overwhelmed and overrun border communities should not have to shoulder the flood of illegal immigration due to President Bidens reckless open-border policies, like his mass catch and release without court dates or any way to track them, Abbott said in the release. Until the President and his Administration step up and fulfill their constitutional duty to secure the border, the State of Texas will continue busing migrants to self-declared sanctuary cities like Denver to provide much-needed relief to our small border towns.

Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock called Abbots move political theater and a stunt. He also suggested sending the Texas governor a bill for the expenses Denver is incurring as it seeks to offer shelter and services to the immigrants.

What is happening at the border, and what is showing up at the doorsteps of cities across the country, is a humanitarian crisis, Hancock said. What none of us need is more political theater and partisan gamesmanship pitting jurisdictions against each other and exacerbating this situation instead of advocating for real solutions to this challenge.

The Denver mayor added: If Gov. Abbott thinks hes going to win over allies to his cause here in Denver with this latest stunt, hes going to be sorely mistaken. And were more than happy to send him the bill for any additional support we have to provide now because of his failure at managing his own state.

Renae Eze, an Abbott spokesperson, did not immediately respond Thursday to an email seeking comment.

Self-declared sanctuary cities

Abbott made international headlines last year when he sent immigrants to Vice President Kamala Harris D.C. residence and to Marthas Vineyard.

Since employing this busing strategy last spring, the Republican Texas governor has transported more than 19,000 immigrants to the states of Democratic governors with self-declared sanctuary cities, according to Abbotts office.

Earlier this year, Gov. Jared Polis was criticized by the mayors of New York City and Chicago for sending immigrants in Denver to their cities. At that time, Denver had provided bus tickets for 1,900 immigrants to travel to more than 100 U.S. cities.

Despite their diverging world views, Abbot and Polis do agree on this: Immigration is a federal problem that Congress has failed to address, leaving cities and states to bear the brunt of the crisis.

Five shelters in Denver on Thursday housed more than 1,200 immigrants, JIC data shows.

More than 10,000 immigrants from Central and South America have arrived in Denver Since early December, putting a strain on city resources.

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.

An estimated 70% of arriving immigrants, city and state officials have said, are stopping in Denver on their way to somewhere else.

As of last week, Denver had spent roughly $16 million on the humanitarian response, only $900,000 of which has been reimbursed by the federal government.

City officials have stopped short of saying they would turn immigrants away.

Any influx is going to be very hard

The majority of the new arrivals are from Venezuela, a country that has descended into economic, humanitarian and political chaos under President Nicolas Maduro.

The influx of immigrants illustrates the calamity thats been unfolding at the U.S. border for years, a crisis that has begun spilling over into cities in Americas interior  including Denver  which is more than 600 miles from El Paso, Texas, the closest U.S. border.

City officials have said immigrants are choosing Denver because of El Pasos relative proximity to the Mile High City, in terms of traveling with relative ease by bus.

Officials noted that the bus fare to Denver is less expensive from West Texas than to other places in the country. Organizations that support the immigrant community also highlight the resources and diversity in the community, as well as its status as a sanctuary city, as reasons attracting the immigrants to Denver.

Many have tied the surge of immigrants to the expiration of Title 42, the federal policy first deployed by the Trump administration to swiftly expel immigrants to help slow spread of COVID-19.

Immigrants apprehended under Title 42 were returned to their home countries, or sent back to Mexico.

Anticipating the policys end, the number of immigrants at the U.S. border with Mexico has swelled.

In a scramble, the Biden administration said those who crossed into the U.S. illegally wont be eligible for asylum.

Starting tonight, people who arrive at the border without using a lawful pathway will be presumed ineligible for asylum, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas said last week.

We are ready to humanely process and remove people without a legal basis to remain in the U.S, he said.

In Denver, the surge of immigrants has become palpable in the last few days, straining resources  once again  to a breaking point.

Indeed, local nonprofits that have helped Denver temporarily house immigrants from South and Central America for months have been bracing for the new swell with the sunset of a pandemic-era border restriction that ended May 11.

All the shelters are pretty much at capacity, Kristen Baluyot, Denver metro social services director for the Salvation Army, said last week. So, any influx is going to be very hard for us to respond to.
By Jeff Mason

HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) -Democratic negotiators told President Joe Biden on Friday that they are making "steady progress" in talks with Republicans aimed at avoiding a U.S. default, according to a White House official.

Biden received an update on the talks with aides to Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Friday morning in Japan, where he is traveling for the Group of 7 (G7) summit, officials said.

"The presidents team informed him that steady progress is being made," according to one of the officials, who declined to be named.

"The president directed his team to continue pressing forward for a bipartisan agreement and made clear the need to protect essential programs for hardworking Americans and the economic progress of the past two years as negotiations head into advanced stages. He remains confident that Congress will take necessary action to avoid default."

Republicans have refused to vote to lift the debt ceiling past its $31.3 trillion limit unless Biden and his Democrats agree to spending cuts in the federal budget.

The U.S. government may default on some debts as early as June 1 unless Congress votes to lift the debt ceiling, and economists fear the country will slide into a recession.

Biden cut his trip to Asia short and now plans to return home on Sunday to finish the negotiations, eliminating stops in Papua New Guinea and Australia aimed at countering China's influence in the region.

In the meantime, White House adviser Steve Ricchetti, budget director Shalanda Young and legislative adviser Louisa Terrell are leading discussions for the administration.

A similar 2011 standoff over the debt limit led to a historic downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, sparking a sell-off in stocks and pushing the government's borrowing costs higher.

The current deadlock has rattled investors, sending the cost of insuring exposure to U.S. government debt to record highs. A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday found that three-fourths of Americans fear a default would take a heavy toll on families like theirs.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
By Moira Warburton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Tim Scott on Friday launched a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. He is the only Black Republican candidate so far, and says he is running as an antidote to racial and cultural divisiveness in the United States.

Here are key facts about Scott's life and career.

RAISED BY SINGLE MOTHER

Scott, 57, was raised in Charleston, South Carolina, by his single mother, after his parents separated when he was seven.

The family briefly lived with his maternal grandparents, who became major influences for him. His grandfather left school after the third grade to pick cotton, and Scott frequently describes himself as an embodiment of the American dream by "going from cotton to Congress in one lifetime."

He graduated from Charleston Southern University in political science, and worked as an insurance agent and financial adviser before entering local politics in 1995.

STATE POLITICIAN

Scott was elected to the South Carolina statehouse in 2009, and to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2011. In 2012, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley - now a rival for the Republican presidential nomination - appointed him to replace retiring U.S. Senator Jim DeMint.

"To every single mom who struggles to make ends meet, who wonders if her efforts are in vain, they are not," Scott said at his appointment.

BLACK REPUBLICAN SOUTHERNER

Scott declined an invitation to join the Congressional Black Caucus in 2010 when he was serving in the U.S. House.

"My campaign was never about race," he said at the time.

However race is a difficult subject for him to avoid, particularly as he is the first Black Republican from the South in the U.S. Senate since 1881.

"I have experienced the pain of discrimination," he said in a 2021 speech, but added that "America is not a racist country."

He has both championed bills reforming policing in the United States, and declined to support bills intended to protect voting rights.

"I'm not here to suggest that things could not get better and I'm going to work every single day to make sure that all Americans play on a level playing field," Scott said at a Black History Month dinner in February. "But today is not 1865 ... We have made tremendous progress, and it's time that we as a people celebrate the progress we are making."

COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP WITH TRUMP

Scott has largely managed to avoid drawing the ire of Donald Trump, despite occasionally offering some criticism of the former president.

After Trump in 2017 said there were "very fine people on both sides" of a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville that ended with a woman killed by a motorist, Scott said he had "compromised his moral authority to lead."

(Reporting by Moira Warburton in Washington; Editing by Alistair Bell)
Concerns about Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) age and overall health have intensified in the eight days since her highly anticipated return to the Capitol.

Feinstein, the Senate's oldest member at 89, returned to the chamber last Wednesday amid enormous pressure from inside her party to come back or resign. Her absence from the Senate, which began in February following a shingles diagnosis, stymied Democrats' ability to pass President Joe Biden's nominees and legislative efforts. The party only controls the Senate by a 51-49 margin, meaning that one absence gives Republicans an opportunity to block any partisan effort.

TIM SCOTT PICKS UP FIRST SENATE ENDORSEMENT AHEAD OF WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCEMENT

After years of criticisms from those in her party that she was no longer up to the job, Feinstein said at the time of her diagnosis that she wouldn't seek reelection in 2024, though she vowed to serve out the remaining 20 months of her term. Facing resignation calls from House Democrats and frustration from her Senate colleagues that was spilling out into public view, a wheelchair-bound Feinstein returned to the U.S. Capitol last week looking frail and at times disoriented.

The 89-year-old has largely been kept out of public view since then, being whisked to and from votes and committee hearings by staff without taking many questions from journalists.

"I can't right now," Feinstein said Thursday morning while responding to shouted questions from the Washington Examiner and others about her condition and fitness to serve. She was being wheeled into a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing when she made the quick comment, her second such event since returning to Washington.

Feinstein received a standing ovation from her colleagues on both sides of the aisle at her first Judiciary hearing since her return last Thursday, a moment she appeared confused by when asked about it on Tuesday.

"I haven't been gone," the California senator said after a reporter asked about the well wishes she'd received from Senate colleagues since returning last week. "I haven't been gone. I've been working."

Pressed on if she meant she had been working from home, Feinstein replied, "No, I've been here. I've been voting. Please, either know or don't know."

That incident came just two days before a series of bombshell reports about the veteran Democratic lawmaker. The first, published Thursday morning, revealed that Nancy Corinne Prowda, the daughter of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), is quietly working for Feinstein as she attempts to serve out the remainder of her term.

Prowda did not respond to the Washington Examiner's questions about her work with Feinstein when walking the senator into the Judiciary hearing Thursday morning.

The second report, which came Thursday afternoon, revealed that Feinstein was suffering from complications caused by her shingles diagnosis that she had neglected to disclose to the public amid growing resignation calls.

The New York Times stated that Feinstein's shingles had "spread to her face and neck, causing vision and balance impairments and facial paralysis known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome." She was also experiencing post-shingles encephalitis, which "can leave patients with lasting memory or language problems, sleep disorders, bouts of confusion, mood disorders, headaches and difficulties walking."

Asked about the undisclosed diagnoses after the report was published, Feinstein denied having encephalitis, saying it "really has never been diagnosed" and that she merely had a "really bad flu."

As other outlets began to confirm the diagnosis rumors with sources close to Feinstein, her office acknowledged she was suffering the effects of Ramsay Hunt syndrome but did not address the encephalitis matter specifically.

The report alleged that while in California recovering after her February diagnosis, Feinstein declined to take Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D-CA) phone calls and turned down Sen. Alex Padilla's (D-CA) offers for an in-person visit. She did, however, stay in touch with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who encouraged her to listen to her doctor's advice while stopping short of urging her to resign. When it became clear that resignation was not something she was considering, Schumer started preparing for her return.

Schumer refused to comment after the report on her health dropped.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), who serves as chairman of the Judiciary Committee that Feinstein's absence has paralyzed, told CNN on Wednesday he was "monitoring her medical condition almost on a daily basis."

He said after the report on her health was released that he did not know about the additional diagnoses, but added, "You can tell that her right eye is affected by it. My mother went through something similar. It's really a painful experience."

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, told CNN on Wednesday of Feinstein, "As a friend, you can see she's hurting." He declined to comment on the latest news about her condition when asked about it by the Washington Examiner on Thursday afternoon.

Another Republican who serves on the Judiciary Committee, who requested anonymity to speak freely, told the Washington Examiner that they hadn't seen or interacted with Feinstein enough to be able to assess her condition.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

"She's been gone a lot," the senator said.

Several Senate Democrats defended Feinstein when asked by the Washington Examiner on Thursday if she was fit to serve, though that was before the report on her condition came out. Others, such as Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), demurred, saying they had not seen Feinstein since her return.

Original Location: Feinstein faces increased age and health concerns even after Senate return

Washington Examiner Videos
Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) plans on helping the Republican presidential nominee win Georgia, no matter who it is  but he appeared to take a swipe at former President Donald Trump, believing that the party should select a candidate that is "focused on the future."

Kemp said in an interview with the Washington Examiner that rehashing the 2020 election results, a common pastime of Trump's, would not be an asset in rallying Georgia voters to vote Republican.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp arrives for the State of the State address on the House floor of the state Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Slitz)

SCHUMER PROJECTS DEBT CEILING OPTIMISM AS PROGRESSIVES FRET ABOUT DEAL

"We got to  be focused on the future. And I think if you know any candidate's willing to do that, they have a chance of winning," Kemp said. "But if they don't, I think they're going to have a very hard time, at least in Georgia, anyway."

Georgia has felt the ramifications of people who claim the 2020 election was stolen. A special grand jury out of Fulton County released a report in February that determined at least one of close to 50 witnesses may have committed perjury.

The jury reportedly recommended multiple indictments related to conspiracy or racketeering, with hints that Trump himself may be included in the list of possible defendants.

Trump has continued to deny the 2020 election results, most recently refusing to admit defeat when he appeared on CNN's town hall in New Hampshire.

"We did fantastically," he said at the town hall regarding his previous administration and the 2020 election. "When you look at that result, and you look at what happened during that election, unless you're a very stupid person, you see what happened."

Kemp has avoided answering questions for months about whether he will seek a presidential run in the future. He instead said that he is "committed" to securing a GOP win for the White House in 2024 and touted his role as a "true conservative" that defied Trump and his allies.

"I think the longer that things went on and the farther we got away from the election and from COVID, people realized that I was being a true conservative," Kemp said. "I was following the law and the Constitution, and I simply gave people their right to choose to open their business or go back to work. And I fought for them when a lot of other people wouldn't, and they remembered that."

He added that he could not control Trump getting "mad at me" but that he could control the way "I governed, and standing by my principles and conservative values and just doing the right thing."

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

"We've got to give people a reason to vote for us, and we've got to stay focused on the future," Kemp said. "And that's what I did, and that's why I got reelected  because I had done what I promised people, and I stood up and fought for them and told them what I was going to do if I got reelected. And that's what I did."

"My message to people has been the way you win states like Georgia and other swing states is you got to be for something, you got to focus on the future, and you got to win," he said. "And there isn't going to be a win in the White House unless we win Georgia."

Original Location: Kemp takes aim at Trump, says GOP needs to be 'focused on future' to beat Biden

Washington Examiner Videos
By Joey Roulette

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A team led by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin won a coveted $3.4 billion NASA contract to build a spacecraft to fly astronauts to and from the moon's surface, the U.S. space agency said on Friday, a breakthrough for the company two years after it lost out to Elon Musk's SpaceX in another competition.

Blue Origin plans to build its 52-foot (16-meter) tall Blue Moon lander in partnership with Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co, software firm Draper and robotics firm Astrobotic. NASA picked Blue Origin over a rival bid led by Leidos Inc-owned defense contractor Dynetics that also included Northrop Grumman Corp.

NASA's decision to go with Bezos and Blue Origin will give it a second option for sending astronauts to the moon under its Artemis program. NASA awarded fellow billionaire Musk's SpaceX $3 billion in 2021 to build its Starship spacecraft to land astronauts on the lunar surface for the first time since the final Apollo mission in 1972. The first two Starship missions are slated for later this decade.

"I've said it before: we want more competition, we want two landers, and that's better," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at an event announcing the contract at NASA's headquarters. "It means that you have reliability, you have backups."

The contract follows NASA's trend in recent years in which it helps fund development of private astronaut spacecraft, then pays to use the craft in missions rather than spending more to own the vehicle entirely.

Blue Origin, founded in 2000, is investing "well north" of the $3.4 billion figure to develop the spacecraft, the company's lunar lander chief John Couluris told reporters at the event. Couluris said that Blue Origin, not NASA, would pay for any cost overruns.

"Honored to be on this journey with @NASA to land astronauts on the Moon - this time to stay," Amazon.com billionaire founder Bezos said on Twitter after the announcement.

NASA said in a contract document that it picked Blue Origin's proposal for its lower price, extra lander capabilities and a plan to execute two test landing missions on the moon in 2024 and 2025 at the company's expense. But NASA expressed concern about "numerous conflicts and omissions" in Blue Origin's proposed schedule and development deadlines.

The Dynetics-led bid raised NASA concerns over whether it met technical requirements, and the price was "substantially higher," the contract document said.

The Artemis program envisions building a long-term presence on the moon. SpaceX's Starship lander is poised to conduct the first two astronaut moon landings, followed by a similar mission in 2029 with Blue Origin's lander. Each are expected to put two astronauts on the moon's surface.

Friday's announcement was a long-awaited outcome for Bezos, who has invested billions of dollars for Blue Origin to vie for high-profile space awards with SpaceX, a dominant force in satellite launches and human spaceflight.

Blue Origin and Dynetics lost to SpaceX in 2021, with NASA primarily blaming budget constraints for going with only one company.

After losing that competition, Blue Origin unsuccessfully sought to overturn NASA's decision, first with a watchdog agency and then in court. Blue Origin and U.S. lawmakers had pressed NASA to procure a second lander.

NASA's multi-spacecraft plan for the initial Artemis moon trips involves its Space Launch System rocket launching astronauts toward the moon aboard the Lockheed-built Orion capsule. That capsule is designed to dock in space with SpaceX's Starship lunar lander, which then would ferry the crew the rest of the way.

For Blue Origin's mission, the Orion capsule and the Blue Moon lander would each dock with a planned space station orbiting the moon. The astronauts would then transfer between the vehicles before descending to the moon's surface.

(Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Will Dunham, Ben Klayman, Nick Zieminski and Marguerita Choy)
By Tom Balmforth and Sarah McFarlane

LONDON (Reuters) -Russian military forces have been enhancing defensive positions in and around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine in recent weeks, four witnesses said, ahead of an expected counteroffensive in the region.

New trenches have been dug around the city and more mines have been laid. Surveillance cameras at the plant are pointing north across a wide reservoir towards Ukrainian-controlled territory.

The Russians have had firing positions set up atop some of the plant's buildings for several months. Nets have been erected in a possible deterrent to drones.

The measures described by two Ukrainians who work at the power plant and two other residents in the city of Enerhodar underline the risks the war poses to the security of the facility.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears for their safety in a city under Russian occupation.

The Russian plant operator said any possible military action by Ukraine posed a threat to nuclear safety, and that the plant's equipment was being maintained properly. The Ukrainian military intelligence agency and the Russian defence ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

Some nuclear industry experts said they were alarmed and warned that any damage to the plant could have dire consequences for people, the surrounding area, the war and the global nuclear industry.

"Nuclear reactors were not designed for war zones and I do not believe they can be safe or secure in a war zone," said Nickolas Roth, director at think tank the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

Petro Kotin, chief of Ukraine's Energoatom nuclear agency, told Reuters he did not believe Ukrainian forces would stage an attack directly on the site and could instead try to force the Russians to retreat by cutting off supply lines.

But there is concern in the international community that the six-reactor nuclear plant, Europe's largest, could be caught up in fighting, particularly as military analysts expect Ukraine to try to push Russian forces back in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog says that the military presence and activity is growing in the region, underlining the need for urgent action. It has warned for months of the danger of a major accident at the plant.

The agency plans to present a deal between Russia and Ukraine to the U.N. Security Council later this month to protect the facility, four diplomats told Reuters.

In Japan, where just over a decade ago an earthquake and tsunami cut power supply to the Fukushima nuclear power plant causing reactors to melt down, the government said it was keeping close tabs on Zaporizhzhia.

"We think it is an alarming situation and we are closely watching," said Satoru Yasuraoka, a director of the nuclear energy policy division at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

In April, Japan contributed 2 million euros to the U.N.'s watchdog to help its efforts to secure the safety of the Zaporizhzhia power plant.

Kotin said the biggest threat to safety at the plant was that fighting could cut the last remaining external power line needed to cool the plant's reactors. When that goes down, only backup diesel generators stand in the way of a meltdown.

"If all the pumps stop, you will have from one hour and a half hours to three days and you will have this meltdown," Kotin said.

The backup generators have already kicked in six times for short periods when the power has gone done due to shelling, which Russia and Ukraine have blamed on each other.

DIGGING IN OR EVACUATION?

Kotin estimated that Russian troop numbers at the plant had increased from around 500 to 1,500 in recent months. He is not able to access the facility, which is no longer operating, but has a network of contacts still there.

The four sources said they heard occasional blasts, which they assumed were from stray animals stepping on mines. One of the workers saw tracer bullets fired across the night sky from the roof of one of the plant's buildings, probably at a drone.

While the troop buildup and extra defences point to occupying forces digging in, there are also signs that the Russians have one eye on the exit.

The plant lies on the southern banks of the Kakhovka reservoir, which serves as a natural barrier to Ukrainian-controlled land to the north.

The plant and city of Enerhodar are connected by a single main road to Melitopol, the biggest Russian-occupied city in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, which provides Russia with a land corridor to the occupied Crimean peninsula.

Kotin said Russian forces would have to retreat if it looked like that road was going to be cut off.

He added that he believed Russian forces had already been conducting drills at the plant to practise pulling out.

"In my opinion, they are preparing for evacuation, so they are bringing everything in one place to be ready to take everything and to get out of there," he said.

Two of the sources in Enerhodar said they saw Russian forces this month taking X-ray, laboratory and other equipment away in boxes from a hospital as well as equipment from closed Ukrainian banks in the city of Enerhodar.

Ukraine has announced plans to conduct a big push to recapture occupied land soon, and it is widely expected to strike in the south because of its strategic importance as a bridge to Crimea and the Black Sea.

Russia has laid fortifications stretching from western Russia to Crimea and the trenchwork is particularly extensive on the way from Ukrainian-held land south to Melitopol, suggesting Moscow expects an attack there.

Moscow claims the nuclear plant, which provided a fifth of Ukraine's electricity needs before the war, now belongs to Russia after Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin declared partially-occupied Zaporizhzhia as Russian land along with three other Ukrainian regions last September.

Russian-installed officials have announced an evacuation from frontline areas in the Zaporizhzhia region, including Enerhodar. They say they have already evacuated more than 1,500 people from there.

The plant's reactors were all shut down by last September and the number of workers has fallen from around 11,000 Ukrainian staff before the war to around 6,000, Energoatom says.

Around 2,700 have signed contracts with a Russian subsidiary of Rosatom which Moscow now says operates the plant. Energoatom said last week that Russia was planning to evacuate more than 3,000 workers from the facility.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; additional reporting by Yuka Obayashi; editing by Mike Collett-White and Angus MacSwan)
Senators are en route home from Washington for a planned weeklong recess as negotiators for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and President Joe Biden struggle to reach a deal to avert a debt default.

Most members began heading back to their home states when the Senate adjourned Thursday evening, hours after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) confirmed that the May recess would move forward despite the White House and House Republicans remaining at odds on the debt limit issue.

LIBERALS BLAME REPUBLICANS, NOT BIDEN, FOR THEIR PURSUIT OF DEBT CEILING 'PLAN B'

The debt ceiling, or the top amount the federal government can borrow, will either need to be raised or abolished sometime next month to avert a default. Economists have long warned that such a default would wreak havoc on the economy. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the United States will be unable to pay its bills by June 1. The Senate recess ends May 30.

It is entirely possible that one or more senators could object to rushing a Biden-McCarthy deal through using unanimous consent, which bypasses procedural rules to expedite the process. The body will almost certainly need more than the few days after this recess is scheduled to conclude to pass the bill. Schumer said Thursday that while the recess would still go on as planned, members would remain on call and would receive 24 hours' notice to return if a deal was reached.

At the time, the majority leader noted that "negotiations are currently making progress," citing McCarthy's prediction that the "House will vote next week if an agreement is reached and the Senate would begin consideration after that." That timeline would not interfere with the May recess, though it would put the United States at risk of missing the deadline to avoid default.

Those talks hit a snag on Friday, however, when Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA), the lead negotiator for House Republicans, walked out of a meeting with White House counselor Steve Ricchetti, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, and Legislative Affairs Director Louisa Terrell, who represents the Democratic side.

"Until people are willing to have reasonable conversations about how you can actually move forward and do the right thing, then we're not going to sit here and talk to ourselves," Graves told reporters as he left the meeting.

The negotiators will reconvene to continue discussions over the weekend, though they'll break for the rest of Friday.

Both Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have taken a back seat in negotiations. While staying on party lines  Schumer has stood behind Biden in his refusal to negotiate spending cuts that are tied to a debt limit increase, while McConnell has urged the president to do the opposite  both have acknowledged the White House and House Republicans are leading on this matter.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Despite the Senate being largely on the sidelines, members and senior staff wondered aloud in recent days if the debt limit talks could keep senators from going home after Thursday evening votes. Asked about that possibility on Tuesday, McCarthy told reporters that he was "pretty confident" the Senate would return "if we come to an agreement."

With the latest developments on negotiations, the timeline for members making an early return remains in flux.

Original Location: Senate adjourns for recess as Biden-McCarthy debt limit row hits critical impasse

Washington Examiner Videos
Mayor-elect Yemi Mobolades victory on Tuesday speaks volumes about the soiled brand of the state and local Grand Old Parties. The Republican establishment hit bottom by losing with a top-tier politician in the states most reliable bastion of center-right politics.

The Springs mayoral race is officially nonpartisan. In practice, it has always been partisan with right-of-center Republican candidates easily defeating those to their left. The imprimatur of Republican leadership was a sure path to victory  the seal of approval by a brand most Colorado Springs voters understood and respected. Not anymore.

Mobolade is neither a Democrat nor Republican. As a Christian minister, he founded a church and cultivated a faith-based following. As an entrepreneur, he relates well with small-business owners. His overarching philosophy appears more pragmatic than politically doctrinaire.

Mobolades public persona epitomizes independent.

The man Mobolade defeated, former Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams, resides in the highest echelons of old guard Republicans. He is a class act who left his election night party to visit Mobolades event and personally congratulate him.

Williams has served his community and state as a proud Republican for decades in multiple county, state and local positions. A few years ago, that would have helped him.

Williams has succeeded in public office, with a list of positive accomplishments few others in his party can match. Locally, he found and implemented methods of efficient water use that benefit rural and urban consumers. As secretary of state, he was lauded by the right-wing Trump administration and the left-wing Washington Post for running the countrys most safe and secure election in 2016.

On social issues, Williams toes the GOPs long-held positions of respect and dignity for all individuals  a Republican ethic dating back to President Abraham Lincolns war on slavery.

In past mayoral elections, Williams could have won on his Republican credentials alone against someone with no clear agenda and a lack of elective service. In 2023, by contrast, Williams needed the impossible: erasure from the public conscious his lifelong affiliation with the state and local GOP.

The organized Republican establishment that made Bill Owens the 40th governor of Colorado for eight years ending in 2007 no longer exists. The party image so respected it inspired a Republican transition by former Democratic Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell has vanished. Same goes for the party that elected former Republican Sen. Cory Gardner and State Senate President Bill Cadman in 2015.

Gone are the days when Republican meant good management of education, transportation, tax dollars and public safety.

Colorados Republican establishment subsists in the political ICU, with a brand characterized by self-serving internal battles having no connection to sound public policies.

The public sees lawsuits between the state party and the El Paso County Party, which serves the states largest bastion of center-right voters. The public sees GOP leaders and candidates so extreme they demonize their own if deemed moderate and willing to reach across the aisle. Far-right purists openly and unapologetically sabotage good to stand for their perception of perfect.

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 partys image has gone from one of staid statesmanship to that of aggrandizement through self-righteous navel gazing.

The GOP should take some advice from a reputable source.

Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand, Jesus said.

Former Republican President Abraham Lincoln quoted this truth in advance of the Civil War.

Former President Ronald Reagan implored thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.

Colorado Republicans speak more ill of their own than their Democratic opponents. The unwritten motto is youre with me 100% or you are the enemy.

Lack of party cohesion was on full display during the mayoral runoff. Former Trump appointee and longtime Colorado Republican Sallie Clark endorsed Mobolade after losing in the general. If she couldnt be mayor, neither could Williams.

Former two-term Republican sheriff Bill Elder  a man long frustrated by the Republican Partys circuslike dysfunction  endorsed Mobolade in a TV ad that rivaled the saturation of Kars4Kids.

For most voters in the middle, this election became a choice between a man intertwined with a broken party and one with no established brand who could fit any mold.

Mobolade earned an enormous network of loyal friends on a mostly apolitical basis. He stood out as an affable figure who could be all things to all people.

Conservatives see Mobolade is one of them  a hard-working, successful business owner who believes in capitalism and worships God. Liberals are certain hes a left-wing messiah  a burdened minority so progressive he will turn the Springs into Boulder 2.0.

We suspect, and hope, Mobolade serves no political masters or ideologies. Either way, Mobolade provided an attractive alternative to a brand so divided and mercurial it does traditional conservatives more harm than good.

The Gazette Editorial Board
Tell us more details

Mike Johnston has repeatedly said that he has identified the sites he would consider for his Tiny Home communities. When asked during the 9News debate if he would list the sites prior to the special election ballot deadline, he dodged the question by saying that he planned to have voters involved in the decision.

Kyle Clark let him off the hook with that answer. Why not agree to list them on his website? As a cornerstone of his campaign I would think he would be happy to demonstrate how thoroughly he had sussed out the plans. My guess is that hes concerned about losing the votes of those who wont like the details and/or hadnt considered the impact of them on their own neighborhoods. I also assume that the city could use eminent domain to get a fair market price so sharing the selected sites wouldnt be an economic decision. Step up, Mike! Tell us more details!

Rebecca Pennington

Denver

Volatile housing market

In recent years, domestic violence incidents and deaths have risen in Colorado, and abusers continue to find new ways to maintain power and control over their partners.

At the same time, Denvers housing costs have continued to rise while wage growth remains stagnant, resulting in a volatile housing market. This has sparked important conversations about barriers faced by survivors of domestic violence when they try to leave an abusive relationship.

Finding safe, affordable housing is among the biggest of these barriers. Since 2018, SafeHouse Denver has offered an Extended Stay Program (ESP), which provides survivors with rent-free, fully furnished apartments in a safe environment. The program offers independent living and gives survivors extra time to find long-term housing and other necessary resources for stability.

As a student at DU Law seeking to engage with the community, I was drawn to SafeHouses mission, so Ive been volunteering with them ever since. SafeHouse holds an annual food tasting fundraiser, Sampling for Hope, to support the ESP and raise awareness. As a member of the planning committee since 2019, Im looking forward to this years event, which will be held on June 8 at Mile High Station. Please join us for delicious food, a silent auction and a mission-based program  all to support survivors, who deserve to know that they can feel safe from harm and know that theyre valuable to the world. Tickets can be purchased at https://p2p.onecause.com/samplingforhope2023. We hope to see you there!

Misty Schlabaugh

Denver

Do something about taxes

Simply put- property taxes are the result of multiplying AE (Assessed Evaluation) times ML (mill levy). We cannot control the value of our properties, but local governments and school boards can control the ML (Mill Levy). Lets stop assuming that government will take the increase in AE (assessed evaluation) as a gift, but lower the ML (mill levy) to a reasonable rate of increase. Why has no one made this point in the media and just assumed that the government will keep the increase due to the increase in AE (assessed evaluation)?

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.

Lets blame government for the increases, not our values. We can do something about this Colorado!

Douglas Myers

Lafayette

Defund the politicians

Congratulations to Governor Polsum (Polis) He and his liberal legislators have pulled off the greatest con job on the Colorado taxpayers in the history of Colorado. Colorado is starting to look a lot like California. During the 2020 election Polsum (Polis) and the liberals were able to word an amendment to the Gallagher Act. They worded it so the Colorado taxpayer would think that they were getting something. When in fact is was a way to get to the TABOR money which is surplus money not spent by the State Colorado that is owned by the taxpayers of Colorado.

Lets do a quick recap of what Governor Polsum (Polis) has accomplished in just four years as Governor. The only good mediocre thing he accomplished was to get the State through Covid without totally collapsing the State. Governor Polsum (Polis) has successfully run the Oil Gas Companies out of Colorado. Adding to a huge lack of occupancy in downtown Denver. Governor Polsum (Polis) and his liberals have been able to steadily increase the homeless population to grow by enabling them with give aways. Matter of fact, the Governor and Company has given the homeless over 2 billion dollars in Federal Covid money that should have gone to the taxpayers. That has accomplished nothing.

The homeless population continues to grow. Congratulations Govenor Polsum (Polis) you and your Liberals have successfully grown and bloated the Denver City and State Government to be the largest bureaucracy in Colorados history  mostly to support your nowhere programs. These are cradle to grave jobs with long term effects on the budget. Unionizing the State workers is a huge mistake long term.

Because of Govenor Polsums (Poliss) policies successfully caused the downtown occupancy to drop to new lows. Downtown Denver is a wreck. They havent told us yet. I will bet 2023 and 2024 there is a budget deficit.

The new proposition the liberals are proposing will kill TABOR. TABOR is the only checks and balances left to keep these fools from steeling more of our taxpayer money.

Dont give them any more money to waste.

I think we as taxpayers should defund the politicians, fire them and start over!

Trig Travis

Aurora
The 19-year-old Jefferson County Republican who drew national attention when he co-chaired the Trump campaign's county office at age 12 has been named to the Republican National Committee panel tasked with helping the GOP win the youth vote.

Weston Imer, who managed his mother Laurel Imer's unsuccessful congressional campaign last year, recently joined the RNC's new Youth Advisory Council, which is intended to help guide the party's communications, social media and field strategies ahead of the 2024 elections.

Imer, currently a project manager for the Colorado Republican Party, told Colorado Politics he was appointed to the council by Randy Corporon, one of Colorado's two elected RNC members.

Chaired by U.S. Reps. Mike Lawler of New York and Kat Cammack of Florida, the council will include legislators, candidates, campaign operatives, communications strategists and other Republicans belonging to the millennial and Gen Z cohorts, or those younger than their early 40s.

"This group will work closely with our leadership team to advise us on both the tactics and strategy of getting the GOPs message out to young voters and convincing them to vote for Republicans," the RNC said in a statement. "The Youth Advisory Council will work with the RNC communications staff to not only boost RNC content on social media, but it will allow our content to be more informed directly from the audience we are targeting.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the council and other efforts demonstrate that "Republicans across the country are strengthening youth voter outreach and paving the way for our next generation of conservative leaders."

We recognize that as a party, we need to be engaging with young voters earlier, more often, and in different ways than ever before," she said in a statement. "Thats why Im so proud to announce the Youth Advisory Council to not only share our message with younger generations but to establish an influential conservative brand on social media."

In addition to Imer, other younger members include Brilyn Hollyhand, the 18-year-old conservative pundit who founded The Truth Gazette website when he was 11, and CJ Pearson, a 20-year-old media personality associated with the PragerU website who began blogging when he was 8.

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.

Imer cut his political teeth nearly as young, singing the national anthem at Trump rallies in 2016 while helping his mother run the campaign's storefront field office in Wheat Ridge. Along with garnering coverage on CNN and in outlets ranging from Time Magazine to The Guardian, he welcomed Trump campaign surrogates to Colorado, including Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, who dubbed Imer "the kid of the Trump campaign."

Imer has worked on multiple campaigns since, including Steve Barlock's run for governor and Mark Barrington's congressional campaign, both in 2018. In the next cycle, he interned for former President Trump's 2020 reelection bid while managing his mother's legislative race in House District 24. Imer won election last year to a three-year term on the Pleasant View Water and Sanitation District Board, a position he notes his grandfather held for 28 years.

Imer expressed optimism about the new venture, calling it an honor to be chosen to represent Colorado and his generation on the national stage.

"Colorado is on the front line of the fight to stop the radical left and Marxist takeover of our country, and the next generations are the key to winning this war," he said in a statement.

"I am looking forward to working with my fellow Young Republicans in this fight as we work to take back our country. Brilyn, C. J., myself, and the other council members all bring our own unique talents and perspectives to this mission, and am sure that by working together we can come up with sound solutions and tactics to win this culture war and make up the ground we have lost to the Democrats in recent years.

Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams called Imer "a valuable voice" for involving young Americans in the party.

"Weston has a unique approach to leadership that will benefit our outreach to new generations as the party breaks down walls of traditional outdated politics and works towards a brighter future for our youth," Williams said in a statement.

"Westons passion for freedom and limited government principles is in his blood, and his activism across Colorado communities and on this important committee will only make our party efforts more successful.
A wet May has significantly improved drought conditions across the Pikes Peak region and most of Colorado after a drier start to 2023.

Nine days ago, more than half of El Paso County was in severe drought, and the other half was in moderate drought. Now, most of the county is considered abnormally dry, with just 19% on the county's west side in moderate drought and none in severe drought, according to a report released by the U.S. Drought Monitor Thursday.

The past week has brought at least 4.31 inches of rain to the Colorado Springs area, surpassing the monthly average of 1.01 inches for May, according to the National Weather Service in Pueblo. Colorado Springs received 0.48 inch more rain Thursday.

Similar drought trends have been reported statewide since the upper-level, low-pressure system rolled in last week from New Mexico bringing heavy rain, snow, hail and thunderstorms to Colorado.

Areas with no drought in the state are at 89%, up from 70% nine days ago, according to the Drought Monitor. Around 35% of the state is considered abnormally dry, with under half with drought or abnormally dry conditions.

The first three months of 2023 maxed less than half an inch of precipitation each with March seeing just 0.08 inches, making it one of the driest Marches in history for Colorado Springs, according to the Weather Service.

Sign Up for Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters.

Meteorologist and weather forecaster Evan Direnzo with the National Weather Service in Boulder said the transition from Colorado's drier months into wetter ones comes down to moisture meeting the right conditions.

The latest weather is unrelated to the state's monsoon season, which is generally in July and August, according to Direnzo. While the event last week was "rare," a rainy summer is expected.

"People have forgotten that severe weather every day over the summer in Colorado is the norm," said Direnzo, who noted that recent summers in the state have been dry and fire prone

.

The Gazette's Abbey Soukup contributed to this report.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Linn County Sheriffs deputies have arrested a Lebanon man accused of sexual abuse.

Deputies arrested Jimmy Darl Sullivan, 54, on Wednesday, May 17.

Court documents allege Sullivan sexually abused a victim on Tuesday, May 16. He was scheduled to be arraigned in Linn County Circuit Court on Thursday, May 18 on charges of first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree attempted sexual abuse.

Oregons online court database shows Sullivan has a lengthy criminal history in Linn County with convictions for such crimes as assault, harassment and more.

In 1997, Sullivan was convicted of charges including kidnapping, rape and sodomy. In that case, he was sentenced to 290 months in prison, or just over 24 years. He was convicted of second-degree escape in 1998, adding onto his time in prison.

It is unclear when exactly he was released from prison, but in a letter Sullivan wrote from prison to the court in 2019, he referenced having served 22 years with 3 1/2 left. In the letter, he cited his projected release date as February 2023.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

One-third of all Oregon senators are now ineligible for another term following the 13th day of a Republican walkout in the Senate.

Six more Republicans on Thursday, May 18 joined three Republicans and one conservative Independent in having at least 10 unexcused absences from Senate floor session roll calls.

That triggers a new state law that bars them from another term in office.

Thursday's roll call was emotional and had an air of resignation. Sen. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, used the "courtesies" section of the agenda  usually reserved for noting dignitaries, friends, families or others in the Senate  to praise senators who had walked out.

He called putting their political careers possibly on the line to block the abortion and transgender medical care guarantees in House Bill 2002, along with gun controls in House Bill 2005, "selfless acts." Both bills were nearing a vote in the Senate after approval by the House and would have then gone to Gov. Tina Kotek to sign into law.

Brock Smith and Sen. Dick Anderson, R-Lincoln City, were the only Republicans on the floor. Their presence was not enough to create the two-thirds quorum required by the Oregon Constitution for lawmakers to meet. Oregon is one of just four states that require more than a simple majority.

Immediately after, Sen. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, rose and in a voice broken by tears, said she had come to work with a "lump in my throat instead of a spring in my step" and was comforted by a guard on duty.

"These people are here every day doing their jobs," she said.

A drawn-looking Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, then called for the roll of those present. There were 18, with 10 absent and two excused. For the 13th consecutive day, there was no quorum.

At the close of the session, Wagner made an impassioned speech from the president's podium.

Today is another extremely challenging day for Oregon, Wagner said. Ive never seen a situation like this. It is unique, it is beyond disappointing, it is troubling and, frankly, it is saddening.

The senators who continued the walkout were showing "disrespect for democracy," in which the will of the majority of voters take precedence over those of the minority. He said if Oregon voters truly support the Republican policies, then the party would have a majority in the Legislature.

Wagner said the walkout "must end."

"The people of Oregon desire it," he said. "Democracy demands it."

He invoked Benjamin Franklin's famous remark at the Constitutional Convention. When the vote was finished and the delegates left the hall, a bystander asked Franklin what kind of government the new country would have.

"A Republic  if you can keep it," Franklin said.

Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, who was not present on the floor, reiterated in a statement his stance that Democrats were igniting partisan tension while bills with common ground were left unfinished.

"While Democrats are laser-focused on the issues that do nothing but divide, we are focused on the real issues Oregonians care most about  homelessness, affordable housing, public safety, cost of living, job creation, and fully-funded education," Knopp said.

The biggest impact is on the six no-shows who are newly barred under law from another term or running for office in the House: Knopp and Sens. Art Robinson, R-Cave Junction, Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, Suzanne Weber, R-Tillamook, Lynn Findley, R-Vale and Bill Hansell, R-Athena.

They join Sens. Dennis Linthicum, R-Klamath Falls, Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, Cedric Hayden, R-Roseburg and Brian Boquist, I-Dallas, who had previously hit the 10-absence mark.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Iowas unemployment rate dipped slightly in April, down to 2.7% from 2.8% in March.

The drop continues a downward trend for the unemployment rate from 3.1% in the fall of last year. The national unemployment rate for March was 3.4%.

"Iowa continues to have a strong labor market, and fantastic opportunities remain for those seeking jobs, said Beth Townsend, director of Iowa Workforce Development in a news release.

The labor force added 4,300 new workers in April, and the number of Iowans with jobs increased by 5,800 to 1.68 million.

There are nearly 47,000 people unemployed in the state, while the Iowa Workforce Development website lists 71,600 job openings.

$680,000 in legal assistance to low-income, vulnerable Iowans approved

The Iowa Supreme Court approved $681,345 in grants to non-profit programs that provide legal assistance to low-income Iowans.

The court awarded grants to 11 different organizations throughout the state that assist low-income Iowans with civil legal problems such as divorce, domestic abuse, unsafe housing and illegal evictions. Organizations awarded grant funding include Iowa Legal Aid, Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Kids First Law Center in Cedar Rapids, among others.

Grant dollars are generated from interest earned on pooled trust accounts held by Iowa lawyers. Lawyers practicing law in the state are required to deposit clients' funds the lawyers hold in interest-bearing accounts.

Grant applications are reviewed by a seven-member commission that makes recommendations to the supreme court.

Reynolds signs butchery grant bill

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed House File 185 into law on Thursday, expanding eligibility for a state fund that provides grants to small butcheries and meat processors.

The law will allow a butchery with up to 75 employees to take advantage of the the Butchery Innovation and Revitalization Fund, increasing the threshold from 50 employees.

State lawmakers devoted $1 million to the fund for the upcoming fiscal year. According to the Iowa Economic Development Authority, the fund can be used to expand, refurbish or establish a new small-scale meat processing business, custom locker or mobile slaughter unit. Businesses can also use the money to purchase equipment.

These are the top challenges employers face when hiring These are the top challenges employers face when hiring #1. Too few applicants #2. Applicants lack job-specific skills, education, or experience #3. Competition from other employers #4. Difficulty retaining newly hired workers #5. Applicants unable to pass a background check, credit check, or drug test #6. Hiring issues are not the only challenges companies may face #7. Other processes
EMPOWERgmatVerbal wrote:

Official Explanation:



Medical Office Representative: At this time last year, 38% of our patients who did not get seen by their doctor at their scheduled appointment time did get seen within 10 minutes of that time. We then made some scheduling changes, and this year, 65% of our patients gave this same response. Clearly our doctors and staff have been able to increase the number of appointments that begin within 10 minutes of the appointment time.



Which of the following most clearly points to a logical flaw in the representatives reasoning?



A. The representative was involved in making some of the scheduling changes that took place this year.

B. The people who did not get to see their doctors within 10 minutes of their appointment time could have also had appointments for which they did not have to wait more then 10 minutes.

C. The method used to determine when people got to see their doctors was checked by an outside agency.

D. The number of appointments this year that began more than 10 minutes late could have decreased substantially.

E. Peoples perception of how long they had to wait to see a doctor is sometimes inaccurate.



Question Type: Logical Flaw

Boil It Down: Because the percentages of patients having to wait decreased after the scheduling changes, fewer numbers of patients have had to wait.

Goal: Find the flaw in the the representatives argument that scheduling changes improved wait times.



Analysis:



General comments about flaw questions that involve numbers:

When a flaw question uses numbers in its move from premise(s) to conclusion, our suspicions should be raised. We should ask whether the numbers are hiding a potential flaw or weakness in the argument.



Argument structure:

(P) = Premise/Evidence/Support (C) = Conclusion



P1: Changes to scheduling were made

P2: Percentages of patients having to not wait improved

C: The improvements, seen in greater numbers of patients not having to wait, were caused by the scheduling change





The office representative makes a causal argument based on noticing a change in the percentages of patients who did not have to wait more than 10 minutes after scheduling changes were made. There are several flaws in this argument.



First, the representative uses a post hoc ergo propter hoc argument (after this, therefore because of this.) Just because improvements were noticed after the scheduling changes, this does not mean that the scheduling changes were the cause of the improvements.



Second, when comparing two different times, we must be sure that we are comparing like to like. Even though the office is comparing similar times of the year, they must make sure that they are comparing similar patient numbers and patient types and cases.



Related to this second flaw, is a third flaw. As mentioned under the general comments, we should be suspicious of numbers used in any flaw question. In this case the premises use percentages to support a conclusion that deals with total numbers. Percentages and totals are very different. If the total number of patients was significantly less after the changes, the increased percentages may be due to fewer patients and not due to the schedule changes.



The argument deals with the relationship between two factors: the changes in percentages of patients not having to wait due to the scheduling changes and the total numbers of patients having to wait. Answer choices that deal with neither of these factors will be irrelevant. Understanding this fact about the crux of the argument will help identify the answer choices that are irrelevant.



A. The representative was involved in making some of the scheduling changes that took place this year.

Incorrect. The argument deals with the relationship between two factors: the changes in percentages of patients not having to wait due to the scheduling changes and the total numbers of patients having to wait. The fact that the representative was involved in making these scheduling changes has no bearing on either of these two factors. As such, this answer choice is irrelevant.



B. The people who did not get to see their doctors within 10 minutes of their appointment time could have also had appointments for which they did not have to wait more than 10 minutes.

Incorrect. The argument deals with the relationship between two factors: the changes in percentages of patients not having to wait due to the scheduling changes and the total numbers of patients having to wait. The fact that some of the patients who had to wait may not have had to wait on other occasions has no bearing on either of these two factors. Specifically, this fact has no bearing on the improvement in percentages that occurred. As such, this answer choice is irrelevant.



C. The method used to determine when people got to see their doctors was checked by an outside agency.

Incorrect. If anything, answer choice C strengthens the medical office representatives argument. Given that the representative is part of the office, s/he may be biased. Having an outside agency involved would help remove any potential bias.



D. The number of appointments this year that began more than 10 minutes late could have decreased substantially.

Correct. This answer choice exposes the flawed move from percentages to totals used in the argument. If the number of appointments substantially decreased, then the improvements in patient waiting times might be due to this fact and not due to the scheduling changes. This answer choice offers an alternative cause that could explain the improved percentages. Rather than the improvements being caused by the schedule changes, the improvements in percentages were caused by a decrease in total number of patients. By merely looking at improvements in percentages rather than looking at improvements in totals, the argument masks this alternative cause.



E. Peoples perception of how long they had to wait to see a doctor is sometimes inaccurate.

Incorrect. The argument deals with the relationship between two factors: the changes in percentages of patients not having to wait due to the scheduling changes and the total numbers of patients having to wait. Patient perceptions would not help explain why the change in percentages occurred from the previous year. As such, this answer choice is irrelevant.





Dont study for the GMAT. Train for it.

Posted from my mobile device

Hi. But the option D, mentions about appointments that began later than 10 minutes. We are focusing on appointments that began later than their original time but began less than 10 minute later. The number of people beyond 10 minute can be small but the number of people between those two intervals could still be huge. Hence, I think there could be a flaw, in the answer choice above. Im open to be corrected. Thanks
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Jason Levoy, a certified registered nurse anesthetist at Sovah Health-Danville, was honored this week with The BEE Award for extraordinary staff members.

The BEE Award is a way to say thank-you to a staff member of Sovah Health who has provided a BEE-yond Exceptional Experience.

During his time with Sovah Health, Levoy has made a tremendous impact on patients and organization. He was nominated for the award by a patient that stated Levoy made them feel so comfortable, explained everything in detail and held their hand the entire way during the birth of their twins.

They stated Levoy checked on them when everything was over and told them they did great, which gave the patient peace.

The nominator recognized the caring attention Levoy provided.

My husband and I were so overwhelmed with the whole process that we asked Jason to take pictures for us and he did not hesitate, the nomination stated. I seriously could not have done it without his support, and I will forever be grateful for him capturing the amazing birth of our twins.

The BEE Award was created to honor staff members who continuously go above and beyond for patients and their families. Along with the DAISY Award that recognizes nursing staff, the BEE Award recognizes non-nursing staff members that provide exceptional care and teamwork.

The BEE Award honorees demonstrate the petal principles and portray excellence through expertise and compassionate care.

The petal principles include showing passion in the care they provide every day, establishing a connection with patients and their support system, teamwork, always creating the best experience, demonstrates a love for their job and shows respect.

Each honoree will be recognized at a public ceremony in his/her department and will receive a certificate of achievement, a pin to wear on their badge, and refreshments to share with colleagues.

The kindness and compassion that Jason shows is interlaced in everything he does for our patients and staff on the unit, said Brian Bradley, chief nursing pfficer at Sovah Health-Danville. We are so thankful to have Jason on our team and creating a positive working environment. It was an honor and much deserved to present him with the BEE Award for employee excellence.

To nominate a Sovah Health employee for the BEE Award, visit SovahHealth.com/the-bee-award.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

More than a year after a Danville man was shot to death outside a night club in Caswell County, North Carolina, authorities are still asking for the publics help to identify a suspect.

This week, the Caswell County Sheriffs Office issued a new plea for information related to the Feb. 6, 2022, shooting of Daren Lorenzo Hairston, 21, of Danville.

It was sometime in the early morning hours  from 1:45 to 2 a.m.  that Hairston was shot in the parking lot of Luckys bar, authorities reported to the Register & Bee last year. When deputies arrived responding to a call of a shooting, they found Hairston dead of a gunshot wound.

While in Caswell County, Luckys is only a few feet from the Danville city limits.

At the time, officials said that multiple shots were fired in the incident.

The Caswell County Sheriffs Office is requesting assistance from the public for persons or persons who may be responsible for the homicide, authorities wrote in a news release this week.

A day after the shooting, an employee at the bar  located at 268 Gatewood Road in Providence, North Carolina  wouldnt speak on the record to the Danville Register & Bee.

The doors were locked and one glass door appeared to be shattered, a reporter observed.

About a year ago  in another attempt to get information from the public  police upped the a cash reward for information in the homicide that leads to an arrest or identification of a suspect to $2,500.

This marks the second homicide at the bar near Danville. In March 2020, Keith Hayes, of Danville, was killed at the establishment.

Anyone with information about the incident can contact the Caswell County Sheriffs Office at 336-694-9322 or Crime Stoppers of Caswell County at 336-694-5199. Information provided will remain confidential.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

GREENSBORO  A smart materials company now based in Randolph County will move its headquarters to Greensboro and expand its operations with an investment of $4.2 million and a promise of more than 50 jobs.

Phase Change Energy Solutions Inc. will relocate to an existing building at 813 Winston St., according to Marshall Yandle, Greensboros economic development manager.

The company will create 51 new jobs over a five-year period with an average salary of $79,118, Yandle said. It would relocate 32 existing jobs, for a total of 83 positions, and would spend $4.19 million on capital investments.

None of the jobs will pay less than $15 an hour, said Marvin J. Price of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce.

The company is a global leader in development and supply of smart materials that can store and release thermal energy, Price said. The mission of the company is to develop and manufacture smart and sustainable materials to decarbonize our footprint and enable human health.

Our new location in Greensboro will be an extension of our evolution to be a world class advanced materials company, company CEO Govi Rao said in a news release from Gov. Roy Coopers office.

The companys commitment to sustainability makes them a strong partner in North Carolinas collective effort to transition to a clean energy economy, Cooper said in the release.

The move will expand the companys production capacity and consolidate its research and development, warehouse and headquarters operations to Greensboro, the release said.

The company has received a variety of state and local incentives in connection with the move.

The state is offering the company a performance-based grant of $75,000. The company will not receive the money upfront. It must meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for payment, according to the release. The grant requires matching participation from local government.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted Thursday night to approve $40,565 worth of incentives for the company.

And on Tuesday, the Greensboro City Council unanimously approved incentives of up to $1,000 per job for the company. It also is eligible for an additional $250 city incentive per job for any new employee whose permanent address is located in a designated impact zone or who is hired through NCWorks Career Centers.

According to its website, the company has completed projects in trucks and buildings, as well as telecom and data shelters.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

If Congress fails to raise the debt limit, can President Joe Biden somehow borrow more money to save the United States from default? The short answer is no. But that hasnt stopped a group of Senate Democrats from urging Biden to act unilaterally by invoking the Fourteenth Amendment.

Yet the stand-off between the president and Congress over the debt ceiling has revived interest in a little-known provision of the Fourteenth Amendment that says the validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law  shall not be questioned. That statement, on its face, does require the government to pay its debts. But it doesnt allow the president to ignore the law passed by Congress that caps borrowing.

The US Constitution puts Congress squarely in charge of both borrowing and spending. The validity of the public debts clause doesnt magically allow the president to violate this most basic element of the separation of powers.

This isnt the first time weve had a debate about the underlying constitutional question of whether the Fourteenth Amendment renders the debt limit somehow unconstitutional. And its understandable why. When a president faces a Congress not controlled by his own party, hell look for leverage against lawmakers that want concessions in return for raising the ceiling. Even if the president never actually invokes the clause (no president has), the argument can enhance the presidents negotiating position.

But its important to remember that the whole reason the Constitution gave the spending and borrowing powers to Congress was to ensure a separation of powers between Congress and the executive branch. That separation was intended to let the political process, not the will of one person, determine how the US borrows and spends money.

If the president could unilaterally ignore the debt ceiling, he would be able to borrow money without congressional approval. Thats a short step from being able to spend money without Congress  another violation of the basic constitutional scheme.

In practice, it is extraordinarily unlikely that the Biden administration would invoke constitutional grounds to ignore the debt limit. So why bother to consider the question, especially since its hard to begrudge the administration any tools that would help it fend off the madness of House Speaker Kevin McCarthys threat to force the country into default?

The answer is that too much loose talk about the president ability to ignore Congress is bad for the separation of powers  and therefore bad for constitutional stability.

Remember when President Donald Trump wanted to build his border wall even though Congress had refused to appropriate money for it? That showdown also represented a threat to the separation of powers.

Trump, too, had a sort of constitutional argument. He claimed a national security interest and invoked his powers as commander in chief. That claim was illegitimate. The president cant spend money on things Congress has refused to authorize.

Thats why I was sorry to see my Harvard colleague, emeritus professor Laurence Tribe, reverse his longstanding (and correct!) position on the constitutionality of unilateral executive action to avoid default. In justification of his change in views, Tribe cited President Abraham Lincolns unilateral suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War.

But Lincolns action was deeply doubtful from a constitutional perspective. The Constitution, on any plausible reading, gives the power to suspend habeas corpus to Congress, not the president. Lincoln, faced with what he considered an existential threat to the United States in the form of Southern secession and border-state sympathy to the Confederacy, broke the Constitution to save the Union.

Lincoln may have been justified. Thats a matter of debate that scholars have written entire books about (mine is called The Broken Constitution). Regardless, Lincolns actions were undertaken in the most extreme imaginable circumstances. They shouldnt form a precedent for ordinary political disputes, however wrongheaded one side may be.

With Trump campaigning to retake the presidency  and still spreading lies about his 2020 election loss  Im hard-pressed to think of a worse time for liberals to embrace such a sweeping view of presidential power.

The obligation to pay the governments debts lies with Congress  where the framers put it. If McCarthy decides not to pay the nations bills, theres nothing Biden can do about it.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

DANVILLE, Va.  Danville City Council members expressed enthusiasm over Mondays opening of the temporary casino in Schoolfield and an expectation that it  along with other industries  will drive population growth.

The opening was magnificent, said Vice Mayor Gary Miller said at Tuesday nights meeting.

Crowds were lined up on the sidewalk along West Main Street waiting to enter the Danville Casino on Monday and large crowds were there Tuesday as well, Miller added.

Its off to a great start, Miller said.

The Danville Casino is the 40,000-square-foot temporary gambling facility at the corner of West Main Street and Bishop Road. The building is open for customers until construction of the $650 million permanent Caesars Virginia casino project is complete in late 2024.

The inside includes more than 700 video-style slot machines and about 25 live table games like blackjack and roulette and other electronically operated machines.

Pointing to employees commuting from other areas to work at the casino, council members believe the citys population will grow as a result of industries  including the casino  locating to the Dan River Region and the citys overall revitalization.

They disputed projections from the University of Virginias Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service that predict Danvilles population will continue to drop in the coming decades down below 40,000 to about 38,000.

The population is not dropping, it is increasing, said City Councilman Sherman Saunders. It will increase even more.

According to a report from the center, Danville saw a slight increase in the number of new residents moving into the area from 2020-22. Though deaths exceeded births to result in a decline in population overall, more people chose to call Danville home than leave during that three-year period.

According to figures from Weldon Cooper, Danvilles population as of July 1 was 42,348  down by 242 people from the U.S. Census estimate of 42,590 people in 2020. Danville had 42,597 residents on July, 1, 2021, according to the center.

From 2020-22, Danville saw 509 more people move into the city than move out. But 751 more deaths than births led to the population decrease during those years, according to Weldon Cooper.

As for centers prediction of a population drop to 38,000, City Councilman Lee Vogler said the organization has been wrong about us before.

Theyre going to be way off by the end of this decade, Vogler said, adding that he was glad the city has doubters.

We continue to prove the doubters wrong ... the haters wrong, he said. Were going to keep doing it.

Vogler believes stemming the recent drop in population due to deaths exceeding births could fuel more growth in residency in the city.

If we can learn how to stop people from dying and get more young people like me to have more kids, then well really be rockin and rollin, he said.

As for the casino, many of its employees live in Danville, Pittsylvania County and other parts of Southside Virginia, Miller said. Some are coming to work there from areas including Browns Summit, Greensboro and Burlington in North Carolina, he added.

People are driving to Danville to work now, said Miller, who said he took a random poll among casino employees.

Two employees he talked to came from California, including one woman whose father also works at the casino.

Her mom was selling their home in California and moving to Danville, Miller said. Its just amazing. There are going to be a lot more people living here.

Councilman Barry Mayo said of the casino opening, To see the atmosphere inside Caesars, it touches my heart to see the citizens just enjoying themselves and continuing to come.

Councilman James Buckner had friendly words for those coming from outside the area to visit the casino.

I want to personally welcome all the out-of-town folks that are traveling in and out of our city, Buckner said.

In other matters, council voted 8-0 to approve the citys budget for Danville Public Schools. The city has budgeted to provide about $27.2 million in local funding for the school system, with about $25.3 million to support operations and about $1.87 million for debt service.

Mayo abstained from the vote.

Council also unanimously voted 9-0 to vacate a city-held easement on Berry Hill Road in Pittsylvania County to make way for development of a Dominion Power solar farm.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

DANVILLE, Va.  Danvilles Ballad Brewing has a new owner.

On Monday, Three Roads Brewing Company announced its expansion into Southside Virginia with the acquisition of the River District operation that launched in 2017.

Right now, Three Roads has two taprooms: its original in Farmville and a second location in Lynchburg.

We are committed to being the leading brewery in Southside Virginia, and the addition of Ballad helps us achieve that goal, Chris Sadler, a founder of Three Roads, said in a statement. This is a beautiful part of the country with strong communities.

Adding Ballad Brewing to its operations doubles the brewerys production by nearly 2,000 barrels.

Farmville and Lynchburg are known for being welcoming to everyone, from local families and tourists to beer aficionados and civic organizations looking for a casual meeting space, Sadler said. The Ballad Brewing brand is a big part of Danville and will continue to thrive as a part of the Three Roads Brewing family.

When we set out to open Ballad we wanted it to be a community center for the River District and Danville as a whole, Ballad Brewing co-founder Ross Fickenscher said. The taproom has done just that.

Fickenscher said the acquisition will take Ballad headlong into the next chapter.

Three Roads Brewing said it will keep the Ballad brand, its catalog of beers and its River District taproom.

Both brands will be distributed in Virginia and North Carolina and will be available in the companys taprooms across Southside Virginia, a news release stated.

This town has a ton of history, co-founder Garret Shfflett said. Ballad not only paid tribute to that history, but helped to build on it.

Shfflett credits the hard work and creativity of the team that provided a sense of pride surrounding Ballad.

Three Roads Brewing is based in Farmville. In 2017, it opened its first taproom in a historic warehouse along High Bridge Trail State Park.

Learn more at www.3roadsbrewing.com.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

GREENSBORO  The property tax rate would remain flat under Guilford County Manager Michael Halfords recommended budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

During Thursday nights Guilford County Board of Commissioners meeting, Halford presented a $918.6 million budget that includes spending on such things as operating K-12 schools, workforce development and public health.

The property tax rate would remain at 73.05 cents per $100 of property valuation. For a $250,000 house, this would mean a tax bill of $1,826.25.

The property tax generates by far the largest share of the county budget, at 63%, Halford said. Sales tax and fees also generate money.

The budget kept funding for Guilford County Schools and GTCC the same. About $413.4 million  or 48% of the budget  is allocated to them both.

That includes $262 million for operating costs, $87.8 million for existing and planned debt, $11.5 million for annual capital projects support and $51.1 million as part of the $2 billion school construction bonds.

Guilford County Schools requested about $101 million more in operating money from the county  a 41% increase.

Earlier in the meeting, school employees asked commissioners to consider funding pay increases for classified workers. Richard Myers, a supervisor for the school district, said he cant hire plumbers for $15 to $17 an hour.

If somethings not done soon to help us out then were going to be stuck paying just contractors alone  five, six, seven, eight times the amount that it costs for these employees, Meyers said.

Halfords budget proposal adds around 30 new positions to the countys current roster of about 2,900 full-time positions. Fifty-eight positions would be eliminated because funding sources are no longer available.

Guilford County ends up with about five positions per 1,000 residents, one of the lowest ratios in the state of North Carolina for county governments, Halford told commissioners.

To help retain those employees, the budget includes a 7% increase in personnel costs associated with higher compensation and state-mandated retirement increases.

Commissioners did not comment on the budget and will review it at upcoming work sessions.

Other budget highlights include:

$5 million for 59 new positions in the county Department of Health and Human Services to provide support for 200,000 Guilford County residents expected to qualify for Medicaid.

$12.2 million to maintain the countys competitive pay plan, enhanced benefits and reinstatement of the performance-based merit program.

$3.5 million for behavioral health and medical services for those in the Greensboro and High Point jails, and the Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Greensboro.

$2.4 million in additional funding for incentives grants associated with economic development projects. Over the past two years, companies have announced expansion plans that include more than $900 million in private investment and nearly 2,400 jobs.

$1.1 million to add 10 school nurses for a total of 66 positions.

$600,000 to implement a new early intervention team to work with government and community agencies to protect children and prevent them from entering foster care. The team would address the disproportional representation of children and families of color in the child welfare system. Half of the cost would be reimbursed by the state and/or federal government.

$575,000 for efforts to reduce infant mortality and improve infant survival and wellbeing, especially among people of color.

$550,000 for the Minority and Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) Department for financial support to small businesses owned by minorities and women.

$400,000 to overhaul the countys website, which was last updated in 2018. The website receives more than four million annual unique visits.

While tax rates remain the same for most fire departments, increases are requested for Colfax, Rankin, Northeast, Oak Ridge and Stokesdale.

The full budget is available at the countys website at www.guilfordcountync.gov.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for June 1, with adoption by the commissioners set for June 15.
" " Thanks to fundraising, screening and greater awareness, breast cancer death rates have fallen dramatically over the past three or four decades. Steve Debenport/Getty Images

In 1991, runners participating in the New York City Race for the Cure, sponsored by the Komen Foundation, were handed pink ribbons. The next year, Estee Lauder offered the pink ribbons to Self Magazine readers in conjunction with the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month issue. Since these events in the early 1990s, the pink ribbon has become a ubiquitous symbol of breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in women in the United States, after skin cancer. In 2019, 264,121 women in the U.S. were diagnosed with breast cancer, and 42,280 women lost their lives to the disease [source: CDC]. Despite these frightening statistics, there's evidence that those pink ribbons are doing their job in raising awareness of the condition and spurring donations that are used to research new treatments.

Advertisement

More women are seeing their doctors and undergoing breast cancer screenings, which means that problems can be detected before the cancer spreads. The CDC even offers free or discounted mammograms to underserved women. Thanks to early detection and improved treatments, the survival rate for breast cancer has improved vastly. Mortality rates from breast cancer has dropped an astonishing 39 percent from 1989 to 2015 [source: McGinley].

So who's at risk for breast cancer? And what does someone do once they receive their diagnosis? We'll consider these questions, as well as everything else you want to know about breast cancer, in this article.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Johnson selected for Capital High alumni scholarship

Senior Logan Johnson has been selected for the Capital High School Alumni Class of 1981 Memorial Scholarship.

Lisa Ward Waterman, committee chair, says Johnson fits the spirit of the class of 1981.

"The criteria used to award this scholarship are intentionally broad as we wish to consider candidates with life experiences and aspirations as broad as the classmates we are honoring, Ward Waterman said.

The selection committee noted in Johnsons application that he is a true leader who stood out as someone with perseverance, leadership, resourcefulness and a passion for service to the community. Johnson does peer mentoring, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Toys for Tots and he was recognized with the Giraffe Award for sticking his neck out and as a Distinguished Achiever in the 2023 Capital High School graduating class.

He plans on attending the University of Alaska Southeast (Juneau) to study fishery and ocean sciences.

The scholarship offers help to someone with the passion and determination to make a difference. The scholarship gained attention because Stu Long, the priest that the movie "Father Stu" starring Mark Wahlberg is about, was one of the 18 classmates the scholarship honors.

The scholarships 2022 recipient Quin Vulk earned an Emmy award for her stop-motion animated film Behind the Scenes.

Kidflicks returns to the Myrna

Kidflicks is back with fun films for kids and families at The Myrna Loy.

Everyone relies on attentive "Battery Daddy" to keep things well-powered and smoothly-run, but when a field trips downpour hits, will he still have the power to keep his cool and save the day?

This animated Korean film is just one of this years award-winning short film offerings for children from the New York International Childrens Film Festival, showing at The Myrna Loy, 15 N. Ewing St., this Friday.

Another winner is a live-action film made in Kyrgyzstan, Salvador Dali, which tells the story of a young artist, little Orozbek, who every day has to walk long distances and make a river crossing to get to school  because that's where he can get closer to his dream.

NYICFF Kid Flicks National Touring Program brings fun, artful, inspired and thought-provoking films to Helena as part of its national tour. The films introduce the very young to some of the best short films in the world.

Kid Flicks One offers 49 minutes of award-winning short films at 5:30 p.m. and is recommended for ages 5 and up.

Kid Flicks Two, starting at 7 p.m., features 68 minutes of short films and is geared for ages 8 and up.

Tickets are $6 adult and $5 for children and are available at https://themyrnaloy.com/happenings/kid-flicks-one/ and https://themyrnaloy.com/happenings/kid-flicks-two/

For more info about the films see: https://nyicff.org/programs/kid-flicks-one-6/ and https://nyicff.org/programs/kid-flicks-two-6/

For more information, visit themyrnaloy.com or call 406-443-0287.

Montana University System Honor Scholarships awarded

The Montana University System has awarded the prestigious Montana University System Honor Scholarship to students in the local area (see students below that have provided permission to publish their names).

The MUS Honor Scholarship is a renewable scholarship offered by the Montana Board of Regents that waives undergraduate tuition for up to eight semesters at any campus of the Montana University System or Dawson, Flathead Valley or Miles community colleges. The scholarships average value is $20,000. It is the most prestigious scholarship offered centrally by the Montana University System.

Students offered this scholarship must be graduates of an accredited Montana high school with a minimum grade point average of 3.4 at the end of their seventh semester in high school, take either the ACT or SAT standardized test, meet college core requirements, and attend an eligible Montana campus.

These scholarships are for Montanas best and brightest and we are honored to be able to provide them, said Clayton Christian, Commissioner of Higher Education. We look forward to these students choosing the Montana institution of their choice and getting a great education right here in the state.

A total of 230 scholarships have been offered statewide, the following students in your area have been offered a MUS Honor Scholarship and have given permission to print and/or distribute their names for publication. A full list is available at http://www.mus.edu/Prepare/Pay/Scholarships/MUS_Honor_Scholarship.asp.

Broadwater High School

Jonah Wishman

Capital High School

Madison Burda, Connor Bushnell, Emma Compton, Maren Elliott, Brynn Jankowski, Colton Lindgren, Aidan McCarthy, Ethan Rankin, Lynsey Read, Gabriel Sova, Tristan Speeg, McKenzie Tordale and Justin Brewer.

East Helena High

Kaeden Sager

Helena High

Finn Anderson, Ryan Burke, Nathaniel Demmons, Lucita Odegard, Sandra Schuele, Joseph Seliskar, Karson Stefaniak, Jeri Wilkerson and Cameron Wittrock.

2 students receive $5K Embry-Riddle scholarships

Two Montana students from Clancy and Kalispell are set to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University this fall on $5,000 per year scholarships.

One of the students is Trinidy Boyce, who is a senior from Clancy. Prior to her participation in MAS, she was considering a degree in biology or wildlife biology, but MAS brought her interests into focus.

As soon as I started the program, it opened up endless possibilities. It completely changed my career goals, Boyce said. Im grateful for this opportunity that theyve given me. It will definitely be going to good use.

She now plans to study aerospace engineering and is planning on pursuing a career as an engineer for SpaceX, NASA or Boeing. Boyce also plays volleyball, weightlifts, is a musician and has routinely medaled at Montanas Science Olympiad.

The other student is Marisa Zimmerman, who is a senior at Flathead High School in Kalispell and is also planning on studying aerospace engineering.

The scholarship honors high school students who have shown significant achievements in education and leadership. Candidates are selected by completion of MAS, academic records, standardized test scores, GPA, class placement, community service, an essay and other activities.

Each Montana student will receive a total of $40,000 over the span of four years at the university and are through a partnership with Montana Aerospace Scholars (MAS) and the Montana Learning Center (MLC). MLC at Canyon Ferry Lake offers youth summer camps in a variety of STEM fields and the regions premier astronomy program featuring the largest public-use telescope in Montana.

MAS is a free, online program developed in collaboration with the Montana Learning Center, NASA, the University of Washington and the Museum of Flight to offer Montana high schoolers a unique opportunity to explore STEM educational and career pathways and interact with peers across the state. The coursework focuses on earth and space sciences and the history and future of NASA space exploration. Successful graduates from MAS are eligible for further educational opportunities, such as visits and scholarships to ERAU.

This partnership opens a tremendous opportunity for our students, and we are delighted to partner with Embry-Riddle to offer a scholarship to such an outstanding university, said Montana Learning Center Executive Director Ryan Hannahoe. This really bolsters our mission of encouraging Montana youth to pursue STEM-related career paths.

Students who complete the online portion are invited to a six-day summer residency at the MLC where they have the opportunity to learn about Montanas growing aerospace industry and hear presentations from regional STEM experts while networking.

We are excited to continue our partnership with Montana Aerospace Scholars to help support the next generation of aerospace industry leaders, said Sara Bofferding, director of admissions at ERAU.

Kiwanis Club awards $7K in scholarships

The Kiwanis Club of Helena awarded $7,000 in scholarships this month to seven high school graduating seniors at Helena and Capital high schools this month.

Three students received the Weber Music Scholarships: John Goodwin of Capital, Maren Elliot of Capital and Lindsay Snarr of Helena High.

Four key club members received Key Club Scholarships: Conner Bushnell of Capital, Kennedy Bartole of Helena High, Sandra Schuele of Helena High and Allison Christensen of Helena High.

The scholarships were presented by incoming Club President David Smith and past Club President John Finn.

The Kiwanis Club of Helena has been active in Helena for 102 years serving the community and helping young people. The club has been awarding scholarships for 35 years.

Two area youth win major DAR state awards

Oro Fino Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution is proud to announce that two youth who won four county-area awards defeated others from 10 DAR chapters to win Montana State awards at the recent DAR annual conference attended by 150 members and guests at KwaTakNuk in Polson.

Hayden Oliveira, a seventh grade student at Helena Middle School, won the American History essay contest for her description of Daniel and his family from Plymouth, what it was like to be a delegate to the Second Continental Congress and why they needed to be free from England.

She also received an honorable mention from the NW Division of DAR, comprised of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

Samuel Klatt, a freshman at Capital High School, won the Outstanding Youth Volunteer Award. Klatt began community service activities as a first-grader when he became a Cub Scout and joined 4-H. Recently, Klatt completed a picnic area with grill and fire pit for at-risk veterans living at Freedoms Path at Fort Harrison. His team of local scouts built the picnic tables, laid beautiful rock formations, and installed the BBQ and fire pits.

He plans to serve in the Air Force.

Other volunteer projects include picking up trash along the roadway, flag retirement ceremonies, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Flag ceremony, putting flags on veterans graves, color guard at Oro Fino Chapters Wreaths Across America Mobile Education Exhibit and building a wreath stand for annual ceremonies at Fort Harrison Cemetery.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The Helena Public Schools Board has approved recent election results for the district's three levies that all passed and swore in four board members.

The Elementary General Fund Levy for $356,000, Elementary Building Reserve Levy for $3 million, and High School Building Reserve Levy for $1.5 million all passed. The board voted unanimously to certify the election results in both the elementary and high school districts.

The school board election was canceled because the number of candidates who filed equaled the number of trustee positions open. Four new board members were sworn in bringing the board total back up to eight.

The board approved the results at its Tuesday meeting.

Jeff Hindoien was appointed by the board to fill the seat left vacant by the death of trustee Lois Fitzpatrick. Hindoien had served on the board from 2017-2020 and specializes in educational law. Fitzpatrick served for almost a year before dying from cancer on March 10. Hindoien will serve on the board for one year before running for the seat next election cycle to finish out Fitzpatricks last year of her term. If he wishes, he would then have to run again the following year for a new three-year term.

Vice-chair Jennifer McKee for the Elementary (K-8) District and Jennifer Walsh for the Wolf Creek and Trinity Districts on the Secondary (high school) Board ran for another term and were elected by acclamation.

Also elected by acclamation was new trustee Linda Cleatus who took Luke Muszkiewicz's seat. Muszkiewicz served two terms on the board, first being elected in 2017 and serving as board chair, and he also served as president of Montana School Boards Association.

Its really our last time to say 'thanks' again to Luke for what youve accomplished -- your support to all staff, students, to our district, Helena Public Schools Superintendent Rex Weltz said. Its kind of bittersweet seeing you grab your name tag and ride off into the sunset, but we do appreciate all you have done.

Cleatus said she ran because much of her career has been in service to young people, whether its helping youth aging out of the foster care system, helping youth who have dropped out of school to get them back in and more. For the last seven years, Cleatus has worked for Montana No Kid Hungry, where she works as the school breakfast coordinator. No Kid Hungry is a campaign launched in 2012 from public-private partnerships with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (Early Childhood and Family Support Division) and Share Our Strength, a nonprofit working to solve hunger problems of hunger and poverty in the U.S. and around the globe.

My focus has been working with young people and families who struggle with making ends meet, so I felt like I could bring that voice to the table more so, Cleatus said.

She grew up in Ohio and her parents are Indian immigrants. She met her husband when they served on the same AmeriCorps team in South Carolina. They moved to Ohio, and then a year later, they quit their jobs and went to India to be close to family and volunteer at a homeless refuge for 10 months.

As a child, those trips (to India), even though my family in India wasnt impoverished, it really imprinted my soul and made me reflect on my own purpose, Cleatus said.

After coming back from India, she and her husband started a nonprofit called Friends of the Sacred Heart Ashram to promote and advance education of kids in elementary, high school and post secondary and to support business ventures to generate revenue for the homeless refuge in India. Cleatus said Ashram means a home or refuge.

They moved to Helena, where her husband is originally from, because he said the Helena community would be very supportive of their nonprofit work.

He was right, Cleatus said. We did our nonprofit for 10 years while we had our full-time jobs and we raised over $100,000 to help build more infrastructure, put students through college -- one just finished medical school and we took 10 groups on a volunteer trip.

She said they paused their nonprofit for a while because it became a lot to manage with raising a daughter and work. Cleatus hopes when her daughter finishes her education to revisit her nonprofit work.

Cleatus touched on the difficulties public schools are facing today with budget and staff cuts and how those are happening at a time where so many students and families need extra support. She talked about a school she visited earlier in the week with around 16 to 18 students experiencing homelessness. She said another school she recently visited is not going to have a Comprehensive School and Community Treatment staff for the summer, so now the teachers are trying to figure out how to get food to the students.

Its heartbreaking and simultaneously inspiring how resilient our students are, but also even when they cant be resilient, understandably so, our school staff, our district continues to go to the depths of whatever reserves they have left to continue to put the means of our kids first, said Cleatus.

The board was also set to reorganize at the meeting. Janelle Mickelson, the districts business services administrator, was appointed as the district clerk. Siobhan Hathhorn, who has served on the board since 2019, was reappointed chair for the next year, and McKee, who has served on the board since 2020, was appointed as vice-chair again.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The Montana Club is having a fundraising gala on June 3.

The public is asked to join with helping care for the historic building at 24 W. 6th Ave.

There will be hors doeuvres, live music and a silent auction of art, memorabilia and special Helena gift packages.

Tickets are $150 for the gala plus two drinks, which starts at 5:30 p.m., or $50 for the Rathskeller after-party, which starts at 8 p.m.

Tickets are available at MontanaClub.coop. Purchasing club shares and gift cards are also available on the site.

The Rathskeller in the basement of the Montana Club is being placed on the sale block in the hopes of patching financial woes facing the downtown Helena landmark. The board hopes to find a private buyer who will continue to operate the bar.

It is believed the sale of the Rathskeller could produce $650,000 and allow the club to keep its sixth floor dining room and kitchen open.

Charles Robison, president of the Original Montana Club Cooperative Association's board, called the June 3 event "The last bash at the Rath."

He told members of Hometown Helena, a grassroots residents' group, on Thursday that funds would be used to help repair one of the club's two elevators and get it working again.

The Montana Club was founded in 1885 as local business people did not want outsiders to think of Helena as a mining camp. A seven-story building was built in 1893 at 24 W. 6th Ave.

Over the years members of the once-private club have included copper kings, millionaires and politicians who hosted such notables as Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain.

The club and its dining room are now open to the public. The menu is posted at https://montanaclub.coop/dinner-menu-1.

For more information, call 406-442-5980.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A woman being investigated on suspicion of hitting and killing an Indigenous woman in Arlee appeared in Butte-Silver Bow County court on Thursday for charges related to a separate incident. The charges stem from accusations that she broke into a Butte home and took her two kids illegally just seven days after the Arlee crash.

Mika Westwolf, 22, was walking along Highway 93 near Arlee on March 31 when a Cadillac Escalade traveling north on the highway struck and killed her, according to Montana Highway Patrol. Westwolf was declared dead at the scene. Two children, ages 2 and 4, were in the car, the report stated.

Court filings show Sunny K. White, 28, was charged in Butte-Silver Bow District Court with one count of burglary and one count of parenting interference, both felonies, in connection to an incident that happened on April 7, seven days after Westwolf was killed. She also is charged with one count of misdemeanor criminal mischief.

White pleaded not guilty to the charges at a court hearing on Thursday morning.

On April 7 at about 1:15 a.m., according to the case affidavit, White contacted Butte law enforcement requesting a civil standby to pick up her children from their biological fathers house.

White told the officer that she had two children with a man who lives in Butte and said she wanted to take the children from him because he was not a fit parent, the affidavit states. The childrens names are Aryan and Nation, which the Montana Human Rights Network said clearly indicate her support for white nationalist ideals. The childrens ages and genders match those in the March 31 fatal crash report.

The affidavit states the officer that responded to the April 7 call was aware of Sunny being in jail for an incident where someone was killed on a road and Sunny was driving a vehicle that was involved. White, according to the charging document, told the officer that charges were dropped due to her blood results being negative. But prosecutors wrote, It was later discovered that she bonded out and the charges were not dropped."

The officer advised White to wait the night out at a hotel and return the following morning to speak with day shift personnel to establish a plan. About 20 minutes later, 911 got a call about a woman breaking into a house in Butte, suspected to be White. She allegedly took two children from the house. Dispatch advised she was traveling in a black F-150 truck.

When he was interviewed, the childrens father told officers that White killed someone while driving a vehicle and she had the two kids with her. He told officers White was charged with criminal endangerment and other charges were pending toxicology results.

White is not currently in custody and is not currently facing criminal charges in connection to Westwolfs death. However, Lake County court records show White was cited with two counts of child criminal endangerment the same day Westwolf died, though the counts were dismissed without prejudice pending crime lab results. Dismissed without prejudice means the charges can be brought against White in the future.

Jay Nelson, public information officer for Montana Highway Patrol, confirmed that the agency was notified of a vehicle vs. pedestrian fatality crash on Highway 93 north of Arlee on March 31. He said the vehicle involved was located later that day, and the driver was interviewed. He confirmed that White is being investigated as a suspect and said the investigation is ongoing, pending search warrants and reports from the Montana State Crime Lab.

Lake County Attorney James Lapotka told the Missoulian last week that Whites Cadillac Escalade is being investigated by Montana Highway Patrol as the suspect car involved in hitting a pedestrian on March 31 near Arlee.

Westwolfs parents, Kevin Howard and Carissa Heavy Runner, who started a GoFundMe to help with the investigation of the death of Westwolf, watched Whites arraignment remotely on Thursday and said they were disappointed in the outcome.

Well, shes free again, said Heavy Runner.

Were just confused why shes not in jail, Howard added.

Whites next court appearance for the burglary and interference charges is scheduled for July 27.

Montana Standard Reporter Mike Smith contributed to this story.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Gov. Greg Gianforte on Friday signed two bills to allow public charter schools in Montana. Even fellow Republicans in the waning days of the session acknowledged they were likely to end up in court, and an education group said Friday they will sue.

The bills were House Bill 562 from Rep. Sue Vinton, R-Billings, and House Bill 549, from Rep. Fred Anderson, R-Great Falls.

While both bills allow for the formation of charter schools, they created that process in different ways. Andersons first offers up an opportunity for involvement with the local school board while Vintons instead has a separate commission to validate schools. Anderson's bill would also hold the schools accountable to existing education and licensure laws and rules, while Vintons does not to the same degree, though she told legislators it still has accountability provisions.

Fitzpatrick acknowledged he also wasn't fully enamored with charter schools, but told the caucus then: "We need to get these issues resolved. We should pass this bill and let the courts decide if its valid or not. The bills cleared with support from Republicans and opposition from a small group of the GOP and Democrats.

In a statement, Gianforte said he supported both approaches to charter school creation.

Government should never stand between parents and their kids education, Gianforte, a Republican, said. Were empowering Montana parents to choose whats best for their family and their kids. Were putting students and parents first in education.

A lawsuit against the bills is expected from the Montana Quality Education Coalition. In a press release Friday, the group  which includes the Montana School Board Association, Montana Federation of Public Employees, School Administrators of Montana, Montana Rural Education Association, Montana Association of School Business Officials, and 98 school districts  said its board had voted to hire a lawyer and file lawsuits challenging both policies.

MQEC and our partners have defended Montanans Article X constitutional right to free, quality public schools for over 20 years, said MQEC Executive Director Doug Reisig in an emailed press release. Legislators from both parties recognized HB 562 and HB 393 as both unconstitutional and terrible policy. Well bring the necessary lawsuits to clean up these constitutional mistakes.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Five TikTok content creators have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn Montana's first-in-the-nation ban on the video sharing app, arguing the law is an unconstitutional violation of free speech rights.

The Montana residents also argued in a legal complaint, filed in federal court late Wednesday without public notice, that the state doesn't have any authority over matters of national security.

Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the bill into law Wednesday and said it would protect Montana residents private data and personal information from being harvested by the Chinese government. The ban is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024.

We expected a legal challenge and are fully prepared to defend the law, said Emily Flower, spokeswoman for the Montana Department of Justice.

TikTok has argued the law infringes on peoples First Amendment rights.

However, spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter declined to comment on the lawsuit Thursday. She also declined to say whether the company helped coordinate the complaint.

The creators are five Montana residents who use the video-sharing app for things like to promoting a business, connecting with military veterans, introducing others to ranch life, sharing outdoor adventures or expressing their sense of humor. Some of them make significant money from the app, the complaint states.

The case could serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America many national lawmakers have envisioned. Cybersecurity experts say it could be difficult to enforce.

The lawsuit  filed just hours after Gianforte signed the measure into law  states the ban would immediately and permanently deprive Plaintiffs of their ability to express themselves and communicate with others."

Montana can no more ban its residents from viewing or posting to TikTok than it could ban the Wall Street Journal because of who owns it or the ideas it publishes, the plaintiffs' attorneys wrote.

Some lawmakers, the FBI and officials at other agencies are concerned the video-sharing app, owned by ByteDance, could be used to allow the Chinese government to access information on U.S. citizens or push pro-Beijing misinformation that could influence the public. TikTok says none of this has ever happened.

A former executive at ByteDance alleges the tech giant has served as a propaganda tool" for the Chinese government, a claim ByteDance says is baseless.

China passed laws in 2014 and 2017 that compel companies to cooperate with the countrys government for state intelligence work. TikTok says it has never been asked to hand over its data and it wouldnt do so if asked.

TikTok is spying on Americans. Period, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen told a legislative committee in March. TikTok is a tool of the Chinese Communist Party. It is owned by a Chinese company, and under China law, if you are based in China, you will cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party. Period.

More than half the U.S. states, including Montana, and the federal government have banned TikTok from government-owned devices.

Montanas law would prohibit downloads of TikTok in the state and would fine any entity  an app store or TikTok  $10,000 per day for each time someone is offered the ability to access the social media platform or download the app. The penalties would not apply to users.

Opponents say Montana residents could easily circumvent the ban by using a virtual private network, a service that shields internet users by encrypting their data traffic, preventing others from observing their web browsing. Montana state officials say geofencing technology is used with online sports gambling apps, which are deactivated in states where online gambling is illegal.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

As the president and board chair of the Montana Wildlife Federation, I am deeply disappointed by Gov. Gianforte's veto of Senate Bill 442.

SB 442 is a landmark bill that addresses the needs of Montanans, preserves our natural resources, protects hunting and fishing opportunities, and supports our veterans.

It garnered support from conservation organizations, county commissioners, veteran groups, health care associations, and over 130 legislators.

Despite receiving 86% support from our state legislators, Gov. Gianforte vetoed SB 442 without proper notification to the Legislature. His veto was not read across the rostrum before the Senate adjourned.

This disregard for our legislative process is not aligned with the values we hold dear as Montanans.

According to our constitution, if the governor vetoes a bill while the Legislature is not in session, the secretary of state is responsible for polling the Legislature by mail. If both Houses pass the bill by a two-thirds vote, it overrides the veto.

In response to a petition delivered by MWF and several other conservation organizations, Secretary Christi Jacobsen said that she cannot poll legislators until Gov. Gianforte delivers a veto notice to her office.

The petition was signed by over 2,500 concerned citizens in just one weekend, illustrating the broad support for SB 442 and its investments in wildlife, rural communities and veterans.

I urge all Montanans to hold our elected officials accountable and let our legislators vote to override the governors veto of SB 442. The majority of Montana citizens through their representatives want this bill to pass. The governor works for the citizens of Montana.

Call the governor's office, write op-eds, and unite to ensure that our voices are heard and that Montanans interests are prioritized.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

DECATUR  A Macon County grand jury has indicted a Decatur man in connection with the death of a dog found caged along a rural road, officials said.

Macon County jurors indicted 58-year-old Dewey E. Ford on a felony charge of obstructing justice for his involvement in the death. The dog was found emaciated in a cage in a ditch on Sawyer Road near Forsyth on Jan. 24.

Testimony was provided to the grand jury on April 26, Macon County Animal Control announced on Thursday. Ford was booked into the Macon County Jail the following day and has since been released after posting $500 bail.

Ford has pleaded not guilty to the charge. A pretrial hearing has been set for May 26.

Authorities previously announced a separate arrest in relation to the incident.

Twyla Kitsos, 33, was given a notice to appear in criminal court for failure of owners duties in connection with this incident. Assistance and information from the public was crucial in leading to Kitsos arrest, Decatur police said at the time.

The incident was one of two major instances of dog abuse in Macon County in late December and January. On Dec. 23, officers responded to the 4300 block of North Taylor Road after citizen complaints that five dogs were suffering from the extreme cold.

One of the five dogs did not survive. A criminal case continues in Macon County Circuit Court against Mark Miller, Jr., 42, and Nyssa Richardson-Miller, 39, in connection with that incident.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

DECATUR  As a crowd of anti-cruelty activists looked on, one of them sobbing, a judge found probable cause to try Mark A. Miller Jr. on a charge of allowing a pet dog to freeze and suffer outdoors to the point where it had to be euthanized.

The Thursday hearing in Macon County Circuit Court was on the one felony charge of aggravated cruelty to animals.

Miller, 42, denies that charge and is also pleading not guilty to a lesser charge of cruelty to animals. He further denies five counts alleging he was a felon in possession of an unsterilized dog; Illinois law forbids felons with certain criminal records from owning dogs unless they are spayed or neutered.

Miller was represented by attorney Dan Fultz and his questioning of prosecution witness Sgt. Ron Atkins with the Macon County Sheriffs Office suggested one plank of the defense strategy: that Miller had not been responsible for Berry Blue, the pit bull found collapsed and unresponsive in the yard of home in the 4300 block of North Taylor Road on December 23.

On cross-examination, Fultz asked Atkins, the animal control administrator for the sheriffs office, if he had seen Miller at the Taylor Road address?

Atkins replied that he had not, and doesnt know if the defendant was there when police arrived after being alerted to the dogs condition.

With regard to the admission that you testified to about him being one of the owners of the animal, was that captured on any kind of recording equipment? Were you wearing a body cam or was that in a formal interview with the sheriffs department or anything of that nature? Fultz asked.

Atkins replied that he had not interviewed Miller but the defendant had acknowledged ownership of Berry Blue in an earlier court hearing. That hearing related to the care of four other distressed dogs which had been seized from the Taylor Road property and have since made a full recovery. Miller is now paying for their care after being ordered to by a judge.

It was an open statement in court, Atkins told Fultz, referring to Miller's ownership of the dog.

Fultz was later seen in the courtroom making arrangements to get a transcript of that court hearing.

Questioned earlier by Macon County States Attorney Scott Rueter, Atkins said Miller had been consulted before the decision was made to euthanize the dog. And in filling out the paperwork for the animal for which we have copies of, Mr. Miller indicated that he was one of the owners of the animal? Rueter asked. Atkins said that was correct.

He also said that Nyssa R. Richardson-Miller, a co-defendant in the case charged with a single count of animal cruelty, had also identified Miller as Berry Blues owner.

She was spoken to about the case as well and she indicated that she had called Mr. Miller indicating the animal was suffering in the cold and she was told by him not to bring the dog in or not to bring the dog inside? asked Rueter.

Correct, said Atkins.

The officer said police had been alerted by a passer-by, Courtney Pritchett, who had become alarmed after seeing the dog staggering and stumbling around in the yard. Atkins said the air temperature was just above freezing with snow squalls and high winds, creating brutal windchill conditions.

Ultimately, the dog was taken to the University of Illinois for examination and, at that examination, doctors determined the animal was suffering from hypothermia, Rueter said.

After finding probable cause, Presiding Judge Thomas Griffith scheduled a pretrial hearing for August 9, and ordered Richardson-Miller, who was not in court Thursday, to be present at that time for a status hearing in her case.

Distressed by Berry Blues fate, Pritchett went on to found a group called Justice for Blue, which seeks to draw attention to cases of animal cruelty. Some 24 members of the group, all wearing distinctive blue shirts, packed the public benches for Thursdays hearing.

2023 mugshots from the Herald & Review Lourash Hirstein Phillip Gehrken Joseph A. Williams Jetrevius O. Jarrett Edwards King-Woods Wilson Derrickson
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

DECATUR  A Decatur gunman whose front yard shoot-out with another man was caught on surveillance tape has been sentenced to 24 months probation.

Dewayne L. Matthews, 25, took a plea deal negotiated by defense attorney Sara Vig and admitted a charge of the aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Two further charges of the aggravated discharge of a gun were dismissed by Macon County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Geisler.

Matthews' case had been headed for a trial scheduled for May 9 but he made a surprise appearance in court May 5 and told the judge he was ready to accept the plea deal.

A sworn affidavit from Decatur police said the shoot-out happened on the night of Feb. 23, 2021, outside Matthews home in the 2100 block of East Decatur Street.

Detective Tim Wittmer, who signed the affidavit, said the surveillance footage showed Matthews coming out of his garage with a bag of garbage before noticing a silver car pulling up in the street outside.

Wittmer said Matthews is then seen dropping the garbage and pulling out a handgun. Seconds later the male (later identified as Matthews) can be seen firing a handgun rapidly in the direction where the silver vehicle is believed to have parked, said Wittmer.

The footage clearly shows a subject (from the silver vehicle) walking across the street and muzzle flashes can be seen when it appears this subject fired at the male in the 2100 block of East Decatur Street.

Wittmer said Matthews and a woman from the house are then seen fleeing from the home, driving away so fast they ran over the dropped garbage and left two pet dogs running loose in the yard. Police later recovered 11 spent .45 caliber shell casings from outside the house and more casings and ammunition were found where the other gunman had been parked.

In addition to the probation sentence, Geisler ordered Matthews to pay $250 to have his DNA added to a crime database maintained by the State Police. The judge also ordered the forfeit of the handgun used by Matthews.

2023 mugshots from the Herald & Review Lourash Hirstein Phillip Gehrken Joseph A. Williams Jetrevius O. Jarrett Edwards King-Woods Wilson Derrickson
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

DECATUR  With surveillance tape showing the Decatur man that Kaderius D. Wright-Jarrett is accused of shooting to death was in fact the aggressor in their fatal encounter, prosecutors were willing to do a deal with the defendant.

He had been due to face a bench trial on murder charges Thursday but instead took a plea bargain and was sentenced to a total of 12 years after admitting a charge of possession of a gun by a street gang member.

Wright-Jarrett, 19, actually got 10 years on that charge but had another two years added on after also admitting an earlier unrelated offense of the aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

Macon County Circuit Court Presiding Judge Thomas Griffith ordered the two sentences to run consecutively, adding up to 12 years to be served at 50%. The judge said Wright-Jarrett had been involved in the fatal shooting on June 5 while out on bond for the weapon offense.

A sworn Decatur police affidavit said Wright-Jarrett had been confronted by 20-year-old Sadarius D. Givens in a public housing complex in the 300 block of East Center Street. Givens, who was armed and was with an alleged armed accomplice, Diontae L. Beacham, 23, was seen getting into a heated dispute with the defendant.

Wright-Jarrett appears to fire his weapon at Givens who is acting aggressively and who has been pointing his weapon, said the affidavit.

Givens is observed falling to the ground. Wright-Jarrett and Beacham appear to then continue firing their respective weapons in the direction of each other.

A male juvenile also involved in the confrontation had been shot four times but survived his wounds, according to the affidavit.

Griffith, who had viewed the video surveillance himself, said there had been several conferences between the office of the states attorney and Chief Public Defender Michelle Sanders, to hammer out a deal on the charges.

This plea arrangement was reached as a result of extensive negotiations, the judge added. Including looking at the incident in the second case where the defendant was charged with first degree murder and the videotape appeared to show that the deceased may have been the aggressor.

Sanders described that as a fair statement of the facts and Assistant States Attorney Brian Shaw agreed it was arguably the case. Shaw had described Wright-Jarrett as a member of a Decatur street gang called Guwop.

Beacham is pleading not guilty to two charges of attempted murder, two charges of the aggravated discharge of a firearm and a further count of being a felon in possession of a weapon.

He is due in court May 23 for a pretrial hearing and remains in the custody of the Macon County Jail with bail set at more than $1 million.

2023 mugshots from the Herald & Review Lourash Hirstein Phillip Gehrken Joseph A. Williams Jetrevius O. Jarrett Edwards King-Woods Wilson Derrickson
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

SPRINGFIELD  As budget negotiations for the coming fiscal year continued behind closed doors Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzkers office announced it would launch a long-stalled tax incentive program that was part of his first-year budget.

The program, known as the Blue Collar Jobs Act, was a bargaining chip for Republican votes in 2019 for both a massive infrastructure plan and the state budget  the only annual spending plan to land on Pritzkers desk with bipartisan support from lawmakers. The measure would offer business tax credits for wages paid on certain construction projects.

But in early 2021, with the state staring down an anticipated budget deficit amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Pritzker unilaterally delayed implementation of the program, angering the GOP members who had pushed for it.

The states fiscal outlook has since rebounded, leading to unforeseen revenue spikes as federal stimulus funds circulated through the economy in fiscal years 2022 and 2023. With the governors office currently anticipating about $50.4 billion in revenue for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2024, his office on Wednesday announced that it had finally opened the Blue Collar Jobs Act application window.

Today, I am proud to announce yet another investment in our communities  the Blue Collar Jobs Act Tax Credit  to promote construction projects in underserved areas, while creating more good-paying jobs up and down the state, Pritzker announced in a news release.

Republicans chalked the announcement up as a win, even as some in the minority party lamented that the details of the upcoming budget remained unknown just two days ahead of Fridays scheduled adjournment of the spring legislative session.

We have consistently requested that the governor implement the long-stalled Blue Collar Jobs Act that was a part of the 2019 Rebuild Illinois bipartisan agreement, Senate Minority Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, said in a statement.

He hailed implementation of the act as a step in the right direction for rebuilding our economy and providing more job opportunities to Illinois workers.

The program offers tax breaks of up to $20 million per year to eligible companies. The tax credit would offset wages paid to construction workers, up to 75% in underserved areas as determined by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and 50% elsewhere.

Projects exceeding $10 million in construction costs are eligible if the construction is located in enterprise zones as defined by state law or if the business has a contract under the states Economic Development for a Growing Economy program.

Companies designated high impact businesses under state law would be eligible for credits if the project exceeds $12 million and creates 500 full-time jobs, or if it exceeds $30 million and leads to the retention of 1,500 full-time jobs.

Projects in a River Edge Redevelopment Zone as defined in state law would be eligible if they have a qualified rehabilitation plan exceeding $1 million.

The grants would be available for businesses that completed projects in 2021 or later, honoring the original effective date of the bipartisan agreement.

Pritzkers announcement came just two days before lawmakers were scheduled to adjourn their spring legislative session. That deadline, however, was self-imposed; lawmakers could extend session through May 31 without triggering the constitutional requirement that a three-fifths majority is needed to pass a bill with an immediate effective date.

The major unfinished item as of Wednesday night was the states operating budget. No bill language had been filed and neither chamber moved an appropriations bill that could contain the budget plan. That meant session is likely to continue past Fridays scheduled adjournment date, due to the state constitutions requirement that bills be read three times on the floor before passage.

Photos: Pritzker sworn in for second term
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Can the incompetence of the Biden Administration be any clearer than the alarming humanitarian situation we have on the Mexico border?

Estimates show thousands of immigrants are coming across the border every day. The current situation is out of control and dangerous.

A robust, well-regulated immigration policy is a benefit to our nation and a legacy that should be continued.

While the Biden Administration claims that the border is not open, the New York Times reported that border officials apprehended more than 11,000 migrants who had crossed illegally in recent days. That, they say, is an increase over the 7,000 to 8,000 crossings a day

Some of these immigrants are coming across with criminal records. Others come across with communicable diseases. And all others will be an immediate strain on state and federal social welfare programs.

The problem is no longer isolated to border towns and states but is spilling over into the big cities in northern parts of the nation. Mayors across the country, including in Chicago and New York, are complaining loudly that they are unable to accommodate the hundreds being bused to their cities every week. Ironically, these same mayors favored turning their cities into sanctuaries.

The President and his administration are failing in their primary duty to keep our nation secure. Not declaring a national emergency and hardening the borders is utterly irresponsible and foolish.

David E. Smith, Illinois Family Action
Wreaths Across Americas mobile education exhibit is set to stop in New Braunfels Sunday, May 21 at 3030 W. San Antonio St.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

One person was killed and another injured when a tree struck a truck traveling in Lee County.

Virginia State Police is investigating the fatal crash, which occurred May 11 at 6:35 p.m. on Route 641, less than a mile west of Route 421, according to a written statement.

A 2007 Toyota Tacoma was traveling east on Route 641 when a tree unexpectedly fell across the cab of the vehicle.

The driver, Randy W. Woodard, 57, of Jonesville, Virginia, was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of serious injuries.

The passenger, Hustler W. Woodard, 34, of Pennington Gap, Virginia, died at the scene.

No charges were filed.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

NEWTON  Since 1949, the Rotary Club of Newton Conover has served the community.

A standing mission of Rotary clubs all over the world is to take action to enhance basic education and literacy in local communities. The Rotary Club of Newton Conover addresses this mission through annual scholarships.

At the annual Rotary Night event, students Laura Grace Wells and Kyra Ann Martin were recipients of $1,000 each in educational scholarships from the club.

The Dr. John F. Sinnett Scholarship through the CVCC Foundation was established in memory of Rotarian and leader, Dr. Sinnett, to encourage a deserving student to develop leadership potential through CVCCs health and human resources programs.

The Rotary Club of Newton Conover presented the Dr. John F. Sinnett Scholarship to Laura Grace Wells. Wells is enrolled in CVCCs radiology tech program. Upon certification as a technician, she plans to continue to pursue various techniques as she grows professionally. Wells holds a 4.0 grade point average and is active in her church youth group.

The Patricia F. Gibson Scholarship was established by the Rotary Club of Newton Conover to honor Patricia Gibson for her contributions as a lifelong educator, Rotarian, community supporter, mentor, and friend. The scholarship inspires and supports future generations of students.

The Patricia F. Gibson Education Scholarship was presented to Kyra Ann Martin. Martin will be attending North Carolina State University seeking a career in the field of psychology where she hopes to make a positive difference in peoples lives, especially children.

As a Beta Club and National Honors Society member, Martin is well versed in giving back to the community. In addition to completing an unpaid internship at South Newton Elementary, she also donates two hours per week at the Catawba County Public Library assisting students.

Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change.

The Rotary Club of Newton Conover meets the first and third Tuesdays at noon. Anyone interested in being involved in the international organization, may contact Joy Cline at jcline@bolickfoundation.org.
" " A newsie hawks papers announcing the sinking of the RMS Titanic. ARCHIVE HOLDINGS INC./HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES

Spanish philosopher George Santaya is credited with the old adage: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Sure, it's a little dramatic, and you wouldn't be blamed for letting loose a loud sigh and eye roll if someone said it to you in a preachy way. But the man who wrote these words had a good point. Continuity is necessary to progress  or, in normal-people words, we must remember stuff from our past in order to do it better in the future.

When you put it that way, it seems like common sense. You eat ice cream too fast and you get a headache. So next time you slow down a little. Clearly. But if history is full of warnings, we haven't always been very good at heeding them. The past is bursting with people who made mistakes similar to those of their predecessors, and, lo and behold, they suffered similar consequences. These tragedies are especially sad because they are often preventable.

Advertisement

So did all of history's disasters happen because some poor sap dropped the ball? Not really. Sometimes bad things happen that no one can control. And sometimes they happen over and over again to the same people. It's simply bad luck.

Either way, there are plenty of examples throughout history of repeat tragedies. Here are some of the worst.
Capone's mob bought Meadowmoor Dairies, intending to bully its way into the milk business. Bottling milk in Meadowmoor's facilities would allow them to bypass the fixed dairy pricing, and to stop unions from distributing only local milk.

Meadowmoor distributed milk through stores exclusively rather than using drivers for home deliveries. The dairy bought milk from farmers at a flat price and aggressively exploited store distribution.

Advertisement

This allowed Meadowmoor to underprice other distributors who were bound by contract to pay union prices to union drivers. These mob-like tactics pitted the gangsters against union officials and those dairies that had to deliver milk to homes (and those delivery drivers).

But the mob wanted the union's help. A story in the Chicago Tribune recounts how Capone's political fixer, Murray "The Camel" Humphreys, went to Steve Sumner, the union leader of the Milk Wagon Drivers' Union Local 753, asking him to "lay low" so Meadowmoor could hire non-union workers to undercut the other dairies. Then, Sumner and his union drivers could protest Meadowmoor, which would give Meadowmoor reason to raise milk prices again. All of this was in exchange for the mob's protection, of course.

Sumner wanted no part of it. He declined the mob's security and said no to all their demands, which led to the beginning of Chicago's milk wars.

As one would expect, violence and intimidation was the order of business. Over an 18-month period, there were numerous bombings, dozens of windows smashed, damaged trucks, and drivers and vendors beaten.

Striking dairy farmers and drivers bombed Meadowmoor just after it opened in 1932. Undeterred, the dairy sold its milk at 9 cents a quart  2 cents below the regular price at other distributors. Capone's mob also extorted New York pizzerias to use only Meadowmoor cheese.

As the battle raged between the unions, the mob, home milk delivery drivers and retail sellers, Sumner and the Milk Wagon Drivers' Union attempted to organize the companies and convert them to an employee wage system. But the Associated Milk Dealers refused and the dairy farmers continued to strike, even though the Supreme Court handed down injunctions against union picketing.

" " A milk delivery truck, owned by Meadowmoor Dairies, is seen after striking dairy farmers pushed it into a riverbed. Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone/Getty Images
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1925. It's a lesser-known fact that he could just as easily have been born in Montreal, Quebec. That's where his parents met in 1917. His mother, Louisa Langdon Norton, was a recent immigrant from Grenada, who had moved to the Little Burgundy neighborhood of Montreal to live with her uncle. Malcolm's father, Earl Little, had left his first wife and three children in small-town Georgia and joined the Great Northward Migration, eventually landing in the City of a Hundred Steeples.

Earl and Louisa met after joining the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), founded by the Jamaican visionary, Marcus Garvey. Garvey's Pan-African perspective would have a life-long influence on Malcolm's thought. As activists in the movement, his parents moved first to Philadelphia, and then to Omaha to man an outpost of the organization there. It was dangerous work. Earl Little received numerous death threats and one night, when he was out of town, hooded Klansmen bearing torches came looking for him. When a pregnant Louise informed them that he was away, they shattered every window in the house before leaving.

Advertisement

After Malcolm's birth, the family moved several times, eventually taking up residence in Lansing, Michigan. There, despite being burned out of the family's new house  mostly likely by white neighbors  Earl continued his activism on behalf of the UNIA, taking his favorite child, 5-year-old Malcolm to meetings.

In September 1931, Earl died after being cut nearly in two by a street car. Although his death was ruled as accidental, many suspected that he'd been murdered by a local white supremacist organization.

Earl's death was a pivotal event in Malcolm's childhood. His mother never fully recovered from the shock of it and the sudden burden of becoming an impoverished single parent. She suffered a breakdown and her children ended up in foster care and orphanages. By 1946, Malcolm was in Boston, where he was arrested for burglary and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

" " Malcolm X was considered the radical voice of the civil rights movement, offering a different solution for those who wanted an alternative to Martin Luther King Jr.'s non-violent approach. Truman Moore/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images
The US Congress is putting increasing pressure on the Pentagon to account for the billions of dollars in weapons, ammunition and equipment sent to Ukraine.

From the three billion dollar surplus, Ukraine, which is preparing for a large-scale counterattack, can obtain key weapons. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously said that they are waiting for the offensive because they do not yet have everything they need.

The difference in accounting comes from the fact that for some of the military equipment sent to Ukraine, not the current value was taken into account, but the price that a complete replacement of the weapon would cost. The Pentagon also sent it to Ukraine from its existing, older supplies, because it could get it there faster.

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said that during the review of the costs, it was found that in some cases, instead of the net book value of the equipment intended for Ukraine, they calculated the replacement cost and thus overestimated the present value of the equipment from American stocks.

Since Russia launched a war against Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has provided almost $37 billion in military aid  weapons systems, ammunition, equipment  to Ukraine.

The Pentagon emphasized that they are closely monitoring military shipments to Ukraine. In Ukraine, a small group of Americans in cooperation with the Ukrainian side, where possible, conducts both in-person and virtual inspections. In February, the Pentagons auditor general said his office had so far found no evidence that any arms and aid shipments to Ukraine had been lost due to corruption or had fallen into the wrong hands. However, he added that the investigation is still ongoing.
THE. B.;

China;banning;social media;TikTok;

2023-05-18 12:32:00

The move could be groundbreaking, as more and more people fear that China will gain unauthorized access to users personal data.

The governor of the US state of Montana, Greg Gianforte, signed a law on Wednesday that bans the use of the video sharing platform TikTok in the state, reports CNN.

The politician justified his decision on Twitter by saying that he wanted to protect the personal data of Montanans from the Chinese Communist Party. This makes Montana the first federal state to officially restrict this social media platform. It is expected that the provision will be challenged in court. The bill, which will enter into force in January, specifically targets TikTok, prohibiting the operation of the application within state borders.

Violators of the law can be fined up to ten thousand dollars (nearly HUF 3.4 million at the current exchange rate) per day. This also applies to the stores from which the application can be downloaded. Last month, lawmakers in the Montana House of Representatives voted 54-43 to pass the bill, known as SB419, after which it went to the governors desk to sign into law.

According to TikTok, the legislation violates the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana. We want to reassure Montanans that they can continue to use TikTok to express themselves, to make a living, to be a community. In the meantime, we are working to protect the rights of users inside and outside of Montana, reads the companys statement.

The law comes as TikTok comes under increasing criticism for its ties to China, as the platform is owned by China-based ByteDance. Many US officials fear that the Chinese government could gain unauthorized access to US data through TikTok  although there is no concrete evidence that this has ever happened.

By the way, the decree also places Telegram, founded in Russia, on the blacklist.
Based on recent data, China exported 1.07 million vehicles in the first three months of the year, 58 percent more, than in the same period last year. Meanwhile, Japanese exports rose only 6 percent to 954,185 cars from the base, meaning China overtook Japan as the worlds largest vehicle exporter.

The growth of Chinese exports was mainly due to the demand for electric cars and sales to Russia.

Exports of new energy vehicles (NEVs), including electric cars, in the first quarter almost doubled, increased by more than 90 percent compared to a year earlier. Chinas leading NEV exporters include companies such as Tesla, SAIC  the owner of the MG brand  and BYD, which is backed by veteran American investor Warren Buffett. Tesla exports from the Shanghai plant to Japan and Europe, among others. The factory is currently capable of producing 1.25 million vehicles per year, but the company plans to increase capacity further. Since last month, the Model Y has been manufactured in China for export to Canada.

Another important factor is Chinas exports to Russia, which has also surged since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, primarily due to Western trade sanctions. Last year, Chinese carmakers including Geely, Chery and Great Wall saw a significant increase in market share in Russia after rivals including Volkswagen and Toyota left the country following the invasion of Ukraine.

By the way, last year, according to data from the General Directorate of Chinese Customs, China exported a total of 3.2 million vehicles, compared to Germanys 2.6 million vehicle exports, so last year China overtook the Germans to become the worlds second largest car exporter.

Cover image: Shutterstock
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Friday, May 19

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Mt. Pleasant High School Class of 1956 will hold a reunion at 11 a.m. at the 73 & Main Restaurant, 1467 N. Main St., Mt. Pleasant. RSVP by Friday, May 12, to Pat Moser at 704-942-1741 or pmoser1938@gmail.com.

The Northwest Swim Club, 5000 Durneigh Drive in Kannapolis, is holding an open house from 5-8 p.m. Enjoy a free SunDrop Slushie and have a look at the pool and facilities. Join and receive a $25 voucher for guest passes or concession stand purchases. There will be craft vendors and hot dogs for sale. For more information, see www.northwest-swim-club.com

The 55-voice Piedmont Choral Society will perform free concerts, with orchestra, at 7 p.m. and at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 21, at Calvary Lutheran Church, 950 Bradley St. NE, Concord.

Saturday, May 20

The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 8 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products.

Hot Dogs at Center United Methodist Church at 1119 Union St. S., are offered on the second and fourth Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dine in and take out. Call-in orders are welcomed at 704-782-1785

Sunday, May 21

The 55-voice Piedmont Choral Society will perform free concerts, with orchestra, at 3 p.m. at Calvary Lutheran Church, 950 Bradley St. NE, Concord.

Monday, May 22

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

The Harrisburg Farmers Market will be open from 3-6 p.m. at the Old Post Office, 6960 Robinson Church Road.

Tuesday, May 23

TOPS #437 (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) meets every Tuesday at 10 a.m. (weigh-in begins at 9:30 a.m.) at Lakeview Baptist Church, 2532 Lane St., Kannapolis. Visitors are welcome.

If you need help and encouragement after the death of a spouse, child, family member or friend, you are invited to join us for A GriefShare Support Group at Pitts Baptist Church, 140 Pitts School Road NW, Concord, weekly on Tuesdays through May 30 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. For more information, call Linda Bounds at 704-793-8155.

The Rotary Square Concord Farmers Market will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 111 Union St. S., Concord.

The Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary will hold its General Meeting at The Salvation Army of Cabarrus County headquarters at 216 Patterson Ave SE, Concord, NC 28025. Socializing and refreshments begin at 9:30 a.m. prior to the meeting at 10. At this month's meeting, the Auxillary will be presenting three scholarships for 2023 and will be installing officers for 2023-2024. There will be pre-owned books available for sale, with proceeds to be used to buy new books for the Christmas Angel Tree project.

A community food drive will be held at Poplar Tent Presbyterian Church at 6841 Poplar Tent Road, Concord. The food drive benefits the food pantries of CCM (Cooperative Christian Ministries) in Concord, Kannapolis and Harrisburg. This will be a drive-thru event and will be from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Go to Poplar Tent Presbyterian Church's Facebook page (with the logo) for detailed information on CCM's needed items.

Thursday, May 25

Epworth UMCs famous hot dogs and taco soup, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1030 Burrage Road NE, Concord. For free delivery, call 704-786-5500.

The Kannapolis Farmers Market will be open from 4-7 p.m. at the corner of Vance Street and Dale Earnhardt Boulevard.

Friday, May 26

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, May 27

The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 8 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products.

Hot Dogs at Center United Methodist Church at 1119 Union St. S., are offered on the second and fourth Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dine in and take out. Call-in orders are welcomed at 704-782-1785

The Cabarrus Chapter of Disabled American Veterans and DAV Auxiliary will be replacing flags on veteran's graves at the West Concord Cemetery (331 Union Cemetery Road) starting at 10 a.m. Everyone is welcome to participate. Come out and help honor these men and women who served our country.

Monday, May 29

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

The Harrisburg Farmers Market will be open from 3-6 p.m. at the Old Post Office, 6960 Robinson Church Road.

Tuesday, May 30

TOPS #437 (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) meets every Tuesday at 10 a.m. (weigh-in begins at 9:30 a.m.) at Lakeview Baptist Church, 2532 Lane St., Kannapolis. Visitors are welcome.

If you need help and encouragement after the death of a spouse, child, family member or friend, you are invited to join us for A GriefShare Support Group at Pitts Baptist Church, 140 Pitts School Road NW, Concord, weekly on Tuesdays through May 30 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. For more information, call Linda Bounds at 704-793-8155.

The Rotary Square Concord Farmers Market will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 111 Union St. S., Concord.

Wednesday, May 31

Basics of Home Canning will be offered , from 5:15-9:15 p.m. .at NC Cooperative Extension Center, 715 Cabarrus Avenue , West, Concord, NC 28027. This hands-on workshop will include canning safely, equipment needed, and the use of both a water bath canner and a pressure canner. All produce and equipment will be provided and the class will preserve green beans and grape jelly. Cost is $18 per person and pre-registration with payment is necessary. You may register online at go.ncsu.edu/registercabarrus, or at the Cabarrus Center weekdays. If paying by cash, please bring the correct amount. Call the Cabarrus Extension Office at 804-920-3310 for additional information.

Thursday, June 1

Epworth UMCs famous hot dogs and taco soup, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1030 Burrage Road NE, Concord. For free delivery, call 704-786-5500.

The Kannapolis Farmers Market will be open from 4-7 p.m. at the corner of Vance Street and Dale Earnhardt Boulevard.

Friday, June 2

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, June 3

The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 8 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products.

Hot Dogs at Center United Methodist Church at 1119 Union St. S., are offered on the second and fourth Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dine in and take out. Call-in orders are welcomed at 704-782-1785

Got news or events?

Does your community group or nonprofit agency have an upcoming event that would be of interest to the public? Email it to mplemmons@independenttribune.com.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

ASHEBORO  The worlds largest natural habitat zoological park, the North Carolina Zoo, will soon undergo an expansion and the addition of a new Asia habitat complex with the help of a $2 million gift from the member-funded SECU Foundation. The announcement was made in Asheboro to highlight the Foundations gift to the North Carolina Zoological Society.

Funding from the Foundation will enable the Zoo to expand its capacity for education and outreach for both virtual and in-person visits through the SECU Visitor View Pavilion and Classroom in Asia, the centerpiece of the new 10-acre complex. The Pavilion and Classroom will offer a formal venue for interactive learning and a glass observation wall overlooking an indoor primate habitat. It will also provide a closer look at Komodo dragons, gibbons, giant salamanders, king cobras, and other animal species.

North Carolina is most fortunate to have a world-class facility that is dedicated to protecting wildlife populations and their living habitats while educating the community about conserving the natural world, said Bob Brinson, SECU Foundation board chair. Education is one of the Foundations core areas for giving, and we are pleased to support the Zoos expansion project to further enrich experiences for visitors of all ages.

The North Carolina Zoo welcomes nearly 1 million guests annually, including 100,000 school children through field trips. Virtual education programs have been offered by the Zoo since 2020 with a viewership of over 6 million from 63 North Carolina counties, 42 other states, and 18 foreign countries. This will be the Zoos first opening of a new habitat region since 1994.

The NC Zoo Society is honored to have been selected as an SECU Foundation grant recipient. Partnerships like this will help us build the new Asia Habitat expansion and continue our goal of securing a safe and enduring future for the Zoo and its programs, said NC Zoo Society Board Chair John Ruffin.

Bringing the worlds continents to the North Carolina Zoo has always been our goal, and this generous gift brings us closer to our mission and celebrates the uniqueness of the animals and culture of Asia, said Director and CEO Pat Simmons of the North Carolina Zoo.

About SECU

A not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, and federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), SECU has been providing employees of the state of North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services for over 85 years.
If global contact centre platform provider Genesys had one key take-away message for the approximately 300 delegates to its APAC Partners Summit in Phuket this week, it was that significant numbers of legacy in-premise clients are ripe for the inevitable move to the cloud.

It was by no means the only message at the partners conference of course - the evolution of AI in the platform and ongoing role of partners were others - but there is no denying the business momentum numbers supplied by the company for its Genesys Cloud CX platform.





In the ANZ zone, which happens to be the most mature market and largest revenue spinner for Genesys in the Asia Pacific region, financial year 2023 year-on-year cloud revenue growth to date is more than 30%.

The numbers are even more impressive for the overall APAC region, where cloud revenue growth for the same period is more than 50%, with partners also experiencing about 50% growth in cloud revenue.

In India, the fastest-growing Genesys Cloud CX region in APAC, cloud has seen consecutive double/triple-digit growth each year since the GC CX launch in 2021.

Cloud contributes to more than 85% of Indias Genesys revenue, of which approximately 85% is from partner-related indirect sales.

Although Genesys is understandably a little cagey about giving exact figures, much of the growth in cloud is coming from existing clients moving off legacy in-premise installations to the Genesys Cloud CX platform.

Aside from all other drivers, a significant reduction in up-front enduser cost has been a major factor in the growth of Genesys Cloud CX.

"The economics has changed radically," says George Aprane, Genesys vice president Channels & Alliances APAC (pictured below)



.

"They don't need to buy servers, they don't need to buy operating system, no databases, no security patches - nothing, because it's all done by Genesys on AWS."

So how much does this save the enduser? According to Aprane, the up-front saving is enormous.

"Instead of paying a million dollars up front, for example, the customer might pay just $300,000 but he pays that every year instead of a 20% maintenance fee every year."

In addition to the up-front savings the client gets all the additional benefits of being on the cloud.

"They get the benefit of all the crowd sourced and company sourced inputs that you form in the product roadmap and the best in class platform with us that is always on with 100% uptime and is dynamic with 300 releases a year," says Asaf Tarnopolsky, Genesys senior vice present APAC (pictured below).



"The beauty of the cloud is that are almost a million agents on our platform and every customer benefits."





According to Aprane, this is also important for Genesys partners.

"It's important because in the past after you dropped the software for a million dollars then you only go to collect the maintenance they often change the request around the implementation," Aprane said.

"What you have to do then as a partner is to figure out of the 300 features of the product which features will help the customer.

"Now the features are already there and it is just a matter of switching them on."



And the uniformity of the software throughout the Genesys client base is at the heart of the benefit for all stakeholders.

"Every single customer of the 4000 customers we have globally is using the same software," says Aprane.

"Some users could be using 10% of it while others could be using 85% of it."

The past three years has presented many challenges for Genesys clients, according to Aprane and Tarnopolsky, not least those in the leisure and hospitality sector which took a particularly savage hit because of the restrictions imposed globally.

"The last three years were tough for them but now it's out of the woods so we go and try and convert them and build a case why they should go to cloud," says Aprane.

"Our premise product is the best one (on the market), our customers are comfortable with it because it's rock solid and our job as sales leaders is to convert them," added Tarnopolsky.

So how much low hanging legacy platform fruit remains to be picked for Genesys and its partners?

While Genesys will not give exact numbers they will say that a "significant majority" of customers are now users of Genesys Cloud CX and virtually all new business is for the cloud platform.

The unspoken suggestion therefore is that a significant minority of Genesys customers are still using an on-premise legacy solution and for the partners they represent lucrative pickings.
It's highly unusual for any American website to write about the downsides posed by using Microsoft's innumerable products. One could extend that to tech sites in toto (iTWire is an exception: 1 , 2 .).

Thus, for Newsweek to detail doubts over the Pentagon's decision to abandon a long-running cyber-security program protecting its global IT network and replace it with off-the-shelf tools from Microsoft certainly merits comment.

Newsweek's Shaun Waterman wrote that the criticism of the shift had come both from outsiders and insiders, with experts saying it would make the US "more vulnerable to foreign hackers, enemy cyber-warriors and online spies".

His effort is well worth a read; he quotes both anonymous and named sources in mounting the argument that sourcing everything from a single software vendor isn't the wisest thing to do. One source says: "I was completely against it. A lot of us were, for the same reason: It felt like we were further embedding ourselves into this monopolistic (Microsoft) monoculture."

Waterman cites the March revelation that suspected Russian attackers had been secretly exploiting one of the myriad vulnerabilities in Microsoft Outlook for almost a year. As he puts it, "The incident, unreported except by the cyber-security trade press, illustrates what experts say are the dangers of relying exclusively on Microsoft IT."

But Microsoft is well supported by the US establishment, with even the NSA said to have made an assessment supporting the Pentagon's move. The White House has recently talked about a new cyber-security strategy, which seeks to make vendors responsible for security from the get-go, but that is unlikely to get very far. The practice of selling support for flaky products is well-established in the tech industry and no firm would give up that steady stream of income.

While there are many who say that the last few years of ransomware attacks  which almost exclusively target Microsoft's Windows operating system  have tarnished the company's reputation, the truth is that there was little left to tarnish. And Microsoft finds no shame in saying that it charges consulting fees when ransomware victims approach it for help.

Going by the Newsweek article, the NSA assessment appears to have been a decisive factor in the Pentagon's decision as it was understood it could be informed by secret intelligence. Exactly what that is, or whether it is just pure fiction, one will never know. Not unless we have an Edward Snowden Mark II to leak documents from what was once known as No Such Agency.

The problems outlined with Microsoft are nothing new. Waterman cites the case of the DoD since 2017: "Since 2017, DoD has exclusively used the Microsoft Windows operating system on all its four million-plus desktop computers and is increasingly employing Microsoft's Azure cloud computing services.

"And most of its 2.1 million active duty and reserve military personnel and 750,000 civilian employees use Microsoft programs such as Outlook or Office for email, calendar, word processing and other administrative tasks."

But then Microsoft is never short of chutzpah, telling Newsweek that it was best placed to defend its own products because it knew them best. Exactly why it did not make said products secure in the first place given this amount of knowledge was not a perspective that the Redmond firm offered.

Waterman provides statistics from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to illustrate his points: CISA keeps an updated tally of all vulnerabilities weaponised by attackers and of 919 vulnerabilities exploited and catalogued until April 2023, 258, or just over 28%, have been in Microsoft products.

"That 258 is more than the total number of exploited vulnerabilities in the products of the next five vendors combined: Cisco, Adobe, Apple, Google and Oracle," he points out.

Across the US government, 85% of employees use Microsoft business software for email and word processing. And the company is trying to duplicate what the Pentagon is set to implement in civilian federal bodies as well.

Right now, the DoD has an Endpoint Security Solutions program in place and this has, since 2007, "bought and customised commercial cyber-security tools from different vendors". This is set to be replaced by tools from Microsoft Defender.

There's a lot more in this well-researched article and I wouldn't like to steal Waterman's thunder by listing all the arguments he makes.

But just one thing should be noted: when it comes to lobbying, Microsoft does well with both sides of US politics. Google was well-known for having an open door at the White House during the time of Barack Obama, but Microsoft did well under Donald Trump too.

As proof of that, one can offer the fact that after Trump kicked off his anti-China tech crusade, Microsoft was the only company that managed to get a waiver from the government to continue selling American-made software  in this case, Windows  to Chinese telecommunications vendor Huawei Technologies. Yes, that Huawei.

Google applied for a waiver to sell its proprietary Android apps to Huawei, but never even got a reply.

Thus, one should not be surprised if Microsoft gets its way, even if it endangers the entire IT infrastructure of the United States. Waterman's closing paragraphs are illustrative of the company's arrogance. "Microsoft executives say the company has a right to charge extra for high-end security measures  whether to the Department of Defense or to anyone else," he writes. "'We are a for-profit company,' Microsoft vice-president Brad Smith told a congressional committee in 2021, when asked whether security should be treated as an upsell. 'Everything that we do is designed to generate a return other than our philanthropic work'."
[Provisional translation]

On May 19, commencing at 8:05 a.m. for 30 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, held a summit meeting with the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, who is visiting Japan to attend the G7 Hiroshima Summit. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
[Provisional translation]

On May 19, commencing from 9:25 a.m. for approximately 35 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, held a summit meeting with H.E. Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic. The overview is as follows.

Opening remarks At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida welcomed President Macron's visit to Hiroshima, and the two leaders shared the view to further deepen cooperation between the two countries in a wide range of areas, including security and economic fields.

G7 Hiroshima Summit Prime Minister Kishida stated that, at the G7 Hiroshima Summit, he would like to demonstrate G7s determination to uphold and reinforce the free and open international order based on the rule of law and explained Japans views on the Summit as the Presidency. The two leaders affirmed to continue to work together closely towards the success of the G7 Hiroshima Summit.

Bilateral relations In light of Japan-France Foreign and Defense Ministers Meeting ("2+2") held this month, the two leaders shared the view to advance concrete cooperation in areas such as cyber and space, as well as the implementation of joint training. As for economic field, the two leaders shared the view to strengthen cooperation in the start-up sectors, including sending 100 Japanese entrepreneurs to France over a five-year period, and on civil nuclear energy.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A proposed U.S. House appropriations bill would prohibit the Food and Drug Administration from using federal funds in its efforts to ban menthol traditional cigarettes or set a very low nicotine level for all traditional cigarettes.

The proposed Republican-sponsored House Resolution would not allow the U.S. health secretary from finalizing, issuing or implementing any rule, regulation, notice of proposed rule making or order setting any standard that would prohibit menthol as a flavor in traditional cigarettes and cigars. Another section applies similar language prohibiting setting a standard that mandates a maximum nicotine level for cigarettes.

The language would halt both FDA initiatives that were disclosed in June 2022. At that time, the FDA had projected both standards being in place as early as May 2023.

Given that a Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate and the Biden administration support the FDAs proposed tobacco restrictions, the language is not likely to remain in the compromise budget bill.

In January, Barclays analyst Jain Gaurav projected that the FDA could publish a final (menthol) rule by August.

Nicotine is powerfully addictive, FDA commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said in a June 2022 statement. Making cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products minimally addictive or non-addictive would help save lives.

Matthew Myers, president of anti-tobacco advocacy Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, called the proposed language a special-interest gift to the tobacco industry that would result in more kids addicted to tobacco and more lives lost, especially Black lives.

These shameful provisions give the tobacco industry everything it wants from Congress in exchange for its campaign contributions, Myers said. It is reprehensible that these provisions have been included in the appropriations bill given the enormous, unambiguous benefits of the FDAs proposals to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars and to limit nicotine levels in cigarettes.

The proposed prohibitions could be a gift to public health rather than to Big Tobacco, and particularly in the case of the reduction of nicotine, said David Sweanor, an adjunct law professor at the University of Ottawa and the author of several e-cigarette and health studies.

The targeted measures have been sought for years, wasting political capital that could have been used in pursuing easier public-health options.

Other challenges

Besides the proposed House Resolution language, analysts said the FDA initiatives were expected to draw legal challenges from tobacco manufacturers.

For example, Gaurav has said that any rulemaking process could take two years. Potential litigation from the industry could lead to another two years of delay, and implementation at retail may add another year.

The FDA notice posted to the federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website included a brief synopsis and justification for the proposal regulation.

After noting that more than 480,000 Americans die prematurely from a smoking-attributed disease, nearly all these adverse health effects are ultimately the result of addiction to the nicotine in combusted tobacco products.

This proposed rule is a tobacco product standard that would establish a maximum nicotine level in cigarettes and certain finished tobacco products. FDA would take this action to reduce addictiveness to certain tobacco products, thus giving addicted users a greater ability to quit.

This product standard would also help to prevent experimenters (mainly youth) from initiating regular use, and, therefore, from becoming regular smokers.

22nd Century angle

In December, the FDA approved the designation of the VLN King and VLN Menthol King brands of 22nd Century Group Inc. as modified-risk options to traditional cigarettes. It is conducting a test market for the brands in the Chicagoland area.

22nd Century has its manufacturing plant in Mocksville with 56 employees.

If very-low-nicotine traditional cigarettes prove attractive to tobacco consumers, the end result could be 22nd Century having a sharp increase in revenue and a potential buyout by a global tobacco manufacturer.

22nd Century said in a statement that it "believes that while these efforts by Big Tobacco to micromanage the FDA will ultimately be futile, they speak clearly to the strength of FDAs proposed policies in reducing the rate of smoking."

The tobacco industrys attempted interference with the FDAs funding exemplifies the significance of these harm reduction proposals, which could be the most influential and impactful public health policies in a generation," said John Miller, 22nd Century's president of tobacco products.

"Decades of clinical research demonstrate that eliminating menthol and reducing nicotine to non-addictive levels can dramatically reduce smoking rates,.

"It is long past time we act on good science to create better health outcomes for all Americans.

Additional VLN Background

The FDA has placed limitations on how the two brands can be marketed. It allows 22nd Century to make the following claims: 95% less nicotine than most traditional cigarettes, helps reduce your nicotine consumption, and greatly reduces your nicotine consumption.

When using any of the reduced exposure claims in the product label, labeling or advertising, the company must include helps you smoke less, according to the FDA news release.

The FDA also recommends that the labeling and advertising include the statement: Nicotine is addictive. Less nicotine does NOT mean safer. All cigarettes can cause disease and death. 

Its a controversial authorization for the FDA, given a modified-risk tobacco product designation allows for the advertising of products as reduced harm or reduced risk compared with traditional cigarettes.

22nd Century can now market the two products as having the capability to help reduce exposure to and consumption of nicotine for smokers who use them  products that the company touts that smokes, tastes and smells like a conventional cigarette.

Some anti-smoking advocates are concerned that smokers will consume more of the very-low-nicotine cigarettes in order to gain the same nicotine levels as they are accustomed to now.

There is a grave danger that this will reinforce inaccurate beliefs that it is the nicotine, rather than the inhalation of smoke, that is the cause of the harm from cigarette smoking, Sweanor said. Science has shown for decades that people smoke to get nicotine, but die from the smoke.

Other anti-smoking advocates say an FDA emphasis on very-low-nicotine traditional cigarettes could steer tobacco consumers away from potentially less harmful products, such as electronic cigarettes, heat-not-burn cigarettes and moist snuff.

Menthol ban impact

Gaurav, as well as other tobacco industry analysts, have said a menthol ban on cigarettes could have negative implications for tobacco stocks with a significant U.S. presence.

Gaurav has reported that menthol cigarettes account for 35% of cigarettes sold in the United States. That includes more than 50% of cigarette volumes for both Reynolds American Inc., which makes No. 2-overall traditional menthol cigarette Newport and Camel menthol brands, and for ITG Brands Inc., which makes Kool and Salem menthol brands.

Gaurav said U.S. menthol cigarette sales account for 25% of overall profits for Reynolds parent company, British American Tobacco Plc., as well as 15% of ITGs parent company Imperial Brands Plc.

The FDA has said 30% of all adult smokers and more than 40% of all youth smokers consume a menthol style. About 85% of Black smokers prefer menthol flavoring, compared with 30% of white smokers, the agency said.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Just two years after winning $5,000 in General Mills Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest, a Greensboro baker has won $20,000 in another General Mills contest.

Venee Pawlowski of Black Magnolia Southern Patisserie in Greensboro won the $20,000 Grand Prize in The Biskies Contest from General Mills Foodservice.

The Biskies Contest was open to chefs, owners and employees of commercial restaurants, challenging them to create a biscuit-based entree, side or dessert using Pillsburys new Southern Style Unbaked Biscuits and two or more additional ingredients. In addition to the $20,000 Grand Prize, the contest awarded $5,000 each to three runner-ups.

Pawlowski took the top prize with her upside-down apple praline biscuit, described by General Mills as a fluffy buttermilk biscuit layered with brown sugar roasted apples, served with bourbon buttermilk sweet biscuit ice cream and topped with bourbon caramel, pecan pralines and salted toffee.

Judges called Pawlowskis recipe an innovative twist on a simple classic, adding that the biscuit shines as the star of the dish, blending perfectly with unexpected flavors.

They also said that the addition of ice cream takes this dessert to a whole new level of deliciousness!

Pawlowski previously had won a $5,000 prize for her bourbon banoffee pecan cinnamon rolls.

Pawlowski said in a telephone interview that she was very surprised to win again  especially because she almost didnt enter. I actually entered the very last day. One of the PR reps (for General Mills) who I had met before was in town for her daughters swim meet, and she came by and said I should enter.

She said she thinks her biscuit was a hit with the judges because it is a twist on the nostalgic comfort food of apple pie and ice cream  but taken to another level. Tarte tatin (a French apple tart) is one of my favorite desserts, and this is essentially a play on tarte tatin  and everyone loves the apple-pie and ice-cream experience, she said. And then I add toffee and bourbon  my go-tos for a yummy dessert.

Pawlowski is one of many bakers in the area who were prompted by the pandemic to pursue the dream of starting their own business. Back in 2020, Pawlowski had been working at Greensboro Country Club when the pandemic shutdown led to an extension of her maternity leave. She then starting selling baked goods at Green Bean coffee shop and directly to customers through her Facebook page.

Two years ago, she was baking in her home. But since then she has opened a retail location in Revolution Mill, at 1162 Revolution Mill Drive. Black Magnolia baked goods are also sold at such locations as Common Grounds coffee shops, Cille & Scoe, Dannys Restaurant and Sleepy Headz Coffee.

Pawlowski said that the contest win comes just as she is planning to go on maternity leave. Im due any day now, she said.

But she said that, looking down the road, the contest earnings will help Black Magnolia with some expansion plans. Weve started expanding into breads. And right now were just a pickup corner, but wed like to be more of a sit-down business. We would like to be a full-service coffee bar.

For more information about the General Mills Foodservice Biskies Contest, including the complete list of winners, visit generalmillscf.com/resources/promotions.

For more information about Black Magnolia Southern Patisserie, visit blackmagnoliagso.com.

(336) 727-7394

@mhastingswsj
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A 15-year-old male juvenile was shot Thursday in his head in a Thomasville home, authorities said. The juvenile is in critical condition at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem.

Thomasville police were dispatched at 11 a.m. to the 100 block of Johnia Court on a reported gunshot victim, police said.

Officers then found a victim suffering from a gunshot wound to his head in the homes front bedroom, police said. Officers administered life-saving measures until Davidson County emergency medical technicians arrived at the scene.

Thomasville police didnt identify the victim who was inside the home on Johnia Court before he was shot, police said.

The victim was initially taken to Thomasville Medical Center, police said. The victim was then taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Thomasville police are investigating the circumstances that led to the shooting.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A Winston-Salem man was sentenced to prison Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to drug offenses, authorities said.

Olajawn Jadaren Hairston, 28, pleaded guilty to trafficking fentanyl, possession with intent to sell and distribute marijuana, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a stolen firearm, the Forsyth County District Attorneys Office said.

Judge Eric C. Morgan of Forsyth Superior Court sentenced Hairston to serve 18 years to 23 years in prison, the district attorneys office said.

On Feb. 24, 2022, Winston-Salem police searched for Hairston because he had multiple outstanding arrest warrants, the district attorneys office said. Officers found Hairston leaving the Ramada Inn on Akron Drive.

Officers then saw Hairston get into the passenger side of a vehicle, which they followed and stopped, the district attorneys office said. After the stop, Hairston was arrested and searched.

Officers found more than 3 ounces of marijuana and two boxes of 9mm ammunition in Hairstons backpack, the district attorneys office said.

A stolen 9mm handgun was located on the passenger floorboard where Hairstons feet were before he got out of the vehicle, the district attorneys office said. A hotel key card for room 415 at the Ramada Inn was found in Hairstons pocket.

A woman associated with Hairston arrived at the scene, the district attorneys office said. Hairston then yelled at her, telling her to go to his room and get his Doritos.

Officers returned to the Ramada Inn and searched Hairstons room, the district attorneys office said. They found a Doritos bag that contained 37 grams of fentanyl and two digital scales used to weigh illegal drugs.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid drug primarily used as a pain reliever in hospitals.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Happy Friday. Made it through another week.

When I was a much younger man working at a newspaper not too far away, Id inevitably drag feet when asked to write another persons obituary.

A funeral home would in most cases happily help by providing the basic biographical information. Date of birth, survivors, jobs, hobbies, that sort of thing.

But to really learn something about a person, perhaps through a story or anecdote, doing the job right often would require a phone call to a grieving family.

And to a 20-something with little personal experience with loss, being asked to write an obit brought with it some dread.

Funny how age and some of its accompanying wisdom can change things. These days, I look at those requests from boss-types as more honor than task.

So it was when a call came to find out something about Dr. Llewellyn Winn Lew Stringer, Jr., who died Wednesday in Richmond, Va.

Local elected officials and first responders of a certain age knew Dr. Stringer through his pioneering work in modernizing pre-emergency room medical treatment in times of disaster and crisis.

His Special Operations Response Team in Forsyth County, founded in the mid-80s, served as a model throughout the country. Media-types knew Dr. Stringer to be, shall we say, direct with a certain flair for occasional colorful language.

Dr. Lew would have fit right in at a Marine barracks, said former Sheriff Bill Schatzman, a proud leatherneck in his youth.

(Stringer, a physician, served on active duty with the U.S Navy at Portsmouth Naval Hospital during the Vietnam War.)

But learning something beyond the resume necessitated a call to Jane Stringer, his widow, at their home in Virginia where theyd moved after Dr. Stringers retirement.

She knew there would be interest in her husbands life and so instructed the funeral director to share her home number.

Throughout a brief conversation, she was gracious, a little emotional - shed just said goodbye to her partner - funny and enlightening in sharing snippets of a long, happy and very productive life.

A personal favorite was learning that Stringer, in his off-duty time, enjoyed raising show cattle.

We traveled around the country hauling those cows around, which is funny since he grew up on Monument Avenue (in Richmond) and the only animals he saw growing up were statues.

The lesson, reinforced again this week, is that most people enjoy telling happy stories about their loved ones.

Dr. Lew Stringer, whether people truly realized it, was an asset to his community who left an enduring legacy.

Remembering that and picking up a few snippets about his life was an honor to hear and a privilege to share.

Celebrating the blues

GREENSBORO - Hard to believe it's been 37 years but the annual Carolina Blues Festival is scheduled Saturday in LeBauer Park downtown.

The Piedmont Blues Preservation Society, the host, has always known how to put on a fine party with top-shelf acts from a truly American genre.

We always enjoyed seeing (and hearing) Steady Rollin Bob Margolin, a showman who played with Muddy Waters back in the day.

Anyhow, the gate opens at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Food, vendors, multiple acts and yeah, bar service will be available.

Stay home, avoid the area

WINSTON-SALEM - Listen up night owls and overnight travelers. This road construction advisory matters.

The N.C. Department of Transportation is scheduled to close part of U.S. 52 in Forsyth County for a maintenance project.

Beginning at midnight Saturday, the ramp from U.S. 421 North to U.S. 52 north - the main interchange from what some still stubbornly call Business 40 - will close as will the right two travel lanes. Detours, obviously, will be set up.

Doing so will allow crews, weather permitting, to replace two broken concrete slabs near the exit, seal pavement joints and clean out storm drainage boxes.

Were not sure what any of that means - were not engineers - but broken concrete slabs sounds serious.

And to its credit, DOT has scheduled the work for the middle of the night.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A coalition of clean-energy advocates is asking state regulators to suspend implementation of recently approved rules on how owners of rooftop solar panels are credited by Duke Energy for unused electricity sent to the grid for use by other customers.

Savings from so-called net metering is a significant incentive for homeowners who install solar systems. Currently, Duke customers are credited for surplus electricity at the same rate they pay the utility for power when there is no sun.

Under the new rules, approved by the utilities commission March 23, customers will be credited more during times of peak demand  such as early morning in winter and evening in the heat of summer  and less when loads are lower.

Critics argue that the new rules will reduce the value of home solar panels by as much as one-third over their lifetime because owners will be credited less overall for excess electricity. That has the potential to hit residents who rely on loans to pay for their systems especially hard because they count on the monthly cost savings to offset their loan payments.

Those concerns prompted clean-energy groups to issue a filing Thursday with the N.C. Utilities asking that it delay enacting the new net-metering rules while they petition the N.C. Court of Appeals to throw out the regulations altogether.

By gutting these financial incentives at the behest of Duke Energy, the commission is effectively discouraging homeowners from adopting rooftop solar and will stifle the states efforts to curb power plant emissions to combat the climate crisis, said Caroline Leary, general counsel and chief operating officer at the Environmental Working Group.

Leary and others involved in the challenge argue that a 2017 state law requires the utilities commission to perform its own analysis of how customers would be impacted financially by the changes, rather than rely on Duke Energys own projections.

The coalition appealing the commissions net-metering order includes NC WARN, Sunrise Durham, 350 Triangle, 350 Charlotte, the N.C. Climate Solutions Coalition, the N.C. Alliance to Protect Our People and the Places We Live, and retired chemical engineer Donald Oulman.

Disappointed in final product

Not all clean-energy advocates and companies agree with those groups, a Duke Energy spokesman noted Thursday.

We worked for more than a year in collaboration with rooftop solar installers, clean-energy industry associations and environmental groups in drafting the net-metering proposal ultimately approved by the commission, said Dukes Randy Wheeless said. We think this ruling ... strikes a balance for new and current customers and gives them many options to transition to new net-metering rates.

The N.C. Sustainable Energy Association, Southern Environmental Law Center, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Sunrun Inc. and the Solar Energy Industries Association joined Duke Energy in a November 2021 settlement agreement supporting the variable-rate net-metering rules.

But the net-metering plan that was ultimately passed did not include upfront rebates for residential solar customers sought by those organizations.

All in all, we were disappointed to see this partial approval of the original agreement, and believe that it leaves a lot more to be desired in terms of incentives and programs designed to further accelerate rooftop solar adoption for all North Carolinians, including low- and moderate-income customers, NCSEA spokesman Matt Abele said,

Other clean-energy groups including NC Warn continue to fight the newly approved net-metering rules.

The N.C. Utilities Commission order defies state and federal law, defies state climate goals and supports the worst aspects of monopoly control over our energy system and public wellbeing, NC WARN Executive Director Jim Warren said in March.

Duke's Wheeless pushed back.

NC Warn and others are just a little out of touch with whats going on with net metering around the country, Wheeless suggested.

He pointed specifically to California, which in April slashed the rate paid to new rooftop solar owners by 75%.

A lot of people believe theres a subsidy that rooftop solar customers were getting to the detriment of non-rooftop solar customers, Wheeless said. So we kind of had to strike that balance thats fair to solar and non-solar customers, but also attractive enough that the rooftop solar installers in the state can have an attractive product to offer customers in the future.

Experts note the suggestion that non-solar customers subsidize those with panels because they pay more discounts the overall benefits of clean energy, including lower emissions and a reduced need for power generated by fossil-fuel-burning plants.

As it stands now, North Carolinas new net-metering rules are scheduled to take effect July 1. A settlement negotiated last year by three North Carolina solar installers and included in the utilities commissions May order will allow existing residential solar owners to continue to be credited for excess electricity at the current standard rate for up to 15 years.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

"Carmen is a spectacle of a film that reinterprets Georges Bizet's classic 19th-century opera as a dance-filled, tragically romantic border story.

It comes from first-time director Benjamin Millepied, who takes some big chances with the narrative that dont always work but ultimately creates a sweeping, visually dazzling experience.

Mexican star Melissa Barrera plays the title character, a young woman who heads for the border after the murder of her mother. She dances in the face of death in the films opening sequence. Carmen is, apparently, the real target of the men who shot her mom. But the reason isnt important.

Successfully making it into the U.S., Carmen is trapped in the back of a pickup in the desert. Approached by a Mexican hunting Border Patrol agent, she runs, but ends in his clutches, destined for a horrid fate.

But Aidan (Paul Mescal), an Afghanistan veteran who is along for the Border Patrol ride, shoots the agent in the head and, with Carmen, flees the scene  heading for Los Angeles where Carmen wants to find her mothers lifelong friend Masilda (Pedro Almodolvar favorite Rossy de Palma).

Thats the barebones plot of the film. But its far from capturing what happens on screen, e.g. the duo come upon a carnival in the deserts and Carmen joins with its dancers in a perfectly choreographed performance and, even more ridiculous, a bare-knuckle, big-payoff street fight with Aidan trying to make some cash to stay on the run. It turns into a hip-hop dance sequence.

Even though the dance sequences and the appearances of spectral figures throughout the film dont really carry the narrative, Carmen somehow works.

That largely comes from Jorge Widmers gorgeous, striking cinematography that bombards and entrances the audience with wide shots of the desert, handheld tracking of the couple on the run, dark views of Los Angeles and Masildas club, and beautifully performed and shot dance performances.

Barrera turns out to be a fine balletic dancer, and she and Mescal, wholl be a star after his appearance in the upcoming Gladiator series, each give strong performances with enough chemistry to make their romance feel real.

As always, de Palma is great, playing essentially the spirit that hovers over the movie.

The final element that in many ways makes the film is composer Nicholas Britells score, which creates Latin tinged balletic number and dark mood-setting passages that convey as much as anything seen on screen.

Carmen isnt exactly a thriller. The cop tracking down the couple serves only as a tension building device. Nor is it purely a romance, an exploration of the border or a dance film. Instead, its all of those turned into an unexpected spectacle of the art of filmmaking.
Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading.

Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The final round of debate over a bill that includes two measures that have embroiled the Legislature in controversy for months is set to begin this afternoon.

Senators are expected to consider LB574 from Omaha Sen. Kathleen Kauth, which would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth in Nebraska and ban abortion 10 weeks after fertilization.

The bill will come up for debate before 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon. Supporters of the measure, which was amended earlier this week, will likely need 33 votes to end a filibuster and send the legislation to Gov. Jim Pillen.

Because it has an emergency clause attached, once it is signed by Pillen, LB574 will go into effect 24 hours later. Pillen has indicated he plans to sign the bill soon after it passes.

If it goes into law, gender-affirming surgeries for individuals under 19 would be outlawed in Nebraska, and the Department of Health and Human Services would be required to develop regulations for puberty blockers and hormone therapy  potentially banning those treatments as well.

Following an intense scene on Tuesday, when the Legislature last considered the bill, that included chanting that echoed throughout the legislative chamber, several measures have been put in place to reduce disruptions to the debate.

Increased security could be seen at the Capitol on Friday morning. A memo circulated to senators from Speaker John Arch, Sen. Danielle Conrad, Sen. Tom Briese, and Sen. Tony Vargas, indicated one glass door to the Chamber would be locked, while the outer doors of the vestibule will remain open.

A second memo from the Clerk of the Legislature indicated that while proponents and opponents would be allowed to watch from the balconies, any protests or outbursts would result in removals of those individuals.

TVs were set up in the Rotunda with a livestream of the proceedings, similar to how the overflow rooms are utilized during committee hearings. Signs are also going to be prohibited from being held in view of the television cameras.

Journal Star state government reporter Chris Dunker is reporting live from the debate. Follow along below with a string of updates.

(Editor's note: Please allow up to 30 seconds for the updates to load.)
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

WASHINGTON  Debt limit talks halted again late Friday at the U.S. Capitol shortly after resuming, another sudden turn of events after negotiations came to an abrupt standstill earlier in the day when Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said it's time to "pause" negotiations, and a White House official acknowledged there are "real differences."

Top Republican negotiators for McCarthy exited the brief meeting shortly after talks restarted Friday evening. They said there were no further negotiations planned for Friday and they were uncertain on next steps.

A top White House adviser to President Joe Biden said they were hopeful for a resolution. The negotiators are racing to strike a budget deal to resolve the standoff.

"We reengaged, had a very, very candid discussion, talking about where we are, talking about where things need to be, what's reasonably acceptable," said Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., a top McCarthy ally leading the talks for his side.

Another Republican negotiator, Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, said McCarthy left for the night, and they would brief the speaker on the latest developments.

Asked if he was confident an agreement over budget issues could be reached with the White House, McHenry said, "No."

As the White House team left the nighttime session, counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti, who is leading talks for the Democrats, said he was hopeful for an outcome.

"We're going to keep working," he said.

Biden's administration is reaching for a deal with Republicans led by McCarthy as the nation careens toward a potentially catastrophic debt default if the government fails to increase the borrowing limit, now at $31 trillion, to keep paying the nation's bills.

Earlier in the day, McCarthy said resolution to the standoff is "easy," if only Biden's team would agree to some spending cuts Republicans demand.

The biggest impasse was over the fiscal 2024 top-line budget amount, according to a person briefed on the talks and granted anonymity to discuss them. Democrats staunchly oppose the steep reductions Republicans put on the table as potentially harmful to Americans.

"We've got to get movement by the White House and we don't have any movement yet," McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters at the Capitol. "So, yeah, we've got to pause."

The White House official, who was granted anonymity to talk about the private discussions, said at that time there are "real differences" between the parties on the budget issues and further "talks will be difficult."

Wall Street turned lower as negotiations on raising the nation's debt limit came to a sudden halt, raising worries that the country could edge closer to risking a highly damaging default on U.S. government debt.

The president, who was in Japan attending the Group of Seven summit, had no immediate comment. Biden already planned to cut short the rest of his trip and he is expected to return to Washington Sunday.

Negotiators met Friday for a third day behind closed doors at the Capitol with hopes of settling on an agreement this weekend before possible House votes next week. They face a looming deadline as soon as June 1, when the Treasury Department said it will run out of cash to pay the government's incurred debt.

Republicans want to extract steep spending cuts, rolling back spending to fiscal 2022 levels and restricting future growth. Biden's team countered that the caps Republicans proposed in their House-passed bill would amount to 30% reductions in some programs if Defense and veterans are spared, according to a memo from the Office of Management and Budget.

Any deal would need the support of both Republicans and Democrats to find approval in a divided Congress and be passed into law. Negotiators are eyeing a more narrow budget cap deal of a few years, rather than the decade-long caps Republicans initially wanted, and clawing back some $30 billion of unspent COVID-19 funds.

Still up for debate are policy changes, including a framework for permitting reforms to speed the development of energy projects, as well as the Republican push to impose work requirements on government aid recipients that Biden has been open to but the House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has said was a "nonstarter."

"Look, we can't be spending more money next year," McCarthy said at the Capitol. "We have to spend less than we spent the year before. It's pretty easy."

But McCarthy faces pressures from his hard-right flank to cut the strongest deal possible for Republicans, and he risks a threat to his leadership as speaker if he fails to deliver. Many House Republicans are unlikely to accept any deal with the White House.

The internal political dynamics confronting the embattled McCarthy leaves the Democrats skeptical of giving away too much to the Republicans and driving off the Democratic support they will need to pass any compromise through Congress.

Some Democrats want Biden to invoke his authority under the 14th amendment to raise the debt ceiling on his own, an idea that raises legal questions and that the president has so far said he is not inclined to consider.

Total mortgage debt increased to $11.2 trillion in 2022 Total mortgage debt increased to $11.2 trillion in 2022 Average Mortgage Debt Increases by 7.3% in 2022 Mortgage Inquiries Decline as Borrowing Rates Increase in 2022 Average Mortgage Balances Increase More Than $16,000 in 2022 Average Credit Scores Among Homeowners Remain High Mortgage Debt Increases Everywhere, but Most in the West Outlook for Mortgage Borrowers in 2023
Top negotiators from the White House have met over the debt limit with House Speaker Kevin McCarthys emissaries at the Capitol. They were grinding through more head-to-head talks on Thursday, trying to strike a budget deal. President Joe Biden and McCarthy both tapped their top representatives to press for results ahead of a deadline as soon as June 1. That's when the U.S. could run out of funds to pay its obligations, sparking an economic crisis. Upbeat, McCarthy said it was important to have an agreement in principle this weekend to get to a House vote next week. Biden is being updated while he is at the Group of Seven summit in Japan.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Two staff members at the Nebraska Department of Correctional Service's newest prison were treated for injuries at a Lincoln hospital after they were assaulted by inmates, the department alleged Thursday.

The pair of assaults occurred sometime Thursday, when an inmate who was in an "unapproved area" at the Reception and Treatment Center in south Lincoln punched a staff member in the head after refusing directives to leave the area, the department said in a news release.

Additional staff members who were nearby restrained the inmate and removed him from the area, according to the release.

But as prison staff secured the area, a second inmate struck another staff member in the head, causing the staffer to fall and hit his head on the concrete, resulting in a concussion and facial injuries, according to the release.

Both staff members were treated at and released from a local hospital. The corrections department did not identify either of the inmates or staff members involved in the alleged assaults.

In the news release, the corrections department did not say when the incident occurred, but dispatch records indicate Lincoln Fire and Rescue crews were called to the prison at around 10:30 a.m. Rescue crews returned to service at 11:37 a.m.

The department will criminally investigate the incident and provide findings to the Lancaster County Attorney for prosecution.

Such investigations typically take several months and result in second-degree assault charges for the involved inmates  a class 2 felony that could add up to 20 years onto an inmate's prison sentence.

The corrections department will also utilize its internal disciplinary process, which can include sanctions such as loss of good time for the inmates.

Photos: Nebraska's new Reception and Treatment Center
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Lincoln continued to grow slowly last year, adding about 1,150 people.

According to Census estimates released Thursday, Lincoln's population as of July 1 was 292,627, compared with 291,476 as of July 1, 2021.

The city is now estimated to have added a little more than 1,500 people since official 2020 census counts were released.

That's an average of only about 750 people a year during the current decade. In the 2010s, the city added an average of about 3,300 people a year.

However, Lincoln fared better than the state's other largest cities in the latest estimates.

Omaha, Nebraska's largest city, is estimated to have lost more than 3,500 people last year and more than 6,500 people since the 2020 census.

Many of its suburbs also have lost population, especially those in Sarpy County, which has been the fastest-growing county in the state for years.

Bellevue lost population last year, dropping from an estimated 63,885 people in 2021 to 63,015 last year. As of the 2020 Census, Bellevue had 64,215.

Papillion fell by about 400 people last year, La Vista dropped by nearly 300 and Gretna saw its population decline by more than 150.

On the other hand, suburban areas around Lincoln continued relatively strong growth. Waverly added more than 70 people and has now added nearly 200 since the 2020 census, hitting 4,468 people. Hickman had even stronger growth, adding nearly 200 people last year to pass the 3,000 population mark for the first time. The city has now added more than 400 people since the 2020 census.

Hallam and Malcolm continued to grow steadily, while growth in Bennet and Firth has leveled off.

Among the state's other large cities, Kearney saw the strongest growth, adding more than 300 people last year and now up nearly 500 people since the 2020 Census.

Columbus added about 65 people and is now up about 165 people since 2020, while Norfolk added eight people.

Grand Island added 40 new residents, growing from 52,472 to 52,513, which is more than 600 fewer people than reported during the 2020 Census.

Among the other largest cities, North Platte continued to hemorrhage residents, losing 243 people over the past year. The city has now lost more than 650 residents since the 2020 Census.

Fremont and Hastings also lost people.

David Drozd, director of research and data analytics for Community Health Development Partners in Omaha, said he doesn't put a lot of stock in the city population numbers.

"Early in the decade, there can be a lot of play in the numbers before the trends show themselves clearly in the data," Drozd said, noting that the Census' county-level estimates are much more accurate.

Those estimates, released in April, showed that Sarpy County added 2,755 people, Lancaster County added 1,336 and Douglas County added 860.

"I wouldnt take these (city) numbers too seriously or proclaim loudly that these large traditionally growing cities are now losing population  it could well be flukes within the methodology," he said.

Cities with the worst commute in Nebraska Cities with the worst commute in Nebraska #16. Scottsbluff #15. Norfolk #14. South Sioux City #13. Kearney #12. Hastings #11. Beatrice #10. Lexington #9. Bellevue #8. Grand Island #7. La Vista #6. Omaha #5. Papillion #4. North Platte #3. Lincoln #2. Columbus #1. Fremont
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Her story drew Joel Sartore in  a harrowing journey, a survivors spirit.

There was her beautiful plumage, of course, and that attitude  queen of the aviary at the Los Angeles Zoo.

So it was fitting that Jolie  an Indochinese green magpie  represented another milestone for Sartores Photo Ark project.

The small, colorful magpie is the 14,000th species the National Geographic photographer has photographed since he began the project in Lincoln  his home city  17 years ago.

In 2006, hed chosen to stay closer to home after his wife, Kathy, was diagnosed with breast cancer. He had an idea, called it the biodiversity project and convinced then-Lincoln Childrens Zoo director John Chapo to let him photograph a naked mole rat. Then a blue and black poison dart frog.

The idea grew into a project called the Photo Ark (he dumped the first name) with an ambitious goal: to photograph every species living in the care of humans in zoos and sanctuaries and aquariums.

The number of those species has grown since he began to more than 20,000. And number 14,000 had a story to tell.

Shes a real survivor, Sartore said. Shes beautiful and shes kind of the boss of her aviary at the zoo. She was a real star. She didnt care she was in my shooting tent . . . she just stood there and preened. She was gorgeous and had an amazing story to tell, which is important to me.

Jolie and brightly colored birds like her are often targeted for the illegal pet trade, a trafficking problem thats reduced the native population in Southeast Asia and China.

In 2017, Jolie was one of 93 Asian songbirds recovered from a smugglers suitcase at the Los Angeles International Airport  and among just eight that survived the ordeal.

Denise Verret, CEO and Los Angeles zoo director, said her story highlights the harrowing environments animals experience because of traffickers. And its why Sartore wants to highlight her as his project reaches another milestone.

Im hopeful that if I share stories people will respond and theyll want to save things, he said. All these species are works of art. I hope that when people see them theyll start to care and be more careful.

To that end, Sartore has traveled to more than 50 countries to photograph the mammals and reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates and birds and fish that live there.

And now  move over Jolie, theres another announcement coming  20 of them will be on stamps.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Postal Service on Friday announced the release of Endangered Species Forever Stamps that bear Sartores Photo Ark images.

The Postal Service hires consultants to find anniversaries, people and events that can be featured on stamps, Sartore said, and somebody came up with the idea of noting the Endangered Species Act which has safeguarded more than 1,670 species in the United States and nearly 700 foreign species since Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1973.

The consultant called Sartore.

He was not looking to do a big series, Sartore said. I said I love stamps. I collected them as a kid. I could come up with some choices for you.

He sent the consultant 100 photos. In the end, the U.S. Postal Service landed on 20 featuring endangered animals in the 50 states and American territories, as well as two North American species living near U.S. borders.

They include the piping plover shot in Fremont. Theres a black-footed ferret nearly wiped out completely but still living in the South Dakota badlands.

So Sartore will be in Wall, South Dakota, Friday for the dedication of the stamps, though the black-footed ferret isnt likely to make an appearance, since its nocturnal. A number of U.S. officials will be there, though, touting what they believe is one of the worlds most important conservation laws  a way to protect endangered and threatened animals.

Sartore has the same goal, to use his camera to showcase the worlds biodiversity, to lessen the impact of endangered species.

Earlier this week, he was in Omaha at a fish store, photographing a spiny peacock eel and a Randalls anthias.

Next month, hell head to North Carolina to photograph birds and to coastal California to capture salamanders and frogs and perhaps some migratory birds. Then it's onto a Miami suburb in search of endangered insects living in a rare ecosystem.

Hell take their pictures and tell their stories, hoping maybe just a little of his passion will rub off on the rest of the world.

Im excited all the time and Im always hopeful people will pay attention and theyll care while theres still time.

The life and work of Lincoln's Joel Sartore Veiled chameleon Sartore with owl Clouded leopard Blue poison dart frog Joel Sartore Pygmy marmoset Fiat Lux show Red wolf Photo Ark Bald eagle Lewis-Syford House African elephant Dog images on soundproofing panels Giant panda Debit card art Ocelot Joel Sartore caricature Kathy and Joel Sartore Asian lady beetle Morrill Hall banners Monarch butterflies Sartore NBC Penstemon Sartore family Grey gibbons Sartore flag Salt Creek tiger beetle Morrill Hall banners Two-toed sloth Sartore presentation Minnows Joel Sartore shares with the audience Reimann's snake-necked turtle Photo banners Humboldt penguins Lewis-Syford House Mandrill Ivory-billed woodpecker Photo Ark Black-Tailed Prairie Dog, Montana, 1995 Cheetah Banners Coquerel's sifaka Turkey vulture Porcupine Okapi Spectacled owl Eastern bongo Amur leopard Snowy owl
President Joe Bidens reelection campaign is vowing to hold the states that won him the White House in 2020 but also compete in places it lost like North Carolina and Florida, providing what it says are a number of viable pathways" to victory. Campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez, in her first extensive comments on strategy since she got the job last month, wrote in a memo that the 2024 race presents significant opportunities to grow Democratic support. The letter was released while Biden was traveling in Japan.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The state senator who led the push for Nebraska's new voter identification requirement vowed Thursday to do everything in her power to block an implementation plan advanced by the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.

Toward that end, state Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar laid the groundwork for filibustering the plan, which she has called "unconstitutional" and "fraud-friendly."

"This process has really been an abomination and a slap in the face to everybody who worked on voter ID," she said of the committee's proposal.

But Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, the committee chairman, expressed regret that attempts to reach a compromise had failed and the committee was at odds with Slama.

"I do not and did not want this situation to occur," he said. "I'm really sick to my stomach over the whole deal."

Slama launched her resistance efforts Thursday with a formal objection to the process by which the committee amended LB535, the implementation proposal she introduced, and advanced it to the full Legislature.

She argued that the committee should not have allowed Assistant Secretary of State Wayne Bena, as a member of a different branch of government, to be in the room when the votes were taken on Wednesday.

After a brief discussion, Brewer agreed to take another vote Thursday without extra people present. The second committee vote produced the same result.

The same amendment developed by Brewer, working with Secretary of State Bob Evnens office and other committee members, was attached to LB535 before committee members advanced the bill on a 7-0 vote.

The committee amendment spells out what documents would be accepted to prove identity for voting, how ID requirements would be handled for mail-in ballots, how people could get free IDs for voting and when exceptions would be allowed.

Committee members rejected Slama's latest rival amendment. She delivered copies of that amendment to committee members shortly before their second vote.

Slama's proposal covered the same basic topics as the committee amendment but also included more expansive requirements such as citizenship verification of voters, having witnesses or notaries sign mail-in ballots and conducting audits of witness signatures before votes are certified.

Brewer said Thursday that he still hopes to use LB535 as the vehicle for voter ID legislation. But he said that, if necessary, the committee could gut LB514, another committee priority bill, and use that as the vehicle for the committees proposal.

Slama said she would not stand by and let her bill be used for an amendment she opposes. She filed a motion to withdraw LB535 shortly after the committee vote on Wednesday. Since then, she has filed numerous motions and amendments to both LB535 and LB514 in preparation for a fight.

Slama said the implementation process has been taken over by liberal activists and other opponents of voter ID, while the conservative members of the Government Committee have been getting bad advice from Evnen. She said the committee amendment would "gut voter ID with no real ID requirements."

The debate stems from a constitutional amendment passed overwhelmingly at last years election that requires voters to present valid photographic ID before casting a ballot in any election. The amendment left it to lawmakers to determine how the requirement should be carried out.

Meet the Nebraska state senators making laws in 2023
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A bill that has stirred session-long turmoil in the Nebraska Legislature and now includes two contentious issues  abortion and transgender health care  will see its final chapter of floor debate Friday.

State lawmakers are slated to debate and vote on LB574 in its final round. If it once again gets 33 votes to end an opposing filibuster, it will go to Gov. Jim Pillen's desk, where it's expected to be signed into law.

According to an amendment adopted Tuesday, the bill would ban gender-affirming surgeries for individuals under 19, and impose restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for the same age group based on the direction of the state's chief medical officer. It also will ban abortions beyond 12 weeks based on gestational age, likely affecting a relatively small share of the state's abortions.

Each round of prior debate on the bill has spurred high emotions and sometimes outright chaos. Opponents have launched an ongoing filibuster that has slowed almost every bill on the floor to protest the legislation, and recently several lawmakers have promised to continue filibustering during next year's 60-day session if the bill passes.

Before the amendment, LB574 would have completely banned puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries for people under 19, but did not include any abortion restrictions.

Supporters framed the amendment as a compromise, but opponents don't see it that way  especially with this week's addition of abortion restrictions, which revived an effort that was previously thought dead for the year.

Last month, lawmakers blocked the advancement of LB626, which would have banned abortions at around six weeks of pregnancy, once embryonic activity could be detected via ultrasound. The bill fell one vote shy of the 33 needed for a filibuster-ending cloture motion.

Usually when that happens, it means a bill is dead for the session. Instead, the abortion issue came back through the amendment to LB 574. And the proposal was enough to sway a lawmaker  State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston  who had helped scuttle the previous abortion bill.

Riepe had proposed his own amendment to LB626, which would have banned abortions at 12 weeks post fertilization and included an exception for fetal anomalies. No vote was held on his amendment, but it had been panned by senators who wanted more restrictions on abortion. Tuesday, however, many of those same lawmakers backed the amendment to LB574.

The 12-week ban included in LB574 is more restrictive than Riepe's amendment, as it doesn't include an exception for fetal anomalies and it is based on gestational age. Gestational age measures a pregnancy based on the womans last menstrual period, whereas fertilization refers to the moment the egg is fertilized. The difference between the two could amount to several weeks. Multiple opponents thus referred to the proposal as a 10-week abortion ban.

However, the LB574 bill would allow more abortion access in Nebraska than if the six-week abortion ban had passed. According to 2021 statistics from the state Department of Health and Human Services, about 85% of Nebraska's abortions happen beyond the six-week mark, while only about 13% occur after 12 weeks of gestation.

In terms of transgender health care, the amendment is somewhat less restrictive than LB574 originally intended. It includes a grandfather clause for people already receiving gender-affirming care. It also calls for the state's chief medical officer to regulate puberty blockers and hormone therapy, while maintaining the ban on gender-affirming surgeries.

Because the chief medical officer is appointed by the governor, who supports LB574, opponents have argued this was a thinly veiled attempt to maintain the full ban of the original bill. In February, Pillen chose ear, nose and throat physician Timothy Tesmer to serve in the position.

If the bill passes, Tesmer would follow a set of guidelines as to how to regulate the medication, including setting a minimum number of "gender-identity-focused therapeutic hours" a patient must undergo to receive it, and a minimum waiting period between a medical practitioner receiving the patient's consent and prescribing the treatment.

Opponents have maintained that LB 574, as amended, will be harmful to women, doctors and trans youth.

"You do literally have blood on your hands if you vote for this," said Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha.

Photos: 2023 Nebraska legislative session
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

KEARNEY  The investor who purchased Kearneys Classic Car Collection in 2021 is preparing to sell many of the collection's vehicles. However, local volunteers are optimistic the sell-off will open opportunities to stabilize the future of the local attraction.

Labeled as one of the United States top destinations for automobile enthusiasts, the 140 Classic Car Collection vehicles destined for sale will go to the highest bidders via an online auction that opens at 8 a.m. June 13 and closes at 10 a.m. June 20.

It will bring lots of attention to Kearney, Nebraska. We hope a local buyer will buy it and keep it there, said Classic Car Collection owner Alan Gentz of Sterling, Colorado.

Gentz has contracted with the Steffes Group of Fargo, North Dakota, to conduct the online auction. A YouTube video that Steffes produced features some of the Collections rarest autos and at least one with great sentimental value to Kearney enthusiasts, Petes Patriot.

A group of Kearney youths were the pit crew for Petes Patriot, a 1969 AMX SS. The red, white and blue drag racer was the first AMC car to win an NHRA points meet and set a national record.

The Steffes Groups website lists dozens of other classic, rare Collection vehicles that will be sold to the highest bidders during the June 13-20 online auction.

Among those vehicles are:

* 1930 Lincoln Model L, one of only 119 manufactured.

* 1914 Locomobile two-door roadster.

* 1917 Locomobile seven-passenger touring sedan.

* 1922 Pierce Arrow seven-passenger limousine.

* 1937 Packard two-door convertible.

Steffes Group describes the variety of cars offered in the auction as diverse; ranging from the brass era to the classic era and everything in between.  The classic car auction gives buyers the opportunity to own a piece of history that may not exist anywhere else.

Potential buyers will have the opportunity to personally view the vehicles for sale, according to the Steffes website. The Classic Car Collection museum is open Wednesday through Sunday noon-5 p.m.

The Classic Car Collection opened in 2012 on the east end of the Cabelas-Bass Pro building at 3600 East U.S. 30 in east Kearney. The core of the exhibit was the 130 vehicles that comprised the collection of Bernie and Janice Talborg. The Elkhorn couple signed over their collection of 130 cars to a nonprofit controlled by the Kearney Visitors Bureau in 2011, so the cars could be displayed in Kearney.

As additional vehicles were donated or loaned, the Classic Car Collection grew to more than 200 vehicles.

Although the auction could result in more than half of the Classic Car Collections vehicles being sold, a volunteer leader of the attraction, Brad Kernick of Kearney, said he and CCCs board intend to press on and keep the attraction open. Ultimately, Kernick said he's optimistic because the attraction can be locally owned.

We currently have over 80 vehicles that will be displayed, including many guest favorites, and are working with several individuals to add additional vehicles to the Classic Car Collection. We are looking at making modifications and improvements to our existing facility and are excited about the future of the collection, Kernick said in a prepared statement.

He said a local group secured all the signage and memorabilia currently displayed at CCC and plans to keep the collection open.

We have a strong and committed group of volunteers who are also excited about the next phase of the collection," Kernick said. "We have a top-notch board of directors who look forward to guiding us through these changes.

Raising money to pay the lease to Cabelas-Bass Pros is among immediate challenges, Kernick said.

Kernick, who chairs the CCC Board, listed other members as Jeff Knapp, Marv Dawes, Jackie Purdy, Gene Beerbohm, Al Young, Tom Henning and John Sahling. Alan Gentz and his daughter, Mariah Gentz, also are board members, Kernick said.

Photos: An up-close look at the 2024 Corvette E-Ray
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Nebraska lawmakers on Friday passed a bill that will further restrict access to abortion in the state and ban gender-affirming surgeries for minors.

At the end of an emotional, raucous day of debate that was briefly interrupted by a protest in the legislative chamber, the Legislature voted 33-15 to send the bill (LB574) accomplishing both to Gov. Jim Pillen.

How they voted Nebraska lawmakers gave final approval 33-15 to a bill (LB754) that bans some gender-affirming treatments for transgender youth as well as abortions after 12 weeks. Voting yes (33) Aguilar, Albrecht, Arch, Armendariz, Ballard, Bosn, Bostelman, Brandt, Brewer, Briese, Clements, DeKay, Dorn, Dover, Erdman, Halloran, Hansen, Hardin, Holdcroft, Hughes, Ibach, Jacobson, Kauth, Linehan, Lippincott, Lowe, McDonnell, Moser, Murman, Riepe, Sanders, Slama, von Gillern Voting no (15) Blood, Bostar, Cavanaugh, J., Cavanaugh, M., Conrad, Day, DeBoer, Dungan, Fredrickson, Hunt, McKinney, Raybould, Vargas, Walz, Wishart Excused, not voting (1) Wayne

The first-year Republican governor is expected to sign the bill into law early next week. When he does, because of an emergency clause attached to it, the provisions of LB574 related to abortion will become law a day later, while the ban on gender-affirming surgeries will go into effect on Oct. 1.

Shortly after the final vote was taken just after 4 p.m., Omaha Sen. Kathleen Kauth, who sponsored the measure banning gender-affirming surgeries for individuals under 19, said she was happy with the outcome, which she said came at the end of four difficult months.

Its an important bill that we got done, she said. We want to protect kids.

Friday  Day 81 of the 90-day session  was marked once again by intense debate both inside and outside the legislative chamber, illustrating the polarization that has gripped the Legislature and state at large over both issues.

Crowds of people representing both sides gathered in the Rotunda as 20 additional security officers were called in to keep the peace.

Opponents of the bill waved signs and chanted for most of the afternoon, while supporters huddled in prayer circles, or watched on TVs set up to allow for people to watch a livestream of the debate.

As some handed out T-shirts and bottles of water, Wrenn Jacobson, 29, sat with others making friendship bracelets. Nearby, a mannequin made to look bloody, which Jacobson said represented the outcomes for women and trans individuals if the bill passed, was splayed out on the floor.

Im tired of this, Jacobson said. Theyre not listening, theyre using their own religion as a basis to do whatever they want, even as we beg them to stop and other Christians tell them its wrong.

Jacobson called the escalation of attacks against trans people" terrifying, and said opponents of the bill were there to stand up for those individuals.

Ive never seen anything like this before in my life, Jacobson said. Ive never heard people chanting for hours on end like they did Tuesday, like they will today against this bill. People are begging and pleading for this to stop.

Julie Sheldon, who said she gave birth to her children while she was still a teenager, said she backed the effort to stop children from making life-altering decisions that couldnt be reversed.

I think we need to protect children from long-term harm, said Sheldon, 45. We put restrictions on drinking, on marriage, on joining the military, and this shouldnt be any different.

I dont agree with the lifestyle, but the misnomer is that this bill is about hate toward trans people when it is not, she added. Its about protecting children.

Inside the chamber, Jacobson and Sheldons sentiments were being echoed by senators as tensions remained high, eventually spilling over into a protest that briefly stopped the proceedings.

At about the halfway point of Fridays debate, as Kauth was speaking, one person began shouting from the north balcony, where opponents were seated. Moments later, two others began throwing pieces of cloth dyed red onto lawmakers below.

Speaker John Arch called for the Legislature to stand at ease as security removed and arrested the women. A total of six people were arrested and four were transported to the Lancaster County Jail, including people on either side of the debate.

Kauth later said the incident was a good representation of what she described as the hate that had been directed toward her and other supporters.

Proponents said LB574 will stop minors from making irreversible changes to their bodies, and responded  sometimes forcefully  to accusations from supporters that the bill would legislate hate in Nebraska.

You can spin this any way you want, you can frame it any way you want, Ive heard words like hateful, anti-trans, said Sen. Tom Briese of Albion. Thats baloney. At the end of the day, LB574 is about protecting innocent kids.

Lincoln Sen. Carolyn Bosn said a narrative had been built that supporters of the bill hate transgender youth  something she said was categorically not true.

This bill isnt about being unsupportive of transgender children, said Bosn, who was appointed to the Legislature a little more than a month ago. Its about preventing irreversible changes to their bodies until theyre adults.

Senators who opposed the bill labeled it an attack on a vulnerable minority. They also said medical experts, the business community, and a majority of Nebraskans didnt want their Legislature embroiled in the same kinds of culture wars seen in other states.

Omaha Sen. John Fredrickson said LB574 was not sound public policy, but rather a measure to capitalize on emotion.

And Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington said the bending of the rules to get the amended version of LB574 across the finish line will have an indelible impact on the Legislature moving forward.

The wounds from this process, from this bill, are not going to go away quickly, DeBoer said. Not for the people whose lives are affected, and not for any of us.

An amendment to the bill, brought to the floor by Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair last week, orders the states chief medical officer to develop regulations for when minors can be prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy  something several senators say could result in a total ban on those treatments.

It also included a ban on abortions after 12 weeks gestational age, which is marked from a womans last period. That effectively creates a ban on abortions after about 10 weeks after fertilization, which is not as restrictive as a six-week ban (LB626) that fell one vote short of advancing in April.

On Friday, hours before debate on LB574 began, opponents of the bill circulated a letter signed by more than 1,200 doctors, nurses and other health care providers that blasted the bill as a direct attack on the medical community in Nebraska.

The original bill was egregious enough; a blatant attack on the rights of parents and their children to make health care decisions in consultation with their health care providers, the letter states.

The addition of an ill-informed 12-week abortion ban with no exceptions for fetal anomalies and loopholes that will lead to criminal penalties for physicians who provide standard-of-care medicine is completely unacceptable, it continued.

Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad, referring to the letter, said the emergency clause attached to the bill meant hospitals and health clinics would have little time to assess what is and isnt permissible under the new law, potentially resulting in negative outcomes for some patients.

As time for debate was winding down, others raised concerns about how the bill would work once it became law.

Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln questioned whether the Legislature could delegate away authority to create medical regulations to the executive branch, and Omaha Sen. John Cavanaugh reiterated that the bill likely violates the state constitutions single-subject rule.

But with both sides entrenched in their positions, the outcome reflected that of previous votes  33-15. Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar, who was absent during debate, arrived about 15 minutes before the vote appearing visibly sick. She gave LB574 the 33rd vote it needed to break a filibuster.

Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne, who did not support the bill earlier this week, was absent from Fridays debate.

Following the vote, the Nebraska Catholic Conference, Nebraska Family Alliance and Pillen all celebrated the outcome.

Todays vote is a victory for truth, common sense, and the protection of vulnerable children and a strike against the extreme obstruction tactics of opposing senators, said Nate Grasz, policy director for the Nebraska Family Alliance.

Pillen said the bill protects pre-born boys and girls, and it includes children struggling with their gender identity.

These kids deserve the opportunity to grow and explore who they are and want to be, and they can do so without making irreversible decisions that should be made when they are fully grown, he said.

Several opposing groups, including OutNebraska, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska, the Nebraska Democratic Party and the ACLU of Nebraska, said senators had ignored the pleas of parents, doctors and others in voting for LB574.

They have thrown away the session for nothing, said Aryn Huck of OutNebraska. Parents are writing to us asking what to do next, worried they may have to uproot their entire lives because of this bill.

Andi Curry Grubb, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska, said the abortion restrictions amounted to a ban plain and simple.

Banning abortion after 12 weeks denies a person the fundamental right to control their own body and health care decisions, Curry Grubb said. The goal of the abortion ban and the gender-affirming care ban, as with all bans, is to stop people from accessing essential health care and to take away peoples power over their own bodies, lives and futures.

Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, who has filibustered legislation on the floor for weeks to delay passage of LB574, said she planned to continue the fight against the bill even into next year.

Until the end of the 108th Legislature, Ill be filibustering, she said.

Photos and video: Scene at Nebraska Capitol as lawmakers debate LB574 for final time
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The 16th annual Wine, Chocolate, Tango and Tapas fundraising event for El Centro de las Americas was a sellout April 14 at the Cornhusker Marriott ballroom. A total of 316 guests experienced Tango dance demonstrations complete with three courses of gourmet tapas, wine and chocolates.

This is our signature fundraiser of the year, and it continues to grow, said Romeo Guerra, El Centros executive director, adding that the event raised $17,000. The money raised through this event is used to fund El Centros operations, so that we may continue to provide an array of vital services to the Hispanic/Latino community, and so that we may expand on both the services we provide and our reach throughout the community.

Following each wine, chocolate and tapas course was a dance performance courtesy of the talented aficionados of the Lincoln Tango Club. Sandra Halpern, the Tango Clubs founder, was among the dancers. I brought the Tango to Lincoln in 1997 when I moved here from Buenos Aires, Argentina, she said.

Later in the evening, the celebration continued with an open milonga, inviting dancers and patrons alike to take part in casual tango dance.

Guerra presented the following appreciation awards at the event:

 Volunteer Awards: Joaquin Siado Castaneda and Josefa Samper Suarez;

 Andy Verdooren Outstanding Service Award: Jaime Arango, El Centro de las Americas Board of Directors president; and

 Corporate Donor Award: Duncan Aviation.

In addition, all event sponsors, board members and dignitaries were recognized.

Meiers Cork and Bottle provided the wines, and Lulubee Artisanal Chocolates provided all chocolates at the event.

El Centros staff created the tapas menu, which incorporated a range of popular Latin American dishes such as Peruvian ceviche, pico de gallo, tacos and others.

We wanted to create a selection of tapas that were full of Latino flavors, Guerra said. We had a lot of fun experimenting with different ingredients and recipes to create a delicious and unique menu. The chef of the hotel was in charge of cooking each of the dishes to perfection.

Dinora Garcia, master of ceremonies, gave the welcome and closing remarks.

For more information about El Centro de las Americas, visit www.elcentrone.org.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Nearly 300 community members gathered May 2 at the Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center for the Lincoln Community Foundations annual donor recognition event. This year, the event included two awards that celebrate exceptional displays of generosity and leadership.

The Charity Award, given to Bill and Marilyn Cintani, recognizes the philanthropic contributions of an individual or couple in our community, and new this year, the JoAnn Martin Civic Leadership Award, presented to Dr. Mae Colleen Jones, recognizes and celebrates community leadership. The honorees for both these awards were selected by the Foundation Boards nominating committee from an extensive list of worthy leaders in our community.

Mayor Leirion Gaylor Bairds opening remarks commented on the synchronicities of this years recipients and their deep commitment to their community.

Our honorees this year had very special relationships with their partners, she said. Partners whom they loved dearly and with whom they expressed their love of each other and our city through acts of service and gift giving.

Charity Award

Bill and Marilyn Cintani became the 12th recipients of the Charity Award. Bill and Marilyn are known for their generous contributions to so many corners of the community, and for their work in partnership with the Lincoln Community Foundation.

With the help of Tom and Lisa Smith, the Foundation approached Bill and Marilyn about the award before Bills passing in December.

We are honored they accepted, and that we have the opportunity to celebrate Bills legacy as a community leader and philanthropist and as our trusted adviser and friend, said Foundation President/CEO Alec Gorynski. His deep love for Lincoln is carried on through Marilyn, their children and their grandchildren, who are here with us today.

Bill brought his vision and leadership to the Foundations board from 2012-2017. He served as board chair and past president. During Bills time on the board, he saw the impact a match can have on encouraging donations through Give to Lincoln Day. Inspired by this concept of leveraging, in 2018, Bill and Marilyn pledged matching dollars from their personal fund for new donor advised funds established at the Foundation.

Bill and Marilyns son, Brian, shared that leverage was often something Bill would consider with his giving.

It was important to him that there be a multiplier effect on some of the donations hed make, said Brian. He felt like if he could use the money at the Raikes School to fund a summer internship, it would function as an investment and not just a grant. He wanted to see it grow and multiply.

Marilyns heart guides the issues she supports, focusing her philanthropy on children and young families by extending resources to support those enduring challenging situations.

My dad had passion in philanthropy, and so does my mom, but they varied, said daughter Laura Frantz. My moms main passion in her life is her family, so I think that trickles down to where shes passionate about giving.

The Cintanis modest approach to philanthropy has been steady and caring  giving opportunities to those who might not have them otherwise. They truly epitomize what it means to give, act and lead.

The Charity Award was really established for the community, so the community had a way to thank an individual or a couple for their wonderful leadership, their philanthropy and their service, said former Foundation President Barbara Bartle. When I think about that criterion, I can think of no one but Bill and Marilyn being so deserving of this award. They fit in every category.

JoAnn Martin Civic Leadership Award

The JoAnn Martin Civic Leadership Award was established to recognize an individual who has demonstrated a strong commitment to civic leadership. The nominating committee defined this as an individual who possesses servant leadership qualities and expresses her/his servant leadership through volunteer service to our community, to include leadership service with nonprofit and civic organizations in varying capacities.

The award first presented to JoAnn Martin shortly before her passing in the fall of 2021 by a group of community leaders included leaders from Ameritas and NRC, who also established an endowment at the Foundation to sustain JoAnns leadership legacy.

In cooperation with the Martin family, the endowment is being used to grow and sustain the Women in Business Leadership program in partnership with the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce.

JoAnn Martin was a member of the Lincoln Community Foundation Board of Directors and was scheduled to be the board chair from 20222023. For this reason, and in recognition of the Foundations emphasis on community leadership, the awards founders and the Martin family agreed the Foundations annual program is the perfect home for the JoAnn Martin Civic Leadership Award.

Now retired, Jones has spent her career in academia, the majority of which was with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). The reason for her recognition was not just because of her leadership throughout her professional career, but also because of her extensive history of community service.

The nominating committee identified nearly 20 unique instances of Jones formal community leadership service, including volunteer leadership roles with the United Way, Leadership Lincoln, Friendship Home, Sheldon Musuem of Art, Lied Center for Performing Arts and the Lincoln Community Foundation.

In fact, in early conversations about Dr. Jones as the potential recipient of this award, we would often hear folks exclaim Of course, Colleen is involved in everything, said Gorynski.

Colleen is a founding chapter member and officer with her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and president of the Melvin W. Jones Scholar Community at UNL, named for her late husband. Cynthia Milligan, who served as dean of the College of Business when Colleen was a faculty member in the Management Department, commented on the impact of the Jones Scholars.

I think her major contribution was the Jones Scholars, she said. I suspect if one had the opportunity to talk to those students, they would say that she was one of the major people in their lives giving them the impetus to stay and do well in the university and to move on.

As Jones became the second recipient of the JoAnn Martin Civic Leadership Award, she reflected on the journey that brought her and Melvin to Lincoln. They had both decided early on to support each others professional path and bloom where we were planted.

When Melvin died, I was reminded of a Maya Angelou quote, You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them, she said. It was not difficult for me to step up and become more visibly active in Lincoln  because the perspectives of Black people, women and transplanted new Nebraskans are essential to the health, growth and future of this community.

Colleens sorority sister, Karen Williams, commented on how Colleens leadership mirrors that of the awards first recipient and namesake.

I believe one of the things that JoAnn Martin said was that it only takes one person to volunteer to make things happen, and Colleen is definitely proof of that, she said. The philosophy that she shares with so many people, the hard work that shes done for so many organizations and just the woman that she is with the biggest heart and the kindest spirit  I cant think of anyone more deserving.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The Nebraska Legislature has been broken.

It was broken Tuesday by the conservative majority, who ignored the bodys own rules in amending a 12-week abortion ban into LB574, the controversial measure restricting gender-affirming care, in order to implement a national right-wing Republican agenda before the legislative session ends in early June.

It has been broken by a session-long filibuster by LB574 opponents, led by Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, that has resulted in legislating at its worst, forcing the creation of Christmas tree bills that cobble together measures that cant be considered individually in the remaining days of the session, measures that are near certain to be error-filled and bring unintended consequences.

It has been broken by culture wars  a division clearly seen in the packed Capitol Rotunda where Christian supporters prayed for the passage of the 12-week abortion amendment and the bills passage while opponents decried the Christofacist agenda and chanted, Kill the bill.

Hundreds to thousands of Nebraskans coming down on these bills are not typical for Nebraska, Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad said during Tuesdays contentious debate. These measures have torn apart our body. Weve broken down into tribal, partisan groups.

And, the Legislature has been broken by term limits, which rob the body of experience, undercutting long-term leadership and making unelected officials the repository of institutional memory.

Additionally, in sending a relatively large crop of new senators to the Legislature every two years, term limits have largely eliminated conflict-tempering collegiality among senators, who barely get to know and work with each other before a new group arrives.

"This debate is about us, Conrad told her colleagues Tuesday. The 49 of us who are here, who sacrificed to be here, who worked hard to get here, who took an oath to serve in a nonpartisan institution, who truly in their heart of hearts want to do good work ... If you read the headlines, if you scroll social media, if you talk to your friends and neighbors, they are sick of the toxic politics," she said, adding, "The only way to stop it is to stop it.

Stopping toxic politics will not be easy. Nor, given todays vicious partisan polarization, is there anything like a universal desire to end the toxicity.

Fixing the broken Legislature after the 2023 session will be difficult.

Until a majority of senators want to dial back partisanship in the officially nonpartisan body, turn away from culture wars and their emotional, often personal conflicts, and represent the views of all Nebraskans, it's likely impossible.
Yunju Temple Stone Scripture Museum showcases profound traditional Chinese culture

People's Daily Online) 15:16, May 18, 2023

The Yunju Temple Stone Scripture Museum in Fangshan district, Beijing is famed for its rich collections of stone slabs carved with the Buddhist scriptures known as the Tripitaka.

The museum houses 14,278 stone slabs of scriptures, which feature over 35 million characters, and are the largest collection of stone scriptures in China. Among these stone scriptures known as the Fangshan stone scriptures, 10,082 are housed in the underground chamber of the Yunju Temple, and 4,196 in nine caves on Shijing Mountain in Fangshan district.

The carvings of the stone scriptures began in the late Sui Dynasty (581-618) on Shijing Mountain (originally called Baidai Mountain) by monk Jingwan, founder of the Yunju Temple, and went through six dynasties, spanning 1,039 years before it was finished.

In addition to stone scriptures, the temple is also home to paper sutras of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), wood-carved sutras of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and over 10 pogodas of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the Liao Dynasty (916-1125).

Stone scriptures stored in the underground chamber of the Yunju Temple in Beijing. (People's Daily Online/Liu Dong)

The stone scriptures are China's cultural treasure and part of the precious world cultural heritage.

The Fangshan stone scriptures are vital for research on Buddhism, cultural relics, literature, calligraphy, history and geography, Li Shuping, deputy director of the administration of cultural relics at the Yunju Temple, told People's Daily Online. Li added that it's necessary to introduce the Fangshan stone scriptures to the world.

Since 2013, the Yunju Temple Stone Scripture Museum has held exhibitions titled Miracle of Chinese Culture: History and Culture of Yunju Temple across the country, and in Germany and Myanmar.

Li said the museum is preparing for cultural exchange activities in Italy to present profound traditional Chinese culture to audiences and cultural enthusiasts in the country.

Li Shuping (right), deputy director of the administration of cultural relics at the Yunju Temple, gives an interview to an Italian reporter with People's Daily Online. (People's Daily Online/Lu Yang)

The upcoming exhibition in Milan, Italy will focus on the thousand-year history of scripture engraving at the Yunju Temple to showcase the temple's rich historical and cultural heritage. An interactive area will be built at the exhibition, where visitors can have a virtual tour of the temple by wearing virtual reality (VR) glasses and learn the traditional Chinese printing techniques through an activity about woodblock print sutras.

Li hopes that the exhibition will encourage more people to love cultural relics, raise their awareness of the importance of preserving cultural heritage, and make the world appreciate the charm of profound traditional Chinese culture

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
By Lee Williams. May 17, 2023

Joe Biden has always struggled with the truth. Whenever he wanders off script and speaks extemporaneously, he invents personal anecdotes  boldfaced lies, actually  in which he assigns himself the starring role.

Whether he's getting arrested in South Africa for trying to bust into Nelson Mandela's prison cell, or bravely confronting AR-toting hunters in a Delaware swamp or going toe-to-toe with the arch-criminal, CornPop, no one actually believes him or takes his tall tales seriously. It's just Joe being Joe, right?

But when Biden's lies are actually signed and set into type, it's a bit more serious. He loses his normal litany of excuses: he was tired, he was confused, he misread the teleprompter, he was sundowning.

In an editorial published Sunday in USA Today and reprinted in scores of other newspapers, the Fabulist-in-Chief dropped a whopper  even for someone who has lowered the presidential-truthfulness bar so significantly.

The editorial was titled, "President Biden: I'm doing everything I can to reduce gun violence, but Congress must do more."

Most of Joe's opus we've heard many times before. AR-15s are bad, so is anyone who owns one. Red flag laws and universal background checks will save the world. .....
Copperas Cove, TX (76522)

Today

Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to cloudy skies after midnight. Low 66F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to cloudy skies after midnight. Low 66F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
1. Yes. The charter calls for an appointment process, and the council will pick wisely.

2. Yes. Why spend money on an election? Let the city council do its job, as mandated.

3. No. Voters chose Wilkerson in the first place; they should be able to pick his successor.

4. No. Since theres nearly a year left on Wilkersons council term, the voters should have a say.

5. Unsure. An appointment would follow the charter, but an election seems fairer.

Vote

View Results
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

KEARNEY  Mason Casper isnt too nervous about delivering the student address during today's spring commencement ceremony.

The soon-to-be University of Nebraska at Kearney graduate knows hell have plenty of support from the crowd.

Its going to be so much fun to look out into this sea of Lopers and see all my friends, he said. Thats one thing I love about UNK  its big enough that you dont know everybody but its small enough that you know a lot of people. I feel like I have a relationship with a lot of people on this campus, so to go out there and just be talking to my friends, that takes some of the pressure off for sure.

As Casper prepares to close one chapter of his life and begin another, hes been thinking about his time at UNK and what the past four years have meant to him. The importance of those relationships keeps coming up again and again.

I remember being a freshman, thrown into a whole new world, ready to start my own journey, he said. I had so many upperclassmen there to support and guide me through this time. Now, as a senior, I found it was my responsibility to help prepare fellow Lopers for their own journeys. I just hope that I was able to have the same impact on them.

Future doctor

A Kearney Catholic graduate, Casper enrolled at UNK as a member of the Kearney Health Opportunities Program (KHOP), a partnership with the University of Nebraska Medical Center designed to grow the states health care workforce.

Launched in 2010, the program addresses a growing need for health care professionals by recruiting and training students from rural Nebraska who will remain in these areas to practice.

Born and raised in Kearney, Casper already knew he wanted to work in a rural community. Then he learned about his grandparents struggle to find quality health care. They were forced to drive from Kimball to Colorado  a three-hour trip  after a specialist closed in Scottsbluff.

That really limits what you can obtain in terms of health care, Casper said. Hearing their stories made me want to be part of the solution.

KHOP participants are awarded full-tuition scholarships to study at UNK and guaranteed admission to UNMC if all requirements are met. Those are great perks, Casper said, but the real benefit for me was all the experiences the program provides.

As a freshman, Casper was part of a learning community that provides additional support and guidance as students transition to college. Members live together, study together and get together weekly to discuss rural health care and the challenges providers face. They also meet with health care providers and tour medical facilities, allowing them to see different career paths and create professional networks.

The biggest thing, by far, that the KHOP program has given me is that network of people who share the same vision and share the same goals, Casper said. Thats where I met a lot of my best friends. We lived together. We took many of the same classes together. Theres that sense of camaraderie because weve spent so much time together.

In 10-15 years, were going to have this huge network of people spread across the state and hopefully we can turn to each other to help solve this problem.

Casper gained additional experience in the medical field, along with course credits, by working as a scribe at Kearney Regional Medical Center. That allowed him to learn more about the electronic medical records system and patient care.

Peggy Abels, director of UNK Health Sciences, called him a natural leader and excellent role model who raised the bar and encouraged others to join him.

Mason will be an asset to the medical profession, she said. His people skills, combined with his critical-thinking abilities, will serve his patients well. As part of the KHOP program, Mason is committed to practicing in rural Nebraska. His compassion for others and his work ethic will make him successful and any rural community will be lucky to have him.

A deans list student with a perfect 4.0 GPA, Casper will receive a bachelors degree in biology with a health science emphasis on Friday, then hes getting married and moving away from his hometown for the first time to attend medical school at UNMC in Omaha.

Im going to miss Kearney, I know it, but Ill always be a Loper at heart and I look forward to being reunited with this wonderful community someday, he said.

Campus leader

Paul Twigg, a UNK biology professor and interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, describes Casper as a community builder.

He attracts others and makes them want to participate in a common goal, whether thats in class or showing up at events of all kinds to help out, Twigg said.

That part of his college experience was just as important as academics. Casper gained valuable communication, leadership and problem-solving skills through his involvement in Fraternity and Sorority Life, Residence Life and other campus organizations.

I learned a lot of great information in my classes, but its your extracurriculars and your involvement outside of class that really develop your human skills, he said. I can memorize these muscles, but what does it matter if I cant go and communicate that to somebody?

Casper joined the Phi Delta Theta fraternity as a freshman and immediately took on leadership positions. He served as an executive board member and treasurer in his first year, then advanced to chapter vice president and interim president. As a junior, he was president of the council that oversees five UNK fraternities.

When I joined Greek Life, the biggest thing I wanted to get out of it was leadership experience. I wanted to try to catapult myself into uncomfortable situations where I had to figure it out. Thats what I was looking for, and thats definitely what I got, said Casper, who was named Phi Delta Theta New Member of the Year in 2019, Phi Delta Theta Member of the Year in 2020 and UNK Greek Man of the Year in 2023.

Hes been a floor president, resident assistant and assistant hall director for Residence Life, earning RA of the Year honors in 2022, and was part of the Chancellors Ambassadors organization and GAMMA peer health education group. Earlier this month, Casper received the Mary Jane and William R. Nester Student Leadership Award recognizing outstanding seniors who have excelled academically and demonstrated exemplary service, character and leadership during their UNK undergraduate careers.

I feel as though my greatest impact as a student leader has been through the positive influence I made on others, he said. This impact has come from different sources  programs, speaking at student panels, volunteering at events and even just greeting others around campus. These relationships are the true rewards of my hard work, not the awards or titles, and I will hold them dearly for the rest of my life.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

KEARNEY  As the weather warms, more Nebraskans head outdoors to enjoy activities such as fishing, hiking and camping.

But theyre not alone. Theres another creature thats most active during the spring and summer months.

Nebraska is home to a growing number of tick species. When these arachnids cross paths with humans, the consequences can be dire.

Tickborne disease is on the rise in the United States. In fact, we have more tickborne vectored disease than mosquito-borne vectored disease. We tend to think about mosquitoes, but ticks are actually the bigger problem, said Julie Shaffer, a biology professor and department co-chair at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

Nearly half a million Americans are diagnosed with a tickborne illness each year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates, with Lyme disease representing the vast majority of reported cases. Ehrlichiosis, tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are also transmitted through tick bites.

Experts believe both human and tick movements are contributing to the increase in these diseases. More people are building homes in formerly uninhabited wilderness areas, and climate change is allowing some tick species to move into new areas. While the American dog tick remains the most common species in Nebraska, the lone star tick is also spreading in the state and the black-legged tick (deer tick) now has established populations here. Another new species, the Gulf Coast tick, was discovered in Lancaster County in 2018.

Each species presents a different risk to people and animals. Thats why scientists like Shaffer are working with public health officials to better understand these pesky parasites and the diseases they spread.

We need to know more about disease prevalence rates in our state, which ticks are carrying these diseases, how that transmission occurs and what the risk is for people in a certain area, said Shaffer, whos been studying tickborne pathogens for several years.

The UNK professor and her research assistants  currently three undergraduate students and one graduate student  collect thousands of ticks every spring and summer at locations throughout the state. Their process is quite simple: drag a large piece of felt across a grassy area and let the ticks latch on.

The ticks are then disinfected in alcohol, sorted by sex and species, and frozen until its time to extract their DNA for testing. They use a technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine whether a tick is carrying a specific pathogen.

By identifying which ticks and diseases are present in specific locations, the researchers can help medical professionals make a timely diagnosis when someone is infected.

Most of these bacterial infections from ticks have similar symptoms, and some of them are more virulent than others, so you have to get treatment more quickly, Shaffer said. If you dont know what to expect, you may not get that person the right treatment fast enough.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia can be fatal if theyre not treated properly, and Lyme disease has the potential to be debilitating.

This type of surveying work is important because tickborne illnesses can present with vary vague symptoms and they can be very hard to diagnose, said UNK junior Nicole Messbarger, a pre-medical student from Kearney. We want to inform health care providers and the general public about the risks of an area so people receive the early treatment that can make such a big difference in these cases.

Messbarger joined Shaffers research team last May as a member of the Undergraduate Research Fellows program, and shes already noticed a couple alarming trends. Theyre finding more lone star ticks in central Nebraska and a higher prevalence of the bacteria that cause tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

We expected to find mainly dog ticks in this area, because thats whats known to be here, but the lone star tick is also moving northward, said Messbarger, who presented her findings during the annual Research Day competition on campus.

In addition to what they collect, the UNK researchers test ticks sent to them by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, typically from areas where theres been suspected disease transmission. Working with collaborators at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Creighton University and University of Nebraska Medical Center, they hope to secure federal funding to develop a device that can quickly perform this testing in the field, rather than a lab setting.

In the meantime, theyll expand their research by studying young nymphs and their ability to transmit diseases, focusing on whether different tick species can exchange infectious bacteria with each other and using an advanced PCR test to determine how many bacteria are needed to make a person sick.
WASHINGTON  Republicans at a U.S. House hearing aired frustration with the Department of Justice this week for what they contended is a lack of enforcement of a Clinton-era law that protects access to reproductive health care at anti-abortion pregnancy centers and abortion clinics.

GOP lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee expressed anger the FBI and U.S. attorneys dont bring more charges against people who vandalize, mark with graffiti, or burn down anti-abortion facilities, often known as crisis pregnancy centers.

Democrats on the GOP-controlled subcommittee that held the hearing contended health care clinics that provide abortion services face the greater danger and that U.S. lawmakers should condemn acts of violence regardless of whether they are aimed at anti-abortion pregnancy centers or abortion facilities.

Violence, threats and intimidation tactics should have no place in our political discourse, including in our nations ongoing debate over abortion access, said Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, the ranking member on the panel.

We must condemn all political violence and threats of violence, whatever the beliefs or motivations of those who engage in it and regardless of who the target may be, she added.

Scanlon chided her GOP colleagues during the hearing for focusing their questions and inviting witnesses based on their belief the Biden administration isnt doing all it could to prosecute people who attack anti-abortion pregnancy centers under a federal law known as the FACE Act.

By convening a hearing that inflames grievances and amplifies misinformation concerning the prevalence of violence against anti-abortion forces, this hearing does not advance our congressional duty to protect and preserve our democracy, Scanlon said.

1994 law

The FACE Act, which stands for Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances, was enacted in 1994 and made it a federal crime to injure, intimidate or interfere with someone seeking access to reproductive health care services or someone performing reproductive health care services.

Damaging or destroying a facility because it provides reproductive health care services, including abortion, also became a federal crime.

The law defined reproductive health care services broadly, meaning today it protects abortion clinics, anti-abortion pregnancy centers and regular doctors offices where patients seek any form of reproductive health care.

The FACE Act passed Congress with bipartisan support and was signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton. While it protects access to all types of reproductive health care services, the bill was introduced following a wave of violence against abortion clinics and the murder of abortion providers in Florida and Kansas in 1993.

The Justice Department details recent violence against reproductive health care centers, including FACE Act violations, on its website, though it doesnt differentiate between crimes against abortion clinics and anti-abortion pregnancy centers there.

Talcott Camp, chief legal and strategy officer at the National Abortion Federation, the professional association of abortion providers, testified during the hearing that unquestionably the vast majority of crimes are committed against reproductive health care clinics that provide abortions.

The National Abortion Federations latest report on crimes committed against reproductive health care facilities during 2022 notes that violence and disruption against abortion clinics drastically increased in states that kept access legal, following the Supreme Courts decision last summer to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion.

From 2021 to 2022, death threats or threats of harm increased from 182 to 218, stalkings increased from 28 to 92, burglaries increased by 231% and four clinics experienced arson, she testified.

Since 1977 there have been 11 murders, 26 attempted murders, 42 bombings, 200 arsons, 531 assaults, 492 clinic invasions, 375 burglaries and thousands of other criminal incidents targeting abortion patients, providers and volunteers, Camp said.

New York Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler asked Camp if people living in states where abortion access has been protected should be concerned that violence, threats and intimidation against abortion providers could effectively ban abortion in their state, regardless of what their state law provides.

Camp testified that the Supreme Courts ruling to end nationwide protection for abortion emboldened anti-abortion extremists to go specially to clinics in states that protect abortion rights.

During 2022, she testified, stalkings overall increased 230%, but they jumped up by 900% in states that have protected abortion rights.

Republicans focus on pregnancy centers

Louisiana Republican Rep. Mike Johnson, chairman of the Judiciary Committees Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, which held the hearing, contended the Justice Department should prosecute more people for crimes against anti-abortion pregnancy centers.

The women that seek these services should be able to do so, obviously, without facing any danger, Johnson said.

Since the Supreme Courts decision to end the fundamental right to an abortion was reported by Politico in May 2022 following a leak of the draft opinion, Johnson said, there have been more than 100 attacks on crisis pregnancy centers and churches, which are also protected under the FACE Act.

Johnson didnt offer a breakdown of those numbers, or whether local or state law enforcement had brought charges in the cases. But the Catholic News Agencys tracker says 63 were against pregnancy centers.

Johnson said the incidents included vandalism, graffiti, arson and online harassment, including one case in Florida where the Department of Justice has secured indictments against four people for spray-painting threats.

Johnson said that wasnt enough, calling it a drop in the bucket.

Mark Houck, an anti-abortion advocate who was charged by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania with a FACE Act violation for shoving a 72-year-old clinic volunteer escort but found not guilty, testified he believes he was persecuted.

Houck testified he didnt want the volunteer, who helps patients get inside the building safely, standing near or talking to his 12-year-old son, whom Houck brought with him to the abortion clinic in Philadelphia.

That morning, Houck testified, he followed women leaving the clinic across the street while offering them literature.

At that time, an escort in the building decided to run over, impede my progress and get in the way of me ministering and talking to the women who had left Planned Parenthood, Houck said.

After returning to stand outside the health care clinic, Houck testified, the clinic volunteer escort stood right next to my 12-year-old-boy, who was a little intimidated and scared by this.

He begins to talk to my son and badger my son and starts telling my son how evil his father is and how his father doesnt want to help women, Houck said, adding he then asked the clinic volunteer to go back to where he normally stands.

Houck said he then escorted the volunteer to another area in front of the clinic.

I turned around to face my son and go back to pray. He turned around and began to badger my son again, Houck testified. At that point, I became a dad on the street concerned for my son. I did push the man. He did fall down.

Houck and several Republican lawmakers on the subcommittee sharply criticized law enforcement officers for arresting Houck at his home, in front of his family, while holding weapons.

Houck said he believes they arrested him at his home, instead of allowing him to turn himself in, to humiliate me, to scare my children and to instill fear in pro-life America.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Kenosha County health leaders have taken the first steps in addressing what they have identified as the most pressing concerns in the community.

A Kenosha County Public Health survey, conducted every three years by KCPH in partnership with community healthcare providers, gives leaders a perspective on the health of the Kenosha County community, as well as sharing what residents considered to be the most pressing health-related concerns.

The latest data from nearly 1,000 county residents was collected online utilizing a revised list of survey questions, rather than in the past when they called 200 landlines and 200 cell phone numbers in the county.

Lori Plahmer, interim health director at Kenosha County Public Health, said the increased number of responses aided their efforts. The more people were able to survey, the better our representation of the top issues can be, Plahmer said.

On Wednesday, community health leaders met at the Kenosha County Center to discuss the surveys findings and vote on the top three priorities.

Out of the Top 10 health-related concerns residents raised, members voted that access to affordable healthcare, mental health and drug and alcohol use, and access to affordable housing were the three most pressing issues.

That matched with the top three issues most residents listed in the survey as their greatest health-related concerns. Drug and alcohol use was combined with mental health, as members felt they were similar issues.

Affordable healthcare

Approximately 45% of surveyed residents listed access to affordable health care as one of their three largest health concerns in the county.

According to the report, healthcare must be reasonably close to where people live, be open at convenient times and have enough staffing. Critically, it must also be affordable, so that people do not have to choose between healthcare and other priorities such as paying their rent.

Compared to the rest of the state, Wisconsin trails in terms of primary care providers. Wisconsin has 1 primary care provider for every 1,240 residents, compared to Kenosha Countys 1 per 2,090.

Approximately 48% of those surveyed indicated they had delayed or did not receive dental, medical or prescription care in the last year, with 22% indicating they had delayed healthcare because of cost.

Lack of access to affordable healthcare most heavily impacts people of color, the survey indicated. Approximatey 50% of Black residents and 41% of Hispanic residents had gaps in their insurance coverage in the last year, compared to 12% of white residents.

Mental health and drug and alcohol use

Between 2019 and 2022, a total of 610 opioid-related ambulance calls occurred in Kenosha County, an average of three runs per week. There were 36 opioid-related deaths per 100,000 people per year in Kenosha County.

Since 2014, opioid-related deaths increasingly involved fentanyl.

Approximately 65% of Wisconsin adults reported alcohol use in the past 30 days, compared to the U.S. average off 55%. Kenosha County adults were slightly less likely to binge drink than Wisconsin adults, the report indicates.

Kenosha County has fewer mental health providers per person than the state average, with one provider for every 680 residents versus Wisconsins one per 420.

While 74% of respondents said they had an adequate support network that benefited their mental health, Black and Hispanic respondents were more likely to lack an adequate support network. Approximately 26% and 36% of Hispanic and Black respondents, respectively, reported an inadequate network, compared to 14% of white respondents.

Approximately 26% of survey respondents have been diagnosed or treated for anxiety in the past three years, and 21% were diagnosed or treated for depression in the past three years. There were 24 people who died by suicide in 2022, with 1.6% of all deaths in the past five years being suicides.

Affordable housing.

Approximately 44% of surveyed residents listed access to affordable housing as one of their three largest health concerns in Kenosha County.

Only 31% of survey respondents agreed there were affordable places to live in Kenosha County. Approximately 13% of Kenosha County households spend more than 50% of their income on housing, slightly higher than the statewide average of 11%.

In Kenosha County, 73% of white people own a home, versus 18% of Black people, a 55% gap.

Whats next?

Other health concerns residents raised were access to affordable healthy food, violence and crime, driving problems, obesity, racism and aging related issues.

Overall, survey respondents were 68% white, 12% Hispanic, 10% Black and 11% other. The incomes and educational backgrounds of respondents were varied. Respondents were predominantly female, 81%, to just 19% male. Roughly one out of three respondents were aged 18 to 34.

The report and subsequent vote were the first two steps of the five-step Kenosha County THRIVE Community Health Improvement Plan. The next step will be to develop a plan to address the concerns.

Members will split into three groups, each focusing on one issue, and meet three times over the summer. Plahmer said plans should be ready by the fall.

The first meetings for the three THRIVE Action Teams will be June 26th from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Kenosha County Job Center.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

From brains to bugs, markers to river water, Mahone Middle School students in the Riverhouse class section had hands-on experiences with several facets of science education during their University of Wisconsin-Parkside Field Day Experience Thursday.

MAHONE AT PARKSIDE Mahone students Gabe Briceno, left, and Brian Rodriguez-Rio closely examine their capillary action lab exercise Thursday afternoon in a Univer

Mahone students were treated to the Parkside experience after a group of sixth grade students presented a project called Ad Astra, or To the Stars to a UW-Parkside faculty member.

MAHONE AT PARKSIDE Tania Jackson-Taylor, left, and Penelope "Penny" McGrath, set up their capillary action lab exercise during a University of Wisconsin-Parkside

The project the students presented was an exploration of space, as they were tasked with creating a colony in space and where they would place that colony. Their choice? Europa, one of Jupiters moons.

MAHONE AT PARKSIDE University of Wisconsin-Parkside Professor Amelia Ray holds up a glass tube during a chemistry exercise demonstration Thursday afternoon durin

It was very fun knowing that we did this, said sixth-grader Liam Hart.

Its a big accomplishment, sixth-grader Tania Jackson-Taylor added.

The event kicked off with soil testing, guided by Professor Laura Schultz. The students have been studying geology, so the opportunity allowed them to learn about layers of the earth and how they interact with each other. Soil testing was followed by water testing, led by Nancy Carlson, director of the WATERshed Program of Southeast Wisconsin Inc. Students learned about testing the water PH level and quality.

After outdoor learning, students visited university labs where they learned about the structure and functions of the human brain by observing the professor compare a rat, sheep and human brain. They participated in a lab experiment about capillary action using colored markers and a solvent solution.

(My favorite part was) the brains, Jackson-Taylor said. Even though we didnt get to touch them because we ran out of time, it was still cool to see the differences between the three brains.

This was the second year Mahone Middle School students participated in a program like this, according to Schulz.

It feels good to get them out of the classroom and in a different environment and experience nature, Schulz said. It was (fun) and they were a lot of fun.

Mahone Middle School sixth grade science teacher Jamian Knuth explained trips like the Parkside Field Day Experience are important because it offers different examples of learning to students, and helps them learn to think on their own.

Photos: UW-Madison's new chemistry building UW-Madison chemistry building UW-Madison chemistry building UW Chemistry Bldg 05-12232020151728 UW Chemistry Bldg 02-12232020151728 UW-Madison chemistry building UW Chemistry Bldg 03-12232020151728 UW-Madison chemistry building
DETROIT  More than 33 million people in the United States are driving vehicles that contain a potentially deadly threat: Airbag inflators that in rare cases can explode in a collision and spew shrapnel.

Few of them know it. Because of a dispute between federal safety regulators and an airbag parts manufacturer, they aren't likely to find out soon.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration demanded the manufacturer, ARC Automotive of Knoxville, Tennessee, recall 67 million inflators that could explode with such force as to blow apart a metal canister and expel shrapnel. ARC refused to do so, setting up a possible court fight with the agency.

NHTSA argued that the recall is justified because two people were killed in the United States and Canada and at least seven others were injured by ARC's inflators. The explosions, which first occurred in 2009, continued as recently as this year.

NHTSA tentatively concluded, after an investigation that lasted eight years, that the inflators are defective. The agency's documents show that the inflators date from at least the 2002 model year to January 2018, when ARC installed equipment on its manufacturing lines that could detect potential safety problems.

One of those who died was Marlene Beaudoin, a 40-year-old mother of 10 from Michigan's Upper Peninsula who was struck by metal fragments when her 2015 Chevrolet Traverse SUV was involved in a minor crash in 2021. She and four of her sons were on their way to get ice cream. The sons were not hurt.

ARC maintains that no safety defect exists, that NHTSA's demand is based on a hypothesis rather than technical conclusions and that the agency has no authority to order a parts manufacturer to carry out recalls, which ARC contends are the responsibility of automakers.

In a letter to NHTSA, ARC said no automaker has found a defect common to all 67 million inflators, and no root cause has been identified in the inflator ruptures.

"ARC believes they resulted from random 'one-off' manufacturing anomalies that were properly addressed by vehicle manufacturers through lot-specific recalls," the letter said.

In a statement, NHTSA indicated that both ARC and automakers are responsible for recalls and that it can seek a recall from a parts maker that supplies multiple automakers.

The next step is for NHTSA to issue a final ruling on whether the inflators are defective, then hold a public hearing. It potentially could take ARC to court to seek a recall order. NHTSA would not say when or whether any of this will happen.

In the meantime, owners of vehicles made by at least a dozen automakers  Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Ford, Toyota, Stellantis, Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Porsche, Hyundai and Kia  are left to wonder anxiously whether their vehicles contain driver or front passenger inflators made by ARC. Some vehicles have ARC inflators on both sides.

Because ARC supplies inflators that are included in other manufacturers' airbags, there's no easy way for vehicle owners to determine whether their inflators are made by ARC. Neither NHTSA nor ARC nor the automakers released a full list of affected models.

The standoff with ARC sent automakers struggling to find out just how many of their vehicles contain the inflators. The auto manufacturers are also asking NHTSA whether they must start doing recalls. Automakers know many of the models affected.

"We are still investigating," said Maria Buczkowski, a spokeswoman for Ford. "We have not had any ARC airbag inflators rupture in the field."

James Bell, a Kia spokesman, said, "We do not have a final count on vehicles that were built with ARC inflators, but the team is collecting the data."

Will dashboard AM radio be saved? Bipartisan bill would require automakers to keep it in new cars Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pushing to keep AM radio in the nations cars with the AM for Every Vehicle Act that would require automakers to keep AM radio in new cars at no additional cost.

Toyota confirmed that some of its vehicles have ARC inflators but wouldn't comment further.

Other automakers said they were trying to find a cause and were working with the government or didn't respond to requests from The Associated Press for information.

NHTSA contends that byproducts from welding during manufacturing can clog a vent inside the inflator canister that's designed to let gas escape to fill air bags quickly in a crash. Pressure can build to the point where the canister is blown apart.

Michael Brooks, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, called on NHTSA and the automakers to release a list of affected models.

"Customers, I think, have a right to know if there's a potential defect in their car, particularly if it's sitting a few inches from their chest and can explode," Brooks said.

The situation, he said, is reminiscent of the early stages of the Takata air bag inflator recalls in 2001. It took years for all the affected vehicle models to be announced.

Both ARC and Takata used ammonium nitrate to inflate air bags. Takata's situation was more dangerous, Brooks said, because in its inflators, the chemical could deteriorate over time when exposed to high heat and humidity.

Unlike Takata, ARC uses ammonium nitrate only as a secondary chemical to inflate air bags. ARC's problem appears to derive instead from a manufacturing defect.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Law enforcement officers from throughout Vernon County and members of the public remembered fallen officers from not only the county, but also from Wisconsin and the nation.

The annual Vernon County Law Enforcement Memorial Service was held on the grounds of the sheriffs office, Tuesday, May 16.

Chaplain Don Ehler and Sheriff Roy Torgerson gave the welcome, following the presentation of the flags by the Vernon County Sheriffs Office Honor Guard Unit, along with Chief Patrick Clark of the Hillsboro Police Department, Investigator Jeff Walbrun of the Viroqua Police Department and Chief Jason Leis of the Kickapoo Valley Reserve Police Department.

Ehler said there are more than 800,000 sworn law enforcement officers now serving in the United States. Its still not enough, as 1.16 million violent crimes occur annually. He said 2,633 officers have died in the line of duty during the past 10 years, an average of one death every 55 hours or 234 per year.

Torgerson remembered the countys fallen officers  Deputy Sheriff Bobbie W. Dickson, Vernon County Sheriffs Office, who was killed when his squad car was struck head-on by a vehicle that lost control in a curve near Readstown on Aug. 8, 1986; Chief Michael G. Cook, Viola Police Department, who was involved in a one-vehicle accident while responding to an emergency call on Nov. 24, 1976; and Officer Curtis Starry, Viroqua Police Department, who was killed when his squad car was struck by a semi tanker truck; both vehicle burst into flames upon collision on March 13, 1953.

Torgerson also honored the 2022-23 fallen officers in Wisconsin. Last year there were zero officers killed in Wisconsin, he said. Unfortunately we are already at four.

He honored Police Officer Peter E.C. Jerving of the Milwaukee Police Department who died in the line of duty on Feb. 7, Police Officer Hunter Scheel of the Cameron Police Department who died on April 8, Police Officer Emily Breidenbach of the Chetek Police Department who died on April 8 and Deputy Sheriff Kaitie Leising of the St. Croix County Sheriffs Office who died on May 6.

May these officers rest in peace, Torgerson said.

Ehler read the poem, Gone, But Not Forgotten. We all agree law enforcement is facing the darkest hours in history  there is hatred  With your presence here you are saying you support law enforcement.

Guest speaker Steve Michaels, district administrator at Westby Area School District, told the officers they work they do is noble and they are on the front lines encountering, helping and working with people who have mental health problems.

Whos looking out for you? Whos watching out for you? Your brothers and sisters who work at your side and your families, he said. I appreciate what you go through.

Michaels said three things come to mind when he considers who signs up to become law enforcement officers and why  love for fellow human beings, compassion and a call to service.

He also acknowledge the sacrifices officers and their families make. You miss dinners, sporting events, you come home late and leave early  its not lost on me how much you sacrifice.

Michaels said the officers speak well of their profession. Many thanks for what you do. I want you to know there are many cheering for you in our community.

Music was provided by Deb Easterday, Mike Christianson and Janet Moe. Westby students Ada Tuzsynski and Abby Leis played Taps. Pastor Alan Tripp, retired, Burr-Wesleyan Church, Hillsboro, read scripture and offered a prayer.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed public law 87-726 designating May 15 as a Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which May 15 falls as National Police Week. The law was amended by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Public Law 103-322, signed by President Bill Clinton, directing that the flag of the United States be displayed at half-staff on all government buildings on May 15 each year. While the actual dates change from year to year, National Police Week is always the calendar week beginning on Sunday, which includes May 15.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A preliminary charge of attempted homicide against a 17-year-old Onalaska boy accused of firing a gun inside a La Crosse home May 12 during an alleged robbery was dropped in favor of lesser charges Friday.

Efraim Ko was charged as an adult Friday in La Crosse County Circuit Court with felony counts of armed robbery/use of force, first-degree recklessly endangering safety, strangulation/suffocation and substantial battery/intent to cause bodily harm.

Police originally referred Ko to prosecutors for first-degree attempted homicide. La Crosse County Circuit Court Judge Ramona Gonzalez set cash bond at $5,000 during a preliminary hearing Friday.

According to the criminal complaint, a man told police he had been selling Ko marijuana for several months and that he and his girlfriend allowed Ko inside his residence May 12. Shortly afterward, the man said Ko pulled out a gun and said, You know the drill. Give me everything youve got.

The man told police he gave Ko two ounces of marijuana and a half-ounce of wax. He said Ko asked him for money. The man said he told Ko he didnt have any, and Ko responded by ransacking the residence in search of anything valuable.

The man said Ko ordered him and his girlfriend into a bedroom. He said Ko again asked where any money is kept and pointed the weapon six inches from his head. He said Ko ordered him to the ground and kicked him in the head multiple times. He said Ko then turned him over on his stomach, choked him and kicked him in the groin.

The man told police that his girlfriend physically intervened and that Ko responded by firing a shot that did not strike anyone. The man said Ko then gathered up the stolen valuables, including a PlayStation 5, and left the residence. The man said he locked the door behind Ko, who realized he forgot his keys and broke the entry door to retrieve them before leaving the scene.

The buildings landlord estimated it would cost $2,000 to repair the bullet hole to the floor and broken entry door.

The complaint says Ko drove to Indiana after the incident. Police reached Ko by cell phone. Ko reportedly told police he was aware of the incident and would turn himself in as soon as he returned to La Crosse. The complaint says Ko turned himself in May 17.

La Crosse County Assistant District Attorney Nick Passe requested a $10,000 cash bond. He said Kos trip to Indiana is evidence that hes a flight risk.

Defense attorney Meredith Davis asked for a signature bond or low cash bond. She said the most Kos family could post is $1,000. She denied the trip to Indiana was evidence of flight risk. She said Ko and a relative had a previously planned the trip to Georgia.

Kos next court date is a May 26 preliminary hearing. He faces a maximum of 61 years in prison if convicted on all four counts.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A workforce training center expansion at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater La Crosse is one step closer to development after receiving financial support from La Crosse County.

The Boys & Girls Club of Greater La Crosse received $2 million in support from the La Crosse County Board of Supervisors for the training center. This comes after $1.5 million in federal funds was appropriated to the project last fall.

In 2022, the county reserved $2.45 million of American Rescue Plan Act funding for skilled trades training.

However, county leaders said they did not have the capacity to develop and maintain a program, so the county sought proposals from community partners to offer skilled trades training.

The Boys & Girls Club of La Crosse was the only organization to respond. The funds will support the construction of the workforce center.

The goal of the expansion is to provide a local program to promote and increase enrollment in existing skilled trades programs and support local industries.

The new center at the Boys & Girls Club will provide space for workforce training, collaboration with community schools, colleges, employers and unions to educate young people on various career paths.

Final expansion plans are anticipated to be completed in the next few months, said Jake Erickson, CEO of Boys & Girls Club of Greater La Crosse. The next step now is approval of building plans the county funds are supporting from the Board of Directors.

I am confident that were going to get this done and the result is that its going to be there for kids, its going to truly change lives, Erickson said. It might take several more months to get all the pieces in place, but were working hard to get it done.

Erickson said the club is now in a silent fundraising stage, seeking potential major donations from community members or organizations.

There is not a set fundraising goal yet, but Erickson said another several million dollars needs to be raised.

A public campaign to match current funds will begin this summer.

Workforce readiness programs will continue at our clubs and ramp up to prepare for a new center in 2024, Erickson said.

Due to the federal contribution for the project, the Boys & Girls Club will need to work with the Department of Housing and Urban Development for an environmental study before construction can begin.

In December, Ron Kind, former representative for Wisconsins 3rd Congressional District, announced $1.5 million in federal support for the construction workforce center. The $1.5 million was part of The Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2023, passed in September 2022.

Just a couple months before in October 2022, the expansion project received $57,000 from Al Louiss Musky Challenge to support workforce training programming and staff.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

WASHINGTON  Debt limit talks halted again late Friday at the U.S. Capitol shortly after resuming, another sudden turn of events after negotiations came to an abrupt standstill earlier in the day when Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said it's time to "pause" negotiations, and a White House official acknowledged there are "real differences."

Top Republican negotiators for McCarthy exited the brief meeting shortly after talks restarted Friday evening. They said there were no further negotiations planned for Friday and they were uncertain on next steps.

A top White House adviser to President Joe Biden said they were hopeful for a resolution. The negotiators are racing to strike a budget deal to resolve the standoff.

"We reengaged, had a very, very candid discussion, talking about where we are, talking about where things need to be, what's reasonably acceptable," said Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., a top McCarthy ally leading the talks for his side.

Another Republican negotiator, Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, said McCarthy left for the night, and they would brief the speaker on the latest developments.

Asked if he was confident an agreement over budget issues could be reached with the White House, McHenry said, "No."

As the White House team left the nighttime session, counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti, who is leading talks for the Democrats, said he was hopeful for an outcome.

"We're going to keep working," he said.

Biden's administration is reaching for a deal with Republicans led by McCarthy as the nation careens toward a potentially catastrophic debt default if the government fails to increase the borrowing limit, now at $31 trillion, to keep paying the nation's bills.

Earlier in the day, McCarthy said resolution to the standoff is "easy," if only Biden's team would agree to some spending cuts Republicans demand.

The biggest impasse was over the fiscal 2024 top-line budget amount, according to a person briefed on the talks and granted anonymity to discuss them. Democrats staunchly oppose the steep reductions Republicans put on the table as potentially harmful to Americans.

"We've got to get movement by the White House and we don't have any movement yet," McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters at the Capitol. "So, yeah, we've got to pause."

The White House official, who was granted anonymity to talk about the private discussions, said at that time there are "real differences" between the parties on the budget issues and further "talks will be difficult."

Wall Street turned lower as negotiations on raising the nation's debt limit came to a sudden halt, raising worries that the country could edge closer to risking a highly damaging default on U.S. government debt.

The president, who was in Japan attending the Group of Seven summit, had no immediate comment. Biden already planned to cut short the rest of his trip and he is expected to return to Washington Sunday.

Negotiators met Friday for a third day behind closed doors at the Capitol with hopes of settling on an agreement this weekend before possible House votes next week. They face a looming deadline as soon as June 1, when the Treasury Department said it will run out of cash to pay the government's incurred debt.

Republicans want to extract steep spending cuts, rolling back spending to fiscal 2022 levels and restricting future growth. Biden's team countered that the caps Republicans proposed in their House-passed bill would amount to 30% reductions in some programs if Defense and veterans are spared, according to a memo from the Office of Management and Budget.

Any deal would need the support of both Republicans and Democrats to find approval in a divided Congress and be passed into law. Negotiators are eyeing a more narrow budget cap deal of a few years, rather than the decade-long caps Republicans initially wanted, and clawing back some $30 billion of unspent COVID-19 funds.

Still up for debate are policy changes, including a framework for permitting reforms to speed the development of energy projects, as well as the Republican push to impose work requirements on government aid recipients that Biden has been open to but the House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has said was a "nonstarter."

"Look, we can't be spending more money next year," McCarthy said at the Capitol. "We have to spend less than we spent the year before. It's pretty easy."

But McCarthy faces pressures from his hard-right flank to cut the strongest deal possible for Republicans, and he risks a threat to his leadership as speaker if he fails to deliver. Many House Republicans are unlikely to accept any deal with the White House.

The internal political dynamics confronting the embattled McCarthy leaves the Democrats skeptical of giving away too much to the Republicans and driving off the Democratic support they will need to pass any compromise through Congress.

Some Democrats want Biden to invoke his authority under the 14th amendment to raise the debt ceiling on his own, an idea that raises legal questions and that the president has so far said he is not inclined to consider.

Total mortgage debt increased to $11.2 trillion in 2022 Total mortgage debt increased to $11.2 trillion in 2022 Average Mortgage Debt Increases by 7.3% in 2022 Mortgage Inquiries Decline as Borrowing Rates Increase in 2022 Average Mortgage Balances Increase More Than $16,000 in 2022 Mortgage Debt Increases Everywhere, but Most in the West Outlook for Mortgage Borrowers in 2023
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  The executive committee of Minnesotas Democratic Farmer Labor Party gave initial approval on Thursday to bylaws that would permanently ban anyone who engages in or incites acts of violence from participating in party activities, after a weekend endorsing convention for a Minneapolis City Council seat erupted in chaos.

The executive committee also agreed Thursday that if those bylaws receive final approval from the DFL State Central Committee, the candidate whose supporters are accused of instigating the Saturday melee will be permanently disqualified from seeking and receiving the party's endorsement.

Ken Martin, chair of the state Democratic Party organization, called the melee that erupted Saturday night unacceptable." The DFL is an affiliate of the state Democratic Party.

Video circulating on social media shows that the disturbance began after supporters of incumbent Aisha Chughtai took the stage to seek delegates backing for the Ward 10 City Council seat. That sparked an uproar among backers of her challenger, Nasri Warsame. Some jumped on stage, shouting, banging on tables and waving signs. At least two people were injured and the convention broke up with no endorsement.

Martin said on Twitter that it was clear that the conflict was instigated by Warsame supporters. He continued to place the blame on some of Warsame's supporters on Thursday.

Martin said some mistakes were made, but none of those mistakes, big or small. justify a few bad actors from the Warsame campaign taking things into their own hands and inciting, encouraging and participating in violence against other DFL participants.

With unanimous votes, the executive committee approved two bylaws that would essentially ban individuals who have engaged in, incited or consciously condoned physical assault, threats of violence, or violent acts from party activities.

The first would immediately and permanently disqualify an individual from seeking the partys endorsement if they or their campaign supporters engage in such acts. The second would permanently ban an individual who carried out such acts from any elected or appointed position within the party, including serving as a delegate or alternate to a convention.

Pending final approval of those bylaws, the executive committee said Warsame would be permanently disqualified from seeking and receiving DFL endorsement or letters of support for any future office. Martin clarified that this does not mean Warsame can't run for office. But if he does, he won't get backing from the DLF Party.

Disagreements over how a convention was run is not an excuse for violence. Not understanding the convention process is not an excuse for violence, Martin said. He later added, The reality is, if we dont act, this will just embolden people in the future to use this as a tactic to essentially force conventions to adjourn.

Warsame did not immediately reply Thursday to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Warsame and Chughtai are Democrats in an overwhelmingly Democratic city when campaigns for party backing are often heated. Warsame, a political newcomer, is a Somali immigrant.

Chughtai is a longtime activist who managed U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar's 2018 campaign. She is the daughter of Pakistani immigrants and has support from some prominent Somali American politicians, including Omar and state Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, and other Muslims, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Chughtai has endorsements from a long list of progressive and labor groups, including the Democratic Socialists of America. Warsame has campaigned on a law-and-order message.

Warsame said at a news conference Wednesday: I do not condone violence. I do not condone intimidation or harassment of any sort. Before Thursday's closed-door session, Warsame's campaign manager, Abshir Omar, told the executive committee that he supports Martin's message condemning the violence, but that he was disheartened by statements that blamed Warsame supporters, saying party officials never contacted the campaign to get their side of the story.

Samuel Doten, who chaired Saturday's convention, told the committee that the chaos unfolded due to the actions of about five to 10 people, and that it was not representative of all of Warsame's supporters. He urged the committee to avoid disenfranchising the Somali community from participating in the process.

Chughtai released a statement on Wednesday saying the video does not match the Warsame campaign's version of events.

Campaigns that are winning and have the support of the people dont violently disrupt the process, she said. "As a campaign and as a movement, were on the path to a safer, more just Minneapolis and we look forward to continuing to share that vision with the people of Ward 10.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The Monroe County Sheriffs Office said it is investigating the death of K9 Kolt, a 6-year-old Czech shepherd that has served Monroe County since November 2018.

Kolt suffered a heat-related injury on May 10, was immediately taken to the Sparta Small Animal Veterinary Clinic and then to the VCA Animal Hospital in Madison. Despite a number of different treatments, Kolt was unable to recover and died on Monday afternoon with many loved ones nearby, Sheriff Wesley Revels said in a statement.

The Vernon County Sheriffs Office is assisting the investigation and consulting with the Juneau County District Attorneys Office. A Monroe County deputy has been placed on leave to ensure the effectiveness of the investigation, Revels said.

No additional information will be released until the investigation is complete, Revels said.

We feel blessed by the service that Kolt provided to the Sheriffs Office and communities throughout Monroe County, Revels said. This situation has been very difficult for everyone and there is no doubt that this loss will have a lasting impact on Kolts handler and the Sheriffs Office as a whole.

See the Wisconsin State Journal photo staff's favorites of 2022
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

As part of Skin Cancer Awareness Month, Winona Health will offer free skin cancer screenings by appointment from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, May 26.

The head-to-toe screenings will be conducted by Winona Health dermatologist Dr. Chad Weaver and CNP Erin Hanson.

If you go What: Winona Health free skin cancer screenings When: 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. May 26 Where: Winona Health, 855 Mankato Ave., Winona Appointments: Call 507-4577674

The screenings will look at a patients skin for any sign of skin cancer.

This is an excellent opportunity for those that would otherwise not get screened to get a potentially life-saving exam, Weaver said.

A limited number of appointments are available and appointments are intended for those who have never been screened for skin cancer before.

While anyone can get skin cancer, some people are at a greater risk. Often this includes people with fair skin, blond or red hair, light-colored eyes, a history of sunburns, many or unusual moles, a family history of skin cancer and those who are immunosuppressed.

If you are suspicious of any skin lesion, it is always a good idea to come in for a skin exam, even if for peace of mind, Weaver said.

Skin cancer risk also increases with age. This includes people with greater risks but also those whove had extensive sun exposure or sunburn over the years.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, an estimated 9,500 people are diagnosed with skin cancer every day, and it is the most common cancer in the United States.

Typically, if medical staff is suspicious of a lesion at a screening, they will recommend a further biopsy, Weaver said. The procedure allows for a tissue diagnosis and, based on the results, further treatment may be necessary.

This event is also a way to meet our team and become educated on worrisome signs of skin cancer, Weaver said. We want to do our part to help support the community of Winona.

Screening is a way to check for cancer. When caught early, cancer treatment is typically less invasive and more effective.

Screenings will take place on the second floor of the clinic at Winona Health, 855 Mankato Ave. in Winona. An appointment is required and can be scheduled by calling Winona Health at 507-457-7674.
This article appears in the May 19, 2023 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

May 9, 2014

THE WAY HISTORY CLOSES IN ON THE PAST!

History Is Closing In on Obama

[Print version of this article]

Editors Note: This essay by Lyndon LaRouche first appeared in EIR, Vol. 41, No. 20, May 16, 2014, pp. 4-20.

View full size

White House/Pete Souza

The most foolish, and ultimately most dangerous, of all popular opinions, is the witless presumption, that history flows, simply, from past into future. Contrary to that admittedly popular nonsense, it has often been the case, that history assumes its characteristic form in a notable similarity to that uniquely original discovery of the Solar system, which as such, itself first occurred, also uniquely, in the work of Johannes Kepler.

Thus also, the indication of threat to a present civilization, often re-emerges in the form of something like a very small blob within some historical space-time. The blob grows, becomes more impressive, varies, back and forth, a bit, acquires more and more characteristics, and, after some time, contracts, contracting in a way something akin to the way in which the present, trans-Atlantic civilization has been already long falling, formally, into a moral and physical collapse, since about 1900.

This change for the worse, even the worst, once it had given a turn-about direction of modern European history, had come about the same time, c. 1900, of European civilizations scientific-intellectual collapse under the twin influences operating from the beginning of the collapse of modern civilization. The trigger for that presently onrushing collapse of the culture of trans-Atlantic society, was actually touched off with the combined effect of, first, the ouster of Bismarck, and by the subsequent, silly David Hilberts attempted replacement of physical science by merely mathematics, a travesty which had occurred in the French farce which Hilbert had launched in 1900.

Since that time, up to the present moment, the trans-Atlantic society, has fallen often into long waves of moral and intellectual decay, all done under the influence of (chiefly) the contemporary British world Empire: ranging from the ouster of Bismarck, to the currently pending breakdown-crisis of that British Empire now ripening as if to soon implode, in a trans-Atlantic game of Bail-In. The issue war of today lies not in the concocted, diversionary outcry of Ukraine vs. Russia; it lies in the global thermo-nuclear warfare intentions of the virtually global British Empire of Queen Elizabeth and her son and putative heir, Charles, versus civilization; it is the Green versus the Human; that presently actual world war now a-building, is the product of a rapidly decaying super-imperium which also rules Wall Street, as Wall Streets master: it is the British Empire versus civilization as a whole today, and as the modern echo of the Roman Empire, and of its ancient tradition, that of the evil Zeus.

View full size

Deutsches Historisches Museum Bildarchiv

For Example:

The actual trigger which had prompted the follies of Hilberts rabidly anti-scientific idiocies of 1900, had left an effect which had been occasioned by the British empires successful ouster of Germanys Chancellor Bismarck from his post. This British imperialist attack on Bismarck, had come after the effect of the official British assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, and from the attacks on Bismarcks economic and related policies, policies which had featured Bismarcks own systemic adoption of President Lincolns own strategic economic policies for the U.S.A. Civil War. The British purpose in the successive and combined actions against President Abraham Lincoln, and, then, also, Bismarck, expressed the explicit intention to set off what was to become the series of wars and related series of mass homicides setting off World War I under the simple-minded heading of The Guns of August.

The ouster of Bismarck, had been followed by the also British Empire-led assassination of President Carnot of France at that time. In turn, that assassination of Carnot had been used to set off a series of regional wars within Europe and elsewhere, that over the course of the time leading into what became, next, on the official record as the launching of World War I, to be followed by what was, simply said, a return from a temporary, merely nominal peace, into an actual World War II.

That warfare was not some warfare by a cluster of actually sovereign nations; that now recurring war was launched, not by some subordinate set of particular nations; it was launched under the direction of the empire, the British Empire, which was the master of that Empires set of the mockery of subjected, human national forces. Just as the de facto British puppet of today, U.S. President Barack Obama, has been merely the assigned, merely nominal protagonist representing the British imperial intention in the attempts to launch a provocation for a thermonuclear world system of warfare at this present time. Such was the likeness of the Zeus tradition, and of the imperial roles of the Roman empire, then, and the actually British empires zest for its own world tyranny (as over our United States, too), now.

Therefore, the British imperial policy of warfare during World War II, had become, in the end, intended to delay the attack on the Italian-French fronts of Nazi Germany, as the British intended, to postpone the invasion into continental western Europe, until the waning President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was safely dead, after which point, the British empire, as the empire which it is still today, would, and did gain increasingly political control over both the foreign and domestic policies of our United States. The role of the British imperial stooge, President Barack Obama, is modeled on the British war against China and the opium war against China.

Consider the model of Bertrand Russell, who had been the virtual Satan incarnate of the 20th Century, and had also been the dominant figure in controlling both British Imperial and U.S.A. domestic and foreign policies. President Eisenhower had been enabled to temper the continued threat organized by the British Empire and its U.S.A. running dogs, at that time; but, the strategically intended assassinations of both the truly Presidential John F. Kennedy and his brother, Robert, essentially ended the efficient control of the U.S. Presidency over U.S. policy-shaping, up through Presidents Reagans and Bill Clintons domestic and foreign policies of the United States.

So:

To illustrate the characteristics of the formation of a series of specific periods of histories, such was the span of modern European history from a time early in the modern Classical Renaissance, until the presently precipitous collapse now in the progress of the present, modern era.

Take, a relevant other model case: the case of its associated impact upon the founding of modern science, at large, stretched from the founding of the Golden Renaissance of such as Filippo Brunelleschi, Nicholas of Cusa, and, thence, the echoes expressed by Johannes Keplers unique discovery of the existence of the Solar system, as a thence-ongoing history continued through the rise of the Dutch-British empire versus its North America opposition, thence, into the presently steepening decline of modern trans-Atlantic civilization, since the British Empires launching of a series of steps leading to the rise and the presently objective decline and fall, internally, as an imperial global-like system.

This pattern in actual history is contrary to the intention of the Twentieth- and, also, the Twenty-First Century reductionists linearized systems, as those are presently still rooted in the anti-scientific, neo-Euclidean school of mere Hilbert and Bertrand Russell.

In this perspective, our perverted contemporary U.S. President, Barack Obama and his associated virtual (but, not virtuous) harem of raving (and usually lying) political furies, is merely other passing phenomena, when they are considered against the larger scale of most recent modern centuries, otherwise. The currently attempted British-imperial taunting of Russia by use of the traditional Hitler Nazi organization, the which had already been planted by Adolf Hitler himself into the Ukraine, has been only a pre-world-war taunt set into motion by the mere British stooge, and miserable wretch, the mere stooge, U.S. President Barack Obama, to pre-stage a new version of those preliminary wars, including the so-called Balkan Wars used to set up so-called World War I. The British Empire is simply using its stooge, Obama, to assemble the forces for planet-wide World War III.

Fortunately, there are those inside the United States, and elsewhere, who reject the British Empires thermonuclear option,even some in the United Kingdom, too.

I. On the Preceding Remarks

The purpose of this heretofore present and following report, together with its immediately preceding remarks, above, has been to challenge the most profoundly incompetent and, therefore, strategically most dangerous of the erroneously foolish forms of corruption prevalent in the currently general standards of general belief, as these standards are now prevalent cases of scientific incompetence among the generality of most citizens of the world, especially in the trans-Atlantic region. The result is, such that even most of the otherwise exceptional qualities of the relatively few leading statesmen and actual competent scientists of these current times, have often been duly duped and generally confused: because, what they have been conditioned to believe on that account, even in schools, universities, and professions otherwise, was never really true.

The principal such, approximately, essentially arithmetic, blunder of commonly induced self-deceptions, is to be associated with the popular, and systemically foolish notion of a notion of merely the passage of time as such. This, has been an admittedly prevalent, but nonetheless effectively pathological blunder, that of currently prevalent opinion, since, emphatically, the close of the Nineteenth Century. This is to be correlated, immediately, and that most directly, with the influence of the destruction of the principles of physical science, which had occurred under the influence of the sheer foolishness and associated, malicious frauds of David Hilbert and his frankly Satanic successor, the British Empires Bertrand Russell. This occurred, in both of these pathetic cases, as a matter of the substitution of merely arithmetic for what had been, earlier, the essentially human principles of an actually physical science. That deliberate, Hilbert-Russell hoax against modern science, has been a crucial component of the British empires present preparations for the presently simmering threat of a thermonuclear World War III.

The scheme of booby Hilbert and frankly Satanic Russell, which have been used in this turn to merely arithmetic, by such as Hilbert and British imperialisms Bertrand Russell, which had been, since, a proposed replacement for actually physical science, had been, as clearly in Russells own part. This has been the principal, consequent, essentially British, imperial instrument for the scientific and moral degeneration of the world of the Twentieth Century, and, now, beyond. Destroying physical science was the most essential of the strategic devices which have been used by the British Empire, for its purpose of making sovereign nations vulnerable to destruction, which has been accomplished by undermining the essential principles of the practice of an actually competent physical science.

The resulting loss of competent standards of judgment which this turn introduced, has been caused by the emphasis on mere arithmetic, that used in place of the only competent modern science: the Classical physical science of Brunelleschi, Nicholas of Cusa, Johannes Kepler, Gottfried Leibniz, Carl F. Gauss, Bernhard Riemann, Max Planck, Albert Einstein, and the Classical musical tradition from J.S. Bach through such performances as those of Johannes Brahms and Wilhelm Furtwanglers concluding direction of the Schubert Ninth Symphonys performance, a performance whose relevant suppression in respect to intended principle, in respect to principles of the role of competent musical standards of performance and composition, has been part of the kernel of both the moral and intellectual rot polluting the intellectual life of the trans-Atlantic culture since the close of the Nineteenth Century. That has been the key to the strategic moral rot which has been chiefly responsible, systemically, for the catastrophic failure of trans-Atlantic European culture generally, and beyond, since the close of the Nineteenth Century in Europe and trans-Atlantic cultures generally.

Respecting the Notion of Physical Principle

The relevant root-notion of a true universal principle in the experience of mankinds nature, can be traced in many aspects of known history, such as the truly Platonic notion of what is, actually, Promethean creativity. The conflict between actual science and merely reductionists obscenities, is as old as Zeus and also almost as old as the kindred, pro-Satanic manifestations, such as the ancient Roman and modern British empires. The notion of the practice of monetarism as such, has been a most typical correlative of this degenerate state of both the early and also recent among human cultural formations.

I speak here frankly, as the reality of the present global, and also Solar systemic considerations commonly require.

The Renaissance supplied the foundations of the leading elements of American culture, since the discovery of the Americas by the followers of the Fourteenth-century Golden Renaissance, and, notably, by the appearance of Christopher Columbus successful reach across the Atlantic. This was the same Columbus who had then, already become a faithful convert to the principles of that Renaissance, as that had been reflected most efficiently in the Seventeenth Century rise of the New England culture which emerged under the leadership of the Winthrops and Mathers, and in the continuation of their mission, during the Eighteenth Century, under the rising leadership of Benjamin Franklin, without whose role as statesman and scientist, there could not have been a United States, and little hope for progress of mankind during the immediate future of world affairs.

For example, what had virtually, often subverted, even frequently virtually crushed the principle of the original, Federal Constitution of the United States of America, as under such early Presidencies as those of such inherently corrupted Presidencies as those of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, is to be contrasted with the contrary trend of excellence in the developments under Presidents James Monroe, and, most emphatically, under the true genius of John Quincy Adams (Benjamin Franklins own true heir). The cause of the failures to adhere to the actual intent of the U.S. Federal Constitution, as today, has been, repeatedly, the rejection of that same principle set forth for the reading of the U.S. Federal Constitution, a rejection typified by the opportunistic, intrinsic corruptions brought upon the United States by U.S. political parties adaptation to the British and French-revolutionary follies of that time.

The Errors of the Congress & the Courts

Contrary to the corruption of the original Constitution by means of doctrines of such as those of John Adams, Jefferson, and Madison, the actual Federal Constitution of the United States, under its first Presidency, had been that of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. That set of principles, which I am obliged to state again, in this new location, had featured four essential elements: Report on Public Credit (Jan. 9, 1790); Report on A National Bank (Dec. 13, 1790); Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank (Feb. 23, 1791); and, Report on the Subject of Manufactures (Dec. 5, 1791). Contrary opinions were actually a capitulation to local, states-rights sabotage of the original Federal Constitutions most characteristic intention, as set by the precedent of scientist and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, the principal author of the reality of our Federal Constitution: chiefly by the foreign influences acting upon sections of the localities of the regions of the Constitutional order as a whole.

Most notably, as from the vantage-point of the principles of actual physical science, still presently, there is the actually proven, scientific authority in the design of Hamiltons ordering of the notions of value of produced and sold products. Hamiltons own systemically scientific argument on this account, featured: that from production to sale, to production and purchases, the increase of the value of products in their series of production is the guide to estimates of the effect of production on trade and ultimate sales. This notion, corresponds to a fundamental principle of physical economy; it is, therefore, directly opposed to the unfortunately popular notions and lunatic credulities of monetarism, and degradation of passions to concern for merely local sovereignties as such: sectionalism. Great, universal physical principles, underlying the distinction of mankind from the characteristics of all of the mere beasts, are the only, truly human standards for the self-government of human beings.

What Hamiltons argument prescribes on this account, corresponds uniquely, and exceptionally, to the contrasts of the characteristics of the human species, to those of all merely forms of animal life. The physical principle so invoked is expressed in actually human practice, in the principle of energy-flux-density: the principle which separates successful human productivity, absolutely, from that of all lower forms of life.

However, under certain conditions of human practice, conditions which are consistent with what is known to natural science as the oligarchical principle of institutions such as the Roman Empire and British Empire, the actually contrary, creative principle of scientific and comparable progress required for human society which we sometimes recognize as human individual sovereignty, is either prohibited (e.g., slave systems) or greatly repressed (the British Green policy as applied, increasingly to the policies of the United States since the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, and his brother, Robert). In physical terms, those of relative energy flux-density, the decline of the U.S. economy since the murders of those two Kennedy brothers, has prompted even putative leaders of our republic to tend to be caught up in a continued, physical decline in productivity per capita, that, explicitly, since the assassination of Robert Kennedy, and since the election of wretched, right-wing opportunist, President Richard Nixon, instead.

In all human existence, the characteristic of human progress in development, is the required increase of the incorporated energy-flux-density of the participating membership of a society of intrinsically sovereign persons. In modern terms, we refer, on this account, to the progress of physical chemistry, as this is to be measured in units of increased energy-flux-density incorporated. All net increases of the productive powers of labor, are implicitly measurable in the living, physical biochemistry, of the naturally human, evolutionary increase of mankinds productive capabilities as being the appropriately measurable ones, both in general effect, and, implicitly and actually, respecting rates of per-capita increase of energy-flux density of net output per capita. Merely monetary gains in economy are a kind of inherently odorous flatulence which tends to give the aromas of Boston baked beans a bad name. [Box: Alexander Hamilton on Distribution of Powers]

The distinction of a successful, from a failed, human society, is that the opposing, successful ones performances are expressed in increased useful output of energy-flux density applied, per capita and per unit of action. The chemistry of living human processes per se, productive human life most emphatically, is the truly best measure of successfully productive performances of each and any economy. Hamiltons principle of measuring productivity and price, congruently, is the only valid measure of human productivity, per capita.

View full size

Creative Commons/ThunderKiss Photography

What Went Wrong?

The answer to the immediate issues of life here on Earth, must be to show:

How the economy of the United States has been destroyed during certain periods, such as the case since the assassination of the two Kennedy brothers. The required response to that challenge, is to be located most precisely in two channels: first: the difference between human outlooks on life, as (secondly) against monetarism as such, in general, and expressed specifically in financial speculation. In other words: the demanded performance is an increase in physical productivity per capita, which is the only competent measure for a gain in the effected physical benefit for societys labor-force. This must be approached, on the general precondition, that the relative benefit is shared through the interactions among the composition of the productive process as such. All competent physical science practices are coherent in their correlations and effects with precisely those standards, most emphatically.

Today, many people have strong personal opinions, but little competent regard for the consequences of those choices of their mere opinions.

In other words, the increase of the productive human powers of human labor, is inseparable from physical-scientific/technological-productive progress. In other words, again: this means rates of gains in effectively applied energy-flux densities. This same standard of principle applies to the labor of the behavior of the individual human mind itself, in general, and in each individual case. Ignorant people are not generally useful people in judging human affairs, but more often destructively foolish in their behavior and, worse, in regard for the matter of effects both on others, and upon the effects of society as a whole; it is the development of the specifically creative mental powers of the members of the human species which must be cultivated. Opinion is not the proper standard for democracy; effective results for society as a whole, are of overriding importance: hence, the importance of competent processes of general education for all of the young, in particular, on this account. The lack of the relevant development (enculturation) of the human individuality, on this specific account, points intelligent intention to that which is required to produce the improvement known as a practically valid form of human personality within society (i.e., truly civilized). Incompetent education of our young citizens is among the worst crimes a society could perpetrate upon those who had trusted them to teach them competently.

Indeed, the principal, and principled causes for the accelerated decline of the rate of failure of progress in net productivity in U.S. society, presently, must be recognized, most emphatically, as being the result of the cultivation of ignorance in both education and production as such, and, therefore, also the urgent need for society as a whole, for the increase of something like a rise in the effect of human scientific and related progress of the life-expectancy and progress of powers of increased powers of physically productive labor in effect, all coordinated with mandatorily accelerating rates of energy-flux-density, per capita, of the individual members of the human species. In other words: the necessity for the progressive increase of the Promethean factor in human society, as in opposition to the evil worship of Zeus promoted by such examples as the Roman and current British world empires.

For Examples:

Therefore, we must consider the standard energy-flux density levels of labor, in sundry societies and under sundry circumstances, as being the subject of the principal motivation in any society which has a viable prospect for its own successful perpetuation.

The True Principle of Humanism

Mankind is the only species which cooks its own food, whereas, all other species generally, are absolutely terrified by fire in even the simplest way. Only mankind uses and develops the use of fire: i.e., the increase of the human power of willful self-development into a higher quality of human species. The so-called Green principle is one best suited to the reign of the existence of rotting human corpses, as such dismal results have been prescribed according to the Zeusian principle shared by such as the Ancient Roman and Modern British empires. That distinction is not merely a distinction from animals of the human species; it is, rather, the absolute distinction of the human species from all presently known others. Only mankind willfully breeds itself to become a species of a higher physical and moral capability.

That distinction is, conveniently and properly identified as the noetic principle. The root of that distinction of mankind from all other known living species, lies within the bounds of the true principle of the human practice of what is defined as progress dependent intrinsically upon progress in the true practice of increased rates of applied energy-flux-density in the increased powers of chemistry, otherwise known popularly as the principle of mans willfully applied use of fire per se. This human knowledge of fire, is the practical basis for all of the human species progress in its development, as opposed to the inherently degrading tradition of Zeus, and of such Zeusian tyrannies as the Roman and, then, the British empires. The so-called Green cult of the U.S.A. and other dupes of today, has been the basis for all degradations of the populations of the peoples of nations and so-called races still today; the imperial cult of the British monarchy and of its satrapies, is such a perversion.

The general experience of evidence respecting the quasi-history and actual history of mankind, tends to show that nearly all varieties of human population have been more or less richly cross-bred, such that any significant reversion of some original pure type has been a cultural disadvantage. Take the case of the wide spread of the cross-breeding influence of the earlier stocks on any region of the world. At some point of the inter-breeding of original varieties, a manifoldly cross-bred biological result, and its cultural expressions, tend to converge on an optimal outcome of breeding as a result, which must be promoted with respect to the potential of circumstances of the production and development of the powers acquired since the birth of the new-born child. Thence, the convergence on an enhanced optimum of breeding potential, with respect to intellectually noetic fertility, becomes much more significantly culturally, than biologically.

In those societies which tend toward the fostering of progress in the creative productive powers of the members of the society, we have often experienced, that as sections of human society generally, we have tended to enjoy great progress in the promoting of what we might describe as the productive powers of human creativity in society. The most deadly threat to humanity, has been the self-inflicted effects of domination of any culture by the oligarchical traditions associated, typically with a persistence of a relatively primitive society, such as the bestially evil traditions of cannibalism of the legendary Zeus, the Roman Empire, and the present British empire and its influence on other nations: hence, the excellent, exemplary principle of our American Revolution, which erupted as the fruit for the world as a whole, from that fruit of the Golden Renaissance, from which the colonization of the Americas gave birth to a new freedom: escape from the inherent evils of the old Eurasian and certain other social systems: most emphatically, freedom from the specific Anglo-Dutch imperial tyrannies which arose during the course of the Eighteenth Century. The case of the British in India, and the British imposition of African slavery practiced in the southern region of our United States, is the most efficient example to be considered on this account. A physically, mentally, and humanly moral society, has always been, implicitly, a Promethean one, that of the original intention of our United States.

In short, the crucial factor of human development, past any original points, is to be reduced to human individuals being what the relevant cultural history of habits, such as religions, has made them. The oppositions of the creative personality, the Prometheans, to the brutish cultural types, the Zeusians, the Roman Empire culture, and the present British imperial culture, are exemplary of the conflict between pro-noetic and Zeusian cultures. In general, there is no margin for toleration of racism among human cultures, although, there are some very bad religions, as the relevant behavioral-cultural characteristics show the differences between relatively depraved and desirable cultures with respect to the interests of the human family as whole.

For example: consider the relative depravity of the performance of the respective U.S.A. and European labor-forces since the bench-mark interval since 1890 (the actual beginning of the 1900 turn for the replacement of science by the incompetent, anti-scientific ideologies of the pathetic Hilbert and the worse, pro-Satanic Bertrand Russell, all of which has increasingly polluted the culture of the trans-Atlantic regions and beyond), since that point of depravation of relative cultural trends moving in the direction, into a Zeusian quality of mass-murderous depravity, such as the British monarchy of the present time.

II. The Human Species as Such

Once we had actually taken into account, the fact that the human species, is a scientifically conscious species in its decision making, rather than an animal type, it is the evolutionary development of the abilities of the species, not the biological heredity per se, which is supremely reigning in human social behavior as such. It is the relative competence, or incompetence (e.g., appropriateness) of the human social behavior as the subject, which is properly determining for the purposes of the education of the new-born young, in bringing the new-born human infant into a resulting, relative maturity of increasingly creative (noetic) potential within the society of relevance.

Thus, although the social history of the existence of the maturing infant and his consequences, as existing, are crucial, yet if the society itself were morally-intellectually defective, as in the case of the radical Saudi types, for example, then, that population itself would be inhumanly contaminated. Thus, the character of the person in society lies with the society itself, primarily, meaning, to a very large degree, that the virtual soul of the individual lies with the souls human experience in the processes of maturation, rather than biologically pre-determined except as the stock of the population had been biologically contaminated or underdeveloped culturally.

The actual subject of the notion of the human soul as such, is what is fairly denoted as the moral character of the maturing individual, as defined with respect to the effect caused by the practical cultivation of specific cultural-intellectual-emotional traits: in practical effects, the individual human soul, as specific chiefly to the individual per se, rather than collectively: for example, the individual human soul, despite any characteristics partially shared with others. The general term for noting the distinction to be made, is relative human creativity of the individuals participating within the society, when considered against the background of the society, or influencing societies.

The principal factors affecting cultures throughout the planet since that time (in particular), were set into motion by the central effect of the Great Fourteenth-century Renaissance, as exemplified by (what I have already denoted above) Brunelleschi, Cusa, and, later, their consequence, Johannes Kepler, that in spite of the oligarchical efforts to crush the Renaissance itself, as the work of Gottfried Leibniz best typifies the relevant elements of outcome of that work.

View full size

EIRNS/Susan Welsh

In those meantimes, overall, it is the culture, not the biology, which predetermines and predominates in the successfully upwards evolution of the existence of our human species. The influence and relevant merits of the human individual, are chiefly limited to the bounds of the cultural influence effected by the progress of the human individual member of society on practices which sustain and promote advances to higher practical levels of the individual and general practice of energy-flux density.

Therefore, the most crucial such influence, throughout all known history, is predominantly that of the truly creative human individual. Thus, the reign of popular opinion, is, typically, the most evil general influence on the continued progress of human society.

The ability of the individual mind to create the discovery of a valid universal physical, or related principle, is the most precious gift to the society of all human cultures, jointly. The alternative, which is the enemy of every good society, is the tendency for the popularist destruction of the noetic influence of truly human, truly creative novelties corresponding to discoveries of universal physical principles in the processes of the known universe. In brief, truly human artistic and scientific cultural progress. Progress, such as that of modern Classical artists and scientists, such as William Shakespeare, Gottfried Leibniz, and the leaders of the formation and development of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, as associated with the Winthrops and Mathers, Friedrich Schiller, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton. Progress such as that of the greatest truly Classical artists and scientists, as continued through the span of subsequent history, into influence of such truly great and richly creative scientists as Carl Gausss truest offshoot, Bernhard Riemann, Max Planck, and Albert Einstein. With the advent of the Twentieth Century we have gone, generally into the direction of post-Nineteenth-century political and moral Hell throughout the trans-Atlantic culture, and into regions beyond that.

The Crucial Point of this Present Chapter

The advent of the Twentieth Century, and, thus, implicitly, also so the last decade of the Nineteenth Century, since the ouster of Bismarck and the assassination of President William McKinley, and later the Anglo-American conspiracy to assassinate John F. Kennedy done for the sake of the British imperial interests centered in Wall Street and London, has had the intended effect of destroying the system represented by, in particular, the intention of the original Federal Constitution of our United States (minus the intentions among many of our recent political leaders). The pack of whores otherwise to be named, collectively, as Wall Street, has now almost obliterated the actual existence of our United States actually constitutional system, all done under the increasing weight of commands uttered from London and its agents operating inside our United States: operating, always, to seek the fracking-likedestruction of the roots, and seeds and water resources for our national Constitution of our Republic, and for the people of the United States both each and as a whole.

We, as true Americans, from our origins within the Fourteenth-century Golden Renaissance, have been the heirs of the great principle which had risen, for a time, to dominate the influences within that century, and had even persisted against that vengeful, essentially Zeusian evil of contemporary European oligarchism, or sometimes worse, which sought to eradicate the influence of the true universal physical principles of such models as Brunelleschi, Cusa, and also Kepler. The achievement of those models had been done in resistence against the influence of the earlier, long-standing imperialist intention to launch horrible warfare throughout Europe and beyond, all to serve an intent to return to, and to resume the legacy of the Zeusian system of evil which had been expressed by the inherently Zeusian bestiality of the Roman Empires own systemically Zeusian choice of self-destruction.

Our Presently Urgent Mission

We, therefore, must now, re-discover the great legacy which had been passed down from the achievements of the great Golden Renaissance, through the track which Christopher Columbus had followed in his recognition of the mission-orientation which the founders of the Golden Renaissance had transmitted to the creation of the civilization of the Americas, a tradition which all of the greatest minds of Europe itself sought to realize in their support for our war against the Satanic evil embodied in the Dutch tradition from the Seventeenth Century, which had crushed the American settlement, in pursuit of the destruction of our rightly chosen American destiny, as the alternative to the evils of the ancient and medieval oligarchical traditions of the principal, virtually world-wide enemy of all humanity, the British empire of the present time, most emphatically.

If you do not seek the cessation of the intrinsically evil British Empire as it is what it is at this immediate moment, now, you must face the truth, that our own population is not yet truly prepared to act as patriots for the true cause of actual human reason among peoples, including those of the citizens of our own republic. Many among you, must be, therefore, prepared to correct the currently prevalent errors abundant in commonplace opinions. Many among you, have been following down the dirty road to global Hell, and, therefore, need to consider changing course, seriously, if you are to be enabled, now, to actually survive.

A return to our actually founding constitutional principles, minus the elected opportunists errors respecting the follies of so-called popular opinions, were urgently needed, right now. Otherwise survival, if still possible, were nonetheless in doubt presently.

III. The Human Mind as Such

Actually, contrary to a sickly confused identity of the human mind, which is not located in sense-perception, as such, I repeat, and add essential elements to, what I had written for publication just a short time ago:

The Modern Principle of Human Life

Truth about human life is to be located, essentially, in the existence of physical principles of a nature whose authority transcends sense-perception as such. The relevant cases of the principled discoveries by Filippo Brunelleschi (the principle of the minimum), as combined with the principled discoveries of the maximum, by Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa (the maximum), and the resolution achieved by Johannes Keplers discovery of the identity of the Solar system, exemplify the modern standard for conception of truly universal physical principle. These truths of modern physical principle, are expressions of the physically crucial distinction of truly universally, physically-efficient principles, from the folly of mere sense-perception.

The methods of Gottfried Leibniz, the actual, quasi-hidden methods of Carl F. Gauss, and the frank expressions by the true prophet of Gauss, Bernhard Riemann, bring us into the ante-rooms of such among our immediate predecessors as Max Planck, Albert Einstein, and (implicitly) V.I. Vernadskys treatment of the ontological principle of life per se. It is the uniqueness of the efficiency of the physical principle of actually human life, which is, exclusively, presently to be discovered more adequately: as being the conclusively fundamental, physical principle for all competent physical science presently.

View full size

Sculpture by O.P. Skoblykov

The ability to recognize that truth of competent physical science, and, also, its practice, rests, practically, upon those considerations which distinguish truly universal physical principles, from mere sense-perceptions. As I have noted, and emphasized in earlier published remarks, the distinction of science from mere sense-perception, is one made, for example, by Eratosthenes measurement of the Solar system, that made, in contrast, to the relatively mechanistic view of his contemporary, Archimedes. The argument runs as follows.

The merely apparent experience of the human system of experience, is that of merely human sense-perception. The urgent need, on which what is truly all science depends, is the necessity for access to evidence of the Solar system and beyond. This requirement is not merely a reflection of the experiences of human sense-perception as such.

It is only when we are enabled to access relatively precise distinctions among effects located outside the bounds of mere human sense-perception as such, that we possess useful experience beyond the fictitious domain of merely human sense-perception as such. In other words, we must re-interpret the experiences of mere human sense-perception, from the standpoint of a demonstrably efficient human experience of relations of physical space-and-time, away from, and beyond the domains of higher authority than mere human sense-perception as such: beyond the correlations of life of mere sense-perception of Earthly experiences within the bounds of mere human sense-perception. We are, then, enabled to reify, now competently, the relations of sense-experience: this time according to the higher authority of the relations within physical-space generally.

For this purpose, mankinds search for competent physical science, depends, essentially, on the superior relations within, and beyond Johannes Keplers systemic proof of the existence of Solar space within the astronomical domains beyond mere human sense-perception, as such. Hence, the crucial foundations of modern physical science which lie only within the experience of the work of the functional triad of Brunelleschi, Cusa, and Johannes Kepler.

On this same account, until the considerations respecting notions of life per se, as by, most notably, V.I. Vernadsky.

More on Vernadsky for Modern Science

In general practice prior to the work of Vernadsky, the metrics of the study of physical space, were delimited to a basis in arithmetic forms of estimations, such as a geometry according to linear and related scales for purposes of constructions. Even the greatest scientists before him up to that time, had treated life as a subject, rather than a fundamental principle of the universe. Vernadsky changed all this, in part, explicitly, and, otherwise, by the implications of his still incompleted exploration of the relevant design, by his considerations of the principle of life per se, as a higher order of universal principle, casting aside, thus, the last toleration for any form of merely text-book theories respecting geometry or even excellent approximations of a search for a true foundation of science within our local regions of the universe.

Vernadskys work to this effect, was not perfected during his life-time, to the best of our present knowledge here; but the difference, which is of a relatively fundamental nature for science, posed questions unanswered by him during his own life. However, nothing would be excusable which did not accept the uncompleted revolutionary steps of direction by him while he had lived. What of it; an incomplete experiment, if it is competent in the relevant terms of experimental reference, must replace all merely a-priorist presumptions. What Vernadsky had lacked, during his own lifetime, so far as reports go, was a clear distinction of the essential foundations of human life from all other forms of what might be attributed to the notion of life. Essentially, his probings were in the appropriate direction, for as far as he had been known to have progressed.

The practical issue, is that we, knowing the inherent fallacy of sense-perception mechanisms as such, must step outside mere sense-perception, by inverting the system of physical geometry to bring it into coincidence with the highest expression of life known to us in our universe, presently: the superiority of the known universal physical principle of human life, over all others. This turns the cult of sense-perception as such, entirely outside-in. The effects of this remedial measure are wonderfully manifold.

Mere sense-perceptions are now to be reconsidered, as merely shadows of reality cast as merely shadows. Science de-mystifies the shadows by exposing them as being shadows, rather than substancerather than the foolish delusion, that such mere shadows must be inherently the experience of substance. This impels us to rely upon the critical examination of the physical experience of the Solar system, as such.

Insight into the foregoing universal truth of all physical science, is located specifically, and that uniquely, in the actual discovery of an array of great principles of truly human nature, which pre-define the essential distinction of the human species, from all lower forms of life. Similarly, the bestialization of policies governing societys management of the willfully and efficiently future human condition, such as the tradition of the mythical Zeus, or the Roman or British empires, threatens the prospect, presently, of a human willfully chosen course of our human species self-extinction, presently. The threat, from the current British monarchy, in particular, of a general practice of genocide in the name of so-called greenness, and population-reduction measures, has been the greatest of all of the worst crimes against humanity in its entirety.

How To Defeat Satans Powers

Without a return to persistent increase of the applied and realized energy-flux density of the practice of society, the threatened extinction of the human species, now, already, lurks as an immediate prospect. It is a return to Satan (Zeus), and, thence to Hellish extinction of the human species, otherwise. Indeed, the claims for a Green policy, are a commitment to the threatened extinction of the human species.

This Green genocide policy could not have emerged without a spread of an intrinsically dysfunctional religious cult, one, specifically, of a type traceable to primitive cannibalism, or, in other words, the mythical tradition of the implicit Satan known as Zeus. Environmentalism is, implicitly, a collective return to human cannibalism of precisely the sort promoted by the British Empress Elizabeth currently; but, on this account, while her emphasis is extreme, it is not original. Evil has always shown itself by the spread of kindred, pro-Satanic, anti-human doctrines.

V.I. Vernadsky, is properly to be considered as an exemplary leader in the advancement of science, that done in the continuing course of the same immediate tradition as expressed by the geniuses of such as Carl F. Gausss prize student, Bernhard Riemann, and the great Riemanns followers such as Max Planck and Albert Einstein. From that standpoint in the time of past histories, we must come to grips with the actual issue of the actually universal physical principle of the necessary progress of the self-development of the human species, as such, upon which I had touched here, earlier. I refer, thus, to the misguided presumption, that erroneous presumption that human history, when defined, necessarily, as human, proceeds according to the silliest of all notions, that of a simply mathematical sequence of time.

I explain this absolutely crucial fact of any competent body of modern science, as follows:

Mankind is a unique species; the only species which had discovered the need to cook its own food. So, from the process of birth of the succession of human individuals born, there is a process of maturation of the young personality, from which stems, rightly, the concept of what we do, and should regard as the need for progress. The likelihood of probable errors, or the like, arises from the failure to educate successive generations of human beings into a higher state of noetic potentialities, which we may properly refer to as human progress. When that progress is hindered, we must regard that effect as being one of induced relative stupidity. Only the human individual has the capacity to become what we rightly term as actually human creativity.

This potentiality, which must be rightly termed as human progress, contrary to all presently known lower forms of life, is first to be located in the distinction of the human species from all others known. The location of the point of the distinction of man from beasts, lies in the human choices decision to cook its own food. Thus, the principle of fire per se, not only distinguishes man from what are otherwise, at best, mere beasts, but presents a case for which there is presently no alternative option. Mankind as the man of progress through fire (i.e., increasing energy-flux density of both action and reaction) is the essentially practical distinction of mankind from all lower forms of life.

Consequently, the probability for de-humanizing the natural competence of the human species, as by cannibals or oligarchical rule, is to be located in what we should choose to recognize as the principle of fire. Fire, so defined, means, in the relevant terms of modern chemistry, the image of the so-called periodic table of elements. That standard of a table of elements, while presently a relatively crude one, compels us to consider higher orders of dimensions in the composition of the principle of fire, thus into the very, very small, and the very, very large, as Riemann had emphasized already in his original habilitation dissertation, among his other strokes of sheer genius, in both his role as a pupil of the great Gauss, and in the brilliant performance of development of entirely new branches of physical science during his winter-time retreats into devotion to the promotion of great advances of science made, specifically, in Italy, during the last period of his own life.

The foregoing parts of the document, up to this present point, are intended to provide the basis for any effective victory of mankind over the actually Satanic traditions of the Zeusian, ancient Roman, and modern British copy of Zeusian expression which is, in fact, imperial fanaticism, a fanaticism which had been mustered to destroy the very meaning of the true name of human reason.

The principle of fire, when properly considered, is the crucial conception of the source of mankinds most essential distinction as a living species, the human beings challenge of mastering the essential power of what is called energy without being, himself, burned to destruction in that process.

V.I. Vernadskys wrestling with that proposition, broke science free from the silly, essentially mechanical notions of fire, into the regard for a more powerful instrument essential to human existence, the power of the human mind, as such. Mankinds power over increasing powerful forces in the universe, progressively, is the essential characteristic of the human species from all others presently known to exist, is the essence of the distinction of the practical existence of the human species and its self-made power for developing: that done to reach successively higher orders of powers in the universe. Mankinds work, touches a region beyond his insight into the universal principle of life as such, into the peculiarities of a still higher order of achievements, the discovery of the essential distinguishing difference of mankind, from all other presently known uniqueness attributed to specifically human life.

Thus, Vernadskys work represents the immediately necessary challenge of all presently foreseeable human progress as being a category of species entirely unto itself. Human life, is, therefore, to be truly considered as the highest form of a species of life known far beyond, qualitatively beyond all others presently known. That is, therefore, now, the highest existing standard for defining the principles which must presently exert domain over mankind and his behavior in the universe. The portrait is not complete, but, nonetheless, it remains as the true starting-point for all better outlooks, until they have occurred.

As for the Creator? Creation is the most natural characteristic of the Universe presently known to us. What else could we conceive as our master, were it not the Creator per se, and that, fairly, incidentally, exactly as such as the Christian Apostles Paul and John have expressed this outlook? And also those of Judaism who shared the essentially anti-reductionist (e.g., Christian) outlook, notably in respect to the meaning for science and its implications for the consequent obligations of humanity, as Pauls immortal argument went.

IV. The Space for Mankind

View full size

NASA

The adulthood of the human species, for the present time, is located, as a current matter of knowledge, in the relatively recent affirmation of serious modern science, as known since such as those as Brunelleschi, Nicholas of Cusa, and Johannes Kepler. The leading implications of that since that point of human development, have been the liberation of the human species from a servile quality of submission, not only to merely sense-perception as such, but as being the foundations on which all contemporary scientific practice depends presently.

I make the relevant comment on this point, as follows:

This progress could not have occurred, without mankinds successful superseding of merely sense-perception as such. Practical people tend to be, unfortunately, foolish, even stupid people. It has been, therefore, the obligation of parents and others to promote the powers of understanding of their children and adolescents. It has also been, as a matter of principle, that teachers should not be permitted to teach down to the pupils, and should resist demanding simple submission of the student to the teachers. The persistence of the absurd, and actually lying dogma of Euclidean Geometry, typifies the mode in which students in U.S. secondary schools have been brought by the teaching of all subjects related to geometry into a corrupted state of emotional and intellectual incompetence of one degree, or another.

I, for myself, from about the age of puberty, had justly waged a personal warfare against the educational systems to which I was subjected, and which I hated, for that specific reason. Teaching Euclid in secondary schools, has been, in effect, a crime against humanity. The resulting degrees of stupidity and confusion which an utterly incompetent notion, Euclidean geometry, even during ancient times, if imposed as the implied condition for continued acceptance of a qualified student, imposed on a student audience, especially during an adolescence immediately following childhood, fostered the elements of a tendency for submission to dictatorship, in the formation of the opinions used to induce the habits for submission as a precondition for acceptance, which have criminal implications in effect. This has been my consistent experience since about eighty years of lifes experience with relevant subject-matters.

The attempt to impose the inherent fraud of Euclid, assures a strong tendency for irrationality in matters of fact within the population. My experience showed me that the worst abuses, as typified by the continued re-enforcing of the legacy of Euclid in even modern university professors in physical science, in frauds against the proven truths of the work of Brunelleschi, Cusa, and the discovery of the Solar system, uniquely, by Kepler, have had a crippling effect even among some leading physical scientists among my own associates in physical science categories, even those bearing a deservedly high rank in achievements, otherwise.

Among the most relevant considerations, in that respect, is the fact, that a Euclidean viewpoint in geometry, implicitly imprisons the human mind into very, very dirty notions of the principles of actual physical science, and thus, contributes to the popular obscenities of opinion commonly encountered among members of the U.S. Congress or related public professions. Those are errors of judgment and opinion which have often corresponded to the failures of both popular opinion and government, in the United States, about as much as anyplace else, currently.

In short, to discover the incompetencies of nations and their governments, as their professionals generally, the roots of corruption of any society are most probably to be located in the relatively elementary aspects of popular and professional opinion-shaping. The sordid quality expressed in popular opinion generally during these present times, is located exactly there. The case of the fraud perpetrated by the simply silly Hilbert and brutishly bestial Bertrand Russell, as in substituting arithmetic for physical science, goes to the essence of the matter generally. It is the ideology which has, in fact, destroyed the economies of Europe and the United States, progressively, since the turn into the Twentieth Century of the dive into the Hells of the Twentieth Century and now beyond.

Human reason in fact, has depended chiefly upon overcoming the imposition of the limits of merely human sense-perception as such. The practical man, is, by profession, the inherently stupid, and also viciously stupid ignoramus, who claims to know almost everything, but knows nothing except within the continuation of the stupidity in which he has encased himself, as if in each his own bug-like chrysalis. Ordinary folk may often wish to secure an escape from such a self-inflicted confinement of the intellect, but they need help to become free of habituated delusions imposed by the authority of so-called popular opinion.

The requirement, to which such predicaments of society must turn, is the principle of strategy. The root of that most desirable means, lies in the habits which mankind has added to his repertoire from attention to the more Heavenly space beyond mans confining himself to the confines of Earth as such. The term, is strategy, rather than tactics. Look to the stars, so that what lies beyond the groundlings perceptions of his immediate environment, being surpassed, demands the imagination of what might lie beyond, as in the stars and the systems of stars. A very active space program has become increasingly essential, since studies of asteroids and comets have indicated the urgent need for fresh outlooks on the required means for the merely continued existence of human life on Earth in these immediately present times.

The tragic failure among most citizens of the United States (as also others), has been the resulting effect, that not only do most citizens of the United States (and other places) consider the basis for ideas as being located in present experience, per se, rather than the future. I am, still presently, therefore, an exception: not a unique exception, but all too rare for the actual needs of my fellow-citizens and the worlds population in general. The point is, that if you are not acting in the creation of the ongoing future, you are already reposing among the those who are trapped in the past, often as if they were souls already in Dantes Inferno. You must live, and act to create the future as being the location and devotion of each moment of our life today, or you do not have intelligent knowledge of your own current experience. If you claim we can not know the future, you are living in your own past, and incapable of willfully making the future, even of your own self. You are cast, like a chip floating on the waters, experiencing each event, incapable of competently choosing a direction for your floundering upon the drifting waters of passing times.

To achieve those ends which must be found and created in your own future, each among us must venture into both the future of nearby time and space, and that beyond, not merely to contemplate the experience of the immediate present and mere past; but, to intervene, effectively in the future of nearby Solar space and time beyond, to prevent, for example, the serious prospective, sooner or later, of an otherwise probable extinction of the entire human species as such. There are, after all, asteroids, for example, one among which will, sooner, or later, strike Earth with such combined directness and force that the human species will certainly cease to exist: unless we take a sufficiently timely step forward into space and time, alike, to intervene, to avert the already lurking disaster threatening all mankind, always closer than always later.

At the same time, we must recognize the intrinsic folly of reliance on mere sense-perception as such. We must now become competent in our understanding the means needed to cope with both catastrophes inherent on Earth, but also with nearby or even more distant perils awaiting us within the Solar system.

When Eratosthenes had measured the scale of the Sun, a new dawn of science appeared, giving new, and necessary attention to the meaning of the regions of our Solar system beyond the immediacy of mere bounds of Earth. From that, and similar points of reference, we are obliged to recognize the inherent silliness of reliance on the mere human sense-perception for itself. We are thus driven, from the confines of sense-perception in and for itself, and driven thus, into the actual domain of the human mind, a domain which exists only in the contradictory experience of mere sense-perception and the actual powers of the mind as such: we have, then, come to discover the reality of the human mind as such, a knowledge of a unique quality, without which mankind would be only another beast, living like a beast, and dying like a beast.

To come down to Earth, you must first rise above it. That is the great, and ultimate concept of strategy. Practical people, are merely fools, like creatures living under a rock. We can, and must, do better.
This editorial appears in the May 19, 2023 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

[Print version of this editorial]

EDITORIAL

Act Now To Reverse Humanitys Fast-Approaching Thermonuclear Self-Extinction!

May 7The explosion of drones over the Kremlin on Wednesday, May 3, means the world is closer to thermonuclear war than at any time in history, including October 1962. Absurd stories in the American and European media have appeared (like those that covered up American and NATO responsibility for blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines) that assert, without any evidence, that the Russians flew and blew up the drones themselves. But think: even if that lying absurdity were true, shouldnt that also cause extraordinary alarm? If the United States flew and blew up drones over the White House, and then blamed Russia for supporting, say, Cuba, in a drone-weapon assassination attempt against the President of the United States, wouldnt that mean the world was on the verge of a shooting war between Russia and Americaa war potentially deploying thermonuclear weapons that would wipe out life on the planet?

Do you really think that it is sane to be more concerned about saving the planet from man-made global warming than saving humanity from madmen-made thermonuclear war? Citizens, wake up! Its time to take back the United States government from the intelligence agencies that now dominate it, whether in the Congress, State Department, Pentagon or White House, as well as the informal intelligence agency called the mainstream media.

In the United States, individual American citizens have to stand up for sanity in each of the 435 congressional districts. Go to local meetings of your congressional and state representatives, to city councils, to university lectures, to state fairs and public gatherings, and demand an immediate shut-off of funds to Ukraine; an emergency audit of American funds already disbursed; the immediate passage of the Glass-Steagall Act, to shut down the speculators that use debt to drive the war machine; and demand support for and discussion of the peace initiatives coming from the Vatican, Brazil and China.

While changing U.S. policy clearly requires congressional and presidential action, both of these institutions are presently dysfunctional. Average Americans, that is, free citizens, have to now stand up, intervene, and be publicly seen and heard both advocating real solutions and implementing them. No partisan party politics! Thermonuclear weapons dont distinguish between Republicans, Democrats, or Independents. This is a time for solidarity.

The people of Russia, China, and the world recognize, just as do Americans, that war is a racket. Now, its time that we dismantle that racket, and finally deliver on the promise made by President John F. Kennedy on January 20, 1961 to forge  a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, to struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself. In this most dangerous period in the history of the world, we are charged in these days ahead to act in such a way that it may be said, in future generations, that this generation proved that humanity, with all its faults, is greater than its presumed destiny.
Kievs Assassination Policy Brought to UN Security Council

May 18, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)The issue of a government official publicly threatening to assassinate civilians and public officials was put before the UN Security Council (UNSC) on May 15. The rotating president of the UNSC, Switzerlands Permanent Representative Pascale Baeriswyl, was presented with a letter from Moscows Permanent Representative at the UN Vassily Nebenzia on the recent Russophobic remarks by top Ukrainian officialsin particular, those of Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR) chief Gen. Kyrylo Budanov.

RT, which saw the letter, cited Budanovs response in an April 21 interview with Yahoo, when asked about Kievs involvement in the assassination of Russian journalist Darya Dugina in Moscow: Weve been killing Russians and we will keep killing Russians anywhere on the face of this world until the complete victory of Ukraine. Nebenzias letter also cited Kievs news outlet UNIAN for its poll on its official Telegram channel with the main question about who should be the next after Daria Dugina, Vladlen Tatarsky (both killed in terrorist attacks) and Zakhar Prilepin (injured in terrorist attacks).

Nebenzia asserted: These manifestations of hate speech, Russophobia, incitement to violence on the basis of nationality are, at a minimum, a flagrant violation of the rules of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Nebenzia made a similar public statement to the UN Security Council, which is posted on the Russian Missions website.

Today, it was Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of Ukraines Office of the President and who advises President Zelenskyy directly, who tweeted its terrorist response to Nebenzia: So? Yes, Ukraine hates you. Yes, we will persecute you. Always and everywhere.... Yes, Ukraine will get each and every one of you, whether legally or physically. And stop exploiting the UNundeniable war criminals have no international law.

Obviously, those accused of being war criminals have a trial; however, Kiev has invented the new category, undeniable war criminals. Translation: We dont need no stinkin tr
China and Central Asian Heads of State Meet in Xian, Where Optimism Replaces Geopolitics

May 18, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)The Presidents of the five Central Asian Republics were warmly welcomed today in historic Xian, capital of Chinas Shaanxi province, by President Xi Jinping. He met with each of them individually and then held a welcoming celebration with them and their wives this evening. Xian is, of course, well known as the eastern terminus of the ancient Silk Road. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Xi Jinpings announcement of the New Silk Road, now known as the Belt and Road Initiative, which Xi revealed at Kazakhstans Nazarbayev University on Sept. 7, 2013 in a speech on Promote People-to-People Friendship and Create a Better Future.

Attending the Xian summit are Presidents Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan, and Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan. On May 19, President Xi will keynote the formal China-Central Asia Summit and present what has been described as a major development strategy for the region. A number of important documents will be signed and the six presidents will hold a joint press conference after the Summit.

Giving a sense of the optimism surrounding the gathering, Uzbekistans Ambassador to China Farhod Arziev wrote in a commentary in CGTN, the China-Central Asia Summit stirs within me a wellspring of expectations, mentioning, among other things, the proposed establishment of a China-Central Asia Business Council and the planned launch of the Year of Culture and Art of the Peoples of Central Asia and China. The latter was an initiative proposed by Uzbek President Mirziyoyev, the ambassador explained.

The bilateral meetings that Xi held today with each of the Presidents were extremely positive, during which a raft of bilateral agreements were signed, Xinhua reported. In the case of Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan, their bilateral relationships with Beijing were elevated to being comprehensive strategic partnerships. In each case, the leaders discussed the need for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and support for the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative.

Chinas semiofficial Global Times points out in its editorial that relations among the Central Asian nations and China in recent years have been stable, almost unaffected by geopolitical factors. Contrast that to the geopolitical manipulators in the West [that] have long eyed Central Asia and considered it as a chess piece to use against China and Russia, in their words, to expand its influence in the region at the cost of China and Russia.

Speaking for those geopolitical manipulators, various Western media are harping that Russia has been left out of the Central Asia gathering and has to watch China moving into what has been Russias backyard. Russia, a state in decline, is nervous, says the Europes Edge journal for the Center for European Policy Analysis geopolitical think tank. Thus, Moscow is in no position to compete with China in the region. China has a lot to offer; Russia does not so much, opines author Emil Avdaliani. These astute observers argue that Russia is so insecure about maintaining its Central Asian allies that it had to invite them all to the Victory Day parade in Moscow, to put on a good show.
Kiev Goes Full Dr. Strangelove

May 18, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)More than a day after a Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missile hit Kievs Patriot air defense unit, after the video of the strike was made public, even after U.S. officials put out the word that the Patriot had been hit, Ukraines state news agency Ukrinform featured a lead article, The Night of Downed Kinzhals Is a Loss of $120 Million for Russia, Plus Destroyed Reputation, explaining that nothing in Kiev was hit, all six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles were destroyed along with twelve other missiles, and only some poor animals in Kievs zoo were scared.

Such has become standard operating procedure in Kiev these days. However, that was just the beginning. The article went to the other side of Alices looking glass. Not only did the hypersonic missiles not do any damage, but the Kinzhals ... the same missiles that Russian propagandists have been scaring the whole world with for years are impotent. Russia claims that the Patriot system was knocked out. But who would believe this? Only the Russian plebs. ... And the world has also seen that to be afraid of Russian blackmail with the use of such weapons is to disrespect oneself.

Ukrinform quotes various authorities, ending with economist Sergiy Fursa, who explains that the attack was a complete disgrace for the Russian army. The question of which technologies are stronger and whether Russian weapons are capable of competing with American systems has been put to rest. So if anyone in the Western world was still afraid of Russian weapons, now they should finally realize that there is nothing to be afraid of. And if anyone in the United States still doubted whether to give Ukraine the latest weapons, they have also received an answer.

So, it is one thing to look the other way when ones ally is in denial, but the argument is that, since Kiev has shown the West that theres nothing to fear from going all the way, the failed May 16 attack is an historic game-changer. Kiev has shown the way. Damn the torpedoes (or nuclear bombs), full speed ahead!

If that were not bad enough, Fursa concludes his remarks by explaining to Kievs money-obsessed allies how so much money can be made by using Ukraine as the testing ground:
Friday, May 19, 2023

Immigrant detention continues to make the news, with the immigrant death tolls continues to grow. Sadly, deaths of migrants along the U.S./Mexico border is a regular feature of border life.

The Associated Press reports on the latest: "A little girl from Panama born with heart problems died in Border Patrol custody Wednesday, the second death of a child from Latin America in U.S. government custody in two weeks."

The 8-year-old girl and her family were being held in Harlingen, Texas. "U.S. Customs and Border Protection, has struggled with overcrowding at its facilities, spurred by a large increase in migrants ahead of the expiration last week of a key regulation on immigration linked to the COVID-19 pandemic."

The girls name was Anadith Tanay Reyes Alvarez.

KJ

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2023/05/8-year-old-girl-dies-in-border-patrol-custody-in-texas.html
Teruko Yahata is 85 years old. But she could have died as a girl.

She was in Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945, when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city.

Tens of thousands of people died immediately, and thousands more suffered long-lasting injuries and sickness.

Yahata is known as a hibakusha, or a survivor of the atomic bomb. People such as Yahata visit the citys memorial sites to tell people about what happened nearly 80 years ago.

She speaks with those who come to Hiroshima to visit the Peace Memorial Museum, which was built to remember the people who died in the bombing.

She remembers the day of the bombing. The sky turned bluish white, she said, I immediately fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

Starting in 2013, Yahata traveled the world to tell her story. However, she only spoke Japanese. An interpreter, or a person who speaks English and Japanese, would tell her story for her.

But in the following years, she started taking English lessons so she could tell the story with her own voice.

In 2021 she was able to give her presentation in English.

She said it was a dream to learn English so she could communicate in my own words, my own voice about what happened that day. Speaking in Japanese, she called what she saw miserable and tragic.

During her presentation, Yahata reads from a script. The words are hers, translated from Japanese. She practices using a voice recording made by a native English speaker. She has small notes on the paper to help her with the correct pronunciation.

She is not fluent in English, but she speaks well enough so she can read the words and tell her story to people who come from all over the world.

Denise Hickson recently visited Hiroshima and heard Yahata speak.

It feels very real still, she said. When she speaks, she brings it like its happening today.

More than foreign visitors are coming to Hiroshima. It is the home area of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He is bringing world leaders there for the G7 meeting. Kishida is expected to bring the leaders to the Peace Memorial Museum where they will hear from survivors like Yahata.

Yahata said she wants the leaders to work to ban nuclear weapons. I don't want them to just talk about ideals or release a written resolution, she said. I want them to take the first concrete step."

Im Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by Reuters.

__________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

consciousness n. a state of knowing and understanding what is happening around you; being awake

script n. the written form of words said for a play, television show or other recorded presentation

pronunciation n. the way to say words in a language

fluent adj. able to speak a language easily

ideals n. (pl.) an idea that is thought to be perfect

__________________________________________________________________

We want to hear from you. Have you ever visited Hiroshima?

Here is how our comment system works:

Write your comment in the box. Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with D on it. It is free.

Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.


Our story today is called "Athenaise." It was written by Kate Chopin. Here is Barbara Klein with the story.

Athenaise went away one morning to visit her parents, ten miles back on the Bon Dieu River in Louisiana. She did not return in the evening, and Cazeau, her husband, was worried.

Cazeau expressed his worries to his servant, Felicite, who served him dinner.

He ate alone by the light of a coal-oil lamp. Felicite stood nearby like a restless shadow.

Only married two months and she has her head turned already to leave! It is not right! she said.

Cazeau shrugged his shoulders. Felicites opinion of his wifes behavior after two months of marriage did not matter to him. He was used to being alone and did not mind a night or two of it. Cazeau stood up and walked outside.

The night was beginning to deepen and gather black around the groups of trees in the yard. Far away, he could hear the sound of someone playing an accordion. Nearby, a baby was crying.

Cazeaus horse was waiting, saddled. He still had much farm work to do before bed time. He did not have time to think about Athenaise. But he felt her absence like a deep pain.

Before he slept that night Cazeau was visited by an image of Athenaises pale, young face with its soft lips and sensual eyes. The marriage had been a mistake. He had only to look into her eyes to feel that, to sense her growing dislike of him. But, the marriage could not be undone. And he was ready to make the best of it and expected the same effort from her.

These sad thoughts kept Cazeau awake far into the night. The moon was shining and its pale light reached into the room. It was still outside, with no sound except the distant notes of the accordion.

Athenaise did not return the next day, although her husband sent a message to do so through her brother, Monteclin. On the third day, Cazeau prepared his horse and went himself in search of her.

Athenaises parents, the Miches, lived in a large home owned by a trader who lived in town. The house was far too big for their use. Upstairs, the rooms were so large and empty that they were used for parties. A dance at the Miche home and a plate of Madame Miches gumbo were pleasures not to be missed.

Madame Miche was sitting on the porch outside the house. She stood up to greet Cazeau. She was short and fat with a cheery face. But she was clearly tense as Cazeau arrived.

Monteclin was there too. But he was not uneasy. He made no effort to hide his dislike of Cazeau.

Dirty pig! He said under his breath as Cazeau climbed the stairs to the porch. Monteclin disliked Cazeau for refusing to lend him money long ago. Now that this man was his sisters husband, he disliked him even more.

Miche and his oldest son were away. They both respected Cazeau and talked highly of him.

Cazeau shook hands with Madame Miche who offered him a chair. Athenaise had shut herself in her room.

You know, nothing would do last night, Madame Miche said. Athenaise just had to stay for a little dance. The boys would not let their sister leave!

Cazeau shrugged his shoulders to show he knew nothing about last night.

Didnt Monteclin tell you we were going to keep Athenaise? she asked. But Monteclin had told him nothing.

And how about the night before? asked Cazeau. And last night? Do you have dances every night?

Madame Miche laughed and told her son to go tell Athenaise her husband had arrived. Monteclin did not move.

You know as well as I do that it is no use to tell Athenaise anything, said Monteclin. You and pa have been talking to her since Monday. When Athenaise said she was not returning to Cazeau she meant it.

Two fiery red spots rose to Cazeaus cheeks. What Monteclin said was true.

Upon arriving home, Athenaise had announced she was there to stay. It was difficult for her to understand why she had married. Girls were just expected to get married. And she did like Cazeau.

Monteclin had asked Athenaise to explain herself. He had asked her if Cazeau abused her, or if he drank too much.

No! Athenaise had said. It is just being married that I hate. I do not like being Missus Cazeau. I want to be Athenaise Miche again. I do not like living with a man, all his clothing everywhere and his ugly bare feet.

At the time, Monteclin had been sorry his sister had no serious evidence to use against Cazeau.

And now, there was Cazeau himself looking like he wanted to hit Monteclin.

Cazeau stood up and went inside the house to his wifes room.

Athenaise, get ready, he said quietly. It is late and we do not have time to lose.

Athenaise was not prepared for his calm request. She felt a sense of hopelessness about continuing to rebel against the idea of marriage. She gathered her hat and gloves. Then, she walked downstairs past her brother and mother, got on her horse and rode away. Cazeau followed behind her.

It was late when they reached home. Cazeau once more ate dinner alone. Athenaise sat in her room crying.

Athenaises parents had hoped that marriage would bring a sense of responsibility so deeply lacking in her character. No one could understand why she so hated her role as wife. Cazeau had never spoken angrily to her or called her names or failed to give her everything she wanted. His main offense seemed to be that he loved her.

And Athenaise was not a woman to be loved against her will.

At breakfast, Athenaise complained to her husband.

Why did you have to marry me when there were so many other girls to choose from? she asked. And, it is strange that if you hate my brother so much, why you would marry his sister!?"

I do not know what any of them have to do with it, Cazeau said. I married you because I loved you. I guess I was a fool to think I could make you happy. I do not know what else to do but make the best of a bad deal and shake hands over it.

It now seemed to Athenaise that her brother was the only friend left to her in the world. Her parents had turned from her and her friends laughed at her. But Monteclin had an idea for securing his sisters freedom. After some thought, Athenaise agreed to his plan.

The next morning, Cazeau woke up to find his wife was gone. She had packed her belongings and left in the night.

Cazeau felt a terrible sense of loss. It was not new; he had felt it for weeks.

He realized he had missed his chance for happiness. He could not think of loving any other woman, and could not imagine Athenaise ever caring for him. He wrote her a letter stating that he did not want her back unless she returned of her own free will.

Athenaise had escaped to the big city of New Orleans. She was staying at a private hotel that Monteclin had chosen and paid to rent for a month. A woman named Sylvie owned the hotel and took good care of Athenaise.

Athenaise soon became friends with Mister Gouvernail, who was also staying at the hotel. This friendship helped her feel less lonely about missing her family. But Mister Gouvernail soon started to fall in love with Athenaise. He knew she was uninformed, unsatisfied and strong-willed. But he also suspected that she loved her husband, although she did not know it. Bitter as this belief was, he accepted it.

Athenaises last week in the city was coming to an end. She had not found a job and was too homesick to stay any longer. Also, she had not been feeling well. She complained in detail about her sickness to Sylvie. Sylvie was very wise, and Athenaise was very stupid. Sylvie very calmly explained to Athenaise that she was feeling sick because she was pregnant.

Athenaise sat very still for a long time thinking about this new information. Her whole being was overcome with a wave of happiness. Then, she stood up, ready to take action.

She had to tell her mother! And Cazeau! As she thought of him, a whole new sense of life swept over her. She could not wait to return to him.

The next day Athenaise spent travelling home. When she arrived at Cazeaus, he lifted her out of the horse carriage and they held each other tight. The country night was warm and still except for a baby crying in the distance.

Listen, Cazeau! said Athenaise. How Juliettes baby is crying! Poor darling, I wonder what is the matter with it?

You have heard the story Athenaise by Kate Chopin. Your storyteller was Barbara Klein. This story was adapted and produced by Dana Demange.

__________________________________________________________________

Quiz - "Athenaise" Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

For Teachers

This lesson plan, based on the CALLA Approach, teaches the strategy of personalizing to help students understand the story.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

shrug - v. to raise and lower your shoulders usually to show that you do not know or care about something

sensual - adj. relating to, devoted to, or producing physical or sexual pleasure

gumbo - n. a thick soup made in the southern U.S. with meat or seafood and usually okra

role - n. the character played by an actor

secure - v. to get (something) by using effort

homesick - adj. sad because you are away from your family and home

overcome - v. to affect (someone) very strongly or severely - usually used as (be) overcome


Kehinde Wiley is a well-known and influential American artist. His paintings and sculptures are the subject of art shows around the United States.

The 46-year-old Wiley seems especially busy right now. His work is currently on display at shows on both the East and West coasts of the U.S. He has another show in Paris, France. And he is expanding artistic bases in Africa.

Wiley shot to fame outside of the art world a few years ago, after he painted an official presidential portrait. It was historic. Wiley was the first Black artist to be commissioned for the work. He painted Americas first Black president, Barack Obama.

In Wileys painting, Obama sits in a simple chair, his arms crossed, his body leaned a bit forward. Surrounding him is a colorful explosion of natural elements, like flowers and greenery. It was a powerful and untraditional representation for an historic presidency.

Wiley said he is very proud of that work, noting the importance of that time in history.

I wonder if I will ever be able to do anything that lives up to the gravity of that moment, he said. Everybody wants to be seen in a number of different contexts ... but I mean, what a great project to be involved in.

There is no shortage of new projects for Wiley. In March, Wiley was at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, California, for the U.S opening of Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence. It is a powerful mix of some of Wileys huge paintings and sculptures that explore anti-Black violence worldwide. The museum has set up quiet spaces for attendees who need a break from the intensity of the show.

On the other side of the country, Wiley also recently opened his show HAVANA at New York City's art space Sean Kelly. The show centers on circus performers and carnival street dancers in Cuba.

In between, the artist traveled to Africa. He is building an artist center in Calabar, Nigeria. Black Rock Nigeria will be his second artist center on the continent. Wiley is also at work on a new portrait show that centers on Black heads of state. That show is to open in September at the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris.

Wiley describes a kind of rhythm to his moving about the planet, visiting extraordinary places. He said he is always hungry for new experiences."

HAVANA, Wileys show in New York, closes June 17. San Franciscos Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence will run through October 15.

Im Caty Weaver.

The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted the report for VOA Learning English.

___________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

display  n. a setting or presentation of something in open view

portrait  n. a picture of a person usually showing the face

context  n. the parts of something written or spoken that are near a certain word or group of words and that help to explain its meaning

carnival  n. a season or festival of merrymaking before Lent

circus  n. a show that usually travels from place to place and that has a variety of exhibitions including acrobatic feats, wild animal displays, and performances by clowns

moment  n. a time of importance or success

rhythm  n. a movement or activity in which some action repeats regularly

sculpture  n. the act, process, or art of carving or cutting hard substances, modeling plastic substances, or casting melted metals into works of art
Foreign embassies in Beijing were asked by the Chinese government to avoid displaying what it calls propaganda in an apparent response to shows of support for Ukraine.

The Chinese government says it is neutral in Moscows 15-month-old invasion of Ukraine but has repeated Russian justifications, accusing Washington and the U.S.-European military alliance NATO of provoking Moscow.

A Chinese envoy visited Ukraine this week and was due to go to Russia to discuss a possible political settlement, but little progress is expected.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry asked diplomatic missions last week not to use their exterior walls to display political propaganda, according to a European Union spokesperson and a diplomat from a European government.

The May 8 request cites a need to avoid causing disputes between countries, but doesnt define propaganda or give other details, EU spokesperson Nabila Massrali wrote in a statement.

Massrali said the EU Delegation in Beijing has not changed any items displayed at its front wall.

The request didnt mention Ukraine, according to the diplomats. But flags and placards set up by embassies of Canada, France, Germany and other governments are the only public displays by most foreign missions, other than tourism advertisements.

The European diplomat, who asked not to be identified further due to the sensitivity of the issue, said his government doesnt see any reason to change its display.

A 2-meter-tall placard at the front gate of the Finnish Embassy has the flags of Finland and Ukraine and says #WeStandWithUkraine. A billboard hung on Swedens Embassy has the same phrase and flags of the two countries.

Those displays have been up for months. It wasnt clear why China made the removal request now.

Some embassies also raised rainbow flags for Diversity Week and Wednesdays International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. Such issues are considered politically sensitive by Chinas ruling Communist Party.

Asked for confirmation and details, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said embassies were obliged to respect Chinese laws and regulations, but gave no details.

China calls on embassies of all countries in China and representative offices of international organizations in China to perform their duties in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations or relevant international agreements, Wang said.

Ukraine envoy met with Zelenskyy

China said yesterday its special envoy met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during talks in Kyiv earlier this week.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the meeting came amid discussions between envoy Li Hui and Ukraines foreign minister and other government officials.

There is no remedy to resolve the crisis, Wang told reporters at a daily briefing. All parties should create favorable conditions and accumulate mutual trust for the political settlement.

The visit followed an earlier phone call between Zelenskyy and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Over two days, Li and Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba discussed ways to stop Russian aggression, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Kuleba briefed Li, a former Chinese ambassador to Moscow, about the principles of restoring a stable and just peace based on respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

According to the statement, Kuleba repeated his governments position that Ukraine wouldnt accept any proposal involving the loss of its territories or the freezing of the conflict.

Xis government says its neutral and wants to serve as mediator in the 15-month-long conflict, but has supported Moscow politically and economically.

China sees Moscow as a diplomatic and military partner in opposing United States domination of global affairs. Beijing has refused to criticize the invasion and used its status as one of five permanent United Nations Security Council members to deflect diplomatic attacks on Russia.

Beijing released a proposed peace plan in February, but Ukraines allies largely dismissed it, insisting that Russian President Vladimir Putin must withdraw his forces. Zelenskyys own 10-point peace plan also includes a tribunal to prosecute war crimes committed by Russia.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has said Li also will visit Poland, France and Germany, but didnt give details of his schedule.

Political analysts see little hope for a peace agreement because neither Ukraine nor Russia is ready to stop fighting.

African countries are also undertaking a peace initiative over the war in Ukraine.

JOE McDONALD, BEIJING, MDT/AP
Photo: Tri-City News Coquitlam Rick Pearson had to change his long weekend plans after a rental car company refused to rent a vehicle to him because he is 80 years old.

A quick long weekend trip to Victoria is not going as planned for a Coquitlam man.

Rick Pearson was looking forward to a Helijet excursion to B.C.s capital city and a drive to some of the areas attractions.

Problem is, the car rental company he was dealing with wont let him rent a vehicle.

The reason?

His age.

Pearson, a fit 80-year-old senior who works out at his condo building, cycles on his e-bike and swims regularly, was shocked to learn that National Car and Truck Rental has age restrictions.

The national rental car agency doesnt rent out its vehicles to people over the age of 79  something that came as a surprise to Pearson when he called to rent a vehicle to get from the Helijet port to the city.

I said, 'Youre kidding. I have a valid drivers license and an exemplary record, Pearson told the Tri-City News.

I feel upset because, you know, all of sudden I know I am 80. Is this when doors start shutting on me?

Pearson said he is a safe driver and shouldn't be denied because of his age.

In fact, hes driven for most of his life and drove for a living as a Honda industrial accounts manager.

According to its website, National Car and Truck Rental has age restrictions. All drivers must be over the age of 21 years and under the age of 79 years, the website states.

Pearson said he didnt know that when he called and only learned of it when he spoke to a polite company representative.

The Tri-City News confirmed the information and was told its a company policy; however, Pearson said he thinks its unfair and thinks the policy could even be violating his human rights.

Thats why he decided to raise it in the media.

Im incensed about the fact that my age restricted me from renting a vehicle, Pearson said.

With the Victoria Day long weekend fast approaching, Pearson said he isnt going to bother to find another rental car, although Budget told him he was eligible despite his age.

Instead hell take the Helijet courtesy car and just walk around downtown Victoria for the day-long jaunt.

Still hes perplexed about Nationals rental car rule.

Ive still got a valid driver's license. Ive got a vehicle, Pearson said.
China opened its doors yesterday to Australian timber imports for the first time in more than two years, in another sign that the tattered bilateral relationship is being repaired.

Timber was on a list of Australian exports subjected to official and unofficial Chinese trade barriers imposed in 2020 after Australia called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The list that included coal, wine, barley, beef, seafood, cotton and copper was estimated to cost Australian exporters $14 billion a year.

But relations have improved since the center-left Labor Party came to power a year ago, ending nine years of conservative rule in Australia. Australian coal, cotton and copper exports to China have recently resumed.

Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian said the timber ban had been lifted from yesterday because Australian exporters had satisfied Chinas quarantine concerns. The Australian government was officially informed on Wednesday.

So from today on, the Australian timber is going back to China, Xiao told reporters.

The breakthrough came after Trade Minister Don Farrell visited Beijing last weekend seeking to lift trade barriers especially on Australian wine and barley.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong welcomed the return of the timber trade with China. It had been worth $1 billion a year before the ban.

We are pleased with this development, Wong said during a joint press conference with her Philippine counterpart Enrique Manalo during a visit to Manila.

We do believe that removal of these trade impediments benefits both parties, she added, referring to China and Australia.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Chinas decision on timber was a step toward his governments objective to stabilize the economic relationship with China.

Its a crucially important market for us and we want to stabilize the relationship and any progress in lifting these trade restrictions is welcome, Chalmers told reporters.

The Australian Forest Products Association, which represents a range of forestry and paper industries, also welcomed Chinas decision.

When the ban came into effect more than two years ago, it caused a great deal of upheaval and uncertainty for many timber exporters and the broader forest sector and this resolution is welcomed, the associations chief executive Joel Fitzgibbon said in a statement.

China is Australias biggest trading partner, with two-way trade totaling $287 billion last year.

In April, Australia suspended a complaint to the World Trade Organization in a bid to reopen the Chinese market to Australian barley.

In return, China has agreed to review its decision to impose an 80% tariff on the grain. Australia hopes that China will agree within months to lift tariffs on both Australian barley and wine. MDT/AP
Upon passing of the National Security Law Amendment Bill in local parliament, government bodies in Beijing and Macau expressed their satisfaction in separate statements.

Besides showing its satisfaction, the local government did not forget to thank lawmakers for their support and contributions to this amendment process. Lawmakers were also praised for carrying out their legal jobs in a diligent and responsible manner.

It added that safeguarding national security is key to ensuring prolonged governance, peace and prosperity of both the country and Macau. The government has been taking its role in an orderly manner in terms of national security, it added.

The government also thanked local people for supporting and complying with the amendment process.

On the other hand, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council described the passing of the Bill as an important measure for the Macao Special Administrative Region to improve the legal system and enforcement mechanism for safeguarding national security.

It is of great significance to fully and accurately implement the one country, two systems policy, better safeguard interests in national sovereignty, security and development, maintain the long-term prosperity and stability of Macau, and protect the fundamental interests of the majority of Macau residents, the office added.

The office also recapped Macaus effort in stepping up measures that help ensure national security.

Both the office and the local government reiterated that at present, the overall security of the country is facing more serious challenges, which is why a timely amendment to the National Security Law is required to better safeguard security.

Furthermore, the Liaison Office of Beijing in Macau pointed out in a statement that safeguarding interests in national sovereignty, security and development is the highest principle of the one country, two systems policy. On safeguarding national security, this is purely the responsibility of One Country and there is no distinction between the Two Systems.
President Joe Biden arrived in Japan yesterday and greeted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida by saying, When our countries stand together, we stand stronger  a sign of how the economic and national security alliance between the two countries has grown.

The U.S. president began his remarks by noting that Kishida said during a January Washington visit that the world faced one of the most complex security environments in recent history. I couldnt agree with you more, Biden said.

We very much welcome that the cooperation has evolved in leaps and bounds, Kishida told Biden about Japans relationship with the U.S. in their meeting ahead of the Group of Seven summit that begins Friday.

The Kishida familys home city of Hiroshima will host the gathering of major industrialized nations known at the G-7. The setting of Hiroshima, where the U.S. dropped the first nuclear bomb in 1945 during World War II, carries newfound resonance. The U.S., Japan and their allies are strategizing on how to deal with Russias ongoing war in Ukraine as well as concerns about the increased cadence of North Koreas ballistic missile tests and Irans nuclear program.

Biden is appearing on the world stage while trying to manage a divide back in the U.S. on how to raise the debt limit. He opted to cut short what was supposed to be an eight-day trip to Asia, so he can return to Washington to try to avoid a potentially catastrophic default in June that could ripple across the global economy. Its a drama that reveals how internal U.S. politics can spillover into global forums.

Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said the Russian invasion looms large, and would be a significant conversation during the G-7.

There will be discussions about the battlefield, Sullivan said aboard Air Force One, stressing that the G-7 leaders would work to seal off any loopholes in sanctions so their effect can be maximized. Therell be discussions about the state of play on sanctions and the steps that the G-7 will collectively commit to on enforcement in particular.

Sullivan said Biden and Kishida, are aiming to advance a relationship thats progressed over the course of the last two years in every dimension, whether its the military dimension of the alliance, the economic dimension, the recently concluded agreement on clean energy, the work were doing together on economic security.

Last year, Biden came to Tokyo to discuss Indo-Pacific strategy and launch a new trade framework for the region, with the U.S. president and Kishida engaging in an 85-minute tea ceremony and seafood dinner. The presidents first stop in Japan yesterday was to greet U.S. troops at the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, before he headed to Hiroshima for talks with the Japanese prime minister.

Kishida was quick to call out the risks of nuclear-power Russia invading Ukraine in 2022, saying then, Ukraine today could be East Asia tomorrow.

China has declared a limitless friendship with Russia, increasing trade in ways that blunted the ability of financial sanctions to constrain the war. But the U.S. and its allies say China has yet to ship military equipment to Russia, a sign that the friendship might have some boundaries.

Biden and Kishida also have economic matters to consider. The U.S. and Japan have begun to redefine global trade with an eye toward supply chain resilience and national security. They recently signed an agreement on critical mineral supply chains. Theyre also cooperating on the development of renewable energy sources and partnering on efforts to limit Chinas access to advanced computer chips.

Kishida hopes to discuss further strengthening of deterrence and response capability with Biden in the face of Chinas assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as confirming the importance of the Taiwan Strait for global peace and stability. China has asserted that self-governing Taiwan should come under its rule. U.S. officials have been briefed on the possible economic damage caused by a war over Taiwan, which would disrupt the supply of advanced computer chips.

Japan is also keen to discuss ways to reinforce its three-way partnership with the U.S. and Seoul following an April agreement between the United States and South Korea to strengthen their tools to deter the risk of a nuclear attack by North Korea.

Kishida and Biden will hold a trilateral summit with South Koreas Yoon Suk Yeol on the sidelines of the G-7 summit. But Kishida is in a complicated position by discussing efforts to respond to nuclear threats by North Korea with Japans history of also calling for a world free from nuclear arms, said Kan Kimura, a Kobe University professor and an expert on South Korea.

In the wake of World War II, Japan embraced pacifism. The atomic bomb scorched Hiroshima, killing 140,000 people and destroying most of the river delta citys buildings. But current conditions are testing Japans pacifism and anti-nuclear weapon tradition.

Kishida is from Hiroshima, believes deeply in the disarmament agenda, said Christopher Johnstone, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. Of course, Kishida is walking a fine line. He recognizes the need for the nuclear umbrella, Japans dependence on U.S. extended deterrence  that thats more vital than ever, frankly, in the current security environment.

There are outstanding issues between the U.S. and Japan. During his January meeting with Kishida, Biden brought up the case of Lt. Ridge Alkonis, a U.S. Navy officer deployed to Japan who last year was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to the negligent driving deaths of two Japanese citizens in May 2021, according to a senior administration official. Alkonis also agreed to pay the victims $1.65 million in restitution. His family is seeking his release, saying he was detained until he confessed.

The early return to Washington to deal with the debt limit means Biden will skip planned stops in Papua New Guinea and Australia, where take part in a meeting of the so-called Quad partnership with leaders of Australia, India and Japan. The Papua New Guinea visit would have been the first to the Pacific Island country by a sitting U.S. president.

The work that we need to do bilaterally with Australia and with the Pacific Islands is work that can be done at a later date, whereas the final stretch of negotiations over the debt limit or the budget cannot be done at a later date, Sullivan said Wednesday. JOSH BOAK, ZEKE MILLER & MARI YAMAGUCHI, HIROSHIMA, MDT/AP
IT strategies and apparatuses will be used to investigate the eligibility and credibility of people obtained through the future Talent Acquisition Law, a government official assured parliament yesterday.

The parliament held a plenary meeting for the second reading on the Bill of Talent Acquisition Legal System. It was passed unanimously with discussions revolving around several topics.

Lawmakers were particularly concerned with criminality crackdown and investigation efforts, due to previous revelations by the corruption watchdog of illicit practices in the acquisition of professionals and immigration by investments.

Trade Unionists Ella Lei and Leong Sun Iok, as well as civil servant Pereira Coutinho and independent Ron Lam raised questions on the topic. They asked about the size of the future inspection teams as well as the Talent Development Committees strategies and tactics.

Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong responded that IT and Big Data methodologies will help with implementing the work, while admitting that full-coverage inspection is impossible.

Revealing that more people will be hired for inspection purposes, she disclosed that an internal database would be established with the help of Big Data. Meanwhile, internal standards and criteria will also be founded so as to remind committee workers about persons of concern.

The computer application and software engineering graduate also emphasized that certain measures can help identify problems.

Leong cited a previous case wherein a housewife pretended to be an office manager and successfully acquired Macau residency. Ao Ieong believes that immigration and taxation records, as well as product samples or academic papers, will be able to help prove or disprove the correspondence between declared versus actual occupation.

It was also disclosed that the police will be called, should alleged violators decline to allow inspectors onto their premises.

On Ron Lams criticism over double-standard treatments for local talents and invited talents, Ao Ieong said all pre-requisites would be publicized and all interested parties can test their eligibilities.

Lam recalled that some local-resident medical professionals who obtained medical registrations or licenses from outside of Macau were asked to prove their academic qualifications, while the same measure did not apply to non-local medical professionals.

Lawmaker Pang Chuan, academic at the Macau University of Science and Technology, was concerned with talent acquisition in the academic circle. He did not see a criterion for academics to fit in the legal system.

Replying to his question, the Secretary guaranteed him that academic talents would fit in.

Existing criteria include high and new technology, Big Health, culture and sports, MICE, etc. The et cetera in fact gives flexibility and I cant see which profession is not covered by this scope, Ao Ieong explained.

On the matter of nurturing local talents through acquiring external talents, besides revealing that many places have dropped this as black-and-white requirement, Ao Ieong used her experiences as an example.

She disclosed that when she finished her Masters studies, she went to a research institute where she put her theoretical knowledges into practice without senior researchers actually instructing her how to improve herself.

Local people need to be motivated to progress, otherwise, we cant help, said the Secretary. She added that with external talents working together with local people, the latter would be able to acquire some external knowledges and make progress in life.

Ao Ieong was confident that the first batch of applications can be accepted in early August, with the application platform undergoing final testing and two sets of relevant Executive Regulations being nearly ready.

In their joint voting declaration, Che and Coutinho expressed reservations about the actual efficacy of the law.
A Chinese envoy asked Australian authorities yesterday to increase efforts to find survivors in the search for 39 crew members who were aboard a Chinese fishing boat that capsized in the Indian Ocean, as Chinese media reported two bodies had been recovered.

We wish that they could send more  more aircraft, more ships and more staff, Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian told reporters. We wish that our Australian colleagues would coordinate with other international or foreign vessels or ships near that area  to help the search and rescue to save as many lives as possible.

Xiao said China wanted to coordinate with friendly countries, including Australia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, in the search and rescue effort.

The search coordinator, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, said three aircraft and seven ships including three Chinese navy ships were involved in the search in the center of the Indian Ocean. A Sri Lankan navy ship was also heading for the scene, the authority said in a statement.

Two days after the capsize of the Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028, the authority remains hopeful for a successful outcome, however the time elapsed combined with the weather conditions experienced make survival more challenging, it said.

Two bodies were pulled from the ocean yesterday afternoon by the Chinese navy, Chinas official Xinhua News Agency reported. No survivors or life rafts have been spotted.

The upturned hull was spotted Tuesday from a cargo ship 5,000 kilometers northwest of the Australian west coast city of Perth, the Australian search coordinator said.

Chinese authorities say the missing crew includes 17 from China, 17 from Indonesia and five from the Philippines.

On Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang ordered Chinese diplomats, as well as the agriculture and transportation ministries, to assist in the search for survivors.

The search authority said the multinational search effort continued yesterday over an area of 12,000 square kilometers south of where the upturned hull was found.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Chinese and international agencies remained positive about the search and rescue operation.

The Chinese government expressed its sincere gratitude and high appreciation. The relevant search and rescue operations are still ongoing. Wang said at a daily briefing in Beijing.

The capsized boat was based in the eastern coastal province of Shandong and operated by Penglai Jinglu Fishery Co. Ltd.

Another Chinese vessel, Lu Peng Yuan Yu 018, had been operating near the upturned hull and continued to search yesterday, the Australian authority said.

ROD McGUIRK, CANBERRA, MDT/AP
The success of the bilateral meetings President Xi Jinping held respectively with the leaders of the five Central Asian countries in Xian, Shaanxi province, on Wednesday and Thursday, undoubtedly lays a solid foundation for the China-Central Asia Summit to be held in the city on Friday realizing its objectives of promoting common development and deepening mutual trust.

The summit will be the first in-person meeting of the six leaders, underscoring the two sides shared desire to join hands and support each other in the face of common challenges. Tasked with lifting reciprocal cooperation between China and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to a higher level, the China-Central Asia Summit will promote closer interaction and stronger solidarity among the six nations.

The leaders of the six countries are holding multiple meetings in which they will not only exchange views on bilateral, multilateral, and major international and regional issues, but also sign an array of cooperation documents covering areas including economy, trade, investment and connectivity.

President Xi proposed to build the Silk Road Economic Belt during his visit to Kazakhstan in 2013. Central Asian countries were among the first group of countries to publicly support what subsequently became the Belt and Road Initiative.

Having visited the region seven times in the past decade, Xi has personally championed upgraded China-Central Asia cooperation. And thanks to that, the two sides have steadily strengthened their economic and security cooperation, thus laying a solid foundation for further deepening their trade, economic and investment cooperation.

Since unveiling the Global Development Initiative at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021, President Xi has also put forward the Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative as facilitators for the realization of a community with a shared future for mankind. In light of this, the China-Central Asia Summit is a natural event warranting no raised eyebrows.

The bid to strengthen cooperation and coordination in the region is not intended to form a clique, nor is it targeted at any third party. It is an outcome of the six countries shared recognition that to achieve the development they are striving for, there needs to be greater economic interdependence among them and effective regional security governance; these require the establishment of effective multilateral mechanisms.

No doubt the United States and its allies will try to cast this in a different light, because to them the Central Asian countries are just pawns to play in their zero-sum games against China and Russia. But the summit shows that the Central Asian countries have no desire to play that allotted role.

Editorial, China Daily
The 2023 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Science Forum will be held from May 20 to 23 in Guangzhou, according to China Science Daily. This years forum was initiated by the Alliance of International Science Organizations and will be hosted by the Guangdong provincial government. There will be a total of 15 sub-forums, according to the report, with a focus on marine science, nanoscience, high-energy physics, advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence.

Related
More general education on environmental protection should be introduced to make progress in the area, lawmaker Wu Chou Kit said in his parliamentary pre-agenda speech yesterday.

During his speech, he called for the government to adopt the practice that is currently in place in the mainland. He believed that doing so would nurture an improved understanding and attitude in residents, workers and students.

Additionally, he also called for the government to adopt stricter policies on pollution and create conditions for environmental protection, including by promoting green development across society. Moreover, citing a similar policy on the mainland, he requested subsidies for social and commercial entities to purchase equipment that consumes less energy from cleaner sources.

As an architect, the lawmaker views the citys ecological challenges from an architectural perspective, pointing out that Macau has long, hot, and humid summers that require prolonged use of air conditioning. Furthermore, the mainland has a minimum permitted air conditioning temperature of 26 degrees Celsius. Most importantly, Macau has energy-demanding casinos that operate around the clock.

Against this background, the lawmaker revealed that building units in Macau have two to four times higher per-area energy consumption and thus carbon emission. He took the opportunity to again request tighter controls.

The lawmaker also called for a deadline for removing traditionally powered vehicles from roads. AL
Hong Kongs leader said yesterday the citys public libraries would not recommend books featuring bad ideologies to residents after they pulled titles related to the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown and certain political figures.

Chief Executive John Lee was addressing a lawmakers question about dozens of books in public libraries that were taken down without a clear explanation. Those include publications about the bloody crackdown and others written by pro-democracy politicians and political commentators.

Critics said the book pulling would further undermine Hong Kongs reputation for having free access to information and freedom of expression.

But Lee defended the sweeping law at the legislature, saying Hong Kongs freedoms are protected by the citys constitution.

The books we offer for residents to borrow are those that we recommend, he said. We would never recommend books that are illegal and violate copyrights. We would never recommend those that we deem to be featuring bad ideologies.

He said residents could still find such books to read elsewhere. He did not elaborate on what was considered bad ideologies and why the books were removed.

The government has not immediately responded to a request for comment.

The removal of the books was reported by local media outlets after a Chinese newspaper stopped publishing works by the citys most prominent political cartoonist on Sunday following government complaints. Comic strip collections by the cartoonist were also no longer available in public libraries.

Since a sweeping security law was enacted in 2020, the citys art and media communities have learned to be wary of crossing vaguely defined red lines in producing art and other content that might be perceived as challenging the Chinese Communist Partys control.

The group that organized Hong Kongs annual vigil in remembrance of the Tiananmen Square crackdown also voted to disband in 2021 under the shadow of the security law.

The annual vigil was the only large-scale public commemoration of the event on Chinese soil and was attended by massive crowds until authorities banned it in 2020, citing anti-pandemic measures. Macau also used to organize annually the vigil.

Supporters say the groups closure shows that the freedoms and autonomy promised when Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 are diminishing. MDT/AP
The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a 40-year-old Filipino on suspicion of drug trafficking and drug use after finding a variety of drugs worth a total of MOP410,000 in his apartment. The PJ used state intelligence to locate the man, saying that he was selling drugs to Filipinos in the central district. The man was intercepted on Tuesday and was found with 87.61 grams of methamphetamine and 13.1 grams of cocain, as well as 191 tablets of magu, which is made from methamphetamine and caffeine and 12.15 grams of heroin. The man involved in the case tested positive for methamphetamine after a urine test. He has refused to cooperate.

Related
Photo: Parliament of Canada South Okanagan-West Kootenay NDP MP Richard Cannings

It seems summer has come early to British Columbia, and while most of us welcome the barbecues and beach days that come with the heat, the unseasonably hot weather is worrying for many.

Communities across B.C. experienced record-setting high temperatures this past week. At the same time, half of B.C. is under flood watches, warnings or advisories.

As I write this, the entire city of Fort St. John is under evacuation alert because of wildfires and in Alberta 100 wildfires have forced nearly 30,000 people from their homes. (Editors note: Fort St. John rescinded the order Wednesday but 1,300 properties in the surrounding area remain under an evacuation order)

Unfortunately, this is not new for us. In the past few years, Canadians have endured heat domes, droughts, flooding, atmospheric rivers and the strongest storm to ever make landfall in Canada. The human costs have been catastrophic and the costs to communities, livelihoods and infrastructure are staggering.

Within my riding, the town of Grand Forks braced itself again last week for more flooding, a concern that seems to be an almost annual event now. After its devastating floods in 2018, the community persisted through a long and painful process with the federal government to secure recovery funding.

Similar stories can be told by those from Princeton and Merritt and right across the country. This kind of behaviour from the federal government has to change. I have made countless interventions in Ottawa to create a more cooperative relationship between the federal government and communities in these situations and talked once again recently with the emergency preparedness minister about the concerns of these communities.

We have government programs to help people who have their homes damaged by disasters, but those programs are embedded in bureaucracies that often turn anxious weeks into anxious months or years. On top of that, some analyses show the federal government is underfunding disaster adaptation funding by $13 billion.

Federal programs, such as the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, are meant to help communities hit by overwhelming events such as fires, floods and hurricanes. In my experience, these communities, especially small communities, are left to do the heavy lifting in the rebuilding process, while they have neither the financial capability to pay for those actions nor the capacity to navigate the bureaucracy to access the programs.

The town of Oliver applied to the fund for help when its irrigation canal was destroyed by a rockfall. But the $10 million request failed because it was too smallthere was no federal program for requests under $20 million.

I pressed the government for years to fix that gap and it eventually didbut it was too late for Oliver, as it had already fixed the canal with only provincial government support.

Municipalities across Canada are asking for help but, unfortunately, the government is not stepping up. Every year Canadians spend about $5 billion repairing damages from weather-related disasters across the country. Those costs are largely born by individuals and insurance companies. The federal government covers only about 10% of those costs. That annual expense is expected to rise to $50 billion by 2050, 10 times what it is now.

Both the NDP and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities are calling for $2 billion in annual federal funding to go directly to climate adaptation projects, helping communities to create more resilient infrastructure.

We need investments that protect Canadians, so they do not see their homes wash away on a storm surge, investments in heat pumps that would allow low-income Canadians to have air conditioning so we will not have a repeat of the 619 people who died during the heat dome in metro Vancouver last year and investments in FireSmart programs to protect neighbourhoods located at the interface with forests.

I will keep fighting for families and communities and will continue pressuring the government to provide every community with needed climate adaptation support. In the coming months and years, families and municipalities will be forced to make difficult and painful decisions about the future of their communities, and they will need strong support from the federal government.

Richard Cannings is the MP for South Okanagan-West Kootenay

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Myanmars military has imported at least $1 billion worth of weapons and related material from Russia, China and other countries since its February 2021 coup, some of which it has used to carry out atrocities against civilians, according to a U.N. report released yesterday [Macau time], which was promptly criticized by Beijing.

The weapons continue to flow to the military despite overwhelming evidence of its responsibility for the atrocities, including some that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, said Tom Andrews, the U.N. independent investigator on human rights in Myanmar.

As an example of what he called the juntas brutality, Andrews pointed to its April 11 airstrike using a Russian Yak-130 fighter jet on a ceremony attended by some 300 opponents of army rule, which was quickly followed by an attack by Russian Mi-35 helicopters on those who came to help. He said at least 160 people were killed, including many children.

In addition, the machine guns and bombs used in the attacks included parts and materials from companies located in Singapore, China and Thailand, he said.

Myanmar is mired in strife because of a political crisis unleashed when the military took power. Its takeover prompted widespread peaceful protests that security forces suppressed with deadly force, triggering armed resistance throughout the country that the army has been unable to quell. Andrews said at least 22,000 political prisoners have been detained since the coup, at least 3.500 civilians have been killed and 1.5 million people have been forcibly displaced.

The report documents over 12,500 purchases that were shipped directly to the Myanmar military or known Myanmar arms dealers working for the military from Feb. 1, 2021, when the military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, until December 2022, Andrews said at a news conference.

He said the volume and diversity of equipment the military received was staggering, ranging from fighter jets and attack helicopters and drones to advanced missile systems, tank upgrades, sophisticated communications equipment, radar complexes and components for naval ships.

Andrews, a former Democratic congressman from Maine , said he had received highly credible and detailed information from confidential sources identifying the major networks and companies involved in the arms trade with Myanmar.

The report to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council identifies $406 million in weapons and material that went to the Myanmar military from Russia, $267 million from China, $254 million from Singapore, $51 million from India and $28 million from Thailand.

Since the coup, the report said, 28 Russian private and state-owned companies have transferred fighter jets and their spare parts, advanced missile systems, reconnaissance and attack drones, attack helicopters and other systems to the junta.

The report identified 41 private and state-owned companies registered in China and Hong Kong that supplied the Myanmar military with an extensive array of arms, equipment and raw materials between October 2021 and December 2022, including advanced trainer jets, light attack aircraft, tank upgrades and repairs for Chinese fighter jets, which make up the Myanmar Air Force fleet, the report said.

They also supplied aluminum, copper, steel, rubber and lubricants for use in Myanmars domestic weapons manufacturing, it said.

He said companies in Singapore are of critical importance to the junta, having supplied spare parts, raw materials and manufacturing equipment, especially for Myanmars KaPaSa weapons factories. Thai companies have done the same, the report said.

Twelve Thai companies were established after the coup, many by sanctioned arms networks already operating in Singapore, which suggests arms dealers may be looking at Thailand as an alternative route to avoid scrutiny, the report said.

Andrews said Singapore has a policy prohibiting the transfer of arms to Myanmar, and he reported his detailed findings to the government, which he said expressed appreciation for the information and indicated it was reviewing the effectiveness of its export controls.

If the Singapore government stopped all arms shipments to the Myanmar military, he said, the impact on the ability of the junta to manufacture arms would be significant.

Andrews said China and Russia both criticized the report, saying it went beyond his human rights mandate, and accused him of vilifying legitimate arms trade. EDITH M. LEDERER, UNITED NATIONS, MDT/AP
The National Security Law Amendment Bill was passed yesterday unanimously in parliament with only two questions raised by lawmaker Ron Lam.

When the second reading reached Clauses 5 and 6 of Article 1 of the now Amendment Law, Lam asked questions about state secrets. He first pointed out that Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak had assured the parliaments First Standing Committee that the definition and relevant procedures about this issue will be stated in another Bill  Defending State Secret Bill  currently under scrutiny by the same committee.

Then he asked the Secretary, who sat in yesterdays plenary, for some points of clarification. For example, he questioned, if a person comes in contact with a document that is later identified by the government to be a state secret, will this person be prosecuted for viewing the document?

In response, Wong reiterated this law upholds the principle of deliberate violation, meaning that an act will only be considered in contravention of the Bill when the perpetrator understands the nature of the material and intentionally violates it.

As such, the example [of the person] given by Lawmaker Lam will not be subject to prosecution, Wong said.

When the session touched on Clause 5-A of Article 2 of the law, Lam raised concerns over the stipulations on contact with external organizations.

He worried that people will raise a ruckus over this stipulation and suggested the secretary better explain this stipulation. He added that, in fact, the preceding stipulation defines the criteria as one in which contacts would be considered criminal.

Wong, in response, agreed with the lawmakers view and pledged to raise better awareness in future.

Following the issue of public concern about the Amendment Law, in his voting declaration, Lam adopted an opposite view in urging the Secretary to better educate the public so that innocent people do not fall victim to national security breaches or into traps.

He also demanded the government strike a balance between safeguarding national security and honoring peoples legal and human rights. The law, he said, should not jeopardize a persons right to criticize the government.

Meanwhile, lawmaker Ma Io Fong calls for the use of technology to safeguard national security.
A public security police officer is suspected of secretly filming women with his mobile phone at the central district while off-duty, according to the Public Security Police Force (PSP). PSP has launched disciplinary investigation procedures against the police officer involved. The officer involved had admitted that he secretly photographed a woman. He was suspected of committing the crime of intrusion into private life.

Related
Sands Macao celebrated its 19th anniversary yesterday with its annual tradition of presenting complimentary boxed lunches to Macau taxi drivers.

Sean McCreery, executive vice president of operations for Sands China Ltd., said, as we celebrate Sands Macaus anniversary each year, it is our pleasure to recognise Macaus taxi drivers for their day-in/day-out services to the city, and we are grateful for the work they do.

With the resumption of normalcy and the rebound in the number of visitors, we look forward to providing ever-increasing standards of service together in contribution to the development of Macaus tourism industry, the executive added.
Syrian President Bashar Assad headed to Saudi Arabia yesterday to attend a regional summit, his first visit to the oil-rich kingdom since Syrias conflict began in 2011, the presidents office said.

Assads attendance at the Arab League summit, which starts Friday, is expected to seal Syrias return to the Arab fold following a 12-year suspension and open a new chapter of relations after more than a decade of tensions.

The 22-member league, which is convening in the Saudi city of Jeddah, recently reinstated Syria and is now poised to welcome Assad, a long-time regional pariah, back into its ranks. The Syrian president was officially invited to attend the summit last week.

During Syrias civil war, Saudi Arabia had been a key backer of armed opposition groups attempting to overthrow Assad. However, in recent months, Riyadh has called for dialogue to end the conflict that has killed half a million people and displaced half of Syrias pre-war population.

Assads troops have taken control of much of Syria thanks to his main allies Russia and Iran that helped tip the balance of power in his favor.
Visitor arrivals totalled 2.27 million last month, representing an upsurge of 274.7% year-on-year and a rise of 16.2% month-on-month, data from Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) shows.

The surge comes amid the current increasing trend in visitors as overnight visitors (1.18 million) and same-day visitors (1.10 million) soared by 550.2% and 157.7% year-on-year respectively.

The number of visitors from mainland China jumped by 159.3% year-on-year to 1.39 million with those travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme (817,730) surging by 589.5%.

Visitors from Hong Kong (745,282) and Taiwan (33,295) rocketed by 1,039.3% and 419.0% year-on-year respectively.

In the first four months of 2023, the number of visitor arrivals expanded by 190.8% year-on-year to 7.22 million.

The local government has been ramping up on promoting the city after a long tourism drought in the city amid the pandemic restrictions.

Just last month, the one-stop travel service provider Trip.com announced the launch of its promotion campaign See you in Macao which highlights the city as a destination choice for leisure and business. The promotion is in addition to the campaign with Air Macau, where tourists can enjoy a limited-time Buy One Get One Free offer when they purchase a round-trip ticket from Air Macau, departing from Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Thailand or Vietnam with Macau as the destination until June 30. LV
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

MCALLEN, Texas  An 8-year-old girl from Panama born with heart problems died in Border Patrol custody Wednesday, the second death of a child from Latin America in U.S. government custody in two weeks.

Anadith Tanay Reyes Alvarez and her family were being held in Harlingen, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, one of the busiest corridors for migrant crossings, the Border Patrol's parent agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said.

The agency has struggled with overcrowding at its facilities, spurred by a large increase in migrants ahead of the expiration last week of Title 42, a key regulation on immigration linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The girl experienced " a medical emergency " and emergency medical services were called. They took her to the hospital where she was pronounced dead, the agency said.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Wisconsin author Carol Dunbar lives and writes off the grid, meaning her family uses solar energy to power everything from their washing machine to her laptop. Her books, too, are off-grid, centered around her lifestyle  the joys and struggles living remotely south of Superior.

For those of us who struggle when our Wi-Fi connection is weak, immersing yourself in Dunbars writing is a lesson in a different way of thinking and living. Her first novel, The Net Beneath Us, was recently awarded the Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award, one of the Wisconsin Writers Awards. She has another book, A Winters Rime, due out in September.

Q: First, congrats on your award. Were you surprised?

A: Yes, I was. I was really deeply grateful. I spent a long time writing this novel. It took me 12 years. Four years after we got here, my husband had an accident with his table saw and that was the launching point of the book. I was writing my way through that event. There are a lot of different kinds of losses. We lost our family business. We lost the us at that point of our lives. During that time I was also learning how to split firewood. It took me a really long time to write this book because of all the different challenges I was experiencing in my real life. I was very grateful to be recognized, and to hear from so many readers in this part of the country.

Q: I understand youve had several different careers. What led you to writing?

A: I always knew I wanted to write books, but I had my first career in theater and I was dedicated. It was my dream for a really long time. Then I came to the crushing realization that I was a storyteller working in the wrong art form. The study of acting is the art of living truthfully under imaginary circumstances. Now instead of doing this on the stage, Im doing it on the page.

But the craft of novel writing involves a lot of techniques that are different from acting. You have to move between scene and summary and novel thought. A lot of things about it were different from interacting with a play. I really thought I should be a playwright ... I took classes and wrote a few. But playwrights only write what characters say, and I wanted to write about what characters think. I was really sad when I realized I wasnt a playwright! Thats another reason this novel took so long: I had to take more classes. I had to learn the craft of the novelist.

Q: How do you describe an off-grid story?

A: Since weve moved out here, off-grid has come to mean other things. My husband and I are not wanted by the FBI. We came out here intentionally. My husband is a self-taught woodworker. He had this vision to build furniture from trees he knew. I wanted to do the Henry David Thoreau thing ... I thought if I was in the middle of the woods, I would be able to go inward. Off-grid for us means were not connected to the power grid. We generate our own electricity. This phone call is generated by solar energy. We fuel our home with wood and pump our water from a well.

My best friend tells me that everything I do in my day-to-day life is 10 times harder than most people, and that reminder makes me feel more capable. If Im doing laundry, for example, I have to put clothes in the laundry basket and then walk outside regardless of weather. My laundry room is a separate building, and I line dry all our clothes. If I want to get the mail, my mailbox is a round trip 4 miles from my house. When the kids were young, I used to put them in a double jogging stroller and run to the mailbox. The U.S. Postal Service doesnt deliver mail out where the power lines end. As a writer, I wanted to document these things.

Q: How do you physically work and publish a novel while living off-grid?

A: I am very grateful to have a teenage son that has tricked out my water tower office so I can do Zoom calls! We had dial-up internet for many years. He has been gradually upgrading the technology so that I can work from home and do author events online.

Q: What did you learn in writing this first book?

A: Writing The Net Beneath Us taught me what I am learning from my environment. The study of biomimicry is where scientists look to nature for the solutions to problems, because Mother Nature has already solved all the problems. The sticky properties of a geckos feet, for instance, provided us with a recipe for sealing holes in human lungs. Living out here, I found myself looking to nature for help whenever I was having problems.

In The Net Beneath Us, the main character looks to the trees while processing grief. She learns how trees take care of each other and how they mourn. In my second novel, A Winters Rime, Im looking at nature and asking, how does it bear hardship and heal trauma? How does nature take the weight of snow and brutal cold and alchemize it into something beautiful? This is what I do in my personal life, and I dont know if I would have understood this so clearly if I hadnt started to write about it.

Q: You said it took 12 years to write The Net Beneath You, which means you were writing it as the kids were growing up. What was that like?

A: All young parents struggle to make time for themselves, but Im really glad I didnt wait until my kids were older before telling this story. I wanted to capture that time in a young mothers life when shes incredibly vulnerable to fear and loneliness. I also wanted to write about my kids at that age. My children were very much the blueprints for Hester and Finn, the children in the book. You forget things that you think youll always remember. Im glad that I wrote, however imperfectly, to create a time capsule of that era.

Q: How old are your kids now and what did they think about the book, having lived much of the experience with you?

A: They are both in college now. Our son was 2 when I started writing. He would wake up in the middle of the night and I remember putting him on my lap and writing. When this book launched, he wasnt able to be there because he had just started college. Same with my daughter, they both attend college out of state. But we celebrated when I got the book deal. It was a momentous thing for our family. They were very excited. For me, this book is a legacy piece, and I am excited to have something to give them.

Q: How biographical is The Net Beneath Us?

A: The accident in The Net Beneath Us is completely fiction. Its not anything like the accident that my husband in my real life had. In my real life, my husband does take down trees. Unfortunately, I know a lot about all the things that can go wrong when taking down trees, so, a logging accident wasnt that big of a leap for my imagination to make. The books setting is very much based on where I live. The idea for the unfinished house came from an actual picture of my house. In it, you can see a partially constructed second story. We live in this house and we dont have a second story, although the support beams are, mysteriously, still there.

Q: What kinds of lessons have you learned about where and how you live?

A: They say when youre writing your first novel to write what you know. I very much did follow that adage. I started right where I was emotionally. But I did not find the story for The Net Beneath Us until I flipped that adage around. When I wrote about all the things I didnt know about living here, thats when I found my story arc. This arc is very personal to me. And, thankfully, I did finally figure out how to split firewood!

Q: What has the response been like?

A: The biggest surprise and the most gratifying part of the book being out has been hearing from readers. Ive gotten actual fan mail and notes and letters from readers who have gone through a similar thing. One stands out from a widow whose husband had a sudden brain aneurysm and she took care of him before losing him. She wrote in her letter all the things I got right. Including the paranoia that you feel and the number of times she called the police to her house! I also heard from a mother whose son had an accident, a brain injury, and required two years of constant care in a comatose state. I was very moved by these letters. I really wanted to get that part right. I had doctors and nurses read the manuscript, even down to the last few edits.

Q: Anything we havent chatted about that people should know about your book?

A: I think this book appeals to a wide readership because of the age ranges of the characters. I have had a lot of young readers say how much they connected to Hester, who is in first grade in the book. Ive had a lot of retired readers tell me how much they loved the book because it reminds them of how they grew up  being outdoors and all the chores. I was really, genuinely, searching for something when I wrote this book, and I feel like I found something in the process of writing that can be helpful to people who are also looking for something. This is a book about how to make your way back from a dark place by staying open to the wonders of the natural world.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)  More than 74 million visitors came to the Orlando, Florida, area last year, a benchmark just short of pre-pandemic levels, tourism officials said Thursday.

The number of tourists was 25% greater than it was in 2021, when central Florida was still recovering from the blows to tourism caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which restricted international travel and caused convention cancellations. The area's theme parks closed for several months in 2020 in an effort to stop the virus' spread.

This past year proved to be a key recovery timeframe for Orlandos tourism industry, with a lot of pent-up demand from our top US and international markets, said Casandra Matej, president and CEO for Visit Orlando, the area's tourism promotion organization.

The Orlando area had more than 69 million domestic visitors, with most of them visiting for vacations, a segment that has fully recovered, tourism officials said. Business visitors still lagged behind pre-pandemic levels.

There were 4.9 million international tourists, making up only about three-quarters of pre-pandemic levels, according to Visit Orlando. The two biggest sources of international visitors were Canada and the United Kingdom.

This story has been corrected to fix attribution in last paragraph to Visit Orlando instead of Visit Florida.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A Madison man has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for dealing fentanyl, authorities said.

Roland J. Scott III, 21, also was sentenced Thursday by Judge William M. Conley to five years of supervised release after his prison term for possessing with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and maintaining a drug trafficking place, a charged he pleaded guilty to Feb. 24, U.S. Attorney Timothy M. OShea said in a statement.

Between Sept. 15 and Oct. 5, 2021, Scott sold heroin and fentanyl to an undercover officer in Madison on four separate occasions, OShea said.

On Oct. 7, 2021, a search of Scotts residence found 110 grams of fentanyl packaged in individual baggies, ready for sale, and more than $10,000 in cash, OShea said.

Scott was arrested during the search, and later charged in state court and released on bond. At the time of his arrest, he was out on bond in eight different state cases, OShea said.

On June 30, 2022, Scott and two passengers were in a stolen car in Madison that crashed into a truck with a trailer. Scott and his passengers battered the two individuals inside the pickup truck and while fleeing the scene, they drove past the truck and one of them fired a shot at those in the pickup, OShea said.

The car crashed a few miles down the road, and Scott was arrested a short time later and found in possession of 657 grams of fentanyl mixed with heroin, more than $9,000 in cash and a handgun. At this point, Scott was out on bond in 10 state cases, OShea said.

The charges against Scott were the result of an investigation conducted by Madison police, the Dane County Narcotics Task Force and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Dane County District Attorneys Office also provided assistance in the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven P. Anderson and Kathryn E. Ginsberg prosecuted this case.
Photo: The Canadian Press A view of a wildfire over Hay River, Northwest Territories from an air tanker is shown in a May 14, 2023 handout photo. Residents of K'atl'odeeche First Nation and the neighbouring community of Hay River, N.W.T., remain displaced as an out-of-control wildfire continues to burn in the area. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Northwest Territories Environment and Natural Resources

Officials urged caution ahead of the long weekend as thousands of residents in Western Canada and the Northwest Territories remained out of their homes due to wildfires.

"Don't be responsible for starting a new wildfire," Christie Tucker of Alberta Wildfire said Thursday.

She said there were 92 active wildfires in the province, with 26 of them classified as out of control.

Two weeks after evacuation orders started being issued in the province, about 10,000 evacuees are still out of their homes.

More than 2,600 people are helping to fight Alberta's fires, including crews from across Canada, the United States and the Armed Forces. Tucker said another 113 firefighters from the U.S. and 18 from Yukon were joining Thursday.

Todd Loewen, Alberta's Minister of Forestry, Parks and Tourism, urged people in the northwestern region near fires to voluntarily restrict recreational activities on Crown land, including backcountry camping, mountain biking and hiking.

He said some provincial parks, recreation areas and campgrounds have also been closed because of the high fire danger.

"I know that for many of us the weekend is traditionally spent outdoors with family and friends," said Loewen. "I know this is disappointing for many, but it is necessary to reduce the risk of wildfire."

In the N.W.T., about 3,500 people evacuated Sunday from K'atl'odeeche First Nation and the neighbouring community of Hay River, N.W.T.

Officials said 896 had registered to stay in Yellowknife.

"Help isn't going anywhere," Shane Thompson, territorial minister of environment and climate change, told a media briefing Thursday.

"We will be with you every step of the way."

The fire, which was last estimated at nearly 18 square kilometers, is suspected to have been human-caused. Officials said there have been no reports of damage in Hay River, but 15 buildings have been damaged on the reserve.

N.W.T. wildfire information officer Mike Westwick said extremely hot and dry conditions on Wednesday led to greater fire activity, with heavy smoke and ash being pushed toward the communities.

He said 11 fire crews  nearly 120 people  and multiple helicopters, air tankers and pieces of heavy equipment were working to battle the fire and prevent further damage.

"We're looking ahead to some difficult days of working on this fire," he said, adding the outlook for the wildfire season across the territory is severe.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said there were 24 active wildfires in the northern part of the province as of Thursday morning. Some of the fires have spanned larger than 1,000 square kilometres and most are believed to human-caused.

The agency said its supporting nearly 1,075 people in Saskatchewan, providing them with food and accommodations in Lloydminster, North Battleford and Regina.

Bryan Chartrand, the agencys director of land operations, said it could be a week before evacuees can return home.

I dont have a magic number, but it wont be any time in the near future, he said.

Were looking at at least a week plus ... unless we get a large rain event that is not forecasted right now.

Crews are to assess some areas where its believed cabins have burned, he added. But there were no reports of other structural losses.

Premier Scott Moe said the government is looking to provide vouchers to people in non-evacuated communities, including La Loche and Clearwater River Dene Nation, where people have been without power for almost three days and food in their freezers may have expired.

The main highway into those communities is closed and only essential travel is allowed. But trucks carrying food and fuel were being allowed north of the fire line.

Were in active discussions and we hope to come to a decision quickly on how we can get our grocery and fuel trucks into those communities north of the fire line, Moe said.

In British Columbia, the City of Fort St. John lifted an evacuation alert Wednesday that had put the community of about 21,000 residents on edge.

But more than 1,300 properties in the surrounding area remained under an evacuation order.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Tammy James has not seen or heard from her son in six months.

She last spoke with Christopher Miller on Nov. 18 after he learned there was a warrant out for his arrest.

James told her son to take care of his legal problems. But early the next day, the Wisconsin State Patrol tried to pull him over for speeding and Miller, 27, of Madison, tried to get away. After leading a trooper on a high-speed chase, Miller ran into the countryside off Interstate 90 just south of Janesville. He was wearing only a sweatshirt and jogging pants on a night when the temperature dropped to 19 degrees. He left his cellphone behind in the car.

Confused about which way he ran, police missed their best chance at apprehending Miller. A coordinated, multi-agency search for him would not take place until more than 48 hours later.

Whether he simply eluded police and is now in hiding or died that night, no one knows. He was never heard from again.

Since that night, holidays and birthdays have come and gone. Miller missed the birth of his fifth child. James happy memories of her son fixing her car or their plans to start a business together have become painful.

Frustrated by what they contend was an inadequate response by police, family members have led search parties through rural wooded areas of Rock County. Theyve hired a private investigator, made media appearances and staged protests at law enforcement offices, the governors mansion and the state Capitol.

Im trying to stay focused and try not to break, literally, James said. Ive been more emotional now as the days continue to pass by.

The family requested information on the case to learn as much as they could about law enforcements handling of the case, including internal State Patrol dispatch audio and text messages.

What they found only compounded their grief: The records show dispatchers appearing to get exasperated with the familys frequent requests for help. In texts on the phone of a State Patrol sergeant, someone said Millers family should work on their grammar and that the family should look for him in Chiraq, a slang term for Chicago that suggests its level of gun violence is equal to that of Iraq.

The messages and documents have led James and her family to believe that authorities arent looking as hard for her son because he is Black.

If Christopher was white, they would still be looking for him, she said. The outrage would be tremendous. I just feel like they didnt care.

Millers family doesnt dispute his legal troubles. At the time of his disappearance, he had a warrant for his arrest because he hadnt submitted a DNA sample to comply with the terms of a plea he made to a previous charge of resisting arrest in April 2022. As part of the plea, charges of possession of marijuana, battery and disorderly conduct were dismissed. When he ran from the State Patrol in November, he also had about 2.2 ounces of marijuana in his vehicle.

But that doesnt make him undeserving of efforts to find him, his family said.

Rock County Sheriffs Office Capt. Mark Thompson, whose agency led the initial investigation into Millers disappearance, said there is no bias against Miller or his family. He said the concerted search for Miller did not begin until days after his disappearance because it happened over a weekend when resources are thin.

Him not having contact with his family has always been concerning to us, but at this point we dont have much further to go, Thompson said, adding that a renewed search for Miller might start this spring.

The chase

It was just past 2 a.m. on Nov. 19 when State Patrol Trooper Derek Ketelboeter spotted Miller driving 94 mph in a silver Mazda. When Ketelboeter turned on his emergency lights, Miller sped away and turned off his vehicles headlights, according to video of the chase given to the Wisconsin State Journal by his family. Millers Mazda had fled from another State Patrol officer earlier that month, a sergeant said in dispatch audio.

Im like, Hes done this before. He aint no scrub, Ketelboeter is seen on video saying to fellow Trooper Lawrence Horwood minutes after Miller had disappeared. He knows what hes doing.

The pursuit lasted about seven minutes and reached speeds of 123 mph, according to Ketelboeters report and dashcam footage. While briefly getting off the interstate to change directions, Miller crashed into a stoplight. Back on the interstate, with one tire blown out, Millers car came to a stop on the right shoulder just south of Avalon Road.

Ketelboeter jumped out of his cruiser, gun drawn, and yelled at Miller to turn the engine off and come out with his hands up. Instead, Miller ran. Ketelboeter didnt run after him because he didnt know if anyone else was in the car, according to footage.

You ever wonder if its things like this where, then they have to get out and suffer through the cold, that they start wondering whether or not they made the right choice in life? Ketelboeter said to Horwood in the video.

During a search of the vehicle, troopers found about 2.2 ounces of marijuana. While possession of marijuana is illegal in Wisconsin, Ketelboeter remarked that its not an insane amount of weed.

Ketelboeter referred the case to to Rock County prosecutors for possible charges, including possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, recklessly endangering safety, hit and run, resisting arrest, possession of drug paraphernalia and fleeing an officer.

Miller was charged with a series of traffic violations which were later dismissed at the request of the Rock County District Attorneys Office.

In response to a request for comment from the State Journal, the District Attorneys Office said prosecutors are still reviewing the 6-month-old case for possible additional charges.

Miscommunication

Rock County deputies arrived at the scene within minutes of Millers escape and set up a perimeter to find him. But miscommunication between Ketelboeter, dispatchers and deputies about whether Miller ran to the south or west caused the perimeter to quickly get busted, or compromised, Deputy Joshua Peterson can be heard saying in a bodycam video.

How did they not communicate that more effectively? Peterson, who had a search dog with him, exclaimed to other deputies after a few minutes of searching, according to the video. It was called out poorly.

In a letter to Millers family afterward, State Patrol Supt. Tim Carnahan assured them that the search continued that night. Deputies with Dane and Rock counties looked for Miller for three hours, including with a drone, Carnahan said.

But that wasnt true.

Dane County deputies did not participate in the search at the scene. A drone was not flown that night, and the perimeter to search for Miller was broken down after an hour, according to State Patrol and Rock County documents.

Rock County deputies did attempt to fly a drone. But department policy requires the pilot to clear the flight with air traffic controllers at the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport, and no one there answered the phone, so the aircraft never took off.

In response to questions about the inaccuracies in Carnahans letter to the family, the Wisconsin Department of Transportations Office of Public Affairs said the letter was based on preliminary documentation and reports related to the search for Miller that had been filed with different case numbers.

Because of this, they were missed during the initial records query, the Department of Transportation said.

Disheartening

Over the next two days, law enforcement showed a reluctance to look for Miller due to lack of resources and because he was a fugitive, not a missing person, according to dispatch audio.

At first, a State Patrol dispatcher told Millers family that troopers had had no contact with him and told them to call other law enforcement agencies. Later, the dispatcher told Millers fiancee that no troopers were available for a search effort.

In internal discussions, dispatchers and supervisors can be heard trying to sort out who has jurisdiction over the case and whether a search is being conducted while responding to increasingly anxious and tearful calls from James and Millers fiancee, Mallory Duerst.

But in one of the exchanges, the speakers can be heard laughing about sending U.S. marshals after Miller. Yeah, go get him! a female said.

Another dispatcher later called Millers mother irate and not easy to deal with for everyone.

Duerst called the dispatchers tone and comments unprofessional and disheartening.

I was disgusted, Duerst said. To actually sit back and hear that. To hear them say that among themselves and almost laugh like it was a joke or that we were bothering them when we were concerned about our loved ones life.

That weekend, additional efforts were made to look for Miller. About 24 hours after the chase, Ketelboeter checked a field by the interstate and walked along railroad tracks to the southwest of where Miller was last seen.

In footage given to the family, Ketelboeter searched a culvert for about seven minutes and a ditch for about nine minutes.

In the afternoon on Nov. 20, the State Patrol flew a plane over the scene for about two hours and Rock County searched a nearby subdivision with a spotlight.

Effort builds

The next day, Nov. 21, more than 48 hours after Miller disappeared, law enforcement launched their most robust search for him.

In the next week, Rock County, the State Patrol and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources searched the area using drones, dogs and utility task vehicles, according to law enforcement documents. On Nov. 22, 28 law enforcement officers spent eight hours looking for Miller, Thompson said.

The searches on those days combed through a subdivision, a pig farm, a railyard, other private property and more.

In the end, the only piece of evidence collected was a piece of black fabric lodged in a barb wire fence about 200 yards from where Millers Mazda came to a stop on the highway, according to Rock County reports.

I was actually surprised we were not able to find him, Rock Countys Thompson said. Usually when someone runs from us, they turn up a few days later.

Miller could still be in the area, or he could have fled or been picked up by someone, Thompson said.

After days of searching, Rock County detective Dwayne Shaw and Madison police Capt. Kelly Beckett agreed on Nov. 28 that Madison would be the primary investigating agency, since his last known address was in the city, according to Rock County reports.

There were some efforts to find Miller after the initial search. The last documented search for Miller came on Dec. 19. That day, Rock County deputies searched a salvage yard in Janesville using a dog and UTV. They found nothing.

In early December, text messages on the cellphone of State Patrol Sgt. Adam Zoch obtained by the family briefly discussed Millers case. The exchange, which the State Patrol is now investigating for code-of-conduct violations, went as follows:

They need to work on their grammar.

Mallory (Duerst) is pregnant (laughing emoji). Dude dipped.

There is a find Christopher Miller Facebook group. They were supposedly doing a search yesterday.

They should start in chiraq.

Good and bad days

Millers family continues to look for answers and last met with representatives from Rock County, the State Patrol and Madison police in mid-December, which took place before the bulk of records from the case were released to them.

Madison police closed the case in February in order to release documents to the family.

Theres good and bad days, Duerst said.

Were trying to stay hopeful, but we know if he were somewhere safe and had access to a phone he would have called, she said. At this point, we want him found regardless and we want to know really what happened to him.

Searches of the area where Miller disappeared by family and volunteers continue, and a more than 1,000-person-strong Facebook group share tips and theories about the case.

He is more than just another Black criminal like they paint him out to be, Duerst wrote in the Facebook group recently. He deserves more than this. The police failed him, his whole family and children. This shouldnt have happened.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

HIROSHIMA, Japan  Leaders of the world's most powerful democracies warned China and North Korea against building up their nuclear arsenals, pivoting to major northeast Asian crises ahead of the arrival later Saturday of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The focus on Asia at the Group of Seven summit comes as leaders tighten sanctions meant to punish Moscow and change the course of its 15-month invasion of Ukraine. Japan confirmed that Zelenskyy's decision to attend the G7 in person stemmed from his "strong wish" to participate in talks that will influence his nation's defense against Russia.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said President Joe Biden and Zelenskyy would have direct engagement at the summit, a day after Biden announced his support for training Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, a precursor to eventually providing those aircraft to Ukraine's Air Force.

World leaders faced a high-stakes balancing act in Hiroshima as they look to address a raft of global worries demanding urgent attention, including climate change, AI, poverty and economic instability, nuclear proliferation and, above all, the war in Ukraine.

China, the world's No. 2 economy, sits at the nexus of many of those concerns.

There is increasing anxiety in Asia that Beijing, which has been steadily building up its nuclear bomb program, could try to seize Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict. China claims the self-governing island as its own and regularly sends ships and warplanes near it.

The G7 leaders issued a statement warning that China's "accelerating build-up of its nuclear arsenal without transparency (or) meaningful dialogue poses a concern to global and regional stability."

North Korea, which has been testing missiles at a torrid pace in an attempt to perfect a nuclear program meant to target the mainland United States, must completely abandon its nuclear bomb ambitions, the leaders said, "including any further nuclear tests or launches that use ballistic missile technology. North Korea cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon State under" international nuclear treaties, the statement said.

The green light on F-16 training is the latest shift by the Biden administration as it moves to arm Ukraine with more advanced and lethal weaponry, following earlier decisions to send rocket launcher systems and Abrams tanks. The United States insists it sends weapons to Ukraine to defend itself and discouraged attacks by Ukraine into Russian territory.

"We've reached a moment where it is time to look down the road again to say what is Ukraine going to need as part of a future force, to be able to deter and defend against Russian aggression as we go forward," Sullivan said.

An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Zelenskyy will take part in two separate sessions Sunday. The first session will be with G7 members only and will focus on the war in Ukraine. The second session will include the G7 as well as the other nations invited to take part in the summit, and will focus on "peace and stability."

The G7 leaders also used their summit to roll out a new wave of global sanctions on Moscow as well as plans to enhance the effectiveness of existing financial penalties meant to constrain President Vladimir Putin's war effort.

"Our support for Ukraine will not waver," the G7 leaders said in a statement released after closed-door meetings. They vowed "to stand together against Russia's illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine."

"Russia started this war and can end this war," they said.

Zelenskyy has consistently called for the supply of Western fighter jets to bolster his country's defenses against Russia's invasion, but has until now faced skepticism from the United States that they would turn the tide in the war.

As Ukraine has improved its air defenses with a host of Western-supplied anti-aircraft systems and prepares to launch a counteroffensive against Russia, officials believe the jets could become useful in the battle and essential to the country's long-term security.

Biden's decisions on when, how many, and who will provide the fourth-generation F-16 fighter jets will be made in the months ahead while the training is underway, Biden told leaders.

The F-16 training is to be conducted in Europe and will likely begin in the coming weeks, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The latest sanctions aimed at Russia include tighter restrictions on already-sanctioned people and firms involved in the war effort. More than 125 individuals and organizations across 20 countries have been hit with U.S. sanctions. The financial penalties have been primarily focused on sanctions evaders connected to technology procurement for the Kremlin. The Commerce Department also added 71 firms to its own list.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Friday sanctions "will further tighten the vise on Putin's ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions."

The G7 includes Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Republicans on the state budget committee voted Thursday to set aside $125 million in the states two-year spending plan to address forever chemical contaminants in Wisconsins ground and drinking water.

While the proposal, which passed 11-4, along party lines, calls for almost $20 million more in PFAS-related spending than what was proposed in Gov. Tony Evers budget, Democratic lawmakers criticized the measure for creating a fund with no current plans on how exactly those dollars would be spent.

Republicans said the funds would be placed into a separate account dedicated to addressing PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, contaminations. PFAS are also known as forever chemicals because they do not break down in the environment and can accumulate in animal tissues and the human body.

Some of the compounds have been linked to cancer and other health problems and have been identified in communities across the nation and Wisconsin, including Marinette, Wausau, La Crosse and Madison.

It really is everywhere around the state, Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Green Bay, told reporters before Thursdays budget meeting. We need to give ourselves time to find the right solutions and this massive $125 million investment is a designated fund to be a resource to address the issue in the future.

Republicans on the committee said the funds would be appropriated through separate legislation, which could include a bill introduced earlier this week by Wimberger and Rep. Rob Cowles, R-Green Bay, that would create a municipal grant program to help communities cover the cost of testing and treatment for PFAS, expedite the cleanup of known contamination sites and streamline the regulatory process for PFAS treatment, among other measures.

Until that money is actually allocated and spent on things, it doesnt mean anything, Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison said. Its not going to do anything to help the people of this state.

Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, said increased funding to address water quality is wonderful, if it is spent.

She also criticized the lack of sufficient state funding to address water quality concerns caused by PFAS and lead-lined water pipes in previous budgets.

We could have done something a lot sooner, Johnson said. We dont get to allow our communities to be placed in harms way and continue to let that fester. We have not done our jobs, we have not done enough.

Evers two-year spending plan included a request for $100 million in increased spending to test and respond to PFAS, a group of synthetic chemicals used in numerous products, including food packaging, nonstick cookware and water-resistant fabrics. Their unique water- and fat-repellent properties have made them a key ingredient in foam used to fight oil-based fires.

Other measures included in the Democratic governors budget but removed Thursday by Republicans included spending $1.6 million to create 11 PFAS-specific management positions, $2.2 million for PFAS sampling and testing and $1.8 million over the biennium to support PFAS emergency measures.

In the first day of deliberations for the states 2023-25 biennial budget, Republicans removed hundreds of items from Evers proposal, including one that would have required the Department of Natural Resources to create rules establishing acceptable levels and required response actions for PFAS.

While the Legislature has restricted the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam, other measures have largely fallen flat.

While crafting the current two-year spending plan in 2021, the Republican-led budget committee rejected Evers request to spend $10 million annually to create a grant program for municipalities to investigate and respond to PFAS contamination. The committee did approve putting $1 million in annual funding into the committees supplemental fund for collecting and disposing of PFAS-containing firefighting foam  work that continues.

The committee also voted along party lines to allocate $3 million in one-time funds over the biennium to food security grants to nonprofit food assistance groups that purchase and distribute food to tribal leaders and other participating producers. The total food security allocation is one-tenth the $30 million requested in Evers two-year spending plan.

Republicans also approved a $46 million increase in bonding authority for the states environmental improvement fund. Evers had requested a $372 million increase for the clean water fund and safe drinking water loan program.

PFAS forever chemicals about to get their first US limits
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

As he campaigns for reelection, President Joe Biden will, perhaps justifiably, tout his strong record on the climate, clean water and his investments in Great Lakes restoration. Arguably, no recent president has done more to move toward a future powered by clean energy.

But his environmental record has a bold asterisk: the continued operation of Enbridges dangerous and decrepit Line 5 pipeline, which carries oil from Canadian tar sands through the heart of the worlds largest freshwater lakes.

His accomplishments on behalf of the people and wildlife of the Great Lakes are just one mistake away from an environmental catastrophe. With the stroke of a pen, President Biden could revoke the presidential permit that allows Line 5 to operate, but he has neglected the issue entirely.

In the last few weeks alone, this pipeline has resulted in Canada being accused of human rights violations and legal action from tribal officials in Wisconsin. Representatives from 51 tribes across Canada and the United States submitted a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, calling Canadas support for Line 5 a violation of human rights.

The U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous agreed the pipeline is a threat to the Great Lakes and treaty rights. Meanwhile, Enbridge continues to trespass, according to a judge, by operating its line through the Bad River Bands territory in Wisconsin. The tribe has sought an emergency shutdown because of spring flooding and erosion that risks a rupture and catastrophic spill.

This fossil fuel-laden piece of aging infrastructure epitomizes the future were trying to avoid. Given his commitment to both clean energy and tribal sovereignty, why is President Biden not acting?

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Enbridges has tried to shut down Line 5 through the Straits of Mackinac. The line carries millions of gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids each day.

Enbridge would love to continue to dupe U.S. citizens into believing that shutting down Line 5 will cut off their heat in the winter. But thats not the case. Much of the material carried in Line 5 ends up in plastics manufacturing. Shutting it down would have barely a perceptible impact on fuel costs to citizens. But it would impact Enbridges profits, which might explain its interest in keeping it open, no matter the risk.

The pipeline should have never been approved in the Straits. A University of Michigan study concluded this is the worst possible location for an oil pipeline in the Great Lakes. The unpredictable and powerful currents would make recovering the oil impossible. Furthermore, the pipeline was installed 70 years ago and hasnt been properly maintained. According to Michigans governor, divers have found anchor strikes and a lack of protective coating on the pipeline, which shows the risk of failure.

Despite this, Enbridge has been allowed to skirt the law while making millions.

The Biden administrations lack of action is politically baffling. Shutting down Line 5 could be a clear political win in a region that will be critical to his chances for reelection. Instead, the Biden administrations reluctance to begin an orderly transition away from Line 5 means he is failing to protect our waterways, ignoring our rights, jeopardizing our economy and hamstringing his administrations other efforts to transition away from dirty energy as we move toward a clean future.

Biden cant ignore Line 5 anymore. He must revoke the presidential permit that allows this dilapidated pipeline to imperil the Great Lakes, which hold 20% of the worlds surface freshwater.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Technology has transformed the way we live, communicate and relate to the world around us. It also has deepened the political and cultural divisions.

But Americans are united on at least one point: Most people agree that social media is a social ill.

A recent poll by Citizen Data, a nonpartisan group, found that, regardless of political party, the vast majority of Americans believe social media is toxic to our children and our democracy. A scant 7 in 100 respondents believe that social medias benefits outweigh its harms.

As former elected officials in Illinois and Wisconsin, we can confirm that a 7% approval rating is an embarrassment  and a clear call to action. Its past time for legislators to pass social media reforms that increase transparency, ensure privacy and protect children. Waiting or failing to act will carry a steep cost, one that will be paid by our children, our fractured democracy and our national security.

The social media business model is simple: Trade Americans data for dollars. That has led companies to exploit our childrens anxiety and obliterate their attention spans by keeping them online as long as possible. By that metric, these companies are succeeding: According to the Pew Research Center, 16% of teens use social media almost constantly during the day, and Common Sense, another nonprofit, reports that 1 in 3 wake to check their phones at least once at night.

Social media has been ubiquitous among teens for more than a decade, but the dire state of young peoples mental health is only just coming into focus. Earlier this year, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report revealed that in 2021, 40% of high school students felt so sad or hopeless that they were unable to engage in regular activities for at least two weeks that year. Nearly 20% made a suicide plan.

Every year, social media companies spend tens of millions of dollars to convince lawmakers of their innocence. But this is a bargain for them. The $19 million that Meta spent on lobbying last year is chump change next to its $100 billion in ad revenue. And despite the platforms well-funded campaign of denial, evidence is mounting that social media use and poor mental health are linked. Even the tech companies admit it within the safety of their sprawling campuses.

Stop Big Tech from starving local news STATE JOURNAL VIEW: Congress should allow fair negotiations with Google and Facebook

If teens are losing sleep over social media, so are parents. That recent poll, conducted on behalf of Issue Ones Council for Responsible Social Media, indicates that public concern about social media is driven by worries about children. Eight in 10 Americans hold social media responsible for childhood mental health issues such as bullying, eating disorders, depression and anxiety.

We similarly agree about the dangers to our democracy. Nearly 80% of Americans hold social media platforms responsible for political extremism. We were both in Congress during the rise of social media and, along with it, the astonishing surge of conspiracy theories. To save our democracy for future generations, well need prevention, not just treatment.

Social media also threaten our security. Just weeks ago, dozens of classified military documents were shared widely via online forums, and the FBI has warned that the Chinese government could use TikTok to access Americans most personal information and manipulate public opinion. If we dont safeguard our online systems, our children will inherit threadbare defenses against our adversaries.

We are not powerless to act. Multiple bipartisan proposals in Congress aim to defend our children, democracy and privacy from the dangers of social media. That includes the Kids Online Safety Act that U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., reintroduced this session, as well as the American Data Privacy and Protection Act and the Platform Accountability and Transparency Act.

We urge more of our former colleagues to stand up against industry pressure and pass meaningful reforms. Our organizations poll indicates they would be rewarded. Voters are so serious about this issue that theyd be more likely to reelect representatives who support reform.

Congress also should hold the tech industry to account. This no doubt seems a tall order  but no taller than cracking down on the tobacco industry in the 1990s. Back then, congressional hearings helped spur increased legal accountability, regulation and public consensus over tobaccos harm to millions of people. The recent congressional hearing with TikToks CEO was a bipartisan show of force and an encouraging sign. We cannot let that momentum stall.

Like Big Tobacco, Big Tech says social media use should be a matter of personal choice. On a certain level, this makes sense. But when products are designed to be addictive, when advertising is aggressive and misleading, and when harm to young people and others is significant, we cant be cowed by businesses peddling free-market cliches. Congress has taken on big industries before to protect Americans. It should do it again.

Our nations children dont wire millions of dollars to political campaigns or unleash powerful lobbyists on Capitol Hill. But the next generation is our most important constituency. Lawmakers should have them in mind as they consider what is to be done about the scourge of social media.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

As a never-Trump alternate delegate, I was not allowed on the floor of the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, until the last desperate protest had petered out and the man was safely nominated. Thats how I earned the scarlet letters RINO.

If it is true, I have been a dues-paying Republican In Name Only these past 32 years  despite voting for Donald Trump in 2020 after a successful presidency.

Never again.

Not after Trump sent the mob to the U.S. Capitol to prevent the constitutional transfer of power on Jan. 6, 2021. If it was an FBI plot led by a guy named Epps, as the RITOs (Republicans In Trump Only) insist, not one Proud Boy or Oath Keeper convicted of seditious conspiracy raised that defense.

Not after the sore loser promised to pardon those cop-bashing seditionists.

Not after he called a police officer defending the Capitol a thug.

Not after the 45th president continues to blame his loyal vice president, whom he callously left in harms way, for not overturning the Constitution.

Not even Fox News believes the stolen election lie. As Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani told Arizona legislators: Weve got lots of theories. We just dont have the evidence. Sixty-one courts of law  state and federal  agreed. Many of them were Trumps own appointees.

OUR VIEW: Sarah Godlewski should leave elections alone Wisconsin's secretary of state has no role in overseeing voting -- thank goodness

Isnt it time to change horses after Trump and his endorsed candidates came up lame in swing states such as Wisconsin, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona? Blame liberal Dane County all you want, but former President George W. Bush got 33% of the countys vote against Al Gore in 2000, whereas the Trump-backed Tim Michels could manage only 20% in Dane County last year in his failed bid for governor. When a sitting Republican legislator barely holds serve in a state Senate district in Milwaukees north shore suburbs with a razor-thin 50.9% of the vote, that says Trump is a drag on the Republican brand.

One can question the civil court decision finding the man liable for sexual assault and defamation. (I do.) But no one says this sure doesnt sound like the Trump we all know. How many criminal indictments loom on the horizon? Do you really want your child to grow up to be like this president?

Banks are failing, the southern border is over-run, gasoline is a luxury item and Democrats want to take away our gas stoves. Poor old President Joe Biden is more woke than the night watchman at Folgers but stumbles through the White House and his veep is a cackle away from the nuclear button.

We can beat these guys if we pass up Trumps scorched-earth revenge tour. Republicans have a deep bench: U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis  just for starters. Theyre fighters with none of Trumps gratuitous meanness. Republicans win when it is morning in America, not with broken glass and hangmans nooses in Washington, D.C.

Its time for former Gov. Tommy Thompson, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and former Gov. Scott Walker to lead this party out of the conspiracy chat rooms and into the sunlight. They should say, with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, former House Speaker Paul Ryan and U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher of Green Bay, that, We lose with Trump.

Trashing the Constitution in exchange for cheap gasoline will not make America great again. Pledge to leave the presidential ballot empty if Trumps name is on it. Call me a RINO, but Trump has never pledged to support a nominee other than himself. He is the real RINO.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

CONGRESS

Rep. George Santos is not the first sitting member of Congress to be indicted, and probably won't be the last. But few in recent memory have reached the level of infamy the New York Republican has attained during his time on Capitol Hill.

Here's a look at members who were indicted on criminal charges while in office during the past 15 years and what happened to them.

Bob Menendez

Sen. Bob Menendez was indicted in 2015 on charges that campaign contributions, trips and accommodations provided by a Florida eye specialist were bribes to get the senator's help in battles over Medicare reimbursement.

After a jury could not reach a verdict in 2017, the judge acquitted the New Jersey Democrat in 2018 on the most serious charges and the Justice Department later dropped the rest.

Chaka Fattah

Democratic Rep. Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania and his associates were indicted in 2015 for their parts in a "racketeering conspiracy." In June 2016, a federal jury found Fattah guilty in the case, and he resigned his seat, though he had already lost a primary in which he was seeking another term. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, then resentenced in 2019 after an appellate court ruling, according to the Justice Department.

Jeff Fortenberry

Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, a Nebraska Republican, was indicted in October 2021 on three charges of concealing information and lying to federal authorities who were investigating contributions made to Fortenberry's 2016 reelection campaign at a Los Angeles fundraiser.

A federal jury found Fortenberry guilty in March 2022 of "one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators." He later resigned.

He avoided prison time but was sentenced to two years' probation.

Chris Collins

Rep. Chris Collins, a New York Republican, was indicted and charged in 2018 with tipping off his son about confidential corporate information regarding an Australian biotechnology company on whose board Collins served. Collins resigned from Congress in 2019, around the time he pleaded guilty to two counts  conspiracy to commit securities fraud and making false statements to law enforcement officials.

Collins was sentenced in 2020 to more than two years in federal prison for insider trading. Collins was granted a full pardon by then-President Donald Trump.

Duncan Hunter

Rep. Duncan Hunter was indicted in 2018 and eventually was sentenced in 2020 to just under a year in federal prison for pilfering over $150,000 of campaign funds. He resigned his seat. Trump granted Hunter a full pardon.

Hunter, a California Republican who pleaded guilty, illegally spent campaign money on a range of endeavors, including Lego sets, movie tickets and a $14,000 family vacation to Italy.

Corrine Brown

Rep. Corrine Brown of Florida was indicted in July 2016 on charges of fraud in a case related to an education charity and was ousted in a Democratic primary the following month.

A federal jury convicted Brown in 2017. Trial evidence showed that Brown and others solicited hundreds of thousands of dollars in charitable donations. She received a 5-year prison sentence.

Michael G. Grimm

In 2014, Rep. Michael G. Grimm, a New York Republican, was indicted in a case connected with the health food store he operated before he was elected to Congress.

Prosecutors accused him of failing to report money he received over the course of running the store, called Healthalicious.

An IRS official said Grimm underreported $900,000 in restaurant gross receipts. He pleaded guilty "to aiding and assisting the preparation of a false tax return."

Grimm announced that he would resign his congressional seat the same month he entered his plea.

Ted Stevens

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, was indicted in July 2008 for making false statements on financial disclosure forms. Tried and convicted that October on charges he failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gifts, he was defeated in his bid for reelection in November.

In April 2009, however, the Justice Department asked and a court agreed to overturn the conviction because prosecutors had improperly withheld evidence from Stevens' legal team.

Rick Renzi

Rep. Rick Renzi of Arizona was indicted in 2008 on counts tied to his eff orts to get the federal government to buy land from his business partner. Renzi did not run for reelection in 2008.

Renzi was sentenced in 2013 to prison after a federal jury convicted him of extortion, bribery, insurance fraud, money laundering and racketeering, according to the Justice Department. The department, citing evidence at trial, said Renzi promised to use his legislative sway to profit from a land exchange, which involved property that was owned by an investor.

A federal appeals court upheld Renzi's conviction in 2014. Renzi was later pardoned by Trump.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

IMMIGRATION | Q&A

As President Joe Biden's administration ends asylum restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is offering some new legal options for people  especially families  to come to the United States.

The administration said it will admit at least 100,000 Latin Americans seeking to reunite with family members in the United States, but it has released almost no details.

A look at the new legal pathway for Latin Americans to join their relatives in the United States:

How would people apply?

During a recent visit to the border city of Brownsville, Texas, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas said people would apply for permission to join their families in the United States at regional processing centers.

The government plans to open 100 such hubs across the Western Hemisphere, with the first ones starting in Guatemala and Colombia.

The centers will handle requests for family reunification parole, Mayorkas said, along with applications for the U.S. refugee program and humanitarian parole for those deemed to be particularly vulnerable, which is decided on a case-by-case basis.

Who will be eligible?

The new family reunification parole program is for immigrants from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Colombia who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and who have gotten approval for their petitions to bring over immediate family members.

The U.S. government said eligible people will receive an invitation to participate. The government will provide advance travel authorization for individuals who are approved and people will be eligible to apply for authorization to work in the United States while they wait for their immigrant visas.

The administration said more information will be released in mid-June. It's unclear if there will be age restrictions. Generally immigrants and refugees in the U.S. have been allowed to petition only for immediate family members, such as a spouse or child. To be considered a child, the person must be unmarried and under 21 years of age. All other family members such as siblings, cousins and adult children are not eligible for family reunion.

Immigration attorneys say some immigrants have been waiting for years to be reunited with their spouses and children.

Why 100,000?

It's unclear why the administration has said it intends to welcome as many as 100,000 people from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador under the family reunification parole processes.

Julia Gelatt of the Migration Policy Center said U.S. State Department data shows at least 284,000 Latin Americans have fi led family sponsorship petitions. That includes 78,000 Salvadorans, and up to 57,000 Hondurans, 58,000 Guatemalans, and 56,000 Colombians.

But it's unclear if those waiting have since found other options, she said.

Are plans underway to help more families reunite?

Yes. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it is restarting and broadening family reunification parole programs for Haitians and Cubans to allow vetted individuals with already approved family-based petitions to be allowed into the United States on a case-by-case basis.

The government said the program would be for the immediate family members of Haitian and Cuban immigrants in the United States. The government will invite people to participate.

It's unclear if the government plans to eliminate the need for a consular interview. Allen Orr Jr., who has worked extensively with Haitians applying for parole, said that would be key since most Haitians cannot get to interviews at the U.S. embassy due to the country's instability and widespread violence.

Orr called the eff orts an important step in the right direction. But he said comprehensive immigration reform from Congress is ultimately needed to solve the problem.

"It's wonderful, but it's very much a bucket emptying the ocean," he said. "It's not a sweeping thing that is going to modify the amount of people showing up at the border. It gives the administration another lever, but it isn't going to overall change the immigration system."

What do critics say?

Immigration attorney Curtis Morrison said only time will tell if the administration makes good on its promise.

His firm represents 3,000 people who have applied for similar family reunification parole programs in the Middle East and Asia, and have ended up waiting years. The process was supposed to take six to nine months, he said.

Part of the problem, he said, is a lack of government staff able to process the applications.

"I have a hard time taking the Biden administration seriously when they talk about expanding family reunification programs," he said.

Under the current wait time, a father who is a U.S. citizen or green card holder and is trying to bring over his wife and baby from a country like Pakistan might not be reunited with them until the child is entering kindergarten, he said.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

ELECTRICITY

Four of Wisconsin's five investor-owned utilities are asking state regulators for permission to hike electricity rates in 2024, the state watchdog Citizens Utility Board said Thursday.

Increases range from 2.5% at We Energies to as much as 18% for Alliant Energy customers, CUB said  although Alliant disputed that interpretation. The increases, if approved, represent hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue and come on top of utility increases that took effect in January for all five of the state's major utilities: Alliant, Madison Gas and Electric, We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service and Xcel.

"CUB's analysts and economists will be evaluating these proposals and look for opportunities for savings, supporting the (state Public Service Commission) staff in its audits," said Tom Content, CUB executive director. "We remain concerned that our electricity rates are higher than nearly all other Midwest states and that our utilities are earning profits well above what they need."

In the Madison area, MGE is proposing to increase electricity rates by 3.75% and gas rates by 2.56% in 2024. MGE spokesperson Dana Brueck said increased electricity revenues would go toward solar and grid-modernization projects, while increased gas revenues would go toward modernizing the distribution system and covering the cost of uncollected bills, such as those seen during the pandemic.

"We are sensitive to any rate impacts on customers," Brueck said in a statement, "which is why we continue to work hard to contain costs throughout the organization while advancing cleaner energy for the benefit of all customers."

Under the utility's plan, the monthly electric bill for the typical user would rise from $98 this year to $103 in 2024. From 2016 through 2025, the typical customer would see an average 1.5% increase in their gas bills, she said.

Alliant Energy subsidiary Wisconsin Power and Light  which provides service to much of the area outside of Madison, stretching from Plainville south to Monroe  is asking for a 14.25% increase in electric rates, but a requested surcharge related to higher-than-anticipated fuel costs would bump that up to 18.4%, CUB said.

It's also seeking a 6.3% increase in its natural gas rates, CUB said.

Alliant spokesperson Tony Palese said he couldn't "speak for how CUB is arriving at some of the numbers they've compiled" but that "overall, our electric customers will experience a single-digit increase of 8.3% in 2024."

The changes would add about $13 a month to the average residential electric customer's bill and about $5.30 a month to the average residential natural gas customer's bill in 2024.

"Alliant Energy is following the plans outlined in our Clean Energy Blueprint to accelerate the transition to a cleaner, more cost-effective and diverse energy portfolio," Palese said in a statement. "This includes retiring older coal-fi red units while adding over 1,000 (megawatts) of solar energy and nearly 275 MW of battery energy storage."

Auditors with the state Public Service Commission, which controls utility rates, are expected to be done with their reviews of the utilities' requests by this summer, when CUB and other parties to the cases will be allowed to provide their feedback, CUB said.

There will be a public hearing and comment period in the fall, CUB said, and the decisions in the cases are expected by the end of the year.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

A suicide awareness fundraiser on Saturday, organized by a local teenager, will feature live music, motivational speakers, silent auction and food trucks.

Youre Here for a Reason! is the theme of the event, put together by Ashlynne Garrison, 16, for her senior project. It is set from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Twin Falls City Park.

Suicide awareness is very important to my heart, said Garrison, who experienced a mental health crisis a year ago. She will take the stage at 1:45 p.m. to tell her story.

Other speakers will discuss various aspects of mental health, and will address the audience between performances by musicians Heath Owens, Cliftonite Acoustics and Brianne Lynn.

In addition, volunteers wearing green T-shirts will be mingling with the crowd to talk to people who might be struggling.

You have a voice, Garrison said. Let us help you use it.

It was a large project to get the event organized, she said, but she wants to make it big and successful.

And several food trucks will be on hand to satisfy hungry appetites.

Proceeds will go to the Jae Foundation.
Photo: Alanna Kelly. A gunman was shot and killed by police in Langley, B.C., on July 25, 2022.

An RCMP officer who killed a man at the end of a shooting spree in Langley, B.C., last summer has been cleared of any wrongdoing, according to the provinces police watchdog.

The death of Jordan Daniel Goggin, 28, occurred July 25, 2022, after he had shot four people, leaving two men dead, and another man and woman injured over the course of seven hours.

Civilians had been shot in different locations throughout Langley. Two people had died, and one had suffered from serious injuries as a result of the shootings, Ronald H. MacDonald, chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIOBC), said in his decision Thursday.

At 5:25 a.m., a call out went to the Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team (ERT): "potential active killer on the loose in Langley.

Surveillance footage showed a man with a black gun was shooting people and then changing clothes, seemingly to evade detection.

Jordan Daniel Goggin wore two different outfits during the early morning shootings in Langley, B.C. IHIT

After already shooting three people, Goggin stopped a 26-year-old man riding a bicycle near the Langley Bypass and 200th Street. He allegedly asked for drugs and pointed a Glock pistol at the cyclist's head. The cyclist tried to slap the gun away and the two men ended up on the ground in a fist fight, according to the IIO report.

When an RCMP ERT incident commander arrived, the cyclist had been shot in the leg and was fighting Goggin for the gun, which by then had a bullet jammed in the chamber, MacDonald wrote.

Goggin fled and the police officer drove through a bush to chase him down in a nearby parking lot.

The shooter then turned his head and raised his pistol at the police car, the officer told IIO investigators.

Fearing for his life, the RCMP officer shot through the windshield of the police car, getting glass fragments in his eyes.

At 5:47 a.m., the officer radioed that shots had been fired and the suspect was down.

Dont reach for that gun. Crawl away from the firearm, he could be heard over the radio, according to the IIO report.

Goggin was later pronounced dead at the scene. An examination later showed the RCMP officer had fired 11 bullets at the man, three of them hitting him. Goggin's gun appeared to have been un-jammed and had been loaded with a magazine full of rounds when he raised it at the police vehicle.

The IIO report said the mans motives have not yet been determined but that he had some mental health problems. Reporting by Glacier Media and others found many of the victims had or were experiencing homelessness at the time.

Another RCMP officer who followed the incident commander to the parking lot confirmed his version of events.

Because the officer clearly faced a threat of grievous bodily harm or death, his actions were justified and necessary, MacDonald wrote. Accordingly, as the Chief Civilian Director of the IIO, I do not consider that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an officer may have committed an offence...

The officer should be commended for his actions that day as he put himself in the line of fire to protect the public. His actions that day may have saved many lives, including his own.

IIO of BC investigates any police incident where a person faces serious injury or death.
SAN FRANCISCO, USAChatGPT, the artificial intelligence bot that became a global sensation for its powers to churn out human-like content and provide answers on all subjects, is now available in the Apple app store.

OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed company behind ChatGPT, on Thursday said the release came after it heard from users that they love using ChatGPT on the go.

By moving to smartphones, OpenAI continues its encroachment on the search market, massively dominated by Google, which has been put under pressure by the rise of generative AI.

Offered free of charge, the app will allow users to get precise information without sifting through ads or multiple results, OpenAI said on its website, in a subtle dig at Googles search engine.

Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft corporate vice president of modern life, search and devices, speaks during a keynote address announcing ChatGPT integration for Bing at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, on February 7, 2023. Microsofts long-struggling Bing search engine will integrate the powerful capabilities of language-based artificial intelligence, CEO Satya Nadella said, declaring what he called a new era for online search. AFP

The app can also give guidance on cooking, travel plans, or crafting thoughtful messages, the company added.

OpenAI said it was starting the rollout in the United States and will expand to additional countries in the coming weeks. ChatGPT would be available on Android devices soon, it added.

ChatGPTs powers are already available on smartphones, through Microsofts Bing search app, which uses technology from OpenAI.

The app store is also stocked with apps riding the wave of excitement around AI. Facebook_owner Meta last month warned of malicious software posing as ChatGPT or similar AI tools.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Synergy Grid and Development Philippines Inc. said Friday the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines complied with its obligations under its franchise.

NGCP, the operator of the countrys transmission network, is SGPs sole operating asset.

NGCP believes and is confident that it has complied with its obligations under its franchise and the concession agreement and it shall continue to comply with all lawful directives and pursue its mandate faithfully, SGP said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

SGP said NGCP relies on its overall good performance and service track record to defend against allegations of violations.

NGCP holds a 25-year concession and a 50-year Congressional franchise to expand and operate the countrys power transmission grid.

NGCP is the sole and exclusive operator of the Philippines nationwide transmission network linking power generators and distribution utilities to deliver electricity to end-users across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

NGCP has been investing hundreds of billions to strengthen the transmission system. Since taking over in 2009, transmission rates have gone down, SGP said.

Based on the ERCs findings on performance metrics, transmission services have significantly improved. NGCP has doubled substation capacity and constructed substantial transmission lines all over the country including inter-island connection projects, the company said.

NGCP said it invested P300 billion to ensure the reliability of the countrys transmission highway since it took over operations from the government.

NGCP reacted to the statement of Malacanang to take back control of the transmission firm, if necessary.

We have faith in the legal process and we will continue to comply with all lawful directives, and pursue our mandate faithfully, the company said.

Malacanang supported Senator Raffy Tulfos move to access the performance of NGCP, including security issues.

NGCP is fully cognizant that its franchise is a privilege granted to it by government. We remain ready to answer any and all questions raised concerning how we do business, the company said.

We are confident that the improvements we have introduced and the P300 billion we have invested to strengthening the transmission system will be recognized, it said.

NGCP is a Filipino-led, privately owned company in charge of operating, maintaining and developing the countrys electricity transmission grid, led by majority shareholders and vice chairman of the board Henry Sy Jr. and co-vice chairman Robert Coyiuto Jr.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the implementation of the incentives program for vehicle manufacturers by another five years, according to the Private Sector Advisory Council.

The council said the president supported its recommendation to give the participants in the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy another five years to comply with the terms of the program.

CARS is a six-year incentives program designed to spur local vehicle manufacturing by requiring participating car companies to manufacture 200,000 units in a span of six years or throughout the life of the program.

The incentives come in fiscal and non-fiscal support to qualified participants, but only Toyota Motor Philippines and Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corp. passed the accreditation process.

Under the CARS program, the participant-companies were required to place investments on capital equipment to sustain production of 200,000 units each of enrolled models, which are the Vios for Toyota and Mirage for Mitsubishi.

The two companies spent over P9.5 billion in capital investments on machineries and parts manufacturing.

Members of PSAC said the program proved its effectiveness and value as a high-end manufacturing operation which greatly helped in the creation of jobs, transfer of technology and boosting global competitiveness by supporting domestic automotive manufacturing and stimulating investment.

The program is anchored on the resurgence of the automotive manufacturing industry and in priming the country as a regional automotive manufacturing hub.

It offers P9 billion worth of time-bound and performance-based fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to each qualified participant to support new investments in fixed-capital expenditures in new parts making capability and to encourage large-scale production in vehicle assembly.

The approval came as Mitsubishis compliance to CARS is about to expire before end-2023, while Toyotas participation is expected to come to an end by 2024.

Participants in the CARS program earlier said they could not comply with the volume of production required by the program after the pandemic upended their long-term growth plans.

The PSAC also introduced a new recommendation which further supports MSME development. The Motorcycle Micro Business Program aims to create over two million jobs for habal-habal riders and provide access to transform their livelihoods, becoming platform for self-entrepreneurs.

The council is seeking for a nationwide expansion of the law through an executive order for the Motorcycle Micro Business Program. The Department of Transportation is reviewing the EO.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
More than 3,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) applying for work in Kuwait this month will be derailed because the Kuwait government has stopped issuing new visas to Filipinos, migrant expert Emmanuel Geslani said Friday.

In a statement, Geslani said that talks between both sides ended in a deadlock over issues on the Welfare Centers which the Kuwaiti government wants removed while the Philippine panel insists that is part of the mandate of the government.

Geslani said he doubts the deployment ban on new domestic and skilled workers to Kuwait would be lifted anytime soon.

Meanwhile the three thousand OFWs bound for Kuwait this month of May will have to wait, while the fate of thousands of Filipino workers in Kuwait whose visas are expected to expire this month is not yet clear.

Kuwait is host to 280,000 OFWs with 180,000 working as domestic helpers and contributes more than $3 billion to the countrys coffers through their dollar remittances.

In 2022 more than 100,000 OFWs were deployed to Kuwait when the deployment ban to Saudi Arabia was in place from 2021-2022 over unpaid wages.

Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Ople is scheduled to leave for Saudi Arabia on May 20 to discuss the payment of the 10,000 OFWs and she will be part of the Philippine delegation to the Kuwait talks.

Meanwhile, Ople said that the Hong Kong government has assured assistance to the family of Lyn who fell to her death in Hong Kong.

Ople made this assurance after a phone conversation with Secretary for Labor and Welfare Chris Sun where the latter vowed to extend as much assistance as possible to the bereaved family.

Lyn was 38 years old and unmarried at the time of death, and her two siblings are now in Hong Kong under the care of the Philippine Consulate and the Migrant Workers Office to facilitate the repatriation of the remains and to hold a meeting with their sisters employer as well as the HK Employees Compensation Division.

In a statement, Ople said the Philippine government and the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China will work closely together to prevent similar tragic cases from happening in the future.

We will extend full assistance and support to her bereaved family while working closely with Secretary Chris Sun and his department to ensure that the principle of safety above all else is carried out as part of employers obligations, Ople said. The DMW recently issued an advisory for all employers to abide by the terms and conditions of the contract including the prohibition on window-cleaning.

Sun told Ople that he was deeply troubled and saddened by Lyns death.

Secretary Sun and I discussed the need to remind employers of foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong about the prohibition in the standard employment contract on window-cleaning which has been in effect since 2017, Ople said.

Based on the HK-approved standard employment contract for Filipino domestic workers, window-cleaning can only be allowed when the windows have grills and only the arms of the workers can stretch outside.

The Hong Kong governments Immigration Authority said that as of April 30, 2022 there are 211,514 Filipinos in the Special Administrative Region with 181,067 working as domestic workers.

To protect overseas Filipino workers from illegal recruitment and human trafficking, Senator Robin Padilla has filed Senate Bill 2216 to tighten the screws against illegal recruitment syndicates.

Padillas bill seeks to amend Art. 38 (b) of Presidential Decree 442 (Labor Code of the Philippines) and Section 6 of RA 8042, the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995.

In his bill, Padilla sought to define illegal recruitment committed by a syndicate if two  instead of the current three  persons conspire to carry out the crime.

The current definition of illegal recruitment fails to capture the severity of the crime when committed by syndicates and on a large scale, he said.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he will issue a new executive order by the end of the year to ensure the good implementation of the Mandanas-Garcia decision of the Supreme Court that expands the share of local governments in tax collection while devolving functions of certain social services within their jurisdictions.

Mr. Marcos made the pronouncement on Friday during the fourth general assembly of the League of Provinces of the Philippines in Clark, Pampanga.

In his speech, Mr. Marcos acknowledged that the full devolution of certain functions of the executive branch to LGUs as directed by the existing EO 138 could not be done.

EO 138, signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte in June 2021 to implement the Mandanas-Garcia ruling, ordered that functions, services and facilities should be fully devolved to the local government no later than the end of 2024.

Mr. Marcos said his administration is currently identifying the functions that belong to the LGUs, as well as the services that should be carried out by the national government.

He noted that there are also hybrid areas such as health and education that the national and local governments must work on together.

I think thats the right way to do it is to look at the very easily identifiable services that should be done in the provinces, Mr. Marcos said.

There are also hybrid services that could not be done by the provincial governments alone. It is supposed to be a joint effort between the province and the national government. So, that is what we are trying to calibrate, he added.

The President said the national government is also working toward providing extra funding to LGUs to give them a breathing room in carrying out their mandate.

It does mean that there will be no devolution. Functions will be devolved but the difference here is there will be items, funding and training, Mr. Marcos said.

The original concept was to give extra funding to local governments, especially those that are highly dependent on IRA [Internal Revenue Allotment], he added.

The President assured local leaders present that his administration will include LGUs in all of our plans, adding that there will be a series of consultations with local executives.

There should be a good coordination between the local and national government. Expect that you are not working in a vacuum. We are watching, we are asking, we are consulting with you, he told the governors.

In that way, we will come out with a good EO at the end of the year for a good implementation of the very important Supreme Court decision we now call the Mandanas ruling to even further strengthen the coordination and the partnership between the local government and the national government, he added.

Under the Mandanas ruling, the national government is mandated to expand the share of LGUs in tax collection.

On the other hand, LGUs are required to handle the responsibility of operating social services like agriculture, connectivity and health within their jurisdictions.

The ruling is a result of two separate petitions filed by Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas and former Bataan governor Enrique Garcia Jr., requesting that the basis of computation of the LGUs IRA be adjusted to include national taxes.

Mr. Marcos expressed confidence that his administration is on the right track as it seeks closer cooperation and collaboration with the LGUs.

There is no slippage. There is no wastage. Even the level of corruption will go down because what we want to do is very, very clear, he said.

I think we are headed in the right direction. We will get there. With your help, we will get there. This will be to the benefit of all our constituents. So, lets keep that partnership strong and lets work hard, he added.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Inset photo shows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., joined by Speaker Martin Romualdez (left) and Defense acting Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. on board BRP Davao Del Sur to witness the naval exercises. Ver Noveno and Joey Razon

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., onboard the BRP Davao del Sur, witnessed a simulation exercise of the Philippine Navy that showcases tbe countrys latest warfare naval assets on Friday off the coast of San Antonio, Zambales.

A technical problem with a target drone, however, prompted the Naby to scrub the demonstration of the countrys first surface-to-air missile system.

I am very happy to be able to join the brave men and women of our Philippine Navy on this important day as we conduct [a] test fire [of] our countrys first surface-to-air missile system, the Mistral 3, and the other weapon systems that we have seen demonstrated here this morning, President Marcos said before the firing exercise was canceled.

With the fluid security situation in our region, it is imperative that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and of course the Navy is substantially equipped, trained, and always on alert to respond to any and all exigencies that may confront our nation. It is for this prime reason that we exert a continuous effort to strengthen the capacity of our Armed Forces, he added.

Marcos said the administration will continue similar naval exercises while the government is completing and eventually commissioning the rest of the Navy projects in the pipeline.

WARFARE ASSETS. The guided missile frigate, BRP Antonio Luna, fires off its Bullfighter Chaff Decoy, a 130-millimeter super-rapid-booming offboard countermeasure designed to defeat radio frequency and infrared-guided missiles. Ver Noveno and Joey Razon

We are now working on horizon three of the AFP modernization program. As we do so, let us likewise ensure parallel training and capacity building for our personnel, especially for those who would actually operate and maneuver these major naval assets and with the backing of their highly technical training, the President said.

I urge the entire rank of the Philippine Navy to keep up the good work, continually guided by the national interest and the democratic ideals of the Republic of the Philippines, he added.

Also in attendance were House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Department of Defense officer-in-charge Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez and National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano.

For the firing exercise, the surface-to-air missiles were fitted in the guided missile frigate, BRP Antonio Luna. A problem with the target drone, however, caused the main demonstration to be called off.

An AW159 Anti-Submarine attack helicopter is showcased during Fridays Philippine Navy Capability Demonstration off the waters of San Antonio, Zambales. Ver Noveno and Joey Razon

But the frigate fired off its Bullfighter Chaff Decoy, a 130-millimeter super-rapid-booming offboard countermeasure designed to defeat radio frequency and infrared-guided missiles.

The Philippine Navy also showcased the capabilities of the Agusta Westland AW159 anti-submarine warfare naval helicopter, which demonstrated the use of its compact-FLASH dipping sonar and the BlueShark torpedo to detect, locate, and neutralize submarines.

Philippine Navy Flag Officer-in-Command, Vice Admiral Toribio Adaci Jr. said that the event has shown the Navys increased capabilities, especially in air defense, electronic warfare, and vessel survivability.

This modern acquisition not only signified our readiness to defend our maritime domain but also reflects the tremendous progress we have made in reinforcing our naval force, Adaci said in his speech.

I am proud to say that our Navy remains resilient, continuously transforming into a formidable force to better safeguard our maritime nation, he added.

The weapons were acquired through the Philippine Navys Frigate Acquisition Project Lot 2B awarded to MBDA Missile System based in France, with a budget of around P670 million. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Romualdez reiterated the commitment of the House of Representatives to support the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in achieving the goals of its modernization program.

We remain steadfast in our commitment to support the continuing modernization program of the AFP, to ensure it has the resources and expertise it needs to protect our people and defend our nations territorial integrity and sovereignty, Romualdez said.

The House of Representatives will work closely with the administration of President Marcos to achieve the objectives of the AFP Modernization Program, he added.

The first phase of the AFP modernization program or Horizon 1 was implemented from 2013 to 2017, Horizon 2 is from 2018 to 2022, while Horizon 3 is slated for implementation from 2023 to 2028.

Romualdez said ensuring the modernization of the Philippine Navy, in particular, is critical as it plays a vital part in our nations defense forces, responsible for protecting the countrys maritime borders and ensuring the security of its territorial waters.

Following the demonstration, Romualdez expressed confidence that with improved capabilities the Philippine Navy is now in a better position to meet the challenges and threats to our country.

Initially, the Navy was supposed to fire its Mistral 3 surface-to-air missile to show its capability to destroy hostile aerial targets, but the target drone contracted for the purpose failed to take off.

We should have fired on missile at one target. We really prepared for it because we have to test also our system but it would be a waste of a very expensive system if we cannot test it to see if it is functioning, Adaci told reporters shortly after the event.

Adaci said they would meet with the provider of the target drone to determine what went wrong.

The Mistral 3 SAM is the anti-air missile system on the BRP Antonio Luna and its sister ship, the BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150).

It has 90mm explosive warheads with a range of more than 3 nautical miles and a speed of Mach 2.7.

The Mistral 3 SAMs were delivered to the Navy in October 2021 and subsequently fitted to the surface-to-air launchers of the BRP Jose Rizal and the BRP Antonio Luna.

Meanwhile, nine Chinese vessels were seen roaming near the shorelines of Pag-asa Island as Senator Jinggoy Estrada and AFP chief Gen. Andres Centino visited the isle Thursday.

Centino and Estrada, together with a handful of journalists, toured Pag-Asa Island with municipal officials of Kalayaan, Palawan, and the AFP, when the foreign ships were observed from a distance.

Lt. Erwen Ferbo, Head of Joint Task Unit Pag-Asa, said that the presence of the Chinese ships was a common occurrence in the area.

The AFP said it has adopted a stance to immediately challenge any presence inside the countrys exclusive economic zone.

Estrada, chairman of the Senate defense committee, pledged his support to the AFP and residents of the island.

Ive always been supportive of their [AFP] needs, said Estrada.

Whatever they need, Ill try to talk with my fellow senators to increase the budget for the AFP, he added.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
And there are signs that the idea could be taking root more widely

Joseph, OregonFrom the sun-dappled, tree-lined village of Joseph, Debbie Price can see the distant snowy peaks of the Seven Devils, a series of mountains in the Rockies that mark Oregons border with Idaho.

But for many eastern Oregonians like Price, that frontier no longer feels relevant.

The 64-year-old retiree is part of a local movement that wants to redraw the regions map so that they can secede to join the neighboring, more conservative state of Idaho.

Theres a lot more freedom in Idaho than there is here, said the former legal assistant, who traveled across the state border to remarry during the pandemic, at a time when weddings were banned in Oregon.

Among her list of grievances with Oregon are impending restrictions on carrying firearms, its decriminalization of the use of drugs, its pro-choice stance on abortion, and its support for LGBTQ rights.

Price blames all these on the woke agenda radiating out from Portland, the progressive metropolis near the northwestern states coast.

Maybe Im old fashioned. I want things to stay like they are, said the devout Christian, touting Idahos ban on abortion.

Im not anxious to move forward and try to be what the world is going toward these days.

While Oregon has not elected a Republican mayor in 40 years, it is very geographically divided. At the midterm elections last November, only six out of 36 counties voted Democrat.

But those six are among the most populous, and they consistently control the states top offices.

Greater Idaho

Out in the rural east, many voters are tired of what they describe as feeling dispossessed by the urban elite who live along the Pacific coast.

A radical solution has been brewing: to move the Idaho-Oregon border to the west and create a Greater Idaho encompassing half of present-day Oregon.

Of 15 counties in eastern Oregon, 11 have already voted to require local officials to discuss the plan.

On Tuesday, Wallowa Countywhere Price livesis scheduled to vote on a similar measure.

Signs demanding to Move Oregons Border sit alongside Trump 2024 placards in the vast, rolling plains of this small corner of America, which has less than one person per square mile.

Locals decry one-size-fits-all laws that ignore their rural way of life.

Some complain that they cant kill wolves threatening their livestock as easily as neighboring ranchers in Idaho.

Others blame the decline of the vital local timber industry on the states strict logging limits, which have forced many mills to close.

Many are afraid that Oregon could follow California in phasing out diesel and even gasoline-powered cars in favor of electric vehicles.

The diesel ban is a horrible idea, and I think it would destroy our economy, said Garrett Mahon, a 41-year-old logger.

On a remote piece of land that has belonged to his family for a century, Mahon stacks giant tree trunks with an industrial machine that you would never be able to run on a battery, he said.

Inland Oregons freezing winters sap the power of electrical farming and logging machinery, he explained.

Culture wars

I dont think well actually be able to not be Oregon: theres so much still involved in trying to get it done, admitted Mahon, a hunter who keeps a semi-automatic rifle in his pickup truck.

But he hopes that if his fellow rural Oregonians keep consistently voting for the project, politicians will have to listen.

Still, the dream of a Greater Idaho remains highly improbable.

Changing state borders would require the approval of both Oregon and Idahos legislatures, and then Congress in Washington, DC.

That is an extremely unlikely scenario, even in a nation with a long history of separatism the Civil War gave birth to West Virginia in 1863, and California has endured more than 200 attempts to divide the state from within.

In eastern Oregon, local Democrats openly mock the notion. At a recent picnic, they handed out cardboard moving boxes for those who wish to leave.

But behind the laughter, there lies some unease.

Americas democracy is in trouble There are so many culture wars, said Devon Maxwell, a 27-year-old paralegal and member of the Democratic Party.

What the greater Idaho movement is ultimately doing is inflaming the situation and the divides that are already in the community.

And there are signs that the idea could be taking root more widely.

In February, Idahos House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution to discuss the project.

This has galvanized supporters of the divorce such as Curt Howell, a 67-year-old farmer who believes the movement could spread far beyond Oregon.

You could redraw the lines all over the West living amongst like-minded people is always easier, he said.

He would personally favor a peaceful solution, but he fears that if in Oregon, something doesnt get better in the next five to 10 years, it could become ugly. AFP

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

TODAYS WORD is gambit. Example: In his campaign for a car of his own, Jasons opening gambit was to tell his parents how much easier things would be if they could just send him to the store whenever they needed something instead of have to go themselves.

THURSDAYS WORD was ingratiate. It means to gain favor or acceptance by deliberate effort. Example: Terrell only felt confident in school when he would ingratiate himself with his teachers through being extra polite and using pleasantries such as yes maam and no maam.

Paper-shredding

Of all the things we get asked about most in the newsroom  would you guess its paper-shredding? Thats right; we get more phone calls from people asking if weve heard when a paper-shredding session will be held than any other inquiry.

Of course that may be because other things are listed in the newspaper so people find their answers on the page and dont have to call, whereas weve been through a long spell of not hearing anything about any paper-shredding anywhere.

Well, now their is. Today, from 1-6 p.m., a paper-shredding truck will be set up at the Martinsville Speedway, free for people to use, sponsored by ValleyStar Credit Union. Itll be at ValleyStars Collinsville branch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, too.

Fun day

Friday is Fun Day in MHC. It starts with games, rook and music at 10 this morning at the Bassett Ruritan Club, 277 Philpott Dam Road, Bassett. Thats free to participate in.

In the evening, you can enjoy yourself either on your feet or sitting down. The first option, head on down to the Cascade School Community Center Music and Dance at 3561 Huntington Trail, Cascade, where a dance will be held from 7-9:30 p.m. The band Oldskool will perform. Of course, there are plenty of chairs there if you prefer to sit. Headed west instead of east, theres An Evening with the Carol Burnett Show from 7-9 p.m. by the Magna Vista High School Advanced Drama class, at the school. Each event costs $8.

Todays chuckle

Miss Ratliff asked her class what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most all the kids responded energetically: A policeman, a fireman, a teacher, the president and so forth. Only little Hunter sat quiet and still.

Hunter, she said encouragingly; What would you like to be when you grow up? she asked.

Possible, Hunter replied.

Possible? Miss Ratliff asked. What do you mean you want to be possible?

My mom is always telling my Im impossible, Hunter replied, so when I get big I want to be possible.

THURSDAYS TRIVIA ANSWER: Mexico City, a major world capital, sits on the site of an ancient body of water named Lake Texcoco, which was almost entirely drained in the 17th century by Spanish colonists.

TODAYS TRIVIA QUESTION: The store Bodega Aurrera in Mexico is actually a Mexican version of which major American store?
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

As Myia Shante Pettie tried to tell her most influential teacher what she means to her, she choked up.

That teacher, Katarina Childress, got up and went to the front of the Dutch Inn banquet room to support her, as Myia continued.

It was Myias turn during Thursdays Big M seniors banquet. As Martinsville High School Big M Trophy recipients read letters to their influential teachers, tears came to the eyes of many people in attendance.

The award is based on the students academic achievement and is given only to seniors with a cumulative grade point average of 3.7 or above from 9th to 10th grade and who are enrolled in three or more academic subjects, one of which is an honors course.

You are amazing, and in my experience having a great teacher can make all the difference, Myia said. It can help students feel more confident, more motivated and more excited about learning. You have done all those things for me, and that is a testament to your skill and dedication.

I am so glad that I have a wonderful teacher in my life  I will always remember the impact that she has had on my life, Myia added. You are patient and kind  always willing to lend an ear or offer support.

Childress was also chosen by four other students out of the 22 who were present.

I particularly appreciate this opportunity because we get to hear from students and we get to learn about the people who made an impact on their lives, Martinsville High School Principal Aji Dixon said.

At the luncheon students and their family ate a meal together before the students took turns reading copies of letters they had written to the teachers who most had impacted their lives. Then each gave his or her teacher the letter and a trophy.

Katherine Marie Hall, who plans to attend the University of Virginia, chose Jenny Whittaker, who taught her during her junior year, as her most influential teacher.

To inspire is to encourage motivate and uplift. It is to invest, cultivate and look out for others, and when I was tasked with writing a speech addressed to a teacher who has done all of the above, Miss Whittaker immediately came to my mind, Katherine said.

She added that she credits Whittaker for being the reason she didnt quit Governors School.

Eyad Abdelnaser Mohamed chose Shannon King as his most influential teacher because of her caring nature and remarkable teaching style that broke down complex subjects in a way that made them easy to understand.

I am deeply grateful for all youve done for me over the past two years  You took the time to get to know us, listen to our concerns and support us in our goals, he added.

Joseph Hunter Nguyen, who plans to attend Virginia Tech to study biomedical engineering, chose Tanner Sweitzer as his most influential teacher. The best word to describe Mr. Sweitzer would be a visionary, Joseph said.

What sets you apart from other teachers is that you had a vision for every individual student, Nguyen added. Your vision was that each and every one of us had endless possibilities. Even if we did not see our own potential and our own success, you did.

I want to again congratulate our students for a job well done, Martinsville High School Assistant Principal Clarence Simington said. Im proud of you. Ive enjoyed the relationships that Ive had with you all over the years.

The full list of honored students is: Marcaisa Jenee Becker, Demitri Keyvon Blackwell, Hayden Elise Calfee, NiJel Malik Cook, Christian Alexander Scott Eames, James Demetrius Farris Jr., Nadia Jazmin Flores, Zane Mills Gardner, Matthew Gabriel Gilbert, Trenati Cherkara Hairston, Katherine Marie Hall, Natalia Janae Martin, Amanda Marie Mosser, Faith Elena Munoz, RG Vincent Olea, Ashlynn McKenzie Patten, Ciara Monique Ramey, Papion Jolie Ritenour Shelton and Kayla Marie Solomon.

The honored teachers were: John Allen, Alisha Bennett, Amber Corns, Lynne Deckel, Jason Gibson, Kathy Harned, Elizabeth Lynch, Keri Soqui, Samantha Spencer and Ronnie Wray.

Additional students from grades fifth through twelfth were recognized with Big M Certificates at a ceremony later in the evening for achieving a grade point average of 3.7 or above for the academic school year.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

Marion could have a social district to encourage more revitalization in the downtown area as other cities and towns in North Carolina have already done.

On Tuesday, the Marion City Council heard a request from Emily Causey, co-owner of Mica Town Brewing. She spoke to council members on behalf of a group of downtown ABC permit holders, other downtown businesses and property owners who are interested in creating a social district in the central business section of Marion. She said her group worked with the McDowell Chamber of Commerce, the Marion Business Association and the city to help collect data, feedback and best practices from other municipalities in the state who have created social districts.

Social districts are contiguous areas where people can walk around with open containers of alcoholic beverages. The drinks must be purchased from a bar, restaurant, brewery or other on-premise ABC establishment permitted by the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission and consumed within the boundaries and hours of the social district. The containers must be labeled with the social districts logo to identify where the drink was purchased and to signify that is it allowed, Causey told the City Council.

In other words, a person cannot buy an alcoholic beverage from a store outside of the social district and bring it there to drink from place to place. A business or private property located within the boundaries of the social district can decide whether or not to participate in the activities of the district. Indoor and outdoor areas of a business or property may be included in the district.

For instance, if Flavors on Main (which doesnt sell alcohol) and Spillway Bridge (which does) were participants in the district, folks could purchase a glass of wine or beer from Spillway and carry it along the sidewalk and into Flavors on Main while holiday shopping, Causey said.

The social district will be clearly defined with signs posted in visible locations which will indicate which area is included, the days and hours when alcohol can be consumed in the district, the phone number for the ALE division and local law enforcement and a clear statement that an alcoholic beverage purchased from an ABC permit holder for consumption within the social district shall only be consumed there and be disposed of before the person exits the district, Causey said.

Social districts in North Carolina are allowed because of a state law passed by the N.C. General Assembly in September 2021. It allows for the establishment of social districts by town, city or county governments. As of today, more than 40 cities and towns across the state have implemented a social district.

After learning about this new state law, it was time to collect some data, said Causey. We polled the 13 current ABC permit holders in downtown and discovered a majority in favor and none to be opposed, said Causey. Other businesses like Link Hot Dogs, Flavors on Main, Shucks Pearls and Ledbetter Properties (which dont sell alcohol) were quick to share their support and enthusiasm.

Causey added the North Carolina Main Street Conference had a workshop on social districts in March. In the 18 months since social districts were authorized in North Carolina, not one single city or town creating a social district has reversed its decision, but instead municipalities have seen just how successful they are and have instead expanded the boundaries of their original social districts.

Some of the concerns that were raised include public intoxication, litter and crime. But none of the 30-plus municipalities with social districts have seen any of those concerns come to fruition, said Causey.

Proponents of social districts in other municipalities touted economic development, responsible action by those participating in the social district and more foot traffic, said Causey. Social districts have proven the proponents right on their arguments.

The benefits for Marion include: economic development, encouraging businesses and property owners to invest in underutilized spaces like alleyways and creativity around downtown events. It would also encourage people to walk more in the downtown.

For example, Mica Town Brewing, McDowell Local and Refinery 13 could hold an Oktoberfest block party on North Main Street where patrons could enjoy beverages in that area. The social district could be in effect for special events like the WNC Bigfoot Festival and Mountain Glory.

Representatives from Refinery 13, McDowell Local and Mica Town were there at the City Council meeting to show their support for the idea.

After hearing this proposal, members of the Marion City Council said they were receptive to the idea.

I dont see this being a problem in Marion, said council member Billy Martin.

Mayor Pro Tem Woody Ayers and council member Don Ramsey seemed to be supportive as well.

City Manager Bob Boyette said it would be an opportunity to get ahead of the economic development curve.

Mayor Steve Little said there seems to be enough support now for this idea to pass. However, council members Chet Effler and Ann Harkey were not able to attend Tuesdays meeting. Little said the entire council should be present before a formal vote is taken on whether or not to implement a social district in downtown Marion.

In a related matter, the City Council heard the January-March report from the Marion Business Association.

MBA President Lauren Mathews gave the report to council.

During the period of January through March 2023, Marion welcomed new businesses: The Pickle Barrel, McDaniel Insurance, Sakura, RE/MAX Realty and Shake & Bake.

The businesses that closed were Ideal Rentals, 828 Nutrition, Elemental Relaxation, The Jewelry Connection and the Maki Bowl.

Four businesses either relocated or got a new owner.

The taxable retail sales continue to grow in McDowell County, said Mathews. From 2005 to 2022, retail sales in McDowell County increased by 149.81%, while retail sales in the state as a whole increased by 107.94%.
Photo: The Canadian Press Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Thursday that he has chosen not to meet with former governor general David Johnston, who is investigating allegations that China has meddled in Canada's elections and other matters, while former party staffers called for political unity over foreign interference.

In March, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named Johnston a special rapporteur to look into possible gaps in the federal government's response to foreign interference and recommend whether a public inquiry is needed.

Poilievre said Johnston is unable to do that work independently because he used to be a member of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, which is under scrutiny for accepting a donation reportedly linked to the Chinese government.

Poilievre told reporters Thursday that he sent a letter to Johnston asking how he can investigate the organization independently, but did not receive a response.

"He is Justin Trudeau's ski buddy, his cottage neighbour, his family friend and a member of the Trudeau Foundation, which got $140,000 from Beijing," Poilievre said.

"He has a fake job and he's unable to do it impartially. He needs to simply hand it over and allow an independent public inquiry into Beijing's interference."

His comments came hours before two former Conservative Party staffers  who worked under the party's previous leader Erin O'Toole  testified at the procedure and House affairs committee that is studying foreign interference.

Tasha Michaud, O'Toole's former chief of staff, said Canada's strength lies in its unity, while Walied Soliman, the Conservative party's campaign co-chair in 2021, urged the committee to "leave partisanship out of this."

Both had received briefings from national security officials during the last election, but felt there were some flaws in the work of the Security and Intelligence Threats To Elections Taskforce  a Liberal government initiative that aimed to monitor foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

"While the elections task force was well intentioned and set up in a manner that suggested it would be operated in a robust, information-sharing fashion, it ultimately left me with a feeling of ambivalence, lack of co-ordination and authority, and a complete failure to share relevant intelligence and provide meaningful advice," Michaud told the committee.

She said national security agencies should provide better guidance to political parties during elections, because she believed several volunteers and Conservative candidates were subjected to "inappropriate tactics and intimidation." Soliman agreed, though neither offered specific details.

Trudeau has said appointing Johnston was intended to take the partisan politics out of the debate, but his appointment remains a talking point for opposition leaders.

Poilievre said Canada needs to move on from the "special rapporteur distraction" and get on with a public inquiry to investigate allegations of Chinese foreign interference.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh did meet with Johnston alongside Vancouver-area MP Jenny Kwan, who had not yet been advised that she was a potential target of foreign interference.

"We asked Jenny to attend as she has been very active hearing from the Chinese community about their concerns regarding foreign interference," the NDP said in a statement.

"Much of the discussion on the issue publicly has focused on politicians and we wanted to ensure that the impact on everyday people was considered."

The party said it initiated the meeting request, and Singh used the opportunity to ask Johnston to recommend a public inquiry.

The NDP said Kwan will also have an in-person meeting with Canada's spy agency to discuss whether she could be a potential target for foreign interference.

Johnston, the author of "Trust: Twenty Ways to Build a Better Country," has served on the boards of more than a dozen public companies, and was named a member of the Trudeau Foundation in 2018. His relationship with the Trudeau family is well documented.

He told CTV in 2016 that his family's friendship with the Trudeaus went back decades and they used to ski together. He also said his wife became good friends with the Trudeau family when they all lived on the grounds of Rideau Hall.

Johnston was appointed governor general on the recommendation of former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper in 2010.

In 2017, when his term ended, Trudeau called him a "family friend" during a speech in Parliament.

His mandate in the special rapporteur role includes looking at what Trudeau, his staff and his cabinet ministers knew about attempted foreign interference, and what they did about it. The government says he has access to classified documents to support that investigation.

He is expected to issue recommendations on whether a public inquiry is necessary by next week, but he has until the end of October to complete his review.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

The following cases were heard in McDowell County District Court on Wednesday, April 19; Wednesday, April 26; and Monday, May 1:

Wednesday, April 19

Judge: Robert Martelle

Prosecutor: Sean Odom

Samantha Brasecker, 30, of Marion, was found guilty of second-degree trespassing. Must serve 12 months supervised probation. Must pay court costs.

Wayne Matthew Elliott, 48, of Marion, was found guilty of operating a vehicle with no insurance and no liability insurance. Must serve 12 months unsupervised probation. Fined $50. Must pay $65 for a court-appointed attorney. Must pay court costs.

Gregory Dean Lewis, 43, of Old Fort, was found guilty on two counts of breaking and entering. Must serve 24 months supervised probation. Must pay $130 for a court-appointed attorney. Must pay $600 in restitution to the victim. Must pay court costs.

Alexander Mayes, 30, of Marion, was found guilty of driving while impaired, level four. Must serve 12 months unsupervised probation. Fined $200. Must perform 48 hours of community service. Must pay court costs.

Adam Lee Rose, 28, of Marion, was found guilty of driving while impaired, level four. Must serve 12 months unsupervised probation. Must pay $65 for a court-appointed attorney. Must perform 48 hours of community service. Must pay court costs. Fined $200.

Michael Robert Whitson, 46, of Nebo, was found guilty of felony larceny. Must serve 36 months supervised probation. Must pay $227.50 for a court-appointed attorney. Must pay $2,000 in restitution to the victim. Must pay court costs. Given credit for 22 days time served.

Wednesday, April 26

Judge: Michelle McEntire

Prosecutor: Sean Odom

Faith Isabel Bernal, 34, of Marion, was found guilty of driving while impaired, level five. Must serve 12 months unsupervised probation. Must pay $65 for a court-appointed attorney. Must perform 24 hours of community service. Must pay court costs.

Jake Ryan Davis, 35, of Nebo, was found guilty of breaking and entering. Given credit for seven days time served.

Jason Daniel Harwood, 45, of Marion, was found guilty on two counts of driving while license revoked. Must serve 12 months unsupervised probation. Must pay $65 for a court-appointed attorney. Must pay court costs.

Rebecca Lynn Revis, 47, of Marion, was found guilty of driving while impaired, level four. Must serve 12 months supervised probation. Fined $300. Sentenced to 48 hours in jail. Must pay court costs.

Holly Alecia Silvers, 37, of Bakersville, was found guilty of breaking and entering. Given credit for 31 days time served.

Fred Andrew Banks III, 48, of Marion, was found guilty of possession of methamphetamine. Sentenced eight to 19 months in jail. Given credit for 11 days time served.

Monday, May 1

Judge: Corey Mackinnon

Prosecutor: Sean Odom

Gary James Benfield, 49, of Nebo, was found guilty of simple assault. Must serve 12 months supervised probation. Must pay $65 for a court-appointed attorney. Must pay court costs.

Matthew Aaron Elliott, 38, of Marion, was found guilty of carrying a concealed gun and shoplifting. Must serve 12 months unsupervised probation. Must perform 24 hours of community service. Must pay $65 for a court-appointed attorney. Must pay court costs.

Skyla Goodman, 21, of Black Mountain, was found guilty of misdemeanor larceny. Given credit for three days time served.

Donald Brian McNeely, 49, of Morganton, was found guilty of driving while license revoked. Sentenced to seven days in jail. Given credit for four days time served.

Amy Elizabeth Melott, 46, of Mars Hill, was found guilty of driving while impaired, level four. Must serve 12 months unsupervised probation. Fined $200. Must perform 48 hours of community service. Must pay court costs.

James Michael Rhom, 50, of Marion, was found guilty on two counts of driving while license revoked. Must serve 12 months unsupervised probation. Must pay $65 for a court-appointed attorney. Must pay court costs.

David Lee Kelly Rhyne, 34, of Marion, was found guilt of driving while license revoked. Must serve 12 months unsupervised probation. Must pay $65 for a court-appointed attorney. Must pay court costs.

Kyle Randall Taylor, 39, of Old Fort, pleaded not guilty of misdemeanor larceny, was found guilty. Must serve 12 months unsupervised probation.
The trip of the Russian cargo ship Lady R, which docked in Mozambique in January, is worrisome to the US. The US embassy in Maputo intends to restrict Russias access to military support.

The United States has expressed concerns to the government of Mozambique that a Russian ship under sanctions by Washington docked in January in a port of the country, a spokeswoman for the US embassy in Maputo said on Thursday.

The US embassy has expressed concerns to representatives of the Mozambican government about the docking of a Russian cargo ship sanctioned by the United States in a port of Beira, in January this year, she said in response to questions posed by the media.

Since before the beginning of Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine, the United States and partners have worked with governments around the world to restrict Russias access to anything that supports its military, he added, without further details. At issue is the voyage of the Russian cargo ship Lady R.

The US ambassador in Pretoria, Reuben Brigety, said a week ago that South Africa had loaded arms and ammunition for that ship at Simons Town Naval Base near Cape Town, which then went on to Russia.

Following Brigetys comments, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that an investigation had already been launched (with help from US intelligence services) into the visit of the Russian cargo ship Lady R  in December  his office adding that there was no evidence of any arms sales.
The National Bank of Angola (BNA) warned on Thursday the existence of a micro-credit company, Estev Edmar, not qualified for the exercise of financial activities, according to a statement released on its website.

The illegal exercise of financial activity by an unauthorized or unlicensed entity is both a crime and a very serious misdemeanor, punishable by a fine, among other sanctions, and the process is taking its legal course, the BNA said.

The Angolan regulator calls on financial institutions and the general public to refrain from establishing business relations with this company, as well as its promoters, under penalty of criminal and misdemeanor liability.
The 32nd Arab Summit, held in Jeddah on Friday, concluded with the endorsement of the Jeddah Declaration, which expressed resolute support for the crucial role of the Al-Quds Committee, and its executive arm, the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency, in defending the Holy City of Al-Quds and its inhabitants.

Chaired by King Mohammed VI, the committee represents his unyielding efforts to safeguard Al-Quds and support the Palestinian cause. The decision was announced during the Summit pertaining to the Palestinian cause.

Representing King Mohammed VI at the Summit was his brother Prince Moulay Rachid, who participated in the discussions and deliberations on matters regionally significant to the Arab world.

The Jeddah declaration equally welcomed the projects initiated by the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency. These projects aim to ensure the inhabitants of Al-Quds remain steadfast on their land and support their resistance.

The summit also praised Moroccos recent announcement regarding an increased financial contribution to the Al-Aqsa and Al-Quds Funds, which has reached an impressive $12.5 million milestone.

The declaration also underscored the importance of promoting the agencys endeavors within the Information Plan on the City of Al-Quds. The plan, adopted by the Council of Arab Ministers of Information, seeks to shed light on a number of initiatives and activities carried out by the agency.

Over the years, King Mohammed VI has constantly expressed support for the Palestinian cause and the internationally-endorsed, two-state solution.
King Mohammed VI, accompanied by Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, chaired, Friday at the Royal Palace in Rabat, a Council of Ministers devoted to the approval of draft decrees regarding the military field and a number of international agreements, according to a statement of the Royal Palace.

Here follows the Royal statement:

His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, chaired, on Friday 28 Shawwal 1444 H, corresponding to May 19, 2023, at the Royal Palace in Rabat, a Council of Ministers devoted to the approval of draft decrees concerning the military field and a number of international agreements.

At the beginning of the proceedings of this Council, His Majesty the King, may God preserve Him, asked the minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests for explanations on the results of the current agricultural campaign and the measures that the government will take to support farmers because of the increase in the prices of agricultural raw materials, as well as on the good preparation of the next agricultural campaign.

The minister replied that although this agricultural campaign comes in the context of the succession of years of drought, cereal production should reach nearly 55 million quintals, an increase of 62% compared to the previous campaign (34 million quintals). This campaign is considered to be the best in comparison with the last five years which recorded a similar rainfall deficit.

The minister also stressed that the government, pursuant to the Royal High Directions, will begin the implementation of a support program for farmers, with a budget estimated at 10 billion dirhams, which includes support for imported feed for livestock and poultry, support for imported agricultural raw materials to reduce the cost of production of certain vegetables and fruits, and the strengthening of the financing capacity of Credit Agricole du Maroc, to consolidate its interventions to support farmers, in addition to the allocation of funds for the import of soft wheat to ensure the normal supply of the market until December 2023.

Subsequently, and to enshrine the High Solicitude with which His Majesty the King, Supreme Commander and Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces, may God assist Him, never ceases to surround the members of the Royal Armed Forces in various fields, in particular through modern training and continuous qualification enabling all of their components to carry out their duties well, the Sovereign approved the following draft decrees:

 A draft decree relating to the organization of the Royal Interarmed School of administration, which concerns training in the administrative and financial fields, reserved for officers who have graduated from the various training establishments of the Royal Armed Forces and the personnel of the National Defense Administration, as well as for military officers from brotherly and friendly foreign countries. The graduates of this School will obtain the Masters degree in administration and finance, as well as the Military Quartermasters degree for officers.

 A draft decree amending and supplementing the decree on the organization of the Royal Air School, aimed at meeting the needs of the Royal Air Force in human resources, allowing access to the first year of the undergraduate cycle in aeronautics to holders of the baccalaureate (section-experimental sciences, field-physical sciences) and following the example of holders of the baccalaureate -mathematical sciences section.

 A draft decree amending and supplementing the decree on the organization of the Mohammed VI International Academy of Civil Aviation. This text states that the students of this Academy, in the specialties Air Traffic Control and Electronic Security of Air Traffic, benefit from military training, given the importance and sensitivity of the jobs of the graduates of these two specialties and this, like the graduates of other national educational institutions, which benefit from this kind of training with a positive effect in the enshrinement and consolidation of the rules of constant discipline in the performance of their missions.

Within the framework of strengthening the relations of cooperation and partnership linking Morocco to several brotherly and friendly countries, and of consolidating the place of the Kingdom and its commitments on the continental and international levels, the Council of Ministers has adopted eight international agreements, including two bilateral and six multilateral, which concern the Arab-Islamic and African spaces, as well as the multiparty aspect.

At the bilateral level, the two agreements concern the strengthening of air transport services with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and cooperation in the field of commercial navigation with the Republic of Djibouti.

The multilateral agreements concern various fields inherent to the recognition of higher education studies in the Arab countries, its diplomas and degrees, the status of the Labour Center of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the status of the African Minerals Development Centre, and the General Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Organization of African Unity.

They also concern the convention on equality between nationals and non-nationals in the field of social security, and that relating to the establishment in the Kingdom of a representation of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development.

Thereafter, and in accordance with the provisions of Article 49 of the Constitution:

 And on the proposal of the head of government and at the initiative of the minister of Equipment and Water, His Majesty the King, may God preserve Him, appointed Mr. Tarik El Aroussi, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ports Operating Company.

 And on the proposal of the head of government and at the initiative of the minister of National Planning, Urban Development, Housing and Urban Policy, His Majesty the King appointed Mr. Housni El Ghazaoui, chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Omrane Development Group.

 And on the proposal of the head of government and on the initiative of the minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, His Majesty the King appointed Mr. Mohamed Fekrat, chairman of the Management Board of Credit Agricole du Maroc.

 And on the proposal of the head of government and on the initiative of the minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, His Majesty the King, may God assist Him, appointed:

Mr. Mohamed Benyahya, director general of the Moroccan Agency for Energy Efficiency and Said Mouline, director general of the Moroccan Agency for Nuclear and Radiological Safety and Security.

 And on the proposal of the head of government and at the initiative of the minister of Transport and Logistics, His Majesty the King appointed Mr. Ghassane El Machrafi, director general of the Moroccan Agency for the Development of Logistics.

 And on the proposal of the head of government and on the initiative of the minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, His Majesty the King appointed Mr. Fouad Arif, director general of the Moroccan News Agency.
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:

Scanning electron microscope image of Vibrio cholerae. Credit: Wikipedia

One billion people in 43 countries are at risk of choleraa "pandemic killing the poor"despite prevention and treatment being relatively straightforward, the United Nations warned on Friday.

The UN branded the outlook bleak, saying it did not have the resources to fight the outbreaks, and the longer it took to start waging the battle, the worse the situation would get.

Between the World Health Organization and the children's agency UNICEF, the UN is seeking $640 million to fight the infectious disease, warning of a "cholera catastrophe" if action is not ramped up immediately.

"WHO estimates that a billion people across 43 countries are at risk of cholera," said Henry Gray, the UN health agency's incident manager for the global cholera response.

So far this year, 24 countries have reported cholera outbreaks, compared to 15 by mid-May last year.

Countries that are not usually affected by cholera are being affected and case fatality rates are far exceeding the typical one in 100.

Gray blamed the rise in cases on poverty, conflict and climate change, as well as the population displacements they trigger, which take people away from safer sources of food and water, and from medical support.

"With the increase in the number of countries affected by cholera, the resources that were available for prevention and response are more thinly spread," he told a media briefing.

'Wake-up call'

Cholera is contracted from a bacterium that is generally transmitted through contaminated food or water.

It causes diarrhea and vomiting, and can be especially dangerous for young children.

Jerome Pfaffmann Zambruni, the head of UNICEF's public health emergency unit, said the rise in cases was "a wake-up call".

"There is a pandemic killing the poor right in front of us and we know exactly how to stop it, but we need more support and less inertia from the global community because if we don't act now, it's going to get worse," he said.

"We know how to treat it. We know how to control it. It's not easy but it's simple."

Although cholera can kill within hours, it can be treated with simple oral rehydration, and antibiotics for more severe cases.

But many people lack timely access to such treatment.

Outbreaks can be prevented by ensuring access to clean water and improving surveillance.

But the lack of funds for rapid response will cost lives that could have been saved, said Gray.

"The overall solution is long-term investment in wastewater infrastructure," he added.

Vaccine shortage

The campaign is not helped by the dearth of vaccines.

Around 36 million cholera vaccine doses were produced last year, but it is not seen as an attractive product for manufacturers, as there is effectively no market in wealthy countries.

Over 18 million oral cholera vaccine doses have been requested this year, but only eight million have been made available, bringing prevention campaigns to a halt.

Rather than the full two doses, only one is being issued to recipients "to try to spin it out", said Gray.

The number of available doses could double by 2025 and then double again by 2027.

"We won't have enough, even with those numbers, if the current trend for cholera cases continues," said Gray.

Cholera cases steadily declined over 10 years but the trend reversed in 2021.

The most heavily affected countries so far this year are Malawi and Mozambique.

Nine other countries are deemed to be in "acute crisis": Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Syria, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

 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:

Central Illustration. Acute Myocardial Infarction Risk Model for In-Hospital Mortality: Risk Score and ValidationUsing data from the ACTION (Acute Coronary Treatment and Intervention Outcomes Network) RegistryGWTG (Get With the Guidelines) database, a multivariate hierarchical logistic regression model was developed to predict in-hospital mortality in patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), with points assigned for each value for each parameter (A). Observed in-hospital mortality rates for the validation cohort varied substantially by risk score (B), ranging from as low as 0.4% in the lowest risk group (score <30) to 49.5% in the highest risk group (score >59). CrCl = creatinine clearance; Pts = points; SBP = systolic blood pressure; STEMI = ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. Credit: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2016). DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2016.05.049

The latest analysis from The North American COVID-19 STEMI (NACMI) was presented today as late-breaking clinical research at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) 2023 Scientific Sessions. The findings show patients with an ST-elevated myocardial infarction, or STEMI, and COVID-19 had a significant amount of clotting in their arteries both before and after intervention. Importantly, clots were seen in multiple arteries in close to 30% of patients, a phenomenon observed in less than 5% of patients with heart attacks who do not have COVID-19.

In the United States, someone experiences a heart attack every 40 seconds (CDC). Of these patients, more than 25% will experience a more severe type of heart attack, an ST-elevated myocardial infarction, or STEMI caused by the sudden, total blockage of a coronary artery. Pre-COVID-19 mortality in STEMI patients was below 5%. Previous NACMI research has shown that mortality jumps to 20% to 25% in patients who present with COVID-19 and a heart attack.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

FRIDAY, May 19, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- For patients undergoing postmastectomy breast reconstruction (PMBR), extended antibiotic prophylaxis (EAP) does not prevent infection, admission, reoperation, or explantation rates, according to a study published in the May issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Mark Sisco, M.D., from NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, Illinois, and colleagues conducted a retrospective study of 1,077 women who underwent immediate prosthetic PMBR from January 2008 to May 2020 to compare 90-day outcomes between EAP-positive and EAP-negative approaches. All patients received intravenous antibiotics preoperatively and up to 24 hours after surgery; before October 2016, patients also received oral antibiotics until drain removal (EAP). The EAP-positive and EAP-negative groups included 1,004 and 683 breasts, respectively.

The researchers observed no differences between the EAP-positive and EAP-negative groups in terms of surgical site infection (odds ration [OR], 0.83; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.56 to 1.25; P = 0.38), admission (OR, 0.78; 95 percent CI, 0.41 to 1.48; P = 0.44), reoperation (OR, 1.01; 95 percent CI, 0.68 to 1.48; P = 0.97), or explantation rates (OR, 1.06; 95 percent CI, 0.66 to 1.71; P = 0.81). The likelihood of developing gram-negative infections was increased in the EAP-positive group. Thirteen (2.0 percent) and four (0.6 percent) EAP-positive women, respectively, developed allergic reactions and Clostridium difficile colitis attributable to the EAP.

"We hope that our experience will give surgeons additional evidence and courage to change their practice," the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to Surgical Innovation Associates.
Gift this article Share this article paywall-free.

FRIDAY, May 19, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Health screenings and preventive care appointments are a key to maintaining long-term health and well-being. By proactively engaging in these practices, women can identify potential health risks early on and take necessary steps.

This guide will outline the key women's health screenings and care appointments to help you prioritize your health and stay on top of your well-being.

5 high-priority health screenings for women

Regular preventive care is vital, encompassing both women-specific tests such as breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings, as well as general assessments like dental exams, skin checks, STD tests and colonoscopies, guarding health across all stages of life. Vaccinations are a key part of this proactive regimen.

Breast cancer screening

Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in women, but it is treatable when caught early. Mammograms are the key tool.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) used to recommend women start mammograms at age 50, but new recommendations released in May call for screening every other year starting at age 40.

The U.S. National Cancer Institute indicates that the primary objective is to detect cancer early, providing an opportunity for effective treatment and potential cure. In some instances, screening tests may identify small or slow-growing cancers that pose minimal risk of causing significant harm or premature death.

Cervical cancer screening

The U.S. National Cancer Institute recommends that women get their first Pap test at age 21 and every three years thereafter, regardless of sexual activity. This test looks for precancerous cell changes on the cervix. Along with it, a test for human papillomavirus (HPV) checks for infection with types of the virus that can cause cancer.

Starting at age 30, the USPSTF recommends screening using one of the following methods:

HPV test every five years

HPV/Pap co-test every five years

Pap test every three years

Updated guidelines from the American Cancer Society recommend that women start cervical cancer screening at age 25 with an HPV test and get a repeat test every five years through age 65. However, testing with an HPV/Pap co-test every five years or with a Pap test every three years is still acceptable.

"Most women who get cervical cancer have never been screened in their lives, or have only rarely been, said Debbie Saslow, strategic director for screenings and vaccinations at the American Cancer Society. These screenings are essential as they detect abnormal cell changes in the cervix, allowing for early intervention and treatment before cancer develops.

Colorectal cancer screening

The USPSTF states that consistent screening for colorectal cancer starting at age 45 is vital in both prevention and early detection. It recommends people between 45 and 75 years of age have regular screenings for colon/rectal cancer. Those who are older should ask their health care provider for guidance.

Colorectal cancer screenings can detect abnormalities in the colon and rectum, often before any symptoms appear. That boosts the odds for successful treatment and improved outcomes. As this cancer typically develops slowly over time, regular screenings play a crucial role in identifying precancerous polyps and early-stage cancers, offering the opportunity for timely intervention and reducing the risk of advanced disease progression.

Dr. Omar Khokhar, lead physician at OSF Medical GroupGastroenterology in Bloomington, Ill., expressed concern about people who aren't taking care of themselves.

Im worried about the people out there who are ignoring their symptoms, or they dont have time, or they dont think of it as being necessary, he said in an OSF Health Care article. Abdominal pain, unintentional weight loss, blood in the stool -- these things may or may not be sinister, but if you are experiencing anything like that, you should discuss it with your doctor.

STD screening

Guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say all sexually active women under 25 should be tested annually for chlamydia and gonorrhea. Additionally, women aged 25 and older who have multiple sexual partners or engage in high-risk behaviors should also be screened annually for these sexually transmitted infections.

Left untreated in women, chlamydia and gonorrhea infections can cause serious complications. Untreated chlamydia can result in pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can cause chronic pelvic pain, infertility and an increased risk of ectopic pregnancies. Untreated gonorrhea can also contribute to PID and lead to serious reproductive health issues, including infertility and increased susceptibility to other infections.

Skin cancer screening

Women should have a professional skin examination by a dermatologist annually to screen for skin cancer, according to the nonprofit Skin Cancer Foundation. Annual skin cancer screenings play a crucial role in early detection and prompt treatment, improving the chances of successful outcomes and reducing the risk of skin cancer progression.

Skin cancer screenings are vital because they can detect skin abnormalities early, allowing for timely intervention and treatment. If left untreated, skin cancer such as melanoma can progress and spread to other parts of the body, leading to more extensive and challenging treatment. Early detection through screenings increases the chances of early diagnosis and successful treatment.

By proactively engaging in these screenings, women can take charge of their health and ensure a healthier future.